#the biracial thing is funny. why are you deciding to have issues about that now < it was the first time ppl started being racist to
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i also kinned cyborg noodle in middle school literally ages 13 and 14 was my mind going outsider with identity issues. also you're now kind of cognizant of the political and social nature of the world and you're going to have your mandatory how do i deal with being biracial now that i kind of have an inkling of intelligent coherent knowledge on race and now you have the waaaaah im not connected to my non white cultural half waaaaah feeling as you look more around the world and your life. embarrassingly enough. which im still sad i dont really have much going for me there do you know how embarrassing it is to have the typical ~food is your cultural connection~ thing when people online are the way they are about that (kind of embarrassing and annoying). im losing. anyways. the summary of middle school character relations was outsider with identity issues with a dash of you're asian (but now aware of it outside of it just being something you know about yourself and your family)
#static.soundz#the biracial thing is funny. why are you deciding to have issues about that now < it was the first time ppl started being racist to#me and my friends in ways i could really recognize and it had ramped up in overtness due to political shifting with my white classmates#as they grew up starting to expand their own conservative values given to them by their parents as trump came into presidency. also it was#really crazy to watch the kids i grew up with become increasingly bigoted in later middle school and high school. i know most of these ppl#were already raised conservative and very christian due to my neighborhood demographics but it was like oh you are really becoming hateful.#like it just got worse. i watched ppl i knew just become worse and worse and use bigotry to be edgy and it was just like. wow.#that is a very sheltered priveleged raising moment i know it is but i still can like remember those stand out times where i realized the pp#were not the same as who i used to know and really started to understand what conservatism was like in person and not just in text#which is crazy to say considering i grew up in middle class christian conservative wasp world. but i did not really become very politically#aware and like get an understanding of it until middle school so for me yeah it was like oh what the fuck is with you ppl.
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Since you rewrote Mayura, Iām curious about how you would rewrite Hawkmoth, keeping his humor, but making him more competent and terrifying.
Short answer: largely, heād stay the same, with a few tweaks. He wouldnāt akumatize Ramier to be Mr Pigeon 25 times a day. Wouldnāt akumatize a baby. And wouldnāt think Chloe is his key to victory and think sheāll be the best akuma heāll ever make. And Lila he may take under his wing and use to as a spy to try and figure out who LB is.Ā
Now long answerā¦ Iāll leave that as a ramble below.Ā
One of the big factors to rewriting HM is figuring out what to do.Ā Hawk Moth is a big mess. Heās too all over the place, they canāt decide if he should be sympathetic or full villain you want to hate, but they also want you to root and feel for him. You donāt know if you want to laugh at him or someone to dread. They have him loving his son and then heās ready to beat the shit out of his son.Ā
What they want can be done, you can have a villain who is scary but also funny, take Shen from Kung Fu Panda 2. And its possible to have a villain go far, but also be sympathetic. Like, take Zuko back in s1 when heās the full antagonist there, and you have The Storm covering his backstory and you feel for him and you get his situation. So all they want to do can be done, its just that they arenāt executing him well.Ā
And unlike Mayura, HM is a harder character to rework. Mayura is easier to redo since Nathalie as Mayura is out of nowhere and really weak and forced in and just goes against all that was built up. Sheās set up to be scarier, the mastermind, someone HM would fearĀ and feel like he canāt win against. And you can take advantage of Gabriel and Emilie being scared of someone, someone they feared which is why they wanted Adrien to be safe. Why they have such security. Why there are missiles in HMās lair. Mayura was a mystery and she could be whatever sort of villain you want her to be.Ā
HM though is very established, and has a lot of issues. So when reworking him, there are certain things to decide.Ā
Like, in the grand scheme of things, is it really worth it having Gabriel be Hawk Moth?Ā
Back in s1, I had a hard time seeing it. Not only did they have different facial structures, personality wise they seemed like polar opposites. Gabriel always held himself poised, contained, he cold and precise, harsh and picky. Hawk Moth was loud, expressive, open to work with anyone, and when he spoke with his victims, it always sounded like he could relate, had far better empathy than Gabriel.Ā
And then its revealed theyāre the same and it just makes you wonder, who is Gabriel? We know heās a neglectful, abusive, manipulative asshole of a father, but why does he behave differently as HM?Ā
Marinette as Ladybug is more focused and on task, thatās why sheās more put together as Ladybug but at the core, she is who she is. She did see LB as someone different in Antibug, but Tikki corrected that, a lesson that stuck with her.Ā
Adrien behaves differently as Chat because Chat is an outlet for him. He has pressure to be a certain way in public and at home, but put a mask on and no one knows thatās you, he can just pour out all this contained energy, he can have reckless fun and he can allow himself to be childish and have tantrums (poorly timed mind you). Adrien is technically closer to theĀ ātrue selvesā because Chat lets him behave however he wants, but even then, Chat isnāt all who Adrien is. Adrien Agreste the civilian is another side of him,the one who is supportive, patient with others, and likes to see peace in relations (even at the cost of personal happiness). Ideally, we wouldāve seen him gradually become a mix of the two sides, and that would be who Adrien truly is, but as of now, Adrien and Chat are opposites, water and fire. At least we know for sure why he behaves differently as Chat, Chat Noir is an outlet for everything he keeps a lid on, the silliness, the energy, the childishness; it wouldnāt be acceptable for Adrien but Chat he can just let that out (its unfortunate though that he just directs it all at one person).Ā
Now Gabriel and how he behaves as HM, that is unexplained and thereās no reason given. He does have an image to uphold, but heās also a recluse in his house. He just has family and staff he trusts there. Why does he need to be poised in front of them? Like, if he was out in public more often, ok. But heās not, heās a recluse. He can be playful and energetic and wild like Adrien, but he doesnāt share this with Adrien. Thereās a line from Adrien that Gabriel used to be different and like, different how? There are not enough answers about who Gabriel is, and weāre going into s4 with still no idea or what exactly is going on with him and their situation (is Emilie dead or in some magical coma??); its getting oldĀ not knowing anything. You can only drag out this trail with sprinkles for so long.Ā
Another factor is relationship with the protagonists. Weāll start with Marinette.Ā
Marinette is our lead hero. Sheās the one this story focuses on. This is her story to tell, she cares about being a hero, keeping Paris safe, and doing a good job and is the one thatās struggling the most being a hero and shouldering much of the weight of heroism.Ā
The biggest issue in her story is having such a big disconnect with Gabriel. Its not a blow to her that Gabriel is HM. He doesnāt challenge her as a true villain should, he doesnāt challenge her views, he isnāt someone she admires (at least not anymore?), he isnāt her mentor in fashion; honestly he barely remembers her. Now if Gabriel was just the intro villain and there were others coming in, and her true villain came later (like what Mayura couldāve been), this would be fine. But nope. Theyāre sticking with HM as the big bad and thereās such a huge disconnect between them, thereās nothing to get into to. He doesnāt challenge her as a true nemesis should. He just doesnāt work as her villain.Ā
And then thereās Adrien. This plot circles around Adrienās family, its his father being the villain, its his mother who is gone and is the reason his father is doing this; this is essentially Adrienās story. Its a big blow to him that Gabriel is HM, it hurts and its upsetting and it leaves him confused. This can be a good story to do, but there are two big issues.Ā
One, this is supposed to be MarinetteāsĀ story. MarinetteĀ was the one who was built up for this show, a female biracial lead hero. Yet, its Adrien, a skinny white boy, who this show is more about.Ā
And that leads to two, Adrien is disconnectedĀ from his own story. He doesnāt care about finding HM. HM doesnāt personally upset him, HM doesnāt challenge him. If anything, HM just gives him a chance to have an outlet and see his crush and have fun and live in the craziness. This story is about him and he doesnāt care about it, heās not invested in his own story. It is a blow to him, but only to the reveal, otherwise its just fun all day.Ā
Back in earlier concept, HM wasnātĀ the father of the cat holder, and by default, that technically made him more Marinetteās villain than her partnerās. Back in the day, Marinette was doing this to stop him, to keep Paris safe, while her partner (Felix at the time), was only helping her to be free of a curse. Between the two, sheĀ had more of a connection and reason for being a hero. HM/Papillon was neutral in his relation to the two, but LB was set up to be more his opposing hero, not Chat.Ā
But when you make her partnerās father the villain, that takes away from that neutral placement that did lean more to her as her story (as it shouldāve been), and it doesnāt work when you have that partner not care as much about the villain because this is his story and heās very disconnected from it.Ā
And going back onto Adrien, another big issue is, howĀ doesĀ Gabriel feel about Adrien? Some episodes he cares, and some episodes, heās fine endangering him. Why, we even had an ep of him being happy to learn Adrien is Chat and took that very chance to beat him up. Quite happily. No holding back. How does Gabriel feel about Adrien, this whole thing is too jarring, youāre trying to have both but its not working.Ā
But they are trying to have both and you just scratch your head because what is Gabriel and Adrienās relationship? We know its not good but, does he love his son, as some eps suggest? Or does he not care? Whatās the situation here?
So, reworking HM, there is a lot to consider and you got to ask, in the grand scheme of things, does it work having Gabriel be HM?Ā
It can, but I can also see it better to have them be separate.Ā
You can have Gabriel the distant father who does love his son, but struggles to make a connection and just want to bury himself in his work. And you can have him finally emotionally ready to reconnect but its strained because of the distance he put there and he has to mend that. You can have him be fretful about learning the possibility that Adrien is Chat. And you can have HM be our dramatic hermit villain, who will happilyĀ go all out on Chat Noir when he discovers who he is.Ā
If you want Gabriel to still have some sort of villain role, have him working with HM, heās working on translations because he has an eye for detail and HM doesnāt have the patience to look through that book. It can add onto him being unsure of what to do if he suspects Adrien is Chat, and it can make his strained relationship with HM all the more strained. And Gabriel could have the peacock in secret, something heāll risk using as a weapon against HM if it comes to it.Ā
And Nathalie in love with the villain, you can have her be HMās spy in the Agrsete household, trying to discover what Gabriel could be hiding, backing her being afraid of getting fired in Bubbler and thereās no drastic and sudden āIām in lOvE wItH gAbRiEl!!ā and no love triangle of her falling for a still married man? Anyway, have her already have feelings for HM and is working with him in secret and trying to make sure she stays in that household and not have Gabriel kick her out. If Gabriel hired her, sheās easily qualified for any other job, she wants to stay there and this could be a good reason why. Only she came to care about Adrien more than she anticipated and he unwittingly becomes the only wrench in their plans. And we can have her silently judging Gabriel in his neglect, backing her wanting to help Adrien find happiness, and her wanting to send Adrien to school so heās out of the house if things ever escalate between her and Gabriel.Ā
Also, this sets up a happier ending for Adrien. Gabriel not being HM removes the manipulation and abuse. At worse, heāll be neglectful and secretive, and you can have Nathalie call that out, and let Adrien be a little spiteful of Gabriel like he was in Jackady. Gabriel wonāt be Scott free for his actions, and there can still be a lot of angst, but it allows Adrien to have a happier ending than his father being HM, which can potentially leave him alone in the end, not having either parent at his side. Or, Gabriel will just be forgiven for his terrorism and itāll be an unsatisfying happy ending with him only getting a light slap on the wrist. I would hate that so much.Ā
Also, them being separate goes back to a more neutral placement on the heroes and their relation to HM. Adrien doesnāt have the plot holding onto his arm, at most, his father is working with HM but thatās it, thatās his own personal arc there. Marinette can care more about HM and thereās less of a disconnect. And if you really want them to connect, have HM be Fuās first try at a pupil but he went down a dark path, and thatās why Fu is so reluctant to reach out despite seeing Marinetteās potential and how great of a hero she is. What if heās a terrible teacher and turn her down a dark path too? And this can also explain how HM can suspect heāll get the earrings and ring, he was mentored by Fu, he knows what Fu is like, how he thinks and what heāll decide. And thereās your more personally connection with Marinette, both mentored by Fu, both had promise as Guardians. Why, this could even have Lila be moreĀ of Marinetteās personal rival, could set up that HM decides to try and be herĀ mentor, though at the core is using her, and has her as his spy to try and figure out who LB is. For Lila and HM do have similarities that you can work off of, and thereās an arc, does she follow the same path as HM? Could she possibly learn and see things differently? Extra bonus if HM originally used the Fox, who are famous for their tricks, but can be arrogant enough to get caught up in the mess they create.Ā
I donāt know about you guys, but this to me sounds like a far better set up for the story. Like, Gabriel as HM can be done and it can be made to work, but you need to decide certain details with him and stick to those details. Otherwise, as of now, heās too all over the place to work and is just a jarring mess.Ā
#ask Punchie#Hawk Moth#Gabriel Agreste#Gabriel salt#at this point#I do think it would've better to have had Gabriel be a red herring#and have HM as a separate character
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I decided to finally make a part two of this post, it took me half a year longer than I anticipated, but I rushed to finish it at least for June.
š³ļøāš Happy pride month! š³ļøāš
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley ā The best kind of subtle romance I have ever read. Includes mysterious pocket watch, solving bomb threats in Victorian London, a lady scientist, changing of future based on occurring events, an adorable clockwork octopus, and so much more! Did I mention the best, most beautiful romance I didnāt even expect to get?? Read it! (mlm main characters)
All out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages by multiple authors, edited by Saundra Mitchell ā This book was so refreshing to read!!! Retellings of fairy tales but queer and poc and mostly happy. I enjoyed each of the short story so so much, I donāt have words to say how much I loved this book, just, can we please have more stories like that? Thank you.
Radio Silence by Alice Oseman ā Ever wanted a book with a main character boy and girl who wonāt end up together by the end of the book? Then this is a book for you. Frances and Aled do not only become best friends who wonāt end up together, but thereās even more diverse characters than these two main ones. This book even has an ace (demi) sexual representation, which I was very excited about, and the main character is biracial bisexual girl. There is lot of fandom talk and a radio show drama (kind of similar to Welcome to Night Vale). But also talks about other important topics like deciding that college might not be for everyone despite them being a great student in high school.
Not Your Sidekick by C.B. Lee ā Itās a cute and sweet superhero themed futuristic story, first book of a trilogy I think. The main character is Vietnamese American bisexual girl, Jessika Tran, whose parents are both superheroes, but she doesnāt have any powers. She starts working for a company she later discovers belongs to townās villains, but with time she learns that not everything about superheroes and villains is perfectly black and white. Also sheās working there with her crush, so thatās a bonus. Itās a really great book, thereās wlw romance and lot of diversity, action and silly scenes. The history behind the peopleās superpowers and worldbuilding was really interesting too. The sequel is also already out, featuring a poc trans boy as the main character, who is part of Jessikaās friend squad.
The Gentlemanās guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee ā A book everyone here should read!! A historical roadtrip with lot of angst, fluff and mutual pining of two of the main characters. It takes place in 18th century Europe. Monty is kind of an asshole, some moments you will hate him then you will love him, but as the journey progresses so does he. He travels with his sister, Felicity, and his best friend (and crush!) Percy, to visit few cities in Europe before he has to start work in his fathers company. This book addressed lot of issues, like white privilege and racism in that time period, sexism and ableism. But itās also an adventurous book thatās funny and charming, and makes you feel really happy one moment and sad the next. There are also pirates!
Dreadnought by April Daniels ā This is a first book of a duology about a lesbian trans girl Danny who receives superpowers after witnessing death of the superhero Dreadnought, which means she now has to become the new Dreadnought. But with the powers also becames real the ideal vision of her body, that she always wanted. She is very happy about it, but it also means she has to face her family and best friend and explain why she looks different. On top of that she has to help the other superheroes with stopping the new threat to the city, the villain who killed previous Dreadnought. Trigger warnings for transphobia, but itās really worth to read.
Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller ā Iāve seen mixed reviews of this book but personally I loved it. Itās a fantasy YA with lgbt protagonist, that I donāt have enough of. Sal is a genderfluid, also bi? pan? thief who enters a competition to become one of Queenās Assassins. Basically the last one standing (or rather living) takes the place. Sal knows how to fight and survive but also needs to learn other things to win this position. Like taking classes of writing/reading which teaches him a lady of court they previously stole something from, whom Sal quickly starts to like more than they should, with the competition at play. For me it was a really great book to read and I canāt wait to read the sequel!
The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli ā I had to read this one quickly before Leah on the offbeat came out, and it was a joy to read this one too! Again so much representation, I love Beckyās books and the Simon vs world. This story is about Molly who has had a lot of crushes but never actually dated anyone. Sheās jewish, has anxiety, is fat, loves her family, is very creative, and has another crush on a guy who is her coworker. Thereās so much cuteness in this book, I was smiling and crying the whole time reading it. More for representation: her sister is gay, she has two moms, a new Korean-American pansexual friend (who her sister totally likes) and more. I need to meantion trigger warnings for fatphobia, because of part there with her relative, it made me cry so much, it was very reletable and I hated it but there was very good closure for it in the end, which Iām happy about. Anyway read this book, overall itās a cute and happy book with lots of fluff!
Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli ā I loved Leah from the Simon vs book, so I was really happy we got more focus on her. Sheās fat and funny, unapologetic about who she is, in her words: ābasically your resident fat Slytherin Rory Gilmoreā. There was mentions she likes boys as well as girls. Because of a tour for her college she goes with Abby to see where she will live the next few years and stuff happens. And then thereās also their high school prom, which she thought she was ready for, but maybe sheās not ready for at all. Iām not even going to write more, itās an amazing book, I cried so many times.
Timekeeper by Tara Sim ā This story takes place in a Victorian era Britain where clock towers are needed for time to flow correctly. Therefore there is lot of mechanics who repair said clock towers, because if the clock stops, the town around it stops in time as well. The main character Danny is one of those mechanics in London, but his father is trapped in a town that Stopped and Danny needs to find a way to save him. But after someone tries to sabotage a clock tower in a small city, Danny is assigned in that town to fix it, and he eventually finds out that the myths he heard ā that in clock towers could sometimes be seen beings, spirits of the towers ā might actually be true. This book was so nice to read, there was the atmosphere of the Victorian era, mystery, cute mlm romance and awesome female characters.
Iāll give you the sun by Jandy Nelson ā I cried a lot reading this book. At first it actually took me few months to read past first two chapters, because the writing style was so different from what I was used to, but after that I got absorbed in it very quickly. Itās a story about two siblings, Noah and Jude Sweetwine, who both go through some difficult times, with family, school and personal stuff, itās about making mistakes and fixing mistakes. Itās about love, art, sibling struggles and growing up.
Other books that I read and loved and definitely recommend:
Of Fire and Stars - Audrey Coulthurst (f/f fantasy romance)
We are the Ants ā Ā Shaun David Hutchinson (m/m)
In Other Lands - Ā Sarah Rees Brennan (bi mc, m/m)
Release ā Patrick Ness (m/m)
Our dark duet ā V.E. Schwab (sequel of duology, agender character, not much romance at all in this duology, itās one of my favourites)
A Conjuring of Light ā V.E. Schwab (a beautiful fantasy, last book of trilogy, happy ending for m/m pairing whose each story is important throughout the whole series. Again, one of my favourite series)
Magnus Chase and the Ship of Dead - Rick Riordan (I donāt want to spoil here but itās good, genderfluid representation since book two, more in this final book)
Ice crypt - Tiana Warner (sequel of the Ice Massacre, wlw romance between mermaid and human girl, who knew each other since childhood, there is third final book, Ice Kingdom, already out, but I still havenāt read it..)
Happy reading!
(tagging few people who i think might enjoy it ā„ā„: @eradne, @poefinn, @twomillionfreckles, @eliotcoldwater, @queen-max, @tsukiyam-a)
#lgbt#lgbt+#lgbt books#litedit#ya books#lgbt+ books#lgbt representation#books#book recs#books recommendations#mine#gif:other#gif:500#gif:books#long post#sorry im not putting in under read more#i want more people to read all these book and cry about them with me#the watchmaker of filigree street#adsom#mcga#of fire and stars#we are the ants#love simon#leah on the offbeat#the upside of unrequited#tggtvav#radio silence#not your sidekick#all out#mask of shadows
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PSA
Gonna speak for myself and only for myself first and foremost. If you find something in this thatās for you, feel free to identify with it. If you donāt find something here for yourself, then it isnāt for you.
In case it isnāt clear, the person who runs pics of shiro, keith and sheith blogs is Mexican (Nican Tlaca/latinx, I use all these terms for myself), queer (biromantic, demisexual, trans with he/they pronouns), autistic and affected by scoliosis that will only get worse as I age if I donāt take care of it with careful maintenance. In case people have trouble believing who OP is (@Firewindmill aka me, Nemo) ā know that all my pics of blogs are side-blogs and I specifically chose to remove my main avatar from the side-blogs because thatās my choice provided to me by this website ā it gives the idea that these are all professional looking main blogs. Occasionally this may become apparent that they are side-blogs when I make a mistake and reblog something to these blogs intended for my main blog but I try to delete them quickly to amend my mistake, and some of you have kindly told me when I do and I appreciate it, I am an imperfect human being after all.
I want to speak to the entitlement and oppressive actions that people seem to have in online spaces simply because the space is public. Iāll go into that under the cut.
Because of what happened over on my blog pics of Keith, Iāll be focusing on that, but the overall sentiments are the same for all the blogs I administrate, including those working with me.
I headcanon that Keith is biracial/mixed race (I think of him as mixed asian/latinx), queer, trans and autistic. He doesnāt have to be for you but he is for me and for many other people, not always at once and sometimes people relate differently to his character based on their own perceived experiences that I canāt relate to but I donāt go on peopleās posts to derail/hijack it. Thatās what my own blog is for, to make my own posts and create my own content. Some of you may have enjoyed or seen my answer to an anonymous user about trans!keith headcanons. I chose to answer it with āheadcanonsā because itās not necessarily canon, perhaps even the evidence is weak on why I think something is the way it is for a character ā but sometimes headcanons are completely baseless and people just say ridiculous things to be funny, to have fun, have a laugh but the end point is to feel good, and for trans headcanons, itās to find something in someone that we see in ourselves and make us feel good. If anyone has a problem with trans!keith, havenāt you heard? Thereās a blacklist option now on tumblr and for mobile so if that ruins the character for you then use it and blacklist it so I donāt have to see your comments shitting on people who like it. (Meanwhile, to any followers who see that post, itās up to you to also block those users, a lot of them are transmedicalists/right wingers etc and are overall have this entitled attitude. Do not engage the way I did, thatās my job and I do it professionally.)
With that, just because a website/blog is public, doesnāt mean that etiquette ceases to exist. My analogy is that Iāve opened my backyard for 24 hours for people to check out my garden. Here, I chill in my hammock, sniff the flowers, observe birds at the birdfeeder at a distance. My rules include people not overwhelming the hammock and taking turns, people not picking flowers or destroying them because they donātĀ ālikeā them, and people maintaining a distance from the birdfeeder to not scare off the birds. Itād also be nice that people pick up after themselves if they make a mess etc common sense stuff.
So letās say someone pulls their pants down, takes a shit.
Pretty gross right? Well its my right to kick them out because itās still my yard. I donāt have to take abusive behavior in a public or private space.
Another good example is this restaurant analogy on twitter, itās a good read if you have time for it.
It should go without saying that I will never ever let bigotry in any form be perpetuated on my posts and I will rarely reblog my responses to the pics of blogs except to my main so that they exist in prosperity for the most part in a public venue as receipts. I will not be gaslighted, and even take screenshots for my own protection because these are public blogs. Because Iām Mexican and literally moderate several pages online to ban bigoted user comments from pages, comments that seek to silence marginalized voices of people of color, I use the tools at my disposal, the wonderful block button to control who interacts with me and my audience that enjoys the specific brand of fan experience that I provide with my unique personality. People have been thankful for how safe they feel to express themselves because of it, and my life mission has been to amplify voices less heard, including my own.
Because Iām Mexican, I seek to decolonize myself daily and analyze my behavior to deconstruct anti-blackness within myself, and shed any homophobia and transphobia, to confront misinformation and reblog posts by people affected by their own unique issues while not speaking over them or adding unnecessary commentary. Because Iām queer, I will not ever make fun of people for seeing themselves in fictional characters, nor let homophobia or transphobia be perpetuated on any of my posts either, whether itās from other trans people deciding what other trans folks do or donāt do, or from cis people, I donāt let it slide. And because Iām autistic, I wonāt let ableism slide, I wonāt let people speak badly about any other issues or headcanons based on disabilities whether mental or physical. I wonāt let anyone come between me and the communities Iām in to divide us with their terf/truscum rhetoric either.
I want people that follow my blogs to see that I am active in what I claim to be my values, which is why you see the evidence on my main blog that I walk the walk and not just talk. I want people who have recently followed my blogs and donāt know me to know where I stand so they either feel reassured or can take a hike if they donāt ā Iām not here to recruit for a club, Iām just a fan curating my fan experience, MY way, and you either like it or you donāt but you donāt control what I say, think, or do. I donāt need you.
Thatās all Iāve got to say for now.
#discourse#vld wank#fandom wank#salt#transphobia#racism#ableism#homophobia#queerphobia#online etiquette
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How 'Bria' is charting a new course for 'The Girlfriend Experience'
Carmen Ejogo stars as Bria in āThe Girlfriend Experienceā (Photo: Starz)
At first glance, the āBriaā portion of The Girlfriend Experienceās bifurcated sophomore year doesnāt appear to have much in common with the āErica & Annaā half of the season. Where Lodge Kerriganās Washington D.C.-set arc navigates the impact sex and money have within the corridors of power, writer/director Amy Seimetzās tale takes place far away from the nationās capital city in the desert heat of New Mexico. Itās here that former escort Bria (Carmen Ejogo) has been relocated by the Witness Protection Program after escaping an abusive lover. But she canāt ā and, more importantly, doesnāt want to ā leave the past behind. Under the nose of the U.S. Marshal (Tunde Adebimpe) assigned to her case, Bria once again starts to provide āgirlfriend experiencesā even as it jeopardizes her safety.
Although separated by geography and circumstance, āErica & Annaā and āBriaā are united in the way they depict government intrusion into womenās personal lives. In the case of escort Anna (Louisa Krause) and political operative Erica (Anna Friel), they willingly serve as pawns in D.C.ās never-ending political gamesmanship. For Bria, her new existence is created and rigidly enforced by federal officers, who insist they know whatās best for her. In light of the recent regressive moves by the current administration in regards to issues like birth control and workplace equality, Seimetzās portrait of a woman fighting a male-dominated system to pursue her own destiny couldnāt be more timely.
āYouāre just telling everyone my subtext,ā Seimetz said with a laugh when Yahoo Entertainment sat down with her and Ejogo at the Toronto International Film Festival to discuss The Girlfriend Experience. āItās always been that way for women, to be quite honest. This sounds terrible, but I almost had a sigh of relief when Trump was elected because now I donāt have to have all these conversations in my own head about sexism.ā Ejogo concurred, and added that āBriaā likely wouldnāt have had as much impact if she and Seimetz had tried to tell this story even five years ago: āPeople are ready now to have this honest dialogue with themselves and the public at large.ā
We spoke with the duo about their behind-the-camera collaboration and the complications of telling a trauma survivorās story.
Amy, you directed my favorite episode of The Girlfriend Experienceās first season, and I noticed a fair amount of visual continuity between it and āBria.ā Was that episode pivotal to you in deciding the style and content for your portion of Season 2? Amy Seimetz: Yeah, I feel like Iām really great when women are losing their s**t! Thatās my territory. [Laughs] In television, youāve got to lay the groundwork to earn that. And the first few episodes of āBriaā are a pressure cooker ā thatās a term I used a lot when we were shooting. Youāve got to keep the water boiling and the lid on. Then you can have fun. Episodes 5 through 7 are just like, āWoo!ā Last season, having not written or directed for television before, I felt like I needed to do something way more traditional. This season, I was like āNo f**k it.ā This is the character; how do we get the information across super-fast and get the audience to run with us?
Amy Seimetz wrote and directed the āBriaā portion of āThe Girlfriend Experienceā Season 2 (Photo: Starz)
This storyline breaks new ground for the series in that itās a survivorās story ā Bria has endured a traumatic experience, and carries that with her even as she continues to work as an escort. How did that affect your approach to the character? Carmen Ejogo: This is clearly somebody thatās a survivor from the get-go, even if her backstory doesnāt get fully revealed in the first episode. Where does she go from here is the real question, and I love that the answer isnāt so cut and dried. Thereās something really complicated about the people that Iāve known that are in dynamics that are maybe unhealthy for them, whether itās transactional relationships or marriages. I know plenty of people that remain in scenarios that are really not good for them, and they know they should be leaving, and itās a constant battle in themselves. Beyond that, itās interesting to explore how womenās minds work when confronted with this sort of stuff in any aspect of their lives.
Seimetz: When you go through trauma, your reaction is never clean or rational. Weāre dealing with a woman who has definitely been through trauma, but refuses to be seen as a victim, almost to the point of her undoing herself. Whether youāre a man or a woman, itās really hard to be treated like a victim, nor do some people even realize theyāre victims. I think thatās sort of Briaās character, too: sheās like, āStop treating me like Iām traumatized. Leave me alone, Iām fine. I want to move on. I want a new boyfriend.ā
Ejogo: Itās funny; thereās an assumption that our choices play out in a linear fashion. The truth is, most of us are working with such immediacy in how we make choices. So inevitably youāre making decisions that are not really healthy or smart for you, and that will have repercussions down the road. Weāre all survivors in that sense. Weāre all just kind of winging it, if weāre honest. We like to think weāre leading these very organized and controlled lives and, in fact, a lot of us would be quite capable of making some very ridiculous decisions. Even now, I make choices where Iām like, āReally?ā I think, in that sense, Briaās a really authentic character in a way that you donāt see often on television.
Bria is also the first biracial girlfriend the series has featured. In your preparation for the role, what did you learn about the racial politics that exist within the escort world? Ejogo: Just in my own world, I know how fetishized I am every day. My whole career potentially could have gone down that road had I let it. Thatās why itās probably taken me until now to go into territory like this. Had I done it at 20, Iād have had a completely different, exoticized career. I really worked hard not to be put in that space, because thereās a shelf life to that and, frankly, it doesnāt interest me. At this point, weāre maybe more prepared to play with that sort of stuff. Weāre absolutely playing with [male] fantasies.
How does race factor into the show going forward? Ejogo: It doesnāt, which is great. It doesnāt have to be a big issue. Her new boyfriend does have a type, itās true. But Briaās picking her clients, so the power is on her side in terms of who is choosing who.
Ejogo and Tunde Adebimpe in āThe Girlfriend Experienceā (Photo: Starz)
Whatās your collaboration like as director and star? Ejogo: To be honest, I worked with Amy in a way Iāve never worked with anyone else before. I was so entirely trusting and invested in her idea that I would walk onto set and be all ears as to what she was expecting out of that moment, and then attempt to deliver. I would still bring my own spin and my own sense of character, but it was such a complete conceptualization that I was very happy to be her puppet. Iām not often willing, but I appreciated her approach. Having seen her body of work, I knew where she was coming from as a filmmaker, and it meant that I knew this was territory that could be handled in a very messy, nuanced way.
Seimetz: The nice thing is that I cast her before I really wrote anything. So even the ideas that I threw out, Iād share with her during the process. She knew everything, and then on set sheād be like, āThat idea didnāt make it into the script, but is it still there?ā And Iād say, āYes.ā You have to have something in common to reference: for example, Iāve worked with my director of photography, Jay Keitel, for 15 years, so I can be like, āLetās do it like that shot in our previous movie,ā and he can go, āRight.ā Thereās a shorthand there.
What can you tease about where the story goes over the course of the season? Seimetz: The whole thing is based on the idea that weāre living in a time with a shaky foundation. Itās really hard to know whatās going to happen moving forward. The only thing you can do is take control of your own destiny, which is what Bria does. She canāt trust anyone, so she goes f**kinā rogue.
Ejogo: Thatās what weāre saying. She goes way rogue!
The Girlfriend Experience airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on Starz.
#_revsp:wp.yahoo.tv.us#starz#_uuid:ddad6883-a856-39ed-95d3-64dc2e896762#the girlfriend experience#_author:Ethan Alter#Amy Seimetz#_category:yct:001000086#_lmsid:a0Vd000000AE7lXEAT#interviews#Carmen Ejogo
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āFlaunt not your ignorance, child with no knowledge of Mendelās law. You would not be at all surprised if you were to consider our father and motherās genes.ā
First of all: Damn dude.
And second of all: Not only is this funny, but also a really interesting genetics fact!
And I happen to be a child with knowledge of Mendelās law!
So letās dig deeper to find out how they can be siblings with only one thing in common.
So what are the laws of inheritance, you may ask? These are the rules that dictate how genes are passed from parent to offspring. According to the law of independent assortment, genes can be inherited independently from one another. You see, we generally have two genes for every trait we have and the dominant trait is what appears.
So letās say thereās a woman with brown hair who marries a man with brown hair. They get married and decide to have kids, only for them to find out that their kid is blonde.
No, the wife did not cheat. The baby wasnāt switched at birth either.
For the sake of our analogy, imagine in the lower left diagram that blue is brown hair and white is blonde hair.
As you can see, there is a roughly 25% chance their child would have blonde hair, a 25% chance one would have two brown hair genes, and a 50% chance their kids would have both types of gene and have brown hair.
If the blonde haired kid and brown haired kid stood side by side, as with the above example, it would seem extremely odd that they could be siblings without knowing their parentsā traits.
Alternatively, the diagram on the right is the spread of Queen Victoriaās hemophilia gene through various European royal families.
You see, Victoria had been a carrier for the gene, which exists on the X chromosome. As a quick refresher of sex chromosomes:
Those assigned as female at birth have xx
Those assigned male at birth have xy
The problem with hemophilia is that if someone with two X chromosomes inherits one gene for it, they have another non-hemophiliac gene to back them up. The non-hemophiliac gene kicks in and the hemophilia gene goes dormant. With xy, however, the Y chromosome doesnāt carry the hemophilia gene. Since there is no backup gene to use, the hemophilia gene is all thatās left.
Every purple square in the right diagram was a boy born with hemophilia to a mother who would have had no way of knowing if she carried the gene. It was usually mothers who passed the gene to their children, as men would have to have hemophilia to pass it on and even so, they could only pass it to their daughters, who would have to inherit another of the genes to have hemophilia. All it took to avoid it was to marry people who did not have the gene. In families with multiple children, the boys would inherit hemophilia while their sisters would show absolutely no sign of it.
Now these are two pretty simple examples if independent assortment. A more complicated but more fun example would be skin color.
So remember what I said earlier about certain genes dominting over others? Not true for skin color. The colors usually blend, like a red flower and a white flower making pink flowers.
This would be why mixed-race children usually have a mix between the skin colors of their parents.
Hereās the issue: itās not at all that simple.
Do you also remember me stating that you usually inherit two genes? Well, skin color is a polygenic trait. How many genes? About 378.
This is a cross between two biracial people with equal dark and light skin genes. They do hot simply have a ātan skin geneā but rather multiple working simultaneously. These can all be passed on independently, so it is entirely possible for the two parents to pass on all light or all dark genes. Isnāt it amazing???
And thatās not all. There is a phenomenon called mixed twins, in which two biracial parents such as the ones above have fraternal (non-identical) twins with almost perfectly separated skin tones and racial features.
The most famous of which are fraternal twins in which one looks white and one looks black, such as with Lucy and Maria Aylmer.
Lucy has fair skin and straight red hair while Maria has dark, curly hair and dark skin, and yet they are absolutely twins.
Thanks for listening to my rant as we go from anime to adultery allegations to the mishaps of European royalty to flowers to twin genetics. All for the sake of science
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soooo shadowhunters amiright?
okay yall so iām just putting my thoughts down on this post after watching 2x09 and I have a lot of feelings about it. Most of this will be negative and very angry sounding so if thatās not your cup of tea than you should ignore this, otherwise feel free to agree or disagree. All of this is my personal opinion too so dont expect well thought out or well written meta either
Okay? cool.
(spoilers below the cut)
Alright so first of all:
I have sooooooo many issues with the shit thatās going down this season so first and foremost imma talk about my girl Maia
Why in gods name would Maia Roberts ever try to kill Clary??Ā
First of all Maia is incredibly smart and tactical, so why would she ever try and kill Clary, a girl she was on friendly terms with, in broad daylight in front of her pack leader, another shadowhunter, and Simon? Also she tried to do it alone so that makes no fucking sense either; she knows how much the shadowhunters and Luke care about Clary so why bother going after her without any backup?? Ridiculous. (lmao what is characterization)
Secondly, and most important, Maia was abused and neglected by her own family. So it makes 0 sense to me that she would try to kill Clary and blame her for what Valentine shitty-parent-of-the-century Morgenstern is trying to do. In fact Maia seems like the least likely person to attack Clary cause sheās a) Simons best friend, b) Lukeās daughter (basically), and c) would never try to attack someone whoās been used and abused in a similar way that she had. She would never. (the show hasnāt gotten into Maias backstory yet so iām basing this off of the her backstory from the books. They might change it in the show so iāll stay tuned for that but even if they did change it, her feelings about clary still donāt make sense).
Not only that but Maia is canonically biracial in the books, and as a biracial girl myself, it is incredibly disheartening to see a character who is like you, being sweet and funny in one episode, and in the next be vilified by the writers. Itās also why iām extremely protective of Maia because sheās one of the few characters that i identify with.Ā
Now I say vilified because literally Maia was the only one who actively tried to kill Clary. Sure, Meliorn and Raphael suggested it but they never actually acted on their threats. Neither of them actually tried to hurt Clary so now iām just confused. Way to go Freeform. (There better be a legit explanation for this or todd is gonna catch these hands)
Which brings me to my next point:
Why in the name of all that is holy would Luke Garroway, my father, ever lock her away in a closet???
Yes it was a closet, a supply closet to be exact, and it was just shoddy writing at best. First of all Maia is a fucking werewolf, no supply closet is gonna be able to keep her locked up, so Luke?? wyd bro?? Heās literally a cop who has access to 24 hour detention centers like are yall shitting me rn???
Second Maia said in the episode that sheās claustrophobic, and whatās worse is that Luke knows this. He knows she canāt handle small enclosed spaces. So locking her away was straight up irresponsible, especially for a pack leader like him, because she could panic, transform (which is exactly what happens), and potentially hurt people. Luke knows this and yet he still does it anyway. It would make more sense if he forbid her from leaving the Jade Wolf and ordered the pack to keep her in line but thatās not what he does. And iām frustrated that that is the decision he makes (once again what is characterization) because he knows how Maia will react. Its stupid and, frankly, she didnāt deserve that at all.Ā
Now hereās the other thing:
Why the fuck is raph/izzy happening?
It literally makes no sense to me whatsoever and itās a ship that came out of the left field and blindsided everyone. Seriously who thought this was a good idea?
I hate this ship for several reasons:
1) Itās born out of a codependent drug addiction. There is nothing romantic or cute about a relationship like that nothing. Isabelle went to Raph thinking heās helping her with her addiction but all heās doing is supplying her with her fix and not actually helping her get over it. Sheās using him for his venom and heās likewise using her for her blood. WHAT ABOUT THIS IS ROMANTIC AM I MISSING SOMETHING HERE????
2) Itās mentioned by both Magnus and Victor that Raphael has struggled with resisting human blood in the past (the past being around the time he was turned) and Magnus helped him get over it. But that was decades ago (around the 1950s to be exact). Youād think that Raphael would have a hell of a lot more self control when it comes to human and shadowhunter blood, especially since the clave has a record of his past misdemeanors and heās recovered from his own past addiction.Ā
Also, and this is my main point of confusion, why the fuck would Raphael Santiago ever help feed a shadowhunters venom addiction, especially a Lightwood?? Raphael was alive when the Lightwoods joined the Circle, he knows their history, and he literally watched as Isabelle helped Simon and Clary escape with Camille, a person who is arguably one of the biggest threats to the NY vampire clans existence. If anything heād be resentful of her because sheās the reason Camille threatened the clan again. Not only that but shadowhunters in general have made his life a living hell: theyāve threatened his clan multiple times, blamed him for Camilles escape, and literally tortured him. Raphael would never fully trust a shadowhunter or be with one intimately, especially Isabelle. She seems like the last person heād want to be with.
speaking of Isabelle...
What the hell were they thinking?
Honestly I want a goddamn answer because I genuinely want to know why they decided drugs would be Isabelleās storyline this season???
Jem Carstairs already had the yin fen storyline and I truly donāt understand why they gave her Jemās storyline when they had other options. Like why is Izzy Maryseās least favorite child (or why is Maryse harder on Izzy than she is on the other Lightwoods)? Shit she couldāve been researching for a way to rescue the downworlders Valentine has trapped but nooooo I gotta watch this garbage.
Not to mention the fact that one of the few latina characters (idc what Emeraude says Izzy is Latina) on the show has been turned into a drug addict i.e. a really negative stereotype (I donāt want to get into this too much because iām not latinx and canāt speak on this accurately, iām just going off of what other latinx fans have been saying). There were other storyline ideas that the writers couldāve gone with for Isabelle this season but they choose drugs??? Sorry but I donāt want to watch that when my faves onscreen time is better spent being the kind, badass, smart character she was last season. I want to see Isabelle being the best forensic pathologist in new york not depending on raphael to get her venom. No thanks.
Also I feel like theyāre totally mischaracterizing my girl here. I mean the second she found out Victor gave her vampire venom she shouldāve gone to Magnus or Alec. I mean I know izzy is proud but sheās also dedicated to her family and to being a shadowhunter, and yin fen gets in the way of both those things. Isabelle is more than this and iām mad that this is how theyāre treating her this season.
alright i think thats it for now, as you can see im very heated abt this and i hope the writers will explain or fix everything in due timeĀ
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Fetish for Mixed Children Part 2
What happened to black men and women embracing their blackness? Now it is seen as we are all human beings, yet many black people wanna go buck wild over police brutality, but are not even in touch with their own self esteem issues? We were taught about MLK, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, etc. about their greatness and effect they had on history. People say there are no role models, but if you donāt give a f&%k about ANYTHING, if you stand for nothing, tell me--what exactly do you need a role model for? (BTW, this is for all the black people who donāt care about their own community and racial progression. This isnāt about blacks taking over the world, but it is about not participating in destruction, but building up our race instead).Ā
Malcolm X and MLK taught our people to be strong in society, to be vigilant, have good self esteem, be comfortable in our skin, and stand tall so racists see we are not going to be affected by the way they view us.Ā
So, with that being said, it disgusts me to see that some black men/women settle for white trash either for financial gains or because of insecurity. Iām not saying this is everyoneās case but almost every time Iāve seen a black man date outside of his race, black women has always faced some type of attack -- supposedly Iām supposed to cry and fall to my knees because he decided to bust a nut in a white woman and pass on his ignorant view point to his children, or some of them, simply avoid black woman period (either from consistent failed relationships, generalized viewpoint on African American woman, or the stereotypicalĀ āblack momā struggle.)Ā
Not only are there many poverty-stricken black people who will accept anything due to low standards (Iām talking about from any race), but the ones with low self esteem will specifically lay down with a man, let him inside your coochie, just to dump his semen on you and abandon the mixed babies youāve always sought to have. This is not every case, Iām aware of that, but the fascination is what kills me, because I canāt remember the last time (other than having to search it online), I heard someone oogling over black features, babies with natural hair, smooth brown skin, and pretty smiles. Sure, you can label it as aĀ āpreferenceā all you want, but I canāt be the only one that thinks dating for the wrong reasons is a no-no. Also, if people sayĀ āGod created us all equalā orĀ āweāre all equalā, then how come people lean so much further towards the white standard of beauty? Thereās only one answer: we have been conditioned for years to hate ourselves, but it is your decision whether you want to be confident in your features or continue to have a twisted mentality thatĀ āwhite is betterā and black isĀ āugly or not good enough.āĀ
The reason why SO many people are brainwashed by this way of thinking is because ofĀ āscientific racismā, which theĀ the pseudoscientific belief that empirical evidence exists to support or justify racism (racial discrimination), racial inferiority, or racial superiority, according to Wikipedia.Ā
Polygenist Christoph Meiners believed each race had a separate origin and of course, split these races up into different divisions, which he labeledĀ āthe beautiful white raceā (Obviously) andĀ āthe ugly black race.ā So clearly this stuff didnāt start in the millennial generation. Funny thing about this Christoph Meiners, who was supposed to be so studious and factual, based these divisions purely off of his opinions, saying that the main characteristic to look for is ugliness or beauty, and he THOUGHT the white race to be beautiful, while the blacks were nothing but animals.Ā
But if you take a look back...Ā
OUR PEOPLE WERE KINGS & QUEENS BEFORE WE WERE SEEN AS SLAVES & ANIMALS, āNIGGASā & āBAD BITCHESā...
Take a look at the features on these ancient Egyptian statues. Look familiar?Ā
"All the Egyptians," wrote de Volney, (french man troubled by slavery) "have a bloated face, puffed-up eyes, flat nose, thick lips ā in a word, the true face of the mulatto. I was tempted to attribute it to the climate, but when I visited the Sphinx, its appearance gave me the key to the riddle. On seeing that head, typically Negro in all its features, I remembered the remarkable passage where Herodotus says:
Ā ' As for me, I judge the Colchians to be a colony of the Egyptians because, like them, they are black with woolly hair...
SO, when I think of dark skin and woolly/nappy hair texture usually worn in braided styles, white people usually arenāt the ones who pop on in my mind, or any other race of that matter. Never-mindĀ what I think, white people with dark complexions and nappy hair DONāT EXIST, despite many āeuro-scientistsā who have failed to prove that white people were the first people on earth - this belief was already shut down the moment skin was brought into the equation.Ā
Take a look at who does fit the description though...
Take a look at the hairstyles in the art ^
A braid (also referred to as a plait) is a complex structure or pattern formed by interlacing three or more strands of flexible material such as textile yarns, wire, or hair. wikipedia.Ā
African people such as the Himba people of Namibia have been braiding their hair for centuries. In many African tribes hairstyles are unique and used to identify each tribe. Braid patterns or hairstyles can be an indication of a personās community, age, marital status, wealth, power, social position, and religion.[5]
Culture appropriation already existed once Caucasian women and men discovered the art of braiding from the stolen slaves owned by the French, which is where the nameĀ āFrench Braidsā derives from. It bothers me hearing the term when braiding actually were created by Africans, thus really beingĀ āAfrican Braids,ā (of course people donāt want to give credit to the people that started it), but even until this day white people wear braids that are generally harder for their hair to hold considering the texture is looser, stringier, and edge-less. This is why blacks hair tends to hold for months, while Caucasian hair (when braided) can hardly last a week, which is why it kills me (not literally) when people always come after black girlās hair, even though Caucasianās hair is KNOWN to take more maintenance which includes constantly washing it to prevent molding, lice infestation, knotting, and breakage.Ā
Common Head Lice (yes black people get lice, but not very often. The cases of black people getting head lice are much rarer than whites, due to the lice being drawn to the increase of moisture that exists in Caucasian hair.Ā
Itās also funny how many people view giving birth to mixed children as somehow āending separationā and division, without even realizing that it actually creates division. For example, when you see post online made by certain white women about their mixed daughters/sons you get to see how disgusting and creepy the message seems. Posts like the ābest of both worldsā andĀ āget yourself a lightyā,Ā āI JUST want biracial babies.ā (Though most people arenāt aware or just donāt give af), this hurts the black women who are in families that purposely race-mixed so they wouldnāt produce children with the same features and hair texture as that black female. Then there are many black women who are just as brainwashed as the interracial couples that have this weird fetish for their children.Ā
And of course I do not stand alone in my opinion...
It aināt for me, personally.Ā
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BuzzFeedās Scaachi Koul Talks Humor, Canadian vs. American Politics & Why Twitter Isnāt Necessary
Photo Courtesy: Picador USA
I took Scaachi Koulās collection of essays, One Day Weāll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter, with me to Las Vegas during my bachelorette party a few months ago. I knew that Koul was extremely funny and thought the book would provide some light reading while poolside at a cabana.Ā
Koulās opening essay came out of the gate hot, and I could not put the book down.Ā
Her writing is extremely honest and open, and for me it was relatable. When she talked about being the only brown girl around her white classmates in Canada, I was transported back to my entire childhood existence feeling that same isolation. Her essay about a mortifying mishap in a Toronto dressing room had me simultaneously laughing while also cringing in sympathy.Ā Each chapter plays out like a scene from a TV show, so itās no surprise that recently Koul announced her essays will be turned into a scripted series by First Generation Films.
Koul also works as a senior writer for BuzzFeed and wrote a brilliant piece called āA Userās Guide to My Stupid Nameā that should be required reading for anyone with a āculturally differentā (aka foreign) name (Iāve lost track of how many times my name has been mispronounced in my life).Ā
A few weeks ago, I chatted with Scaachi over the phone about her debut collection of essays, why Americans shouldnāt threaten to move to Canada after an election year and whether or not you need to be on Twitter to get hired.Ā
The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.Ā
Photo Courtesy: Barbora Simkova
Ngozi: What was it like writing this collection of essays and then seeing it come to completion and being published?Ā
Scaachi: I mean, itās weird. It feels like an out of body experience, but I feel some detachment to it at this point. Itās been a few months, but Iām happy with the result. I feel like people really like it, so thatās always good.Ā
What has touring been like? Whatās been the response youāve gotten after talking to people who have read [O.D.W.A.B.D.A.N.O.T.W.M]?Ā
Scaachi: I donāt mind touring. I find it kind of taxing because I donāt like traveling. Itās tricky especially if you donāt like being on a plane and then being on a lot of planes is not exactly an ideal situation. Itās been nice to go to different cities and talk to different people and hear about different perspectives outside of Canada and in the States. Itās been fun.Ā
Youāve talked about just how personal you were able to get with this book, and you even open with an essay on anxiety. You talk about a lot of serious things. Did you ever feel like there was a sense of āSomeoneās reading my journal without my permissionā? Did writing these essays ever feel like that to you?
Scaachi: I guess so, but I donāt experience shame that often so it doesnāt really bother me. I think my general policy is if you write a personal essay and it feels too raw, then maybe itās just not the time to write it. I have lots of stories like that where they just donāt feel ready and maybe they donāt feel funny and itās not comfortable to get them up yet, and those are stories that I donāt [put out].
Humor is a big part of all of your work ā not just in these essays but also in your work for BuzzFeed. Where does your humor come from and did it almost feel like it was developed as a defense mechanism over the years? I know for me, thatās how I developed mine. Do you think itās your most powerful trait?
Scaachi: I feel like I was born with it. Itās certainly something Iāve honed, but I think itās something I had at first. I think a lot about being funny is just sort of inherent ā you either kind of have it when you were born or you donāt, and then from there you decide how important it is and how much youāre going to use it. I think itās pretty clear for me in the book that I get a lot of my sense of humor from my dad because heās insane. I think I realized pretty early on that being funny creates a social capital for yourself, but at 10-years-old if I could have traded being funny for being popular, I probably would have. But it was sort of like a thing that I had, so thatās what I used.Ā
In this book, you use your humor and youāre funny, and then you cut to something thatās more serious or sad.Ā
Scaachi: Well I do think that with the book, I canāt give you ten essays about the inescapable tragedy of human existence and not give you a joke. So there is something to be said about luring the audience in to talk about something thatās kind of serious and weighty, but I donāt feel like itās disingenuous. I think the book is presented the way I would present myself in any social situation.Ā
In your book, the essays that really resonated with me focused on race and identity and seeing oneself as a first-generation adult. In your essay, āFair & Lovely,ā you talked about pushing away your brownness for a long time, and I think most of us experience that feeling of otherness and go through that period of time. Was writing that essay cathartic, in a sense, knowing where you are now with your identity and how you see yourself?Ā
Scaachi: Yeah, I mean sure. [All the essays] are kind of cathartic.Ā
What was the process like writing that particular essay?Ā
Scaachi: I mean I feel like it came quite naturally, so I donāt know if Iāve got a clean answer for how cathartic it felt because I feel like I came back from that wedding and just sort of had that in my head. Everything just kind of came together. That was the fourth or fifth trip Iād made to India in my life, and so I had all of these old memories, and I didnāt really know what to make of them. That was the first trip Iād made to India as an adult, and it was the first time weād gone with my niece [Raisin] whoās biracial. Iād never hadĀ thatĀ point of reference, so I think it just kind of came together quite simply. I wasnāt really ruminating on it for very long because I think while I was there it was like, āOh okay. Now I understand,ā and so all these pieces that were sort of missing came together simply.Ā
Youāve talked about growing up Indian-Canadian, and youāve mentioned how sometimes Americans think there are no racial issues [in Canada] and that itās this āmythicalā land. How do you explain to people here in the States why that isnāt true? Iām also curious because so many people here after an election year say, āIām going to move to Canadaā after their candidate loses. What do you think when you hear people say that?Ā
Scaachi: I think itās laziness. I understand the instinct, but I think itās sort of lazy. I mean in terms of the comparison point between the two countries, itās hard to compare the two.Ā You guys are 350 million, and weāre 35 million [people], so just by scale our issues are going to seem a lot less severe. The other part of it is in your recent election, the US has elected what is quite seriously the worst possible candidate they could have elected for president. So then by comparison, everything we do [in Canada] will not seem that bad.Ā
I am troubled over the international fawning over Trudeau. I think for the first few months it made sense and it was fine, and now it kind of bothers me because heās been in office for almost two years, and he hasnāt done anything. I have not seen him do anything, and I am more irritated by progressives who lie to you and lie to the base and say that theyāre going to do something, and then they do nothing. That bothers me on an intellectual level and on an emotional level. It seems dangerous to dismiss what can and is happening in Canada because there are a lot of people here who are suffering, and itās difficult to say, āOh racism doesnāt exist.ā Well itās really hard for me to listen to that when I know that there are swaths of communities ā largely poor indigenous communities, poor people of color ā who donāt have access to clean water in the country. If you look at whatās happening in Flint, itās the same thing.Ā
In terms of moving to Canada, I get it, and certainly there are things that Canadians have that Americans donāt, and Iām very thankful for those things. I can understand people who say they need to move because they need healthcare. Thatās a reasonable thing. But this idea that āIām going to move to Canada and everything is going to be fineā ā I canāt tell you how many times I do events in the US, and someone comes up to me and is like, āSo if you go to school in Canada itās free, right?ā No itās not free. Itās cheaper, but by that token, our schools are not considered as prestigious [laughs]. Thereās this set of lies that I feel like people told themselves about how things work up here, and then people think that theyāre just going to show up. I donāt get it. I feel like theyāre just going to be woefully disappointed.Ā
Yeah, and itās like obviously if you visit as a tourist youāre going to see or experience, a lot of times, the best parts of a country because youāre on a vacation and naturally youāll be like, āOh this place is great.āĀ
Scaachi: Sure, and I mean thereās this thought that fundamentally Americans arenāt taught anything about Canada when you guys go to school. I mean you literally know nothing about us and then you become of voting age, and you think this is a bastion of socialism and I can go there and live there. I donāt know. I remember thinking that about Europe when I was younger. I thought that Europe was where you go if you want to live in a really liberal, hippie-dippy place and you can drink at sixteen, schoolās covered and blah blah blah. Thatās a really adorable way to think, but considering how many shootings have been happening there and the level and the tone of the racism ā even just looking at whatās happened to London in the last few months ā how can you continue to believe that? So I mean it just strikes me as lazy ideology. Nowhere is good. I hate to phrase it like that, but I donātā know where the good, safe place is. Iām really not too sure.Ā
Also the solution to your country being fucked up isnāt leaving. Itās not, especially when people who are often saying, āIām going to move to Canada,ā they more often tend to be white, and they tend to have enough money to pick up and go. Itās never poor people of color who say Iām going to move to Canada. Iāve never seen that. Itās always these white people who have some capital and some control in changing how the world is working and changing how their country is working. After Trump won, he won in part because of white women voted for him and then there were all these white women who said they were going to move to Canada, and I was like, āYou know what, this is kind of your fault.ā So donāt fuck it up and then pack your bags and say youāre going to come here and probably ruin the few things we have here [laughs]. Itās just sort of shirking a lot of responsibility, and itās often the people who are responsible for those problems.Ā
Photo Courtesy: Barbora Simkova
I know everyone always talks about Twitter with you, but I wanted to talk to you in a different context in terms of your essay that you wrote speaking out against it. You quit the platform for a while and then you came back to it. Do you ever feel like being in media that weāll ever go back to a point where your boss says, āYou know what? You donāt need to be on this for me to hire you.ā Do you think that we should? I know that you edit for people too, and itās a great way to even the playing field finding writers on social media.Ā
Scaachi: I think right now you can get hired without having a Twitter account if your work is good. I donāt think itās necessary. I think in some places my Twitter account is a detriment to my hireability. I donāt think that everybody likes it, so Iām not sure if that is even necessary. I think itās just something that people have told themselves like, āOh I need to do this.ā You donāt need to do this. I get a lot of young women who come up to me at my events and they ask me, āHow do I make my Twitter account good so I get hired?ā You donāt need to. If youāre fighting with the platform and the platform sucks ā and it does suck because it doesnāt give a shit about anybody ā and it doesnāt feel good to be on it and youāre not having fun and you canāt see an upside? Donāt use it. Do the work instead. Do the work quietly. I get that itās maybe less sexy because you donāt get to count how many retweets or whatever, and thatās obviously frustrating, but if you donāt want to do it, donāt do it.Ā
I think right now younger people going into the industry are just born of that internet phase, and I certainly was. I was raised on social media and accessible YouTube and torrenting. I lived in that world so Iām very comfortable with it, but I donāt know if you need it. I mean my partner isnāt really using it that extensibly because it sucks [laughs].Ā
Frankly, I think all of us who are using it right now are waiting for something better to show up because the company has made it so clear that they donāt care about us.
In one of your essays, you talk about your family meeting your partner. Thereās the age difference and the fact that youāre in an interracial couple that made the reaction not what you guys would have preferred at first. In the context of what weāve been talking about, did you ever feel like you had to be different in public around him or worry how people perceived you guys in a certain space?
Scaachi: I mean not particularly. I donāt think the racial aspect [was an issue]. Because we had a large age difference, there were more growing pains because I felt pretty young, and I think he felt quite old [laughs]. We didnāt spend time with my family, and that was where I would have felt like I needed to adjust my behavior.Ā
Your family is good now with you two?Ā
Scaachi: Yeah. The ending is like, āYeah, everythingās okay.ā Like all things, it just took a minute, and now weāre fine, and Iām sure my parents will present some other sort of conflict for me. But everythingās okay right now.Ā
Earlier you mentioned your dad, and heās a big part of your essays. We see his humor throughout the book through the email excerpts at the end of each chapter, but there are a lot of complicated layers in you guysā relationship that you talk about. Did you feel any type of guilt complex when writing about your parents?Ā
Scaachi: In addition to not experiencing shame, I do not experience guilt. They are taxing and lovely people, so I feel like I have an inherent right to write about them. [My dad] is a highly emotional, easily irritated funny person, but he has sort of a set of standards ā like a lot of parents ā that seem impossible to meet, so that causes a lot of conflict. In the book in the initial drafts of him, he sort of came out a little cartoonish, and so we made an effort to make him an actual person and not just a cartoon. In the book, heās presented through the lens of writing about where he grew up versus where I grew up or about the things that he wanted and then the things that I wanted that disappointed him. Between every chapter thereās an objectively insane email from him that makes no sense. Just to give you a taste.Ā
Is there a particular essay from the book that youāve received the most response from readers about? Or the one that was your favorite to write that you definitely wanted the world to read?Ā
Scaachi: I donāt really have a favorite, and I think people respond to different chapters differently. I donāt know if I could pick one. I mean thereās only ten. I donāt know if thereās one that sort of sticks out the most.Ā
Is there anything youāve read lately that you would recommend to your readers?
Scaachi: I finished Omar El Akkadās American War, which was really good. Itās fiction, but itās excellent. Then I actually just read an oral history of The Daily Show. Itās this massive 420-page book, and I loved it. I would imagine itās only appealing if you really love The Daily Show, but I really loved that. I have in front of me Theft By Finding by David Sedaris, which I havenāt opened yet. Then I also read Sam Irbyās We Are Never Meeting in Real Life which is very, very funny. That one is so good. Itās nonfiction essays, and itās so hilarious and so brutal.
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