#Villains probably also get the same treatment but their souls are treated with a little more scrutiny

[goldengirlgalaxy]

You know how there's a whole thing about how DC superheroes die and get brought back a lot? Well, for DPxDC, how about this?

Every time a Justice League member gets resurrected, their ghost remains in the Ghost Zone.

So you'll have a member of the Justice League bite the bullet for whatever reason, they'll form as a ghost in the Ghost Zone. They'll make themselves comfortable, maybe they'll even becoming defenders of peaceful ghosts who have no experience fighting or no desire to fight. Maybe they'll find dead family members and re-establish their bonds. Maybe they'll find other dead members of the Justice League and make and undead branch of the Justice League. Maybe they'll meet Danny and either help teach him how to be a hero (if he's still young) or become a hero group supported by him (if he becomes the king).

And then, for whatever reason, someone found the magical amulet that can revive a person, they somehow developed 1-Ups for a limited time, the revival machine finally got a tune up, the hero gets revived. But the ghost doesn't leave the Ghost Zone. Because of this, the revived hero doesn't have any memories of their time in the afterlife. The ghost probably doesn't even notice something changed and that their old body is up and running again.

This all ends up coming to a head when the GIW decide to push the manhunt for Danny Phantom and all other ghosts, lying to the Justice League in order to convince them to help. They eventually decide to hunt down Danny and corner him, ready to capture him...

… And suddenly he's saved by a bunch of ghosts that look identical to them.

#dp x dc #dpxdc #dc x dp #danny phantom #dp x dc prompt #justice league #If someone died multiple times either the ghost gains their current memories or another ghost is formed #I also imagine that if a ghost possessed their living counterpart they would essentially fuse together #Either they're fully alive and just regain their memories or they become half ghosts #I wonder if this makes the revived heroes clones of the original ones that died? #Lol if this is an AU where Superman hates Connor for being a clone and everyone comes to that conclusion that'd be so ironic #Hating the clone when you are a technically a clone yourself #If the Justice League is dumb you can make this like that Tumblr post where a zombie and ghost come from the same body #Only the ghosts just find their living bodies really dumb instead of being actually brainless #“Why are you hunting this child?” “What has he ever done?” “For the love of god please look into your claims!" #Maybe being revived and essentially having your soul be a copy has that effect #Villains probably also get the same treatment but their souls are treated with a little more scrutiny #If the Joker has ever had this happen to him his ghost was either imprisoned or made deader than dead for his crimes #Other villains might just retire especially if their crimes weren't severe

[agrimedena-drax]

Happy STS!!

Everyone has a breaking point, so....

What would make your heroes turn into villians?

Alternatively, what would make your villians turn into heroes? >:]

@bloodlessheirbyjacques

Hello Bees!!! 🐝

That's a great ask from wonderful @bloodlessheirbyjacques!

I will answer for this ask using both "Lost & Found" and my new WIP "Quinque Lupi"

As I don't have certain villains at that point, I will answer "heroes to villains"

~~~

Lost & Found

1. Lily Maradona - if something happened to Lilith/promise to help Lilith

Lily would do anything to give her twin better life than they had before slow manifestation. If anything would happen to them on the way of discovering their powers, somebody would not protect them during fight or they would get killed, Lily's world would fall apart, as over the time she develops strong spiritual bond, also the fact that they are conjoined on this matter would leave a massive hole in Lily's life. Other thing would be if somebody promised Lilith a peaceful life on their own. Lilith is a soul chained to Lily's soul and if there was a way to help Lilith live freely, Lily would do anything to give them that.

2. Lilith Maradona - Lily's death

It's pretty much the same as from Lily's side, though in case of Lilith, they would absolutely snap. The sadness and grief would lead them to shatter and cut the world with their pieces. Basically "my world got destroyed, so I will not destroy yours". They are very impulsive and aggressively protect their closest ones, so there is high probability of them feeling guilt and anger and fallback into their darker, Lost side.

3. Im Jeong Hun - death of his mother

TW: Sexual Assaults, Assault of a minor

Little backstory here: Hun's mom got beaten up when she was coming back home from her nightshift in the convenience store. They had little money, so Hun, 16 at that time, couldn't afford her full treatment and stay at hospital, while she was in the coma. He started working at saunas, where underaged boys and girl were hired as mistresses for the clients. He was earning nice money for over a year, which barely payed off his mother's therapy. One night Hun, 17 years old, was sexually harassed by one of the male clients of the saunas. He fortunately ran away, but was left traumatised and scared even more than before. Still, he lasted there for a year, being treated inhumane, because his whole world was his mother. She was the only person he had left in this world, he sacrificed his education (he dropped out of high school), his mental and physical health to safe her and keep her alive. I think that if she died, he would be left all alone, scarred, scared, used and traumatised. Eventually he would snap and revengeful. He might seek justice for him and his mother, killing and causing suffering to people who hurt them.

4. Oscar Sapienti - not being valued as a person

In Oscar's situation, lack of validation for his hard work would be one reason to turn sides. In the organisation, he has hard time evaluating because if his personality, being stubborn and being not that open minded like others. His narcissistic personality would lead him to getting discouraged to even trying to be better, so if somebody would offer him validation, starting praising him and not noticing a lot of his flaws, he would definitely follow. At least at the beginning. Later on he will get his character progress after meeting Hun, Lily and Lilith.

5. Eva Popova - protecting her friends

Eva would definitely had the arc of going on the dark side to save her friends. There is a really low chance though, because as tactician and detective she would seek the solution until she dies. If there would be no other way, out of pure desperation, she would change sides to safe her friends. Basically "for the greater good" scenario.

6. Jehoel - I challenge @circa-specturgia to answer that question!!! 😈

Quinque Lupi

1. Vieno Mustonen - manipulation and threat of their friends getting hurt

Vieno has similar situation to Eva. It very unlikely to turn them into villain, at least they would be either:

- strongly manipulated, having mental breakdown and moral battle between good and evil, taking advantage of her good heart

Or

- joining the bad forces for the sake of their friends' safety

2. Devina Mishra - lost of her family

Devina lost her mother when she was 12 due to the lethal illness. She barely got out of the grief and depression that hit her after such loss. She really values her family and friends, who are her second family. Any member of this circle is so precious singularly and as whole. The loss of anybody would break her, she would accuse herself of not protecting them enough. From very tough women she would become very vulnerable to dark forces dragging her sideways.

3. Dakarai Pretorius - loss of his siblings

TW: mental and physical abuse of parents

Dakarai is the oldest out of three kids of Regent Family of Pretorius. Their parents strictly planned the future of every single child. They hold their children close to the ground, never giving them choice, voice or freedom. Every rebellion or mistake equals punishment, either psychological or physical. Dakarai is the biggest rebel not only because he wants to, but he also wants to focus all parents viciousness on himself, living his siblings in better light. But he can't protect them forever, especially when he is out in the boarding school. That's why if anything happened to his sibling during his absence, he would definitely turn sides and avenge his siblings, which wouldn't be done in the reasonable or human way.

4. Lech Sokol - manipulation/gaslight or threat

Similar to Vieno, Lech isn't the person that would be easy to turn evil. He would definitely have to be pushed to the wall or manipulated to ever become a villain of the story. Definitely not because he is evil, he would go on evil side to safe his friends.

5. Nurah Sultan - influence of one side of her family

Royal family of Furidium, of which Nurah is a member, is really powerful. Some close members of her family crave even more power and need to rule further than only Furidium. If she had fallen into their circles at the young age, she would definitely be badly influenced and evil during the actual plot.

~~~~

Those are all my characters and what would turn them into villains!

Thank you once again @bloodlessheirbyjacques for wonderful ask!

So excited to be back!! ✨✨

#writeblr #writers on tumblr #writing #my writing #writer #artist community #lost & found #quinque lupi #academy of the five wolves #lily maradona #lilith maradona #im jeong hun #oscar sapienti #eva popova #vieno mustonen #devina mishra #dakarai pretorius #lech sokol #nurah sultan

[daydream-ideas]

intro

Hello! 

This is a daydream blog centered around ideas for what to do in daydreams.

Looking for daydream plots? Bored of old stuff and looking for something new to try? 

Look no further than #the daydreaming queue !! 

Content is sfw and the spiciest stuff will probably just be kissing because I am very, very ace, but also interested in the idea of romance. (note: not all content will be romance based). May contain dark themes as well (tagged appropriately). 

I also post about my own paracosms and like to reblog other daydreamy content such as memes, aesthetics, moodboards, and quotes that I think fit the theme. 

asks and submissions accepted for both “daydream about...” and “tfw...” post types. (or just...anything else. I love interaction.) anon now accepted!

a little about me: 

You can call me Willow, as that is the name I go by on my whump blog @whumpwillow which you are free to check out if you don’t mind dark / violent content. 

I’m not a maladaptive daydreamer, but I do enjoy daydreaming as a coping mechanism and means of escapism and entertainment. I have several paracosms, some more developed than others, with their own paras and individual lives. I hope I’m not intruding on the MaDD community by using their terminology, I just wanted a space to talk about this stuff so I’m here :) 

*~ paracosm info is subject to change at any time ~*

Paracosms below the cut! 

Chalerians 

my earliest paracosm, created in the fifth grade. It’s gone through numerous different iterations and changes, but I still use it to this day as my go-to for fandom-based daydreaming. Involves dimensional travelling magical girls that can see souls and go to different worlds (ie. different fandoms) and interact with the canon characters there. Modern day. 

Lyr’s Empire

my absolute favorite paracosm, one that I love with all my heart and soul. It involves a man named Lyr (even though that’s not his first name, it’s what he goes by) who becomes king unexpectedly, then emperor, and the trials he goes through as he works to unite all the kingdoms of the continent under his empire. He meets a lot of different people and learns their stories. Medieval fantasy.

Night Star  

a witch named Alesia from a secret island coven goes to the anti-magic mainland after discovering a seer’s text about an upcoming apocalypse at the hands of the elves that populate the land. Alesia wants to stop the destruction before it starts, but wasn’t prepared to witness the suffering the elves are subjected to. She starts out as a vigilante trying to help people and ends up the leader of a revolution of the elves, working under the alias of Night Star. Medieval fantasy. 

Astra Vale

a severely socially anxious girl named Aster discovers she has powers. She’s put in a ‘special program’ at school for being the only magic trainee there and her jaded instructor quickly realizes she has far more skill than what should be possible. There’s also elves. Set in the same paracosm as Night Star, years into the future. Urban magic. 

In the Gloom 

based on an actual dream I had where a girl is hired to kill one of her professors but he convinces her not to and she ends up protecting him instead. He also works with magical private investigators in his spare time so they get up to some shenanigans with solving cases and whatnot. honestly what even is the time period here?

Amethyst & Androids 

Amethyst, nicknamed Thyssa, wins a raffle to be the first person to travel between worlds. She gets to the new world and the transport machine immediately breaks, leaving her stranded there. She’s treated like a celebrity and given whatever she wants as proof of the company’s technological advancements, so she uses this power to help androids that are being abused and abandoned. Basically, it’s DBH but my para adopts all the androids. 

Zemblanity 

I was reading a lot of those “transmigrated as the villainess!” manhwas over the summer and made a paracosm out of the idea. A girl is transmigrated into the body of the villainess of a novel she read and upset over the treatment her character received at the hands of the male lead, she decides to do everything in her power to break away from him, even if that means siding with his mortal enemy, the novel’s main villain. fantasy royalty. 

I want to share all the worldbuilding and will infodump owo

—

- blog theme by palemona - 

#intro post #introduction #pinned post #daydream #daydreams #daydreaming #daydreamer #daydreamers #para #paras #paracosms #paracosm #paracosm info #blog info #just daydreaming things #immersive daydreaming #immersive daydreamer #paraportal

[fluffy-lee-boa]

Arkham’s Sweetheart and the Grumpy Riddle Bug

a batman rogue ticklefic uwu

A/N: hey everyone!!! this took me a bit, but it kinda got away from me and turned into a little story of its own haha. i wrote this with the animated universe in mind, but honestly i think it’ll work with a few.

anyways, this was a request! lee!edward getting ganged up on by ler!harley and ler!pamela. hope you like it!!!

It was rare that anyone in Arkham would be such a ray of sunshine, being the drab and dank place that it is, but Harley Quinn was definitely the exception. Despite her treatment at the hands of guards, her clown of an ex, and the bat alike, she was always surprisingly upbeat as she passed through the halls of the facility, hands cuffed behind her back.

Her cheery attitude didn’t exactly mesh with her fellow rogues, though none of them were immune to her disarming charms. This meant that the room full of murderers and scoundrels all took pause when she entered, giving her soft smiles or begrudging greetings as she went ahead to settle into the rec room.

Well, all but one person.

Edward Nashton, or Nygma, as he had legally changed it to, was not exactly chipper on this stormy day- not that he was ever “chipper.” It’s just that today he seemed more put off than usual, based on the way he was stewing in the corner. There was an abandoned chessboard on the table beside him, likely from Jervis or Jonathan having grown frustrated with his attitude mid-game. It wasn’t uncommon, though it did present a challenge to the doctor as she assessed the situation.

Edward was one of her closest friends. It would be a crime not to help him out! He obviously needed someone there to cheer him up, for whatever reason, and who better than the sweetheart of Arkham herself?

(No, not Ivy. She was currently busy by the window, gardening. Though Harley was sure she could get her to help out if necessary.)

“Hey Eddie~!” She cooed as she skipped over and took the seat across from him, giving that same magical smile.

Edward gave her a half-hearted, “Quinn.” not even looking up from the floor.

Hmph. This was worse than she thought!

“What’s got ya so wound up today, hon?” she asked, a bit of her professionalism seeping through from her days as a staff member in this same institution.

He raised an eyebrow at her, before staring back at the ground with a rather childish, “You just wouldn’t understand.”

“Try me.” she deadpanned, leading to her fellow inmate to purse his lips.

Edward knew that Harley was not somebody to underestimate. While Joker had tossed her aside and treated her like a jockey, he could tell she was much more intelligent than she let on. She was also stubborn- Which meant there wasn’t much of a chance of him getting out of this without telling her the truth.

He sighed, finally looking directly at her as he laid his chin in his hands, “It’s Batman. I’m sure you’re aware I was only just sent back here yesterday... I have reason to believe he’s found someone else to antagonize. Why won’t he realize that I’m the only one in this city who’s worthy of being his equal...?”

Harley blinked, a part of her tempted to admit that pretty much everyone but him knew he was a second tier villain at best. Though she knew how fragile the other’s ego was, and what he really needed right now was moral support. Like a break up! He’d been there for her when she went through her messy separation, albeit with his usual awkward stoniness, so it was only right that she return the favor.

“Aw, come on Ed. He’s not worth your time.” she waved her hand dismissively, “If anything, he should be locked up in here with us! He’s no better than... Jonathan! Just using fear to escape a lonely life and exert some sort of sick power over others.”

From the couch across the room, Crane looked up from his book, unimpressed. Clearly, he wanted no part of this.

Harley gave an awkward laugh and wave to her old professor, before turning back to Edward, “-Either way, I think you could do better.”

Edward raised an eyebrow, “...Really?”

She nodded, swinging her legs excitedly, “Yeah! Once we bust outta here, we should get you on some dating apps. Maybe go to a few Comic Cons. There’s gotta be someone out there who’s just as nerdy as you-!” she giggled as she poked him in the shoulder teasingly, watching the other puff up defensively.

“I don’t need a partner! I need a rival to sharpen my wits. I just- I want him to see that we’re the same. Is that too much to ask?” Edward snapped, pouting once more.

Harley’s smile faded for a moment, and she seemed to think for a moment, “....Get up.”

“What?” Edward seemed baffled at the sudden order, especially coming from her.

“Stand up! I wanna try somethin’!” She beamed, motioning for the other to get out of his chair. At this point, most of the other inmates were busy in their own little worlds, though a few took notice when Nygma stood. Especially since Harley looked so unnervingly excited.

Quinn walked over with a rather threatening look in her eye, hidden by her giddy smile, “Ok, now put your hands up.”

He hesitated, leading to a gentle, “Come on~! I’m not gonna hurt ya!”

Edward nervously raised his arms above his head, his baggy uniform falling over his slender form due to weeks of avoiding meals. He’d probably been up for days, based on his demeanor. He really put his whole heart and soul into this rivalry, Harley thought.

These small details of the other’s appearance only spurred on the psychiatrist as she stalked around him like a predator, deciding she knew exactly what she had to do. Then, when she was sure he wouldn’t expect it, Harley clamped down under his arms, wiggling her fingers against his skin through the loose fabric. In her opinion, laughter was the best medicine, and if Eddie was going to hold back like that, she certainly wasn’t.

If no one had been paying attention to them before, Edward sharp yelp would have tipped everybody off. He immediately brought his arms back down with a strangled giggle, doing his best to shoot Harley a look as she continued with her hands wedged under his arms.

She merely laughed along in response, cooing, “Awh Eddie, you’re so cute when you’re laughing like this. Kitchy koo~!”

“Harleen!” he hissed through gritted teeth, his cheeks already a bright red color as he tried to squirm free of her grasp.

After a moment he managed to pull away and get those blasted fingers out from his hollows- only for his arm to once again by suspended above him by some unidentifiable force. He looked up in horrified confusion, only to find thick vines wrapped around each wrist, holding him up like he was the catch of the day at Gotham Harbor..

“ISLEY!”

The purring voice of the botanist did nothing to soothe his flustered anger as she appeared beside her current partner in crime, “Yes, Edward...?”

Eddie bit down on his cheek to keep himself from bursting into laughter from the light yet overwhelming sensations, leading to his fiery responses being entirely silenced. Harley had barely even let up while the fiendish red-head had done her work, her fingers now trailing up his biceps and back down just to make him jump.

“Look Eddie, we just wanna help ya! Now, be a good little gigglebug and laugh.” Harley gave her victim an evil smirk, before moving down to dig into his prominent ribs.

Edward immediately acted like all the air had been sucked from his lungs, before he finally fell into real, authentic laughter. It was honestly a marvel that no guard had come to check on the group yet, considering how noisy they’d become both from Edward’s current predicament, and the snickers of onlookers.

His laugh was more sweet and melodic than most people would think, and it was almost bouncy as he squirmed around. It sounded much more innocent than the man who was behind it.

“C’mon Eddie, that’s it,” Pamela hummed as she stepped around him, obviously enjoying watching the other get so flustered. His cheeks heated up as she fluttered her leaves and flower petals across his neck from the greenery continuing to hold him up, affectively turning his mind to mush.

“Youhou’re both dEAHAHAEEEE-!” Edward’s final attempt at a threat fell off into a squeal when Harley suddenly moved down to his hip bones with her own sporadic movements, making him buck as he tried to pull his arms free.

“Jackpot!” Harley sang, focusing all her attention on the dips and protruding bone. She was pure evil alright.

Edward’s squealing soon tapered off into begging and hiccuping giggles as he slowly lost his energy, all of which were practically indecipherable anyways, “Harleen! Pleaseheheheease-! Noho-!”

Harley hesitated, making an over-exaggerated face as if contemplating something grand, “Mmm... I don’t think you’re all cheered up yet...”

“I aham Ihihihiamm-!!!” He wheezed, his laughter starting anew as Quinn moved up a little to trace at his sides.

Harley and Ivy shared a look, and Harley eventually shrugged, slowing her movements to a stop. He’d had enough for the day.

Edward immediately sunk to the floor as Ivy’s vines guided him in a manner that would keep him from injuring himself, and soon the green weeds bloomed flowers to serve as a sort of mattress for the man to rest on. He continued giggling airily from the leftover ghost tickles and slight movements of the flora, the two watching. him curiously. Eventually he looked up at the both of them with a more genuine, honestly pretty cheesy smile.

There’s the Edward they knew and loved!

Harley was the first to react, per usual. She squealed excitedly and went to tackle him in a hug, which he begrudgingly returned as Ivy sat down cross legged beside them on their living carpet. The rest of the rogues had gone back to their own business, leaving the three to their own devices now that Edward had been so fiercely pulled out of his funk.

After a moment of comfortable silence, Edward spoke up with a surpassingly shy, “Er... thank you. Both. I needed that. Even if it was insufferable, it was... nice.”

Harley simply hummed happily and hugged him tighter, while Ivy was left to wave him off. He made Harley happy, so he was clearly worth their time.

Harley remained cuddled up between the two indefinitely after it was all said and done, rambling on about nothing in particular and helping get Ed’s mind off of the Bat for once in his life. And after recreational hours were done? She would get Edward to a meal and help him get back to his feet before their next breakout and/or parole hearing. And even if she acted aloof, Ivy would be with them every step of the way.

#lee!riddler #ler!harley #ler!ivy #batman tickles #tickle fic #dc tickles

[fanwright]

Gladiator: 200th Chapter Celebration

Tagging: @kigozula @seyaryminamoto

---

Seyary, this is a great milestone for you. Just want to let you know that I’m happy for you and impressed by the work that you have done over the long years of writing this story. You’ve inspired others to get into Sokkla as well as to have fun with the ship. Its been a great pleasure!

When I first picked up this story, I was still in college and rediscovering ATLA. Gladiator, as well as your other stories (which I recommend that others read as well) really cemented my liking for this ship. Years later, I’m still here, though all the ups and downs.

Now, despite me liking Gladiator a whole lot, I’ve admittedly fallen behind on catching up with it, chapter by chapter. That said, I do want to read it at my own pace and as I read more I still find myself loving the story, as there is much to enjoy. 

So, to that end, I’ll be commenting on the parts of the story I have been caught up with, Chapters 1 to 100. I hope that’s okay. 

---

1.) Favorite Character: Sokka

Now, this doesn’t mean I don’t like Azula. Of course not. And choosing one over the other is such a hard call to make that I would rather have them both occupy the same spot. But I decided Sokka in this case for a number of reasons. Others have commented on Azula in their own posts, so I thought giving my reasons for Sokka seemed only fair. 

We’ve seen Sokka change a lot over the course of the story and I seeing him morph into the character he is now is such a stark contrast to the one we saw at the very beginning. He hated the Fire Nation and was unwilling to cooperate with Azula. And yet, after trial and error and harsh circumstance, we have seen become a great warrior in his own right and the closest companion Azula has ever had, being her secret lover. It has been such a treat seeing him change and adapt and grow in this story. And as someone who really does like him as much as Azula, it was (and still is) a thill to see him get an all-star treatment in a story. 

And yet there are lingering complexities within him in this story, as far as I have gotten in it. There is still that awareness within him of who he serves and what he is doing, along with a nagging feeling of inadequacy that has hounded him at every turn. Bit by bit, either by his own efforts or with a little help, he is clawing his way forward internally to find some reconciliation. And I find that very compelling. 

And also its fun to see him thrash gladiators.  

2.) Least Favorite Most Dreaded Character: Ozai

Well, that’s not true really. I don’t dislike any of the reoccurring characters actually. 

The best way to describe this particular choice is “Most Dreaded Character”. I chose Ozai for this one because I dread the moment in when he finds out Azula and Sokka’s little affair. Now, again, I’m only on Chapter 100, so things could have changed by now. Yet, I believe still that if Ozai finds about about all this... a lot is going to change for Azula, Sokka, and even the Fire Nation. He will be a consequential character in the chapters to come and dread to see the his wrath and what that will mean for everyone else. It will not be pretty.

3.) Favorite “Antagonist”: Toph

When I first picked up this story and saw Toph introduced as an adversary, I was hyped. Like, you have no idea how hyped and pumped up I was for them to brawl. And I was not disappointed. 

See, for me, Toph represented more than just a metaphorical torn in both Sokka’s and Azula’s side for a good chunk of this story. She is at times a very compelling mini-villain, as if she is straight out of a Disney movie. She loves what she does and enjoys it, and knows just how powerful she is. And flaunts it in spectacular display. She has such a simple yet understandable motivation and was a very real threat to Sokka’s own life in the very first fight they were in. And despite both Sokka and Toph eventually learning to respect and even befriend each other, there was always the nagging thought that they would eventually fight again, and each one knew they wanted to win that rematch. Toph provided Sokka and Azula a reoccurring adversary to strive toward beating. Even as other gladiators came and went, they always knew Toph would be their biggest obstacle. So much build up was focused on training for that eventuality. And all of it was compelling enough to paint Toph as this great rival to them. Her being a part-time ally in some cases and even being a friend didn’t really change that until after they had fought a second time. 

Its because of this that I now believe firmly that Toph should be used as an antagonist more, if a story needs one. She is just so fun and so good as villain that hope others come to use her as one in AUs. 

As I read more, I’m sure this might change in time. But, even with all the fights Sokka has had, I firmly maintain that Toph was his greatest adversary on many levels. 

4.) Favorite OC: Rui Shi

Honestly, I think this guy is a sprit animal to someone out there. He’s just a guard trying to do his job right and the person he protects consistently makes that job harder for him in the most ridiculous ways. “Oh great, my princess is in an affair with her Gladiator and that won’t stop fucking like rabbits. Joy.”

Honestly, this man needs a vacation. A long one. And Seyary hasn’t given it to him, because she likes to make his life hard. Rude. 

For the longest time, I actually thought Rui Shi was much older than he actually is in the story. So until a picture of him was finally made, I pictured him as a 40 year old veteran with a graying mustache and beard. Even with how he actually looks, I wouldn’t be surprised if his job made him grow gray hair from all the stress. 

Good OC, one of a few I like.

5.) Favorite Suitor: Zhao

Should probably be no surprise. Where I am at right now, he’s essentially the suitor to beat as well as having the ultimate Gladiator for Sokka and Azula to defeat. Azula even admired him at some point. Though that has changed, I feel that Zhao has his eyes set on courting Azula further. Its a move that Ozai would likely not object to, provided Zhao pulls off something grand to earn that honor. And although every suitor has made Sokka angry, I feel Zhao would anger him on a deeper level as his interest in Azula grows. 

I look forward to seeing him more.

6.) Favorite Gladiator(s): Jet and Suki (For Chapters 1-100)

Jet being a brainwashed Gladiator highlighted a dark aspect to the games. He was also a brutal berserker when in the ring and one of Sokka’s most bitter adversaries. Suki to me was an interesting contrast to Sokka his situation with Azula. She was to me a kind of noble gladiator, an Amazon in the ring put gentle when out of it. Putting the canon characters in as Gladiators was always a treat for me and actually lends itself to some world-building.

7.) Favorite Gladiator-Canon Pairing: Sokka/Azula

This should not be a surprise :P 

I could go on and on about it, but for the sake of brevity, I’ll keep things short. This should not be surprise because the driving force and the very soul of this entire story is about a warrior-princess falling in love with a tribal gladiator. Their differences and how they reconcile them, their fears and pain, their passion and drive, all propel this story forward. Things have changed in this story because of them and they themselves have changed because fate brought them together.

If that isn’t enough to make them my favorite, then I’m sorry I don’t know what else to say to convince you XD 

8.) Favorite Arc(s): Rough Rhinos Arcs

Two arcs hit me hard on an emotional level - The end of the introductory arc and the Rough Rhino’s arc. They literally crawl out of quagmire, find a dragon in the process, and have one of the most touching and sincere heart-to-hearts in the story thus far. It was one of my favorite arcs to read and the emotional stakes were high. As I read more and continue, this might change, but for now I maintain this is one of my favorite arcs.

9.) Favorite Places/Locations: To Be Determine

This is the down side of having to catch up. There are a lot of locations in the story and in the ATLA universe that I like, and its always a hard choice for me to decide. I am a big fan of settings for a story and when I find a setting I like I usually latch onto it in all its locations. So for now, I will not decide on a solid choice.

... however, in any AU it might show up in, Bs Sing Se is my first choice by biased default. I just love that city and I always appreciate when a story fleshes it out in little ways. Gladiator being set for a fraction of its time in the city was great for me as I got to read more about the city I like so much. 

10.) I wish to see Sokkla in...: More tender, couple-like moments

Surprising, I know. But I what I mean is this - moments where they refrain from arguing, don’t bicker, and just enjoy being around each other, doing small things together. And its hard for them, they have to train they, have to keep their relationship a secret, they can only be a true couple for fleeting moments because of how dangerous and vulnerable it will leave them. And it claws at my heart every time. So I cherish the moments they have when they can be themselves around one another, fleeting as they sometimes are. 

11.) I believe Sokka and Azula’s relationship will be revealed when/like/because of...:

... when they get careless. When they feel that they are safe in their secrecy, complacaent in their routines for keeping their relationship hidden, that’s when it will be revealed. Its a kind of Hubris of sorts. 

And when its revealed, it will lead to something bad and irreversible for the both of them. You can only hide something like this for so long. Even historical royal affairs were never as secret as theirs. And they have taken painful precautions to keep it all under wraps. 

So when it finally does, it will change everything. And that’s going to be quite the wild ride.

12.) I believe at the end of Part 3...:

... that a sacrifice will be made. A death or a relinquishment of something. Sokka and Azula will be together, but something will have to be given up, and it will test them for the final time. 

I can’t say what it will be, but I’m going to enjoy finding out.

#Sokkla #Sokka #Azula #Gladiator Chapter Celebration

[neverwatchedonepiece]

563-564: "A Shocking Fact! the True Identity of Hordy!" and "Back to Zero! Earnest Wishes for Luffy!"

...

I’m guessing this is what all the caught-up OP fans have been waiting for this entire arc.

Here’s the verdict: I really liked the “Nothing” twist. Oda was brave to create a realistic villain like Hordy Jones. And he is probably one of the most realistic OP villains. I get why people hated it. But I know people like this guy and I think other OP fans who come from a background where there are real, engrained systemic, centuries-old problems (racism, sectarianism, whatever -ism plagues your town), they will see Hordy Jones and his goons in all the downtrodden, bitter, brainwashed poor people who had nothing to cling to but the past and a manufactured sense of social superiority.

But I’ll go into that later. There were a couple of happy Strawhat scenes. Can’t ignore them, so will dive back into the serious Hordy stuff later.

Leave It All to the Strawhats

Just have to give a brief thumbs up for the return of Sane Sanji. Or at least the Sanji I like best: the one who is smart, sarcastic and smoking. Loved that scene with the Sea Bonze guy when he did a Moria and inflated to a large size. “How do you like my size?” Sea Bonze guy boasted.

“Kraken’s bigger,” Sanji said bluntly.

“OH YEAH, HOW ‘BOUT NOW?”

“Still bigger.”

At this rate, Sanji won’t have to lift another finger. The Sea Bonze guy will keep inflating, take out more and more of his own team, and Sanji can sit back, smoke and enjoy the view.

Chopper’s little moment with Zoro was great too. I’ve always thought Zoro and Chopper have this weird, special kind of understanding. They were paired up in Strong World and, I have no evidence to base this on so tell me if I’m wrong, but I don’t remember Zoro ever ragging on Chopper like he sometimes does with the other Strawhats. (It’s almost like he knows Chopper’s a sensitive, kind, little soul so he wants to protect him? The other Strawhats can take the banter, so he goes for it.) 

Whatever the case, Chopper busted out his Heavy Point and went toe-to-toe with the strongest of the Fishmen Goons. Zoro turned and joked, “Hey, Chopper! That was the form that gave you the most human look, but now you look more monster-like.” It’s nice that Zoro can joke like that with Chopper. He knows Chopper was sensitive about his humanity. It was almost like Zoro was saying, “Hey, that form’s strong. Are you okay with the look?”

But Chopper’s self-esteem has rocketed since he joined the Strawhats. “I wanted to look like a human because I wanted friends. Now I want to be a monster who helps Luffy!”

Chopper really has accepted himself. Excuse me while I dab my eyes with this tissue.

Also, Zoro is making short work of Drunk Sword Fish Guy. “Bring the strongest swordsman on Fishman Island,” he said. “You’re not even strong enough to kill my boredom.”

Hospital treatment needed for that burn.

And I just have to say that scene with Robin freeing the human pirate slaves was spectacular. The little moment between her and Jimbei (”I cannot refuse the request of a handsome man”), her spinning the situation to prevent grudges against innocent Fishmen (”You can thank Jimbei for asking me to free you”) and that Cuerpo Fleurs: Double Clutch move...

It was beautiful. ;_; I only wish she had used it on Spandam. The only thing better than one clutch is two. But that Hammond guy had it coming, so I’m not complaining.

And speaking of slave-taking racist scumbags...

It Always Starts Small

I definitely liked the “Nothing” twist. 

It was a shock at first. Must admit that. I kind of stared at the screen and laughed for a moment before what Fukaboshi said sank in.

“Hordy is a monster brought to life by our environment. The New Fishman Pirates are monsters created by an ancient grudge. A grudge born from our ancestors in the shadow of Fishman Island. They fear the grudge will be forgotten, their anger against humans dispelled. That’s why they are so impatient. They want humans to be evil so they can justify their crusade. They just want to see bloodshed. They don’t even want peace for Fishmen. Their hatred is not rooted in experience or true beliefs. They have no substance. They are completely empty.”

It might seem a cop out. Mundane. Motiveless. But that’s the thing. Hordy does have a motive: his empty hatred drives him.

And the sad thing is, I totally get what Oda’s trying to do here. Kind of wish I didn’t, but I do. I know people like Hordy. I’ve mentioned this before here, but where I live, sectarianism is a thing. Two branches of the same bloody religion have divided my part of the planet for centuries. There’s a horrible history of repression and terrorism on both sides. Now there are segregated schools and whichever football team you support outs you as “on a side”. Even your name and where you work can mark you. If you visit FB pages dedicated to the city, you won’t have to look far for sectarian posts. Dive into the football teams and, oh boy, you are in for a real treat! 

The thing is, the people who are most virulently into this crap are often (but not always) the poorest, most downtrodden people in society. Scrape the bottom and there you will find them. There’s a lot of poverty where I live (relative compared to the rest of the world, of course). Grinding poverty means you don’t have much going for you. All you have to feel superior is your football team and your religion. (And these people actually have very little knowledge on the tenets of their respective religions, by the way. Same goes for social history. Ask them anything and they’ll get angry because they know they know nothing.) All they know is: the other side is BAD. Why? Because dad said so, and his dad said so, and so did his. They cling desperately to empty hatred.

Hordy Jones and his goons are like that. Though they’re even worse. At least the sectarian folk from my city have actually met each other in the streets after a game and have beaten the crap out of each other face to face. Hordy has never met a single human in his life.

“What did humans do to you?”

“Nothing.”

He straight up admitted it. 

I loved the way Oda revealed how Hordy acquired his toxic prejudice. Because it was realistic.

Lynchings

It started small. Drip feeding the hatred. Every inch of Fishman District, that poverty-stricken, lawless place where there was nothing to do but hate. Every week another attack. Every week another kidnapping. Every once and a while a hero comes along, dying a martyr’s death (one was lauded for burning down the Human Shoppe. Probably a small business run by Fishmen, but what does that matter?) As a kid, Little Hordy loved heroes.

Then a Big Hero came along. Arlong. He liked to sit the little kiddies down and tell them tales of humans. Drip feed that poison in their ears. I guess this is what Otohime was trying to counteract. (Now that scene when she scolded the Fishmen who were about to lynch St Myosgard is really put in perspective.)

“This is a crusade! Ages ago, the filth we call humans envied the chosen and gifted Fishmen. They decided to persecute us. They were everywhere, like maggots.  Humans used the only advantage they had: numbers. They drove us down to the sea floor. Never forget our grudge against the humans. Humans know and fear that their reckoning day will come, and that’s when we’ll make them pay!”

The worst, most insidious statement was this: “Never forget our history. Feel the disappointment of the dead. Take over their resentment. Hold a grudge against humans.”

That line: “feel the disappointment of the dead”... that’s evil. Proper emotional blackmail. These people died with hatred festering in their hearts. Honour the glorious dead. Damn... I feel sorry for Fisher Tiger being used in this way.

Hordy was so twisted by the poison poured in his ear on all sides that he couldn’t even listen to a story young Hatchi told about Rayleigh. He was a human but he was different. Rayleigh never made a face when he looked at Hatchi. “I don’t like your story, Hatchi,” Hordy said. “It makes me sick.”

When Tiger was killed by Marines, Hordy’s gang, swilling beer in a pub, concluded he wasn’t the chosen hero. Someone had to step up to take his place.

Then - and I could hardly believe this was in a kid’s show - it went all KKK. Torchlit lynchings of Fishmen who had helped humans in some way (one poor guy donated blood). The Royal Family were obviously traitors. They wanted to forgive humans. Jimbei was a traitor too. He had joined the Shichibukai. 

“This country needs a hero,” Hordy Jones concluded. And he decided that he would be that “hero”. So he pulled the trigger on Otohime and stoked the fire of hatred against humans. The contrast between the funeral scenes and Hordy’s gang laughing it up at the pub was infuriating but effective.

Then, ten years later, it was time for their revenge. “This is a crusade. Prepare to kill as many humans as you can before your own death. We are devoting our lives to this vengeance.”

I wonder if Hordy will be willing to sacrifice his own life for his ideals? Or is that only for other people? 

Push the Reset Button

You know what else I liked? Fukaboshi’s reaction to the realisation of where Hordy Jones had come from.

It was what Otohime had realised years ago, but maybe never had the chance to discuss it with her kids.

“I don’t know when, but we lost contact with Fishman District. They’ve become something like an isolated, dark side of Fishman Island. We pretended not to see the twisted hatred building up in that lawless ditch in the deep water. I filled mother’s shoes, I collected signatures, but it was only superficial. I thought I was making progress. It was too late! People like them are the ones my mother feared the most. We should have fought with ourselves first. We should have fought our own feelings towards humans. Mother was killed by the grudge growing on Fishman Island. Maybe she knew it. But a part of me held that resentment and hated humans for killing my mother. Dead people take their regret to the grave, so  grudge is an illusion the living create and they alone cultivate it. Because I hated humans, I overlooked the resentment in Fishman District. When I finally noticed, it had become too powerful and beyond control.”

See, this is why I respect Fukaboshi a lot. He admits he had a part to play in the mess. Granted, I think he is justified, in a sad way. For ten years, he grew up believing a human had shot his mother dead. Despite that, he carried on her dream. But the whole Fishman District being a lawless, broken place that was ignored is interesting. If you leave a place to rot and don’t do anything about it, the people there will become poor and downtrodden. It is really easy to radicalise people who have nothing to lose. What the Royal Family should have done was double down on Otohime’s efforts to include Fishman District, to alleviate the poverty and lawlessness. Maybe that would have helped. Maybe.

His solution to the problem? It was pretty radical, actually.

“If nothing is done, Fishman Island will destroy itself through hatred of humans! We don’t need the past! Reset our history to zero. Wipe out those phantoms who shut the island away from the sun. Bring Fishman Island back to zero!

That’s also pretty radical. I guess Fukaboshi thinks there’s so much necrotic, gangrenous flesh poisoning Fishman Island that it’ll be best to just amputate the diseased limbs than let it spread any further. It’s sad that it’s come to that point, but I guess the hate is too strong.

Luckily, Fukaboshi and Shirahoshi have a Luffy who doesn’t give a crap about the past. “As long as you let me handle it my way, don’t worry,” Luffy assured. “Our minds were made up when we arrived at the plaza with Jimbei. We won’t let anyone harm Fishman Island. Leave it all up to us, Brother-Hoshi. We’re friends, right?”

I dunno, but I get the funniest feeling that this particular, rubbery human has made a lasting impression on Fukaboshi. ;)

Be honest. It’s how you’d want to go too.

#one piece #neverwatchedonepiece #nwop #never watched one piece #monkey d. luffy #hordy jones #fukaboshi #princess shirahoshi #arlong #fishman island #tony tony chopper #roronoa zoro #nico robin #sanji #jimbei #franky #brook #nami #king neptune #hatchi

[ghoultyrant]

Grimdark Tau

I’ve long felt Tau were plenty grimdark without slapping in grimderp elements, running with just baseline components. No need for "gifting" mind control helmets to supposed allies, pheromones assuring Ethereal leadership, or mass sterilization of human colonists to make room for Tau colonists. These just draw attention away from the actual, existing grimdark.

Let's take a look at the other factions of Warhammer 40k, and their grimdarkness. Orks are grimdark because they are a plague of violence for its own sake, virtually impossible to eradicate and fully capable of overrunning the galaxy through sheer breeding advantage combined with intrinsic military advantages. Even with a concerted effort by everyone else to exterminate them, there's no way to be completely confident they're all gone, and so long as they exist peace is not on the table. Craftworld Eldar are grimdark because they are smarter than you, stronger than you, live longer than you, are outright super psychics that see the future, and are completely disinterested in your survival or well-being if you aren't Eldar. The Imperium is grimdark because they treat everyone and everything like garbage out of sheer necessity. The Inquisition isn't the ruling body squashing political dissension using the veil of religion. They're fighting a threat fundamentally dedicated to the eradication of anything resembling civilization, and the only viable way to do so involves brainwashing, social manipulation, and outright genocide of problematic population. In other words, being good requires monstrous behavior in the Imperium, and that's depressing/grimdark. Tyranids are grimdark because EVERYTHING ENDS IN TYRANIDS. EVERYTHING. Also, Genestealer cults that are virtually impossible to detect before they reach a substantially threatening stage and the only real solution is to kill the infected. No good answers and we're all doomed. Pretty straightforward grimdark. Dark Eldar are grimdark because they do all the awful things they do to stave off the destruction of their immortal souls. Well, most of the things. Partially they're just that twisted, but then again that grows out of the necessity of inflicting suffering for their own survival, which is going to tend to weed out any Dark Eldar that's squeamish because their soul will be eaten. Net result; there's a reason to feel kind of sorry for the monsters even as they torture you for giggles, which is all kinds of messed up. Grimdark: achieved. Oldcrons are grimdark because their goal is extermination of all life, everywhere, wrapped up in a shell of barely sensate beings reduced to "I have no mouth and I must scream" as the means to achieve this goal, all directed by immortal people-eating monsters harvesting us like cattle. Not because they have to to survive, but because we're more delicious than stars. That's depressing because it implies a missed opportunity for peaceful cooperation with vast beings of cosmic significance, and also because, again, there's an urge to feel sorry for the mass-murdering killbots even as they literally atomize you, and again, that's all kinds of messed up. (Newcrons are... not really all that grimdark, by comparison, but whatever)

Chaos, is, of course, Chaos, and has layers of grimdark built in. Every thinking creature's every thought and random feeling contributes to the Immaterium, but then the Immaterium pokes back and encourages patterns growing in it, leading to a snowball effect where incidents in history of violence and anger and so on have made the Immaterium an unhappy and scary place, which then promotes violence and anger and so on, feeding in on itself. To fight Chaos is to feed Chaos. If you join Chaos, you are driven onward by a constant, eternal fear for your immortal soul, fully aware that your life and the quality therein now hinges on the whims of the pitiless and random Gods of Chaos, whom may turn you into an I Must Scream slab of tortured flesh because you bore them, or because you failed them one too many times, or because they thought it would be funny, or because they were actually trying to give you a gift and said gift was too much for your mere mortal flesh to handle. Also, your "allies" in Chaos are only slightly less likely to try to kill you than the opposition is. This isn't even getting into how horrifying it must be to find yourself a part of Chaos while having an actual moral compass. Oh, and enlightenment is demons and so is liable to explode your head.

-----------

So, the Tau.

The Tau trip all the happy feelgood terms and images of goodness. They speak of "The Greater Good", prefer diplomatic appeals to military aggression, have clean looking technology, invest resources into improving the quality of life of their people, and glorify individuals helping the collective. They're nice guys driven to make the world a better place for everyone in it, right? Let's look at some of these bits a little closer. Greater Good is rendered as "Tau'Va." in the Tau language. One can infer that Tau therefore probably means either "Greater" or "Good", either of which is somewhat alarming. Human cultures largely name themselves "the people" if you translate their name for themselves, which is a pretty neutral statement. The Tau are either saying they are the definition of goodness or that they are greater... than anything that isn't them, presumably. Neither of these suggests the Tau view their allies as equal partners. Reinforcing this is that Tau diplomacy is not aiming for an alliance of equals. You serve the Tau Empire, or you die. Certainly, the Imperium gives anything sufficiently inhuman just the "you die" option, but the Tau are not asking if you want to fight alongside them against external third parties. They aren't NATO or some other compact between equals. Being integrated into the Tau Empire means being suborned to the Tau Empire. They will bring you into their Empire, they won't take "no" for an answer, your government will be leashed to their will, or they'll just kill you and ship Tau into the area you once lived. Your governor may remain a governor, but that doesn't mean your government has any real power.

Ethereals are the leadership caste. The underlying assumption of the Tau Empire is that everyone in it serves under Ethereals. This is unilaterally declaring Ethereals the only valid authority, no argument allowed. You're not Tau, you're never in charge. You are Tau, but not an Ethereal, you're not in charge. There is no equal representation at the highest authority levels: first and foremost Tau interests will be represented. Even if they have a principle of allowing everyone their foibles and building the world to work in harmony for everyone, the command decisions will still be skewed towards Tau interests, even if the Ethereals genuinely believe in equal treatment for all, with no possibility of cycling in non-Ethereal leadership to soften the bias. Naturally, Tau priorities will then be skewed toward Ethereal interests over the interests of other castes, for extra special bonus grimdark. The Tau loathe individual expression, and box you in based on your biology. They are fundamentally racist in a way that goes well beyond any possibility of practical motives, including forbidding crossbreeding of Tau Castes. This is basically eugenics, and not some idealized "let's weed out life-ruining defects!" eugenics, but the arbitrary, politically-minded kind that, among other points, contributes to keeping Ethereals the sole authority. A Fire/Ethereal crossbreed is not allowed: you can't marry your family into a position of power. Based on their treatment of their own and their treatment of their allies, it seems likely that once the Tau settle on what they think humans are ideally suited for, they are going to attempt to lock them into that role, no arguing or accommodation for people who don't fit this idea. All unusual occurrences in any given species or Caste will not be given due consideration for not physically fitting their standard role, because the Caste system is absolute. A Fire Caste Tau who is clever with her hands and intellectually good with machines will not work within Earth Caste factories or laboratories. She will be given a combat suit and a gun, and off to war she goes. The Tau’s Greater Good is a patriotic ideal, not a philosophical/moral one. The Greater Good starts from being defined as the members of the Tau Empire, not the galaxy's whole breadth of species. There is a component of real-world philosophy to their ideology, in that they see no point to unnecessary fighting and don't understand why other species will die to a man for no clear benefit, and similarly will more readily ally against greater threats than many of 40k's factions. However, mostly it is largely the same as the Imperium's fanatical devotion to the Emperor, only directed at the Tau Empire as a whole. This isn't "what benefits the most people by the largest amount?" This is "Whatever the Greater Good Tau Empire demands." That's an implicit mandate that the Tau Empire can do whatever it wants and be morally justified. That they happen to angle it more toward seeming nicer than the Imperium's mandate of "Whatever the Emperor wants" gets used for doesn't change the fact that it's the same level of fanatical zeal unchained by ethics or a real moral code. The Tau ethos of sacrifice for others goes a bit beyond glorifying the individual dying to save everyone else where no other option exists and ranges closer to Imperial Guard "everyone is expendable" military philosophy. The expectation is you will die for your Empire on a moment's notice, even if it is merely convenient rather than necessary. It never openly ranges into calculating how much your death will buy... but a refusal to explicitly admit to something doesn't mean it isn't happening. The Tau are grimdark because they are, in many ways, villains with good PR. Sure, they won't treat you like crap just because they can if you join their Empire, and in general they have a policy of decent quality of life for citizens. That doesn't mean they are utopian or even as "good" as the surface image suggests.

It's redundant and gratuitous to have shenanigans like the Tau Empire sterilizing human populations or "gifting" mind control helmets to prospective allies, and I’ve always been a bit surprised at how normal it is for 40k fans to feel the Tau are undermining 40k’s grimdarkness such that the creators feel the need to slap in this nonsense.

I suppose it’s appropriate in a meta sort of way that the Tau PR engine is so effective it works through the fourth wall...

#warhammer 40k #tau #grimdark

[hollywoodjuliorivas]

‘Dirt’ reveals a failing of book industry

The establishment deemed it the great immigrant novel, yet it doesn’t reflect Latino experience

JEANINE CUMMINS said she was nervous to write a story of the plight of Mexican migrants and wished “someone slightly browner than me would write it.” (Joe Kennedy)

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ESMERALDA BERMUDEZ

By now, you’ve probably heard about the uproar that took place last week over a book.

“American Dirt” by Jeanine Cummins was celebrated by critics as the great immigrant novel of our day.

“Masterful.”

“Pulse-pounding.”

“Soul-obliterating.”

“A ‘Grapes of Wrath’ for our times.”

Even Oprah Winfrey dove in early Tuesday morning, the day of the release, and anointed “American Dirt” with the holy grail of endorsements, selecting it for her book club.

“I was opened, I was shook up, it woke me up,” Winfrey said in a promotional video. “I feel like everyone who reads this book is actually going to be immersed in the experience of what it means to be a migrant on the run for freedom.”

It was a perfectly orchestrated mega-budget campaign that might have gone off without a hitch if weren’t for Latinos. Many who grew up in actual immigrant families unleashed a storm of criticism — unlike anything the book industry has seen in years.

I was among those who spoke up.

I’m an immigrant, after all. My family fled by foot and bus to the U.S. in the 1980s as right-wing death squads were killing and torturing thousands across El Salvador, including several of my relatives.

The trauma of those dark days shaped everything about me.

I figured I might recognize some part of my story in Cummins’ book, which follows an immigrant mother and son on their harrowing escape north from Mexico.

Then I read the book. My skin crawled after the first few chapters.

Not because of the suspense, though that’s probably the only thing this narrative does well, like a cheap-thrill narconovela.

What made me cringe was immediately realizing that this book was not written for people like me, for immigrants. It was written for everyone else — to enchant them, take them on a wild border-crossing ride, make them feel all fuzzy inside about the immigrant plight.

All, unfortunately, with the worst stereotypes, fixations and inaccuracies about Latinos.

Sure, I know it’s all fiction and I’m no literary critic. Cummins is not obligated to write a book that reflects my life. But it’s strange that a novel so many are praising for its humanity seems so far from all the real-life immigrant experiences I’ve covered.

Never in nearly two decades of writing about immigrants have I come across someone who resembles Cummins’ heroine, a Mexican woman named Lydia.

She’s a middle-class, bookstore-owning “Mami” who starts her treacherous journey with a small fortune: a stack of cash, thousands of dollars in inheritance money; also an ATM card to access thousands more from her mother’s life savings.

Why is she fleeing? Because while her husband, a journalist, was investigating a drug lord, Lydia was flirting with that same narco.

Moments after he walked into her bookshop, “She smiled at him, feeling slightly crazy. She ignored this feeling and plowed recklessly ahead.”

Later, when Lydia is running for her life, debating whether she and her 8-year-old son should jump on La Bestia, the perilous northbound freight train that’s cost many immigrants their limbs and lives, she has an identity crisis. She used to be “sensible,” “a devoted mother-and-wife.” Now she calls herself “deranged Lydia.”

Because hint, hint, reader: Any immigrant parent desperate enough to put their kids in such danger must be crazy, right?

It’s a book of villains and victims, the two most tired tropes about immigrants in the media, in which Cummins has an “excited fascination” with brown skin, as New York Times critic Parul Sehgal pointed out in one of the few negative reviews of the book. Her characters are “berry-brown” or “tan as childhood.” There is also a reference to “skinny brown children.”

When two of her leading characters, sisters migrating from Honduras named Rebeca and Soledad, hug, “Rebeca breathes deeply into Soledad’s neck, and her tears wet the soft brown curve of her sister’s skin.”

When’s the last time you hugged your sister and stopped to contemplate the color of her skin?

All novelists offer vivid descriptions of their characters, but Cummins’ preoccupation with skin color is especially disturbing in a society that constantly measures the worth of Latinos by where they fall on the scale of brownness.

Soledad, by the way, is also “dangerously” beautiful. She’s a “vivid throb of color,” an “accident of biology.” Even in the “most minor animation of the girl’s body … danger rattles off her relentlessly.”

Of course. Everywhere we Latinas go, our bodies are radioactive with peligro.

Speaking of Spanish, you’ll pick up quite a few words in “American Dirt.” Cummins, in stiff sentences that sound like Dora the Explorer teaching a toddler, will introduce you to conchas, refrescos, “Ándale,” “Ay, Dios mío,” “¡Me gusta!”

All this, it pains me to say, was praised by nearly every U.S. critic who reviewed it as a great accomplishment.

It’s what the Washington Post’s critic “devoured” in a “dry-eyed adrenaline rush,” what kept the Los Angeles Times reviewer up until 3 a.m., what the New York Times initially said had all the “ferocity and political reach of the best of Theodore Dreiser’s novels.” (The latter paper later deleted the tweet, and an editor explained the line had been from an unpublished draft.)

The heart of the problem is the industry — the critics, agents, publicists, book dealers who were responsible for this project. They’ve shown just how little they know about the immigrant experience beyond the headlines.

So we are left with this flawed book as our model, these damaging depictions at a time when there’s already so much demonizing of immigrants.

Cummins said she questioned whether she was the right person to tell this story.

She was born in Spain and raised in Maryland. A few years ago she identified herself in the New York Times as “white,” though in the book she plays up her Latina side, making reference to a grandmother from Puerto Rico. Her publisher publicized the book by promoting Cummins as “the wife of a formerly undocumented immigrant.” She doesn’t mention that her husband is from Ireland.

“I worried that, as a non-immigrant and non-Mexican, I had no business writing a book set almost entirely in Mexico, set entirely among migrants,” she said in her author’s note.

“I wished someone slightly browner than me would write it.”

Still, she saw herself as a “bridge,” so she plunged in.

I don’t take issue with an outsider coming into my community to write about us. But “American Dirt” so completely misrepresents the immigrant experience that it must be called out.

Cummins said her goal was to help immigrants portrayed as a “faceless brown mass.” She said she wanted to give “these people a face.”

How’s that for a captivating book pitch?

The industry ate it up. In a rare three-day bidding war, Flatiron Books reportedly won Cummins’ book for a seven-figure sum.

The number astounded many writers. It fell with a blunt force on Latinos, who are constantly shut out of the book industry.

The overall industry is 80% white. Executives: 78% white. Publicists and marketing: 74% white. Agents: 80% white.

These numbers include 153 book publishers and agencies, including what’s known in the book world as the Big Five, which control nearly the entire market.

This diversity study, the most comprehensive in the industry, was launched by a small independent children’s book publisher in New York called Lee & Low Books. They’ve conducted it twice, in 2015 and in 2019. (Figures noted above are from the latest study, which will be released Tuesday.)

In those four years, the numbers showed no significant change.

“The power balance has been off for so long,” said Hannah Ehrlich, director of marketing and publicity for Lee & Low. “Even when a big mistake is brought to their attention, when there’s a sense of urgency, publishers don’t fix it — or they try, with good intentions, but they don’t know how.”

They don’t know how. (Insert emoji of head exploding.)

The solution is simple: Hire more Latinos. More people of color. Listen to them. Promote them. Treat them fairly so they don’t leave.

Ehrlich kindly walked me through the world of publishing, which of course is very similar to journalism, including in its glaring lack of racial diversity.

Often, Ehrlich said, what happens is gatekeepers go looking for good stories, stories that resonate with their view of the world. If they come across a compelling pitch about a person of color, the question becomes, “How do you sell this idea to a broader, mainstream audience?” Translation: white people.

By focusing on one audience, the industry makes it harder for writers of color to break through and also for publishers to build a more diverse customer base.

So it goes, in a long process that many writers of color know all too well, where the best of our stories are frequently sanitized, devalued, tropicalized, manipulated, shrunk down, hijacked.

All for sums that don’t come close to seven figures.

And for deals that don’t get the kind of superstar treatment of “American Dirt.” That includes books that Cummins studied closely to prepare for her novel, with real migrant stories like Oscar Martinez’s “The Beast,” Sonia Nazario’s “Enrique’s Journey,” Luis Alberto Urrea’s “The Devil’s Highway.”

Cummins has no regrets about reaping the benefits of the system. She already got a movie deal and will travel to the border with Oprah for more publicity.

“I was never going to turn down money that someone offered me for something that took me seven years to write,” she said in a recent interview.

When asked about the criticism, the author often keeps the focus on the question of appropriation, saying writers shouldn’t be silenced. I have no desire to silence her, but her book is a symptom of a larger problem.

Cummins said people should direct their attention to the publishing world, not individual writers like her.

She’s got a point. In the end, the real fight over “American Dirt” is not about this writer. It’s about an industry that favors her stories over ones written by immigrants and Latinos.

Still, it’s hard to let Cummins off the hook.

Not when she has posted photos on her Twitter account showing her celebrating “American Dirt” with floral centerpieces laced with barbed wire.

“That’s what I call attention to detail right?!” she wrote in a comment below the photo she posted of the party.

I can’t explain the gut punch I felt when I saw this image on the internet.

Growing up, my family spoke of this barbed wire. How it encircled them, how it tore their hands and legs in their treacherous trek north.

For us, the boogeyman that forced us to leave El Salvador was not some drug kingpin with a quivering mustache like La Lechuza.

It was a brutal 12-year war of terror waged on poor people by oligarchs, backed by the United States, which spent billions to train and equip Salvadoran death squads and the Salvadoran military; the U.S. helped pay for their weapons, bombs, jeeps, uniforms, gas masks. More than 75,000 Salvadorans died in the fighting.

Before my third birthday, I lost just about everyone: My grandfather, uncle and aunt were killed. My father was exiled. My mom was forced to leave me behind in El Salvador to come north.

It’s a story that repeats itself among the hundreds of thousands of Salvadorans who fled to the U.S. in the 1980s.

Because of greed, a thirst for power and government violence in Central America — a place where the United States has heavily intruded since the 1800s — thousands of families continue to run north. From Honduras. From Guatemala. From El Salvador.

This is the immigration story of our times.

Hopefully, soon, the book world will gather the nerve to let more of our own writers tell it. And give that story the same royal treatment it gave “American Dirt.”

[esonetwork]

A blog of ice and fire: Thoughts on Game of Thrones seasons 4 & 5

New Post has been published on https://esonetwork.com/a-blog-of-ice-and-fire-thoughts-on-game-of-thrones-seasons-4-5/

A blog of ice and fire: Thoughts on Game of Thrones seasons 4 & 5

I’m still mad about the infamous “red wedding,” but nevertheless, my first-time viewing of Game of Thrones continues with seasons 4 and 5.

I’m really starting to pick up speed now — I watched the first season in about a month, but I finished season 4 in a week. It’s interesting because even though I heard what I thought were a lot of spoilers about this show, there’s still a lot of details I don’t know, and I’m dying to find out what happens to certain characters. (Also, they had better not let any harm come to poor Samwell Tarly — he has such a lovely, kind soul and at least ONE PERSON on this show deserves to find happiness, darn it!)

Revenge and forgiveness

***Warning: Spoilers ahead!***

The Stark family keeps running into worse and worse luck, but at least now it’s time for the Lannisters to have a little taste of their own medicine. Karma finally catches up with King Joffrey and he’s poisoned at his own wedding. Also, Tywin’s days of manipulating his family are over, as the patriarch also meets his end, at the hands of his son Tyrion.

While Joffrey’s death comes as a relief to viewers (and just about everyone in Westeros), his absence doesn’t really settle the political tensions in the realm. In fact, it kicks off a murder “trial” (I’m putting “trial” in quotation marks here because there’s nothing particularly just or impartial about it), which eventually leads to Tyrion first killing his father, as referenced earlier, and then officially joining #TeamTargaryen.

As viewers we’ve been waiting a long time to see Joffrey get his comeuppance. He’s both a terrible ruler and a terrible person, and he was bad news for the future of Westeros. And yet, it’s interesting how revenge is never really as satisfying as you think it’s going to be. Joffrey’s death doesn’t erase all the evil things he’s done; Ned Stark is still dead, and there’s still a war going on. The legacy he left continues to poison those around him.

Speaking of revenge, I’m curious to see how Arya Stark’s character continues to develop, and how her feelings regarding her quest for vengeance may or may not change. (Side note: Her time training with the shape-shifters is super interesting, and I’m excited to see more magic making its way into the show.)

Arya has experienced far too much trauma and tragedy for someone who’s still so very young, and I don’t blame her for wanting to avenge her family. Still, there’s a very fine line between justice and revenge, and a good person who’s consumed by a desire for vengeance can easily cross over to the dark side themselves.

The opposite of revenge is, of course, forgiveness, and I’m curious to see what Game of Thrones has to say in regards to this theme. We haven’t seen much forgiveness at work, which is a shame because redemption and forgiveness are two of my favorite themes in stories (it’s why I love Star Wars so much, and it’s also why “Return of the Jedi” is one of my top favorite Star Wars movies). I believe that forgiveness and healing are an important part of the human experience.

Game of Thrones is challenging, though, because there are some characters that I really, really hate, and who seem beyond redemption. Some of the villains on Game of Thrones display a level of evil and cruelty that force me to look away from the screen. How does a character like Arya reach a place of forgiveness and peace within herself, while also ensuring that justice is done and that corrupt leaders are prevented from harming others in the future?

Daenerys is also wrestling with these same questions, as she tries to cement her status as queen and end corruption in the realms she encounters. What kind of punishment should she dole out in the lands she conquers, to the people who have done genuinely bad things? How do you mix mercy with justice?

I don’t think the show has really revealed what it thinks the answers to these questions are yet, but I’m sure this will continue to be explored in coming seasons.

A dangerous dynasty

Even though I’m very much #TeamStark (a fact I’ve probably mentioned too many times already in this series of blogs), a character who has really grown on me throughout this series is Tyrion, and it was hard to watch almost all his friends and family abandon him during the trial where he is falsely accused of murder.

Peter Dinklage puts so much emotion and depth into his performance, and you can’t help but empathize with him. And what an epic speech when he tells off the entire courtroom full of people from King’s Landing; it didn’t exactly go over well with his audience, but I was definitely cheering!

It’s interesting to watch how the Lannisters regularly serve as the architects of their own doom. Jaime Lannister started this whole mess all the way back in season 1 by pushing Bran out the window. Joffrey’s selfish cruelty paints a giant target on his back. Then, Tywin’s repeated mistreatment of his son Tyrion leads to his own death and the loss of one of the best strategists in King’s Landing.

Well, the capital’s loss is Dany’s gain, as Tyrion takes his clever wits and political prowess to the Mother of Dragons, lending his support to the Targaryen dynasty. I can’t wait to see how their partnership plays out.

Tyrion will also be extra glad that he got out of King’s Landing when he finds out about the dumpster fire that place has turned into. Cersei gambles on an alliance with the High Sparrow, only to have him turn on her and throw her into prison. Cersei really can be a nasty person, but in the end I do pity her, because her life, on the whole, has probably been a very unhappy experience.

Cersei is smart and capable, but in the male-dominated world of Westeros, she’s treated dismissively. She has to fight for whatever power she does wield. If both she and Tyrion had been treated with more respect, and were placed in a more welcoming environment that allowed them to truly flourish, it’s interesting to ponder what they may have accomplished.

There are way too many other character arcs to cover in one blog, but it’s also cool to see Jon Snow emerging as a leader and trying to combat the growing threat of the White Walkers. Brienne of Tarth continues to be one of my favorite characters, and I love that we get to learn more about her backstory. Plus, Podrick is a great sidekick for her, and I love seeing their adventures together.

Also, in the beginning I really hated Theon Greyjoy, and I’m surprised to admit that I now genuinely feel sorry for him. He’s done some bad things, but seeing the way Ramsay Bolton has broken him physically, mentally, and emotionally is just gut-wrenching.

Speaking of Ramsay Bolton, he now joins King Joffrey on my list of most hated fictional characters of all time. I flinch every time he’s onscreen, and I’m getting mad just writing about him. Ugh ⁠— it’s time for him to go!

Responsibility in storytelling

This leads me to the final point I’d like to discuss, and it’s one I’ve heard other viewers talking about throughout the series. Does Game of Thrones sometimes go too far in its depiction of violence, particularly its focus on sexual violence against women?

There’s a scene in season 5 involving Ramsay Bolton and his new wife, Sansa Stark, that so deeply troubled me that I don’t even really want to write about it. I don’t cry a lot while watching movies/TV, but his horrible treatment of Sansa really got to me. We’ve seen many female characters who have been sexually mistreated throughout the series, including Cersei, Dany, and nearly Brienne.

Is this something that should be shown onscreen? I know that events like this happened in the real-life medieval era; however, any time you portray a sensitive topic in fiction, you have to do it responsibly. Hopefully Ramsay will be called to account for all the awful things he’s done, but that won’t erase the trauma Sansa has experienced.

I love Game of Thrones, but I believe it is perfectly fair to call out the writers, and to wish that they’d handled these sensitive scenes with greater care. Also, the scene of Jaime forcing himself on his sister Cersei felt out of character and has made it tough for me to root for a redemption arc for him anymore. According to an article I read, that scene wasn’t even in the books, which makes its inclusion in the show all the more frustrating.

This issue is more complex than can be covered in one article, but I think it’s good to talk about it. Fiction can raise awareness about the realities of rape and sexual violence throughout history, and motivate people to take action against it. But this topic should never be sensationalized or used for mere shock value, which is sometimes the case in Game of Thrones.

Closing thoughts

I am now over halfway through this series, and pieces of the narrative continue to fall into place. Also, thank goodness I have heard some spoilers about season 6, because the ending of season 5 is definitely a shocker. The Night’s Watch turns on Jon Snow and leaves him bleeding out on the ground, presumably dead.

I definitely would have been raging at “red wedding” levels of angry, but thankfully I already know he comes back, so the scene wasn’t as traumatic as it otherwise would have been. Still, I’m definitely going to be in a hurry to get to the library after work today to pick up a copy of season 6!

#Arya Stark #Game of Thrones #Jon Snow #season 4 #Season 5 #Tyrion #Westeros