#it’s always a think I wonder about being so very American and writing a lot of modern AUs

[tennessoui]

I know this might be a weird question, and I have no idea if anyone else pictures written dialogue in their head like I do, but do anakin, obi-wan, cody, etc have the same accents in ur AU fics as they do in Star Wars canon??

Like all this time I’ve been imagining Obi-wan being British, anakin being American (hayden is Canadian but I have no clue how US accents work lol) and the Fett brothers being Kiwi, but then I get confused bcs HOW did they get those accents (IS CORUSCANT THE STAR WARS EQUIVALENT TO LONDON!?!?!? BCS ALOT OF JEDI HAVE ENGLISH ACCENTS BUT NOT ALL OF THEM AND UGH MY BRAIN HURTS AND 😩🫣😵���😭)

anyway I’ve forgotten my original point and I think I need to lie down 😟

lol this is a fair question actually

so whenever I’m doing a fic that’s not gffa but modern but I’m trying not to make it American heavy or ANTK (America need to know), I like using the planets from Star Wars as cities and/or countries because everyone who is reading a prequels Star Wars fic probably knows what Coruscant or Naboo is supposed to look like vaguely and I don’t have to describe what it’s supposed to look like (descriptions of places, my loathed nemesis)

AND when I do that, I always describe obi-wan’s accent as coruscanti, but in my head it’s definitely just the way he sounds in the movies which is British

and like in that one story where Obi-Wan is king of Stewjon (space Scotland), he’s supposed to maybe have a stewjoni accent which would be space Scottish accent but then I really just only read it in my mind as his normal British accent, even if they were fuckin. Wearing space kilts. It was too ingrained in me.

BUT THIS IS ALL TO SAY: their accents are what they are in the shows/movies, regardless of where they’re supposed to be from…..and if it makes sense (aka Cody and Rex and obi-wan are basically raised together in PBATMB but you bet your ass they sound different in my head)

[taylorswift-edit]

"This is a song that I think really exhibits a lot of the common themes that run throughout this album, one of which being fatalism, longing, pining away, lost dreams. I think that it's a very fatalistic album in that there are lots of very dramatic lines about, you know, life or death, "I love you, it's ruining my life," these are very hyperbolic, dramatic things to say. But it's that kind of album. It's about a dramatic, artistic, tragic kind of take on love and loss. And Fortnight, I've always imagined that it took place in this American town where the American Dream you thought would happen to you didn't, right? You ended up not with the person that you loved, and now you have to just live with that every day, wondering what would've been, maybe seeing them out, and that's a pretty tragic concept, really. So I was just writing from that perspective."

[tswiftupdatess]

Taylor Swift talking about 'Fortnight'

''It's the song that I think really exhibits a lot of common themes that run throughout this album. One of which being fatalism, um, longing, pining away lost dreams. You know, I think that, um, it's a very fatalistic album and that there are lots of very dramatic lines about life or death, and I love you it's ruining my life, like, these are very hyperbolic dramatic things to say but it's that kind of album. It's about a dramatic, artistic, tragic kind of take on love and loss, and Fortnight, I've always imagined that it took place in this American town where the American dream you thought would happen to you didn't. You ended up not with the person that you loved and now you have to just live with that everyday wondering what would have been, maybe seeing about and that's a pretty tragic concept, really. So I was just writing from that perspective.''

📸: Via shesjustlosingit on TikTok

[idontliekmondays]

excerpts from a daily mail article released shortly after her arrest

When members of the Geneva High School role playing club asked 16-year-old Lindsay Souvannarath to choose a character they were expecting an elf, a sorceress or perhaps a female warrior.

But the shy, clean-cut teenager opted for a rather more unsettling choice, presenting them with a detailed pencil drawing of her chosen persona - the 'Nightmare Nazi'.

The trench coat, jackboots and gas mask were unmistakably those of an SS soldier; the skeletal hands clutching a vast dagger more akin to dark fantasy art.

Former classmates at Geneva High recall Lindsay Souvannarath as a shy, withdrawn youngster, who had few friends and instead sought out after-school groups and writing clubs to express her creative side.

But she was also prone to bouts of anger and violence - allegedly stabbing another student with a pencil in one outburst and occasionally letting slip an alarming infatuation with the Third Reich.

'On first impressions I didn't think there was anything too strange about her,' he told Daily Mail Online.

'She could be funny and intelligent but most of the time she was quiet and not very warm or outgoing.

'One year her character was a sort of Wonder Woman-type heroine, then all of sudden she tells the group she wants to be a Nazi ghost.

'You choose your species and come up with a back story. Hers was that her character was a guest from a crazy, dark Nazi universe.

'It's supposed to be a game in a medieval, fantasy setting but she would just argue if she didn't get her way.

'So we went on our quest with a robot, a couple of elves, wizards and this weird Nazi.

'Aside from the character's background he didn't do anything racist or too alarming. We didn't know about her interests at that time so we just got on with it.

Ms Szigeti recalled how Souvannarath began to idolize black-death metal bands in her mid-teens.

She became particularly infatuated with Varg Vikernes, a white supremacist musician convicted in 1994 of killing a rival guitarist and burning down three churches in Norway, describing him as 'cute' and writing essays about him.

'Her work was always dark and full of violence, there were soldiers and Nazis and all this weird stuff,' Sabrina said.

'She acted normal on the surface. She was never physically violent but she would get aggressive and upset if you criticized her.

'Everyone was uncomfortable but we just avoided trying to start a fight with her. 'If you asked her straight up 'are you a Nazi?' she would argue that she wasn't.

As far back as 2007 - when she was just 15 - she allegedly wrote 'free speech is dead' in one forum, adding: 'That's why we need people like David Duke to bring it to life again.'

In another warped entry, writing that same year under the pseudonym Snoopyfemme she wrote: 'They use sex in commercials all the time to sell products. Why don't they ever use violence?

'Wouldn't you love to see a bunch of guys tearing each other apart with machine guns to get a bowl of Cheerios?

'Sure, it might traumatize our children, but in my opinion, children aren't being traumatized enough.

'The only reason for Americans to breed is to create more soldiers to fight for freedom. We need to weed out the weaklings early on. Survival of the fittest, man.'

'She was very odd to the point among a lot of our classmates that no-one was surprised by her arrest.

'She was a very lonely person - but she isolated herself. 'From what I remember she was even suspended for stabbing someone with a pencil in middle school.'

'She was known for putting spells on people. She would do it by saying weird things and then putting on a curse - obviously we did not take her seriously.

'She would break out into laughter in the middle of class for absolutely no reason.

'When we saw that Lindsay did something like this, nobody was surprised. She was the one most likely.'

source

[intersex-support]

hello! i newly figured out i am intersex, however i haven't been able to find much content talking about intersex experience, history or community, when i first realized i was queer originally i found a lot of content like that and found it helpful, and i was wondering if there's any recommendations you might be willing to give about any content on being intersex or intersex creators who you think people should know about!

Hey!

This ask honestly made me really happy, because when I was searching for people and resources to share with you, I realized how much stuff has been created in the past 5 years. When I was diagnosed as intersex, I felt like there was so much less stuff than there even is now, so it makes me really happy to know there is more stuff, even if it's still hard to find.

Some of the things I've put on this list are outdated or might include perspectives that I don't completely love, but might include important historical context. It is also a very US centric and English language centric resource, although I have linked to organizations in other countries and would love if people added on recommendations to intersex resources in a variety of languages. As always, take what resonates with you and leave behind the rest!

Books:

Cripping Intersex by Celeste E Orr

Bodies in Doubt: An American History of Intersex by Elizabeth Reis

XOXY: A Memoir by Kimberly Zieselman

Intersex (For Lack of a Better Word) by Thea Hillman

In September, Alicia Weigel is releasing her memoir Inverse Cowgirl.

In August, Pidgeon Pagonis is releasing their memoir, Nobody Needs to Know.

Fiction books:

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

Intersex #ownvoices books, collated by Bogi Takács

Films:

Every Body directed by Julie Cohen is in theaters right now, and will eventually be on streaming services.

Ponyboi directed by River Gallo

Intersexion directed by Grant Lahood

Articles + misc:

Hermaphrodites with Attitude newsletter-content note for h slur and some other outdated language. Very important history though <3

Jazz Legend Little Jimmy Scott Is a Cornerstone of Black Intersex History by Sean Saifa Wall

What it's like to be a Black intersex woman by Tatenda Ngwaru

9 Young People on How They Found Out They Are Intersex by Hans Lindhal

Teen Vogue's series of intersex interviews

After years of protest, a top hospital ended intersex surgeries. For activists, it took a deep toll by Kate Sosin

Intersex Awareness Day: A Demonstration that Inspired a Movement

Normalizing intersex: Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics

Music-Ana Roxanne

Youth&I-intersex youth zine

Juliana Huxtable-Visual Art

Youtube channels:

Emilord-videos about AIS and surgery.

Jubilee Intersex video

Hans Lindhal-videos on a wide variety of intersex topics.

What's It Like To Be Intersex? | Minutes With | UNILAD

What It's Like To Be Intersex As/Is

Pass the Mic: Intercepting Injustice with Sean Saifa Wall

Intersex Organizations:

Link to org list

People/orgs to follow:

Sean Saifa Wall

Alicia Weigel

River Gallo

Hans Lindhal

Fàájì/funk

Jahni

Justin Tsang

Intersex Awareness (fabulous direct action organizing in the US-keep an eye out cause we're gonna do more this year!)

Liat Feller

Jubilee

Crystal Hendricks

Mari Wrobi

Intersex people, please feel free to add on more resources, art, writing, and people that you like!!

[night-raven-tattler]

Hello there, I recently became a follower and I love your writing so far, keep up the great work and I hope you’re having a wonderful day

I saw that requests are open so if it’s alright, can I get headcannons of the first years (separate) and shows/movies they’d enjoy watching with the reader?

Thought it’ll be pretty fun and an excuse for me to get recommendations lol, thank you!

Hello, Aesthetic! Thank you for your kind words! This was a bit of a challenge for Mx Tattly, since they are not a huge movie person. However she hopes you still enjoy his takes. They also wrote from the perspective of the Prefect/Yuu having access to some movies from their world of origin. Enjoy!

Movie night, otherworldly edition

Characters: Grim, Ace, Deuce, Jack, Epel, Ortho, Sebek and GN!Reader (separate)

Warnings: food mention (Epel's part)

By opening the document, you agree to Mx Tattly's terms of source confidentiality.

-ˋˏ’✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Grim's preffered genres are: comedy, action, animation, fantasy

Grim trully is a child at heart, and all the colorful characters and scenes from animation have him hooked

He also enjoys a good laugh, especially visual gags

He barely has any attention to spare for a series, so movies are his preffered format

He would never admit it but he's a sucker for found family

Silent movie crier

Loud denier

Some favorites from your world: Home; Bolt; That one Wizard Boy Movie we Don't mention in This Household; he has a weird relationship with Ace Ventura

『••✎••』

Ace's preffered genres are: horror, thriller, action, adventure

He enjoys gorey stuff and being the guy you hide behind of when the scenes get too much, but he needs time to prepare for psychological horror

Ace is the type to look up spoilers before watching something and he tries to trick you into believing his made up version of the plot

He talks a lot during movies but hates when others do it

While he enjoys a good adventure movie, he hates superhero movies and he thinks they're silly

He prefers movies over series because he likes the format more, but he's down for a short series

Some favorites from your world: The Mummy; Jumanji (he loves making fun of it); American Psycho; Scary Movie

『••✎••』

Deuce's preffered genres are: action, adventure, animation, family movies

He is pretty easy to please, he'd watch anything that is entertaining

Definitely a Marvel fan

He also loves animation movies, the animation always leaves him awestruck

He likes movies about families and their bonds

Deuce is also surprisingly into medical dramas... but also cop dramas

He is a crier as well but only when he's just with you

Some favorites from your world: Black Panther; The Rookie; A Goofy movie; Police Academy 2

『••✎••』

Jack's preferred genres are: documentary, adventure, romance, dramas and telenovelas with a bit of nudging

Jack is the type of guy to retain various informations after watching something

He can sometimes memorise entire scenes, and he finds that habit less annoying when he watches documentaries; he likes something informative and motivational

Jack also enjoys some romance movies sometimes, but he is very picky so it's hard for him to find one he actually likes

He does, however, like to point out and comment on the weird courting habits humans have

Jack finds telenovelas and soap operas kind of nonsensical and overly dramatic, but he also gets hooked on the plot pretty quick and soon enough it would become a bit of a guilty pleasure

Some favorites from your world: David Holmes, the boy who lived; the social dilemma; Love, Simon; Yo soy Betty la fea

『••✎••』

Epel's preferred genres are: comedy, action, western, anything he can mock and make fun of

If you think Ace is bad with his mid watch commentary, Epel is 10 times worse

He mocks things in movies so often he's giving Cinema Sins a run for their money

He won't shut up even if you give him all the snacks, he'll talk while eating

He also has the most colourful, boisterous, ridiculous laughter imaginable (and I say that lovingly), so if the comedy movie is not making you laugh then Epel's laughter is

Epel is not a picky watcher so he can get behind anything that isn't too sappy

If you pull out anything with Vil on the poster though he will dematerialise from your couch

Some favorites from your world: Rush Hour; Desperado; Puss in Boots 2; any Fast and Furious movie (unfortunately)

『••✎••』

Ortho's preferred genres are: anything he finds intriguing, family movies

If anything, Ortho has a wide palate and can enjoy almost anything

He also knows how a movie ends before he watches it, but it never ruins his enjoyment

He never spoils anyone unless they try to argue with him about the direction of the plot

Most of his interest in movies came from wanting to understand human behavior better, but now he can just use them as a time killer or sleepover material

He also likes watching your reactions to the movies: how often you laugh, how often you cry, how often you reach for snacks

A favorite from your world: Big Hero 6

『••✎••』

Sebek's preferred genres are: historical films, (period) dramas, musicals with the right nudge

Listen here, musical enjoyers. Here is the most susceptible one to being convinced to join the dark side

One word: Hamilton.

Yes, he'll think the music is nonsensical, BUT he'll also tap his foot to it

AND if you say anything about teaching him something from the soundtrack to surprise Malleus with, he's all ears

He is also very quick to get songs stuck in his head: he's easy prey

All jokes aside, Sebek can be a good watch buddy when his interest is piqued

Not even he can deny when a movie has good plot and characters

He does prefer period dramas, since he has a soft spot for the setting

And historical films: a nerd do be nerding even during movie nights

Some favorites from your world: The Crown, Hamilton, Les Miserables, maybe Oppenheimer but it would be used in his anti-human agenda

『••✎••』

Speaking of Oppenheimer...

Well, let's discuss Barbenheimer.

Everyone went to watch both movies:

Ace went dressed in pink for the both of them

Deuce got confused by the "dresscode" and apologised to you for not knowing about it

Jack and Ortho enjoyed both

Epel insisted he liked Oppenheimer more but he's lying

Sebek cried at the end of Barbie

Grim is the only one who in fully in Oppenheimer's corner

[hard--headed--woman]

I briefly talked about it with someone here and it made me think so much that I had to make a post about it - why don't misandrist men get as much hate as misandrist women ?

They are men who think men are horrible and say it. Yet they do not receive the same amount of hate as a feminist saying "I hate men".

There's an example that I find interesting and that I thought I'd share : some decades ago, a very famous leftist french singer, Renaud, made a song that quickly became very popular and loved. It's called "Miss Maggie" and it basically says that men are trash and that women are superior. The thing is, absolutely everyone praises him for it and loves that song. I guess there are some conservatives and incels who hate it, but the vast majority of the country, men and women, loves it ; people say Renaud is amazing and a genius for writing it and that the song is wonderful. Here is a link if you want to listen to it :

(He also criticizes Margaret Tatcher in that song but I won't talk about it in this post because it's not the point).

Here are some lyrics (with the english translation) just so you understand what I'm talking about :

(Bourgeois women or whores

Who are often the very same

Normal women, stars or uglies

Females of all kinds, I love you

Even to the worst moron

I dedicate these few verses

Born of my disgust for men

And their warrior morality

Because no woman on the planet

Will ever be more stupid than her brother

Nor prouder nor more dishonest)

(Woman I love you because

When sport becomes war

There are no chicks, or very few

In the hordes of fans

Crazy fanatics

Drunk on hate and beer

Defying the morons in blue

Insulting the bastards in green)

(The atomic bomb

Didn't come from a female brain

And no woman has on her hands

The blood of Native Americans.

Palestinians and Armenians

Testify from their graves

That genocides are a male thing

Like SS, bullfighters

In this fucking humanity

Murderers are all brothers

Not a woman to compete)

(Woman I love you, above all, at last

For your weakness and for your eyes

When a man's only strength

Is his gun or his cock

And when the last hour comes

Hell will be full of morons

Playing soccer or war

Playing who pisses the farthest)

Everyone loves that song and Renaud didn't receive any hate for writing it. Now imagine if a woman had written it? Just imagine the amount of hate a female singer would receive if she wrote a song like this. That could ruin her carreer and I am not exaggerating.

Renaud is also known for saying other misandrist things. I remember watching an interview with him, in which he's said that "Women are always there to heal wounds, repair damage, get things done... Unfortunately, there are still too few of them in important positions where they can participate in decision-making", "The oldest form of discrimination is discrimination against women. They are the first group we decided to hate and oppress", "Politicians and religions don't want to let women be more than virgins or whores. They don't want to let them be human beings, women, fulfilled people, with a personality, who work...", "It's not long since women have had the right to vote in France. And what's more, when I see women voting for a man, it gives me the same feeling as if I saw a crocodile going to a leather shop of its own free will...".

And in the comments, absolutely everyone was praising him, calling him a king, an angel and what not. No one to call him names or to tell him horrible things. No one to act as if he's said the craziest thing ever, no one to act as if he committed a crime. Sure some people disagree and insult women, but there is not a lot of hatred against him. Again, a woman would have received a lot of hate if she had said things like that. Just read what men have to say about Delphine Seyrig criticizing the patriarchy and the "indifference of men".

The point of that post isn’t to say that Renaud is The Feminist Ally, that he's perfect and one of the good guys or whatever. I just want to point out that a man criticizing men, saying he hates them, calling out their behaviour (and even saying women are superior!) will never receive the same amount of hate as a woman barely saying "I hate men" or ever way "nicer" things. Sounds like everyone knows why we hate men and even agrees with us deep inside, and just hate when women speak up about it. Sounds like they don't have a problem with misandry but with women 🤷🏽‍♀️

[of-apollo]

heya!! hruuu i saw that youre writting for two of my favourite shows wwdits & good omens which is amazing!! but anywho i was wondering if u could write a platonic fic with child!reader x good omens?

where in the fic the reader takes place as the child of an american diplomat?? ( I FORGOT HIS NAME IM SORRY ) but yeah just the dynamic of nanny crowley raising you and the gardener with the silly teeth teaching u to be good i think that could be a cute fic! even tho the reader is not the antichrist in the end they still cherished the moments they all had together

ofc if u choose to ignore this its totally fine!! have a good day!

Aziraphale and Crowley x Child!Reader - Being raised by the Gardener and the Nanny HC’s

Warnings: Nothing, but one mention of killing a spider.

A/N: Love this idea! Gone for HC’s as I feel they fit the request better. This is the first time I’ve actually written for Good Omens, so I hope it’s not too OOC! Enjoy!

It is very important to note that above all else, even above their little scheme, Aziraphale and Crowley truly do care about you.

They found it quite amusing that when they were employed by your parents, Aziraphale was the one they were slightly suspicious of.

It had never happened before, because he was an angel above all else, so everyone trusted him. Crowley pinned it down to his stupidly goofy appearance.

But, when your parents saw you toddling after the gardener whenever he was at work, he quickly began to grow on them.

Aziraphale is definitely more of a positive influence in your life. The second you start following him around the garden, he lectures you about being kind to plants and animals.

He would quietly miracle a squirrel or a butterfly to brighten your day, and he would take time to learn some real gardening skills to teach you.

You begin to love the garden, and it ends up being the place you go whenever you’re down. You don’t even question why the gardener seems to constantly be there.

When you start getting homework, when you start experiencing the drama of friendship and relationships, the gardener is always there when your parents can’t be.

I think while Aziraphale would take care of you, making concoctions when you’re sick and giving you kind words when you’re sad, he’d definitely teach you the fine art of self-care as well.

While Aziraphale is dedicated, he technically can’t always be there, even if he mostly is. He makes sure you know how to take a breather, make a perfect cup of tea, and choose the perfect book to cozy up with depending on what’s got you down that day.

Crowley on the other hand…

It’s not that he wants you to be absolutely devious, but it is kind of his job to at least guide you vaguely in that direction.

While Aziraphale teaches you how to gently scoop up a spider and drop it outside, Crowley is the first to crush one when he sees it.

I think that you’d definitely take more to Aziraphale than Crowley with him being a friendly gardener rather than a nasty, strict nanny.

Crowley would be very strict on things like homework and chores. Even if he didn’t really care for them himself, he knew they got on your nerves.

So, he’d nag you about them relentlessly. Initially, you obliged, because you were young and scared of your nanny. But, as you grew up, you rebelled, ignoring him until you could get the gardener’s help to complete tasks.

Aziraphale and Crowley definitely argued a lot over this, because Aziraphale why are you helping the evil Antichrist?

Even though Crowley constantly told Aziraphale that he was too soft on you, he certainly had his moments.

Whenever you fell, Crowley would always be there to miracle away whatever scrape you’d gotten before you’d even notice.

While Aziraphale could deal with your emotional pain, Crowley could only deal with the physical. And he was committed to that, even if Aziraphale constantly told him that scrapes did not need a miracle, just a plaster.

When you grow up and they realise you are in fact not the Antichrist, they feel incredibly silly.

But, when they look at you and see parts of themselves, like a love for gardening and a kindness to yourself from Aziraphale, and a sharp wit from Crowley, they feel like they haven’t wasted a single second. It was all worth it for you.

Assuming (or praying at this rate) that there are calmer years for them beyond the future of the show, they would for sure keep in touch with you.

They drop off a bit in your teen years, half because of their own issues, but half to let you live your life without their influences.

But, they definitely make up for lost time eventually, and you become one of their most treasured humans over all of the years they’ve existed.

[maxwell-grant]

You’ll prob wait to answer this after Caped Crusader drops, but: Does making Penguin NOT a white guy drastically change the character? And if so, is that a good thing?

Anonymous asked: So... Thoughts on Oswalda from Batman: The Caped Crusader?

@jcogginsa asked: New Batman show is out, and with it is a new Penguin. Have any thoughts on Minnie Driver's take on the Penguin?

Regarding the first ask, I mean, it really ought to, right? That seems to be part of the point of doing this kind of thing, to change or recontextualize something big and important about a character in a new light. If it wasn't supposed to be some kind of big change, if it wasn't meant to at least be something new or say something slightly different, I'd ask what would be the point of doing it. Don't get me wrong, it's absolutely a thing to do just for fun / variety's sake, but it's not a choice that can just exist in a vacuum, it does matter how and why exactly you're doing it.

There's a couple of things that I'd say make or break this kind of stuff for me, besides like, you know, not removing existing meaningful elements of characters identities, like making Jewish or Romani characters generic caucasian Americans, real basic decency stuff y'know, not a lot to ask here. I think a change like this should at least bring questions to strengthen it, like: If this character is defined by certain traits or saying certain things, how is this interacting with those? Is this strengthening those existing traits and statements, is it providing new ones, or is it weakening them without offering much in return? Questions about how much can you redefine a character and still have that character be recognizable and all that, and of course the actual important questions of, Who is this for? What is being said here? Why was this decision made? And so on.

The example that comes to mind regarding that specificity, and how that can work wonders to breathe new life onto a character, is the MCU take on Namor, as Ritesh Babu elaborated on in a Patreon article

The reason I say I never truly cared for Namor is that while I thought him a great, compelling character in plenty of works I loved, I always felt a lack of emotional connection. He was enjoyable, but I didn't care about him, y'know? There was a connect. Watching Ryan Coogler's Wakanda Forever helped me bridge that disconnect. I finally realized what had been missing for me. It was Emotional Context.

Namor is historically an abrasive character. He's an angry character. He's got fury and rage, and he doesn't suffer fools. He's headstrong and unrelenting. He's an unyielding force. And he's great and fun that way, historically handled by mostly White writers (with rare exceptions, such as Greg Pak). But it was also, for me, an anger and rage and fury framed and constructed in such a way that it could be broad-strokes. It could be anything and everything from the pollution and climate ruination to perhaps some other tragic thing involving someone he cared about.

Ryan Coogler and Tenoch Huerta to me granted the character an emotional context here that clarifies everything he is, and all that shapes his thought. He's not angry at the surface world and its clownshit in abstract. It's not just the anger of a distant warrior-king of the oceans. It's the anger of the colonized, of the Othered.

What Ryan Coogler and Tenoch Huerta did is give him specificity. He's not just a broad-strokes figure in White hands, for White writers to write as an archetypal broad-strokes morally murky angry bastard guy. No, there's a specific history to this guy, there's a cultural specificity and context to his very existence.

And so Namor isn't some weird racially ambiguous/sorta white figure in largely White hands, but is instead an Indigenous Mexican hero and legend. He's a Mesoamerican figure and he's Mayan.

Coogler dispenses with the vagueries and broad-strokes thinking of the comics, and like any interesting creator should, asks good, rational questions. And that specificity, that's really what makes it for me. That's what I was missing. This is an attempt at using genre to speak to truth, to realities and real experiences, which are important to Black and Brown people. It's a far cry from some abstracted away thing to serve a primary White audience and its sensibilities or interests. - Ryan Coogler's Namor and Specificity

An example I'll give, as far as one reinvention that can make sense but I didn't find so interesting: The conception of Deadshot I like, from Suicide Squad (1987) and bits of Secret Six, is heavily informed by him being a privileged rich white man, a morally catatonic and emotionally rotten self-serving piece of shit in large part because of his privileged background and experiences, as well as a guy who's purposefully evoking the image of white western cowboys and providing commentary on their archetype. Deadshot, to me, is heavily informed by his whiteness, by his American elite background, and by his toxic masculinity, and thus the cocktail of what Deadshot is, comments on and speaks to comprises specific things that I think you'd have to approach very very differently if Floyd Lawton is a black man. I think the specificity of what that character is saying or tends to stand for is lost in adaptations that fudge those elements to make him more like the Will Smith version - you can definitely have another kind of meaningful and cool take on Deadshot, but it's a Deadshot who's gonna have to be saying different things, if he is to be saying anything at all - and most of the time, he isn't, and so to me, that context behind Deadshot is lost with not a lot gained in return. Under no circumstances does this mean you shouldn't be allowed to do it, but I feel like if you're dedicated to doing this to an existing character, there should be at least some commitment to what they are and do.

Getting back to that first question, it also really depends on what exactly are you changing. Like regarding the Penguin specifically, is it his race? His gender? His nationality? It's a very broad question to apply a single Yes or No to so I'm gonna say it's kind of both. On one hand, obviously some major aspects of his presentation and origin and defining traits would have to be altered to better correspond to that defining change. On the other hand, he is already extensively defined around his issues with his self-image and his surroundings and how people treat him, a person who is ostracized and Othered because of his looks or his background and where he stands in the city he grows up in. One of the consistent cornerstones of Oswald as a character is that he's trying extremely hard to overcompensate in wealth and class and power partially to override the ability of others to marginalize him over his weight or stature or poverty or disability and so on, in no small part that's what allowed him to take on protagonist status in recent years. If he was just a regular white guy, he'd be Rupert Thorne. Although, on the other other hand, I must stress here that treating marginalized traits as if they are equally interchangeable is how you get the X-Men school of representation, and we simply have do better than that.

I was very intrigued by the idea of turning Oswald into a woman. Fat men are very often shamed and ridiculed due to traits they are perceived to have in common with women, to be a fat man is to be dehumanized and stripped of masculinity and thus stripped of your worth of as man. To be accepted, fat men are forced to overperform masculinity just as fat women are forced to overperform femininity, and that element of overperformance is never not present in Oswald Cobblepot, who essentially lives in drag 24/7. A genderbend take on Oswald could certainly add a whole different meaning to his typical overreaction to jokes about his weight or looks, things that are commonly played as a joke. Fat women get consistently treated like absolute garbage by most people in ways that are different, more pervasive and frankly nastier than the ways fat men are also treated like garbage, and if people didn't treat him like garbage, The Penguin wouldn't be the person they are.

Penguin as a woman is a concept that could force a lot of his traits to demand renewed consideration, and in some ways you could argue he kinda already is feminized. He certainly doesn't get treated as a man the way Batman and the Joker and Bane and Gordon are. He overcompensates extremely hard in that regard, and it doesn't stick, he can act as tough and grizzled as he wants and he will never not be "the fat one", will never not get pushed around by the real man in Gotham, will never not be the unfit and bloated and squishy lesser-man hiding behind the umbrella because, why, he's not man enough to grit his teeth and hash it out with his fists. If we go back to Count Fosco from The Woman in White, we'll find this is something else they share in common:

"Fat as he is, and old as he is, his movements are astonishingly light and easy. He is as noiseless in a room as any of us women. With all his look of unmistakable mental firmness and power, he is as nervously sensitive as the weakest of us. He starts at chance noises as inveterately as Laura herself."

This passage holds the key to Marian’s complex attitude toward the Count; she is at once fascinated and threatened by him. As Marian’s description reveals, he is both alluring and dangerous, not merely because of his increasingly suspicious behavior throughout the narrative, but because he unnaturally exhibits the qualities of both sexes.

Even though Marian does not explicitly identify the Count’s androgyny as the reason for her discomfort with him, the novel’s keen preoccupation with identifying unknown figures by their sex illuminates the anxiety underlying Marian’s description of the Count. The Count complicates those binary categories, and, in true Victorian fashion, his deviance attracts simultaneous fascination and repulsion - Count Fosco and the Androgynous Mystique

He is Oswald Cobblepot, the pathetic little momma's boy, because even his personal tragedies are depicted as lesser, insignificant, not the right kind of cool cinematic masculine tragedy, and he is The Penguin, the eccentric oddly enthusiastic about worthless little things like his favorite animals and trinkets - things that the narrative deems worthless because Oswald is worthless in the literal term: he is worth less than Bruce Wayne, less than Batman, and we watch him as he fights tooth and nail to deny this, whether it's by beating Batman his own way or seeking power to avert his lot in life and stand above all the men that have put him down, or even just seeking villainy as a form of self-actualization, through that perseverance and ability to outmaneuver men so much bigger and scarier, who think they can nail the Penguin while their world is swiped from under them.

It's not for nothing that, in terms of where they stand in Batman's world nowadays, Penguin is practically sharing an apartment with Catwoman and the Riddler, the other 60s camp queens who won't leave banding together even when they can't stand each other. So, yeah, I was extremely curious as to what direction Caped Crusader was gonna lean into with the idea. Could it go wrong and be offensive garbage? Obviously, but I also thought it promised an intriguing new direction, of context that could add or rework so much about his existing traits. I didn't like the name Oswalda, no, but even besides all that I mentioned above, with The Penguin show coming out with it's new take on the character that's all about modernizing and grounding and twisting him around, I thought going big on Classic Penguin, with the top hat and monocle and sword-umbrella and existing in a Golden Age Gotham, and doing a genderflip, was a very solid idea to place opposite of it. So how did I feel about Oswalda Cobblepot?

...It sucked, guys, I'm sorry, I'm really not happy to say it. Caped Crusader's first episode was ASS, and 6 episodes in, while the rest of it has been better (not great, but tolerable, occasionally good even), that pilot was the most stone-faced I've ever been sitting through a Batman thing and frankly I don't even have anything to say about regarding Oswalda. There were tentative beginnings of a take but not actually anything that rounds out into one (and frankly I'd say this Harley Quinn also has that problem to a lesser degree, this show so far has been just really barebones across the board), and frankly I'm not asking for much, I've lived off breadcrumbs before when it comes to Penguin, I'd be good with something if there was something. She isn't remotely a threat to Batman and seems pretty damn dumb, and she gets dealt with on the pilot to make way for Rupert Thorne in a way that kinda really betrays the escalation theme they're shooting for here and it's, guys what else am I supposed to talk about here, seriously?

I don't even like the design that much, it feels like they started from Penguin's head and shoulders and then tried as hard as possible to cinch her waist and slim her down leaving a weird disproportion between her upper body and legs, it looks weird in some shots but I guess you could say that's just the animation being, uh, sub-par to be polite. I guess I like her ruthlessness and that scene where she murders one of her sons, even though that's her being really stupid not noticing the obvious snitch in the room, and it's more so because that was the only moment in the episode where something almost cool happened. I do like her being a cabaret singer, but, man she sounds way too boring for a character with such a distinct way of speaking, if she didn't look like the Penguin from the shoulders up you would never tell that's who this was supposed to be.

I'm sorry that she continues Penguin's bad streak from BTAS, man what a bummer. Still, I have been really enjoying The Batman Audio Adventures lately, it's not like I'm starved for a more classically flavored take on Penguin, so it's only a bummer. I'm open to the idea that she can come back in a later season for a better showing, and she was far from the worst thing about the episode, in fact by process of elimination she was overall the best, but she was the one part I had the most slight hopes for. Oh well.

[evidenceof]

thinking about "I am always glad when the astronauts are safely back to earth, so I would appreciate a call when you are back home and I can share your de-briefing memories of your tour." again...

For context, Dick's letter to Nix (and Grace) talking about their imminent trip to Tibet.

Hello anon! Aaaa I think many of us really cherish that letter—one of the first we read that's actually addressed to Nix. Lol, the first (second, third) time I read it, it made me cry lmaooo. Tenderness, man. Fucks me Right Up. Idk if you're expecting a Winnix ramble but here it goes lol!!

Makes me wonder if it was a reference to something they shared, or if it was just a casual mention of the goings-on of the 80s (fast tracked space exploration and all that, first American woman in space too!). It's such a fond line. Drives me insane any time I remember it and the familiarity of the sentiment. Messes me up a little too thinking about the possibility that they didn't speak much after Dick leaving NJ. Dick writing the letters to Nix (constantly) despite. He just wants to hear from him like he always did, like he'd gotten used to. Dick being so happy just to get that signature from Nix.

God he loved him so very much. Wish he knew the word for it apart from soldierly devotion. But then again, Dick equates love to "understanding" (letter to DeEtta where he blows a fuse for the nth time. He says, I don't know what love is DONT ASK ME!!.) Then goes on to say only his parents understand him, and maybe Harry, which to me levels it with 'love'). Anyway, Dick believes with his whole entire 80 year old chest that he was the only man who truly understood Nix.

This is probably Grace's doing, but I really love how they're (some) of Dick's letters sent out, that isn't Ambrose book related, that were preserved. We see some sent to Spiers re: the book, and none of the ones Dick sent to Harry.

I think more than anything, I just like to imagine them talking on the phone, wrinkled and voices rattling with age. Imagining maybe what Dick feels when it rings and it's Lew (if he presses the receiver closer to his face). And it's the same voice that called him when he got back stateside in '45, when Dick didn't want to see anybody, not even his hometown friends. Back when he couldn't get himself out of his class As and into civvies. Dick, who always wanted to be so sure about everything, picked up the phone and it was Lew asking if he'd come. And suddenly there was no doubt in Dick's mind that he would, even if that meant going against what his father wanted. The only reason he needed was that the thought of seeing Nix was nice when nothing else felt that way.

So I think of him at sixty years old, hearing his best friend's voice over the phone and it sounds a lot like realizing you want to come back home even after you've seen the moon.

I think that's grand.

Reference to DeEtta letter:

Parts of Dick Winters letter to DeEtta Almon dated 10 April 1945

[munchkinmarauder]

So I'm reading What If Wanda Maximoff and Peter Parker were siblings and I find myself disappointed- this book is probably just not for me. Shame I really wanted to like it and I recognise the landmark significance of having a writer of Roma decent finally write Wanda. It's a wonderful thing and I hope it opens more doors for the writer and for Roma and other minority creators to write minority characters. However, reading this I have mixed feelings. I've got some thoughts under the cut (spoilers).

I'll give this book a 4/10 but it's treatment of Pietro and other non American characters has left a bitter taste in my mouth. I'm a massive Pietro fan and a fan of both twins so I may be biased. I hope others can get more out of this book than me. It definitely has it's good points that I can see winning it some fans.

Let's just say this is a YA book that reads very YA. I can definitely see the appeal for fans, especially of Spiderman. Wanda is the main character though little of her lore gets used and her relationships are destroyed. The author does make a genuine and really nice effort to respect and call focus to Wanda's heritage and the disconnect of being an American adoptee.and there are some nice mentions of Django but it all gets undercut by the author harping on about how wonderful Aunt May is for introducing Wanda to him.

I do encourage people to pick this book up and form their own opinions. If you are a fan of the MCU and Spiderman comics you'll probably walk away happy and have mixed feelings as a comic Wanda fan (Quicksilver fans and fans of the twins relationship just save yourself the trouble and not read this book trust me!). Maybe wait till it's cheaper though as it's a lot of money to spend on something you might not like - I'm planning on returning or donating my copy because I walked away feeling cheated.

The book however is very American and Wanda is emphasised to be American. The American characters are largely good and the foreigners with foreign accents largely bad. Other Romani characters are either cameos or evil. If your a fan of Pietro and the twins relationship just don't pick this up.

Basically as long as Wanda has a brother with a similar name to Pietro she'll be fine, her bond with her twin can just be superimposed onto other characters. It negates the importance of one of the most important sibling relationships in comics and reads like Magneto's letter to the twins in Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver (except where the reader believes that Orlando meant for Magneto to be unironically right). It feels a little dirty and like it's there to serve Peter Parker and give him a win rather than Wanda. Anything meaningful that could have been said about the twins relationship is instead given to Peter.

Making Pietro a one dimensional evil twin was a very boaring and very overdone take. Writers love to make Pietro evil despite the characters history and it never has been done well (as has the evil twin trope in general) and has always been immediately walked back in the comics for a reason.

And while I definitely don't think the author intended it this way, having Wanda have zero interest (Pietro is treated terribly by his sister, the other characters and the narrative from the second he appears or is mentioned) and reject her "evil foreign" family in favour of her "wonderful white American" family has some unfortunate implications.

Wanda also rarely accomplishes anything for herself. The 616 Wanda learns magic on her own, immigrates to America with her brother, builds her own community and reclaims a racist name thrown at her. She works hard and everything she accomplished was her own. In this book everything she accomplishes is because of Peter, Ben and May - they find her a Romani community, she doesn't seem it out on her own, they take her to strange who is souly responsible for teaching her magic and tells her everything she needs to do. Wanda is super passive in this book.

No hate to the writer though. I do think their talented and they have acknowledged they know people will be unhappy with some of the takes in the book. I respect what they've created even if I don't personally like it.

https://x.com/MunchkinM17/status/1828490359682298342

[racing-stripes]

heyy i was wondering about the songs

ohhh where to even begin. since you mentioned being interested in milex theories, i'll go through a couple of my fav songs with a focus on talking about milex.

you probably couldn't see for the lights, but you were staring straight at me

this song has long been known (with somewhat beyond reasonable doubt) to be about the lead singer of The Little Flames, of which miles was coincidentally the guitarist of. there's not much to reallyyy prove that it's about miles and not the female lead singer, the latter which he's basically all but admitted to, other than their relationship that was fostered soon after the song was written (which was around 2005).

i also learned via a reddit thread that the Frank Spencer mentioned is a character in a British sitcom called Some Mothers Do 'Av 'Em who is very accident prone. (x) so, that's interesting!

do i personally think it's about miles? no, not particuarily. but i think it's interesting that the love interest of this song is so closely aligned with miles......

what's interesting is that put your dukes up, john is a Little Flames cover. there's not much i want to analyze in this song considering it's not an arctic monkeys one, technically, i do think it's cool and that it's an important step in both the arctic monkey's sound development and alex's and miles' relationship.

now i am of the sort who believe a lot of humbug songs are about miles-- especially coming off the recording of the age of the understatement in 2008. i'm not sure how much of their relationship shifted or was furthered during this time (my tinhatting only goes so far as fantasy and lyric analysis) but i DO believe alex was at least thinking of miles during the writing of humbug in the american desert.

dangerous animals

there is not much evidence in this specific song that lends me to believe it's about miles, i mean it is chock full of she/her pronouns (but when has that Ever stopped anyone's theorizing...) and the reason this song stands out to me is not so much of incriminating lyrics more so it just...evokes some nice images for me.

i am not entirely sure how sensual alex meant to portray his struggles with sleep in this song but Lordy! they sure are. "been fighting with my sheets / and nearly crying in my sleep" ohhh so he's writhing in bed clutching at his sheets with a sheen of tears in his eyes... okay... hm... okay (gets so hard i die)

dangerous animals is a song about being in love with a girl (?) who is unattainable for some reason but still delights in torturing poor, poor alex who follows her (?) like a dog willing to do whatever humiliating thing she (?) asks of him/forces him to do. "sharpen the heel of your boot / and you press it to my chest and you make me wheeze / then to my knees you do promote me." alex is willing and even eager to humiliate himself for this girl (?) and sees his submission as an act of bettering himself, something to be proud of (see "promote me") (gets so hard i die)

BUT GET THIS. and i am pulling in some outside sources here, but to complete my tinhatting, i feel it necessary to mention that the song "too little too late" by miles kane off coup de grace mentions the line "pirouetting in the dark" which i do take as a reference to this song. so maybe miles knows something we don't about dangerous animals. maybe HE is the dangerous animal. it's not much, so i guess we'll never know....

potion approaching

while we're on the topic of stupid theories. i think matt said somewhere this one is a love song to alex's car? i would kill to find the interview again, but the gist was alex had this car which he loved driving and the band joked that potion approaching was actually a ballad about imagining his car as a girl.

but actually: "i've got this ego mechanic / she's always trying to give me vitamins." the vitamins in question are, of course, drugs, and they work as an "ego mechanic" in that they make alex more fun to be around/better at writing (a theme mentioned in My Propeller because that song is not unfortunately about a certain organ).

WAIT I JUST MADE A BREAKTHROUGH IN REAL TIME. i think that the "she" and the "you" are DIFFERENT PEOPLE. i usually assume that the pronouns are used interchangeably but i think i have just discovered something Huge.

the first verse (is about doing drugs, yes, but focus) mentions a "you" that the speaker falls into a kiss ("tide took me to your mouth") and also maybe further than a kiss ("and then swept me back down to your palms") with and the speaker goes "oohhh. okay this is all i want to do, this is the person i want to be with" (the meaning of "yours is the only ocean")

but THEN in the second verse the "she" is mentioned, the "ego mechanic." okay. maybe vitamins aren't drugs but like Normal Pills ... to make him stop wanting this other person ... my evidence here is "if i could be someone else for a week / i'd spend it chasing after you / cause she's not shattering my attitude."

the speaker .. wants to be someone else .. but currently he's confined by the "she" character who is "shattering [his] attitude"

"no matter how she folds the potion / yours is the only ocean"

hey. wait. it makes perfect sense that the "she" is trying to control his desire somehow, but the "you" is still the only person he cares for.

hm. this could be milex if you thought about it.

the end bit: "oh, but if we're gonna escape though / we really ought to think it through / would you like me to build you a go-kart?" has long been laughed at for its seeming randomness but actually it's NOT random. the speaker wants to escape with the "you" because the situation with the "she" is so controlling ... and UNLIKE in dangerous animals, he doesn't want to be controlled, he wants to be free on a go-kart with his lover.

could be milex. you know. if you wanted to think abt it that way.

fire and the thud

aside from being possibly my favorite arctic monkeys song, i believe this one, too, is about miles.

THE VERY FIRST LINES describe a welcome chance to the status quo: "you showed me my tomorrow / beside a box of matches / a welcome threatening stir." and given that this is a love song (you'll see) i think this is describing a welcome end to one relationship and a welcome start of another; a stirring up of affairs. romantic.

"my hopes of being stolen / might just ring true" again, speaker wants his lover to burn the boring status quo future, he wants to be stolen away.

"depends who you prefer" it seems like both alex and his lover are in relationships, alex is wondering if his lover (miles, lol) will drop his girl to be with him. if alex too drops his girl. seems they're at an impasse...

immediately after, we get "if it's true you're gonna run away / tell me where, i'll meet you there" more running away, like in potion approaching. these two lovers have to be somewhere away from "prying eyes" (will mention more later).

next two stanzas (?) are questioning if the speaker's lover feels the same way he does.

and GODD. GOD. some of the greatest lines ever written "the day after you stole my heart / everything i touched told me / it would be better shared with you." GODDDDD. i don't even have any analysis just ruminate on how beautiful this is for a moment please.

the rest of this verse just describes various BEAUTIFUL haunting gorgeous incredible details about the speaker's pining. the soup, the books, the mark (a bruise that takes a while to heal, perhaps? sounds sexy).

"will the teasing of the fire / be followed by the thud?" alex wonders if this intense pining/foreplay of emotions will come to a concrete conclusion. will they be in a relationship, or will they be doomed to dance around each other, never quite saying how truly infatuated they feel?

"in the jostling crowd / you're not allowed to tell the truth" okay my tinhat is firmly ON for this one. why wouldn't the truth of this relationship be allowed to be disclosed to the public? unless... it's gay. (pride month gasps)

seriously, i can't imagine the hold up about this clear infatuation becoming public unless there was a particularly unsanitary connotation about the type of relationship it was.

"and the photo booth's a liar" this is a JUMP and i admit that. it's a LEAP and a half. but it really seems like whatever front alex is putting up in his current relationship to save face is actually untrue. he's a "liar" for pretending to be happy in his relationship.

"and there's a sharpened explanation / but there's no screaming reason to require" a bit funny! when you think about it. it seems like alex Could explain himself but is choosing not to, which is ironic because it feels like the whole song is describing and putting into great detail the "sharpened explanation" of his infatuation with his lover and therefore his lies to his current relationship.

"i'd like to poke them in their prying eyes / with things they'd never see / if it smacked them in the temples." like a lot of tbhc and, honestly, a lot of arctic monkeys songs in general, i think the vague "them" is simply the public sticking their nose into alex's relationships and songs (much like i am currently doing). there's an explanation, but people just Wouldn't Get It if they heard it. (i feel like i might get it, alex! i'm with you thus far!). again, could tie back to the gayness, if you were so inclined to believe so, because that is a harder thing to explain to the public then, say, a happy hetero relationship. maybe. if you were so inclined.

jump to golden trunks

"when true love takes a grip, it leaves you without a choice." i think this pits "true love" against some other ideal in which it then ruins. it seems "true love" is a problem, something unplanned, uncalled for, unwanted. hurts to think about.

i will drive myself INSANE talking about this song. every time i listen to it i pull my tinfoil tighter around my little cone hat. anyone talking about politics or donald trump are sooo off center. the point of the song, the emotion is all Right There.

first off, it's not about american politics. alex says (among other hilarity) "The whole song there is about a conversation between myself and someone that I’m falling for. That’s not the leader of the free world in golden trunks, by the way. The character in the song, who I’m singing to, that’s something from her imagination, that may have come out of her sense of humour." (yes i took this from genius x) and i know wrestling is Big and Many People Like Wrestling but the leader of the free world in golden trunks is such. a fucking. miles thing. to say.

again, a link that is really so slim but if you think about it too long your chest will start to hurt: "and in response to what you whispered in my ear" GODD these fools are always whispering in each other's ear. what was that quote? can't for the life of me find a credible link to it, but allegedly:

nme: what sort of things do you say to each other onstage?

alex: dark, twisted and very private things.

miles: you'd think we were freaks if you knew some of the things we talk about onstage. we talk about weird things that don't really make sense to anyone else.

again, allegedly, this is from 2008. and we all KNOW their habit of whispering to each other at all times on stage, maybe at some point (i'd hazard in 2016) there came the bizarre statement of "fantasizing" about each other..

then there are three words in this song that break my freaking heart: "in the daytime."

and FUCKKK ME that hurts. because if you take it in the context of the "fantasy" it really just reads like alex has these enduring fantasies, bred from whispers in his ears, and they happen to him in daytime and they're real and he can't ignore them. go listen to golden trunks. listen to it RIGHT NOW and PAY ATTENTION to the guttural HURT that exists in these three words. and it's never been played live. i'm sure some of that has to do with the instruments/synth-y stuff going on with it.. but GOD those lyrics are insane and they hurt me.

it's just describing an affair that never came to be, or never came to exist in the full extent that alex wishes it would've. even if it's not about miles, this song still hurts me.

and again, there's the fire and the thud -esque "the public would never understand the truth of these feelings":

"bendable figures with a fresh new pack of lies / summat else to publicize / i'm sure you've heard about enough."

alex is SICK of the fakeness and lies of his profession and, as the song implies, his personal relationships. the song assumes that who alex is singing to can relate to these struggles. he wishes for the simpleness of his fantasy, which is completely vague and unspecified, but which seems to be the solution of all his heartache and the problem of "true love's grip."

could be milex. what do i know. lol. pulls the tinfoil tighter and sets it carefully on top of my head.

-

okay. in truth, i have a lot more. i didn't even GET to the jeweler's hands which i also believe is about miles. and there's a big long post that i want to make about there'd better be a mirrorball, which i will probably make separately. there's also a separate post i have Got to make about batphone and why i believe it's such an incredible song. lmk if those sound cool to you as well.

i hope this was somewhat of what you were looking for! i tend to ramble, but thank you for the opportunity of letting me talk. let me know if you have any questions (because Believe Me i would like to continue talking about this it's like my fav topic).

FEEL FREE TO REQUEST SPECIFIC SONGS !! LIKE IF THERE WAS ANY SPECIFIC SONG YOU WANTED TO TALK ABOUT !! SIMPLY PUT IN AN ASK IF YOU WANT AND I WILL TALK ABOUT IT WITH YOU !! IF YOU WANT !!

[rodolfoparras]

This has nothing to do with writing but as an almost licensed educator I do want to raise awareness regarding the meme where it’s like Americans only have multiple choice tests they’re so dumb while Europeans have to discuss all options, reason around them, weigh pros and cons etc

I want to say that this isn’t an accidental choice. It is very commonly discussed that multiple choice test are bound to prevent the individual from actually reflecting on their answers, you just teach your brain that one answer is right one answer will get you a point and that’s that

What this does is that you develop a black and white thinking meaning to you there’s always either a good or an evil side nothing in between you also put certain emotional attachment to these sides because of course if you see something as good you’re bound to love and praise it and if you see something as evil you’re bound to detest it

Now in US you select Presidents , and who picks those presidents ? Citizens and how do those citizens see on things? They have a black and white thinking

This means that you’re very easily affected by propaganda, you are always subconsciously looking for a good president or a bad president that’s why these presidents and their teams run smear campaigns on each other , because they strive to be either labeled as good or bad by you

Now not everyone stays in this black and white thinking but what often happens is that people will be like “oh neither of these presidents can be labeled as just good or as just bad so I won’t vote at all” that’s exactly what they want you to do, they want you to take no action at all

Now if you look at other examples like the ongoing genocide in Palestine, this black and white thinking does a lot of harm, one side is labeled good (through propaganda) and the other side is labeled bad and when you ask people why do you think Palestinian people are the bad guys you’ll hear arguments like “well hamas is taking hostages” there’s no reflecting around why they’re taking hostages, it’s once again this black and white thinking where you need to label something as just good or as just bad, and if all you hear on the news is hamas is taking hostages of course you’re bound to think Palestinian people are bad and the other side is good

Or take another example: gray characters, most recent case was with baby reindeer where a lot of americans would be like “am I the only one who thinks Donny isn’t all that innocent in this situation ” or “am I the only one who doesn’t know how to feel about donny ” that’s bc they went in looking for a good guy and a bad guy and they couldn’t comprehend the fact that the lines aren’t always clearly cut out and because of that they do not know what emotions to assign

The point of this rant is that if you’re an American do try to get out of this black and white thinking, because by staying in it you’re basically being controlled and played by the government and don’t allow that mostly because hello you have all the resources in the world to get out of this way of thinking and because this way of thinking causes so much harm

Anyways that’s it have a wonderful weekend everyone

[luminouslywriting]

Chapter 34—Epilogue (Mastermind)—MOTA Fic

A/N: And so we have reached the end of the road with Mastermind. It has been a joy to write and so much fun to share with all of you! If you have any further questions about this fic, fill free to drop them in my inbox! My requests will remain open for post-war prompts or scenes you want to see....and I have a few I'm working on in my inbox! That being said, I'm hoping that I'll be able to work through some of my requests in my inbox this week for x readers. It's also my birthday on the 28th, so I'm looking forward to hopefully spam posting a lot of request stuff that day too! Enjoy and as always, let me know what you think!

District Attorney Ruth Sharpe-Rosenthal slipped peacefully away in her sleep in 2007—two weeks before her husband Robert Rosenthal passed away.  The two of them enjoyed 62 years of marriage together—full of many passionate court cases, affectionate arguments, and a desire to serve and help those around them. 

Directly following the war, Ruth became a legal aid in helping the immigration process of Jews who wanted to leave Europe.  She played a major part in helping set up different agencies and charities in helping those affected by the powers of Nazism to get back on their feet and find a community of support.  

Ruth enjoyed a wonderful career that she was able to share with her husband—and he supported her in all of her work and goals.  The two of them lived close to their families in Brooklyn and were often found at the Sharpe’s or Rosenthal’s for dinners.  For several years after the war, Ruth struggled with infertility issues from the lingering damage done by her ex-fianceé Timothy.  

As such, she and Robert Rosenthal adopted three children—Anthony, Lila, and Sara.  They were surprised after several years to discover that Ruth had fallen pregnant—after several previous miscarriages, this was a miracle baby by all senses of the word.  She gave birth to a son—and they named him Abe after their favorite brother. Abe Rosenthal was born deaf and Ruth and Robert began learning American Sign Language to better help Abe be able to access more opportunities. 

Robert Rosenthal became a steady advocate for the Deaf Community and between him and Ruth being active participants in the community, they found a good footing for their youngest son.  

Abe Sharpe, on the other hand—he finally got his high school diploma.  He ended up actually going to MIT (go figure, I suppose).  While there, he connected with the younger sister of none other than John Brady (who was not pleased about the turn of events).  The two of them enjoyed a short engagement before getting married.  Abe went on to be hired by NASA and worked on the moon landing with his brilliant mind—all the while helping his wife with their two boys and one daughter. 

Jonah Sharpe returned as a hero from the Pacific.  Interested in bettering things for veterans, he immediately went into psychology and began working on helping veterans readjust to coming home and how they could deal with their trauma.  He spent a long time dealing with alcoholism after the war, but eventually found a nice Jewish girl and settled down.  They had one son together and lived very happily.  

Alice Sharpe went on to raise a beautiful family of four children.  Her husband inherited Thomas Sharpe’s store and they stayed close to help take care of Adaline and Thomas when they got older.  She and Ruth eventually became close together over the years and bonded over missing Sarah.  

John Sharpe hadn’t the slightest clue of what he wanted to do with his life.  He spent a long time in college before going to Medical School.  He served in the Korean War and then after returning, he became a doctor.  He returned to work for the military, primarily performing life-saving surgeries on the soldiers he admired and loved so much.  He met a WASP and fell in love.  The two enjoyed a whirlwind romance wherein they eloped (he cited that Ruth had done it first, so his family really couldn’t be all that mad at him).  Although they have no children, the two are happily enjoying their retired lives in the countryside.  

Mary Sharpe had a lot of big dreams and ideas—and given the fact that most of her family had traveled, she decided that she wanted to do the same.  She attended an art school in Italy before returning home to become an architect.  Mary was later introduced to a friend of Abe’s from off of Thorpe Abbotts and the two of them are now married and have five children (much to Abe’s chagrin). 

Liesel Braun continued learning English.  She fell in love with literature and learning and was eventually accepted into Cornell University.  Liesel went on to become a writer and acclaimed author, sharing her story of survival with any who would listen.  It was in one of her English classes that she met a former paratrooper and fell in love.  The two moved to Long Island and have three children.  

Sveta Braun began working closely with her Aunt Adaline.  She became a renowned seamstress and took over Adaline’s clientele.  She made dresses for all sorts of people—including Priscilla Presley, Jackie Kennedy, and Marilyn Monroe.  Sveta eventually founded a fashion company and chose to retire quietly in Manhattan, enjoying Broadway and the theater in her freetime.  

David Aderman went to school with Abe at MIT—and then dropped out to find other work.  Ruth connected her cousin with her friend Lewis Nixon and he ended up working at Nixon Nitration Works before attending a trade school and opening up his own company in New York.  He fell in love with one of Mary’s friends from school and married her shortly after.  The two are still in New York and have two children. 

Yosef Sharff never remarried.  His beloved Magda remained in a picture on the mantle for the rest of his life.  He lived with Thomas and Adaline until the day that he died—a wintery day in 1960—and though his time on this earth was short, he left a powerful impact in the community and within his own family.  

Ruth and Rosie’s families still get together every year for birthdays, family reunions, passovers, festivals, and to see one another.  And every time that they do, Abe Sharpe takes the credit for pulling all of this together.  And really—he truly does.  How else to explain the fact that Ruth and Robby had found their way to one another through a whole war and through the most impossible of circumstances?  How else to explain the miraculous survival of their family members and friends?  How else to explain the profound beauty that was their story?

Finé

[theninth09]

So I have been in the whole Thiam things quite a while how and there is specific tag that got me wondering and it is the Jewish Theo Raeken tag the reason bcs where does this coming? Is this just a tag that an author like just created and ppl thinks “oh hey! This is really interesting!” And decide so write more about? Or this there any specific theories behind it????

hi yeah, that theo is Jewish is a headcanon. im pretty sure that its theoceanismyinkwell (they're under the same username on tumblr too!) who came up with that since most of the fics under that tag are by them! i dont know much about this headcanon, but theoceanismyinkwell is actually Jewish themselves, so if you have more questions about that, maybe try sending them an ask instead :)

in canon we dont really get to know much about theo's religion or ethnicity. theo just gets read as a white guy, which, well, he is. cody christian, his actor, is actually indigenous (his mother is penobscot) but teen wolf in general likes to cast actors that are racially ambiguous. froy gutierrez, nolan's actor, is of caxcan (indigenous to mexico) and mexican descent. victoria molores, hayden's actress, is of mexican descent as well. kelsey chow, tracy's actress, is chinese (im ignoring her claiming she's native american bc that's a whole controversy and im white european myself so its Definitely not my place to comment on that.)

my point is, all the characters ive listed can get read as white if you really want to. they're just racially ambiguous enough that you can ignore any non-white features they may have. and with the way teen wolf likes to be racist in general (the way they treat literally all of their Black characters, the way they treat kira and the incredibly poor way they handle their inspirations of asian and native american mythology) this feels... interesting to me. its definitely a choice they made.

sorry, i got of track. the racism in teen wolf makes me incredibly angry. canonically, theo mentions once that he's an atheist in s6ep9 when the sheriff threatens to shoot him "until god won't even recognize him" to which theo says "im an atheist. fire at will." if hes just always been an atheist or if his time underground possibly made him stop believing in higher beings- who knows. i think its a very fun tidbit of information about him since his name, theodore, means "gift of god." how ironic. (heres a post where i briefly talk about that btw)

anyway. that theo is Jewish is just a hc, and not an actual theory as far as i am aware! its definitely fun though. since we dont really know a lot about theo, especially his childhood and his life post-canon, i think giving him these kinds of hcs is so cool. adding aspects to his character to further explore him.

[irenespring]

Rewatching Bones and the season 1 writing is sure something. There are a lot of scenes where I notice writing...areas for improvement...similar to the ones I find in my own writing, which is weird to see in a professional show.

And s1e21 is so interesting to me. At first I thought it was actually very brave/progressive to have the plot twist be that the tragically suffering Brave Soldier Team assassinated a family of civilians. It was especially surprising because after most of the dialogue around the war could have been pulled by from a DoD press release. Hodgins, a conspiracy theorist, is the only firm anti-war perspective. He states his straw-man arguments and his big Character Building Moment is when he "finally" shuts up about the injustices of the war. So having Hodgins validated by the soldier team's big hero action being a war crime seemed very brave.

But then as the episode went on I got the impression that using the war crime plot twist actually made the episode an especially clever piece of propaganda. By including the war crime, the show can't be accused of ignoring civilian casualties. They get points from the liberals in the audience, while still using every trick they have to exonerate the soldier who killed the civilians and the US military as a whole.

Charlie, the young soldier who killed the family and was later killed by friendly fire is portrayed as: young, inexperienced, panicky, undertrained, and arrogant. His actions are waved away as just a mistake by a freaked out kid. Surely, a proper soldier who received complete military training and knew not to charge forward and instead wait for a command from his superior would never have killed those civilians, right? So in that way, the civilian deaths were not the military's fault. The military's image takes a hit for not properly training the kid, but they couldn't have been expected to correct his temperament, of course. War is war, it isn't the US' fault. It's frankly an extraordinary writing feat given that Charlie was literally wearing a uniform, killing the family with his government-assigned weapon, and acting in a United States military operation. Just in case you weren't convinced, the writing moves on VERY quickly from the deaths of the family. They have like five minutes of mention, tops. After that the show goes back to the REAL problem here, who is killing Americans to cover up this unfortunate accident.

Additionally, the military is seen as a wonderful force for justice. An ally to those looking to expose its dirty secrets. You know---the opposite of what would actually happen. Based on real events, the United States would classify any information the Jeffersonian team reveal and demand their secrecy. But when Booth shows up to arrest a high-ranking officer in a civilian court, the central military authority figure says "we are cooperating fully with Agent Booth, [the officer] will not disgrace us." It's a line so stilted and unrealistic that I almost laughed. The line gets a lot of emphasis in the scene, for good reason. It's the big propaganda message distilled: the United States military is an ethical force that makes mistakes but is always acting in the service of truth and justice (as they say in Chernobyl: "our goal is the happiness of all mankind"....in that show it's meant to be an ironic statement about government failure and cover-up, but in this episode I could imagine it being said earnestly, word-for-word). Thus, people who go against Truth and Justice---by killing civilians or covering up those civilian murders---are either outliers or traitors.

It creates a separation between the tragedies of war and the US government. The final theme is what I imagine the US military desperately wanted liberals to pivot to: war bad, US military good. As long as you don't think too hard about why the war started and was happening, you too can oppose the war but still fall in line and stay the fuck out of our way! Therefore the seemingly subversive plot-line ends up fusing nicely with the earlier rhetoric about the Iraq war being justified and any protest against it being disrespectful to the troops.

So in the end, s1e21 pulls of a very impressive stunt: they use a fictional war crime committed by the US military as a propaganda tool for the US military. It works because the whole episode is built to divide the reality of an action from the perpetrators of said action. Really a shining example of taking the concept of passive voice and running with it. Kudos to the writing team, a very interesting example of poli sci cognitive dissonance in the early-mid 2000s.