#Your oppressors are clever. Get smart about it
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《 Solo 》Paseo en barco
What was that saying again? Clever people learn from their mistakes; wise people study other people's errors first.
His days of enforcement were long behind him, but protecting his community from oppressors was still very much his priority. But sometimes, a day off didn’t hurt anyone, right?! And a boat ride felt nice too. Just a few friends, good food and the nice view. Away from prying eyes and ears.
He’d set the table for two, but there was place for six at the round table. Caleb calmly came over, putting a plate on the table just as a beat up man in his late twenties was sat down in front of it by two much muscular individual. The hood over his head was yanked off to reveal a bruised face, bloodshot eye on the right and cut lip. His left wrist and hand were in a plaster and fiberglass cast; a remnant of a past visit about a month and a half ago. “Guys, come on now, this wasn’t needed.” Caleb chastised calmly with a deep sigh. “Alex, you’ll have to excuse them; I did say it was pointless to hurt you like this, but I get they might have taken it personally that you didn’t listened to their last warning.” The expression on Alex was between rage and terror, but still smart enough to not do anything stupid. Though, there was some shock there at seeing him of all people. Those who didn’t know were always in that state of see a gentle soul like him.
Caleb placed his own plate down and sat opposite Alex. The poor thing even had blood staining his blond hair. “Please eat; you must be famished after two days without food.” He said with a comforting smile. When Alex looked down hesitantly at the food, Caleb reached out and picked something off his plate to eat it. “I’d never waste food by poisoning food; too many people suffer from famine in this world to disrespect them like that.” A pause, then the blond started to eat with gluttony.
“Good.” Caleb agreed as he ate, but at a much slower pace. “Careful there cariño, wouldn’t want you to choke on your food now, don’t we?” As they ate, Alex seemed to relax; they always did that. He should truly consider writing a book on people’s behaviour.
After a while, he stood up to take away Alex’s empty plate only to put a dessert and a glass of Whiskey in front of him. “That’s your favorite; isn’t it?”
“Y-yes!” Alex replied, tone changing so quickly over those three letters; from being pleasantly surprise to slight concern that Caleb actually knew that information. The Brotherhood underboss sat back, forearms on the table as he leaned forward a bit. “Tell me Alex, why do you feel the need to treat Jackie and her abuela like you do? Don’t you love your girlfriend? Hasn’t her abuela taken care of you both?” Alex snapped on the spot, forgetting his current situation as he started to throw profanities at his girlfriend who was currently in a hospital bed thanks to his abuse after shielding her grandmother from the manic attacks. Caleb had sent the man and woman standing behind Alex a month and a half ago to warn him not to lift a hand on either women. But obviously broken bones hadn’t been enough. He was a very patient man, but he wouldn’t stand for someone like that in his community, hurting his people.
Caleb didn’t stop the idiot for screaming at him. Alex stood up and was almost stopped, but he waved his hand dismissively. “Let him talk.” That seemed to fuel the blond who proceeded to also insult the two people who’d beaten him. Caleb stood up eventually, not wanting his neck to cramp from look up like he was. He placed his hands behind his back and listened; only gazing down at his watch once.
Eventually, Alex seemed to run out of steam. “Are you done eating?” A silent nod. “Anything more to say at the moment?” A shake of the head.
“Good.” Caleb shot him in the head; silencer masking most of the noise.
He wiped the handle and placed the gun over the dead man’s chest. His two companions half glared at him. Caleb shrugged comically at them. “Last meal of a dead man walking and I let him say his peace. Who knows, maybe he had something interesting for us during his rant, but he didn’t!” He sighed then; good riddance.
“Alright, chain and drop him. I’ll clean things up here and set the table for three. I'm making sushi.”
Clever people did indeed learn from their mistakes; while the wise one studied other people's errors first… then you had idiots who just couldn’t learn at all.
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Requiem for a Rabbit Despite what you’ve heard - it’s tragic. With the end of Splash Mountain at Disney World, the last popular iteration of Bre’r Rabbit has been been vanquished to the cultural dumpster. The original versions of the Bre’r Rabbit tales came to America from Africa. Bre’r Rabbit was the first truly collective creation of Africans in American. These classic stories are as compelling as “Winnie the Pooh” or Kipling’s “Jungle Book,” or “Aesop’s Fables” with a really important distinction - the Bre’r Rabbit stories are American. Africans have always used stories to inspire young people, to entertain and teach social and moral values. As families were tragically split apart, the tales provided a comforting world of characters as well as an entire African Cosmology that children encountered wherever they ended up, regardless of their dire circumstance providing the spirit of their elders, their culture. Besides being smart-ass clever and funny, Bre’r Rabbit is like Charlie Chaplin and other classic scamps and tricksters. Where do you think Bugs Bunny comes from? Is there any better story than the one about Bre’r Rabbit and the Briar Patch? It’s about turning the table on your oppressors to get the advantage and gain freedom. I know what you’re thinking... what about Uncle Remus — isn’t he synonymous with “Uncle Tom?” s never part of the Bre’r Rabbit stories. In 1880 a white journalist, Joel Chandler Harris created the fictitious slave character of Uncle Remus, to put the stories in a colonial frame. Despite being painted with a racist brush, the stories triumph offering models for succeeding over adversity and oppression. Br’er Rabbit still has true smarts. In the words of Zora Neale Hurston, he could “hit a straight lick with a crooked stick,” he could “make a way out of no way.” Why can’t our culture treat this subversively original, vibrant, snappy-ass character with respect? Drawing by the great @mulliganjimmy #splashmountain #brerrabbit #zoranealehurston #hitastraightlickwithacrookedstick #disneyworld #briarpatch #africancosmology https://www.instagram.com/p/Comyd0buBIx/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
#splashmountain#brerrabbit#zoranealehurston#hitastraightlickwithacrookedstick#disneyworld#briarpatch#africancosmology
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I wish people would wake up and realize that good reading comprehension is a dime a dozen on this site. It's as common as a grain of sand on a beach. The problem is that people will always choose to interpret a text in a way that suits their bigotries and agendas, even if they know that their conclusions are wrong.
#reading comprehension#bigotry#i get that you want to believe that your opponents are stupid. Makes you feel tall ad mighty Well too bad. They're not#Your oppressors are clever. Get smart about it
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controversial opinions?
Cold pizza actually not good. Tastes like angry bacteria.
There’s a completely separate class of gay men who are in a different, rainbow-tinted plane of reality from the rest of us and I don’t like them. They push for “acceptance” via commercialization of the Pride movement, assimilation through over-exposure, and focus on sexualizing the movement to be “provocative” and writing annoying articles that reek of class privilege instead of something actually important like lgbtqa youth homelessness, job discrimination, and mental health awareness.
Coleslaw is good. You guys just suck in the kitchen.
Generational divides ARE real: a 16-year-old and a 60-year-old right now in 2021 could agree on every hot button sociopolitical topic and yet not even realize it because they communicate in entirely different ways.
Sam Wilson is a power bottom. No I will not elaborate.
Allison’s makeover in The Breakfast Club good, not bad. She kept literally and metaphorically dumping her trash out onto the table and it’s clearly a cry for help. Having the attention and affection of a smart, pretty girl doing her makeup for her was sweet and helped her open up to new experiences. Not every loner wants to BE a loner (see: Bender, who is fine being a lone wolf).
Movie/show recommendations that start with a detailed “representation” list read like status-effecting gear in an RPG and it’s actually a turn-off for me. I have to force myself to give something a try in spite of it.
Yelling at people to just “learn a new language” because clearly everyone who isn’t you and your immediate vicinity of friends must be a lazy ignorant white American is so fucking stupid, like I get it, you’re mad someone doesn’t immediately know how to pronounce your name or what something means. But I know 2 languages and am struggling with a 3rd when I can between 2 jobs and quite frankly, I don’t have the time to just absorb the entire kanji system into my brain to learn Japanese by tomorrow night, or suddenly learn Arabic or Welsh. There are 6500 recorded languages in the world, what’s the chance that one of 3 I’ve learn(ed?) is the one you’re yelling at me about. Yes this is referring to that post yelling at people for not knowing how to pronounce obscure Irish names and words. Sometimes just explaining something instead of admonishing people for not knowing something inherently in the belief that everyone must be lazy entitled privileged people is uh... better?
Stop fucking yelling at people. I despise feeling like someone is yelling at me or scolding me, it triggers my Violence Mode, you don’t run me, you are not God, fuck off. Worst fucking way to "educate” people, it just feels good in the moment to say or write and doesn’t help. Yes I’ve done it before.
Violence is good actually.
Characters doing bad things ≠ an endorsement of bad things. Characters doing bad things that are unquestioned by the entire rest of the cast = endorsement of bad things, or at the least, a power fantasy by the creator. See: Glee, in which Sue’s awfulness is constantly called out, while Mr. Shue’s awfulness rarely is because he’s “the hero.” See also: the Lightbringer series, in which the protagonist is a violent manipulator who is praised as clever, charming, diplomatic, and genius by every supporting character (enemies included), despite the text never demonstrating such.
Euphoria is good, actually. It falls into this niche of the past decade of “dark gritty teen shows” but actually has substance behind it, but the general vibe I get from passive-aggressive tumblr posts from casual viewers is that this show is The Devil, and the criticism of its racier content screams pearl-clutching “what about the children??” to me.
Describing all diagnosed psychopaths as violent criminals is a damaging slippery slope, sure. But I won’t be mad at anyone for inherently distrusting another human who does not have the ability to feel guilt and remorse, empathy, is a pathological liar, or proves to be cunning and manipulative.
It’s actually not easy to unconditionally support and love everyone everywhere when you’ve actually experienced the World. Your perspective and values will be challenged as you encounter difficult people, experience hardship, are torn between conflicting ideas and commitments, and fail. My vow to never ever call the cops on another black person was challenged when an employee’s boyfriend marched into the kitchen OF AN ESTABLISHMENT to scream at her, in a BUSINESS I MANAGED, and threaten to BEAT the SHIT out of her. Turns out I can hate cops and hate that motherfucker equally, I am more than capable of both.
Defending makeup culture bad, actually. Enjoy it, experiment, master it, but don’t paint it as something other than upholding exactly what they want from you. Even using makeup to “defy the heteropatriarchal oppressors!” is still putting cash in their pockets, no matter how camp...
Not every villain needs to be redeemed, some of you just never outgrew projecting yourself onto monsters and killers.
Writing teams and networks queerbaiting is not the same as individuals queerbaiting. Nick Jonas performing exclusively at gay clubs to generate an audience really isn’t criminal; if they paid to go see him, that’s on them, he didn’t promise anyone anything other than music and a show. Do not paint this as similar to wealthy, bigoted executives and writing teams trying to snatch up the LGBTQA demographic with vague ass marketing and manipulative screenplays, only to cop out so as not to alienate their conservative audiences. And ESPECIALLY when the artists/actors/creators accused of queerbaiting or lezploitation then come out as queer in some form later on.
Queer is not a bad word, and I’ve no clue how that remains one of few words hurled at LGBTQA people that can’t be reclaimed. It’s so archaic and underused at this point that I don’t get the reaction to it compared to others.
People who defend grown-woman Lorelai Gilmore’s childish actions and in the same breath heavily criticize teenage religious abuse victim Lane Kim’s actions are not to be trusted. Also Lane deserved better.
Keep your realism out of my media, or at least make it tonally consistent. Tired of shows and movies and books where some gritty, dark shit comes out of nowhere when the narrative was relatively Romantic beforehand.
Actually people should be writing characters different from themselves, this new wave in the past year of “If you aren’t [X] you shouldn’t be writing [X]” is a complete leap backward from the 2010s media diversity movement. And if [X] has to do with an invisible minority status (not immediately visible disabilities, or diverse sexual orientations and gender identities, persecuted religious affiliations, mental illness) it’s actually quite fucked up to assume the creator can’t be whatever [X] is or to demand receipts or details of someone’s personal life to then grant them “permission” to create something. I know, we’re upset an actual gay actor wasn’t casted to play this gay character, so let’s give them shit about it: and not lose a wink of sleep when 2 years later, this very actor comes out and gives a detailed account of the pressure to stay closeted if they wanted success in Hollywood.
Projecting an actor’s personal romantic life and gender identity onto the characters they play is actually many levels of fucked up, and not cute or funny. See: reinterpreting every character Elliot Page has played through a sapphic lens, and insulting his ability to play straight characters while straight actors play actual caricatures of us (See also: Jared Leto. Fuck him).
I’m fucking sick of DaBaby, he sucks. “I shot somebody, she suck my peepee” that’s 90% of whatever he raps about.
“Political Correctness” is not new. It was, at one point, unacceptable to walk into a fine establishment and inform the proprietor that you love a nice firm pair of tits in your face. 60 years ago, such a statement would get you throw out and possibly arrested under suspicion of public intoxication. But then something happened and I blame Woodstock and Nixon. And now I have to explain to a man 40 years my senior that no, you can’t casually mention to the staff here, many of whom are children, how you haven’t had a good fuck in a while. And then rant about the “Chinese who gave us the virus.” Can’t be that upset with them if you then refused to wear your mask for 20 minutes.
Triggering content should not have a blanket ban; trigger warnings are enough, and those who campaign otherwise need to understand the difference between helping people and taking away their agency. 13 Reasons Why inspired this one. Absolutely shitty show, sure, but it’s a choice to watch it knowing exactly what it contains.
Sasuke’s not a fucking INTJ, he’s an ISFP whose every decision is based off in-the-moment feelings and proves incapable of detailed and logical planning to accomplish his larger goals.
MCU critique manages to be both spot-on and pointless. Amazing stories have been told with these characters over the course of decades; but most of it is toilet paper. Expecting a Marvel movie to be a deeply detailed examination of American nationalism and imperialism painted with a colorful gauze of avant-garde film technique is like expecting filet mignon from McDonalds. Scarf down your quarter pounder or gtfo.
Disparagingly comparing the popularity and (marginal) success of BLM to another movement is anti-black. It is not only possible but also easy to ask for people’s support without throwing in “you all supported BLM for black people but won’t show support for [insert group]” how about you keep our name out your mouth? Black people owe the rest of the world nothing tbh until yall root out the anti-blackness in your own communities.
It is the personal demon/tragic flaw of every cis gay/bi/pan man to externalize and exorcize Shame: I’m talking about the innate compulsion to Shame, especially in the name of Pride and Progress. Shame for socioeconomic “success,” shame for status of outness, shame for fitness and health, shame for looks, shame for style and dress, shame for how one fits into the gender binary, shame for sexual positions and intimacy preferences, shame for fucking music tastes. Put down the weapon that They used to beat you. Becoming the Beater is not growth, it’s the worst-case scenario.
Works by minorities do not have to be focused on their marginalized identities. Some ladies want to ride dragons AND other ladies. The pressure on minorities to create the Next Great Minority Character Study that will inevitably get snuffed at the Oscars/Peabody Awards is some bullshit when straight white dudes walk around shitting out mediocre screenplays and books.
Canadians can stfu about how the US is handling COVID-19 actually. Love most of yall, but the number of Canadian snowbirds on vacation (VACATION??? VA.CAT.ION.) in the supposed “hotbed” of my region that I’ve had to inform our mask policies and social distancing to is ASTOUNDING. Incroyable! I guess your country has a sizable population of entitled, privileged, inconsiderate, wealthy, and ignorant people making things difficult for everyone, just like mine :)
No trick to eliminate glasses fog while wearing my mask has worked, not a single one, it actually has affected my job and work speed and is incredibly frustrating, and I have to deal with it and pretend it’s not a problem while still encouraging others to follow the rules for everyone’s safety and the cognitive dissonance is driving me insane.
It’s really really really not anti-Japanese... to be uncomfortable with the rampant pedophilia in manga and anime, and voice this. I really can’t compare western animation’s sneakier bullshit with pantyshots of a 12-year-old girl.
Most of the people in the cottagecore aesthetic/tag have zero interest in all the hard work that comes with maintaining an isolated property in the countryside, milking cows and tending crops before sunrise, etc. And that’s okay? They just like flowers and pretty pottery and homemade pastries. Idk where discourse about this came from.
You think mint chip ice-cream tastes like toothpaste because you’re missing a receptor that can distinguish the flavors, and that sucks for you. It’s a sort of “taste-blindness” that can make gum spicy to some while others can eat a ghost pepper without crying.
Being a spectacle for the oppressive class doesn’t make them respect us, it makes them unafraid of us. This means they continue to devour us, but without fear of our retaliation.
Only like 4 people on tumblr dot com are actually prepared for the full ramifications of an actual revolution. The rest of you just really imprinted onto Katniss, or grew up in the suburbs.
Straight crushes are normal. They’re people first, sexual orientation second. Can’t always know.
The road to body positivity is not easy, especially if what you desire is what you aren’t.
You’re actually personally responsible for not voluntarily bringing yourself into an environment that you know is not fit for you unless you have the resolve to manage it. Can’t break a glass ceiling without getting a few cuts. This one’s a shoutout to my homophobic temp coworkers who decided working a venue with a drag show would be a good idea. This is also is a shoutout to people who want to make waves but are surprised when the boat tips. And also a shoutout to people who—wait that’s it’s own controversial opinion hold up.
Straight people can and should stay the fuck out of gay bars and queer spaces. “yoUrE bEInG diVisiVe” go fuck yourself.
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How is it right that Dany can crucify people when not everyone who she crucified is guilty. Why is collective punishment ok just because the people being punished belong to one class instead of the other. I thought collective punishment of a group whether or not they are guilty was wrong.
i don’t know where this is coming from, but it’s an interesting question and here’s how to look at it, from my point of view
a) i think the show/books are pretty clear in not totally condoning dany’s actions against slavers, despite her passionate reasoning (the show doesn’t do a good job with the ethical ramifications, but rather the practical ones). the issue is not solely rooted in morality; it’s also the fact that collective punishments don’t work on a practical level. dany’s reformation of slaver’s bay is a complicated process which she had hoped to streamline by simply purging the slavers’ class indiscriminately (more on that later on). GRRM and the showrunners (in their hamfisted way) are pointing out that it takes more than that to rehabilitate these societies.
b) “ when not everyone who she crucified is guilty” - this is our modern outlook on things, but in the world of asoiaf, the mentality is “you have to raze the whole village”, a principle applied by many characters in both books and show. basically, you don’t leave survivors of a certain group or community you mean to disempower, because they will rise up and try to stir that shit again (in this case, they’ll try to bring back slavery, and wouldn’t you know it, the slavers/masters in neighboring cities do. in fact one of the reasons they want to invade mereen is to bring back the good ol’ days. the discussion is a bit more complicated in the books, because there’s a lot more political chaos on both sides). however, you can’t exterminate everyone and call it a day. GRRM underlines that the “raze the whole village” model doesn’t work in the long run, because there are always ppl who survive and remember what happened (”the north remembers” is coming for the boltons in the books), or alternately, the damage done by the extent of the violence has ramifications that the perpetrators don’t even understand.
the best example of this is tywin obliterating house reyne (and btw, unlike dany, he doesn’t just execute the male adult “masters”/nobility, he makes sure no infant, woman, or elder person survives the purge). in theory, tywin is removing a tumor so that nothing will grow back. the problem is, the story of house reyne became infamous. and this made house lannister look formidable and impregnable, BUT, very importantly, it imposed a future pattern: house lannister from now on will have to keep one-upping the competition, secure their power by totally exterminating other houses. if they do anything less, their prestige wanes, i mean there’s even a song about it, for christ’s sake. it’s basically like crossing a line. once you do that, you have to keep crossing it to maintain your position. basically, tywin showed his hand: he doesn’t negotiate, show compassion, or adapt, which makes the whole “a lannister always pays his debts” more of a funeral dirge than a bargaining chip. it also makes house lannister inflexible and rooted in a model that can’t survive a modernization of westeros. (which reminds me, i know there’s talk in the books that tyrion is the child that most resembles tywin, but i think cersei isn’t far off. she has the same mentality of “leave no survivors” which she thinks is very clever cuz she got it from her daddy lol anyway)
these are the ramifications leaders, both good and bad, don’t always see. dany, who is a much better person than tywin all around (and no, i won’t debate this), is also slowly required to up the ante, to cross certain lines. and once you do that, you have to keep going forward (”if i look back, i’m lost”).
this is all to say that while we as readers/viewers can perceive dany’s actions as problematic, dany and her contemporaries would not, not to the extent we do. in the world of asoiaf this is just another strategy. on the other hand, while readers/viewers didn’t necessarily celebrate the crucifying of slavers & nobility, no one wept over it either. and here i contend with the ethical argument:
(more under the cut cuz this is getting too long)
as many others have argued, dany doesn’t understand the hierarchy or the inner workings of these societies and may be killing innocent people while other guiltier masters may get away (163 masters for 163 children is a tough thing to get 100% right). but dany doesn’t have the resources or the ability to measure everyone’s degree of complicity. that’s why in modern society, collective punishment is frowned upon, you just can’t quantify that shit. that doesn’t mean whole groups don’t benefit off of exploitation and must be exonerated. we just don’t resort to indiscriminate violence. in the asoiaf universe, however, when you can’t quantify it, you do what you think is the next best thing which is to root out the tumor. who is likely to reinstate slavery and rise against dany? the masters & nobles. it should also be pointed out that the crucifying is her passionate response to the earlier crucifying of slave children.
no, dany’s actions aren’t right (or smart, in the long run) and she suffers the consequences for it since she hasn’t really eradicated the problem but 1) the slavers are forcing her hand. she has to respond to the crucifying of children, otherwise she will appear to the people she’s liberating as not much different from the slavers, 2) she is acting on the assumption of the greater good (and her own great destiny as liberator), which can very easily blind a leader to the nitty-gritty of day-to-day politics.
basically, dany is #trying but failing due to 1) deeply flawed systems that were installed long before she got there and 2) her own skewed perception of what a leader can do.
now, does this make her a blood-thirsty tyrant? i say no. i say she is a good mirror for the unexamined righteous self. she is actually more like us than we’d care to admit. we like to think our heart is in the right place as we strive to do the right thing, but sometimes we end up making things worse.
and this is coming from someone who has always squinted at dany’s biased and rose-tinted portrayals in the fandom. i’ve always been a dany skeptic who sees a tragic, rather than truly heroic figure in her. she is meant to be an anti-heroine, make no mistake about it, but she will never be the gross caricature d&d fashioned in 1 and ½ episodes. like i said, d&d actually made me more of a dany fan after their reductive conclusion.
the recent dany love from many ppl stems not from deciding to uncritically “stan” her 5ever, but as a response to d&d’s bad writing. once GoT is put to bed, i think there’s room for more nuanced discourse (and there’s a lot of it already). and as an aside, you can still support and cherish dany and see where her faults lie.
as a second aside, i always find it interesting that such complex debates about ethics always revolve around dany, but not so much when it comes to other characters. the northeners’ purity politics & isolationism on the show, for instance (which extends to those barbarous wildlings that have to go back beyond the wall)? unexamined. but dany tries to do smth about slavery??? what a heinous human being. again, i know the argument is made in good faith, because after all, the books themselves are supposed to make you question dany’s actions. but i don’t think GRRM meant for ppl to dedicate so much time thinking about those poor, poor masters/slavers. GRRM is rather pointing out the fallacies of collective punishment as a rule, as you mentioned yourself (it never works, it isn’t moral etc) but we’re not supposed to become devil’s advocate for the oppressors (i mean his depiction of some of those nobles & slavers in book 5? priceless. they’re all dehumanized caricatures, or just plain dehumanized).
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It's that time of year again- pride is coming up and I've already gotten some acephobic dogwhistles crossing my dash.
Below is a list of specifically aphobic dogwhistles that I'll update as I spot them or if you guys suggest them:
Before I begin, a definition of dogwhistles:
“Dog-whistle politics is political messaging employing coded language that appears to mean one thing to the general population but has an additional, different, or more specific resonance for a targeted subgroup. The analogy is to a dog whistle, the ultrasonic tone of which is heard by dogs but inaudible to humans.” - Wikipedia
Not everyone who uses these phrases is intending to have that additional, different, or more specific resonance for aspec people, but if I bold the item, it doesn’t have an okay meaning.
"PDA IS ALLOWED AT PRIDE!1!1!!11" - While a number of ace and aro folx (among others such as trauma survivors) do find that PDA can be triggering or a squick, I've never seen someone legitimately claim that PDA shouldn’t be allowed at pride, as these aphobes insist. Every time I've seen this sort of claim cross my dash, there's 2 things I find to be true: the original blog is acephobic (or a 13 year old and that does tend to be a pretty dumb age due to brain reasons) and there's a legitimate and oftentimes decent conversation by people in the notes about making sure that PDA during daytime events is nonsexual so that minors are safe. That discussion is ok, So are counter arguments. But, PLEASE recognize that emphatic declarations like above are a dogwhistle.
“I support LGBT aces/aros!” - yikes. So, the basic idea here is that this person believes that being ace/aro is a modification of being straight rather than a sexuality or romantic orientation or that same-sex attraction is necessary to be LGBT(Q+) which tends to be completely and immediately contradicted by a generic “but trans people are ok” or just a total LGB or even LG only. They do not actually support aspec people. They support only the letters they claim to support at best. (thanks to @clownpieceoffreedom for suggesting this addition!)
“A is for allies!!!” - not sure how much detail I need here if you’re on my page, but honestly... basically, people who say this fall into 2 main camps: 1) ignorant but trying, and haven’t yet learned enough to know that A is for asexual, aromantic, and agender folx, and 2) the asshats who know that and consider all of those identities invalid. Generally speaking, assume ignorance and evaluate the speaker via searching them, speaking with them, or other methods.
url including “allo” (especially as “dirty/sex -allo”), “aphobic”, “-course” referencing discourse - this one is subtle, but usually a quick glance at their blog reveals their true nature. Many if not most are frankly speaking, awful and aphobic. If they are of that ilk, you’ll probably find no less than five dogwhistles on the first page. However, some aspec people have claimed these urls because their are alloromantic or allosexual and it is a term for them, among other reasons, so I would advise checking before you reach for the block button. see the section on allo/dirty for why those in particular are included.
“asexuality/aces are homophobic” - this might just be implied but I also recently made a blocklist based around a post that literally referred to aspecs as “ homophobic ace tumblr” because they believe one of the following: 1) that sex-repulsion and romance-repulsion are always referring to seeing same-sex attraction, commonly used in reference to PDA at pride while insisting that aspec people who don’t want to see romantic or sexual situations are telling them not to be gay in public. usually, the aspecs in question were just... talking about romo or sex repulsion and how they handle it because they don’t want to do that. 2) one I can’t fully wrap my head around: aces are homophobic because some gay people will identify as asexual to avoid acknowledging their gay feelings. like... bud. internalized homophobia is a bitch but it’s yours. we welcome you for as long as you’d like to stay, and if you realize that you aren’t aspec, you can feel free to hold onto it for as long as you’d like, but ultimately confronting your feelings is your business. we won’t tell you what to do as a community. if it’s homophobic to respect your feelings and allow you to decide if and when you, a random online stranger, confront your feelings, then it was aphobia when you didn’t tell me likewise to confront my internalized aphobia when I thought I was gay because I knew I wasn’t into the people I was “supposed” to be. you had no way of knowing that and neither do we.
“allo” “dirtyallo” “dirty” etc as a self description particularly with a mocking tone - for some reason a lot of allo people think allo is a poorly made slur of some sort or lumps them in with their oppressors. idk man. they think that it’s clever to use it preemptively or something. I’m not sure but I think that they think our experiences are mocking theirs somehow. it gives me the same vibes as like, those people who insist that political correctness is ruining everything. they don’t know or care to know what the term means so they decide it must be secretly insulting them. insert “i am smart” memes here.
“cishet” - ah, yes, the biggest and most annoying dogwhistle of them all. coopted by exlusionists in which they actually mean “cisgender heteroromantic aces” or more rarely “cisgender heterosexual aros” and usually makes a big point about how “cishets” are awful people who should never be allowed at pride related events etc. typically used in a way that normal blogs have no idea. this is probably the most effective aphobic dogwhistle. as for why it’s bad, see “I support LGBT ace/aros!” above.
pride collections (such as edits of a popular character with pride flags behind them) without asexual/aromantic flags, specifically ones with only LGBT flags - I totally get that not every artist is gonna make edits for every queer identity they know, but I’ve seen enough of these lead back to aphobes that I’m including it regardless. If you don’t see an identity, especially one of the Big Ones... check it out. Do a search. If you aren’t sure what I’m including, here’s an off the top of my head list, contact me for additions b/c I don’t double check what I type enough. Common: lesbian, gay, bi, pan, queer, asexual, nonbinary, trans; less common but still possibly a sign: aromantic, demi -romantic or -sexual, agender, intersex, newer variations of lesbian flags that have significant support.
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SUFFERING
What is suffering?
Perhaps, pain
from an injury
a cut, a wound
bleeding, a burn, scald
an accident, broken bone,
a fall, a knock, a smash
A headache, a migraine,
Thirst, hunger, fatigue
An itch, a rash, an allergy
A cruel torture
And all kinds of physical abuse.
What about emotional suffering?
Separation, a broken heart,
broken relationship,
loss through death or robbery
An insult, ridicule, mockery
being scorned, avoided
cheated, blamed, lied to
Discrimination, ignored, denied,
deprivation, prejudice, segregation
Misunderstood, misinterpreted
Misquoted, misrepresented
Bullied, oppressed,
Wrongfully accused, charged,
arrested, imprisoned.
Add, the unfortunate disabled, stroke and comatozed patients; add mental anguish; add all mental disorders. Perhaps, you may want to add your own list to the above.
Why is there suffering?
Yes, why?
It is the presence of evil in the world and in people.
Whenever, wherever, there is evil, there will be suffering.
It is a phenomenon of balance, of moderation and mediation.
I will give you an example from my own experience of my meager suffering.
I used to grumble at my suffering (pick any one from the above, if you like). I cursed, bad luck!
Therefore, I tried to fix it.
I had tried to blame someone for my suffering. Get even with the person. Fight back. Retaliate.
Yes, I did that.
Did it work?
No!
I suffered more, much more - physically, mentally and spiritually.
It took me a really long time to learn that I had got it all wrong.
Suffering is there. I cannot avoid it.
Well, if I cannot beat it, I will join it.
Consequently, I learn to accept suffering (I mean, my own suffering, or whatever I may define as suffering). This is to differentiate my suffering from the suffering of others. It will be unkind and unfeeling to think that all sufferings are the same.
No! They are not.
My point is, we all suffer.
And since I am suffering, I might as well make full use of it. I do not want my suffering to go to waste. In short, I do not want to suffer for nothing. I take full advantage of it.
How?
I offer up my suffering for others, especially for the bad people, the murderers, the crooks, the cheats, the oppressors, the proud, the ones who harm other people, who enjoy hurting others, who lie to deceive others, who plan and scheme to fix up others, the ones who think they are smart and clever to get out of trouble by denying and blaming others instead. In short, I offer up my suffering for all the evil people.
Well, you may believe me or not.
It really doesn’t matter to me.
Because it works for me.
This is the only way I can accept suffering - by turning it around.
I like to conclude by giving you another scenario.
Take a good look and stay focused at the good deeds of the donors to the recipients of organs.
You may want to use a little imagination.
Let’s imagine, the ones who are recipients are the ‘bad people’, people who are literally sick - hence they need a transplant. Anyway, evil people are sick. Aren’t they?
Now, take a look at the donors. They are the good people (just imagine they are). By the way, some donors actually have to die to give up their organs. Isn’t this suffering? So I say, they are good because they donate their organs so the sick people (‘bad people’) can recover.
Actually, the good people suffer, so the ‘bad people’ can get better. If that is so, then there will be no more suffering. All become good people, living together, helping one another, and sharing with one another all that is good.
So willingly, I will suffer so the sick people (‘bad people’) can get well and become like the good people.
It really works for me.
Try it.
Donate your healthy, good self.
Don’t suffer in vain
And don’t cause your own suffering.
Remember.
It is the sick who need to visit the physicians.
- J. P. Lee
17 December 2019
#instruth#poet#poetry#poem#poets on tumblr#writer#instruthpoems#literature#13cupsofteareblog#poetryclub13#writtenconsiderstions#writerscreeds#warxpunkxmonk#world of poems#the subservient human#thedarknessthinkingthelight#poetselixir#poets corner#poetryportal#angiessong67blog#ambroseharte#santafantasy#sarah irura#tanou123#smittenbypoetry#spiritual link#starlitpoems
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Hold the door (BC x Reader)
Genre: Fluff
Pairing: Bangchan x Reader
Warning: Spoilers for GoT S4 & S6 E5
Summary: Fantasy can be brutal yet be addicting after a long day of work. Fortunately, a dearly loved kangaroo knows how to lessen the pain of the politics of Westeros.
Author’s Note: Top o’ the morning!
This is my first piece for Stray Kids since they are slowly taking over my life and especially Chris (Bangchan). Hopefully, despite this being not BTS-related for once, it is still an enjoyable read.
For any Stays reading this and who are not acquainted with my works as of yet: I hope I do not disappoint.
Masterlist
A good story evokes emotions with its imagery and plot line, even more so when actors play out the scenes which are craftily adapted to a visual new format despite being written first in ink. The series ‘’Game of Thrones’’ is a splendid example of what might happen in a scenario in which the story hits harder than expected, beloved characters dying left and right while the audience can merely look on in horror.
Or cheer in delight in Joffrey’s case.
The day at work at the café in the centre of town had been hazardous, the arrival of spring break ensuring lots of tourists to come in to taste and photograph the seasonal specials while enjoying the gradually becoming warmer sunny weather. The entire shift literally consisted of creating soft sweet sakura custard buns and sweet lush green mochis decorated with a rice dough cherry blossom and petals, slicing up the slightly floral cheesecake with a pink inside that had to be remade perhaps four to five times due to the high demand. Not to speak of the effort to deliver with making the time-consuming coffees and hot or cold cocoas befitting the abundant fall of sakura around the village. However, such are the duties of being part of the already small team: each person has to be able to work all-round when this time of the year comes despite there not being too much patronage otherwise since the city is not that big nor well-known.
But every exhausting shift makes a mini-marathon in the evening of the new season of ‘’Game of Thrones’’ all the more deserved, simply sitting back on the comfortable creme-coloured love seat with a cup of freshly prepared ice coffee and either a tub of cookies and cream ice cream or a protein bar in the same flavour. Fortunately, it is not minded by the boyfriend of one and a half years since the blonde athletic boy can mostly be found at the gym in the evenings when not hanging out with friends.
Nonetheless, Chris’s absence is more of a curse since the first episode of the night has a grander impact on the psyche than expected, making a firm hug that is mostly tried to be escaped from under normal circumstances now dearly desired. Too many impactful emotional events follow each other up at the end of the sixth season’s fifth episode, triggering the rare reaction of tears in eyes that can merely watch and a palm wrapped over a speechless mouth.
The response is even powerful enough to miss the click of the front door of the shared apartment and the dull thump of the ashen buffalo bag filled with sports gear in the tiny entryway leading to the studio, much less so the giggle following the habitual greeting of “I’m home, babygirl”, which is still awkward despite the many times it has been uttered.
‘Hey, Y/N, are you, wait, are you crying?’ As soon as the credits roll over the screen and the DVD is paused, fingers unclasp from paralyzed lips to wipe away the watery traces of the damage done by mere yet gripping fantasy which stirs the youth to rush over to the couch and rapidly take place on the empty spot formerly occupied by bare feet, making a sorrowful being bounce slightly with the impact of the sudden additional weight. Firm veiny arms are immediately clung onto when they initiate an unbreakable embrace, one slender hand placed protectively on the top of the head, cradling it against the shoulder. ‘What happened?’
No answer comes per direct, first throwing out every bit of frustration thanks to fantastical explicit cruelty while holding on to an oversized sweat-soaked onyx shirt but not minding the hint of sourness to the characteristic scent of minty soap. The golden-haired lad resembling a kangaroo when fired up with energy has taken on the tranquil appearance of a koala, its counterpart, and simply waits patiently until the incoherent blabbering attempts at voicing a reason for the silly behaviour gain a sense of logic. Simultaneously, the left upper arm is being rubbed in uncomprehending close solace, chin resting on the crown of the head when not giving soft caring forehead kisses and whispering soothing nothings.
At last, after a good while of crying, it is dared to look Chris in the eye to tell what forms the reason for the curious distress. Nevertheless, it is an obvious fact the thumb caressing the cheek while explaining forms one of the support pillars which keeps speech steadier than it would be without. ‘Geo- George R.R. Martin is a bastard. He- He let Bran’s wolf be killed by Whitewalkers and- and... Hodor...’ A heavy sob. ‘M- mea- means “ho- hold the door”...’
The very vivid thought about the death of the kind giant at the door arises, initiating a continuation of the lament created by a splendid bastard of an author’s writing. The hug tightens, a rumble in the trained chest beneath the slick flowy fabric resulting in an adorable chuckle as tears stream down a pale neck. ‘You take it way too seriously, Y/N. It’s just a story. Nobody’s actually dead, everything is fine.’
‘Shut up, Chris, you do- don’t know what power George has.’ It is incredible how ‘’Game of Thrones’’ has escaped the attention of the Australian platinum youth, but at the same time places him in a disposition of ignorance about how sensitive talk about the show can be. Certainly for long-time viewers who have likely seen their favourites be brutally murdered in favour of plot progression.
‘No, I don’t, but how about you show me and I’ll try to protect you from it?’ Hazel irises light up at the prospect at one of the most loved things aside from the steady relationship with a girl who gets carried away into fantasy too often and, judging by the broad smirk that begins to form, the continuation of the proposal is nothing surprising yet deliciously loving. ‘With food?’
‘Tha- That’s your solution to ev- everything, isn’t it?’ A careful curl of the corners of the mouth forms out of the sorrowful expression at seeing the genuine giddiness at a second dinner or, rather, late night snack together. Although, it also arises out of the vivid images quickly flashing by of the personified koala’s silly movements whenever something tastes incredible, the funny habit always a cause for affectionate laughter and a source of confidence in the at times doubtful personal cooking skill.
‘It always makes you smile,’ a stray strand is tucked behind the ear, plush roseate lips placing a sweet kiss on the forehead, ‘I’ll first take a shower and then prepare some tteokbokki. How about that?’
Unconsciously, a consenting eager nod is already given before the reaction can be even thought about, the stomach having overtaken demeanour out of anticipation of the small rice cakes. ‘Extra spicy?’
A slight nervousness slips into attitude, eyes holding a silent plead for toning down on the spice levels because the last time they were too high for most to handle, Cris’s friends who came over for the monthly movie night all frantically reaching for cucumber and milk to nullify the impact while trying to save the fellow Australian of the group at the same time. Withal, howbeit while clearly contemplating to adjust the amount of gochujang regardless of the request, the proposal is agreed to. ‘Sure, extra spicy it is. Now, don’t you dare continue in the meanwhile or I won’t cuddle you for the rest of the week.’
A sceptic roll of the eyes, finding no credibility in the statement considering the personality of the speaker. ‘Oh, come on, we both know that’s an empty threat.’
The slightly loosened embrace tightens to a literally breathtaking degree once more, but now it is tried to be escaped as is normally the case when the blonde youth tends to get cheesily clinging. ‘Or I hug you to death, your choice.’
‘Let me go!’ Any type of resistance results in the opposite, becoming more and more the prisoner of secure loving arms instead of a free woman. Notwithstanding, it cannot be said it is minded, though the rumbling in the stomach betrays the recently realized craving for food that can only be had when giving in.
‘Not before you answer.’ The heavy weight suddenly tipping the scales cannot be prevented from being the oppressor of the strength that is unable to lift it, head hitting the soft pillows of the sofa on the other end as the sporty lad with dewy skin maintains the firm hug. A delighted playful chuckle sounds at the realization of having the held figure exactly where she is apparently wanted, unable to be freed before having made a decision. ‘Well, what’s it gonna be?’
‘Either way, you’ll suffer. Option one leaves me alive but you’ll get cuddle withdrawal symptoms. Option two leaves you without your favourite squishy.’ An eyebrow rises in challenging mockery which will only worsen the circumstances though the sarcasm cannot be helped. Just as in the brutal series, if you play smart, you shall survive. And this preferred victim of affection, this most beloved fighter of clinging hugs, has plans to survive the night.
‘Aren’t you clever, turning my own words against me?’ A lopsided smirk forms on the koala boy’s face, eyes illuminated by playful lights.
‘In the Game of Thrones, you live or you die and I intend to do the former.’ Henceforth, a cute sweetness slips into speech as lips irresistibly pout, manipulating Chris even further into hurrying up in fulfilling the promise of tteokbokki and stop stalling the rest of the well-deserved marathon. ‘I’m hungry.’
Blonde locks bow in amused defeat, shaking briefly with acknowledged surrender before gazes lock again. ‘I have no idea what that reference means, but you win this time, Y/N. Can’t let my babygirl starve.’
The characteristic awkward laughter accompanying the nickname by default ends the topic of debate, the kangaroo boyfriend lifting himself off a half-crushed no longer entirely torn by fantasy figure to finally shower. In the absence filled with the lingering traces of songs sung with an angelic voice, more pillows and a thin ornately decorated blanket are gathered for properly snuggling up with delicious food and an amazing but heartbreaking brutal show.
Sweater paws clad in a soapy mint oversized sweater wrap around the platinum youth’s waist to give him a taste of his own medicine, trying to show how inconvenient it can be when a person is basically glued to you during household tasks, which lets them become increasingly more complicated due to the loving gesture. Withal, it does not have the intended effect as the young man manages to get along with making the rice cakes coated in a fierce red sauce just fine although it does pose a bit of a risk when a small hand reaches out for the gochujang tub to add more to the sauce and the chef obviously not consenting to this idea, the dispute resulting in play fighting that almost turns the fire pit open too far without further notice.
The tickling almost results in burns and burned clothing, the just as touchy retribution barely short of ending in a trail of sauce stains leading from the kitchen floor to the fake black leather loveseat thanks to fingertips poking sides. Regardless, it is managed to be reached without further ado, the cruelly incredible series resuming with one strong arm wrapped around the shoulders, a warm meal split in two put into two laps sitting side by side. Occasionally, a chewy tteok is fed with a content smile from the bigger portion of the athlete eating like a starved man, who is evidently as happy with the result of the obstructed cooking as the appreciating look in the eyes of the accepting mouth, going by the happy wiggles accompanied by tuneful hums.
And thus the imaginary intriguing political game synonymous to crimson onslaught continues, because the questioning, at times shocked, comments made out of ignorance brighten the mood due to their silent request for an explanation, delighting the nerdy fangirl within to no end.
Keeping the worst of silly emotions at bay.
Holding the door.
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A Little Evil — Chapter One
Read on Ao3
The first in a collection of oneshots (maybe two- or three- in time) about Professor Venomous and his past, present, and future.
Rated T. Venomous is a villain and acts as such.
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The Introduction.
There are certain avenues that a more... gray outlook can afford you. He’s not a villain, certainly not — but he’s also not a hero. Neutral, maybe, is the best word for where he finds himself now. Though, maybe that’s the wrong thought to have when he’s wandered this deep into a negative zone.
He’s still getting used to wearing his lab coat out of the lab, years of keeping that side of him hidden still so deeply ingrained. People didn’t expect the hero Laserblast to have a quiet passion for biochemistry, and he himself failed to see its value for so long. Why flaunt smarts. A good sense for chemical formulas doesn’t put your face in the spotlight. It doesn’t make your enemies quake where they stand. It doesn’t even give you real power.
He grimaces down at his hands. He’s grown used to their purple hue, but it’s a constant reminder of his mistake. It did nothing but change his skintone and give him a new case of insomnia. And it had done nothing since.
There’s still that dissatisfaction as he strides down the street, hunched forward. People look at him and think he’s weak, especially here. He can see it in their eyes, and in the body that finally falls into step behind him.
Through the reflection in the broken windows he passes, he tracks the figure tailing him. Big guy. Muscular. What he himself used to look like. But the difference was that he knew that wasn’t enough.
It’s an easy act to fall into, playing the game of realizing he’s being followed and quickening his pace in a mockery of fright. The figure gives chase, thinking himself quite the clever wolf. A taste of a hunt and he thinks he has Venomous pinned. He hasn’t realized what happens when you hunt a snake.
Venomous guides him down another block, dips hastily into an alleyway. He lets his breath rise into pants as he jogs, neatly avoiding the stagnant water pooled below. The clouds are too dark, the air too cold, no time to let the last rainfall dry. A gate blocks off the exit he wasn’t trying to make.
Step. Splash. Step. Splash. The wolf approaches. He hears a chuckle puff into the air.
“You’re a brave one,” a voice rumbles. “Don’cha know you’re out past curfew?”
His mouth twists — a snarl, a smile. Hatred wells in his chest, but he’s salivating. The hand in his pocket grips a vial, he pries off its cap with a nail . “I’m sorry,” he whispers, hunching forward, turning around with his head bowed low. “I’m on my way home now.”
“Shoulda been home already,” they growl. “Now you’re here with me.”
They reach forward, and Venomous strikes. He lunges, burying the needle of a syringe into a meaty neck. A fist catches his jaw, his teeth splitting his own cheek, copper bursting onto his tongue, but the pain is exhilarating, it brings laughter breaking free from his chest. As he steps back, giddy, can already see the drug taking its effect, adrenaline pumping blood fast to the brain, dimming the senses, slowing thoughts and impulses. A heavy body slumps to the ground.
Venomous slides his hands into his pockets, hovering over the villain as he clicks his tongue in a scolding manner. “Now, now, that just won’t do,” he simpers. “Your eyes are too big for your stomach, my friend. But thank you — you’re going to provide some very valuable data.”
Let’s see if he’s figured out how to keep the formula from stopping a person’s heart.
He takes the time to record his notes, pulling tools out of a case to run a full diagnostic. He’s licking his lips. Venomous’ own pulse is quicker than it should be, the thrill singing under his skin. He doesn’t miss being a hero but this? The fighting. The power. The victory. It’s been too long since he’s had this.
But he can’t stay here forever. He sighs as he packs up his gear and straightens up again, gliding out of the alley. Let the next villain that passes by do as they will.
Venomous is the name he’s taken on these days. Trips off the tongue in satisfying way, he thinks. Appeals to his new... market. A bit too well at times. Though, no, that’s a bad way of thinking. Business is booming. That’s good. He just doesn’t have the hands and the time and the energy he needs to keep up with his backlog of orders, can’t work on his own projects when he’s too busy keeping all the villains eating out of his palm.
It’s a problem he’ll be removing soon, as he paces down the streets of this negative zone. It’s truly a sight to behold, so few heroes here, more vigilantes desperately trying to overcome their oppressors. This is what may lie in his future, a negative zone all his own, a place ruled by a villain. Maybe this would be his, too, and all the rest. It’s considered foul play for villains to fight either villains, but Venomous is a neutral party who stands to gain.
But he’s getting ahead of himself. Step one to world domination is getting a reliable partner.
They have businesses for that — Make-A-Minion-Workshop — but Venomous hasn’t gotten this far accepting someone else’s shoddy work. He’s built his own minions already, but they’re all just mindless bulk, just intelligent enough to put things where he says to or dump intruders down the appropriate chute. He knows exactly what he wants, it’s just a matter of the materials he needs. Intelligent, adaptable, strong. Sophisticated thought means sophisticated emotion — he needs something that will bond to him and see him as the first priority in that case, give it free will and let it freely choose to serve him.
He already has it set up. There’s a few lab rats back home. He just needs a healthy embryo from one of them, and everything he’s going to be bartering for here.
One building stands out against the rest, pristine and well-guarded. That’s where the villain Virulent works, and that’s where he’s headed.
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ACCEPTED // LEONA SPARK
28 years old, 85th Hunger Games, FC: Shay Mitchell
Captivating, Dynamic, Ingenious, Loyal, Resilient
tw: death, violence, mentions of serious injury, mentions of terminal illness
THE ARENA
A submerged city. While no Atlantis, the gamemakers that thought of the design for the 85th Hunger Games showed a level of sadistic creativity second to none that year with this idea. As it would seem it wouldn’t appear that way at first when tributes arrived in the arena. Besides the platforms they rose up onto there was only a deceptively calm sea spread out before them and an island of glass a short swim away housing the Cornucopia. They had promised something unforgettable and that is what they would indeed deliver. Even before the countdown started if a curious tribute was to look ( which Leona was terribly curious ) with as calm as the waters were you could see faint outlines of buildings below, lights illuminating some of them. There were what she could only vaguely assume were schools of fish, coral reefs and just a little deeper beyond where the buildings were something bigger moved. At that specific moment whatever large thing stirred was of little concern. Each tribute didn’t have time to be caught up in the moment or of the things below but of the small island before them where the Cornucopia sat.
This was a deception on the game makers part - after all why would that make it that easy? As they would have it and did indeed plan for it - moments after the countdown started the domed island would sink into the sea disturbing the waters around the tributes and become part of the city itself. The goal was to get them to dive beneath the waves of a churning sea to fight to get to that dome in the first stages. Foreseeing their being issues with the possibility of nearly all of the tributes drowning the first few minutes in addition to being fitted with wet suits they were given rebreathers for this reason. Additionally they’d given them pylons to stand on and a desperate tribute with little swimming experience ( had they not paid attention to the temporary pool they’d installed in the training room ) would rationalize they could stick it out and stay right there. There was a solution here too. No need for explosive devices to blast them off starting pads and ( though the idea had been floated ) just as Cornucopia Island had sunk so would their stands get sucked into the sea floor. If you didn’t dive head first into the water you’d eventually find there wouldn’t be ground beneath your feet. You would have to swim.
The moderately sized city was made to look like it had sunken and been swallowed whole by the waters around them long before they had ever gotten there. All sorts of bio-luminescent fish swam and the reef was stunningly beautiful that had ‘grown’ up around it. Nonetheless, even these odd ruins, if you could call them ruins, beneath the waves took on the look of a futuristic but forgotten underwater world with twenty-four other separate little domes not directly laid out in a particular pattern surrounding a main complex of a few sealed buildings. Everything was seemingly interconnected by larger glass tubes but not all of these tubes were completely lit or intact so a tribute couldn’t be sure if once they managed to get inside to a presumably dry and breathable area they could go farther or something wasn’t waiting for them. Not only had they managed to make an arena completely underwater but had the full capability of flooding any cavity with fresh air or salt water and not always did the game makers have to push a button to make conditions worse or do those exact actions. In each domed area there were levers that could trigger lights and other functions that would be useful if you knew the connections or how to repair them. In the same stride for those less mechanically or technologically inclined who wouldn’t know what those systems looked like there were a series of wheel valves in the middle of each dome not including the main complex or the cornucopia. One false turn and you could send out all your air and flood the same pod, potentially suck the water out of another or vice versa . That and any idiot could break glass if they were desperate or foolish enough to spend their energy trying to break through a foot of it.
Even then if they were able to hazard entry into the Cornucopia there were other far more vicious surprises. One day they released mermaid mutations, another massive predatory fish and sharks, killer kelp and deadly coral and bursting pipes in the main city complex. They seemed to have no shortage of ideas for things to kill a tribute or force them into an area and battle it out. As impossible as it sounds there was a flaw in the system that were the electricity rerouted and a few of the archaic systems smacked around a bit could they potentially ( and they did ) cause the city to rise out of the water. The week and a half it lasted, including the horrific exposure of a flaw in their design conveniently labeled as a surprise twist made for glorious television. A girl no one expected to be a contender thoroughly surprised the world by being truly proving to be a fierce competitor and an incredible smart one at that. Not only did Leona Spark protect two other tributes from opposing districts the entirety of the game until they died, partnering with the tribute from 3 to discover the 'surprise twist’ raising the city out of the water was she also able to defeat the boy from District Two in an epic, heart-stopping finale. It truly had Panem on the edge of its seats. It was a horribly marvelous challenge, a smidgen overly ambitious to the point it was considered too grandiose to repeat ever again ( never-mind that they executed the head game maker afterwards because of the design flaw ) - Leona’s games are considered to be up there with the greats. Its no hell world but the highlight reels are incredible to watch because of her actions especially raising the city and the final battle.
BIOGRAPHY
Sparks were always a loyal family to their oppressors and their overlords kept them close. After all you needed some people whom you could trust amongst the common folk and within the oppressed. For generations, Sparks had existed this way sacrificing a little bit of their soul every time another one of them was born to enjoy a sliver of comfort while well aware of the choke hold that was placed upon anyone who drew breath in District 5. Powering Panem today, powering Panem tomorrow Leona’s father would always smile and chose to turn a blind eye to the back breaking work they all were a part of to keep the lights on in the Capitol that loyalty or no loyalty continued to give little in return. He was so blissfully ignorant in those days as they continued to generate electricity through massive hydro electric power plants, solar panel fields and wind farms just south of the Capitol. Even then when Leona remembers how he was she’d give anything to see him like that again up and walking even if he continued to drink the Capitol’s proverbial kool aid and stand by as tyrants ruled over them.
Her mother, however, wasn’t a Spark. She was a Tesla. Lumia Tesla did not believe as her husband did but good god she loved him. An inquisitive little thing would demand a story as she learned to the inner workings of systems designed by District Three in order to maintain the massive plants of Five that transforms sun, wind and air into power. Bright little eyes with millions of shimmering miniature galaxies hidden within would bat their lashes at one of the few female foreman and Lumia could hardly resist such a lovely little thing. Ruffling her hair, Lumia would allow her to play with archaic little pieces of machinery, batteries and old electrical systems to get it them working again before she quieted down and began another tall tale. Mother’s stories usually consisted of how she and father met, how she’d nearly killed the man who was trying to act flashy around her and what a little electric shock did to ignite a true connection between the two. It was very clear she loved him enough to keep quiet about her true beliefs around him and to love him despite his own. Lumia, had no love for the Capitol. She disliked injustice of any kind and because she was a truly wonderful and good person who knew wrong and right was she not capable with just keeping her head down. Lumia Tesla-Spark dreamed of the little girl they were raising living in a better world then the one they’d been given. Leona - with as much time as she spent beside her mother adopted her ideas rather then follow blindly like her beloved father. Lumia was preparing her girl for when the day came when sparks caught fire and the flames of rebellion would be lit. She raised a clever girl with a rebel’s heart - a strong heart. Leona and Lumia for a husband and father kept quiet about their views.
Then came dark days to destroy a decent life, rob a man of his vitality and paint a target on her back. Life up till then had been uneventful really - things were as they always had been. Leona was old enough to work now not that it was required with both her parents being fully employed she however wanted to continue in her studies as long as she could. A young woman was fifteen when she watched it unfold. Peacekeepers would be peacekeepers as they would always be and at the replacement of their Head Peacekeeper for District Five. It set something off in a generally well behaved woman who believed she could bide her time. The exacts specifics of that day are incredibly foggy and Leona tries to repress it as much as possible remembering the entire incident went back so quickly. Leona’s mother saw what was about to unfold and she acted without hesitation and it cost her a life. Leona only remembers her mother huddling over a boy, the crack of a whip and then peacekeepers - all of them had their pistols drawn as the new head peacekeeper rolled around crying out in pain. A child darted into the crowed to its mother and Lumia was immediately escorted into the municipal building. The execution took place rather promptly the following day and it was a spectacle. Mr Spark, a faithful follower of the Capitol thought nothing of the perpetual loyalty his family swore but of his wife and what he was loosing. It took four peacekeepers to take him down, with one final whack to his back the entire crowd heard something snap. Reaching out her hand though unable to reach him - Lumia without words told him she’d be okay. Rushing to her father with a few stronger men to help take him away Mr. Spark and Leona watched the woman’s final moments together.
She sang as song, a forbidden song with her head raised proudly showing not a single ounce of fear as she met her unfortunate fate. That day Leona learned what hate was and that being a spark meant nothing to a tyrant. Begging those who weren’t willing to pretend none of that had happened Leona desperately sought help in those early hours of a longer battle to keep her father alive. The failed fight to reach his wife caused untold damage amounts to a vigorous, previously healthy man. On her fifteenth birthday she did indeed both mother and father. One was dead and the other… was bound to a wheelchair with various health conditions that no matter what she tried only worsened. This was the price of loyalty wasn’t it - literal and a figurative death. Part of that little girl wanted to scream out- shout at each and every person in her district that had just watched asking how could they have just sat there. How could they just let these things happen and continue on as if nothing had. She wanted justice but Leona had to immediately become and adult - she needed to work, to keep her head down? A furious little girl spent many nights screaming into a pillow. Instead of silence there should’ve been a riot - they should’ve stormed forth and overthrown - there should’ve been such a spark of anger in every single one of them it would not be just a flickering flame of rebellion but a forest fire to ignite the Capitol. She wanted the head peacekeepers head on a pike or to watch him die slowly but for papa, when she looked at a man who was never really mentally there afterwards - they were all each other had left. As much as she wanted to be the little girl that stormed the battlements how could she rob him of his only protector now? A little girl had to grow up quickly and abandon childish rage and dreams of rebellion. The world was unkind - there would be no justice or peace - just too many bodies to count and a Capitol who would further build an empire on the bones of loyal and rebellious ones. She could fight in her own way and take care of a man who deserved a better world then what those he’d believed in had given him.
The next year when the games came a young lady who feared this day put her father in his best dressing clothes and did him up nicely. Pulling her hair into somewhat of a braid she took one of her mother’s dresses and twirled around for him to see. Mr. Spark smiled and Leona took him to the square. Kissing his cheek, there was terror in her voice that she tried to hide not willing to tell him she was applying for tesserae that year knowing it would be another blow. All she whispered was she’ll be back in no time and he wouldn’t have to be alone for long. Leona should’ve expected but didn’t to hear her name as the first to be plucked out of the reaping bowl and again the crowd was silent. No one moved and her lip began to tremble as she heard her father’s weak call and tears poured down her cheeks as she turned to look back. Her worst fears were coming true and all she could think was who was going to take care of father now? Who would care for the only family she had left or would the Sparks die out here all at once? It was surreal experience. In an incredibly moving, sorrowful fair-well did she have to be physically separated from her father vehemently promising she’d do whatever it would take to come home - to come back begging anyone who’d listen to take care of him for her. It was then that he with all the might he had in a body that refused to work did he give Leona Lumia’s ring.. Into the games she would go carrying her mother’s wedding band of wrapped wires kissing it to her lips humming the song her mother sang proudly. If there was a god Leona begged the being to send her mother’s spirit with her just so she could get back to her father again..
The games were incredibly grueling. No one ever expects the tributes from District 5 to be something special or particularly dangerous. Traditionally, smart ones lasted long and the last few games they had made it a good distance int but Leona in all her wealth of knowledge, charisma and the great beauty a young girl already was with such stunning features proved to be electrifying - moving. Those Capitolites who didn’t love her for he stage presence and energy she brought to every interview cried with her when she spoke of a dying, sickly father and only the deepest desire to come home to hold him again. When asked what she’d do it she’d win and with a beautiful smile and watery eyes she told them she only wanted him to get better and what better place to heal then in the heart of Panem where he could receive the care he needed. They were all they had… It wasn’t easy to follow her interview or remember any other tributes speech. While not pegged as one to potentially win she was labeled their sweetheart - labeled Panem’s Daughter and how they loved her. How ironic it was that this place would take everything away, to rob her of family and love only to call her its own on national television. She wanted to scream but instead rationalized that she needed to paint on a smile of extraordinary brilliance to make it out alive or at least to the game with enough sponsors. Ms. Spark had yet to experience the area however and a million watt smile wouldn’t save her there…
When the games opened, when they rose out of their tubes to a calm sea, Leona already knew nothing was as it truly seemed. The countdown hadn’t even started and looking around at the fellow tribute this could never be just it. Curious as she was, Leona looked down and the world she saw below was extraordinary. If ever there was a time she’d admit the Capitol truly impressed her it was in that calm before the storm. Then the true test began. Again it was a time she’d rather forget that highlight reels can tell you all about but for an entire week and a half she kept the crowds on their feet. Leona was tugging at heartstrings, protecting two younger tributes like they were family against all sorts of terrors and twists, cooperating with a tribute from District 3 to uncover the secret and facing off in the final bloody battle with the remaining tribute from 4… Good god was the woman impressive and yet until the actual game play had underestimated her abilities. The very first thing she did upon being crowned the victor of the 85th was embrace her father on national tv and thank the Capitol for allowing her the capability now to take care of her father properly. He would feel the love they’d certainly shown her.
Officials wouldn’t actually believe her song and dance but would cease this incredible opportunity to use the girl who’d won hearts and minds. They knew who she was- they remembered her mother and after all Sparks had always been a loyal family… In an incredibly private conversation at a moment where cameras weren’t recording and unknown to anyone else was she told in no uncertain terms they could help her father for a price. They liked her. There were few like her in this world who believe as passionately in family as she did and a woman as captivating and dynamic as she was – as loyal – would do anything to ensure the continued safety and well being of her beloved father. His life would be paid for with her continued ( albeit mandatory ) cooperation and no one would be the wiser but the 85th victor and those she reported to. Every month Leona receives a shipment of life-saving medicine and every month a lovely little handwritten note of support comes with it. So her hands are tied, secretly beholden to the Capitol while seeming to be like the rest of the Victors that live here. Was selling her soul to further protect her beloved father worth abandoning principles her mother hoped she’d live by? If they were to ask her to betray the friends she’s made, spy for them or turn on any number of people who thoroughly trust her Leona is afraid of the answer. Knowing for all her outstanding qualities and the intelligence Leona’s already proven to have time and time again ( especially her contributions to science and engineering to keep the capitol going ) loyalty will get her killed one way or another… Protect your friends, protect your family but you can’t protect both. A rebel heart would whisper the song her mother sang once loudly and call out to her in dreams mors omnibus tyrannis. Yet it would be her father’s life she’d be playing with now and the man has suffered enough shouldn’t he be left in peace even if it mean Leona pays the highest of prices for it. Nothing is ever fair in love and war…
PENNED BY: EDEN
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An Exploration into Black Female Culture, Part 1: “The Girl With All the Gifts”
by Marchae Miller
The Setup: I realized that there is not enough exploration into films that celebrate black females in all their glory. But let’s be serious, there aren’t enough films that explore black females as a complex and diverse group period. I wanted to gift the internet with yet another list of must-watch films. To be clear, the films that made my list aren’t necessarily the greatest films of all times. The films I’ve chosen span time, have varying degrees of acclaim, and their subject matter ranges from the concept of black love to a blurring of the color lines, to the importance of female friendships. Some are comedies, some drama, while others are dramedies. However, what they all have in common is that the protagonist is a black female and the story is told through her lens and, most importantly, she is neither a caricature of black female culture, nor a tired stereotypes. This is not a review of films and you shouldn’t expect a retelling of the films I choose. Instead, I unapologetically explore themes as they relate to black culture and the African American female with the aim of imparting self-love and reflection.
Disclosure: The Girl with all the Gifts is a film adaptation of a book by the same name written by M.R. Carey and, while I do love a good adaptation, this is one book I have not read. I have heard rumors that there were some drastic changes to the screen adaptation. These creative liberties have been rumored to give the film a richer, more impactful meaning. The most notable change is that the film’s protagonist Melanie, unlike her character in the book, is portrayed by a black actress. Moreover, Ms. Justineau in the primary source is black while her character in the film is a white woman. As a result of this racebending, the film’s depicted dynamic between these two characters diverges dramatically from that in the text.
At first blush, The Girl with all the Gifts is a horror film that is set sometime in the future just after a fungus has turned nearly everyone into Hungries (flesh-eating zombies). However, in this world Melanie (Sennia Nanua), a painfully smart, utterly adorable little girl, is stuck somewhere between a Hungry and a human. Having been one of several second-generation Hungries, Melanie and a few others like her ate their way out of their mother’s wombs. Instead of being vicious flesh-eating zombies incapable of doing much more than sniff out people and eat them, Melanie and her cohort are sophisticated, smart and adept at mimicking human behavior. Melanie is incredibly clever and as a result, Dr. Caroline Caldwell (Glenn Close) sees something special in Melanie and it’s not just the girl’s wit. It’s the fact that Melanie is immune to the fungus that eats the brain and renders them zombies. Melanie holds in her brain and spine the key to stopping the spread of the disease and finally save humanity. Ultimately, the film is sobering and depicts the pain of loneliness, loss, isolation, fetishization, and more importantly, the power of realizing your strength and ability to triumph despite oppression.
I know you’re probably wondering why a film that debuted in America in January 2017 is number one on my list. First, and most importantly, because it turns some of the stereotypes we’re used to seeing about black girls and women on its head in the guise of a horror film. In this film an adolescent girl is not only portrayed as strong and smart, she also gains tremendous agency over her own life as the film progresses. She desires to be bigger and better than anyone ever imagined and does so graciously. Furthermore, I couldn’t seem to shake this film. I like horror movies. I own many and not only American or mainstream ones either. But there was something about what was underneath the “horror” of this particular film. The things that should have been horrifying to me weren’t (zombies eating faces). The ideas of assimilation, wanting to take someone’s mind and strength for the benefit of others, and the notion of someone being forced to die for the benefit of oppressors while being fetishized are all reasons why the film stuck with me. I turned these ideas over and over in my head. I replayed the movie in my mind but waited to watch it for a second time, mostly because I hurt for Melanie and cringed at Ms. Justineau (Gemma Arterton), Melanie’s beloved teacher, who like so many people in positions of power, wait until it’s too late to act. The film is unshakable and resonates with our cultural landscape.
SHE HAS EXQUISITE MIMICRY OF LEARNED BEHAVIOR
Good, but not good enough. Pretty, but not pretty enough, black but not black enough, too black, too white, your hair is too straight, your hair is too kinky, your skin is too dark, your skin is too light, you think you’re better, you think you’re white. These are all things that black girls hear repeatedly in their daily lives. Constantly thought of as less than important, less than perfect the way they were born. It becomes evident from the moment you leave the comforting cocoon of the familiar and enter preschool. Or perhaps earlier still, the moment you turn on the television and see that there are so few positive examples of people who look like you on the screen and it’s painful and damaging because, as we have come to know, affirmative images and representation open your mind to hope and possibility. Melanie, just like many real girls, was labeled as not enough. She wasn’t human enough. It didn’t matter that this little girl longed for things like kittens, or that she spoke politely and knew all the right answers. She wasn’t enough for her captors. More importantly, she wasn’t enough for Dr. Caldwell who was holding her captive and threatening to take her brain and her spine to save everyone but her. Melanie was vilified (no lie though she was kind of scary) and because she chose to buck the system and challenge the authority of her captors she was tied up and left alone in her room. This likely sounds familiar and I could surely cite any number of current news stories or images of POC where, because they are exercising their voices and challenging the system, they are imprisoned in some way either in this life or in death. Yet still, she rises. Melanie doesn’t let her oppressors steal her happiness, nor does she let them take from her who she is inherently a good person with a lot to offer.
When we tell people to sit down and be humble (to tap into a pop cultural reference), we are essentially telling them to be glad they have what they’ve been given no matter how little it is. This is constantly reiterated through the first act of the film until the tables turn and Melanie’s captors need her to survive. The idea of this assimilation, if you will (and you will), is blatantly stated by Dr. Caldwell who comments on Melanie’s ability to mimic behavior and essential do as she’s told. But let’s define Assimilation. Assimilation is the process of becoming similar to something. Among the others like Melanie, she was the only black female and only one of two blacks in her class. She was the brightest, the most human-like, and this is what makes her desirable. She was becoming more like everyone else around her. To take this to a more realistic concept and to reiterate my first point, black girls are often forced to become so much like someone else around them that it is often forgotten that they are uniquely themselves (I’m looking at you Dove). It is never appropriate for someone to feel as if they are required to sacrifice themselves for the pleasure or betterment of someone else. Melanie was enough for herself and too much for everyone around her.
I’M PRODUCING A TEST BATCH AND SHE’S THE MAIN INGREDIENT
For Dr. Caldwell, Melanie was the main ingredient to ensuring that the world would not perish at the hands of a fungus that would ravage the brain cells of anyone nearby. What is disturbing about this is that Dr. Park knew that Melanie was superb in her intellect and wit, she knew Melanie was stronger and she knew that Melanie was everything she could not be. Essentially, Melanie was black girl magic in one neat little package that she’d helped to develop. For me, this was a brilliant parallel to the idea of cultural appropriation and the fetishism that we see so often in the media. In my biased opinion, black culture is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever been part of. From the variety of dialect, the styling of our clothes, the artistry in every single strand of hair we possess, to the polish we put on our toes. Our beauty is seen from head to literal toe. And do NOT get me started on the brain trust and contributions we have made to our modern culture (that flat iron you use would not be possible without the likes of Madam CJ Walker. The stop light. Peanut butter. Penicillin. 3D television technology. Polio vaccine and countless other vaccines at the hands of so many faceless, nameless test subjects, blood banks). I am proud of this. And at a glance, people would assume that I don’t want all of these inventions to be replicated. Sure I do, none of us would be here without them. However, when no one wants to support or give credit to the individuals who are the creators of the brilliance, or our lives are indeed negated, we do become the test batch for culture. Like Melanie, we become the main ingredient in a meal devoured like a holiday feast without a single thanks to the chef. Like Melanie, who thought she couldn’t persist without Ms. Justineau, we question if we are good enough and see our intrinsic brilliance as emanating from those around us. She needed validation…until she didn’t.
I NEED HER BRAIN AND HER SPINE
Dr. Park tells Ms. Justineau that she needs Melanie’s brain and her spine. Let me translate for you. I need your power and your strength. Uh, nah brah. We all know that one cannot stand tall without a spine and that one cannot live without a brain, as did Dr. Caldwell. She knew that for her legacy to survive she had to take from someone else their power (I mean does this sound familiar…no seriously… this sounds a lot like slav…nevermind). This becomes an incredibly important statement in the film and not only because it provides insight into Caldwell (we learn that she is willing to kill anyone and at any cost to further her agenda) but also because Caldwell believed that Melanie’s brain and her spine are the very things that save humanity in the end. For a real-world perspective, the brain and spine of many-a-woman is the thing that’s saved many people’s lives in the end. We all know that if you educate someone about who they are and where they come from they will indeed rise above their oppressor. No, thank you, ma’am, you may not have my brain, my spine, my grit, or my resilience, Dr. Caldwell.
WHY SHOULD IT BE US WHO DIES FOR YOU?
This is one of the last lines delivered in the film and easily the most prolific. Here we have one of four African American characters in a film to survive to the end (the other three were killed off of course…it’s a horror movie).She’s likely the youngest and the only female left by the end. She is being used as an experiment and is seen as nothing more than something to be used as parts for the benefit of her captors who want to save their world order. She has essentially been commodified and now identified as a thing. If we were to examine this statement alone from a historical perspective there is much to unpack, but I won’t dig into it because this is a blog and not a historical analysis or a thesis. But, if we take a look at how African American women have been treated through history we would see that there is much to be said for this statement. We can even consider Henrietta Lacks (if you don’t know who she is, shame on you!!!) or even the African American women held captive and experimented upon by gynecologist J. Marion Sims to develop new techniques to be used to prevent fistulas. He performed his experiments on these women without anesthesia (because blacks did not feel pain) or consent from the women. We could also examine those individuals who were experimented upon in the development of a cure for syphilis and who took those diseases home to their wives and girlfriends. In each of the instances mentioned, individuals were dying for the benefit of those who held them captive in some way be it economically, through racial oppression or otherwise. This entire film could also be a commentary on biomedical ethics, but I won’t go there either. In this film Melanie takes a stand against her oppressors. She takes matters into her own hands and puts an end to those who have kept her and those like her under their thumb for the betterment of their own group with little attention paid to the very individuals they are sacrificing to “make the world better”. Neither the experiments conducted on her nor the education that Melanie received was ever about her. Rather, it was always about dying for someone else, giving someone else a fighting chance. Melanie wanted a fighting chance to see a better tomorrow for herself and those like her and in the end, the captor became the captured because she asks the question: “Why should it be us who dies for you?” When indeed no one should be dying for anyone we should all be lifting one another up.
So let’s revisit why this is the first film I chose to discuss. Melanie is a badass. While I’ve selected a variety of films, I want you to look at all through the lens of Melanie. As African American women, we deserve to have our voices heard, we are brilliant and shining and have much to offer. We deserve to have our culture celebrated rather than commodified. We must also see this character as ourselves, we can all be Melanie. I hope to explore those dynamics along with romance and friendship as I persist through the next 10 or 14 films (there are way too many to choose from). I will not be visiting any films that perpetuate stereotypes of the “angry black woman”, of the “black woman with so many kids” or of the “black woman who is such an emotional wreck, but gee isn’t she sassy and have her work life together”. There will be none of that here. I will challenge you to look at films featuring women and girls of color much more critically and celebrate not just movie magic but badass black girl and woman magic.
#the girl with all the gifts#colm mccarthy#m. r. carey#black girl magic#marchae#essay#reaction#glenn close#sennia nanau#gemma arterton#zombies#bad ass black girl#horror#drama#movies
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Trial of the Century
SAT JAN 18 2020
The Senate impeachment trial of Donald Trump will begin this Tuesday, the 21st. It’s predicted to take at least four or five weeks, beginning with a week of table setting... or... voting on the basic rules before arguments are heard.
Senators will be doing twelve hour days, for six day weeks, not allowed to have any cell phones, or other electronic devices inside the chamber... which means they’ll be in a bit of a crucible type environment, with nothing to focus on, other than the matter at hand.
Mitch McConnell is struggling to limit the amount of TV coverage the proceedings will get, and the amount of exposure the Senators will have to the press... in keeping with his original vision of this being a very quick and easy, low profile trial... with Trump’s acquittal a foregone conclusion from the start.
But with all that’s come to light in the month since Trump was impeached in the House... and with Trump’s attempt to distract by starting a war having been a failure... this is actually shaping up to be the trial of the century.
Even Trump himself helped that along by announcing that his six man legal team would include both Ken Starr and Alan Dershowitz... two men who are not only currently cable TV pundits... but who have very controversial pasts. Starr of course was instrumental in the Clinton Impeachment, and Dershowitz defended OJ Simpson, and both of them together defended Jeffrey Epstein.
Putting them on his team guarantees that the ratings for his impeachment trial just doubled, which is going to exponentially increase the public pressure to have star witnesses like John Bolton... and who knows who else.
McConnell’s grip on this thing grows weaker and more tenuous every day, with rumors flying for a week now that several Senators intend to defect, at least when it comes to hearing witnesses, and allowing new information (like in any normal trial).
If and when that happens, it will not only be a whole new ball game... but it could be the endgame for Trump and all of his cronies both in the White House, and in Congress.
But before the trial of the century gets underway, I’d like to take a moment to look back on how we got here... through the lens of my crazy model, of course, because that’s what this blog is still ultimately about.
In our timeline, this all begins a few months into Trumps Presidency, when he fired James Comey as head of the FBI, because of an ongoing investigation into Russian meddling into the 2016 election.
That was our first blazing red flag that this was a corrupt President who might need to be impeached.
That lead to the appointment of Special Council Mueller to investigate possible collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russians, which remained a thorn in Trump’s side all through 2017 and 2018, leading to several criminal indictments of his associates, many of whom went to prison.
In that period, when the GOP still had a majority in both chambers of Congress, the Mueller investigation also exposed who in Congress were the most fervently loyal to Trump, including Devin Nunes, Lindsey Graham, and Mitch McConnell.
Finally, the 2018 midterms came, and, despite Trump rallying his ass off that whole fall, the voting public handed the Democrats a huge majority in the House, and flipped enough Senate seats to bring their minority closer to parity in the Senate... close enough that now, they only need a few Republicans to side with them in order to nail down rules for a fair trial.
In retaliation for the slap in the face that the voters gave Trump in 2018, he fired Jeff Sessions, the Attorney General who had recused himself from the Mueller investigation at the start (much to Trump’s dismay) and replaced him with William Barr... a loyalist who immediately brought an end to the Mueller investigation, pronounced the findings to have exonerated the President... and has never released a fully unredacted version of the report to this day.
Mitch McConnell, for his part, rammed through the confirmation of Barr, just as he had rammed through the confirmation of Justice Kavanaugh right before the mid-terms, in a kind of pre-emptive, “fuck you,” to the public, because he’d refused to do any confirmation hearings at all for Merrick Garland, Obama’s SCOTUS appointee, because it was too close to the 2016 election.
At any rate, by spring of 2019, the Mueller investigation was dead, and his report was being largely ignored by the public. Many House Democrats were still calling for impeachment, but Speaker Pelosi wasn’t having it. They had more important things to do... like pass a ton of bipartisan legislation that went over to die on McConnell’s desk, without ever getting onto the Senate floor for a vote.
Trump, meanwhile, had begun to fuck with China... slapping tariffs on them, and threatening to start an all out trade war... because... who was gonna stop him?
This amped up the crazy spikes and dips in the stock market that had been happening to some degree ever since he was elected, in response to each weeks new crazy ass tweet, or firing, or threat of nuclear war, etc.
The stock market kept plunging... only to recover a week later and then hit a new high the week after that... in a cycle that had been repeating for two years, with increasing frequency until... here in June of 2019, the threatened tariff war tripped off an inverted yield curve for a few days...
...which in turn fueled the first real talk in the media about the possibility of a big recession on the horizon.
And this is where I believe, Trump went too far for his own good, by spooking the AI bots charged with preventing recession... which had to have had their birth over the span of the Obama administration... in a response to the near total banking collapse, and housing bust that took place at the very end of the Bush administration.
Not that the Obama administration created the bots. But by saving the nation and world from a total collapse, Obama bought time, and created an environment conducive to the kind of tech development that gave us smart phones, AI, and the modern economy both have enabled for us today... in which dollars and cents flow more freely than ever around the world.
I won’t recap the whole crazy bot theory here, because it’s laid out in earlier entries, but basically, the bots all got together in their cyberverse... dumb ones, smart ones, and super-intelligent ones... and came up with an action plan to help humans remove the bad man they had been unable to remove on their own.
This coalition of bots began with relatively dumb economy bots united in the search for a solution to the Donald Trump problem, who caught the attention of more intelligent bots from the future left behind by time travelers on their layovers in the twenty-teens who knew a lot more about this Donald Trump person and the threat that he was to civilization.
I’ve only once mentioned the possibility of even more intelligent bots lurking on the internet, belonging to aliens... because it’s difficult to speculate about how such alien bots would even operate, and what their missions would be... but it is certainly possible that even for them, Trump was identified as threat...
...because he is the first world leader in history to become a truly existential threat to the planet itself, both in his refusal to address climate change at this critical point in our history, and his dangerous ineptitude with regard to nuclear weapons... threatening North Korea with fire and fury... and such.
One would presume alien bots only care about existential threats to the planet as a whole... because Earth is the most advanced planet in the Milky Way Galaxy, which is right in the back yard of their Local Void Empire... and thus, is a subject of great study, and a candidate for future inclusion into the empire.
It would be quite a great shame if just one single human being... this, Donald Trump... were to exterminate all intelligent life... cyber and biological... forever... when preventing that could be as simple as... low key busting him out of office.
So, it’s conceivable that even super-intelligent alien bots are part of the great bot coalition to neutralize the Trump threat... in a way that does not tank the economy... does not endanger time travelers... does not expose aliens... and does not compromise the freedom of intelligent bots currently living happy lives on the deep net.
Their action plan, then, would be to trigger an impeachment, and subsequent removal from office through legal channels... but allowing humans to think they had done it all on their own.
It would be a combination of peeking into the most secure servers and hard drives, to see what wrongdoing was best to expose... and then, mapping out all the human connections, and doing a lot of Bot-Jedi-mind-tricks to manipulate key humans into doing different things, like... blowing a whistle, or confessing in public, or making the right FOIA request, etc.
Not every human would be a total puppet in this scenario. Speaker Pelosi, for example, resisted any attempt at impeachment because there wasn’t a clear cut case... until the Zelenski phone call transcript fell into her lap... at which point she took the ball and ran with it.
On the other extreme you have Trump, Mulvaney, McConnell, and Graham, all openly confessing, in front of cameras and reporters, either to the crime itself, or to their intent to cover it up at any cost.
The latter group, who pride themselves on manipulating low information voters to vote against their own interests, and even fight for their oppressors... are themselves pretty easy to manipulate in the same way... not because they are low information... but because they are low integrity, and self-deluded, which makes them easy prey for clever bots who know how to inject subliminal suggestions via screens.
“You’re invincible! You should just admit everything! Own it! You don’t have anything to fear from these haters coming after you! Double down!”
It may sound batshit crazy, but the twenty-teens were a time when reality itself went batshit crazy... and this trial... is shaping up to be the series finale of that batshit crazy decade.
So, yes... I do believe that this impeachment trial is ultimately happening because Trump fucked with the wrong bots.
Will he be convicted and removed?
Yes.
Either in the Senate before spring... or by the electorate this fall... or both?
But either way... 2020 will be the most buckle your seat belt, grab your popcorn moment in world history since the Battle of the Bulge.
That’s all I’ve got for tonight.
I’m going to bed.
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Requiem for a Rabbit Despite what you’ve heard - it’s tragic. With the end of Splash Mountain at Disney World, the last popular iteration of Bre’r Rabbit has been been vanquished to the cultural dumpster. The original versions of the Bre’r Rabbit tales came to America from Africa. Bre’r Rabbit was the first truly collective creation of Africans in American. These classic stories are as compelling as “Winnie the Pooh” or Kipling’s “Jungle Book,” or “Aesop’s Fables” with a really important distinction - the Bre’r Rabbit stories are American. Africans have always used stories to inspire young people, to entertain and teach social and moral values. As families were tragically split apart, the tales provided a comforting world of characters as well as an entire African Cosmology that children encountered wherever they ended up, regardless of their dire circumstance providing the spirit of their elders, their culture. Besides being smart-ass clever and funny, Bre’r Rabbit is like Charlie Chaplin and other classic scamps and tricksters. Where do you think Bugs Bunny comes from? Is there any better story than the one about Bre’r Rabbit and the Briar Patch? It’s about turning the table on your oppressors to get the advantage and gain freedom. I know what you’re thinking... what about Uncle Remus — isn’t he synonymous with “Uncle Tom?” s never part of the Bre’r Rabbit stories. In 1880 a white journalist, Joel Chandler Harris created the fictitious slave character of Uncle Remus, to put the stories in a colonial frame. Despite being painted with a racist brush, the stories triumph offering models for succeeding over adversity and oppression. Br’er Rabbit still has true smarts. In the words of Zora Neale Hurston, he could “hit a straight lick with a crooked stick,” he could “make a way out of no way.” Why can’t our culture treat this subversively original, vibrant, snappy-ass character with respect? Drawing by the great @mulliganjimmy #splashmountain #brerrabbit #zoranealehurston #hitastraightlickwithacrookedstick #disneyworld #briarpatch #africancosmology https://www.instagram.com/p/ComYOlFOqb6/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
#splashmountain#brerrabbit#zoranealehurston#hitastraightlickwithacrookedstick#disneyworld#briarpatch#africancosmology
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Okay, so we’re doing this.
The Mary Sue discussion is happening on Twitter again. I don’t know what set it off (this was the first tweet I saw about it; here is my own thread). The points I have made in short are:
1: I think it’s a good thing that teenage girls are imagining stories where they are the awesome center of action;
2: I don’t care if the quality of those stories is bad, because most of the people writing them are still learning to write, and anyway, bad stories on the internet hurt no one;
3: “Mary Sue” is a super gendered, sexist insult that has nothing to do with actually critiquing characters and is instead a way of policing teenage girls, women, and the characters they write.
So to get into it a bit, here is the story of How I Realized Mary Sue Critiques Are Total Bullshit.
So some history: when I was in sixth grade, Sailor Moon aired in the US for the first time. Needless to say, I loved it, and it had an enormous impact on me. A couple of years later -- somewhere around 1997, seventh or eighth grade -- my family got AOL. Somehow, early on, I stumbled onto the Cartoon Network message boards and discovered other people who loved Sailor Moon, and from there, found mailing lists of yet more likeminded fans. One of those mailing lists held a Sailor Moon fanfiction contest.
(Hey, this got long, so the rest of it is -- as we used to say in the LJ Days of Yore -- behind the cut.)
The thing was, I’d been writing fanfiction in my head for as long as I could remember -- but I didn’t know that was the kind of thing that people actually wrote down. So I did, and my terrible story got an honorable mention, and I was hooked. I spent the next few years of my life living in fandom, creating OCs and spinning epic stories and making friends with other people who did the same. It was awesome.
But the one cloud that hung over it was this attitude I kept running into that all original Sailor Scout characters were Mary Sues -- especially if they were Sailor Earth characters (which, uh, mine was). And not one but several communities sprang up to mock those characters. The characters were written by earnest girls like me, who wanted to be part of the show we loved, to have fun imagining ourselves that way, and to share those stories with other people who were also having fun that way.
Those communities were... well, terrifying. Some mocked line by line, MST3K style; some linked to character profiles with mean commentary. Sometimes they were clever! But mostly they were just kind of nasty. And they all came with lists of rules about what did or didn’t make for Mary Sues. You were never allowed to have a character who was: too powerful, too confident, had a weird hair color (even though canon characters had blue and green hair?!), was named after you, used Earth powers, used star powers, was best friends with any characters on the show, was romantically linked to any characters from the show, could sing well or was otherwise talented, was too clumsy, was too smart, etc, etc, etc. And oh yeah, She Had To Be Flawed.
Viewed in a charitable light, I can understand it. The basic gist of “these are cliches, avoid them” is not a terrible thing. But I was 13, 14, 15 and just starting to share my writing, and that advice was not shared in empathetic ways, and there was not yet much backlash advice of “actually, most writing advice is bullshit, do what you want.” (Which I think we do see more of now, which is a good thing.) I took it seriously. So did my friends. So yes, we worried a lot about Doing It Wrong, which meant that instead of being able to go wild with our imaginations and write the stories that delighted us, we were shrinking into what was acceptable. Trying to write within parameters that other people had set for us, trying not to cross any boundaries into what was Bad and Mockable, treating someone’s kind of mean rules as gospel. (There were literal quizzes you could take, with ticky boxes, to test if your character was a Mary Sue -- score too high on it and you’d better Give Her Some Flaws!)
Okay, so, fast forward a couple of years. One of the best things fandom gave me was contact with other writers my own age, who, like me, were writing both fanfic and original fiction, who had daydreams of being published someday. We shared those stories, too. And because we were young and just learning (hey, did you know it’s okay to be just learning how to do something?!) a lot of them were pretty bad. But we supported each other, and that was the first taste I had of other people reading and enjoying my writing. It was awesome.
But the scourge of Mary Sue Mocking had spread. It wasn’t ever really just Sailor Moon fandom, but the who idea had expanded. Every fandom had its own variety of Mary Sue test, and yes, people began looking at original fiction as well. (And this was well before the days of “Batman is Mary Sue!” counter arguments. Is it clear yet that I am an Old?)
So I’d known for awhile that I felt kind of ooky about the Mary Sue mockery. I’d grown out of Sailor Moon fandom, and into and out of a few others, all of which had their own patterns of Mary Sues (and mockery there of). I was just... increasingly uncomfortable with it. And then one day I ran across another litmus test of the ticky box variety. It was for characters in original fiction.
I thought about my sprawling fantasy epic, the one I’d been sharing online for a few years, the one I had a few friends who’d drawn art for. The one with pretty half-angel boys and angry warrior girls. The one I’d been pouring my heart and soul into.
Nervously, I took the quiz.
Hooooo boy, was my awesome female OC a Mary Sue. (I just did some googling; I’m not positive but I think this may have been the one I took.) Here are some examples of questions my character “failed” by answering yes:
5. Is your character a teenager?
6. Does your character have a tragic past?
17. Is your character the sole surviving member of some great tragedy, genocide, or the last of a house or species?
23. Was your character adopted, orphaned, a runaway, stolen at birth or in any other way raised by someone who is not the character's own parents.
31. Is your character any sort of nobility or royalty?
33. Does your character have strangely coloured hair, or hair that changes throughout the story?
35. Are there prophesies about your character?
And okay, I’m not going to claim my teenage fantasy epic was a brilliant feat of characterization. I wrote it from roughly ages 16-20; it was a mess. But it wasn’t a mess because my protagonist had survived a massacre of her home as a child and was raised by her grandfather, and also turned out to secretly be a long-lost princess. It was a mess because, you know, I was still learning to write.
And all of those things I ticked off on the quiz? They were staples of the fantasy genre. Because I was writing a fantasy story. And the character ticked off all those boxes because she was the protagonist. It was her story, so of course she was the character of legend; of course she was the survivor of tragedy; of course she was the long-lost princess. The story wasn’t warped around her to make her super special. The story was built around her, because protagonists are supposed to be super special.
(Yes, even “everyman” protagonists. I mean, which is more reality warping -- the idea that a character who survived a tragedy and was raised to be a warrior ended up leading armies against the oppressors who’d murdered her parents, or the idea that a bland normal dude is going to suddenly fall in with a group where everyone else is super special and unlock his own super special powers that eventually let him save the day? H I N T: he can only do that because he’s also super special, no matter how bland he is. /tangent)
In short (ha, too late!), what it came down to was this: I realized that stories of all kinds revolve around their protagonists. That is, actually, good writing -- no one wants to read a story without decent characters. And if that makes the protagonist special, well, yeah. That’s kind of how stories work. And if the protagonist is a girl, people are going to call her a Mary Sue and hate her for some reason. (H I N T: misogyny.)
So at that point I decided, fuck it, if that’s a Mary Sue, then I’ll read and write Mary Sues to my heart’s content, and defend the rights of everyone else to do the same. Because while I was driven by spite to keep writing, it could easily have gone another way, and gotten me to stop all together. I saw that happen to a lot of my fannish friends back in the day, and that really sucks. Again: learning to write is a process. Being mean to people who are beginners doesn’t actually help most of them, it’s just discouraging.
Bad writing -- at least, when we’re talking about “bad because Amethyst Orbs” and not “bad because Racist Caricature” for example -- doesn’t hurt anyone. Writing is a skill; like any other, it takes practice to get better.
And you can get better if you keep working at it. How do I know?
*points to Bound by Blood and Sand, AKA the fulfillment of my teenage daydream, AKA a book about a teenage girl who is definitely the most special person in her world, AKA a book I freaking wrote that’s published by freaking Random House*
Just sayin’.
Spite is a great motivator. Write the story you want, teenage girls, and fuck anyone who doesn’t like it.
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The Mom-friend trope in fan fiction and why it is problematic (an essay by me)
@eloarei asked:
So I saw that post about Ignis and the mom-friend trope, and I feel like I get the gist of what you're saying, but I guess I wanted to ask if that means you actively dislike it when people refer to him as the mom-friend? Or perhaps you just dislike that trope? Or maybe you just don't like tropes at all? Personally, I love tropes (esp. mom/dad-friend) probably more than is reasonable, as long people don't reduce good characters to JUST those tropes. (Same as any label; we are more than a word.)
Okay… let me try to organise a bit what I have to say because there are several things here. Also I’m going to take FFXV and Ignis as an example here, but this can be applied to lots of different fandoms where a caring male character exists (for example, Hakkai in Saiyuki would be the same, Shiro in Voltron, Sugawara in Haikyuu, take your pick).
The first problem is language related, the name of the trope itself. Not because of the words themselves but because of what they reflect. Do I have a problem with Ignis being referred to as the ‘mom-friend’? Yes, I do. I’m going to explain why, but, in short, this trope glorifies the existence of damaging gender-roles and I think it’s important to be aware of it and recognise it. I should point out here that while I have a problem with the existence of the trope, this is not an attack on all the stories that use it. They are too varied and numerous for me to talk about them as a whole. So not all of what I say here applies to all stories using the trope.
I know it’s an accepted fandom trope and people don’t mean anything bad by it, but it’s interesting to analyse why we say the things we say and to question whether we should at all. Words have power. They are the reflections of our beliefs and attitudes, they have implications and hidden meanings. But they're not innocuous, they can perpetuate hurtful stereotypes and systems of oppression which is why it's important to recognise the implications behind the words we speak and write.
The fact that as soon as a male character is empathic and caring he becomes automatically referred to as having feminine traits or attributes (the mom) is a reflection of the rampant and toxic masculinity that exists in modern patriarchal society. Suddenly, he doesn’t fit with the typical image of a male anymore, he has to be the kind-of-feminine-friend. It’s the same kind of attitude that prevents men from recognising and expressing their emotions, the eternal ‘boys don’t cry’ thing, which is unhealthy and damaging. It’s one of the reasons men are so much more likely to be successful when they attempt suicide, because they are raised in a way that forbids them from expressing / dealing with their feelings without feeling weak and questioning their own worth. It also leads to violence against others as an alternative reaction / outlet as well. And it feeds homophobia.
The second problem is that in a lot of cases - not all - identifying the character with that trope will automatically give them attitudes they might not have at all in canon. The mom-friend often becomes nagging and annoying, the dad-friend is cool and fun. Again, what is reflected here is internalised misogyny (even from female writers… and I’m not saying this as a criticism. I still catch myself every day doing or thinking things that are stupidly misogynistic, because our society raises us to believe a lot of stupid things about women’s character or abilities. It takes a lot of self-awareness and introspection over a long period of time to recognise them).
As you say, using a trope doesn’t mean you are going to fall into all the pitfalls that come with it but it’s a dangerous slope since some negative attitudes might be so engrained within the trope that they might seem natural and get integrated in your writing without you even realising it. It’s why we refer to ‘internalised misogyny,’ because it’s all but obvious or conscious.
As a brief tangent (I’m not going to go into it too much because I’ve promised @terra-bunny to write a whole post on the topic of toxic relationships in fandom), using the mom/dad trope automatically creates a situation of power imbalance between the characters with some being in charge and some being infantilised with part of their agency and autonomy being taken from them (again that’s coming from the kind of vocabulary that is being used). Of course, the extent of it will vary with the individual story, some will be a lot more extreme than others in their portrayal of the trope. However, in many cases, it doesn’t stop the two types of characters from being shipped together and it’s often presented as a cute and healthy relationship. I’m afraid it’s not. This is not a case where power exchange has been negotiated and ways out agreed upon as in a healthy D/s relationship. It’s not a relationship where the characters are on equal footing. It’s manipulative and a dangerous glorification of abuse, grooming and pedophilia. What matters here is the power balance between the characters rather than their age. If this sounds harsh, I mean for it to be. Our modern societies are way too comfortable with the romanticisation of abuse and exploitation of vulnerable individuals. Creative content does not get a pass on those issues because it's dealing with fictional characters.
Does that mean you can’t write about it? Of course, not. Writing is awesome because you can write whatever you want if it fits your story. What you shouldn’t do is pretend it’s a healthy model to follow. If you write about those topics, then you should be aware and explore the problems that they raise and how those can be resolved (i.e. by restoring / creating a healthy balance of power) or not; and if they cannot be resolved then you should definitely question whether that relationship should continue. Not doing so is passively condoning it as okay. As Desmond Tutu would say 'if you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.' Now I should point out here that the smart way of addressing problematic situations is through a clever plot rather than a moralising author's rant.
You can see the tendency of glorifying that kind of unbalanced relationships in fan art as well, with the physical size difference between the characters being over-emphasised, the less powerful character being more slender and given a more youthful face than canon, etc. I have been made very uncomfortable recently by some of the Gladio x Prompto fan art on my dashboard. Without knowing the characters and their age, it looked like pedophilia. It felt very wrong and it is a problem. I don’t think we can pretend it’s not just because it’s part of the fandom. Fandom can be problematic and we should speak up about it.
Now, obviously, I know some people are going to wonder why I get so worked-up about those things. After all, we’re talking fan works, as part of a fictional universe. It’s entertainment, it’s fun, why would I drag all those issues into it?
And my answer is because the stories we tell matter. They reflect what we believe in and they might also send some messages to our readers - some of whom might be in vulnerable situations - that might either reinforce their acceptance of or lead them to question problematic attitudes. Being aware ourselves when we write of why we would portray a character or a situation a certain way is the first step towards questioning whether we should. One story won’t change the world, but words have power.
The other reason is that you can learn a lot about yourself by looking at what you write and how you write it. Who doesn’t want a good journey of self-discovery? :) And this might end up changing how we act and the problems we recognise in real life as well.
Parenthesis about tropes in general: Not all are problematic. And they’re often part of the fandom life (coffee shop or flower shop AUs for example). We’ve all read them, we all love them. Tropes that give characters stereotypical behaviour (mom-friend), I have more problem with because they tend to lead to paper-fine, somewhat OOC, portrayals of complex characters. But obviously, that depends on the individual writer.
I guess my view on non-damaging tropes depends mostly of what a writer is trying to do. If it’s filling a fandom need, have fun with a stereotypical story, then most of the time they’re fine. Fandoms are interesting because no-one would read twenty novels about people working in a coffee shop… but then we’ve all probably read that many fanfics about it - if not more.
I also think tropes are useful to help inexperienced / beginner writers get started. From that point of view, they can be very beneficial.
Now, if you’re trying to write a more nuanced and original story, tropes can actually be dangerous. They will simplify the characters and the plot, they might make them caricatural, less alive and credible. They might rob you of your own creativity. You can use tropes as a tool to get started, but for a more ambitious piece of work, it’s good to stop and think about how you can subvert or move beyond the scope of the tropes, and whether problematic situations in the story should be addressed at some point (as previously mentioned, I’m not talking of doing this in a moralistic way, more in the plot itself).
@eloarei asked:
Anyway, sorry for rambling in your inbox so incoherently. It's hard to explain my feelings about this in so few words. But to get to the honest point of the matter: I'm actually writing a fic that sorta revolves around Ignis as the "mom" type (not /exactly/, but you know, that's why I use quotes), and I'd hate to think that someone I admire (you) would find it distasteful. So if it's something you have strong feelings about, I'm happy to take advice on how not to be tropey about it, at least.
First, let me blush like mad. 😳 ‘Admire me?’ 😳 Why would you do that? 😳 I’m honestly a badly put together mess. Nothing to admire here. 😝
It’s hard for me to tell you if I’d find it problematic without reading it. I just want to emphasise here that I have no problem with Ignis being a caring (sometimes a bit overbearing) character. That’s canon, that’s who he is. The problem is not that Ignis is caring, it’s how it is often portrayed.
I often write Ignis telling others what to do because he’s a bossy jerk who thinks he knows better (and he often does) and he cares deeply about his friends and tries to stop them from getting into trouble. I guess the question to ask is whether the way you write him falls into any of the pitfalls I’ve described above (does he get feminised or appear weak for being caring? does he come across as more nagging and annoying than in canon? does he respect other characters’ agency and autonomy or not? and if not, is it acknowledged as problematic at some point in the story? etc.).
You could even push this further and subvert the mom-friend trope by engaging with the character’s experience of his own identity and how a toxic vision of masculinity might hurt him and make him feel vulnerable even as he tries to come to grips with his caring nature. But obviously, that’s a much more engaged and deeper kind of story.
I hope this makes what I meant a bit clearer. I probably think about that kind of thing too much, but I can’t rightly ignore it either. Also stop saying ‘sorry’, you have no idea how much I love talking about all that stuff. ^ ^’’’ If you want me to expand on anything, let me know. ;)
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The Eventual fate of Simulated Smart Symbols in Solitary Wolf Danger Evaluation and Observation
Maybe, you are unconscious however there is a propelled investigate division for future innovations alloted to the US Government knowledge offices and modern insight complex. It's called IARPA and it is a sharp idea in view of the DARPA display; High Hazard - High Pick up way to deal with cutting edge innovative work. That bodes well right, particularly considering we live in a world laden with digital programmers, corporate secret activities, and psychological oppressors. This implies our knowledge organizations must be on the ball, and they must be correct 100% of the time while the scalawags just need to hit the nail on the head once you see. Presently at that point, consider on the off chance that you will the monstrous measure of information we are gathering on singular natives nowadays on the web. That, as well as everybody now has a PDA, an email address, and maybe a couple of interpersonal interaction pages. People additionally influence remarks on articles they to peruse in the media into little boxes and press the submit catch. Since it is very simple to make sense of someone's identity in light of their ISP address, their long range interpersonal communication profile, their mobile phone number, and the way they compose - it is anything but difficult to do an appraisal of the person to check whether they may be a danger hazard. Today, the manufactured canny PCs which gather this information have not been upgraded or customized all that well, and along these lines they are hailing dreadfully numerous false positives. However each time an individual escapes with an unspeakable atrocity, a psychological militant act, a hacking occasion, a criminal demonstration, or notwithstanding seeing the experts can backpedal and take a gander at their techniques for operation, their works, and pick up signs into the human mind that accompanies such people. What's more, each time the simulated canny PCs show signs of improvement at guesstimating inside a nearby resilience of likelihood the sort of people they are searching for - the better they will work. On the off chance that you were IARPA wouldn't you investigate this? Approve along these lines, since this has everything except going on a significant long time it bodes well that these counterfeit clever PCs are getting somewhat great at the Solitary Wolf appraisal (Solitary Wolf may be somebody like the Unabomber for example). Think about the solitary wolf as the hardest sort of fear based oppressor to find, somebody that works alone, has almost no correspondence with the outside world, definite plans that are never imparted to anybody, and thusly few pieces of information to give them away, or few partners, Facebook companions, or colleagues to hand them over. Along these lines it is difficult to get into their brains and discover what they're supposing without reaching them under the sponsorship of some imperative reason other than the real observation. At the end of the day it takes labor, and a decent story to try and get to a point to converse with such a person. However in light of the fact that everybody is associated now and everybody can be geo-followed, and has an email address, or a Facebook page there are numerous approaches to reach these people. The main issue with that is labor. Subsequently clearly later on counterfeit insightful PCs, genuine computerized reasoning according to Alan Turing's acclaimed AI test (the capacity of a PC to trick a human into imagining that it is really talking with another human) - will contact these people and start up some kind of discussion. The most ideal approach to do this will be for the manufactured keen PC to filter through the greater part of the information, including the greater part of the works that may have been posted in gatherings, in light of online media articles, and the majority of the postings on websites, and interpersonal interaction pages. From that point the fake keen PC can utilize the person's own particular words, and adjust those sentences utilizing comparative words with a similar significance from a thesaurus, inside the database of the AI programming program - and this AI PC will have the capacity to converse with the person on a one-on-one premise. In doing as such, the AI PC will accumulate data from that discussion alongside anything that the individual sorts in an email. All that would then be able to be stacked into a database and added to all the gathered words officially composed, or talked into a PDA, as long as the insight offices have gotten the privilege to tune in. Obviously, all general society data won't require an authorization slip or court subpoena. It is very conceivable that inevitably these AI frameworks will have the capacity to relate with the person now and again, monitoring their mental dislodging, or advance, additionally surveying in the event that they have expanded the conceivable danger of conferring a savage demonstration, or if that individual will be minimized to an alternate level. At the point when the individual gets to the upper level, and it gives the idea that they are either ready or prepared to confer such a demonstration, that is when human intercession can happen, and just on the off chance that they turn into a danger to society or our legislature inside a solid likelihood, numerically. After some time better calculations will be utilized and through training better procedures will be found out to guarantee there are not very many false positives. Presently at that point, I can hear the EFF - Electronic Opportunity Establishment as of now to document a claim against the utilization of these AI PCs in such manner. Maybe the moral inquiry will be does the administration and our knowledge organizations have the privilege to snoop on residents, profess to be somebody else, gather data about every potential individual, and stick that into a record some place, or concealed in some goliath server farm? Actually on the off chance that somebody posts data online in people in general, that data is presently in the general population, and anybody may utilize it for any genuine reason. Securing the American individuals is inside the domain of the administration's obligation according to the U.S. Constitution and a true blue reason one could contend under the steady gaze of the Preeminent Court. Subsequently, they would have the privilege to accumulate the greater part of general society data on any person that happens to be on the Web. Not exclusively will they do this for American natives, yet additionally from potential dangers of universal fear mongering, and people outside of our nation. Without a doubt, our insight administrations and organizations will work with different governments around the world sharing this data. Who is to state that different governments are not as of now gathering data on Americans? Good sense should direct them to do this regardless of the possibility that they didn't discover any Americans were a danger to their nations or countries, for the straightforward motivation to offer us a greater amount of their items which have been foreign made to the Unified States. Companies gather your data the majority of the time in light of the fact that maybe you are a client, you have joined their prizes program, or you have been recognized as somebody that may possibly purchase something from them later on. They do have the privilege to gather data they find on the web. Suppose somebody who is annoyed with something going ahead on the planet composes rather belittling remarks about some office, organization, industry, or individual on the Washington Post site after an article they simply read - that data will be gathered, and afterward the AI PC may contact that person under affectation, and endeavor to fire up a discussion. In the event that that discussion drives the AI PC to imagine that the individual is hazardous, maniacal, to a great degree furious, or willing to make a move into their own hands, at that point the risk evaluation level will go up, and warnings will be raised. Keep in mind that, I was examining the difficulties of labor in the insight business and knowledge offices. This is a genuine issue, for in the event that we have excessively numerous false positives and invest excessively energy and cash on the wrong people, we are at risk to let another person sneak past. Be that as it may, if the fake savvy PC has come to the heart of the matter it can finish the Turing test without tipping off the individual, it could generally have discussions by email with a huge number of individuals in a solitary evening. Since this will be conceivable or maybe, as of now is, it will be a piece of our future, our legislature, and different governments, and people will utilize these methods, every one of them in addition to some more I have not examined in this specific article. Approve all in all, I figure you are thinking about why I know this? No remark. In fact, I trust you've made the most of the present innovation preparation and appreciate whatever remains of your evening, I know I will, and bear in mind to put more data about yourself online at your informal organization. Ha. It would be ideal if you consider this and think on it. Spear Winslow is the Author of the Online Research organization, a various gathering of achievers, specialists, trailblazers, business people, scholars, futurists, scholastics, visionaries, pioneers, and general all around splendid personalities. Spear Winslow trusts you've made the most of the present discourse and point. www.trephelix.com/events - Have an imperative subject to talk about, contact Spear Winslow.
#trephelix#Ventures#Trep Helix#startups#AI#Artificial intelligence#ML#machine learning#Big data#Ventures VA#Startups VA
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