#another British personality core would be too much for everyone to handle

[thatsonehellofahabit]

P uuh Karl Pilkington personality core ahhhe yes I think so

[bookspined]

❝ that’s all history is after all: scar tissue. ❞

{ cis-man, he/him }  huh, who’s FROY GUTIERREZ? no, you’re mistaken, that’s actually SCORPIUS MALFOY. he is a TWENTY-TWO year old PUREBLOOD wizard who is A HEALING APPRENTICE. he is known for being CAPTIOUS, RETICENT, FACETIOUS, DISMISSIVE, and DRAMATIC but also RESOURCEFUL, CONSCIENTIOUS, FERVENT, INNOVATIVE, and OBSERVANT, so that must be why he always reminds me of the song IN DREAMS BY BEN HOWARD. i hear he is aligned with THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX, so be sure to keep an eye on him. { merry, 24, gmt, she/they }

CHARACTER PARALLELS: Amy Santiago (B99), Claire Temple (Daredevil), Chidi Anagonye (The Good Place), Giles (Buffy TVS), Michelle Jones (MCU), Simon Tam (Firefly), Elizabeth Swan (PoTC), Spock (Star Trek), Clarke Griffin (The 100), Harley Keener (MCU), Gregory House (House) suggested honorable mention Gizmo (Gremlins) 

pinterest [blood, medical imagery tw]

wanted connection ideas

Full Name: Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy Gender/Pronouns: Cis man | he/him Age: Twenty-three Birthdate: January 20th Parents: Draco Lucius Malfoy & Astoria Céline Malfoy (née Greengrass) [Not biologically Astoria’s due to her health, if you ever point this out he’ll flay your eyeballs] Siblings: N/A. Birth place: St. Mungo’s Hospital, England Height: 5’11” Weight: 56 kg Sexual/Romantic Orientation: Demiromantic Bisexual Nationality: British Body Alterations/Marks: A ragged diamond shape scar at the base of his throat.

Blood Status: Pureblood Hogwarts House: Slytherin Wand Arm: Right Pet: His pet toad, Jarvis, recently passed away. Patronus: Arctic Fox Wand: 11 2/3 inches, Willow, Supple, Dragon Heartstring.

Willow is an uncommon wand wood with healing power, I have noted that the ideal owner for a willow wand often has some (usually unwarranted) insecurity, however well they may try and hide it. While many confident customers insist on trying a willow wand (attracted by their handsome appearance and well-founded reputation for enabling advanced, non-verbal magic) my willow wands have consistently selected those of greatest potential, rather than those who feel they have little to learn. It has always been a proverb in my family that he who has furthest to travel will go fastest with willow.

Personality Traits: Brilliance, innovative, empathetic, individuality, openness, social consciousness, inventive, logical, practical skills and self assertion; lack of attachment to people outside his circle and the “real world,” over-intellectualizing of the emotions, dismissive, anxious, crotchety tempered, facetious, rigid, prone to self-isolation, intellectual arrogance, and stubborn. Zodiac Sign: Aquarius/Capricorn Cusp Moral Alignment: Neutral Good Core values: Loyalty, Knowledge, Hope Four temperaments: Melancholic  

HOGWARTS HOUSE ANALYSIS

Slytherin Primary and a Burned Ravenclaw Secondary.

Slytherin Primaries prioritize their own selves and loved ones first. Slytherins don’t feel guilty or selfish about this– they feel righteous and moral. The most important thing is to look after your own. Abandoning or hurting one of your own is the worst thing you can do.

A Burned Ravenclaw Secondary might want to be skilled, curious, and prepared, but they feel like they are (or like people think they are) limited, clumsy, or inconstant. Gathering knowledge, hobbies, skills, or tools is the right way to achieve their goals, but Burned Ravenclaws know that’s not going to work within their capabilities. So they take other paths and use other tools– maybe a Gryffindor’s bluntness, a Slytherin’s flexibility, or a Hufflepuff’s slow and steady dedication.

You may have a Hufflepuff Secondary Model.

Hufflepuff is the House of grit, reliability, and determination, and Hufflepuffs use those values to help live, act, and succeed. If you model Hufflepuff Secondary, you also value these things and like to live by them. You like to be hardworking, dedicated, and consistent– but you wouldn’t feel guilty for abandoning those values in the service of other, higher priorities. If there’s another, easier way to get what you want– you’d take it. You think hard work provides valuable rewards– and those rewards are why you work. The work doesn’t have persuasive value in itself.

Despite his very best resistance he’s always been pretty empathetic in nature, he tries to rule his emotions as well as he can but fails more often than not. He was always one of those toddlers that if another kid started crying he’d be right along with them, not because he wanted attention but because he just couldn’t not. A bit of a crybaby, has researched how to magically seal up his tear ducts. Obviously managed to keep the family’s flair for the dramatic there as well. After a few years he leant into the sarcastic vague-snobbishness to hide the core of overwhelming anxiety.

Just managed to scrape through his schooling with nearly all top grades, this isn’t really due to him being a model student. He has always accrued information with a voracious appetite. Any knowledge he could find, even if most people would consider it entirely useless. His mind clicks into that place? You can’t keep him away. However, when there is not an immediate stir of interest on his approach to a topic he has to fight with himself tooth and nail to carry on. 

Predictably found exam season highly stressful, was never open about it but was quietly competitive and silently smug over his good grades. Could comprehend well above his reading level from an early age and would often look into experimental research and complicated magic but found himself lost in OWL level History of Magic when chapter upon chapter lay ahead of him about something that didn’t catch his interest. Some people he beat just to spite cause he hates them. It worked, whatever.

Tends toward introversion and finds himself tired sometimes quite easily by a large amount of social interaction. Witty and big-mouthed when he feels comfortable or is in the presence of those that embolden him and very likely to get flustered and snap at people when things are becoming a bit too much. Especially if he feels however unjustly that someone is blocking his escape. Has matured slightly in this since leaving school but it happens still, he’s just anxious. Quite fickle and can at the drop of a hat decide that he’s done with you for the day once his Give Me Attention Meter is maxed. Could be an absolute bloody brat when he felt like it but feels he has grown out of it, which he mostly has.

Always been very, very aware of many people’s distrust of him and his family, he used to sneer and play it up if anyone tried to bring up his dad and go on the offensive but was genuinely affected quite deeply by it all. In his early school years, despite his weakness to the cold, he constantly had his sleeves rolled up to the elbow so that his blank forearm was bared as a statement to just about everyone. I am not marked, I never will be. Now he’s older he has more of a handle on things and can be diplomatic in situations where people are clearly discomforted by his presence and his family history.

Even though the war culminated far earlier in this verse I imagine Scor would have had to have been relatively sheltered as a child if not for how emotionally sensitive and prone to periods of ill-health he was, it was definitely for his own safety. He is still the grandson of a known high-ranking Death Eater and that made him a media target and put one on his back for anyone else that might happen to be watching. 

Never produced much of a talent for offensive magic and wouldn’t resort to those methods unless he had literally no other choice, not a front line fighter by any means. His talents with strategy, potion-making, healing and his perseverance with defensive magic are what define him to the Order. While everyone kind of knows who he hung out with at school and who his friends are he is deliberately very mischievous with releasing rumours and misleading people. He deliberately keeps his cards very close to his chest so most people don’t know that he is aligned with anyone, he usually uses glamours or a scarf to conceal his identity if he has to. 

While he is knowledgeable about healing and anatomy, he is the WORST at taking care of himself. The literal embodiment of Healers make the worst patients, tends to forgo sleep and basic bodily needs if he’s locked into what he’s focusing on. Sometimes needs reminders to sleep and eat, like a child. 

Healing is the most satisfying part of his life and he would never give it up, he likes to experiment as he has a fascination with magic and muggle science and where they might intersect. A fucking nerd honestly. While he thinks he’s being fairly subtle about it a large part of his academic life has been doused in research into blood maledictions, for obvious reasons. He does his best not to flutter too obviously around his Mum. She is capable and ten times stronger than he is. 

Lives in a small studio flat in Diagon Alley that is mostly stacks of books and makeshift shelves.

the stillness of the world the moment you take the first step into fresh snow, cashmere and fine wool, the pearlescence of dreamless sleep draught, the scratch of a quill on parchment, faintly tremoring fingers, a shiver up your spine in a warm room, the exhilaration of a problem solved, a thunderous grey overcast sky, the bite of a stitching charm, sleeves rolled up to the elbows, petrichor, the burn in your eyes before a well of tears.

Always had somewhat fragile health tending toward sickly. Hands are never warm, his existence is an endless heat seeking mission. 

Went to one Slug Club meeting and used his time to verbally berate and or challenge most of the contacts in attendance, he was not asked to return. 

Potions Club, Charms Club, used to sometimes be willing to be dragged to Dueling Club but didn’t enjoy himself. 

Plays quite a bit of chess.

Bruises like a fucking peach and scars so easily.

Views quidditch as a good fly spoiled. 

Is a very skilled pianist almost entirely due to his Grandmother’s tutelage. 

Surprisingly great with children/toddlers/babies, no one including himself expected this, he mostly feared them beforehand. 

Bit of a mummy’s boy in that he practically GLOWS when people talk of Astoria’s achievements. 

When he has time off from healing he will have chipped black nail varnish on. 

Highly intelligent but rarely manages to match a pair of socks, chews his quills but no one else’s. 

While very eloquent and well spoken, he is markedly less posh than when he first arrived at Hogwarts.

When he isn’t prone to bouts of insomnia he can take a nap pretty much anywhere. He was once found in a tree after several frantic hours search.

[ CREDIT : CHARACTER PSD template by @karmahelper (defunct url) I tried to find a current social this week by messaging around but couldn’t find anything unfortunately. Forgot to copy this over from the google doc! ]

[schraubd]

Should I PlagueWatch It?: Series Finale!

In March 2020, I inaugurated on this blog what I said "may but hopefully won't(?) become an ongoing series": Should I PlagueWatch It? Basically, it took the thing Jill and I do best -- watch TV -- and offered our recommendations for what you should watch to get you through the pandemic.

Over a year later, Should I PlagueWatch It? did, indeed, become a series. In addition to the first entry -- HBO's Avenue 5 -- I also did entries on Gentleman Jack, Marvel's Runaways, Alpha House, Never Have I Ever, Jelle's Marble Runs, Making the Cut, and a "roundup" post that covered Billions, Insecure, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Ultimate Tag, Titan Games, and Holey Moley.

But now, it feels we're finally closing the chapter on the pandemic. Jill and I are vaccinated, my parents came to visit this past weekend, we're seeing friends, the CDC says we can go unmasked. It seems, alas, that all good things must come to an end. And while the pandemic itself is certainly not a good thing, some of us may be feeling a bit bittersweet at the prospect of being expected to interact with other humans rather than sit around and watch Netflix all day.

So to wrap up the series, one more omnibus "quick hits" review of all the shows we PlagueWatched that haven't yet gotten their own entry.

* * * Mild spoilers * * *

Blown Away

Reality TV can be wonderful in its formulaicness. Take a random hobby, find ten people who are pretty good at it, dangle $50,000 in front of them, and bang, you've got a competition show. This one's about glass blowing. I know nothing about glass blowing, but the competitors seem pretty talented to me?

I was impressed at how versatile a medium glass is. I worried when I started the show that the challenges would end up being pretty one note (how many vases can one make?). But the competitors actually made a lot of really cool material!

There's a lot of running and swinging and flailing given that they're handling molten-hot material.  It stressed me out. Also, apparently "glory holes" are an essential part of glass blowing, and nobody made a joke about it.

This show is definitely more in the "everyone likes and supports one another" mold of reality TV compared to the "constant cat fights and 'I'm not here to make friends'" mold. No judgment, just letting you know what to expect.

Sexify

A Netflix series about a young college student with no sexual experience who decides she needs to develop an app to optimize the female orgasm. It's not the most innovative concept, but it works well enough.

Of the core trio, my favorite character is Paulina -- the religious Catholic best-friend who is having (bad) sex with her fiancé and feels guilty about even that sin. She does a lot of great expressive work and has some superb character beats (her popcorn addiction -- just casually munching away while watching porn). 

Speaking of Paulina, at the outset I told Jill she looked like someone and Jill's first guess was "a plainer Emily Blunt" (that's not an insult -- who isn't plainer than Emily Blunt?). It wasn't who I was thinking of, and soon I realized the answer was like six women I've known over the years. So maybe "plainer Emily Blunt" is a more common face than I realized?

The show is in Polish (with subtitles), and I'm very proud that I managed to identify the language as Polish right away (I do not speak a word of Polish).

The musical motif for the show combines one of the catchiest guitar riffs I've ever heard with a sample loop of a woman's sex moans. It fits the show perfectly, but it's a bit awkward to listen to on its own.

Wandavision

You shouldn't need me to tell you about this show. It's good, but my hottest take -- and I stand by it -- is that as an exploration of grief Never Have I Ever does it better and it's not close.

Can we concede that Wanda is the unambiguous villain of the show? With only the barest shift in perspective, Wanda could be the nemesis with an admittedly sympathetic motive. To some extent, I think the show was far too forgiving of her. Motives aside, how different is she from Kilgrave on Jessica Jones?

Poor Emma Caulfield. So much build-up for her character, and it's only a head-fake.

Space Force

I liked it. It's not in the most elite of the elite comedies, and maybe that's the standard when Steve Carrell is the lead, but it was quite funny. That said, I keep on almost forgetting that I watched it, and have no substantive commentary to offer. So take from that what you will.

AOC lookalike alert (the character even gets the nickname AYC -- "Angry Young Congresswoman")!

Mythic Quest

I love that Ubisoft is actually involved in the show (which is set at a game studio producing a popular massively multiplayer online RPG).

Surprisingly, given my love affair with Community, Danny Pudi is one of the least interesting characters on the show.

The actress who plays Poppy isn't the very strongest (though she's improving), but Poppy herself may be my favorite character. Of course, everyone knows I'm a sucker for an Australian accent.

The show has some great characters in side parts who don't get enough attention, like Sue the community manager and Carol the HR director. Also, Aparna Nancherla has a small recurring role in the first season and apparently doesn't come back for season two? I don't get why she keeps getting sidelined like this -- she's funnier than the rest of the cast put together.

Ted Lasso

Good, sweet, endearing, fun. British soccer comedies with heart are a winner for me (Bend It Like Beckham, anyone?).

Ted's estranged wife is played by the same actress who plays Linda in Better Off Ted. This was very strange, though admittedly I'm probably the only person who cared enough about Better Off Ted to notice or care.

Lupin

Dashing gentleman thief who's always a step ahead of his adversaries, except maybe the one nemesis who actually can match him step for step in a constant cat-and-mouse game? Look, it's a cliché for a reason. I'm not going to say Lupin breaks the mold, but it certainly is a well-crafted entry into the mold.

If there is anything innovative, it's how Lupin particularly leverages stereotypes about race and class to maneuver more freely in certain spaces (e.g., he can smuggle himself into prison because the guards can't tell him apart from another inmate -- sad commentary, but useful for Lupin!).

It did do something I hate, which is release "half a season" and just leave the audience hanging at the end. Maybe it was the pandemic's fault, but one could really feel its incompleteness.

Kim's Convenience

Of the Canadian shows I've been watching, I'd say Working Moms (not in this post because it is pre-pandemic) is the stronger of the two. But this is fun as well.

It just got cancelled, unfortunately depriving it of the chance to wrap up its single greatest storyline (that's been ongoing since season one). That's a real, real shame.

Simu Liu as Jung is the latest iteration of the Jason Mendoza trend of "dumb male Asian hottie leads". I guess it's a blow against stereotypes?

Pastor Nina also could be an AOC lookalike. I think the show struggled a bit to draw a bead on her character.

Legomasters

I actually mentioned this show in my post about Jelle's Marble Runs, but it is such a joy to watch. I can't wait for season two, which is dropping very soon. For pure, simple, uncomplicated happiness, Legomasters beats out everything on this list.

via The Debate Link https://ift.tt/3yamzYb

[violet-witch-6]

Extra scene for “The Third Robin” that got cut for redundancy and pacing, can be read standalone

When one spends an extended amount of time with Batman, one learns to be comfortable with long silences.

Tim knows through second hand anecdotes and one very memorable security tape that Babs sent him in his ‘welcome to the Batfamily’ gift-basket (read: survival kit) that Dick filled the silences with a non-stop stream of chatter, sometimes holding entire conversations without B ever saying a word.

Jason preferred to fill the silences with music. Loud rock n’ roll beats usually, but every once in a while he’d throw in something unexpected. British punk, Taylor Swift, Musicals… Jason was nothing if not spontaneous.

Tim doesn’t use either of these tactics. Frankly, he prefers the silence. It helps him think just as much as it helps Bruce. And anyway, words are extraneous. Who needs small talk when their time would be better utilized thinking over the case separately so that their thought process’ can remain uncontaminated until they pool ideas later in the cave?

Besides, Tim has found that it breeds a specific kind of closeness to just be able to sit in silence with someone without it being awkward. An understanding and vulnerability that comes from immersing yourself in your thoughts in the presence of another person.

And anyway, words have always been Tim’s weapons. He shouldn’t need those with someone he’s close to. Or, that’s the idea anyway.

Tonight is different. Tonight they are not silent because of their mutual understanding and respect for one another’s thoughts, but because Tim is busy willing the Batmobile to drive faster so he can get away from Bruce and into someplace more private.

Once he gets there, he’s not sure what he’ll do. Shut down probably. It’s how he usually handles his emotions.

They pull into the cave and Tim all but jumps from the car, making quick strides to get to his station at the computer so he can type up his report before Bruce gets any stupid ideas like talking about it. Not that Tim expects the old man to ever acknowledge what happened.

He’s not even sure what Bruce would say about it that wouldn’t sound hollow and cheap.

So he speeds through his report in record time and nearly falls on his face because he’s moving too fast in the shower. When he’s finally in civies again and ready to go, he pauses behind the computer chair where Bruce is still hunched over his own report, moving almost comically slowly in contrast to Tim’s breakneck speed.

Tim clears his throat. “I’m going to head out. I’ll see you tomorrow night Bruce.”

He turns on his heel to leave, but at the last second Bruce’s voice stops him. “Wait.”

He considers leaving anyway, but he’s not quite willing to disobey Bruce over something so simple. He doesn’t like doing things in half measures, and his teenage rebellion, if and when it comes, will be no exception. “Yes?”

Bruce hesitates, possibly considering retreat, but in the end, he barrels forward with all his usual social ineptitude. “About what happened—”

“Slip of the tongue.” Tim cuts him off smoothly, stopping what would have been an awkward and emotionally stunted moment.

What he wants to do is scream because Bruce called him Jason. What he wants to do is ask if he’s still not good enough even after he’s proven himself time and again through his detective work. What he wants to do is rage at Bruce for saying out loud what Tim already knew was true.

He’s a placeholder. A prescription balm that Bruce is using to soothe the pain of losing Jason. He’s not Robin. Not in the ways that count, because he’s not Bruce’s son. His parents are still alive and well, wherever the hell they are.

But he can’t yell or get angry because this is what he signed up for. He went in knowing he’d be the third in a line of many, little more than an inconsequential blip in the history of Gotham’s vigilantes, but he’d screwed up and gotten himself attached. Between the success he’s had as a detective and Bruce’s slowly but steadily warming nature, Tim had just started to believe maybe they were more than partners forced on each other.

You’d think he’d be used to disappointments by now, but they never seem to stop hurting.

Bruce twists around in his chair to finally look at Tim, his brows drawn together in a tight frown. “Tim—“

“It’s not your fault.” Tim smiles at him to show he means it, but it doesn’t come out right. He’s gotten so used to his smiles being at least an approximation of real that the perfect display of teeth Janet drilled into his head feels disjointed and wrong. “We’re both tired. It’s probably best if I just go home to get some rest and we forget about the whole thing. Goodnight, Bruce.”

He’s gone before Bruce can reply.

Alfred, however, has faster reflexes. “Before you go Master Timothy, I made a lovely rhubarb pie. I insist you take some home with you.” Tim hesitates. He made it out of the cave and still wants to complete his desperate flee from the manor, but Alfred hasn’t done anything wrong, and Tim just doesn’t have it in him to refuse the old butler.

He’ll make it quick. “Okay, sure.” He allows Alfred to silently lead him to the kitchen, trying not to look like the skittish puppy he is.

Alfred pulls out an already packaged pie for Tim to take, but when Tim grabs it, he doesn’t let go. “There is something I wished to discuss with you.”

He should have known it was a trap. A sweet, delicious trap. “Yes Alfred?” Tim asks tiredly, suddenly missing his bed very dearly.

“I fear Master Bruce has behaved rather thoughtlessly this evening and I want to ensure you are alright.”

It takes a moment for the words to register. Alfred is… checking on him. Strange. Tim swallows past the marble in his throat to reply, “I really am fine. I know he doesn’t… he’s in pain. I can take it.” This time his smile is a little more convincing, if a little wetter.

Alfred looks at him sadly. “If you can take it is not the issue. The issue is that you should not have to.”

It shouldn’t be a miraculous statement, and there is no reason Alfred’s sympathetic words should rock Tim’s whole world view, but of all the things that have happened in Tim’s life, the good and the bad, whether or not he deserves them has never even crossed his mind.

He’s never viewed himself as a victim, or even a child. His suffering just hasn’t been as important as everyone else’s. He’s never thought that was a strange viewpoint until this moment.

For once, Tim’s expression gives away everything that’s happening in his head, and Alfred reads it like a book. “You don’t deserve to live in his shadow. You deserve to be seen as your own person.”

“Am I my own person?” he blurts, like a toddler grasping for any reassurance no matter how baseless. He hates sounding like that, but the dam has been broken and Tim couldn’t stop now if he tried. “I don’t feel like I am. I feel like a jigsaw puzzle held together by sheer force of will and luck that’s going to run out someday. My pieces aren’t mine. I’m not me. I’m… I’m a byproduct of all their sins. Mother’s, father’s, Bruce’s, even Dick and Jason’s. Alfred, I can’t tell what’s me and what’s a reflection. I’m—” He can’t breathe. His lungs ache like he hasn’t had air in several minutes. The panic in his voice has been building and now it’s breaking over him like a tidal wave that’s threatening to wash him away.

Alfred’s eyes are watery with sympathetic pain and the pie lays forgotten on the counter. He reaches out like he might touch Tim or hug him, but Tim flinches violently away.

“I’m s-sorry.” He stutters, eyes wide and horrified at his own involuntary response.

Alfred just shakes his head. “It is I who must apologize. I am sorry for this pain.”

Despite the shakiness he feels in his very core, Tim snorts. “It’s not your fault.”

“Perhaps not, but someone must apologize for what has been done to you.”

Tim freezes. The watery edge of his panic is turning sharp and dangerous. “No, it’s my fault. I’m the one who did this.”

For a moment, Alfred just looks at him. He doesn’t rush to tell Tim he’s wrong—even if his expression makes his feelings clear enough—he just looks at him. “You are stronger than anyone gives you credit for, Master Timothy, but strength has limits. I beg of you not to test them.”

Tim can only nod, glassy eyes reflecting the warm kitchen lights. He desperately needs out and away from this conversation, but at the same time he wants nothing more than to stay, and let the rest of what he’s been feeling break free. He can’t do that though because he’s scared if he does, he’ll never be able to put it all away again.

At length, he croaks, “Thank you,” as sincerely as he can with a voice that sounds weaker and rougher than he’s comfortable with. The words can’t possibly express his gratitude for Alfred in this moment, but he doesn’t know how else to show it.

To Tim’s eternal relief, Alfred doesn’t comment. He only hands Tim the pie, and lets him go.

[revcntulet]

❝ The more I read, the more I acquire, the more certain I am that I know nothing. ❞  SCORPIUS MALFOY looks a lot like that muggle, FROY GUTIERREZ, right? Only 20 years old, that SLYTHERIN alumnus works as a HEALING APPRENTICE and is sided with the ORDER OF THE PHOENIX. HE identifies as a CIS MAN and is a PUREBLOOD.

CHARACTER PARALLELS: Amy Santiago (B99), Claire Temple (Daredevil), Chidi Anagonye (The Good Place), Giles (Buffy TVS), Michelle Jones (Spiderman: Homecoming), Elizabeth Swan (PoTC), Spock (Star Trek), Clarke Griffin (The 100), Harley Keener (MCU), Gregory House (House) suggested honorable mention Gizmo (Gremlins)

Full Name: Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy Gender/Pronouns: Cis man | he/him Age: Twenty Birthdate: January 20th Parents: Draco Malfoy & Astoria Malfoy (née Greengrass) Siblings: N/A. Birth place: St. Mungo’s Hospital, England Height: 5’11” Weight: 56 kg Sexual/Romantic Orientation: Demiromantic Bisexual Nationality: British Body Alterations/Marks: A ragged diamond shape scar at the base of his throat.

Blood Status: Pureblood Hogwarts House: Slytherin Wand Arm: Right Pet: A crested toad named Jarvis. Patronus: Arctic Fox Wand: 11 2/3 inches, Willow, Supple, Dragon Heartstring.

Willow is an uncommon wand wood with healing power, and I have noted that the ideal owner for a willow wand often has some (usually unwarranted) insecurity, however well they may try and hide it. While many confident customers insist on trying a willow wand (attracted by their handsome appearance and well-founded reputation for enabling advanced, non-verbal magic) my willow wands have consistently selected those of greatest potential, rather than those who feel they have little to learn. It has always been a proverb in my family that he who has furthest to travel will go fastest with willow.

Personality Traits: Brilliance, innovation, empathetic, individuality, openness, social consciousness, inventiveness, logical, practical skill and self assertion; lack of attachment to people and the “real world,” over-intellectualizing of the emotions, dismissiveness, anxious, crotchety tempered, facetiousness, rigidity, prone to self-isolation, intellectual arrogance, and stubbornness. Zodiac Sign: Aquarius/Capricorn Cusp Moral Alignment: Neutral Good Core values: Loyalty, Knowledge, Hope Four temperaments: Melancholic  

HOGWARTS HOUSE BREAKDOWN

Slytherin Primary and a Burned Ravenclaw Secondary.

Slytherin Primaries prioritize their own selves and loved ones first. Slytherins don’t feel guilty or selfish about this– they feel righteous and moral. The most important thing is to look after your own. Abandoning or hurting one of your own is the worst thing you can do.

A Burned Ravenclaw Secondary might want to be skilled, curious, and prepared, but they feel like they are (or like people think they are) limited, clumsy, or inconstant. Gathering knowledge, hobbies, skills, or tools is the right way to achieve their goals, but Burned Ravenclaws know that’s not going to work within their capabilities. So they take other paths and use other tools– maybe a Gryffindor’s bluntness, a Slytherin’s flexibility, or a Hufflepuff’s slow and steady dedication.

You may have a Hufflepuff Secondary Model.

Hufflepuff is the House of grit, reliability, and determination, and Hufflepuffs use those values to help live, act, and succeed. If you model Hufflepuff Secondary, you also value these things and like to live by them. You like to be hardworking, dedicated, and consistent– but you wouldn’t feel guilty for abandoning those values in the service of other, higher priorities. If there’s another, easier way to get what you want– you’d take it. You think hard work provides valuable rewards– and those rewards are why you work. The work doesn’t have persuasive value in itself.

9. The Expositor will have to destroy the one who they love. There is no other way. It cannot be avoided. Their fate – possibly even the entire world’s fate – depends on it.

39. You are in the Order, and as a spell inventor, you played a key role in helping the Knights mutate the Patronus Charm to create daemons. Because of this, you have a daemon of your own, and you have been experimenting with the limitations of the magic, trying to figure out if there are any ways to improve them.

Code Name Revontulet, which literally translates to “fox fire.” Legend says that an arctic fox dashed across the tundra swiping snow up into the sky, while others claim his bushy tail caused sparks when brushing the peaks of tall mountains to create the Aurora Borealis.

Despite his very best resistance he’s always been pretty empathetic in nature, he tries to rule his emotions as well as he can but fails more often than not. He was always one of those toddlers that if another kid started crying he’d be right along with them, not because he wanted attention but because he just couldn’t not. A bit of a crybaby, honestly, has researched how to magically seal up his tear ducts. Obviously managed to keep the family’s flair for the dramatic there as well.

Just managed to scrape through his schooling with nearly all top grades, this isn’t due to him being an excellent student. He has always accrued information with a voracious appetite. Any knowledge he could find, even if most people would consider it entirely useless. His mind clicks into that place? You can’t keep him away. However, when there is not an immediate stir of interest on his approach to a topic he has to fight with himself tooth and nail to carry on. Predictably found exam season highly stressful, was never open about it but was quietly competitive and silently smug over his good grades. Could comprehend well above his reading level from an early age and would often look into experimental research and complicated magic but found himself lost in OWL level History of Magic when chapter upon chapter lay ahead of him about something that didn’t catch his interest.

Tends toward introversion and finds himself tired sometimes quite easily by a large amount of social interaction. Witty and big-mouthed when he feels comfortable or is in the presence of those that embolden him and very likely to get flustered and snap at people when things are becoming a bit too much. Especially if he feels however unjustly that someone is blocking his escape. Has matured slightly in this since leaving school but it happens still, he’s just anxious. Quite fickle and can at the drop of a hat decide that he’s done with you for the day once his Give Me Attention Meter is maxed. Could be an absolute bloody brat when he felt like it but feels he has grown out of it, which he mostly has.

Always been very, very aware of many people’s distrust of him and his family, he used to sneer and play it up if anyone tried to bring up his dad and go on the offensive but was genuinely affected quite deeply by it all. In his early school years, despite his weakness to the cold, he constantly had his sleeves rolled up to the elbow so that his blank forearm was bared as a statement to just about everyone. I am not marked, I never will be. Now he’s older he has more of a handle on things and can be diplomatic in situations where people are clearly discomforted by his presence and his family history.

Scorpius was in his seventh and final year when the Knights were first created and he spent a lot of his time patching people up and teaching simple healing here and there, wherever he could. It was a natural transition to become part of The Order once he graduated, he still kept in contact with members of the Knights but while he had no way to access the grounds at all it seemed ridiculous that he be privy to everything, especially as sharing such information could have been intercepted by the opposing side. He was absolutely horrified by Harry’s resurrection and his stomach rolls every time he even thinks about it.

Never produced much of a talent for offensive magic and wouldn’t resort to those methods unless he had literally no other choice, not a front line fighter by any means. His talents with strategy, healing and his perseverance with defensive magic meant that he was an ideal candidate, in his head, to have the singular daemon amongst the Order and to test all of their hard work. Then the prophecy was slowly unravelled, silver spool of damning words in a pile at his feet.

Is in a strange place in that he can’t simply stop loving people he’s always loved whilst working simultaneously to strangle any potential for more people to be added to the list as frantically as he can. Tends to just try and put the prophecy out of his mind otherwise he stares at Cleo for too long and his hands start to shake.

Very nearly lost his apprenticeship due to his intensity over developing and refining the magic of the patronus charm. It was an all-consuming obsession, he went so far into the zone that he was a bit of a liability for a while there. He would turn up at any hour to other Order members for their opinions on an obscure theory, an element of the magic, the importance of ritual and their thoughts on his experiments with dementors. Alot of people were like you’re a bit young to be doing this aren’t you love? And he was like I’m not going to tell you to fuck off, just explain that I will not let this go and if you exclude me I will continue working on it alone.

[ DEATH TW ] Although this can be said for anyone possessing a daemon, he is protective of Cleo to the point of neurosis, the magic was experimental at the time of her manifestation and he felt every single layer of his soul flayed away and the creation of atoms from a matter that he still doesn’t quite understand. Only that it came from him. They have managed to limit the bitter, burnt iron taste that lingered at the back of his sinuses for two weeks, the numbness of his fingers and toes and the burst blood vessels in his eyes on other subjects. Oh and the part where he stopped breathing for nearly an entire minute. By the time he performed it successfully he wasn’t sure he wanted anyone else to ever experience it, the spell basically consumed his life for several years and when the research was finally over he was stood there blinking owlishly with no real concept of where the last couple of years had gone.

Always had somewhat fragile health tending toward sickly. Hands are never warm. Bruises like a peach and scars so easily.

Views quidditch as a good fly spoiled.  

Is a very skilled pianist.

Has a fabric sling that he wears across his torso that Cleo is often curled up in. Looks like a single dad at Order meetings, toad on his shoulder.

While very eloquent and well spoken, he is markedly less posh than when he first arrived at Hogwarts.

When he isn’t prone to bouts of insomnia he can take a nap pretty much anywhere. He was once found in a tree after several frantic hours search.

the stillness of the world the moment you take the first step into fresh snow, cashmere and fine wool, the pearlescence of dreamless sleep draught, the scratch of a quill on parchment, faintly tremoring fingers, a shiver up your spine in a warm room, the exhilaration of a problem solved, a thunderous grey overcast sky, the bite of a stitching charm, sleeves rolled up to the elbows, petrichor, the burn in your eyes before a well of tears.

[cherryfloyd-blog]

Jimmy Page - Behind Closed Doors

There are so many cookie crumbs to this story and I truly put as much research into this as my brain could handle. What started as a fun idea, soon turned into a late night adventure of notes sprawled across my bed, snacks to keep the energy going, glasses on; with a pen sticking of my mouth as I thumbed through as many pages of literature that I could get my hands on. There are several parts of this but for the sake of remaining unbiased I will keep it as straightforward and simple as I can. There has been a rumour floating around for fifty odd years, that Led Zeppelin; more specifically Jimmy Page, had made a deal with the devil. In this article, I will break down the events that have lead people to believe such things. In the end, it will remain impartial and will be open to interpretation which we can discuss further.

 To begin, let’s talk about Jimmy’s growing idolisation and obsession with Aleister Crowley, famous for being an occult leader and magician. For more back story, Crowley was a British occultist who became known for pioneering the practice of black magic (or magick as he would call it). Aleister called himself Beast 666 and wrote literature on black magic and the occult, making him a major cult figure. He joined a few popular organizations to begin with, but ventured off into his own self created philosophy. Crowley believed himself to be the prophet entrusted with guiding humanity into  the Eon of Horus, thus founding the Religion of Thelema. 

(Below is the logo of Thelema)

Pictures of Crowley have since been discreetly used in pop culture, as if a small tribute. For example; The Beatles featured Crowley on their album cover art for Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club, he can be seen in the back row, if I’m correct. Building off of Page’s affinity for Crowley, which began to noticeably build by the mid to late 60’s, Page financed to own a bookstore in Britain which specialized in selling publishings of the occult and black magik. Needless to say, Jimmy was in deep at this point but still only scratching the surface of infatuation. The bookstore was named “The Equinox” which was also the name of a book that Crowley himself had written on the occult and magic. To this day, Jimmy Page has the second largest collection of Crowley memorabilia and literature, which is no small expense. His bookstore is now closed, but back in the day had been in stock of some very pricey and hard to come by black magik publications.

Another thing I found interesting, was Page being heavily influenced by very iconic blues artists, such as Robert Leroy Johnson (okay, maybe not that interesting, everyone in rock cites him as being the backbone of rock n roll today) nonetheless, Johnson died at the age of 27 from unsolved and suspicious causes. He never became famous while he was alive, but rumour has it that Johnson had also sold his soul to the devil in return for fame, at a crossroads, which Robert mentions in a few songs. A very small, unrelated tidbit of information, but it makes you wonder if our rock star idols gave up more than a normal life, to become internationally loved and recognized.

Around the year 1970, Jimmy had supposedly asked the band to perform a ritual with him, one that would bring them power and something along the lines of everlasting life? I know right, no biggie, just dabbling with some dark forces. Anyone that knows black magik, can tell you that spells like this are not something to be taken lightly or messed with. John Paul Jones was allegedly the only one to not take part in this pact, which you’ll later realize why that makes all of this so much more strange than it already is. If you think about it, had they made such a pact it would make sense. Robert Plant has made it to the list of top 100 best singers of all time in Rock history, not only that but made it to number one (1). Jimmy Page? Well he’s seen as a god and legend by almost every guitar player in the modern world, and has been ranked number two, only one spot behind Jimi Hendrix. John Bonham has been recognized as one of the best double kick drummers in history, quite literally, every drummer looks up to him as also an almost god like figure. As for John Paul Jones? There is no doubt the man is wicked talented, but not nearly as talked about or famed. We can all acknowledge the man has serious talent, and yet seems to be left in the shadows of his peers.

The first evidence of this pact can be seen with the album Led Zeppelin III, between the end of the last song and the paper label is the outro groove written into the vinyl was “So mote it be” on one side and “Do what thou wilt” on the other. The are basic phrases that are the core of Crowley’s belief system. By this point people were determined that Jimmy had become a member of O.T.O , and organization and cult who’s most influential and iconic member was none other than Crowley. More about the organization can be read about in a link below, but it should be noted that they have four pillar rules; one of which is to not speak of the organization to others or discuss the practices of which they studied. A rule, that Jimmy Page is believed to have broken at one point.

The second piece of evidence was apparent with the release of Led Zeppelin IV, when symbolism became a driving force. Inside the album is a painting of the hermit (a powerful tarot symbol), later in life Jimmy would refer to himself as being something of a hermit despite being a major public figure. The album provides no title, and shows no band name on the cover, but on the inside are four brightly printed logos across the sleeve. From left to right, these symbols represent Page, Jones, Bonham and Plant. Page has said in interviews that the symbols (for the most part) were taken from Rudolf Koch’s 1955 Book of Signs. Plant’s symbol is probably the easiest to decipher - as it is the feather of truth and courage, from the origins of Egyptian goddess Ma’at. John Bonham’s is believed to be either a drum kit, or the symbol of trinity of a family unit (meaning father, mother, child). John Paul Jones, which was likely picked by Jimmy, was the a celtic sigil for confidence and competence. However, Jimmy’s logo has always been the hardest to breakdown and figure out. While most people believe his logo represents saturn (which controls the Capricorn sign, Jimmy is a Capricorn so it would make sense), there is a certain level of mystery behind it. Page has famously said he will never tell anyone what it means. Thought Plant has once said that Page revealed the full meaning of all four signs, including a detailed discussion of what Zoso meant. Admittedly, Plant expressed he was too drunk to remember by the next morning, and when he had asked Page about it again, page replied with saying he couldn’t/wouldn’t discuss it. Now this could very well be Jimmy’s antics, or just general mysterious persona, or perhaps he simply cannot discuss or reveal information. Perhaps, this is the one of the four pillar rules of O.T.O that Page had broken. Jimmy is an all around very private person, who very rarely, if at all, talks about his religious or spiritual beliefs or practices.

It is worth noting that Sandy Denny (pictured below) of Fairport Convention, the voice on The Battle of Evermore track, was given her own sigil. The logo is translated to Godhead or the power of female.

According to Pamela Des Barres, Pages girlfriend of this era, has said that at this point Jimmy got very deep into the studying of Crowley, and had even asked her to search San Francisco and Los Angles for Crowley memorabilia. She had not fallen short on this task, and managed to dig up some very impressive artifacts, manuscripts, and even “magical” robes that Crowley has worn. In 1970, around the time of the ritual, Page had dropped a large chunk of cash to acquire Crowley’s mansion, Boleskine, located on Loch Ness. The home, once owned by Crowley, had a large history of suicides and an even bigger turnover rate of employees as they found the home to be no doubt inhabited by dark entities. Regardless of what one may believe, the house holds a sinister vibe. Page later sold the home in 1992, and had actually been very wary of ever living there and had left the estate in a caregivers possession. Of the 22 years that he had owned the house, he only spent 6 weeks in total living there. In 2016, the house unexplainably burned down. (pictured below is Jimmy at the mansion) 

 Now this next part is where shit gets bonkers, so to speak, the rest so far has been rumours and back stories and alleged encounters. Just a man with an obsession, and depending on your personal beliefs, you may find that he took his practices too far. Perhaps his intentions were pure, but looking at his life in general, what did Jimmy have to sacrifice to become quite literally a noteable person in history. Well let’s see.

Introducing Kenneth Anger; a fellow Crowley disciple and filmmaker, drug taker and subversive. He spent most of his time drawing magic circles, burning incense and chanting spells in Enochian - trying to do a real ritual exorcism. Plans for his film Lucifer Rising began to fall apart when Bobby Beausoleil (lead actor) - had to quit. Bobby, who later stole rough cuts and cameras from Anger would soon regret this. To take revenge, Anger supposedly made a talisman to curse Bobby. Within a year, Beausoleil had ended up convicted of murder with a life sentence for the murder of Sharon Tate as part of the Manson family murders. Wild, I know. Possibly just a coincidence, or even just a tall tale.

Cue Jimmy Page, who had agreed to do the soundtrack for Angers film, and the music Jimmy had produced is exactly what you’d expect. Dark, eerie, and perfect for a film of satanic proportions. Some of which can actually be heard in the intro for “In The Out Door”, his melancholy and devilish sound coming through in the song “In The Evening”. Kenneth and Jimmy had a love/hate relationship, and what started as a mutual appreciation and dedication to Crowley’s practice and image, soon turned to ugly turmoil just as quickly. Anger moved into Boleskine, where him and Page shared a love for Crowley memorabilia. However, as their friendship deteriorated, Anger was asked to leave the Crowley mansion. At the height of Led Zeppelin’s career, Jimmy had pulled out of the film project in 1975. Allegedly, Anger soon stated that he had cursed Page and Zepp with a major spell, a spell so big that it took all of Crowley’s teachings he could muster up, to cast upon them.

 Almost immediately, the band started to experience turbulence and the eventual downfall of their career as one tragedy after another struck them to the core. Robert Plant was in a car crash, plunging off a cliff in Greece in 1975, nearly killing himself, his wife and his son Karac. Which meant cancelling the Physical Graffiti tour and having to record in a wheelchair. The make up tour was littered with negative events starting with Plant getting Laryngitis. Followed by ticketless fans in Cincinnati rioting and storming the gates. In San Francisco, manager Peter Grant and John Boham had gotten into a fight with Bill Graham, and nearly beating a Bill Graham employee to death. Both Grant and Bonham narrowly escaping serious charges and incarceration. Karac eventually fell ill, and no amount of money would make him better, as doctors had no idea what was wrong, by 1977 Karac had passed away and the tour was cancelled. At this point, Plant had quit the band and music in general in response to Page and Jones not showing up to his sons funeral.

Around this time, Page was nearly comatose on a daily basis due to a crippling Heroine addiction, and Bonhams alcoholism was raging out of control, becoming increasingly violent and unpredictable. In 1978, Sandy Denny, the goddess of the Battle of Evermore, drunkenly plunged down a flight of stairs; breaking her neck and died. The tip of the iceberg was the incident that occurred in September of 1980. Handlers had tucked Bonzo into bed after a band rehearsal, following a night of heavy drinking; assuming he would be okay, he’s done it a million times before, right? But as well know, John tragically died in his sleep from asphyxiation. It’s worth mentioning, that in the middle of all of this mayhem, John Paul Jones had remained completely untouched. While the loss of Karac and Bonham had affected John, being as they were family, he was never really directly affected. Could this be because he stayed as far away from the pact as possible? Could these events be natures way of taking something, in return for giving something such as power? Is this all the work of Angers alleged curse?

Robert Plant once addressed these very claims, as some people point fingers at Jimmy being the cosmic reasoning behind the passing of Karac and Bonham. Though, he says it’s a cheap shot. This is what Plant had to say about the matter - “The comments about how it was all connected with Jimmy’s dalliance with the dark side or whatever, that was cheap. I’ve never shared the preoccupations with him and I don’t really know anything about it. Fate is already written”. I suppose it has less to do with whether Page “sold his soul” and more to do with the possible repercussions of playing against nature, and whether such practices have a domino affect. The piling strange circumstances does make one wonder how involved Page really was, and how much the involvement took a toll on the band. Just how much of it can account for Led Zeppelin’s massive success, to the point of making history in music forever (everlasting life?). At the end it could all very well just be a bunch of mumbo jumbo non-sense. I am curious as to what you all think, feel free to leave comments or shoot me a message!

*Note; Do not take this too seriously, it’s all speculation and open for interpretation. Below are some interesting sites that I used in my search!

Resources:

https://forums.ledzeppelin.com/topic/15027-jimmy-and-crowley/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley

https://carwreckdebangs.wordpress.com/2015/06/09/aleister-crowley-jimmy-page-and-the-curse-of-led-zeppelin-when-myth-magick-and-weird-facts-collide/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordo_Templi_Orientis

https://zososymbol.com/

[techmaestro]

Comics and the MCU

In the years I’ve been playing MCU Tony, I’ve noticed things about how the characters are different than their Comic counterparts. I don’t read the comics, mind, but by this point, I’ve had enough exposure and played with enough people who are from those verses, that I’ve reached some conclusions.

Interesting conclusions. 

The short of it is this: MCU Howard is basically Comic Tony if he’d been born in a different era.

Now I’ll throw out the long-range version of this. See, this thought started several months ago when talking to someone who plays MCU Howard and Ults Tony. I play with both, and they do a wonderful job with their characters, so I agree they know what they’re talking about. Many of the things I love about how they play their Howard are things that are rather universal to MCU Howards I’ve dealt with over the years, so it’s hardly just theirs.

You see, we were talking about Tony vs Tony and just how the different types of Tony usually are entirely dependent on where a Tony comes from, and how bewildering it is to see Comic things thrown overtop an MCU Tony. Because MCU Tony is a different creature. Yes, they all have the armor in common, that’s a Tony Stark thing, but there are many many things that are different between them.

So, I’ll start at the beginning and let you draw your own conclusions, shall I?

The very first, most pivotal thing that pops into my head is Steve. 

MCU Tony views Steve as an aggravating friend slash brother figure that he had to live up to as a kid that his dad adored. He trusts him right up until he can’t, and he expects it to be reciprocal when it clearly isn’t. Yes, there is mutual respect, but they’re not actually close, and while Steve would trust Tony to defend the Earth, he never once considers he might come down on his side when it comes to defending a friend. 

Comic Tony, from what I understand, is a whole other animal in Steve’s general direction. They’re close, they have an unwavering bond, they count on one another even when they’re at odds, and Tony actively loves and is somewhat of a Cap fanboy, a sentiment which is returned to a degree. In essence, from the word go, Tony was on Steve’s side and did everything he could for him, because of course. On top of all this, he looked for Steve for a long time before finding him, because that was just what he needed to do.

Now I’m going to point out MCU Howard’s view on Steve. Howard was instant friends with Steve when they met up properly, and there was a touch of proprietary affection there because Howard helped make him into the person he was. He was his friend, they joked with one another, trusted one another unshakably, and when Howard lost Steve it affected him for the rest of his life. He searched for him in every spare moment, something which affected his relationship with his son. He loved him and practically says as much during the Agent Carter series, which is a point that can’t be stressed enough. 

So, moving on from that point to point two. 

The Company.

Now, I’m a little hazier on Comic Tony’s position on a lot of things to do with this one, and I can’t for the life of me remember if he shut down weapons like MCU Tony did. Was that a thing? If he did, it was certainly far later up the timestream, and definitely not when he came back because he kept Iron Man’s identity a secret. I do know that he built world ending horrors of weapons because he felt it was the best way to deal with certain problems. We also know that he was a very very astute businessman who enjoyed that part of the company, and never actually let go of it while he had a choice about it, because why would he?

We all know MCU Tony got out of the weapon business pretty much at his first real reason to, and never hid being Iron Man. He stopped building horrors on purpose (yes, I admit that Ultron was fumbled badly but he had help with that one), and basically turned to defense rather than offense as his primary weapon. Of course, then there’s the whole ‘here Pepper have my company’ thing which we can all agree that Comic Tony would probably never have done. Not while he was still alive or capable anyway.

And then we have Howard in the MCU. Howard who builds weapons he calls ‘bad babies’ and hides away because of their sheer destructive possibility, who built his company from nothing because it was something he wanted. Howard who ran the company for more than forty years without even seeming to give a hint he’d hand it over to Tony before someone pried it out of his cold dead hands. Howard who was comfortable with the idea of being in a war and staying on that track even after though his first love was planes, once upon a time.

Speaking of love, that brings me to point three of this mess. 

Relationships. 

Everyone knows that Comic Tony is a relationship disaster. He’s a serial dater, with many long and short relationships in his past that usually ended badly for one reason or another. He has a rather vigorous sex life, he takes bets and is comfortable wandering down the street naked because of them, and in general he never really stops, though he’s devoted as can be when he’s with someone.

MCU Tony, while having been with a lot of people, never really dated. Sure, he’d have one night stands, and the fact that he calls Maya an ‘ex-girlfriend’ because of one says a lot about how ill-equipped he is when he gets serious with Pepper. He’s never done this before, and he has no idea what he’s supposed to do. He’s loyal, devoted, and generally content to run with it once he’s there, but it’s still his first real relationship, and that matters. 

Now, back to MCU Howard. In Agent Carter, we learn very quickly that he has a wild sex life, he dates people all the time at varying amounts of intensity, and eventually he ends up with Maria, his wife, and has his son, who never sees his dad’s wild party side, so we can only presume that Maria might very well be why he stopped. After all, Howard used to regularly throw parties and invite in a bunch of half-naked women to run around at the drop of a hat. While not orgies, one should account for the times.

And then the last point. Superhero nonsense and SHIELD.

Comic Tony ends up in charge of an organization like SHIELD briefly, SWORD which I hear was British, as well as SHIELD itself at some point. He’s political, he’s meticulous, and he goes out of his way to make sure that the superhero community is sorted out. He’s one of two people who really got the superhero ball rolling. In essence, he’s a very important person in the super spy and superhero arenas. He likes being in charge of all that, and he has an aptitude for it that he uses.

MCU Tony, bless his heart, is not a politician. He wants nothing to do with running a spy anything, barely wants to be involved with the team at first at all, and most certainly is not a politician. If he was a politician, there was no way he would have been so far behind the curve with the accords. The poor man had no idea what was going on until far too late to do anything about it. That doesn’t mean he wasn’t trying, but he was late to the game, and out of his depth. He’s a businessman, not a politician, and it shows.

MCU Howard, well, let’s just start with him having been accused of treason and still coming out the other side with enough clout to build SHIELD in the first place, shall we? Who does that? He’s a consummate liar, self-admitted, who does anything and everything he must to get where he feels he needs to be. This doesn’t make him a bad man, no, but it does make him ruthless, a trait that his son simply isn’t as good at and Comic Tony is. 

Conclusion, when looking at all this?

MCU Howard is a reflection of Comic Tony. We don’t know what his childhood was like, how good or bad it was, and yes, he wasn’t a very expressive parent to Tony, but he didn’t hurt him either, and we don’t see anything that indicates that he was a drunk the way Comic Howard was. No, he was more likely a severely awkward product of his times that learned to not be as open as he’d been when he was young, which is, interestingly, something that MCU Tony learns as the MCU goes on as well. We can see that in progress.

MCU Howard takes many of Comic Tony’s best traits, and sometimes his worst ones as well, and uses them. They were just set in another era, one with different values than even Comic Tony would have had to deal with, and shaped the man who ended up with them differently. 

All of these Starks are still Starks, they’re still all ridiculous, liable to be kidnapped geniuses, but when people throw down a bunch of Comic Tony headcanons all over MCU Tony it doesn’t make sense, because they’re rather different people. Now, if you look at it from the perspective of MCU Howard being the reflection of Comic Tony, and MCU Tony being the product of that legacy, it’s a different, far more fascinating story.

Sure, the name Tony Stark is still irrevocably linked to the title of Iron Man, but the hows and whys and approach differ wildly, as well as how it’s handled. The core things of who the characters themselves are is a little more important than just what they do, I think, and I thank you all for reading this fascinating parallel that’s become obvious to me over time. 

And that my friends, is all I’ll say about that. For the moment anyway.

P.S. Edwin Jarvis. Enough said.

[theliberaltony]

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

President Trump, officials from his administration and political operation, many Republicans in Congress, and conservative pundits and activists are criticizing special counsel Robert Mueller and his team and questioning the fairness of his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 elections. Liberals see the anti-Mueller campaign — which has cast the investigation as akin to an attempted coup and in the last week escalated to calling for Mueller’s dismissal — as the obvious prelude to Trump firing Mueller.

But it’s best to understand what is happening as an anti-Mueller campaign with four potential goals, only the most dramatic of which is Trump dismissing the special counsel. Fundamentally, this is a campaign to weaken and undermine Mueller, even if he remains in his post.

I should emphasize what seems likely but has not been confirmed directly by Mueller or Trump and his allies (and may in fact not be the case): All of this jockeying is probably about whether Mueller will indict either the president himself or, more likely, Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and one of the few people who has had senior roles in both the 2016 campaign and the White House. It’s not clear whether there are sufficient charges to indict Kushner, but there are indications that he is under serious scrutiny from Mueller. A Kushner indictment would be a huge setback to Trump, not to mention its family dimensions, so scuttling it is likely to be important to the president.

It’s not clear that the anti-Mueller campaign is coordinated, in the sense that congressional Republicans, White House officials and Fox News executives sat in a room together and planned how to attack Mueller and his team. At the same time, the various conservative players seem to be watching each other’s steps, creating what CNN media reporter Brian Stelter has dubbed an “anti-Mueller feedback loop.” For example, you can see anti-Mueller comments first made on Fox News echoed by the president.

Coordinated or not, the anti-Mueller campaign has at least five different elements:

*Attacking Mueller’s team by highlighting text messages that were critical of the president from an FBI official who was on Mueller’s team and donations by some on Mueller’s team to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign.

*Casting Mueller as a bad manager by in effect suggesting he has hired a team of anti-Trump people and let them run wild.

*Calling for a second special counsel to investigate various controversies from Obama’s presidency and Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state — best understood as a kind of “whataboutism” that would weaken Mueller’s probe by normalizing it.

*Investigating the investigation by disputing its methods, especially the FBI’s use of a “dossier” of information on Trump and his team’s connections to Russian officials that was compiled by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele.

*Dictating timelines Mueller has not agreed to by proclaiming that the investigation is winding down or that Mueller’s team has already interviewed everyone at the White House, potentially creating an expectation that Mueller’s probe will be done soon regardless of his actual timetable.

Those elements are being deployed for an array of possible ends. I’ve ordered these potential goals from least to most likely to work:

*Setting up the firing of Mueller — Trump is an unpredictable politician who makes moves that are risky and at times politically unwise. (The firing of FBI director James Comey was a political blunder, but Trump did it anyway.) So I’m not predicting Trump will leave Mueller in place.

That said, firing Mueller would be way, way worse politically than getting rid of Comey. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Mueller (since Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the process), and only he can officially dismiss him. Rosenstein has strongly defended Mueller’s investigation. So Trump would either have to unilaterally change executive branch law to fire Mueller or get rid of Rosenstein, replace him with another DOJ official, and then have that person dump Mueller. It would be Richard Nixon’s “Saturday Night Massacre” all over again.

Would congressional Republicans move to impeach Trump if he fired Mueller? I’m not sure. Here’s what I’m more sure would happen in the wake of a Mueller firing: There would be huge protests across the country; some Republicans (at least outside Congress) would join Democrats in slamming the move; Trump’s already low poll numbers would plunge further; Democrats would become even bigger favorites to take control of the House in the 2018 elections; and a Democrat-controlled House would move to impeach Trump almost as soon as it started meeting in January 2019.

Dismissing Mueller would effectively end Trump’s presidency as we know it, so it would only make political sense if Mueller were about to end Trump’s presidency as we know it anyway (with an indictment of Kushner or the president himself).

*Making Mueller more leery of controversial indictments — All of these anti-Mueller moves fit a strategy of trying to publicly browbeat the special counsel to make him leery of bringing forward a major indictment. Mueller now knows, if he did not already, that indicting Kushner is likely to bring the full force of America’s conservative movement against him.

But I doubt that Mueller, with his long record in top jobs (he was the FBI director on 9/11), would be intimidated by Trump’s team. So I see this goal as one that is also unlikely to succeed.

*Trying to turn the general public against the investigation — This is the goal that has the most precedent. Nixon allies questioned the Watergate investigation, suggesting that the team of then-special prosecutor Archibald Cox had too many staffers with Democratic ties and constituted a “hostile adversary” to the president. Bill Clinton’s allies spent more than a year attacking independent counsel Kenneth Starr.

By November 1998, as Starr was presenting charges to Congress against Clinton in an impeachment hearing, Clinton’s strategy had worked politically. Only 35 percent of Americans approved of the way Starr was handling the probe, compared to 58 percent who disapproved. But this approach might not work for Trump. First, the nature of the core allegation — that he colluded with a foreign government to help sway the 2016 election — is more severe than the charges against Clinton, who was accused of perjury and obstruction of justice in a dispute centered around his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Secondly, Clinton was a president who won the popular and electoral vote twice and had relatively high approval ratings even at the height of Starr’s investigation.

Trump, in contrast, lost the popular vote and has very low approval ratings. And he may lose the public relations battle with Mueller if current trends continue: A recent Quinnipiac poll showed that 58 percent of Americans felt Mueller was conducting a fair investigation, about 20 percentage points higher than the president’s approval rating in the survey.

*Trying to turn Republicans against the investigation — American politics was polarized during the 1970s and 1990s, but there is evidence that the polarization and division between the two parties has grown much larger. So if Trump and his allies are aiming to get the vast majority of Republicans to oppose Mueller’s probe and question its findings, that seems to be a realistic goal.

There is already evidence that anti-Mueller sentiment is taking hold in the GOP. A Pew Research Center poll conducted in late November and early December (so before the latest round of Mueller-bashing) found that about half of Republicans doubted the special counsel would conduct a fair investigation, compared to about a third of the public overall. (Quinnipiac also showed about half of Republicans with concerns about the fairness of the Mueller probe.)

If this strategy succeeds, it could yield huge dividends, since ultimately the impeachment and removal from office of a president is a political process. In the short term, redefining support for Mueller as a liberal stance could prevent congressional Republicans eager to please their bases from defending or protecting the special counsel. So far, various bills to keep Trump from firing Mueller have gone nowhere in Congress, suggesting that this type of legislation has already been successfully painted as anti-Republican. In the long term, if Democrats gain control of the House, Senate, or both, Mueller and his investigation being viewed as anti-Republican could literally save Trump’s presidency. If few or no Republicans support a push for Trump’s removal, he is likely to remain in office even if he is impeached, since removal requires 67 senators and it’s unlikely Democrats will have that large a majority in the near future.

“By going public with criticism, you try and polarize reactions,” said Josh Chafetz, a law professor at Cornell University who studies conflicts between Congress and the executive branch.

Trump and his allies could have all of these goals in mind at once: moving the public but particularly Republicans against Mueller; trying to force him to limit or end his probe; and leaving the door open to getting rid of him. But simply creating a trust gap between Republicans and Mueller helps Trump. And that gap is likely to grow, with Fox News personalities, Republicans on Capitol Hill and the president himself regularly attacking Mueller and his team.

[teamfreewill2pointo]

Dean and Jack’s arc

I’ve seen some people arguing that Dean telling Jack he’s going to be the one to kill him at the end of 13x2 is OOC. I don’t believe it is, so I’m going to address the other instances when Dean has reacted to loss with anger, I’m going to explain why he reacts to loss with anger, and I’ll make some predictions about how I think their relationship will move forward. Basically, I think the situation is more of a repeat of 2.03 than 4.04

Major spoilers for 13x2

First, there are many possible interpretations of this scene. Jack’s actions may not be suicidal, Dean may not have thought of them as suicidal, and “I’m going to be the one to do it” may have been more of a promise than a threat. I love all those interpretations, but for this particular argument, I’m assuming that Dean coded it as suicide and meant it as a threat. My argument is that, even with the most negative view of his actions in that scene, it is in his character to react that way.

As Sam notes in 13x2, Dean’s whole life is built around protecting other people. When he thought that he could no longer save Sam, but would have to kill him, he was suicidal.

5x14

FAMINE: Yes. I noticed that. Have you wondered why that is? How you could even walk in my presence?

DEAN: Well, I like to think it’s because of my strength of character.

FAMINE: I disagree. (Famine moves closer to Dean and touches him) Yes. I see. That’s one deep, dark nothing you got there, Dean. Can’t fill it, can you? Not with food or drink. Not even with sex.

DEAN: Oh, you’re so full of crap.

FAMINE: Oh, you can smirk and joke and lie to your brother, lie to yourself, but not to me! I can see inside you, Dean. I can see how broken you are, how defeated. You can’t win, and you know it. But you just keep fighting. Just… keep going through the motions. You’re not hungry, Dean, because inside, you’re already…dead.

Now Dean has lost Castiel, Mary, and Crowley. He thinks Sam’s too close to Jack and is going to get himself killed. Dean, who has built his life around protecting his loved ones, has failed to protect 3 people he cares about (I wouldn’t call Crowley a loved one, but he did care for him) and is completely unable to protect Sam, his last rock.

To understand Dean, I think the most important foundational aspect is to recognize that he never wanted to go into hunting.

1x11

DEAN: Sam. You were right. You gotta do your own thing. You gotta live your own life.

SAM: Are you serious?

DEAN: You’ve always known what you want. And you go after it. You stand up to Dad. And you always have. Hell, I wish I—anyway….I admire that about you. I’m proud of you, Sammy.

He can’t even bring himself to say it because it’s a wish he can’t have. As long as his dad needs him, he’s going to stay with him because Dean is, at his core, a protector. A fixer.

7x1

DEAN: Imma fix this car. Because that’s what I can do. I can work on her ‘til she’s mint. And when Sam wakes up, no matter what shape he’s in, we’ll glue him back together too. We owe him that.

If he can’t protect or fix his loved ones, he gets frustrated and, as Sam notes in 13x2, he turns frustration into anger.

7x2

DEAN (on phone): You cannot be in that crater back there. I can’t… If you’re gone, I swear, I am going to strap my Beautiful Mind brother into the car and I’m gonna drive us off the pier. You asked me how I was doing? Well, not good! Now you said you’d be here. Where are you?

Now I could see some saying that he wasn’t serious when he made this comment, but Dean has a history of directing violence towards people in his vicinity, including loved ones, when he’s upset over loss in the early seasons. In later seasons, he still becomes violent when upset, although it’s less likely to be directed at Sam.

In 1x01, he pushes Sam against a bridge after Sam says “Even if we do find the thing that killed her, Mom’s gone. And she isn’t coming back.“

In 2.22, he yells at and pushes Bobby for suggesting they put Sam to rest.

In 7x03, he punches Sam hard enough to knock him flat and leave a bruise after Sam leaves in a situation where Dean’s already very keyed up and upset over people being lost.

In 2x03, which is a great parallel to our current situation Dean’s upset over John’s death.

DEAN: Yeah. Yeah, you know. He was just one of those guys. Took some terrible beatings, just kept coming. So you’re always thinking to yourself, he’s indestructible. He’ll always be around, nothing can kill my dad. Then just like that (snaps) he’s gone. I can’t talk about this to Sammy. You know, I gotta keep my game face on. (clears throat) But, uh, the truth is I’m not handling it very well. Feel like I have this -

GORDON: Hole inside you? And it just gets bigger and bigger and darker and darker? Good. You can use it. Keeps you hungry. Trust me. There’s plenty out there needs killing, and this’ll help you do it. Dean, it’s not a crime to need your job.

Dean wants to kill a bunch of vampires that Sam begs him to spare because they haven’t killed people.

DEAN: What part of ‘vampires’ don’t you understand, Sam? If it’s supernatural, we kill it, end of story. That’s our job.

SAM: No, Dean, that is not our job. Our job is hunting evil. And if these things aren’t killing people, they’re not evil!

DEAN: Of course they’re killing people, that’s what they do. They’re all the same, Sam. They’re not human, okay? We have to exterminate every last one of them.

As the conversation continues, Dean insists Gordon has the right idea and Sam tells him Ellen warned him about Gordon. It continues:

SAM: You know, you slap on this big fake smile but I can see right through it. Because I know how you feel, Dean. Dad’s dead. And he left a hole, and it hurts so bad you can’t take it, but you can’t just fill up that hole with whoever you want to. It’s an insult to his memory.

DEAN: Okay.

He starts to turn away, then punches SAM, hard. SAM pauses, turning back slowly, but not rising to the bait.

SAM: You hit me all you want. It won’t change anything.

DEAN: I’m going to that nest. You don’t want to tell me where it is, fine. I’ll find it myself.

Sam recognizes that Dean isn’t angry at him. Dean’s upset over the loss of their father and taking it out on Sam. Despite being angry enough to punch his brother, Dean ends up helping Sam save the vampires instead of slaughtering them. Gordon tries to remind Dean of their parallels.

GORDON: You’re not like your brother. You’re a killer. Like me.

…

DEAN: You know, I might be like you, and I might not.

So Dean does have a history of being angry after a loss, but why is Dean’s anger so openly directed at Jack?

First, there’s the possibility that Sam’s wrong and Dean’s right. Interestingly enough, one of these times where Dean is right and Sam is wrong around someone’s ability to chose good over evil is another character named Jack. I don’t believe that is just a coincidence.

In 4.04, we encounter a man named Jack who is a rougarou, although he doesn’t know it yet. Dean argues he must be killed. Sam argues that he can be saved. In the end, Sam kills Jack to save them both when Jack goes dark side.

Sam’s obsession with redemption and forgiveness is also one of his flaws and Dean recognizes this. Dean generally has better instincts than Sam, although not always.

Many times, Dean has given his trust only be betrayed, most recently at the hands of the British Men of Letters. Dean’s always been more cautious than Sam when it comes to trust in Supernatural creatures.

Another explanation is that he’s upset Jack opened the rift, which led to deaths of Castiel and (presumably) Mary. While I do think part of it is Dean blaming Jack for their deaths, I think it’s more than just that.

There are huge parallels between Dean’s actions now and seasons 2-5 along with 7. In 2-5, Dean was also given a save or kill option (instruction really). Since it was Sam, Dean refused to even consider the kill option, even when Sam literally begged him to.

2x11

SAM: I need you to watch out for me.

DEAN: Yeah. I always do.

SAM: No! No, no, no. You have to watch out for me, all right? And if I ever … turn into something that I’m not … (beat) you have to kill me.

DEAN: (dismissive) Sam.

SAM: (shoving DEAN to face him) Dean! Dad told you to do it, you have to.

DEAN: Yeah, well, Dad’s an ass. (SAM frowns in confusion) He never should have said anything. I mean, you don’t do that, you don’t, you don’t lay that kind of crap on your kids.

SAM: No. He was right to say it! Who knows what I might become? Even now, everyone around me dies!

DEAN: Yeah, well, I’m not dying, okay? And neither are you. [ T_T ] Come on. Sam.

All of that changed in season 4. Dean experienced hell where he was physically and emotionally torn apart. Dean always had more black and white thinking when it came to monsters compared to Sam, but this is understandably turned up after his time in hell, where Dean’s experiences gave him PTSD.

On a personal level, my husband is a lot like Dean in that he used to be a combat medic because, to quote Harry Potter, he has a “saving people thing”. He went to Afghanistan and came back with much more anger than he ever had before, in part because of all the people he couldn’t save. One of the reasons I married him was because he never got angry before he left for combat. He’s out of the military now, and is doing much better now that we are in a civilian life. I’ve seen first hand how war and violence can corrupt a person who is inherently good.

In 4, Dean returned to a Sam that Dean could no longer trust not to go dark side. Personally, I’ve always wondered how much of this in due to Dean himself going dark side in hell. I suspect that some part of him thinks that anyone can be turned - it’s just a matter of time. And really, I think he’s right. They have to keep Jack safe from the angels and the demons. Jack is easily manipulated and led. Even if Sam and Dean do everything right, Jack could accidentally go big bad.

When Sam let Lucifer out of the cage, Dean fully lost his ability to believe in Sam.

5x1

DEAN: And I know how sorry you are. I do. But, man…you were the one that I depended on the most. And you let me down in ways that I can’t even…

DEAN pauses, struggling for words.

DEAN: I’m just—I’m having a hard time forgiving and forgetting here. You know?

SAM: What can I do?

DEAN: Honestly? Nothing.

SAM nods a little, looking down: this doesn’t surprise him.

DEAN: I just don’t…I don’t think that we can ever be what we were. You know?

SAM nods again: this isn’t a surprise either.

DEAN: I just don’t think I can trust you.

SAM looks up: this he wasn’t expecting. DEAN shakes his head and walks away, pausing at the trunk of the Impala to look back, then gets into the driver’s seat.

When Dean no longer believed in Sam, he no longer believed in the power of love to save Sam, which he used to believe in seasons 2 & 3, when he still thought he could save Sam. We can see this clearly in season 5, when Dean decides to go say yes to Michael and explains why to Sam.

SAM: Well, do you think maybe you could take a half a second and stop trying to sacrifice yourself for a change? Maybe we could actually stick together?

DEAN: I don’t think so.

SAM: Why not? Dean, seriously. Tell me. I—I want to know.

DEAN: I just…I—I don’t believe.

SAM: In what?

DEAN: In you. I mean, I don’t. I don’t know whether it’s gonna be demon blood or some other demon chick or what, but…I do know they’re gonna find a way to turn you.

SAM: So you’re saying I’m not strong enough.

DEAN: You’re angry, you’re self-righteous. Lucifer’s gonna wear you to the prom, man. It’s just a matter of time.

SAM: Don’t say that to me. Not you…of all people.

DEAN: I don’t want to. But it’s the truth. And when Satan takes you over, there’s got to be somebody there to fight him, and it ain’t gonna be that kid. So, it’s got to be me.

In the end, Dean was wrong. Sam didn’t need someone to fight him - he needed someone to love him. It was love that saved the world. And what will it be this time? Does Jack need someone to fight him? Is he evil?

I suspect that Dean’s right and Jack will go dark side. I think that it’s likely Jack will kill someone the Winchesters care about. I suspect that Sam’s right and that love will bring him back on a redemption because that’s the ultimate theme of Supernatural. (And they enjoy handing out redemption arcs like candy.)

It was Sam’s faith in and love for Dean that stopped Dean from saying yes to Michael.

It was Dean’s faith in and love for Sam that allowed Sam to take control of Lucifer.

It was Sam’s faith in and love for Castiel that brought him back from the dark side and put him on a redemption path.

It was Dean’s faith in and love for Castiel that overcame his brainwashing.

It was Sam’s faith in and love for Dean that stopped him from killing Sam under the influence of the Mark of Cain.

It was Sam’s faith in and love for his friends and family that gave him strength to say no to Lucifer a second time.

It was Chuck’s love that stopped Amara from destroying the world.

It was Dean’s faith in and love for his mom that brought her back from brainwashing.

So why isn’t Dean giving the Power of Love a greater chance? The obvious answer is partly what I mentioned above: Jack can be manipulated and they’ve been burned before. Sam trusted Ruby and started the apocalypse. Dean trusted Gadreel, which resulted in the death of Kevin. They trusted the BMoL and were nearly killed by them.

I think it’s about more than that though. Dean’s never believed in himself as worthy of being saved, of having the possibly of being saved, so it’s hard for him to believe that others can be saved.

See Dean in 4x1 versus Sam in 2x13 on the subject of angels:

4x1

DEAN: I mean what are you?

CASTIEL: I’m an Angel of the Lord.

DEAN: Get the hell out of here. There’s no such thing.

…

DEAN: Well, I’m not buying what you’re selling, so who are you really?

CASTIEL: (frowning) I told you.

DEAN: Right. And why would an angel rescue me from Hell?

CASTIEL: Good things do happen, Dean.

DEAN: Not in my experience.

CASTIEL: What’s the matter? You don’t think you deserve to be saved?

2x13

SAM: I don’t know, Dean, I just, uh … (he sits on the bed) I wanted to believe … so badly, ah ��� It’s so damn hard to do this, what we do. You’re all alone, you know? And … there’s so much evil out there in the world, Dean, I feel like I could drown in it. And when I think about my destiny, when I think about how I could end up…

DEAN: (sitting on the bed beside him) Yeah, well, don’t worry about that. All right? I’m watching out for you.

SAM: Yeah, I know you are. But you’re just one person, Dean. And I needed to think that there was something else, watching too, you know? Some higher power. Some greater good. And that maybe …

DEAN: Maybe what?

SAM: (with tears in his eyes) Maybe I could be saved.

Just like Dean’s love for Sam allowed Sam to defeat the archangels and save the world, Dean was saved from his suicide mission by Sam’s belief in him.

In 5.18, Sam says that he could tell Dean wanted to say yes and asks why he didn’t.

DEAN: Honestly? The damnedest thing. I mean, the world’s ending. The walls are coming down on us, and I look over to you and all I can think about is, “this stupid son of a bitch brought me here.” I just didn’t want to let you down.

SAM: You didn’t. You almost did. But you didn’t.

DEAN: I owe you an apology.

SAM: No, man. No, you don’t.

DEAN: Just…let me say this. I don’t know if it’s being a big brother or what, but to me, you’ve always been this snot-nosed kid that I’ve had to keep on the straight and narrow. I think we both know that that’s not you anymore. I mean, hell, if you’re grown-up enough to find faith in me…the least I can do is return the favor.

It was Sam’s faith and love for Dean that pulled him back from that edge. In episodes 1 and 2 of season 13, Dean’s just a guy doing a job who’s lost almost everything and thinks he’s about to lose everything when Jack goes dark and kills Sam. Sam’s faith and love in Dean is no longer enough to pull Dean back from the edge because Dean thinks Sam’s faith and love is blinding him to reality of Jack (and I do think he’s right).

I predict that Castiel’s return will give Dean that space to have faith and hope again. From the very first moment that they met, Castiel recognized what Dean was lacking:

4x1

CASTIEL: This is your problem, Dean. You have no faith.

It was Castiel’s betrayal and death in season 7 that sent Dean on a spiral dark enough to contemplate murdering Sam. With Castiel’s return mid season, Dean was able to have faith again.

Ultimately, although things may seem to go the way of 4.04, I’ll expect Dean’s journey with Jack will end up the same way he did in 2.03:

DEAN: I wish we never took this job. It’s jacked everything up.

SAM: What do you mean?

DEAN: Think about all the hunts we went on, Sammy, our whole lives.

SAM: Okay.

DEAN: What if we killed things that didn’t deserve killing? You know? I mean, the way Dad raised us…

SAM: Dean, after what happened to Mom, Dad did the best he could.

DEAN: I know he did. But the man wasn’t perfect. And the way he raised us, to hate those things; and man, I hate 'em. I do. When I killed that vampire at the mill I didn’t even think about it; hell, I even enjoyed it.

SAM: You didn’t kill Lenore.

DEAN: No, but every instinct told me to. I was gonna kill her. I was gonna kill 'em all.

SAM: Yeah, Dean, but you didn’t. And that’s what matters.

@chiisana-sukima

[lovedtooeasily]

EXTENDED INFORMATION

Full name: Rebekah Frigga Mikaelson !! Date of birth: July 4th, 982 !! Zodiac sign: Cancer !! Totem: Bear !! Myers-Briggs personality: ENFP !! Location on the isle: 843 Maple rd !!

1. What color is your character’s hair?

Streaked with highlights from the radiant sun in the summer time, her hair’s typically a blend of medium blonde and golden.

2. What color are your character’s eyes?

Her eyes hold the depth of the ocean in a brilliant cerulean blue.

3. What color is your character’s skin?

Putting aside the multitude of diversely pigmented freckles, her skin’s generally a youthful shade of alabaster.

4. What special aesthetic characteristics does your character have?

Tough exterior, soft interior.

5. Does your character have any piercings? Tattoos?

No, absolutely not. She’s not big on body modifications and prefers to dress modestly.

6. What’s the sexiest physical characteristic of your character?

Naturally full lips and a posture that’s perfectly poised.

7. What’s the ugliest physical characteristic of your character?

Deep set eyes and a heavy set brow. bonus: Rebekah’s insecure about the way she looks, how she dresses, where she was seen and sometimes even for what she thinks or says because of her intense fear of abandonment. That falsified confidence she encompasses is always so quick to waver at the worst of times. When left by herself to criticize every microscopic little detail, nothing distinctive comes to mind as she convinces herself that she’s just not good enough.

8. What does your character wear?

Designer brand tank-tops with a matching over coat faded blue jeans and combat boots. 

bonus: She’s a medium build and with modesty as her mask all her insecurities are safely hidden just beneath the surface.

9. When your character smiles, what does their smile look like?

They’re as everchanging as the lunar phases. Both corners of her mouth slowly turn up to dimple her cheeks and only moments before a break in her full lips reveal a radiant set of  pearly white teeth you’ll hear a soft laughter fall. Each cycle is different as it passes, but none are less beautiful.

10. What does your character���s laugh sound like?

She laughs as freely as she’s meant to live. Her laughter twirls about the room like a child’s spinning top, it’s just as vibrant and heart warming as the laughs that escape her most subtle grin; moving about the people in a such chaotic way that one might forget how deadly her bite can be. Each one comes out in fits and bursts, and it’s like nothing you’ve ever heard before only it sounds all too familiar because you have. Sometimes it can be loud and throaty, and other times it can be high-pitched and delicate. From loud to soft; soft to silent and then back to loud again. bonus: Light hearted banter with her siblings.

11. What is your character’s normal style of speech?

Rebekah as well as the rest of her siblings have a thickly laden British accent. Each of the Mikaelson siblings at one point or another tends to speak more formally than required during certain interactions. She’s very expressive in the way that she engages in conversation, but that can be quite problematic when she’s trying not to let others know her true identity for the sake of living a normal life. bonus: “Klaus! Get out here and tell me what you've done with our brother, you narcissistic, backstabbing wanker!” & “Has history taught you nothing? We don’t abandon you, Nik, you drive us away.”

12. How does your character express/handle anger?

That soley depends on the reason she's angry. However, of all the Mikaelson children Rebekah and her brother Kol are tempered much like their father Mikael. So physical altercations are highly likely.

13. Does your character cry?

Yes, quite frequently. Rebekah's very expressive in terms of emotions and doesn't care who knows it. Often times letting them control her instead of being in control of them. bonus: Loss of a lover or family member. Not just in death, but to betrayal.

14. How easy is it for other people to read your character’s emotions?

Rebekah's more or less an open book to everyone she meets due to an inability to control her emotions. However, when necessary; usually for the sake of her family, it's been proven she can control her tempermant just enough to keep them from whatever danger lurks.

15. Is your character religious?

Rebekah finds herself drawn to all types of faith. However, growing up she practiced the Old Norse religion. Very devoutly.

16. How does your character view those of other faiths?

Are they tolerant or rigid? Do they condemn or judge others for their differing beliefs? Do they feel judged themselves?

17. What are your character’s core values?

What, above all else, does your character feel must be conserved in the world? Family? Freedom? Beauty? Connection? Kindness? Hope?

18. How willing is your character to fight for those values?

Are they held only as aesthetic values or is your character willing to fight for them? How committed are they to their beliefs?

19. What is your character’s favorite food?

Not Indian food, pizza, burritos. Be specific (e.g., “chicken tikka masala,” “pineapple pizza with extra cheese,” “freshly baked french bread topped with herb-infused cheese”).

20. What is your character’s favorite color?

Not green, blue, pink. Be specific (e.g., “pastel pink,” “teal,” “the color of mist on the mountain right after a storm”).

21. What are your character’s sleeping preferences?

Are they an early bird or a night owl? A heavy sleeper or a light sleeper? Do they sleep short hours or long? Can they sleep easily or are they an insomniac? bonus: What position does your character typically sleep in?

22. What is your character’s sexual identity?

What gender/sexuality identity do they declare? Does this differ from their internal experience? Where might they fall on the Kinsey scale?

23. What are your character’s sexual preferences?

Are they sexually conservative or liberal? How comfortable must they be with a person to have sex with them? What meaning does sex have for them? What type of play do they enjoy during sex? bonus: What sexual experiences or choices does your character feel especially good or bad about?

24. What type of music does your character like?

Rebekah’s taste in music evolves with time. She enjoys anything that gets her out and on the dance floor, away from all the family drama and one step closer to a normal life. bonus: Elastic Heart by Sia.

25. What is your character’s birthday?

July 4th, 982. bonus: Cancer fits her personality almost perfectly, but she’s very quick to fall in love whereas it’s predicted that others with this astrological sign are not.

26. What family structure did your character have growing up?

Were they an only child? Adopted? Raised by a single parent? Part of a nuclear family?

27. How well did your character get along with their family?

Are the relationships strained? Do they have a sense of belonging there?

28. What is the worst thing your character has ever done?

This should be according to your character’s beliefs. What are they most ashamed of from the past? Why did that deed stick with them?

29. What is the best thing your character has ever done?

What are they most proud of from their past? Why did that deed stick with them?

30. What is the most significant romantic encounter of your character’s past?

Who broke their heart? Whose heart did they break? Or are they as of yet inexperienced with love?

31. Has your character ever been in love?

Is that good thing or a bad thing?

32. Has your character ever been in lust?

Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

33. What is your character’s level of sexual experience?

Are they a virgin? A sexual adventurer?

34. What is your character’s most embarrassing moment?

Tell the full story.

35. What is your character’s biggest goal in life?

Everyone has a narrative that structures their life. What objectives is your character moving toward? If they lack a strong objective, how does that impact their behavior and outlook?

36. What does your character believe is their greatest virtue?

Do others agree or disagree?

37. What does your character believe is their greatest vice?

Do others agree or disagree?

38. What motivates your character most?

Are they driven by sex, money, connection, fame, pride, respect? Are they honest with themselves and others about these motives? 

39. Is your character objective-oriented?

If so, what are some goals they have accomplished in the past?

40. Would your character rather be a great person or a good person?

Sometimes in life we have to choose; which of these is more important to them?

41. Would your character rather be hated for being who they are or loved for pretending to be someone else?

Sometimes in life we have to choose; which of these is more important to them?

42. Is your character an introvert, extrovert, or ambivert?

Consider introversion and extroversion as a gradient rather than a multiple-choice question. How introverted or extroverted are they, and when do these characteristics manifest?

43. Is your character creatively expressive?

If so, how do they express that creativity? How much of their sense of identity is tied to that creative expression?

44. What’s your character’s disorder?

Manic-depressive? Obsessive-compulsive? Attention-deficit? Anxiety? Narcissism? We’re all crazy. What’s their crazy’s name?

45. What is your character’s standard emotional state?

How happy or sad are they normally? What is their go-to emotion when things get rough?

46. Is your character materialistic?

What experiences or beliefs are linked to this? bonus: What are some of your character’s prized possessions?

47. What is your character’s major learning style?

Are they auditory, visual, kinesthetic, or some combination?

48. What question isn’t on this questionnaire that your character is just burning to answer?

What question would really allow them to talk about what they feel is important in their life, outlook, and experience?

49. I am a _________. How would your character complete that sentence?

"I’m an original, sweetheart.”

50. Life is an act of _________ing. What verb would your character use to complete that sentence?

“Growing... First rule of truly living: Do what you're most afraid of.”

[thisgeekyteacher]

The months they go so fast, and May disappeared in a whirl of outwith the norm events. What with many comings and goings, a whole week in Cumbria and more train journeys than I’d really like to make in a month, I’ve made it to June more battered and broken than when I started.

I’ll be honest, I don’t really know what to put in here regarding the news. Brexit is a nightmare, Trump is no better, and News the world over is just miserable. So I think I’ll go with something that hit home for me.

My heart broke when I read about the sinking of the tourist boat on the Danube in Hungary. It is all the more heart wrenching as the wounds scored into the psyche of the nation as a result of the Sewol tragedy are still smarting. This has been close to the bone.

It also made me afraid. Afraid that I might know someone on that boat. True, the chances were slim, but I have met so many Koreans who have made clear their wishes to travel abroad, and many of them since have. I didn’t want any of my friends to be on the boat.

I hope that recovery operations in Hungary are swifter than they were for Sewol, and I hope everyone is found.

I’ve mentioned this book in the up-coming Reading Nook post, but it’s that good that I’m putting it here as well!

If you’re fascinated by Jack the Ripper, this isn’t necessarily a shoe-in. If you are fascinated by Victorian London in general, then this is a perfect read.

Hallie Rubenhold has clearly researched into every nook and cranny, digging up every little tit-bit of information relating to Jack the Ripper’s victims, and gives them their names and lives, immortalising them – Polly, Annie, Elizabeth, Catherine and Mary Kelly – as more than victims, as more than the prostitutes they were always assumed to be.

It’s a heart wrenching read and, and it’s very core, highlights without even having to put into words, how similar women’s situations are now. It is still an automatic assumption that a woman has fallen, that she is lesser, that she is sex worker, if she is in any way perceived to have “fallen” below society’s standards.

We have a long way to go.

I’ve still been slowly making my way through bones, and in the BF’s week of ill, a lot of of the Netflix shows were consumed. I’m now very used to the background noise of people being beaten to a pulp. That or football…

Some of the shows are great, some seem to just dole out the violence for violence’s sake, but as I’ve mostly been passively watching. The roster has been made up of Luke Cage, The Punisher and Daredevil. Luke Cage appears to have a stellar OST, and Daredevil has it’s captivating moments, but The Punisher does nothing for me!

I think we’re nearly at the end now, so hopefully there will be something less noisily violent gracing our TV screens.

More Marvel, this time Endgame.

I know I’m going to get some flack for this, but though I’m satisfied with the ending, the getting there was less gratifying. I could have done with film about half the length, or at least sped up, and I got so frustrated that I nearly left.

I am still deeply unimpressed with how a couple of the characters were dealt with; whilst I understand the point of the exercise, I feel it was handled badly and it left a sour taste. Man it’s hard to write an opinion piece on a movie you don’t want to spoil.

Whilst I would recommend seeing it, because… Endgame, I can’t sit here and say it’s going to blow your mind. It rounds out the Infinity Saga nicely, and sets up the next chapter. I’m going to miss this generation of Marvel, but I believe that what’s coming will be fantastic.

Those in the know are more than aware that I’m not remotely fussy about music genre, I will listen to anything and everything that sings to me. They will also know that I love me a good K-Pop release. What they might not know, is that of some of my favourite Korean artists, the Japanese releases outweigh the success of their Korean ones.

In May, we were treated to Seventeen’s newest Japanese release, Happy Ending. I’ve been disappointed In Seventeen’s recent Korean releases, they’ve just not quite been there. Happy Ending happily bucks this trend.

It’s a treat, being able to consume music from one group in two different national markets. Whilst there are Korean rock groups, and excellent ones at that, you will generally find this sound is more readily accepted in Japan than in Korea.

May has been changeable, weather-wise, and there has been much need for an interim jacket. I’ve not had the greatest of need for one before now – both Hong Kong and Korea are not known for their prolonged seasonal transitions. This year I acquired a second-hand Burberry trench coat that isn’t an colour of cream/beige that makes me look sick, and I have been rocking it (if I do say so myself). It’s a fast way to lift an outfit into something a little more put together.

I was rained upon immediately after this photo, however. The sunnies are a complete and utter lie. Oh, London weather! And now we’re in June and it’s chucking it down outside – a classic British summer. Why did I come back again?

Given this guy a wash, so he’s a wee bit damp!

This months revelation is not a product, but a tool! I have been into sponges for a million-and-one years, and for some reason, in recent months they’ve not been doing the job for me. Personally, I’m going to put that down to my Korean stash has finally run out and those on offer in the UK just aren’t up to par (and no, I’m not going to pay silly money for a sponge).

In light of this, I turned to the make up brushes, picked one that looked like it might be halfway decent for foundation, and gave it a whirl. I haven’t looked back since. Who knows why something that hasn’t worked before is working now,  but it does and I’m loving it.

As I slowly march through the endless collection of recipes at my disposal, there have been two of note this may:

On the right we have a smokey pork and black bean recipe from BBC Good Food, technically a taco recipe that instead had with salad to make a frankensteined buritto bowl. On the left we have a gluten free bread recipe from one of the plethora of LEON books I have. If you’re interested in them, I recommend keeping an eye on kindle prices!

The frankensteined burrito bowl was a huge success, and I enjoyed it for many a packed lunch – I packed my salad and meat separately, heated the meat at work and threw it all together with a smidge of cheese and a dollop of soured cream (technical terms there).

The bread, though no unsuccessful, was odd. It’s gluten free, it was always going to be odd. It looked more cakey than any bread I’ve ever come across, but was also dense, without being heavy. I found this bread to be very enjoyable, just as long as you are of the full understanding that it is not, nor is it ever going to be, regular bread!

Stunning photo, I believe from the press performance

The boy and I managed to get tickets to see English National Opera’s production of Faust, at their home in Covent Garden. The Opera House is a stunning mixture of sleek modernity in the foyer/bar and old fashioned opulence in the theatre itself, right down to the patrons; there were some tail coats spotted, and one lady in the most fabulous, sparking red dress. Opera attendance aspirations right there!

Faust (the French version by Charles Gounod, at least I think so!) was long, funny, long some more, rousing, opulent, disturbing and a spectacle.  Méphistophélès appearance in the second half (end of Act IV or beginning of Act V, I’ll be honest I’m not sure, all the Act’s melted into one) was fabulous; the scene stealer of the evening.

After the opera, we (one of our friends was in the production) headed off to China town for a bite to eat, and had this amazing aubergine number that I can’t for the life of me remember the name or make up of. Let this post serve as a reminder to the boy that we need to go have that again (a test to see if he reads the blog, perhaps…)

This month, the best place I have been is the Garden up in Cumbria. Getting through May felt like a war of attrition. There were highs and there were really, really dark lows. Being able to get home was a saving grace, and I was lucky enough to be able to experience some amazing weather. Here’s a wee photo of Colin  the pheasant strutting about like he owns the place, to a stunning back drop. Who needs filters when you live in the countryside! 

2019 has been a good year for the family. My nephew (hereafter nephew the first) arrived in January, and he is the spitting image of my brother, so much so it’s hilarious. In May, another member of the family arrived, another wee lad, to my cousin. It’s far too convoluted to go through the whole relation nomenclature rigmarole, so I’m just going to stick with nephew the second. He is adorable, with So. Much. Hair (quite unlike nephew the first, who is so blonde he looks bald), and I’m so damn proud of my cousin I could cry. I mean I will, I’m a crier. I can’t wait to go meet the wee lad and get in some of those baby cuddles!

  Re-Cap:

So May wasn’t all bad, despite the low parts of the month. I got some in some solid hours at home, we gained another new addition to the family, the boy and I got a wee trip tp the opera and he got to enjoy some of my food aspiration experiments (though apparently not enough, according to him, which is difficult when he’s more of a savory guy and I am all about that baking!)

Here’s hoping that June is a great month for all of us!

  If you would like to support TGT, head over to my Kofi:

  Last Month Today | May 2019 The months they go so fast, and May disappeared in a whirl of outwith the norm events.

[drinkthehalo]

Supernatural Season 12 - the Mary Winchester storyline

Of all the ridiculous things… I’ve fallen down the Supernatural rabbit hole.

Supernatural is the last fandom I’d have expected to sneak up on me. I stopped watching years ago and had been wishing that someone would put it out of its misery.

But then a few weeks ago, my friend mentioned that Sam and Dean’s mother was on the show as a regular character.  It piqued my curiosity.  A story that’s actually about the Winchester family, not the internal politics of Heaven or whatever random boring nonsense that caused me to stop watching?

So long story short - I was just in Shanghai (for the third time!) and when I wasn’t running around a dark hotel or drinking at a bar, I was waking up at 5am, jetlagged and half drunk, mainlining SPN. (Watching it in bed on my phone! Ha.)

To my complete shock, seasons 11 and 12 are GREAT. It's like the show took stock of everything it was doing wrong, remembered what had once made it awesome, and set about methodically fixing it.

If you are someone who also gave up on the show - watch 11x04 “Baby.” It made me laugh, made me cry, made me literally want to hug my television. It was such a gift to the audience, and a promise to do better. Proof that the show can still be absolutely wonderful when it puts in the effort.

Also, Dean Winchester. He’s one of the best fictional characters I’ve ever seen; he's so fucked up and he's also the most lovable thing ever. His combination of strength, fragility, competence, darkness, sweetness, silliness… His heroism and idealism and fatalism and self-abnegation… His joie de vivre, suicidal impulses, bitterness, weariness, ridiculousness and awkwardness… His badassery and heroism and codependence and tragedy.

Such a complex beautiful mess. Narratively, he is the gift that keeps on giving, the reason the show has lasted twelve years - you can just keep throwing stories at him and you get the most fascinating results.

I will be writing more about SPN. Sorry if you’re just here for the immersive theatre posts!

Here are my thoughts on the Mary Winchester storyline, which I LOVED -

It’s a complex, messy, fascinating story, where nobody is completely right and nobody is completely wrong, and you can sympathize with every character. It brings the show right back to the core of what made it good and interesting.

The three key things I loved about it:

I was pleasantly surprised at how it subverted my expectations

Mary herself was relatable, interesting, complex, and her choices raised intriguing ethical questions

Mary’s presence provided an opportunity to dive into the psychology and issues of Dean (especially) and Sam in a way we haven’t seen before

As soon as I heard that Mary was back, I was simultaneously afraid of the ways it could go wrong, and deeply intrigued by the possibilities it raised.

The most interesting thing the show had going on in its early days was the complexity of the boys’ relationship with their father. The success of Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s career was a tragedy for Supernatural - once he was gone it just never had the same emotional intensity, though they did interesting things with flashbacks and time travel and pseudo-father figures.

But Mary - Mary has that same intense emotional resonance. She was the first character we saw in the Pilot, Dean’s deepest wish (in arguably the best episode of the show, 2x20) and Dean’s Heaven (5x16), the key to Dean’s character.

"I know [my mother] wanted me to be brave. I think about that every day. And I do my best to be brave." - Dean from 1x03 - what an amazing through-line to a story still unfolding twelve years later!

But… Supernatural doesn’t have a great track record with female characters. The original sin of the show - the reason I’ve always been a bit ambivalent about loving it so much - is how it portrays women as symbols that matter only in relation to men. The Pilot is egregious. Mary and Jess, in their ridiculous frilly white nightgowns, dying as motivation for the men to embark on their quests. In Supernatural, men have journeys. Men are subjects, with destinies, and “work to do.”  Men are multi-dimensional characters. Women are objects (in the early seasons - it’s gotten way better recently). We barely know Mary and Jess as characters, and don’t need to. Their deaths are not even about them; they’re about what they do to Sam and Dean.

Usually when Mary reappears in the show, it’s as a symbol, the embodiment of the ideal of motherhood. The love, safety, and care that Dean longs for. (Sam, interestingly, does not long for Mary the same way, both because he doesn’t remember her and because he had Dean as his mother figure. I have always adored that parallel, that Dean is like Mary and Sam is like John, which so subverts our expectations of how they present their gender roles, tough guy Dean and sensitive Sam.)

So my fear of season twelve was that we’d still see Mary a symbol. And THANK GOD they were smart enough to completely subvert that expectation, and make the story ABOUT the fact that Mary is an individual human being, not an ideal personification of motherhood.

When we meet this version of Mary, her whole world has been taken from her. Her husband is dead, her small children are lost to her. Her friends are thirty years older, or dead. I love how the show handles Mary’s reaction to the ubiquity of smartphones. It’s not a joke about moms being bad at technology. It’s profoundly disconcerting. It’s sad and strange, especially for a person so smart and competent to suddenly be in a world where she lacks foundational knowledge - it’s almost like everyone else speaks another language.  She doesn’t fit.

So she tries to find her way. She’s a fully-realized person, just as conflicted and complex as Sam and Dean, with her own goals, flaws, fears, vulnerabilities. (And THANK GOD she’s tough, not in need of her childrens’ protection.) 

I imagine myself in her position - with these two well-meaning, overwhelming adult children tracking her every move - and I completely understand her need to break away and carve a space for herself. The pressure and weight of their expectation, on top of everything else she’s going through, would be overwhelming.

As with the best writing in Supernatural, Mary makes choices that are not entirely wrong and not entirely right. Her embrace of the British Men of Letters is driven by guilt that her deal with Azazel destroyed her childrens’ lives, and her own need create a purpose for her life in this strange new world, and a sincere belief that it really will make the world a better place. It’s the same kind of complex psychological motivations that would drive Sam or Dean. (I have a whole other post brewing about that storyline, and about the unique and brilliant way that Supernatural’s handles moral ambiguity.)

Mary’s reaction to her adult children was so unexpected, but so right. One of those character-deepening twists that make perfect sense in retrospect.

Mary struggles with Dean, and connects more with Sam. This is what I mean about Supernatural being great at subverting expectations - because we’ve spent the entire series knowing that Dean is the one most shaped by Mary - the one who remembers her, who dreams of her, who longs for her, who can’t even say her name without flinching. And Sam is the one who doesn’t remember her - who tells Dean in the Pilot “If it weren't for pictures I wouldn't even know what Mom looks like.”

But it makes perfect sense. Sam, without the weight of a lifetime of expectations, treats Mary as an individual and tries to understand her needs. Dean struggles to see beyond what Mary means to him, and what he needs from her. Dean’s love is overwhelming, and suffocating.

There’s this great line in season twelve - I can’t remember where, but it’s when Sam and Dean are talking about the British Men of Letters, not quite agreeing or disagreeing, and Sam says something like “I know you think [whatever]” and Dean interrupts and says “WE think.” (Sorry, I need to rewatch and dig up the quote.) It’s borderline abusive, and it must be exhausting for Sam, to live with someone so overbearing that you’re not even allowed to have a different opinion.

The whole season deals with Dean’s abandonment complex - going right back to the heart of the Pilot, “I can’t do this alone.” Dean is so afraid of being abandoned that he clutches his loved ones way too closely.  We understand and sympathize because we know where it came from -  the death of his mother at four, the neglect from his father, twelve seasons of everyone he loves dying - but that doesn’t mean he would be easy to live with.

The line that kept running through my head when watching Dean this season is from Marilyn Manson - “When all of your wishes are granted, many of your dreams will be destroyed.”

Mary’s return is an incredible opportunity for character exploration and character growth for Dean. In many ways Dean is emotionally stuck at the age of four, unable to move on from the loss of his mother. He’s finally forced to recognize that his perceptions from that time were a tiny sliver of the truth, a four year old’s limited view.  Maybe these dreams need to be destroyed. You can’t live your entire adult life longing for the cocoon you were in when you were four. (Or, I mean you can, you’d be Dean Winchester, but it’s not healthy.)

Dean needed his mother’s love AS A FOUR YEAR OLD, and it’s devastating that it was ripped away from him, but for his own sanity he needs to move on. I love that Mary flat out tells him that he’s not a child anymore. He needs to hear it.

The other side of the story is Dean’s perspective, which is incredibly sympathetic. Supernatural does a brilliant job telling a complex story where no one is entirely right or wrong. Dean tries so hard. He knows he’s weird and socially awkward. He doesn’t want to scare Mary away. He wants so desperately for their relationship to work. The scenes of him angsting over what to text her are some of my favorite moments ever in the show. It’s so surreal and yet so truthful.

And I have to admit - as much as I loved Mary NOT functioning as stereotypical mother figure - I also LOVED when she finally found out how tragic the boys’ childhood was. It was completely cathartic for me as an audience member. Those boys went through more than any child should have to bear. Dean is so scarred by it, and he’s this amazing person so full of love and compassion and this beautiful vibrant light that has been twisted by these awful experiences he’s been through, and the audience has been watching him suffer for twelve years, longing for the equivalent of his mom to give him a hug.  (Just look at the bazillions of hurt/comfort fanfics.) The emotional payoff of that validation finally happening from his actual mother is enormous. Intense, and it would be indulgent if it wasn’t so EARNED.

I love that in their big conversation at the end of the season, Dean phrases it as all about what SAM went through.  Of course the entire audience is watching that scene going BUT DEAN. It’s Dean that Mary saves. It’s actually all about him, but he’d never say it.  Brilliant writing.

[girls-scenarios]

Cardiff Rose (Pt. 1)

Idol: Moonbyul (Mamamoo)

Prompt: Pirates!AU

Writer: Admin Kiwi

A/N: I know the gif doesn’t match but she looks good and there were no good gifs that matched a pirate au. Although her hair is black in the story cause I can. Bear with me here. Also, the title is from a song better known as Jolly Roger, after the famous ship mentioned in the song. Anyway, this wasn’t requested, but I had a huge burst of inspiration for this story. I hope everyone enjoys!

Warnings: Cursing (like sailors, right?), mentions of death and people being killed, ship fighting and sword fighting, all that good pirate stuff.

Had you not become accustomed to the smell, the stench would have been near unbearable. Now, as the sun seeping in through the small window high above your makeshift bed clawed at your eyes, you barely even noticed it. You supposed it was a lucky thing, as you blinked your eyes, trying to adjust to the sudden light. You only saw the light from the sun for a few hours a day, before it moved and threw your cell window into the shade, keeping it dusky until it set and plunged you into darkness so black you couldn’t see your own hand in front of your face. Nobody ever brought lights down to the hull.

Sighing, you rubbed at your head, listening to the sounds of the crew moving overhead. You were sure they’d all had breakfast at least an hour prior, and yet nobody had awoken you with food. Tentatively, your foot hit the floor and walked over to the cell door, now used to the uneven rocking of the ship. Nobody. No food, no drink. Nothing.

“They treat their prisoners like dogs, and then wonder why they join the pirates at the first given chance.” You kept your voice down, speaking to yourself as you walked back to the bed and sat down, leaning against the wood that served as a wall. All you’d done was help some young pirates escape from the sudden siege on the tavern you worked at. Or used to work at. Apparently having compassion made you a pirate as well.

Turning your head towards the window, you wondered what would happen once the ship laid anchor on home territory. No family, no friends, no means of surviving even if acquitted. Not like you ever had to worry about the last one though. You were about to turn your head, but something caught your attention. The sounds on deck had ceased. The ocean was eerily still, as if even the waves themselves didn’t dare move. And then you heard it. Yelling in the distance. The crew above your head sprung to life, boots pounding as they readied for the worst. Pirates.

Holding your breath, you jumped to your feet and tumbled over to the small window, tip-toeing to look out of it. Your hands gripped at the sad excuse for a windowsill as the boat began to move quicker. You could see another ship in the distance, black flag raised high over the sails. Even above the shouts of the sailors aboard the queen’s ship, an awful ruckus of voices and weapons, men screaming and swords banging against the side of their ship. The water lapped up at the window you peeked out of, but still the ship came closer and closer until the chorus of voices on board sounded as if they were right inside your ear. There was no mistaking the ship, with its deep black coloring and incredible speed. The Black Deceit.

The sound of cannons being rolled and readied made you duck back into your cell, rushing to the bed and covering your head as the ship rocked with the force of cannon balls smashing into the ship. The ship fired back, but suddenly a shadow passed over your window and the sounds of cannons stopped, replaced by sudden footsteps trampling over the deck. They had boarded. Holding your breath, you stood from the bed and made your way over to the bars at the door of your cell, trying your best to hear what was transpiring above.

From what you could tell, the pirates had easily overwhelmed the small resistance put up by the soldiers on board. The sound of swords clashing had quickly faded into the sound of someone giving commands. The boots hitting the wood did not sound like British uniform boots. Some of them sounded like they weren’t boots at all. You were pressing against the door, trying to make out what was being said, when the door opened and flooded the room with sudden light. You squinted against it, holding an arm up to shield your eyes as someone walked in.

“Captain, I told you there would be something of interest down here.” A man’s voice echoed through the room as he yelled back up at the captain, slowly coming closer to your cell. You stepped back, taking in his worn clothes and scarred face. “What are you down here for, missy? Stealin’? Runnin’ away? Or maybe...” He leaned closer, grinning and showing his yellowed teeth. “Are you a lit’le pirate helper?” You stared at him, unsure of what to say, as more footsteps sounded inside the doorway. When you looked up to see who the other person was, you came face to face with a woman with long, jet black hair that fell straight around her shoulders and dark eyes that were trained on you.

“Don’t try and scare her, Choi. Get back up to the deck.” With a grumble, the man turned around and stomped his way back up the stairs to the deck, and the woman turned to look at you. You’d never seen a woman pirate who wore fitted clothes before, much less a woman pirate captain. Your mouth hung open in shock and slight terror as she approached your cell and put one hand on a bar, the other hand resting on her belt. “What’s your name, kiddo?”

“(Y/N)....” You eyed her warily and noticed a slight scar by her lip, and another above her eyebrow. There would be no asking her how she got them, though.

“Well, (Y/N). How did you get here in this cell on a queen’s ship, headed right back to England herself?” You wanted to rebel, stick your chin out at her, but something about her made your tongue work on its own.

“Helping a pirate. I’ll hang when I get back.” Her lips slipped into a half smile, and she huffed out a laugh.

“Then I guess you wont mind joining a ship full of pirates.” You stared, and she continued. “Better than hanging by your neck.” You nodded slowly, and she turned towards the door.

“Choi, get the man who has the key to this fuckin’ thing and get him now. If he’s dead, then get the damned keys.” Her voice was so loud it shook you to the core, and in less than a minute a man was tumbling down the stairs, keys clutched in his hands. He looked from the captain, then to you. “Open it, damn you.” Her hand still rested on her belt. Right next to a pistol. Fumbling, the man took the key and hastily unlocked your cell before stumbling back up the stairs, fleeing from the woman’s unwavering eyes.

“Thank you,” you said, hesitantly stepping out of the cell as she opened the door.

“You know how to sail?” You stopped, confused by her sudden question, before answering.

“Well, yes, my family-.”

“Do you know how to fight?”

“I- I can handle a gun pretty good. And a knife. I worked in a tavern.”

“A sword?” You looked at the floor.

“I’m afraid I haven’t touched a sword in a long time.” With a sigh, the captain turned her back on you and waved a hand, motioning for you to follow her. You fell into quick step behind her, cautiously moving up the stairs onto the deck. The last time you’d been on the deck with the sunlight on your skin had been almost a month ago, and you basked in it for a moment at the door before hurrying after the woman. The pirates had rounded up the queen’s men, and you saw even more laying dead. The stern had damage, and some of the beautifully carved railings had been shattered.  The men who had survived, including the captain, stood with their hands fastened behind their backs. As the captain approached, the rowdy pirate crew fell silent.

“I’m sure you all know what I’m going to say.” She let her eyes scour the crowd of sailors in front of her, and you hung back, surveying the situation. “You can either become a pirate, and swear loyalty to me and my ship.” She paused, eyes hard as she slowly began to make her way past the men. “Or you can join this ship in Davy Jones’ Locker. Your choice, boys.” The men were literally shaking in their boots. Some tried to seem defiant, but you could tell their heart was quivering inside their ribs. Suddenly, she turned and lifted a hand. “Those of you who will join us, walk to the right. Those of you who choose to die what you may think is a valiant death, make your way to the left.”

The captain of the ship wasted no time raising her chin at her and walking to the left of the ship. “I’d die,” he spat, “before becoming a damn pirate.”

“It is not I who is damned here, but you,” she replied smoothly. His face colored red with anger, but he took a look at the hand resting on her pistol and held his tongue. Slowly, the other sailors began to make their choice. Death was not pretty to look at, but to forsake everything they had believed in and join with the very crew that had taken them down and humiliated them was not a pretty option either. 

You watched in awe as, out of the ten remaining men, four of the walked to the right and the rest walked to the left, joining their captain. The woman looked at the scene in front of her and smiled, though there was no joy in it.

“I see some of you aren’t damned fools. Choi, take these men to be sworn,” she pointed to you. “The girl too. As for the rest of them, let them be tossed into the water and the ship lit afire. If they’re lucky, they’ll make it to the island not afar off and be seen by a trade ship before they die of starvation.” The man who had found you earlier grinned again and waved his hand before walking towards the plant leading to the other ship. The men who had made their choice walked in front of you, and then, with one last look back at the men who had refused to join, you followed them up and onto the ship.

It was bigger than you had imagined it to be once on board. As Choi ordered some of the pirates who had stayed on the ship to guard the five of you while he went to get the book, you looked around, marveling at the huge sails that towered above your head. The ship was in top condition, unlike what you’d heard about pirate ships. Everything looked in top working condition, and like it had been done by experts. You suddenly felt a bit nervous about joining on as a crew member. You were nowhere as skilled as the other sailors, could you do it? Could you go back a few years, before you watched your father’s ship go up in flames, and climb the ropes like you had when you were younger?

“Listen up, ya scumbags.” You snapped your head to look back at Choi, who was hobbling back with a book in his hands. “This book here, this book is law. These are the rules of this here ship. And you’ll all obey them, the whole damn lot of ya. Once ye sign your name here, you’re part of the crew ‘til Captain Moonbyul decides otherwise.” Moonbyul. Captain Moonbyul. You’d heard of her. You just hadn’t known she was a woman. “I’ve me here a pen, and once ye sign it, we’ll have you swear your oath over the pistols.”

“Isn’t it supposed to be a bible?” A man piped up, then shrank away when Choi glared at him.

“There was no bible on hand when we started this tradition, so you’ll swear on the pistols, ye hear me?” The man nodded, looking down, and Choi grinned. You wondered if he loved showing off his bad teeth that much. “Glad ye understand.” He handed you the pen and the inkwell first, and opened the book. The scribbles of other people, pirates or sailors or regular civilians like you, filled the page, but you managed to find a blank spot and quickly signed your name. You looked up, and Choi snatched the pen and well away from you, waving you on to were another man was waiting. But it wasn’t a man at all. It was a woman, dressed in men’s clothing. She smiled as you walked up, looking you up and down.

“We’ll have to get you some new clothes. Those wont do for workin’ and fightin’.” You stared at her, taken aback, and she rolled her eyes. “Don’t look at me like I just sprouted another head, kid, or I’ll slap you right of this deck.” Kid? She looked no older than you, if not younger. “I’m Hwasa. If you’ll swear over these here pistols, I’ll welcome you aboard.” Slowly, you reached out your left hand and placed your right hand on your heart. Shakily, you recited as she told you to, repeating her words exactly. As you finished and began to lower your hand, more footsteps thundered onto the deck and you turned to see Moonbyul smiling at you, eyebrows raised up into the dark hair falling over her forehead.

“Welcome aboard, (Y/N).”

[uomo-accattivante]

Ben Kingsley and Josh Hartnett and Hera Hilmar surely would not have signed on to star in The Ottoman Lieutenant if they even imagined they would be parties to genocide denial.

And screenwriter Jeff Stockwell—who is by every indication a very decent person—says that everybody he spoke to in connection with the making of The Ottoman Lieutenant was aware of the Turkish government’s longtime denial of responsibility for the deliberate murder of 1.6 million innocent Armenians.

The movie—which came out in March and is reported by the website Box Office Mojo to have taken in less than $250,000 in American theaters despite its big-name cast—indeed has a scene where Turkish soldiers are herding Armenian civilians on a death march, complete with summary executions.

But the soldiers are a ragtag bunch whose leader has been killed and who seem to be acting out of the savagery of war, not on orders from their army’s most senior commanders.

And the horror is interrupted by the gallant Turkish lieutenant who is the movie’s hero, having earlier prevailed in a love triangle where he was in contention with an American missionary doctor for the heart of a young American nurse. Romance turns to tragedy as the lieutenant is mortally wounded while saving innocent Armenians.

“I knew about the incredible tensions arising out of the Turkish government’s refusal to acknowledge the genocide,” Stockwell told The Daily Beast, adding in parentheses the name Orhan Pamuk, the Nobel Prize-winning novelist who was criminally charged and ultimately convicted of “insulting Turkishness” for a 2005 remark about how 1 million Armenians and 30,000 Kurds had been massacred in Turkey, though he did not use the word “genocide.”

Stockwell went on, “So the producers and I had several discussions about the film story not contributing to that, even as it was going to be partially built around a sympathetic Turkish soldier character. The take was: it’s 1914—it’s a horrific humanitarian crisis unfolding all around—and our naive leads are there, drawn to each other, even as they’re trying to make sense of what’s happening, their relation to it and response to it.”

The director of The Ottoman Lieutenant, Joseph Ruben (“The Forgotten”) did not respond to a Daily Beast request for comment. Nor did the producers. The lead American producer, Stephen Joel Brown (“Seven”), did speak to The Washington Post, insisting that The Ottoman Lieutenant has no particular political view and is “a classic love story, set at a time and place that we really haven’t seen in cinema.”

Brown also spoke to the Turkish outlet, Hurriyet Daily News.

“As objective and respectful to common sufferings of both Turks and Armenians, we wanted to show the audience what happened during World War I in Eastern Anatolia, a subject that has not been handled before,” he was quoted saying.

Imagine if a producer said he wanted to show “common sufferings” of both Germans and Jews during World War II.

At least a year before Stockwell was brought in to write The Ottoman Lieutenant, another script was in the works that not only handled the same subject but told a much fuller and truer story of what happened during World War I in Eastern Anatolia.

That result was The Promise, starring Christian Bale, Oscar Isaac, and Charlotte Le Bon, to be released this month. This movie sticks to what is widely accepted as historical truth virtually everywhere but in Turkey. It rightfully holds Turkish officials responsible for explicitly ordering the slaughter correctly termed the Armenian Genocide.

The Promise is from co-writer/director Terry George. He also wrote and directed Hotel Rwanda, which was about genocide in that African country. George’s latest movie—written with Robin Swicord—is no less historically accurate and damning to the actual perpetrators.

Stockwell told The Daily Beast, “I had no knowledge of The Promise until long after I was off the project, when it was reviewed at the Toronto Film Festival last fall.” He allows that there “was definitely momentum in place on this project,” adding, “I came on in the spring of 2014, with a clear sense that the producers hoped the movie’s release would be part of the 100th anniversary of Turkey’s involvement in WWI.”

If marking the centenary was the producer’s hope for The Ottoman Lieutenant, they would have needed to get a finished script, cast the movie, shoot it, edit it, and release it by that August. The anniversary passed three months before Stockwell’s work was done.

“The Promise and beating it to release was never mentioned to me,” Stockwell said, adding in parentheses, “I have read the recent comments that this project was generated to somehow to beat The Promise to the screen—but I don’t know why, if that was the case, they wouldn’t have told me. Producers generally use info about ‘competing’ projects as a goad to working faster.”

Stockwell reported that he finished his work on the project in December of 2014, “and, after that, was out of the loop.” He says that the Turkish producers he dealt with “did have plenty of input on the bones of the story—the core nature of the three leads and the give-and-take between them. And the producers wanted the story to take place at the mission in Van, in the months leading up to the Van uprising.”

He added, “It was a Turkish production, with a sympathetic Turkish character as one of the leads, so I knew that was a potential problem in the larger political context. And I knew the story would involve moments of Turkish perspective (for instance, their deep fear about the Russians coming in, the claims of Armenians working as bandits, the sense that Turkish villagers perished too.) But I hoped that the Turkish soldier’s character arc—his ability to see that what was happening was unsettling and terrible, his acting against it and, in the end, giving up his life for acting against it—would make it clear that what was taking place with the Armenians was sickening and wrong. (I hoped!)”

The problem is that the “Turkish perspective” is essentially genocide denial. The Van uprising was not a rebellion as Turkish authorities described it then and continue to describe it now. It was a desperate act of defense against extermination akin to the Warsaw Ghetto uprising against the Nazis.

And, like the Holocaust, the killing of the Armenians was not just “taking place.” It was not simply “a horrific humanitarian crisis unfolding all around.” It was a premeditated crime against humanity perpetrated on the explicit orders of the Turkish government.

Stockwell seems to have had only good intentions and the same may be true of Brown, but the involvement of ES Film suggests that The Ottoman Lieutenant may not have been just another example of Hollywood being Hollywood. Stockwell says that the only Turkish producers he dealt with were with Yproductions and that he was unaware ES Film—also known as Eastern Sunrise Films (“From the east we rise upon the world, where the sun rises the first.”)—co-produced The Ottoman Lieutenant.

“No, I had no knowledge of ES Film until I saw its logo on the finished film a few weeks ago,” Stockwell said. ES Film is based in Istanbul and its co-founders include Yusuf Esenkal, who is said to be a business partner in other ventures with Bilal Erdoğan, son of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The younger Erdoğan has been accused by Russia of trading in oil with ISIS and is being investigated by Italy of laundering massive sums of money there, all of which he has denied.

ES Film’s other projects include a Turkish TV series called Payitaht Abdülhamid. And, just by reading the subtitles on the first episode, you would almost think it was produced by an upscale ISIS, minus the beheadings.

“From Gibraltar Island to Java, one nation, no borders,” the supreme leader intones to his devoted followers. “A nation that has faith in God; one nation; nation of Islam.”

He goes on, “A nation that doesn’t bow their head, a nation that lives under the flag of the Caliphate.”

He continues, “A clear white sky where call to prayers never end. Fertile lands that are nourished by the rivers. A military equipped with the latest technology… Army of mercy during peaceful time, and army of death during war.”

He concludes, “This is my dream. This is my supreme state.”

He warns, “If any of you lied or betray this path, leave this room now. May I swear on all the verses of God until I breathe my last, until I am buried in the grave this mission is our duty.”

He declares, “The war has begun.”

Only the words are not in Arabic, but in Turkish. And the men are not in jihadist attire, but in that of the Ottoman Empire in the late 19th century. And the caliph is not Abū Bakr al-Baghdadi, but Abdulhamid II, the last sultan of Turkey.

Abdulhamid II—often referred to as simply Hamid—was also the perpetrator of the first wave of mass killings that were the lead-up to the Armenian genocide. The slaughter sparked international outrage and he was branded “The Red Sultan.”

“The Great Assassin,” former British Prime Minister William Gladstone also called him.

But the sultan of the show Payitaht Abdülhamid is not monstrous. He is magnificent, a symbol of greatness to those who yearn for a return to the time of empire.

“Witnessing the struggle of the country with Sultan Abdülhamid Khan, the series promising to be presented as a gift to the children of a powerful nation who is carried on day today and to our future history, ‘Struggle!’” reads a Google translation of a review of the series in AKSAM News.

The actual facts of the Armenian genocide and Abdul Hamid’s role in it are put forth in the book Ambassador Morgenthau’s Story. Henry Morgenthau—grandfather of legendary Manhattan prosecutor Robert Morgenthau and noted historian Barbara Tuchman—served as the American ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. His memoir describes Abdul Hamid as “the man who was chiefly responsible for the massacre of hundreds of thousands of Armenians.”

“Abdul Hamid apparently thought that there was only one way of ridding Turkey of the Armenian problem—and that was to rid her of the Armenians,” Morgenthau writes. “The physical destruction of 2,000,000 men, women, and children by massacres, organized and directed by the state, seemed to be the one sure way of forestalling the further disruption of the Turkish Empire.”

Morgenthau goes on, “For nearly thirty years Turkey gave the world an illustration of government by massacre. We in Europe and America heard of these events when they reached especially monstrous proportions, as they did in 1895-96, when nearly 200,000 Armenians were most atrociously done to death. But through all these years the existence of the Armenians was one continuous nightmare. Their property was stolen, their men were murdered, their women were ravished, their young girls were kidnapped and forced to live in Turkish harems.” Morgenthau further reports, “Yet Abdul Hamid was not able to accomplish his full purpose. Had he had his will, he would have massacred the whole nation in one hideous orgy.

“He attempted to exterminate the Armenians in 1895 and 1896, but found certain insuperable obstructions to his scheme. Chief of these were England, France, and Russia… It became apparent that unless the Sultan desisted, England, France, and Russia would intervene and the Sultan well knew, that, in case this intervention took place, such remnants of Turkey as had survived earlier partitions would disappear. Thus, Abdul Hamid had to abandon his satanic enterprise of destroying a whole race by murder, yet Armenia continued to suffer the slow agony of pitiless persecution.”

Hamid was deposed during the Young Turk Revolution of 1908. The Young Turks moved to institute a multi-party democracy and spoke of tolerance and justice. These noble notions did not extend to the Armenians.

“The Young Turk regime, despite its promises of universal brotherhood, brought no respite to the Armenians,” Morgenthau writes. “Much as [the Young Turks] admired the Mohammedan conquerors of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, they stupidly believed that these great warriors had made one fatal mistake, for they had had it in their power completely to obliterate the Christian populations and had neglected to do so. This policy in their opinion was a fatal error of statesmanship and explained all the woes from which Turkey has suffered in modern times.”

The Young Turks decided it was unnecessary to murder all the Armenians.

“The most beautiful and healthy Armenian girls could be taken, converted forcibly to Mohammedanism, and made the wives or concubines of devout followers of the Prophet. Their children would then automatically become Moslems and so strengthen the empire,” Morgenthau writes. “Armenian boys of tender years could be taken into Turkish families and be brought up in ignorance of the fact that they were anything but Moslems. These were about the only elements, however, that could make any valuable contributions to the new Turkey which was now being planned. Since all precautions must be taken against the development of a new generation of Armenians, it would be necessary to kill outright all men who were in their prime and thus capable of propagating the accursed species. Old men and women formed no great danger to the future of Turkey, for they had already fulfilled their natural function of leaving descendants; still they were nuisances and therefore should be disposed of.”

Thanks to an alliance with Germany, the Young Turks felt free to commit genocide without outside interference.

“Unlike Abdul Hamid, the Young Turks found themselves in a position where they could carry out this holy enterprise,” Morgenthau writes. “Great Britain, France, and Russia had stood in the way of their predecessor. But now these obstacles had been removed.”

And, mass murder was often accompanied by state-sanctioned tortures such as crucifixion and evisceration with red-hot pincers.

“One day I was discussing these proceedings with a responsible Turkish official, who was describing the tortures inflicted,” Morgenthau writes. “He made no secret of the fact that the Government had instigated them, and, like all Turks of the official classes, he enthusiastically approved this treatment of the detested race. This official told me that all these details were matters of nightly discussion at the headquarters of the Union and Progress Committee. Each new method of inflicting pain was hailed as a splendid discovery, and the regular attendants were constantly ransacking their brains in the effort to devise some new torment. He told me that they even delved into the records of the Spanish Inquisition and other historic institutions of torture and adopted all the suggestions found there.”

One of the champion torturers was Djevdet Bey, the governor of Van province in the East Anatolia region. “Djevdet was generally known as ‘The Horseshoer,’” Morgenthau writes. “This connoisseur in torture had invented what was perhaps the masterpiece of all—that of nailing horse shoes to the feet of his Armenian victims.”

Djevdet issued a written order:

“The Armenians must be exterminated. If any Muslim protect a Christian, first, his house shall be burned; then the Christian killed before his eyes, and then his [the Moslem’s] family and himself.”

At one point, some of surviving Armenians of Van took a stand against a vastly superior contingent of the Turkish army.

“The whole Armenian fighting force consisted of only 1,500 men; they had only 300 rifles and a most inadequate supply of ammunition, while Djevdet had an army of 5,000 men, completely equipped and supplied. Yet the Armenians fought with the utmost heroism and skill; they had little chance of holding off their enemies indefinitely, but they knew that a Russian army was fighting its way to Van and their utmost hope was that they would be able to defy the besiegers until these Russians arrived.”

Morgenthau makes particular mention of, “The self-sacrificing energy of the Armenian children, the self-sacrificing zeal of the American missionaries, especially Doctor Ussher and his wife and Miss Grace H. Knapp, and the thousand other circumstances that made this terrible month one of the most glorious pages in modern Armenian history. The wonderful thing about it is that the Armenians triumphed. After nearly five weeks of sleepless fighting, the Russian army suddenly appeared and the Turks fled into the surrounding country, where they found appeasement for their anger by further massacres of unprotected Armenian villagers. Doctor Ussher, the American medical missionary whose hospital at Van was destroyed by bombardment, is the authority for the statement that, after driving off the Turks, the Russians began to collect and to cremate the bodies of Armenians who had been murdered in the province, with the result that 55,000 bodies were burned.”

A producer might well be inspired by the tale of Doctor Clarence Ussher and his wife and Miss Grace H. Knapp and their hospital in Van. Stockwell says that the Turkish producers he dealt with “wanted the story to take place at the mission in Van.” The one in The Ottoman Lieutenant is staffed by two doctors, a world-weary one played by Kingsley and a young idealist played by Hartnett. The younger doctor is sympathetic enough to the Armenians that he lets them store weapons there. Even so, the first Armenians the audience encounters in the movie are bandits who steal a load of medical supplies that the leading lady is bringing from Philadelphia. And, save for the death march toward the end, most of the other Armenians are portrayed as insurgents who initiate the violence.

In The Ottoman Lieutenant, the Russians are not saviors, but brutish bad guys. The ultimate villain in this movie is war itself and the suggestion is that it is responsible for atrocities of the time. There is no indication that the killing was the result of government-instituted genocide. Nor is there a suggestion that the Turkish government used a supposed uprising as a pretext for mass murder.

The Promise stays true to history, including an encounter between Morgenthau and Mehmet Talaat, known as Talaat Pasha, one of the triumvirate then ruling Turkey. Morgenthau writes in his memoir, “One day Talaat made what was perhaps the most astonishing request I had ever heard. The New York Life Insurance Company and the Equitable Life of New York had for years done considerable business among the Armenians. The extent to which this people insured their lives was merely another indication of their thrifty habits. ‘I wish,’ Talaat now said, ‘that you would get the American life insurance companies to send us a complete list of their Armenian policy holders. They are practically all dead now and have left no heirs to collect the money. It of course all escheats to the State. The Government is the beneficiary now. Will you do so?’”

Morgenthau further reports of Talaat, “His antagonism to the Armenians seemed to increase as their sufferings increased. One day, discussing a particular Armenian, I told Talaat that he was mistaken in regarding this man as an enemy of the Turks; that in reality he was their friend. ‘No Armenian,’ replied Talaat, ‘can be our friend after what we have done to them.’”

The Promise also features a love triangle—this one involving an Armenian medical student, an Armenian woman who has been living in Paris, and an American reporter. And there are remarkable similarities of setting and plot and imagery. Both movies are set in the same region of Turkey. Both feature a chase scene with a group of fleeing innocents, crammed into the back of a truck in The Ottoman Lieutenant, in the back of a wagon in The Promise. Both have an underwater host of a major character slipping down into a watery grave in the final minutes.

But all that only makes the divergence in historical narrative more apparent. A genocide denier would likely point out that The Promise was produced by Survival Pictures, founded by billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, who was the son of Armenian immigrants.

The Survival logo features a four-petaled forget-me-not that symbolizes the directions the surviving Armenians scattered. Kerkorian died in 2015, before The Promise was completed.

The truth is still the truth and if you believe Morgenthau and other eminently reliable sources, it is decidedly on the side of The Promise, no matter who bankrolled it. A Holocaust movie would not likely be challenged simply because its primary backer was Jewish.

Accuracy did not prevent The Promise from being the subject of an apparent social media smear campaign following three screenings at the Toronto Film Festival. Thousands more people than could have possibly seen it posted negative one star reviews. The number of online postings from those screenings of The Promise rivaled those following the full release of mega-hit Finding Dory.

The timing of last month’s release of The Ottoman Lieutenant ahead of this month’s release of The Promise is not likely just a coincidence and it was nearly three years late in marking the 100th anniversary of Turkey’s entrance into World War I.

Eastern Sunrise Films initially said it would answer questions posed via email, but failed to respond to queries, which touched on such matters as the historical accuracy of the film, timing of the release, connections with Bilal Erdoğan as well as the Hamid TV series. Bilal Erdoğan did not respond to questions regarding his connections with ES Film and his alleged dealings with ISIS.

The one person connected with The Ottoman Lieutenant who responded was Stockwell, and he did so as someone who is clearly distressed to find himself accused of being party to what amounts to genocide denial, as many in the Armenian community and elsewhere have charged.

“I thought I helped create an anti-war love story that might make some small contribution to healing Christian-Muslim tensions during its half-life as a bodice-ripper on the long tail of the planet’s small screens… one, by the way, that portrays the beginnings of the Armenian Genocide in a way that no Turkish nationalist would abide!” Stockwell told The Daily Beast.

A nationalist might, in fact, abide a portrayal in which Armenians are insurgents and bandits in the establishing scenes and the Turkish soldiers who do murder innocents seem more unsupervised and war-crazed in the way of the Americans at My Lai massacre during the Vietnam war than following orders in the way of the German SS during the Holocaust.

Stockwell continued, “If the producers I worked with had an anti-Armenian agenda… it was certainly muted: I did not feel it. And, again—though whether it’s strong enough is clearly part of the debate—this film’s climactic, toughest sequence takes place during the murdering of innocent Armenians by Turkish soldiers. I still need some guidance in understanding why the purported secretive group of movie producer Genocide Deniers would want to make a film that does that.” A genocide presented as anything but a genocide is a genocide denied.

Stockwell allowed, “I do understand that, per its production history, The Ottoman Lieutenant is more Turkish’ than other films whose stories engage with the atrocities surrounding WWI in Turkey, and that it could have been more unflinching in its depictions of what happened and more directly condemning of the Turks for their responsibilities—though, again, that awful history (and the tone that it would require) was not the focus of the drafts I worked on. (I wrote a young woman’s “finding purpose” story, and an overheated love tangle whose participants struggle with what’s expected of them and with their faith!)” Stockwell went on, “In the end, I’d say the ‘political’ critique of the film with the most teeth for me is that there’s something callow about thinking one can tell a melodramatic romance set against the project’s chosen contentious backdrop, something a bit deaf about asking the audience to focus more on whether the connection between a couple of privileged, young hotties can survive than on the horrible, historically-based struggle for survival that’s happening around them.”

The Promise, too, has hotties in an overheated love tangle and a character “finding purpose,” but the drama turns on genocide that is presented as genocide.

Stockwell reported, “I am now contemplating my potential callowness. But I know, while writing my drafts—and playing with a kind of epic, old-school (almost a Western) romance—I was inspired by the prospect of telling a story that might get folks caught up in a Christian/Muslim bond, that it could be a good thing to experience these two characters moving past their background religions, and connecting despite their peers’ resistance to that. I know, while writing it, I wanted the characters to face what a miserable, soul-killing situation war is. ( I even thought it could have some resonance for the ongoing shitstorm across the Middle East.) And I think the film, despite its being partially built on a key Turkish character and his point of view, is far more critical of the Turkish-led violence against Armenians—the unfurling genocide—than other commentators have implied. But since none of that is fueling the questions here, it may have turned out that, in addition to callow, I’m naive.”

Maybe. He certainly seems to be a good enough guy. He just happened to write what turned out to be a very bad movie.

The Ottoman Lieutenant starts out with a stateside scene in which the nurse heroine is shocked when a whites-only hospital stops her from treating a black man with a grievous injury. She is left standing with the man’s blood on her hands in the the most literal sense. But the movie fails to show that similar hatred toward Armenians was the official policy of the Turkish authorities and seemingly the prime motive for the resulting genocide. And the film all but ignores the blood of 1.5 million men, women, and children the Turkish government had on its hands.

On Feb. 24—a fortnight before the release of The Ottoman Lieutenant—ES Film began airing the TV series on Hamid in which the bloody sultan is portrayed as the embodiment of Ottoman greatness and nobility, a ruler with a vision of an Islamic state to match that of ISIS. Some have charged that the series assumes anti-Semitic aspects when it depicts Zionist Theodor Herzel seeking to trick Hamid into establishing a Jewish state extending from the Nile River to the Euphrates River. The series also shows other Jews seeking to murder Hamid.

The Hamid series and The Ottoman Lieutenant come as Turkey is preparing for an April 16 referendum that would dispense with the position of prime minister and make President Erdoğan the sole holder of executive power, with the right to remain in office for 12 more years. His continuing crackdown in the wake of last year’s failed coup portends what might await.

Both supporters and detractors have taken to calling him a sultan.

Anybody who wants a true sense of what happened during the last sultan need only go see The Promise, which opens right around the time of the referendum and thus speaks truth to power.

Meanwhile, a title comes to mind for the real-life, real-time script President Erdoğan is following. Get ready for The Sultan.

###

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/04/15/hollywood-classic-love-story-does-double-duty-as-armenian-genocide-whitewash.html

[fandomsandfeminism]

Sherlock Holmes on Elementary is definitely a jerk. But he's also a good person with a deep sense of empathy. Let's explore how Elementary fits into the legacy of Holmes Adaptions, and how the character is depicted in these complex, contradictory ways. Transcript below the cut

Today we are going to look at the massively popular TV adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous Sherlock Holmes. ….No, not that one. The good one. Yes. Yes, that one.

Elementary premiered on CBS on September 27, 2012, starring Jonny Lee Miller as recovering drug addict Sherlock Holmes with Lucy Liu as ex-surgeon, now sober companion, soon to be detective in training Joan Watson. We are currently in season 5, and I have to be honest friends, I adore it. This video isn’t here to compare Elementary to BBC Sherlock, Elementary’s flashy british older cousin who only shows up to family gatherings once every 2 or 3 years and then disappears back into the void. No. Partly because any real comparison between them has the potential to bring out the...unpleasant side of the internet, but mostly because having to spend any amount of time with Moffat’s writing is...not something I want to do.

So yes. We are looking at Elementary. Elementary is back on TV, so I’ve been thinking about it a lot. It’s so common to update and adapt the Sherlock Holmes mythos in our media- from BBC miniseries, to Hollywood blockbusters, to Disney films about mice, to anime about dogs, that for an adaption to be truly GOOD it must first set itself apart. It has to differentiate itself while still maintaining the mental and emotional core true to the original series in meaningful ways. You can’t just grab a british guy in a silly hat and send him out to solve crimes if you want to make waves.

And honestly, there is so much about Elementary that we would talk about. We could talk about Joan, and how Lucy Liu’s rendition of Watson is one of the most unique in the plethora of Sherlock adaptations, how she is such a genuine, interesting character, who stands are Holmes’s equal, not just fan; who always dresses like a goddess and needs more of her own story lines dammit, because she’s great, and fun.

We could talk about Mrs. Hudson and how really cool it is to have a trans character on the show, played by a trans woman, and how her storylines were sincere and interesting and I’d like more of this too please.

We could talk about how the show handled Sherlock Holmes essentials- Irene Adler and Moriarty and Mrs. Hudson and Lestrange and Mycroft with such a fresh and unique twist, how they avoided the lazy or obvious routes with each and every one of them.

We could talk about how the New York portrayed in Elementary is so much more accurately diverse than most popular movies would have you believe. About how the show takes such time and care is portraying addiction and recovery. About how it’s a show that cares more about WHY Sherlock and Watson solve a case instead of HOW they do it, because the show cares about human relationships and emotional growth.

But what I want to focus on today is the factor that I think, for most people, really sets Elementary a cut above, and that is the character of Sherlock Holmes himself and how in Elementary he is able to embody so well two normally contrary traits: Intense Anti-socialness and extreme empathy for others.

Some backstory:

Sherlock Holmes, as a character, first appeared in the world in 1887 with the publication of A Study in Scarlet. If you have never read this story, it is...an odd ride. It’s in the public domain, so you can find it pretty easily online. There’s a murder and flashbacks and evil Mormons. Lots of evil mormons. (Doyle apparently really disliked them?) From then on it was one adventure after another, eventually accumulating 4 novels and 56 short stories into the canon. Sherlock Holmes in the books is a master of not only detective work, but also a master of disguise, excellent at fencing, singlestick, and boxing. He raises bees, plays violin, and does a lot of cocaine.

So, there’s a lot of content to draw on when people work to adapt Sherlock Holmes. And oh boy, have people adapted Sherlock Holmes. The Guinness book of world records has him listed as “the most portrayed movie character” with more than 70 actors playing the part in over 200 films. There have been comic books and Star Trek. He’s been sent into the future. He’s reimagined as a doctor, mouse, and a dog. (Sherlock Hound, by the way, is an anime series that was co-directed with Hayao Miyazaki. So, pretty great stuff.)

And how Sherlock has been played has varied from time to time. Our most canonical, classic vision of Sherlock Holmes, has been mostly formed from the Basil Rathbone portrayal, wearing the Deerstalker hat and smoking a calabash pipe (both features that are never seen in any of the books or short stories, but rather pulled from the 1899 stage version of Sherlock Holmes. They were chosen because they looked good on stage)

Most of these earlier portrayals see Holmes are a rather stoic, upper crust British gentleman who solves the most grisly murders at a glance and makes it home in time for tea. More modern adaptations have tried to modernize or liven up the character- making him a mad genius or a calculating human robot.

But not Elementary. Elementary, better than most adaptations, taps into something within the Holmes character that most miss I think. There will be spoilers from this point on. Fair warning.

Elementary Sherlock has all the bells and whistles of a modern Sherlock adaptation- he’s super deductive, he raises bees, he had a drug problem (making recovery a major story element and theme). He’s got the brother and the singlestick, and the network of homeless as informants. Many, though not all, of the episodes pull plots straight from the short stories, but technology is abundant.

And yes, he’s an anti-social asshole. He says things with no regard for people’s comfort. He does things without regard for people’s boundaries. He’s blunt and coarse with his words. Abrasive would be an understatement. He leaves weird experiments in the fridge and plays loud music at all hours of the night and is the worst kind of housemate.  When Marcus Bell is relegated to desk work after being shot, Sherlock goes through a slew of detectives who aren’t up to his standards, annoying them and insulting them relentlessly. He avoids parties and is initially unwilling to open up at his group meetings.

And yet.

And yet, is Sherlock “Empathetic”? Empathy is defined as the ability to understand and share the emotions of others. People who are empathetic often act on this empathy with kindness or compassion. Does Asshole Elementary Sherlock do this?

Well, In the pilot Sherlock gets so angry and attacks a doctor who deliberately took advantage of a mentally ill man, because how could he? Sherlock feels such a deep anger towards this main, I would argue, because he feels a deep sense of empathy for his victim. He knows what it is like to lose control, and to be at the mercy of healthcare professionals. So to see a man who has been so exploited by his doctor is infuriating for Sherlock.

In episode 2 of the first season, Sherlock pulls aside a man they had been questioning because, with all his observation, he can see how the man is struggling with addiction horribly. Not to chastise him, but to tell him to get help, to recommend rehab for him. Because how can he watch someone suffer the way he had?

In episode 3 of season 1, Sherlock looks at a boy he knows has been abused, and in all sincerity says “Victims of horrific abuse are often protective of their abusers; it doesn't mean we should send them back for seconds.” And we can argue that Sherlock was emotionally abused in some way by his father, that he was emotionally abused by Moriarty. So he feels empathy for this abused boy in this moment,

In episode 19 “Snow Angels” he gives a homeless man a wad of money and tells him to find someplace warm to stay before the blizzard comes in. Not related to a case, just because he can’t walk past and do nothing.

In episode 7 "One Way to Get Off",  he rescues and comforts a woman who had been held captive in a basement. Stopping everything, all investigation and observation, until he knows she is ok.

In episode 9 "You Do It to Yourself", he sits with Joan in the clinic where she hopes her ex will come to get treatment. Waiting with her in this silent almost-vigil, he offers her an unspoken comfort.

In Episode 15 “A giant gun filled with drugs”, Sherlock agrees to help his former drug dealer, even though his presence is a very real risk to his sobriety, because he can’t turn his back on the fact that his daughter has been kidnapped.

In the season 1 finale, he was willing to throw everything away to run away with Irene before he discovers her true identity. And in the season 2 finale, he helps Moriarty save her daughter, despite the pain she has caused him in the past.

He takes in Kitty Winter, not because she shows any particular promise as a detective, but because he sees how hurt she is, how damaged, and wants to give her some chance to recover, an outlet for her anger and fear. When she goes beyond the law to get her revenge on the man who hurt her, Sherlock helps get her out of the country.  

He deliberately tampers with evidence to protect Shinwell from going back to prison, wants to give him a second chance at life, offers to help train him as an informant to keep him safe.

He notices and cares about Gregson’s divorce, about Joan’s boyfriends, about Marcus’s mother and brother. When Eugene, the medical examiner, develops a drug addiction, struggling with PTSD and the loss of a woman he loved, Sherlock cared. He stepped in, spoke up. Even if it means intruding into personal matters where he was not invited, he notices and steps in, again and again, even when it makes him, and everyone else, uncomfortable.

Sherlock can work the most gruesome murder case with calculating patience and wade through cold cases decades old for fun, but when, as was the case in the most recent episode (Season 5, Episode 11), he knows that a person’s life is in danger RIGHT NOW, that his action or inaction could save or condemn a human life, his work becomes more and more frantic. There’s too many examples to even go into them all.

And I think that’s an aspect of Holmes that a lot of people overlook in their adaptations. Sherlock Holmes is no crime solving robot. (Though Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd century does have a Watson Robot.)

Sherlock Holmes is a deeply empathetic person. Even if he isn’t the most emotionally open person, he sees people’s struggles, he cares deeply, and when he can, he reaches out to help. His empathy isn’t reserved for those who are close to him, those who have somehow earned his notice. He extends it to strangers and acquaintances alike, even if he struggles to express it in the most...charming of ways at times.

And what makes all this work is that being empathetic, acting out of love or concern, never absolves him of BEING an asshole. When he hurts people, or oversteps boundaries, he never gets away with it- ESPECIALLY with Watson. He is always growing as a person, learning to channel his empathy and his concern in more and more helpful and healthy ways.  

Elementary certainly has it’s own problems as both an adaptation and as just a show. It has highs and lows, like any long running show will. I honestly don’t watch a lot of long running American TV shows. They are, by their nature, often fairly episodic and cater to as wide an audience as possible. I have found very few that I can commit to week after week, season after season. But Elementary has kept me coming back all this time, and the way it handles emotions and human empathy with such dignity and respect is no small part in that.

So thank you everyone for watching this video! This channel is still really new, so all comments and likes are really appreciated! Did I talk about your favorite Sherlock moment? Or did I totally forget a really good one? Tell me down below! I’ll see yall in the comments, and if you enjoyed listening to this queer, millennial feminist ramble about things I like for a while, feel free to subscribe

[riichardwilson]

Baking Structured Data Into The Design Process

About The Author

Frederick O’Brien is a freelance journalist who conforms to most British stereotypes. His interests include American literature, graphic design, sustainable … More about Frederick …

Retrofitting search engine optimization only gets you so far. As metadata gets smarter, it’s more important than ever to build it into the design process from the start.

search engine optimization (SEO) is essential for almost every kind of website, but its finer points remain something of a specialty. Even today SEO Company is often treated as something that can be tacked on after the fact. It can up to a point, but it really shouldn’t be. Search engines get smarter every day and there are ways for websites to be smarter too.

The foundations of SEO Company are the same as they’ve always been: great content clearly labeled will win the day sooner or later — regardless of how many people try to game the system. The thing is, those labels are far more sophisticated than they used to be. Meta titles, image alt text, and backlinks are important, but in 2020, they’re also fairly primitive. There is another tier of metadata that only a fraction of sites are currently using: structured data.

All search engines share the same purpose: to organize the web’s content and deliver the most relevant, useful results possible to search queries. How they achieve this has changed enormously since the days of Lycos and Ask Jeeves. Google alone uses more than 200 ranking factors, and those are just the ones we know about.

SEO Company is a huge field nowadays, and I put it to you that structured data is a really, really important factor to understand and implement in the coming years. It doesn’t just improve your chances of ranking highly for relevant queries. More importantly, it helps make your websites better — opening it up to all sorts of useful web experiences.

Recommended reading: Where Does SEO Belong In Your Web Design Process?

What Is Structured Data?

Structured data is a way of labeling content on web pages. Using vocabulary from Schema.org, it removes much of the ambiguity from SEO Company. Instead of trusting the likes of Google, Bing, Baidu, and DuckDuckGo to work out what your content is about, you tell them. It’s the difference between a search engine guessing what a page is about and knowing for sure.

As Schema.org puts it:

By adding additional tags to the HTML of your web pages — tags that say, “Hey search engine, this information describes this specific movie, or place, or person, or video” — you can help search engines and other applications better understand your content and display it in a useful, relevant way.

Schema.org launched in 2011, a project shared by Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Yandex. In other words, it’s a ‘bipartisan’ effort — if you like. The markup transcends any one search engine. In Schema.org’s own words,

“A shared vocabulary makes it easier for webmasters and developers to decide on a schema and get the maximum benefit for their efforts.”

It is in many respects a more expansive cousin of microformats (launched around 2005) which embed semantics and structured data in HTML, mainly for the benefit of search engines and aggregators. Although microformats are currently still supported, the ‘official’ nature of the Schema.org library makes it a safer bet for longevity.

JSON for Linked Data (JSON-LD) has emerged as the dominant underlying standard for structured data, although Microdata and RDFa are also supported and serve the same purpose. Schema.org provides examples for each type depending on what you’re most comfortable with.

As an example, let’s say Joe Bloggs writes a review of Joseph Heller’s 1961 novel Catch-22 and publishes it on his blog. Sadly, Bloggs has poor taste and gives it two out of five stars. For a person looking at the page, this information would be understood unthinkingly, but computer programs would have to connect several dots to reach the same conclusion.

With structured data, the following markup could be added to the page’s <head> code. (This is a JSON-LD approach. Microdata and RDFa can be used to weave the same information into <body> content):

<script type="application/ld+json"> { "@context" : "http://schema.org", "@type" : "Book", "name" : "Catch-22", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Joseph Heller" }, "datePublished" : "1961-11-10", "review" : { "@type" : "Review", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Joe Bloggs" }, "reviewRating" : { "@type" : "Rating", "ratingValue" : "2", "worstRating" : "0", "bestRating" : "5" }, "reviewBody" : "A disaster. The worst book I've ever read, and I've read The Da Vinci Code." } } </script>

This sets in stone that the page is about Catch-22, a novel by Joseph Heller published on November 10th, 1961. The reviewer has been identified, as has the parameters of the scoring system. Different schemas can be combined (or tiered) to describe different things. For example, through tagging of this sort, you could make clear a page is the event listing for an open-air film screening, and the film in question is The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou by Wes Anderson.

Recommended reading: Better Research, Better Design, Better Results

Why Does It Matter?

Ok, wonderful. I can label my website up to its eyeballs and it will look exactly the same, but what are the benefits? To my mind, there are two main benefits to including structured data in websites:

It makes search engine’s jobs much easier. They can index content more accurately, which in turn means they can present it more richly.

It helps web content to be more thorough and useful. Structured data gives you a ‘computer perspective’ on content. Quality content is fabulous. Quality content thoroughly tagged is the stuff of dreams.

You know when you see snazzy search results that include star ratings? That’s structured data. Rich snippets of film reviews? Structured data. When a selection of recipes appear, ingredients, preparation time and all? You guessed it. Dig into the code of any of these pages and you’ll find the markup somewhere. Search engines reward sites using structured data because it tells them exactly what they’re dealing with.

(Large preview)

Examine the code on the websites featured above and sure enough, structured data is there. (Large preview)

It’s not just search either, to be clear. That’s a big part of it but it’s not the whole deal. Structured data is primarily about tagging and organizing content. Rich search results are just one way for said content to be used. Google Dataset Search uses Schema.org/Dataset markup, for example.

Below are a handful of examples of structured data being useful:

There are thousands more. Like, literally. Schema.org even fast-tracked the release of markup for Covid-19 recently. It’s an ever-growing library.

In many respects, structured data is a branch of the Semantic Web, which strives for a fully machine-readable Internet. It gives you a machine-readable perspective on web content that (when properly implemented) feeds back into richer functionality for people.

As such, just about anyone with a website would benefit from knowing what structured data is and how it works. According to W3Techs, only 29.6% of websites use JSON-LD, and 43.2% don’t use any structured data formats at all. There’s no obligation, of course. Not everyone cares about SEO Company or being machine-readable. On the flip side, for those who do there’s currently a big opportunity to one-up rival sites.

In the same way that HTML forces you to think about how content is organized, structured data gets you thinking about the substance. It makes you more thorough. Whatever your website is about, if you comb through the relevant schema documentation you’ll almost certainly spot details that you didn’t think to include beforehand.

As humans, it is easy to take for granted the connections between information. Search engines and computer programs are smart, but they’re not that smart. Not yet. Structured data translates content into terms they can understand. This, in turn, allows them to deliver richer experiences.

Resources And Further Reading

“The Beginner’s Guide To Structured Data For SEO: A Two-Part Series,” Bridget Randolph, Moz

“What Is Schema Markup And Why It’s Important For SEO,” Chuck Price, Search Engine Journal

“What Is Schema? Beginner‘s Guide To Structured Data,” Luke Harsel, SEMrush

“JSON-LD: Building Meaningful Data APIs,” Benjamin Young, Rollout Blog

“Understand How Structured Data Works,” Google Search for Developers

“Marking Up Your Site With Structured Data,” Bing

Incorporating Structured Data Into Website Design

Weaving structured data into a website isn’t as straightforward as, say, changing a meta title. It’s the data DNA of your web content. If you want to implement it properly, then you need to be willing to get into the weeds — at least a little bit. Below are a few simple steps developers can take to weave structured data into the design process.

Note: I personally subscribe to a holistic approach to design, where design and substance go hand in hand. Juggling a bunch of disciplines is nothing new to web design, this is just another one, and if it’s incorporated well it can strengthen other elements around it. Think of it as an enhancement to your site’s engine. The car may not look all that different but it handles a hell of a lot better.

Start With A Concept

I’ll use myself as an example. For five years, two friends and I have been reviewing an album a week as a hobby (with others stepping in from time to time). Our sneering, insufferable prose is currently housed in a WordPress site, which — under my well-meaning but altogether ignorant care — had grown into a Frankenstein’s monster of plugins.

We are in the process of redesigning the site which (among other things) has entailed bringing structured data into the core design. Here, as with any other project, the first thing to do is establish what your content is about. The better you answer this question, the easier everything that follows will be.

In our case, these are the essentials:

We review music albums;

Each review has three reviewers who each write a summary by choosing up to three favorite tracks and assigning a personal score out of ten;

These three scores are combined into a final score out of 30;

From the three summaries, a passage is chosen to serve as an ‘at-a-glance’ roundup of all our thoughts.

Some of this may sound a bit specific or even a bit arbitrary (because it is), but you’d be surprised how much of it can be woven together using structured data.

Below is a mockup of what the revamped review pages will look like, and the information that can be translated into schema markup:

Even the most sprawling content is packed full of information just waiting to be tagged and structured. (Large preview)

There’s no trick to this process. I know what the content is about, so I know where to look in the documentation. In this case, I go to Schema.org/MusicAlbum and am met with all manner of potential properties, including:

albumReleaseType

byArtist

genre

producer

datePublished

recordedAt

There are dozens; some exclusive to MusicAlbum, others falling under the larger umbrella of CreativeWork. Digging deeper into the documentation, I find that the markup can connect to MusicBrainz, a music metadata encyclopedia. The same process unfolds when I go to the Review documentation.

From that one simple page, the following information can be gleaned and organized:

<script type="application/ld+json"> { "@context": "http://schema.org/", "@type": "Review", "reviewBody": "Whereas My Love is Cool was guilty of trying too hard no such thing can be said of Visions. The riffs roar and the melodies soar, with the band playing beautifully to Ellie Rowsell's strengths.", "datePublished": "October 4, 2017", "author": [{ "@type": "Person", "name": "André Dack" }, { "@type": "Person", "name": "Frederick O'Brien" }, { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marcus Lawrence" }], "itemReviewed": { "@type": "MusicAlbum", "@id": "https://musicbrainz.org/release-group/7f231c61-20b2-49d6-ac66-1cacc4cc775f", "byArtist": { "@type": "MusicGroup", "name": "Wolf Alice", "@id": "https://musicbrainz.org/artist/3547f34a-db02-4ab7-b4a0-380e1ef951a9" }, "image": "https://lesoreillescurieuses.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/a1320370042_10.jpg", "albumProductionType": "http://schema.org/StudioAlbum", "albumReleaseType": "http://schema.org/AlbumRelease", "name": "Visions of a Life", "numTracks": "12", "datePublished": "September 29, 2017" }, "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": 27, "worstRating": 0, "bestRating": 30 } } </script>

And honestly, I may yet add a lot more. Initially, I found the things that are already part of a review page’s structures (i.e. artist, album name, overall score) but then new questions began to present themselves. What could be clearer? What could I add?

This should obviously be counterbalanced by questions of what’s unnecessary. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean that you should. There is such a thing as ‘too much information’. Still, sometimes a bit more detail can really take a page up a notch.

Familiarize Yourself With Schema

There’s no way around it; the best way to get the ball rolling is to immerse yourself in the documentation. There are tools that implement it for you (more on those below), but you’ll get more out of the markup if you have a proper sense of how it works.

Trawl through the Schema.org documentation. Whoever you are and whatever your website’s for, the odds are that there are plenty of relevant schemas. The site is very good with examples, so it needn’t remain theoretical.

The step beyond that, of course, is to find rich search results you would like to emulate, visiting the page, and using browser dev tools to look at what they’re doing. They are often excellent examples of websites that know their content inside out. You can also feed code snippets or URLs into Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper, which then generates appropriate schema.

Tools like Google’’s Structured Data Markup Helper are excellent for getting to grips with how structured data works. (Large preview)

The fundamentals are actually very simple. Once you get your head around them, it’s the breadth of options that take time to explore and play around with. You don’t want to be that person who gets to the end of a design process, looks into schema options, and starts second-guessing everything that’s been done.

Ask The Right Questions

Now that you’re armed with your wealth of structured data knowledge, you’re better positioned to lay the foundations for a strong website. Structured data rides a fairly unique line. In the immediate sense, it exists ‘under the hood’ and is there for the benefit of computers. At the same time, it can enable richer experiences for the user.

Therefore, it pays to look at structured data from both a technical and user perspective. How can structured data help my website be better understood? What other resources, online databases, or hardware (e.g. smart speakers) might be interested in what you’re doing? What options appear in the documentation that I hadn’t accounted for? Do I want to add them?

It is especially important to identify recurring types of content. It’s safe to say a blog can expect lots of blog posts over time, so incorporating structured data into post templates will yield the most results. The example I gave above is all well and good on its own, but there’s no reason why the markup process can’t be automated. That’s the plan for us.

Consider also the ways that people might find your content. If there are opportunities to, say, highlight a snippet of copy for use in voice search, do it. It’s that, or leave it to search engines to work it out for themselves. No-one knows your content better than you do, so make use of that understanding with descriptive markup.

You don’t need to guess how content will be understood with structured data. With tools like Google’s Rich Results Tester, you can see exactly how it gives content form and meaning that might otherwise have been overlooked.

Resources And Further Reading

Quality Content Deserves Quality Markup

You’ll find no greater advocate of great content than me. The SEO Company industry loses its collective mind whenever Google rolls out a major search update. The response to the hysteria is always the same: make quality content. To that I add: mark it up properly.

Familiarize yourself with the documentation and be clear on what your site is about. Every piece of information you tag makes it that much easier for it to be indexed and shared with the right people.

Whether you’re a Google devotee or a DuckDuckGo convert, the spirit remains the same. It’s not about ranking so much as it is about making websites as good as possible. Accommodating structured data will make other aspects of your website better.

You don’t need to trust tech to understand what your content is about — you can tell it. From reviews to recipes to audio search, developers can add a whole new level of sophistication to their content.

The heart and soul of optimizing a website for search have never changed: produce great content and make it as clear as possible what it is and why it’s useful. Structured data is another tool for that purpose, so use it.

(ra, yk, il)

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source http://www.scpie.org/baking-structured-data-into-the-design-process/ source https://scpie.tumblr.com/post/614974130235785216