#indian martial arts novels

[yoga-onion]

[Image above: Haku, the river god, the Studio Ghibli, Spirited Away]

Legends of the humanoids

Intro

Lately, I've been into qigong exercises. This is because during the winter months, the whole body gets cold - muscles, ligaments and even internal organs - and I find that qigong, which stretches with more help of breathing and gravity, is safer than yoga stretching.

There are many common movements in the ancient Indian tradition of yoga, as well as in the ancient Chinese traditions of qigong and tai chi, and those who have been pursuing yoga for many years, or vice versa, may find it easier to switch between the two. And it seems possible that originally it was the same method that humans learnt from higher beings thousands or tens of thousands of years ago.

Common to both is that many of the forms are named after and imitate animals, mountains, flowers and other creatures in nature, such as trees. Not only that, but even in kung fu, karate and other martial arts, ancient people must have worshipped and respected the Nature and non-human creatures far more than modern people, as they compared them to animals and other forms of nature when they performed miracle-class strength.

Of more interest in ancient folklore are humanoids, including human-animal hybrids and human-animal chimeras, as well as cryptids, which are animals that they believe may exist somewhere in the wild. Why are there so many humanoids being talked about, not only in myth and folklore, but also in S.F. and fantasy novels?

Let's take a look at some of the most enigmatic and legendary creatures whose current existence is either scientifically questionable or unfounded.

[Image below: Sphinx, a mythical creature with the head of a human and the body of a lion]

伝説のヒューマノイドたち

はじめに

最近、すっかり気功にハマっている。というのも、冬場は筋膜、筋肉、靭帯、内臓まで全身が冷えるので、呼吸と重力の力をもっと借りてストレッチする気功は、ヨガのストレッチよりも安全だと感じるからだ。

古代インドの伝統であるヨガにも、古代中国の伝統である気功や太極拳にも、共通する動きがたくさんあり、長年ヨガを追求してきた人、あるいはその逆の人たちは、両者の切り替えが楽だと感じるかもしれない。そして、もともとは人類が何千年、何万年も前に高次の存在から学んだのと同じ方法だった可能性もありそうだ。

両者に共通するのは、型の多くが動物、昆虫、山、花や木など自然界に存在するその他の生物の名称が付いており、模倣されていることだ。それだけでなく、カンフーや空手などの武道においても、古代の人々は奇跡的な強さを発揮する際に動物や自然界の姿に例えるなど、現代人よりもはるかに自然や人間以外の生き物を崇拝し、尊敬していたに違いない。

古代からの伝承において、もっと興味深いのは、ヒトと動物のハイブリッドや、ヒトと動物のキメラを含むヒューマノイド、また野生のどこかに存在するかもしれないと信じている動物である未確認生物などの存在だ。神話や民間伝承だけでなく、S.F.やファンタジーの世界でも、なぜこれほど多くのヒューマノイドが語り継がれているのか？

ここでは、現在のところ科学的にその存在が疑問視されているか、あるいは根拠がない、最も謎めいた伝説上の生物をいくつか見てみよう。

[thereader-radhika]

Kanthallur Salai

The salais were institutions of higher education associated with temples (Kanthallur salai, Parthivapuram salai, Thiruvalla salai, Moozhikkulam salai etc.). Established by the Ay kings, they followed gurukula system (students living in proximity to the teacher) Though the royalty provided free food, clothing and accommodation to the students, the administration of salas were mostly autonomous.

Known as 'Dakshina Nalanda', Kanthallur salai is believed to have been founded by the Ay king Karunthadakan (857-885 AD). Later, this salai gained world fame as a center of learning. Students from foreign countries like Sri Lanka too came to Kanthallur salai for higher studies. This mahashala provided training in multiple branches of knowledge including martial arts. What set Kanthalloor apart from other ancient Indian universities of that era was the diversity in the subjects it offered. In Kanthalloor, students were taught subjects such as atheism which were considered taboo in other universities.

There are conflicting opinions about the exact location of Kanthallur salai. KV Subramania Iyer speculated that Kanthallur salai may have been located in a village called Kanthallur, seven miles from Neyyatinkara in present-day Thiruvananthapuram district. T. Gopinatha Rao quotes records dating back to the 9th century which refer to the deity in present day Valiyashala as Kanthallur Chalai Mahadeva.

Kanthalur salai appears repeatedly in the Chola inscriptions. There are several references to Kanthallur salai in Rajarajan's inscriptions about the attacks on Ay, Mahodayapuram and Mooshika kingdoms. It is thought that Ay rajas have become the vasals of Pandyas by that time. His inscription from the 4th year of his reign mentions 'Kanthalur Salai kalamaruthu aruli'. In fact, this is his first achievement listed in the chronology of events. Rajarajan was obviously very proud of this achievement.

Since 'kalamaruthu' can have many connotations, there were arguments that this means that the ships at Kanthallur were destroyed or that only the free food distribution for the students was stopped.

However in 2009, a hero-stone (veerakkal) belonging to the reign of Rajarajan was unearthed. It has a eulogy in Tamil that talks about the king “beheading the Malai Alargal (chera warriors)”, settling the long-standing debate about what he did at Kanthallur Salai. It is evident that Cholas destroyed the salai, annexed the port of Vizhinjam and killed the warriors. The salai is mentioned in the records of his successors too, showing multiple Chola invasions across generations.

Later, Vizhinjam was renamed as Rajendrachola Pattanam. Due to the incessant attacks of Cholas, the importance of Vizhinjam port and Kanthalloor Salai (if it survived Rajarajan's attacks in the first place) gradually deteriorated. Between the 10th and the 12th centuries Kanthalloor Salai and the port of Vizhinjam, were completely destroyed in war.

=======

In my upcoming fanfiction about Ravidasan, he and Parameshwaran will be Kanthallur Salai alumni and they will send little Amarabhujangan for higher education in this place.

In historical inscriptions, his name is Ravidasan Panchavan Brahmadhirajan. Brahma arayan/Brahmadhi rajan were titles given to high class Brahmin officials in administration and military. Another person of similar status mentioned in the novel is the Prime Minister of the Chola Kingdom, Aniruddha Brahmarayar.

The above picture is purely for aesthetic purposes.

@willkatfanfromasia @favcolourvibgior @sampigehoovu @celestesinsight @ambidextrousarcher @whippersnappersbookworm @sambaridli @sakhiiii @happy-bookworm @nspwriteups, @vibishalakshman

[skboba-stars]

my geto suguro h/cs I def will add in my redemption/fix-it fic

Geto is biracial - either half Japanese and half Indian (from Udaipur), half Japanese half Filipino, or half Japanese and half Thai.

Geto being transfem and nb, using they/them and she/her pronouns preferably alongside he/him at times when they feel particularly dysphoric.

Them having two names - Suguru meaning 'excellence' and Chaitanya meaning 'intelligence'.

Geto being a religious polytheist and having a small shrine in their dorm room where they pray

They suffer from dulled senses since her parents used to have them get prescribed medications because of their 'hallucinations' and they were pressured to be 'perfect' in other aspects.

She had anorexia and bulimia for the longest time from about 13 to 23.

Geto is the eldest child and they have two younger siblings - a brother and sister. The two of them are much more pampered than her. Their siblings were treated much better than them, but they have a soft spot for them.

Geto's father's side of the family is made up of Hindus and Buddhists, so her father somewhat believed her but ultimately let them get medicated.

They love painting and art as well as reading manga with complex plotlines. It's how they vent.

They learnt how to embed seals into body art and she wears mehndhi all over her arms.

They are the gym girlie and enjoy working out. They got into it because of their family's stress.

Geto has two pet snakes and a pet fat tailed gecko.

They enjoy wearing modernized traditional attire and chunky shoes along with sharp eyeliner. Their piercings are either gold or black.

Geto's best friend is Yaga's daughter and a hijabi girl from Andra Pradesh who they met on a foreign mission. The three of them have 'girl nights' after they found out that most of the female and male students excluded Geto.

Poetry and novels are Geto's guilty pleasure. Some of their favorites are Mahmoud Darwish, Charlotte Bronte, and Yosano Akiko. They also enjoy reading epics.

Geto does MMA and specificallly has a black belt in taekwondo and vigorously practice kalaripattayu and jiujutsu alongside judo. They're a martial arts nerd.

They can absorb cursed energy at touch and warp it with enough energy. They can do this with a honed physicality that they work out to achieve.

Geto is known as one of the most beautiful sorcerers and multiple clans want to know who this mysterious 'strongest' is.

[mermaidsirennikita]

Have you read Kerrigan Byrne's victorian rebels?

Yes. I have issues with some things Kerrigan has written (which I'll get into) and additionally her use of AI art and reaction to (pretty forthright but not impolite) critique of the use of AI art that make it so that, where I was initially in love with the first couple of books I read by her (The Highwayman and Seducing a Stranger) I can't recommend her anymore. My takes on those books:

The Highwayman--honestly great, I'm afraid. Dark and interesting and hot. Love the hero and the heroine. Has one of my favorite sex scenes ever. I own it and I will reread it, but again, I don't feel like I can recommend her in general.

The Hunter--has a lot of good stuff going for it but a) I actually realized later that this has, down to a science, the exact same twist as Darling Beast by Elizabeth Hoyt; I'm not suggesting this was intentional, but where I see people compare The Highwayman to a Kleypas book a lot, that was some general structural stuff, whereas this is THE EXACT same twist b) more importantly, I super hate the hero having a martial arts instructor who gives vague "East Asian" types of platitudes in broken English, it's gross! I also remember this really weird passage about a brown manservant (who is later killed, fwiw) being described as like... really simple... and having "gentle eyes" like a cow or horse or something. It felt gross.

And I will say: obviously, I've read HR authors who've done similarly. It's always bad. What I find adds an extra layer of concern to Kerrigan's work is that it's all relatively recent. You're not picking up a book from the 80s where I wouldn't even expect a (white) critique partner or editor to be likely to call this shit out. I really don't get it.

The Highlander--oh, man. This has the bones of being a sexy Highlander Captain Von Trapp book. And I'll be honest, I loved the leads and their dynamic on a basic level. EXCEPT. AND THIS IS A BIG EXCEPT. For the fact that the hero is a self-admitted war criminal. His angst? Is that he was an officer in the Queen's Army who razed Indian villages to the ground and killed/drove the killings of innocent civilians. And you know what? He feels bad about it, which is why he took a child who was one of the only survivors of one of his massacres and made him his vALET! GREAT! LOVE IT!

I'll be honest, I found so little criticism of this (probably because the book generally isn't popular--I read Seducing a Stranger first, I think, and The Highwayman second, or the other way around, so this was somewhere in the middle of the pack) that I was like "maybe I just exaggerated it in my head" but I reread it and nope, it was uhhhh pretty bad dude. Like, the valet guy then tries to kill the hero and the book is kinda like "well fair" but it's also like lmao? This is the villainous crux of the novel...? And kinda fed into the "untrustworthy sneaky servant of color" thing, which like, YEAH. HE SHOULDN'T BE TRUSTWORTHY BECAUSE IN TURN WHY WOULD HE EVER LIKE THE GUY WHO KILLED HIS FAMILY.

The Duke--I don't remember much of this one tbh

The Scot Beds His Wife--I liked this one a lot back in the day, but I haven't read it in a while so perhaps I missed some horror, can't confirm or deny

The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo--same as the above

Seducing a Stranger--I loved this one; I love Carlton Morley; I really wish there weren't so many things going on with the rest of the series, dude.

The thing is that Kerrigan's issues with race keep cropping up. The Highlander is the biggest example. But I remember there being some weird shit in How to Love a Duke in Ten Days that I honestly, blame is on me here, missed the first go re: fetishized islanders. It's like, throwaway lines where I get the vibe that she's trying to acknowledge that people of color exist in the Victorian era, which good in theory, but it's often patronizing or fetishistic or downright "what the fuck were you thinking" as with The Highlander. They're often servile. It's just not the look, and the thing is that if it happens and an author gets called out and takes that feedback and works on their books... I'm white, it's not on me to say whether or not that's valid. But Kerrigan's work has it repeatedly, and she should know better. Plus, she just seems super bad at taking criticism (I've heard of her responding to critiques of The Highwayman super defensively, in a setting wherein her response was not necessary or wanted) so I doubt she'd work on it.

I think she's honestly a very talented writer, and the two books I say I loved? I loved. I recommended them all the time back in the day. But I did some self analysis and was like "Do you honestly feel good about recommending these books with the concerns you have about the books you're not recommending?" Because there are situations, where one mildly problematic book (say, a book with a slut shaming heroine written 10+ years ago) won't put me off recommending other, ideally later works by the author. But The Highlander WASN'T mild and it wasn't isolated. And after the AI thing happened, it was like--dude, you should know better, you shouldn't be recommending books by someone that gives you vibes this bad.

And I shouldn't have given her the leniency I did after The Highlander. That's really on me.

[artistic-m3nace]

Introducing Finlay Heran, the Arv'hein of Talki, Tartarus - better known as my other favorite oc

Fin is, when counting all iterations of him, my oldest character out of the entire cast of the entire Broken Dimensions project. He came to life when I was 11 or 12 and I created a side character for a homeschool writing project (yes I was homeschooled for two years, don't ask me about it), and has pretty much been around ever since.

I adore him.

He is also a little shit. ( Read below the cut for why lol )

So some background on who Fin is as a character:

Arv'hein of Talki from 1906 E-10 onwards, inherited the title from his mother Syne when she abdicated the throne to him, cut her hair, and disappeared off the face of Tartarus to go run a freedom trail because running Talki was, at the time, incredibly stressful. She did not prepare Fin for this at all. Him learning to deal with that - and with her - is it's own continuous story within Coalition Collection, and he doesn't like her very much. (His dad, on the other hand, is Viridian Eagriss Heran, who is a sweetheart even if he's had to temper Syne's impulsive tendencies for over two thousand years. We love Viridian. he does also leave tho in order to chase down Syne.)

Botany nerd. Closeted botany nerd until the 1990s E-10, but a botany nerd nonetheless. He loves Tartarus's weird flora (and fauna, but it's easier to fight the plants). He loves it so much that it does, in fact, almost kill him several times and eventually gets him cursed. But y'know, that's just how it is.

Book nerd. I like to think he'd enjoy adventure novels, like Indian Jones in book form, or action/mysteries, if those are a thing (maybe they're a thing in his universe, idk). But he'd also read romance, erotica, and like, monster fucker erotica, which totally exists in abundance in Tartarus, a world of horrific beasts, megaflora, and magical demon people. And I think he'd be super secretive about it - like "hide the real cover with a book jacket from a botany book" secretive about it.

Starts out very "punch (stab) first, talk later," then slowly tempers that. A little. The reverts after getting cursed and goes a little crazy for a bit, but it wasn't his fault (that he got cursed. the stuff he did is pretty much his fault and he makes up for it)

MASSIVE flirt. Also bi, even though they don't use most terminology of that sort in the BrDim universe.

Bilingual - Talkian and Common Tongue, though he does know some conversational vocabulary in Mercishan, some words in Trivaalian, and most swears and endearments in Aetherian (eventually). (Does all that technically make him a polyglot?)

Is transmasc!! Uses he/him pronouns exclusively and can and has fought people for misgendering people on purpose. Not stealth, but also doesn't usually tell people. Like his close friends know - Hiro and the Chirrells knew him pre-transition, Alkaline Aviligne knew him during his transition, Ev finds out naturally - but it's not something he broadcasts. Though he does walk around and spar shirtless often enough that I'm sure everyone knows and it's like, fun background knowledge the entire North Tartarun Coalition uses to gauge the trustworthiness of outsiders lol

His chest scars are actually scarification not surgery scars. Transitioning in Tartarus (whether it's transfeminine, transmasculine, or tweaking until you reach your desired level of adrogeny) is as easy as a potion or potion regimen, accompanied by some medical magic (literally) to help the process along. (Other places in the BrDim universe have advanced technological ways to do this, should one so desire to medically transition. Tartarus is just partial to magic)

Adept fighter in multiple styles of combat, including several BrDim swordforms, whatever combined style of martial arts the Talkian military teaches, and others. Natural fire magic user, and should be a natural at Shadow magic because of his dad, but doesn't use it frequently enough until the 2040s E-10.

Can be an snarky and overly sarcastic and loves to poke fun at his friends, but isn't actually an asshole. He cares very deeply about his friends and those he trusts, so much so that the people who turned against his mother eventually grow to respect him once he settles in and takes over. He's fiercely protective of his people (those under his rule as well as those he identifies with and loves) and tries to do what's best for them by listening to his advisors when he can, and handing it back to them when they're full of shit (in the years right after his mom abdicates, they are often full of shit. He gets in some fights).

Very tactile with his friends and with his partners. So much so that you often can't tell who he's fucking vs who he's just really good friends with. He flirts with both parties, he hangs off of both parties, the biggest difference is that the person he's dating with usually react differently, or occasionally they'll both disappear for a bit and come back looking like they just shagged in a closet (which, yk, they might have). That all changes slightly after the 1960s E-10, by which he's learned what the loss of very close friends is like and cherishes time with them more - and presses romantic ventures with them much, much less (which is sad). Still very tactile though. Lots of hugs here.

Served three years in the Talkian Armed Forces before becoming Arv'hein (joined at 18 after completing a general education, was crowned at 21). He should have served until he was 25, which is when Tartaruns consider people fully grown (13 is a teenager, 18 is a young adult, 25 is a new adult, 100 is a true adult. Tartarun life expectancy is around 500 years, unless you're Syne Heran and took an anti-aging spell as a 130 smth).

He also has several tattoos!

The armor ref sheet (aka the most polished full-body peice I have of him that's also up-to-date) doesn't show any of them, but the sketches I included above show his double arm bands. Haven't decided 100% what they mean, but I like the idea of them having originally read something in Basic Tartarun (a conlang script alphabet I made a few years ago) that he then covered up with two blackout bands.

His mother's stylized crest on his back shoulder (because he thought she was dead for a few years)

Half a dozen little tattoos his squadmates gave him in the TAF or his friends on city night excursions

"Bite me" in BT on the inside of his right thigh

culturally-significant tail tattoos (in gold)

He gets Ev's "Razienne" sigil tattooed on his lower back as a joke, but turns out it gives them both a little shock when Ev touches it. So naturally they do the two-finger taser thing to him all the time.

He has a rose tattoo on the back of his neck/down his spine that's twined with magic and runes and activates the Arv'hein's crowns above his head (Syne has a similar one)

- Fin undergoes a lot of change over the course of Coalition Collection, though most of it is internal. His friends don't see it as clearly until he or someone else points out how he's changed and matured. That said. He's 163 in Book 2 (2040s E-10) and that's roughly the equivalent of being 25, mentally. Which means we've got this interesting dynamic where he's developmentally in his late twenties, but he's also been through 125+ years of war, politics, and emotional rollercoasters. Which is! Complicated!

But yes, I adore Fin. I'd love to meet him and ask him to teach me how to throw a punch if he was real lol

- As always, questions (here or in the ask box) are more than welcome!

[ireadyabooks]

Celebrate AANHPI Heritage Month with I read YA!

Join I read YA this May as we celebrate AANHPI Heritage Month! As a group of book lovers, we are dedicated to promoting, uplifting, and supporting our Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander creators, readers, and community. Check out the incredible books below by some of our AANHPI creators to enjoy this month and all year round!

Rosewood: A Midsummer Meet Cute by Sayantani DasGupta

New York Times bestselling Sayantani DasGupta brings her trademark wit and insight to this bright and funny Sense and Sensibility retelling! 

Eila Das is used to following her head, rather than her heart. When she meets Rahul at Rosewood, a summer camp where campers are being scouted for the hit Bridgerton-like TV show, she experiences…feelings. Between the drama of the show and the drama of the camp, Eila will have to keep her wits about her to make it through the summer. But when she has to choose between her head and her heart, what will she do?

Start reading Rosewood now!

I Kick and I Fly by Ruchira Gupta

A propulsive social justice adventure by renowned activist and award-winning documentarian Ruchira Gupta, I Kick and I Fly is an inspiring, hopeful story of triumph about a girl in Bihar, India, who escapes being sold into the sex trade when a local hostel owner helps her to understand the value of her body through kung fu.

On the outskirts of the Red Light District in Bihar, India, fourteen-year-old Heera is living on borrowed time until her father sells her into the sex trade to help feed their family and repay his loans. It is, as she's been told, the fate of the women in her community to end up here. But watching her cousin, Mira Di, live this life day in and day out is hard enough. To live it feels like the worst fate imaginable. And after a run-in with a bully leads to her expulsion from school, it feels closer than ever.

But when a local hostel owner shows up at Heera's home with the money to repay her family's debt, Heera begins to learn that fate can change. Destiny can be disrupted. Heroics can be contagious.

It's at the local hostel for at risk girls that Heera is given a transformative opportunity: learning kung fu with the other girls. Through the practice of martial arts, she starts to understand that her body isn't a an object to be commodified and preyed upon, but a vessel through which she can protect herself and those around her. And when Heera discovers the whereabouts of her missing friend, Rosy, through a kung fu pen pal in the US, she makes the decision to embark on a daring rescue mission to New York in an attempt to save her.

A triumphant, shocking account inspired by Ruchira Gupta's experience making the Emmy-award winning documentary, The Selling of Innocents, this is an unforgettable story of overcoming adversity by a life-long activist who has dedicated her life to creating a world where no child is bought or sold.

Start reading I Kick and I Fly now!

What a Desi Girl Wants by Sabina Khan

The romance of Becky Albertalli meets the nuanced family dynamics of Darius the Great is Not Okay in this YA novel from acclaimed author Sabina Khan.

Mehar hasn't been back to India since she and her mother moved away when she was six. Her father made it clear that she was not his priority when he chose not to come to the United States with them.

But when her father announces his engagement to socialite Naz, Mehar reluctantly agrees to return for the wedding. Maybe she and her father can finally heal their broken relationship. And either way, her father is Indian royalty, and the famil home is a palace--the wedding is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime affair.

Once she arrives in India, Mehar meets Sufiya, her grandmother's assistant. Though they come from totally different worlds, their friendship slowly starts to blossom into something more . . . Mehar thinks.

Meanwhile, Mehar's dislike for Naz and her social media influencer daughter, Aleena, deepens. She can tell the two of them are just using her father for his money. Mehar's starting to think that putting a stop to this wedding might be the best thing for everyone involved.

But what happens when telling her father the truth about Naz and Aleena means putting her relationship with Sufiya at risk?

Mehar knows what she wants. Making it happen is a whole other story.

Start reading What A Desi Girl Wants now!

The Great Destroyers by Caroline Tung Richmond

Blood, sweat, and death.

Welcome to the Pax Games.

Jo Linden was born into a world where wars are won with giant mechanical soldiers and the nuclear bomb was never invented. Yet the Cold War still rages, and international rivalries between democracy and communism are now fought at the Pax Games, an Olympic-style competition that pits young pilots of mechas against each other. The USSR has beaten the US in nearly every game since its inception, and in the 1963 Games, the US is desperate for a win. Because it's more than just the Games at stake. Premier Khrushchev will be attending, and after, he and President Kennedy are slated to sign a peace accord stabilizing the war in Vietnam-and their volatile relationship.

Raised in her father's mecha repair shop, Jo knows more than anyone about piloting. She's also the most unlikely pick for Team USA since she's a virtually unknown fighter. So when she's invited at the last minute to compete, she jumps at it. This could be the only chance to save her family's home from debt collectors. All eyes are on Jo from the moment she arrives. But as fighters start dying in the arena, it's suddenly clear that it's more than the usual Pax Games, and Jo finds herself drawn into a deadly political plot. And if she can't figure out the truth, it might mean the annihilation of everything.

In a global arms race between superpowers, playing out in violent games that only humanity could create, comes a chilling story of clashing titans, ruthless competition, freedom, and the girl caught in the middle of it all.

Start reading The Great Destroyers now!

K-pop Confidential by Stephan Lee

A Korean-American girl finds her voice and has to navigate the complex world of K-pop stardom in this contemporary rom-com about following your heart and staying true to yourself in the process, for fans of Mary H. K. Choi and Maurene Goo.

Candace Park's life is all planned out. She takes all AP classes, helps her parents at their dry cleaner, and spends what little free time she has watching Rupaul's Drag Race. Then there's graduation, college, and a "Real Job." What her parents and friends don't really know, though, is that she has a secret passion: singing. But what's the point? She's never seen an Asian-American girl make it big as a singer-songwriter anyway.

So when Candace enters a K-pop audition at the mall on a dare, she doesn't expect to actually win. She definitely doesn't expect to plunge headfirst into the grueling world of a K-pop trainee. Especially when her parents don't approve of it...at all.

But when they offer her the chance to travel to Seoul, South Korea to train at the top Korean music company in the world, how can she pass it up? The only problem is, in addition to the round-the-clock singing lessons, dance rehearsals, and beauty treatments, Candace has to agree to follow the uber-strict rules of a trainee. The most important of which is: NO DATING. But it becomes pretty much impossible to follow when Candace finds herself in the middle of a love triangle between a sweet boy trainee and a superstar member of the hottest boy band in the world.

Will all of her hard work be wasted if she follows her heart? Or can she be the perfect, hair-flipping idol and stay true to herself at the same time?

Start reading K-pop Confidential now!

[its-cafechills-kool]

Ganapath Movie Review: A Futuristic Martial Arts Odyssey

Ganapath Movie Review: A Hero is Born is a riveting action thriller directed by Vikas Bahl, starring Tiger Shroff, Kriti Sanon, and the iconic Amitabh Bachchan. Set in a futuristic backdrop, the film follows the journey of a martial arts enthusiast who confronts numerous challenges in his pursuit of greatness. Guided by his mentor, played by Amitabh Bachchan, he navigates these obstacles, evolving both as a fighter and an individual. The film's teaser has garnered widespread acclaim, showcasing intense action sequences, a captivating musical score, and palpable chemistry between the lead actors. Adding to its uniqueness, Ganapath became the first Indian film to launch an exclusive WhatsApp channel for fans, offering a novel interactive experience. With filming spanning across the United Kingdom, Ladakh, and Mumbai, and a release date set for October 20, 2023, in multiple languages, the movie promises to be a cinematic masterpiece that redefines the action genre.

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[brookston]

Holidays 4.8

Holidays

Aerosol Day

Baghdad Liberation Day (Kurdistan)

Colorism Awareness Day

Counter Stool Memorial Day

Cushing’s Disease Awareness Day

DAB Day (Draw A Bird Day)

Day of Silence

Day of Valor (Araw ng Kagtingan; Philippines) 

Dog Farting Awareness Day

Draw a Picture of a Bird Day

Geranium Day (England)

Grand Ivy Day

Grand National Ladies Day (UK)

Hammerin’ Hank Day

International Bird Day

International Day of Pink

International Feng Shui Awareness Day

International Pageant Day

International Romani Day (a.k.a. International Day of the Roma)

Martyrs’ Day (Tunisia)

Milk

More Cowbell Day

Mule Day

National All is Ours Day

National Arcade Day

National Best in the World Day

National Catch and Release Day

National Dog Fighting Awareness Day

National Pygmy Hippo Day

Peanuts-Kids-Baseball Day

Polling Day Eve (Samoa)

Pygmy Hippo Day

Rex Manning Day

Rumenians’ Independence Day (Sweden)

Sealing the Frost (Cuchumatan Indians; Guatemala)

Shiba Inu Day (Japan)

Step into the Spotlight! Day

Trading Cards for Grown-Ups Day

Tutor Appreciation Day

Twin Peaks Day

World Mixed Martial Arts Day

World Neurosurgeon’s Day

Zoo Lovers' Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Milk in Glass Bottles Day

National Bass Day (UK)

National Empañada Day

2nd Saturday in April

Baby Massage Day [2nd Saturday]

Global Day to End Child Sexual Abuse [2nd Saturday]

Slow Art Day [2nd Saturday]

World Circus Day [2nd Saturday]

Independence Days

Australis (a.k.a. Grand Duchy of Australis; Declared; 2020) [unrecognized]

Feast Days

Ædesius (Christian; Martyr)

Anne Ayres (Episcopal Church (USA))

Apollonius (Positivist; Saint)

B. Albert, Patriarch of Jerusalem (Christian; Saint)

Buddha's Birthday (Mahāyāna Buddhists)

Constantina (Christian; Saint)

Cornelius de Heem (Artology)

Day of Amon-Ra (Pagan)

Dionysius of Corinth (Christian; Saint)

Feast of the Hummingbird (Aztec)

Feast of the Three Days of the Writing of the Book of the Law begins (Thelema)

Geronimo Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Hana Matsuri (Flower Festival on Buddha’s Birthday; Japan)

Julie Billiart of Namur (Christian; Saint)

Kanbutsu-e (Buddha’s Birthday; Japan)

Kiki the Rattlesnake (Muppetism)

Nuzzle Quran (Malaysia)

Perpetuus (Christian; Saint)

Red Wine Day (Pastafarian)

Saturday before Easter (a.k.a. ... 

Black Saturday (Philippines)

Easter Saturday (Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles)

Holy Saturday

Walter of Pontoise (Christian; Saint)

William Augustus Muhlenberg (Episcopal Church (USA))

Zoo Day (Pastafarian)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Nēmontēmi, Day 4 (of 5) [Aztec unlucky or fasting days, taking place between 4.5-4.18]

Sensho (先勝 Japan) [Good luck in the morning, bad luck in the afternoon.]

Unlucky Day (Grafton’s Manual of 1565) [19 of 60]

Premieres

All the Old Knives (Film; 2022)

American: The Bill Hicks Story (Documentary Film; 2011)

The Boss (Film; 2016)

The Century, by Peter Jennings and Todd Brewster (Book; 1999)

The Clash, by The Clash (Album; 1977)

David and Goliath, by Malcolm Gladwell (Book; 2014)

Destitively Bonnaroo, by Dr. John (Album; 1974)

Father Noah’s Ark (Disney Cartoon; 1933)

Fever Pitch (Film; 2005)

From Russia, with Love, by Ian Fleming (Novel; 1957) [James Bond #5]

The Gambler (TV movie; 1980)

Hanna (Film; 2011)

Inspector George Gently (UK TV Series; 2007)

Just Dance, by Lady Gaga (Song; 2008)

Killing Eve (TV Series; 2018)

La Gioconda, by Amiliare Ponchielli (Opera; 1876)

Mr. Right (Film; 2016)

Sea Salts (Disney Cartoon; 1949)

The $64,000 Question (Radio Quiz Show; 1955)

Smash by The Offspring (Album; 1994)

Soul Surfer (Film; 2011)

Toys in the Attic, by Aerosmith (Album; 1975)

Twin Peaks (TV Series; 1990)

The Unusuals (TV Series; 2009)

Where Did Our Love Go, recorded by The Supremes (Song; 1964)

Ye Olden Days (Disney Cartoon; 1933)

Today’s Name Days

Beate, Rose-Marie, Walter (Austria)

Lazar, Lazo (Bulgaria)

Diogen, Dionizije, Klement, Timotej (Croatia)

Ema, Emanuel (Czech Republic)

Janus (Denmark)

Julia, Juuli, Juulika, Lia, Liana, Liane (Estonia)

Suoma, Suometar (Finland)

Julie (France)

Beate, Rose-Marie, Walter (Germany)

Lazaros (Greece)

Dénes (Hungary)

Alberto, Dionigi, Walter (Italy)

Dana, Danute, Dziedra, Edgars, Žanete (Latvia)

Dionizas, Girtautas, Julija, Skirgailė (Lithuania)

Asle, Atle (Norway)

Apolinary, Cezary, Cezaryna, Dionizy, Gawryła, January, Radosław, Sieciesława (Poland)

Agav, Irodion, Lazar, Ruf (Romania)

Alla, Anna (Russia)

Albert (Slovakia)

Amancio, Dionisio, Julia (Spain)

Hemming, Nadja, Tanja (Sweden)

Gillian, Jill, Jillian, Jolyon, Julia, Julian, Juliana, Julianna, Julianne, Julie, Julien, Juliet, Juliette, Julio, Julissa, Julius (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 98 of 2024; 267 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 6 of week 14 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Fearn (Alder) [Day 21 of 28]

Chinese: Second Month 2 (Gui-Mao), Day 18 (Bing-Shen)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 17 Nisan 5783

Islamic: 17 Ramadan 1444

J Cal: 7 Aqua; Sevenday [7 of 30]

Julian: 26 March 2023

Moon: 93%: Waning Gibbous

Positivist: 14 Archimedes (4th Month) [Apollonius]

Runic Half Month: Ehwaz (Horse) [Day 14 of 15]

Season: Spring (Day 20 of 90)

Zodiac: Aries (Day 19 of 30)

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 4.8

Holidays

Aerosol Day

Baghdad Liberation Day (Kurdistan)

Colorism Awareness Day

Counter Stool Memorial Day

Cushing’s Disease Awareness Day

DAB Day (Draw A Bird Day)

Day of Silence

Day of Valor (Araw ng Kagtingan; Philippines) 

Dog Farting Awareness Day

Draw a Picture of a Bird Day

Geranium Day (England)

Grand Ivy Day

Grand National Ladies Day (UK)

Hammerin’ Hank Day

International Bird Day

International Day of Pink

International Feng Shui Awareness Day

International Pageant Day

International Romani Day (a.k.a. International Day of the Roma)

Martyrs’ Day (Tunisia)

Milk

More Cowbell Day

Mule Day

National All is Ours Day

National Arcade Day

National Best in the World Day

National Catch and Release Day

National Dog Fighting Awareness Day

National Pygmy Hippo Day

Peanuts-Kids-Baseball Day

Polling Day Eve (Samoa)

Pygmy Hippo Day

Rex Manning Day

Rumenians’ Independence Day (Sweden)

Sealing the Frost (Cuchumatan Indians; Guatemala)

Shiba Inu Day (Japan)

Step into the Spotlight! Day

Trading Cards for Grown-Ups Day

Tutor Appreciation Day

Twin Peaks Day

World Mixed Martial Arts Day

World Neurosurgeon’s Day

Zoo Lovers' Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Milk in Glass Bottles Day

National Bass Day (UK)

National Empañada Day

2nd Saturday in April

Baby Massage Day [2nd Saturday]

Global Day to End Child Sexual Abuse [2nd Saturday]

Slow Art Day [2nd Saturday]

World Circus Day [2nd Saturday]

Independence Days

Australis (a.k.a. Grand Duchy of Australis; Declared; 2020) [unrecognized]

Feast Days

Ædesius (Christian; Martyr)

Anne Ayres (Episcopal Church (USA))

Apollonius (Positivist; Saint)

B. Albert, Patriarch of Jerusalem (Christian; Saint)

Buddha's Birthday (Mahāyāna Buddhists)

Constantina (Christian; Saint)

Cornelius de Heem (Artology)

Day of Amon-Ra (Pagan)

Dionysius of Corinth (Christian; Saint)

Feast of the Hummingbird (Aztec)

Feast of the Three Days of the Writing of the Book of the Law begins (Thelema)

Geronimo Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Hana Matsuri (Flower Festival on Buddha’s Birthday; Japan)

Julie Billiart of Namur (Christian; Saint)

Kanbutsu-e (Buddha’s Birthday; Japan)

Kiki the Rattlesnake (Muppetism)

Nuzzle Quran (Malaysia)

Perpetuus (Christian; Saint)

Red Wine Day (Pastafarian)

Saturday before Easter (a.k.a. ... 

Black Saturday (Philippines)

Easter Saturday (Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles)

Holy Saturday

Walter of Pontoise (Christian; Saint)

William Augustus Muhlenberg (Episcopal Church (USA))

Zoo Day (Pastafarian)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Nēmontēmi, Day 4 (of 5) [Aztec unlucky or fasting days, taking place between 4.5-4.18]

Sensho (先勝 Japan) [Good luck in the morning, bad luck in the afternoon.]

Unlucky Day (Grafton’s Manual of 1565) [19 of 60]

Premieres

All the Old Knives (Film; 2022)

American: The Bill Hicks Story (Documentary Film; 2011)

The Boss (Film; 2016)

The Century, by Peter Jennings and Todd Brewster (Book; 1999)

The Clash, by The Clash (Album; 1977)

David and Goliath, by Malcolm Gladwell (Book; 2014)

Destitively Bonnaroo, by Dr. John (Album; 1974)

Father Noah’s Ark (Disney Cartoon; 1933)

Fever Pitch (Film; 2005)

From Russia, with Love, by Ian Fleming (Novel; 1957) [James Bond #5]

The Gambler (TV movie; 1980)

Hanna (Film; 2011)

Inspector George Gently (UK TV Series; 2007)

Just Dance, by Lady Gaga (Song; 2008)

Killing Eve (TV Series; 2018)

La Gioconda, by Amiliare Ponchielli (Opera; 1876)

Mr. Right (Film; 2016)

Sea Salts (Disney Cartoon; 1949)

The $64,000 Question (Radio Quiz Show; 1955)

Smash by The Offspring (Album; 1994)

Soul Surfer (Film; 2011)

Toys in the Attic, by Aerosmith (Album; 1975)

Twin Peaks (TV Series; 1990)

The Unusuals (TV Series; 2009)

Where Did Our Love Go, recorded by The Supremes (Song; 1964)

Ye Olden Days (Disney Cartoon; 1933)

Today’s Name Days

Beate, Rose-Marie, Walter (Austria)

Lazar, Lazo (Bulgaria)

Diogen, Dionizije, Klement, Timotej (Croatia)

Ema, Emanuel (Czech Republic)

Janus (Denmark)

Julia, Juuli, Juulika, Lia, Liana, Liane (Estonia)

Suoma, Suometar (Finland)

Julie (France)

Beate, Rose-Marie, Walter (Germany)

Lazaros (Greece)

Dénes (Hungary)

Alberto, Dionigi, Walter (Italy)

Dana, Danute, Dziedra, Edgars, Žanete (Latvia)

Dionizas, Girtautas, Julija, Skirgailė (Lithuania)

Asle, Atle (Norway)

Apolinary, Cezary, Cezaryna, Dionizy, Gawryła, January, Radosław, Sieciesława (Poland)

Agav, Irodion, Lazar, Ruf (Romania)

Alla, Anna (Russia)

Albert (Slovakia)

Amancio, Dionisio, Julia (Spain)

Hemming, Nadja, Tanja (Sweden)

Gillian, Jill, Jillian, Jolyon, Julia, Julian, Juliana, Julianna, Julianne, Julie, Julien, Juliet, Juliette, Julio, Julissa, Julius (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 98 of 2024; 267 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 6 of week 14 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Fearn (Alder) [Day 21 of 28]

Chinese: Second Month 2 (Gui-Mao), Day 18 (Bing-Shen)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 17 Nisan 5783

Islamic: 17 Ramadan 1444

J Cal: 7 Aqua; Sevenday [7 of 30]

Julian: 26 March 2023

Moon: 93%: Waning Gibbous

Positivist: 14 Archimedes (4th Month) [Apollonius]

Runic Half Month: Ehwaz (Horse) [Day 14 of 15]

Season: Spring (Day 20 of 90)

Zodiac: Aries (Day 19 of 30)

[minatokamikaze1122344]

Dharma Yuddha or Just War is a doctrine that defines the philosophy of warfare in ancient India. And weapons formed a key part of this doctrine, weapons which were rich, complex and even considered ‘strange’ by western observers. Ancient Indian weaponry was highly advanced in its time and even today, they can outdo their western counterparts.

[rhetoricandlogic]

The Overwhelming Relevance of Neal Stephenson’s Termination Shock

The Overwhelming Relevance of Neal Stephenson’s Termination Shock

The Overwhelming Relevance of Neal Stephenson’s Termination Shock

Molly Templeton Wed Dec 1, 2021 3:00pm

It’s hard to start anywhere but with the feral hogs.

Termination Shock, Neal Stephenson’s latest doorstopper (at just over 700 pages, it’s considerably shorter than his last few books), is a sprawling, truly global story. It would be foolish to expect anything else from Stephenson, whose novels regularly involve the minutiae of an endlessly surprising array of topics. To read him is to accept that you’re not just going to be told a story; you’re going to be educated. Often, it’s about something fascinating. How much time did I spend distracted by the Wikipedia page about the Maeslantkering, which plays a role in the novel? Let’s not talk about that.

Sometimes it is less engrossing. Termination Shock is the length of approximately three shorter books, and the first of those is almost 300 pages of warmup to one of the novel’s central concepts: In the Texas desert, a quirky billionaire has set up a massive geoengineering project. In the meticulous process of detailing this, Stephenson digs into the personal history of an aide to the queen of the Netherlands; explains how, about 10 years from now, fire ants and supply chain issues have driven many Texans from their homes; and gives the backstory of a man named Rufus, who has a beef with one of those feral hogs. All told, there are, in the book, more than 30 to 50 of them.

If you are a person on the internet, you will immediately interpret this plot point as Stephenson making it quite clear that feral hogs really are a threat. If you’re not familiar with the tweet that became a meme, it’s just another Stephenson subplot, a chance to explain to us the ecosystem of Houston in about 10 years, where temperatures are regularly in the 110s, people have to wear earthsuits to stay cool, and Rufus’s white whale, a feral hog nicknamed Snout, is taken out by a jet flown by the queen of the Netherlands.

Said queen, who has four names but goes by Saskia for most of the book, is in Texas to attend a secret mini-summit organized by the aforementioned billionaire, T.R. Schmidt aka T.R. McHooligan, owner of a chain of truck stops. T.R. invites some old money from Venice, the lord mayor of London, and a host of other folks. He does not invite the Chinese, who bring this omission up to Willem, Saskia’s Indo-Dutch aide. He also does not invite anyone from India, the repercussions of which take some time to become clear.

The novel’s plot radiates outward from here: from a series of invitations, incidents, and demonstrations, complete with complex and lengthy explanations. These explanations often come in the form of slightly forced-sounding dialogue, and when they don’t, Stephenson frequently begins sentences with “So,” or “Anyway,” as if he’s just picking up the thread of a dinner conversation after a brief interruption. And even when the book starts to drag, we listen. Despite his long asides and in-depth sidebar topics, Stephenson has never been anything but compulsively readable.

But Termination Shock is a bit of a challenge all the same. The pace is glitchy, ponderous at first and occasionally zipping past interesting parts or characters (a gaggle of falconers, a trio of young women who seem mostly to exist to break up the boys’ club vibes of one subplot). For most of the book, it’s entirely unclear what Laks—an Indian-Canadian practitioner of the martial art of gatka who goes to India to help with the COVID crisis and winds up doing something very different—has to do with the rest of the story. If you trust Stephenson, you know it’s all going to come together somehow. But you may begin to wonder when.

While I was reading it, despite my frustration with the pace and the sometimes stilted characters, Termination Shock felt like it took over my brain. I could not break up my reading with other books. I could hardly even sustain thoughts about things that were not the book, or the many things I wound up reading about because of the book. When I was done, I watched a screener of an upcoming documentary called Burning, about the catastrophic fires that Australia faced two years ago. It’s about global warming. It seemed relevant to the novel. I sobbed through the entire thing.

I bring this up because I don’t know how to take in a story like this, how to accept the scale of it, the relation to reality, without feeling overwhelmed. Termination Shock bills itself as a techno-thriller, but it’s more of a thought experiment: What would happen if someone rich enough and brazen enough simply did something about one part of the climate crisis? T.R.’s scheme is not a solution, but it’s a step. He does not ask if he can take it. He accepts it is an imperfect option and he does it anyway. (He might as well wear a belt buckle that says “the perfect is the enemy of the done.”) The title comes from the idea that there are some things that, once begun, are more dangerous to stop than to continue. What happens if someone starts?

Termination Shock is very vivid about a lot of things, and one of them is that what is good for one part of the globe may be very bad for another. The scale of the crisis is the scale of this book: world-spanning, sprawling, infuriating, and something we can’t look away from. It makes sense that the novel is the way it is, that it gets under my skin even when I’m annoyed at the details or the oddly plodding action sequences of the conclusion. Maybe it needs to be uncomfortable and imperfect. Maybe it just has to make us think about something nearer than the future of Seveneves, more monumental even than the story told in Stephenson’s Baroque Cycle.

One scene stays with me more than any other. A Dutch beach is overwhelmed with a baffling natural phenomenon. The disaster is both personal and national, and Saskia has to respond in many ways at once, even as the trauma scales up. Her every action is watched, her feelings muted; Willem explains how this is the kind of moment when he has to be cold-blooded to do his job. Stephenson never lets us look away, but never slips into disaster porn. What is required of Saskia is what he delivers: a perfect mix of devastation, pragmatism, and image management. It feels like it could happen tomorrow. It probably will. And desperately hoping it won’t is simply not enough.

[alexwritesfiction]

wip intro

they dreamt of being extraordinary, and sometimes, dreams just come true. she wanted normalcy, and got anything but.

Title: Discovery (Immortal Elements #1)

Type: Novel (trilogy)

Genre: Fantasy

Rep: LGBTQ+, PoC

Status: First Draft

POV: Third Narrative (switching between characters)

Tense: Present

Themes: Dark Academia | Mystery | Found Family | Dragons | Fencing | Supernatural | Elementals | Romance | Determination | Teamwork | Humour | YA

— SYNOPSIS

Five Teenagers. A supernatural world. And everything that comes with it.

Leonore Clyde can control the weather with her emotions, and she doesn’t even know it. None of the four elementals do. Sam can play with fire. Arden Santiago can control air. Jade McAllister manipulates water. And Lancelot Black, sweet Lance, he’s the glue. He can keep people sane.

Ignorance is bliss. But alas, it doesn’t last forever. As the four start figuring out their true potentials, Cassiopeia, the in charge of Supernatural Forces and the headmaster of Dark Elements Academy has already taken notice.

In a whirl that is their first task, she challenges them to prove their worth, all the while broken vows from the past lurk to haunt them. It only gets harder when a mere mortal gets thrown into the mix.

— CHARACTERS

Leonore Clyde - female, she/her, 15, latina, pansexual aro, daydreamy and messy

Elements: Weather

Sam P - enby, they/them, 16, indian, polyamorous, put together and kind

Elements: Fire

Jade McAllister - female, she/her, 13, north asian, aroace, mean on the outside but softie

Elements: Water

Arden Santiago - genderfluid, they/them, 15, british black, bisexual, tough with coolness

Elements: Air

Lancelot Black - male, he/him, 17, american, bisexual, dorky boy with ultimate charm

Cassiopeia - female, she/they, lesbian, 374, african, flustered with an attitude, posh, only wears gold dresses.

— TAGLIST

@neptune-falls @metanoiamorii @thescatteredscribbles @little-boats-on-a-lake @talesofsorrowandofruin @w-l-ink @baguettethebooklover @euphoniouspandemonium @wannabeauthorzofija @the-writing-avocado @ink-fireplace-coffee @your-local-bi-disaster @a-completely-normal-writer @felonyfairy @cool-but-confused @just-colorful-regret @writing-is-a-martial-art @iwoulddieforthemaitlands @neliakey @ashen-crest @47crayons @weirdfishy

[paladin-of-nerd-fandom65]

And now Ladies, Gentlemen and everyone of all ages...may we present to you for this one night and probably other nights only since it’s highly encouraged to have this reblogged....Mary Grayson Headcanons Part 3!!! 

As per usual, please give this posts a like, a reply and especially reblogs if you like. Any of those is highly appreciated 

And now, on with the show XD 

- Very little things can make Mary nauseous. If for instance, she watches a horror or war film with heavy amounts of the usual graphic content as per something R rated, she usually brushes it off of it being merely make up and special effects. What does makes her queezy though would be the smells of spoiled milk and sewer leaks. 

- While John is the more verbal of the two when warding off troublemakers and con men and just use his acrobatic skills in fisticuffs if need, Mary is surprisingly the more skilled of the brawler of the two if it comes down to it. While neither of them are formally trained in self defense and martial arts, Mary has attended plenty of carnival wrestling matches and talk with a good bunch of said wrestlers to learn a move or few, As such she can pull off Edge Hand chops (a la Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels, https://youtu.be/b-TV6rjiG6w), Dropkicks, Sleeper holds, and even a Jumping Tombstone Piledriver (4:12 - 4:16, https://youtu.be/AsdG0HyLHP0) 

- Usually Mary doesn’t do cosplay during Halloween nights if the Flying Graysons aren’t performing that night. Often the issue being she has in mind what she wants to dress up as but nearly at the last minute before getting the costume, there’s another option to distract her to the point she gives up on that. 

- Whenever all the Graysons have a practice day thus they get up extra early or a day off so they can sleep in, no matter what Mary usually finds herself the last one to awake. Usually if she sleeps long enough, especially on days off, John and/or Dick are the ones to wake her up. 

- Her favorites novels include but aren’t limited to Oliver Twist, Frankenstein, Jane Eyre and Animal Farm. As for one certain book though...

- Regarding Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mary actually believes that for all its faults, the Disney version of the film might be better than original Victor Hugo novel. Largely this is due to the portrayal of Romani in said film in comparison to the book; needless to say while a certain word they characters in the film use to describe Romani unfortunately is frequently said, at least the film treats her people with a healthy enough level of respect whereas the book outright  gave them a very bad name even though it was not the intention of said book in the long run. 

- Speaking of Disney, when Dick was born, the Graysons were given the three films: the aforementioned Hunchback of Notre Dame but also Dumbo and Peter Pan. For all the faults every film has, nonetheless, they are more or less essentials for movie nights in The Grayson household ever since. 

- Perhaps Mary’s greatest feat on the trapeze was a solo act for one night only at Buenos Aires, Argentina when her son was 5 years old. Long story short, both John and Dick caught a bad flu and in spite of ‘show must go on’ mentality they had to sit out on it. Worse, earlier than week while trying to do aid the roustabouts to set up tent, Mary sprained her right ankle and her left kneecap, making bending them not impossible but highly uncomfortable. To top that, it was that year’s Black Pin, meaning no holding back, go all out with the stunts and no safety nets. Needless to say, the stakes were pretty high for all involved yet Mary still volunteered to go that night while John and Dick watch from the audience. To say she put on a great show would be a massive understatement. The crowd’s deafening applause throughout the act only intensified once Mary finished it and the spotlight showed her getting hugs and kisses from her family. 

- During her first years on learning the art of the flying trapeze with her then group the Soaring Lloyds, Mary made a friend in the most unconventional sense, a small bird. In particular, it was an Indian Blue Robin who set up its nest on top of her family’s trailer and traveled along with them wherever they went until the time came for it to migrate. She often gave the robin any snacks and nuts she can and often had small conversations with the robin whenever she was lonely. To this day, Mary never forgot about her little robin friend so it made all too much sense for her son’s nickname being ‘Little Robin’. 

- While her heart and soul was with John ever since they first met, the closest Mary Lloyd felt to true love prior to that was one temporary roustabout who apparently was honing the skills of such a job while traveling around the globe. That man was billionaire Bruce Wayne. 

- She rarely gets nightmares but whenever she does, Mary is a mess of sweat, relentless tossing, turning, sobbing, and just even some yelling in her sleep. John, in spite of himself not wanting to, sleeps through it, leaving Dick being the one to wake her up carefully, hug her tightly to calm her and the one in fetching cookies with milk and a bedtime story they can read together to get the both of them comfortable enough to go back to sleep. It gets better when John does wake up himself in the middle of it and joins in to help. 

[deanmarywinchester]

I know I keep talking about this but I wanted to make a post to actually promote it—the Washington Post has a science fiction and fantasy column by writers Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Lavie Tidhar that is legitimately the thing getting me through the pandemic because their recommendations have never steered me wrong

each column recommends a handful of books around a common theme, like winter, noir, or works translated from Spanish, and they’re a combination of new and older works that range from literary to pulpy. they feature a lot of works in translation, a lot of lesser-known names (I’m a sf/f person and I’ve almost never heard of one of their recs), and a lot of authors of color. it runs about twice a month so you can read it even if, like me, you don’t have a WaPo subscription, and you can usually find the most recent column at the top of the google results for “washington post science fiction” or “washington post” with the authors’ names.

this article is a good one to start with, and I’ve put some of my own favorites so far and some I’m looking forward to below the cut!

a couple of their recs i’ve read so far and loved:

- the order of the pure moon reflected in water by zen cho: wuxia (martial arts movie)-inspired novella about a buddhist nun who joins a band of outlaws. it’s been described as “fanfiction of a martial arts movie that doesn’t exist,” because it’s about the background and relationships instead of the action, although it does NOT read like one of those novels where you go “oh this author clearly used to write drarry” or whatever

- ring shout by p. djèlí clark: novella about a band of women who fight demons that are in league with the KKK. i recommend this to anyone i know, especially if they’re into themes of rage/justice or reframing what’s a monster. the closest i can get to describing it is if a combination of a Guillermo del Toro movie, Alice Isn’t Dead, and Inglorious Basterds were made for a specifically Black American audience.

- black sun by rebecca roanhorse: pre-columbian-america-inspired high fantasy. a ship’s captain is hired to transport a strange and powerful man across a dangerous sea before a deadline. recommended if your favorite part of the Game of Thrones books were the behind-the-scenes power plays and the worldbuilding of the magic/religion/culture, and your least favorite part was that it’s yet another “how white men think medieval europe (bloody! white! For Real Men!) was but with magic” series. the first in a series.

some i’m most looking forward to:

- the only good indians by stephen graham jones: four Native American men bonded by a traumatic event in their youth are haunted by a supernatural entity. 

- death sentences by chiaki kawamata: a forbidden surrealist poem transports its readers to another reality.

- uzumaki by junji ito: horror manga about a spiral pattern that haunts a japanese town

-  agents of dreamland by caitlin r. keirnan: a horror/noir novel that borrows elements of spy fiction

- famous men who never lived by k. chess: a refugee from our world to a parallel world becomes obsessed with a novel she brought with her in her escape

- kalpa imperial by angélica gorodischer: eleven stories about the rise and fall of an empire

- the silence of the wilting skin by tlotlo tsamaase: a woman’s identity and culture begin disappearing while she’s in captivity: her skin color begins peeling off, people are becoming invisible, and the city plans to destroy the train where they bury their dead

[uncuentofriki]

Coco or “How to pretend to be woke because of a fandom” and other ghosts.

After hearing the posibility that Parasite could get a remake, I heard that it wasn’t necessary -and ultimately, useless- because the director wanted to show how, despite the localization and the theme of the story everyone could resonate with the story and its themes. I saw it and yes, despite that the working-class family eats ramedon while I do wonders with tortillas to survive, the struggles of making ends met whatever it takes are mostly the same. And I don’t want a Parasite mexican remake either, as they did a years ago with indian movie 3 idiots. The movie is perfect on their location and you just need some empathy to understand what the other is feeling or living, even if your language or uprising wasn’t the same. 

A while ago I did a post explaining the feeling of exclusion in the fandom of Coco. Despite that it’s a movie that occurs in some part of Mexico, the mexican creators were displaced by people that just had the movie and some cartoons like Mucha Lucha or El Tigre as a reference for our culture. We tried to reach to “the other side of the bridge” by translating songs, fanfiction, comics and whatever we made, out lof love and excitement for sharing our culture for the first time masively on this media. I even translated historical documents and cursing words. And it was fun and interesting to see people engaged on our culture... only to soon be displaced or unheard of. Come to think about it some time later, it was cultural appropiation. It was “woke” at the moment to say you liked Coco, it was a way to say “oh, yes I like diversity” but  the actual people represented on that story were massively ignored (I wonder if in less divisive time for inmigration it would be as beloved as it was). I like the story... but whatever the people that live that culture explain about it, I don’t care.  I’ll take for example Rossanna Pansino (Nerdy Numies) with her Pan de Muerto. She said that the decoration of the bread is a marigold flower, which isn’t true (It’s boooooone! -read this in Captain Holt’s voice, please-). The recipe was mostly correct (Orange blossom water isn’t that easy to find, I know, plus it’s expensive), but that part made me lost any interest on her channel forever (haven’t seen her channel since). Rossanna could had done a research, see photos of the bread, watch other channels on Youtube (there’s a recipe on english on youtube), whatever. Yet she disrespected a beloved tradition and dish. No, we don’t do different versions of it. It has bones on top. End of the story. You don’t move ANYTHING from it, period, because it’s symbolic of the legend of the creation of the men, the four cardinal points and our own mortality as human beings, and it’s one of the most important elements on the Altar.  (Also I’m a baker’s daughter and if you recall how strict the Rivera’s are about their traditions, that’s how strict we are with recipes -the only ones allowed to move something from them are other mexicans and it’s only to make it tastier, like the shrimp pozole, not whatever Barefoot Contessa did to it).

The fandom felt... colonialist. The questions, which I answered with all the love and patience first, got more and more tiredsome to answer because people wanted reasons and ways to adapt the story to occur on their country or on a situation that doesn’t happen here... despite that seeing another culture was what supposedly made them fall in love with the story. One of those was wanting the lake on Santa Cecilia to freeze. While certainly it snows on the north states of Mexico, if we take in account some hints of the location, Santa Cecilia is nowhere near the north. And even when it has snowed on Guadalajara -where I live-, it’s not cold enough to freeze the Santiago River or the Chapala lake. But for some reason fuck geography (and if the lake freezes then we’ll be damned because that’s how bad global warming is to give a such a cold winter to a valleythat’sabove 25 grades Celsius almost all the year).  We explained over and over how some social situations aren’t the same, how incomes on certain profesions doesn’t translate. It’s more frustrating as an EFL teacher to see that I can perfectly explain social situations to my students and they get it, yet I explained over and over and over and my time investigating, translating and answering those same questions about my culture was basically, ignored or glossed over like “yes yes, you live it, you were born into it, buuuuut my idea of how your society and culture works is better”. IT’S NOT. It’s just different. I won’t try to mexicanize something from an american -or in my time as a hardcore otaku, japanese- culture. I won’t make, IDK, Chihiro from Spirited Away to serve Pozole to Kaonashi just because it’s easier for me to do so. (And also that’s why I hate lots Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, it shits over martial arts... and I tried hard to see the story as a parody but no). That’s also why I left the Rock AU incomplete and most of my fics are untranslated (and why a lot of mexicans ran away from the social media created around the movie). Why translate it, why continue it if the apparent love for my country and its music and traditions didn’t translated when I took time to craft a story that shows more about the modern musical scene here (along with other social issues). Why keep helping people that asked and yet ignored what I said or tried to make me justify stuff that DOES NOT (AT ALL) happen or happened here. Why even bother if someone who isn’t even from my country is the one that they prefer to get the information, as wrong as it can be. 

It’s amazing also that I got silenced and dismissed over my last rant about this feeling. It’s not jealousy, it’s a wake up call to fandoms in general. You can’t call yourself woke or culturally aware or whatever if you consume media from or based on foreing cultures and silence the people who live it or try to adapt it into your culture just because it’s easier or if you like characters that are people of color. Fandom it’s not absent of colonialism or racism, even on this kind of works. And we should be aware and learn of the mistakes we made along the way, because it’s disheartening for future media creators from other cultures (me included) to see that while we’re trying to adapt our culture and what we love -and hate- the most of it (even if it’s a fantasy counterpart, like it’s the case of the novel I’m working on), it’s going to be ignored over or tried to got converted over to whatever they want (creative fan freedom has a limit and that’s the societal and geographic rules of the setting). Because that’s the actual point of diversity in narrative, not trying to make everything more uniform like most american/european series that have a two-three whites and two-three people of color (if feeling lucky) but they’re barely different from each other in culture (except if there’s an asian on the cast, most of the time). The point of stories like Coco or parasite to show how despite the differences, we all can live similar situations, we all love and laugh and lose and keep going, in our own unique way, even if we’re miles away.

So please, if you’re aproximation to any work set in another culture is just that you thought it’s pretty and forget about the people that live it everyday... stay away from it. Or decolonize yourself first and don’t use the work to make yourself seem more socially aware. You will just contribute to systematic exclution of other creators.

[wikiuntamed]

Top 5 @Wikipedia pages from yesterday: Sunday, 17th December 2023

Welcome, nuqneH, benvenuto, bem-vindo 🤗 What were the top pages visited on @Wikipedia (17th December 2023) 🏆🌟🔥?

1️⃣: Animal (2023 film) "Animal is a 2023 Indian Hindi-language action drama film directed and edited by Sandeep Reddy Vanga, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Pranay Reddy Vanga and Saurabh Gupta. The film is produced by Bhushan Kumar, Pranay Reddy Vanga, Krishan Kumar and Murad Khetani under T-Series Films, Bhadrakali..."

2️⃣: UFC 296 "UFC 296: Edwards vs. Covington was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 16, 2023, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States...."

3️⃣: Leave the World Behind (film) "Leave the World Behind is a 2023 American apocalyptic psychological thriller film produced, written and directed by Sam Esmail. It is based on the 2020 novel by Rumaan Alam. The film stars Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, Myha'la, and Kevin Bacon as they attempt to make sense of the..."

4️⃣: Premier League "The Premier League is the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football League (EFL). Seasons typically run from August to May, with each team playing 38 matches against all other teams, both..."

5️⃣: Leon Edwards "Leon Edwards (born 25 August 1991) is an English professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Welterweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the current UFC Welterweight Champion. A professional competitor since 2011, Edwards formerly competed for..."

Image licensed under CC BY 3.0? by Anything Goes With James English