#proportions between characters are definitely off but just ignore that

[magicicephoenix]

Day of the Father time!

not quite a redraw of this bc different ocs, radical design changes, and also chalice is here now :]

[pinkyjulien]

It's been rotating in my head all morning and since I have to wait a few hours to get my day started, might as well throw my two cents in a proper post

We really should talk about Kerry Eurodyne

Now before you run off, I think it's important to point something out; As a fandom veteran who been here since early 2021, I think others will agree when I say that the discourse surrounding Kerry has always been a hot topic that comes back around every few weeks- but why does it keep coming back?

I'm well placed to know that ignoring a problem and not talking about it publicly doesn't solve anything; everyone is quick to throw assumption and accusations, to make "callout" post, to blow things out of proportions, to take someones's squick as personal attack, and the mob mentality does the rest; everyone follow whoever is going to be the loudest about an ongoing "fandom drama"

This isn't an attempt to show anyone that they're "wrong" or "right"; there is no right or wrong in this recurring discourse. This post is an attempt at opening an healthy and mature conversation! I come in peace gfhgfh

Prefacing this by saying that I'm not a Kerry fan, and I'm not bisexual. So why the hell do I care? Well to be frank, I don't particularly care, I have my own opinions on the character, but I do care (to an extent) about this "community" and I hate seeing what happened to me happen to others, especially new commers who never meant anything wrong. Nobody deserves to be bullied out of a fandom for sharing their opinions on their own blog/space!

Alright this intro was long but let's get on it- buckle up cause this is going to be a looooot of rambling

━

Through the years/months, I've noticed something rather sad; this isn't a debate between bisexual people vs biphobic people, as a lot of people might think and assume; this has always been queer people sharing, sometimes in a really awkward and hurtful way, their interpretation of a character (don't block me yet, please hear me out)

Those who know me knows that I personally care a lot about the canon and writers's visions, so first I want to share some posts about Kerry made by his literal "parents"

Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz, Narrative Designer at CDPR, shared informations on the different romance interest back in December 2020, on the game's release day

When asked about a MLM relationship option, here what he states:

(don't leave just yet)

On a now-deleted comment, RTalsorianGames, original creator of the Cyberpunk tabletop game and by definition original creator of Kerry Eurodyne, stated the following:

Please note that CDPR did in fact consult with Mike himself about Kerry being a MLM exclusive romance!

(Also this isn't a debate about if Kerry cares about V or not, let's not derail this conversation, remember that everyone is allowed to interpret a character and a relationship as they wish)

I wanted to share these tweets to point something really important; there is no "right" or "wrong" label for Kerry, and it all boils down to interpretation < key word

Kerry have multiple states; we HAVE to remember Kerry exist in some kind of cyberpunk multiverse!

We have his 2020 and 2023 self that are confirmed to be bisexual; this is the Kerry Mike and RTalsorian created, the Kerry they have full control and say over; the same young Kerry we see in Johnny's flashback

And then comes his 2077 self, which we see confirmed above as labeled as Homosexual (which again as been approved by Mike himself)

I personally think it's important to start with what his different creators have to say; Kerry is both Mike's and CDPR's character; Kerry is both labeled as being Bisexual and Homosexual

There is a lot of reasons why this change / evolution was made, even tho we all know the main reason; they needed a MLM romance in the game to complete the LI roster. But why take an already established character, a Bi character even, for the Gay romance?

I've seen a lot of people saying that CDPR erased his bisexuality, I understand why it might feel like this, but I don't think it's true or fair! Again, remember that Mike gave his OK for this; he could've at any moment said no, Kerry is HIS baby first and foremost

In game, we learn about Kerry's ex wife and kids; this is something CDPR could've not included at all (and THIS would've been erasing his bisexuality imo) it's not even something that is said out loud, but something to be found by dedicated fans; it's here on purpose, to give depth to the character and to his personal life!

We also see a couple of feminine clothes around his villa; let's not assume anything here, clothes have no genders especially in the 2077 setting, but it can also well point at one-night stand with women and/or multi-gender orgies for example

But, this won't be anything new or controversial, Kerry pushes femV advances in game- this is simply a fact! Like it or not, that's how CDPR's writers, RTAL and Mike decided to evolve Kerry's character for the game; everyone was ok with this

━

Now comes the root of the debate; Is it homophobic to mod Kerry to be romanceable by a femV? and is it biphobic to not be comfortable with this?

No, and no - (don't leave just yet, please read a bit more)

Remember that I'm "just" a gay man, I've had discussion with friends of all gender and orientation about this topic and it's been enlightning to hear the different opinions on the matter!

As previously mentioned, it all boils down to Interpretation.

The discourse recently came back because someone shared their uncomfortableness regarding mods that change Kerry's preferences; in the post tags, OP made sure to say that everyone was free to do anything, to ship anything, and that this was just their opinion; but obviously the fandom didn't read that part and started to throw accusation around, and here we are (I shouldn't have to remind people that we all are free to share whatever on our respective blogs, if it hurts you just block the person, don't jump them)

OP is a Bisexual Man; a lot of other Bisexual Men related to this post and rebloged it, sharing their thoughts in the tags (I also rebloged it, I know it caused a few people to back off and block me as a result, which I respect totally)

Going to pick up my questions back up to hopefully state my opinions and "analyses" of the situation as clear as possible

Is it homophobic to mod Kerry to be romanceable by a femV?

No, it's not

Kerry is bisexual, he was married to a women, and potentially still have sex with women and fem individuals, these infos are all canon in game.

Kerry pushes femV flirts away; but since he experience attraction to women, who is to say that in someone's own canon, their fem OC isn't a V, and doesn't have Johnny involved, changing how Kerry and their OC meet drastically; Kerry could fall in love with her! He could; he's bisexual after all.

Is it biphobic to not be comfortable with this?

No, it's not

Kerry has a clear preference for men; CDPR choose to show this multiple time in the game, during Johnny's flashback we can see him make out with a masc fan, we can see him being vulnerable with Johnny (imo, his lil crush is showing hard)

I personally haven't seen it/heard it in game, but I've been told that after learning about Kerry's ex-wife, Johnny has a vocal, surprised reaction, has if imagining Kerry with a woman is strange to him

However, there is a lot of biphobic things being said in the discourse, and not in the way you might think of

I thankfully never see the full extent of it; I don't see the obviously biphobic takes, stating that Kerry SHOULD NEVER be with a femV, people being nasty and ATTACKING femV/Kerry shippers; this is never ok, these have been blocked for a long time now

But I sadly see the other takes, which always icked me a bit; the takes that say, "you bisexuality isn't worth of respect if it isn't a 50/50 attraction at all time", takes that are sadly biphobic in nature (making it clear that I'm not pointing finger at anyone, nor am I accusing anyone of being biphobic)

This is what it boils down to, I think, this is the root of the problem

As mentioned before, a lot of Bisexual Men expressed their uncomfort when it comes to femV/Kerry mods; it invalidated Kerry's preference. But this isn't about Kerry, he's fictional, he CANT be hurt by anything, by mods or art or whatever; It invalidate Bisexual Men that share the same preference in Men, Bisexual men that related to Kerry for X or Y.

Bisexuality is a spectrum, queer people has been fighting against Bi erasure for years, but also against Bi stereotypes; and I think this is one of them? (Please correct me if I'm wrong)

Bisexuality isn't a strict 50/50 split preference- it can be! But 60/40, 20/80 and even 99/1 attractions are still Bisexual attractions. I've met a lot of queer people who, despite being bisexual by definition, choose not to label as such (prefering to label as straight or gay depending on their preferences) just because of this "bisexual police" imposing a strict 50/50; "How can you be bisexual, you've only dated men/women" etc

This is what is being imposed in the fandom, this is how it might looks like to people; when you attack a Bisexual Man sharing his uncomfort in seeing people not respecting a Bisexual character's preference, you're telling them "Hey, your bisexuality isn't valid if you have a preference". You're telling them "Your bisexuality isn't correct". You're showing them that you "fixed" a "flawed" bisexual character "that got erased as gay for having a preference" by "modding his bisexuality back"

Kerry being written as MLM exclusive in Cyberpunk 2077 isn't bi erasure; he's still Bisexual, he simply has a strong preference for Men. A preference that he always had, but that can also be amplified after his divorce with his ex wife, for multiple reasons; I also don't have to point out how many queer people in real life explored their homosexuality after being in a hetero-marriage for most of their lives! And that's ok, queer love is an ever evolving spectrum, and I think it's awesome we get more fleshed out characters that explore this in depth

I've seen people compare Kerry to Johnny, and I don't think it's fair; for the simple reason that Kerry is a romance option and Johnny is not.

Johnny express a clear preference for women; however he replies to V (and flirt, in some case) the same way regardless of gender! Kerry on the other end, as previously said, pushed femV's advanced away. Something Johnny can't do since he's not a romance option; tho if he was, and if he was pushing mascV advances away, it would be the exact same situation and same problematic!

Another character that is canonly bisexual is Goro; he replies to V's flirt through text messages the exact same way, he doesn't seem to express any preferences (and no, his "obligation in japan" isn't necessarily a wife, this is heteronormative and another problem all together, not the subject here)

People can express being uncomfortable seeing Johnny with a given gender, or Goro with a given gender; but there isn't any """reason""" to it outside of personal preferences

Kerry situation is problematic because it lies in his clearly, canonly stated preference, how people decide to interpret it, and how it can come off to other queer people who might share sexuality and/or preference with the character

━

Everyone is free to ship whoever however they want

But please; remember that everyone is different. People being uncomfortable with a character bisexuality preference being ""fixed"" shouldn't be too surprising; and if it is, please re-read my post/ You have to be ok with this fact, it's OK to make content that might be uncomfortable for others; this is fiction!

There isn't any Right or Wrong way to be bisexual, to be queer Kerry's bisexuality is perfectly fine; unmodded or modded Everyone is Different; Every Queer experiences is different People relate to characters in different way

Nobody is being misoginist; there isn't any double standard at play

Bisexual people sharing their opinions on their own blogs on how a fandom handle a character's bisexuality isn't biphobic, or an attack to anyone who interpret the character differently!

I promise you nobody is attacking anyone, and a lot of things being said accidently comes off as biphobic on both sides of this eternal "debate"

It all comes down to respecting others interpretations, and agreeing to disagree! Tumblr's filtering system work great, you can easily filter and block tags, or even people if needed

I might've said things awkwardly, and for this I apologise; but don't put words I didn't say into my mouth! If you don't agree, that's fine, and you're more than welcome to filter/block me if needed; but please do not paint me as biphobic or misoginist, same goes to everyone who shared their thoughts on the matter, these are serious accusation and can wrongfully hurt a lot of people

Ship and let Ship, take care of yourselves and remember to curate your space 🙏

[isleofair]

Tiger & Bunny Week Day 5

Fan Theories and/or Predictions

I've been wanting to make this meta post for a long while, but since there was no way to reach any truly solid conclusions, I always ended up setting it aside.

But since today's prompt is fan theories... I figure I might as well give this the best go I can!

Today on "Aria fixates on scraps of collateral canon in an attempt to better figure out the Tiger & Bunny timeline, since the authors just will not give us the info straight up, dammit": when did each of the characters debut as a hero?

(under a cut for length and screenshots of actual excel spreadsheets lol)

So, we know the answer to that question for sure for about half of the heroes: Wild Tiger debuted in NC1967, Barnaby in NC1977, and the three new kids in NC1980 (at least in Stern Bild; Subaru worked for a little while as a hero in Panjourney before joining Hero TV).

(Yeah, the hero card of himself Kotetsu picks up in the pilot is technically for the '76-'77 season of Hero TV, so maybe it saying he's got 10 years of experience means his debut was actually in NC1966... but nothing says the cards don't get updated as the season goes on, and this isn't too relevant to my number crunching, anyway.)

As for the rest of them, we can make at least an attempt at (vaguely) guessing by analyzing the experience data on the Hero Cards, which you can see for Season 1 and The Rising here on the amazing Merch Wiki (shoutout to @tnbscans 😘), and for Season 2 here in an older post of mine, or here on Twitter (both courtesy of @Kazuko_01 over there).

This is a chart of the experience values in all the available hero cards:

The reason Barnaby's values are in yellow is that they really, REALLY tried to throw off all of my math 😅

See, the experience values seem to only take into account how many seasons of Hero TV (or an equivalent of it) you've appeared in, however briefly. (At some point I thought maybe becoming the King of Heroes would grant you bonus exp, but Karina doesn't seem to get a boost from the '79-'80 season, when the CD dramas tell us she tied with Keith and became the Queen of Heroes.)

Barnaby took essentially all of NC1979 off, spent a quarter of NC1980 in the Second League, and his score during the Rising is still an absurd 3/5. The only possible way that can even remotely work is that the time off is discounted entirely AND that the exp values aren't strictly proportional to your years of experience, but more along the lines of a curve (stretched every time to accomodate the longest career, Kotetsu's) where having been a hero for at least a season before, as opposed to being a rookie, gives you an additional point on the scale, and each subsequent point requires more years of extra experience.

(This would make a certain amount of sense: there's a lot of difference between being a total rookie and someone who's been on another season, or two, but not that much difference between having worked 9 or 10 seasons before.)

The crucial facts to make this work, and the reasons I had to discard a lot of other possible ways map the years to the exp values, are:

The cards, in spite of having 5 possible scores in S1 and The Rising and 6 possible scores in S2, really only ever have a baseline plus four extra values above it, since the 1/6 or 0.5/3 score in the S2 cards is unused (hence me counting the scores as "out of 3"). I initially thought maybe it was because all the S2 kids had some prior experience, since Subaru used to be a hero before coming to Stern Bild, but the manga tells us Thomas for sure did not, so it's not that (RIP Subaru for them ignoring your days as Hello Goodbye);

Bunny skips ahead two notches between his debut in the 1977-78 season and the 1979-80 season in The Rising;

Antonio goes from having max 5/5 experience along with Kotetsu in S1 to having a score of 2.5/3 (or 5/6), along with Nathan, Keith, and Ryan, in S2. This means he definitely debuted after Kotetsu, but before Nathan and Keith (and almost certainly Ryan).

With all of that in mind, this is the best possible thing I could personally come up with:

I marked down the two most likely ways to map the years to the exp values for each set of cards that still somehow work at the bottom (with blue being min experience if you debuted that year, and red being max). The fully grayed-out years are downright impossibilities (again, not counting Subaru's time as Hello Goodbye, since the cards don't); the softer gray is "very unlikely", the mid blue is "possible", and the deeper blue is "most likely" (thin border) or "sure" (thick border).

I didn't really try to come up with an arrangement that would let any of Ivan, Karina or Pao-Lin debut any earlier than NC1976, because a) both Ivan and Karina have conversations with their bosses in the pilot episode that really make it seem like the just-concluded season was their first, and b) as it is Pao-Lin already became a hero at TWELVE YEARS OLD and that's enough of a headache for me, thank you very much.

The riveting conclusions, assuming this makes any sort of sense at all (and that I didn't put way more thought into this than the people who made the cards did):

Antonio almost certainly debuted in NC1969 or NC 1970, two or three years after Kotetsu;

Ryan (whose experience outside of Stern Bild seems to be fully counted, sorry again, Subaru) doesn't appear in the S1 cards, so it's a little harder to narrow his debut down, but since he's apparently younger than Barnaby, which would make him a teenager for most (if not all) of his possible range of debut years, I'd very personally tend to put him more around NC1973 than anywhere else;

Nathan and Keith most likely debuted in either NC1971 or NC1972... but I would strongly argue that the only really viable year out of these two is NC1972. That is the year Tomoe died, and Nathan and Keith, before episode 1x09, had no idea at all that Kotetsu was ever even married, let alone a widower with a daughter. I simply cannot imagine Nathan, especially, witnessing a colleague she sees pretty much every day go through the loss of his wife, and not prying enough, either with Kotetsu himself or with Antonio (who is not terribly good at keeping Kotetsu's secrets, see ep 1x09 again), to eventually find out what was going on. If Tomoe died before October, when the 1972 season of hero TV started, Nathan and Keith, debuting that year, would have met Kotetsu only after the fact, which seems a lot more plausible.

(Yes, that last thing does support my cute headcanon of FireSky being almost polar-opposite rookies together, but to be fair, the headcanon itself came directly from this math, and not the other way around.)

If you read all of this, we are true siblings in T&B nerdery and ILU forever. Especially if you have any ideas on how to make the data make more sense, lol. 💚

[littlerosetrove]

so i saw your posts about the daddy issues convo and you are right about that specific post being so not okay. but i feel like i’m not seeing the emotional depth that everybody else is seeing, like the joke itself fell kinda flat to me? (not saying tommy is a terrible person for a sexy joke!!) but it feels like the whole thing is being so blown out of proportion by everyone. i guess for me it was the convo itself that felt off, not just the joke at the end? i hope that makes sense?

I definitely recommend reading this post by @tenebrous-academic because it lays out why there is depth to the scene. It explains how, in short, the scene displays a level of equality between Buck and Tommy that we've never really seen with/in Buck's previous relationships.

I think there are two fronts of how the scene became blown out of proportion, because the scene was truly just a nice scene of boyfriends connecting with each other and flirting. It didn't need to be A Thing, and yet... So. 1) People who already dislike (or straight up hate) Tommy and Buck/Tommy tearing the scene apart to try and show, essentially, why Tommy is not good for Buck. Or "this is why they won't last." (i assume you've seen this stuff on your dash, nonny?) 2) Although this wasn't the only nasty post, but one person in particular taking it much further to "jokingly" say that Tommy flirting, with a sexual joke with his adult boyfriend, was so horrible that Tommy, a gay man, should be shot. Things took a nasty turn and that's why a simple scene of Buck and Tommy connecting feels "blown out of proportion." I'll say it over and over that people don't have to like or vibe with a character or a ship, but some take their dislike so far that they think it's okay - even with a fictional character - to say they'd shoot a gay man. Some people are trying to vilify a character so much because, as far as I can tell, they hate that Buck is with a man that is not Eddie.

Now, it's fine if the joke didn't work for you, for whatever reason. You don't seem to have an issue with the fact that it was a sensual joke in nature, so that's good. Two queer men being openly queer with each other should not be an issue.

While I liked the date scene, I can understand why the tone of it felt off to some people. I think it comes from the fact that the entire episode was so fast paced, nothing was really allowed to breathe, certain stories did not get the time they deserved (like Bobby being in the hospital, but instead we got Athena doing dirty cop stuff etc), and mix that all together? We have ourselves just a weird, predictable, and in some ways unsatisfying episode.

While I don't think storylines being predictable is inherently a bad thing, and 911 has done plenty of predictable stories. However, 911 is fully capable of telling satisfying "predictable" stories, and telling satisfying character stories. We just didn't quite get that in 7x10, in part because of some lack of buildup and setup for some stories and characters. Also a lack of payoff for some stories. Some things were ignored, brushed aside, or minimized when they shouldn't have been.

[psychic-refugee]

Dang, I go out to happy hour and come back to a panic.

Supposedly one of the accusers have lawyered up.

Everyone take a deep breath.

I believe only one is claiming this, so if there’s a break in their little gang of accusers, then I definitely wouldn’t be worried about this at all.

Given her track record, my first question is…“Are the lawyers in the room with us right now?”

All kidding aside, this accuser has said something similar before (the police I believe) and so far nothing has come from it. The fact she is still posting, I agree with other Tumblr users that she either doesn’t have representation, or she’s ignoring their advice and she won’t have that representation for long. No lawyer is going to keep on a case where their client is a) not listening to them and b) sabotaging her own case before anything has been filed.

Case in point, Ye. He ignored his lawyers’ advice, and they went through a lot of hurdles to drop him. It happens, people spend money on lawyers to only ignore them. It’s stupid, but it happens.

Remember, she’s already walked back accusations, and has already stated they have no proof. She is unreliable as hell, even if she has some secret stash of evidence she’s been withholding from Twitter.  

Even if I was promised all the money up front, I wouldn’t take this case.

An attorney is going to want to see original text messages and the entire conversation to get context. They’re not going to be like, “Oh we only have screenshots and partial convos? NO PROBLEM!”

They’re also going to want to get a tighter timeline. I recall seeing a SS of her stating like three of the four seasons this alleged assault could have taken place in. That’s insane, and I’d argue no one can defend against that. Like, can you really account for the entirety of 9 months that happened years ago?

If she admits publicly to drug use and her memory is so spotty, if who touched her was even PHW is a fair and legitimate question.

There are no surprises in court, everything is revealed and shared in discovery. If anything new does pop up, they can’t just bust it out in the middle of trial. They have to alert the judge and the opposing side. There has to be time for both parties to examine any new evidence and defend against it.

Everything else she’s proffered as evidence has nothing to do with any alleged assault. No one is going to care what he’s liked on social media.

Nothing the other accusers have asserted he has done are crimes.

They can’t bring a suit on behalf of supposed other victims.

This accuser has also shown to use hyperbolic language. She went from sexual assault to a caress on non-sexual areas of her body. Given that they were at least acquaintances, I’m suspecting that any contact he did give her, it was because he had an understanding that he could. Light non-sexual touches between friends akin to a pat on the shoulder/back, that she is blowing out of proportion because of reasons only known to her.

“Speaking with lawyers” could mean so many things. To her, speaking with lawyers could mean she googled a firm and filled out their “Contact Us” form to get a consult.

Anyone can get a consult, even free ones through clinics at law schools. The consult could end in “You have no case, sorry we can’t help you.”

If on the off chance she spoke with someone AND they took her case, then my first suspicion would be that she’s lying her arse off about what she’s posted. So whatever attorney she might have will be in for a rude awakening once they get the actual details of her shenanigans.

Then there is always the possibility she found the skeeziest attorney imaginable and would be willing to take the case for some notoriety. I doubt they’d do well against whoever he has. I highly doubt this scenario as even the worst attorneys I’ve ever met, will only take this type of case on if they thought a big payday was on the horizon.

As up and coming as PHW is, he still hasn’t had a breakout hit where HE was the main character. He’s popular for fandom because fandom is free, but in the actual Hollywood ecosystem, I’d clock him as C+ list at best and rising. I’m not trying to be a douchebag, but that’s the reality of it.

I also have my doubts about her ability to pay. LITIGATION IS EXPENSIVE. Depending on the practice, fees to even speak to an attorney for a consult can be a couple hundred. Do we think she can afford this?

If she’s a known drug user, I suspect that’s where the majority of her paycheque goes. Most attorneys don’t accept payment in the form of blunts.

If she’s consulted a free clinic, they have real cases to deal with. They don’t have the resources to play bullshite games.

[allthemusic]

Week ending: 15th March

Back to multiple songs, one of which is a cover, and one of which I definitely know - in fact, one of the lines has become practically proverbial, which is how you know a song's made it into the collective consciousness. Or how many other songs do you know that have become a sort of call-and-response greeting?

Memories Are Made of This - Dave King (peaked at Number 5)

I didn't massively love this song in its original Dean Martin form, but I didn't hate it, and a speedy google tells me that Dave King was a British actor and comedian, who got his first ever break in a comedy group called Morton Fraser's Harmonica Gang, which means I'm already in his corner from the get-go. So we shall see!

I can tell already from the intro that the speed has been upped a bit, and a jolly trombone added, both of which are very welcome additions. It turns it from a bit of a lecture into a swinging song you could genuinely dance to. And the little changes continue as the song wears on, with the addition of some church bells after the wedding bells lyric, and a separate female set of backing singers who take over the more religious with His blessings from above section while Dave steps back and briefly takes over the backing singers' lines. It's an effective little swap, and all the more so for the way it avoids slowing the song, which I remember not appreciating when Dean did it.

These are all little things, but they're enough to massively improve the song, at least for me. I was ready for Dave to add some comedy beats or a sort of comic sensibility to this à la Max Bygraves, but it turns out he didn't even need to, which I respect. This is just a solid cover, no comedy needed.

I would also be remiss not to mention that Dave gives us what I think is our first (but surely not our last) overlap between the words of British popular music and British soaps, having played a character called Clifford Duckworth in Coronation Street. He also appeared on an episode of Heartbeat in the 1990s, which is notable only because it's a police procedural set in the 1950s and 1960s, and what song did they play over the top of his exit? If you guessed Memories Are Made of This, well done! It's the kind of twistiness I really like, so kudos to their casting department, I guess?

See You Later, Alligator - Bill Haley & His Comets (7)

Come on, you know this song. Just about everybody I know, even in 2024, even in the UK, could quote you the response when somebody says "see you later alligator", and I'm sure a good proportion of them could also hum you the tune of this song. It was a phrase that was apparently already in currency when the song came out, but the song popularised it internationally. And honestly, I can see why.

There's just such a sense of fun to the track, from the pitched-up See you later, alligator line at the start, to the silly playground rhyminess of it, to the relish with which Bill launches in with each wellllllll and the way that the saxophone echoes his lines. It's not a song that takes itself too seriously, and I love that playfulness.

With all this, it's easy enough to ignore the fact that that yes, that iconic line is a break-up line from a cheating lady! From the moment that Bill saw my baby walkin' with another man today, to her iconic brush-off, to the even more devastating line where she tells Bill Can't you see you're in my way now / Don't you know you cramp my style, this song pulls no punches whatsoever. This woman, whoever she is, is going straight for the jugular!

Which makes it all the more satisfying when she comes crawling back and apologising, and Bill, now recovered from his heartbreak, can turn her words back on her, calling her out for how she doesn't really mean it, and bidding her farewell in the same callous way. His glee at this reveral makes the whole enterprise worth it, honestly. I particularly love the wild energy of Bill's final so long, that's all, goodbye line! He's just so glad to be shot of this woman, and you know what, good for him. It's a good, satisfying story, one you could absolutely find in a pop song today - think Forget You by CeeLo Green, or something of that ilk.

It's also catchy as heck, which, as I've probably said before, is really the main thing that matters in these early rock and roll songs. They're music for dancing along to, not for listening too hard to, and this song is repetitive, silly and has a heck of a riff to build on, with the way that the melody bounces between Bill and the saxophone. Plus, we get that sax / drum / guitar break in the middle, where the sax in particular cuts loose. It rocks, and I can absolutely imagine the youth going wild when it comes it!

It's also a very intense, full sound. I've noticed that about these rock and roll numbers - there's no space around the vocals or quiet bits, like it's been engineered for maximum volume, even on tinny radio or a jukebox. We're a way away from Phil Spector and the Wall of Sound, but we're already gunning for maximum loudness, and I kind of love it?

Well, those were two quite different songs, and while I did enjoy both, I think the sheer volume and dancability has to take it this time. While the adults are getting maudlin about marriage and kids, the youths are having all the fun, it seems.

Favourite song of the bunch: See You Later Alligator

[messymindofmine]

While I don't think bullying is quite the right word for what happened between Miguel and Robby in S1 and 2, rivalry isn't either. Honestly, I think we've all gotten so caught up in the semantics that the original discussion has been forgotten altogether. The fact of the matter is, for every fight in S1 and 2, Miguel was the aggressor. Then in S4, the only time Miguel and Robby had any interaction was during a dojo face-off. Their first encounter after Robby found out about him and Sam was when Hawk was bullying Kenny. Even then, it wasn't actually about Miguel for Robby. In fact, he ignored him until Miguel actually spoke up. Yes, what Robby said then was definitely a low blow and I would've been pissed if I'd been Miguel as well. But that doesn't change the fact that nothing actually happened beyond Miyagi-Do pranking the Cobra kids. Then, the next real encounter they had was at the prom. Yes, Robby and Tory went their with the intention of ruining their night but lest we forget both have plenty of reason to be angry at their former significant others. I definitely feel that Tory's attack on Sam was completely unwarranted. Her fight should've been with Miguel. But she does have lots of reasons to be angry with Miguel and Sam. Tory's reaction to Sam's snobbery was out of proportion but that doesn't make her reason invalid. Robby also had reason to be angry. Sam cheated on him twice. Even if the first time was more her being taken advantage of by Miguel, it doesn't make Robby's hurt invalid. And then he had to see them together at the dojo after he got out of juvie. When he called Sam out on it, she tried to turn it around on him by saying that he never answered her emails. Never mind the fact that Robby was in juvie and the last time they'd seen each other before that was when Robby found out that she'd kissed Miguel. I mean that alone would be reason enough for him to believe they weren't a couple anymore. Robby pointing out that its hard to respond to emails when you're getting the shit beaten out of you in juvie is not him gaslighting or manipulating Sam. He's simply pointing out the truth that we literally saw with out own eyes. Because Robby did try to respond but Shawn shut the computer off and started harassing him. Then the next time he saw Sam at the skatepark, he was still willing to hear her out. But Sam spent the whole time talking about her feelings and what she wanted. Not once did she even consider his feelings. After that, the next time they see each other is at the prom. Actually, I'd say that Robby and Tory's plan to get back at their exes by attending prom together was actually the most age-appropriate plan that any of the characters have had. But even that they abandoned pretty quickly and decided to just enjoy prom together. Which they actually did have the right to do. Tory, as a student, had just as much right to attend prom and bring a date as Sam and Miguel did. Plus, it was Sam who actually started the fight. She could've ignored them and just focused on her date but she chose to start a fight. Even Miguel was upset with her for that. Even during that fight, Sam refused to acknowledge her own wrongdoing and told Robby he'd broken her heart too. Even if she'd meant that in the way of someone being hurt by their friend leaving them it's still not fair. Sam is the one who cheated twice. Sam is the one who has treated Robby as nothing but a token of peace between Johnny and Robby without even considering what Robby's feelings might be. Robby owes her nothing. Also, everything that happened at the cafeteria fight does not trump what happened prior to that. After all, there is a reason why that fight happened in the first place

[sl-walker]

All right, since I’m in the middle of a flare and have to work manual labor for the next four days despite it, I figured I would make myself -- and hopefully other people -- laugh by talking about one of my favorite OG Captain Marvel stories. Namely, from Whiz #50, with a cover date of January, 1944, meaning it was probably produced sometime in late 1943.

I want to share it because why not, this is some absurdly charming stuff.

I’ll get more into why it’s one of my favorites as we go, in the form of running commentary. So, full story (with said commentary) under the cut. If you wanna just read the story without my commentary, stick to the pictures. XD

First, let me say that the cover and splash page definitely live up to the story, though the cover’s a bit more sensationalized. But the premise is pretty damn simple: Our intrepid hero and his newsboy alter ego are on vacation. Cap decides to go swimming. It goes hilariously wrong and thus ensues a bit of a madcap adventure, no puns intended.

Second, the fact that Cap and Billy are depicted as essentially different entities makes what Billy does next the ultimate trolling:

Gee, airing out the stolen laundry on the radio? Really? I’ll leave it up to you, gentle reader, whether Billy actually was trolling his own alter-ego for ratings or whether he was just innocently sharing the story while his other-self winced quietly in whatever ether-space he exists in when not front-and-center.

Either way, I love it.

Continuing on...

I get a kick out of the fact that Billy’s monologue is that he’s no dare-devil. One, because that’s so obviously not true in any way -- (that kid is awesomely, sometimes recklessly brave on the regular even without Cap) -- but two, because the bridge is actually named Dare-Devil Bridge. We aren’t given any reason why this dangerous potential death-trap is there, hanging without so much as a gate or a warning sign or anything, because we don’t need one. It’s there specifically for what happens next.

Which, of course, is Billy calling in Captain Marvel, who does some light complaining about the situation Billy left him in. There’s no bite to it, which I find adorable -- Cap actually does get frustrated once or twice in other issues with Billy calling on him for mundane stuff, though he’s never mean about it -- but there is a bit of the sense of being put-upon there that’s just-- I dunno, cute. It’s something I miss a lot in the various post-crisis takes on the character: That duality, that difference in personality, and the way each of them responds to different situations. Often, they’re on the same page, but notably, sometimes, they aren’t.

Someday, I promise, I need to sit down and write how I think that works between those two without being a truly frightening mental illness manifested, what with them being the same person but not the same person. Because I have so many ideas, and I’ve only had since the early-2000s to percolate them. LOL! But until then, just enjoy this.

Here is another reason why I love the Golden Age Captain Marvel books and why I love this specific story: This is an absolutely normal, mundane thing to do. It’s the human thing to do. These aren’t the actions of some super-serious superdude. These are the actions of a pretty shockingly normal guy doing something mundane. And a whole story is built around that normalcy.

It’s cute. It’s funny. It’s the reader already knowing that he’s getting himself into a situation that he absolutely could have avoided, but also completely understanding how it happened anyway. It’s pretty brilliant writing: I say this as a pretty damned good writer myself.

So much of the reason why, I think, Cap was so endearing as a hero is that humanity. He’s got pretty much god-tier power in the Golden Age, once his powerset is established. He’s utterly invulnerable to all physical harm while powered up. But-- he’s human. He knows he’s human. He acts like it, and decides, “You know what? I’m going skinny-dipping.”

He and Billy are both characters it’s so easy to empathize with.

Also, a reminder that the art under Chief Artist C.C. Beck is really, really good. (He had a whole stable of artists to help produce this stuff!) Ignoring registration issues on the printing press, the actual line art is amazingly good; proportion and perspective and consistency.

But anyway--Cap does get to enjoy his swim. But, then, oh no.

I love the idea of a world where the prime hero -- and he definitely is in that world -- can take off his suit and go swimming, and where someone else is bold enough to steal the damn suit off of him. The first time I read this, I started laughing here. Not at him, but at the situation he’s found himself in. At the idea that some random passer-by saw Captain Marvel’s costume and went yoink!

Another thing I love about this particular story is how much Cap and Billy have to work together, just by necessity. Like-- it’s just really good. But anyway, thank everything Billy Batson is on the ball, coming to the rescue.

Sheer bad luck via the weather keeps this story rolling along in hilarious misdirections. Realistically, that uniform probably wouldn’t be all buttoned together (we see Cap take off pieces of it aside the pants in other issues, including socks!), but who cares? The point of the story is that giant bear rug on the floor’s gonna get put to use.

Man, when have you ever seen Superman creeping naked through some stranger’s house wearing nothing but a random polar bear because he went skinny dipping? No wonder these comics sold so well. This next panel is when I start wheezing, though, and pretty much keep wheezing.

“A lady, too! I’ve got to get away from here!”

I’m dying at this point. That’s such a characteristic response, and yet, I think that’s why it’s funny.

Anyway, because this is an excellent story (I mean this without an ounce of irony, too), our dynamic duo stumbles across a plot in play to rob the hotel they’re staying at.

Here’s a big part of why this is such a good tale: Everything fits. Even when it isn’t explained, like Dare-Devil Bridge, it still fits. Why is the tree down? Because there was just a thunder storm, the same one that blew Cap’s suit into the room with the gangsters.

I don’t know if this is Otto Binder’s story, but I wouldn’t be surprised in the least. It’s a complete story told in relatively few pages that accomplishes everything it’s meant to.

Anyway, using foliage as cover, Cap gets to be heroic----then Billy gets to get back to the business of trying to stop the robbery of the hotel and get his heroic alter-ego dressed again.  Which leads to a rather adorable and funny scene of Billy not only trying to describe what Captain Marvel wears, but what size it would need to be tailored in.

(Cap is supposedly a 44 for a suit coat, we find in some earlier appearance, which would refer to his chest size.  So, an XL for shirts and suit-coats.  He’s a big guy, but he’s actually not a hulking huge guy.  But more on that later.)

I love the fact Billy tries to like-- use himself as a model.  Maybe in another ten years, kiddo.  Billy’s actually pretty buff for like a 12-14 year old, he’s not a scrawny kid at this point, but yeah, no.  LOL!

Another thing I also really, really love about this style, though, is that they draw Captain Marvel as being strong, as having a powerful build-- but not as a dehydrated body-builder with deep cuts. He’s got human proportions, regardless of his strength; he’s got a human build, not a superhuman one.

C.C. Beck had a lot of things to say about superheroes who were just muscles on top of muscles, all clearly defined, and he didn’t like it.  As someone who first got into comics in the early 90s with Jim Lee’s X-Men--

I do get Beck’s point.  I not only get it, but I really highly approve of it.  He maintained to the end that he drew (and oversaw) the Marvel family to look like high school and college athletes, and I can see that.  I think the one person who’s gotten it right in the modern era is Evan “Doc” Shaner, who did Convergence: Shazam!  He not only nailed that strong-but-not-hulking build for Cap, but also how young he looked.  College-age, in fact.

But anyway, enough digression into art and why I like this better than most modern takes on the character.  Also, that’s just a cute set of panels.

I also like that there wasn’t an easy fix there.  Cap’s still in his not-birthday suit, and Billy’s still stuck running around trying to solve the issues at hand.  Next comes some other really good panels:

-snorts-  He’s locked in.  Yeah, that’ll hold him.

Anyway, what I really liked here was again that tandem working; Billy can’t punch through a wall, but Cap can.  Cap can’t crawl out while he’s au natural -- well, he could, but he’d probably rather die first -- but Billy’s got no such issue.  It’s just fun when you get to see them doing something like that.  You have to really think for a minute about the trust each of them must have in their alter-ego.

ANYWAY, we get the rare treat then--

--of Captain Marvel not only yoinking a dude into a dark room, but then stealing his clothes.  Except, not his underwear.  Because that’s nasty.  LOL!

I love that in this series, you do actually get to see him wear other stuff.  Go incognito.  Get his red suit messed up enough to take it to a dry cleaner’s, wherein he ends up dressed like a musketeer after.  Jerry Ordway’s series is, I think, the only other time we see Cap not wearing his famous suit, but it happened enough in the Golden Age that it wasn’t a shock.

Like, I hate to be the one to say this, but I do think DC drops the ball often on just how much you can do with Captain Marvel (or Shazam, depending on timeline, but that’s the wizard’s name to me so mostly I’ll stick with the original name) if you unbend enough to.  It’s not just the costume change, or the duality of him and Billy being the same but not, but also his inherent, essential humanity.

But I am digressing again, sorry. XD  I just feel strongly enough about these versions of these characters to spend hours writing this.

Anyway, only a single panel later:

And that’s that!  Billy Batson has just outed his own alter-ego’s most embarrassing moment to whomever’s listening to WHIZ radio -- thank everything podcasts and the internet weren’t available then, ha! -- and we get to see a recounting of a very fun story.

Like I said earlier, I love this one for its essential humanity.  The hero got himself into this mess, he and Billy got him out of this mess, and stopping the criminals was actually just kind of a lucky stroke thrown in there.  But even though Cap got himself into this, the story never treats him like he’s stupid.  It never treats him like he’s some kind of idiot.  You’re laughing, but-- not in a mean way.

I love how human it is.  How complete it is.  How genuinely funny it is.  It’s a thousand times more funny when you genuinely love and respect Captain Marvel and Billy Batson, too.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this dissertation on a skinny-dipping hero.  LOL!  I enjoyed sharing it with you.

[sweetestlamb]

Chapter 8- epilogue

Cut Scene 

Author's note: In case anyone doesn't know in my mind I am a kdrama writer and with this story especially I find myself thinking about the scenes as if they are playing out on a screen, it's just my jam. I think of characters interactions and hope that affects the pacing and drive of the story and I try to imagine how the scenes would love, it makes it that much more fun to me! So without further ado, I give you the epilogue.

"So why are you sitting out here?" She asks him, feeling warm from their prolonged embrace. She'd only offered it because she saw it on a drama, "Sometimes words aren't enough and a hug, a really good hug will do," the main character had softly declared before wrapping the crying girl up in his huge arms, their height difference was stark, the girls head barely reaching his shoulder.

She hadn't known what to say in the face of Seojun's tangible sadness, she'd never witnessed it before thinking that he was someone incapable of such an tiring emotion. Guilt riddles as she recalls her illogical thoughts about his disappearance, she hadn't given him the benefit of the doubt; thinking the worst from the beginning.

It seemed she still had a long way to go, with trust.

She didn't know how long exactly they were supposed to hug, but once the arm rest started to dig into her side uncomfortably she had attempted to shift away, thinking he too would be feeling discomfort. But she could feel the cords of his arms flexing, immobilizing her. He was stronger than he appeared.

"Not yet." He'd said, voice barely a whisper as if he was scared to be heard but couldn't contain the words.

She froze. He sounded so needy. It made her heart squeeze. 

This was meant to be his comfort after all, he should decide when it ended. It only seemed right.

Her arms went numb, the pinprick tingles shooting up and down the limbs like sparks of tiny lightning, even sitting he was taller than her and she had to reach up to return his hug. She stayed silent letting him hold her and hiding a smile when he released the softest puff of air and burrowed into her shoulder, he was so large but he felt infinitely tiny in her arms.

After what felt like an eternity he started to draw away, his jaw was clenched tight she watched a vein twitch as he slowly leaned away from her, until only their fingers touched and then the hold was broken completely like a bubble being popped.

Then they sat in silence, she became lost in the sound of his breathing, evenly paced and soothing to her ears unconsciously she matched it- both of them in perfect rhythm. In, out. In, out.

"The doctor was doing blood work and........I don't like the sight of blood." He finally responds and she almost forgets the question she even asked hypnotized by the cadence of his voice, he's only speaking loud enough for her to hear. The moment feels intimate.

He's surprisingly more human than she'd expected. Glancing over she watches him wait for her reaction, the great Han Seojun scared of blood? What would the others think?

Such a joke, they're all just kids. They're all scared of something, some fears are just bigger than others.

She merely nods at his admission. Storing away another piece of Han Seojun so she can make sense of this puzzle.

"Are you coming back to school?" She finally asks the question she's been aching too, too chicken shit honestly to voice it but the hug has emboldened her too. When she looks over he's staring at her with an unreadable expression, his eyes searching her face before he sighs tilting his head back.

"Should I? Is it boring without me?" He jokes slipping back on the skin she's used to seeing the teasing easily flirtatious Han Seojun, it makes her pause to see his mask slipping back on so soon. 

He had a long way to go too.

"Come back to school." She hears the gasp that falls from his lungs, she'd caught him off guard. She stifles a smirk, it doesn't take much to egg him on and she finds herself wanting to push all his buttons.

"What?"

"Come. Back. To. School." She punctuates each word with a tap on the arm rest between then, on the final word twisting to face him. Eyes locked in an intense gaze.

"I need another sweater too. You cried all over this one."

He looks at her in shock before the lightest baritone chuckle escapes from his lips and it is music to her ears, twinkling and ringing she can't help her small smile in response. She shakes her head at the ridiculousness of it all, her laughing with Han Seojun in a hospital and neither one of them were the reason the other was there. Who could have guessed?

"I'll see what I can do princess."

She sits with him into the wee hours of the night, watching videos on their phones together smiling at cat videos and shaking her head when he mimics tik tok dance videos, he's a good dancer but she pretends she's embarrassed when he stands to dance to a BTS song, covering her eyes and groaning.

Then Suho starts to call and send messages, asking where she is and if she's okay. She'd completely forgotten about him, bolting inside their shared apartment to grab Seojun's sweatshirt ignoring Suho's bewildered face and racing back out to trail Chorong. She hadn't been able to think logically then.

"You should go back. I'll call you a cab." Seojun states firmly already taking out his phone leaving little room for argument.

"Aren't you coming home? You can't sleep here." She argues anyway, she can always make room to argue.

"I'll go soon, I want to sit with my mom a little more. Don't worry about me."

She grabs his arm firmly, making him look at her.

"I'm going to worry about you, who are you to tell me not to? Let me do what I want." She misses the pleased smile on his face, standing to stretch her legs.

The cab comes and he walks her to the entrance of the hospital, it's not lost on her that he's the only guest that's still here so late. He'd probably seduced the nurses or something she thinks annoyed.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" She asks him but her question comes out too confident, sounding more like a command.

He doesn't miss her tone. "Is that a royal command?" He quips raising an eyebrow in jest.

"If you come I'll grant you a wish."

His eyes are huge, beseeching as they process her words and then his lips match and she turns away from the bewitching sight, running to the cab without a backwards glance instead watching him grin like an idiot in the mirror of the cab.

What am I getting myself into?

Perhaps it's too late to be asking that.

Checking herself once more in the mirror she smiles at her reflection, she plans on stopping by the hospital after school and she wants to look her best for Seojun...'s mother. She hasn't seen her in a while and she wants to look presentable. Sweeping her hair to the other side, she takes a deep breath before grabbing her phone and bag. One more stop in the kitchen and she's out the door, Suho had offered to wait for her but she already knew he was planning to pick Ju-Kyeong up, they deserved some alone time to do whatever it was the couples did.

She was used to walking to school alone.

Checking the door she walks to the elevator before deciding to take the stairs, hopping down each step energetically before pushing the emergency door open and squinting under the blinding sunlight, bringing a hand up to cover her eyes she steps onto the sidewalk.

"If you leave this late you're definitely going to be late." A deep voice grumbles from behind her and suddenly there's an arm flung over her shoulder, a familiar cologne fills her nose.

"What are you doing here?" She inquires shifting under the heft of his arm but not dislodging it. It's not particularly bothering her, at the moment.

"You made an offer I couldn't refuse." He winks at her, starting to walk and in doing so dragging her along, she has to walk double speed to match his long gait.

She scoffs to repress the butterflies fluttering wildly in her belly, "Can you slow down some of us don't have giraffe legs."

"Yah! My legs are proportional to the rest of my beautiful body, don't listen to her you're both perfect long legends." She watches the idiot comfort his legs, bending to stroke them as if they are whimpering children.

"Has anyone told you today that you're an idiot?" She pulls her bag to her front, unzipping and pulling out a container. "Here. I was going to give this to you later, but it's easier now. It's just dumpling that's all your mom taught me so far."

She thrust a container at him, wrapped in a light blue cloth tied with a bow. She's never made food for anyone else before but he'd seemed to enjoy them that one time so maybe it would be alright.

"You made me food?" His voice is just like at the hospital again but this time with a dash of disbelief.

"It's just dumplings, you need to eat too." She quickly replies, dashing up the the bus stop once it's in sight. The air between them is a bit hard to handle right now. Sitting down on the metal seat she plops her bag in her lap pointed looking down the street.

He sits right next to her, their shoulders brushing.

"Thank you. Nobody but my mom's ever made me food before." He confesses. 

"What about your fangirls?" She challenges feeling hot needing to deflect.

"They don't count." He answers airily. She can only hum too scared to ask why they don't count. She can't handle the truth.

"Here I have a gift too." He states before dropping something soft on her head, glaring at him for messing up her hair she tugs off the object. Another sweater, dark blue this time with a single red heart on left side covering the chest. "I promise I won't cry on this one." He teases as she stares at the sweater and tries not to put a deeper meaning to him giving her this particular sweater. The heart is distractingly red.

It's a hot day, warmer than expected in mid April with a light breeze and the sun is beaming down on them.

She stands wordlessly, handing him her bag before slipping her arms into the sweater one at a time, leaving the zipper open, the bottom of the sweater grazes her thigh and it smells just like him. it 

"How do I look?" She shifts feeling suddenly self-respect conscious under his unwavering and penetrating stare he hasn't blinked since she put the sweater on.

He stares up at her from his seat, squinting like she's the sun and he can't look away. A sunny smile breaks across his handsome face. 

"Beautiful."

[ljf613]

Colonization & Imperialism in ATLA

One of the things I’ve noticed in fandom complaints about the ATLA comics-- namely, “The Promise”-- and subsequently, LOK’s worldbuilding, is the way the narrative handles colonization. 

I see a lot about how what the Earth Kingdom chose to do with the former colonies is “none of Zuko’s (or Aang’s) business.” (I also see people talking about how Katara would never support colonialism, in any shape or form, no matter the circumstances.) 

And I just.... don’t vibe with those ideas? At all? 

Like, I definitely have problems with the comics-- especially “The Promise,” where all the drama centers around Miscommunications of Epic Proportions and could have been resolved in Part One if all the characters just sat down and listened to each other (not to mention that Aang would never have agreed to make that promise, nor would Zuko have asked it of him (Sokka would be a more obvious choice, but that’s a different discussion))-- but I never had any issues with their worldbuilding. 

I love the idea of Yu Dao, and the fact that the narrative acknowledges that a new kind of world has new kinds of problems. It makes sense to me that we can’t always just “give back the land we took.” And I found the idea of the end solution being  “give the people who live there their own country” really cool and empowering. 

So I want to talk about why I feel this way. About what kind of real-world parallels can be made here. About some little-known bits of world-history that compare. 

(Please note that for this meta I am only going to be discussing the relationship between Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom. As far as I am aware-- and I could be wrong-- there is no real-world genocide quite comparible to what Sozin did to the Air Nomads, and most of the people alive in ATLA were not actually around for or involved in that. And the relationship the Fire Nation has with the Water Tribes-- and that the North and South have with each other-- is worth a whole separate analysis, and doesn’t deserve to just be shoved into this one.)

(Disclaimer: While this is in response to some of the interpretations I’ve seen on this site, it is not meant to discount or invalidate those fans’ views-- I’m just trying to show my take on it. I am a firm believer in the power of active discourse, and the value of looking at the same scenes through different lenses, rather than just getting one opinion and accepting it as Absolute Truth.) 

The main thing I notice in general ATLA discourse-- and not just on this topic, but in any sort of meta about the Fire Nation, colonization, and global impact-- is that the fandom mostly compares the war and its after-affects to real-world Imperialism, the Age of Imperialism, New Imperialism, and Colonization. 

And I understand why that is. In the grand scheme of world history, that era is still fairly recent, and we are still dealing with the afteraffects from it. It has shaped the Western World’s worldview on every level. (Not to mention that the Euro-centric way we’re taught history means that this piece of world history is the one we’re most exposed to, and so have the most understanding of and room to analyze/criticize.) 

However, there are a few issues with sticking only to this perspective. 

First off, the Age of Imperialism was a direct response to the Age of Exploration. This was the period of time when white Europeans sailed around the world acting as though they were discovering new places and pretending that there weren’t already existing civilizations there. 

[ID: Two dots meme, edited so that Guy A says “i’ve discovered a NEW WORLD,” Guy B replies “you didn’t discover ****,” and Guy A insists “i’ve discovered it” / End ID.] 

Now, I’ve mentioned this in passing, but the world of ATLA doesn’t appear to have had an Age of Exploration. There’s no vast “undiscovered” land masses, the four nations have always known about each other, and they all have a shared language. 

The whole foundation for the Age of Imperialism was “oh, look, there are all these ‘unexplored’ lands with resources ripe for the picking (who cares about the indigenous people, they’re just simplistic savages who don’t know what’s best for them), let’s see which European country can grab the most land first.” 

This was a race. This was sudden. This was Europeans coming in and taking over while viewing the natives as bothersome pests. This was about multiple major world powers competing over resources. 

This was not 100 years of active warfare between a single conquering country and the very people they were trying to conquer. 

The parallels don’t hold up. 

Secondly, by focussing only on this one kind of historical narrative, we ignore any others. 

I will admit that I have used the word “imperialism” in reference to the Fire Nation a time or two. However, upon further reflection, I realize I didn’t really mean imperialism, which is actually a fairly modern concept. What I feel the Fire Nation is really an example of is centralism and expansionism-- two ideaologies that have been a way of life for conquering empires throughout history. 

(I am in no way qualified to explain the differences between these concepts-- I recommend doing your own research if you’re curious.) 

The Persian Empire. The Greek Empire. The Roman Empire. The Byzantine Empire. The Mongolian Empire. The Russian Empire. The First French Empire. 

You could take any of these (or numerous others) and make an interesting analysis between the similarities and differences between their behaviors and that of the Fire Nation. And maybe I’ll do that someday. 

However, I started this to talk about Yu Dao and all of the other so-called colonies (I really feel like territories would be a better word, but, again, that’s a whole ’nother discussion), and I’d like to focus on that. 

FYI, here’s a basic history refresher: If two countries are at war, and then they decide to end the war, neither country is required to return captured territories. They can make a treaty and agree to do so, but there is no obligation to. The Fire Nation didn’t just march in and say, “this is our land now”-- they fought for it. They captured that land. Just because the war is over doesn’t mean they need to just give it back. 

Like it or not, that is the way the world operated for thousands of years, and so that is the interpretation I’m working with here. 

In any case, “The Promise” actually presents this as a three-way conversation. There’s Zuko (and, by default, the Fire Nation), Kuei (and, by default, Ba Sing Se and the Earth Kingdom), and the people of Yu Dao themselves. 

(My understanding of the Earth Kingdom’s style of government is that it’s made up of a large collection of different ethno-cultural regions who all answer to Ba Sing Se.) 

I’ll let Sokka explain it: 

[ID: Comic panel from Part Three of “The Promise.” Sokka and Katara are talking, both in obvious states of agitation, while Suki and Toph are looking at something in the background. Sokka is saying, “Let me see if I got this. The protestors and the Earth Kingdom Army want the colonials to go, the Fire Nation Army wants the colonials to stay, and the Yu Dao Resistance just want their city to be left alone?” Katara responds, “Yes!” / End ID.] 

The people of Yu Dao don’t care about the war. They don’t even really care who’s in charge. They just want to be left alone. 

This speaks to me on a very personal level, so I’m going to make another real-world comparison here: 

My ancestors first came to America to escape from the poverty and opression they were experiencing in a place known as “White Russia”-- that is, Belarus. To be clear, I am not talking about the country “Belarus,” but the region, which includes the modern-day countries of Lithuania, Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia and Moldova, as well as parts of Poland and Russia. 

I looked up White Russia, trying to find out how much information someone who didn’t grow up hearing stories about what it was like (that is, most of the people reading this,) might have. I didn’t find much. Most of what I found talked about political ideologies and such-- things that your average poor peasant, struggling just eke out a living, didn’t have much energy to care about. So let me paint a(n oversimplified) picture for you. 

Imagine you’re a poor shoemaker in a small town on the Russian border. You spend your days hard at work, trying to earn a living to support your wife and nine children. You’ve never left the town you were born in. One day you get the news: Russia and Poland are fighting again. Your two oldest sons (ages 15 and 17) are forcibly drafted off to fight in the Russian army; you never see them again and have no way of knowing if they’re dead or alive (they’re probably dead). Poland wins-- this time. Congratulations, your town is now part of Poland. 

Does suddenly being Polish make a difference to your life? Not in the slightest. Two or three years down the line, you’ll go back to being part of Russia again. This is the third or fourth time you’ve seen your town switch hands, and you can’t say you prefer one government over the other. It doesn’t really matter who’s in charge-- you’re still faced with crippling taxes, forced drafts, and various other forms of oppression. (It doesn’t help that you happen to be part of a persecuted minority.) 

(This is why I have many ancestors who may never have left the town they were born in, and yet records show that they were born in one country, got married in another, and died in a third.) 

This is the kind of worldview through which I am looking at Yu Dao. (Obviously, it’s not an exact parallel, but neither is the standard “colonizers vs oppressed natives” lens.) 

My ancestors eventually got fed up with the treatment they were receiving from their respective governments, and left to build a new life, in a new place. But the citizens of Yu Dao don’t have anywhere to go. The only two real world powers in this story are the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom, neither of which has ever before expressed any true interest or concern in the actual people of Yu Dao. 

The Earth Kingdom didn’t really care about the city before the war-- they were just another poor, struggling town, whose citizens were barely able to make ends meet. And while the Fire Nation may have helped the place grow into a bustling town, they also established a hierarchy that did not serve in the citizens’ best interests. 

And so, in “The Promise,” these citizens’ frustrations come to a head. “Enough,” they say, “we don’t want to be used as a pawn in your games anymore.” 

And Zuko and Kuei (and Aang) actually listen. They say “we need to start thinking about these people as people, not as symbols of one side or the other. It’s time to give them a say in their future.” 

And a new country-- a new way of life-- is born. 

(Is it perfect? Absolutely not. But it is constantly evolving and changing, trying to do better, be better. And that’s more than you can say about most of the other countries in this world.)

[thinkingisadangerouspastime]

what do you think about the aang is possessive comment? about EIP ruining kataang? also about there being an implied (and nonexistent) love triangle thrown in nearing the end of the series as a tease?

I think fandom just likes to complain, lmao, but I’ll address each of these one at a time!

1) “aang is possessive”

This argument is honestly the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard because it’s just so obviously false?? Possessive is literally defined as “demanding someone’s total attention and love,” which Aang never does? Aang always respects Katara’s position in their relationship, especially after the EIP kiss, which everyone knows was entirely inappropriate and wrong of him. Aang recognizes her hesitation and makes no more romantic attempts towards her after that moment. Not one! Katara is the one who initiates them getting together in the finale because the war is finally over and she is no longer afraid of losing him. I beg people, do point to the “possessiveness” you’re referring to, because the closest we get to any character being possessive is Zuko in “The Beach”:

Zuko: [Side-view of Zuko and Mai walking.] He thinks he’s so great. [To Mai.] Well, what do you think of him?

Mai: I don’t have any opinion about him. I hardly know him.

Zuko: You like him, don’t you? [Mai sighs and walks away.]

//

Ruon-Jian: What are you doing?

Zuko: [Close-up. Angrily.] Stop talking to my girlfriend!

Ruon-Jian: [Side-view. Walks up to Zuko.] Relax. It’s just a party.

Frontal view of Ruon-Jian. Zuko knocks him across the room into a vase, which breaks from the force.

Yeah, Aang never acts like that. 🤷

Now, this isn’t to say Aang doesn’t get jealous. Jealousy is a perfectly normal and natural emotion, and honestly I’d go so far as to say that everyone has been jealous at least once in their life. What’s key about Aang is he doesn’t act on his jealousy. He doesn’t throw anybody across a room, for one. Sure, he doesn’t want Katara to kiss Jet, so he makes a little quiet comment about it. Pretty normal, and it ends there. Not dissimilar to Katara’s bit of snark about On Ji! Even the EIP comment, which everyone uses to argue that Aang is “possessive” (which again, blatantly untrue, because he does not demand or expect a relationship with Katara as a result of that scene; also all he does is nod lmao and tbh that’s such a healthy reaction to jealousy I mean he doesn’t grab Zuko and chuck him onto the stage like his name is Ruon-Jian, does he?) - Aang literally just gets upset about the implication from an imperialist play that Katara doesn’t reciprocate his feelings. Why?

Let’s be frank: Aang knows, or is fairly certain, that Katara does like him by this point in the series. That’s why he doesn’t ask her “do you like me”. Instead, he asks:

Aang: But it’s true, isn’t it? We kissed at the Invasion, and I thought we were gonna be together. But we’re not.

By this point the show, the viewers know their feelings are mutual. Katara knows how Aang feels about her, and Aang knows Katara likes him, too - he just isn’t sure about how ready she is for a relationship. So him getting upset about the propagandist, pro-imperialism play implying Katara isn’t interested in him, when he essentially knows she does like him, is honestly kind of understandable? Imagine if you were watching a really rude movie about your life and it included a scene of your best friend who you’re already kind of in a relationship with saying that they’re in love with the dude who used to bully you and only think of you as their sibling. Like, that’s kinda wack? I’d be a little upset - and definitely weirded out - too.

(I’ve also seen people argue Aang leaving Guru Pathik to save Katara also somehow demonstrates his so-called possessiveness, as if his love for her and her love for him wasn’t established mere minutes earlier to be the love of the Air Nomads reborn. I don’t think the show could have been any clearer about how mutual, powerful, and honest their love is through that scene. Also, he proceeds to let her go to enter the Avatar state at the end of what? The next episode? So again, any arguments that he was “possessive” and “didn’t let her go” are thus moot and entirely inapplicable points.)

Basically, Aang isn’t “possessive” and people who think he is are just looking for an excuse to hate on him, lmao.

2) “eip ruined kataang”

The only way EIP could have ruined Kataang would be if all the previous Kataang buildup was either terrible or near-nonexistent. And great news! Kataang was built up very well throughout the series, growing from a close, deep friendship to cute, blushy crushes to a true, lasting romance (pretty iconic of them). Even if someone doesn’t ship them, they can acknowledge that within canon, Kataang had a very strong foundation (it’s one of the core relationships of the show, the other being Zuko and Aang as narrative foils). The implication that one poorly written episode somehow cancels out the previous 56 episodes and the following four is embarrassing.

Now, I certainly wouldn’t have minded if there had been a scene dedicated to Aang and Katara discussing his poorly-timed kiss. I ship Kataang, so there is absolutely no reason for me to be opposed to more Kataang content! But A:TLA has a very clear trend of not showing such discussions on screen - example: Zuko never sits down with Katara and apologizes for using her mother’s necklace to manipulate her; Katara never apologizes to Sokka for her callous comment about their mother - so the fact that Katara is the one to initiate their relationship at the end of the serious clearly demonstrates that she has forgiven Aang for his inappropriate kiss and is ready to be with him. (And I’ve said it before - if she can forgive Zuko for all the shit he put them through, she can forgive Aang, her best friend and the guy she loves, for one poorly-timed kiss.) Narratively speaking, ’twas resolved.

Also, it’s incredibly important to consider EIP within the context of the series as a whole. If someone really feels entirely devastated by that one episode, then… their loss? I’m sorry to hear it? 56 episodes of near-flawless buildup - a slight dip + a healthy, logical finale where Katara chooses to be with Aang because she is at last no longer afraid of losing him = more than good enough for me. People can argue her decision doesn’t make sense all they want, but it actually makes perfect sense when you consider what has been built through every previous episode: she was in love with him! You can’t isolate a single episode and expect it to speak for the series as a whole, after all.

Basically, EIP gets blown out of proportion because some people like to pretend it was the only Kataang episode ever written, lmao.

3) love triangle

I always laugh when I see this because where?? The only love triangle in A:TLA was the one fandom invented. Within the canon narrative, Katara and Zuko were never romantically interested in each other. I don’t care about “shipping-goggle interpretations” or AUs or post-canon or early planning that didn’t make it into the final drafts. If you look at A:TLA, if you look at the creators’ intentions, it’s plain as day that Kataang and Maiko were the only romantic pairings planned for Katara and Zuko. And that’s okay! That’s why fanon exists. But people have got to stop whining about a love triangle and ship teases that just… didn’t occur. If they read Zuko and Katara’s interactions as romantic, well, that’s great and all, but it’s also on them, lol. That sounds so mean oml I’m sorry y’all 💀. I just mean that Kataang was very clearly written into the show from episode 1 and Maiko from Book 2 (or Book 3 if you really, really don’t like the flashback), so expecting Zuko and Katara to get together doesn’t make any sense (to me) when they never had any romantically-coded interactions.

Yes, of course I’ll admit there were a few Zvtara gags, but that’s exactly what they were - gags. There’s three primary instances:

- June calling the owner of the Water Tribe necklace (whom we know is Katara) Zuko’s girlfriend in Book 1. This moment is mainly hilarious because Zuko promptly redirects the conversation to Aang, lmao, but thinking about the context of A:TLA itself? The assumption of the Fire Nation crown prince being in a relationship with someone from the Water Tribe is honestly pretty concerning given how the Fire Nation is an imperialist conqueror and has all but destroyed the Water Tribes (and has certainly worked to sever the connection between the North and South). So, not exactly a great conclusion on June’s part.

- The EIP gag. I ALWAYS laugh at this one because their reactions are so funny? I love the little disgusted nose wrinkles and scooting away. That’s hysterical to me. But again, thinking about the show itself, EIP is an imperialist play full of Fire Nation propaganda. With that in mind, again, the implication that their crown prince was with someone from the SWT, a nation they brought to its knees by killing all of the waterbenders (but one) and thus eradicating so much of the SWT’s culture? Major red flags! People need to consider the implications of EIP as imperialist propaganda, basically, because that’s what it is. Ignoring that aspect means missing the entire point of the play.

- June part 2. What I said above still applies. Also, they both get embarrassed and hotly deny it, which is kind of the opposite of a ship tease to me? They don’t exchange like an “oh, but what if” glance or anything, lol. And June backs off immediately, so... 🤷

People who interpret that as serious ship teases are, bless their hearts, a little misguided. Those are just funny moments! It’s like Katara and Sokka dressing up as Aang’s parents in “The Headband”. It’s funny! It’s contextual! Sokka and Katara are not romantically interested in each other just because they dressed up as husband and wife (ew), just as Katara and Zuko aren’t romantically interested in each other because there were three jokes about it. I really don’t know what else to say lmao.

Now, I don’t know all about what Bryke did outside of A:TLA in regards to Zuko and Katara’s relationship and fans of it. I wasn’t here for that lol. But I do know that A:TLA built a beautiful, platonic bond akin to surrogate siblings between Zuko and Katara (highlighted by the final Agni Kai with Katara and Azula as foils). Not a love triangle. “The Southern Raiders” was an episode about Katara and Kya, not Zuko and Katara. “The Crossroads of Destiny” paints an aching, gorgeous parallel between Oma and Shu and Katara and Aang, not Katara and Zuko. “The Boiling Rock: Part 2” was an episode involving the loyalty and love of Mai and Zuko, not Katara and Zuko. Katara and Aang had romantic parallels, Mai and Zuko had romantic parallels, while Katara and Zuko - within canon - had strictly platonic development. And honestly, fandom should appreciate that more! How often do we get such an iconic relationship between a guy and a gal that isn’t shadowed by romance? (The answer: not often enough.)

Now, this doesn’t mean don’t ship Katara and Zuko. I don’t care what people ship lmao, and there are some interpretations of Zvtara that I really enjoy (post-canon Zvtara has so much potential,, I die a thousand deaths oml)! But insisting there was some love triangle thrown at the end of the series is a discredit to how well Aang and Katara’s and Zuko and Katara’s relationships were written in A:TLA, and I’m honestly tired of hearing such tomfoolery. A romantic relationship between Zuko and Katara within canon would have completely undermined his entire redemption arc, which further emphasizes that their canon bond was meant to be solely platonic, because why would the writers want to undo what most consider the best redemption arc in animated history? (Simply put, I don’t think they would.)

Also, A:TLA had a very clear history of staying away from love triangles. There’s no Aang x Katara x Jet love triangle. No Yue x Sokka x Suki love triangle. So why would there be an Aang x Katara x Zuko love triangle?

Case in point: there isn’t. Fandom invented it.

So that’s my thoughts, anon! It can be summarized as this: fandom makes up a lot of nonsense that simply rewatching the show can dispute, so maybe we should just start providing episode timestamps to people, lol.

A general note - people are free to disagree with this post, but I ain’t looking to argue, so… make your own post if you want to develop a “counterargument”, I guess? I’m just chillin™ lol I don’t want to fight with people. I can give you my PayPal if you’d really like to engage in a proper academic debate? Anyways. Much love! 💕

[timac-extraversal]

Four Racial Futures

(TIMAC #003, ~3,800 words, 16 minutes)

Summary: Four alternative paths to the current dominant left/liberal racial vision for future America are discussed, including an underestimate of the size of the white population, Castizo Futurism, Landian Hyper-Racism, and changes in society's understanding of developmental psychology.

Epistemic Status: Political speculation.

-☆☆☆-

‘Majority Minority’ America? Don’t Bet on It John J. Miller, Wall Street Journal (2021/02) [paywall]

“The surge in mixing across ethno-racial lines is one of the most important and unheralded developments of our time,” says Mr. Alba, a professor at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He rattles off facts and figures: Today, more than 10% of U.S.-born babies have one parent who is nonwhite or Hispanic and one who is white and not Hispanic. That proportion is larger than the number of babies born to two Asian parents and not far behind the number of babies born to two black parents. “We’re entering a new era of mixed backgrounds,” Mr. Alba says.

The census apparently counts those who identify as both white and non-white as 'non-white,' which may be undercounting the number of people who are likely to identify as 'white' in the United States. Sociologist Richard Alba argues that assimilation is bidirectional, but proceeding apace.

The infamous Razib Khan chimes in on Twitter:

The Great Demographic Illusion: Majority, Minority, and the Expanding American Mainstream [link] haven't read this book but summary supports my exp./priors in 21st century.

"When they marry, 72% of Asian-white women and 64% of Asian-white men take white spouses. The government nevertheless counts them and their progeny as nonwhite." i have a blue-eyed blonde-haired 1/4th japanese friend. she probably doesn't realize she's counted as nonwhite

fwiw, my half brown kids 'identify' as tan. but if they were forced to pick a race and others were forced would choose white more than anything else

On the one hand, we have the largely implicit left-wing theory that if there is no majority race, there can be no organized oppression by a majority race. On the other, the implicitly-left-wing theory that if there are many mixed-race people, it will become too difficult to organize by race - identifying people on the basis of race will be harder and people will have split loyalties.

Either might fail on its own. If people are naturally prone to politics by race and ethnicity, then a lack of a clear supermajority in a majority-minority country may lead to shifting ethnic coalitions, with no group feeling that it's in a comfortable position of power. Even within a mixed group, there might be selection in some specific direction, such as colorism, which is currently its own category of discourse.

On the other hand, it's apparently possible that some form of unironic 'Multiracial Whiteness' could "win," either from widespread adoption of 'white' as a norm even if whites were a minority, or by a supermajority ending up 7/8ths 'white' and the definition of 'white' expanding to match...

[Quora] What is Castizo Futurism? Renatto Belerofonte (2020)

Among the right-wingers, there is also a joke that "the Alt Right is a hispanic movement." And just as there is Afro-Pessimism, there is a 'White Optimism' in the form of "Castizo Futurism," as Quora user Renatto Belerofonte describes better than I could:

Castizo Futurism comes from the idea that the future of whites in the United States and Latin America is not as dire as white supremacists that believe in white genocide think it is. White Identitarians traditionally organize their societies through Hypodescent (the idea that the offspring of an union between two conflicting classes adopts the social standing of the lower class involved) [...] An example of hypodescent would be the One Drop Rule.

[...]

Castizo Futurism is basically the adoption of Hyperdescent by American White Supremacists, the idea that whiteness is a malleable condition that can morph according to the material and historical conjuncture of society. If Hispanics in the US suddenly stop being “non-whites” and start to be perceived as “mostly mestizos and castizos that are already predominantly European with various degrees of native blood” then you can conceive the prospect of “whitening” them overtime. If Mestizos can become Castizos (which according to White Supremacists is the cut-off at which you start to manifest European behavior and appearance) then there is the possibility that White Genocide can be reversed.

As Renatto writes, "if you look at non-anglo societies this paradigm is not the case [...] Spanish, Portuguese and French societies in America believed that you could 'become' white through generations of intermarriage..."

Human beings grow old and wish to create a legacy in their environments. For some people, this is children. For others, it is activism. Suppose you tie your self-identity to a great confrontation to overcome "whiteness," and then just as you saw the traditions of your ancestors as something outdated to be overturned, most of an entire generation simply ignore you and decide that they are now white.

Who, exactly, is going to stop them?

Of course, there is no guarantee that this will happen, but at the same time, there is no requirement that it won't.

One of the great advantages to adopting relatively liberal methods and tactics is that you aren't obligated to pin your hopes on demographic triumphalism - if the future goes a bit off-script, that isn't necessarily a problem. And it may well go off-script; one of the characteristics of the future that I have tried to express in my blogging is that, for most of us, it will be unexpected.

Why does the old conventional racism use hypodescent? Old conventional racism might claim to be based on thinking in terms of evolution, but it isn't necessarily. Often it proceeds as if race is primordial, trailing back into the mists of time. Why embrace hyperdescent now? In part, because 'white' was something that emerged once through evolution and selection, and it's implemented as a statistical distribution of heritable traits (even if those heritable traits are solely appearance). As long as those traits exist, it can simply be recreated if the appropriate conditions arise.

[Landian] Hyper-Racism Nick Land, Xenosystems.net (2014/09, arch. 2015)

Speaking of statistical distributions of traits, there are some pessimists that argue that intra-European political preferences are heritable and conserved.

But even those 'within-white' preferences, should they exist, may end up scrambled...

Assortative mating tends to genetic diversification. This is neither the preserved diversity of ordinary racism, still less the idealized genetic pooling of the anti-racists, but a class-structured mechanism for population diremption, on a vector towards neo-speciation. It implies the disintegration of the human species, along largely unprecedented lines, with intrinsic hierarchical consequence. The genetically self-filtering elite is not merely different — and becoming ever more different — it is explicitly superior according to the established criteria that allocate social status. Analogical fusion with Cochran’s space colonists is scarcely avoidable. If SES-based assortative mating is taking place, humanity (and not only society) is coming apart, on an axis whose inferior pole is refuse. This is not anything that ordinary racism is remotely able to process. That it is a consummate nightmare for anti-racism goes without question, but it is also trans-racial, infra-racial, and hyper-racial in ways that leave ‘race politics’ as a gibbering ruin in its wake.

"The problem with ordinary racism," Nick Land writes, "is its utter incomprehension of the near future."

If the conventional racists view race as primordial, as something that can only be either preserved or lost, and the would-be Castizo Futurists view race as something that can change over generations, then the Transhumanists are the most radical. Transhumanists tend to view the body mechanically, as a system of parts, each of which could potentially be replaced. This is the view on the macro level - they would support growing new organs in vats and transplanting them - but it's also true on the micro level. To a Transhumanist, a gene is not the same thing as a person who has it, and a gene is not in itself sacred any more than the radiator on your car is sacred. (Alter someone's genetics unwillingly, however, and you might find far more stern disagreement - not unlike the violent disagreement you might get if you broke into someone's car and stole their radiator.)

Someone once described Americans as 'temporarily-embarassed millionaires.' For temporarily-embarassed cyborgs, much of contemporary race discourse is just not very impressive. For Liberal Transhumanists, a man who has inherited frail leg bone genes is not an inherently unworthy being, but is merely someone who has not yet received robot legs - just as they are human beings who have not yet received anti-aging pills. And if some men have sturdy leg bone genes instead? Rather than a threat of enduring hierarchy, those genes represent potential untapped capital that could be used to raise the standard of living (from the typical subjective perspective).

In the famous animated franchise Ghost in the Shell, the lead character has an entirely synthetic body, except for her brain. If this were possible (and at this point, we don't know that it is, though we're continuing to experiment in fields like tissue engineering), one might describe a society capable of it as "also trans-racial, infra-racial, and hyper-racial in ways that leave ‘race politics’ as a gibbering ruin in its wake."

Are there risks involved with this mindset? Certainly. But many of the basic criticisms will ring as hollow to transhumanists as basic conservative criticisms ring hollow to many left-wing and liberal readers.

This future is not yet etched in stone, but on the other hand, an article in Nature published in 2020 argued that...

Together, these findings suggest that there are, at present, no known insurmountable hurdles to the eventual development of safe and effective clinical applications of genome editing in humans. […] Therapeutic genome editing will be realized, at least for some diseases, over the next 5-10 years.

Part of what makes contemporary race discourse so unimpressive to transhumanists is that it fails to integrate Crispr or PGD-IVF into its moral imagination. Right-wingers are said to look backwards, and left-wingers and progressives to look forwards. But while the right-wing WrathOfGnon would encourage readers think on ancestral time scales by physically building villages out of traditional materials (a view which, right or wrong, is consistent), a number of Progressives fail to imagine beyond the next fifteen years.

...or perhaps they do. Can children consent to what's considered a genetic disease (such as Tay-Sachs, which is quite lethal)? Would having kids the old-fashioned way come to be seen as a low-class activity for rednecks and religious fundamentalists? There are ways in which genetic equity is at odds with genetic freedom.

It's also possible that they are simply technology pessimists, maintaining multiple rings of protection in case technology should fail to pan out this century. Though if this is their perspective, perhaps they should consider the potential dangers of their current rhetoric as well.

Contrary to the Liberal Transhumanists, for someone like Land, everything is highly competitive evolution.

genomic manipulation capabilities, which will also be unevenly distributed by SES, will certainly intensify the trend to speciation, rather than ameliorating it.

I take issue with Land, here. Not just morally (though he writes "this blog generally seeks to spread dismay whenever the opportunity arises"), but in practical terms.

Every time we edit a gene, we risk an off-target result, which may cause disease. The tradeoffs for early genetic engineering favor focusing on monogenic disease, the sort of situation where your choices are to risk genetic engineering or experience near-certain death by age 30. Many traits like intelligence or general health, should they be genetic, are likely highly polygenic. Hypothetically, a rich man could pay for a thousand edits, but this would only work with a relatively mature technology where the rate of error is very, very low.

Something closer to the opposite of Nick Land's idea might come to pass, in which sharp negative points are eroded away except for a few populations such as religious conservatives, including the literal Amish, and medical skeptics, paid for by big institutions like insurance companies and public health authorities. In twenty years, the likes of L0m3z, a right-wing Twitter contrarian, may write about the coming "Planet of Midwits."

As for Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis In-Vitro Fertilization, although it is currently being used for preventing the transmission of Huntington's Disease (if you have $35,000 to spare), the gains from embryo selection for other traits can be more limited than people might expect.

[Video] The Glenn Show: The Dark Matter of Developmental Psychology Glenn Loury & James Heckman, BloggingHeads.tv (2020/12)

GLENN: I'm talking to one of the great economists working on human development. What are you up to at the Center for the Economics of Human Development at the University of Chicago?

HECKMAN: Well, one of the great issues of course, always, is exactly how do you improve the lot of human beings. Namely, how do you measure what improvement is, what are the relevant life skills, and then how do you develop those skills? What's the proper role for social policy, and I don't mean just governmental policy, I mean social policy? There are some very strong interventions, evidence for interventions, showing how if you tell parents a certain amount of information that they lack, it can have huge effects on their children. And the same is true of interventions that occur in adolescent years. Human potential is not being fully utilized. [...] I've been working on this not only in the US, but in several countries around the world - a lot of time spent in China, recently.

[...]

HECKMAN: And then gradually society has become more and more cognitively focused. Well that sounds good. When Governor Clinton was governor of Arkansas, well all of these well-meaning officials were talking about how to improve schools, what do they talk about? Nate scores - reading, writing, and arithmetic. They don't talk about character formation. They don't talk about self-control, executive functioning, the way you can help govern your life. [...]

HECKMAN: One of the main lessons of this body of work, and I'm proud to have contributed to this, is in showing the power of social and emotional and personality skills in shaping lives. Skills that can be actually cultivated, and skills that can be cultivated not just at the beginning of life, but through adolescence especially.

What evidence is there? Aside from more contemporary study in his own field, Heckman mentions discusses the Perry Preschool Project, a topic which comes up sometimes when one is looking into this field. While increases in IQ scores failed to stick, the experimental group had improvements in other life outcomes such as earnings, home ownership, and lower risk of incarceration.

HECKMAN: ...but the way you take the kid to the next step matters a lot. You've got to do it with some patience, and with some empathy - some attachment. And so there's a whole subject matter in child development psychology which we're looking at now - we actively are exploring.

HECKMAN: By the way, I don't want to pretend this is all completely known. This is what makes the work that I'm doing now so exciting. Because now we're measuring these interactions, week by week. This is now not in the US, it's in western China, one of the poorest areas. We can see how the interactions between the parent and the child are leading to the growth of skills on the part of the child. [...]

HECKMAN: This was something that was tried in Jamaica some 40 years ago. I'm working with a group of people with a study that's still ongoing outside of Kingston, Jamaica. It's called the "Reach Up and Learn" study in Jamaica. The China study is patterned after that study. [...]

So the research the Heckman is focused on is not limited to a particular race, country, or culture.

HECKMAN: It turns out that a lot of parents don't really know how to parent. And what do I mean by that? They don't have a clear idea what a normal growth trajectory is for a child, what a child can do. And they often don't understand how powerful they are in shaping the life of the child. So you give them that kind of information. Nobody's being forced to do anything. Just empower people. Almost every caretaker of a young child really wants that child to succeed. [...] When they are told this information, they act on it.

Asian Americans live longer than non-hispanic white Americans, and have a higher median household income. [1☆][2☆] While there is some racial tension between white and asian Americans (see, for instance, ongoing 'cultural appropriation' arguments and other discourse), it's generally considered less of an issue than disparities between the country's white majority and black Americans.

Could parental information and mentoring programs reduce disparities in the United States, even if they aren't resolved? And could this turn down the heat on race discourse?

For instance, at $76k median household income, white households make about 77% of what asian households do. Black American households make about $45k, or about 60% of white American household income. At 77%, they would make about $59k, not far off from the $56k of hispanic households.

What are the potential downsides? The most likely way for the program to fail is for it to have no effect or, at worst, a modest negative effect. [3] It isn't incompatible with an ecological view of human society. It would cost money, but probably not much more than another couple years of additional schooling.

Given the modest downside risk, what are the potential upsides? If the reports on the Perry Preschool Program are accurate and the effects can be replicated, there are a large savings to be had, mostly from the reduction in crime. [4☆]

But can the effects be replicated? The sample size for the Perry Preschool Project was relatively small. As far as Early Childhood Education programs go, the effectiveness of Head Start, which provides more than just preschool and is "based on a 'whole child' model," is disputed. [5☆][6☆] However...

Two older "high-quality" preschool programs mentioned frequently in the research literature are the HighScope Perry Preschool program from Ypsilanti, Michigan, and the Chicago Child-Parent Center (CPC) program. These programs include parent education and support and thus differ in significant ways from the type of preschool programs offered by Head Start, as well as the more recent "high-quality" programs. They are also much more expensive on a per-capita basis. Both the CPC and the HighScope Perry Preschool programs were started in the 1960s, and researchers have carried out long-term cost-benefit analyses for both programs. These analyses conclude that better long-term outcomes more than pay for their higher program costs, mainly in the form of higher career income and lower rates of criminal behavior.

- Armor & Sousa [6☆]

By 2018, the "Reach Up and Learn" program Heckman was speaking of had been expanded to 9 other countries, with varying degrees of effectiveness depending on its implementation. [7☆] (Though its associated US domain has expired.) Heckman's own study is, as one would expect, positive about the effects - and was published in Science.

Early childhood education increased earnings by 25%, enough for growth-stunted children to completely catch up to the earnings of the non-stunted comparison group. The control group remained far behind. In fact, average earnings from full-time jobs were 25% higher for the treatment group than for the control group. Ninety-eight percent of treated children had been employed at age 22, with 94% in full-time jobs.

Jamaica is not America, and interventions that worked under conditions in Jamaica might be less effective in America. However, if it could be achieved, a 25% increase in median income would put black American households at roughly $57k annual income, just above hispanic households, and within striking distance of the $59k target.

A nutritional intervention was also attempted, however, although "Other studies have shown cognitive benefits from nutritional supplementation in the first 24 months," Heckman wrote, "The nutrition supplement for the child was often shared with the family, so it may not have been sufficient to produce better outcomes."

And the nutrition angle might be worth looking into - the study cited (preceded by an analysis, by one of the same authors, of 13 studies on the subject) by Scott Alexander in Society is Fixed, Biology is Mutable showed that vitamins didn't do much for well-nourished kids, but that a minority of undernourished kids may have benefitted greatly.

-☆☆☆-

[1☆] As of 2014, asian Americans lived about 86 years, hispanics about 83 years, and non-hispanic whites about 79 years.

[2☆] In 2019, asian households had a median household income of $98,174 US to white non-hispanic median household income of $76,057. (It should be noted however, as shown in this Wikipedia article that is easier to read than the government data it cites, that household median incomes for groups within "white" or "asian" are not all the same.)

[3] Heckman's program and attitude suggest that an ideological explanation of how we got here isn't included, just an assumption of lack of access to resources by impoverished parents, whether that's in Jamaica, Peru, or China. This suggests the program lacks a loop where program failure just means that the program wasn't tried hard enough.

[4☆] Updating the Economic Impacts of the High/Scope Perry Preschool Program (2005)

At a 3% discount rate the program repays $12.90 for every $1 invested from the perspective of the general public; with a 7% discount rate, the repayment per dollar is $5.67. Returns are even higher if the total benefits--both public and private--are counted. However, there are strong differences by gender: a large proportion of the gains from the program come from lower criminal activity rates by the treatment group, almost all of which is undertaken by the males in the sample. The implications of these findings for public policy on early childhood education are considered.

[5☆] Wikipedia collects a number of studies both for and against.

[6☆] The Dubious Promise of Universal Preschool David J. Armor & Sonia Sousa, National Affairs (2014/01, arch. 2014/01)

[7☆] Reach Up: how a Jamaican early childhood intervention swept the world APolitical.co (2018/04)

[lombredanslaeu]

𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒖𝒕 | l.taeyong

plot: a letter for lee taeyong - the love of your life and the tear in your heart.

genre: angst, fluff

warning: messy writing lol, explicit scene

word count: 2401

proofread: no

Dear Lee Taeyong,

I hope this letter finds you well. I’m not sure if I could ever gain the courage or the chance to say what I have to say to you. There are a lot of things I’m not sure about; one of which is how the universe crossed our paths. Was it just for the heaven’s comedy relief or was it because we were meant to find one another? I’m not sure which one I’ll believe. Nevertheless, I’m happy that day happened even if it’s cringy to look back at right now.

The university atrium was crowded with booths and students. Today was the first day of the organization recruitment week. Your brother told you about the joys of meeting new people by joining organizations that sparks your interest. So, you did not waste a second going to the busy fair.

You were currently lining up for the photography organization. To your dismay, there aren’t actually a lot of organizations that suits your interest. You enjoy taking photos and looking at them so you just opt for the photography org.

You were lost in your own world when a tap on your shoulder cut your reverie.

“Hey, I’m sorry to bother,” The man said. He was taller than you, his features were smooth & pristine almost like a Disney character. He also sported a pink shade on his hair. “Can I borrow your pen? I’m really rushing to get a slot on the performing arts org.”

You looked down at the pen that placed on the small pocket of your blouse. You weren’t in a hurry but he was. Being the kind person you are, you gave it to him.

“Sure, here.” You placed the pen on his hand.

He muttered a series of “thank you”’s before scurrying off to the really busy performing arts line.

You went back to your own reverie. When you reached the front table, your hand went to the small pocket of your blouse. Your fingertips failed to feel the slim pen and you mentally groaned. Now, you were the one who’s in need of a pen. You looked back at the distant performing arts booth but failed to spot the pink-haired duded who borrowed your pen.

You never saw him again for the next two weeks; he never crossed your mind anyway. That was until a shadow towered over you while you sat in seclusion at the back of the lecture hall.

“I’m sorry for running away with your pain.” The pink-hair dude spoke above you. The vibrant hue on his head faded into a soft, bubblegum pink. That shade suits him better. “I saw you looking around for me when it was your turn to fill out the registration sheet.”

With that, he placed a new pen on your desk. It was wrapped with a small ribbon.

“I was supposed to return it to you but I saw you getting annoyed and I felt so bad.” He explained further.

You chuckled at his gesture. Sure, that event annoyed you back then but now, it just became a funny memory.

“It’s no problem.” You said. “Thank you-”

“Taeyong.” He continued.

There’s so many things to love about you, Yongie. I could list all the things I adore about you. From the way you’re always supportive of the people around you to the way your eyes shine whenever you perform in the university auditorium and you suddenly spot your friends in the crowd. I could go on and on but this letter would probably be ten pages long and I only have so much ink left in this pen. Yes, the same pen you gave me the second time we met. I never used it until today. It held so much sentimental value that if I were to merely use it on a quiz or lecture notes, I would immediately feel guilty. Actually, I retract that statement. I used it one time to fill out the application form for the first job I’m applying to. I was surprised that it still works. I would have thought that the ink has dried out already; after all, it’s been hidden somewhere on my desk until the day I went to that job interview.

You don’t have much time left. Your body clock got used to sleeping at an ungodly hour and waking up during the middle of the day. Your interview starts at 8:20 AM and it was already 7:30 AM. You thanked yourself for showering the night before as you don’t need to do much.

You hurriedly packed your necessities. You always bring a pen with you whenever you go; and with that, you grabbed a random pen sitting on your pen holder.

For some miracle, you made it before 8:20 AM. The secretary gave out a form for you to fill out. You reached for the pen inside your purse. The small jewel decoration at the top of the cap was reminiscent of the smile of the person who gave the pen to you. It was as if this was Taeyong’s way of saying good luck. Whenever you went, he was always there with you.

But as there were many things to love, there were also many things to hate. I feel like we are now in the situation where I’m finally free to talk about these things to you. To be frank with you, we had all the reasons and chances to communicate and talk about these problems. The thing is: we never did. Maybe it was because we came to the terms that we were falling apart. I don’t blame you. I, too, was scared of what would result if we ever had that conversation. To say that I don’t regret not pushing myself to fix everything would be an understatement. I regret everything, Taeyong. I regret not talking to you and making you suffer. I regret ever putting you into that light. However, I cannot help but point the blame to our situation that night. You weren’t talking either and I felt like I shouldn’t exert effort into someone who clearly does not want to fight with me. Was that how you felt that night? No, wait. Don’t answer that. It would crush me to know that it was only me who refused to accept that I was wrong.

You waited for hours. Normally, Taeyong would be the one to initiate a resolution, to seek a middle ground between the two of you. The clock was ticking towards midnight. In ten minutes, the eerie silence between the two of you would turn five hours old. The words you threw at one another bounced back and forth in your head, as if the walls of your brain were the same walls of your shared apartment.

“You never listen to what I have to say!”

“I don’t need to listen when I already saw it with my two eyes!”

“Are you hearing yourself?”

“Stop trying to make it seem like this is my fault.”

“You’re blowing this all out of proportion, of course it’s your fault!”

Before, you and Taeyong were magic. Right now, nothing was sparking aside from the raging frustration between the two of you. It’s been four years of you and him being lovers. Have you outgrown each other this quickly? Why did the fire burn out so quickly and who turned a blind eye on it?

“We’re not gonna fix anything if we just ignore each other.” You spoke. It was the morning after the fight. While you found yourself asleep on the bed, you found Taeyong asleep on the couch. You felt bad, his height is no match for the space the couch could offer. The urge to fix everything was demanding to be felt so here you are, in front of the office he works at.

“You don’t listen to me so what’s the point?” He replied, the look of impatience washing over his face.

“I didn’t come here to form another fight, Taeyong.” You said in a exasperated voice. Taeyong could right through you. You wanted to fix what happened last night. Along with that came a tinge of fear in his heart. He’s scared that your proposition in fixing everything was to take a break or worse, break up. He doesn’t want that.

“Then, you shouldn’t have came here at all.”

What would you do when your ex suddenly calls you at 3:00 AM on a Saturday asking to hold you once more? You weren’t drunk so I believed everything that you said. That was my mistake. I failed to realize that alcohol isn’t the only thing that could make you do things out of your control. Loneliness is a dangerous drug as well. I have to admit that I slept with you not because I missed you but because I was afraid I would never feel loved again. Looking back now, I definitely came back running because I love you. Not because I miss you, but because I was pathetically in love with you and I was scared I don’t know how to stop it. I was willing to swallow my pride, to swallow everything my mother taught me about loving myself because I wanted to feel you with me again.

His hands roamed around your naked torso. Taeyong’s hand were different from the other boys who have touched you before. His lips fluttering kisses all over your neck. For a moment, it felt like you were his and he was yours again; even though the current circumstances tells you otherwise. Your shirt was the first to go, followed by your bra.

You knew the implications of your actions. But all rationality seemed to evacuate from your system the minute his cock bottomed out inside of you. Each hard thrusts signifies his longing and his need to be yours again. Although he can never say these things out loud, he sure did rely them on his actions. You felt like the universe is about to explode inside of you and finally, when it cracks, you get to see a slice of heaven. Taeyong leaned down to kiss your quivering lips, his breathing as deep as his thrusts.

“I bet no one could ever fuck you like this.” He spoke above you, eyes as dark as the sins he was doing to your body.

But I’m over all of it now. I’m over being helplessly in love with you and doing nothing to stop myself from running back to you all the time. I’m done throwing myself under the fire of missing you each time our favorite song plays on shuffle. I’m done worrying about doing things we used to do together, I’m done being afraid if those things will trigger a memory of you. We had grown up over the years and so does how I feel about you. The minute I realized I don’t want to feel okay without you is the minute I realized all the mistakes that we could have easily corrected but never did.

You’re not accepting this fate. You refuse to accept a life that would be spent without Taeyong by your side. There are a lot of things you’re not sure about except for one thing - you would conquer all the odds just to make sure it was him you’re spending the rest of your life with. You just don’t know how and when to make him realize that you’re always down for him.

Him, on the other hand, was racing through traffic to get to where you are. Today was your birthday - your first birthday without him to be exact. All it took was one look at the calendar for Taeyong to realize that he shouldn’t be afraid of mending things with you. Because even if the situation gets rough, you would always be by his side. He mentally cursed himself for ever being scared of talking shit out.

But when he saw you celebrating with your friends and a smile too beautiful it could move a thousand seas, he wonders if he was too late.

Taeyong, you taught me how to be mature. You taught me how to be forgiving even if the people around me aren’t. Most importantly, you taught me how to love fully, madly, and truly. And for that, I cannot thank you enough. I cannot thank you enough for showing me that love isn’t always beautiful but it is always kind. Your love keeps no records of wrongs and I don’t think a love like that could ever exist within anyone else. Thank you for borrowing my pen during the college fair. If I could turn back time and make everything easy for us, I would. You have no idea how much I want to that. But, alas, I can’t. So for now, we just have to live with the burned pages of our past. It is up to you if you want to bury at the back of your mind or if you want to paste them all over your walls. I’m sorry for the pain I gave you - please never forget that it was the last thing I could ever want to give you.

For the love that I will always rejoice upon even in my last living hours, I sincerely thank you.

See you tomorrow at the altar.

 Yours until the sun no longer shines,

Y/N.

[theapathetickat]

long post ahead. way longer than i thought it was gonna be.

So I found a bunch of official character design scans from the Soul Eater anime, and included were some height charts!

So I chose one of the height charts to calculate with, adjusted a few characters' standing places (Crona, Soul, Maka, the Thompson sisters) to make them more even with the others, and since there was a 150 cm mark, I knew what I had to do and got to work.

After adjusting the aforementioned characters, I first made some marks for 1 meter and 50 centimeters by measuring the pixels between designated points on the 150cm/0cm lines and labeled these points. Then I determined the approximate height of a centimeter in pixels and rounded that to both the nearest whole pixel and the nearest tenth. (I used the nearest tenth to calculate with) Then I approximated tops of characters' heads, accounting for typical anime hair volume, and made multiple points for characters with super spiky hair (to see how much the spikes add) and Lord Death (because I wasn't sure which point I should use).

Finally I took the difference between the head lines and what pixel of the image was my designated zero, and divided that by the number I calculated to be a centimeter's height in pixels to generate approximate heights. These heights were then rounded to the nearest whole centimeter. However, they seemed off.

Approximate heights ordered left to right, using 150cm mark as reference:

Black☆Star: 150cm/4'11" (169cm/5'6" including hair spike)

Lord Death: 203cm/6'7" at Point 1, 218cm/7'1" at Point 2, 256cm/8'5" at Point 3

Tsubaki: 166cm/5'5"

Stein: Ok according to this chart he's 194 cm/6'4", but in the NOT! production note he was 210 cm (6'10"). I'm gonna chalk this inconsistency up to differing character designers for the anime adaptations (Yoshiyuki Itou for the original and Satoshi Koike for NOT!) and no known release of character heights from Ohkubo. And I'll still be going with the 210 cm number for Stein's height as it's the only one that's known to have been stated by any staff member. (I double-checked my math and it still checked out within an acceptable margin of error, but there is still the possibility that I was off somewhere in rounding)

Medusa: 172cm/5'8"

Crona: 161cm/5'3"

Soul: 142cm/4'7" (15ocm/4'11" including hair spike)

Maka: 145cm/4'9"

Spirit: 194 cm/6'4"

Death the Kid: 150cm/4'11" (note: his shoes have a slight heel to them so I feel it's reasonable to estimate this despite him being slightly above the 150cm line) (In the NOT! production note he is listed as 158cm/5'2". This can be attributed to the same reasons as the inconsistency with Stein's height)

Patty: 145cm/4'9" with heels, 139cm, 4'7" without. (The NOT! production note lists her as 160cm/5'3")

Liz: 161cm/5'3" with heels, 155cm/5'1" without. (This is also inconsistent with the NOT! production note which lists her as 170cm/5'7". This inconsistency I'll chalk up to the same reasons as Kid, Patty, and Stein)

Sid: 196 cm/6'5"

So all the kids are just absolutely TINY in the anime universe if we go by the mark on this production image.

Here are set 2's numbers, which ignores that 150cm mark and bases the heights off what's in Stein's NOT! production note files, because I was curious as to what numbers that would show: (Note: Kid, Liz, and Patty's numbers may not match that production note because this is enough of a different point in the story that they may have grown) (all heights rounded to nearest whole inch/centimeter)

Black☆Star: 161cm/5'3"  (182cm/5'11" including hair spike)

Lord Death: 219cm/7'2" at Point 1, 237cm/7'8" at Point 2, 276cm/9'1" at Point 3

Tsubaki: 180cm/5'11"

Stein: 210 cm/ 6'10"

Medusa: 186cm/6'1"

Crona: 174cm/5'9"

Soul: 153cm/5'0" (161cm/5'3" including hair spike)

Maka: 157cm/5'2" in combat boots (because let's be real those are definitely adding an extra inch or two)

Spirit: 210 cm/ 6'10"

Death the Kid: 162cm/5'4" (the 4 centimeter difference from the NOT! info can be attributed to NOT! being a prequel and Kid having grown since then, or a really big margin of error in my calculations)

Patty: 160cm/5'3" with heels, 154cm/5'1" without heels

Liz: 174cm/5'9" with heels, 168cm/5'6" without heels (see Kid's footnote)

Sid: 212cm/6'11"

These heights feel a little more statistically accurate to (mostly) American teenagers, (some were born outside the US but a majority of the kids were), though ranging on the tall side for a few.

However, one time a while ago my brother and I tried to calculate character heights based on the manga post-timeskip using that same Stein height from NOT! as a reference. I redid the calculations using the metric system (because I used the US Imperial system before and that one has way more opportunities for conversion errors) and got this: (it only contains a few characters because Ohkubo's paneling clearly never had full height comparisons in mind)

Transcription of heights incase my handwriting is unreadable for the characters in this image:

Stein and Spirit: 210cm/ 6'10"

Maka and Kim: 170cm/5'7" (Kim was stated to be 154 cm in NOT!, but considering the timespan and her age, it's perfectly feasible for her to have grown)

Black Star: 170cm/5'7" (177cm/5'10" with hair spike)

Kid and Azusa: 175cm/5'9"

Soul: 181 cm/5'11" (186cm/6'1" with hair spike)

Crona: 176 cm/ 5'9" (also because their neck is so long-looking, I measured that. It is roughly 13cm/5.12")

Jackie: roughly the same height as Crona, give or take a centimeter or two.

I was originally going to calculate Marie, but the proportion of characters shown wasn't enough in that panel to calculate. (with no designated zero, it's tough)

Even though the anime adapts pre-timeskip events, I was a bit suspicious of the height differences. Because there is absolutely no way Crona only grew 2 centimeters from pre-to-post-timeskip, especially if Maka grew 13cm. Look at their relative heights on both sides of the timeskip:

So I did a quick Google search on growth rates and compared what a few different websites say, which was that on average (in America, judging by the websites' lack of metric system usage), AFAB people grow around 2.5-4.5 inches per year during puberty (often being closest to 3 inches a year), while AMAB people grow 3-5 inches per year during puberty (often being closest to 4 inches a year). The timing of when these growth spurts occur varies by individual, but considering the canon age ranges of the Soul Eater kids it's safe so say most of them are in the peak growth spurt area.

Comparing these averages to the different sets of data I calculated, and considering inconsistencies such as Stein's height when going off the 150cm mark in that height chart, Crona's relative height to Maka across continuities, and Soul potentially having a growth spurt well over twice the average, I think it's safe to say that as long as the heights relative to other characters are consistent, go nuts.

In conclusion, it's likely that Ohkubo and the anime's character designers, or for that matter, the character designers between the original and spinoff's adaptations, may not have been in close communications when it came to consistency in character heights, even factoring for time differences.

if only Ohkubo or Studio Bones had completely released official character heights then I wouldn’t have calculated this mess

[avengerscompound]

Seeing Your Ex Happy

Seeing Your Ex Happy: An IronHawk Fanfic

Buy me a ☕ Square: @clintbartonbingo​ G2 Pepper Potts

Rating:  M

Warning:  Angsty, hurt/comfort, language, mentions of sex.

Word Count:  1791

Pairing:  Clint Barton x Tony Stark x F!Reader

Summary:  Pepper walks in on you, Tony, and Clint together after her and Tony’s break-up.  She doesn’t take it very well, and you and Clint try and mend some fences.

A/N: No character or ship hate in this fic.  Just a world where Tony and Pepper broke up, that’s all.

Seeing Your Ex Happy

Tony had kept saying he had to go to work.  It was imperative he goes in today.  There was absolutely no way he could miss work today.  It was important.  Serious things were at stake.

You objectively knew that to be true.  Things had been a mess, to put it mildly.  The breakup he’d had with Pepper had been tough.  Not that you’d seen that part.  You’d gotten to him by the time it had reached dumpster-fire proportions.

It wasn’t that anyone was to blame.  You knew first hand what it was like dating a superhero.  You were dating two after all.  Seeing the person you love - someone who was just as fragile and human as you - go out and risk their lives again and again and again - was tough.  In the end, Tony had broken his promise to stop one too many times for Pepper to handle and she’d left.

People grow apart.  It happens.  No one was to blame.  Still, it had been painful and Tony wore his pain like a festering open wound.  It had been difficult because Pepper still ran his company.  So that time you need apart to heal just never came.  They kept lashing out at each other any time something stressful happened.

Time heals all wounds - or so they say.  And for a little while, it was getting better.  Then Clint had forced Tony to go out drinking.  To get back up on the horse so to speak.  That’s when the normal garbage you have to deal with when you break up with someone but you still have to see them regularly had caught fire.

Tony and Clint were… well… cut from the same cloth.  That cloth was made out of something self-destructive and very fond of sex.  The first few times of going out drinking together had been just that.  They’d gotten drunk, flirted (with other people and each other) and then come home.

Then they’d met you.

That’s when all bets had been taken off the table. What had been a friend trying to help take the other's mind of a painful break up had been two guys getting a little competitive for one woman’s attention.  Which had been more than a little flattering for you.  Then things had gotten weird and you’d all ended up waking up all tangled together in the same bed with very little memory of how exactly you’d gotten there.

There had been an agreement that whatever had happened the night before should never be spoken about and definitely should never happen again.  You’d gone home not expecting to ever see another Avenger in person again.

Only the next day you’d woken up in the exact same place.  It hadn’t just been a ‘you and them’ situation though.  They were equally as into each other as they were with you.  Whatever had happened when they met you just seemed to open up the potential for anything at all.  None of you could quite explain it, but that might be simply because none of you could remember it.

You were happy though.  They seemed to be too.  Your two disaster men.  Not broken.  Just bent.

Except that the rumors of Tony’s backslide into his old playboy days had hit the press almost immediately.  Photos of the night of debauchery that none of you could remember came out.  Nothing explicit.  Just pictures of the three of you holding hands and kissing and some of them taking shots off of you.  But it wasn’t like you’d accidentally released a sex tape or anything.  Inside your bubble together, you, Tony, and Clint were as happy as three peas in a pod.  Outside the flame had been sparked.

Like with most people who see their ex move on before they do, Pepper had been hurt.  Worse though, in her eyes, he had moved on by sliding back.  She’d told him in no uncertain terms that she couldn’t watch as he destroyed himself.  He had called her jealous.  She had said she quit.

Pepper was a good person though.  Too good really.  If it had been you, you would have just left.  Despite the pain it caused her seeing Tony with you and Clint, she had said she’d stay until Tony had found someone who would take over the reins of the company. It had taken a full year for them to find someone and train them and have him be totally sure he trusted them not to sink his company or turn it back into what it was.

Today was supposed to be the day the reins were publically handed over and Pepper got to leave and start her new job and new life that had nothing to do with Tony Stark.

He had to be there for that.  You knew that.  He knew that.  Even Clint knew that.  But he didn’t want to, and Clint was having far too much fun distracting him.  When he’d go to stand Clint would grab his hand and kiss his neck, begging him for five minutes more.

It didn’t really take a lot to distract him and those five minutes ended up being closer to five hours.  Clint was good at that.  He could make you forget the important meeting or the party you’d been looking forward to.  He had this special blend of idiocy, vulnerability, and amazing hands that just made time irrelevant.

So when Pepper barged through the front door it was a surprise, to say the least.

“Tony!  Where were you?  How dare you do…”  Her voice carried down the hall and then stopped dead as she came into the living room.

The three of you had been cuddled up together, your legs over Tony’s lap, Clint had one leg behind Tony and the other over yours.  They had been kissing when Pepper had stormed in, Tony mumbling into Clint’s lips about needing to leave as you nipped as his throat.  You all froze and looked up at Pepper like a trio of deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming truck.

“Right.  Of course, this is what you would be doing.  Same old Tony, right?  Can’t show up to an important event has to be because he’s drunk or in an orgy or both,” Pepper snapped.  “Not even when it’s important to me.  Well, thank you very much.”

“Pep…”  Tony said softly.

“Forget it.  I had hoped the part I’d fallen in love with might rear its head long enough to say something nice about me leaving and show a unified front to the world.  I guess that part isn’t there anymore,” she hissed.  “Well, don’t worry about it.  Goodbye, Tony.  I hope you have a nice life.”

She spun on her heel and stormed off.  Tony blinked at the void in the room that she used to occupy and Clint jumped to his feet.  He grabbed your hand and tugged on it.  “Come on.  We gotta fix this,” he said.  You got to your feet and Tony went to get up too. “No, Tones, stay here.  Let us try and explain.”

Tony nodded and you and Clint chased after Pepper.  

“Pepper,” you called as you caught sight of the redhead hitting the call button for the elevator.

She ignored you and just started stabbing at the button harder.

“Pepper,” Clint said gently. “It’s me.  You know me.”

Pepper spun around, rubbing her red-rimmed eyes.  “He should be chasing after me.  Not you.”

“We stopped him,” you said.

“Pepper.  This is my fault.  All of it,” Clint said.  “It’s my fault that he went out drinking.  It’s my fault this-“ he indicated between the two of you. “- happened.  It’s my fault he didn’t go out today.  But please … you gotta know.  No one did this to hurt you.”

“Yeah, well it did.  It did hurt me.  And you can’t take that back,” Pepper snapped.

“I don’t want to.  I’m in love with him,” Clint said.  Pepper stared at him like he’d just slapped her in the face.  “When the two of you broke up, he was broken.  He was drinking again and he wasn’t going out.  Rhodey couldn’t even get through to him.  So I thought maybe if he could just have a night where he didn’t think about what he lost when he lost you.  And we had fun.  So we did it again and again and he was starting to be… not good … but okay.  And then we met this little minx and okay started to move to good.  I know that’s not easy to see.  Not when you’re still not okay.  But we all want you to be good too.  This isn’t about him being some sexual deviant, Pep.  I love him.  And I want him to be good.”

Pepper shifted on her feet and folded her arms over her chest.  “That doesn’t excuse today.”

“He woke up today and it was like he was getting ready to go to a funeral,” Clint said.  “He was…”

“Grieving,” you finished.  “It was bad.  He doesn’t want to drive you away but he knows he has and it’s killing him.”

“So we… well I… tried to cheer him up.  I guess time got away from us.  He did keep saying he needed to leave,” Clint explained.

Pepper let out a breath and shook her head.  “Today was important.”

“I know.  I’m sorry.  I really am,” Clint said.  “Please don’t take that out on him.”

“What does it matter, Clint?  I won’t be seeing him again,” she said sounding defeated.  The elevator doors opened behind her and she turned and stepped in.  She caught the door as it was about to close and looked directly at you.  “I hope you can handle what being with them means.”

You frowned a little and took Clint’s hand as the doors slid closed again.

“Well, that went well,” you said.

Clint shook his head.  “Could have been worse.  She’s hurt.  It’s her right.  Sucks when your ex moves on first.”

You nodded and the two of you went back into the penthouse.  Tony was sitting on the couch looking up expectantly at you both.  “What did she say?”  He asked.

You took a seat on either side of him and Clint ran his hand up into the back of Tony’s hair, making him close his eyes and hum.  “She said that she forgives you and hopes that you find what makes you happy,” Clint lied.

Tony smiled a little and nuzzled into Clint’s neck as he wrapped his arm around you and pulled you closer.  Sometimes that’s what was needed.  Just a white lie and the people you were falling for so you could finally move on.

[shy-violet-soul]

Love in a time of COVID-19

Summary: Bucky won’t let anything get in the way of showing you he loves you & making you smile. Characters: Bucky Barnes x you; Steve Rogers; mentions of Clint Barton, Tony Stark, & Natasha Romanoff Ratings/Warnings: Character has Rheumatoid Arthritis, mentions of symptoms & treatments. Social-distanced-fluff of the highest concentration. Clint being weird & Bucky being goofball-y awesome. A/N: I saw the photo that inspired this on IG, and laughed so hard I just about cried. The marvelous OP graciously gave me permission to include it in my fic. You’ll find it at the bottom of the work. I thought we could all use some fluff in our lives these days!

I also have a friend with Rheumatoid Arthritis who is finding this time to be exceptionally difficult. Please support those in your circle who need some extra love right now.

Thank you @pinknerdpanda​ for beta-ing once again! All the social-distanced-hugs to you!

This work is a piece of fiction inspired by characters created by the MCU. Please do not copy/print elsewhere without my written permission

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He was convinced. People’d lost their damn minds.

Bucky had survived warzone trenches in Europe. Had lived through the Great Depression. And had never seen the level of human stupidity he’d witnessed the first few days of March 2020. It’s an airborne illness - why the hell were people buying 96 rolls of toilet paper at a whack? What were they gonna do, wrap it around their mouths and breathe through it?

The Avengers Tower was going through its own issues. Stark vowed to spend his self-isolation inside one of his suits; a good idea in theory until he realized he still had to pee. Steve kept expounding on the virtues of using the time to catch up on reports. Natasha spent her time snorting at the treasure trove of new social media memes while Clint thumbed his nose at the whole thing by licking every door knob he passed. Bucky was washing his hands more just because of that. Gross.

Yes, they were pretty well hooked up to do the shelter in place, social distance, whatever the hell they were calling this thing. Bucky couldn’t fault Tony (well, probably mostly Pepper) for the very streamlined system in place that kept the Tower stocked with all manner of essentials. And, the Stark Foundation was busily getting help where it needed to go while Bruce videoconferenced with Dr. Cho and Shuri on treatments and vaccines. They were good to go for the foreseeable future.

His only real worry was you.

Your rheumatoid arthritis made this whole thing much more dicey, and - if he was being honest - a frick ton scarier. The illness suppressed your immune system, which meant you had to be more proactive on a normal day with handwashing, etc. Throw in a virus with no vaccine and no treatment? ‘Proactive’ took on a whole new definition. Sanitizing surfaces and extra cleanliness efforts were easy to step up. But he knew how much you hated being cooped inside. It didn’t help that the humidity had climbed up into the 70-ish percent region. The heavy air, coupled with the bite of winter chill still hanging on to the calendar, had your already tender joints pitching all kinds of a fit.

Right now, you were curled up in your favorite spot - a well padded window seat overlooking Central Park. Bucky had switched on the fancy fake fireplace for you, had wrapped you in blankets and propped you with pillows. The light pouring in haloed a bright shine to your hair, which normally would have a smile on his face. But your wan face pulled a grimace from him instead. Your shoulders rose and fell with a sigh, and Bucky would have cheerly scrubbed every surface of the whole damn Tower to get you out and about and smiling again.

A knock on the door spun him on his heel, and Bucky stalked to the door. Everyone knew the protocol - no visitors allowed!

“What.” Not a question, but a cold, terse demand. Steve drew a deep breath as he measured the look being leveled at him. He’d faced firing tanks with less caution. His friend’s frown was fierce versus his blank murder stare. Bucky was mad but not in an assassinating mood. 

“Buck, I’m not gonna stay. I just wanted to stop in and say hi.”

“I’ll tell her you said so.” The door swung closed in his face. Steve rolled his eyes, throwing his arms up in disgust.

“C’mon, man.”

“No.” Exasperated, Steve couldn’t help the smile that tugged at his mouth. You and Bucky were a match made in heaven. Eidetic brain with the memory of an elephant, you were hands down one of the best analysts he’d had the privilege of working with. You chased after clues relentlessly, bulldogged in your tenacity. Straight up bullheaded in your obstinacy, though. 

If anyone could out-stubborn you, it was Bucky. Lord knows, he had enough experience chasing after a certain runt who couldn’t stay out of back alley brawls. Steve knew that, in odd moments, it still struck his friend that he didn’t need his help in the same ways. When Bucky’s muscle memory had him moving before his brain caught up if Steve coughed or sneezed. He could practically see the wheels turning as Bucky struggled to stitch together broken memories with current moments. A natural protector, Bucky needed someone to nurture. To cajole and wheedle and, if necessary, out-stubborn. You fit the bill to a tee.

“I don’t have coronavirus, Bucky!”

The door snatched back open. “Oh, yeah? And how do you know that?”

“I can’t get sick. Serum, remember?”

Bucky glared at him through squinted eyes before stepping back into the apartment.

“Carrier,” he hissed, slamming the door again.

“Was that Steve?”  Fatigue even hung heavy in your voice, the faintest gravel in the back of your throat threading a husk into your words. Bucky winced with you when you shifted in your seat, struggling painfully to stand.

“Yeah. Now I’m gonna have to wipe off the door knob again,” he groused as he briskly rubbed sanitizer over his hands. “Clint’s such a dumb ass.”

You snorted softly as you padded towards him. “I know. Who licks door knobs to prove a point?”

Taking in your stiff posture, Bucky leaned in close and pressed a kiss to your forehead. 

“Why’d you get up? What do you need? I’ll get it,” he murmured into your hair. Your sigh huffed softly against his chest as you gratefully leaned against him, glancing at the clock in the kitchen.

“I should probably take another dose of ibuprofen,” the words mumbled up, uncertain. The illness had dragged up new challenges - too many doses of the NSAID was ripping up your stomach. Steroids helped, too, but you couldn’t take too many rounds too close together, and you’d already taken one prescription a month ago when the wet winter had your shoulders and wrists feeling like they were grinding straight through to your bone marrow. Pepper and your doctor were trying to get a DMARD approved through insurance, but with all this new virus ‘fit hitting the shan’, the insurance company backlog was sky high. That left you with balancing growing joint discomfort against growing stomach unhappiness. Thank God for ice packs and Tony’s ridiculously over-the-top whirlpool baths.

Bucky held in his own sigh as he pondered your situation. “Let me make you some of that chamomile tea and some toast to go with it.”

He didn’t think it possible, but your shoulders sagged even more. “I’m really not hungry, Buck.”

Threading his fingers through your hair, he gently rubbed the back of your head the way you liked.

“I’ll make it with that raspberry rutabaga jam on it. You want that?”

The catch in your throat grew to a fist-sized lump fit to choke you. The throbbing in your shoulders and arms radiated in time with your heartbeat up into your brain. Your knees felt weird - rubbery, tender, like you weren’t sure they’d support you. You missed your job, you missed your friends, you missed outside. As much as you adored Bucky, you were lonely for the other pieces of your life. The misery in your heart swelled to mammoth proportions, and you couldn’t choke back the sob that broke from you.

“I want -”

Bucky’s gut pinched so hard it hurt when you started crying. “What, love? What do you want? Anything, I’ll get it for you.”

Crying just made everything hurt more, and you swallowed hard to shove down the tears, anxiety, and stress. You glanced up, seeing the stress that pulled tight lines into Bucky’s face. You tried to offer him a smile and knew you failed pathetically.

“Rhubarb, hun. It’s raspberry rhubarb jam.”

Bucky saw you trying, knew you were trying to make him feel better, and wanted to cry himself. He’d do anything to bring back your smile.

“Rutabaga, rhubarb, whatever. You go sit, I’ll bring it out to you with the ibuprofen.”

You shook your head as you stepped away from his urging embrace. “No, I need to move around a little.” Neither of you spoke as you moved to the kitchen, content in the quiet puttering as Bucky filled the kettle and popped bread in the toaster. Out of habit, he went to wash his hands when an idea hit him.

Staring blankly out the window, your thoughts drifted to your ‘to be read’ pile as you tried to decide between starting a new book from your oft-ignored stack or comfort yourself with a lovely reread. You were so lost in your musings, you didn’t track on the activity behind you.

“Babe, can you grab the butter and jam? I’m washing my hands.”

You turned around to step to the fridge, stopped in your tracks at the sight before you, and burst out laughing. 

Bucky had taken off his metal arm and put it in the dishwasher.

Hilarity pealed from you in waves, folding you over as you leaned against the counter. You tried to catch your breath and glanced up at Bucky. The proud-as-punch smile on his face set you off again, laughing so hard your shoulders twinged at you.

When a snort broke into your snickers, Bucky couldn’t help but laugh with you. Giddiness swirled with relief at your delight, and he felt prouder in that moment that he did receiving his U.S. Army Expert Marksmanship medal in ‘42. He knew he couldn’t carry your burden for you, but in this moment, he’d lightened it a bit. Moving in close, he gathered you to his chest with his other arm, relishing the feel of your giggles against him. You gasped for breath as you wiped the tears from eyes, then reached up to cup his face in your hands, smiling fondly into his twinkling gaze.

“I love you, you giant goofball. Thank you for taking such good care of me.” 

Bucky leaned down and kissed the tip of your nose.

“Gotta take care of my best girl.” Giving you the gentlest of squeezes, he then urged you back to your cozy nest. “Go sit. I’ll bring it all out in a few.”

Still grinning, you headed for your phone. “First, I gotta get my phone. This is going on Twitter!”