#regardless of variation of practice

[scamallach-1]

“What God Expects From Us” The Prophet’s Pulpit: Commentaries on the State of Islam Vol iii

[yanderestarangel]

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ✰ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

☆ 𝐓𝐘𝐏𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐊 | 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐎 𝐋𝐈𝐍 𝐊𝐔𝐄𝐈 ☆

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ✰ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

TW: smut, dick description, sucking balls, afab anatomy.

✰ 𝐁𝐈 𝐇𝐀𝐍 ✰

He has a 20-centimeter dick, with a wide length, two veins stand out on the member - one that starts in his groin, going down to the dick a little thinner, and a second vein, which pulsates and is visible when he stands on his side hard dick. It's a darker color than his skin, a tone down at least, a light brown, with the tip of the dick circular and a little darker too, reddish, it's also a little crooked to the right, little but not much visible. Bi Han's dick is a little different, his body temperature itself is a little colder, that is, his dick, even though it is hard and pulsating, is still a little cold, so when you fuck he leaves his dick inside your mouth or pussy, as it is more sensitive due to body temperature, the sensation is a little different, but you soon get used to it. He is more sensitive at the tip, so you can use vibrators or suck using special lubricants - his favorite are those with a mint sensation, he moans like a desperate little slut looking for the heat of your pussy -

BASE COLOR: #E2711D | STEM COLOR: #9B3D12 | COLOR OF THE TIP OF HIS DICK: #650D1B

✰ 𝐓𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐒 𝐕𝐑𝐁𝐀𝐃𝐀 ✰

His dick is 22 centimeters, being a completely straight dick, he has a lot of veins, whether they are thicker or thinner - the thick ones are more prominent because they are practically purple, you can see and feel the blood pulsing and circulating over his member. Tomas, it's a very pleasant feeling to give him a handjob - making his dick even fatter and thicker. The color of his dick is a lighter cream, practically vanilla, the designs on his member are like a pattern, going all the way to the tip which is a little more V-shaped, meaning he can easily hit your lap. uterus - the tip of his dick is a light pink, with small variations at the edge, going to a more vibrant pink, with the middle of his dick going to a very light pink before reaching the tip. Tomas is sensitive to the entire dick, regardless of tip or base, he will come quickly anyway, if he becomes overstimulated he will lose control of the smoke magic, and a thin, dark aura will begin to surround his body, especially when you ride his dick in "cowgirl" position.

BASE COLOR: #FACBEA | STEM COLOR: #FFE4D6 | COLOR OF THE TIP OF HIS DICK: #E966A0

✰ 𝐊𝐔𝐀𝐈 𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐆 ✰

He has an 18 centimeter dick, but his dick is thicker, that is, he can fill you completely, his dick has few or almost no visible veins, but the few he has are very thin, with an extremely hot blood flow , his dick itself is much hotter than most men's. His dick has a light woody color, with a slightly lighter base, going with a light brown gradient and a strong red at the tip of his dick, his dick is also crooked to the left, very crooked, but that's it. It also helps to reach the right spots on your pussy. He is sensitive at the base, but specifically in the balls, which are also extremely soft and warm, he likes to see you massaging his balls or even having you suck them while he jerks off, looking at you there, underneath him using With your tongue, his dick heats up in your holes, especially if he's close to cumming, that is, it's an extremely good feeling, making you squirt on his dick.

BASE COLOR: #FFBD40 | STEM COLOR: #C47E38 | COLOR OF THE TIP OF HIS DICK: #DF0000

©YANDERESTARANGEL 2023

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

is there anywhere that in game that says the Mc is the same age as the other first years?? I've been seeing a lot of discourse like "yuu can't do this/be shipped with that person bc they're like 16!!" (for ships this mostly refers to malleus, leona, and lilia)

but I don't remember anything that specifically indicates this? people argue its because they're in first year, but there are canon instances of people enrolling late/being older than their classmates. I was always under the impression that yuu was dropped with the first years regardless of age.

idk I've seen a lot of people get into stupid arguments lately, acting like other people's mc's are a crime bc they're like 17 or 18 (or god forbid 19, even though leona is 20 and there are other... complicated ages).

sorry, this ended up a lot longer than I meant for it to

I think many do assume that Yuu is 16 since they’re in class 1-A and hang out primarily with first year students. However, there is nothing in the game that states Yuu is 16 or has to be (similar to the vagueness about their gender); it’s probably left open-ended so players can imagine their own “Yuus”. As mentioned by the asker, there is variation in the age of canon students (Leona, Lilia, Malleus, etc.)—and even in the Yuus featured in official TWST materials, such as 17 year old Yuuka Hirasaka from the Episode of Savanaclaw manga. I feel it’s pretty pointless to argue over Yuu being “canonically” 16 or which Yuus are and aren’t “allowed” to exist since the game itself is set up in a way that encourages using your imagination to come up with whatever kind of Yuu you want.

More likely, Yuu is lumped into a first year class for reasons other than age. Firstly, they are “half of a student” with Grim, who is starting out his magical studies as a first year student. The two need to stick together—they “complete” one another. Secondly, first year classes center on theory and are basically the only ones Yuu is able to take. The higher level classes require the practical application of magic. Grim is not to that level yet and Yuu is incapable of meeting those magical demands.

Mmm, I think that’s about all I have to say on this matter? I’m afraid I don’t care to delve too deeply into the shipping discourse mentioned—though I do understand being frustrated with fans policing and attacking others’ creations 💦 My advice is to just enjoy your own slice of the fandom rather than letting bad apples ruin your experience.

[demonfamilytherapist]

MC Teaches the Brothers to Pole Dance

Inspired by me taking pole lessons. No real warnings - some of them are a bit suggestive, but that’s it.

Mammon

Most likely to injure himself. Not out of lack of strength - he’s just way too eager to impress you, so he tries more showy moves without getting the technique down first.

He also tends to throw himself into the spins more, which works fine when the pole is static (fixed), but when the pole is on spin he ends up with way too much speed.

Can get frustrated easily, but is also pretty quick at picking it up.

Tends to prefer moves that look impressive, regardless of their actual difficulty.

To show off, he sometimes shifts into his demon form mid-performance to stretch his wings and show off more interesting shapes.

Levi

Most nervous to start out with.

Needs a lot of encouragement to even give it a go. Won’t practice in front of his brothers - luckily, private lessons with you are a pretty good selling point.

He actually practices mostly in his demon form because his tail makes him feel more stable.

It actually does add a pretty good grip point to the pole. His scales are naturally inclined to hold on.

The more revealing clothing that’s kind of necessary for pole is another thing that makes him uncomfortable at first, but again, seeing you in just as little or less is another good selling point.

Once he gets past his initial nerves, his tail actually gives him a lot of flexibility on what he can do.

He tends to do variations on moves that allow him to rely more on his tail, since it’s his strongest limb.

Beel

Beel’s a natural and dedicated athlete, so he takes to pole very well.

He does need a few reminders on his technique - he can brute force his way through most things with sheer strength, and is often more focused on completing the move rather than performing it.

He sees it as a great way to bond with you. Once he figures out what muscles are most important, he’s really eager to discuss other ways to strengthen them so you can both improve.

He’s a really good doubles partner, since he can take the extra weight of you half hanging off him.

Prefers arm-based moves - while he can grip with his legs, he never feels as comfortable.

His wings don’t help too much with anything, but they can look very nice in the right lighting for a performance.

Asmo

Asmo is way ahead of you.

Well, sort of.

He has a good idea of the basics, but he’s generally only used it for fashion photoshoots and… private shows… neither of which really focused on a variety of moves.

That being said, he’s really enthusiastic to learn more with you!

He buys a lot of cute, very expensive pole outfits. He’s really eager to shop with you, too. Would love to match.

Asmo is a very fast learner. He’s stronger than he looks, so he’s able to physically do most of the moves right away. Mostly he just needs to refine his technique, and Asmo is a natural performer.

Anything that shows off his best angles is a good move in his book. He likes to have one arm free to blow kisses.

His wings are a wonderful accessory, and they’re also small enough not to get in his way.

Satan

Satan doesn’t really understand the point… But he’ll go along with it. It’s a good opportunity to learn more about you, and human world art forms.

It takes him a while to get the hang of it. His analytical mind is a blessing and a curse, helping him understanding the techniques and moves but often leading him to overthink in the moment.

Most likely to study up outside of your interactions - he’s the least thirsty guy following a bunch of pole dancers.

He tends to prefer slower routines that allow him to plan ahead and show off both technical skill and artistry. He’s also a surprisingly decent choreographer, probably only behind Asmo (with Levi being the other pretty good one).

He is banned from demon form on the pole. His tail is too hard and sharp, and could end up scratching it.

Belphie

It’s too much effort. And if it’s something Asmo’s that into, it can’t be worth much…

But if it’s that important to you, sure, he’ll give it a go.

Belphie is almost annoyingly good at pole once he starts taking it semi-seriously. He’s a fast learner, and keeps a cool head even when in weird and uncomfortable positions.

The biggest risk is when he falls asleep while on the pole and just… drops.

For this reason it’s best to avoid moves that are too stable or horizontal. He ends up being really dynamic just because otherwise he risks dozing off.

While putting this much effort into anything isn’t his usual style, he’s glad he gets to show off for you.

His tail isn’t grippy enough to be all that helpful, but it can be useful as a little extra support for some of the weirder positions.

Lucifer

Lucifer will not go to a group class with his brothers.

He will scoff and roll his eyes at the suggestion of a private practice.

But every time you’re with his brothers, he’s taking a close look at the moves.

In the evening, he returns to his room and summons a pole from the human world.

He practices every evening, sometimes giving up sleep. He keeps watching you practice, picking up more ideas and refining his skills.

Then, one day, while you’re trying to teach one of his brothers a certain move, he’ll walk up.

“It’s simple. Like this.”

He will do it perfectly. First try. And somehow in gloves and a full suit.

He is going to be smug about it for weeks.

[f1-birb]

in reference to this, the lovely anon came back to give full thoughts from a union rep perspective so I have taken the text from two asks and put them under the cut - incredibly interesting read and sheds light on a lot of assumptions I'd formed but from a more knowledgeable perspective:

As I said in my initial message, I have a lot of thoughts on the entire radio interaction throughout the last 20 laps of that race yesterday, so to keep things from getting too chaotic, I'm going to try to discuss things in sections.

-THE MESSAGES-

I actually think this is a two-fold problem.

So, for starters, we get the message

"Lando, he can't catch you. You've proved your point" towards the end of this whole ordeal. Every interaction prior to this point involves some variation of "We're stressed about the tyres, Lando. You need to save tyres, Lando." (Coincidentally, every message about saving tyres is followed up with some variation of "Remember to let Oscar through." I'll come back to this in the section about Will). Except, we can see from the photos of the two McLaren cars in parc ferme that Lando's tyres were fine. The fact that he was able to push and continue building a gap shows that his tyres were fine and weren't dropping off.

This, right here, prime example of gaslighting. A driver can feel when he starts struggling with the tyres, we've heard Lando himself complain about the tyres going off on the radio before.

He wasn't struggling at all here, the team was trying to convince him he was to slow him down. This, already, to me is extremely unethical and sets a dangerous precedent. If the team is willing to gaslight and lie to him about something occurring on the track, directly related to his race, when he's driving at high speeds and has no access to data, how is he supposed to know when he can trust them? Not only is this example gaslighting, it's extremely manipulative. They re trying to make him believe something that isn't at all true so that he does something completely unnatural to his nature as a racing driver (intentionally driving slower for like the last 15 laps) that benefits them.

Now, probably the most controversial part of the interaction occurs when Lando says he's fighting for this championship (presumably the Driver's Championship), and Will responds with

"The way to win a championship is not by yourself. It's with the team. You're going to need Oscar. You're going to need the team." Now, l'm going to be completely honest with you, if this interaction had occurred in some kind of interview between Will and Lando or in a free practice session or hell even in a qualifying session debating who would get a tow or prime track position, l'd probably be like "Yeah, fair enough, that's 100% true, needing a supportive team behind you to be successful is true of a lot of industries, including mine." But you have to remember the context here: They're trying to manipulate him into doing something he's expressed discomfort in doing, using tactics like gaslighting, blatantly lying, appealing to his emotions, and now threatening him.

This isn't the "You're part of a team" message some people are trying to play it off as to make it sound lighter than it is and like others are

overreacting. There is no "Remember, you're part of a team that can help you get that championship." The words of

"You're going to need the team" are very deliberate and intentional. They're basically telling him, if he wants the support and aid of the team, he has to do what he's being told regardless of if he agrees with it or feels comfortable with it. Again, they're trying to use tactics like intimidation and fear of future retaliation to get him to do something he's uncomfortable with.

-ANDREA STELLA-

Courtesy of Ted Kravitz, we now know Andrea Stella was the one telling Will Joseph the exact messages to relay to Lando. So, let's just break this down.

This is the team principal himself - the man whose job responsibility is quite literally to manage the team and driver dynamics.

His team has fucked up. He knows they've fucked up. Hell, even Lando knows they've fucked up and asks at one point why they didn't just pit Oscar first. Instead of owning the team's fuck up, he tries to make Lando the scapegoat. Even after the race, in the media, he's still trying to make it look like McLaren deserve no criticism, Lando does for trying to steal a win from his teammate (that his error-prone strategy team dangled in front of Lando). So, he's still resorting to abusive tactics like emotional manipulation to his driver who in the end did exactly what he asked despite being uncomfortable doing it. This is also just extremely narcissistic - refusing to acknowledge his and his team's role in this mess and instead placing it all on Lando.

And then the radio messages that he was feeding to Will Joseph to in turn feed to Lando. The "obey or we'll never support you" message would have been bad enough coming from Will, but there's a whole other element at power when you know it was the team principal, someone who strategists and engineers answer to, threatening this.

This is someone who very well could ruin Lando's entire career and stock in the paddock with the staff and resources at his disposal, and he's essentially threatening, on a public radio broadcasted to millions, to do just that if Lando doesn't obey him.

This wasn't a "frantic race engineer trying to reel his driver in" situation like we originally thought, this is a team principal - again, responsible for managing the TEAM and DRIVERS - basically threatening to have the team leave one of the drivers out to dry and focus all of their efforts and attention on the other if this one driver does not conform to his will.

And I know a lot of people are upset that Lando is not speaking out against the team, so let me pose this question:

If Andrea Stella is perfectly comfortable acting this vile - gaslighting, blackmailing, threatening - on a public radio broadcasted to millions, and the threat of "obey me or this team will not support you" is already hanging in the air, do you really think Lando could criticize the team publicly and get out unscathed? Given these radio messages, does Lando even think he could fairly criticize the team, publicly or privately, without jeopardizing his own career? We think because he's a multimillionaire (and he is privileged, I'm not denying that) with millions of followers that he has all this influence, but the one with the real power - the one who tells Zak Brown who he wants in those seats - has basically just publicly sent him the message that if he wants to stay in his seat and actually achieve his biggest goal, he'll shut up and listen regardless of his own thoughts or opinions.

-WILL JOSEPH-

Let me preface this by saying I don't think Will is completely blameless in this situation. That being said, he was manipulated by Andrea Stella and his tactics just as much as Lando was, and as l'll go into in a moment, I think there are definitely signs that he wasn't 100% comfortable with what he was doing and was still trying to look out for Lando while placating their boss.

But first ... the power dynamics, again.

Much like he has the power to destroy Lando's career if he wanted to, Stella also has the power to destroy, frankly much more quickly and easily, Will's career if he really wanted to. And we already know from his radio messages to Lando that Andrea Stella is not against threatening to do just that if his employees do not obey his orders. So, despite still being angry at Will, I do recognize he was in a lose-lose situation.

I really do think if you read between the lines of those radio messages that you can see that Will did try, in his own way, to look out for Lando, but that also makes some of the things he said a bit more eerie of some of this toxic behavior existing behind closed doors as well.

For example, one thing I noticed with the "Save tyres" messages was that every single time, there was some sort of plea to swap positions. And again, this is mostly speculation, but I think that was Will's way of saying like "Your tyres are fine, they are just demanding you slow down for this switch." Evidence of this: "We need you to save your tyres please and we do want to let Oscar through." "Ok, Lando, we still think you're using the tyres too much Turn 4 Turn 11, and the rears at exit Turn 6 Turn 9. Oscar's 3.5, I know you'll do the right thing." "We think both cars are using their tyres too much. Just remember every single Sunday morning meeting we have."

I also, and again this is mostly speculation on my part, but I do believe Will was trying to avoid saying some of the harsher things like the threat that Andrea was telling him. At the time, I thought the urgent messages in which Will insists he's trying to protect Lando were about protecting him from a potential undercut and thus needing to pit him first, but as quite literally every analysis has pointed out, Lando wasn't even under threat of that for the final pit stops. They could have pitted Oscar the lap they pitted Lando, pitted Lando the very next lap, and everyone would have maintained their original positions. I also just, idk, felt the urgency in that "I'm trying to protect you mate, I promise I'm trying to protect you." message just wouldn't have matched up if all they were discussing was the pit sequence. Like, Will sounded full-on frantic at this point, and then mind you, the very next plea Andrea has him give is the threat about Lando not having the team's support going forward if he doesn't swap positions.

So, despite still being mad as hell, I understand power dynamics were shifted in both Will and Lando's cases.

Stella was on a power trip and would have happily (and did, as we see Lando still taking the brunt of the blame for Stella's team's failures) thrown both Will and Lando to the wolves if he didn't get his way. And that intimidation factor easily allows him to manipulate both Will and Lando.

This is more like the arguments/ evidence I would use if this incident were to get reported to HR, and, as a Union Rep, I was chosen to go advocate for Lando and Will against management. That being said, much of what we focus on when we are advocating for employees are the power dynamics at hand, and that's something about this situation I don't see people recognizing enough. Andrea Stella is in a position of power over both the other men involved in this situation, and according to Ted Kravitz, he was the one pulling the strings with the gaslighting and blackmailing and manipulating. Had Will refused to convey Andrea's messages, he could have been demoted or maybe even terminated altogether. As we heard in the messages themselves, had Lando refused to bend to Andrea's will, there's a chance the team really does hang him out to dry and prioritizes Oscar at all costs.

It's difficult to provide a full Union Rep analysis too because so much of our work relies on reading actual employee contracts, and obviously those aren't just freely available online for F1 drivers. That said, I can already tell you they very clearly and deliberately broke one of their own team values with this behavior: "We act with integrity and work together to address challenges with respect, openness, and honesty." So, I wouldn't be surprised if there aren't mandates against this behavior in Andrea's own contract, and l'd be very surprised if McLaren didn't have just a general employee Code of Conduct that basically this entire incident broke.

and on the term 'workplace harassment':

I noticed the term "workplace harassment" used in the reblogs of one of your posts too, and while I didn't really use the term "workplace harassment" in my previous message, I would also throw in that I know Stella's (and by proxy, Will's) behaviors towards Lando yesterday 100% be considered workplace harassment. Intentionally withholding or spreading misinformation that impacts

someone's ability to properly do their job is workplace harassment (and granted, there's a lot of examples of that from McLaren and F1 as a whole, but the key word here is intentionally. that's normally genuine strategy blunders and not a team legitimately telling their driver lies to try to slow them down). Completely overbearing supervision can also be a sign of workplace harassment, and I'd argue by Stella literally trying to make Will his mouthpiece, he was definitely doing that. Making threats concerning job opportunities or job security (in the workplace, not in like a performance review) is ALWAYS considered workplace harassment, and well. We have direct evidence of Stella and Will both engaging in that.

[what-the-dark-has-foretold]

Happy Birthday

Shimura Tenko x fem!reader

Navi.

Notes: My dream Birthday I´m not even kidding

Autumn Event

Warnings: smut, mdni, modern au-ish?, fluff, aftercare, spit (incl. he spits in your mouth), reader has long(er) hair, he carries reader, lots of cute petnames (incl. "pretty slut" and variations), reader wears a dress, pretty cute and domestic overall, he overstimulates himself

Wordcount: 2k+

“I wanna sit on your lap.” It was a statement, rather than a request and he had to suppress the smile threatening to break out on his lips.

“Yeah? Is my pretty girl feeling needy?” he asked, extending an arm to pull you closer. You gasped but climbed on his lap nonetheless.

“Hey, it´s my birthday, you know? Shouldn´t you give me like…princess treatment or something?”

Tenko snorted as he helped you get comfortable. Carefully, he rested his chin on your shoulder and grabbed his mouse again.

“I always give you princess treatment.” The sensation of his breath against your neck made you shiver, and you could see him grin in the reflection of his computer.

You stuck out your tongue but cuddled deeper into him regardless. He couldn´t help but smile softly and pressed a kiss to your head. After holding you tightly for a moment, he focused back on his game.

“Wait. Is that my account?” you said, suddenly.

Tenko grinned.

“You hate exploring, so I thought I´d max out everything for you.”

You jerked around, eyes widened in surprise.

“Wait really?” you gasped. He nodded, already knowing you´d bless him by throwing your entire body into his arms.

“It´s really easy to make you happy, you know?” he murmured against your hair while you pressed your face into his chest.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you. I love you so much!”

“Love you too, princess, now let me do my thing yeah?” he gently moved your body again so he could comfortably look over your shoulder and continue playing.

“Hmm.” You nuzzled deeper into him. “Wait, oh my god how did you do that?”

He snorted.

“Sounds like a skill issue on your part, baby.”

You gasped.

“How dare you! I will have you know, I´m a God at this game.”

“With an HP sands and goblet on your Wanderer?” he grinned down at your scowling form.

“Well, at least the crit stats look nice,” you pouted.

“I know, baby,” he cooed at you and kissed your temple. “At least you´re good at other things,” he mumbled.

“What? Tenko!”

He laughed.

“C´mon baby, what would I do without you in my life, hm?”

You grew soft.

“And?”

“Hm?”

“What would you do without me?”

He leaned back to look at you properly, hand finding your chin to tilt your face upwards.

“Playing video games and working and nothing more.”

You furrowed your brows.

“What? It´s all I did before you too.” a breathy chuckle escaped him. “What about you then?”

“I ask the question here!”

“Right, my bad, princess,” he teased and kissed the tip of your nose, barely pulling back after.

“Well lucky for you I don´t intend on leaving,” you grinned. “You´re stuck with me.”

He hummed, lips brushing yours. “Marriage and all?”

You giggled. “Yeah, marriage and all.”

“You´re so cute baby,” he murmured and kissed you again. “So fucking cute.”

He moved you to face him and gripped your waist to pull you flush against him so he could deepen the kiss. A mewl escaped your lips. You could feel him twitch against your core at the soft sound.

Gently, you ground your hips against his growing member, drawing a groan from his lips. His hands tightened around your waist, dragging your core against his body to drive you both toward an orgasm. You moaned against his mouth.

“Fuck,” he murmured, barely pulling away, too drunk on the taste of your lips. Abruptly, he picked you up and brought you to his bed – practically collapsing over your form. One of his arms was propped up right next to your head, fingers playing with your hair. His other hand made sure you couldn´t move away from his kiss.

You couldn´t help but mewl, silently begging him to come even closer, even tugging at his hoody. He grunted, settling down until he lay on top of you, hands cradling your face and hips slowly grounding against yours.

“Lemme eat you out, baby, yeah?” he rasped against your lips, but you couldn´t answer, breath completely stolen away. He rested his cheek against yours, watching you patiently until you had caught your breath again.

“Please, Tenko.”

He moaned at the sound of your broken voice and moved down your body, his hands squeezing and groping at your sides as he did so until he came face to face with your clothed pussy.

“Shit, baby, you smell so fucking good.”

Impatiently, he slipped off your panties for you and flipped up your skirt. He took another moment to breathe in your familar smell only to dive mouth-first into your pussy, spreading your outer lips to give his tongue space to lap at your clit. One of his hands held you down by your hips, the other trailed down your inner thigh. He briefly pulled back to wet some fingers with his tongue, but was back on you in a second, easing one of the digits into your pulsing core.

“Fuck, baby, you´re so good, take off your dress for me, yeah? Wanna see you completely,” he grunted, rutting his hips against the mattress at the sinful sounds you let out through your parted lips. You did as you were told, hands trembling and legs shaking at the pleasure coursing through you.

Soon he had you arching your back and pressing your pussy against him more while he sped up the licking and sucking at your clit, even pushing in a second finger to drive you ever closer to your orgasm.

You came against his tongue hard and he moaned at the feeling of you spasming around his fingers.

“Baby, fuuuck, you´re so good, gotta let me do that shit more often, yeah?” he groaned, slowly pulling out of you to push himself up on his hands, grinning down at you with cum smeared across his mouth. He leaned forward to kiss you and you both moaned at your taste now drenching both of your lips. “Tastes so good, doesn´t she?” he rasped and you nodded dumbly. “C´mon baby, say it,” he tapped your cheek expectingly.

“Tastes so good,” you softly repeated, still coming down from your high.

“That´s my pretty girl,” he groaned and captured your lips in another kiss. “Gonna fuck you now, okay?”

You could only muster a helpless nod accompanied by a whine and he smiled fondly at you.

“Prettiest fucking girl,” he praised you again, before pecking your lips once more.

With two fingers he spread your pussy to properly line himself up with your hole.

He eased into you, letting out a low groan against your lips.

“F – Fuck princess, why – ngh – how do you always feel this good?”

A soft mewl left your lips when he had filled you up completely, grabbing at him, disoriented, to press a wet kiss to his cheek.

“Tenko,” you whimpered.

He moaned at the messy sight in front of him. Your hair chaotically strewn over the pillow, your eyes pleading and glassy fixated on him and a cute little pout on your lips. He snapped his hips against yours and your back arched at the feeling. Quickly, his arms circled your waist.

“Fuuuck,” he groaned, setting a rapid rhythm, hands groping and tugging at your skin to have you even closer to him. His strokes were deep, his heavy cock sliding in and out of you so nicely. His lips found yours again, spit spread across your mouth with his eager tongue while he rutted into you.

One of his hands reached down to play with your clit, stroking her in tandem with his heavy thrusts into you.

“Heh.” He grinned at you, eyes lidded, watching your face contort into one of pleasure. “You cumming, baby?”

You nodded wildly, eyes squeezed shut and mouth hung open – just so perfect for him to spit into. “Uhu.”

“Uhu?” he mocked, the hand on your hips tightened its grip so he could drive even harder into you. “My little princess slut is cumming?” One more tug of his fingers on your clit and your body tensed in his hold. A boastful laugh escaped him, though it was cut short by the wild clenching of your pussy that made him topple over your body, his face tucked into the crook of your neck and a loud groan escaping him. The speed of his thrusts decreased, driving into you slow but hard as he came.

“Mmh,” you mumbled, nuzzling deeper into his embrace, but all of a sudden, he picked up speed again. A surprised cry escaped you and your arms quickly found purchase around his shoulders. He moved so fast, holding you tightly and grunting against the skin of your neck. He couldn´t speak, just chasing the pleasure he felt when you spasmed around him, completely drunk on the feeling.

His cock was aching, but his mind was empty, set only on feeling you twitch around him again.

Moans and whimpers left your mouth, your body rocking against his from the way he harshly thrust into you. After a while he sped up even more and his grunts became louder. His left hand found the side of your cheek, shaky hand caressing your skin. It slowly travelled downwards, leaving goosebumps in its wake all over your body, until it pinched at your clit to make you crash head-first into your second orgasm.

He followed suit, body collapsing on top of yours, still rutting erratically into you until his thrusts turned sluggish and then, finally, stopped.

A long moan escaped him, his mouth, open, pressed against your neck.

You stayed entangled like this for a little bit as you attempted to catch your breaths. Once he had caught his breath again, he pressed several sloppy kisses against your skin and up your jaw. Slowly, he pulled away from your face and propped himself up on his arms to look at your tired-out form. He grinned at you blearily blinking up at him – lips swollen and breath still erratic.

“Fuck, you look so messy, princess,” he murmured, fingers brushing away some spit next to your mouth.

You whimpered.

“Mmh?”

“Kiss me. Please.”

His eyes widened, but a moment later a soft smile graced his mouth and he leaned down to press a soft kiss to your parted lips. Then another. And another until he peppered your face with kisses and he held your giggling form in his embrace. His eyes crinkled at the sight.

“Wanna make out,” you whispered against his mouth, and he hummed.

"Just for a second though, gotta clean you up, baby.”

He moved his lips slowly against yours, fingers brushing lightly against your skin. Suddenly, he sat up, arms securely around you to carry your body with him and place you on his lap – his lips never leaving yours as they moved in tandem. His hands cupped your cheeks, thumbs brushing over your skin.

He pulled back way too soon for your taste. Smiling fondly, he watched how your eyes fluttered open and a pout formed on your lips. “C´mon baby, I´ll carry you to the bathroom.”

He helped you to the toilet and held you steadily when he lead you to the shower afterwards, turning it on for you both. As the warm water finally soothed your skin, he ran his fingers through your hair while you hid your face in his shoulder.

“You okay, baby?”

You mumbled unintelligibly and nuzzled deeper into his embrace.

“You wanna watch something and cuddle a little bit before going to sleep?”

He received a nod from you and smiled, gently patting your head. After a minute of just holding you close to him, he loosened the grip you had on him so he could pull away to wash the sweat and cum off of you.

You trembled once he brushed against your clit and whined, but he simply let out a chuckle as he straightened his back again. For a moment, he just looked at you, holding your face in his hand, only to swiftly pick you up again, laughing at your surprised shriek and carried you out of the shower.

Not too long after, you laid against Tenko´s chest, absentmindedly playing with the string of his hoody. His left arm held you tightly around your stomach and in his free hand he held the remote in order to turn on the tv. A familiar intro music started playing.

However, you couldn´t help but look up at him instead, smiling wide. He mirrored your smile and let his left hand lightly trail up and down your neck. Then, he leaned down to kiss you.

“I love you,” you whispered against his lips.

He hummed, thumb brushing away hair from your face.

“I love you too, princess.”

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Thoughts on religion in the wizarding world? I'm guessing there would be sects of existing religions as well as their own. Maybe they think their magic is divinely given and muggles are heathens? Or they're supposed to 'enlighten' or 'watch over' the muggles like some angel complex?

there was definitely people worshipping harry potter. And/or voldy like there's already religious overtones why not make it in universe?

Hi 👋,

Kinda mentioned what I think about religion in the wizarding world here and here. since the Statute of Secrecy was introduced so late (1692) it means most wizarding communities would be practicing some magical variant of the local muggle religion. In the case of Britain — that would be Christianity.

The fact wizards are buried in Christian muggle graveyards, that Bill and Fleur's wedding is a Christian wedding with a little magical flare, that they celebrate Christmas, and that they have godparents — are all facts that indicate the UK wizarding world is predominantly Christian.

As for more personal fanatical worship we see with Harry and Voldemort, that's something that could just happen in any community, regardless of whether they are religious or not. Ideologies can become fanatical religious worship of the ideology and its leader even without any religion or gods present, so I don't think it has much to do with it. Completely atheist groups and organizations have become fanatical to the point of religious faith in the past, I don't see why wizards would then be different and need religion/god/gods to worship someone/something.

I think there could be some wizards who believe they are better than muggles due to religious reasons, but we don't really see evidence of that in the UK. The beliefs most Death Eaters spew don't seem to have a religious basis but be more similar to eugenics, considering how much they talk about blood and purity (like the Nazis, who were very anti-religion, btw. Like, I don't know how aware you are, but the Nazi party prosecuted Christians in Germany, they believed the state and its leader should be the religion and not god). It's about blood more than about religion in my opinion.

What I do think is interesting is how certain ancient wizards (like Merlin and the founders) are treated somewhat like religious figures, like saints ("Merlin's beard" and such). So, it kinda makes me want to headcanon Merlin and the founders are considered saints in the Magical Church or whatever it's called. That they have a whole additional set of legends and saints built atop the muggle Christian faith (or any other religion wherever those wizards are).

I wonder if there are wizards in the Vatican? If there really is a strain of Christianity that's like "The Church of Magic" or whatever. I mean, Harry describes there is a wizard priest who presides over Dumbledore's funeral and Bill and Fleur's wedding. He needed to get this priesthood somewhere.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” said a slightly singsong voice, and with a slight shock, Harry saw the same small, tufty-haired wizard who had presided at Dumbledore’s funeral, now standing in front of bill and Fleur.

(DH, 127)

The above "small, tufty-haired wizard" is a wizard priest.

It also means there are wizards of any other muggle religion based on their location with some magical flares added (Jewish wizards, Muslim wizards, Hindu wizards, you name it). Probably different wizarding communities (different countries or areas) have slightly different variations of said religious practices, just like we see with irl semi-secluded cultures. Like, the magical church of France is likely a little different from the magical church of England (I wonder if the magical church of England is Anglican or if it's an older institute and therefore catholic and remained so through Herny VIII's reforms, which happened before the Statute of Secrecy. I assume some wizards are catholic and some are protestant in the UK regardless, again depending on where they are from).

[jo-harrington]

Corroded Coffin Fest - Day 8 - Band Politics

Summary: Eddie is down in the dumps...and the guys know the best way to cheer him up.

Word Count: 991

Rating: T

Warnings/Themes: Swearing, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Eddie's an asshole but hurt people hurt people so...

Check Out the Main Post for @corrodedcoffinfest here! Even if you didn’t start on Day 1, you can still join!

Tagging: @the-unforgivenn at her request.

You can find my masterlist here.

Please do not interact if you are not 18+.

Enjoy!

Let the record show that Eddie Munson wasn't an angry man.

Or a violent one.

And he didn't yell very often.

Ok maybe that one was a lie.

Regardless...his bandmates were really testing his fucking patience over the past week, so whatever fate befell them? They fucking deserved it.

It'd been a normal week in the normal month of May where normal things happened.

Nothing out of the ordinary.

And if there was? Well, it wasn't anyone's business but Eddie's.

So it was a good thing nothing happened.

And yeah, because it was such a normal, boring week...he might have been feeling a little bit down.

Leave it to his friends to disturb the peace.

"I think I should have a solo," Dave was the first one to start shit during practice.

"Oh you do, do you?" Eddie questioned the abrupt declaration.

"Gareth and I were talking--"

"Oh you were?"

"--and we think if we added songs that featured bass and drum solos would really make our sound stand out. It can't always be guitar."

He knew Dave had a point; shit, he wanted the band to really showcase all of their abilities but it was the way Dave had done it. Stopping in the middle of a song, while Eddie was working on a solo of his own, to announce his dissatisfaction.

It really made him grind his teeth.

"Alright, take the stage then Cliff Burton," he snapped and whipped his guitar off so he could watch the genius idea unfold. "Put your money where your mouth is."

The next was Jeff.

Jeff of all people; the one person Eddie thought had his back.

"We voted to change the logo for Corroded Coffin," he announced before Eddie even had a chance to sit down at lunch. He passed a stack of notebook paper with different variations scribbled all over them and pointed to a few favorites. "I like this one, but Gareth likes this one. Dave doesn't like any of them. We figured you should get a say."

"Oh," Eddie pressed a hand to his chest. "How considerate of you. I'm only one of the founding members of the band."

"Yeah, you get it," Jeff smiled cheerfully, either missing the sarcasm or ignoring it altogether. "Which one do you like."

"I like the logo we have," Eddie scoffed. "I'm the one that drew it!"

"Yeah well," Jeff shrugged. "There's always room for improvement. You've told us that a million times."

Eddie felt a sting in his chest and at the corners of his eyes. Then he looked down at the stack of paper, at all of the scribbles, and felt the need to tear them all apart.

"Fine! Whatever!" He shouted and pointed vaguely to one of the pages. "Pick whatever you want. That one. Gareth's." He said it, mainly out of spite for Jeff.

And then Gareth went and stabbed him in the fuckin' back too.

Little shit.

Eddie had been juggling his binders on the way to Hellfire, late thanks to some extended double detention that Coach had given him, as if his week hadn't been shit normal as it was. And when he got to the drama classroom? Gareth was talking way too loudly about dumping Eddie and forming a new band with their own sound.

It was a whirlwind of thoughts and feelings as Eddie processed what he overheard. Feelings of inadequacy and failure, feelings of overwhelming disappointment.

How much had he tried to pull it together and succeed again only to face another barrage of defeat?

Enough was enough.

"Are you kidding me?" Eddie snapped as he shoved the door open and found his friends sitting around the table looking cool and casual. "A fucking mutiny?! Is that what's been happening?"

Dave looked like he was about to shit himself at Eddie's appearance but Gareth and Jeff definitely looked a little too sure of themselves.

Well that ended right here right now.

"If you guys want out of the band, then you're out." He dropped his things on the table and then held the door of the classroom wider, bowing and gesturing for them to go. "All week, all week I've had to deal with all of these bullshit, revolutionary ideas of yours and if it wasn't a bad enough week as it was finding out I'm not graduating again.

"I'm. Fucking. Over it!"

He stood there--shoulders heaving, teeth gnashing, fists balled--as he watched his friends stare blankly back at him.

And then the tears finally came. One by one, dripping down his cheeks silently as the disappointment and rage just became too much to handle.

"Oh shit," Jeff muttered, quick to his feet to cross the distance and pull Eddie into a hug. He held him tightly, even as Eddie tried to push him away. "Hey man, it's ok. Let it out."

There were a few beats of silence as Eddie regained control of his emotions before Jeff took the chance to speak again.

"We knew something was bothering you," he said softly. "But we couldn't figure out what."

"So we figured we'd just be annoying little shits until you blew up," Gareth added.

"Like you usually do," came Dave's hesitant addition.

"We didn't know that..."

"That I failed senior year technically again because of fucking gym?" Eddie let out a watery laugh, earning cries of indignation from the boys. "Yeah I know, it's so stupid."

The following few minutes were filled with more of his enraged shouts and flailing hand gestures and the breaking of several foam props from the drama department before he looked at his friends again.

"So...you guys don't want to quit the band?" he asked softly, looking at each of his friends, and he was met with their resounding support, and promises about how they would see Corroded Coffin through to the end.

Or die trying.

Of course Dave had to add, "I'd still like a bass solo though."

[scarletskiesinthepaths]

Levi, Emotional Expression, and Social Interaction

I've seen different posts on Levi lately across different platforms that claim he is a cruel or mean person, which are fundamental misunderstandings of his character. I sort of see the problem as people mistaking Levi's emotional expressions (or lack thereof) as indicative of malicious intent or rude behavior. As such, I wanted to discuss how Levi's history and trauma have shaped how he expresses himself and relates to others. Once one has an understanding of that, it becomes evident that Levi's expressions should not be used to judge his intentions or feelings.

I wrote another post on how Levi fully meets the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on my main blog, and that diagnosis is important for understanding Levi as a character, as he's someone who's been largely affected by his trauma. To further expand on that post, we're going to discuss both Levi's affect and his ways of socially interacting with others, using concepts such as social modeling and self-monitoring.

What is Emotional Affect?

Affect, in psychology, refers to a patient's expression of emotion. Expression of emotion encompasses facial expressions, gestures, body language, tone of voice, etc. Mood, on the other hand, refers to the internal state of a patient's emotions sustained over a period of time. Affect helps us interpret a person's mood; however, there are such situations where affect can be considered inappropriate—that is, the person's affect is not entirely congruent (i.e., consistent) with the person's present mood and/or situation. A classic example of inappropriate affect would be laughing at a funeral, as that is incongruent with the context of the situation. Another example—a patient who is smiling and laughing after being involuntarily committed is considered to have an inappropriately euphoric affect.

Affect can be described across multiple dimensions, but the two most typically used are the quality of affect and the range of affect. Quality of affect is typically categorized as either euthymic (normal), dysthymic (depression, anxiety, guilt), or euphoric (an abnormally elevated sense of well-being, such as in mania). The range of affect can be labeled as labile, broad, restricted, blunted, or flat. Broad is considered the normal range of affect.

For the purposes of conciseness, we're going to focus on blunted and flat affects, as those are the range of affects that are best suited to describing Levi. Flat affect is when there is no variation in the patient's emotional expressions, regardless of their mood and situation. Blunted affect is similar, but it is a bit less severe—it means minimal variation. Practically, what do these mean?

Levi's Affect

When Kenny first finds Levi as a child, Levi is in a severe state of neglect; he is dying of starvation, he is wearing rags, his hair is unkempt, and he is sitting in the same room as his mother's decaying corpse. A typical child in this developmental range would be in extreme distress: crying, expressing fear, pleading for help, etc. However, Levi shows no such displays of emotions; he does not cry, he does not move, and he barely speaks. In fact, there is absolutely zero emotional expression, and there is no indicator he is upset about his situation (even as it is clear he must be). This is flat affect. Even in the short montage we see after Kenny has taken Levi under his "care", Levi never once shows variation in his emotional expression—no anger, no laugher, nothing.

Once Levi is an adult during the present timeline in the series, Levi exceedingly rarely displays his emotions. He often speaks in monotone, minimally varying the tone or volume of his voice—never yelling as well, even when angry. His smiles are so rare that it's a notable moment when he does smile (such as when Historia punched him at end of the "Royal Government" arc), and he never cries even after significant personal losses (except his one tear at the end of the series). His affect as an adult ranges from flat to blunted. This is significant too because we do know that his mood does vary, as it's clear from his verbal and body language the toll that different events take on him, and he does also display a sense of humor across the series. Again, though, his emotional expression does little to reflect how he's feeling.

What Causes Flat Affect?

To give a quick list of the most common causes:

Schizophrenia and other psychotic-spectrum disorders

Brain damage, such as from organic brain pathology or a traumatic brain injury

Neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

Severe psychological trauma, typically resulting in post-traumatic stress disorder

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)

I will say outright that there is no evidence Levi suffers from schizophrenia, and thus, that is unlikely to be the cause of his flat/blunted affect, especially given the onset of Levi's flat affect and the exceeding rarity of childhood-onset schizophrenia. Similar reasoning applies to brain damage, so both of those can be excluded from the differential.

I do believe Levi meets the criteria for MDD in adulthood; however, that would be more so a comorbidity of his existing PTSD. Levi looked to be around 4-6 years of age at the start of Kenny's flashbacks, and MDD in that age group is quite uncommon, even when accounting for childhood-onset and adolescent-onset depression.

This leaves us with both severe psychological trauma and ASD as the two most likely causes of Levi's flat affect as a child and through adulthood. ASD can be a valid interpretation of Levi's significantly reduced affect display during childhood, as well as his consistent social difficulties throughout all of canon. Based on criteria laid out by the latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5-TR), Levi can be seen as having ASD (which I'll likely make a future post on). However, the presence of severe psychological trauma confounds this diagnosis. Despite this confounding diagnosis, it is still possible he has both PTSD and ASD.

Regardless, the most likely explanation for Levi's range of affect remains severe psychological trauma. In a child that young, something had to have gone extremely wrong in his early upbringing for his significantly reduced affect display. An entire separate post can be written on this topic, but Levi demonstrates clear signs of an insecure attachment style by the time he's discovered by Kenny; this indicates that Kuchel, despite having loved Levi, was simply unable to properly care for him, and this resulted in deep and ingrained psychological trauma that affected Levi's ability to socially relate and interact with others for the rest of his life. I intend on going into more detail in a separate post, but Levi's attachment style is likely insecure-avoidant or insecure-disorganized.

Observational Learning and Social Modeling

Albert Bandura's social learning theory posits that children learn through a combination of traditional behaviorist processes (classical and operant conditioning), cognitive processes, in addition to observation and modeling. In reference to Levi, observational learning is the most salient aspect of this theory.

In simple terms, observational learning refers to the way children observe the people around them. Individuals observed are referred to as models. Models can include, but are not limited to, parents/caregivers, TV characters, school teachers, and friends within a peer group. Basically, children pay attention to these models and encode their behavior into their memory. At a later time, this behavior is then imitated. This is referred to as "social modeling".

Who were Levi's models? Kuchel, Kuchel's patrons at the brothel she worked at, Kenny, and others who lived in or frequented the Underground City.

Given Kuchel's circumstances and the danger of human trafficking in the Underground, it is likely she taught Levi to avoid interacting with anyone in order to ensure his safety. Kuchel's patrons, in all likelihood, abused her and Levi was most assuredly witness to this abuse or the effects of it in some way. Then, Kenny—Levi's most significant parental figure—was a prominent serial killer who displayed and actively taught Levi violence.

All of this points to Levi never having had the opportunity to learn proper social interaction. In fact, he was actively taught inappropriate and unhealthy ways to socially interact. Not only was Levi's emotional development stunted and severely impacted as shown through his lack of affect, but his ability to socially interact and relate to others was inhibited due to both his insecure attachment and the absence of appropriate social models. How does this manifest in Levi?

Self-Monitoring

Self-monitoring is the degree to which people monitor and adjust their self-presentations when interacting with others and across different social contexts. Whether someone is a high or low self monitor can be affected by their natural personality, their experiences growing up, and/or their neuropsychobiology.

High self monitors tend to be actively aware of the social image they are projecting, and they will be adept at responding to social cues. They will also vary the image they project dependent upon who they are interacting with and what the social circumstances are. They have greater concern over situational appropriateness, and they are often perceived as more friendly and pleasant by others.

In contrast, low self monitors tend to exhibit emotional expressiveness and social responses more congruent with their internal states regardless of social context. That is, they do not adjust their beliefs, attitudes, and dispositions to be more socially acceptable. As such, they are often perceived as rude, socially awkward, and/or unaware of others' social needs.

Levi is a low self monitor. Regardless of who he is interacting with or what the situation is, he consistently maintains the same attitudes and beliefs; he is always honest and says what he's feeling. He never adjusts his social tone, even when it would make him more appeasing to others. Throughout the series, he's often referred to as rude, socially awkward, a lunatic, etc. for his inability to self-monitor. This is a likely a result of the aforementioned psychological trauma, his lack of appropriate social models, his innate introverted nature, and his potential ASD.

Summary

My goal with this post was to explain how Levi's trauma and experiences growing up have formed the way he expresses himself and interacts with others. Levi never sets out to be seen as rude, unkind, or cruel. In fact, I'd say he is by far the kindest and most compassionate character in all of Attack on Titan. However, because of his social disposition, he is consistently misperceived by both characters in the series, as well as readers/viewers. Levi, through a combination of his innate nature and the environment in which he grew up, simply lacks the social skills and affinity for social interaction to properly explain himself and come across as more palatable to others.

Note: I am a doctor of psychology student, so much of this information has been informed by my schooling.

[allthingslinguistic]

But by the end of my five years [as a copy editor], I felt intellectually and psychologically worn down by the labor I logged on my biweekly timesheets. Whatever roller-rink of neurons helped me spot aberrations from convention had grown practiced and strong, and it was difficult to read any unconventional sentence without reflexively rearranging it into a more conventional form.

Something had shrunken and withered in me, for having directed so much of my attention away from the substance of the stories I read and into their surface. Few people in our office, let alone outside its walls, would notice the variation in line spacing, the fact that Jesus’ was lacking its last, hard “s,” or whatever other reason we were sending the proofs to be printed again—and if they did, who the fuck cared? [....]

I can’t help wondering, though, whether there wasn’t something insidious in the way we worked—some poison in our many rounds of minute changes, in our strained and often tense conversations about ligatures and line breaks, in our exertions of supposedly benign, even benevolent, power; if those polite conversations constituted a covert, foot-dragging protest against change, an insistence on the quiet conservatism of the liberal old guard, and if they were a distraction from the conversations that might have brought meaningful literary or linguistic change about. In fact, I sense myself enacting the same foot-dragging here.

It’s fun—it’s dangerously pleasing—to linger in the minutiae of my bygone copyediting days, even if, by the time I left that job to teach college writing full-time, I was convinced that “correcting” “errors” of convention most readers would never notice was the least meaningful work a person could possibly do. I’m writing this, however, to ask whether copyediting as it’s been practiced is worse than meaningless: if, in fact, it does harm.

*

Do we really need copyediting? I don’t mean the basic clean-up that reverses typos, reinstates skipped words, and otherwise ensures that spelling and punctuation marks are as an author intends. Such copyediting makes an unintentionally “messy” manuscript easier to read, sure.

But the argument that texts ought to read “easily” slips too readily into justification for insisting a text working outside dominant Englishes better reflect the English of a dominant-culture reader—the kind of reader who might mirror the majority of those at the helm of the publishing industry, but not the kind of reader who reflects a potential readership (or writership) at large.

A few years before leaving copyediting, I began teaching a scholarly article I still read with students today, Lee A. Tonouchi’s “Da State of Pidgin Address.” Written in Hawai’ian Creole English, or Pidgin, it asks whether what “dey say” is true: “dat da perception is dat da standard english talker is going automatically be perceive fo’ be mo’ intelligent than da Pidgin talker regardless wot dey talking, jus from HOW dey talking.” The article leaves many students questioning the assumptions they began reading it with: its effect is immediate, personal, and profound.

In another article I pair it with, “Should Writers Use They Own English,” Vershawn Ashanti Young answers Tonouchi’s implicit question, writing, “don’t nobody’s language, dialect, or style make them ‘vulnerable to prejudice.’ It’s ATTITUDES.” Racial difference and linguistic difference, Young reminds us, are intertwined, and “Black English dont make it own-self oppressed.”

It’s clear that copyediting as it’s typically practiced is a white supremacist project, that is, not only for the particular linguistic forms it favors and upholds, which belong to the cultures of whiteness and power, but for how it excludes or erases the voices and styles of those who don’t or won’t perform this culture. Beginning with an elementary school teacher’s red pen, and continuing with agents, publishers, and university faculty who on principle turn away work that arrives on their desk in unconventionally grammatical or imperfectly punctuated form, voices that don’t mimic dominance are muffled when they get to the page and also before they get there—as schools, publishers, and their henchmen entrench the idea that those writing outside convention are not writing “well,” and therefore ought not set their voices to paper at all. [...]

Like other emissaries of the powerful (see, e.g., the actual police), copy editors often wield what power they do have unpredictably, teetering between generous attention and brute, insistent force. You saw this in the way our tiny department got worked up over the stubbornness of an editor or author who had dug in their heels: their resistance was a threat, sometimes to our suspiciously moral-feeling attachment to “correctness,” sometimes to our aesthetics, and sometimes to our sense of ourselves. [...]

There’s a flip side, if it’s not already obvious, to the peculiar “respect” I received in that dusty closet office at twenty-two. A 2020 article in the Columbia Journalism Review refers casually to “fusspot grammarians and addled copy editors”; I’m not the only one who imagines the classic copy editor as uncreative, neurotic, and cold.

I want to say they’re the publishing professionals most likely, in the cultural imagination, to be female, but that doesn’t feel quite right: agents and full-on editors are female in busty, sexy ways, while copy editors are brittle, unsexed. Their labor nevertheless shares with other typically female labors a concern with the small and the surface, those aspects of experience many of us are conditioned to dismiss.

I’m willing to bet, too, that self-professed “grammar snobs” rarely come from power themselves—that there is a note of aspirational literariness in claiming the identity as such. [...]

It makes me wonder if, in renouncing my job when I left it—in calling copyediting the world’s least meaningful work—I might have been reenacting some of the literary scene’s most entrenched big-dick values: its insistence on story over surface (what John Gardner called the “fictional dream”), on anti-intellectualism but also the elitist cloak of it-can-never-be-taught. The grammar snob’s aspiration and my professor’s condescension bring to mind the same truism: that real power never needs to follow its own rules. [...]

Copyediting shares with poetry a romantic attention to detail, to the punctuation mark and the ordering of words. To treat someone else’s language with that fine a degree of attention can be an act of love. Could there be another way to practice copyediting—less attached to precedent, less perseverating, and more eagerly transgressive; a practice that, to distinguish itself from the quietly violent tradition from which it arises, might not be called “copyediting” at all; a practice that would not only “permit” but amplify the potential for linguistic invention and preservation in any written work?

--- Against Copyediting: Is It Time to Abolish the Department of Corrections? Helen Betya Rubinstein on Having Power Over More Than Just Commas

[broomsick]

The terms "heathen" and "norse pagan" can be used interchangeably in my case, though I must specify that despite variations of interpretation between indviduals, the movement called "heathenry" already encompasses the idea of nordic belief and practice regardless, quite like the terms "norse paganism". To say "norse heathenry" or "norse heathen" would then be considered pleonastic— in other words, pointlessly repetitive— following that logic. Especially considering how the very term "heathen" emerged specifically as a byname for the Scandinavian practitioners of pre-Christian religions. There would be no need to specify the "nordic" nature of the heathen's spirituality.

[howtofightwrite]

Can you talk more about height and combat? Like for example a taller woman fighting a shorter man? I usually see the opposite (and the woman having all of the disadvantages) but how would it look the other way around? Assuming neither is skinny.

In most circumstances, height is less important than a lower center of gravity. Height can be useful in some situations, such as being able to see over obstructing obstacles. Reach is very useful, though overall height results in a negligible increase to reach.

So, generally speaking, any object with a lower center of gravity will be more stable than one with a higher center of gravity. Obviously, when we're talking about inanimate objects, you can get some weird examples where this isn't the case, but when you're talking about your normal, roughly humanoid object, a lower center of gravity will be more stable than a higher one.

This leads into another general statement that won't be true in every possible case, but is important to be aware of, if someone says that women have, “all of the disadvantages,” in a match-up, they don't know what they're talking about. The low hanging fruit is that women are more resistant to exertion and exhaustion than men, and that will become important in a prolonged fight. As mentioned earlier, they have a lower center of gravity (in most cases), meaning that they'll be more stable than a male foe.

If you've ever watched Judo videos of a five-foot-nothing girl casually tossing a massive guy around, what you're seeing is a practical consequence of that lower center of gravity. This is just a practical application of basic physics. If your center of gravity is below your opponent's it is far easier to leverage them off the ground and deposit them in a tangled pile of limbs at the location of your choosing.

Beyond that, while getting into ground fighting can be very dangerous for the smaller fighter (regardless of their sex), being able to put your foe on the ground before getting dragged down yourself, does open the door to some options for ending the fight, if you have the stomach for it.

A taller woman versus a shorter man will narrow the difference between their respective centers of gravity, and may make it possible for the man to get his center of gravity lower than his foe, but it depends on the relative height difference, and you'd be looking at some pretty extreme differences before this starts to become a realistic possibility.

In the grand scheme of things, the total amount of mass is less important than where that mass is located. This is why ground fighting, that is to say, when both combatants have already fallen over, and are continuing to fight without getting back on their feet, can be very hazardous. At that point, both participants are about as stable as they'll ever be, and sheer volume of mass can be used effectively. When you're standing, not so much. Also, yes, there is a window in the transition to ground fighting where one combatant has gone down, and does have a stability advantage. Some martial arts (again, Judo comes to mind) specifically train to act in this window. You're not going to fall over again, so you may as well take the opportunity to maneuver and drag your foe down, with an eye for making their trip to the ground less pleasant than yours.

Something we've said, many, many, times is that reach is very important, and this is true. So, it would follow that a shorter person would have less reach, which is also true. On average, your arm-span should be roughly equivalent to your height. So, if you're 6ft, you should have a 6ft armspan. If you're 5ft8in, you should have a 5'8” arm span. (There's some slight variation based on gender here, which has more to do with the length of your individual arms. The average arm length for an adult male is ~14.5”, while the average arm length for an adult female is ~13.5”, even though the average height difference is ~5”.) However, in most combat situations, when we're talking about the importance of reach, we're talking about a difference measured in multiple feet. Someone armed with a 4” dagger is going to have a difficult time countering someone armed with a 60” greatsword, for example. However, when you're talking about a difference in a few inches, that's not nearly as decisive. Unless your shorter character is dramatically shorter, they shouldn't have any difficulty reaching their opponent, so while reach is an exceptionally important consideration in armed combat, gender isn't likely to be an important factor when calculating overall reach.

The big thing to understand about height, and this is very true when looking at authors interpreting its importance in writing, is the factor of intimidation. A taller person will generally feel more intimidating up front, and a lot of visual narratives use this as a cue to show that a character is at a disadvantage. Adventure fiction, like Indiana Jones for example, uses this to great effect and so do most martial arts action movies. When someone is talking about the importance of size, that's usually what they're referencing. When you see a massive person walking on screen or popping up in your favorite anime, your brain mentally checks itself and goes, “oh. Oh no.” This, of course, has nothing to do with reality, it's just our brains interpreting danger.

We say this a lot on the blog, but really, you learn to fight with the body you have. Men and women fight the way they're trained to fight, so they don't have intrinsically gendered fighting styles after release into the real world. The concept of gendered fighting styles really comes from anime and other fighting games or as a reaction against socially constructed systems such as 'fight like a girl!'

If you ask Michi, who grew up doing martial arts, what it looks like when a tall woman fights a short guy, her reaction is to shrug and say, “it looks like two people fighting.” There just isn't a discernible difference outside of personal, stylistic preferences.

-Starke

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[cuntylouis]

Armand and the Romani

I’ve mentioned many times now that I think it would be really interesting and fitting if Armand in the show was Romani and that’s my personal interpretation of his character until proven otherwise. I don’t think it’s necessarily very likely going to be canon, especially when writers rarely remember Romani people exist, but like I’ve said this is like the only show in the world I think could be smart enough to understand how deeply the history of race and racism in Europe (which we know they’re going to address) is intertwined with the history of the Roma people, so you never know. I’ve seen an interesting theory that Armand could be a Tatar and I think that’s the most likely route they’re going to go, but I think him being Roma or some other ethnicity is still a possibility. Furthermore, because of the Roma people’s unique history he could actually be both Tatar and Roma at the same time, especially if he’s from Ukraine like in the books (more on this later). I wanted to elaborate on why Armand’s character and IWTV in general resonate with me so strongly, why I think Armand being Roma could bring a lot to the show and fit thematically, and how if Armand had a Roma background it would influence the way he acts.

Just as a foreword this post is long as HELL as I’ll be talking about Roma people with an assumption that most readers don’t know much about them, and it involves heavy generalization by necessity. I want to emphasize that Roma people are a very heterogeneous group that have very diverse experiences and practices depending on where they live, my experiences don’t apply to all Roma, and I’m not speaking for all Roma. I don’t know much about the Roma in France or Ukraine (which would be relevant for this conversation) other than what google can tell me and I don’t really trust it because much of the information you find on the internet is written by non-Roma people. So when I say something is a part of Roma culture, I mean really that it’s in my subjective experience a part of the traditional Roma culture in my country. The customs may vary a lot even between families in a same region, and the modern Roma and those with mixed ancestry (like me) don’t always follow traditions. I feel I need to stress this because there are a lot of (often negative) misconceptions of the Romani and I don’t want to further contribute to them or just replace them with different misconceptions. Content warning for discussion on sexual and racial violence and the Holocaust.

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The history of the Roma people

The Romani (also called Roma, Rom and other variations) are a traditionally nomadic ethnic group originating from the northern India. The Roma are often confused with other itinerant people like Irish Travellers and the Yenish but are a separate group. Note also that the word ‘gypsy’ is considered pejorative and most Roma people dislike being called that, and the Roma have nothing to do with the country of Romania, the names are etymologically unrelated. The Roma people are divided in many different subgroups, and many facets of the Roma culture are easier to understand if you know that it was originally a clan culture like many nomadic cultures.

The Romani diaspora has spread to everywhere in the world (the biggest Roma populations are in U.S and Brazil) but is the most concentrated in Europe where they came through Persia in the Middle Ages, with most European countries today having a Roma minority of 0,5%-8%. The Roma population is estimated to be 10-15 million, but nobody knows for sure because many Roma aren’t included in censuses, many Roma people choose not to disclose their ethnicity due to discrimination, and some people who have Roma parentage don’t identify as Roma. The Roma identity is strongly tied to the community. A person who’s adopted or marries into a Roma family may in some cases be considered Roma regardless of their ethnic background, and an ethnically Roma person who doesn’t have connection to the Roma community and doesn't follow traditions might not be considered a real Roma (in practice the latter situation is much more common than the first one). This is relevant when talking about someone like Armand who if we follow the books was taken from his family when he was young and adopted by a white man. Regardless, the Roma are Europe’s largest ethnic minority. I don’t think statistics really matter in a fantasy horror show but it would be the most likely scenario for someone with Armand’s appearance who was born in the 1500s Europe to be Romani.

I assume the show Armand’s character and story may be largely similar to the books based on what we’ve seen, him just having been older when he was turned into a vampire, though it's unclear is he still from Ukraine. In the episode 2 we see him refer to his prayer in a language that Daniel thinks is ‘Kazakh, or 'somewhere in the Crimea’. Wikipedia suggest that it’s actually Uzbek, though we don't know does it mean Armand is definitely from Uzbekistan. Regardless, him using this language without even thinking when talking about his praying makes me think it may be his mother tongue, and we’re probably meant to think that he’s from the Eastern Europe/Central Asia region. I’m personally suspecting he could still be from the Ukraine region like in the books considering they had Daniel think of Crimea. Him using the name Armand Marius in France which is essentially a patronym also makes me think that he could be from a Slavic country. If he was Roma or from other nomadic tribe he could’ve also easily spent time in several countries. Although there is Romani language that is related to Sanskrit, most Roma speak as their native language whatever is the majority language where they live. Many Roma speak multiple languages, especially if they’re nomadic. From what we’ve seen of Armand speaking, Assad does a great job at making his accent vaguely sound like many different accents but not quite like any of them.

One of the ways the Roma are a unique group is that they’re one of the very few ethnicities in the whole world that don’t associate themselves with any country or place. Typically, even other nomadic peoples have some distant homeland or place they see themselves as connected to. The Roma don’t feel connection to any specific country or place; they have no homeland and they don’t want one either. Although in people’s perceptions the Roma are practically synonymous with free-spirited wanderers, most Roma in the modern time are sedentary, and historically when the Roma people have wandered it has often been because of persecution or trying to make a living, not by choice. Freedom and independence are important values for the Roma people, but more in the sense of being allowed to be themselves and live how they want, not necessarily physical roaming. It’s much more common for Roma people to dream of stability and having a home and secure job than of being able to wander.

Many of the perceived modern problems among the Roma can be traced to the change of work and industry from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. The industrialization and urbanization made most traditional Roma professions such as blacksmiths, craftsmen, horse traders, animal trainers and travelling salesmen and entertainers obsolete. Even though there was always prejudice against the Roma they also used to be respected for their expertise on those areas and there was positive interaction with the majority population too. Then suddenly they lost the chance to practice their old professions but lacked societal and monetary capital to learn new ones, which led to mass unemployment and poverty that still exists today. This not fitting in the modern society is a common Roma experience. In the books I feel this is reflected when the vampire characters seek ways to connect with the modern world and humanity. Armand sees Louis as such possibility, but as he in the end tells him ‘You are as cold and distant from me as those strange modern paintings of lines and hard forms that I cannot love or comprehend.’

The Roma people are defined by the dichotomy of being perpetual outsiders who never fully integrate anywhere, and on the other hand being chameleons who adapt anywhere. They often adopt the customs, language and religion of the majority population, while maintaining their own. The Roma have likely been in Europe for at least thousand years, and the earliest records of them are even older. Despite this the Roma have arguably never been fully a part of any wider society or fully accepted. It can be talked about the Roma society rather than just the Roma culture, because the Roma people often form almost a separate parallel society wherever they live. It’s common that the people from the main population don’t have any Roma friends while the Roma people don’t have any friends in the majority population, and the Roma may have little interaction and connection with the wider society. The Roma have been ostracized, but because of this long ostracization the Roma also don’t trust in the society around them and may try to limit their interactions with the majority population. As a Roma you can feel like you live behind a veil that separates you from the rest of the world and you can’t really touch and see each other. Many Roma experience the sense of profound loneliness and of rootlessness, a feeling like you don’t have the past or the future and nothing really matters. Everything above makes Rice’s melancholic, drifting, existential vampires very relatable to me.

The Roma people have been and still are associated with crime, dishonesty, uncleanness and supernatural. The Roma have often been accused of witchcraft, satanism and stealing children. Depending on the time and place people have tried to either banish or forcibly assimilate the Roma. In many countries it was legal to kill a Roma person without impunity. Historically The Roma have often been slaves or otherwise forced into labor or prevented from moving freely. For example, in Romania the Roma were kept in chattel slavery for centuries over 500 years until 1860. The first Roma in America arrived there as slaves too. Interesting in the context of the show, Spain sent Roma slaves to their Louisiana colony and at least according to Wikipedia there is an Afro-Romani community in St. Martin Parish due to intermarriage of African American and Romani slaves (I would’ve been interested to read more about this but couldn’t find much online sources). In the books Armand was abducted by the Tatars to be sold as a slave. Nowadays the term Tatar is used for different Turkic ethnic groups, but historically it was used to refer to anyone who came from the Northern or Central Asia (Tartary). The Roma people were also commonly known as Tartare/Tattare, as they came from the East too. Coincidentally some Roma are thought to have arrived in Europe as slaves of the Tatars or the Mongols. At the same time the Crimean Roma and the Crimean Tatars have a very close and unique history to the point that the Crimean Roma are commonly considered a subgroup of the Crimean Tatars. So it would actually be possible that Armand is both Tatar and Roma, especially if he comes from that region!

2. The Romani culture and relations with other people

The Roma people are often highly fetishized and oversexualized, and viewed as promiscuous and manipulatively seductive, which can also be seen in how Roma characters are depicted in popular culture. Roma people continue to be victims of sexual assault and trafficking at very high rates. Roma women are often assumed to be prostitutes or sexually available. When you see news about human trafficking in the Eastern Europe, both labor and prostitution, the victims are often Roma even though it's rarely mentioned. Many consensual sex workers are also Roma, but most of them likely wouldn’t be sex workers without poverty and if they had other opportunities. Roma children experience sexual abuse much more frequently than children of the majority population, and they're often viewed as more mature and manipulative than they are. This all reminds me of how in the books Armand was sexualized by nearly every person he comes across even when he was a child or teen. Taking Roma children from their families to exploit them or to assimilate and ‘take the gypsy out of them’ in one way or another has always been common, nowadays this often happens in the guise of child protection. Here in Finland even 50% of the Romani children in 1950-1980 were placed in state care institutions, and this continues to happen in many countries. The less fantastical version of what Armand went through with being abducted and sold and exploited by everyone including his ‘savior’ who tried to sanctimoniously civilize him is what has happened to countless Roma children over the centuries.

The traditional Roma cultural practices can be considered (when heavily oversimplifying) to be built on three pillars that are connected to each other: respecting elders, concepts of purity and impurity, and honor and shame. Most cultures probably consider respecting old people important but in the Roma culture this is deeper and more extensive than usual. Older people are treated and spoken to with very high respect, people often address even their own parents with the formal ‘you’. Being older is on itself seen as a sign of authority and younger people must always listen to their elders. This respect shows up in everywhere in daily life in both practical and symbolic ways, older people take the food first, if the house has more than one floor the younger people don’t live in the rooms above older people, shaking hands with or sitting next to an older person may be considered inappropriate because they imply an equalitarian relationship etc. It’s very difficult for a young Roma person to say no to an older person or express anger or anything that could be seen as disrespectful. The Roma culture has anarchistic qualities because the Roma don’t necessarily acknowledge the state’s authority, and intracommunity hierarchies are quite fluid and decentralized, but the older people’s higher status over the young ones is seen as obvious and natural.

Cleanness is another aspect that is very central to the Roma culture, in both literal and symbolic sense (ironically, since the Roma are often seen as dirty). The Roma don’t expect non-Roma to follow or even be aware of their complex system around it (mentioning this because I know some people fear that they accidentally offend Roma if they do something wrong lol). The Roma consider the body above the waist ‘pure’ and below it ‘impure’, and things that touch them are kept separate, and all objects are categorized according to their perceived cleanness. For example, when you come from the grocery store the shopping bag can’t be put on the floor or chair, you can’t sit or lean on the table, hats and shirts are not put on chairs, if a kitchen utensil falls on the floor it may be thrown away instead of washed because it’s now considered unclean etc. Kitchen is the purest place and is kept as clean as humanly possible. The clothes of men and women and people of different age groups are washed separately. When a Roma person grows old they become ‘pure’, and people are particularly considerate not to tarnish them, for example a younger person can’t sit on an older person’s bed and if they sleep in the same room their feet can’t pointed at the older person’s direction. In some circumstances an impure person may be temporarily or permanently banished from the community. The importance of cleanness in the Roma culture goes back to preventing illness in the traditional nomadic lifestyle, and it’s speculated possibly to even further in history in India where the Roma people’s ancestors’, the lowest caste Dalits, responsibility may have been to handle corpses and other unsanitary jobs.

Contrary to the stereotype the Roma are usually highly modest and anything ‘below the navel’ stuff (sex, pregnancy, periods, bodily functions) is rarely discussed. The Roma men and women don’t talk about them at all with each other if they aren’t a couple, and parents don’t usually talk about sex or dating with their children. Casual sex is disapproved. Oral and anal sex are considered unclean. Although Roma people often marry very young (sometimes underage) it’s usually with people of the same age group, people of distinctly different generations having romantic or sexual relations or even talking about sex with each other is a taboo. For example, if there’s something sexual on television the younger people may leave out of respect if there are older people in the room. A pregnant woman may hide it even from her own parents. Much of the Roma customs focus on ‘keeping face’ and maintaining respectful relations with the other Roma and their surroundings and avoiding anything that would bring shame, and this shame can touch the whole family.

Now if we come back to Armand, if he’s a Roma that adds a new aspect to his trauma, especially pertaining to sexual abuse and his relationship with Marius. Sexual abuse and grooming like that are hard to for any child to process, and especially difficult and confusing it would be for a Roma child, when in the Roma culture older and younger people even talking about sex is seen as offensive and older people’s wisdom and authority are seen as absolute. When in the Roma culture sex itself is taboo and wrong kind of sexual activity can make you ritually unclean it would further worsen the trauma that started from his kidnapping and cause immense shame. Since the old people are considered purer than young people a Roma child might also feel like they’re soiling the sexual abuser and blame themself. Death and touching dead bodies is considered unclean as well; a vampire would always be ritually impure. The way Armand is exposed to sex in Venice is pretty much the polar opposite of how sex is treated in the Roma culture. In the books we see Armand struggle with his complicated feelings about Marius and how he resents him but can’t still stop loving him and seeking his approval, or often can’t even express his negative feelings openly. I think it sounds familiar how many Roma people want independence but still feel obligated to respect their elders even if doesn’t always feel right.

I think this respect for elders also shows in how Armand treats Daniel in the show. He’s quite polite towards him and very considerate in trying to make sure he’s comfortable. Although Armand is in his servant disguise for most of the season 1, he notably keeps talking to Daniel in a pretty similar way after he drops his disguise. This maintaining the appearance of respect even when you’re angry at the older person is typical for Roma people. Armand is chronologically much older than Daniel, but Daniel is still physically an elderly person which is seen as automatically deserving high respect in the Roma culture. Armand and Daniel possibly having some sort of romantic relationship in the past complicates their dynamic.

3. The Romani from the WWII to now

It's hard to convey how extreme the prejudice and hate towards the Roma people is still in the 2020s Europe. Majority of people have highly negative views on the Roma. In the polls most respondents say they don’t want to work with or employ Roma people and wouldn’t want their child to date anyone who’s Roma. Majority of the Roma live below the poverty line, often in segregated slums around cities or villages in countryside, many of them without electricity or running water or access to other basic services like healthcare. Depending on a country the life expectancy for Roma people is 7-20 years smaller than for the majority population. Housing for Roma people has been a big problem for a long time, with many Roma being homeless or living in subpar settlements that the officials often destroy and force Roma to move. Nobody wants to rent or sell to Roma people or be their neighbor, so the Roma population often segregated from the majority population. Illiteracy is still common. Many Roma children don’t go to school; if they do, they’re often put in special classes or special schools where they’re separated from other children and receive substandard education. If they receive proper education they can’t get a job because nobody will hire Roma people. Many companies and places refuse to let Roma people enter. Hate crimes and police violence are common. As a Roma you can feel like you’re leprous, nobody will talk to you or come close to you.

Typical for anti-Romani racism is that people don’t see it as real racism and consider it justified and something that Roma people deserve. There also isn’t much difference how left-wing and right-wing people view Roma. Racism against Roma people is widely accepted and normalized regardless of political affiliation. In Europe the Roma are singled out and many people who aren’t (at least on conscious level) racist towards other ethnicities still despise Roma people. A case that has stuck with me and I feel embodies how the Roma are dehumanized is from Naples, Italy in 2008 where the beachgoers continued their day sunbathing and picnicking near the bodies of two drowned Roma girls. Though anti-Roma racism exists everywhere, it’s where the European hypocrisy is its most obvious. The Europeans often talk about the history of racial segregation, slavery and ethnic cleansing in other places like it’s something distant and absurd to us, when systematic segregation continues to be everyday to Roma people here in the present day.

The position of the Roma people is unique because much of the discourse around racism in Europe is focused on immigration and assumptions that people of color always come from 'somewhere else', but the Roma’s ancestors have often been here as long as the white Europeans’ ancestors. Racism against the Roma people predates the modern concepts of race, scientific racism and the modern imperialism and colonialism. The Roma are a large group that certainly hasn’t been living in an isolated bubble separate from the rest of the world and they’ve had a significant influence on the Europe’s culture, but they and their suffering are often invisible and many people are completely ignorant of it. The Roma have oral tradition and there are few Roma politicians, journalists or scholars so they lack platform to make their issues known. The Roma have become a sort of permanent underclass in Europe.

We know that the s2 takes place in the 40s in the immediate aftermath of the WWII and deals with it in some capacity. The hatred towards the Roma people can be seen as having culminated during the WWII when anywhere from 250,000 to 2 million, or 25% to 80% of the European Roma were killed during the Holocaust. The figures vary so much because the Romani genocide is severely understudied, we don’t know how large the Roma population was, and there weren’t as meticulous records of the Roma victims as there was of the Jewish victims. The Romani genocide (sometimes called Porajmos) has often been treated as an afterthought but for the Roma people it was absolutely devastating. The Roma were classified as racially inferior and were killed in concentration camps and in shootings by mobile killing squads. Roma people were often sterilized and used for medical experiments. In some countries like Croatia and the Netherlands practically the entire Roma population was destroyed.

After the war there was little sympathy for the Roma. Many Roma became stateless refugees, and Germany didn’t acknowledge what happened to the Roma as genocide until decades later, which prevented the survivors from seeking restitution. The post-war trials didn’t cover the crimes against the Roma people. Attempts to assimilate the Roma and wipe out their culture continued in many countries. There still isn’t widespread acknowledgement and understanding of the Romani genocide and how it’s a direct cause for the Romani people’s current situation, even within the community. Deep poverty, illiteracy and lack of education and social institutions has led to there not being full consciousness and collective memory around the Holocaust among the Roma like the Jewish people have.

What happened to Roma varied a lot from country to country. France has always been rather hostile to the Roma, and it was also a ‘forerunner’ in the modern racial discrimination against them because it started to register Roma in the early 1900s and giving them ID cards that categorized them differently from other travelling workers. During the World War II some French Roma were deported to nazi-run concentration camps like Auschwitz, but most were detained in internment camps in France that were created under the nazi authorities but run by the French authorities. Although not technically extermination camps, their living conditions were similar to concentration camps and thousands of prisoners died from disease and hunger. After the German occupation ended the internment camps stayed in operation until 1946, two years after the liberation. The special Roma ID cards were used until the late 60s. Some people have noted how in the show Santiago seems to work as the ‘front’ for Theatre des Vampires while Armand stays in the background. I think it’s likely related to their races in any case, but this arrangement makes sense especially if Armand is Roma because it would be very diffcult for any company or organization to be openly led by a Roma person in France during the WWII, and the years preceding and following it. Even in the 2020s many people and companies refuse to do business with Roma people, and back then it would’ve been dangerous. Also, whether Armand is Roma or not, many people are probably going to assume he is when seeing a South Asian looking French man, so that’s going to be in subtext regardless.

I think all this would make Louis strongly sympathize with and relate to Armand – and also to see him as more vulnerable and less dangerous than he really is. However, Armand might not see the things in the same way. After Louis is turned he still feels on personal level engaged with what is happening in the society and feels anger over injustice and continues to see black people as his people even when he becomes increasingly distanced from the community. But when a Roma person is taken away from the Roma community they’re not necessarily perceived as Roma by other Roma or even themselves. You might never become a part of the wider society either, you just become ‘no one’. Armand might not think of Roma as ‘his people’. Because the Roma already see themselves as outcasts and separate from the rest of the world and people, for someone who becomes a vampire that could mean complete emotional disconnect.

Perhaps because the Roma perceive themselves as separate from the wider society, it’s not typical for Roma people to be interested in politics or activism or influencing the wider society at all. This is a big generalization because of course there are Roma activists and Roma organizations, especially since the 70s, but by and large Roma people tend to be more or less apathetic towards politics and analyzing the forces behind it. Many Roma don’t vote (and needless to say many countries make it difficult for them) or participate in politics in any way. Political movements, rebellions and revolutions mean nothing to the Roma people. Every so-called revolution or change either has had no influence on the Roma people’s life or made it worse. The Roma people don’t trust non-Roma people, and the organizations and movements have usually been uninterested in involving Roma people anyway. As someone who is interested in politics and activism when I try to talk about stuff with any other Roma person I often get a ‘why does this matter’ or ‘what does this have to do with us’ reaction. The Roma are very used to their situation because they can’t remember or imagine it ever being different, and they often have an attitude that could be described as ‘it is what it is’. Armand might not feel similar anger Louis feels. Armand’s indifference and distaste towards societal institutions is reflected in the books too:

Armand would also perceive his own and Louis’ race differently than Louis does. For the Roma the world consists of people who are Roma or non-Roma (Gadjo). The Roma don’t really make differences between different races, they’re all Gadjo. When Armand meets Louis he would see him as a Gadjo man before black man, which I imagine could start to feel invalidating in the long term. The Roma tend to be sympathetic towards any outcasts and accepting of different people, but I think many Roma are also rather ignorant of different cultures and struggles, and they don’t necessarily feel automatic connection with different racialized people. The Roma perceive their experience as unique and something non-Roma people can’t understand. In the end all this means the way Armand views the world could actually be closer to how Lestat views it, and Louis might not find the solidarity and understanding he's hoping for.

4. The Romani family, kinship and spiritual practices

Religion and spirituality are very important to many Roma people. Here in Finland most Romani are deeply religious, much more so than the majority population that is pretty secular. Most Roma are Christians or Muslims, mostly different Christian sections in the Western Europe and Islam in the Balkans. The Roma in Ukraine are mostly Orthodox Christians or Muslims, so that would fit too if Armand was raised as a Muslim and didn’t convert later. Relationship with God, seeking forgiveness and sense of purpose, and someone who accepts you as you are, are something that Roma people commonly long for. The Hunchback of Notre Dame should never be used as an example of good representation and I swear this is the last time I’ll ever mention it anywhere, but I always thought this song captures surprisingly well something of how many Roma people feel. Armand’s intense and desperate relationship with religion and the spiritual struggle he and other characters go through is something that is very relatable to me.

With the lack of social structures, stability and purpose, for many Roma people the family and faith are the two most important things in the world. Without them the Roma have nothing. I think this is painfully clear with Armand who was separated from his family and culture, raised by a man who abused and then abandoned him, and literally lost his humanity and connection with God. Both other characters and Armand himself often describe him as this endless empty, hungry void that he is always trying to fill himself with something. Armand is prone to cult mentality and being manipulated in his intense yearning for emotional and spiritual connection.

I think Assad described Armand well when said he isn’t well-versed in the language of love and romance, but he does want it desperately. The Roma’s approach to romantic relationships is complicated because the strict rules of modesty around sexuality mean that they’re not usually explicitly discussed and even married couples avoid showing any affection in public. Historically Roma people have often been prevented from getting officially married so they have developed their own marriage rituals that vary by a country. Although the Roma take their relationship commitments very seriously legal marriage isn’t usually seen as important in the Roma culture and Roma couples may not get married at all legally.

The Roma are also one the very few cultures where in some countries like Finland the institution of marriage doesn’t really exist. The Romani here may get married sometimes but it’s seen as entirely unimportant and doesn’t have any bearing for the relationship, there usually isn’t a wedding or any rituals associated with marriage. A couple who’s committed to each other is seen as having the same status as a married couple. My paternal grandparents have been together for over 50 years and have never been married. Louis’ relationships with both Lestat and Armand would be considered marriage in the Roma culture. Because there aren’t well-established rules of dating and courtship in the Roma culture, forming romantic relationships can be difficult for Roma people. I’m thinking of Armand deeply wanting love but the way he approaches it often being awkward or offputting.

Family is the most important thing and the center of life in the Roma culture. The Romani culture is traditionally patriarchal and considering the importance of age, in practice the ‘leader’ is usually the oldest man of the family. The women’s position is complicated. Men and women are considered to be equals in the Roma culture and older women and their opinions are respected like with older men. Divorce is usually acceptable and isn’t seen as shameful, many older Roma women I know also have children with more than one man and it isn’t seen as a big deal. The ideal Roma woman is intelligent and emotionally and physically strong. At same time there have been and often still are distinctly divided roles for men and women in the Roma culture. Women are responsible for taking care of everything in the household and men for everything outside the household. The man of the house listens to their wife and children’s opinions but he has the final word. Men are expected to be the providers and protectors of their family and it’s something they base a lot of their identity and self-worth around – the most important thing really. I feel we can see a dynamic like this with Armand and Louis - Louis obviously isn’t a woman but he’s much weaker and younger (again, age being very important in the Roma culture). When watching s1 you think Armand is a servant, but if you look any closer, even without knowing it’s a performance, you notice what’s actually happening is that Armand is organizing and taking care of everything in their life. Later he tells Daniel how he’s protecting Louis like always with such a pride.

Another thing I think is worth mentioning that from my experience in the Roma culture physically disciplining children or women is and has been less acceptable and normalized than in the Western and many other cultures. It just isn’t done much, even my grandparents have said they don’t remember their own parents ever hitting them. This doesn’t mean that there isn’t domestic abuse in the Roma families, sadly it’s common in some regions, but it isn’t usually seen as normal and acceptable by the community. The Roma don’t like to involve police but there are many cases where an abusive man has been banished from the community. Also compared to many other cultures it can be less difficult for a woman to leave the man if she’s mistreated, since divorce is accepted and independence valued. I would say that when in most European countries there has often been an attitude that as a man you have a right and even responsibility to hit your wife and children, in the Roma culture it has been more like ‘a real man doesn’t do that’ and if they do they try to hide it. Roma men often perceive themselves as being more respectful towards women than Gadjo men are. When you combine all this - patriarchal society, older men having power over their family being seen as a normal and good thing, but disapproving overt violence within family – I think it would be very easy for Armand to convince himself he isn’t abusing or hurting Louis and is treating him right and being better than Lestat.

Art is very central to the Roma culture, especially music, dance and artisanship, but also other forms like painting and theatre. The first known records of the Roma people already refer to them being musicians.  Travelling theatre companies like the one Lestat run away with when he was young were often formed by Roma people. Armand was a talented painter and his love and search for beauty is something that always remains in his story. I found it interesting that this s2 Claudia poster was seemingly inspired by Carmen, one of the most famous Roma characters, and maybe flamenco dancers in general (flamenco being developed in the Roma culture). It tells me that they seem to at least be aware that the Roma people exist if nothing else.

The Roma appreciate beauty and the finer things in life, sometimes in a way that can appear materialistic to the non-Roma people, but the Roma themselves don’t perceive it so. It’s not uncommon that the Roma who’re poor or even homeless still own some jewelry or a nice car. If the Roma people are actually rich they like to show it and are generous in sharing it. Wealth has often been unattainable to the Roma people, so if they have it they don’t see a reason to hide it. Historically the Roma also haven’t trusted banks so they prefer to keep their wealth in physical form. With Armand who grew up in poverty you can see how he appreciates luxury and likes to shower his loved ones like Daniel and Sybelle and Benjamin with it too (again, being a good provider is very important for the Roma men). Sidenote this is another reason why I think the Dubai house’s sterile minimalist interiors were not Armand’s idea because no Roma person in the world would ever decorate their house like that lol.

The way the Roma people traditionally dress differs from the majority population, and their appreciation for beauty and wealth is visible in it too. The clothing has been a way for Roma to show their identity to both other Roma and other people. The rules of modesty influence the Roma people’s traditional clothing and they often avoid showing knees and elbows and the shape of the body. Younger people often wear lighter and older people darker colors. Especially Roma women have dressed in very distinct ways depending on their tribe, for men it’s usually more subtle. The typical Roma men’s every day clothing includes suits, black or white dress shirts, loosely fitting black trousers, vests, hats, ruffles and golden jewelry. Armand’s styling in the show both in the flashbacks and Dubai caught my attention. While there’s nothing exclusively ‘Roma’ in his outfits almost all of them could easily be worn by a Roma man. Most likely it means nothing but knowing how good costume designer Carol Cutshall she would probably try to be accurate.

In the Roma culture referring to dead people by their name and showing their pictures is avoided. Traditionally the remaining family moves out from the house where they lived with the dead person, and the person’s belongings and images are burned or otherwise destroyed after their death (at least in Finland this is still sometimes done). It’s out of respect but I think it’s also a response to generations of trauma where there has been so much death and suffering that Roma people need to forget and move on so they can continue living. In the books Armand treats death in the same way; when he loses someone he stops talking about them, sometimes even thinking about them. When he’s abducted he doesn’t mention his father (who he assumes is dead) again and forgets even his own name, because the child he was before he was taken doesn’t exist anymore. Despite being so needy he often just leaves things behind and keeps on moving, like when he simply walked away from Louis. The Roma aren’t prone to nostalgia and they don’t like wallowing in the past or worrying about things that might or might not happen either, it’s all seen as a luxury they can't afford. It still doesn’t make it just disappear. The deep hidden sorrow that Armand and many other characters of the series always carry with them resonates with me as a Roma.

*

Lastly, I want to emphasize this is all just random theorizing and I’m happy regardless of whatever Armand’s background ends up being! I also know some Roma don’t want Roma portrayed in fiction made by non-Roma people at all because they don’t trust it to be done well. There’s also a problem with Roma characters usually being played by non-Roma. IWTV is an exception to me personally because I have an unusually high level of trust in this show’s writing, I love and relate to Armand’s character, and I think Assad Zaman looks like he could believably play a Roma man instead of the usual casting of a white person who looks ‘exotic’. However, like I said in the beginning there isn’t any proof Armand is actually going to be Roma and for now this is just headcanoning and speculation for fun. I also want to say that I hope I didn’t give an impression that Roma people’s life is like constant misery because that definitely isn’t true! There’s a tendency to see the Roma only through their problems when there are plenty of happy and successful Roma people and there has been improvement in the Roma people’s situation even though it’s slow. I also think one of the Roma people’s strengths has always been that they can find joy and humor even in hard circumstances.

If you got to this point I salute you thank you for reading!

[shalom-iamcominghome]

just wanna say about being orthodox v conservative & whatever, there is So Much variation in how you can practice regardless! one of my modern orthodox friends says i & my level of observance wouldnt be out of place at his synagogue & my current synagogue is reform.

so like, do whatever you want forever and practice how you want. in the end it doesn't really matter because someone jewish is doing it.

Oh totally - my shul bills itself as conservative but... considering it's one of the only shuls in proximity to all of us, it's a bit more of a melting pot (I'd say some people would love modern orthodoxy if there was a shul like that near us!).

But that is exactly how I feel - I don't want to sound dismissive or disrespectful, but movement matters little to me. A jew is a jew is a jew and I will die on that hill all day, every day

[venomroses]

Zones Fashion

Obviously we all know how killjoys dress, but not everyone in the desert is a killjoy. So here's my headcanons about how non-killjoys in the desert dress. Below the cut because this is gonna get long:

Note: Edited this so rb this version please!

These forms of dress are specific to smaller, more isolated groups where people are usually at least 1st gen zoneborn, and doesn't apply to neutral towns, killjoys, those who follow more traditional city styles, etc. Also I know I said I was going to do drawings for this and I might add those later but for now just text bc the drawings aren't coming out how I like.

Younger kids (2-7):

Both girls and boys have long hair because protects them from the sun without trying to get them to keep hats or hoods on since kids can be difficult about the required amount of clothes, let alone additional stuff. It can also be hard to find children's sized clothes, so many guardians don't bother with "unnecessary" items. Hair is usually kept long enough to tie out of their face because kids also make lots of messes, but sometimes hair will be a bit shorter (usually for boys).

Younger siblings will rarely have anything that isn't a hand-me-down, so if you have an older sibling of the opposite gender then you're probably going to be dressing like the opposite gender for most of your childhood. This is rarely an issue since gender doesn't usually have the same relevance as it does in the real world.

Long skirts are common regardless of gender because they keep the legs covered to protect from sunburn. Also, you can grow significantly before an ankle-length skirt becomes too short, unlike pants where you just have to get new ones when you outgrow them. When skirts get short enough to start exposing a lot of skin, extra fabric can be sewn on, or leggings can be worn underneath. Wraparound skirts are preferred because you don't have to adjust the waist at all when the kid grows, so you don't have to worry about buying/making new clothes all the time. However, other types of skirts work just as well.

A lot of younger kids get homemade shoes. They don't need to be great quality, they just need to keep the kid from burning their feet. Once a kid is old enough to begin helping with the family business (if there is one), go on trips with their guardians, etc. they get real shoes since it becomes more important once they're working or away from home for longer periods.

Then older kids (8-12):

At this age kids are old enough to want to have more freedom of expression so styles vary a bit more.

Since they're mostly still wearing kids sized clothes which are harder to find in the Zones and outgrowing things quickly, hair is still usually kept long to protect them from the sun in place of a hat or a hood that would either be too big or outgrown too quickly to justify buying it. However, sometimes they'll get their hair cut short, especially boys. Regardless of length, there's more variations in hairstyles, since it's a form of expression that doesn't cost any money.

Skirts often come above the knees in the front for more mobility/range of motion. Kids this age are old enough to help with work or chores, so it's easier if they don't have to worry about the restrictions long skirts can bring. At this age skirts are less about practicality. Long skirts are seen as a more childish style as the main point of them is to let kids grow without needing to buy tons of new clothes all the time, and skirts of any length can be impractical. Some guardians don't see the point of the skirt if the kid is just going to be wearing pants underneath anyway and the kid transitions into just wearing pants. For those who do keep wearing it, it makes their ages and allegiances clear. Since "adulthood" is pretty much "whenever you look like an adult" or "whenever you can do the same work as an adult" it makes it clear that this is a child, and that they're not a killjoy (since some killjoys can be this young).

Again, kids this age usually aren't working actual jobs yet, so sandals are more common than closed-toe shoes that might be required for a more dangerous job. Sandals are preferred over closed-toe shoes since they take less supplies to make so they're cheaper. These sandals might be homemade or might be made more professionally.

Younger teenagers (13-15):

This is the age where you'll see a lot of actual variation in style. First short haircuts are common at this age. Some kids might have a job, so hair length is usually depending on the job they have instead of gender. A job where they're often inside or where long hair would get in the way? Short haircut. A job where they're often outside? Long hair. Of course, some people will still pick a style they like over practicality, but looks over practicality is a very killjoy-esque mentality that most of the desert does not follow.

Outfits vary a lot, again based on what's practical for work, but it's common for their clothes to be a bit oversized, since they're usually still on the smaller end even if they are wearing adult sizes by now.

Some kids still wear skirts to indicate their age if their guardians feel that they're not ready to be seen as an adult, but many wear pants only.

Most kids have close-toed shoes now, but again they might be a bit too big. Rags can be stuffed in the toes until they fit properly.

Older teenagers (16-19):

Can pretty much look like anything! Just like for younger teenagers, haircuts and forms of dress are more specific to what you're doing, since most people have some sort of job at this age. Skirts are not worn anymore.

Jobs often work like trades, where you learn to do something and make that your career, instead of switching between them a lot. A lot of jobs are making necessities like clothes, candles, and food, or services like doctors/nurses, messengers, etc. Sometimes certain professions go together, like gunsmiths (who can make or fix guns) will work with artists for killjoys or anyone who'd rather have someone else paint their raygun for them. Markets are a great place to sell their wares so a lot of vendors there are going to be people like this.

If you're interested in other types of people in the Zones/time periods and how they dress send me an ask or something bc worldbuilding my beloved <3

[spanishskulduggery]

In Spanish mannerisms, is it common to use the usted conjugation for your peer group? Then as you become well acquainted,you eventually transition to the tú form? Trying to gauge social norms with proper grammar. It's easy to offend when learning a language.

It is no longer common to use it that way, no

Bear with me because I'm going to have to explain how things were, and how things are now to make it make complete sense

For the purposes of general modern Spanish, usted is considered polite and formal, and tú considered more common among your peers and people younger than you. You don't usually have to use usted with someone your same age or in your peer group (like a stranger at university)

Sometimes people use usted with their bosses and superiors, regardless of their apparent age... but there are times when someone will say something to the effect of "use tú with me"

It's not a big social faux pas if you address someone about your age or younger with tú. It could be a bit rude to do it to a client/customer/judge/doctor depending on where you are, but it used to be a bigger mistake than it now is

A lot of countries have relaxed the social norms after moving away from a more aristocratic/feudal society... where usted is now a social courtesy for someone in a respected position, but not because they're "better" than you if that makes sense

-

In older Spanish it was more common to use usted with strangers as a courtesy. The roots of the formality/informality are related to title and acquaintanceship; where usted was more commonly used to address someone unknown to the speaker, and its etymology is related to saying "your lordship/ladyship" like saying "sir" or "madam" when speaking to someone

It was common to use this form of address in polite conversation to afford someone the respect that their title afforded them, or in cases of unknowns, it was to treat people with respect so as not to accidentally slight someone's reputation

The tú form was then more commonly used with people who were related to you [a sign of intimacy or kinship], and in older feudal settings, more commonly used with servants and people who were lower than your station

-

These rules have relaxed considerably since most Spanish-speaking countries either have different rules, or they're not so distinctly feudal in nature

In practice, usted is more commonly used for someone older than you; even with strangers, it's more common to use tú with someone who is your age or younger. And it is considered preferable to use usted when speaking with customers and clients

HOWEVER - this will largely depend on the country in question

As an example, I was taught [in the US] that you should talk to doctors and teachers with usted. However, I've been told by Spaniards for example that they use tú with their teachers, and their teachers use tú with them

Argentina is completely unique in that they use vos for everything and that tú and usted are less commonly used now

Some countries in Latin America prefer to use usted even with children or people they know

And many countries have some kind of use of vos which is in some places more informal than tú and vos is used among friends/relations

Chile, for example will use vos among peers and it's considered more common among the younger generation. But I've been told that vos is considered impolite, practically rude, when used with the older generation - sort of like if you called your grandmother "dude"

-

You will find a lot of variation in countries - everyone will understand usted and tú and they're understanding of you being a foreigner and not exactly fitting in with the country's particular social norms regarding formality

Still in a place like Argentina I would expect them to call me vos even if I'm using tú because I never learned the vos conjugation; if I were living/working in Argentina I would go out of my way to learn the vos to fit in better