#i think the fact that they are white x white is ALSO a significant factor that plays into their being the no.1 most written-for wlw ship | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

suffarustuffaru · 11 months

Note

ram for the ask thing

YOO RAM :O i gotchu anon. and yes this is gonna be kind of long again bc i have a lot of thoughts (yes i wrote a whole essay on ram/roswaal alone).

Sexuality Headcanon: SHE SWINGS HOWEVER SHE LIKES.

A ship I have with said character: ramilia and ram x fred are so cute 🥺🥺🥺 ramilia has their moments in canon already and ram x fred have their canon sickfic side story akdndn (its cute!!! fred takes care of ram!!) and i love the like mix of emilia and fred’s sweet personalities with ram’s sharper one pfft. that and ram x fred would be so fucking funny when you factor in garfiel. like yeah garfiels ultimately a good kid and he’ll get over the fact that his childhood crush is now dating his older sister eventually. and he’ll be very happy for both of them and he trusts ram with his sister too!! BUT LIKE the hilarity of garf wailing in despair (metaphorical and literal) over their new relationship is gonna be so fucking good. ottos just there awkwardly patting garf on the back and going “hey its not so bad seeing your sibling get together with someone you potentially couldve been with” and garfs like N O O O O O. O O O. i just. the comedic potential of it all. ram gets otto and subaru to babysit garf while she goes on dates with fred.

also. ram x fred comes with the benefit of BOTH OF THEM GETTING OVER THEIR TERRIBLE TASTE IN MEN…. (roswaal and clind)

as for ramilia—can you imagine how unhinged and messy it would get if you factor in wrath if… the same person (natsuki subaru) trapped and betrayed them… and in the aftermath of ram killing him, emilia goes to kill her in retaliation for that. ram, the girl who despises subaru with her whole being but has depended on him to live bc he’s locked her up all alone in a dark room. emilia, the girl who’s grown to have stockholm syndrome for subaru and has been locked up in a complete white room bc of her father figure and subaru agreeing to do that to her. i just think wrath if ramilia would be so fucked up and im so curious about it….

A BROTP I have with said character: this one tends to be a little overlooked but like. ram and otto are great. and like in general ram CARES about more people than just roswaal okay. like she DOES give a shit i dont understand all those people who think she doesnt. like with otto she GOES OUT OF HER WAY to make him tea and bring it to his room when hes working. and then theres the fact that ram and fred and otto are the only ones who drink alcohol in the mansion (other than. roswaal.) but ram-fred-otto drinking buddies moment when…???? also ram and fred of course 1000% know otto and subaru are garf’s older brother figures now. theyre all in the garf protection squad.

also. of course. ram and rem’s complicated relationship with its ups and downs all the way from their backstory to (SPOILER IG??) them reuniting in arc 8…… good shit. i enjoy seeing them together.

A NOTP I have with said character: ram/roswaal for obvious reasons but i will explain in Depth. because okay they have potential in the sense that there is a time and a place to show toxic unhealthy relationships in fiction with nuance and complexity between both characters. like roswaal has So Much influence on who ram is and also they have all that history together. there is So Much to explore there. like its fascinating with how roswaal plays a role in the destruction of the oni village, and then roswaal brings rem and ram to his mansion and roswaal threatens rem's life in order to put ram into a contract to serve him iirc? and ram LOATHES him bc of all that until. until gluttony erases rem and now ram has no reason to hate roswaal as much. now shes got like an Increased Complex Obsession with him thats now significantly less hate-love. like it is a full on cycle of abuse (in a Romantic lense) from echidna to roswaal to ram complete with Significant Age Differences??? like this is ALL so fascinating. and it sure would be in line with rezero's self improvement themes if ram grew to move away from her roswaal obsession and learn that she deserves Way Better than him.........

EXCEPT. EXCEPT IM GONNA BE REAL. most of the time it really feels like ram and roswaal's relationship isnt taken as Seriously as it should??? or theres like just not as much weight to it EVEN THOUGH we see shit like. ram in season one of the anime bringing roswaal's clothes and his goddamn underwear to the baths so she can DRESS HIM??? like i know shes a maid but its like fucking creepy when roswaal practically raised her after he brought her and her sister home after standing by and letting their village get destroyed. like are we not gonna talk about that bc even Without knowing all the context i winced seeing that shit in the anime when i first watched it. and then theres ram's insert song in season two which IS beautiful ngl. it very wonderfully shows all of ram's affections for roswaal and the reasoning behind her burning the book of wisdom. BUT ITS LIKE.... with the way ram/ros are now that song makes ram/ros feel just a tad bit romanticized. and like logically, i know theyre not bc so many characters comment on how bad ros is and how ram shouldnt be so affectionate for him, AND ALSO HE LITERALLY PUNCHES A HOLE THROUGH HER TO KILL HER, etc etc but LIKE. ARE WE.... ARE WE NOT GONNA INTERVENE WITH THIS... ARE WE NOT GONNA ADDRESS THIS SOME MORE... RAM/ROS IN CANON FEELS LIKE WATCHING YOUR FRIEND BE STUCK IN AN ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP AND NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU TELL THEM THAT ITS BAD THEY JUST. DONT SEE IT. THEY WONT LEAVE :(((( like at this rate i have doubts on whether ram is gonna develop out of this shit. when will roswaal face more consequences than just being punched by everyone in the camp.

i am so sorry anon my rage flowed out just then lajsldfj but like im serious. like. and then theres all the people in this fandom that think that roswaal giving ram her mana treatment is sexual in nature. im so tired. LIKE YEAH thats what i thought too when i watched the damn anime. but it is NOT SEXUAL. GOD.... and the fact that its depicted in a way that vaguely makes it look sexual kills me inside. friendly reminder that she is SEVENTEEN/EIGHTEEN. EVEN IF YOU REMOVE ROSWAAL'S 400 YEARS OF BEING ALIVE HES STILL LIKE. WAY TOO FUCKING OLD FOR HER. ON TOP OF BEING A PIECE OF SHIT. LIKE IM NEVER GONNA FORGET ALL THE SHIT HE'S DONE. AND I AM TIRED, TAPPEI. T^TTTTTTTT i think i heard somewhere that tappei said that he doesnt intend to develop ram that much. which. idk how true that is but either way ram is more of a static character compared to say rem. and its like. tappei. she NEEDS development out of her relationship with roswaal in some way shape or form. we need closure for this. and I WILL punch tappei (metaphorical) if the closure isnt ram saying bye bye to roswaal's bitch ass in some way. (also quick disclaimer i do like stories with darker themes and exploring dark characters and relationships and showing their nuance While Condemning them. and its like yes roswaal is interesting. but ram/ros as of rn in the story feels very. glossed over. as ive said earlier hah)

anyway. my other ram notps are ram/subaru and ram/garf. the first one is bc i feel like its just. stale. bland. and also theyre more like siblings to me. ill make an exception for wrath if ramsuba though bc the TOXICITY and TRAGEDY of it all fascinates me…. and also ram/garf bc. yeah shes literally too old for him. and garf/mimi is SO MUCH BETTER GUYS…

A random headcanon: so like… we barely know shit about wrath if. like at all. but we do know iirc that ram and subaru disappear from the mathers mansion at the same or around the same time. and ram tried to kill him and then he managed to smash a rock on her head. and then when we see them like Later in wrath if, ram’s been locked up all alone, subaru is the only one who knows shes there, and subarus been gathering mana crystals all this time just to keep her alive. like???? how did ram and subaru go from point a to point b, you may ask???? HONESTLY i have no fucking clue but the two options i liked to go with are:

option 1. subaru ran away from the mansion out of fear and paranoia after smashing rams head with a rock. and then ram followed him in order to kill him.

option 2. subaru, still afraid and paranoid, smashes ram’s head with a rock in self-defense. and then he immediately feels absolutely terrible and decides to bring ram with him in an attempt to help (or “help”, depending on how you see it) her bc hes still too afraid to actually go back to the mansion.

ANYWAY i have a many thoughts on wrath if ramsuba. bc its like…. ram was growing a tiny bit fond of subaru in arc 2, u know? and then from her pov subaru goes and KILLS HER SISTER…. meanwhile subarus been betrayed and rams trying to kill him and then subarus punished for trying to defend himself. and then subaru takes it too far and becomes purge king and kills a ton of people while imprisoning ram and emilia. wrath if drives me insane man. rams been locked up and subaru being the only one that knows shes there, along with the fact that ram and subaru disappear from the mansion at the same time, imply that ramsubas had a lot of time in private with just each other. subaru depends on her bc shes in color. rams life hangs in his hands. ram went from being trapped with roswaal to being trapped with subaru. its a whole MESS. i am fascinated.

General Opinion over said character: RAM IS GREAT AND ALL THOSE PEOPLE WHO SAY SHE DOESNT GIVE A SHIT ABOUT ANYONE ARE SO SO WRONG. I LOVE HOW SHE IS AN ASS (I SAY THIS AFFECTIONATELY) BUT ALSO SHE CAN BE SO KIND AND SOFT, ACTUALLY. she also is so fucking funny i adore her. her insert song is so so beautiful like GENUINELY like her voice and then the lyrics are so wonderful ;-;;; BUT ITS ALL WASTED ON ROSWAAL…… GRRR…. anyway she is an absolute queen in my eyes. i love her so much. i hope she gets away from roswaal fr. she deserves everything ;-;;;;;; i still havent read all her side stories but i gotta!!! esp the ones on her backstory!!!!!!! and i would love to explore her and roswaal’s relationship in a fic someday bc it is So Interesting to me….. and i NEED closure on those damn plot points….

OK ALSO ADDITIONALLY several several months ago i bought a blind bag rezero keychain irl and GOT RAM so like she is proudly going on all my adventures with me. ram my beloved.

here she is

and also. i cant fully articulate all my feelings on how her backstory has shaped her (and i want to make sure i am AN EXPERT on her backstory first akdndn) but like it is very very interesting. and she IS a strong person in fact!!!!!!

#re:zero #ram #ask

34 notes · View notes

the-assignment · 1 year

Text

Blog #4 - Alternate Histories

I think one of the most interesting things to think about – especially when considering an event or certain topic – is what would it be like if it happened another way? The idea of alternate history is so fascinating to me. I first learned about this type of thinking (on an academic level) actually in my Historical and Sociological Methods course. And now it is a theme for this week in my Afrofuturism class.

The idea can come from a single question or line of thought – what would’ve happened if...? If it happened a different way, if it didn’t happen at all, if it happened to different people or a different country, etc. And it’s really interesting because this can be used to think about anything through a new lens or perspective. It can be used to consider role reversals in terms of race or sex / gender or what if X did/n’t happen. What if Martin Luther King, Jr. wasn’t assassinated? What if it was the Founding Mother's instead of the Founding Fathers and what if Black people were the ones with the power and enslaved white Europeans instead?

And this final question is so fascinating to think about – but is also very complex. Which is why I am very glad that I was able to hear author Steven Barnes talk about this concept when he virtually visited our class to talk about his novel Lions Blood – as well as the concept of alternate histories in general, and how the book came together and came to be. What really caught my attention was Barnes’ attention to detail and the care he put into creating a novel that dealt with alternate histories. It was not a concept that he took lightly – and in fact, he shared a story about not taking an earlier job as he didn’t feel like it would be the best avenue to talk about race reversals beyond easy jokes and tropes – and instead, did 6 years of historical (and slave) research to get it right for the book.

He also had great insight into what goes into making alternate histories that are good, that work, and that are realistic – like only changing one thing and then seeing how that affects – or doesn’t affect – other aspects of the social, political, cultural world around the change, additionally the changed factor should be logical, and it should be a significant change that means something – otherwise the reader wouldn’t really care or follow along.

I thought it was also really critical that Barnes brought attention to how important it is to have a basic understanding of history – to understand what happened and why it did – what aided this event to begin with, etc. – to know the ins and outs of what occurred in order to – and before – you can impactfully change or alter the event in any significant way. Otherwise, it can fall into the trap of stereotypes and tropes, or be illogical, or uncompelling, or just skim the surface.

It’s a good reminder that when creating these alternate histories, that there is a delicate balance of creating entertainment and asking (and answering) hard questions.

#the-assignment #homework #ucla #assignment #steven barnes #tananarive #lions blood #alternate history #race reversal

2 notes · View notes

nightcoremoon · 9 months

Text

one thing that’s always bothered me about the hatred of nu metal that people pretend to have is that nu metal is a great genre whose most known bands are the actual fucking worst so they all think that just because fred durst is a douchebag it means that everyone who bought hybrid theory is an idiot.

the biggest issue I think is the tendency to say nu metal when what they MEAN to say is RAP ROCK. because let’s face it, limp bizkit is not exactly a metal band after wes left. in fact I’d even go so far as to say that only three dollar bill, significant other, and chocolate starfish are metal albums. results may very is serviceable. you throw Terry Date, Rick Rubin, and Brendan O’Brien at ANYTHING and it’ll sound good. but it’s hardly metal. it’s rock with rapping. it’s saliva with click click boom. it’s kid rock with bawitdaba. it’s run dmc and aerosmith with walk this way. it’s the beastie boys with you gotta fight, for your right, to paaaaaaarty! it’s come come my lady come come my lady you my butterfly sugar baby. it’s not fucking metal. and lo and behold what is it that people blame nu metal’s suckage on? oh look. it’s just the rap rock.

nu metal is NOT by definition “metal with rap in it”. yes there are nu metal bands who rap. but there are plenty of metal bands who rap that are NOT nu metal. anthrax worked with public enemy, they’re still thrash. lil uzi vert is using metal in his music but he’s a rapper, not a metal band. oh hello there rage against the machine, how are you doing today? saying its sole musical distinguishing factor is rap is disingenuous on every conceivable level, and it spits in the face of all of the genre conventions that it actually holds. because it’s not rap. it’s also electronica, industrial, alternative, grunge, ska… and strangely (and importantly) enough, FUNK. well, funk rock at least. but thrash metal, groove metal, heavy metal in general of all kinds, they all had their own stylistic influences too. everyone from jane’s addiction to pantera to primus to faith no more has had a hand in shaping the sonic soundscapes that nu metal artists grew up with. but yes, hip hop artists also intrinsically shared stylistic aging and refining together since the republicans and democrats alike were all trying to shoot down both rap and metal together. but they stood together as brothers. public enemy and NWA and wu tang and ice T and xzibit and cypress hill stood in solidarity with korn and deftones and sepultura and coal chamber and papa roach. and where else can we see how deep the friendships lie but in LINKIN FUCKIN(G) PARK! mike shinoda has done more for rap in the last 2 decades than every single white rapper put together (yes that includes eminem, who hasn’t released a good album since the 90s).

but getting away from the rap, there’s slipknot and otep and fear factory and mudvayne and drowning pool and static x and system of a down and disturbed and godsmack, and now even getting into more recent acts there’s evanescence, three days grace, that metallica album we don’t talk about, of mice and men, issues, atilla, loathe, bring me the horizon, suicide silence, rina sawayama and poppy and grimes and babymetal and code orange, they are all by definition nu metal in some form (or at least they were at some point or another).

nu metal is not inherently shitty. there are good bands.

1 note · View note

blueathens · 3 years

Text

Flowers For You

𝖲𝗎𝗆𝗆𝖺𝗋𝗒: 𝖳𝗁𝖾 𝗈𝗇𝖾 𝗐𝗁𝖾𝗋𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗀𝗂𝗏𝖾 𝖬𝖺𝗌𝗈𝗇 𝖿𝗅𝗈𝗐𝖾𝗋𝗌.

𝖲𝗈𝗇𝗀: 𝖡𝗅𝗈𝗈𝗆 𝖫𝖺𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝖻𝗒 𝖩𝖾𝗌𝗌𝖾 𝖰𝗎𝗈𝗍𝖾: '𝖦𝗂𝗏𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝗆𝖺𝗇 𝗌𝗈𝗆𝖾 𝖿𝗅𝗈𝗐𝖾𝗋𝗌!!'

𝖱𝖾𝗊𝗎𝖾𝗌𝗍𝖾𝖽

Masterlist//Dusk Till Dawn Masterlist//Agape Masterlist

Flowers is something that men give to ladies as a sign of love and expressing emotions, to brighten their day and make them smile. But if it means all of these things why are men not getting flowers? Why aren’t people sending flowers to their fathers, brothers, male friends, or lovers?

The history of giving flowers got dominant during the Middle Ages. Its significance expanded during the mid-1700s when the English and French, saw the various variations of blossoms whilst visiting Turkey.

In Victorian times, people didn’t openly communicate their feelings to other people, and they kept it all to themselves. Nonetheless, they found the giving of flowers as the easiest ways of exchanging feelings. An extraordinary effort was made simplest in minutes by giving blossoms due to the colour, size, position, placement, and presentation would imply a message or importance on how it is given. Depending on those different factors there would be various amount of meaning connected to each flower, so every provider and receiver needed to learn the different meanings, so they knew what the other person was trying to say.

Even though the vast majority of people at present would not know the old tradition of giving blossoms, many despite everything acknowledge it as a type of symbolizing emotion from the giver to the recipient.

It was also a known fact that back then men receiving flowers was outlandish, it was abnormal for them to receive such beauty. Men were known to give flowers to women to show that they are keen on are, or if they were already dating it would show adoration, love, and appreciation.

So, if flowers have those different meanings why do women not give men flowers as a sign of their love? It’s a new time, a new era, a new century; giving flowers to men shouldn’t seem so strange anymore, it should be just as normal as giving flowers to females. Furthermore, it is said that men only receive flowers at their funerals? Why give flowers to someone who can’t appreciate them whilst women get so many flowers whilst their alive for us to appreciate.

Logically, men should receive flowers too as it be the right thing to do as women get them all the time. Men should be given love through flowers no matter who they are. Flowers have never been symbolised with genders, but they have been symbolised with peace, friendship, and love.

That’s why you sent Mason a bouquet of Crimson Red Roses whilst you was away doing press conference in America, and he had to stay in England as he still had some matches to play.

I know your nervous for your big game tonight and I can’t be there to help you with your nerves, but I hope you present outside the door can x

Mason read the text that you sent to him a few times as he walked to the front door, he secretly hoped it be one of those things where the lover is standing outside waiting for a warm embrace. But when he opened the door, you wasn’t standing there and he looked around like a fool, thinking that you was hiding from him.

But you weren’t.

His eyes moved to look down and a soft smile made it onto his face as he saw his present. A bouquet of Crimson Red Roses attached with some Ferrero Rocher attached to it with a white card along with it. He bent down to read the note which said, ‘Sending Love from America.’ He turned it around and saw a p.s. ‘Don’t eat all the chocolates straight away, I don’t need Tuchel killing me.’

Mason chuckled slightly as he picked his presents up but his eyes stayed on the flowers rather than the chocolates. He’s never received flowers before and seeing that you have made him feel giddy. He never thought he really wanted flowers before until now, seeing them in his hands. He sniffed them a few times as he was welcomed with the smell of sweet delight. He placed them down on the table in search for a vase, knowing that you kept some. He filled it up with some cold water and picked up a food packet that you buy for your flowers keeping them alive and fresh longer. He walked back to the table and unwrapped the flowers before placing them into the cold water with food swimming in it. But his eye once again stayed on the beautiful roses that you gave him.

Eyes softening at the sight and heart fluttering at the thought that you was the one that gave him flowers, a man, instead of it being the other way showed that your relationship isn’t a boring traditional relationship. It’s modern and it’s new and for Mason it felt like the best thing ever. He didn’t even realise that his eyes were welling up until he felt a tear rolling down his slight flushed face. He sniffled slightly as he lets out a breathy laugh at the thought of flowers doing this to him.

Maybe it is true, men become emotional at the giving of flowers as they aren’t used to it. But maybe they should start getting used to it and make it a usual thing as it warmed all their hearts at the thought of someone giving them such a simple thing. And Mason hopes that the way he was feeling right now was the way you felt whenever he gave you flowers.

With a bright smile and watery eyes Mason pulled out his phone to take a picture of the gorgeous gift in front of him to put onto his Instagram. Below the picture he put the caption, ‘My girl is better than yours.’ With two hearts after it. He watched how quickly the likes and warm comments came rolling in, but his eyes stayed glue to your comments on his post.

‘Tuchel is defiantly going to kill me now that he’s seeing those chocolates.’

But then straight after it you commented.

‘Give your man some flowers!!!’

And all Mason could think about with a boyish smile across his face was how much he loves you.

A/N: Mason Mount fluff for any hearts I broke from my last fic from the series Unrequited Love.

Also all men should receive more flowers!!

334 notes · View notes

1ddiscourseoftheday · 3 years

Text

Sat 10 April ‘21

Louis posted pics!! Two black and white pics of himself smoking and playing guitar and looking all tough and cool (look at that beard he’s been hiding under the masks! OMG.) He’s wearing a cap in the pictures, yes of course- but stop complaining about his hair being hidden people, cause WHAT A CAP IT IS! It’s got a triangle on it, with a skull in it, and the skull is wearing a laurel wreath AND has a rose in it’s teeth. Oh yeah: and the brand? ‘NEW ERA.’ You can say those things don’t mean anything til you’re blue in the face but 1) it doesn’t even matter at this point what the world means by them, LOUIS knows very well what significance the fandom places on them and 2) yes triangles really are a queer symbol, watching this fandom argue that maybe triangles aren’t REALLY a gay thing is just sincerely the weirdest shit I have ever encountered. SO anyway: triangle, queer symbol, and with Louis in particular, associated with him via his tattoo. Skull, well who the fuck knows EXACTLY at this point but like when you know you know; I feel like it used to be more specific but now has become a nod from him to us about, well, all of it? Like a signal about the fact that yes, he does send us signals to decode. And laurel wreaths and roses are both tattoos of Harry’s that Louis has referenced in ways that link to that meaning multiple times before. So THAT’S a lot, even without him making the cover photo of his post be the one with his face angled down so the cap logo is the main focus of it with only the second one showing his face.

Charlie Lightening posted uncropped versions of the same pics and said “Good to see you lad, always a pleasure hanging out. Good things to come”, Jamie Hartman (Louis’ main cowriter for Walls and, from what he’s told us, LT2) said, “I love that you're not afraid to be a rockstar in an era where most artists are so squeaky clean”, and Sergio Agüero, the football player Louis followed the other day, commented “my bro”. Maybe they’re just new friends or whatever but… hear me out… this guy just left his team contract and it isn’t clear what he’s up to now… that organization just posted the other day about asking Louis to play in a charity match… what if??! *dreams big* Also Louis left Mexico City-- there was video of an awkward fan encounter at the airport (wearing the same shirt as in the insta pics, king of traveling light) as him and Oli seem to be mostly succeeding at getting through unseen, and try to dodge the fan who spotted them (“sorry, COVID” and “the starbucks line is over there,” lolll). The Daily Mail article about Louis’ post (“Louis Tomlinson drives fans wild as he returns to Instagram for the first time in FOUR MONTHS“) consists of about 10% coverage of Louis’ post, and then a loooong and extremely detailed round up of all the abuse allegations against The X Factor, Simon Cowell, and Syco. And in case you were wondering if the new louies you’d heard about were a real thing, today’s post has ALREADY become Louis’ second most commented on instagram post… EVER! And by like A LOT too. Holy shit you guys, LT2 is truly going to fucking EXPLODE; even tour is going to be madness by the time it happens! I wonder if they’re thinking about adding more shows or bigger venues for whatever the final dates end up being.

#louis tomlinson #sbb #skull shirt #skull shirts #what the FUCK is tumblr doing???? if anyone knows how to get around whatever this #ABSOLUTE FUCKERY is that's making the formatting TOTALLY WACK on the app #PLEASE GET IN TOUCH #the thing Louis has on his guitar is a capo and it changes the key #having it really low down like that is to match the guitar sound to the singing voice of someone with a high register voice #like Louis!! :)#btw the Snuts got their 1 if anyone cares. Also the album is really good #*number one #10 apr 21 #syco #charlie lightening #sergio aguero #tomorrow: Liam #first most commented on post is the first one of Freddie #well... there is a lot to say about that that is true #thank you to the intern doing true intern scut work today #and digging thru Louis IG #poor thing she's very exploited you should be nice to her

270 notes · View notes

thelovelyghostwriter · 3 years

Text

Some of my favourite female characters in fiction

This list is not exhaustive and while I do have other characters that I find charming and that I love, I have noted these characters because in my opinion, they have struggled and/or there is a certain analysis to their personalities.

Please take note that some of the characters are not morally good or have done questionable actions. This is not to discuss or say they are role models, but rather to write up what they represented, their role in the story or simply their personalities. I’m not here to justify the character’s actions.

Remember that a well-written characters do not have to be morally good.

Also, a lot of them are from memory and the analysis aren’t well-structured.

Let’s dive in:

1. Daisy Buchanan from The Great Gatsby

Daisy, in my opinion, is incredibly misunderstood and unjustifiably hated among the readers. Her betrayal to Gatsby is indeed vile and it did upset me, I definitely think that she is materialistic, shallow and hurtful.

“I hope she’ll be a fool—that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.”

Daisy did shit on Gatsby [trying to avoid spoilers here].

However, I do like to note that I think part of her materialism and shallowness is because of how women were in the 1920s. They did not have any freedom or agency. To Tom, she seems to be a trophy wife for him to keep; and to Gatsby, he only liked the idea of her, he wasn’t in love with her. To everyone around her, she was an item, a beautiful doll to be possessed, rather than a person. I think that’s why she turned out like that.

She's materialistic because men around her sees her as an object. Nonetheless, Daisy is still “careless” and hurtful; and I think this stemmed from the life she had led that were a compilation of choices that were made for her. Her betrayal towards Gatsby is what makes her character rather disappointing to most readers. The whiteness in her dress as described in her first appearance? It’s not innocence, but rather a void and jadedness.

2. Neon Nostrade from Hunter x Hunter

Yet, another girl in our list that loves to be hated by the fandom. Though honestly, most of her haters are Chrollo and Kurapika stans who gets jealous because Chrollo got to hang out with her and Kurapika works under her. Also her repulsive hobby - although this is actually what makes me like her.

I have addressed this in my other posts before, but let me just copy and paste them (and modify a bit): Her upbringing and exploitation by her dad makes her materialistic and emotionally detached. This materialism and detachment is manifested in the form of her hobby as a dead body parts collector. But other than that, she’s really a normal girl, just sheltered and spoilt. The money she spends are even from her talent Lovely Ghostwriter, her father will be nothing without her. So I don’t see an issue with her spending them on shopping etc.

In fact, I would argue that she bathes in materialism to fill the emptiness that she has. Her father is more concerned with her ability and power, she has no friends and is guarded 24/7 by employees.

All the times she threw tantrums and the way she talks… it’s a different speech pattern altogether when she interacts with Chrollo - which may suggest that the whole spoilt attitude is exaggerated to gain attention from a father who is indulgent in terms of material gifts, but not in terms of affection and time for her.

When Eliza cried, she was willing to forgo bidding the auction physically. Yes she did not care about the bodyguards because she is more focused on the living and the present (Eliza) than the dead.

The reason why she didn’t seem fazed when Dalzollene and the others died is because a) they were her bodyguards, it’s their job to put their life on the line to protect her, b) she mentioned to Chrollo that her fortune-telling is for the living, she likes to live in the present and doesn’t believe in the afterlife.

Neon is more focused on who is alive, rather than the dead (which also represented by her hobby of dead body parts collecting). She focuses on the present, unlike her clients who likes to know their future or people who dwell in the past. Kurapika on the other hand, is the complete opposite. He dwells on the past and likes to focus on his dead clan rather than the present times with his friends (which is completely understandable).

Another significance is that her fortune-telling ability is very useful and helpful, she says that she wanted to make people happy with it; but however, it is commercialized and used as a means of power (knowledge of the future = power) by her father and pretty much everyone around her. Just like how she objectifies dead people by collecting their parts, the people around her sees her as a tool due to her fortune-telling abilities, rather than see her as a person. Even Kurapika chose to get employed under her, for his own agenda (he is bound to meet dead body parts collectors at some point).

She treats people like objects because people see her as one.

Of course, collecting dead body parts is a pretty fucked hobby; but what she represents and her role as a minor character is what makes her an outstanding minor female character in the show.

Yes. She has traits that are not your typical role model, but neither are other hxh characters. She’s not independent, naive, can’t fight, in need of saving, uncaring at times and spoilt. She is far from so-called “strong female character” that we often look up to. She is a character with bad traits which is a result of being a victim. But that’s what makes me love her as a character in hxh. It reminds us that there are girls out there who has lack of freedom and control over their own fate; and their only way out is through materialism and detaching themselves from people.

In fact, she might be even relateable to some people more than other female characters because there is vulnerability in her character.

3. Hua Mulan (Mostly the Chinese 2009 film, though the most well-known is the Disney 1998 animated film)

There has been various adaptations for this character, with the Disney Animated version being the most prominent.

However, my favourite one is definitely the Chinese film Hua Mulan: Rise of A Warrior (2009). It portrays the horrors of war and the suffering it brings, nationalism, camaraderie among the army - all while giving us the admirable Mulan climbing up to the ranks of being a war general.

I highly recommend this adaptation. I know the Disney Live Action 2020 version did not receive good reception, and we honestly did not need one because this 2009 Chinese film does the job well (I like their soundtrack though). It's not really well-known because it's a Chinese film (which is hella ironic because Hua Mulan is a Chinese character? Lmao).

"Today we will stain the battlefield with our blood. Behind us is our homeland. If we have to bleed out our last drop of blood, if we have to become bleached bones in this desert, we must defend it to the death! We must let the Rourans know we Wei warriors will never surrender and will never compromise! Soldiers may rebel against me, generals may leave me for dead, but I, Hua Mulan, will never betray my country!"

Generally, I either have an issue with strong female characters because they are just shallow (meaning they are only physically strong, often viewing rudeness, misandry and independence as strength). I like female characters who are so much more to that.

Mulan, in this film, not only showed her badassery in fighting the war for more than a decade, but we also see how much she struggled. Everytime her comrades die, her heart gets broken. Yet she has to learn how to pick herself up and become the leader that they need. She dislikes war, she dislikes the bloodshed; yet she fights for her country.

To me, a strong female character is not just a feminist icon or someone who can fight. In fact, a female character doesn't need to be someone capable of fighting, what makes her strong is to be able to overcome turbulence with determination.

I think this is something that is lacking in recent "strong female characters" - showing us their strength through perseverance.

As for the Disney's counterpart (talking about the 1998 film here), it is less morbid but we also see her trying her best to make her family proud and protect her country. Like the song Reflection and Loyal, Brave and True, she struggles with finding her purpose and her role in her family.

"The greatest gift of honour, is having you for a daughter."

4. Blanche Dubois from A Streetcar Named Desire

It's been years since I had analysed Blanche, but among all the 6 books that I had to study for English Literature, A Streetcar Named Desire has been my absolute favourite.

I think what struck me in this book is not just the style, but Blanche's vulnerability. Her actions are definitely not morally good: she misrepresents things, she lies, she even had sex with an underage student. She's paranoid, mentally unstable and prissy. Which was why, her polar opposite character, Stanley, is so annoyed with her.

After her husband's suicide, we see Blanche relying on the company of men to fill the void of her loneliness and misery. She is also concerned about her beauty fading with age - I find that highly reliable. It sounds incredibly "vain", but beauty does play a part.

Based on Evolutionary and Mating Theories among humans, appearance in women are especially important (also for men but not as much as women). Of course, there are other factors and traits that people find attractive, but Blanche's concern is valid here. She needs to find a husband to escape from her financial troubles; and her age, beauty and chastity plays a huge factor in her search for getting a man in the setting she was in (which was Mitch in this case). Ironically, these are the very traits that she has "lost" and so desperately tries to hide it.

Her ending is truly a devastating and upsetting one. [Will not talk about it due to spoilers]

"I've always depended on the kindness of strangers."

5. Haibara Ai/Shiho Miyano from Detective Conan

Perhaps one of the girls that is a wasted potential. In a series where the characters are mostly flat, she's arguably the most multi-faceted (but somehow I had heard that she no longer has the same complexity as she used to have - it's been a while since I followed this series).

But I remember absolutely loving this character.

Her background story is really unique in the show and one that is embedded within the Black Organisation plotline (why her character was dropped... Forever frustrating for me).

From the moment she was first introduced, we see Conan taking an immediate distrust towards her. A guy who is a detective who had been catching criminals - yet one ex-syndicate member stands before him. The one that actually helped to develop the APTX4869 that changed his life.

Yet, we see that it wasn't entirely within her control. Both her parents were syndicate members and when her sister tries to get both of them to leave, her sister dies.

Ai starts off as seemingly cold, pessimistic and avoidant. But as her arc goes on, the iceberg around her melts. We see her quirky sarcastic replies, her taste for fashion and she genuinely desires to be happy. Her relationship with Conan developed into a beautiful one - to the point where Conan trusts her with anything and they would risk their lives for one another.

Yet, we also empathies with her impending jealousy and heartache. The boy she has fallen for already has someone else. What's more, the girl is genuinely kind and is a splitting image of her sister. After Ran saved her from Vermouth, she quickly warms up to Ran as well.

She's also the key to developing the antidote for Shinichi to be back with Ran - an almost painful metaphor for her to give him away (he never belonged to her in the first place). Yet, she doesn't really stop them from being together (even though in some cases she appears jealous or phrase ShinRan's reunion as a word of caution).

I definitely think she is the most compelling character in Detective Conan because of her character development and the struggles she faces. It's definitely upsetting that her character has been neglected.

“Don’t judge people from the outside. Like any rose has thorns, the more the person appears nice on the outside, the more you should doubt the inside.”

6. Misato Katsuragi from Neon Genesis Evangelion

Who is the best female character in Eva? Asuka or Rei? My answer will always be Misato, Risato is a close second (I wanted to analyse Risato, but I’m trying to keep it to one person per series). Misato is one of the 90s anime babes. She definitely captivated many people’s heart.

I must say though, I have a soft spot towards female characters who has some sort of daddy issues (why I like Neon Nostrade). It’s been a while since I had watched Eva, but I’m going to try to remember why I like her.

I think the concept of Hedgehog’s Dilemma has been echoed throughout the series, and all the characters seem to struggle with emotional attachment towards people. I actually like to phrase the Hedgehog Dilemma as “Avoidant-Fearful Attachment Style” - wanting connection with people, yet not being able to do so out of fear of being hurt.

For Misato, when I initially first watched Eva, I compared her a little to Blanche Dubois in how they cope with loneliness - their sexuality. I remember being confused with her interactions with Shinji, who was half her age. At times, she serves as his guardian/mother figure; but at some moments (I think it was sometimes after Kaji’s death), she tried to seek comfort with Shinji by attempting to initiate sex (which Shinji rejects). I remember coming across a comment somewhere that Shinji and Misato’s relationship is somewhat like Humbert and Dolores (from Lolita) - can’t comment on this as I only read the first chapter of the book.

It makes me think that she uses sex as a way to cope and the only way she can connect with people (and it’s superficial), which doesn’t work for Shinji because she needs to be her guardian (and ultimately fails to be purely his guardian once she crossed that no-no boundary).

Another thing to note was her backstory about her dad. There seems to be a dissonance, given that she resented her dad for not spending time with her due to his work, but he ended up sacrificing her life for her. I do think it’s a bit of guilt (because resenting her dad but he saves her - these two contradicts one another). It’s clear that her issues to connect stems from her backstory regarding her father.

It’s interesting how she compares Kaji to her father. I do think she loves Kaji, but “reminds him too much of her father” (as to put it simply). There is this... stereotype that we find someone similar to our opposite-gender parents, no matter how shitty they were towards us. I believe that it is because we tend to stick to something that is familiar to us, even if those type of people aren’t good for us (I think to break this cycle is to practise self-awareness and know what is good for us).

Anyway, Misato is a character that I really liked (as all the characters in Eva) because they highlight Hedgehog’s Dilemma that stemmed from their parental issues. Maybe I have not watched a lot of anime, but female characters with issues with their fathers are not as explored deeply as male characters and their parental issues. A lot of times, female characters (especially in shounen) serves as a romantic interest and yes they can have really sad backstory, but not issues towards their father and how it affects their relationship with other people. So far, the only ones I had seen is Mukuro (Yu Yu Hakusho), Misato and Neon Nostrade.

7. Disney's Cinderella

First of all, she has been a victim of abuse since she was a child. It's not easy for her to escape her predicament. Where can she go? It's not that easy.

Boy. I hate how much people remember Cinderella wrongly and attack her for being "backwards", which is actually factually wrong.

Cinderella always get flack for using the Prince to "escape" her predicament when "she can do it herself".

I say that's bullshit. I actually came across a youtube video: Cinderella Stop Blaming the Victim [please check it out for more in-depth analysis]

Despite all that, she's doesn't internalize it. She knows she doesn't deserve to be treated this way, and she does to a certain degree stand up to them (whenever the cat makes her tasks harder). She knows when to fight back and restrain herself because it might endanger her life.

After years of suffering in this domestic household, she remains kind, compassionate and hopeful. Which is not an easy feat. The problem is, these traits are often seen as feminine and synonymous with being weak. But it is actually, in fact, signs of strength. The mental fortitude she has to remain kind after all she went through is a sign of strength.

The Fairy Godmother only appeared when she was losing hope - take note that she ends up crying because her stepsisters tore her mother’s dress (which is the most disturbing scene in the film).

Even I had remembered this wrongly - one crucial fact is that... She did not want to go the ball to nab the Prince. That was her stepsisters. Homegirl just wanted to chill. She did not even know she was dancing with the Prince!

When Lady Tremaine locked her up to prevent her from reaching the Prince, it wasn’t the Prince that saved her. She and her animal friends got her out of the room, and proceeded to prove that she was indeed the maiden that had danced with the Prince. Her marrying the Prince was only a fitting end to her because it provides her a home and an escape from an abusive household; however, it was her resilience for holding onto fate and being mentally strong, and her initiatives partially contributed to her happy end. The Prince is more like a passive character.

I highly think that people tend to brush her traits - e.g. compassion, having fate, being kind is listed as feminine. However, it is far from being weak, which most people would deem it as. But that is definitely not true.

“No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dream that you wish can come true.”

8. Mikasa Ackerman from Attack on Titan

Mikasa is either a hit or miss among AOT fans. Some people like Mikasa because she is physically strong and her loyalty to Eren is admirable. On the other hand, some people think she’s clingy and her being physically strong makes her a Mary Sue.

Whether or not you like Mikasa, there is a fact that she is not a Mary Sue. The definition of a Mary Sue is a female character lacking in weakness and seems perfect.

She is physically strong, yes - I believe that Isayama wanted to distribute traits to the trio. Even Hannes has said it in S1. Armin represents intellect, Eren represents grit and Mikasa represents strength. So her being physically strong makes sense, and Isayama also provided an explanation for it (being an Ackerman).

However, this does not mean she lacks any weakness. Arguably, her loyalty to Eren is both a liability and her strength. This “weakness” has been highlighted by her dilemma between her loyalty towards Eren and her belief that mass genocide is wrong.

[I won’t go into details about the manga parts that have not been animated as of 2021, can’t spoil it too much].

#daisy buchanan #mikasa ackerman #misato katsuragi #evangelion #cinderella #mulan #haibara ai #ai haibara #detective conan #shiho miyano #neon nostrade #hxh #hunterxhunter #blanche dubois #a streetcar named desire

63 notes · View notes

messymindofmine · 2 years

Text

Why Zayn matters to South Asians everywhere (Part 1)

I can't believe that we are in 2021 and I still have to see people saying things like "why do South Asian people act like they have a special claim on Zayn?" First of all, the fact that this exact phrase even exists is pretty disturbing. Last time I checked,, Zayn is a human being, not some object that can be "claimed". That said,, the reason that South Asians around the world feel so connected to Zayn is because Zayn to so many of us signifies our collective struggle, particularly those of us who live in the West. While there are certain things that all communities of colour have in common with regards to racism and discrimination and systemic oppression, there are certain things about the South Asian experience that are very specific and I am so sick of that being constantly overlooked in Western society. That is why Zayn is so important because he really is the perfect example of what South Asian people in the West go through on a daily basis.

First of all, I've said this before but I think I should make it clear again, I do think it's important to acknowledge that Zayn is mixed and that has shaped his experiences as well. Obviously, as someone who is not mixed, I can not speak to that but I do know from many in depth conversations with friends who are mixed (some of whom are of South Asian descent), none of them like to have the "half-white" label put on them because it invalidates their experiences and we all know that Zayn feels the same way. After all, his being "half-white" didn't stop the kids who would attack him at school and yell "Paki" at him. It didn't stop TSA from harassing him and it didn't stop the so-called fans at 1D concerts from bring their racist and Islamophobic signs. What has happened though, and this is important, is that people have used his mixed race as an attempt to cover up their own racism and to invalidate his experiences. All that said, as a South Asian myself (specifically Pakistani Muslim), I can relate to Zayn on so many levels. First off, the whitewashing that South Asian people face particularly in America is honestly ridiculous. The fact we're not even considered Asian in America says a he'll if a lot. The thing is, that whitewashing allows our experiences to go unnoticed and it allows people (often other people of colour) to invalidate our experiences and be racist towards us. Let's be clear, whitewashing is still racism. I've literally had other POC tell me that I couldn't possibly understand racism because South Asians aren't actual POC. LMAO REALLY? So then why did the kids at school call me slurs? Why did they wave their hands in front of their noses whenever I walked by? This is also why I love Zayn because he calls this stuff out. He calls out the people who try to invalidate the racism he's experienced whether it's because of his mixed race or his South Asian heritage. I'll be honest, I tend to go a bit easier in POC in general than I do white people because it is ultimately the racism and ignorance (willful or otherwise) that oppresses all of us. That said, I will call out the racism towards South Asians that exists in other communities of colour the same way I will call out the racism within the South Asian community. I'm certainly not going to deny that there are problems within our community just like there are problems in all communities of colour but I will not allow anybody to be hateful or invalidate our struggles either. That said, this is mainly a post about Zayn and his significance as is this whole blog really, so that's what I'll be focusing on now. I will never stop crying over the fact that Zayn, when asked what makes his fantasy special, actually said his Desi fans.

I will never forget the first time I saw Zayn. I was sitting in my living room with the TV on in my periphery. I wasn't even really paying attention as an episode of the x factor came on and these five guys that I'd heard some of the girls at school talking about a while ago appeared on the screen. My eyes were instantly drawn to the dark haired boy in the middle. For a second it felt like my brain had shut down. All I could think of was that this guy looked kind of familiar to me even though I'd never seen him before in my life. Looking back, I realise that it wasn't so much that he looked familiar but rather it was the first time I'd ever seen someone who looked like me on my screen. I was instantly infatuated with him. When the band released their first album, I listened to the while thing just so I could hear Zayn sing. Listening to him sing, I was reminded of the Desi singers that I'd grown up with. There was something in his voice that had that distinct Desi tone even as he sang in English to mainstream pop music. Now, as he gets to embrace his roots more and sing in Urdu, that Desi tone that I heard way back then is still there. If anything it's more pronounced now than ever before as he adds little Desi touches to his music. I honestly live for those little touches. Even when he's not singing in Urdu, there are still Desi touches on his music. Like in Dusk till Dawn or A Whole New World just to name a couple. And the way it feels like he's putting a secret message in there for us feels so incredibly special. And us desis have every right to that feeling. Because when you're a part of a group that is all but erased from the mainstream and the only time you see yourselves is when you're being held up as figure of fear or mockery, any type of positive representation feels like gold. Zayn's love of samosas, his love of Bollywood, his almost non existent sense of timing-all of these things are things I can relate to. As well as his thick dark hair and his tan-brown skin, his bushy eyebrows and his thick long eyelashes that those of us who descend from that part of the world are blessed with. Back in the days when Zayn still remembered what Twitter was, seeing him making references to Desi culture, including but not at all limited to Bollywood. These things made a massive difference to that Desi girl who had once felt so ashamed of who she was she couldn't even make eye contact with people lest they say something to her. Thanks to Zayn, I no longer feel ashamed if who I am. Seeing Zayn be so proud of his culture and hearing him say that his Desi fans are what make his fanbase special, makes me feel proud of who I am in a way I never thought would be possible before Zayn. And for that, I will always be grateful to him.

#zayn #zayn malik #desi tag #this is only part 1 mind you #i might post part 2 at some point later

8 notes · View notes

lady-griffin · 3 years

Text

Characters That Might Be Introduced in Young Justice Season 4: Phantoms

This is just my own personal speculation, based on what I think might happen in Season 4 and what YJ has given us so far. I’m sure that I’ve missed plenty of characters that others 100% believe or know will be making an appearance...but, I can’t do anything about that.

While the majority of the characters on this list are ones we haven’t met before, there are a few we have met in the show - I included these characters, because I think they might be added to the ever-growing roster of heroes or have a more prominent role to play.

This is really long, but I had fun doing it and I hope you enjoy it.

Characters We've Met Already

Part I: Prominent Future Role

M’comm M’orzz/Ma'alefa'ak

M’gann’s younger brother who wants to start a white revolution on Mars. We met him in season 3 during the episode of “Away Mission,” where he was a major focal point.

There are a couple of factors for why I think he’ll play a prominent role.

He’s M’gann’s younger brother and as several people have speculated upon, this season’s tagline of “Phantoms” might be in reference to our main characters’ own personal phantoms from their pasts, rather than literal ghosts. Also given how M’gann has a new little brother in Gar, who was given more prominence last season – there could be something there.

M’Comm wants to start a White Revolution and we know M’gann, Conner, J’onn, and Gar (I believe) will be heading to Mars, either before or at the beginning of Season 4. Since J’onn/Martian Manhunter is usually the last Green Martian – some dark stuff may be awaiting our heroes on Mars or occur while they’re there.

I think he’ll play a significant role in the upcoming season.

Jason Todd/Red Hood

Jason is a prominent member of the Batfamily and we’ve already learned that he was the Robin after Dick, but died before Season 2 began.

In Season 3 – he was also an easter egg in “Nightmare Monkeys,” where he died in Beast Boy’s mind, along with other fallen comrades.

More importantly, in “Rescue Op,” we actually met him as the Red Hooded Ninja on Infinity Island. Towards the end of that episode there was attention given to the fact that he recognized Dick and therefore his memory was returning.

I can definitely see him having a more significant part in the future. He would most likely be Dick’s main phantom, if that’s the case for Season 4.

Big Barda

One of Granny’s most loyal generals and the leader of the furies before she defects against Darkseid. We were introduced to her in Season 3, in “Influence" - she fought against the Justice League, but more importantly she was saved by Superman. While it’s clear that Granny hurting her or being willing to sacrifice her is par for the course, it seemed pretty clear (to me) that Superman reshaped her outlook on life.

We never saw her again, so more than likely she defected after Superman saved her.

Given her usual importance to the plot of Darkseid as well as the fact that her main love interest is Scot Free – I think there is more than a good chance we’ll see her again in Season 4.

In the third season, each of these characters were introduced in a single episode. Given their significant relationships to either a character or a plot element that is important to Young Justice - it seems more than likely we’ll see them play a larger role in the upcoming season.

Part II: Minor Future Role

Harper Rowe/Bluebird

She was a minor character in Season 3, but she was also pretty prominent. Given that she’s a hero in the comics, I can see Harper being a new hero added to the roster. I can’t say how prominent she’ll actually be, but I can definitely see her playing a minor role.

Courtney Whitmore/Stargirl

Courtney is a pretty prominent young hero in DC and she made several appearances in Season 3 – with her show (Stargirl) where she reported and interviewed young heroes. So, maybe she’ll have decided instead of just interviewing heroes, she’ll become one herself.

Cisco Ramon/Vibe

For a character who was just being bullied they paid a decent amount of attention to him. Now maybe he was just a prominent Easter Egg for fans (CW’s The Flash), but it could also be YJ laying some slight ground work for him in the future.

Cassandra Cain/Orphan

Orphan is a member of the Batfamily and her mother is Lady Shiva - The Light’s new enforcer, who we got to know decently well in Season 3. Because of that, I think there could be something there to explore in Season 4.

I don’t really think any of these guys will be major characters, but I’m betting we’ll at least see them in the background as heroes. Similar to how Stephanie Brown and others were introduced as easter eggs and then in the following season we saw them working as heroes.

In addition, there are of course other minor hero/super-powered characters whom we’ve already met (Arrowette, Spoiler, Mist etc.) and any one of them could get more screen time, it’s honestly anyone’s guess; I just don’t have anything specific to speculate about for them.

Characters We Haven’t Met

Part I: Legion of Super-Heroes/Time Travel

Based on the idea that the Legion of Super-Heroes and time travel could play a significant role in Season 4 – which is based on how season 3 ended with an unknown woman wearing a Legion Ring.

Legion of Super-Heroes

The Legion of Super-Heroes are a superhero team from the 31st Century; they are similar to The Justice League, but they protect and defend the United Planets.

Tinya Wazzo/Phantom Girl

Phantom Girl is a member of the Legion, so based off that and her name, there’s a decent chance we’ll meet her. I can’t say how big of role she’ll actually have, but I feel confident in saying this season won’t be named after her; it’ll just be fun little tie-in, if she does make an appearance.

Querl Dox/Brainiac 5

Brainiac is a very prominent member of the Legion and knowing that they will play some role, it’s not a stretch to say he’ll also play a role.

Brainiac 5, or at least in the WB animated show, was the inventor of the Legion Ring, as well as the ability to time-travel.

Given his relation to one of Superman’s greatest enemies, Brainiac, who could definitely be a threat to both the League and The Light (if Brainiac even appears), I can definitely see Brainiac 5 playing a role.

But, just his promience within the Legion is enough reason to speculate he’ll make an apperance.

Imra Ardeen/Saturn Girl

Given Saturn Girl’s usual importance and prominence to the Legion (founding member), plus the fact that it was a waitress wearing the ring – it could very well have been her at the end of Season 3.

And even if it wasn’t her, she will still likely make an apperance.

Other Members of the Legion of Super-Heroes who we could meet: Lightning Lad, Cosmic Boy, Bouncing Boy, Triplicate Girl, Timber Wolf, Chameleon Boy, etc.

Michael Carter/Booster Gold

Booster Gold is a pretty popular character who has appeared in many other works and is intrinsically linked with time-travel. On top of that, he typically has (or had) a good friendship with the old Blue Beetle (Ted Kord), so maybe we’ll see some reverse-mentor relationship with him and Jaime, the new Beetle – Jaime teaching him what it actually means to be a hero.

In general, I think he would just be a fun and new kind of personality to be brought in.

Future Kids (Lian Nguyen-Harper, Damian Wayne, Jon Kent, Tornado Twins, etc).

Given how time-travel will possibly be an element in Season 4, I think there’s a chance we’ll have an episode set in the future, starring the next generation of heroes. Maybe not all the kids we saw in “Home Fires,” but probably some of them.

Part II: The Phantom Zone

I have the theory that Granny’s X-Pit is a type of Phantom Zone or at least based off the real thing.

Granny herself even called the pit the Ghost Dimension (which just sounds like another name for the Phantom Zone). So, it seems very likely to me that given the title of Season Four, the prominence of The Phantom Zone in DC, and how the X-Pit worked in YJ -- that The Phantom Zone will make an appearance in season 4, if not play an important part.

There could be lots of ways they could incorporate it into the show.

Maybe it works as a prison. The prison cells are like the red boxes Granny used to protect herself and thus there’s no chance of prisoners escaping the Zone, because if they try leave their cells, they’ll experience excruciating pain

Depending on how the Phantom Zone would work in in YJ, I feel like those who escape the Phantom Zone or are from there, could be called Phantoms.

While I do personally think the tagline Phantoms will refer to our main heroes’ own personal phantoms, the tagline could also be in reference to other elements of the season (like the Phantom Zone).

Kara Zor-El/Supergirl

Supergirl is an important and popular character in the DC and given the prominence of the Batfamily in YJ, it seems a bit odd that the Superfamily is rather lacking in comparison.

Supergirl has been a part of the Legion of Super-Heroes and due to her popular CW Show - she is more recently associated with the Phantom Zone. In her show, she ended up being stuck in the Phantom Zone which is why she arrived on Earth so much later than Clark. YJ could do something like that or maybe she’ll have been stuck in the Phantom Zone until the 31st Century.

The introduction of Supergirl could be an interesting storyline in association with Conner (and Clark). We know that Clark has been interested in finding other Kryptonians and Kara is certainly more than just another Kryptonian.

She’s also a likely candidate to be the waitress who was wearing the Legion Ring.

Mon-El

A Daxxamite who’s a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes and is also strongly associated with the Phantom Zone. Given how in Season 1, Superman thought that Shazam and Icon were potential Kryptonians, there could be something interesting there with Mon-El – especially since his species are so similar to Kryptonians.

In the comics, Mon-El had been inspired by Superboy into becoming a hero, but he was put in the Phantom Zone because he had an incurable disease; he was later saved by Brainiac 5 in the 31st Century. So that could be another potential storyline for Superboy in Season 4.

Mon-El has also gotten some more recognition in recent years, due to his role in CW’s Supergirl.

Also, when I was looking up a picture for him to use, I learned that there is another version of Mon-El, where he is a descendent of House El/Superman.

So maybe that version will be introduced instead of the Daxxamite one, I don’t know.

Zod Trio -- Zod, Ursa, Non

I don’t actually think these guys will be important to Season 4, if even they are introduced. But they are important Superman Villains and they’re usually connected with the Phantom Zone – given how many continuities they are prisoners of said Zone.

So, it seemed silly to not speculate about them at least making an appearance or small cameo, if not something more.

Part III: Darkseid and Meta-Trafficking

Scott Free/Mister Miracle

Scott or Scot is Darkseid’s adopted son and the biological son of Highfather, so it feels safe to say that he’ll be a part of the show at some point. Especially, given the increase prominence of Darkseid as well as how much we’ve seen of the New Gods, Motherboxes/Fatherboxes, and the two worlds of New Genesis and Apokolips.

Scot is a defector of Apokolips or more accurately was never broken by the place. He is known for being able to escape any imprisonment - particularly Granny’s Orphanage/X-Pit, so if there’s a return of the X-Pit, Scot would be a great asset to our heroes.

Given how we’ve been introduced to the X-Pit quite thoroughly in Season 3, I think that Scot’s ability to free himself would be all the more impressive, and a quick way to establish this new character and his skills.

In addition, while we didn’t meet the real Orion, we do know that he exists in this universe. Orion is the adopted son of Highfather and the biological one of Darkseid. In the comics, Scot and Orion were traded as part of a Peace Treaty between the worlds of New Genesis and Apokolips.

Basically, he’s due to make an apperance.

Princess Koriand’r of Tamaran/Starfire

The plots of Season 2 and 3 were largely focused on the kidnapping, experimenting, and trafficking of meta-human children/teenagers, so given all of that - Starfire seems very likely to be included in YJ.

Or at the very least, YJ has laid down the groundwork for her to be introduced - whether or not they’ll use that, we’ll have to see.

Starfire’s origin is that she is a Tamerean Princess who was taken and experimented on, which resulted in her gaining powers (more powers). So, in the YJ universe she would essentially be a Meta-Tamerean.

Starfire could be a great way to show that the Meta-Gene exploitation isn’t just an earth/human problem anymore, as many more beings across the universe are being experimented on and turned into living weapons.

Thus, expanding upon the trafficking story thread that was introduced in Season 3.

In general, Starfire’s origin story fits very well with the trafficking/meta-experimenting storylines that we’ve gotten so far and I think her presence would add something new.

Given the popularity of Teen Titans and the prominence of Nightwing, Beast Boy, and Cyborg in YJ, it seems more than likely that Star will be a character in the show.

Also, we know that Arsenal will be on the Covert Team and that Jason is alive, so maybe if Star is introduced, we’ll see a version of the Outlaws in YJ. Which could be fun.

Finally, she is one of Nightwing’s main love interests, so there could be some personal drama to be had, if the show goes down that route, which they may not.

Starfire obviously doesn’t have to be a love interest for Nightwing to be added into the story.

While I love RobStar (+ Dickbabs), I feel like sometimes Star is just limited to being Nightwing’s other girlfriend. So, if she is introduced in YJ, I would not be opposed to other storylines involving her without Nightwing.

In my personal opinion, not including Star would be such a wasted opportunity, given what YJ has already established so far.

Part IV: Zatanna’s Protégé(s) / Magic-Based Characters

I have a small theory, that magic might play a larger role in season 4. This is mostly based on the fact that magic has been pushed to the background in the past two seasons. Also, the title of ‘Phantoms’ makes me think of the supernatural (aka Magic).

We also know that Zatanna will have protégés, as in plural. Now she already has Thirteen, so at the very least we can say that one new magical-based character will be introduced to the team or the hero side.

The Phantom Stranger

A mysterious mystic who battles supernatural forces. It’s unlikely he’ll be a protégé for Zatanna, but I mentioned him first, because of his name. Which is the main reason for why I think he, out of all the magical characters in DC, could make an appearance.

Similar to Phantom Girl, I don’t think the season’s tagline will come from his name, but it might just be a nice little tie-in regardless.

Eddie Bloomberg/Kid Devil aka Red Devil

Blue Devil has made a few minor appearances in Seasons 1 & 2 and given how Kid Devil was once his sidekick in the comics, I think there’s a decent chance Red Devil we’ll make an appearance.

He’s a character who I think many people might not know about or at least not a lot about; and YJ does like to shine a light on those characters.

Eddie started out as human kid/teenager who became Kid Devil - sidekick to Blue Devil. He ended up making a deal with a demon and got demonic powers and looks to match - possibly related to that, he had a falling out with Blue Devil and stopped being his sidekick.

I’m pretty fuzzy on the details of his story, as I’m not super familiar with his character; but the broad strokes that I do know, I think could really work for YJ.

He starts out as the sidekick of Blue Devil (maybe he knows the team), but he has a falling out with Blue or goes off on his own – and gets his demonic powers, becoming Red Devil. Or something like that.

As he becomes Zatanna’s protégé (trying to learn to control his magical powers), he also has to work on his strained relationship with Blue Devil.

It could be a similar story to Red Arrow’s from Season 1, a nice throwback with a new character. And a character who while being new, does already have some slight groundwork laid out for his introduction - with Blue Devil already existing in YJ.

Again, I’m just throwing ideas out here and speculating.

Zachary Zatara

Several people have pointed out that Zachary is a more likely candidate to be Zatanna’s new protégé than Raven is - who was the first person I thought of - given how Zachary is Zatanna’s cousin.

And yeah, I think there’s a decent enough chance for him becoming a character in Season 4.

He’s related to a former member of the OG Team and like Eddie, he’s not really a character many people are super familiar with, so that could work in his favor.

It could also be fun to have someone back on the team who has magic like Zatanna and if Zachary was part of the team, we would probably see more of Zatanna – which would be great.

One problem I do have though, is if he does exist in this universe - why didn’t Zatanna move in with his parent(s) (her aunt or uncle) when her father became the host for Doctor Fate.

Of course, that could just be because in season one they had never intended for him to exist in the show, but now things have changed.

And in Season 2, we were given no indication that Beast Boy had been with the Doom Patrol or that they had died tragic deaths in between the time his mother died and when he joined the team. So yeah....

Zachary is a likely candidate to be added, especially in regard to Zatanna have multiple protégés (or at least 2).

Rachel Roth/Raven

Unlike Starfire, Raven’s main story arc involving Trigon doesn’t really relate to what has been going on in Young Justice so far. Nonetheless, it seems very likely she’ll be included - given the popularity of TT, plus Nightwing, Beast Boy, and Cyborg being prominent characters.

Raven shouldn’t be limited by the existence of Trigon; as you easily have Raven in a story, without Trigon being front and center, in my opinion. And, it would be nice seeing other storylines involving Raven that don’t include Trigon, or at least not having him be a major factor.

There’s nothing specific that makes me think Raven will be introduced in Season 4, but –

She could definitely be Zatanna’s new protégé or at least one of them. And, while in the comics Zatanna and Raven haven’t always gotten along – there’s no reason that has to be the case in YJ. Plus, in Bombshells, Raven is Zatanna’s pseudo/adopted daughter.

Though, I think Raven being the protégé of Doctor Fate might work a bit better.

Also, in regard to my personal theory that magic will become more prominent, Raven would be a great way to go about doing that, especially with her wide range of powers and abilities.

While, I don’t think a story needs Trigon to have Raven – her being the daughter of one of the great evils of the universe, could certainly be a bonding element for her and the other heroes who also have supervillain relatives.

Plus, Raven being the portal to Trigon (this seemingly unstoppable force) could be something interesting to explore in regards to Darkseid’s and the Light’s plans. Maybe Darkseid and the Light would perceive Raven as a major threat and want to get rid of her and perhaps even the good guys would also see her as a threat that needs to be stopped.

There’s just so much that YJ could do with Raven. And while I would love for her a main or secondary character, I think she could be an interesting neutral party or a single-episode character.

There are many other magical characters that could be introduced to YJ, but it feels silly to list a whole bunch of characters, just because they have magic.

Part V: Random Characters

Rose Wilson/Ravager and Joe Wilson/Jericho

Two of Deathstroke’s children who operate as heroes. I can see a lot being done with these two in YJ, especially with Deathstroke being a member of the Light. They could potentially bond with the other characters who also have supervillain parents and maybe even bond with Tara over the terrible parenting skills of Deathstroke. .

Natasha Irons/Steel aka Starlight aka Vaporlock

Natasha is the niece of John Henry Irons/Steel who had a very minor role in Season 3, but nonetheless was introduced to the audience. In addition, Natasha has been associated with Infinity Inc, Lex Luthor’s group of “superheroes” who were also introduced in Season 3.

And while I could be mistaken, as I don’t know much about her, when she was part of Infinity Inc., she was injected with a serum that unlocked her meta-gene, giving her powers.

Natasha could possibly be introduced in Season 4, as a lot of the elements to her story, are already part of Young Justice.

Green Lanterns

I think there’s a decent chance of us meeting a new Green Lantern, especially a younger one - as they would be a member of the Covert Team or the Outsiders.

Jessica Cruz/Green Lantern

She's recently been popularized or at least introduced to many fans through the show DC Superhero Girls (2019) and I think if there was a combination of that version and her comic book counterpart – you could have a really compelling character for YJ.

In the comics, Jess suffers from extreme anxiety, which is such an interesting and unique folly for a Green Lantern to have. And, I just think there’s a lot of story potential to be explored in that dilemma.

Keli Quintela/Teen Lantern

From what I’ve seen of Keli, I think she could be a fun addition. Just for the sheer fact that she uses the Green Lantern power completely different than every other Lantern we’ve seen – that alone is enough reason for her to be added.

Kyle Raynor

One of the major Green Lanterns of DC. Like the two ladies above, there’s nothing specific with what we’ve been given so far in YJ to indicate he’ll be included, but I just think because of his status among fans, if the show was to introduce another GL – he has a decent shot.

Vic Sage/Question

Since Season 1, I thought Question would be a great addition to the hero side – as the typical conspiracy stuff he obsesses over and discovers to be true, actually does align with what The Light has consistently been doing.

In general, he would be a fun character to add. Also, if we’re thinking of potential new protégés - Vic Sage could be the current Question and there could be a young (or at least somewhat young) Renee Montoya - under his care/tutelage. Or Renee could just be Question - either works for me.

I loved Question in JLU and would love to see him again.

Finally,

Wally West/ Kid Flash (former)

I think there’s a very good chance we’ll see the return of Wally in Season 4. Especially since Season 3 left us with many little hints that he’s not really dead.

Also, in regards to the idea that the tagline of “Phantoms” could be about the team’s personal ghosts haunting them, well Wally is a ghost for many of our characters - so that fits rather perfectly.

Or, maybe he ended up in the Phantom Zone. Or if ‘Phantoms’ is referring to more literal ghosts, even that still works in regards to Wally, as he’s presumed dead. Or maybe, he was jumped through time and somehow ended up in the 31st century (w/ the Legion of Super-Heroes).

Maybe I’m wrong, but it just seems very likely Wally will be returning.

And now we’re finally done.

As I’ve mentioned before, this is just my own speculation and I’m sure I’ve missed several characters. Also, I obviously don’t think all of these characters will be introduced in Season 4, but to me they all have somewhat of a chance.

And yeah...that’s it.

I hope you enjoyed this extremely long list of characters who I think could be introduced in Season 4 of Young Justice.

#Young Justice #YJ #Young Justice Season 4 #Young Justice Phantoms #YJ Phantoms #YJ Season 4 #YJ Season 3 #Young Justice Season 3 #Young Justice Outsiders #YJ Outsiders #DC #DC Comics

76 notes · View notes

calorieworkouts · 3 years

Text

Success Story: Aileen Lost 79 lbs!

Aileen S. Age: 45 Starting Weight: 234 Weight now: 155

What was the transforming point that encouraged your way of living change?

In 2008, I lost about 70 pounds, yet I never really reached my target weight. Over the following few years, I continuously returned on even more than fifty percent of that weight. I was miserable with myself and my capacity to do things with my youngsters and good friends, like jump on a trampoline or go clothes shopping. In the summertime of 2012, we went on vacation as well as I despised seeing myself in images. I had a now-or-never minute and determined that if I wished to be delighted, I required to start doing points for myself as well as develop my own joy.

People wish to know just how I did it, as well as the response is I believed. I believed in me. If I was mosting likely to more than happy in my life and also with my body, I needed to do it myself. Between August 16, 2012 and January 16, 2013, I shed 44 extra pounds and also strike my target weight. I had shed 79 extra pounds from my all-time, non-pregnant high. Why? Because I started to believe and insist that I could reach my goal.

How did MyFoodDiary help in your weight reduction journey?

Writing down what I eat is a crucial and non-negotiable part of achieving as well as maintaining a healthy weight for me. I recognize some professionals say not to compose it down because "calories are not all developed equally." There might be some reality because, yet I understand that for me, meaningless psychological eating is probably my number one source of weight gain. I also think that at the end of the day, it is the straightforward math of "calories in vs. calories out" that regulations my body. I do not constantly have a "journal" with me, neither my computer. To have an online journal that is always available as well as upgraded with every one of the information I require, that is doing the math for me and also tracking exercise, dietary values, and also water consumption, is just crucial.

Now that I have been at my objective weight for over 2 years, I often avoid daily journaling. Yet as quickly as I start to feel myself creeping away from my target weight, the initial point I go back to is MyFoodDiary as well as day-to-day journaling. It's not almost being liable. I like to check out patterns as well as recognize things like, what typical day-to-day calorie intake assists me maintain my weight? Lose weight? And also what does my ordinary nutritional account REALLY resemble? MyFoodDiary is my facilities for a healthy and balanced way of life and also my safety blanket.

Describe your new, healthy lifestyle?

Even though I have actually kept my goal weight for over 2 years, I still require to verify to myself daily that I can do this, that this is real. This is my thought cycle: I think that I am a solid as well as healthy and balanced individual, as a result I act in this way. It has actually become my fact. I consume alcohol water rather than other beverages. I try to include vegetables right into my diet regimen wherever I can, particularly right into healthy smoothies. Generally, I attempt to decrease refined carbohydrates and processed foods as well as chemicals. I'm additionally aware that attacks, licks as well as preferences have calories and also build up quick! I sometimes avoid daily journaling but MyFoodDiary is constantly the very first point I return to if I really feel like I have actually not been focusing on my nourishment and also daily calories. There is no suggesting with the numbers before me in black and white.

I include some form of movement into every day. Some days I do cardio, stamina, and also extending workout at the health club. Some days I'm exercising on a post, hammock or hoop in the airborne studio where I teach and also train. Some days I simply do cartwheels or yoga exercise obstacles, or park at the far end of the great deal. Every single day I assume regarding moving my body. It is not a duty, it is a privilege.

What has actually been your largest difficulty in the process, and also exactly how have you conquer it?

There are two challenges that I have always allowed to dictate my level of activity as well as capability to be healthy: my five children as well as my poor joints.

It is very easy to allow my youngsters's needs and hectic timetables come before my own, and for years I did just that. I was showing them that my requirements come last, including my health and also joy. Currently they see a mom that relocates as well as enjoys it. I have determined, regardless of exactly how busy my day is, I FIT exercise into it. A critical part of raising my kids is revealing them that I matter too, as they will when they come to be adults and parents.

Also, I do not have excellent joints, most significantly my back as well as knees. I've had numerous knee as well as back surgeries because I was 12 years of ages. My last orthopedist, seeing my x-rays for the first time, looked at me warily as well as stated, "You do understand that you have seriously progressed osteoarthritis, right?" I ensured him I knew that. He described that there was absolutely nothing left to be provided for my knee except to await points to weaken to the factor of replacement. What triggers me one of the most joint discomfort are poor diet, lack of activity, and bring additional weight, so I am simply made with those things. I value the limitations of my joints, as well as train carefully. I continue to educate, relocate, and also dance. Because when I quit moving, I'm done. As well as I'm not done.

What is one brand-new healthy and balanced food, behavior, or task you really did not expect to like, once you attempted it, you were hooked?

In February of 2013, having actually simply reached my objective weight, I mosted likely to a post physical fitness course at Upright Addiction in Stamford CT, assuming I would certainly rotate around looking elegant. Rather, it was hard, as in beyond-my-abilities hard.

Most of my childhood years I was an affordable gymnast, and also many of my life I have actually been a professional dancer. What I saw because class inspired me: women of every age, body form and history, who looked solid as well as graceful. I felt totally awkward and also incapable, however the other women appeared truly certain that I might do it also. I returned to attempt once again. Today, I am a qualified pole health and fitness as well as FlyGym trainer and I show 3 to 6 classes each week. I additionally complete in local competitions as well as have actually obtained bronze, silver, and also gold medals in my age in levels 1 and also 2. Pole and airborne arts are my trifecta of fitness: a challenging full-body workout of toughness and also cardio, lovely and stylish and also never the same, and remarkable ladies of every age as well as capacity coming together to support and also support for each other.

What has actually been the biggest benefit of your weight-loss success?

It is so much enjoyable to shop, put on enjoyable garments, as well as also use bikinis with confidence. It feels good daily to relocate my body as well as feel strong as well as healthy. But by much my biggest incentive is getting in touch with other ladies and assisting to show them that they can attain their health and wellness objectives also.

For years I informed myself "I can not" and I thought it. I saw various other females experience success and also I had a list of reasons she could do it - no children, under 40, had much less to shed, full time athlete or star - and I can not. I am done with that mentality, and with justifications. Females attract inspiration from me due to the fact that I don't have any type of magic bullet or simple excuses. I made a decision to do the job, and also so can various other females. Hearing that I helped motivate another person's success, despite exactly how small, is by far my favorite part of this journey.

What's next? Any type of upcoming plans that were influenced by your weight loss?

My big strategies are to keep going! I will continue contending, sharing, and training pole health and fitness as well as dance, and also aerial arts. I look forward to summer and spending quality time in the water and also sun with my family and friends. I hope to obtain hectic on my blog and also making even more entrances that will certainly share my trials and also successes. I want to get individuals speaking about attaching their wellness and also joy and accomplishing their objectives. I have one boy leaving for university and also 4 kids still in the house, so the most significant part of my life is elevating them and also helping them produce delighted, healthy and balanced lives that include discovering workout that they love.

What is your finest recommendations for others attempting to lose weight?

I state begin NOW. Do a minimum of one point today that you will certainly take pride in tonight. Exactly how often do we go to sleep stating our failures and also negative selections? I recognize there is a long listing of great, also impressive, things you do daily as well as never ever think around. Undoubtedly there are additionally practices as well as actions that make you feel severely, however you never ever truly believe about them, you simply engage in them. So undergo the day looking for possibilities to choose you will certainly boast of!

It does not matter if these opportunities are little. Due to the fact that if you are anything like me, it is the build-up of these little, mindless habits that are making you really feel beat. If rather you go to bed reminding yourself how you actively made one much better choice for yourself, after that you are going to bed with a positive thought. That will change whatever, because things you inform on your own are one of the most powerful things you listen to. Really feeling terribly regarding on your own is difficult work. Making favorable modifications daily is effort. Select your difficult work.

#body workout #exercise #fitness #get fit #health #health and fitness #health and wellness #health club #physical fitness #pilates exercises #weight #wellness #workout

7 notes · View notes

thesunnyshow · 3 years

Text

Name: kelsie Writing Blog URL(s): @lovingyong

Age: 22

Nationality: american

Languages: english, some sign language and spanish

Star Sign: libra

MBTI: INFJ

Favorite color: pink

Favorite food: taco bell (lol)

Favorite movie: pride and prejudice, kill bill, gone with the wind, or the handmaiden

Favorite ice cream flavor: green tea

Favorite animal: otter

Coffee or tea? What are you ordering? tea or hot chocolate. never coffee because i’m allergic

Dream job (whether you have a job or not): human rights attorney or writer

Go-to karaoke song: never gonna give you up - rick astley

If you could have one superpower, what would you choose? teleportation

If you could visit a historical era, which would you choose? mmm hard to say bc i enjoy my rights as a woman so i guess probably the 90s

If you could restart your life, knowing what you do now, would you? Only starting at the summer before high school

Would you rather fight 100 chicken-sized horses or one horse-sized chicken? horse sized chicken but i could not explain why. It’s just my gut instinct

If you were a trope in a teen high school movie, what would you have been? I was the floater/nobody for sureeeee

Do you believe in aliens/supernatural creatures? yes aliens allll the way lets go

Fun fact about yourself that not everyone would know? I only type with two fingers on each hand but can still type 60 wpm

What fandom(s) do you write for? nct but i want to also start writing for haikyuu soon

When did you post your first piece? july of 2018

Do you write fluff/angst/crack/general/smut, combo, etc? Why? I like a good combo. Life is never completely fluffy or totally angsty. It’s good to have a balance to make it all seem more realistic and immersive

Do you write OCs, X Readers, Ships...etc? x reader right now but when i write for haikyuu, it’ll be ships

Why did you decide to write for Tumblr? I think it was just… there and available. Ao3 is fun but there’s not a lot of chances or opportunities for interaction so i decided to go back to the hellsite

What inspires you to write? Oh goodness, anything and everything. Oftentimes it’s music. I hear a song and i’m immediately like i need a story for this asap

What genres/AUs do you enjoy writing the most? Mafia and crime. It’s such a guilty pleasure of mine

What do you hope your readers take away from your work? I just want it to be a temporary escape and provide at least some form of enjoyment

What do you do when you hit a rough spot creatively? Read more or watch anime just because both of those are enjoyable things for me but can also give me the inspiration to create again

What is your favorite work and why? Your most successful? you may regret this is literally my baby. It’s not my favorite, but i think taeyong’s spin off story, a way out, is because it's everything i wanted for ymrt, i just didn’t have the same skills at the time. Another favorite of mine is hanakotoba because it’s literally my heart and soul in a story and i’ll always have that deep personal connection to it. My most successful is white knuckle tight which is truly still fascinating for me because it was an idea i got on a random tuesday during christmas break and i just ran with it. I think it’s an alright story but it’s far from my favorite. I lack the emotional attachment that i have to other pieces.

Who is your favorite person to write about? taeyong. Writing him is almost like second nature to me. His character is always the easiest for me to construct and i think people will find he’s the most consistent character throughout stories. There’s not as much variation.

Do you think there’s a difference between writing fanfiction vs. completely original prose? Yes and no. i think writing kpop fanfiction is much more similar to original prose because you don’t have a world to build around. You only have a person. In fact, you don’t even have that. You only have an idea of a person to construct into a character. I think the only difference is that you can get away with a lot more unreasonable plot lines.

What do you think makes a good story? Good characters and enough emotion to create an attachment to the plot. I want to care about what’s happening and the best way to do that is by leading me to some sort of connection to the characters

What is your writing process like? Very chaotic and sporadic. I’ll come up with ideas at 3 am, make a random note about it, and then do my best to bring it to life when i’m actually awake. I don’t plan. I just have snippets of scenes i would like to include. So much of it is just writing whatever comes to mind while im writing it

Would you ever repurpose a fic into a completely original story? I’m doing so with one right now, though 8-% of it is getting scrapped and changed. There’s nothing wrong with that though. Having good bones is what matters and i think this story has exactly that

What tropes do you love, and what tropes can’t you stand? I love enemies to loves if it’s done right. Exes to lovers is another classic. Mafia is a given. Hanahaki and soulmates always does something to my heart. I can’t stand hybrid and a/b/o fics idk why i just have never been able to get into them. Yandere like tropes are also really hard to do right so i usually avoid those as well

How much would you say audience feedback/engagement means to you? It means a lot. I’m sure any writer can tell you that but it’s truly the reason i still write fanfic and haven’t just given up and written only original prose.

What has been one of the biggest factors of your success (of any size)? Timing. It’s always about which member is really getting to people at the moment and which trope is gaining traction. 85% of writing on tumblr is kind of just dumb luck

Do you think fanfic writers get unfairly judged? Yes. i think it just comes from lack of understanding

Do you think art can be a medium for change? Without a doubt. Art pieces as well as writings have made significant impacts in my life in a variety of ways. It’s a medium of awareness and recognition

Do you ever feel there are times when you’re writing for others, rather than yourself? Not really because i kind of just do whatever the fuck i want (sorry for my language lol) but i usually come up with totally self indulgent ideas and then just do it.

Do you ever feel like people have misunderstood you or your writing at times? No… not yet. I expected someone to with shattered memories but it seemed to do and say what i wanted to

Do your offline friends/loved ones know you write for Tumblr? My roommates. My friends know i write they just don’t know what

What is one thing you wish you could tell your followers? I’m doing my best and i wish i could put stories out more often

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers who might be too scared to put themselves out there? Just go for it. You have to try if you want to see any sort of results. Plus these people don’t know you so what’s the risk

Are there any times when you regret joining Tumblr? nah

Do you have any mutuals who have been particularly formative/supportive in your Tumblr journey? Kai, jewel, and abbey for sure. They were some of my closest mutuals when my blog really started to take off

Pick a quote to end your interview with:

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go… - dr. seuss

#@lovingyong #feature author #thesunnyshow #nct #episode 49 #haikyuu

13 notes · View notes

whitegirlrevert · 3 years

Text

Are reverts adequately supported by other muslims?

Recently, a sister reached out to me and asked whether reverts receive adequate support from other muslims. No. No, we don’t. I am a member of a muslim women’s convert group on Facebook and we often have discussions about how reverts are treated in the ummah.

Here are a few of the characterizations:

The unicorn

I’m going to speak about my personal experience as a white revert. There aren’t many countries with significant white Muslim populations (although they do exist) which adds to the rarity factor.

We are seen as the ultra-pious ones. Bonus points if you have blue eyes. It becomes a fetishization in Muslim communities to be white and Muslim. After every Eid prayer I get a couple marriage proposals from men who know nothing about me other than how I look. The fetishization of white male reverts is also prominent (see ft note) but, in contrast to their female counterparts, this can actually make it harder for them to find a spouse.

Tourage, Mahdi, Performing belief and reviving Islam: Prominent (white male) converts in Muslim revival conventions, 2012, vol 1:2 at 207-226 Intellect Ltd.

One to take advantage of

There are countless stories of religious leaders taking advantage of reverts, particularly female ones. This is both grotesque and unacceptable. What’s even more disgusting is that we as a community prefer to unconditionally support these “religious leaders” rather than believe the victims. This is aggravated by the low support that reverts receive from other Muslims. Imagine finally working up the courage to out a religious leader only to be shut down because the alleged perpetrator is part of the establishment. The amount of support for these men – using Islamic themes to give them the benefit of the doubt – is truly discouraging. Islam teaches us to stand with the oppressed not the oppressor.

What does being a woman or being a white woman have to do with her experience of sexual assault being invalidated. Does this mirror existing cultural stereotypes of white woman = slut? How can we pretend that this doesn’t have a negative impact on our later treatment in these conservative circles? This is not to say that women of color don’t experience sexual assault, they certainly do.

Religious leaders hold all the religious knowledge and these sisters feel compelled to stick close to them to gain this knowledge. We need to provide safe spaces for reverts as well as sources for sisters to seek knowledge themselves.

We don’t know anything about Islam

I’ll keep this short. There is a huge difference between communicating information and haram policing. The line between them, however, is not clear.

This becomes especially problematic when you follow a particular madhaab or were taught Islamic practice through culture. Why? Because there may be perfectly legitimate alternative views and interpretations on the issue.

This makes it both confusing for new Muslims and alienates those who disagree with your practice but are made to feel that if they don’t follow your tradition, that they aren’t being a good muslim.

Instead, consider informing them about your view by clarifying that it is from your perception.

No reply to our salaams

A common theme running in discussions with other reverts is that whenever we say our salaams to Muslims we don’t get a reply. It’s like saying hello in a respectful, acknowledging way. Do we not deserve that from you?

Normally, when I bring this up people tell me not to worry and remind me that it is a Muslim’s duty to reply and some version of getting the passerby’s potential blessing in addition to mine. I don’t care. This doesn’t make us feel better.

Some people have hypothesized that these Muslims who don’t reply are simply in shock at hearing a white person say salaam (particularly if, like me, they don’t wear hijab). Others say that they weren’t sure if they misheard me. Regardless of the reasoning, I think the fact that most reverts don’t get a reply is troubling. EVEN if we weren’t Muslim why wouldn’t you reply…? If a non-Muslim is saying salaam to you then they are obviously trying hard to communicate their respect to you. Why would you respond by ignoring this?

One sister from the revert group mentioned that men make excuses about not saying salaam back because they are trying to avoid zina…Ugh. First of all, not supported by hadith. Second, surely you can keep it in your pants for long enough to say the equivalent of hello back. Or are muslim men inherently more fragile than other men? I think not. You can also say salaam back while lowering your gaze. It’s really not that difficult.

Non-Muslims treat us better than other Muslims

I plan to have a full post on this at some point in the future. This is a bit difficult to explain as I have only recently recognized this irony. Basically, the way I figured this out is that prior to telling a non-muslim about my religious orientation I would preface it by saying, “this is going to be really weird but…” The thing is, they never looked shocked or surprised when I told them. Contrast this to my experience with muslims, and it usually takes them a few minutes and multiple questions to confirm that yes, I am in fact muslim. And you could say it’s the lack of scarf thing, but honestly if non-muslims can accept that there are muslims who don’t wear hijab than so can you.

It’s really ironic considering that prior to conversion every muslim is all like welcoming and whatnot and then when you convert you almost feel like you need to prove that you are muslim.

I am going to give an example of something that happened to me while I was shopping in a muslim area of Singapore.

I stopped at a shop and asked about this smaller prayer rugs. I told the shop keeper that I am looking for a smaller rug to put my forehead and face on during salah when I am at the masjid for a long time. Literally no idea.

Next store over, I asked this shop keeper about a prayer rug. He, in his sales pitch endeavors said “you can give it to your friend, you can use it yourself”. So I’m thinking, great, this is off to a good start. I continue asking about this rug and am repeatedly using the word salah. He then says, “do you know any muslims?” I replied, “yes, myself��. Then (note the pattern) he says, “you are muslim?!” with a shocked expression.

To summarize, here are some things Muslims could be doing better to support us.

Say your salaams back to us.

Believe us when we tell you that a community religious leader has assaulted us.

Stop forcing your particular madhab down our throat.

Don’t assume we know less than you about Islam.

Don’t assume that we are going to whip on a hijab, now or at any point. Focus instead on teaching us how to pray and what to do at a mosque.

Do not tell us that you are making duah for our family to become muslim. I’m not sure how people think this is a great thing, but I personally find it incredibly offensive.

Don’t be mad if we can’t attend Islamic events. Sometimes we are busy, and sometimes we are just dealing with a bit of trauama from negative experiences from the muslim community. We appreciate the invite regardless.

Positive things Muslims do.

Invite us for iftar, Eid, other Islamic events.

Encourage us by being supportive regardless of whether we share the same views as you islamicly.

Empathize with our challenges.

Motivate us by sending us duahs or ayat.

Make duah for us and our families to have ease.

Instead of saying “In Islam X is forbidden”, try: “most people agree that in Islam X is forbidden”. An excellent example of how this may play out is where a Muslim has an assumption that all reverts will follow the Sunni school and that only the Sunni school is legitimate. This isn’t a Sunni/Shi’a debate, but the very fact that there are conflicting opinions indicates that diversity of opinions exists.

#islam #muslim #revert #convert #muslimah #reflections

2 notes · View notes

acti-veg · 3 years

Note

I think you've said you have an academic background in philosophy? Do you think standpoint epistemology was vulgarized when it hit the mainstream? How did the prevailing view of SE go from a reasonable claim ("one's position *may* give them an advantage in knowing *some* things particular to it") to what we have in practice ("I'm X/Y/Z identity, therefore automatically correct and you absolutely must defer to me on all matters)? Feature or bug of SE?

My undergraduate degree was in philosophy, yes. This is a really interesting question and I’ve actually thought about this a lot myself, in light of the almost unquestioning acceptance of standpoint epistemology in spaces like this one. I don’t believe that it has been bastardised in social justice dialogue, I just think it’s been drawn to it’s logical conclusion, and that conclusion has laid bare some obvious flaws in this kind of conception of knowledge. I agree with the notion that a person’s position relative to power grants them access to insight or knowledge on how that power operates. It is obvious that there is an a episemelogical asymmetry between the standpoint of the oppressed and the standpoint of the oppressor, or even just the privileged who benefit from that oppression, which gives an epistemological advantage to the oppressed over the oppressor, and I think that denial of that fact is very much rooted in wanting to protect the authority of those who are members of oppressor classes, such as myself.

I believe that someone who is personally oppressed has access to insights that I, as a member of an oppressor class, will never have. Where I begin to disagree with standpoint epistemology is the claim that being a member of an oppressed group offers strong objectivity regardless of experience or political engagement, that belonging to said group gives a person an objective truth on oppression which is not accessible to those with privilege. This assumes that all members of said group have similar experiences or are part of some sort of epistemic monolith, which is untrue, and it also feels far too much like an uncritical appeal to authority to me.

I don’t believe that an objective perspective on any phenomena is possible, which is obviously at odds with the central premise of standpoint epistemology. I subscribe more to intersectionality. If we use racism as an example, I believe that a person of colour has access to a pool of knowledge and insights that I, as a white person, will never have, and so they should be considered a more authoritative source of knowledge on the phenomena of racist oppression.

I also have insights and knowledge which is no more or less objective, though - I see how racism is perceived and discussed in white-only spaces, for example, which is an experience of phenomena (and therefore an insight) not directly available to a person of colour. One is not any more objective than the other, since objectivity when it comes to phemonena is, in my view, a nonsense concept. These insights based on identity and position to power are just different and have varying levels of epistemological authority depending on the context

Everyday experiences of certain phenomena (such as racism) will be different for people of different races, and it is obvious that a person of colour is a more authoritative source of knowldge on the lived experiences of racial discrimination. I, as a white person without access that kind of cultural and social knowledge, should listen to that in order to expand and challenge my own insights. However, it does not follow that we should consider epistemological authority to be based on group identity alone, since there are obviously other factors to account for alongside experience of phenomena - level of political engagement, expertise, education and access to empirical data being significant factors.

To be fair, I suspect that the conclusions of modern standpoint epistemology and the way that it is so often uncritically wielded as a silencing tool, particularly in social justice spaces, would not have been foreseen by its early adopters. The idea that any member of any oppressed group has access to strong objectivity and are authoritive regardless of their political engagement and experiences, that anyone who is not personally oppressed has no access to any insights or knowledge on the topic and should just shut up forever would likely have never even been conceived of by the likes of Sandra Hardling when it was first applied to feminist philosophy back in the 1970′s. However, it unfortunately very much is the logical conclusion, however much the early standpoint epistemologists would not have seen that coming.

#ask #philosophy #epistemology #social justice #intersectionality

8 notes · View notes

historyofshipping · 4 years

Text

Something personal: my child is 100% formula fed

For whatever reason, I’ve seen a lot of lactivist (people who are hardcore breast is besters) pop up over the last few days so I feel like saying something. This is directed to anyone who ever dares shame someone else for how they feed their baby and to anyone who has ever been shamed.

Let me start by saying: fed is best. Fed is always, ALWAYS best. Not only do I support one’s decision to breastfeed, combo feed, or formula feed but I will continuing fighting like hell to make sure that governments, employers, and society support your decision. No one should be forced to choose based on anything other than one’s desire to breastfeed, formula feed, or combo. This is also ONLY applicable to places with clean water and a generally well-developed supply chain. In places that do not have access to these things, breast usually is best. For the vast majority of us in the US and Europe (the two places I study, I cannot speak for other parts of the world simply because I don’t research there), fed is best and fed is formula, breast, and/or combo.

That said, I have exclusively formula fed since my baby was born in March and I am not in any way ashamed of that fact. Some quick background on myself: I have a MPH (masters of public health) in Maternal and Child Health from one of the top PH universities in the world. I worked in MCH and sexual and reproductive health for a while. Now, I am finishing up a PhD and one of my fields is reproductive health and justice - past and present. I literally do academic research for a living. I’m not someone getting my information from youtube.

Before giving birth, I extensively studied the most recent literature on breastfed vs non-breastfed babies. You know what they show? What we’ve known for years: when controlling for socioeconomic status, there is no long term differences between BF & non-BF babies.

“But breast is best! All the MCH orgs say so!” There is a huge political history behind this that I’m not really in the mood to get into. Instead, I will just tell you why the breast is best “evidence” is bullshit - very rarely do researchers control for demographic factors and socioeconomic status (ie - income, race, educational level of parents, etc). Study after study after study shows that breastfeeding is correlated with high SES. People who breastfeed tend to be white, mid to high income, well-educated, and healthy. People who tend to not are the opposite of all of those. Unsurprisingly, children who are raised in high SES households have better health and economic outcomes than those raised in low SES households.

And yet, studies repeatedly do NOT control for these factors when trying to determine the benefits of breastfeeding. So what are almost certainly SES factors are conflated with breastfeeding but incorrectly attributed to breastfeeding.

One of the only studies that attempt to control for this found the following (this is an abstract and the study is here -> x

Breastfeeding rates in the U.S. are socially patterned. Previous research has documented startling racial and socioeconomic disparities in infant feeding practices. However, much of the empirical evidence regarding the effects of breastfeeding on long-term child health and wellbeing does not adequately address the high degree of selection into breastfeeding. To address this important shortcoming, we employ sibling comparisons in conjunction with 25 years of panel data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) to approximate a natural experiment and more accurately estimate what a particular child's outcome would be if he/she had been differently fed during infancy. Results from standard multiple regression models suggest that children aged 4 to 14 who were breast- as opposed to bottle-fed did significantly better on 10 of the 11 outcomes studied. Once we restrict analyses to siblings and incorporate within-family fixed effects, estimates of the association between breastfeeding and all but one indicator of child health and wellbeing dramatically decrease and fail to maintain statistical significance. Our results suggest that much of the beneficial long-term effects typically attributed to breastfeeding, per se, may primarily be due to selection pressures into infant feeding practices along key demographic characteristics such as race and socioeconomic status.

It’s not just one study. Another shows that INTENTION to breastfeed is what made the difference in child health for this study, not whether or not the parent actually did breastfeed. Again, since those of higher SES are more likely to and intend to breastfeed, this is absolutely not surprising.

Now, as for why I personally didn’t breastfeed: frankly, I just didn’t want to. I can tell you all about the health and medical reasons (of which there are many but were not high on my list of reasons) and about how I am the primary breadwinner with a stay at home partner and it just didn’t make sense. I can give you a whole slew of reasons, but the only one that is important is that I didn’t want to and it didn’t make sense for my family.

Whatever is right for you and your family is valid and exactly what you should do whenever possible. And I will fight to make sure you’re not restricted by external factors.

Now why the hell did I write this essay? Well first of all, if you’ve made it this far - kudos. I appreciate you. I wrote it because I don’t give a shit what people think of me and my parenting BUT I’ve been called a child abuser, accused of neglect, and essentially accused of ruining my child’s life by choosing to use formula. These things don’t affect me but they do affect the mental health of MANY parents. It’s bullshit that anyone dare shames anyone else.

Second reason - I was exclusively formula fed nearly 30 years ago and sometimes it feels like I’m being personally attacked and written off because I was formula fed. I believe in data, not anecdotes, but ffs I’m almost 30, have two masters, finishing up a PhD, have a wonderful family, own my house, and all of this while I grew up poor. Lactivists make it seem like someone like me is impossible.

My child is thriving. He’s 2.5 months old (after being born nearly a month early), has already rolled over, is almost double his birth weight, and is just generally proving to be a bright, healthy child. I sleep 8+ hours a night because my partner does night feeds and we’re generally just a happy, healthy family. This was far and away the best choice for me and I am thankful that I live in a time and place where I can safely make the choice to not breastfeed.

#personal #not the 100 #fed is best #long post #long #text post #reproductive health

12 notes · View notes

thecorteztwins · 4 years

Note

I love how you care so much about obscure characters. Who is your favorite underrated female X-men character

Awww thank you! I love bringing them love, so it makes me really happy for you to say that! My absolute fave is Haven, but I read “faves” as plural so I wrote down a bunch...my faves can bounce around a bit but here’s a list of some of them! It’s under a cut because it’s long, I really like to explain who these gals are and why I like them so much! Warning, there is some description of pretty horrendous sexism and racism for some of these, since nothing makes me latch on to a woman harder than wanting to defend her from the SHITTY THINGS WRITERS DID TO HER! I kinda wrote novels for Haven and Madelyne, then I did links to previous things I’ve written about others. This is a LOT, I’m so sorry, I just love sharing!! Thank you for asking!!

THE BIG ONES Basically my consistent mega-faves I’m always ready to talk about! RADHA “HAVEN” DASTOOR - This lady has been at the top of my list for over five years and counting! She just really resonated with me on a deep level. She’s this mysterious woman who turns up in X-Factor for seven issues, and though she’s very benevolent towards them (even when they attack her) she is technically a villain, as she’s trying to destroy 3/4 of the world to bring about the Mahapralaya, a sort of Hindu apocalypse that will bring about an age of peace and end to suffering. So, her motives are very compassionate, and as it turns out, the horrible things she’s trying to do aren’t actually her fault. She’s being posessed by the Adversary, a demon of the highest order and an entity of cosmic evil. Or more specifically, her unborn child is. See, Haven was a really, really good woman. She was not a mutant, but she was sensitive to the pain and suffering of others from an early age, and she devoted her life to helping the poor and needy. She’s incredibly rich, so she could have helped just from afar, but instead she not only used her wealth to help others, she herself went out in the streets to attend to the poor and sick with her own hands. She bathed lepers, cradled dying babies, everything. She actually GOT the name “Haven” from a children’s hospital that she renovated, the kids started calling HER that instead. What a villain, huh? It all goes super wrong when she fell in love with a guy. After he took her virginity, he took off, leaving her pregnant. This was in 1970s India, and she was a very a religious woman, she felt INTENSE shame and horrible guilt and sunk into a deep depression, now living on the streets herself she was so broken. And then...then her fetus started talking to her. Yeah, see, technically she wasn’t posessed by the Adversary, her unborn child was. It incubated in her for twenty years, corrupting her mind, making her its pawn, all basically for its own amusement til it could be reborn into the world, killing her. And the guy who knocked her up? Got off scott-free. Basically she had sex ONE time and she had to be punished for it by being stripped of her agency, forced to betray everything she loved and believed, and then finally killed in the mud while a Marvel deity stood over and told her how she brought this on herself. It’s a slut-shaming Victorian morality tale of how no matter how good a person you are, you’re tainted forever if you violate purity culture just once, and we’re expected to AGREE with this narrative as readers. It’s sick. It gets even worse in how X-Factor treats her. She first appears RESCUING Polaris from government agents who are trying to kill her, because despite WORKING for the government at this time (X-Factor was a government team during this period) Polaris’s energy signature matched Magneto’s. Haven is the one who saved Polaris by teleporting her away. Polaris was distrustful and threatened Haven. Haven tried to talk her down, but also opened her arms and said that if Polaris truly did not believe her, then she would not resist. Polaris decided to “give trust a try” but I also truly believe that if Lorna had attacked her, Haven indeed would have let her. Haven is a human but the Adversary gave her INCREDIBLE power, she could WIPE PEOPLE FROM EXISTENCE by THINKING ABOUT IT, but she was a pacifist every step of the way, even as a villain. X-Factor would REPEATEDLY attack her later...she NEVER retaliated. The worst thing she did was, once they kept on attacking her, she just kinda put them in her pocket dimension as a time-out, but didn’t hurt them any. I really don’t think she COULD, possessed or not. Anyway, after meeting Lorna, she ‘ports Lorna back to safety and leaves her be. She is interested in recruiting Lorna and the rest of X-Factor to her cause, but she’s very moral about it, and never uses situations like these as leverage; for instance, when she heals Rahne of the Genoshan bonding process and gives her back her free will and her ability to resume her fully human form, Rahne is ECSTATIC and ready to do ANYTHING for her. And rather than exploit this, Haven just hugs her and tells her that her joy is thanks enough. Again, what a villain! Anyway, it turns out this Haven lady is also an activist! She’s big on promoting peace between warring groups (which I think makes it very significant that she’s an Indian character from Mumbai, then Bombay, who was created in 1992, the same year when Hindu/Muslim tensions in India resulted in the Bombay Bombings and subsequent riots, and she indeed mentions Hindu/Muslim tensions in her pro-peace speeches) and she emphasizes accepting MUTANTS in particular. It is very rare we see humans who are pro-mutant, though they had happened before, but this is the first time we see a human who is pro-mutant WITHOUT any affiliation or friendship with the X-men, and who is a public figure who seems to have some real social power---she’s a best-selling author, lecturer, and apparently her being a very wealthy woman has made some very wealthy people listen to her. She is basically the perfect ally for mutants if you take out the demon-possessed part, and I always found this super interesting and wish more had been done with it. So, she’s speaking at Brahma Hall (Brahma, notably, is the Hindu creator god) and...THIS happens. It’s...it’s really distressing. I’m sure it’s bad enough in its own time, but reading it NOW, in a post-9/11 world, a world where POC are routinely slaughtered by law enforcement (they always were but social media has made us more aware) it’s chilling. And we, the reader, are supposed to see X-Factor as JUSTIFIED in how they treat this unarmed, non-threatening, apparently-human-for-all-they-know woman who is promoting peace. Because no matter how nice she is, the US government says she’s an evil terrorist, and the US government turns out to be right! Yay, America! This might be a good time to mention Haven was the first Hindu character in X-Men comics, and the philosophy that the Adversary is manipulating her with comes directly from Hindu cosmology, and that is WAY IFFY to say THE LEAST. Holy xenophobia, Batman! And in an X-MEN comic of ALL PLACES! Oh yeah, and our good guys also describe her beliefs as “New Age psychobabble” and make fun of her temple decor as "very 60s" when BOTH ARE FROM HINDUISM, WHITE USA HIPPIES DID NOT INVENT IT, YOU IGNORANT SHITS So anyway, Haven’s very interesting to me as someone who is so deeply pacifistic and compassionate, that even when she’s being steered by a literal demon that has been talking in her womb for 20 years, she’s still someone who is perpetually polite, who won’t hurt the HEROES even when they want to hurt her, who SURRENDERS during a FIGHT in order to HEAL ONE OF THEM, and...who ends up with an abruptly aborted arc where she’s killed by her own “child” and victim-blamed in her last moments by Roma, the Omniversal Guardian Goddess and foe/counterpart of the Adversary. It’s made all the more tragic by the fact that Haven’s last pleas to Roma weren’t for herself, but for Roma to stop the Adversary, as she had realized now what her “child” really was. Even in her final moments, Haven was thinking of others, of the world. It’s just....awful to me that a character as interesting and unique as she was was thrown away like that, and that she was treated in such a sexist, racist, xenophobic way by both the HEROES and the story itself. I stan Haven 4 life. MADELYNE PRYOR- She’s maybe not “obscure” per se, I think most X-Men readers have a basic understanding of who she is, but the problem is that “basic” is not enough. What most people know is ”she’s Jean Grey’s evil clone” and some might know that “she was married to Scott Summers and went evil when he ditched her for Jean”. But that’s so far from the whole story, and it really does Madelyne a disservice, and canon has done her ENOUGH disservice already. Madelyne was originally created by Chris Claremont to truly be just a human woman who looked just like the dead Jean, with whom Scott would settle down and have a kid, and leave the X-Men. It’s a pretty nonsensical notion, the idea that this woman just happens to look exactly like Jean and meet Scott and fall in love, but this was his plan, he has confirmed it. And like...that’s pretty sexist from the start, in that she’s very literally created as a replacement for Jean on a narrative level, there’s NO REASON that she should have to look exactly like Scott’s dead ex besides as a way for Scott to still “get” Jean in a way. But Maddie rises above that swiftly by being a super strong, super cool character in her own right. She’s a pilot, she’s fearless, she’s adventurous, she’s got a mean right hook, and she’s got a tragic backstory when she crashed her plane and cost the lives of over three hundred passengers. She gets involved with Scott and by extension the X-Men, and she holds her own despite having no powers. Weird fact, this means that some of the X-Men, like Rogue, met Madelyne before they ever met Jean. She also gets a cool story where she gained healing powers, and the reason her powers specifically took the form of healing is because they were what she wanted them to be. She’s a good person, and also a total badass. Then, Jean came back, and the Powers That Be wanted her back together with Scott. But Scott was married to Madelyne. Rather than have them get a divorce or something, it was decided Madelyne had to be very literally demonized and then murdered, because we can’t just have two women co-exist, no, they must be divided into a “good” woman and a “bad” woman and fight over a man. Actual quote from Chris Claremont: “ Then, unfortunately, Jean was resurrected, Scott dumps his wife and kid and goes back to the old girlfriend. So it not only destroys Scott's character as a hero and as a decent human being it creates an untenable structural situation: what do we do with Madelyne and the kid? ... So ultimately the resolution was: turn her into the Goblin Queen and kill her off.” So, after something like EIGHT YEARS of being a character unto herself, Madelyne gets retconned as actually having been Jean’s clone all along! Which, okay, does make sense, certainly more sense than ‘this woman just happens to look EXACTLY like Jean and hook up with Jean’s ex” but then the REASON that Sinister cloned her...is nothing to do with Maddie or Jean themselves. Madelyne’s creation isn’t ABOUT her the way so many other clone/created-in-a-lab type stories are, like Laura Kinney. She wasn’t important. She was made literally just to have a baby with Scott, the BABY is what’s important. She is REPEATEDLY called a “brood mare” in fact (a female horse used specifically for breeding) So basically, her only value, her only REASON for existing, is her reproductive capacity. A lot of people think that Madelyne either found out she was a clone and went crazy-evil, or she went crazy-evil when Scott went back to Jean. That’s not what happened. Madelyne goes through a long, long series of arduous tragedies that piece by piece dehumanize and violate and traumatize her, and even then she doesn’t become evil until she’s TRICKED into being infected with demonic energy. Being “evil” was NEVER her choice, and everyone forgets that. See, first Scott walked out on her and the baby. Then, the Marauders attacked her, nearly killed her, and stole her baby and left her for dead in a coma for months. When she woke up, her baby was still missing, and she rejoined the X-Men to help them while they also helped search for her son. She sacrificed her LIFE alongside them to defeat the Adversary (yes, the same one Haven was pregnant with!) and then was resurrected with them too by Roma (yes, same Roma). She continued to work with the X-Men, despite the fact Scott had left her, and used her tech expertise to be the X-Men’s computer gal in Australia. When she saw X-Factor on one of the news monitors, including Scott with Jean, she realized why he’d abandoned her. She punched the screen and the explosion knocked her unconscious. While she was knocked out and dreaming, the demon Sym invaded her mind showed her a few different reflections of things she could be, one of which was a demonic reflection of herself. She chose that one, saying “What the heck, it’s only a dream.” And then Sym infected her with demonic energy. So she literally JUST found out her husband left her and their now-missing son for another woman, and she thinks she’s dreaming so yeah she picks the idea of being a demon IN THE CONTEXT OF A DREAM, A FUCKING FANTASY, WHEN SHE’S GOT EVERY RIGHT TO BE PISSED and oh well now you’re gonna be evil for real honey you don’t get a choice. Serves you right for being angry even for a moment, woman! But even then, she didn’t instantly turn evil. Horrible shit had already happened to her, but she still held out…so of course, more shit happened to her. While she and the X-Men were trying to help an escapee from Genosha (which was still enslaving mutants at that point) she ended up captured herself, and since their readings indicated she was not quite human (though what exactly she was, they didn’t know) they tried to put her through the “mutate bonding process” that would enslave her too. As a result, her latent psychic powers finally manifest, and she telekinetically explodes the place. From there, we start seeing big hints that something is going really wrong with Maddie, she seduces Havok and she’s entered into a secret bargain with the demon N’astrih, who promised to help her find her still-missing son (whom she still wanted to find and save at that point because she was still mostly herself) and of course, that bargain transformed her into the Goblyn Queen. After this transformation, though, she STILL had not gone past the point of no return. That didn’t happen until she met Sinister and she found out the truth of her origins—-not only was she a clone of Jean Grey physically, the few memories that she had also came from Jean, and her emotions from Scott had been PROGRAMMED into her (meaning she never had a choice at all in the man she loved) and it was all to be a brood mare, to produce a child with him. Only then did she go off the deep end completely, and agreed to N’astrih’s plan to sacrifice her own son (who he now found and gave to her, as this was his plan all along) because it was the absolute BIGGEST fuck you she could give to Sinister and to Cyclops. And like, yes, that’s evil, but given at that point she was not only magically infected/corrupted with demon energy AND insane with trauma that had been building up for months if not YEARS of development…she basically had a better excuse than ANYONE in all this who was also corrupted by Inferno. Yet she’s the one who doesn’t get a break. The unfairness is just…staggering, really. Even her death isn’t without indignity, violation, and depersonalization---she tries to commit a murder suicide, linking her mind with Jean’s and killing herself so that Jean will be dragged down into death with her. Jean, who really is the kindest to Maddie, urges Maddie to live instead, but Maddie’s last words are “not in the same world as you”. Jean survives. Maddie does not. And then...Jean takes Maddie’s memories and psyche into herself. It’s meant as beautiful, but to me it’s a heinous violation. Maddie wanted nothing more than be APART from Jean, so much so she KILLED HERSELF, and now Jean has made her a part of her forever, and we’re meant to applaud this? It’s DISGUSTING. Madelyne gets resurrected in the 1990s by Nate Grey, but it turns out that was an accident on his part, his mind was subconsciously seeking...Jean Grey, of course. And we he finds out he’s the one who brought her back to life, HE TRIES TO KILL HER. Jean stops him, but it’s no wonder to me that poor Maddie runs to the arms of Sebastian Shaw...who, of all people, actually treats her as an individual from the get-go and ends up being a pretty good boyfriend to her. Never even tries to use her in any evil schemes, it’s crazy. Madelyne has come back and died again and come back a few times since then, but she’s never really been “Maddie” again, whether it was brave adventurous Badass Normal pilot Maddie who just wanted to help people, or the bitter, conflicted, morally grey Maddie of the 90s. No, she’s just....she’s not even Goblyn Queen anymore, she lacks the pathos, she’s just this sexy evil misogynist caricature of herself and I hate it. I really love Madelyne Pryor. She came into this crazy world as a normal human, and when she got pulled into superhero shenanigans she held her own. She was a badass, she was a spitfire, she had a huge heart. She deserves a lot better than just being a gross Sexy Evil Lady with no personality, especially since she no longer has the whole “demonically possessed” issue going on. It’s just stupid and sexist at this point. I personally love original 80s Maddie, and also 90s Maddie where like...this shit has happened to her and she’s darker for it now, and understandably so, but she’s also still HER. Like, she leaves Sebastian Shaw not because he ever treated her badly, which he did not, but because he was doing things that could hurt OTHER PEOPLE, and that was where she drew the line. She was an enemy to the X-Men now or at least really hated them, she killed Threnody for bringing up her past as being “bred to breed”, but she also wasn’t about to be with a man who would risk the lives of millions of innocent people with his schemes, no matter how well he treated her, no matter if he was the one man who ever saw her for HER. Real Maddie is INTERESTING and Real Maddie is GOOD and I want Real Maddie back so she can call everyone on their shit and then go off and live her best life instead of being eternally dragged back into pointless villainy by authors who can’t think of anything better! MEGGAN PUCEANU - As with Madelyne, she’s maybe not UNKNOWN per se, I mean she’s one of the lead characters of Excalibur, but I also don’t think she’s an A-lister at all either. I’ve written about her HERE and HERE and her relationship dynamics with Brian Braddock/Captain Britain HERE so I feel like those links will probably be better than another novel like I did for Haven and Maddie! CATSEYE AKA SHARON SMITH - The deaths of all the Hellions were a tragedy, but Catseye is the one I found most interesting and with the most potential! I’ve written about her HERE and the Hellions in general HERE with a segment on her. She’s just so cute and innocent and INTERESTING, I want to know so much more about how she behaves, how she perceives the world and interact with others, how she gets on with her teammates, how she reacts this and that, I just love her! MINDMELD - Appears for only one issue, is arguably the first transgender mutant in Marvel, and also a total badass who I think is really sexy. I write more about her HERE and HERE. HONORABLE MENTIONS I’m not freaking out over these girls AS MUCH or AS CONSISTENTLY but they all have a place in my heart!! Really all it takes is someone MENTIONING them to get me revved up all over again!

THRENODY AKA MELODY JACOBS- Another Marvel gal who can’t catch a break, when she’s remembered by anyone at all. I wrote about her HERE prior to her most recent return in Deadpool, then HERE about said return. I just really, really want Threnody to be happy. She’s suffered enough. Admittedly, that could be said for most women on this list, maybe all of them. GOSAMYR- Wrote about her HERE! Most people who know of her at all typically hate her but I find her extremely interesting. She’s like everything people HATE about women, every stereotype of “toxic femininity”, but then this is explained as part of her culture and biology, and this is, to her, what is normal, and how is she to KNOW that everyone acts nuts around her when she has no basis for knowing how they act when she’s NOT around? She interests me in the questions and dilemmas she raises, and I just kinda have a thing for women we’re supposed to hate because of their feminine traits. KWANNON- The Japanese woman whose body Betsy Braddock had for years. I was very excited when she was brought back to life and given her own series, I wanted for her at last to be a CHARACTER with her own PERSONALITY and LIFE that wasn’t just an excuse to give a white woman a ninja makeover, and then I got...Fallen Angels. And she’s just...she’s literally just 90s Psylocke. I was very disappointed. But I still like Kwannon HERSELF in terms of potential, and now that she’s back maybe she’ll become a real person sooner or later. SATURNYNE AND SAT-YR-9: Wrote about them HERE! I really like Sat-Yr-9 as a villain (I especially enjoyed her short stint in the Hellfire Club as White Queen with Viper as her lieutenant and not-so-subtle girlfriend) and I like Saturnyne as a sort of celestial bureaucrat, someone who isn’t a force of good or evil but a force of ORDER, like the opposite of “embodiment of chaos” type characters. MURMUR AKA ARLETTE TRUFFEAU: I have not written about her before but HERE IS HER WIKI ARTICLE. As with Gossamyr, she seems like the “sexy shallow slut we’re supposed to dislike” type, so of course I like her. BIANCA LANEIGE- A Generation X villain who bore a grudge against Emma Frost from her days in the Hellfire Club, I wrote about her HERE. She’s pretty comedic as a bad guy, but that’s not a bad thing! I’d like to see her around again one day, either as silly as ever or made more serious. LIFEGUARD: Wrote about here HERE. She was in the first X-Men graphic novel that I bought and I’ve always had a soft spot for her since. I really liked that she didn’t give a shit when she found out who her bio-father was, it’s such a refreshing reaction compared to the usual “what if I’m just like my father/I can’t believe I’m adopted/etc” angst. Comparatively, she’s super upset about her Shi’ar lineage, because that actually altered her INTERNAL self when it manifested, she started seeing everyone around her as PREY and I reckon that’s pretty distressing for someone like her. Always wanted to see her come back; she’s in the background at a Krakoa party! SILHOUETTE CHORD: Wrote about her HERE and HERE. I just like her I guess! She’s maybe not obscure per se since she’s a main cast member of The New Warriors, but I’ve never really seen her get any attention. BLACK MAMBA AKA TANYA SEALY: Wrote about her HERE! THE ASP AKA CLEOPATRA NEFERTITI: Wrote about her HERE! SKEIN AKA SYBIL DVORAK: Wrote about her HERE and HERE! She was on the “Woman Warriors” team with Black Mamba and Asp, and I like the idea they just hang out as friends a lot!! ANACONDA AKA BLANCHE “BLONDIE” SITZINSKI: Wrote about her HERE! I just want her to hug me...really, really hard :) SHARADA DARTHRI: A minor villain that shows up during the “all female X-Men” team era in...2013, I think? Wrote about her HERE. DRAGONFLY AKA VERONICA DULTRY: Wrote about her HERE MANTIS : Despite the fact that she’s very well-known for her film version in Guardians of the Galaxy, most people don’t seem to know much at all about her comics version even though she’s been an Avengers member since the 70s. Wrote about her HERE and HERE and HERE, someone else writes about her HERE PENDING These are characters that I have not had the chance to personally read up on myself yet, but I want to! Their names link to their Marvel wiki articles! TOPAZ FIREBIRD SNOWBIRD SILVERCLAW There are honestly countless others I’m probably not remembering but this is a good handful I think! Oh, yeah, and also...COOTER. Because her name is COOTER oh my god.

#xmen #marvel #marvel women #x men women #women of marvel #x women #out of cortez

7 notes · View notes

hergrim · 4 years

Text

Estimates of troop strengths in the Wot5K - A Game of Thrones

Introduction

One of several projects I’m working on at the moment is an analysis of the War of the Five Kings from a purely medieval military history point of view, taking a somewhat more critical view of the various commanders and their actions than is usual. Part of the ongoing process has been estimating the troop strengths and, where possible, the composition of armies. Since these calculations would derail any essay, I’ve decided to edit my notes into something resembling coherent thought and post them here, so I can just refer to them when I publish the essays.

Originally the essay series I’m working on was focused entirely on Robb, but it has now expanded to encompass the war more generally. As such, this first post will just be about the troop counts and army compositions featured in A Game of Thrones. As I do more on Renly, Stannis and Balon, I’ll post some estimates for A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords.

Robb Stark and the Northern host

The numbers given for Robb’s army in the ASOIAF wiki are actually what started me on the process of providing my own estimates for the various armies, as I think it makes a few significant methodological errors in the process, which has a knock on effect for how Robb’s decisions need to be interpreted. Primarily, I disagree with the numbers given for Robb at Moat Cailin and the breakdown of infantry vs cavalry.

Robb's initial Northern force consists of 19,500 men (AGOT, Catelyn VII), with slightly more than 1/4 being heavy cavalry (AGOT, Bran VI gives the figures of 3,300-3,400 heavy cavalry out of an initial muster of 12,000). This would suggest ~14,500 infantry and ~5,000 heavy cavalry in his Northern host.

Starting with with Bran VI, I have a slightly different interpretation of Maester Luwin’s breakdown of the heavy cavalry. His explanation of the numbers to Bran is that there are “Three hundred, perhaps four [hundred]” knights “among three thousand armored lances who are not knights.” The original calculator has taken this to mean that there are 300-400 knights in addition to the other 3000 heavy cavalry, and this is a perfectly valid interpretation of the sentence. However, I believe that Luwin’s use of “among” signals that the knights should be taken as part of the 3000, not as an addition to them for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, GRRM uses “among” in an inclusive sense elsewhere in AGOT. When Tyrion thinks on the Field of Fire, for instance, King Mern is “among” the 4000 men burned, not the 4001st man to be burnt, and Ned Stark thinks on the fact that he’d never spoken to Gregor during Greyjoy’s Rebellion because he was just “one knight among thousands”. So, while Luwin’s phrasing can be interpreted as meaning that the knights are there in addition to the other heavy horse, I think GRRM’s general use of “among” as an inclusive term means that they are intended to be included among the 3000 heavy horse, not separated from them.

Secondly, while the proportion of heavy horse gathered at Winterfell would be quite large even with the knights as part of the 3000, the general trend of what individual contingents we see is of very low proportions of heavy horse; just 13% of the Karstark forces is heavy horse (300 out of 2300), Roose has 500 mounted men (14%) out of 3500 men just before the Red Wedding (ASOS, Catelyn VI) and, in spite of having the highest number of landed knights, the Manderlys only send 240 horse (16% of 1500 men) to join Robb at Moat Cailin (AGOT, Catelyn VII). This general trend of low numbers of cavalry suggests to me that, when the numbers of cavalry can be taken in two ways, the smallest option should be taken.

This leads to the second major disagreement I have with the wiki’s army size estimates: the assumption that the 1500 Manderly men in Catelyn VII are in addition to the 18 000 men that Robb already has, not the contingent that brings Robb’s forces up to 18 000. This is a number that I’m more confident of; Robb’s statement that his "whole army” is 18 000 men strong comes well after the Manderlys have arrived, and the use of ravens for communications likely means that Robb knew how large the Manderly force was going to be shortly after they left White Harbour.

The reduction of Robb’s army to 18 000 total men and the reassessment of typical contingents from slightly over 25% cavalry to 13-16% cavalry also requires a lowering of the total cavalry from ~5000 at Moat Cailin to a maximum of 4000 cavalry. The number of foot, however, doesn’t need to be significantly reduced.

There are some references to Robb having 20 000 men (AGOT, Catelyn IX; ACOK, Catelyn II), which would better fit the wiki’s figure of 19 500 men. The problem is that we also hear of there being six thousand men with Robb at the Whispering Woods (AGOT, Catelyn X), which is far too few if we go with the wiki’s number of 5000 Northern cavalry for Robb. Between the Freys, the Mallisters (see below) and the other scattered Riverland remnants who join Robb, he’d have near enough to 7000 cavalry by the time of the Whispering Woods, and he wouldn’t be outnumbered by Jaime by 3:1, but by 2:1 (AGOT, Catelyn X).

My way of resolving this conflict is to suggest that both instances of people saying Robb having 20 000 men were exaggerations, not accurate accountings of size. In the first instance, Catelyn is angry with Lord Frey and is threatening him with the size of Robb’s army. In this scenario, claiming that there are “twenty thousand men” outside of Lord Walder’s walls is easier to say than “eighteen thousand men”, being a rounder number, and is also more threatening because it increases the size of Robb’s army. In the second instance, Renly is summarizing reports he has received of Robb’s strength, and there is plenty of room for errors to creep into these reports and for Renly to be generous in his estimates of Robb’s strength, as it only emphasizes the disparity in strength between Robb and Renly if Robb has fewer troops than Renly allows for (which he does).

On the other hand, Robb’s statement that he has 18 000 men occurs long enough after the Manderlys have arrived for him to have factored their force into his calculations and Catelyn is present with Robb at the Whispering Woods and should have a good idea of his strength. This is supported by Galbart Glover’s estimate of Jaime’s 14-15 000 men outnumbering Robb’s force by three to one. If Lord Glover is assuming that Jaime has 15 000 men, and Robb 6000 men, then Jaime outnumbers Robb by 2.5:1 which, rounded up, would be three to one. Additionally, Catelyn may have been overstating Robb’s numbers in her mind for exaggeration and contrast between his bodyguard of 30 and his army of 6000, neither of which she is certain can protect him from harm. Robb may well have had 5500-5750 men rather than 6000, which pushes the degree to which his is outnumbered by closer to three to one.

I think this proposal reconciles the contradictions in the text and offers support for my “low count” of 18 000 men. After all, if Galbart Glover is rounding up to 3 for effect, then why can’t Catelyn or Renly do the same?

Tywin’s army at the Green Fork

The size of Tywin’s army at the battle on the Green Fork is one of the few armies that we have a mostly reliable estimate for. Chella estimates it at twenty thousand men, “by their fires” and, based on the area the camp occupies, Tyrion thinks that she can’t be far wrong (AGOT, Tyrion VII). This is further reinforced in the next of Tyrion’s chapters where, after having settled in, he calls it a ”vast host twenty thousand strong”.

The one minor caveat here is that we don’t know how many men were with Addam Marbrand scouting Robb’s approach. The Neck is something in the order of 370 miles away from the Ruby Ford and the crossroads, which is 15 days of hard riding and 21-22 days of fast, horse preserving, riding. Marbrand is definitely operating quite near the Neck, as a number of his outriders are killed immediately after Robb debouches into the Riverlands, so there was an expectation that he would be facing down Robb’s army at some point and that means a sizeable force for protection during the retreat downriver to Tywin. There’s also evidence of skirmishing between Marbrand and Walder Frey’s forces, which relates to another point: the scouting force needed to be large enough to give Walder reason to pause and not immediately attack if he saw an opportunity.

Given the speed of communications between Marbrand and Tywin and the distance between the two forces, it’s likely that at least one castle with a resident Maester had been taken by Marbrand near Frey lands in order to reduce the delay in communication. While we haven’t heard of a such a castle being taken, it’s the only way that the message for Marbrand to return to Tywin, burning and harassing the Northern army, so soon after it entered the Riverlands.

Medieval scouting parties could range between dozens of men all the way up to several hundred men, largely depending on how far they were operating from their own army and how much opposition they expected to face. One of the largest forces was William Felton’s scouting/deeds of derring-do party prior to the Battle of Nájera, which had somewhere between four and five hundred men, approximately 200 of whom were men-at-arms and the remainder were mounted archers. This is probably the minimum size of Marbrand’s scouting force, although it would be mostly cavalry as mounted archers barely exist in ASOIAF, and I suspect that six or seven hundred men would be more likely based on the need to capture a castle for communications and then skirmish during the retreat.

Combined with Tyrion’s force, Marbrand’s scouting party might well raise Tywin’s army to 21 000 men rather than 20 000, especially if Tyrion and Chella were being conservative in their estimates of the army size and it was more than 20 000 strong.

This caveat aside, the important thing about Tywin’s army is that, unlike most armies in ASOIAF, we can create a fairly accurate breakdown of the army’s composition thanks to the detail GRRM goes into in describing the Battle on the Green Fork. He lists a total of 6800 cavalry (4000 on the right wing, 300 in the center and 2500 in reserve) and 2500 infantry (in reserve). From these figures, the mention of what the other troop types are and the overall size of the army, we can reconstruct the rest of the army.

Starting with the conventional 20 000 number to be conservative, we can remove 9300 men straight away, leaving us with 10 700 men. Of these, perhaps a thousand form the “swarming mass” that makes up the vanguard, as it’s likely that the “thousand other voices” screaming back at Gregor excludes Tyrion’s clansmen - any fewer and it’s hard to describe it as a “swarming mass” of low quality cavalry. This leaves us with 9 700 men to account for.

The center of Twyin’s army is made up of “squares” of pikemen flanked on either side by “three long lines” of archers, with “rank on rank” of men-at-arms behind the archers and a reserve of 300 knights. This is where we fully enter the realms of speculation.

To begin with, we don’t know what exactly is meant by “squares” of pikemen. Medieval pike columns could contain as many as 6000 men, while early modern squares might have as few as 100, so any size estimate is going to involve a lot of guesswork. I’ve gone back and forward about how to interpret this phrase and have finally decided to treat the “squares” as distinct units for the purposes of command, but tactically in a similar manner to 15th century dismounted men-at-arms. As a result, I’m estimating their strength as 250 men - to be deployed 10 deep - and their total number to be 3000 men (12 pike squares). This allows for a reasonable width of line in the center (300 yards), but also adequate depth to resist cavalry charges.

Estimates for the archers and men-at-arms follow directly on from this. The archers need to be in thousands because, as Philippe de Commynes points out, they’re only useful when employed in such numbers. Given that fully half of Jaime’s infantry are archers, I’m inclined to assign 4000 archers and 2700 men-at-arms to Tywin so that his overall archer to footsoldier ratio is about 1:2. The archers, each occupying a space of three feet, would occupy 667 yards on either side of the pikes and the men-at-arms, each occupying four and a half foot, would have the same frontage, but double the depth (6 ranks).

In all, I believe a conservative estimate of Tywin’s numbers, not counting Tyrion’s Clansmen, to be 7800 cavalry, 3000 pikemen, 2700 men-at-arms, 4000 archers and 2500 other infantry of an indeterminate type.

The Mallister forces

The number of men Jason Mallister can field, in spite of his importance during Robb’s initial campaign and later at the Battle of the Fords, has yet to be mentioned. While I’ve seen a number of estimates, with numbers as low as 1500-2000 men, the best estimate I’ve seen to date has been @racefortheironthrone‘s estimate in his Chapter-by-Chapter analysis of A Game of Thrones.

However, some interesting information in Fire and Blood has caused me to rethink the relative military power of House Mallister, and I believe I’ve also found a semi-reliable method of estimating their forces. The particular passage can be found in the chapter titled “Aftermath - The Hour of the Wolf” and runs thus:

House Tully was unique amongst the great houses of Westeros. Aegon the Conqueror had made them the Lords Paramount of the Trident, yet in many ways they continued to be overshadowed by many of their own bannermen. The Brackens, the Blackwoods, and the Vances all ruled wider domains and could field much larger armies, as could the upstart Freys of the Twins. The Mallisters of Seagard had a prouder lineage, the Mootons of Maidenpool were far wealthier, and Harrenhal, even cursed and blasted and in ruins, remained a more formidable castle than Riverrun, and ten times the size besides.

The main point of interest is that the four military powerhouses of the Riverlands are the Brackens, the Blackwoods, the Vances and the Freys, while the Mallisters are excluded from this list. Instead, they are singled out as having a better pedigree than the Tullys which, although not excluding them from having marginally larger armies than their overlords, does quite firmly give them fewer men than House Frey.

In re-examining the question of Mallister manpower, I was inspired by @racefortheironthrone‘s comment that Jason Mallister must have had substantial forces, as his men covered four fords by themselves. Since we know roughly how many infantry Edmure was working with (8000, ACOK Catelyn V) and the minimum number of fords (12, ACOK Catelyn VI), we can get a reasonable maximum number of Mallister strength by assuming that all fords had an equal number of defenders and that there were only twelve being defended. This provides a maximum number of 2664 infantry and, based on typical Riverland horse to foot ratios, about 890 horse, for a total of 3554 men.

These are, however, maximum numbers. While the ford nearest to Riverrun is very broad and at least 50 yards wide (ACOK, Catelyn VI), it’s likely that the other fords were much narrower and more easily defended. It’s also probable that there were more than a dozen fords, and that Tywin was simply trying to break through a broad stretch of the river rather than overwhelm every ford.

Based on the number of men stationed at the Blanchetaque by the French during the Crecy campaign (3500) and probable English numbers by that point (12-13 000), I would say that medieval commanders expected that someone attacking a ford needed an advantage of at least four to one to succeed. As Tywin can’t have had above 16 000 men at this point in the campaign and, being a cautious man who preferred to significantly outnumber his enemies, likely aimed to have an advantage of 5:1 over the defenders, the minimum number of men for House Mallister can be calculated as 1070 infantry and 357 cavalry, or 1427 men total.

This means there’s a difference of 2100 men between the maximum and minimum estimates, but I think we can discard anything close to the minimum number.

Firstly, the Mallisters are clearly a powerful house, even if they aren’t one of the four military powers of the Riverlands. There’s no reason to suspect that they are significantly less powerful than House Tully, which must be capable of raising at least a couple of thousand men, and they may still even exceed the Tullys in military might given House Tully’s typical weakness compared to their lords.

Secondly, the Mallisters saw off what, if not an attack by the main Ironborn fleet, was at least a major assault by the Ironborn during Greyjoy’s Rebellion and were placed in charge of what was probably one of the largest fords across the Red Fork. You don’t fend off even part of the Iron Fleet or get selected to defend a ford at least fifty yards across unless you can bring a lot of men to bear in the defense of these fords.

Ultimately, I don’t see the Mallisters having much fewer than 2000 foot and 668 heavy horse. As I like round numbers and don’t believe the Mallisters have as many men as the maximum calculation provides, I’m going to give them a total of 3000 men as an optimistic estimate, divided between 2250 foot and 750 heavy horse. This makes them quite a powerful house militarily, but keeps them sufficiently under the minimum army size for a Riverlands powerhouse (4000) that they noticeably fall short of this status.

#asoiaf #army size

31 notes · View notes