#literally OBSESSED with this one sarah always knows how to translate my ideas and make a fucking banger out of them

[mt07131]

I'm not gonna change So stay out of my way I don't need you to understand That I'm already saved

Every time I comm @commander-sarahs-art I think she can't POSSIBLY get better than the last time AND YET she continually blows it out of the water!!!

[fitzrove]

Thank you for the video! A very astute analysis of the show’s change over the years, and how marketing played into it. As someone who has been seeing TdV on and off for fifteen years now (but mostly Hungarian-Viennese-Russian branch), it really did strike me when I saw it again after a long pandemic break a few days just how “predatory gay” trope the Herbert scene is. I guess the world was a bit different back when I was in my teens, and we were just happy to get *any* overt representation there, but that bit didn’t age well, and there sure seems to be little point to Herbert in the show at all.

That said, I always saw this as a complex story about hedonism and human nature without a protagonist, or, rather, letting the audience pick the protagonist, which is not always a bad thing. My main qualm with the show going against the theme of freedom is how passive Sarah is during the escape. For a girl who is more of less defined by agency, who manipulates so skillfully, she sure does not have much agency during the ballroom sequence. Her wants are so clear throughout (*translation dependent), but are completely absent in that moment.

Anyway, please do more videos. I am *very* curious to hear your thoughts on SE.

At the risk of going into a ramble...

When I was a youngish teenager, a group leader at a summer camp I went to sang Totale Finsternis and mentioned it was from a musical, which piqued my interest. I watched some clips from Youtube and they didn't really hold my interest at first, not at all... not before I came across what was probably this video. And then this one. And then this. I didn't speak any German at that point but I was so intrigued (as someone who loved musicals, was obsessed with fanfic and absolutely devastated at the lack of canon lgbtq rep in the types of historical/goth mainstream media I liked - it was 2016). So it's literally Wenn Liebe that originally got me into the show, even though my views on it have done a complete 180 after I grew up and started to look at what was actually going on ajfkkslf. I still think that some of the portrayals are a bit less... well, cruel - Máté Kamarás' Herbert is very earnest for the most part, which makes the portrayal feel more genuine, like the character is more than a parody, even just a little bit.

But it's still an uncomfortable scene and it's uncomfortable that the fandom reaction to it is so overwhelmingly positive even now 😅 Canon divergent fanfic is one thing (I definitely know the feeling of being so starved for lgbtq rep that you just rewrite the story to be able to have a ship), but a lot of people's takes even for the canon show amount to "he secretly likes it", which... 😭 My take still is that a lot of people ship it just to get Alfred out of the way of Krolock x Sarah. And that's annoying ahfkdk, where are the Alfred x Krolock x Sarah fics (Krolock isn't my favourite character but like, that has more canonical basis than alfbert lol)

I agree that Sarah just completely loses her agency for post-bite Tanzsaal, which is a somewhat odd choice! And I think a hedonism reading of the story is really interesting and checks out - in my video I mostly skipped over Chagal and Magda because it's a Can of Worms, but they definitely reinforce the idea that it's the central theme.

Thank you so much for the compliments and the ask!!! :D

Ajfkfk I must admit that I don't get what SE means in this context 😁😁 feel free to educate me in the notes!

[ai4cf23]

mixed feelings (assignment 1)

When people think of writing, it doesn’t always occur to them that it can be a collaborative process. Why would it be? It’s an incredibly intimate art form that has no visual imagery beyond words on a page. The job of a writer is to evoke emotions through these words, to take ideas and somehow formulate them into a unique amalgamation that both encapsulates and explores the human psyche. So how, exactly, would someone (or something) fit into that?

In my own experience, I have found that sharing my writing is deeply terrifying. Coincidentally (and perhaps unfortunately), it is also very, very helpful—given the right group of people. A proper workshop can be extremely productive; having other writers read and give feedback on your work is probably one of the best things you can do for yourself. There are a few objective errors they might be able to catch: plot holes, grammatical mistakes, formatting issues. But the value in workshop lies mostly in the subjective interpretation of your work. Does it flow properly? Does the conclusion feel satisfying? Do you relate to the characters? Is the dialogue natural? What does natural dialogue even mean? Given that there’s no solid answer to any of these questions, I have doubts as to whether or not AI could be helpful in this way. If we take, for example, the concept of dialogue: it’s an active struggle for many to capture the “humanness” and verisimilitude of what good dialogue should be. If a real, living, breathing person cannot translate the very experience of conversation, then what hope does an AI have? I don’t say this merely out of skepticism either, because I’ve tried. Below is an example of a scene produced by ChatGPT after I provided it with the prompt: “can you write a scene between two characters arguing about where they should go for spring break?”

Despite its ability to produce…something, the dialogue itself is very cluttered. People don’t talk like this. For attempt no. 2, I ask it to make the dialogue more natural.

Still a no go. It interprets "natural" as more "colloquial", which, while true, doesn't work if it doesn't have an understanding of what colloquial speech entails.

“Sarah, Miami is so mainstream. I was thinking something more off the beaten path, like the Grand Canyon,” is giving sit-com. If ChatGPT were writing for a Disney channel show, then maybe this would be acceptable. But in a work of prose? No dice.

Okay. Let’s try something new. This time I ask if it can produce a work about adjusting to life in the city in the style of Lorie Moore’s How to Be a Writer, a notable and more importantly, distinct example of prose written in second person. Her writing is wonderfully whimsical and is not entirely linear. The first attachment below is an excerpt from Moore, followed by ChatGPT's output.

Here, it’s nailed the style…sort of. The basic structure is there. But the diction is slightly off and the prose is awkward in a way I can’t quite articulate. It doesn’t “flow.” It is also obsessively literal in a way that feels strangely shallow. No one thinks of the subway in a way that is nearly as romantic as "underground chariot." Some other parts have potential: the phrase "tetris-like living" is interesting, but it's still wordy and unrefined. What is most glaringly obvious, however, is that it lacks imagination. Could ChatGPT have come up with something as randomly clever as "a short story about an elderly man and woman who accidentally shot each other in the head, the result of an inexplicable malfunction of a shotgun which appears mysteriously in their living room one night"? Would it occur to an AI to call Mr. Killian pore-face?

Evidently ChatGPT is capable of mimicking specific works, but it doesn’t really know how to produce content of a certain caliber. While I don’t ever intend to use AI to actually write in my stead, this severely undercuts any hopes I had for it being helpful in a collaborative/workshop capacity. I admittedly have not plugged any of my own work into ChatGPT just because it feels…sacrilegious? In a way? It’s a little unsettling knowing that my writing could be used to train it.

However! Back to the point. Where does this lead us now?

For me, the question of AI in its current iteration (or, at least, the version of ChatGPT that I have access to) is whether or not it can learn how to think abstractly in the way that is required of objectively “good” writers. Although it can try to mimic specific writing styles, that doesn’t mean it can achieve the same quality of work or produce something that is artistically sound. I think AI has a long, long way to go before it can begin to replicate the humanity that is required of prose fiction. That being said, it also makes me deeply uncomfortable that AI could ever potentially reach that level of sophistication. Writing is ultimately a form meant to capture the human experience. If a machine can somehow learn to accomplish something similar, then what does that mean for us?

For reference, I’ve also attached an excerpt of my own writing about living life in the city, loosely inspired by How to Be a Writer (this is also why I plugged that specific prompt into ChatGPT). This was written half a year before its release.

[takaraphoenix]

Buffy dir the ask Game

Aaah! *^* Thanks for asking, I had hoped that may come up! xD

Answers under the cut though, because this turned into... literally 3k words worth of fangirl rambling. That’s what happens when you make me talk about the things I love the most. *ducks head*

Top 5 favourite characters: Spike, Buffy Summers, Willow Rosenberg, Xander Harris, Rupert Giles

Other characters you like: let’s make that five more then! Daniel Osbourne, Andrew Wells, Cordelia Chase, Anya Jenkins, Drusilla

Least favourite characters:Dawn Summers by a landslide

Otps: Spike/Buffy, Tara/Being Alive, Willow/Tara, Xander/Cordelia, Xander/Anya, Giles/Joyce (I always wanted Giles to become Buffy’s dad, officially and legally ;-;), Cordelia/Buffy, Giles/Spike, Oz/Andrew (LISTEN, I love Oz, I hate that he left and only came back once to see his girlfriend his now a lesbian. I wanted him to return for good and I wanted Andrew to be explicitely gay and not just Word Of God gay)

Notps: Xander/Dawn - like, her crush on him was cute and all, but that season 8 really had to make THAT canon was… not necessary… Also Giles/Buffy is really the only Hard No ship I’ve encountered in this fandom, otherwise even when I don’t vibe with a ship, it’s more a shrug and keep scrolling

Favourite friendships: THE GOLDEN TRIO. Xander-Willow-Buffy. I love them

Favourite family:The friends we found along the way. Seriously, the Scooby-gang absolutely counts as a family. Joyce and Giles are the parents, Xander and Willow (who supposedly have parents but we never meet them and they don’t seem to care much) are as much a part of this family as Buffy ;^;

Favourite episodes: HAH! The one show where I can actually name them, without having to cross-check what the episodes are called and what happens where! xD

Once More With Feeling: clearly. IT’S A MUSICAL EPISODE. And it is so good. The singing is so good. I immediately bought the soundtrack and I listened to it on a loop for months. Then the content! The Spuffy is so good, the Buffy angst, everyone gets an adorable moment and then that ending that kills me

Tabula Rasa: I love this episode. It is so whacky but again also with angst, because that Willow/Tara is murderous

The Body: I mean, in a masochistic kind of way do I love this episode. It is… it is so heartbreaking. I’ve seen it like twelve times now and I still cry every single time. How vulnerable Buffy is, the Tara-Buffy friendship, Anya has one of my favorite moments when she confronts what death means. This episode is an absolute sucker-punch

Favourite season/book/movie: Season 6, hands down. Other TV shows always try to one-up it - so they fought demons in season 1, how about they fight SATAN HIMSELF in season 3? The escalation is very rapid in most supernatural shows nowadays. That Buffy took a step back and spent essentially a whole season on character development and friendships and human issues? Also two of my favorite episodes happen in this season, so that makes it all the more special to me!

Favourite quotes:Okay, so, full disclosure I love the musical episode but I listened to Rest in Peace THE MOST. And the lines “I died so many years ago, you can make me feel like it isn’t so” just completely wrecks me. Like, there’s a whole lot of memorable quips in this show and the line “I’m the thing that monsters have nightmares about” is ALSO absolutely outstanding

Best musical moment: When Buffy says “I think I was in heaven”, just the way her voice breaks, the reaction on everybody’s face? This silly musical just outed her biggest secret, the thing that’s going to hurt everyone around her with guilt and the thing that’s wrecking her life. That moment is so good

Moment that made you fangirl/boy the hardest: William Pratt. Getting explicit flashbacks to flesh out Spike’s past, to meet the man he used to be and see what he was like. Also genuinely every any flashback about the Fanged Four. This is something I KEEP yelling about in all the supernatural genre shows - if you have centuries old characters then USE THAT. Show me their past! Seriously the wasted potential of flashbacks around Magnus Bane on Shadowhunters is downright insulting. But Buffy? Every time it explored more, showed me more, I fangirled so hard. Also genuinely when Buffy slept with Satsu in season 8 - like, I know there were no grand romantic feelings but Buffy Summers had sex with a woman and… c’mon, Buffy’s not 100% straight, she just isn’t, I stand by bi!Buffy

When it really disappointed you:When some greedy asshat decided to do a comic reboot and retcon Willow into being Out And Proud in high school and be Gay All Along. Fuck. You. Like, yeah, sure, obviously am I all for out and proud teenage rep! But not at the cost of erasing existing rep! Not when it’s a retcon that actively erases an “I took longer to realize my feelings and be true to myself” lesbian, because those exist and are valid and deserve to be seen too and by retconning her into being out in high school, instead of having boyfriends in high school and only coming to terms when she is in college and actually MEETS her first lesbian to realize that this could be her truth, by doing that, you’re effectively sending the message that only Gold Star Lesbians are valid and genuinely fuck you for doing this. Also, from what I’ve heard that comic reboot effectively erased Drusilla’s insanity and victimhood to have her be an evil mastermind villain and… no… that’s not the character anymore then; a huge point of Drusilla was that she was a victim, most specifically Angel’s victim, that he broke her completely so we can see the bad and depth of Angelus’ worst days, it’s important for the plot even if it makes you uncomfortable to see a woman be a victim, in her case her victimhood and her insanity are literally what make her her. You just created a new character. There is some really wrong SJW bullshit going on in there and it’s dumb. If you wanna tell new stories, do that. But don’t take this existing beautiful story and slaughter it for your own whims what the fuck, I genuinely loathe that this comic exists and I’m glad that the TV show thing is going to be a spin-off sequel and not an actual reboot because don’t fucking reboot Buffy

Saddest moment: Joyce’s death, definitely. But also when Giles decides to leave, that breaks my heart every time

Most well done character death:ALSO Joyce’s death

Favourite guest star: I… really don’t know, like I don’t know who’d count as just guest, when looking at the cast list most the ones I would have said are technically recurring characters and then it’s also not really asking for the character but the actor, huh? Retrospectively probably Wentworth Miller, because he has become an actor I like a lot so seeing smol!Wentworth in Buffy is adorable

Favourite cast member: James Marsters. If tumblr existed back when Buffy first aired, all my Dominic Sherwood obsession could be fully translated onto him. He was one of my three first actor obsessions and he still remains that, to this day

Character you wish was still alive: ANYA. There was no need to kill Anya off in the finale, I wish season 8 could have had that happy, good Xander/Anya content… ;-;

One thing you hope really happens: I am so excited and afraid of the sequel spin-off. That could be so great (or a disaster and that’s the part that frightens me), but what REALLY needs to happen is that Sarah Michelle Gellar guest stars. Of course not as a regular, it is supposed to be about a new slayer. But I need them to then also acknowledge what has been before. Maybe others could guest star too, cameo occasionally (though it would be hilarious if Andrew was a regular and like a… guide to the new kid). Ideally, I would get to see every Scooby at least once in this spin-off but what really needs to happen is that Buffy Summers appears in it

Most shocking twist: When they killed off Buffy… and there was another season. Like. This was pre “everybody dies and is frequently brought back from the dead, death doesn’t stick” TV era (actually, it is the mother of that trope, really), so that was… really a shocker.

When did you start watching/reading?: Ironically, during my least favorite season. Season 4. The initiative was the most bland and obnoxious plotline, Riley/Buffy is a ship I really don’t dig and I was a teen so American college was Weird And Confusing and also uninteresting. However, I had been DYING to watch that show for three years and been deemed too young to watch it so it was really exciting that my mom finally allowed me and also I WAS right on time for the lesbian coming out and that still to this day blows my mind because Willow and Tara were the first lesbians I got to see on TV and it still means the world to me. I then got caught up on reruns, watching the first three seasons, but even on rewatchs, plot-wise season 4 is the weakest for me

Best animal/creature: Miss Kitty Fantastico, by default? xD I think she is the only animal in the whole series… and she just kind of… disappeared too ôÔ°°°

Favourite location: THE LIBRARY I LOVE THE LIBRARY SO MUCH

Trope you wish they would stop using: Mmmh… I… I mean, when rewatching this as an adult, I gotta admit the early Angel/Buffy is very uncomfortable. Back when I was Buffy’s age and younger I thought it was the coolest thing that this vampire loved this teenage girl, but as an adult I have come to re-evaluate all the 16/17 year old girl getting together with a 100+ year old vampire because that most definitely is a very concerning age-gap and… not necessary. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll always also hold love for them because I loved them back when I first watched it too and I think they have a fascinating and epic tragic romance, but… media’s gotta stop pushing the idea that centuries old immortals find high school kids romantically and sexually attractive; it’s not a good look

One thing this show/book/film does better than others: Clearly sell me on the canon romance, if you look at my list of OTPs where nearly all of them are canon. Also THIS IS PROPER FOUND FAMILY YO. I’m so tired of shows pretending to be “the team is a family” and then it’s all just deceite and distrust and miscommunication and tragic. AND where this show 100% outdoes… literally everything else I have ever read and watched is the mental health. Buffy died and came back from the dead and instead of just shrugging it off and doing business as usual, we spent a whole season on her depression and dealing with the aftermath of it. Same goes for Willow and her grief over Tara and her addiction. Bad things happen to the characters and it’s not just used as a cheap ploy for more drama, they have ramifications and are being dealt with.

Funniest moments: When Tabula Rasa made everyone assume new identities and everyone thought Giles was Anya’s sugar daddy and Spike’s actual father? Also the time that Giles kept himself a pet-Spike in his home because no one trusted Spike yet (reasonably so). And honestly, countless more - this is one of the funniest shows I ever watched, the quips and one-liners are absolute killers.

Couple you would like to see: Huh. Can I go really vague and say that I would like to see a wlw couple with at least one lesbian in the spin-off sequel? Like, obviously do I hope that this new iterations brings more rep to the table - LGBT as well as POC because if I have to admit one flaw in my favorite show then that it’s very 90s white - but even among that, I really hope there will be at least one lesbian character, who gets to have an on-screen romance

Actor/Actress you want to join the cast: As mentioned above, I hope Sarah Michelle Gellar and others join the cast at the very least as guest stars.

Admittedly, I also would murder to see Dominic Sherwood play a vampire on this new show.

Those two would be the ones I’d love to see join the cast. However, I kind of got lost in an entire fan-cast here, so have my pitch for what I’d love the spin-off’s cast to look like. I have no idea what age-range it’s going to be though. Probably teenagers again, but I kind of hope early to mid twenties.

My dream cast, which isn’t going to happen because she already has a lead role in a TV show so she’s too busy, but I’d LOVE to see China Anne McClain as the new slayer.

And, okay I admit this is Marvel based type-casting, but I’d LOVE to see Lyrica Okano as the witch friend (the group needs a witch friend).

Sarah Jeffery for the Cordelia-type role. The bitchy cheerleader - but she’s actualy a closeted lesbian who joins the team when she accepts her own identity and befriends the group.

It’s probably also type casting to make David Castro play another brooding vampire, but listen he’s about the same age as China and he would give off good Angel vibes to her Slayer?

Jane Lynch as the Watcher. But not a soft dad like Giles, more the grumpy, annoyed mom who now has all those irritating children running after her even though she is just trying to teach her charge how to be a Slayer.

Favourite outfit: EVIL DOPPELGÄNGER WILLOW’S VAMPIRE DOMINATRIX OUTFIT *^*

Favourite item: I love the dumb axe. Like, I think it looks WAY too modern to be this ancient tool, but dang it’s pretty

Do you own anything related to this show/book/film?: my phone-case, all seasons on DVD, the soundtrack of the musical episode on CD, I probably still got my old bedsheets somewhere. I do wish I had more merch, in a different time I probably would have spent all my money on Buffy figures, but those weren’t available way back when and now that I have access to the internet’s treasure-hunting-sites, I… have learned to… mostly… manage my money better than mindlessly buy merch (though if Funko Pop finishes that… Rock Candy series with all the main characters, I will definitely buy those. As it stands, there’s only Willow and Buffy available right now…)

What house/team/group/friendship group/family/race etc would you be in?: I would definitely not be a slayer. Maybe a witch??

Most boring plotline: The initiative. Seriously. I’m HARD anti military and this bullshit of college soldiers policing the supernatural world was… boring and weird. Got even weirder when it turned into Frankenstein at the end

Most laughably bad moment: ooof that puppet episodes had quite some intentionally cringey moments

Best flashback/flashfoward if any: ALL OF THEM. NOT A SINGLE NOT GOOD FLASHBACK THERE. GIVE ME ALL OF THE PAST

Most layered character: Spike. Fight me on that. Seriously, his past as a human, as a vampire, his present, his will to gain a soul, his dynamics with all the Scoobies, I love him. To be fair, Buffy is also the most layered character though

Most one dimensional character:huuuh… Dawn? I mean, seriously she is just every teen angst trope crammed into one, with zero tolerance for what the only slightly older adults may be going through, they even made her shoplift for attention, I swear she could have only been more of a cringey teen trope if she also Cut For Attention… -___- Like. She… She got slightly better with time, but out of all these multi-facetted characters, she is definitely the flattest

Scariest moment: Puppets creep me out so the puppet episode was definitely scary for me. Also the Silence I mean damn that was an amazing episode but it was creepy as fuck

Grossest moment: mh… I can’t think of one, really. I’m unsure if there were any really gross moments

Best looking male: Spike!

Best looking female: Doppelgänger Willow. Don’t judge me. Also Evil Willow. Okay you can judge me a little

Who you’re crushing on (if any): Never really had a crush on any of the characters

Favourite cast moment: That was… pre-internet times, we didn’t get immediately swamped by posts and videos and photos of the cast, there was very little access to these things so I was never really exposed to that

Favourite transportation: THE RV. I loved when they were on the run for half an episode and just all lived in an RV together :D”““

Most beautiful scene (scenery/shot wise): I really don’t know

Unanswered question/continuity issue/plot error that bugs you:It’s a very well-rounded series and I was never actually left with major questions

Best promo: The best promo it had was running in our living room so I could carefully sneak a peek when going to bed and thus want to watch the show :D”

At what point did you fall in love with this show/book: When Willow/Tara happened. I didn’t even know that I’m a lesbian back then. I was like 10 back then. This was literally the first time I saw two women be together. Back then I didn’t know what about it amazed me so much. Cue in 12 year old Phoe slowly realizing “oooh I’m a lesbian that’s why the lesbians spoke to me”. But yeah, being the first show to show me lesbians exist, that was when I fell in love and then I got to watch the whole show and it is just such a perfect show that it was impossible not to love it

IN DEPTH FANDOM QUESTIONS

[notbecauseofvictories]

hello Sarah!! hope you're doing great. who are your three ABSOLUTE fave minor characters from star wars?

That’s…a very hard question to answer, which I did not realize until this moment! I never saw myself as a minor characters person, but something about those star wars lends itself to collecting a whole bunch of secondary characters and developing intensely specific headcanons about them which you would die for, probably.

However, I decided I would just pick my favorite minor characters from Rogue One/Solo/each of the Trilogies, since that’s easier.

Prequel Trilogy — Mace Windu

I’m not much of a Jedi person—my preferences are clearly oriented to the Rebellion and the regular old humans of the galaxy far far away. But I once wrote myself into having a lot of feelings about Mace Windu, and since then have never recovered. I’m still stuck on a Mace Windu who is stubbornly good, good in the most absolute sense, but also pragmatic and unyielding and cold and ambitious. 

I always liked the idea that Mace had a particular grudge against Qui-Gon—not for any particular personal reason, but. Well, they were approximately the same age, and where Mace had been playing the long-game to advance through the Order, Qui-Gon was off running all over the galaxy with his mouthy padawan, rescuing whoever he felt like and talking about mystic Force nonsense. Mace sees it as the waste of a good Jedi. (Qui-Gon has no idea.)

Original Trilogy — Mon Mothma

I realize this is sort of cheating, since Mon Mothma’s role is expanded on a lot in Rogue One, but she was original first, so it counts.

Anyway, I love Mon Mothma. I’ve come up with a whole world of headcanons for her, from her studying poetry in university to her relationship with Padme and Bail Organa (she and Bail don’t actually like each other much—but they respect each other and are too civilized to let anyone else know about it.) To how, after Palpatine became Emperor. she basically just said “fuck it” and made it her entire goal to make his life miserable and shout about tyranny on the Senate floor. (The Partisans smuggled her offworld just before the black squad had a chance to strike; that’s how she knows Saw.)

I just really like Mothma, this woman who is clearly more of a liberal politician than a glorious revolutionary, yet clearly is determined to have that role. She’s also…literally the only person who witnesses the Republic, the fall of the Republic, the rise of the Empire, the fall of the Empire, and the rise of the New Republic. I have to imagine that after the Empire falls, she becomes the George Washington of the New Republic, which in itself is a cool idea. (I keep meaning to write that post-war fic about Leia adjusting to peace, and how badly she fits inside it, how guilty she is about it, when Mon Mothma is thriving amid the rebuilding…)

Rogue One — Saw Gerrera

I love Saw Gerrera. I love him, specifically, in three ways:

1) Separatist-turned-Anarchist-for-Hire! I firmly believe that Saw spent most of his younger life as a Separatist, and learned all the ways of violent resistance there. So when the Republic becomes the Empire, he’s already ready to go, he’s got knowledge that’s suddenly very valuable and needed by a lot more worlds than used to want it. I still picture the Partisans as kind of roving band of violent revolutionaries for hire—if you’re the anti-Empire insurgency on planet X, you can send Saw Gererra a message, and in exchange for food & lodging, they’ll teach your people how make bombs and tap into frequencies and spy on your local Imperial outpost.

(this fic is tentatively entitled “saw gererra and his anachist’s cookbook crew kickstart the rebellion by building a huge network of insurgent cells on every planet from the outer rim to the core”)

2) The imagined agony that is Lyra/Saw! Listen, I realize I talked myself into this one, but—Lyra Erso was the one who knew Saw. Once Galen realized how deep in shit he was, she and Saw arranged to get them out of the Empire and into hiding. Their love affair was conducted almost exclusively via transmit, ala this headcanon I came up with ages ago. 

3) Feral Affection-Starved Wolfchild Adopted By Emotionally Ill-Equipped Radical, aka, Jyn Has Complicated Feelings About Saw Gerrerra, Who Is As Much Her Father As Galen Ever Was.

I literally did write a fic about this.

Solo — Enfys Nest

The minute she took off her helmet, I was sold. I love that she’s young, that she’s inherited this enormous burden from her mother. (If you’re going to kill off everybody’s mom, star wars, then you’re correct, the least you can do is make those moms baller freedom fighters.) I love that her gang is called the “Cloud Riders,” and that they’re integrated with the local people. I love her cape. 

Solo, for all its faults, had very good capes.

I will, someday, write that fic where Enfys and Saw and Mon Mothma bring their disparate factions together to talk about The Future of Rebellion In The Galaxy and everybody fights a lot about it, and there’s probably fraught sex, somewhere. It’s not a rebel convocation if no one’s having emotionally and politically fraught sex.)

New Trilogy — Phasma

I don’t pay attention to any star wars that doesn’t happen onscreen, but I heard through the fannish grapevine that Hux’s dad was the one who set up the new stormtrooper program. Since then, I’ve been obsessed with the idea that Phasma was the first-ever New Stormtrooper, like a proof of concept. A stolen child herself, raised by Hux the Elder to be a monster and a prodigy. (Literally, the translation of “Phasma.”)

This also means that a) Phasma has complicated feelings about Hux the Elder, who is the closest thing to a father she’s ever known, but definitely doesn’t see her as a human being; b) Phasma and Hux are weird sibling-like things, except not siblings at all; and c) Phasma can take all these awful twisted-up narratives about ownership, love, and humanity, and foist them all on FN-2187 in the most fucked up way.

I have a partial draft of this fic, and the google doc is literally titled “frankenstein, but space.”

[therightnewsnetwork]

We Hear You: Government’s ‘Heavy Hand’ Punishes Farm Family for Christian View of Marriage

Editor’s note: Some of the most compelling emails and comments in recent days were about Fred Lucas’ report on the Christian family barred from a Michigan farmers market for its views on marriage and Genevieve Wood’s commentary on ESPN’s mischaracterizing its own audience survey.  Have a look.—Ken McIntyre

Dear Daily Signal: Fred Lucas’ story on Michigan farmer Steve Tennes (“Farmer Won’t Host Same-Sex Weddings at His Orchard. Now a City Has Banned Him From Its Farmers Market”) is not so much about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans as it is about the heavy hand of the government dictating to individuals what they can or cannot do.

If Tennes and his wife Bridget don’t want to sell a product or service to someone, fine. I would be willing to bet that another enterprising individual would step in and start a competing business to fill that void.

Let’s face it: The LGBT community comprises a large chunk of the consuming public and doesn’t need special protection by the government. Let the marketplace solve the problem.

I will check out the Tenneses’ Country Mill farm, though, since I will be going to the East Lansing area because I have, you know, that good old freedom-of-choice thing.—Jon Mickley

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The Tennes’ Country Mill farm is 22 miles away from East Lansing, Michigan, so is not subject to the city’s laws. Selling fruit at the farmers market has nothing to do with hosting weddings on the farm.

Steve Tennes also has a First Amendment right to practice his religion. He sells fruit to anyone who wants to buy it at the city’s farmers market, so he is not discriminating against customers.

Simply put: The city does not have jurisdiction over what happens on a farm that is not within city limits.—Terri Lynn Merritts

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Superb article by Fred Lucas. My heart bleeds for the Tennes family. Such a beautiful family in so many ways. Why is our country allowed, through the courts, to literally tear down this family and their dreams—as was done to the Christian bakers in Colorado? (That case had me down on my knees crying.)

How can LGBT citizens get married (under God) and then use the label they have given themselves to  destroy families? This country was founded “under God,” and “in God we trust.” LGBT marriage is man-made, not a natural law.

The article was informative and very sad for me to hear about. Keep up the good work and God’s blessings always.—JoAnn Sickinger

I support Steve Tennes and his decision not to allow a same-sex wedding on his Country Mill farm. From what I understand, he worked to resolve the wedding request amicably, and he acted with the sort of character one would expect of a God-fearing man.

In these days of one-sided decision-making, where religion seems to come up short, I am afraid we are destined to have to face these trials. The few will throw up the mud while the majority just keep silent, saying nothing at all even though they think the truth.

I will pray for Steve Tennes and his family. If our government wants to legalize this practice, despite what the majority wanted initially, the word “marriage” should not have been used.—Jim Gross

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I sent this letter to East Lansing Mayor Mark Meadows and the City Council:

I have just read an account of what is happening in your city regarding the family of Steve and Bridget Tennes. The persecution and reverse discrimination is unacceptable regardless of any law that tries to force them against their legitimate religious beliefs.

They own their business and it has been successful as a result of their own effort and moral conviction. I urge all of you who are elected officials to use common sense and back off from the persecution.

—John H. Ross. Montrose, Colo.

***

Should this farming couple be forced to entertain a satanic feast that glorifies anti-God ideas, whether or not it includes human sacrifices?

Do East Lansing officials peruse Facebook pages of everyone who participates in the farmers market, and disinvite all who express any ideas contrary to officials’ concept of acceptable belief?

Should a Muslim be banned from the farmers market if he has looked at a jihadist Facebook page without having written a post decrying the jihadist ideas? Or should he be banned because he participates in any other Muslim activities that might not be considered politically correct in East Lansing?

Not to pick on Muslims, it’s just that all the East Lansing discrimination complaints seem directed at Christians who try to live lives consistent with their beliefs.—David Miller

This farmer has been banned from an East Lansing farmer’s market because of his family’s personal religious beliefs. https://t.co/fu32apgFfD

— The Daily Signal (@DailySignal) June 1, 2017

This action against Steve and Bridget Tennes, highlighted by Alliance Defending Freedom, is another way the government is taking rights away from Christians and trying to ram their agenda down the throats of people who do not support the gay agenda.

Marriage has been between one man and one women for years, and all of a sudden the government decides differently. We are the people who pay their salaries.

I hope and pray that the Tenneses start a farmers market outside the East Lansing city limits and outside city officials’ ability to ram their agenda down the family’s throats. I also hope they can encourage other farmers market participants to join them.—Gary Simmering

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Interesting article. Why not go to a Muslim-owned business in Dearborn, Michigan, demand they cater a same-sex marriage? Sounds like discrimination against Christians to me.—Karin Sue, Scottsdale, Ariz.

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Treat everyone the same and abide by the Constitution’s First Amendment. This couple’s right to follow their religious faith and not hold same-sex weddings is what they were protecting. And doing so did not prohibit a gay couple from getting married, did it? No.—Charles David Johnston

***

I found The Daily Signal during an online search about the Tennes family, to research what I read at Fox News. Though Todd Starnes’ story for Fox was good, Fred Lucas’ was worded more clearly and he tried to reach out and get input from the city.

I noticed a pop-up that you try to cover stories not covered by the mainstream media. Because of your desire to cover those stories, I will be reading you regularly. Thank you for your work. It is much needed and appreciated.—Tiffany Long

***

Who lost their freedoms? The Tenneses refused to host same-sex weddings and the East Lansing farmers market refused to allow the Tenneses to sell produce. If the couple has the authority to control who they do business with, then so does the farmers market—or do the Tenneses get special treatment?—Sarah VanBlarcom

***

The left is obsessed with controlling how others think. People of faith need laws to protect them. Obviously the First Amendment is not enough.—Anthony Davis

***

Absurd. Those people who said gay marriage wouldn’t affect anyone were lying, big time.—Stephen Staedtler

***

People who said marriage equality would destroy what is called traditional marriage were lying. My marriage is just fine, and it is time to treat everyone the same.

This is about Michigan farmers Steve and Bridget Tennes’ operating a business that discriminates against LGBT individuals. There you have it. It is all about people demanding special privileges for their religious beliefs.

If someone wants to operate a business that serves the public, then they should serve the public. You don’t get to decide which part of the public you approve of and which you don’t. That is what black Americans had to suffer with for a hundred years after the Civil War ended slavery.—John Levin

***

If it is time to start treating everyone the same, as John Levin writes in response to the story about the farmer who won’t host same-sex weddings, then it is time to eliminate affirmative action hiring practices. It is time to eliminate government-dictated protected classes of individuals.

It is time to require all females age 18 and over to register for the Selective Service (otherwise known as the draft), just as males must do. It is time to charge women the same as men for life insurance.

It is time to make every state a right-to-work state. It is time to terminate legal age requirements to vote, hold office, hold a job, and buy alcohol, tobacco, or firearms.

Is that what John means by treating everyone the same? If not, then being treated the same is not what he wants. He can’t have it both ways.—Jerry Zacny

***

Steve Tennes suggested another orchard down the road for the same-sex partnership. It is his farm and his decision. How tolerable of the left, again.—Tim Darnell

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Just a question: Where do you draw the line? Businesses are not persons; they have no beliefs. Owners have beliefs. Now what if a business owner were to decide that he didn’t want to sell to black people, which we know was once a common practice?—Michael J. Weston

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Who is the tyrant in this case? The farmer said, “No, you can’t do your thing here” to gays, and then city officials said, “OK, so you can’t do your thing here.” It’s pretty clear-cut, eye-for-an-eye logic.—Vandoren Wheeler

***

Let’s force Muslim-owned businesses to cater and hold gay weddings. We know it won’t happen, because they get a special carve-out.—Norm Katzin

***

There is still freedom of thought, belief, and religion in this country. When the state (read municipality, etc.) dictates that I yield my moral beliefs for the benefit of a few—at my expense (read moral, physical, or financial)—there is an intrusion of my right to operate a business according to the dictates of my conscience, which translates to infringement.—Dan Kelly

MEMO 2 ESPN: Stick to sports. https://t.co/Yew3ry9ZOG via @DailySignal

— Genevieve Wood (@genevievewood) June 7, 2017

ESPN’s Liberal Bias, in High Definition

Dear Daily Signal: I’m writing about Genevieve Wood’s commentary, “Add This to the List of Reasons Conservatives Think ESPN Is Biased.” A few years ago, ESPN fired one of its editors for a headline alluding to a “chink in the armor.” Because many of the sports people running ESPN are not exactly well-read or well-rounded, they thought it was a racial slur. (Editor’s note:  The phrase was the headline for an online story in 2012 about New York Knicks star Jeremy Lin, and the editor maintained it was an innocent mistake.)

Meanwhile, its sports schedule is so Israel-hating, ESPN verges right on the line of anti-Semitism. According to their schedule, either Israel does not get ESPN or Israel doesn’t exist; however, some country called Palestine does. I just cannot find that nation anywhere on a current world map.

Those two incidents were all it took in our household. No one ever watches ESPN, including our son, who now lives on his own.  ESPN needs a little Target treatment: The public quit shopping there and Target’s stocks have nose-dived for over a year.—Robyn Schmalz, Santa Fe

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Great article by Genevieve Wood. I have always enjoyed sports, but never watched ESPN  because I can’t afford satellite or cable television. I guess that puts me in the classification as a dinosaur, but at least I won’t have the same desire to get ESPN one of these days. Thanks again for your reporting, and keep up the good work.—The Rev. Gerald Johnson

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I quit watching ESPN a couple of years ago due to their left-leaning bias. This year I canceled my subscription to Sports Illustrated for the same reason. When SI decided to put Caitlyn Jenner on the cover they lost a 20-year subscriber. Its apparent neither realizes people watch sports so they don’t have to listen (or read) all that left-wing babble about social justice and politically correct nonsense.—Al Adams

How can I become ESPN’s lost subscriber No. 10,000,001? Every satellite and cable TV service includes 30 or 40 channels of ESPN, and we subscribers are obliged to pay for the “service” whether we watch it or not. I don’t. Please tell me how to get my provider to let me drop that dreck and reduce my bill.–Ken Marx

Stick to sports, ESPN. I don’t understand why you have to go political. Stay in your lane.—John Bradford

Great piece! Tantamount to a three-point shot from half court.—Kent Ostrander

The average sportswriter makes Barack Obama look like Attila the Hun.—Kipp Exline

I Grew Up in Chavez’s Socialist Venezuela. Here’s What I Think About Current Crisis. https://t.co/KfWvvRjk1E pic.twitter.com/flZPQH6Mba

— The Daily Signal (@DailySignal) May 30, 2017

A Reminder of the Dangers of Socialism

Dear Daily Signal: Thanks to Ricardo Pita for his experiential reporting about his experience in Venezuela and the dangers of socialism (“I Grew Up in Chavez’s Socialist Venezuela. Here’s What I Think About the Current Crisis”). I will pray for the oppressed people there, and that good leaders emerge.

I wish Bernie Sanders’ supporters would read Ricardo’s works. Our youth are swept up in these same false promises of a free university education and so on. As new Education Secretary Betsy DeVos pointed out, education is not free. Someone has to pay for it. Teacher salaries, classroom materials, and other overhead have a price tag.

If we want a peaceful world, doesn’t it make sense that those who have great respect for life and the dignity of the human person from conception to natural death are going to be true peacemakers? Venezuela’s leaders who perpetrate violence against their own people and seek to harm their own people and keep them down in poverty and crime don’t share this life and dignity approach.

Our government should try to keep us safe and free. People living in crime, poverty, and violence are not free.—Kathleen Goryl

‘I Crave Conservative Viewpoints and Just the Facts’

Dear Daily Signal: Hallelujah. I have been receiving your email for a while and just clicked “delete,” thinking it was more opinionated junk mail.  Today as I was about to hit delete, I spied the word “Heritage” and was thrilled after I verified from your website that The Daily Signal is affiliated with The Heritage Foundation.

Due to declining finances I have been unable to donate to the wonderful Heritage for a long time. I crave conservative viewpoints, and the “just the facts” I receive from you are not available on network news. I get so angry with the hateful, disrespectful attitudes of 95 percent of news readers.

I don’t have cable television, and since Donald Trump has been elected my president I have grown more and more disappointed with television news.  The only acceptable programming now for me is “NCIS” and PBS’ “Masterpiece” presentations.

I have never liked the word “boycott” because it seems punitive to me, but I do wish The Daily Signal could start a section to enable seniors and “underfundeds” like me to voice our collective displeasure against the death spiral our political arena has taken, and those who support it.

I am not whining, but my finances are shrinking monthly and I have no money in my budget to support organizations like yours. But I thank you from the bottom of my heart.  Please don’t stop, or submit to the arrogant and evil press.—Iris Chandler, Fairhope, Ala.

(Editor’s note: It’s our privilege to have you as part of The Daily Signal audience, Ms. Chandler, and your faith in our team is a generous contribution. We’re just happy to have you aboard and spreading the word.)

How Are We Doing?

Pretty good.—Robert Kroning

I often find your articles too wordy and long to Twitter and expect them to be read.—Johanna Engel

You’re doing great. Look forward to hearing from you.—Peggy Carr

Good job of reporting, Nolan Peterson. Be safe!—Hannah Johnstone

The post We Hear You: Government’s ‘Heavy Hand’ Punishes Farm Family for Christian View of Marriage appeared first on The Daily Signal.

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