#my dedication to being era appropriate was so hard.

[solibrie]

(with feeling) I LOVE GETTING INTO THINGS YEARS AFTER THEIR PEAKS

[onewomancitadel]

I think what's funny about being a very dedicated romance lover is that there definitely times where I actually don't want it in the thing I'm into or at the very least I don't want it to be bland and really boring. I get it, Zelda/Link shippers go way back, but the gestural relationship was always way more interesting as a chaste knight/lady dynamic, and it's just lazy leaning into cutesy wholesome rivals-to-lovers shenanigans. (There are no intended TOTK spoilers in this post). It could not be there, and the story wouldn't really change in BOTW (or indeed even Skyward Sword); it's not achieving overly much except finally leaning into the (ostensible) inevitability of Link and Zelda getting together. Meanwhile - yeah - if I have to draw comparisons, any implicit Beauty and Beast dynamic to Link and Midna actually transforms Midna's character arc and the ultimate tragedy of her disappearance (and inability to reconcile their partner dynamic with who they both are and the nature of the Zelda myth).

Similar to that vein I really don't like companion romances in DW, which is why I feel that (even though she was polarising) someone like River Song was more interesting if the Doctor had to have a romance, but I always preferred the Doctor as a sexless figure/professor/parent type thing. Idk, the companion romances were very clumsy and uninteresting (which is why Donna remains one of the best companions - despite the fat single woman jokes, ugh, I can't believe people say only Moffat's run was misogynistic) and just obviously there to pander to a more familiar format of storytelling by the time of the reboot (self-insert Doctor with a sexpot companion). This is why I really don't like the Thirteenth Doctor's casting as an attractive (relatively) younger woman, just because it's really apparent they weren't thinking too hard about who would actually be appropriate for a Doctor. I don't know if that makes me unfeminist (I don't even like Tennant's Doctor, and Eleven works because he's unconventional) or something, I'm not sure - I think they did her wardrobe well enough but I just can't get over the casting there (and I know she has some sort of a companion romance, again, which it seems like they didn't even commit to with a female love interest, which says a lot. What I'm really getting at here with Thirteen is that I would've preferred a less conventional actress for the Doctor).

But it really comes down to motivated versus unmotivated romance, and sometimes we're not even really talking about the same thing - fluffy superficial shit (and yeah, you can definitely argue Doctor/Rose isn't superficial, but to me it does break part of the identity of DW and the Doctor's dynamic with the companions, and the characterisation of that relationship is exhausting and so fucking boring) is just fluffy and superficial, but from a storytelling perspective I want to be thinking about what these romances achieve narratively. If anything I think what is, say, critical to writing a companion romance with the Doctor is that it should by nature be fraught and taboo, and despite Rose's parallel-world disappearance the nature of them having feelings for each other is just a foregone conclusion and the will-they won't-they shit is just boring romcom bullshit. I find the Davies era mostly unwatchable because of this nonsense now (and then Martha gets saddled with that bullshit too, which brings down her entire run as companion).

I enjoy romance which is narratively justified and I find it tedious and boring when it's shoved in my face where it's inappropriate, which is fucking hilarious because that's a common detraction to the romances I enjoy. But we know it's assigned as a bad faith criticism in these circumstances and rarely do they explain why it doesn't work. But in writing romance, what I think is valuable is asking what it achieves on multiple levels - character, plot, theme - and whether it belongs there, particularly tonally.

I understand it's not a popular opinion (Zelda/Link and Doctor/Rose are huge ships in the General Audience alone, and the reason I think the former especially has been leant into is for an obvious reason) but I think it's worth considering critically for where romance does and doesn't work, because even if those ships are nominally popular, sometimes things are just popular because they hit familiar tropes and feel inevitable and cute.

[cinema-tv-etc]

Seven Indomitable Women of World War II

9/2/2020 by Tara Moss

Women’s deeds and sacrifices deserve to be known as widely as their male counterparts.

In these times of unrest, lockdowns and change, and on the 75th Commemoration of the End of World War II, it feels more appropriate than ever to see what lessons we can take from pivotal moments in history, and the actions of those who came before us. After all, as George Santayana wrote in 1905: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” 

In looking back on history, it is imperative we re-examine, expand our understanding, and in some cases, take inspiration.

I have long had a passion for history’s under-told stories, in particular the extraordinary women of the WWII era—and there are so many women who we have not heard enough about.

In recent years, with evidence of rising fascism, and even Nazi symbols proudly displayed at marches, the hard lessons of WWII and the postwar period continue to resonate, spurring me on to write my thirteenth book, The War Widow, which I dedicated to my Oma and Opa—ordinary citizens who did extraordinary things to escape the Nazis in occupied Holland. The War Widow is a novel in the hard-boiled tradition, but with a twist, and is unashamedly centered on ordinary people—not generals, royals and politicians—but on the women who are too often overlooked in our retelling of history.

In it, my main character—war reporter turned private inquiry agent Billie Walker—pushes against the workforce prejudices of 1946 Australia, as does her informant and friend, Shyla, a Wirajuri woman who deals with the compounded prejudices experienced by Aboriginal women. The world these brave women inhabit is one of danger, massive social and political change, disabled and traumatised soldiers returning from overseas, and ongoing racial and class divisions. It is a world torn by war, and where injustice continues.

While my novel doesn’t take directly from any one woman’s real-life story, the characters are inspired by the indomitable women of the period who rejected the entrenched prejudices of gender, race, disability and religion, to achieve incredible feats.

Below, I share a brief look at just a seven such women. Their deeds and sacrifices deserve to be known as widely as their male counterparts.

In no particular order, here are seven indomitable women of WWII you should know:

Florence Finch

Tortured by the Japanese army with electric shocks and confined to a tiny cell, Finch refused to talk.

“Women don’t tell war stories like men do,” Florence Finch’s daughter, Betty Murphy recently told the New York Times after her mother was buried with full military honors after passing away at the age of 101.

In the case of Finch—the Philippine-born daughter of an American father and Filipino mother—practically no one outside of her family knew that she was a highly decorated veteran, having received the Medal of Freedom in 1947, the nation’s highest award to a civilian.

Finch was working as a stenographer for army intelligence headquarters in Manila, when it fell to the Japanese. She then convinced the occupying forces that she was Filipino and got a job writing gas rationing vouchers, which she cleverly used to aid the resistance movement. Her job enabled her to divert fuel supplies and sabotage Japanese shipments. 

She later went on to smuggle food to starving American prisoners before being caught by the Japanese army and tortured, confined to a two-by-four-foot cell. Despite being tortured with electric shocks, Finch refused to talk. She survived only to be sentenced to hard labour, and when American troops finally freed her on February 10, 1945, Finch reportedly weighed just 79.8 pounds.

The Coast Guard named a building on Sand Island in Hawaii in her honour in 1995.

Virginia Hall

It is perhaps ironic that Virginia Hall’s bid to work as a diplomat with the American Foreign Service was denied because of her disability, yet by the end of WWII she had become the SOE’s first female resident agent in France and had proved herself a fearless spy.

An American who worked in German occupied France as a British espionage agent, Hall lost the lower part of her leg in a hunting accident before the war, and used a seven-pound wooden prosthetic that she lovingly nicknamed ‘Cuthbert’.

To the French, Hall became known as “la dame qui boite“—the limping lady—and to the Germans she was “Artemis,” one of the most dangerous Allied spies. Among other feats, she worked undercover posing as an American journalist from the New York Post, planning and organizing resistance movements.

Later in the war she worked mostly alone, as a wireless operator—a highly dangerous job at the time—disguising herself as an elderly peasant and even filing down her teeth to make her disguise more convincing. When she was forced to flee her position as Nazis closed in on her in 1942, she set out on a three-day journey over the Pyrenees mountains on foot in heavy snow, despite having only one leg, and eventually became the most decorated female civilian in WWII, and one of the first women to work for the CIA. It again goes to show you shouldn’t discount the more than one quarter of the population who have disabilities. You may well be turning down the best talent for the job.

Jane Vialle

Jane/Jeanne Vialle was born in what is now the Republic of Congo, but raised and educated in France. Like my main character Billie Walker, she worked as a journalist when WWII broke out. Vialle joined the French resistance in 1940, gathering intelligence on Nazi movements across France.

In 1943 she was arrested in Marseille and charged with treason. The Vichy French prosecutor stated that her communications were so expertly coded that even when the Nazis raided her house, they couldn’t crack them. Vialle was sent to a concentration camp, and later a women’s prison, but she survived to escape or be released. (Records differ on this. As is the case with too many black women’s histories, their stories are untold or incompletely documented.)

Her actions during the war earned her the Resistance Medal by the French government, and after the war she was elected to the French Senate as a representative of Oubangui-Chari (today’s Central African Republic) and co-founded an economic cooperative called L’Espoir Oubanguien (Oubanguian Hope).

Vialle was a staunch supporter of women’s and girls’ rights, and in 1948 founded l’Association des femmes de l’Union française d’outre-mer et de métropole (Association of Women of the French Union) to encourage and support the education of girls from France’s colonies.

Lee Miller

New York-born former Voguefashion model and surrealist muse, Lee Miller was an accomplished photographer and correspondent during WWII.

I am often asked if women in the 1940s really were private investigators or indeed war correspondents. There were, in fact, many—though in terms of war correspondents, almost all of them were with the U.S. forces, as the British Army would not allow women reporters to be accredited. Lee Miller stands out for many reasons, not least the quality and power of her images, and the fact that she saw many battles up close.

At the siege of St. Malo in 1944, Miller was the only photographer present and she covered the battle alone for several days. After the battle, the U.S. Army arrested Lee for violating the terms of her accreditation, which banned her from covering conflict because she was female. Despite this, Miller went on to continue to take some of the war’s most compelling and important images, including piles of bodies and skeletal survivors at Dachau and Buchenwald concentration camps, which shocked the world.

She was also one of few to witness and document a NAPALM bomb, though her images of it were censored and forbidden to be shown until after the war.

Arguably the most famous portrait of Miller was taken by David E. Scherman when they were in Adolf Hitler’s apartment and she took off her dirty boots, covered in filth from documenting the atrocities at Dachau, and took a bath.

Her son, Antony Penrose, told the UK’s Telegraph:

“She was sticking two fingers up at Hitler. On the floor are her boots, covered with the filth of Dachau, which she has trodden all over Hitler’s bathroom floor. She is saying she is the victor.”

Noor Inayat Khan

Noor Inayat Khan, also known as Nora Baker, or by her code name, “Madeleine,” was born in Moscow to a noble Indian Muslim family and raised in England and France. Noor believed that if Indians distinguished themselves in the war it might break down the racial prejudice against them, and so joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force, becoming the first female wireless operator to be sent from Britain into occupied France during WWII.

A pacifist, influenced by the teachings of Ghandi, Noor wanted to serve, but she didn’t want to kill anyone. She felt that volunteering for this dangerous position was the best way she could serve the British, improve the status of Indians in the Empire and maintain her ethical principles.

Noor was sent to France, but there was dissent within the cell that received her, and she was sold out to the Nazis. Khan was arrested, interrogated and tortured, and tried to escape twice. After her second attempt, she was kept in shackles and in solitary confinement for 10 months – still refusing to give up her colleagues. Ultimately, Noor was among those executed at Dachau. Her last word is said to have been “Liberté.” For her brave service she was posthumously awarded the George Cross and the Croix de Guerre with silver star.

Josephine Baker

Josephine Baker is famous as an American-born French entertainer and spy, and may be the only recognizable woman on this list.

A talented dancer and singer, in 1927 Baker caused a sensation performing at the Folies Bergère in Paris in a skirt made from bananas. In 1934 she also became the first African American woman to star in a major motion picture.

Her ongoing popularity in Paris in the forties gave her access to parties, embassies and ministries where high-ranking officials gathered, and rather than simply enjoy her position and focus on her career, Baker used her access to extract valuable top-secret information and pass it on to French military intelligence.

Once the Nazis occupied France, Josephine moved to the South of France and worked with the French Resistance, sheltering refugees and supplying them with visas and other support. Among other ingenious methods, she smuggled military secrets out of Nazi occupied France and forwarded it to England, written in invisible ink on her sheet music.

She had many close calls during her time as a spy, but Baker reportedly laughed off the danger, saying, “Who would dare strip-search Josephine Baker?” Her work with the French Resistance earned her the Croix de Guerre and the Lègion d’honneur.

Baker later returned to the U.S. after the war and went on to actively support the Civil Rights Movement, participating in demonstrations and boycotting segregated clubs and concert venues, arguing, quite rightly, that if African Americans could not attend her shows, she would not perform.

Nancy Wake

Known by the Nazis as “The White Mouse,” Nancy Wake was born in New Zealand with English and Maori ancestry, and raised in Australia. Like my main character Billie Walker, Wake witnessed the rise of Hitler, Nazism and anti-Semitism in Europe in the 1930s, and some of Billie’s ‘recollections’ in the novel are based on Wake’s.

Wake was in France when it fell to Nazi Germany in 1940, and she joined the Resistance as a courier, smuggling messages and food to underground groups, sheltering Allied airmen and buying an ambulance to help refugees fleeing the German advance. Eventually her work became too well known and she was forced to escape to England, but her French husband was captured and executed.

Despite her husband’s death, Wake continued to resist, joining the British Special Operations Executive that worked with the French Resistance. She was trained in espionage, bomb making and hand to hand combat and eventually parachuted into the South of France. During her time there, Wake became known for ensuring resistance groups in the region were well-armed and equipped.

Among other feats, she famously cycled over 300 miles past Nazi checkpoints to deliver a report, was involved in a battle between the Resistance and the Germans, and killed an SS sentry with her bare hands. After the War, she received the George Medal from the United Kingdom, the Medal of Freedom from the United States, the Légion d’honneur from France, and medals of recognition from Australia and New Zealand, becoming the Allied forces most decorated servicewoman of WWII.

It is said that when she was dropped behind enemy lines, Wake ensured she had a handgun, a satin cushion and her favorite red lipstick.

dhttps://msmagazine.com/2020/09/02/seven-indomitable-women-of-world-war-ii/

[distinguished-slacker]

Ichinose Clan Theory — The meaning behind Guren’s crest

I already talked in a post that I recently made about how Kagami used the prestigious Tokugawa Clan as a reference for the Sangū Clan:

https://distinguished-slacker.tumblr.com/post/652605760110542848/sang%C5%AB-clan-theory-the-meaning-behind-mitsuba-and

However, while doing this research I randomly happened to find a clan that could be the reference for the Ichinose Clan:

That is the Saitō Clan (斎藤氏). The Saitō Clan was a Japanese samurai clan from Echizen Province, Fuku Prefecture. This family ruled over the Mino Province, which bordered the Owari province that I mentioned in my previous post. Saitō Dōsan was a powerful warlord who married his daughter to Oda Nobunaga, who was Japanese “daimyō” (a Japanese magnate or feudal lord) and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period. Oda Nobunaga was one of the "Great Unifiers" of Japan along with Tokugawa Ieyasu and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. However, Saitō Dōsan and his son Saitō Yoshitatsu were defeated by the Oda and died in 1564. Saitō Yoshitatsu’s son was known as a drunkard who was unable to govern and was defeated by the same Oda Nobunaga three years later. As a consequence, the Saitō clan disappeared in 1567. It sounds similar as to how the Ichinose Clan lost their prestige.

But why am I sure why the Saitō Clan was used as a reference for the Ichinose Clan?

This is because of Rígr Stafford who refers himself as ‘Saitō’ and who coincidentally happens to have a relation with the Ichinose Clan as seen in Volume 2, Chapter 1 of the Resurrection at 19 Light Novels:

Although it wasn’t Saito who initially created the Ichinose Clan, as it was Sika Madu who created the whole Mikado no Oni, and so the Hīragi family and the 10 branch houses serving under them, it was indeed Saito who was the perpetrator of the incident that happened 500 years ago that caused the Ichinose Clan to separate from Mikado no Oni, form Mikado no Tsuki, and become “pariahs”. Moreover, as it is mentioned, similar to how Sika Madu insterted his own cells inside some members of the Hīragi family (or possibly all members in all generations since 1200 years ago), Saito inserted some of his own cells inside an Ichinose Clan member 500 years ago, and so all of his descendants, including Guren, still contain these cells inside their bodies to this day. This means that if Sika Madu is the God and creator of Mikado no Oni, then Saito would be the God and creator of Mikado no Tsuki.

To further support this claim, let’s have a look at the crest of the Saito Clan:

Doesn’t this shape remind you of the pendant that Guren wears at the center of his uniform collar?

There has been some discussion over the years when it comes to guessing what actually the shape of Guren’s pendant is; some people said it is a Sun while others say it is a cherry blossom flower. But what if it’s neither of them?

First, the ones who claim it’s a Sun is because then it would complement the Hīragi Clan Moon pendant, more specifically Shinya, as Shinya’s name means “midnight” while Guren is called the “Sun” more than once, acting as foils to each other. However, if you have a closer look at it it’s hard to completely affirm that it’s a Sun because the circle is way too small in comparison to what the Sun rays would be and the five division of the rays resembles more a flower.

Here come the ones who claim it’s a cherry blossom. This is further supported by the use of the cherry blossom in OnS. When Guren attended Shibuya First High School for the first time, the cherry blossoms were in their blooming season, which is March/April. Also, in volume 14 of the manga, Mahiru happens to be seated on top of a cherry blossom tree with Guren behind her, and some people have theorised that the cherry blossom represents Mahiru because the flower symbolises the fleeting nature of life, as Mahiru “died” when she was only sixteen. There is also the fact that people assume it’s a cherry blossom because it’s one of the easiest flowers to recognise. But let’s have a look at how a cherry blossom actually looks like:

The edges of real life cherry blossom petals are really smooth, and no matter what cherry blossom “Sakura” symbols you look at on internet, the petals always have this particular rounded, slightly pointy with an inwards triangular cut at the middle edge shape. But the petals of Guren’s flower emblem are way too rough and irregularly shaped to belong to those of a cherry blossom flower. Then, to what flower it belongs to?

This flower is the Nadeshiko flower Dianthus superbus or the fringed pink or large pink. As you can see, it has five petals which have rough edges like those of Guren’s crest. One of the regions this flower can be found is in Japan and it occurs at high altitudes, up to 2400 m. This reminds me of how Guren’s home is mountainous. But putting that aside, some fans of Japanese culture might recognise this name from the ‘Yamato Nadeshiko’, which is the personification of an idealized Japanese woman. According to this ideal, this woman has to feminine, poised, gentle, humble, patient, honest, charitable, benevolent, chaste and devoted to her husband, always submissive to him, dedicated to the family, bonus points if she looks weak, delicate, with pale skin and long, straight dark hair, preferably black. So then, who does fit this role?

This is no one but the Ichinose girl who lived 500 years ago. In this panel taken from the Catastrophe at 16 manga, you can see how she has very long dark hair, and the way she gracefully holds the fan gives the idea of a sophisticated and feminine woman. Saito even calls her an “alluring girl”. Then it comes the idea of weakness and care for the family. The poor girl was one of the victims of Saitō’s plans and a victim of rape at the hands of the first Hīragi son as an act of jealousy because said girl chose his younger brother, the second Hīragi son. This girl in the end had the baby, who was accepted by the second Hīragi son, even if it wasn’t his son, and these three lived as a family after. However, they had to live a life of humiliation, being so powerless even to their last breath. Furthermore, the idea that the Yamamoto Nadeshiko name belongs to the Ichinose Clan in the OnS world, is that Mikado no Tsuki remained very traditional in comparison with Mikado no Oni, still living in a traditional Japanese mansion, wearing Japanese robes and being given a traditional education. The most obvious proof of this is how Sayuri, a member of Mikado no Tsuki, was raised by her family to fit these roles to serve Guren appropriately, as seen in the afterword that she appears in:

So in conclusion, Guren’s crest represents the Nadeshiko flower. Of course I could be wrong, and it could be either the Sun or a cherry blossom but I think it’s worth to mention this other option as I haven’t seen anyone else write about it. There is also the possibility that it doesn’t have to be only one flower. Saito was the one who planned the meeting between the Ichinose girl and the two Hīragi sons 500 years ago. 500 years later, the same Saito plans the meeting between the Ichinose son, Guren, and the Hīragi girl, Mahiru. Maybe the flower that represents the first meeting is the Nadeshiko flower and the second meeting is represented by the Sakura flower (cherry blossom). The Nadeshiko flower symbolised the kindness but futility of the Ichinoses in the past and so became their crest but maybe the Sakura flower, which also has connotations about fragility but at the same time represents time of renewal, may indicate that this time the Ichinose clan (or what remains of it) will be able to finally break their chains in this era.

I hope you liked my theory! :3 I swear I only began with researching only about Mitsuba, but then somehow I made a theory about the Sangūs, and then somehow I ended up with a theory about the Ichinoses, which lead me to the topic of Guren’s crest. What a chain of events😅

P.S. My GureShin heart is suffering right now guys🤧

[felipeandletizia]

December 24, 2020: King Felipe’s Christmas Message.

Good night. I come to you this Christmas Eve when we are experiencing truly exceptional circumstances due to the pandemic.

Many families have not been able to meet tonight as you had thought due to health measures; and in thousands of homes there is a void that is impossible to fill due to the death of your loved ones, whom I now want to remember with emotion and with all respect. A memory that fills our hearts with very deep feelings. And also, at this time, many citizens fight against the disease or its consequences at home, in hospitals or in nursing homes. Today I send you all my greatest encouragement and affection.

2020 has been a very tough and difficult year. The virus has entered our lives bringing suffering, sadness or fear; it has altered the way we live and work, and has seriously affected our economy, even paralyzing or destroying many businesses.

Many citizens and families live the anguish of unemployment or precariousness; the anguish of barely meeting basic needs; Or do you feel the sadness of having to abandon a business to which you have dedicated your life. For all this it is logical and understandable that discouragement or distrust are very present in so many homes.

And yet, the response to a crisis as serious as the one we are experiencing cannot come from the hand of more discouragement or more distrust. The situation is dire. But even so, we have to face the future with determination and confidence in ourselves, in what we are capable of doing together, with courage and hope; with confidence in our country and in our model of democratic coexistence.

We have reasons for this; because over the last decades, faced with serious difficulties, we have always been able to overcome them. And this situation that we are experiencing is not going to be different from the others; because neither the virus nor the economic crisis are going to break us.

Regarding the health situation, it is clear that overcoming this disease will come thanks to science and research. The new treatments against the virus and the development of vaccines that are underway already offer us great hope. But in the meantime, we have a lot to do.

Individual responsibility remains essential and is an effective instrument in the fight against the virus. That is why it is so important to stay alert and not lower our guard.

We once again thank the health workers for their enormous effort, their extraordinary professionalism and their great humanity with the ill. They faced the first attacks of the virus in extreme situations and also overflow in some of our hospitals. Today they continue to face this fight with a great emotional and physical burden on their shoulders. We ask you to maintain all your courage and strength and continue to take care of our health.

The other big problem and challenge is the economic crisis and avoid, above all, that it leads to a social crisis. Each person matters a lot. Therefore, individuals and families must be our primary concern. Especially our young people; their unemployment level is extremely high, and they cannot be the losers in this situation. Our youth deserve to have the most appropriate training, to grow personally and professionally, and to be able to carry out their projects. Spain cannot afford a lost generation.

Protecting the most vulnerable and fighting the inequalities that the pandemic has created or exacerbated is a matter of dignity among those of us who form the same political community. But it will also be essential to recover our economy.

And for this, it is decisive to strengthen the business and productive, industrial and service fabric. The recognition and support of our companies, the protection of our freelancers and merchants, so hit these months, will be essential to create jobs, that job that our country so badly needs. We therefore need to consolidate the foundations that give us a clear horizon of economic momentum, stability and confidence, which encourages investment and the creation of jobs.

The health, economic and social challenges we face are therefore great… enormous, but not insurmountable. Overcoming them constitutes a great national objective that must unite us all; that, as citizens, commits and obligates us all; with ourselves, with others and with our country.

And this requires a great collective effort, a great effort in which each one continues to give the best of themselves according to their responsibilities and to the extent of their abilities.

For this great national effort, we have in the first place what is most important: people; with the example of thousands of citizens who have put their work at the service of others, who have lived these last months with selflessness, commitment and great generosity. People who stimulate our spirit of improvement and of whom we should be justly proud.

All of this has been personally verified by the Queen and I during this time. In the field and in the sea; in towns and cities; in the markets, in the factories we have seen the courage and the nerve of this country. We have felt the pulse of our society which, despite everything, has kept Spain on its feet.

We both have in our memory the living image of those thousands of citizens who represent a society that has felt more united than ever in its struggle and resistance against such an adverse situation; a society that has effective and supportive organizations so that no one feels alone or helpless; a society that has endured these hard months with integrity, responsibility and serenity.

We therefore have a strong society and also a solid state. During all this time, both public and basic services, as well as companies in essential sectors have worked well, trying to put all the means at their disposal. The pandemic has revealed to us aspects that need to be improved and reinforced, but it also shows us our strengths as an advanced State. We have verified this, for example, with the efficiency and dedication of our Armed Forces, our Security Forces, Civil Protection and Emergency services, and many other public servants, who have demonstrated their dedication to service and their full harmony with our society.

And Europe is also very important to face this crisis. We have the European Union, which has made a firm commitment to sustainability and economic recovery in the face of this pandemic. The Union offers us a historic opportunity to progress and advance; opens a new era for Spain to join in a common project to modernize our economy; adapt our production structures to the new industrial, technological and environmental revolution that we are experiencing. And establish with ambition and cohesion our collective role as members of the EU before the world.

And above all we count on our system of democratic coexistence. At a time when the pandemic and its economic and social consequences cause so much uncertainty, our Constitution guarantees us our way of understanding life, our vision of society and of the human being; of their dignity, of their rights and freedoms. A Constitution that we all have a duty to respect; and that in our days, it is the foundation of our social and political coexistence; and that represents, in our history, a success of and for democracy and freedom.

Let us not forget that the advances and progress achieved in democracy are the result of the reunion and the pact between the Spaniards after a long period of confrontations and divisions. They are the result of wanting to look to the future together, united in democratic values; united in an always inclusive spirit, in respect for plurality and differences, and in the ability to dialogue and reach agreements. They are principles that never lose their validity over the years.

And together with our democratic principles and compliance with the laws, we also need to preserve the ethical values ​​that are at the roots of our society.

Already in 2014, in my Proclamation before the General Courts, I referred to the moral and ethical principles that citizens claim from our conduct. Some principles that oblige us all without exceptions; and that they are above any consideration, of whatever nature, even personal or family ones.

This is how I have always understood it, in coherence with my convictions, with the way I understand my responsibilities as Head of State and with the renewing spirit that inspires my Reign from day one.

I have always thought that Spain is an extraordinary country, of enormous wealth and cultural diversity, built over the centuries thanks to the efforts of many generations of Spaniards, and with a great history that has been, for a time, history itself of our world.

We are not a people who give up or resign themselves in bad times. It will not be easy to overcome this situation, and in each house you know it well. But I am sure that we will succeed. With effort, union and solidarity, Spain will move forward. With everyone and for everyone. And, as King, I will be with everyone and for everyone, not only because it is my duty and my conviction, but also because it is my commitment to all of you, to Spain.

It will not be difficult for the year 2021 to improve to this 2020. We are going to regain normality as much as possible in the workplace, in the classrooms, in the squares and in the neighborhoods; in shops, in markets, in bars; in cinemas, in theaters ...; in everyday life that shapes the character of a society like ours.

It's what we all want. And in the assurance that this will be the case, the Queen, the Princess of Asturias, the Infanta Sofía and I sincerely thank you for all the expressions of affection and support that you have transmitted to us this year, and we wish you a Merry Christmas and all the best for an especially hopeful 2021.

Eguberri on. Bon Nadal and Boas festas.

[chorusnihili]

what is wd gasters past

"A rather broad and invasive question, I'd say, but I suppose I can give you the rundown."

"I was born on the surface while tensions were already high, enough that my parents, assuming that I had them, were gone before I had a chance to remember them. I was mostly raised by a mismatch village of monsters; well-cared for, not the only one that didn't have a specific home."

"I didn't miss living on the surface and never wished to return there, quite frankly. The only thing that made it worth living there is that in my final few years there, I did have something close to an adoptive parent. Who, unfortunately, chose death over leaving their home."

"A lot of monsters like to paint the underground as this hellish, soul-sucking fate worth than death. Personally I never found it that bad. I suppose I never was the type to feel wanderlust or anything of the sort. I was happy merely knowing we were safe and humanity likely had no interest in pursuing us."

"So I dedicated most of my life to making the Underground as good a place as possible. Anything that could make life more bearable. Try to cheer up those affected the worst by the change. During this time, a lot of monsters took up psychology; you can find a lot of studies on stress, despair, and trauma written during this time; techniques for coping and helping loved ones, many of which still hold up to this day."

"Unfortunately given the fact that communication has always been a hassle to me, it ultimately wasn't a field of study that suited me well, although I've been told I'm a good listener."

"So my attention broke from such studies to poking around the world about me. Much of the underground was new and needed to be explored and understood, and, what can I say, I was young and ready to believe that magic could do anything. Except, maybe, restore my eyesight. Heh."

"The migration through the underground was relatively linear. The forests of Home, the snowy landscapes of Snowdin, the rainy marsh of Waterfall, the deep caves of Hotland, and finally, the empty caves of New Home. But New Home was the end. The final stop. Assuming a vaguely dome-shaped barrier forming to the shape of the mountain, we had found it on all sides; the entrance at Home, the exit at New Home, the presumably small entries in Waterfall that human trash falls through, the tunnels in Hotland that the lava flows through. We reached the end; there was nowhere else to go."

"Monsters began to fan out, build permanent civilizations. Asgore and Toriel chose to build their castle and kingdom right on the cusp of the barrier; why, I'm not entirely sure. Perhaps it was meaningful, to them. A sign of having conquered the humans, something to put them at ease. I never asked, it never seemed appropriate."

"Although many monsters seemed disappointed that there was nowhere else to go, I found a sense of satisfaction from it. We had discovered everything; there was nothing else that might creep out from the shadows. We had an understanding of the world we now lived in, a map from top to bottom, left to right. And now, all we had to do was reshape it into the world we wanted it to be."

"Much of my early life was uneventful. I spent a lot of time in theoretical research, interested in the topics of how and why magic worked, but specifically, the interaction of two magical forces. Why some attacks seemed to be so devastating and others seemed to do no damage at all.  A spent a fair amount of years analyzing magic, categorizing it, writing formulae for the so called Stats, for LOVE, EXP, HP, ATK, DEF, INV, et cetera, et cetera.  Frankly, the field is incomplete; close enough for most situations, I think, but not perfect.  I found it wasteful to continue efforts on it.  I believe that the main goal of science is to improve life; if the science cannot be applied to do so, then I do not see the point in continuing it.”

“My studies were broad and varied.  Sometimes I’d dip into the health sciences, sometimes I’d dip into architecture.  I’d do odd favors for people, look into anything that caught my interest, sometimes even take up tasks for the King himself; ones of minor interest that he didn’t want to bother the Royal Scientist with.”

“But, the focal point of my studies always came back to energy.  What could we do with it?  How can we harness it?  All monsters are made up of energy, of magic, it’s inherent to our souls, the way we express ourselves, even our body is made of magic, turns into magical dust due to a complicated chemical reaction when HP is depleted.”

“This, of course, lead to my most famous accomplishment.  The idea of using magic to power things had been around forever, before recorded history.  But there was always a mage or monster involved, directly or indirectly powering the thing in question.  I sought to cut out the intentional casting of a spell to induce power.  After all, this entire Underground was full of ambient magic; from previous spells, simply from Monsters existing; recycled, reused, breathed in and out, baked into food and released again:  Why couldn’t the world itself power things?” 

“It turned out to be more complicated than expected; failure after failure taught me that it simply wasn’t feasible to use magic without a soul casting it.  But, we found another way--and to be fair, it wasn’t exactly an idea so much as exploratory research, but research with very promising results.  Promising enough to earn me another scar on my face, heh.  Had one of the other scientists not pulled me out of the way, I might have been destroyed by the CORE before the CORE was even a thing.”

“Nonetheless I was far from discouraged.  I was actually very ecstatic.  Enough so that Asgore had a very hard time calming me down and getting me to explain what had happened and why I had a new crack down my face.”

“I started work on the CORE immediately.  Sketching out blueprints and gathering people to start building the skeletal structure of the building while I put together the intricacies of the mechanism that would create and convert pure energy that could be harnessed and used for whatever purposes we desired.  It took a very long time, but it’s no doubt one of my greatest creations.  Asgore asked me to take up the position of Royal Scientist not long after.  I accepted, of course, I wouldn’t think of declining, but it was a very strange thing to me.”

“It wasn’t long after that when the human child arrived.  I remember hearing about it, one of the other scientists telling me that Asriel had chosen to keep the child.  Keep the child, I had thought, like a pet, like a person would choose to keep a dog or a cat.  I thought it frankly ridiculous, but having the human child around brought a new era of hope to the kingdom and, I, ... couldn’t resist being pulled along.  I personally thought that the idea of peace between humans and monsters was ridiculous, but it was such a pleasant idea and the people were so happy...”

“Of course, it didn’t last.  In a single night, both the human child and Asriel had passed away.  The duo had broken through the barrier, only to seal their own deaths.  It was a travesty.  A whirlwind of horrors, one after another.  The devastation, the despair--it was unlike anything I had ever experienced, even when humanity had first sealed us underground.  At least then, we had the relief of peace.  Now, we had nothing.”

“The King declared war on humanity.”

“It was a dark time.”

“The peaceful life I had was replaced by one of fear and anxiety.  I knew what humans were capable of.  I lived through it, I wore the mark of their hostility on my skull--and Asgore wanted to willingly throw us back into that over revenge?  We wouldn’t survive.  There was no way we’d survive.  But if there was any chance of giving us any sort of fighting chance, I was going to find it.” 

“My research turned from finding ways to make the underground better to combat.  Once again, energy proved to be my friend.  I revisited old research about LOVE and EXP and ATK and DEF--and wrote up a hypothesis about another state.  ITK.  Intent to Kill.  Unlike LOVE and EXP, which are slowly, solely increasing values, ITK rapidly fluctuates and acts as a modifier on attack.  Even a soul with a LOVE of 1 can do an extreme amount of damage if they, in a particular moment, are filled with the desire to kill the one they are striking.”

“Monsters aren’t made for war.  In general, monsters aren’t made for hurting each other.   It’s one of the many reasons we were slaughtered so mercilessly.  So I created a ... weapon.  That could circumvent that weakness.  The ITK Blasters, as I called them, could take even the smallest ITK and multiply it to do horrific damage.”

“I did other research on the topic as well.  How to convert HP into a temporary boost of ATK.  With these two advancements...even a monster as relatively weak as I am could be incredibly strong.”

“I wanted to perfect the techniques before I tried teaching them to anyone.  But, such things never came to pass.  Asgore lost his will to continue seeking war.  He knew that he had only declared war in a fit of rage and to give his people hope.  So rather than continue killing, he wanted to find a different way to bring everyone hope.  He wanted to find a way to break the barrier without anymore bloodshed.  He asked me to research the human souls.”

“...”

“I wanted no parts of it.  We got into a ... rather nasty fight.  I said a lot of things I regret.  I called him a coward for bending to the will of his people instead of doing what was right.  I told him that any attempt to breach the barrier would result in the complete extinction of our species.  I told him that it was his job as king to protect us, not lead us to our death.”

“I was angry and afraid, and I took it out on the wrong monster.”

“It’s about at this point that you really cannot understand my history without a basic understanding of how time flows.  I’ll spare you the lecture of multiple timelines and parallel realities, but at the very least, you must understand that the flow of time is... well, it is inherently linear, but, consider it like a... I want to say a Turing Machine.  Or perhaps, a VHS Tape.  The same segments can be replayed again and again, can be overwritten, can change from iteration to iteration.”

“So the fact that Asgore died in this timeline...and is still alive in the current timeline...it may at first seem contradictory, but it is not, I assure you.”

“Asgore’s death hit the Underground hard.  Undyne took over as Queen, but the knowledge that the last remaining member of the Royal Family was gone still loomed over everyone’s heads.  Undyne was more determined than Asgore ever was to free the monsters and I felt like there was nothing I could do.”

“So...There was little I did.  I was overwhelmed with grief and hatred.  I kept at the research.  I honed the abilities, again and again and again.  I drove myself to exhaustion, I isolated myself.  I barely slept and ate.  I neglected my duties and while the others understood I was grieving, it eventually got to the point that Queen Undyne delivered the ultimatum that I had to either get my act together or surrender my position as Royal Scientist.  I resigned without any argument.”

“Much of the time is a blur.  Most of my studies and research done with poor practices and hardly documented.  The research that lead to me creating Sans falls into this. I wished to know if...  

“Of course, two monsters can create another soul.  This much is obvious, monsters reproduce on a regular basis, enough that in the modern day, there’s an ongoing population crisis for monsters that need certain environments.  But I wanted to know if ... a monster, could theoretically, singularly donate a portion of their soul and create another living monster out of it.”

“This is probably a piece of research that very much fits the criteria of not stopping to think whether or not I should try to do so.”

“It required extracting part of my soul.  Which, to do so without killing the monster, requires a massive power source...luckily, or unluckily, I had the entire CORE at my disposal.  So I constructed a machine that could, indeed, extract part of my soul.  What resulted was the most painful experience of my life and left me comatose for six months.  It’s also the cause of the circular scars in my palms.”

“I hadn’t intended to extract two pieces of my soul, but, it happened, whether through oversight or simply as a matter of how the procedure was carried out.  I used the smaller piece to create Sans; intending to keep the larger piece for further study.  I destroyed everything used in the experiment afterwards.  I felt it was something that no monster should have the power to do.”

“That’s not to say I regret creating them.  I don’t, and nothing will ever change that opinion, even knowing some of the terrible things they’ve done in other timelines.  But I do regret the methods that lead to their creation.”

“I don’t know why Sans is so weak.  And I resisted the urge to try to figure it out.  There’s a fine line between a healthy interest in your child’s health and treating them as a science experiment, and I ... wanted to stay as far away as possible from that line.  He’s fine the way he is.  He doesn’t need to be fixed.”

“That didn’t stop me from using the second piece of my soul to create Papyrus to look after him, though.  Or teaching him magic to the best of my ability, even teaching him how to use the Gaster Blasters.”

“Having them...helped.  A lot.  I won’t say whether I was very good at it, but I enjoyed being a father very much.  The grief was still heavy, but I was able to start returning to a somewhat normal life, and even start following what was going on in the Underground again.  I learned of Doctor Alphys’s research on the human souls, and though I personally disagreed with it... decided to look into it in Asgore’s honor.”

“My immediate thought was that her ideas about Determination could mesh well with my previous research about soul extraction, albeit with a few modifications--although I had destroyed the equipment I used for the process, I remembered it well enough.  So I got to work on a theoretical DT Extractor; but the further I got with it, the more horrified I became.”

“I simply couldn’t tolerate the idea of it.  Humans or not, already dead or not--the mere idea of extracting the literal lifeforce out of a soul...  No.  It was not a process I would condone.”

“I had just finalized my decision to destroy the blueprints when I fell.”

“It was... a laughably simple mistake, really.  The CORE is designed to rearrange itself to prevent the wear from the heat from causing too much damage in any one area.  The doors pneumatically seal themselves to prevent egress during this time but...  I was simply too distracted by the blueprints and I opened the door, and walked through anyways.”

“There were no further safeguards.  There was nothing I could do to save myself.  It was over before I had a chance.”

“...”

“I don’t regularly talk about my time in the void.  Not because doing so bothers me, but because it’s simply... indescribable.  When I awoke, I couldn’t breathe.  I couldn’t move.  I couldn’t speak.  There was no me, but my consciousness existed.  I could see and hear thousands of timelines at once, as if I was standing in an arena, with each and every seat filled with a television playing a different movie.  A jumbling mess of information.”

“I have no idea how long I was there for.  It was like learning to exist all over again.  Step by step.  Learning how to move closer to visions of interest.  Learning how to seep into those visions.  Learning how to block out the immense noise.  Learning how to speak without a body.  Learning how to see the void.  Learning how to construct a body out of it.  Learning how to hunt down my timeline.”

“In many ways, it was a rebirth, and with each and every step, I lost more of myself.  I lost myself to the aching hole of my soul being missing.  I lost my conscience, I lost my heart.  I dedicated everything to the endless goal of stitching myself back together again.”

“I learned so much about the reality I live in.  How malleable it and time is.  I evolved into something grotesque, something that shouldn’t be alive.  I gained power that no monster or human should have.  Things, and even souls, could be changed at my whim.  And yet the one thing I truly wanted seemed to be impossible.”

“I did a lot of terrible things while I was stuck like that.  Some were intentional, some less so.  Many were reset thanks to Flowey, others will never be fixed.”

“I have Sans to thank for finally helping me to achieve the goal, even if not fully.  He built a machine that gathered enough of my soul that... I’m able to manifest my original form and can think clearly once again.”

“Even so...  It didn’t change the fact that my soul is still shattered, somehow held together by the tug-of-war between Determination and Void, and that my fall into the Void reset the timeline into a state where I never existed.”

“And that leads us to now.  The Gaster you currently speak to exists in a timeline that has made it to the surface, though I’m not particularly fond of being up there and generally hide in my lab in the CORE.”

“Well, I certainly hope you didn’t expect even a rundown of over a thousand years to be short.”

“...Or, were you posing the question to someone other than myself...?”

[suf-lives-rent-free]

Fragments

Everything below is just my opinion; I am in no way trying to say that how I feel about this is the one correct take or whatever.

I know a lot of people like this episode and what happens in it, but I don’t.  I totally understand that some people just don’t want to see any negativity, period, but negativity is not inherently bad or wrong.

Negative opinions, even about something you enjoy, can be valid too - regardless of whether you happen to agree with them or not.

Also I get very salty near the end of this, and that might be entertaining to people who stan this episode?

I am aware that a lot of people – the majority, I’m pretty sure – think that the episode is a masterpiece. And on some level, I see where they’re coming from with that assessment.

The episode is boarded beautifully, the backgrounds – especially during the training montage – are stunning as always.  The music is fantastic, and the performances are great too.  In these respects, Fragments is a stand-out episode; I agree.

(Like look at this.  Gorgeous.)

However, something that’s bothered me since I saw the episode is the writers’ decision to write it into the story that Steven shatters Jasper.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: I just don’t get it.  I’m purposefully misinterpreting the story to say it’s bad.  Steven brings her back to life; and it’s not like he meant to do it in the first place.  I just don’t have the capacity to understand the sublime nature of the show’s storytelling.  I’m an SU crit and all I want to do is make the real fans feel about themselves for liking it.

Uhhhh... no.  Nah.  That ain’t it chief.

It’s true; I am not a writer.  I’m just a passive consumer of media.  However, I do not agree with the viewpoint that in order to properly understand or critique a thing you need to have the expertise and/or experience in order to make something similar.

For example, if I were to put something I drew when I was 10 years old next to something I drew yesterday, it shouldn’t take a person who has had an education in fine art to tell you that the latter drawing is better-looking than the former.

That’s how I approach media consumption and criticism; when I criticise a writing decision, I am doing so as a consumer.  I’m not saying I could write it better, or even that my opinion is objectively correct and the writer is wrong or bad.  I’m just saying that I didn’t like a thing.  Which, I would hope, is allowed?

Okay, defensive hedging over, back to the point; I don’t like that they had Steven shatter Jasper.

[I get markedly saltier from this point on, fyi]

Full admission of bias here: one of the things I really cherish about the original show is how they wrote Steven’s character; he’s a boy with interests that don’t rigidly conform to gender stereotypes.  He likes ‘boyish’ things and ‘girly’ things, and that’s okay; thats just him.  In cartoons when I was growing up, characters like Steven would be the butt of jokes about being ‘girly’ or thinly-veiled homophobia.  I find him very relatable, and I want to acknowledge that yes, that is probably a significant part of why I have such an issue with this episode’s twist.

I am not trying to say that he’s a perfect baby angel or whatever; Steven regularly gets frustrated and angry. He does some pretty manipulative and dickish things to people around him (stop trying to make Larsadie happen, Steven. It’s not going to happen).  He is a flawed character who fucks up sometimes. And he’s not 100% peaceful either; he acts violently when he defends himself against corrupted Gems and Homeworld Gems (and Crystal Gems on occasion *cough*Bismuth*cough*).  

However, he has a pacifistic temperament; whenever it’s possible, he prefers that problems be solved without needless violence or hurt.  And I like that; in most media, it’s rare to have a male protagonist who wants to solve their problems without jumping straight to punching things.

When he accidentally frees Centipeedle, he convinces the Gems to step off and allow him to try and rehabilitate her peacefully; he even notices that the Gems’ weapons are a trigger for her, and make them put them away.  He frees Lapis against the Gems’ wishes because he recognizes that keeping her prisoner is wrong, and when she steals the ocean, he talks it out and heals her so she can leave Earth peacefully.

He tries to aid Jasper when she starts corrupting, fixes Eyeball’s gemstone when she’s cracked and tries talking Bismuth down when she attacks him with the breaking point.  In all of these situations, his words and help are ignored or rejected; he’s forced to resort to violence.  And it traumatises him.  

We get an entire episode dedicated to the fact that he’s been struggling with processing these awful things that happened.

Even in Future, Steven shows hesitation about engaging in unncecessary violence; he gives into Jasper’s goading for a fight after what’s implied to be dozens of failed tries at making her come to Little Homeschool, and he spends an entire episode trying to keep Lapis from squashing the two rogue Lapis Lazulis. 

The only time he hops into a fight willingly is after Eyeball and Aquamarine hold Greg hostage, and even then they pose a clear threat to his and Greg’s safety and have made it clear that they want to hurt him emotionally and physically.  Even at that, he stops and switches tactics to talking them down as soon as they lose their focus and start bickering with each other.

(I mean, he fails.  But it’s the thought that counts.)

I personally find it really jarring that the writers found it appropriate to write it into the series that this same character – over the course of three (3) days – goes from disliking mindless violence for mindless violence’s sake to happily engaging in the destruction of plants and animals* and has done a total 180 on his willingness to spar with Jasper, to the point that he instigates their rematch.

*(You best believe plenty of small mammals and birds – y’know, like the nest Steven saved in the first episode – died as he and Jasper felled tree after tree, not to mention all of those displaced by the destruction of their habitats, and the potential loss of food sources from some of those trees.)

You’re telling me that it’s a reasonable character beat for this boy to gleefully laugh like an anime supervillain at his sudden new-found joy in fighting, then pin Jasper in place, taunt her for helping him get so strong, and hit her so hard that she breaks into pieces and dies?

You’re telling me that that’s an in-character thing for Steven Quartz Diamond Cutie-Pie DeMayo Universe do to another character?

(And yes I am purposefully dancing around talking about the mental health stuff because if I did that I’d have to go on a whole other tangent about Growing Pains and fuck I just don’t feel like it right now lmao)

Going back to Mindful Education, another big thing we see Steven struggle with is the idea that his mother shattered Pink Diamond.  This knowledge sits heavily with him; it makes him sympathetic to the Diamonds, even under the circumstances in which he sees them (escaping from the Human Zoo, and being on trial for said murder). 

He sees their grief, and he feels awful.  He questions who Rose Quartz even was.  He knows, based on what Garnet said, that Rose had to do it; there was no other way to free Earth.  But he still feels awful seeing the pain that Pink’s loss has caused Blue and Yellow Diamond.

In Steven Universe, shattering is clearly equated with execution/death multiple times.  When Pearl and Garnet fret over the crack in Amethyst’s gemstone worsening.  When Blue Diamond threatens to break Ruby.  When Bismuth introduces the breaking point, and Steven recoils at the sight of what it does.  If you want to take the fact that Gem shards are sentient and desperate to become whole again into account, you could even argue that it’s a fate worse than death. This particular act of violence is treated very, very seriously.

When we find out that Rose shattered Pink Diamond, there is a season and a half long arc unpacking the implications and consequences of this one action, and how this knowledge forever alters Steven’s mental image of his mother.  And she didn’t even kill anyone.  It was a lie!

In Steven Universe Future, Steven shatters Jasper 4 episodes before the end of the series.  And it’s only brought up twice; once for a big *gasp* moment during his breakdown in Everything’s Fine, and in I Am My Monster by Pearl, when she has to fill-in Bismuth, Lapis and Peridot.  Notably, it is never discussed around or by Jasper.  Y’know.  The person who actually died.

No indication of how (or even if) what Steven did is affecting his own self-image after his initial breakdown, how Jasper feels about what she went through beyond falling back into the Era 1 and 2 mindset.  No inkling of how the knowledge that Steven killed somebody has affected how anyone in his life thinks or feels about him; when Pearl brings it up in I Am My Monster, she seems to not even really believe it’s true.

If there are any consequences or talks about this incident, they’re skipped over between I Am My Monster and The Future, and we’re expected to assume that Steven and his therapist are dealing with it, I guess?

And yes.  It was an accident.  He did bring her back to life.  But it still happened.  If you hit someone over the head and they stop breathing, just because the paramedics are able to resusitate and stabilize them afterwards doesn’t mean you never hit them.

But here, it’s shoved aside because dwelling on it would take far too much time, and risks framing Steven in an unsympathetic way when he’s meant to be on the cusp of a breakdown.

It just feels like careless writing to me.  They really, really wanted their big action scene with Steven and Jasper, but didn’t think (or maybe weren’t interested in thinking) about the seriousness or consequences of what Steven shattering someone would entail.

In my opinion, Steven shattering Jasper is one of the cheapest, laziest things they could have ever done with his character (and hers, for that matter).  To me, the entire thing feels entirely out of character.  It’s pure shock value; nothing more.

So yeah.  That particular writing decision just does not work for me.  And if you disagree... well that’s fine?  It’s fine.  We can agree to disagree?  I’ve read a lot of defense/praise for this episode, and honestly even after processing all of those opinions and all the time my thoughts about this plotline have been stewing in my brain, I still feel the same way.

[aissmseducation]

Patient Counselling: A Commitment!

In today's era, everyone is striving hard for well-being. As everybody is knowingly or unknowingly busy with their work, business, etc., so no one has enough time to talk one-to-one. This was possible in past but as the generation changes the whole thing changes drastically!

As we all know patient counselling is a duty of both doctor and pharmacist. But because of evolving in a rushed atmosphere, this has now come to the shoulders of pharmacists as doctors or physicians have to deal with hundreds of patients in a short time. Thus, it is not feasible for the physician to give time to each patient.

Patient counselling is an integral part of the overall duties performed by pharmacists. The pharmacist needs to counsel the patient on the following aspects in a convenient manner:

Ø Dosage to be taken.

Ø Dosage regimen.

Ø How to administer a dose?

Ø Route of Administration.

Ø Storage conditions of the medicine.

Ø Diluted with water; Shake Well Before Use; For External Use Only; Do not use after the expiry date.

Ø A pharmacist can make use of pamphlets, charts, or labels for the effective administration of dosage to ease the process.

Ø Do inform physician or dentist if any ADR or adverse event occurs during therapy.

Ø Do remember to carry the prescription every time for updated medicines.

So all the above things mentioned are necessary for counselling. If a physician or pharmacist fails to inform these important instructions to patients that may provoke the following:

1. Nonuniformity of dose. 3. ADR or AE might happen.

2. Failure of therapy. 4. Might lead to life-threatening conditions.

But, nowadays especially due to the ongoing pandemic, the patient or physician can't meet one-to-one due to restrictions regarding direct contact with each other or else for other reasons it is not possible for both. To overcome all these issues technicians have made online platforms on the internet through portals or software/applications like Practo, Docs & Nulta, etc. Some insights of these online software include the following:

Ø Meet the physician directly anytime by simply booking an appointment online.

Ø Get consultation within 4-5 minutes.

Ø Patient counselling is enhanced.

Ø Convenient & feasible way of interacting with doctors (In restricted situations).

So, from a safety and convenience point of view, these are potential & credible resources for online consultation along with patient counselling.

From my personal experience, we sometimes don't go for such things due to being overeducated or ignore it like small worthless things; in the case of elderly patients, pharmacists should appropriately do counselling to avoid any bias or uncertainty.

To be able to practice this commitment of patient counselling with dedicated diligence, it is the foremost duty of pharmacists to keep up-to-date info & knowledge about a product. And it is not only the pharmacist but the patient must also ask/remind him about any counselling required for the same if a patient requires it!

Gaurav Arun Mahajan,

Final Year B. Pharm Student 2020-21

[jeongahn]

✨ HEHE HELLO MY SUN! 95hua is my gfx and 17joshua is my gif portfolio blogs - Bea 💓

(Don’t) Creator’s send me a  ✨ + your creations tag and I’ll talk about some of your pieces I love! Bea’s creations (gfx) and her gifs and her blog @joshuahong (I still want to tag joshsua, it’s been literal YEARS)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - How do I make this short. Bea. I truly love your work so much, that when I tried to go through your archive from 2015 and onward - all my brain did was “oh that’s a fave. no wait that’s a fave. that one too. OH but THIS ONE-”. I’m not exaggerating. Every single piece. So to keep this condensed, I’m only going to talk about the pieces that gave me the visceral “!!!” because I remember how floored I was at the piece. Just know that EVERY piece you’ve done gives me that reaction. So this ask? This ask is now my own personal hell because I don’t know how to choose 3-5 pieces that I love more than the other. But I will try. This is more of a “walk down memory lane,” - in which I recall how much the piece amazed me at the time it was posted. This might seem long but let me tell you - this is as condensed as I could possibly make it. Like I am pulling my own teeth trying to mention just a FEW of these pieces that I really love. I need a drink. GOD this is obnoxiously long I don’t know what to do.

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

2015

(1) (2) (3)These graphics are so heavily ingrained in my mind that I’m now realizing how much this inspired some of my graphics I did years later. Like??? It set the tone for what I value in a piece of work LOL. And when I look back at my own work now - I can see how much of these “lessons” I incorporated.

For (1) in particular, I adored the bleeding effect on the surrounding gifs! And how each panel bled into one another through those wisps.

 In (2) the COLORS just had me squirming like a delighted little sausage. It fit Seventeen’s image at the time so well. It was youthful, colorful, fresh. Everything that Akkinda was at that time. I LOVED the sparkles and the fucking TREE. Ugh that was truly one of the best graphics I saw at the time. 

In (3) - the way you oriented the text was amazing. It was a lot of text but the way you spaced it out and added these visual breaks made it so easy to digest. Like one panel is text heavy. Then another panel is image heavy with a bit of text.Then there’s a gif panel with more text but also spaced out with more image. The balance is fucking incredible Bea. And literally - that’s how my own mind is programmed to make gfx now so it’s nuts seeing that it might have been influenced by your own methods I viewed over the years. LORD, I should call you professor?

2016

Very few things I never heal from. This manipulation of Jeonghan and Joshua from the Chocolate MV? Is one of them. The Chocolate MV in general? Is another. But okay I recall how I gasped because of how GOOD this was. It’s still hitting me. Your brain is so sexy Bea. Also, I’m bummed we never got Mint Jeonghan. But like, who cares? Bea edited a mint Jeonghan and that’s all I’ll ever need. I would literally frame this LOL. Like I’m half considering slapping it onto my corkboard just so I can look at it often.

I would literally pick every single piece from 2016 but I think JiHan was my most favorite and I can’t tell if that’s the bias in me that’s making these decisions. 

2017

This is the coolest shit I’ve ever seen lmfao. I wish I had something more flourished to say but I remember thinking how fucking genius you were for highlighting the teaser like this. Since it was so scenic. And rather than making a hardcore gfx out of it - you just enhanced the vibe with text, coloring, and a bit of texture. You also did this same concept with Jeonghan and it just...oof it was so perfect. 

And then later on, when all the teasers were released - THIS stunning piece of work was done. I was SO impressed by the way you did the gifs with that cross effect. It’s not easy showing 13 pieces of anything. But you did THAT. And ALSO used the images of the teasers, you’re a MAD MAN BEA. A GENIUS. I’m still so shocked by how well done is this.

And you know what this talented fuck did WITH THE ACTUAL MV? You’re not going to fucking believe this. You’re really not. Why am I suddenly so angry. Just look at THIS and you’ll understand full well, why I am SCREAMING. I’ve NEVER seen anything done like this at the time it was posted. Like Bea REALLY set the fucking tone with this gfx. To this day I can’t think of a single gfx that captures an MV THIS WELL. UGH it’s BRILLIANT. If I HAD to pick a favorite - like you threatened to burn my pumpkin patch - I would choose this one. But because I’m not being threatened I’m now making this LONG ASS POST on WHY I LOVE BEA’S WORK SO MUCH-

I recently watched InuYasha in all of it’s entirity because I thought of this gfx a while back lmfao. Jeonghan as Sesshomaru and Joshua as a half demon? Satiates something inside of me. Anyways. The tones used here always get me. The soft beiges and purples at so NICE. I think I mentioned it reminded of buying lavenders out of burlap bags in romantic market places LOL. But the vibe still fits. The movie poster vibe is something you didn’t do often back then so it was cool seeing you try out a different style! The way top right and bottom left are correlated is something that flew right over my head back then. But now? I’m eating this shit up. It’s delicious. 

Shout out to the “Story of the Moon” series Bea did with Meanie, in which she insp credited herself. Is that not, the biggest flex? I love all your star crossed lovers concepts. Bea loves to: yearn. OH btw, here’s the actual Story of the Moon. It’s so sweet. Probably not the original but SO pretty either way. I think this might be the original. Re: Bea loves to learn.

I swear I’m done with 2017 but I gotta mention part 2 of Demon!JiHan. I never realized how much I loved this series of gfx. Bea. This is GOOD shit.

2018

This is GREAT. One thing I loved about YMMD concept was how the gradient reflected on the concept of day to night. So I adored how Bea did this! It was a clever way to utilize 13 images since the aspect of day and night happen in 12hr cycles. 

Just know anything Bea does of JiHan is most likely going to be some GREAT work because of the way a storyline is involved in it. I remember you talking to me about this concept so seeing it come into fruition was pretty fucking cool. Again. Bea loves to yearn. The colors reminded me of the 2015 piece I adored so much.

She did it again with the flawless approach on Demon!Jihan. It’s like year by year it becomes more and more sexy. I LOVE this. The editing on this is more “today Bea”. It’s got such a nice use of shadow and saturation. I remember those images were so hard for me to edit because of the shadow so I didn’t edit them LOL. But nothing stop’s Bea’s expertise. The red tones really get me. I love how this series went from soft burlap bag of lavender to reddish hues. It feels aggressive and I LOVE that.

This is probably the best birthday graphic that ever exists. Again Bea was so clever with how she displayed a lot of images from Joshua’s ENTIRE career. Along with text. Not just eras. Not just songs. But Joshua as a person as well. Whenever I see this I feel so fond. You can smell the love radiating off of this gfx. Joshua would be SO honored.

2019

This is so pretty. Like it reminds me of salwar kameez lmfao. I remember this fondly. It’s like they’re what is inside of a string light. Not light bulbs. It’s Seventeen’s Vocal Unit.

Shout out to this graphic that is reposted literally everywhere. Bea you unlocked every Carat’s deep want: Tatted!Seventeen. Your talent with manipulations is unreal. The tattoo series and Cyber/ Humanoid series really showcase that. Another shoutout to how Bea inspired that one set of teasers with the pressed flower freckles. I want this in a resin dish. Who on Etsy will do this for me-

(1) (2). The dichotomy of these 2 graphics still get me. In (1) there’s this warm and luxurious vibe. Then in (2) it’s the same luxurious vibe, but creepier than the previous because of the icy feel. It’s so neat. Both are SO beautifully done. I love the shimmer tears on Joshua in (1) and the icy sparkles on Vernon in (2). 

2020

I REALLY love this set. The BUTTERFLIES are you KIDDING ME??? I love them. I’m so glad you incorporated them. I love how you subject edit. The way you create glow on the face is so nice. It literally reminds me of using “How Many Carats?!?!!” on the face. Which is SO fitting lmfao. On this work it’s a bit more... “soft glow” but I had to mention it. Joshua with the monarch butterflies makes my heart warm. I dunno if Monarchs are California’s butterflies. But so many places in my town are dedicated to Monarch butterflies so when I think of California, I think of Monarch butterlfies. Anyways I adore the FLUSH on these images. It’s so INNOCENT

I love the entire Cyber series but the way you did everyone’s bionic arm? INCREDIBLE. I can’t even begin to understand HOW you did this Bea. It almost makes me angry that you do this shit for FREE. I get to look at this for free? It feels illegal. I was so floored I missed several details. Like how you made the lighting work with this neon light vibe. That takes a GOOD artistic eye and you clearly have that. Jihoon’s current of energy on his face? U G H it’s so GO OD. I want to stare at it forever. WAIT the BACKGROUND as well. Listen the more I stare this. The more details I realize I miss because I’m so caught up in one detail. It’s just such an incredible series that you execute so flawlessly. 

I just really love this. I can’t describe why. It’s just so nice to look at. That panel with Joshua’s glitter tears (p2)? I love it. All of it is so satisfying to look at and I got that entire vibe from the MV in general. So this was an appropriate way to display it!

I have yet to see all of your 2020 gfx so instead I’m gonna rb them and gush lol but really Bea. All your work is so good and if I could write a book on how much I appreciate them - (clearly) I would.

[thepersephonecabin]

Questions of Faith (fic)

Short daisy/basira fic about daisy stepping in when some Islamophobes in the station have something to say to basira.

Just as a heads up, I’m not a Muslim, so I’d love input from Muslims about Basira’s characterization and how Islamophobia is dealt with in this fic!

Check out full list of warnings and notes on AO3

The Hunt was the only religion Daisy had ever known, even before she’d known it had a name.

But that didn’t mean she had never had a crisis of faith.

Being a gay cop, even after the Thatcher era, was never easy. Turns out, that even if you did replace the bastards who led the witchhunts and raids on gay bars and BDSM clubs back in the day, it didn’t erase centuries of systemic oppression, no matter how hard you tried.

Believe it or not, Daisy first joined the force for that exact reason. To take out the trash.

She’d gotten the idea in the late 90s. She was sixteen at the time, and had snuck into a local gay bar with a fake ID. It was her first interaction with the gay community, the first time she’d tasted beer. She was so naive back then, a baby butch with a fresh boycut and leather jacket she wasn’t allowed to wear with her school uniform. Not that that had ever stopped her. In truth, she was rather proud of herself when the school’s nuns ripped her a new one for donning it over her green plaid skirt and white blouse, even if the traditional sweater was cozier.

 She’d always been a bit of an agitator, just like her Dad, a staunch Welsh nationalist. So she did the things most “bad” kids did. Listened to loud music, snuck smokes outside the school gates, kissed girls she shouldn’t. Mum and Dad didn’t like that last one one bit.

 But she did it anyway. Really, going to the bar was just the next phase of her teenage rebellion. She was pretty excited about it, too. At least until the butch bartender caught onto the fact that she was underage. That bartender was about halfway through manhandling her out the door saying, “Look, kid, it's nothing personal. It's just sometimes things go down in places like this that a kid shouldn't be here to se-"

 Daisy was about to tell her to take a goddamn hike and that she'd seen plenty of things no one her age should've seen anyhow, thank you very much, when a whole squadron of police officers burst in and chaos erupted.

 Long story short, an hour later, Daisy was sitting in the police station wearing a pair of handcuffs surrounded by a dozen or so drag queens and kings, men in leather, and assorted other characters from the club- the bartender, a young lesbian couple barely older than her who looked scared shitless, leaning on each other for support as much as their restraints would allow. The police were responding to an “anonymous tip” about a drug deal in progress, but from the looks on the faces of the others who were taken to the station with her, it seemed that this an excuse they’d heard many times over.

 They were booked one by one, but it seemed that she was the only one shepherded into the captain’s office after fingerprinting.

 The chief- Reynolds, collar number PC2729 according to his uniform and badge- was a white man with grey hair and facial hair that was still a tad brown in some places. He had smile lines and crow’s feet, and for some reason that made her angrier than anything else did.

 He gave her a smile as she was pushed into the room and onto a cold, metal chair in front of Reynolds’ desk. Daisy sneered at the officer that had brought her in, pulling her arm from the woman’s iron grip with a little more force than necessary simply for the sake of being contrarian. Reynolds’ smile widened.

 As the door shut behind the female officer, leaving Daisy alone with Officer Reynolds, the man cleared his throat and said, “Alice Tonner, sixteen years old, no priors. Booked on possession of a false driver’s license, underage alcohol consumption, resisting arrest, and assaulting an officer. Normally, for someone your age, a first-time offender, I would simply confiscate that fake ID, call your parents, and let them handle it.”

 “But?” she asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

 “But, assaulting an officer is a very serious charge, Alice. According to the briefing my officers gave me, you struck one officer in the face, elbowed and kicked several others until you were tackled. It makes me wonder if this is truly your first time getting into things you shouldn’t, or if you are simply a repeat offender who hasn’t been caught until now,” Reynolds said.

 “Don’t see how it’s your business anyhow,” she challenged. “Maybe I have done something like this before and maybe I haven’t. If your subordinates can’t do their jobs and stop crime, that sounds like your problem, not mine. And if your subordinates didn’t assault innocent civilians in that club first, I don’t think that I would have had to defend myself against them.”

 “When criminals pose a significant threat, it is sometimes necessary to use appropriate force to subdue them,” Reynolds said calmly, and still smiling. “It’s simply every officer’s duty to enforce the law.”

 “Sure,” Daisy laughed, shifting forward in her chair. “Enforcing a tip from an ‘anonymous do-gooder?’ I don’t think so. Dispatch records and calls to the authorities are public record, after all. Charge me if you want, but the first thing I’m doing if you do is calling my father’s attorney and submitting a FOI request. Do you really want to pretend that I’ll find a call from some worried mum that would justify- what did you call it? Appropriate force?” Maybe having a nationalist parent wasn’t so bad after all. At least it taught her her rights.

 Reynolds wasn’t smiling now. “How does a nice little girl like you get wrapped up in a place like that anyway? If you’re so concerned with the quality of policing in your-” he made a face, “      community    , maybe you should try our jobs and see just how easy it is, Alice.”

 Daisy saw red. “My name is Daisy, actually, and if you knew anything about me at all, you’d know this little girl isn’t so nice,” she snarled. “Thanks for the tip, 2729. Maybe I will try your job, and maybe when I do I’ll come for criminals in higher places. Like this office, for instance.” She took a minute to appraise the room exaggeratedly. “Nice trophies.”

 Officer Reynolds stared her down for a moment. Daisy didn’t know what he saw, but whatever it was, the next thing he did was call the female officer back in and say, “Officer Nicholson? Take Miss Tonner up front and telephone her parents to pick her up. She’s free to go.”

 Officer Nicholson wasn’t exactly pleased with the decision to let someone who had struck several of her fellow officers only an hour ago free without even being formally charged, but in the end it wasn’t her call. Daisy was released to her parents with nothing more than a slap on the wrist and a stern warning noted in her permanent record. All things considered, if mouthing off was all it took to get out of an arrest, it made a little more sense now why Calvin Benchley had gotten away with everything for so long.

 Two years later when she appeared for her police academy interview, and the officer in charge asked why she wanted to be an officer, she remembered Reynolds, and his too-wide smile and his crow’s feet. She was coming for him. Maybe not even him, maybe just the very idea of him.

 At first, it was tough. The other officers made no secret as to how they felt about a dyke like her in their ranks, but Daisy was more ruthless than any of them could hope to be. She closed more cases, by any means necessary and left those impotent, rent-a-cop, busybodies in her dust. When she got sectioned, it almost seemed like the natural next step for a person like her, but now she had scarier suspects to go after.

 Years passed, vampires burned, and Daisy never really considered that along the way she might have started to become the same type of monster she joined up to stop. By the time a new officer fell into her precinct, the homophobic pricks that had fueled her for so long were afraid of her. They were at least smart enough to keep their slurs to the locker room. Whenever she did catch wind of them running their mouths, she made sure to give them a scare, and she reveled in the way they fled with their tails between their legs. Or she did, at least for a little while, but soon, it felt like it wasn’t enough. It was getting boring.

 The new officer, Basira Hussain, was a new sort of breed, she thought. They didn’t know each other well at first, since at first, Basira wasn’t sectioned like her, but Daisy liked Basira. She liked the way her name rolled off her tongue-      Ba-si-ra    , she would whisper to herself in the comfortable isolation of her own darkened rooms at night, just to taste the shape of the syllables. But most of all, Daisy was surprised to find that she liked the way Basira wasn’t afraid of her. It was refreshing, she thought, to finally have someone around with a backbone.

 When she wasn’t tracking, interrogating, or disposing of suspects, Daisy dedicated her time at the office to dissecting Basira’s movements and habits. It gave her an excuse to ignore the paperwork.

 Unlike her, Basira likes paperwork. Once when Basira was happily depositing reports in the proper outbox, she caught Daisy staring and demanded in a teasing voice, “What? Unlike you, some of us actually complete our reports, and even enjoy getting work done. Shocking for you, I’m sure.”

     She’s been watching me, too    , Daisy thought with a delightful thrill. Daisy plastered on a playful smirk, and stretched her arms over her head, catlike and languid. “What’s that old saying? Something about working hard or hardly working?”

 Basira rolled her eyes, but the corner of her mouth quirked up. “Mock me if you want, Tonner, but I don’t mind the tedium of it. It feels nice, to be able to mindlessly do a task and check it off your to-do list.”

     How adorable    , Daisy thought.      How positively quaint.    “I suppose I can understand that. But if you ask me, desk duty’s a waste of your talents. Also, you can call me Daisy.”

 Basira raised one perfect eyebrow at her, “And what talents are those,      Daisy    ?”

 Daisy shrugged noncommittally, hoping it wasn’t entirely too obvious how something deep inside her purred at Basira saying her name like that. “Well, you don’t seem to mind me being around, so I assume that means you’ve got balls. Someone like that should be out there,” she jerked her chin at the window, “handling the real police work. Not stuck inside.”

 “Filing reports is just as important to our job as handcuffing people,” Basira retorted. “Otherwise, how would we account for everything, and make sure we’re not taking advantage of our authority.”

 “And do you think everyone is truthful on those reports?” Daisy asked, leaning forward on her elbows, the way she did in interrogation rooms.

 Basira was silent for a long time, appraising her, and finally she said, “You’re strange, Daisy Tonner.”

 Daisy wasn’t sure she knew what that meant, but she categorized it as a win and moved on.

 After that, Daisy and Basira were a bit closer, trading playful conversation whenever Daisy was actually in the office. It was strange, how Daisy was usually itching to go out on assignment, always ready for a stakeout, but now, she actually missed the opportunity to sit at her desk across from Basira for a while.

 One day, she came into the office to find Basira crouched behind Daisy’s desk, facing the wall. She was rolling out what looked like a small rug, and tensed when she realized Daisy was standing there, watching.

 “Sorry,” Basira blushed. “I just need a place to pray. I usually do it here since the position is right and you’re usually out. I can find somewhere else, if you like.”

 Daisy blinked, feeling dumbfounded, “No, no, it’s fine. Carry on. I’ll be quiet.”

 As she slid into her chair, and heard Basira shifting, and then begin muttering to herself softly carrying a quiet harmony, Daisy pondered this.

 Daisy had never really spent much extended time around Muslims before Basira. She knew Islam was the second most common religion in Wales, but her community had been predominantly Christian. In London, of course, things were a lot more multicultural, with a high population of immigrants and asylum-seekers. But still, she’d never found herself thinking that much about it.

 Suddenly, she felt overwhelmed by how much she really didn’t know about Islam, and she was a bit discomfited by it. She didn’t like feeling like she was fumbling around something, and she liked the knowledge that she’d spent a few months sitting across from Basira without giving any thought to her culture even less. Now she was sitting on her desk flipping through a folder and not taking in any of the information, just to stop herself from Googling stupidly obvious questions about Islam while Basira was right behind her.

 Unluckily, she didn’t have much time to stew in this, because some of the other officers, Shadley and Packwell, her mind helpfully supplied, began stalking toward them with intent.

 Daisy looked up from the file, brows furrowed, glare on, but Shadley and Packwell didn’t notice her at all, their gaze was decidedly fixed on Basira. A quick glance told Daisy that Basira was tuned out, still in the motions of raising and lowering her body to the ground in prayer. Daisy whipped an arm out, and moved to stand, to prevent the other officers from interfering, but she was a second too late, and Shadley pushed right by to stand inches behind Basira.

 “Hussain, get back to work,” he ordered loudly. The whole room had to have heard him, but horrified, Daisy looked around, and everyone- every single person but her- was ignoring it, steadfastly going about their business with their heads down.

 Basira’s brows furrowed, but otherwise, she made no sign of having heard Shadley. Clearly, she was used to this.

 “Did you hear me, officer? Someone’s got to go over these traffic reports.”

 “Step off, Shadley,” Daisy growled, fists clenched. “She isn’t bothering anyone. Go do your own damn reports.”

 “She’s bothering me,” Shadley retorted.

 “And me,” Packwell pitched in.

 “I’m warning you,” Daisy told them, doing her best to shoulder her way between them and Basira. “Walk away.”

 “Or what, Daisy dyke?” Packwell asked. “Got yourself a little girlfriend?”

 Daisy ignored that. This wasn’t about her. It was about keeping Basira safe.

 But then quick as a flash, when her eyes were on Packwell, Shadley reached down, put his hand on the headscarf Basira wore, and      yanked    .

 Red flooded Daisy’s vision, and distantly she heard Basira make a surprised, pained grunt. Daisy’s body was on autopilot as one hand reached over, grabbed her leather jacket off her seat and tossed it at Basira, and her leg kicked out and smashed into Shadley’s shin hard.

 Shadley howled with pain, but Daisy didn’t give him time to recover. She wrapped her hands around his collar and threw him up against a file cabinet with an audible bang. A dispatcher manual toppled from the top of the cabinet from the impact, but Daisy didn’t hear it over the almost inhuman growl that ripped through her throat.

 “Don’t fucking touch her,” Daisy snarled, putting her nose right up to his, “or the next time I swear to everything, I’ll rip you limb from limb, do you hear me? Do you hear me?”

 Shadley whimpered, pathetic, and nodded. He was shaking. She liked that.

 “I don’t want either of you to say a word to her unless it’s specifically related to a case. If I catch you so much as looking at her with ill-intent, you’ll regret it. Now get out of my fucking sight.”

 She pushed him with all her might at Packwell so that they collided and toppled to the floor messily. They both scrambled to their feet and got away as fast as they could. The other people in the room hastened to look away, pretending as if nothing happened once again.

 Daisy was still seething, sneering at the place Packwell and Shadley had vacated. She wanted to hit something, she wanted to      kill    something.

 Then, as suddenly as they came, the thoughts dissipated as she felt a gentle but firm hand on her shoulder, and heard Basira say, “Daisy.”

 Daisy let the tension in her shoulder release, and foggy through the adrenaline, she turned to look at Basira’s stern face, her hijab readjusted so it looked as if it had never been out of place at all.

 “It’s alright,” Basira said. “I can handle myself.”

 “I…” Daisy began, and then blinked a few times to clear her head. Shame began to creep in. She hadn’t meant to overstep her boundaries. “I know you can, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have made such a scene.”

 There was something unreadable in Basira’s eyes, but her mouth twitched, and she said. “It’s alright. It’s good to know you’re looking out for me. But maybe next time, don’t assault another officer in the middle of a police station with everyone watching, yeah?” She pressed Daisy’s leather jacket into her hands. “Thanks for letting me use this, by the way.”

 Daisy was too stunned to make heads or tails of how quickly the mood had shifted, and soon Basira had gathered up her prayer mat, and had returned to her own desk, quick as you please.

 The next day, when it was time for Dhuhr (Daisy had spent some time that night looking up the proper times for prayer throughout the day), Basira gave her a nod as she walked around Daisy’s desk and rolled out her mat. This time, Daisy stood once she was through, and made herself a physical curtain between her desk and the file cabinet, so no one would get through. She idly looked over and ticked boxes on the report she’d been working on before Dhuhr started, but mostly she just stood, feet shoulder width apart so she was ready to protect if anyone tried anything, throwing looks at anyone who passed by.

 When she was finished and had rolled up her mat, Basira asked, “What are you doing now?”

 Daisy tried to sound playful, but also a little submissive as she spoke, wanting to show Basira that she would listen, if Basira told her to stop. “Doing my paperwork as you’ve so frequently recommended, Basira, dear, and stretching my legs of course.”

 “I see,” Basira said, quirking a smile. “And the timing of your leg stretching wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with yesterday, would it?”

 “Of course not,” Daisy said with mock surprise. “Not everything is about you, you know.”

 Basira rolled her eyes and snorted, “Sure, it’s not. Whatever, see you again at afternoon prayer.”

 “Looking forward to it.”

 From then on, during all their time at the Met, whenever it came time for Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib, and oftentimes even Isha, because Basira so frequently worked late, Daisy stood watch, and they never had any incidents like the one with Shadley and Packwell again. Basira often rolled her eyes at Daisy’s “guard dog” nature as she called it, but never objected to it. Daisy knew she was being overprotective, and territorial, but as long as Basira was safe and happy, it didn’t matter.

 No, Daisy Tonner had never known a religion but the Hunt, but she was beginning to think whatever she had with Basira could be one.

[impractical-matters]

Tag Game: Dig a Little Deeper

tagged by @mollyweasly - thank you steph!! 💕💕

1. do you prefer writing with a black pen or a blue pen? both

2. would you prefer to live in the country or in the city? country

3. if you could learn a new skill, what would it be? I’ve always wanted to learn to drive stick/manual

4. do you drink your tea/coffee with sugar? both, and yes

5. what was your favorite book as a child? I always loved, The Very Lonely Firefly by Eric Carle

6. do you prefer baths or showers? I love both, but I like to unwind in the tub whenever possible

7. if you could be a mythical creature, which one would you be? An elemental witch

8. paper or electronic books? paper, always, unless it’s fanfiction 

9. what is your favorite item of clothing? I have a couple plaid shirts that were my grandfather’s that I love

10. do you like your name? would you like to change it? My mother chose my name and it’s spelling because it was her favorite, and I have always liked it. 

11. who is a mentor to you? I have some successful psychologists/psychiatrists in my family who I really admire and would like to follow in their footsteps

12. would you like to be famous? if so, what for? I think we’ve all imagined what it would be like, I did some singing competitions and it was scary but it was also really nice to be recognized afterwards and complimented, but then again celebrities have zero privacy, so I don’t think I would be able to combat that. You have to be seriously dedicated to your craft to be willing to put up with the whole world, and I think I’m a bit too shy for all that...

13. are you a restless sleeper? When I was in camp, I had the nickname ‘sleeping beauty’ because I always slept flat on my back and never moved. That was when I had no stress in my life tho, so nowadays it’s a bit rougher sometimes. 

14. do you consider yourself to be a romantic person? I like to think so, but I haven’t had anyone to express that with recently

15. which element best represents you? I can see how they all play a part for me, but I think fire might be the most appropriate 

16. who do you want to be closer to? my friends, this quarantine has been hard on all of us

17. do you miss someone at the moment? my brother (oops, brothers I mean haha) 

18. tell us about an early childhood memory. there was a swingset in my backyard that faced my mother’s office, and in the summer when I had off from school, I would sometimes go out there and swing for hours, waving at her and just trying to catch her attention. I also spent a lot of time “rock hunting” in the backyard, which was just me digging for pretty rocks, mostly quartz

19. what is the strangest thing you have eaten? honestly I don’t think I’ve eaten that many weird things, religion kinda gets in the way of that. I did try a raw quails egg once

20. what are you most thankful for? my family and their continuous support 

21. do you like spicy food? I like some spicy foods, like Japanese and Korean, and sometimes Mexican, but I gotta be careful with those peppers 

22. have you ever met someone famous? yes, i met Matthew McConaughey outside a bathroom in JFK, I met Chris Allen in Disney World, and my friends cousin is Ricky Ullman, so I saw him around a few times for family events. 

23. do you keep a diary or journal? I used to have a song folder, which is the closest I ever got, and then of course there’s all my writing journals, but those are mostly stories, not strictly personal thoughts. I did try once in camp, but someone stole it, so clearly that was a bad idea, and I never tried again. 

24. do you prefer to use pen or pencil? pen

25. what is your star sign? gemini

26. do you like your cereal crunchy or soggy? mostly crunchy, but I like pops to be a big soggy

27. what would you want your legacy to be? I just want to be remembered, not really sure what for at this moment...

28. do you like reading? What was the last book you read? I do love to read, I recently re-read The Call of the Wild by Jack London 

29. how do you show someone you love them? Being there for them, showing my support when they’re down or if they need help. also just saying it, getting them little gifts that remind me of them 

30. do you like ice in your drinks? sometimes, but never in juice or milk 

31. what are you afraid of? sharks, starvation, being deserted in the middle of the ocean and being alone 

32. what is your favorite scent? ooooh that’s a tough one, I like fresh scents, like rain, ocean water, the forest, and other natural and seasonal scents like herbs and spices, flowers, sandalwood, vanilla, etc. 

33. do you address older people by their name or surname? Depends who they are, family I’ve been trying to keep their titles in there, like Aunt & Uncle because they told me they like that, if it’s someone at work I use their first name with them and their surnames when discussing them with outside clients. 

34. if money was not a factor, how would you live your life? I would probably travel a lot, visit all the places I wanted to go and visit my family around the world, pay off all my debts, pay for medical bills...and I would buy back my family home. 

35. do you prefer swimming in pools or the ocean? I love the idea of the ocean, but it’s big and scary and covers the majority of our planet so we can never really uncover everything that’s out there, so I prefer the safety of a landlocked pool. 

36. what would you do if you found $50 in the ground? Depends on the context. If I found $50 on the ground but I know that someone has lost it, I give the money back to the person. If I don’t know whose money is that, I keep it to myself. (keeping this answer bc same- also same!)

37. have you ever seen a shooting star? did you make a wish? yes and yes

38. what is one thing you would want to teach your children? your anger does not control you and while violence might seem like a convenient answer, it is never the solution to your problems; using your words is a much smarter and efficient tactic to defeating your issues/enemies etc. And you should treat others the way you would like to be treated and always protect your family. 

39. if you had to have a tattoo, what would it be and where would you get it? I’ve always liked the idea of triskelion because of the many different things it represents (plus teen wolf), and I would put it on my wrist because I’m cliche 

40. what can you hear now? the air conditioning is really loud in this basement

41. where do you feel the safest? under the covers with my cat 

42. what is one thing you want to overcome/conquer? I wish I was more confident and could overcome my stage fright, I get nervous talking in front of anyone and it’s just so frustrating to trip over my words so much when I know exactly what I want  to say, but my mouth won’t speak the words 

43. if you could travel back to any era, what would it be? I always liked the fashion of the Victorian Era, but the treatment of women was terrible, which is mostly true for most points in history, so...idk 

44. what is your most used emoji? 💕 because I love these hearts, and one is just never enough

45. describe yourself using one word. tenacious

46. what do you regret the most? not being there when my father died

47. last movie you saw? I just watched Knives Out last night! 

48. last tv show you watched? currently have Derry Girls s2 queued up 

49. invent a word and its meaning. dude, come on, I have no idea

Welp that was a lot of questions, but it was a nice break from work 😂 Seriously no pressure, this was a long one! Tagging: @mercheswan @superdanys @clotpolesonly @tinanewt @anduril @buckleydiazs @lightfiretomypaperwings @lovelyhufflepuff38 @when-she-writes-stuff @mysnflower @hecthledgers @dannneelackles @nighttimemachinery @theproblemwithstardust @tabbytabbytabby

[shemakesmusic-uk]

Blackened progressive metal band Vintersea unveils an epic cinematic music video for their track ‘Crack Of Light’ taken from their 2019 album Illuminated. Enjoy it below. “Since the release of our newest album, Illuminated, our fans have been asking us about a music video for the central epic of the album, ‘Crack of Light’”, says guitarist Riley Nix. “We’ve secretly been toiling away on it for nearly a year now, building sets, costumes, and prop pieces on a scale we’ve never attempted before. We traveled to every corner of our state to capture unique and appropriate scenery for this song, which is a collective band favorite. We are so excited to share the results, which represent hard work and dedication by not only our band, but also by a ton of our friends and family who put their blood, sweat, and tears into this video.” ‘Crack of Light’ was an unbelievably ambitious project for the band, evident by the props and sets that show up on-camera. The band and their friends built a 20-foot boat specifically for this video, and the boat itself took four people to load it into a flatbed trailer for the band’s journey to location shooting in the Alvord Desert in rural Oregon. Additional shooting was done in a secluded cave with a natural sunlight shaft that only shows two hours of sunlight per day, and a set that was built by the band to resemble “The Void” from the Netflix series Stranger Things, including a 40×40-foot pool for the boat to float in for one segment of the video. “While we want every video to be special, the pandemic gave us more time to work on the music video for ‘Crack of Light’”, says bassist and videographer Karl Whinnery. “I had big dreams for ‘Crack of Light’ – the song has an oceanic vibe but everyone knows filming in the ocean is horrible. Still, the song screamed for a boat so I dug deep in my brain and came back with a pretty crazy idea. I managed to sell it to the band and we developed the idea. The crazy idea? Build a boat and take it to the desert.” [via Metal Goddesses]

French/Norwegian symphonic gothic metal act Sirenia presents the second single off of their upcoming studio album Riddles, Ruins & Revelations. Listen to ‘We Come To Ruins’ below. After releasing the album’s first output, ‘Addiction No. 1′, in late 2020, the four-piece around mastermind, bandleader, multi-instrumentalist, composer, songwriter and producer Morten Veland is ringing in the new year with another catchy yet smashing anthem. ‘We Come To Ruins’ skillfully portrays Sirenia’s multifaceted nature and adds harshness to the record’s characteristic elements, while transforming the “beauty and the beast“-concept into a modern yet dark atmosphere. Stamping guitar tunes are underlined by evil growls, ushered along by the vocal power of singer Emmanuelle Zoldan shortly after. This song is poised to move all the headbangers out there!Morten Veland about ‘We Come To Ruins’: “‘We Come To Ruins’ is the second single from our upcoming album. This song shows Sirenia from a heavier side, although it is a very dynamic song with many changes in both atmosphere and intensity. It is probably a more “typical” Sirenia song than our first single, but still with a modern approach.” [via Metal Goddesses]

Finnish melodic death metal act Evil Drive presents new single ‘Rising From The Revenge’. It comes with a music video which is available below. The band’s upcoming album Demons Within is due out April 2. Says the band: “Choosing the first video from such strong album was difficult this time. ‘Rising From The Revenge’ was chosen because it reflects the overall heaviness, melody and technicality of the new album.”

Swiss progressive trio Cellar Darling unveils new 11-minute piece ‘Dance’. Listen below. With ‘Dance,’ Cellar Darling have created a song that takes up the “Death and the Maiden” theme of their 2019 concept album The Spell, but at the same time adapts it into the here and now: a “dance of death”, an end-time vision. In this epic 11-minute track, the Swiss heavy progressive rock trio takes the listener on a dark musical journey worthy of the band’s name, combining mystical folk elements with heavy riffs and intricate structures. Once again, the highly unusual instrumentation typical for the band, including a hurdy-gurdy, flute, and piano, colours their signature sound. Inspired by the dancing plague of 1518, their lyrics for the first time do not tell of an exclusively fictional world but represent an examination of both our history and current events. Thus, Cellar Darling continue to move in a new direction, resuming the radical path they have chosen since departing from Eluveitie in 2016. [via Metal Goddesses]

Melodic post-hardcore sextet As Everything Unfolds have released their new single ‘Wallow’. Listen to it below. The track is the fourth single taken from the band’s upcoming debut album Within Each Lies The Other, which is set for a March 26 release via Long Branch Records. Vocalist Charlie Rolfe about the new single: “Anger and sadness really drove this track lyrically, and there’s a lot of frustration that’s presented through the use of primarily harsh vocals. It’s a song about betrayal, liars, and anyone who has ever done anything to you to make you deliberately feel worthless. There’s a lot of energy that was released through this song, and we invite you to do the same.”[via Metal Goddesses]

(We Are) Pigs is a new project spearheaded by South African-born producer and singer Esjay Jones. After debuting with a cover of Slipknot’s ‘Duality’ this past summer, she has unleashed an original song ‘Pulse Queen’, along with a music video. Combining elements of nu metal, alt-metal, and even trap music, (We Are) Pigs is hard to pin down as far as genre. ‘Pulse Queen’ offers Deftones-inspired vocals in the verses, with all-out screams in the chorus. “I’ve always had a deep love for the nu metal era … honestly, it’s still my favorite time for music sonically,” says Jones of her influences. Regarding the song ‘Pulse Queen’, Jones tells us, “We Are PIGS and the song ‘Pulse Queen’ was born out of the ashes of sitting idly by for years while industry executives told their artists how they should sing, look and sound. It’s a sort-of cleansing or purging of those feelings in hopes that I could redeem myself for being part of what I knew was a problem in the industry for so long, but not speaking up out of fear of retribution.” She adds, “The video captures the uncontrollable feeling of being forced to be something you are not just to fit the mold — having to put on a ‘mask’ to hide who you really are.  These songs are raw, they sit right with me, and not because some person with ‘A&R’ on their business card said so, but because I know it in my gut.” [via Consequence of Sound]

[vivienncs]

❧ make sure you KISS your fist before you PUNCH me in the face ❧

❝  Forgiveness is a war between the head and the heart and my body is a battleground. This is how it ends. I'm built of speed but nobody ever taught me how to back down. I wouldn't know how to outrun a war. ❞

BRIANNE TJU? No, that’s actually VIVIENNE ‘VIV’ CHANG from the NEXT GENERATION ERA. You know, the child of CHO CHANG and NICO TEJA? Only 21 years old, this GRYFFINDOR alumni works as an INDEPENDENT CURSEBREAKER and is sided with THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX. SHE identifies as a CIS WOMAN and is a HALFBLOOD who is known to be CRITICAL, ABRASIVE, and UNFORGIVING but also DAUNTLESS, UNSTOPPABLE, and QUICK-WITTED. — &&. ( JANE, NZT, SHE/HER, 22. )

hellooooo this is jane

viv’s pinterest is here!!! ( she also has a smaller section HERE in my general quantum leap board ) 

viv is mostly a chaotic competitive

this is the girl who decided to try in her classes bc some asshole annoyed her and she decided the appropriate response was to beat him at everything he loves so

anyway it worked out! she found the academic half of her nerdjock truth and ended up taking way too many fucking newts and owls

her history of magic project in sixth year was about how the founders are fake/fables (the real people still existed probs but certainly the names and traits make more sense as fables and anyway surnames didn’t exist like that at the time and she has a lot of points and i bet someone tells her it’s a dumb idea so she devotes herself to it as her history of magic project) so get ready for her to tell u about that if she remotely values ur academic opinions/thoughts

tiny™

like 4′11″

maybe she’s hit 5′0″ now that she’s twenty one (good grief) but chances are no... also wouldn’t make a difference anyway —- she’d be an inch closer to some people and still over a foot shorter than her bf

she was a chaser for gryffindor from a young age, and until she was in sixth year, she’d really intended on playing professionally and had been involved in the sport from her youth, playing in younger leagues and being part of professional youth teams during her hogwarts years. it’s something she’s still v passionate about, but what it really comes down to is that when she was having her academic careers meeting in fifth year, she realised: there were other things she equally wanted to do with her life. before that moment, it had never really been framed that way, like there was anything else she cared enough about to do for the rest of her life, that there was anything else she was good enough to do, but after that meeting and during the months following, she really came to understand that while her notable speed and physicality would always be things she connected to, she truly loved history and academia, and the theory of magic (as well as the practical execution of curses / unravelling them), and something about combining those aspects with her determined and dauntless spirit set her on track for cursebreaking (independently —- we aren’t here for destroying magics of antiquity and other cultures for capitalism n banks y’all)

don’t fuck w her gals 

will break ur nose and not apologise

will help lily bury a body if need be

cho is younger child of weisheng chang, who was brother to jia chang, mother to marlene mckinnon —- marlene and cho were cousins, except marls died when cho was a baby, rip (jia was younger and had her children when she was young, whereas weisheng had them later in life, and cho was his younger child). seeing as jia’s estrangement from their family was due to their parents and weisheng had no beef with her, they reconnected properly a few years before the mckinnons died (except now marlene is alive again, adult!cho’s popped out of existence, and viv’s now got a teenage mother who doesn’t know her and also her mother’s dead war hero of a cousin. it’s a Time™ aight)

in fourth, year she once paid the quidditch commentator a galleon to call al “prefect potter” during an entire game and her defence to her mother was “listen he likes it and anyway it’s re-establishing his authority and reminding all the youths which one he is, as if they could forget a walking mountain”

(she does call him prefect potter)

v ride or die

loves dogs and magical creatures, hates birds and cats

just…. she’s tiny but believe she will fling herself at u if need be

an aries!! god no wonder she’s so competitive

SUUUUUPER into types of magic and magical knowledge like girl took way too many owls just bc she’s so fascinated in the nature of magic and how it can be used and magic from other cultures bc of how magical linguistics work and it definitely fed into her becoming a cursebreaker

v loyal friend but also highkey has excellent side eye for when ur being a dumbass

loves sugar quills and chaos

tends to take her time on some issues bc logically she sees pros and cons from both sides but when she makes an Emotional Decision™ on it, she’ll stand by it. until then, it’s mostly deliberating from a logical standpoint, which is prone to change with new info (things like joining the order tho are like… in her opinion, there’s nothing to debate with that?? like, that was the obvious right choice, it’s not something less clear cut)

dropped herbology and astronomy so fuckin quick after fifth year —- she liked neville a lot, but herbology is just not her cup of tea

stans viktor krum so fuckin hard

she has wanted connections that i will Think About More And Post but i have to send my ass to sleep asap

[ parental death tw ] her mum raised her by herself at first and then reconnected with her dad but he died when viv was about ten [ end parental death tw ]

scottish (always lived in glasgow area)

“swearing in a scottish accent is patriotic, minerva”

recalcitrant, reckless, harsh, impatient, unforgiving, highly critical, abrasive, sharp-tongued, blunt, not... super comforting

but also: loyal, ferocious, tough, determined, dauntless, quick-witted, unflinching, clever, dedicated, wry, perceptive, protective

currently dating al potter, timeline tbd (but recent-ish), lives w lily potter

travelled a bit/was in and out of the uk during her training but is Firmly Back Now other than any work trip she may have

re: time clash —- oof. ooooof. ok. well, not thrilled that her mother has, for all intents and purposes, disappeared. she realises that the cho currently around is literally her mother, but also she very much isn’t, and it’s a weird situation. trying to be there for her though, and also marlene & other mckinnons who have popped up, though from what she’s heard abt the mckinnon side of marlene’s family, she’s not super inclined to be welcoming (touched on in marls’ bio, but seeing as that’s only linked in discord bc her intro is still drafted for now, tl;dr is that the mckinnon grandparents were racist, mostly in the like... ‘i voted for obama!! how can i be racist, even w all these microaggressions??’ sorta way, though there were a few more Explicit Incidents). still, having her family around is weird, but it’s far, far from the worst of it all.

really interested in the actual logistics of the timeclash and is someone who is thinking abt the logical progressions that can occur from here, but also —- in line w being unforgiving, she’s... in theory, she does agree with the idea that you can’t punish someone for something they haven’t done yet. but she looks at people like theodore nott & peter pettigrew & that just burns away, and all the theory and thoughts go out the fucking window and she wants to step on them and grind them to dust with her heel.

character parallels: holly short (artemis fowl), maya hart (gmw), elizabeth swann (potc), zoë nightshade (pjo), leia organa (star wars), thalia grace (pjo), kat stratford (10 things i hate about you), patty (she’s out of my league), xena (xena warrior princess), paris geller (gilmore girls), isabelle lightwood (the shadowhunter chronicles), hands holloway (accepted), drainpipe edwards (vinyl 2012), james rhodes (marvel), and apparently fuckin’ legolas greenleaf lmfaaaaaaao [ many of these r from charactour so... watch me add some as actual ones come to mind, probably ]

[twiststreet]

I read the extremely-celebrated first volume of Bitter Root.  

It’s successful by the standards of current comics.  The current standard: just have a really, really great high concept that resonates on both a simplistic genre level and that has some ultra-basic political moralizing that you can’t really “disagree” with, without exposing yourself as being retrograde, and thus easily dismissed; executing on that high concept is *completely optional.* That’s Maneaters, that’s Bitch Planet, that’s Bitter Root, anyways.  

The high concept: during the Harlem Renaissance, a black family of monster-fighters takes on the worst monsters there are -- WHITE DEVILS.  White people who do racism magically transform into devils that the black characters punch or shoot or some shit.   

That’s a successful concept under the current rules of engagement.  And that’s all you need; again, execution is optional.  Whee!  Maneaters had no noticeable craft to it whatsoever-- the execution was embarrassing, plus, boy, the creators sure seemed to mistreated their readers, that ugly business with the tweets.  Bitch Planet, my memory’s not great, it’s been a while, but I just remember there being an unusual amount of football or soccer or something in there...?  An unexpected quanta of foozball.  

Bitter Root, past the premise, it’s just sort of a 90′s Cliffhanger comic (e.g. Dangers Girls or Battle Chasers), though without a Cliffhanger comic’s open horniness.  It’s trying to do a shonen thing-- the characters face a bad guy, but don’t get around to defeating the bad guy but oh no there’s a worse bad guy on the horizon.  The bulk of the 123 pages is just a single chaotic monster fight that just goes on and on and on and on, and all takes place in a single night.  Didn’t feel like they had to move that story forward too fast, I guess!  Just wanted to take their time... I don’t know-- I just get bored when I can tell a comic’s not going to get around to attempting to tell a story anytime soon, but I guess I’m out-of-touch that way.  

(TV tried to pace things like that for a minute, and then a bunch of them figured out like “if we do that, people will stop watching.” Comics as a whole just dug their heels in on slow pacing and simultaneously jacked up the prices, which ... you have to admire the stubbornness at least!).

I mean, there’s nothing wrong with 90′s Cliffhanger or with shonen.  But the reviews for this are so orgiastic-- like the book has one guy who’s like more of a Wolverine/Blade type character (but who really doesn’t do anything that cool past issue #1 or 2!), or as one review put it: “It's a deliberate callback to the debates of civil disobedience versus militarism during the Civil Rights movement... or the more recent debates between discourse and more harsh responses in today's fights against white nationalism. Bitter Root is a fun book, Bitter Root is a smart book, and most importantly Bitter Root is a necessary book for today's world.”  *A necessary book for today’s world!*  It’s a fight comic about monsters...!

Plus, the trade comes with like 7 essays about how the publication of Bitter Root is the most important thing to happen to all black people since Nino Brown got shot down.   It’s not that the comic’s bad exactly (except for one character who they just give thesaurus words to-- comic people love to do that and it always sucks)(Frank Miller did that in a Sin City; I’d hazard to guess 90% of crime comics have had a “guy who owns a dictionary” character at some point-- it’s like the Opposite of Wally Wood’s 22 panels that always work).  But it’s mostly not bad.  It’s just... Seems pretty inessential.  Good drawings-- fun art to look at.  Interesting coloring though sometimes some pretty curious choices with the lighting (like what’s going on in this panel with the girl’s face???).  A couple cool lines of dialogue here and there, though an awful lot of the dialogue involves some character or another saying “I’ve seen this before!  I’ve seen this before and yet do not feel compelled to tell you when or where or what we did about it!”  Plus, some storytelling choices I wondered about-- like, I think one issue ends on a cliffhanger of a character getting sucked into hell, but rather than let that have any dramatic weight, they show you that character’s fine on the NEXT page (fatally undercutting that character’s later “resurrection” having any zazzle to it whatsoever...).  

None of the characters really make an impression beyond their half-sentence "logline.”  It’s an Image comic, so you know: the joke we all make is those are all TV / Movie pitches.  So the girl character being “a girl who wants to fight even though society is like don’t fight you’re a girl” and not being anything even one iota more than that... You can kinda look at that and go, “well they didn’t need more than that for a pitch.”  I picked out this panel of art (above) because of that line about “the big bad” which is like a 90′s Joss Whedon show term.  They’re having their characters in a Harlem period piece use Joss Whedon Writer’s Room lingo!!!!  That sort of nerd shorthand spoke immediately to me about what kind of comic this was, who it was meant for, the limits of its ambitions... 

 And you know, maybe that’s unfair because this feels really influenced by manga and manga has certainly a particular rhythm that while it resembles television, isn’t... doesn’t feel inorganically arrived at(?); it feels true to the creators.  But. I guess what’s in my head is:  with manga, the characters are the content.  With Cliffhanger comics, the art was the content.  When Cliffhanger was coming out, there was also Vertigo at its peak-- there, the story/aesthetics were the content.  Here, with these Image books, I just always end up sitting here feeling like the concept is the content, which is ... there’s no motivation to keep reading when that’s the case!  But I’m not you know... I’m not a very giving or generous reader, either, so. I know that about myself at this point so...

(Tangent: Larry Fishburne was doing a podcast that was set around this same era, but in Chicago that... At least had Larry Fishburne’s voice in it... but no monsters-- I mean, it’s an interesting era if you think about... like that argument Killer Mike makes about black businesses and the black dollar pre-desegregation, an economic environment which Fishburne’s podcast I think touched on more, whereas this comic doesn’t really... doesn’t really dig into Harlem or the period at all, as it’s too busy being exclusively about a 100+ page single fight with some monsters...)

As for the thematic content that gets people so inspired-- ehhh. I don’t know.  I mean, think on Milestone for a second.  To me what made Milestone so remarkable when it was coming out-- the thing that always struck me-- a lot of those books weren’t awesome to look at or read sometimes; I never dug the colors; but... In my memory of them, at least (perhaps rose-colored?), they actually embraced diversity in a really dedicated way.  Milestone I think recognized the diversity that existed within races themselves, so you’d have ... black superheros who were conservative Republicans, while other black superheros were scrappy nerdy kids, while the black characters who were in a street gang had their own worldviews that were diametrically opposed to the other two, or.  I mean, they didn’t just focus on the black experience-- they had Xombi in there which I really loved; Hispanic characters; et cetera. Or they’d do a miniseries but it’d be about Holocaust, the bad guy in the evil black gangs.  

Part of what Milestone tried to explode was the idea that only some model minority got to be a superhero or was uniquely part of the American experience moreso than any other minority.  Whereas this Bitter Root is instead about like ... This one special family where everyone is more awesome than the rest of the community... So, yeah: ehhhh.  By comparison that feels significantly less-than.  

Or for me, this felt like it was speaking to the sort of modern internet-fave notion that only white people can be racist.  That horseshit about “only white people can be racist because of the power differential” or whatever...?  I think that whole argument is just pretty dopey, personally. I don’t get down with that talk anyways, though it has its utility and places where it’s appropriate.  (I mean, the argument at least suggests that its audience consider power structures and institutionalized racism, I suppose, but).  

But I found Bitter Root’s project to be one that was ... celebratory; meant to “give black audiences the fantasy genre experience they’ve been waiting for.” Which I guess is powerful for people-- that reaction to Black Panther suggests that, say.  I've just had a hard time understanding that as an end goal.  For me, being Indian-American, I was more struck by something like Master of None, when that came out, the experience of ... recognizing its world, of being able to finally feel that the world it was set in and talking about was finally closer to the world I lived in.  As opposed to it handing me some power fantasy for lame Indian boys (besides the fantasy of being good at making pasta which... actually that part got to me a lot but)... I don’t remember being young enough to remember if an “Indian-American-specific power fantasy” was a desire I ever had; I remember wanting to be whichever X-Men got to do sex with Kitty Pryde, not an Indian-American X-Men, you know?  But even if I did want a more racially-specific power fantasy back then, I’m glad that desire wasn’t one that was indulged!  I mean, when has giving kids power fantasies ever worked out okay for them?  People who like power fantasies too much seem all fucked up by those things, except for when I watch low-grade Japanese porno, then thumbs up.  Like, we’re supposed to believe if we give little minority children power fantasies they’ll all end up in NASA, but my experience tells me they’ll just end up shouting at minority girls for “trying to steal X-Shaft away from them” or whatever the hell...

Anyways, it’s a good looking comic, though, and it’s not un-entertaining.  It deserves some level of praise.  And if it got more than that, heck, great.  What’s the harm, I guess?  People were all excited today about a $6 X-Men comic.  (Or $6 on Comixology at least).  So I mean, what’s the harm if Bitter Root gets talked up, I guess...?  It’s fine.  I mean, I guess it’s fine.  Fine.  I don’t know.  There was a nice page where two characters talk while a different set of characters talk in caption boxes, while a bird flies around between the two sets of conversations.  I liked that page, I guess.  I don’t think this one’s just my kind of thing though... I was into some of the drawings, but just... It just went on a bit without really just moving shit forward, I think was just the part that rankled more than anything...

Sorry to ramble on and on. Strange few weeks at work-- been needing to blow off steam I guess... 

[dnjenkins]

Marginless Living

From  “Margin”  by Richard A, Swenson,M.D.- marginless living 

    “That our age might be described as painful comes as a discomforting surprise when we consider the many advantages we have over previous generations. Progress has given us  unprecedented affluence, education, technology, and entertainment. We have comforts and conveniences other eras could only dream about. Yet somehow, we are not flourishing, under the  gifts of modernity as one would expect. 

   Why do so many of us feel like air-traffic controllers out of control? How can the salesman feel so stressed when the car is loaded with extras, the paycheck is bigger than ever, and vacation lasts four weeks a year? How is it possible that the homemaker is still tired despite the help of the washing machine, clothes dryer, dishwasher, garbage disposal, and vacuum cleaner? If we are so prosperous, why are  the therapists offices so full? If we have ten   times more material abundance than our ancestors, why are we not ten  times more content and fulfilled? 

    Something has gone wrong. Our society has been attacked by pain. If you know what pain wounds look  like, you will see them on all your friends. To be sure, there are as many different kinds of pain as there are reasons for pain. Most people associate the doctor’s office with the pain of organic disease. But this is not the only suffering physicians have to deal with. There are, for example, the pains of self-destructive behaviour, of abuse and poor parenting, of pollution, of unrestricted sexual permissiveness, and even the pains associated with prosperity itself. But it is not the focus of this book. Instead, this book is dedicated to exposing and correcting the specific kind of pain that comes from marginless living. Why? Because we find ourselves in the midst of an unnamed epidemic. The disease of marginless living is insidious, widespread, and virulent.

        The marginless lifestyle is a relatively new invention and one of progress’s most unreasonable ideas. Yet in a very short time it has become a nearly universal malady. Few are immune. It is not limited to a certain socioeconomic group, nor to a certain educational level. Even those with a deep spiritual faith are not spared. It’s pain is impartial and nonsectarian--everybody gets to have some

      Others deny vehemently that anything is wrong. “Life has always been hard.” they say. “People have always been stressed. It is simply part of living. There has always been change to cope with. There have always been economic problems, and people have always battled depression. It is the nature of life to have its ups and downs--so why all the fuss?” 

  I’m not the one who's making the fuss; I’m only writing about it. I’m only being honest about what I see all around me. I sit in my examining room and listen. Then I repost what I hear. Something is wrong. People are tired and frazzled. People are anxious and depressed. People don't have the time to heal anymore. There is a psychic instability in our day that prevents peace from implanting itself  very firmly in the human spirit. And despite the skeptics, this instability is not the same old nemesis recast in modern role. What we have here is  a brand-new disease. 

     All of these advantages have been granted in America today. Yet the formula for happiness has proven to be more elusive than the simple bestowing of these benefits. Somewhere the equation has broken down. Food plus health plus warmth plus education plus affluence have not quite equaled Utopia. We live with unprecedented wealth and all it brings. We have leisure, entertainment, convenience, and comfort. We have insulted ourselves from the unpredictable ravages of nature. Yet stress, frustration and often times even despair unexpectedly accompany our unrivaled prosperity. 

    Is there a disease? We will soon  have a remedy. Is there poverty? We have enough wealth to go around, and a social program or two will solve the problem of the poor. Is there an energy shortage? We will find new technologies to harness the power of the nucleus and to capture the sun. Is there famine? We will use fertilizers and hybrid seeds to conquer hunger. In our most idolatrous moments, we actually began to assume that the solution to any problem could be confidently entrusted to progress. Thanks to its blessings, we came to perceive the future as a safer place to live. 

    It is not my intention  to denigrate the value of progress’s achievements. We have a;; benefited greatly. As a physician, I understand the tremendous advantages of immunizations, antibiotics, and anesthesia. We all marvel at the  power of communications and the speed of transportation. The print media has vastly increased access to learning. Wealth has permitted opportunities far beyond the imagining of our great-grandparents

  Yet as visible as these achievements have been, our faults demand a glaring prominence of their own. If we lead the world in successes, we also lead in far too many failures. Through much of the last decade, we had the developed world's highest rates of divoce, teenage pregnancy ,illicit drug abuse, crime, homicides, AIDS, litigation, functional illiteracy, national debt, and foreign  debt. We even make more garbage than anyone else. 

   With the aid of progress, perils now encircle us. No matter which direction we turn, yet another crisis stares us in  the face. Not only has progress been unable to solve these crises, it has not even been able to slow them. ..

          These patients are depressed, stressed, and exhausted. Some are desperate. Their jobs are insecure. Their farms have been repossessed. They are over their heads in debt. Their marriages are in trouble. Their sons are using drugs, and their daughter are getting pregnant.

    These patients don’t know what to do or where to turn. They have no social support, no roots, no community. Their stomachs won’t stop burning. They can’t sleep at night. They think about drastic solutions. The public blames the medical profession for giving too many tranquilizers and antidepressants. But what would you do? Doctors like to see healing as the result of their work. Yet today we often must be content with far less. There are so many things wrong with people’s lives that even our best is only a stopgap.  

     There can be little doubt that the ubiquitous contemporary absence of margin is directly linked to the march of progress. Those cultures with the most progress are the same as those with the least margin. If you were wondering why there is a chapter of progress in a book on margin, this is the reason. Margin has been stolen away, and progress was the thief.  If we want margin back, we will first have to do something about progress.

     We must have some room to breathe. We need freedom to think and permission to heal. Our relationships are being starved to death by velocity. No one has the time to listen, let alone love. Our children lay wounded on the ground, run over by our high-speed good intentions. Is God now pro exhaustion? Doesn’t He lead people beside the still waters anymore?    

   In its specifics, the definition of progress varies from culture to culture and from age to age. Within contemporary American society, however, our  notion of progress was first defined and later dominated by money, technology, and education. Each of these areas is of value, but none of them cares much about our transcendent needs. That indifference constitutes a fatal flaw. 

   In our enthusiasm to improve material and cognitive performance, we neglected to respect the more complex and less objective parameters along the way. The social, emotional, and spiritual contributions to our well-being were, and continue to be, overlooked and underestimated. Not only are they more difficult to measure, but we apparently believed they would simply ‘improve” along with everything else. Or else, in our rush for the future, we didn’t care. 

    While the progress we boast of is found within the material and cognitive environments, most of the pain we suffer is found within the social, emotional and spiritual. The material and cognitive environments are unquestionably important. They also have an advantage in that they are more visible and thus more highly pursued. Scripture teaches us , however, that the social, emotional, and spiritual environments are more important. A crucial task for our society today is to reverse the order of emphasis and viability of these environments.

     How might we know that the relational environments are where God would have us concentrate? Simply put, these are the same areas Christ spent His time developing and where His teachings focused.

      Where do you  think God would have  us search for answers regarding drugs, crime, divorce, sucide, depression, teenage pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, and litigation? In the material and cognitive reals, or in the relational ones? Our society tries in vain to remedy these problems using the  popular notions of progress---appropriating more money (that is, material/physical answers)   and setting up more classes (that is. cognitive /education answers). But insufficient funds and lack of education are not the problems. The problem is lack of love.

     With the establishment of a proper emphasis, all appropriate needs will be met. Should  we fail in this task, however, progress will only bring us increasing pain. Our wallets will get fatter, our houses are bigger, our cars faster, and our brains smarter. Yet when we neglect the most important priorities, our final reward will fittingly be all the unhappiness money can buy.”

[red-diaper-babies]

Reclaiming Red Pill

Online, a person who has “accepted” certain traditionalist myths about men and women and the roles they ought to play in society is said to have “take the red pill” or are “redpilled” (a reference to that scene from The Matrix). The Red Pill presents itself as a complex philosophy that is brutally honest about the nature of sexual relationships between men and women and the countless dangers of feminism which have conspired in scores of unhappy men and women. Most of it is just rehashed biological essentialism, with perhaps a touch of postmodern nihilism.

Thanks to my morbid curiosity, I’ve been exposure to this ugly, misogynistic subculture through it’s now “quarantined” home on Reddit and the several watchdog/satire subreddits, such as r/thebluepill, that keep an eye on it and the several related internet subcultures it has spawned (incels, Men Going Their Own Way, etc.). These online communities are known collectively as “the manosphere.”

Red Pill evangelicals insist that their movement is about male self-improvement, which is a fascinating angle for a women-hating philosophy to adopt, but upon further inspection it makes perfect sense that they lead with this. Proto- and Crypto-Fascist ideologies (and The Red Pill absolutely is one of these) are extremely opportunistic; they seize upon important and emerging fissures in society and supplant a critical materialist explanation with reactionary dogma and, as always, use this dogma to prescribe as a fix both wanton cruelty and a return to a Golden Past that is distorted or nonexistent. They sell a vision of a time when a man could sit comfortably on a couch in a clean house after a hard day of work, well behaved children out of earshot, homemade meal in his stomach, and awaiting the delivery of a cold beer from his grateful wife, and feel like he deserved this, that he'd earned it. They sell a fantasy.

Why does the fantasy appeal to so many heterosexual, cis-men? What fissure has this ideology grown out of? Men in Western society, and perhaps particularly in America, find themselves in a crisis of identity. The roots of this crisis are primarily economic, and as complex as they are, can be simplified in this way: as the rate of profit has steadily fallen in the postwar era, more and more social labor is required from families (or per individual), and less and less net pay it making its way into the family's checking account. By social labor, we mean labor done outside the home that is traded for wages. As we know, real wages are stagnant and prices are rising; preserving a standard of living requires bringing in more income. The natural consequence is that dual income households have become more common (and necessary), from the working poor all the way through the upper-middle class, for the last five decades. A notable side effect is that, as the presence of women in professional careers has been normalized, women are more often finding themselves the primary breadwinner in the family, supplanting a host of traditional expectations about familial roles. Fifteen years ago this tension was a favorite source of material for stand-up comics and sitcoms; now it's passe to even comment on, but the insecurities and dislocation persist.

Heterosexual, cis-men's traditional and patriarchal role in the family, which was often imbued with the power to unilaterally direct the family's resources, was tightly interwoven with their prescribed role as "provider." The social order of the day was at the time tasked with preserving this status quo; putting up glass ceilings, limiting access to higher education, permitting rampant sexual harassment/assault, legalized discrimination, on and on. This is not to say that women haven't always worked, especially in the working class, but by and large they had access only to a few professions and were otherwise capped at lower wages and lower ranks. 

To whatever extent this role was actually realized by men of previous generations, it seems this has been turned upside down. This has been very disorienting for many men, not least of all because they are also finding themselves expected to do more and more of the "reproductive labor" that used to be taken care of by a stay-at-home spouse (or servant) just a generation or two ago. By reproductive labor, we mean the labor that maintains the workers themselves and provides for the nurturance of the next generation of workers. Reproductive labor is often referred to as household labor.

It will come as no surprise to many women that, as their share of social labor has increased, they nonetheless continue to perform the majority of reproductive labor, both globally and domestically. Those figures get even more stark if you factor in emotional labor and the facilitation and managerial tasks we've come to call "mental load." This strip by French cartoonist Emma demonstrates the significant weight of mental load, and the repercussions it's inequitable distribution has had on women and Heterosexual marriages. 

Indeed, Red Pillers acknowledge this inequity right off the bat. They gleefully ridicule other heterosexual cis-men for being irresponsible, lazy, selfish, gluttonous, and unattractive. They see it as an unfortunate norm that fathers are directed by wives on where to go, what to do, what to wear, or are altogether left out as the woman goes about the business of running a family while simultaneously pulling a full-time job. They bemoan the "Homer Simpson-ification" of the western man, who has, we're to believe, been transformed by feminism and mainstream media into an extra child that the wife/mother must care for, instead of the "captain" that she needs and truely desires (the Nazi's promised each man would be the "Fuhrer" of their household). Their diagnosis is based on biological essentialist dogma; their prescription is based on an idealist return to a time that never really existed; but the problem they identify is a real one. Men by and large struggle with relating to their families in positive ways, particularly as their role has shifted, and we on the Left, particularly we cis-men in Heterosexual relationships, must address this problem ideologically, through our political work, and in our own lives.

Wolfgang Willrich, The Aryan Family (1930)

The answer, of course, lies not in moving society backwards, but forwards. An inequitable division of labor, particularly founded on the oppression of women, is unacceptable. So to is a world that enforces strict gender role conformity and uses a division of labor to drive a wedge between men and women. In everything we do, we must assert the scientific truth: all major differences between men and women in ideology, ability, and behavior are acculturated or perceived, not biologically determined. We must be self-critical about the assumptions we make about who should do what and how much/how often. We should promote a vision of fatherhood and parenthood which is dedicated, affectionate, nurturing, disciplined, collaborative, and as communal as our society allows. We should invest our mental and emotional energy and time as dutifully at home as we do at work. We should hold each other accountable (gracefully and supportively). And we must do this as much for our activist spaces as well as our social and work spaces.

I’ve always been salty that the right has appropriated “red” in this instance. Red should belong to us. The real Red Pill reveals a world full of ideological justifications for the exploitation of women and the infantilism of men, and once you see it, it's impossible to unsee. Women really can do it all, perhaps not all the time or forever, but they do it everyday; the question is, who does this benefit? Men's discomfort with their changing role in the world suggests that we are beginning to see the danger in our own dependency (as opposed to interdependency) and increasing irrelevance, all because we lack the imagination necessary to break out of the outdated patterns and expectations and weave new kinds of bonds with our wives and children. 

So whatever the color, it’s time for men to swallow whatever pill is necessary to see our responsibilities towards domestic life for what it is, and what it could be. This is not about making men “men,” again, but about being an adult. Are we full, equal, responsible participants in the managing of our homes and the rearing of our children? The order of the day is partnership, and this is a good thing, for the liberation of women and the formulation of a new, positive identity for men.