#the only time of the year that i become a nationalist lol

[notsoattractivearenti]

Happy Independence Day, Indonesia🇮🇩❤️

17 Agustus 2023 - 17 Agustus 2023

[starredforlife]

what do you suggest instead of voting blue? letting Trump win? he isn't gonna help Palestine either, and he is planning to literally take away a lot of US Americans' rights, and, like, for example wants to document/supervise pregnancies. or said that if he becomes president people won't have to vote again in four years. I'm all for supporting other people in other countries but please can you think of the people in your country that would die under Trump as well. like him winning wouldn't help anyone.

People like you who fall into this weird logical trap genuinely baffle me. I have never ever suggested voting for trump or NOT voting for harris, even. I said that voicing uncritical support for kamala harris made her campaign feel like they weren’t going to lose significant support amongst the lefter leaning voters, because most of y’all jumped in with glee. You are also part of the problem because you try and shut down any criticism with this absolutely moronic take—“oh, is trump gonna be better? Is that what you want???”. You fail to see you are completely and utterly a victim of your own moral cowardice and nationalistic fear. You are supposed to demand your vote be earned, you insufferable motherfuckers. THEY NEED TO BE MADE TO FEEL LIKE IF THEY DONT CHANGE ON THIS ISSUE, IT COULD COST THEM THE ELECTION. They only care about your vote BEFORE they get into office!!!!!!!! If you don’t threaten them with your vote, you approve of their actions. It’s that simple.

“I’m all for supporting other people in other countries.” Your Democratic Party is melting them alive and decimating them into pieces of unrecognizable flesh with our bombs. You people fucking disgust me. Wake the fuck up. You are voting without conscience. You are voting without empathy and without intelligence. I wish I could have the patience in me to describe this to you in gentle words that would not turn you away from me but if 40,000+ dead people at our hands is not enough to change your mind then I don’t know what the fuck is.

People in our country are dying because of Biden too. Thousands have lost their rights to abortion and HRT under his administration. Change is not going to magically happen because we vote a different person into office. I wish y’all could see that. I wish Trump didn’t scare y’all so bad, because then you might be able to care about others. I’m not scared of him! I’ve lived with “project 2025” batshit religious “policies” in my own fucking house lol. Maybe that’s the difference between you and me. Or maybe it’s that you see dead children and it doesn’t bother you because they’re brown, and they don’t speak English, and they’re not you. I can’t save you if you’re coming to yell at a random person’s inbox on tumblr. You just have a lot of soul searching to do.

For wasting my time you should write a letter to Harris and demand she change her stance on Palestine by threatening your vote or you should donate to one of the campaigns on the vetted fundraiser’s list. That’s what I suggest you do, for your first question.

[swan-of-sunrise]

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Part II)

Summary: In the wake of the announcement that John Walker would be the new Captain America, (Y/N) lends a patient ear to both Sam and Bucky, and an open-minded Steve gets an important and well-meaning lesson on modern forms of discrimination.

Pairing: Steve Rogers X Fem!Reader

Word Count: 4k

Warnings/Disclaimers: Disclaimer for a frank discussion of racism/bigotry

A/N: Writing more Sam and Bucky and their constant squabbling was so much fun, and it really did wonders counteracting how sad it was writing Steve’s emotions about Walker becoming Cap lol thank you for reading, I hope you all enjoy!

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Part II) May 2024 Rockport, Maine (Previous Chapter)

Two weeks later, (Y/N) was sitting alone on her wraparound porch and fiddling with Natasha’s old red hourglass-shaped belt buckle, her lost friend’s treasured memento unable to give her its usual sense of comfort as she listened to Sam talk. He’d filtered through a wide range of emotions in the days since Captain John F. Walker had been named the new Captain America – shock, anger, sadness, outrage – before finally settling on heartbreak. Seeing a white man with the same blonde hair, blue eyes and chiseled physique that the country had come to expect in their Star-Spangled-Man-With-A-Plan did nothing short of break Sam’s heart and – although she was nowhere near a trained psychologist – she suspected that it only served to validate his intrusive imposter syndrome. She’d made it a point to call and check in on him every day since, and she was happy that her best friend hadn’t shut her out; just as he’d been there for her during so many difficult times in the past, she was giving him the strength and support that they both knew he needed.

“I decided not to watch that GMA interview that aired this morning,” Sam sighed over the phone. “I mean, why put myself through all that?”

“Believe me, you didn’t miss anything you couldn’t just find out with a quick Google search. The guy’s like a walking slice of plain white bread.” (Y/N) smiled to herself as her best friend snorted in amusement at her joke. “Scott was blowing up my phone throughout the entire thing; Walker had better watch himself, because he’s only been on the job for two weeks and he’s already got Ant-Man pissed off at him.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Tic-Tac angry before and now I kinda don’t want to; all the shrinking and growing still freaks me out a little, and I haven’t forgotten how that little shit deactivated my wings like it was nothin’.” Their laughter faded away into a heavy silence that was eventually broken by Sam. “Thank you, (Y/N).”

She frowned in confusion. “For what?”

“For not trying to convince me to talk to Steve about all this. I love the guy, I really do, but with all this that’s happened…it’s somethin’ that he can never really understand. Maybe he will someday, but it’s not up to either of us if he does or doesn’t.” Biting her lip, (Y/N) struggled to think of how best to respond to his statements but he continued on before she could say anything. “So, how’s everyone doing today? Enjoying the warm weather up there?”

“Well, Steve took Carina and Indy for a walk after the GMA interview, so it’s just me holding down the fort; I tried working a little on the first draft of my book but I couldn’t get Walker’s annoying mug out of my mind, so I decided to sit out here and give my best friend a call. What about you? How’s your search for these Flag Smashers going?”

A few days after the new Captain America was announced, Sam told her about the emergence of an anti-nationalist group that aspired to return Earth’s governments and society to how it was after the Snap and before the Battle of Earth: a united world without borders or patriotism that cared about helping each other in times of need. As someone who lived through those turbulent five years and who didn’t necessarily agree with everything the Global Repatriation Council was doing, their initial mission statement sounded appealing to (Y/N); however, their methods were violent and destructive and most concerning of all, they were comprised of suspected super-soldiers and possessed a replica of Doctor Erskine’s serum. An Air Force friend of Sam’s had a close call with the group in Switzerland and for the past two weeks, they’d both been tracking their whereabouts to try and apprehend them.

“Pretty good, actually. Torres managed to track them to Munich and Redwing picked up some aerial footage of their suspected base just outside of the city, so we’re flying out of D.C. at oh-nine-hundred.”

“In that case, I should probably let you go so you don’t miss your flight…” (Y/N) twisted the belt buckle around and around in her grasp and tried not to think about the last friend she’d said goodbye to before an important mission. “Good luck out there, Birdbrain.”

Sam chuckled and replied, “Thanks, Booksmart. I’ll give you a call as soon as I can, okay?”

They both said their goodbyes and after hanging up, (Y/N) sat back in her rocking chair and held her belt buckle to her chest as she closed her eyes. “Keep an eye on him for me, Nat.” Her eyes flew open when her phone rang again and she scrambled to answer it. “Hello?”

“Hey, doll, it’s Bucky. Where the hell is Sam?”

(Y/N)’s shoulders sagged in sudden realization. “Oh, shit. I take it that you watched the GMA interview…”

“Yeah, I did, and it’s about time that he and I discussed how he just threw away that shield.” The super-soldier’s voice was filled with ire and she could hear his agitated pacing in the background. “I’m at your guys’ old place in D.C. but he’s not here, so I thought you might know where he’s at.”

“Bucky, none of this is going to change what’s happened-”

“Do you know how much it hurt to hear a total stranger sit there with that shield and call himself a brother to Steve? Do you have any idea how it feels to have Steve’s legacy tarnished by a guy who would’ve gladly kicked his pre-serum ass if we were back in the 40’s?”

Clenching her jaw in growing irritation, (Y/N) stood and started pacing across the porch. “Believe it or not, Bucky, I do. You think I didn’t try everything I could to get answers for what they did? It took threatening to go to the press for Senator Smith’s office to return my calls and when they finally did, I got an incredibly condescending explanation about what constitutes as government property. If I went any further than that, then I’d risk my family’s safety and privacy, so now I’m forced to sit by and watch a man who I know isn’t worthy of the shield parade around as Captain America while all those asshats on Capitol Hill congratulate themselves for preserving the so-called sanctity of a mantle that they’ve never understood.”

She could hear Bucky sigh. “Look, I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t mean to accuse you of not caring or anything. It’s just…that shield, Steve’s legacy…it means a lot to me. And to see Sam just throw it all away for no reason…”

“You want answers? Sam’s scheduled to fly out of Joint Base Andrews at 9 o’clock for an overseas mission, so if you want to talk to him then you’d better make it quick.”

“Thanks, (Y/N). I owe you one.”

“It’s no problem, but can you do me a favor and actually listen to what Sam has to say? He’s really been beating himself up over what’s happened, and you coming in hot with angry accusations isn’t going to make him or you feel better.”

“…Okay, okay, I’ll try. For you.” Bucky’s pacing slowed and she could tell he was weighing his words. “How’s Steve handling all this?”

(Y/N) leaned a hip against the porch railing and looked out at the gentle waves in the distance. “When I figure that out, I’ll tell you.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought. I should probably let you go now; by the time I drive across D.C. and talk my way past the MP’s, it’ll be time for Sam’s flight to take off. I’ll call you soon, doll. Give Carina a kiss for me, okay?”

After they exchanged their goodbyes and she tucked her cell phone back into her pocket, (Y/N) looked down at the belt buckle in her hand and gave it a small smile. “Could you keep an eye on Bucky too while you’re at it, Nat? Something tells me that Sam won’t be traveling to Munich alone…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Dinner was delicious, sunshine,” Steve commented later that evening as they cleaned up the kitchen together; there was a mischievous twinkle in his azure eyes when he spared her a brief glance and continued drying the dishes she’d finished washing. “You know, you’ve come a long way from only knowing how to make spaghetti, tacos and scrambled eggs.”

Narrowing her eyes, (Y/N) playfully flicked some soapy dishwater at her chuckling husband. “This coming from the guy who used to boil all his food and who never touched hot sauce until he was ninety-seven.” They finished washing and drying the dishes in comfortable silence, and it wasn’t until after they checked on Carina fast asleep in her crib and made their way back out to the living room that she decided to bring up the subject of the new Captain America. “Sweetheart, if I ask you a question will you promise to give me an honest answer?”

Steve’s brow arched but he nodded all the same. “Of course. What is it?”

“What was going through your head when you saw the announcement naming John Walker as the new Captain America?”

They sat down on the couch and Steve’s hand automatically found hers, his thin fingers intertwining with hers as he considered her pointed question. “Honestly? For a split second there, I thought that I was seeing a ghost on the television screen.” (Y/N)’s brow furrowed in confusion and he continued. “When I was accepted into Project Rebirth and sent to Camp Lehigh, I joined an entire regiment of potential candidates and over the course of a week, we were ordered to complete training that would determine which one of us would be chosen as the SSR’s first test subject. Doctor Erskine made it pretty clear from the beginning that he wanted me, but Colonel Phillips was gunning for a guy named Gilmore Hodge.” He huffed out a quiet chuckle. “Talk about a horse’s ass. Hodge was a bully; he fought with the other guys in the barracks, he cheated during training to get higher scores and he hated that a woman was the one personally overseeing our training.”

“Wait a sec, was he the soldier that Peggy told me about once, the one she knocked onto his ass with just one punch?” Steve nodded and (Y/N) grinned appreciatively. “Peggy Carter was such a bad-ass. So, Walker reminds you of Hodge?”

“Mm-hmm, right down to the blonde hair and blue eyes. Everything I’d read or heard about him since paints him as the perfect soldier, and it was all summed up in that GMA interview this morning.” Steve bit his bottom and looked over at the wall beside their small piano. He’d spent their first month in Maine framing and hanging some of the sketches he’d completed over the years; scenes of his childhood in Brooklyn featuring his mother Sarah and Bucky, portraits of his fellow Howling Commandos and everyone he’d worked with at the SSR, doodles of the laid-back days spent with the Avengers and more drawings of (Y/N) throughout the years than she could count. Doctor Abraham Erskine’s portrait hung proudly towards the center of the wall, a place of honor for the man who changed Steve’s life in more ways than one, and Steve’s eyes softened a little as he continued. “Doctor Erskine came to the barracks to see me on the night before the scheduled procedure. He told me about the time Schmidt took an unfinished dose of the serum and how he became the Red Skull, but then he said something I don’t think I’ll ever forget: ‘The serum amplifies everything that’s inside, so good becomes great and bad becomes worse.’” His azure eyes flicked back over to (Y/N) while the corner of his mouth lifted into a humorless smile. “The second thought that ran through my head after seeing that broadcast was ‘Thank God that they didn’t get their hands on Erskine’s serum too.’”

Sensing his pensive mood, (Y/N) draped her legs over his lap so she could cuddle up against him and rested her head on his shoulder. “The government did what the government does best: purposefully overlooked the accomplishments of a Black man in favor of maintaining the status quo. It’s a tale older than America itself.”

“But…” Steve’s voice was filled with an uncertainty that she’d come to associate with him being a man out of time. “Sam was the one who decided to give the shield to the Smithsonian. Unless…did he mention if someone contacted him and convinced him to hand it over?”

“No, no one convinced him. Sam doesn’t talk about it much, but he suffers from something called imposter syndrome; it’s when you believe that you’re less capable than those around you, that any success you’ve had in your life is only the result of luck and that at the end of the day, you’ll be outed as a fraudster. Many, many people of all walks of life struggle with imposter syndrome but it particularly affects the BAME – Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic – community.”

The thumb that had been caressing her knee slowed as Steve carefully asked, “So, when Sam said that he felt like the shield belonged to someone else, what he really meant was that it belonged to someone who looked like me?”

(Y/N) nodded. “To you, you were only passing along a superhero name and a vibranium shield to the person you believed was meant to have them but to Sam, he was faced with accepting a mantle that reminded him of the atrocities of our country’s history and a future where he’d be the first and only Black man ever named Captain America. It’s a heavy burden to bear and in the end, Sam chose to put his well-being first.”

“I didn’t think that…I-I should’ve known…”

Sitting up, (Y/N) cupped Steve’s face and gently coaxed him to look at her, her heart breaking a little as she looked into his distraught eyes. “Sweetheart, none of this is your fault. You only did what you thought was right, and there’s no way that you could’ve known any of this on your own. Sam doesn’t blame you, so you shouldn’t go and start blaming yourself.” She gave him a sad sort of smile. “If only there were more people like you and Sam in the world…I guess I should count myself lucky that I have the both of you in my life.”

Her husband’s expression softened and he shook his head. “Nah, we’re definitely the lucky ones, baby.” His thumb and forefinger lightly grasped her chin and held her steady as he leaned forward to capture her lips in a loving kiss.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, (Y/N) spent the morning and much of the afternoon on a conference call with Greg and the editors going over the first draft of Assemble: The Unabridged History of the Avengers and while a freshly-inspired Steve worked into the evening on the cover art, (Y/N) set up Carina’s playpen in the garage and kept an eye on her daughter while she worked up a sweat with their suspended punching bag. Her time with the punching bag was when she allowed herself to reflect on the nightmares she experienced as a result of her PTSD; they were usually memories of all the losses she’d suffered at the hands of Thanos, playing over and over on a constant loop in her mind, but exercising helped her acknowledge and slowly push through them.

While she was taking a quick water break and checking Carina for signs of sleepiness, her cell phone began to play the tell-tale tune of Sam’s ringtone. “You hear that, Cari? Uncle Sam’s calling!” The infant clapped her little hands together and (Y/N) grinned as she reached for her phone, but she arched a brow in surprise when she saw that it was actually a FaceTime request; with a shrug, (Y/N) answered and was met with the sight of Sam’s withdrawn face. “Sam? What’s wrong, Sam?”

“It’s probably easier to tell you what isn’t wrong,” Her best friend sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Bucky and I went to Munich yesterday and got our asses handed to us by eight super-soldiers, he took me to Baltimore to meet an old man named Isiah Bradley and I got to learn that the Army once experimented on Black soldiers while trying to replicate the serum, Bucky got himself arrested because he missed a therapy session, and I was forced into an uncomfortable couple’s counseling session with Mr. Stares-A-Lot himself.”

“Wow, that was…a lot.”

“I’m sorry for interrupting your workout, (Y/N), but after the day I’ve had, I just really needed to see a friendly face.” Sam’s expression relaxed when he caught sight of Carina playing with her stuffed white wolf. “Two friendly faces, actually. How you doin’, cutie-pie?”

“Say ‘hi’ to Uncle Sam, lemon drop.” (Y/N) helped the infant wave her chubby hand at the screen and grinned when her best friend chuckled. “Hey, that got you to smile! Did you want to talk about it?”

Sam shook his head. “Nah, it’s okay. I’m too tired to go through it all again.”

Before (Y/N) could reply, Bucky appeared from behind Sam and gave her a half-wave. “Nice to see you again, doll. Is Samuel here tellin’ you all about my time in the slammer?”

“Bucky, are you all right?” She ignored the glares that both men were shooting one another and waved her hand in front of the camera to grab their attention. “Hey, if you guys stop doing that weird macho shit, you’ll realize I asked you a question.” Carina let out a particularly loud coo and (Y/N) glanced over at her with an apologetic smile. “Yes, Cari, that was a bad word that Mommy shouldn’t have said, but your uncles are driving Mommy insane right now.” She looked back at the screen and raised a pointed brow. “How are you feeling, Bucky?”

“Well, I feel better,” Sam interrupted as they walked out onto a sidewalk.

Bucky sighed in annoyance. “I feel awful, (Y/N), but thanks for asking.”

A police car’s siren blared through the phone’s speaker, ending as soon as it began but replaced with a familiar boastful voice. “Gentlemen! Good to see you again.” Instead of hanging up the FaceTime, Sam switched to a normal phone call after exchanging a look with Bucky and although (Y/N) was confused by his action, she listened closely as they approached John Walker. “Who were you talking to? Your girlfriend?”

“My best friend, actually. She was checking in on me, but she had to go.”

“(Y/N) (Y/L/N), right?” (Y/N)’s brows rose in surprise but she remained silent, mindful that the phone was on speaker. “I’ve studied the files of all the Avengers in preparation for taking up the mantle, in case I ever have to work alongside them. I sent her an email, you know, giving her my condolences and asking for her personal blessing to carry Steve’s shield, but I guess it must’ve gotten lost somewhere ‘cause I never heard back.”

“That’s because I sent that unopened email directly into the goddamn trash,” She muttered under her breath and heard Bucky cover his snort of amusement with a small cough.

“Look, if we divide ourselves, we don’t stand a chance and you guys know that.”

Sam sighed. “So, what do you got?”

“Well, the leader’s name’s Karli Morgenthau. We’ve been targeting civilians who’ve been helping Karli move from place to place.”

A new voice spoke up, and (Y/N) quickly recognized it as belonging to Lemar Hoskins, Walker’s partner known as Battlestar to the public. “They geo-tagged a location, then scrambled the signal. But our satellites have found their symbol popping up in various displaced communities all across Central and Eastern Europe.”

“We think she’s taking the medicine she just stole to one of those camps.”

Bucky snorted in derision, and (Y/N) could very-well imagine him rolling his eyes in plain view of Walker. “Well, there are hundreds of those all over the planet since the Blip, so I guess you’ll have to look real hard.”

“Good thing I have 20/20 vision, huh?”

“Where is she now, Walker? Do you know?”

“No, we don’t know, Bucky. It’s only a matter of time before we find out.”

“Things are really intense for you, aren’t they, Walker?”

(Y/N) listened to the heated exchange between Bucky and Walker with growing concern, and she was thankful when Sam interrupted them before they could escalate. “Take it easy. Look, Walker’s right. It is imperative that we find them and stop them, but you guys have rules of engagement and all kinds of authorization you have to get. We’re free agents. We’re more flexible, so it wouldn’t make sense for us to work with you.”

There was a moment’s pause before Walker replied, “A word of advice, then: Stay the hell out of my way.”

She could hear footsteps walking down the street and after a minute, the phone call was switched back to FaceTime and she saw Sam and Bucky’s concerned faces on the screen. “So, what do you think of the new Captain America?”

“I think that you two need to be careful around him,” (Y/N) answered honestly, perching herself on the garage’s workbench and shaking her head. “Something seems off with him. I mean, ‘targeting civilians’ was concerning enough, and then he basically threatened you both when you wouldn’t agree to work with him? I don’t know about either of you, but I’m even more grateful that he doesn’t have the serum than I was before.”

“Yeah, me too. Speaking of the serum, it looks like we’ll have to start there if we wanna gather more intel on these Flag Smashers.” Sam glanced over at Bucky walking beside him. “What are you thinkin’?”

“Well, I know what we have to do. When Isaiah said ‘my people’-”

“Oh, don’t take that to heart, that’s not what he meant.”

“No, he meant Hydra.” At Bucky’s statement, (Y/N)’s jaw dropped as she slowly realized what he was intending on doing. “Hydra used to be my people.”

Sam scoffed at Bucky’s implication. “Not a chance.”

“Walker doesn’t have any leads-”

“I know where you’re going with this, no.”

“He knows all of Hydra’s secrets. Don’t you remember Siberia?” Bucky shot an imploring look at (Y/N). “C’mon, doll, back me up here.”

(Y/N) bit her lip and carefully thought their less-than-ideal situation over. “It sounds like you don’t have much of a choice in the matter, but you need to make sure you’re mentally prepared to face him again. I remember Siberia, Bucky, but I also remember how he took control of you in Berlin.”

Sam looked over at Bucky with concern in his dark brown eyes. “So, you’re just gonna go sit in a room with this guy?”

“…Yes.”

With a slow nod, her best friend glanced between the super-soldier beside him and his phone screen. “Okay, then. We’re gonna go see Zemo.”

Despite the seriousness of their situation, (Y/N) couldn’t contain her huff of laughter. “Look at you two, already starting to work together like a team. Keep it up and you’ll figure all of this out in no time. Hey, maybe you’ll even end up becoming real friends!”

“You’ve got some imagination, doll; it’s no wonder why Steve fell head over heels for you,” Bucky remarked but managed to give her a half-smile. “Take care while we’re gone, okay?”

“I’ll give you a call as soon as we know more about what we’re dealing with.” Her best friend’s assured tone and the look of determination that was written across his features helped to ease some of her worry for the pair, and he smiled a little when she finally nodded. “We’ll see you soon, Booksmart.”

“Good luck, Birdbrain,” (Y/N) replied and when the FaceTime ended, she sighed and stared at her concerned reflection in the phone’s screen. “And stay safe.” She pocketed her phone and lifted Carina out of her playpen, giving the giggling infant a kiss on the forehead and tickling her stomach before handing her the stuffed white wolf. “You’re absolutely right, lemon drop. Your uncles are going to be okay because they’ve got each other’ backs. C’mon, let’s go check on Daddy and make sure he hasn’t fallen asleep on one of his easels again…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: The next chapter takes place in Delacroix, so buckle up for more angst and shenanigans! Thank you all so much for reading and commenting! I’ve created a Spotify playlist inspired by this series, and I’ll be updating it every time I upload a new chapter. Enjoy!

Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3ziGMhEsAw833GQ9eV44nR?si=6dfead09c76848d5

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Part III)

Stumblin’ In Book VII: “Superhero Snapshots” Masterlist

Stumblin’ In Book I: “The Winter Soldier” Masterlist

Tagging:  @mrs-obrien​​​​​​ @lahoete​​​​​​ @awkward117 @cminr @natdrunk​​​​​ @momc95​​​​​​ @savedbystyle​​​​​​ @miraculouscloud @awkwardnesshabitat​​​​​​ @marinettepotterandplagg​​​​​​ @mangosandmimosas @supersouthy @benakenalove​​​​​​ @brooke0297​​​​​​ @hufflepeople​​​​​​ @becausewelie​​​​​​ @outoftheregular​​​​​​​ @junipermurdock​​​​​​ @ladydmalfoy @mads-weasley​​​​​​ @username23345 @crist1216​​​​​​ @capswife​​​​​​ @lilmschild​​​​​​ @avngrsinitiative @crowleysqueenofhell​​​​​​ @y-napotat​​​ @mary1raven​​​​​​ @groovy-lady​​​​​​ @ljej95​​​​​​ @innersublimefury​​​ @prettysbliss​​​​​​​  

[tittyblade]

Oh ya I’ve heard Türkiye is having some elections today, how’s that going? :D

it’s on sunday!!! ive spent the entirety of this morning crying over election coverage LOL. this is the single most important event of my life. yk how every politician says the next election is the most important one so everyone should go out n vote? thats the situation here but quite literally.

on one hand you have islamic extremists (erdoğan. one of the “parties” that support him is literally formed from an extremist cult. the only reason they haven’t all been put on trial is bc erdoğan supports them and he’s only got the extremists’ support left. and also bc years back he declared a nationwide state of emergency and quickly passed multiple laws in succession where. he’s no longer the prime minister but “the sole leader” of turkey. yeah)

and on the opposition there’s a coalition of 6 parties, literally all the major left parties with some nationalists, with their joint candidate kılıçdaroğlu. CHP (the main opposition party) has been center left lately, but its the actual fuckin party that first turned turkey into a republic from a sultanate. its huge. compared to US politics the average left wing party is actually pretty fuckin left here LOL. and they havent won the govt since 1950s (last peaceful n prospering decades of turkey) AND. THEY ACTUALLY STAND A CHANCE. all the polls point towards kılıçdaroğlu winning the elections

and you have no idea how bad it’s been here for the last few years. god. there’s so many shit thats wrong in the country because of the current government. civillians getting arrested for tweets criticizing erdogan, not being able to afford anything, being unable to pay your rent, erdogan (WITH HIS SINGULAR DECISION) withdrawing from the istanbul convention, the femicides being the highest it has ever been since the entire history of the turkey, murdered religious minorities and murdered journalists, tens of thousands of people left alone to die after the earthquakes back in february. its pretty fucking scary living here unless you’re a cishet sunni muslim man.

everyone i know that can afford it has been fleeing the country. sometimes it feels like thats the only option you have unless you want to get killed as a 20 something year old trying to make ends meet. i’m only 20 yo myself and the past 8 years has brought me and everyone under 30 to such a place where the only thing we feel about the future is hopelessness. i feel like ive aged 10 years in the last year alone and i bet anyone thats lived under a similar govt can relate. my countrys politics alone has been robbing me of my youth and my will to live.

AND. DESPITE ALL OF THAT. i have hope for the very first time. i have hope for a better future now bc of the opposition candidate and i have faith in him to deliver his promises. everything thats happened since january he’s been dealing with with grace, and him + mayors from his party actually do shit.

so yeah. the entire course of turkey is gonna change this sunday. if we were to lose this would be the last democratic elections held (the last elections held, period) before erdoğan fully converted the country into an autocracy, and when kılıçdaroğlu wins its gonna become a socialist state, as socialist as it’s ever been since the 1950s. pretty fuckin big stakes

[shatar-aethelwynn]

To what "one-sided feud existing only in his mind", to what "hilarious anger", and to what "vitriol-spitting" are you referring, my dear? In our last interaction I was very polite and I tried earnestly (although in vain) to have a serious dialogue with you. But you have not appreciated my efforts for a dialogue in good faith and you attack me now with ridiculous claims. You also misrepresent grossly in your last posts my positions on a certain topic, in a way which is not particularly honest intellectually. I wonder why you act like this. Do you really need so desperately some attention and patting on your head from your friends, the great tumblr scholars? Moreover, permit me to say, my dear, that you are not in position to lecture me about proper critical use of sources and historical methodology. I say this because not only you made almost... 200 posts to defend against an obscure Arab nationalist author the historicity of the Biblical Exodus, but also because you tried to promote some months ago on this site as serious scientific paper a piece of creationist pseudoscience, which claimed that a "cosmic airburst" would have destroyed ancient "Sodom"! If I remember well, the backlash to this move of yours was so strong that even your eminent friends, who had tried to present you as authority in Biblical history, saw you eventually as liability and distanced themselves from you, despite the fact that their scholarly standards are not exactly the highest. Lol.

Reading comprehension really isn't you're strong suite is it my dear. Thank you for confirming you're stalking my blog and hate-reading though! I've also been polite, if amused, but your tone has been increasingly condescending. Expected I suppose if you are our old friend (3! years! this is so stupid!).

Let's see - 200 posts to defend against an author - hun, I was having fun with a book I came across that was still getting positive reviews that year. I didn't even finish because I got bored with how repeptitive it was. You of all people should understand the concept of hate reading. You do it so well. (Incidentally, you may want to take a break and come back in a few months, because your repetativeness is also starting to become boring. A break would solve that.)

As for Sodom, it was a legitimate question that I answered based on the information I had at the time I was tagged. After which someone (was that you too) said I was wrong and gave a source for a contradictory view, that can basically be summarized as "these people are wrong solely because they believe something in the Bible might have been true". And guess what, that was fine. Because, again, I understand the concept of nuance, and I don't claim to agree with the archeologists in question on their personal beliefs. The question was whether Sodom happened. I gave the two sites currently claimed for it. And I agreed that science could potentially prove both wrong in the future. That's how science and archaeology work. And I really don't understand why you would think my friends were distancing themselves from me on it. It was a short topic, not inside their fields, and they have lives outside this site that take their attention. Do you?

This behavior, by the way, is probably why anon asked if there was a feud. Text may be the worst format for conveying intention and tone but anyone can clearly read the condescension in yours.

You know what I find most amusing about this? Of the entire group of friends I'm actually the one most likely to need to reference Herodotus as a source ocassionally. But because I say he's not always right you assume I don't know how to use him, or that I'm not aware that Herodotean scholarship is a whole thing.

[badedramay]

i’ve been doing well, thank you for asking! and yeah i honestly think one of the most fascinating things for me to witness after finally engaging with pak drama twt is seeing just how intimately familiar the fans are with these people’s lives and subsequently how “in control” they are of curating an image for an actor out of their own fan analysis lol. i’ve watched dramas since i was a kid but never ventured into fandom for it until this year and so i feel like i’m generally lucky to mostly care about the art and not bother so much with whatever beef fans are making up between actors. like i had no idea until this year of the supposed sajal and mawra beef during aangan era and admittedly that one probably does have some weight to it given what mawra’s mom said, but it’s also been five years and one would hope both have matured enough by now to where it doesn’t matter anymore. apparently there is sajal and kubra beef that stems from that whole thing too and carried over into sinf-e-aahan? which to me seems unlikely bc i doubt a scripting choice for a nationalist propaganda project was ever meant to comment intimately on the details of alleged beef between two women. but khair, who knows. maybe there is something there and i’m simply too removed from the details to be aware of it. there’s i suppose also the matter of people feeling defensive of sajal specifically bc of her background, but she’s also not a child incapable of navigating her own relationships with people. either way, seeing fans this invested in the off-screen stuff honestly baffles me. what happened to just enjoying art 😭

Lol the Sahad era drama was...incredible. there was no escaping it. it peaked during Aangan times cuz it was around that time Sajal&Ahad were beginning to officially start of the "SaHad" journey and the fans were passionate af about them. Anyone in Mawra's place would've become the collateral damage; unfortunately at that time her "image" in the eyes of the standom wasn't great so she just got burnt a lot more. but yeah..the drama was real and it very much affected the people involved personally.

my observation through my years of being in the PakDrama fandom in my own consciously limited capacity is that the industry isn't huge to begin with. and it began to became bigger around the time social media was on rise. so, the online records were aplenty for the dedicated ones who wanted to get more "information" about their favs. I don't believe that's a phenomenon known only in the PakEnt industry fandom. fans wanting to know more about their faves by any means is common in all industries around the world; the business to be made from parasocial relationships is lucrative af. khair, social media just made it a LOT easier for fans to be in direct touch with their favs. a decade ago since the online fandom was smaller, celebs also found it a lot easier to get instant gratification from their fans by interacting with them on public posts or even private messages. with time the circle then extended to not just the celeb themselves but their family or friends or literally anyone close to them that was open enough to interact with hordes of anonymous fans all wanting to get close to their faves. it was for the most part a win-win situation for both parties involved - celebs got their fame, fans got their moment of feeling special.

until it wasn't. the smarter of the celebs realized early on that giving fans too much of their personal attention will end up negatively affecting them in the long run. so, they ended up limiting their social media presence to have a better control of it. the celebs that DIDN'T do it are the ones who get more in drama. SaHad is a very apt example cuz of how involved not just Sahad but also their families were. recently it's the whole Wahaj Ali fandom debacle. Bilal Abbas fans were also involved in a drama which from what i know was fed by Bilal himself. in all these three cases, a lot of encouragement either through direct correspondence or wilful ignorance of the happenings was given to the fans by the celebs. also, some of the celebs are bitten by the chronically online syndrome who just HAVE to share all of their lives on instagram and then cry about people commenting on it *coughhaniaasimcough*. so the struggles are plenty xD

one more factor of the industry being small is that everyone knows everyone. connections kahin na kahin se nikal aate hain. someone online will know someone who knows someone close to the celeb and bam. that's a whole channel of news. ab sahi ya galat? who cares. fans who want drama will extract it outta there kaise bhi karke.

[mithliya]

I think there's also something to be said about how the whole discourse around indigeneity has become chic in the past few years to the point where you now see zionists claim that zionism is an "indigenous" movement... except that the early zionist thinkers very explicitly talked about colonising Palestine.

And also, it's exactly like you said, the term "indigenous" only makes sense in the context of being specifically oppressed for being indigenous. Indian Christians and Muslims are oppressed by Hindutva, and those Hindutva see them as traitors who adapted foreign religions. You could call Hindutva an "indigenous movement" the way some people now use the word indigenous lol.

yeah a lot of people argue that zionism is an indigenous movement despite the fact that palestinians have been proven, over and over again, to be indigenous to palestine. while many jewish people do have middle eastern ancestry specifically in the levant region, enough evidence shows that palestinians' ancestors are of the people who never left the land, whereas jewish people that left (ofc this doesnt apply to the mizrahim that have been in palestine the entire time) have been linked to levantine ppl from 3000 or so years ago and thus have distant ties to the land. framing it as an indigenous movement is truly disingenuous, as it implies either that palestinians are not indigenous or that jewish zionists are MORE indigenous, both being blatantly false.

hindutva are absolutely not an indigenous movement considering there are actual indigenous people in india (adivasi) and they often face racism, casteism, and colourism by hindu nationalists as well.

but yeah this is why framing 'indigenous' as inherently meaningful, oppressed, and good is ridiculous. in germany ive seen people use the acronym "BIPOC" many times and its like.. okay and who are the I in the BIPOC? who are the indigenous people in germany? oh right...germans or "aryans" as they used to call themselves. so wtf does it mean in the context of germany? no idea. and it seems none of the people who use it here have any idea either! it makes absolutely no sense but people treat "indigenous" as = poc from a colonized country or a country with a large settler population and more often than not, they think "indigenous" only refers to indigenous americans. but im indigenous, from bahrain, and i have nothing to do with indigenous americans. some people are indigenous from india, and they have nothing to do with indigenous americans, etc. meanwhile some groups of people that are "indigenous" to their lands are absolutely not oppressed, in fact they're often the more privileged ones! which is why i think people really need to be more clear and not play into this intentional vagueness. "indigenous" alone doesn't mean much. it isn't a race or an ethnicity.

[canmom]

pls make a post abt how textual trans girl zuko is, it's everything to me but i haven had the strength to write it out for years 🙇‍♀️

lol i deleted that post bc i didn't want to get in a fight with the friend who reblogged that post about transmasc zuko but sure, ok

it's not super complicated really. like i don't think when it comes to 'trans headcanon' there is like, a 'reality' out there, zuko isn't a real person who can be definitely 'trans' or not, he's a symbol who we fill with our own ideas of personhood when we encounter the story. rather it's whether a reading is resonant or not, which is going to depend on the reader and what they can project on a character. I expect my reading will be more sympathetic with trans girls ;p

all the same... zuko is portrayed as being raised in a fascist society (seemingly most modelled on Imperial Japan, as interpreted by a couple of American liberals writing for a kids' TV network) which values military bravado and individual displays of skill, and exercises corporal punishment for 'dishonourable' behaviour; all of these are part of the construction of masculinity in our world. and we watch Zuko try very hard to live up to the values of this society (despite being, well, very bad at it, to the point he increasingly becomes an ineffectual joke villain), since he has been cut off from all kinds of affection outside of Iroh since his mother was exiled. Zuko is pressured to believe that this will earn the love denied by his evil father who very publicly and sadistically scarred his face. this is all pretty straightforwardly textual.

now these values aren't necessarily portrayed as intrinsically masculine in what we can 'learn' about the fictional Fire Nation, at least insofar as Azula is able to embody them. but it's not out of the question for fascist and nationalistic societies to provisionally accept cafab gender nonconformity in a limited number of cases, as examples like Violette Morris indicate; if we look further back we get things like the medieval 'one sex' model and occasionally beliefs that like, sexual anatomy would somehow follow behaviour. so we could say Azula is probably an exceptional case - the footloose-pastiche and beach episodes illustrate that the Fire Nation definitely has some pretty conventional gendering going on, and the vast majority of authority figures in the Fire Nation are men. iirc they establish that descent is not rigidly patrilineal but the Fire Lord can name an heir; that said all the Fire Lords we see have been men.

so. it's not automatically that Zuko's arc of struggling to reject the values of the imperialist Fire Nation must be read as a struggle with gender given the text; however it is obviously quite resonant insofar as like, the common egg experience of like, trying desperately to live up to the hell of death cult masculinity before eventually it breaks you and you have to figure out another way to be. zuko's 'crime' in his father's eyes, the thing that dishonours him, is not merely speaking out of turn but doing so to advocate for something other than "maximum death all the time"; essentially, acting too effeminate! Fire Lord Ozai has to very publicly burn his 'son' because otherwise the generals would be like, wow boss, your son is such a fag, must be something up with the royal line.

(meanwhile Azula succeeds on the terms of the 'male' power structure, she's a prodigy girlboss etc.; but perhaps part of her issue is that she knows her power is fraught, she's aware of the abyss if she ever steps out of line especially after seeing what happened to Zuko (with her willing assistance). we could easily imagine the suspicion that would exist if military authority is considered men's domain; that's why she works so hard to terrify everybody around her. she's also desperate for recognition; as much as it's not fully convincing, her breakdown in the final episode comes when she's named Fire Lord only for her dad to put himself on a new higher rank of 'Phoenix King', leaving her out of the big showy genocide he's about to perform, and she realises she's just a tool to him rather than someone he truly sees as a successor.)

now let's go to the first season, when zuko is chasing the gaang all around the map and failing to catch them constantly, and dressing up at night to do things that his society wouldn't sanction (ok it's a ninja outfit not like a dress or something but still, i'll take what i can get), while getting in fights with a big buff guy like Zhao for whom living up to the standard masculinity is assured and easy. the idea of trying to express femininity in some tentative way and having the door viciously slammed shut on your fingers and like, flinching back and going for tryhard masculinity in the wake of that traumatic experience is one that's gonna be viciously familiar for too many camab gender variant people.

later we see zuko's arc in the tea shop in Ba Sing Se - ok, it is on one level just like, learning to be a decent person and there's a somewhat unconvincing hetero romance subplot in there, but you can absolutely read zuko's struggle there in gender terms. like. it would be so easy to imagine him trying out a maid outfit during that arc, right? ...no? oh huh.

later still, you have his failed relationship with Mai while living in the Fire Nation in s3... Zuko's trying so hard to do a heterosexuality bless him, and he just has no idea. it's like, papering over the 'break' from society that has developed, so obviously doomed to failure.

but it's also kind of the case that i just see an angsty bishie-adjacent (tbf zuko is merely anime, not especially bishie) 'male' character and i'm like mmhmm, nice egg you got there. ultimately it doesn't really matter whether you read Zuko as trans woman or a gay femboy or just an angsty sorta guy; it's a narrative that simply resonates with like, stuff we experience around the crazy contradictory construction of gender we have to live under - it's material that's very easy to pick up and run with if you're in the mood.

so the impetus for the deleted post was like, if (in my reading) zuko's arc is so obviously about rejecting the values we associate with masculinity at great personal cost to define a narrative on 'his' own terms; sure, that's totally something the transmascs gotta struggle too with from their own particular zone and with its own difficulties, i can't speak to that, and ultimately these gender categories are totally incoherent and fake; but like, 'zuko is a trans guy' is not the obvious reading that suggests itself to me! and i think if Korra had the guts to just be like oh yeah and Zuko's a girl now that would be based as hell, but bryke would never be that cool in a million years, so it's just something you gotta insert yourself if you're in the mood.

[bean-na-farraige-agus-foraoise]

Druids ain’t shit and here’s why.

Straight from the Pond- here’s a lesson from your friendly neighborhood historian.

It’s a long post so the history lesson is under the cut. 

Druidic “history” (or pseudohistory rather) actually begins with early renaissance politics. 

Basically Italy is dominating politics and religion by being able to call back to an ancient history that led directly into the formation of the centralized Catholic church. Surprising nobody who's familiar with European history- the German states want in on that action but they don't really have that direct line linking them to antiquity beyond their conquering by Rome- so, like any good 15th century academics, they create that link by just making shit up. 

So they look back at ancient roman writings, and see mention of druids, and also realize that they actually don't know fuck all about them, there's no records of them beyond a few classical authors- and for the record, classical authors are NOTORIOUSLY unreliable, there are entire graduate level seminars dedicated to teaching people how to read through ancient Roman propaganda, almost every druid I have ever met has taken classical authors at face value, anyway I digress, they just start making up a history of the druids, German lands used to be populated by Celts, and they create these mystical druids who serve as the direct precursor to The Church in these areas, like they forge documents and everything so when Italy goes "oh yeah since when?" they have something to hold up as a "gotcha" - they fashion statues and hide them in crypts as further evidence. It’s wild. 

So, France sees that the German states are becoming more politically popular within the HRE (Holy Roman Empire) because of these druid stories, and so they go "Hey Celts used to live in France too... we should have druids"- and they create druid stories. Scotland at the time is very close with France politically and they go "Hey us too, we're still Celts,” and then it spreads to Wales, and then England. Ireland is mostly staying out of druid nonsense- like in this period of the OG pseudohistories Ireland is like "this is disgusting we don't want druids" so like all the writings in Ireland in this period on druids are like "yeah the Church HATES druids"

Things quiet down for a little bit, because the stories are established, the cards have been played, whatever, but then Neo-Classicism and the Enlightenment- and now suddenly it's cool to have ancient history again - but like... Britain has "we got conquered by Rome" or "hey a few centuries ago people were saying we had druids?”; so naturally the more nationalistic go with druids....which is how we get, Iolo Morganweg.  Iolo's real name is Edward Williams but he insisted on going by his "bardic name"- bc druids.  Williams was a Welsh antiquarian- who is in some scholastic circles considered the father of “modern” druidry.  Williams literally named his son Taliesin after the bardic poet behind the Poems of Taliesin which is frequently in association with the Mabinogi in Brythonic texts. To pull from the wiki on this asshole: 

[he made] claims that ancient Druidic tradition had survived the Roman conquest, the conversion of the populace to Christianity, the persecution of bards under King Edward I, and other adversities. His forgeries develop an elaborate mystical philosophy, which he claimed as a direct continuation of ancient Druidic practice. Williams's reportedly heavy use of laudanum may have been a contributing factor

Yeah.... just... yeah. So not only did he forge like hella documents, which today in the 21st century, over 100 years after he was revealed as a fraud, are still more popular than the originals- but he also is the reason that ogham is like that. Williams created a ‘bardic alphabet’ based on combining Scandinavian runes and extant ogham - we are still wading through his bullshit trying to fix ogham. 

And this brings us to the Celtic Twilight...... 

To quote @liminalblessings​, “And a bunch of noodle fuckers decide "hey, we didn't bastardize the Irish enough for the last however long.... We should do more of that."” But for those of you not familiar with the term, it's a nationalistic pan-Celtic movement that wanted to like, make the Celts in vogue again? but like their idea of the Celts as "noble savage” - because the modern era was scary. At this point, Pan-Celtic Nationalism is starting to rise as pushback against British colonialism in Celtic nations. Unfortunately it's heavily reliant on the Druid myth as like.... A foundational shared cultural history between the surviving Celtic nations. The point largely is, though, "look at us. We should all be sticking together because we're the same / cousins / brothers". Which leads to a L O T of Celtic culture from various countries kind of getting.... molded into one singular idea- which is USUALLY what we think of today when we think of Celts. Basically everything gets branded as Irish because the Irish were “pure” and a “separate racial identity” as opposed to the Scots and Welsh. It took that idea of a pan-Celtic singularity, and then went ham with it mostly on Irish pre-Christian stuff, and as it occurred not too long after Williams’ fuckery, it really cemented those forgeries and psuedohistories in the cultural memory. And Williams wasn’t exposed as a fraud until after the Celtic Twilight had died down.

Now... Yeats, we all know Yeats- some people recommend his writings for learning about the fairies. DO NOT LISTEN TO THOSE PEOPLE. Yeats makes up an entire tree calendar, and also files all Scottish fairy lore under the “Irish” tab because he’s part of the Celtic Twilight and didn’t you know that everything Celtic is actually Irish? Fuck this guy. #yeetyeats

Enter... Robert Graves- destroyer of histories and all around fuckwit. Graves maked up an ENTIRE religious notion around a mother goddess and shit. And like, the irony of that is the people he supposedly went to originally were like lol dude you're a fucking idiot none of this is real. But he published it anyways and of course it got taken seriously. And then there's a lot of reverse etymology at this point which is just.... really bad linguistics. And because of Graves’ white goddess + said bad linguistics by others, you get Danu.(Danu is a whole thing, please shoot me an ask if you want a post about all of that nonsense). 

So.... Gerald Gardener.... to quote @liminalblessings​ again- “didn’t have a direct role in druidism, except he kind of did.”  See, Gardner had a good friend who was hella interested in the Celtic twilight. Said friend was hella inspiried by Gardner's "recreation" of old British trad witch traditions... But he didn't jive with the old British trad witch traditions. HE jived with Irish Druidry. So while Gardner's doing HIS thing, his friend's doing the modern Druid thing- heavily drawing from Gardner's own work but "making it more historically Druid" Except, as you may have picked up- there is no such thing as “historically druid” that can be reconstructed. Basically he can only pull from Williams, but because he had issues with with the old 15th century on stuff, up to the Twilight era (despite those being his sources) so he tries to distance himself from the earlier movements and leans hella heavy into Gardner's work as a result. Which is, if you've ever wondered, why Wicca and Druidry have such incredibly similar ritual structures and beliefs.

SO, this guy starts the Druid Order, decides that he’s gonna like pull his teachings from Williams- but he's also gonna say that Williams has nothing to do with his druidry because y'know, Williams has relatively recently been revealed as a fraud. This guy goes through the grueling process of ripping off his best bud gardner founding Druidry, right. So The Druid Order has this rebranding in 1951, that lauds the “history of the druids” as written by Williams but simultaneously rejects Williams saying “yeah we have nothing whatsoever to do with that guy.” Mix into this narrative, Gardener’s “burning times” bullshit, and now not only do we have mythical pseudohistorical druids, but a rewrite of Williams’ “the druids survived conversion” which then turned into - “The druids were heavily persecuted by the church and survived a horrible burning times but despite this there’s a tradition of continuous druidic belief.” Here begins the bullshit known as “vestiges of pagan thought”- which took actual historians not even a decade to disprove, and yet still circulates in pagan circles, because nobody picks up a fucking book.  Theoretical Folkloric archaeology became very popular at this time, which postulates (incorrectly) that all folk traditions and folklore absolutely stems from Pagan times and is 100% the Christianization of pagan practices and thoughts- which is not at all true. (Not-so-friendly reminder that Eostre? DOESN’T FUCKING EXIST. STOP FALLING FOR A JOKE MADE BY A MONK)

Td;lr so far- the druids went from 

the Catholic clergy before the Catholics existed 

to 

a religious group that survived conversion

to

druids survived an intense and violent persecution 

And now? In this our 21st century? 

Well.... druidic organizations today tend to still push these ahistorical narratives, that buy into the pagan persecution complex.... and several of these organizations also have known racists and terfs on their recommended reading lists. And while some organizations have made attempts to become more historically accurate- but the end result is usually.... bad. It tends to result in them using a source from like 1960 that’s been disproven 1000 times since by other historians to go “look a historian agrees with us!” rather than like... keep up with current research trends and academic standards. Druids also tend to be hostile to the syncretism of the Irish church which is just..... so fucking dumb. Don’t worship gaelic deities if you can’t accept that our lore are Christian texts about pagan beliefs. 

So yeah..... druids ain’t shit and I can prove it historically. I am also more than willing to send anyone links to full length books on the history of druids if you want to learn more. 

[gayregis]

do you think the netflix series will stick to the books messages of anti war, family and friemdships? i hope not because those messages are what makes me like the books so much, also i hope the netflix fandom don't memefy the stories like they did with renfri, her story is supposed to be tragic and show how revenge corrupts people but the fandom just treats it like "uwu bisexual feral sword woman wants to kill big baddie wizard hehe"

correction: it's supposed to be “i hope so,” not “i hope not,” lol i can't spell

sadly, i don’t think that the netflix adaptation will stick to the themes of the books at all and here’s why.

first reason why: ciri

in the first season, they took out ciri and geralt meeting in brokilon. that is just the most unforgivable action they could have taken. that scene is literally what defines the entire series being about ciri, the child of destiny, geralt’s daughter who is the whole point of everything. they gave her more screentime, but less significance. she also is played by 18 yo freya allen who is acting as a 14 yo ciri, which blurs how she is supposed to symbolize childhood. instead, they went for a spunky sort of young teenage girl, which ciri becomes later (in the care of yennefer and during around the time of thanedd), but it is significant that she was a CHILD when cintra fell to nilfgaard, because it traumatized her for life and is the point of no return for her. because geralt thought that by fathering her, he would introduce her to death, but instead, the opposite occured - by deferring her, she was introduced to death. ciri loses her innocence, she loses the abilty to be a child. now she will continue to fixate on revenge for the entire saga, until she loses everything, absolutely everything. the witcher is a tragic story but it only manages to have this story because it is dominated by this theme of a lost childhood, surrounded by themes of family, vulnerability, revenge, destruction, violence... 

in the netflix series, we receive approximately none of this. ciri’s trauma is more treated as a “wake up call” because she’s such a “privileged princess” who doesn’t know about or care that her beloved grandmamma committed mass genocide (what???). this is treated like something ciri needs to overcome, thus it is actually a good thing that she is seeing people being murdered left and right in the name of imperialist conquest! 

second reason why: geralt

geralt in the books is a kind person. he is a pacifist. his profession is to kill, he ocassionally punches people so hard they die (he did this to save his best friend from being sliced open), and other acts of badassery, but inside, he does not want to kill and is opposed to it. this is the man that refused to slay a giant bug-like monster because he didn’t feel it was necessary (the witcher equivalent of trapping a house spider in a glass and slipping a piece of paper under it, then releasing it outside, instead of squashing it with your sandal). this is the man that felt himself unworthy to be yennefer’s lover, because he was afraid he couldn’t feel love in the same capacity she could. this is the man who pushed his best friend away on a dangerous quest because he was terrified that he’d be harmed and he’d suffer, and it would be his fault. and as mentioned, this is the man that deferred his daughter, his daughter who he genuinely loved and wanted to protect no matter what, his daughter who he legitimately raised a conflict with the queen of brokilon over, because he was terrified that he would bring violence and death into her life. this geralt is an introspective, pragmatic man. he cares deeply about the welfare of others, and the only way he can even do his job is to justify it though morality and codes of conduct which he makes up himself because he is so obsessed with not harming the innocent. he spares and befriends many “monsters” (post-conjunction creatures) and only slays the ones that genuinely pose a threat to the innocent and are usually are not creatures capable of rational thought. in the first book in the voice of reason 5, geralt literally states that he won’t kill innocent creatures.

and he continues this philosophy throughout:

he doesn’t kill dragons:

he advocates for dudu’s innocence:

he only was wary of regis because he was mistaken and thought he was going to harm dandelion in this moment:

in the netflix adaptation of the witcher, what is the first thing that we see him do? kill a monster brutally and without remorse. he doesn’t talk about his motivations behind it or why he felt justified to kill it, or why the monster was a danger in the first place. he just kills it and this violence defines him. later in the show, we see him antagonize and mock torque (when in the books he asked dandelion NOT to do just that) and he also punches dandelion right in the stomach. even when geralt was the most mad at dandelion in the books, he never did physical harm to him. ever.

the netflix show is representating a very different man. some have argued that they will try to develop him later on, but that is too late. geralt in the books was a good person from the very beginning for a reason.

third reason why: cahir.

the anti-war and anti-imperialist themes of the books hinge upon the concept of universal humanity and understanding that violence has its own motivations and reasons. cahir i think is a very good example of how the witcher saga comments on the effects of nationalist sentiment / patriotism. 

cahir in the books is a teenager or very young adult during the massacre of cintra (since he was no older than 25 in baptism of fire). even though he was also young and doing this only because it what was expected of him and he was intending to bring honor to his family, that does not change the effect that he has on ciri as a child. he enters her nightmares as an exaggerated version of what he was, even though he was scared, too. this demonstrates how impressionable youth are misguided into the military and people are made unaware of just how much violence they ensue. 

cahir is built up as this nightmarish figure, this horrifying man that ciri wants revenge upon more than anything else, and THEN he is revealed to also be a terrified youth. underneath the helmet, there was a terrified young man. that is an incredibly powerful image and metaphor.

and what did the witcher netflix do? ... well...

cahir shows his face, he doesn’t have the symbolism of his imposing helmet anymore. he’s much older, eamon farren is 35 years old, 15 older than cahir canonically is, so he’s not someone who has had nationalist ideals imposed upon him unfairly by his parents and society, but rather a full adult who is established and making his own decisions fully in his own control. in the books, he stops pursuing ciri once she escapes, because he has a mental breakdown from the stress of his society and family’s expectations of success, and fear of harsh punishment he will receive. he goes to prison in the imperial capital for a year for failing. in the netflix series, he stops at nothing to get ciri, chasing her down constantly and enlisting the help of sorcerers, a doppler... it’s a whole evil entourage. cahir is not the vulnerable and noble-at-heart young man that he was in the books.

in the end, these are things that are too late to change now. these things can’t be developed upon to “fix” them. ciri cannot suddenly receive her character establishment as a child. geralt cannot suddenly become a caring father who has cared about protecting ciri since day one. cahir cannot suddenly become a young man influenced by his jingoistic society who was only in full plate armor because his parents told him to. these things are so essential to their characters that they are begun to be established immediately.

and yeah everything’s going to get memed on just like they did with renfri. no one discusses the elves’ situation in dol blathanna seriously, they just like laughing at how jaskier called them “pointy.” ciri isn’t discussed at all by the fandom except for being a token baby character. it’s dark times

[scarletwitching]

just curious, why aren’t u reading comics anymore? Is it cause wandas not in anything?

So, Ike Perlmutter... is bad.

This is hard to explain, not because I don’t know why I quit but because I cannot recall why I didn’t quit earlier. I guess it was the Spiegelman thing that did it, though that’s confusing because I remember quitting in July, not August. (2019 was 87 years ago, so who knows.) Sina Grace’s post had gone up that same summer. There was other stuff too. Things built on each other until I felt like I couldn’t justify it anymore.

It was probably inevitable. Or at least, it feels inevitable now. I considered it after the Northrop Grumman incident, but that was cancelled so fast that I didn’t even have time to process it. Things like that kept happening. I’d get mad about something, then it would whoosh by. But it was all chipping away at me. And it chipped and it chipped until one day, I was done. What’s that quote? Liking falling asleep, slowly and then all at once.

A couple of months after I quit, there was some internal role shifting that I don’t understand fully to this day, but was treated as “Feige is in charge of the comics now.” There was a lot of relief in the fandom at the time, and I remember thinking this should make me want to reconsider, it should make me want to at least wait and see if things changed. But I never seriously entertained the idea. Well over a year later, I couldn’t tell you what, if anything, changed.

Regardless, some things aren’t going to change. Did you see that photo of the guy storming the US Capitol holding zip ties? He had a Punisher logo on his chest. I’m not gonna argue about the political implications of that character or how much Marvel could actually do to put the genie back in the bottle. I’m more thinking about how, as superheroes have come to dominate pop culture, conservatives and liberals have both started adopting their iconography more and more. Remember that Dan Crenshaw ad? And the ICE tweet? I hate that shit.

The thing people love to do in this situation is insist everyone who disagrees with them is “misinterpreting” the characters and stories, but I don’t know how tenable that position is. I won’t pretend I don’t know why fascist insurrectionists love these characters. On the flip side, I can’t imagine an argument for why the person I saw call Amy McGrath “the real life Captain Marvel” is missing the point. I’d say they’re bang on the money, and I don’t mean that as a compliment. The white nationalists who think they’re vigilantes are obviously the worst (by several magnitudes). I’m not saying the cheesy liberal shit is the same as fashy right wing shit, just that I’ve grown exhausted with the way that society at large engages with these characters.

Is that the reason I quit reading Marvel comics? No, but it is a reason I haven’t started again. This stuff has become so obnoxious and omnipresent that it has tainted my feelings about the source material. Maybe part of my annoyance is that I know so much about the history of this meaningless nonsense that when I see people oversimplify it in order to slot them neatly into their own political views, I know it’s bullshit. Because it’s never as clear-cut as people make it out to be. No, Magneto was not based on Malcolm X, but yes, the Avengers kind of are ICE. But only that one time. (Fucking Hickman.)

It’s not just the general audience either. People in the supposedly enlightened part of this fandom downplay and excuse (and make snide jokes about) actual, non-fictional US war crimes under the guise of defending a fictional character. Do some people around here have any self-awareness about how embarrassing they are? It is vile the shit some of y’all will say with your whole chest, as if it’s completely divorced from the real world. The level of historical revisionism, the literal neocon talking points I have seen trotted out and presented as antiracism. I am begging certain people to PLEASE talk to an Iraqi. One (1) Iraqi. Any Iraqi. (Okay, maybe not any Iraqi.)

Actually, forget that. I don’t want to burden a single victim of US imperialism with some of y’uns, especially since you have proven time and again you cannot be reasoned with. Does that stuff affect my willingness to to buy Marvel comics? Yeah, it does. The fans may not be the company’s fault, but this attitude that real people’s suffering is just an exotic backdrop that doesn’t need to be seriously engaged with came straight from them.

More than anything, I’ve been thinking a lot about Capitalism (lol, of course, I have) and how I engage with this awful system I am forced to live in. Disney sucks. We all know it. The comic industry is exploitative. We all know it. How much do I really want to support them instead of giving my money directly to independent creators? How much more watered down, neoliberal, “more female drone operators” art do I need to experience in my life?

I’m not calling for a boycott or whatever. I don’t pretend to know how other people should live their lives. I’m not even sure how I should live my life. I just know that it’s been good for me to step back and evaluate what I spend my money on and how I feel about art that doesn’t live up to my values. Will I come back into the fold with a healthier attitude and more insight than I had before? Dunno. Will I eventually want to catch up on Immortal Hulk? Probably, but I’m guessing I’ll get it from the library when I do.

[bisluthq]

I don't understand why many people on this blog don't become fans of someone who is similar to you in political and activist thinking. Because you only know how to complain about Taylor all the time, you accuse a simple song of being nationalist. Realize that they are probably activists, so why not try to be fans of people like that too? I've always been a practical person, if something bothers me capable of hurting my values, I won't be a fan of the person. Now you call yourself a fan and keep bothering you all the time, wanting her to become something you want.

No one here cares lmao because we don’t follow celebs for their politics. It literally doesn’t matter to us. Her job is to dance around and look hot and sing dope songs. I still like Carrie Underwood even tho she’s a whole ass right leaning anti masker. I’m not reliant on Carrie’s opinions on masks to make up my mind about whether I like her music and little workout app or not because the two things aren’t related in any way.

We all have different lines of behavior beyond which we can’t like… forgive a person or vibe with them but if you’re only following people you think are politically on the exact same page as you, that’s sorta bigoted imo and you’re also setting yourself up for disappointment. People are allowed to have their own opinions, their own ideologies and their own worldviews.

For me these ladies are nice and haven’t crossed any of my lines.

Would we agree on everything? No lol but they’re not my friends my homie and even with friends like you should try have a spectrum of opinions you are okay with, especially when what’s being discussed isn’t like fundamental human rights but like… fiscal policies, the size of government, infrastructure, the best environmental policies and like how education/health care work. It’s very infantile to think that disagreeing on how much people should be taxed is a reason to fall out with someone imo. Your opinion is just one opinion. I have a friend who’s based in Sweden and like her opinions on COVID are not mine lmao like this girl wanted herself and her kid to have it last year because she just wanted antibodies and she loved the Swedish response (ie no response). I disagree. But she’s still my friend like who fucking cares - it’s her fucking opinion not mine?

[girllovescomic]

Winter Begonia episode 2 recap

This episode is another beautifully shot, well-acted by all the actors involved.  We get more insight on our main characters, including Er Nainai, a showcase of Shang Xirui’s creative genius, his unwillingness to kiss ass and kowtow to authorities, Cheng Fengtai’s understanding of our artist and his willingness to protect him when the occasion arises, which draws some criticism from his wife. And lastly we get a glimpse at the world of politics and entertainment congregating in Beiping, where Nationalist ministers and warlords vie for power while claiming to fight the growing Japanese threats, and entertainers must thread lightly not to buck tradition and be caught in the middle of this chaotic environment.

 Ok, starting from now I will be using acronyms to talk about our lovebirds  BFF.

We kick off the second episode right where we left off.  President Zheng goes to check out what is the cause of the commotion and our dapper daddy, Cheng Fengtai equally intrigued follows, but not before telling lil’ sis to stay put. 

 He doesn’t understand what could have caused the audience, which was enjoying the performance to suddenly switch and jeer.  President Zheng explains that Shang Xirui changed the lyrics and the opera, going against the rule set by Beijing Opera Mafia erm... I mean Association/community, and they are punishing him for it. Basically, our lil penguin does not play by the rule set by these boring fuddies and they are intent on crushing him.

He goes on to say that SXR is an outsider and a rebel who does whatever pleases him, much to the consternation of the established Beiping clique.  

CFT does not see the issue in him changing the opera since it would be boring if he did the same thing as others.  In short, he thinks being an innovator is a cool thing to do.  Zheng replies that because CFT was Westernized he doesn’t understand the proprieties of Beiping Opera. Being a lone wolf against the majority will draw him the ire of the mainstream.  Hmmm... sounds like someone... 

Cheng Fengtai indeed comments that him and SXR are kindred spirits, since they are both outsiders who buck to the system, which President Zheng is quick to deny, but you can tell that is exactly what he is thinking and Cheng knows.  He adds that giving 50% of their profits to the anti-Japanese effort is a small price to pay to ensure peace and longevity in their businesses and country. Zheng bemoans that SXR antics messed up his possible deal with CFT and leaves angrily.  

CFT sees one of the ruffians get a tea kettle and throw the hot liquid onto SXR, who remains the consummate professional continuing to sing despite the mishap.  CFT walks toward the stage to ask the man who threw the hot liquid why he did that.  

The man replies that SXR messed with Yang Guifei, to which CFT replies that if there is someone to blame for messing with Yang Guifei, it would be her lecherous father-in-law who forced her to divorce his son, go to a nunnery and then become his concubine.  OMG, this is too funny! 

The man tells CFT to mind his business and attempts to climb the stage to probably harm SXR, which CFT stops, telling the ruffian that he has two options: to either listen to the end of the show or get the f out.  The ruffian who doesn’t seem to know that CFT is a big shot throws a right cross onto his beautiful face.  Oh no bish, you didn’t! CFT says this has been a long time someone dare to hit him.  He hits the man back and is roughed up by the man’s crew.  

The theater manager finally steps in (took you long enough) and fight off the ruffians.  CFT asks the manager why he didn’t step him earlier, which the manager feels wronged, informing CFT that he had spotted the ruffians who apparently are well-known gangsters,  but since they didn’t seem to target the VIP area, he didn’t take actions.  This does not please CFT who reminds him about the first floor where the main audience and the performers are located and could have been endangered.  Cha Cha’er runs to check on her brother’s well-being while the manager brings the ruffians to let them know they messed with the wrong man (CFT).  While this is all happening, the opera troupe is still doing their performance, not missing a beat.  The manager urges SXR to end the performance since the entire audience is gone.  CFT reminds him that he is still there, along with his lil sis and since he took a punch for SXR, he better continue his performance.  He sits down with Cha Cha’er and looks on, while having flashback of his mother, who apparently used to perform the same opera, Drunken Beauty for him.  

The person in charge of his costumes tells SXR that the dress is ruined because of the tea, which apparently left a stain and smell.  SXR is chided by one of his troupe member for changing the lyrics, leading to the disturbance.  SXR replies that how is he supposed to know if something is going to work if he doesn’t perform, and ooph, I feel this in my musician soul. He gets up, asking for some wine and spits it onto the dress.  I guess its to remove the stain, but it apparently does not work.  The theater’s manager is walking with CFT and Cha Cha’er through the backstage area and takes him to SXR suite.  He announces to SXR that he has a visitor, which makes the singer to gulp the wine in his mouth.  This is the first time either one are meeting in the flesh and I swear you can feel the attraction in the air. SXR in his beautiful makeup meeting the debonair Westernized businessman.  Sparks are flying guys and I feel a little hot under the collar.  

CFT tells the singer that he must have been shocked by everything while SXR thanks him for stepping in when he did. He apologizes for causing the nasty bruise on CFT beautiful face, which the debonair is surprised the singer even noticed, considering he never stopped performing.  SXR informs him that as performers they are used to such things and are trained never to step off the stage until the last note.  Best girl Xiao Lai comes in to inquire about the bruise on SXR head that was caused by Cha Cha’er perfect throw.  CFT apologizes on behalf of his little sister, to which the guilty party adds an apology, calling SXR “Jiějiě”aka elder sister, mistaking him for a girl.  Oh girl, I understand the confusion.  CFT corrects her that the person standing in front of him, may look like a beautiful girl, but she should call him Gege. SXR tells her that she is right to call him Jiejie since he has not removed his makeup, therefore he can be seen as a woman. This part is so comical that even La Yuehong, one of the troupe members chuckles. 

Does Cha Cha’er sees her Gege’s heart eyes?

CFT offers a ride home, which SXR turns down since he has to move all of his stuff out of the theater since this will be his last performance at Huibin and will look elsewhere to perform.  The manager feels slighted, to which SXR lets him know, in a very subtle way that he didn’t do his job to stop the disturbance and if it wasn’t for CFT, the ruffians probably would have harmed him. The manager offers to compensate as long as SXR finishes his obligation with the theater, since he doesn’t have anyone else.  The singer agrees to do so without asking for more money, but only if the manager agrees to let him do Drunken Beauty in his last show, which the manager agrees.  SXR apologizes to CFT for boring him with tedious backstage squabbles.  CFT understands and tells him he is leaving.  In a gesture of gratitude for CFT standing up for him, he asks Xiao Lai to let CFT borrow one of his best looking coat, since CFT apparently lost his jacket in the scuffle.

 CFT thanks him, to which SXR tells him not to mention those words to him in the future, since he owes a great debt of gratitude for agreeing to repair his costume to the cost of his business and for being attacked in the theater because of him. Xiao Lai buttons the coat and I swear, I wished they had replicated the scene from the novel when it is SXR who buttons the coat.  CFT is surprised to hear that SXR knows who he is and agrees to come again to watch SXR performance.  CFT leaves the theater, looking gorgeous (ovaries exploding) in the coat.  He glances at the poster with a look of intrigue for the man he has just met and I bet his statement about not believing an entertainer could be that charismatic is coming back to haunt him.

At home, his wife is unhappy that he acted like a hero tonight, which he responds that every great hero would show weakness in the presence of a beautiful lady and OMG, I can’t!!!! I can’t believe this was no censored!  He yells out in pain, as he tries to laugh at his joke (really, that was joke, lol, ok). Er Nainai tells him to cut the crap and that for all the years they’ve been married, she never that he could fight.  Gotta say, he cannot hold his own in a fight, that is for sure, but somehow he fought the ruffians for SXR.  

She wonders why he would do it for superstar who probably has seen many fans harmed themselves for him.  She adds that if he wasn’t a high status man, SXR would probably not bat an eye toward him.  Wait, is she basically calling my lil honeybun a golddigger?  Lol, his face in this cut is how I felt 

She chides for being a busybody, which he answers that it is not uncommon for a man to get in trouble when fighting, so why is she so mad.  Er Nainai reveals her insecurities as she obviously remembers what Mei Xin told her the day before.  She knows she is too country for the debonair CFT, having paid a dowry to be his wife due to his circumstances and is lacking compared to the socialites in Beiping, feeling inadequate for him.  CFT does not understand why she always bring this ish up, telling her that he is forever grateful to have marry her and remembers all her good qualities.  Yeah, this does not sound like a love declaration but you can tell he does have great affection for her and will probably never leave her.  

She reminds him of Cha Cha’er status in 1930s China, where noble ladies are not supposed to be seen in public (oh boy, did you forget your husband has a Western outlook about things?). Surprisingly he agrees to listen to her, which shows how much he actually respect her point of view.  Seriously, sis, you have a good husband, even if he may not be romantic or see you as his soulmate.

Meanwhile, in la casa de Shang Xirui, the atmosphere is starkly different.  Everyone is quiet, but you can tell there is a lot of tension.  The troupe is looking their leader, with a lot on their minds.  One of the singers broaches the subject of the manager willfully letting the ruffians cause the disturbance and not lifting a finger to help, in an effort to embarrass SXR.  She adds that he was rash for telling the manager he will leave.  SXR knows the whole hoopla is due to him changing the lyrics causing the attendance to leave before the end of the show leading to a major loss in business for the theater.  He realizes this gave an opportunity for the theater to retaliate, hence why he wants to move out.  This displeases the actress since they have not found another theater to perform, which could cost them a loss in revenue.  Stubbornly, SXR informs that he will simply find another theater to play since he has received many offers.  The girl continues to what seems to be the crux of her complaint. She was the one to pick the gift for Jiang Rou Shou and all SXR had to do was to make an appearance at the feast, which he failed to do, causing the Boss Jiang to slam the table in anger.  She wants her leader to go and curry some favors toward the old fart Grandmaster, which angers SXR, who tells his crew that he does not need to suck up to a pompous ass like Jiang Rou Shou in order to perform, that his popularity and talent is enough to carry him and his troupe to fame.  He orders them to eat.

Talking about a pompous ass, we get to see Asian Crispin Glover, Jiang Dengbao strutting in the street.  He is called out by a man who is apparently hiding out. He wants to know what happened during last night’s performance and it turns out he was the one who sent those gangsters to create chaos and harm SXR. The man informs him that his crew was arrested because they encountered Commander Cao’s brother-in-law, Er Ye, and that he barely escaped.  Like the coward that he is, Dengbao tells him to act like they never met and scurries out like the bish he is.  Unfortunately for him, the cops visit his father and Little Bao knows he is in big doodoo.  Senior Jiang asks him if he was behind the ruffians which he quickly denies, but all in vain, since his father knows the truth.  The gangsters sold him out as soon as they entered the station.  LOL, what kind of villain is he!!! He admits that he did send these ruffians because he cannot stand how arrogant SXR is, but his father is dissatisfied because he acted without a plan, which will only cause SXR to be more popular if his involvement is found out.  His father tells him to be patient and to find a way to strike at the right time. His stupid plot only revealed how dumb he is.  

CFT and his socialite brother-in-law, Fan Lian enter what appears to be one of the private salons where the wealthy go for entertainment. There, SXR sans makeup is performing on stage. CFT does not recognize him, asking Fan Lian who is this scholarly looking young man on the stage who seems to have drawn a large crowd.  Fan Lian informs him that he took a punch for him, much to CFT’s dismay at how different he looks without the costume and makeup, in terms of look, gestures and attitude.  

He learns SXR was invited because Fan Lian is one of his biggest fan, but apparently, the singer had always turned him down until today, upon learning that CFT will also be present.  OOOOHHHHHH.  SXR walks straight toward CFT after finishing his performance, much to crowd’s surprise. They exchange handshakes and SXR once again apologizes for what transpired in the theater the other night. Fan Lian reminds CFT their mahjong game is about to start, and SXR tells them to pay no mind to him.  CFT excuses himself and leaves with Fan Lian, while SXR stares at the fine piece of manly man walking away.  Gaze away sis, gaze away!

Apparently this is not CFT lucky day at the game, losing to Fan Lian, who teases him for leaving his lucky charm Cha Cha’er .  Exasperated for losing, CFT tells them he needs to go to the restroom, which Fan Lian thinks its trick to dash.  CFT gives him a look and asks if he is trying to clean out only members of his family instead of the other players on the table. He walks back to the stage where the crowd is urging SXR to do an encore. CFT once again rescues our cinnamon bun from the fans who wants him to continue.  SXR tells him it is okay since these spoiled rich kids rarely get a chance to hear Beijing Opera.  One of the kids comments how dedicated SXR is to his craft, to which CFT jokes that since the young master’s family operates a brothel, shouldn’t he strip dance to show his dedication.  OMG, I love this guy. He invites SXR to follow him onto the terrace.  

Rescuing his beauty from rabid fans

Xirui surprised that he has a hero to come rescue him

Sassy Fengtai

Inviting his beauty to follow

Because they need go have their romantic date, bro. Mind your business! The beauty is happy to be swept away

 Nah Hah, let them go on their romantic date

There, they have a little tete-a-tete and I swear the entire atmosphere is romantic. The waiter comes with hot tea and pours a cup for SXR when CFT realizes the singer may be wary of being drugged or worse, having his vocal cords damaged and takes away the cup. Showing that he trusts the businessman, he grabs the cup back and drinks from it. He tells CFT during autumn his throat is not in good condition because of the weather. 

CFT tells him how surprised to see him, dressed plainly, looking more like a young scholar.  He compliments him for the red flower, which he states makes him look mischievous, drawing a chuckle from the singer.  SXR informs him that one of the fans gave him the flower while he was performing the Emperor and the Country Girl. He usually does not wear fancy bright clothes off the stage because it will be too much. CFT agrees that his costumes are beautiful and extravagant, costing a lot of money.  SXR tells him that since he has no one to take care of, he can afford to spend most of his earnings on beautiful clothing because it enhances his performance and I totally get it! He thinks  Er Ye will see him as foolish, but CFT gets that he is a free spirit. 

 He informs him that what happened with the ruffians was planned and that Dengbao is behind it. He wants to know how SXR wants to handle it.  SXR seems unfazed by the information and tells him to set them free after beating the shit out of them.  He understands why Dengbao did it, since this is par for the course and the slight toward his dad, however since CFT was also harmed, he is afraid CFT might be unhappy. OMG why are so cute!!!! CFT answers the ruffians should be beaten twice then before being let go, eliciting a genuine laughter from SXR. SXR doesn’t know how to thank him, then removes the flower, gets up and puts it on CFT lapel, tells him that he offers the flower so he can be equally mischievous and I swear I fainted.  How is this bromance???   

The romantic scene is interrupting by some rude person who informs him that third wheel Fan Lian is calling him out, probably to win more money off him.  In a soft voice that would make you melt, CFT tells SXR to come with him as he will protect him from the fans.

They sit together in the mahjong parlor and Fan Lian comments about the flower.  CFT tells SXR that Fan Lian does not like to be upstage by someone better looking than him.  Is he talking about himself or Shang Lao Ban? If you are me, you know where my mind is going. He invites him to play, but SXR has no idea how, he should simply pick tiles for him.  SXR is afraid to do so because he doesn’t want his bae friend to lose and having to fork out some money. Even third wheel Fan Lian urge him to pick tiles for CFT, in the hopes that he will get more money from his brother-in-law. SXR does so and places the tile in the middle of his palm, showing his beautiful hand. It turns out to be a winning tile, which prompt CFT to see SXR as his lucky charm.  Our sweet penguin is smiling as bae won big.

Happy penguin

The next day, SXR is once again inspecting his costume when CFT enters the shipping office.  He greets SXR and asks if he is going to nitpick him again. He offers to help inspect the embroidered dress, grabbing a flashlight so he can see better.  While SXR inspects, showing off his well-manicured hands, which makes me envious, CFT is enthralled by the other man and asks if it is to is pleasing.  SXR in his Sheng (male roles) voice responds with an opera lyric that shows his satisfaction.  CFT offers to send the dress to his home.  

Waiting for his senpai approval

On his way, SXR sees a banner asking for donation to help fund the anti-Japanese effort.  We get a glimpse at the arduous training opera members have to go through when Niu Lao Ban comes in to inform him that Kuomintang minister Jin has invited members of the association to sing for the fundraising,  SXR is eager to participate and is informed that he will not do so in costume or makeup, and won’t even have his full accompaniment, just a huqin (Chinese violin). Basically he will not be paid for the performance, which does not seemed to bother SXR.  He asks if two of his idols, Ning Jiulang and Hou Yukei will make an appearance and is disappointed when he learns they won’t. He picks the opera he will sing, which prompt Niu Lao Ban to urge him to change because the opera might be too boring, but SXR tells him the way he will play will be exciting.  Oh this man is quite confident. 

At the event, both Fan Lian and CFT are also attending.  CFT informs Fan Lian the money will partially go to minister Jin’s pocket and the rest to his brother-in-law, Commander Cao, essentially embezzling the money while making himself look good. Apparently, there is confrontation brewing between the two strongmen. 

Fan Lian is not interested in the politics, letting CFT know that SXR will perform, which makes CFT perk up and comments how he will end up an expert in opera for hanging out with both of them. 

 We see Mr. World, weasel Dengbao talking to one of Minister Jin’s people and you know they are up to no good when Niu Lao Bang is trying to coax the huqin player to stay. 

Apparently the man got into an argument with SXR, which pleases Dengbao.  Minister Jin witnesses the outburst and tells Niu Lao Ban to let SXR not to mess things up for him or he will shot in place.  Dengbao scurries toward his father to let him know the good news.  SXR was mad the violinist drank before getting on stage, causing the outburst.

Daddy Jiang sees this as a good opportunity to put SXR in his place.

Minister Jin who has witnessed the outburst with the violinist wants Niu Baiwen to remind SXR that this is his party and anyone who messes with it will be shot in place. No one can be a bigger diva than him.

Daddy overhears the veiled threat and is not pleased.

Meanwhile Niu Lang Bao is fretting while SXR is cool and collected, letting him that he is waiting on an item.  We get a full introduction of SXR huge appetite as Xiao Lai brings him a huge pork trotter, which he literally inhales it in the least elegant way possible, showing he is a man after all.  How he maintains his figure his beyond me and I am jealous.

Seriously no elegance at all!

Weasel Dengbao calls out to SXR letting him know that his father wants to speak with him

We learn Boss Jiang wants SXR to apologize for missing his birthday (dude, let it go!) and do everything he asks.  In return he will be his accompanist. Of course, my lil penguin graciously turns down the offer.  Boss Jiang lets him know not to mess with powerful men like Minister Jin who are capable of doing anything for power, which SXR points out Boss Jiang is the same, sending people to harm him only because he didn’t curry favors. No one puts baby in the corner!

    While our lil bae sneers at the obvious attempt to undermine him

Here comes the dashing hero, which surprises SXR.  CFT tells him that he had planned to stay and listen to his performance, but now that Minister Jin has placed a bounty on SXR’s head, this is no longer possible. 

 CFT wants to sweep his damsel to his castle...hmm I mean hide him at the cargo’s office until things cool down. SXR tells him that despite CFT being the great hero that he is, SXR is no damsel in distress.  He should go back to his table and watch how much of a hero he is. WHAT A LINE!!

Oof, after the amazing premiere episode, the second episode truly kicks things in gear, wasting no time to set up the couple/bosom friends.  They meet and sparks fly.  The instant attraction, the ease of their conversation, the romantic scene on the terrace which I have seen so many times and never get tired of.  CFT seems compel to protect his lil penguin from the spoiled brats who have no regards for his well-being or the corrupt politicians who care more about their image than the music.  However, our lil cinnamon is no damsel in distress, he is a man who can take care of himself and intends to show it to his boo friend.  Normally a drama would settle and slow its pace in episode 2, but not Winter Begonia. The episode served a purpose to flesh out the characters and show how the budding relationship starts. 

[evilsquirrelstuff]

👀

Found out I actually finished most of the stories I started this year, damn. 

I have another Centricide piece. I wrote this mostly bc I had some le edgy humor idea and didn’t want to forget it. Again, warning for Nazi mention, Richard Spencer body pillow, very bad youtube apologies (wrote this before summer lol) and racism. 

Posting this whole because it’s short (538 words). I regret everything nothing.

A new message from Homonationalist. Finally. Transhumanist felt that he was close to finding out more about the mystery of the DNA test. And… it was just yet another link, as if he didn’t even read the message. Disappointing. 

“Guys, Homonationalist made another video,” Transhumanist called with a laptop on his lap. In a moment, all the other ideologies sat on the couch with him. 

“He became slave to modern technology. Very sad, Grug could prevent-”

“You? How? By smashing everything more modern than a stone?” Anmon laughed. “Or by dancing the Unabomber Manifesto? Even that dead plant in the corner is more persuasive than you!” 

“Wait, yet another one of my plants died? How does this keep happening?” Posadist seemed genuinely surprised.

“Maybe you could water them sometimes,” Anmon said with a smirk on his face. 

“Beep boop, stop arguing about irrelevant things,” Transhumanist said. Everyone went silent. While none of them were particularly interested in make-up, this was their only contact with Homonationalist since he left them and they were the bigger part of his tiny audience. Of course, when someone names their channel gaythnostate they shouldn’t expect to become a big youtuber. 

“Hi, guys! Welcome to my channel! It’s time for another of my make-up tutorials!” Homonationalist waved at the camera. His room was tidy except for the Richard Spencer body pillow in the corner, but knowing him, Transhumanist concluded Homonationalist arranged it there on purpose. “First, I’m gonna use this new foundation…”

The shade Homonationalist used seemed to be #ffffff. “I like how the white cancels any other color I might have in my face. Honestly, I never understood why everyone tried to make themselves look darker…”

Transhumanist didn’t understand why Homonationalist tried to make himself look like a clown. Especially after his encounter with the clownish neighbor earlier that day. He wasn’t able to find out what happened to him, but the clown kept screaming “Clowning in my skin” and rolling on the road. While he might’ve had some compassion for him at the beginning, when his blockade caused problems with pizza delivery, he just grabbed the clown and threw him over the fence into his garden. When he checked the last time, the clown was still rolling in the grass. 

“Now I’m going in with the shade Ocean from Hoppean’s palette This palette is only for normal women, do you understand, degenerate? To which I can only say that I’m too gay to read.”

“He really wants to cause a conflict between Ancapistan and the International Union of Nationalists. Incredible.” Posadist’s smile was radiating. 

“I’ve read in your comments that you aren’t really living for me saying the n-word.” Oh no. No. Whatever comes next will be bad. “Look, you have to understand that I was in a very dark place yesterday.” Homonationalist looked directly into the camera. “Have you ever been to the Bronx?” 

Transhumanist should’ve predicted that he would say something like that. If he was sure about something, it was that he heard that the nationalists were trying to sign a deal with Hoppean and it didn’t go well because of Homonationalist. Was he in two places at once? 

“My sister-wife wouldn’t like this look,” Anmon said. 

[nadiaportia]

Community OC asks! What is some original lore you added to the Arcana-verse with your character? (locations, cultures, magic, etc) Tell us about them!

Thanks for the question! This is gonna be a really long one, so brace yourself, especially because I also start going off about my OCs so thanks for unleashing that lol.

For starters, the OCs I have in The Arcana originally come from another story - one that's sci-fantasy - so there already in a way was a location where the plot went down, and because I liked this so much when I transferred those very beloved and actually quite old OCs (talking 2015 here), I decided to also bring aspects of their world into the Arcanaverse, and because until now so few places besides Vesuvia are actually explored (there's Prakra, Nevivon, the South, Nopal and a whole bunch of places where we only know the name and very few information) that I decided to go further and explore the places beyond the map we got - so the three home countries of my OCs are all my own creation with some real life historic influences.

Oriol, the country where my OC Deirdra Margalit comes from, is a small country further to the east than Nevivon and the Strait of Seals with a temperate to meditterranean climate. I largely based it off Southern France and Catalonia in that it's a country with a large rural population as well as a intellectual elite that amassed wealth living in the cities and its capital. By the time the story is set it's ruled by a queen but there is a succession war in which the Queen's cousin claims the rule under the pretense of wanting to introduce reforms to the benefit of the rural population while the Queen refuses to do so, which spirals into a full-blown civil war with the Queen's loyalists on one side and the nationalists on one side. This civil war basically ends up dividing families and reaches its peak with a battle raging in the capital. Many Oriolians flee the country either into its neighboring regions or by ship and sail to places much further away when the loyalists win the war. That part is very much inspired by the Spanish Civil War from 1936-39 as well as the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The smallfolk of Oriol have magic that's mostly connected to nature, mundane one could say with it being used to make their lives a bit easier, they put great importance on community and family and fight for their principles with tooth and nail. Deirdra's family were on the side of the nationalists, with their parents hiding fellow nationalists during raids and their younger brother joining the partisans in secret. When said brother is killed and his body is brought home, Deirdra joins the partisans to avenge their brother and fights by their side along with their comrade-in-arms and eventual girlfriend Renée. They witness the final loss of the capital and Deirdra is forced to flee via ship along with other nationalists and after several weeks of being on the sea, they end up in Vesuvia.

Bizatena is a city-state similar to Vesuvia and its ruler doesn't have any sovereign to answer to. It's located to the west of the map and lies on a peninsula with the Sea of Persephia to one side and the open vast ocean to the other. The region enjoys a mediterranean to semi-arid climate with mountains at its gates and a vast desert beyond. The Palace is built on a hill and a cliffside, around that inner circle the nobility have their residences and around those, the "normal" people live. Bizatena is named after Byzantium/Constantinople and Athens and run by a council consisting of nobles from old and influential familes that is headed by the Emir of Bizatena. Over the years they have kept themselves atop of their game by making powerful allies and maintaining naval trade with other regions after they were once a great empire with Bizatena being its capital that fell apart and is now only a (nevertheless bright) shadow of its former glory. Magic of any kind is highly regarded and basically has the status of a religion, many of the councilmembers are magicians themselves and orphans usually are raised by magicians in one of the many temples all over the city. Sayelle grows up in one of these temples with the other magicians-in-training who become like siblings to her and her many mentors as parental figures, the most important among those being a magician named Farida who takes her under her wing after recognizing her talent and ambition. She becomes so good that when she reaches adulthood, she and Farida are invited to the Palace where Sayelle becomes a court magician and while she is enjoying her new life, her mentor thinks that she's removing herself too much from the real world and the people's problems. Ultimately Sayelle leaves Bizatena to explore the world and find out about and study the other types of magic practised by people elsewhere.

The homecountry of Ximena is the Calpacian Empire with its capital Cartagenth. It's located in the north of the Southern hemisphere and stretches itself across various climate zones with its capital being by the seaside. The capital and its surroundings are very much inspired by Central America as well as Spain, more specifically Baroque/Renaissance era Spain. It's the military and naval powerhouse of the region and its ruler and is allied to the city state of Bizatena and the city of Karnassos to the East, both once great realms that have long outlived their golden age. The ruler of Calpacia, the Zaan, resides in the Cartagense Palace and is supported by their advisors and the court, with both the Magician's Guild and the War Council having special standing. The Cartagense elite and aristocracy in general is very far removed from the rest of their compatriots to the point where they have a lot of regional pride. They place an incredibly high value on all forms of art, be it theater, architecture, sculpturing, music, paintings and so on to the point where most noble families receive an extensive education in all of these areas and specialize in at least one. Magic takes a sort of second place to them but is still valued but among the non-magician nobles seen as more of a tool or a means to an end than an actual way of life. Ximena is born as the youngest of three daughters of a marquesa and into a highly influential noble family and her intitution, ability to listen and tactfulness is what leads to getting trained as a magician from her childhood onwards and put on the track to one day lead the Magician's Guild (since the matriarch of her family, her aunt Esmé, a general and current leader of the War Council, wields so much power at court, it's practically a given that it'll happen) but finds out that she is merely going to be put into a position of power to abuse said power and the whole time she was wilfully ignorant and thus complicit about being a driving force in a cruel and unjust system. Because going against the family wishes doesn't sit well with her at all, her aunt banishes her and takes away her title so Ximena ends up leaving Cartagenth and Calpacia and spends the next years fueled by paranoia (then again... you're not paranoid if they are out to get you) going from place to place without staying a lot of time at one until one day she meets Asra.

This is at least the stuff surrounding my main OCs directly, there are a lot of other tidbits such as the places they go to on their respective journeys. In the original story all of these characters were based in what in my Arcana!verse became Cartagenth/Calpacia but that‘s really something for another day. 😅

Thanks a lot for asking! 💞

[clarasimone]

Just before leaving my Iphone in a friggin’ taxi

I cannot believe this: my life is on that IPhone... Have alerted the taxi company (I HOPE I lost it there), am frantically awaiting news by my fiend’s phone... My Knight wants to go on a rampage but I need him by my side ;-)... It’s so bizarre to be able to see most of the pics I took this evening because they had time to make it on the cloud and then on my computer. So, from me, to you, the red carpet and screening of Terrence Malick’s testament film A Hidden Life :

Needless to say, I risked my reputation taking Jorah’s pic from inside the Grand Palais LOL I was seated front row (They show us the remaining of the red carpet on the big screen while we’re inside) What follows is from before and after but selfies are now forbidden while on the red carpet, a good thing because frankly it was becoming surreal the last few years...

Love this pink trail I was hypnotically following :-)

Here’s a pic from the film, a true masterpiece, so moving ! @myloveiainglen, it’s even better than Days of Heaven !!

I was able to capture the director’s proud reaction during the 10-minute long ovation after the film (he’s so modest, he didn’t walk the red carpet coming in, only his two leads did)

his actors, as shown on the big screen during the ovation

Coming out of the Grand Palais, I took these amazing pics of the moon with my Knight but they’re not (yet ?) appearing on my macbook/Icloud :-(

God I hope I get my phone back...

Here is the Los Angeles Times piece of the film. It just flabbergasted me and everyone there... It’s a deeply spiritual film.

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-cannes-terrence-malick-hidden-life-20190519-story.html

Cannes: Terrence Malick’s ‘A Hidden Life’ is a return to form and a spiritual call to arms

In the eight years since Terrence Malick won the Palme d’Or at Cannes for “The Tree of Life,” his magisterial drama about childhood’s end and the spirit’s awakening, the standard critical line is that he has become an artist lost in the wilderness, stranded in an artistic limbo of his own making.

His most recent features — “To the Wonder,” “Knight of Cups” and “Song to Song” — are wispy, fragmentary tales of romantic ennui and moral drift, full of visual beauty but absent a comparable sense of transcendence. I admired them more than many of my colleagues did, though it would be disingenuous not to admit that I, too, was left wondering if this great and singular filmmaker would ever give us another movie to love.

I wonder no more. Sunday marked Malick’s return to Cannes, and it felt like a homecoming in more than one sense. His extraordinarily beautiful and wrenching new movie is called “A Hidden Life,” a title that quotes from “Middlemarch,” though one that could easily be misinterpreted as a reference to this famously press-shy auteur himself. But it also sounds an echo of “The Tree of Life,” which may be more than mere coincidence: If that 2011 film was Malick’s most personal and autobiographical work, then this one feels like a decisive return to roots. It’s at once a linear, almost classically structured drama and an exploratory, intensely romantic work of art.

“A Hidden Life” tells the story of Franz Jägerstätter, a peasant farmer from the Austrian village of St. Radegund who was imprisoned and executed in 1943 for refusing to fight for the Nazis. It’s the writer-director’s second World War II picture, after “The Thin Red Line,” except that here not a single shot is fired. The focus is entirely on Jägerstätter and his family, his growing discontent as Austria falls into Adolf Hitler’s grip and his heroic, ultimately fatal decision to become a conscientious objector.

After some brief archival footage of Hitler at the height of his powers, the movie settles down in St. Radegund, whose rolling green pastures and mist-wreathed mountains may constitute the most astonishing vision of earthly paradise Malick has given us, which is saying something.

You will recognize some familiar sights and sounds: the babbling of a brook, the rustling of wind in the leaves, the orchestral blasts of Bach, Beethoven, Handel and Dvorak on the soundtrack. And you will settle into the movie with a sigh — or perhaps a groan, depending on your persuasion — as Malick immerses us in yet another blissfully idealized evocation of family life.

Pushing plows, threshing wheat and taking care of livestock is hard work, but Franz (a haunting August Diehl), a man of joy and contentment, also loves chasing and playing with his wife, Fani (Valerie Pachner) and their three young daughters. But the family’s deep ties to the land and the surrounding community are disrupted when their fellow villagers take up the call of “Heil Hitler,” submitting freely to the grip of a murderous totalitarian regime. When a local bishop urges Franz to submit as well, he makes a decisive break with the church — though not, crucially, with God, whom he continually presses and wrestles with in prayer.

I am still wrestling with “A Hidden Life” myself, and imagine I will continue to do so long after its eventual release. The lengthy middle act, in which Franz finds himself called up for military duty and imprisoned after refusing to fight, feels lumbering and oppressive, which may of course be entirely the point; the claustrophobia here is physical and spiritual. Given the ensemble cast, which includes the late Bruno Ganz in one of his final roles, I wish that Malick had simply committed to shooting entirely in German, rather than a mix of German and English. (A particularly nagging choice: The Nazis are often heard barking in German, while Franz and Fani’s mellifluous voice-overs are in English.)

But the conviction of this movie would speak forcefully in any language. “A Hidden Life” is both an intense portrait of Christian devotion in practice and a damning study in how religious institutions, among others, can align themselves with evil. Malick sees no contradiction between these two truths; for him, sincere doubt and serious belief have always gone hand-in-hand. When a character murmurs, “To follow Him is insanity” — the first and not the last time the movie quietly broke me — you register fully what it might mean, and cost, to obey a doctrine of peace in violent times.

Malick may be making the same movie he always has: a gorgeously expansive cinematic poem that is forever carving out fresh emotional tributaries, but which always cycles back to the despoiling of Eden, the fear of violence and mortality, the calm acceptance of the unknowable. But if his camera is still given to flurries of ecstatic movement, it also seems more stationary, more grounded than usual, as if the director were pausing to gather his thoughts and clear his throat. He has an awful lot to say.

At its simplest level, “A Hidden Life” exists to disprove the snarling Nazi soldiers we hear telling Franz that his act of protest is meaningless and that no one will ever remember him. (They have admittedly already been disproved, thanks to the scholarship of Gordon Zahn and Thomas Merton, as well as a 2007 papal declaration of Jägerstätter as a martyr.) But it is also a call for moral vigilance in any era, the present one very much included: It is hard to watch this movie and not think of the rise of far-right and nationalist movements across Europe, or the Trump administration’s chokehold on evangelical Christianity.

That particular charge may be implicit, but it’s also unmistakable. Unless you are allergic to near-three-hour running times, there is nothing particularly difficult or elusive about “A Hidden Life,” nothing too cosmically elevated or metaphysically overreaching, to cite some of the dismissals frequently leveled against this director’s work. If we understand pretension as an attitude that leaves no room for humility, then is there any filmmaker working today lesspretentious than Terrence Malick, any artist more generous and unassuming in the way he exalts the beauty of the everyday?

Just as importantly, in our era of ever-expanding options and decreasing patience, is there an audience still willing to accept that challenge and see that beauty as he does? Even when tarnished, Malick’s legend looms large at a festival like Cannes, where he can be dismissed as a scourge and hailed as a god, but where he will never elicit an indifferent response. He deserves an equally impassioned reception when this imperfect, wise and entirely heroic movie comes out of hiding.