#it's an american show (and a lot of americans don't even get the north south thing anyways) so they obvs never touch on it

[simptasia]

why didn't charlie call claire "luv". why didn't he throw out a casual luv at his friends. he's a northerner what else is he good for

[bucephaly]

Hi, um. I am very confused by this: why would people lie about being Cherokee? I'm white, I don't mean to overstep here, I just kind of flashed back to my History of Native Americans class and from what I can tell, being Native means a shit ton of mistreatment in the past and present, a lot of absolutely absurd stereotypes, weird fetishization and creepy dehumanizing language. My great grandfather was Cherokee and he hid that pretty consistently because he knew it was going to be an obstacle to his education, his career and basically his life in general. While some digging into genealogy later confirmed it was legit, I kind of already knew from the start because people don't usually lie about something they forbid you from mentioning outside the family and which they knew would take them from "one of the brightest minds in your field" to "[insert comment about being One Of The Good Ones here]". So why would someone lie about this? It feels like that'd backfire pretty hard given how racist everyone was/is in the US. I'm not doubting it happens - people are jackasses who'll lie about most things - but I just flat-out don't get why it happens. Why, of all the lies to pick, would someone go with a lie about their ethnicity? I know this might be veering into "please explain to whitey about racism" territory but if there's an article or a book or something on this, please let me know because this is so baffling to me. Who would want to be oppressed when oppression is so awful?

So I'm from the south. Everyone and their dog here claims to have cherokee ancestry and there are a number of origins for the stories. I think there's a factor of white people playing Indian being more accepted than real natives. To many of them it's a novelty or fun fact, some of them take it farther and establish fake 'tribes', usually recognized at the state level but not federally because they have no actual history.

During the confederacy, it actually became sorta a weird show of white southern pride to claim to have cherokee ancestry, basically saying 'my family has been here in the south long enough that we were here before the cherokees were removed.' So it was a way to show 'deep roots' in the south.

There was the Guion Miller roll, where cherokees were given a payout of $133 each because of a lawsuit. A lot of people applied knowing full well they weren't cherokee, just hoping to get some money. We even see lawyers advertising the payout to get people to apply just to see if they could get some. 2/3rds of the applicants were declined for having no proof of Cherokee ancestry, and I figure some family stories may have started there. If it wasnt the applicant themself keeping up the lie, maybe it was someone later finding the application and thinking it must have been truth.

In some cases, the cherokee land lotteries could be the origin. Once cherokees were forced out of north Georgia, their land and everything on it, including their houses and personal belongings, was raffled off. Settler families made themselves at home and even started passing down the cherokees belongings as heirlooms. Eventually the story got twisted into the family being cherokee instead of stealing from them.

Then there are some other things. Mixed people claiming to be native because it was less stigmatized than being mixed, ancestors that could've lived in a place called cherokee or near the cherokee and that got misunderstood. The stupidest origin was an ancestor that lived in the 1700s who had a funny name, so she got recorded as being cherokee in the family Bible despite being from Virginia and having sounds in her name that aren't present in the cherokee language.

And I imagine there are plenty that were just tall tales someone told a kid for fun and it got passed down.

I'm not sure about the history of when these fakes started cropping up more, but I imagine it would have been during or after the American Indian Movement when natives were in the news more. But I may be wrong

And of course, nowadays, people love hiring people that give them diversity points without actually being diverse. And fake state tribes can make money. Here in the south, there isn't that much of a legitimate native presence. There is one real tribe in my state, none in two neighboring states. People here don't really figure real natives still exist outside those people with a cherokee gg grandmother that gave them high cheekbones. You'd be surprised how many people I hear saying 'oh yea but I doubt there are actually any fullblood cherokees left' and shit like that.

Oh, and also. Nowadays people love to avoid having to accept that their ancestors were colonizers. Hell, even my aunt who is also cherokee has said stuff like 'I'm sad that we have English ancestry, I was hoping we'd be Irish. I don't wanna be descended from colonizers' like.. auntie the Irish were colonizers here too. People love to be seen as less white. Youll hear pretendians saying 'no don't call me white, I'm not white I'm cherokee!' Etc. And ofc there are the hippie types.

Idk. I hope that helps somewhat, basically society is a lot more willing to accept a pretendian than a real native in a lot of cases. Plus I think a chunk of the modern issues faced by native communities is generational from past oppression [on top of the very real current oppression in native communities] and pretendians just cannot understand that.

And ofc the obligatory disclaimer that I'm reconnecting, I'm new to this too so im not an expert.

If you wanna see how many fakes there are [note: many many from Alabama and Kentucky], join the cherokee research and genealogy Facebook. Just for fun, I'm putting a post of theirs under the cut [it's long] that lists all the wild excuses and stories people have given for why their ancestors don't show up as native in research.

[i-yap]

omg you are also south indian!!!! i find it really hard to find south indians on here, could you do the batboys reacting to reader wearing traditionally indian clothing for a wedding they are attending???

Im north Indian with a little spanish in me shifting to NY actually but yea the indian dc fanfic community is smaller. I love the idea of a traditional indian s/o with Jason particularly. Dick with someone spanish , tim with an African American, Damian with caucasion and bruce with someone asian. Idk why Thats just How I imagine it. Its in no way a canon to their character or a generalization of people from a culture but the cultures ,and norms and values of these cultures really suit the batboys. Hope this isn't offensive. So Im just going to do batboys x reader in a family event .

Batboys(tim, dick, jason , bruce)x y/n - At a family event

Dick Grayson

is also dressed in your cultural's traditional clothes. Dick has traveled all over the world and he likes seeing you in your traditional clothes. Being comfortable in your traditional wear, being in "your element" . He charms up all your family members, no-one even calls him the white boyfriend anymore . The women also hit on him( of all age groups srsly) He is part of the family by the end( or within 5 mins) of the night . Dont be surprised when you find him and your family laughing about what jokes your parents are going to make at your wedding. He isn't even nervous before going. He is a real charmer and you couldn't be prouder.

Jason todd

doesnt want to go. Really thinks your family wont like him and they probably wont the first time they meet him. Will still wear his leather jacket but at least he wore a white shirt and clean jeans? He even agreed to take the car rather then the bike. Will stop complaining the moment he sees you in your element. Like goddess pro max what even , so ethereal ,the world is shaking . Staring dialed up to 100/10 . plus his complaining was never serious to start with. He wants you to have a family, be connected to your background,. Its just one of the things that make you you and he wont change a single hair on you. Will probably get insecure ( I get set up or marriage proposal talks when I go to family functions - just indian girl things I hate it tbh. And I've noticed its a thing in a lot of cultures) because he'll think that you deserve that traditional life with people who 'get you" but no one will ever get you the way he does and you just need to remind him of that. He is a bit broody , tall and just kind of sticks by you . The men and boys of the group are probably fascinated by him so as the night goes he starts getting more comfortable around them. The kids lowkey like him a lot so its cute and you may get baby fever. And the older women of the group are poking at him( why the jacket? whats with that scar) and you'll have to rescue him. He'll do it all over for you though.

Tim drake-

time to put on that practiced facade. He is used to putting on a fake winning smile at those galas so imagine his surprise when his old tricks don't work at your family function. Personal space? privacy?? fake formalities?? don't exist. Bonus points if it isn't a fake rich family. But he gets to see you In a pretty clothes and he is simping, teasing you on how you look like a real girl now(but he lowkey prefers you in the geeky shirts you guys share) . he did research so like ask him the They are still very impressed by your respectful young man ( who is super rich and smart). He gets by tbh, a bit shy because he is just so not used to all this. But keep him near you, show him how to dance properly and get a few drinks in him and its a party. He loves it, your family loves him and your cousins are now his besties (don't ask when that happened). He loves having a family and it just leaves him with wonder. He is in awe of this and so grateful that you let him into your life.

Bruce wayne

does a lot of research . He knows exactly how to act, what to say and what to do. A bit cold and aloof . Still surprised by the whole chaos . But unlike tim he keeps his cool. your family is impressed by you "bagging" the rich billionaire boyfriend. If this is batman with robins ver then they are worried about the huge amount of kids he adopted and what that means for you. So uh..just mention the billion again? They ask really personal questions but bruce prepared and is so ready for it. He loves seeing you in your traditional clothes, probably encourages you to wear them casually too. As if anyone can stop you, go to galas in traditional clothes or just wear home traditional in the mansion. Over all he loves getting a peak into your life and what experiences shaped you to be the woman he loves so dearly now.

If there's anything offensive about this let me know and I will change the content or even delete the whole thing. Ive based it a little of the four different cultured families I have and the common stuff I've noticed in all of them. But I've tried keeping it as general as possible tbh. So I'm sorry if this is offending anyone.

[crumblinggothicarchitecture]

"Of course, the weather and the issues about all the logistics from the very first night of her concert weren't Taylor's fault."

Sorry, no diss, but I cannot agree. She's a massive star, plans worldwide tour many months in advance and decides it's a good idea to do South American leg during the time when Southern Hemisphere is in the summer? Yeah, sure, no way to say for 100%, if it's gonna be a heatwave specifically at the date of the gig, but looking at average temperatures in that region at that time chances are damn high.

And in case of miscalculation on weather, she absolutely could have said that she's not gonna play unless people can bring in their own water or give out water bottles to everyone by entances out of her own pocket, because she can afford it. She's a damn billionare with incredibile pull, her PR brags about her upping economy wherever she goes, companies and stadiums definitely would bend to her will if she had asked. But she didn't.

I've also heard about vents being blocked, so people in the parking lot, who didn't pay for the tickets, couldn't listen to whatever would able to pass those vents.

Also Swift not adressing this tragedy almost at all, her blocking tribute that fans prepared for Ana on the next concert during usual short break by suddenly not taking it and rushing to next stage, and the fact, that a lot of people outside of South America, even Swifties, still reacts to this situation with astonishment, because news about it never reached them, suggests that Swift's PR was actively squashing them.

If Travis Scott is partially responsible for Astroworld Festival disaster, then so is Taylor Swift for the concert in Rio de Janeiro.

Yeah- no disagreement here. I didn't say that Taylor Swift wasn't responsible for her death. She is absolutely partially responsible. I meant as much, when I said that she could have postponed the event due to the heat wave.

I'd also have to agree with you- I do not understand why she chose to host a massive event like a stadium show during the summer months.

Everyone on Earth is aware of climate change, especially Taylor Swift who is the subject of much scrutiny to how her own private jet use is affecting the Earth, so we all know that the heatwaves are getting more intense.

Honestly, I don't understand why she needed to go south during their summer months. Personally, I think she wanted to be in North America for our summer months- because she enjoys being in North America more than she likes South America.

The other option would have been to spread out the Eras Tour dates even more- so she could go to the Southern Hemisphere during their winter, and still be able to be in North America for our summer the year after or something. However, I think she didn't want to spread out the tour dates- and would prefer to not have North American dates occurring in our winter, which means having to go to Brazil during their summer months.

It's confusing to write out but remember that the

summer months of North America are roughly: May to August/September.

and the winter months of Brazil are roughly: June to September.

It overlaps- thus the need for her to choose who to prioritize, and thus she ended up doing Southern Hemisphere dates in their summer (Nov.- Feb).

I also think she just wanted to stay in the USA for the summer (because she's a USAmerica-centric person who wanted a cut of the summer-vacation revenue in the USA).

[ballisticiansfolly]

I've noticed this about you – Trying to pick up and understand things referenced in The English, pt. 1/2

So, I just watched Amazon's new miniseries The English at the beginning of this year, and while enjoying the it immensely I couldn't help but to notice that, besides historical facts and details, there were undercurrents in it that I just wasn't getting. I decided to do some research and came across pretty interesting things. Lots of thought has went into the making of this series. I've divided my findings in two parts. This first part is about general stuff.

Eli's a member of the Skiri/Skidi-Federation, one of the four bands (or groups) of the Pawnee people. Also known as the Wolf Pawnee or Loups, the Skiri used to live along the Loup and Platte river areas in Nebraska. The Skiri use a different dialect of Pawnee than the three southern bands (South band and Skiri differ mainly in pronunciation and vocabulary), but Pawnee speakers don't have trouble understanding each other. Eli's Pawnee name Ckirirahpiks is pronounced [tskirira:hpiks]. Ckirir means 'wolf' and rahpiks 'scarred.'

Recruitment of Indian scouts was first authorized in 1866 by an act of Congress. Between 1864 and 1877, 170 Pawnee men served in the "Pawnee Battalion" under Frank North (1840–1885) who had learned the Pawnee language after moving to Nebraska at the age of 16. (Interestingly, in 1882 North joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West as a manager of the American Indians.) Indian Scouts were officially deactivated in 1947 when their last member retired.

I found pictures of Pawnee scouts from 1870s in this blog post. These three pictures, taken by William Henry Jackson, were particularly interesting because you can clearly see that details of their appearance have been used as an inspiration when creating Eli's looks.

When rewatching the show I noticed that Eli was wearing an Indian peace medal. According to Trooper Charlie White, Eli was known for his heroic exploits while in the army, but - given Eli's brush off - I wonder if Eli's medal had been something he had inherited. Had his father been a chief? Still, among William Jackson's pictures there were Pawnee scouts with peace medals hanging around their necks. A Pawnee scout called Co-Rux-Te-Chod-Ish was the first Native American to receive the Medal of Honor.

Raise your hand if you really thought that Richard Watts had managed to get his hands on freshwater oysters. Perhaps this was yet another case of him "spitting in the soup."

I was super confused when Simon the squeezebox player reappeared in the last episode since I had completely forgotten about him, but I loved the colours in this scene.

"I've noticed this about you. You keep saying these negative things and you end up always doing the opposite." "Hmm, well... Maybe I should start listening to myself."

So apparently even women who have never given birth can breastfeed babies. To induce lactation you need to stimulate breasts 10–15 minutes several times a day and milk will start after a month or so. Also, of course a 'breast' would be an English word Eli couldn't have picked up naturally.

Although hunting was also an integral part of the subsistence pattern, horticulture - particularly corn - occupied a preeminent position in Pawnee life. It not only provided their sustenance but also figured prominently in their religious life.

At the beginning of the 19th century the Pawnee lived earth lodges which were large, dome-shaped structures of wood covered with packed sod and earth and had a long, narrow, covered entryway. The sizes of lodges varied in diameter from 8 to 15 metres and generally contained several families. Historical sources give varying numbers of Skiri villages, ranging from 13 to 18. Each village had its own separate identity through religious functions, but by the mid-19th century the importance of village identity began to fade as the Skiri population rapidly diminished. (Murie, J. R. and Parks, D. R. (1981) Ceremonies of the Pawnee.)

As the 19th century progressed, the Pawnee bands were forced together onto a reservation on the north side of the Platte and were treated as a single tribal entity by the United States government. Missionaries and the government worked steadily at "making white men"of the Pawnee. By 1873 because of disease, crop failure, warfare, and government rations policy, the Pawnee population had decreased to approximately 2,400. In 1875 the Pawnee were persuaded to give up their reservation in Nebraska and move to new one in the Indian Territory. By the 1876 the entire tribe had removed there, where efforts to acculturate them continued. By 1890 most of the Skiri Pawnee lived on individual farms, dressed like contemporary whites, and spoke English. (Murie, & Parks, 1981)

Bundles were an integral part of Pawnee religion and served as shrines. Among the Skiri, there were two general types of bundles. Sacred bundles, cuharîpîru, were village and band bundles and naturally more important. The oldest sacred bundle was the Evening Star bundle. The other type was referred as karûsu, a bag/sack, and was any lesser bundle – that of a warrior, a doctor, or any other individual.

I was curious about the skull in Eli's bag and using skullsite.com and Royal BC Museum's bird bone identification guide I was able to identify it. Given that Pawnee villages used to be located along rivers, it not surprising that that the skull Eli treasured would belong to an osprey aka fish hawk.

Ospreys differ from most hawks by having short prefrontals.

Round and almost circular nasal (nostril).

Has perforation in sheet of bone between eyes.

Particularly curved bill.

Frontal’s width stays even. 

I always like it when a show makes me curious and inspires me to learn something new, in this case to determine cardinal directions using the sun. I used the instructions in this post to make the collage of Eli determining the compass points.

[stitching-in-time]

Voyager rewatch s1 ep12: Cathexis

Another one I didn't remember at all, this one was quite exciting to watch. Voyager's first 'crew getting possesed by aliens' story, it's another one of those episodes that's pretty much a copy of an earlier Next Generation episode, but it was well done, and very creepy and suspenseful. I like the way they played up the crew's paranoia to add to the tension. And it was the first time we get to see Captain Janeway's Victorian governess holonovel, which is one of my favorite things, and not just because I'm tickled that Captain Janeway shares my taste in literature, but because she looks absolutely gorgeous in period costume. Like, let me fangirl for a moment here, because look at this perfect vision of beauty, oh my god:

I want her whole outfit, it's perfect. Major kudos to the costume designer for giving her an historically accurate dress and hairstyle. As someone who used to do a lot of historical costuming, I'm very nitpicky about those things, but this is a good costume on every level- beautiful design, well fitted to the actress, fits the character's personality, absolutely nothing anachronistic about it anywhere. 10/10, no notes! I need to cosplay this so bad!!

Okay, I'm done being a costume nerd, back to the episode itself: I appeciated that they mentioned the EMH being programmed with knowledge of various cultures traditional healing practices instead of just having him dismiss Chakotay's medicine wheel as superstition. While I have issues with the wheel prop itself not looking very realistic, I do like that they made a point to say that Earth's medical establishment will become more open minded and inclusive in the future. (But the artwork on the wheel looked central or south american, and I'd always thought Chakotay was supposed to be from the north american southwest- it says a lot about how much the writers didn't care about him that after 7 years of episodes, I still have no idea what continent he's even from. sigh.)

Also lol at Tom Paris talking about how when he was a kid he had a doctor that made housecalls- who the heck has that even now, let alone in the 24th century?? I think this was probably where I started to get the headcanon that the Paris family is super rich- like I know that Earth is supposed to be a utopia with no poverty, but I feel like rich people with inherited wealth would keep on living in their fancy houses in their gated communities, and Tom Paris strikes me as being a privileged kid who grew up in a big house with a swimming pool and a tennis court, who spent his youth riding around in his expensive car (or would it be a shuttlecraft?? do rich people have their own shuttles on earth??) and being a slacker/prankster king at his fancy prep school like a 24th century Zack Morris. (I know I read Pathways back when I was a teenager, and it may have mentioned something about his childhood, but I don't remember any of it, and novels aren't technically canon in Star Trek universe, so I'm sticking with my rich kid Tom Paris headcanon.)

More of Neellx being possessive of Kes in this episode, ughhhh.

I didn't remember that they gave background crewmember Lieutenant Durst a pretty prominent supporting role in this episode. Obviously it was meant to make his subsequent death more impactful, but it was anyway, since I still remember him for getting killed off. (I probably don't have to give spoiler warnings for a decades old show, but spoiler: he dies in the very next episode.)

Anyway, tl;dr: a solid alien possession episode.

[luckyladylily]

I've seen a lot of progressives and leftists ask a question that can be boiled down to the following:

If Biden is a candidate that bends to public opinion, especially center and left of center (all the way to the far left) political voices, then how did we end up where we are with Biden supporting an unpopular war and more unpopular genocide?

Well, the simple answer is that it is not an unpopular war or an unpopular genocide, even if you do not include any self identified republicans in the discussion. For example, a poll taken in mid December:

Even among Democrats, it's basically a 50/50 split on supporting Israel or Palestine. Add in the Independents and there is a clear preference for Israel. And with the republicans it wouldn't even be a contest.

For another statistic, approval of military aid to Israel and humanitarian aid to Palestinians:

As we can see, 67% approve of at least as much military aid as we are giving. 67% is not split. That's wide spread support. Sending bombs to Israel is widely approved. The silver lining here is that people do want aid to Palestinians more than they want bombs to Israel (the seeming contradiction here of supporting both likely means that back in November the Israel propaganda that they were "targeting Hamas" was sticking quite well among Americans)

The good news is that over time opinion has been shifting against Israel. You can see the effect in a poll where responders were asked which side they were more sympathetic towards:

While unfortunately this poll shows none of the three groups actually favoring Palestinians over Israel, it does demonstrate that generally there has been a shift away from Israel support to support of Palestinians. We can likely chalk this up to the brutal and unjustified civilian killing's getting more coverage because of on the ground reporters and people spreading their reports.

We don't have easily accessed poll data since the South Africa genocide accusation and opening evidence at the trial.

Last off, it is widely agreed that Americans generally support a cease fire, with the numbers I've seen saying north of 60% of Americans currently support a cease fire.

Armed with this information, what can we do?

I've said before that Biden is a man who follows public opinion, every time. It has made him useful to us in the past. Right now it is working against us because our voice is not the loudest and certainly not the most wide spread. Biden is doing what Biden does best, following the political wind.

In my opinion, the most impactful thing we can do is outreach to moderate democrats and centrists (if we can). The more of them we convince, the more of the voting base of Biden will demand he change course. This is a case where more voices is intrinsically better than loud voices. We, as progressives and leftists alone, are simply not enough.

If you know any moderates, convincing even one or two people of how bad the genocide is can make a world of difference. If every progressive and leftists were to do this then it is likely supporting Israel would become politically untenable for Biden.

Now this might seem somewhat obvious but there are a number of important take aways.

Talking about it on our social media echo chambers is not going to cut it. We need to reach outside of our normal political circle or our efforts are effectively worthless.

We need to use arguments that will convince moderates and centrists. A high minded lecture on colonialism and land back theory is, at best, going to go over people's head and at worst alienate them. We are talking about the first baby step towards those ideas. Luckily we don't need to resort to theory.

A basic discussion of civilian casualty rates and the brutality of the Israeli army should be more than enough to convince basically anyone that this is not a "proportional response" and goes far beyond the reasonable limits of "self defense". Keep in mind that people almost never change their mind in front of you, they reflect on it later and change their mind then. A short five to ten minute discussion will be more than enough to get you started and will keep the door open for more discussions.

Use current events as a launch point for the discussion. Protests, the ICJ trial, and major events in Gaza itself (like the current threat of bombing a hospital) all are perfect launching points.

Keep the discussion focused primarily on Palestinians and what is happening to them. The death of obviously innocent people is politically straightforward and less likely to trigger the "oh the middle east is so complicated" reaction. "The death of children is not complex. Whatever a person might think of Hamas, Israel is the one killing children now. They should stop, because killing innocent children is bad." That is an extremely hard point to argue against.

Remember, we are not trying to "win" arguments. We are trying to help people see.

[thoughtsickles]

Fic roundup 2023

Did I meet my goodreads goal this year? No. Did I read a LOT of fic? You bet! These are my favorites:

Cooperative Gameplay by grayola Shameless (american) Ian Gallagher/Mickey Milkovich 421,889 words

I don’t care about video games or famous/nonfamous AUs generally. But this fic. ohmygod the sex scenes are so good and the whole thing is so achingly romantic and epic.

Do you need to have watched Shameless to read it? Well I think you SHOULD watch all of shameless on a month-long binge like I did. I think that would improve your life. But this is pretty AU and is probably not strictly necessary to have prior knowledge of the show. 

Things Beyond Mistake by grayola Shameless (american) Ian Gallagher/Mickey Milkovich 130,497 words (WIP)

By the same author, this crushingly unfinished story about small towns and the South and longing—I know some people don’t read WIPs bc they don’t want to do this to themselves. I love pain. Let's all go leave very nice comments for the author so they will maybe finish this!!

Case by Case by lapsi Mindhunter Holden Ford/Bill Tench 165,441 words

Listen you SHOULD watch Mindhunter. But even if you haven’t, you may enjoy this real fucked-up kinda slow-burn romance between two people who are ruinously codependent and obsessive, among meticulously crafted mysteries. I will warn you, the ending for this had me pacing my apartment yelling “that’s it??!!!” for several hours after. But I am still wholeheartedly recommending this. 

Missing Moments by @paperstorm 911 Lonestar TK Strand/Carlos Reyes 175,952 words

You should just read everything paperstorm has written. But this series in particular is such required reading for my Lonestar peeps. TK and Carlos at their angsty-iest, rawest, sexiest, most beautiful. This is the kind of show where I NEED to know more than the episodes alone give me and this fic gives so much more!! And I hear there is more on the way!

When Soulmates Swim by @carlos-in-glasses 911 Lonestar TK Strand/Carlos Reyes 53,187 words

TK and Carlos healing deep hurts both physical and mental, together! Canon-compliant AU! Sexy sexy sexy!

Magnetic North by paperstorm 911 Lonestar TK Strand/Carlos Reyes 145,796 words

Ok one more paperstorm! This one is for all my sports AU fans and hockey shippers. TK is a prickly hothead and secret addict who gets traded to Carlos' team. Carlos is just trying to be a good captain. Enemies to lovers! Hotel room intrigue!

don't forget to read the fic I published this year, i can't afford to want you more, a series of TK/Carlos character moments from s01 featuring lots of angst and sexytimes

[misc-obeyme]

yooo it’s ur weeb friend!!

lmao so asmo got banned from peru (and probably greece after the incident with helen BUT that’s water under the bridge) and levi got banned from japan for being too cringe-fail (the americans are already enough, NO MORE) but what about the others?

i feel like beel got banned from ireland after causing the great potato famine and from italy after eating all the pasta in the entire country once…

mammon got banned from vegas FOR SURE for causing a scene (not a country BUT he’s been banned from every casino in the US, and steadily working his way through canada and europe (starting with england) he’s making progress…

lucifer got banned from italy also for the vatican city incident. he wanted to see it cause he’d heard so much about it. no one is allowed to talk about it…but the brothers will tell you about it later if you want to know.

belphie and diavolo got banned from all of africa because due to a mix up they got blamed for spreading the sleeping sickness and malaria respectively (they didn’t actually do it but can’t seem to escape the allegations)

i think solomon got banned from mexico and all of south america and is the cause behind a lot of the superstitions based on devils/the occult there. people run from him in fear. he claims to not know why but you know there’s a reason. you can try to ask someone but they’re all too busy fleeing in terror.

barbatos claims he got banned from russia and china. no one knows why, not even diavolo. it’s one of the mysteries that he’s very secretive about, but legend has it that it’s related to something he did before he joined forces with diavolo.

i also think asmo got banned from india and some regions of france as well as various other european countries like spain and scotland but the stories behind those pretty much revolve around a party, drinking, and members of nobility. and they’re usually so long and crazy and asmo is always insistent he did nothing wrong and will leave out parts of the story to make himself sound good BUT if you’re a real history buff you can usually sus out what actually happened. or get him drunk. he always has loose lips when he drinks.

satan got banned from the americas (specifically north america) due to his rebellious streak/temper tantrum days resulting in the satanic panic. mostly caused by americans being rude and making him angry. he’s also a basis for a lot of mexico/south american superstition, though somehow…not as much as solomon?

just my silly lil ideas i wanted to share! what are your thoughts?? 🤔🤔🤔

Hello there, my friend!!

al;dskjfasdlksfj Beel causing the potato famine looool!

I definitely think they all have the potential to get banned for causing specific issues. Definitely Beel eating all of everything, Mammon causing trouble at casinos, and Asmo just getting drunk and partying too much.

I also think Mammon would be banned for doing something like insurance fraud. I don't know why but that just seems like something he'd get himself into. Or maybe it turns out he's the mastermind behind all the internet email scams asking you to send them thousands of dollars.

I think Lucifer has to be extra careful because uh... he's Lucifer. You would think he'd be banned from the Vatican before he ever even showed up there. Satan, too. Just stay away from religious locations when the religion in question considers you to be the source of evil, okay?? Though I would absolutely demand the story from the other brothers about the incident lol.

Okay see I headcanon Solomon spent a significant amount of time in the southwestern US just because he's always wearing that bolo tie lol. So I love the idea that he was also in Mexico and South America, just being the menace he always is. In the Devildom, the stuff he does isn't too weird, but can you imagine normal people in the human world encountering him and all his weird experiments? And if he was actually covered in pacts marks that look like demonic sigils? I have no doubt that he would be the source of years worth of superstitions.

I LOVE all ideas where Satan is the cause of any kind of Satantic activity anywhere. Like the Satanic panic was so ridiculous, but I love the idea of him causing it just by being angry about rude people.

I do think Satan could also have been banned from Japan - most specifically, Tashirojima where the cat population far surpasses that of the human one. Possibly also Hydra Island in Greece, which is another island known for its high cat population. I just think eventually they'd be like listen we appreciate how much you love the cats, but you need to leave now lol.

All of this seems more than enough to get any of them banned from the various human world locations they've caused trouble in. It's so funny to think about them running rampant in the human world. Lucifer out here probably acting like he'd never get banned, but he's caused his fair amount of problems, too.

[beardedmrbean]

Oh right the pan African movement…my middle name is a result of that…anyways

Problem because I lived in the Midwest, then the south, and back to the Midwest. Of course there are lot of overlap. But I wonder how many black people up north knows our people still live in the country?

But as you mention with the nyc boroughs,

If we Americans goes “Savages savages, barely even human!” To a state right next to each other

What the hell you guys expect from Africans?

Also Hurston mention that red rope myth…actually I watching a YouTuber Blair white podcast where she made a comment towards a member of the view show is that does she think life is a Disney movie.

This got me thinking and slowly realize that Africans Americans even into middle age maintain the sanitized version of the slave trades we were told

And we never updated in middle school, seriously I didn’t know about the Africans selling other Africans things until I was a teen on tumblr

Just curious….especially since the left been in control of education for decades-oh wait they scared shitless the racism of 1st and 2nd wave feminism and the damage they did with the sex revolution

Look I’m not a purist…let just a lot of shit my community and other poor ones went through make sense

(Also why my people suspiciously make up 50% of abortions but that another story)

And African nations want reparations? Hmm here what I would probably go like in a un meeting

“Now while slavery is a big stain on human history, the Americas and Europeans countries who participated in the Atlantic slave trade acknowledge it was terrible and made sure to end it. While giving reparations to slaves if they can. But beyond that, the Africans nations who were part of slave owning kingdoms such as the Dahomey will not get refunds…wait, you guys think we wouldn’t eventually find out the truth? After the women king film, the False Eden of Africa you exploited many Americans of slave dispora from don’t work anymore.”

Also like if I ever go to Africa, I’m not trying to spiritually to connect there. I’m genetically mostly Yoruba, but I’m culturally Anglo-Saxon. I’m just want to do research, where my ancestors were from, the environments, the kingdoms and empires they lived in.

But unless I’m married someone from a Yoruba tribe, I’m at the end of day an American. I think my community haven’t come to the realization even when interacting with African immigrants

Problem because I lived in the Midwest, then the south, and back to the Midwest. Of course there are lot of overlap. But I wonder how many black people up north knows our people still live in the country?

I imagine you'll get some of the city folk that will picture them in a very Uncle Remus/Song of the South way, not the whole racist bit so much as just the same way you'd picture the white yokels like Cletus and Brandine on the Simpsons, not racism there just classism.

This got me thinking and slowly realize that Africans Americans even into middle age maintain the sanitized version of the slave trades we were told And we never updated in middle school, seriously I didn’t know about the Africans selling other Africans things until I was a teen on tumblr

I still don't even know how that all got started, if you stop and think about it logically obviously there's going to be people in Africa working with the slave traders, the ruling group wants to remain the ruling group so when someone shows up with boomsticks that make all that being the ruling group even easier they'll take them up on it.

Native Americans were big on that too, territorial expansion and slaughtering and subjugation of your foes is a universal constant in the human species, several species in the rest of the animal kingdom too.

(Also why my people suspiciously make up 50% of abortions but that another story)

Negro Project

They look to be attempting to rehabilitate Margret Sanger in various publications and what not, but the simple fact of the matter is that planned parenthood was founded, in part, to control the black population. Now was it a we don't want any more black children born or was it gotta see if we can help them out of poverty and having 12 kids is not going to make that goal any easier or any other reason the founding of the group had the control of the black population in mind.

They haven't moved away from that really.

And African nations want reparations? Hmm here what I would probably go like in a un meeting “Now while slavery is a big stain on human history, the Americas and Europeans countries who participated in the Atlantic slave trade acknowledge it was terrible and made sure to end it. While giving reparations to slaves if they can. But beyond that, the Africans nations who were part of slave owning kingdoms such as the Dahomey will not get refunds…wait, you guys think we wouldn’t eventually find out the truth? After the women king film, the False Eden of Africa you exploited many Americans of slave dispora from don’t work anymore.”

There's some African countries that have actually apologized for their role in the slave trade, Libya being one of them gaddafi before all that "fun" went down there during the arab spring had done it,

no that it solved anything, Slavery in Mauritania is still a big issue,

In 1981, Mauritania became the last country in the world to officially abolish slavery, when a presidential decree abolished the practice. However, no criminal laws were passed to enforce the ban. In 2007, under international pressure, the government passed a law allowing slaveholders to be prosecuted.

2007, but you know whippo bad or something.

Also like if I ever go to Africa, I’m not trying to spiritually to connect there. I’m genetically mostly Yoruba, but I’m culturally Anglo-Saxon. I’m just want to do research, where my ancestors were from, the environments, the kingdoms and empires they lived in. But unless I’m married someone from a Yoruba tribe, I’m at the end of day an American. I think my community haven’t come to the realization even when interacting with African immigrants

Ya I'd like to see the place where my DNA is from some day, get some drinks and some food and a couple shirts and a coffee mug, end of the day I'm still a purebred American Mutt though, can trace bits of the family tree back to when there was only one Virginia and it was a colony, some pre civil war stuff in Florida too.

Besides, I'm red green colourblind what am I going to do in Ireland besides be handicapped, lol.

[chimerathewriter]

Oh my god is 2023 and I have seen a lot of delulus this year I will list yall a bunch

Billy Hargrove stabs who hoped that he would have come back even if we saw his racist abusive should live that fine body he didn't deserve. And about him being racist...

Stranger Things stans who started to throw racial slurs when Lucas showed up in the trailer playing basketball and thought that he betrayed the gang.

Stranger Things stans again who made fun of Lucas Sinclair hair, as if is not the most time accurate

Again Stranger Things stans who made racist jokes so that Caleb could notice them. And the ones who tried to invalidate Caleb's expurience with racism.

House of the Dragon stans saying that Targaryen incest is better that Lannister incest bffr, and if you tried to say that Jamie raped Cercei yes even Aegon

Aemond Targaryen stans, trying to completely victimise him, if Jace died that night with that rock yall would be silence

Team Green stans saying that team Green is morally better than team black, nope the writers cut a lot of things

Alicent and Rhaenyra shouldn't be idolise as iconic feminist. Because Alicent was indeed a victim of the pathriarchy but she still let his son be a rapist and become King. Rhaenyra wanted the crown and power not because she's a woman she just want to have power just for herself.

Alicent stans who think she never wanted Rhaenyra's demise, delulu as hell if the writers followed the book 100% yall mouth would be shut

Aegon Targaryen stans

Team Black stans who completely ignore how Viserys ignored his other children for his grown ass daughter. And think that Luke shouldn't have a little bit of accountability

Team Black stans who think that Daemon is a good person

Team Black stans supporting blood and cheese

Writers who decided to change some parts of the story

The bitxh who told me that house Martell is white

People who are racist to the black cast of Hotd

Genshin Impact stans

Stans who think that the representation thingy is not a big deal but poc players have to look at their culture being whitewashed

Stans who say Sumeru isn't inspired from North African, Middle Eastern and South Asian culture

Stans who say that the adultificatiom of little girl character is not weird

Ppl who simp for the 1000 Yr looking boy

Miracolous Ladybug stans who hate Marinette beign a stalker (and becase she rejected Chat many times, but we ain't gonna talk how chat is 2 persistent? OK just close your eyes) and praise Cloe even if at this point she's an irredeemable character and the new episode ugh

Girlies who say that Selwyn is the better love interest when Nick is standing right there

The white reader who didn't like Babylon because she didn't related with the main character

Quentin Tarantino stans

MCU stans

White Wanda Vision stans

TVDU stans

The bros who says woke

American Psycho stans

Jk Rowling stans

Hp stans who say there aren't racist undertones in the book

Some yt Encato Stans

Lore of Olympus Stans

Kpop Stans

I Army that tries to put their opinions in Korean politics

Defending Stephanie Meyers racist writing just because she's mormon

Holland Roden stans

Harry Potter stans who ignore the Maruder girls for new gen of Harry potter

People who fancast darkskin black Maruders biracial

People who cast Peter skinny

People who get angry at poc Maruder fancast

People who say that they don't like the new interview with the vampire series, they like everything except Louis and Claudia casting

Now we all know why don't yall like the casting, go and Stan your non canon white movie, and live us queens alone

And lastly

White one direction stans who say that the guys were under contract is for this they couldn't defend Zayn against racism and islamophobia

I still have alot probably I will do a fandoms slander series

[simptasia]

You know what i've been thinking about? If Aaron was raised on the island, what would his accent be? Cause you see all those studies of the people of multiple countries coming together in remote places having children and their accents are something unheard of. Totally new accent. So by that would Aaron's accent be something like that? A mash of British/Australian/American/Korean/Iraqi/ whatever is wrong with Ben, like a totally new accent. Of course, I'm just condensing like Sawyer has his YeeHaw accent and Mike has a more New York, Hurley is Mexican and while he has an American accent in English when Speaking Spanish It's probably not that sooooo I'm just so curious on if they never left what the fuck their accent would be like. Plus, if they stayed on the island and Jin Suns kid was born there and in the future more babies would they inherit the same accent? Like say in this scenario Juliet/Sawyer or Kate/Jack or even fucking Charlie/desmond had children would they too inherit this new dialect/Accent thats contained to them only?Like would they create their own unique accent?, and when Aaron gets older he gets with Ji Yeon (which is so funny like the show runners were like yeah at the end they're still watching Bluey, we should totally imply they get together as adults) So if they hypothetically do get together in this idea where they never leave the island would their children help develop this complete unique accent?

funnily enough, you're pretty much describing what caused the australian accent to begin with. they plopped a ton of english and irish people here, added alcohol and a brand new fucked up way to talk was born

yes, studies show that a child's accent comes more from their enviroment more than their parents! hence why i have an adelaide aussie accent rather than my mum's southern english accent. because i grew up here. this also explains why daniel sounds american as opposed to his english mother. thats actually how it works (tho daniel also went to oxford during his teens so he should sound at least a bit more english but be glad we were spared jeremy attempting that)

i like this idea!

okay so, i think in regular world of lost, aaron grows up to have an american accent but with aussie turns of phrase. because i imagine aaron to be raised by claire and kate, in america. and also sawyer, miles, richard and frank are part of his life too. so claire is really outnumbered here. but he refers to her as "mum"

in this au where everybody stays on the island forever? ...probably still american because holy shit theres a lot of americans on this show but you're right, it could be at least a little muddled. i don't think it'd turn into an immediate frankenstein melting pot of aussie, england (north and south), american (yeehaw and otherwise), korean, iraqi and scottish because thats not exactly how accents work, it would take longer. but certain words and phrases would mix in aaron and ji yeon's (and the other hypothetical babies) little brains. and like certain pronunciations would probably be off. like, they'd be somewhat uncanny. also it's probable that these versions of aaron and ji would be so fucking good at accent impressions. oh and in this world, i like to think aaron can speak korean because he'd hear it around him a lot

so i think yeah the next gen in that AU would sound like,,, kinda weird sounding americans? so basically canadians

i've done my own recreational study of linguistics and phonetics in my time but i'd love to hear about this from somebody who knows more about this stuff than me. that'd be neat

also bless you for taking the take to adknowledge that not all the american accents are the same in this show (or in real life). i know i glide past it sometimes but its a fact i'm very aware of too

oh, oh, since you brought this up:

"Hurley is Mexican and while he has an American accent in English when Speaking Spanish It's probably not that sooooo"

i will take the opptunity to once again say that while hurley's voice is whiny american when he's speaking english (in a cute way! no dunk!), when he's speaking spanish his voice is absolutely beautiful

i realise that spanish accent > american accent isn't exactly a hot take but it blows me away because its coming out the same guy

thank you for allowing me to bring that up again. and for your time

[incarnateirony]

Vinnie and co as uneducated, culturally underexposed idiots, round 3: Them pearl clutching and saying it's "racist" to use the term Dirty South.

take your anglo infused evangelical concern trolling out of here and stop telling black people how to live or that their culture is offensive, you ignorant racist cunts. You can clutch your pearls all you want, but it's the dirty south, bitch, and you don't get to erase them. You're in their territory now, what are you not fucking understanding.

are you racist cunts attaching "dirty" to a race? Is that what's happening here? Did you just project your own racist shit out and then use it to shit on african american culture and pat yourself on the back?

here's the hint. it's dirty in that it pisses off hysterical bigots like you. and they're proud of that. Hell, i'll say it. *we're* proud of it. While black culture is definitely the dominant force, as shown there's a variety of influences. And either you're part of the dirty south, or you're part of the pain in the ass problem they hate. Vinnie made pretty clear which she is since she's privileged enough to not even know wtf the Dirty South IS much less be their ally.

I don't care what bingo or personal minority or whatever card you try to pull, if you're part of enforcing white evangelical patriarchy culturally you're part of the problem sis. now go back to watching rangers put immigrants in cages and idolizing a random white dude from one of the whitest available texas cities and tell yourself you're still right anyway, as you do. probably never added together why austin don't turn up in R&B/rap songs.

pffff you really just think everywhere is the same, right? like there's north and south and it's all the same distribution down here to you. just like you think all sportsball fans watch all sportsball leagues.

you wave around a (nonapplicable in this discussion as you aren't fucking black and are offended by black culture apparently) poc card a lot but you've just made it irrevocably clear you're hugely disassociated from ethnic history and value the white patriarchy's perspective. which definitely explains why walker's inspiration didn't bother you.

tell black people you think they're being inappropriate. their ass gonna show up with bells on and the uncensored version telling you to sit on a cactus, bitch. with a rhyme and a beat for swagger

[yesterdaysanswers]

Mauro Pagani has his say (Gong, April 1975)

It is another world. We have been there three times since last June and have had an amazing ride, all over the North, Detroit, Chicago, New York three times, then Ohio with Columbus, Cleveland, which is already a pretty strange downtown area (Country Music reigns supreme), then we will go South, to New Orleans, Miami in Florida, Texas to S. Diego, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Portland, and we have been all over Canada. We immediately realized that we had landed on the moon.

There is still the conception that having become rich is a sign of personal ability. You still find people who, accompanying them home, say phrases like: "everything you see around is my stuff”. And musicians among others are not saved: They are people who have done this job all their lives, one cannot speak of victims of the system as is often done (in Italy, for example, we tend to blame all the organizers of concerts or the record companies, without thinking that even the artist who asks for fees of millions to play two pieces is rotten). After all, there is nothing crazier than an enriched rock singer, guitar, bass, drums, Texan hat, spurs and music at 12,000 volts. The J. Geils Band, for example, are horrible people. We played with them on the last tour and found out that they are foulness itself, unspeakable, I don't even want to talk about it. (Carlos Santana, on the other hand, even if I don't share his mysticism, is one of the few musicians I've met who I liked on a human level, a clean one who believes in what he does). Yet it has been seen that people like Bob Dylan and today like Frank Zappa, why not? They had a huge following making music of a certain type. I'm sorry if Zappa makes a lot of money and doesn't spread it around, as would be coherent from his point of view, and I'm sorry Dylan broke out and sold out. But their message remains, and I don't dispute their beginnings, when they were pure and honest musical heroes.

The discussion on the cost of music is completely different in the USA. The records, first of all, sell for much less, from 4 to 5 dollars, that is to say between 2,500 and 3,000 lire which for them, with what they earn, then becomes more or less 1,500 lire. So they can afford to buy even 5 albums a week. About 1000 new ones come out every month, and for us Italian groups, it is terrible competition (in Canada it is differs because they also have a cultural background closer to the European one, and they understand PFM music better: we have sold 20,000 records out of 18 million people, while in the USA, where almost 250 million people live, we have passed 100,000 LPs). The concerts cost much more than here. No American organizer would dream of bringing musicians into the theater working to the bone as almost all of us do (except two or three). And then there's the manipulation of ratings and the mafiette to get on TV. We have had the good fortune to meet people who love music, for once not being overly schemed, who made us do television shows with very high approval ratings, something like 25, 30 million viewers per evening. There are 3 rock programs a week, almost two hours each, which are broadcast in a row on Friday evening. That day you sit in front of the TV at 5 pm and finish listening to music and it's already night. But they almost always screw up the choice of appearances. For example, PFM was put with Steppenwolf and Herbie Hancock (by the way, he broke out too, with the upholstery-style jacket, the puffed sleeves like a page. He’s also a clown and plays absolutely useless funk). Dave Mason is perhaps one of the few musicians met on these trips who doesn't sell himself like a whore. He goes on stage, plays, sings, doesn't fuss, doesn't bang. He stands out completely as an American-style type of entertainer. In fact, in my opinion, the audience that follows him is wonderful, finally a credible, fair audience that doesn't need the buffoon on stage. In general, the artist in the USA is forced to undertake tremendous scenes. They must amaze, nail to the chair. It's one of the most passive artist-to-audience relationships I've ever seen. At concerts people want to get high, blitzed, stoned, wasted. There is a lot of beer and alcohol (and drugs of course): they consume everything, just to get drunk. In Italy, all of this is inconceivable, the kids still come to listen to music, with a very different cultural and political background. They may not know exactly what they want, but what is certain is that they do not want to lose touch with reality. Made in USA fans want to be physically involved, so they don't abandon the most indecent hard rock. Rock just hits; progressive music also involves you from a mental point of view, it stimulates creativity and imagination. Even the European progressives who made it big in those parts must have had scenic "skills": Emerson Lake & Palmer, or Yes arriving at the concert in a hot air balloon. Another proof is that jazz in America is not as popular as it is here: the artist sits there and plays almost exclusively for himself. You're the one who has to move your head and make images come to you.

Not for nothing is the current American artistic production dying of gigantism, it impresses, it leaves nothing to the imagination.

Have you seen "C'era una volta Hollywood” [the 1974 film “That’s Entertainment”]? Billions of extras, the public is doing well, without thinking, without producing. An indelible trace of psychedelic culture has remained in the US, but sucked into the system. There has been no development. It was an identity crisis, that of the sixties that led the American youth to look within. But when people found out who the fuck they really were, they said, "well, now I know,” and went back to doing things exactly like before. In the end, the American way of life hasn't changed much.

The Americans liked PFM after all. The reviews have always treated us well, sometimes they spoke enthusiastically about us and badly about Poco, for example, to whom we "supported" (they never got angry, they were the first to come and congratulate, to say that the we were nice and they respected us. Well, I have a happy memory of them). In three tours we've only had two concerts where we didn't really connect with the audience until they asked for an encore. The fact is that we are, together with some new German groups on the rise, a bridge between European and American culture. We don't make a scene and we never will, but we play happy, popular music. Celebration, without killing anyone, involves entirely. Live, they notice our vitality, they appreciate us as individual musicians, which is very important (we always improvise when we can). The elite in the US feel the need for a breakthrough and so does the general public, even if they don't ask you directly and they are satisfied with what they have. They have exported blues, rock, and jazz to Europe and we have assimilated them there, mixing them with the music of our home. In turn, however, the US, with the Beatles and English music, had an injection of novelty years ago (Eleanor Rigby would never have been created in the USA, even if the Beatlesian matrix then comes from Little Richard and the Everly Brothers). Now in America they are waiting for the second European return and they are not waiting for it from England, which is now dead, killed by business. Perhaps they expect it from us. One amazing thing: avid collectors have all the records by the New Trolls, Le Orme, Osanna, for them they are relics.

The meeting with the Italian emigrants was contradictory. In Toronto, Canada, they welcomed us like a true home away from home, but it's only natural because their culture doesn't clash so strongly with the local one as it does in the US. At the Academy of Music in New York there were almost 200 Italians that had made a tremendous fuss, unfurling a 15 meter tricolor banner on the balcony. It felt more like a football game than a concert. Among them there were certainly those who had known us in Italy in 1971 (they asked us for Impressioni di Settembre) and who, now seeing each other again, it felt like home.

But in a radio station where they were broadcasting our records together with an interview in the Italian language, the transmission was interrupted by a compatriot who shouted angrily, "it's not our music, it's not genuine, they sing in English”. Once, Maurizio Vandelli of Equipe 84 had gone to Brooklyn to play and he was surrounded by a Rudolph Valentino-like group, with pomaded hair, who attacked him because he had long hair and a face that "brings dishonor to the country”. There are real fascist overlays carrying weight down there. That's why I don't believe it when record companies make speeches about the fact that your records abroad can be based on an Italian audience.

As far as the political matter is concerned, there are precise responsibilities on the part of the artist, as I have already said, but there are very few worldwide who really intend to carry this discussion forward. In Italy there will be at most 4 or 5, even if something is moving, but unlike overseas, we have better prospects, something behind that moves us faster than elsewhere. I'm not a revolutionary barricade, I don't have the preparation for it, but I'm a comrade and whatever doubts and impressions I can express, I try to do so as a comrade. In short, I'll be in the square with the others. Banchetto and l’isola di Niente do not have revolutionary lyrics, but they show which side we are on, what our problems are, and also our limits. 

PFM is made up of different people that are not all comrades, in the strict sense of the word, there a few who perhaps feel like simply being a musician, but there is an average of common approach from which no one fails. In short, we know what things we want or what not to do. Pay attention to a pricing policy, help this organization rather than that one. But it is a type of our image that has not yet come out well. On a musical level we have made a certain type of experiments, just for our evolution in the early days. Storia di un minuto, when it came out it was an avant-garde album. But there comes a certain point that the head is ahead of the hands that hit the keys or tend the strings, and then it's time to stop and study. We intend to intelligently exploit the classical culture that we have more or less left behind us (I did 4 years of violin, Flavio 5 years of classical guitar, etc.), especially in the arrangements (there is a symphonic way of developing a theme that can be used on any kind of music). But that's not enough.

The actual direction is about valuing popular culture (this is a creative period for us, we're tired of our usual language). Since the days of Celebration we were convinced that it was necessary to do this: that song was edited in a very short time, we were all full of energy. On stage it was truly a party, a bravado (but sincere), almost from the Commedia dell’Arte.

And I don't agree with those who argue that our way of filtering popular materials is too external and spectacular. What must be avoided in these operations is cultural complacency, but it is not right to give up on oneself, on the vitality of one's roots. Our way of using popular music is not pandering or shameless: in this sense, Harlequin is also a sycophant, that is, a street theatre, but a true, authentically popular one…

About the future. Back from America, we perhaps have some big news in store for the album we'll be making (with an almost live album feeling): a sixth element will enter PFM, probably definitively, whose name I still can't reveal.

We have increasingly felt the lack of a natural singer, we were all a bit tired of our vocal performances and above all of the fact that none of us was a natural singer and it cost us a lot in concerts to approach the microphone, giving up the maximum concentration on our instruments. The singer we've set our sights on is full of grit, and not only has a beautiful voice, but also composes and is a profound student of popular music culture. I hope that the adjustment to the lineup goes through soon and immediately gives positive results.

Mauro Pagani 

[alatismeni-theitsa]

not to get involved with the Discourse, but I am a huge Tolkien fan and have read a lot of the other books and documents besides just the main books--

while racism in the Legendarium is a thing that exists (and it shouldn't be swept aside!) I also want to note that:

(1) Tolkien is ambiguous about a lot of descriptors for characters in the First Age/Second Age beyond notable features (i.e. [spoilers for the Silmarillion] Nerdanel has red hair, Fingon has gold ribbons in his braids, Maedhros loses his hand) and there is a good portion of the Silmarillion fandom that views the characters as POC (check out the #mepoc tag for examples) (shameless plug for @arwenindomiel and @absynthe--minded as well)

(2) Tolkien actually described the different clans/families of hobbits and noted the differences in appearance.

The Harfoots were browner of skin, smaller, and shorter, and they were beardless and bootless; their hands and feet were neat and nimble; and they preferred highlands and hillsides. The Stoors were broader, heavier in build; their feet and hands were larger; and they preferred flat lands and riversides. The Fallohides were fairer of skin and also of hair, and they were taller and slimmer than the others; they were lovers of trees and of woodlands. [The Fellowship of the Ring, Concerning Hobbits]

(3) Tolkien's inspiration for Gondor was Asia Minor and Egypt. The inspiration for Númenor was Atlantis, but specifically the Plato's recounting of the story.

(4) There are humans in Lord of the Rings, the Haradrim and Easterlings, that are described using language that implies they are from the Middle East/Asia/Africa. It is well-discussed in many scholarly circles that this is an extremely racist portrayal, and discussions of race in the Legendarium should acknowledge this racism, but I think it's a necessary point to bring up in the context of the greater debate/controversy/discussion about race in Lord of the Rings and Rings of Power.

tl;dr-- there has always been room for elves and men and hobbits and dwarves to be Not White, it's just never been shown on screen until now

[I was thalassakimou, I changed URLs-- hi hello, polla filakia]

It's ok, thank you for sending information my way! As I wrote in one of my replies there are was room for diversity with the humans and the elves (I didn't include the hobbits because the discussion wasn't about them ) and the existence of this diversity in general is not a negative thing!

Only for different cultures of Dwarves I haven't seen a reference from Tolkien. And that's why the discussion was mostly about Disa.

For the hobbits I also don't mind it if the author himself had this described in his words. I should just note that "browner of skin" can be interpreted many ways, including both what Americans call "POC", as well South and Eastern Europeans. Because in the UK and North Europe in general, they call one "dark" for having a standard Mediterranean tan 😂 And Greeks themselves say "I blackened" when they tan, and so few of us have extreme tans. Not anything to do with the general lotr discussion, I just wanted to make a point of different countries viewing "dark" differently, and North countries have made "White" a very exclusive club than even if your skin is light they will exclude you for being 1% more darker than them.

Granted, the multiple anon messages and comments made it seem like a bigger issue than I personally see it. At the end of the day it's a show, not an evil grand scheme to rob people of their rights 😂 The only reason I'm explaining so much is to avoid being misunderstood and because I like writing walls of text

[blairwaldcrf]

Since you made the post, I'm taking you by your word: Could you actually... explain what Mormons ARE? Because to me, as a European who only ever sees em touched upon in TV shows, they're like... some American sub-group of Christians that even other Christians make fun of. But that's kind of it. Never really bothered looking it up before but if you offer answering questions, could you explain them a bit more beyond the tag-line? Doesn't have to be a DEEP dive, just some basic uh pointers on HOW they differ from "regular" Christians?

Definitely!

So Mormons are different in a few ways, and there are different branches. The most widespread is the LDS sect (latter-day saints) and the sect that gets the most scrunity is the FLDS (fundamental latter-day saints) that still practice polygamy. I grew up LDS but only an hour away from an infamous FLDS town called Colorado City.

Unlike a lot of people think, they DO believe in the Bible (both New and Old testament) and use the King James version. However, they also believe in "The Book of Mormon" which is "additional scripture". This scripture is said to be from translated gold plates that founder Joseph Smith found, detailing the beginnings of Christianity in the American continent (mainly south america, but also central and obviously north). It honestly conveys a lot of the same messages from the Bible, since the whole thing is about how Christ visited the americas after his crucifixion. They do have a few other additional scriptures that are much smaller called like "Doctrine and Covenants" that come from the belief that there are still living prophets who prophesy today.

Their main differences are these;

As listed above, they don't believe in a binary heaven/hell.

3. If you get to the Celestial Kingdom which is Heaven plus, you'll be able to go and create your own planet/universe

4. They famously have a code where they can only wear modest clothing, can't drink hot caffeinated beverages or alcohol, can't smoke, swear, etc

5. Their temples

6. Their missionaries being super extra, starting at a 2yr commitment at ahe 18 for men and 19 for women

7. The way they genuinely run an entire us state