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witchlyboo · 3 years ago

Text

Definitely, maybe.

Part five: The one who belongs to someone else.

Introduction. Part one. Part two. Part three. Part four.

Paring: Latina!reader x Logan Lerman x Tom Holland x Ben Hardy x Timothee Chalamet x Pedro Pascal x Michael B. Jordan

Warnings: Swearing, angst, misspellings, some Spanish, me learning how to write properly, and NY stuff that I've learned from movies that we all agree to pretend are real.

Word count: 6.4 k

a/n: You been asking for smut, I know, I know, I just wanted to introduce you to all the boys first, and we're getting there, just one more ahead. Also, I'm working on a masterlist because we are getting too many parts already.

All body types and skin tones friendly. You can also enjoy it as a no Hispanic reader. Constructive feedback and misspellings correction is always welcome.

Red and blue lights flash the driving mirror.

—No, no, no, por favor que no sea a mi—You beg to the sky looking at the patrol that is asking you to park, or someone else, there's a lot of cars in this part of the city, there's a big chance is the panic who's controlling your senses.—Dios, mi abuela fue a la iglesia cada domingo de su vida y nunca te pidió nada, please let me have some of her divina recompensa.—But that's not how it works, you end up parking with just a few seconds to think what to say. There's a perfect explication of why you are driving a car that is not yours in the middle of the night and smelling like a minibar.

Then this ridiculous thought comes to your mind, you look expensive, you've never seen the daughter of a senator but you must be close to it, it would make you less of a feminist if you just use your attributes? Ugh, you feel sick just to think about it but don't have enough money to pay a fine, and the constant paranoia of being chased all the time as an immigrant will only get stronger.

You pull down your dress a little so your neckline can do its job but you regret it immediately, and you're pretty sure you look more like an expensive prostitute who stole the car of his lover than some influential men's daughter.

—License and registration.—You hear him say when he approaches your window. You don't like this but you have to play the dumb tourist, the pretty foreign girl that is too stupid to be dangerous, with the look you have tonight it shouldn't be hard. But damn you hate cops, any uniformed man that works for the government is your eternal enemy, and you don't know how long you could keep the nice dumb Latina game before spit on his face.

—There's something wrong, officer? ...You?!—Your sexy and fake high voice is ruined when you see the face of the man who stopped you. This night couldn't get worse.

—Wait, what happened with the party?—Evan interrupts you while you finish some notes for work, little remainders for later when you don't have an eleven years old kid running around you, he's not usually this energic and you have to blame yourself for that, you're describing a life of excess and eccentric fun, something you let behind so many years ago that your own son doesn't know even a bit of it.

—Ugh, a nightmare doesn't worth telling.—You remember vaguely most of it but what keeps fresh in your mind is bad enough to don't want to bring it back.

—But if Timothée is my dad I have to know the important things, including the bad stuff.—Sounds perfectly reasonable and that's what makes you groan at him. Sometimes you feel blessed that your kid is better than you in any possible way, and sometimes you want to kill his brain with video games and reality shows like the rest of the parents.

—Ok, cool, but I'll keep all the +18 content for myself, so this part of the story might be blurry for you.—It kinda is for you anyway.

You should’ve known this night was cursed, you had a feeling because a) your earring fell off at the same time Timothée texted you to give you the party address and say he can't pick you up. And b) he won’t pick you up. Your mother would say that’s reason enough to not go, a real gentleman wouldn’t make you go to an unknown place in the middle of the night on your own in a city like this. But you decide to ignore it because you are a modern woman and because it’s worth it. It better be.

The outfit must be something special. You always take your time to choose what to wear, even if just another regular day, and since this isn't the case you thought about it for hours, that made your mind busy enough to not thinking about Tom and the whole love confession. He texted you saying he'll come for you to go to class together on Monday, which is completely impractical because he's way closer than you but is progress and you're going to take it.

You wanted to ask for Sheep's opinion but you thought she might not care, has been a few days since she started acting strange like she's bothered just to see you breathe. You want to blame his boyfriend to take all her time and attention from you but is probably just her new job, she got a small role in a Netflix show, and even when you're so happy for her, that's the event that has changed her into someone completely different. But you give her time, stress can do bad things to people.

The winner is the exact copy you made of the black and white striped dress Cameron Diaz wore in "The Mask" beautiful, classy, and sexy enough without being too scandalous, not that you have any problem with that, but this isn't the occasion, you don't want to feel like you're being too much or too little, just enough, it's supposed to be easy, right? you were born for this. Just adding some big shiny earrings you got on a thrift shop that look like real diamonds and you're ready, not that you own any to compare. Red lipstick, dark eyes, and a messy bun to get that disinterested pitch every look needs.

Getting there wasn't a problem, you were in the rich part of the city, everyone know who, where and what just to brag about it. The excitement is growing with every second, you check your makeup like thirty times in the elevator and send texts to your mom just to let her know where you are, and because you have to share that moment with someone and you are limited of friends these days.

Timothée opens the door with red eyes, drunk, high, or somewhere in between, you know then you were right about the bad feeling. He jumps on you to kiss you and no matter how much you try to explain the delicacy of your lipstick, he does it anyway, leaving a taste of alcohol and shrimps in your mouth. Taking you by the waist he walks you to a group of people you don't know while you're trying harder to fix the red color of your mouth without a mirror.

—Here is the companion I bought, look at her, that's how five grand per hour look like.—They laughed but you were too disoriented to process all the things he said, it was supposed to be a joke? if it is, why isn't he correcting? Instead, his hand goes straight to your ass and presses it to get you closer to him.

—I'm actually an intern in the costume designer department of the new version of "Sense and Sensibility".—You wanted to mention your recent promotion to hairstylist and makeup artist but that might be too pretentious. Anyway, they don't seem to care what you are or not, in fact, they don't even see you, all eyes are on Timothée

—Oh, well, is easy to forget when you're paying them—All laughs again. Who is this person? Who are all these people, actually? You recognize some influencers, a few cast members but there's no sign of the director, other main actors, not even his co-star. You feel like an extra in a movie where someone will be killed in a luxury party, hopefully not you. You take his hand from your body and clear your throat.—I'm just joking my love, she looks stunning, isn't she? I’ll get you a drink.

He leaves and the group of people surrounding you suddenly dissipated like boiling water, you were on your own again and despite some judgmental gazes is like you’re not there, you’re sure you could just take your dress off and throw it to someone’s face and unless Tim says something about it, no one would care. You’re there as his companion, an ornament, and that’s not enough to earn their attention because it’s too obvious you’re the one in turn.

You walk to the only window no one is smoking and check your phone, you know, the thing you do when you pretend you have important issues to attend, but no, you end reading some old messages, pictures, texting your mom of how much fun you’re having at the party, and somehow you check your filed Facebook messages to find Logan’s name. You cover the screen so fast you hurt your nail, his name is enough to make you tremble like a Chihuahua, you haven’t talked to him since that night, you know from his sister he lives in the house he bought for you two and he’s having the happiest life without you. You want to believe that because that means you took the right decision but deep inside… no, you can’t be that person, you want him to be happier than ever.

You find the guts to open the message, and you read as slowly as is humanly possible. “My angel, I hope this finds you in perfect health…” Dios, just Logan could start a message like that, your smile is almost too big to fit in your face so you bit your nail to cover it a little. “I recently found one of the human body drawings you made for me to study, you’ll be happy to know…”

—That’s a fucking long-ass message.—Tim appears behind you and takes your phone from your hand, spilling some of his drink on your dress in the process. Apparently, he's been there long enough to read part of the message.

—Give it back.—You command in the most severe voice you have, your magical moment got ruined and you remember the hole of hell you are.

—"My angel, I hope this finds you in perfect health. I recently found one of the human body drawings you made for me to study, you must know I still use them now and then"—Timothée starts reading the message, and even when no one is close enough to hear it and you don’t really care about this people’s opinion, that’s not for anyone to read, that’s one of the few parts of your life you treasure the most and you’re not ready to get over it.—You little slut, are you cheating on me with a med student?

—Give it to me.—You repeat trying to take the phone from his hand but he’s faster and walks away putting it out of your reach.

—"I meticulously preserve them, I certainly know any piece of art made by you will be priceless in the near future"—You don’t want to hear it coming from his drunk mocking voice, so you try to ignore what he’s saying and put more effort on chasing the phone.—Should I had kept the jeans where you left the wet spot on? I didn’t know you were an artist, my love.

—Timothée, por el amor de Dios.—Now you're trying to climb him, it wouldn't be that hard to take him down, he's skinny and you're fierce. That's what you thought but he's not moving even with you are on top of his shoulder and his opposite long arm keeps the phone away from you.

—Who is this guy and why is he talking to my girl like this?—You see the olive eyes getting darker and the tone of his voice went deeper than you thought he could do. You desist from taking the phone, you know the bullies love the attention, maybe that's exactly what he wants and give it to him just makes it worse.

—I'm not your girl.—You claim fixing up your dress having enough of games, and you have no reason to keep worrying about losing your job, the filming is done, and apparently your relationship with him too. You don't care about any of that anymore, just want to read Logan's text.

Even behind all the alcohol and the eyes injected in blood thanks for who knows what kind of drug, you can see the disappointment and anger, but it's not a broken heart, Is the hissy fit of a child that loses his balloon and now everyone will pay for it, especially you.

—Are you sure about that?—You can see him swallow hard, almost looking vulnerable, but his voice is defiant and threatening to prove you wrong. He just has to stretch out his arm to reach the open window with your phone in hand, his intentions are clear and the only thing you can do is raise your hands as a reflex.—You were mine the moment you put a foot on my trailer, and I don't fucking share my stuff.—Before you can say a word he drops the phone from the fourth floor.

You know is senseless but you find yourself running out of the party and going to search the device, using it also as an excuse to get away from that place. This is the first time someone makes you feel meaningless, you know the famous' world is cold and lacking in empathy but this is ridiculous, they're a bunch of parasites fed by attention and power. By Timothée.

The screen is crashed and the rest of it is probably beyond repair, not that you're surprised, its life is longer than you've been in the country and you admit you should have replaced it much earlier but you're not the kind to throw away things that still work. However, is not the phone you are worried about, not as much as what it contains.

—That was obsolete anyway, I'll get you a better one.—You didn't know he was following you, his voice interrupts your self-wailing. He sounds calmer and a little embarrassed, but not enough to say sorry, you don't think he's capable of saying it.

You shake your head and start to walk away without a word, you don't want anything from him, not materially, at least.

—Don't make a scandal out of it, it's just a phone!—He yells erasing any trace of regret in his voice. He doesn't see the reaction he expected and that's when he runs after you and with a hand on your upper arm pulls you back, you gasped for the sudden bluntness.—That annoying habit you have of leaving when I'm talking to you.

You push him away with all the strength you have, which resulted in him almost falling on the ground.

—I don't care about the stupid phone!—You finally break, but sadly is not as satisfactory as you thought it would be.—You are mean, vain, arrogant and the worst part is that you enjoy being this despicable human because you have absolutely no consequences to it. Everyone around you just accepts it and I feel so sorry for you because the only possible way for you to fill the void inside is to be surrounded by that crowd of mules licking your steps—To your surprise, he has nothing to say, he's just standing there with no facial expression, whatever he feels is easily covered by his years of experience acting, even drunk.—I can't give you that and it's obvious they don't want me either. What am I even doing here?—You ask yourself thinking where would be the best way of getting a cab, is a rich zone, must be easy.

—Everything is better when you're around—His voice is thin and fragile, you have to process what he said three times in your head to understand his words. You're not willing to look at him yet.—You're not like the others.

—Pure bullshit. You love to repeat that misogynist discourse of girls being in a certain way because is easier than be responsible for the people you choose to be—You were hugging yourself the whole time, is a cold night, but not enough to be bothersome, you enjoy Fall weather—You got me for a moment, I give you that, you fooled me but I'm too tired of guessing what version of you is real—When you return your gaze at him, he doesn't try to hide the guilt anymore, but there's still haughtiness in there.—Now, if you don't mind Mr. Chalamet, I need to get a cab.

—No, you came with me, you leave with me.—There's no trace of alcohol in his voice anymore, a good scolding is enough to put you sober, you know that thanks to your mom. Oh god, you're becoming her.

—You didn't bring me here, gigantic head—You look at him and put your hand in front of him with the palm up. He stares at it for several seconds before put his own on it—Not that!—You shake it and start looking inside his jeans pockets until you feel the metal of his key car.—You can't drive and I have to get home. You'll find it in the studio tomorrow.

That's how you ended with a car way more luxurious than you expected, driving so slowly and carefully that the police stopped you. What a night, but at this point, you couldn't care less about anything that is not that message, is been months and you can't get over it, over him. Not even Ben moans, Tom's comforting arms, or fight with a movie star at 3:00 am. is enough to get him out of your mind.

—So is true, you don't wear anything that hasn't appeared in a movie, huh?—Michael B. Jordan is leaning on the car window with a mocking smile and a sparkle of satisfaction that you would love to punch but his uniform keeps you in line, where you come from police is not equal to justice, most of the times is oppression.

—You know where it's from?—That was kind of comforting, no one at the party noticed. Not that you care.

—Is The Mask, not some Adam Hitchcock's blurb.—He smiles and even when you really don't like him, it's nice to be with a familiar face, you are really tired of running away, scaping for problems that are a result of your null capacity to deal with emotions. Ugh, what a word.

—Is Alfred Hitchcock, actually.—You didn't want to sound priggish, but you correct him with no time to stop yourself, an old habit.

—You got me, smarty, you know more than movies than me. Where did you get this car?—You feel really nervous even when you got this legally, you have your documents and license on time and he's being nice enough to not want to run away in a car that you technically borrowed for yourself.

—It's not mine.—No shit, Sherlock.

—No shit, Sherlock, I was asking where did you steal it.—You wanted to laugh but there's something with the uniform that just doesn't allow you to be yourself.—Are you drunk?

—No, no, fuck, no, it's just, I don't feel comfortable with cops—He raises his eyebrows but that is his only reaction.—Listen, is my boss' car, I'm doing the favor to take it to the studio, and I'm really nervous because is fucking expensive, he's an asshole, I haven't drive un almost a year because you people only use cars if you're rich or your work and lives depend on it. I'm starving.—The last part came out of nowhere, you haven't eaten anything in almost 13 hours, maybe that's the actual reason why you are that moody.

He doesn't answer right away, takes his time to look at you, what makes you blush, he's really close, closer than he's ever been. Does he smell like green apples? Not the actual apples, the artificial smell they had given to them.

—Get out of the car.—Oh no, is he arresting you? Is he finally taking revenge for every time you make fun of his Hawaiian-type shirts? You know you have too much karma accumulated and a cop making you pay for it when you don’t believe in their sense of justice is kinda poetic, and evil.

You don’t want to discuss with someone with a taser, gun, pepper spray, or who knows what else. So you take your bag, the key car, and get off defeated.

—My turn is almost over, I’ll take you to eat something, c’mon.—He walks back to his patrol and you stay still for a few seconds still processing his words, you must look totally devastated for him to offer that. How you see it you have two options, go with him and spend an awkward hour with a person you don’t like or risk getting a fine, Tim can pay it, it’s not a big deal but you don’t want to owe him even the minimal thing.

You get in the car holding on to your bag to feel calmer, this is the first time you’re fully alone with him since you found him half-naked in your kitchen. Those defined abs may never leave your brain.

—Are you cold?—He interrupts your thoughts with his question, you didn’t notice you were shaking. He looks for something under his seat and gives you an NYPD hoodie, you hold it doubting your next move, is not like you don’t appreciate the gesture but it’d be easier to take if it doesn’t get that words printed—Is clean.—He says chuckling when he sees the way you’re looking at it.

—Is not that, just, you know, fuck the police, defund the NYPD, demilitarize the pigs and that stuff.—You say putting on the hoodie anyway, is a cold night and you won't help the institution wearing their propaganda.

—Yeah, I get it, but you can't change the system just from within.—You decide is not the right moment to have a political conversation so you shrug your shoulders and discreetly smell the hoodie, a mix of cologne, green apples, and cheap soap, you know is cheap because you buy the exact same, do its job.

—I'm in the mood for pizza.—You say casually, making a deal to yourself to try to be his friend, he is a small part of your life anyway.—Domino's is open at this time of the night?

—Tell me you're not consuming that shit, dear Lord, you been here for how long, two years? I can't believe your idea of a good pizza is Domino's. Stella hasn't taught you anything?—You're surprised by the level of condescension with a pizza and you mirror his smile, suddenly feeling embarrassed. Your school program includes people from all around the world so you don't have that much experience with actual new yorkers. Logan is rich, so he doesn't really count.

—What's wrong with Domino's? I don't buy much street food, is cheaper to buy things on the food market. Besides, all pizza is good.—The mention of Sheep makes you a little tense, so you don't say anything about it, is not a conversation to have with him.

—Don't blaspheme in the patrol, I just washed it—You laugh, finally, after a terrible weekend. You can see why she likes him, there is something about his voice, smile, and his eyes that feel... calm, like watching Friends after a marathon of Lord of the Rings.—There are rules to survive this city, and I'm surprised you have made it this far without a proper guide.

—Chill out Mr. Miyagi, I'm not from the jungle, and I've learned a lot by myself.—He gives you a lopsided grin as a request, and you put your fingers up ready to enlist your acquired knowledge.—Walk fast, like you're about to be stabbed, something that actually happened to me, with an umbrella—He nods and laughs being related to it.—Number two, no small talk, no one cares, even if they ask. Number three, if you look a stranger in the eye, especially a homeless person, you have essentially invited them to approach you.

—Number four, we never eat from Domino's, Papa John's, Pizza hut, or any other chain restaurant, only trucks and local places are allowed.—You roll your eyes but you get the point, is just, again, you're not much into street food, it doesn't taste like home and the only way to eat food like that is preparing it yourself.

—Fine, fuck capitalism, let's support local places—You make an obvious fake enthusiastic tone but he nods proudly.—Number five, you don't need a car to live here, not even know how to drive. I would have successfully avoided this police brutality if I had followed that rule.

—For someone who is about to eat for free, you whine too much.—He parks the car and gives you a sign to go with him. You see him go to a pizza truck and order, you realize at the moment how ridiculous you look, so before chasing him you let your hair down, take your huge earrings off, and roll up the skirt of your dress until your mid-thighs letting the hoodie cover the rest, and clean the red lipstick with a Kleenex from your bag. Now you look more like a college person and not a rich girl who just got seized.

—Here you go.—He says giving you a slice as big as your head, looks oily and spreading cheese everywhere. Perfect.

—Is it vegan?—You ask receiving the food with an obnoxious face. His kind grind turned into a dread expression and you give him your second laugh of the day.—I'm kidding.

You are about to give it a bite when you see passing next to you a huge rat with the exact same slice as yours in its mouth, running into the dark of the night happy to have obtained the food for its family. They use to scare you when you just moved out but now they're like any other pigeon in the sky.

—Rule... whatever, a rat with a slice of pizza is a symbol for good luck, congratulations.—He pets your head awkwardly, not sure if you're ok with the physical contact, which, surprisingly, you are.

—I see rats with bagels all the time.—Pizza and bagels, that's the main culinary wonders of the city, you like it, not much to object but is hard not to compare it with your home's food.

—Is easy to confuse a rough diamond with a simple rock.—You both eat in silence, enjoying the mixed sounds of the city and all the different smells, the whole situation feels like one of those lofi music videos. You remember thinking about moments like this before getting the scholarship, what would it be like to feel normal in the city of your dreams.

—How do you know that much about movies?—He asks after a few minutes when you take a break to drink something, that pizza is not easy to take.

—When I was a kid a spent much time on my own, so my dad bought me a used DVD reproducer, and at the corner of my neighborhood was this movie store where you could buy 5 pirate movies for one dollar. They were blurred, with a terrible sound, and most of the time with the wrong movie inside but they helped me to not feel lonely. Eventually, the store closed but I've watched everything in it by then—He gives you a warm smile, you never told that story to anyone, not because is too intimate to share, but because no one asked, it doesn't sound like a question with a complex answer.—Anyway, I watched Marie Antoinette when I was like eight, and I decided at that moment that however is done I wanted to be part of that magic.

—You hear all kind of people chasing dreams in this city but is hard to find someone who actually deserves it.—You blush and you cover it with your hair but the smile on your voice is impossible to hide.

—Is that a compliment? You must really want me to like you to date Sheep.—You laugh but you can see his face tense, so you can guess your friend has been busy breaking everyone’s hearts.

—She hasn’t returned my calls in three days so I don’t think there’s much you can do—You nod, all this time you thought he was the reason she is ignoring you but apparently you are both in the same boat.—But yeah, I don’t know what I was thinking, what I should have said is, Marie Antoinette at eight? I can see where all the damage started.

You gasp and throw your napkin at his head, he easily catches it without even looking at it and laughs; that was unexpectedly attractive.

—Why a cop?—You ask, not sure where that question came from, maybe you authentically want to know more about him, he just bought you food, and honestly, that's the easiest way to win your trust.

—I wanted to be an actor when I was a child. This is the city of opportunities so you may think that if you want to chase the big wonder, this is the perfect place to do it. But I grow up surrounded by these people giving their entire lives to get something just given to one in a million so I decided is not worth it. For many years I wondered what I wanted to do with my life and the answer was really clear, my dad was a cop, a good one, or that’s what people say. I don’t remember much because he died when I was seven—Conversations about death are not your strength, everything can turn out uncomfortable if you choose the wrong words.—It might not be that glamorous but if my father died for it, it surely worth it.

—For the good ones.—You raise your almost empty can of Coke and he does the same with a grin that warms the cold weather of the night.

—For the good ones.

The next two hours passed like minutes talking about anything and everything. It just felt right to talk freely with him, you didn’t feel judged for your awkward family moments or your random thoughts, not even once because he told you his too. At some point of the night he borrowed you his gym sweatpants, any of you could just suggest going home but that was off the table, end that peace just for weather reasons would have been a tragedy.

—I read Timothée Chalamet is a dick. Is that true?—The mention of his name remains you of your life and everything that comes with it, including the middle semester project that you must dedicate your entire day, one that is about to start.—What, you can’t talk about it?

—He is a complete dick with no sense of privacy or human decency—And when he interrupts a deep kiss to look at your eyes, smile, and caress your chin, you feel like a character of his Victorian movies. But he didn’t ask that.—But the next week he’ll be no longer my problem.

—That’s why we have rule twenty-three, don’t ask for a picture of a celebrity unless they are local—You have heard about it before but you haven’t got the opportunity to decide if you like that rule because the only celebrities you have seen are from work and that club’s party opening.—That means you’ll be free to go to the Stephen Kings’ movie projection there will be for Halloween.

You don’t know if that was a proposition, a suggestion, or just a simple recommendation, and whatever it is, you noticed he was nervous to ask. Is it wrong? It feels wrong like you were betraying your friend accepting to hang out with his boyfriend without her consent. But he didn’t ask you to go with him so is safe to answer.

—Yeah, I guess—You get a moment, four seconds top, where you shared innocent, curious, and tenting gazes like three graders in the playground. And that’s the further you will allow yourself to go.—We better leave, if the sunlight touch me I’ll turn into dust.

You get off the car hood and go to the side door, but this time he opens it for you. You give him a “seriously?” Look, receiving a little push in your arm as a response.

↬☀︎︎

A distant voice asks you to wake up, softly whispers that turn into caresses on your cheek, your eyes feel so heavy, even when you are well aware of your environment your eyelids keep closed.

—Good morning, Princess—This is the first time Tom calls you that way, the change from silly nicknames to Princess is enough to get you out of hibernation. He is squatting beside your bed, his smile is the promise of a better day, and chasing that idea you give him one small back.—Your mom has been texting me desperately all day, she said you're not answering her calls and is worried.

—Fuck, my phone broke last night, can I call her from yours?—That’s an oversimplification but in the search for a better story, that's what you decide to believe and tell. Tom nods and gives it to you, he looks happy, beyond that, this is the first time you see that subtle blush on his cheeks and the eyes sparkling. You sit on the bed next to his body looking for your mom's number, slowly he moves between your legs, you have shorts and an oversized Back To The Future t-shirt, you got took the time to prepare yourself to bed last night and keep Michael’s clothes inside your closet to wash them, like The Tell-Tale Heart, a little innocent secret who feels dirty somehow

The conversations with your mom are always long, nostalgic and the tears are hard to hold for both parts; after a long life sharing almost every day with her, her absence never feels smaller. But this time is different, Tom is exploring the bare skin under your knee with his warm hands, asking for permission with curious eyes, and when you don’t object to the touch the British boy keeps his exploring mission cautiously, giving special attention to see your eyes in case something change. Is time to hang up when he gives a long and loving kiss to your knee, the less erotic kiss you could think of but so intimate to bristle your skin.

—Not nice to touch someone's daughter when is talking to her mom.—The protest of your voice loses strength at every word, he heard that and just straight his back to reach your face, the gap is almost extinct.

—We're okay, she likes me.—He assures holding your hips and pulling you a bit to him. Tom looks very comfortable with the new closeness authorization, you like it but are not very sure about it yet, most of you still think of him as your best friend.

—Did she tell you that? Are you talking with my mom behind my back?—You laugh when he does, almost like nothing changed.

—She adores me, I swear, I'm invited to Christmas, you know?—You're not surprised, she invites everyone, Logan was too but the first time he got family plans and didn't make it to the second.

—You should go, maybe we can do...—His lips touch yours in a peak at the middle phrase and makes you forget what you were about to say.—Man, the audacity to interrupt...—Then he kisses you again, deeply, using his tongue to taste your inner lip and his hands holding your shirt in fists. That's a twist of events.

—Is that ok?—You hear a weak whisper coming out of his voice but you got so mesmerized on his lips that decided to ignore it and kiss him back instead. He responds to your touch and starts to lean over you to make you lay on the bed.

Jesucristo bendito, is this happening? like, actually happening? you must look like trash, you barely took all the makeup from the night before and didn't take a shower, you start to get so worried about smells, feelings, and what that'll mean to your already too much-spoiled friendship.

However, the time of doubts is done when Sheep starts yelling in the living room, you both reacted running to the sound and looking for your blonde friend. Michael is there but doesn't look like the same as a few hours ago, is annoyed and tired for the lack of sleep, a look that doesn't match him at all.—What did you do?—You ask him fast assuming she's mad for something he did.

—Just in time, the star of the movie, I was wondering how much it will take you to be the protagonist of this.—That is Sheep's voice talking about you and what must be your heart breaking from her words.

—Excuse me?—You wish your tone would be less savage but you can't help respond the same way she did.

—Logan wasn't enough, then you got the drummer, fucking Timothée Chalamet, Tom and now my boyfriend. I'm so glad I didn't leave you alone with my dad or I'd be calling you mom now.—You have no words to that, Michael doesn't even dare to look at you, he must have told her something she misunderstood, but Sheep, or well, Stella is saying things she actually thinks and keep to herself. Tom walks in front of you whispering things to her to calm her down but she is not looking at him, you didn't tell her anything about Tom either so he's taking responsibility this time.—Go ahead and fuck the whole city, Michael if that please you but you're crossing the line with Tom and you know that, you're going to ruin him as you ruin every man that enters in your life.—She has a very you moment having the last word of the dispute and getting out of the apartment with Michael going after her but not putting much effort in it.

✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧

Taglist:

@eridanuswave @cjand10 @deluxeplanteater @rorodendra @navs-bhat @coxxxxxpi @leviosatothestars

Thanks for all the love and support, if you have opinions, suggestions, or want to be part of the tag list (Or don’t want to be part anymore) let me know, I appreciate every message.

#ben hardy imagine #michael b jordan fc #tom holland x reader #timothee chalamet fanfiction #pedro pascal #logan lerman fc #definitely maybe #fluff #angst #timothee chalamet #Tom Holland #Ben Hardy

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flufffysocks · 4 years ago

Text

let's talk about andi mack's worldbuilding

sorry this took forever to make! i've been pretty busy with school stuff and i kind of lost my inspiration for a bit, but i ultimately really enjoyed writing it! i wish i could've included more pics (tumblr has a max of 10 per post), and it kinda turned from less of a mini analysis to more of an extremely long rant... but i hope it's still a fun read!

i've been rewatching the show over the past few weeks (thanks again to @disneymack for the link!), and i’ve been noticing a lot that i never did the first time around. this is really the first time i’ve watched the show from start to finish since it aired, and it honestly feels so different this time - probably a combination of the fact that i’m not as focused on plot and can appreciate the show as a whole, and also that the fandom is much, much smaller now, so there’s a lot less noise. so the way i’m consuming this show feels super different than it did the first time, but the show itself doesn’t - it’s just as warm and comforting to me as it was the first time around, if not more so.

i think a lot of that can be attributed to andi mack’s “worldbuilding”. i’m not quite sure that this is the right word in this context, to be honest, because i mostly see it used in reference to fantasy and sci-fi universes, but it just sort of feels right to me for andi mack, because you can really tell how much love and care went into constructing this universe. for clarity, worldbuilding is “the process of creating an imaginary world” in its simplest sense. there’s two main types: hard worldbuilding, which involves inventing entire universes, languages, people, cultures, places, foods, etc. from scratch (think “lord of the rings” or “dune”), and soft worldbuilding, in which the creators don’t explicitly state or explain much about the fictional universe, but rather let it’s nature reveal itself as the story progresses (think studio ghibli films). andi mack to me falls in the soft worldbuilding category. even though it takes place in a realistic fiction universe, there’s a lot of aspects to it that are inexplicably novel in really subtle ways.

so watching the show now, i’ve noticed that the worldbuilding comes primarily from two things - setting and props, and oftentimes the both of them in tandem (because a big part of setting in filmmaking does depend on the props placed in it!).

one of the most obvious examples is the spoon. it really is a sort of quintessential, tropic setting in that it's the main gang's "spot", which automatically gives it a warm and homey feel to it. and its set design only amplifies this:

the choice to make it a very traditional 50s-style diner creates a very nostalgic, retro feel to it, which is something that's really consistent throughout the show, as you'll see. from the round stools at the bar, to the booths, to the staff uniforms, this is very obvious. the thing that i found especially interesting about it though is the choice of color. the typical 50s diner is outfitted with metallic surfaces and red accented furnishings, but the spoon is very distinctly not this.

instead, it's dressed in vibrant teal and orange, giving it a very fresh and modern take on a classic look. so it still maintains that feeling of being funky and retro, but that doesn't retract from the fact that the show is set distinctly in modern times.

of course, this could just be a one-off quirky set piece, but this idea of modernizing and novelizing "retro" things is a really common motif throughout the show. take red rooster records. i mean, it's a record shop - need i say more? it's obviously a very prominent store in shadyside, at least for the main characters, but there's no apparent reason why it is (until season 2 when bowie starts working there, and jonah starts performing there). a lot of the time, though, it functions solely as a record shop. vinyl obviously isn't the most practical or convenient way of listening to music, but it's had its resurgence in pop culture even in the real world, mostly due to its aesthetic value, so it's safe to say that it serves the same purpose in the andi mack universe.

the fringe seems to be nostalgic of a different era, specifically the Y2K/early 2000s period (because it's meant to be bex's territory and symbolic of who she used to be, and its later transformation into cloud 10 is representative of her character arc, but that's beside the point). to be honest, exactly what this store was supposed to be always confused me. it was kind of a combination party store/clothing store/makeup store/beauty parlor? i think that's sort of the point of it though, it's supposed to feel very grunge-y and chaotic (within the confines of a relatively mellow-toned show, of course), and it's supposed to act as a sort of treasure chest of little curios that both make the place interesting and allow the characters to interact with it.

and, of course, there's andi shack. this is really the cherry on top of all of andi mack's sets, just because it's so distinctly andi. it serves such amazing narrative purpose for her (ex. the storyline where cece and ham were going to move - i really loved this because it highlights its place in the andi mack universe so well, and i'm a sucker for the paper cranes shot + i'm still salty that sadie's cranes didn't make it into the finale) and it's the perfect reflection of andi's character development because of how dynamic it is (the crafts and art supplies can get moved around or switched out, and there's always new creations visible).

going back to the nostalgia motif though, the "shack" aspect of it always struck me as very treehouse-like. personally, whenever i think of treehouses, there's this very golden sheen of childhood about it, if that makes sense. i've always seen treehouses in media as a sort of shelter for characters' youthful innocence and idealistic memories. for example, the episode "up a tree" from good luck charlie, the episode "treehouse" from modern family, and "to all the boys 2" all use a treehouse setting as a device to explore the character's desire to hold onto their perfect image of their childhood (side note: this exact theme is actually explored in andi mack in the episode "perfect day 2.0"!). andi shack is no exception to this, but it harnesses this childhood idealism in the same way that it captures the nostalgia of the 50s in the spoon, or the early 2000s in the fringe. it's not some image of a distant past being reflected through that setting; it's very present, and very alive, because it reflects andi as she is in the given moment.

some honorable mentions of more one-off settings include the ferris wheel (from "the snorpion"), the alley art gallery (from "a walker to remember"), SAVA, the color factory (from "it's a dilemna"), and my personal favorite, the cake shop (from "that syncing feeling").

[every time i watch this episode i want to eat those cakes so bad]

these settings have less of a distinctly nostalgic feel (especially the color factory, which is a very late 2010s, instagram era setting), but they all definitely have an aura of perfection about them. andi mack is all about bright, colorful visuals, and these settings really play to that, making the andi mack universe seem really fun and inviting, and frankly very instagrammable (literally so, when it comes to the color factory!).

props, on the other hand, are probably a much less obvious tool of worldbuilding. they definitely take up less space in the frame and are generally not as noticeable (i'm sure i'll have missed a bunch that will be great examples, but i'm kind of coming up with all of this off the top of my head), but they really tie everything together.

for example, bex's box, bex's polaroid, and the old tv at the mack apartment (the tv is usually only visible in the periphery of some shots, so you might not catch it at first glance) all complement that very retro aesthetic established through the settings (especially the polaroid and the tv, because there's really no good reason that the characters would otherwise be using these).

besides this, andi's artistic nature provides the perfect excuse for plenty of colorful, crafty props to amplify the visuals and the tone. obviously, as i discussed before, andi shack is the best example of this because it's filled with interesting props. but you also see bits of andi's (and other people's) crafts popping up throughout the show (ex. the tape on the fridge in the mack apartment, andi's and libby's headbands in "the new girls", walker's shoes, andi's phone case, and of course, the bracelet). not only does doing this really solidify this talent as an essential tenet of andi's character, but it also just makes the entirety of shadyside feel like an extension of andi shack. the whole town is a canvas for her crafts (or art, depending on how you want to look at it. i say it's both), and it immensely adds to shadyside's idealism. because who wouldn't want to live in a world made of andi mack's creations?

and, while it's not exactly a prop, the characters' wardrobe is undoubtedly a major influence on the show's worldbuilding. true to it's nature as a disney channel show, all of the characters are always dressed in exceptionally curated outfits of whatever the current trends are, making the show that much more visually appealing. i won't elaborate too much on this, because i could honestly write a whole other analysis on andi mack's fashion (my favorites are andi's and bex's outfits! and kudos to the costume designer(s) for creating such wonderful and in-character wardrobes!). but, i think it's a really really important aspect of how the show's universe is perceived, so it had to be touched upon.

[^ some of my favorite outfits from the show! i am so obsessed with andi's jacket in the finale, and i aspire to be at bex's level of being a leather jacket bisexual]

and lastly, phones. this is a bit of an interesting case (pun intended), because the way they're used fluctuates a bit throughout the show, but i definitely noticed that at least in the first season terri minsky tried to avoid using them altogether. these efforts at distancing from modern tech really grounds the show in it's idealist, nostalgia-heavy roots, so even when the characters start using their phones more later in the show, they don't alter the viewer's impression of the andi mack universe very much.

so, what does all of this have to do with worldbuilding? in andi mack's case, because it's set in a realistic universe and not a fantasy one, a lot of what sets it apart from the real world comes down to tone. because, as much as this world is based on our own, it really does feel separate from it, like an alternate reality that's just slightly more perfect than ours, which makes all the difference. it's the idealism in color and composition in andi mack's settings that makes it so unmistakably andi mack. even the weather is always sunny and perfect (which is incredibly ironic because the town is called shadyside - yes, i am very proud of that observation).

the andi mack universe resides somewhere in this perfect medium that makes it feel like a small town in the middle of nowhere (almost like hill valley in 1955 from "back to the future"), but at the same time like an enclave within a big city (because of its proximity to so many modern, unique, and honestly very classy looking establishments). it is, essentially, an unattainable dream land that tricks you into believing it is attainable because it's just real enough.

all this to say, andi mack does an amazing job of creating of polished, perfect world for its characters. this is pretty common among disney channel and nickelodeon shows, but because most other shows tend to be filmed in a studio with three-wall sets, andi mack is really set apart from them in that it automatically feels more real and tangible. it has its quintessential recurring locations, but it has far more of them (most disney/nick shows usually only have 3-4 recurring settings), and it has a lot more one-off locations. it's also a lot more considerate when it comes to its props, so rather than the show just looking garish and aggressively trendy, it has a distinctive style that's actually appropriate to the characters and the story. overall this creates the effect of expanding the universe, making shadyside feel like it really is a part of a wider world, rather than an artificial bubble. it's idealism is, first and foremost, grounded in reality, and that provides a basis for its brilliant, creative, and relatable storytelling.

tl;dr: andi mack's sets and props give it a very retro and nostalgic tone which makes its whole universe seem super perfect and i want to live there so bad!!

#andi mack #buffy driscoll #cyrus goodman #jonah beck #tj kippen #tyrus #ambi #bex mack #analysis #film analysis #disney channel

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dailylogyn · 4 years ago

Text

Comparison of Loki & Sigyn in Mythology & Marvel Comics

I’ve decided to compile a comparison for the differences between Sigyn and Loki with Mythology and the Marvel world. I thought this would be a fun and educational thing to do.

PLEASE NOTE: that with many retcons in mythology and especially Marvel that I’ve tried to put this together as much as I can. Some things might be missing or might not be clear, but I tried to get the basics down mostly.

- Admin Marian

ABOUT SIGYN FROM NORSE MYTHOLOGY

Name: Sigyn

Name Meaning: (Old Norse for Victorious Girlfriend)

Gender: Female

Spouse: Loki

Children: Vali, Narfi (sons)

Appearances: Poetic Edda & Prose Edda

Skáldskaparmál

Haustlöng

Lokasenna

Gylfaginning

Sadly, not many stories that have Sigyn in them have survived to this day. She is only attested in the followings works: Poetic Edda & Prose Edda. Hence, not many people know of this wonderful Goddess or her relationship to Loki.

In the poem, Lokasenna,the most famous of poem’s with the couple, it talks of how Loki has been bound by the gods with the guts of his son, Nari, and how his son, Vari, has been turned into a wolf. The Goddess Skadi fastens a venomous snake over Loki’s face, from which venom drips. Sigyn, stated as Loki’s wife, stays by his side and holds a basin under and catches the venom so it won’t drip onto her husband, but when the basin grows full, she pulls it away to empty it, during which time venom drops onto Loki, causing him to wither so violently that earthquakes occur that shake the entire earth.

In the poem, Gylfaginning, Sigyn is introduced in Chapter 31 as being married to Loki and that they have a son by the name of “Narfi or Nari”. She is then mentioned again in Chapter 50 where events are described differently than in Lokasenna; Vali, described as a son of Loki only, is changed into a wolf by the gods and rips apart his brother, “Narfi or Nari.” The guts of Nari are then used to tie Loki to three stones, after which the guts turn to iron, and Skadi places a snake above Loki. Sigyn of course catches the venom in a bowl. This process is repeated until he breaks free, setting Ragnarok into motion.

In the poem, Skáldskaparmál, Sigyn is introduced as a goddess, an Æsir, where the gods are holding a feast for their visitors and in kennings for Loki: “husband of Sigyn” and “cargo [Loki] of incantation-fetter’s [Sigyn’s] arms.”

She also appears in the 9th century skaldic poem Haustlöng from pagan times, written by the skald Þjóðólfr of Hvinir. Due to this early connection with Loki, Sigyn has been theorized as being a goddess dating back to an older form of Germanic paganism!!

ABOUT SIGYN FROM THE MARVEL COMICS:

Name: Sigyn Iwaldidottir

Name Meaning: (Old Norse for Victorious Girlfriend)

Gender: Female

Species: Asgardian/Vanir

Occupation: Goddess of Fidelity, Princess of Asgard (through marriage to Loki)

Marital Status: Widowed

Status: Supposedly deceased

Relatives:

Loki Laufeyson (Husband, deceased - reborn)

Thoeric (ex-fiancee, deceased)

Frigga (Mother-in-Law)

Odin Borson (Father-in-Law)

Thor Odinson (Brother-in-Law)

Narvi & Vali (Sons, deceased)

Large extended family via Loki

Supposedly daughter of Iwaldi & Freya, but I haven’t been able to find anything from Marvel officially on the subject, so it’s a possible retcon of theirs at some point?

Appearances in comics:

Thor Vol 1 #275 (First appearance, 1978)

Thor Vol 1 #276

Thor Vol 1 #277

Thor Vol 1 #278

Thor Vol 1 #301

Thor Vol 1 #302

Thor Vol 1 #303

Thor Vol 1 #307

Thor Annual Vol 1 9

Thor Vol 1 #313

Thor Vol 1 #321

Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Vol 1 1

Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Vol 2 1

Gamer’s Handbook of the Marvel Universe Vol 1 1

Thor Annual Vol 1 14

Thor Annual Vol 1 19

Thor Vol 1 #479

Thor Vol 1 #483

Thor Vol 1 #484 (1995)

Thor: The Legend Vol 1 1 (1996, last appearance)

Avengers: Loki Unleashed #1 (2019, first & only modern day appearance since 90s.)

Mentions in comics:

Thor Annual Vol 1 #10 (1982)

Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Vol 1 #11 (1983)

Thor: Asgard’s Avenger Vol 1 #1 (2011)

Mighty Thor Vol 1 #12.1 (2012)

Loki Vol 3 #1 (2019 - referenced)

Abilities:

Magic

Superhuman Strength

Immortality

Differences between Mythology & Comics Sigyn:

In the comics Sigyn is given the title of Goddess of Fidelity by Odin. In Mythology Sigyn is called a goddess along with other kennings “incantation-fetter” & “beloved of monsters” being a few. We don’t know her exact virtue.

In the comics supposedly Sigyn is the daughter of Freya, Goddess of Love and Iwaldi, a dwarf from Alfheim and sister to many of Freya’s other daughters by Iwaldi (Nanna, etc.) This makes her a Vanir despite being called an Asgardian Goddess. I’m not sure exactly where this came from if it’s a retcon of the comics or something fanmade. As for mythology, all we know is Sigyn is a member of the Aesir and the wife of Loki.

Theoric is a construct of the Marvel Comics and was never in the Myth’s.

ABOUT LOKI FROM NORSE MYTHOLOGY:

NOTE: This is where it can Get a little crazy, so bear with me. With many retcons in mythology and Marvel, I’ve tried my best to put it altogether.

Name: Loki

Nicknames/Titles: Loptr, Hveðrungr, The Trickster, God of Mischief & Fire

Species: Aesir/Jotun

Gender: Genderfluid

Consort: Sigyn, Angrboda

Relatives:

Farbauti (Father - Jotun)

Laufey (Mother - she is said to be Aesir or Jotun)

Helblindi and Byleistr (brothers)

Odin (Blood Brother - not exactly clear, but comes off as an oath of friendship)

Narvi & Vali (Sons by Sigyn)

Jormungandr, Fenrir & Hel (Sons & Daughter by Angrboda)

Sleipnir (by Svaðilfari)

Appearances: Prose Edda & Poetic Edda

Völuspá

Lokasenna

Þrymskviða

Reginsmál

Baldrs draumar

Hyndluljóð

Heimskringla

Gylfaginning

Norwegian rune poem

Other Folklores

Powers:

Animal Morphing

Decoy Creation

Enhanced Charisma

Enhanced Intelligence

Fear Masking

Fire Manipulation

Illusion Manipulation

Intuitive Aptitude

Invisibility

Sex Transformation

Shapeshifting

Trickster

ABOUT LOKI FROM THE MARVEL COMICS:

Name: Loki Laufeyson

Occupation: God of Mischief and Evil

Gender: Genderfluid (typically portrayed as Male)

Marital Status: Separated

Species: Jotun

Status: Deceased - Reborn in another incarnation

Relatives:

Farbauti (Biological Mother)

Laufey (Biological Father)

Odin (Adoptive Father)

Frigga (Adoptive Mother)

Sigyn (Wife, Separated - Deceased)

Thor Odinson (Adoptive Brother)

Balder Odinson (Adoptive Brother)

Narvi & Vali (Sons by Sigyn - Deceased)

Jormungandr & Fenrir (Sons by Angrboda)

Sleipnir (Son)

Appearances in comics:

Far too many to document here from 1942 to present. There has been some retcons as well with the fact the current Loki has been reborn in a new incarnation also known as Ikol.

Abilities:

Shape-Shifting

Sorcery

Superhuman Strength

Differences between Mythology & Comics Loki:

In the comics Loki is the adopted son of Odin and Frigga and Adoptive brother to Thor & Balder. While in Mythology, Loki is implied to be the blood-brother to Odin and Step-Uncle to Thor and Balder.

In Myth, Hel is Loki’s daughter by Angrboda. In the comics, they retconned her as being called Hela and made her an adoptive sister of Loki’s and daughter of Odin instead. In fact, In the MCU, anything to do with Loki’s children is completely retconned and not mentioned.

Obviously Loki’s Biological parents were changed around in Marvel with Laufey being his father and Farbauti being his mother when it’s the other way around in the Myth’s.

In the myths, Loki tricked the dwarves Brokk and Eitri into making Mjolnir for the Aesir by making a bet which resulted in Loki getting his lips sewn shut. While in the comics, Mjolnir was forged in the heart of a dying star.

The Jotun are displayed as Frost Giants in Marvel, but in Mythology they are giants and a member of a race of nature spirits.

#loki #sigyn #Loki Laufeyson #norse mythology #Marvel Comics #marvel #Constancy and Chaos (LOGYN)#Logyn Meta

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qqueenofhades · 3 years ago

Note

Hi! I need fic etiquette advice. I've written fic for a long time but only recently started putting it on AO3. I am a scholar, and I write fic to relax, and I often write for corny fandoms, so I don't do research because it's supposed to be fun, and I don't need more stress in my sad life. But is it bad to not research? I love the research that is visible in your fics, but I think I would stop writing if I had to look up, for example, UK dialects for all my fics set in the UK, and it triggers my intense anxiety about fucking it up. I just don't want to be rude, so I put a disclaimer at the beginning about how I'm American. Is that good enough? This is very clearly an anxiety ask lol help

Aha, high five for "scholar/academic who writes fic to relax," since I'm also in that camp. Likewise (sad) high five for "intense anxiety about fucking up by somehow not researching enough," because that's basically our whole life, isn't it? So yes. I feel you. I feel you hard.

As for fic research: I sometimes get lovely comments on my fics about how I must have researched for hours or even weeks/months, and I always feel somewhat bad about being like "well, lol, yes, I did Wikipedia and Google a few things, but it's probably not as nearly much as you think." There are cases where I did do a shit-ton of specific and extensive research, such as my Swan and Crossbones series, which is an OUAT/Black Sails duology set in the historical 18th century/Golden Age of Piracy/Age of Sail. Then I really did spend hours on extremely obscure websites/online historical archives, and likewise for my Timeless All Souls AU trilogy, I did some extra reading on the Elizabethan period. But that's just because I am the kind of person who desperately needs authentic trivia and for my facts/scene-setting/world-building details to be correct (see: intense anxiety about fucking up). And when I am interested enough to write a fic using a particular place/time/scenario as a setting, I usually already know enough about it that it doesn't take long to plug in said details.

Once again, however, I stress that this is just how my personal writing process/brain works, and if it would ruin your enjoyment and escapism to stop for long periods to look these things up, and/or break your writing flow: you're still not obliged to do that. Fanfic is written by amateurs working for free -- and not "amateur" in the disparaging connotation of being "bad," since a lot of fanfic writers blow professional TV writers out of the water, but meaning someone who does it simply for passion, rather than for pay. The modern English word "amateur" comes pretty directly from the Latin "amator," or "lover." When you're an amateur, you're doing something because you love it and not because you expect to get any kind of money or compensation out of it. You are voluntarily spending your own free time to write stories and post them, and you honestly do not owe your readers anything, aside from what you choose to give them. If you're putting a disclaimer at the start of your fics that you're American, and then making at least a decent effort, that's perfectly fine.

Obviously, if you're writing about certain characters or storylines, you have a basic duty to be respectful and produce the kind of fan content you want to see in the world, but -- although it may not feel like it in this hypercritical online environment -- it's better to make a genuine effort, even if you get some minor things wrong, than to be so obsessed with every tiny little detail that you never post at all for fear of being dogpiled by the purity police. Those people do exist, they will target you from time to time, and it absolutely sucks. But as I have said before in answers to other asks, most fanfic writers/readers know that they shouldn't leave the kind of comment they wouldn't want to get themselves, and that unless the author has explicitly asked for constructive criticism, it's a dick move to offer it under the guise of being "helpful." This isn't an MFA writing seminar or other place where you expect to receive technical feedback by the dictates of the structure. We're just writing self-indulgent stories about wanting some fictional idiots to kiss (or whatever we want to do to them, lmao). This is not the forum where you should roll up with your red pen and lists of nitpicks. If you don't like a fic, the back button exists. Use it.

To summarise, since this is getting long: you are under absolutely no obligation to put any more effort into your own fics than you want to, and if you want to write them as escapism from your stressful real life and without having to get bogged down in minutiae: valid! Really valid! Entirely valid! If you won't like your own work without doing at least some research, then do as much as you would like so that you can feel unambiguously proud of the result. (That is, as much as any of us feel proud of our own work, lol.) If you know that you should probably at least skim Wikipedia on a particular topic, that's pretty easy to do, and it can be enjoyable to go down a rabbit hole that is purely from fun and not for academic work. That's easy to do without breaking your flow, and you can pick up new details that can influence your plot or characters in both fun and realistic ways, so hey, bonus!

Anyway. Writing is hard. Real life sucks. Just have fun and do your best. Find the balance that works for you, which absolutely does not have to be like mine or anyone else's, and see how it goes. <3

#anonymous #ask #writing advice

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fuchsiagrasshopper · 4 years ago

Text

Chase the Sun

Author’s Note: This is a request I answered for @akusen-kutou, and I hope it turned out as close to what you imagined!

Vikings Masterlist

Pairing: Modern Floki x Reader

Word Count: 2774

Warnings: Language

Floki was feeling old. In fact, it was something Ivar and Hvitserk had said to him earlier during lunch. He cherished the moments spent in the company of the sons of his old friend, and the ribbing shared among them. But that afternoon had been different. The taunts he had received had lingered in a manner most unexpected, like an uninvited guest.

"You boys are starting to look old. You better hurry up and marry soon, or all the good ones will be gone," He teased Ragnar's two sons across the table from him.

"Take a look in the mirror, old man. We're not the ones who are actually…" Ivar paused with a smirk.

"Old," Hvitserk supplied around a mouthful of spaghetti.

Laughter erupted at the table as they tucked in.

At the time he hadn't thought much of it, but something unpleasant had remained with him when he thought about his age and where he was in this moment of his life.

Since Helga's passing in an automobile accident five years ago, he had remained a widower. The first year he had been lost in his grief and had thrown himself into his work. Then one became two, and the idea of finding someone new had been put upon him. His loved ones were only showing their concern, so he tried not to hold it against them, but the idea of anyone else in his life that wasn't Helga was strange. It would have felt like replacing her.

More years had passed, and in that time he had forgotten about being alone and had come to accept it. He embraced tragedy with a quiet aloofness. It never bothered him before, or maybe he had just refused to let it. Helga would be mad that he turned reclusive once again. It was how she found him when they first fell in love, and she had managed her way into his heart while also coaxing him out into the open. Floki knew himself to be bizarre, and maybe even crazy, but he would never apologize or try to change how he was. If others didn't understand him, then he would simply remove himself from their company. It seemed he had slipped back into that old habit.

The night was cold as he walked the streets. The last bits of autumn were clinging to hold on as winter chased close behind. Lights and wreaths were being hung on storefronts as the holiday season began, and sales were flashed in big numbers to lure in the early shopper. Christmas used to be Floki's favorite time of the year, only because it was Helga's. He would construct all sorts of decorations around their home, to the point where it looked like clutter, just to see her smile. Last year he hadn't even bothered with a tree.

He rounded the corner of the block, coming close to the park. It was where he liked to frequent when he had thoughts that he couldn't silence. The stars were more visible when standing under the shade of the trees, away from the streetlights. Floki believed in the divine, a being that was something greater than himself. He wouldn't call it God, and he never attended church, but he felt a deep connection to unseen forces. It gave him hope that Helga was still out there and that the soul was eternal. Their separation was only a temporary thing, something he would have to navigate alone.

"Floki!"

He startled at his name being called and had not realized he had stumbled so far into the park. Retracting from the bush, he stumbled out onto an empty pathway. Just ahead was a wooden bench, and a small lamp that's pale glow pierced the dark of the small pocket of the park he was in. He strained his ears, holding his breath as he tried to listen to the unfamiliar voice.

"Floki, come back here."

He frowned at the command. Should he answer? Who would even know he was there? The voice wasn't ringing any bells. He stepped further onto the path when a large creature came bounding down towards him. Swallowing back a gasp, Floki was pounced on by a lummox of a German Shepherd.

"You're a big one," He managed to say as he pushed back on the snout of the beast that was preoccupied with digging his nose into Floki's coat. A handsome specimen and he was quick to forget his annoyance at being caught off guard as he knelt down to stroke the dog behind the collar. "What are you doing out here, huh?"

"Floki!" He heard the unfamiliar voice call out again in distress.

"Right here," He replied without thought, caught up in his new wild friend. Floki had an appreciation for all living things, and he might have suggested opening a zoo to Helga once or twice. It was a good thing she always refused.

"Oh thank goodness," The voice said, coming from the same direction that the shepherd had sprung out of. He now had a face to go with the voice, and it was one he couldn't recall. Had they ever met before?

"There you are," You said, coming closer to the dog whose attention leaped back onto you from Floki. The shepherd showered you with excited licks across the face as you crouched down. You were laughing from the affection, and Floki felt a sudden disappointment at the loss of his new furry friend. "Thank you for finding him. We've been trying off-leash, but it's not going so well."

"Oh, it was no trouble. He found me," Floki replied as he stood away, feeling awkward and neglected now that the dog had you back.

You clipped a red leash back onto the leather collar while the shepherd observed you with blind trust. His tongue rolled out of the side of his mouth when you gave him a brisk scratch on the chin. "So what now, Floki?"

Floki frowned. There you went again, and he was certain this time that he hadn't let slip his name. "What do you mean?"

You looked back at him with confusion. "I'm not sure I understand," You said.

Floki did. The realization struck swift as lightning as he looked down at the dog and then back to you. An airy giggle set out from his lips before he could contain it, and he was glad for it. It truly was a funny coincidence.

"Floki," He said pointing to himself, and then at the dog. "Floki."

Your face bloomed into a delighted smile. "That's your name?"

"Yes. I thought we'd met once, and I had forgotten you, but you were searching for this one the whole time," He explained with much relief.

"You know, he got the name completely by mistake. I had meant to call him Loki, but when the license arrived in the mail, it said Floki. And actually both the F and L were capitalized, so the clerk must have hit the F accidentally," You explained in a rushed ramble. "Sorry, you probably didn't want to hear all of that."

"No, no. I've never met another namesake before, and one with a connection to the Nordic Gods. Loki would have suited well, he does seem to be giving you trouble."

You smiled while Dog-Floki began to scout the area of the park. "Oh yes, since day one. He's a rescue, and actually, we were out celebrating. It's been a year since I brought him home."

"Congratulations. I should leave you two to it then," He said, bouncing from one foot to the other. "Goodnight."

"Wait a minute," You said, and the hint of desperation in your voice stopped Floki in his path. "Did you...did you want to grab a coffee or a tea?"

Floki blinked, and he might have forgotten how to breathe. No one had asked him to do anything like that in years, except for any of Ragnar's sons. But a woman no less, he was startled and a tad fearful at the meaning. He realized a long stretch of silence had passed without him giving you an answer, and you began to grow embarrassed.

"Nevermind, forget I said anything. That was weird of me, I mean we only just met, and you thought I knew your name." You suddenly shut your mouth while pinching the bridge of your nose. "Listen to me rambling. I just, I didn't want to come across as desperate, but I've lived here for two years and I still don't really have a circle of friends to speak of. After my first year, I adopted this guy and then another year has passed and I'm no different."

By now Dog-Floki had returned to your side, staring up at you as if to try and calm your frayed nerves. Floki understood the loneliness you were feeling, even though your circumstances differed from his.

"I don't like coffee," He spoke up and you looked positively stricken. "But I like peppermint tea."

"Really?" You breathed out a hopeful sigh and began to lead the dog by his leash. "Because there's a place close to here that also makes a latte I like."

"Yes," Floki replied, not knowing what else to say. He didn't want to come across as too enthusiastic, but your excitement was contagious.

You signal for him to follow, and he shuffled after to catch up. As he kept pace beside you, Floki couldn't help but observe you closer. He guessed that you were maybe only a few years younger than him. Still youthful, but with enough wisdom in your eyes and smile lines on your face that gave away to the years you had weathered. When you caught him looking in your peripheral, he looked away with an embarrassed flush at being caught.

"What is it?" You prodded.

"Nothing," Floki replied, covering his nervousness with a cough. "You aren't from here you said. Where did you move from?"

"Akureyri. My family is still there, but I came here to work."

"What do you do?"

"I'm a recreational therapist. I work with seniors in transition facilities."

Hearing that you worked with seniors made him think back to the 'old' comment again. You must be good at your job, however, as Floki couldn't recall having a fun, free night like this in months. Maybe Ivar and Hvitserk were right. His thinking process caused him to let slip another giggle, and you shot him a curious look.

"Well, what do you do, Floki? I feel like I've been talking too much about myself, and I hate to do that."

"I'm a contractor. Since I can remember, I've always been building things. Instead of growing out of that phase, I turned it into a career," He said with a shrug. "It's nothing impressive really, but I get to be creative. That's all I've ever wanted."

Dog-Floki came around between you both and nudged at Floki's hand until he fit his snout into his palm. Floki heeded the animal's need for attention, petting him back with soft strokes on the head.

"So you're creative, and are good with animals," You said, admiring the affection he was showering on your dog. "Do you have any pets...or children?"

Floki hummed. "No pets, no. My friend's sons are certainly rowdy enough to qualify as animals, and I think of them as my nephews. But no children for me."

His description had you chuckling. "I know how that is. I have nieces and nephews of my own. I hope they think of me as their cool aunt and not the wacky one whose gifts they exchange."

You seemed perfectly not wacky to him. The back and forth conversation continued between you, and Floki found himself giving shorter answers just so he could hear you talk more about yourself. He had forgotten what it was like to meet someone new, and the weightless feeling it caused in his gut.

The main street was a little busier than when Floki had left it, and the air had grown cooler as the night advanced. You pointed ahead to the shop coming up on your right, and you picked up a grin.

"There, Bliss Bakery. They've become a staple in my diet since moving here. I don't mind the extra calories though, it gives me an excuse to take Floki on runs."

Just as Floki was about to open his mouth and reply, someone called out across the street.

"Floki."

Dog-Floki's ears perked up, but this time the voice was familiar and Floki knew it was for him.

"I think those men are calling on you," You said while calming your excited dog.

"A lot of that going around tonight," Floki said as he cringed at the sight of Ivar and Hvitserk making their way over. "Here comes some of those animals I told you about."

You watched the young men approaching with curiosity as they bumbled together, laughing as they went. Floki could tell by the volume of their voices that they had been drinking. Hopefully, they hadn't left their good manners at the bar.

"Hey, you old bastard. What are you up to?" Ivar called.

Floki flinched. So much for his hopes of them having a semblance of decency.

"And who's that with you?" Hvitserk asked, squinting even as they moved closer.

Floki had his mouth opened, about to answer when you chimed in.

"Hi, I'm (Y/N). A new friend of Floki's," You said, sticking your hand out to Hvitserk. "You must be the animals he told me about."

Ivar adjusted on his crutches while tossing Floki a funny look. "What have you been saying about us?"

"The truth," Floki said with a shrug. "I had to convince your father not to take you all to the pound more than once."

There was an eruption of laughter, but Floki wasn't fooled. He could see both Ivar and Hvitserk eyeing you with interest and he could only fret over what they were thinking.

"So, where did you two meet?" Ivar prodded.

"Yeah," Hvitserk added. "I didn't know you had friends Floki…no offense."

"We met in the park back that way," You said, pointing on your tip-toes. "It was about a half-hour ago."

"Of course it was," Ivar muttered.

"We have the same name," Floki interjected, gesturing to the dog who was preoccupied with the two newcomers.

"You and the dog? No kidding," Hvitserk said as he petted the shepherd.

Floki nodded. "So, what are you two doing here?"

"We met some girls for drinks. Figured it was time. We didn't want to--what was it you said--get old?" Ivar smirked while avoiding the cold nose of the dog who was trying to bury his snout against his leg. "We should get going and let you two get back to your evening."

"Right. It was nice meeting you (Y/N). Maybe we'll get to talk more next time," Hvitserk said with a wave.

You nodded. "I hope so."

Floki turned to you, surprised with how your confident answer provided him with reassurance. His nephews hadn't scared you away, and better still they seemed to accept your sudden intrusion in his life. He wasn't sure what he had done to earn you as a new friend in his life, but forces at work must have been smiling down on him.

"You'd really put up with seeing them again?" He asked, feeling his brow furrow.

"Sure, they seem perfectly rowdy but without having to crate train," You breathed with a laugh and Floki joined you. "Here, you take Floki. I'll get our drinks to-go."

You passed him the leash before he even had a chance to reach for his wallet. "Let me pay."

"No, my treat this time. I'll let you get the next one." You pulled on the door of the bakery but halted a moment before stepping inside. "And I'll get us some palmiers. They're my favorite," You said before disappearing inside.

Floki smiled at you through the window. "Mine too," He murmured.

Dog-Floki sat down on the sidewalk by his feet and let out a sharp bark as he gazed up at the sky. Floki followed his line of sight, and it was as if all the clouds had parted to make way for the stars. He couldn’t remember the city sky ever being so clear. When a particular star began to flicker and twinkle, he took it as a sign that from this night until the end of his days, he would no longer be alone. She was still out there and had brought you to him.

"Thank you, Helga."

#vikings #vikings floki #floki x reader #history vikings #floki the boat builder #modern floki #vikings imagine #floki x helga

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hiddendreamer67 · 4 years ago

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Just a Tiny Bit of Crime

Here is my gift for @short-on-main for the G/t secret santa event happening over on @secret-shifters! Hope you enjoy! :D

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Sharon checked and double checked her bag, making sure all of her heist gear was properly sorted before heading into the bank. She was cool as a cucumber as she slipped by security, heading for the women’s restroom. From there Sharon shimmied into the loose ventilation shaft that she had prepped a few days prior. Not a peep was heard as she braced against the metal walls and began descending into the underground vaults. Yes, everything was going fantastic.

Crime is easy when you’re a few inches tall.

The cat burglar scaled up the vault door, using the paneling on the wall to press herself against the surface and carefully scurrying across to the control panel. Sharon pressed the correct keys from her time spent memorizing her enemy’s every move, careful not to fall as every button sprung back into place and threatened to send her tumbling.

With a slight whoosh, the airlock released, leaving the vault door open just a crack. Sharon zipped in through the gap, knowing the door would shut automatically in just a few moments.

“Nailed it.” Sharon grinned, slightly out of breath from the adrenaline of making it inside. This is as far as she was able to plan ahead. Sharon had never been on this side of the vault before; she panted, gazing around the area and keeping a firm grip on her bag. It was dark, so Sharon dared to turn on the headlamp she had crafted out of an abandoned LED bulb. Sharon jogged forwards, careful to keep her wits about her as the lamp only illuminated a few inches surrounding her in a soft blue glow.

Sharon heard a clinking to the north, adjusting her setting to all but run into a high table. Digging through her bag, Sharon pulled out the suction cups, pressing them into the metal surface. She used her upper body strength to pull herself up further, pressing the other suction cup in. With a satisfying whuck, Sharon uncupped the first to place it higher up, repeating the process to drag her body up onto the table.

“Jackpot.” Sharon scrambled to remove her suction cups, hurrying over to the glowing orbs placed in glass containers on the table. Each orb was larger than she was tall by a good inch or two. Pure Sizytium like this was hard to come by, but a valuable commodity in modern society where people of multiple statures lived in relative peace. After all, Sizytium was known for its size shifting capabilities. If left alone, Sizytium would slowly grow to unfathomable sizes; however, once it came in contact with carbon-based lifeforms, it could shrink in on itself until it was inconceivable to even those with the most powerful microscopes. That’s why the top of these glass containers was lined with a set of algae, to keep the orbs from outgrowing their containers.

Sharon removed her glove, reaching her bare fingers inside to caress one of the orbs. Upon contact with living matter, the Sizytium shrank until it was more appropriately sized like a marble in her hand. She tossed the ball up into the air, catching it once again in her palm before placing it in her bag and moving onto the next sample. Every so often Sharon would swirl her hand inside her bag just to make sure the fresh Sizytium stayed small enough for all the pieces to fit. Just glancing inside her glowing bag made Sharon ready to squeal with glee, already eager to see what sort of possibilities this amount of riches could bring her.

Most commonly, Sizytium was processed into size shifting coins constructed of alloys, but now that Sizytium was in short supply it was difficult to craft more currency. The amount of Sizytium available in this vault was enough to let her life comfortably for the rest of her days, if she chose to give up a life of crime- but where is the fun in that?

So involved in her glee, Sharon didn’t hear the keypad being punched in until the whoosh of the airlock was once again heard. She cursed under her breath, trying to scan for any sort of suitable hiding spot. Lacking a better option, Sharon dove behind the algae covered tubes. There was no time to search further before the entire room was flooded in fluorescent light.

In the doorway, a young human security guard scanned the area, his inexperienced fingers fiddling with the gun at his hip as if uncertain he should raise it. “Hello?” He asked the seemingly empty room. “I uh, I heard the door open. Standard procedural search now. Oh, I’m Kyle, the intern.”

They let interns into the Sizytium vault? What is the world coming to these days?

Even worse, a second glance made it clear that Sharon knew this man. Kyle Jacobs, who attended the same high school where Sharon graduated as the only tiny of her class and graduated one year before Sharon.

Per state law, every tiny citizen attending a public school was assigned a human student as their steward between classes. It was a degrading practice that was only brought about because it was cheaper than properly adjusting the infrastructure to install minute transportation between classrooms. It also shined light on the fact that forcing tiny students to travel from room to room is a bizarre and outdated custom, forcing those students to focus more on sprinting across hallways than actually gaining an education.

But the important point of the matter here is that Kyle was assigned as Sharon’s guardian. He was a straight-A class president who always wanted to help Sharon get on the right path, but even from a young age Sharon was destined for evil; of course, that didn’t mean Sharon didn’t appreciate his misguided efforts. It just made him easier to manipulate.

“Kyle?” Sharon spoke up, pushing herself up over the top of the glass. “Kyle Jacobs? Is that really you?”

Kyle gasped, his attention drawn to the miniature voice on the table. “S-Sharon? Sharon Mare?”

“Who’s to say?” Sharon shrugged, dangling her legs over the edge and ignoring the way the algae made her black catsuit wet. “I can’t exactly go self-incriminating myself, given the circumstances.”

Kyle winced. “So you are stealing, huh.”

Sharon ignored his question. “What’s got you working in a place like this, Kyle?” She tilted her head. “I always thought you were destined for better things.”

“I could say the same of you.” Kyle retorted.

That got a chuckle out of Sharon. “You helped get me out of detention every Saturday for two years. We both knew I was going nowhere.” Sharon glanced to the side, catching his fallen expression out of the corner of her eye. “Speaking of that, I was hoping you’d do the same here.”

“Wait- what?” Kyle took a few steps forward, glancing around hastily. “Sharon, I’m not gonna help you steal!”

Sharon huffed, balancing carefully on the lid so she could cross her arms and glare up at him. “And why not? Are you planning on turning me in?”

Kyle paused just short of hovering over her, fingers twitching as he bit his lip in that classic sign of hesitation.

Sharon batted her eyelashes. “You know I couldn’t pass up an opportunity like this. You understand, don’t you?”

Kyle didn’t respond.

“You’ve seen how it is out there.” Sharon wiped a bit of dust off her sleeve. “The world’s just not built for tinies. You’re not gonna throw a gal in a cage for doing what it takes to get by, now would you?”

After a moment, he let his hands fall to his side. “...no.” He admitted. “But I can’t just leave you here, either. The cams saw me come in. People will ask questions.”

“Then come with me.” Sharon insisted, doing her best to hold her feral grin back in exchange for her innocent damsel in distress. It was far from convincing. “You and me, this much Sizytium, and we can live like kings in the next town over.”

“We’ll have to go farther than that.” Kyle muttered, already distracted calculating their next move as he laid down his palm.

Sharon grinned, knowing that despite being the one to climb into his palm, Sharon had him wrapped around her little finger.

#secret shifters 2020 #g/t #giant/tiny

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potscenarios · 4 years ago

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Omg! So excited! May I please request how Sanada, Shiraishi, Atobe, Niou, and Kite would confess to their long time crush? Thank you and best of luck with the blog! ♥️ Love PoT so much, I miss the fandom :(

My very first request yay! I knew there are still people around!! Thank you so much for sending in something, sweetie! I hope to see you around ♥️

(Also I'm so sorry this turned out so long lol)

Sanada

Let’s face it, Yukimura and Yanagi are probably the ones who first noticed how different Sanada is whenever he’s around you, his crush. And since they judged that their friend’s crush has been going on long enough, they’re probably the ones who tries to get the ball rolling and hints at Sanada to just confess already.

Confessing is a big thing for this man, because he will only do so when he’s 99.99% sure that he wants to have a serious relationship with the other person.

Knowing his family background and his personality, of course he would get all traditional about the whole process (i.e. if you have an older brother, he would probably have tried to get his permission to 'court' you first before he actually does he's so precious omg)

He starts by inviting you out along with your friends and some of the tennis club members, so you won't feel awkward with him alone. It's also a good chance for him to get to know your friends more, which he will need to do when he becomes your boyfriend anyway. Sanada also knows he's not too good at talking so he wants you to get more comfortable around him in general. When your response is positive, then he starts to invite you out on real dates - just the two of you.

Throughout this whole process, only when he has verbally heard from you directly that you do enjoy having him around, he finally finds his courage and is convinced to take the next step. On the actual d-day itself, he's oddly out of it and you're probably going to misunderstand his silence as boredom or something like that, but when he finally, finally finds the opportunity to confess, it'll blow you away because of how unusually soft and sincere he looks.

"We have known each other for quite some time. This might sound unexpected to you, but I have found myself thinking of our future together on several occasions. I realize that all these time, I have been longing to stand by your side, not just as a friend, but as a partner. If you will... would you honor me with the title of your boyfriend?"

Shiraishi

Literally plans out everything for over a week down to a t. And by everything I mean everything.

Researches the best date spots (How far are they from your house? How busy will they be at the d-day? If it rains, are there any other alternative spots nearby?), the best restaurants to dine in (Are the food healthy? Will they adhere to your preferences? How many stars does the restaurant have? What's the best time to eat there?), the best possible place to confess (How atmospheric is it? Are there any risks of being interrupted? Is there any way he can reserve the place or something along the line?), the weather on that day (Sunny? Windy? Rain? Snow? Humid?), etc. Everything has to be perfect.

Shiraishi takes you to your most favorite places, opens the door for you and makes sure you're seated on your chair before going to sit on his own, politely rejects girls who swoons over him (which seems to always happen when you go out - one time you tell him he needs to stop looking like he just came out from a fashion magazine and he just laughs), and escorts you like the perfect textbook definition of a gentleman for the whole day.

Despite his research though, things can't always be a hundred percent perfect, so there are actually some parts / events of the date where Shiraishi isn't completely satisfied with, but you honestly don't notice because he had been so kind and accommodating, so of course a few mishaps here and there are tolerable (and they're probably mostly not his fault anyway)

He's composed when he finally confesses, but inwardly he's frantically freaking out and he's constantly trying to gauge your reactions because he will pull back as soon as you look uncomfortable - at the very least, if he’s rejected, he doesn't want to destroy your friendship.

"Hey, [Last_Name]. Do you think I'll make a good boyfriend? .... I'm glad that you think I would. Then... Do you think we'll make a good couple? I personally think we would. And honestly, I want to make that reality... What do you think?"

Atobe

He has the confidence and the means to make the most extravagant confession on Earth, so why should he hold back, right?

Due to being around him for quite long, though, you're most likely already used to his eccentrics, so you wouldn't think too much about it when he actually asks you to go somewhere with him, thinking that he just doing his usual 'this-ore-sama-will-show-you-his-prowess' antics.

He takes you to a newly built indoor 'garden', where a wide variety of plants are grown and cared for. Actually, ‘garden’ is an understatement. There are several 'greenhouses' that hosts different kinds of plants, apparently imported in from all over the world. Strange trees and flowers grows everywhere, the air is cooling and fresh because of all the plantations, and as you walk down the path surrounded by lush greens, you're very much awed and fascinated by everything.

But that's all nothing compared to the man-made waterfall he takes you to as your last destination. You can only stare in wonder as you watch the rushing water, not realizing that it's especially cold in this 'greenhouse' until Atobe gentlemanly drapes a shawl he prepared beforehand around you. He then takes you around the small forest around the waterfall and you both walk up the stairs to find that there's a modern looking restaurant that looks more like a villa, situated just at the right height and distance to have the perfect view of the waterfall and its surrounding area.

You'll find yourself sitting at the comfiest dining chair in your life, sipping the freshest orange juice, row upon row of your favorite foods coming out one after another. And just when you're finishing your dessert, all smiles and relaxed, and you thank him for the fun outing, that's when he confidently drops the question.

"Let me make this clear. Ore-sama doesn't just treat anyone this way. You're special. You're the only one who is good enough to stand equally beside me. Don't you agree? Of course, I'm only accepting nothing but 'Yes' as an answer."

It's only way later into your relationship when you realize that the place he took you to is owned and constructed by Atobe himself. When you ask your boyfriend about this fact, he finally admits (with a very proud smirk) that he built the whole thing just to confess to you lol

Niou

I personally think his confession wouldn't exactly be 'planned', in a sense.

He just has to tease you, his adorable crush, every chance he has. Just because he likes to see focus your attention to him and he thinks the angry / troubled look on your face is the cutest. But after a while it comes to the point that his pranks and teasing remarks are getting more and more frequent, and it’s getting too much to your liking. He doesn’t exactly take your verbal protest seriously, so you end up giving him the silent treatment, just to let him know that enough is enough.

Niou, who is already used to have you around and has taken your presence for granted, is suddenly left to his own thoughts because you're either running away from him upon seeing him, or isn't showing any reaction when he manages to catch up to you. Honestly you probably just want him to lessen his teasing, but the impact of your action is bigger than you think.

In the end, after a long lecture from Yagyuu (the lecture itself was boring but he was forced to sit seiza for a whole hour and his legs hurt like hell) and Yukimura's simple but straight-to-the-point comment ("Hm? Is [Last_Name] avoiding you lately, Niou? It's because you've been borderline mean to them, you know?"), he realizes that he has to make things right.

He's surprisingly gentle and serious when he asks you to have lunch with him one day, and you feel a little bad for making him feel so guilty, so you accept. It's already shocking that he hasn't done or said anything that's remotely playful all the while you're walking to the place you're supposed to have lunch in, but he's treating you so gentlemanly you almost suspect he switched places with Yagyuu.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you hate me, and I didn't think I would annoy you that much. I've reflected. I should have treated the person I love more preciously. I promise I'll be better! So don't hate me, yeah?"

“.... Niou? Did you just say..... ‘the person I love'?”

"Huh? .... Puri. I guess the cat's out of the bag, huh? ... That's right. I really like you. I find your teary face really adorable, but I still like it best when you smile. So will you go out with me? I promise I'll never let you cry from sadness."

Kite

This scheming and calculating man!! Kite will only confess if he has already studied up your behavior and has determined that you do harbour interest in him as a love interest. From there, it’s a strategic battle for him to bring you two even closer.

He would subconsciously condition you to be more dependent or just overall be closer to him. I can actually see him create certain situations where you would have no choice but to accept his help, or for you to offer your help, being the kind soul that you are.

Like the time where he invites you to watch the tennis club practice, and it just so conveniently rains, and it just so happens that you lost your umbrella, and so when he offers you to walk you home, what can you do except comply? And if on your way he purposefully timed your walking pace so that the car on the street drives by a rather big puddle, resulting in him 'shielding' you and getting his uniform all wet, how could you not invite him into your abode so he can dry off first? If he doesn’t have the opportunity to be alone with you, trust me, he will create one.

It's not that he's doing all those things with ill intent in mind though, and he's definitely not trying to hurt you. His goal is to make you feel like you need him. It's just his way of getting you to fall in love with him lol

Surprisingly though, I think his actual confession would be pretty 'normal'. Okinawa generally has nice beaches, so he would take you to a nice and relaxing beach walk, finishing off with dinner on an outdoorsy type restaurant overlooking the sea, where you both can watch the sun set against the horizon with soft live music in the background. Overall, when the atmosphere is nice and solemn just shortly after the sun finally sets, that's when he finally speaks.

"[Last_Name]-san. You are a wonderful and intriguing person. To be honest, I didn't think you would still be sticking around after all this time, but as with many other times, you continue to surprise me. At first, I was merely curious about you, but soon enough you flawlessly turned my curiosity into attraction. This is troubling. I will have you take responsibility by going out with me."

#prince of tennis #tennis no oujisama #prince of tennis headcanons #sanada genichirou #shiraishi kuranosuke #atobe keigo #niou masaharu #kite eishirou #rikkai #shitenhouji #hyotei #higa #gender neutral

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kyidyl · 4 years ago

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Kyidyl Explains Bones Part 5

(These are under the KyidylBones tag.)

How to dig up dead people.

So, in my Kyidyl Does Archaeology series I talked a bunch about how digging up places was different than digging up people. And you don’t have to read that to understand this, but it might be a little easier for you because I’m not going to re-address the same basics I covered there.

Ethical Stuff: So is digging up dead people ethical? I mean, I think so if strict rules are followed, but honestly the POVs here are as different as people themselves are. Some cultures routinely dig up their own dead and do all kinds of things with the remains. I wish they wouldn’t but, hey, that’s just me. I respect that their culture and choices aren’t the ones I’d make. It’s part of being an anthropologist of any flavor. And, like that one post implies, there really isn’t much of a different between grave robbing and archaeology. The biggest difference is the care we take, the respect we try our best to show, and the purposes to which we put the remains. However, there is a difference between exhumation and archaeology. General rule of thumb: if there’s someone living still that would have first-hand experience of them or if they still exist strongly in cultural memory, it’s exhumation. There’s no hard and fast number of years where it moves from exhumation to archaeology. Sometimes it’s the context that makes the difference. For example, Richard the 3rd’s bones were excavated from that carpark. If they were removed from where they were reinterred, then they’d be exhumed. But the TL;DR of it is that digging up people is incredibly ethically complex and you have to do your best to be respectful. If you aren’t the type of person who can really put yourself in someone else’s shoes and be ok with respecting the desires of a specific culture regarding their own dead...then archaeology is not the right area for you, and that goes double for bioarch. These people had lives and were loved and valued by those around them, and you need to be sensitive.

The legality of digging up human remains also varies wildly from country to country. In the US, we adhere to NAGPRA. If you want a primer on what NAGPRA is and how it works, you can check out this post that I made.

Also a quick reminder that we don’t name the individuals. They had names and you don’t get to give them a new one.

Beyond this cut there be pictures of human remains.

How do you know where to dig? Sometimes, honestly....we don’t. We’re just making educated guesses based on migration patterns and known settlements and research into local history. Generally, if there’s a group of people who lived somewhere, they also did something with their dead. So if you have a settlement, you’ll probably find bodies in it or near it at some point. Sometimes people find remains and are like “uuuuuhhhhh....” and we come and dig ‘em up. This is especially true on private property. Farmers are notorious for this. Construction, too, obviously. Sometimes we look in caves, because very old caves have lots of dirt on the floors and a lot of times if it’s a good cave there’ll be bones in it. Sometimes people threw their dead in bogs and now we have stuff that isn’t skeletons but is really old.

(Source)

That is a whole ass human dude. He’s around 2000 years old. You can still see his facial hair.

So there’s a lot of science behind how and why different environments preserve bodies differently, and I couldn’t possibly get into the detail of that here, but it’s definitely a factor we consider. A swamp in Florida isn’t a good place to expect to find remains, you know? General rule of thumb is: more water = less body, unless there water isn’t standard water (it’s very alkaline, very acidic, or very frozen.). Dry, cold landscapes like the Andes are great for preserving bodies.

So what you find when you go looking is going to vary wildly depending on the environment. My personal experience, though, is in graveyards. Graveyards are an easy thing to dig because it’s not uncommon to just like...know where one was. But graveyards aren’t the orderly things you’d expect them to be, not even modern graveyards. People bury their loved ones on top of other people, graves intersect, and sometimes people would sneak bodies into the consecrated part of the graveyard when the priests/monks/etc. said they couldn’t be buried there. So you can have bodies mixed with other bodies or under other bodies or just like random parts of people that were dug up, someone said “oops”, and then they were re-buried in a different spot. So when we dig a graveyard, we keep complex records of where all of the remains were found, including in-depth drawings. This is one way in which it’s similar to digging up a settlement. It’s...pretty much the only way in which it’s similar. Because part of the reason we do this is so we don’t mix up peoples’ body parts. Graveyards aren’t what you expect - when I was digging in one we thought we’d gotten most of the bodies out so we were using a mattock to make sure and the site director missed cracking the skull of an intact child by about a centimeter. Luckily the swing tore up a little bit of dirt and exposed it, but if it hadn’t? The next swing would have gone right through and inflicted heavy damage. So you have to be careful even in a graveyard.

Another thing about graves is that it doesn’t take long for the wood of a coffin to decay, so when you dig them up you will often just find the body and sometimes some nails. The nails are good, because they show you the outline of where you can expect to find parts of the same individual. This is one of the ways we show respect - we do everything in our power to NOT mix up the remains of different individuals and to separate them when we can.

Let me sidebar here for a minute to explain. See, your bones fit together. I don’t meant “ah yes, everyone’s shin bone connects to their thigh bone”. No, I mean that those bones have grown together in the same space for YEARS and they fit exactly. They have the same texture and thickness, they go together like puzzle pieces....at the spots where the bones touch. Or, as we say, articulate with each other. See, if I were to take, say, my cuboid and try to trade it with someone else’s, it wouldn’t articulate right. But something big like a tibia and femur will not be as easy to piece back together. That, and we don’t always have complete bodies. So we have something called “MNI” meaning “Minimum Number of Individuals”, and the maximum. So...three left femurs mean at least three people. Four right humeruses mean at least four people, so the minimum is 4. However! We don’t know if any of those left femurs or right humeruses belonged to the same person because they don’t articulate with each other. So the maximum is seven people. We have between 4 and 7 people in that set of remains. This becomes really important when you’re dealing with intersecting graves, mass graves, etc. Any time the remains are what we call comingled (mixed). This is what we’re really meticulous when recording where we found a given bone or set of bones.

Ok, back to the main thing. So...how DO we dig up dead people, anyway? It’s generally done in three stages:

Exposing - This is where we dig down just enough to cleanly expose what we believe to be the margins of the grave. We dig to the edges of the grave, not to a set square size like you would with a settlement. This is where we dig really cleanly, expose any grave goods, take pictures, etc. And it looks like this:

(Source. Was super frustrating searching for this bc I have several of these pics on my phone of the graves we dug and can’t use them for privacy/ethical reasons.)

Pedestaling/Cleaning - This is when we dig down around the skeleton and the grave goods, and then we start digging under the bones in preparation for the last stage. This is time consuming, detailed work. When I was doing this with the child we found, I used a mini trowel the size of my thumbnail and a dental pick. It’s *especially* important with juveniles because their bones aren’t fused and those unfused pieces are *tiny*. They literally look like clods of dirt. Most archs - rightfully - can’t stomach the idea of throwing pieces of a human body into the spoil heap, so we’re as careful as we can be. This part, when done right, takes days. It’s a difficult thing to get a picture of, but this one is close:

(Source)

The tags aren’t something I was taught needed to be done, but I can see why someone would. They’re basically just grave goods and features of the grave. They’ll be used to make a map of what’s what later on when the writeup is being done.

Lifting - We never just pull a bone out of the ground because it damages them. So we dig around them until they’re ready to come out on their own (and in the case of a large set of broken bones like you see above in that person’s skull, we’d just take the whole pile - dirt and all - for processing in the lab later. And no, it’s not normal to have the skull glued back together. We don’t glue remains together.). If one piece comes out before the others, it is bagged and tagged. We try not to have them come out separately, but it’s better to do that then to lose one. When we’ve cleared all the dirt out, we “lift” the skeleton, IE, remove it from the grave. If I included a pic of this it would just be an empty grave. :P

We make sure to take all of the grave goods and any soil samples with us, all carefully labeled. Fun fact about soil samples BTW. The soil around the bones and especially in the abdominal cavity can retain molecular traces and bacterial from the flesh that tell us about their gut flora and diet or about any parasites they had (parasites were super common back in the day.). It’s....really cool. So a sometimes, if we suspect that there might be money for that kind of analysis, we’ll take soil samples of the gut region.

We are...well, we’re very ritualistic about all of this. It is, of course, for scientific rigour. But part of it is that we’re systematically dismantling these peoples’ final resting places. They had lives and loves and spiritual beliefs that we are disturbing. This is sacred ground for so many cultures. So it always feels a bit like we’re doing these things in a specific way to show respect to the resting dead. That’s why in my 4 types of anthropologists post awhile back I said that archs are chaotic outside the pit but anal inside it. We want to learn from the dead, and it all feels a bit ritualistic if I’m being honest. And there’s this juxtaposition of digging in the dirt, in the chaos of earth and time, in a very structured, clean, orderly way.

Aaaannnyway I think that’s it for this installment. Ask box is open, I check comments and tags and whatnot. Tomorrow I think I’m gonna do age determination. How old were they when they died? Hmmmmm...

#science #archaeology #death #death mention #skeleton #excavation #graves #KyidylBones

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josy72 · 5 years ago

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Portrait of a Lady on Fire 🔥

Intervista del 14 /02/ 2020

The Black List Interview: Noémie Merlant & Céline Sciamma on PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE

Kate Hagen

My favorite movie-going experience in 2019 may have been seeing Céline Sciamma’s exquisite PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE at the 105-year old Prytania Theatre in New Orleans as a part of the New Orleans Film Festival. Being in an ancient theater only added to my immersion in the film’s sumptuous, sensual world, created by Sciamma and her incredible lead actresses, Noémie Merlant and Adèle Haenel. I spoke to Merlant and Sciamma about how they built a welcoming atmosphere on set, the power of the female gaze in narrative, secrets in cinema, and much more.

Noémie Merlant

What was your experience like reading this script for the first time? What resonated with you about the portrayal of Marianne?

It was a huge experience reading this script, because what I felt is that it represented something we’ve missed — these images, representations, and stories that we’ve been missing so much of. I realized that while I was reading that because we’re in a society and culture that is so inside the male gaze that we don’t even notice that this is the male gaze, this is one gaze — while I was reading it I realized that. And then, everything was so detailed — everything was in the script so the script was alive. There was all the breathing, the looks, the movements, the desire that was crawling…it was slow, and it was taking the time to build this love story of a woman and it was all about details taking the time, building excitement, expectations and desire slowly with new images, like the sex scene.

And so I realized the power of this love story. Marianne touched me really deeply because she’s a really modern character. She’s a curious voyeur, she’s a painter, she doesn’t want to get married. She is modern in that way, and that represents all these women that we’ve forgotten and erased from society and history. These painters — hundreds of women from that period were just erased. Through this love story with Heloise (Adèle Haenel) she finds her style of portraiture, because of their collaboration. She feels so grateful to be a painter that she’s stuck in the rules and the ideas and the way of “do a portrait that’s very good” and she’s stuck in this vision.Heloise wakes her up: “This is not me, this is not you, this is not us. This is not a woman, this portrait is not representing us.” And at that point, my mind changed. This script, for me, was what Heloise was for Marianne.

Throughout the film, we’re breaking out of that idea of the male gaze too — challenging rules by the old masters to create something entirely different. What was the most challenging part of creating this character for you? What was your favorite part about playing her?

There was not one scene that was particularly harder than another. What was hard was to keep something, a feeling, present from the beginning to the end of shooting the movie — there was a lot of restriction because of the period and the costumes and the dialogue and the light and the focus, it’s candle-lit. Every movement was written. I was finding a way to make it alive, and include me and my vision as an artist, too. I knew that I couldn’t move much while I was sitting, that I had to say the lines and do a smile or a gaze…But it was really trying to find a new way to look at Heloise each time, to find a new way to breathe. As the story grows and the desire grows too: Having a smile more open, more large, having movement more free, dresses less tight, and everyone smiling more.

I think the film does a great job of exploring the necessity of the collaboration among women that happens around art, but I also really loved that the film is about female kinship on all levels. Whether that’s making a meal together, sleeping together spending time together. What was the atmosphere like on set as you guys were creating that little bubble of the three of you in the house spending time together?

On set, the way that Celiné works is to create an environment of respect and kindness. But it’s about having fun too— we’re of course being serious because we’re working, but at the same time, we’re having fun. For this movie, we were all together in a house, we called it “Champs Mer.” Like the movie, we were all together in this house, the girls were together, and we were always together in creating and discussing what we did. It was really a parallel of the movie and the experience of the movie.

What do you hope modern audiences take away from PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE, which is a very different take on a period film than we’ve ever seen before.

Despite the fact that it’s a period film, it’s modern because it shows things like the abortion scene that we’re not used to seeing. The sex scene is an entirely new image, a new representation of the lesbian story which has of course existed before, but has never been present enough. The female gaze and intimacy of women…that’s a story that hasn’t been told, with the woman as subject and not as object. This feeling of creating mirrors this new experience of love — the excitement of imagination and artist collaboration, and the desire that grows slowly in details and images.

Céline Sciamma

How did the initial idea for this film spark within you? What was your writing process like knowing you were going be directing the film as well?

Well, I wanted to write a love story, I wanted to dedicate a film to love and to desire. And to have these two emotions embodied very patiently — what the process of falling in love actually looks like, moving away from the conventional idea of love at first sight and romance.

The chemistry between Noémie Merlant and Adèle Haenel in this film stars with a smolder then becomes incendiary, as you mentioned. How did you work with the two of them in pre-production and on set to make their relationship be viscerally felt on screen?

This chemistry definitely burst in front of my eyes during the casting process. First, I met Noémie alone with my casting director — she made a strong impression. Then during callbacks, the second round was with Adèle, and when I saw the both of them in the frame I knew that this was right.There was this strong physical contrast that I was looking for, very cinematic, but there was a strong also sense of equality, since they’re the same age, same height, and both have very strong intensity. We stopped there! We didn’t rehearse at all, so that they would actually meet on the set and during pre-production. Sometimes I rehearse before shooting, it depends on the film — WATER LILIES we rehearsed a lot, GIRLHOOD we rehearsed a lot, TOMBOY not at all, and PORTRAIT not at all. Because it was about love and all the danger of the unknown, it felt right for all of us to actually also be in that position.

There’s a sort of pervasive sensuality in this film — whether its a smear of paint or crumb of bread, we’re immersed in the same sensual world that the three leads are in. How did you work with your various department heads to make the world of this film come alive?

By being really minimalist regarding set design. It’s a paradox — even though this film is period piece, this is a film where I had less innovation on the set design because we’d come to this castle in the Parisian periphery where we shot most of the film, and it was untouched for… 150 years? So, the color of the walls…we didn’t choose that. [laughs] We entered this room, and we decided that we were gonna leave it that way. And there was a vibe from the past that actually made me super confident — so whereas in my previous film [GIRLHOOD] there was a lot of set construction, even the teenager’s rooms, there was no fourth wall, so then we decided to put very few things in the frame, just wooden boxes and fabric that was very low-key: linen, cotton. This also extended to the costume design, but with fabrics that were silky. To anchor the film and the sociology of that particular moment in Brittany— period pieces are often mundane, you know. We built the bed, we built the table in the kitchen, we felt we were inventing very minimalist furniture.

There are so many elements in this film that reflect modernity and almost an otherworldliness that we don’t often see in period films, whether that’s the abortion scene or the ghostly visions, or the psychedelic sequence. At what point did you decide to bring in these contemporary trappings to a tradition period film?

They all came up along the way, like “Oh, I want Adèle to appear because it’s mostly about ideas. I want Adèle to appear as a ghost because it’s the present of a love story, but also a memory of a love story, the contagion of these two layers.” The idea behind this is the fact that the minute Noémie falls in love and she knows it, she’s already haunted by the last image that she will see of Adèle. And then, when you have this idea, you try to really be brave about it and be generous about it, not make it this little anecdote, but put it all over. That what happens with Orpheus and Eurydice for instance — I was looking for a scene, a sort of “Netflix and chill” scene between the three girls where they would be super involved in a climatic bit of fiction, and then talk about it, and do a whole show of suspense. And then I thought, it’s also a way to see the myth from a woman’s perspective, and from the perspective of Eurydice. Sometimes it’s just an image — like for instance, Adèle on fire is an image that came out of nowhere, but was immediately like “I want this.” Suddenly, it gives you the title, suddenly, you have to find, “Why would she be set on fire?” So it should be outside, it should be a great fire, and then it’s “Maybe it should be a bonfire!” It’s strange to believe in your intuition and connect things that are not supposed to be connected. You begin to build the plot around strong desire for certain images that have mystery, and suddenly, you bring enough in to not rely on the mystery, but to connect them and to build the narrative around them.

Your last four films have been about developing the female identity, however that may look. Do you feel like you’re making a films in similar thematic territory, or is each film its own thing?

Well, after the the sort of adolescence trilogy (WATER LILIES, TOMBOY, and GIRLHOOD) I really felt like I was departing with PORTRAIT because it’s a story about grown-ups, with professional actresses and a love story that is fully lived, whereas before there was always a love interest, but it was mostly desire as a way to discover yourself. With this one, even though they are discovering themselves, it’s about this iconic couple, this duo and how a love story involves immense patience.

I’m still thinking about the last ten minutes of this film — that art show sequence is so breathtaking, especially as it concludes with the book in Heloise’s hand. You were speaking earlier about finding images before finding the plot — did you already have the images in mind for that ending sequence at the start of the film?

The last scene I had in mind since the beginning, I basically did the film to land there. But I didn’t actually think about the fact that there would be three endings, because there are three endings of the film. For instance, from the book, the page 28 reference, that’s a totally different process — it’s really about looking at a lot of painting at the time and the art of portraiture. I liked the fact that there were little secrets involved, and I decided I had to hide a secret in the painting. I thought it would be in the painting that Marianne would do, but then maybe it could be in the painting that Marianne would see. I had a list of different types of secrets, it’s very codified — for instance, in painting at the time, especially for marriage portraits, there’s a cage and a bird inside, if the door is open, it means she’s not a virgin anymore, if it’s closed, she is. I was finding our own little secret code, and also relying on the audience’s pleasure and intelligence that I’m always trying to think the audience has, that the viewers are the most intelligent person. It’s also knowing that the pleasure of being a viewer in cinema is about being immersed in a film and speaking the language of the film, and as the film goes more and more and more, you speak the language of the film, and the page… it’s a fucking number, but suddenly it means something for you as much as it means something for the character. That’s the kind of thing I’m always looking for — I thought about it for months, finding just the right treasure.

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ronbegleyformayor · 5 years ago

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So this is going to be a long post—your question gets to the larger topic that is episode 100. Also to anyone reading this I would appreciate if you took a minute or two to read the whole thing—I purposefully waited a while to respond to this so my response would come across as measured as possible.

So anyone plugged into queer theory and media has probably heard of the term “bury your gays”. It’s a trope that goes at least as far back as lesbian pulp fiction novels from the early 20th century, and for a number of reasons that I’m not remotely qualified to comment on the trope has persisted into modern media. As the name implies, bury your gays is the implicit belief that for a story about gay people to end correctly, usually one or both members of a gay couple are killed before the it ends. Whether intentional or not, the trope is rooted in the idea that gay couples are not supposed to be together, that queer love is a temporary fantasy that must be righted by the end of the story. A weird kind of offshoot of this is the causing of gay characters to suffer through loneliness or separation from a partner, and it comes from the underlying idea that gay=alone. Frequently this manifests in queer characters feeling that they have to choose between family and friends and the “"gay lifestyle”“ when in reality those two things frequently are not mutually exclusive. A subset of this trope is featuring a gay character (or frequently the partner of a more-established gay character) as possessed by some form of “evil” to emphasize which side of the temptation is “correct” and which isn’t.

I’m guessing you can see what I’m teeing up here, so I’ll just add as a caveat that most writers (especially straight writers) do not necessarily agree with the homophobia behind these tropes, nor is it (usually) their intent to perpetuate negative stereotypes about gay people. That being said the legacy of this trope is alive in a lot of media, and intentional or not: gay people suffering is entrenched in how we think about writing them.

Now to be extra clear, I’m not (necessarily) saying this is what King Falls is doing. So far the writing of queer themes and homophobia has been nuanced and has avoided a lot of the pitfalls that have come to be expected, but I would also be lying if I didn’t say episode 100 didn’t rub me the wrong way, and for a couple of specific reasons, too.

For me what that boils down to is characterization and timing.

Let’s talk about characterization first.

Just think about this for a second: what do you know about Jack Wright? No really, can you name anything beyond the bare minimum of characteristics? He’s a journalist and radio host, has a belief in the paranormal, and loves Sammy. He has a sister and a fiancé, has black hair and brown eyes, and plays rugby. I can’t think of a single other concrete fact we’ve learned about him specifically, and being generous like less than half of the things on that list don’t directly have to do with Sammy. Now we could extrapolate bits of his personality based on the two very short clips we’ve ever heard of him and from what’s implied by Sammy and Lily, but that’s also kind of the point: everything we know about Jack Wright is almost exclusively based off his sister and his fiancé, both of whom are anything but unbiased. Did you notice how Lily trashed Sammy and Jack’s radio show in the first King Falls Chronicles but then went on to call Jack smart and prolific in his field like five minutes later? It’s a(n understandable) level of cognitive dissonance for someone who was going through the difficult process of grieving. Both Sammy and Lily are biased sources of information because both care very deeply for Jack. On it’s own that really isn’t a problem—in fact I would say it’s an opportunity for an interesting bit of narrative contrast between the perception of Jack and the reality of when we actually get to meet him.

That at least was my opinion.

Instead we have this ”“dark”“ version of Jack, a lover just out of reach who’s trying to tempt Sammy into leaving his family and friends for the “freedom” of the void. This is a situation that, if I’m being honest, has some homophobic tinges, and hearing the dialogue played out the way it was kind of made my stomach turn (and not in the fun, scared-to-death at 3AM way I’m used to).

Now please don’t misunderstand me. I don’t think this is what the writers were intending, nor do I think that there is anything necessarily wrong with having a normally good character occupy a “bad guy” role. When done correctly it can be interesting and compelling, and help tease out different aspects of a character or relationship dynamic. The issue isn’t that we’re seeing a “bad” version of Jack, the issue is that a. the specific wording of his interaction made my homophobia alarm bells go off, and more critically b. this “bad” version of of Jack is the only true version of him we know. Having him in a “bad” role outside his norm would be interesting if we actually had a real-time, in-person Jack with which to compare him. We might have a constructed idea of who he is from descriptions of biased sources close to him or tapes that are probably a decade old, but we only need to hear from this ”“shadow”“ Jack two more times and it’ll be more times than we’ve heard even recordings of the real Jack.

Emily, for example, had a baseline character established before her abduction. We got to know her as a character before she went missing, so when we eventually saw her as a different version of herself, we had a baseline understanding of how she typically acts in a situation, which is something we just don’t have with Jack.

Also, do you notice how Jack never directly spoke to Lily? He talked about her, but never to her, and can we take a moment to appreciate the gravity of that moment? Jack (or whatever was controlling him) had the opportunity to lure one of the four members of the "named” in the prophecy in the book, and instead of choosing his sister, the person he has known for his entire life and the only flesh and blood family with whom he’s in contact, and he chose to lure Sammy instead, to make Sammy choose between a gay relationship and the support system he’s built up.

Can you understand why this kind of leaves a bad taste in my mouth? It feels a little like the “love the sinner” (Jack), hate the sin (being “bad”, trying to make Sammy have to decide between romance and a family), and that’s an adage that queer people tend to get tired of really quickly.

Again, because I really don’t want to be misunderstood, I don’t think this is what the writers intended; in fact I’m guessing the thought probably never even crossed their minds. But at the end of the day that’s kind of the point: if you’re going to make a show that subverts homophobic tropes (which I will readily say that they have done up until this point), you have to make sure not to accidentally fall into any of them yourself.

This leads me into my other issue with the episode: the timing.

My opinion toward the show right now would be considerably less harsh if this was not the last episode before a hiatus. I’m not saying the show can’t take breaks, but ending after this episode specifically? We are left with a very specific image of who Jack is, and exactly what kind of influence he has on Sammy. We’re left with the impression that Sammy has to choose between his found family and a gay relationship, and just to put icing on the cake we’re being told there is going to be another hiatus, prolonging the suffering of a character who has been through quite a lot already.

If this wasn’t the episode before a hiatus, I wouldn’t be as unhappy because we would have more immediate reactions to what had happened. We would have the four of them discussing it in detail. Maybe we even would have gotten a chance to hear Sammy himself say that this wasn’t Jack, and even get to hear more detail from him about who Jack is, if not what we heard. Maybe we would have actually gotten to see them get a step closer to getting Jack back instead of now knowing that the void has been opened, and we have to wait for another few months to see if the gay characters will ever get something even resembling a happy ending.

But we didn’t get any of that. Instead we got a cold, empty laugh that I haven’t been able to get out of my head since.

This isn’t to say that the show is headed in a bad direction. I think because this was not the intent that there is still plenty potential for things to stay on the rails. But what it looks like from here is that we are just continuing to prolong the suffering of the gay couple that sits at the emotional heart of the show’s main plotline. I’m just getting to a point where I’m starting to lose faith that we will see anything but it.

also huge thanks to @calebmichaels and @deputytroy. a lot of these points were the distillation of conversations between us, and if you think that I made a particularly interesting point at all in this post, it was probably their idea, not mine.

#kfam #king falls am #mine #wow that was a lot #also none of this is specifically directed at the person that sent me the anon #I just used your ask as a jumping-off point

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antoine-roquentin · 5 years ago

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I think one of the major problems with the modern left is a focus on cultural analysis instead of economics. When I say culture I EXPLICITLY DON'T MEAN racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, and Indigenous rights/decolonization.

Stupidpol and their ilk are reactionaries and should be treated as such. What I'm talking about is the focus on things like analyzing TV shows or picking over the latest issues of the NYT op-ed column, the sort a caricatures you see on Chapo.

Zizek is emblematic of this syndrome. He's a theorist of ideology, a film critic, a Lacanian psychoanalyst and complete reactionary on gender and immigration issues, and he's widely considered to be one of preeminent Marxist scholars alive. And, and this is important, Zizek does fuck all actual economic material analysis. Mark Fisher, who was an excellent Marxist theorist, covers almost exactly the same ground from a different perspective, and you can repeat this across academia.

Inside academia the problem has gotten so bad that the best economic analysis is being carried out by the fucking post-humanists. Take, for example, Anna Tsing's excellent Supply Chains and the Human Condition. Tsing is a brilliant theorist but she spends most of her time writing about multi-species interactions between humans and mushrooms. Carbon Democracy, one of the best theories of the carbon economy ever written, is by a left-Foucaldian.

There are some exceptions to this, Andreas Malm's Carbon Capital is wonderful, Riot Strike Riot is great and I have to mention the group I call The Other Chicago School, Endnotes, whose infrequent analysis is a breath of fresh air. But Endnotes isn't particularly well read even inside the academy, which takes back outside the ivory tower in the dismal mess that is what passes for popular left "economics."

I want to go back to Occupy for a second because what happened there is indicative of the problem. Occupy, at least technically, actually had a theory of economics that went beyond "neoliberalism bad, welfare state good." And it's really not as bad as its critics have since accused it of being. Graeber's "the 1% meme" was supposed to be part of an MMT analysis of the ability of banks to create money out of nothing, see Richard A. Werner. The theory then goes with the ability to create money out of nothing the question becomes who should actually have that power. The 1% are the people who control that power and use that it to gain wealth and their wealth to gain power.

This is essentially what happened after 2008 and it relates to an entire analysis of the politics of debt and war that's captured really well in the last chapter of Debt, The First 5000 Years, drawing from Hudson's excellent Super Imperialism. Again, not bad, and not the disaster it became in Liberal hands. But note two things:

1, His work is intentionally detached from the production process- Graeber uses a value theory of labor about the social reproduction of human beings. That theory is really interesting and I'll leave a link to his It is Value that Brings Universes into Being here. But Graeber is an anthropologist, not an economist, and his recent work is mostly composed of a set of theories of bureaucracy.

And, don't get me wrong, I really like Utopia of Rules and Bullshit Jobs, and it's possible to build an economic theory out of them, but almost no one actually does. And this gets us back to my second point about Occupy and economics.

2, Not a single other person I have ever met, including people who were in Occupy, have ever actually heard the theory behind the 1%. Part of this has to do with Graeber’s rather admirable desire to not become an intellectual vanguardist. But, I cannot overemphasize how much of this is a result of the left's retreat into an analysis of consumerism instead of capitalism and its further insistence that the entire fucking global economy can be explained by chapters 1-3 of Capital and this just isn't a "read more theory" rant, it's not like reading the rest of Capital is going to help you here. But even that's better than what's actually happened, which is people reading Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism and the Communist Manifesto and trying to derive economic theory from that, or getting lost in a Gramscian or psychoanalytic miasma trying to explain why revolution didn't happen. But we can't keep fucking doing this.

If we do we're just going to keep getting stuck in endless fucking inane arguments, one of which is about which countries are Imperialist or not based on trying to read the minds of world leaders, and the other of which is a bunch of racists trying to argue that they're actually "class-first" Marxists and that if we don't say slurs and be mean to disabled people we're going to lose the "real working class," which is somehow composed only of construction workers banging steel bars.

So let's stop letting them do that. One of the reasons Supply Chains and the Human Condition is so great is that it describes how the performance of gender and racial roles creates the self super-exploitation at the heart of global capitalism. Race and gender cannot be ignored in favor of some kind of "class-first" faux-leftist bullshit. THEY ARE LITERALLY THE DRIVER OF CAPITAL ACCUMULATION.

Most of the global supply chain has been transformed into entrepreneurs and wannabe entrepreneurs (see the countless accounts of Chinese garment factory workers who dream of getting into the fashion industry and who attempt to supplement their meager income by setting up stalls in local marketplaces to sell watches and clothes).

The fact that global supply chains have reverted to the kind of small family firms that Marx and Engels thought would disappear is a MASSIVE problem for any kind of global workers movement, because it means that the normal wage relation that is supposed to form the basis of the proletariat isn't actually the governing social experience of a large swath of what should be the proletariat, either because they're the owners of small firms contracted by larger firms like Nike who would, in an older period of capitalism, have just been workers or because the people who work for those firms are incapable of actually demanding wage increases from the capitalists because they're separated by a layer from the firms who control real capital, and thus are essentially unable to make the kind of wage demands that would normally constitute class consciousness because the contractors they work for really don't have any money. These contractors are in no way independent.

Multinational corporations set everything from their buying prices to their labor conditions to what their workers say to lie to labor inspectors. The effect of replacing much of the proletariat with micro-entrepreneurs is devastating.

The class-for-itself that's supposed to serve as the basis of social revolution has decomposed entirely. Endnotes has a great analysis of how this happened covering more time, but the unified working class is dead. In its place have come a series of incoherent struggles: The Arab Spring, the Movement of the Squares, the current wave of revolutions and riots stretching from Sudan to Peru to Puerto Rico- all of them share an economic basis translated into demands on the state. We see housing struggles, anti-police riots, occupations, climate strikes, and a thousand other forms of struggle that don't seem to cohere into a traditional social revolution and WE HAVE NO ANSWER.

I don't have one either, but we're not going to get out of this mess by trying to read the tea leaves of the CCP or analyzing how Endgame is the ruling class inculcating us into accepting Malthusian Ecofascism.

I want to emphasize YOU DON'T NEED TO SHARE MY ECONOMIC ANALYSIS to develop one, I'm obviously wrong on a lot of things and so is everyone else. The point is that we need to start somewhere.

There are other benefits to reading economics stuff even if it can be boring sometimes, like being able to dunk on nerd shitlibs and reactionaries who do the "take Econ-101" meme by being able to prove that their entire discipline is bunk. Steve Keen's Debunking Economics is absolutely hilarious for this, he literally proves that perfect competition relies on the same math that you use to "prove" that the earth is flat.

Or learning that the notion that markets distribute goods optimally is based on the assumption that what is basically a form of fucking state socialism exists, and that the supply demand curve is fucking bullshit. Here's a page from Debunking Economics looking at the socialism claim, it fucking rules, and it's the result of the fact that neo-classical economics and central planning were developed together. Kantorovich and Koopmans shared a Nobel Prize.

But wait, there's more! We can PROVE that THE MARKET PLACE OF IDEAS DOESN'T EXIST. Do you have any idea how hard you can own libs with facts and logic if you can demonstrate that THE MARKET PLACE OF IDEAS DOESN'T EXIST?

But seriously, if you go outside of the Marxist tradition there are all sorts of fun and useful things you can find in post-Keyensian circles and so on and so forth. I'm a huge fan of Karen Ho's Liquidated, an Ethnography of Wall Street/Liquidated_%20An%20Ethnography%20of%20Wall%20Street%20-%20Karen%20Ho.pdf) which looks at how the people at banks and investment firms actually behave and, oh boy, is it bad news (they're literally incapable of making long-term decisions which is wonderful in the face of climate change).

Oh, and also, all of the bankers are essentially indoctrinated into thinking they're the smartest people in the world, so that's fun.

This may sound like I'm shitting on Marxism, and I sort of am, but there's Marxist stuff coming out that I absolutely love! @chuangcn is a good example of what I think the benchmark for leftist economics and historical analysis should be.

Chuang responded to the call put out by Endnotes to cut "The Red Thread of History," or essentially to stop fucking arguing about 1917, 1936, 1968 and so forth and look at material conditions instead of trying to find our favorite faction and accuse literally everyone else of betraying the revolution, and then imagining what we would have done in their shoes. The present is different from the past and we need to organize for this economic and social reality, not 1917's.

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Chuang produced an incredibly statically and sociologically detailed account of the Chinese socialist period in issue 1 and the transition to capitalism in the soon to be put online issue 2 that focuses on shifts in production and investment and shifts in China's class-structure and how urban workers, peasants, factory mangers, technicians, and cadre members reacted to those movements and shaped each others decisions and mobilizations. They largely avoid discussions of factional battles of the upper level of the CCP, which dominate liberal and communist accounts of the period and produce, in supposed communists from David Harvey to Ajit Singh, a Great Man theory of history.

Instead, they trace how strikes and peasant protests shaped the CCP's decision making and how the choices of people like Mao and Deng Xiaoping were limited by material conditions, in this case by their production bottleneck.

What's great about Chuang is that their work is so rich in sociological detail that you don't need to agree with them at all about what communism is and so on for their account to be useful, and they force us to think about the world from the perspective of competing classes bound by economic reality, instead of the black-and-white "good state/bad state," "good ruler/bad ruler," discourse that dominates our understanding of both imperialism and the global economy.

I'm just going to end this with a TL;DR: Cut the read thread of history and stop fucking arguing about 1917, use economic theory to dunk on Stupidpol and shitlibs. When you talk about "material conditions" talk about the production process, supply chains, capital movements and so on, not which states are good and bad (the bourgeoisie is a global class friends), recognize that strategies need to be built around current economic and social conditions, WHICH ARE INSEPARABLE FROM RACE AND GENDER, climate change is more complicated than the 100 companies meme (I only touched on this but please read Fossil Capital and Carbon Democracy), and in general try to learn more about different schools of economics and social theory, I swear reading something that wasn't written in 1848 isn't going to kill you.

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intelcorei98950hk315 · 4 years ago

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What Are The Advantages Of Having A New Intel i9 Cpu?

A lot of people that have recently acquired new computers may be questioning the benefits of obtaining an Intel i9 processor. These kinds of cpus are really powerful and also they have actually been specifically made to make calculating a lot less complicated for a number of various individuals. These consist of pupils that are researching for examinations, professionals who require a computer system to do a selection of various tasks, in addition to those who just want something that will be able to get them the sort of rate that they require to deal with. The reason that people need to buy one of these cpus is since it can supplying high performance at a fairly affordable price.

It is true that a brand-new generation processor will certainly be able to offer even more power than previous generations, what lots of people do not understand is that these new generations still tend to cost rather a little bit less than older layouts. The reason this holds true is since with each brand-new generation comes a brand-new style along with different features. For instance, a new layout that is present in a few of the more recent processor styles consists of functions such as faster processing speeds and far better memory speeds. In order to stay on top of what contemporary innovation is supplying, it simply makes good sense for computer makers to offer consumers with a brand-new processor design occasionally.

Because they enable users to save a great bargain of cash on their computing requires, one of the primary reasons why individuals are buying these brand-new i9 processor styles is. As an example, if you were to purchase a desktop computer cpu, after that you would have to invest quite a bit of cash on the different parts that you would certainly require in order to run your operating system as well as your computer system programs. These parts can be very costly, there are individuals that can afford them. Nonetheless, a lot of the moment, even with the very best cpu readily available on the marketplace, a new style will set you back a lot less than acquiring an old design. Whether you require a new computer or you simply desire to decrease the amount of cash that you need to pay to use your computer system, it may be worth purchasing for a new i9 processor so that you can conserve cash on your computer needs.

The New i9 Cpu Has Many New Features

The chance is that you're going to be looking for a new i9 processor if you have an Apple item. For those of you who have not seen this new chip in activity, it has been called the "I Processor" due to its similarity to an i-box, though it remains in fact a chip that is made use of in a range of various computers. If you want to update your current computer, chances are that you will intend to go on and also do so with the new i9 processor. This is an exceptionally effective chip and also can be utilized for a number of different points. The genuine inquiry is just what can you make with one?

One of the most prominent usages for the new i9 is being made use of as a computer game system. With the brand-new technology that we have today, games are ending up being extra reasonable, in addition to being even more detailed as well as sensible. Consequently, it is important that they are optimized for the new generation of computer system displays and graphics cards that are available. A game console should stay on top of the developments, or threat shedding sales to rivals. Making use of the brand-new i9 chip in a video game system enables it to perform at full speed as well as also at a greater resolution than ever.

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An additional place where you can find processors like these is in the business world. Regardless of what sort of job you do, there are certain applications where utilizing the new technology makes excellent sense. If you work with CAD software program, for example, you can make very ordi intel core i9 realistic illustrations and diagrams that will certainly aid your business achieve the outcomes it needs. Not only is this modern technology fun to make use of, however it can assist you do your job a lot faster as well as a lot more successfully than ever before.

What Makes Samsung's New i9 Cpu So Great?

The brand-new i9 cpu in question is produced by the chip huge Samsung and it's one of their most current generation processors. It is a very effective machine that must have the ability to fit in your laptop bag easily and likewise perform well. It comes with various brand-new attributes like high resolution scanning, approximately date infection protection, anti spyware, hd video clip recording and so on. This all sounds actually terrific but how great is this cpu contrasted to the others on the market? Let's learn!

When trying to find brand-new electronic devices, the first thing that you take a look at is the price tag but this is no more appropriate when acquiring Samsung's new line of cpus. For one, this new model is not as expensive as its predecessors as well as in fact costs less than two hundred bucks which is an unbeatable cost to ask for. This is likewise a great advantage due to the fact that it permits you to get a device without fretting about spending way too much cash on repair services or upkeep. With this in mind, there is not surprising that why Samsung's newest enhancement has become so preferred in no time whatsoever.

Another major plus factor with this brand-new i9 device is its style. It includes a very ergonomic covering that is really easy to deal with. One of the best parts of this maker is the keyboard dock which is attached to the computer system with a USB port and also it has a very great constructed in headset that uses the maker extremely comfortable indeed. With all the brand-new functions that have actually been packed into one, the brand-new laptop computer absolutely carries out at its best. And as long as you maintain your gadget in good condition, you should not have any kind of troubles using it for a long time.

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xwestcoastwassyx · 4 years ago

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Week #7 - DUE 07 OCT 2020

1) In creating videos on online platforms – such as YouTube – can mimicking a race and gender that is not your own be classified as having “too much fun”? Is it offensive on the gender, racial, and political spectrums?

It is very offensive to mimic the stereotypes given to certain races and genders if you are mimicking a race that is not yours to claim. In the novel “The Social Media Handbook – Chapter 8: Race and Social Media” we learn how race can either be heavily avoided or strongly brought up on social media platforms that our everyday technologies offer. Unfortunately, when race is brought up in modern social media platforms – in this case, YouTube – we see how White men attack the Black race by creating videos that influence the harsh stereotypes given to Black women. For example, Senft and Noble argue, “The first race-related video was comedian Billy Sorrell’s “Sh*t Black Girls Say,” featuring his “ghetto” character named Peaches saying things like “My computer got an apple bit out of it” and “Ooo, Basketball Wives is on” (2014). These racist and sexist videos made by White men went more viral and got more views than the videos created by women who created stereotypical videos of “Sh*t Guys Say”. However, one Black woman by the name of Franchesca Ramsey created a video in response that mimicked the stereotypes given to White women. Ramsey’s initial intent was – of course – to make a political statement that making fun of a minority race is not okay and has gone too far. Ramsey had enough and decided to reverse the role where she would call out the White women’s racist remarks to a Black woman. It is all fun and games when a White man creates a video of “Sh*t Black girls Say”, “Sh*t Hispanic Girls Say”, and “Sh*t Asian Girls Say” until a Black woman – or any other minority woman – creates a stereotypical video of “Sh*t White Girls Say” and place it on the social media platform. Ramsey did get a large amount of praise for her video going viral and being labeled as very comedic. However, many White men and White women were very offended and claimed that Ramsey was promoting the behavior of racism and sexism when, in fact, she was creating a video to promote awareness of how it feels to have a video made about minority women with the nation laughing at them.

It is important to understand that race is seen as the process of racialization – where people place individuals into categories that “best fit them” according to their physical state and their characteristics. Racialization makes things “easier” for people to comprehend because it allows for people to place others into a box. It is a social construct that was formed to simplify people of all different ethnicities, when in reality people are extremely complex in behavior. With this in mind, we need to realize that having “too much fun” – by making racist and sexist videos online – is extremely offensive and should not be done unless it is done by the person involved in that same race and same sex.

2) What are the dimensions of “Interpellation” and how can they be racially understood on social medias? (Pg.108)

Interpellation corresponds with the idea of racialization because it allows people to better understand the layers that lie within the politics of race. In the novel The Social Media Handbook – Chapter 8: Race and Social Media Theresa Senft and Safiya Umoja Noble claims, “we derive our sense of identity from how we respond to the ways in which others implicitly categorize us through public speech and gestures each day” (2014). Their statement shows the underlying foundation of “interpellation” by explaining what this concept is and how it affects the identities of people. This affects people by how a certain race is represented and recognized in modern society. Interpellation comes with a variety of dimensions that include positive interpellation, negative interpellation, non-interpellation, and mis-interpellation. Positive interpellation can be classified as a school alumni or a fan of a music artist like Beyonce (Senft & Noble, 2014). This form of interpellation includes the feeling of praise or being noticed for partaking in a good – “positively associate” – social environment. Negative interpellation, on the other hand, is when people or a certain group of people are called out and made to be seen in an uncomfortable way. Senft and Noble notes, “Althusser’s famous example of negative interpellation is the person who turns when a police officer yells, “Hey you!”’ (2014). This is a perfect example to show how negative interpellation is demonstrated in our American culture by showing the negative, uncomfortable, action between the officer and the individual. Non-interpellation is explained as the state of being ignored or feeling that you do not exist or belong in a particular societies culture. This form of interpellation is important to note because in the predominant White American society, we tend to think it is okay to discriminate against those who are different from anything other than White. By discriminating, our society is ignoring individuals and the issues that arise from minority race. As for mis-interpellation, Senft and Noble state that it “results when we understand ourselves to be included in a definition of “everybody” and are later addressed in a way that makes it clear that we are not” (2014). Mis-interpellation happens every day and needs to be recognized/addressed so that our society can change this connotation.

These dimensions of interpellation are seen through the emerging racial divisions that have been displayed both in online and offline cultures. As previously mentioned, the dimensions of interpellation are strongly correlated with the idea of racialization by categorizing people based off of their race/ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, and even religion. Technology has made it easier to discriminate on mass medias and social media networks by dehumanizing the minority race and placing them into categories to prevent them from growing and contributing with society. The online world has been proven to be toxic because it is primarily dominated by White, supremacists’ individuals who believe minorities should controlled and belittled. The Internet uses the dimensions of interpellation to promote negative stereotypes, colonization, and corrupt behaviors that only influence the weak minded to partake in the same behaviors.

3) Can “niche marketing” be considered a form of exploiting different racial groups and genders? What are the “illusions” that companies do to sell their products?

Niche marketing can be considered a form of exploiting different racial groups and genders. The novel Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code show us that multinational companies partake in discrimination by tricking their targeted audience into believing that they are benefiting from purchasing the marketed product. However, we can see that the multinational companies are corrupt and power hungry because they are placing these advertising “illusions” to reel in their targeted audience – only to profit for themselves and continue to take advantage of minority groups. Ruha Benjamin gives a superior example of the discriminatory tactics found in niche marketing through the creation of ethnicity recognition. Benjamin claims, “Consider this ad for ethnicity recognition software developed by a Russian company, NTech Lab – which beats Google’s Facenet as the world’s best system for recognition, with 73.3 percent accuracy on 1 million faces” (2019). The Russian technological company sells their product of ethnicity recognition as a “fun tool to use” because it is proven to be diverse and racially friendly. That is only an “illusion” because products like this are really created to control and discriminate against races that are not White. These products are actually used to criminalized minority groups – such as Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians – and to draw fear into them. As previously mentioned, this is an “illusion” because multinational companies who produce products like the ethnicity recognition and sold to those in power – used as a tool of destruction. Benjamin continues and argues, “This shows how multicultural representation, marketed as an individualistic and fun experience, can quickly turn into criminalizing misrepresentation.” (2019). These products are coded with inequality among race, gender, and culture to global promote faster outcomes of racism and world dominance of White power.

4) If minority groups – such as People of Color and the LGBTQ+ community – make up more than 50% of the world’s population, why I it considered diverse (different)?

I bring attention to this important question because I feel it is necessary to discuss. It is statistically true that People of Color – Blacks, Asians, Hispanics, etc. – and those of the LGBTQ+ community make up more than half of the world’s population combined. In the passage Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code, Ruha Benjamin mentions this important idea and brings it to the reader’s attention to show that the American nation is ran by a corrupt White society. This corrupt White society, also known as White Supremacists, are highly known in the United States and are making their presence known and relevant on the global spectrum – leading to world domination. Minorities of race, gender, and sexuality have been criminalized by the global White Supremacists and have shut down. This can be a factor as to why we do not see minorities and LGBTQ+ individuals because White society hides them, criminalizes them, and places them in the category of “others”. White culture draws fears into society and makes people fear minorities. Benjamin makes a great point in stating, “In response to questions about her approach to shows like Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal, Shonda Rhimes says she is not trying to diversify television but to normalize it” “Women, people of color, LGBTQ people equal WAY more than 50 percent of the population”(2019). This proves that Shonda Rhimes is using her platform to “normalize” a group of people that should already be seen as normalized because they make up more than half of the global population. We need more people like Rhimes who use their platform and publicity to address these issues and make it known that minorities are actually the majority. White supremacists will only grow if we allow them to continuously draw “fear” into people; we cannot allow this racism to continue nor shall we allow the White Supremacist to consider themselves the majority when they are not.

Benjamin, R. (2019). Race after technology: Abolitionist tools for the new Jim code. Cambridge: Polity, 41-88.

Sent,T. & Noble, U.N. (2014). Race and social media. The Social Media Handbook, 107-125.

#wgst320 fall2020

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