#everyone say thank you eithne

[ashesandhackles]

10, 15, 24, and 26 please, pal :)

Thanks for the fun questions eithne :D

10. most enjoyable swear word in your native language?

For Hindi, going to concur with @padfootswhiskers and say "madarchod" (or even "behenchod" - sisterfucker- which you will hear often if you are in delhi) is very satisfying.

In Malayalam/Tamil - "mayir"(pubic hair) is one. But the odd one is "pulle' (which means grass. I always found this one hilarious - yelling at someone and calling them grass).

15. a saying, joke, or hermetic meme that only people from your country will get?

The meme everyone here will get is: "POOJA WHAT IS THIS BEHAVIOUR?" And "HOW CAN SHE SLAP?"

Both from reality shows, and they were widely used as meme formats.

We have context based common sayings, such as - if you ask a really stupid question after every detail has been explained, we say something like, "Poori Ramayan khatam ho gayi (we finished the entire Ramayana)- and "you are asking this now?"

This particular bit is funny because the Indian epic of Ramayana is really LONG.

24. what other nation is joked about most often in your country?

Bangladesh. The influx of refugees from Bangladesh in the states of Bengal and Assam are quite contentious issues in those state's politics, but it is often dealt in jokes by rest of the country. (In the similar vein of the kind of jokes western countries would make about finding Indian cab drivers everywhere)

26. does your nationality get portrayed in Hollywood/American media? what do you think about the portrayal?

Yup. Well, I am generally quite tired of these things in Hollywood portrayals:

- we are not all Hindus, and not all Hindus worship Ganesha. I sometimes wonder whether this is because of the kind of class (which is also tied to caste) who can afford to move abroad.

- we are not all super religious. However, India is a country where religion is woven into the fabric of its culture - so those cultural markers are there.

- India is not just (outskirts of) Mumbai or Varanasi. India is a vast country - and we not only have the tropics, we, along with Nepal, Pakistan, house the belt of highest mountains in the world. Unless it's an explorer, I see very little interest in these parts of India. North East India gets very little attention on Bollywood itself (unless it's an indie movie), I don't know whether white people that part of Indian exists.

These are off the top of my head. I am sure there are more I have issues with.

I am not from US ask sets

[moragmac]

WHO: Morag, Tavish, mentions Sue & the rest of the MacDougal gang WHEN: 20th December WHERE: Hogwarts Express/King’s Cross   

The train was filled with tension. Luna Lovegood had been taken and there were no answers and everyone was going home or somewhere at least and there was no certainty about who’d be coming back. Morag moved from one compartment to the other, hand pressing against her head. She could feel a migraine slowly sneaking up on her, slowly settling between her temples. 

It seemed like a fitting start of this year’s Christmas break, she supposed.

She kept her head down, moved back to the compartment where her baggage and best friends were, trying not to think about how horribly everything was going wrong. And then Tavish stopped in front of her, his eyes traveling over her face, his fingers curling around her wrist for a second. “We should talk.”

Morag nodded. Of course they should. She had avoided any deep conversations with her brother after their visit to Mrs Selwyn’s funeral, had made it her job to avoid confrontation and reality. Talking to Tavish would just confuse her, would just push her towards uncertainty. She’d made the right choice. She knew that.

But seeing him made everything feel like a big mistake. There’d be no sneaking out of her bedroom to meet him and Moira in her sister’s bed and to speculate about the gifts they might get under the blankets. There’d be no Christmas breakfast and dinner and a sneaky sip of alcohol from a glass that Eithne slid her way. All the things that belonged by her version of Christmas would not be. Tavish would meet their parents on his own and make the way to home alone and it’d just be Moira and him, together under her sister’s sheets.

“We should.” Morag wanted to get away, to return to Sue and Mandy and focus on adapting, rather than explaining. She’d celebrate Christmas with Sue and it would be okay. She would be able to breathe there, at least.

“So you’re not going to be there.” Her eyes scanned Tavish’ face, trying to see if he was angry or hurt or worried. He was a MacDougal though, like her, able to keep emotions hidden if he wanted to. “We should say goodbye.”

“I’m sorry, Tav --- for not talking to you.” That wasn’t a goodbye. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. I’m also sorry for leaving you. “I should’ve let you know what was going on.” And if she had, she was sure that he would’ve picked their mother’s side, that he would have told her to just do what was being asked of her. She saw her willingness to comply in him. It was even stronger, there.

Maybe it was because he was the youngest. The most impressionable, the one most desperate to succeed and make his parents proud. 

“You really should have.” Did she detect some anger in his voice? She didn’t blame him for it. “I don’t understand any of this, Morag. Not at all. You should have talked to me. You owed me that. All I got was small talk and letters from home about you.”

Morag closed her eyes for a second, imagining the way her mother spoke of her to her brother, to the rest of her siblings. She ached. She could live with not seeing her mother again, but it was turning her back on Tavish and Moira and Seònaid that hurt more. She had not heard from her sisters since the funeral. She wasn’t sure if it was because the letters had been intercepted or because they’d done what was expected of them. “I’m sorry.” 

“That’s not enough. I guess it’s okay, though, because once you’re graduated, I probably won’t see you again, will I? Just a few months left, of us having to see each other everyday. And then you’ll leave me, too.” 

Was that how her mother had painted it? That she had left? Morag buried her teeth in her lip. “I didn’t leave. I refused to partake in nanay’s ultimatum. She made it clear that I wasn’t welcome any more --- she left me, if that’s how you want to paint it.” 

And yet, she supposed there was truth in what Tavish had said. She could have chosen him and her siblings over Megan. She could have complied and kept them, close and near. The people who were part of her. Even Eithne and Evander, with their twisted souls and the things they did --- they were kin. She was supposed to do everything and anything for them, and she had failed to.

“You choose some girl over us. Or didn’t choose --- I don’t care about technicalities. All I know is that you didn’t listen, and now you’re not coming home. Nanay’s ways ... it wasn’t right for her to send that howler, but she wasn’t unreasonable.” 

Morag let out a laugh. “Not unreasonable? I’m sorry, but that’s nonsense. Bullshit, actually. It wasn’t fair. None of this is bloody fair. I love Megan, and I love you. I shouldn’t have to choose. That’s not on me.” 

She watched Tavish shake his head. Saw the anger in his eyes, and something close to burning tears. She wanted to walk away, but she stayed. 

“You can’t love her like you love us. Family is supposed to come first, Morag, but I’m not going to fight you on this. It’s a waste of time.”

“It’s a good thing I don’t love her like I love any of you, actually. There’s no conditions and ultimatums and all of this other ... crap. I’ll see you in the new year, then. I’ll have your present then, too.”

Tavish shook his head, embraced her for a slight moment --- stiffly and distantly, not the way he usually did --- and waved with one hand. “Have a good Christmas, Morag. See you in the new year.”

And then he walked off, and Morag watched him for a while before moving to her own compartment, sliding on a seat and closing her eyes for a second. She mentioned her oncoming migraine and said little else, staring out of the window and telling herself that she wasn’t in the bloody wrong, she wasn’t, she wasn’t, she wasn’t and believing it less and less as time went on.

They arrived at King’s Cross and Morag followed Sue to her mother, unable to keep her eyes from searching her brother’s head or her mother’s dark blue robes. She found them, eventually, standing far back, hugging and chatting. Moira was there. Her bleeding father was there. Since when did he bother with coming to such things? 

Morag stared, halted for a second. She met her sisters eyes. She gave her a slight smile, mouthed a sorry. Morag stared some more, mouthed a sorry back. She decided that she would owl Moira, once she had arrived and settled a little. If any of her siblings would understand, if any of them would tell her that it was okay, it was her. 

She turned back to Sue and her mother and cleared her throat. “Thank you so much for letting me stay,” she whispered to Sue. “Really.”

[selvnite]

1, 2, 12 and 13! ✨

Thank you el 💕

1. Meanest VS Kindest

Valyrill is definitely the meanest and can be very sadistic when she chooses to be. Morgana can be a b*tch at times (valid though). Eithne, despite her appearance, is very kind. She makes people herbal teas and takes time to chat to everyone at Skyhold, kindest tol bean. Evelyne is also super kind, she only really gives flowers to Josephine though.

2. Tallest VS Shortest

You could not guess who the tallest is… It’s Eithne lmao. She is a gentle giant and I love her. Nim is tall for an elf I think, 5′8. Tormod is obviously the shortest but my boy is built. Grace is pretty short too!

12. Brainiest VS Brawniest

Adahlena and Sara are brainy, however, my quarian girl is THE brainiest of the bunch. Give her scrap and she can build you something useful. An innovative mind at it’s finest (it’s also a detriment to her character). I would say Tormod is the brawniest out of all my OCs. Gwen is very fit though, as is Nim and Evelyne. I mean, they wield swords and shields guys… they gotta be strong.

13. Most forgiving VS Most grudgeful

Oh ho let me tell you, Ithylwyn is very, very forgiving. She doesn’t have time for grudges. Nim is very forgiving in certain circumstances but she doesn’t hold grudges. You know who does hold grudges? Gwen. Her grudge against Howe is unparalleled even after she kills him. She can’t bring herself to act civil around Nathaniel either. Adahlena and Val’s grudges against the Templars come pretty close though, Val’s especially.

[mus240blog]

F**k Tha Police: The Most Controversial Song of a Generation

Source: ROSCOH14

F**k Tha Police is a gangsta rap song released by rap group N.W.A. in 1988. Often called The World’s Most Dangerous Group, the song F**k Tha Police in particular generated extreme controversy due to its lyrics about violence towards police.

The song starts off with a very aggressive record scratch, a recurring motif throughout the song in order to lead into verses or fill in gaps during the chorus. Since this is a rap song, the instrumentation has no feedback or distortion. Instead it opts for three different drum loops that are clean cut throughout the song. One loop for the intro, one loop for every verse and mini skit, and one loop for the hook. The rest of the instrumentation is simple as well. The synths, horns and bass guitar loop throughout the song, only changing when shifting from verse to verse. Its mixing and mastering has not aged particularly well, but it works in this song’s favor as it highlights the gritty aggression throughout.

Being a rap song, the most important element of the recording is the lyrics so the instrumentation never overtakes the lyrics. The delivery of the vocals is incredibly aggressive and confrontational. F**k Tha Police parodies court proceedings by inserting mini skits before every verse. In the intro, one of the group members, Dr. Dre, is presented as a judge overseeing the prosecution of the LAPD. Three other members, Ice Cube, MC Ren, and Eazy E “take the stand” to testify against the LAPD in the form of verses. Through each verse, they criticize police on racial profiling and police brutality. They also threaten police throughout with lines such as “Without a gun and a badge, what do you got?/A sucker in a uniform waiting to get shot” (N.W.A, 1988). Between each verse is a skit that depicts some sort of racial profiling between cops and members of N.W.A. At the end of the song, Dr. Dre finds the police guilty and has them dragged away.

The importance of F**k Tha Police is often understated: it brought gangsta rap from the streets to the suburbs on a nationwide level (Edgar). Spurred by this success, hip hop as a whole flooded the mainstream (Quinn, 191). It’s important to understand the political, cultural, and socioeconomic factors in 1988 when this song came out. President Reagan associated crimes and violence with the “degraded inner city minorities” and used this to justify tough-on-crime policies, the most notable of which is the Anti-Drug Abuse Act (McCann). In Compton (where N.W.A is from) and other inner city communities, the act enabled militarized surveillance and mass incarceration of black communities (McCann). By the time 1988 had rolled around, crime was the center of political communication and governance (McCann). In this context, N.W.A found a way to address the discourse regarding the “War on Drugs” and racial profiling (McCann). 

F**K Tha Police comes from a long history of racial profiling and police brutality (Edgar). “Once in everybody’s lifetime,” MC Ren explained, “you get harassed by the police for no reason, and everybody wants to say it, but they can’t say it on the spot” (Harvey). Dr. Dre originally opposed to putting F**k Tha Police on the record but changed his mind after being harassed by the LAPD along with Eazy E (Moore). The intended audience may have been for inner city residents relating to these experiences but the unintended audience is more important: 80% of the sales of Straight Outta Compton (the album F**k Tha Police is on) was from the suburbs (McDermott). The song’s critique was not well received by all: the FBI sent N.W.A. a letter of their disapproval with the song’s lyrics (Edgar). The FBI worked together with venue owners and local cops to stifle N.W.A. shows around the country (Harvey). Radio stations systemically boycotted the song from air play (Edgar). Yet all these controversies only served to strengthen N.W.A.’s reputation as well as their message. The message they tried to get across came loud and clear: they were fed up with being powerless against police and turned the tables around in F**k Tha Police. 

The video above is from the biopic “Straight Outta Compton” where N.W.A. discusses their reasoning behind their controversial lyrics to the press. Source: movieweb

F**k Tha Police is important because its message held up in 1988 and it still holds up today in 2017. It draws communities together seeking justice for a growing number of unindicted police brutality crimes (Edgar). Listeners are able to draw parallels to police brutality during the Reagan administration as well as issues today in Ferguson, Los Angeles, New York, and Baltimore in regards to the Black Lives Matter movement (Edgar). F**k Tha Police amplifies feelings of injustice due to racial profiling and it holds weight even today. Not only does it affect the people directly involved, it sends the message to those not involved. Similar to how in 1988 the white kids from the suburbs listened to F**k Tha Police, today everyone can understand the message through social media, the news, and hip hop songs like F**k Tha Police. 

The age of F**k Tha Police affects the listeners too. This song about racial profiling and injustice has been around for almost 30 years and yet holds just as much relevance in today’s society. This causes listeners to question why so little has changed and what they can do to help. F**k Tha Police utilizes music as a form of protest as well as being sort of a catharsis for victims of police brutality and racial discrimination. “So the way we dressed and the way we looked...you can mistake any kid for a gang member—any good kid. Some of them dress like gangbangers...because that’s the fashion in the neighborhood. It was just too much to bear, to be under that kind of occupying force, who was abusive...Our music was our only weapon...Nonviolent protest.” Ice Cube says (Moore). In that sense, the song F**k Tha Police becomes a protest song not only for the members of N.W.A. but for any listener who’s ever been a victim of racial profiling. It becomes a way to hold police responsible for their actions. It becomes a way to get the message out in both the streets and the suburbs. It becomes a song of resilience for both their generation and ours today. F**k Tha Police is an anthem, a demand for justice. And it can be heard all over the world thanks to N.W.A.

Works Cited

Edgar, Amanda Nell. “Commenting Straight from the Underground: N.W.A., Police Brutality, and YouTube as a Space for Neoliberal Resistance.” Southern Communication Journal, vol. 81, no. 4, 2016, pp. 223-236, Scholars Portal Journals, doi: 10.1080/1041794X.2016.1200123. Accessed 5 February 2017.

“Fuk Tha Police.” Youtube, uploaded by ROSCOH14, 14 March 2011, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51t1OsPSdBc.

Harvey, Eric. “Who Got The Camera? N.W.A’s Embrace of ‘Reality,’ 1988-1992.” Pitchfork, 14 August 2015, http://pitchfork.com/features/from-the-pitchfork-review/9704-who-got-the-camera-nwas-embrace-of-reality-1988-1992/. Accessed 10 February 2017.

McCann, Bryan J. “Contesting the Mark of Criminality: Race, Place, and the Prerogative of Violence in N.W.A.’s Straight Outta Compton.” Critical Studies In Media Communication, vol. 29, no. 5, 2012, pp. 367-386, Scholars Portal Journals, doi: 10.1080/15295036.2012.676194. Accessed 7 February 2017.

McDermott, Terry. “NWA: Straight Outta Compton.” Los Angeles Times, 14 April 2002.

Moore, Chris. “‘Fuck Tha Police’: N.W.A’s Most Courageous Song Is Still As Relevant As Ever.” Mass Appeal, 14 August 2015, http://massappeal.com/fuck-tha-police-nwa-most-courageous-song-is-still-as-relevant-as-ever/. Accessed 7 February 2017.

N.W.A., "F**k Tha Police." Straight Outta Compton, Ruthless/Priority, 1988.

Quinn, Eithne. “Nuthin’ But A G Thang: The Culture and Commerce of Gangsta Rap. Columbia University Press, 2010.

“Straight Outta Compton (2015) Our Art Is a Reflection of Our Reality (HD) O'Shea Jackson Jr., Corey.” Youtube, uploaded by movieweb, 3 August 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2OEQ_f3V2g.