#christopher l. antie

[gryficowa]

Boycott!

Now that I have your attention:

[theultimatejackoff]

ROUND 8 L BRACKET

our final two.. they are very.. interesting.

CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON VS CHRISTOPHER PIERRE!

"Very vocal against the British monarchy and played an amazing dr. who"

"crispy my beloved. he lost his marbles a long time ago and i am here for it"

[idylls-of-the-divine-romance]

Hi! What are your favorite Henry Vaughan poems and why? 😃 (Your poetry recs never disappoint hehe!)

Hehehehehe. I am glad you asked. I also have some more poetry recs for you specifically that I thought you'd like so I'll include those as well.

Everybody here is English except for one lollllll. Poetry during 16-17th century England is just simply unparalleled.

Vaughan's poetry

Regeneration (an allegory of the Calvinist view of salvation)

The Retreat

Silence and Stealth of Days (written after the death of his brother)

Corruption

Unprofitableness

The World

They All Are Gone into the World of Light!

The Night: John 3.2

The Waterfall (the water is an emblem of death and restoration of the soul back to it's source)

Cock-Crowing (the poem calls upon the notion of sympathetic attraction between earthly and heavenly bodies, e.g., the cock whose crowing announces the sun's rising because it bears within itself the "seed" of the son. It's an allegory for the soul and it's Maker)

Some more John Donne poetry

Death Be Not Proud

Spit in My Face Ye Jews, and Pierce My Side

Batter My Heart, Three-Personed God (i know you read this already but i adore this lol)

Since She Whom I Loved Hath Paid Her Last Debt (written after his wife's death)

Show Me, Dear Christ, thy Spouse (the ending is w i l d lol. Warning: sort of anti-catholic. Donne was born Catholic during the Catholic persecution and endured many existential crises about it before converting to Protestantism. Very good poem though)

Richard Crashaw. I have a feeling you'll love him. He was part of the Counter-Reformation and is only major English poet to write in the Baroque tradition.

To the Infant Martyrs

On the Wounds of Our Crucified Lord

Luke 11.[27]. Blessed be the paps which Thou hast sucked (read this one a few days ago and thought of you immediately. Spoilers: Mary is sucking Jesus side!!!!)

In the Holy Nativity of Our Lord God: A Hymn Sung as by Shepherds (so. freaking. good!!!!)

The Flaming Heart (haven't read this yet but if you like St. Teresa of Avila this is for you)

Thomas Traherne was a poet lost for many years but is absolutely beautiful in his earnest desire to see heaven on earth by returning to childhood and looking through the eyes of a child

Wonder

On Looking over the Moon

Secular poetry (edit: in hindsight this is just love poetry lol)

Amoret by Henry Vaughan

The Flea by John Donne (the funniest erotic poem i have ever read)

The Passionate Shepherd to His Love by Christopher Marlowe

The Nymphs Reply to the Shepherd by Sir Walter Raleigh

The Passionate Nymph's Reply to Her Beloved Shepherd by Me!!!!! (this one is technically also religious as well as romantic but wtv)

(^ those 3 need to be read in the listed order)

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

Dawn of the Duelverse - (an alternate Post-Crisis DC Historia)

by IGeo An alternate history of the Post-Crisis DC Universe. The Anti-Monitor's mad dream of erasing positive matter from existence has been dashed. By all accounts, The Multiverse should've been made one. Instead, by some unknown means, mitosis occurred. Now what was five is only two. In the aftermath of the crisis, with the worlds of the Justice Society and Justice League dividing the spoils of the other surviving three between them, the new "Duelverse" finds itself settling into a new paradigm. Worlds have lived, worlds have died, and nothing will ever be the same. Words: 1205, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English Fandoms: DCU (Comics), Justice Society of America (Comics), Teen Titans (Comics), Justice League of America (Comics), Infinity Inc. (Comics), Kingdom Come (Comics), Green Lantern (Comics), Superman (Comics), The Question (Comics), Power Girl (Comics) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: Gen, Multi, Other Characters: Judy Garrick, Jay Garrick, Alan Scott (DCU), Kent Nelson, Al Pratt, Kal-L | Earth-2 Superman, Bruce Wayne, Vic Sage, David Sikela, Kyle Rayner, Karen Starr | Kara Zor-L, Sandman (Character), Nathaniel Adam, Christopher Smith | Peacemaker, Jared Stevens, Jessica Cruz, Simon Baz, Doomsday (Superman), Ultra-Humanite, Amanda Waller, Ted Kord, Michael Carter (DCU), Peter Cannon, Sonia Sato, Sparkington Northrup, Yolanda Montez, Lyta Trevor-Hall, Koriand'r (DCU), Wesley Dodds, Jim Corrigan, Mar Novu | The Monitor, The Childminder, Matthew Tyler, Courtney Whitmore, Diana (Wonder Woman), Iris West II, Olivia Queen | Oliver Queen's Daughter, Avia | Scott Free and Big Barda's Daughter, Jennifer Pierce, Mar'i Grayson, Helena Wayne Relationships: Helena Wayne & Original Character(s), Kara Zor-L & John Constantine, Dick Grayson/Koriand'r, Mary Batson | Mary Bromfield & Freddy Freeman, Dinah Lance/Oliver Queen, Jennifer-Lynn Hayden/Kyle Rayner, Selina Kyle/Bruce Wayne Additional Tags: Pre-Crisis, Post-Crisis (DCU), Earth-2 (DCU), Earth-1 (DCU), Justice Society of America (DCU), Mentioned Teen Titans (DCU), What If? (Marvel Comics), Elseworlds, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Parallel Universes, Alternate Universe - 1940s, Earth-22 (Kingdom Come Comics), Documentation, Alternate History, Worldbuilding, Super Squad (Legacies), Superheroes via https://ift.tt/SdfeWmI

[rockonyou717]

Posting my review of Django Unchained of Letterboxd here. Maybe some might like it. I feel like most miss the importance of its story and very inception.

Spoilers ahead!

Am I an excessive violence fan? A Western fan?

No. But this film is absolutely amazing. A peak revenge film that has you smiling from ear to ear as you witness Django and Dr. King Schultz take on some incredibly smarmy people.

Django Unchained is a fascinating film. Christoph Waltz knocks it it of the park as a lovely and cunning German immigrant with the alias of being a dentist. He brings fun shades of humour and warmth, a perfect contrast for Django's icy personality (though Django is not immune to being just as funny and warm in this film). Christop Waltz and Jamie Foxx, like Schultz and Django alike, complement each other perfectly. Each of their presences is unique and though they are different, they glue you to the screen nonetheless!

Leonardo DiCaprio, when he's not chasing 20-somethings, absolutely fulfills his role as Calvin Candie to the highest degree. He gives off an incredibly perfect amount of ignorance and malice in his role. DiCaprio steals almost every scene he stars in, impossible as it may seem when you have talents like Waltz and Foxx there for the ride. DiCaprio brings such an insufferable unpleasantness to his role that you easily understand why Schultz would instead take a bullet than shake his hand.

The direction and the cinematography are both amazing and easily backed up by such a star-studded cast.

The film’s handling of slavery and its various nuances has been heavily criticized over the years by many critics. Many of them white. It feels as though these critics have misunderstood that not only this is this a well-done revenge film but it is a blatant satire and commentary on social injustices, the production of blaxploitation films, and the still true notion that our wider society still isn’t ready to have a candid discussion about slavery.

Proper discussion of slavery and its impact has caused for modern cinema audiences have a cautious appetite for authentic, honest and non-sensational films about the slave trade, especially from those that were enslaved. This film was never going to fulfill that. Why must any film with a black lead, one who lives in the past, consist of the same story about slavery? Is that not just forcing a minority group into a box yet again?

This film had little to do with slavery and instead used slavery as a backdrop for the actual plot. This isn't a film that is about the slave trade. This is a story of revenge that stems from the slave trade. It is a bit different in that regard. This film is about a slave breaking free. The fact that many got incredibly angry over the revenge killing of white people in this film has shown that the commentary has fallen on blind eyes/deaf ears. Ask not why one should be upset about the on-screen killing of whites but why others are enjoying it.

Conservative columnist Jeff Kuhner wrote saying: "Anti-white bigotry has become embedded in our postmodern culture. Take Django Unchained. The movie boils down to one central theme: the white man as devil—a moral scourge who must be eradicated like a lethal virus."

Mr. Kuhner missed the point of the film entirely, focusing only on the killing of white people. A shame indeed. Being upset about a film that involves killing whites while it's set during the time of slavery is quite telling indeed.

Samuel L. Jackson told Vogue Man that "Django Unchained was a harder and more detailed exploration of what the slavery experience was than 12 Years a Slave, but director Steve McQueen is an artist and since he's respected for making supposedly art films, it's held in higher esteem than Django, because that was basically a blaxploitation movie."

Jamie Foxx and Samuel L Jackson seemed to understand what exactly the story was looking to tell. This is a film with social commentary, incredible storytelling, a hell of a soundtrack, and multiple characters to love. It's not perfectly historically accurate but it doesn't need to be. Its story, exposure of blaxploitation films, and its gritty, satisfying revenge make for a killer film that makes sticking it to the "white devil" all the more satisfying. It still isn't enough though.

This is a pure revenge film at its core and it's never been such a greater joy to watch.

[marine-indie-gal]

Even though I already did Krampus in the SB Universe for One of My AUs, here is My TRUE Depiction of the Anti-Santa for My Adaptation of Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer as the Main Antagonist.

Unlike the backstory of Him in the SB-Verse, My Krampus has a very different backstory compare to his Other Counterpart.

Krampus was once a Man named "Christopher Von Golf" as he was once a Good Friend towards Saint Nicholas (who would then go on to become Santa Claus). Chris and Nick were once Two Close Friends of Opposites, but as they grew older, they decided to work at a Church for each and every of their Former Town's National Holiday in which at Church, Nick would give gifts for the Children who have been good while Chris would punish the Bad Children who have not been good this year by whipping them.

Although as time passed for the Two, Saint Nick was often recognized by the Town more often since he was a Good Saint which leaves Chris being overshadowed by his own Best Friend (mostly because of how all the Children feared him as Chris never receive any Naughty Children to punish as his population in the Church grew less). However, this made Christopher even more jealous than before and ever since the One Accident that when he spotted a Child stealing something from Someone outside of Church, he was arrested for Child Abuse.

But knowing that his life would change however when one faithful night at Prison, Chris escaped after manipulating a Guard that he killed, he went out of his way to find an Old Public Library in which he found a Magic Spell Book on how to summon a Deity from Ancient Times. Chris chose to possessed Hel so that he can recover from his own sins but as Chris made the most biggest mistake of his entire life that he cannot ever forget, The Norse Death Goddess, Hel possessed Christopher upon his own hatred and became what children truly saw within him...A Monster. Thus becoming "Krampus".

When former Christopher Von Golf has abandoned his own Humanity, he kidnapped every child during the night to feast upon them at Church as when his Former Friend (Nicholas) saw on what was happening during the night, he felt horrified, seeing his own Best Friend feasting on the Dead Kids which lead the Two Ex-Partners into a Gigantic Fight at Church. But when Nicholas however had summoned God, the Angels that God sent blasted Krampus far far away in a Cold Place (which would later become the North Pole) as he was lost through the foggy cold weather.

With Nick and Chris' former days of Morality have left behind, they went to become the World's famous Two Holiday Mascots. Of course, Krampus desires revenge upon his Former Partner now Arch-Nemesis as in My Rudolph story, Krampus plans to take over the Entire North Pole to kidnapped and enslave every Child (no matter if the One could be either Naughty or Nice) to take them to Yule Hell and even overthrow his Arch-Enemy for Good. Only for his defeat, Rudolph shines his Nose so bright, it causes the entire Northen Lights to shine over Krampus to lose all of his power (since Rudolph is actually the Descendant of a Powerful Reindeer with Light named "Sol".)

Krampus (c) Christmas Folklore Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (c) Robert L. May

[sa7abnews]

Justice Department indicts Iranian, Pakistani nationals linked to Navy SEAL deaths in Arabian Sea

New Post has been published on https://sa7ab.info/2024/08/09/justice-department-indicts-iranian-pakistani-nationals-linked-to-navy-seal-deaths-in-arabian-sea/

Justice Department indicts Iranian, Pakistani nationals linked to Navy SEAL deaths in Arabian Sea

The Justice Department announced an indictment Thursday against two Iranian brothers and a Pakistani national linked to a U.S. military operation off the coast of Somalia in January that resulted in the deaths of two Navy SEALs. Shahab and Yunus Mir’kazei — who federal prosecutors say work for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – and Muhammad Pahlawan are each charged with conspiring to provide and providing material support to Iran’s weapons of mass destruction program resulting in death and conspiring to commit violence against maritime navigation and maritime transport involving weapons of mass destruction resulting in death. Pahlawan is currently in custody and awaiting trial while the Iranians are at large. If convicted on the federal charges, all three men face a maximum penalty of life in prison. The Justice Department says Pahlawan “allegedly worked for the Mir’kazei brothers as the captain of a smuggling vessel known as a dhow, named the ‘Yunus,’ which is owned by Shahab.” US NAVY SEAL FELL INTO ARABIAN SEA AND ANOTHER DIED TRYING TO SAVE HIM, OFFICIALS CONFIRM “On the night of Jan. 11, U.S. Central Command Navy forces operating from the USS LEWIS B. PULLER, including Navy SEALs and members of the U.S. Coast Guard, boarded the dhow off the coast of Somalia,” it continued. “Two Navy SEALs lost their lives during the interdiction.” “As alleged, the U.S. boarding team encountered 14 individual mariners on the vessel, including Pahlawan. During a search of the dhow, the U.S. boarding team allegedly located and seized what is believed to be Iranian-made advanced conventional weaponry,” the Justice Department added. “Preliminary analysis of the advanced conventional weaponry indicates that it includes critical components for medium range ballistic missiles and anti-ship cruise missiles, including to include a warhead and propulsion and guidance components.  “The type of weaponry found aboard the dhow is allegedly consistent with the weaponry used by the Houthi rebel forces in recent attacks on merchant ships and U.S. military ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden,” the Justice Department also said. Federal prosecutors say Pahlawan is facing additional charges of “providing materially false information to U.S. Coast Guard officers during the boarding of the dhow regarding the vessel’s captain and witness intimidation for threatening one of the crewmembers on the dhow.   4 CHARGED AFTER SEIZURE OF SUSPECTED IRANIAN-MADE WEAPONS IN VESSEL THAT LEAD TO DEATHS OF 2 NAVY SEALS They added that Pahlawan “allegedly worked with Shahab to prepare the dhow for multiple smuggling voyages, and Shahab paid Pahlawan in Iranian Rials from a bank account in Shahab’s name.  “Pahlawan allegedly arranged to receive payments from Shahab and Yunus in Iran and distribute the money to his family and others,” according to the Justice Department. The Navy in January identified the two SEALs who were declared dead as Navy Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Christopher J. Chambers and Navy Special Warfare Operator 2nd Class Nathan Gage Ingram, days after they went missing. “We extend our condolences to Chris and Gage’s families, friends, and teammates during this incredibly challenging time. They were exceptional warriors, cherished teammates, and dear friends to many within the Naval Special Warfare community,” Capt. Blake L. Chaney, commander of Naval Special Warfare Group 1 said at the time. The announcement of the indictment comes as U.S. Central Command released images Thursday of Air Force F-22 Raptors arriving in the Middle East” as part of U.S. force posture changes in the region and to address threats posed by Iran and Iranian-backed groups.” Fox News’ Louis Casiano contributed to this report. 

[mysterymirrors]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: Speedo The One Back One Piece Swimsuit - Red Bright Rose - 28.

[daddydoddsjr]

everyone needs to see this

[georgianadarcies]

Ajrkvjrdjekxne your newest edit 🤭 I kind of have been interested in making a dumb Christopher/Logan gifset comparison just out of spite but I also don't want any l*gan stan to retaliate and make some idiotic christopher/jess comparison even when it won't even really work since Christopher only ever comes into Lorelai's life when it suits him, never when it suits her, whereas Jess leaves Rory be when it's obvious he can't stay or she doesn't want him to

Hdhfhd no but seriously please do make those comparison sets I would love that...if Jess antis want to waste their time fishing for meaningless parallels (while L*gan is actually supposed to be like Christopher) that’s their own problem honestly

L*gan and Christopher really do have so much in common...when they first meet and Chris was like “I like him” it sent me like of course you do...you’re...the same person...

[theultimatejackoff]

ROUND 14 L BRACKET 3

Our next two fighters are both little British boys!

CHRISTOPHER ROBIN VS CHRIS ECCLESTON!

Christopher Robin is just a little English lad, who enjoys hanging out with his friends.

"Very vocal against the British monarchy and played an amazing dr. who"

[justanoutlawfic]

Could you please insult... a character that I know you just LOVE... Christopher Hayden XD

You mean, Mr. Unromantic, Worst Dad, Jerkity Jerk of the Year?

I hope his office catches on fire.

Send me a character and I’ll insult them

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

Dawn of the Duelverse - (an alternate Post-Crisis DC Historia)

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/SdfeWmI by IGeo An alternate history of the Post-Crisis DC Universe. The Anti-Monitor's mad dream of erasing positive matter from existence has been dashed. By all accounts, The Multiverse should've been made one. Instead, by some unknown means, mitosis occurred. Now what was five is only two. In the aftermath of the crisis, with the worlds of the Justice Society and Justice League dividing the spoils of the other surviving three between them, the new "Duelverse" finds itself settling into a new paradigm. Worlds have lived, worlds have died, and nothing will ever be the same. Words: 1205, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English Fandoms: DCU (Comics), Justice Society of America (Comics), Teen Titans (Comics), Justice League of America (Comics), Infinity Inc. (Comics), Kingdom Come (Comics), Green Lantern (Comics), Superman (Comics), The Question (Comics), Power Girl (Comics) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: Gen, Multi, Other Characters: Judy Garrick, Jay Garrick, Alan Scott (DCU), Kent Nelson, Al Pratt, Kal-L | Earth-2 Superman, Bruce Wayne, Vic Sage, David Sikela, Kyle Rayner, Karen Starr | Kara Zor-L, Sandman (Character), Nathaniel Adam, Christopher Smith | Peacemaker, Jared Stevens, Jessica Cruz, Simon Baz, Doomsday (Superman), Ultra-Humanite, Amanda Waller, Ted Kord, Michael Carter (DCU), Peter Cannon, Sonia Sato, Sparkington Northrup, Yolanda Montez, Lyta Trevor-Hall, Koriand'r (DCU), Wesley Dodds, Jim Corrigan, Mar Novu | The Monitor, The Childminder, Matthew Tyler, Courtney Whitmore, Diana (Wonder Woman), Iris West II, Olivia Queen | Oliver Queen's Daughter, Avia | Scott Free and Big Barda's Daughter, Jennifer Pierce, Mar'i Grayson, Helena Wayne Relationships: Helena Wayne & Original Character(s), Kara Zor-L & John Constantine, Dick Grayson/Koriand'r, Mary Batson | Mary Bromfield & Freddy Freeman, Dinah Lance/Oliver Queen, Jennifer-Lynn Hayden/Kyle Rayner, Selina Kyle/Bruce Wayne Additional Tags: Pre-Crisis, Post-Crisis (DCU), Earth-2 (DCU), Earth-1 (DCU), Justice Society of America (DCU), Mentioned Teen Titans (DCU), What If? (Marvel Comics), Elseworlds, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Parallel Universes, Alternate Universe - 1940s, Earth-22 (Kingdom Come Comics), Documentation, Alternate History, Worldbuilding, Super Squad (Legacies), Superheroes read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/SdfeWmI

[xbadgerbearx]

i hope so

pairing: Abner Krill x Reader

word count: 1.1k

warning: contains spoilers!!

note: Reader is gender neutral so everyone can enjoy :)

Can’t Sleep: … [2]

Damn, this is getting old.

There is no rest with Waller. Wake up, go on a mission, rest, rinse, and repeat. It was relatively early in the morning; the clock on the wall was the only indication that any time was passing. Any sunlight that was available was blocked out by walls and replaced with harsh artificial light. Taking your time getting out of bed, you observed yourself in the mirror that was embedded in the wall. You still looked a little rough from the last mission, but something tells you that Waller wouldn't care. Your clothes, or rather prison uniform, was wrinkled. As you stood up you smoothed out your shirt.

"Yellow... what an irritating color."

You were washing your face in the sink in the corner when the door opened with a loud creak. You finished rinsing your face before turning the faucet off with a sigh. It was Waller, but she had people with her. New teammates?

"This is (Y/n) (L/n), also known as Mimic. As the name implies, they can mimic almost anything. Every good team needs someone who specializes in stealth."

"Why the fuck do they get to wear different colored clothes? We running a fashion show here? Not to mention all the security 'round this cell," a voice I've never heard say. It was deep and rather soothing.

"It's a safety precaution," Waller answered. "We can't have a shapeshifter steal someone's identity and escape, so when they leave their cell they are constantly monitored. Their clothes are made out of a special material. That way they will always be visible, even when invisible."

"They can turn invisible?"

Ignoring the question, Waller called out, "Let's go (L/n). You've got a new mission."

Shuffling out of the cell, you were greeted with the sight of Christopher—Peacemaker—and Cleo—Ratcatcher II—as well as an unknown man and giant humanoid shark.

"How's it going, (L/n)?" Peacemaker asked, "Long time no see."

"Yeah yeah, it's as good as being in prison can be," you answered with a wave of your hand. "Cleo! Nice to see you," you smiled.

Cleo let out a small laugh before yawning. Sebastian waved his paw towards you in greeting.

Waller led the almost finished team towards another wing of the building before abruptly stopping in front of a cell.

"And finally, we have Abner Krill."

"What's that 'round his neck?" Bloodsport, or rather Robert DuBois you learned, asked.

Abner was standing in his cell with a bulky collar while waiting patiently to get it removed.

'He's cute,' you noted.

As he looked at his new team, his eyes fell on you. You visibly saw his breath hitch as he stared in your direction. You knitted your eyebrows in a questioning manner before turning your attention to Waller when she started talking again.

"A power dampener. They call him the Polka Dot Man."

Peacemaker scoffs. "Polka Dot Man. What's he do, throw polka dots at people?"

"Chris, you don't even have any powers so you can't talk," you scoffed back.

Before he could retort, Calendar Man made a rude comment towards the aloof man getting his collar removed, who, in return, looked down dejectedly. You felt a little bad. Calendar Man, or rather Julian Day, was honestly a laughing stock among the villains he associated himself with, so it was rather egotistical of him to make that comment.

"We need to debrief," Waller announced as she turned and walked away.

Before you went to debrief, she ordered everyone to change into their combat outfits. You each got to change into a small room, so that helped not making things potentially awkward. Your outfit was relatively simple and not attention grabbing; the opposite of Polka Dot Man. When walking out of the dressing rooms, Abner seemed to shrink into himself. Seeing you look at him, he let out a little laugh of embarrassment before gesturing to his attire.

With a playful smile, you laughed out, "I like it, I think it's cute," to which Abner responded with a blush dusting his face along with a bashful look.

"Everyone follow me," Waller announced with a loud authoritative voice.

She led everyone to a conference room before standing on a stage. Everyone seated themselves, you next to Cleo in the front, before Waller turned on the presentation. Unbeknownst to you, Krill had his eyes on you in curiosity.

"Corto Maltese is a small island nation off the coast of South America," Waller began. "Over the past 100 years, the country has been ruled with an iron fist by-" with a click the screen changed, "-the Herrera family. But, a week ago, this guy," click, "-General Silvio Luna, along with his right hand man, Mayor General Mateo Suarez," click, "-took control of the Corto Maltese government in a violent military coup. The entire Herrera family were hanged in a public execution," with another click a video started playing. Your jaw dropped a little at the sight. Waller continued, "Although the United States did not condone the excesses of the Herrera regime, they were non-antagonistic toward the U.S. Luna, however, is virulently anti-American."

"So you want us to kill Luna?" Peacemaker spoke out.

"No," Waller answered simply before resuming with another click. "This is Jotunheim. A scientific experimentation facility containing something known only as Project Starfish. Our intelligence sources tell us that Starfish is extraterrestrial in origin. In the hands of the Luna regime, it is potentially cataclysmic for Americans and the world." You could hear Abner shuffling in his seat uncomfortably. "Your mission is to infiltrate Jotunheim and destroy every trace of Project Starfish."

"How're we supposed to get in?" DuBois asked. A click was swiftly followed.

"Gaius Grieves, the Thinker, is a geneticist in charge of Project Starfish. After hours, he hangs out at a gentlemen's club known as La Gatita Amable. Get Grieves to help you by whatever means necessary and he can get you into Jotunheim." With one last click, the presentation was turned off. "Any questions?"

"What is that?" Ratcatcher II asked while pointing at a piece of old machinery sitting off to the side.

"That is an overhead projector."

"Do you ever use it anymore?"

"No, not really."

"So, why don't you just throw it away?"

With a sigh, Waller called on Peacemaker.

"Starfish is a slang term for butthole. Think there's any connection?"

You let out a loud laugh at the unexpectedness of the question.

"No," Waller answered before calling on Nanaue, who you learned was the shark from Chris.

"Hand."

You turned around to see King Shark pointing at his hand, fin, paw thing. You weren't too sure.

"Yes, that is your hand, Nanaue, very good."

"We're all gonna die," Bloodsport commented.

Polka Dot Man responded with, "I hope so." It was the first time you heard him speak; he had a nice and gentle voice. You liked it.

[nerdygaymormon]

The Pride Month We Know & Love

In 1969, the Stonewall Riots occurred. This is considered the beginning of the modern queer rights movement. At the time, it was called the gay rights movement and the word gay, while meaning homosexual, also was an umbrella term that included all of what we now call the queer community.

————————————————————

On November 2, 1969, a group of people proposed the first gay parade be held in New York City, both to commemorate the 1969 Stonewall riots and to be an annual reminder that we are in a struggle for fundamental human rights. They called on homophile organizations throughout the country to hold demonstrations the same day to show nationwide support. 

On June 28, 1970, the Christopher Street Liberation Day marked the first anniversary of the Stonewall riots with a march. Christopher Street is the road in front of the Stonewall Inn and the road participants marched down. The New York Times reported (on the front page) that the marchers took up the entire street for 15 city blocks. Marches were also held in Chicago & Los Angeles while San Francisco held a “gay-in.”

In 1971, marches took place in Boston, Dallas, Milwaukee, London, Paris, West Berlin, and Stockholm.

By 1972 the participating cities included Atlanta, Brighton, Buffalo, Detroit, Washington D.C., Miami, and Philadelphia, as well as San Francisco.

————————————————————

The first marches were both serious and fun and served to inspire the widening activist movement. There was a dramatic increase in the number of people organizing for queer rights. In 1969, there were 50 to 60 gay groups in the country. In 1970 that increased to at least 1500. In 1972 it was 2500.

Prior to 1969, the organizations called themselves the homophile movement. They focused on showing that gay people are respectable and politely asked for discriminatory policies to be removed. Their marches had dress requirements, age limits as to who could participate, and even the signs held had to be pre-approved.

The Stonewall riots with images of gays retaliating against police changed things and inspired new activists. They considered the movement an uprising and renamed it the gay liberation movement. We are gonna be who we are and live as we want, respectability be damned. Parades and festivals were to specifically to not have dress requirements or age limits. 

————————————————————

In Nazi Germany, gay men were prisoners in the concentration camps and their clothes had inverted pink triangles sewn on them to mark them as homosexual men (this also included bisexual men and trans women). This pink triangle was extra large so they could be easily identified from a distance. 

After the concentration camps were shut down at the end of World War II and prisoners freed, the gay survivors were not released but locked up in prison. Homosexuality was illegal in Germany. West Germany continued to imprison them until 1994!

In 1973, Homosexuelle Aktion Westberlin, a German gay liberation group, called for gay men to wear the pink triangle as a memorial to past victims and to protest continuing discrimination. This pink triangle became a symbol of the gay rights movement and many displayed it proudly, but the symbol couldn’t shake its association with the horrors of the Nazis. 

Harvey Milk, one of the first openly gay elected officials in the U.S., urged artist Gilbert Baker, an openly gay man and a drag queen, to create a new inspiring symbol for the gay community to replace the Nazi symbol. 

It’s thought that Baker was at least partially inspired by the Judy Garland song "Over the Rainbow" (Garland being among the first gay icons). He also liked the idea of a flag, as that is a way of being visible. The rainbow flag was unveiled at the 1978 San Francisco Gay Freedom Day parade. After the parade, hot pink was removed from new flags due to fabric unavailability. The murder of Harvey Milk in November 1978 led to a surge of requests for the Rainbow flag, which led to it being adopted by people around the country.

For the 1979 San Francisco Gay Freedom Day parade, the organizers reduced the number of colors from 7 to 6 so that they could divide it in half and have 3 colors decorating one side of the street, and the other three colors on the other side. This 6-colored rainbow flag became the standard and quickly replaced pink triangles.

In 2003, a mile-long version of the rainbow flag was made by Baker for the 35th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, this recognized the rainbow flag as THE international symbol for LGBTQ pride, it can be seen all around the world.

On June 26, 2015, the White House was illuminated in the rainbow flag colors to mark the legalization of same-sex marriages across the country.

In June 2017, the city of Philadelphia adopted a revised version of the flag that adds black and brown stripes to the top of the standard six-colors to draw attention to issues of people of color within the LGBTQ community.

In June 2018 designer Daniel Quasar released a redesign incorporating elements from both the Philadelphia flag and trans pride flag to bring focus on inclusion and progress within the community.

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But when did it go from Gay Liberation to Pride? 

Meetings to organize the first march in New York City began in early January 1970. Brenda Howard, a bisexual activist, is known as the "Mother of Pride" for her work in coordinating the march. She also originated the idea for a week-long series of events around the march.

She wanted to create a number of events to bring in people from out of town and wanted to unite the events under a label. The first idea was 'Gay Power,’ however gay activist L. Craig Schoonmaker didn’t like that suggestion. He explained, “There's very little chance for [gay] people in the world to have power...But anyone can have pride in themselves, and that would make them happier as people, and produce the movement likely to produce change."

Brenda Howard, L. Craig Schoonmaker and bisexual activist Robert A. Martin (aka Donny the Punk) are credited with popularizing the word "Pride" to describe the festivities in New York.

As the 1980s approached, there was a cultural shift in the gay movement. Just as the elections of Ronald Reagan & Margaret Thatcher indicated a conservative shift in their countries, activists of a less radical, more conservative nature began taking over the march committees in different cities. They dropped "Gay Liberation" and "Gay Freedom" from the names, replacing them with Schoomaker’s idea of "Gay Pride." This also coincided with the replacement of the more radical pink triangles for the more positive rainbow flags.

The word "pride" was embraced as it defies the bigotry and hatred against the LGBTQIA+ community. It also teaches people they should be proud of themselves rather than feel shame. Replacing shame with pride helps people to come out and to be more assertive about who they are and that they deserve the same rights as others. 

In 1999, President Bill Clinton issued a proclamation declaring that the LGBTQIA+ community and its allies would "celebrate the anniversary of Stonewall every June in America as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month." President Barack Obama issued a proclamation in 2009 declaring June LGBTQIA+ Pride Month. 

This is how we got Pride Month!

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Part of the original ideas of parades was to bring queer people and queer culture into what was considered heteronormative spaces. Queer lives were seen as dissident and radical. 

Today Pride events have taken on a festive character and it’s fun to join hundreds or thousands of other queer people. 

Pride events still have some of the original political or activist character. Most offer some aspect dedicated to remembering victims of AIDS and anti-LGBT violence. Booths are often on hand with people collecting signatures in support of constitutional amendments or petitions for laws & policies to change.

Large parades often involve floats, dancers, drag queens and amplified music, and they usually include political and educational contingents, such as local politicians, and groups from LGBT institutions of various kinds, such as PFLAG. Other typical parade participants include local LGBT-friendly churches and LGBT-employee associations from large corporations. 

The Stonewall riots, as well as the immediate and the ongoing political organizing that occurred following them, were fully participated in by lesbians, bisexuals, transgender people, and gays, from all races and backgrounds. Pride festivals and parades continue to be inclusive spaces. 

Historically these events were first named Gay, the word at that time being used to cover the entire spectrum of what is now called the queer. Today these festivals & parades are often called Pride.