#and so many of you are from places i will socio-economically be unlikely to see in my life. but i've read your work. i've loved your art

[magdaclaire]

maybe i'll never see you in person but i can hold your art in my hands and that's pretty close

[zapgraptrash]

1) What is the character’s go-to drink order? (this one gets into how do they like to be publicly perceived, because there is always some level of theatricality to ordering drinks at a bar/restaurant) Masuyo – I just spent ages trying to like find something Safe that they’d order every time they were somewhere that does Not have Japanese things. I can’t really pin down something specific but it WOULD be something specific. Something strong, probably a whiskey. If there ARE Japanese drinks available they would actually take more time to decide on something rather than just getting something safe and easy. I feel like they’d like melon flavoured drinks

2) What is their grooming routine? (how do they treat themselves in private) Ricky – she spends the most time on picking out a hat (if not at work). She wouldn’t spend like hours getting ready before going out but she would make sure that she looks impressive, or at the very least just noticeable. In private though she’ll just wear pyjamas all day if she can. If there is nobody to see then it’s not important to spend all the effort on looking presentable. The guinea pigs won’t care lol.

3) What was their most expensive purchase/where does their disposable income go? (Gets you thinking about socio-economic class, values, and how they spend their leisure time) Zapper – guaranteed his bike(s) are the only thing he’s ever spent a lot of money at once on, he will never just drop a load of money on anything. Even the bike took saving and planning and negotiating lol. He’s one of those people who will put 10% of every paycheck into savings immediately. Most of his disposable income probably goes on things like gardening supplies or fuckin. Cleaning supplies. Or bike maintenance. And maybe committing to the bit of annoying Grappler.

4) Do they have any scars or tattoos? (good way to get into literal backstory)  Dom – her standard issue tattoo is right in the middle of her chest just because. I don’t think she’d be bothered about getting any others, maybe covering that one up with something post-trashland. But she is always covered in like, small burns and scars and shit because that happens when you like to play with fire and explosives.

5) What was the last time they cried, and under what circumstances? (Good way to get some *emotional* backstory in.)  Slyger – slyger cries most often when he’s stressed. So it was probably recently. He makes everything out to be really high stakes so it could be literally anything lol. His pc keeps crashing because skyrim has too many mods loaded. He can’t find that ONE type of salmon at the store but he KNOWS they have it. He wants to watch the new episode of the telenovela he's obsessed with but REALLY wants to watch it live and probably won’t get home in time.

6) Are they an oldest, middle, youngest or only child? (This one might be a me thing, because I LOVE writing/reading about family dynamics, but knowing what kinds of things were ‘normal’ for them growing up is important.) Jeffrey – he’s an only child of a single parent who put like All her stakes on him. Has to live up to super specific ideals and if not You Are Making Me Look Bad In Front Of The Rest Of The (surprisingly large) Family. Like this is only his mother’s side of the family too, he has cousins and second cousins all over the place. He might have some half siblings from his dad but he’ll probably never know I guess!

7) Describe the shoes they’re wearing. (This is a big catch all, gets into money, taste, practicality, level of wear, level of repair, literally what kind of shoes they require to live their life.) Thaddeus – they’re good quality leather biker boots with a bunch of decorative buckles. He spent a Lot on them and they’ll last ages, unlike the boots he used to get which were like ok but they wore out really easily and he Had to replace them because it’d fuck up his prosthetic foot otherwise. Before he lost his foot he’d just wear shoes until they disintegrated.

8) Describe the place where they sleep. (ie what does their safe space look like. How much (or how little) care / decoration / personal touch goes into it.) Granox – if slyger wasn’t around to decorate and such there wouldn’t be that much around, mostly just one or two cool things he found on the ground. Also it’d just be a mattress. Because he keeps accidentally breaking bedframes by jumping onto them and not realising how fucking dense and strong he is. Funnily enough though he actually keeps the bed made way more than slyger does. So long as it’s comfy enough he can sleep, he doesn’t Need much else.

9) What is their favorite holiday? (How do they relate to their culture/outside world. Also fun is least favorite holiday.)  Grappler – Valentine’s Day because it’s the easiest day of the year to have sex (hooking up with other single people whilst single)/easiest day of the year to commit to the bit of annoying Zapper while also being genuine about it. But also boning Zapper. It’s like a whole day where the “objective” is to show affection to your partner and tbh that is how he thinks he shows affection the best. His least favourite day is Veterans day/memorial day because he just (correctly) associates them with his dad and the US fucking around in southeast asia/his dad treating his mum as a trophy wife. He probably doesn’t like have the ability to articulate WHY he hates them so much, but his default answer is that it’s a scam that vets get 2 holidays for being pieces of shit.

10) What objects do they always carry around with them? (What do they need for their normal, day-to-day routine? What does ‘normal’ even look like for them.)  Vilius – she always has cigs, a lighter and a taser on her. maybe a knife too. Probably operates off cartoon logic since I never draw her with pockets or a bag lmao. But like she almost always has a fuckin glass of wine or something on hand. If she’s not like, inside where there are glasses to pour booze into she probably has one of those tiny little bottles of something. This is fine.jpg

[kaypeace21]

The ‘parentification’ of Jonathan Byers (psych analysis)

“Parentification is defined as the phenomenon where children take caregiving responsibilities (acting as a parent)  for their parents, siblings or other family members, at the expense of their own developmental needs.”

When can parentification occur?

1) After a “Divorce”   

“If there is more than one child in the family, usually the eldest, is “chosen” to be parentified .When a father-figure is missing, it may be the eldest son who is forced to take on his father's responsibilities.”

2) When there’s a “parent with a mental illness “

3)“Parental alcoholism or drug addiction.” (lonnie’s place covered in beer cans could allude to this).

4) “siblings with a mental illness’

5) “Death of a sibling or parent” (  This point is kind of cheating - but the fact Jon as a 15 y old had to plan a funeral, for his little brother instead of either one of his parents just illustrates how he always was forced to do adult duties much too young.)

6) “mothers of low socio-economic status, are frequently associated with parentification of their children. “

“given the fact that there are many single parent families, it falls upon children from some of these homes to carry adult responsibilities while their parent is out working. Often, in these situations, the parent is asking or expecting the child to take on adult responsibilities in their absence. They become the parent of the household in the interim between coming home from school and when the parent returns to the household.”

***TO MAKE THINGS VERY CLEAR: we are NOT hating on Joyce, here! “The harm of parentification is usually done not out of malicious intent. However, when a child who is supposed to go through their natural cycles of development and self- evolution,  is forced to grow up too quickly, there is a cost.” But, Joyce did what she had to do being a poor single mother - she had to work! Even when Lonnie was around- he had debts. And Joyce apologized to Jon for not being around when they were growing up (working since he was 5)- and she even mentioned working Hollidays . But at the end of s1, we see her celebrating Christmas eve with them (showing she’s trying to have a better work life balance for her kids and prioritize them more).  I think Will’s disappearance gave Joyce a wake-up call of sorts about what she values most-her kids.She loves her kids more than anything- and  would never intentionally do any harm. She has to work for all of them to survive and stay together. But it did force Jon to be parent to Will in her absence (especially cause Lonnie even when around wasn’t much help).

And in s3 it’s hinted Joyce plans to be there for her kids on Thanksgiving and Christmas- so she is trying to rectify past behaviors. Ok with that out of the way,  now we can continue...

 Types of Parentification 

“Parentification can either be emotional or instrumental, or both.”

“EMOTIONAL PARENTIFICATION : is when the child becomes a source of constant emotional support to their parent or sibling.Emotional parentification often involves a child or adolescent taking on the role and responsibilities of confidant, secret keeper, or emotional healer for family members.”

“ Parentification can also be the the process of role reversal where a child is obliged to act as parent to their own parent. Examples being: Listening to a parent talk about their problems.Serving as a confidante for their parent or providing emotional comfort and support to a parent.”

  “In cases of INSTRUMENTAL PARENTIFICATION: children take on practical responsibilities such as:Taking care of siblings or other relatives because a parent is unable to. Assuming housekeeping duties, such as cleaning, cooking,  grocery shopping. And Paying bills and attending to other household tasks .”

“ It’s good for kids to have responsibilities such as chores around the house or babysitting for a younger sibling. Responsibilities should increase when a child becomes a teenager to prepare them for being on their own eventually. However, when a young child is responsible for , paying the electricity bill, or raising a younger sibling, that is when problems arise.”

“Imagine a child who is bombarded every day with the responsibilities to tuck in sisters or brothers, or read them bedtime stories; organize drinks or food, wash up dishes, pay bills, or a myriad of housework. When burdened with that many responsibilities, self-care tends to go out the window. If the child continues to attend school, they may be withdrawn, unkempt, and visibly exhausted.”

“The effects are worsened and more destructive for the development of the child, the more the care-giving efforts of the child become a normalized expectation.“

 We see this in Joyce berating Jon for not parenting Will, properly (although her being upset was somewhat reasonable). But ,we also see this in how Joyce  says Jonathan has “always been good at taking care of himself.” Assuming Jon is ok, when he’s actually not. While Lonnie simply insults Will saying “he was never good at taking care of himself.”  The difference being Joyce criticizes Jon for not relying on her more. While Lonnie critiques Will for simply acting like a child and not being self-reliant, like Jonathan. Pretty heavily hinting, Lonnie even when around did very little parenting and expected the kids to take care of themselves. And since Will didn’t ‘take care of himself’ - it probably put the load on Jonathan to parent Will (when Joyce wasn’t around, even when Lonnie was physically there).

Consequences of Parentification

“ It is expected that complicated relationship patterns will develop between siblings.  The parentified sibling can often develop a symbiotic, codependent relationship with their siblings.”

“These people are very likely to find themselves in similar relational patterns in adulthood. They believe they must serve, help and rescue everyone in need. As adults, they may find that they have a confused sense of self-identity beyond the helper role. The only way they learned to relate, was through being of service and providing caregiving- so it is extremely possible that they have to be the primary caregivers for their own romantic partners . Since they never learned anything different. “

“ The ‘helper role’ might have dominated their entire being. Their sense of self did not get fully developed before they were needed to care for others, so as a result, they don’t know who they are except when they are doing things for others. “

“Parentified children can become very angry people. Sometimes this adult child may not know why they are angry . They can have explosive anger or passive anger, especially when someone triggers their parental wounds of emotional exploitation.”

“Parentified children inevitably develop a distorted image of what love is supposed to be like, thereby growing up to be quite distrustful of interpersonal relationships overall.Complicated attachment patterns emerge as a result. An avoidant attachment style is not unlikely. In the absence of a nurturing provider of safety and care, the parentified child may have learned to utterly depend on themselves alone- thereby avoiding close bonds and intimacy in adult life.intimacy is both craved for and avoided, both a longing and a great threat. Underneath this facade, they are quite lonely.”

This is similar to Jonathan not having friends, ‘not liking most people’, having ‘trust issues’ caused by Lonnie (that caused distrust of Bob, a father-figure) and simply being afraid to talk to people in general. Or joyce calling out Jonathan saying “you act like you’re all alone in this world. But your not.”

‘They also tend to blame themselves for everything that goes wrong, and constantly try to fix things that cannot be fixed.’

“The child may appear highly capable to tend for themselves and others, very mature for their age, resilient and even wise beyond their years- but they lack the safe haven of a secure attachment figure that is vital for the development of emotional regulation.”

A parentified teenager or younger child may exhibit the following symptoms:

-”Anxiety”

Like... this hurt my soul!  His face dropped the second Nancy left the room.He probably has anxiety but looks up to Joyce for trying to still be a good mom and keep it together. Why he said “WE’LL be okay” cause his mom is  “tough”.  He tries to lead by her example. But unlike Joyce, Jon probably always had to keep it together- even if struggling with similar anxiety issues as Joyce. Because he knew they both couldn’t act that way and “shut down” (for Will’s sake). He always had to put on a fake ‘grown-up’ front and keep the family together and help support Joyce and Will emotionally and finacially . And someone (unintentionally) saying the reason he’s like his mom is not because of her positive traits but because of her mental illness- must have HURT! Especially cause he’s probably already struggling with anxiety-  and maybe even fears acknowledging it. Because he’s supposed to have it ‘all together.’ “The identity of parentified children actually depends on their ability to suppress their needs. Since it is likely that their family already had too many problems to cope with, and so they learned to be quiet, voiceless and without demands. In order to be a ‘proper helper’ .“

And it probably doesn’t help he’s afraid it could escalate into something worse. Because in s1 they mentioned Joyce’s aunt having hallucinations. And jonathan even says to hopper “she used to have anxiety problems. I’m worried it could be ... I don’t know.” So yeah , Nancy saying him and Joyce have the same anxiety problems probably terrified him.

-”Depression”

-”Inability to trust others (we covered that) and or social isolation.”

-”Compulsively overworking in order to fulfill responsibilities at school and at home.”

-”Feelings of guilt and shame.”

“Fortunately, there are many healing processes and routes to wholeness and recovery for a young adult or adult who has been parentified as a child.Acknowledgment of your past is the first step to healing and recovery (via therapy or other means). You have to accept the truth of your story. Because, if you continue to live in denial, your mental energy will be spent in suppressing the pain that was there, rather than healing what needs to be healed. Being highly self-reliant was your only option in your household , but it may be a strategy that no longer works for you. It keeps you in isolation and unable to connect with others. Therefore, challenging yourself to connect with others authentically would also be considered one of the most potent ways to heal. The thoughts, feelings, impressions, and emotions buried within are waiting to be heard, once and for all.  “

Alright, thanks for listening I hope you enjoyed.  I really wanted to do a psych analysis strictly based on what the show presents. Rather than inclusion of the s4 movies. I did mention how those movies did allude to Jonathan’s parentification, here (if interested though). I also didn’t go into the hints in the narrative of Lonnie possibly being s****lly abusive to Jonathan cause it’s a bit more speculative ( I did talk about it in my DID psych analyses pt 1 & pt 2 though). Only mentioning it here, at the end, since one of the causes of parentification is also a parent s****lly ab*sing their kids (quite literally stripping their kids of their entire childhood in every way imaginable- and frankly the worst way possible). Regardless,I think most people neglect Jonathan as a character- and the s4 movies hint we’ll finally get more focus on him in the upcoming seasons. So I wanted to dedicate a post to some of Jonathan’s issues that may get more attention in later seasons.

[mrs-nate-humphrey]

So not to be dramatic, but if you could get a degree in discourse-ology, the topic of my master’s thesis would definitely be “Which political candidates did the characters of the CW’s Gossip Girl (2007-2012) support?” I’m doing this in order from most to least obvious, and considering both the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.

[ little ivy interjection here: i haven’t changed ANYTHING, except adding a screencap of the title + the submission, because that made me laugh & more people deserve to see it, and putting this under a read more because that’s how i generally try & organise stuff on this blog. so this submission is exactly as it was when i received it! also while we’re at it, anon, this MADE my day.]

Blair Waldorf: “Hillary Clinton is one of my role models. I do not break treaties, you ass!” (04x13) There’s no question that Blair would go hard for Hillary in 2016, she praised her on multiple occasions throughout the series. Blair’s a classic American neoliberal, third wave Democrat-type: she’s decently progressive when it comes to social policies, and would be decidedly supportive of causes like gay marriage, racial equity, and women’s reproductive rights, but she’s still very much in favor of maintaining the status quo when it comes to capitalism and the hegemonic structure of power that, lets face it, heavily favors her own class interests. To use the American healthcare system as an example: Blair would have been all for the Affordable Care Act, and is largely supportive of the idea of creating a public option - but single payer, nationalized health care? It just wouldn't work in a country like the United States for “X” reason (although the real reason, deep down, is that she doesn’t want to see her tax rate go up in any meaningful way). So she’s thoroughly for Clinton in both the 2016 primaries and the general election, she maybe even comes out with a line of high-end “I’m With Her” merchandise if she’s still CEO of Waldorf Designs, and is personally heartbroken when Clinton loses.

Flash forward to the 2020 primaries. Blairhates Donald Trump, like emotionally, viscerally hates him - his misogyny, his incompetence, and his blatant tackiness are a direct repudiation of her beliefs, and the fact that he’s representing Manhattan society and the Upper East Side to the world in such a godawful way is frankly embarrassing. So in a certain sense, her strategy, like frankly many Americans at the time going into the 2020 Democratic primaries is, “Which one of these candidates has the greatest chance at beating Donald Trump?” I see Blair being rather conflicted at first, but ultimately going for either Amy Klobuchar or Kamala Harris. She has a certain admiration for Elizabeth Warren given her professional background, but her policies are a bit too progressive for someone like Blair. Buttigeg is fine, but not especially thrilling. Biden, quite frankly, doesn’t seem like he has any real chance at winning, although I think he’d be Blair’s third choice after Harris and Klobuchar. I can see her leaning more towards Harris ultimately - although, after the “Amy Klobuchar throws staplers at her interns!!” rumors start spreading, Blair cannot help but, at a personal level, kind of respect her for that. When Biden unexpectedly takes South Carolina and then the Democratic nomination, Blair is a bit disappointed, but not overly so, and quickly marshals her financial resources into supporting and fundraising for him for the remainder of the election. At least it’s not Sanders - or Bloomberg. As a New Yorker, of course Blair’s opinion is “Fuck Michael Bloomberg”.

Chuck Bass: Now here’s where it gets interesting. Chuck, as you said, isn’t stupid - there’s no way he falls for the “build the wall” crap or any of Trump’s rhetoric, he knows it’s a bullshit farce and sees right through it. But you know what he definitely is? Deeply greedy and deeply selfish. I’m hardly the first person to point this out, but Chuck Bass is, in many ways, the fictional equivalent of the Donald Trumps and Michael Bloombergs and Brett Kavanaughs of the world - new money billionaire who inherited his wealth from his father working in the real estate industry, who despite his lack of business acumen and deeply problematic history with women, has managed to coast through life failing upwards with absolutely no social or legal accountability? I mean, back in 2010, Forbes Magazine actually did a real interview with the fictional Chuck Bass in which they outright compare him to Donald Trump. I couldn’t tell you if the Gossip Girl writers meant to write Chuck as their Trump analogue - I mean, they did invite Jared and Ivanka onto the show, after all - but the parallels are just too strong to ignore. All of which is to say, not only did Chuck Bass vote for Donald Trump, he held exclusive political fundraisers for him and was probably a substantial donor to his campaign. Now, did Chuck distance himself publicly over time as the political climate became increasingly caustic and public sentiment towards Trump plummeted even further? Perhaps, perhaps not. It really depends on if the board of Bass Industries felt like being connected to Trump was a liability or an asset - but privately, I imagine Chuck once again voted for him in 2020, because the one policy Donald Trump did effectively execute during his tenure in office was massive tax cuts for billionaires, and for someone like Chuck Bass, that’s the only political policy that really matters. He wouldn’t wear a red hat and wouldn’t be caught dead within sniffing distance of a MAGA rally and the hoi polloi, but dude is basically the image of what the kind of rich conservatives backing the Trump administration for personal gain look like. On the off chance that the distastefulness of it all got to be a little much for even Chuck post-2016, perhaps he might switch his vote to Bloomberg. But I highly doubt Chuck would be politically invested in anything other than his own wallet to such an extent that he wouldn’t vote for Trump, no matter how much it would no doubt completely infuriate Blair.

Dan Humphrey: As the unofficial king of the hipsters, Dan has been a Sanders supporter since before it was cool. Seriously, Bernie Sanders appeals to Dan intrinsically on every level - his policies, his rhetoric, even his aesthetic - the rumpled old man with wild hair wearing mittens and railing against the upper class is the sort of thing that’s basically political catnip for someone like Dan Humphrey. Not only would Dan vote for Sanders in both the 2016 and 2020 primaries, he’d go out and be one of the celebrities campaigning for him. This would definitely lead to him butting heads with Blair, and she would no doubt call him out on supporting someone like Sanders when Dan himself is now a millionaire, who made his money from writing stories about the upper class. The fact that in 2017 he apparently gets married to Serena, a billionaire heiress, and may or may not have been engaged to her back in 2016 when the Democratic primaries were happening might cause him a bit of cognitive dissonance, but really, just because he’s climbed up the socio-economic ladder now doesn’t mean his values have really changed, have they? (Debatable.) In any case, in both the 2016 and 2020 general elections, Dan would definitely vote for Clinton and Biden respectively - although he’d be significantly more disgruntled about it than Blair would be switching from Harris to Biden. I don’t think Dan would be a “Bernie bro” in the way that term is used, but he’d definitely chafe against Clinton’s past policy decisions, and would probably make some snippy Tweets about her during the election. Nevertheless, once it became clear that Trump was going to be the Republican nominee and was a serious threat, I think Dan would change his tone and start encouraging his fans and followers to vote for Clinton. Likewise, in 2020, Dan would probably become one of the Sanders supporters doing outreach for Biden, having become more politically pragmatic following the experience of living under the Trump administration.

Vanessa Abrams: Much like Dan, Vanessa is a progressive, although unlike Dan, Vanessa’s activism is more focused around specific issues and less around specific politicians. I can see Dan and Vanessa being in roughly the same place in 2016, and given that the only real choices were between Sanders and Clinton in the primaries (RIP to Martin O'Malley), Vanessa would no doubt go for Sanders. Whereas Dan might campaign for Sanders directly however, Vanessa would instead focus her time and resources around advocacy for specific causes that are important to her, like climate change and racial justice, and would probably use her platform as a filmmaker and documentarian to advance those causes. I could very much see her getting involved with movements like Black Lives Matter and organizations like the Sunrise Movement, and taking part in protests, marches, and sit-ins. When the 2020 Democratic primaries come around, I could see her possibly switching from Sanders to Warren for a while (and Dan would definitely argue with her about it if she did), but I can also see her switching back to Sanders after Warren amended her support for single-payer, “Medicare for All”. She’d definitely vote for Clinton and Biden in the generals, but not enthusiastically.

Nate Archibald: For someone whose family business is politics and who, in 2017, is apparently a candidate in the New York City mayoral election, Nate seems to be rather removed from politics. As Vanessa puts it in 02x19, “The only thing Nate’s ever voted for is American Idol.” Still, as Editor-in-Chief of The Spectator, Nate kind of has to have an opinion, and in that respect, I see him gravitating towards the type of center-left “establishment” candidates that he and his family would no doubt have close ties with. In the Gossip Girl universe, the Vanderbilts are portrayed as being a lot like the Kennedys, and I think Nate’s policies as a mayoral candidate would really reflect that. In 2016, he would vote for Hillary Clinton in both the primaries and the generals without much of a second thought - after all, she’s the obvious choice, and there’s no way a candidate like Donald Trump could actually beat her, right? Actually, optimistically, maybe that’s why Nate decides to jump into the mayoral race in 2017 - previously, he had been for all intents and purposes politically apathetic, but seeing someone as genuinely vile as Donald Trump ascend to the office of the presidency stirs him out of that apathy, and he wants to make a positive difference in the only way an incredibly privileged white man from a politically prominent family knows how. So he runs as a Kennedy-esque center left candidate, further left of someone like Hillary Clinton, but more moderate than someone like Elizabeth Warren - sort of like Kamala Harris, now that I think about it. I have no idea if he would actually be able to beat Bill de Blasio given the major incumbency advantage de Blasio would have, but who knows. Come the 2020 Democratic primaries, I think Nate would probably just vote for whoever he believed was most likely to beat Donald Trump. I don’t see him having any sort of clear preference - maybe he would gravitate towards Biden on the basis of him being the most established candidate, or maybe he would gravitate towards Harris on the basis of her campaigning as the “moderate progressive” candidate. I could also seeing him liking Andrew Yang, come to think of it. In any case, he would most definitely support Joe Biden in the generals. How involved he’d be in supporting him really depends on whether or not Nate actually gets elected to mayor - if he was the mayor, he’d definitely endorse him and probably donate to him, but I think he’d be too wrapped up in his own political responsibilities to really do much more than that. If, however, he lost the election and was still the Editor-in-Chief of The Spectator, I can see Nate getting more involved alongside the rest of his family, officially endorsing him in The Spectator, hosting political fundraisers for him, and maybe even campaigning for him. The Vanderbilts in the Gossip Girl universe (I have no idea what the family’s actual political beliefs are in real life) definitely seem to me like they’d be Biden supporters, and I imagine they’d use their political clout to try and get Biden in, and more importantly, Trump out.

Serena van der Woodsen: Oh Serena. Look, she knows it’s important, okay? It’s just, she’s been really busy lately, and she doesn’t really like to think about politics, and hey, remember that fundraiser she did with her mom for last month’s philanthropic cause du jour? Serena’s a Democrat, vaguely, but if you tried to really pin her down on her political beliefs she’d probably just change the topic. So who does she vote for in 2016? The truth is, she doesn’t. Not in the primaries, not in the general, not at all. She meant to, okay, Blair’s definitely been pestering her to send in her mail-in-ballot for weeks, but she just got distracted and forgot. Serena really strikes me as the kind of person who doesn’t enjoy thinking or talking about politics, save for perhaps a few specific issues, and she has a sense that everything will work itself out eventually and she doesn’t really need to participate. And then the 2016 election happens, and holy shit, she didn’t vote. Blair and Dan might have spent early 2016 bickering with each other over Clinton versus Sanders, but the one thing they can definitely agree on is “What the fuck, Serena?!?!” They both reminded her like, a million times, how could she possibly forget?! Serena feels really bad about it - she didn’t think it was such a big deal, she didn’t think Donald Trump could actually win! - and so she starts overcompensating whenever the topic of politics comes up, maybe even joins Vanessa at a few protests and marches, even though she’s still sort of clueless about the actual issues at hand. She does vote in the 2018 midterms, although only in the general election - straight blue ticket, all the way down. She takes a picture of herself at the voting booth wearing an “I Voted!” sticker and posts it on Instagram, tagging both Dan and Blair in the post (who already voted weeks ago using mail-in ballots, but it’s the thought that counts). Flash forward to 2020, and she really needs to make a decision about who to vote for in the primaries… but there’s just so many choices. Everything seems so scary and stressful and real in a way now that it didn’t back in 2016, and she can’t just ignore it and assume things will work out for the best like she did back then. So who does she vote for? Well, Serena always wins, so she votes for Biden. Conspiratorially, both Dan and Blair privately wonder if her voting for Biden isn’t on some cosmic level the reason for his unexpected victory, even if they know there’s no logical way that’s possible, right? But it would be such a Serena thing to do… In any case, Serena’s just happy her candidate won, and would probably host political fundraisers for him with her mom’s circle of philanthropic friends. Assuming she and Dan are still married at this point, she offers to help him do political outreach to Sanders supporters to get them to vote for Biden, which he sweetly dissuades her from given that most Sanders supporters would probably dislike her on principle.

So that’s how, in my opinion, the main cast would vote, ordered roughly in how confident I am about that analysis. You could make the argument that perhaps some characters would vote or act differently based on whether or not they’re dating or married at the time - like, would Chuck openly fundraise for Trump when Blair is a dyed-in-the-wool Clinton supporter if they’re married? (He totally would.) But I tried to consider them purely on the merits of their personalities and values, and not on the particularities of their situations at the time (with the exception of Nate, just because him being in office or not would obviously make a huge difference in regards to how politically involved he’s going to be).

I wish I put as much effort into my actual university essays as I did on Gossip Girl political analysis.

[writingbakery]

“an andorian, a bezoid, & a tessian walk into a bar”

another one of my favorite works is here! i originally wrote this for a different fandom, & rewrote it to fit here. i’m in love with this story, it’s one of my absolute favorites; please leave me feedback about it! a second part is in the works ✨ taglist; @secondhand-trash @redbeanteax @togasknifes

[some notes: denki is an andorian, a very tall race of aliens who are very nimble, skilled silent warriors when needed. hitoshi is a bezoid, from a mining planet, broad, tough, good with any sort of weapon but mainly guns, & you are a rare species called tessian, lil shapeshifting aliens that were often sold as slaves way back in the day on illegal black markets due to their skill! ULC means universal language chip, & the fleet is my version of the interspace police! ]

[pairing; poly!shinkami x reader]

[warnings; space jokes, cussing, dangerous scenarios, extremely Buff Aliens, violence, angst, fluff]

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

if you asked hitoshi shinsou what he would describe as a perfect day, he would tell you this: waking up in his quarters on the isla bella, the smooth glide of their ship through space flowing uninterrupted. there are no parts that need replacing, no angry merchants on their tail for undelivered merchandise, nothing but the clean quiet of the stars & the faint glow of space flitting through the small window by his bed, denki fast asleep against his chest. he’d card his fingers through the andorian’s glimmering gold hair, kiss along the slope of his nose & bask in his quiet beauty. that would be a perfect day for him; lounging in bed with his freakishly tall, giggly lover without a care in the world.

the last thing he’d consider to be a perfect day is running across the burning - literally in flames burning - sand of a deserted planet with two grogorians firing photon lasers at his skinny ass, skidding between the roaring flames of the ground beneath him & the sting of the lasers with denki screaming unintelligible commands & curses in his ear via comm. he’d consider that a bottom of the barrel kind of day.

you can probably guess which kind of day he’s having.

cursing under his breath as he slips between the burning flames, he does a cursory peek around the open desert, eyes searching for the opening that denki was furiously insisting “was right there, hitoshi shinsou for the love of god open those damn sultry bezoid eyes and LOOK” - he refuses to acknowledge the compliment, focused on the seven million fucking grains of sand & his boyfriends panicked voice in his ear when he finally spots it. a haze in the heavy heated air, almost like a mirage, a split in the vast landscape that led down somewhere dark, hidden. he lets out a sigh of relief loud enough for denki to hear, a sign that he’d found the entrance, before a photon blast skims just past his ear, leaving a three inch skidded burn across his cheek.

oh right. the grogorians.

stealing from the grogorians was the stupidest goddamn idea denki had ever come up with, which was saying a lot; once, he’d thought the seven suns on Naboor all rose & fell at the same time, shrieking in hitoshi’s ear about “planetary instability” & “socio-economic collapse” for a full ten minutes before he saw the suns rising & falling one after the other, in turns. that had been a field day, not one hitoshi was eager to repeat. the grogorians were fiercely territorial, completely tucked away from modern civilization & technology, & were at least seven feet tall. you could fit two shinsous in one of their chests; he wasn’t quite ready to see that up close.

ducking & weaving across the barren landscape, he slides through the slit in the ground with practiced ease; he’s run for his miserable life far too many times at this point. he can hear the grogorians shouting above the hole in the ground, too big for them to pass through, & he winces as his ULC - universal language chip, something kaminari had insisted he get implanted- deciphers the strangled words into curses he can understand. he’s really glad his parents are dead, because whatever blood curses the grogorians are spitting at his family tree sound awful.

the cavernous tunnels he’s slid down into are cool, spacious; coned lights illuminate the rocky path deeper & deeper into the planet. its all but deserted, the only inhabitants the two grogorian guards he’d narrowly escaped from. denki’s voice filters in through the comm again, calmer now that hitoshi was safely inside.

“we’ve got twenty minutes max before their distress signal goes through,” the andorian warns him, tracking the surrounding space around the planet from the isla bella. “follow the main tunnel straight through. the crown should be there. ten minutes to get there, i phase you straight out, we fucking book it into warp drive & we’ll be seven million credits richer by tomorrow morning. and you can finally treat me to dajang.”

hitoshi rolls his eyes despite the fact that denki can’t actually see him, trudging through the tunnels a little wearily. “remind me again why i always have to be the one getting shot to hell & back?” he grumbles as he walks, no real heat to his voice.

“you love my ass too much to risk it getting shot at, baby you know that,” denki laughs through the comm, ever poking fun at hitoshi’s expense & he’s sure to give the andorian a long, drawn out sigh before switching off the comm & pushing further into the darkness.

denki’s right though, hitoshi muses as he moves, his eyes glinting violet in the lamplight. the bezoid would rather die than see denki in any veritable danger, keeps him up on the ship to guide him & yank his ass out at the first inkling of a problem.

he’d been protecting the stupidly tall, wildly cheery andorian from the first day they’d met, cooped up in some stuffy bar off V-7. he’d had absolutely zero self-preservation skills even then, picking a fight with a damned Dervisian of all people, just because the man had insulted his shirt. hitoshi, not overly fond of watching handsome morons get punched in the face by meatsacks twice their size - & maybe he appreciates the long, toned legs & pretty face a little more than he lets on - steps in with ease, no matter how short he feels between the two of them. the dervisian cracks a height joke, because he’s an asshole, denki stabs him in the shoulder with a four inch dagger he pulls out of his too tight pants - & of course hitoshi spends far too long wondering just how he managed to fit it in the first place, mind all fuzzy - & they somehow manage to kick off an interspace bar fight. wonderful.

once the dust has settled & the chaos calmed, hitoshi finds himself with three new bruises, a cut cheek, & an armful of very grateful andorian.

“i hear the fleets coming. wanna get married?” denki wiggles his eyebrows suggestively, & hitoshi chokes on his own spit.

“what for? they’re keepers of the peace, not wedding officials,” he manages, glaring up at the - stupidly tall, stupidly pretty - andorian that’s managed to wrap himself into his arms.

“if you’re married they can’t deport you. i’d really like to avoid interspace jail,” denki winces, & hitoshi snorts.

“or we could run, like normal deviants of the law,” he points out, much to denki’s chagrin.

“and where is the fun in that?” the andorian pouts, & hitoshi knows he’s screwed.

four years, seven interspace incidents, four run ins with the fleet, & one rusting junktrap of nuts & bolts they called a ship later, they were inseparable. one complete idiot with a penchant for charming the pants off everyone around them & simultaneously launching them into trouble, & his over exasperated, eternally exhausted boyfriend, who was consistently saving his ass. they were an unlikely duo, but they worked like magic, & despite the fact that he had to risk his ass every damn day, hitoshi was pretty happy. him & denki made a little solar system all their own, a shining sun & its orbiting planet, & he likes that. he’s happy.

as happy as a thief for hire could be, really.

the problem with their particular profession, however, is that denki is basically one big ass radar for trouble. if something can go wrong, it will go wrong, disastrously so, & hitoshi is always caught in the middle of it, fleeing for his life with someone shooting at his ass (it’s always his ass, & he can never understand why. )

it’s for that reason, & that reason only, that hitoshi is the one creeping down the dark, deep tunnel, his nerves frayed as he keeps his eyes trained on every nook & cranny surrounding him. he can see the faint glow of an upcoming room ahead & hurries his pace, eager to grab the crown & escape, maybe finally treat denki to that dajang he’d been whining about - he’d never been fond of the strangely shimmery, horned fish, but if it made denki happy, he wasn’t going to complain.

the tunnel opens up into a small, brightly lit room, warm & pulsing with energy. the grogorians kept the crown here for good reason, the sheer amount of dead souls crafted into the metal & jewels enough to make anyone’s skin crawl. hitoshi gingerly steps closer, hands twitching at his sides as he moves into the light and - wait a minute.

wait a goddamn minute.

there’s a person on the raised pillar, small & decidedly not threatening. your little body is curled loosely around the crown, shivering gently, & hitoshi realizes several things all at once:

one, the tiny body is a tessian, and a young one at that, a couple years younger than himself.

two, the grogorians have definitely arrived earlier than scheduled. fuck. he clicks on his comm to hear denki screaming incoherently about danger, & winces heavily.

great.

third, the booming, heavy rumbles of the grogorian ship - & denki’s frantic yelling - has woken you up, the little tessian, arms still caging the crown close to your chest as though seeking out its warmth.

up close, hitoshi can see a smattering of pink freckles dusted across your honey gold cheeks, bright, messy hair falling into big, bright eyes. you yawn, then blink, eyes flashing & settling into a light, rosy pink at the same time your little fluffy ears twitch atop your head, a matching color to your eyes. your tail twitches slightly, four light gold rings wrapped around it, & it’s obvious you’re about young adult age. you yawn again, a tiny, unfiltered squeak escaping you at the sight of hitoshi in front of you.

you’re absolutely adorable. hitoshi is absolutely fucked.

dimly, he registers denki’s panicked shouts & the shaking of the tunnel walls, can feel the ground trembling beneath him, & he snaps out of his reverie to glance at the crown again. said crown is tucked up against your torn shirt, tessian hands - so delicate, so cute - keeping it close.

“hey, hey! don’t touch that! there’s like, eight thousand dead people in there,” hitoshi scolds before he can think, & you simply cock your head, confusion written all over your face.

“no, don’t squeeze it tighter - stop it! hey! are you even listening?” he seethes, reaching out a hand to snatch the crown away. you shift back quickly, frowning just as deep as hitoshi as you hug the crown even closer. it’s clear you can’t understand a word hitoshi is saying, & the grogorians have started some sort of blasting contest right outside the caverns.

great.

hitoshi swears under his breath, racking his brain for any sort of solution. “hitoshi shinsou, you are ASKING to die, they’re blowing the fucking cave open! can i phase you out yet? you too busy admiring that handsome face of yours in the stupid crown’s fucking reflection?” denki sounds hysterical, voice on the verge of near meltdown & hitoshi knows he’s out of time.

he’s got two options: stay & deal with the grogorians, or run.

he runs.

leaning forward, he tucks both hands under your armpits & yanks you forward, tosses you over his shoulder, & books it out of the tunnel.

he can barely hear anything over the blood rushing in his ears, your tessian wails, & one denki kaminari screeching like the world’s ending.

“phase me out phase me out PHASE ME OUT-“ he’s shouting above the din, phaser blasts surrounding him on all sides, & he doesn’t stop running until he feels the familiar pins & needles of the transporter, turning them into a mess of glittering gold dots that wink out just as a grogorian fires right where hitoshi’s head had been.

he slams into the floor of the isla bella with a groan, denki immediately in front of him. he sits up slow, careful not to shift too abruptly & disrupt the reanimation process, when denki snatches you right out of his arms.

“hitoshi what the fuck, you were only supposed to grab the crown, not adorable little tessians! and what were you doing down there, young alien?” denki has gone into full andorian mode, pinching your little tessian cheeks as he sits you in his lap - hitoshi’s just glad he’s got the sense not to do that to him.

you still can’t seem to understand, tilting your fluffy bright head of hair as you stare up at denki. you chirp, then hum, one hand reaching up to pet denki’s head, before smiling brightly.

denki coos. hitoshi snorts.

“i found them sleeping on the crown. they can’t understand us, they don’t have a ULC, so i just grabbed ‘em & ran,” hitoshi explains, getting up to ensure that they were in hyperspace, blasting millions of lightyears away from the grogorians. he chances another glance at the tessian sat comfortably in denki’s lap; you’re a little dirty, clearly having been stranded in the caverns a few days.

denki frowns at hitoshi’s back, brushing over the phaser burn on the ass of his pants with one hand as he speaks.

“the poor thing must be terrified, being surrounded by all that. switch your ULC to interpret mode, at least we’ll be able to understand them, & talk to them,” denki says quietly; looking down at the fluffy bundle of tessian in his arms. hitoshi can already see the gears turning in his head.

once they’ve switched settings, denki speaks.

“what’s your name, sweetheart?” he asks softly, clearly trying to make you comfortable.

the series of chirps & coos you let out shift almost in midair, turning themselves into words that hitoshi can actually understand.

“[y/n]? [y/n l/n]? oh that’s so cute! tell us, [y/n], why were you down there all by yourself?” denki prods, voice still soothing & calm. you, the tessian - [y/n], hitoshi thinks, too precious - sit up a bit, animatedly speaking now that they can understand you better. the squeaks & chirps are downright adorable, & hitoshi has to look away from flailing hands & a sunbeam smile to center himself again.

“and what were the lot of you thinking, sneaking down there? your whole little tribe, just gone, huh? i’m so sorry, sweetheart,” denki winces, & hitoshi can sympathize - tessian tribes were tight-knit little groups, & losing them meant a death sentence for whoever was left behind. they were pack creatures, always in need of others. hitoshi can see the gears turning, & he speaks before the andorian can.

“no, denki.”

“toshi! look at them, aren’t they the cutest thing you’ve ever seen! we have to keep them!” denki all but wails, pulling you so close to his chest that your cheeks squish together. you don’t seem concerned in the slightest, just giggle against denki’s face. hitoshi’s resolve weakens a little.

“we’ve got no space, denks, not to mention we’re not exactly the safest group for them to latch onto,” hitoshi protests weakly, even as the andorian pouts at him.

“we can’t just leave them alone, they’re so small, & no one will protect them!” denki is dangerously close to tears, & hitoshi never does well with a crying denki. he opens his mouth to protest again, try & make his point, but just then you yawn again, slow & long, the tiniest of squeaks escaping you & when you open your eyes again, they’re gold just like denki’s hair, your ears matching.

hitoshi’s determination evaporates.

“fine, fine, we can keep them. but if anything happens to them, it's your fault,” he grumbles, settling into the pilot's chair to monitor their progress.

denki cheers. you chirp happily.

hitoshi bangs his head on the control panel.

what have i gotten myself into this time, he thinks dully, but deep down, he knows he doesn’t mind. not too much.

───── ⋆✩⋆ ─────

after finally managing to pry the crown out of your hands & delivering it to the client - hitoshi doesn’t even wanna know what the creepy old Lavastian wanted with it, he’d had to take three showers under the hydrospray to get the itch off his skin - they’ve set a course for the driard system, to rest before their next assignment. being that their work schedule is so…flexible, it gives the trio a little time to get adjusted. and by adjusted, hitoshi means getting used to having you, a fluffy little alien, hanging off him at all hours of the day.

he’d thought that denki was clingy, the andorian typically seeking out hitoshi’s hands to hold or shoulders to rest his head. his people were affectionate that way, much different than hitoshi’s bezoid counterparts. he’d adjusted though, sacrificed personal space & eventually, had grown both used to & comfortable with having denki draped over him like a blanket at all times.

[y/n l/n] is an entirely different species - literally & figuratively.

firstly, you’re a clinger. where denki lounges, you squeeze with - surprisingly - strong arms & legs, wrapped around hitoshi’s frame like a verealis vine.

you’re so touchy you’ve got denki beat, & the pair of you seem stuck in some sort of exceedingly needy, relentless cuddle war. hitoshi’s got his money on you, even if he doesn’t admit it.

secondly, you’re scarily helpful. you seem to turn up right when hitoshi needs something adjusted deep in the ship, or when denki can’t seem to locate something correctly on their navigational screen. you’ll shapeshift into a teeny, tiny ragran rat to scurry through chambers & fix a wire, or tap on the control panel just so to show the correct star system, & its quite frankly impressive.

hitoshi’s starting to think you were made for them, just a little.

normally he leaves the sappy shit to denki, the andorian’s well flowered language easily explaining all his emotions & thoughts. but there’s something about the little tessian that shakes him up a little, changes the dynamic. denki doesn’t mind one bit.

he relishes in hitoshi’s newfound sweetness, even if it’s just a “that wasn’t completely awful, great job, babe,” or “you know, that shirt isn’t as hideous as i thought. brings out your eyes.” he knows hitoshi is simply trying his best, knows that words never got very far on his home planet.

you like that he’s quiet though, for some reason. you chirp & chatter enough for the both of you whenever you’re together, silly stories of whatever disasters you & denki had gotten into on the ship - hitoshi’s suspicious you’re both responsible for the six broken panels along the corridors, impromptu games of touch & go be damned - or telling him memories of your time on Tessero, your home planet. you’ve got an easy way of speaking, soft & languid & it calms him down like no other, settling into his bones & dimming the chaos in his mind for a little while.

your cuddliness extends even to when you’re asleep, tucked up neatly between denki & hitoshi in the big bed of their quarters. you’re a calm sleeper, curl up tight into a little ball with the pair of them draped over you, like a tiny tessian heater. it’s sweet & soft & so fucking domestic that hitoshi has a hard time believing it sometimes. he’d even started pressing kisses into the top of your head as he moved along the ship, much like the gentle ones he presses to denki’s lips. he’s not scared by it, per say, but he is a little surprised; he’d always been a little closed off, reserved. you had snuck up on him swiftly, without him even realizing. he finds he rather likes it.

the few days of travel before you reach the driard system are calm, simple evenings of dinner & talking together as you all soak up the simplicity of space. somehow, it’s comforting. you’re a twinkling, bright little star amidst their solar system, & hitoshi likes that. a shining sun, its orbiting planet, & the brightest little star.

───── ⋆✩⋆ ─────

everything goes to shit once they step foot on Ovalia 7.

the leisure planet is tucked at the edge of the star system, a quiet haven for those always on the move. it’s denki’s favorite place to go after a successful deal, & they serve the best dajang this side of the galaxy. hitoshi likes that no one ever speaks to them there, everyone wrapped up in their own little vacations.

denki books them a room at their usual spot, ignoring the innkeepers curious glance at the request - one big bed, a nice tub, window view, & hitoshi’s certain he thinks you’re all a couple. the thought doesn’t bother him, & he realizes with a jolt that they act like one, all three of them. they cuddle & hug & kiss, & hitoshi sits on that a moment before shrugging it away. if denki didn’t mind it, neither did he, & he focuses once more on relaxing.

they’ve just settled into a local restaurant, plates full of dajang & ocuro & everything else that tickle their fancy when hitoshi hears it. heavy steps, familiar ones, although he can’t quite place it in the haze of relaxation. he ignores it in favor of feeding you some of his mulrag, the spiced meat a clear favorite with your tessian palate & he can’t help his grin. he lets denki feed him a warm bite of dajang, rolling his eyes at the andorian’s little smile & affectionate pinch of hitoshi’s cheek. everything is nice, sweet & lazy in the warm air.

and then all hell breaks loose.

eight of the biggest fucking grogorians hitoshi’s ever seen in his life burst through the door, weapons armed & faces set in such hostile expressions that everyone is scattering. denki hauls you up & to his side, dragging hitoshi by the collar until you’re all crouched behind the bar, hidden from view. “i should’ve known they’d track us,” he all but whines, peeking over the wooden edge of the bar. a photon shot quickly makes him duck down again, cursing lightly. “plan?” he asks behind clenched teeth, tugging you closer.

hitoshi pauses, weighs his options.

“the two of you book it to the ship. i’m going to distract them,” he says quickly, thinking back to the conversations he’d been eavesdropping on earlier - thieves never took a real vacation, always on the lookout for something new to snatch.

two very drunk, loud Avarians had been seated just behind them, rambling on about the very expensive, very valuable statue hidden deep in the recesses of the abandoned temple just off the main road. many had tried to steal it, but had always gotten stuck deep in the underground channels trying to escape. the elders guarding it weren’t exactly friendly either.

a plan starts to form in his head, one that would both enrich them & save their asses from this absolute mess. he’s quite proud of himself, if he’s honest.

then a bottle explodes just above his head, & he jolts into action.

he fires a few warning shots at the wall behind the grogorians, turning & racing out the door in a clear attempt to lead them out. the grogorians take the bait easily, & he races down the road towards the temple as you and denki sneak out the back of the restaurant.

the temple is huge, dusty & a little worn around the edges. the priests guarding the door take one look at hitoshi shinsou, panting & shooting over his shoulder at several grogorians & lose it, screeching & running for cover just as he’d expected. he pushes through the open door with the hostile aliens right at his footsteps, racing through the dark corridors deeper & deeper into the bowels of the temple. halfway down denki clicks onto the comm, hastily spitting directions & instructions as the grogorians start shooting again. “this is all your fucking fault! i told you stealing from them was an awful idea!” hitoshi shrieks as a laser just misses his shoulder, ducking as he runs.

“oh sure, blame me for making sure we stay employed!” denki shrieks right back, your chirping frantically frantically filling the background.

hitoshi feels the heat of another photon bullet just barely graze against his ass as he books it down the narrow hallway, cursing every single god & denki kaminari for the absolute mess he’s been roped into. over the comm link he can hear the andorian yelling muted commands as he leads hitoshi through the vast hallways, the relic just within arms reach.

“i’ll phase you out once you have it!” denki starts, before hitoshi starts shouting again.

“i’m not gonna PHASE through solid rock, denki! just hold off, i’m coming!” he yells through the comm, feet skidding across the rough terrain as he snatches the little gold statue right off the podium. concerned little chirps & squeaks flood the comm, & hitoshi halts all his movements to swear loudly.

“[y/n l/n], you keep your adorable little ass on the ship, you hear me? don't even THINK about it-“ the ground shakes with another blast, the heavy yelling creeping from the farthest corridor.

hitoshi curses every single god & denki kaminari twice. and then he runs.

the maze of corridors gets more & more confusing as he bolts through them, solely relying on denki’s guidance in his ear & the gunfire right on his heels. finally, finally he can see sunlight again, pushing through the open door & stumbling into the street again - right into the waiting trap of about ten grogorian soldiers.

great.

they’d cornered him on both ends, trapping him in their space. denki’s shouting frantically, something about shield interference & blocking & hitoshi’s stomach sinks; they’ve got him.

“go to warp drive.” his voice is so sharp it shocks denki right out of his panicked rambling, the comm quiet.

then a furious “what the fuck did you just say hitoshi shinsou? we’re not leaving you-“

“take [y/n], & go to warp, denki! go, i can hold them off for a little while! the verlo sector, it’s rural enough that they can’t track you!” he bites out, eternally grateful that the grogorians don’t have ULC’s. he eyes them for a moment, takes a breath.

“i love you, denki kaminari, you crazy motherfucker. i love you. i love you too, [y/n]. take care of him for me,” he says softly, lets himself choke up a little, grants himself that one weakness. then he clicks his comm off, draws both his guns, & snarls. “let’s go, assholes! i don’t have damn day!” he shouts, keeps his voice level & confident.

and then he starts firing.

left, right, over his shoulder, he’s never shot so many times in his life, & its still not enough. there’s grogorians on every side, dodging every blast & hitoshi’s resigned himself to dying on this shithole lesiure planet, never seeing denki’s stupid bright smile again, or hearing your laugh.

and then he hears it, loud & wild & it makes both his heart soar & stomach sink.

“STOP SHOOTING MY BOYFRIEND YOU FUCKING JACKASSES!”

there stands denki kaminari in all his andorian glory, six foot six of anger & pent up chaotic energy standing just off the side of the gunfire. he gives hitoshi one big, blinding smile before he’s shooting right alongside him, the pair of them back to back as they fire.

“where’s [y/n]?” hitoshi calls over the sounds of the blasters, too emotional & charged up to address the fact that denki came to save him, denki who always, always stayed on the ship.

“i told them to monitor us from up there! once we take out these shields i can phase us up, i brought the control sleeve!” denki yells back, twisting & ducking as the grogorians rain fire on them.

the pair of them are deadly, lethal even, taking down one hostile alien after another until their guns run out. hitoshi curses at the dead weapon, tossing it to the side as he prepares to fight the remaining six grogorians hand to hand. beside him, denki gets into a similar stance, eyes narrowed sharply in defense.

“enough!” a voice bellows, harsh & loud, ringing out across the entirety of the street. hitoshi pauses, dread building up in the pit of his stomach. the grogorians part, & he hears denki gasp beside him.

the grogorian leader steps out slowly, every step sending a thundering rumble across the land. “you steal from us, fight us at every turn. your intolerance is shameful,” the alien snarls, fury written all over his face. hitoshi doesn’t point out that the grogorians stole that particular relic from the Astonians, & the fact that they’d been chased, not chasing. he has a feeling the man wouldn’t appreciate his sentiments.

“i will kill you myself ! your arrogance knows no bounds!” the alien thunders, hands reaching for the sword tucked into his belt. its easily the size of hitoshi’s entire body, & his blood runs cold.

“since we’re about to die, it’s time i fess up. i’m the one who broke your music box,” denki whispers behind him, hands clinging tight to the back of hitoshi’s shirt.

“oh for god's sake you idiot, we’re about to die & that’s what you tell me?”

“i’ve always loved your ass in these pants. skinny or not, they give you shape,” denki says tearily, & hitoshi nearly screams.

“denki shut up, for the love of space - stop fondling my ass, we’re about to die-“

a set of angry, loud chirps interrupt them all, the grogorian leader turning & snarling. hitoshi stops breathing.

there, in all your tiny tessian glory, stands you, [y/n l/n], clad in hitoshi’s favorite leather pants & denki’s too big sweater. your eyes are narrowed, an expression of pure fury on your face that hitoshi’s never seen before.

it’s a little hot. denki seems to agree, if the gasp he lets out is any indication.

the alien laughs, staring down at you almost in amusement. “come to watch them die, little one? i could probably get a hefty price for you, couldnt i? maybe pleasure slave, the markets always up for those.” you chirp angrily. hitoshi sees red.

“don’t you fucking touch them-“ he snarls, all traces of fear gone as he shoves the grogorian back, fists clenched. behind him, denki spits, eyes lit up with that special kind of rage hitoshi only sees when he's really caught up, the anger boiling in his blood. the grogorian shoves the pair of them back so hard they go sprawling in the dirt, his voice a growl as he steps towards them. “you dare touch me?” he bellows.

behind him, you let out a sound somewhere between a screech & a growl. and then you start shifting.

hitoshi knows that you can shift into any number of things, he’s not stupid. but they’d all been limited to small, cute things, adorable & easy to hold.

the form you take on is neither adorable or small.

a sixteen foot, scaly dragon stands before them, with the face & claws of a lion & the fiery rage of a bat out of hell.

hitoshi screams. denki nearly pisses himself.

the grogorians scatter, shouting & running & you pick them off easily, picking one up between your claws & tearing him clean in half. the rest die in a similar fashion, tossed against buildings & burned alive when they get too close to your flaming breath. the leader dies last, your sharp fangs tearing him limb from limb until he’s a tattered pile of mush at their feet. its singlehandedly the most horrifying, yet gratifying thing hitoshi’s seen in his life.

you shift back to your original form easily, small hands & cheeks covered in blood. there’s a bit of grogorian in your hair. you smile up at them like nothing happened, let out little chirps & squeaks & hitoshi is stunned, really.

denki pulls the bit of grogorian away from your fluffy ears, before wiping the blood off your cheeks & tugging you into a kiss. it’d be cute, if there wasn’t so much carnage around them. you smile up at hitoshi, chirps out something about love and tribe and home.

hitoshi pulls you into a hug, kisses the faintly bloody fluffy hair, & laughs.

“let’s go home,” he agrees easily, takes denki’s hand & thinks, for a moment, that he’s complete.

denki smiles so bright it puts the sun to shame, & you giggle into his chest, cheery as a star.

all the bits align just right, he thinks, & leads his little solar system home.

[jinruihokankeikaku]

Rogue of Life?

Sure thing!! Recently posted a Knight of Doom analysis – now here’s that role’s Inverse, the…

Title: Rogue of Life

Title Breakdown: One who passively steals [redistributes, appropriates, reassigns, balances] Life [growth, biological life, youth, consumption, and rebellion]

Role in the Session: The Rogue of Life’s role within a session is to correct imbalances of vital energy/life-force, taking it from places or people with an excess and bringing it where it’s needed most. This class also highlights a section of Life’s domain that I think is usually less relevant to the in-game role of Life’s heroes, but which meshes rather nicely with the Rogue’s role as the “Robin Hood Class” – that being Life’s association with wealth, power, and privilege. The Rogue of Life may way be the Role best suited to literally representing Robin Hood. Perhaps their Planet’s quest involves some kind of mass revolutionary movement, or they’re destined to play a role in deposing a tyrant. Alternatively, their Planet might feature an ecosystem that’s overrun with an invasive or parasitic species which has put the native Denizens at risk; here, the Rogue would be tasked with balancing the energy web and ensuring that their Planet becomes habitable once again. Whatever the case, the Rogue of Life certainly has an air of rebellion around them, maybe more so than yr average Hero of Life.

The Rogue’s challenge is rising to the… well… uhm… challenge! Of fulfilling this role, of restoring balance to an unbalanced system. They’re likely to start out with a rather avoidant mentality, perhaps vaguely intrigued by their Aspect conceptually but unwilling to take action towards it, or to move any part of it. It is, of course, their duty to move just about every part of it, and in the case of an Expansive aspect such as Life there are a great many moving parts to account for. The Rogue of Life may at first be overwhelmed by the complexity of the economic-social-biological-metaphysical interactions that occur within their Aspect’s domain, but, if all goes well, will with time become fascinated with and enamored of them. When confronted with their Quest, they’ll likely already have an intuitive sense that something is out of balance; it is from this point that they will be drawn into the process of righting that imbalance and realizing themselves as the Rogue of Life.

As a Passive class, the Rogue is unlikely to be assertive, at least at first, in conflicts with party members, and they will initially respond to conflict in a standoffish manner rather than addressing it head-on. It will be important for them to work past their misgivings regarding themselves and their relationship with their Aspect in order for them to function not only within their own Role, but as a member of their team. A Rogue might look up to the assertive and creative demeanor of a Witch of Space, who would likely share the Rogue’s interest in the complexities of Life; they might also find a sort of affinity with an Heir of Rage, who would be, like the Rogue, less-than-assertive to begin with, but who would also share the Rogue’s deep-seated affinity for rebellion.

Opposite Role: The Knight of Doom. I actually covered this role earlier this evening, so I’ll try to reiterate some of the commentary I gave on this relationship from the Rogue’s perspective. Basically, the Knight, as a Person of Duty and Honor, would be just about the last person to jump on board the Rogue’s revolutionary program, and the Rogue just wouldn’t get this. They might admire the Knight’s stoicism and assertiveness, but they certainly wouldn’t share it, and their admiration for the Knight would likely wane as their affinity with Life (ergo distancing from Doom) waxes. The Rogue would probably ultimately come to view the Knight as dogmatic and stuck in their ways, which might provoke the Rogue (and a contingent of their comrades) to set out on their own while the Knight and their collaborators pursued another agenda, and in both revolution and Sburb, splitting the party is Generally Inadvisable.

God Tier Powers

Life is a Relational-Expansive aspect (more on that in an upcoming Aspect theory post!!), which means that powers associated with it tend towards a wide scope and a cyclical pattern of interaction with the environment. In particular, it encompasses biological cycles of growth and consumption, and the way in which these cycles are reflected in socio-psychic systems that emerge from biology. For example…

Energic Reassignment: The Rogue re-balances vital energy between nearby entities, causing hostile living beings to become enervated while revitalizing the Rogue’s companions. This isn’t a lethal weapon; rather, it’s a sort of aura that surrounds the Rogue, and whether the Rogue intends it or not, gradually maintains an equilibrium of sorts between the Rogue’s life force and the life force of their environment. The aura effectively ensures that the Rogue will never physically tire, although it’s unlikely to do much to allay the psychological stress of constant labor or combat – the Rogue’s psyche will need rest even if their physical form does not.

Level Field: The Rogue is prepared to use underhanded tactics to set up for a fair fight, and once they’ve ascended, they could gain the ability to gently guide their surroundings to physically manifest these techniques. Powerful enemies of the Rogue would find themselves gradually stripped of their initial advantage by intermittent (but steady) waves of assault from the land itself – terrain will become more difficult to navigate, flora denser and thornier, and fauna markedly more aggressive. These effects would be localized, and would fade with time, so long as eventually the Rogue’s nemesis is brought to a level plane with the Rogue and their team.

Won’t Stay Down: The Rogue’s role of rebalancing an Aspect, and Life’s domain of rebellion and the struggle against death, could cause Life to flow from wherever the Rogue chooses (within their sphere of comprehension and influence) and surround the Rogue and their allies, establishing a sort of symbiotic relationship between teammates. When one falls or falters, their energy flowing forth into the environment, the Rogue’s stored energy will flow force as Life sees fit, restoring to consciousness and health the Rogue or one of their allies. This has its limitations – with every cycle, the system will lose some energy, and eventually whichever fount the Rogue is drawing upon will run dry, and this ability is no more capable of restoring a player from a permanent (Heroic or Just) death than is any other.

Personality: The Rogue of Life will initially be avoidant of Life – that is to say, unwilling to take positions of power for themselves, unwilling to disrupt the powers that uphold the status quo, and unwilling to personally interact to any great extent with expansive or chaotic systems (like plant growth or economics). This avoidance is not due to apathy or lack of concern for its subjects; rather, it’s due to a fundamental fear of incompetence (and more to the point, a fear that they will through their incompetence cause some sort of crisis of imbalance within their Aspect’s domain). The key step forward for the Rogue of Life will be to translate their theory to practice, and to actually make the confrontation with the predators (literal and economic) that they have so long forestalled.

Songs: A couple of ideas…

Comandante by the Mountain Goats

Fallen Leaves by Billy Talent

Thanks for the ask, and I hope you found this analysis useful and/or thought-provoking!! More information on the categories of Relational and Expansive Aspects, and how I’ll be using those and similar categories in future analyses, is coming soon.

~ P L U R ~

[insanescriptist]

So ever going to do anything more with that YYH and BnHA crossover fic? I want the Todorokis to be happy! And what about Dabi? Is he a thing here? (Because Dabi is Touya)

I’ve been nailing down details and history for it when thinking about it. Like what year is it in BnHA; we know it’s at least a century ahead -there’s a technology stall mentioned due to increased social upheaval- so the technology is similar to modern day so in theory you could slide the BnHA timeline to 2120 with ease. In theory. Except...

There’s more evidence to support Quirks being a phenomena of about 100-150 years; Inko -Deku’s mother- mentions that there’s five generations of Quirks on her side of the family. That’s about 100-150 years of Quirks being a thing, with Quirks implied to have happened longer than that before her family started displaying Quirks.

So if the bio-luminescent baby is born in 2000 for ease of math, go for a more advanced maternal age (generation of 30 years) as befitting a first-world nation like Japan and at least six generations that’s roughly 180 years, so 2180. At minimum; add in Izuku’s age and it’s probably closer to 2194 if each of his parents and recent ancestors had children at an average age of 30. There’s wiggle room of about 40 years, depending on length of generations and how many generations other people had Quirks but Inko’s ancestors didn’t.

It’s probably not 2238 or later, as it’s mentioned that the laws that turned Heroes into a genuine profession were passed in ‘38 so it’s unlikely. It does imply that Quirks were around for at least enough time for the early vigilantes and quirk-using villains to grow up though and be old enough and numerous enough that legislation was passed by whenever this ‘38 was. As there are Heroes that have been Heroes for decades in BnHA and the early vigilantes turned professional heroes are mentioned in history... it’s not going to be 2238 or later. But you’re not really going to get earlier than 2180 and that’s compressing generations. Which yes, people do have sex and children at twenty or younger but that’s not the average for people in wealthy, highly educated countries, especially in higher socio-economic classes. Even if they clearly have arranged for families to be easier to have and pay for on a national level somehow as multiple families are shown to have more than one child in BnHA. Yay tax incentives?

Also food for thought: if Quirks have to be inherited, then the genes for Quirks have to have already been present in the human species for far longer than people would want to think about for Quirks to be a world-wide phenomena; otherwise it would be limited to the descendants of one individual (and seven generations of doubling, with gen 1 having 1 Quirk-person, gen 2 having 2 Quirk-people and gen 3 having 4 quirk people only gets you 120 individuals with Quirks when you add gen 4, 5, 6 and 7 together is far too small to cause a world-wide genetic phenomena) or a distinct ethnic group. For Quirks to be a population-majority within seven generations, they would have to follow some sort of ‘contagious model.’ Being around individuals with Quirks helps a Quirk to develop, or something. Doesn’t explain the toe-joint thing but the toe-joint thing never made much sense to Izzy anyway. It’s more ‘word of God’ than ‘I researched science’ so it being a strong correlation, Izzy can buy but not ‘having a Quirk means the majority of the world lost a toe joint.’ Genetics don’t work like that! Popular-science unfortunately does. And even doctors are not immune to pop-science like that even if they should know better.

Thankfully YYH does have a valid way of explaining the development of ‘humans with strange powers.’ Exposure to youki and youkai; not just the demons but demon energy. Genkai shows off three new students she uses to test Yusuke at the start of the Chapter Black saga, where exposure to Sensui’s ‘dimensional gate’ to Makai makes them gain differing ‘psychic’ abilities. And they’re not the only ones either; a number of Chapter Black’s antagonists are also human: Gourmet, Sniper, Seaman, Gamemaster and the Doctor. The strength of their ‘spiritual energy’ is noted as ‘poor’ and ‘D-class’ for the majority of the known but their individual abilities do make them ‘A-class’ as threats, by canny usage of it. Please note that those mentioned are those that were found and used by Sensui or went to Genkai for training. Genkai also said she had others come to her for training, the sum of which was about 30 people. Note that those were all those that were known to be effected by Sensui’s plot to open a wormhole to Makai, not all those that were effected. Yeah. So that’s about 40-people who were known to have gained powers that incident. Which as YYH takes place in the mid-90s... does make BnHA’s Quirk history timeline a lot more plausible. Especially in light of YYH’s ending where youkai could openly move into the Human World. Thus increasing the concentration of youkai and youki in the world; there were already plenty of illegal immigrants of the youkai sort... and as Kurama in the 2018 OVA/Two-shot proves, being around a youkai long enough can increase a person’s sensitivity to supernatural phenomena and thus more likely develop a supernatural ability.

So about a decade later, bling baby is born, flashing the world and ‘Quirks’ start appearing all around the world, with some people using their abilities to commit crimes and others to save people. Fast-forward a generation or two and ‘Heroes’ become a genuine profession and start an obsession of society for ‘Heroes.’ And that eventually becomes BnHA, except with youkai discreetly in the background. I really want to know about the paperwork/identity shenanigans to keep youkai who live for ages with proper papers.

Izzy isn’t quite fully caught up with the BnHA manga; she kind of stopped reading when Izuku started displaying One For All’s recessive Quirks as it seemed very very Gary-Stu to get new powers instead of refine his strength and skill more. So timeline is going to be ambiguous as fuck until I nail it down further but here, has more Yukina is Boss and the YYH anime did her a disservice; people forget she was B-class and crossed Makai a few times all by her lonesome. Just because she doesn’t want to, doesn’t mean she can’t.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

“Oh wow, her outfit is so pretty!” Urakaka said suddenly, leaning against Izuku’s back unintentionally. Focus more on where she’s looking instead of what you’re feeling against your back Deku!

Deku looked. “Isn’t that Todoroki-san?” His classmate’s hair was distinctive and it wasn’t hard to see, even from across the street and down a ways. He was with someone with white hair and red patches -the angle was wrong to see who that was beyond that- and the other person had to be the one Urakaka was talking about; the clothing stood out for being more traditional but it clearly had modern influences so he had very little idea of what it was beyond something possibly Chinese.

Urakaka said something about the outfit again but Izuku didn’t hear it with Urakaka slumping against and down. Stupid libido, he needs that blood!

Iida, their previously silent third explained, “Yaoyorozo-san said Todoroki-san did tell her that Todoroki would be meeting with some family today. It’s why he would be missing the Class 1-A study session we’re supposed to be getting snacks for.”

Izuku heard some of the disapproval in his voice but either Izuku admitted what took him so long that one time for the school festival or accept the minders for any simple errand. It helped that everyone wanted different things and was way too much for one person to feasibly carry. He did kind of want to know about Todoroki’s family’s Quirks -did they have something like his classmate’s Half-hot, half-cold or did they have ice or fire or some sort of water as a possible mutation?- but that would be prying and that was a guy with a knife that people were moving away from, oh shit-

“Guy with a knife, near Todoroki!”

Iida dropped the snacks, engines revving towards them. Izuku followed with a pounce only to stop short of the cafe’s boundaries; the guy with the knife had horns and multiple sets of them -a horn quirk?- and was shouting about Endeavor. And the knife was at the throat of the pretty woman with mint-green hair and the pretty clothing that Urakaka was just admiring.

Hostage situation! Wait, they had a class on this- no, something was wrong here.

Todoroki was glaring but the hostage taker, she-

She wasn’t afraid and somehow that made things better for Izuku; he could breathe easier now, he could think-!

“You’re holding the knife wrong, someone could break your wrist like this.”

Knife guy told her to shut up or he’ll slice her throat and then Izuku heard a crack! That sort of dull snap that sounded like broken bones-

And knife guy was tossed over her shoulder and landed hard on the ground and-

It was over. The knife in the hand of the one who was once hostage. “What cheap metal.”

[problematicwelshman]

Michael Sheen on Good Omens, sex scenes, and why Brexit led to his break-up

28 NOVEMBER 2018 • 4:18PM

Michael Sheen may be 49, and sporting a grey beard these days, but mention Martians and the actor reverts to a breathless, giddy teenager.

It all stems back to one evening when Sheen was about 12 years old. “It was a significant moment in my life,” he tells me over coffee in a London hotel. “My cousin Hugh was babysitting, and he put on Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds.

“I remember us lying there, listening in bed in the dark. It absolutely terrified me, but I got obsessed with it. I’m worryingly into it. I know every single note, every word.”

Wayne’s 1978 rock opera has had a similar effect on countless fans, even if it prompts a bemused shrug from non-converts. Without ever topping the charts, it has slowly become one of the best-selling British albums of all time, and this Friday begins a stadium tour featuring a 35-foot fire-breathing Martian and a 3D hologram of Liam Neeson. It’s a geeky novelty, but one of epic proportions.

When Wayne asked Sheen if he would star in a new radio drama-style version for the album’s 40th anniversary, alongside Taron Egerton and Ade Edmondson, the Welsh actor “bit his hand off”. It had always been his dream. For decades, whether doing serious political dramas such as Frost/Nixon or the great roles of classical theatre – Hamlet, Henry V – the one part Sheen really wanted involved Martians saying “ulla-ulla”.

“When I was doing Caligula at the Donmar [in 2003], I was filming The Deal during the day – which was the first time I’d played Tony Blair,” he says. “I’d be so tired, to wake myself up [before the play] I would do whole sections of War of the Worlds.” He can even beatbox the sound effects, he adds proudly. “The other guys in the dressing room would all be really pissed off with me - but I was playing Caligula, so they had to put up with it.”

Enthusing about an outtake on a collectors version of the album where you can hear Richard Burton coughing, Sheen briefly slips into an impression of the late actor. It’s eerily spot-on. Burton played the role he takes in the new version, which feels apt; growing up in Port Talbot, Sheen was aware of following in his footsteps.

“Coming from the same town as him really helped,” he says. “It’s place you wouldn’t necessarily think would be very sympathetic to acting – it’s an old steel town, very working class, quite a macho place – but because of Richard Burton, and then Anthony Hopkins, there’s the sense that it’s possible [to be an actor], and people have a respect for it.

“Ultimately, though, we’re very different actors - Burton was very much a charismatic leading man, and I’m probably more of a character actor. He wasn’t known for his versatility.” Sheen, by contrast, is a chameleon, as he proved with a remarkable run of biopics from 2006-9, playing Tony Blair, David Frost, Brian Clough, Kenneth Williams and the Roman emperor Nero on screen in the space of just four years.

He concedes that he may have made a “partly conscious” decision to avoid biopics since then. “I’ve been offered quite a few I didn’t do. I did feel, for a bit, it was probably good for me to move away from it – certainly from playing Blair at least, because that’s the one I became synonymous with. I’d quite happily play real people again, but it’s hard to find good scripts and it takes a lot of homework. With some parts I’ve been offered, you might only have a few weeks to prepare for it - and you can’t do that with Clough or Kenneth Williams.”

Despite his best intentions, Sheen is playing another Blair in his next film – The Voyage of Doctor Doolittle, where he’s the nemesis of Robert Downey Jr’s animal-loving hero. “I don’t know if they did that as a joke or not,” he says. “He’s Blair Müdfly – there’s an umlaut that he is very specific about. He was at college with Doolittle, and hates him, and becomes the antagonist because of his jealousy of Doolittle. Müdfly is employed to try and stop him from finding... what he wants to find.” As the film isn’t out for 13 months, Sheen is tight-lipped about further plot details – but he hints that Müdfly is “a villain in the tradition of Terry-Thomas villains.”

It’s the latest in a series of quirky, eyebrow-raising roles. After playing a vampire in the Twilight films and a werewolf in the Underworld franchise, Sheen says he would often be asked in interviews why a “serious classical actor” was wasting his time on fantasy films.

“There’s a lot of snobbishness about genre,” he says. “I think some of the greatest writing of the 20th and 21st centuries has happened in science fiction and fantasy.” While promoting the films, he would back up that point by citing his favourite authors – Stephen King, Philip K Dick, Neil Gaiman. “Time went on, and then one day my doorbell rang and there was a big box being delivered. I opened the box up and there was a card from Neil saying ‘From one fan to another’, and all these first editions of his books.”

It was the beginning an enduring friendship, which recently became a professional partnership: Sheen stars in Gaiman’s forthcoming TV series Good Omens, based on a 1990 novel he wrote with the late Terry Pratchett. Set in the days before a biblical apocalypse, its sprawling list of characters includes an angel called Aziraphale (Sheen) and a demon called Crowley (David Tennant) who have known each other since the days of Adam and Eve.

“I wanted to play Aziraphel being sort of in love with Crowley,” says Sheen. “They’re both very bonded and connected anyway, because of the two of them having this relationship through history - but also because angels are beings of love, so it’s inevitable that he would love Crowley. It helped that loving David is very easy to do.”

What kind of love - platonic, romantic, erotic? “Oh, those are human, mortal labels!” Sheen laughs. “But that was what I thought would be interesting to play with. There’s a lot of fan fiction where Aziraphale and Crowley get a bit hot and heavy towards each other, so it’ll be interesting to see how an audience reacts to what we’ve done in bringing that to the screen.”

Steamy fan fiction aside, it’s unlikely Good Omens will match the raunch levels of his last major TV series, Masters of Sex (2013-16), a drama about the pioneering sexologists Masters and Johnson. In the wake of the last year’s #MeToo revelations, HBO has introduced “intimacy co-ordinators” for its shows - but, Sheen tells me, Masters of Sex was ahead of the curve in handling sex scenes with caution.

“It was a lot easier for myself and Lizzy [Caplan, his co-star], as we were comfortable in that set-up, because we had status in it. But for people in the background, or doing just one scene, it’s different,” he says. “It became clear very quickly that there needed to be guidelines for people who didn’t have that kind of status, who would probably not speak up. We started talking about that, and decided there need to be clear rules.”

Sex scenes, he continues, “should absolutely be treated the same way as other things where there’s a danger. If you’re doing stage-fighting, or pyrotechnics, there are rules and everyone just sticks to them. Whether it’s physical danger, or emotional, or psychological, it’s just as important.”

Despite having several film and TV parts on the horizon, Sheen says he is still in semi-retirement from acting. In 2016 he hinted that he might be quit for good to campaign against populism. “In the same way as the Nazis had to be stopped in Germany in the Thirties, this thing that is on the rise has to be stopped," he said at the time. But now things are less cut. “I have two jobs now, essentially,” he says. "Acting takes second place."

While many celebrity activists limit their politics to save-the-dolphins posturing, Sheen has been working with a range of unfashionable grassroots groups aiming to combat inequality, support small communities and fight fake news. As well as supporting Welsh credit unions, and sponsoring a women’s football team in the tiny village of Goytre, he tells me that he's been “commissioning research into alternative funding models for local journalism”.

If he returns to the stage any time soon, he says it’s likely to be in a show about “political historical socio-economic stuff, a one-man show with very low production values”. It’s clear he’s not in it for the glamour.

Sheen was inspired to become more politically active by the Brexit referendum – which also indirectly led him to break up with his partner of four years, the comedian Sarah Silverman. At the time, they were living together in the US. “We both had very similar drives, and yet to act on those drives pulled us in different directions – because she is American and I’m Welsh,” he explains.

“After the Brexit vote, and the election where Trump became president, we both felt in different ways we wanted to get more involved. That led to her doing her show I Love You America [in which Silverman interviewed people from across the political spectrum], and it led to me wanting to address the issues that I thought led some people to vote the way they did about Brexit, in the area I come from and others like it.”

They still speak lovingly of each other, which makes their decision to end a happy relationship for the sake of politics look painfully quixotic. Talking about it, Sheen sounds a little wistful, but he’s utterly certain they made the right choice. “I felt a responsibility to do something, but it did mean coming back here – which was difficult for us, because we were very important to each other. But we both acknowledge that each of us had to do what we needed to do.”

[justsomeantifas]

If nearly a decade interviewing the wealth managers for the 1% taught me anything, it is that the ultra-rich and the ultra-poor have a lot more in common than stereotypes might lead you to believe.

In conversation, wealth managers kept coming back to the flamboyant vices of their clients. It was quite unexpected, in the course of discussing tax avoidance, to hear professional service providers say things like:

“I’ve told my colleagues: ‘If I ever become like some of our clients, shoot me.’ Because they are really immoral people – too much time on their hands, and all the money means they have no limits. I was actually told by one client not to bring my wife on a trip to Monaco unless I wanted to see her get hit on by 10 guys. The local sport, he said, was picking up other men’s wives.”

The clients of this Geneva-based wealth manager also “believe that they are descended from the pharaohs, and that they were destined to inherit the earth”.

If a poor person voiced such beliefs, he or she might well be institutionalized; for those who work with the wealthy, however, such “eccentricities” are all in a day’s work. Indeed, an underappreciated irony of accelerating economic inequality has been the way it has exposed behaviors among the ultra-rich that mirror the supposed “pathologies” of the ultra-poor.

In fact, one of the London-based wealth managers I interviewed said that a willingness to accept with equanimity behavior that would be considered outrageous in others was an informal job requirement. Clients, he said, specifically chose wealth managers not just on technical competence, but on their ability to remain unscandalized by the private lives of the ultra-rich: “They [the clients] have to pick someone they want to know everything about them: about Mother’s lesbian affairs, Brother’s drug addiction, the spurned lovers bursting into the room.” Many of these clients are not employed and live off family largesse, but no one calls them lazy.

As Lane and Harburg put it in the libretto of the musical Finian’s Rainbow:

When a rich man doesn’t want to work

He’s a bon vivant, yes, he’s a bon vivant

But when a poor man doesn’t want to work

He’s a loafer, he’s a lounger

He’s a lazy good for nothing, he’s a jerk

When the wealthy are revealed to be drug addicts, philanderers, or work-shy, the response is – at most – a frisson of tabloid-level curiosity, followed by a collective shrug.

Behaviors indulged in the rich are not just condemned in the poor, but used as a justification to punish them, denying them access to resources that keep them alive, such as healthcare and food assistance. Discussion of poverty has become almost impossible without moral outrage directed at lazy “welfare queens”, “crackheads” and other drug addicts, and the “promiscuous poor” (a phrase that has cropped up again and again in discussions of public benefits over more than a century).

These disparate perceptions aren’t just evidence of hypocrisy; they are literally a matter of life and death. In the US, the widespread belief that the poor are simply lazy has led many states to impose work requirements on aid recipients –even those who have been medically classified as disabled. Limiting aid programs in this way has been shown to shorten recipients’ lives: rather than the intended consequence of pushing recipients into paid employment, the restrictions have simply left them without access to medical care or a sufficient food supply. Thus, in one of the richest counties in America, a boy living in poverty died of a toothache; there were no protests, and nothing changed.

Meanwhile, the “billionaire” in the White House starts his days at 11am – the rest of the morning is coyly termed “executive time” – and is known for his frequent holidays. “Nice work if you can get it,” quipped an opinion piece in the Washington Post.

We don’t hear much about laziness, drug addiction or promiscuity among the wealthiest members of society because – unlike Trump – most billionaires are not public figures and go to great lengths to seek privacy. Thus the motto of one London-based wealth management firm: “I want to be invisible.” This company, like many other service providers to the ultra-rich, specializes in preserving secrecy for clients. The wealthy people I studied not only had wealth managers but often dedicated staff members who killed negative stories about them in the media and kept their names off the Forbes “rich list”.

Many even present themselves as homeless – for tax purposes – despite owning multiple residences. For the ultra-rich, having no fixed residence provides major legal and financial advantages; this is exemplified by the case of the wealthy businessman who acquired eight different nationalities in order to avoid taxes on his fortune, and by the UK native I interviewed in his Dubai apartment building:

“I am not tax resident anywhere. The tax man says ‘show me a utility bill’, and the only utility bill I can present is for the house I own in Thailand, and it’s in a language that the European authorities aren’t familiar with. With all the mobility going on in the world, international marriages, governments can’t keep up with people.”

Meanwhile, the poor can end up being “resident nowhere” because no one will allow them to stay in one place for very long; as the sociologist Cristobal Young has shown, the majority of migrants are poor people. In addition, the poor are routinely evicted from housing on the slightest pretext, frequently driving them into homeless shelters – which are in turn forced to move when local homeowners engage in nimby (not in my back yard) protests. Even the design of public spaces is increasingly organized to deny the poor a place to alight, however temporarily.

It is as if the right to move around, to take up space, and to direct your own life as you see fit have become luxury goods, available to those who can pay instead of being human rights. For the rich, deviance from social norms is nearly consequence-free, to the point where outright criminality is tolerated: witness the collective shrug that greeted revelations of massive intergenerational tax fraud in the Trump family.

For the poor, however, even the most minor deviance from others’ expectations – like buying ice cream or soft drinks with food stamps – results in stigmatization, limits on their autonomy, and deprivation of basic human needs. This makes life far more nasty, brutish and short for those on the lowest rungs of the socio-economic ladder, creating a chasm of more than 20 years in life expectancy between rich and poor. This appears to some as a fully justified consequence of “personal responsibility” – the poor deserve to die because of their moral failings.

So while the behavior of the ultra-rich gets an ever-widening scope of social leeway, the lives of the poor are foreshortened in every sense. Once upon a time, they were urged to eat cake; now the cake earns them a public scolding.

[nettlestonenell]

So, you want to adapt Little Women for the screen.

There’s quite a challenge ahead of you, Gentle Readers. Might I help get you started?

What, you might ask are my own bona fides in suggesting that I might have the right to hold forth on such a topic? Very well, I first read Little Women in 1983. The first of countless times I have read it. Actually, I collect copies of it, and buy interesting ones whenever I see them. I’ve seen more than a few adaptations of it.

The cover of my first copy. A giant volume, it was highly impractical to carry around. I did it anyway.

An initial challenge, any screen writer will tell you, is sheer length. Little Women was originally published as two separate books. So, an initial novel, and a sequel. By 1880, the two volumes were forever published as one. 

Not only does this mean lots of pages and plot needing weeded out of your script, but it also means you’re going to have two climaxes and two denouements (seems about right for a female novel, yeah?), another challenge when adapting the two stories into a single film. (Imagine having to create a single story/plot from Philosopher’s Stone AND Chamber of Secrets). 

Inevitably, what generally happens in past adaptations is that Part II gets greatly compressed and short-changed (and I do not doubt, Gentle Readers, creates some of the dissatisfaction among viewers and fans where the handling of Laurie’s proposal and the latter adolescence of characters and their romances/mates don’t land as they might if spent more time with).

Actual illustration of Book One (on the left) and Book Two (on the right) once adapted for film.

According to Wikipedia: The book has been adapted for cinema; twice as silent film and four times with sound in 1933, 1949, 1978 and 1994. Six television series were made, including four by the BBC—1950, 1958, 1970, and 2017. Two anime series were made in Japan during the 1980s. A musical version opened on Broadway in 2005. An American opera version in 1998 has been performed internationally and filmed for broadcast on US television in 2001. Greta Gerwig is directing a new rendition of the novel, set to be released 2019.

I could not hit “Add to Watchlist” fast enough.

So, the list of folks attempting to tackle Little Women is a long one, and not always a successful one. Some elements of the story are always going to play well, and frankly, be hard to mess up too much. But others? Others have some real sticking-points.

I’m not here to critique individual versions of adaptations today, Gentle Readers. 

I’m just here to muse on the Big Questions that need solid answers when you’re ready to take on writing your adaptation.

Someone contact them, I demand a recount.

1.       How much of the true lives of the Alcott family will we include?

It’s no secret at this point that Alcott took a lot of inspiration from her real life. But how much do we include? Do we have Thoreau invited over for dinner? Do we address some of the more radical notions of the Alcotts’? Do we just go ahead and make Father in the novel like Bronson in real life?

a.       How to explain/not explain the war and its effect on their lives

For contemporary audiences and readers, the incredibly matter-of-factness of the Civil War taking place deep in the background of the story will not resonate as much as it would to readers back in the day (It plays a bit like the Blitz in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe]. Perhaps it might be a good idea to bring it closer to the fore, beyond merely showing the girls in hoops, and coming across the occasional newspaper story or quietly dropped reference to a battle.

b.       How to address or not address the March’s contemporarily confusing socio-economic position (that of ‘genteel penury’)

Gentle people now in reduced circumstances is a tough sell intellectually when 2019 can allow most everyone to disguise their financial situation through extensive credit and things like those housing bubble mortgages given to lots of Americans. It’s going to be necessary at some point to explain or show how the Marchs, who have so little themselves, have (to our 2019-eyes) pretty clothes, a large, cozy house, the ability to take food and minister to the (much) poor(er) Hummels, and a house servant; Hannah. The humiliating fact that they can’t buy new gloves for a party does not...exactly track in the twenty-first century.

They’re much worse-off than the Bennets of Longbourne, whose financial crisis is on the horizon, but how can you show that to viewers unfamiliar with the notion of life as a fallen-from-wealth family?

2.       The persistent problematic-ness of Amy/Laurie

I will call to mind one adaptation, here, and Kirsten Dunst’s performance in particular. Singlehandedly, at the age of only *10*, she manages to sell the potential of not only Amy, but Amy/Laurie like no one else this tumblerian has ever seen. What a tragedy the film couldn’t have waited for her to grow up enough to also play Amy in the film’s second half.

In a world where perfect casting is rarely obtainable, this child should have been nominated for Oscar. She out-performs every Amy March before or since, ad infinitum.

Like many of the romantic partnerships, which other than Jo/Teddy (which is not presented as romantic in Book One) are included only in Book Two, films front-loaded with Book One (I can’t think of one I’ve seen that wasn’t) find themselves racing to a conclusion, and every one of the three couples suffers in presentation and allowing enough time for viewers to be ‘courted’ by them into liking them.

There’s simply not enough time left to work on all of them. So, it becomes a decision of which one is more important. Traditionally, as Brooke/Meg happens first, they get some character beats, but once Jo turns down Teddy... 

I can hear the screams of horror across the ages.

...adaptations become a fight between showing Amy/Laurie or Jo/Bhaer, yet both of which are true surprises to viewers not familiar with the story, and who need time to warm up and be seduced by these new pairings. 

(Mind you, I do think Bhaer and Jo should sneak up on a viewer/reader, but there still have to be signs planted here and there that make it make sense when it actually does happen.)  

3.       The age and age progression of the girls

Per the book, the story begins with Meg 16, Jo 15, Beth 13, and Amy 12 (aside: poor Marmee).

A clear example of...impractical* casting for teenagers. (And Jo! In trousers!?) * but perhaps necessary for community theatre

As I mentioned a few lines ago, Amy becomes the most difficult to cast, here, as it’s unlikely a person can play both 12 and the age of Amy when she accepts Laurie. Amy may be only 16 or so when she accepts Laurie, but contemporary viewers are probably going to need a little more assurance she’s not a child bride by her looking more mature than 16.

Beth is frequently cast older, which is also troublesome. She’s 16 at most when she dies, and has been ill for some time. (So, easy to assume she wasn’t growing rapidly.)

Jo has to be able to play age 15 to 25+.

Is that meant to be Jo on the left? Does that make Susan Dey Amy? Anyway, this production has the luxury of doing better on the ages of the girls. And they’ve got the inimitable Greer Garson as Aunt March!

Actors chosen can’t only be made-up to pass for certain ages, they also have to convince us they’re playing dress-up in the garret in the early portion of the film. 

In fact, Jo in particular with her harum-scarum ways isn’t deliberately trying to make constant mistakes and faux pas. She’s a kid who hasn’t yet grown up, with a kid’s energy and unbridled sincerity. Convince us of that.

4.       How to show both the importance and the growth of Jo’s writing

Filming someone writing is rarely moving to watch, and what’s more, writing is so misunderstood as a pastime or even a vocation, it doesn’t easily lend itself to being captivating when shown on-screen. And yet Jo’s writing is not only vital to the story, the growth and expression she finds in it are so deeply important to her character, and later to her romance plot with Bhaer. It’s got to be shown, and more than once. Moreso, or at least as much so as her temper, her mouth, and her lioness-like care for her sisters, it IS who she is.

Where’s the silly hat?

5.       Flawed female characters that are meant to confront and wrestle with those flaws

Well, this is a big one, here. It seems to me we’re sort of operating by 2019 where that old saw of [man] girl vs. self isn’t really written about or shown. Our society at large has become very vocal about whoever we are being awesome and “never change”.

Which is just about as far from the notions in Little Women as one could get. Every one of the ‘women’ has something they need to work on, to grow and improve about themselves. From Meg not being able to get over their loss of money and status (remembered from when she was younger), to Amy’s dissatisfaction and constant desire to fine things, to Beth’s introversion, to Jo’s temper and intolerance of those who aren’t as bold and rebellious against society as her, and Jo’s inability to accept the change that will constantly be coming into all their lives as they grow.

Nasty!

The Little Women Alcott wrote had lessons to learn, and directions to grow, contrary to what their gut reactions might be. You can call that a moralistic take on the novel, but you can’t argue that Jo has to change, and is expected to be her own instigator of that change within the novel(s). [It does seem like anymore in films that the only person we expect to change bad habits or wrong ways of being are actual ‘bad guys’/villains. And sometimes not even them.]

6.       Friedrich Bhaer

Well, that’s a mouthful. I don’t doubt that it always has been. The single, fan-dividing phrase of female literature. Am I right?

Doing for umbrella representation until Gene Kelly came along.

You know the story, right? That Alcott was so DONE with readers after Book One assuming and expecting Jo and Teddy to live happily ever after, she was so frustrated (she had never wanted, nor intended for that to happen) with all the shipping she built a Bhaer bomb.

@grrlinthefireplace would climb that.

And it’s still exploding readers’ and viewers’ minds today.

Why Professor Bhaer is the perfect match for Jo, and why their marriage and life together makes ultimate sense is certainly a post for another time, but I will say that if you’re still sore about it, take some time and reread the book as an adult, and see if you don’t also come to see the eminent sense in it.

That said, in any satisfying and successful adaptation, you’ve got to work hard to sell the man your heroine chooses over Laurie. Laurie’s had all of Book One and a good three-quarters of Book Two to endear himself to readers. Who’s this guy?

Well, yes, that’s William Shatner...as Professor Bhaer.

This guy isn’t good enough for Jo. This is nonsense. “Weird old guy with an uncomfortable age gap with my fave.” Are not the sort of things you’re going to want to read in reviews.

First, you’ve got to cast him right. Hollywood’s not *overly* worried about distressing RL gaps in ages between their actresses and actors, you might know, and beards are actually pretty in right now. Bhaer’s not a babe by any means, but he’s got an accent he can work. And he’s in love with our fave.

Think an Alan Rickman-type (I know he’s not German), did you see how hot Kurt Russell made Santa Claus in that Netflix Christmas movie? Jeff Bridges, Pierce Brosnan? Probably all too old. 

Bhaer’s actually described as “middle-aged”, which means 40ish, to Jo’s 25 (when she accepts him). You know who’s 40ish in Hollywood? Gerard Butler, Hugh Jackman, Ewan McGregor, most of Hollywood’s Chrises, RDJ for Pete’s sake is 53. Give him a beard, and awkward social presence tick, and get him working on that accent, and I guarantee your audience will buy Jo’s attraction to him, and create a Twitter for his umbrella.

In the end, Bhaer is key to understanding that the novel isn’t trying to transform Jo into a woman who will fit into Teddy’s wealthy life and the social circles he has no plans to turn his back on. Bhaer is literally the embodiment of Jo making choices that she learns (and I daresay we are meant to learn) are right for her. She finds a man comfortable with who she is, who is in love with her brain as much as with the rest of her, who sees their coupling as a joint project, and who wants her to be the best her. (cough, cough, Gilbert Blythe prototype)

You’ve got to get him right, or what’s come before gets lost in dissatisfaction for Jo’s final, epic choice.

Oh, look, a nice picture of a charismatic, bearded German actor. How did that get here?

Let’s be succinct here in the end, Gentle Reader. Little Women (Books One and Two) and Little Men and Jo’s Boys would make a splendid series. (Such as Anne with an E), there’s certainly enough episodic drama and plot to go around.

Keep that in mind when planning out your adaptation.

What film adaptation is your favorite, and why?

[eclectic-pragmatist]

Lessons Learned

Having spent almost a month in Italy, I can report that 1) swiping away emails that contained news worked very nicely in ignoring what passes for politics and governance in the US and 2) it obvious that one can spend weeks in a country and ignore any and all aspects of its own failed politics and governance. That the US president does stupid at monumental levels is not much different from Italian populists pretending their country's economic issues are the result of the EU and the euro when it's obvious that Italians actually created their problems by failing to reform their economic laws.

It was also evident from not following news that continuously taking note of new variations of what is wrong serves no purpose. One knows the reality after a while, and knowing more changes nothing. What's wrong, not working, misguided or worse...we already comprehend. Voting for more rational candidates with more practical ideas is the only functional solution. In the meantime, one can manage a happy existence by focusing elsewhere. It might seem odd to turn away from all that needs attention, but there's little to actually be done until it's time to vote...again

This is more than just pragmatic observation. Spending time in another culture reveals that there are other ways to traverse life than what we take for granted. Europeans like Americans, but also do not see a concern for others that is common in their countries. Family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, community — they consider sharing life together and taking care of each other as fundamental. They are all individuals, but first they are all part of their society. Their society is their community.

This is why they walk, use public transportation, have highly developed rail systems both within cities and between them. The automobile is common, but does not have priority because there are more rational, practical solutions to getting from here to there and back again. They invest in infrastructure because it has obvious, appreciated benefits to all. It's not about being better or worse but simply different. It works for them when the greater good comes first.

Europe is far older than the US. They do not tear down their history but rather update and modernize it while retaining the look and feel of their heritage. Walk into buildings that are many decades or centuries old and there is modern sophistication and technology. New buildings do not look as if they do not belong where they are. The beauty of the cities is inherent in how exteriors do not determine interiors...or vice versa.

After six trips to Italy over a dozen years representing some four months, 8000 miles of driving and time spent in many regions, there are lessons that offer insights and perspective. The most important is that despite culture, history, societal norms and traditions that differ significantly from here (the US), human nature remains a reliable constant. This is both good and not so good. Lots of wonderful qualities that many in this country also display and share, but also a penchant for some to create their own realities and beliefs that simply ignore actual reality and consequences.

There are defining differences that make the time, effort and cost of being in another country both a wonderful experience and a lesson in how there is no such thing as "the greatest country in the world." Americans who travel abroad get this, but only a third of citizens here have passports, and many only use them to visit Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. Thus the ignorance of many regarding quality of life elsewhere is monumental, bordering on arrogant.

The food in Italy is consistently superior in quality, freshness and preparation. Even the food in the ubiquitous Autogrills along the many autostrades is freshly made, along with espresso and cappuccino — café in Italy is a way of life. The country is also the home of slow food. Of course, if you don't care for Italian cuisine or strong coffee this won't be important to you. The dolce in pasticcieras define what pastry can be, unless you don't like sweets.

The roads are better overall — taking into account the use of cut stone pavement in historic parts of cities. Roads, tunnels and bridges are very well maintained. Of course, citizens are taxed to help pay for this, but they expect to drive on safe, comfortable roads and do not complain about paying for them. Taxes on diesel and gasoline are high for this reason. Citizens in the US have a lot to learn about transportation.

Finally, Italy is many centuries old and, unlike the US, is not a country that exists as a result of immigration. There is immigration, but the vast majority of citizens are Italian, with many generations of history. This creates a very different socio-cultural reality. One cannot live in Italy without also living with buildings and historic places that have existed far longer than the US has as a country. Pretending the US is the most important nation on the planet is...well...narcissistic. Narcissism is always wrong. Always.

[heartslogos]

newfragile yellows [283]

Ellana doesn’t even know Elgar’nan is there. She doesn’t seem him until the last moment. It is he who sees her first.

And Ellana doesn’t know what he was thinking. She’ll never know. She’ll never know what he was thinking or what he was to her or what he thought of her. She’ll never get to ask him any questions or talk to him or anything.

Ellana finishes crossing the street and looks up and sees Elgar’nan getting off a bus on the other end of the block. No, she doesn’t see him. That’s not true. Ellana didn’t see Elgar’nan at all.

She crossed the street, and her head was a mess of Sylaise, Mythal, and June. The things they said to her. What she’s slowly understanding and trying to wish away. She should have listened, she thinks. They were right.

The truth is not something she wants to know.

And yet?

She’s nowhere near closer to finding the man her heart says she’s missing. She’s nowhere near close to understanding the why and how of the facts that are before her.

The Inquisition keeps finding her and she doesn’t know how. But everyone has told her to stay away from them and Ellana thinks maybe the Inquisition is responsible for what happened to them. But why?

The Inquisition is a very high level and supposedly well respected organization that handles international threats as well as socio-economic issues. What is the Inquisition doing…with them?

Is it too many bad movies and TV shows for her to say government experimentation for weaponized people? From what Ellana found online the Inquisition did do a lot of heavy research a few years back regarding magical distortions and hot-spots. All of the things she read felt vaguely familiar. Maybe she was a researcher on it?

Or…one of the others was.

(Another dream-memory-stolen-time Ellana has that she understands now is not hers at all. This one bothers her because their missing ninth person is just out of her field of vision. He must be far away, because his voice sounds muffled. But she knows its him.

Ellana is Ghilan’nain or Andruil. Not Sylaise, Sylaise’s hands don’t look like this. Not Mythal, Mythal is standing next to her. No, she’s either Ghilan’nain or Andruil.

And they are laughing together. It is a happy memory. Ellana’s seen so many terrible ones. But this one is happy. What took them from this memory to all the others? Where is Ellana?)

“Wolf,” Ellana hears a voice rise over the sounds of pedestrians and traffic. And Ellana looks up and it takes her a moment to find his face.

It is radiant. Furious. Outraged. Venomous. And beginning to glow.

Ellana’s eyes widen and Elgar’nan’s dark eyes blacken further as his skin turns into a six foot tall torch.

“I would rather die,” Elgar’nan says, “And take you with me.”

Ellana barely has time to react. She raises her hands as Elgar’nan’s built up magic explodes outwards and Ellana’s anchor bursts to life creating a shield around her - and only her - as Elgar’nan nukes an entire city.

The light sears straight through Ellana’s eyelids and there isn’t even time for sound. Even through the shield Ellana still feels the heat, the force, and she falls back. Her left hand throbs, stings, and it feels like someone’s driven a spike straight through her palm and down through her arm.

It feels like someone’s shaken her head around like a snow globe when it’s over. Ellana blinks up at the sky, spots in her vision. The shield collapses, but the green light-mist of it slowly falls onto her face and she feels it sink into her skin. It feels like being pressed through glass.

And then her vision clears and her head stops ringing. Her arm feels like it’s been smashed by a hammer or run over by a car, but the rest of her is fine.

The rest of the city, however, is not.

Ellana slowly sits up and there is nothing around her at all. Just melted…everything. No matter which direction Ellana turns, it’s just flat nothing. Not even ash.

She slowly stands to her feet, and a memory that she thinks might be hers knocks itself loose as she looks around. It didn’t look like this, though. It was - blackened. In the mountains somewhere. There were still some remains of whatever building was there left. And there also people. Charred in place and brittle.

If that memory is true and hers, she’s survived two explosions of a terrifying degree. Ellana from before was either living a very dangerous life or someone that someone else wanted to kill very badly.

Or maybe she was just that unlucky.

Ellana breathes out a rattling breath.

She needs to get out of here. The only survivor in a blast that big? The only lucky thing is that there aren’t any cameras to see her leave.

Of course she doesn’t get very far. How could she? No car. No bus. No bike. She can’t even hitch-hike. She has to walk. She doesn’t have supplies - food or water or anything. There’s nowhere for her to go to get any.

She’s fucked, basically.

So Ellana isn’t even close to surprised when three black armored cars with the Inquisition’s logo pull up and then off the road and slowly circle around her about three hours out.

Her arm still hurts and it’s gone numb from the elbow up, but Ellana thinks she could handle this. She watches the cars as people get out, the headlights of the cars casting sharp shadows as the sun sets.

“Are you hurt?” The speaker is a beautiful woman with a scar on her face, broad shoulders, and a crisp accent. She looks like she’s even concerned.

Ellana raises her left hand and lets some black smoke and green-white light mist out of it.

“Drive away,” Ellana says. There are some tricks she could use here without a fight, but she’s never tried it on so many people before.

The woman’s expression shutters, “Lavellan.”

Is that some kind of code word?

“Who are you and what do you want? Why is the Inquisition following me?” Ellana asks, mindful of the other people getting out of cars around her. No one’s drawn weapons yet. They could all be mages, though, as unlikely as that is. The Inquisition isn’t affiliated with any of the Circles or Colleges that she knows of.

“Seeker,” Ellana turns and the speaker is a dwarf who’s just gotten out of the truck behind her. Of all the things he’s got a crossbow, which makes Ellana pause for a second. The dwarf looks sad. “I don’t think she knows.”

Ellana bites her tongue from snapping and she glares at them all.

“Listen, I don’t know you, but you have no idea what you’re dealing with. Just leave me alone,” Ellana says. But something quiet in her says that if they’ve tracked her this far, and if they really were involved in what put her in this situation in the first place, the maybe they have every idea of what’s going on. Hell. They definitely know more than her.

It seems everyone does.

“Lavellan,” The woman who is apparently called Seeker says, hand held out to signal the people around them to step back.

Ellana watches them for signs of spells, magic, anything. There’s nothing. Their faces are strange. They’re scared, they should be, that’s not strange. They’re sad.

Why would they be sad?

“Lavellan,” The woman repeats.

“I don’t know what that word means,” Ellana says, “Is that some kind of code?”

Everyone’s faces immediately change from sad to deeply afraid and incredibly disturbed.

Seeker’s mouth opens and closes for a moment, eyes wide with surprise.

“You don’t…know what Lavellan means?” She says finally.

“I don’t know what anything means,” Ellana says, no small amount of anger in her voice, “Because no one will fucking tell me anything.”

All she has are vague clues from people who never want to see her again and memories that aren’t hers that she can’t figure out at all because the people they belong to never want to see her again.

“It’s your name,” a new voice says.

Ellana turns and there is a man with dark skin and a mustache looking at her through the open window of one of the cars. His eyes are bright with tears and his face looks like she’s just crushed his dreams.

Ellana can hear the sound of more cars approaching.

“Who’s name? I’m Ellana. Who the fuck is Lavellan?”

She turns around, feeling like an animal in a cage as more people surround her. And then a tall figure - a Qunari - comes through the circle. Ellana raises her left hand up, willing her arm to cooperate with her as she readies herself to defend.

The Qunari has one eye and he looks straight at her, face unreadable.

“Those aren’t her eyes,” He says, “Did you all forget? Those are his eyes.”

Ellana’s mind snaps around those words - Mythal’s face as she looked at Ellana close up for the first time, eyes like the sea, she’d never seen eyes so grey before -

“You know him? You know these eyes?” Ellana breathes, fragile hope pushing through her chest, “Where is he? What did you do to him? Where has he gone?”

The Inquisition knows her missing ninth.

He exists. He’s alive. He’s somewhere.

(Mythal and June are wrong about this. They all are. He’s out there and she’s going to find him and then -. Ellana doesn’t know what happens next. But she’s going to find him.)

The tall and broad man just looks into her, and for a second, she thinks she sees something incredibly sad in his face and then he must do something because then all the guns and spells are aimed at her and there’s a ring of purple around her - a spell circle - and she doesn’t have time to react against it as she feels sleep washing over her.

As Ellana hits the ground, eyes closing, she hears the Seeker says, “I’m sorry.”

At first Ellana thinks that it’s directed at her.

But then the man says, in a very low voice that feels like a wave against Ellana’s bones, “You get used to disappointment.”

[slackbastard]

Antifa is liberalism, feminism is cancer, and I’m a monkey’s uncle

My first reaction on reading Marianne Garneau's essay 'Antifa is liberalism' (Ritual, April 11, 2018) was: lolwut. The second was to be reminded of Ward Churchill's essay 'Pacifism As Pathology': in particular, his being at pains to distinguish between, on the one hand, examining pacifism as pathology and, on the other, arguing in favour of the notion that pacifism is pathology. [1] On further reflection -- and leaving aside the fact that I think the weaknesses in Garneau's claims are reasonably apparent and that similar kinds of arguments have been made previously -- I thought I may as well write a more considered response. [2]

To begin with, it's obviously useful to examine the meaning both of antifa and of fascism. While 'fascism' is left undefined and largely unexamined, for Garneau 'antifa', as well as being a species of liberalism, is also a political strategy: 'direct physical and verbal confrontation with extreme right groups, in person and online'. [3] This strategy, they argue, has radical pretensions which 'ironically' places it at odds with liberalism (the strategy of direct confrontation with extreme right groups violates liberal principles of freedom of speech and assembly). Nonetheless, antifa is liberal(ism) in the sense that it's founded upon a liberal understanding of society as 'a collection of individuals' and -- glossing Hobbes, Locke and Rawls -- 'society is simply an amalgamation of the private preferences and behaviors of private citizens'. This liberal conception of society is opposed to one which 'looks at how society is structured, and to whose benefit' and takes 'stock of societal institutions and their functioning, to examine how this deploys relationships of power between different social groups'. This perspective, argues Garneau, is critical to understanding contemporary society, and is absent from the 'antifa' worldview. In summary, 'antifa is liberalism' because the underlying philosophical and political assumptions which govern its practice are liberal.

Is this an accurate description? Does antifa 'draw our attention away from systemic problems and towards individual behavior'? Does it individualise racism and fail to understand or to address its systemic nature? Does it devote too much attention to countering the Alt-Right on  college campuses and 'outing' closeted fascists who occupy public office? Maybe; maybe not: it's difficult to know given that the author doesn't examine in any detail any particular anti-fascist group or project, or identify the liberal villain lurking at the heart of their praxis. By my reckoning, however, I don't think that the argument can be sustained, at least not if the handful of longer-term antifa projects in the US -- which list includes NYC Antifa, Rose City Antifa, and The TORCH Network -- are the object of scrutiny. In fact, I would argue that the opposite is the case, that the collectives which have assembled around these projects are: armed with a structural analysis of racism, fascism and white supremacy; committed to locating contemporary political developments within their social and historical contexts and, by doing so, relating fascism and the far-right to broader social structures; prepared to acknowledge the limitations of antifa as a revolutionary and liberatory praxis; nevertheless insistent on taking fascism seriously, and acting in order to contains its growth.

I would further suggest that understanding contemporary anti-fascism in the United States, North America and elsewhere requires some understanding of its history. [4] And while the definitive account of this history is yet to be written, there are traces, and these traces tend to undermine Garneau's argument. Take, for example, the emergence of 'Anti-Racist Action' in the late 1980s. In its origins, it involved a small group of young people in Minneapolis deciding to fight back against the attempted infiltration of the punk and skinhead community by neo-Nazi and white supremacist elements. This project eventually expanded to include folks in other cities and from other cultural and political communities. [5] In any event, the 'existential' nature of this threat was not abstract but concrete -- as is often the case when there's an increase in fascist political activity. This is an important point which I think is missing from Garneau's account.

To return to the subject of the relationship between anti-fascism, liberalism and radical politics, on one level I'm not overly-concerned if anti-fascism is understood as being one or the other: the more pressing question is 'is it effective'? To answer this question requires an understanding of the goals of anti-fascism beyond 'opposing fascism'. One of the chief complaints 'Antifa is liberalism' makes has to do with the inefficacy of antifa. Punching nazis in the face, disrupting speeches by Alt-Right demagogues and exposing neo-Nazi and white supremacist individuals in uniform and in public office, we are informed, do not bring about the destruction of systemic forms of race- and class-based domination and exploitation, transform college campuses into welcoming spaces for trans and/or undocumented students, or counter state policies that impoverish and marginalise the general population. Such claims are not new, and this line of argument is not unique. [6] In this context, these supposed failures could more simply be read as the product of a misunderstanding of the goals of anti-fascism. If so, then a more relevant question for those committed to egalitarian social change would be: to what extent does anti-fascism contribute to or retard the development of such a political project? In which context, I think the following is apt:

To theorize is simply to try to understand what we are doing. We are all theorists whenever we honestly discuss what has happened, distinguish between the significant and the irrelevant, see through fallacious explanations, recognize what worked and what didn’t, consider how something might be done better next time. Radical theorizing is simply talking or writing to more people about more general issues in more abstract (i.e. more widely applicable) terms. Even those who claim to reject theory theorize — they merely do so more unconsciously and capriciously, and thus more inaccurately.

Theory without particulars is empty, but particulars without theory are blind. Practice tests theory, but theory also inspires new practice.

Radical theory has nothing to respect and nothing to lose. It criticizes itself along with everything else. It is not a doctrine to be accepted on faith, but a tentative generalization that people must constantly test and correct for themselves, a practical simplification indispensable for dealing with the complexities of reality.

But hopefully not an oversimplification. Any theory can turn into an ideology, become rigidified into a dogma, be twisted to hierarchical ends. A sophisticated ideology may be relatively accurate in certain respects; what differentiates it from theory is that it lacks a dynamic relation to practice. Theory is when you have ideas; ideology is when ideas have you. “Seek simplicity, and distrust it.”

One final point.

Garneau claims that: 'In general, antifa treats white supremacy as a matter of inner beliefs rather than of the structure of society that grants arbitrary privilege to white people, ensures the white working class’s compliance with the capitalist system of exploitation, and further represses and disciplines the part of the class that isn’t white.' I don't think this is correct. On the one hand, many who involve themselves in anti-fascist organising do so from a left perspective which is critical of the role of racism in dividing workers and derailing class struggle, and whose opposition to fascism and the far right is partly derived from a commitment to furthering this struggle. On the other hand, the understanding of white supremacy and its political function is in general, I would suggest, more along the lines of that advanced by antifa blogs such as Three Way Fight:

Three Way Fight is a blog that promotes revolutionary anti-fascist analysis, strategy, and activism. Unlike liberal anti-fascists, we believe that "defending democracy" is an illusion, as long as that "democracy" is based on a socio-economic order that exploits and oppresses human beings. Global capitalism and the related structures of patriarchy, heterosexism, racial and national oppression represent the main source of violence and human suffering in the world today. Far right supremacism and terrorism grow out of this system and cannot be eradicated as long as it remains in place.

At the same time, unlike many on the revolutionary left, we believe that fascists and other far rightists aren't simply tools of the ruling class. They can also form an autonomous political force that clashes with the established order in real ways, or even seeks to overthrow global capitalism and replace it with a radically different oppressive system. We believe the greatest threat from fascism in this period is its ability to exploit popular grievances and its potential to rally mass support away from any liberatory anti-capitalist vision.

Perhaps the chief difference in perspectives here is the considered belief that 'fascism' is not reducible to the political effect of a social structure; that individuals, properly organised, can in fact assume the status of a 'vested institutional interest'. As such, fascism poses a threat to the 'organs of working class power' that Garneau and other leftists would like to develop, one which is not reducible to and should not be mistaken for the 'Confederate flag-waving, hate-spewing racists' that Garneau believes constitutes the limits of antifa understanding, and a threat which requires a more serious and nuanced analysis than on offer in Ritual. In any case, the last word belongs to Mark Bray:

The only long-term solution to the fascist menace is to undermine its pillars of strength in society grounded not only in white supremacy but also in ableism, heteronormativity, patriarchy, nationalism, transphobia, class rule, and many others. This long-term goal points to the tensions that exist in defining anti-fascism, because at a certain point destroying fascism is really about promoting a revolutionary socialist alternative (in my opinion one that is antiauthoritarian and nonhierarchical) to a world of crisis, poverty, famine, and war that breeds fascist reaction ...

Undoubtedly street blockades and other forms of confrontational opposition can be very useful against any political opponent, but once far-right formations have manged to broadcast their xenophobic, dystopian platforms, it is incumbent upon us to drown the out with even better alternatives to the austerity and incompetence of the governing parties of the Right and Left.

On its own, militant anti-fascism is necessary but not sufficient to build a new world in the shell of the old.

[1] See also : This Nonviolent Stuff′ll Get You Killed: How Guns Made the Civil Rights Movement Possible, Charles E. Cobb, Duke University Press, 2015; The Failure of Nonviolence, Peter Gelderloos, Left Bank Books, 2015; ‘How nonviolence is misrepresented’, Brian Martin (Gandhi Marg, Vol.30, No.2, July-September 2008). [2] See, for example, 'Fascism/Antifascism' by Jean Barrot (Gilles Dauvé) and numerous other, related materials on libcom. [3] On fascism in the US, see : 'Neofascism in the White House', John Bellamy Foster, Monthly Review, Vol.68, No.11, April 2017 ('Not only a new administration, but a new ideology has now taken up residence at the White House: neofascism. It resembles in certain ways the classical fascism of Italy and Germany in the 1920s and ’30s, but with historically distinct features specific to the political economy and culture of the United States in the opening decades of the twenty-first century'). [4] Recent titles of relevance include: Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook, Mark Bray, Melville House, 2017 and Militant Anti-Fascism: A Hundred Years of Resistance, Mala Testa, AK Press, 2015. See also : Beating The Fascists: The Untold Story of Anti-Fascist Action, Freedom Press, 2012; 'Red Action – Left Wing Political Pariah: Some Observations Regarding Ideological Apostasy and the Discourse of Proletarian Resistance', Mark Hayes (published as Chapter 12 in Against the Grain: The British far left from 1956, Evan Smith and Matthew Worley, eds, Manchester University Press, 2014). Two journal articles of particular relevance are ''A Good Deal of Disorder' or The Anarchists & Anti-Fascism In The UK', M. Testa, Anarchist Studies, Vol.25, No.2, 2017 [PDF] and 'Anti-Fascism and Prefigurative Ethics', Benjamin Franks, Affinities: A Journal of Radical Theory, Culture, and Action, Vol.8, No.1, Summer 2014 [PDF]. [5] See : Solecast 44 w/ Mic Crenshaw on The Anti-Racist Action Network & Radical Politics (June 15, 2017). Mic's account of the origins of ARA, and his reflections on the differences between anti-fascist organising then and now, can also be usefully read alongside ‘How British Police Shut Down the Original UK Antifa’ (James Poulter, Vice, March 12, 2018). [6] See : On Contact: Antifa with Mark Bray (RT America, September 30, 2017). BRAY: Well you know anti-fascists are not trying to organize an armed uprising; they're trying to stop small- and medium-sized fascist groups before they advance ... See also : ‘The Cult of Violence Always Kills the Left’, Chris Hedges, truthdig, April 16, 2018.

[viralhai]

Climate change can bring back viruses that were dormant for a long time | ViralHai News [ad_1]

The Thwing Ground once brought frozen microorganisms, organic materials and other particles to the surface that had been closed for centuries.

Long-dormant viruses brought back to life; Revival of deadly and disgusting smallpox; A dengue or Zika "season" in Europe.

Scientists say that this disaster may be the storyline of the film, but it is also a serious cause of severe and fast-spreading epidemics.

The COVID-19 pandemic that has blown the globe and claimed that over 760,000 lives so far has come from a wild bat, exposing the threat of humanity's continued encroachment on the planet's dwindling wild places.

But the wide ecological footprint of our species can trigger epidemics in other ways as well.

Climate change - already wreaking havoc with one degree Celsius of warming - is also emerging as a driver of infectious disease, whether by expanding the footprint of malaria- and dengue-carrying mosquitoes or by Siberian pemafrost. Defrosting prehistoric pathogens.

Ignorance is our enemy

"In my darkest moments, I see a truly terrible future for Homo sapiens because we are an animal, and when we expand our borders," said Birgitta Ivengaard, clinical microbiology researcher at Umiya University, Sweden It will happen to us. "

"Our biggest enemy is our own ignorance," he said. "Nature is full of microorganisms."

Think of Permafrost, a climate change time bomb spread across Russia, Canada and Alaska containing three times the carbon that has been emitted since the beginning of industrialization.

Even if humanity manages to cap global warming below two degrees Celsius, the PermitFrost region, a cornerstone target of the 2015 Paris Agreement, will be reduced to 2100, according to the IPCC, the UN climate science panel.

And then there are the hidden treasures of Perfrost.

"Microorganisms can survive in frozen space for long periods of time," said Vladimir Romanowski, a professor of geophysics at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks.

Anthrax withdrawal?

At the ground level, once frozen soil particles, organic matter, and microorganisms that had been sealed for millennia are transported to the surface by the flow of water, he explained.

"Melting in this way can spread these microorganisms to the current environment."

There are already examples of ancient, long-frozen insects coming to life.

"When you put a seed in the soil that has been frozen for thousands of years then nothing happens", said Jean-Michel Claverie, an emerging professor of genomics at the Aix-Marseille University School of Medicine in France.

"But when you heat the earth, the seed will sprout," he said. "This is what happens with viruses."

Claveri's lab has successfully revived Siberian viruses that are at least 30,000 years old.

These Renaissance insects only attack amoebae, but tens of thousands of years ago there were certainly others that aimed at the food chain.

"Neanderthals, mammoths, woolly rhinoceros all became ill, and many died," Claverie said. "Some of the causes of the virus that were the cause of his illnesses are probably still in the soil."

The number of lean bacteria and viruses in the permafrost is incurable, but the more important question is how dangerous they are.

And here, scientists disagree.

"Anthrax suggests that bacteria can rest in the permafrost for hundreds of years and regenerate," Evengard said.

In 2016, a child died of an illness in Siberia, which had disappeared from the region at least 75 years earlier.

Two million year old pathogens

The case has been attributed to the thawing of a long-buried corpse, but some experts state that the animal under consideration may have been in shallow filth and thus subject to periodic thawing.

Other pathogens - such as smallpox or influenza strain, which killed millions in 1917 and 1918 - may also be present in the sub-Arctic region.

But they are "probably deactivated", Romanowski concluded in a study published earlier this year.

However, for Claverie, the return of smallpox - officially erased 50 years ago - cannot be ruled out. Victims of the disease in the 18th and 19th centuries "buried in cemeteries in Siberia are fully protected from the cold," he said.

In the unlikely event of a local pandemic, a vaccine is available.

The real danger, he said, is under deep stress, where unknown pathogens have not seen daylight for two million years.

If there were no hosts for the insects, then there would be no problem, but climate change - indirectly - has also intervened here.

"With the industrial exploitation of the Arctic, all are risk factors - pathogens and people to carry them," Claverie said.

There has been speculation of a revival of ancient bacteria or viruses, but climate change has already promoted the spread of diseases causing about half a million people each year: malaria, dengue, chikungunya, zika.

"The northward-facing mosquitoes are now able to overwinter in some temperate regions," said Jean Mele, sub-group leader for biosecurity and public health at the Los Almos National Laboratory in New Mexico.

"They also have a longer reproduction period."

Climate change aperitif

Native to Southeast Asia, tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) - which carries dengue and chikungunya - arrived in southern Europe in the first decade of this century and has been rapidly moving northwards, to Paris and beyond.

Meanwhile, another dengue infested mosquito, Aedes aegypti, Also appeared in Europe. Whichever species may be the culprit, the Europe Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has registered 40 cases of localized dengue transmission between 2010 and 2019.

"Increase in average temperature may lead to seasonal dengue transmission in southern Europe a. Easy The virus was established to be infected, "according to the Europe Center for Disease Prevention and Control.

For malaria - a disease that once blew southern Europe and the southern United States and for which an effective treatment exists - the risk of exposure depends in large part on socio-economic conditions.

According to a study cited by the IPCC, if climate change continues, more than five billion people may live in malaria-affected areas by 2050, but strong economic growth and social development may reduce that number to less than two billion. .

The IPCC said in 2013, "Recent experiences in Southern Europe show how fast the disease can grow if health services falter."

In Africa - which saw 228 million cases of malaria in 2018, 94 percent of the world's total - the disease vector is growing in new areas, most notably in the high-altitude plains of Ethiopia and Kenya.

At the moment, indications for communicable tropical diseases are "worrisome in terms of expanding vectors, not necessarily transmission," said Cyril Kaminade, an epidemiologist working at the University of Liverpool on infections and climate change at the Global Institute of Health.

"He said, we are only tasting the climate so far," he said.

[ad_2] https://tinyurl.com/y46r4vrd #bring #change #climate #dormant #long #news #time #viralhai #viruses

[sveasauvageon]

I can't go when you look this freaking beautiful || GW

☾♔; March 14, 2018 ☾♔; sotd: idk ☾♔; comedian otd: idk ☾♔; GW: Side Character Audition ☾♔; {G} https://goo.gl/XSTtMc ☾♔; mod(s): @themadmonarchist @maybones et moi  

FINALLY DONE WITH THIS

Me every time Russia sends a "love, love, peace, peace" type song to Eurovision: *rolls on the floor laughing my arse off and literally dying from the irony*

GW SIDE CHARACTER TEMPLATE

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ஜ۩۞۩ஜ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀Viggo Asbjörn Rasmus Sauvageon, (21)

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Un jour je suis prédateur ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Un jour je suis la proie ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Un jour j'ai chaud au cœur ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Un jour j'ai tellement froid ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀-⠀Au Coeur de moi - Amir

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ஜ۩۞۩ஜ

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⚜️ THE BASICS

Nickname: Vig, V/Vi, Vígi, storebror (Svea and Lili)   Gender: cis-male Date of Birth: December 24 Place of Birth: Lake Mälaren (it's in Enköping, and next to the Sauvageon estate. He was born in an underwater cave)   Nationality: Swedish Ethnicity: caucasian (swedish/frankish descent), also half-fish person.   Accent: Swedish Blood Status: half-blood/half-breed, he's half-merperson (hey, theoretically, it's possible in the wizarding world, plus, see; Shape of Water, The. 😛)  

Profession: Curse-Breaker for Rökstenen Wizarding Bank (the Swedish counterpart to Gringotts)

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⚜️ PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

Face Claim: Mooms-mooms, I mean Måns Zelmerlöw

Hair: short, black, sometimes dark brown, soft

Eyes: brown, turn into a deep sea-green when he's angry or feeling like a huge surge of love (as in the emotion, don't be gross, also, not limited to romantic love, basically any love that would qualify for "save the world" level up's in anime characters)

Height: 1.74 m/5'7"-ish (he's so short, I mean, I can't really judge being a measly 5'2", but still)

Weight: idk

Body: slim, fit, super hot swede, wannabe James Bond tbh (did he dreaming of being bond as a child? Maybe.)

Any Scars/ Marks?: not scars exactly, but he has sort of scale-like cravings. Like groves in a stone wall, except on his skin and in the shape of scales. He has a large section on the right side of his rib cage, left shoulder blade going down in a slight diagonal angle to the right back of his hips (decreasing in amount as it moves down his back), left angle, and left wrist.

Any Tattoos/ Piercings?: n/a

Quirks/ Mannerisms: - not really a mannerism of his, but always ends up as a thing for Svea to lean on, since they're basically the same height, and in heels, she's taller than him.

Style: as "erratic" as his cousin's, but generally well-tailored, and figure-flattering. Likes wearing shirts that are a bit too tight (ala Marvel superhero tight), but generally walks around either in suits and ties, or a superhero shirt (as in the fit and not a graphic tee) and jeans. Favours Dolce & Gabbana, Ralph Lauren, Burberry, and Guess (because he's a fu.cking nerd).

Additional Information:

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⚜️ PERSONALITY:

Head cannon: Super dorky, super cute. Like Svea, he's super Swedish (ie liberal socialist), but he's a lot nicer and pleasant (well, she's not, not nice, but she's also not nice, ya feel?, less elitist is the phrase I'm looking for). Literally sunshine, he's pleasant and joyful and a lot of fun, somewhat reckless, quite a mess, very loveable. Tiny bit of a wh.o.re (manwhøre, yes, but why do men get a different word that doesn't really have a negative connotation), he's never single. He's always dating someone or "causally" seeing someone. The longest he's been single (since joining the dating game) is a week.

Personality (+ 5, - 5): dork, nerd, smarter than he looks/acts, playful, thrives in stressful situations, prefers to have leadership "thrust" upon rather than actively seek it out, sweet, thoughtful, bad at flirting (seriously, it's embarrassing), lazy magic user (like that stupid scene in fantastic beasts when Tina's sister used magic instead of just sliding her hands into the fu.cking robe herself, that's mooms-mooms. I mean Vig), more vain than he cares to admit (spends a surprising amount of time on his hair every morning), act first-think later type of idiot (will jump into a dark tomb for the # adventure without even checking for curses first), adventurous, reckless, silly, quick on his feet, adaptable, resourceful, loyal, protective (though, usually it's him getting protected, he's more of a sweet summer child with a somewhat hidden armour of steel, valyrian steel)  

Any mental health issues: - bursts into eurovision songs spontaneously, usually with Svea. Like, it's technically not an illness, but at this point, I'm pretty sure I've got it.

Favorite Quotes/ Sayings that your character would use: - "I am Thor, God of Hammers." (Probs Syn: You are Vígi, god of the losers) - "I miss when I had two feet of authority over you." (To Svea, also Syn tbh, pretty she and Svea are the same height) - "you wanna be my Waterloo?" (Vig, attempting to flirt. Tbh, Svea would say the same thing. They have a Eurovision problem) - "a smooth sea never made a skilled sailor" (someone off in the background: you're half-fish, and a curse-breaker)

Additional Information: - I was originally thinking of "Au coeur de moi" as his theme song, but it's so definitely "I can't go on" by Robin Bengtsson  

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⚜️ BIOGRAPHY

Relation to your OC: paternal cousin, like once removed? No, twice removed. he's the son of her grandfather's sister's son.

♣️ Family Background

:: House of Sauvageon ::

The Sauvageon's are a very family old wizarding family, they were originally French, and later immigrated to Sweden in the late 1700's. Unlike most ancient wizarding families (particularly the British ones), they have never shied away from breeding with muggles and muggleborns, often gaining the label of "blood traitor" from the British families, but they're Swedish, and blood density is irrelevant there. There are as liberal and socialist as their country. Despite being loathed by the blood purist-type families, they are still approached very few generations for marital matches, as they are exceedingly wealthy and when the aforementioned house runs out of options.  

One could say he's from a branch family, they're no longer the main family, technically, but are still closely related and also still have the same name. So it's more like a developing branch family. His grandmother (Frida) was Svea's grandfather's (Ludvig's) younger sister, so I think that makes them cousin's twice removed? Or is it three times? I don't know, this sht always confuses me (in my defense, I do have around 6000 cousins, and I don't know how I'm related to any of them. Not even joking about that tbh).

Sauvageon aesthetics (with a tiny bit about both Vig and Svea's maternal families, still editing it though): https://goo.gl/u4nRiU

--only father-side relations listed here-- ▪️ Father: Acke Bengt Adrian Sauvageon | Alex Jennings | 56 | former socialite (kind of missing, lives underwater)

▪️ Grandmother: Eira Katja Karita Sauvageon | n/a | deceased former politician (in the muggle world, rose to mayor of Enköping)

▪️ Grandfather: Danil Benjamin Sauvageon née Vengerbojrn | n/a | deceased (muggle businessman - ran KronLund, which specialized in developing luxury estates, hosting events, and owns far too many wineries. He changed his surname upon marrying Eira, half-Icelandic)  

▪️ Uncle (father's brother): Edvard Ragnvald Fritjof Sauvageon | n/a | missing, disappeared whilst exploring Geiranger Fjord in Norway

▪️ Cousin (closer than Svea and Lili, biologically): Frej Egil Fredrik Sauvageon Bernadotte, Duke of Västergötland | Matthew Goode | 36 | businessman/royal consort (took up control of KronLund after Danil's death, later married the crown princess of Sweden and added her house's name to his. All children of the marriage shall take the name of the royal house)

▪️ Cousin-in-law: Crown Princess Kristina Ulrika Viktoria Margareta of the House of Bernadotte, Duchess of Västergötland | Vanessa Kirby | 32 | heir apparent to the Swedish Throne

Main Sauvageon family/extended family: ▪️ Great-uncle: Ludvig Sauvageon | Patrick Stewart ▪️ Great-aunt-in-law: Linnéa Sauvageon | Judi Dench ▪️ Uncle: Petter Sauvageon | Colin Firth ▪️ Aunt-in-law: Iliana Drubetskaya | Lena Headey ▪️ Cousin: Svea Sauvageon | Cara Delevingne ▪️ Cousin: Lena Sauvageon | Dafne Keen ▪️ Aunt: Brigitta Sauvageon | Gillian Anderon ▪️ Uncle: Kåre Sauvageon | James D'Arcy

:: Maternal "family" :: A merwoman calling herself "Freyja", whilst he's visited his mother and her "family" many times, he's still not quite clear about which merpeople in the Lake he's related to, and which not, nor even how he was born (*cough* conceived but ew *cough*). They basically just sing and sht when he's underwater, and then he goes up, kind of in a haze and with a mild euphoric feeling, like he's been drugged.  

Although he doesn't know much about his mer-family, according to Swedish mermaid legends, they're known for helping lost sailors and are generally considered a friendly peoples. They largely help deal with the lake's grindylow population.

♣️ Family Affiliation: Swedish Ministry of Magic, Durmstrang Institute of Magic (not a happy association, but it's their homeschool, and most Sauvageon's have attended it, including Vig himself), House of Bernadotte, House of Châteaudun (and their successive houses), and the Riddarhuset (The House of Nobility in Sweden -- don't really have any power or special tax exemptions anymore, basically protection of historical titles and coat of arms), Rökstenen (that's more his personal affiliation though, since banks are seperate entites run by goblins who employ some humans)

♣️ Socio-economic status: meh. He technically has a lot of money via family, and earns quite a sum from Rökstenen, but he's one of those rich people who are oblivious to how much things cost (making him slightly disaffected, though, in his defense, he was rasied in palace, basically)

Quick facts: Vig was born underwater in Lake Mälaren to Acke Sauvageon and a merperson who calls herself "Freyja", they're still not sure if it's her real name. He was born with mostly the physical features of a regular human, so he was taken above water to be raised by the Sauvageon's, his father, however, remained underwater (originally he sustained himself via gilly weed and the bubble head charm, but eventually became an animagus and lives as a blue tang because Dory). Closest in age to Svea out of her generation of Savaugeon's, they essentially grew up as siblings, and even attended muggle school together for a time before it was time for him to go to Durmstrang. To say he did not like it there would be an understatement, he nearly flunked out of his dark arts classes out of pure protest, but later actually tried since the information would come in handy when he decided he wanted to be curse breaker. In his 6th year, he attempted to petition the school to change their rules and let muggle-borns in, but lacked support from his fellow students and was ultimately unsuccessful.  

Additional Information: n/a

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⚜️ HOGWARTS INFORMATION Hogwarts Stats: N/A

Whilst a (half-)wizard, Vig did not attend Hogwarts, but instead went to the Scandi homeschool; Durmstrang. Like the other Sauvageon's who attended Durmstrang (as well as Swedes in general, because JKR didn't even fu.cking google Sweden before making it the Scandi school, it's a socialist country, and unlike Denmark and Norway, isn't allergic to migrants!), anyway, like the other Sauvageon's and Swedes, he did not like the school, especially it's attitude towards muggles and muggle-borns (his own grandfather being a muggle). Despite his hatred of the school, he did well, earning the equivalents of Outstandings and Excellents in his exams. Svea jokes that he would've been an "uncool Hufflepuff" (probs would've been in Ravenclaw though, he's smarter than he looks. And acts).

Any Pets?: does Lili count? Not really, she'd reducto his as.s if he said to her face.

Reputation at Hogwarts: doesn't really have one, he only shows up to the events that open to non-students/family, and would really only interact with friends of Svea and/or the Lothbroks. I guess his rep would be "hot dude that sometimes shows up". Also, just to be clear, he literally has nothing to do with the Hogwarts social hierarchy (just in case anyone got confused).  

Additional Information:

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⚜️ INDIVIDUAL MAGIC

Wand: Rosewood Wand Core: Unicorn hair Wand Length: 10½" Wand Flexibility: Swishy Patronus: Arctic Fox   Boggart: drowning (appears as his almost-corpse, like pale and wet, but like seizing and struggling to breath) Amortentia: burning wood (like the scent that arises from a bonfire), cinnamon, sea salt Affinity to any particular magic?: not exactly, but he's naturally drawn towards water related spells and sea type plants. It's not super special, they were just the easiest for him to learn and work with when he was still in school, having completed his education, he's perfectly skilled with other stuff now too. Additional Information: - great singer both above and underwater, underwater it becomes more ethereal, known to occasionally leave listeners with an ecstatic, somewhat loopy feeling, like marijuana does to muggles - he's incapable of performing any of the unforgiveable curses.  

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⚜️ USER INFORMATION

Username: @drownedinmoonlight Activity Level (Scale 1-10): 8

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⚜️ OPTIONAL Playlist: Moodboard: Social Media (instagram, facebook, snapchat, twitter, etc) : Storyboard: Aesthetic Collection: Wardrobe/Style Collection: Plotting Set: Story:

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ஜ۩۞۩ஜ

When you have completed the audition, please tag the mods: @.drownedinmoonlight @.themadmonarchist and @.maybones and use the hashtag #GWnpc

Also, don't forget to add it to the group. Happy character creation!

[vsplusonline]

India's changed media consumption habits may remain post lockdown

New Post has been published on https://apzweb.com/indias-changed-media-consumption-habits-may-remain-post-lockdown/

India's changed media consumption habits may remain post lockdown

Initially, it took a nudge. Ramayan was airing on Doordarshan (DD). In Mumbai, the seniors in the Singh family had a plan. “We had grown up with Ramayan. We had emotions and nostalgia attached to it. We wanted our kids to know the story, too,” says Ajit Kumar Singh, a banking sector executive. The family of five comprises Singh, his wife, son, 17, daughter, 26, and his 77-year-old mother-in-law.

“In the beginning, we had to push our daughter a bit to watch the serial,” he says. Many episodes and weeks later, things have fallen into place. During the lockdown, breakfast is about the family watching Ramayan together. “Initially, I was just curious. What was this serial that held people so much in thrall in the 1980s? Slowly, it has grown on me,” says the daughter, Parul Singh.

But it’s the granny, Mandvi Singh, who is the happiest. Life in the big city is a constant chase. “Everybody was busy. We rarely sat down together,” she says. Even when people had the time, they would watch their favourite programmes — news, cooking shows or one of the many soaps — in their own spaces. “Watching Ramayan together in these difficult times is a refreshing change,” says Ajit.

The Singh family has a lot of company in these locked-down days in India. On the back of reruns of old serials like Ramayan, Mahabharat and Buniyaad, for the first time since 2015 (when BARC was launched), the state-run DD has become the topviewed channel in the country (see box).

TV

TV

Note: % change refers to change in numbers between Jan 11-31 (weekly average) and Apr 4-10 Source: All data, unless otherwise specified, are from BARC and Nielsen, which are tracking weekly shifts in consumer behaviour before and during lockdown.

And its audience engagement has only grown week after week. Who would have thought that amid the plethora of slickly produced sitcoms, movies and originals, mythological shows produced in the 1980s would keep a nation spellbound in these difficult times? “Retreating into the world of Ramayan and Mahabharat is not just about viewing and entertainment. It is a combination of therapy, nostalgia and remembering god amid an unprecedented crisis,” says Santosh Desai, CEO, Future Brands.

A national lockdown that has gone on for five weeks has seen Indians embracing a quieter life. The cacophonous physical world outside has fallen silent, only to be replaced by a vibrant virtual life — experiences streaming via cable, broadband and 4G. News, fantasy, crime, comedy, mythology and pornography all jostle for attention, offering homebound Indians, the more fortunate of them anyway, endless possibilities to stay informed and escape the harsh realities and uncertainties of one of the most tumultuous times in memory.

We have been equipping ourselves with necessary gear for a while. This is a country where buying TVs for homes has historically taken precedence over building toilets. Our affinity for media has only been amplified by a surging smartphone usage (50 crore-plus handsets) and internet connections (72 crore plus), thanks to low-cost Chinese phones and the world’s cheapest data plans.

Viewership

DD

A life where the virtual takes precedence is a delight for marketers and sociologists. Flows of terabytes of data, relatively easy to measure, can offer an unparalleled peek into human behaviour, the shifting patterns and emerging trends.

Not surprisingly, multiple outfits — from research consultancies such as Nielsen, BARC and Similar-Web to search giants such as Google to platforms such as Razorpay in fintech and dating app Truly-Madly — are watching closely. Nielsen (for smartphone data) and BARC (for TV data) have been releasing in-depth weekly reports since the lockdown began, slicing the data to understand the shifts. ET Magazine mined a slew of data sets to bring you insights on India’s digital life in the time of lockdown.

PM’s Speech

Going Retro Time spent on both TVs and smartphones has gone up, with TV getting the largest share. In both variety and time, viewers are seeking more. Average weekly viewing minutes on TV rose by 38%, even as average number of channels being watched rose from 16 to 22. Some are obvious, like the sharp growth (76%) in non prime time as against prime time (which saw only a 5% uptick) viewing, even as weekly advertising time dipped by 26% to 20 million seconds. With people staying at home, TV viewing time is now spread out through the day. “Content satiates emotional and mental needs as anxiety and panic have risen. We have seen a huge growth of DD and non-prime time viewing,” says Sunil Lulla, CEO, BARC India. Unlike popular perception, DD’s growth has come from across income classes, with upper income households leading the surge.

LOCKDOWN SWITCH

Intergenerational Co-viewing Sees a Boost Mandvi Singh, 77 Retired PSU executive, Mumbai LOCKDOWN SWITCH: For the first time, three generations have their breakfast together, watching Ramayan on TV “Earlier, we rarely sat together for anything. It is good to see even today’s kids liking Ramayan”

“Appeal of DD’s shows cuts across segments with very sticky viewers,” he says. Not only has Ramayan’s viewership grown week after week, it is also marked by co-viewing (22% of children are watching with their grandparents) where families get together to watch. Prasar Bharti CEO Shashi Vempati says, “The viewership growth for DD is across segments. What we are witnessing here is the calculus of segmentation being turned on its head, with wholesome family viewing returning. Many decades back, TV was the glue that brought families together.

That is happening again with the epics.” For DD, the lockdown strategy was simple. “We wanted to engage families so that they could stay home to stay safe,” he says. Encouraged, it has launched DD Retro on a pilot basis as a channel to recreate the nostalgia. Meanwhile, consumption of news has grown sharply (219%), followed by movies (73%). “We have seen a viewership surge. Morning viewing time is getting extended into the afternoon. It is also about fresh content. Unlike general entertainment channels (GEC) and sports, news is the only category that can generate fresh content under lockdown,” says MK Anand, MD, Times Network. (It is owned by Times Group, which publishes this newspaper.) GEC saw only a marginal growth of 7%.

There are two possible reasons for this. One is obvious — little availability of fresh content in a lockdown. The second reason is interesting and could offer some clues into how the battle for remote control is shaping up within homes, says Desai. Women, who are a dominant chunk of GEC viewers, may have had to re-prioritise their access to TV amid household chores and stiff competition from kids and men. Interestingly, sports channels that saw a sharp dip, with the cancellation of live sporting events, have witnessed a spike with the live-streaming of WrestleMania and reruns of Indo-Pak cricket classics.

classroom

Online Sessions Keep Classrooms Going Ashwini Kumar, 16 Student, Sitamarhi, Bihar LOCKDOWN SWITCH: He’s in Class 10; his tuition teacher now conducts virtual sessions & tests “My studies had stopped totally. My tuition teacher now sends notes & tests via WhatsApp. It helps”

Smartphone View Multiple sources offer insights into smartphone usage in India. “The biggest thing that struck me is how both men and women have taken to digital news at every level of socio-economic strata in metros and non-metros,” says Dolly Jha, country head, Nielsen India. It has been tough for family oriented Indians to practise social distancing. Forced to cut off physical connections, they are making up in the virtual world. “The share of time Indians spent on calling and chatting is 29% as against 12% in the US,” says Jha.

Covid-19 is on everyone’s mind. More than 1 in every 10 respondents used the government’s Aarogya Setu app in the first week of its launch. Also, 40% of Google’s top 100 searches are related to Covid-19, says Nielsen. Time spent on chat and VoIP (19% on average, with women hitting higher at 22%) leads smartphone usage, followed by social networking (15%), video-streaming (14%) and gaming (9% on average, while 15-21-year-olds spend 11% of their time). Santanu Basu, founder, Let’s Game Now, an esports platform, has seen the user base of gamers surge from 17,000 pre-lockdown to 50,000 now. Based on data from SimilarWeb, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and You-Tube are the most popular apps in India. During the lockdown, downloads of almost all these apps have remained stable or dipped, except for TikTok, which saw a big rise. “The sweaty energy that TikTok exudes is a good representative of what is happening in the society at large,” says Desai. He says the depth and breadth of content in TikTok around Covid-19 is far richer than that in other platforms.

World of Smartphones

YouTube search trends echo some of these shifts. News, gaming, at-home workouts and recipe searches for dishes like panipuri saw a big spurt, says Kaushik Das Gupta, group head, insights and partnerships, Google India. OTT player MX Player (owned by Times Group, which publishes this newspaper), which launched seven shows in March, has seen time spent on its platform jump 2.5 times as compared with pre-lockdown days. “Our offering of Hollywood films like Baywatch and Transformers, dubbed in Hindi, is doing well,” says Karan Bedi, CEO, MX Player. Snehil Khanor, cofounder of dating platform TrulyMadly, has seen the number of active users, their engagement and time spent rise even as peak activity time has got extended.

Apps

Love

Beyond the Lockdown Whenever the world resets to normalcy, many of these shifts might prove to have been transient. But some could stick or accelerate trends that were already afoot. OTT viewing is one of them. Virtually, all major streaming platforms have witnessed a jump in user base. Some of those users may not log out after the lockdown.

Similarly, digital transactions have witnessed interesting shifts. A recent report by Razorpay, a fintech company, based on pre-lockdown and lockdown transactions, shows that payments for utilities, IT & software, and media & entertainment saw a growth of 73%, 32% and 25%, respectively, even as sectors such as travel dipped by 87%. “Demonetisation was a short-term event. Lockdown will lead to long-term shifts. Behavioural change will be a lot stickier,” says Razorpay cofounder Harshil Mathur.

Indians are also waking up to the convenience of virtual workout coaches. Universal Music MD Devraj Sanyal has used the lockdown period to focus on his physical and mental well-being, spending two hours daily shuffling between fitness regimens. “Those two hours, I think of nothing else. It’s a great way to de-stress in these difficult times. I am 100% sure some of it will stay post-lockdown,” he says.

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