#mentions of colonization

[determinate-negation]

"even the nazis didnt..." - guy who doesnt know that much about the nazis

[awakefor48hours]

Katara: *brings up her mother’s death, someone who died in her place because of ethnic cleansing, less than 10 times in show about world-wide colonization*

Fans: Katara is SO ANNOYING. She brings up her mom’s death every three minutes and I wish she’d just stop.

[leroibobo]

really do not think people understand the extent to which palestinian sites/landmarks (especially muslim ones) were destroyed, beginning in 1948 until now, even in cities. the oldest extant mosque in jaffa (al-bahr mosque) was built in 1675, even though islam came there in the 7th century

[words-and-coffee]

Kupu rere kē My friend was advised to italicise all the foreign words in her poems. This advice came from a well-meaning woman with NZ poetry on her business card and an English accent in her mouth. I have been thinking about this advice. The convention of italicising words from other languages clarifies that some words are imported: it ensures readers can tell the difference between a foreign language and the language of home. I have been thinking about this advice. Marking the foreign words is also a kindness: every potential reader is reassured that although you’re expected to understand the rest of the text, it’s fine to consult a dictionary or native speaker for help with the italics. I have been thinking about this advice. Because I am a contrary person, at first I was outraged — but after a while I could see she had a point: when the foreign words are camouflaged in plain type you can forget how they came to be there, out of place, in the first place. I have been thinking about this advice and I have decided to follow it. Now all of my readers will be able to remember which words truly belong in Aotearoa and which do not.

Alice Te Punga Somerville, Always Italicise: How to Write While Colonised - Kupu rere kē

[tlirswriting]

Martian: 

adj. Belonging or relating to the planet or people of Mars 

> In the year 2280, a young man stands in front of his bathroom mirror and runs a hand through his hair, interspersed with delicate tendrils, glowing faintly blue at the tips. 

> He hesitates for a moment, scissors in hand, before grabbing a section of hair and chopping it off, white-hot pain shooting down his spine. Unclenching his fist, he drops a chunk of dark hair in his sink, along with a few writhing sensory organs similar to catfish whiskers. Biting his tongue, he repeats the process around his head, shaking and nauseous by the time it's done. He opens his eyes, and he looks mostly Human. 

> His name is Atlas, and he is dying. 

> Atlas struggles against the artificial gravity to step into the shower without his joint braces on, grabbing onto a thick metal bar to steady himself and sinking down to a small plastic stool. The water sputters on, rinsing the blood dripping from his scalp. 

Welcome to life on Mars

[hydriad81194]

For any other crows

[themyscirah]

Complaining abt Suicide Squad yet again but the fact that they have Waller exposing the alien community to space racist attacks and talking abt how she got to her position through deceit and being a terrible person and stuff is just. Ahsfiwueh JUST SAY YOU DONT KNOW WALLER.

Anyways literally the 3rd mission of the Squad ever (and the first framed as smth Waller picked and not orders from above) was the Squad discrediting and stopping a rogue vigilante who was only arresting POC and funneling white people into white supremacy groups (of which he was the most prominent member) in SUICIDE SQUAD #4. and it's explicitly framed as this mission being personal for Waller that she's hiding from the government bc its illegal like. Guys. Please why are we having her incite (space bc comics) racist attacks now

Also the whole "Amanda got her position through deceit and being a terrible person" NO. she KEPT her position through being shitty and playing complicated political games!!! She wasn't always that way like there is a difference and it is IMPORTANT ppl PLEASEEEE. In Secret Origins #14 we learn Amanda's backstory and she used to be a normal, caring person! Like even after she entered into working in government and politics she wasn't automatically morally bankrupt like please people. She was originally given control of the Squad by Reagan (*sigh* 80s comics...) to distract and get rid of her because she was so successful at pushing progressive social policy in Congress. Acting like she's this static pillar of evil is such a waste of her character and so fucking uninteresting and disrespectful to her arc it drives me MAD.

Like I am NOT saying Waller is all sunshine and rainbows, she fucking SUCKS (said w love <3) but like there's a human being there. It's a progression, she has a character arc like please, DC, please!!! They've fucked up Waller so bad and made her so opaque and uninteresting she can't even be the protagonist of her own story for fucks sake!

Like I don't know how many times I have to scream it until DC hears me or remembers but WALLER IS THE MAIN CHARACTER OF SUICIDE SQUAD. ITS HER BOOK. yet right now she's a cutout to be used as the villain wherever the writers please. Even in her book we get none of her perspective really displayed, no exploration of her thoughts with any kind of understanding of the role she traditionally has played and was made to play in the story.

[palmtreepwr]

Soooooo.... Natlan trailer huh This is just beyond me at this point. The fact that Iansan, the ONLY character with darker skin -- and even saying that is pushing it because she is quite literally GREY -- shows up for a lousy 3 seconds max? A pyro region based in Latin and African cultures. A pyro region with characters who represent many different beliefs embedded in Latin and African cultures. A pyro region with its Archon being straight up PALE. WHITE. Hoyo has always done this but this is genuinely so upsetting and I am speechless. Their colorism is astonishing.

And for the people that defend Hoyo and say some blatantly wrong shit, get ur head out of ur ass girl. Hoyo is not trying to sneak lgbt themes into their game by making everyone white (YES I DID SEE THIS AS AN ARGUMENT). Hoyo is not trying to specifically cater to their CN and JP audiences. Hoyo is, like I've mentioned before, a colorist company that simply REFUSES to make dark skinned characters BECAUSE of their colorism.

[mrusheronhiswaytotown]

callieroxy for today… if ya want it

[envolvenuances]

This one gives a general summary of the importance of women in the fight for the idependence of Mozambique

And for a more present context

[lovely-oh-so-lovelyyui]

Reiji - House of Chanel

Inherently, I think this went well especially with Chanel being such a traditional fashion house but also with its very feminine undertones. In comparison to some of the others, calling Chanel Reiji’s brand was more symbolic than realistic but I’ll explain.

Chanel in all its years since 1910’s has the same iconic look, the tweed structured suits, and the armoured corset dresses with delicate but impactful embellishments. It makes sense for Reji, he has this blunt yet sophisticated personality which physically manifests in his clothes; always well put together, tailored and steamed.

His suits may change but they maintain the same composition and colour palette, to the untrained eye they don’t look different but if you look closely he pays a lot of attention to what he wears.

He’s aware even as a vampire he still has the face of an 18 year old boy, there’s still that youthfulness present in his face, he makes up for it by wearing glasses he doesn’t really need but they highlight the aristocratic cutting of his face - with his sharp upturned nose, and bright red eyes.

He doesn't have his mother’s curls or his father’s pin straight hair but rather a wavy touch to his locks, he knows how it makes him look when it’s down, younger, softer …gentle and that’s just despicable! So he carefully styles his hair with mousse slicking it back, making him look more stern.

Reiji is also a lot more sensitive ( he’s a fussy, whiny little rich brat), so he can’t stand pungent smells ( blood, guts, drugs), that doesn’t mean he makes excuses to lose his composer so he has this strong cologne that is like sandalwood and kind of fruity? Like winter berries and tea leaves or something no one expected it to smell so good but he makes it work. Not to mention his hygiene is always top tier, so he has this freshly washed cotton and minty undertone. 

So that's his main style right? So I was in between Dior and Chanel - and Chanel won of course 

Mainly I mentioned before Chanel has more feminine undertones which I think expands well with Reiji’s complex relation with his brothers; whilst the misogynistic response to his trauma is still present he almost takes on a maternal role towards his family as much of the fandom has noticed - the reasons as why he does this is quite ironic actually. In his entirety, the persona of someone being capable is important for him, if he cannot be successful in maintaining - not only his family's name and reputation through the dictatorship of his brothers - how he holds himself in public how does he expect to be King?

Yet, all the care and attention to detail he gives is almost seen as motherly. The sheer unseriousness of it is not lost on me, even with all the rampant comments on the inferiority of women within the Sakamaki Home, the most well-adjusted and competent man is seen as feminine.

In other readings of Reiji though his feminine undertones are more purposeful, they come from the fact that him and Shu are perpendicular to one another because of Shu’s immense strength being seen as this "laid back protector archetype" as intrinsically masculine so Reiji’s more mentally vulnerable, cunning, shrewd approach is seen as more feminine ;dissect that how you will. My favourite though is Reiji picking up on etiquette by copying his mother who was a figurehead for women in the vampiric society.

Also reflected in Coco Chanel who is  like, not a nice woman but she did have her moments - a cause for much scandal was her pioneering for trousers and women's athletic wear believe it or not, she was a big equestrian ( is that not the most Reiji sport ever?) and encouraged women to wear equestrian kits. 

I think this also goes really well with his character in terms of politics, the synonymous nature of being a traditionalist yet paving the way is a part of Reji. He very strongly believes in the House of Sakamaki and what it stands for but he also like his father wishes to further vampiric society from it’s barbarism; in some ways he is a cultural snob but in others he’s quite attentive to the the silver lining that maintains modernism and the old ways.

The House of Channel also does this; it has always had its roots cemented in the old ways of aristocratic luxury items, but unlike many other fashion houses it does try to adapt to the changing times sometimes successfully, others not so successfully.

On a less serious note, in general I think it suits his aesthetic as well; as I’ve mentioned the iconic Chanel suits, but also the Corsets? Like Reiji is a big corset man I don’t care what anyone says, the timeless figure of archive Chanel pieces, the monotone colour scheme of darker colours. Moreover, even the chic pieces take inspiration from old money outfits: the arranged tulle of the Victorian era, the heavy contrast, the heavy gold pieces and brooches.

In comparison to Reiji’s fashion, with his fitted suits and tiny waist with the chain of his watch fob, as well as heavy contrast colours: blacks, reds, whites and navy’s. 

Also the chunky jewellery makes sense in my head, it’s like masterfully placed so it doesn’t overwhelm him but I think the jewellery Reiji has includes: obviously the different chains for his antique watch, but also chunky rings seem more his thing than thin ones especially ones with carefully placed family jewels (rubies, emerald's, obsidians - as I said: snob) , this would do for more traditional attire too. 

His outfits in the demon world definitely include brooches, and chains and pendants to embellish his outfit, eye makeup isn’t a big thing for him because it’s so fussy but he would definitely do darker eye makeup to bring out his eyes. He’s quite theatrical, and definitely plays into the ashy white vampire skin ( this is the skin of a killer Bella).

Overall, I refuse to believe he does casual clothing- like Reiji in sweats ( esp the juicy couture ones ) is a horrendous image. So yeah Reiji is a Chanel girl!

Also I can’t believe I completely forgot this but in the beginning Coco Chanel was overlooked by the media, in terms of her designs in the beginning of career because of a little brand called Polo…owned by Ralph Lauren that was also making athletic wear but also quite good friends with Coco Chanel 

It’s almost like A certain someone who I said represented Ralph Lauren (Shu) overshadowing Chanel at first before she split off to make her own name.

[daybringersol]

Guys. Guys we can make Prime make sense. I swear. Guys.

If this can help any Prime Defenders authors out there, here's how I'm working out the problems with Prime being a different planet than Earth while still being so similar (including having french & italian-american people). Feel free to use if it's of any help and/or twist it around for your purposes; if I can save someone a headache, I'll be happy, I sure got a bunch trying to make any sense out of this.

// tw slavery mention, colonisation mention

Earth is a late-stage capitalism hellscape, and tries to colonize Prime to get away from their crumbling planet. Prime stops them, since with their superpowers, they are infinitely more powerful than humans. Earth panics and sends them workers (taken from colonized communities) as peace offerings (2073). Prime is shocked at being sent what are essentially slaves, just frees them and cuts contact with Earth. So now in every major city, there are diasporas of different human communities, who have, over multiple generations, proliferated, kept & adapted their traditions, and started getting powers. Actual artifacts from Earth are extremely rare and often passed down generations.

If we really want to work in the idea that France is its own planet, as mentioned by Bizly in one of the Rolleds (though I'm pretty sure it is a joke), we could say that french people managed to escape Earth and its climate crisis by finding an habitable planet big enough for a (relatively) small country like France, while too small for the rest of Earth.

The reason that primeans are so similar to humans is because the conditions in which the population lived to grow to this degree were similar to Earth, and thus they've evolved similarly. The reason some things have different names on Prime than on Earth, while some words stay the same (for exemple, brands) is because humans brought their knowledge of technology here, tried to remake what they remembered from Earth to make themselves at home, and some of those became popular even with primeans.

Gender as an idea is most prevalent in human communities, as most primeval languages are gender-neutral. Some primeans have decided to play with gender themselves, though they don’t always seem to really understand its rules. Story is written in english, which is one of Mark's native languages (in my fic, his dad is italian-american & his mom is quebecoise) and thus gendered language is used through the eye of Mark (works for my fic, I don't know about yours), who was raised with gender being associated to a person's perceived sex. How Mark interprets people's gender might not have anything to do with their actual genitalia or other hidden sex characteristics.

Lexicon :

Of Prime: Primeval (Adjective.)

Original prime resident (According to humans.): Prim (Noun. Plural: prims. Familiar, somewhat derogatory.)

Original prime resident (According to themselves.): Primean (Noun & adjective. Plural: primeans. Neutral. Means resident of Prime, which would include current human residents, but not used as such. Can also be used as an adjective for things related to Prime.)

Human: Human (Noun & adjective. Plural: humans. Neutral, though sometimes used derogatorily.)

[zvezdacito]

⚠️ CW: imperialism, colonization, genocide, rape mention

I honestly hate to make posts like these because the common response are Yana bootlickers invalidating my say in issues affecting me and harassing me😭

But since I've seen not much people bring it up yet. In cased you didn't know New Year's Cater is fsr in Taisho Era clothing, which was an era of Imperial Japan. Thus, fashion from that era is seen as a symbol and glorification of Japanese imperial colonization and brutalization of Koreans, Chinese and Southeast Asians.

"Twst isn't the only game that does this though, I've seen lots of other media use it as an aesthetic fashion choice! You're overreacting/trying to stir up trouble" Yeah unfortunately this, along with Nazi imagery, are still very glorified in Japanese pop culture. Purposeful or not, it being downplayed as just a cutesy Japan aesthetic in popular exported media (their soft power), helps downplay the severity of what Japan did in this era and make it easier for the government to sweep it under the rug.

When it's brought up for popular anime like Demon Slayer by Korean, Chinese or even some SEAsian people, it's not usually heard because anime fans are so quick to shut us down or even joke about Imperial Japan being in the right despite all the cultural genocide and mass rape committed to spite us☠️ Like I said this only ends in harassment and mockery of us so I wouldn't be saying stuff like this just for fun☠️

They changed Trey's Vargas camp v-neck ingame after already releasing the promo image already so I hope they can fix this too😭

I hope if even not from me, you will at least share this information around for those who aren't aware and tell them how and why it's wrong. Hopefully if enough people bring it up they will notice and change it, if not, then at least do not roll for cater specifically ig😭 Other characters are wearing kimonos from eras without problematic implications on this scale afaik

[im-me-he-says]

(Okay I wasnt going to post this but im actually pissed off.)

((TW INFERTILITY))

Dear Bridgerton fans who are unreasonably angry at Michael being Micheala in the new season,

You still have the book.

Let me bring up points that I've seen in arguments online:

1- "But her story is about infertility! Putting her with a woman changes everything!"

Queer women struggle with infertility too, in fact it can be very difficult for lesbians who wish to start families of their own as not everyone is able to adopt or find a sperm donor, and even if a sperm donor is found THEY CAN STILL HAVE INFERTILITY ISSUES.

Let me list off romance books that deal with cishet women and their infertility issues below-

Untamed Rose, Scandalous Mistress by Bronwyn Scott

The Devil in Disguise by Lisa Kleypas

The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez

Thief of Shadows by Elizabeth Hoyt

What's Left of Me by Kristen Granata

Lord and Lady Spy by Shana Galen (this one is regency too)

A Secret Sorrow by Karen Van Der Zees

And many more if you google I just dont have all day.

(Extra point, in many of these books the women do not stay infertile and have a miracle baby...not only do many cishet women never get their miracle baby but lesbian couples literally cannot concieve)

And now let me list of books that deal with Lesbian women and their fertility issues-

.....

OH WAIT I COULDNT FIND A SINGLE ONE!!

This leads me to my next point.

2- Bridgerton is a love letter to minorities in romance.

As someone who is south asian myself, I have seen how western beauty standards and racism has treated women in our culture, literally go online and search up "which race would you not date" its disgusting.

I grew up only seeing white women be the desirable one in romances as did many others, you know what changed this for me?

Kate Sharma.

The international audience for Bridgerton especially with brown women of South Asian descent grew TREMENDOUSLY. We had a woman like us portrayed positively and seen as desirable, you guys genuinely do not understand how many brown women watch this show because of season 2.

If we had Kate, WHY should Lesbians struggling with infertility and Black Lesbians not have Francesca and Micheala.

3- "It should have been Eloise and Cressida!"

Why? Because Eloise is a loud mouthed feminist and Cressida is a mean blonde and they shared an understanding? Because theyre both white?

While I do want Eloise to be queer as well just think about that for a moment, while lesbian representation is scarce these days it is even scarcer for Lesbians who do not fit the norm...the mostly white, neurotypical, skinny, cis norm.

Genuinely think about how many times ypu have seen these tropes in wlw fiction, like sit and think about it.

Such as Black lesbians for example, you all are aware they exist right?

I want to reccomend this video by a sunny book nook which talks about how lesbians in a VAST MAJORITY of lesbian romance novels arent really...allowed to be complex characters and it would be some FANTASTIC insight for some of yall

In conclusion, you are allowed to miss Michael, but don't you dare say this takes away from her story, as it ties into the very aim of the show.

Thank you for reading.

[magpiesketchins]

Started The Truth today and so far my opinion is that William DeWorde is a nerd (affecitonate) and Vetinari is a nerd (affectionate) and I think this is the first canon story I've read that actually mentions Wuffles by name. Nice to finally meet you king. I've heard so much about you.

[apollos-boyfriend]

OBSESSED with my astronomy teacher. some german girl tried to be like "ummm actually americans are so wasteful with their resources and land and europe is sooooo much better" and this man looked at her in the eyes and went "europe once cut down so many trees and destroyed so much vegetation that they caused another ice age." GET HER ASS