#demonstrating demonic possession or accidentally acting like a demon

[goldkirk]

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[dirty-bear-rick-sanchez]

OK that last post got me thinking and I think I realised why autistic Rick means so much to me:

It’s about the agency and the way he’s genuinely treated as a person rather than a human embodiment of autism

(More under the cut because this accidentally turned out very long)

Like a lot of characters who are specifically designed to be autistic or autistic-coded very much revolve around this, like they’re seen as autistic first and human second? And also another big thing that I hate about this is the way autism (and other disabilities, although I don’t think I’m really qualified to talk about them) is either infantilised or demonised, sometimes both at once. The infantilisation tends to fall into two main groups.

The first is sort of ‘oh autistic people are so good/honest/much better than us’, not in a way of ‘studies have shown that autistic people typically stick more firmly to their moral code than non-autistics’, but in a way that almost takes away our agency by suggesting that autism makes us incapable of understanding morality or the big picture, and so is suggesting that anything we do right is not a credit to us or our own choices, but simply because autistic people aren’t capable of being evil.

The other, that tends to come along with demonisation, is the idea that autism/autistic people are evil/cause suffering to those around us, but acts like this is again simply due to the autism, and doesn’t give us any control over whether we harm others or not. Even though this is obviously much harsher than the other view (e.g. parents insisting that autism is ‘taking their child’/‘destroying their family’ and acting like autism is a kind of demon possessing their child rather than an aspect of who their child is), I would argue that it still falls under infantilisation, since it treats us as if we are not responsible for this, since this is simply something intrinsically linked with autism. Maybe a better example of this might be autistic people violating clearly stated boundaries (e.g. don’t touch me) but being treated as if their autism makes them immune to criticism/unable to understand what they’ve done/unable to modify their behaviour.

So getting back to the subject of the post: autistic Rick. Rick being a morally grey character is very important for autistic representation because it helps to avoid falling into either of these two camps and most importantly, gives him agency/responsibility. He’s a grown man, and is a pretty toxic guy who’s done a lot of fucked up shit, which means he definitely isn’t going to get treated as someone inherently good/better than everyone (with the exception of some fans idolising him). However, he’s clearly shown to understand his actions, as well as right and wrong, and is making a definite choice to behave in these ways, and although his reasons for these behaviours is demonstrated, I would argue that mostly the show doesn’t allow this to justify his behaviour. I think him being older and initially having a dominant/head of household type of role also helps with this, since it’s much harder to infantilise a man who makes decisions for others and is shown to be competent in a lot of scenarios others aren’t experienced with.

Overall, I think this complexity of character is something that’s handled quite well, since generally I think the show does a good job of sympathising with characters while also criticising/pointing out their toxic behaviour, as well as giving characters moments to stand up for themselves and show their agency (e.g. The Whirly Dirly Conspiracy does a good job of exploring how Jerry is both justified in his feelings towards Rick and also simultaneously pointing out his manipulative tactics). I also think that, in general, Justin Roiland does a good job of ‘normalising’ marginalised identities and treating characters as people first, while not dismissing or ignoring the impact these have on the characters (e.g. Rick’s autism and pansexuality, as well as Terry and Korvo’s bisexuality in Solar Opposites, which gets an honourable mention here since I think it’s genuinely one of the best examples of this balance for bisexual/queer characters in media, and I also think shows a lot of Justin’s growth as a writer).

[surprisebitch]

My 10 All-time Fave Anime

I first wanna get it out there that there is still a lot of anime I plan to watch and have yet to finish. This current top 10 all-time fave list is based from anime I have completed. I am currently watching a lot of anime, so this list could potentially change!

Each synopsis comes from MyAnimeList. Here’s my profile if you’re interested, and feel free to send a friend request!

Anyway, onto the list! This is not in order btw, just 10 titles!

My 10 All-time Fave Anime

1. Given (2019)

Tightly clutching his Gibson guitar, Mafuyu Satou steps out of his dark apartment to begin another day of his high school life. While taking a nap in a quiet spot on the gymnasium staircase, he has a chance encounter with fellow student Ritsuka Uenoyama, who berates him for letting his guitar’s strings rust and break. Noticing Uenoyama’s knowledge of the instrument, Satou pleads for him to fix it and to teach him how to play. Uenoyama eventually agrees and invites him to sit in on a jam session with his two band mates: bassist Haruki Nakayama and drummer Akihiko Kaji.

Satou’s voice is strikingly beautiful, filling Uenoyama with the determination to make Satou the lead singer of the band. Though reticent at first, Satou takes the offer after an emotional meeting with an old friend. With the support of his new friends, Satou must not only learn how to play guitar, but also come to terms with the mysterious circumstances that led him to be its owner.

2. Rurouni Kenshin (1996)

In the final years of the Bakumatsu era lived a legendary assassin known as Hitokiri Battousai. Feared as a merciless killer, he was unmatched throughout the country, but mysteriously disappeared at the peak of the Japanese Revolution. It has been ten peaceful years since then, but the very mention of Battousai still strikes terror into the hearts of war veterans.

Unbeknownst to them, Battousai has abandoned his bloodstained lifestyle in an effort to repent for his sins, now living as Kenshin Himura, a wandering swordsman with a cheerful attitude and a strong will. Vowing never to kill again, Kenshin dedicates himself to protecting the weak. One day, he stumbles across Kaoru Kamiya at her kendo dojo, which is being threatened by an impostor claiming to be Battousai. After receiving help from Kenshin, Kaoru allows him to stay at the dojo, and so the former assassin temporarily ceases his travels.

Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan tells the story of Kenshin as he strives to save those in need of saving. However, as enemies from both past and present begin to emerge, will the reformed killer be able to uphold his new ideals?

3. Assassination Classroom (2015)

When a mysterious creature chops the moon down to a permanent crescent, the students of class 3-E of Kunugigaoka Middle School find themselves confronted with an enormous task: assassinate the creature responsible for the disaster before Earth suffers a similar fate. However, the monster, dubbed Koro-sensei (the indestructible teacher), is able to fly at speeds of up to Mach 20, which he demonstrates freely, leaving any attempt to subdue him in his extraterrestrial dust. Furthermore, the misfits of 3-E soon find that the strange, tentacled beast is more than just indomitable—he is the best teacher they have ever had.

Adapted from the humorous hit manga by Yuusei Matsui, Ansatsu Kyoushitsu tells the story of these junior high pupils as they polish their assassination skills and grow in order to stand strong against the oppressive school system, their own life problems, and one day, Koro-sensei.

4. My Hero Academia (2016)

The appearance of “quirks,” newly discovered super powers, has been steadily increasing over the years, with 80 percent of humanity possessing various abilities from manipulation of elements to shapeshifting. This leaves the remainder of the world completely powerless, and Izuku Midoriya is one such individual.

Since he was a child, the ambitious middle schooler has wanted nothing more than to be a hero. Izuku’s unfair fate leaves him admiring heroes and taking notes on them whenever he can. But it seems that his persistence has borne some fruit: Izuku meets the number one hero and his personal idol, All Might. All Might’s quirk is a unique ability that can be inherited, and he has chosen Izuku to be his successor!

Enduring many months of grueling training, Izuku enrolls in UA High, a prestigious high school famous for its excellent hero training program, and this year’s freshmen look especially promising. With his bizarre but talented classmates and the looming threat of a villainous organization, Izuku will soon learn what it really means to be a hero.

5. Attack on Titan (2013)

Centuries ago, mankind was slaughtered to near extinction by monstrous humanoid creatures called titans, forcing humans to hide in fear behind enormous concentric walls. What makes these giants truly terrifying is that their taste for human flesh is not born out of hunger but what appears to be out of pleasure. To ensure their survival, the remnants of humanity began living within defensive barriers, resulting in one hundred years without a single titan encounter. However, that fragile calm is soon shattered when a colossal titan manages to breach the supposedly impregnable outer wall, reigniting the fight for survival against the man-eating abominations.

After witnessing a horrific personal loss at the hands of the invading creatures, Eren Yeager dedicates his life to their eradication by enlisting into the Survey Corps, an elite military unit that combats the merciless humanoids outside the protection of the walls. Based on Hajime Isayama’s award-winning manga, Shingeki no Kyojin follows Eren, along with his adopted sister Mikasa Ackerman and his childhood friend Armin Arlert, as they join the brutal war against the titans and race to discover a way of defeating them before the last walls are breached.

6. Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica (2011)

Madoka Kaname and Sayaka Miki are regular middle school girls with regular lives, but all that changes when they encounter Kyuubey, a cat-like magical familiar, and Homura Akemi, the new transfer student.

Kyuubey offers them a proposition: he will grant any one of their wishes and in exchange, they will each become a magical girl, gaining enough power to fulfill their dreams. However, Homura Akemi, a magical girl herself, urges them not to accept the offer, stating that everything is not what it seems.

A story of hope, despair, and friendship, Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica deals with the difficulties of being a magical girl and the price one has to pay to make a dream come true.

7. Hunter X Hunter (2011)

Hunter x Hunter is set in a world where Hunters exist to perform all manner of dangerous tasks like capturing criminals and bravely searching for lost treasures in uncharted territories. Twelve-year-old Gon Freecss is determined to become the best Hunter possible in hopes of finding his father, who was a Hunter himself and had long ago abandoned his young son. However, Gon soon realizes the path to achieving his goals is far more challenging than he could have ever imagined.

Along the way to becoming an official Hunter, Gon befriends the lively doctor-in-training Leorio, vengeful Kurapika, and rebellious ex-assassin Killua. To attain their own goals and desires, together the four of them take the Hunter Exam, notorious for its low success rate and high probability of death. Throughout their journey, Gon and his friends embark on an adventure that puts them through many hardships and struggles. They will meet a plethora of monsters, creatures, and characters—all while learning what being a Hunter truly means.

8. Ranma ½ (1989)

Ranma Saotome is a top-class martial artist and prodigy at the Saotome “Anything-Goes” school of martial arts. While training in China, he and his father meet a terrible fate when they accidentally fall into a cursed spring. Now, Ranma is cursed to turn into a girl when splashed with cold water, and only hot water can turn him back into a boy.

Things are only complicated further when Ranma discovers that his father has arranged for him to marry one of Soun Tendo’s three daughters in order to secure the future of the Tendo dojo. Though Soun learns of Ranma’s predicament, he is still determined to go ahead with the engagement, and chooses his youngest daughter Akane, who happens to be a skilled martial artist herself and is notorious for hating men.

Ranma ½ follows the hilarious adventures of Ranma and Akane as they encounter various opponents, meet new love interests, and find different ways to make each other angry, all while their engagement hangs over their head.

9. Love Live! School Idol Project (2013)

Otonokizaka High School is in a crisis! With the number of enrolling students dropping lower and lower every year, the school is set to shut down after its current first years graduate. However, second year Honoka Kousaka refuses to let it go without a fight. Searching for a solution, she comes across popular school idol group A-RISE and sets out to create a school idol group of her own. With the help of her childhood friends Umi Sonoda and Kotori Minami, Honoka forms μ’s (pronounced “muse”) to boost awareness and popularity of her school.

Unfortunately, it’s all easier said than done. Student council president Eri Ayase vehemently opposes the establishment of a school idol group and will do anything in her power to prevent its creation. Moreover, Honoka and her friends have trouble attracting any additional members. But the Love Live, a competition to determine the best and most beloved school idol groups in Japan, can help them gain the attention they desperately need. With the contest fast approaching, Honoka must act quickly and diligently to try and bring together a school idol group and win the Love Live in order to save Otonokizaka High School.

10. Demon Slayer (2019)

Ever since the death of his father, the burden of supporting the family has fallen upon Tanjirou Kamado’s shoulders. Though living impoverished on a remote mountain, the Kamado family are able to enjoy a relatively peaceful and happy life. One day, Tanjirou decides to go down to the local village to make a little money selling charcoal. On his way back, night falls, forcing Tanjirou to take shelter in the house of a strange man, who warns him of the existence of flesh-eating demons that lurk in the woods at night.

When he finally arrives back home the next day, he is met with a horrifying sight—his whole family has been slaughtered. Worse still, the sole survivor is his sister Nezuko, who has been turned into a bloodthirsty demon. Consumed by rage and hatred, Tanjirou swears to avenge his family and stay by his only remaining sibling. Alongside the mysterious group calling themselves the Demon Slayer Corps, Tanjirou will do whatever it takes to slay the demons and protect the remnants of his beloved sister’s humanity.

I hope you find something you like here and will check some of my faves out!! ❤️ Let me know if you do and what you think!!! x

[lovecomedy]

Fanfic recommendations nobody asked for

Those are my favorite wincest fic ever, just because. They are all complete. I’ll add the summaries together with my own two cents.

Consider the Hairpin Turn by cherie_morte. 27K Words

AU of 6x22: Sam's wall has shattered and the memories in his mind have splintered. When the Sam who remembers Hell tells him to go find Jess and be happy, Sam knows he can't stay while Dean needs him. But when the Sam from Hell says that Dean is already there looking for him, Sam leaves his memories of the pit behind to find him.

What he finds is a life he doesn't remember: a house that he shares with his brother (and has for years), a law career he thought he'd left behind at Stanford, and a relationship with Dean he never dreamed he could have. Life is almost too good to be true, at least until Sam begins to hear his brother's voice calling to him, begging him to wake up.

This is my favorite fic of all times. It’s beautifuly written. The way that it narrates Sam’s trauma of Hell is what keeps me coming back for more . Honestly it should be published as a book. Don’t worry, it has very happy scenes and there’s a happy ending

Welcome to the Neighborhood by ImogenPortchester. 2K Words

Dean thinks the new neighbors are interesting, but all is not what it seems.

Super short. Super heartbreaking.

Fics by leonidaslion

I mean first off, just read everything written by leonidaslion

Sing Your Hymns Like Angels In Defeat. 32K Words. 

And Lucifer Fell for a second time with the burning brilliance of a star. The Flare shone in his wake, and darkness fell upon the land ...

Dean goes blind, and I love how it describes Dean’s stuggles with it. You feel like you’re blind with him. Really, really, REALLY well written. Should probably also be a book

Fumbling in the Dark: Love Advice For the Romantically Impaired. 72K

True Love really is blind...

It’s basically a character study of every single episode of the first 5 seasons, with a wincest twist. Slow burn. Holy shit, is it a slow burn. 

Just Say My Name. 3K Words

Dean turns into a complete and utter nympho. It takes Sam a while to notice the difference.

Funny, lighthearted and porny

Hush. 2K Words

Motel walls are thin...

Discovery!kink. Sam and Dean try to have quiet sex while John is in the other room. At least, Dean is trying

Sam Winchester and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. 15K Words

Sometimes, you just shouldn't get out of bed in the morning ...

Fics by fleshflutter

Dark Side of the Moon. 20K Words

Cursed!Dean is deaf and blind. Sam deals.

The incestuous courtship of the antichrist's bride. 48K Words

Sam is trying to become the Antichrist in order to save the world. He has a small army of angels and demons, he has an adoring cult, he has a work of prophecy by Jack Kerouac, and he has Dean. Things are going pretty well until he accidentally signs Dean up as his Beloved Consort, a role that requires sex with the Antichrist on an altar. And that's when things stop going pretty well. Also, the soundtrack to the Apocalypse sucks.

I don’t like crack fics, but goddamn this one is FUNNY. You can tell a lot of thought was put into this freaking masterpiece

Captured by the Game by rivkat. 54K Words

AU. Azazel has given his favorite son a task: worm his way into the confidence of a hunter. It sounds simple, but Dean Winchester just might be more than Sam can handle.

It wasn’t real by NaughtyPastryChef. 1K Words

Sam is trying to explain to Dean where he was when Dean was stuck in purgatory. It starts with "I hit a dog" and then, suddenly, inexplicably, they both know exactly where Sam was.

Wonderful explanation for that arc in season 8 nobody can stand. Plus, time travel, which I’m always a sucker for

Backseat of My Brother's 67 Chevy by NaughtyPastryChef. 1K Words

Extended scene from "Baby". Dean's feeling proud of Sam's hookup until he hears that Sam tried to give that waitress his number. Uncharacteristically, he lets Sam force him to talk about it. 

Bury My Old Soul, and Dance on its Grave by  dreamlittleyo. 2K Words

Dean knows how far he can push Sam.

Antichrist!Sam and Consort!Dean. Codependent winchesters. Yeah

Graveside Blues by hunenka. 3K Words

He uses his body like a blanket, like a shield.

I like how protective Sam is of Dean here, and it deals with something I don’t see a lot such as the jealousy he would have of Dean’s bond with Amara

own it by orphan_account. 6K Words

But he's never going to be able to burn the image of Sam cradling one hand around the perfect curve of Dean's face, dropping the other to the cut of Dean's hip (made for fingers and tongues to trail down, to taste), walking Dean backward until Dean is flush against the wall and Sam is flush against him. This is something that can't be denied.

John finds out. Explores the wonderful trope of both Sam and his father being possessive of Dean, and being very antagonistical to each other. Dysfunctional family yay. Also very porny

Fics by astolat

Punxsutawney. 9K Words

* astolat thinks any plot worth doing is worth doing TWICE

This is the Mistery Spot plot, but a little different. Sam AND Dean wake up to the same day over and over again. So they talk.

Kings and Queens and Jokers, Too. 4K Words

"Yeah, you boys nailed that trickster real good," Bobby said, dry as dust.

People are acting weird around the brothers. Can’t really say anything else without spoiling it. Listen just do yourself a favor and read it. 

options. 500 Words

Decisions, decisions. 

Short and funny. Little bit porny

Desired. 2K Words

He hadn't even known about any of this himself until Sam found it, figured it out for him. He hadn't known how it was going to be.

So, smut. They have a better time when Dean is the one who asks for it

Rockabye Sammy... by  AnotherWorld3111. 1K Words

Sam can’t sleep, so Dean tries to help.

Sam keeps hallucinating Lucifer. Dean is worried and protective of him. Porny

We Know Each Other As We Always Were by mickeym. 45K Words

In 1941, while the world is at war, Sam Winchester falls in love with his brother. They're young, they're in love, and in spite of the hardships of life around them, the world is a pretty good one for them. Until Dec. 7th, 1941, when Japan launches an air attack on Pearl Harbor, sending the US to war against Japan. Dean Winchester feels he needs to join the Army; needs to help fight the good fight and help save lives. He promises he'll return, but can he keep that promise?

GAH this is so romantic! It’s an AU, but I feel like they’re very in character. It feels like a novel

For The End of My Broken Heart by Wickedtruth. 59K Words

Dad's disappeared and Sam's left to pick up the pieces of his broken brother. Post Devil's Trap AU.

Very codependent Winchesters. Also John finds out. 

here at the end of all things by  remy (iamremy). 40K Words

AU from Season 12 onwards. The British Men of Letters win in the USA, and slowly manage to establish their bases and authority over the whole country. They also capture Sam Winchester and keep him prisoner for eleven months, experimenting on him regularly before wiping his memories so that he has no idea what has been done to him.

Even after Dean rescues him and they begin planning to get revenge once and for all, the niggling doubt at the back of Sam's head remains -- what did they do to him? Why won't his anxiety get better? And what is it that he's missing?

Ok you got me, this is gen. But the whole fic feels like a (good) Supernatural episode, it’s so realistic and canon-like. The relationship between the brothers is just like the one we see on the show, meaning desperately codependent and wincest in every subtext.

Fics by deadlybride / zmediaoutlet

What I like about @zmediaoutlet is that she takes the time to write everyone in character. It’s always as canonical as possible and it feels real

femme. 4K Words

Rummaging around the internet, Dean finds a kink he hadn't seen before; Sam explains, and demonstrates.

I love feminization, but unfourtunately there’s only one fic that does it right, and it’s this one

gratification. 2K Words

It's not a compulsion. Dean just likes it.

breña. 1K Words

Sam and Dean wait, knowing what's coming.

The night before Sam jumps in the box

not the good things, nor the bad. 20K

Dean wavers in a grey area between being taken and giving in.

Part of it started with the kinks series, but you can read this just fine without the other parts. It deals very beautifully with Dean’s thoughts regarding his bond with Amara and his sexuality

DeMille Has Nothing On Us by  HandsAcrossTheSea. 13K Words

"Hey Dean - wanna film it?"

This is part of the Those Hazy Days I Do Remember series, but you can 100% read it as a stand-alone, no problem. Sam and Dean film each other and this has that season 1 vibe, of just two brothers on the road. It’s slightly OOC, just because of how touchy-feely they are. But that’s something I sometimes wish we could have on the show, anyway

How many floors to realize by Lazy Daze. 26K Words

AU from the end of It’s A Terrible Life, in which Zachariah decides to keep stringing them along a little while longer, because damn if they aren’t somewhat entertaining, right?”

Rabid by i-am-therefore-i-fight 

Beautiful!! I love @i-am-therefore-i-fight‘s take on demon!dean. It’s different to what we’re used to. This fic is very angsty but has a happy ending

Bitten by a True Believer by kermiethefrog. 3K Words

“C’mon, Sammy,” Dean says. Flashes him a wicked grin, charcoal-eyes. The way he spreads out on Sam’s mattress, bare and offering himself up like Holy fucking Communion, drums heat under Sam’s skin, and he’s never sure if it’s arousal or anger when he’s faced with the demon. “Show me a good time, big guy.”

Another demon!dean fic. I like how even as he is a demon, he is still desperate for Sam’s attention

The Time Traveler's Brother by  AmyPond45. 54K Words

Dean's life is turned upside down the night his mother dies. But that's also the night a mysterious grown-up version of Dean's brother first appears in his life. While Dean grows up, "Old Sam" is often there, especially when Dean's father isn't. As Dean learns what the future holds, he begins to question everything his father has taught him about who he is and what he is supposed to become. Can Dean find a way to save his little brother from his own future?

This is based on The Time Traveler’s Wife, which is my favorite book. Don’t worry, you don’t have to have read it to understand this fic

need against need against need by dollylux. 5K Words

Jack spends his first night in the bunker with Sam and Dean. (Jack POV)

Don’t worry, Jack just watches and ponders about the Winchester’ realationship

the centre cannot hold by orphan_account. 6K Words

Sam does not remember; Dean does. All Dean can do is watch, and mourn.

But then Castiel becomes God, and the world starts to break at the edges (and maybe that isn't a bad thing.)

It kinda becomes a character study, while the brothers deal with what happened during the Soulless!Sam period

The Last Temptation by bccalling. 1K Words

When Sam tells Mary about all the things he and Dean get up to in the dark, Mary wants in, and Sam sees his opportunity to make Dean’s every fantasy come true.

Mary shows up. Porny and very sweet

Angels and Demons by  OhWilloTheWisp. 9K Words

AU angels and demons are animals. Sam was not happy when his owner, Ruby, left him boarded at a kennel. He was even less happy when he discovered an angel in the same facility. But his encounter with the angel will end much differently than anyone would have guessed. He may have never expected his mate to be angel, but now that's found him he won't let anyone keep them apart.

Sam and Dean are kinda like animals here but there’s nothing sexual. It’s very sweet and romantic. Anna/Ruby in here as well

[beautifullybroken42189]

12/05/20

Started writing @ 02:27 A.m. 

  I just felt like writing this.. Today of all days probably because of this constant tension I feel, as I’m sure you feel too, has begun emerging from a slight disagreement to a state of normalcy.. I know we both mean well, but maybe we set ourselves up for failure with false hopes and over the moon expectancies. Perhaps we’re nothing more than a lingering lust for what we desire, nothing more or less than a surface attraction; fatal. Or- perhaps it is real. Messy, raw, heartfelt, and deep. The “I can’t breathe without you blurt it out at the top of your lungs do whatever it takes for us to make it” kind of real.. I never thought I’d even entertain the idea to consider giving up, not this far in with you. We have such compassion and admiration for each other. We’ve been through all sorts of trials and tribulations… the one we can’t seem to shake is what has me losing sleep lately… I’m not blaming you, nor am I blaming me- both you and I are intertwined to an extreme entangled knot- so to speak. I have no issue recognizing my personal faults.. My sensitivity.. My “having to tiptoe” at times emotional state from my lingering yet haunting past I possess. I know you have faults and I know you are aware of them as well- I only say these things because I wish we were able to push forth (certain times/situations). I wrote this piece below, it’s sort of one way I’ve interpreted both our demons at work, especially when our stubborn attributes go head to head… so here it goes, my metaphor… 

 There’s come so many instances, when we, unfortunately, decide to fuel our need for ever degrading cut-throat phrases.. Our mouths begin dishing out hurtful punch lines, which have become so nonchalantly spoken when upset at/with each other. Reinforcing this authority aspect to determine whether one (or the other) has in fact misconstrued words, misunderstood, overreacted, or just bluntly spewed put-downs from an endless supply of hypocritical statements backed up by nonexistent rules and regulations. Displaying an inaccurate recollection of previous to present events, which tend to unfold to be no more than our own pathetic attempts to win this apparent “irrelevant  game” of who can hurt who more or who can have the last word- who’s actually right and who decides- unwillingly, we’ve cast ourselves to play in the game we accidentally created. 

Incidentally, we start by placing our game pieces upon the board with such an uncanny and heartless demeanor, and yet, it’s clear neither one of us can remember how we came to play in the first place.. After many tiring back & forth “your turn, my turn” we find ourselves shoving our free will aside, letting our emotions either run a muck- or shut down completely; the time already invested is unknown, how much more time is to pass while awaiting whose turn is to be next, has us side lined while becoming more manipulatable. Then, the wind blows past; we can hear awful sounding whispers. The rumor-like gossip- distinctly discussing ALL of our ill spoken words, our heartbreaking acts of betrayal, any lie we told to the other which was spoken at it’s time to be believed as a truth, the hurtful remarks we’ve exchanged in the heat of the moment- giving this game the result desired: us- overtaken by an erupting anger and an impatient need for revenge. Closing our eyes only to relive the pain-staking regrettable moments/memories of our past, and it’s a horrific nightmare- causing rage to be taken out on each other and there seems to be no stopping it from bursting into flames. Here is where we “officially” sealed our fate to play- unknowingly allowing control for all decisions to be decided by this two dimensional four sided game- powerless to it’s leisure.  Having ulterior motives from the starting point, plotting to twist us from lovers to enemies . Testing it’s theory and validity that love is of weak character. Why we feel we can claim our thoughts and feelings to be concrete law and seek sheer revenge on the opposing opponent who dare not abide, is ludicris. Let’s call a timeout- agree to disagree- give in- call it a truce- wave a white flag; admit defeat.. We are capable of eradicating this despicable game, destroying it before being destroyed ourselves. Being subjected to an unimaginable destination, landing us on this cruel game board is an unsettling feeling. But- we are only the pieces which are necessary to play.. I plead with you to look at how easily it has been to get to the point of hate, especially here. To love clearly requires a never ending form of effort- when our feelings of bliss are flipped to bitterness, and this game has turned it’s objective to sabotage us as soon as we were obligated to play should’ve taught us differently, instead of clouding our better judgement. It isn’t difficult to let go and be consumed by the hatred rapidly expanding, but I beg you to reconsider, to detour yourself from this inescapable marathon. There is a storm Forming, a “sudden death” round seems to be what lay forth when selfish ambitions are transformed from mere battle plots to actual moves.. Despite being schemed and tricked, we both were, forcing us to play as cold metal pieces upon a board and against each other- I refuse to let us be forever stuck upon this board game from hell. Our vengeful footsteps led us down a dark and ominous maze, one that was unforgiving, filled with curves and precise bends causing to land on every “lose a turn” or “move back an infinite amount of squares” this game has to offer. I can feel the game itself groaning- demanding to stay amused, our suffering feeding it’s laughter. Do you truly wish to continue playing against me and against me you?!?!... I sincerely hope the worst of this is done.. I’ve desperately clung to any memory possible, the good ones.. you demonstrating your unconditional love for me, the tenderness for only us to know- memories we both carry. There must be a strategy to not only end this horrid game, but that ends with me in your arms. 

I’ve fought the quivering fear this wretched game tried to keep a constant inside of me. So, I no longer strive to win, winning is and always will be completely obsolete. I traded in playing a worthless hate induced game for better things...

      ….you. 

         ……. <3

[vulpinmusings]

Letters from Buxcord #7 - A Patch Job

Three sessions in the making, Ash and company go to fix something I broke the last time around.

Samantha,

It’s rather annoying to suffer wounds that I can’t just sleep off, but that fey spider’s acid spit did such a number on me that I’ve had to spend a week in the hospital and deal with skin grafts.  At least it’s not anywhere as bad as the last time I was obliged to go the hospital.  I don’t have to avoid using magic, for one thing.

While I was convalescing, Sheriff Greyson showed up to get an official statement for the spiders-man incident.  I gave him all the key details, naturally, even admitting to accidentally causing a small forest fire.  The Sheriff found the tale a bit beyond belief, but dutifully recorded what I said and then went off to ask Lea about the case.  Presumably after that he tracked down Penn, because the news report that eventually came out referenced three eyewitnesses, and declared all of us so traumatized by the events that our memories were addled.  Also, the police decided that spiders-man was the work of the same guy behind the so-called Razorback copycat killing (aka that time we fought a pig-masked ghost in the slaughterhouse).

 I’ve wondered why Sheriff Ragland wasn’t the one to collect our statements, since he’d been the officer in charge at Bizier’s house and has demonstrated a more open mind about the reality of the world.  Considering the official report, however, I suspect that Ragland’s own sanity has come into question.

I have half a mind to put on a bit of a show in front of the police station if the authorities are going to continue to be pig-headed about magic and mythics.  Skvetch, seems like half the people in this town who are in the know are devoted to keeping up a masquerade of non-magic.  More trouble than its worth, if you ask me.

Lea was discharged several days ahead of me, on account of not needing to replace any skin.  On her way out, she paid me a visit to have a chat about her recent realization that she’s (probably) a Faerie and has magic.  She said that she suspected herself of indirectly causing Bizier to be targeted and converted by the spider.  Back during the Razorback incident, Bizier had been the deputy Lea had tried to heal but accidentally drained.  Later on, she’d visited him in the hospital and managed to reverse what she’d done.  Lea feared that that had marked Bizier somehow, luring the fey spider to him.

I know all about carrying guilt for actions performed in… less than enlightened states of being, and I know the sorts of things to say to someone carrying that weight (search me if I can remember who learned it from, though).  Point is, even if Lea had marked Bizier somehow, she’d done it unconsciously, as she only recently became consciously aware of her mythical nature.  I told her so, and she seemed to accept it.  She then asked if I could help her get a grasp on her magic.  I said I would try, but admitted that I’m not an expert in how Faerie magic works, and I’m unsure if teaching her Weaves would be helpful.

Once I was freed from the hospital, I set to exploring Buxcord to find a Fey Way other than the one out in the bayou.  I’d rather not have to hassle with Bayou Boating every time I have business with the Faerie King or need to drop off some wayward pixie.  I managed to find a mushroom ring in the park, so mission success.  Still haven’t made any progress on restoring my lost memories or finding Nollthep.

Scratch that last bit! Nollthop’s still at large, but Madam Weaver finally came through and found someone who was able to restore my memory of the M’Dales and Carmilla!  I can picture them, recall their names.  Skvetch, I mentioned them in passing in a previous letter and only now remember doing so.

Before I explain the details of this restoration, though, there’s something else big that happened before, a few days after I got out of the hospital.

As I was walking to the local diner for breakfast, I noticed that Buxcord seemed strangely quiet.    Upon arrival, I saw everyone in the diner – customer and employee alike, slumped in a state of extreme lethargy.  The only exception was Mr. Penn, who was glad to see someone else in a normal state.  While Penn investigated someone’s food for unusual elements, I tried to coax words from some of the waiters.  I couldn’t get much from them, but from a glance at the ambient magic around them I got the sense that the lethargy was stemming from a loss of energy down to the very soul.

I called Lea to check on her.  She reported that she was feeling fine, but that she’d witnessed a bartender nearly pass out late last night after she felt a strange pulling sensation at her core.  I hadn’t felt anything of the sort, so it’s likely the draining wasn’t able to penetrate the magical defenses on my apartment.

We agreed to split up and search Buxcord for anyone else who wasn’t lethargic or a possible source of the problem.  Lea took the north side since she was already up that way and found Madam Weaver’s house.  The odd old lady was unaffected, and she and Lea had a productive little introduction.  Mr. Penn’s search took him along the outskirts of Buxcord and at some point came across Piper, who was not affected by the lethargy but rather unhelpful.

As for myself, I was searching through the south side when I came across a young woman in a hoodie.  She was acting nervous, and my bold approach probably didn’t help matters.  I quickly established that I was looking into what was going on, and after coaxing I got her to open up and offer her story.  Her name is Simone and she comes from a magical family with close ties to Buxcord’s history, although she wasn’t entirely convinced about the validity of magic at the time. Still, she’d been spared from the soul-draining and had just finished following a vague hunch that had taken her into the marshlands around the bayou.  There she had discovered an old cottonwood tree that would normally have been fully hidden from view, except there was a big hole in the barrier.

Yes, that same tree with the demonic aura I’d discovered while hunting the fey spider.  In my haste to catch up to the spider, I’d forgotten to close up the hole I’d made and had later assumed that a barrier of that age and strength would have some kind of self-renewal function Woven in.  Either that’s just not how things work in this universe, or the original casters of the barrier didn’t think to include such a function.

In any event, whoops.

Since Simone had prior knowledge of the sealed tree and a magical heritage, and thus was a potential source of very crucial help in fixing the problem I’d caused, I brought her with me when I went to meet up with Penn and Lea at the diner to compare notes. The only thing I learned from the other two is that Madam Weaver already knew the source of the problem and whose fault it was, because of course she did.

Our next order of business was to hike out to the bayou so I could get a good look at the breach and determine if I could just Weave up a patch.  We arrived to find a shadowy figure hovering above the water near the tree.  It looked familiar, although it took me a minute to realize why.  I’d seen this thing only once, shortly after my first little adventure, after that massive ripple of magic rolled through town. The figure didn’t move, although it did engage Lea in a conversation that I could only hear her half of. According to Lea, when Penn asked her about it a bit later, the gist of the conversation was that the figure admitted to stepping out of the barrier for a “snack” but that it was still mostly bound to the tree.  It didn’t offer a name or outright admit to being a demon, but it tried to cut a temptation deal to locate Lea’s human family if she helped it get out.  The barrier I’d ignorantly punched a hole in is the middle of three seals on the creature, with the cottonwood tree as the core and another barrier around the whole town.

As to the hole, it didn’t take me long to determine that the barrier was every bit as thick and complex as you’d expect a seal for an ancient evil to be; not the sort of thing you can just throw a quick patch over and expect it to keep holding.  That’s a lesson I don’t need to learn twice. So, I turned to Simone and asked if she has any old family records that might be of help.  She said maybe and, after I put a simple barrier to prevent the demon from taking another “walk” in the meantime, she led us back into town to her house.

Once we were settled in Simone’s house, she undertook a little search and came back with an old leather-bound book embossed with a mystical brand.  The book had some kind of spell on it to prevent strangers from reading its secrets, but my mental discipline proved enough to resist the effects enough to render the words legible, if slightly wavy.  After skimming about halfway through the book, I found an account of a time when the middle barrier had needed repair, and a description of the ritual involved.  It’s not particularly complex or demanding of material components; all we needed were enough mages to perform the steps, a warding amulet for the ritual’s leader, and “blood of the ancients.”

The first two things were easy to find.  Penn has dabbled in magic enough to be confident in taking part, I’m me, and I was willing to take a chance on Lea’ fey abilities counting once we’d secured the assistance of a couple more mages as back-up.  Simone was untrained but possesses the gift, and Lea was able to talk Rocky into helping as well.  Simone also supplied us with the warding amulet: a sun-shaped necklace given to her by her grandmother and likely the reason the demon hadn’t been able to drain her.

The blood of the ancient was going to be the tricky part, as we had no idea what that term could be referring to.  We decided to split up again and try two avenues of inquiry: Penn and I would check at Professor Thomas’s lab while Lea and Simone consulted with Madam Weaver.  To put it simply, the girls wound up choosing the right path.  The Madam said she could supply us with genuine ancient blood, whereas the lab would only be able to provide a synthetic substitute that wouldn’t last.  The real stuff would produce a proper fix, but getting it would set in motion some other calamity that Madam Weaver wouldn’t elaborate on.  The woman operates under some set of rules I haven’t sussed out yet.

Lea called me to discuss our options, and we decided that being sure of fixing the barrier for good was worth the price of some other trouble down the line.

So, with the materials in hand and personnel recruited, we went back to the cottonwood and got to work.  As the most accomplished mage in the group, I took the warding amulet and led the ritual.  It went smoothly, although the demon tried to distract us with temptations.  It offered to find me a way home, but also called my motives into question.  Although my memory of the core of the Order-naries hadn’t been restored yet, I still recalled enough to be rightly offended at the demon’s intimations that I had no reason to be helping Buxcord’s people.

Nobody bent to the demon’s words and we sealed it away without a hitch, and then went our separate ways.  I escorted Simone home, mostly as an excuse to ask to borrow her book again at some point and study up on Buxcord’s magical past.  Things are going to keep happening, and I’d prefer to be forewarned of anything old that may wake up.

Once I’d gotten Simone home, a letter materialized on the ground in front of me.  It was from Madam Weaver, informing me that the friend she’d asked to help with my memory had finally arrived.  I went straight to her house and met one of the tallest women I have ever seen.  Her name, or at least the name she said I could call her, was Minosity (Pretty sure I spelled that wrong; sounded Hellenic.) Mnemosyne, after a mythical titan of memory.  Fitting.

She was all business, but gentle.  I am normally quite reluctant to let somebody I’d just met mess around in my mind, but I was desperate to get my memories back, so I let all my barriers down as she searched for whatever the block was.  She did it with such ease, I’m almost envious, although she looked concerned about what she’d found. Apparently, Nollthep’s power comes from some sort of “Elder being.” As a bonus, she also put a protection spell on my mind, which I accepted with grace because my own natural defenses against mental influence are demonstrably insufficient in this world.  Or, maybe, my resistance is just wearing out after multiple assaults from exotic sources? That’s not a pleasant thought...

So, it’s starting to feel like I’ve dropped right into the middle of a multi-sided conflict over a relatively small patch of territory.  Between Faeries, sealed demons, at least one and possibly two old orders of protection, and whatever is behind Nollthep, there is a lot I’m going to need to learn about just to survive here.

Not too unlike the old days.

-Ash

[thisiswhatwereupagainst]

Another array of my fave minor Marvel characters, mainly mutant/X-Men related! Info beneath the cut on each:

Lifeguard - Born in Australia, Heather Cameron and her brother Davis grew up with no idea that their biological father, whom they never knew, had been crime lord Miles Warbeck. Heather did, however, know she was a mutant with the ability to rapidly evolve whatever traits were needed (wings, gills, bulletproof skin, etc) to save herself or another person. She embraced these abilities, and used them in her job as a lifeguard. When her brother and her became targets in a gang war due to the power vacuum left after their bio-father’s death, they joined the X-Men for their own safety, and Heather’s old job became her new codename. The identity of her father, she could take in stride, but not so much the identity of her mother. On a mission in space, Heather began mutating further, showing the traits of an atavistic Shi’ar Royal, suggesting her mother was one (most likely the evil Deathbird). Her mindset changed as well, and she was horrified to find she viewed everyone around her as prey now. Her brother Davis, aka Slipstream, did not undergo such changes himself, and rejected Heather for hers, stating that “that THING is not my sister!” He has not been seen since, but Lifeguard has continued to work with the X-Men off-panel as a member of X-Corps. Monet St. Croix - Intelligent, beautiful, and rich, Monet Yvette Clarisse Maria Therese St. Croix has been described as “perfect” by many, a sentiment that she openly and wholeheartedly agrees with. The daughter of an ambassador from Monaco, this spoiled and haughty but still heroic mutant boasts an array of powers including flight, super-strength, and limited telepathy. Her siblings (a villainous vampire-like older brother named Marius and two younger twin sisters, Nicole and Claudette) are mutants as well, and all the siblings can merge with each other to form various combinations. Monet got her start as a teenager in Generation X, where she used the codename “M” but she went simply by her civilian name as an adult when she served in X-Corps, X-Factor, and the X-Men. Monsoon - Aloba Dastoor is a mutant from Mumbai who can control the weather like the much more well-known Storm. He was the younger brother of Radha “Haven” Dastoor, a saintly philanthropist who helped the poor and needy as well as being a supporter of mutant rights. When his beloved sister gained extraordinary superpowers of her own and began a crusade to destroy the world and bring the Mahapralaya (a sort of Hindu apocalypse), Monsoon at first followed her, blinded by his idolization. Unbeknownst to him, Haven had been possessed by a demon that had given her these powers and was making her act this way. Despite his love and reverence for her, Monsoon eventually had to accept she was doing evil, and, believing she had gone mad and must be stopped, betrayed her to X-Factor and the government. Haven disowned him as a result, and they do not seem to have gotten the chance to reconcile before her untimely demise by the demon that had warped her so. Monsoon’s whereabouts since are unknown, but he is listed as one of the mutants to have lost his powers on M-Day. Astarte - Astarte is one of the Eternals, immortal and extremely powerful beings that were engineered from early humans by the Celestials. Astarte boasted the immense and myriad powers common to all her species, as well as the individual ability to influence and control men. She was a member of  The Damocles Foundation, an organization of Eternals, Deviants, and humans who were tired of the constant battles between the various offshoots of Homo sapiens. They desired to work together for peace, and to this end attempted to create a race of super-beings which could control the Earth, and thus put an end to all warfare. These experiments caused the death of an entire town of children, and brought them into conflict with X-Force. Firewall - The child of a Cambodian woman and an American man of Vietnamese heritage, she has been called both Theary (a Cambodian name) and Min Li Ng (a Vietnamese name) as a civilian. Either way, she is an angry young woman whose temper matches her pyrokinetic powers. She originally believed that her abilities came from  accidental exposure to an experimental napalm during the Vietnam War, but she later learned that she was in fact the product of a Cambodian cult that had practiced thousands of years of selective breeding to produce super-powered children. She was originally a member of Force of Nature, a team of four supervillains, each with a power relating to one of the four classical elements, who worked for an eco-terrorist organization. After the truth of her origin was revealed to her, she joined the other children of the cult in The Folding Circle. As a member of Force of Nature, she went by Firewall as a codename, and her Cambodian name as a civilian. After she joined The Folding Circle, she began using the codename Silk Fever, and went by her Vietnamese name as a civilian. Kleinstock - There were originally three Kleinstock brothers, Eric and Harlan and Sven. They were identical triplets from Switzerland, and all of them were mutants, members of the Acolytes (successors to the Brotherhood, first led by Fabian Cortez then by Exodus and Magneto), and absolute assholes, bullies, and idiots. While some mutant supremacists have been noble or sympathetic, the Kleinstocks were simply aggressive, none-too-bright psychopaths who enjoyed killing anyone that was weaker than themselves, including human children and hospital patients. Eric was killed by a shotgun blast in their first mission, and ever since then, Harlan and Sven have merged their bodies together, so that one brother protrudes from the other’s back. Their powers include super-strength in their merged form and the ability to fire plasma blasts. Benazir Kaur - Benazir Kaur could induce or accelerate disease in others, such as making Gambit begin dying immediately of rapid-onset lung cancer the moment she touched him. However, the effects reversed when she was knocked unconscious. Benazir was the White Queen in Shinobi Shaw’s Inner Circle, and while no one can ever truly replace Emma Frost, Benazir sadly never even got much of a chance to try, as she only appeared in one issue, the 1994 X-Men Annual. It’s hard to glean much personality from this sole appearance, but she seems to have penchant for red dresses and playing chess. Red Lotus - Paul Hark is a Chinese Australian mutant with enhanced strength, speed, and agility. He is also the grandson of Father Gow, who ran the Chinese Triad in Sydney. When Gow was murdered, Red Lotus sought revenge against Gambit, who had been framed for the crime, but then allied with him and the X-Men when the real orchestrators were revealed to be a fellow member of the Triad as well as Sebastian Shaw. He attempted to attack (and presumably kill) Sebastian Shaw for this, but later worked with him to infiltrate and shut down a mutant slave ring. He seemed to have some romantic chemistry with Rachel Summers, who saved him from being nearly killed by Selene, but has not been seen since. Gaea - Gaea is an Elder God, one of the first deities to appear on Earth, and it is Earth itself that she represents and embodies. Every earth goddess in every pantheon of gods in the Marvel universe is actually Gaea in disguise, and she is the true biological mother of Thor, whom she conceived with Odin in her guise as Jord, the Norse earth goddess. It was Gaea who favored small mammals over dinosaurs, eventually leading them to evolve in her image as humans, and who allowed the Celestials to experiment on early humans to create the Eternals, the Deviants, and perhaps even plant the potential to become mutants thousands of years later. Though is an immensely powerful being, she rarely interferes directly with any mortal affairs, and in fact is more often in need of rescuing from even greater forces. Gaia - Not to be confused with Gaea, Gaia is a teenage girl from another dimension who is actually thousands of years old, most of which she spent chained to a machine called the Universal Amalgamator at the end of Time, a device that would be used to merge all sentient consciousnesses into one being. Gaia was apparently the safeguard that was supposed to prevent the Amalgamator from being activated by malicious people. When the villainous M-Plate (the fusion of Monet and her brother Marius) traveled to her dimension and attempted to use the Amalgamator, Generation X followed and destroyed the machine. This freed Gaia, who escaped with them back to Earth 616, and became one of their team. While her name would suggest earth-based powers, Gaia’s abilities are actually telepathy, empathy, telekinesis, and reality-warping that allows her to conjure objects from nothing, even making a house and car for herself. Since she had spent centuries chained to one duty, Gaia decided she didn’t want to spend her newfound freedom shackled to another, and left Generation X to live her own life on Earth as a normal person instead of a superhero. Chimera - Chimera is a pirate who comes from an unknown dimension. It is not known if she has any other name, nor exactly WHAT she is, besides that Wolverine says she doesn’t smell quite human. Whatever she is, she demonstrates an ability to generate ectoplasmic bursts that take the form of dragons, which attack foes both physically and psychically. Desiring to plunder the space-time continuum, Chimera came to Earth 616 when she was hired as a mercenary by a villain named Genesis, who wished for her to kill Wolverine. To this end, she worked with the Dark Riders, though of course they did not succeed. She later formed an alliance with Emplate (Monet’s brother again) when  when he accidentally opened a portal, summoning her. However she later tried to leave his side, and he incinerated her, seemingly killing her. However, she turned up again, working for Madelyne Pryor’s Sister of Mutants for unknown motives, then turned up as a member (seemingly against her will) of the Marauders. In her early appearances, Chimera has a strange habit of using her hand as a sort of sock puppet that she talks with, often pronouncing her “r” as a “w” in a cutesy way when she does so. This has led to speculation that she’s insane, but I think it’s just a quirk. Black Swan - Princess Yabbat Ummon Turu is from another dimension, and, as a character deeply tied to the Incursion event, is extremely difficult to explain. Long story short, her world and family were destroyed, and she was the only survivor as a child due to being rescued by the Black Swans, who raised her to be one of them and to serve Rabum Alal, the Great Destroyer, who is actually Dr. Doom. As an adult, Black Swan began searching for a refuge where she could regrow her loved ones, killing Earths along the way until she arrived at Earth 616, where she was captured by the Illuminati. She told them about the Incursions, and how the only way to save their own Earth was to destroy another, which she encouraged them to do. Black Swan possess telepathy, flight force fields, super-strength, optic blasts, and a liking for French fries. Lorelei - One of the lesser known members of the Brotherhood of Mutants, Lorelei possessed the ability to hypnotize men with her voice. Despite her alliance, Lorelei is not actually a mutant at all, but one of the Savage Land Mutates, native people of the Savage Land (a sort of “land that time forgot” in Marvel comics canon) whom Magneto artificially mutated using a machine. Lorelei was apparently his favorite of the bunch, as he brought her back with him from the Savage Land to serve in his Brotherhood, though she seems to have returned back to her homeland offscreen. This is good for her, since she seems to be quite innocent and simple-minded, and had little idea of what was going on, why she was fighting, and even what her powers were (”Can Lorelei stop making strange noise now?” she asked Magneto once) Zaladane - The sorceress Zaladane is a far less innocent resident of the Savage Land than Lorelei. And unlike Lorelei, she claims she is not a native at all, but the long-lost sister of Polaris! Zaladane kidnapped Polaris and used a machine to transfer her magnetic powers to herself. She used these abilities to conquer the Savage Land, then did the same to Magneto so that she could take over the world next. Of course, her plan was thwarted, and the magnetic powers returned to their rightful owners…and the first thing Magneto did with them was slaughter her. But what of her claims that her name wasn’t Zaladane, but Zala Dane? Could she really be the sister to Lorna Dane? Retcons made to Lorna’s backstory later would make this impossible, but at the time this story was written, Dr. Moira MacTaggert confirmed that the power transferral device that Zala used could only be used between genetic relatives, so who knows! Minxi - This Inhuman lass was the daughter of common criminals, but a good girl herself. Minxi was the handmaiden of Queen Medusa, and stuck by her side when she had to flee to Earth to have her son Ahura, whom the Genetic Council had wanted to terminate for fear of what powers (and what madness) he might have inherited from his father’s side. Minxi’s power to temporarily take on the physical traits of any animal she touched was useless in the Inhuman city of Attilan, where there were no animals, but it proved to be useful on Earth so that she could catch food for Medusa and the others who had come with her. However, Minxi also took on the mental traits of the animals as well, often leaving her horrified by her feral actions when she returned to her right mind. Minxi might seem a little vapid when it comes to Captain America (”The one with the hair…and the eyes…”) but she had the good sense to point out that pure intentions and a good heart don’t negate the consequences of unwise actions. Despite her low birth, Minxi was romantically pursued by two of the Inhuman Royal Family, Karnak and Gorgon, though it is unknown if anything came of either man’s interest in her. Auran - Auran was an Inhuman cop who gave her life in the line of duty to save her partner. She was also a single mother of twin girls, who sought to resurrect her with the powers of another Inhuman, Reader. They succeeded, but what came back wasn’t actually Auran—it was everyone’s memories of who Auran was. Some of these memories contradicted each other (some people liked her, some thought she was a jerk, some misunderstood how her powers worked, etc) and it thrust the new “Auran” into conflicted madness. After her mind was healed by a telepathic Inhuman, the new Auran set out on her own to come to terms with her new existence as a living memory. Her Inhuman abilities are a pair of large, rabbit-like ears that allow her to choose any word and hear it wherever it is spoken, no matter how far away.

[tavtiers]

Mage of Light Analysis

for @jaserowells

the super geniuses!! mages of light make me cry because they're normally so awesome and then something bad happens to them (like dYING dangit wesley from daredevil whyy ;-;)

ANYWAYS here's my brief analysis: Mage of Light (80% activity) - understands knowing and perceiving: perceptuality, knowledge, information, fortune, agency, sight

opposite - Seer of Void (knows knowing and perceiving: incorporeality, secrecy, mystery, misfortune, submission, ignorance, nothingness) inverse - Heir of Void (inherits knowing and perceiving: incorporeality, secrecy, mystery, misfortune, submission, ignorance, nothingness; players - Equius Zahhak)

CANON EXAMPLES - n/a NON-CANON EXAMPLES - Minaeve (Dragon Age), The Tranquil (Dragon Age), James Wesley (Daredevil), Yu Narukami (Persona 4)

i'll mainly be using minaeve, the tranquil, and wesley as reference for this god tier, since i dont have much info on yu in front of me right now (im writing this without wifi :0). if you aren't into dragon age or daredevil, dont worry i will provide info on these characters! also if you'd like to know more about them, minaeve's wiki is here, the tranquility wiki is here, and wesley's is here

okay to start off i'll be looking at activity! tbh my mage of void analysis wasn't the best in my opinion, it was a little rushed, so im going to try to take my time with this one

alright, starting with activity: mages are active with 69% activity light is also active with 91% activity active classpects are meaner, but more likely to stand up for themselves

this makes a mage of light very active with 80% activity

whiiich means, a mage of light is likely to be meaner, but more likely to stand up for themselves if they're being mistreated. now, this doesn't mean that a mage of light would be a complete and utter ASS, there are a number of classes above it (*cough* thieves *cough cough*) that are much worse.

however, i could see a mage of light being a bit of a sarcastic smart-aleck. even if not all the time, they'd definitely become very adamant that their knowledge was the right one if they felt someone was spreading incorrect information. this is partly due to the fact that mages of light suffer both for and because of their knowledge. they've had to go through so much to know all that they do, and here comes someone saying things so utterly WRONG and thinking they're the genius here? it would definitely bother the mage to no end

one good thing about mages of light, as opposed to a mage of void (who could be incorrectly considered unintelligent by their peers), mages of light are extremely knowledgeable and it's blaringly obvious

funny idea: a mage of light could suffer from sight by accidentally walking in on things they're not meant to

or they could suffer from fortune and the spotlight by being born into wealth or getting unexpectedly famous, but it turns out to not be all it's cracked up to be

they could suffer from fortune or wealth by everyone being jealous of them or wanting to use them for their money

likewise, they could suffer from knowledge by everyone being jealous of them or wanting to use them for their intellect

for example: a straight a student everyone hates, people are friends with them only to use them (trying to get them to do their homework, etc)

speaking of school, they would EXCEL at education constantly getting straight a's, even if they weren't trying too hard. they'd just be lucky enough to get the right answer. however, the students wouldn't be the only ones to possibly dislike them. teachers could start to become annoyed with their constant correct answers (wont you give another student the chance to speak?) and they could even be accused of cheating on tests and whatnot

mages of light would be terrible at espionage (suffers from relevance, the spotlight). they'd constantly be caught if they tried to spy or sneak around

they would be incredibly useful in sburb due to their knowledge + knowledge (mage + light) combo, and their deep understanding of luck uNLESS the team was trying to hide from someone/something. then you'd regrettably be screwed :0

okay but tbh, this classpect is the ultimate super genius of the god tiers. no one's smarter than the mage of light (except for maybe a lord but that's debatable). and as i said before, they would be defensive of their knowledge. a mage of light would feel like they have the right to be the smart one and they have the right to know what they know, because of how much they've suffered to get there.

interesting thought: a mage of light could be completely unaffected by horrorterrors. horrorterrors are void symbols, and since a mage of light suffers from the opposite, they could be a welcome change for the mage. this classpect is not at all likely to go grimdark.

mages of light could work as excellent advisors for powerful, influential people (this can be seen with wesley) due to their deep understanding of fortune, knowledge, and power. they would also deeply understand the people in power themselves.

a snippet of a great analysis by dahniwitchoflight: "Bright lights could hurt their eyes and they might even suffer from all the attention and exposure, they could be someone important or influential because of their knowledge, the flash of a camera could be especially bad. On the flipside through their unique experiences, these things could be uniquely effortless for them to navigate moreso than other people, they could be people able to effortless navigate the spotlight of either fame or infamy. They could see the importance in the thing that everyone else ignores, the truth underneath all of the lies that nobody else detects."

POWERS

a mage of light, like all light players, would be exceptionally lucky in combat. however, this wouldn’t be just due to their aspect where the mage of light is concerned. because a mage of light has such a strong understanding of luck, they could definitely use their luck, and even their opponents luck, to their advantage.

they could know how lucky they were, and where and when to use their luck. their own knowledge of their luck could give them incredible confidence in dangerous battles that would leave other classpects terrified, because they would know for sure if they were going to come out unscathed.

also, as i said before, they could use their knowledge of their opponents luck to their advantage. if they knew an opponent was incredibly lucky with a specific weapon, they could trick them into using a weapon they were less skilled with. or if an opponent was especially lucky in a certain environment, the mage of light could lead them into a different environment to turn the tides of the battle.

i could definitely see a mage of light using their understanding of literal light to their advantage in combat. for instance, a mage of light could position themselves in such a way that their opponent would have the sun in their eyes, or shine blinding flashes of light at the enemy, etc.

in conclusion: so a mage of light experiences light uniquely, often suffering because of it. this gives them a unique perspective on and understanding of light, more so than any other class. they can then use their knowledge to benefit themselves.

CHARACTER EXAMPLES

the tranquil from dragon age in dragon age, mages (as in, magic users) have a unique connection with an alternate dimension known as the fade, that no other non-magic user possesses. the fade is an ever-shifting realm of spirits and demons, and mages access their magic by reaching across the 'veil' that separates the two realms and making contact with it.

when a mage undergoes tranquility, becoming a member of the tranquil, their connection to the fade is severed. this strips them of their magic and all emotions. many mages deemed too dangerous are forced to undergo this procedure against their will.

in this way the tranquil suffer from relevance; they accidentally drew too much attention to themselves in the past, leading to them having to suffer tranquility. after undergoing this procedure, the tranquil act almost like robots, experiencing no emotions and acting entirely on logic. many of the tranquil are horribly mistreated by others, even their fellow mages, due to the fact that they won't fight back. tranquil are extremely intelligent and skilled at scholarly pursuits. they also manage the finances in the circles of magi.

minaeve from dragon age minaeve is another mage in dragon age that suffers from relevance (among other things). when she was young, she lived with a clan of other elves in the forest. when her magic developed, her clan cast her out, not wanting to risk having too many mages in their clan. in this way she suffers from awareness (her unique awareness of the fade caused her to be cast out).

she stumbled into a village, starving and cold. when she started using fire to ward predators away, the villagers threatened to kill her. she was eventually taken to a circle by templars (basically a place used to house mages). she was never very good at magic, however she loved her studies and developed a special connection with the tranquil. this demonstrates how as a mage of light she understood both knowledge and the knowledgeable.

in dragon age: inquisition, during the attack on haven, she is trapped under burning pots of lyrium. if you fail to save her in time, the pots will explode, killing her. this is another way she suffers from light, with fire being a light symbol.

james wesley from daredevil wesley is kingpin's right hand man in daredevil. if you aren't aware of daredevil, kingpin (fisk) is the main bad guy, in charge of the criminal empire of hell's kitchen. he's... a kingpin basically.

as his right hand man (and best friend), wesley will do anything for fisk. highly intelligent (and sarcastic) he does everything from relaying messages to the crime bosses under his employers employment, to working as a translator for him (wesley is fluent in a large number of languages). though referred to as a lapdog by the criminals, he is incredibly ruthless in his own right.

as mages of light deeply understand those in power, wesley has a deep understanding of his friend and employer. for instance, when fisk is upset after madame gao threatens to stop working for him, wesley brings fisk's romantic interest vanessa to comfort him, without being asked.

this can also be seen when vanessa is poisoned later on. while they are at the hospital visiting her, wesley receives a call from fisk's elderly mother. she tells wesley that a woman (karen page) came by and questioned her about the kingpin and his past. not wanting to upset him any further, wesley decides to take the matter into his own hands, knowing that karen could ruin their operations in hell's kitchen. he leaves without telling fisk, and kidnaps karen.

while interrogating her, he receives a call from fisk, who is worried about him. at this moment, he makes a fatal error by placing his gun on the table to take the call. karen seizes her chance and shoots him dead. this shows how wesley incorrectly understood his own fortune, suffering because of it. this also symbolizes how he suffers from power; his friendship with kingpin causes him to lose his life.

(side note: wesley also understood how lucky matt and foggy {the main characters} were, which is why he attempted to hire them as lawyers)

some planet suggestions: Land of Brilliance and Skulls Land of Dreams and Candles Land of Chandeliers and Dementia Land of Meditation and High-Beams - this planet is a world of contemplation and relaxation for it's native consorts. at least, it was SUPPOSED to be. lately, intense, blindingly bright high-beams have been shining down from the mountains, disrupting the consorts' meditations. the mountains are too steep for any of them to climb, so it's up to you to scale the cliff faces, find out what's causing the problem, and put an end to it one way or another (and tbh your denizen is likely at the top)

Your most likely Denizen is Hemera. Some other viable denizens: Apollo, Synesis, Bythios, Sophia, Aether, Astraeus, Clymene, Pheobe, Hyperion, Theia, Helios, Eos, Tyche, Iris, Polymatheia, Coeus, Despoina, Brizo, Alectrona, Aegle Dahni came up with these! You can read her post with each denizen’s full description here

SONGS Softly - Homestuck reunion (PARKGOLF Remix) - 泉まくら Push - Mariana's Trench Good L_ck (Yo_'re F_cked) - Celldweller Karma Slave - Splashdown

QUADRANTS

god tiers a mage of light would be compatible with, sorted from most to least likely/healthy

<3 - Witch of Space, Witch of Breath, Seer of Space, Witch of Life, Seer of Breath, Prince of Space, Seer of Life, Prince of Breath, Maid of Space, Prince of Life, Maid of Breath, Maid of Life <> - Page of Space, Maid of Mind <3< - Prince of Hope, Prince of Breath o8< - n/a

alright i'm done! thanks for the suggestion :)

[amorousgreen]

Smut4Smut 2020 Letter

Het, please, and male Dom / fem sub for any pairing involving unequal power dynamics.

DNWs:

Angst and bitterness (in passing is fine, but not wallowing in it for extended periods) or outright unhappy endings (for dubcon/noncon prompts, “victim left horrified but satisfied despite themself” and “heroine and villain ride off into the dark side together while the world burns” count as happy endings). Infidelity (poly/open relationships are A+ though). Humiliation humor (but humiliation kink is good). Anal sex. Smut involving nonsexual body fluids (except blood, I’m good with bloodplay).

Additional Tags I’d Be Thrilled to See Included For Pretty Much Any of My Requests:

Accidental Voyeurism, Aftercare, Aftercare cuddles, Arousal evident through clothing, Athletic Sex, banter as foreplay, banter in bed, Being Woken Up By Sex, Bent over a table and fucked from behind, Biting, Blow Jobs, Body Worship, Breast Worship, Bruising, Carrying, Character A sits in Character B's lap and they make out, Character A thinks they're seducing Character B but it's actually the other way around, Character masturbates and fantasizes about crush who walks in, Character study through porn, Cock Worship, collarbone kisses, Comfort Sex, Competence Kink, Consensual But It Shouldn't Be, Consensual But Not Safe Or Sane, Consensual Non-Consent, Consensual Somnophilia, Creampie, Cuddlefucking, Cuddling & Snuggling, Deepthroating, Desperate Arousal, Desperate Sex, Dom/sub, Dry Humping, Eager Submission, Emotional Sex, Enthusiastic Consent, Experienced partner lets inexperienced one explore them, Experienced/Inexperienced, Facials, Femsub, Finger Sucking, Fingerfucking, First Time, First Time Blow Jobs, Fluff and Smut, Friends With Benefits, Fuckbuddies who develop feelings, Held Down, Kink Exploration, Knifeplay, Lap Sex, Laughter During Sex, Leather, Loss of Virginity, Making Love, Making Out, Maledom, Morning After (Incredible Sex the night before), Neck Kissing, Neediness, Oral Fixation, Pinned by the Wrists, Playful Sex, Porn with Feelings, Possessive Behavior, Possessive Sex, Power Imbalance, Realizing romantic feelings mid-sex, Rough Sex, Semi-Public Sex, Sensation Play, Sex as an Assertion of Dominance, Sex as powerplay, Sex as struggle for dominance, Sleepy Sex, Somnophilia, Somnophilia - Character Wakes Up As They're Hitting Orgasm, Somnophilia - Loving Oral Sex, Somnophilia - Waking up with a cock still inside, Somnophilia- wakes up and feels violated but loves it, this entire relationship is a bad fucking idea, Touch-Starved, Trying to Stay Quiet While Being Fingered in Public To Avoid Detection, Under-negotiated Kink, Unexpected feelings, unexpected tenderness, Unwilling Attraction, Vaginal Fingering, Vulnerability, Wake-Up Sex

See also my Id Pro Quo letter for a fairly exhaustive list of general likes.

Buffyverse Buffy/Angelus Agreeing to rough sex as self-punishment, Antagonism Leads to Sex, Arousal From Killing, Arrogant bastard dom, bratty sub, Character(s) Wanted It But Not Like This, Characters about to kill each other decide to fuck instead, Claiming Bites, Clandestine "we shouldn't be doing this" sex, Clearly The Fact That We Keep Having Sex Is A Series of Unrelated Bad Decisions, Consensual But Not Safe Or Sane, Consent Issues - victim doesn't want it but starts to enjoy it during the act, Cutting Clothes Off During Duel, Danger/Adrenaline Kink, Deal with a Devil, Dubcon sexual relationship develops feelings, Dubiously Consensual Vampire Feeding, Enemies With Benefits, Experienced Dom/Inexperienced Sub, First Time - Pretending it's for Reasons Other Than Desire, Forced Submission, Guilt Over Desire Due to it Being Illegal or Immoral, Humiliation - verbal humiliation for obvious arousal, Magic Made Them Do It, Mutually Marking Each Other, Non-Consensual Bondage, Non-Consensual Groping, Noncon - character enjoys rape because of secret conflicted desires for rapist, Noncon - taking advantage when someone is sleeping and continue when they wake up, Obsession, Sex as a Negotiation Tactic, sex between enemies, Sex heightened by non-human senses, Sparring or Fighting as Foreplay, Stalking Escalates to Abduction, Twisted and Fluffy Feelings, Twisted Display of Affection, Vampire Bites, Villain Weak Against Sexual Attraction to Protag Emnity, obsession, and mutual unwilling attraction (plus, of course, vampire kink). Enemies-to-lovers, enemies with benefits, seduction as attempt at manipulation or distraction (success optional), or straight-up captivity and attendant noncon. I'm here for everything from Buffy seduces Angelus to buy time while the Scoobies re-ensoul him to a dark post-apocalyptic timeline where demons win and Buffy gets turned. I’ve opted in for Underage for this request since I see this as a primarily BtVS season 2 request (though that’s not a requirement) and I am entirely okay with 17-year-old Buffy, but please nothing that’s more underage than canon. Consent-wise, I’m here for anything from “completely consensual terrible decisions” to “I did not remotely agree to this! (but secretly love it despite being horrified and humiliated)”; unaroused victim is a DNW. While I did not opt in for major character death, as it’s not something I’m specifically looking for and I definitely DNW permanent death of Buffy or Angelus, I’m fine with Buffy being turned and/or death of other cast members.

Dragonriders of Pern F’lar/Lessa Angry Sex, Antagonism Leads to Sex, Arrogant bastard dom, BDSM, bickering as foreplay, Bondage, bratty sub, Carrying, Competence Kink, Competitiveness in Bed, Devotion, Experienced Dom/Inexperienced Sub, Experienced partner lets inexperienced one explore them, Experienced/Inexperienced, Fucked in Bondage, Grudging Arousal, Jealousy leads to possessive sex, Loss of Control, Manhandling, Slap Slap Kiss, unexpected tenderness Basically these two are my eternal faves and I would love literally any flavor of their relationship; I swear these two were specifically written to hit everything that appeals to my id. I love how horribly their relationship starts off (hello consent issues and power imbalances and unresolved trauma), and how somehow they’re able to overcome that and fall in love despite everything. I love the political pseudo-marriage dynamic they have going on after the first mating flight. I love how they start off so guarded and stubbornly independent and the slow journey to letting each other in. I love the period of time where F'lar is so obviously pining and in denial and keeps doing all the wrong things because he refuses to acknowledge or demonstrate that he has emotions (and Mnementh continually laughing his ass off in the background). I love the way their plots collide with each other early on, and how they become such an unstoppable team once they learn to work together. I love the way they’re so good at getting under each other’s skin and the “I hate you” *snog* dynamic they have going on by the end of Dragonflight, and how a little bit of continually testing each other and not letting the other have the upper hand easily always remains in their relationship dynamic. I love that F'lar is forever a lovesick fool and Lessa doesn’t have a romantic bone in her body. I love how they’re not overly demonstrative but little gestures say so much. I love their tenderness and devotion and obvious mutual admiration for each other’s competence. I would love to see more of them at literally any point in canon, or a canon divergence AU exploring other ways they could have met and gotten together. I also fully believe that once they’re comfortable in their relationship, these two would be super kinky, and would be very into D/s smut. I would also be very here for F’lar/Lessa/Kylara disaster OT3. F’lar/Kylara

Abuse of Authority, Angry Sex, Antagonism Leads to Sex, Arrogant bastard dom, BDSM, bickering as foreplay, Bondage, bratty sub, Character(s) Wanted It But Not Like This, Competitiveness in Bed, Consensual But It Shouldn't Be, Consensual But Not Safe Or Sane, Dub/noncon - Character Uses Kinks to Turn Tables on Aggressor, Dub/noncon - Character's Kinks Used Against Them By Aggressor, Dubcon - victim pretends they're being raped because it turns them on, Dubcon sexual relationship develops feelings, Dubious Consent, Fucked in Bondage, Grudging Arousal, Hate Sex, Hate Sex Turns Unexpectedly Tender, Manhandling, mutual dubcon, Mutual Manipulation, Sex as a Negotiation Tactic, Sex as an Assertion of Dominance, Sex as powerplay, Sex as struggle for dominance, sex for political gain, Slap Slap Kiss

These two have so much potential for kinky hatesex and mutual manipulation. I’m particularly interested in the dynamics that would result from an AU where Kylara is Senior Weyrwoman, but it’s canon that they hooked up at least once before F’lar became Weyrleader, so you could also do something with that if you like. Mostly I just want to see them driving each other up a wall but being very physically attracted at the same time and shamelessly using each other. I DNW outright noncon, but dubcon (especially mutual dubcon and/or unnegotiated kink) would be excellent. I would also be very here for F’lar/Lessa/Kylara disaster OT3. Kushiel’s Legacy

Aftercare, Aftercare cuddles, BDSM, Bondage, bratty sub, Clandestine "we shouldn't be doing this" sex, Clearly The Fact That We Keep Having Sex Is A Series of Unrelated Bad Decisions, Eager Submission, Femsub, Fucked in Bondage, Jealousy leads to possessive sex, Kink Exploration, Knifeplay, Laughter During Sex, Loss of Control, Maledom, Playful Sex, Secret Relationship, Sensation Play

Imriel/Sidonie Imriel and Sidonie were not the most interesting of protagonists to me, but I adored their dynamic in the bedroom. I’d love to see something set during the time period where they’re keeping their relationship a secret, especially if it involves playful kink. Original Night Court Adept/Original Patron I’d love to see more about any of the Night Court houses and the lives of their adepts and patrons, especially if it involves kink other than sadomasochism. (What House would a patron go to if their kinks ran to bonds and blindfolds but no more extreme, or if they wished to play out a rape or gangbang fantasy? Does Eglantine House have adepts whose preferred art form is rope?) Eglantine’s artists and Orchis’s focus on joyfulness and playfulness in sexuality are some of my favorites. Original M/F Female Ice Dancer/Male Ice Dancer

Best friends who became FWB "make love" for 1st time after learning they're both mutually pining, Casual Sex while Secretly Pining, Clandestine "we shouldn't be doing this" sex, Clearly The Fact That We Keep Having Sex Is A Series of Unrelated Bad Decisions, Comfort Sex, Devotion, Experienced partner lets inexperienced one explore them, Experienced/Inexperienced, First Time - Pretending it's for Reasons Other Than Desire, Getting Together, Inappropriately-timed emotional conversations, Laughter During Sex, Loss of Virginity, Playful Sex, Porn with Feelings, Secret Relationship, Tenderness, Unexpected feelings

In a nutshell, I’m hoping for something that evokes some of the feels I get from Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir’s routine to Stay by Rihanna. Mutual pining, worry about ruining the friendship/professional relationship, and all the intimacy and trust that come of having worked closely together (both physically and emotionally) for a long time getting brought into a fledgling relationship.

Possible scenarios: post-competition adrenaline rush leads to getting carried away, lots of training and traveling means they don’t have much time to date so turning to each other for FWB seems like a great idea (but then feelings happen), she wants to lose her virginity but has been badly burned by previous relationships so who better to ask than her best friend and longtime partner, maintaining a secret relationship to keep the press out of their private life.

[andrewjeng-blog1]

Notebook 4

Hao Jan Jeng

12:00-12:50 pm Friday

America Martinez

The Model Minority 

    To many living in foreign countries, winning the green card lottery is like winning the Powerball—life changing. However, the American dream hits a snag in 2003, with the US feeling anxious at the possibility of foreign threats slipping undetected through the immigration process. Having successfully received the green card after winning the lottery in 2003, my family were among the first wave of immigrant processed by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which was established on March 1, 2003, and assumes the function of filtering immigrants with increased security and efficiency. The increase in security measures was likely a response to previous foreign terrorist attacks, as well as the US’s engagement in foreign conflicts. According to statistics from The American Dream, a service agency for the Green card lottery of the USA, the amount of immigrants accepted from Taiwan dropped from 1833 in 2003 to 367 in 2004. Although we were the lucky few who made it to the promise land, the realities of the social status of Asian immigrants were not what we’ve expected.

    Some of the typical national binds that comes with being an Asian immigrant includes yellowness, and the role of the model minority. Yellowness mainly refers to the skin tones of indigenous Asians, even though Asians comes in all manners of physical appearances. For example, on average, Southeastern Asians have darker skin tones than Northeastern Asians, yet they’re both regarded as “yellow.” In the 1800s, after the completion of the transcontinental railroad, Americans workers became increasing wary of the threat of Asian workers as competitors for the job market, sparking the “yellow peril”, a wave of anti-Asian sentiment. The yellow peril culminated in the Chinese Expulsion Act of 1882, and demonizes Asian immigrant as a malignant population, as well as overgeneralizing the appearance of Asians as the yellow-skinned, rat-tail hair savage. Undoubtedly, the demonization of Asians has largely dissipated as the population understood more about Asian culture, some physical generalizations— “yellow skinned”, “all Asians look alike”, “squinty eyes” remains. An article for the Center for American Progress states that Asian immigrants are often viewed as poorly represented politically in America because to the large “language and cultural barriers that makes them hard to reach.” As a result, Asians have a very small representation in government, and often connect poorly with American culture, preferring to stick with their own. (4 states California, Texas, New Jersey, and Hawaii)

    Another national bind to the Asian green card holders is their role as the model minority. Due to statistics showing that Asians have a higher average income than whites, or any other minority population, Asians are often placed on a pedestal when compared to other races. The Asian immigrant suffers greatly from the stereotype, because they’re viewed as opportunity-seekers who came to America following the “American Dream.” And so green card holders are expected to be even more intelligent and hard working, and often do not receive the same treatment/reward for achieving the same level of success of other racial groups. The green card gives the idea that immigrants are blessed to grasp this opportunity to join a higher society, so more is expected of them, despite the fact that Americans also expect their English to be poor.

    The Asian’s role as the “model minority” has often been thrown around as a way to push back against the idea of white privilege in America, and most of the time, it’s against the accusations of black communities. Fact—Asians have the highest average income in America, but what most forget that Asians, the fastest growing minority group in recent years, often migrate voluntarily, which indicates that they often possess the skills and wealth to seek immigration as a way to better their environment. In a commentary by essayist Tim Wise, he states that “as most scholars have found, Asian immigrants are largely drawn from an occupational and educational elite in their countries of origin.” Prices in America is also on average higher than those of Asia, so without solid foundations including skills and savings, it would be unlikely for any unskilled laborers from Asian to come to the US in the first place, and that’s not considering the language barrier. An interesting clash between the blacks and the Asians occurred in 2014, when officer Peter Liang accidentally killed Akai Gurley with a ricochet off a wall. The officer initially faced up to 15 years in prison, but a controversial decision cleared him of any prison times, since his act was unintentional. The driving forces behind the decision were protests from the blacks, whose anger are undoubtedly justified, and the Asians, who accuses the courts of scapegoating officer Liang, as many police murders committed by white officers did not face any jail time, whereas Liang does. This case demonstrates the shaky middle ground the Asian America face everyday, stuck between the whites, who sees them as lesser, docile individuals, and the blacks, who views Asians as tools of white society hard bent on cracking down on civil rights. 

[andrewjeng-blog1]

Zine Draft

Cards against Humanity

The Green card, aka the US permanent resident card/Alien Registration Receipt Card, attests to the legal status of an alien to live and work in the US. As such, a green card holder hovers between the lines of a tourist with a visa and an US citizen. In order to obtain a green card, one must file an application to the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, (DV program) whose website states that it makes up to 50,000 immigrants visas available annually using a lottery. To many living in foreign countries, winning the green card lottery is like winning the Powerball—life changing. However, the American dream hits a snag in the early 21st century, with the US feeling anxious at the possibility of foreign threats slipping undetected through the immigration process. Having successfully received the green card after winning the lottery in 2003, my family were among the first wave of immigrant processed by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which was established on March 1, 2003, and assumes the function of filtering immigrants with increased security and efficiency.1 The increase in security measures was likely a response to previous foreign terrorist attacks, as well as the US’s engagement in foreign conflicts. And though my family was fortunate to have succeeded where others have not, we soon realize that we must find our place within this new foreign environment.

    While growing accustom to an Asian-minor society in middle school, I discovered some of the typical national binds that comes with being an Asian immigrant—yellowness, and the role of the model minority. Yellowness mainly refers to the skin tones of indigenous Asians, even though Asians comes in all manners of physical appearances. For example, on average, Southeastern Asians have darker skin tones than Northeastern Asians, yet they’re both regarded as “yellow.” In the 1800s, after the completion of the transcontinental railroad, Americans workers became increasing wary of the threat of Asian workers as competitors for the job market, sparking the “yellow peril”, a wave of anti-Asian sentiment. The yellow peril culminated in the Chinese Expulsion Act of 1882, and demonizes Asian immigrant as a malignant population, as well as overgeneralizing the appearance of Asians as the yellow-skinned, rat-tail hair savage.2 

      Undoubtedly, the demonization of Asian immigrants has largely dissipated since the population learned more about Asian culture, yet some physical generalizations— “yellow skinned”, “all Asians look alike”, “squinty eyes” “poor English” remain. Growing up, I’ve often watched shows on TV which generalizes Asians using a few selective physical traits. An article for the Claremont Journal of Law and Public Policy suggests that Asian immigrants are often misunderstood and poorly represented politically in America because the “language and cultural barriers make communication between immigrants and political parties difficult.”3 As of now, there are 12 Asian House members and 3 senators, the highest number of Asian representatives so far, even though in recent years, Asian Americans have become the highest growing population in America. As green card holders, we were neither Asian nor American, unheard and underrepresented, and yet we must also deal with another of our national bind—our role as the model minority.

    Ever since statistics reveal that Asians have a higher average income than whites, or any other minority population in the US, Asians were placed on a pedestal when compared to other minorities. Asian immigrant suffers greatly from the stereotype, because they’re viewed as genetically predisposed to be more intelligent, and serves as ideal immigrant who symbolizes the success of the “American Dream.” Therefore, green card holders are held to higher standards regarding their intelligence and work ethnics, and often do not receive the same treatment/reward for achieving the same level of success of other racial groups. The green card gives the idea that immigrants are blessed to grasp this opportunity to join a higher society, so more is expected of them, even though Asians often struggle linguistically, and American children had had a head start in American education.

    The Asian’s role as the “model minority” has often been thrown around as a way to push back against the idea of white privilege in America, and most of the time, it’s against the accusations of black communities. Fact—Asians have the highest average income in America, but what most forget that Asians, the fastest growing minority group in recent years, often migrate voluntarily, which indicates that they often possess the skills and wealth to seek immigration as a way to better their environment. In a commentary by essayist Tim Wise, he states that “as most scholars have found, Asian immigrants are largely drawn from an occupational and educational elite in their countries of origin.”4 Prices in America is also on average higher than those of Asia, so without solid foundations including skills and savings, it would be unlikely for any unskilled laborers from Asian to come to the US in the first place, and that’s not considering the language barrier.

    A racial clash between the blacks and the Asians occurred in 2014, when officer Peter Liang accidentally killed African American Akai Gurley with a ricochet off a wall.5 The officer initially faced up to 15 years in prison, but Asian protestors accused the courts of scapegoating officer Liang, as many past Caucasian officers who had made similar mistakes did not face any jail time, but Liang does. A controversial decision cleared him of any prison times, citing his act as unintentional manslaughter, which then sparked protests from the blacks, whose anger are undoubtedly justified. This case demonstrates the shaky middle ground the Asian Americans face everyday, stuck between the whites, who present them as the model minority yet treat them like second class, docile individuals, and the blacks, who views Asians as tools of oppression for white society.

    Growing up in Asia, the green card was perpetuated as the key to opportunity, to the American Dream. But in America, it is the chains that shackles us. We must realize that even if ideal of the Model Minority seems like a compliment, it is a racial project and a racial identity we did not ask for. As a country built by immigrants, at least give us a chance to create our own identity.

  Source: Reft, Ryan. "Not Your Model Minority? The Complexity of Asian Americans in 21st Century American Film." Tropics of Meta. WordPress, 13 Apr. 2013. Web. 03 Mar. 201

    Source

  1       McCabe, Kristen, and Doris Meissner. "Immigration and the United States: Recession Affects Flows, Prospects for Reform." Migrationpolicy.org. Migration Policy Institute, 20 Jan. 2010. Web. 03 Mar. 2017.

2       Sharp, Gwen. "Old "Yellow Peril" Anti-Chinese Propaganda - Sociological Images." Old "Yellow Peril" Anti-Chinese Propaganda - Sociological Images. The Society Pages, 20 June 2014. Web. 03 Mar. 2017.

 3       Zheng, Emily. "Asian American Underrepresentation: Political Consequences and Policy Reform." The Claremont Journal of Law and Public Policy. Claremont Journal of Law and Public Policy, 20 Aug. 2016. Web. 25 Feb. 2017.

 4       Wise, Tim. "Con-Fusion Ethic: How Whites Use Asians to Further Anti-Black Racism." Tim Wise. WordPress, 2 Oct. 2002. Web. 03 Mar. 2017.

 5       Hansen, Matt, and Matt Pearce. "No prison time for ex-NYPD Officer Peter Liang in fatal shooting of Akai Gurley." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2016. Web. 23 Feb. 20