#it’s like ‘latinx’ literally what is the point

[lindalofbroome]

original sketches

DELTORA FASHION CONCEPT ART V2

hello i have finally coloured some rough sketches of some deltoran fashions, a redraw of some really old sketches from ages ago.

im a pretty amateur concept artists and i hate designing clothes so truly was a challenge for me hahah BUT it has given me plenty of time to think of headcanons. im not sure what i've already posted about or not so im just gonna go ahead and rant

these characters were originally just models for me to draw the clothes on, so i didn't need to draw a new person every time; although in some of my earliest sketches of different people groups i did a bunch of people. but naturally these characters have developed a little and some of them are my beloved adin-era OCs <3

[about 4,500 words]

⬜ JALIS

since the jalis are reknowned for their warrior prowess and their signature gold armour, i thought it'd be neat that even if when they're not wearing the full set, they are always wearing their arm guards. it's a sense of pride and identity, they probably receive them as a rite of passage into adulthood. not every jalis is a knight, but they value a heart of courage and great feats and they all have them, and would wear them always (or at least special occasions if one prefers not).

i headcanon that jasmine was gifted her own set of arm guards as an expression of their respect and admiration of her. her relationship with glock grew so much and was cut off, but she earned her "heart of a jalis" and we didnt get to see much of jasmine and gers together, but theres plenty of time post-DQ3. i think my jasmine and the jalis thoughts should be a separate post though, otherwise this post will never end 😂

i dont imagine that the jalis had special party clothes, i think they just turn up in their usual clothes and get drunk and dance their hearts out maybe start a brawl thats none of my business

i cant remember why i've been giving them this geometric sort of pattern tbh. i think i drew someone at some point and wanted it to look different to mcbride's design but im not sure if i like it or not. the plus is that i can make diamond motifs though!!

i also cant really remember how my brown skin gold hair came to be 🤔🤔 wait backtracking i think what happened is that i decided to draw del people as black latinx inspired, so it wasn't that big a step to make jalis also dark skinned since they're both in the south (deltora geography is weird tho so like it's not that deep) and then i think i made them blonde as i "why not??" situation but tHEN i thought maybe it's connected to their jalis gold?

my headcanon is that their armour is made of a unique metal that can only be found in diamond territory, it's super hard, tough, and light etc. so maybe whatever is In The Ground is also in them and their blood and shows in their hair????

🥳 fun fact 🥳 wasn't until i had to draw steven and glock side by side that i had realised what i'd done?? i.e. steven canonically has brown skin gold hair too¹. which now forces me to think about whether it should be a coincidence (like it is) or shall i headcanon that steven and nevets' father was jalis² 🤔 ¹ pretty sure it's about the dichotomy, to show contrast but connection between the brothers. i have many steven and nevets thoughts but that should also be another post ² i am.

🟩 DREAD GNOMES

these characters are adin-era, so unfortunately this would be when the gnomes still hunt the kin. whats weird is that i realised that i was picturing the caramelly brown fabric that this gnome is wearing was the kin pelt and not the big furry parts?? i usually picture the kin as more like velvetty. idk what the thicker fur parts would be though?? literally any other animal i guess 😅 i dont know it doesn't make sense and it's only occurring to me right now i shall have to think about it lmao

anyway made them green because why not. maybe they come in different colours idk. this gnome is pre-gellick so does go out in the sun, gellick-era gnomes would be waaaaay more paler they probably looked white. this could be similar to the jalis and like theres something in the grounddd

gla-thon claims that the dread gnomes knew that lesser gems had weaker but the same powers of the great talisman gems (sots), but im not sure if they knew it before adin. would be interesting if they did 🤔 and how they figured it out?? (side note but now im wondering about how withick knew what to write about the gems??) would imply that if they got the great emerald than they could deduce there are others surely. unless they thought it was a freak accident/miracle. anyway we know they love gems and gold etc etc so they obviously decorate themselves with heaps of jewellery

triangle motifs in homage to their mountain 💚

i gave them a sort of war paint ritual. i'm not sure if they all do the same markings, but this one was specifically to symbolise a bow and arrow (arrow going up the nose). you can see it a bit better here lol. i also decided that sometimes they wear it for purely cosmetic purposes. im not sure what the substance is exactly though. i think in my head i was imagining something similar to kohl, but maybe not.

🥳 fun fact 🥳 bre-tak and az-zure are lesbians (i make the rules)

🟦 MERE

oooooh baby this is my guy my babygirl my everything

okay so i think this headcanon developed recently when i last drew sky of rithmere and i thought that mere superstition encouraged them to wear their charms in random spots to avoid them cancelling each other out. it could be construed to be they were inspired by the night sky and the pattern of the stars perhaps. this led them to prefer asymmetrical fashions, mostly prominent in the armour i put badr in

🥳 fun fact 🥳 badr means "full moon" 👀

i think i originally decided the mere had leather armour just to give them something different iirc but the mere characters we see are usually the lithe, speedy, crafty type, so maybe light, mobile armour does work for them lol. anyway the main reason is that i had the image of studded leather, and i was like ohohoho STARS

i generally think of them with muted colours but sometimes they have a bold blue for their prized garmants. like zillah and co, the leaders of rithmere in adin's time were described with bright blue and starry cloaks. (i checked the wiki just to check zillah's name lol and apparently it's actually canon they have leather armour?? so not sure why i thought otherwise) anyway i do currently have minecraft brain but i did vaguely remember that people made ultramarine pigment from grinding lapis lazuli into a powder and im not sure if thats something the mere would do or if there's some strong blue dyes they can get from plants or something native to their territory 🤔

actually im liking that idea now? it would be incredibly time-consuming and labour-intensive but that would add to its value?? real world lapis lazuli has a horrible yield rate of 1kg lapis to 30g of pigment apparently, but it's a strong pigment (unless i misunderstand). alternative name for ultramarine is "permanent blue" apparently so. anyway ultramarine irl is more of a paint pigment, but in roddaverse maybe the mere make a lucky blue dye to use on cloaks and scarfs and shawls etc for good fortune?? me frantically checking that i put badr and luisa's wedding garb in bold blue lmAO oh i did but it's a little muted. they mix in oils and stuff to make the paint, so it doesnt seem like a stretch that they can mix different ingredients or ratio to make a cloth dye (to my very amateur understanding).

so im imagining now that they have a special (probably secret within the mere) process to create bright blue thread speckled with white (also gold to me. im pro deltora lapis with gold) and weave it into their beautiful starry night fabric. the amount of labour and the use of their prized lapis lazuli makes it very special, and maybe some people think it's the lapis that makes the fabric lucky or maybe some people think it's the work of love and time that makes it lucky, maybe both.

🥳 fun fact 🥳 i forgot that "bless your lucky stars" is like a real saying until recently lol

a starry cloak is probably something only the really rich could afford, but i think that they are more like heirlooms and states of office? im not sure if these pieces are things that one would purchase or something they would receive. bit hard to imagine people doing it for free but maybe it's one of those staple things that they revere and everyone else works to support them as well etc like the cooks in noradz are prized. idk. but yeah like a poorer family couldn't get a new one, but they would have one that has been in their family for generations you know? and i think that there would be something about like. idk youre meeting up with your doctor or something and youre nervous and you put on your family's best clothes (the most lucky ones) and maybe youre cynical about the whole good fortune stuff but there's something comforting about wearing the cloak your mother wore and your grandmother and your great grandmother wore, who also had to do such things. something something gives you the confidence to make your own luck because youre no longer pessimistic and allowing avoidable mistakes to happen

this means that the mere giving adin a cloak was a REALLY big deal because they definitely dont just go throwing those around and they would probably only give it to an outsider in trade for a steeeeeeeeeeeep price. which of course means that there would be knock offs with bad quality dye. lmao thats perfect actually. like 10000% there would be merchants in rithmere trying to sell cheaper versions to people that are expensive but still affordable to the average person. some would be different shades of blue, but the more crafty might have dyes that are strong but not lasting.

oh also i headcanon that palace fashion was a conglomerate of aspects from all the tribes but this should be it's own post i think. but i just remembered that i put gold thread in badr's braids in the formal wear sketch. i did that to tie in with the veins/flecks of gold (technically pyrite) in irl lapis lazuli. as such, people at del palace were inspired to weave gold into their hair too.

also gives me another thing to ship badr and luisa lmao. badr can wear some gold and luisa can wear some blue as a treat for me <3 moon and stars ocs beloved

🟨 DEL

alright. okay so del is definitely very white western patriarchal coded (most just a bias of living in that type of society i reckon) but it sucks and i'm passionate about making del NOT that. i think i've said this a million times now but this should be it's own post too, but most succinctly del is a very vibrant, curious, and daring sort of culture (e.g. their recklessness, exploration, trading). they were already marrying non-deltorans before adin (i imagine that some might have dared to marry outside of del, but it would have been way more politically complex so it was rarer and often kept quiet and rural). people of del were moving to other countries (like dorne) and people were probably moving to del, so del is definitely a big mix of different people and languages and superstitions and stuff.

but anyway i wanted to set a sort of base for before that. i've had art on the wip pile for YEARS about this and i'd flesh this out properly when it's done lol (hopefully we see that day) but since the topaz has the power to summon spirits, i really wanted to develop an aspect of del culture around that? i was inspired by Día De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) and i still want to do some more in depth research and explore it more properly, but i like the idea that del will celebrate their lost loved ones life, coming together to remember, if they were lucky the got to see and even talk to their spirits. maybe pre-talisman they did know about topaz properties and they had a big deposit of gems that they would wheel out for the festival and the huge pile under the full moon would be enough to allow the spirits and people to interact? anyway this is a longwinded explanation of why my sketches of del fashion could be latinx inspired.

circle motifs in homage to the moon. the trim decoration on luisa's scabbards are based on moon phases :D

i also arbitrarily decided that del people love swishy clothes. they're all about the drama of cloaks and twirling in sundresses etc it's fun. not sure if i will actually follow through with that lol or maybe that can just be luisa.

🥳 fun fact 🥳 i think hearing luisa laugh would heal me

there's no particular reason for why i've been drawing a lot of del people as black, other than maybe spite lol. i think i drew jasmine and that got the ball rolling. del is a blank enough slate that they can be anything. im tired of white people being the front runners asldkjfhalsdf. bUT again del is multicultural, so there isn't a particular look for anyone in del. being del is more a state of mind and being part of community i think. you move to del and you participate in their society in one way or another and boom youre del now they adopted you.

🌈 PLAINS

hiran attire inspired by french aristocratic fashion. i cant remember who posted about it but pretty sure this was something that circulated around the fandom at least a little bit at some point.

added some subtle rainbow to harlow's outfits because he's the strong silent type. but i suppose there are so much more gaudier and extravagant outfits.

i was going to say this was just hira fashion and not like, rural plains fashion but i guess this is the same for all of them. it's just like a general direction for what someone might wear.

the swirly patterns?? i dont know. i drew them when i did adin's pre-battle speech as the last supper but i dont think there's a particular reason. i remember that i was trying to do something unique because lief recognises the cup in the city of rats as the same/similar to the one in noradz, so there had to be something to be recognisable lol but i probably just did it this way because it's relatively easy to doodle, just takes a bit of time.

🥳 fun fact 🥳 harlow was a cook before the shadow invasion. out of desperation, he and many others had to train to defend hira. he's big with natural balance and reflexes so he excelled and is a pretty adept warrior, but he will always think of himself as a cook first, warrior second.

now the armour!! freshest headcanon piping hot. yesterday when i was colouring i was sitting there like wow you look like a tin can man and you are so boring. we went from pretty colours to blank. im almost certain the hiran soldiers were described as silver with white plumes, so i was planning on doing that but they had intricate details on their armour because they are Extra, so it has the swirly patterns you can see on harlow's coat.

but then suddenly i was like. what if. pearlescent.

and honestly i loved it so much i didnt care i was setting myself up for some difficult work ahead lmao. but my general idea was that they're armour looked like it was silver, but if the light catches it at the right angle it exposes the rainbow in it. most of these headcanons i've had baking for at least a year, but this is very new so i dont any hard details yet. kira mentioned enamel or ceramic and lowkey interested in having a look into that so that theres another armour material. maybe it's gonna be like special jalis gold and special plains silver. maybe something else. i also just remembered bismuth exists (same boat as gold as very heavy and soft) but i think maybe it's too loud, i think im liking the more subtle pearlescent thing aLTHOUGH it's a good metallic rainbow reference ���� maybe there is an esteemed plains warrior with a rainbow sword

ANYWAY pearlescent armour really hit my heart because oh my god once upon a time the plains had a shore and they could visit the sea,,,, lowkey ocean vibes without an ocean [screaming crying cat spinning in a void.gif]

🥳 fun fact 🥳 i have NO idea what food harlow has made. i think i had ratatouille on the brain at the time????

🟥 RALADS

⚠ PROPAGANDA ALERT ⚠

ruby territory best territory. ruby symbol of happiness. warns of danger AND antidote to poison. double helpful. ralads are so sweet and so smart. architectural and engineering marvels. living in harmony with the land and beasts. D'OR!!! manus and nanion friendship underrated and so special to me. horse girls. AND. broome. god theres so much i could say about broome that i cant say anything. anyway you guys know im normal about broome yes of course. separate post etc etc

i think technically this is a headcanon but it's not that big a stretch surely but as above i always picture ralads as in harmony with nature. never take more than they need, know how to work with not against, theyre not the main attraction but an equal part of the bigger picture.. this isn't even about how smart they are with engineering and their perfectly round houses with bricks that are cut perfectly. im thinking about their knowledge of their world is so strong and wide and diverse. they have the most vibrant and potent dyes and pigments around, they have the most colourful fabrics and clothes around. the plains has many colours but it can't compete, and they have different styles. i think that the hirans would trade for the dyes though (maybe undercutting pre-adin, maybe more equal post-unification). i think that they would also have a pretty decent blue dye but it is still inferior to mere lapis lazuli blue. it is probably a dye that could be used for a mid range mere garment?

maybe it's the anime fault but i do usually imagine ralads as barefoot but i also drew iris with construction tools and just the idea of ralads walking around a construction site barefoot was not fun to me. but it could be a hobbit tough soles situation. anyway i drew some shoes so i had a vague reference if i wanted to draw ralad shoes.

obviously had a problem drawing warrior attire for a non-war race. but i thought what if i leaned into the stories the hirans tell about how the scouts and soldiers they send into the ralad wilds never returned and were often found dead with broken bones or whatnot. definitely big watching but never seen vibes imo. so i decked iris out in some camouflage lol

🥳 fun fact 🥳 im sure the ralads can whistle and whatnot to make birdcall signals, but i thought it was fun for iris to be able to make birdcalls with her flute

HEY ALSO headcanon about ralad hair. i was making some dragon art from a doran pov that i was going to save for that but i cant wait now. but we know from Tales that the ralads had a good relationship with the ruby dragons, could even summon them (unless im misremembering and it was more like a premeditated calling) but i was thinking about how they nest with .. human? hair. and i was thinking what if they grow out their hair? and then they offer it to a dragon when they are ready? i dont know if there's a nesting season for dragons but it could be something like that? ralad-dragon ceremony and party time. this isn't a rite of passage type of thing, just something that they like to do. not everyone does it probably, but most do it once, some people do it several or many times in their lifetime. it's an honour, but not really a sacrifice to them. it's part of the world balance and theyre willing to serve the dragons as the dragons serve them as they water the plants and the plants feed them and they feed beasts and beasts feed them.

also dont remember why i did the hair so bright and orangey??? genuinely perplexed lmao. probably was leaning into irl ginger but like THEYRE BLUE so i could probably make them actual red. not sure if this is also like a "theres something in the ground" situation also that makes their hair red but maybe 😂😂

side note but it's lowkey so wild to me that rodda was like yeah these guys are blue-grey with red hair, and then everyone else is like an average person, BUT the mountain people are short. like they're all just some guy basically???

it does make return to del so so funny because fallow is like AYO look at these MONSTERS they are UGLY and WEIRD

but i guess thats part of the motivation to give the deltora tribes some basic unique traits.

🟪 TORANS

okay so toran robes as inspired by japanese fashion is definitely something that's floated around the fandom for ages. i can't remember if it was before or after seeing posts about it that i started my first concept sketches but i think it probably had a hand in helping me visualise what rodda was talking about when she described their robes as butterfly wings when they speed-travelled. like yeah big deep sleeves and floor trailing hems WOULD probably look like colourful butterfly wings in the wind,,

🥳 fun fact 🥳 azami be always hungry. if only she knew someone who liked to cook 🤔

i don't have much to say design-wise, kinda just did various doodling. they would probably be second in extravagance to the plains, but it's a different sort of detail? they are probably a bit more refined and elegant than the hirans who are probably more bold in their designs. torans grow to be vain and selfish (it's already started by adin's time) so they probably have a high value on the beauty of their belongings, and it probably began with imagery of beasts and plants and dragons in amethyst territory, "true" pictures. but as time went on it probably distorted a bit and became idealised and/or fantastical etc.

OKAY SO my brain bluescreened just now for a moment trying to figure out how a people who use magic to make life easier, were also the ones known for their weaving, a manual hands-on task (lief's cloak is praised as being worthy of toran looms, implying high grade; pretty sure this was supposed to be a hint that his mother is not who he thinks she is also). some conclusions are 1) they weave with magic (sad, horrible), 2) they weave as a past-time, for fun etc (okay) but i took it to a third option

for a long time ive been thinking about toran magic as like, a balance and an energy thing (because i like that stuff lol) they cannot create something from nothing, only change things. they couldnt summon a fire, but they could change a piece of wood to fire and start a campfire, or those more advanced could even change the air into fire. but honestly it's left me a bit unsatisfied. like how does that explain the tora-del highway? hELL tora itself? what happened to the marble that got carved away? also how can that mountain have been so perfect there was no cracks or seams?? or did they carve those bits out lol. questions for another day.

anyway i was thinking about how hobbies are good for you, you dont have to be good at something but it's good to do stuff for fun and when you do crafts you get a cool thing at the end of it that you made. but it's also like skills you can develop? and i wondered what if weaving is a starter skill that they learn, some of them at least. maybe there are different activities, and they do the one that speaks to them the most. there were other types of artisans in tora, just not as talked about (i guess they're robes are pretty iconic so it's easy for people to go wow robes wow weavers who made fabric for the robes so soft) like i distinctly remember barda remarking about how tora was untouched and why bandits wouldn't have stolen the carved box that ended up holding the auto-reply letters from the palace.

so what im thinking is that maybe this builds a foundation to help torans visualise and perform their magic?

it actually solves a problem ive had in my headcanons i feel like ive got seven eyes open rn 😂😂 but in relation to del culture and traditions, i've been thinking about there being a physical and spiritual realm of course, and maybe it's the comfort of threes but it felt like something was missing.

i dont know what to call it yet, but im thinking the third thing is like the glue, it connects all things, it's in everything. it's like a third realm but also more of like a medium maybe? kind of sappy but we can just call this the magical realm for now. i actually used to think of toran magic as being like a subset of the greater deltora magic, but now im thinking it's more like torans are more receptive to the magic realm, as del are to the spiritual, and the ralads to the physical; theyre the experts in these things, which is why unified deltora is important 😂; likewise dread gnomes specialise in gems, jalis in combat, mere in cunning, plains in hope perhaps? literally never thought about it quite like this so maybe i will process it different later and designate different specialties.

so when the torans are young, they learn a craft and these skills help them sort of "tap into" the magical realm. so in the case i first thought of, when a toran weaver starts to see and interact with the magical realm, the easiest way for them to engage with it would be to think of it as weaving. they might see the magical realm as threads that connect everything, and weave things together to get what they want. a potter might see it as a malleable mass and sculpt what they want. a carpenter might see it as something to carve, something to break and put together.

the magical realm is not a concrete thing at all, up to interpretation, perhaps a unique experience to anyone who could glimpse in; don't strictly have to be toran, but they are perhaps naturally receptive to it or it could even be entirely a knowledge thing and that they are taught about it more; someone like verity who had her eyes opened to this realm, and learned to interact with it on instinct. does open questions to what the hell is up with the plains lmao but i think thats another post.

__

sorry about all the "i'll tell you in another post" i was attempting to stay on track 😂😂 also there's a 90% chance im gonna forget to come back and write about them so if anyone is dying to know feel free to send me an ask or something???

also if you want to know more about these OCs let me know 👀 i can find an ask game or something maybe. it's a case of i know a lot but will forget it all if asked to speak freely, i need specific questions. i have also developed the first four a bit more, but the last three are not without character so they can still be included. maybe it will be a group effort and they will have Background.

[therubyreader]

My Review of What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez

See a full list of my book reviews here

*Disclaimer: there will be spoilers later on in the review*

Review Word Count, non-spoiler: 779 Review Word Count Total: 1,408

BookTok has once again gotten me to read another book, which honestly, I’m a little upset it’s this easy to get me but we’re here now. One of my unofficial reading goals this year was to read more books by Latinx authors, since I’m Latina and it's disappointing how little of my “catalogue” is occupied by authors with my background, so now I’m here.  

What the River Knows takes us back to the 1880s in the height of European tourism to Egypt after the British takeover. Inez lives in Argentina, she’s the daughter of two Egyptologists who have mysteriously died while out in the desert prompting her to go to Egypt to try and solve the mystery of their deaths and unwittingly gets involved in the hunt for Cleopatra’s tomb alongside her uncle who’s hiding secrets of his own. Inez must tread carefully as she balances solving two mysteries without knowing who to trust while fighting her burgeoning feelings for her uncle’s assistant.  

I’m going to be honest with you all and say that this, the book was good, it wasn’t great, it was entertaining for sure, but I did feel the writing style was a bit lacking. Now this isn’t a dig at the author or anything, I picked up a YA book so honestly, I should’ve excepted YA style writing, which I wouldn’t normally be mad about it but the last fourth of the book was written so well that it made me question what was going on for the rest of it. The fact that there was great writing and potential there plus the cliffhanger ending (which if anyone wants to know my theories let me know) is what is going to get me to read the second book. I honestly have high hopes for the sequel so I will be very impatiently waiting for it to come out in November.  

I think my biggest complaint with this book is the love interest, Whit, and like there is nothing particularly wrong as a character, I just didn’t really like him, like I don’t hate him, but he was just there. This guy is the most basic love interest, he’s literally the same man as all other YA men: white, tall, brooding, flirts to mask his true feelings, has “touch her you die” energy, soft only for her, and is always smirking. And like, I’m not shaming you if you like when the love interest checks most/all those boxes but I’m begging authors to please write something else, I’m tired of this. Why does this man have to be over six feet tall? He literally at one point mentions how Inez doesn’t even reach his shoulder, and I don’t get why that was necessary when the average height for men in the UK at the time was about 5’6” (yes, I did Google this), there was no need for him to be abnormally tall, he could’ve been 5’10” and nothing would change. Maybe I’m too unnecessarily upset and annoyed about this but really tall male love interests with small and petite female main characters a personal pet peeve of mine. 

Another pet peeve I had was the whole “forgetting to switch between languages” thing that Inez was doing the whole book. Though I do get the fact that she primarily speaks Spanish so switching to speaking English regularly was a bit of a learning curve but her constantly going “gracias, I mean, thank you” made me want to rip my hair out. And I’m saying this as a Spanish/English bilingual, this doesn’t happen, more often than not I just forget a word entirely and I don’t forget to switch between languages because that’s not a thing!! It’s giving 2010s cringe, you all know the posts on here that I’m talking about, it made me angry and was honestly a thing that made me have to put the book down a couple of times and take a breath before I continued.  

My complaining aside, I do think this is a good read, it’s fairly easy to follow once you get over the repetitiveness of the first half of the book, once you get to the halfway point it really does start to become more than a basic YA book and you get wrapped up in the mystery of it all. I know I’m not doing a super good job of selling it but trust me, this is a fun read to pick up if you’re in between books and its plot is something that is very unlike anything else on the market right now. I give it a fun with lots of potential for greatness out of ten.  

Spoilers!! 

I honestly don’t know where to start with this, there’s just so much that I want to talk about. I'll just do a good old rapid fire: Whit is weird, he’s such an odd man, what do you mean you’re a lord, the fuck? I didn’t trust Inez’s mom from the beginning, she had weird vibes and so did Inez’s uncle, they’re both strange, the magic system they had going on was super cool and creative, I cannot wait to see how it expands in the second book.  

Something that has been bugging me this whole time, and I don’t know if I’m thinking about it too hard, but how was it that Inez and Elvira were told they looked like twins when it’s stated multiple times that Inez looked just like her mother, but Elvira is related to Inez through her father so they shouldn’t look anything alike. I get the whole bamboozle business with the dress and causing her to get kidnapped but like, Inez was going around telling strangers her name was Elvira so when Elvira eventually got to Egypt and introduced herself, she wouldn’t have known that Inez was using her name. Also, when Inez first got to the hotel and was talking to Mr. Burton shouldn’t he have been able to clock she’s her mother’s daughter based on the whole “they look the same” thing? I don’t know that part of the plot was strange, I feel like there were some glaring inconsistencies that if I thought about too hard wouldn’t add up, maybe it’s just me though. I do think that Elvira died unnecessarily, and it was quite evil of Inez’s mom to set her up like that.  

Something I did love, which I will say nice things now so I’m not being completely negative all the time, is how immersed I felt in the location. As I was reading, I did genuinely feel like I was in Cairo and exploring these ancient ruins with Inez, the way that the story was written shows how the author did her research. Every location was described so beautifully, which added to the ambience of the story on top of the couple of drawings thrown in of certain locations and objects just added another level of understanding to the book.  

I do want to take a moment and talk about how much I liked Inez as a character, though she does fit some stereotypes of female leads, she felt like a real person throughout the course of the book. Yes, she is stubborn, but she is stubborn to a fault, the way she was so determined to get on her uncle’s expedition to find out what happened to her parents ended up backfiring on her when she accidentally betrayed them by helping her mother steal artifacts. She knows about ancient Egyptian history but isn’t an expert so there are times when she has to have help from her uncle or Whit as to what is going on. She is such a real person that it really adds to the narrative and though there are times she may feel annoying or unlikeable you cannot help but sympathize with her as she juggles her grief with this new environment and new people.  

I honestly cannot wait for the second book to come out later this year, I have high hopes as to what is going to happen and how the story is going to end. Let me know if you want a full post on my thoughts on the whole Whit thing from the end, that was honestly such a good plot twist, and it has some historical accuracy if it is what I’m thinking it is. I do recommend it to everyone, diversify your reading friends.  

[abigail-pent]

ok not to be a bitch about Taylor Jenkins Reid but it is extremely weird that a very solid majority of the protagonists of her Famous Women quartet are Latinx (usually Latinas) who are conveniently disconnected from their heritage. Like the only ones who don't really fit this definition are the cast of Daisy Jones and the Six (minus Camila) and Monique Grant (who is mixed White and Black and appears to feel a disconnect with her Blackness after her Black parent's death).

Carrie Soto *appears* to be connected to her heritage but imo is not. As a fellow half-Argentine American woman who is extremely hard on herself, I relate to Carrie arguably too much. But the whole time I've been listening to this audiobook I've been really struck by the lack of specificity in her ethnicity. She and her dad have Spanish names, and there's a lot of written/untranslated Spanish in the book, but that's literally it. No context about her father's upbringing in Argentina or choice to emigrate, apart from wanting to be in the US for unspecified reasons. No culturally specific foods - like you can't seriously tell me that a real life Javier Soto wouldn't carry a thermos and drink mate on the side of the court. The Spanish they speak isn't even specifically Argentine Spanish. The verb conjugations are not right for that. And it's just really glaringly obvious to me that Taylor Jenkins Reid has not done the research she would need to do to convincingly write a character with this background.

I suspect this is why *all* of her protagonists of color are divorced from the non-white elements of their backgrounds. Evelyn Hugo is pushed to pass as white, to the point where she nearly forgets how to speak Spanish; the Riva kids are raised exclusively by their White mom; Monique mostly doesn't talk about her own race except to describe what she looks like, mention that she feels good and hopeful about having a Black woman role model at work, and to say that her marriage to a White man made her feel safe from having her Blackness called into question. Carrie Soto, of course, is non-White almost certainly through her mother's side only, as most Argentines are White; and her mother dies offscreen extremely early in the book and in Carrie's life.

Like I definitely think you shouldn't be limited in the characters you write by the identities you personally hold. And I definitely see the effort to provide more protagonists of color in fiction. I just don't think a good way to do this is by essentially pretending that race/ethnicity/culture are all just bits of set dressing that exist for flavor alone. These are real things. They mean a lot to people and they shape who we are, how we see ourselves, how we behave, who we become. If you're going to write from the perspective of a character who's ethnically xyz, at least have the decency and respect to research that deeply and seriously, and think about how their background would show up in their daily life.

[emiliosandozsequence]

this is a fantastic time to bring up something i've noticed for a while now: you people literally treat latinx people like we're 'diet white people' unless we're mexican. it's like you've all already forgotten that we were one of the racial groups trump singled out. it's gotten to the point where this is literally just part of racism towards latinx people; you treat us like we exaggerate our problems when it comes to race or that they straight up don't exist and act like we have it easy in comparison to other races. especially if we also don't have an accent or are pale. speaking as someone who is a pale latinx without an accent, if you believe that, then you're crazy and don't know what you're talking about and really need to start educating yourself because you literally are being racist.

[militantinremission]

The March On Washington 60Yrs later- What does it mean?

Mainstream Media is almost tripping over themselves to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of The March On Washington... Seriously?! Black America is WORSE OFF now, than We were 60Yrs ago! We're still being oppressed by the Same Institutions that Dr. King & 'The Big 6' were marching to protest. I respect my Elder, but Andrew Young is speaking for himself when he says he's 'No ways tired'- more than a few of Us are Sick & Tired of being sick & tired!

U KNOW Mainstream Media had to play Dr. King's 'I have a Dream' speech; I think it's the only MLK Speech allowed. Maybe its just me, but the crowd participating in this 'Event' looked as disingenuous as the Event itself. Why were they there? What are they celebrating? They remind me of the Yuppies that make their pilgrimage to Newburg, N Y. to celebrate the glory & wonder of Woodstock; but the Event itself was a literal Mud Bowl that tested the resolve of the Attendees.

The Kumbaya Coalition looked happy to be part of 'History', but do they understand The History? The individuals that were interviewed ran the usual talking points of 'I have a dream'; are they aware that Dr. King famously said that he 'feared integrating Us into a burning building'? He also said that 'America owes Us a debt & We're coming to Washington to collect Our Check'. Once again, I feel like Black American Culture is being looted to suit another's purpose. MLK is being lauded, but he's just a prop. At the time of his assassination, Dr. King was disliked by 2/3rds of America. Over 160 Newspapers denounced him.

The 'Cloth' of Black American Culture is literally being removed from Us & placed on other groups. First Barack Obama calls his Immigration Policy: 'The Dream Act', & labels the children of Illegal Immigrants 'Dreamers'. Next, (White) LGBTQ... Individuals appropriate Civil Rights to normalize a Counter Culture. NOTHING is politically 'Black Specific', Everything is 'Black & Brown'; meanwhile, Latinx, & Asian Americans get specificity for their respective communities. It's the same thing w/ The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC). Their Mission Statement offers more to Immigrants, than the Black Americans that put them in Office.

As an Indigenous Black American, I feel an all out effort to remove & replace my lineage group. Efforts to rewrite American History, as it relates to Anti- Black Racism is gaining traction. Democrats & Republicans appear to be in agreement w/ placing Illegal Immigrants in Black Communities & instigating competition between Us for the same resources. Los Angeles was just The Beginning. The blatant culture appropriation by folks that We thought were 'Family', is forcing Us to revisit John Henrik Clarke's assessment (30Yrs ago) that: 'We don't have any friends'.

-It doesn't look good.

[sockiestupidity]

PLS MORE MIGUEL W TEEN READER ITS ADROBS 💕💕💕💕💕💕💕

OMG

AHH

OKAY SO I HAVE SOME HCS🤭🤭🤭

IF IM IN A SILLY(delulu) MOOD I MIGHT RIGHT ANOTHER ONESHOT???

ALSO THIS IS ALL JUST STRAIGHT UP CRACK BC IM RLLY DELULU

IDK IF THESE EXACTLY COUNT AS WHAT U WANT BUT TAKE IT AS U WILL

ALSO MOST OF THESE ARE LATINO CODED SRRY😭(or hispanic/latine/latinx idk anymore i cant keep up w/ all these terms like pls just choose smth i cant take it anymore😭)

ANYWAYS

OKAY SO FIRST OF ALL LIKE

IMAGINE FINDING OUT THAT THERES NO LA CURACAO IN HIS UNIVERSE SO U TAKE HIM THERE (if ur not latino/hispanic/latinx/whatever other terms ppl use its basically like...best buy on steroids like i get lost in there every time) (if any of yall find this hc stereotypical i will 😡👊 ok yall)

ANYWAYS SO HES RLLY CONFUSED THE WHOLE TIME YALL ARE THERE LIKE..HE GENUINELY DOESNT KNOW WHATS GOING ON

HES SHOCKED THAT MOST OF THE EMPLOYEES SPEAK SPANISH AND HES JUST LIKE 😧

SO LA CURACAO WOULD BE LIKE A BIG CULTURE SHOCK FOR HIM LIKE GENUINELY😭

u take him to ubatuba and introduce him to nutella empenadas🤩

and hes just like "i fng hate this😡" AND WHEN U ASK WHY HE'LL GIVE U THE RESPONSE EVERY IMMIGRANT DAD OUT THERE SAYS ISTG "its too sweet" LIKE LITERALLY

so after that u take him to pollo campero to see if he likes their chicken empanadas AND HES LITERALLY COMPLAINING AB HOW MID IT IS FOR BASICALLY 4 BUCKS LMAO (pollo campero is so mid sometimes istg)

HES SUCH A SPORTS DAD

LIKE IT DOESNT EVEN HAVE TO BE FOOTBALL(fútbol???)

LIKE IF U DID CHEER, GYMNASTICS, DANCE, ETC. HED BE THERE FOR EVERY COMP AND GAME (somebody pls give this man a child he deserves to be happy again😭)

HE WILL FIGHT JUDGEMENTAL PARENTS FOR U AND ARGUE WITH REFS/UMPS WHEN THEY MAKE A BAD CALL

HE HELPS U WITH HW BUT THEN WILL COMPLAIN THAT ITS TOO HARD

if ur taking spanish and ask him to help u he'll genuinely side eye ur spanish work😭

ESPECIALLY IF UR SCHOOL IS TEACHING SPAIN SPANISH

LIKE U BET THAT HES GOING TO HAVE A HARSH CONVO WITH UR SCHOOL ON HOW USELESS IT IS (no offence too any spaniards, i love yall but wtf is up with ur spanish, like why is it like that😭)

HE'LL ENCOURAGE U TO USE SPANISH SLANG SO U END UP LOSING POINTS FOR IT

HE'LL BE GENUINELY SO CONFUSED IF THEY CHANGE MEANINGS FOR THINGS LIKE

"who told u that morena meant brown haired😧🤨" LMAO (based off if a real story, my dad was so confused as to why my spanish book said that morena meant brown haired😭)

I HAVE MORE THOUGHTS BUT THIS IS GETTING RLLY LONG AND NONE OF THIS IS COHERENT AHHH (i am not ok👁️👁️)

[ze-ppe-li]

So, the girl who hit the block button on me faster than a cat in a cucumber video decided to slide back into my DMs. Not with one, not with two, but with a whopping +10 messages! Was it an apology? A love letter? A coupon for free tacos? Nah, she just was on a mission to defend the "rights of oppressed Latinxs" and "educate me" or something. idk, I saw the essays she wrote and said, "Nope," faster than you can say "mark this as spam".

ngl at first I thought: "Wow, really?" all this was like watching a soap opera where you can't decide if it's so bad it's good or just plain bad lmfao.

(I guess that) she called me a coward, hiding behind her screen, that she was a real Latina since she was from Puerto Rico, and a long etc., idk, let's leave it there because the truth is that I didn't read shit. But here's a fun fact for ya: being Latino or Hispanic isn't a costume you put on for the internet points or to win arguments online. It's about living, breathing, and being involved in the culture, not just when it's convenient. It literally costs you nothing to respect the point of view of, supposedly, your people.

My dear blocked-and-then-unblocked friend, remember: You can only be Latino or Hispanic when you have direct contact with the culture, otherwise you are nothing more than another American, which is what Jenna Ortega is. She's a wonderful actress, and I really liked her role in Wednesday, but I am very sorry if the truth hurts you, she's not Hispanic.

[sparrowhero]

is it ok if i ask if u got any latinx hcs for any of the mha characters? 😚

oh absolutely and for the record I think any of them could be latinx but these are the ones who give me the most "oh? don't you remember your cousin ___" vibes when you meet them at like the barbecue.

NOTE FOR ANYONE WHO WILL READ THIS AND GET MAD: Japanese people can be of any descent. Japan, and any country for that matter, is not the homogeneous and monolithic population that the vocal minority and otherwise nationalist weirdos love to voice. There are people of all sorts of heritages in Japan and if this makes you mad, I encourage you to log off.

obligatory disclaimer that i'm writing this from a mexican point of view etc etc and is not universally applicable to the vast wealth of community we all have and is coming from what I see in my own lived experiences.

FUMIKAGE. TOKOYAMI. I don't care what anyone says that bird is latino and has darker skin. The anime has LIED. i would bet you anything he cusses under his breath in spanish and the bull skull he has in his room was a gift from his grandpa on the ranch who was like "here mijo for your room. you like skulls right??" and he was just like (a little choked up) mm-hmm.

Ibara Shiozaki. Self explanatory I just know she's Mexican Catholic. One of her alias' is Maria which you KNOW is her middle name and/or her baptismal name. Her casual wear also screams that to me as well like I know it I just know it look at the shawl and those boots. I see and I perceive the truth. She and Tokoyami are two sides of the raised catholic coin: either you go full devout or you become the edgiest kid in the world.

Pony Tsunotori is 100% one of those blonde latinas who grew up on a ranch in New Mexico and watched a lot of Dragon Ball Z. Sorry not sorry, but it's literally canon that she loved anime and I choose to believe her hero outfit takes at least a little inspiration from some of Bulma's outfits (the yellow puffy jacket dress specifically)

Present Mic is an honorary mention because idk if he is or isn't but he embraces the culture so completely and fully I have decided he's one of us now. Nobody would cut a rug on the floor like Hizashi Yamada and I just know he'd be into the food especially. Once again polyglot Hizashi Yamada WILL be canon.

[bonesandpoemsandflowers]

Who do your friends think are hotter latinx dudes? (If it’s Pedro pascal or oscar Isaac - they’ve got worst taste tbh)

Like 97%+ of the Latin / Latino / Latine community, I'm not a huge fan of Latinx and consider this terminology to be an example of linguistic imperialism, but i am DELIGHTED to answer this question with a subset of dudes.

To clarify, though, as much as a meme and pout about it, I do get why my taste is different than theirs. I'm not ever too impressed by just looks--there's a lot of handsome dudes out there, who cares? like honestly, so what?--but I'm very attracted to movement and stance and motion. IRL, my party trick is that I can pick martial artists or dancers out of a crowd by how they stand or move, and I do this based purely on "is the way this dude stands sexy to me or not?" as opposed to any kind of objective criteria.

Accordingly, I married a life long martial artist who went goth clubbing with me enough times to ensure I'm obsessed with him for life. He's also the most amazing poet I've ever met and an actual certified genius, because fundamentally life is unfair. But the point is: movement, movement, movement. It's so important. I have a type, but not necessarily how people usually mean it.

And in the realm of pet actor men, David Castañeda moves way, way better than average, even if you judge him against other dudes trying to be action stars. So my friends are never going to convince me, and I'm never gonna convince them, and that's fine.

So anyway

Miguel Gomez is popular. I think it's the cheekbones. I know him as Gus from the Strain and everybody else has seen him on some other show that sounds like something I'd rather die than watch.

Both the dudes from Mayans MC are popular, and I actually do not disagree with either JD Pardo or Clayton Cardenas as a pick. I resisted watching the show for literally years, but eventually I caved and yeaaaaahhhhh. yeaaaah tho.

Every so often I'm insane about JD for like, a week or so. Fantastic tough guy yet nice boy energy on Mayans. I've said some thirsty ass shit on this account about him for SURE. Unfortunately, every time he posts a Muay Thai workout he's just so sloppy it kills my boner for like. months at a time. I flashback to my own summer in Phuket and can just see how disappointed my trainer would be if this dude was in his gym.

Clayton Cardenas I used to disagree about but he's a Miami boy, so. And like, with the biker styling? Look at him. If he had a dance or martial arts background I'd be a goner.

he also looks like the Hollywood (therefore prettier) version of every single metal Latino dude I've ever met. the 305 and 561 area code versions of this man have hollered at me more times than I can count. like, it's a charming sort of nostalgia. it's That Guy! that type of guy! i know That Guy! I made out with that guy under the bleachers in high school! etc etc. what a darling. the last version of That Guy who tried for me is now happily married and lives in LA and works in a pet crematorium. Very happy for him.

where was i

oh yeah, I have one friend who is obsessed with bad bunny and I guess maybe there's a dance background there maybe but I just do NOT vibe with it at ALL. the id is mysterious. he might just be too young for me? david is on thin ice, age wise, for me. any younger and I'd be repelled.

which is an interesting point, actually. I don't know how old you are, anon, but age might be another factor here. I'm in my mid 30s and CMOOOON

Oscar Isaac doesn't do it for you at least a little????

[italian-wall-lizard]

I posted 2,635 times in 2022

That's 2,635 more posts than 2021!

398 posts created (15%)

2,237 posts reblogged (85%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@geeky-gay-greek

@emails-i-cant-send

@joshisepic2222

@bakedbananners

@on-the-outside

I tagged 1,322 of my posts in 2022

Only 50% of my posts had no tags

#pjo - 169 posts

#percy jackson - 164 posts

#riordanverse - 163 posts

#rick riordan - 161 posts

#fave - 104 posts

#mcga - 78 posts

#magnus chase - 75 posts

#toa - 50 posts

#alex fierro - 50 posts

#nico di angelo - 49 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#only two have guessed so far and i didn’t answer their asks so any post you see of me eliminating states isn’t a lie i’m not from any of em

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

my rrverse takes:

magnus is an underrated character in his own series

lester/apollo and magnus were BY far the funniest narrators

i didn't like jason's death but it was necessary and it made sense

i actually liked meg, she had a great storyline and she wasn't annoying

piper was queer from the beginning

with enough training hazel could probably be stronger than percy and jason

percy would end jason in a fight in two seconds flat

reyna, samirah, and hazel are the most badass rrverse women ever

i love toa but if i had to choose i would rather have five mcga books and three toa books

fierrochase and zarter are the most underrated ships in the fandom im right

mcga had HUGE potential as a series and rick def could have done more with it and added more books but didn't and i am very mad about that

rick's representation is very flawed both in poc's and lgbtq characters

(the feather in the hair, the food skin color descriptions, the fact that the only three latinx/hispanic characters come from abusive backgrounds, making leo call calypso "mamacita" in tdp, giving poc characters inherently non poc traits (hazels hair and eyes and pipers eyes), having samirah's hair out of her hijab at some points, making anubis white (biggie on that one), making his only book series with two mixed race main characters have three books instead of five)

(the genderfluid shapeshifter trope, outing nico and giving him the most trauma out of the seven but "hey it's okay because he gets a boyfriend", giving leo a girlfriend when he was very obviously into jason (and even then he didn't need to date anyone i really like the head canon that he is aro), making a slur of sorts for alex and having multiple main characters say it, making his only book series with a very openly queer main character (alex but also magnus at the end) have three books instead of five)

leo did NOT need to get a girlfriend, he should have stayed single as it was better for his character development

tj needs more recognition in the fandom i love him

annabeth was def one of the more powerful of the seven even though she didn't have powers and a lot of the people that hate her are just misogynistic (as well as piper)

not even a take but just a fact what the fuck was rick ON making anubis white like he is quite literally an egyptian god he is most definitely black

also not a take but like. please we need more people talking about tkc in the fandom i love it sm and no one is talking about it. the characters are amazing and i guarantee if carter and sadie were white they would've gotten more recognition

feel free to add on

846 notes - Posted February 24, 2022

#4

are you team "magnus is blitzstone shipper #1 and he knew they had a crush on each other since before they started dating"

or team "magnus is oblivious to blitz and hearth dating and he thought they were just really good friends until he found out like 2 years after they were married"

980 notes - Posted April 14, 2022

#3

picrew chain

i like these things so imma make one

here's me !!

super cool picrew link found here

tag whomever you'd like im tagging @tacocat-411 @blurrycow @avery-is-gay

981 notes - Posted July 2, 2022

#2

to my fellow swifties: what's your favorite album and zodiac sign? i wanna see if there's any correlation

mine is midnights and virgo

1,121 notes - Posted February 24, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

bitches on pjo tumblr really exploding right now over a thirteen year old boy saying eight words and wearing an orange shirt. it's me i'm bitches

3,742 notes - Posted September 11, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[ofsgiathan]

17

17. Something that you find unforgivable?

there's actually a lot of things that i find unforgivable. but there are two things that i truly find unforgivable and absolutely horrendous:

it's okay to have animanga like attack on titan be inspired by the nazis but it's not okay for characters to canonically be lgbt-phobic?? i'm sorry but they're both equally bad. especially considering that there are an infinite number of people who are jewish and lgbt. you can't tell me that one is worse than the other. i'm an equal opportunities complainer. if i'm gonna complain about one problematic thing then i'm gonna complain about literally everything. and keep in mind that this is all coming from someone who's gender queer ( she/they ) and is a demi bi.

oversexualizing minors, proshipping, and aging up minors because "uwu they're sexy"?? this is legitimately as to why i can't bring myself to deal with miraculous tales of ladybug and cat noir. people are fucking weirdos. i'm fine with people aging up their muses because they either already are or going to be an adult by the end of the series ( a few prime examples being bleach and attack on titan ) but don't age them up for the sake of being gross.

trying to justify either either of these two is not okay. however. i'm also not okay with what many would call the "white knight syndrome" where we completely disregard all of the problems in the world.

for instance, there is this book called Cemetery Boys by Adrien Thomas. it's about a latinx trans male who's from a very transphobic family and refuses to even remotely acknowledge him as a male. bonus points that adrien is also a latinx trans nonbinary ( they/them ) author! i'm yet to read it but i do own it. i've also heard nothing but good things about it and that it really shines on the topic of transphobia ( and how it affects people in bipoc communities ).

with that being said, this proves that we can talk about problematic situations when it comes to fictitious characters and not agree with them. this is why the term "mun =/= muse" exists in the first place. either way, we're all entitled to our own opinions and are the ones in charge of curating our own safe spaces. because i know for a fact that i find quite a lot of things uncomfortable but can also acknowledge that disregarding them doesn't help.

[purplesaline]

From everything I've seen about American police training (don't know much about how it's done here in Canada but current evidence suggests it's quite different than the US, though that doesn't mean it's better, just less overt) it's basically no different than cult indoctrination.

They use secondary trauma on recruits to literally cause brain damage. Sounds like I'm being reactionary right? Sounds too wild to actually be true? Let me explain.

Recruits are told stories and even shown multiple videos of officers being shot, killed, or in otherwise life threatening situations, often where the perpetrator is Black, Latinx, or other person's of Colour. This is secondary trauma and it can actually cause PTSD (and other trauma responses) even if the recruit has never experienced a life threatening situation themselves. (This happens a lot with therapists too but in their case it's not done with malicious intent)

PTSD causes real, physical damage to the brain. Thus: exposure to secondary trauma that literally causes brain damage.

And then! Then they train the recruits in a way that sets their default threat reaction to fight rather than flight.

From that point on every encounter with a Black, Latinx, or other person's of Colour is triggering to the cop and their fight/flight response now defaults to Fight. Regardless of whether there is any actual danger, their damaged brain perceives a threat to their life and reacts to that threat with violence.

And this is why so many people push back on the ACAB thing. Because traumatized people? Well they can be the best, most decent human being in the world. They can be the least racist person to ever exist. Until they're triggered. Because a trauma response isn't a conscious choice. It doesn't care what your morals or ethics are. It detects a threat (trigger), and your brain shifts into auto-pilot until that threat is gone.

People have a hard seeing a lot of cops as bad people because a lot of cops aren't bad people. They have a gard time believing they're racist because a lot of them aren't racist. They're good people who joined for all the right reasons and were programmed to become killing machines.

Do police academies actually understand what they're doing? Maybe. I'm sure a lot of them don't realize they're traumatizing their recruits, but they know it gets them the results they want so they keep doing it.

The system is broken in a lot of other ways, but if you all can get this practice banned I guarantee it will make a significant impact.

Cops are trained to be bad. Anyone who insists on being good is not welcome.

[militantinremission]

From George Santos, to Joe Biden: Muddy Waters in D.C.

2023 has barely begun, but it's already off to a controversial start. 1st there was the GOP's difficulty in electing Kevin Mccarthy to Speaker Of The House. A side issue that bubbled to the surface, was George Santos- the GOP Representative from NY's 3rd Congressional District. As that issue began to simmer, V.P. Biden's Classified Materials began to turn up outside of his Archives. Add in a looming Debt Ceiling Debate to the mix, & we have a recipe for more drama on The Horizon.

George Santos, in a nutshell, is a National Disgrace. His Election to Congress has raised a lot of questions about him, his Resume, & his Family History. Santos based his qualification for Office on a particular 'pedigree':

He touted where he attended H.S. & College; boasting about his GPA, & the sports injuries he suffered while playing on a Volleyball Scholarship.

He touted his tenure w/ Citigroup & Goldman Sachs.

He touted that he was a Property Owner w/ over a dozen Properties.

He touted his philanthropy, speaking on his Foundation & Fundraising efforts.

He touted his Grand Mother being a Holocaust Survivor.

He touted his Mother being a 9/11 survivor that later died from 9/11 related Cancer.

The Truth has been revealed that NONE of this is correct. George Santos literally wove his Life Story out of thin air. The man is a living portrayal of that Jon Lovitz character from SNL. I can hear Santos saying: 'I want to give Special thanks to my husband, Ricky Martin- Yeah, That's The Ticket!... Despite calls from both Sides of The Aisle for him to resign, Santos intends to serve his 2Yr Term. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is standing by Santos, even defending his Right to serve. McCarthy's position isn't hard to decipher, he has a very narrow hold on The House, & every vote counts. I assume McCarthy expects loyalty from Santos, in return for his endorsement.

The notion of a character like George Santos is curious to me. Who he is, how he presents himself, & what he represents has layers. As an (Indigenous) Black American living in 'Joe Biden's America', I have become very sensitive to evolving Social Mores. Biden already told Black America that he places the Latinx Community ahead of Us, & We should get used to taking Orders from them. Then he allows 2 Million illegal immigrants to flood the Southern Border; but somehow, Barack Obama was able to keep illegal immigration down. Biden put Kamala Harris in charge of the Southern Border, did Obama give him the same assignment?

A familiar Cultural pattern is playing out again, as the Latinx Community is coalescing & creating points of Power (nepotism) in particular Trades & Occupations. Much like the Irish, Italian, & Eastern European, the Latino/ Hispanic is basing their success on the marginalization of Indigenous Black Americans. The 'Black & Brown Coalition' is breaking down in areas where Latinx no longer need solidarity to push their Agenda. The ongoing drama in the LA City Council is just the beginning.

Individuals like George Santos send a blatant message to Blackfolk- The American Gov't, & the General Public (through their Collective silence) is willing to grant liars, thieves, & Enemies of The State permission to not only immigrate here, but to run rampant; long before They will indemnify American Descendants Of Chattal Slavery. The fact that a 'Nobody' like George Santos could get away w/ the degree of fraud that he perpetrated, merits a closer look. Who is bankrolling Santos? He was supposed to be broke, but somehow put $700K of his own $$$ into his Campaign... How? His district on the Queens- Nassau County border, represents Towns & Villages that have seen a dramatic decrease in their Black American population over the last 30Yrs.

Unlike many of the White (Irish, Italian, Eastern European) Areas, Black Enclaves, from Bayside to Hicksville were open to a multicultural (i.e. Black & Brown) Community; but many of the Asian & Latinx families that purchased from Black families, were unwilling to sell to them. This changed the complexion & sociality of these Areas. People became intolerant... George Santos ran as a Conservative, which resonates w/ most of the 3rd Congressional District. He presented himself as visually appealing to The People. He was 'their kind of guy'. As dispicable as Santos appears, what does that say about the people that voted for him?

As for Joe Biden, the growing drama over his Classified Papers could have been handled better. Currently, there are roughly 30 pages that turned up @ The Penn- Biden Center & his Delaware Residence. Material was found in Biden's garage, & later in the room adjacent to the garage. So far, Biden has treated this embarrassment like a 'non- issue'; essentially saying: "There's no 'there' there"... Now reports have come in that some of the Classified Documents recovered date back to Biden's tenure as a Senator. His Chief Of Staff, Ron Klain's pending retirement is being downplayed, but I think that there is a connection. Klain has been a loyal Biden servant for 30Yrs; He knows where ALL of the bodies are buried.

Conspiracy Theories have already appeared regarding the appearance of these Classified Papers. Some say that this 'discovery' was set up give Donald Trump some wiggle room in his own Case of Mishandled Documents. A.G. Merrick Garland would be hard pressed to proceed w/ a Case against Donald Trump, if he also faced an Investigation of a sitting President. Some point out how Biden & his Staff are fully cooperating w/ the investigation; unlike Donald Trump, who had to be subpoenaed, & later raided by the FBI. I agree w/ those who remind Biden Supporters that just because something may not be illegal, doesn't mean that it isn't wrong.

Another angle that some Conspiracy Theorists are taking, is the idea that the appearance of these Classified Documents are meant to weaken Biden's political hold as the 2024 Democratic Nominee for President. The incident is supposed to either force Biden into resigning from Office, or embarrassing him enough to create mistrust amongst Voters & Members Of Congress. The focus on Documents found @ The Penn- Biden Center on Nov. 2nd, was meant to stir thoughts of contradiction, or sloppiness on the part of Joe Biden & his Staff. They had a full Week before Election Day to report the finding; why did Biden's Staff wait?

I don't think either side of the Conspiracy Theory Debate will get what they propose. Joe Biden will not be pressed very hard legally about his Classified Papers, & he will not be manipulated into resigning from Office. Meanwhile, Ukraine continues to receive billions of U.S. Tax Dollars, but NO ONE knows where the $$$ is going. The GOP are talking tough about the Debt Ceiling & fiscal accountability, but financing the Ukrainian War Effort was a bipartisan measure. From my 'Place In Space', I see Democrats & Republicans taking up their positions; looking to corrall their Share of the Voting Public into their particular narrative. Both Parties are courting Asian & Latinx Voters; but both are finding this demographic politically fickle.

The lengths that both Parties are willing to go, to avoid the inevitable discussion of Reparations for American Descendants Of Chattal Slavery is truly juvenile.

Only Children (& Cowards) would seek a distraction over a Solution.

-Just Saying

[stormswrath]

Political Leanings

I suppose with November fast approaching, politics are damned near impossible to avoid nowadays. I've tried to minimize it popping up on me, but I suppose the only way to avoid it is to not be online. Easier said than done. As to what I think of our presidential candidates, it is not flattering for either one. I am going to vote, and I know who I'm voting for, but I'm going to hate it. I always said voting felt like choosing the lesser of two evils. This is the first time I've REALLY felt that. It's a depressing thought.

For me, I've always felt like my political barometer was left of center. While I am relatively indifferent on a lot of hot button issues, one thing I am very much not indifferent about is how people of different demographics are treated. It is obvious what groups the laws of this country favor, and how people outside of those groups are treated or outright dismissed is disgusting. One thing I will always say is I don't care where you come from, where you live, what your ethnic background is, how much money you have in your bank account, what gods you worship, what you identify as, what you have between your legs, or whose genitals you like having in your mouth. No one is above anyone else, and everyone deserves to be seen and heard. To paraphrase Boondock Saints, do not kill, do not rape, do not steal. These are principles anyone can embrace. Being black doesn't make you a criminal. Being white doesn't make you a racist. Being Latinx doesn't make you a drug dealer or a rapist. Being Asian doesn't make you...whatever bad stereotype comes with that, and being LGBTQ doesn't make you a child molester or groomer. I could go on, but I think I made my point. We are who we choose to be, regardless of where we are on that spectrum.

As I said, that is probably my strongly political viewpoint. I am fiscally conservative. While I think it is admirable wanting to have all these programs for disadvantaged groups, if you don't have the money, you don't have the money. I would give some help to people, but I'm not going to financially screw myself to do it.

Gun rights. I do believe owning guns is perfectly fine. I also believe in regulations to attempt to keep guns from people who shouldn't have them. I understand if someone wants a gun badly enough, they will find a way to get one. Doesn't mean we have to make it as easy as walking into a Wal-Mart and saying "Gun me, please". I also don't understand the need for one person to own a triple-digit number of guns. I know gun collecting is a thing. Historical guns, antiques, things like that. But, when you are like this one guy I've met in the past whose proudest achievement is owning 80 rifles and two dozen handguns...yeah, I'm giving you bombastic side-eye.

Immigration. On one hand, I am all about preventing people from illegally crossing our borders. I mean, if you want to come here, do it the right way. At the same time, I'm not going to forget that these people are exactly that. People. And they deserve to be treated as such. And too many people that cry "illegal alien" need to honest with themselves and admit the "illegal" part isn't the problem with them. Own your bigotry.

The fact that things like climate change, poverty, and Covid are political issues is beyond absurd to me. I mean, come on. You managed to politicize a goddamn pandemic that killed millions. And climate change? You literally see and feel it every day. Sure, maybe you can argue the degree to which we affect it, but to deny its very existence? Well, flat-earthers are a thing, so why am I surprised? To quote the late, great George Carlin; "Some people are really fucking stupid!"

As I said earlier, I could on and on about this. But I won't. It saddens me that people don't vote for the good of the country. We vote because our candidate pisses off people who don't agree with us. We vote because we hope our choice will get rid of people who make us uncomfortable or scared. How many people even still read up on who they vote for? We don't learn who they are, what they believe in, or what their goals are. All so many people care about when they vote is what letter comes after their names. The D or the R.

Ok, I'm done. I still encourage anyone who can vote to do so. I hope, if you do, you take one moment to consider everyone in this country, and not just you and yours. I hope you remember the lessons from the past and take that into consideration. I, for one, would really love to see this country's 250th anniversary.

I want to remember what it means to have pride in our country and ALL of its people.

[ithisatanytime]

if you go back say before the eighties and you really take a hard look at films that were critically acclaimed and popular, hell not just movies even the classic works of western literature, you will find that people only like them really for a handful of lines, and those lines contain some truth in them that transcends the fiction they are contained in and is directly applicable in some way to the viewers own life. a samurai in a kurosawa film will drop a based line about the nature of women, generalizing HORRIBLY an entire gender and goddamn does it resonate with the human soul to make such generalizations! they make the whole price of admission worth it! this really is why people make and consume art, the whole point of the hero in society is educational, this is the standard! the ideal to be sought after. you cant have that anymore, the LAST thing hollywood wants to do is tell some resounding truth or generalize about the nature of men women and life, i mean they will do that but the conclusions they draw from it have to be the farthest thing possible from the truth. so in the old days a best picture winning cowboy flick would really only be remembered because john wayne said "women are like horses....RE TARDED", cant have that now the jews try to make some literal ape faced mystery meat girl be like "men are totes jelly all the time" and that is supposed to have the same impact. it doesnt because its not based in ANY truth, and even if it were everyone is always saying this in every commercial so its not like we just had to go see this movie to hear them say it. you just cant tell these kinds of truths in television and film anymore and these little nuggets of profound wisdom like women being like horses for instance lol, are really the reason people used to watch movies and read books in the first place.

"from hells heart i strike at thee" made the entire BORING ASS Read of moby dick worth it, that one line, and it wouldnt have been any good if it werent nestled within 400 pages of boring descriptions of whales from the eighteenth century. modern hollywood is producing moby dick with all its boring whale descriptions, but that nugget of based ass truth about the nature of revenge, that single line is replaced with captain ahab coming out of the captains quarters and saying "you know what dudes? girls rock!" and handing the harpoon to his latinx niece to have her exact his revenge on the white whale. it really do be like that

[darthnaderer]

The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes

Category: Walter Honor Book, Teen

Summary: Yamilet, known as Yami to her friends and family, was stabbed in the back by her former BFF. Not literally, but metaphorically. Yami had trusted Bianca with her secret (she's a lesbian), and Bianca spread the news around the school and kicked Yami out of her friend group. Meanwhile, Yami's brother, Cesar, has been getting in fights with other students at school, so when their mother decides to enroll Cesar at Slayton Catholic High School (he has a full academic scholarship). Yami leaps at the chance to go with him, both to help keep him out of trouble like their mother asked and as a way to not be forced out of the closet before she's ready. However, she needs a way to earn money to pay her half of the tuition, which she begins by revamping her mother's Etsy store, getting the traditional Mexican jewelry that her mother used to make as a hobby trending on Instagram and TikTok. What could go wrong with that? At school, Yami is awash in a sea of white, preppy faces, where she is looked down on as "ghetto." But she tries to play by the rules, constantly asking herself "What Would a Straight Girl Do?" But WWSGD isn't going to help her for long when she becomes friends with Bo, another queer girl, who may just make Yami blow her straight girl cover.

Justification: Reyes's debut novel has received numerous awards and honors including The Walter Honor in 2023, for a diverse book by a diverse creator, The Morris Debut Award, for a first-time author writing for teens, The National Book Award Finalist, for a US author producing outstanding literary work, The Lambda Award, for its depiction of LGBTQ+ representation, and a Pura Honor, for a Latinx author portraying the Latino cultural experience. Furthermore, this novel is another excellent example of books serving as "mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors" as it provides insight into not only queer and Latino culture, but also showcases the experience of going to a private, religious school--something student may either relate to or be curious about. I appreciated that the beginning of the book cautions readers that sensitive topics such as homophobia, racism, and mental health issues will be discussed, so readers who do not feel comfortable with that material may opt out before reading any further.

Reader's Response: What I love about this novel is the way so many different aspects of Yami can be reflected back at the reader. I was also a closeted queer kid at a Catholic school, so every time Yami asked herself "WWSGD?" I laughed. The description of the portables was spot on as well. I also tried my hand at an Etsy store, but didn't have nearly the viral success Yami did; although with how difficult it became to juggle, I'm now rather grateful mine didn't take off like that. Yami and Cesar's relationship reminded me of my relationship with my younger sibling. Both queer, both keeping each other's secrets, both covering for each other and providing alibis. I thought Reyes also did an excellent job portraying the way boys, especially younger boys, are often babied in the family while girls, especially older girls, have a large amount of responsibility and stress placed on their shoulders. Reading about the experience from Yami's perspective made me more aware of the microaggressions (as well as straight-up racism) that POC have to deal with when they're in a mostly white environment. I thought the suspense of how Yami's mother would react if (when) she found about about Yami and Cesar both being queer was an excellent thread to keep us on our toes as readers. Even though the story was written with humor, there were definitely times when I was holding my breath. My only criticism is that at some points the story was moving very fast and weaving together many threads, so a reader really has to pay close attention and remember the small details.

Reyes, S. (2022). The lesbiana’s guide to Catholic school. Balzer + Bray.