#Vietnam post code

[gentlemans-code20]

#MotionPicture - The Post

The Post is a 2017 American semi-fiction historical political thriller film about The Washington Post and the publication of the Pentagon Papers. It was directed and produced by Steven Spielberg, and written by Liz Hannah and Josh Singer.

[evilwickedme]

What I need people to understand is that while the entire Krakoa arc was metaphorically Zionist, making every mutant a metaphorical Zionist for a very long and very popular time, prof x and Magneto have been literally Zionist since the 80s. They met in Israel. Like

Uncanny X Men 161 was published in 1982, which means they first met in the early 60s. Xavier was asked to come help with a particular patient who, after the trauma of the Holocaust, is trapped inside her own brain. It isn't clear how long Magnus has been living in Haifa - when Claremont writes his backstory it's not mentioned - but he wasn't summoned here, he came to Israel on purpose, like many other Holocaust survivors.

Once Xavier has helped the patient, Gabrielle Haller, escape the prison of her own mind, the three of them go sight seeing across Israel. It's practically an ad for Israeli tourism with "theoretical" debates about mutants in the middle!

What you need to understand is that Claremont has been the most influential writer of the X Men not just by virtue of being the longest running writer on the title (or really any marvel title), but also because he solidified and canonized the concept of mutant-as-minority metaphor. And while he was drawing on other injustices to inspire him (such as the evangelical anti-gay crusade that inspired God Loves Man Kills), his own Jewishness and especially his visit to Israel when he was in his early 20s were probably his strongest influences.

In chapter 16 of from Krakow to Krypton, Chris Claremont gives an interview. He explains how he got to Israel, which involved essentially a Zionist outreach program that sent college kids, especially Jews but not only, to work on a kibbutz for couple of months during their breaks.

He tells a little anecdote about his last name not being Jewish, but once he clarifies that he IS Jewish, he gets put on plane.

(I do not recommend this book for many reasons, including the fact that it's riddled with typographic errors like this.)

This experience of Israel post Six Day War wasn't just jarring to him as a Vietnam War era American - it was also influential because of the large amount of Holocaust survivors in the kibbutz, and his interaction not only with them, but also with them watching Holocaust media.

His experience in Israel changed him as a person and influenced his writing at marvel, a place he had briefly worked at before his trip already. It inspired him to create Kitty Pryde, and it inspired him to make Magneto into a Holocaust survivor:

What's that? Magneto was also inspired by literal ex Mandate-era terrorist and Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin? Damn. I wonder if that gives Magneto any more Zionist coding.

What's important to me that people understand is that you can't separate the Magneto you love from Zionism. Before Claremont, Magneto was a joke, a two bit villain with no depth or motivation beyond mutant supremacy for its own sake. He was easily defeated by the X Men. Claremont transformed him - first, into a formidable villain; then, into a sympathetic one, with the introduction of his Holocaust survivor backstory in UMX 150; and finally, into an ally of the X Men, a man whose goals are ultimately aligned with his people even if his methods differ, in God Loves Man Kills and the overall arc in Claremont's books in the 80s.

I could go into the Krakoan Age and explain the Zionism there, but honestly I don't need to - it all builds on this moment, on a young college kid visiting Israel and meeting Holocaust survivors and a "cute babe in a miniskirt with an Uzi" then going on to write the Uncanny X Men for 16 years, and being so good at it it becomes one of the flagship titles of the company. And it's all right there on the surface.

Magneto was a Holocaust survivor. He tried to rebuild a family in Europe, and it got his daughter murdered in a pogrom. So he went to Israel for safety. Like many, many other Holocaust survivors in real life, Magneto is a Zionist. Deal with it.

[anime-potato-san]

I Know Who You Are, "Bell." (Adler x Player!Reader)

I got this bad boy done, and I plan on posting my main fic here soon, along with posting this on ao3. My main fic is still in the works because I want it to be decently long.

Without futher ado, I introduce my self-aware!Adler fic.

Adler thought he knew a lot. He’s a man with a strong sense of duty, he’s been through the hell that was Vietnam, he’s in the Goddamn C.I.A. A man in his profession needs to understand the world and how people work. Adler should know what to expect, even when working with things like MK-Ultra on “Bell.” It’s not exactly a desperate need for complete control. It’s more… Control over actions, surely.

But just up and realizing that your world, everything around you, reality itself isn’t truly real? Or at least how you think it’s real? That it’s all some form of entertainment and storytelling? That it’s all a game? And that the “player,” or at least how Adler understands it, is fucking Bell?!

Yeah, that shattered his worldview.

It started with the small, almost insignificant things. Things like Bell walking around the safehouse like they were trying to explore every crevice of the place. Jumping when they caught Adler looking at them in the dark room, literally. Just weird things like that. He thought it was just Bell being weird, probably a side effect of MK-Ultra. They’ve always been “off.”

But then Adler just kept on noticing things. Things that were more than “weird,” so to speak. During missions, they would sometimes move as if they had done it over a hundred times, perfecting their movement. Looking down at dropped guns on the floor, as if they’re debating with themselves over which one to take. Unlocking the gate at the safe house somehow, as if they already knew the code, then just… Going in the back already and messing with that broken computer and game machine? He just kept noticing more and more, almost driving him insane with questions and concerns.

Adler isn’t really 100% sure on how he caught onto this, on who they really were, but that didn’t matter. What mattered is that he knew. And it wasn’t like he could tell anyone else on the team, especially Hudson. No, this would be his own little secret that he would solve on his own and figure out what to do next. He’s already a spy and a man with many secrets of his own, what’s one more? Whoever “Bell” really is, Adler would find out. And he’d never let them go, not when they’re this fucking important. This… Unknown. It makes him uneasy, yet… It captivates him. And dare he say it; it’s almost an obsession. An obsession greater than the one he has with Perseus.

(People who inspired this: @ladysouthpaw1213 @djloveyou3000)

[aenor-llelo]

amitoufo he is carbondated

It's the Year of the Snake. Destiny 2's Heresy just came out. But this ain't about her. I sit on your shoulder, I am your xiaoren.

I'm Taiwanese! Let's carbon date The Drifter!

Lightbearers retain their semantic memory (facts, concepts, ideas) and procedural memory (memory of how to do things) of their original life before death. This is implied from game/lore instances of Guardians with unique accents, ethnic coding, memory of languages that are obscure post-Collapse, even cases of Guardians retaining pre-rez war PTSD. It is outright confirmed by Sen-Aret, a Guardian who- due to the sheer age of her remains or some error by her Ghost- was raised with only the knowledge she had in life, and had to learn about modern weapons/language from other Guardians.

Why does this mean anything? It means that the way a Guardian prefers to dress, talk, and generally behave tells you where they came from pre-rez!

Aside from his voice actor being Vietnamese, his entry in the official cookbook is banh mi, a Vietnamese dish, and his clothes are Chinese, which would point to him being Hoa, the Han people of Vietnam. (He also wraps his clothes in an orientation specific to corpses, because he doesn't count Lightbearers as truly alive humans.)

Behavior-wise, though, have you noticed how obsessed he is with jade? The coins, the necklace. Jade is a very precious stone in the Sinosphere, and jade jewelry is for giving luck or protection to the wielder- what you will hear less commonly is that it is meant to work by breaking instead of you when something happens. We give them to kids and elderly for this reason.

(You can wonder, for a second, the jade coins he always plays with before Gambit rounds, wraps around certain weapons for you, and the Red String of Fate ornament for Malfeasance. Is this a man perpetually deeply terrified for everyone or himself, or is he every middle aging ah-yi who just got back into religion while you were in school?)

So he's Vietnamese and the Chinese influence means his pre-rez life had to have been after Chinese imperial interference with Vietnam. Unfortunately, four different historical periods between 111 BC and the 1400s isn't good carbon dating. KE SHI NI HUI KANDAO THE SANDWICH,

banh mi is a baguette sandwich. this kind of bread comes to vietnam in the mid-19th century from French colonizers, and only during WWI did a mixed flour version make this bread accessible outside luxury. Early 1900s le. But "post-1900s" isn't a better narrowing down than "BCs to 1400s" in a future setting like Destiny.

Except that Drifter's banh mi recipe specifically uses pâté. This was only a common banh mi filling before the 1950s, when the partition of Vietnam sent an influx of northerners to Saigon and led to the Saigon sandwich that is modern banh mi. So, 1910s to 1950s. And the fact that he defaults to hanfu rather than Western dress or more modern standard Vietnamese ethnic clothing like ao dai skews him having been an adult on the earlier end of this time frame or living in a more rural area where colonization ideas were not as enforced. (One could explore him having other Vietnamese forms of cultural expression like lacquered teeth, actually.)

Ain't that something? He could have lived through WWI or even saw the beginning of the Communist revolution. The possibility that his first life was a survivor of colonization, war draft, and/or violent civil war could add a lot to readings of his character, especially his C-PTSD, but that's a whole other post if the people demand it. It's a neat thing to explore, huh?

And don't call him a rat le! Bad enough already the game think that is cute! White people calling East Asians rats is generally a slur in reference (from my collection) to immigrant "infestation" and part of general stereotypes about their uncleanliness (they cook with gutter oil, they eat rats, they cheap they scam they lie dadadada). You want source bigger than I grow up with white people shout in my face and their children pull their eyes to squint like a "jap"? Look up WWI propaganda posters about Japan. They did not invent that out of nowhere, they make Japanese people into rats because that's something they already say.

"It's just about Japanese-" what if I told you a large part of Western racism about Asians is that they can't tell the difference and don't care. and they're making fun of similar cultures and features.

"My Asian friend said it was okay-" the asian friend values your friendship and your comfort more than what they feel when you say slurs, dude. sorry i had to be the one to tell you that. one friend (or stranger online) giving you the pass to say it in front of them doesn't mean you're allowed to say it to everyone.

"it's fictional-" Real East Asian people getting beat down by Sinophobia matters a little more than how cute you think it is to call a Vietnamese man an animal that your culture associates with filth and plague.

"Chinese zodiac animal-" The snake is right there. The game won't shut up about how snake he is. We're having a Drifter-heavy episode right in the beginning of the snake lunar year. His personality matches the charm, mystery, and wisdom associated with the sign. He is never thematically associated with rats. He is never respectfully associated with rats.

It would be one thing if it was another asian character calling him that in the context of the rat's folkloric characteristics, but this is an American game by an American studio writing someone voiced by a non-asian to call him a rat as an insult about his cleanliness and food choices. Good for you if that doesn't hurt your feelings! Hurt many more people than you! They more real than him!

Good game story. Mistakes happen! Doesn't mean you have special privilege to repeat it.

He is snake! Viper! Asp! Cost zero dollar to say that instead! Don't keep a pet slur in your pocket!

[t00thpasteface]

all of your post are making me want to watch M.A.S.H.... and I do really like stuff involving the korean/vietnam war.... do i do it?

it really is great if you already have experience with other art/fiction created during and after the vietnam war. Apocalypse Now comes to mind, but that really undersells how much of a total fluke MASH was for its time. i mean, it started airing while the vietnam war was STILL HAPPENING, and they HAD to keep it about korea just so they could get on the air, AND this was less than five years after the Hays code ended. it was the 70s, but it was also the 70s, you know?

you NEED to go into this show acknowledging that it was produced in a very very particular window of time; as much as we tend to think of pop media as existing in this anachronistic homogeneity wherein which things remain static for decades, that is not the case, and MASH is very very clearly a product of its time, as everything unavoidably is. general consensus is that the show really "grew the beard" around season 4/5 (the last 2 episodes of s4 are some of my favorite episodes of the whole show) but it's never perfect, and you shouldn't expect it to be. and this too has a metanarrative merit to it. we are all capable of evil (or just saying things in poor taste) even when our intentions are good, etc...

on the other hand, sometimes that's an incredibly impressive thing. watching MASH with a solid lens of its contemporary audience and culture will reveal all sorts of little shocks and rebellions that would seem tame or even regressive to a later audience such as us. if you have a cool parent or older friend/relative to watch this with who was alive at the time of the vietnam war and remembers seeing the dead bodies on the news every night, watch this with them. alternatively, check out commentary online by people in that age range, as well as writer/actor/director commentary if that's your bag (sometimes alan alda was all 3). enjoying antiwar fiction like MASH with that cultural context is like using one of those little decoder lenses on a cereal box or whatever. i said to another asker: "by 70s tv censorship standards, this show was basically on-screen gay sex and flag burning."

it's fucking uncanny when something in MASH strikes you and you can see how little has broadly changed in global politics since. and yes that's a tragedy. but i think there's a corollary to it:

[letsatomicbanana]

Ink!Sans Cultural Character Coding (OUTDATED)

art by @/sakuramochi64 on twitter

Disclaimer!

This post is meant to present and analyse obvious and obscure East Asian (Jpn-Chi) ethnic and cultural influences on Ink!Sans character. If any of the material in this essay is incorrect and/or considered morally offensive, please contact me!

Ink!Sans by @comyet

↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓

/Despite the fact that Ink is a non-human monster skeleton character, he is often portrayed with human-like traits and characteristics that range between a bunch of topics. One of them that's portrayed as very predominat to his character is his etchnic cultural background/inspiration. Again, this post is meant to analyse and to discuss such inspirations and how it affects his character./

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INSPIRATIONS

According to Ink's creator, Comyet, the concept of Ink!Sans was conceived by a Japanese and Chinese ink calligraphy brush. These are known as Fude brushes (筆) and Xuan brushes (宣笔 Xuān bǐ) respectively. This ultimately inspired his ink abilities and powers, just like his concept of being an 'artist' (In simple words, it inspired Ink as a whole).

'The history of ink brushes and the ink material is a long and complicated journey to cover, but it's important to know that these were invented in ancient China around 300 B.C (traditional Chinese: 毛筆; simplified Chinese: 毛笔; pinyin: máo bǐ) and are used in a vast variety of East and Southeast Asian countries, like Korea; Vietnam and Japan.

example of the brush Ink!Sans was inspired by.

At glance, ink (the material) is an enduring medium that still surrounds society till this day and it's used in multiple cultures across the world.

Writing with ink calligraphy brushes are common in the Europe and the Middle East as well, but the material was crafted of iron salt and oak galls. When written, ink is often a dark color but fades to brown tones of rust'. Such phenomenon was detectable in the Middle Eastern Bible manuscripts and even ancient European literature as an example.

Ink!Sans was based of the ink material created in East Asia, most commonly made with carbon-base black substance, which preserverd the dark coloration even after hundred of years.

↑ Example of an ancient Japanese painting, such arts are called 'Sumi-e' (Japanese, 墨絵) or ' Shuimohua' (traditional Chinese,水墨畫).

Unlike iron gall ink, carbon based inks are still very common to this day.

'Throughout the long history of East Asia, writing with ink was a very important ability to have. The Materials were made with precision, long traditions of training in calligraphic skills were developed, and writing and literacy were often wrapped up in questions of social status and class.

Although the development of major Chinese calligraphic scripts was completed by the fourth century, the art of calligraphy continued to evolve over the millennia. Master calligraphers with years of training and dedicated practice were recognized for their personal styles, and later generations of artists often adapted brushstrokes and designs to their own style. This stylistic evolution of scripts continues to enliven Chinese calligraphy to the present day.

Calligraphy was an important mark of personal learning and aesthetic sensibility in Japan. Portable, lacquered wood boxes were designed to hold an inkstone and water dropper in the base, with trays to hold writing brushes and solid ink sticks. Inkstone boxes (硯箱,suzuribako 'ink stone box' ) could be easily carried to a pleasant location, even outdoors in fine weather, to write correspondence, diary entries, or poetry.'

Fun fact: Ink's font 'Note This' is inspired by such ancient writing.

Example of Ink's canon speaking font and Japanese calligraphy (書道, calligraphy)

'However, when it comes to the subject of painting with the material, different schools of painting existed in China, the scholar-painters of Song-dynasty China generally preferred ink-based paintings over the more colorful, pigment-filled paintings produced historically and at the painting academy. Chinese painting manuals and commentaries from the Song (Sung) and Yuan dynasties (rarely mention pigments, possibly because it was assumed a painter’s skill shouldn’t depend on the use of colors.

Japanese artists are known for using media appropriate for the subject matter. Images depicting traditional Japanese narrative tales were typically rendered in opaque colors with outlines created in ink and later obscured by color overlay. Ink monochrome was closely associated with Chinese styles, particularly those transported to Japan via Zen Buddhism. Ink-based forms created with modulated strokes and layered washes suggested introspection and spiritual exploration.'

Ancient Japanese paintings that uses dull colors and ink outlines.

Exhaustive examples of ancient Ink paintings. Dragons and Clouds 雲龍図屏風 （左隻）and Seitei kachō gafu 省亭花鳥画譜

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DESIGN

Also clarified in an ask on her main blog, Comyet describes that traditional Japanese clothing inspired Ink's 2020 outift redesing, such inspirations are very obvious in first and second analysis.

Ink!sans reference sheets for the 2020 design, which can be found in Ink's official F.A.Q

Starting off, the pants.

Ink's pants were inspired by Hakama pants (袴), a traditional Japanese garment designed as a skirt-like pants often worn over any type of kimono. His pants seems to be inspired by umanori (馬乗り)Hakamas, whose had a division in the middle and often used in horse-riding activities.

Example of a Hakama.

The Hakama is a wide pleated pants (seven pleats, five in front and two behind), with a rigid backrest (腰 板,koshi ita) placed at the level of the lumbar region. It is tightened with four straps, on the left and on the right, as well in front as behind.

Historically, the origins of the Hakama dates back to the Sui and Tan dynasty were this garment was worn by the Chinese imperial court. Later, the Hakama exported itself to Japan during the Kamakura period (1185 to 1332) and became a traditional garment for the upper classes of Japanese society as well as for samurai warriors who wore it over a kimono (Hakama-shita).

During the history of Japan, the Hakama took on different styles and was mainly made for men, although in the beginning it was a unisex garment. During the Asuka and Nara era (6th to 8th century), the Hakama came in two versions. The first one was open on the front and was tied on each side of the waist with two straps. The second one was open on the left side and closed on one side only.

During the Edo period, the Hakama was worn by the nobles as a complement to the outfits of the time such as the noshi and the kariginu (狩衣; a sleeveless jacket with very pronounced shoulders). Very functional, these pants were also adopted by samurai warriors who usually wore them as Kamishimo (上下/裃). It is a combination of kimono, Hakama and kataginu. When the warrior visited the shōgun, he wore a Hakama called naga-bakama which greatly restricted his movements.

Edit:Currently, hakamas are both worn by men and women.

However, under the scarft, Ink also seems to use a jacket that features a collar that has striking similarities to a Mandarin collar (or Mao collar)

Ink!sans reference sheets for the 2020 design, which can be found in Ink's official F.A.Q

Mandarin collars originated in ancient China and were worn  by Qing-era bureaucrats.

Picture of a Chinese man in a traditional Mandarin collar (early 1900's)

These are short, stand-up collars and sometimes fasten in the center with a small hook. Such collars are still used today for both fashionable and practical reasons. One example of modern usaged of the clothing is seen in the U.S Amry combat uniform, that features a stand-up collar of Chinese origin.

Picture of the U.S Army combat clothing

Regarding of color palette, Ink!Sans redesign uses soft but dull colors and a sinple silhouette and fabric for the outift, such design choises are similar to male kimono's dressing codes which uses dull colors (like dark blue, grey, green and occasionaly brown). Male kimonos are always more simple in design compared to female kimonos.

Photo that shows the difference of kimonos used by men and women

Although not specified, Ink seems to wear brown thigh-high socks, also known as 'tights' under the outfit. Japan has a long-standing cultural tradition of wearing such piece of clothing, this trend is particularly popular among young people and is often associated with the "gyaru" subculture, which emphasizes fashion, beauty, and individuality. Additionally, thigh-high socks are often worn with school uniforms, and are considered a symbol of youth and innocence. Additionally, it is also considered fashionable and trendy in Japan, and you can see many young people wearing them.

In regards of physical appearance, Ink also seems to follow ancient Japanese and Chinese beauty standarts, specially one's targeted towards women.

In ancient japan, specially towards the Nara (奈良時代, Nara jidai), Heian (平安時代, Heian jidai) and Edo period (江戸時代, Edo jidai) the beauty standarts for Japanese women were of those with slim eyebrowns, flat oval face shape and narrowed eyes.

Such attributes can be observed on Ink!Sans apperance.

Visual representation of old Japanese beauty standarts

/Keep in mind that some of such standarts presented are now out of fashion due to the westernization of asian countries. Specially regarding eye shape/

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MUSICAL THEMES

Ink!Sans has a long history of being associated with East Asian music, specially those of Japanese origin.

Themes that comyet associated with him includes, 'Code Wu- Asia River Album 江水/Asia River' ( post can be found here), 'Dullahan under the willows' and 'Futatsuiwa from Sado (二ツ岩で佐渡) both from the japanese game 'Touhou'. (post can also be found here.

He's also associated with East Asian musical instruments, something quite noticeable in Ink!Sans theme for the the web-series 'Underverse'. Such theme is called 'Brushwork'.

The theme starts with an instrument similar to a Shamisen (Japanese-三味線) and a Guzhen (Chinese-古筝) and also uses a traditional flute.

Photo of a Guzhen and a Shamisen, respectively

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TRIVIA

On Underverse's opening for season 2, Ink!Sans can be seem between a field of Sakura trees or Cherry Blossoms (桜).

Cherry blossom trees are an icon of Japan. Some people even call the cherry blossom Japan’s informal national flower. The Japanese school year starts in April, during cherry blossom season. The flowers symbolize good luck, love, and springtime. Since they bloom for such a short time, cherry blossom trees also represent human mortality. They remind us how short and precious life is.

In the same series, Ink is also drawn in a Sumi-e inspired style for the 'Soulless Heart Instrumental' video. Such artwork features Japanese writing in black ink.

Ink's canon instrument is the flute. Although invented in ancient germany, the flute is highly associated with East Asian cultures and it's music, chinese and japanese culture are the main ones . Other than that, Comyet already made a connection to Ink's asian influence and the instrument itself.

According to research made by the University Microfilms International (UMI) affirms that the moderny performance and melody of the instruments has clear East Asian roots, mainly from Chinese and Japanese style of music.

'The flute is a particularly appropriate instrument for such a

study because of its versatility of pitch and timbre, the latter being

one of the most important elements in Eastern music; it is capable of

'pitch-bending' and infinite changes in tone quality which are impossible

to achieve on instruments of set pitch.

The flute music selected for stud/ shows varying degrees of Eastern

influence. Depending on the nature of the composition, the Eastern

elements may be extremely subtle and difficult for the untrained to

decipher; in other instances the composer makes clear those sounds or

concepts with Eastern roots, either through accompanying explanation or

within the context of the music.'

Sources

1.National Museum of asian art (materials & techniques. Ink section)

2. Asian Brushpaper (an-overview-of-chinese-ink-history)

3. Wikipedia (wiki Hakama-pants)

4. Aikido Journal (Hakama-101)

5. Wikipedia (Mandarin-collar)

6. Kirrin finch (What-is-a-mandarin-collar)

7. University Microfilms International (UMI) (east-asian-presence-in-modern-flute-music)

[thedream14]

I recently saw several posts about Logan being a polyglot. From my personal perspective, I agree.

The guy has been around for over 200 years, so it's impossible for him not to know at least the basic structure of other languages like German or French. Plus, we're talking about a war veteran.

Usually, these people, by interacting for so long with other cultures, end up learning from the locals. Also, in terms of military strategy, many soldiers learn words, phrases, and codes from the language spoken by the enemy.

So if we assume the Wolverine: Origins montage is canon, Logan served in both World Wars on the Allied side. He was at the D-Day landings in France and was a prisoner of war in Japan… (PS: I don’t know how my friend managed to get to Asia over the course of a year amidst all the chaos of WWII 👀 Mis respetos lol). Later, the guy was also sent to serve in Vietnam.

As we know from the comics, Logan ended up learning Japanese during his time in Japan. In that sense, it’s possible to assume that he probably learned several languages ​​during his military service in Europe, such as French, German, Italian or Spanish. In addition, he most likely also managed to learn Vietnamese.

It is even possible that in Vietnam he reinforced his French, since in that country, by the early 1950s, many people spoke French, due to its colonial past (French Indochina).

In short, Logan being a polyglot is more canon than the Poolverine being roommates.

***

Personally, I would like to think that Logan knows Spanish and since he took on the role of Laura's father, he has been practicing and reinforcing his knowledge of the language.

Logan understands the importance of speaking another language and how it help to understand the depth of feelings and ideas. That is why Logan is interested in practicing and learning his daughter's native language.

For Laura, that interest translates into love. She is always grateful for her father's efforts to get closer to her. Also, she admires his dedication.

- FUCK ! Laura, can you come over for a moment? I have a question…

- Sureee. I’m all ears.

- What is the preterite perfect supposed to be?

- mmm very good question, I don't know either.

- The Fuck… aren't you supposed to speak spanish?

- Yes… But let’s say I only know one rule…

- which one?

- The rule that says: Te amo mucho papá.

- that is not a rule…

- No, but it is a fact.

- You know, now that I think about it, I also know a grammar rule. Do you want to know what it is?

- Sure.

- The rule says something like: También te amo, mi adorada hija.

[sixth-light]

ok ok slightly feral post as promised.

first, some context setting: I think it's really interesting to analyse texts in terms of both what the author was trying to do (and whether they succeeded) and what they ended up doing (intentionally or not) and I think their cultural/historical context is vital if you want to do this. I'm not interested in whether Robert Jordan or the Wheel of Time are, like, morally correct in their politics or whatever. I'm interested in what the art is trying to do.

and the thing about Jordan, see, is that he projected this image during his lifetime of a Genial Older Man (see: beard and pipe) but he...wasn't actually that old! He was 42 when EoTW was published. He died at 58. He was a Baby Boomer publishing books at a time when Baby Boomers were the hip young generation taking over from stodgy WWII veterans (Gen Z: It Will Happen To You Too).

What this means is that he was a child and adolescent during the Civil Rights movement, in a then-majority Black city in the Jim Crow South*. He would have gone to segregated schools. The tertiary institutions he attended had only started to desegregate a year or two before he attended each of them. I think his war trauma in Vietnam gets a lot of attention because he did talk about it and also because that's a narrative we understand for white men, but I think we...skim over the impact on white men of growing up at this time because? Civil Rights only happened to Black Americans I guess? but it's his context too. Similarly, he was an adolescent and young man at the time the (white) feminist movement was really kicking off in the US. he was in his mid-20s when banks were first legally *required* to allow women to open accounts and have credit cards in their own names. he went on to marry a woman a decade older than him, who had left her husband to raise her son as a single mother while continuing a professional career in the early 70s; these were issues that must have been incredibly relevant for her.

and what we see in his writing is attempts to grapple with gender and race that are self-evidently of mixed success, but I think have to be contextualised in light of this period of immense change he grew up in. Think about the predominance of women as merchants and bankers in WoT, in the context of how recent their rights to even control their own money were in the US. The...everything...he was trying to do with the Seanchan, making them extra-canonically Southern American-coded. The Whitecloaks as the KKK (among other things, of course).

As an example, I think there's also something probably unintentional but fascinating in the way he presents the pre-Breaking Aiel: bluntly, they are a distinct ethnic group in hereditary servitude (always thinking about how that ancestor of Rand's in the Rhuidean sequence had to get permission from Mierin Sedai to switch to someone else's service so he could marry his girlfriend, this is...uh...super cognate to issues enslaved Black people faced). They're associated with agriculture through the Song sequence. And they're pretty much the ideal of what slave-owning Southern American culture WANTED enslaved Black people to be: completely happy to serve. Then, as the post-breaking Aiel, they become feared as a source of violence, which resonates with the way that enslaved people were feared by their slavers.

I don't think for a second that the intention here was to depict the AoL as a Secret Slavery Dystopia, I think we're meant to take the Rhuidean flashback sections pretty much as they read on the page. But I also think putting Jordan in his historical and cultural context does pose the comparison. Similarly, I find it really interesting that he positions Seanchan as riven by constant revolts and uprisings (because it's a fascist slaver regime) but he never ever goes so far as to link enslaved people in Seanchan (damane and da'covale) to those revolts and uprisings, even though that is fundamentally the deep fear *for real and obvious reasons* of all slavery-based societies.

Or then there's the changes to the Two Rivers in the books - like, both then and now I think it's actually pretty radical to present an influx of Muslim-coded refugees of colour as a thing that enriches the Two Rivers both socially and economically. Various characters are wistful that it's changed, but they don't think it's bad. The text here is really clear that welcoming the Domani and Almoth Plain refugees is both morally right and beneficial. And this is in a book being written and published shortly after the first Gulf War.

There's so many more things like this where I just have no real idea what he was trying to do on purpose and what was accidental and what was fun for him in fiction but did not necessarily link at all to his real-world political beliefs. but gosh it's interesting to turn over and poke at.

[therunawaykind]

don't wanna break up again

Pairing: Leigh Shaw x GN!Reader

Word Count: 3.8k

Genre: Pinch of angst? fluff

Warnings: None unless you hate the names Leigh & Danny in the same sentence quite a bit

A/N: Long time no see! (again) writer's block and just simply getting the inspiration and motivation to write have been fucking dreadful these last few months. I dunno what was going on. Hopefully, all things going well this is my slow return to posting regularly again on here. If not then whoops you'll see me again at some stage. Who would've thought Leigh Shaw and Ariana Granda was gonna be my breakthrough for writing stuff not me that's for sure. This is my very loose interpretation of Ariana Grande's 'don't wanna break up again' I saw someone say it was very Leigh x Danny coded then this transpired. I hope I have done this some justice I imagine my writing abilities are a bit rusty so bear with me and I hope you all enjoy!

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*Please do not repost or translate my material or claim as yours. reblogs, comments and likes are always appreciated!*

If there was one thing Leigh was certain of since Matt’s death it was how complicated and difficult her life had become, ranging from devastating revelations to do with Matt and his teacher co-worker Nina, living with a Jules who is now a recovering sober alcoholic, dealing with her mother Amy with her previous breakdown she had where she moved to Alaska which subsequently led to her breakthrough of wanting to travel and basically just live somewhere else that wasn’t in Los Angeles, that wasn’t home.

In addition to that after Leigh’s breakdown after choosing to leave with Jules to go to Vietnam, she ultimately decided just to stay living in their family home whilst both Jules and her mother left for however long they decided. Leigh also decided to take over Beautiful Beast for Jules until she was ready to come back…if she ever did but nonetheless she couldn’t let all of Jules’ hard work go to waste. And last but not least the absolute travesty that of her and Danny whatever that thing is, it’s complicated, messy and above all else unhealthy all over for the both of them. Not to delve too much into the ups and downs of their….thing the latest situation ended up with Danny punching a hole in the wall of Leigh’s home, to sum it up in a simple phrase “People don’t slam their fists through walls when things are going well.”

The one positive and healthy yet still slightly complicated thing in Leigh’s life which happened unexpectedly was well… Y/N. Granted one of the only aspects that made it complicated was the fact you were her “student”, you both met due to you attending Leigh’s classes at Beautiful Beast, the friendship, and conversations which ended up evolving into more flirtatious conversations did just happen out of nowhere unexpectedly. The downfall of the whole friendship between you both was when Danny surprised Leigh at the entrance of Beautiful Beast one night to take her home…then you caught Danny kissing her which again took Leigh by surprise. That night and predicament in question had truly shocked Leigh because from what she knew and understood during that time, it was during one of her and Danny’s off moments, their pause a break essentially.

But in good Leigh fashion the second she saw Danny she started overthinking and thought she interpreted something wrong or missed a certain something, whilst simultaneously thinking this was Danny offering an olive branch and showing her they really can make this work, they can be good and healthy for each other….how wrong she was. So understandably from then on you started to distance yourself and pull away from Leigh after that by not talking, hanging out or texting as much. Unbeknownst to Leigh any hope you had of having some sort of relationship with her plummeted very quickly after that. 

Leigh knew whatever they had going on wasn’t good for either of them and would never last, it was a cycle they couldn’t break….well she couldn’t break. It was a lifeline for them both, the last small bit of connection they both had to Matt in some way. On one hand, Leigh had this negative and toxic relationship that she couldn’t leave, she couldn’t escape it. Somehow it always kept dragging her back in no matter how many times night and day it had her distraught, crying and attempting to soothe herself. On the other hand, Leigh had this seemingly hopeful, positive and healthy relationship she could have with you.

But before she even tried to give that relationship a chance she had to try to get out of this fucking cycle she couldn’t seem to get out of and no matter how hard she tried. Whenever she asked Jules for advice on the relationship, much to nobody's surprise always went something like this. 

“Leigh you need to end this thing with Danny and go no contact with him at least for some time, this is not healthy for either of you. I mean come on Leigh he punched a hole in the wall at our house. Let me remind you when I was living with you Leigh after mom left, just how many times I’d hear quiet sobs from your room, you talking to yourself to make yourself feel better and reassure yourself everything was going to be okay, that everything was gonna be fine. And I couldn’t get in because 1. You’d lock the door, 2. You wouldn’t respond when I asked if you were okay and lastly, when you did,  you’d just say you were fine, you were okay. Once one of you starts to feel happier and healthier the other drags the other one down simply just by being around.

I know you don’t want to go through another break-up or heartbreak….but you’re doing it to yourself constantly by staying in this with Danny or maybe…. You keep going back to this thing with Danny because you don’t want to hurt him and his heart completely. And if you do fully disappear from his life because to him you're his last link to Matt and right now you know full well you are leading him on and have him believing you two can have some semblance of a future together no matter how complicated it may be. I know this is a weird way to word it but… I think you know Matt wouldn’t want or like Danny to be experiencing this level of hurt and anguish as much as he is, not even specifically with you just with anyone.

But let’s not forget just how much you did hurt Danny initially when he was staying away from you and you wouldn’t let it happen. You forced your way into his life because you needed him to love you. Who knows maybe some ways down the line in the future when you’re both fully healed or at least somewhat…you two can be friends and have that last link to Matt. But also do remember that doesn’t mean you have to stop contact with Matt’s mother…. You can still have a link to him in some shape and form.”

That’s what she’d deal with, she knew and understood completely what Jules was saying yet she couldn’t bring herself to do it….unfortunately. She wishes Danny would end up being the person to end it but the chances of that happening are slim to none. But with the possibilities that awaited her on the other side of things…she knew what she had to do, end things with Danny then she had to get the friendship with Y/N back to what it was, and she had to show you that you weren't going to be just some rebound, that she saw a future with this relationship she saw it going the distance. 

When she thought about the aspects of the relationship she had with Y/N the only way Leigh could describe how she felt…was how she felt when she was with Matt. With you, it finally felt like Leigh had gotten the best and good part of herself back that as Leigh put it Matt had taken with him when he died. It felt like she could finally breathe again and live her life to the fullest. Fortunately for Leigh yet quite sadly when the friendship between you both was at its best Matt left her alone, and Leigh’s recurring what she would consider nightmares of Matt and Nina living out the life she lived with him finally stopped.

Now all she had to do was start the process and uncomplicate her life which starts with talking to Danny.

As Leigh anxiously approaches the door to the apartment she knows so well, she nervously wrings out her hands and fingers. She had texted Danny the night before asking him if would it be okay for her to visit in the morning to talk to him, as Danny eagerly agreed to her calling over she realised at that very moment he was expecting a very different conversation. She hesitantly starts knocking on the door muttering to herself “You can do this, you can do this. You have to do this for yourself, Danny and everyone else in your life but most importantly you and Danny.” After a few seconds, shuffling could be heard behind the door as Leigh took a deep breath in, in an attempt to calm herself down and get all of her feelings under control.

Once the door opened a weak nervous smile spread across her face, Leigh quickly scans Danny trying to figure out how he really is, as she sees him start to step out and lean in to give her a quick kiss but before anything of the sort can happen Leigh quickly steps in and gives him a quick hug as she states “so is it alright for me to come in?” as she smiles quickly at him. Danny’s face scrunches up in confusion as Leigh quickly pats his stomach as she steps past him into his apartment, he lets out an exasperated sigh and throws his head back slightly and he turns around to walk into his apartment closing the door behind him. 

When Danny finally turns to face Leigh he can’t help but notice her looking around his apartment and the constant nervous fidgeting with her fingers, her hair and her neck. He sighs to himself “Alright Leigh what is this about you said you wanted to talk.” 

Leigh jumps slightly as she spins around to face him “ I- well- yeah you’re right I did, I did.” rubbing her now sweaty palms off of the side of her jeans and slowly sits herself down on Danny's sofa. Taking a deep breath in and bringing her hands up to her mouth “I- I can imagine from the way I’m acting and just how difficult it is for me to start this conversation and say what I actually want to….that you already know what this conversation is about and where it’s heading.” Hearing a quiet sigh beside her Leigh glances quickly out the side of her eye seeing Danny leaning forward slightly with his head down and forearms leaning on his knees. “But Danny this thing has to be stopped, I- we’re both hurting each other continuously whether we realise it or not. I mean need I remind ourselves of the punching a hole in the wall situation.”

That got a small chuckle out of Danny as he shook his head slightly clicking his tongue. “And I mean it wasn’t just you Danny, I forced you to be around me when you didn’t want to, in our own little ways, we were selfish when it came to this situation. Now I know I stated and promised you before that I would never have a life that didn’t have you in it…but whilst we’re both still healing and dealing with our grief that obviously still hasn’t gone anywhere. We do really need to not be in each other's lives anymore, no contact, no talking in any shape or form no stupid lil emoji texts anymore.” 

Biting his lip and sitting back Danny exclaims “But Leigh that’s EXACTLY what you’re doing, you’re leaving, you’re having a life without me! You obviously think and believe you don’t need me!” 

“I’M NOT LEAVING YOU, I’M NOT HAVING A LIFE WITHOUT YOU”

“LEIGH THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT YOU’RE DOING CAN YOU NOT HEAR WHAT YOU’RE SAYING” 

“DANNY!” scoffing to herself and shaking her head as she calmly states ”See this, this here exactly happening right now is why we need to take a step back from each other. We can’t even have a normal conversation without blowing up and ending up yelling at each other. The only time we aren’t killing each other is when we’re having sex and- and even then since we had that conversation in that casino resort we both know Matt is still weirdly on our minds during that. I- I think no matter how much we try or maybe want some sort of actual loving relationship with each other…it’ll never work. The only thing we ever can be to each other is friends.” Leigh shakes her head and licks her lips slightly “Just a friendship. Because we are hurting each other and ourselves from the inside out. We have to heal by ourselves, without the other in our lives and move on. And hopefully at some stage down the line whenever we’re both happy and healthy we can get back in contact with the other.”

Leigh smirks as she sways from side to side “Cause I can’t lie Danny I think we’d be pretty kick-ass friends together don’t ya think.” She grins as she nudges Danny with her shoulder, clearing his throat and nodding “Yeah- yeah I think we would be. And I can’t lie I get what you’re saying I understand hell I see it completely. It- it is just a difficult thing to let go of even if it is just for a little bit.” 

Biting her lip and rubbing Danny’s arm “I get it, Danny I do believe me but you still have your mom. You both can get through this together because it was just as difficult for her to… You are all she has left. And I’ll- I'm staying in contact with her or at this stage more like getting in contact with her more considering she still is my mother-in-law or ex-mother-in-law anyways specifics isn’t the important thing here.” 

Danny laughs slightly and nods “Yeah, yeah she’d like that.” Both sit back against the sofa in silence basking in the reality of what now has to be undertaken the reality of it hitting them simultaneously. Rubbing her hands anxiously up and down her legs as she slowly drags out “rigghtt I guess- I guess I better go now and leave us both to our journey of healing, growth whatever you wanna call it.” Leigh laughs as she mumbles to herself “god I sound like my mother” She walks to the door with Danny right behind her as Leigh opens the door she turns around and smiles at Danny as they both embrace each other in a hug for the last time till…who knows how long. Both pulling away slowly and giving each other a subtle nod as Leigh steps out through the door as it closes behind her softly. Leigh takes a deep breath in, the grin spreading across her face going unnoticed by her as she starts to descend the steps of the apartment building.

Leigh was never nervous or anxious when it came to teaching her exercise classes though apparently today was the exception, as she anticipated your arrival. Leigh smiles moving back and forth on her feet as she greets all of the students walking in through the door to her class, anxiously waiting to get a glimpse of your bag, shoes or something as you come through the front door. Considering since you distanced yourself from her she’s noticed you haven’t attended classes all that regularly. Leigh’s eyebrows raise in anticipation as she sees the front doors open happily letting out a breath she didn’t realise she was holding as she saw a glimpse of your bag and shoes come into view. Giddily she lets a grin spread across her face and she nervously picks at her nails seeing you approach the entrance “Hey Y/N it’s nice to see you again, I’m glad you decided to attend and come today.” 

Taken aback by Leigh's greeting and striking up a proper conversation with you after so long did genuinely take you by surprise but couldn’t stop the smile on your face “Hey Leigh, yeah I can’t lie I missed attending these classes I’m sure I’ll get back on track from now on.” Both smiling at each other as you walk past her into the class much to Leigh’s amazement you turn around and say to her “Leigh if I can just say you look great...you just look happy and healthy. Whatever you’ve done or are doing keep it up it suits you.” With her mouth wide open Leigh messily nods and stutters out “I- I will- I-  Thank you very much, I will be sure to keep it up.” Leigh turns around to the door to hide and mutters to herself “Idiot”.

Much to her relief though the class was a success and she didn’t stumble or trip over any more of her words whenever she got closer to you throughout her class as she moved around the room. After the class finished Leigh quickly grabbed her towel off the floor wiping the sweat off of her as she said goodbye to everyone, in her peripheral vision she could see you deliberately taking your sweet ass time packing away all of your stuff. Biting her lip she attempted to suppress the smile taking over her face. 

As she said goodbye to one of the last students she sauntered across the room towards you as she started fiddling with the towel around her neck. “Sooo Y/N” you glanced up at her as you were putting on your shoes “What's up Leigh?” 

She smiles at you abashedly as she scratches her head “I just wanna say sorry and give you a quick apology for anything I said or did that created that distance and made us pull away from each other. Because- because for that length of time, I really did miss seeing you and your face around here but I’m glad to see you back now.” Nervously scratching the back of your neck “Yeah umm I just-” shaking your head slightly as you let out a breath “I just had some stuff I had to figure out and work on to clear my head a bit and- unfortunately, sadly to do that I kinda had to step away and distance myself from you and well all things relating to you. But I- I think I’ve figured it all out now.” 

You can’t help but notice the hopeful glint in Leigh’s eyes and smile “Oh really? A positive figure it out I hope?” 

Grinning and nodding confidently “Yeah- yeah it does seem that way.” Both of you stare at each other smiling to your heart's content as both of your eyes scan the other person. You clear your throat as you can feel the heat rising to your cheeks and glance around the room “Anyways I should probably head off and leave you to clean up the place or whatever it is you have left to do around here.”  Leigh absentmindedly nods her head but ultimately starts panicking as you pick up your bag and wave goodbye to her, she quickly sprints after you saying between breaths “Or or- or albeit this isn’t a very nice offer for you to ask-” you raise your eyebrow at her “What is it, Leigh?”

“Um, do you wanna hang out here with me and help me out around here if you aren’t busy? I just- I’ve just missed hanging out and talking with you and thought this might be a nice way for us to catch up.”

“Y’know you are right it isn’t the nicest or most glamorous offer I’ve ever heard but I have missed talking to you Leigh so I’ll stick around and help my favourite fitness instructor out.” 

Leigh whips her head around to face you and stumbles slightly as she starts moving the spare barres placed around the room “Wha- what do you mean favourite fitness instructor? I’m your only fitness instructor.” Smirking over at Leigh as you roll up the extra yoga mats “That you know of, could’ve tried out other places whilst I was MIA” 

“HEY!” Leigh exclaims as she throws a cloth at you 

Laughing at her reaction as you catch the cloth “I’m messing, I’m messing you would be correct, you are the only fitness instructor I know and one that I go to.” You hear a quiet yet stern “good” in response as she goes back to cleaning, laughing and shaking your head in the process.

Since then you and Leigh have practically been inseparable, it was as if nothing had ever happened. She had explained to you fully what went and was going on with her and Danny currently..more like what wasn’t going on. Even though you had said to her repeatedly she didn’t have to that it was none of your business. But you reassured her it was for the better, she made the right decision, she’s doing better because of it and you could only hope the same for Danny. Leigh now had you over at her house….for what she told you would be a quiet night in with both of your favourite takeout foods and as many movies and TV shows as you both could handle.

Which now that you were here was not the case at all. Leigh had gotten the bright idea, the brainwave or as she put it a breakthrough. She felt that the whole house needed to be redecorated and refurnished as it reminded her of sad, difficult and complicated times and she couldn’t stand being reminded of those moments any longer. So who were you to say no to helping her out yet again. As you were sat on the floor dismantling all of the old furniture with Leigh, you saw her peak her head out from the other side “Again I’m sorry about this, it seems like none of my hangouts recently are that exciting and it involves you always having to work.” You laugh and shake your head “Leigh honestly it’s okay I really don’t care what I do as long as it’s with you. But hey it’ll be a nice bonding time for both of us, be a little glimpse of what it’s like if we were to ever live with each other I guess.” You scratch your head and hurriedly get back to dismantling the furniture as you realise what you said. “Did you just say living together?” 

“Psshhh me say that? No never? Must’ve heard things, Leigh.” 

“Mhmm okay sure.” What you didn’t notice was Leigh moving over to you slowly on her knees but jumping slightly as you felt her place her arms on your shoulders in an attempt to get you to raise your head to look at her. Glancing up at her you see the silly little smile on her face “I may not be ready for that yet but I’d like to think we’d end up living together at some stage in the future.” 

Staring at her wide-eyed “R-really?” Leigh grins and nods her head as she whispers against your lips “Really.” Grinning at each other as you both lean in to place kisses on each other's lips which quickly turn into little pecks as Leigh slaps your thigh “Alright let’s get back to work this house isn’t gonna refurnish and redecorate itself. And this furniture certainly won’t dismantle itself.” 

Chuckling to yourself you playfully salute towards Leigh “Aye, aye captain.” 

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Charlotte Clymer at Charlotte's Web Thoughts:

Every year, Pride Month comes with renewed efforts by anti-LGBTQ extremists to downplay, diminish, and undermine its importance. Sad, insecure clowns—mostly straight men (some of them likely closeted)—flood the zone to feed each other outrage and claim the Queer Agenda is out to destroy them all. This year is certainly no different. Amidst all the wonderful Pride posts online from sports teams and companies and elected officials, there’s been a widespread effort by extremists to claim our military and veterans and their families are being ignored and that June should be solely dedicated to honoring them, not the LGBTQ community. As a queer person and proud military veteran, I find this all quite curious. Truth be told, I can’t help but find it amusing. Are these people unaware of the sheer calendar space dedicated to our nation’s women and men who have served and are currently serving?

Most folks know about Memorial Day (the last Monday in May, dedicated to those who made the ultimate sacrifice) and Veterans Day (Nov. 11th, dedicated to all who have served), but those are just the tip of the iceberg. Let’s start with the easy ones: the month-long observances. April is Month of the Military Child. May is both National Military Appreciation Month and Month of the Military Caregiver. June is PTSD Awareness Month, which isn’t exclusively for the military and veterans but obviously has a pretty strong military connection. November is both Veterans & Military Family Month and Warrior Care Month. Then you have the long list of specific day observances throughout the year.

There are the military branch and component birthdays/observances: Army (June 14th), Army Reserve (April 23rd), Navy (Oct. 13th), Navy Reserve (March 3rd), Air Force (Sept. 18th) Air Force Reserve (April 14th), Marine Corps (Nov. 10th), Marine Corps Reserve (Aug. 29th), Coast Guard (Aug. 4th), Coast Guard Auxiliary (June 23rd), National Guard (Dec. 13th), and Civil Air Patrol (Dec. 1st).

There are the various days specifically honoring military families, caregivers, and surviving loved ones: Gold Star Spouses Day (April 5th), National Military Brats Day (April 30th), Military Spouse Appreciation Day (Friday before Mothers Day), Children of Fallen Patriots Day (May 13th), Gold Star Mother’s Day (last Sunday in September), National Day of the Deployed (Oct. 26th), and—because families carry the greatest burden here, I’ll include it in this section—National POW/MIA Recognition Day (third Friday in September). There are the days honoring those who earned specific military decorations: National Medal of Honor Day (March 25th), Silver Star Service Banner Day (May 1st), and National Purple Heart Day (Aug. 7th).

There are the days honoring specific groups of veterans and those who paid the ultimate sacrifice: K-9 Veterans Day (March 13th), National Vietnam War Veterans Day (March 29th), National Former POW Recognition Day (April 9th), V-E Day (May 8th), Women Veterans Day (June 12th), National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day (July 27th), National Buffalo Soldiers Day (July 28th), Agent Orange Awareness Day (Aug. 10th), Navajo Code Talkers Day (Aug. 14th), V-J Day (Sept. 2nd), and National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day (Dec. 7th). Outside of those distinct categories, there are some others: Four Chaplins Day (Feb. 3rd), USO Birthday (Feb. 4th), National Salute to Veteran Patients (week of Feb. 12th), Seabee Birthday (March 5th), American Legion Birthday (March 15th), National Rosie the Riveter Day (March 21st), National Hire a Veteran Day (July 25th), Department of Defense Birthday (Aug. 10th), National Airborne Day (Aug. 16th), Veterans of Foreign Wars Day (Sept. 29th), and Wreaths Across America Day (Dec. 18th). Oh, and Armed Forces Day (May 20th), which falls at the end of Armed Forces Week (which begins on May 13th). I hope I didn’t miss any?

At least 120 days on the American calendar are dedicated to honoring our military, fallen service members, veterans, and their families — about a third of the full year. [...] The past five months have seen members of the military and veterans who are women, Black people, people of color generally, and LGBTQ people broadly erased from any recognition by the Trump Administration and the Department of Defense specifically. This month, thousands of transgender service members and their families will be kicked out, their lives uprooted, their service cruelly degraded, their characters slandered, all because of a senseless and bigoted policy created to placate anti-trans extremists, signed by a coward who avoided military service.

Charlotte Clymer wrote an excellent piece debunking the BS anti-LGBTQ+ narrative that "gays get a month, while the veterans only get a day." In fact, there are far more days and months of military observances in some form on the calendar than LGBTQ+ ones. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

[nanamineedstherapy]

Interns, Idiots, & Ino’s Existential Crisis

Summary: Gangs of Wasseypur x Shark Tank but everyone has rabies. Mainly Slice of life, but aggressive. Previous Chapter - [Tumblr/Ao3]

On Tuesdays, you didn’t hate Ino because he was stupid. You hated him because he was stupid with confidence.

There he stood, middle of the co-working space, waving around a pitch deck like it was a sword and not an Excel sheet filled with Canva infographics.

“Guys,” he grinned, “what if we rebrand as, like, CoffeeVerse™?”

Silence.

Megumi didn’t even look up from his laptop. “Are you okay?”

Kokichi blinked behind his glasses, his face unmoving as always. “Rebrand implies existing brand recall. We don’t have that. So what, exactly, are we ‘re’-branding?”

Ino wilted slightly but recovered with a laugh. “Haha, right. Just putting ideas out there. Y’know, ideation is key.”

You were standing behind him with a steaming mug of coffee and a migraine brewing in your temple.

“Ino,” you said, “you presented the same deck last week but replaced the font.”

He blinked. “It’s Montserrat now. Cleaner vibe.”

"Your vibe is unemployment."

Megumi, all of 21 and already three times smarter than Ino, muttered, “Why is he even here?”

You pointed at him. “Exactly.”

Gojo’d bargained IIT pass-out Megumi from Toji when he’d gambled off with the company card.

Ino sat down beside Kokichi, trying to smile. “So what are you guys working on?”

Kokichi didn’t blink. “Fixing the code you broke.”

“Oh! I didn’t know I broke anything—”

“That’s the problem,” Kokichi said flatly, 23 and already gunning to replace Ino directly.

You remember the day you interviewed Ino. He said he was “a people person” and that he “loved startups.” In hindsight, that should’ve been a red flag. The man said “synergy” three times in one sentence. And now he was the marketing lead.

The only leads he ever generated were fake bot accounts from Vietnam.

“Okay, so, like—” Ino stood up again, trying to project confidence. “—I was thinking we could do a brand collab with, like, FabCafe or Blue Tokai. Viral stuff. You know what slaps? Barista rap reels.”

Megumi visibly recoiled.

You stared at Ino. “You’re 29. Stop talking like you’re doing your BTech at Manipal.”

He grinned, trying to laugh it off. “I’m just staying connected with Gen Z, y’know? The vibe—”

Megumi looked at Kokichi. “Is this bullying if he deserves it?”

Kokichi replied, “It’s mentorship.”

The last time Ino was put in charge of influencer outreach, he paid a food blogger 40k for a single story post where she said your coffee was “mid” and spelt the brand name wrong. Twice.

You made him call her agent himself when she refused to take it down.

“Why are you like this?” you asked him once during a 1:1.

He blinked. “Because I care?”

“No, Ino. You try. Trying and caring are different. You try like a clingy ex who won’t stop emailing the hiring manager.”

And the junior devs? Megumi hated him the way every smart intern hates someone with a title and no skills. Kokichi ignored him entirely unless he had to correct something. Which was always.

One day, Ino tried to offer them advice.

“You guys should smile more. Chill out. This is a fun workspace!”

Megumi looked at him. “You're head of marketing and can't spell 'campaign.'"

Kokichi added, “He spelt it 'cam-pain.' Appropriate.”

But he never left. Never broke. Never even took the hint.

And somehow—somehow—he made the office better.

Not smarter. Not more efficient. But funnier. Dumber. Human.

So you let him stay. With limited access to the marketing budget and a strict ban from touching the code.

---

A/N: Not Ino getting bullied by south delhi Megumi & Kokichi :P

Next Chapter Dumbbells, Dumb Men & The Death of HR - [Tumblr/Ao3]

All Works Masterlist

[txttletale]

hiii! (hope you're having a great day)

I'm genuinely confused right now about the call out post and the answers you're giving about it

I'm seeing in the call out that the person is talking about a theory of internal colonies and you're not really addressing it in your responses

The posts you're making about the whole situation are coherent and I do agree with them so I am asking genuinly if you could "debunk"? (not sure how to ask that better) the whole internal colony thing because it seems to be the point of disagreement and i'm not seeing clearly here :,,(

i mean 'the call out post' in question is just a comprehensive list of anyone who has ever interacted with tumblr user mozilla-firefucks so i'm not really interested in engaging with it or acknowleding it because i think it is quite silly.

as for the central question / discourse itself -- i am indeed familiar with the theory of the internal colony! i think it is a useful theoretical tool capable of providing useful analysis. but the argument that the internal colony model of usamerican antiblackness precludes Black usamericans from being beneficiaries of usamerican imperialism in any way isn't true. 'colonialism' and 'imperialism' are sets of economic relations, not intrinsic attributes. you do not have a spiritual aura or code flag setting you as 'imperialist' or 'imperialised'. and imperialism is not one monolithic relation either, right, it is comprised of multiple sets of overlapping and interconnected relations, such that you can have multiple different relations to imperialism in different contexts.

as such, it's not denying the brutality of usamerican (or indeed global) antiblackness to point out that Black usamerican citizens continue to be usamerican citizens. this does not protect them from antiblackness, nor is it a moral failing on their part (benefiting from imperialism is simply a result of interfacing with the consumer market that broadly benefits from imperialism -- it's not an accusatory finger saying 'you did an imperialism'), nor is 'beneficiary of' in anyway synonymous with 'perpetrator of' or 'perpetuator of' of.

but i've already discussed how, for example, the simple fact of being able to buy a cheap banana is the direct result of usamerican imperialism. the same is true for coffee, chocolate, or gas, commodities which are kept monstrously cheap for the usamerican market via brutal exploitation and military intervention in the global south. or, for example, any cheap good with 'made in china' or 'made in vietnam' on it, because manufacturing capital has been exported to those countries because of unequal exchange. and people who buy these cheap products are benefiting in that moment from usamerican imperialism -- which again is neither a moral judgement nor a negation or denial of any of the ways that the USA might oppress those people.

so i don't know -- i feel like the core disagreements are either a misunderstanding of what it means to benefit from imperialism, or a or a dualist interpretation of imperialism / colonialism, where one can only be 'colonizer' or 'colonized' in totality across all systems conceived of as one totalizing whole machine of omnidirectional imperialism with a strict hard line between beneficiaries and sufferers. and at the end of the day it just doesn't work like that

[akajustmerry]

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNdjg5JU7/

so for anyone reading ^^^^ above link is to a tiktok where the tiktoker @/breadiscannibalism who is a poc (unsure of ethnicity) discusses how the popular perception of suzanne collins' hunger games series as being anti-colonial is not supported by anything in the texts themselves. they go on to encourage people to read more anti-colonial scifi by authors of colour, while also pointing to past interviews where Collins has discussed the impact her father's participation in the Vietnam war has on her work. Basically, they argue Collins' maybe pro-humanist and pro-environmentalist, but it is not explicitly anti-imperialist or anti-colonialist.

i'm guessing anon sent this to me after my post about plutarch and haymitch's fucked dialogue in sotr. personally, i've never ever called Collins' work anti-imperialist or anti-colonial. at most i've discused people from 12 being Indigenous coded and how the films whitewashed Katniss and the racial hierarchy made clear in the books. I disagree with OP's tiktok in that I think there are many elements of collins' hunger games novels that are implicitly anti-fascist and anti-colonial, particularly in the apartheid of the districts. they're just not themes she explicitly fleshed out to the same degree as the themes of war, propaganda, environmentalism.

sending me this tiktok doesn't scratch the issue i raised in that post though unless what you're trying to say is that, because suzanne collins' thg books aren't explicity anti-colonialism and she's said some weird shit about war, then plutarch's remarks make sense? my issue with plutarch telling haymitch he's complicit is that it's not something haymitch challenges. the idea of district 12 as complicit is something that has NEVER been put forward in any of the other books, not even subtextually. in fact, the opposite is made abundantly clear. ie that district 12 are among the biggest victims of the capitol. so, in context of the narrative, a character saying that to Haymitch and for Haymitch to agree by omission makes no sense. yeah sure, Collins' lack of intersectionality and anti-colonial thought goes some way to explain this but it doesn't explain why in the narrative a child being forced to gamify his own execution would agree to being "complicit" when no one has ever framed things that way. like. its dumb. its just dumb

[senka-mesecine]

Been thinking about how the Platoon boys would be in a different war. Like if Barnes was in WW2 he'd definitely be like Lt. Aldo Raine from Inglorious Basterds, complete coincidence that they're both from Tennessee.

---

― Chris and WWI. Or The Great War, as it would've been referred to it then, as it was happening. Consider it. I mean, it is plausible. Young and idealistic, Taylor might've had a borderline knightly, whitewashed notion of war as a concept even though it might've been hard for a young American to understand just who's fighting who and why, even a college dropout; heck, it is downright canon generations of men in his family all served, but they all served in a time of cavalries, canons, carriages, bayonets and sabers. In comes Chris, wanting to experience this idealized sense of chivalry vivid in his mind's eye, only to stumble into a war that used chemical warfare for the first time, that utilized air raids, bombings, technology unprecedented and unknown of until then and than left millions dead. Imagine it shaking his world. Imagine it taking everything his boyish, possibly sheltered self thought of things until then and turning it around on its head, just like Vietnam did to him in canon. He returns home an entirely different man because he's quite literally seen things that he could've never imagined until then. An...aeroplane?

― O'Neill gives me the impression like he'd be entirely in his element serving in any period in history and in what could be called a lull between battles; namely, a time where military complexes are active, sure, army life is thriving, base camps are riddled with nightlife, women, booze, housing, socialization, good free healthcare, well paid jobs...but there's technically no actual fighting being done because the troops are on perpetual standby, waiting for actual action to happen. So, think Pearl Harbor before the bombing, some airbase in Korea post war, Hawaii, someplace in Germany where smuggling, prostitution, gambling and mingling about is rampant and anywhere where the promise of combat could be looming but it could just as likely not be looming. Not any time soon. From one end, Red gets the prestige of importance, from another end, he doesn't risk as much as he could be risking, basically being on something of a constant holiday in uniform. All the benefits, scarcely any of the obligations. Say, that's his idea of a good time. Yeah, sure, it's a little sleazy. Yeah, it's weasel like behavior. But, it is simultaneously very in-character.

― Much like in the case of Barnes, there will always be psychotic, unhinged youth armed with guns acting out on the battlefield purely because that's probably the first bit of power they ever tasted, the novelty and the general chaos of warfare ensuring it went right to their heads, cultivating bad habits like a poisonous mushroom, meaning that kids like Bunny are frequent in any war, any time and any place as horrible as that may sound and just like war and war crimes are inherently interconnected, the present of a Bunny is just a given --- and boys like him? Well, they populate military jails as much as they populate base camps. Chances are, one can vividly imagine him, say, in the Gulf War, the Iraq War or generally any newer conflict in the Middle East simply because modernity would've given someone like Bunny even more ample chance to act out with more sadistic variety and since the Iraq War lasted between the time range of 2003-2011 and the Vietnam war lasted between 1955-1975, both would've been sufficiently long enough for Bunny to do what he (unfortunately for everyone) very much enjoyed doing. Uninterrupted. For over a decade.

― Admittedly, most of the boys in the Underworld feel undeniably 60's and Vietnam-coded (including the Underworld itself as a hangout place in general) nobody more so than Rhah Vermucci, probably, but if I had to pick some other world conflict I could put him in just for its own sake I'd opt just one where one might think 'what the heck is this guy even doing here' or 'how did he even get here in the first place?' because Vermucci generally comes with so much prophetic mystique, a weird brand of street wise seeming wisdom and knowledge it is easy to imagine him having some strange and unusual way which landed him, say, in the Rhodesian War or the US invasion of Panama and if you might be wondering 'Why put Rhah in one of those' I say to you why not? He strikes me as one of those unusual individuals you might run into in equally unusual places and the backstory as to why they're here being as interesting as their actual person. From anywhere in Africa, to Tibet and everywhere in-between, you could stumble upon a Rhah and he might hit you with a quote along the lines of 'Bah! They pluck us out of our roots, man! Send us halfway 'cross the world to disorient us!'

― We could downright use Wolfe as a commentary for any war, battle or armed conflict with disastrous outcomes and a leadership that's given far more authority than it has experience to run an outfit effectively, meaning that I can imagine Wolfe anywhere, at any given time, because much like Barnes (read below) he is a constant in the sense that there will always be vastly underqualified and inexperienced figures in demanding positions they aren't well suited for, leading to unprecedented human casualties, loss of life and infrastructure--- think WWI and Wolfe's guidance piling up trenches with the dead by the hundreds or some doomed-to-fail mission during WWII. Think Korea or, well, the entire disaster that was Vietnam. Put Wolfe in the Gulf War and the outcome will be much the same. Place him into a modern day UN outfit and said UN outfit will some somehow end up embroidered into some scandal of unbelievable proportions by happenstance even though its job is effectively only that of Peacekeepers. Man can exist anywhere. And man can screw up anywhere. It's one of those human flaws that transcend time.

― Okay, since this ask dabbles entirely in the alternative and if we have to pick a period and a warfare in history that all of these boys would've alternatively belong to, something about King just potentially screams WWII to me; he's the type of African American soldier one might meet, say, in the war theatres of Europe, perhaps in France or during the American occupation of Germany in some special unit, for example, befriend him, form the bond of a lifetime and then probably never see him again once he eventually ships back overseas --- therein laying the bittersweet, melancholic tragedy of the fact that this will probably happen irregardless of what war one serves with this type of person. It belongs to the kind of situational connections that changes ones life and it becomes less relevant what war one meets King and King's manner of people, rather what takes precedence is just how profoundly they affect you and genuinely, the same could be the said of the likes of Crawford, Big Harold, Gardner and the like. These people represent army friendships as a broader whole.

― Elias feels both weirdly, inexplicably timeless and simultaneously like the Vietnam war is precisely and exactly where he belongs if a person can belong in a war in the first place, giving off both this sense of being ageless and perennial, belonging to no exact period in history and yet firmly embedded in everything the 60's represent that one can vividly imagine him nowhere else as much as one can vividly imagine him precisely and exactly where he is. The weed smoking? The cropped off fatigue jacket? The headband? The beaded necklaces? The partying? The generally laid back, idealistic hippie attitude? Man, if anything, the Vietnam war is exactly where Elias is meant to have been, so much so one could make him a poster child of the whole conflict and not be mistaken. To some degree, being highly spiritual, he is undoubtedly wise enough to realize that too --- that this is the period in time he wasn't born in without a reason and that if he was born anywhere else, fighting in any other war, he would've been inadvertedly different in some way that would no longer render him into the exact person he is now.

― See, I think Barnes could be placed into any war, at any given time and it would work one way or another because he almost comes off like the archetypical soldier --- the ideal, not in terms of good virtues necessarily but simply because there's undoubtedly always been men like him in every armed conflict since the dawn of humanity and always will be --- chances are, if one had a figurative time machine, one could find men like him on battlefields of distant antiquity, medieval times, the 18th century, the early 20th century, the mid-century Cold War, heck, even in a more contemporary fashion in the 21st century. Men like Barnes are essential to the ecosystem of war. They're a constant. The constant. They're its byproduct as much as its makers and perpetuators. They're the bits and pieces that make the machine what it is. Barnes could've fought in WWII, in the Middle East or he could've fought anywhere at all because he's natural to warfare like a chicken is to an egg. Maybe, that is, among other reasons, why he refers to himself as 'reality'; he is the unavoidable status quo of every armed conflict.

[wutheringheightsfilm]

My friend is showing me your page. There is much arguing and I can not vote in the us, but I wonder what I could do to learn more to help. I can not risk my work visa though. Sorry to bother

hi anon, i was saving this to answer until i got to my laptop.

i have a tag that's #resources that may be of help to you; it's sort of a catch-all tag for any sort of resources, but here are a few highlights:

palestinian resources masterlist (history)

introduction to abolition reading list

my post about how to learn more about cuba/help the cuban cause

intro to black/decolonial feminism recommendations

another prison abolition resource list

how to get into anticapitalist politics resource list

resource list on CIA interventionism and US backed coups

intro to decolonization

anti-imperalism reading list

post-colonial theory reading list

it is an awful lot of reading and/or engaging with history and theory, and i agree that it can be daunting, but this is not a race, and you can take it slowly and at your own pace.

of course, as you are not a citizen (it seems? since you're on a work visa) please keep yourself safe. of course you don't have to go to protests/demonstrations if your safety could be at risk or you could risk deportation, but there are plenty of less high stakes work you can do around your community.

you can support the Innocence Project, who work to prevent people from being executed on the death penalty; you don't even need a US address to sign their petitions, just a zip code. there may also be prison abolition groups/prisoner outreach programs more specific to where you live that you may be able to help with. there may be bail funds near you that need donations or assistance.

you can see if your community has a Food Not Bombs group and volunteer with them, and if not, there's most likely a local soup kitchen/food pantry that could use volunteers.

you may have a university near you that has an SJP (Students for Justice for Palestine) and you can see if they need any help/volunteers/etc for their events, and they may also be a good resource just for education.

the point here is to connect with your community and see what the needs around you are. the united states government thrives on individualism and on its citizens being so isolated from each other.

above all it really is a learning curve. study the revolutionary movements of the past (and present!) in places like cuba, burkina faso, vietnam, haiti, etc... do what you can. this ask wasn't a bother at all.

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s2 episode 4 "sleepless" thoughts

i thought this episode sounded interesting! the plot was kinda: wasn't it fucked up when the vietnam war happened? and i was sitting here like, yeah, quite famously it was pretty fucked up. still, an interesting exploration into trauma and the american role of imperialism

the first thing i wrote was "a lot of people in this show fall asleep watching the tv but personally i have never done that". am i immune to the Curse or something?

so this guy who is a sleep doctor sees a fire and he calls the fire department right away, and everyone is evacuating, and we see a dude in the hallway with a suspicious smile and an even more suspicious scar across his neck. i am used to the episode structure by now, so i knew this was our mystery man of the week.

but the firemen get to the burning fellow's house and there is no fire! despite it looking so real to him that he actually burned to death... it's not there! well huh! must be our mystery man can psychically project fire

cutscene to mulder's place and it again looks like an entirely new set for his apartment. again, i ask, i'm not crazy, right?? can someone else confirm that this is an entirely different space than what we saw before?

(i hope we don't see scully in a new space as well- i thought her apartment was so cute in s1)

he gets a newspaper and a tape of the call dropped off at his door so he runs to skinner and begs with his big sad wet eyes to please let him take the case. and skinner is like maybe. but go transcribe a bunch of wiretaps first. so THAT is why he's always listening to weird stuff!

BUT WAIT! who enters our fair scene...? but a NEW CHARACTER? he is a guy who looks like he crawled out of a frat house where he majored in lacrosse and business... he introduces himself as alex and says that this is HIS case... mulder is PISSED he's all "i work alone >:(" but he can't shake the dude off... hmm.

(i recall seeing a post about people slash shipping mulder with a character in s2- i saw this post way before i started watching the show, so i only noted it in my passing interest of fandom history- and i'm wondering if this is the fellow they were referring to. in the same post i saw mulder in a speedo which i guess we'll get to in time)

scully's back at the academy!!! teaching another autopsy class! boy they must have a steady stream of bodies coming in for this. but an urgent call is coming from a "george hale" and she leaves class to go answer...

and it's mulder!!!!! he has a code name!!! he asks her to fly up to new york and do an autopsy and she's like "i'm in class til 4:30" and he's like "that's fine, we'll wrap it up for you and you can come up at 5!" and she sighs and. agrees.

now. again. this was shocking to me. mulder cannot have anyone else draw his blood or do an autopsy it HAS to be his friend scully. and she WILL get on a flight and do it. this is SICK and TWISTED how she will do anything for him.

mulder was being a real jerk to alex and alex said "i don't appreciate being ditched like a bad date" and to my shock and dismay i found myself agreeing with this new character... mulder WAS being unreasonable... i mean we knew he's been moody lately but this was downright hostile

(mulder walks in while scully puts an organ into a scale) "spleen or pancreas?" "stomach" <- LMAO his ass did NOT pass anatomy!

and they're all so smiley and happy to see each other when. scully sees this man behind him. and her smile fades SO fast.

(he tries to shake her hand but given that her hands are covered in stomach she wisely brushes him by. it may have seemed like a diss but i assume he doesn't want gore on his hands)

alex is GAGGING over the body (me too) so mulder gets realllllll close to scully to block out his amateur hour buffoonery...

(y'all need to not be that close and looking at each other in such a manner in front of a dead guy... or do it more for my sake)

she's whispering that it seems his body believed he burned to death despite there being no burns on him!

we see another guy with a same scar on his neck as the first!!! he knows the first guy and it seems initially that their reunion is wholesome... until preacher (scar man one) admits to killing the sleep doctor... and then things get... wild

"holy fuck", i mumbled to myself while also writing down the same phrase in my notes, as a blood soaked family appeared in the room, shooting the character we just met for his crimes. that escalated with an extreme quickness. it was clear that whatever traumas he had inflicted upon others in vietnam were being returned in equal measure via the psychic force of this preacher character

then we go back to mulder and alex, who i thought was handling mulder's hater energy quite well, all things considered. but little did i know what was to come...

so sleep doctor, the guy who just died, and preacher all knew each other... interesting... they were stationed at basic training together...

we get a visual on mulder's new source after deep throat's passing! he says he has no desire to be there, and that their mutual friend deep throat died for what he believed in, which he does not want to do. which is of course totally fair. at the end of the day the FBI is just a paycheck for some of these folks.

the sleep doctor was revealed to be doing experiments to make super advanced soldiers who don't need sleep so maybe that gives you the power to kill people magically. we can't really rule it out.

preacher then makes two cops kill EACH OTHER with his sorcery

back to scully cam <3 she's got her glasses on at the computer <3 she's got little yellow earrings in that look like flowers <3 and she thinks its so cool that they cut part of this guy's brain out and now he hasn't slept in 24 years... nerd

they're on the phone with each other and it is SO SAD because why. why can't they just be together! it's not fair. she says it sounds like his new partner is working out and he's like yeah he's okay...

"must be nice to not have someone poking holes in all your theories" "yeah, no idea how i put up with you for so long" and they're smiling into the phone while saying this

now, i won't lie. this scene, of all the scenes, was the first to bring tears to my eyes in the course of my streaming this show. because now we have seen what they'll do for each other and they're TAUNTING me by dangling it in front of my face. and i cannot stand it. i feel sick at the thought.

anyway back to mulder and his new partner. who i feel is too good to be true because he's willing to believe spooky mulder's theories. but they found another guy who also had the sleep surgery and he tells them that they went on a rampage committing atrocities in vietnam which was. very heavy for the alien show. but it is something that americans often pretend just didn't happen so i thought it was interesting that the idea of accountability was being explored in fiction.

so there's one more guy involved with the sleep surgery, and he's coming into town, so alex and mulder have to sprint down to the station and try and find him. they're really giving it a sprint, too. mulder is a track star. don't think i've forgotten

and mulder does see the guy they're looking for but preacher is behind him and shoots mulder! he falls to the ground! no, i yelled to my screen! not another bullet in mulder!

... but he gets up. the whole thing was a trick of preacher! it never actually happened!

alex is like dude wtf. and this is where he says "i want to believe" and this where i made the very astute note "i don't trust this guy, sorry"

so finally they find preacher still alive, and mulder tells alex to help out his victim, while mulder runs off to find him. mulder sees how much pain he is in, and tells him that maybe his pain can lessen if he testifies about what was done to him, and it seems they've come to an understanding...

until alex enters, pulls his gun up, so preacher also pulls his gun up, and alex and shoots him! preacher is dead

mulder looks deeply upset by this. he tells alex that he did the right thing, but you can tell he doesn't believe it in the slightest. i would venture to guess that this is when all the trust he had begun to place in alex vanishes. he seems entirely deflated at the unnecessary loss of life.

he goes back to the car and notices someone stole the secret files that his informant gave him, and he punches the car. this is simply too many L's for one day, and i sympathize.

but scully's freaking out too, because her office was broken into and all her stuff looked through! so what in the name of hell is going on here?!?!? ah, i realize, it is this alex fool... "i know ur related somehow" i wrote ominously in my quotes

and boy, i was right! the narrative the writers were going for was not lost on me! because remember skinner's old sidekick the cigarette guy? and how they had a sort of breakup moment? well, alex is reporting to him, and they have the file he stole from mulder!!!!!

alex says that scully is a "big problem" to which i say: keep talking like that, you overgrown varsity jock, and you're gonna have a big problem with my fucking hands catching your throat

anyway, interesting episode. i didn't want to like alex and then i did because i felt bad for him for being subjected to mulder's attitude and then i hated his guts by the end and reluctantly admitted to myself that mulder's crankiness was justified. i hope he won't stick around for long but i have a feeling he will.

also, they need to stop taunting me by dangling a real mulder and scully reunion in front of my head and then ripping it away. i had TEARS! in my eyeballs! i was sighing wistfully! it was sick!!!!!! this is my free time i'm spending here pining after these fools! it's me, the fan, asking for fan service!!!