#truly an amazing day in american history

[bylergetonefree]

happy 248th birthday to america or whatever, but more importantly happy 5th birthday to this scene

[amyoffline]

It's done! The outline for—

—is below the cut. The goal of this project is to explore the following phenomena with as much context and nuance as I can manage, tracing our history over the past 15 years:

What about us, and what about Dan and Phil, drew in and continues to draw in a very specific audience. If they are a ranch metaphor, we are a pizza metaphor 🥗🍕🫶🏻

Why we were Like That™, by which I mean so parasocially invested in them that we became, at times, the most annoying people on the internet. Much of that reputation is undeserved, and the videos on the phandom to date have been strongly negative. So, uh, I guess I'm going to put my face on camera and (mostly) defend us.

Reblog, share in your Discord servers, reply, or send me messages/anon asks with feedback or resources if you have any! Especially if your experience being in this fandom community has been dramatically different from mine. There are TIT spoilers near the end of the outline, but I'm not tagging because certain individuals seem to be lurking over there. Thank you!

Chapters:

Full outline:

introduction

cold open

felt personally attacked by jonathan haidt's last press tour

showed up to the phrenaissance 11 months late

had an unexpectedly strong response to their new content, needed to find out why

what the hell are we doing here?

- phenomenology (academics are professionally insufferable) - research question 1: what drew the audience in? - research question 2: why were we Like That™?

what we're NOT doing here

- a strict content analysis or "wow we sucked" video - providing sources for things best left uncirculated, thank you

reflexivity (personal biases)

- american zillennial in public health - in the youtube audience by spring 2010 - lurking in the phandom on tumblr 2013-2015, back* since 2019 - fan behavior i did and did not engage in

(----): truly necessary background information, i swear

(pop) cultural trends, tech, and their intersection

- nerd/geek identity and the first online weirdos - broadcast tv & the music industry vs the internet - defining "emo" - blogging & vlogging - early internet comedy

broader social/economic trends

- so the U.S. economy collapsed in 2007 - a decade that sucked except for rom-coms and square enix games - the flip/slide phone + digital camera + mp3 player loadout

(05-8): early youtube and early phil

youtube: a great video uploader without a clear purpose

the content on the website

- crossposts, corporations, and creative/social outlets - omg guys it's amazing phil - contemporary youtube-to-legacy success: justin bieber

the audience of "early adopters"

contemporary social media sites and forums

(2009): origin story

a wild dan appears… in the comments

the global constant that is teenagers being messy online

daring my old school district to sue me

- "one town's war on gay teens" (literal rolling stone headline!) - epidemiology 101: rates of… ugh… "unaliving" oneself - ways kids cope when it seems no adults will help them

the earliest days of dan & phil

- hello internet + pinof - a chronically overexamined timeline - file deleted ---* so how big WAS the audience at the time? ---* acceptable funny/edgy language was just different

contemporary youtube-to-legacy success: lucas cruikshank

omg it's meeeeeee

- how amy & friends were using youtube - ways i was just destined to end up here - being in social environments with peers 3-6 years older

(2010): is it "twenty-ten" or "two thousand ten?"

youtube is a platform about to explode in popularity

- the algorithm before it was The Algorithm™, lost site features - let's take a trip through the wayback machine :3c - actual dan & phil content in 2010 - the green brothers found vidcon - contemporary youtube-to-legacy success: darren criss

social media: also about to explode in popularity

- facebook was cool at the time, believe it or not - law of equivalent exchange: 2010 amy cringe compilation - the birth of instagram and pinterest - youtube slash livejournal (the first phanfics… sort of) - shockfic and its place in the overton window

the beginning of "the great rewiring" as haidt calls it

- ways social media is about to dramatically change - third spaces become online spaces - confounding variable: changing expectations of teens

(2011): the end of an era, the start of an age

a very long tangent on fandom and pop culture

cultural exchange

counterculture and teenagers as concepts

the first british invasion: the 1960s

- beatlemania and its descendents - moral panic about the virtue of tween/teen girls - tv/film/fashion trends being imported from the uk - in parallel, star trek births the modern fandom

the second british invasion: the 1980s

- synth/new pop that came out of the punk movement (hi, emo?) - confined mainly to music and fashion - cool britannia

it's harry freakin' potter

- absolute titan of pop culture influence - the rise of online fandom: examining the horrors ---* what is "wank" ---* flaming, sockpuppeting, and general cyberbullying ---* censorship: ffnet purges, boldthrough, & strikethrough ---* other fandom shenanigans of the time (yaoi paddles, anyone?)

harry potter's over. now what?

- for those who needed coming-of-age hero's journeys ---* twilight and YA dystopia waiting in the wings ---* some pretty iconic tv shows start or hit their stride ---* the mcu's phase one ---* takeaway: the rise of "geek culture" generally - for those who just wanted to go to hogwarts ---* doctor who & the wider world of bbc programming ---* british vloggers, you say? where? on youtube? brb--

end tangent, back to your regularly scheduled programming

dan & phil in the first half of 2011

- a continuation of 2010… for now - the videos - british pancakes as a case study of bad fan behavior

streaming and social media

- the birth of snapchat, twitch, and younow - netflix starts developing original programming - multi-channel networks (mcns) - digitour

dan & phil in the second half of 2011

- and they were roommates (omg they were roommates) - fantastic foursome - youtube glitches out - the super amazing project - the first proper baking video + wait, is that the bbc?

~ baking interlude 1: christmas cookies ~

the family sugar cookie (sorry, delia)

amy's 2011

(2012): why is anyone nostalgic for this

the transition from desktop to mobile

- massive growth in smartphone ownership 2011-2015 - things one might do on mobile one might not do on desktop - non-online ways smartphones changed being a youth™

what is tumblr and why is my child using it

- how the site is meant to work - fandom, memes, aesthetics, and SOME public figures - want to be anxious and depressed in peace? come to tumblr - this site seems a little……… gay ---* tumblr's very queer, very neurodiverse userbase ---* legacy media representation in 2012: bad! ---* actual academic research on tumblr users (yes, it exists) - the tumblr experience for non-native english speakers

amy becomes a vibrating mass of panic and paranoia

- in context of the above - additional rant about the american public school system

the growing dan & phil audience

- investigating the origin of the term "phannie" - more collaborations = more viewers - more video uploads = more /invested/ viewers - younow and interacting with fans - watch time replaces clicks in the algorithm

online etiquette, or lack thereof

- mid-transition from the 2000s to the 2010s - "professional internet celebrity" is still basically brand-new - lack of boundaries - various ways to be an asshole online - unsupervised kids simply do not engage in best practices

the end of 2012

- dan and phil move to london - wikipedia vandalism - tiptoeing around a top contender for the phandom's greatest sin - super amazing project DONE, now it's BBC RADIO TIME

(2013): arguably the most important year

- wait. what's that six-second video platform over there--

[amy's curated vine compilation]

- a new wave of internet comedians (read: future youtubers) - the zillennial lexicon - other platforms start emphasizing short-form video content - magcon

emo is BACK - well, sort of

- fob hiatus ends, mcr breaks up. my god. you had to be there - more open ties to nerd/geek culture than in the 2000s - these things once again intersect at dan and phil

dan and phil in the first half of 2013

- siri, what's a "sex symbol?" why are you booing me i'm right-- - d&p are everywhere - radio shows, interviewing, hosting - youtube uploads on their individual channels

rapidly changing cultural attitudes towards queerness

- gay marriage will be legal in places other than canada soon - a lot of assimilationist rhetoric though tbh - parallels to the pop feminism of the decade

hey kids, let's talk about compulsory heterosexuality!!

- what is it and why do people do it - academic, tumblr-level, and anecdotal research - the dannies, the phillies, and the phannies

amy

- the closet™ - mental health stigma - 2013 dnp posts from my main blog

dan and phil in the second half of 2013

- subscriber milestones, vidcon - joint content before the gaming channel - phandom starts having a major presence outside tumblr

(2014): achievement unlocked!

it's time to talk about rpf

- definitions (a chance to be annoyingly pedantic) - academic perspectives and fan discourse on the ethics - when the subjects clearly aren't fine with it - so… we can acknowledge "shipping phan" was different, right? ---* sometimes the subjects are fine* with it, actually ---* how dan and phil started to handle the shipping ---* obvious differences between phan and other rpf ships ---* sharing my favorite passages as a first-time phanfic reader

dan and phil in 2014

- wikipedia vandalism 2: electric boogaloo - bbc request show → internet takeover - the 7 second challenge - youtube content, subscriber milestones, rewind - cons and award shows

tumblr reaches the peak of its influence

- yahoo's attempts to monetize the userbase - buzzfeed and aggregators steal our jokes and bait our clicks - legacy media dangles carrots and uses us for free marketing - the legend of korra breaks TV precedent, almost out of nowhere - the tumblr user experience ---* on mobile, without xkit ---* on desktop, with xkit ---* 2014 dnp posts from my main blog

gamergate and its long shadow

- trolling, renewed and revamped - algorithms push increasingly extreme content - the broad conservative backlash conglomerate - increased normalization of conspiracism in general

my greatest sin [not clickbait] [very funny]

- so, circling back to comphet… - the actual story

anyway, let's talk about danandphilgames

- a star is born: dil howlter - different types of gaming content on youtube at the time - why did 17yo amy not subscribe? well…

~ baking interlude 2: chocolate cupcakes ~

make your own frosting. it freezes well

roasting myself further

(2015): it's not queerbaiting when it's real people

facebook "pivots to video"

- mark zuckerberg lied. water is wet - causes other platforms to REALLY double down on video - the birth of musical.ly - corporate-branded creators (read: future youtubers)

queerbaiting enters mainstream public consciousness

- academic origins - early fannish and acafan writing - johnlock, destiel, and sterek - statistics 101: type i error, type ii error, and queerbait

dan, phil, and the phandom

- bbc, cons, & the brits - danandphilcrafts - phan conspiracies ---* japhan ---* body language experts ---* timeline truthers ---* floor plan investigators ---* no but seriously imagine it - regular youtube uploads ---* solo content ---* joint content ---* subscriber milestones, rewind - tatinof uk and tabinof ---* on "selling out" ---* revisiting the statistics 101 lesson: now with real people! ---* never meet your heroes (unless they're dan and phil)

amy's (temporary) exit from the phandom

- it's legal adulthood with a steel chair!! - growing discomfort with some fans' behavior - 2015 dnp posts from my main blog - the closer: final fantasy vii

(2016): season finale

vine's imminent demise

- content platforms behaving badly - content creators behaving badly

youtube after "the great rewiring" (as haidt calls it)

- version 1.0 of the modern youtube algorithm ---* deep neural networks for dummies ---* what's holding creators accountable, or not - advertising and sponsorships ---* basically every child and youth™ is watching now ---* the battle for our attention ---* regulators start to crack down on undisclosed ads - the rise of drama/tea content (and later, channels) ---* youtubers are now seen as regular celebrities ---* dan and phil as the butt of other youtubers' jokes ---* baiting the phandom for engagement

tatinof us and aus

- a proven new model for live show tours - show & documentary released to youtube red (now premium) - [sigh] the tour bus

sea change in online fandom

- the newer, sometimes queerer media in korra's wake ---* better and more representation in live-action tv shows ---* voltron (i'm sorry!!!) ---* the mystic messenger craze ---* alice oseman & heartstopper - the new dynamics of #discourse ---* proship is to anti as phannie is to phanti ---* the bad behaviors of the 00s get a new coat of paint ---* new, though: fans harassing creators ---* a personal note on ace discourse

dan and phil presence off-tour

- the internet takeover ends - regular content, subscriber milestones

so. uh. current events.

- brexit - sorry the united states is a font of chaos - ripple effects

closing out the year

- amy finally gets an anxiety diagnosis and treatment! hurray! - dapgo, rewind - bbc radio awards & the boncas - gamingmas

(2017): time for a rebrand

tangent - sit down!!! buckle up!!! today's lecture is on PSIs & PSRs!!!

"parasocial" as defined by the current zeitgeist

- summing up youtubers' and laypeople's opinions (not dan's) - an unfairly negative stance overall, imo

older academic literature

- the 1956 paper (yes, 1956) - with traditional celebrities - with fictional characters

current academic literature

- with youtubers and other content creators - positive effects on the audience - negative effects on the audience - broader societal implications

fandom spaces as a parasocial experience

- parasocial and truly social interactions with each other - phandom as a supportive, welcoming space for oddballs - what research i can find about neurospicy folks, + anecdotes - me and everyone else on planet earth move to discord

inherent transactionality

- the nature of celebrity - positive effects on creators - negative effects on creators

reexamining early phandom through a parasocial lens

- the good, the bad, and the ugly - the role audience demographics played in all of this - entering, exiting, and remaining in the phandom

end tangent, back to your regularly scheduled programming

vine is well and truly dead

- some had prepared to become primarily youtubers (smart) - some move to musical.ly, insta, facebook, or snap (less so)

the sun sets on danisnotonfire

- i am very normal about dan's hobbit hair, i swear. - the last dnp content before the rebrand - new apartment, new floor plan investigations

adpocalypse now

- youtube has become the village elder of platforms ---* increased scrutiny, increased responsibility ---* some youtubers had been getting away with !#$!#@% - the scandals ---* pewdiepie + logan paul ---* elsagate and being "family- friendly" (read: ad-friendly) - censorship and monetization ---* adsense revenue goes down as advertisers pull out ---* the glory days of posting whatever and making bank are over

amazingphil and ~daniel howell~

- youtube & younow content - that week in march - vacations and conventions - conjoined baking and the concept of a "soft launch" - daniel & depression → dan as a mental health advocate - truth bombs, ii announcement, rewind

(2018): the phandom vs the hiatus they told us not to worry about

interactive introverts

- "giving the people what they want" - in hindsight… - let's talk about dnp fans from the global south

youtuber burnout

- it wasn't just dan: (more examples than header fits) - the old model was simply not sustainable - newer contributing factors - research on burnout, plus personal anecdotal experience

other dan and phil content

- younow/rize lives - dan's last videos before… you know… - phil's solo content in 2018 (quiff!!) - pinof → wdapteo - the gaming channel

other stuff happening online and in the world

- youtube raises the barriers to monetization - many "pivot to video" creators are now independent - the modern youtuber's multiple streams of income - continuations of societal trends in 2016 - musical.ly becomes tiktok - notable: she-ra and the princesses of power

the hiatus™: part myth, part reality

- how long dan was actually offline - major confounder: tumblr implodes almost overnight - major confounder: perception of content density from '13-'16 - major confounder: rapidly maturing audience - major confounder: our temporal awareness is about to go way ↓↓

~ baking interlude 3: scotcheroos ~

minnesotans and their obsession with "bars"

amy has one last existential crisis (you know, to date)

(2019): demolishing the closet with a nail bat

phil videos in the first 5 months of this very important year

basically i'm gay

- my thoughts - its legacy in the canon of "coming out" stories - multiple things can be true at once

coming out to you

- my thoughts - its legacy in the canon of "coming out" stories - why phil waited (actual explanations, speculation)

amy's 2019

- return to the audience, not really to the phandom (rip tumblr) - strange coincidence that i also had a major life transition

dan and phil: still here, freshly queer

- twitter becomes the main nexus of phandom, by default - regular phil uploads + brief return to younow - vidcon

(2020): go home and stay there

so it's a goddamn global public health crisis

- infectious disease perspective - effects on overall well-being of adults - effects on kids and teenagers (sorry to all of you) - political and economic impacts

hitherto unforeseen levels of online content consumption

- tiktok replaces basically all short-form video content - yet another wave of new (otherwise unemployed) youtubers - you're watching a video essay. these got really popular now. - being young and isolated: thoughts from younger phannies

the Content™ bc that's the one word we use for this now

- phil's videos - when dan is around - that attitude magazine interview - pour one out for the phil solo project(s) the panini wrecked

further political disaster… avoided?

- checking in on the state of social issues previously discussed - unfortunately,

(2021): welcome to the 2020s, we have lingering trauma

THE PHOUSE?!?!?

- social media posts - the stereo shows

other dan and phil videos

- phil's solo videos - gay and not proud - hometown showdown - other joint videos - phil's #shorts (sounds normal in american english)

panini updates

- vaccines soon, uwu??? + entrenched misinformation - pros and cons of remote work - pros and cons of remote school - pros and cons of remote socializing

you will get through this night

- younger me really could have used this book too, dan - thoughts as a professional in a related field - reflecting on some of my more unique circumstances

daring my old school district to sue me (again!!)

- updates: racism and transphobia - updates: right-wing freaks take over the school board again - residents vote against improving mental health resources

(2022): dan returns (still not on fire)

hey so politics are um getting worse

- americans lose the right to reproductive freedom ---* the quickest of histories on where these freaks came from ---* this shit kills people. - trans kids become the punching bag of culture war discourse ---* fuck off! (gently) ---* fuck off! (i have a knife) ---* checking in on terf island

we're all doooooooooooooooomed

- dystopia daily my beloved - the style, the substance, the metatextual analysis-- - not everyone loved it, though. why? - the promo - dan on tour + sister daniel

amy's 2022

- i got covid - then i got long covid: brain fog, pots-like symptoms

some more news (i will work on my warmbo impression)

- dan joins tiktok + danisnotinteresting uploads - phil: uploading less, busy doing remote crisis management - twitter is acquired by an idiot jackass - heartstopper on netflix! ---* the show and what it means to people ---* drama (revisiting "real people can't queerbait") ---* why this has anything to do with the phandom

~ baking interlude 4: cinnamon rolls ~

- lovingly, recipe changes and corrections :) - if i have an opinion about anything, it's sweet yeasted breads

(2023): the phrenaissance

phil

- joins tiktok! - youtube uploads through september - what even is phannie tiktok. i've never used this app. help.

dystopia daily b-sides

- dan memes of 2022 - the 2023 dystopia daily episodes

amy: the doctoral candidacy process

- purgatory, privilege, poverty, and free pizza - checking in on what this is like outside the united states

pretending the panini is over

- complaining about post-adpocalypse censorship standards - honest take about "giving up" on covid - who gets the short end of the stick

the youtube algorithm is BAD and UNINTELLIGENT, actually,

- unhinged rant about not hearing about the gaming rephrival - because i was offline from other platforms. like, @amyoffline.

pov: you are a phannie (not me) on october 15th

- what i was doing on october 15th - saying goodbye forever, spooky week, and november - gamingmas - phil uploads through december

(2024): fifteen years of terrible, terrible influence

hey what the fuck is going on

- dan and phil ---* joint and phil videos ---* jokes they never would've made ten years ago ---* a collection of emotional posts about how far they've come ---* people want fun and silly content again. we'll get to why ---* nostalgia, hope, and other warm and fuzzy feelings - the phandom ---* ancient parasocial attachments, reactivated instantly ---* people are way more normal now. let's discuss why ---* tumblr vs twitter vs tiktok phandom

we're all doomed, youtube version

- my thoughts - thoughts on "dan should/shouldn't" do video essays - i can't objectively evaluate anything he makes bc [gunshots]

terrible influence tour

- legally phlonde - the concept: healing one's inner child / taking it back - we gotta talk about phannies in the global south again - no but seriously imagine it? ---*ogres are like onions, they have LAYERS ---* [placeholder for whatever does(n't) happen]

anglosphere current events once again

- the likely us tiktok ban - the tories get fired - [placeholder for whichever hell americans manifest] - witnessing genocide and feeling powerless

ffx full-circle moment to the intro of this video essay

- the night i found out they came back - why i am doing this, now with context - reflections on a nearly 15-year (parasocial) relationship

whatever youtube uploads we get during fall/december

AMY SEES TIT (nov 14)

- the vibes at the phamily reunion - buying merch to apologize for eternal ublock origin use - how much should i document?? (not during the show) - phanspiracies confirmed - atlanta confessions - favorite bits - the alternate universe where i went to tatinof and/or ii

(2025): the horrors persist, but so do we

whatever 2025 content is out while i'm still working on this

our parasocial social club

- let me be philosophytube for a second ---* every interaction has a parasocial element ---* what are we obligated to do as a phandom, actually? ---* as people who parasocially care about these two dorks? ---* what else should we be doing socially to be at our happiest? - "they're my gay uncles" vs "i'm a little in love, even now" ---* riffing about the boundary/overlap between these camps ---* sibling reads me for filth in a single text (sister daniel...) ---* at least we're all in this together

what's going to continue to draw people in

- grown adults drawing our cat whiskers back on - updates on queer/nd kids - updates on anxiety/depression rates - updates on tech and the broader environment of content - world still feels doomed

tangent - the "hard launch" and why people want it

what are people referring to, exactly

- general definition and other examples - when it comes to dan and phil - maybe they hard launched already and we just missed the memo

the ludonarrative of phandom

- if you got here early on - if you got here in the mid-2010s - if you got here after they came out - if you got here post-hiatus - final fantasy comparison: ffvii's chokehold over first-timers

a rom-com for the ages

- the tropes in play - brief tangent on the evolution of the genre - queer romantic comedies - final fantasy comparison: ffviii's plot and squall/rinoa

phriends… or…

- wholesome influence, slice-of-life - projection - final fantasy comparison: ffxv's gameplay loop, the chocobros

humans don't like ambiguity

- from a media perspective (narrative tension) - research from the hard sciences - final fantasy comparison: fanille ---* the first gay final fantasy characters, actually ---* ffxiii's character development process ---* fang and vanille in the text. brb, clawing at the walls ---* so, if anyone is looking for a phyuri au prompt…

tl;dr: reality is not fiction. make peace with not "knowing"

end tangent, back to your regularly scheduled programming

the phuture

- phil's big solo project when??? - dapg is just the joint channel now - youtube has changed since when dan last "regularly" uploaded - nothing lasts forever, and that's okay

~ baking interlude 5: ranch + pizza ~

- ranch propaganda and ranch metaphors - showing off my dough and sauce skills

conclusions

- a lot has happened in 15 years - [placeholders: don't write your conclusions before you do your research]

Proof this project can only be done in consultation with Tumblr: no other platform we're on could accommodate a post of this length and formatting detail lol

[depresssant]

'it's an american wedding. they don't mean too much. we were so in love.'

yandere!gojo x reader

synopsis : a simple senior year predicament landed you in a cage you were sure was bound to drive you insane.

it was always survival over luxury for you

amongst the rich kids, you were like a penny in a pile of a hundred dollar bills. seeing people with expensive cars and brand clothes that probably cost thousands of dollars never really mattered to you. you came from a very poor background and it never really mattered to you because there was nothing wrong with being poor. you really couldn't care less since some people were just unlucky. like you.

however, you didn't know what you were doing in a place like this.

everybody deserved the chance to climb out of poverty to live a good life. that was a belief you held onto firmly because it was the only thing that you kept you going, but you did not belong in an estate like this.

but now here you were, and you couldn't regret it more than you did right now.

"what the hell, satoru?"

the bane of your existence tilted his head and furrowed his brows in that manner that captured the hearts of everyone. if only they saw. if only they knew. if only they realized who this wolf in sheep's clothing truly was⏤that this persona of a kind, cheerful, and loving guy everybody knew and loved wasn't who he truly was. he was the devil walking amongst humans, and he was fooling them all.

"what?" he asked all innocently with his teasing grin and flirty eyes that finally weren't hidden behind those sunglasses that he wore everywhere.

"dinner with my mom? what the hell is wrong with you?"

"she invited me over, babe. what was i supposed to do? reject her offer?"

gosh, he was insufferable. he knew exactly what he was doing, but didn't want to admit it. the idea of his new, profound actions had made that pit of unease which settled in your stomach grow with each little skin-crawling thing he did.

this wolf sauntered around helpless sheep, picking them out one by one until he reached his prey. you. the thing was, you didn't know why he was so fixated on you.

that was the worse part.

he was out to get you, and you couldn't do anything but wait.

and satoru had now picked out your mother.

"leave her alone! she's got nothing to do with this!" you hissed out like a feral cat, but you were good at controlling your emotions. this rolling stone just managed to bring out the worst in you⏤the ugly you didn't know existed.

satoru laughed and wrapped his arms around you in a suffocating hug as he smothered himself into the crook of your neck. "relax." his arms tightened the second you tried to move around. it was a warning. "is it wrong for me to meet my wife's mom? besides, your mom is an amazing cook. i can see where you got your skills from."

your mom.

the three days since you hadn't seen her felt like an eternity. was she worried? was she lonely? was she concerned about this “friend” you were having a sleepover with? considering your history, you wouldn't be surprised if she tore up the entire neighborhood looking for you before you were finally allowed to message her.

satoru's attention on you was like working a full time job in which you only clocked out when you fell asleep. even then, he found ways to ruin it for you, either with his helicopter behavior or die hard need to be touching you every second of the day.

your silence was something he didn't like, so he squeezed your body under his hold. that was enough of a threat. holding back a sigh, you reluctantly returned to running your fingers through his silky, pure snow-colored hair that surrounded his beautiful face like a halo. how could a person this beautiful be so vile?

if only you could save your mother from his poisonous claws.

"you know, your mother told me a few things about you."

"... what did she say?"

his sapphire blue eyes flicked up to stare into your eyes, and time came to a standstill when he smiled. he smiled like an angel but loved like the devil. if the devil could even love. you didn't want to admit that every time you looked into his eyes, your breath halted like the world around you. it went against your deep-rooted hate for him, but you'd be damned if you didn't crumble like ash when he set you on fire with his mere gaze.

satoru explained how your mother gushed and ranted on about how hard-working you were, how you were kind and caring, and how you needed a partner who would support you when times got difficult. he teased you about baby pictures of you, and you questioned whether this really was the same scrawny guy you saved from a bunch of bullies.

back then, he looked completely different from how he did right now. he wasn't some hot jock with a body that girls fan-girled over, no. he was a tall and scrawny kid with broken glasses, a busted lip, and bruises that told you he was clearly being bullied by his peers.

that fateful summer day, you were just taking a stroll through the neighborhood when he came tumbling towards you with four kids you knew all too well. ordering satoru to get behind you, you had beaten the crap out of everyone of those guys and patched him up at your home before walking him all the way back to his house.

he had vowed to meet you again, and well, he had done it.

that kid was so much more different than the guy you knew now, and you would be lying if you said you didn't feel a little solemn about it. he had changed for the worse. you should've know that when he made another appearance in your life. those four guys had disappeared.

satoru just followed you around like a bubbly guy trying to rope a grumpy and moody girl into a friendship, but you could do nothing but regret it now. he tailed you around to get evidence of you and your illegal “activities”. to threaten you.

you wished you never even saved him from those bullies that day. the thing was that you got into tussle with the police quite a lot. you got into fights a lot and had landed up in jail for the fifth time before getting released on probation. the deal was three strikes and you would land up in the slammer permanently. you were two strikes in when satoru got a video of you in a fight...

he used it to threaten you.

that was three months into school, and he had wound up with you in an abandoned warehouse near the place holding a party where the two of you were. he proposed his deal leading to you nearly going ballistic, but those three digits dialing the police were enough to make you settle down. 

satoru's deal was simple. if you became his girlfriend, then he wouldn't show the video to the police.

typical rich kid shit.

of course, he would use any means to get what he wanted. you were no exception.

reluctantly so, you accepted, and the seven month of agony begun. the smothering touches, the constant need to be near you, the controlling and obsessive behavior, the tracker in your phone? he was batshit insane!

you were a very patient person, though. rumors and history stated that most of his girlfriends lasted a maximum of a month before he got bored, so you waited. you waited, waited, waited, and waited! that was your fatal mistake.

how stupid of you.

one evening before prom changed it all.

the cool autumn breeze of the california evening blew at your loose strands of hair, the large palm trees casted shadows that fell down the lukewarm sand of the beach as clear and sparkly waves running along the orange and pink horizon crashed upon the shores, singing a faint tale of time.

"marry me."

staring at that blue diamond encased in a gold ring decorated with silver, you couldn't have helped but feel like chains had begun to wrap around you like boa snakes... slowly beginning to squeeze the life out of you.

satoru's eyes were bright and glowing like the colors of the diamond, and they looked up at you sinisterly with that grin that seemed to make the entire world fall apart around you. 

"we'll go to the courthouse tomorrow. who gives a damn about the elders?" his voice was pleading, but there it was. that tone. he spoke like he was stating. not pleading. "we'll have an american wedding."

and an american funeral.

for when he put the ring on your finger, you died.

...

the sun set, and you looked at the snake wrapped around your ring finger. it glimmered under the dim light of the bedroom like the glowing eyes of a predator staring from the shadows. 'you two were so in love with each other that it had driven the both of you insane!' satoru had claimed, but maybe...

maybe it was just you who had gone insane.

[book--brackets]

Valdemar: Heralds of Valdemar by Mercedes Lackey (1987-1988)

Chosen by the Companion Rolan, a mystical horse-like being with powers beyond imagining, Talia, once a runaway, has now become a trainee Herald, destined to become one of the Queen's own elite guard. For Talia has certain awakening talents of the mind that only a Companion like Rolan can truly sense.But as Talia struggles to master her unique abilities, time is running out. For conspiracy is brewing in Valdemar, a deadly treason that could destroy Queen and kingdom. Opposed by unknown enemies capable of both diabolical magic and treacherous assassination, the Queen must turn to Talia and the Heralds for aid in protecting the realm and insuring the future of the Queen's heir, a child already in danger of becoming bespelled by the Queen's own foes.

The Memoirs of Lady Trent by Marie Brennan (2013-2019)

You, dear reader, continue at your own risk. It is not for the faint of heart--no more so than the study of dragons itself. But such study offers rewards beyond compare: to stand in a dragon's presence, even for the briefest of moments--even at the risk of one's life--is a delight that, once experienced, can never be forgotten. . . .

All the world, from Scirland to the farthest reaches of Eriga, know Isabella, Lady Trent, to be the world's preeminent dragon naturalist. She is the remarkable woman who brought the study of dragons out of the misty shadows of myth and misunderstanding into the clear light of modern science. But before she became the illustrious figure we know today, there was a bookish young woman whose passion for learning, natural history, and, yes, dragons defied the stifling conventions of her day.

Here at last, in her own words, is the true story of a pioneering spirit who risked her reputation, her prospects, and her fragile flesh and bone to satisfy her scientific curiosity; of how she sought true love and happiness despite her lamentable eccentricities; and of her thrilling expedition to the perilous mountains of Vystrana, where she made the first of many historic discoveries that would change the world forever.

Entwined by Heather Dixon Wallwork (2011)

Just when Azalea should feel that everything is before her—beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing—it's taken away. All of it. And Azalea is trapped. The Keeper understands. He's trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. So he extends an invitation.

Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest, but there is a cost. The Keeper likes to keep things. Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his web until it is too late.

Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor (2011-2022)

Twelve-year-old Sunny lives in Nigeria, but she was born American. Her features are African, but she's albino. She's a terrific athlete, but can't go out into the sun to play soccer. There seems to be no place where she fits in. And then she discovers something amazing--she is a free agent with latent magical power. Soon she's part of a quartet of magic students, studying the visible and invisible, learning to change reality. But will it be enough to help them when they are asked to catch a career criminal who knows magic too?

Serafina by Robert Beatty (2015-2019)

Serafina has never had a reason to disobey her pa and venture beyond the grounds of the Biltmore estate. There's plenty to explore in her grand home, although she must take care to never be seen. None of the rich folk upstairs know that Serafina exists; she and her pa, the estate's maintenance man, have secretly lived in the basement for as long as Serafina can remember.

But when children at the estate start disappearing, only Serafina knows who the culprit is: a terrifying man in a black cloak who stalks Biltmore's corridors at night. Following her own harrowing escape, Serafina risks everything by joining forces with Braeden Vanderbilt, the young nephew of the Biltmore's owners. Braeden and Serafina must uncover the Man in the Black Cloak's true identity before all of the children vanish one by one.

Serafina's hunt leads her into the very forest that she has been taught to fear. There she discovers a forgotten legacy of magic, one that is bound to her own identity. In order to save the children of Biltmore, Serafina must seek the answers that will unlock the puzzle of her past.

The Children of the Red King by Jenny Nimmo (2002-2009)

The fabulous powers of the Red King were passed down through his descendants, after turning up quite unexpectedly, in someone who had no idea where they came from. This is what happened to Charlie Bone, and to some of the children he met behind the grim, gray walls of Bloor's Academy.

His scheming aunts decide to send him to Bloor Academy, a school for geniuses where he uses his gifts to discover the truth despite all the dangers that lie ahead.

Fairyland by Catherynne M. Valente (2011-2016)

Twelve-year-old September lives in Omaha, and used to have an ordinary life, until her father went to war and her mother went to work. One day, September is met at her kitchen window by a Green Wind (taking the form of a gentleman in a green jacket), who invites her on an adventure, implying that her help is needed in Fairyland. The new Marquess is unpredictable and fickle, and also not much older than September. Only September can retrieve a talisman the Marquess wants from the enchanted woods, and if she doesn't . . . then the Marquess will make life impossible for the inhabitants of Fairyland. September is already making new friends, including a book-loving Wyvern and a mysterious boy named Saturday.

World of the Five Gods by Lois McMaster Bujold (2001-2005)

Lord Cazaril has been in turn courier, courtier, castle-warder, and captain; now he is but a crippled ex-galley slave seeking nothing more than a menial job in the kitchens of the Dowager Provincara, the noble patroness of his youth. But Fortunes wheel continues to turn for Cazaril, and he finds himself promoted immediately to the exalted and dangerous position of secretary-tutor to the Iselle, the beautiful, fiery sister of the heir to Chalion’s throne.

Amidst the decaying splendour and poisonous intrigue of Chalion’s ancient capital, Cardegoss, Cazaril is forced to encounter both old enemies and surprising allies, as he seeks to lift the curse of misfortune that clings to the royal family of Chalion, and to all who come too close to them...

Keys to the Kingdom by Garth Nix (2003-2010)

Arthur Penhaligon's first days at his new school don't go too well, particularly when a fiendish Mister Monday appears, gives Arthur a magical clock hand, and then orders his gang of dog-faced goons to chase Arthur around and get it back. But when the confused and curious boy discovers that a mysterious virus is spreading through town, he decides to enter an otherworldly house to stop it. After meeting Suzy Blue and the first part of "the Will" (a frog-looking entity that knows everything about the House), Arthur learns that he's been selected as Rightful Heir to the House and must get the other part of the clock hand in order to defeat Monday. That means getting past Monday's henchmen and journeying to the Dayroom itself. Thankfully, Arthur is up to the challenge, but as he finds out, his fight seems to be only one-seventh over.

The Riyria Chronicles by Michael J. Sullivan (2013-present)

Hadrian Blackwater, a warrior with nothing to fight for, is paired with Royce Melborn, a thieving assassin with nothing to lose. Hired by an old wizard, they must steal a treasure that no one can reach. The Crown Tower is the impregnable remains of the grandest fortress ever built and home to the realm's most prized possessions. But it isn't gold or jewels that the wizard is after, and if he can just keep them from killing each other, they just might succeed.

[thepunkmuppet]

thinking about an alternate season 7 wherein instead of every potential slayer being hunted and then activated, every past slayer gets brought back to life. I don’t really like post-chosen content anyway, but when I do read / look at it the whole slayer academy, everyone’s a slayer thing is really stupid to me ngl 💀

previous slayers, though… nikki wood and xin rong interacting with spike, actually finding out about the slayer before buffy, slayers with different backgrounds and situations and personalities, KENDRA?! I just love it so much.

you’d be able to focus on a relatively small cast of slayers, much like the potentials, throughout the season. this would include buffy, faith, kendra, nikki, and some other american slayers from varying time periods with a couple interesting international characters too (maybe a slayer from ancient greece / rome / egypt, or an anglo-saxon one or something). these are all experienced slayers, so no need to focus on training - it would be more about lore, history and their personal character journeys, assimilating them into society (creating some fun bottle episodes, maybe a day out on the town with dawn and a historical slayer) and trying to figure out why they were all brought back. also, if you want to keep the first as the main villain, then it can look like any one of them because they’re all technically dead, which means you can still have that episode with the dead potential revealing herself as the first and all the mistrust that’s threaded throughout the season.

plus with nikki back, there would be no need for the stupid sleeper agent thing with spike or the ridiculous fight between him and robin. all the same ideas (and the flashbacks to spike’s mum) could still be explored, and in a way better way imo.

I reckon the reason they were brought back would probably be the powers that be (tying nicely into angel ofc) trying to defeat the first. and of course the ending would be this huge battle, as all the slayers from around the world come to sunnydale, and maybe to add some drama they would all disappear and die again when the battle’s done as they have fulfilled their purpose (a classic finale knife to the heart that would have everyone sobbing, especially over nikki and kendra).

there’s also the added thing of like,, I appreciate the show was leaning towards a theme of “hope for the future” with the potentials angle, but literally every other aspect of the season is about harkening back to the past. faith, robin, the first taking the form of previous characters, the high school, the slayer origins, etc etc. so I just think this idea would work so much better with the themes of the season, and tie in really nicely.

and the most obvious perk of this concept is kendra! she was forgotten about so quickly, and this season would really give the writers a chance to redeem themselves for the terrible way poc characters have been treated throughout the show (ignoring what they did to robin. FUCK that but that’s another conversation). I think the show really downplayed how much kendra’s death would have affected buffy, and seeing the two of them interact after buffy has changed so much and kendra’s still the same would be amazing. there’s also the interesting concept that, having been brought back from the dead, kendra still be 17, and therefore closer in age to dawn than to buffy, which could make for some really nice interactions between the two of them. also of course the biggest most exciting thing is having buffy, faith and kendra all interact. they all represent places on a spectrum in terms of personality, and I would LOVE to see kendra and faith interact and how much of a unit they would likely become as a trio.

there’s also the theme of buffy feeling (and being) alone in this season that would hopefully go away, as she would now have dozens of people who truly understand her, giving her a proper support system which I would love to see (season 7 scoobies can actually eat shit btw <3)

so. was this born out of my hatred for insufferable kennedy and the annoying potentials? yes absolutely. do I now want them to rewrite and re-film the entire last season 20 years later? yes absolutely I’m so glad you understand

side note wouldn’t it be sick if in the final battle there’s just this one slo-mo shot where buffy stakes a vamp and through the dust she sees the first slayer looking at her from across the battlefield before she disappears amongst the fight. WHAT it would literally be awesome hello?!

also also other side note sorry but Mother(TM) nikki wood would NEVER kick buffy out of her own house. fuck them kids fr

[unhetalia]

well. I guess it depends on what relationship head canons you have for ukus if they ever truly got together?

I had to think about this (nap) because I realised just how LITTLE established relationship UKUS I've actually consumed. I think I've read a lot more established RusAme than established UKUS. Maybe because I'm incredibly picky about the latter dynamic? Anyway - because I haven't read a lot of it, I had to think really hard about what it would look like.

I personally don't think there would be obvious differences between Arthur-and-Alfred-as-friends and Arthur-and-Alfred-as-lovers, but that still means talking about how I see Arthur and Alfred as friends.

As friends, banter is a huge part of Alfred and Arthur's dynamic. A long time ago, there was probably real bitterness in their jabs. Over time, it becomes a softer thing. (One of the songs I associate with UKUS is "So American" by Olivia Rodrigo, because I absolutely believe that's one of the things Arthur always says to Alfred - "you're so American", smirking or laughing, no sharpness or rebuke in his words.)

Arthur grew up with a lot of siblings and he's quick witted - but Alfred has amazing memory and can bring up anything anyone has done that he's witnessed, and is really good at knowing exactly what someone finds embarrassing or infuriating. They have fun riling each other up - this is what leads to them trying to scare each other silly every Halloween.

As a couple, this doesn't change. (It works for them, especially since both of them have a hard time expressing themselves sincerely.) The importance of this aspect of their dynamic is the fact that Alfred doesn't get offended by any of Arthur's comments - not the stuff about himself, or his dry, unimpressed observations about everything around him. He finds it funny, and Arthur thrives on that. Arthur has suffered a lot from being tied to people who found him wanting in some way, but Alfred is one of the few people who actively enjoys and seeks out Arthur's company and doesn't seem to find him wanting in some way.

The second thing is they have a good balance of things they enjoy doing together, and things they're dragging each other to. Alfred enjoys a lot of British media and food (once again, something that's more important to Arthur than he can say). Arthur enjoys McDonald's, and doesn't mind eating there when Alfred gets a craving. But Arthur doesn't enjoy the wilderness in the way Alfred does - is a bit ... discomfited at how there's huge swathes of American land that are completely wild. Alfred drags him to these places, for hiking and camping, and Arthur re-discovers a part of himself that he'd lost in England's industrialisation. Meanwhile, Arthur really pushes Alfred to appreciate the depth of English and European history. It allows for both comfort and growth in their relationship.

The third thing - Alfred is high energy, and so curious about the world. I absolutely believe Alfred has a few doctorates under his belt and invents and fixes things in his spare time. While I don't see Alfred working for the government, I can sometimes see him working for NASA. He's constantly tinkering or jotting things down. He's actually incredibly cerebral.

Arthur is physical. He never stopped sword fighting, and practices martial arts. He runs, and goes to the gym, does boxing (I've mentioned these things in my headcanon about England's appearance before). But when he's not doing those things, he does things that quiet his mind. He crochets or knits. Something repetitive and soothing. Meditative.

They can sit for hours in the same room, Arthur knitting while Alfred has blueprints spread over their coffee table. And its peaceful, and you don't think it even matters if the other person is there or not, but Arthur has to go to London for a week to sort something out and Alfred can't get anything done at home and has to go to the office every day.

HAVE I EVEN SAID ANYTHING IN THIS ASK. Basically Alfred and Arthur after having sex is incredibly similar to them before having sex. The act of sex changes everything and nothing all at once. But their relationship is a lot of being able to feel appreciated where you never felt appreciated before, a lot of being able to do things together that you love, and doing things together that you hate but somehow still helps you grow as a person, and also being able to do nothing together.

[rabbitcruiser]

National Greasy Foods Day

Deliciously satisfying bites with a hint of indulgence, these comfort eats are a guilty pleasure that never fails to hit the spot.

”Greasy food might not be good for your body, but it does wonders for the soul. A healthy diet may prolong your life, but what would you have to live for? What is the point of living to a hundred if you have to subsist on bland food? One may as well die of boredom.” ~ Jessica Zafra

The world is full of a veritable cavalcade of delicious foods, and the vast majority of them are filled to the brim with fats and grease! While those who are on a crusade for better health often find themselves avoiding these amazing foods in favor of a thinner waistline, Greasy Food Day encourages us to take a day off from that diet and remember the good things in life.

Otherwise, as Ms. Zafra says, what else are we living for?

On this day, it’s time to celebrate living for Greasy Food!

History of Greasy Food Day

These types of food certainly get a lot of hate from health fanatics, those delicious meals that make everyone’s mouths and souls sing out loud with joy. Granted, this day definitely wasn’t started by a doctor or nutritionist who was on a health food kick.

Whether talking about the rich stretchy cheese that graces the tops of people’s favorite pizza dishes, or the flavorful and delicious sub sandwiches that are shiny with grease as they are unwrapped, greasy foods can truly be said to be one of the greatest things in life. (That is, at least, while they are being eaten. For some people, that doesn’t necessarily hold true afterward when their stomachs are all tied up in knots.)

Now it is true that greasy food should be consumed in moderation, but sometimes moderation is a thing for the other 364 days out of a full year.

Greasy Food Day encourages everyone on earth to indulge in their favorite things and remember what it was like to truly be able to enjoy anything without consequence.

What’s your favorite greasy food? Juicy hamburgers? Hot dogs bursting with flavor? Sausage Rolls? Maybe some Canadian will enjoy the overwhelmingly flavorful and greasy dish that is poutine?

Whatever the chosen poison, Greasy Food Day is the perfect excuse to dive in and enjoy it like there’s no tomorrow. Get ready to celebrate with Greasy Food!

How to Celebrate Greasy Food Day

Enjoy a Greasy Food Meal

Go out to that special dive restaurant and order your favorite greasy dishes, and don’t forget to bring some napkins! Sometimes nicknamed a “Greasy Spoon” these restaurants are all about cooking with the tastiest of fats. Almost everything is deep-fried in oil until deliciously crisp, and often dripping with grease.

Whether french fries, onion rings or a greasy slice of pizza, this day is all about enjoying the drip. So pop into that restaurant and order up all the things that would normally be on the list of “no-nos”.

Enjoy the Greasiest American Foods

This day is all about paying heed to greasy foods. But even among them, some are greasier than others. Try out these ideas for how to bag the absolutely greasiest foods that American Culture has to offer:

Philly Cheesesteak. Cooked properly, this sandwich will require not only a pile of napkins but also perhaps a bib in order to eat it without getting extremely messy. Beef steak, chopped and cooked over a grill is made even greasier with the addition of cheese and onions.

Buffalo Wings. Named after the city in New York in which they began, these chicken wings are dipped in batter and deep fried before being coated in a buttery hot sauce. Finish it off with a dip in some blue cheese or ranch dressing.

Cheese Curds. How to take cheese and make it fattier? Deep fry it! A Wisconsin favorite (perhaps due to its dairy production) these little balls of cheese are dipped in batter and then, of course, deep fried to perfection. For an Italian twist on this northern favorite, try fried Mozzarella sticks.

Watch One (or Both) of the Grease Films

In keeping with the theme of the day, while downing those greasy foods, why not take in the guilty pleasure of watching one of these Grease themed films?

Grease (1978). This American musical romantic comedy film starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton John is what drove the careers of these two to the top. Based on the 1971 stage musical of the same name, this story of two young high schoolers who fell in love has been a hit for generations.

Grease 2 (1982). Quite a bit less popular than the first (possibly due to the absence of Newton-John and Travolta), this followup film didn’t score well at the box office. It was okay for Michelle Pfeiffer, however, and her career moved forward because of this.

Make Some Greasy Food at Home

Is your favorite greasy food a family recipe? Alright then! It’s time to get the family together and celebrate Greasy Food Day with a rich dish that is steeped in tradition. And be sure to pass that on to the kids so they can continue the celebration once you’re gone. Rich greasy food is often a comfort food for many people, so don’t let anyone tell you that you don’t deserve a bit of comfort. In fact, get as comfortable as you like on Greasy Food Day!

Source

[lab1rynth]

Ouhh how about a Yan! Salesman that's Sus af-?

🐄

Yan!Salesman

You had found yourself established within the confines of the new utopia, a refuge painstakingly built amidst the ruins left in the wake of a world gone awry. Within this enclave, an intimate expanse of verdant grass and the picturesque allure of white picket-fenced American dreams stood in stark contrast to the desolation and detritus that stretched beyond its borders. The looming spectre of nuclear warfare had cast its ominous shadow, but your fortunate circumstances granted you the opulence required to secure a sanctuary in these trying times. In this haven beneath the dome, the very concept of currency had been relegated to the annals of history, along with the violence and discord it often perpetuated. A harmonious existence unfurled, one where material wealth held no dominion, and the cacophony of negativity had been silenced. Your faith in this reality remained steadfast, a testament to the promise of an existence detached from the trappings of avarice and strife.

However, as the sun traced its course across the sky one ordinary day, a sound echoed that shattered the tranquil equilibrium you had grown accustomed to—the knock upon your door, an unexpected intrusion into the serene tableau you had come to embrace. The reverberations of that knock seemed to ripple through the very fabric of your belief, an intimation that perhaps even within this oasis, the tendrils of the outside world could insinuate themselves.

A gentleman donning a tailored suit stood before you, a black clipboard clutched in his hand, meticulously adjusting his tie. A broad smile adorned his face as you swung open the door. "Greetings, Mx," he chimed, his hand resting gently over his heart in a self-introduction. "Isn't it a splendid day?" he mused, and you responded with a smile of your own. "Absolutely, sir. The weather is truly amazing today," you remarked while brushing a strand of hair away from your face. You noticed his gaze momentarily fixated on your hand before he met your eyes once again. "Well," he continued, his grin widening, "I have a feeling you'd find Mackle Co.'s latest innovation, the Shaved Ice Maker, simply irresistible! No longer will you have to endure the oppressive heat without a moment of respite. This ingenious gadget is your gateway to instant refreshment. Just envision it: crafting delectable shaved ice creations in a matter of seconds. Whether you're inclined towards the classic allure of fruit-flavored syrups, the adventure of experimenting with vibrant tropical blends, or even the pursuit of concocting your own signature mix, the potential is as limitless as your imagination." However, before he could further elaborate, you raised your hand slightly, politely interjecting, "No thank you, kind sir. I'm not currently wouldn't like anything." He attempted to continue, a trace of enthusiasm still lingering, "Ah, but that's where the beauty lies—" Your decisive gesture cut him off mid-sentence. With a shake of your head, you gently closed the door, putting an end to the conversation with the persistent salesman.

Over the upcoming weeks, he maintained the routine of appearing at your doorstep promptly at 8 AM every morning. As the weeks progressed, it was during the third one that the nature of the items he presented took a bizarre turn. Among them were lingerie, meat cleavers, ropes, and even 'self-pleasuring' devices. Faced with this unsettling evolution, you adopted a strategy of avoidance. Clutching a pillow against your ears, you sought to muffle his incessant knocking by any means possible. The situation had reached a juncture where it felt akin to enduring a form of psychological torment.

However, on a certain day, the cycle abruptly ceased. There was no rap of knuckles against the door, no exuberant voice attempting to sell you items that held no place in your life. Silence hung in the air, unbroken. Intrigued by the sudden shift, you ventured to open the door, half-expecting him to be stationed there, but to your surprise, he was absent. Truly, he was nowhere to be seen. This realization had a profound impact. It elicited a sense of astonishment, causing the day to unfold with a newfound lightness. The weight of enduring the relentless cycle of knocking and scripted discourse was lifted, and a noticeable sense of contentment settled in. Liberated from the hour-long ritual of repetition, a refreshing wave of freedom and alertness washed over you.

That evening, you relished the tranquility as you enjoyed your dinner, took a leisurely shower, and prepared for bed without disturbances. Eventually, you swung open the door to your bedroom, greeted by the enveloping darkness only punctuated by a slender thread of moonlight filtering through the window. As you stepped inside, you extended your body in a languid stretch, accompanied by a soft yawn. Your pajama shirt hitched upwards, baring a hint of your abdomen as your arms reached skyward.

Settling onto your bed, you nestled into a comfortable position and gradually closed your eyes. However, your repose was abruptly shattered by a resounding bang that reverberated through the room. Startled, your eyes flew open, and you instinctively edged away from the source of the disturbance – the door that had unexpectedly slammed shut. In a quickened heartbeat, you propelled yourself upright and hastened to create distance from whatever had orchestrated the forceful closure of your door.

"Do I not excel at salesmanship?" The familiar voice inquired, dripping with familiarity. "I'm rather fond of this occupation, you see! I can't simply allow someone to decline my offerings! I've presented deals, discounts, even items for free!" he rambled, advancing toward you and pushing you against the room's corner, leaving you with little room to maneuver. His breath, warm and charged, danced upon your skin, an uncomfortably intimate proximity.

"Clearly, it's not the products that are the issue! Could it be that I fail to amuse you? Are you playing hard to get?" He exhaled with a touch of exasperation, a reaction that forced a whimper from you due to sheer dread. He chuckled, his fingers taking a firm grip on your face, causing your features to distort and your lips to compress beneath his palm.

"Are you under the delusion that your mere beauty grants you the power to sabotage my profession? Regrettably, that's not how it works," he snarled, his tone laced with a simmering aggression.

He emitted a thoughtful hum, tilting his head and maintaining his intent gaze on your wide, fearful eyes. A faint smile curved his lips, the corners of his mouth lifting gently. "Yes, I think I'll keep you," he remarked, releasing a chuckle that resounded with an eerie note. The once-small smile on his face transformed into a sinister grin that hinted at hidden motives. "Indeed, that's the plan."

With a swift motion, he lifted you from your position, though in that moment, your surge of adrenaline ignited a fierce resistance. Kicking, yelling, and striking out, you fiercely contested his hold. Yet, despite your efforts, he overpowered you, forcefully maneuvering you until you were slammed face-first onto the bed. Your face met the plush comforter, and he pressed you down, muffling your protests. "Quiet!" he commanded, his voice a sharp admonishment.

Taking control, he situated himself atop your back, securing your position with one hand pressed against the back of your head. With the other hand, he deftly worked on loosening his tie, fumbling only momentarily before managing to cinch your hands together. But his actions didn't stop there. Next, he seized your pillow, swiftly removing its case, and proceeded to place the pillowcase within your mouth, securing it tightly behind your head.

"There, there. All settled now," he breathed, his voice carrying an unsettling calmness. "All perfectly hushed and serene."

Subsequently, he hoisted you onto his shoulder, bearing your weight with a casual nonchalance akin to carrying a sack of potatoes. In this unusual posture, he exited your abode, the hinges of your front door releasing a soft creak. An almost carefree whistle escaped his lips, harmonizing with his steps as he walked. Amidst the tune, his voice reemerged, weaving a disquieting narrative.

"I've had my sights set on you for quite some time, my dear," he declared, his tone unwavering. "Nearly eight months have transpired since I initially crossed your threshold and beheld the sheer allure you radiated." His speech flowed seamlessly, punctuated by a contemplative pause. "Instinctively, I recognized the imperative to entice you, to win your favor. Regrettably, your veiled coyness served to complicate my intentions," he mused, his thoughts wandering audibly.

His purposeful stride halted before a dwelling that bore striking resemblance to your own, mirroring the uniformity of the surrounding houses. With practiced precision, he unlocked the entryway and crossed the threshold, sealing himself within. The sound of the door's latch clicking resonated as he twisted it into place, securing both his entry and your shared isolation. "As fate would have it," he disclosed, a trace of undeniable magnetism underlining his words, "my attraction towards you only intensified in its allure."

Continuing with unwavering resolve, he guided you to a securely locked door, revealing its interior as he swung it open. The revealed scene unveiled a set of descending stairs that led to a welcoming and snug basement atmosphere. "Finally, here we are," he mused, a note of satisfaction in his tone. Gently seating you in a well-padded chair, he moved closer, the distance between you diminishing. His voice, soft and controlled, carried a sense of assurance.

"Moving forward," his words conveyed a sense of tranquility, a shared understanding between you, "there's no need for you to consider my products again. You'll remain in my care, free from any such concerns. I love you, my dear.

[reasoningdaily]

GREENWOOD, Dist. – On the 102nd anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre, the Tulsa Community Remembrance Coalition honors unknown victims with a solemn soil collection ceremony at Standpipe Hill in the Historic Greenwood District. The gathered soil, collected from both Standpipe Hill and Oaklawn Cemetery, honors those whose lives were tragically lost during this dark and painful moment in history.

The exact number of victims who perished in the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 remains unknown. However, estimations range from 300 to upwards of 500. The event, which took place over a two-day period from May 31 to June 1, resulted in widespread destruction and loss of life in the Greenwood district of Tulsa, Oklahoma, also known as “Black Wall Street.” However, due to the chaotic nature of the massacre, the destruction of records, and a lack of comprehensive investigations, an accurate and final count of the victims has never been determined.

Recent efforts to uncover the full extent of the tragedy continue, including through forensic investigations and testimonies from survivors and their descendants.

Greg Robinson, a member of the Tulsa Community Remembrance Coalition, emphasized the significance of gathering at Standpipe Hill. “It is amazing that we honor those unknown who were lost in the Tulsa Race Massacre. That we do it here on truly sacred ground – that actually represents the greatness of what Black Wall Street was, is and will be into the future,” Robinson shared. He then honored the American World War I veterans who lost their lives. “It is not lost on us that we honor veterans on this day as well,” Robinson added. 

During the ceremony, Kristi Williams, a member of the Tulsa Remembrance Coalition and a descendant of the massacre, delivered a poignant reading. Through her words, she reminded everyone in attendance of the historical significance of the Tulsa Race Massacre and shed light on the countless victims whose identities have been lost to time, emphasizing the need to remember and honor them.

“Less than two dozen victims have been documented by name, but research has estimated that hundreds of Black men, women and children died in the massacre,” Williams sternly explained. 

During Williams’ address, she shared an intriguing detail about the majestic hackberry tree standing tall on Standpipe Hill. She then revealed that this remarkable tree possesses a special ability to grow thick bark over the areas that were once damaged by fire, creating a protective shield against future harm, explaining that its resilient characteristic serves as a metaphor for the community’s ability to heal and endure in the face of adversity.

Williams proceeded to recount the heroic tale of Horace ‘Peg leg’ Taylor, a World War I veteran. She described how Taylor courageously positioned himself atop Standpipe Hill, wielding a gatling gun, and valiantly defended the hill for hours, providing a vital shield for the residents of Greenwood as they sought to escape from the violent White mob.

US Veteran Kenneth ‘K.Roc’ Brant, who works for the Terence Crutcher Foundation, shared a deeply personal reflection on the mental struggle he faced during the Centennial of the Massacre back in 2021. 

He recounted the challenge of honoring both the victims of the Tulsa Race Massacre and the veterans during the centennial commemoration, which coincided with Memorial Day weekend. 

“That weekend weighed heavily on me. [I was] torn as a Black military veteran and a Black man living in Tulsa,” Brant shared. At the ceremony, Brant recited a poem he wrote called “Holding Space” to express the thoughts and feelings he experienced. “This weekend, we remembered that some gave all. Here in Tulsa, we remembered that some took all. How do I hold space for both?” Brant said.

Brant’s individual story sheds light on the emotional and psychological battle he endured during his time in service and while navigating the complexities of what Black soldiers experienced during the Massacre upon their return to Tulsa after WWI.

[nothwell]

FIORENZO is a queer fantasy-of-manners romance featuring hurt/comfort, swordplay, and a happily-ever-after. And it’s finally out in paperback! Shown here with some of the books that inspired it.

The World of the Castrati by Patrick Barbier Not just a thorough examination of individual castrati lives but also the operatic world that created them. Highly recommended, even (or especially) if you know nothing of opera.

Nicoletto Giganti’s The School of the Sword A swordfighting guide by a fencing master of Renaissance Venice. This book, combined with As You Wish (see below) and Vico Ortiz’s Fencing 101 class proved absolutely essential to making the fight scenes in Fiorenzo possible.

M: The Man Who Became Caravaggio by Peter Robb Come for the art history lesson about a queer Renaissance painter, stay for the tennis court castration duel.

Art and Life in Renaissance Venice and Private Lives in Renaissance Venice by Patricia Fortini Brown While the general history of Venice was necessary (see below), the more specific focus of Brown’s books provided absolutely invaluable insight into the the day-to-day habits of Venice’s historical citizens.

John Singer Sargent: Venetian Figures and Landscapes, 1898-1913 Sargent’s mind-blowing skill with oil portraits is well known, but his watercolour sketches of cityscapes and Venice architecture are truly astounding in their mastery of light and form. Seeing the city through his eyes over a hundred years ago was wildly inspiring.

Sargent, Whistler & Venetian Glass This was an incredible traveling exhibit of Venetian glassware, lace, and other amazing examples of skilled craft alongside paintings by American artists who drew inspiration from Venice in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. I had the good fortune to catch it as it came through Mystic Seaport in Connecticut. It also included an actual Venetian gondola (dry-docked, no felze) which gave me an invaluable sense of just how absolutely huge those things are.

As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes and Joe Layden Invaluable insight into the training, choreography, and filming process for one of the greatest swordfighting scenes in cinematic history.

The Princess Bride by William Goldman It’s a swordfighting romance. Enough said.

Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner It’s a queer swordfighting romance. Enough said. (Although I have said far more.)

Ruskin’s Venice: The Stones Revisited by Sarah Quill Venice through the eyes of a Victorian.

Venice: A New History by Thomas F. Madden A general history of Venice was essential in creating Halcyon.

~

FIORENZO is a queer fantasy-of-manners romance featuring hurt/comfort, swordplay, and a happily-ever-after. Available now wherever fine books are found!

Amazon • Apple Books • Barnes & Noble • Bookshop.org • Kobo • Smashwords

[scolop98]

VOTE JAKAPIL FOR DINOSAUR MARCH MADNESS

@a-dinosaur-a-day

No other contestant in the final four is such A Creature™️ the way that Jakapil is. Jakapil is simultaneously the ultimate being to exist from the perspective of a dinosaur-obsessed child and a fascinating, paradigm-shifting paleontological enigma. Literally the perfect dinosaur, what more could you want

Why vote for Jakapil?

the most likely scenario here is that this guy represents a hundred million year old ghost lineage of basal thyreophorans that we’ve never discovered before. The less likely scenarios are bipedal armored ceratopsian or a completely new kind of ornithsician, both of which have been genuinely considered by some paleontologists! Whatever the case, Jakapil represents a brand new, never-before seen lineage of dinosaurs unlike anything we’ve ever known before, and that’s SO COOL

Aesthetically, this is a bipedal armored dinosaur with tiny abelisaur-grade arms, estimated to be less than 5 ft long and 15 lb (or 1.5 m and 7 kg max). Literally perfect. I’m really bad at visualizing measurements but I’m pretty sure you could pick it up and hold it in your arms if you tried. Sure you could do that with Heracles or Caihong, but you don’t need a Time Machine to pick up parrots and shiny bird things - there’s nothing like Jakapil for you to hold and snuggle today

They’re so friggin weird. It’s got jaws like a ceratopsian or a heterodontosaur, a jaw bone that no other basal thyreophorans have, arm anatomy shockingly similar to abelisaurs, and THEY CAN CHEW. I know that chewing seems really normal to us humans but it’s so weird to see outside of mammals. Practically the only other dinosaurs that chew are ornithopods. Jakapil seems like it’s trying to be as many kinds of dinosaur as possible, which further supports my statement that it is the Ultimate Dinosaur

It’s armored and covered in spikes. ‘Nuff said

Also a friendly reminder that the only other known bipedal thyreophoran is Scutellosaurus, which was from Early Jurassic Europe. Jakapil is from late Cretaceous South America, so this guy just popped up across the world a hundred million years later with practically no trace of its ancestors. How did this happen? What the fuck were its ancestors doing in that time? Heracles may have given us neat answers to New Zealand-y questions, but Jakapil gave us questions we didn’t even know needed to be asked

I’ve said it once and I’ve said it again, South America’s fauna has been friggin' amazing since the Cretaceous and never stopped. Automatic points for being a South American dinosaur. This guy lived alongside Giganotosaurus and Buitreraptor!!

What about the other contestants, you may ask? Kholumolumo is only here for the meme. Outside of the funny name and it’s absurdly convoluted history to getting formally named, what do you actually know about it? How much does it contribute to our understanding of dinosaurs compared to the other contestants?

Caihong is basic. I’m sorry but I won’t back down from this (for another few months at least). I love dromaeosaurs as much as the next person, but literally all that Caihong has going for it is it’s ultra-inridescence. Any other Chinese dromaeosaur could provide the rest. Look past your instinctual love of shiny things and vote for something that breaks away from everything we thought we knew to become something truly unique!

As for Heracles... I actually have nothing bad to say about Heracles, I love New Zealand's fauna and giant flightless birds (especially on islands). But while I love Heracles for everything it stands for, I feel like Jakapil stands for so much more. Heracles is a wonderful addition to our knowledge of it's lineage and environment, but also... is it really that surprising to find a giant flightless bird in New Zealand that belongs to that a family endemic to New Zealand? Jakapil is just such a bizarre, fascinating, unexpected discovery from so many perspectives. It is truly the ultimate dinosaur, and we should honor it as such

As of the time of writing there's still four days left at the polls and Jakapil is a steady second place in all three of them. We still have time to win this for Jakapil and dethrone Caihong!

[afrotumble]

IF "I GOT YOUR BACK" WAS A PICTURE...

Samuel L. Jackson and Latonya Richardson have been married for 41 years. The couple says they “made a pact to stay together” as they've “always said the most revolutionary thing that Black people could do was stay together.”

On August 18, 1980, Jackson married actress and producer LaTanya Richardson, whom he met while attending Morehouse College.The couple have a daughter named Zoe (born 1982).

FOR BETTER FOR WORSE...IN SICKNESS & IN HEALTH

Both confess that while marriage really is as simple as that, it doesn't mean that it's always been easy. When Jackson became addicted to drugs in the early '90s, his wife helped him get into rehab and he has now been in recovery for over 30 years. “She gave me the chance to be the man I was supposed to be,” he said as, shortly after he got out of rehab, his career took off thanks to his role in Spike Lee's 1991 Jungle Fever.

Richardson adds that her husband is truly “an anomaly” in Hollywood because he genuinely “loves every job he does. Snakes on a Plane, I'm like, ‘Really?’” But while they both love to work, they also make sure to prioritize spending their down time with family and friends, which is why every July they stop working and often take their daughter and her friends out on a boat.

The couple have found a way to even spend time together at work, joining forces as producing partners on the Apple TV+ limited series The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey, which Jackson also stars in. “I'm amazed at how busy we are in our seventh decade,” Richardson said. “I'm grateful because I think of all the things that could be.”

by Black American History (Facebook)

[abirdie]

Guardian interviews at the BFI 2006: Gael García Bernal

16 October 2006 (x and x)

"When it's good, cinema can be one of the most important things in a person's life. A film can be a catalyst for change."

[on the origins of Ambulante] "a very close friend [...] suggested that we make a rock tour, but for documentaries. I was very drunk at the time so it sounded amazing"

"It is truly impossible to take politics out of any story made in Latin America or Mexico. The place demands that you involve its history [...] it is inevitable to be political and I must say it is irresponsible not to acknowledge it. It augments the fiction and it is there to be grabbed and used, without the politics having to be spoon-fed to the audience."

"I've tried to say to myself that it could be better living somewhere else, but how is it better to be an exile from myself? I want the chance to live and experience the country that I come from."

Full interview (it's long) after the jump.

Geoff Andrew: We're going to be talking about Mexican film-making, Latin American film-making and Gael's contributions and ideas about that. Gael, we know that you decided at a very early age that you wanted to act, but when did you decide you wanted to act in films?

Gael Garcia Bernal: I didn't know I wanted to do films until I started to do them. Very few films are made in Mexico and film-making belonged to a very specific group, a clique. And my parents didn't participate in that group - they were more theatre actors. But it just happened. I came to London to study a three-year course, and about a year and a half into it, I was invited to do casting for Amores Perros. I got a phone call from Alejandro González Iñárritu, the director, and he asked me to read something, videotape myself and send it back to him. I had never done casting before in my life, so I did exactly what he told me to do. After that, I got a phone call back from him saying, "Let's do it." So he sends me the script, and I said yes - well, I was going to say yes anyway. But there was one big problem - my school [the Central School of Speech and Drama, London] didn't allow me to work. In England, they don't let you miss school - if you miss school for three days, you get chucked out. In Mexico, this is completely incomprehensible. So I told Alejandro, and he came up with a very good Latin American solution to this problem - he said that a relative was a director of a hospital and he would be able to get me a medical certificate to say that I had contracted some big tropical disease on my last visit to Mexico. That was perfect because I had no hair when I got back here from Amores Perros and people believed me completely. I only missed one week of drama school, so it wasn't that bad. But my movement teacher told me to take it easy and my classmates sent get well cards to me in Mexico, so it was embarrassing.

A year and a half after that I was invited to do Y Tu Mamá También - the director had helped in the editing of Amores Perros and invited me on that basis. So I came back to school from doing Y Tu Mamá También and people were surprised that a film I'd been in was already playing at Cannes. It felt like a little thing - I asked the producers when I was doing Y Tu Mamá También if they could give me a VHS recording of the film that I could show to my family, because in Mexico and Latin America, when you do a film, you don't expect anybody to see it, especially not in the cinema. They never did give me the VHS recording I asked for, but then I was asked to go to Cannes to present Amores Perros. And little did I know that this film would be huge. I saw it for the first time in Cannes, and it was the first time I'd seen myself on such a big screen. And it had a huge impact on me - it was the strangest feeling. I was completely taken in and moved by the way the film transcended our experience of making it, the way it captured it. Many coins dropped into my brain [the penny dropped] - I understood the nature of cinema. When it's good, cinema can be one of the most important things in a person's life. A film can be a catalyst for change. You witness this and it is an incredibly spiritual experience that I'd never lived before; well, maybe only in a football match. But that's when everything started for me in film. I never thought I would do a film - that all seemed so far away. Honestly, I never thought I would be here, talking to you. I feel such huge pride. I used to come to see so many amazing directors, actors, writers and theorists talk cinema when I was a student, so I am really, really, really proud to be here talking to you.

GA: Amores Perros was a breakthrough film in many respects. It brought Mexican cinema a much higher profile than it had enjoyed in a while, and was followed by Y Tu Mamá También very shortly. Y Tu Mamá También, while on the surface being about two horny teenagers going after an older woman…

GGB: With good reason.

GA: With good reason. But while they're talking about sex, the film is showing you other things, like people getting arrested, living in villages that are much poorer than the backgrounds of the two boys. It's very much a film that tries to show Mexico in a fresh light. It has an almost documentary feel, like The Motorcycle Diaries. You have set up a film company, Canana, with Diego Luna and you've also set up a travelling documentary film festival, Ambulante. Where did this interest in documentary come from?

GGB: I guess the starting point for Ambulante was our very good friend, Eugenio Polgovsky, who did a film as his thesis for CCC, one of the biggest schools for cinema in Mexico. The film is called Tropico de Cáncer. And the film started to do amazingly well - winning festivals and starting to travel. But there was no interest to release it in Mexico. Of course not, because there's no niche for it in Mexico's film infrastructure. But if you create an audience, then you create the demand for such films to be shown, seen and made. So we thought we'd help to distribute Tropico de Cáncer. So how do you distribute a film when you have no money? You tell everybody that it's good and they should see it. So that's basically what we did. And we had a brilliant proposal from a very close friend - he suggested that we make a rock tour, but for documentaries. I was very drunk at the time so it sounded amazing. But it was hard to pick it up and put it into a structure. So we got together 20 documentaries and we were going to take them around the country. How? With what money? That's when we had to start thinking about things that we had no clue how to do. By this point, we had already thought of setting up this production company, Canana. The name, by the way, comes from the bullet belt that revolutionaries wear. I thought it was brilliant at the time. So anyway, we were learning how to set up and run a company. Imagine, Diego and me, we're pretty primitive. We didn't even know how to keep a car running, we didn't know how to do anything. But luckily, one of our best friends, Pablo Cruz, was already a producer, and he helped us build the production company. And Ambulante was a festival organised in only two months. We chose the best documentaries that we had seen - some of them could participate while others couldn't. At the same time, we worked on the promotion and sponsorship, because obviously we had no money to do this. Fortunately we found a really good partner, which was the Morelia film festival. We also got support from Cinepolis, which is the biggest cinema chain in Mexico - they offered a place for these documentaries to be shown, for a week at a time, in cities where documentaries were never shown before. We also went to the press and it all started to happen. It's been successful in a number of cities and next year it's going to be even stronger. Who knows where this will get us, but at least it's creating a niche and demand for documentaries to be seen in Mexico.

GA: You and Diego have both directed, you with Deficit and Diego with a documentary as well. When did you decide that you wanted to try directing?

GGB: I think since I was in drama school, I wanted to direct in the theatre. When you are an actor, you just have to open your eyes and you start to learn a lot about how to survive on set and what's important and how to tell a story. Directing is really about putting yourself out there, to be slapped in a way. You know that in the kitchen, you're gonna get burned. It's very scary but very exciting as well. If you have something to say, you have nothing to lose and you probably learn from the experience. Most probably you'll end up finishing the film, and hopefully - and this is less probable - it'll be brilliant. At the end of the day, who the hell knows whether the story that you tell is going to interest anybody else. So anyway, Diego - it's a shame he couldn't come tonight as he is right now rehearsing a play called Festen in Mexico. Well, Diego found the perfect subject for a Mexican documentary - the life of Julio Cesar Chavez, one of the biggest boxers in Mexico. Mexico's very good at boxing, probably the only thing Mexico's extremely good at.

The film that I did came out of a workshop for a TV series called Ruta 32. We were going to do a series of stories set in all 32 states in Mexico. I wanted to do this because I'm from Guadalajara and I've never seen a film or anything on TV that portrays my city, and it's a city of about five million people. So it was one of those obvious things - why not? But it was very hard to sell that format on TV. "We want to do this series of stories in each state." "What are the stories about?" "Well, one is about how the military is colluding with the drug traffickers. One is about people getting kidnapped at the beach. One is about the kidnapping of a woman at the border in Ciudad Juarez." We didn't get any response from any of the TV stations or private financier we pitched this to. We are still hoping to do this one day, if only to document Mexico at this time. But I had this story that I had written, set in the state of Morelos, south of Mexico City, and that became a film because that was the easiest way to get finance.

GA: Amores Perros is a film that its director Alejandro González Iñárritu has described as political. Obviously what you've been talking about is political. Even Y Tu Mamá También points up inequalities in society, and you are quite a political person outside of your film work. How important is it to you to have a political aspect to your film-making?

GGB: There was this writer, [Georg] Büchner, who said that for him to begin to write anything, his point of departure was not the story, but rather he had to completely understand the politics of it and then develop the story to fit the politics. This was in the 1820s and he died when he was 24 of flu. Imagine, 24. He wrote three plays - Woyzeck, Leonce und Lena and Danton's Death - which are still put on again and again. The story he tried to tell was about the unification of Germany after the French Revolution. At the time, the union was unstable, and the conservative right was winning. He was aching for the French revolutionary ideals to be in place in the new unified German state. He was persecuted and he had to hide and go into exile. And ever since I read him, I understood on a practical level what one can achieve when telling a story. It is truly impossible to take politics out of any story made in Latin America or Mexico. The place demands that you involve its history. It would be very disappointing not to use that wider scope. I think Y Tu Mamá También is a truly involved political film that will be more important in 10 years' time because it is a document of something that was happening in Mexico right after the fall of the PRI, the party that was in power for 72 years. So it is inevitable to be political and I must say it is irresponsible not to acknowledge it. It augments the fiction and it is there to be grabbed and used, without the politics having to be spoon-fed to the audience.

GA: You've been very supportive of Mexican film-makers and film-making, fostering a sort of renaissance. You've also been doing that within the larger context of Latin American film - you've just come from making a film in Argentina. It seems that The Motorcycle Diaries for you, as it was for Guevara, was about getting a greater sense of the common struggle. Was making Motorcycle Diaries important to you in coming to that feeling?

GGB: It was a big reaffirmation of wanting to work, live and travel throughout Latin America, and of wanting to know myself. It was a film where, if I'd been a bit detached from it, it would have been a useless experience. You had to give yourself and transform yourself as the two guys on that journey transformed themselves. Obviously it was a different time 50 years ago. Now we have the good fortune of knowing a little better the history of Latin America. It is more complex, but things have changed for good, and bad. It is a journey that has changed our lives forever. In Latin America, we have the same problems everywhere - in some places it's more evident than others. We have the same inconsistencies, we share the same failed, neo-liberalist dreams. And we share the same sense of disgust with what democracy has given us. But we share the same hope as well that things will work out. And another thing that we share is that we know that money is not worth anything. When I was a kid, I saved money to go travelling. Overnight, my money became worth four times less than the day before. And this was my case, which was really not dramatic. There were people who were starving because of that. Now, we're living in a difficult moment - there're two very clear sides and both are becoming radicalised. The middle ground, the basis of democracy, is losing itself. We have to get back together, and understand and accept that we are countries that were created out of colonial caprices, we are countries that were not necessarily meant to be. It was the church that decided where the countries' borders would be, so there's nothing we can do but keep on searching and fighting. Throughout our history, there's a sense of cycles repeating - of violence, of people with privileges overthrown by those without privileges who want those privileges for themselves. That doesn't mean justice. Still, I hope for the best. I think that by working together is where Latin American cinema can find its place. I think we should work as a bloc: we share the same language - the case of Brazil is different, but we share the same circumstances and we might as well work together. You go to a film festival and you find one stand called Asian cinema - in Asia, they speak so many languages and the cultures are so very different, and there're more people and it's more diverse there. And then you go to the Mexican stand, the Argentinian stand, the Cuban stand, the Colombian stand and you're lost. We should work as a bloc.

GA: You've had great success around the world. You've worked in films that aren't Mexican - not yet in Hollywood but you have worked in an independent American film. Has that fame resulted in any backlash against you in Mexico?

GGB: I've had a really short career really - I feel I have a lot to learn and discover and I want to keep on working and get better at what I do. And travelling, that gives you the experience of working with other people and challenging yourself to do very different characters from the kind you would do if you were only working in your own country. But maybe the backlash in Mexico has to do with the fact that you put yourself out there. There'll always be people who don't like your work - it's common and it's normal. I myself don't like some people's work and love that of others. It is easier to dislike the work of someone when you are separate from it and completely outside; if you have intentions of getting inside, that's resentment, and that's another thing altogether. But when you're separate from it, it is very common and easy to be very clear, for people to be able to say, "I liked you in this, I didn't like you in that." I'm sure this doesn't happen only in Mexico, it happens all over the world. Some people may not like the work that I do - I agree with them - that's completely understandable. But in the meantime, there's something more important - what matters is the practical side of things. I have a strong commitment, with my acting comrades, to making things happen in Mexico and in Latin America. Why? Because that's where we can fly, where we can find ourselves, and get to know how good we can be. We can try out different things: there're a million stories to be told and we've the urge and itch to tell these stories, be true to ourselves and be consistent and keep on doing what we like. So really, that's a nice backlash to have.

GA: We had a panel on Mexican film-making here last week, and Carlos Cuarón, the writer of Y Tu Mamá También who hopes to direct Gael in a film at some point soon, said that one of the things Mexico suffered from was renaissance-itis; you have a renaissance every six years with a new administration, but they never amount to anything substantial. But Amores Perros and Y Tu Mamá También showed that you could reach out to a wider public, and private financing really could work. Do you think after Amores Perros and Y Tu Mamá También something really has changed? That something's really going to happen now?

GGB: In terms of numbers, yes. When we did Amores Perros, Mexico only made six films that year. Now, according to Imcine [Mexican Film Institute] official figures there will be 65 films made this year. So it is a big impact. But I don't know how many of those films will be seen. The point is not just making them but of them becoming reality, of becoming films that are shown in the cinemas. I hope that this new material that is coming along has enough strength so that they become inspirations for more film-makers, actors, technicians, make-up artists, costume designers, etc, to start to work and develop a strong industry in Mexico, that used to exist not so long ago. Also there is the issue of representing Mexico: we're a country of about 105 million. And 65 films for 105 million - we need at least one film for every million citizens. That would be great. And the government, with some very simple tweaks, could help us even more. They are already helping us with a tax break. But it can develop into something more real - they can make adjustments to the law, create a screen quota, they can charge a small admission tax, like they do in Argentina, so that a portion of every ticket sold goes to its Institute of Film-making and that funds films. They have a subsidy there which is proportional to the number of people who see your film. So, for example, if 100,000 people see your film, you get $100,000, and if 100,000 see your next film, you get another $200,000. In Mexico, all that we need is just a push. People are already interested in investing in films, in making them and telling stories. And people are starting to realise that you don't need a lot to make a film. Sure, for a big film, you still need a Hollywood budget. But for a small little film, it is quite immediate the way you can get the money. Carlos Reygadas is a great example. Nobody had heard of him before, he was a lawyer, and then he did one brilliant film, and then another brilliant film, and nobody knew how he got it together. But he's done it in a very independent way and I hope that this continues. And this hybrid, the most difficult hybrid of all, between government and the private sector, is most definitely working.

GA: We're now going to throw it open to the audience. Please don't ask if Gael will read your script, and please don't ask him to marry you.

Question 1: Could you talk a little bit about Chiapas and the Zapatistas, and how that has affected artists in Mexico?

GGB: Well, the uprising came together with Mexico's entry into the North American Free Trade Agreement, a huge devaluation, a volcano eruption and also a political scandal. So that was a very intense year. Politics was on your doorstep and inside your house. And so, your involvement in it was very direct and you couldn't escape from it. I was about 14 or 15 when it happened. There was a war going on, between the government and this armed movement that sprang from this state that we had never heard of, it was so little present in our heads. All of a sudden it put on our whole society's conscience the effects of Nafta and the injustices that were committed. And it brought home to us the intense marginalisation that exists in Mexico. Mexico at that time was living in a fantasy - a kind of honeymoon. I remember this newspaper headline that said "Mexico is about to enter the first world". There were these things that were completely idiotic because the reality was not like that at all. All the power and money were concentrated in very few hands and the rich were getting richer and the poor getting poorer. And the middle class was disappearing completely. So it was a moment to hold on to what was important. And basically, the majority of people protested against a war happening within the country. These protests had a strong impact on the government and made them stop the war. Then negotiations started and that's when the problems began. Negotiations led to disagreements, then they're dropped and then continue again. It is a very horrible situation and like the rest of Latin America, it is a very unjust country. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer and there is little middle ground. It will only implode if we don't do something about it.

Q2: You've played such a diverse range of roles, from murderers to transsexuals to crazy people. I just wondered which one you identified with most, or at least which one you enjoyed playing most?

GGB: You enjoy playing the extremes, definitely. The transsexual part, I loved it.

Questioner 2: You looked good as a girl.

GGB: Thank you. It took a long time to get dressed up and to have that thong, that was the most extreme situation that I have gone through. That was the biggest stunt that no double would do, getting that thong in place. Some of you might be aware of [Spanish screen star] Sara Montiel - she's a very difficult character to imitate, and there's a little bit of her in the Quizas, Quizas, Quizas bit. And it was also very difficult to imitate Sara Montiel among Spaniards - it's like somebody telling me about the best tequila that's not from Mexico. So it was very difficult, and beauty costs, beauty hurts and it takes a long time to get done. But I have to say that the character I most empathise with, or actually most identify with and is most similar to me, is Julio from Y Tu Mamá También.

GA: I was hoping you were going to say Ernesto Guevara.

Question 3: Like you, I am studying acting in London. I'm quite sad to leave Mexico but I couldn't find opportunities there, especially not in theatre and film. Even though I am training here now, will this get me a job when I go back to Mexico? And I'm wondering if I should go back. So what do you think Mexico has to do to keep people in the country, so that they don't have to go away to look for opportunities elsewhere?

GGB: Every day, something like 10,000 people cross the border between Mexico and the US looking for opportunities. Most of them risk their lives while doing this. Shamefully, Mexico isn't a country that provides opportunities equally and democratically to everyone. Although I must say that there is a myth as well about that, because if you have something to tell, you will find a way to do it. You might get frustrated doing it but hey, that's the country we live in. I've been going in circles thinking about this. I've tried to say to myself that it could be better living somewhere else, but how is it better to be an exile from myself? I want the chance to live and experience the country that I come from. I keep struggling and fighting against these very seductive offers that, in the making, require that I live somewhere else indefinitely. It is a shame that it has to be like that. But you are young. If you don't have a family then there's no excuse. Try, at least. Really, it is a place that needs people willing to do something and that are not drawn into the myth, although there is truth to it. That is the reality for the people who come from the Sierra, that drink Coca-Cola all their lives because there is no clean water, and so it is necessary to go to the United States to have a better life. But with you, you're in London now and I don't think you face that kind of extreme situation. I might be wrong, but I don't think you do. So you might as well try it and find out. But really try. Because it is hard, but then it is hard here as well.

Question 4: What was it like working with Almodóvar in Bad Education and how is it different working in Spain versus working in Mexico?

GGB: The food is very different. And the time you start working - in Spain you start working at 10am, while in Mexico you start at 6 or 7am. Don't you find it weird that in poor countries, people work a lot, so when you go into the countryside, you see so many people working in the fields and so many things going on. Whereas when you go to a rich country, you don't see anybody yet everything is done. And everything is clean - somebody's done it, but when do they do it? I never see the people working in the fields and then suddenly you find everything is in neat rolls. I don't know why. In Spain, it is kind of the same. Spanish people take the whole summer off from work - it's great and I envy that. Mexicans can't afford that. So that was very different. And Almodóvar is one of those people who can give himself that luxury, he can start shooting any time he wants, he can hire any actor he wants. He's a great director. He's very specific - he tells you how many steps to take from here to there. If he says it's nine steps, you have to make it in nine. So that creates a tension, but it also creates a world. He's one of the few directors in the world who do that - he creates a very specific world. He did it his way, like Frank Sinatra. He was a minority in a country exploding out of censorship and oppression. I learned a lot from him.

Question 5: Are you involved in any social justice projects? I know that you're using your film company to address injustices.

GGB: There's a great organisation that sprouted in Oxford, called Oxfam, which is a major force around the world. I participate in their projects, I help in whatever way I can, I give them my time when I am able. I also develop things with them which can address economics at a broader level than just at specific country level. It's very interesting working with them, and I have learned a lot and experienced much that I would not have doing films and theatre, and it's incredibly fulfilling. Happily I give myself to that, and to getting the word out there of what's going on. Right now, we're trying to establish a custom in Mexico that all proceeds from film premieres should go to charity. It's very difficult but it's going to happen. There're many other things that I'd like to do but haven't had the time, space and energy to do, so I cannot say at the moment because I haven't done them yet, or else I'll be called a liar.

Question 6: When you came to London, did you always know that you would return to Mexico, bringing those skills back, or did you consider staying here? And also, what did you think of the recent very contested Mexican elections?

GGB: Ooh. When I first came here, my dream, my objective was to work in a theatre company and travel all over the world with the theatre company, be it here in England or Mexico. I always knew that I would go back to Mexico to do things. So that was my goal. Or to keep studying at Unam, the national university. I got in and left because there was a strike - we all left. So I wanted to go back and finish the degree I was doing. But then I turned to films and all this happened. About the election, phew! Of course, I can only speak for myself here. There was a vote, and votes are secret. [eyebrow raised] But I can say that this has been one of the most difficult moments for democracy in Mexico. If they say fraud was committed here, then I believe that fraud was committed long before because there was a dirty war against one of the contestants. By the time of the election, if you were in Mexico and you were in parts from Morelia upwards, everyone voted for Calderon [Felipe Calderón Hinojosa of the incumbent National Action Party]. This is something that people in Mexico City find hard to believe. And whoever won this election was going to win by this tiny margin, from one side or the other. Of course I sympathise with Andrés Manuel López Obrador [of the centre-left Party of the Democratic Revolution] to begin with because it was the party that was much more in tune with my voting preference. But the margin was so tight, and the whole thing went absolutely bonkers, and it was impossible to follow. Right now, it is the time to find common ground, and fortunately they are finding it. Now that they are negotiating in the legislative chamber, they're finally realising that they have more than 50% in common. But they've always had these points in common, but they were too busy hitting the other in the struggle to get into the seat. Now, fortunately, hopefully, election campaigns are only going to be two or three months long, when before it was like two years long. I'm trying to be optimistic, that everything will be all right.

Question 7: Now that you're in postproduction on your own film, can you tell us which do you prefer, acting or directing, and why?

GGB: Acting. Because you observe more, and you have more time to see the sights and enjoy. It is the thing I have the most fun with. Mind you, directing is incredibly fun, too. It's like a sweet venom, once you're bitten you wanna keep going back there. But in the meantime, acting.

Question 8: You're obviously a very politically engaged actor. What are your own plans for your own films, with Canana? What are you going to put in them to transcend the nostalgic feeling that you've put into your acting?

GGB: Well, the film that I've directed is called Deficit. It's not a market-oriented kind of film. Actually a lot of people told me you can't call a film by that title, but that's what it's called. Why? Because it's one of the words that we learned from a very early age - words such as deficit, crisis, devaluation, democracy. Those are words that I heard when I was growing up, so that's what the film's about. About words that have no meaning, yet have such deep impact in our own lives. And about us thinking that we know the meaning of these words but really we don't. At the end of the day, the film is about the end of impunity. I know it's very broad, I won't give you the details because I want you to see it, come on. And Canana is doing pretty well - we have a lot projects coming up. We have one film coming up that we co-produced with some other guys, called Drama/Mex.

GA: It's showing at the London Film Festival.

GGB: And we also produced a film that's just wrapped, a movie called Cochochi, which happens in the Taraumara mountains. And there are other projects coming along. A couple of them are about to be finalised and I just need to call someone to ask if I can talk about them, but I won't here. But those films may happen. And Ambulante's happening next year. We just want to provide an opportunity to anyone who wants to do a film to come and start a conversation. You asked about the nostalgic feeling in my work - well, that's the nature of it. There is this vision of Latin America as a place of pure celebration, but actually I see it as a cage of melancholy, but melancholy flies a lot and looks like a happy bird. Octavio Paz put it so well, it's a labyrinth of solitude.

Question 9: How important do you consider drama school to be for an actor, as opposed to just trying to jump into the film industry?

GGB: Very important. For me, I'm a strong believer in academia in this sense. I really feel that whoever wants to act really should go to drama school. You should really try it because it's the best place where you can fuck it up real bad and it's the safest place to do that. It's the place to throw yourself out there and give yourself to it: you'll cry and you'll have a very bad time but you'll also have a huge awakening of something. There are good drama schools and bad drama schools, good teachers and bad ones, depending on the day sometimes, and how you receive things. But I think if you're completely open to someone's subjective interpretation of your work, it's incredibly important. Because when you come out of drama school, that's all you have - people's perception of you and your work. You might have an idea of what you're doing, but when you're on stage, you get lost. And that moment of losing yourself, of not knowing what the hell you're doing and thinking that you're going deep into a whirlwind and hoping that someone will catch you at the end, that is called a performance. That's when a director catches you, and that's when the audience acknowledges your leap of faith into something that's so incredibly unknown. This is why drama school is important. It is one of the strangest jobs in the world, but at the same time, it is one of the best, because you get to experience all the lives you can ever imagine, travel a lot, meet many friends, and most importantly, you get to fulfil one of the biggest objectives I had in my life: to meet girls. That was my main reason for wanting to become an actor.

GA: You may not want to go home but sadly some of our staff have to. You can see more of Gael in the closing night film at the London Film Festival, Babel, and you can go see Drama/Mex at the London Film Festival. But before you do that, would you please thank Gael Garcia Bernal.

GGB: I want to say one more thing before you leave, just one little thing. Whoever of you wants to be an actor, or film director, or writer or film producer or whatever. Honestly, I used to be sitting back there. I know this sounds like the biggest cliche ever, but it really is possible to tell a story and just go out and do it. Doesn't matter if only two people see it, doesn't matter if you get up on the stage and one of the lights goes out. It is important to tell a story and be faithful to yourself, be consistent. Just do what you like. So hopefully many people will go from here and do a film one day, even if it's in 10 years' time. I am very, very glad to be here and I'm getting very sentimental, but it's so important to me to be here. Thank you so much.

[planetfkd]

Of particular concern are signals of massive earthquakes in the region’s geologic history. Many researchers have chased clues of the last “big one”: an 8.7-magnitude earthquake in 1700. They’ve pieced together the event’s history using centuries-old records of tsunamis, Native American oral histories, physical evidence in ghost forests drowned by saltwater and limited maps of the fault. 

But no one had mapped the fault structure comprehensively — until now. A study published Friday in the journal Science Advances describes data gathered during a 41-day research voyage in which a vessel trailed a miles-long cable along the fault to listen to the seafloor and piece together an image.

The team completed a detailed map of more than 550 miles of the subduction zone, down to the Oregon-California border.

Their work will give modelers a sharper view of the possible impacts of a megathrust earthquake there — the term for a quake that occurs in a subduction zone, where one tectonic plate is thrust under another. It will also provide planners a closer, localized look at risks to communities along the Pacific Northwest coast and could help redefine earthquake building standards. 

“It’s like having coke-bottle glasses on and then you remove the glasses and you have the right prescription,” said Suzanne Carbotte, a lead author of the paper and a marine geophysicist and research professor at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. “We had a very fuzzy low-resolution view before.”

The scientists found that the subduction zone is much more complex than they previously understood: It is divided into four segments that the researchers believe could rupture independently of one another or together all at once. The segments have different types of rock and varying seismic characteristics — meaning some could be more dangerous than others. 

Earthquake and tsunami modelers are beginning to assess how the new data affects earthquake scenarios for the Pacific Northwest. 

Kelin Wang, a research scientist at the Geological Survey of Canada who was not involved in the study, said his team, which focuses on earthquake hazard and tsunami risk, is already using the data to inform projections. 

“The accuracy and this resolution is truly unprecedented. And it’s an amazing data set,” said Wang, who is also an adjunct professor at the University of Victoria in British Columbia. “It just allows us to do a better job to assess the risk and have information for the building codes and zoning.” 

Harold Tobin, a co-author of the paper and the director of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, said that although the data will help fine-tune projections, it doesn’t change a tough-to-swallow reality of living in the Pacific Northwest.

“We have the potential for earthquakes and tsunamis as large as the biggest ones we’ve experienced on the planet,” said Tobin, who is also a University of Washington professor. “Cascadia seems capable of generating a magnitude 9 or a little smaller or a little bigger.” 

A quake that powerful could cause shaking that lasts about five minutes and generate tsunami waves up to 80 feet tall. It would damage well over half a million buildings, according to emergency planning documents. 

Neither Oregon nor Washington is sufficiently prepared.

To map the subduction zone, researchers at sea performed active source seismic imaging, a technique that sends sound to the ocean floor and then processes the echoes that return. The method is often used for oil and gas exploration. 

They towed a 9-plus-mile-long cable, called a streamer, behind the boat, which used 1,200 hydrophones to capture returning echoes. 

“That gives us a picture of what the subsurface looks like,” Carbotte said.

Trained marine mammal observers alerted the crew to any sign of whales or other animals; the sound generated with this kind of technology can be disruptive and harm marine creatures. Carbotte said the new research makes it more clear that the entire Cascadia fault might not rupture at once.

“It requires an 8.7 to get a tsunami all the way to Japan,” Tobin said.

"The next earthquake that happens at Cascadia could be rupturing just one of these segments or it could be rupturing the whole margin,” Carbotte said, adding that several individual segments are thought to be capable of producing at least magnitude-8 earthquakes. 

Over the past century, scientists have only observed five magnitude-9.0 or higher earthquakes — all megathrust temblors like the one predicted for the Cascadia Subduction Zone. 

Scientists pieced together an understanding of the last such Cascadia quake, in 1700, in part via Japanese records of an unusual orphan tsunami that was not preceded by shaking there. 

The people who recorded the incident in Japan couldn’t have known that the ground had shaken an ocean away, in the present-day United States. 

Today, the Cascadia Subduction Zone remains eerily quiet. In other subduction zones, scientists often observe small earthquakes frequently, which makes the area easier to map, according to Carbotte. That’s not the case here. 

Scientists have a handful of theories about why: Wang said the zone may be becoming quieter as the fault accumulates stress. And now, we’re probably nearing due. 

.“The recurrent interval for this subduction zone for big events is on the order of 500 years,” Wang said. “It’s hard to know exactly when it will happen, but certainly if you compare this to other subduction zones, it is quite late.”

[dandelionh3art]

The most honest words I have ever read.

"Sometimes I don't even recognize myself, I feel like there are times when I don't even know who I am. The person I am today is so incredibly different from who I was ten or twenty years ago.

I've learned that most everything I thought or knew was wrong or a half truth. There was a time when I'd have agreed with my government and leaders on who my enemies were and allies were. There was a time when I believed truly in my heart that there was America and then everyone else.

I spent so many years not even looking at a map, I felt no need to learn other countries, where they were, learn of their ways, history, customs etc. I was American, I was in the most powerful country, the richest and best, there was no need to concern myself with other places or people.

Now, I find myself allied with literally every place, people and country that we are told is our enemy. I have learned how small, unimportant, behind and vulnerable we are.

I once truly and honestly believed the world hated us, me because we were just so smart, so incredible and amazing, that they were jealous. I truly believed this insanity.

Now I can't even enjoy movies. I used to love war movies, I would watch them, each movie was America saving the world from something or someone. Now I can't stomach them because I know it's a lie or half truth.

I watched Saving Private Ryan long ago, believing America defeated the Nazis, now I know it was Russia who sacrificed 30 million people to defeat them. Just a small example of how altered history is and whats left out.

Now, I wake up most days and ask, "Noct, are you truly just an awful American, a traitor and scum? Or did you just learn the truth?"

Only time will tell. I can say one for sure, life definitely has a way of humbling you."

[deathsmallcaps]

(USA based sorry)

I’m definitely speaking into an echo chamber but like.

Nearly every algebra student I tutor ends up with a word problem involving the gender wage gap. And they’re all confounded by it and have no clue.

And a guy in my fucking Calc 3 class was like “wait you guys were serious? That’s real?” When it came up. BRO YOU’RE ABOUT OLD ENOUGH TO DRINK???

It’s amazing what is and isn’t common knowledge. Feminist history isn’t taught past “and then women got their right to vote :)))))).” With occasional mentions of Title IX and the late 1900s waves of feminism. Of course only in in-depth history classes, not general Ed. Wow.

I am not in training to be a historian or a history teacher, but by all that is right in the world I hope it becomes more normalized and common to speak about shit that is LESS than 100 years ago in depth when it comes to American History & culture. Wtf. I swear even when I took AP history* the professor was afraid to touch on that stuff. For some reason (happily) my English teachers were a lot more willing to teach about modern history & minority stories.

And this is just what affects my white anglo cishetallo abled-passing housed female life personally. I cannot truly imagine the feeling of personal erasure & irritation one of comes to other identities & issues that have only relatively recently been resolved, addressed, acknowledged or even only pointedly ignored. I am fucking angry FOR you and can’t wait for things to change. You ALL deserve better. Don’t forget that.

It’s not your job to educate these people or their children (unless you’re literally a history teacher or something) but I want to shake the people who decide these what gets taught until the cowardice & insecurity & thoughtlessness & malice & election-based anxiety shits out of their assholes and leaves their hearts hungering for intelligent, thoughtful & interested discussions on modern issues and genuine history that should not be squeezed into the last pages of textbooks out of fear of offending paper white & paper thin pride.

Human rights deserve attention. Human rights should not have to be a radical talking point. It should be both as natural and expected as breathing clean air & as ingrained and knowable as to be accessible in math problems.

There is so much to be done. And it is exhausting. But please know that you are not alone.

*interesting tidbit below but basically irrelevant to the above post

I took AP america history to learn about the parts of American history that are never, or barely, covered in history classes throughout the grades. Basically, if it happened outside of the Puritans-WWII, it’s got a poor chance chance of in-depth coverage. And while the class did teach me good analysis skills and some interesting facts, it mostly covered the exact fucking periods I mentioned above.

And you know what? Literally right before we took the AP test, our teacher told us “study up on periods 2-7” (im pretty sure there are 9 periods of American history, forgive me it’s been like 5 years) “they never test on 1, 8 or 9”. Guess what the essay questions were on. And guess what time periods 1,8 & 9 are? If you posited precolonial america, the mid 1900s and modern day, ding ding ding you’re the winner! :))))))

(AP classes are worth it if you’re bored and/or trying to cut down on the amount of classes you’ll take in college & thus save money. But a lot (not all) of the AP certified teachers will try to convince you it’s the be all, end all of learning in high school. Also the weighted GPAs are a scam. No one looks at those. If you’re worried about keeping a good average, stick to the class level that fits within both circles of ‘not boring’ and ‘not going to wreck your life’. You can take an AP test and have it count and not take the class. Just be warned it is genuinely difficult.)