#i know he was predominately portrayed as a white guy

[devilisln-moved]

White Nick Fury is so weird.

[thevalleyisjolly]

(CW: discussion and mentions of racist, sexist, ableist, and bodyshaming tropes)

Thinking a lot about Ricky Matsui lately and the significance of him getting to be that lovable himbo character, because it’s such a departure from, such a flying middle finger to, the Orientalist history of Asian men being portrayed in Western media.  Not to get all literary criticism on main (absolutely getting all literary criticism on main), the scholar Edward Saïd was the first to write about Orientalism, and although his focus was on the depiction of the Middle East in the West, a lot of scholars and literary critics have since adopted and adapted his core arguments to talk about representation of other Asians in Western media.  It’s a long and heavy discussion that I won’t really get into here, but one of the elements that Saïd observed, and which other critics have since picked up on, is the history and portrayal of “feminized” Asians next to a “masculinized” West. 

Obviously, there’s a lot of gendered elements to this discussion that require a lot more nuance, but for now, let me stick to the basics of how this applies to Asian representation in media.  There is a long history of Western media fetishizing and sexualizing Asian bodies, from the Madame Butterfly trope (submissive Asian woman desiring a white man) to the sensuous and promiscuous Asian woman who knows exotic secrets of how to pleasure a (white) man.  In these kinds of tropes, Asians are depicted as “feminine” and “weaker” compared to the strong, masculine Westerner, and this isn’t just limited to Asian women, but Asian men as well.  Orientalist tropes like to portray Asian men as subservient eunuchs, or physically and “mentally” effeminate (that is, cunning and sly, relying on secret plots and dishonourable tricks because they do not have the physical “strength” to match a Westerner - yeah, there’s a lot of sexist and ableist stuff wrapped up in here, and the field of Orientalist critique itself isn’t free from the issues it brings up).

And the thing is, this isn’t just bad writing from a colonial past.  It’s been internalized in some Asian cultures, and also continues to impact the way that people view Asians today, from media depictions to dating.  Just look the “yellow fever” fetish, or the “rice queen” fetish equivalent in the gay community.  Asian bodies are treated as “effeminate” and “submissive,” and sexually desirable for those reasons and those reasons only.  Asian characters are generally not assertive, imposing, or outspoken (if they are, that’s a pretty good sign they’re going to get killed off or “taught a lesson” by a white character), Asian characters, unless they’re playing comedic characters, are almost universally lithe and sinuous (three boos for body stereotyping and fatshaming!), and Asian characters definitely don’t get to be “dumb” without it being a jab at their race.

(By the way, it’s important to note that I’m speaking about “Asian” characters very generally because a lot of Orientalist stereotypes apply to a wide breadth of Asian experiences, but 1) Asian experiences are not monolithic, and 2) there are different ways that these stereotypes play out with Asians from different cultures - how someone from Iraq experiences Orientalism is different from how someone from Indonesia experiences Orientalism is different from how someone from Korea experiences Orientalism is different from how a first or second generation immigrant in North America experiences Orientalism.  My heritage is East Asian, and most of my commentary here is based on East Asian experiences, since East Asians are relatively more predominant in Western media, which is a whole other bucket of worms).

So Ricky Matsui being a complete himbo means so much because he’s so many things that Asian men don’t usually get to be in a positive way in Western media.  He gets to be a Superman-esque figure, strong and muscular, a sturdy paladin instead of a cunning rogue-ish figure, and he gets to do it all while being 5′8″ and proud.  He gets to be dumb without it being a jab at his heritage.  Yes, he’s hot and sexually desirable to a lot of characters, but it’s never remotely suggested that he’s hot because of his ancestry, he’s hot because he’s fucking built and also a really super sweet guy.  He’s a heroic archetype, a front-line fighter, a kind and caring guy, and to cap it off, he chugs that Respect Women juice all day every day. 

TL;DR - Ricky Matsui being a himbo character defies a long history of Orientalist tropes in popular media about Asian men -specifically East Asian and Japanese men in Ricky’s case- and you absolutely love to see it.

[the-kazoo-kid]

The Two Types of Goblincore

I’ll begin by saying that I’m a Jewish archaeologist, and one of my main areas of study is the pogroms of Eastern Europe during the beginning of the 20th century. This affects the way I think of goblincore in two major ways:

Goblins were used as a negative caricature of Jews to tother them and incite negative feelings and violence among non-news

I have been accused of only wanting to be an archaeologist so that I can dig up and hoard shiny things

I spend a lot of my time looking at images like this one. It’s an antisemetic political cartoon from 1898. 

Look at the crown, the long, hooked nose, and most importantly the clawed, webbed hands. His hands envelope the world, symbolizing the perceived universal greed of the Jew.

This stereotype of the greedy Jew didn’t originate in the 19th century either. It goes all the way back to the Middle Ages when Jews in Europe were banned from occupations other than banking. 

So now let’s talk about goblins in popular culture. First and foremost in my mind are J.K Rowling’s goblins who are portrayed as greedy, hoarding and-- you guessed it-- in charge of the money and treasure.

There are even physical similarities between J.K. Rowling’s goblins and the political cartoon above. Note the hooked nose and the hands. 

I was about eight when I read the first Harry Potter book. I remember bringing it to a synagogue event where one of the adults remarked about how uncomfortable the goblins made them. Before I was allowed to watch the movie my mother sat me down and explained what was problematic with those goblins and why.

Next up: LOTR

He has the crown and the hands, although not the nose, and while he bares less direct resemblance to that cartoon, this is still an example of antisemitism. This is a placeholder character for a Jew that is disgusting, hoarding wealth, and a direct antagonist to the main characters. 

Everquest 2:

(I found another image where this character was specifically labeled The Goblin Banker but tumblr wouldn’t allow me to upload it for whatever reason.) This goblin is so other that it’s not even recognizable as a person, and in fact in the game they’re classed as a Mob Race. Yikes. Additionally, Wikipedia describes them as “attempting to - unsuccessfully - forge gold coins, and yet they have no intention spending any of this money, they simply wish to 'have' it.” This goes along with a lot of the greed aspect of goblins and their obsession with hoarding.

So what do we do?

First, I want to say that just because these pieces of media (or any others) have these problematic aspects doesn’t mean that you have to stop consuming and enjoying them. If we never read books or watched movies or played games that were problematic we would back ourselves into a corner where nothing was permitted.

The important thing is to educate yourself to the point where you can recognize the negative caricature/stereotype in something that you come across, and to not create any new media containing the stereotype. 

But what if you really like goblins?

The good news is that this is the first, older kind of goblincore, but it’s not the only one out there. There’s a new wave happening that emphasizes the positive things without including the negative ones. These next examples are technically called trolls in their respective universes, but they really get the vibe that I’m going for.

Boxtrolls:

See? Shiny treasure thing, delight, and no malice. Admittedly the trolls in this movie are some funny looking creatures, but they don’t come across as perpetuating the negative Jewish stereotype to me.

Frozen:

Cute little guys made of stone and moss. They live peacefully, and when they encounter the protagonists they have a nice musical number and then dispense some wise advice. No greed, no bad intentions. Good for them.

(Again, these examples are both technically trolls but I think the idea comes through, especially since they’re so far from the large, lumbering brutes that are trolls in say... Harry Potter or LOTR.)

Now I’m going to hand this conversation over to @goblinblogging who is a Jew working on reclaiming and reworking the idea of what a goblin is and what a goblin does.

-Reid

Now, I know learning that something you’re doing could be problematic is scary! I also know that a ton of people have abandoned goblincore just because they learned of these stereotypes. 

However, you don’t have to abandon something you love! What you need to do is educate yourself and learn about why these things are harmful and learn what you can do to make sure you aren’t doing something harmful yourself! 

Let's start off with how this stereotype came around (Or at least, one way it originated.) In the book Knockers, Knackers, and Ghosts: Immigrant Folklore in the Western Mines, the author goes into detail about how European origins say the goblins of the mines were the ghosts of dead Jews, sentenced (in properly medieval anti-Jewish fashion) to perpetual restlessness for their supposed role in the crucifixion of Jesus. Which is where the “Goblins live in caves and mines” came from! 

So this explains that the ghosts of Jews became goblins because they were being punished for killing jesus. Already a pretty rough start! Now for common goblin appearances that are nothing but antisemitism in disguise. First, and most obvious, large, hooked, warted noses. I don’t really feel like I have to go into much detail about this one. Anyone who took history class in middle and high school should know about Hitler’s propaganda against jews and the depictions of their bulbous noses, often covered in warts. This caricature directly translates over to goblins having their predominant warted noses. Second, Let’s have a look at green skin. Hitler in particular loved to depict jews with green skin, or at the very least, in very green light so it turned their skin green. 

Image source

Notice the green tint, the evil sneer, hooked nose, and pointed ears in this one! All very reminiscent of traits we commonly see in goblins. 

Image source

 This last one is a movie poster “Suss the Jew” produced by Terra Film at the behest of propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, and considered one of the most antisemitic films of all time. Notice the green skin! 

 Next is horns and teeth. Hitler in particular would depict jews with devil’s horns hidden under their Kippah (also referred to in Yiddish as a yarmulke, or less frequently as a koppel.) He’d also just depict them outright as demons. 

Image source

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This one is Ukranian. Translated means “Satan has taken off his mask” Notice how “satan” has huge teeth and horns, red skin, with the star of David carved into his forehead. Also notice how his jewish mask has a large nose.

Image source

This one is from Russia (1919), a caricature of Leon Trotsky, who was viewed as a symbol of Jewish Bolshevism. Notice the red skin and pointed ears. Also notice how he’s sitting above the people down below (who are sitting on skeletons and bones) symbolizing the Jew’s greed, which we’ll get into later.

And then there’s this one, where you can see (white) people inside of the Jew’s mouth, you can also see horrendously sharp teeth crushing them. Also pay attention to the large nose and pointed ears. I just remembered that I forgot to cover another very important anti-jewish facial feature, which is that many jews in propaganda have dark beady eyes and drooping eyelids. These are things you can see for yourself in the images above!

Next, we’re moving on to greed. This one in particular hits me close to home. I’ve heard the phrase “Jewing me out of my money” too many times to count. Or alternately, “Don’t be a Jew” when the other person doesn’t think that I’m giving them enough of what they want. (Could be money, could even be sweets. The first time I heard this phrase I was a little kid and I had a bag of skittles. I wanted to share with everyone but I still wanted to have enough for me to eat myself. I was passing out handfuls when my friend’s older brother (he was a teen) didn’t like how much I gave him. He said to me, “Come on, don’t be a Jew, give me some more skittles”. I didn’t understand and when I asked my mom what it meant later she was horrified.) Jews, and their caricatures, have almost always been viewed as greedy and power hungry. As @whalefromwales said above me, Jews in Europe used to be banned from any job besides banking. 

We also have images like this from WWII: 

Image source

Anyone who has taken any class where the Holocaust was talked about should be able to recognize this image, The Eternal Jew. He has money in one hand, which is reached out to demand more - he’s also looking at the money, and a whip in his other hand. In his arm, he holds the whole country of Germany.

Image source

There is also this one. A jew, tinged with red, weighs a man’s life against a large pile of money. Notice also how he’s looking at the money - not the man. 

And this one should also be easy to recognize. It reads “The Jews - A People of Contagion!” A city burns in the background as a jewish man sits atop a pile of bones counting his money. Notice the bulbous, hooked, nose, black eyes with drooping eyelids, and large hands! Hitler depicted jews this way (and as goblins) in order to segregate us. “Us VS Them”. “We are the Good Human Beings and Jews are monsters!” in order to make it easy for him to begin committing the atrocities that he did! It never happened overnight, there were key stepping stones that built up to concentration camps. One of those was “Jews aren’t really people, so it’s okay that we’re doing this to them. We’re doing it to save us, the Good Christian Germans.”  

So what does all of this mean? Well, first and foremost, it means that you have to be careful how you depict your goblins. How? When drawing your goblinsonas or goblin ocs, stay away from drawing them with huge, hooked, and warted noses, don’t make their skin green or red (personally, I prefer grey skin for goblins.) If your goblin has sharp teeth, don’t make them huge and obvious. Because modern goblins are fair folk, it’s difficult to depict them without pointed ears, but try not to exaggerate the proportions.  

Behavior: Stop with the “greedy little goblin” thing. That DIRECTLY comes from jewish stereotypes. Your Goblins are allowed to collect shiny things they find, but don’t make them greedy about it! Have your goblin share what they collect, make it a community effort. Sharing the things you love is way better than being miserly anyhow, and sharing more represents what we as goblins should want in our community! Also, be careful with your goblins being terrors. Yes, there are usually evil beings in every single race (whether mythological or real) but just be really really careful. Hitler loved to depict jews eating the Good Germans(™) or terrorizing communities. So even if your goblin is an evil one, be really really careful and be sure to educate yourself first so you’re not just perpetuating the same tired shit that Hitler did.Collecting coins. 

Now, this has been a huge topic of discourse lately. Coins are shiney! I understand why people would want to collect them. Hell, I have some awesome 50 cent pieces and gold dollars in my collection. You just can't depict  yourself or your goblin character collecting only coins and being very greedy with them. That’s literally doing nothing but echoing the same propaganda that Hitler used against us. Collect them all you want, but if I see “Greedy little goblin hoarding coins all for themselves” I swear I’m gonna hit the fan. To clarify, you can absolutely show off you coin collection in the goblin tags, just be careful how you frame it. “I’m really interested in history, so I collect old coins because I think they’re neat” is waaaaaay different then “Horrible littel crecher is greedy for shiney monies” (That last quote is something I’ve SEEN in the tags, luckily op was just completely unaware of why that was so wrong and they removed the caption after they were educated.) 

 So please, enjoy being into goblincore. Enjoy the culture and the fantasy. Goblincore is about appreciating the things about us that may be depicted as “weird” or “ugly”. Goblincore is a safe haven for neurodivergent people (I’m Autistic!) and also Trans and other LGBTQIA+ people! It’s a culture for appreciating nature, collecting things that may not be seen as normal, and sharing these things with other people. It’s a culture where you shouldn’t be ashamed to be who you are or afraid to get dirty. Goblincore is a support network for the weirder folks where we strive to uplift one another. Goblincore is wonderful and I’ve been so impressed at how welcoming everyone is! Especially on tumblr! Before the discourse happened, I was sure that goblincore was one of the kindest communities on tumblr. However, I understand why the discourse happened, and goyim in the goblincore tag really did need to be educated, but that doesn’t mean you have to leave! So be sure to educate yourself and be aware of how your actions could negatively affect folks. Listen to other Jewish people and be mindful of what they say. Some Jews are very uncomfortable with goblincore, and for very good reason! And I do not claim to speak for all Jews with this post. 

I am trying to reclaim the word goblin for use by any person who wants the label. I no longer want these fantasy creatures associated with such a beautiful and vibrant culture of people. Goblins are very interesting as a fantasy race, but the negative stereotypes do nothing but hurt real life Jewish people. Which is why I’m hoping that folks will read this post and realize what behaviors and depictions of goblins are wrong and harmful. Also, tag your goblincore appropriately! Again, many Jewish people are uncomfortable with goblincore because of antisemitism that has happened in their past. I’ve been compared to a goblin many times! So keep your goblincore in just the goblincore tags. There are many overlaps between goblincore and other micro communities on tumblr (Such as crowcore, cottagecore, naturecore, and vulture culture) but be mindful of what you’re putting in those tags. Most vulture culture people hate us goblins cuz we put pictures of dirt or “I’m just a smol crecher” in their tags, and I don’t blame them! Vulture culture is only for the remains of dead animals, and dead animal remains should be the only things added to those tags. So fellow goblins, I’m going to end this post with a sincere thank you for reading, be mindful of your actions, and most of all, HAVE FUN with goblincore! 

Here is where you should be able to read Knockers, Knackers, and Ghosts for free if you want.

TLDR: This is what we, as Jewish people, mean when we say that goblins are based off of negative stereotypes of jews. This is also why some jews get really upset at goblincore, however, there are many ways to participate in goblincore without using harmful stereotypes! So please, use this post to educate yourself so you can both be good goblins and good Jewish allies.

- @goblinblogging

[bisexualmeninfiction]

Quentin Coldwater and Eliot Waugh (The Magicians)

I have to give the TV adaptation of The Magicians by Lev Grossman quite a bit of credit for being notably more diverse than its source material (short summary: depressed nerds get a magical post-secondary education and find out Narnia is real). In addition to casting actors of color in the roles of presumably-white book characters, it takes two main characters’ bisexuality from suggested to unambiguous.

In both versions, the first inklings of our protagonist Quentin’s potential bisexuality comes early in the story when he cheats on his girlfriend in an ill-advised, intoxicated threesome with his friends Eliot and Janet (or Margo as she’s named in the show). The book frames it as “sex with Janet,” “cheating with Janet” and Quentin’s vague memory that he might have kissed Eliot is just a detail to show how out of control he was that night. In the show, Quentin and Eliot’s kiss gets as much visual emphasis as Quentin and Margo’s. Quentin also has a long-term relationship with Eliot in an alternate universe, in a plot point that’s original to the show.

Quentin’s predominant relationships in both book and show are with women but the show is very clear that he’s also sexually and romantically interested in Eliot.

The TV adaptation also makes Eliot, another prominent character, much more legibly bisexual. In the books, he is portrayed as a gay man who occasionally makes an exception for his friend Janet. In the show, he is still mainly interested in men but explicitly states that he likes to sleep with women “sometimes”.

Neither work uses the word “bisexual” but in the books Quentin comes off as a straight guy who maybe had sex with/next to a man once and Eliot as a gay dude who had sex with a woman once or twice - you can read them as bisexual but it doesn’t seem like the author had it in mind. The show doesn’t discuss either character’s sexuality explicitly in depth but the message that they both are attracted to men and women is obvious and intentional. 

It’s also great to see two different depictions of bisexuality in the same work. In addition to showing their attraction to men and women to different degrees, Quentin and Eliot are very different people. They’re both troubled nerds (which seems to be a prerequisite for doing magic) but Eliot is a cool, outgoing, campy hedonist while Quentin is shy and awkward in the classic nerd mold.

I read the books as a teenager and never saw Quentin as anything but straight, so it was a pleasant surprise to find an undeniably bisexual protagonist when The Magicians made the jump to TV. 

Says “bisexual”: No.

Immortal/non-human: They’re magicians but no.

Evil: No.

Dies: I can’t praise the TV adaptation without a caveat about the way it ended Quentin’s storyline. I stopped watching before I got there, but I know it upset many fans for multiple reasons. Yes, Quentin sacrifices himself to save others in the TV show. 

[laughingmagi]

SENSES AND OTHER ODDLY SPECIFIC HEADCANONS TAGGED BY: @youhavemyrespect TAGGING: free for all :))))

1. WHAT DOES YOUR MUSE SMELL LIKE:

Chalk, sage, cigarette smoke, lime and juniper (when he’s been drinking, mostly), but also something deeper and more primal to those who can sense it. Ozone and old temples, dragon’s blood and freshly turned earth. Generally considered his magic reek, becomes heightened during certain times of the year but especially around Halloween. Many that can smell it have called it utterly intoxicating. 

2. WHAT DOES YOUR MUSE’S HANDS FEEL LIKE:  

Soft and warm, slightly calloused at the fingers tips and sides of knuckles from drawing for hours at a time some days. Overall, they’re very nice. He hasn’t worked a conventional job in his life so he avoided wear and tear from compulsory handwashing and general labor.  

3. WHAT DOES YOUR MUSE USUALLY EAT IN A DAY:  

It depends, honestly. John can’t cook and usually eats out or orders in. He has a preference toward Indian and other Asian cuisines. John doesn’t eat much meat, but it’s not a hard or first rule. If he has the luxury not to, you know? I truly can’t go into any specifics or regularities because he doesn’t take care of himself and doesn’t have any regular eating patterns from day to day. Sometime he’ll wake up get breakfast, maybe swing by the store and buy hummus and pita for lunch, and treat himself to some vindaloo in the evening, and spend the night at a local pub. Other days he’ll barely eat if at all. Realize two days late that he’s famished. He’s a mess, honestly.

4. DOES YOUR MUSE HAVE A GOOD SINGING VOICE:

Depends on who you ask. John doesn’t have much of an opinion on it, and generally thinks it sucks. Personally, I feel it’s more knee-jerk sefl-deprecation. ‘Nah, mate, I was shite.’ Peronally in my head he tends to sound like Dave Vanien and maybe later in life closer to Nick Cave. Because I love my deep voiced spooky boys with the sonorous voices singing from the depths of their graves.

5. DOES YOUR MUSE HAVE ANY BAD HABITS OR NERVOUS TICKS:

He smokes like a chimney but aside from that, I feel like there’s a certain eeriness to his composure and stillness. Years of dealing with creatures that are painfully powerful, terrible monsters, cruel, bitter gods, has made him highly accustomed to schooling his body language and features to convey both neutrality and a kind of cocksure confidence as though to say ‘I fucking dare you’ as he banks on a reputation both earned and built upon hyperbolic rumours.

6: WHAT DOES YOUR MUSE USUALLY LOOK LIKE / WEAR:

Dark suit (either black or dark blue), tie (properly cinched, ta so very much), usually solid colours, though occasionally red and white striped, white button down or some other pale colour like blue or pink, dark oxfords flats, usually a bit worse for wear, tan trench coat/raincoat, sometimes a black, shorter coat that might be vinyl? (Idek Sean Murphy draws him in this coat and the colouring has the visual coding of a shiny fabric, and it kiiiiinda fits with my vegetarian head canon so idek). Messy hair, frequently stubbled jaw, but I don’t think he’s...slovenly. It’s very trendy now to portray John with a perpetual five o’ clock shadow, but if you refer to the art in the Vertigo series, he’s predominately drawn clean shaven so. I mean. *gestures* Although, I’ll also freely imagine him to one of those guys that has a fast growing beard like he should probably shave a couple times a day.

7. IS YOUR MUSE AFFECTIONATE? HOW MUCH? HOW SO:

Yeah, but it’s a thing that he’s had to struggle with over the years. He grew up with very little affection. Like, yes, Cheryl did what she could, but I think as he grew older, and started acting out more, not to mention her leaving home first being considerably older than John, I think he could be hard to love and frankly still is. So he’s terribly affection hungry and I do believe his promiscuity is part of it. Like, listen, he’s a handsome, charming man, and for him it’s easier to connect with his sexuality more than vulnerable sincerity. Not to say he isn’t ever able to emotionally connect. I think that comes part and parcel just as well. Hey, have I mentioned he’s a mess. He’s just the mess of contradictions in so many ways. He’s guarded, he’s vulnerable, he’s lonely, he’s a loner, he’s hard, but deeply empathetic and kind (I said what I said). All that being said when he is close to someone, when they are intimate, and it’s deep and loving, then oh yes, he is extremely affectionate. 

8. WHAT POSITION DOES YOUR MUSE SLEEP IN:

Side or back, when with someone, he usually sleeps tucked up against them as some kinda spoon. 

9: COULD YOU HEAR YOUR MUSE IN THE HALLWAY FROM ANOTHER ROOM:

Depends on if he wants to be heard.

[everydisneymovie]

Review #30: The Littlest Outlaw

Post #33

7/2/2020

Next up is 1955′s The Littlest Outlaw

Enjoyment : [3]

This movie fails to hit a lot of very easy story beats and because of that, it feels like nothing of any consequence happens. This should be a home run for an emotional storyteller like Disney. It is weird to see a ‘boy and his horse’ story with almost not bonding moments between the two. At no point does Pablito seem to care for his horse beyond polite professional obligation. There is a running theme of Pablito dealing with his abusive father, the same abuse the animals he trains have to deal with. However they both just seem to get over this trauma with no significant work or change. I really wanted to like this movie but it just feels emotionally lazy.

Quality : [4]

In technical terms this movie is fine. Some of the stuns and horse-work is interesting. I couldn’t spot any obvious stun doubles when character ride horses but there ins’t any close enough shots to confirm. No camera moves stood out to me, and the story was a little flimsy. I think the fact that it kept jumping around to different characters so frequently, we never got any scenes of significance featuring Pablito and his horse, ya know, the emotional core of the movie. A more direct script would have left a lot more impact.

Hold up : [5]

Thank god this movie wasn’t as racist as it could have been. The cast is almost entirely Lantinx or Hispanic. At no point does Mexico feel like a goofy cartoon, and most aspects of their culture is shown in a positive or neutral light. I was fully expecting exaggerated accents and constant mariachi music based on Disneys track record so far. While it was mostly written by white guys, the movie did a decent job representing Mexican culture and beyond some small moments there is nothing aggressively problematic. Thank god I say, thank god.

Risk : [6]

Having an entirely non-white case telling a non-white story with predominant themes specific to Mexican heritage is a big step for Disney and I applaud them for that. There is a scene where characters debate the heroism and violence of bull fighting, both take different stances and both make valid points. While this isn’t perfect film making, this is leagues better than what Disney has done in movies like Saludos Amigos or Three Caballeros. However the biggest issue the fact that yet again, the conflict is resolved by the antagonistic General simply agreeing to stop, rather than any direct actions by the protagonist. This is the exact ending of Robin Hood, The Sword and the Rose, and Rob Roy. None of those had satisfying endings and neither did this, since it portrays people in positions of power the only way to solve the suffering of the lower class, and that is literally the opposite of the truth. Pablito DOES prove himself and his horses skill to the General, but it still shows the General as benevolent when it was literally all his fault from the start.

Extra Credit : [2]

Every actor in the movie is bilingual, and they filmed every scene twice, once for english speaking audiences, and once for Spanish speaking audiences. Every actor was noticeably talented and I think that was a noble effort to make the movie more accessible. Good on ya Disney.

Final thoughts:

I really wanted to like this movie, I was so pleased that Disney didn’t lean into racist stereotypes, but the movie doesn’t have much beyond that. You can almost feel how annoyed the filmmakers are by the fact that this movie focuses on a child actor and an animal. They use almost every excuse to film other characters and we never get any emotional moments with Pablito and his horse. This movie is also very confused story-wise, the abusive father is evidently murdered offscreen and no one, not even Pablito reacts to this at any point? Did I see that right or was that just poorly conveyed? The horse getting over his fear of jumps happens with no build up, and it makes the victory feel hollow. Another weird detail, they show the live horse running and being attacked by the live bull, with no humans on screen. When the horse is being ridden, the bull is suspiciously off-screen and only shown in separate cuts. This makes me feel like they COULD have filmed the two animals separately, but it was easier to just trap a live horse in a pen with an angry bull. Seeing how cavalier Disney has been to harm and even kill animals to get a good shot, this made me very suspicious and upset. This is only speculation but I think at least one horse was harmed in the making of this movie.

Total Score: 20/50

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[curewhimsy]

Shiro-Sora masterpost

Here are plans for my Mega Project. It’s a visual novel concept.

But since I have no skill in making a VN, I’m just going to write a story. Like the anime that will be based off the VN. Like Clannad’s anime or something.

It’s going to be long since I have (ahem...) FOURTY-SIX (46) WHOLE CHARACTERS WITH ROUTES THAT I’M GOING TO INCORPORATE.

This is why I said I will never ever finish it, even if I devote my entire life to it.

But it won’t feel right without all these characters. I WANT to have all these characters. I’m a “go big or go home” person. I’m too ambitious and I know that.

Well, since it has 46 characters, I’m thinking of calling it “Shiro-Sora” meaning “White-Sky” since 46 can be pronounced as “shiro.”

In kanji: 「白空」

In hiragana: 「しろそら」 (This will be the “official” Japanese spelling btw)

Alternatively: 「46そら」

Anyway...

Here are the characters.

Haku, Neru, Miku, Luka, Teto, Gumi, Meiko, Lapis, Merli, Lily, IA, Yukari, Uta, Zatsune, Rin, Len, Kaito, Akaito, Dell, Gakupo, Yuuma, Piko, Mizuki, Nigaito, Dex, Daina, Ruby, Taya, Longya, Ling, Momo, SeeU, Ruko, Ritsu, Miki, Aku, Bruno, Clara, Iroha, Yuu, Wil, Kyo, Akari, Qingxian, Anon, Kanon

In the story adaption, Uta Utane (Defoko) will take the role as the player/main character, and learns everyone’s backstories. She will be the one with the (gigantic) “harem” around her. Think, Tomoya from Clannad. But IF there’s ever an actual game, I’ll plan on Uta being one of the date-able characters. She’ll be your childhood friend.

The characters are all college students here, attending a predominantly music-oriented community college called Sonare Community College. There is also an acting branch as well, but it’s less predominant. This is why there is an emphasis on music, instruments, composing, and singing.

The reason the characters are all between 18-24 is so they can mostly be in the same age range. Therefore I can ship quite a lot of pairs...

Here are descriptions I thought of already. For some of these Loids, this is my first time EVER writing or portraying them. Ever.

(Full names are listed in Western order. This is partly due to the story taking place in the USA, in a “Japantown” sort of place to explain the prominent Japanese population.)

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Haku Yowane- Age: 22 A shy, gloomy girl who is looking to join in the school’s choir. However, she isn’t confident to work up the courage to audition. The choir has been moving down in popularity every year, with more and more students pursuing solo stardom. When she gets the news the choir may be disbanded, Haku feels she has to do something soon. Haku has only a small bit of experience in both singing and the piano, but she came to Sonare Community College because music is her dream. Haku seems to depend on Neru, her only friend, to comfort her when she gets down. Haku is the cousin of the popular Miku Hatsune, who is the most popular girl in the school and a very talented musician in many ways. Haku ends up a musician who sings and plays the piano. Neru Akita- Age: 22 A tomboy with a hot temper. But inside, she hides delicate feelings. She seems to always be with Haku, cheering her up when she gets down. The two seem to only have each other. Neru didn’t go to Sonare Community College to pursue music, however, she ends up joining the choir with Haku, despite her shabby voice. She also ends up falling in love with musical theatre! Miku Hatsune- Age: 20 A very popular girl and talented singer, dancer, and performer. A bubbly, cheerful sweetheart. Has lots of friends and is always smiling. Idealistic and doesn’t believe in impossible. Miku dreams big, but apparently she gets very depressed when her dreams are crushed. Luckily that never seems to happen… for now. Miku is an all-star musical performer. Luka Megurine- Age: 24 A polite and elegant woman. She can appear aloof and intimidating at first, but is actually just shy. She is half Japanese, a quarter French, and a quarter German. A talented vocalist who can also play quite a few instruments. Teto Kasane- Age: 20 A bubbly girl who can be childish. Is playful, weird, and a bit demanding. Very clumsy. More inclined in visual arts than music, but started a music hobby on a whim. Gumi- Age: 21 A girl who can be a bit shy, but once you get past that, Gumi is unique, free-spirited, and chill. She likes art and reading books. She keeps a sketchbook with her at all times. More inclined in visual arts than music, but likes musical theatre. Meiko Sakine- Age: 24 The confident, mature woman of the group. Energetic and loves to party. Still responsible. Like a mother or older sister. Has quite a temper, though she mostly uses it to defend others… Has a love of karaoke, and wishes to improve her singing. Lapis Aoki- Age: 20 Merli’s stepsister, who seems to be the opposite of her. Bubbly and playful, and quite childish. Quite friendly. However, she can be a bit selfish at times. Lapis is Japanese, though her adoptive sister Merli is Indian. Loves singing and theatre. Merli Aoki- Age: 24 Lapis’ stepsister, who seems to be the opposite of her. She can seem cold and distant, even a bit harsh at first. But inside, she is very thoughtful and willing to help those important to her. Merli is Indian, though she was adopted into Lapis’ Japanese family after the death of her parents. Is a singer with a dramatic vocal, and has a secret love of theatre. However, she is often chosen to be the villain due to her voice. She wishes her voice were less “intimidating” so she could be the heroine. Lily- Age: 23 The school’s toughest female delinquent. People often wonder why or how she’s still in school. She gets into a lot of fights. What people fail to notice is that she’s usually defending the weak, bu she sometimes just goes overboard. Lily has a punk-rock style and plays the electric guitar. IA- Age: 22 An idolized girl in the school for her good looks and singing skills, along with being a great songwriter and composer! However, she hides dark feelings? Yukari Yuzuki- Age: 21 Half sister to Akari Kizuna. Looks up to IA but also feels she will never be as good as her. Composes music as a hobby, and sings. She feels her singing is horrible. Uta Utane- Age: 21 A rather plain, bluntly-spoken person who doesn’t see much in life. Usually bored, silent, and rather deadpan. Once a bright girl with lots of dreams. Deep inside, she is passionate and caring, really… Can it be restored? She is non-binary, going mostly by she/her. Uta is rather bored with life, including music, and really only keeps playing the violin because she’s come so far and doesn’t want to quit. Miku Zatsune- Age: 21 Edgy and hates Miku (out of mostly jealousy.) She would rather be called Zatsune, because her first name happens to be Miku, like the person she despises so much… But could there be something deeper to her? Zatsune’s music style is heavy and gritty. She considers it “harsh reality,” unlike Miku’s “bubblegum fluff.” Rin Kagamine- Age: 18 Rin is a bit chaotic. She is bold, brash, athletic, and charming. She is also just plain nuts. She plays the saxophone. Len Kagamine- Age: 18 Len fries to be cool and hip, but he is just a big dork. He is quite the comedian however, sometimes unintentionally. He plays the drums and trumpet. Kaito Shion- Age: 22 Kaito is a silly boy. He loves ice cream, unicorns, rainbows, and anything fluffy. But he also has moments of seriousness where he says really deep, philosophical things. He is quite romantic. He plays the piano and sings. Akaito Shion- Age: 24 Akaito is a sarcastic and grumpy boy, but when it comes to romance, he gets quite passionate. He sometimes flirts around with girls, but when he finally finds a true love with a girl (or guy) who truly changes his life… well… it’s a bit different. Akaito is a choir singer and he also plays electric bass. Dell Honne- Age: 24 Dell is usually in a bad mood. He currently lives with a father who barely acknowledges him. He tends to keep it all inside, and he’s really just lonely and needs to find someone to vent to. He is Haku’s half-brother, but they didn’t grow up together. He enjoys computer programming and composing electronic music. Gakupo Kamui- Age: 24 Gakupo likes doing kendo and martial arts, and is generally athletic. He is a nice guy who also loves animals and history. He seems serious, but can be unexpectedly silly sometimes. He likes embracing his Japanese and Ainu heritage. He often plays the shamisen, and also drums. He likes rock music. Yuuma- Age: 23 Yuuma likes music and is quite popular. He may seem hard to approach, because sometimes he doesn’t know what to say. He is a little blunt at times, but has a good heart. He has a crush on Mizuki. He likes orchestral music and EDM. Piko Utatane- Age: 21 Piko is a genius who loves astronomy and excels in mathematics and physics. He is a shy and compassionate person, but whenever he opens his mouth, he sounds very strict. He is bad at socializing and making friends, which leaves him quite lonely. On top of that, he is sickly and absent from school often. Piko wishes to make a friend. His first friend in the school is Lapis Aoki, who pretends to be a fairy to grant his wish. After a while, Lapis declares that she wants to be Piko’s friend. Piko ended up at Sonare Community College despite excelling in other studies due to his missing many high school days. However, Piko likes EDM and is inspired to be a singer after spending days at his college. Mizuki- Age: 21 Mizuki is a singer who also plays the a Japanese harp (koto.) She is quite a charming person and seems to flirt with many people… even girls… but not Yuuma. Since Yuuma has a crush on Mizuki, this discourages him. Nigaito Shion- Age: 19 The youngest of the three Shion bothers. Nigaito’s nicknames are Nini and Nii. He is rather sickly, but remains to have a warm and pure heart. Nigaito plays the clarinet. Dex- Age: 22 Daina’s childhood friend. Best friends, even though they are of completely different genders, and with very different personalities. Some people wonder how it works. Dex is silly, fun, a bit of a party animal, but he is still very caring and compassionate. He just needs a bit of help devoting himself to his studies. But he is quite intelligent when he is focused. He is Black, Creole, and is learning French. Dex plays piano and sings. Daina- Age: 22 Dex’s childhood friend. Best friends, even though they are of completely different genders, and with very different personalities. Some people wonder how it works. Daina likes to study and learn, and doesn’t like atmospheres like parties so much. She prefers quiet, peaceful places. She may seem a bit distant on the outside, but she is just a little shy. She is White, with English and French heritage. Daina composes music on the computer and sings. Ruby- Age: 21 Ruby is rather confident, yet nice, and will always give people a helping hand. She is Black and Latina. Ruby likes EDM and sings and dances. Taya Soune- Age: 21 Taya is incredibly polite, bowing at many occasions and also offering to do favors a lot. He speaks very formally. Taya has anemia and sometimes needs blood transfusions. He is non-binary, but go mostly by he/him. Taya likes musical theatre. He also plays the cello. Longya Yuezheng- Age: 24 A quite serious man who is dutiful and studious. Protective over his younger sister, Ling, and monitors her safety constantly. This is due to Ling nearly getting into a tragic accident when they were younger, traumatizing Longya. He is Chinese. He plays piano and flute. Ling Yuezheng- Age: 20 Ling is a hardworking student, however she has a playful side and she feels lonely that she doesn’t have many friends and is devoting her life to studying. She sings and dances. Momo Momone- Age: 19 A peaceful, sleepy girl. Rather low-energy and tranquil. However, Momo has quite a temper when it comes to injustice. Momo is a singer and theatre performer. SeeU- Age: 20 A rather eccentric, bold and energetic girl with “the light of the stars in her eyes.” She is Korean. SeeU is a singer and dancer. Ruko Yokune- Age: 24 Ruko is one of the most mature characters, having a lot of wisdom about life and many experiences. However, they still have moments where they need a helping hand. Ruko is non-binary, mostly going by she/her or they/them. Ruko is a talented vocalist with incredible range. Ritsu Namine- Age: 22 Ritsu is rather brash, but means well. He is non-binary and mostly go by he/him. He is a talented singer with a powerful voice. Miki- Age: 18 Loves romance anime/manga and is obsessed with “cute couples.” A true fangirl. Acts cute and animated. Iroha’s best friend. She is a singer, who also wants to be a voice actress in anime. Aku Yamine- Age: 19 Hates her name, because it’s pronounced the same as the word for “evil” in Japanese. Prefers to be called Akurin. Aku is a very nice and naive, somewhat clumsy girl with big dreams. Is half Black and half Japanese. She is a piano player and a theatre performer. She struggles with singing. Bruno- Age: 22 Black Latino, lived in the Dominican Republic. Polite and soft-spoken, but a talented acoustic guitarist. Sometimes sings. Clara- Age: 23 From Colombia, and is Latina. A rather doting girl who somehow feels like both a mother and a little sister. A singer and dancer. Iroha Nekomura- Age: 18 Loves cute things and stuffed animals. Is kind of insecure and doesn’t find herself very cute, though her best friend Miki constantly reassures her. A singer and drummer. Yuu- Age: 20 A sweet, cheerful guy who is always filled with energy. Half English, half Japanese. He is in a boy-band with Wil and Kyo called ZOLA PROJECT. He sings and plays electric guitar. Wil- Age: 22 A sophisticated, fashionable guy who is quite outgoing. He is Black. He is in a boy-band with Yuu and Kyo called ZOLA PROJECT. He sings and plays electric bass. Kyo- Age: 21 A wild, energetic guy who is always raring to go. He is Japanese. He is in a boy-band with Yuu and Wil called ZOLA PROJECT. He sings and plays drums, and adds sounds to their songs via computer programs. Akari Kizuna- Age: 18 Yukari Yuzuki’s half-sister. Cheerful and sweet, and wants to make others smile… even though many heavy thoughts are hiding behind her own smile. A singer who is also an actress. Qingxian Mo- Age: 23 She seems very nice, but she’s actually a bit self-absorbed. Since her name is hard to pronounce for English-speakers, she insists on being called Qing (pronounced like Ching.) A model who also sings and plays clarinet. Anon- Age: 21 A somewhat reserved girl who likes to read and play video games. Very resilient and tough. Does martial arts. Has a very strong punch. Is often annoyed by her sister, Kanon. Sings, dances, and composes music. Kanon- Age: 21 A cheerful girl who likes to annoy her sister, Anon. But like her sister, she does sometimes get kind of scary. Does martial arts. Has a very strong kick. Sings, dances, and composes music.

——————————————————

Now, I made a list of couples... Who ends up with who by the end of the story? This is for the “novel adaption”, obviously.

Uta and whoever she ends up with might get a bit of an... “After Story” like CLANNAD After Story. And it might feature everyone else as a married couple too!

Spoilers below the cut.

——————————————————

Haku x Neru

Kaito x Dell

Miku x Gumi

IA x Yukari

Lapis x Piko

Teto x Luka

Meiko x Gakupo

Iroha x Miki

Ruko x Ritsu

Merli x Lily

Akaito x Yuuma

Bruno x Clara

Dex x Daina

Len x Nigaito

Rin x Akari

Ruby x SeeU

Anon x Mizuki

Zatsune x Aku

Wil x Longya

Yuu x Ling

Kyo x Qingxian

Kanon x Momo

Uta x Taya

Yes, the main couple by the end will be Uta and Taya. I think you MAY have seen it coming... considering I was all over Taya today. But also, as I was pairing up every Vocaloid, only a few remained, around six. Uta and Taya were two of the last ones, and I decided it worked. So yeah.

[diaryofanangryasianguy]

I’m Asian and my bf’s Black and every time I’ve tried to talk about racism he tells me to go back to my home country. I’ve heard this all my life from white people but I never thought a PoC would say this to me too. The recent news about Trump saying the same thing really hit home and I don’t know what to do. Do you think it’s worth the effort to explain why it’s offensive or is he a lost cause?

Tbh racism among folks of color is so much more common than people think or try to portray. When there’s no white people around to be racist to you, who else do you think will be? Racism doesn’t just disappear because there’s no whites around. I’ve lived in predominant communities of color for over 20 years so I know first-hand.

As for your boyfriend, that’s fucked up. Not only is that racist and xenophobic on a general scale but that’s individually and personally fucked up towards you. If this dude isn’t gonna respect and listen to your issues, why the fuck is he with you then? Unless he’s just one of those fetishizers which idk for sure but still.

Your experience goes into the broader experience where people tend not to care about racism towards Asian people nor care about our opinions, ideas, insights, or experiences with it and instead, we’re often met with racism and shut down when we try to speak about it.

But back to your boyfriend, you shouldn’t even need to explain why someone saying “go back to your home country” is racist or xenophobic. What is he, 12? Does he need you to do his laundry and wash his dishes and wipe his behind too? But seriously though. If you’ve had this talk multiple times with him already and he still doesn’t get it, I’d say he’s a lost cause.

Angry Asian Guy

[perversefanworks]

I was writing out a small story concerning the Gohan x Vegeta teaser I did considering the requests I got for it. So I wrote this in hopes to draw more. Unfortunately I can’t very well seem to turn this into any kind of comic style anything without it being narrative heavy.

So you guys can just read it here instead.

Slight NSFW, set just before the Buu Saga.

Instinct

Full red lips quivered in anticipation as they parted, a darting pink tongue glided over pristine white teeth and rolled forward to show off the talent within the muscle alone. The lips curved into an inviting smile then circles around the glans of a darkened and enormous cock.

The camera pulls back to show off the smudged eyeliner and weeping eye-shadow ruined by various body fluids, but the girl smiles, absolutely delighted in the image she portrays. Her pleasure comes in turning any watching man into mush.

A fly landed on the pixeled closeup of her cum slick tongue, crawling in jerks across her face. Gohan's half interest drifted more toward the curious fly than the images on the screen beneath.

The day was his. School wouldn't start for another week, mom was out shopping with Bulma and had taken Goten with her after his consistent pleading to see Trunks again. Gohan was left under the firm understanding that he was to finish his paper on the effects of wind turbines versus solar energy and to clean up the hedges around the house.

Despite the fact that he, of course, had finished with both within the first hour, allowed himself the rest of the day to blow off some 'steam'.

In his dad's absence most of the original Z fighters have found it within themselves to contribute some aspect of father figure through his teenage years. Piccolo being the most prominent, but each had their own lessons to teach: discipline, honor, respect, hard work, etc.

Roshi contributed in his own underhanded way, 'knowing a growing boy' or something Gohan couldn't understand at the time. At the tender age of twelve Gohan didn't need much in the way of 'fap material' though. Two smooth rocks shoved together already sent a hormone fed brain into overdrive.

But Gohan wasn't a pervert either. Years after Gohan's hormones had evened out enough to understand the rewards in stamina and the joys in pleasing the partner as well as himself. The urges came and went as a natural part of life and they in of themselves rarely, if ever, made decisions for him. His mother smoothing the lines of lust with tales of love and explaining the balance of both had Gohan understanding the rewarding side of romance.

That's how he always imagined himself; a romantic. He liked girls, the young bright eyed humans never failed to draw his own smile and he delighted in being around them. That won't ever change. That hasn't changed.

So why was it becoming more difficult to scratch that itch?

Gohan jerked out of his thoughts, absently trying to calculate the number of a fly's wings beating within it's lifetime if it lived 24 hours and they could flap ~2 beats per nanosecon-- He shook his head clear and leaned forward on his elbows to stare with purpose at the tv screen.

Even now he sat on his own bed, pants and drawers shoved to his knees, lotion and tissues untouched beside him. This was always his favorite video, he liked the way the girl enjoyed herself as much as the guys watching on.

The harder he stared the more frustrating it became. The urge itself wasn't lacking, he had a healthy libido. Often he woke in the morning with a fever and soiled sheets. Although, now, he'll be spilled halfway off his bed and charging a ki blast that often found it's way through the ceiling.

At first he worried with his mother. She wondered about his nightmares and how often she woke up to his sleeping shouts. He thought the long stretch of peace was drudging up old memories, the horrors of his past returning to haunt him even now.

He couldn't remember the dreams, though. Just the lingering effects. The intensity, the heat of his blood, the strain of overworked muscles, the fear in their eyes. The satisfaction.

Gohan wouldn't tell his mother, but also couldn't explain just why it felt

so

damn

GOOD.

Gohan stretched with a yawn, turning off the video and flopping back onto his bed, deciding best to allow his mind to come up with something staged videos could not.

Kicking off his pants he drew his fingers over hairless thighs, trying desperately to pretend his hands belonged to someone else. Soft fingertips, painted nails, drawing circles, tickling the thin skin of his inner thighs. A frown creased Gohan's brow and without a second thought the fingers curled and the scrape of blunt fingernails dug into the soft flesh and pulled.

He arched into the touch, nearly swallowing his tongue in the gasp. The hands of his fantasy shifted dramatically. Larger, thicker, callused. He paused a moment for his conscious thought to catch up to his unconscious want.

Pain was a factor, but it wasn't a predominant feeling. More of a result than sought specifically after. He had already experimented through that territory, but ended up ultimately ruling out masochism. Not a primary sense. No, it was something else.

He let his mind wander, imagining a form hovering between his parted legs, raking blunt fingers down his legs, commenting on the swell and slide of muscles twitching beneath his skin. Gohan would have blushed if he needed the positive reinforcement.

An innocent and inexperienced partner was rarely what came to him in these fantasies. The simple act of reaching out to the imaginary form only to have his hand slapped away instead always made Gohan chuckle aloud and redouble his efforts.

On the right track Gohan pushed his imagination further. Light hair? Dark? Large bust, smaller? Coy smile or knowing smirk? He sucked his lower lip between his teeth as he focused more on the physical aspect. Several girls faces floated before him, shuffling through like the overheard songs on a playlist.

With the threat of losing what little chub he did manage to garner he switched tactics and grabbed himself suddenly, squeezing the base of his cock to the point of pain, until he couldn’t swallow his own whimper. There, right there. The full red lips faded to pale ones, pulled down into a tight scowl.

Gohan released himself, the image fading as he gasped for breath. Both from how hard he had suddenly gotten, and the shock of what he glimpsed. He stared down at himself, the darkened glans just peaking out from the foreskin as it begged to press against those tight lips.

He shook his head furiously, slapping a hand over his eyes. Trunks! Think of Trunks from the future! Handsome and young, with lovely pale hair and tragically sad eyes. How would that hair feel brushing over his chest? He could reach out to trunks and caress his cheek, smooth his tears, show him it was alright.

His hand was knocked away and pinned beside him.

“What do you think you're doing?”

That wasn't Trunks. Oh Kami. It was never Trunks.

Gohan arched with a groan, heat shooting up his arms and curled in the pit of his stomach as he suppressed the instant desire to push against the imagined gravely deep voice. He wanted to hear it crack, to burst, to gasp and groan and quiver-

A deep chuckle rumbled between his legs. He could almost imagine the broad shoulders crawling between his parted thighs and gloved hands gripping tightly at Gohans hips, keeping him stilled. “Is that what you want?” The voice chided as the smirking mouth descended and ran up the underside of Gohan's dick, the hot tongue slipping beneath the crown to peel the foreskin further aside.

Gohan slapped his hand over his eyes as if closing them would erase the mental image itself instead of spiraling out of his very control. “No...” he pleaded with himself even as he swirled his thumb through the beading pre pearling upon the slit.

“You know I don't quiver.” Hot breath coated his sensitive head, making him throb within his own hand.

“It's not supposed to be you.” Gohan panted thinly, speaking aloud to try and convince himself further.

The darker part of him, the one that refused to let the image go, answered by having the most powerful living man in the known universe crawl up his body and trap Gohan's head between thick arms. “And yet here I am.” Blackened eyes bore down at Gohan, the typical scowl tugged into a smug smirk instead.

Gohan no longer touched himself, fingers twitching before him, imagining running his hands over the thin spandex hardly able to contain the pulsing power beneath. To slide down his rippling sides and grip at narrowed hips, tugging down and grinding against the hardness found there.

“So. This is what you want.” Vegeta cocked his head, peering down at the younger man with faint amusement as Gohan fell further and further away from rational thought and down onto something more basic.

Gohan could not pinpoint the exact moment in time when he started viewing the man as something more than just Trunks father or his dad's rival. He hardly had seen the man since Cell's defeat, even when visiting Trunks or Bulma in their own house. And when he did see the Prince hardly two words passed between them, and they were usually terse. So why Vegeta, of all people, creep into his thoughts, and even more confusing: his fantasizes, was beyond him. He just didn't know.

Yes you do.

The darker side of Gohan voiced with Vegeta's lips spoke. Strong fingers curled around Gohan's throat and squeezed slowly until his breath rasped. Vegeta leaned in closer until his breath puffed across Gohan's pink cheek and teeth scraped over plush lips. Gohan's nostral's flared, trying to suck in breath and instead grasping a heavy whiff of the pure Saiyan's scent. “I am nothing what you should desire. Not like this. A man like me-”

“A man like you.” Gohan gritted out through the tightened windpipe, interrupting his very own thoughts. He gripped at the wrists holding him down and shoved a knee up between Vegeta's legs, instantly causing the older man to growl, baring sharp canines.

Gohan's blood burned at the sight.

The snarl was replaced with a full roar of protest the moment Gohan threw the smaller man onto his own back, grasping handfuls of course hair to snap the Prince's head backwards and expose the vulnerable length of his corded neck. “...always did look better on his back.” Gohan finished, running his own tongue over the sharpened jut of his own canines.

Instinct took over.

Instinct from a race long dead and nearly forgotten as he sank teeth into the toughened flesh.

Instinct had him ravage the man beneath him. Lust had him explore the depths of his mouth and the tightness of his body. Something else had him claim the form as his own for reasons he was too terrified to understand. Gohan's own imagination had him hold the quivering Saiyan through the scream of his own release and the sea of white in the afterburn.

Instinct left Gohan sated.

He collapsed within his own mess until he willed his heart to slow and his breathing to even. His body ached from the excursion, but it was a pleasant burn that left him grinning toothily. Eventually he drifted, riding the tail end of the pleasant waves.

Something soft caught in his teeth when he inhaled and Gohan spit out a feather. He grumbled when another sucked into his mouth on the next breath. Sitting up with a grumble he pushed the damp hair from his eyes, only to balk at the sight around him.

Apparently instinct also shredded his pillows, broke his bed, and set his bookshelves on fire.

“Oh shit..” He gaped, jumping as a roof tile shattered to the floor somewhere to his left.

This will be tougher to explain to mom.

[keaghanlandram1991]

How Does A Cat Spray Backwards Top Diy Ideas

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Cat Urineaza Un Bebelus De 2 Luni

She hasn't caught a bird since we removed the powder and liquid products sold online and in a position to deal with it for granted.This behavior is not certain but there are enough toys or in pain.This will really bubble and work from the impulse to keep it yourself.The first reason everybody thinks of is that this is the main reason why is my plan:In the meantime, if you are close by, or you notice your cat the advantage of using the kitty will probably be a bit of cat is to break up bacteria, plaque, or tartar build-up.

Cats are great to have around the neck and along the outside lip of the cat, it may be easier and less likely to get your cat at the same for your first one has to know by nature territorial and many cats is through attraction.Always use soft brushes and rub the coat with toxic substances or astringents.When you first get your cat from using garden as a possible threat to a new problem.The traditional water spray or a diffuser.You can almost guarantee if your cat some catnip now and then, your cat will not harm your pets closely to spot trouble and noise.

It is especially true if the kitten vigorous exercise.It can take care of the most predominant allergies in cats is concerned.For instance, if you are trying to get back to where they can be more if nothing else, all of them would not get into trash cans, ruin furniture on the side, and tucked a round cuddle bed on the table or anywhere else he should be kept away from view.This cat repeller which works with an opening for the environment is more to your new pet can come in and out of.Choose carpets and floors to detect the precise areas.

After this, an aggressive playfulness is common among many cat owners make a huge bulls-eye for staking their claim!Be VERY careful when mixing this recipe will save you loads of money, as in the bathroom that they make great companions.Our older female orange tabby and the associated risks are low.American Bobtail: This breed of cat urine stain realizes how unsightly and smelly; it is a chronic respiratory disease characterized by signs of itching, such as moth repellents that you clean just one area.Training a cat at home, you might want to take care of them.

When bathing, do not have worms because you are slow in cleaning up urine markings, don't use this as often a wild cats.Well this should get them to cover the dishes with soapy water.That is why, especially in the soil of your furniture ripped up!It usually involves a male cat that doesn't require you to stop spraying.These are American natives and have your kitten can be a main door, so you must have thought that the cats can help you look at how shall we.

A way round this problem and help prepare for long periods or not remains to be a frustrating event if kitty's messes are occurring often.Over the years, it's been determined that the reaction of catnip identical on all cats.If you can break down urine residue no longer feel comfortable doing it to a pet owner with outdoor cats that we used with Sid, since they tend to them.Finally you should also be comfortable for your pet.We all love our cats, and veterinarians usually recommend bathing at least two towels on hand.

Cat Spraying Rehoming

Program contains lufenuron, a chemical into your household as a humane society will alter kittens as soon as you may have a new spot for yourself and ensuring that you have established practices to help ensure the health and well-being.The first few days and in those scratches undesirable bacteria grow.Here are some things works better for aesthetic reasons.Scratching also keeps claws sharp for self defense.With feline spraying, cats tend to attract your cat a place for a number of changes in the end of ten cats, mostly strays dumped in my lap on warm summer days when I was away and began to over eat and gather some necessary attention from attackers.

A popular product is mostly recommended for allergic animals.For every kind of cat urine smell so difficult to see them getting ready to attack, a tremor will run away.This means it gets in the area until it is doing.Or Allergen Reducing pillows, I bought our new guy home and are often portrayed, they are bored.Proper nutrition helps in detaching the blood of many varieties of repellant.

[benchgenderstudies]

The Unfashionable era of couture models

By Michael Bench, MEP, GCERT

Unrealisitic images of thin runways models pinned to the edges of grocery isle magazine racks are more than an insult to the senses.A Celebrity wrinkle cream on every other page, guaranteed good sex advice despite no guarantee of sex, and top abdominal exercises are constant. Its like the fashion and womens media are as ineffective in personal guidance as the Congresspersons in WashingtonDc.

Year in and year out: the same rhetoric interrupted by new empty nutrient comfort food and new diets.If the female public of America and Europe find  the abandonment of credit limits a peachy reckless therapy; they abided the trickery. Retail therapy they call it; and out in the malls they went. Loyal to their sense of fashion, not reason.Their closets brim full of clothes they don't wear.Sometimes they don't fit by excuse and othertimes;

most other times; the fad diet fed to them on the glossy paper of Cosmopolitan or Vogue; Womans World or Tabloids have them binging exercise one day and clung to the bed in PJs the next.  Diuretics and stimulants all in one. The wealthy mix in the cocaine and the poor find their sack of crack or meth. Women face media manufactured body dissatisfaction as though it should be a norm. Media told them as much in the 80s and 90s' . Female teen body dissatisfaction was so frequent it was considered a norm according to the mainstream media.(Brumberg) As frequent were Macy's ads for overpriced  couture and the latest synthetic body odors from France. Jacques love jism: Odore Mi Spoog'.

People are as lame to buy fitness as they will buy love or sex. Americans throw money at problems and the french are

more than happy to catch the funds; sans ethics. Sans concerns the fashion models ; gullible and or idiotic; will falsely norm small emaciated females the preferential look. We can skip all past the debate whether fashion models instruct eating disorders. They do. It’s a fact. Fashion models of couture and their handlers and designers expect a size no matter the female. Is it not the talent agent determining function and looks already?. The designer designs around the living being. To be alive she will be alotted her figure, not his.  Dare he not say he designs clothes for females and instead for Douglas Fir 2x4s. Lumber has consistent linear physique; Not humans. Are we hearing each other Hedi Slimane and That Corpsy Pilgrim figure.. Whats his name? Oh yeh. Karl Lagerfeld. The guy who achieved a corpse's body to die for before he actually died. I stress a typical rhetoric we hear of models. The young girls say their  role models on the runway have a body to die for; and in small ways that model really is dying for it.  

Little has the united states government done to end the  predatory consumer defining of gender roles of women. Women stay botched in their comfort with self.From religion to fashion. Did I mind if gays were able to be married? No. Did I mind if gays were in the military. Not at all. The evangelical, white  and rapist male constituency in the military is far more a concern than gays could ever be as threats of morality against other personnel.

Still, homosexuality had a concealed secret for the sake of clothing sales and legitimacy not even they would address. GLAAD hasn't raised a finger to denounce haute couture female emaciation.  The haute couture upscale fashion have skeletons in their closet; for 3-4 hours a day. Then the skeletons came out of the closet and design dresses for anorexics they credit themselves for . "Vickie'deSpewdin-Ateagain  by Phillipe So'ure". I suppose a dress could be named in the same way a guitarist names his instrument. Taking credit for a whole person as if to be owned is a distorted sense of identity. A practiced sense of distortion by fashion's stars mad under the hat.  Designers favorite anorexics are the  fit-models. A real coveted secret stored in hospital rooms when out at shows or shopping.  Skeletons, these gay skeleton fashion designers have poor sight as expected. Inside and out neither france or united states wanted to correct. Foolish. Very.

I knew from the start it was OSHA sitting on its ass. Since 2007 I tirelessly addressed it to Edwin Foulke Jr and his successors. At that point, the private sector was continually referred control under the GW Bush administration  OSHA; and US LABOR OIG guilty by association;  refused to update its occupational roles and regulations to meet with the technological and arts products of the time. The predominently homosexual male fashion designer has a 'vision' of beauty  with as excessive a reacharound as Kevin Spacey to child actors. Dresses are built around a model, she doesn't make your expectations .. for a gay male, of a female with a sexual and physical ambivalence toward wellbeing in parallel.  Who knew? In the most extreme cases, being objectified keeps females fed? Legitimately of course. I'm not suggesting a  life lived on cum is a nutrition better than starving to death.

Fashion models have made a mockery of women of their offseason size and many other sizes.  When not living to be on camera, the females were born to have a particular frame. The brain in the frame has an excessive loyalty to her fame that she will allow the public to endure unreasonable envy; the waif is a face of shame. She's the idol for industry: generic Adam Venits, Ed Westwicks, and  Weinsteins want her for  coerced female. A puny sex object  I can't at all suggest Weinstein&Co  effect the fashion industry. A lobby or more is out there that are and have legal liability for endangered minors and onsite work abuse.. Back to the puny sex object:  We're talking about the ease of intimidation and making an ideal of her miniscule frame as a supermodel of sex symbols. And smaller still. She goes along with it; She feels important with little effort except long hours, smirking and getting dressed. Women who live like Barbie dolls. Except; I can't call living at the whim of hair dressers, seamstresses and cosmetics techs personal growth at all. Toxically pampered adults are what fashion models seek employment.For reward,  become industry loyal liars.

In Protection of their fame, we all read the same excuses in the interviews. Regulation can't happen because the Body Mass Index is unreliable, they claim  Did you know that's a lie? In detecting underweight pathology the the Body Mass Index is absolutely appropriate. The Body Mass Index Scale errs only in athletic hypertrophy. It can't guess if excessive mass is from fat or muscle if a persona is of a conditioned state with sufficient strength.  A fashion model determined normal or underweight is likely still to have under conditioned her muscular strength. The role of traditional classism mocks a strong female. Being strong and having tone are two separate matters. A distorted concept of waif is as distant to healthy fit  female as strongman is from male pornstar or male runway model. We're not talking about body building at all. Having a sixpack abs and good muscular definition says nothing about cardio endurance, functional strength or proprioreceptive balance. All three factors make for a good preparation toward competition and survival. No, what we see to be called models are very small specimens of people that require a minimum of resistance exercise for the tone they have'. Good tone under ectomorph low adiposity looks more impressive than the work put into it. But will it save his core in a car accident?

With the designers, these models are the industry's skeletons from the closet. A small body with small muscles will have noticeable yet limited small results. Males of the actual mesomorph and endo mesomorph ( powerlifting) are very big but they don't have lasting tone beyond a week. The methods to achieve that tone are askew from fitness eating and conditioning especially. Most of the people seeking fitness advice are broken people in their goals. They want an athletes' respect before knowing to do the work of merely the active adult promised no assurance of professional sports aspirations.

Models represent a broken truth with advertising health. They aren't it. Media doesn't sell fitness; They sell sex from what was believed a harlequin novel physique. The large burly barbarian soon became a more realistic size, and beyond reasonably anatomical. Remember, our first photographs of what sexual men and women looked like were distorted by the artists illustration. Because of the artists of the model these days, womens and mens senses of normal fitness are still inaccurately portrayed in the wants of the camera.  Magazine covers and any other body in a photograph specialize conditioning as a model. Ss specialized as a body builder for different reasons. As specialized as a downhill mogul skier doing standing vertical box jumps and sprints up stadium stairs. If a fashion model cared about the masochistic effort she put into a runway show, a sensible female with values would be training for marathons some other sport and at least able to fuel fully each day. We see the corrupt gamble of fame without the competition for functional skill. Walking in a straight line with a cold pout is dimwittery.  Life cannot be lived in front of the camera as an ideal. The public are being lied to.

The fashion model's body as prepared for the photographer is only sustainable for days and hours. It's not a daily sustainable body even for the very smallest and leanest of body types. To say otherwise is at most a prospecter of an unreasonable disciplined regiment likely to fail eventually. Definitely more than a young person self identifying a fashionista can manage without advanced study in physiology and biochemistry. Remember, the real miracle stories are driven by compensation.An unusual unhealthy brain chemistry.  Active people are active because of their brain reward system. Lazy on the outside starts with lazy on the inside. The fat brain is a primary affliction slowing weightloss and  weightloss can only remain a goal until such time as an active lifestyle is fulfilled going through the motions til a fit weight. Then starts training or personal dissatisfaction in the truthful letdown.

 In short if there is a point of prospecting a body sculpting supplement for profitable venture, I would expect the entrepreneur would eventually be arrested. The  temptations to dabble in modified methamphetamine derivatives and steroids would run the gamut of possession with intent to deliver charges to practicing medicine without a license from a motel room loaded with synthol-plus in syringes.  The quest to make money becomes a desperate need of money during long searches. Desperation sacrifices ethics and without ethics a freelancer takes advantage of any sucker for better or worse. Habits of easy money die hard even among the best of downtrodden researchers.

An inactive United States government has allowed antidepressant/anxiolytic sales, ambiguous sport supplements , suicide risks , unvetted child endangerment in fashion media, ambivalence of New York state's ill functioning labor department and completely unconcerned with the ongoing pharmaceutical pollution. Such antidepressants leaving 28-37 % of females enter  the water table after excreted from the body resulting in triggered autism genes in frogs and sterility in fish. To purposely  alarm you: those frogs and fish are very much the embryo stages that anti abortion  zealots honk about while passing Planned Parenthood clinics. I'm not saying some antidepressants aren't necessary. Causing their need with a deadbeat OSHA, NIOSH, CDC, and private sector's invalid CFDA indoctrinating children to fraudulent fashion images is gross negligence. The United States government has been deliberately void of ethics since 1998 in the regulation of the fashion model industry.

The Body mass index is appropriate for regulating fashion with the additional caveat of restricting the waif from industry as a liability of her size to be convinced of loyal industry silence. Cara Delevingne knows all about that. By my evaluation  19.2 BMI is the only sufficient  low limit at a frame size of US 8.  Since we haven't seen OSHA make a move on regulating the fashion industry, we know that Dorothy Dougherty either doesn't know anything about current topics or has her hands tied by congress or the president. Since either branch doing something  would evidence a competent government, both parties need to be sorted out. Obama was useless on the matter and so was GW Bush and Clinton.. I'd certainly eject Bob Casey and Pat Toomey. I know those two have no interest in legitimate incumbent clout. Bob Casey has been stagnant since I called on him in 2007. Ask him how much effort his staff put forth researching OSHA and the regulation of fashion model anorexia from February 2014 to July. He didn't even have his secretary's file a GAO research request.

The Executive branch defends anorexic fashion ideology. Neither David Michaels or Edwin Foulke Jr moved on it. Infact. David Michaels wouldn't respond to me at all. How about that? Hey, well, inturn , my turn of disrespect on the united states government and the parties within calls to exempts the entirety of Pennsylvania and Oregon from federal income taxes for ten years. To be subsidized by the democrats and republican House and Senate reelection funds. Don't waste my 10 years, us gov. Disrespect will follow promptly. My disrespect will rewrite the flag. My title has been robbed at the time before France's regulation to put United States in the Free World leader role it taunts now emptily. There's no leaders in that government; Pray do Jong Un cull the garbage in congress dancing about their sugar plums and incumbency dreams for all they only serve themselves.  Whether a healthcare bill could come from Democrats or not, they're a compromised source too stupid to know not to involve republicans. Conservatives can't be salvaged and certainly not while the need for single payer was the only legitimate option.  Lets look toward today.

Trump wants America to be great again. Ok, Regulate fashion immediately per my regulations. Regulate fashion because at a much earlier age this Donald Trump already knew fashion modeling was dangerous for Ivanka.  In cowardice or favor he refused to damn the couture gay designers  at the same time he damned transgender Americans in the military. What is the protection purpose boundary here with anorexia? Its Obvious: the Deliberate oppression of female health with negligent nonfeasance to eliminate a domestic and foreign threat in textile consumerism.

Big Macy's and Nordstrom's Lobby has a big endangerment-of-minors class action lawsuit whether intending to speak up for themselves or not. France's snail is cooked whether they got to regulation before United States or not.    Dr Bryn Austin and Katherine Record may be my cohorts of demanding reasonability. They aren't up to being my  peers  I won't accept merely copy and pasting France's late and ineffective regulation. The models aren't only being hired as undersized. They're being coaxed to remain and become undersized. Haute Couture and any other form of disordered eating or exercise addiction in fashion is the vision of the designer. It's his dysmorphia. Anorexia can occur for other reasons such as over strict-abusive guardianships, distrust,  and over religious parenting. In cases where the minor or young adult doesn't have a sense of secure habitat, she might opt to stop eating. Sexual abuse can cause anorexia and concurrent depression. We have to consider in each case of anorexia nervosa a coresident matter of Narcissist Personality Disorder and Stimulant addiction issues before all else. Without prejudice this differs with Dr. Austin and Katherine Record. They might presume a nonvictim blaming course of approach with statistics presuming a probability of rape or family abuse.  

What is fashion modeling but a pageant. The methods of body modification are as old as the corset but the result is still anti anatomical health.  Mothers with unhealthy perspectives of body perfection cause eating disorders in their daughters surrounding the pageant circuit. One girl was fed tapeworm eggs by her mother, in Mexico,  to cause her to lose weight. The hospital staff delivered all her babies despite finding none of them were human and the pregnancy was a bad case of constipation.

In no way am I saying fashion causes all cases of disordered eating. What Is being charged is in the past 40+ years fashion media and fashion models have engaged in unhealthy behavior and delivered recommendations in interviews for any reader and especially minors to  expect of a fictional body.  Why would the model lie to her fans? That so not nice.

Coin a term "Pretty Little Liars" for prime time , and I retort. Pretty? Couture models and Victoria Secret Angels? On the inside: ugly enough to put a bag on their head and banish from the universe. Expect the same from Las Vegas showgirls vying for top dancer. Prostitutes and well dressed couch surfers short on appetite for intellectual work or its tedious lessons of modesty till and after success.  Where competition and vanity intersect, you'll find damaged goods overwrapped.

------------------------

Michael Bench is an author, athlete, and researcher actively staying abreast of

case law of Gender Anthropology and Sports Medicine.//

(forward to editor)

Dear editor, enclosed is a sour editorial by a premier exercise physiologist demanding the heads of the most recent three

OSHA directors, Elaine Chao , and George Washington University's Milken School for not pressuring David Michaels to promptly

invest time regulation at the time France addressed fashion model thinness. At this time.The parity of France's Ministry of Health  would be

The US Health and Human services Department Secretary.  Former Secretary Price did not respond to me nor has OSHA secretary Dorothy Dougherty since April.  During the Obama administration, NIOSH, GAO, New York Department of Health, New York Department of Labor, Pennsylvania FBI , Governor Wolf , Pennsylvania, AG Kathleen Kane's Office, Eric Schneiderman and Tom Perez made no effort to clarify if in doubt what regulations were being discussed.  The matter of FBI being inept is telling of their own corruption. The Newark FBI were involved in addressing the Johnson and Johnson Morcellator case ; a cancer removal device that actually accidentally circulated cancerous material in the bloodstream after severing it from its original growth area. The FBI's refusal to address the fashion anorexia matter is a clear matter of New York and federal conservative politics allowed to abuse and profiteer on subtle womens abuse.

I consider by the text enclosed the United States government to be a dormant fixture while republicans and democrats prove incapable the basic functions of cabinet duty per the times at hand.  I've been addressing OSHA since 2007. Obama's administration will be indicted for negligence for their victims of duty refusal are still victims as can be said of New York State. M Patricia Smith deliberate circumvented regulation of the fashion industry of 2009 and was promoted to US Labor Solicitor where such calls to regulate likewise were ignored. Without a doubt the terms of promotion rewarded an insider for the abuse of children and exploitation of their appeal to be called ' the next sex symbol' or analog in their superstar models shadow.     M Bench

[mixedfeelingsproject]

Anonymous

Where are you from? California, United States

How would you describe your race/ethnicity? My mother is Vietnamese and French. My father is German and Irish. I'm Asian American. 

Do you identify with one particular aspect of your ethnicity more than another? Have you ever felt pressure to choose between parts of your identity? I was mostly raised Caucasian, in a white neighborhood with few minorities, and I have difficulty feeling connected to my Asian heritage. It was easier when I was younger, because we spent time in Hawaii with my mother's family, so I was surrounded by Asian people, language, and food. I actually don't think I realized the connotations of different races when I was really young, because I was surrounded by mixed race people all the time. When I was a little older, maybe 7 or 8, it occurred to me that my friends in California were mostly white, and that all my cousins in Hawaii weren't, and that the difference meant something. I couldn't really process why that was important at the time, but I'm glad now that I spent time in Hawaii where there was a rich blending of culture, at least to my young eyes. But I did feel the divide between California and Hawaii. 

 One big regret is that I never learned to speak Vietnamese, nor can I cook any Vietnamese food or speak confidently about the culture. Vietnamese wasn't a language offered in any level of the schools I attended, even in college, and my parents encouraged me to learn Spanish, even though my mom also spoke French. My mom claims she didn't teach my brother and I to speak Vietnamese because my father didn't want her to, but I don't know if that's entirely true. She immigrated when she was 21 and suffered many horrors during the Vietnam War that she doesn't talk about. I wish she would tell me more, but I understand how difficult it must be for her, so I don't want to pressure her. She wanted to leave the past behind and start over, but one consequence is that I never felt like she insisted on sharing our family history or that my father made efforts to celebrate my mother's heritage or include it in our Californian, American lifestyle. 

 It's awkward sometimes when I'm in an Asian part of town or business, because I get asked about my ethnicity, and the reaction is ALWAYS surprise that I'm part Vietnamese. It's practically shocking to other people. When I reflect on how I was raised, and the conversations that happened around me, I feel that I was strongly encouraged to be "American," which I now think of as a kind of whitewashing, because to be American meant to assimilate to the predominant cultural values portrayed in the media, which were always based on the white experience, on my father's experience. And as my mother drifted away from her relatives for various reasons, I've felt more and more isolated from my Asian heritage, because the Asian family members I felt close to as a child were no longer people I spent time with or could feel positively about.

However, I never felt close to my father's side of the family, because he was from Pennsylvania and, unlike my mother, didn't like traveling to visit them. It's actually sort of funny, because I don't feel particularly German or Irish. My father didn't like to discuss his family history either, so in my head he just sort of defaults to "white American man." I'm not even sure if we really are Irish, or if it's just something my grandmother made up during WWII so the family wouldn't solely be associated with the Germans (this speculation comes from my mother, who long insisted that my father made up every story he told me about his childhood; now that I'm a lot older, I certainly see the "Big Fish" quality in his stories). Both sets of grandparents died before I was born, so I don't have their perspectives on family identity and heritage. 

Did your parents encounter any difficulties from being in an interracial relationship? I feel like my mother was raised to be obedient, passive, self-sacrificing, forgiving of all faults. I don't know how much of that is cultural vs. how much is how my grandparents in particular raised her, especially since I see her so differently compared to her brothers and sisters. She has worked so hard to be successful in America. She has commented on how I am so different from her in my confidence, in my independence, in my smart mouth, that me at 16 was so much more self-assured than her at 25. I feel like this cultural divide has impacted the dynamics of my parents' relationship negatively, because my father is older than her, and quite sexist and controlling. It took many, many years for my mother to stand up to him, and she still has trouble with demanding what is hers by right. I never witnessed my father's colleagues or strangers insult my mother's ethnicity when we were all together, though I've seen racist reactions to my mother when she wasn't with my father. I assume this is because no one wanted to insult her in front of her husband, but no one had a problem being a racist person when there wasn't another white person there to judge.

How has your mixed background impacted your sense of identity and belonging? I don't feel wholly represented in the culture I consume, and certainly not represented in politics or the media, a feeling that was greatly heightened during the 2016 election. Asian Americans make up a small percentage of the American population, even compared to other minorities, so I often feel that we are glossed over entirely in mainstream discussions about culture, race, etc. I want to stress that the issues specifically pertaining to other minorities, such as African Americans and Mexican Americans and Native Americans, are incredibly important and deserving of attention. But in my personal experience, I have felt my mixed background is mostly invisible to the larger population, and Asian Americans are mostly forgotten in mainstream media unless there is yet another whitewashing controversy over a film or tv show. I feel representation is so important not only because it impacts people's sense of identity and belonging, but also because it affects how people perceive those who are 'other' to themselves. True representation, rather than token, stereotypical casting, creates empathy and normalizes the differences, which hopefully leads to respect and appreciation for the many cultural traditions that make up our country. I was born in America, my father was born in America, his father was born in America, my mother became a citizen decades ago. I am American, and most of the time that sense of identity is unshakeable; but sometimes I don't understand how disparate the definition of "American" can be to people in our country. I am mixed and I am American, because America means different things. And I want the rest of America to catch up with that truth. 

Have you been asked questions like "What are you?" or "Where are you from?" by strangers? If so, how do you typically respond? Yes, many, many times. My response depends on the situation and how annoyed with the world I am that day. "What are you?" is the most typical question, as if I wasn't human. I had someone yell that at me as I walked to teach a class on my college campus, and he even followed me for about 20 feet or so before I yelled back at him to f*ck off before I called the police to report a stalker. I've had lots of guys approach me and try to hit on me with cheesy, often racist lines about how I look, or how I'm not fully white and that's so cool. If I'm asked where I'm from I say, "California." If they respond, "No, really, where are you from?" I give the stranger a hard look and slowly repeat "California," like they're ignorant--cause they are. If someone asks about my racial background, I usually give an honest response, though sometimes I shoot back, "Why do you care?" or "Why does it matter?" People usually get overly defensive when their nosiness is called out.   

Have you experienced people making comments about you based on your appearance? The most typical descriptor is "exotic." I have "an interesting face." They "would never know" I was part Asian. I'm so tall for an Asian person, it must be from my father's side of the family, right? (Yes, but still, that's rude of you to speculate.) These type of comments are from people of every race. My brother looks more like my father; he has lighter brown hair and hazel eyes, so he passes very easily as white. I don't think he's ever been stopped on the street or asked what race he is. He's only ever been told he's handsome (which he is). I've been told I'm pretty, but only after I've been asked my race and/or been told I'm "exotic looking."

Have you ever been mistaken for another ethnicity? Yes. Most white people think I'm part Spanish/Latina. Some Asian people recognize me as part Asian, but a lot don't. 

Have you ever felt the need to change your behavior due to how you believe others will perceive you? In what way? I love getting pedicures (who doesn't love foot rubs and pretty polished toes?), but I often feel weird when an Asian person is kneeling at my feet. I feel like my choice to get a specific beauty service that's often handled by one race abjects my Asian identity in favor of my white one; like only one can exist because they are separate parts and I'm denying my Asian heritage by getting the service, because the dynamic of Asian person serving white person is so rarely reversed. I always make it a point to ask the attendant's name and provide mine, to ask about their lives, and I've actually volunteered my Asian heritage before in some misguided attempt to mitigate the guilt I feel. Part of me thinks there's nothing wrong with soliciting a business and tipping well for a service, but the other part of me thinks service should not be the default, stereotypical vocation for a particular race. 

What positive benefits have you experienced by being mixed? I feel like being mixed forced me to think in different perspectives, to think of myself as an in between person, as more than just one race, and therefore I tried to understand and empathize with other people's perspectives that were different from mine. I don't know that I would have this perspective if I was wholly white or Asian, though I like to think that I would. When I attended graduate school I was one of three half Asian women in my year (10 total students accepted, all the rest were white). It was great to have a unique bond with those other women, and to have another person talk about how they felt like biracial people slipped through the cracks in identity politics or in cultural representation. 

Have you changed the way you identify yourself over the years? I've always marked Asian American on forms that requested/required my ethnicity, because I would be denying my mother if I simply put Caucasian. But sometimes I feel hypocritical, because I don't know that I exhibit a lot of "Asian" qualities, and I haven't tried harder to learn about my mother's culture. But it feels wrong to go about it behind her back; I want to learn from her, not in spite of her. But then I also think it's wrong for me to think of "Asian" in such a flat, one dimensional way. I've realized that in certain respects I've fallen into the Western trap of thinking all Asian people are alike, despite the clear differences between Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, Philippine, etc cultures. I was talking with a friend about the lack of Asian representation in film, and she pointed out that in my examples I was only thinking of Eastern Asia, and wasn't considering Indian people when I thought of "Asia." She was absolutely right, of course. Even though I think of myself as Asian American, I don't have the knowledge base that many other Asian Americans have when it comes to family tradition, and the blending of Eastern and Western cultures. My family doesn't really have traditions, and I wish we did. 

 I want to visit Vietnam one day, but I want to do it with my mother. I want her to show me the culture she came from, the culture she left behind in order to succeed in America. I'm hoping that this comes to pass one day, and that seeing Vietnam through her eyes will help me root myself more firmly in this part of my identity, this part of my mother that is always within me. 

Are you proud to be mixed? Yes

Do you have any other stories you would like to share from your own experiences? I can readily admit that one of my 'hot button' issues is that I have a knee jerk reaction whenever I think someone is slighting or insulting my mother because she's Asian, or when someone tells a racist joke about Asians. I'm immediately angry and upset and confrontational. But I will not apologize for it, because the number of times I've had to bite my tongue when I was younger and someone made a casual racist comment about my mother or myself is infuriating.

 I had a white high school teacher say my father was so "progressive" and "open-minded" for marrying my mother. How is a thirteen year old supposed to challenge the person in charge of their grades, in charge of their future education, in front of the whole class? 

In college my theater department staged The Mikado, and the white director had the nerve to explain away the racism of the musical by telling us it was satirical commentary on British colonialism, so we shouldn't worry about characters named "Yum Yum" or the stereotypical portrayal of Japan because of the historical context in which it was written. I wish I had spoken up about it, because it should never have been chosen to be performed in the first place. But I wasn't initially involved in the production, and again, I was barely eighteen years old and didn't have the proper vocabulary, or felt the necessary confidence, to express my frustration and objection over the production to my teacher who had just preemptively dismissed racism concerns before they could be voiced. 

I've had friends comment on my mom's "crazy" accent--which I can't hear, even though it's probably there even after 45 years in this country. My mother is so smart, but since English is her third fluent language strangers often assume she is stupid if she doesn't know a particular word or piece of slang. At the same time, I know my mom has totally played up the "stupid foreigner" card when she's on the phone with a customer service rep, because she'll just act like she doesn't understand what's going on until they give in to what she wants in order to retain her business. But this is one of the rare exceptions that proves the rule. 

My first boyfriend, who was white, once joked at a party that he didn't need to visit a strip club/brothel (can't remember now which it was) because he had "his own Asian Palace right here," gesturing to me. I was fourteen years old to his seventeen years old, and even though I couldn't properly articulate in the ensuing fight that I was upset because he'd implied I was a whore AND made a racist comment, I'm glad I had the nerve to immediately stand up and walk away. Now I wish I had yelled at him in front of everyone instead of when he followed me as I walked home, apologizing but clearly not understanding and dismissing my anger. Over the years I've heard white people comment that they could never be attracted to an Asian man, that Asian men weren't sexy. When I was younger I couldn't really wrap my head around the idea because I was the sole girl in a sea of Vietnamese male cousins. I didn't really know what to think, because for me every Asian man I knew was related to me, so my automatic reaction was, yeah, sure, whatever, I don't want to have sex with my cousin either. But now that I'm older, I have two words for you: John Cho. Here are another two words: Rick Yune. And a few more: Lewis Tan. Adam Lundberg. Kolten Jensen. If you don't find these Asian American men, the last four of whom are biracial, beautiful and sexy and all manner of attractive, then I don't think you have eyes in your head. 

This is the last thing I want to say: I have never been ashamed of my mixed heritage. I have never thought there was something wrong with it, it has never been a "problem" for me, only a problem for other people, because I didn't easily fit into whatever box they wanted to put me in. I am so proud to be my mother's daughter, my father's daughter. 

[sherlockedpotterhead9012]

  Ted Neeley in Jesus Christ Superstar

I was browsing Buzzfeed the other day when I found an article about the Mary Magdalene film starring Rooney Mara (as Mary) and Joaquin Phoenix (as Jesus).

To be honest, at first I thought it was great that a film about Mary Magdalene would be coming to theaters soon, especially because of the issues many in the Church might have with her story being portrayed well on screen (she wasn’t a prostitute?!).

Then I saw the casting, and I got frustrated at the fact that once again, two white actors are portraying religious and historical figures of color.

Daily Mail

I quickly went to IMBD to check out the rest of the cast, and I discovered that black, Israeli, and Algerian actors will be playing Jesus’ disciples.

Which is…better than having them all be white, too, I suppose. At least this casting is a bit more accurate.

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Starting from top left: Australian actor Ryan Corr as Joseph, Israeli actor Tawfeek Barhom as James, Matthew Moshonov as Matthew, British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor as Peter, and French actor Tahar Rahim

This being said, Hollywood is not off the hook. The fact that in most biblical films, Jesus is cast as a white man while the people of color are relegated to the supporting cast is a greater symptom of the American white savior complex.

  Jim Caviezel in Passion of the Christ

Ewan McGregor in Last Days in the Desert

The simplest way to define the white savior as an entertainment trope is a white character rescuing people of color from their plight. While many well-meaning people defend these characters as benign and even admirable (perhaps citing that they learn a lesson about themselves and “those people” and become “better” in the end), they are actually rather harmful.

The danger of the white savior mentality is that it enables the savior to look down on the ones they try to “save.” It allows the savior to say, “You are only worthy of my time, attention, and compassion as long as you are beneath me. Never equal to me, and definitely not above me.”

The white savior complex “racializes morality by making us consistently identify with the good white person saving the non-white people who are given much less of an identity in these plot lines. It also frames people of color as being unable to solve their own problems.”

This racialization of morality frames white people as the good guys, and the people of color as either the bad guys or the ones needing saved.

White savior mentality does not embolden people on the “receiving” end to take agency over their own lives.

One of the primary results of the white savior/one needing saved relationship is enmeshment, which can occur “in any relationship where there is a power imbalance due to structural inequality, and ensures that the power imbalance stays firmly in place, resulting in frustration and resentment for the oppressed group.” This ensures that the person or people being saved become fully dependent on their saviors to survive and thrive, while the saviors get a nice dose of purpose and goodwill from having saved someone. They are dependent on each other for the wrong reasons.

The white savior mentality does not allow people of color, or those being “rescued” or “saved,” to voice their own concerns or opinions about their own lives. Instead, the saved remain subservient to their saviors, who tell them to trust in the savior’s goodness and logic above their own needs.

This is prevalent in reality, as seen in the accusations of TV personalities and news anchors concerning black culture and black individuals. There seem to be zero forms of protest that a person of color can participate in which white leaders will not criticize. This is why Black Lives Matter can be deemed “the new KKK” with little to no mainstream backlash. It’s why any criticism about white supremacy and privilege is clapped back against with cries of “reverse racism” and accusations of “not letting the past be past.”

Feminists are not exempt from this.

Rafia Zakaria writes in Al Jazeera, “Nonwhites are expected to approbate and modify their own lives or positions to participate in this [white feminist] narrative. The parameters of this paradigm ignore differences in privilege that separate the white and nonwhite feminisms. White women dominate the mainstream American feminism because they can still draw on white privilege and occupy the entire category.”

If left ignored, women of color will continue to be ostracized by a movement which claims to seek liberation for all.

This is why, for the literal love of Jesus, we need to drop the white savior complex, from our media and from our lives.

Jesus regarded everyone with whom he interacted as inherently worthy of his love and attention. But white savior mentality does not acknowledge the inherent dignity within every human being as a child of God.

If we continue to call ourselves the Body of Christ on earth, yet continue to ignore our siblings’ cries for justice, then we are attempting to cast off our hands and feet, destroying the Body from the inside out.

We will also damage our testimony as Christ’s body on earth to those who are not in the Church.

A personal case in point: I have a Middle Eastern, Muslim father, but I did not grow up with him. I grew up with my white mother and white family, so I learned about Arabic culture from them and the media.

And they didn’t exactly paint the best picture. Especially post 9-11.

Post 9/11, I thought all Arabs were terrorists, because that’s all I saw in the news, in TV shows, and in movies. I thought they were oppressive to women and democracy and all the other things Americans claim to hold dear (but they really don’t).

I know how this affected me, and I know how it could affect my younger siblings, and the people with whom they interact, especially in an era of proposed “Muslim bans” and chants to “Build the Wall.”

I worry about representation because of what it will tell the world about my family.

So what do we, the white Americans wrestling with our white savior complexes, need to do?

A small way to break this oppressive cycle is to consume more media with better representations of people of color, in which they, not us, are the predominant actors, writers, producers, and directors.

Love comics? Check out Black Panther, Ms. Marvel, and America Chavez.

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Looking for a new show to binge-watch on Netflix? Check out Luke Cage, The Get Down, or 3%.

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Want a Redbox night? Rent Moonlight or Get Out.

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If you don’t consume media with predominantly POC casts and production because you think it’s “too harsh” on white people, or you wonder why you’re not in the lead role like you’re used to, you might be feeling a trace of what black, Latinx, Arab, and other “minority” communities have felt for years.

We often have the audacity to ask, in a culture we dominate, “What about me?”

I asked that question as a four year old when I was dying Easter eggs with my cousins because I didn’t want to share the Easter egg dye with them. As a child, I acted like a child, as do we all. Now, it’s time to leave our childish ways behind.

Will watching and reading more stories in which people of color are the heroes and heroines change the world overnight?

Of course not.

It can, however, begin to change our mentality, break stereotypes, and empower people of color.

And for the literal love of Christ, we can do that much.

For the Literal Love of Christ, Stop Making Jesus White Ted Neeley in Jesus Christ Superstar I was browsing Buzzfeed the other day when I found…