#litte!Luther

[fandom-nursery]

Luther agere headcanons

Has a wide age rage and regresses between ages 0-10 however he is most often toddler or baby age 

His regression was incredibly frequent while on the moon. Since coming back to earth it happens less often however when he does regress he tends to stay regressed for a very long time  

His regression is involuntary and he isn’t very good at stopping himself from slipping or at pulling himself out of headspace 

He first started regressing while he was on the moon. He didn’t know what was happening or what to do and he had no one he could turn to for help. Once back on earth he was able to figure out what was going on but that time when he didn’t know what was happening was really scary for him 

He is learning to accept his regression much more as he begins to heal from some of the trauma inflicted by his childhood and his time on the moon 

Little Luther is even worse than big Luther at keeping his feelings a a secret and there is almost never any doubt from others about what he’s feeling 

In younger headspaces he sometimes goes completely nonverbal and even when he’s older he tends to not be very talkative. A lot of this stems from the fact that for the first 4 years of him regressing he was alone and didn’t have anyone else to talk to so he’s still adjusting to having people around him 

He is surprisingly shy however this is mostly due to the isolation from the moon and with time he begins to become more outgoing. He is very eager to please which tends to manifest in obedience and anxiety 

When he’s little his memories tend to get kinda fuzzy 

It’s really 50/50 on weather or not he will nap when he’s regressed  

Because of his size it’s pretty difficult to pick him up but luckily his siblings have found some solutions. Ben can use his tentacles to help carry him and Klaus once used several ghosts to help lift Luther into the air just to pretend he was stronger than Diego who wasn’t able to pick Luther up by himself. 

He loves to play with his action figures when small and is constantly begging Diego to join in his games. When he’s older he also likes to play catch and when he’s younger he loved to be swaddled up and read to or shown movies/cartoons 

Very messy eater. Even at older ages he tends to get food all over his face, hands, clothes, the table, and the floor

He has been working hard to heal his inner child and it turns out part of that has ended up being buying whichever toys catch his eye when he goes out to the store. Being able to get himself the things he always wanted but could never ask for or receive from  Reginald has been very good for him. Because of this he has slowly amassed a collection of stuffed animals, legos, remote control cars, playdough, and more. 

His favorite toy is a stuffed bear that is dressed in a little astronaut suit  

When regressed he dresses in the biggest clothes he can possibly get his hands on. Due to his size most clothing fits him too tightly and when he's regressed that becomes uncomfortable. Additionally the bigger clothing helps him feel small 

He owns a paci but prefers to suck his thumb even though he knows that’s not very good for him 

When he is in a younger headspace he does need diapers and even in older headspaces he will sometimes still wear them because he finds them comforting 

The rest of the academy either learns about his regression by accident or is told about it. Since so many of them regress as well they are all very accepting. The sparrow academy and lila find out officially a bit later however most of them already had their own suspicions. 

While going through some of his dads things Luther found out that Reginald had know he was regressing while on the moon the entire time but had done nothing to help or even inform him in any way 

His siblings, and later Sloane usually take care of him while he’s small. Diego, Victor, and Sloane take care of him the most often

[mr-divabetic]

Earlier this summer, the song Mama’s Kitchen Table by Ivan Hampden Jr. featuring Paulette McWilliams was a new entry on the UK Soul Chart, debuting at #15.

Paulette and I co-wrote the lyrics, and Ivan produced the track.

The three of us met while working for Luther Vandross.  Ivan Hampden Jr. was Luther’s drummer, Paulette McWilliams was one of his backing vocalists, and I was his assistant.  

Before working for Luther, Paulette was in The American Breed who later became Rufus, and she introduced Chaka Khan to them to take her place. She sang with Quincy Jones, featured on Michael Jackson’s “Off The Wall” and has toured with Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, and so many others. She was a guest on Richard Marzetti’s Solar Radio show on June 3, 2022. Click HERE to listen.

Ivan Hampden Jr. is a four-time Grammy winner and, as well as Luther’s albums,  has appeared on albums by Ashford & Simpson, Diana Ross, Roberta Flack, The Temptations, Beyonce, Mavis Staple, and Ann Nesby to name some of the more famous ones.

After Luther’s stroke, related to mismanaged type 2 diabetes, I founded the nonprofit, Divabetic in 2003. Since then, I have reached thousands of at-risk people affected by and living with diabetes through live events, videos, and podcasts. I was thrilled to return to music with my friends, Ivan and Paulette. Seeing Mama’s Kitchen Table on the UK Soul Charts brought me so much joy. It was an unexpected but equally enchanting moment in an unforgettable Summer.

I’m also thrilled to announce the three of us teamed up again to write the new Christmas song, Pink Champagne, coming out in late Fall.

“Pink Champagne is dedicated to anyone experiencing a painful heartbreak during the holidays,” says Paulette McWilliams.

Breakups are hard. But the holidays seem to magnify the loneliness of heartache: parties with everyone coupled up, romantic Christmas music and movies, and those annual Christmas letters brimming with friends’ burgeoning families. The airwaves are filled with upbeat holiday classics leaving little room for sadness and contemplation.

Pink Champagne is a story of a woman’s journey from victim to victor at Christmastime. A mindset that Paulette believes can help someone with a broken heart find fulfillment.

“You can’t experience the joy of the holidays unless you let go of the painful emotions instead of holding them in,” she says. “I hope Pink Champagne helps people who are hurting be able to move on.”

Nancy Wilson’s Guess Who I Saw Today and Marlena Shaw’s Go Away Litte Boy inspired my lyrics and story.

Listen Now: https://open.spotify.com/track/2JDf1r0CR0bdPC41TgEWKI?si=f4cd84dc48324fbc

[vivi-taylorsversion]

Being Diego Hargreeves Daughter would include...

Type: Fluff. Just pure fluffiness

Summary: Headcanons on what it would be like to be Diego Hargreeves Daughter

Age: 0-4 (I imagine them around this age but I might do an older version)

Warnings: Threats (I guess?)

Onto the headcanons...

• Diego and some woman hooked up which resulted in none other than you. After the woman decided she didn't want kids Diego was left to take care of you

• He didn't care though

• One of the things he loved the most was that you shared his powers with him

• He absoloutely adored you

• His family were a whole other story when it came to loving you

• Luther, even though not liking Diego, liked you

• He didn't exactly love you since you were a lot like Diego but he thought you were cute and occasionally held you

• Allison absoloutely loved you

• She spoiled you rotten

• You had the absoloute best clothes

• Klaus though

• He practically was glued to you

• You adored him and absoloutely loved everything about him

• Especially his coat and even better he would bounce you in the air (Diego would have to be absent and considering how overprotective Diego would be it only happened on rare occasions)

• Five would pretend not to care about you however he would kill anyone who made you cry.

• Doesn't matter if they just did something they didnt know you hated or anything like that he would still straight up kill them.

• If it was a family member however he would just tear you from their arms, scold them for making you cry and hush you

• " She obviously doesn't like it you moron! Just give her to me!"

• He wouldn't care who it was. It could be Diego and he'd still act that way

• After that he would proceed to carry you around on his hip practically the whole day

• Ben was dead so you couldnt see or hear him but from what Klaus had said he cared about you

• However he cared about you a lot more than Klaus said

• You never really met Vanya considering she exposed everyone secrets in her book.

• ANYWAYYY

• Diego is so overprotective.

• Literally purely mama bear

• Your first word was either: Knife, Klaus, Five or Dada

• I will not take any arguments on that

• He would get extremely mad when you touched his knives and when you were younger even considered throwing them away incase you got ahold of one

• Diego would have to try his best to not give into the temptation of giving you sweets after your bedtime and remind himself it's not good for you

• Diego would get Allison to teach him how to braid and stuff like that so he could make you hair all cute

• He would always leave you with Klaus at night when he had to go out and be a vigilante and stuff like that

• He would always come back to see you lying on Klaus' chest, nuzzling into him, while he has an arm around you and is burrowing his face into your hair

• He would get extremely either smug or embarrased whenever you assumed Patch was your new mom or something

• He would get you something like a staffordshire bull terrier (Fun fact: I have one and he's adorable!) or doberman to protect you if he couldn't

• It sort of defeated the whole purpose when the dog ended up being a huge softie and would cuddle with you 24/7

• Would watch any show with you regardless of how kiddy it is and ends up watching stuff like Gravity Falls with you every day

• He would eventually let you do trick or treating with Klaus however he'd make sure Allison or Five would also be there so you don't end up getting killed

• Being scarily like your father

• Him being one of the only people who could calm you down during a tantrum. Those people being: Diego, Five and Klaus (Sometimes Eudora)

• (Spoiler for S1:E4) You also saw Eudora as a mother figure so when she died it broke your heart but we'll just pretend it never happened

• Affectionate hair ruffling is a must.

•Nicknaming you:

1. Princesa (Princess)

2. Osito (Little Bear)

3. Estrellita (Little Star)

4. Pequeña dama (Little Lady)

5. Pequeño (Little One)

6. Little Knife

•Lives for nicknames. Loves them

•You prob call him dada or something like that

REQUESTS ARE OPEN

Rules for requesting here

[otadam]

can sıkıntısından.

01. Marvin Gaye - Let’s Get It On 02. Bette Midler - Rose, The  03. Elvis Presley - Love Me Tender 04. Dido - Thank You  05. Extreme - More Than Words 06. Sarah Mclachlan - Building A Mystery 07. The Beatles - It’s Only Love 08. Al Green - Let’s Stay Together 09. Barry White - You’re The First, The Last, My Everthing 10. Jackson 5 - I’ll Be There  11. Sinead O'Connor - Nothing Compares 2 U  12. Sonny And Cher - I Got You Babe  13. Chris Isaak - Wicked Game  14. Eric Clapton - Wonderful Tonight  15. Journey - Faithfully  16. The Beatles - and i love here  17. Cheap Trick - I Want You To Want Me  18. Wham - Careless Whisper  19. Carpenters - Superstar  20. Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You  21. Diana Ross & Lionel Richie - Endless Love  22. Prince - I will die for you  23. Atlantic Starr - Always 24. Janet Jackson - That’s The Way Love Goes 25. Paul McCartney - Maybe I’m Amazed  26. The Beatles - P.S. I Love You  27. Elvis Costello and the Attractions - Alison (live) 28. Elton John - Your Song  29. Troggs - Wild Thing  30. Morris Albert - Feelings  31. Alicia Keys - Fallin'  32. Sting - Every Litte Thing She Does Is Magic  33. Boyz II Men - I’ll Make Love To You  34. Cyndi Lauper - Time After Time  35. The Beatles - This Boy  36. Emotions - Best Of My Love  37. Billy Joel - Shes Got A Way  38. Meat Loaf - I’d Do Anything For Love  39. Commodores - Three Times A Lady 40. Roxette - It Must Have Been Love  41. Andy Gibb - I Just Want To Be Your Everyth 42. Roberta Flack - The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face 43. Ricky Martin - Nobody Wants To Be Lonely 44. The Righteous Brothers - Unchained Melody  45. LL Cool J - I Need Love 46. Donna Summer - Love To Love You Baby  47. Foreigner - I Want to Know What Love Is 48. Celine Dion - My Heart Will Go On  49. Bangles - Eternal Flame  50. Leann Rimes - How Do I Live 51. Peter Frampton - Baby, I Love Your Way  52. Enrique Iglesias - Hero  53. Sting - Roxanne  54. Beatles - Tell Me What You See  55. Aerosmith - I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing  56. Luther Vandross - Here And Now  57. No Doubt - Don’t Speak 58. Madonna - Crazy for You  59. Luther Vandross - Stop To Love  60. Bonnie Tyler - Total Eclipse Of The Heart 61. Bee Gees - How Deep Is Your Love 62. Elvis Presley - Heartbreak Hotel 63. The Beatles - ill flollow the sun  64. Journey - Open Arms  65. Faith Hill - Breathe  66. Olivia Newton-John - You’re the One That I Want  67. Turtles - Happy Together  68. The Pretenders - I’ll Stand By You(Sire)  69. Neil Diamond - You Don’t Bring Me Flowers (Du) 70. Air Supply - All Out Of Love 71. Bruce Springsteen - Secret Garden  72. Pat Benatar - We Belong  73. Toni Braxton - Unbreak My Heart  74. The Beatles - I Will  75. Rod Stewart - You’re In My Heart  76. N'Sync - This I Promise You  77. Nat King & Natalie Cole - Unforgettable  78. Bon Jovi - I’ll Be There For You  79. The Beatles - Girl  80. Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam - All Cried Out  81. Goo Goo Dolls - Iris  82. Boston - More than A Feeling  83. Sade - By Your Side  84. The Beatles - If I Fell 85. Captain & Tennille - Love Will Keep Us Together  86. INXS - Never Tear Us Apart  87. Chaka Khan - I Feel for You 88. Heart - Alone  89. Bonnie Raitt - Make You Love Me  90. John Lennon - Woman  91. The Beatles - Here, There And Everywhere  92. Stevie Wonder - You Are The Sunshine Of My Life  93. Bryan Adams - Everything I Do I Do It For U  94. Shania Twain - Youre Still The One  95. Joe Cocker - You Are So Beautiful 96. Willie Nelson - Always On My Mind  97. Celine Dion - Because You Loved Me 98. Modern English - Melt With You  99. Vanessa Williams - Save The Best For Last 100. Beatles - Words Of Love

[we-stan-fiction]

Connected

part two

Paring:Five x Reader

Summary: you absloutely adore the hargreeve siblings. Well, except for Five he hates you for no reason. But it all changes when the commission attacks. After an awful fight, five ends up taking care of you only then do you realise that he's in love with you.

Quick note: you are both 16.

"JEFF? Jeffery, please if you can hear me make a sound!" Five yelled at the empty appartment, frantically looking for your uncle. If they wanted you to get to him then they wouldn't need your uncle and if they don't then he's probably injured or worse...

Five jumps from one to another, searching for any sign of Jeff. Finally, he found him on the ground in a puddle of his own blood, five put his hand on the man's neck, weak pulse. Five called an ambulance. And so far, looking for Jeffery was the only thing keeping him from worrying about you to death.

30 minutes later, all Hrgreeve siblings were with Jeff in the hospital and luther was at your place bringing some papers the hospital need for Jeff. Five left his siblings, saying something about needing fresh air, five was finally alone with his thoughts.he was pacing back and forth infront of the hospital's main entrance, He was on the verge of panicking..

We don't know if Jeff is going to make it or not. What if he doesn't, what if died just because he was at the wrong place at the wrong time. What happens to y/n then? Y/n...

Five jolted at the thought of you his panic was consuming him.

What if she doesn't make it? What if we were too late? What if she dies because of me? Because I couldn't man up and tell her I love her?

At this point his breathing was unsteady and shallow, his chest tightening and he was sweating dispite the cold wheather. He felt like he was going to pass out. He sank to knees.

"Five!" Called allison, who knelt beside him in the mud, putting both arms around him.

"What if she doesn't make it?" He lifted his head to hers and asked

"No, five, don't think like that. Y/n is a strong girl. She can handle herself just alittle longer." She tightened her grip on her brother. "You love her, don't you?"

" you have no idea how much" he whispered. A few minutes passed in silence." And Allison"

"Yeah?"

"If you breathe a word of this, I'll murder you"

Jeff was announced alive but in a comma, so it ws decided that Vanya should stay with him in case he wakes up while they find y/n.

Lila came in just a few minutes before Allison and Five came to ask about Jeff.

When Five saw Lila, he asked Diego "what is she doing here?"

"I told her to come." Said Diego

" seriously, Diego, calling the handler's daughter? Again?"Then he turned to Lila "where is she?"

"I really don't know what you're talking about."

"Y/n, your mom's pets took her and she wants us all dead so, where is she?

"What? Look, I really have no idea ehat you're talking about but I might have an idea where they might be keeping here."

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

You woke up tied to a wooden chair. Wrists tied together behind your back and ankles to the wooden legs of the chair and your chest to the back of the chair. Your first instinct was to free yourself but everytime you moved you felt the rope tighten more which made you panic and move even more.

"Oh no, sweetie, I wouldn't do that if I were you. The rope tightens with every move."said the Handler with a smile on her face.

But you didn't stop even though your chest was tightening so much that you started taking shallow breaths.

"You should sit still before you stop breathing."

"What you want?" You hissed

"I have an offer. You can work with me."

"Why on earth would I do that!?"

"You get to keep your life and possibly save your little friends" she said it like she were doing you a favor.

"Well, if I remember correctly, you don't get to choose who lives and who dies."

"You listen closely, because of you little physcos with your powers, I can't get anything done with you constantly ruining the timeline."

You tried to move and heard a tiny crack from your ribs." No you listen here, you piece of shit. I will Never work for you. I'd rather die."

Pain was increasing with every breath as your chest tightened and threatened to swallow you whole.

"You have 24 hrs, I know you'll come around."

At this point you thought you were slowly dying. Breathing was so hard that you started moving more to free yourself but only heard a louder crack in your ribcage as the darkness took you away.

__________________________________________

24 hrs later, the Handler had you in the chair again.

"I hope you had time to think." Said the Handler "what's it gonna be, sweetie?"

"No freaking way."

"Fine. You asked for it." She turned to a man with a syringe with some blue liquid.

This time you tried to stay still and show no sign of fear. Mainly because if you moved you'll breack more ribs. The man injected it into your neck and at first all you saw was figures...

Slowly they started to turn to people then you saw faces.. klaus, allison, luther, vanya, diego and five. They were arguing about something then Luther pulled out his gun and shot each and everyone of them. With you desperately begging him to stop, telling them it's going to be okay... and the nightmares start all over again and again and again and again with different scenarios but always end with all of them dead. Only this time you were awake and you can't stop them.

"Put her back in the chamber."

You don't know where the nightmares end and reality starts you no longer know if they're even alive. You realize that you are now shackled to the wall from both wrists and ankles with iron shackles. You stand and then try to superspeed to the other side of the room maybe that can break it but it only elecrocuted you. Now that's new you think to yourself. Electrified shackles so I can't try to break it?

You couldn't take it anymore, you don't know if anyone who care about or even know is alive and you can't even move. You wanted someone, anyone to get you out of here. You realized you've been crying and you put your head down on the cold cement floor and sleep.

__________________________________________

"Y/n?" Five said moving closer to you

"No, please" you plead and cover your faces before you witness his death again

Five stood where he was, concerned. "What have they done to you?"

"Is that really you?"

"Of course that's really me" he said annoyed then his features softened "yes it's really me." He kneeled on the ground trying to get closer but you wouldn't let him. You were hyperventilating. "Hey," he said softly "I can get you out of here, I promise just let me help you." He pleaded.

You took a good look at him but made no inclination that allowed him to get closer.

"Will you please let me help you."

Slowly you nodded. He got up and started walking towards you, but he didn't jump knowing that it might get you rattled again. He kneeled down beside you and took one of your hands in his. He saw how red and bruised your wrist was and tried to claw at it. "No, don't!" But he was too litte. The shackle gave a shock that went through the two of you causing him to jerk away.

"I'm so sorry." He said, "wait here, I have an idea." He jumped and reappeared a few minutes later with an axe. And with four swift blows, he broke the iron chain tying the shackled y/n to a wall. He held your hand "Are you ready?" He asked before jumping the two of you out into a corridor where gunshots were being fired nearby. The rest were trying to keep the commission agents busy and Lila was getting the keys to the shackles from the Handler's office.

"Why are you in such a rush to leave. I wasn't done, yet" said the Handler coming out of a room. Five stood infront of you shielding you from her view. "If I see you again, I will kill you." He snarled at her.

The handler smiled at him and pressed a button on a small device sending a wave of shocks through your body, the pain was too much that darkness swallowed you in seconds.

Five almost touched you but you body was still crackling with electricty. The minute it died out he reached for you. Your nose and ears were bleeding. He carried you in his arms as Lila came running out of an office but, stopped in her tracks at the sight of her mother. She looked at the Handler, five then you in his arms. She threw the keychain his direction and said," go, I'll deal with her." With that Five caught the keys and jump you into his room back at the academy.

__________________________________________

Five woke you up, you were in his bed. "Hey, you need to wake up the commission is here. We need to go." You tried to get up but was held on by an invisible force. Someone appeared at the door and shot him then shot you. You scream five's name-

"Hey, shhhh. I'm here. I'm here. It's okay, you were only dreaming." Said five softly. Your breathing was a little unsteady. You try to sit up but your chest feels like it's on fire. You lay back down. "You should really rest. You have 3 broken ribs. I'll go make you breakfast."

"Since when do you care?" You ask

Five draws in a breath and moves away from the bed, rubbing his forehead. He seemed at loss for words. "Listen, I'm so sorry-"

"Is it Jeff? Are you being nice to me because something happened? Is he.." tears started to well up in your eyes.

"What? No. No. He's fine. He's just ,um , he's just in a comma."

"This is because of me, isn't it? Because they were looking for me?" You burst into tears. "I really am dangerous to the people around me. Mom wasn't so wrong after all. I'm a curse."

"No, that's not your fault. It's mine. They were doing this to get to me. I'm so sorry."

"I want to see him. Take me to him. please."

"Yes. I'll take you there. Just let me make you breakfast first okay?"

"Why do you suddenly care so much?"

He started to pace back and forth, rubbing his forehead more frequently. He was nervous.

"I'm so sorry about what I said the other day. Acutally, I'm sorry for being so awful to you. God, I hate being vunerable. It makes me so weak."

"It makes you human" you corrected.

"You just say how you feel and it's so easy but I.....It was easier pushing you away than telling you how I feel. I'm sorry."

"sit down." You pat the spot next you on the bed. He does.

"Truth is.. y/n Y/L/N, I love you. I've always loved you with every fiber of my being. "

You didn't say anything you just stared at his beautiful blue eyes.

"Um, it's okay if you uh don't say anything. I just-"

You struggled alittle the bandages and pain but eventually sat up. He tried to help you up but you hold up your hand. Then you lean in and kissed him. "I love you, too, five hargreeves." You whisper as he kissed you back. "Will you let me make you breakfast?" You nodded.

"Okay, don't go anywhere, I'll be back."

A few minutes passed and he came back with eggs and coffee. You ate it impatiently.

"This is really good but I need to see my uncle."

"Yes. Yes of course."

You insisted on looking your best so when Jeff sees you, he doesn't worry about you. You went to shower but Five insisted he waits on the other side of the door. And would knock every five minutes to make sure you're okay. He brought you a fresh change of clothes and helped you with the bandages.

Five jumped the two of you to the hospital and sat with you all day by Jeff's bedside. You decided to sleep there because you wanted to be there when Jeff woke up and Five insisted he'd stay too. The next few days you'd both stay at the hospital and go home to shower or change and come back. And everytime you had a nightmare, Five would wake you up and hold you until you can sleep again.

When Jeff woke up, Five was getting the two of you coffee. "I'm sorry you had to go through this because of me." you say "If you want to uh put me up for adoption, I would understand." You say tears in your eyes.

"No. No. I would never. Sweetheart, you mean the world to me. I won't ever give up on you. "

At this you cried ,happy tears. Jeff chose to stick with you even when your mom didn't.

Five opened the door saw you crying and jeff's eyes glassy and walked right back out.

This moment, this exact moment was when you finally felt like you really belong to this messy, cruel world that has little miracles. That was when you felt that you felt connected to this world, connected to five and his siblings, to Jeff , to the commission, to everything.

You left Your uncle to sleep and joined Five outside. "What if the commission come again?"you ask suddenly

"Let them come, we'll be ready for them." Said Five "but until then, let me take you out on a date."

You smiled at five then kissed him.

The end

@academy-umbrella

[circumstellars]

I haven't organised my fanart doodles yet, so I thought I might. n__n I’m still learning, and only started drawing in PS a few months ago, after coming to fandom and being inspired to give it a go. I enjoy it a lot. Be patient with me, I hope to get better as I keep practising!

-> -> -> -> ->

sketches

ot3 trio art meme; 1 + 2 + 3 *request fill ot3 trio art meme; 4  + 5 + 7 *request fill Litte!Five + Alilson Little!Five, Luther cat!Five/Diego *gift cat!Five + mannequin cat!Five (+puppy Kaus) chibi doodle dump misc (1, 2, 4, 7) doodle dump I miss you brother 2 + 6 Luther *first fanart attempt Ben sketches Vanya + Five *request fill Klaus doodle dump Allison sketch Diego + Herb

+ colour

chibi-style cat!5 + cat!4 *commissioned by nicedress chibi-style Lila + Vanya cat!Five chibi chibi-style 2 + 4 + 6 *gift Little 2 + 4 + 6 Ben *first colour attempt Five + axe

+ animation/etc.

five + dance + Waterloo (static + animated) *commissioned by @clementineofmine

-> -> -> -> ->

updated: 13.02.2021

[thevividgreenmoss]

Let’s remember what the left critique of Obama’s administration is. Leftists argue, roughly, that while Obama came in with lofty promises of “hope” and “change,” the change was largely symbolic rather than substantive, and he failed to stand up for progressive values or fight for serious shifts in U.S. policy. He deported staggering numbers of immigrants, let Wall Street criminals off the hook, failed to take on (and now proudly boasts of his support for) the fossil fuel industry, sold over $100 billion in arms to the brutal Saudi government, killed American citizens with drones (and then made sickening jokes about it), killed lots more non-American citizens with drones (including Yemenis going to a wedding) and then misled the public about it, promised “the most transparent administration ever” and then was “worse than Nixon” in his paranoia about leakers, pushed a market-friendly healthcare plan based on conservative premises instead of aiming for single-payer, and showered Israel with both public support and military aid even as it systematically violated the human rights of Palestinians (Here, for example, is Haaretz: “Unlike [George W.] Bush, who gave Israel’s Iron Dome system a frosty response, Obama has led the way in funding and supporting the research, development and production of the Iron Dome”). Obama’s defenders responded to every single criticism by insisting that Obama had his hands tied by a Republican congress, but many of the things Obama did were freely chosen. In education policy, he hired charterization advocate Arne Duncan and pushed a horrible “dog-eat-dog” funding system called “Race To The Top.” Nobody forced him to hire Friedmanite economists like Larry Summers, or actual Republicans like Robert Gates, or to select middle-of-the-road judicial appointees like Elena Kagan and Merrick Garland. Who on Earth picks Rahm Emanuel, out of every person in the world, to be their chief of staff?

Centrism and compromise were central to Obama’s personal philosophy from the start. The speech that put him on the map in 2004 was famous for its declaration that there was no such thing as “blue” and “red” America, just the United States of America. A 2007 New Yorker profile said that “in his skepticism that the world can be changed any way but very, very slowly, Obama is deeply conservative.” Obama spoke of being “postpartisan,” praised Ronald Reagan, gave culturally conservative lectures about how Black people supposedly needed to stop wearing gold chains and feeding their children fried chicken for breakfast. From his first days in office, there simply didn’t seem to be much of a “fighting” spirit in Obama. Whenever he said something daring and controversial (and correct), he would fail to stand by it. For example, when he publicly noted that the Cambridge police force acted “stupidly” in arresting Henry Louis Gates Jr. for trying to break into his own home, he followed up by inviting the police officer and Gates to sit down and talk things out over a beer. A disgusted Van Jones has characterized this as the “low point” of the Obama presidency, but the desire to be “all things to all people” had always been central to the Obama image. Matt Taibbi described him during his first campaign as:

…an ingeniously crafted human cipher… a sort of ideological Universalist… who spends a great deal of rhetorical energy showing that he recognizes the validity of all points of view, and conversely emphasizes that when he does take hard positions on issues, he often does so reluctantly… You can’t run against him on issues because you can’t even find him on the ideological spectrum.

Adolph Reed, Jr., who as early as 1996 had described the politics of “form over substance” being practiced by a certain “smooth Harvard lawyer with impeccable do-good credentials and vacuous-to-repressive neoliberal politics,” warned in 2008 that “Obama’s empty claims to being a candidate of progressive change and to embodying a ‘movement’ that exists only as a brand will dissolve into disillusionment,” and his presidency would “continue the politics he’s practiced his entire career.” Reed saw the devotion Obama inspired as a kind of “faddish, utterly uninformed exuberance” and said that Obama’s “miraculous ability to inspire and engage the young replaced specific content in his patter of Hope and Change.” (When Obama did get specific, Reed said, he often “relies on nasty, victim-blaming stereotypes about black poor people to convey tough-minded honesty about race and poverty,” talking frequently about “alleged behavioral pathologies in poor black communities.”)

Obama supporters think all of this is deeply cynical and unfair. But those who want to argue that Obama was the proponent of a genuinely transformational progressive politics, his ambitions tragically stifled by the ideological hostility of reactionaries, have to contend with a few damning pieces of evidence: the books of Pfeiffer, Rhodes, and Litt.

Granted, these men are all devoted admirers of Obama who set out to defend his legacy. But in telling stories intended to make Obama and his staff look good, they end up affirming that the left’s cynicism was fully warranted. Litt, for instance, seems to have been a man with almost no actual political beliefs. Recently graduated from Yale when he joined the campaign, he was never much of an “activist.” Litt was drawn to Obama not because he felt that Obama would actually bring particular changes that he wanted to see happen, but because he developed an emotional obsession with Barack Obama as an individual person. Pfeiffer feels similarly—he fell in “platonic political love.” Litt’s book begins:

On January 3, 2008, I pledged my heart and soul to Barack Obama… My transformation was immediate and all-consuming. One moment I was a typical college senior, barely interested in politics. The next moment I would have done anything, literally anything, for a freshman senator from Illinois.

He describes the beginning of his brainless infatuation: “[Obama] spoke like presidents in movies. He looked younger than my dad. I didn’t have time for a second thought, or even a first one. I simply believed.”

Litt’s memoir is remarkable for its lack of interest in actual policy. He mentions climate change in one or two sentences (p. 111), but seems to have spent most of his White House years preparing jokes for various black tie events like the Alfalfa Club Dinner and the Al Smith Dinner. (Litt’s rule for writing speeches for dinners of rich donors: “Jokes about money are acceptable… Jokes about power are not.”) Litt helped the president record videos for BuzzFeed (to get in touch with millennials), and Between Two Ferns (to plug the floundering healthcare.gov website), and to tape a birthday message for Betty White. But he was particularly in his element in preparing Obama’s annual comedy monologue for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner (WHCD). The WHCD, now thankfully gutted of its significance, was mocked outside Washington for the icky chumminess shown between political elites and the press corps. But Litt obsessed over it, and anecdotes about it take up page after page of his book. (An incident in which one of the president’s comedy PowerPoint slides failed to display correctly is told with dramatic flair over two full pages.)

This is the Washington of the Turkey Pardon and the Easter Egg Roll, where photo ops and symbolic gestures matter far more than such comparative trivialities as “what the actual policies of the administration are.” In fact, Litt even says that during the second term, he felt as if he was being given “the political equivalent of a vegan cookie” because the speeches he was writing focused on things that were “all nutrition, no taste” like “help[ing] more students pay off loans” and “insur[ing] more people.” He wanted to make jokes about Republicans, not try to talk to the American public about housing policy. In fact, Litt, Rhodes, and Pfeiffer all subscribe to a politics of gesture, where if you want to address some crisis you give a grand speech about it. One of Rhodes’ proudest moments is writing “the Middle East speech,” and describing a moment of political difficulty, Litt writes: “We needed something to break through. That something was a speech.” These three men are speechwriters, so we can forgive them for being preoccupied with descriptions of things rather than the things themselves. But this tendency to prioritize “getting the words right” over the actual experiences of human beings ran through the whole Obama presidency. Ordinary people were a kind of alien species—Litt says they referred to them as “real people (RPs)” and tried to litter speeches with “RP stories” to make them relatable. “In Washington you never stop hearing about the details of policy but you rarely see its effects.” This is only true if you rarely bother to examine the effects.

There may not have been much Change, but there were plenty of speeches about it. The economic situation of the average Black family may have been catastrophic under Obama, but he did give “the historic race speech.” The United States may have bombed an Afghan hospital, burning dozens of patients alive in their beds (their families each received $6,000 in compensation), but Obama gave a very powerful Nobel Peace Prize speech about how the pacifism of Martin Luther King needed to be balanced with a recognition that using force can be morally necessary.

…My colleague Luke Savage has analyzed how pernicious the influence of The West Wing was on a generation of young Democratic politicos, and sure enough Litt says that “like nearly every Democrat under the age of thirty-five, I was raised, in part, by Aaron Sorkin.” (More accurately, of course, is “nearly every wealthy white male Democrat who worked in Washington.” The near total absence of women and people of color in top positions on The West Wing may give more viewing pleasure to a certain audience demographic over others.) Litt says in college he “watched West WingDVDs on an endless loop,” and Pfeiffer too describes “watching The West Wing on a loop.”

Luke describes the kind of mentality this leads to: a belief that “doing politics” means that smart, virtuous people in charge make good decisions for the people, who themselves are rarely seen. Social movements don’t exist, even voters don’t exist. Instead, the political ideal is a PhD economist president (Jed Bartlet) consulting with a crack team of Ivy League underlings and challenging the ill-informed (but well-intended) Republicans with superior logic and wit. During the West Wing’s seven seasons, the Bartlet administration has very few substantive political accomplishments, though as Luke points out it “warmly embraces the military-industrial complex, cuts Social Security, and puts a hard-right justice on the Supreme Court in the interests of bipartisan ‘balance.’” It has always struck me as funny that Sorkin’s signature West Wing shot is the “walk and talk,” in which characters strut down hallways having intense conversations but do not actually appear to be going anywhere. What better metaphor could there be for a politics that consists of looking knowledgeable and committed without any sense of what you’re aiming at or how to get there? Litt says of Obama that “he spoke like presidents in movies.” Surely we can all see the problem here: Presidents in movies do not pass and implement single-payer healthcare. (They mostly bomb nameless Middle Eastern countries.)

Their West Wing-ism meant that the Obama staffers completely lacked an understanding of how political interests operate, and were blindsided when it turned out Republicans wanted to destroy them rather than collaborate to enact Reasonable Bipartisan Compromises. Jim Messina, Obama’s deputy chief of staff and reelection campaign manager, spoke to a key Republican staffer after the 2008 election and was shocked when she told him: “We’re not going to compromise with you on anything. We’re going to fight Obama on everything.” Messina replied “That’s not what we did for Bush.” Said the Republican: “We don’t care.” Rhodes and Pfeiffer, in particular, are shocked and appalled when Republicans turn out to be more interested in their own political standing than advancing the objective well-being of the country. Rhodes nearly has a breakdown when he is dragged through the conservative press over some Benghazi nonsense. He found himself in “an alternate reality that was insane,” and can’t believe Mitch McConnell turns out to be so “staggeringly partisan and unpatriotic” that he doesn’t care about Russian hacking.

The Obama Democrats, guided by the “let’s just all sit down in a room together and work out our differences” temperament of Obama himself, seemed desperate for Republican approval and shocked when the right proved unreasonable. In 2012, long after Messina had been told explicitly that Republicans were not going to be friendly under any circumstances, Obama invited congressional Republicans to the White House for a screening of Spielberg’s Lincoln, in order to show how political adversaries can cooperate for the common good. “Not one of them came,” Rhodes laments. Obama held out hope that a party willing to destroy the entire planet in order to preserve the privileges of the super-wealthy would come to his movie nights and work things out amicably.

The Obama administration bent over backwards to show that it was pragmatic and moderate and sensible, even inflicting cruel harm on families to show their toughness. Here is Tyler Moran, who was a deputy immigration policy director on Obama’s White House policy council:

There was a feeling that [the White House] needed to show the American public that you believed in enforcement, and that [we weren’t pushing for] open borders. But in hindsight I was like, what did we get for that? We deported more people than ever before. All these families separated, and Republicans didn’t give him one ounce of credit. There may as well have been open borders for five years.

We deported tons of people and separated families, and Republicans wouldn’t praise us!

This same bizarre naivete is evident in Obama’s dealings with Benjamin Netanyahu, as recounted by Ben Rhodes. Rhodes says it was obvious that “Netanyahu wasn’t going to negotiate seriously” about a just resolution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, and that Netanyahu “rejected any effort at peace.” Israeli settlements continued to be constructed in brazen violation of international law. Yet, Rhodes says, “despite Netanyahu’s intransigence, [Obama] would always side with Israel when push came to shove.” In 2011, the Obama administration vetoed a UN Security Council resolution declaring the settlements illegal, even though they plainly were and Obama himself had previously acknowledged as much.** Rhodes says the Palestinians were finding “little more than rhetorical support from us.” They barely received even that. Rhodes relates a stunning anecdote in which Obama meets with a group of Palestinian youth. One nervous boy summons the courage to tell the president that his people are being treated as Black Americans were once treated. Obama does not know what to say in reply. Incapable of directly criticizing Israel, he mutters something about how he believes in opportunity for all. But moved by the boy’s testimony, he decides later to act. What does he do? He adds a line to a speech he gives to Israelis, in which he tells them that Palestinian families love their children just as much as Israelis love theirs. Does he condemn the racist Israeli state? He does not. Does he actually do anything for the boy? Of course not.

Rhodes and Obama are frustrated, then, at criticism “for not being sufficiently pro-Israel, which ignored the fact that he wasn’t doing anything tangible for the Palestinians.” They gave Israel billions of dollars in military equipment, they refrained from tangibly aiding the people Israel oppresses, and Obama went before AIPAC in 2012 to say absolutely nothing in support of Palestinian rights and instead declare:

In the United States, our support for Israel is bipartisan, and that is how it should stay…. I have kept my commitments to the state of Israel. At every crucial juncture – at every fork in the road – we have been there for Israel. Every single time. … Despite a tough budget environment, our security assistance has increased every single year… We’re providing Israel with more advanced technology – the types of products and systems that only go to our closest friends and allies. And make no mistake: We will do what it takes to preserve Israel’s qualitative military edge – because Israel must always have the ability to defend itself, by itself, against any threat… No American president has made such a clear statement about our support for Israel at the United Nations.

Obama swore to AIPAC that he will always fund Israeli missiles before the Detroit school system (if this isn’t “declaring allegiance to Israel”—which Ilhan Omar has been called anti-Semitic for talking about—then pray tell, what would be?) As with the Republicans, Rhodes cannot understand how Democrats can give in on everything and yet still be rejected. How do they not understand? They’re being played for suckers. Of course they’ll still call you anti-Semitic even if you would give the lives of your children to protect Israel’s right to an apartheid state. Of coursethey’re not going to stop building settlements just because you have declined to challenge them on anything. That’s how political power works: If the other party senses you’re weak and won’t do anything to pressure them, they’ll walk all over you! Throughout the Obama staffers’ books, you can hear them crying: But it’s not FAIR! We played nice and they took advantage of it! Gentlemen, that’s how this game works!

…The left can learn a few important lessons from examining Pfeiffer, Rhodes, and Litt. First, these are not the sort of people you want in government. You need people who (1) have clear moral vision (2) have thick skins and (3) do not care about the goddamn White House Correspondents’ Dinner. You need people who understand that politics is about gaining power and then using it to make people’s lives better, not about giving uplifting but empty speeches and walking with purpose down Washington hallways. They also need to avoid accepting political reality as “fixed.” The people who defend Obama suggest that his hands were tied—power was arranged in such a way that he could not act. But the question is: How are you going to change that arrangement of power? If it’s true that “X bill will never pass this Congress,” then how are we going to get a different Congress? The Obama administration was reactive. They played the hand they were given, they had a very narrow sense of the boundaries of the “possible.” They did not understand that being uncompromisingly radical is actually more pragmatic.It’s essential to stop fetishizing credentials. Obama wanted to “hire the best qualified people no matter their politics, and send a message of unity.” That led to him hiring actual Republicans. Unless you’re a Republican, don’t do this. “No matter their politics”? No, politics matter. Your politics are the sum of your vision of what ought to be done. If a president wants to get something done, they need a team of people who also want to get that thing done. That should be elementary, but there just wasn’t that much politics to the Obama movement. Everything was about a guy.And I suppose that’s the final lesson here: Cults of personality are bad. Movements need to be about the people, not a person. The West Wing view of politics is that you just need to get the smartest, most competent, most qualified, most virtuous people into government. But that means nothing without a substantive vision for change and an understanding of how you mobilize an authentic popular movement to make it happen.

[germanyexchangee]

Jeg fikk lov til å svare på spørsmålet "hva heter standardtalemålet i Tyskland?" i norsktimen i dag med mer enn bare "hochdeutsch". Jeg tror kanskje klassen ble litt oppgitt da jeg kom til Martin Luther og hans Bibels betydning for behovet for et standardisert tysk språk. Jaja

[comicreadingadventure]

Black AF: Widows and Orphans - Black Mask Comics

Black AF was a title created by Kwanza Osajyego and Tim Smith 3. The Widows and Orphans team includes Kwanza Osajyego, Tim Smith 3, Derwin Robeson, David Sharpe, Sarah Litt, & Matt Pizzolo. More information about the project can be found here.

I started reading Black AF because of my dear friend who shall be called “Classmate.” We were in graduate school together, and we were going through some rough times together. Well, very different rough times, but we commiserated about them. Classmate and I are very different people; we’re opposite in nearly everything from our height, gender, sexual orientation, and skin color. We came from similar places though and cared deeply for each other. 

So when Classmate was struggling with the implicit racism in our program and the explicit racism in our college town, I wanted to help distract or enrich him. I work in a comic shop, and heard about Black AF. I did some more research, told him about it, and finally bought him a nice hardcover book. He loved it. (Or at least told me he did.) I borrowed it from him, and was riveted by the story. This was X-Men, but the way we want it: actually talking about an issue. In this world, the only people with superpowers are Black people. As the most mistreated and traumatized race, they carry the genes and powers to survive. When the trauma becomes too much these genes “awaken” and give them super powers. 

As a white reader, there was a lot of nuance that I did not understand. To me it seemed like an allegory to the ongoing debate about the approaches to combating racism: do we follow in the steps of Martin Luther King Jr or the Black Panthers? Do we fight the system or do we fight the people? 

Black AF has had a few one-shots from the original story; I think America’s Sweetheart was my favorite. When I heard that Widows and Orphans was coming out, I knew I had to read it. So I did. 

I think Orphans and Widows is a story about the African Diaspora. Our superheroes are sent to rescue trafficked children, who all have powers that manifest with animal characteristics. These trafficked children come from one mother in Capeland, the Motherland, Africe. These children are all hurting, they all want to be whole, and they are all struggling to find the memories of their family. It’s a tragic story that I do not feel educated enough to talk about, but one of hope as well. If anyone would like a glimpse into a world they may not understand, or want to read a message about hope, I would recommend Black AF: Widows and Orphans.

[sheldon-ray]

Meet me tonight at the world famous @sobsnyc for a Luther Tribute to remember... This lineup is ridiculous!!! You got @truosborne , @daronsuper , @ashtnmrtn , @ghettofalsetto , ME @sherrimusiq and more... Its litt! See you tonight! But in the meantime heres a clip of our Pimptown Christmas Eve Spectacular!!! #sobs #sweetbrooklynbar #speakeasytuesday #sheldonraysings (at Sweet Brooklyn Bar) https://www.instagram.com/p/B6q1pMCggN0/?igshid=u0c34m4nktlk

[errllybird]

Erin Reads Comics - Black AF: Widows and Orphans

Black AF: Widows and Orphans - Black Mask Comics Kwanza Osajyefo, Tim Smith 3, Derwin Robeson, David Sharpe, Sarah Litt & Matt Pizzolo

I started reading Black AF, because of my dear friend Isaac. We were in graduate school together, and we were going through some rough times together. Well, very different rough times, but we commiserated about them. Isaac and I are very different people; we’re opposite in nearly everything from our height, gender, sexual orientation and skin color. We came from similar places though and cared deeply for each other. 

So when Isaac was struggling with the implicit racism in our program and the explicit racism in our college town, I wanted to help enrich him. I work in a comic shop, and heard about Black AF. I did some more research, told him about it, and finally bought him a nice hardcover book. He loved it. (Or at least told me he did.) I borrowed it from him, and was riveted by the story. This was X-Men, but they way we want it - actually talking about an issue. In this world, the only people with superpowers are Black people. As the most mistreated and traumatized race, they carry the genes and powers to survive. When the trauma becomes too much these genes “awaken” and give them their powers.

As a white reader, there was a lot of nuance that I did not understand, but I spent the story aware of the fact that I did not understand. To me it seemed like an allegory to the ongoing battle happening within and outside Black communities in the United States: do we follow in the steps of Martin Luther King Jr or the Black Panthers? Do we fight the system or do we fight the people?

Black AF has had a few off shots from the original story; I think America’s Sweetheart was my favorite. When I heard that Widows and Orphans was coming out, I knew I had to read it. So I did. 

I think Orphans and Widows is a story about the African Disapora. All of the trafficked children come from one mother in Capeland, the Motherland, Africa. They are all hurting, they all want to be whole, and they are all struggling to find the memories of their family. It’s a tragic story that I do not feel educated enough to talk about, but one of hope as well. If anyone would like a glimpse into a world they may not understand, or want to read messages about hope, I would recommend Black AF: Widows and Orphans.

[skolebloggmarcusdahlheim-blog]

Litt om meg

Jeg er en gutt på 16 (snart 17) år som går IKT Servicefag ved Oscarsborg VGS i Narvik. Jeg kommer egentlig fra Sortland, og bodde der i nesten 8 år før jeg flyttet til Narvik.

Jeg gikk første året VGS på Sortland. Der tok jeg studieretningen Musikk, Dans og Drama. Jeg har stor interesse for musikk og spiller selv slagverk, gitar, bass og piano. 

Grunnen til at jeg valgte å gå IKT Servicefag istedet for å fulføre Musikk er at jeg blir veldig lett lei av skole når det er nesten bare fellesfag, (spesielt fremmedspråk) og ble veldig umotivert når det var så mange fellesfag og så få musikkfag.

Jeg er fortsatt veldig interessert i musikk og blir å fortsette å ha det som en hobby, men jeg vil ha utdanning innen IT.

Ifølge Myer Briggs personalitetstest så er jeg INFJ. Noen kjente personer som også har INFJ personligheten er; Jon Snow (fra Game of Thrones/ A Song of Ice and Fire), Nelson Malndela, Martin Luther King og Mother Theresa.

INFJ:                                                                                                        Talsmann-personlighetstypen er veldig sjelden, og utgjør mindre enn én prosent av befolkningen, men de setter sitt merke på verden. De har en medfødt følelse av idealisme og moralitet, men det som gjør dem annerledes enn andre idealistiske personlighetstyper er deres besluttsomhet og vilje. Talsmenn er ikke drømmere, men mennesker i stand til å ta konkrete trinn for å realisere sine mål og gi en varig positiv effekt.

https://www.16personalities.com/no/infj-personlighet