#i did some research for this but I am not Jewish so please let me know if I got anything wrong!

[sochilll]

For the prompt list, can you do 18 as kleinsen? I need wholesome Hanukkah fics lmao. Also I loved ur work during October! You’re a great writer and I’d definitely be fine if you did it again!

Thank you so much ;_; <3 there are a few I might sneak in if no one requests them just for funsies so we’ll see!

18. Hanukkah + kleinsen

Prompt list

“You’re gonna stretch it out.” Jared smacked Evan’s hands so he stopped pulling on his sweater sleeves.

“I know. Sorry. I’m just nervous.” Evan pushed his sleeves up. “What if they hate me?”

Jared squinted at him. “Why would they hate you?”

“I don’t know.”

“I’ve been out to my extended family for two years, Evan. They don’t care.”

“I don’t mean because I’m a guy. What if they just… hate me as a person?” Evan mumbled.

“We don’t have time for you to spiral right now. You should’ve done that before we left.” Jared took his hand and pulled him up the driveway. “I love you and they’ll love you and my mom already loves you. It’s gonna be fine.” He squeezed Evan’s hand and then pushed the door open.

Jared’s house was packed with family. There was a group of aunts sitting on the couch and a collection of older cousins huddled over a game board on the floor. Laughter and a sweet, delicious smell came from the kitchen, music played over the chatter, and there were at least six kids running around between it all.

One of them, a boy of about five, skidded to a halt and screamed, “JARED!” He then proceeded to tackle Jared head on.

Jared grunted a bit but managed to hold his balance. “Hi Sam.”

It took approximately nine seconds for the rest of the kids to pile on, dragging Jared to the ground.

Jared looked up through the hands in his face at Evan, who was laughing at him. “See? You’re having fun already.”

The only kid who hadn’t participated in the tackling was a small girl in a blue dress and two messy braids who stood there staring at Evan. Evan waved. She didn’t wave back, just continued to stare.

Jared extracted himself from the children. “That’s Annie. She likes to stare. Come on let’s go find my mom.”

Jared pulled Evan through the house, stopping every few steps to hug an aunt or introduce Evan to a cousin. Finally, they made it to the kitchen. Jared’s mom was talking to her sisters, laughing loudly as she fried something on the stove.

“We’re here.” Jared announced.

“Oh, hi!” Jared’s mom hugged him. She turned to Evan, grinning. “We’re so happy you could come Evan.” She hugged him too.

Evan nodded as he was released. “Thanks for inviting me.”

“Of course.” She turned back to her pan and flipped over a latke. “We figured it was about time you met the whole family, huh?” She winked at Evan.

Jared cleared his throat. “We’re gonna go find something to eat.”

“Shouldn’t be hard.” One of his aunts chuckled. “Your mother’s been cooking all day.”

Sure enough, the kitchen table was loaded with food. Plates of all shapes and sizes were filled with snacks and desserts. Jared immediately reached for a knife and sliced into a dense loaf of bread. He slid a slice onto a plate and passed it to Evan.

“What is it?”

“Delicious.” Jared said, getting a slice for himself. He looked at Evan. “It’s chocolate babka. It’s kinda like bread, kinda like cake. It’s good, okay? Trust me.”

Usually, those words would be enough to make Evan hand the plate right back, but the smell was making his mouth water so he decided to trust Jared just this once. Jared was right. It was delicious.

Jared led him to the couch where Evan was bombarded with questions about work and school and Jared. He answered them as best he could, trying not to ramble or stumble over his words too much.

Funnily enough, it was Jared who first made the suggestion that they get some air. Evan hadn’t realized how badly he needed it until they were sitting on the wicker couch on the front porch, wrapped in a blanket from inside.

“Doing okay?” Jared asked sliding his arm around Evan’s waist.

“Yeah. Just… a lot of people. It’s not bad. It’s just-you know what holidays look like at my house.”

Jared nodded. He’d been to his fair share of Thanksgivings and Christmases with Evan and Heidi. They were small. It was nice, actually. Jared loved his family, he loved the chaos and noise of Hanukkah. But it was also nice to sit on the couch with Evan and his mom and watch cheesy movies. To have a dinner where everyone could hear each other and no one threw anything.

“It’s nice that your house gets so full during Hanukkah.” Evan said, pulling Jared from his thoughts. He smiled as a burst of laughter came from inside. “It’s… they’re all very welcoming.”

“You ready to go back?”

Evan pulled at his sleeves. “Maybe just another minute.”

“Okay.” Jared leaned over and kissed him. “One sec.” He disappeared inside.

Evan pulled the blanket tighter around his shoulders. This was far from he and Jared’s first December as a couple. But they had never been sure about Evan coming for Hanukkah and meeting Jared’s entire family. They tried last year but Evan chickened out at the last second. The prospect of meeting all the extended family members was too much. He’d met a few of them, the closest cousins and grandparents, at Jared’s high school graduation party. When this thing between them was still new. When Jared still blushed bright red at any mention of Evan being his boyfriend.

“Okay.” Jared stepped back onto the patio. He pulled the table closer to them and set a few things down. “If we’re staying out here we need sustenance,” he pointed to the plate full of sweets, “and entertainment.”

“Agreed.” Evan took a cookie from the plate.

“So I’m gonna teach you how to play dreidel.”

“Don’t you just spin it?”

“No. There are rules. Here.” He passed Evan a handful of smooth stones.

“Are these mancala pieces?”

“Shut up.” Jared said. “First we each put one in the middle.”

Evan did as he was told.

“Then we spin.” He showed Evan each side of the dreidel. “This side means you take everything in the middle. This side means you take half. This side means put one in. And this side means you do nothing. You win when you have all the pieces. Got it?”

“Sure.” Evan was arranging his mancala stones by color.

Jared handed him the dreidel. “You spin first.”

“Why?”

“Cause that’s the rule. Whoever I like best gets to go first.”

Evan snorted, shoving Jared. “You’re dumb.”

“I’m just buttering you up so you’re less mad when I kick your ass.”

“We’ll see about that.” Evan leaned over the table and spun the dreidel.

#i did some research for this but I am not Jewish so please let me know if I got anything wrong! #i feel like most of it was pretty simple so I’m hoping it’s all good #anyway this got away from me a bit lol but here you are! #thank you for the request and your kind words 💘💓💕💖💓💞 #my writing #kleinsen #deh #ask game

[stellae-de-baphometis]

Hello!! I am extremely new to demonolatry as I have very recently discovered it and I would like to know if you have any resources for beginners to read/watch that are helpful. Don’t worry about it if you don’t or if you simply don’t feel like it, I don’t mind!! Ty and have a nice day!!!!

Hey there! Terribly sorry for answering this so late. Xx So I've only been into Daemonolatry for about a year now, though I have learnt a lot thus far and I'd be more than happy to share some really important pointers to aid you in walking this path. ^.^

⭒☆·━━━━━━━•( 🌑 )•━━━━━━━·☆⭒

So first and foremost before I get into the main blogpost, I really cannot stress this enough...

Please educate yourself on closed practices and steer clear of cultural appropriation in your personal practises. There are a group of people in the Daemonolatry community who appropriate the heck out of Jewish daemons, especially Lilith. Judaism is a closed practise and therefore it's only respectful to not incorporate Judaism into your personal practises. Appropriating Judaism is actually a form of anti-Semitism, so please be mindful and respectful of these things! 🖤

I'm ashamed to admit this but I actually used to think it was completely fine to appropriate Jewish daemons last year, thanks to subreddits like r/DemonlatryPractices who would constantly try to push propaganda about Lilith being a "Mesopotamian Pagan Goddess" and other excuses for appropriating her. That same subreddit decided to attack me when I merely mentioned (on a completely different subreddit, mind you) that I disagreed with them appropriating Lilith, and in turn I got witch-hunted so that's great lmao. 🤡

Please avoid that subreddit at all costs, it's an absolute cesspit of cultural appropriation and passive anti-Semitism, and honestly they exhibit cult-like behaviour if you do so much as simply disagree with the appropriation of Jewish daemons. It's pretty disturbing... But yeah anyways sorry for rambling lol.

I'd also recommend avoiding people and organisations such as S. Connolly, V.K. Jehannum, Satan & Suns/Sons, BlackWitchCoven, The BecomeALivingGod Forum, The Satanic Temple, Joy Of Satan Ministries, The Order Of Nine Angles, scarletarosa (a user that literally exists here on Tumblr... yikes), etc. They engage in Jewish appropriation, and some of them even have ties to Nazism, racism, and other forms of bigotry too.

Some other Jewish daemons/spirits that you should avoid appropriating alongside Lilith are; Naamah, Agrat Bat Mahalath, Eisheth Zenunim, Samael, Abyzou, and the Grigori / Watcher Angels.

There are many other closed practices too, but if you'd like to do further research I can leave that up to you. ^.^

Okay sorry about that huge ramble lmao, just thought I would get that out of the way before getting into the main post because I think it's an important point to make and I don't want you to fall down a cultural appropriation apologist pipeline like I did at the beginning of my practise lol. Xx

Anyways, let's talk about The Infernal Divine!

+: GIF Credit :+

⭒☆·━━━━━━━•( 🌑 )•━━━━━━━·☆⭒

So we'll start with some really basic stuff. What exactly are daemons?

It's not commonly known outside of Daemonolatry that daemons themselves actually predate Christianity. The term 'demon' (alternatively spelled 'daemon') comes from the word 'daimon' which originates way back in Greek mythology. Daimons were a type of tutelary deity as well as guiding spirit whose divine nature was that of both mortals and deities. They were also sometimes regarded as bringers of knowledge, wisdom, and destiny. In this sense, they could be considered deities in their own right.

Contrary to popular belief, daemons are not evil and never were to begin with. It was only until the coming of Christianity that daemons as well as other gods were vilified and ostracised due to the cultish, radical, monotheistic mindset a lot of Christian extremists held back in the day. Lucifer himself was a "demonized" Roman god also known as Phosphorus, associated with light and the planet Venus. From that description alone, I don't really get evil vibes lol.

In my opinion, our world cannot simply be split up into just black or white, and daemons are no exception. Daemons aren't evil, but they aren't completely love and light either; They're neutral. Much like humans as well as the universe itself, the Infernal Divine are various shades of grey, and all daemons are unique and differ in personality.

⭒☆·━━━━━━━•( 🌑 )•━━━━━━━·☆⭒

So with all this in mind, what are some good resources that don't endorse and/or engage in appropriation of closed practices?

The YouTube channels ESOTERICA and ReligionForBreakfast have great information on the history of various religions and practises!

~ Book Recommendations ~

Livre des Esperitz

Dictionnaire Infernal

Pseudomonarchia Daemonum

Pandemonium: A Discordant Concordance Of Diverse Spirit Catalogues

I personally am working towards being a daemonolatry resource myself, but I haven't been able to post much lately due to my mental health issues. I also took an active break last year, as it was pointed out by a friend of mine that my belief of thinking it was fine to appropriate closed practises was obviously problematic, and so I took time off from posting in order to educate myself and delete any problematic blog posts I had made endorsing that in the past.

But nonetheless, I hope that what I was able to provide in this post was helpful! I wish you well on your spiritual path. 🖤

❀ ~ Many Blessings ~ ❀

-Korv

#asks #daemonolatry info posts #demonolatry #daemonolatry #demonology #daemonology #paganism #pagan #witchblr #theistic satanism #satanism #spiritual satanism #theistic luciferianism #luciferian #daemons #demons #infernal gods #infernal divine

[mindful-of-ideas]

A/N: This is kind of supposed to be set in the same universe as this post. So, basically, House is your dad, and you move in with him and Wilson. Since your dad is more distant, you go really close really quickly to James, so much you consider him like your dad. Also, I am not Jewish (as you might have guessed from previous posts), but I did do some research and tried to stick to stuff I knew. If I made any mistakes please, please, please tell me.

“Oh, what are you making,” you said, barging into the apartment.

“Hello to you too. I’m good, thanks. How about you?” James asked.

“Sorry,” you said, getting up on the counter by his workspace, “Hi, I’m good.”

You smiled at him. You hadn’t been living here for too long, yet it already felt like home.

“So, what is it?” you asked again.

If there was one thing you had learned right away, it was that James made the most amazing food ever. Yes, there was some burnt stuff or some new recipe with too much of one thing, but those were rare occasions. And it ranged from breakfast to dinner, from appetizers to desserts, and from quick snacks to five-course meals. Coming from a house where your mom often forgot to even buy some food, this made you feel like the luckiest person on Earth.

“So, what is it?” you asked again.

“Latkes,” he said, picking up a potato.

He already had a good amount grated thinly, yet he was still going.

“Latkes? What are those?”

“It’s like a potato pancake if you want. You grate some potatoes, combined them with matzo meal, egg, salt and pepper, and then you make pancakes and fry them. That’s it!”

“Matzo…? Well, it does sound really good,” you said, handing him yet another potato, “How come you’ve never made that before?”

“It just never occurred to me before now I guess.”

“Why?”

“Do you always ask that many questions or is it just today?”

“Sorry…”

“It’s something we typically eat during Hanukkah, that’s why,” he answered, “And don’t be sorry.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize it was… Happy Hanukkah! I can’t wait to taste them if that’s okay.”

You felt so dumb. You knew James was Jewish and you had been meaning to learn about Hanukkah so that, not only could you wish him a Happy Hanukkah on the right date, but also just to be nice. It was the least you could do for the man who welcomed you into his life like that.

“Why, of course, it’s okay! You think I’m making that many latkes only for myself?”

“I don’t know… I just… I don’t know much about Hanukkah and Judaism, I didn’t want to say something… wrong.”

“Well, what do you know,” he asked, smiling.

“I know about the menorah with the candles, there’s like eight plus one to light the others and it’s like to remember the days some… people spent in a… cave? Something about them having to save their oil so they would have enough light. And there are the dice, though I have no idea what it’s supposed to represent or how you’re supposed to use them… And well, you mentioned food so I guess there is other very specific food, just like Easter…”

You stopped there. That was everything you knew.

“I’m so sorry I don’t know more,” you added.

“Y/N, that is an awful lot,” he said, smiling at you proudly, “you don’t have to apologize, it’s okay to be curious about things and learn about them.”

You smiled letting out a sigh.

“Can I ask you something,” he asked.

“Yeah?”

“What does Christmas mean to you?”

“Ummm… that is a good question actually.”

“Take your time,” he said, going back to his potatoes.

To you, Christmas had never really been a religious thing. You actually had a hard time wrapping your head around the fact that some people still viewed it as a religious holiday first and a capitalist holiday second. But Christmas wasn’t either about spending loads of money on presents. It was more about taking the time to breathe after the marathon that were final exams, and to look back on what you’ve accomplished. The free time also meant that you could go out and do some fun activities with friends. And as for Christmas day itself:

“I guess Christmas is one day of the year when you get together with friends and family and enjoy being there for each other. I don’t really care about getting presents, I’d much rather give them and see how happy people are to get them. Christmas means getting together and having fun.

“Well, that’s what I think about Hanukkah. See, it’s not that different in the end.”

He looked at you, waiting to see if you were going to ask something else. Seeing that you didn’t, he added:

“How about you help me finish this,” he said, “Then, I’ll tell you about Hanukkah. And you can ask as many questions as you want.”

“Sure!” you said, jumping off the counter, “And James?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I still buy you a ‘Christmas’ present… well a Hanukkah present…or a… a present, I guess.”

He turned to face you, resting a hand on your shoulder.

“Of course, you can! You don’t have to, you’re taking interest in Hanukkah is the best present I could ask for.”

“Cheesy, I love it!” you said.

He rolled his eyes.

“No, I want to, I got this super cool idea weeks ago and I’ve been dying to give this to you!” you said excitedly.

“Okay, okay,” he said smiling, “Don’t spoil it though.”

“I wouldn’t! What should I do to help?”

“I am putting you on grating duty, my arm’s tired,” he said laughing.

#mindful-of-ideas #house md imagine #house imagine #james wilson imagine #house md #gregory house #dr house #james wilson #christmas imagine #robert sean leonard

[age-of-moonknight]

hi! hope you're doing well. i got a question for you about the what if with marc's funeral, if that's okay, and please let me know if i'm missing the mark or overstepping in any way. as a jewish guy, seeing a non-jewish funeral kinda felt bad to me. like marc was already buried, no one who loved him or knew him participated in the burial, and yes the heroes wore their gear instead of traditional mourning clothing, but putting a star of david on the tombstone felt like an afterthought. marlene's 'may your memory be a blessing' was nice, seeing gena and the kids and crawly was like yes those are his people! but overall idk the setup and eulogy wasn't working for me. tldr my question is, what's your take on marc's funeral?

Hey! Thanks for stopping by! I guess before I say anything I should preface this by mentioning that I’m honestly just some dude on the internet and I really shouldn’t be considered an authority on anything. I’ve just read an unfortunately large number of comics and while I do dedicate a lot of time to learning as much as I can about anything, I definitely shouldn’t be considered an expert on matters as richly complex and integral to people’s very identities as religion or culture. In other words, I definitely appreciate you starting this conversation, but I really can’t offer anything more than a personal opinion that everyone should just take with a grain of salt.

But!!! thank you for sending this message, because, yeah, I realize that sometimes I can get so swept up in any writer even acknowledging that Marc is Jewish that I forget that, “oh yeah, this could be better and we should be well past the age where we had to hope for even the barest crumbs of representation.”

Accordingly, I fully see where you’re coming from and you’re probably right in that there was more the writer could have done. Even as I write that though, I can already hear the long list of excuses that could be made by devil’s advocates about why Marc’s funeral in What If…? Dark: Moon Knight was presented as it was. Most probably could be pretty easily refuted by anyone that wants better from the comic industry, but, hey, that’s comics: they thrive on intense, impassioned reader discussion and can somehow be ahead of their time in terms of cultural sensitivity AND painfully slow in breaking out of some really poor ways of depicting cultures, races, and religions.

[Putting in a read more because this got a little long (sorry all, mea culpa)]

But yeah, some of those excuses I can imagine include, first among them, space limitations. The creators had one page to depict the funeral in the single issue allotted to telling Marlene’s story of becoming Luminary. People could easily say something offhand and questionable like, “oh yeah, Marc’s mom sat shiva, but it all happened off panel,” but that explanation always feels a little cheap to me, as I know for fact that comic artists can get very creative with how they format a page to include critical information, but, eh, there it is.

Some people in these situations sometimes bring up the point that authors that share a background with the characters they depict can approach matters with a good understanding of what’s appropriate/significant. I can see the validity of that approach, but from the (admittedly brief) research I did, I haven’t found any conclusive statements on the writer’s background at least and I personally would rather not make any assumptions/speculations. (Again, that’s strictly a personal thing, because in my line of work, I come across a lot of bad actors who, from their perspective, “““accuse””” people of being certain races or ethnic backgrounds and I am,,,,very tired). Plus, that’s not necessarily a cure all, at least that’s what I’ve gathered from the heated debates on Bemis’ Moon Knight run that I still stumble upon on occasion.

The next thing that comes to mind, well, I don’t want to sound like I’m entirely absolving the creators since, sure, they probably could have done more, but I’m so used to grappling with the bad hands comic books deal me, that sometimes I propose what I guess could be referred to as Watsonian interpretations??? Like, yeah, this was ultimately written like this because creators are flawed, but I cope by trying to puzzle out in-universe explanations. In this case, I see this as potentially being some sort of hazy, not quite well constructed, reflection of Marc’s complex relationship with his background that characterized his adult life. Elias Spector, who frequently represents Marc’s connection to his past and how he wrestles with really complex questions of religion and identity, is dead by this point of time in both of Marc’s established origins, and while I am sure the organizers of Marc’s funeral, like Marlene and Frenchie, fully and deeply loved him, I’m just not sure if Marc ever communicated to them what they should specifically do for his funeral (fully traditional or as small/nondescript as possible if he even thought he deserved/would get a funeral), as enigmatic and….not always forthcoming in discussing such matters Marc circa Marc Spector: Moon Knight was, so they did their best.

But gosh, even as I write that out, that’s such a load of copium. I’ll admit that my fondness for the comic book genre results in me desperately trying to hammer something worthwhile out of sometimes (or frequently????) mediocre material, so thanks again for sharing your thoughts! You are well and away within your rights to not be satisfied with how the matter was handled and I know I thoroughly appreciate your critical eye. Arguably, it is only by such a capacity for critique that the industry will ever shake off some of its worst aspects that still haunt it and evolve into something really consistently worthwhile.

#Knight Mail #@anon my apologies I hope this makes sense because it seems I get out of work and I promptly forget how to put the bottom line up front #thanks to anyone who bothered to read it all hahaha and to anon in particular #as this turned into stream of consciousness commentary on rep in comics (????) or something??? #because yeah….I’m just some person who’s read a lot of Moon Knight comics #I always love discussing things with people but my thoughts/opinions are technically of no quantifiable value #so I always love hearing what other people think :D

[maidoffate]

Why did you reblog a post that paints Isreal being a colonist apathies state as a falsity, ignores everything Isreal has done to the Palestine people for decades before Hamas existed, blames other Arab nations for not allowing Palestinians to be deported into their borders rather than Isreal’s genocidal campaign against them, and claims people should actually be protesting those Arab states rather than Israel’s ongoing mass slaughter?

Do you genuinely believe Israel is not responsible for every action they have taken since the occupation began? Do you only care about Palestinian lives so far as displacement and cultural genocide is acceptable, but not a blood one? Are you Islamophobic and/or racist to Arabs?

Or, is it what I hope, an inability to recognise genocide denial? That a malicious actor intent on taking agency away from Israel as a way to excuse their actions took advantage of your Jewishness to emotionally manipulate you. That in a time of intense emotions for all of us, racial biases got into your head and you engaged in this material accidentally.

You don’t have to answer this, I’d quite frankly rather you didn’t because I don’t think anything of value would come from it, but if you actually read this, please just look inwards as to why someone can cloth “Israel doing a bloody genocide against the Palestinian people is not the problem, other countries not letting Israel displace the people in an act of cultural genocide is” and you accept that argument as a valid one.

Salam Alaikum. Unless your response is still pro genocide, in which case, obviously, fuck you.

I actually am going to respond to this because I have a lot to say and I think you're going to find out me and you actually think more closely on the core issues than you think. I've been avoiding posting anything myself because I don't want to deal with the headache and potential harassment, but whatever.

First of all, if you read my tags to that post, you should realize I am not at all absolving Israel from blame. The occupation lies in their hands. They created Hamas, directly and indirectly. I am not denying any of the atrocities this state has done—even before the 2005 disengagement from Gaza. I have hated the state for as long as I've been politically active and have only grown more disgusted and disillusioned the more I researched about the subject. Chances are I know more about the conflict and its current state affairs than you considering I had to be pretty well versed on both sides of the spectrum and their current day aftermath to pass my Regime and Politics course (which didn't really whitewash anything and was incredibly critical of the state as it is).

I don't really agree with all the post in its entirety (particularly putting apartheid and colonialist in quotes, because like, regardless of OP's intention, those are objectively happening and there's no whitewashing it), but I wanted to platform the core conceit of it, which is that Hamas is bad for Palestinians. I haven't seen any other post really outline some of the reasons why in a way I could tell people. That post isn't really all-encompassing, either, but it's the best one I saw even if it does have its problems.

I outlined my stance in what I thought was clear in the tags, and avoided making a proper addition to the post because, frankly speaking, I'm not exactly "Tumblr famous", so I don't really consider any impact on whatever posts I platform. Only like 10 people ever show up in my reblogs, and most of them have (justifiably) not touched the small amount of Israeli-Palestine stuff I've posted with a ten foot pole.

I am not at all blind to the genocide happening in Gaza and the frankly disgusting living conditions and routine terrorism and abuse Palestinians receive from illegal settlers and the IDF in the West Bank. I read Gideon Levy's work. In what world is it acceptable for a "democratic country" to have a city (East Jerusalem) where only 5% of the citizens have citizenship? It's deplorable.

But I'm going to be clear: I have been to two funerals this week. A childhood friend of mine is in critical condition in the hospital. I've seen pictures, videos and heard what must have been dozens of stories from people who've survived the attacks that happened on October 7th and understand the sheer depth of the atrocities that went down.

So excuse me if I don't have the patience when I log into Tumblr and see that the overwhelming consensus is that "there is no resistance without violent retribution" and "those settler colonialists deserved it" and a bunch of people stand in solidarity with a literal fundamentalist terrorist dictatorship that has burned houses and people alive and massacred children. As if that's at all comparable to violently fighting back against soldiers and actual occupying powers.

I've seen several people compare Hamas to the ANC and like... just the sheer confidence of what people say without actually knowing any of the history and facts of the situation continues to amaze me.

Now, I'm not going to pretend as if there hasn't been a vocal rallying pro-Israel voice from western media, world leaders and other liberal celebrities (which I refuse to platform, for the record. I was offered a job in helping to translate summaries of the events to Japanese and refused because I'm not interested in spreading Israel's narrative.)

My only interest, really, is just trying to make people understand that they are not "standing in solidarity with brave warriors of oppression". They are supporting terrorists. Actual terrorists. Not just freedom fighters like Nelson Mandela, but a group that is actively trying to eradicate every Jewish person from this land, and doesn't care about any of the damage it deals to its own community or the non-Jewish people hurt in the crossfire. The Bedouin people have arguably suffered the most from Hamas' missile strikes, considering they live in poorly funded villages that don't even have proper protections and bomb shelters.

On a fundamental level, I am pro-Palestine (in the sense that I recognize they are the occupied victims of genocide, and deserve human rights, the right to self determination, and a state to call their own, whether it be with a two-state solution or one secular democratic state for all living in the Israel region), but I cannot begin to tell you the actual amount of vile antisemetic (not anti-zionist, not just critiques of Israel, I'm talking actually antisemetic) shit I've seen on this website due to this whole mess, not to mention people undermining every single Jewish plea post because it doesn't mention every facet and atrocity done right now.

It feels like no one can talk about the sheer density of actual antisemetic rhetoric without receiving "erm actually muslims have it way worse so stay in your lane". It's not a competition. Oppression is oppression. (And for the record, I'm talking about just the general communities right now, not just those living in Israel and Palestine -- obviously the people in Gaza are having it worse right now with the lack of water, food, electricity, and no proper safe place to reside in. They need help the most. Donate to the PCRF.)

Not every post needs to be fully comprehensive. Ignoring something in my post doesn't mean I don't care about it. It's just that I'm focusing on something else right now, because I don't believe people I've heard it. Not every Israeli needs to clarify "by the way I don't support the apartheid and colonization" to get people overseas to understand what is happening here.

Regardless, with my rationale out of the way, I will say I apologize for making you feel unsafe with that reblog -- again, only 10 people show up in my notes and I don't mean to make anyone feel concerned for what I think of them with whatever I post. I've went ahead and put my tags on that post into an actual addition so that anyone who sees that post can platform a better version of it that doesn't undermine the horrors going on here. Again, I really didn't want to post anything myself because I don't want to deal with the stress of it all, but fuck it, the block button is free.

[amethystblack]

I really wish people would stop making comparisons between the depiction of goblins in Hogwarts Legacy and real life antisemitism or even the holocaust. I think it belittles the historical events to make such comparisons. The game has no contents which justify those statements. I concede that J.K. Rowling is a transphobe, but one should not lightly draw a connection between the most horrifying events in history and the fictional contents of a fantasy world video game.

so... okay, to be forthright, i haven't played the game and i have no intentions to, so the extent of what i know about it is what was in that post that i reblogged and... maybe one more that i thought i reblogged but apparently not (edit, found it). but... this ask strikes me as weird because like

"stop making comparisons between the depiction of gobins and real life antisemitism"

this is a bizarre comment to me because (assuming that the information in that post was accurate) to me, this is an example of real life antisemitism. caricaturizing an ethnic group that has been historically persecuted as an antagonistic race like that can do real harm today to people's understanding and impressions of members of that group.

not that being trans is an ethnic group, but i am not jewish so i'll use a more familiar example: the negative representation of trans people in older movies is a pretty good example of what that harm can look like-- many people assume that transwomen look or act a certain way because we have generally been the butt of so many jokes. then people who see those movies without knowing actual trans people can only base their mental conception of transwomen around those ideas, and that creates the stigma that makes it hard for people to accept themselves or others. it is a cycle of misrepresentation leading to bias leading to hate, harm and further misrepresentation. that is also to say nothing of how the groups in question might feel about it when suddenly encountering those things for themselves.

but again, the antisemitic aspect is not my wheelhouse. let me ask you, anon, what's your stake in this? i would love to hear how this is personally relevant to you. or if i have other followers who are actually members of the group in question that we can listen to firsthand, please by all means weigh in here. i would not want to, through my own ignorance, be spreading disrespectful or false information in approaching these matters.

i will comment my personal stake though, even aside from just being trans: i coincidentally earlier this week learned about some of the history of the rise of the n*zi party... i did not know before that one of their first major attacks was on the forerunning institute of sexual research in germany-- a place which had become a haven for LGBT people and a forerunner in gender identities (including non-binary folks) and practicing medical transition (including early laser hair removal, HRT, and gender-affirming surgery). i had no idea that those ideas and techniques, many of which as we now understand them today, were already in practice and circulation in the 1920's and had been, at the start of everything, effectively stamped out, setting the presence and health of trans people in the modern world back by nearly a full century. i recognize that those events in history were not primarily about my demographic, but having learned this and seeing an alarming number of similarities between now and then, you may perhaps understand why i am quite a bit more alarmed about these circles of hate overlapping.

#tw: transphobia #tw: antisemitism #ask ame

[marcholasmoth]

OSRR: 3406

i made more snowflakes today.

i also did a bunch of stuff, like call 911 a bunch of times to test phones, and i sent a bunch of emails and did research and learned about hanukkah.

i also sent a message to my coworker about decor he'd like to see or change in the office, and i went out and got some supplies to make a menorah so we can have one for the holiday, which i learned a lot about today. i am learning about it and i want to appreciate it and celebrate it instead of appropriate it because "it looked cool" but while it does, it's more of a desire to both be inclusive and considerate during the holiday season. so i asked and am making one in case he would like to have one in the office! it will be an enjoyable craft. i intend to learn more about the holiday and judaism tomorrow while i work.

if there are people who are jewish who are reading this, if you wouldn't mind, please let me know your thoughts on this. i've been reading things out loud so im not the only one learning about hanukkah in the office, so when it comes time to light it i will know enough about it to do it appropriately or at the very least considerately, because the last thing i want to do is appropriate something.

advice or suggestions?

(joel is downstairs photographing and printing things for a craft fair tomorrow. proud of him.)

#molly rambles #operation srr #osrr #3000s #3400s #sunshine boy

[bastardtrait]

sims 4 food per dietary restrictions spreadsheet

did you know there are over 520 recipes for food and drink in the sims 4? neither did i. until yesterday, when i decided to sit down and create a spreadsheet that sorted all food and drink recipes into categories of dietary restrictions, based on whether or not they are vegetarian-safe and/or lactose-free in game. and then i thought, well sometimes my sims are muslim, or jewish. so then i added categories for kosher and halal as well.

now, i am fully aware the sims 4 doesn't implement religion in any meaningful way. i made deductions as best i could with the information available to me. which is a lot, although sometimes it is unclear (like food from journey to batuu; alien meat is...probably forbidden. probably. i think.)

this is for players who wish to implement real cultural practises for their sim characters, like me. it should be said that i am neither jewish nor muslim, nor have i ever been. so i researched as much as i could before putting this together. and OF COURSE, not every person follows these rules to a T. faith is personal and can often follow a case-by-case basis.

if there is anything that is questionable, please. do let me know. also if i am missing any recipes, please let me know. i might have missed some.

link to the sheet

#naldo.txt #sims 4

[iamforgiven2023]

Learn and Progress

Sometimes you don't realize the strength your words and actions possess. Even if your actions are not filled with hate or intent to harm, they can be a vessel of just that. Even a joke can fuel a movement of prejudice and spread a message of violence. This was my mistake 10 years ago.

I was trying to be a content creator and become a comedian or entertainer. I used cheap humor and hurtful content to try and gain followers online. It was shameful and I cringe today even thinking about it. I hate myself for ever posting such hurtful content 10 years ago. This is why I am writing this blog, so I can show my remorse and say I'm sorry to the Jewish community for making jokes about Hitler and the extremely disgusting things he did to them during the holocaust.

Although my jokes weren't made with hate or the intentions to hurt anyone, I was stupid to think it wouldn't. Even though I wasn't knowingly contributing to Anti-Semitism, looking back now, my actions could spread the message of exactly that. I am forever sorry for doing that.

About 7 years after I made these posts, I was alerted by one of my followers that upon searching for my content they found I was on a website for people who spread Anti-Semitism online and in the media. I couldn't have been more embarrassed. Although I hadn't made any posts like this in a long time I immediately remembered the times I had. I was disgusted with myself.

I had gone thru a period of drinking and drugs during those times and I didn't even feel like the same person anymore. So when I saw the people I was amongst on this website I was horrified and regretful of my prior behavior. Because I am ashamed to be amongst such hateful people. I made this videos 10 years ago in a shameful attempt at comedy.

I am not the same person anymore. I don't want to be a associated with these hurtful posts anymore. I have fallen into a deep depression after years of drinking and partying. I have also recently had major surgery that made me contemplate life and the legacy I want to leave. I want to start over and get my life back.

I'm completely apologetic and regretful that I wasn't more sensitive to the people i hurt with these cheap and insensitive jokes. I don't have a hateful bone in my body and I love all people. I want to be an ally and a friend. Please forgive me for my past and mistakes I've made. It was wrong and i am no longer that person.

I have never had a bad opinion of Jewish people. I grew up in a town that has probably a majority of Jewish people and i love my town and the people in it! I have always been a fan of Jewish comedians as well and i had dream at that time to become a comedian as well. I am astonished and amazed by the perseverance of Jewish people. They have been thru so much pain and victims of so much hate and they remain strong and faithful thru God.

Before being made aware of the Canary Mission, the only knowledge I have is thru my interactions with my community, what i learned in school and what I see on the news. As I said I always had a love and respect for Jewish people. They are the best people I know. A lot of my idols in comedy are Jewish. Actors and writers as well. I've always been a fan and admired their talent.

Because of Canary Mission I was able to do some research and learn more about what was going on in the world and the message, although unintentional, I was helping promote and spread with my dark humor. I think they are disgusting organizations, monsters. Hateful people that have been taught to kill and hate the Jewish people for no reason. I think its a huge problem that such hateful groups are still allowed to exist and teach young people to have the same hate, it needs to have more attention brought to it and ended.

We need peace, not murder and genocide. We need to teach their children that what their fathers and grand fathers have done is wrong. Terrorist groups that preach hate under the disguise to fuel their following. Let me make it clear that I HAVE NEVER and WILL NEVER be apart of or support these groups.

Thru Canary Mission I was shown with research about movements and organizations such as BDS that want to cut funding to Israel based on lies. I believe that these groups are hate groups. Their beliefs are based on lies. They use anti Semitic language and propaganda to place blame on the Jewish people for all the problems in Israel. They try to deny the history and the fact that the Jewish people have rights to their homeland. I think these people and groups like them are fueled by hate and preach violence against Jewish people and try to paint themselves as victims.

I regret my actions 100%. It wasn't based on beliefs or hate, i love Jewish people. But I could never defend my actions, they were wrong. It didn't come from a hateful place but it was terrible of me to do and I realize it could spread hate unintentionally and fuel the discrimination that exist against Jewish people. It was completely wrong and I will be forever apologetic for it.

The key to progress is to be aware and learn from your mistakes. Communicate with others that you may have hurt and learn how to be a better person from it. I intend on sitting down in the future with members of my community, the Jewish community I have hurt with my actions in the past, and try to learn more everyday.

We will never have peace and love as humans if we continue to spread the wrong messages and don't learn from our past mistakes

My views have changed in the fact that I have become more understanding of the struggle and hate that Jewish people have been dealing with for so long. I have come to understand that I cant disrespect that struggle with insensitive jokes and hurtful content. The Jewish community is a beautiful community that has been victim of so much unwarranted hate and abuse, we need to all learn more about each other and protect them.

I pray to God we can all find peace and love each other. We are not here for a long time. We must end the hate. Please forgive me again for my past mistakes. I am not a hateful person. I want to be an ally. Thank you for your time. God Bless.

[philociraptorsquad]

Winn: Y/N, stopping eating your gelt or you won’t have anything to put in the pot when we play dreidel later!

Y/N: *pouts, still nibbling on one* But chocolate!

Winn: Why don't you have some latkes? 

Y/N: I've already had five...

((I’ve always headcanoned Winn as Jewish, but apparently canon now says otherwise. :/ But I’m still going to post this because I still like the headcanon #SorryNotSorry

Happy Hanukkah, everyone!))

#winn schott imagine #winn schott x reader #winn x reader #supergirl imagine #happy hanukkah #ok so I haven't seen the Christmas episode yet but I've seen the promo pictures and he's in an x-mas sweater so #if I'm wrong please let me know #also I am not Jewish but I did do some research to make sure I didn't get anything wrong #please let me know if I got anything wrong! #sorry this is a little late! #I wanted to post it on the first night but I've been out of town and forgot to queue #have a great rest of Hanukkah y'all! #<3

[queerprayers]

how are we supposed to deal with how antisemitism is kind of… everywhere in Christianity?

Thank you for being patient as I figure out where to even start with answering this! I'm a Lutheran. This is a really hard question, and something that I have to deal with. What our ancestors did is not our fault, but it is our responsibility.

My first answer is that I don't know. I don't know what to do when so many people I call my siblings are full of hate. I often feel helpless. But I promise I'm not stopping there.

My second answer is we have three options that I can see: (1) ignore the issue and let antisemitism fester, (2) abandon Christianity as outdated, offensive, or irredeemable, or (3) put in the work to transform ourselves and our institutions. The first two are easier, and the second especially can be tempting. But I hope to devote my life to the third, and that's the perspective I'll be coming from today.

I do want to make clear that I am (clearly) not Jewish and also don't consider myself particularly knowledgeable about Judaism. I read a lot and interact with Jewish people online, but I don't feel this qualifies me to answer this question in any mind-blowing or unique way. I will, however, share my own advice and opinions, and you can decide how much you want to value them.

This is from a Christian perspective, for other Christians (and culturally Christian-ish people). And as always, I'm a white American Gentile. I welcome other perspectives/criticism.

Here are some things that you (my followers) can actually do and learn to acknowledge and combat antisemitism in Christianity. None of this is a solution, but I hope it's something. I'll include some resources at the end. (All of it is easier said than done. But saying it is the first step.)

Acknowledge and learn about the problem. I assume most of you reading this will have realized that our religion, structurally/historically, has condoned massive amounts of sh*t. Any exploration into Christian history has to confront this. Practically every oppressed group in America knows this intimately. In terms of antisemitism, please understand right now that the problem is more of an issue than you thought. However bad you think it is, it's worse. Please immediately burn into your brain that antisemitism is, as the asker said, everywhere in Christianity. Just like white people have internalized racism, even if they're not being purposely racist, Gentiles have internalized antisemitism, even if you don't realize it. Look for it, inside yourself and around you. Call it out. Learn the dogwhistles.

Actually learn about Judaism. If you didn't convert from Judaism/come from a Jewish family, probably just go in assuming you know nothing. Forget what Christian leaders/experts have said, and probably forget what you learned in high school. Build your knowledge of modern Judaism from scratch—this will help you not hold onto myths/prejudices you probably carry. PLEASE remember that first-century Judaism is completely different from modern Judaism. No matter how much you study the Bible, you will not know modern Judaism. Please follow/listen to modern Jewish people.

Your God is Jewish; your religion is not. This is a precarious position. Christianity is an offshoot or appropriation of Judaism, depending who you ask. There is no easy box to put this situation in. Examine that tension; have discussions about it. There is no solution I or anyone else has found so far in history. There are only questions, and trying our best, and approaching with love. PLEASE don't use Jesus being Jewish as "proof" you're not antisemitic.

Stop identifying with Judaism/assuming you know anything about it/assuming Christian interpretation is the same/saying "Judeo-Christian." Obviously if you are interested in converting to, or have converted from Judaism, or are culturally Jewish, that's a different story. But generally, if you are a Christian, you are not Jewish. Research and discussion is welcome. Relating to/agreeing with/valuing interpretation is also welcome. But identification/assumption of authority is not.

Judaism is not "Christianity without Jesus." It never was. It's a completely different philosophy/theology on its own. Stop acting like Jewish people are missing something. Judaism is not outdated or there as a message for Christians, and Jewish people are not waiting around to be converted. They have found God. If you have a problem with that, you apparently haven't.

The Hebrew Bible is a collection of Jewish writings that exists as a text, as one part. And in Jewish interpretation, it is not the complement to the New Testament—stop assuming it is. I personally don't call it the Old Testament anymore—Jewish people did not painstakingly save and translate their holy manuscripts for centuries just for us to rename them. It's the Hebrew Bible or the Tanakh, and the first five books are the Torah. The books of the Hebrew Bible are not ours, but we believe they are the truth. Everyone is free to have their own interpretation of them, but Jewish people have authority, because it is their story to tell. Read Jewish interpretations/translations of their texts. Especially if you grew up Christian/have only interacted with the Bible from a Christian perspective—it will change everything.

Recognize the places in the New Testament and its translations that generalize the Jewish people and put those verses in historical context and/or call them out. No, "the Jews" did not kill Jesus. This is a dangerous way to translate the text and has led to violence. The Gospels tell the story of a Jewish man who made himself a lot of enemies, mostly within his own community. The story is of a specific time period and from a specific perspective. The ways the narrative has been twisted and misunderstood is part of the Christian legacy and must be admitted to, discussed, and repented of.

Stop celebrating Jewish holidays. Yes, Jesus celebrated Passover. No, that doesn't mean you can. Unless you are invited to a Jewish household/community to celebrate with them, you have no business holding seders, etc. if you're not Jewish.

Stop calling yourself a Messianic Jew. You're just a Christian. If you think Jesus is the Messiah, you are a Christian. (Obviously you could still be culturally/ethnically Jewish, because Judaism is not just a religion. I'm not here to tell Jewish people what to do. I'm here to stop Christians from "getting in touch with the Jewish origins of their faith" or whatever and then just appropriating Jewish festivals.)

Hold on to the beautiful, loving parts of our religion. It is so easy to give up, to throw it all away. And I have nothing but respect for those who have done that. I understand completely. It's easier to distance yourself from an institution that has done harm than to try to fix it. It's even better in some cases. But I'm here because I have a deep, kind of unexplainable faith in Jesus, and no matter how many people take God's name in vain, for themselves or their class/privilege, I will not abandon the faith that taught me to love. If you similarly are holding on to Christianity, pay attention to what you're holding on to. What pieces should we let go? What do we crush under our feet and what do we lift up? It's so easy to let this journey lead you to negativity and resignation. Imperfect people in an imperfect religion, oppressed turned oppressors. We betray our creed at the drop of a hat. But that is not the end of the story. That's the point of the gospels! The darkness is not the end, the tomb is not the end, the abandonment and betrayal and hopelessness is not the end. The story ends with love and with reunification. Hold on to that, more than any institution.

Repent. Christians are descendants of an awful evil: the sin of abandoning God's people, persecuting and murdering them, disrespecting their beliefs and texts. Yes, ask God for forgiveness and pray for peace, but also show your repentance in the world, to and for Jewish people. (See next paragraph.)

Actually support Jewish people. Donate. Listen. Protest. No matter how much you theoretically support Jewish people, no one can tell unless you do something about it. Faith without works is dead, my beloveds.

Okay, this is what I have in my brain right now and it's 3 a.m. so, asker: thank you for asking, I absolutely did not do the issue justice (but then, has anyone?), and I hope I have given you at least a part of the answer you were looking for. Here are some resources:

Articles/Posts:

Please at least read the Wikipedia page on this issue.

So You Want to Fight Against Antisemitism (cw: swearing)

"What's the difference between Christianity and Judaism?"

Some perspectives on Messianic Judaism: He's not a rabbi, and it's not Judaism, Jewish groups slam "disappointing" decision to have Messianic Jewish leader at Pence rally, Jewish leaders call Messianic Judaism a fraud

Who are “the Jews” in John?

Holy Week and the hatred of the Jews

Judaism and Christianity Both Rely on the Hebrew Bible. Why Do They Interpret It So Differently?

Christian Persecution of Jews over the Centuries

Websites/Publications

Jewish-Christian Relations.net

Christian-Jewish Relations Library @ Boston College

Dialogika—CCJR Resource Library

Judaism 101

My Jewish Learning

The Torah.com

Sefaria—Jewish text library

Books/Authors

Antisemitism in the New Testament / Lillian C. Freudmann

Jesus Wasn’t Killed by the Jews: Reflections for Christians in Lent / ed. Jon M. Sweeney

Christians & Jews—Faith to Faith: Tragic History, Promising Present, Fragile Future / James Rudin

Essential Judaism: A Complete Guide to Beliefs, Customs and Rituals / George Robinson

The Jewish Study Bible: Jewish Publication Society Tanakh Translation

Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg (her Twitter is a gift!!)

Amy-Jill Levine

Lois Tverberg

Brant Pitre

Robert Alter

Richard Elliott Friedman

With the help of God: may we be forgiven, may we take responsibility, may we not abandon our faith, may we have the energy and capacity to care. Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. Let Jesus, a Jewish Palestinian murdered by the state, guide our words and actions.

<3 Johanna

#asks #judaism

[writingwithcolor]

What Does Our "Motivations” PSA Mean?

@luminalalumini said:

I've been on your blog a lot and it has a lot of really insightful information, but I notice a theme with some of your answers where you ask the writer reaching out what their 'motivation for making a character a certain [race/religion/ethnicity/nationality] is' and it's discouraging to see, because it seems like you're automatically assigning the writer some sort of ulterior motive that must be sniffed out and identified before the writer can get any tips or guidance for their question. Can't the 'motive' simply be having/wanting to have diversity in one's work? Must there be an 'ulterior motive'? I can understand that there's a lot of stigma and stereotypes and bad influence that might lead to someone trynna add marginalized groups into their stories for wrong reasons, but people that have those bad intentions certainly won't be asking for advice on how to write good representation in the first place. Idk its just been something that seemed really discouraging to me to reach out myself, knowing i'll automatically be assigned ulterior motives that i don't have and will probably have to justify why i want to add diversity to my story as if i'm comitting some sort of crime. I don't expect you guys to change your blog or respond to this or even care all that much, I'm probably just ranting into a void. I'm just curious if theres any reason to this that I haven't realized exists I suppose. I don't want y'all to take this the wrong way because I do actually love and enjoy your blog's advice in spite of my dumb griping. Cheers :))

We assume this is in reference to the following PSA:

PSA to all of our users - Motivation Matters: This lack of clarity w/r to intent has been a general issue with many recent questions. Please remember that if you don’t explain your motivations and what you intend to communicate to your audience with your plot choices, character attributes, world-building etc., we cannot effectively advise you beyond the information you provide. We Are Not Mind Readers. If, when drafting these questions, you realize you can’t explain your motivations, that is likely a hint that you need to think more on the rationales for your narrative decisions. My recommendation is to read our archives and articles on similar topics for inspiration while you think. I will be attaching this PSA to all asks with similar issues until the volume of such questions declines. 

We have answered this in three parts.

1. Of Paved Roads and Good Intentions

Allow me to give you a personal story, in solidarity towards your feelings:

When I began writing in South Asia as an outsider, specifically in the Kashmir and Lahore areas, I was doing it out of respect for the cultures I had grown up around. I did kathak dance, I grew up on immigrant-cooked North Indian food, my babysitters were Indian. I loved Mughal society, and every detail of learning about it just made me want more. The minute you told me fantasy could be outside of Europe, I hopped into the Mughal world with two feet. I was 13. I am now 28.

And had you asked me, as a teenager, what my motives were in giving my characters’ love interests blue or green eyes, one of them blond hair, my MC having red-tinted brown hair that was very emphasized, and a whole bunch of paler skinned people, I would have told you my motives were “to represent the diversity of the region.” 

I’m sure readers of the blog will spot the really, really toxic and colourist tropes present in my choices. If you’re new here, then the summary is: giving brown people “unique” coloured eyes and hair that lines up with Eurocentric beauty standards is an orientalist trope that needs to be interrogated in your writing. And favouring pale skinned people is colourist, full stop.

Did that make me a bad person with super sneaky ulterior motives who wanted to write bad representation? No.

It made me an ignorant kid from the mostly-white suburbs who grew up with media that said brown people had to “look unique” (read: look as European as possible) to be considered valuable.

And this is where it is important to remember that motives can be pure as you want, but you were still taught all of the terrible stuff that is present in society. Which means you’re going to perpetuate it unless you stop and actually question what is under your conscious motive, and work to unlearn it. Work that will never be complete.

I know it sounds scary and judgemental (and it’s one of the reasons we allow people to ask to be anonymous, for people who are afraid). Honestly, I would’ve reacted much the same as a younger writer, had you told me I was perpetuating bad things. I was trying to do good and my motives were pure, after all! But after a few years, I realized that I had fallen short, and I had a lot more to learn in order for my motives to match my impact. Part of our job at WWC is to attempt to close that gap.

We aren’t giving judgement, when we ask questions about why you want to do certain things. We are asking you to look at the structural underpinnings of your mind and question why those traits felt natural together, and, more specifically, why those traits felt natural to give to a protagonist or other major character.

I still have blond, blue-eyed characters with sandy coloured skin. I still have green-eyed characters. Because teenage me was right, that is part of the region. But by interrogating my motive, I was able to devalue those traits within the narrative, and I stopped making those traits shorthand for “this is the person you should root for.” 

It opened up room for me to be messier with my characters of colour, even the ones who my teenage self would have deemed “extra special.” Because the European-associated traits (pale hair, not-brown-eyes) stopped being special. After years of questioning, they started lining up with my motive of just being part of the diversity of the region.

Motive is important, both in the conscious and the subconscious. It’s not a judgement and it’s not assumed to be evil. It’s simply assumed to be unquestioned, so we ask that you question it and really examine your own biases.

~Mod Lesya

2. Motivations Aren't Always "Ulterior"

You can have a positive motivation or a neutral one or a negative one. Just wanting to have diversity only means your characters aren't all white and straight and cis and able-bodied -- it doesn't explain why you decided to make this specific character specifically bi and specifically Jewish (it me). Yes, sometimes it might be completely random! But it also might be "well, my crush is Costa Rican, so I gave the love interest the same background", or "I set it in X City where the predominant marginalized ethnicity is Y, so they are Y". Neither of these count as ulterior motives. But let's say for a second that you did accidentally catch yourself doing an "ulterior." Isn't that the point of the blog, to help you find those spots and clean them up?

Try thinking of it as “finding things that need adjusting” rather than “things that are bad” and it might get less scary to realize that we all do them, subconsciously. Representation that could use some work is often the product of subconscious bias, not deliberate misrepresentation, so there's every possibility that someone who wants to improve and do better didn't do it perfectly the first time. 

--Shira

3. Dress-Making as a Metaphor

I want to echo Lesya’s sentiments here but also provide a more logistical perspective. If you check the rubber stamp guide here and the “Motivation matters” PSA above, you’ll notice that concerns with respect to asker motivation are for the purposes of providing the most relevant answer possible.

It is a lot like if someone walks into a dressmaker’s shop and asks for a blue dress/ suit (Back when getting custom-made clothes was more of a thing) . The seamstress/ tailor is likely to ask a wide variety of questions:

What material do you want the outfit to be made of?

Where do you plan to wear it?

What do you want to highlight?

How do you want to feel when you wear it?

Let’s say our theoretical customer is in England during the 1920s. A tartan walking dress/ flannel suit for the winter is not the same as a periwinkle, beaded, organza ensemble/ navy pinstripe for formal dress in the summer. When we ask for motivations, we are often asking for exactly that: the specific reasons for your inquiry so we may pinpoint the most pertinent information.

The consistent problem for many of the askers who receive the PSA is they haven’t even done the level of research necessary to know what they want to ask of us. It would be like if our English customer in the 1920s responded, “IDK, some kind of blue thing.” Even worse,  WWC doesn’t have the luxury of the back-and-forth between a dressmaker and their clientele. If our asker doesn’t communicate all the information they need in mind at the time of submission, we can only say, “Well, I’m not sure if this is right, but here’s something. I hope it works, but if you had told us more, we could have done a more thorough job.”

Answering questions without context is hard, and asking for motivations, by which I mean the narratives, themes, character arcs and other literary devices that you are looking to incorporate, is the best way for us to help you, while also helping you to determine if your understanding of the problem will benefit from outside input. Because these asks are published with the goal of helping individuals with similar questions, the PSA also serves to prompt other users.

I note that asking questions is a skill, and we all start by asking the most basic questions (Not stupid questions, because to quote a dear professor, “There are no stupid questions.”). Unfortunately, WWC is not suited for the most basic questions. To this effect, we have a very helpful FAQ and archive as a starting point. Once you have used our website to answer the more basic questions, you are more ready to approach writing with diversity and decide when we can actually be of service. This is why we are so adamant that people read the FAQ. Yes, it helps us, but it also is there to save you time and spare you the ambiguity of not even knowing where to start.

The anxiety in your ask conveys to me a fear of being judged for asking questions. That fear is not something we can help you with, other than to wholeheartedly reassure you that we do not spend our unpaid, free time answering these questions in order to assume motives we can’t confirm or sit in judgment of our users who, as you say, are just trying to do better.

Yes, I am often frustrated when an asker’s question makes it clear they haven’t read the FAQ or archives. I’ve also been upset when uncivil commenters have indicated that my efforts and contributions are not worth their consideration. However, even the most tactless question has never made me think, “Ooh this person is such a naughty racist. Let me laugh at them for being a naughty racist. Let me shame them for being a naughty racist. Mwahaha.”

What kind of sad person has time for that?*

Racism is structural. It takes time to unlearn, especially if you’re in an environment that doesn’t facilitate that process to begin with. Our first priority is to help while also preserving our own boundaries and well-being. Though I am well aware of the levels of toxic gas-lighting and virtue signaling that can be found in various corners of online writing communities in the name of “progressivism*”, WWC is not that kind of space. This space is for discussions held in good faith: for us to understand each other better, rather than for one of us to “win” and another to “lose.”

Just as we have good faith that you are doing your best, we ask that you have faith that we are trying to do our best by you and the BIPOC communities we represent.

- Marika.

*If you are in any writing or social media circles that feed these anxieties or demonstrate these behaviors, I advise you to curtail your time with them and focus on your own growth. You will find, over time, that it is easier to think clearly when you are worrying less about trying to appease people who set the bar of approval so high just for the enjoyment of watching you jump. “Internet hygiene”, as I like to call it, begins with you and the boundaries you set with those you interact with online.

#PSAs #asker concerns #diversity #motivations in writing #writing with diversity #blog housekeeping #internet hygeine #asks #WWC

[secretswiftymarvelfan]

Happy Hanukkah - Ari Levinson x Reader

A/N: This is for @wiypt-writes 25 days of Chris-mas! Day 22! dividers made by @firefly-graphics​

Pairing: Teacher!Ari x Reader

Summary: Ari teaches your daughter all about Hanukkah

Word Count: 3.4k

Warnings: Just Fluff

IMPORTANT A/N: I am going to preface this by saying I am not Jewish. All of the information is from my own research online and I am aware that not everything you read on the internet is 100% accurate. If there is something incorrect here please feel free to Kindly educate me. Also since Ari is explaining it to a child the language used will reflect that. With that please enjoy the one shot!

Masterlist

The school corridor was completely silent, not a soul around. The only sound being the clicking of your heeled boots as you walked. It wasn’t long until you reached the classroom you were headed to, knocking gently before stepping inside.

“Mommy!” Your 6 year old daughter, Anna, greets jumping up from her seat to run over and hug you.

“Hey kiddo, how was school today?” You smile stroking the top of her head as you hug her back.

“Great! We started making Christmas decorations look I made more while I waited for you” Anna smiles running back to her desk to grab her work.

“Hey, how was work?” Ari smiled walking over from his desk to kiss you on the cheek.

“Good, same old same old, did she behave?” You smile nodding to Anna.

“Good as gold as always, call me biased but she’s the best in my class” Ari smirks making your chuckle.

“Don’t let the other moms hear you have favourites” you warn him playfully.

“Well it’s hard when her mom is also my favourite” Ari say with a lopsided grin as he places his hands on your hips pulling you closer.

“Oh really? It’s a good thing her mom’s favourite teacher is you then” you smirk running your hands up his chest to his shoulders.

Ari grins humming in agreement before leaning down for a short but sweet kiss. One that if your daughter wasn’t in the room and you weren’t in an elementary school would have you begging for more.

“I’d love to stay but I’ve got to get Anna to a haircut” you sigh stepping back a step, hands trailing down his arms to his hands.

“That’s okay, I have a bit more work to do before the weekend so I wouldn’t be good company” Ari smiles shrugging his shoulders.

“You’re always good company” you say with a wink before turning back to Anna.

“Right then sweetie, pack up your things so we can head out” you tell her.

She nods her head quickly packing up her small rucksack and putting on her coat before running back over to you and grabbing your hand.

“Are you coming over for a sleepover tonight Ari?” Anna asks looking up at him.

Ari smiles bending down to be at her eye level before glancing back up at you.

“I’d love to, but it’s up to your mom to invite me” Ari tells her gently.

“Mommy please?” Anna says tugging on your hand as she looked up at you with puppy dog eyes.

“Of course, Ari is welcome to stay over any night” you smile as Ari gives you a small wink.

“Great, well I’ll see you later kiddo” Ari smiles ruffling her hair up earning some laughter and sounds of protest from the little girl.

“See you later sweetheart” Ari smiles standing back up and kissing your cheek.

“See you later, just use your key to get in, even if we get back before you” you tell him.

“Yes ma’am” Ari smirks giving a mock salute that make Anna giggle.

“Anna! Dinner time!” You called out placing her plate down on the table.

“Coming!” You hear Anna shout shortly followed by the sound of her running through the apartment towards the kitchen.

“Thanks mommy” she says jumping up onto her chair, placing her doll in the table so it was sat up.

“Your welcome sweetie” you smile turning to clean up and start making your own dinner.

“Mommy?” Anna says after a few minutes.

“Yes sweetie?” You ask turning back round to face her.

“Why doesn’t Ari light his candles?” She asks making you furrow your brows in confusion.

“What do you mean?” You ask putting your hand on your hip.

“Ari has a candle holder in the class but he only has one candle in it and he didn’t light it today” Anna explains as she pushes her peas around her plate.

You pause for a moment trying to work out what she meant. You catch sight of the calendar and suddenly you realised what she could mean.

“Did it look like this?” You ask grabbing a scrap piece of paper and one of her crayons and drawing a menorah.

“Yeah that’s it” Anna says happy you worked it out.

“That’s Ari’s menorah sweetie” you explain watching as she looks at you in confusion.

“What’s a menorah?” She asks.

You purse your lips slightly trying to work out how best to explain it “it’s a religious lamp that’s used during Hanukkah, each day you add and light a candle” you explain moving to sit down at the table.

“What’s Hanukkah?” Anna asks.

“Its a Jewish holiday, because remember Ari is Jewish” you explain and she nods her head in understanding.

“He could explain this all much better than me if you ask him” you tell her, seeing how she still didn’t fully understand.

She nods slightly before looking back down at her dinner “can I go play now?” She asks.

“Finish your peas first” you smile standing back up.

She huffs in annoyance but does as she’s told finishing off her peas before heading off to go play.

“Bedtime in an hour” you call out after her.

“Okay!” She calls out just as you hear the front door open.

“Hey sorry I’m late, Sammy and the guys wanted to hang out” Ari apologises as he walks into the kitchen.

“Its okay, how are they?” You smile kissing him in greeting.

“Good, same old, same old, Jake’s got a new girlfriend” Ari says shrugging his shoulders.

“Let me guess you all have bets on how long it’ll last?” You ask knowingly.

“Of course, I bet they won’t even last til Christmas” he smirks making you laugh.

“So cynical” you laugh shaking your head at him.

Ari just shrugs his shoulders with a mischievous smile “something smells nice” he says nodding over to the oven.

“Thanks, I’ve made us lasagne” you tell him.

“Nice, has Anna already eaten?” Ari asks.

“Yeah, just finished eating when you came in, speaking of which she was asking about Hanukkah and your Menorah in your classroom” you tell him making him raise a brow.

“Really?” He asks surprised.

“Yeah I tried to explain it as best as I could but I said she could ask you but I have a feeling she’ll be too shy to” you explain, Ari nodding his head slightly.

“Oh okay, well I could explain it all tomorrow?” Ari offers, making you smile up at him.

“Will you be dressed up as the holiday armadillo?” You ask with a smirk making Ari laugh.

“But seriously that would be great because you’re such a big part of our lives now, I want her to understand everything about you” you smile running your hands up his arms.

A grin grows on Ari’s face as he wraps his arms around your waist pulling you closer.

“Well I definitely can’t argue with that reasoning” he grins leaning down and kissing you.

You smile into the kiss, your hands moving to cup his cheeks. Your fingers running through his beard and up into his long brown hair. Just as the kiss was about to deepen you hear your daughter shout for you. Both you sigh and Ari chuckle as he rested his forehead against yours.

“I’ll go” he says moving to kiss your forehead.

“Thank you” you smile kissing him quickly before he stepped away to go find out what it was Anna wanted.

The next day Ari popped out back to his apartment to grab everything he needed to help explain what Hanukkah was to Anna. Ignoring your requests for him to pick up an armadillo costume.

When he got back to your apartment you and Anna were sat in the lounge. Sitting on the floor around the coffee table both of you colouring.

“Hey, I got everything” Ari says walking over and sitting down between you and Anna.

“Got what?” Anna asks putting down her crayons.

“Well your mom told me that you wanted to know more about Hanukkah so I thought I’d explain it to you” Ari says pulling out a Menorah and his box of candles.

Anna gave you a small look, clearly unimpressed and embarrassed that you had told Ari about her questions. But you could tell that she was also very curious at everything thing else Ari was pulling out of the bag.

“So the story of Hanukkah is about a group of Jewish rebels called the Maccabees taking back one of the Jewish temples, to do this they had to light a menorah like this one at all times” Ari explained pointing to his Menorah.

“Now Menorahs need pure olive oil to burn, and the Maccabees only had enough for 1 night” Ari continued.

“What did they do?” Anna asked already deeply invested.

“Well they were blessed by a miracle, so instead of only lasting 1 night, the oil lasted 8 which allowed the Maccabees to find more oil” Ari explained, Anna nodding her head in understanding.

“So to celebrate that miracle each night during Hanukkah we light the candles of our menorahs, adding another candle each night” Ari continued pointing at his menorah.

“But why are there 9 spaces if there’s only 8 nights?” Anna questioned.

“Well this one is for the shamash, which is the candle we use to light the others, which is why it’s in the centre and slightly higher up than the rest, we also light the candle in a specific order but I’ll show you that later when we light them” Ari tell her.

“Oh okay, what’s this?” Anna then asks holding up the dreidel.

“That is a dreidel and we use it to play a game” Ari explains gently taking the dreidel from Anna and spinning it on the table.

“Usually we use money, but I thought that instead we could use chocolate coins” Ari says pulling out some chocolate coins.

You had to smile at the excitement expression Anna pulled when she saw the chocolate.

“Can we play?” She asked excitedly.

“Of course, so each player gets an equal amount of coins, and the aim of the game is to have as many as possible because if you lose all your coins you’re out of the game” Ari explains handing each of you 10 coins.

“So on each side of the dreidel is for letters from the Hebrew alphabet: Nun, Gimmel, Hey and Shin, and together they translate to: a great miracle happened here” Ari explained pointing to each of the letters on the dreidel.

“Okay to start the game each player has to put a coin in the pot” Ari says putting one of his coins in the middle, closely followed by you and Anna.

“Then each player takes it in turns to spin the dreidel, and the letter it lands on tells you what to do. So if you land on Shin you add another coin to the pot, nun you do nothing, Gimmel you take all the coins from the pot and hey you take half the coins in the pot” Ari explains pointing to all the letters again.

“Do you understand it all Anna?” You ask watching as she nodded slowly.

“I think so” she says slowly.

“Its okay, I’ll explain more as we play and you’ll pick it up in no time” Ari smiles reassuringly.

As the three of you started playing you couldn’t help but smile at how much Anna was getting into it. You had also noticed Ari cheating, but not so he’d win, but so Anna would. Sneaking coins into her pile whenever he could. Soon enough you were out of the game, Ari soon following leaving Anna the rightful winner.

“Can I eat my coins now?” Anna smiles as she collects her spoils.

“You can have one now, but save the rest for later after dinner” Ari tells her holding up a coin for her.

You couldn’t help but smile at how perfect Ari was with Anna. You knew he was good with kids because he was an elementary school teacher. But seeing him interact with Anna was a whole new level. If you didn’t know better you would say he’s been there her entire life.

“Okay” Anna agrees easily “but you can have one too” she says passing both you and Ari a coin.

“Thank you sweetheart” you smile glancing over at Ari who was grinning over at you as he popped the piece of chocolate in his mouth.

That evening while you were cleaning up the arts and crafts supplies, making sure to save the many drawings Anna and Ari made together, Ari was cooking up latkes with the help of Anna. You paused by the kitchen door smiling when you heard the giggles of Anna and Ari soon followed by them singing the dreidel song together.

“Mommy! Dinner’s ready!” Anna exclaims bursting out of the kitchen excitedly.

“Okay, okay I’m coming” you smile taking her hand and letting her drag you into the kitchen.

“Ta da!” She says proudly holding out her arms to show of her hard work.

“Oh wow it looks delicious sweetie” you smile pulling her into your side and bending down to kiss the top of her head.

You look back up at Ari who was smiling watching on with his hands on his hips. A couple of shirt button undone from the heat of cooking allowing you to see a hint of his chest hair.

“C’mon lets eat before it gets cold” Ari says clapping his hands and rubbing them together, Anna doesn’t move though still too excited to show you everything.

“C’mon missy lets let mommy eat something” Ari says as he walks over standing behind Anna hooking his hands under her shoulders and lifting her easily earning a squeal of a laugh as he put her down in her seat.

After dinner Ari took Anna back over to the menorah so he could teach her exactly how to light it.

“Okay so since tonight is the second night of Hanukkah we place 2 candles on the menorah from right to left” Ari explains as he pulls two candles out of the box.

He passes the candles to Anna directing her so she placed them in the right spots.

“Perfect now we light the shamash and use it to light the rest from left to right” Ari explains lighting a match and lighting the shamash.

“Can I help?” Anna asks hopefully.

“Yes but we need to be very careful, why?” Ari asks.

“Because its fire and fire can hurt” Anna says nodding her head.

“Exactly so lets go nice and slowly” Ari agrees.

He helps Anna light the remaining candles, holding the candle with her so nothing went wrong. Putting the shamash back in its place once they were done.

“What do we say to Ari for teaching you all about Hanukkah?” You say putting your hands on Anna’s shoulders.

“Thank you Ari” Anna says in a slight sing songy voice.

“It was my pleasure” Ari smiles ruffling her hair, making her laugh.

“Right you’ve had a very exciting day and it’s getting late so it’s time to get ready for bed” you say patting Anna’s shoulders.

“Okay” Anna sighs clearing not sold on the idea.

“I’ll be through in a few minutes” you tell her as she heads off to her room.

Once she was gone you turned back round to Ari and cup his cheek kissing him deeply. He gives you a lopsided grin as you pull away.

“What was that for?” He smirks.

“For being you and teaching Anna all about Hanukkah” you smile thumb running over his beard.

Ari smiles moving his lips back to yours “anything for my two favourite ladies” he smiles.

A few minutes later you were stood in the bathroom with Anna brushing her hair as she brushed her teeth.

“All done?” You ask putting the hairbrush down as she finished up nodding her head.

“Can Ari read me a story?” She asks turning around to face you.

“Sure, you go get into bed while I get him” you smile kissing the top of her head.

“Yay thank you” she smiles bounding off to her bedroom.

You chuckle gently before heading back to the living room where Ari was reclined on the couch reading a book.

“All tucked in for bed?” He asks when he spots you.

“Not yet, she’s requested that you read her a story and tuck her in” you smile walking over to him.

“Really?” He asks surprised as he sits up.

“Yep, you better get in there before she comes and find you” you smirk kissing him as he stands up.

“I better hurry up then” he smiles heading towards Anna’s room.

He knocked on the door gently before pushing it open finding Anna already in bed waiting for him. A smile growing on her face when she sees him.

“Okay missy, what story would you like?” He asks pausing by her bookshelf.

“Can you tell me another one of your story?” She asks shuffling in her bed to face him.

“Of course” Ari smiles moving to perch by the side of his bed.

Anna’s attention was solely on him as he recounted a story his mom would always tell him when he was her age. Soon enough he saw her holding back yawns desperately trying to stay awake.

“The end” Ari says gently brushing some hair out of her face.

“Thank you Ari” Anna yawns a smile on her face.

“Its okay, did you have fun today?” He asks earning a nod for the little girl.

“Good, and if you have anymore questions don’t be scared to ask” Ari reminds her.

Anna nods her head again before asking “do you still celebrate Christmas if you’re Jewish?”

“I do yes, Christmas as become a holiday that’s more than just its religious origin, so many faiths now celebrate it too because it’s about being around family and loved ones” Ari explains as Anna shifts to get more comfortable in bed.

“Good because I know what I want for Christmas” she tells him sleepily.

“And what’s that?” Ari asks tilting his head in question.

“For you to marry my mom” Anna says with a yawn.

Ari smiled warmly down at the little girl who has no clue how much he wanted that too, even if the pair of you had only been dating for 10 months.

“I’ll work on that” Ari says quietly “night Anna” he smiles kissing the top of her head.

“Night Ari” Anna yawned her eyes fluttering shut.

Ari waited for a moment before slowly creeping out of the room careful not to wake her. Once he shut the door he paused for a moment smiling to himself knowing that he had just gotten permission from the most important person in your life.

“Out like a light” Ari says walking back into the living room.

“Thank you, here” you smile passing him a glass of wine as he sits down besides you on the couch.

He smiles accepting the glass as he wraps his arm around your shoulders pulling you into his side and kissing the top of your head.

“I was thinking” Ari starts making you snort with laughter.

“That’s a dangerous game” you smirk making him roll his eyes playfully.

“I was thinking that why don’t we try and find a place for the both of us? A house or something with a yard for Anna to run around in?” Ari suggests putting his glass down so he could turn to face you.

He watches as a wide smile grows on your face “really? You’d want that?” You ask in disbelief.

“Of course, I want everything with you, to spend the rest of my life with you and this seems like the next logical step” Ari smiles.

“I want that too” you say quietly smiling up at him.

“You have just kinda ruined my Christmas present to you though” you add making him laugh.

“Which was?” Ari asks.

“Asking you to move in with us” you smile making him laugh.

“I guess I could until we find a place” he suggests running his hand up and down your arm.

“We’d love that” you smile leaning up to kiss him, excited about the prospect of your new life together as a family.

Day 21: Frank Adler / Day 23: Ransom Drysdale

Masterlist

PLEASE LIKE FOLLOW AND REBLOG (it can be your christmas present to me....)

#wiypt25daysofchrismas #ari levinson #teacher!ari #ari levinson x reader #Red Sea Diving Resort #Chris Evans

[pumpkinpaix]

mdzs fandom, diaspora, and cultural exchange

Hey everyone. This post contains a statement that’s been posted to my twitter, but was a collaborative effort between several diaspora fans over the last few weeks. Some of the specifics are part of a twitter-localized discourse, but the general sentiments and issues raised are applicable across the board, including here on tumblr.

If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ve probably seen a few of my posts about this fandom, cultural exchange, and diasporic identity. For example, here, here, and here. This statement more directly criticizes some of the general issues I and others have raised in the past, and also hopefully provides a little more insight into where those issues come from. I would be happy if people took the time to read and reblog this, as the thought that went into it is not trivial, and neither is the subject matter. Thank you.

Introduction

Hello. I'm a member of a Chinese diaspora discord server - I volunteered to try and compile a thread of some thoughts regarding our place and roles in the fandom expressed in some of our recent discussions. This was primarily drafted by me and reviewed/edited by others with the hopes that we can share a cohesive statement on our honest feelings instead of repeatedly sharing multiple, fragmented versions of similar threads in isolation.

This was compiled by one group of diaspora and cannot be taken to represent diaspora as a whole, but we hope that our input can be considered with compassion and understanding of such.

For context, we are referencing two connected instances: the conflict described in these two threads (here and here), and when @/jelenedra tweeted about giving Jewish practices to the Lans. Regarding the latter, we felt that it tread into the territory of cultural erasure, and that it came from a person who had already disrespected diaspora’s work and input.

Context

The Lans have their own religious and cultural practices, rooted both in the cultural history of China and the genre of xianxia. Superimposing a different religious practice onto the Lans amidst other researched, canonical or culturally accurate details felt as if something important of ours was being overwritten for another’s personal satisfaction. Because canon is so intrinsically tied to real cultural, historical, and religious practices, replacing those practices in a canon setting fic feels like erasure. While MDZS is a fantasy novel, the religious practices contained therein are not. This was uncomfortable for many of us, and we wanted to point it out and have it resolved amicably. We were hoping for a discussion or exchange as there are many parallels and points of relation between Chinese and Jewish cultures, but that did not turn out quite as expected.

What happened next felt like a long game of outrage telephone that resulted in a confusion of issues that deflected responsibility, distracted from the origin of the conflict, and swept our concern under the rug.

Specifically, we are concerned about how these two incidents are part of what we feel is a repeated, widespread pattern of the devaluing of Chinese fans’ work and concerns within this fandom. This recent round of discourse is just one of many instances where we have found ourselves in a position of feeling spoken over within a space that is nominally ours. Regardless of what the telephone game was actually about, the way it played out revealed something about how issues are prioritized.

Background

MDZS is one of the first and largest franchises of cmedia that has become popular and easily accessible outside of China. Moreover, it’s a piece of queer Chinese media that is easily accessible to those of us overseas. For many non-Chinese fans, this is the first piece of cmedia they have connected with, and it’s serving as their introduction to a culture previously opaque to them. What perhaps is less obvious is that for many Chinese diaspora fans, this is also the first piece of cmedia THEY have connected with, found community with, seen themselves in.

Many, many of us have a fraught relationship with our heritage, our language—we often suffer from a sense of alienation, both from our families and from our surrounding peers. For our families, our command of the language and culture is often considered superficial, clunky, childish. Often, connecting with our culture is framed as a mandatory academic duty, and such an approach often fosters resentment towards our own heritage. For our non-Chinese peers, our culture is seen as exotic and strange and other, something shiny and interesting to observe, while we, trapped in the middle, find ourselves uprooted and adrift.

MDZS holds an incredibly important place in many diaspora’s hearts. Speaking for myself, this is literally the first time in my life I have felt motivated and excited about my own native tongue. It's the first time I have felt genuine hope that I might one day be able to speak and read it without fear and self-doubt. It is also the first time that so many people have expressed interest in learning from me, in hearing my thoughts and opinions about my culture.

This past year and a half in fandom has been an incredible experience. I know that I am not alone in this. So many diaspora I have spoken to just in the last week have expressed similar sentiments about the place MDZS holds in their lives. It is a precious thing to us, both because we love the story itself, and because it represents a lifeline to a heritage that’s never felt fully ours to grasp.

It’s wonderful to feel like we are able to welcome our friends into our home and show them all these things that have been so formative to our identities, and to be received with such enthusiasm and interest. Introducing this to non-Chinese friends and fans has also been an opportunity to bridge gaps and be humanized in a way that has been especially important in a year where yellow peril fear mongering has been at an all-time high.  

History

However, MDZS’ rise in popularity among non-Chinese audiences has also come with certain difficulties. It is natural to want to take a story you love and make it your own: that’s what transformative fandom is all about. It is also natural that misunderstandings and unintentional missteps might happen when you aren’t familiar with the ins and outs of the culture and political history of the story in question. This is understandable and forgivable—perfection is impossible, even for ourselves.

We hope for consideration and respect when we give our knowledge freely and when we raise the issue of our own discomfort with certain statements or actions regarding our culture. Please remember that what is an isolated incident to you might be a pattern of growing microaggressions to us. In non-Asian spaces, Asian diaspora are often lumped together under one umbrella. In the west, a lot of Chinese diaspora attach themselves to Korean and Japanese media in order to feel some semblance of connection to a media which approximates our cultures because there are cultural similarities. This is the first time we've collectively found community around something that is actually ours, so the specificities matter.

There is a bitterness about being Asian diaspora and a misery in having to put up a united front about racial issues. Enmity towards one group becomes a danger to all of us, all while our own conflicted histories with one another continue to pass trauma down through the generations. Many of us don’t even watch anime in front of our grandparents because of that lingering cultural antipathy. When the distinctions between our cultures are muddled, it feels once again like that very fraught history is flattened and forgotten.

Without the lived experience of it, it’s hard to understand how pervasive the contradictory web of anti-Asian and, more specifically, anti-Chinese racial aggressions are and how insidious its effects are. The conflation of China the political entity (as perceived and presented by the US and Europe) with its people, culture, and diaspora results in an exhausting litany of criticism levied like a bludgeon, often by people who don’t understand the complicated nature of a situation against those of us who do.

There is often a frankly stunning lack of self-awareness re: cultural biases and blind spots when it comes to discussions of MDZS, particularly moral ones. There are countless righteous claims and hot takes on certain aspects of the story, its author, and the characters that are so clearly rooted in a Euroamerican political and moral framework that does not reflect Chinese cultural realities and experiences. Some of these takes have become so widespread they are essentially accepted as fanon.

This is a pattern of behavior within the fandom. It is not limited to any specific group, nor does it even exclude ourselves—we are, after all, not a monolith, and we should not be placed on pedestals to have our differing opinions weaponized against one another in fandom squabbles. We are not flawless in our own understandings and approaches, and we would appreciate it if others would remember this before using any of us as ultimate authorities to settle a personal score.

It is difficult not to be disheartened when enthusiastic interest crosses the line into entitled demand and when transformative work crosses into erasure, especially when the reactions to our raised concerns have so frequently been dismissive and hostile. The overwhelming cultural and emotional labor we bring to the table is often taken advantage of and then criticized in bad faith. We are bombarded with racist aggressions, micro and macro, and then met with ridicule and annoyance when we push back. Worse, we sometimes face accusations of hostility that force us to apologize, back down, and let the matter go.

When we bring up our issues, it usually seems to come with the expectation that there are other issues that should be addressed before we can address ours. It feels like it’s never really the time to talk about Asian issues.

On the internet and in fandom spaces, Western-coded media, politics and perspectives are assumed to be general knowledge and experience that everyone knows and has. It feels like a double standard that we are expected to know the ins and outs of western politics and to engage on these terms, but most non-Chinese have not even the slightest grasp of the sort of politics that are at play within our communities. We end up feeling used for our specialized knowledge and cultural background and then dismissed when our opinions and problems are inconvenient.

As the culture represented in MDZS is not a culture that most non-Chinese fans are familiar with, we’d like to remind you that you do not get to decide which parts of it are or are not important. While sharing this space with Chinese diaspora who have a close connection to the work and the painful history that goes along with being diaspora, we ask that you be mindful of listening to our concerns.

Cultural erasure is tied to a lot of intense historical and generational trauma for us that maybe isn't immediately evident: the horrors of the Pacific theatre, the far-reaching consequences of colonization, racial tensions both among ourselves and with non-Chinese etc. These are not minor or simple things, and when we talk about our issues within fandom, this is often what underlies them. This is one of the first and only places many of us have been able to find community to discuss our unique issues without feeling as if we’re speaking out of turn.

With the HK protests, COVID, the anti-Chinese platforms of the US election etc., anti-Chinese sentiment has been at the forefront of the global news cycle for some time now, and it is with complete sincerity that we emphasize once again how important MDZS fandom has been as a haven for humanizing and valuing Chinese people through cultural exchange.

Experiencing racial aggression within that space stings, not just because it’s a space we love, but because it feels like we’ve been swimming in rapidly rising racial aggression for over a year at this point.

Feelings

This is a difficult topic to broach at the best of times, and these are not the best of times. Many of us have a wariness of rocking the boat instilled in us from our upbringings, and it is not uncommon for us to feel like we should be grateful that people want to engage with something of ours at all. When we do decide to speak up, we’ve learned that there is a not insignificant chance that we’ll be turned on and trampled over because what we’ve said is inconvenient or uncomfortable. When it is already so difficult to speak up, we end up second-guessing and gaslighting ourselves into wondering whether there really was a problem at all.

We’d like to be able to share what we know about our culture and have our knowledge and experience be taken seriously and treated with courtesy. This is a beautiful, rich world built with the history of our ancestors, one that we too are trying to connect with. When we find it in ourselves to speak up about it, we would appreciate being met with consideration instead of hostility.

We don't have the luxury of stepping away from our culture when we get tired of it. We don't get to put it down and walk away when it’s difficult. But if you're not Chinese or Chinese diaspora, you get to put this book down—we'd like to kindly request that you put it down gently because of how much it matters to all of us in this fandom, regardless of heritage.

What we are asking for is reflection and thoughtfulness as we continue to engage with this work and with one another, especially with regards to how Chinese issues are positioned. When we raise issues of our own discomfort, please take a moment to reflect before reacting defensively or trying to shut us down for spoiling the fun—don’t deprioritize our concerns, especially in a fandom for a piece of Chinese media. We promise most of us are not trying to start shit for the sake of a fight. Most of the time, all we want is acknowledgement and a genuine attempt at understanding.

Our hope with this statement is to encourage more openness and understanding between diaspora and non-Chinese fans while we navigate this place that we’re sharing. Please remember that for many of us, MDZS is far more intense than a typical fandom experience. Remember that the knowledge we have and research we do is freely and happily given, and that it costs us both materially and emotionally. Please don’t take that for granted. Remember too that sometimes the reason for our discomfort may not be immediately evident to you: what seems culturally neutral and harmless might touch upon specific loaded issues for us. We ask for patience, and we ask for sincerity as we try to communicate with one another.

We are writing this because there’s a collective sense of imposed silence—that every time the newest round of discourse crops up, we often feel as if we’re walking away having created no meaningful change, and nursing new wounds that we’ll never get to address. But without speaking up about it, this is a cycle that will keep repeating.

This is not meant to shame or guilt the fandom into throwing themselves at our feet, either to thank us or beg for forgiveness—far from that. We’re just your friends and your fellow fans. We are happy to have you here, and we’re happy to create and share and play together. We just ask to be respected and heard.

Thank you. Thank you for listening. Several of us will be stepping back from twitter for a while. We’ll see you when we get back. ❤️

* A final addendum: here are two articles with solid practical advice on writing stories regarding a culture other than your own.

Cultural Appropriation for the Worried Writer: Some Practical Advice

Cultural Appropriation: Some More Practical Advice

The thread on twitter is linked in the source of this post. Thanks everyone.

#mdzs #mdzs meta #the untamed #the untamed meta #cql #asian diaspora #chinese diaspora #race #racism #mine #mymeta #once again my tag failing me because this is a collaborative work #but! for the sake of organization #statistically average #cultural appropriation #cultural erasure #what else do i tag this im so wired

[blindbeta]

Blind / Low Vision Person’s Review of “Blind” by Rachel DeWoskin and Why Writers Should Not Underestimate the Benefits of a Sensitivity Reader

[Content warnings: spoilers for the book. Ableism. Brief mention of an accident involving eye trauma. Mentions of suicide. Stereotypes about blind people. Also this review, because I focused on the portrayal of blindness, comes across negatively. Please know that I have no hate for the author and might even read another book she wrote. However, I did not like the way this book portrayed blindness and, as difficult as it is, I wanted to be honest in my review.]

I struggled with the title, and I’m not even sure benefits is the appropriate word. What I want to convey here is not Brought to You By Big Sensitivity Reader Company vibes, but more This Book Was Not Good and It Needed a Sensitivity Reader Very Badly vibes.

Blind is about Emma Silver, a high school student who goes blind in a traumatic accident. Here is a good summary and review by a blind person. I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated well. I’ll start by saying this will only be a review of the portrayal of blindness — I’ll try to leave my other opinions out just to keep things focused.

Unfortunately, focusing on just blindness means that it will not make this review more positive, because this book is about a blind girl recovering from going blind. In a way that is both inauthentic and swerves well out of the author’s lane. I say that because, as I hope will become apparent, this book consists of main character Emma being sad about being blind for the majority of the book. The book doesn’t simply have a character who goes blind. That is the main character’s entire arc.

This is a long review. However, I believe it will be invaluable for my readers and anyone who is interested in writing a blind character. Because this book passes most of my minimum standards for writing blind characters and was still lacking due to many factors, including stereotypes. I included many sub-headings so you can find specific topics easily.

Helpful Links

I include these links in the review. I’ll list them here for easy finding.

Here are two reviews of the book by blind readers: one and two.

Here is a video of the author talking about some of research she did for the book.

Here is my post Things I Want to See More Of / Less Of.

Here is my post about writing a blind character adjusting to being blind and being all sad about it when you aren’t blind yourself.

And finally, here is the post I shared that lists misconceptions about blind people.

The Author

The author, Rachel Dewoskin, is not blind. I did as much research as I could, but even if I hadn’t done so before reading the book, it was obvious she wasn’t blind herself. There are too many inaccuracies and offensive moments. This becomes a problem not because her MC was blind, but because she told a blind person’s story and used tropes in ways I think would be better off written by a blind person. If I’m going to read a story like this, I don’t want to read it from the perspective of a person who isn’t blind. When I get into the details of what went wrong, I hope you’ll see why.

Did the author do her research? Yes. The author met with blind people, clearly researched assistive technology and cane skills, and even taught herself contracted Braille. She talks a little about it in this video.

In fact, I wanted to say I am so impressed and grateful this author immersed herself in things like Braille and cane skills. None of my followers have shared that they went to a Lighthouse For the Blind or taught themselves to read Braille or spoken so passionately about why they loved it.

But sometimes research falls short. Or it is simply not enough.

That’s why I’m writing this review. For you writers writing blind characters when you aren’t blind. Because while the author clearly had good intentions, while the author clearly did her research and put in the time to learn and listen in ways I don’t think many of my followers have yet — the book was not authentic enough for me.

This book needed several sensitivity readers. If it had any, I would be surprised.

The Cover

The audiobook seems to have Braille on the cover, but I can’t tell if it is accessible or simply a picture of Braille. The cover features the word Blind in white print on a black background, with what seems to be Braille in rainbow colors that also spell out the title. I’ll reserve judgment here, since I don’t know the answer. If the Braille is tactile, then the cover is fantastic.

In the video I linked, the author seems to be holding the hardcover edition of the book with Braille on the cover. I can’t tell if the Braille is actually tactile or not.

What I Liked About the Book

I wanted to list a few things I liked about the book.

1. The main character is Jewish.

2. Emma has a large family full of well-developed characters and realistic portrayals of various ages. Everyone reacts uniquely to her blindness and I thought these characters were all used well. The scenes with Emma and her older sisters as well as the scenes with her mom were really great.

3. Emma gets therapy for her trauma. She also gets training to use a cane. These are annoyingly rare in stories.

4. As I said, the author clearly did her research. This is obvious when reading the book and In everything I found when researching the author after I finished it. I want to give the author praise here. I thought her explanations of technology Emma uses were the most accurate I have seen so far, both in books and when doing sensitivity reads.

What I Didn’t Like

I will start with this: Emma, after a year of learning to use her cane, is still using a cane inside her own house. After a year. This is not realistic, nor does it seem comfortable at all to use a cane in one’s own home. I don’t know anyone who does this and according to the other reviews, I am not the only one who was surprised by this.

Basically, this story would be okay with some inaccuracies. That’s to be expected. The real issue I had with this book was that it uses tropes the blind community generally hates and that the book is literally about !!! a character going blind and adapting. That’s the story. If you remove the blindness and the trauma, the story falls apart.

The author told a story that was not hers to tell and she did so badly.

If you are confused about why I dislike this, please read this post called Writing Blind Characters Accepting Being Blind When You Aren’t Blind Yourself.

What Did The Author Do Badly?

Trauma and Blindness

The story starts when main character, Emma, goes blind after a fireworks accident. Not only is this cliché, but it also tics one of my boxes in my Things I Want To See Less of post. This author wrote about a character going blind due to a traumatic accident. Link to the post.

In telling a story that was not hers to tell, here are some harmful things in the book:

The author does not do a good job of separating Emma’s trauma from her blindness. To be fair, this is difficult and most people don’t know to go about doing so with purpose. There are a lot of times in the book where the fact that Emma is traumatized leads to her saying a lot of terrible things about blindness and blind people that are never corrected or contradicted in the story. Again, if you are not sure why this is a problem, read the link I shared to my post.

Here are a few times this issue came up:

-Emma develops a habit of rocking, which myself and many reviewers know to attribute to trauma, but it isn’t clear if the author thinks blind people rock, as the stereotype indicates. Is Emma rocking as a trauma response or because she is blind? The book doesn’t make it clear. This is a time where authors need to be clear.

-Emma assumed she will never get a job, be kissed, get married, etc, after going blind.

-Emma yells about being ruined due to her blindness. The first two hours of the audiobook consist of Emma complaining about being blind. She mentions never being able to get a job a few times, assuming she won’t be able to work. While blind people do struggle with employment, this is due to discrimination, lack of transportation, lack of accommodations, lack of community support, and other systemic issues.

-Emma calls herself disfigured.

-Emma states she wanted to die. In another part of the book, when a background character we never met, Claire, completed suicide, Emma wonders if she was so focused on Claire because she wondered if she wanted to kill herself too.

-On the subject of the character, Claire, Emma states: “How easy would being gay be compared to being blind?”

This is especially damaging because some people are blind and gay. It also isn’t fair for Emma to compare them and the systemic issues that are faced by blind people and gay people. Emma not only trivializes homophobia, but also decides being blind is worse. For Emma, being blind is the worst thing ever, which is very isolating to read.

There are times where the fact that Emma is traumatized was not only grouped in with her blindness, but where the author used trauma to write ideas about blindness that are ultimately harmful.

This book, if readers of the blog want to read it, should be a lesson on why separating trauma from blindness is important. Whether that means making clear distinctions in the narrative itself or just not writing about a character going blind after a traumatic accident.

Let’s continue the overall things done badly.

Stereotypes and Tropes About Blind People

1. Rocking —

I have already mentioned the rocking thing above, but to reiterate here, not all blind people rock to orient themselves.

2. Touching Faces —

Emma and another blind character literally feel each other’s faces, one of the most hated tropes for blind people. In another scene, Emma feels another character’s face without asking.

3. Where Are the Audio Descriptions? —

Emma compares her life to a horror movie she couldn’t watch. This is a subtle reinforcement of the idea that blind people don’t watch films or television. The book makes no mention of audio descriptions. I suppose Emma and all the other blind characters simply don’t watch films or shows anymore.

4. Supposedly Fake Service Dogs —

Emma gets a dog that is specifically said to not be a guide dog. Emma brings this dog to restaurants and to school. Emma explains that she can get away with bringing her dog because no one wants to tell the blind kid no. This was, as you may be able to imagine, frustrating to read. Plenty of blind people have been denied access to transportation and buildings with a guide dog that is supposed to be able to travel freely. Emma’s blindness would absolutely not be a big help to her in bringing her dog places where it is not allowed. In showing Emma getting away with bringing her dog into restaurants when he is explicitly not a service dog, the author is contributing to a huge myth that prevents actual service dogs from traveling freely. Yes, this is only a book and it probably isn’t falling into the hands of someone powerful — however, it has probably been picked up by a business owner, a driver for public transport, a teacher, etc.

5. Avoiding words like see and look —

Emma avoids words like see and look. She also gets angry at her friends for using such words. At one point, Emma’s friend says something and Emma snaps, “I can’t see”. This prompts her friend to, according to Emma, never make that mistake again. Toward the end of the book, Emma is still avoiding such words.

Here is a list of misconceptions about blind people. Look at #6.

Here is another review of this book that also touches on this issue. The reviewer states: “The strange thing is that I’ve never known any blind person avoiding the use of words like “see” or “look.” Again, I’d hate for sighted people to read this book and think that blind folk all avoid words with visual associations; in fact, the only blind friends I talk to moan about sighted people avoiding the use of such visual words because they think we’ll be offended!”

6. All Blind People Are Apparently Totally Blind —

At one point in the story, Emma attends a school for the blind. Another character, who I think was Emma’s mother, says that the campus is beautiful. Emma makes this remark: “Why bother making a school for the blind beautiful? It’s lost on everyone anyway.”

Wow, Emma, that was rude. This is another example of where Emma’s pain and anger cause issues for readers. If they take this at face value, they may think that blind people don’t notice or appreciate beauty. More importantly, they might also assume, like Emma, that all blind people can’t see. As I have stated many times on this blog, most blind people have residual vision. Not everyone is totally blind. This is why, like beautiful grounds, schools for the blind also have things like stairs with high contrast.

7. Subtle Use of the Idea That People With Low Vision Should Rather Strain Themselves Than Be Blind —

This one was less obvious for me. However, once I thought about it again, I understood what I was reading in this character. There’s a rather outgoing character named Seb whose personality is very refreshing in this story. Seb attends the school for the blind with Emma. Seb has low vision.

So Seb wants to get a job. Remember how Emma was afraid she wouldn’t be able to get a job now that she is blind?

Instead of showing Seb getting a job to prove that idea wrong, he knows he has to conveniently not mention being blind when he applies, showing up in sunglasses and without a cane. The book states he worries he wouldn’t be able to fill out the application.

Here is what the book states:

[Quote] “He got hired without telling any of the guys who ran the place that he wasn’t sighted; I know because he had confided in me and Dee the week before that he wanted the job—if friend worked there and said they had an opening—but Seb was worried he wouldn’t be able to fill out the application. So he showed up one night before closing time, wearing sunglasses and not carrying a cane, and asked all casually if he could grab and application and bring it back the next day.

And he spent all night filling it and brought it back the next day. He didn’t mention that he was blind or that the application had taken six hours to finish with the help of his sighted brother.” [End quote]

Seb has no obligation to reveal any personal information to them. If he wants to fill out the application on his own time, in a way in which he feels comfortable, that is fine. However, the book implies he thought he would not be hired if they knew he was blind. Rather than talk about the employment discrimination that is such a huge problem for blind people, the book decides to skip over this. And rather than address Emma’s fear-based expectation that she will never get a job, presumably because she doesn’t think blind people can do anything, the book ignores it.

Seb getting a job, especially in this way, does absolutely nothing to assuage Emma’s fears. Or challenge any possible low expectations the readers may have.

Seb fills out the application by himself and it takes six hours. Six. Hours. His brother also helps him eventually and it still takes that long. No one I know, even with intense internalized ableism, would sit there for six hours doing something like that.

Seb should be using a magnifying device or a scanner app. There is tons of technology out there for people with low vision and the author chose to include absolutely none of it in the book. Instead, she chose to show a character struggling for six hours without exploring his reasons for doing so. Does he do this because of internalized ableism? If yes, how can the same character tell Emma the school will get rid of her “Poor Blind Kid bullshit”?

Now, in some families and some cultures, it would be more appropriate for a family member to help. However, the author tells us nothing more about Seb’s culture, his family life, or his motivations. I assume he did not ask for his brother’s help until later, because I can’t fathom why having a family member help from the start would take six hours.

Why is a character doing this in a story that is supposed to be about adjusting to blindness? Clinging to his remaining vision instead of using a few adaptive tools to make things easier on his eyes hardly makes him a good role model for Emma. Why is a character modeling independence in this specific way? In a way that tells Emma that it is better to struggle with a little vision than to be totally blind?

This is reinforced when Emma says some kids, including Seb, pass well. This is something that cannot be given nuance unless it is written by someone who experienced it. Otherwise, the story shows Emma over and over again that being blind is bad. Undesirable. Which is ableist.

Do people struggle with this? Absolutely. Did the author write it well? No.

And Here Are a Few Things That Could Have Been Done Better

In this section, I wanted to go over things I thought could have been done better. They aren’t necessarily harmful, but I wanted to mention them.

Sunglasses

The main character wears sunglasses when she goes out. This is likely because she has a scar she feels self-conscious about, but this is still a big stereotype that the author could have taken more care with.

O&M Issues

So Emma has someone come around to teach her orientation and mobility, which was nice. The author put in her research here as well. However, the instructor leaves after a time, which seems odd. Rather than work with her around her schools or other locations, he decides she has learned all the basics. I received O&M training until university.

Now Let’s Examine The Blind Characters vs Tropes

In this section, I want to go over the biggest tropes in the stories structure, the number of blind characters, and what I normally advise to get around these issues. We’ll see how this advice compares to how the book turned out.

So, the things to look out for are:

-tokenism

-blind characters going blind through trauma

-blind characters being sad about being blind

Examining Tokenism

Emma is not the only blind character. The blind characters include: Emma, Sebastian, Dee, and Annabelle. I normally say to have one other blind character at minimum. The book meets that requirement.

Examining Blind Characters Going Blind Through Trauma

I also normally suggest avoiding characters going blind through trauma, especially main characters. If the writer would like to go ahead with this, I normally suggest 2 or 3 other blind characters who didn’t go blind through trauma. With 2 as the minimum. I admit, I prefer the main character not to be the one going blind through trauma, simply because the main character has so much power in the perception of the reader.

Let us examine each character.

Emma - went blind through a traumatic fireworks accident

Sebastian- unknown

Dee - unknown

Annabelle- went blind through Retinitis Pigmentosa

On the topic of Dee and Seb, Emma does mention they may have better hearing, which she claims you only have if you lose your sight before the age of ten. We can guess that Dee and Seb both went blind in early childhood or were born blind, but we aren’t sure. What I want here is explicit confirmation that other characters didn’t go blind through accidents. We only get that with Annabelle and her RP.

Not only that, but the other blind characters are not in the novel as much. Annabelle only shows up at the end, seemingly as a way for Emma to help another recently blind person to show how she has developed. Seb and Dee are only in a few chapters, mostly as flashbacks. They don’t get much backstory or development either.

However, it fills my minimum requirements, so I’ll let it pass.

Examining Blind Characters Being Sad About Being Blind

This is literally Emma throughout the entire book. Until the last few chapters.

Annabelle has a similar, shorter arc, although she is only 9 at the time. Annabelle comes in near the end of the book.

It is normal for people to need an adjustment period, particularly if they are young. However, to have the entire book consist of Emma being sad and having trauma focused mostly on her blindness is not something I’m okay with. Especially because, as I wrote in this post, it can leave non-blind readers with a very negative impression of blindness. Again, why would I want to read about this arc from an author who isn’t blind? Why make the entire book about adjusting to blindness?

Anyway, then we have Seb and Dee.

There characters were refreshing in this story, which is mostly Emma being sad and angry.

Dee doesn’t seem to be sad, but we don’t know much about her. She does seem well adjusted and laidback. She and Seb go skiing, so that’s something.

Sebastian gets a little more attention in the story. He does tell Emma the school for the blind will knock the “BPK bullshit” or “Poor Blind Kid bullshit” right out of her. I thought it was funny. Sebastian also has a big personality and interests outside of moping about being blind. He enjoys skiing and, according to Emma, he would have no problem with presenting on the Lighthouse For the Blind in front of people who aren’t blind, unlike Emma, who struggles with calling attention to her blindness. Which I can understand, what with the awkward questions her sighted classmates give her.

However, Seb also has an issue with hiding or fighting against his low vision in some parts of the story. If Sebastian were the main character, I could understand some of the things he does. However, this does not go well at all with Emma’s arc.

Anyway, Seb and Dee don’t get nearly enough time in the book for me to feel 100% comfortable using them as exceptions.

How Would a Sensitivity Reader Help?

If I were doing a sensitivity read for this book, I would suggest including more about Seb and Dee and the school for the blind. I would have explained that the way the story sidelines them shows Emma is not okay associating with her blind friends. I would have asked for more backstory, more contrast between them and the main character, and possibly a few more blind characters Emma met at the school for the blind.

If the writer was insistent on having Emma go blind in an accident, I would have suggested reducing the time she spent depressed and shifting the focus from her blindness to her traumatic accident. I would have had the author work harder to separate the two, even if it took Emma a while to do so. I would have also suggested reducing Emma’s remarks or have them called out. For example, her comments about not being able to get a job or beautiful schools being lost on blind people. Sebastian would have been excellent in this role.

I would have worked with her to either get rid of or subvert the list of stereotypes. Most of them are easy fixes.

I would have told her blind people don’t use canes in their houses. I would have given suggestions for assistive technology for Seb to use. I would have helped her with the section on trauma and blindness, reducing or erasing a lot of the issues I included there. I would have suggested giving Emma an arc that isn’t entirely about adjusting to blindness, even if her story starts with going blind.

I probably would have seemed nicer about my feedback because the author still had opportunity to make changes.

The author could have done more research on stereotypes and cane usage, but I think there is an important lesson here about the benefits of sensitivity readers.

In the end, a sensitivity reader would have fixed most of the problems in this story, despite the amount of research the author did. Research cannot always teach you everything and that is where a sensually or authenticity reader comes in. Moreover, there is a certain respect in involving communities you are representing. In paying them in money or exposure. In listening to their voices and respecting what they say. If the author was willing to learn Braille and sit with blind people to learn about canes and technology, why did she stop at getting sensitivity readers? Why does it feel like she didn’t want to include the blind community in any meaningful way?

I hope this helps someone.

-BlindBeta

#blind person reviews a review tag #book talk ; let’s review published books #review #blind representation #blind #blind characters #writing blind characters #trauma narrative #stereotypes #blind tropes #eye trauma #ableism

[demonoflight]

What do you think of the Prince of Egypt musical? I don't want to give too much away, in case you haven't seen it, so all I'll say is - the ending is a happier one than in the movie.

Not too pleased with it, to be quite honest. It does a disservice to both the original biblical story and the movie it's based on by diminishing the role of God throughout the story and adding villainous characters, combining Hotep and Hui into one classic Evil Chancellor character and adding Ramses' wife to the mix, to absolve Ramses of his behavior as Pharaoh. And the "happier" ending doesn't sit right with me at all. Ramses just endured weeks, perhaps months, of horrible plagues befalling his people, and has just lost his eldest and implied only son. But he's somehow willing to hug the brother who brought this upon him, support his endeavors and let him cross the Red Sea with his people? After all that? And then Hotep commandeers the army to give chase and they all drown and Ramses is all like "welp gotta go back home but I sure am glad my bro and I are still cool". Like hello???

You have to understand, I'm Jewish. I'm not particularly religious and don't believe the Torah is some kind of historical document (for the most part), but culturally I'm very invested. The story of Prince of Egypt means a lot more to me than just being a good movie - every year I read the Haggadah during the Passover Seder with family or friends, I've read the entire Torah as well, and I know the story like the back of my hand. I wouldn't love Prince of Egypt as much as I do if it didn't tell the story I've grown up retelling every Passover in a deeply respectful and engaging manner. The musical just doesn't treat the story with the respect and gravitas I would expect, and actively tries to stray away from the religious context to the detriment of the story.

And even without taking the original biblical story into account, Prince of Egypt's human drama works best as a tragedy of two loving brothers forced to become enemies due to their separate destinies. Softening it up isn't doing the story any favors.

On the production end, I'm displeased that they cut Playing With The Big Boys, which I will freely admit is likely the weakest song in the movie but is just too much fun and would have looked incredible onstage. I'm also less than impressed with the musical's version of The Plagues. And the Egyptians' clothing looks stupid. I mean I hardly expect anyone to be barechested on stage, but what is this godawful mishmash of modern royal mixed with pop culture "Ancient Egyptian" flavoring? At least they got the pschent (the unified kingdom crown) more or less right... It would have been far more impressive if they did more research and went with era appropriate clothing. I also get the impression the production is rather minimalistic which is like... why? Prince of Egypt is an absolute spectacle of a movie, why downplay that?

I'm sorry, you probably expected a different answer. When I was first told there's going to be a Prince of Egypt musical, I was thrilled, but then it ended up like... *gestures vaguely* That.

#prince of egypt #the prince of egypt