#independence day speech in english

[dreamzandexperiences]

Happy Independence Day 2023: The Beautiful Indian Flag.

India’s 77th Independence Day 2023 As the vibrant tapestry of India readies itself for the grand spectacle of the 77th Independence Day on August 15, 2023, we stand at a crossroads of reflection and revelry. This momentous occasion is not merely a date on the calendar; it’s a tribute to the resilience, courage, and unity that have woven together the rich fabric of our nation. Together, let’s…

[envy-of-the-apple]

Hihihihi!! Happy Belated Bday!!!! I hope you had a good day 💗

Just wanna say again I love ya writing 🤍 Question for the Naha AU, Would the Naga hatchlings be able to speak English since they grew up around reader? And do you think Satoru and Suguru would develop more speech the longer they’re around reader?

Could y’all maybe stop giving me ideas for the naga au??? This isn't very nice

Top of the Food Chain pt 3

Part One Part two

(Dark!naga!Satosugu x reader)

(Warnings: implied forced relationship, yandere, dark content etc etc)

"I saw a shark today."

That certainly caught your attention.

"I'm sorry, you what?"

"Triangle fins, sharp teeth," Nobara casually continues, "a shark."

You move, more worried than upset. "Did it attack you? Are you okay?"

You glance down at her body. In just a few years, she'd grown to be slightly smaller than you. In terms of looks, she's resembles a human pre-teen. Compared to her brothers, she looks more human too. Her hair can hide the fins that protrude where her ears should be. Her eyes are more human, rounder. If it weren't for her tail, swishing in the water behind her, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

"We did fight." Nobara grins. Sharp teeth, just like her fathers'.

"Not funny," you reply.

"We did! Can you guess who won? I'll give you a hint: she's right in front of you."

She manages to pull a laugh out of you. You shake your head at her, more exasperated than anything else.

"No more fighting any more sharks," you tell her, but when she grins wider, you know she won't listen.

In human years, she's barely an infant. In Naga years, she's barely a teenager. Yet, she's so independent. Nobara started hunting for herself as soon as she started staying in the water around the clock. Not even Yuji and Megumi became this hands-off, despite both being larger than her.

It's probably why you had a soft spot for her. You'd never admit this to the other two hatchlings, but Nobara was your favorite (and you had a feeling she knew it, too). She resembles you in a way. Different, from the rest of the group. A bit isolated. It doesn't help that neither of her fathers seemed to be interested in her as soon as she started venturing into the water. You can count the number of times they've visited her on your hand. And you were pretty sure it had more to do with the fact you were with her, rather than Nobara herself.

She was alone. Much like you are.

The siren hums, giving you a small 'aye captain', which causes you to laugh again. Despite how uncaring she appeared, you were certain Nobara liked it when you worried for her. Cared about her. You just wished she wouldn't go to extremes just to get your attention.

Her expression brightens just then. Her tail swishes, creating small waves as she rises up. You were a few feet away, right at the bank, looking down at her as she wiggled.

"Oh! I found more human things!" She excitedly told you.

"Did you?" you ask, tilting your head, smiling.

There's a nod, before she's diving down, disappearing into the depths. She comes back up to the surface a few minutes later, depositing a few trinkets onto the bank.

It's your fault for instilling such a curiosity for humans. She was the first to pick up your tongue, practically a native speaker by the time she started to swim. Because of her ability to venture into the ocean, she started picking up strange objects, returning back to you. You and her would sit for hours, sifting through the stuff she brought. Her fascination with humankind thrilled you. You were always more than willing to share your knowledge with Nobara.

"What are they?" she asks in pure fascination.

"Hm, let's see," you reply, looking through the stuff.

It was a rather small haul. You didn't mind. She's found a couple of interesting things today.

"Oh, a claw clip," you note, picking the plastic contraption with both hands, "you use this to hold your hair, to get it out of your face."

It's pretty. Cheap looking, but ultimately pretty. You like the designs. It's a pretty color too. Periwinkle.

Nobara looks at the hair ornament with wonder.

"A claw clip." She tries.

"Here, I'll show you. Turn around." You tell her.

She does as she's told, swishing in the water. You lean over the bank, grabbing her beautiful hair. You needed to be careful. Nagafolk have more sensitive hair than yours but she doesn't seem to mind your fumbling. When you're finished adjusting the clip, you ask her to look at her reflection in the water.

"Well?" you ask.

"Wow," she gushes, "I look so cute!"

You laugh, light and airy. She beams at you, and for a moment, she looks like a kid, with no sharp teeth, no desire to go shark hunting.

"What else?" she asks, moving back to the bank.

You hum, picking up the book next. It was soggy from all the time it had spent in the water. You could somewhat make out what was on the title. But the ink on the inside was completely ruined.

"Books don't do well in water," you tell her with a pitied smile, "sorry."

She frowns but urges you to explain the last object. You'd been purposefully saving it for last. In a strange way, it was sentimental to you.

"A camera," you explain, "you can use it to take pictures."

"Pictures?" Nobara echoes.

"Remember those photographs you found last week? Pictures and photographs are the same thing." Nobara nods at your explanation.

She takes the camera from your fingers, examining it.

"We can get pictures from this?" She asks, and you can't help but note the excitement in her tone.

"Not from this camera no," you tell her, "Human technology and water don't mix."

She huffs. Her expression oddly reminds you of Suguru's whenever Satoru did something disappointing. She truly was her father's daughter.

"That's stupid," she finally tells you and you have to throw your head up and laugh. Your shoulders shake. You can catch a hint of a smile from her before she goes back to examining the camera.

It's cheap, one of those disposable ones you'd find at the check-out aisle at a grocery store. It was a hassle to take care of, working with the film, taking it to someone who could turn it into something visual. You knew that because-

"-We took a camera just like this for our trip," you start, "We were supposed to take pictures of every island that we visited. Something we could have taken home with us."

The cruise. The explosion. You washing up on this hellhole of an island. It felt like years ago, but how long ago was it? You'd already lost your sense of time.

"Mom?"

You glance up. Her eyes are thoughtful, staring you down. Too wide, you can't help but think. Her eyes are too wide to be human. Because she isn't human. She wasn't one of you.

"If you could, would you leave?"

It takes you a moment to process her words. You can't formulate a response, not quickly enough. This should be the time when you become the adult she's looking for. When you coddle her and assure her that you will never leave her.

When you open your mouth, nothing comes out.

The reason why Nobara was your favorite, was because she was a lot more smarter than you.

Her eyes flick down. Her hands, still holding the camera, grip tighter threatening to break-

Then, she straightens herself. Posture righted, angled, taut. Her fins flare out before flattening. She could smell them coming.

You, on the other hand, heard them before you saw them.

A breaking of twigs, a silent hiss. You expect it, yet you still flinch when a clawed hand rests on your shoulder.

You can feel yourself deflate. Times up.

In front of you, Nobara frowns, unimpressed. You can feel Satoru nuzzle his face into your neck. Suguru is clicking something to the hatchling. In turn, her face curls into a sneer. She hisses something back.

You hate it when they do this, ignore you in favor of speaking a language you'd never understand. Satoru and Suguru would always gleefully leave you out. Nobara, however, was far more accommodating.

"What's he saying?" You ask her.

She huffs, crossing her arms and looking away.

"He asked if I took you out to the open ocean."

You glance at Suguru, hoping your face is as disapproving as you feel. Suguru meets your gaze, a silent challenge.

"Did you?" A new voice comes.

Yuji appears first out of the foliage with a bright smile and wide eyes. He's followed by his second oldest sibling. Megumi gives a slight warning hiss when his youngest sibling almost barrels him over.

"I didn't!" Nobara insists, glaring at Yuji. He only grins back, glinting his sharp fangs. Smile of a predator, you think to yourself.

"Nothing like that happened." You turned to Suguru, "We just stayed here. I never left."

It was a promise to both of them, one you hope none of the hatchlings heard. Or at least, paused enough to decipher.

Yuji and Megumi slither up to greet you despite you still being trapped in Satoru's hold. The larger naga huffs, not happy with the sudden attention you're receiving. You ignore Satoru, smiling when Megumi briefly touches your arm in affection. Yuji gently leans down to bump foreheads.

"I don't get why you two had to come along," Satoru says, his tone light, but you can still sense the annoyance. His hold over you becomes ever so slightly constricting. Even all these years, and he's still terrified of you being taken away.

They both are, even when Suguru tries to deny his paranoia.

Yuji pouts at his father's words. He turns to you.

"You were gone forever." He whines. "We got worried."

When Megumi glances away, you know he shares the sentiment. It's nice to know that despite their reptilian features, you could still instill a semblance of humanity within these three.

"I didn't mean to scare you," You say, not just talking to the hatchlings, "I wanted to spend time with Nobara for a bit. Look at the things she brought!"

You mention to the human artifacts. In response, Suguru picks up the camera with sharp claws. Neither Suguru nor Satoru had ever been interested in the things humanity tossed on their shores.

The boys follow in their father's footsteps. Yuji only nods, Megumi doesn't even bother giving a response. No matter how hard you tried, only Nobara was truly interested in human culture.

To prove your point, she hisses, her fins flattening to the sides when Suguru handles the camera too roughly for her taste.

"Careful!" She warns. "Don't break it."

An amused smile before Suguru tosses the camera in her direction. She catches it just before it hits the water, still scowling. He doesn't react to your look of disapproval. Satoru laughs, nuzzling his face into the crook of your neck.

Suguru titters something in her direction. Nobara hisses. Yuji and Megumi also stiffen. You fight the urge to sigh. You don't need a translator to know what he's saying.

"Megumi, Yuji," you call, "stay with your sister for a bit, please? Your fathers and I need to talk for a bit."

Yuji's more than happy to dive into the water with his sister. She squabbles with him, dunking his head under the water in an attempt of casual drowning. Megumi's the one who hesitates. You've always thought he knew more than he let on.

You give him an encouraging smile.

"Go on."

You wait until their heads dip underwater. Then, you wait a few moments more, prolonging the inevitable.

"You shouldn't scare them like that." You finally say, not looking at either of them. "They're just kids."

"She's old enough to understand the dangers of you being in the water," Suguru responds.

"Of course she is, but she doesn't need constant reminders." You're not arguing. You're not arguing. "They—the hatchlings—don't need to see me as weak."

"But you are." Satoru playfully says. As if to prove it, he curls his hands around your hips and waist, easily hoisting you into his arms. You knew better than to struggle, reluctantly putting your arms around his neck.

"I know my own weaknesses. They don't need to coddle me. I get that enough from you two."

Satoru shrugs, burying his head back into your neck, soaking in your warmth.

"In any case," Suguru continues his earlier conversation. You watch as he glides over, a clawed arm caressing your shoulder, "you shouldn't be out with her for so long. The boys will start to notice your favoritism sooner or later."

You frown at his words. "I'm not playing favorites. At least Megumi and Yuji have each other. Nobara's out here all alone."

Nobara had fully developed her gills when she was just a year old. The more she spent her time out in the ocean, the more worried you got for her loneliness.

Suguru hums at your words, tracing your legs.

"She won't be lonely for long. Aren't the females migrating this season, Satoru?"

The other naga nods. "Yeah, this new moon. She'll make plenty of friends in the open ocean."

You blink at Satoru's words, trying to sit up from his embrace. He just huffs in annoyance, gripping you tighter.

"She—Nobara's leaving?" You ask.

Suguru smiles, enjoying your naivety.

"Of course, my love. All hatchlings do. Soon enough, Megumi and Yuji will go out and scout their own territories. Don't human young leave their parents once they're old enough?"

They do. You have. But in human years, Nobara, Megumi, and Yuji are still toddlers. In naga years, they're barely teenagers. To you, they're still babies. They're so young. Would they be able to fend for themselves out there?

Nobara asked if you could leave, would you. Maybe she wasn't just asking for your sake.

"If anything, that's good for us!" Satoru exclaims. "The caves' getting too crowded. It'd be nice to finally get to stretch out again."

Suguru nods in agreement. When you don't share their joy, he leans down to your eye level.

"You'll miss them, hm?" He asks.

You nod. There's no need to lie. He laughs at your honesty, kissing your cheek.

"I'm sure they'll visit from time to time," he assures, "hatchlings don't typically have any sentiment for their parents, but I'm sure the three will make an exception for you."

"Besides," Satoru pipes in. "The nest won't be empty for too long."

You look up at him in mild alarm.

"What do you mean by that?"

Suguru gives his mate a soft smile.

"This was our first mating season," he explains, "a success, I'd like to call it. We'll have many more sets of hatchlings in the future."

They both peer down at you. Eyes turn to slits. Purple and blue.

"And you'll be a wonderful parent to all of them. Just like you were to our first three."

[bossymarmalade]

After just using the well-known Caribbean phrase "massa day done" as a tag in reference to the sun finally setting on the British Empire, I thought I'd revisit Dr. Eric Williams' famous 1961 speech decrying the appointment of a rich white man to political office as a "feather in the cap" of the party, the speech where the term was solidified in our culture as shorthand for self-determination and independence. And I couldn't stop laughing because it was exactly the way that a certain class of educated West Indian STILL talks to this very day when irritated:

This pack of benighted idiots, this band of obscurantist politicians, this unholy alliance of egregious individualists, who have nothing constructive to say, who babble week after week the same criticisms that we have lived through for five long years, who, nincompoops that they are, think that they can pick up any old book the day before a debate in the Legislative Council and can pull a fast one in the Council by leaving out the sentence or the paragraph or the pages which contradict their ignorant declamations for people like these power is all that matters.

I love this aspect of Caribbean language-ways and how we adhere to that particular era of English that came over on the boats. It's like how the specific form of Bhojpuri spoken by East Indian indentured labourers didn't develop in an Indian context but alongside/blended with other language groups in Trinidad & Tobago, and why our words for things don't scan with Hindi-speakers from the sourceland.

When I moved back to Canada from Trinidad and spoke with other Indian people, sourceland Indians, they never knew "what I was" or what I was saying when I used Trini Hindi. It was a source of embarrassment then, constantly having to explain that we from the diaspora are still Indian and also distinctly individual, but now I love it. My sister nearly physically fought some dude in a kebab shop in England over her identifying as Trini-Canadian rather than South Asian because he said she "wasn't proud of who she was".

We have to tick "South Asian" on forms because there's no space for us and any reference to Caribbean is Afro-Caribbean, but that's not really what I identify as. I'm the granddaughter of those sugar cane plantation workers who were told (in 1926!) "the less education your children have, the better". I'm the daughter of a man who grew up in the plantation barracks where the sugar employers thought it "unnecessary to provide adequate sanitary facilities for their employees, because the workers would not use them".

Massa day done. It's a powerful phrase when you're constantly decolonizing your own identity in the face of a world that isn't aware of what you are.

Massa Day Done, Sahib Day Done, Yes Suh Boss Day Done. - dr. eric williams

[tokyosmega]

the atla universe if languages existed

hey there! ever wondered what avatar would be like if the nations actually spoke different languages? me too! here's my idea of how it would go:

(set during avatar: the last airbender, might add more during korra times another day)

quick disclaimer: i am an american who speaks american english and conversational france french. all of my language knowledge comes from youtube or school. this is just a silly little headcanon i needed to write down.

WATER

Within the water tribe’s language system, there are two main languages: Northern Water and Southern Water. Northern Water is spoken by the Northern Water tribe and Southern Water is spoken by the Southern Water tribe. Despite having similar names, the two languages are very different. When the Water tribes lived as one on the water lionturtle, they all spoke the same language (which we will call Olde Water), but after separation, they evolved independently. Think of the relationships between the two water languages as the relationship between French and Spanish. Their words can be similar (sol/soleil, luna/lune) because they share roots from Latin (or in this case, Olde Water). Northern Water and Southern Water share roots to the point where a Southern speaker and a Northern speaker would not be able to understand each other but could probably pick out a few key words from their speech. Similar words are things that are native to their area, while less common things that did not exist/were unknown during Olde Water times have differing words (the word for “polarbear-dog” is probably similar in both languages, but the word for “badgermole” is probably different). If the tribes met often for peace/community reasons (perhaps annually), then both languages would contain loanwords from the other tribe. For example, if sea prunes are a Southern Water tribe staple, then the word for “sea prunes” in the North is probably the same as it is in the South. Neither language has any sort of written component- it is completely oral.

Another, more niche language also exists within the Water language family, and that is Foggy Swamp. This language also originates from Olde Water, but has a great amount of Earth influence, since the swamp itself is in the Earth Kingdom (influence specifically from Omashu). Someone who speaks Olde Water would understand Foggy Swamp to the extent that someone who speaks American English would understand Pidgin English (that is, they would have to focus intently and would be able to get the jist of their speech). A Northern Water or Southern Water speaker would not be able to understand them at all, since their languages have developed so drastically from Olde Water. However, one could trace roots of words in Foggy Swamp back to Northern or Southern Water. An Earth speaker would not understand them at all either, but would be able to trace back loanwords and modern terminology (the word for “swamp” or “cat-gator”, for example, would be a lot more similar to Earth than it would be to Northern Water or Southern Water). Foggy Swamp also does not have a writing system.

EARTH

Because it covers such a vast space, the people of the Earth kingdom used to be incredibly linguistically diverse, with almost every city speaking differently than the next. During Kyoshi’s reign, Chin the Conqueror took over most of the kingdom and standardized the writing system (similar to the Qin dynasty in China), and therefore heavily influenced spoken language in the Earth kingdom. As an after-effect, Common Earth, also known as simply Earth, is the most widely spoken language in the world, to a similar extent as English or Mandarin Chinese. It is taught as a second language in every nation and it is hard to find a city where there are no Earth speakers. Everyone in the Earth kingdom speaks or understands Earth. Omashu Earth is an accent that is spoken primarily in the city of Omashu, and has tonal differences from Earth, similar to the difference between New York English and standard American English. Aside from Omashu Earth, the other areas of the Earth kingdom that were taken over by Chin do not have distinct accents. There are some slight variances, especially in the Southern islands between the Air temples, but all speakers of Common Earth can understand each other perfectly. Common Earth has a stable writing system that does not vary.

Despite Chin’s attempt to standardize language within the Earth kingdom, the places he did not conquer held fast to their respective languages. Ba Sing Se Earth, which can also be called Upper Ba Sing Se Earth, is the language that differs the most from Common Earth due to Ba Sing Se’s impenetrable walls cutting them off from the rest of the kingdom. Since both languages are derived from Olde Earth, they share similar writing systems, but neither language can understand each other (similar to the relationship between Cantonese and Mandarin). The walls between the Upper and Lower ring also created Lower Ba Sing Se Earth, where grammar is more simplified, due to the hasty lifestyle of a lower-class worker. Both Upper and Lower Ba Sing Se Earth speakers can understand each other, but Upper Ba Sing Se speakers might not be able to understand Lower slang. Their writing system is exactly the same. Kyoshi Earth is spoken solely on Kyoshi island, and is very similar to the former language of the people of Yokoya. It is not understandable to any other Earth speakers and functions similarly to the relationship between Japanese and Mandarin Chinese, with a different yet similar alphabet to Common Earth. The Si Wong tribes, who inhabit the Si Wong desert, speak various independent languages, but are collectively known as Si Wong Earth. Their languages have many loanwords from Common Earth due to trade. Their written language is syllabic and simple, similar to Cuneiform. 

FIRE

Most of the Fire nation speaks the same language, but there are three main dialects within the Fire Nation language system. The most commonly spoken dialect is aptly named Fire, but is also known as Common Fire. This language is spoken within the Fire nation capital, Caldera, but is mainly used within the greater land mass of the Fire nation. It evolved from Olde Fire and is the most basic form of Fire nation speech. The most similar dialect is more of an accent with some different slang terms and is known as High Fire. It is spoken by the citizens of Caldera, especially the nobles. It is completely understandable to those who know Common Fire and vice versa. The relationship between the two languages is similar to the relationship between Canadian French and Quebecois. The main difference between High Fire and Common fire is pronunciation of words and tonal patterns within sentences and phrases. The last dialects all get looped into one group and are collectively known as Provincial Fire. Provincial Fire is spoken on the outskirts of the mainland and into the chain of islands off of the Fire nation. It varies greatly depending on what island or area of the mainland it is spoken in and has differences from Common Fire that are similar to Korean’s differences from its provincial dialects (speech pattern and tones, different slang terms). The further out one gets from Caldera, the stronger the dialect. Written language within the Fire nation is the same across all of the dialects and characters are similar to Mandarin Chinese as they are pictorial and syllabic (from canon). 

The Sun Warriors are the only ethnic group of the Fire nation that speaks anything other than Common Fire. The Sun Warriors speak Sun Fire, which originates from Olde Fire as well, but has changed greatly since it was spoken within such a small group of people. Someone who speaks Common Fire would not understand Sun Fire at all, but could probably pick out a few words that have similar roots to Common Fire. Sun Fire has two written languages- one is reserved for spiritual leaders and spiritual texts, while the other is used by all people. Visually, it is similar to the differences between Japanese’s Kanji and Kana writing systems, where one is more simplified and one is more traditional. Spiritual written Sun Fire is more similar to written Common Fire. 

AIR

The people of the Air nation only have one language: Air. Due to a high need of proper communication, as well as people constantly moving from temple to temple, or growing up at one and working at the other, Air nomads developed only a single language from Olde Air. Air nomads have a robust writing system to allow writing of incredibly complex ideas and air nomad journeys. Most nomads learn multiple other languages as they age, so they can succeed no matter where they find themselves in the world. Due to the destruction of the Air temples, Air is almost a completely lost language. Remaining speakers include Aang and his children, as well as a few Earth kingdom elders who learned the language from friends and passed it down to their children.

MISC.

Cities born out of the 100-year war, like Cranefish Town (Republic City), are another story. The Fire nation mandated that all colonies only speak Common Fire in hopes of destroying the culture of the city, but despite that, a hybrid language developed: Earthen Fire. To a non-speaker, Earthen Fire sounds like Common Fire, but the grammar structure is very Earth based (a Fire speaker can understand Earthen Fire in the way that a Dutch speaker can understand Afrikaans). It also incorporates many loanwords from Earth. The writing system involves the exact same characters as written Earth, so it almost sounds like Fire spoken with an Earth accent. 

[laiqualaurelote]

2023 Fic Round-up

This year I wrote seven fics and 108,512 words, which is more than I thought! Here's a round-up

maybe everything that dies someday comes back (The English | Cornelia/Eli | M | 14k)

The post-apocalyptic Mad Max Fury Road zombie AU where David Melmont hires bounty hunter Eli Whipp to track down and retrieve a fugitive called Cornelia Locke.

wins this year's award for: Fic That Fulfils My Childhood Dream (writing a zombie apocalypse)

ain't practical, a world you can't touch (The English | Cornelia/Eli | G | 5k)

The Pushing Daisies AU in which Eli can bring people back to life with his touch, but has tried his best not to until Cornelia.

wins this year's award for: Deepest Cut, Zagged

The Lady With The Recorder Asks The Questions (Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries | Phryne/Jack | T | 6k | WIP)

Modern-day newsroom!AU - Phryne is a star investigative journalist who breaks news as easily as she breaks hearts; Jack is just trying to do his best in the war on error.

wins this year's award for: Fic I Most Regret Not Finishing (I'm sorry!)

constant as a northern star (constantly in the dark) (Ted Lasso | Ted/Trent, past Trent/OFC | T | 10.5k)

The saga of Trent Crimm and his independent ex-wife.

wins this year's award for: Most Surprisingly Popular Fic

all the men and women merely players (Ted Lasso | Ted/Trent, Roy/Keeley/Jamie | T | 50k)

The Station Eleven!AU where the Richmond Players are a travelling Shakespearean company performing in the ruins of a post-pandemic England, and Trent is, despite the apocalypse, still a journalist.

wins this year's awards for: Longest Fic, Fic That Survived The Most Hiatuses, Fic I Am Proudest Of

well-versed in etiquette, extraordinarily nice (Good Omens, Historical RPF | Aziraphale/Crowley | G | 3k)

The Regency heist fic in which Jane Austen, criminal mastermind and aspiring novelist, pulls off the 1810 Clerkenwell Diamond Robbery with the help of a certain demon.

wins this year's award for: Quickest Fic (I wrote it in four days)

speak easy, swing hard (Marvel Cinematic Universe | Steve/Tony | T | 13k)

The 1920s Prohibition era!AU in which Tony runs a nightclub empire, Steve is an aspiring artist and/or questionably undercover agent, Sam and Bucky are bootlegging their way through America and nobody knows what Natasha is up to.

wins this year's award for: Most Historical Research (I watched two seasons of Boardwalk Empire and had to figure out multiple characters' speech patterns, then transpose these to the 1920s. Also I listened to so much vaudeville)

I don't think I will be around as much in 2024, barring unexpected hyperfixations, but I wish you all a glorious year anyway! May your WIPs be finished, your ships prolific and your fandoms full of joy.

[tenzingfilm]

In a big deal that closed in the days leading into this week’s Cannes market, Apple Original Films has landed worldwide rights to Tenzing, the new package we told you about last week starring Tom Hiddleston and Willem Dafoe.

The question we asked today was whether the U.S. buyers would come to play for the Cannes market projects and we have an answer already.

Oscar-winning producer See-Saw Films (The King’s Speech) is producing Tenzing, about the inspirational life of Sherpa Tenzing Norgay and his summit of Mount Everest in 1953 alongside fellow outsider New Zealander Edmund Hillary.

A search is underway to cast the lead role of Tenzing Norgay who will star alongside BAFTA-nominated Tom Hiddleston (Loki) as Sir Edmund Hillary and four-time Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe (Poor Things) as the English expedition leader, Colonel John Hunt.

Tenzing comes from filmmaker Jennifer Peedom who has the exclusive rights to tell Tenzing’s story via his family and has a close relationship with the Sherpa community after making acclaimed documentary Sherpa.

Script comes from Oscar-nominated Luke Davies (Lion) and producers are Liz Watts, Emile Sherman and Iain Canning for See-Saw Films, alongside Jennifer Peedom and Luke Davies. Executive producers are Simon Gillis, David Michôd and Norbu Tenzing.

Rocket Science was handling international sales in partnership with Cross City Films, See-Saw’s in-house sales arm. UTA Independent Film Group and Cross City Films were co-repping the U.S. sale and brokered the Apple deal. We understand filming is being lined up for spring 2025.

The project was being touted to buyers as having a budget in the $25M range. We hear it skews more intriguing character piece than an action-packed Everest-type but there will be a number of climbing sequences.

Tibetan born Tenzing Norgay, alongside New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary, both outsiders on a British Expedition, defied insurmountable odds to achieve what was once thought impossible, reaching the summit of the world’s tallest mountain, Mount Everest. After six previous attempts, Tenzing risked everything for one final venture. He had to navigate treacherous politics and perilous weather as he embarked on the most significant climb of his life. Through it all, he did so with humor, warmth, and generosity towards his fellow climbers, but also deep reverence and respect for the sacred Mother Goddess of his Mountain, Chomolungma.

Peedom is known for her intimate portraits against epic landscapes, including documentaries Solo, Sherpa and Mountain.

[j-ones]

30 TIPS TO SURVIVE SUMMER CAMP

1ST CHAPTER

pairing - lee minho x reader

genre - summer camp au, enemies to lovers, fluff, a little bit of angst and a little bit of smut.

After six years of going to summer camp, you were finally old enough to return as a counselor. Seeing all the familiar faces of your old holiday only friends really pumped you up with nostalgia and desire to relive all the fun activities you were now "too old" to partake in.

You were already so excited to meet all the kids who would be spending summer under yours' and your friends' care that you almost didn't even realize how this summer might not be as perfect as you were counting on... thanks to the one and only Lee Minho.

warnings - swearing, some anxiety symptoms.

word count - 1.2k

a/n - please note that english isn't my first language! sorry for any mistakes! hope you enjoy the start of this series and let me know what yall think♡

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“You know, you really need to clean this trunk at some point.”

“Now is definitely not the time to complain about that, just be thankful I’m giving you a ride all the way here!” you said to Felix, who was currently sitting inside the trunk of your old light goods vehicle with his head poking out.

It's the beginning of summer and you and your friends were making your way through the mountains with your older than dirt car in hopes of getting to the forest and beach on the other side without the car's brakes faltering on you. This would be your first year as a counselor at Camp Haven and saying you were nervous was a complete understatement.

“Why does Danielle get to seat in the front?” Felix, still obviously complaining, shifts a little in the uncovered trunk to get closer to you and the girl beside you.

“We’ll switch when we go back home, Lix, it’s just another twenty minutes and we’re there.” said Danielle while looking at her phone’s GPS.

What was supposed to be twenty minutes turned out to be forty thanks to your shitty driving skills. You had just got you license and decided to drive all the way to summer camp in hopes of not having to listen to your parents speech about ‘being independent’ and ‘finally getting a job but not being able to get there and how irresponsible that was’. Thankfully, you had Danielle and Felix with you to calm your nerves down (even though the latter was actually doing the quite opposite).

Truthfully, you shouldn’t even have volunteered to drive them both there in the first place. Your hopes of taking your father’s much newer and able car fell short when you found out your parents weren’t going on vacation this year, and you were now stuck with the old second hand two seat car which was a hand me down from your grandfather. No need to say that you three didn’t legally fit in the car, but a promise must be kept, and Felix ended up getting the short end of the stick.

The last half hour of your trip was spent desperately ignoring Felix’s protests every time you crossed a speed bump too fast, making him hit his head on the roof of the car.

Danielle, on the other hand, was calm and collected beside you during the whole journey, choosing to trust your skills and what you were doing, even though you fucked up every left turn and barely made it past the parked cars on your right without hitting any of them.

Soon enough, you three arrived at the dirt floor parking lot of Camp Haven. Everything looked just like it had a few years ago when you were on the backseat of your parents’ car, full of expectations and dreams. Now things were different though, all of you equally excited, but burning with the weight of the responsibilities you would have in just two days.

Even with you not knowing how to parallel park to save your life, you three arrived (mostly) safe, and Felix finally got out of the trunk, together with all your stuff.

“Not to be that kind of guy, but do you really need three pillows?” Felix had to help you move all your stuff to the temporary luggage room to make it in one trip.

“You never know when you’re gonna need them!” you almost bumped into someone on your way in had you not turned around in time.

Right before you was standing Chris, the new head counselor of Camp Haven. You had attended camp together when you were little but he was two years older than you, so you never really got the chance to talk. Not that you usually talked to boys your age either, or younger, or boys in general. Ever since second grade you started keeping track of all the mistakes you could make at camp that could eventually ruin your summer, and boys were a huge no-no, so you just tried to avoid them altogether.

1° TIP – BOYS SUCK

Felix was the exception, though. You swear you’ve never met such a kind guy in your entire life. You two met in your first year at camp, and he was a total breath of fresh air. He was gentle and didn’t feel the need to show off like the other boys your age, shared his candy with you, and even let you borrow his Harry Potter books.

All that led you to decide that Felix was safe, and maybe not ALL boys sucked, but all of them except Lix seemed such a burden that you judged it was better to stick to your rule.

Some years later, you found out Chris wasn’t that bad either. However, you only really started interacting with him when you were adults, thanks to having some friends in common. He was reliable and all that a good leader needs, and you were sure you were in good hands.

“Hey! Haven’t seen you guys in a while! Need any help?” and that’s Chris, always helpful if the task at hand isn’t cleaning.

“I guess I’ll take you up on that one!” you said, giving Chris one of your pillows and some too many stray bags you were carrying. “How are preparations going? Has everyone arrived?”

“Still a few people missing, but tomorrow we’ll have everything ready to start rolling. You guys can go ahead and check in in the main hall.”

You thanked Chris and made your way to the mess hall entrance. As soon as you three walked in, the nostalgia kicked in like a truck. Seeing all the familiar faces, now grown up past braces and acne, thriving and equally joyful to see you felt like home. You went ahead to do your check in with the other head counselor, barely being able to wait to greet and hug all the people you felt like you knew for forever.

After being handed the basic red staff t-shirt, keys to your cabin, and the ugliest bag full of counselor stuff you’ve ever seen, you stepped aside and waited for Danielle and Felix to do the same.

You were counseling half of the forth grade girls, and after overhearing the check in happening beside you, you found out you were lucky enough to be paired with Dani, who would be counseling the other half.

Felix was almost finished collecting his ugly set of stuff, and you were ready to take off and talk to your guys’ old friends when the doors to the main hall opened again. Turning around, curious to see who it was, your heart immediately dropped, and Danielle had to link her arm with yours to make sure you didn’t fall on your butt. You felt your heart beating in your ears, and you swore you were about to explode.

He couldn’t be here, why would he be here? He was from so far away… but this was an international camp after all. But coming just to be a counselor?

It didn’t make any sense, but none of that mattered as you realized you weren’t dreaming, and the Lee Minho was really making his way to the check in counter with his little friends right on his toe. You couldn’t breathe, and you didn’t know how to react as he greeted Felix and Danielle like it was nothing, and turned to you with that shit eating grin you had hoped to never see again.

“Hello princess, long time no see.”

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[jiangwanyinsimp]

An Incomplete (and Very Long) list of thing Edwin Payne missed while he was stuck in Hell

This list emerged because I was talking about how he would have missed the end of World War One and then the list kept going. It is not complete or in order, and is provided simply for posterity

ww2

spanish flu

the hindenburg disaster

the rise of public radio

Irish independence

fast food as a concept

the hinterkaifeck murders

the extinction of the california grizzly

the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb

television

jet aircraft

supersonic aircraft

the moon landing

THE OFFICIAL FOUNDING OF THE SOVIET UNION

the jazz age

surrealism

the first woman to swim the english channel

the BBC

Amelia Earhart

Tintin

the discovery of Pluto

the crash of airship R101

the founding of porsche

the geneva convention

UK abandonment of the gold standard

the discovery of 22 elements on the periodic table

technicolor

Australia starting and losing the Emu war

the creation of the Royal Christmas message

the Great Depression

FM radio

the first canned beer

pre-sliced bread

the recognition of stress as a biological condition

the extinction of the thylacine

the destruction of the Crystal Palace

the first full feature length animated film (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs)

the nylon bristle toothbrush

Batman

the last use of the guillotine for an official state execution

Gone With the Wind (the book AND the film)

the founding of Greggs

Looney Tunes

the discovery of the Lascaux cave paintings

Agatha Christie's works

Cheerios

the discovery of nuclear fission and all subsequent nuclear discoveries

the airplane ejection seat

The Little Prince

LSD

the lifting of the prohibition of married British women working as teachers

the disappearance of flight 19

the first formula one grand prix

Mensa

the invention of the magic 8 ball

the Doomsday Clock

the AK-47

the first commercial microwave

the Kinsey reports

the first time Idaho Fish and Game parachuted beavers into the wild

humanity's entry to space

the beginning of the broadcast of the Archers (the longest running present day drama by number of episodes)

the Korean War

the polio vaccine

the first nuclear powered submarine

The Lord of the Rings

Moomins

transistor radio

the TV dinner/ready meal

ICBMs

the entire life of Elvis Presley

Kermit the Frog

My Fair Lady (the film and musical adaptations)

Grace Kelly's wedding

the Entire Life Of Marilyn Monroe

the Beat Generation

Eurovision

Helvetica typeface

the peace symbol

the Cod Wars

computer games

Dyatlov Pass incident

Barbie

Missile Mail

the Declaration of the Rights of the Child

the MOSFET

particle accelerators

the Beatles

the recovery of the Vasa

the first Six Flags

Breakfast at Tiffany's

Catch-22

the Vietnam War

Silent Spring

The Rolling Stones

the night of the long knives

Vatican II

James Bond

the Cuban Missile Crisis

Thích Quảng Đức's self-immolation

the "I Have A Dream" speech

JFK Assassination

the smiley face

Mary Poppins (1964)

IntelSat

the last British execution

high speed rail

the first time "fuck" was said on british tv

the Moors Murders

the Grateful Dead

the British parliament decriminalizing homosexuality

most of the literary career of Pablo Neruda

Fleetwood Mac

the Parker Morris Standards

the end of steam passenger travel in the UK

Led Zeppelin

Earth Day

the first temporary artificial heart

the first person to row an ocean solo

Woodstock

the Zodiac Killer

the nationalization of Rolls-Royce

decimalisation of UK currency

the first e-book

the first microprocessor

DB Cooper

the first email

the Biological Weapons Convention

Watergate

the start of the Troubles

The Joy of Sex

all attempts to climb Mount Everest and the eventual first ascent

ABBA

the invention of the Rubik's Cube

the Moorgate tube crash

the first Cricket World Cup

the global eradication of Smallpox

Star Wars

the Tenerife airport disaster

the discovery of the rings of Uranus

Red Rum winning three Grand Nationals

the Concorde

the start of the broadcast of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Jonestown

Synthetic insulin

the Thorpe affair

the release of God Save the Queen by the Sex Pistols

Monty Python

the election of Margaret Thatcher

Star Trek

Iron Maiden

the incident where the dingo ate a baby in Australia

the end of iron and steel production in the UK's Black Country

the first London Marathon

Charles and Diana's wedding

the church of England votes to elect women to holy orders

the 1981 UK tornado outbreak

the first child born by IVF

the Falklands War

the raising of the Mary Rose

the invention of ciabatta bread

the discovery of the Titanic

the King's Cross Fire

Top Gun

Lockerbie bombing

[fullscoreshenanigans]

I’m never going to be over Ray and Emma both having visions of Norman when they both desperately needed the comfort of his presence.

I could have gone with manga panels for both of these for uniformity, but yet again CloverWorks takes advantage of the medium shift to add such beautiful nuance to (hallucination!)Norman and Ray’s exchange in the S1 finale—Norman speaking to Ray so, so gently in both the English and Japanese dubs with his final remark featured here, Ray being so overwhelmed by everything that’s happened in the past hour already and now topped with seeing one of the two people who was most important to him reappear, after he thought he’d never see him again, that he nearly cries at his words. I can’t express how much I adore the way they handled this scene.

By turning out to be a hallucination/dream as opposed to a ghost, we’re shown Norman’s departed spirit isn’t actually guiding them as its own independent entity with an agenda in another incorporeal form, but instead how they both internalized his character and personality and, most importantly, how they wished to see him again that manifested his appearance (see this post for further differences between their perspectives of him on this particular night).

Ray has spent over half of his life utterly loathing himself for the choices he made in order to save Emma and Norman. So much so he built up a bravado around the act of his self-immolation for years, resulting in the manic fervor he displays when giving his speech to Emma in the few minutes before the clock strikes midnight on his officially listed birthday (this is also fueled by his fraught relationship with Isabella, but that’s for other posts). He not only believes he deserves to die for his actions and perceived inaction, but that he should do so in a violent, agonizing way.

Ray knows Norman, knows his sense of rigid morality well enough to account for him discovering his alliance with Isabella and using that to his advantage, to further push Norman away so he’ll be more comfortable with using him (he even chides Norman for not keeping his original plan to do this a secret) and so his death will hurt him and Emma less. And for roughly the entire back half of October 2045, Norman did genuinely hate Ray for his betrayal in the same way he hated Isabella, his reaction so visceral at being deceived and hurt by people he had loved all his life. He would have been willing to sacrifice Ray if not for intervention from Emma, which opened him up to directly confronting Ray and, in turn, led him to discover Ray’s true motives. He was so humbled and taken aback by the depths of Ray’s love and loyalty he returned to his original categorization of him: a dear friend who needed to be saved from his intended fate in their cruel world. Even if saving him came at the cost of his own life; even if he desperately wanted to live.

One could argue Ray hallucinating Norman up on the wall was to assuage his own guilt at being unable to save him as he originally planned (something that, on his darker days, I think Ray himself would believe), but I prefer to view it as the final marker of his truly internalizing one of the deepest desires in his heart that he had locked away for so long. After living under that oppressive reality of dehumanization and exploitation and believing that there was nothing else for him, that this was all there was, that things would never get better and after everything he did up to that point, he didn’t deserve better, on top of Isabella throwing him completely off balance by shipping Norman out early and just being this incredibly conflicting and painful presence in his life, to have his siblings come together for this escape plan and without putting it explicitly in words convey “you’re worth saving, Ray, and we love you,” and that they gave him hope back

(Chapter 36)

it fucks me up something fierce.

Emma’s hallucination of Norman is much more brief during this time.

No words are exchanged, but none are necessary.

(Chapter 31)

After two and a half months of grappling with the real, palpable grief she felt at his death, seeing him around every corner and hearing his voice, and sublimating it into her efforts to ensure the success of the escape, she’s able to find solace in her vision of him before the wall.

(Chapter 119)

It’s why she sheds no tears for him until their reunion nearly two years later.

(TPN Light Novel 1: A Letter from Norman - “The Day Emma Cried”; translated by @1000sunnygo​​)

But up until that point, she repeatedly draws strength and comfort from his memory.

Even before chapter 93, she’s unconsciously reaching for him in her fevered dreams.

(Chapter 45 Side Scene)

Him and Isabella, predominantly in black due to her belief they’re dead, and Ray and the rest of the escapees who she hopes are still alive, predominately in white.

(Chapter 50)

Though she had to compromise on their original plan by only bringing along those over five at its outset, she’s committed to their end goal. She was the spark that pushed them to strive for the ideal outcome instead of settling for the safest one that would be tinged in regrets, and he gave up everything to facilitate it.

(Chapter 53)

The three-panel overview of her thought process ends on her final handshake with Norman. It’s painful enough for this man to be insulting her living family, but when her thoughts drift to the boy who had given his life so they would have a chance to live freely, who came to believe in all those things the man was disparaging, it’s the final straw that breaks her silence. She won’t stand and let her family be disregarded so casually or let Norman’s memory be desecrated like that.

(Chapter 64)

She eventually brings him up to Yuugo in an attempt to connect with him over lost friends, and her framing of it is interesting because while viewing Norman as having agency in making his choice (as much as they can have under the circumstances in that he went willingly, which isn’t much, but from her perspective as a traumatized child), she states simply that she let him go. (Shoutout to the way SKATES delivers said line in the manga dub. Wonderfully heartbreaking. </3)

(Chapter 30)

After she and Ray both knew how much he wanted to see the world beyond their walled existence and live on with them.

So when we get to chapter 93 where she’s on the brink of death, having visions of all the suffering experienced on the grounds of Goldy Pond before finding refuge and strength in visions of her family, the one who catches he when she begins to sink is Norman.

Unlike with the hallucinations at the end of the escape arc that were meant to obfuscate his fate, at this point we as an audience know he’s alive at Lambda, so this is all coming from the perception of Norman Emma holds deep within her heart. Even from beyond, even if it meant being separated from her longer, she sees him guiding her out of the unknown, murky depths so she can continue fighting to actualize their plan. (To say nothing of the way she imagines him delicately intertwining their fingers upon reaching her as the way he catches her. The association with safety and gentleness is always present and yet another valued refuge in light of the violence she’s in the middle of.)

Minor tangent to end on, but it’s interesting to me how when Emma brings up Norman’s name among people she misses, during the only time they privately mention him, Ray takes a beat to gather himself before focusing on what’s still obtainable in this life.

(Chapter 55)

There’s zero chance she blames him for Norman’s shipment, but he’s still not ready to look her in the eye and delve into it where they could potentially draw attention from others when he considers it a failure to his two most precious people after years of meticulous planning.

(Chapter 65)

But Norman’s still in his thoughts too as he adamantly refuses to fail Emma again.

(Chapter 93)

Though he comes very close.

(Chapter 123)

And he’s the one to remind Emma of how special their bond is when she’s having doubts about voicing her disagreement with Norman’s plan.

[tryslora]

...but is it Hugo worthy?

The subconscious can be an evil thing.

When I was a teenager (15 to be exact) I already knew I wanted to be a writer, and had been working at my craft (such as it was) for three long years. I was starting to submit stories (they were rejected). I was growing up in fandom, attending literary SF cons, and on Labor Day weekend in 1983, I was at ConStellation—the World SF convention in Baltimore.

I attended the Hugo Award ceremony, and there I watched Connie Willis win her first Hugo for her Novelette “Fire Watch” (yes, I went and fact-checked my memory on this part). During her speech, she referenced being a teenager and listening to someone else give a speech about winning a Hugo… and I thought… this is my defining moment. I will never forget this. And when I win my own Hugo, I will reference this story.

I have obviously never won a Hugo.

I came to realize long ago that the words I write are not the kinds of stories that win the big awards. This is okay! And this is not a pity party. I write accessible fiction—popcorn fiction, I call it. The kind that has fairly simple language, character-oriented plotlines, and hopefully makes a reader want to sit down and read the whole thing (eat the whole bowl) and maybe grab the next because I’ve whet their appetite.

I know this is how my brain works. When I aim for a more literary style, I end up with incomprehensible text, plots that make no sense, and allusions that are weird enough to take a person out of the story. So… I don’t.

But I still have this expectation baked into my skin—into my soul—that the way to be a Real Writer is to write the kinds of stories that make someone say “this is the best thing I’ve read all year” and nominate it for an award.

Sometimes I read a story (of any length) by a writer who is my peer in some manner and I feel the imposter syndrome bubble up, surrounding me until I can’t think—can’t breathe—any more. The story is so good and sometimes is buried under independent or small press publishing where I know it won’t get the eyes/readers it deserves. I want to scream about it from the rooftops. This story, this amazing story that won’t have a ton of eyes on it, is in my mind Hugo worthy (or Nebula worthy… substitute in whatever proper award fits in your mind).

I also hear that little voice that says “well, isn’t it good you didn’t apply this anthology/magazine/press” or worse yet “you are in this too, and your work isn’t nearly this good” because that’s what I internalized as a teen. That this is the only way to be good. That this wonderful story I am reading, which twists words and plot in unique and fascinating ways, is the only kind of story that merits praise.

I don’t think that voice will ever completely go away.

I do feel better as I continue reading the anthology/magazine/whatever and realize that not every single story in it gives me that same “OMG” reaction. When I sit down and think about it, I know that love of a particular story is subjective. There is no truly objective way to judge the worth of words (despite what our high school English teachers tried to tell us). What a story is, and how it is told, may touch my soul and no one else’s. Or vice versa. I’ve read entire anthologies that are highly regarded without a single story striking me as amazing.

Sometimes I think back to what we say about writing fanfic: write what you love, and there is someone out there looking for this exact story who will be thrilled to find it.

I try to remind myself of this when I fall into the “is it Hugo worthy?” downward spiral.

For every story that sells, someone loves it enough to buy it. And they love it enough to think that there will be others who love it, too.

For every story that is written, there might be that editor out there—the one with all that love for the story (and it might take several failures before finding that one with the love). The trick is drafting the best set of words to tell the story to trip that moment of “I love that” in a reader’s eyes. 

The words don’t have to be necessarily elevated. Floofy. Literary. But they have to tell the story that I want to tell.

And if that story is one fluffy popped kernel in a bowl, that’s okay. My goal can be to make my reader reach for the next, rather than being award-worthy. It’s okay to be a delicious salty snack; people talk about those with joy, too.

I will probably never win a Hugo. I am still delighted every time someone bumps into me at a con and says “Oh, that’s how I know you!” after hearing about the books, stories, and fics I have written. Touching hearts is joy in itself.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

David Rowe, American Financial Review

* * * *

Harris and Walz work through Labor Day while Trump golfs and complains

September 3, 2024

Robert B. Hubbell

The Democratic ticket and surrogates were out in force on Labor Day weekend—including Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, President Joe Biden, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, and Gwen Walz. That is a formidable lineup. The Harris-Walz ticket is campaigning like they want to win. Kamala Harris continues to exhibit confidence and positivity as she refines her call-and-response stump speech while courting the labor vote. Tim Walz is on the offensive against Trump, while Gwen Walz is going “full English teacher” on Trump.

Joe Biden gave a spirited pro-union speech that attacked Trump's anti-union history. See Campaign Event in Pittsburgh | Joe Biden. Joe introduced Kamala with a warm embrace and a smile. Harris then gave her stump speech (with variations and riffs). See Campaign Event in Pittsburgh | Kamala Harris.

Donald Trump and JD Vance stayed off the campaign trail on Labor Day--which may be their best strategy to stop the erosion of their support among eligible voters. See The Independent, Harris, Biden court union vote at first official joint rally as Trump accused of ‘dodging’ Labor Day.

But Trump couldn’t help himself and spent much of the day on his vanity social media platform posting statements that appeal to people who subscribe to Truth Social—i.e., Trump's most hard-core supporters. But even on Truth Social, the Harris-Walz campaign was on the offensive, posting a “Labor Day” picture of Harris and Walz in split screen with Trump.

The Harris-Walz portion of the photo was superimposed with the words:

Vice President Harris with union workers in Detroit

Gov. Walz with union workers in Milwaukee

Vice President Harris and President Biden with union workers in Pittsburgh

The Trump portion of the split screen had the following words superimposed:

Trump . . . golfing?

Does it matter that the Harris-Walz campaign is trolling Trump on his social media platform? Yes. Trump is famously thin-skinned and easily provoked. When provoked, he makes unforced errors—a lot of them. Over the next two months, Trump will continue to remind voters why they are tired of his stale agenda of hate and division.

But . . . as we enter the final two months of the campaign it would serve us well to recall the words of Michelle Obama at the Democratic Convention:

So, no matter how good we feel tonight, or tomorrow, or the next day, this is going to be an uphill battle. So folks, we cannot be our own worst enemies. . . because the minute something goes wrong, the minute a lie takes hold, folks, we cannot start wringing our hands. We cannot get a Goldilocks complex about whether everything is just right. And we cannot indulge our anxieties about whether this country will elect someone like Kamala, instead of doing everything we can to get someone like Kamala elected.

The Trump-Vance campaign has fumbled for an attack line on Kamala Harris for weeks. They have now settled on an attack strategy: pure ugliness and hate. Expect it, ignore it, and focus on registering new voters and urging registered voters to turn out.

It will be difficult to ignore the ugliness, in part, because it will be pervasive—and the media will be complicit by treating Trump's ugly attacks as “politics as usual.”

Elon Musk has turned Twitter into a Trump campaign attack platform against Kamala Harris. Musk is personally posting outright propaganda against Harris. For example, on Monday, Musk posted a picture of Kamala Harris in communist garb with the words:

Kamala vows to be a communist dictator on day one. Can you believe she wears that outfit!?

With his 200 million followers (albeit many of them bots), Musk’s ridiculous ideas will spread like a virus through the hateful MAGA ecosphere.

The good news is that Trump and Vance are “underwater” with favorability ratings, while Kamala Harris has seen a 17-point surge in her favorability rating (to a slight net-positive).

Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo explains that the difference in favorability ratings will help Kamala Harris withstand the ugly attacks to come:

[F]avorability is the prism through which all of us see new attacks, new news. The more positive impression we have of a person, the more we see new information about them in glass-full more than glass-empty terms; we revolve benefits of the doubt in their favor. So, it can be both predictive and protective

See Josh Marshall, Talking Points Memo, Keep an Eye on Those Favorability Numbers.

I would add to Marshall’s comments that Kamala Harris has momentum, likability, decency, and dozens of other positive attributes that will cause voters to give her the benefit of the doubt—while Trump and Vance are increasingly desperate. Just as Kamala Harris will benefit from the “positive lens” of favorability, Trump and Vance will suffer from the “negative lens” of their mean-spirited, misogynistic, judgmental style.

Here's my point: Don’t wince and cringe with every ugly attack thrown at Kamala Harris and Tim Walz over the next two months. Trust that most Americans see through those attacks for what they are—signs of desperation by Trump. We have two months to drive more voters to the polls. There is no time to worry or fret. As Michelle Obama told us at the Democratic convention, “Do something!”

[Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter]

[beautifulfuckup99]

“There are different kinds of soulmates. 12 to be exact." Ms. Whitehurst says while sat with MBG. "When we think of that term, we think so one dimensional. But no matter lover or friend or partner... We are all connected on a spiritual level. And therefore... We can all have a soul mate from the past that will find us one day, again."

Third type of soul mate: Soul Teacher

“Soul Teachers: Sometimes a soul mate might show up to teach you by challenging you to do something different from what they recommend, teaching you the value of thinking for yourself.”

Warning(s): Rac!sm, Some H8 Speech, SMUT, Hurt/Comfort, Real Historical Events...

((Please read at your own risk.))

******************************************

((PRESENT DAY))

“Eh…” Namjoon scrunches a nose as he lays back on your newly set up bed. You pause your folding of freshly clean clothes to stare at your boyfriend in shock.

“Baby. How many philosophical books have you read? And you’re telling me you’re iffy on reincarnation?!” You laugh in disbelief as he shrugs while sprawled out, just enjoying this Sunday morning.

“I mean… I have, but… I don’t know. It’s tricky. What does that entail exactly? We’re all stuck in an inescapable loop of death and birth?” He asks. “If it’s a yes then my follow up question is; why?” He wonders and you hum as you go back to folding while trying to think.

“Maybe… it’s like what Buddhist believe. You come back until you get it right.” You shrug. Your boyfriend sits up at that comment and rolls his shoulders a bit, and you almost break out into a smile, knowing that move all too well.

It was debate time.

“Yeah, but life isn’t a punishment. Shouldn’t be anyways.” He says.

“Then maybe reincarnation is the reward.” You say back.

“A reward? Without any prior knowledge of what life actually entails? With no memory of what it means to grow up or become successful or feel happiness or find love?” He asks. "To go through all the growing pains and awkwardness again and again?" He raises an eyebrow.

You hum at that as you take a minute to think. You loved debating with Namjoon because it was always a back and forth. Like a ping-pong tournament that usually ended with one cocky winner and a slightly sore loser.

“Then… maybe it’s a bit of both.” You say finally. “It’s a reward cause you get to go through life again, while also being a punishment cause you… well, go through life again…” You snort, and he hums softly as he watches you.

“That’s a cop out. Point me.” Namjoon states and you pause.

“What?! No! You can’t be serious!” You complain instantly as he laughs softly.

“Nope. I get the point. There is no real argument you've shown." He states and your roll your eyes playfully at that before huffing lightly.

"God. You're a headache. If reincarnation is a real thing, I can only hope you're not as competitive in that life as you are in this one." You tease as you lean over to cup his cheek and lightly brush your lips against his as he bashfully eyes you.

"I hope in every lifetime... It's you I debate with." He states quietly against your lips, and it makes you smirk as you slide the pad of your thumb along his bottom lip.

*****************************************

1919: A large number of Korean nationalists come to America to study, and begun the Korean Independence Movement.

"Hey. What are you doing here?" The voice rings out through the girls' dormitory building, causing Namjoon to look over with a startled expression, his throat tightening just a bit.

“Hey. My friend asked you a question. What? You don’t speak English?” The other campus guard says as they walk closer.

Namjoon shifts on his own two feet, never one for confrontation. His parents had made it clear. He was here to study and keep his head down. That was all. But it was hard. And meeting Y/N has only made things harder.

“I… Got lost.” He finally says, deciding on that lie since he knew. He knew he shouldn’t be here. He knew he shouldn’t be sneaking around, and he knew with every inch of his brain that he should’ve never fallen for an American. Yet here he was, always listening to his heart.

“Yeah? What, you couldn’t see right?” The one guard says, pushing him. Namjoon stumbles only a bit, shoulders squaring as he braces himself.

“Probably a perv. Trying to peek at the girls here. Those aren’t yours, you fucking weirdo.” The other man laughs as Namjoon tries to move past them.

“Whoa! Did we tell you that you could leave, ch**k?” The student guard says, pushing Namjoon again. The nerdy young man trips but catches himself yet again, swallowing back the bile coming up his throat. He was here for a reason. First of his family to finish school and definitely the first ever to come to America for college, and he wasn’t going to let anything get him out of character.

The urge to fight back always hit him though. But where would that lead? Him looked at as the problem. Possibly even kicked out and sent back home. No. He had a right to be here. With that in mind, he does the only thing to do for him. Run.

“Hey! Get back here!” The other shouts as both chase him down out of the building…

**********************************

You go barreling down the ER hallway, running straight to the hospital room a nurse had been kind enough to appoint you to. After realizing Namjoon was late to your study date, you went running out looking for him, only to find him in a campus alleyway, beaten and bruised badly.

Everything was in slow motion at that moment and all you could do was rush to call 911 for help. You couldn’t hold him as you waited for help because a crowd had formed and you didn't want rumors to spread, but you also couldn't stand there and do nothing. You kept people at arm's length of his unconscious body until the amubulance arrived.

The paramedic made a comment about how you must be a 'smart broad' to be here in college, and you bit your tongue to keep your comments to yourself. He told you to run along and go 'read a book', but instead, you went running for the city bus to go visit Namjoon in the hospital.

You couldn't think of anything else other than making sure he was ok.

When you get to the room, you cover your mouth, seeing Namjoon laying in the bed like that. He had a busted lip and a bruised cheek and stitches on his forehead. Under the hospital lights, his injuries looked more dramatic, and maybe it was because they really were. It had never been this bad before now…

“Y/N?” He asks softly as he reaches a hand out to touch yours. You shakily grab his hand with both of yours, careful at this moment. You felt like you had to hold him tight to keep him from disappearing, but also hold him loose enough to not actually hurt him.

“Joonie. Who… Who did this?!” You finally ask, voice quiet and full of fear as he tries to pull you a bit closer towards him, but you’re stuck in place. This wasn’t right. You felt sick to your stomach.

How could anyone hurt this man?

“Telling… Telling won’t… change anything...” He whispers softly as he watches you closely. “It looks worse than it is…” He tries as he winces while sitting up.

“Who. Did. This?” You repeat, not wanting to hear his usual ‘I can handle this’ speech. He sighs as you make quick work of raising his bed to a sitting position, so he wasn’t putting too much strain on himself.

“I know we’ve agreed to only ever meet at the library on campus, but… I wanted to try and surprise you. Got caught by campus student security. They… They said I was trying to peek at girls…” He finally says quietly as you touch his unbruised cheek.

"I lost my scholarship due to indecent behavior. The school scout just came by to tell me as soon as I was conscious enough. It's over, Y/N... I'll have to go back to Korea..." He sighs quietly.

“Wha... What?" You breathe out as you feel your heart drop at that moment. "N-No. No. Namjoon.” You whisper in disbelief as you shake your head fast. “This… This isn’t… This isn’t right!” You snap finally. “I… I gotta… I-I gotta tell the police o-or the campus main office. Somebody! Someone’s gotta help us!” You say fast as your mind races with what to do next. He shakes his head with a soft wince.

“Y/N, that’ll… That'll only make things… Worse.” He tries quietly and you feel the anger consume you. You felt powerless and overwhelmed at the same time. You let go of his cheek to brush your fingers through your hair instead.

“Baby. Come here.” He tries as he pats the space next to him in the bed, and you want to laugh at the cruel irony.

He’s still trying to care for you!

“I hate this. I-I can’t… I can’t lose you! No! No, I…” You whisper, tears filling your eyes as you watch him.

“It’s not up to you…” He points out quietly and you glare at that. It's true, but it stings.

“Joonie…” You mutter in an upset matter. He frowns and weakly grabs your hand, bringing it up to his lips, and giving your palm a soft kiss that you wish you could get tattooed on to your skin so it lasts centuries…

“Joonie. I… I could’ve lost you. That’s… That’s terrifying.” You finally whimper, sniffling to keep some composure. "Now you're telling me that I am going to lose you anyway? No!" You cry softly.

“Hey… Y/N...” He tries gently and you sniffle once more, shaking your head.

“You shouldn’t have to deal with this! We shouldn't have to deal with this! I... I shouldn't have to be worried every day that some... That somebody might..." You can't stop the sob that escapes your throat as the tears fall freely. "I couldn't have you... And at this moment you're getting taken from me..." You whimper finally as you hold yourself.

"Why the hell am I the only one mad?!" You shout as the tears run down your face faster. Why must he always be passive?!

Namjoon frowns deeply at that and looks down, as if ashamed. "Please... Please let me hold you." He whispers finally, his shoulder too hurt to reach out for you himself.

You sniffle and slowly give in, moving to sit on the hospital bed with him. He winces slightly but ignores it as he focuses on holding you as close to him as possible. “We have this moment. I have another day here. Just think about that..." He whispers against your hair before nuzzling his nose against your scalp. You shut your eyes as you focus on his scent, nose pressed against his hard chest.

"We're only promised 24 hours. Like everyone else." He continues quietly.

"But that's not fair." You whisper back as you look up at him. "We aren't like everyone else." You try quietly.

"Then what do we deserve? Hm?" He asks as he rubs his hand up and down your back.

"Give me 25." You say quietly after thinking a bit. Your hand gently balls around his hospital gown. His dragon like eyes scan your face, gliding along your features gracefully.

"An hour just for us?" He smiles finally and you shake your head.

"Just for you." You whisper, making him blush ever so slightly. You two were masters of soft whispers. That and writing was your only love language...

"I'll try. But... Technically speaking-" You cut him off, leaning up to kiss him. Always one to debate. It's how you two had met actually.

A wrong answer spoke during a mid-fall lecture meeting, a quiet voice correcting it, an embarrassed blush creeping on to your cheeks at being shown up by this random exchange student. You had confronted him at the end of that class to tell him off for proving you wrong in front of the whole class, but it just led to you two realizing that there was more here than just academic rivalry.

The kiss starts off slow and tender, but just as quickly does it turn hot and passionate. You feel Namjoon's tongue lightly graze your bottom lip, and your heart flutters. You two haven't been alone in two weeks. God it felt good to have his lips on yours right now.

This is all you had.

Your 25th hour was starting now...

You pull back to catch your breath, stroking his jawline tenderly. "Baby...” You whisper in a soft warning tone.

“I... I need you...” Namjoon whispers back between soft pants. You blush hard at the phrase that he whispered to you only once before. Inbetween two large bookshelves in the campus library as you laid on the soft grey carpet, hidden away from the rest of the world...

He has the same look in his eyes as he did that night. A need. A need to prove to himself that this is real. That you are real. You always needed that assurance too.

“Here?” You whisper quietly as you can't help but look towards the door. No one was coming in here. Namjoon had no family or friends in the states, and the nurse had told you she just finished her rounds. Could you pull this off?

“Y/N... All I thought of when I was being attacked... Was how I’d never get to see you again." He admits quietly.

"Don't." You whisper as you place a hand on his chest just to feel his heartbeat. That's all you wanted right now. Feeling the heart monitors where your hand should be was the only piece of reality in this moment that things could've been worse.

"Y/N." He places his larger hand over yours. "I... I need to prove to myself that I actually survived. That I’m here. With you. Please...” He says softly. You give him another glance, just trying to read his eyes. Then you slowly nod. With no further word, you get on top of him, careful not to hurt him.

“Let’s... Go slow...” You whisper as you rest your forehead against his. he nods once before he relaxes back against the hospital bed, looking up at you in adortion while you reach under your long skirt to pull your underwear off. He smiles softly at the cotton black fabric with pink hearts on it.

"Not a word." You mutter playfully, knowing he'd just flatter himself. He smiles up at you before you lean down, kissing him deeply. He kisses back with a feverish need for your lips to stay against his until you're both desperate for air. You grant that desire by grabbing ahold of his face carefully in both hands.

Little by little, your hand travels down from his face to between you both, just exploring until finally it reaches under the hospital bedsheets and under his gown. He pulls back from your lips to let out a low shiver as you wrap your hand around his semi.

You look him in the eyes as you lightly trace your fingertips along his tip, making his mouth fall open, small pants coming from him as his eyes close in anticipation of this bliss. You pull your hand back to spit on it and then stroke his cock to hopefully make it slick enough.

"Y/N..." He pants in need as you kiss along his neck, his head going further back to give you more room to roam, his eyes still closed in peace. With his cock wet and hard enough, you sit up on your knees and position yourself on top of him.

"Joonie... Look at me." You pant. He does exactly as you say. And you slowly sink on to his thick member.

"Oh... Oh god..." He moans quietly as you slide further down. His reaction makes you wetter while also making you blush hard.

"I thought you didn't believe in him?" You tease quietly as you sit fully on his cock, making him groan.

"It's hard to question when this is bliss..." He whispers, grabbing your hips.

You open your mouth to speak again, but instead you moan ever so softly against his lips when he grinds up against me. “Baby...” You whisper against his lips.

“I love you...” He whispers as he looks up at you while you begin to bounce, hand on his chest to rub it affectionately.

“I love you...” You whisper back as you find a good pace for you both, walls squeezing along his cock as you move, making him grip your hips tighter, catching your lips in a passionate kiss. You hold his face in your hands as you make out while you ride him passionately and eagerly to feel one with him.

"Baby...” He moans the second he pulls back from this kiss, his head falling back against the hospital pillows. You moan a bit louder and bite down on your lip hard to stay quiet in this moment, but he looks so perfect in this moment. Hair a mess, face scrunched in pleasure. “Oh... Oh, baby...” He moans quietly, arms wrapping around your waist tightly.

You can’t help but go faster. The thought of never having him again? It scared you enough to want to make him remember that he is loved. That you will always love him. Always try and take care of him. Nothing was promised. Not even your 25th hour...

“Baby. Baby. Y-Yes!” He pants, hugging you tighter to him as you pump your hips in need, desperately chasing down your high and his as his head rests in the cork of your neck, nipping and licking at the skin, always careful to not leave a mark though. You had an image to uphold. Moans fill the hospital room as the heart monitor beeps wildly and you so selfishly want it to match yours. Hands roam and heads roll back. You kiss and bite along his shoulder to silence yourself as best you can, reaching a hand up to grab his hair and yank it softly as he groans your name. It's never sounded more beautiful...

“Don’t leave me. You can’t leave me...” You whisper between heavy pants of thin air, your emotions damn near strangling you. He shivers at your breath so close to his ear.

“Never. I’d never... Never leave." He declares quietly, and a part of you knows. You both are smart enough to know. It's a promise sworn in vain, but god does it feel so honest in the moment. Your body trembles as you get closer.

"O-Oh, baby!” You moan more desperately as you grip on to him, refusing to ever let him go. You knew he was close too. You could feel his cock swell as you cum around him, and you keep up your pace, just wanting to feel him. There was no going back, and you didn't want to think of what the outcome of this could be. You just wanted to feel his warm seed. So, you speed up, whispering for him to cum in you.

He reaches down to rub your clit, making you jolt to a stop, grinding against his cock and hand as he moans happily at the feeling of your milking his cock. He shoots his cum hard into you as he focuses on kissing you, biting at your lips instead since you've turned into too much of a moaning mess to properly kiss him back. You cum once more on his cock as he kisses your chin sweetly while you try coming down from your high, moaning lowly. You hug him tight, arms around his neck, not wanting him to move an inch from you.

“Baby...” You finally whisper between heavy pants when your brain starts up again. He pulls back to look up at you.

“You’re perfect...” He breathes out, and you blush before kissing him again, tenderly in this moment you share.

Maybe this life was all you got...

**********PRESENT DAY**********

"I have to shower. And make sure you didn't mark me too bad..." The Korean male says from under you. "You need to let me up soon." He mutters, his morning voice rough and deep as you kiss all along his face ever so tenderly. A smirk on your lips. He'd be in for a nice surprise when he does see the litter of hickeys left on his neck, shoulder, and chest...

"No. I changed my mind. They can't take you." You say quietly as you pull away to look at the man you love. You've always felt connected to him, but this moment... This topic... You couldn't understand. You were a foreigner at the end of the day. So, the idea of having to enlist? Having to put a pause on your life to train and prepare for the slim chance there is danger for at least a year and a half? It was a culture shock...

"We spent the whole night awake. All those hours just for us." He points out and you pout a bit at that, feeling selfish as you wrap your arms around his neck, hands playing with the small hairs left from his buzzcut.

"You think we have a problem like this in every lifetime?" You mumble against his lips, bring up the conversation from yesterday morning, making Namjoon playfully roll his eyes.

"Not this again..." He jokes before grabbing your hips peacefully. "Mm... Honestly?" He asks and you nod as you watch him closely. "I think... If we did meet in every lifetime only to be pulled apart... At least we always find each other again. Hm?" He whispers and you search his eyes to see if he means that or if he's just humoring you. Slowly, you see the honesty in his eyes and the love. You blush and lean in to kiss him again.

***************************************

Really hope you guys liked it! Next up is Taehyung! Imma put a window date up cause I know ya'll must be tired of me being late. Expect part four out the 27th-28th. Love Ya'll!!!

[squarebracket-trickster]

Author Ask Tag Game

A huge SORRY and thank you to @mjparkerwriting for tagging me in this waaaaay back in August (what the heck - how did this happen haha).

What is the main lesson of your story (e.g. kindness, diversity, anti-war), and why did you choose it?

That sometimes being a strong, independent woman isn't enough. Sometimes we can't succeed alone or even with the help of loyal friends. Sometimes it really does take structural, systemic change and that change doesn't happen in a single life time.

As for why I chose this theme... I didn't really. I started with a premise (princess runs away from arranged marriage and accidentally falls in love with guy she was betrothed to). When I turned that premise into a plot with stakes I decided to have something that pressured the protagonist to go back to her marriage. The thing I chose was needing to prevent a war. The theme just kind of emerged from the tension between her saving her people and not being trapped in a marriage she didn't want.

2. What did you use as inspiration for your worldbuilding (like real-life cultures, animals, famous media, websites, etc.)?

Southern England (loosely) in 1333 AD and some other cultures that would have been in contact with, bordering, or having diaspora in England (Wales, France, Breton, Al Andalusia, Persia, Byzantine Empire, Jewish diaspora, and like one thing from Scotland).

Other inspirations include a few Shakespeare comedies, how Tolkien uses English speech patterns to indicate social class, the Robin Hood myth, and Tennyson's poem "The Splendour Falls".

4. How many chapters is your story going to have?

Draft 2 had 15 chapters averaging between 3000-5000 words. I've already broken up one of those chapters in draft 3 and will probably break up more. So, at least 16? But I might split them all in half if I decide they are too many pages when I finally change the page size of my manuscript from standard word doc to book-sized. So maybe around 30?

6. When and why did you start writing?

The immersive daydreamer who loves to read to fandom to CinemaSins to film and tv show critique YouTube to writing advice YouTube to I'm gonna write my daydreams down so I can reread them for fun to I want to try my hand at a properly structured novel (but it's just for me) to dammit, I've put so much work in I want to polish this and publish it one day Pipeline is very, very real.

7. Do you have any words of encouragement for fellow writers of writeblr? What other writers on Tumblr do you follow?

You can edit a bad draft. It is so much easier to fix something than to make something from scratch. Your first draft is not an adequate reflection of your abilities as a writer - neither is your second, neither is your third. Asking for help is a skill, rewriting is a skill, workshopping is a skill, googling writing advice is a skill, taking a break is a skill. Your novel isn't your best work until it's done - feedback, and breaks, and months of writer's block and all. Push through. You're not a bad writer, or a good one for that matter, until there is a finished product to judge. I know looking at an unfinished draft riddled with problems can be demoralizing but you will find those problems and you will fix them. Just be patient.

I'm gonna steal MJ's idea and tag seven of my "other writers" - seven because that's how many questions are on in tag game.

@zeenimf, @ambiguouspuzuma, @macabremoons, @lexiklecksi, @sleepyowlwrites (though you've probably been tagged 1000 times in this haha), @stesierra, @ettawritesnstudies

[droctaviolovecraft]

TW: Highly patriotic content

"Anyone who doesn’t light them must be a terrorist…"

ANM №: ANM-446

Responsible Researcher: Jack Black

Identification: Uncle Sam's Fireworks

Danger Level: Snit 🟡 (Cognitive, Manipulative)

Containment Difficulty: 2 (Medium)

Type of Anomaly: Object, multi-anomalous, manipulative

Containment: ANM-446 must be stored in a locked vault in D-02. Access to ANM-446 requires authorization from at least two Level 3 personnel. The 446 fireworks may only be activated in an isolated testing field under the supervision of a senior researcher. Anyone exposed to the effects of ANM-446 must undergo psychological evaluation and treatment if necessary.

Description: ANM-446 is a set of 50 fireworks of various types and colors, packaged in a cardboard box labeled "Uncle Sam Fireworks - The Best in the USA." ANM-446 was recovered from ANM-176's shop following reports of anomalous incidents involving customers, especially a person from Paraíba identified as "Cartoonizing."

When lit, ANM-446 fireworks produce a normal pyrotechnic display, except that the explosions form images and symbols related to U.S. culture and history, such as the flag, the Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore, Uncle Sam, etc. Additionally, ANM-446 emits sounds of American anthems, speeches, slogans, and patriotic songs at a volume loud enough to be heard within a 5 km radius.

The anomalous effect of ANM-446 manifests in people observing the display. These individuals undergo a temporary change in personality, becoming extremely patriotic, nationalistic, and loyal to the United States of America, regardless of origin, ethnicity, religion, or political opinion. This change lasts from a few hours to a few days, depending on the duration and intensity of exposure. Those affected by ANM-446 tend to express their patriotism verbally, through gestures, or behaviorally, sometimes resorting to violence against those they consider enemies or traitors of the American nation.

The origin and purpose of ANM-446 are unknown. Chemical and physical analyses have not revealed any significant differences between ANM-446 and common fireworks. The "Uncle Sam Fireworks" company does not officially exist, and there are no records of its production or distribution. The most likely hypothesis is that ANM-446 is a form of propaganda or psychological sabotage created by some group or individual with political or ideological interests in the United States of America.

Incident Report ANM-446-1

Date: 07/04/20██

Location: [REDACTED], Texas, USA

Description: An unidentified individual, later designated as [EXCLUDED], activated one of ANM-446's fireworks in a public park during the U.S. Independence Day celebrations. The firework produced a blue explosion, forming the image of Uncle Sam, the national symbol of the USA, in the sky. The image of Uncle Sam was animated and spoke in a deep, authoritative voice, saying phrases like "I want you for the U.S. Army," "Remember Pearl Harbor," "God bless America," among others.

The anomalous effect of ANM-446 affected about 200 people in the park, including the person who lit the fireworks. Those affected became extremely patriotic, nationalistic, and loyal to the USA, following Uncle Sam's orders, which instructed them to enlist in the army, attack immigrants, burn flags of other countries, among other violent and extremist actions.

A figure emerged from the crowd after the firework dissipated—a tall man with long white hair and a goatee, dressed and communicating like Uncle Sam. This individual was later identified as instance ANM-446-B, Uncle Sam himself, summoned by the fireworks.

The Organization was alerted to the incident by an undercover agent in the local police, who recognized the firework as one of ANM-446's items. A containment team was dispatched to the location and successfully neutralized the firework, dispersed the crowd, and administered amnestics to those involved.

Interview ANM-446-B (translated from English)

Date: [REDACTED]

Interviewer: Dr. [REDACTED]

Interviewee: ANM-446-B (Uncle Sam)

Preface: The interview was conducted in a local military bunker following Incident 446-1.

<Start of Interview>

Dr. [REDACTED]: Hello. Can you hear me?

Uncle Sam: Of course, I can, son. Who are you, and what do you want with me?

Dr. [REDACTED]: I’m a researcher from the MOTHRA Foundation, an organization dedicated to studying and containing anomalous phenomena like you.

Uncle Sam: MOTHRA? Never heard of it. Are you some kind of communist spy?

Dr. [REDACTED]: Uuh… n-no. I'm not a communist spy. I just want to ask you some questions to better understand your nature and origin.

Uncle Sam: Well, I’ve got nothing to hide. I'm Uncle Sam, the symbol of freedom and democracy, the protector of the United States of America and the free world. You must respect and obey me, or suffer the consequences.

Dr. [REDACTED]: I see. And how were you created? Who is responsible for you?

Uncle Sam: I was created by the American people, by their faith and love for the nation. I am the result of their will and spirit. I don’t have a creator, I am the creator.

Dr. [REDACTED]: But you're not a physical being; you're an entity produced by a firework. Do you have any consciousness or personality of your own?

Uncle Sam: Of course, I do, son. I’m as real as you, or even more. I have a mission, a cause, a reason for being. I’m the guardian of American values and ideals, and the enemy of tyrants and oppressors. I influence and inspire the people who see me, and I make them act according to my principles.

Dr. [REDACTED]: And what are your principles, exactly?

Uncle Sam: The principles of freedom, justice, equality, fraternity, prosperity, peace, glory, honor, loyalty, courage, honesty, generosity, kindness, wisdom, virtue, faith, hope, love, and everything good and noble in this world.

Dr. [REDACTED]: Those are commendable principles, but don’t you think they are a bit idealized and simplistic? Don’t you recognize the complexity and diversity in political, social, and cultural issues?

Uncle Sam: No, I do not. I know what is right and wrong, and there is no middle ground. The United States of America is the most perfect and superior nation that has ever existed and has the duty to lead and guide the rest of the world. Anyone who opposes or doubts this is an enemy, a traitor, a heretic, a sinner, a worm, garbage, and must be eliminated.

Dr. [REDACTED]: Don’t you think that’s an extremist and intolerant view? Aren't you afraid of causing conflicts and violence with your actions?

Uncle Sam: No, I am not afraid, son. I am proud and confident. I know my cause is just and sacred, and that God is on my side. I don’t care about conflicts and violence, as they are necessary to defend and spread my message.

Dr. [REDACTED]: And what is your mission, after all?

Uncle Sam: My mission is to make everyone on this planet become American citizens or die trying.

<End of Interview>

[plague-of-insomnia]

what kind of accents do you think the cast has? im a dub main for various reasons (one of my friends had a reading/memory disability so i ended up watching dub w them) so im kinda used to everyones dub accents.

but bards defo got an american accent right? (not in the dub, but im thinking manga terms?)

and ik soma & agni have barely a trace of an accent but does that mean they sound basically british?

and does finny have a german accent? sieglinde? diedrich?

idk food for thought?

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

(Sorry it’s been a rough couple days and I didn’t realize I hadn’t published this yet.)

Hey anon… so I’m a bit confused as to if you’re asking about the Japanese accents in the various anime, the English dub accents (or some other dub), or just my thoughts on what their various accents would be like based on the manga and independent of the anime.

Now I have only watched Kuro in English bc that’s the only thing that was available/that’s available on what I have at the moment (though I’m finally getting the blu rays for BoM and BoA so I’m hoping they’ll have the Japanese to try that out for once), so I can’t make judgements based on that. (And I’m not a good one to ask about Japanese accents anyway, lol.)

I also favor dubs bc of my disability. I love hearing the Japanese but it can be hard for me to follow sometimes, and even english alone without captions I can struggle with (please fix this, CR!!! Grr), so I feel you there.

Also not sure which characters you had in mind with this ask (other than the ones you specifically mentioned). Since kuro has so many, I guess I’ll just focus on a few. I want to make clear I am American and Latine, so I am not an expert on British regional accents by any stretch, or the historical accents of the Victorian period, so I’ll just do my best. Some may be partly inspired by how the characters are written in Japanese, since there’s a bit more… complexity to the Japanese language in regards to things like formality, rudeness, etc, that may not convert into English when translated in writing.

This is a long post so I’ll use a readmore to keep it a bit less chaotic. Below the break I’ve broken down my hypotheses on how some of the major players might talk:

Sebastian

As a high-ranking servant who regularly interacts with the nobility, Sebastian would have a high-class accent, and it is reflected in how his Japanese (and even his English) is written. It is a fairly neutral, polite manner of speaking. I’m sure the Victorians probably had a term for this accent (a high-class servant accent), but if they did, I don’t know it lol.

Ciel

Most nobles like him would be educated in a public school like Weston, like his father was, and those schools taught a standard accent that often varied slightly from school to school. So everyone who went to Weston would have a similar manner of speech. Ciel has been “home schooled” his entire life, aside from a short time at Weston for the investigation, so his accent might have been slightly different than his father’s. Nevertheless, especially under Sebastian’s tutelage, he would have learned how to speak properly (if he didn’t already). Still, unless Sebastian intentionally had him learn the Weston/public school accent, anyone who speaks to him would know he did not go to school, but was taught by tutors/governesses instead.

Bard

Yes, Bard is American despite his dub accent. We don’t know where he’s from exactly, but we can assume it was probably somewhere west of the Mississippi (that’s about 1/3 of the way west if you’re looking at the US map, going east to West, if you’re not familiar with our Geography).

I say that bc the river was the first real demarcation of the frontier. It’s likely he was living somewhere like Texas or Oklahoma. Ofc where he’s from would affect his accent, but I imagine it as a kind of cross between a more neutral southern midwestern accent (“no accent”) and a subtle Texas or OK one. Which that’s hard to explain unless you really know regional US accents, bc most of Texas doesn’t sound like most people think it does. The accents really change depending on what part of the state you’re in, since it’s such a big place. But basically not too heavy an accent but a bit lazy, definitely coarse and brutish since he was a soldier and a farmer. Lots of slang and not big on politeness. (Which he definitely is in Japanese.)

Mey Rin

She’s interesting because she’s one of the few characters who has a couple different ways of speaking. She has her “maid” voice and her “assassin” voice. The first one stutters a lot and uses imperfect grammar, as reflected in the English translation when she repeats things, like “I’m not one to talk badly about my betters, I am.” The second does not have this quirk. Not sure if the first is meant as an affectation as part of her idea of what a maid is, or if she just has such a divide he her personality/personas that she speaks differently when she’s wielding a gun. Since that wasn’t really mentioned in her subarc, I doubt we’ll get an explanation. We do know she was likely a child of immigrants from China, but not whether she was born there or in England before she was orphaned. But it is unlikely she has any hint of a Chinese accent since she was orphaned so young. She definitely has more of a working class accent, especially when compared to someone like Sebastian.

Finny

I had momentarily forgotten that Finny didn’t speak English when he first came to the manor. It’s likely that he would have had some kind of German accent, but I expect that Sebastian would have drilled it out of him, considering how strict he was with Sieglinde and Wolf, and Ciel didn’t blink an eye.

Finny’s accent in English never struck me as particularly high class, either in the manga or anime, but in one of the recent chapters, Theo makes a point to compliment his “upper-class accent.” It does seem highly probable that Sebastian played a hand in how he speaks, since he probably was the one who taught him English.

However, the fact that it came up in this sub arc could indicate his way of speaking is significant, somehow tying into what’s going on with Undertaker and the orphanage. Either way, his accent is apparently closer to Ciel than Mey.

Snake

Snake is tricky, because he almost never speaks as himself (I’m still not 100% sure what pronoun he would use for himself in Japanese, and even he doesn’t seem sure lol). He speaks via his snakes, and they all have different ways of speaking (which I think the dub does a decent job of, personally). So I can’t really say, but for the most part I would probably say his accent(s) would be closer to working-class, but he might have gotten some lessons on speaking from Sebastian, since, as a footman, he would have been expected to speak at a higher-class level than other, below-stairs servants would.

Undertaker

Like Mey, UT has two manners of speaking. He has his “humble old undertaker” accent, which is Cockney-esque (I don’t wanna do a disservice by saying it IS that), definitely a lower class accent. Then he has his “revealed” voice, or how he speaks after he reveals himself on the Campania. I have not read this arc in Japanese so I cannot base this judgement on how this shift is portrayed by Yana, only based on the translation. But it definitely seems to be a higher-class accent than the other one. It’s likely that it’s his “real” accent, while the other is part of his cover persona. However, we don’t know anything about him or his background from when he was alive, or even how old he is. For all we know, that accent could be an affectation too.

Agni & Soma

I know their dub accents annoy a lot of people, since Yana specifically mentions how they don’t have an Indian accent. I expect both of them would speak with a British accent, probably something close to how Ciel speaks, most likely, since Soma would have been educated by tutors and Agni probably was as well, since he came from a very high-caste family. I would expect that if their dub accents has been closer to Yana’s intent, they would sound more like Hakim in the dub of the anime Emma. That’s how I imagine them, anyway.

Sieglinde & Wolfram

I expect both would have German accents when they speak English, especially Wolf. Sieglinde might do a better job of working to improve and lose it, but I don’t think Wolf would, partly because of his animosity toward Sebastian. I like to imagine he sounds like Hans in the English dub of the anime Emma, and I really hope we eventually get the Green Witch Arc animated and dubbed so we can get a hot German English accent 🥺.

Diedrich

Dee, on the other hand, I think would not have a German accent in English, especially not in the present. I think he probably was educated in English before he went to Weston, likely by a private tutor, probably someone British, and then when he went there would have acclimated to the public school assent there. So probably he would sound like Vincent did, but I expect he’d throw in some German every now and then, especially when he gets irritated, lol.

Lau

Lau is originally from China, and his accent (as far as I know?) has never been remarked upon in the manga. We also know nothing about his background except that he rose quickly and at a young age to be head of Quin-Bang. I would assume that he speaks English very well, and the only hint at his origin that I’m aware of in the Japanese is the kanji (character) for the pronoun “I” he uses, though he doesn’t pronounce it as it’s normally done in Japanese nor does he with a Chinese pronunciation. I would take this to mean he probably has little if any hint of a Chinese accent when he speaks English, and since he keeps company with nobles and was able to pass as a doctor, he likely speaks in a high-class accent.

I hope that satisfied, anon. This was a fun and different ask. I apologize I didn’t publish it sooner.