#canada loves eugenics

[liminalweirdo]

In today's update of Canada Loves Eugenics, 10,064 people died in 2021 through medically assisted death in Canada, and while MAID supposedly exists to allow people with severe, incurable illnesses to die with dignity on their own terms, MAID is generally used because disabled and mentally ill people cannot access governmental assistance and are living in poverty.

The Canadian government is actively pushing poor, disabled people to death.

oh and by the way, Canada performs more organ transplants from MAID donors than any other country in the world.

"Six disability rights and religious advocates told Reuters that the pace of the planned changes to the assisted death framework in Canada brings additional risks of people opting for MAID because they are unable to access social services - the lack of which could exacerbate their suffering." - source

Anyway, it's basically like this: the USA has the Americans with Disabilities Act and Canada has MAID

#disability #ableism #canada loves eugenics #canpol #canada #maid #medical assistance in dying #human rights #disability rights #disability community #class war #eugenics

[airmoss]

I'm glad allcanadianpolitics is alive and kicking and talking about the eugenics program I'm considering applying to

#cw death #tw death #MAiD #we here in canada love eugenics

[makingqueerhistory]

I know you used to have a book wishlist, where did that go?

Yes I did, it was gently retired, though we had some very generous people who sent me books (THANK YOU <3 I continue to be shocked and warmed by this community's generosity) I found that I am much more of an audiobook person. I have trouble keeping information in my mind if I am reading it physically. That being said, I have also begun requesting books from my local library, which has been a massive resource that has assisted me more than I could have imagined before I started using it.

That being said, there are some books that I wish I had access to still, just because they don't have audiobooks. Currently my list is made up of:

Feeling Backward: Loss and the Politics of Queer History by Heather Love: "Feeling Backward" makes an effort to value aspects of historical gay experience that now threaten to disappear, branded as embarrassing evidence of the bad old days before Stonewall. It looks at early-twentieth-century queer novels often dismissed as "too depressing" and asks how we might value and reclaim the dark feelings that they represent. Heather Love argues that instead of moving on, we need to look backward and consider how this history continues to affect us in the present.

Prairie Fairies: A History of Queer Communities and People in Western Canada, 1930-1985 by Valerie Korinek: Prairie Fairies draws upon a wealth of oral, archival, and cultural histories to recover the experiences of queer urban and rural people in the prairies. Focusing on five major urban centres, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Regina, Edmonton, and Calgary, Prairie Fairies explores the regional experiences and activism of queer men and women by looking at the community centres, newsletters, magazines, and organizations that they created from 1930 to 1985.　

Racism and the Making of Gay Rights: A Sexologist, His Student, and the Empire of Queer Love by Laurie Marhoefer: Racism and the Making of Gay Rights shows how Hirschfeld laid the groundwork for modern gay rights, and how he did so by borrowing from a disturbing set of racist, imperial, and eugenic ideas. Yet on his journey with Li, Hirschfeld also had inspiring moments - including when he formulated gay rights as a broad, anti-colonial struggle and as a movement that could be linked to Jewish emancipation. Following Hirschfeld and Li in their travels through the American, Dutch, and British empires, from Manila to Tel Aviv to having tea with Langston Hughes in New York City, and then into exile in Hitler's Europe, Laurie Marhoefer provides a vivid portrait of queer lives in the 1930s and of the turbulent, often-forgotten first chapter of gay rights.

If you wanted to fund my ability to get my queer hands on these books, here is the link:

#dont feel pressured to pay #and know any and all donations are split #so not all of it is going directly into my book fund lol #answered

[goaliekisses]

Among the appointees are hockey player Sidney Crosby and actor and comedian Eugene Levy.

Crosby, a forward for the Pittsburgh Penguins, has been appointed an officer of the Order of Canada. The 35-year-old from Cole Harbour, N.S., has 1,452 career NHL points, which puts him at 17th in the league all-time.

According to Rideau Hall, Crosby earned the appointment "for being one of the greatest hockey players of all time and for supporting community service initiatives for youth." 

sid being mentioned with eugene levy… love it

#CONGRATS TO HIM #sidney crosby #pittsburgh penguins

[dangara2610]

Hard to do Crossover

Time to time, watching the lots of crossovers fans do about Varian with anything, I thought about one of the fandom I liked and spend lots of years in it

Does any of you knew about the Hetalia fandom ?

Humanized countries anime, before the creation of Countryballs and Country humans but after the old newspaper cartoons about each one nation spirit like "Uncle Sam" for the USA and "John Bull"for the UK?

(My mind playing easy and silly after a whole day playing difficult xD)

Varian and Hugo cosplaying France and England because I can't decide which one fits better 🫠😎🤓

Super silly draw ~ hahahhahahahah

(My mind playing difficult before that fanart)

I tried to find who in the Hetalia cast would be fitting for a role swap with the Vat7k characters, but they are so different from each other , even the similar things between them have to be pushed xD

Long time ago, my favorite fanfics and fancomics were "Historical accurrate" focused, but most the content was about romance , so I endup becoming a big fan of:

FrUK : France x United Kingdom

USUK : United States x United Kingdom

Usually along with "FACE family" Dynamic, France and England as parents , Canada and America as adoptive sons

Then , I got a more deep liking for England , so I would get any England x (any other country) material

As well for USA x (any other country)

Varian: From a germanic country, so we have some to pick between the very Germany, or Prussia, Austria, Switzerland, Lietchestein, Bravaria or Kugel Mugel, but most of them have a serious stoic attitude

Except Prussia, who likes to play funny, is clean and disciplinated , writing a lot for his journal so everyone can know about his amazing adventures and goals, high self esteem, able to play teacher/mother/father/older brother role to any who wants to take lessons from him or who needs him, during the manga pages (and anime chapters) about Industrial revolution, he and his lil bro showed great engineering skills and enthusiasm.

Hey, when we think about Rapunzel, we were taught about her Germanic origins, then on the Tangled making, there was a mention about how the team wanted Germany as main influence and a few of Spain influence , and maybe not lots of you saw it, but there was a fanart about Prussia and Hungary cosplaying Eugene and Rapunzel that got re-posted on most old Facebook accounts about Hetalia

So feels like Prussia role was already taken at the Tangled cast, as well, Hungary on her cannon scenes, used a frying pan as weapon too.

Next pick for a fitting role for Varian, it may be , America? I don't know xD , joyful, friendly, strong, innovative, but doesn't knows how to measure his skills or social contact so he endups pushing everyone boundaries or ignoring safety codes, loves heroic tales and wants to be the hero of the situation at sigh, too bad he makes exaggerated bad takes due to his inexperience.

England, either for Hugo or Varian

A tsundere who suffered social exclusion during his early existence, who fought all the way to stop being poor, forgotten and put aside to reach riches, glory and power, not losing contact with his magical paranormal friends, yet, having difficult times to accept friendship or love from others, facing betrayings as well, a little bit of low self esteem, trying to compensate with other things (as with aggression and search for more power), for innovation, he tried engineering but his ideas were too eccentric so he would end up laughed at for his impractical machines, yet, searching ways to improve.

I need to make this shorter so I'll skip talking about France

As well about China or any other asian country for Yong

Sadly for Nuru , there are very few African or Oceanic based characters, most of them on a sole official videogame of the series with not enough screen time on the show, yet, nice to search around the fanbase

Any way, find something for an "accurrate " role swap is difficult, maybe cosplaying would be the only thing I would fantasy about xDdDDDDdD

The only "legit" version for a Crossover of Hetalia and Tangled would be creating brand new OCs of each one of the locations in the map of this world, specially about the 7 kingdoms

Bayangor looks kin to any country from Southeast Asia , so I would pick Indonesia (the series got a femenine character sketch, but then, changed it for a male one, either way, just for the manga and not the anime)

Galcrest and Nesdernia would certainly be about native american communities, sadly, most of them are drawn as OCs for the fandom, no actual cannon characters

Pittsford and Corona looks germanic enough, hehe, we could pick similarities with other European countries

The Dark Kingdom gave hints about Scotland , so it's easier

Ingvarr, according to some post, was supposed to be Persian/ Arabic influence, as well for Koto, African influence, but is vague, and both of them, reversing the role of colonization, looking like ... O dear, I have to go.

And that's all, I have to go 🥭⛅🥭🌟🌳🌟🫧⛅🫧⛅🌳🌟🌀🌀🌻 thanks for reading 🪷🌠🏵️🌹🏵️🌹🏵️🌹🏵️

#varian #tangled varian #tts varian #varian the alchemist #varian tts #rta varian #rapunzels tangled adventure #varian and the seven kingdoms #hugo vat7k #vat7k #vat7k fanart #yong vat7k #varian vat7k #varian and the 7 kingdoms #vat7k nuru #princess nuru #nuru vat7k #Hetalia #hetalia world stars #hetalia axis powers #hetalia headcanons #hetalia fanart #hetalia fruk #hetalia usuk #hetalia china #hetalia seychelles #hetalia america #Hetalia England #hetalia france

[shion-yu]

Quick Guide to My (Modern) OCs, all whom live in the greater NYC area. Inspired by @suddencolds, I would so love to know if my guys look like how you imagined. Toyhouse links included for full biographies & lots more pics/IRL faceclaims, but really please imagine them however you like!

Albert Eugene Mikhael - "Al." Born December 10, 1979 in Ohio, USA. Jewish-American. Illustrator. Has Cystic Fibrosis. Ex-husband to Oliver (deceased), partner to Theo. [Picrew] [Toyhouse]

Theodore Marsh - "Theo." Born May 16, 1981 in Ontario, Canada. British-Canadian, 1/4 Trinidadian. Lawyer. Moved to the US for college.

Clifford Eugene Barrows - "Cliff." Born September 7, 1992 in New Jersey, USA. Japanese-German. Went to college for law, tutors occasionally. Has sarcoidosis and gastroparesis. Husband to Elliot, father to Amelia. [Picrew] [Toyhouse]

Elliot Rodriguez Herrera - Born on February 14, 1992 in Juarez, Mexico. Mexican, adopted at 6 years old to the US by an Italian-American family. Went to college for musical theater, now a successful vlogger and musician.

Ryoga Hassan Fujioka - "Ryo." Born June 3, 1997 in New York, USA. Japanese-Afghanee. Veterinarian. Partner to Alex. [Picrew] [Toyhouse]

Alexander Semenov - "Alex." Born March 22, 1997 in California, USA. American, 1/4 Russian. Orphaned and went to live with Shu at 12 years old. Musician, co-act to Elliot.

Shumei Wei - "Shu." Born August 28, 1974 in New York, USA. Chinese-American. Graphic designer. Father to Alex. Ex-boyfriend Julian, current boyfriend Paul. [Picrew] [Toyhouse]

#shionwrites #oc: albert #oc: theo #oc: cliff #oc: elliot #oc: ryo #oc: alex #oc: shu #whump oc

[bijoumikhawal]

I need to move this from my "to read" list to my "have read" list (like over 50 other damn things) but this tweet had me thinking about the coining of amatonormativity again, which was done in Minimizing Marriage: Marriage, Morality, and the Law by Elizabeth Brake.

I realize tumblr is brain poisoned as fuck about this still, given that I believe I saw a post calling amatonormativity "rape apologia" as recently as 2020, but part of why this tweet is fucking stupid is that being in a relationship is smart economic sense, has been for a very long time, and Minimizing Marriage actually... discusses this.

Even living together without papers is economically beneficial. Rent is priced above a third of a lot of people's income. Two people's income, however... and of course, we're all familiar with the "getting married for tax benefits" joke. The only people for whom it's not economically beneficial to have a partner/be married in Biden's economy are the disabled, because the law specifically punishes you if you're on benefits for being married, because of eugenics.

Marriage itself is in large part a matter of finances. You're creating a unit which has joint finances, and historically your family would benefit economically from marrying off their kids (dowries/dowers/bride prices, and not needing to provide for as many people, and I'll note here that this is still true of many families today).

To underscore this: I recently saw an anecdote that this is part of why child marriage occurs in the US and Canada. Now, I did not see this person link academic or journalistic discussion about this aspect specifically, but I'm inclined to believe it.

The flip side of this tweet as well is that the OP is basically saying "the less you live the more you can work, and some people do not deserve to live" like it's a good thing, and someone replied to her stating that sentiment even more clearly, which immediately brought to mind this quote by Marx- "The less you eat, drink, buy books, go to the theatre or to balls, or to the pub, and the less you think, love, theorize, sing, paint, fence, etc., the more you will be able to save and the greater will become your treasure which neither moth nor rust will corrupt—your capital. The less you are, the less you express your life, the more you have, the greater is your alienated life and the greater is the saving of your alienated being." This sentiment compounds with the fact that discouraging the poor (who often overlap with the disabled, the racialized lessers, the queer, etc) from having relationships, families, and/or children, is again, part of eugenics.

#Cipher talk #amatonormativity #The fight for marriage is and was a fight for economic equality (disabled people still haven't won that right in the US) #The fight against marriage and the family and a dozen other things related to this is the fight to destroy these kinds of economic #Pressures and bonds that necessarily exclude people from having full status and full protection in society #Socially and economically #Not to destroy family or committed relationships but to destroy the bludgeoning they can be used for in presence or absence

[toomuchlovereviews]

Rabid (2019)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Basically a parasitic Devil Wears Prada.

This movie was insane because of all the things they wanted to comment on and critique. Capitalism, Canada’s medical system, eugenics, the foster care system, PTSD, vegetarianism, cult-like followers, self-confidence, the list continues. But the things is - it was all done really well. No stone left unturned sort of a thing.

Something worth mentioning, the team that made the prosthetics for this film deserve a raise. So well done. And the writers that worked on the medical/science aspects made sure the script was compelling and not boring. I kiss you all on the forehead. Muah.

Canada can’t do every piece of media well, but I luckily had two good horror movies in a row.

OH MY GOD. I am going to need pre-2020 films to stop mirroring the pandemic. It’s alarming.

You should watch this if you:

are looking for some good ol’ Canadian horror

(you know it, you love it) medical malpractice!!!!

Similar titles:

Ginger Snaps trilogy (hot girl eats boys)

Jennifer’s Body (2008) (hot girl eats boys)

#movie #movie review #review #horror #horror kick #criterion on demand #critereon #rabid #rabid 2019 #jen soska #sylvia soska #laura vandervoort #benjamin hollingsworth #ted alherton #hanneke talbot #stephen huszar #mackenzie gray #vortex media

[aromantictendi]

SNW s2e3

Canada doesn't feature much in Trek. Toronto was fun. Also sorry about causing the Eugenics Wars, I guess.

I continue to love La'an and her angst. Also enjoying Pelia and her hoarded stolen antiquities.

I liked the emphasis that Star Trek's Earth is money-free Utopia in this episode, sometimes I feel like New Trek's lost sight of that a bit.

The chess scene was fun. SNW definitely likes to highlight Kirk as a tactician.

#snw #snw spoilers #star trek

[emily-mooon]

Info dump on the 80s OCs

Hello Dearie!

Since this story is relatively new, I don’t have much but I’ll do my best to explain the concept and some other random ideas I have.

-the setting is a small town in Canada that starts in the fall of 1982 and I think will end at some point in 1983. It’s also loosely based on my hometown since it’s also quite small

- the plot revolves around the local high schools annual battle of the bands that started sometime in the late 60s. It’s also apart of a wider provincial battle of the bands that’s hosted in Toronto that if you win, you are offered a scholarship to one of the many music programs at any Canadian university or College of your choice.

-After seeing Joy Division live while visiting some cousins in Manchester, George vows that one day he’ll make his own band and enter it into battle of the bands with the hopes of winning. When he’s in his final year, that’s when he takes action. Maria sees one of his posters and despite not knowing how to play any of the instruments he needs, she decides to join as an escape from her parents control.

- George and Maria make a deal that if he teaches her how to play bass, she will help him with his math and science homework as they are not his best subjects and he needs good marks if he wants to go off to school.

- Eugene and Becky join a bit later as the guitarist and drummer respectively. For a bit George and Maria have to go hunting for them.

- all of the other bands are based in different music genres that were popular at the time. As I’ve mentioned, George’s band is post punk and starts off as a Joy Division cover band (something I have not mentioned)

-a possible romance blossoms between George and Maria. I’m not saying anything else that’s it.

-There’s also a romance between Becky and Lucy that’s lightly inspired by Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert of New Order (and in the formers case at one point Joy Division). I just love the idea of a keyboardist and a drummer falling in love I think it’s cute.

-Eugene is lightly inspired by guy who was in my music class who just so happened to play guitar (it was on purpose btw).

I think I’m going to end it here since I do plan on turning it into a comic. I’ve got two pages sketched out and I don’t want to spoil too much and I think I’ve done that enough already.

Thanks for the ask!

#know that I also really want to make a folk punk band but can’t cause violent femmes first album did not come out until 1983 #oc asks #mutuals! :)

[liminalweirdo]

Endangering Disabled People’s Lives is a Policy Choice

The ongoing rate of COVID cases, hospitalizations, and deaths we are seeing in the US isn’t inevitable; it’s a policy choice.

It’s a policy choice to lift mask mandates while we’re still seeing over 50,000 new cases and over 1,500 new deaths due to COVID each day – likely underestimates due to unreported cases. It’s a policy choice to ignore COVID as the ongoing mass disabling event that it is, by not funding research and resources for those struggling with long COVID. It’s a policy choice to not enact paid sick leave and paid family leave to cover all workers. It’s a policy choice to not invest in free childcare for all and healthy conditions for teachers and children in schools. It’s a policy choice to not continue recurring, direct cash stimulus payments so that people don’t have to put their lives at risk in their workplaces. It’s a policy choice to lift eviction moratoriums, conduct encampment sweeps, and fail to invest in affordable housing for all. It’s a policy choice to continue incarcerating people in the pandemic hotspots of jails, prisons, and detention centers, instead of decarcerating as many people as possible as quickly as possible, as countless organizers and public health professionals have demanded. It’s a policy choice to invest more into policing than public health, even in the midst of one of the deadliest disease events in US history.

Public health must do better at challenging and undoing our field’s entrenched ableism.

We can choose a different way forward, a way that protects the health of all of us, starting with disabled people, those most at risk of morbidity and mortality, and those who have been historically and structurally marginalized. We must hold our government accountable for the policy choices that have led to the thousands of lives lost to COVID-19 every day in the US. We must create pathways for disabled people to enter the fields of public health and medicine and to help shape the policies that affect us. We must invest in public health research that addresses gaps in data about disabled people so that we can create inclusive evidence-based policy towards health equity. We must center disability and racial justice not just in word, but in action. We must continue to wear masks, get vaccinated and boosted, and engage in hard conversations with our families, our friends, and our communities to do the same.

The pandemic isn’t over. Not for disabled people, immunocompromised people, children under 5, elders, or our families and loved ones. Not for the millions of people who have lost a loved one to COVID in 2022 alone. Not for the millions who have developed long COVID and continue to struggle with physical and psychological symptoms, months or years after having the virus. We must stop acting like the danger has passed.

- source

#covid #ableism #disablism #eugenics #canada loves eugenics

[scaryarcade]

anyway. i don't feel super inclined to spend more energy on strangers online who genuinely believe i think the state should kill disabled people. summing up before i go to bed:

the follower who asked to share their thoughts anonymously in this reblog is a survivor of a suicide attempt & subsequent forced hospitalization, as they explain in the post. i don't share all of their opinions but i also have no interest in challenging their personal views on death and bodily autonomy. i'd love for people to actually read it all the way through and think about what it says and ask yourselves if you genuinely think this person is saying they want the state to have the power to euthanize people for being suicidal.

generally i think any service that provides assisted suicide to non-terminally ill patients under capitalism & the current standard of healthcare is inherently unethical. doctors suggesting euthanasia to (in particular) poor & chronically ill patients, like what's happening in canada, is eugenics, full stop.

i do think being able to do whatever you want with your own body is a fundamental human right. this includes things that are harmful. there are no caveats or exceptions or whatever to this. yes, this includes suicide. these are my feelings as someone who's been chronically suicidal since childhood & has thus lived with the threat of abuse and forced treatment and institutionalization over my head for a very long time. i'm tired of watering them down to be more palatable to people.

you can feel free to block me & say whatever dumb shit you want about me if you read this and still somehow come away thinking i want psychiatry and/or the state to have any control over the lives & agency of disabled people. if that's what you genuinely think i have nothing else to say to you anyway

#abyssposting #🐛 #antipsych

[lola-andheruniverse]

Sharing this because maybe another fellow caryler feels the same way:

I allowed myself to read a Caryl fanfic (The Girl Next Door by That1VT on 9L) that was opened on my browser since the "caryl spin-off is now a ride with zombies spin-off" news broke all of our hearts. I tried to stay away from any caryl content, fanom or canon , because it hurt too much thinking how MMB got screwed over. But yesterday with the last SDCC and all I just said to myself "fuck this, I won't let AMC wrongdoings steal anymore of the love I have for this story". And so I stayed up to 2am reading my fanfic. And it was amazing, to say the least. I felt happy to be immersed on my caryl love again.

And I realized that (just like with Harry Potter and JK) Carol and Daryl are MINE. I've watched them for years, I suffered with them, I laughed with them, I hoped and prayed for their happiness for a decade. I don't care if they are fictional characters and are copyrighted to AMC, SG, whoever else. I love and cherish them as real people. All I feel about them is pretty real. So they're mine! As a fan, I'm entitled to them. I am allowed to enjoy them as I see fit and I don't want to miss them anymore or feel bad when I see a gifset or a fanvideo.

So I'll watch 11C because it's the last of their canon story being told and I don't want to miss it. I'll separate Daryl and NR on my mind because Daryl is so much bigger and important and who I really care about. I'll choose to see how MMB's love for Carol shines throught my screen and appreciate all she did for this character by watching her last scenes. Because I know for sure that saying goodbye to Carol will be horrible, but MMB is the one who is suffering the most here. As her fan and a Carol fan I want to support MMB the only way I really can, and that is saying goodbye to Carol with her.

Besides Carol and Daryl, I love TWD. I loved it for years. It's my comfort show. I love so many of the characters, althought most of my favourites are long gone. I still have Jerry and Eugene and Lydia and Aaron and Gabriel. They are also MINE. I want to say goodbye to them. I want to watch their final scenes and send them off to the forever fanfiction land.

I also respect the shit of Ross Marquand, Josh McDermitt, Christian Serratos and Seth Gilliam for staying on this shitty show when their characters were underutilized, ignored or wrongly vilified by the writing and/or the fandom. Like MMB, they never gave up on their characters or the show even though they probably should have a long time ago. I want to say goodbye to all of these marvelous actors and characters who deserved better.

So, yeah, I'll watch 11C. I won't give AMC no profit whatsoever because I'm not from USA/Canada/Europe so I've being using not legal ways to watch the show for years now. I don't own any official merchandise because they are extremely expensive where I live. I don't really generate any buzz online because Tumblr is the only social media I talk about the show. AMC won't get a fucking dime from me.

I'll do my best to enjoy 11C even thought I'm depressed and angry and sad. I deserve to say goodbye to TWD and to Caryl on my own terms. So that's what I'll do. I just hope I was happy and excited about it too. And then, fanfiction all the way. I WILL GO DOWN WITH THIS FUCKING SHIP! CARYL FUCKING ON!

#twd #caryl #caryl positivity #kind of #i just love this fucking show too much #caryl on #melissa mcbride

[mask131]

About youth fantasy or fantasy for children: it is quite easy to know when a fantasy work for children or preteens works. Just read it again when you are older and see if it is still strong. 

I’ll take two series to illustrate this.

First series: Deltora Quest. It was one of my favorite book series as a child, one of my first introductions to literary fantasy, and I adored it. I read it as a young adult, and the series was just as good - if not better.

I originally read it for the magic, the monsters, the adventures, the... well, the fantasy. I once jokingly called Deltora Quest “The Lord of the Rings for kids and in Australia”, but it is true that A) Deltora Quest reuses all the classical elements of the “traditional” fantasy genre, mostly high fantasy/epic fantasy (a group of heroes on a secret mission, an evil sorcerous overlord invading the country, a lost heir to the crown must be found, various tribes must be united to fight the villain, there’s monsters and witches at every corner...) ; but B) It does so in a simple, easy, flowing way that makes it a good and enjoyable read for kids (even though it isn’t an oversimplification - there’s still twists and turns and reveals, keeping up the mystery and the tension). 

However when I read it again with more maturity (and more knowledge of the fantasy genre), I found something entirely new. More than just fascinating visuals, gripping descriptions and epic adventures, I found beneath it solid messages and adult themes. I found in it a setting that contrasts from traditional “European fantasies” due the novel being written by an Australian and thus the fictional country of Deltora being inspired by Australia ; I found serious themes about things such as dealing with grief or fighting depression ; I found a balanced trio of heroes covering various ages and genders (with quite a handful of strong, powerful or heroic female figures across the story) ; I found books that get better upon re-read, and that are more adult than they seem, and that works to be quite unique in the general fantasy landscape. A good exemple of the brilliantness of Deltora Quest is how for example they handle their ecological message: because, walking in Tolkien’s path, in this series the evil is manifested through factories, urban nightmare, demented chemistry, pollution, eugenics and other mad science, while goodness equals a fertile land, a bright landscape, a peaceful nature, healthy beasts... BUT as I said before, Deltora Quest is an Australian work and given Australians know quite well how flora and fauna can be deadly, the nature of Deltora is not all bright and happy and colorful : it has numerous lethal, hurtful, evil and ugly things in it (that in fact, the villains often turn onto the Deltorans themselves). But here is the important message: these things are still part of Deltora, they are part of nature, while the forces of pollution and destruction the heroes face are unnatural. By accepting nature, you accept both its good and bad, what can heal and kill you - but it is better to have that than just a poisonous and filfthy wasteland. A nuanced, interesting take on the ecological message - again, in a series primarily aimed at kids and pre-teens! 

That was the good example.

Now the bad.

Amos Daragon. I don’t know if English-speakers have heard of this book series because it comes from French Canada - it was a big success there, which led to it coming to France and it had its hour of glory there. I bought Amos Daragon after having read the Deltora Quest books because they both had these ultra-cool 3D covers that were so unique at the time. And I remember that, as a kid, when I read it, I loved it a lot. It was the story of one boy who had to collect masks controlling the four elements to help the world, in grip between a battle of good and evil gods, and all the while he had adventures in various countries with various creatures inspired by all sorts of folklores and mythologies.

So when MANY years later I found back my collection, I decided to read them again to refresh my memory. I was bored, I cringed, I wanted to barf sometimes. This series not only did not age well, but also could not resist the maturity and knowledge I had gained with time. It was filled with SO many problems. For example, the Amos Daragon world is filled with gods forming a vast and rich pantheon : in fact these gods are the same as real-world gods, the various mythologies of our world mixed together in one big fantasy world. I didn’t mind as a kid because I was a fan of mythology and had never seen such “mixing-of-mythologies” work before. But as an adult, I realized how... bad it was done. The gods in the stories were basically cliche and stereotypes of themselves, sometimes completely reinterpreted or reinvented, notably because as I said there are GOOD and EVIL gods and so each god had to be sorted in one or another category... Which leads to massive reinterpretations of course. Similarly, the world of Amos Daragon has LOTS of creatures coming from all mythologies coexisting together, and a lot of fictional populations that correspond to real-life cultures (your typical medieval England countries, your fantasy-Arabia stand-in, your fictional China empire, etc...). Or at least I REMEMBERED these fictional people being expies. What a surprise I had upon finding out these populations had the same name as our real-life people : they were for example the “Vikings” and the “Dogons”. All existing alongside fictional countries in a clearly fictional world that had no relationship to our own. It was massively confusing as it was unclear whether this was supposed to be an alternate version of our world or a purely fictional one. And oh boy, let me tell you the depiction of the Dogons (who are basically all of your African people thrown in one nationality) does not age well... And the Asian martial-artist elderly “wise trickster” mentor? Well let’s say it is a type of character that would fit in 80s America but not today. It seems almost that the author was just very lazy and did a hasty patchwork without thinking much of the consequences (but apparently it is just a standard way of things when it comes to French-Canadian media? I’ll come back to it one of those days).

Okay, this is a setting problem, but what about the story then? Is it any good? Well... To be fair, there are good ideas and good elements in Amos Daragon. There’s a reason I liked this series in the first place. There are fascinating concepts and plot points. There are good elements sure, and the author clearly knows his folktales, fairytales and legends well enough to weave on traditional themes - and some reinterpretations of the mythological beings are interesting, don’t get me wrong! But that’s not enough to make a good story, far from it. The knowledge the author has in folklore comes to bite him back as if you know your basic stories and legends, a lot of the outcomes are predictable, a lot of the enigmas easy to solve. The story has all sorts of cliche of fantasy and youth stories - and not in a good way. It can please and entertain a kid who hasn’t read much or who doesn’t know much - but as soon as you know better, the story loses its charm. 

The biggest offense however, the problem that immediately jumped to my eyes upon reading, beyond the insensitive (borderline racist) depictions and the use of mythologies and cultures as building blocks to play with randomly (in many ways Amos Daragon is a sort of anti-Avatar The Last Airbender), a good part of what made the story not so enjoyable as an adult and what swallowed up the good elements... The main protagonist, Amos Daragon, is a Mary Sue. One of the purest and most unfiltered examples of a Mary Sue I ever saw. I am not kidding. As a kid, of course I didn’t know what a Mary Sue was - I didn’t even had Internet. But now I can claim it: Amos Daragon is the example of a successful Mary Sue in children literature. He is beautiful, strong, talented, clever, cunning, virtuous, always purer and better than anyone else. He always manages to defeat his ennemies, he is adored by all his friends, he can find the solution of everything (even when the deduction or solutions are just... so bizarre and unlogical) - and of course, as he gathers the masks of powers, he becomes a super-hero that saves everyone and is one of the most powerful beings in the world... Come on. Even when (spoilers) at the end of the series he meets four other mask-wearers such as him, supposed to be his equal in everything... He still manages to be the cleverest, most talented and ressourceful of them all, making the other three look like losers. 

So yeah. BAD re-read.

  This experience however proves what I said. Good fantasy for children (and in general, good works for children) can be read again as an adult and still somehow enjoyed. Because bad fantasy for children (and maybe by extension bad literature for children) doesn’t resist the power of maturity, knowledge or experience - all the illusions pierced, all the tricks dispelled, all the laziness, shortcuts or lack of care revealed into light ; while good works will be works written by adults, for future adults, written with the knowledge that children aren’t stupid, and that reading is also a matter of discovering, learning and maturing. 

#fantasy #children literature #deltora quest #amos daragon #youth fantasy #fantasy for children #book series #fantasy book series

[heartbreak-eugene]

💔 Intro / Pinned Post 💔

Heyo, my name is Eugene, or Gene, please just call me Gene lol 💜

I am a transmasc dude from some random place in Canada with too much time on his hands. I am a disabled individual but I still try my best to participate in my community and I DO have a life outside of the interwebs despite what you may have heard!

This blog will mainly be used for reblogging stuff I enjoy or talking about my selfships/f/os and my interest. I will occasionally post art as well!

Main interests: 💜

Bobs Burgers

Archer FX

The Last of Us, RDR, various other video games

Mother Mother, Pink Floyd, other musical artists etc..

Sports, mainly hockey. (Bruins, Red Sox, whathaveyou)

I also sometimes rb political or other random things like that.

My main f/os who I love very dearly and have a special place in my heart:

🧡 Cheryl/Carol/Cherlene Tunt (Archer FX) 🧡

Bob Belcher (Bob's Burgers)

Ivy (Carmen Sandiego 2019 Netflix series)

Abby Anderson (The Last of Us Part II)

I have a wide select others that I consider my f/os, but these are my mains. Please ask me about them at any time! I'm always accepted of asks. I use my truesona for any self shipping needs. That automatically makes any of my selfships human x anthro. If that bothers you then you feel free to block me.

Please be aware before following that there may sometimes be NSFW themes here, nothing extreme as this is TUMBLR, but I would prefer if minors did not follow me for their own safety.

I am 100% against harassment. PLUR all day, everyday. I do not condone any harassment or hate over any ships, characters, themes, kinks, anything of the sort, etc.. If that makes you uncomfortable you are free to block me at any point. If you have any previous issues with me it can be brought up privately.

Thanks for reading! I'm always up to meet more people and make more friends in the selfship community. This stuff means a lot to me :3

#intro post #selfshipper #anti harassment

[scotianostra]

Marie Charlotte Carmichael Stopes  founder of first modern birth control clinic, was born in Edinburgh on October 15th 1880.

At first, Stopes was home-schooled, but from 1892 to 1894 she attended St George’s School for Girls in Edinburgh, her studies  Her studies of paleobiology took her to universities in London, England and Munich, Germany, then returning to England, she became the first female member of the science faculty at the University of Manchester.  She was a very well-educated woman; she was a woman who advocated for eugenics and the women’s rights movements.

Marie Stopes was a palaeobotanist who became the United Kingdom’s greatest advocate for birth control after the 1918 publication of her book Married Love. Trained in biology and geology, she had her doctorate by the time she was 24 years old, when she became Manchester University’s first female lecturer in science. 

Marie studied and did field work in Japan and Canada, but after the annulment of her first marriage, she set out to educate women on sex in marriage. The book Married Love was a controversial bestseller (banned in the United States); she followed it with Wise Parenthood that same year. 

She and her second husband opened a clinic in London in 1921 to provide birth control and health care — but not abortions — to married women. After 1935, Stopes stopped publishing scientific articles and focused on her fame as an author and advocate for birth control. 

It wasn’t all good for Stopes in some ways was a flawed character, she was known to be a crazed fan of eugenics, in favor of sterilizing “inferior” members of society, a certain 20th century dictator and war mongered had the same idea in his nazi doctrination.According to one source  "Marie was an elitist, an idealist, interested in creating a society in which only the best and beautiful should survive”  Stopes's enthusiasm for eugenics and race improvement was in line with many intellectuals and public figures of the time.

Marie Stopes International was founded nearly 20 years after her death and provides contraception and abortion services around the world to this day.

Stopes was even remembered in a playground rhyme:

Jeanie, Jeanie, full of hopes, Read a book by Marie Stopes, But, to judge from her condition, She must have read the wrong edition.

Stopes was acquainted with many literary figures of the day. She had long-standing correspondences with George Bernard Shaw and Aylmer Maude, and argued with H. G. Wells. Noël Coward wrote a poem about her, and she edited Lord Alfred Douglas' letters. She unsuccessfully petitioned Neville Chamberlain to arrange for Douglas to receive a civil list pension; the petition was signed by Arthur Quiller-Couch, John Gielgud, Evelyn Waugh and Virginia Woolf, among others.[70] The general secretary of the Poetry Society, Muriel Spark, had an altercation with Stopes; according to Mark Bostridge, Spark "found herself lamenting that Stopes's mother had not been better informed on [birth control]

Stopes died on 2nd October 1958, aged 77, from breast cancer at her home in Dorking, Surrey.

#Scotland #scottish #anglo-scottish #birth control #family planning #eugenics #history