#i am half syrian

[wooteena]

did you in the past have a family member (in about the mid to late 1850-1900? not 100% certain on the years tbh) that had 13 kids, all of which survived, who was described by the aboriginal people as "walking with angels" due to all of her children, and her childrens children living. Also, in the late to mid 1800's mormons were called to Utah and she and her husband left, and planned to leave their kids all behind (most were grown up) and their youngest (her name was something with a c or a K I can't quite remember, I think it might have been Catherine?) who was 8 swam behind the boat to America for more than 2 hours well the husband refused to pay for a ticket to let her on.

oh anon. is this because of the rumour spread by @fraseris that i was a jehovas witness.

[nimrochan]

No disrespect, and I want to say that jewish people should absolutely be safe and feel welcome and happy everywhere in the world. But how can you talk positively about moving to Israel, paying taxes to a government, that has been confirmed to have killed 13.000 children? Do you not see an issue with moving to a state that has been determined by the ICJ to be committing a genocide right now?

Thank you for your question. I’ll do my best to answer this as an Israeli-American with a more inside perspective than most people who haven’t been in the area.

Incoming novel.

First off, I encourage you to read my pinned post.

Second, I believe Israel is a tiny country that as being held to an impossible standard. The situation there is very unique and I ask you to not compare it to others.

(I promise I’m going somewhere with this) in the past ten years, half a million Syrians and half a million Yemenis died in civil war in what I think are actual genocides. Millions more are refugees. China forcibly puts its Muslim citizens in “re-education” camps, another form of cruelty and cultural genocide. There are other genocides actually happening in Congo and Darfur and other places. There are humanitarian crises in Arab countries regarding the horrific treatments of women. And in North Korea, the situation has always been dire - it contains a concentration camp the size of Rhodes island.

This leads me to ask- why is the hate for Israel so widespread and deep? I’ve never seen protests addressing these aforementioned issues so passionately. I almost NEVER see them addressed on social media. I have never seen Russian, Chinese, Afghani people etc in places OUTSIDE of their countries being harassed to the extent that Jews and Israelites are. Jews outside of Israel have been harassed and attacked, some have even been murdered. Our synagogues and graveyards have been vandalized. Thousands, maybe tens of thousands of people openly march for our deaths rather than to condemn terrorism or condemn far more horrible governments. I can only come to the conclusion that it’s antisemitism. It’s not a coincidence that the only Jewish country in the world a) has such a microscope over it, b) is one of the most terrorized countries in the world, and c) has so much widely-accepted misinformation regarding it. Including the whole “white colonizer” narrative - most Israelis are brown.

The UN has a history of not accepting Israel as a country and disregarding the years of constant terrorism against it. It has not acknowledged 10/07. The voters of the ICJ include Bashar Al Assad who is the president of Syria. Yes that same Syria that kills its own people. Another voter is from China. Same China with countless human rights violations. Another voter whose name escapes me now made motions to deny humanitarian crises in other Arab countries. So between the UN and the ICJ voters, the parties are extremely biased and ignore far worse issues. So I am not going to take them seriously. I hope you ask yourself what else may have skewed your perspective on the war, if such big international organizations are demonstrably biased.

Genocide is done with intent. In the last 50 years, the Palestinian population has grown FASTER than the world’s Jewish population. I can tell you first hand, as someone with many family members who have served in the IDF, and who knows how strong the Israeli military is - genocide is not, has never been, and will never be the intention of Israel. If it WANTED to commit genocide, I guarantee you that absolutely far more Palestinians would have been slaughtered and I would tear up my passport in that case.

When the LEADERS of a county cross a border into ANOTHER country, unprovoked, and personally slaughter and rape thousands of civilians, that is genocide and that is declaring war. It’s a very small scale genocide, but technically it is. If you read the charter of Gaza, it actually states the goal of killing all Jews. Hamas killed the maximum number of Israelis that was in their power at the time. Including people that my own family were close to.

Growing up in Israel, among some Arabs, I can tell you that no one EVER taught me to hate Arabs. In fact they taught us Arabic in school along with English. All street signs are in English, Hebrew, and Arabic. Meanwhile across the border, their government put guns in kids’ hands and teach them that Jews are pigs. And I don’t think they’re considerate enough to put any of their public signs in Hebrew.

You can see pictures online of Hamas dressing up their kids as child soldiers.

I don’t know if you ever saw the footage of Hamas driving around Gaza with dead bodies after the 10/07 attack and many Gazan civilians celebrating and dancing with their kids and handing out candies, mutilating the bodies further. Look up Shani Louk.

While a handful of Israelis are openly racist (just like there are racists everywhere else on the planet), you will NEVER see something this horrific on Israeli streets. NEVER.

Obviously, not all Gazan civilians are this heinous and nobody should be punished for where they were born (and anti-Israelis are lost on the irony of calling all Israelis kid-murdering genocide-lovers who deserved what happened to them including rape and infantacide). But I want you to ask yourself, If this was My country, how would they respond? I don’t think Israel is responding WORSE than America or other strong countries would. Again that leads me to ask why the hate is out of proportion even for their strong response.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza reports that about 30-40K casualties by Israel. Now that organization is run by… Hamas. But okay, I’m willing to believe that number. I’m willing to believe that that number is double. And I’m extremely saddened by innocent Gazans suffering because of the carelessness and evil of their leaders. But let’s look at the number for now.

Israel reports that about 17,000 of the people killed in Gaza are Hamas militants. That leaves a civilian-combatant ratio of 1:1.2 - 1:2. That’s… average for war. For a dense urban area like Gaza? That is LOW. That does not fit the definition of genocide. It is war, and it sucks, but it’s not genocide.

As for children dying - We do not yet know exactly the number of children who are militants. A baby is counted as a child, but so are the 15-17 year old child soldiers that Hamas recruits. So now the line is blurring.

Not to mention, Hamas has been caught altering birth dates on records of dead Gazans to bring their ages down. Some 18-year-olds are falsely reported as being 17 at death to falsely increase the numbers of killed children on paper.

To go a little off topic, Al Jazeera has also been caught numerous times censoring Gazans criticizing Hamas and reporting biased news. Heck they even reported the rape and murder of my people as “a necessary step.” Look up Howidy Hamza, a Palestinian reporter who talks about Hamas. Hamas is unbelievably cruel to their own people. Yet protests in the US and around the world praise them.

Let’s go back to Israel being the most terrorized country in the world behind Somalia. Do you know what’s going on in Somalia? Of course probably not - another crisis largely ignored by the world because it’s not as exciting or interesting.

Again I grew up in Israel. In the 90’s there was a rash of suicide bombings on buses by the PLO, so I remember avoiding buses as a child out of fear. I also remember waiting in line with my family to get free gas masks because Saddam Hussein once threatened biological warfare on us. Fun times.

I went back to visit in 2015 - this time, a trend of Palestinian civilians in Israel randomly stabbing Jews or running over them or throwing rocks at them. Some Palestinian teens threw rocks into traffic and killed a 2-year old.

And in the past 20 years at least, Hamas and OTHER parties have been sending rockets into Israel. Into civilian areas. Do you think that’s normal? Do you think it’s normal to have apps to alert you to rockets and to have so many bomb shelters? Have you ever spoken to a relative overseas and heard rockets in the background while on the phone with them?

Do you know how many hundreds of thousands of us would be dead if it weren’t for the iron dome?

EDITED TO ADD: Israel responds to rocket fire to destroy the source, because the iron dome is not perfect and CONTINUED firing eventually harms Israeli civilians. Yes, Hamas makes sure to fire rockets from Gazan civilian areas. Another note I want to bring up - I don’t know how many Gazans are displaced currently, I have a hard time finding a nonbiased source, but I would guess around 750K - 1.2 million. If they are displaced RATHER then killed, that’s another contradiction to calling this war a genocide.

Do you know why Gaza has received billions of dollars in aid over the years - enough to turn it into a living paradise - only for Hamas to use it to build underground tunnels and rockets for the purpose of attacking a country that has NEVER in its history attacked first or started any wars? (Yes, believe it or not, Israel has never STARTED a war since its inception).

The other problem with Gaza is Hamas intentionally having military targets under densely populated areas. When Israel warns civilians to leave, via leaflets or alerts, many times Hamas threatens them to stay and become martyrs. On top of it, they dress as civilians and recruit children, and fire rockets from refugee camps and apartment buildings and schools and hospitals. This is neither legal nor ethical warfare.

Israel does not, has never put military targets near civilian, nor does the IDF recruit children or dress as civilians. That’s a bare minimum.

I won’t deny that members of the IDF have done shitty things, just like the American army and other armies around the world have probably done, but if I had to choose between the country with the military that wants me dead and Israel… yeah. At least rape and other torture are ILLEGAL for the IDF. Meanwhile Hamas continues to freely rape hostages as I type this. Because they make the laws there.

Yes Israel cares more about its own citizens than foreign citizens like Gaza, but again, that’s no more evil than other normal countries.

To address another stereotype about Israel being a racist and apartheid state - there are two million Arab Israelis living peacefully there. There are Arab countries who hold peace treaties with Israel.

So you tell me in your ask, Jews should be safe and welcomed around the world. The sentiment is appreciated, but this is not the case with reality, sadly. There is NO population of 2 million Jews in any other middle eastern country. Many of us left for Israel due to severe oppression. There are no more Jews in Yemen for example. My grandfather left for Israel from his home in Lebanon because some officials wanted him dead. Why? For committing the crime of smuggling Jews through Lebanon to escape the Holocaust.

My grandparents on my mother’s side escaped post-war Poland because of violent lingering antisemitism.

They would have had NOWHERE to go without Israel.

And we are NOT safe outside of Israel or even in Israel because of the intense hatred. We have been scapegoats for society’s problems for thousands of years and I don’t see it improving any time soon.

How can I talk positively about Israel? It’s the most liberal and progressive country in the Middle East. It’s the only country where it’s legal and safe to be openly gay for example, and it’s the only country there that holds annual pride.

It’s a middle eastern country where I, as a secular woman, can dress how I want, marry who I want, get abortions if I needed, own property, own money, have a prestigious job, and *checks notes* drive.

It’s also the only Jewish country in the world. It’s the place I’ve felt the safest and happiest, surrounded by my own people and family and sometimes I wish my parents and I never left, because I am personally feeling the antisemitism when I march peacefully and get nasty comments, or when I lose long time close friends left and right for being a “genocidal Zionist”, or when I see antisemitic graffiti and signs everywhere I walk.

My taxes in Israel would pay for hospitals that treat people from all around the world including Palestinian children for free. It would pay for the iron dome that keeps my family safe.

My taxes in America have been used to oppress women, and for horrific military actions, etc. and America itself is LITERALLY built on colonial genocide and the backs of slaves. Slightly related, most of North Africa was colonized by Arabs who ran a larger slave trade than the US. I’ve never learned that in school! I’ve never seen anyone talk about that! I’ve never seen Americans or Arabs in other countries get attacked for these things (to be fair, I’m very aware of the racism Arabs and Muslims did feel in the US after 9/11 and I absolutely condemn it).

This same America also lifted sanctions on Iran, allowing it to spare money to give to Hamas to buy weapons and slaughter my people to start this fucking war.

So you ask why I’m saving money to eventually move to Israel from America? I hope I’ve answered as thoroughly as I can. You can go ahead and fact check me through non- biased media. And go ahead and look up “list of terrorist attacks on Israel” while you’re at it too. I’d rather face rockets than continue to live in a country that lets antisemitism (and mass shootings for that matter) run rampant.

[alcestas-sloboda]

I see so many reflections today from different people: someone woke up from the explosions, some from a phone call, some woke up and saw hundreds of notifications from different telegram channels. It is still so unimaginably bizarre. I have no ability to put into words the feeling of your world falling apart and we didn’t even understand half of the danger that was surrounding us. We were so damn close to disaster with half of Europe believing that nothing good will come out of it.

Ukrainians didn’t care what Europeans thought though, I personally saw news pieces about "Russia will take control of Kyiv" a lot later, somewhere in May, when Ukrainian military took control over the north of the country. And I’m so eternally grateful to every Ukrainian who made sure that all this "experts" sat in those flashy studios red from guilt. I’m grateful for my life, I’m grateful for our Ukraine. She persist. She is still the love of our lives. She’s hurt and devastated but she lives despite all the attempts to destroy her. Same as us. Somehow still here.

Yet I feel more detached from the western world than ever and I’m so fucking jealous of you all. It’s not even about the rockets or shakheds - somewhere along the lines you accept the fact that you may die in any moment - it’s about normal things like your Twitter feed that doesn’t look like a necrology, military terms that don’t make any sense to you, your city that doesn’t stop everyday to mourn the dead, you don’t feel guilty for trying to live a normal life while your classmate, who wanted to be a director, posts stories from the trenches. All of that and more. I’m not even entitled to my emotions because there always will be someone who says that my country is not suffering enough. I no longer react to comments like this as emotionally as I’ve done before but it is still so bizarre to see stuff like that from people whose countries have always been the one to inflict suffering on others.

I may sound mean or sarcastic or whatever but there is so much negativity inside of us that was put there by people like I’ve mentioned above that it is going to be released from time to time. "Your country shouldn’t exist", "Only 9 thousand killed", "You all are nazis/racist/zionists/any of the -ist terms" - yet you should always react in a constructive way because the moment you let your emotions go, you are the worst person on the planet. But who am I kidding, some people here do believe that we are. There is a thousand bad people with sketchy patches in a 40-million country and suddenly "That’s why I no longer support Ukraine". Well, honey, that means you never did. Because Syrian flags were quickly replaced with Ukrainian ones and just as quickly with Palestinian. It’s not about the "Support the oppressed", it’s "Anything to not feel guilty" because then you’ll find the reason to hate Palestinians, just as you did with us. If only you cared about the problematic shit happening in you country as much as you care about our political and social life.

But there are people who still are there for us. Countries that are still here. We may not say it as often but we are thankful. So very thankful for everything you’ve done and are doing for us. Thank you for hearing us and uplifting our voices.

Recently one of the most beautiful people here have lost her life defending me and you. She was always in my notes, always making sure that we didn’t feel uncomfortable even if she of all the people had all the right to be upfront about her thoughts and feelings. I don’t think I will ever get rid of the feeling of guilt. She was there while I wasn’t. She said to mourn her through anger. Anger towards the oppressor. Anger that should be directed into something useful: donations, sharing info, contacting your MPs and so on.

The soldier‘s death is not something out of ordinary during the war, it’s not considered a war crime but what if half of the army are civilians? Volunteers who left their homes to protect them. What if the soldier was a teacher, a poet, an actor, an IT-specialist, a scientist, what then? Isn’t it a tragedy? My country is loosing yet another generation of beautiful talented people and it makes my view of the future even darker.

But what can I say? I’m still here. My country still stands. Ukrainian air defence is doing everything possible and impossible to protect the lives of the civilians. Ukrainian military is still the only thing keeping us all alive. Heroes, titans, gods. Glory to them. Eternal glory to those who lost their lives defending Ukraine.

To Ukrainians: якось буде, прорвемся.

[cosmic--dandelion]

So how did we get from this

Dedicated to his Worshippers, George Frederic Watt (1817-1904)

To this?

A brief history of Mammon

Addendum Because We Can't Have Nice Things: this essay is in no way meant to be a "critique", criticism, or personal attack against Helluva Boss/Hazbin Hotel/Vivziepop as I am, in fact, a big fan of all three! I actually loved the newest episode and Mammon as a character. Seeing him in motion, I think he looks damned near perfect as a modern take on the King of Greed. I wrote this ONLY for educational purposes.

Mammon is a Chaldee (the Semantic language of ancient Chaldeans, the people of a small Mesopotamian country who were later absorbed by the Babylonians) or Syriac word meaning "wealth" or "riches".

The Worship of Mammon, Evelyn De Morgan (1909)

He is best remembered from the Sermon on the Mount from Mathew 6: 24 (King James version): “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”

Some scholars believe Mammon might have been loosely based on Dīs Pater, originally a Roman God of mineral wealth and fertile lands who was later merged with the chthonic deities of the underworld Pluto and Orcus (because minerals come from underground). Pluto was depicted in the Divine Comedy as "wolflike demon of wealth"; wolves in the medieval times were symbols of greed. Others think he might have been an ancient Syrian god, though no trace of his cult or temples exists.

Mammon transformed over time from an abstract concept to major demon. This is thanks to later philosophers and theologians such as Saint Gregory of Nyssa, a third century Byzantine scholar, Archbishop of Constantinople John Chrysostom, and Peter Lombard, bishop of Paris from 1159 to 1160. His book of Four Books of Sentences (Sententiarum libri IV) was the standard theological text of the Middle Ages.

Mammon was assigned the sin of greed according to the Peter Binsfield classification of demons.

John Milton of Paradise Lost fame imaged him as a fallen angel. He is described as being stooped over (literally the "least erected" of Lucifer's demonic host) because he always has his eyes downward looking for gold and would rather use Hell's resources to finance his lavish lifestyle than wage war against Heaven.

In Edmund Spenser's 16th long poem, The Faerie Queene, Mammon is a “uncouth, salvage, and uncivile wight” who sets up his cave of riches right next to the entrance to the underworld. Subtle, huh? He tries to tempt Sir Guyon, the protagonist of Book II, with all his fabulous wealth, arguing that he could use it for good. (This is a religious-moral-political allegory about temperance, so you can guess how well that went.) He shows up again in Jacques de Plancy's Dictionnaire Infernal as Hell's ambassador to England. Yes, really.

Just like in Biblical times, reformists used Mammon as a symbol of exploitation and unfettered capitalism during the industrial age.

Fun fact: Mr. Burns lives at the corner of Croesus and Mammon street.

So how does Vivziepop's version compare to the historical Mammon? I dunno, he hasn't appeared in the show yet. It's not my favorite design, but I like the fact that half the fandom was expecting him to be the Big Bad of Helluva Boss, and he's a just big heckin' chonk who sort of looks like a demented Dr. Suess character crossed with a demonic air freshener. It's a silly design for a silly dude, but he could be more dangerous than he looks...

[fromashesweriseuphiddenones]

Day 19

Shay was indeed at least ranked 6 when he was assessed for his assassin skills. Having been a fully fledged Templar gave him a unique insight into the Borgia. He didn't care for them, and had told Ezio how Templars after this current era regarded the Borgia as traitors and self-interested that Templars like Robert De Sable where they strove to be, eased Ezio. He nodded actually enjoying this young man that had walked both sides.

That was when things got extra interesting. Haytham Kenway was around for some odd reason but no one was going to complain as he agreed the Borgia Family was a stain on the Templar name. He was a little sad Shay had rejoined the assassins but seeing the leader Ezio Auditore was, he made every effort to work with him. Malik watched as he trained Shay which it would not be long before he was a fully fledged assassin.

Little did Malik know, was that this had been a test for him to prove he was ready to be a master assassin. Haytham actually wanted to speak to the young assassin alone. And as they walked the streets Civilians, Assassins and Templars saw the peaceful unity that could be. Haytham ignoring them asked if Malik

"You have been an assassin your whole life?"

"Yes sir. My mother was the last of the Al-Sayf line. So she did her best, getting me to rank six before she died from the famine that plagued our village. I sailed here to find my father and I did. I haven't looked back once."

Haytham nodded before he spoke

"Half Italian and half Syrian. It's interesting. My own son is have European half native of the new world."

"Sir you don't have to dance around the truth with me. While what I just told you is true, it is also a lie. I am from five hundred years into the future give or take a few years. You like Ezio are my ancestors."

Malik said stopping for a moment. The inceridous look on Haytham's face said it all. Haytham didn't realize he'd actually been avoiding the truth. But he was. With a nod they returned to Tiber Island making small talk as they went.

[bufomancer]

I do think I’m going to take a break from hamsters after my current 3 pass as well… I am still back and forthing about whether I will continue having a mouse colony after my girls pass, luckily half of my girls are not yet a year so I have time to make decisions about that.

Things have been a lot more manageable around here lately, almost all of the rats are adopted or in other foster homes! I have 6 boys, 3 sanctuary girls, and then 1 current foster and 1 incoming foster that don’t have other fosters lined up. The remaining 8 rats at my house will all be leaving in the next week or two for new adventures!

The rats take up the most amount of time and space so this is a major relief! I will likely always have a few foster rats, but I’ve decided they really just aren’t a great fit for my household longterm. Luckily I have built up a pretty good group of rat fosters to take over for me after initial quarantine and vet visits are done with.

I am still seeking more male mouse foster homes. Male mice are one of the most difficult animals for us to place and while they aren’t very high maintenance individually, having 7 of them adds up! I have 1 going to a foster soon, and possibly a second. Right now the 5 baby boys are still cohabbing but they won’t be able to for much longer.

After a decent run with almost no gerbils coming in, we have 4 scheduled to come in over the next few weeks (plus 2 already at the rescue), 2 of whom are in need of bonding to each other so no one is alone. That’ll be fun! I love gerbils :)

I also have a pair of chinchillas likely coming in. I haven’t had chins at my place for a few months so I’m a little bit excited!

Nothing else too crazy going on. We are at just about 30 enclosures right now and 72 animals, with 13 scheduled to go out, and up to 7 coming in.

Sadly I have a lot of seniors right now as well:

Sniper the rat, who is 2y8m and his hind limb degeneration is increasing rapidly

Sunny and Bandit the rats who are just over 2, but still totally happy and healthy

Frog, Mushroom, and Nyx the mice who are all between 1.5-2 years, though none have health concerns right now

Fuzzy and Two Scoop my syrian hamsters who are both 2 years

Asperita my dwarf ham who is a little over 1.5 years and starting to slow down

Salt and Poundcake the rats who both have mammary tumors and are 2 years or older

Blossom and Bubbles the mice are not quite 1.5, but Bubbles has heart disease and is on medication for life and may have a shorter lifespan

All 10 african soft furs I am fostering are over 1.5, and soft furs don’t tend to live much more than 2. Luckily, only one has papillomas and only a very small amount.

Eggy the foster mouse who is just over 1.5

It is really disheartening watching all my animals become seniors. I have been less active on here, in part because I have been trying to spend more time with my critters while I still can. Especially knowing these will be my last rats and last hamsters for a while, it just feels extra hard.

I will ALWAYS have a good crew of permanent critters but with our intakes up 86% compared to last year and 4 months still left in the year we need foster space more than ever to ensure animals have a safe place to go. We are projected to end the year with over 400 intakes! Likely going forward my forever animals will end up being primarily special needs or hospice critters that are not good candidates for adoption.

I frankly never imagined when I started fostering for Tiny Whiskers how much it would become my life. From one hamster at a time to managing the social media and most of the intakes/adoptions, getting our 501c3, partnering with other amazing organizations in the state, and at one point having over 100 animals in my house after that eventful May mass intake… It’s been a wild ride.

But that’s enough rambling for now 😅

[tenmyoujump]

I am not Japanese But I can explain why I pretended to be Japanese

I am deeply ashamed of being British

I see the UK as a lost country it's too far gone.

My purpose on Tumblr was to talk to People from different backgrounds and to learn other perspectives which is not something I could do if people knew I was British. I have had great conversations with Filipinos, Syrians, Egyptians, Koreans (surprisingly), Germans, Italians etc and have created a genuine friendship with an actual Japanese person who knows the truth about me.

Because the UK colonized half the world & to this day works alongside America in destroying countries people rightfully wouldn't want to talk to me.

My love for Japan is genuine, my earliest life memories were playing Sonic 1 with my family on the Sega mega drive and trying to pronounce the Japanese names on the credits.

My most favourite artist of all time is Linkin Park which was founded by Mike Shinoda a hāfu.

I'd say 95% of all happy memories in my life involve Japan in some ways and I want to protect Japan I would rather die then it end up being like mine.

That is why I pretended to be Japanese to help fight J

[etymology-of-the-emblem]

The Demonic References in the Loptr Church

Befitting the cult of the dark god Loptous, many members of the Loptr Church, particularly those in Chapters 10 and Endgame of Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War take their names from grimoires of demonology and the occult.

Beginning with the sect's archbishop, Manfroy (JP: マンフロイ; r��maji: manfuroi) gets his name from legends regarding Manfred of Sicily, son of Emperor Frederick II. On page 436 of Jacques Collin de Plancy's Dictionnaire Infernal is a section dedicated to Mainfroi, which claims that following his excommunication by Pope Innocent IV, Manfred studied magic and alchemy, all while communing with demons. This was largely based on a similar passage on page 303 of Pierre Le Loyer's Histoire des spectres et apparitions des esprits, which instead refers to Manfred as Manfroy. Rumors of King Manfred's deal with the devil would go on to inspire Lord Byron's Manfred, a poem telling of a noble convening with dark spirits to erase his memory of a lost lover - a sentiment based on his own failed marriage and an affair with his half-sister Augusta Leigh. The wiping of memories seemingly influenced Manfroy's act of erasing those of Deirdre, while the topic of incest likely served as a basis for the conception of Loptous' vessel.

Moving on, Zagam (JP: ザガム; rōmaji: zagamu) is the Loptrian stationed over Miletos Castle. He is named after Zagam, attested on page 711 of Dictionnaire Infernal as a Great King and President of Hell, sourced from Johann Weyer's Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, where he is instead called Zagan. The name Zagan would also be used in the later-released Ars Goetia, part of the Lesser Key of Solomon. Most mentions of Zagan claim that he could turn wine or oil into blood, and could transmute water into wine and vice versa.

Juphiel (JP: ユフィール; rōmaji: yufīru) is a Loptrian bishop defending Edda dukedom. His name comes from Uphir, a demon seemingly first mentioned in Dictionnaire Infernal on page 674. He is said to be a chemist who maintains the health of Beelzebub and the other high-ranked demons of Hell.

Dagon (JP: ダゴン; rōmaji: dagon) is a Loptrian bishop that protects Dozel Castle. His name comes from Dagon, described in Dictionnaire Infernal on page 194. But before this, Dagon, also called Dagan, was an ancient Syrian god of prosperity, kingship, and the father of many other gods. Dagan was also said to guarantee a successful grain harvest. First attestations of Dagon as a demonic entity began with the texts of the Old Testament, which claimed the Philistines to have worshiped the god above all others. De Plancy would expand Dagon's role among other demons, interpreting him to be the Great Baker of Hell - likely based on his association with grain.

Lastly is Baran (JP: バラン; rōmaji: baran), who serves to stop Seliph's army at Friege. He is named after Balan, covered on pages 76 and 77 of Dictionnaire Infernal. In other texts like the Ars Goetia, he is instead called Balam or Balaam. He is said to be a three-headed demon who responds to questions with perfect answers, whether it be about the past, present, or future. The name Balaam comes from a magician in the Old Testament, who told the Moabite king Balak how to make the Israelites sin, leading to punishment upon them by God.

Saving the most speculative for last, Veld is a high-stationed bishop of the Loptr Church who carries out Manfroy's orders throughout the Munster District. The name seemingly comes from the Old Norse veld, appropriately meaning "I rule over; I am the cause of".

In Japanese, Veld's name is written ベルド (rōmaji: berudo). It is possible that the name is a greatly truncated form of ベルゼビュート (rōmaji: beruzebyūto), Belzébuth, a French name for the Lord of the Flies, Beelzebub. Similarly to Dagon, some of the earliest mentions of Beelzebub come from the Old Testament, where he was a god of the Philistines. The Testament of Solomon would go on to assert that this was but another name for Lucifer. Other sources interpret the two as separate, however. On pages 89 and 90 of Dictionnaire Infernal, Belzébuth is claimed to be the prince of demons, the absolute leader of Hell, and second in power and wickedness only to Satan himself. For "Manfroy's Rock" and seemingly the second most powerful member of the Loptrian Order behind the archbishop to be named after Beelzebub would be rather appropriate, though the connection is certainly a stretch.

[secondblooms]

He was called "filthy" because his skin was dark, unintelligible because he could barely speak English. When he arrived in this country, he was placed in a special class for immigrants. But, a few of his teachers saw something in the way he expressed himself, through his drawings, through his view of the world. He would soon master his new language.

His mother had made a difficult decision to take him, his two younger sisters and a half-brother to America, seeking a better life for their family. They settled in Boston's South End, at the time the second-largest Syrian-Lebanese-American community. The family would struggle and the young boy would lose one sister and his half-brother to tuberculosis. His mother would die of cancer.

He would write, “Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.”

He was born in poverty on January 6, 1883 in what is now modern day Lebanon.

He believed in love, he believed in peace, and he believed in understanding.

His name was Kahlil Gibran, and he is primarily known for his book, "The Prophet." The book, published in 1923, would sell tens of millions of copies, making him the third best-selling poet of all time, behind Shakespeare and Laozi.

Published in 108 languages around the world, passages from "The Prophet" are quoted at weddings, in political speeches and at funerals, inspiring influential figures such as John F. Kennedy, Indira Gandhi, Elvis Presley, John Lennon, and David Bowie.

He was very outspoken, attacking hypocrisy and corruption. His books were burned in Beirut, and in America, he would receive death threats.

Gibran was the only member of his family to pursue scholastic education. His sisters were not allowed to enter school, primarily because of Middle Eastern traditions as well as financial difficulties. Gibran, however, was inspired by the strength of the women in his family, especially his mother. After one sister, his mother, and his half-brother died, his other sister, Mariana would support Gibran and herself by working at a dressmaker's shop.

Of his mother, he would write:

"The most beautiful word on the lips of mankind is the word 'Mother,' and the most beautiful call is the call of 'My mother.' It is a word full of hope and love, a sweet and kind word coming from the depths of the heart. The mother is everything – she is our consolation in sorrow, our hope in misery, and our strength in weakness. She is the source of love, mercy, sympathy, and forgiveness."

Gibran would later champion the cause of women’s emancipation and education.

He believed that “Safeguarding the rights of others is the most noble and beautiful end of a human being.”

In a poem to new immigrants, he would write, "I believe you can say to the founders of this great nation. 'Here I am. A youth. A young tree. Whose roots were plucked from the hills of Lebanon. Yet I am deeply rooted here. And I would be fruitful.'"

He would write in "The Prophet":

“Let there be spaces in your togetherness, And let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup. Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf. Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone, Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music. Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping. For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts. And stand together, yet not too near together: For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.”

○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○

● THE PROPHET ●

Do not live half a life

and do not die a half death

If you choose silence, then be silent

When you speak, do so until you are finished

If you accept, then express it bluntly

Do not mask it

If you refuse then be clear about it

for an ambiguous refusal is but a weak acceptance

Do not accept half a solution

Do not believe half truths

Do not dream half a dream

Do not fantasize about half hopes

Half the way will get you no where

You are a whole that exists to live a life

not half a life. ~Khalil Gibran

(Book: The Prophet https://amzn.to/3SnIaZd )

[livelaughlovechai]

Watch my crazy delusional ass make open heart desi♥️😘

(mind me making half the characters South Indian lol)not including Jackie(hc malyalee),zaid-baz(headcanon them as Hyderabadi Muslims)and dr Banerjee (CANON bengali king).Set in either Delhi or Mumbai.

Well-

>Ethan-Would be either a syrian Christian (Same first name but would have a name like ethan alan or ethan varghese going on malyalee naming traditions)or still a malyalee (hindu)with a name like arjun or Smth haha.or bengali boy,could explain how he and dr Banerjee bond so well.

>Bryce-gives me major tulu Nadu-kannadiga vibes(he’s one of my people)would have a name like pradeep shetty i have no idea why.

>Rafael-gives me hyderabadi vibes haha.would have a name like raman kameneni lmao again no idea.OR hyderabadi muslim but with a simpler name like imran ali khan?idk.could be a kareem.

>Aurora-Bengali gurl for sure.Would have a name like konkana das

>Sienna- Hyderabadi born Bengali(sushmita sen moment much?).name would be smth like tammanah Mukerjee.

>Elijah-y’all will kill me when I say SoBo/South delhi boy.but yes.tho much more grounded and nice.prolly punjabi hindu.name would be Hrehaan Ahuja or something I am so sorry.

>(Land)ry-pahadi mf I am so sorry.named Tushar,played by Tushar Kapoor(desis know what I did there)

>Kyra-marathi queen.sakshi Tendulkar or Smth lmao.

>Ines-punjabi queen.Harpreet kaur bajwa.

>Tobias-Tamizhan.name like karnan(insert his fathers name cause that’s the naming tradition in TN)

>June-North east indian,nepali/axomiya or sikkimese ig.name is Jaya Denzongpa ig(jaya bacchan vibes)

>Danny-Axomiya.Would be named vishal bodo maybe

>Harper.Bengali.name like Sushmita das ig lmao

>Leland- gujju. Hariom patel or a name like that.

>Esme-Rajput girl.name like aditi singh rajput ig.

>Declan-Snobish NRI asshole.name like Jairam kapoor but calls himself jay kennedy he's defo that type.

THAT'S IT FOR NOW🫡🫡🫡🫡

Some songs cause why not🥰🥰🥰

[kiki-de-la-petite-flaque]

He was called "filthy" because his skin was dark, unintelligible because he could barely speak English. When he arrived in this country, he was placed in a special class for immigrants. But, a few of his teachers saw something in the way he expressed himself, through his drawings, through his view of the world. He would soon master his new language.

His mother had made a difficult decision to take him, his two younger sisters and a half-brother to America, seeking a better life for their family. They settled in Boston's South End, at the time the second-largest Syrian-Lebanese-American community. The family would struggle and the young boy would lose one sister and his half-brother to tuberculosis. His mother would die of cancer.

He would write, “Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.”

He was born in poverty on January 6, 1883 in what is now modern day Lebanon.

He believed in love, he believed in peace, and he believed in understanding.

His name was Kahlil Gibran, and he is primarily known for his book, "The Prophet." The book, published in 1923, would sell tens of millions of copies, making him the third best-selling poet of all time, behind Shakespeare and Laozi.

Published in 108 languages around the world, passages from "The Prophet" are quoted at weddings, in political speeches and at funerals, inspiring influential figures such as John F. Kennedy, Indira Gandhi, Elvis Presley, John Lennon, and David Bowie.

He was very outspoken, attacking hypocrisy and corruption. His books were burned in Beirut, and in America, he would receive death threats.

Gibran was the only member of his family to pursue scholastic education. His sisters were not allowed to enter school, primarily because of Middle Eastern traditions as well as financial difficulties. Gibran, however, was inspired by the strength of the women in his family, especially his mother. After one sister, his mother, and his half-brother died, his other sister, Mariana would support Gibran and herself by working at a dressmaker's shop.

Of his mother, he would write:

"The most beautiful word on the lips of mankind is the word 'Mother,' and the most beautiful call is the call of 'My mother.' It is a word full of hope and love, a sweet and kind word coming from the depths of the heart. The mother is everything – she is our consolation in sorrow, our hope in misery, and our strength in weakness. She is the source of love, mercy, sympathy, and forgiveness."

Gibran would later champion the cause of women’s emancipation and education.

He believed that “Safeguarding the rights of others is the most noble and beautiful end of a human being.”

In a poem to new immigrants, he would write, "I believe you can say to the founders of this great nation. 'Here I am. A youth. A young tree. Whose roots were plucked from the hills of Lebanon. Yet I am deeply rooted here. And I would be fruitful.'"

He would write in "The Prophet":

“Let there be spaces in your togetherness, And let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup. Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf. Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone, Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music. Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping. For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts. And stand together, yet not too near together: For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.”

[justlarkin]

Oscar refers to MC as his Salome in his voice lines. Salome is a figure from the Bible involved in the execution of John the Prophet and the main character of Oscar Wilde's play based on said event called Salome.

"I love you more than anyone in the world, my Salome. I am, of course, jesting. But may I still kiss your hand? *(Sigh)* You don't need to answer that with words."

"Welcome, my Salome, my up-and-coming lead actor. What would you like among these gathering talks of Tokyo? I'm happy to be paid in new conversation topics."

Salome is seen as a minor figure who is only doing her mother's bidding in the Bible, but is rewritten as a femme fatale in Oscar Wilde's version. She's young and beautiful, but she's also obsessive, spoiled, and vengeful. She seduces men to get what she wants, she refuses to take no for an answer, she drives a man to suicide and doesn't even react, and she orders that a man be beheaded, so she can finally have him.

So funny throwaway name or does Oscar actually liken MC to Salome in some way? MC does unintentionally fall into the femme fatale category since everyone's obsession over them causes chaos and destruction, but do they get the same reaction out of him? Or is he their Jochanaan? 🤔

(adding the story below involves making out with a decapitated head)

"At the beginning of the play, a drunken banquet is being held by King Herod and Queen Herodias. A young, Syrian captain, Narraboth, admires the young, beautiful princess, Salome, from his place on the terrace, earning a warning from King Herod's page that something bad might happen if he doesn't stop looking at her. Narraboth unfortunately ignores this warning. Jochanaan can be heard from a nearby cistern he's imprisoned, cursing Queen Herodias for her sinful ways, deeming her an incestuous sinner for marrying her brother-in-law after the death of her husband.

Salome decides to sneak away from the banquet to escape the leering gaze of her step-father and his entourage, and ends up on the terrace with Narraboth and the others. Narraboth comments on Salome's beauty, but is ignored by her. Jochanaan can be heard yelling again, which peaks Salome's interest. She asks the guards to let her see Jochanaan, but they refuse. Narraboth eventually relents after Salome offers to look at him and to bring him a flower in exchange for doing this.

Salome is both terrified and entranced by Jochanaan's appearance. She begs him to let her touch his hair, then his skin, and finally his lips. Knowing who her mother is, Jochanaan rejects her advances, refusing to even look at her and referring to her as the daughter of Sodom and Babylon. Narraboth tries to dissuade her from pursuing another man, but she completely ignores him once again. Unable to bear the fact that Salome desired another man, Narraboth stabs himself to death right beside her. Too consumed by her obsession, Salome doesn't even notice Narraboth die. She continues to beg to kiss Jochanaan on his lips, ignoring any rejection. She insists that she WILL kiss Jochanaan's lips no matter what. Jochanaan curses Salome and tells her to seek God before returning to the cistern. 

King Herod appears, looking for Salome as Queen Herodias angrily follows him, trying to get him to return to the banquet and complaining at him for looking at her daughter in such a lustful manner. He then slips in Narraboth’s blood, causing him to briefly panic and hallucinate. Queen Herodias asks him to go back inside with her, but King Herod’s is too focused on his step-daughter. Jochanaan resumes cursing Queen Herodias within the cistern, upsetting her, but King Herod refuses to punish the prophet over this.

King Herod asks Salome to join him for a drink and meal, but she rejects his advances, insisting that she is neither hungry nor thirsty. King Herold then begs her to dance for him. Salome refuses at first, but agrees after he promises to give her anything she wants, even if it were half of the kingdom. She ignores her mother's protests and dances seductively for her step-father. Afterwards, the delighted king wants to know what reward she would like, and she innocently asks for the head of Jochanaan on a silver platter. Herod, horrified by this, refuses and offers other rewards, but Salome insists on receiving Jochanaan's head.

King Herod finally gives in and sends the executioner to retrieve her reward. As Salome impatiently waits, she hears the clattering of a sword from the cistern and believes the executioner is hesitating, sending her into hysterics, demanding that her step-father send someone else to do it. But the executioner eventually returns with the prophet’s head and brings it to her. Salome addresses Jochanaan's decapitated head as if he were still alive and finally kisses his lips as she said she would. King Herod orders that everyone turn off all the lights, so he won't have to witness the disturbing sight, but the moonlight once again illuminates Salome and the decapitated head. Horrified and disgusted, King Herod orders his soldiers to kill her. They proceed to surround Salome and crush her to death with their shields."

[mrdragonageherself]

I can't sleep because I can't stop remembering the time when Syrians were fleeing into Europe and there was all this insane propaganda about how they were evil and terrorists were coming in someone I considered a friend posted that they should send the refugees to him and I can't remember the wording but he was implying that he'd take a group, kill them and then invite another group and serve them a barbecue of the previous group and he said it like isn't that so funny?? And I know there's no way he would know I have blood relatives who are Syrian cause I'm half Irish and I look and sound irish and my surname isn't but it's Italian and who would think in Ireland thay Italy and Syria has over lap? But I cant forgive I'm awake however many years on at 4 and 5 am fuming and angry and hurt that he would ever say something so so evil but I was too upset to confront him at the time I typed so many responses but deleted them all because they all felt like I was justifying my families existence in this world to him when they don't need justification to live in a world just because people like him are ignorant and now I don't consider him a friend any more and he's totally ignorant of it because we live in different counties and so its not unusual for us as working professionals to not see each other for long stretches of time anymore but I don't forgive you Simon you're my mortal enemy now I can't believe you seem so sweet when you can say such evil and I wish you knew your actions lost you a friend.

[artacetinker]

Uhhhh how am I doing this

Probably more then pics to go with

Yeah let's do that 👍

Here we go

It's set in the future, I haven't made a date yet but it's a work in progress like every thing else. It's far enough in the future that a bunch of cities have either grown or merged into a bunch of metropolitan cities all over earth. Obviously this means more power to keep them running hence there's I giant nuclear reactor in the middle of this one.

Having learnt from other accidents, they build the actual reactor bit with the radiation and stuff as realistically far underground as they can

But they apparently didn't learn and the reactor does a little Chornobyl

Now a little magic comes in and instead of killing everyone, it's stop the residents from physically aging

NO IT'S NOT REALISTIC IT'S A FANTASY UNIVERSE THAT MAKES ME HAPPY. IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM RESPECTFULLY MOVE ALONG PLEASE!!

so the residents now have I minor form of basic immortality and this is just the prologue? Intro? Of this little universe

NOW

my world is set only a few years after, I'm thinking about 4-6 ish years. Adults are having fun and just currently finding ways to cure illnesses as the reactor obviously didn't stop them from getting sick. So that's going on and if the adults stopped, then the children have obviously not aged either.

Now kids will be kids.

They have basic wants, needs, desires etcetera etcetera and the government is the government. A bunch of assholes. They don't care about the kids and have kind of abandonded them at this point resulting in A LOT of children either in orphanages or simply on the streets, being uncared for, with only some lucky ones being able to stay with their families for a plethora of reasons I can't be asked to make or explain.

This has caused groups to form which I'll go into more detail about soon but the Metropolis has been divided into 4 groups, or sectors as they're called, each with a different characteristic

First we have the North sector also known as the Education sector

The East sector known as the Industrial sector

The South, known as the Leisure sector

And finally the West, commonly known as the trade sector

Each sector has a chosen leader or (in the West's case) group in charge

In charge of what?

Trading, gaining money, alliances, saftey and in general; caring for the children that make up their group or whatever

So far; North, south and east are represented with colours

North is gold

East is crimson

And South is a light purple and neon green (woooo Disney villain colours or whatever)

I haven't decided west yet, give me time

I've got a few basic ideas for the areas sorry if my handwriting is shit I'll type it aswell

It's not the best yet but I'm saving that for later

Anyway

The North sector- knowledge

The North is led by Amir, aged 15

He's half Syrian and is lucky to still live with his mother

Most educational systems are located here, mostly unis and colleges

Not too many children stay here as there are more adults up here than anything as the government is most notably located here aswell

It's seen as strict and formal and is represented with the mark of a golden quill because quills... Knowledge, you get the idea

Next

Sorry it's side ways, I'm not spoiling anything yet

The East sector- industrial

The East sector is led by the youngest leader, Irene, aged 14

She's 1/3 Japanese from her mother and 1/3 Greek from her father (weird combo I know makes it better)

Industrial was a friends suggestion because I had no other idea what to call it.

It has most of the cities seamstresses, blacksmiths (cuz cool ass weapons) and shops in general

Over here it's custom to wear animal themed masks (interpret this how you like just don't be an ass about it)

Some do it to hide identity, some do it as a form of identity (don't be an ass) but some do it as Irene wears one and they follow suit

Irene herself wears a lightweight deer make that shes decorated the Antlers with using various jewellery such as rings, bangle, bracelets, necklaces, small chains and earrings. This causes the mask to make small jingles (how tf do you describe jewellery sounds?) as she moves

This sector is represented with a mark of a crimson key (it's a mix of the Greek and Japanese symbol for power and I'm very happy with is :D)

Up next

The South sector- leisure

The South sector is led by Cael, our Irish little drawf (I made them ginger too cuz LEPRECHAUNZZ). They are (funnily enough) the second oldest leader at 16

This sector doesn't need to much explaining as people come here to relax, have fun, party, yadda yadda ya

(Shit I could have called it the recreation sector... Leisure sounds more right tho... Fuck)

This sectors group is known for being a wild bunch, with Cael gladly taking charge. Wearing a brightly colored assortment of clothes and styles, this lot are known to host 24/7 parties in many hidden clubs, nooks and crannies

This sector in general has most of the big ass multi story buildings in such a small space giving it a maze like feel with all the alleyways and such. A great place for unmonitered children to go nuts to their hearts desire

This lively bunch are represents with a Royal lotus, a symbol of relaxation and in my head cannon, refuge

And finally

Again sorry for it being sideways

The West sector- trade

Much like the south, this sector needs probably no explanation

Unlike the others, a group of friends leads the biggest sector of the Metropolis, all of them are Colombian so not only do they know their way around the city like the backs of their hands, they know a lot of people and can get away with shit a lot of other children cant

We have:

Carlos- the oldest of the bunch at 17, hes the strongman if the group

Next we have Gitana aged 16- she's the traveller (illeagally but thats not a problem)

Then we have Tayci and her twin brother Kaimi both at 15- Tayci is a silent runner with Kaimi being a perfect lookout for the group

There's a lot so buckle up

The West sector is by the shore, with most of the citys docks being located here with ships constantly moving in and out. This group was the first to form, having claimed most of the city and has used this to trade with the other sectors and a few smaller groups, overall earning the most income

Each member has used the docks to their advantage as well, having different roles allocated to them through their strengths in order to do so.

What is this may you ask?

Easy

Theft

They steal from boats coming into to the city in order to supply the rest of it in general. They group together with a bunch of other children and split up, collecting anything useful or I'm demand

Carlos is the oldest and strongest, being able to carry heavier crates

Tayci is quick and quiet, being able to zip around unnoticed

And Kaimi has some insane fucking vision, making him a perfect lookout from a high enough angle, using walkie talkies to guide the group undetected

Gitana's approach is a bit different and with Carlos's approval, has her own group of 8-11 that illeagally hop on the boats leaving the ports, travelling to other countries. Once over there they take anything that may not usually be imported over to the Metropolis and bring it home.

They do not currently have a symbol or colour but I'm thinking a grey one with Gitana's go up having a blue one to go with, the blue representing the water as they travel overseas

DONE

This was a lot to type, time to address stuff

Yes there are probably many faults in this which will be covered in posts to come, either on purpose or by coincidence

No I'm not giving too much info on the characters

HOWEVER

I have 2 designs which I might do like teasers or something for so anyone reading this isn't left in the dark for 2 spontaneous months (I need to get my shit together and be more consistent. I'm trying I swear)

Ive got some background for the South currently as it's so far the most visually pleasing to imagine for me and I may post either later or tomorrow depending on how quick I do my fucking homework

I'm trying to sort a lot of it out so it makes more sense

I hope anyone reading this is as excited as I am

I will post moths at some point but this has me hooked right now so I might do a huge art dump

Also next month I'm getting a iPad for me birthday 🥳🥳🥳 so I can finally do digital art so anything I post now shall hopefully be better quality

I will remind anyone probably closer to the date aswell

If you read this and am interested, please stay 🙏🙏🙏

I'm very passionate about this and if anyone at all enjoys it I'll be more than happy to continue

Thank you for reading this far

I admire your patience, willingness and overall generosity to listen to a yr 11 ramble about their passion project

[daemontargaryennn]

I speak Iraqi/Syrian due to my mom being half Syrian and Iraqi but i am 85% Iraqi but preferably to say I am 100%! :")

That's so cool!!!, Im only partially Iraqi due to my dad being Half Iraqi and Half Filipino, and then I have my mom who's Polish, Scottish and Vietnamese... so I'm half asian and half white/middle eastern.

[capricornsicle]

So here's a comment I received on this post (I shared the promo picture of Amy Workman as Hikari Zhang for the Teen Wolf movie, as well as a behind-the-scenes of her that was posted on her official Instagram page).

(Image: Comment from Tumblr user @thyfggfy. It reads, "I don't see a problem as long as she looks the part. I mean isn't that the whole idea of acting? Pretending to be someone you are not. Should we also be mad that Stiles wasn't portrayed by a half Polish actor?")

My tags on this post, which thyfggfy responds to, are basically "hope they don't send her to the desert" and "there's a joke here about Hollywood assuming all East Asians are the same".

To take things one at a time, the first statement. I am assuming none of this is meant in malice, and is genuine, as I see no reason to assume otherwise.

"She looks the part." But does she? Amy Workman is a Chinese-American actor. Hikari Zhang is a Chinese-Japanese character. There's a similar situation with Arden Cho (Korean-American) as a Korean-Japanese character. Can you hire any East Asian to play another, or to play a mixed East Asian character when they are not mixed?

Well, yes. You can hire anyone to play anyone. But is it good? No. Because saying a Chinese actor looks enough like Japanese to play the character is like to say a Russian is basically Serbian or Bulgarian or Polish or Swedish. It's not the same, and people will get offended if you assume it is. Especially when there is race involved, because it's so common in the US (where the show/movie is made) to hear "all Asians look the same" or "all brown people look the same" or "all poc look the same", or so on. A close Chinese friend of mine is often asked to translate something from Japanese or Korean. I am often called Mexican (I am mixed Native American/Cree and Arab/Syrian). It's rude, and it's racism.

Not to mention, you can circumvent this problem easily. Either send a casting call for a Chinese-Japanese character, if one is needed, or change the character to be just Chinese when you hire a Chinese actor. I like the second, as Amy Workman is fantastic and I'm excited to see her in the movie. It's not like kitsune is specific to Japan. In Japan there's きつね/kitsune, in China there's 狐狸精/huili jing, in Korea there's 구미호/kumiho or gumiho, in Vietnamese there's 狐狸精/hồ ly tinh. All are fox spirits. So why keep the character mixed Japanese? I think because, to Hollywood, and especially to the Teen Wolf writers, it's close enough, right? But it's really not.

Next, "acting is pretending". You're right, it is. In grade school productions, I pretended to be Brutus in Julius Caesar, a forest fairy in Midsummer Night's Dream, a man with a broken hip in The Man Who Came to Dinner, and, in other plays, variously dead, grieving, injured, drunk, old, young, rich, poor, a traitor, a villain, a hero, a martyr, and so on. But I was pretending to be a kind of person having a certain experience. I wasn't pretending to be another race. Because that is a bad thing.

Lastly, "should we therefore insist Stiles is half Polish?". Well, first of all, he's not. What we know about Stiles' ancestry is this: he is named after his mother's father, his grandfather, who is Mieczysław, a Polish name. That's all we know. We don't know if his maternal grandfather is Polish or he was a first- or second- or x-generation immigrant or anything else. We don't even know if this person was Polish, or if it was another Slavic country. We certainly can't say that Stiles is half-Polish. We don't know that his maternal grandmother is, we don't know that his mother is. But it's fair to assume that Stiles is around 1/4 Polish and his grandfather is a first- or second-generation immigrant.

And because literally all we know about Stiles and being Polish is a name, we can't say that the character himself would identify as Polish, would speak the language, would practice Polish culture. We simply don't know. Fandom likes to assert that fanon and headcanon is basically canon, but headcanon does not make absolute truth, and it doesn't serve in place of canon. We can't assume a level of Polish heritage is absolute fact that may or may not exist.

That's not to say that you can't headcanon Stiles as being thoroughly Polish, because you can do whatever you want, and that's why there are such excellent fanworks as this one by KuriKuri (a fantastic Sciles fic that heavily involves Polish language, food, and overbearing grandmothers -- go read it!). I enjoy anything that expands upon the world characters live in.

But another important thing here is that Polish is not a race. It's a nationality. You can cast one white American guy to play another white American guy no problem, because you can't visually tell one white American from another. The only real differences are language -- there are dialects and accents in English that are harder to imitate and, depending on what kind of story you're telling, might have benefited from a different actor or a change to the character.

And if casting for a character who is European-American, you can often benefit from an actor who is the same, especially if the story involves them speaking the language a lot, but it doesn't necessarily mean you need an actor of the same heritage. For example, while Crystal Reed is a great actor, she did not make a very convincing French woman in 5x18 Maid of Gevaudan, and as a native French speaker I would have preferred if they had taken some measures to alleviate listening to a fake French accent that wasn't very good -- an American accent would have done less to take me out of the story, or if her lines had been dubbed over by a French speaker, or whatever. But it's not hurting anyone to have someone do an unconvincing French accent, because French is not a race which is often discriminated against and subject to racism. The same does not apply for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean actors and characters, because racism is always hurting people.

In fanwork, though, you can do whatever you want. Let me not be maliciously misquoted as saying anything but. You can write characters with how much or how little heritage you like, because you're not tracking ancestry, you're telling a story, through writing, through art, through audio, through any medium. But it is vitally important to recognize fanwork as just that. Fan-made work that appreciates some part of the source material, and fills in a gap that the source doesn't go into depth on -- or tears it down and rebuilds it, for fix-its and AUs and the like. Fanwork isn't canon, and you cannot treat it like canon. Everyone's interpretation of the source is valid and acceptable, because it is an individual, personal interpretation they have chosen to share. Biased? Often. Prejudiced? Unfortunately, also often. But acceptable? Always.

Though when it comes to Teen Wolf, well... A lot of the time people who headcanon Stiles as more Polish than he appears to be on the show also refuse to believe that Scott is Latino. His mother's maiden name is Delgado, both his parents are Latino, the actor is Mexican. And yet so often fandom will, on the one hand, call Stiles Polish and talk about his heritage and culture, refer to Derek's "Native American cheekbones" (I wish this was fake. I wish I did not read the post that talked about this. Sometimes I hate it here.) and assume based on a later-retracted tweet by Hoechlin that he was learning more about his ancestry and believed there was something Native American there (and I have a lot of posts about dubious Native American "ancestry") that Derek is therefore Native American (I love fanwork as much as the next person, but No.), or blah blah blah, and insist that Scott cannot be Latino.

And of course there is a lot of racism there, because there is a lot of racism in this fandom. I don't think the vast majority of people are doing it on purpose (although I can think of a few people who have all the resources to know better and remain obstinate about being a tool), but it's impossible not to notice when you look for it.

If fans want to talk about characters having interesting heritage to connect with, how about the Hispanic/Latino heritage of Scott McCall/his family (actor/mentioned in canon), Erica Reyes (by surname), Nolan Holloway (actor is Latino/Caxcan), Gabe Valet (actor is Brazilian), Josh Diaz (surname/actor is Brazilian), Theo Raeken (actor is Penobscot tribe -- like, actually a member), Tracy Stewart (actor is Chinese -- and while there's a lot to dislike about Kelsey Asbille her character remains interesting), Danny Mahealani (actor/character is Hawaiian), Corinne/The Desert Wolf (actor is Latina), Nathan Pierce (actor is Singaporean), the Calaveras (all Mexican), Hayden Romero (surname/actor is Latina), Jiang (actor is Chinese), Satomi Ito (Japanese), the Yukimuras (Korean and Japanese).

The reason no one seems to want to write about these characters, and Stiles is always the center of attention, even in posts like these where he was never even implied? Well, to paraphrase @princeescaluswords, I'm sure it has nothing to do with race.