#literally such a W that they casted him as a poc

[s1gmagirl]

OH MY GOSH ITS GROVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 THE GUY™!!!!!!!

[blackgumball]

okay weird pull but you know how people say that taylor swift is so popular because her work is so bland. she’s uninterested in making any sort of statement or breaking any sort of mould, so her work is so palatable and widely relatable that it becomes so popular among so many people? (real quick psa im a tswift hater so i dont listen to her music, this is a recycled opinion from a more educated hater than me)

i am beginning to feel a similar way about bridgerton. its premise relies on the idea of a diverse regency england, but it becomes clearer and clearer to me every day that the show is meant for white people. all the bridgertons are white, so every love story will either be swirl or just a white relationship (shoutout to polin ig). not saying that poc dont enjoy the show (we obviously do) but there’s this vocal white audience that keeps harassing actors of colour whenever a decision is made that they dont like. or that strays from the books (which is soooo insane literally the moment they cast rege jean page your dumb cracker asses shouldve realised that the show wasnt gonna care about being book accurate ESPECIALLY since julia quinn basically said out loud that every character in her books would be racist.)

and the show Clearly isn’t interested in pushing any boundaries. look at fucking cressida cowper. given, i have no idea whether her character is going to return to the show, but the way they handled her was so muddled and fucked up that i wondered why they even bothered? they bring her in, humanise her, and then cart her off with this terrible fate. why? if anything, it made eloise and colin far less likeable (eloise, because it seemed like she didnt care about the fate of the only person who treated her with respect after she was “ruined”, and colin, because it made him seem shortsighted, naïve, self centred, and pitifully stupid). i complain because i think eloise is right. the women in this period were stifled. they were not able to study as extensively as their brothers, not able to travel by themselves, kept from sex education into their adulthood, and married off to random men (sometimes against their will, as it was for danbury, charlotte, almost cressida, and arguably daphne). you set such a sexual show in a deeply unsexy time. there’s romance in cressida escaping, being cunning and able to run. it also would’ve made the show more DRAMATIC. it straight up doesnt make sense for cressida to learn whistledown’s identity and not go immediately to the queen. why not have her escape, and let the bridgertons deal with the consequences? i don’t know. they seemed to take the stupid way out.

and then there’s the lower classes, who we rarely see outside of the women bridgerton men fuck with no/low commitment, paperboys, and printers. i’ve said before how i think it’s hideous that the lives of these women aren’t explored outside of their role as sex objects. season one at least explored the tension between anthony and sienna, who he loved but couldn’t commit to (im very glad she got out of there. im glad she respected herself enough to cut ties w him). also in season one, we see how the servants of the bridgerton house played a role in saving daphne from marrying that gross dude, but it feels like that role has vanished from subsequent seasons. maybe they know that seeing how none of the lords and ladies and other rich pricks of mayfair can’t fend for themselves is a turn off for the modern person (remember when anthony and daphne couldn’t use a stove in s1? i got the ick bad). but by ignoring this massive demographic, the show proves its disinterest in exploring the pitfalls and prejudices of the society it is set in.

its a show where women who want to escape their circumstances are villainised for their attempts and where the lives of the poor are either ignored or used to threaten the privileged. you occasionally have a sienna or a theo, but through knowing them, we are never left with the sense that society should change. they may try that next season. i know benedict is supposed to fall in love with A Poor.

i want the show to be good. i want the show to be interesting. i want all the fans who think that it can’t be good unless it’s explicitly relatable to straight white women to get over themselves (or at least go back to tswift and tsitp). i want to watch the show and not feel as though all the female characters are trapped. i want to LIKE ELOISE. some things i dislike about the show are impossible to change, but i guess i just have to hope it can be better. actually start pushing against the constraints of the genre, why not? you’re already one of the most popular shows on TV, you can risk making good television.

[sukunasboytoy]

typed this up after watching the movie on opening n i was gonna keep it in the drafts for abt a week before posting it but ppl r talking abt it so im gonna go ahead n post it now !

‼️ cw: alien romulus spoilers ‼️

there is so much to be said abt andy im not even kidding theres so many conversations that can be had they include:

the black chara thats the emotional support for a white chara (andys whole thing is that he tells bad puns to rain to cheer her up - his one n only reason for existence is the do wtvr is best for rain is his literally a black chara that exists to prop up n support a white chara)

white feminism/white tears (how rain centers her own pain over the pain she caused andy, rain victimizes herself n openly argues w andy for turning on her n aligning himself w wy even tho she left him first - ofc they work thru this at the end but yk)

i rlly feel like andy has feelings for rain but hes been ‘brother zoned’ n his line abt ‘u can finally see me as a adult’ is what solidified that for me but i do think a mix of ableism n racism r at play there (black man being infantilized by the white woman he has feelings for bc of his blackness n mental (programming???) disability)

white savorism - inb4 rain ran back to andy at the end of the movie andy depended on rain for survival (needing help to fend off attackers at the start of the movie, rain constantly stepped in n defended andy against the anti-synth bigot which could be read as a metaphor for racism here, but its rain using her privilege as a flesh person (again metaphor for racism n ableism here) to constantly save andy that props her up as the Good Person even tho shes willing to use n abandon him)

andy doesnt rlly have any agency- he does what he feels whats best for rain (black chara used to prop up white chara) gets his agency overridden (by another white chara rook n mu/th/ur) n then makes the switch back to supporting rain (sure he chooses to let rain take the module out but yk plot convenience- they need the black man to sacrifice his life to save the white woman)

like dont get me wrong its great to have a black n disabled chara on screen n its great that he gets to be morally ambiguous (my personal fave) n i like that andy n rain have a complicated messy relationship n they hurt each other (like ppl do) but yk … hard not to notice some of this stuff yk

n i do think its on purpose bc synths r seen as not human/subhuman in the same way poc n neurodivergent ppl r (esp for his lack of empathy n emotions) hes viewed as inherently dangerous (like men of color r viewed as being innately violent n aggressive n mentally ill ppl r seen as violent n unpredictable)

rains decision to leave him behind bc hes “not rlly human bc he doesnt actually feel” is a good metaphor n representation for how poc r used as stepping stones n viewed as not “real” ppl by white ppl n the same can be said for neurodivergent ppl esp mentally disabled ppl rain seems to be fulfilled by andy needing her but is willing to leave him behind the moment including him becomes a hinder ace to her (n ofc its fixed in the end- but i like synths being a more obvious metaphor for ppl who r dehumanized in society aliens have largely been a white cast franchise so taking the narrative of the bigotry that synths face in the universe n having that applied to a synth that is black n disabled is great n i rlly like that the bigotry is portrayed in those subtle ways on screen like andys lack of agency n being used as a literal prop for the white woman by literally existing to support her)

[vampire-sugar]

Again not at all related to QOTD but related to stuff i see under the tags that’s been bothering me a lot. I was originally gonna send this as an ask but it might potentially not get answered so just gonna post. It’s in relation to this answered ask which i sent and just wanted to be more clear in what i meant. https://www.tumblr.com/nalyra-dreaming/742009291203035136/hey-i-originally-sent-this-ask-to-virginia-bc-a

@nalyra-dreaming Thanks for answering, and I’m gonna come off anon bc I think it’s more transparent that way, only was on anon bc didnt want to be potentially blocked and not see a response. Just wanna clear some things up. I did not read all the books, just the first couple and working my way up, but im aware of what happens bc idc ab spoilers etc. Also I like Loustat, i like jam I listen to the podcasts read the interviews etc etc so im aware of the things u might think that I’m not aware of. I know the characters are still the same, I know we’re gonna get revisits and personally I’m excited for them I love shows/movies where there’s a shift in perspective I think it’s so fun. However I do think they gotta be careful when doing the revisits bc some things would be problematic/racist, and I have read your rant which is why I say that you agree w this. You also agree with this in your response. What I’m confused about thooo is the contradiction in both your rant and your response to me where you say that “ if I‘m going to see anyone scream “bad writing“ or “Louis being made a liar or the memories revisited/changed is racism“ when the changes will hit I‘m just gonna block you.” And then say that it has nothing to do with the problematic directions the show could take to the revisits “because there are many traps there to consider because of the racial change”. And then say “but it’s not bad writing, or racism, if and when these things happen”. I don’t understand, what is it then? Or maybe we disagree about what would actually be a problematic way to revisit ep5? Would something have to be super explicitly racist for it to be considered problematic or bad?

As for listening to the Black cast and creators, I do and I agree with them as well? Jacob says Louis lies and I didn’t need him to say that for me to see it already in s1 like Louis’ lies ab tbe extent in which Claudia resented him, how much he loved Lestat to the point of not being able to kill him etc. I’m literally saying if he lies ab the ABUSE it would be badddd which is why I don’t think they’ll go that way, even if Louis lying ab things is canon (+++ how are things being canon suddenly an argument for why they wouldn’t be bad if adapted in the show??).

And then the other anon saying “why would it be bad if Lily was shady anyone of any race can be a villain” bruhh like what evils could she have committed to deserve death? (stealing and killing from her clients like the prostitutes in the book who lestat feels justified in killing? she’s a Black sex worker in 1910 New Orleans the show opens with Bricks literally being assaulted by a client if she had killed him I would have cheered so idk what would make lily evil enough to have deserved death that’s what i mean by thatt which is also another example of something being canon still being bad)

Also I realize the way I phrased my ask made it seem like I think the making fun of wanting jassad is weird bc it’s mean or something, which is not at all why I think it’s weird. Ppl specifically making fun of wanting to see two poc who are an important pairing in the show be paired in promos as well, that’s the weird part.

And I did not say at all that I think they’re gonna be wholesome bc they are POC, the fuck? Why did you have to do all that when discussing the jassad part of my comment? That’s also very weird. Like I know who Armand is and what he does, that doesn’t mean that I will stop being excited that the ppl playing the part are POC and no longer want to see them on my screen or do promos together…. I’m excited to see all that stuff play outtttttttt….. y am i supposed to only be excited for loustat…..?

As for the comments you got on your fic, I personally did not read your fic but I’m sure you write v well and I’m assuming the comments are super hurtful and unnecessary and things like “kys”, which I find the casual use of in online spaces in general very weird so I’m genuinely sorry that you received that in your inbox. However I’m talking about how even getting just a “hey that’s racist” would also be not a great thing to receive like no one wants to be called that. Getting anything negative at all in the inbox is not great so getting even wilder stuff is very hurtful, I get that, which is why I’m trying hard not to come off in any type of way that would suggest that. People saying I’m tired of this discourse, plz know this is in response to your rant as well as a lot of the asks ab the jassad pairing, not just for discourse’s sake. Personally, I think it’s important and interesting to discuss how changes in certain characters’ races could affect the story moving forward, and I like that you talk ab your theories for how they will adapt s2 that stuff is fun and very fandom like behavior. But when ppl point out that some things won’t work bc of the race (which again u agree w in ur rant + ur response) u talk ab how some fans who say this pair it w hurtful language and then by dismissing the hurtful language you dismiss the notion that the suggestion would be racist or problematic in the first place which is very contradictory. But I guess since I have not read all of Anne Rice’s work my opinion ain’t shit.

[iwtvdramacd18]

yeah joseph bologne (aka chevalier saint georges) was a mixed race man born to a french planter & senegalese enslaved woman in guadeloupe & found infamy in france as a music composer in a time contemporary to lestat’s mortal life if not a generation before lestat& nick, so i never understood the reflex to say nicki or xyz character cant be black. the world has always been connected. i dont think malik is nicki but that doesnt rule out w/e casting choice the show makes

No legit I was thinking about him too (but was blanking on the name), this constant insistence that poc simply Were Not Around back then is ridiculous just on a literal historical level but also. Once again this is a show that does base itself in racism but there are also vampires. Lestat can float. I also doubt that Malik is Nicki (my bet is he's gonna be that one guy that Armand keeps around to feed on).

Once again we keep running this racist fallacy of poc outside of existing as eternally tormented beings in the corners of society until Insert Civil Rights Event happened and then all of a sudden we appeared in "society". And then also this false equivalency of all poc as a monolith. Like I'm sorry I didn't realize my experiences as a black person were the same as my southeast asian friend I gotta let xem know

[ca-suffit]

Before I came to know your account, I used to follow NCL

What I know about what she used to say until that point is that she won't reveal what she means by PoC because that could lead to doxxing (because people could find out where she lives).

And about that tweet, I know she said she apologized and that it was bad wording because she was trying to be sarcastic like sad laughing or something like that and not insensitive but came out wrong, due to her difficulty in signaling tone of voice, etc, because she's autistic.

I mean, I can see that making sense if true (I'm white&autistic myself tho, so maybe I'm just being too accomplice, I apologize if that's the case), but still she is always very defensive about everything that matters, super friendly with those racists, have blocked you, etc etc etc.

So, if she actually didn't mean any harm, why act like that? Why favour those people? Why is she more worried about defending her "reputation" and being offended when called racist than actually trying to do right by the stuff she's been called out for? Seems hypocritical, at best.

ur asking the right questions tbh. bcuz ppl's actions will show u who they are. her words are always performative. that's everyone here from this group. nobody rly takes any accountability or shows they've grown from mistakes. they wouldn't be fighting against this account if that was true, bcuz all I'm ever doing is showing them their own words. I've never seen NCL or any of them change anything, only make excuses. elon musk says he's autistic too, who gives a fuck (that's not meant against u btw, it's a general comment on this kind of behavior). lots of autistic ppl don't act like him. u can tell who is using any identity as an excuse to keep doing shitty things and it's an age old tactic for all kinds of bigots to use.

it's also funny she's concerned w doxxing when it's *her* but doesn't gaf when it's a trans person who isn't even here anymore, who literally was directly tied to the post she was making. someone else who dealt with fandom harassment and still is, even not being here?? who cares obviously, it's not her.

u notice also how many of this group she/they themselves too but have no problem making ableist jokes about this same trans guy, as if that isn't often the most obvious way ppl are usually transphobic (implying being transgender is a mental illness)?? (the last screencap, that's obviously nalyra's writing). u would think there'd be some care for that topic from ppl who claim to be trans themselves. like the autism or "poc" thing, nothing is ever a "shield" from criticism. so many white fandom ppl work against their own groups too, only bringing out these identities to protect themselves but saying everyone else in that group who isn't agreeing with them can get killed, who cares.

it's always all only what they think makes *them* look best. they only care about their own groups and act like a cult to keep each other in line, then also agree to go after the same targets so it sounds like there's a "true" story there without ever providing evidence. they cry the loudest about everything when there's never anything anyone sees of *them* getting bullied.

they also purposely get themselves close to the cast and crew so they can hold ppl hostage into not disagreeing with them or else ur "out" and now Sam Reid won't know u exist or whatever the fuck.

it's not worth it to stay around them for that shit. they do not care about anyone and this bullshit of her building "community" is white fandom propaganda bcuz she's obviously only in this for her own reputation. she wouldn't have issues with my account if she was interested in fucking "community." I'm flat out telling her the issues and I *know* she's been told for *years* too and she's intentionally ignoring it. so ppl can cry all the want that I can also directly tell cast and crew shit too, it's not some special off limits thing only for white fandom. I'm not here to be liked anyway, I'm here to call this shit out and that's exactly what I've been doing. they're scared as hell too which is why every time I do smething they *rly* hate, they try to hit back as hard as they can but it's the same tired shit. 6 months and no creativity bcuz all they are is pathetic nobodies, that's why they don't have reputations in the fandom as anything but annoying, boring assholes.

[plutobutartsy]

also . also why are all of the characters commonly oversexualised depicted as POC like baaaaabe. tell us what you really think!! and ALSO said it b4 & i’ll say it again - ALEXIS, who is so often sexualised as a form of redemption (okay that didn’t really make sense but you get what i mean. like, people can ignore her sins so long as she’s hot?)… mm. i fully support alexis being a poc, obviously, i love her literally endlessly, but when she’s the exception to a cast of white people - it comes off… Hm… how do you say… Weird? Really Fucking Weird? like… maybe make some of the ‘softer’ characters poc. instead of just relegating it to those with tempers + those who are ‘bad’ + those who the fandom thinks are nothing but violent insane people. anyway love you stella sorry to invade ur inbox m w a h !!

you are so right about everything di, amazing take as usual.

the fandom has a habit of completely viewing alexis's character through a black and white lense despite erik very clearly writing multi faceted characters that are more than meets the eye. alexis is either reduced to an entirely bad and evil villain for the fandom to hate, disproprtionate to the amount of hate other antagonist's receive at that (btw 200% because of misogyny), OR she is completely sexualized. in either case she is treated as an object without any consideration for her as a character. and this really ties in with my point of alexis being the only one to be portrayed as UNAMBIGUOUSLY black. other characters may get a darker skin tone, implying they are poc, but alexis is the only one to have not only visibly ethnic features, but BLACK features.

because black women can only ever fit into the role of a stereotype. the only way we are seen as anything other than the aggressors is if we can provide sexual pleasure or other services for non black people, and even then we are still demonized.

if the only characters you draw as poc/dark skinned are either aggressive and violent or reduced to being a sexual object you ARE being racist and i won't argue with anybody.

and i'm literally BEGGING white artists to do more than just slap a tanner skin tone on their characters and call it a day. put in the effort to actually draw ethnic features, everything else is just half-assed and disrespectful. ethnic features can be drawn in any art style, yes, even in anime styles.

and heavy on the "draw softer characters as poc"!! i promise you, you can draw lasko and geordie as dark skinned pocs, the world will not end.

also another thing i've noticed is huxely being one of the few characters that non black people see as black but then also going "yeah he's definitely a stoner 🤣🤣🤣". side eye. like seeing huxely as a black character is in and of itself 100% fine but if he's like your only black character and you insist on him smoking weed then you are also reducing him to a racist stereotype.

and on a final note, you can have a cast of entirely black characters, if none of them are darkskinned except for the ones you deem bad and aggressive and dangerous, you are also part of the problem.

do better or die <3

[velvetvexations]

Discussing race and my flailing at how to handle it in my writing. I don't mean to constantly just outsource my praxis but if anyone wants to comment or has suggestions they would be appreciated. I'm really hoping this is taken in the intended spirit of "I'm a white dumbass and fully admit I don't know what I'm doing". The point of this post is that I'm painfully aware of how inadequate my knowledge and ability to deal with these subjects is.

I'm gonna break down the racial makeup of the main cast of the current stage of my project:

C - White, which is critical because the entire work pretty much revolves around issues of praxis and him being white is a part of that even though I try very hard to mostly go around race and only really speak to queer issues I can more confidently address.

Z - White, and being white specifically is not especially critical but a big part of her whole thing is that she is much, much poorer and had a much worse home life than everyone else, so I am nervous having her be anything else even though, obviously, poor PoC with bad home lives exist.

J - I made the first inkling of J waaaaay back when I was a kid, as with every other character in this post, but J was the only one who had a defined race until the past two years. His original concept was an Asian martial artist who's a very devout Christian and while I've dropped the kung fu (he knows French kickboxing for complicated reasons but he's not any better at CQB than the other brawlers) he is still very spiritual and reserved and humble etc. and I'm like ahhhhh is this a stereotype? This is a stereotype right? Ahhhhh.

A - I've ran into SO MANY PROBLEMS with A where I keep having to change her race. I wanted her to be Mongolian but then I discovered the song Genghis Khan, really loved it, and was like "oh fuck this fits her too well, it would cause me physical pain to not include it on her playlist." So I said, okay, how about a quarter Black? Not for any particular reason, it just kinna came to me like a lot of stuff does, but then I was like, well, actually maybe she should just be Black? Not that quarter-Black people don't also need representation...so it was between those two until I realized an absolutely insane coincidence that made her being Black potentially offensive, so I switched her race with Z, but then Z being Black looked way worse and for way, way more obvious reasons, so I was like "okay that coincidence is bullshit and I'm probably the only person that would have even thought of that, I'm just going to commit to her being Black." but I'm still not entirely sure.

(That coincidence is that my writing adapts the Cthulhu Mythos and has a lot of really obscure references to Lovecraft, and since A is an albino whose mother was from Tanzania it suddenly struck me that people could see that as having been an intentional nod to The White Ape, which deals with someone's ancestor having been an albino literal ape-person from Africa. This would not be an issue if not for the tiny Easter eggs to super obscure Lovecraft Circle stuff I do in fact pepper everywhere.)

W - W was a biologically artificial creation that mixed the DNA of a white woman and her Native wife, but I changed that an outright clone of one of the latter to bump of the number of PoC who aren't half-white, but everyone would still be pretending that they're their white mother's biological child which could maybe be more fucked up than if I just let them be half-white? Is this just the progressive version of being anti-miscegenation?

I'm worried I'm overthinking it but idk! I have a lot of half-white characters it feels like, because my writing spans over a century with some ancestors rooted in canonical Lovecraftian texts and some of my own devising that require positions of privilege in white society, so have only been able to introduce more color in the work's "present day". But like I said, I know mixed-race people also exist and I don't want to erase them or act like they're less PoC or something, which I'm afraid is what I'm overcorrecting into.

[mwagneto]

okayyy as per my "must watch every new sh adaptation" contract i watched enola holmes 2 so here's my thoughts

first of all it was way better than the first one but that's not saying much coz that bar is incredibly low since i hated the first one

but the thing is. i only liked this because the bits with sherlock were cool and i really like their take on him which is ironic since the whole point of these movies is that enola is a cool interesting #girlboss and better than her brother but then the only good parts of the movie are the parts with her brother coz she's just insanely boring😭😭 but also it was just . SO bad to see holmes without watson. he shouldn't be alone!! actually im making this a separate post

the plot was so . painfully predictable like idk if anyone else felt it but for me any time there was, well, anything, i immediately went "oh it's [solution] . no wait that'd be wayyyy too fucking simple even a toddler would guess this there's no way it's this" and then it was that. every single time. like im not kidding this happened w literally every clue/mystery/reveal etc like. broooo!!!!

they repeated the bs of the first movie where enola barely solves anything and it takes her ages to realise anything while they show sherlock figuring out the same things in seconds and then they constantly parade her around like shes smarter than sherlock while she not only never actually figures out anything that he doesn't, it's actually the opposite

another thing i hated in the first movie that they brought into this too and that many period dramas fall victim to is the way they do activism like. idk how to explain this one well but why is the feminist and workers rights message of the movie viewed through a modern lense despite being set in 1885. like we dont need someone to look us in the eyes and snarkily be like girls can fight! girls should vote! victorian orphans working in factories is bad! when literally anyone with a brain already knows that

then there's the worst offense imo which is that . it's just insanely racist ?????? like how are you gonna do colourblind casting but only when it suits you. ofc all the lords in parliament are white men but somehow the cops are people of colour??????? and then ofc there's worst bit where where netflix finally cast a dark skinned black woman and SHE'S FUCKING MORIARTY???? and she kills children in order to have more money??????!😭😭😭😭😭 are y'all insane... like i wannnnt to say that we should be able to cast poc to play villains without it having racist implications but girl not when every main character except a random orphan and a woman who's in like 3 scenes are white.

[angorwhosebabyisthis]

i think probably the core issue of lorien legacies, beyond anything to do with individual characters, is the mixed metaphors.

more specifically, about politics.

[longpost after the cut; a lot of talk about racism, xenophobia, fascism--including ecofascism--genocide, and all of the above being poorly handled. also some deeply upsetting anti-indigenous awfulness wrt the w-word.]

the writers try to make the series Heavy-Hitting and Deep and Socially Conscious by addressing real-world political issues like racism, fascism, religious fundamentalism, dictatorship, colonialism, genocide, and so on... and instead of trying to build it into a coherent dynamic with any kind of real statement about any of it, they just blindly grab at every political issue they can find and slap it together into a jumbled mess.

they don't actually understand any of the things they're talking about. and the most disturbing part is that they don't even limit themselves to drawing on bad neoliberal takes, and/or captain-obvious shit like 'genocide bad.' they ALSO draw on the politics of fascists and racists--sometimes unironically, sometimes putting it in the mouths of random protagonists without reason after establishing that it's supposed to be a bad thing, sometimes doing shit that strawmans itself into confirming the Bad Guy Fascism and what have you--and often they mix those metaphors in ways that are anywhere from bizarre to horrific.

('ya so the great replacement theory was completely right actually! the people you're genociding a hundred percent have dedicated their entire life, purpose, and remaining culture to exterminating yours. it doesn't matter if their survivors are down to the single digits, if you fail to kill even a single one of them they WILL successfully wipe you out. they will literally have your last few survivors rounded up and put into prison camps. three cheers for them!' jesus fucking christ.)

(don't get me started on shit like tossing blatant racist caricatures of north korea and its political issues into the mogadorians at some point, because why the fuck not, and then piling on the anti-japanese racism with a dump truck at the end of the first series and throughout the second. internment camps.)

(jesus fucking christ.)

and like. people don't react to this shit the way they realistically would. you cannot tell me that not a single one of the majority-POC cast in the second series would not rip a black hole into nine's irl-racist and scifi-MAGA, white-man-in-a-position-of-authority ass, or the shit that john's white-man-in-a-position-of-authority ass brings about himself under the guise of ~kindness and peace.~

and there's no logic to the kind of shit people will say and do about this stuff, especially in the sequel series. sometimes they'll express, like, basic antifascist/anti-racist/humanitarian/decent-in-general beliefs, and other times the most absolutely wild shit will come out of their mouths which either directly contradicts things they've said before--and might say after--or pulls from other blatant parts of that same horrific ideology. there is no rhyme or reason to most of it. it's just a clown car of racist/fascist/xenophobic nonsequiturs. what the hell.

and when i say nine is irl-racist in reborn i mean he casually calls a native american child the w-word as a '''lighthearted''' punny joke about his legacy. the kid is not even from any tribe whose culture they originate from; they never specify, because of course they couldn't be bothered lol, but miki is from alaska. on top of that, they had the dick ass and balls to have him randomly throw in a Very Special Episode scene where he talks about how his family are the direct-action variety of activists who he got separated from when they blew up an oil pipeline.

and he does not fucking blink at this. he doesn't say anything about it, he doesn't uncomfortably not say anything about it, he just goes on with the friendly conversation about his legacies which nine just called him a w-word for without missing a single beat.

and the ecofascism. good unholy fucking god the ecofascism. probably the most fundamental driving force of the entire first series is that if you don't ~take care of your environment~ your entire race/ethnicity/culture deserve to suffer and die slowly in the results. yes, all of them. it doesn't matter who was responsible. every last one. including the masses we see protesting on mogadore in flashbacks/visions.

also did i mention the Great Fascist Cult Leader who is responsible for the loric's genocide is a race traitor who took charge of wiping out his own? because that is a thing. it's a thing.

like. man i could go on. i could go on. and in other posts i probably will, because WOW is there a lot to unpack here. but it really does all come down to the fact that the writers wanted to sound meaningful and important and socially conscious, because that's what seems to be hip with the youth nowadays, and they don't have anything to say.

it's just gibberish. gibberish that arranges in some very telling ways as to the beliefs of their own that they are putting into the books. but gibberish.

and it pisses me off in a different way to have realized this, but god damn does it make it less tear-my-hair-out distressing than racking my brain trying to figure out what in the goddamn fuck am i looking at here.

(capitalism. capitalism is what i'm looking at here. and also racism, antisemitism, xenophobia, and just plain being fuckin stupid.)

lord.

[jovenshires]

im not sure if you've watched a lot of the newer smosh videos but thoughts on the newer cast (angela, arasha, chanse, amanda technically)

i have!! ive been (mostly) keeping up i just haven't made any tumblr content in. so long.

matt - i literally had to look up his name. i couldn't remember it. he is one of the least memorable cast members they've ever had on. he reminds me of shayne like. five years ago. like put it in my mouth era if that makes sense. idk if he's still w them bc he hasn't been on in literally forever but i figured he was worth mentioning.

amanda - thats my Best Friend amanda!!!! she is genuinely one of the funniest people not only on the channel but that i've ever seen. genuinely her characters, her bits, her just general vibe. her funeral roast speech made me laugh so much harder than almost anyone else has. she's just so genuinely funny never fails to make me laugh i love her.

angela - LOVE her. i'm a huge starkid fan so i saw her n i was like. wait a minute. i think she's super talented and she does in fact have the energy of a feral guinea pig. she's like. kid sister energy. i love it!

arasha - im gonna be so real. i'm sure she's fine. but i personally don't vibe w her and i literally cant even remember why. again im sure she's absolutely wonderful and this is just me but i know i watched a video where she did or said something that just. really rubbed me the wrong way and i haven't been able to let go of it. don't ask me what it is bc i dont remember and if i could i'd tell you. not personally my bag but im glad she's around once again she brings a new energy im here for it.

chanse - also genuinely so funny and iconic. he and angela really go hand and hand and gel well together i think. one of my fave new games videos is the one w him and noah as ghost hunters i think it's so good. if chanse were in literally every video i'd be cool w that.

overall im really glad they're bringing new people on!! more women and more poc are always a positive so they can help make the channel n company inclusive.

[m0tel6mxzzy]

a rant on monet de haan and “but og gossip girl was old money”

not to bitch abt racist og gossip girl fans but im gonna bitch abt them. i REMEMBER yalls tone when the show first got promo before it even aired, and weren’t even willing to give it a chance, u just made assumptions bc the entire cast wasnt white. 

 ppl, specifically og gg tiktok fans, were saying the old show “gives old money” and the new show doesnt, conveniently forgetting chuck’s dad wasn’t born into wealth but became wealthy when chuck was young, making him new money. his dad is worth 22 billion dollars. 

monet’s parents are heirs to a new york pharmaceutical company and on her wiki its listed that her family descends from old money. johnson and johnson is one of the biggest and has a net worth 435 billion as the wealthiest pharma company in the us. bc im lazy and dont feel like counting means and stats for the top 10 pharma companies in the us relative to ny, im assuming the de haan company has a networth of 100-400+ billion. whatever her family’s networth is i will happily believe it is more than chuck bass.

and monet’s parent’s donation of the wing had to occur sometime after everyone in the og show including jenny’s grade had graduated constance bc it wasnt yet canon, but just before monet had gone there. if we’re talking as soon as jenny’s grade had graduated, thats between june 2010-aug 2018, and monet would be 5 to 13. i’m going to average that the time the wing was planned to be built was 2014 when she’d by 9 bc i love the idea of little monet dreaming of going to constance with absolute certainty, and bc 2014 is a prettier number. my theory is that greyson and camille were planning to have monet go to CB St Judes ever since she was a child, hence the early donation.

anyway her parents literally paid for wing in constance and it has their names on it w the money from an old new york pharma company they own. and yall are like,,, dying on the hill she, bc she’s part of the reboot, wasnt born into wealth??? and even if she wasnt i know yall didnt just forget the og gg had poc on the show who were also old money or otherwise so loaded rich they could afford constance, but usually they were background characters like the minions, nelly yuki, and raina. the minions who literally only served to do blair’s bidding, and nelly yuki who was opposed bc blair saw her as an academic rival and was willing to sabotage her.

 and then raina thorpe whos one of the only black girls in the show w a prominence in the og series, but idk. she’s moreso there bc she was w/ nate and chuck, but also her dad is basically a “villain” in the show and raina gets the short end of the stick and has to suffer for it, which is when she leaves the show. im just saying ofc someone the same race as monet or luna or aki would be happy to see themselves represented on screen and not as a background character or recurring character there only a short amnt of time if they loved the og gg. 

and if you personally aren’t? cool thats ok but let ppl who are be happy. you dont need to mount some moral high horse pretending u care abt poc to defend why u hate us being represented in media. yall complain whenever poc are shown in media even when it isnt a reboot but rather an extension of the franchise such as star wars, so i find it hard to believe ur crapping on new reboots in media for having poc bc u actually care abt us being properly represented. 

like, factually racism is the only thing convincing yall the old gg is “old money” and the new one isnt. also we need to have a talk abt what yall constitute as old money, bc hf twitter stayed hating on alexa demie for her early 00s fashion for being “cheap” as if paris hilton also wasn’t dressing kinda like alexa currently does in the early 00s while also happening to be an heiress to a hotel brand. and as if hf twt doesn’t constantly worship the air bella hadid breathes for wearing low rise jeans and baby tees which is just as much y2k inspired as what alexa wears. 

like,, yall think all rich people, w/in ur very narrow view of what rich old money ppl look like, only ever dress in ralph lauren polos,,,and it’s not even like yall read the gg books to know the og characters wear burberry and ralph lauren which any tiktok old money “connoisseur” would hate for being “flashy,’ but because its in the list of their weird arbitrary rules of crap all old money rich ppl apparently do. if the reboot characters wore burberry scarves and ralph lauren polos w giant logos on the front yall would complain they arent following ur made up rich ppl rules u think applies to everyone who’s an heir to fortune. 

yall just forget abt raina and hated gg2021 before it even aired all bc it starred poc, and bc its weird seeing a rich it girl in a position of power who doesnt look like blair or serena. for the de haans to have the money to donate a wing to the school and pay monet’s tuition on top of that and live in the excess monet does simultaneously kinda shows like,,how fucking rich monet is. therefore the attitudes of the students make a lot of sense. and if blair was treating a teacher the way monet does bc she had a wing dedicated to her parents, yall would eat that shit up whether blair was old money or not!!!

listen im a huge gg fan but i also pay attention!!! i am not letting monet de haan slander slide!!!! im all for her being as entitled due to her wealth and carefree as blair was!!! bc blair did some f’ed up shit yet monet being snide w a teacher gets yalls feathers ruffled...and we all know why yall wouldnt have the same reaction if it were audrey doing the same but thats none of my business 

[nabrizoya]

RoW Theories and Things I Want to See

with RoW literally a few weeks away, here’s some theories your way. 

this is Really long. like, really very long; mind you. 

Nikolai might become a disabled character.

It’s just the vibes. If we can take reference from the Too Clever Fox story, there’s a line that says “...and his [Koja’s] fur never quite sat right the same...”, which might hint at it (mostly bc i don’t want him to die). Also if this is indeed possible, it can be used to address ableism if it exists in this universe, especially since Nikolai is someone in the highest position of power. 

Zoya will experiment the shit out of powers. 

Idk why the synopsis says that using her powers might be a great deal, which tbf will be because she is truly the most most powerful atm; but Zoya wouldn’t mind taking the step outside of the old norms and bend the orders until they serve their purpose. That’s the entire goal rly.

But all along, she will consciously keep herself mindful to not hunger or discharge her power in a way that may cause harm. She knows the tyranny of the Darkling and the ways he employed. She knows better. 

More character depth to Zoya. 

Given the excerpts, the book does seem to explore Zoya’s infinite grief. And of course her Suli heritage, which a great part of the fandom consistently wants to shadow what with the talk “white features/ part Ravkan” bs. 

But there’s more. I hope RoW will show Zoya’s dilemma (that was alr hinted in KoS) she has with the power she holds, the responsibility she has with having that power + using it in the way that will not be detrimental to her and the country. It will be a great way to portray her self-awareness and doubt and insecurity. She is a good leader, that much is told in text but not shown. There’s character development from the end of R&R until KoS that makes her evolve from a what she was then to the capable and mature 22 year old she is in KoS. 

Of course all of their capabilities will come to light in RoW but I think Zoya and the agency to her as a character will play an integral part. More so because Zoya is to be the conduit to reversing the current Grisha orders, which runs in parallel with the fact that she needs to go back, go back to the roots of her Grisha knowledge and roots of her i.e. her unending grief and trauma. 

She will need to forgive herself while also dealing with the guilt and anger she may have caused due to her position and power. All of this while dealing with her own complex and contrasting emotions due to her own trauma.

Nikolai is held for treason. 

The word of allying with The Darkling may be out and that is enough reason for the entire country to turn against him. The secret about the monster causes issues more than enough already, and this will plunge the country into deep political turmoil and threats to security. So RoW will be more politically driven. That said...

There’s no overt war. 

By this I mean that there will not be war on the battlefield, both armies or more charging at each others’ enemies and such. Ravka cannot afford one either. The excerpts have already proved that. There will be skirmishes akin to a war scenario, but a complete battle like the last battle in R&R? Like a final battle? That’s not going to be there, I think… What I’m assuming might happen is that the Fjerda and Ravka will take a possible Cold War route, if it isn’t already the case they’re already dealing with atm. 

Ravka’s monarchy will collapse. 

It may become a democracy or any other form of public or majority vote. But the monarchy (as well a possible dictatorship, esp with the Darkling returned) will be eliminated. ...Or so I hope, since it has been alluded to in KoS. 

But that poses many problems. With no one line for the throne, let alone with a crime so dark like a blot on Nikolai’s skill (of taking the Darkling’s help), it is possible that Ravka will shun it, right alongside being torn about it because Nikolai has been, for the best of his ability, a good King. All of this in line with the Resistance rising in West Ravka. 

This ties in with the court matters, especially if I want to hold the further points I make true. The resolution to acquit Nikolai of his charges requires a testification forth a jury which will then make a decision about his motives and future. 

Zoya as the Interim Head. 

After all of this, Zoya’s point about Ravka not accepting a Grisha Queen will be true after all, because there will be no monarchy to welcome such an arrangement. 

But Ravka will need a good and trustworthy leader despite Grisha powers and Zoya is the best person to take care of that. The comment “...becoming a steady leader...” and the “Welcome home, Commander,” were there in KoS for a reason (and this is what I think it will link to). 

That being said, there’s more nuance to this than my summary. Zoya is a character of colour. That—in addition to the already existing threats, objections and possible question of capability in the position—ill play into how she will be able to discharge her responsibility. It’s not going to be convenient.

EDIT: taken from a reblog/addition to the og post:

A smoother/more structured transition

Once after the monarchy collapses and a leader must be chosen, it will not be Nikolai. Nor will it be Zoya, though she might serve as an interim head. What I assume might be possible is that someone older is chosen, someone older and loyal and with the proof of knowledge and service to the country. Possibly by majority vote or elected by a council.

Instead of the sudden change, this can be a smoother (if that can even be said about such a major political scenario change) or more structured. I also say this because a. if Nikolai is indeed charged (and later acquitted), firstly his political career will already hold a blot if the word about using the Darkling as a resource is out and secondly, he’s way too young to serve as the leader (by modern standards, sure, but like, the required age will be set while drafting the constitution? currently its 35+).

Instead, the current cast can become representatives (which Zoya would already be, (mostly the head of the) international committee that safeguards the Grisha all over the world) and the Triumvirate will be dissolved. (it should be, tbh)

And hey, b. after all of this, they can and kind of need to take a step back. Nikolai and Zoya will be able to truly explore their relationship, given how Nikolai mentions how he wouldn’t marry unless he’d have had the chance to court someone and marry someone he barely knows nor knows him. For Zoya’s part, she does know Nikolai but surely probably not the extent of openness that a healthy relationship has, and on Nikolai’s part, he admits he barely knows her beyond as a General except for just little things about her.

They could be able to realize and work on their feelings while alongside being involved with the workings of the country and the constitution.

“One day you will overstep and I will not be so forgiving.” 

Need I say more? Something that Zoya does will cost her Nikolai’s goodwill and we know Zoya knows her practicality and the extent to which she will unapologetically move if there is threat to the country and its King. She will do what was right and required. 

A major part of that line ties in with Magnus Opjer and I think with the confidence in the versatility of her powers, Zoya might as well move w/o any word to the Triumvirate to eliminate the most direct threat to the throne. This will bring splits in Nikolai and Zoya’s relationship. 

How this tension between them will be resolved without compromising either of their values, without playing into fandom stereotypes and others must be carefully handled. All of this while showing the best of their dynamicity, practicality and priority as they carefully pull out just those weak sticks of the jenga without putting the whole country into trouble. And with a war in plain sight, they’d know better than pointlessly argue and would rather see how the two of them are wrong. This ordeal will bring out just how condensed power is in the current scenario, imo. 

Importance on the way women have shaped history. 

Something that KoS has already set precedence for. Zoya being a PoC, Nina taking into account of the sufferings of women she comes across and the consistent ‘Who will remember them?’ will be elaborated on further. As for how it is done and how well it is done, that remains to be seen. 

Baghra is alive but maybe not thriving bc she’s stuck in the Ice Court. 

They entered a chamber where an old woman sat with her hands chained, flanked by guards. Her eyes were vacant. As each prisoner approached, the woman gripped his or her wrist.

A human amplifier. [...] But the Fjerdans used them for a different purpose – to make sure no Grisha breached their walls without being identified.

Kaz watched Nina approach. He could see her trembling as she held out her arm. The woman clamped her fingers around Nina’s wrist. Her eyelids stuttered briefly. Then she dropped Nina’s hand and waved her along.

Had she known and not cared? Or had the paraffin they’d used to encase Nina’s forearms worked?

- Chapter 22. Kaz; Part 4: Trick to Falling, Six of Crows.

Nina will be the one to free her and together they might wage a war from Djerholm together.

This gets even more interesting because we know the anguish and scorn that Baghra feels for her son at the same time; she understands the wrongness that he used to seek and will continue to. Zoya does take Baghra’s name at the Fold when she mourns and rages over how people forget the destruction and most importantly, forget the women. Baghra could be the symbol of the stag as the art piece depicts, or will be shown with relation to the Darkling’s powers.

As for how she will play into the story, perhaps she will be the one to help reverse and find the roots of the orders, in the sense that changes the perception of the Grisha powers for the Grisha as well as the common folk of Ravka. She is the only other person other than Juris and the Darkling to have the age of eras together, knowing Ilya Morozova, and she will be instrumental in giving Ravka an advantage over Fjerda. Either that or she will help in scrubbing the prejudices of Fjerda slowly away with whatever powers she has left. Or both. 

Alina will reappear, but will not contribute to the plot significantly.

Zoya understands that the truth she knows about the Darkling is very minimal not enough to end him for once and for all. It makes sense that she will probably consult Alina for it. So, Malina appearance, possibly at the orphanage. Alina will not directly contribute to this war, but she will play a critical role in defeating the Darkling.

Besides, Alina —and Baghra— are the only ones who know that there has only ever been two Darklings. Zoya did sense, multiple times during KoS, that the Darkling is damn old. Yuri mentions it. And while it is not outright specified, the fact that Zoya thinks that she realizes just how ancient Lizabetha is in context of meeting the Darkling is enough proof for her to seek more information about the age and the older skill of the Darkling. 

And I think it goes without saying that I want to hope that the Darkling and Alina will not meet. Pls, she’s had enough. 

Lada is the lost, other friend that Zoya refuses to bury. 

“She saw her mentor die and her worst enemy resurrected, and she refuses to bury another friend.”

Liliyana is dead, we know. But there’s no other mention of Lada except for the “wondering what happened to the pug faced girl.” Lada is possibly a part of the group of women and a Grisha returning to Ravka from Fjerda, exploited by the parem. She might die being unable to withhold the sheer torment of the parem induction, which will devastate Zoya because Lada was also the closest she’s had to a family with Liliyana. 

Either that or Lada is already dead or dies some other way, and Zoya cannot bring herself bear the grief of losing her. 

Cameos: Inej and Jesper. 

The most likely of the crows to appear in RoW are Inej and Jesper and they’ll play equally important roles in the plotline. Here’s a breakdown of why:

Inej

Inej has taken the responsibility of becoming a slave hunter, and it makes sense for Inej to make an appearance in the book, given that there’s going to be a ship taking the Grisha from Fjerda to Ravka. 

The women aboard are vulnerable and require immediate attention, which Inej will immediately zero in on. She will have enough reason to suspect both Leoni and Adrik on the ship, especially when the jurda parem is still a secret. Leoni and Adrik cannot give that information away because they don’t trust Inej (and have no reason to either). Inej won’t trust them either, not until she understands that the reason why the women are being taken to Ravka and for what reasons. 

Which gives her excellent reason to step in, try to analyze the situation and help the women accordingly.

Here’s an exciting thought though. Once after the entire misunderstanding is overcome and Inej understands (esp. if Nina is brought into the conversation and security and secrecy of the conversation is ensured), there may be discussion about how the Grisha might find a safer space in Ravka.

Inej’s appearance might also extend to playing a pivotal role in giving Zoya the confidence to seek her heritage and where she hails from, to embrace the part of her past and forgive herself and others for her mistakes. 

ALSO, 

Grisha finding a safer space in Ravka will mean that Inej can pitch Jesper’s case for him to Zoya. Being the highest authority who takes cares of the responsibilities of the Grisha, Zoya will be the best person to talk about this with. 

And so, here comes Jesper. 

Jesper

For one, I wish Jesper and Leoni interact, talk and just bond like the iconic siblings they would be. <3 But more than that, Jesper plays very integral to the plot for more reasons.

Jesper’s arc will parallel Zoya’s. Both of them are new to their powers in their own individual sense; Zoya is trying to use her new powers in a way that hasn’t been done before, thereby breaking the Grisha orders of powers and Jesper (assuming he has decided that he might want to learn and embrace his Grisha powers) is learning them afresh. 

This journey of them trying to embrace, learn and relearn and reject older norms and experiment really work in tandem.

That will lead us to a further (plot) theories. 

Ties with Novyi Zem 

As of the KoS end, Ravka has no support from anyone atm. Sure the Kerch will provide funds but Ravka has no real allies. Here’s where Novyi Zem and Jesper come in. 

We know Novyi Zem is a new country and also that it is the second safest country for the Grisha in the universe. As of KoS, their agreements are not renewed and they would be since between Kerch and Novyi Zem, Ravka was forced to pick Kerch. Yet Ravka needs their help in acquiring jurda for the antidote. 

So here’s the deal: Ravka will get their jurda but at many conditions that the Novyi Zem will impose on Ravka to not let exploitation get in the way. 

The conditions imposed could be (these are just some at the top of my head but I hope there are more to ensure the safety and security of the Zemeni, in Novyi Zem and in Ravka too) : 

Naval support from Ravka

We know of the Zemeni ships and ofc Nikolai has been hard at work trying to develop plans to use the sea to its fullest advantage. While the news of the izmars’ya isn’t public, Zemeni can place a condition for technical aid from Ravka since Ravka does have the technical knowledge it can dispatch as a condition.

A Grisha School in Novyi Zem

Think about it. Ravka, despite being the safest place for the Grisha, still isn’t entirely safe. Not all Grisha become soldiers in Ravka, they have a choice to abstain but those who are training are still recruited a honed for purpose alike preparing for war, especially the teens and preteens from the time of the Civil War. The training does take a lot of time. Ravka intends to make a home first and then service, but at the moment, while the Grisha are provided safety, it’s not assured in the best sense. Both the facts about a home and service are in precarious positions atm.

TL;DR: Ravka isn’t entirely safe for Grisha therefore the Grisha themselves too are not + Ravka is war torn. 

So what happens? 

One of the conditions as the next best country that serves as home to the Grisha, Novyi Zem may put forth the prospect of building a Little Palace like institution for the Grisha in Novyi Zem. It sounds morally wrong in the sense that the Grisha there will also be trained for war, but the war will end and soon, the Grisha will not be subject to serve for something but engage in economic activities as anybody else with the progression of time.

All of this won’t happen immediately either; learning their powers, honing it in the way that is unocnventional from what it had been pre-RoW and that transition + the building of the establishment in Novyi Zem and laying foundation for the  transnational panel or committee for Grisha that Zoya talks about will all take so much time. 

A few Grisha representatives from Novyi Zem can learn at the Little Palace and by the time the construction of the institution is done in Novyi Zem, these Grisha, along with other willing Grisha who either want to return to the country they were born in (like Leoni) or are offered to teach in a different country can do so too. 

There will be stricter terms so as to not ensure exploitation and possible colonization in these nations. 

Zoya mentions in one of her chapters that eventually there will be a need for the a  transnational panel or committee for Grisha. Jesper can Zoya can make it possible, adding in other countries to the panel slowly as the war recedes. 

Kaz and Wylan? 

Least likely to make an appearance, in my opinion. I think they’ll be mentioned plenty of times or brought up once and given great importance for how they can help in the side plot. 

Shu Support: 

This is more a hope than an actually theory dfbkdhjadfh but Makhi might have to step down from the throne because Ehri will take the place; either as a Queen (no...) or she might oversee the process of strengthening Shu Han and finding a leader (if she doesn’t want to become one herself). 

Ehri is capable, more than capable despite the little we know of her from the last chapter in KoS. All I hope is for an understanding and friendship between Nikolai and Ehri (and the subsequent cancelling of the marriage duH) for this to happen. She has little interest in statecraft but with the time she might spend with Nikolai, she might change her views. Even if not then she still gets the happy ending she deserves with Mayu (which is canon at this point rly).

Emotional Development or Breakdowns

Okay but I really, really, really hope we get to see all the three protagonists lose their shit and deal with their trauma, seek help or trying to stop isolating themselves or anything else they do to cope? Nina, Zoya and Nikolai, all of them cry, all of them get to completely lose it, let themselves be human and healthily cope and learn to rely on the people they trust the most. Like the sheer power and potential to show the myriad of ways to deal with grief, sadness, stress and more and make use of the trio’s backgrounds to show healthy and diverse ways of helping themselves, by letting themselves and others help them is just *combusts* Incredible! 

That being said, can I also ask for moments of fear and desolation from the side characters too? Impending war isn’t small business, it will take its toll on people, and all these reactions just cement their fears and what they value the most so. pls. Humanizing them rly. 

The Saving Each Other 

As much as I mostly kinda hate this trope, there are traces in the KoS that Zoya might be the one to end Nikolai’s affliction. On the other hand, there is talk of Nikolai helping Zoya control her powers which seems counterintuitive when you consider that Zoya knows that there is a line that she must never cross and that she is very, very careful about it and will continue to be. 

They can instead be the ones who motivate each other in times of distress as they always do (as shown with how Nikolai tries to gain control over his monster during the burning thorn ritual in KoS, allowing himself the vulnerability but also knowing that giving up will be unforgivable to both himself and Zoya as well) but I seriously do not wish for each other to be the ones directly ending one another's misery. Or perhaps this is just a fear imo that Leigh wouldn’t even take the route of (in which case, thank fuck).

Stab Stab Stab 

Zoya gets the chance to kill the Darkling with the rest of her friends. After all, Darkling does call them all his old friends. Just Julius Caeser him all the way and put a bow tie on the book. *chef’s kiss* Everybody deserves a second chance... at ending a tyrant when it fails the first time. 

+

So far, this is it. Rule of Wolves is in less than a few weeks and im- asdfghjkl. not Ready. i’m more Worried than Ready.

[mcustorm]

In Defense of a Black Cyclops

In case my username didn’t make it clear, the single most anticipated visual project for me is the MCU’s interpretation of the X-Men, which hasn’t even been announced yet [officially]. And ladies and gents, I have found your Cyclops:

Good ol’ Alfred Enoch, who we all know from Harry Potter and How to Get Away With Murder. If you’re not familiar with HTGAWM, know that his character goes from the de facto leader of the ragtag (murderers) and most cherished protege of Viola Davis’ Professor X to taking more of a grimdark turn after his girlfriend’s death. Sound at least somewhat familiar?

Enoch also embodies the physicality of the character well, seeing as to how he’s “slim”, 6′4(!!), black, and notoriously lanky. Wait, one of these isn’t like the others.

In general I hate fancasting. Everyone generally picks from the same pool of about 30 actors (Peeps, neither Taron nor Daniel is a good Wolverine choice. Argue with your mother!), and most all of it is based on physicality, except when it absolutely should be (like say, choosing a ~5′10 dark-skinned black woman for Storm).

And I think there’s some malarkey afoot. I think there needs to be some serious consideration on part of fancasters and actual casting agents alike to rethink race when it comes to the [white] X-Men, especially since they’re the X-Men of all teams. So I’ll make the case for a black Cyclops: 

1. There is no quota on Black X-Men: There’s a bug in your ear that’s been whispering lies to you for years, it says something to the effect of “We need a black person on the team for diversity. How bout Storm?” And you’ve gotten complacent. Storm does not have to be the only black person on your X-Men roster.

2. The X-Men represent diversity: Iceman is gay, Cyclops and Prof. X are disabled (sorta), there are plenty of women, oh and everybody except Storm is white. Of the A-List X-Men, there is only *one* POC character. I’d argue that an MCU X-Men needs to champion diversity like never before.

3. The X-Men represent minority struggle while being mostly white: There’s a cognitive dissonance in the metaphor that has always been there, and for the most part, nobody cares. To appeal to the white readers of the 60′s, the X-Men were all initially white. That way, the message of the mutants could be related to the audience with a familiar face. We don’t need to approach the problem that way in 202?

4. Just because that’s the way it’s always been, doesn’t mean that’s the way it should be: The first line of defense. Sorry, that will never be a good justification for literally any idea. It’s time for some more critical thinking.

5. We don’t all want to be Bishop: So say you’re white and you have a kid who for his birthday having a costume party. You’ve bought some X-Men costumes and you want each kid to pick one. 9 white kids and one black kid show up to your house. As the kids deliberate who gets what costume, be it Cyke or Wolvie or whatever, you yell at everybody to “STOP!”, point to the one black kid and tell him “You’re gonna be Bishop. That’s it, end of story!” 

We don’t all want to be Bishop. The black child could have the best Cyclops interpretation within him, but you’ll never know if you don’t let him try. And that’s no different from the Black actors of Hollywood. There’s no reason why all of the black talent should *have* to compete for the role of Bishop or Storm, which I’ve discussed, while Joe Schmo can walk up and audition for literally anybody he wants.          

Jharrel Jerome is 23 and has an Emmy to his name. He needs to be in the MCU in some capacity, period. Stephan James is another. How bout Damson Idris. Ashton Sanders. But no, no, let’s fancast Dacre Montgomery or Ansel or Joe Keery again as [Human Torch, Wolverine, Iceman, Angel, I’ve literally seen it all.]

6. Nobody wants to see the B-team if it comes down to it. The next line of defense from your racebending naysayers after “That’s the way it’s always been!” is “Well, what about Psylocke, Bishop, Forge and Jubilee?” who are otherwise known as B-tier X-Men. The problem is, we’ve got limited time and limited spots.

So since the X-Men is all about wonky metaphors that make half sense, let me give you another: Let’s say somebody approaches you and says “Hey buddy, I got two free concert tickets for ya! You can either see Michael Jackson Sings the Blues, or you can go see Justin Timberlake. Free of charge!”

Now, are you used to MJ singing the blues? No! Do you have a problem with going to see Justin Timberlake? No, he’s fine on a Wednesday! He had that one little diddy we liked that one time. We’d love to see him eventually! But are you gonna say, “fuck that, I’m going to see MJ Sings the Blues” regardless? Hell yes, because that’s still Michael Jackson. He’s gonna give the same amazing performance he always does, it’s just gonna be the blues. And speaking of blues...

7. Black is not Blue, Brown is not Blue: Raise your hand if you’ve ever heard this one: “I don’t care if you’re black, white, purple, or green, I’m going to treat you all the same!” I will not say all have this intention, but some fancasters have noticed that the racial diversity is kinda low within the A-List X-Men, so they oh-so-generously give the following roles to a black or brown person: Iceman, Nightcrawler, Beast. 

Notice the pattern? It’s a microaggression, and it’s bullshit. What these fancasters are implicitly telling you is that, yes the actors will be black or brown, but when the action starts we can ignore that. They’ll be blue by then. In other words, you in fact do care if they’re purple or green. Nobody will cry foul if Dev Patel gets to play Nightcrawler (because that’s a common one I see), but should Anna Diop be Starfire or Michael B. Jordan be Human Torch, I bet there’d be backlash. Oh wait. If that’s you, please stop acting like you actually value diversity. You don’t want to see black or brown skin, period. Unless of course, it’s Storm (refer to point #1).

But wait, there’s more! When brown characters get whitewashed in these movies, it’s crickets! So eventually it’s revealed implicitly that proclaimers of point #4 only care about it one way.

8. Professor X should not be black if you’re not willing to change anyone else: The next line of defense is that some people say the professor should be black, if anybody HAS to be racebent. Something something MLK Jr., Civil Rights or some shit. Number one, I’m not reducing Professor X to being a magical negro for 9 white people (and Storm!) who for all intents and purposes get to have all the action. Number 2, the Professor X/MLK/Magneto/Malcolm X comparison is an oversimplifying disservice to ALL FOUR of those people. I hate that line whenever I see it, please watch a documentary my friends. 

9. The Candidates for Racebending: For me, the A-List X-Men are Cyclops, Jean Grey, Iceman, Angel, Beast, Wolverine, Storm, Gambit, Rogue, Colossus, Nightcrawler, and Kitty Pryde. Now, who should be exempt from the racebending? Storm, she’s our designated minority. Gambit, he’s Cajun and they’re white (generally speaking, that’s a fun bit of research). Wolverine, Colossus, and Nightcrawler, because their nationality/ethnicity was the whole point of the Giant-Size premise in the first place. Angel, because his character embodies a privileged white male. Beast and Iceman, I don’t care one way or another (Point #7).

That leaves Cyclops, Rogue, Jean Grey, and Kitty Pryde. Now Jean Grey is a redhead, and we all know that every time a redhead is racebent people sharpen their pitchforks (Mary Jane, Wally West, Iris West), so I will cede the ground on Jean if only so that my ginger friends can get their rep. Kitty Pryde is Jewish, but Jews of color exist. Rogue is from the South. And Cyclops is, well, just Cyclops. That makes those three characters good options for more diversity. But allow me to make the case for Cyclops, specifically.

10. It’s not just diversity for diversity’s sake: If you had to pick who the main character of the X-Men is supposed to be, most would say Cyclops. And so in a series that highlights racial discrimination in society, it makes sense that our main character be black. While changing Cyclops’ skin color should not change who he is as a character, it *should* recontextualize it. Now, as an eventual increasingly radical leader of the X-Men, Cyclops would evoke real life figures such as Colin Kaepernick or, shall I say, Martin Luther King, Jr.

Not that most X-Men fans and writers truly think about what it means to be black anyways. Storm’s minority status is almost always put through the lens of her being a mutant and not her being a black woman. In other words, you can’t argue that making a character black will fundamentally change his or her character when you haven’t even analyzed the racial context of the black character(s) you already have. Another concept that the MCU X-Men should tackle: intersectionality.

11. Representation matters: I have to say it: Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther hit different. And now he is tragically gone. At the end of the day, the MCU moving forward is down its most prominent black male superhero. Which has implications beyond just the movies themselves.

The women are in good hands. Shuri, Okoye, and Nakia are badasses in Wakanda, Valkyrie is ruling Asgard, Storm is almost assuredly on the way, RiRi Williams has already been cast, and Monica Rambeau is here and she’s not even at her most glorious yet. That doesn’t even include variable Δ, or the number of characters who can and will be racebent. And I’ll note again that to me, Gamora doesn’t count, because she’s green (#7 really pisses me off because it’s so blatant. I hate it). Of course from a behind the camera perspective we love black women getting work.

The men are a completely different story. Imma just go out and say it, I can’t stand Falcon and War Machine [in the MCU] because they’re not characters, they’re just two of a slew of MCU minority sidekicks who have essentially been at the beck and call of Captain America and Iron Man, respectively. You cannot tell Falcon’s story without mentioning Cap. The reverse is not true. There’s a whole essay that could be and have been written on “Minorities in the MCU, pre-Black Panther”. Remember, there’s a reason BP made so much noise in the first place.

So excluding those two we have, let’s see, M’Baku, Blade, and Fury who aren’t exactly the most superheroic superheroes, Eli Bradley is proooobably coming, I doubt Miles Morales is coming (because he’s just Peter Parker in the MCU), Luke Cage(?) Bishop(??), Sunspot(???), Blue Marvel(????). Not only are they not A-List, I would not put money on any of them being in the MCU any time soon.

Cyclops is thee Captain America of the X-Men. He’s the frontman. He’s the poster boy. He’s the “boy scout”, which in other words means he’s the hero, if there has to be one. It would mean a lot right now, and specifically *right now*, if he were to be black. The MCU needs it. It NEEDS it.

12. The X-Men is the Summers Story: I’ll even make the case that if just one character needs to racebent, then it should be Cyclops, because that of course implies that other related characters need to be black because half of the X-Men universe is in fact a part of the Summers family. 

So now Cable is black. Corsair is black. Havok is black. And one of the most central stories in the X-Men mythos, the Summers family drama, is now a black family drama set in space or the future or where the fuck ever. The concept is boundary pushing. When white families have drama in the media, it gets to be Game of Thrones or Star Wars, while when black families have drama in the media, it has to be black people arguing in a kitchen or living room about their various earthly traumas (I’m @’ing you, Mr. Perry). I mean, that’s all fine and good often times, but I want my black family drama in space, dammit.

And again, this is the X-Men, the series that’s all about *minorities* and their struggle, so again, why not?

Oh, and I’ll even throw out a Havok fancast for you: How bout Jharrel Jerome?

[fantasticalmysteryacademia]

Watched SHADOW AND BONE and ohmygod the show was way better than I expected.

One of the best book adaptations to exist.

And the best part? - They removed a lot of sexist clichés from the books and replaced/ changed it w something better. One of them being The Darkling asking Alina for sexual consent.

Also they made Mal somehow likeable in the show.!? I did not like him in the books, can't say that I hated him but he was def annoying.

And don't even get me started on the Darklina scenes, like saints the chemistry!🥵

Ik the Darkling is the bad guy but I still hope for a Darklina endgame. The thing is, when I read the books, the chemistry seemed real and much more passionate between Darklina, though he was the Evil bad guy I still hoped that he might get an redemption arc, but unfortunately he didn't and my hopes were crushed. And a lot of ppl wanted Darklina endgame, and because of how the Darkling's storyline was going in the books, a lot of audience didn't want to continue reading the books, I hope it doesn't happen for the show tho.

In the show, the Darkling is not evil as he was in the books, yet.

And I just truly wish that Netflix and the writers listen to the audience and give him a substantial redemption arc. Malina is sweet but c'mon Darklina is superior, gorgeous, passionate and powerful.

Can Netflix just renew this show for like 10 seasons already!

Also Kaz and Inej ohmygod, I died, dead, literally.

Jesper and Milo carried the show damn.

Genya, Zoya, Marie, Nadia, Baghra, Nina, Ivan, Fedyor were all so perfectly casted.

Amazing, brilliant, gorgeous, breathtaking cast.

The visuals, casting, direction, lgbtq characters, writers, poc and Asian actors -- INCREDIBLE, one of the few Netflix shows which fulfilled my expectations.

Also totally crushing on Amita Suman, the woman is breathtaking. And Ben Barnes that man definitely has my whole heart. Jessie, Archie and Freddy etc, like this cast makes me question my sexuality.

Tbh this show is so good that I can't believe that it's a Netflix production.

Fingers still crossed for a Darkling redemption arc and Darklina endgame.

[rose-bookblood]

Blue Below the Surface | WIP Intro

Gorgeous header by @quilloftheclouds

Genre: fantasy, mystery

Target: NA

Setting: alternative Earth, a military academy in a fictional state; 2016

POV: multi, 3rd person limited, past tense

Themes: military, discrimination, terrorism, justice, right vs. wrong

Logline: When a terrorist attack shakes the military academy she studies at, 22-year-old Evelyn is determined to uncover the mystery, even when it starts entangling with the Elemental Republic's politics.

Literal logline: Dumbass gays get in trouble for doing stuff they were explicitly told not to do.

Featuring: greypanromantic MC | mostly POC cast | LGBT+ rep | disabled & neurodivergent rep | m/f friendship (that stays platonic) | established relationships | slowburn romance

Inspiration: idk I got the idea five years ago. Final version is inspired by Avatar: The last airbender, Fullmetal Alchemist and Attack on Titan.

CW: violence, gore, death, descriptions of corpses, mutilation, torture, war, trauma, depiction of panic/anxiety attacks, sex, mentions of alcohol

Hello, folks! I said I was going to make an intro soon and I delivered.

This project is probably the closest to my heart. I love every story I write, but this is the one that's been with me for the longest time. The old version of the plot was bad--there was a love square, and no, we don't talk about it--and self-indulgent, but it was necessary to get where I am.

Plot

The Elemental Republic is a secluded island in the Atlantic Ocean, a place for summoners of the thirteen elements to live without the intrusion of non-benders.

22-year-old Evelyn is starting her last year at the military academy, and everything seems fine, until a terrorist attack shakes the school. Determined to solve the mystery, she starts her own personal investigation, despite the warnings of the two detectives assigned to the case.

But the answer might bring to the surface a dark secret, entrenched with the very foundation of the Republic.

Characters

Evelyn Woodlock Stern

she/her

our dumbass greypanromantic MC

thicc girl

Ashkenazi Jewish

huge bookworm

cannot mind her own business

overthinks even her breakfast

that friend who never writes in the group chat, but reads every message

don't ask about her weird last name, she will murder you

Lily Brennan Hughes

she/her

Evelyn's bff

redhead gremlin

resting bitch face

cold outside, her emotions actually go from 0 to 100

she has a bullet journal and is not afraid to use it

dark academia aesthetic

in a relationship with Nathan

Andrew Lo Raafat

he/him

Evelyn's (and Nathan's) other bff

so fucking precious

bisexual

great liar

tormented artist vibes

light academia aesthetic

manga & anime boi

Cecilia Thorne Ioveanu

she/her

the one with a brain

crazy scientist vibes

mechanic

trans & lesbian

autistic

volunteers in the infirmary

Josephine Roosvelt Lenoir

she/her

detective #1

the group's mom

quiet & serious

deserves a nap

only chills w/ Travis

Travis Kasilag Chen

he/they

detective #2

demiboy bisexual

jokes a lot

should supervise the kids

good at comforting people

Nathan Campbell Strauss

he/him

thicc boi, basically a mountain

softie

supportive friend

surprisingly stubborn

broke his leg as a kid, uses a stick

your local gym habitué

Jeremy Brown Horse Collins

he/they

tough guy looks

quietly judging you

their biceps could kill a man

should rest more

videogames aficionado

don't touch his girlfriend

Annabelle Takeda Yamaguchi

she/her

always smiling

secretly a badass

bisexual

blind, uses a stick

rock aesthetic

Jeremy's gf

Serena Chukwu Rashidi

she/her

kind & optimistic

has a chaotic side

plant mom

theatre kid

lesbian

Victoria Jiménez Fujihara

they/them

kinda bossy

extrovert w/ too much energy

a lil insensitive, but means well

non binary ace lesbian

Serena's gf

(I had all the Picrews ready, but Tumblr said 💕 no 💕)

Setting & magic system

Right now you're probably screaming through tears because the synopsis explains absolutely nothing about the worldbuilding. Thirteen elements? What the fuck?

Don't worry, this nice little section is here for you.

The thirteen elements are water, air, fire, earth, lightning, metal, stone, sand, ice, light, darkness, sound, and vegetation. Unlike with the usual four elements system, each bender has a very specific power and not much room to branch out. So don't expect my earthbenders to pull a Toph (ATLA) and start metalbending.

This is an alternative Earth, where everything is the same, except for one thing: in the southern Atlantic Ocean there's a country called the Elemental Republic. The Republic has no relationship with the outside world and is inhabited by benders only. They have access to stuff like food or books, but no way to contact people. For this reason, no one really learns foreign languages.

The Republic is led by a Council of high-ranking members of the military called the Thirteen, one for each element.

An important thing to note is that in the Republic there's no discrimination--no misogyny, so racism, nothing. That's why the characters take both their parents' last names (fuck the patriarchy).

So that's my first WIP. Thank you all if you got this far (this was long lmao)! At some point I'll get to posting character intros, because I spent way too much time making those Picrews. I'll see you soon!

— Rose

Taglist: (lmk to be added or removed)

@tommie-hildebrandt @stormharbors @chaotic-queer-disaster @mel-writes-with-her-dragons @vellichor-virgo