#because now in modern day it has NOTHING to do with the original series

[ectoplasmer]

sorry it’s early and i’m brushing my teeth while the sun is rising since I passed out last night before I got the chance to, and we’re getting genuine sunlight for the first time in weeks, and I’m busy contemplating just how ridiculous this series is

[creatingblackcharacters]

How to spot a Stereotype: An Example

Okay, so I talked about this in my Lesson 6 Stereotypes series, but I feel like people haven't quite... Understood what I meant. So I'm doing a mini lesson/application. First, I'd really appreciate it if you take the time to read the links in my posts, because that will provide you the historical and social context necessary. If you lack it, you will never be fully able to understand this. Remember, all I do here is provide the beginning steps. You have to be willing to do the rest!

One thing I constantly emphasize is that it's not the description of a character that (always) reveals an existing stereotype, but the writing! And again, until you grasp why anti-Black stereotypes are what they are, you will continue to be frustrated with how to avoid incorporating them, both in your writing and in your mindset. I'm going to use one stereotype as an example.

The Mammy Stereotype

"[Black woman character] is very fond, doting, and protective. She's like the team mom of the group."

On the surface, people who are worried about this stereotype will worry, because Black readers have long rolled their eyes and said we're tired of seeing this as one of the Only Options for Black women characters. And we are. Here's the disconnect: the attributes are not what we're tired of, but how they were utilized in the writing- often by non-Black writers!

Mammy: put simply, the caricature of the Mammy is the Black nursemaid that would take care of the Master's white children and the Mistress, prioritizing them above the well-being of herself, her own children, and her own community. She is fat and homely (so as not to attract the Master from the Mistress), unthreatening, sweet and subservient.

In other words, the only value she held was to serve white people's needs (and quench their guilt).

While the image of the Mammy herself is a strong imagery that has faded from its specific origin, I would say the modern day fan archetypes that ring of the Mammy stereotype are the Black woman character that "holds the Braincell", the "begrudgingly fond mother of the group", the canon love interest now relegated to the "mommy/mean lesbian" whose feelings are erased altogether, her new role to help the two white characters get together without acknowledgment of her own potential. She has no real story of her own, or as mentioned, has her own story stolen because "it doesn't look good with her in it" (which is its own bag of worms).

Now, people often give these characters motherly (or what society deems motherly) traits: caring, sweet, protective, loving, self sacrificial. Because they want to defensively show that "they're a great person! Nothing bad! I still think they're good! I'm not racist!"

But upon learning of the stereotype, there appears this insecurity- "oh, my Black woman character has these traits, is she playing into this stereotype?" When you get to this question, what you really need to be asking yourself is:

What makes the Mammy a Mammy?

They are a tool, a utility to white people with more power.

They lack autonomy. How they feel is irrelevant, if it does not serve the white person.

Nonthreatening so as to feel "harmless" to white people who bask in her "selfless" care.

They are not allowed to show frustration or upset at their lot or at life; it is seen as a negative attribute because if they are not caring, they have no use (and may now even be considered a threat).

They will also disagree with anyone else, even to the detriment of themselves, to the benefit of the white person. This is considered "selfless", rather than sacrifice (consider that "real" Mammies were originally slaves. They probably hated every single day with the people they "cared" for, but God forbid they speak on it. To white people, they were supposedly so happy and grateful! Smile and nod!)

Notice, out of the things I listed, "strong", "protective", "intelligent", and "caring" weren't there! Because those aren't bad attributes for a Black character to have! Why would we ever suggest that?? Why would I be mad that a Black woman was any of those wonderful things to her peers? That's not the issue. The issue is that they are often used in service of usually white characters and their stories. They're a tool of the writer to coddle their white characters, versus a character that has their own inner workings and existence.

Knowing what you know now; things that would make your strong, protective, and caring Black woman character fit the Mammy stereotype can include:

If she is pushed to the side with no autonomy or inner life of her own, as the narrative centers the white characters and their needs.

If she is never shown to have any reason for acting outside of to the benefit of the white characters around her. That's the only time her presence counts.

If her disagreeing with, getting upset with, or refusing (or really, just not being "motherly") the white characters is deemed trashy by the narrative (whereas anyone else receives nuance or reason for their behavior).

If the white characters in the story treat her poorly, and it is treated as a good thing that she "stays calm" without any sort of reflection on her feelings.

You can come up with any sort of setting, plot scenario, and description of your Black woman character. But at the end of the day, what's going to make it the stereotype is how the narrative treats her, which you will only find out by writing it, and then reviewing your own work!

You're going to have to approach any stereotype this way. It's part of the *intent* thing I keep pushing 😅 if you don't intend to write a stereotype, you're going to have to actively understand what it is, which will help you actively avoid it.

[hazardous-who]

Modern Vampire and Reincarnated Witch AU

Pairing: Obito Uchiha / Kakashi Hatake

( In which Obito is a vampire who has lost it all, and Kakashi is reincarnated as a human with dark magic in his blood. )

🚩 Warning for blood and death.

Obito had lost everything.

It started with being shunned from his family, to losing Rin, then losing Kakashi too.

All of his people of importance now gone. Nothing left for him in this world. No love, no family, no place that would ever truly feel like home. No one to confide in that was like him, who only appeared to be human, but was nothing of the sort.

He had become something bitter and mean due to his loss, something pathetically lonely, but couldn’t find it in himself to stop living. Knew Rin and Kakashi would want him to live, no matter the odds. So he held on and endured, blending himself among humanity.

It was just another dull day, where Obito had been on his way home, wandering down the streets at night until he had heard commotion from a nearby alley, the scent of blood hitting his nose just as quickly as the body that was suddenly crashing into him all at once. A startlingly familiar face stared up at him, expression something wild and scared, with pale skin painted black and blue and a nose spilling fresh waves of crimson.

A look so foreign to the man he once knew, but indefinitely Kakashi.

There was a series of footsteps resounding from the alley the man had initially manifested from, a small group of men with bats and pipes quickly making their way closer. An unfriendly bunch that clearly meant to do harm, but judging by the blood already coating their weapons and the man before him, it was apparent they had already actually done a fair bit.

The approaching threat caused fingers to claw desperately at his jacket, a voice he hadn’t heard in years sobbing a broken plea, frightened by the approaching individuals.

“Please help me.”

It had been a long time since Obito had last lost control of himself.

The bodies were unrecognizable when he had come back to, panting as he regarded the bloodied concrete and the sides of the buildings heading the alley. He was soaked in it, grimacing as he pulled flesh from beneath his nails. They smelled so foul he didn’t mind the waste of a fresh meal for once, their blood filled with drugs and toxins he’d much prefer to avoid if he could help it.

He startled when he remembered the man who had ran into him, frantic as he turned to see where he had ran-

But he hadn’t gone anywhere.

In fact, he had knocked out just a few steps away on the sidewalk. If that was because of whatever beatdown he endured or from watching Obito eviscerate his attackers, he didn’t know.

What he did know was he was now in an incredibly complicated position.

- Ending Notes

Little thing from between fics I wrote a while back that never got finished, it was originally gonna be multichapter story with LAYERS, but I had more drive for other things. So you guys can have this- I’m unsure if I’ll actually end up continuing or polishing it or anything. I honestly have a few vampire AU fic wips in my arsenal right now aughhhh...

[bisexuallsokka]

ok hello i have found that i have no choice but to introduce you to my "divorced zukka but slightly to the left" headcanon for a modern au. basically, a pre-transitioned zuko and sokka have a one night stand at the end of their senior year of high school, and never speak again. roughly six years later, sokka is starting his job at an elementary school (not a classroom teacher, like technology or something) and meets izumi, who is so sweet and cute and i swear thats the face katara makes when she's annoyed, and one day happens to see her dad pick up and huh he looks and AWFUL lot like that person i went to high school with and OH GOD some quick math brings an idea to mind.

So sokka attempts to confront zuko who is very much NOPE DO NOT TALK TO ME, but finally breaks down after a series of shenanigans that def do not involve mild stalking. but only to admit that yes, izumi is sokka's biological daughter, and would like to leave their interactions at that, except sokka has NO interest in SIMPLY leaving it at that because!!! he has a kid!!! that he knew nothing about!!! for six years!!!

zuko very much would like to continue living his life without sokka bc being a single young parent is hard enough but he has a good routine and good relationship with his daughter and he doesnt need this, this, SPERM DONOR to just come in here and mess everything up! the guy hasnt been there the last six years, there is absolutely no reason for his to get involved now!! BUT sokka absolutely would have been there if zuko had only TOLD HIM, but how was ZUKO supposed to know that, and did zuko really think so little of him?? except it was a one night stand and zuko didnt even realize he was a boy until right after and he originally wasnt even planning to keep izumi, and HOW could he have just given up their CHILD without ever even telling sokka about her and given him a CHANCE to take her, and WE WERE JUST KIDS AND HE WAS SCARED-

its complicated. and involves a lot of trying not to shout around izumi, who is just over the moon that her dad and her favorite teacher know each other outside of school. and there's a lot of heartache over sokka having to come to terms with the fact that yeah, hes not izumis parent, and there's only so much he can do without stepping on zuko's toes, and he only wants what is best for izumi, and zuko seeing that maybe sokka really does want to be all in for izumi even if zuko thinks sokka really doesnt fully understand what that means, and would it be such a bad thing? not that either of them are going to admit this to the other.

so it starts with small things, like sokka being allowed to pay child support (which hes been begging to do since day one), and maybe it turns out that zukos new coworker is sokkas friend and they end up at the same party where they can really see each other interact with izumi, and a chunk zuko's summer child care plans for the summer fall apart so sokka offers to babysit since his summer job is remote which feels BIG but also reallyyyyy too convenient to reject,

and then something bigger happens where izumi gets hurt at school and while sokka is blaming himself he's also panicking bc the hospital wont let him stay with her bc hes not an emergency contact so he steels himself and later tells zuko he wants to make his relationship to izumi legal. hes not going to have a custody fight, he would never ask for that, but he wants his name on her birth certificate and wants his name on her list of emergency contacts, and its the first time zuko understand that sokka 100% knows what he's getting into here and is willing to be in this 100%.

So maybe sokka moves into this "uncle sokka" role, because zuko still refuses to tell izumi that sokka is her other dad, and yeah that hurts, but sokka would rather have part of izumi's life if he can't have all of it. and sokka gets a better look inside their lives and discovers that its HARD being a young single parent, why would zuko have risked everything he worked for to mix in some guy he barely knew who might decide that zuko wasn't good enough and take izumi away? and zuko sees the pain sokka has from missing out on so many key moments of izumi's young life, and the more sokka is proving himself as a second parent, the more guilty zuko feels. they go through some shit together and its more and more evident that sokka doesnt just want to be that fun uncle, but he's ready more than willing to be a PARENT even when it means being the bad guy.

and maybe they start falling for each other a little, because they are starting to have this LIFE together and its not just about izumi anymore its the way zuko rolls his eyes and gets the new fancy ice pack out of the freezer when a limping sokka brings izumi back from the park, and its the way sokka makes zuko genuinely laugh after a long day at work, and its like their lives are getting fully intertwined-

except that they arent. and they couldn't. because if sokka decides its too much. because if zukos good favor runs out. if it didnt work out between them. they couldnt do that to izumi. what they have is good, its fine, (even if its not enough) they dont want to risk anything that could disrupt izumi's life. shes the priority. and sure, she's already asking questions about the two of them, but what if they don't work right in a real relationship? the way things are now, either of them could back out, and everyone would eventually be ok. maybe. except every time they think about the possibility, it seems like they are already too intertwined, and either of them trying to untangle would just be a disaster, so imagine if they HAD to untangle, and-

so they just end up in an awkward stage of sad pining. because theres no way it would actually work out. because it would hurt all of them. and their life has never been better, but it's never hurt this much either.

ok so i didnt realize i could still write this long in an ask, but essentially i am not a masochist like you, and they do figure it out in the end. this could happen a number of ways, such as izumi just announcing that yeah this is my dad and his boyfriend, or zukka doing the "pining make outs that we never talk about until one of us snaps and we decide to let ourselves be fucking happy", or a very funny "we both snap and bone for one wonderful night to get it out of our system and then we dont talk about it" which leads to an accidental second baby where sokka and zuko both laugh and say whelp it must be fate lets do this the right way this time.

the most important thing is that they both forget to tell izumi that sokka is her biological father, so teenage izumi is very shocked and upset that shes just had to learn this from something totally mundane like applying for a passport, and sokka and zuko do the spider man finger pointing of "i thought you told her" "no, you were supposed to tell her" "did we really not tell her?" and its absolutely disgusting how cute they are

thanks for coming to my tedtalk

i love every single thing about this! sokka wanting to be a part of izumi's life and help zuko out....zuko being reluctant to accept but eventually seeing how sokka is proving himself.....the limbo period where they are both afraid it could end any moment....TOO GOOD! i love every single option for how they could get together for real like this is my favorite take on modern au divorced zukka by far!!!! <3 <3

[604to647]

Safest with You - Ch. 6 (The Courtship, Din's POV)

4.3K / Modern AU Retired Mob Enforcer!Din Djarin x fem!reader

Summary: Din continues his courting ways.

Warnings: 18+ content (MDNI please), even though it's mostly Fluff, pet names (the usual: Pretty bird, sweetheart, etc.), a little bit of angst (Din struggles with his FEELINGS), mentions of parental loss, a wee bit of dirty talk.

A/N: I didn't switch to a second person narration for Din, but I still consider this to be his POV because we "follow" him this week. We get a little backstory on Din's past with the Fett Family, and come to understand Din and Paz's relationship a bit as well. Greef is mentioned! Thank you for reading!

Series Masterlist

The next morning, Din picks you up and takes you and the dog to a big farmer’s market just outside the city.  You walk hand in hand, weaving through the different stalls, lazily sampling baked goods and seasonal produce. Al receives his share of pets and samples as well, and the three of you look the epitome of contentment.  After a light lunch, Din loads your purchases into the truck; in addition to some fruits and veggies for your own pantry, you got everything you needed to make a spaghetti sauce from scratch, having offered to cook dinner for Din before your movie date tonight.

Although the original plan was for you to do the cooking at your place with Din meeting you there after work, Din finds himself no longer wanting to part from you, even if only for the afternoon.  He volunteers his own kitchen for cooking; with his apartment residing on the top floor of the gym’s building, he reasons that he can help you while easily popping downstairs periodically for work.

Putting one hand on your hip, you tilt your head and tease, “You know, this is sending mixed signals.”

“Hmm?” Din’s eyes widen in innocence.

“We agree to take things slow, and now you’re luring me back to your place?”

Din knows you’re only teasing, but looking down at your playful expression, he also knows that you don’t know the real reason he’s been hesitant to take the next step with you.  Din’s insistence that you take things slow has nothing to do with any type of antiquated feelings about sex or so-called propriety, and everything to do with a deeply rooted concern that he doesn’t deserve you.  Since he met you at the coffeeshop, you’ve been his own personal ray of sunshine; brightening his world with your sweet nature and calming presence.  But what is he bringing to your life?  He knows that you think of him as caring and considerate, traits that he loves about you and it fills him with pride that you see those qualities in him as well. 

Does he deserve to be held in your high esteem?

Would you still be unafraid of him if you knew the brutality he’s capable of inflicting, inside and outside in the ring?  Would you still feel safe around him if you knew how many men he’s sent to the hospital?  Din’s proud of the man he is, and he wakes up every day doing his best to be a good person.  You deserve someone who’s good, and he wants to be good enough for you.  He would like to have earned your affections, his place next to you, so that you never look at him differently than the way you do now.   This time he’s spending courting you, it’s for you to get to know this him.  Not the fighter, not the enforcer, but a man who is kind, loyal, compassionate and gentle.  He wants you to know this man and to choose him. 

Although you can’t read his thoughts, you soften, “Hey, I’m just messing with you, Din.  You’re being so sweet, and it makes me happy.  Honestly.” You bring your hand up to Din’s cheek and he immediately leans into it before turning into your palm and giving it a gentle kiss.  His own palms now flat against the car, caging you in and causing your back to press up against the door, Din says in a low voice only you can hear, “You won’t think I’m so sweet when I finally take you to bed and take you apart, pretty bird.”

His voice is so intoxicating you nearly whimper, “That’s a heavy promise, Djarin.”

“I plan on delivering,” he murmurs against your lips, kissing you long and slow against the car, leaving you breathless when he goes to open your door for you.

---

When you arrive back at the gym, Din shows you an entrance on the very right-hand side of the building that you hadn’t noticed before.  The door unlocks to a long flight of stairs that you and Al climb, with Din bringing up the rear and all your farmer’s market bags.  On a small landing a little past half way, there is a door on your left with a small window; you peek through and see that it leads to the second floor loft of the gym where Din’s office is located.  He wasn’t kidding when he said he could easily pop downstairs for work, you realize, amused.

Reaching the top floor, you step aside for Din to pass and unlock his front door.  He holds it open for you to go in first; you walk in, barely concealing your curiosity.  The space is huge, which is no surprise considering the apartment takes up the entire floor; you step into an open living area, homey and lived in with a big comfy couch and several arm chairs, all pointed at large television.  Both walls flanking this space are lined with bookshelves reaching from floor to ceiling, running the length of the large room.  The shelves are filled with books, boxing trophies, knickknacks, and various mementos, including several framed photos of people with smiling faces.  Walking towards where you can see the kitchen behind a partition wall, you grin as you recognize photos of Din at various ages with an older man that must have been his father.  Just left of the dining nook that rests below a cut-out window that looks into the kitchen, there are some closed doors and the start of a hallway that must run back down the length of the apartment; you figure out that the bedrooms must be at the front of the apartment, overlooking the street.  You imagine Din growing up in this space, and remembering what Din has told you about his childhood, you're satisfied that this must have been a good home to the Djarin men.

Din watches you take in your surroundings; this place holds many memories for him, of his childhood and his father.  Moving back in when dad got sick had been an adjustment, but Din is glad he did it – while the last few years together may have been difficult, Din would not have traded them for the world. The bond between father and son had never been stronger than in those last years, and because of it, those years had been joyous in their own way.  You’re the first new person to enter this space in a long time, and he wonders what you see, no longer trusting his own eyes.

You turn to Din, “I love it,” you say, beaming, and Din knows that you mean that you love more than just the physical space or layout.  He sweeps you in his arms and kisses you warmly, silently conveying: thank you.

Cooking together is more fun that Din could have imagined.  You’re a bundle of energy in the kitchen, putting your methodical mind to good use and assigning him tasks to help with the recipe you’ve memorized, all while chattering away and learning the lay of his kitchen.  You poke around mischievously looking for everything and Din grins as he watches you putter around; he has a feeling you’re opening more drawers and cabinets than necessary, more to satisfy your own natural curiosity than actually searching for tools and ingredients. Smartly, he feels, he gives you free rein of the space and also choice over what music to play over the kitchen speakers.  He doesn’t know all the songs you put on, but the way you’re enjoying yourself, bopping around him and moving your body to the beat, has him winding his arms around your waist and swaying along even to the ones he doesn’t know.  The carrots are chopped, the onions are diced, the wine is reduced, all while you and Din kiss and dance.  Sometimes Al will join in for a particularly upbeat number, but mainly concerns himself with nosing for food offerings.  Din’s kitchen is coming alive in a way that he had nearly forgotten it could, and he feels invigorated.

He leaves you looking through his spices with a concentrated look on your face to go downstairs to the gym.  Greef will be coming in a few hours to take over the floor, and until then, Din has a bit of paper work to finish off; he does so from a bench seat he takes on the main floor, overseeing the usual Saturday crowd.  Paz comes by while Din’s finishing up some forms, hair wet from the showers after his workout.

Embracing as is their customary greeting, Paz checks in, “Hey brother. Glad I caught you.  Something I might need your help with next week.  You got some time to chat now?”

Here goes nothing, Din thinks, “Can’t, Paz. I’m actually… on a date right now.  She’s upstairs cooking.”

Paz raises his eyebrows in surprise.  He knows how private of a person Din is, and especially how protective he is of the memories of his late father in their space; for Din to let you in and leave you alone in the apartment… you must be special, “New girl?  Huh.  No wonder Brian and the guys have been saying you’ve been less of a grump lately.”

“Wha-“ Din is cut off from looking around the room for the young boxer when Paz jokingly punches him in the shoulder.

“So… when do I get to meet her?” Paz asks, expectantly.

“I’m thinking of bringing her to the fight next Saturday.”

“Perfect.  Can’t wait to introduce myself to her… ‘bout time she meets a real Mando,” Paz laughs.

“Wouldn’t want you to strain yourself, Vizsla. She uses big words,” quips Din, easily dodging Paz’s cross-cut.  The two friends play box for another minute before Paz claps Din on the back, “Happy for you, brother.”

Din knows he is.  The two make plans to meet up for an early lunch tomorrow to go over what Paz needs.  When Paz is gone, Din looks up to the ceiling, as if looking through to where you are in the apartment above, and thinks about you meeting his friends.  Meet “a real Mando” Paz had said – Din grins at the childhood “club name” that had been given to their group of friends, naming the tightknit group of kids after the gym where they all hung out.  Of course, after getting older, most of group had gone to work for Boba Fett as muscle, security, some times both; it was in that capacity, as a unit, the Mandos had carved out a reputation for being an effective and elite strike team.  Everyone in the neighbourhood knew that messing with the Mandos or having the Mandos sent after you was a fate most preferably avoided. 

Was he proud of this moniker and his association with it?  The truth was, yes – Boba and Din’s dad had grown up together, friends until the end; Boba’s family was Din’s family, and vice versa.  There is nothing Din wouldn’t do for the Fetts, and anything he had ever done, however morally grey, he had done with conviction and would do again in a heartbeat if it meant helping his family.  Din’s commitment and loyalty to his friends and family were his creed, steadfast and unwavering.  His thoughts drift back to you: Would you understand?

He remembers the hurt you tried to hide from him yesterday when you very honestly confessed that you thought he might not be wanting you.  Without a doubt he does, but once again, Din wrestles with needing to feel he deserves you; that he deserves the way you want him.  Din is not ashamed of who he is or what he’s done, but he can’t quite reconcile how that man is upstanding enough to deserve someone like you.  And he would like to be deserving of you.  You don’t deserve anything less. 

As Din climbs the stairs to his apartment, he realizes how hard he’s fallen for you in such a short amount of time; just being away from you for a little over an hour has him missing you terribly, and he’s glad that he suggested the change of plans and invited you into his little home.

What he is not prepared for is the scene laid out before him as he enters the apartment; you, so beautiful and relaxed, the picture of comfort curled up on his couch with the dog, reading a book you had pulled off his shelf.  This picture of domesticity make his pulse quicken and ache for you in an entirely different way than the pure lust he has felt for you every night this past week.  You look up with a sweet smile, “The sauce needs to simmer.”

Din comes over and you make room for him on the couch, curling up close when he sits.  You discuss the books you found on his shelf, and later you joke that you were either going to rifle through the bookshelves or his medicine cabinet.  As the two of you talk, even in this close proximity, Din can’t help but make the point to always be touching you.  Your hair, your hands, your face, your entire being is soft and delicate, though not breakable, and so, so precious and enticing to him.  Quiet conversation coupled with looks of longing and gentle touches lead to lazy and languid kisses that seem to stretch out the afternoon.  There’s nothing urgent about today.  Din feels your body relax in his arms, soothed; looking at you, he can tell your eyes are closed not just from pleasure, but that you’re genuinely tired, “Pretty bird, do you want to take a nap?”

“I can’t take a nap in the middle of a date.  It’s rude,” you reply, eyes still closed.

“You’ve had an exhausting week.  You need sleep.”  Din isn’t wrong, and you hardly need any more convincing, already half asleep.

You feel Din getting up from his seat and place your hand on his wrist so he’ll look at you, “Please set an alarm for an hour on my phone?  Need to check on the sauce.” 

Stroking your hair gently, Din reassures you, “Okay.  I’ll go back to work and let you nap.  I’ll lock the door, okay?  You’re safe here, pretty bird.  I’ll be just downstairs if you need anything.”

Din covers you with a blanket, and after pulling a separate blanket over the dog, gets ready to head to the gym.  He leans over you, pressing his lips to yours lightly, “You know, it’s also pretty rude to leave your date to go to work.”

“We’re both so rude,” you yawn.

“Yup.  The worst,” Din kisses you softly, “Perfect for each other.”

“Mmmhmmm,” you hum before drifting off into a deep sleep.

---

You wake, not to your alarm, but to a delicious and aromatic smell filling the apartment.  You sit up and stretch, looking around.  Some time during the nap, Al has rolled over onto his back, exposing his stomach and shooting all four legs straight up in the air – really making himself at home on Din’s couch; you’re scratching Al’s stomach when you see Din stirring the sauce and call softly to him.  He comes over and leans over the back of the couch; brushing your hair out of your face, he kisses you gently.

“You let me sleep?”

“I did.  Couldn’t bear to wake you, you looked so peaceful.  Your snores are very cute, you know?”

You bury your face in your hands, “Oh noooooo… I snore?”

“Like an adorable kitten.”

It’s been a while since any one has been in a position to let you know, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.  Doesn’t bother me.  I don’t plan on getting much sleep around you, in any case,” he winks, as he walks back to the kitchen.

Din hasn’t just stirred the sauce, he’s made the rest of dinner already; you’re impressed and grateful and you make sure to let him know.   After you help set the table, the two of you enjoy a wonderful early dinner together.  A quick clean-up later, you drop Al off at home to have his own dinner, then you and Din head out to the movie.

Din doesn’t even remember what the movie is about, but he remembers the way you put up the middle partition and curl up in your seat and into his side, making it easy for him to comfortably drape his arm around you.  A little more than an hour through the movie, when the male and female leads are barreling towards a misunderstanding, Din looks down to see you watching him instead of the screen and he leans down to kiss you, somehow not stopping until the lights turn on in the theatre.

---

After the dog has been properly walked, and more long, soft kisses dispensed, you tell Din, “That was my favourite of our dates.”

“We’ve only had two.”

“I know, and this one is my favourite one so far.”  And you mean it.

Tonight’s kisses mirror those of the afternoon; lazy, slow, sweet.  Din sends you upstairs with the promise that the dates are only going to get better from here on out.

Sunday morning, Din receives a video call from your brunch: a cheerful, and somewhat chaotic video of you and your friends who apparently want to thank him for the books he bought them.  The one named Katie, utters an innuendo that has you blushing a deep shade of crimson before quickly ending the call.  You and your friends are adorable peas in a pod, Din thinks.

He’s still chuckling as he sits down to his own meal with Paz.  Meeting at their usual table in a restaurant frequented by Fett family members, Din looks across to Paz who is perusing the menu, pretending he isn’t going to order the same thing he’s ordered every time since they started eating here when they were teenagers.  Friends since childhood and both embraced by the Fett family, Din and Paz Vizsla have been running around the streets, starting and then later stopping trouble since they had training wheels on their bikes.  Both had gotten into youth boxing at Mando’s gym, but while Din boxed all the way through college, Paz had gone straight to work for Boba after junior high.  Of the two men, Din had always had the more strategic mind, rising faster in the Fett organization than others, and eventually becoming Boba’s lead enforcer; but Din was ever cognizant that his success and how tightly he ran the Fett family security could not have been possible without his friend and right hand man, Paz.  When Din had stepped back from the organization, Paz was the natural choice to be Din’s replacement.  The two men remained close as ever; there was no one with whom Din trusted his life more than Paz, and the feeling was returned, ten-fold.

As he had already explained to you, once in a while, Paz would ask for Din’s help with Fett family business, be it strategizing and brainstorming a mission plan, reviewing proposed tactics, or occasionally, coming out into the field with the team again.  There were simply times where Paz just ultimately felt better if Din was involved, and Din could not and would never deny his brother assistance.  Looks like this upcoming week would be one of those times.  Paz’s strength and authority has always come from his formidable presence and his capacity for brute force, but Boba currently needs some intel on a target that would come easier via surveillance rather than intimidation.  Over lunch, Din and Paz map out a plan and team assignments, including a few shifts that make the most sense if Din is on site.  By the end of the planning session, Din knows that this week, he will be the one having long work hours; between his surveillance work with Paz and his responsibilities at the gym, your third date would have to wait.

He lets you in on his disappointment that night during the dog walk, which has now been cemented as part of your daily routine.  As expected, you’re understanding and reasonably curious, but easily placated with Din’s promise to still come by every night to walk Al with you.

Monday through Thursday have Din burning the candle at both ends.  He finds himself being infinitely appreciative for having an excellent head boxing trainer in Greef Karga who competently doubles as a floor manager.  Several of the gym staff and boxers also work for Paz and Boba, so Din is not the only one pulling double duty this week – everyone knows what it means to do their part. Most nights, Din leaves Paz and the team late in the evening and comes straight to see you.

He's tired on these nights, but you’re always a sight for his exhausted eyes; you take to bringing him a little sweet treat each night, aware that he needs an extra pick me up these days. Regardless of what he sees or has to deal with during the day, Din is content when he ends the night in the softness of your embrace; with you in his arms, your lips on his.

By Friday, everything has wrapped up on the security end, but Din ends up having to work late at the gym to catch up on some accounting admin he had pushed back; happy to turn the tables on him, you bring him dinner when it’s obvious he might forget to eat.

When you see him hunched over, squinting at a spreadsheet for 5 minutes straight, you offer to take a look, helping yourself to a makeshift seat in his lap.  Within 10 minutes you’ve whipped him up a new template that rolls over month-to-month, and calculates the information needed with less than a third of the monthly inputs Din was typing in before.  With your encouragement, he finishes his reports speedily, while you go back to eating dinner.  Coming over to the mini couch in his office that you’ve been lounging on, Din flops down and pulls you close so your legs lay over his, “Are you a wizard?”

You laugh, “I like spreadsheets.”

“I don’t.  I don’t think I really like any technology.  Can’t trust it,” grimaces Din.

“I figured, old man.  Is that why you don’t have any socials?”

“Any what?” Din gives you a confused look.

Confession time.  “Social Media.  The girls and I tried to find you online that night after I ran into you at the bookstore!  Nothing.”

“I might have an old Facebook?  Don’t remember the login,” Din muses, face scrunching up as if the idea of inadvertently having an online presence gives him a headache.

You roll your eyes and climb over Din’s lap, straddling him, “Good thing you’re so pretty.”

Din raises his brow, “Oh yeah?  I’m the pretty one?”

“Oh yes.  These brown eyes are so pretty. And these crinkles around your pretty eyes when you smile are so, so pretty.  Beard is so pretty, too.  This is my favourite part, this little spot right here that looks like a little heart, it’s the prettiest.”  You press a deep kiss to his jaw in the middle of the patchy spot on his left side and breath in deeply, humming contently before resting your head on Din’s shoulder.

“Didn’t realize you think so much about me, sweet girl.”

You face Din again, closing your eyes and leaning in to find his mouth already waiting for yours and murmur low, between kisses, “Mmmmhmmmm.  Think about you all the time, Din.  When I wake up, in the shower, at work, at home in bed.  Especially when I’m in bed.  I think about you a lot in bed.”

Din’s hands start to wander, creeping under your shirt and gripping your bare waist, fingers dipping into the waistband of your leggings, “What you do you think about, when you think about me in bed, sweetheart?”

The kisses are getting a little sloppier as you grind down gently, rhythmically; you answer in shallow, gasping breaths, “I think about you on top of me, baby.  I think about you getting a little rough with me and positioning me any way you want.  I think about your hands and how they would feel touching every inch of me, pulling my hair, squeezing around my nec-“

“Pretty bird, I think I should take you home now or I’m not going to be able to control myself.” Din cuts you off abruptly, a dark look in his eyes.

Shy under his intense gaze, you nod and agree.

---

Having had the car ride to your place and the dog walk to calm down, you now rest comfortably in Din’s arms, playing with his hair while looking deep into his eyes between sweet, lingering kisses.  Din opens his mouth to yours, again and again, lazily chasing your tongue with his own, “I’m looking forward to our date tomorrow, pretty bird.”

You sigh, “Me too! I don’t know what to wear though.  I’ve never been to a boxing match before.”

“I’m sure you’ll look perfect.” Din leans down and whispers, “Wear something I can take off easily.”

You can’t help the small whine that escapes your lips when you take in his words.  Din chuckles, “You tease me all the time, pretty bird. You think I can’t tease you back?”  Finding his boyish grin irresistible, you pull him in for a string of hungry and passionate kisses that leave the both you panting and you warm with arousal.  You aren’t even being cheeky when you whisper to Din, “I’m going to go to bed to think about you now,” before turning to head in, leaving Din looking and feeling completely transfixed.

[happyhauntt]

gold rush modern au hcs

series masterlist | writing masterlist | askbox

─── summary: the anya / nikolai brainrot is real and i want to start writing for their modern au so until i do, here are some fun headcanons bc i literally cannot stop thinking about them.

─── pairing: nikolai lantsov & anya kamenev (original character.)

anya lets her guard down when she's drunk and early on in their situationship it's the only time nikolai gets to take care of her.

like she calls him to come and get her from a frat party genya took her to and she's so cuddly he's honestly concerned she's been drugged and/or cloned

like 'who are you and what have you done with the girl who bullies me like her life depends on it???'

he's so soft for it when he realises she's just drunk and he tucks her up in her bed with painkillers and a trash can within reach and he sits on the couch until dawn to make sure she's okay and then slips out before she wakes up.

everyone: 'for someone who hates nikolai you sure are obsessed with him'. anya: 'no i'm not???' everyone: 'sure you aren't babe'.

they are the definition of 'fell first, fell harder' !!!

nikolai was out here pining for anya for years, and she just wakes up one day and gets slammed like a fucking freight train with the realisation. oh fuck. i'm in love with nikolai. somehow. how the fuck did that happen. WHY the fuck did that happen. my life is over.

this is right after nikolai is injured at winter fête during an assassination attempt against his father and her whole world just screeches to a halt.

genya and david are just in the corner and david's handing genya a wad of cash and they're laughing while anya has her little meltdown it's adorable.

entering into a friends-with-benefits situation when anya is engaged to vasily (it's an uno-reverse plot of their original story where nikolai is engaged to alina bc PARALLELS and also i can't let them be happy in any universe without first making them suffer) is a Bad Idea but these two are nothing if not self-destructive.

anya may be in love with him but she doesn't have the emotional capacity to Deal with that yet so she's just gonna fuck him.

being friends-with-benefits is all well and good until nikolai gets so fucking jealous of anyone who even looks at anya. she finds this hilarious (until someone's looking at nikolai and then she's throwing hands.)

anya is very insecure about her disability, especially because of her status and expectations, and nikolai makes it his duty to show her how much he adores every inch of her, every day.

anya is engaged to vasily and she and nikolai fully get caught by zoya sneaking out of the engagement party to go makeout in the bathroom. these two are gonna give her premature grey hairs honestly-

anya admits to nikolai that she misses being able to dance. nikolai helps her dance around her apartment by supporting her weight and they're giggling and suddenly they're slow dancing and it's so fuckin adorable.

it's hard to believe anya was so mean to him for literal years.

nsfw beneath the cut!

anya learning she's actually a sub is so fucking funny

like she is so submissive during sex but absolutely not at first. she has a dire need for control in her life and definitely runs their sex life/tops for the first few months.

it's really significant the first time she realises she trusts nikolai and surrenders that control to him, because what she really wants is someone to take care of her, someone to trust completely.

she's so bossy at first and then sex becomes this thing where she just melts and nikolai literally thinks he'll die the first time she allows him that control because it's like seeing anya for the first time, and he's so in love with her already even if it's just sex but in that moment he swears he fell in love with her again. knowing he had her trust like that was,,, everything.

teasing eachother like it's an olympic sport?? more likely than you think.

like she used to hate him (lol not really) and now it's her personal fucking mission to rile him up at any given opportunity. public events?? in the library?? at her own fucking engagement party?? you got it.

nikolai fucking anya in her wedding dress??? yes.

because she is a masochist and doesn't know when to stop hurting herself (or nikolai honestly) she's like 'hey it arrived from it's final fitting, can i show it to you?' and he wants to say no so badly.

she's marrying his asshole brother, there is no world where he wants to see this dress, see her in it, picture her wearing it for someone other than him.

but her eyes are so wide, so vulnerable, and he realises she needs this. needs him to be the first person to see her wearing it. needs him to understand.

so she comes out, and he's honestly,,, floored. and angry. and so, so turned on. his eyes grow dark and hungry and before they know it he's hiking the dress up to her waist and fucking her against the doorframe.

and it's so possessive and full of remember you're my good girl, not his and when you're saying your vows, you gonna think of this? think of me fucking you in this dress? you're so beautiful, my darling, he doesn't deserve you. look at me. you're gonna walk down the aisle and all i'll be able to picture is your face as you come for me.

it's so hot and the room smells like sex and nikolai takes a picture of her in the dress afterwards, draped on the bed, face flushed and eyes shining and happy. and he'll pretend it's their wedding night.

[terramythos]

MY TOP 25 WORST POKEMON

i posted my top 25 favorite pokemon a couple days ago so now i get to be a certified hater.

25. Barraskewda

wow an 'angry fish' pokemon design! i have certainly not seen this exact fucking concept in every single pokemon gen to date. i'm so glad that the 8th generation of pokemon has blessed us with such an original premise. it's not like Barraskewda is a particularly bad design, would probably be 'pretty good' if we got it 20 years ago-- but it is emblematic of the cynical, formula-at-all-costs drive that plagues much of modern pokemon.

24. Galarian Mr. Mime

can someone please tell me what this regional variant does that the original Mr. Mime does not? oh wow, it's fucking blue now. it's a shame there's not a system in the game since gen 2 designed around alternate color schemes. who gives a shit. if this thing is so pointless it's making me defend GEN 1 MR MIME then it's DIRE.

23. Magneton

magneton has the unique distinction on this list of being a pokemon i have actually used in my in-game team before. the thing is, i don't hate magneton THAT much. similar to barraskewda, magneton sucks because of what it represents. a lot of criticism of modern (gen 5 and beyond) pokemon design is that so many are 'just objects' which automatically makes them bad. these EXACT critics then defend gen 1 as the pinnacle of pokemon design originality. are you fucking stupid? gen 1 originals: magnemite is a magnet with an eyeball. magneton is three of them fucking bolted together. WOW, such creativity, truly the pinnacle of design. jackasses.

22. Onix

kind of looks like a poo, which i suppose is appropriate considering how shit onix is in the actual game, too. to me onix is so close to being a cool pokemon if there was any imagination with the design. steelix is a little better i guess but so prohibitively difficult to obtain in casual play that you're probably stuck with this crap regardless.

21. Togdemaru

this is by far the worst pikachu clone in the series and it's not even close. it's trying to be both pikachu and... togepi for some reason and fails at both. there is NOTHING interesting about this thing. furthermore, two OTHER pikachu 'clones' were also introduced in Sun/Moon: Alolan Raichu and Mimikyu, BOTH of which have extremely creative and beloved designs. you could literally remove this thing from the game and no one would give a shit.

20. Huntail

gen 3 is infamous for having so many water routes in the game and thus, a TON of water-type pokemon. of all of these, huntail is by far the least memorable. it's the obscure SPLIT evolution of a pokemon that looks (1) nothing like it, and (2) you can't even get until late enough in the game that you already have a better water type. and on top of it he's fuck ugly. i guess i can appreciate the ringed octopus spots (? i HAVE to assume that's what those are) but this thing isn't even an octopus! i feel cheated.

19. Hypno

ignoring the infamous creepy (not in a good way) lore with this thing, hypno just looks awful. i don't want this thing anywhere near me. why is it here. who designed this and why do they hate happiness

18. Chesnaught

not only does chesnaught look like shit, not only is it the disappointing conclusion of a starter pokemon line... it was introduced in the generation that brought us DELPHOX and GRENINJA, two very popular final starter evos. this thing is so outclassed i kind of feel bad for it, but not enough to take it off this list.

17. Alolan Muk

what if we took muk, a literal pile of sludge, and gave it a regional variant that looks like an oil spill? but for some reason instead of making that cool and interesting we make it look like someone chewed and swallowed 30 sticks of multicolor bubblegum and then threw up. they don't even do anything with its shape or general appearance. it just looks like the original muk but worse. terrible.

16. Cosmoem

pokemon sun and moon were very story driven games. one of the main pokemon characters is a Cosmog named Nebby, who (spoilers) eventually evolves into the box legendary, either Solgaleo for Sun or Lunala for Moon. and here we have the utterly insignificant middle evolution that serves zero narrative purpose and looks a little like a puckered asshole. wet fart of a pokemon if i am being fully honest

15. Ambipom

what if we took aipom and made it offputting and disturbing and also gave it a bowl cut for some reason? say no more. oh god while looking at this and typing i just realized it looks like a teletubby. get this fucking creature away from me

14. Karrablast

i'll be honest i completely forgot this thing existed until i started making this list. have i ever really THOUGHT about karrablast? do i have any associations with it at all? honestly, fuck this thing on principle. BY THE WAY karrablast came out in gen 5 in the exact same game as a different bug-type evolutionary line with a yellow-blue color scheme. and joltik/galvantula are superior to whatever this thing is

13. Druddigon

this thing perplexes me. why is its head red. why does it look like leaves? something that has absolutely nothing to do with its concept? i think maybe this is supposed to be the dragon on the welsh flag (??????) but it's literally introduced in the game set in New York. i do not like this guy at all

12. Rhyperior

WERE rhydon stans clamoring for an evolution? did they want an evolution that ignores everything cool about rhydon's design? everything about this thing looks like dog shit trash. i'm actually a little offended on their behalf that this passed the initial design pitch.

11. Okidogi

i am so out of the loop on pokemon that i didn't even know this thing existed until a day ago. and boy do i hate it. absolutely fucking awful design that is derivative of.... Zygarde's dog form for some fucking reason? this is where children's cartoon villain ideas go to die. terrible

10. Diggersby

why does it look like that. an insult to bnuuy pokemon and i hope to never see it again. i think it's even worse that its prevo bunnelby is actually passably cute.

9. Barbaracle

let's take a really cool fucking concept (a pokemon based on barnacles) and make it as fucking ugly and awful as possible. there is so much wasted potential that it makes me almost as angry as this thing looks.

8. Tyrogue

one of the most boring pokemon designs possible. i get that tyrogue is supposed to be a 'blank slate' pokemon since it has 3 different evolutions. but you know what else is a blank slate pokemon? EEVEE, one of the most popular pokemon in fucking existence, because it's cute and people generally love its evolutions. tyrogue has nothing going for it. furthermore it was introduced after two of its three evolutions (hitmonlee and hitmonchan), so it's a pointless gimmick pokemon anyway. just remove this thing and make hitmontop a single-evo pokemon and nothing changes

7. Raging Bolt

ASDHJGASFGVjgsldfgkjsdf? hghsejkfhlsefkjghsefg????? sejklrfghlsdkhjfgSDKFSFUKGDHfgshjfg

6. Galarian Weezing

on paper i think this is a funny idea for a regional form but god does it miss the mark for me. WHY did they make the smog fucking oobleck green? why make it fake facial hair? why is weezing an old-timey british capitalist. i am not exaggerating that looking at this thing makes me a little sick to my stomach.

5. Grimmsnarl

I remember being so thrilled at the idea of an imp-based pokemon line. i actually quite liked the designs of both Impidimp and Morgrem. and... THIS is really what they went with for the final evolution? furry green goblin on steroids? i cannot find a single thing i like about this design, it is such a baffling pokemon to me on all levels.

4. Scovillain

truly how do you manage to fumble both the incredibly awesome Grass/Fire typing AND a design centered around HOT PEPPERS. jesus fucking christ this thing is awful, truly i believe it is one of the worst pokemon designs on both an objective and personal level in terms of execution and missed potential. i am honestly embarrassed for whoever designed this.

3. Grookey

i skipped pokemon sword/shield for many different reasons, but i am completely serious that this being the grass starter was one of them. i absolutely fucking hate this thing, it is my least favorite starter by a country mile and i wanted to avoid seeing it at all fucking costs.

2. Eiscue

sometimes it is a singular design decision that ruins a pokemon. and for me it's the fact there is a fucking HAIR coming out of the ice cube at the top. i'm all for hair but in the context of an ice cube i am potentially using in a drink??? gross, gross gross gross, ew ew ew ew ew i fucking hate this pokemon

Cryogonal

the patron saint itself and the reason i am even making this post. i absolutely despise cryogonal. the unimaginative and derivative design, NOTHING interesting to look at, its stupid 'mouth'. it makes no sense in the context of its game (again: WHAT gen 1 pokemon is this supposed to be an analogue for? you know the whole POINT behind the gen 5 pokedex???). my hatred of this thing is so profound. this thing could be wiped from history and nothing would change.

[neotrances]

anti-trans laws have nothing to do with blacks though, US laws apply to everyone you sound conceited.

i dont really care to argue with you because you are clearly uneducated on this topic and im not debating anything with people that refuse to look at reality, below are some documentaries, books, articles, series, and in depth studies on what i mean when i say virtually every law in america has been shaped by black people and our fight for equity and true liberation, it’s all connected and to think otherwise is just anti intellectual

• black americans and shaping the law : a full time line of all instances of african americans impacting our law ( videos, articles, links to documentaries and studies )

• the black codes, public facilities, jobs, purchases, and social outings impacted by racism ( article )

video on laws as a result of the black codes

• founding of democracy through black liberation ( article and free books, please use your phone reader or ad blocker to avoid paywall )

• connections of transphobia and antiblack racism in relation to white supremacy ( article and studies )

• medical history in america and racism ( article and studies )

another on the origin of medical eugenics

• african sexuality and gender before and after colonialism ( articles and free books )

• black people and the disproportionate rate of human trafficking, history of laws in the sex trade ( article )

another on the socioeconomic implications of human trafficking statistics

• testing dummies in the medical world, how black americans have been used as living subjects without consent and how this reflects in modern medicine ( article )

another on black experimentation

• impact of antiblack racism on american society ( articles, studies, videos and documentaries, all free )

• lawyers did not have to pass “the bar” until black people began studying the law, a history of how hurdles were created to prevent black people from being in our judicial system ( article )

a document detailing “the bars” racist origin

• bias in the judicial system as a result of chattel slavery ( synopsis with link to free book )

• gynecological roots in slavery, how birth control contraceptives and abortion were tested and studied on enslaved black woman ( article )

another historical study, another on abortion

• race and education, the creation of tuition and lottery’s for schools in effort to keep people of color out ( article )

another on stats of segregation in schools, and another directly about tuition practices ( please use your phone reader or phone reader to avoid paywall )

• antiblackness fueling gun violence and mass shootings across the country ( video )

• sexual violence, sexually transmitted disease and misogynoir : an extensive history and study of reproductive health regarding black women ( article and studies )

• the loop hole of the 13th amendment, legal torture, slavery, and abuse all because of race ( documentary )

i hope you change as a person one day and realize we aren’t enemies and you’ve been taught to hate and discredit us by people who would gladly do the same harm onto you ( that they are starting to do now ) that they’ve done to us for the entirety of our existence in america, im not being conceited, im trying to make you understand we are on the same team

[adarkrainbow]

The Tale of Tale movie analysis (1)

It has been a long time since I did a fairytale movie analysis, and for this month I want to take a look at a movie that has been asked of me before, a long time ago: "Tale of Tales".

For those of you who do not know about this movie, "Tale of Tales" is a 2015 movie, a "European production" (it is an Italian movie, but it received help and collaboration from France and England, hence the "European" etiquette) that is to this day (and to my knowledge) the only movie that adapts Basile's Pentamerone, the titular "Tale of Tales".

The Pentamerone being one of the two foundational works when it comes to literary fairytales, and one of the two great books of classical Italian literary fairytales alongside Straparole's Facetious Nights. Basile's book is very famous for containing some of the earlier literary records of fairytale types such as Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty, The Girl Without Hands, and more.

The book contains a total of fifty stories, and of course the movie couldn't adapt them all, so it was decided to only adapt three in total. The three chosen are usually considered emblematic stories of the Pentamerone - but they were also selected because they do not echo the more well known Grimm stories. The three selected were, The Flea, The Enchanted Doe, and The Flayed Old Lady - all taken from the first part of the book.

Note that this movie was greatly acclaimed for its extensive use of practical special effects - and there is one thing you cannot deny this movie, it looks absolutely incredible. There is a great effort on the visuals ranging from selected architecture and landscape to careful costume crafting and delightful monsters on screen.

Before going into the analysis of each of the fairytales of the movie, I wanted to point out a few things covering the entirety of the movie. Three details to be exact.

Matteo Garrone, when doing this movie, didn't just randomly selected three stories that were to his fancy. He chose three specific stories that he then tied together with cohesive themes and motifs. The first of which, the most prominent, being "obsession". Each segment is about presenting the obsessions of specific characters, and the bad outcomes of it.

The other shared motif between the three fairytales is "the ages of a woman". Despite the movie having as much male as female characters, Garrone explained very clearly that this movie was about the women, not the men, and that each fairytale represented one of the traditional three "ages of woman". "The Flea" becomes the Maiden story, focusing on the young princess ; "The Enchanted Doe" becomes the Mother story, with an exploration of the character of the queen, while "The Flayed Old Lady" is of course the Crone tale.

But much more importantly for us to understand this movie: Matteo Garrone did one very heavy and important change compared to the original material. The tone. The tone is radically different. Basile's original book, just like Straparole's fairytales, worked by the specific nature of these Italian literary fairytales of the time: they were grotesque farces, and vulgar jokes. In my last post about the Pentamerone I compared these stories to a Brandon Rogers video, because Basile's stories, despite being the ancestors of the Grimm or Perrault fairytales, are nothing like the modern fairytales we are today. They are sex stories filled with caricatures, they are gruesome, gory stories filled with morally-gray characters, they are one huge dark joke filled with poop and farts and vulgar allusions. They are much closer to medieval tales and to the tone of a Reynard the Fox story or some Rabelais books than any other fairytales we know today. But Garrone decided to apply a principle that you can see explored in series such as "Horace and Pete" or "Kevin can fuck himself". Take a sitcom, remove the laugh-track, you have a tragedy. Garrone's movie is still as grotesque as the original stories - but now the jokes are put aside, the most vulgar parts removed, the sex and the gore examined for what it is under a realistic eye. This "realistic", and "non-comical" treatment of the stories make this world of grotesque caricatures and senseless violence and depraved debauchery one not of marvels and fairies, but one of tragedies, of abuse, of horror. But, tragedies with magic, abuse with beauty, horror with happy and hopeful endings - because they stay fairytales after all, no matter how dark they are. Mean, cruel, sad fairytales, but fairytales nonetheless.

[Trivia: The fact that Basile's work was a very rude, crude and vulgar piece of sex-and-violence that can only be compared to Rabelais meeting Punch & Judy, is something many people in the English-speaking world completely missed because the first real popular and widespread translations of the text in English, in the... I think it was the 19th century or maybe a bit earlier ; but these versions were heavily censored. Trying to make the story more like a Perrault or d'Aulnoy tale, they removed many sex references, remove all the poop jokes, and even cut off some stories deemed too vulgar ot gruesome, so that for a very long time people thought they were supposed to be... regular fairytales. This is especially relevant with "Thalia, the Sun and the Moon", Basile's "Sleeping Beauty" variant. Many people point out that the girl in this story gets raped by the prince and that this shows how the fairytale of Sleeping Beauty was built on a glorification of rape, because it is treated as ormal or as some romance. But... no. This rape is treated as a rape and the prince is very clearly a lustful asshole who is taking advantage of the girl - because it is a dark sex-tale. Princes in the Pentamerone are almost all lustful rapists, violent murderers or complete helpless idiots, because the Pentamerone does not work on a "prince charming" logic. Take "The Golden Root" - the handsome, kind, gentle, good prince that seems to fit the bill of the Prince Charming... is part of a family of ogres, and ends up murdering in rage his intended fiancée just to be married to the heroine of the tale. And that's something that many people missed for a very long time - the prince charming archetype is from the French tales of the 17th and 18th century, not before.]

[twistedtummies2]

Gathering of the Greatest Gumshoes - Number 14

Welcome to A Gathering of the Greatest Gumshoes! During this month-long event, I’ll be counting my Top 31 Favorite Fictional Detectives, from movies, television, literature, video games, and more!

SLEUTH-OF-THE-DAY’S QUOTE: “You attacked reason. It’s bad theology.”

Number 14 is…Father Brown.

Originally created by author G.K. Chesterton, Father Brown is one of the most famous detectives in English literature. Having said that, I must immediately make a confession: I’m not THAT well-versed (perhaps surprisingly) with the original “Father Brown” short stories Chesterton wrote. I’ve read some of them; specifically, I’ve now read all the ones collected in the book “The Innocence of Father Brown.” (My favorite is “The Invisible Man,” which, for the record, has absolutely nothing to do with anyone named Griffin). However, beyond that, I’m not especially familiar with the original writing. I also have not seen either of the two English-language film versions I know about (one played by Walter Connolly, another by Alec Guinness), both of which were based on the story “The Blue Cross.” And I should also immediately state that I have seen only one episode of the TV series starring Kenneth More from the 1970s, which I know has been highly lauded in years since.

So…since it seems like I am unfamiliar with nearly EVERYTHING that has brought this character into popular culture…how DO I know Father Brown, and why is he so high on the list? Well, because there is one version of the character and his universe that I am VERY familiar with: the most recent TV series adaptation of the stories, which began in 2013 and is still going strong today (with a new season coming this year). This show, simply and appropriately titled “Father Brown,” stars Mark Williams (whom many may recognize for playing Mr. Weasley in the Harry Potter films). While it frequently changes a LOT from the original Chesterton stories, the show is still EXTREMELY good. In my opinion, it modernizes the stories in a way that is pretty decently handled, so that even if you haven’t read the originals, you can still get a lot out of what’s being given to you. The spirit of Chesterton’s work is still intact. Much of what I say here will be informed by Williams’ portrayal of the character, which is why I wanted to make all this clear right off the bat.

Father Brown is an example of what might be called “the busybody detective,” or even more appropriately “the accidental detective.” What I mean by this is that he’s not in any way officially tied to the police; in fact, the police frequently see him as a nuisance, who gets in the way of their work and often makes them look like fools. He also never makes a career or a proper hobby out of his detective work. Being a detective just…kind of happens to him. Father Brown, on the surface, is a simple and humble local priest; a God-fearing, God-loving man of the cloth who is charitable, good-hearted, and at times seems sort of fumbling and shambolic. He’s not someone, therefore, you’d expect would make a great sleuth.

A great sleuth, of course, is exactly what this mild-mannered Catholic priest is. Father Brown’s rather simple demeanor belies a steely will, an even more steely faith, and a very cunning and alert mind. He typically ends up playing detective not so much out of a desire to one-up the police or some obsessive desire, but simply because he notices something amiss and begins to question why that is. His greatest assets as a sleuth can be summed up as two simple attributes: common sense, and, above all, human empathy. Father Brown doesn’t necessarily look for fingerprints or psychoanalyze criminals like a forensic profiler, but simply notices things that don’t make sense and then tries to make sense of them. He uses his understanding of people’s personalities, looks at their character traits and ideals, and uses them to his advantage; if he feels it isn’t in someone’s nature to shoot in cold blood, he follows his instinct, and he’s usually proven correct. If he sees someone showing some weakness or vulnerability, he latches onto that to try and sway them. He tries to redeem his enemies more often than he tries to ruin them. Contrariwise, this man also knows when NOT to trust people. While he’s noble and forgiving, Father Brown isn’t a pushover. In fact, the Williams version is revealed to be a war veteran; he’s seen some action (and horror) in his lifetime. This, combined with his devotion to the confessional booth, means that he knows very well that people are not perfect. With that said, despite being a religious soul, he isn’t superstitious, and tries to be tolerant of others with different beliefs. In short, Father Brown seems to understand that good people are good people, and tries to find the good in everyone, even those he seeks to defeat. Whether you’re spiritual or not, he’s not only a good detective, but arguably a good role model: I think a lot of us wish we had a Father Brown in our lives.

Tomorrow, the countdown continues with Number 13!

CLUE: “Are you with me? You might even be way ahead of me.”

[roy-dcm2]

Superman : This was your life!

If you ever read FINAL Crisis, you might know that in the middle there's a side story called "Superman Beyond." But, did you know there's another special "interlude" that happened in the middle of Infinite Crisis?

There are three issues that hardly anyone ever talks about, known as "Superman, This was your Life..."

(You can find the storyline in Superman #226, Action Comics #836, and Adventures of Superman #649)

It's a really unique plot that takes place in the middle of the battle between Golden Age Superman (Kal-L) and Modern Superman (Kal-El). I would insert it in Infinite Crisis #5, after page 19. It all happens in their minds, in the time between Wonder Woman to hearing them on Earth-2, and when she shows up to stop them. It might be 10 minutes at the most.

(Infinite Crisis #5, page 19)

Part 1 - Superman #226

In case you don't know, "This is your life..." was an old American TV series that focused on the biography of each of its guests. So, the story starts by talk about Kal-L's origins on Earth-2.

It briefly talks about Superman-2's relationship with Lois Lane, before turning to the events of World War II. Now, if you don't know, Superman and the Justice Society existed during WW2, but were unable to help because of magic. Kal-L had to standby helplessly while the Nazi's terrorized Europe.

It is after this that the plot takes a bizarre turn. So far, we'd been recapping Superman-2 lifestory unaltered, but in the last few pages of Superman #226, Kal-L decides he would do things differently.

In the Trial of the JSA, Superman stands up to the US government, declaring that he would change history.

PART 2 - Action Comics #836

From this point, the story takes a bizarre twist where Superman of Earth-2 is living on "Modern DC Earth," while our Superman of Earth-1 takes his place in "Golden Age DC Earth".

They switch lives.

Action Comics #836 focuses on Superman-2 and how he would instantly FIX modern day Superman's problems. He outsmarts Batman, he takes advantage of Luthor's cancer, and he avoids the problems with Dr. Light in Identity Crisis by throwing him into the Phantom Zone.

This is pure fanfiction. Kal-L can do this because he's been watching modern Superman's entire life. He has foreknowledge that gives him an advantage Kal-El never had. You can tell it's pure wish fulfillment because his solution to "Death of Superman" (which is mentioned a number of times during Infinite Crisis) was to simply NOT die.

And when they start calling him a fascist, Kal-L teams up with The Elite to ensure his unquestioned reign.

We should show some sympathy for Kal-L. He's not in his right mind. Remember, he's imagining all this mere minutes after Lois Lane died in the real world. He's deeply frustrated that he was paralyzed and could not save his wife.

Part 3 - Adventures of Superman #649

(Sidebar: this is a really bland cover that has nothing to do with the issue)

We finally check in with our "modern" Superman on the Golden Age Earth. They've achieved world peace because Superman can solve everything. In the end, only Superman and Power Girl are active because the JSA retired and no one felt the need to continue to JSA.

Earth-2 is a paradise, until Kal-El has to face down The Anti-Monitor by himself.

Meanwhile, on the fictional timeline of Earth-1, Kal-L's reign spins out of control. Wonder Woman and the Amazons team up with Maxwell Lord and Checkmate to oppose Superman's regime. Luthor betrays Kal-L in his time of need, and the world devolves into chaos.

(Note that Kal-L has a minor slip, where he seems to admit his mistake was trusting Alexander Luthor of Earth-3)

Now, keep in mind, Kal-L was able to direct Earth-1 on the path that he envisioned because he had foreknowledge of everything. When his timeline reached the events of Infinite Crisis, which he did not understand fully, his regime fell apart.

In the end, Modern Superman dies fighting the Anti-Monitor, while Golden Age Superman is the last survivor or Earth-1.

(btw, this is a very intelligent ending that doesn't spoil anything that happens at the climax of Infinite Crisis)

And this all happens in a blink of an eye, in between the pages of Infinite Crisis #5.

(Infinite Crisis #5 pages 20-21)

When you look at it all together, I think including these extra issues in Infinite Crisis adds a lot more weight to the point of view of Superman-2. We already know our modern Man of Steel, but we spend a relatively short time with Kal-L, and this makes him a much more three dimensional (flawed) character.

I've been in love with these issues, ever since I discovered them. I really think more people need to talk about them.

I hope the next time you read Infinite Crisis, you'll consider taking the time to read these issues in the middle.

(Btw, I own all these comics as TPBs, but if you have these digitally, I like to chop off the last few pages of AoS#649. If you stop it where they say "There's nothing I could have done." It inserts much more seamlessly into IC#5)

[calocera]

Your posts about SNW Spock makes me so curious, could you please explain how they've done him wrong since he seems very different from the original series :O Are they making him more human despite the SNW taking place before the og?

yeah i can! im not the best person to talk about it probably since im a pretty recent trek fan and also tos/spock arent parts of trek i care about as much as a lot of other fans, but i have opinions for sure!!

firstly just up front i do not like ethan peck as spock. he does not look like spock or act in a way i am satisfied with. it feels like the only reason they cast him was because he has a deep voice. so i am going forward in this with haterism for him specifically not JUST how he is written in snw

Spock is written not like a vulcan but like an anhedonic human. actually not even anhedonic, just like a human raised in vulcan society trying to blend in. like there is nothing about him that feels genuine he just feels like woobiebait for 2012 tumblr to make flower crown edits of because he is awkward and quirky. every scene involving spock is a joke about him and his demeanor, everything he says is a wink wink nudge nudge "lol vulcans act like this and its so stupid lol logic is silly" like i can physically feel a laugh track whenever hes on screen. i enjoy jokes about vulcans but it isnt funny when there isnt anything else. its like spock showing emotion, it isnt satisfying when its a constant and not a little treat peppered in. in snw hes stifling a giggle or screaming in pain or being oopsie awkward silly every time he gets a focal scene, it takes the magic away because now it isnt a rare break in character its just how he is. Ive seen a lot of people defend this aspect as him being young and therefore less mature than in tos, but hes like approaching 30 :\ i get him being less mature but he doesnt act like a sheltered 30 year old he acts like someone freshly 18. at this point its just like…MAKE A NEW CHARACTER!!!!

as a point of contrast, i like how uhura is written in snw (in season 1 anyways, she has barely appeared in s2) she is obviously younger and is growing into her spot on the crew, but they arent hinging her character on the 1 or 2 pop culture uhura moments, retconning anything about that that doesnt align with modern media fandom, and calling it a day; they actually expand on her character outside of like idk her doing a sexy dance and her sitting at the phone (though i guess it is easier for her since she had barely any character in tos anyways). meanwhile they DO do that with spock, his bullet point top 10 iconic spock moments of sometimes being awkward and showing emotion are now the only things he is allowed to do. tldr flanderization

i also think its interesting that it is this way since ethan peck played spock in discovery and there hes the exact opposite. hes extremely serious and vulcan; which fits the tone of the show (regardless of my opinions on the tone of disco). i just dont understand how that spock translated into the snw spock. they are not the same guy.

anyways on to the biggest plot related gripe with him...how he interacts with women!!!yay!!

first theres how they decided to have multiple episodes about his, apparently, strained-yet-loving-and-involved relationship with tpring. the inclusion of t'pring feels stupid because other than the 1 minute of cheap "oh i remember her!" from someone seeing her on screen for the first time what point is there to her returning when the ONE canonical fact about her is that she and spock A: had an arranged marriage, B: did not meet in person since they were children, and C: hated each other. its not like there is a huge contingency of t'pring/spock shippers holding out since 1967 so what value does reintroducing her as a character serve? i assume its as some kind of attempt to give a woman who previously had no real character something to do, but her existence on snw is STILL only about spock and her relation to spock so there isnt any sort of feminist level up happening. including her was not interesting enough to justify retconning the plot of the most iconic episode of star trek. especially when multiple episodes tonally and stakes-wise rely on you caring about them as a couple, and anyone watching who knows who she is already knows that her and spock dont have any relationship to speak of in the future so who is this for? if you really really just NEED spock to have sex with a woman why not make a new character? that would also suck but at least it wouldnt be timeline interfering. im not even a huge continuity purist "oh no!!the timeline!!!plotholes!!!" but when the situation is the writers deliberately breaking the continuity in large ways and the outcome isnt even fun? stupid.

and now his relationship with chapel. i am way more annoyed by this one since its just gross. so from tos the only thing with them is that chapel has a crush on him and spock is not interested. also worth noting that its such a non-plot related thing that it only is revealed under the influence of alien drug virus that makes you horny. and they decided that not only was that enough to base a whole reciprocated romance arc around, but now since theyve introduced tpring back into the story, spock is now a cheater??? what is the POINT of breaking canon to introduce spocks girlfriend only to go "well actually hes horny for his coworker" like...that isnt how love triangles work youve just done a character assassination. the man who would rather kill his best friend than have sex with his wife is now fucking both her and the woman who confessed to him and he got so mad he crushed a computer with his bare hands. ok 👍. i just hate that they chose spock to be the romantic center of the show. anyone else could have been the character who gets into relationship drama why spock? there are multiple new characters who could have taken up the position. and its not like spock has nothing else to do as a character without it

to say things specifically about the most recent epsiode since it was particularly annoying and showed things that happen throughout the series:

firstly spock just does shit thats stupid. illogical even. i know the whole logical fallacy moment with vulcans but when it isnt a point of note in the show and rather just happens as if its a normal occurrence for spock as a person im like...he would be a laughing stock on vukcan and not have any of the positive reputation he holds.

the plot of this ep was basically that spock gets turned completely human and they just miss literally the whole point of it. vulcans have MORE emotion than humans, they ACTIVELY suppress it. yet when spock is turned human he just experiences human emotion completely emotionally? he should be having an EASIER time suppressing his emotions. and OMG he gets a BONER because he sees a hot WOMAN LOL LOL isnt that funny? spock got hard isnt that hilarious? its just so cheap. they act like being human makes him a completely different person, they played it like the voyager episode where belanna gets split into human and klingon BUT in that case she was literally split into two different people (this ep had a lot of issues too ie racism but that’s a different can of worms); here spock just becomes human he still has the same memories and training and history...why would he forget what its like to be a vulcan. they could SO EASILY make excuses too but they just didnt care. and anyways bada bing bada boom the ep ends with him and chapel hooking up which i already complained about and could complain about more.

i think thats already too much so im gunna stop myself here but trust theres more i hate and other people have probably talked about this better than i have :')

blade nation

[classicalshorts]

Paint it NERO!

No, nothing to do with the emperor who fiddled while Rome burnt. This is the final entry in the Cool Colours series on words that English derived from Latin and Greek colour words. So, tonight, you guessed it, we are going to PAINT IT BLACK! (yes, I am a Stones fan!).

Okay, we start with Latin. I am going to take a slightly different approach tonight and look at how the Latin for black (niger, nigra, nirgum) evolved into different modern European languages. These are all called the 'Romance' languages, but nothing to with love. It is because they derive from the language of the Romans. The most similar to the Latin original are the Poruguese, Spanish, and Romanian:

Spanish: negro, negra Portuguese: negro, negra Romanian: negru

The main change is that the 'i' in the Latin has changed to an 'e'. Note how Spanish and Portuguese have retained the masculine and feminine endings -o, and -a. The neuter (the '-um' in Latin) has disappeared.

Now, French and Italian represent interesting and slightly different example of linguistic evolution.

French: noir, noire Italian: nero, nera

Once again, we see the masculine and feminine endings remain, but slightly different. The 'g' of the Latin has disappeared. This is not unheard of ease of pronunciation or pleasure of sound may explain this; the harder sound is dropped over time to leave the more pleasant, gentler nero, for example. In French, nigro (Latin ablative) became noir, a word still visibly connected to it Latin roots, just altered.

However, there may be something a little more complicated, but very, very interesting. Now, Latin is not the only ancient Italian language. Some of its own words come from these, or have combined as language evolves. And there are even examples where these non-Latin Italian languages have bequeathed us fascinating derivatives in their own right.

One of these languages was Umbrian, spoken by the central Italian peoples and closely connected to Oscan (more about these in a later post). In Umbrian, the word for black or dark seems to have been niru, very similar to modern French and Italian. This leaves us with questions. Was the Umbrian word the principal parent word of the French and Latin for black? Or did it combine with Latin as it evolved? Latin and Umbrian were likely connected either by Umbrian bequesting to Latin or via a connection to a mutual parent.

Isn't language amazing? Such a rich legacy from a famous ancient language, and one that has almost been forgotten.

So, now to Greek. Are you feeling a little down or sad? If so, you may be said to be feeling melancholy, in other words (and rather less poetically), you have a touch of black bile. The word comes from Greek as follows:

μελας, μελαινα, μελαν - black, dark

χολή - bile

So how do we get from black bile to a feeling of sadness? This goes back to ancient Greek medical theory. The theory of the four humours, an early holistic approach to understanding the funcitoning of the body and disease, often attributed to medical writer and thinker Hippocrates (yep, author of the oath which doctors still pledge allegiance to). The 'humours' corresponded to the four fluids of the body, of which black bile was one, accounting for certain diseases, but also feeling low. What a rich cultural history finding its origins in the early days of science?

And so, this article brings my series on Cool Colours, modern words from ancient Latin and Greek (primarily) for colour. I hope you have enjoyed it.

If you would like more content like this (language related) or would like more stuff generally about the ancient world and how it relates to our own, please DM me.

See you in my next series, whatever that may be!

[ambientbroth]

Long post!

I do not understand how so many people are willing to dismiss the ideas of Graham Hancock’s because he call’s out modern archeology academias & Joe Rogan was sprinkled in the Netflix series Ancient Apocalypse

When we think about the oldest religion being Hinduism and they’re advanced ancient knowledge on the age of the universe and very specific cycles they uncovered were exceptionally precise - how is it we only now discovered they’re calculations true and still call ancient people simple/ uncivilized humans.

When we know the importance of astronomy to ancient human’s. How people navigated the seas using the stars as maps, how civilizations took astronomy seriously, how often they studied them, it’s not a coincidence so many cultures studied the stars and have standing evidence preserved of the same studies - why is archeology so quick to dismiss astronomy when viewing ancient sites?

When we know mythology, lore, and the power of story telling. We know the influence these stories carry for thousands of years passed on to this day. Modern day academia will not listen to the people of the land. Story telling becomes extremely skewed or forgotten due to unimportance.(I know Graham Hancock got some of these stories grossly inaccurate, he’s not a savior)

Graham Hancock only offers suggestion and a different view on the massive evidence of a missing time period we choose not to acknowledge. He’s not saying he’s 100% right, even the stories he reiterates are grossly simplified to match some of his ideologies (he’s not the only one to do that). He’s offering an open minded story of something that could have been very real. There’s too much evidence in our modern world to try to dismiss any discovery we do not yet understand.

If we do not fully understand something we cannot just keep dismissing ideas. That doesn’t do anything good. It doesn’t preserve anything. It doesn’t progress us to keep it in a box.

Paleontology proves to us, with every new discovery, that our original idea on dinosaurs were wrong! Because that’s what science is - it’s expanding the view of the world.

We know the historical discoveries/inventions/ideas, made by minorities, have been taken from them and skewed/killed/buried/paid off - over time to shine light on terrible people. This story is not uncommon to humanity.

The day people of the world realize that we know nothing of the world will be the day that humanity expands. If humanity only decides to go with “what we know” that’s a limited box. Archeologist, scientist, historians, medical, astronomers - they have ALL been wrong before. It’s is so crazy to believe we are at “the pinnacle” of all modern knowledge. WE KNOW NOTHING.

New article discoveries about ancient humans come out everyday. A more recent one I read was about a very prehistoric skeleton that showed evidence of a very modern surgical amputation practice that was thought to not have existed in that time period and if it was the likelihood of survival was remarkable. On top of this discovery they noted that this amputation was eariler in this human’s life (childhood) and the human survived his full life time with this amputation, meaning there was disabled assistance - which was thought to have not been a common behavior with ancient humans.

The reason I bring up this article is because we truly do not know anything about our prehistory and it’s a progressive attitude to consider humanity has been far more advance than we give credit to. There is a reason to put time and effort into the idea that there was a advanced anxiety civilization. It’s only now “crazy” to observe and talk against things that do not add up and call them conspiracies. In history some conspiracies are/were proven right, it just needed more investigation.

[rpking99]

Don't know how many of my buds are Ultraman fans but... Kinda wanna talk about my first Ultraman series, since it has been around a year since I watched it

Ultraman Trigger was a good.... But flawed show. Partially because of its wasted potential of the main conflict of the show.

The romance, or rather the heartbreak of a broken relationship and the attempts to repair it, between Kengo and Carmeara, the shows protagonist and antagonist respectively

SPOILERS BELOW!

Kengo, the titualr Ultraman Trigger. He spent most of the series not knowing his true origin. How he WAS Trigger, and not some host for an ancient power but the mighty warrior reborn. And dealing with the guilt that as Trigger in those ancient days, he was a villain before he betrayed his friends Hydram and Darggon as well his loved Carmeara

The four of them (Hydram, Darggon, Carmeara and Trigger) where giants of darkness, trying to steal the ultimate power in the universe. A miniature source of light called the Eternity Core that was hidden on earth. As it was in their grasp, Trigger betrayed them and sealed the four of them away

Years later when Trigger's prison was found, his soul left his stone prison as the baby Kengo. And then when Kengo was an adult, he and the others began to awaken. Kengo fusing with his power once more, but with no memory of this ancient past until time travel happened

Carmeara's motivation for the first half of the series was to get revenge on Trigger, the one she loved, for betraying them. But when the female giant of darkness used her magic to send Kengo's souls back in time, where he merged with the Trigger of the past after convincing himself to turn good. After that mid series reveal, Carmeara's motives changed. Now she saw Kengo as either brainwashing her lover or, worse, murdering her lover and using his corpse as a meat suit to fight.

In the end Carmeara merges with the Eternity Core, becoming a god of darkness, only for Trigger to kill her after Kengo accepts his light AND darkness.

Carmeara's last moments being in Kengo's arms as she realised he and Trigger where one and the same, and how she loved the feeling of the warm light he gave off...

And then she was revived in the sequel series, Ultraman Decker. In a two part crossover episode, Kengo saved a revived Carmeara who was held prisoner inside a replica of her god of darkness form. The two then fighting together, alongside Decker. And Carmeara survived to leave into space

Honestly the story, from the outside, is beautiful. But... In execution it fails

Because Kengo never even tries to TALK to Carmeara after the mud series reveal. To explain himself. To comfort the woman who, in his past life, he DID love.

Again, he never even TIRED. Because we are shown points in the show where Kengo DOES talk as Trigger. But whenever he fights Carmeara? He says nothing

And that watsed potential is so sad to me. Because the drama is... It's so PALPABLE. Even an episode of Carmeara knowing the truth. The two trying to just... Make it work. But Carmeara is so hurt from all those years focusing on revenge, or her own desires more important to her than her love, making her continue on her dark path

Because... They don't build a connection between the two behind Carmeara's old love for Trigger and her modern hate for Kengo

And part of why I bring this up is... Stage shows. Ultraman loves bringing these two back, especially for stage shows. And in those? They fight side by side. Almost doing a romantic dance as they kick ass

Herz the grump goth dommy mummy, and him, the bundle of sunshine hero who loves his girlfriend to the stars and back.

It's so adorable and... If the drama had been set up well, this would feel perfect! But it feels unearned. And the lack of it in the story just drags down the tragedy these two are supposed to share.

[animehouse-moe]

Animerica Extra Volume 1 Issue 1: A Closer Look

Finally, finally finally I managed to get the first two volumes uploaded to the Internet Archive, which you can find here, and I really do recommend because of Tumblr image compression being kinda gross. Anyways, I wanted to take this opportunity to talk about the first issue of the magazine and what I really found interesting and cool!

First off is the advertisements that appear in the magazine. Considering the scope and popularity of the magazine, the "type" of companies that would advertise are somewhat different. I mean, AnimeVillage got the front cover ad. Not that they're a tiny company, but much like others in here, they're not a company that lasted incredibly long.

Still, what is incredibly interesting though is their website, which is still saved in the internet archive, though in a somewhat incomplete fashion, which you can find here. Anyways, getting to visit an old site like this is a lot of fun, mostly because of the personality that appears with it. Offensive and sharp color palettes, more than a few moving pieces, and a very blocky layout. Honestly, I think sites like this have a considerable amount more to offer in terms of heart and individuality than what modern web design has given us, but that's not the point. The point is that Animerica Extra provides people, specifically the community in this moment, with an experience from the past. I mean, AnimeVillage is from 1998, there's no way that the vast majority of anime or manga fans would even know about them as a company today.

Getting to the actual magazine itself though, there's just two things that I find interesting with the Table of Contents. Firstly, right at the bottom, just above the "Printed in Canada" statement, Viz offers a disclaimer (which you can't read here because of nasty Tumblr compression, so I'll transcribe it): "For the purposes of publication in English, the artwork in this publication is in reverse from the original Japanese Version".

Now, I don't have any OG manga volumes that were printed more like graphic novels, so I can't say for sure, but I find this disclaimer interesting. Either, a) this is a general disclaimer Viz gives about the difference between JP and English publication, or b) Viz is required to provide this disclaimer for the materials. Either way it's a very curious piece.

And then there's the "Vizit our World Wide Web Sites at www.viz.com...". Yes, Viz actually printed "Visit" as "Vizit" alongside "World Wide Web sites". Just such a blast from the past as to how the internet was viewed and interacted with.

And then there's the Yuu Watase feature from the first issue. I think it's something that doesn't immediately stick out to people in the modern day because hey, you just go to MAL or Manga-Updates and you can see everything that Watase's ever done like it's nothing.

But in the 80s that sort of accessibility was non-existent. I mean, like you'll see later on with the letters, people only found out about Animerica Extra through Animerica. It really highlights how valuable this sort of information was to the community during the era, because you simply just would not know anything about Yuu Watase without these pieces.

Similarly, you couldn't go and look up what a series was about on the internet, you only had word of mouth and direct interaction, so excerpts like these that give readers an idea of what is is they're about to read is incredibly important.

Just a quick aside here about advertisements. I know a lot of people will say, "but hey! There were TV ads during the 90s and 2000s that could be run for this stuff! Surely they could provide information and advertisement via that!", and I think the easiest answer is another question: can the modern day animanga industry manage that? Obviously not, no. The avenues that Viz could approach to advertise via were incredibly narrow, largely focused on anime specific storefronts or general comic stores, placing physical advertisement at the top of the pyramid, followed up by ads distributed via their tapes back in the day.

Anyways, back on track to the editorial for an interesting conversation! This one's very interesting to me for just one thing, really- the original sketch giveaway.

It happens today, rather frequently, but with caveats. It's not, "Hey we're running a giveaway so make sure to participate", it's "Hey we've got X mangaka appearing at a con so come for a chance to win their sketch!". The difference in the approach to the giveaway is entirely different. I don't know if I can really say that it's more accessible, but I think that it gives fans a greater opportunity to participate purely because it's cheaper, running on a far longer schedule (as the editorial mentions), and doesn't require in person attendance for the opportunity.

But to be fair, even those giveaways are only a recent thing as the animanga market's boomed. There was quite a long period of dead air in terms of this sort of activity, so I find it really interesting how the landscape has changed in how these now corporations approach these aspects of interaction with their communities.

Also, here's a link to the archived version of the website in the advertisement on this page.

And this magazine really just keeps giving more and more crazy information. This News Notes panel really surprised me. Yes, it's got a lot of plain information like upcoming or finishing anime, but most interesting is the information that the left column provides.

They talk about the mangaka of Steam Detectives appearing at San Diego Comic Con, and not only that, but bringing some early footage of the anime. I mean, that sort of thing has only just begun happening again in the last few years.

It's crazy to see how advanced and engaged Viz was back in the day with the industry overseas. Not that they aren't today, but that the curtain's been pulled across so we no longer get stuff like this in English.

Speaking of things like that, because of the disappearance of things like this, we don't get to see interaction between individuals and the companies. The letters section in this first volume is so interesting because of the era it comes from. The accessibility of information is immediately addressed with the first letter that talks about them finding out about Animerica Extra via the mainline Animerica. Then there's the very talented letter sending that sewed a decorative pillow for their friend. But I think my personal favorite is the nonsensical letter penned by Jonkani.

These magazines are just a gold mine of history and culture pertaining to the North American animanga industry and community, that I really think is important to be able to experience and understand as it contextualizes where this slice of entertainment lies in the modern day.

And this just the first issue of the first volume, there's still 73 more to go that provide all sorts of wonderful and curious information and interactions. Incredibly happy to be able to provide this to the community, but also very hopeful that being vocal with this will both make people more aware of a history that is "ours", and inspire those that have pieces of history like this to archive them.