#school success beyond black and white

[quotesfromall]

Students find much meaning in the way classrooms are structured, especially in multiracial schools. These schools send implicit messages to many poor Black and Latino students when the ability grouping is highly correlated to racial and ethnic background. In multiracial and multiethnic schools, certain courses can become known as classes for Black kids, White kids, or Asian kids.

Prudence L. Carter, Keepin' it Real

[confessedlyfannish]

Writing Prompt #11

It's an innocent ("please," Jason sneers, "there's nothing innocent about a plagiaristic propaganda machine encouraging minors to dance for sick ol' pervs while it spews misogynistic hate speech.'"

"okay, boomer,"

"the fuck did you just call me, replacement?") TikTok, one of those ones that kind of simmers in the background for a few weeks until someone with a decent enough following posts it on the Platform Formerly Known as Twitter and from there it seriously catches traction, blowing up until Tim knocks on Bruce's office door, phone in hand. Damian stands behind him, arms crossed and clearly simmering.

Bruce, fresh off a series of zoom conferences, raises an eyebrow.

"Okay, so you haven't seen it," Tim decides, striding forward.

Bruce's eyebrow jumps a smidge higher, on the edge of concern, as Tim thrusts his phone into his grasp.

"So," he begins, reaching over to refresh the mobile page "there's a video that's been making the rounds on Twitter and—well you should probably see it," He sighs over Damian's scoff as he clicks through the pop-up asking him to sign in or join TikTok, and presses "Watch Again", unmuting the video.

🎶 "Doo, badoo-badoo-badoo Badoo-badoo-badoo-badoo,"🎶 an upbeat background song hums as someone, presumably a student, films a school hallway with their phone. They walk past students talking near their lockers, some of whom flash peace signs and silly grins as the camera swings their way before continuing on.

But the main point Bruce gets stuck on is the all lowercase white text at the center of the screen that an automated woman's voice awkwardly narrates:

"when you go to school with bruce wayne's other long lost lovechild"

The student filming comes up behind a much taller student who faces away from him, in conversation with a black haired pale teenaged girl. She spots the cameraman and shoots him a confused, disgruntled look, saying something to the boy who then turns around.

Bruce quietly observes as the camera zooms in on a boy around Tim's page, possibly older. Tall and broad-shouldered, with a strong jaw, he raises an eyebrow at the one filming, looking beyond the camera, pitch black hair with blue undertones falling into his blue eyes. The camera momentarily zooms too far into those eyes then abruptly pulls back as he quirks a puzzled smile at the viewer, mouthing out an easily understandable "hi?".

The TikTok ends and seamlessly transitions to a person balancing their cat on an exercise ball with minimal success and this time Bruce presses the Watch Again button. The heart on the right side claims 750k likes.

Damian scoffs, louder, as it ends. "Clearly it is a hoax, but it has been popular among my classmates."

"The board hasn't made much noise about it—" Tim starts.

"And they won't," Bruce says, lifting his eyes from his phone. "Wayne Industries doesn't give statements on videos like these, no matter how viral they become. I've been getting lovechild claims since before I adopted Dick."

Which Tim knows, which is why his insistence on showing Bruce this one raises his hackles. He pins Tim down with a stare and despite Tim's perfected PR mask, he can see Tim is unsettled.

"B...he really, really looks like you." Tim admits. Damian scoffs for a third time and Tim shoots him a glare, "I get it, you don't see it, but you haven't seen the pictures of Bruce when he was younger."

"I don't need to!" Damian says angrily. "You're all being ridiculous!"

"All?" Bruce asks. Tim shifts awkwardly. "The family group chat has been talking," he says.

"I see," Bruce says. Because he does. Many claim Damian to be his doppelganger, but the boy actually favors Talia not just in skin tone but in the shape and color of his eyes, as well as the soft slope of her mouth and ears. Whether those features will sharpen once he goes through puberty is anyone's guess.

But this young man has Bruce's eyes. Martha's eyes.

That night they have a suspiciously full house for dinner, with even Jason dropping in, but no one says anything until Barbara wheels in for dessert, carrying a manila folder on her lap.

"What?" she says, when everyone stares. "Dick told me it was crème brûlée today!"

Bruce extends a hand wordlessly, and Barbara sheepishly hands the folder over.

"Bruce," she says, before he can open it, "I wouldn't have looked into this normally, but,"

"Just say it," Jason says, leaning back in his chair. "Take away the gray hairs, the receding hairline, and the wrinkles and the kid's a dead match."

"Take it back, Todd," Damian growls, "Father has a very full head of hair!"

"Not to mention a failed track record at keeping it in his pants, Exhibit A," Jason continues, pointing a fork at Damian, "oh wait," he says gleefully, "kid is definitely 18, so I guess that would make you Exhibit B!"

The table erupts, cutlery tinkling as Damian gets a knee up on the table to hurl himself at a cackling Todd, Dick jumping up to grab him as the others lean out of the way—

"Ahem!" Everyone stops cold as Alfred stands in the doorway, porcelain ramekins of crème brûlée stacked perfectly on a silver tray. Under his gaze, everyone sits back down, Damian and Jason both quietly uttering a "Sorry Alfie/Alfred," as they straighten up.

Bruce is oblivious to the chaos, Barbara biting her lip beside him as he stares blankly inside the folder at the printed copy of an adoption certificate.

Two days and several million likes later, another TikTok goes viral from the same user. Caught in the moment as whoever is filming runs up to the group, the same young man is chatting with a blonde in a red letterman jacket, a partially formed crowd around them. Even with one leg still in the cafeteria table, he towers over everyone.

"—sh. Look, we're all possibly Bruce Wayne's son!" the boy snarks. He has his hands out, palms up as if he's making a great point, and as he looks around he catches sight of the cameraman and his smirk drops.

"Ah Mac, c'mon dude not again—" and the TikTok ends.

[ithebookhoarder]

Joel teaching you how to ride a horse: (Joel Miller x Reader)

A/N: I apologise in advance as I am through and through city bred, and do not -in fact - know how to ride a horse. I’d love to learn though, especially if Joel was willing to teach me 😅

Warnings: swearing, light smut, references to smut

Masterlist:

Riding a horse isn’t scary. Or, at least, it shouldn’t be. 

Getting into college was scary. Surviving the outbreak after finishing a 12 hour shift at work was scary. Hell, every day since then, fighting and scrambling to stay alive despite the unknown horrors that seemed to surround you… now that had been scary. 

But this? Learning to ride a horse? From Joel no less? It should have been a cakewalk. 

You were embarrassed to say you were trembling all over before you’d even entered the training paddock. It had taken a whole lot of coaxing from your all too patient partner to get you to at least make it close enough to pet the horse, let alone mount it. 

Why had you agreed to this again? 

Oh, yeah. 

Him. 

Because of those big brown eyes of his and his soft, sultry tones… begging you to let him teach you so you could go on romantic rides together, beyond the borders of Jackson, see the sights, get some time alone… he’d made it sound so appealing, as he peppered kisses up and down your spine. 

“But Joel… You know we could just skip the horse part and still go for a ride here, in bed-“

“Not that kind of ride, you minx.” 

It’s also a smart idea, as Joel explains, so that you both knew you had a way of making a quick escape should it ever come to it. 

It makes sense. Annoyingly. And you know you have no choice but to agree and give in. 

Which is how you ended up here… frustrated, sweating, and regretting ever saying ‘hi’ to Joel Miller. 

It’s not fair at all. 

You have no idea how he makes it look so easy, what with him trotting about like one of those damn cowboys you’d seen in movies growing up. The kind your Nanna had fawned over whenever she got you to agree to watch an old black and white flick on a Sunday afternoon. 

It was like the horse just knew what he wanted him to do without Joel ever having to do or say anything. 

“It’s all in the grip, darling,” he explains after you huff and complain that your horse hates you. “Come here. I’ll show you.” 

And he does. 

He stands behind you and grabs you around the waist, changing his position and his grip several times in quick succession. It feels like you’re back in medical school again, being shown the various parts of human anatomy. 

“What do you feel when I grab you like this, all super tight, like I’m crushing your ribs?” 

“L… like you’re trying to hurt me?” 

“Exactly? And when I hold you here? Like this, much looser, instead?” 

“Like you’re trustworthy… that, I’m safe. That you’re trying to hug me rather than wrestle me.” 

“Now imagine my arms are your legs, and your waist is that horse. You wonder why he’s getting all worked up, but he’s sensitive. He feels the same as you do. Relax and he’ll relax too. See? Easy.” 

Yeah. Sure. Easier said than done. 

Still, Joel is determined to see this through and does not allow you to quit - no matter how much you try.

He keeps on urging you back on to the horse every time you fall off, and is the first to praise you when you do something right. 

“No wonder Ellie bitched so much about you teaching her to swim. Heard you pushed her in a river-”

“She learned to swim, didn't she?”

“JOEL!”

You hate to accept he has a point. After all, by the end of the day you’ve managed to learn to stay on the horse, and can actually steer them in any direction you wish. 

Which, in Joel’s eyes, makes you a damn state champ and he’s keen to tell you as such. 

In fact, he sounds so proud of you, gushing praise about how well you did, and how he knows it was tough but you stuck with it and that’s the most important thing about learning any new skill... 

It makes you feel all gooey inside - especially as he runs you a hot bath later that night, so you can soak your aching body. You know without asking that the slowly growing pain will be even worse come morning. 

It’s no wonder Joel’s stayed in as good shape as he has, given how much time he spends riding around the countryside beyond Jackson’s walls. In fact, you have a new found appreciation for it.

“You did real good, darling. I mean it. I’m proud of you.” 

“Thanks, baby.”

“You’re welcome... now skooch on over so I can get in there with ya. Who knows when Ellie will get home, and I plan to make the most of having this place to ourselves.” 

He doesn't have to ask twice. 

Soon enough, your groans and moans of pain were soon replaced with those of pleasure, accompanied by the sound of water sloshing over the sides of the too-small tub. 

If this is your reward then you’re not opposed to getting back in the saddle again at some point to finish your lessons. 

But, be that as it may, you still definitely prefer being left aching after the other kind of ride instead... one that involves a bed, and a whole different kind of wild creature. 

[jasonshoodies]

WIP: Do we want me to continue this?

Jason Sudeikis x Reader

RPF

No Smut (for now)

___

"Oh, gross, Sudeikis is gonna be here?" You asked your brother, making a face and taking a sip of beer, "I thought he was too cool for all of us now."

At the edge of the party, you survey your older brother's friends. Bald. Bald. Bald. Married. 3 times divorced. Kids. Kids. Kids. It was Big Slick weekend, and your older brother always had the old Shawnee Mission West crew in to hang when Jason had time to visit Kansas City.

“You know Jason isn't like that. You two just can't stand each other." Your brother smirks and hands you another beer and moves away to work his crowd. Extroverts. You shudder.

Even at 39, so many of your brother's friends still treat you like a little sister, and considering the options laid out before you, that wasn't a bad thing.

Once you were finally in your 20's, there had always been a relentless ballbusting between you and Jason, and in the times he was single, it always came off painfully flirtatious. At least from you. By the time you were 25, he was already considerably successful (and married or just divorced), then by the time he was single again, he was 100% beyond your reach.

Which was fine. Of course. Whatever.

Getting lost in the Kindle app on your phone, you continue to sway on the glider, glancing up periodically at the twinkle lights and the crowd, offering a smile to your niece and nephew across the yard. It wasn't that you weren't social, it was more that this party was for your brother and his family and friends, but it was Friday night and you really didn't have anything better to do. But, to be clear, it wasn't like you were trying to see Jason. Of course not. How stupid would that be?

Looking back at your phone, you read another chapter until you feel someone sit directly beside you, man-spreading, his thigh pressed up against yours. You don't even have to look up to know who it is.

“Do you know how fucking rude it is to sit at a party on your phone?" He doesn't even look at you, instead, he stares straight ahead and tilts his head a little while pushing his tortoise shell glasses up on his nose. With a nod, he spots his own kids and younger sister, Lindsay, and gives all 3 a sweet smile and wave. "I mean, socialize a little. Say hello to people, y/n, Jesus."

Without looking up, you swipe the page on your book and chew your lip for a second, "I told Jeremy that I hoped it wasn't true. Maybe your flight from LA would get delayed. But, I guess when you're a piece of shit who can afford to ruin the Earth and fly private, it doesn't matter."

He doesn't miss a beat and deadpans, "You got it figured out."

“You good?" You ask, cutting him a look and finally putting your phone down, replacing it with a beer of your own. "You look good. Less like an old man from last year. Is that hair color?" Without hesitation, you put your fingertips in the hair at his temples and sideburns and gasp, "Wow. Just for Men. Didn't know that still was a thing. This was completely white last year. Good for you."

Jason leans back a little and smiles showing no teeth, a tight smirk, lips pressed together. "M'yeah. You are lovely as ever." He bites the corner of his bottom lip and considers you, giving you a once over that makes warmth flood your face until he glances away at the sound of his name. Playfully, he squeezes your thigh without another word and stands to join a circle of guys who you personally know live to tell people that they went to high school with Jason Sudeikis.

He does look good, though. Even in his Dad gear. Light color cargo shorts, a hoodie, black baseball cap, and obnoxiously high end sneakers. You can't help but watch him. He's always been comfortable and effortless. Warm. Qualities that have only gotten more developed and better with age.

He, quite unfortunately, has only gotten better with age.

For the rest of the party, he never sits down, and you force yourself back into your phone and mundane conversation until the crowd dies down and you start to help your brother and sister in law pick up and go inside.

It's not that late, but basically everyone has kids, so when Jason comes inside with an arm full of dirty plates and cups to put in the trash, you give him a funny look as you wipe down the kitchen counter. "Well damn, you didn't leave with the kid crowd?"

“Nah, sent mine home with my sister. Haven't seen y'all in a year, Jeremy mentioned playing some cards? I'm a night owl. Not even close to sleep. You staying?"

Your eyebrows shoot up to your hairline and you wash your hands in the sink, "Yeah, I drank a little, so I wasn't going to drive anyway, I planned on bunking up in the basement."

“Well, lock your Kindle app and come hang out. Unless the sight of me is so nauseating that you just can't stand it." He washes his own hands and grabs a handful of chips from a bowl and pops several in his mouth, leaning against the counter and talking with this mouth full. "I will somehow endure it for your brother."

Casually, you flip him the bird and he grins at you and shrugs. "Maybe later, let's have a couple more beers and see where the night leads us."

[lesbian-books]

Lesbian Historical Fiction

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

Victorian England, 1860s. A con artist hires a London pickpocket to help him obtain the fortune of a naïve heiress.

Beyond the Screen Door by Julia Diana Robertson

Washington, USA, 1945. Two best friends grow up together and start to fall in love. One of them can see ghosts, but this is not a scary book.

Cantoras by Carolina De Robertis

Uruguay, 1977. During the military dictatorship, homosexual people were persecuted, imprisoned, and tortured. Five women (three lesbians and two bisexuals) manage to find each other and cultivate a friendship that will last for decades.

Club Storyville by Riley LaShea

Virginia, USA, 1944. A girl raised to be a “proper lady” falls in love with a nurse who comes to care for her sick grandmother.

Belladonna by Anbara Salam

Italy, 1950s. An insecure teenage girl develops a toxic obsession with her beautiful and popular best friend. As the girls graduate high school and attend an art school, their relationship becomes complicated by sexual lust and secrecy.

Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley

Virginia, USA, 1959. Sarah is one of the first black students to attend her previously all-white high school. She becomes acquainted with a white student named Linda, whose father is a major opponent of desegregation.

Shaken to the Core by Jae

California, USA, 1906. Giuliana, a working class Sicilian immigrant woman, goes to work as a maid for a rich American family. The daughter of the family, Kate, is expected to marry a rich man and have children, but Kate wants to be financially independent and be with a woman. This book is set in the time period of the real life 1906 San Francisco earthquake, one of the deadliest natural disasters in U.S. history, which killed over 3000 people and destroyed most of the city.

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malina Lo

California, USA, 1950s. A Chinese-American girl has a lesbian awakening, makes friends with another lesbian at her school, and discovers the vibrant nightlife in lesbian bars.

Matrix by Lauren Groff

England, 1150s. A young French woman named Marie is forced to go to an English convent to become the new prioress. The nuns are living in hunger and squalor when Marie arrives, and when she takes charge she transforms the fate of the convent and the lives of the nuns into something better and more successful than they could have imagined.

Click “Keep reading” for content warnings. Minor spoilers ahead.

Content warnings for Fingersmith: abuse, including child abuse

Content warnings for Beyond the Screen Door: child abuse, domestic violence

Content warnings for Cantoras: abuse, child sexual abuse, corrective rape, marital rape, suicide

Content warnings for Lies We Tell Ourselves: racist abuse. Additional note: This book does not hold back from depicting the racism and homophobia of the time. It has also been criticised for its portrayal of an oppressed person falling in love with their oppressor, and rightfully so because that aspect could have been done better, but at the same time I don’t think that lesbian relationships in books have to always be written as flawlessly healthy and morally pure, just as hetero relationships often are not. If Linda had abandoned all her racist beliefs immediately and rededicated her goals to supporting black civil rights, then the book would have been criticised for being too unrealistic, imo.

[3rdeyeblaque]

On April 5th we venerate Ancestor Booker T. Washington on his 167th birthday🎉

The epitome of Black Excellence in academia & beyond, Brother Booker T. was a scholar, eduvator, student, principle, businessman, & founder of Tuskegee University in the decades following Emancipation.

Having only ever been known as, Booker, he was born enslaved on the plantation in Virginia along with his mother, Jane, to an unknown White man from a neighboring plantation. After gaining their freedom in West Virginia, he began pursuing formal education. This was a pivotal moment in his life as this was the first time that he was confronted with the realization that his first name was the only name he'd ever known in the absence of surname. This spurred was during the school registeration process. Thus Booker T. Washington forged his name as an ode to his stepfather surname & after discovering the name of his biological father, Taliaferro. Education would become a reoccurring theme in his life of which he attributed to his elevated status & success. He used public higher education as the lens through which he pursued the abolition of Slavery & the advancement of his people. His philosophy was, an investment in practical skills training was the key to the Negro collective's economic & moral progression while accepting the realities of Segregation. For Booker T., education was always the key to our advancement.

"He lifted the veil of ignorance from his people and pointed the way to progress through education and industry" - presented on the Booker T. Washington monument at Tuskegee University.

We give him libations & 💐 today as we celebrate Brother Booker T. for shattering false perceptions of what it means to be of us while charting a path forward to our collective advancement that would serve as a template & stellar example to many.

Offering suggestions: dollars/coins, libations of water (especially on the grounds of Tuskegee University), & books

*Note: offering suggestions are just that & strictly for veneration purposes only. Never attempt to conjure up any spirit or entity without proper divination/Mediumship counsel.

[opiatemasses]

Normality or Reality?

Some believe that racism no longer exists, that the society we now live is post-racial or colour-blind. However, it is clear racism is an ongoing issue both here in the UK and globally. For example, 95% of young black British children have witnessed racism in school. According to Delgado et al. (2017) many people of colour choose not to speak out about it, as they feel it limits their futures. 

Because racism exists in society it also exists in sport. Black people do not have equal opportunities and do not receive similar rewards for equal or better performance when compared to their white counterparts. As a consequence, their desire for a successful career beyond sport or any other profession is dismal. 

Racial abuse does not just affect children, it affects adults, athletes, teachers, police officers, lawyers and so on. Anyone who is a person of colour can feel as though they are at a disadvantage because of the colour of their skin. It is something they face and challenge every single day. 

Examples of Racism in Everyday Life

It has been argued that race is a social construction.                       

Within the police force, at the end of March 2020, 92.7% of police officers were White, with only 7.3% identifying as BAME. Between April 2020 and March 2021 black people were over 3 times as likely to be arrested as white people. 

These statistics provide evidence to their reasonings of why they are at a disadvantage, simply because their skin is not white. Racism can occur anywhere and to anyone, what is important is that we are aware and report it to the police, or if you are at work to your workplace management. If you or someone you know is experiencing racial abuse you can report it here: https://www.report-it.org.uk

Image credit: Getty Images https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-myth-of-systemic-police-racism-11591119883 

Defining Racism 

Racism in sport is defined as any form of discrimination against people based on race, ethnicity or nationality. This includes, and is not limited to, discriminatory acts, comments, policies and practices that exclude or hinder the ability of people of certain racial backgrounds to participate in sports. 

Racism In Sport 

Racism in sport is a reflection of wider prejudice and inequity that exists in both our societies and institutions. Athletes experience racial harassment on a regular basis, whether that be in person or online through social media. 

Racism has been found in sport for a long time in European sports, but this has intensified during major international sporting competitions where players of colour are put on centre stage and under pressure.   

In 2020 the men’s England football team lost to Italy in the UEFA Euro final.  Instead of admiring the skill of Italy’s goalkeeper or congratulating the fact England had succeeded in coming so far in the competition, three players – Bukayo Saka, Jason Sancho and Marcus Rashford – were subjected to floods of racist abuse. A tweet was published in response to this harassment encapsulates this phenomenon: “When you score, you’re English. When you miss, you’re an immigrant.” 

Furthermore, racism in sports can often have serious consequences for those subjected to it. Research has shown that in addition to physical and mental stress, athletes of colour often struggle with feelings of powerlessness, depression, and anxiety due to the constant discrimination they face during their sporting career. This can not only affect an athlete’s performance, but can also have lasting impacts on their mental health and well-being.

Image credit: Reuters https://metro.co.uk/2021/07/12/euro-2020-england-players-bombarded-with-racist-abuse-14912944/

What is Being Done to Stop Racial Abuse?

There are several organisations working to combat racism in sport, which include:

The Institute for Sport and Social Justice

The Anti-Defamation League

The National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP)

Additionally, many professional sports leagues, such as the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Major League Soccer (MLS), have established policies and initiatives to promote diversity and inclusion in their leagues. 

‘Taking the Knee’ was a major movement - a globally recognisable protest against racism, but it was prohibited for football players to do this before every match. This was only just the beginning. If we are to make progress in combating racism in sport, it is important for everyone to take a stand and speak out against racism whenever they see it. 

Various important initiatives have been launched to tackle racism in sport, such as the #BritishAthletesUnite campaign across the UK, which aims to create a platform to end racism in sport. Initiatives such as this are important, as they provide education and awareness of racism in sport. 

Additionally, organisations like Kick It Out are taking action to fight racism through their campaigns, educational resources and alert system. This ensures those affected by racism are provided with support and the issue is addressed.

Below is a short video on the backlash players received by ‘taking the knee’ before games. 

What Can YOU Do?

Sports are a microcosm of society. So to end racism in sport we need to recognise that the idea that society is post-racial is wrong. We must also focus on eliminating racism in our wider communities. 

This includes actively supporting organisations and initiatives that promote equality and racial justice. Additionally, we must continue to have discussions about racism and engage with communities to create change. 

Finally, it's important to remember that sport should be accessible to all, regardless of race, gender, class, disability, etc. Encouraging diversity and inclusion and ensuring that everyone has a seat at the table is critical to creating a more equitable sporting environment.

Racism in sport is an issue that we must take seriously and address. We must take steps to ensure that all athletes, regardless of race, are given equal opportunities and treated with respect. This is our reality but let us not make it a normality. YOU can help end racism once and for all. We all need to do our part and take steps to ensure that all athletes, regardless of race, are given equal opportunities and treated with respect. We must also take steps to ensure that those who engage in racist behaviour are held accountable for their actions. Only then together will we be able to make progress in our fight against racism in sport and end racism once and for all. 

N0948104

[shoppncarticles]

Generation Five Retrospective

Generation 5 saw its release in 2010, releasing on the still active and highly successful Nintendo DS system, as Pokemon Black and White versions. They’d be sure to sell well, Pokemon never tends to come up short, but it’s possible the developers realized they couldn’t just reuse the same Pokemon format with the same sets of tried and true Pokemon and regional aesthetics. They’d technically be competing with themselves since Diamond and Pearl already existed on the system. So, Game Freak took a leap, and created a Generation almost wholly detached from the previous four.

Gen 5 as a whole was wildly unique for the time. Unova, its region, was the first in Pokemon’s main series to not be based on a region of Japan, and instead took its inspiration from New York City and its surrounding land, over in America. Gen 5 also saw the largest new introduction of Pokemon to date, a whopping 156, beating out even the original set of 151 from Gen 1. This was likely in part because Gen 5 restricted all available Pokemon during its main story to those new to the region, reserving all returning ‘mons for post-game areas and trainers.

That isn’t even to mention all the changes brought about by Gen 5 as well. Gen 5 introduced Seasons, allowing the overworld to change dynamically based upon the month you were playing in. It finally allowed TMs, items used to teach Pokemon moves, to become infinite use rather than limited to their quantity. Pokemon sprites finally animated during battle continuously rather than just on entry. HM usage was drastically toned back compared to Gen 4. Routes and caves were overall more streamlined, making for easier traversal while still offering several side paths and secret areas for players to explore or revisit once progressing further in the game. Even the experience system was optimized, to give players more EXP based upon the next major boss opponent, and softly plateauing them from overleveling past that. Pokemon Black and White would even be home to Pokemon’s strongest narrative yet (in my opinion), driving most of the game’s playthrough beyond just the need to Be a Pokemon Master, and giving the player character some actual stake in the story and villainous team rather than just being a trainer who was in the right place at the right time.

And man. People hated Gen 5 when it came out. Really, truly despised it. When I say ‘people,’ I mean extremely vocal old-school Pokemon fans online who played the games when they first released in Japan and had the benefit of driving most of the discussion before the rest of the world really got their hands on the games. What happened to old my old Pokemon, they decried. Where’s Pikachu and Charizard, how come all the new Pokemon are just bootleg repeats of old ones? Roggenrola? That’s just a worse Geodude! They seriously made a TRASH BAG and ICE CREAM Pokemon?! Man, Pokemon designers are creatively bankrupt. This game is awful.

Honestly I can’t fathom this mindset whatsoever. You can criticize Trubbish and Vanillite for ‘just’ being normal objects all you want, but that kind of thing has existed in literally every Pokemon generation. Geodude is just a rock, Sunflora is just a sunflower, Luvdisc is just a heart, Drifloon is just a balloon. And so what if Gen 5 has some repeated concepts among its roster? In real life there isn’t just one Horse or one Bat or one Stone. Pokemon like Roggenrola, Timburr, Woobat, Blitzle, and more follow similar ideas to their Gen 1 counterparts, but take them in different directions that helps flesh them out as more original, and often more creative, creatures. Roggenrola isn’t just a living rock, it’s an extreme troglobite that evolved without eyes and instead a central ear. Blitzle isn’t another flaming horse, but instead an electrical zebra, playing off the animal’s striped pattern, like how Ponyta may be a play on the term 'trailblazer.'

Even as a kid who grew up with Generations 2-4 before playing 5, I saw listings of the new Pokemon on sites like Serebii and were enamored by them, designs like Galvantula, Scrafty, and Chandelure instantly captivated me. Even seeing the conceptual repeats didn't bother me, because they were still new designs that were breaking the mold from the stuff that had been used for years prior. Gen 5 felt different. It felt fresh.

I’m not the one who made this observation first, but I think the reason why people got so angry with this new Pokemon roster is that they were forced to use ‘mons they hadn't seen before, and couldn't fall back on familiar ones they understood. They couldn't just box whatever starter they were required to pick up and use a Gyarados and Pidgeot like they always had, and being forced to use new Pokemon made those players hate them just out of principle.

On one hand, I kinda get it, it may feel claustrophobic to have to use Pokemon you don't like because no other options exist. Personally though, this is more or less how I try to experience every Generation, at least the first time I play them. I want to at least give the new guys a chance to prove themselves, and on my first playthroughs I always use that Generation's newbies, and don't fallback on what I already know. After all, the rest of the Generation, its locations, its characters, and more are all new and unfamiliar, so why shouldn't the Pokemon be also? I'd love it if every new Generation was like Unova, forcing you to start fresh with all-new Pokemon, but such a philosophy would require a plethora of new design work to be done at Game Freak that just isn't practical with these games' rigid development paces. It makes Black and White all the more special, I guess.

Even beyond just the new Pokemon, Gen 5 is great in nearly all its aspects. Unova sets itself apart from previous regions by its large, flashy urban expanses and varied landscapes, combining both Hoenn's strong suits and improving upon Kanto's larger cities. Something about Unova and Gen 5 as a whole still feels incredibly modern and up-to-date for me, even over a decade after its release. Maybe it's to do with several cities' fascinations with high-tech machinery and glowing neon lighting, or all the merchandise and promotional material using sleek hexagonal black-and-white grids as backdrops for all their art.

Gen 5's also where Pokemon's got its strongest story, in my opinion. As I previously mentioned it feels like the first time the player character actually matters to the narrative, even if they're still a silent protagonist that doesn't really give input on the events that happen. Still, your Pokemon journey is given a little more context and stakes, being that you've got to beat your main rival N - who also happens to be the ruler of the local villainous organization Team Plasma - from reaching the Pokemon League and becoming the Champion, and commanding trainers across the region to give up their Pokemon, separating the connections between people and Pokemon and making both groups as distant as the colors black and white - ha. I won't give an extremely detailed plot summary - these articles are supposed to be on Pokemon designs rather than the games as a whole - but I still think it deserved mention since, alongside the strength of the new designs, such large improvements on Pokemon's general presentation and content is what makes me like Gen 5 so much all these years later.

Oh man, I didn't even get to Black 2 and White 2 yet, the first games since Gold and Silver to be direct sequels, and the first to be set in the same region. They add so much to to the Unovan experience, expanding the region with new locations and content, adding stuff like Pokestar Studios and the Pokemon World Tournament (where you can fight every previous Gym Leader and Champion in tourney brackets!!), adding old Pokemon back into the main game's areas, piling on even more post-game content to do after the credits roll, and a plethora of new and helpful UI and QoL changes. As I said before, these aren't meant to be gameplay critiques or anything, but at least come away from this article knowing that I think Black 2 and White 2 are the strongest games in the series by a wide margin.

With ALL THAT preamble out of the way, let's wrap things up in summation. Gen 5 is an extremely strong way to reinvigorate Pokemon's core style and aesthetic, and gave us a wide helping of unique, creative, and dynamic designs, and even those that retread on concepts already portrayed in the series, usually did so with a new angle or creative spark that helps them to stand separate. It was a great way to usher in a new 'era,' of Pokemon, and did an excellent job wrapping up the first, coincidentally also being the last Pokemon game portrayed in classic 2D.

I haven't tallied it up myself, but I think this Generation has the strongest density of S-B ranks of all Gens so far, wildly impressive considering its size.

My Personal Favorites

Despite all my heaping praises for this Generation, picking my top six is actually pretty easy. Then again, that's due in part to just how much I've thought about it and how much I love all these little freaks, and the ones residing at the top of my list have remained unchanged for quite a while. The newest addition though is Eelektross, who I already like a good deal before writing the reviews but found a lot of new appreciation for once getting to its article. Honorable mentions also go out to Samurott (I still like Dewott better, sorry!), Jellicent, Volcarona, Reuniclus, Leavanny, and more. There were a ton of S Ranks this time around. I could honestly make a top twelve favorites if I really wanted to...

My All-Time Favorites

And would you look at that! Wow! Four additions to my top 10! That's unprecedented! Gen 4 and even 3 only had an impact of three 'mons! Gen 5's just that good, I guess. I should mention, for the record, as time goes on my appreciation for Porygon-Z continues to grow, so consider it tied with Eelektross, just tucked off to the side out of frame.

My Black/White Team

At least in the in-game playthroughs I can show some of my other favorites some love, so let's all give appreciation to the other star members that didn't get included in the Top 6. But wait - where are my other favorites?

My Black 2/White 2 Team

There they are. Usually I don't include two separate teams depending on a game's slightly different versions, but Black/White 1 are pretty substantially different to Black/White 2, so I wanted to give both games some team compositions for fun.

The Coolest

This was THE Generation for radical Dark types - they're even more chock-full of character and badass prowess than normal. Even besides those, you've got real slick heavy hitters like the scarred, sharp-bladed Excadrill and eerily beautiful Chandelure as well. Coolest Gen 5 'mons is another category I could do twice over, but I'll spare you the excess listings.

The Cutest

Another tough contest. Most of these are pretty safe picks, I feel like anyone with a heart will agree on these guys' cuteness, but I also had to give Roggenrola a chance in the spotlight too. YES, I find the little rock pebble cute. Is that so WRONG.

The Most Creative

All those no-fun fuddy-duddies who say Gen 5 is when Game Freak ran out of ideas clearly have no idea what they're talking about. I'm sorry the Nazca-line sentry drone and shedded-skin hoodlum lizard don't tickle your inspirational bone, maybe you just need to expand your palette or something.

Also yes, I put Garbodor on my list of most creative designs. I honestly think the idea of a shambling garbage monster with an exposed rebar skeleton and squirting nozzle-fingers is quite the interesting and special design, SORRY.

My Least Favorites

I struggled to fill this one out. Besides Landorus and the monkeys, I had to go back and check what 'mons I really disliked. Pignite is kinda stretch, I'm perfectly willing to accept its existence but definitely wish it could've been better.

Also yeah, sorry elemental monkey fans, I'm still not big on them. It's nice that you like them, I'm glad they have their fans. Still not for me though.

Gen 5 in a Nutshell

In my mind, Gen 5 has several iconic Pokemon, but I think when you really get down to the nitty gritty and consider all the advertising and promotional material, these are the six that best represent what this region's got on offer, and all six are pretty strong, noteworthy designs. They've got everything, from impressive elegance, to cute charm, and appealing cool factors. And Trubbish, who's there because it's delightful and what everyone thinks of when Gen 5 comes up in discussion. I'm NOT saying Gen 5 is trash. I LIKE Trubbish and do honestly think it represents the region's feel, in a way.

Gen 1 Parallel Hall of Fame

For better or for worse, as I've stated a dozen times before, Gen 5 is well known for its repeat of Gen 1 concepts and ideas, but most of the time the end product is a pretty charming and interesting retooling of the core idea. Seen above are the six I feel do the best jobs with the ideas they're revisiting. I wouldn't say all of them are explicitly superior to their originals, but all are at least successful at standing apart and being unique, fresh designs based on old concepts.

Well, that does it then. Gen 5's all wrapped up and finished. It felt nice revisiting all these designs, putting into words what I really loved about all my favorites, and finding what I appreciated from the more unlikely specimen. I really do think Gen 5 is the best Pokemon's ever gotten... which also means that it's kinda all downhill from here. Oops. It's not all bad, the next two Generations have got some real good stuff I'm looking forward to talking about. So, always... stay tuned! There's always more where this comes from.

[Gen 5 Archive]

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Wilfred Reilly

Published: May 18, 2023

There has been a good deal of talk in the US over the past few weeks about ‘Hispanic white supremacy’. The idea itself sounds darkly funny, but its widespread prominence says something serious about the mainstream media’s embrace of race essentialism.

The recent prompt for all this talk was the mass shooting at an upscale outlet mall in Allen, Texas, on 6 May. Nine people were killed, including the perpetrator, and another seven were badly injured. Almost immediately, the national media looked beyond the tragic reality of the murders themselves to focus on right-wing activism and, more specifically, on white supremacy.

The Washington Post’s first social-media post addressing the shooting read: ‘The gunman who opened fire on an outlet mall in a Dallas suburb… was a man in his early 30s who may have had white-supremacist or neo-Nazi beliefs.’ Meanwhile, Salon seems to have simply assumed that the shooter was a white supremacist, asking in a headline: ‘When a mass shooter is a white supremacist. Does it even matter?’ The UK-based Independent similarly honed in on a potential white-supremacist motive, running a long piece on the gunman’s ‘white-supremacist social-media footprint’.

One important detail was rarely mentioned, however – namely, that the Allen mall shooter, Mauricio Martinez Garcia, was actually Hispanic.

Yes, it is true that Garcia displayed a fondness for elements of the radical right. He was active on 4chan-style websites, like the obscure Russian platform ok.ru, where he posted photographs of swastika tattoos, ‘praise for Adolf Hitler’, a range of incel gibberish, and – perhaps unsurprisingly – ‘complaints about the state of his mental health’.

However, Garcia does not seem to have dreamed of an all-white society (which he would presumably be excluded from). His rambling writings suggest that he actually believed Latin Americans to be the planet’s superior race. Nevertheless, several major publications tried to square the circle by running headlines like the Nation’s unforgettable ‘White supremacists don’t have to be white’.

The media line that this pro-Latino Hispanic lunatic was actually a white supremacist would simply be a curiosity if this were an isolated example. But it isn’t. In fact, a growing number of right-wing ethnic minorities are now finding themselves accused of believing in ‘white supremacy’. Take, for example, the attacks against Larry Elder, the popular black conservative radio personality. During Elder’s Californian gubernatorial campaign in 2021, the LA Times referred to him as ‘the black face of white supremacy’.

What do these accusations mean in practice? At the root of ideas like black or Hispanic white supremacy is an essentialist view of race. Many wokes and even liberals now believe that different races are immutably linked to specific cultural traits. Within this rather insidious framing, racism and conservatism are said to be ‘white’ traits, and so black racists or even just black conservatives must therefore be ‘white’, too.

This is no exaggeration. In 2020, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African-American History and Culture published a list of what some prominent staffers considered to be distinctive ‘white’ traits. Among them were a stable ‘family structure’, ‘objective, rational… thinking’, the belief that ‘hard work is the key to success’ and showing up on time for work.

Similarly, more than a few American liberals appear to believe that academic performance is a proxy for whiteness. A past column of mine for spiked dealt with a novel technique devised by at least one major US school district. To explain the high academic performance of ‘oppressed’ Asian and West African students, the school district simply labelled these overachieving ethnic-minority students as ‘white’.

This sort of essentialism is remarkably racist. It implies, for example, that being hard-working, or being objective and rational, are natural predispositions for whites, but not for blacks. Such claims are nonsensical and dangerous. Believing that certain characteristics or traits automatically attach to members of any racial group is the very definition of racism. Some members of minority groups can be radicalised to the political right, but the fact that they are right-leaning criminals or terrorists does not make them white. Acts of violence committed by black or Hispanic people that have a racial component – the Waukesha Christmas parade attack comes to mind – must be understood for what they are. They should not be ignored or shoehorned into a box that does not fit them.

More broadly, it is important to recall that people do not behave as they do because of their race. Mass shooters kill people mostly because they, specifically, are disturbed. And immigrant kids do well in school not because they are acting ‘white’, but because they tend to study hard. When analysing people at either of these extremes or in between, it’s generally a good idea to put aside the labels and focus on that smallest of minorities – the individual. Otherwise, we risk reviving a very ugly and divisive form of racial thinking.

==

“Another aspect of the construction of whiteness is the way certain groups have moved into or out of that race. For example, early in our history Irish, Jews, and Italians were considered nonwhite—that is, on a par with African Americans. Over time, they earned the prerogatives and social standing of whites by a process that included joining labor unions, swearing fealty to the Democratic Party, and acquiring wealth, sometimes by illegal or underground means. Whiteness, it turns out, is not only valuable; it is shifting and malleable.”

-- Delgado/Stefancic, "Critical Race Theory: An Introduction (Third Edition)"

“Reflecting on the social and economic advantages of Whiteness, critical race scholar Cheryl Harris (1993) coined the phrase “Whiteness as property.” This phrase captures the reality that being perceived as White carries more than a mere racial classification. It is a social and institutional status and identity imbued with legal, political, economic, and social rights and privileges that are denied to others.”

-- Sensoy/DiAngelo, "Is Everyone Really Equal?"

Critical Race Theory regards "whiteness" as property. Not simply in the "helium has the property of low density, high thermal conductivity" sense. But in the sense of an exclusive club you can be either born into or buy your way into, like a country club. In effect, it means someone can be disavowed as a "sellout" ("acting white," "race traitor," "internalized racism"), who sucked up to the members to gain their favor and admittance to the club. Because race essentialism, as Reilly touched upon.

[mariacallous]

Outdated grooming policies banning natural Black hairstyles have fueled racial inequities in schools and workplaces for too long. However, a new wave of legislative reforms and public advocacy aims to finally dismantle this form of discrimination. The CROWN Act (Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair) has emerged as a legislative solution, prohibiting race-based hair discrimination. To date, the CROWN Act has been enacted in 24 states and numerous municipalities but has stalled in the U.S. Senate after passing through the House. Additionally, some state-level versions of the CROWN Act still enable discriminatory targeting of Black hairstyles.

In Texas, the CROWN Act left loopholes allowing bans on hair longer than two inches, which explicitly singles out and prohibits natural Black hairstyles like afros and dreadlocks on male students. By failing to bar restrictive policies on length and color, Texas’ version of the CROWN Act falls short of fully preventing race-based hair discrimination. Such gaps at the state level undermine the spirit of the CROWN Act and must be addressed through truly comprehensive reforms that protect all facets of Black hair. This gap between legislative success and real-world implementation, as evidenced by the suspension of a Texas student months after the Act’s passage, highlights the need for comprehensive legislation to fully address hair discrimination. Moving forward, legislation must address hair length, color, texture, and style to create truly inclusive policies without loopholes that permit discrimination.

Hair policies that regulate length and color have specifically targeted Black students, leading to disproportionate discipline and loss of educational opportunities. National data reveal that while Black students represent 15% of the K–12 population, they account for 31% of all school suspensions. Black students nationwide are missing nearly three times as many school days due to suspension as white students, accounting for a disproportionate number of the total 11 million days of lost instruction. In one school district in Texas, research from the Center for Justice Research at Texas Southern University found that Black students are seven times more likely to be suspended compared to white students, often for discretionary, minor behavioral infractions. Repeated suspensions increase the risk of falling behind, dropping out, and having contact with the juvenile justice system. In fact, one study revealed a concerning cycle—students who were suspended from school were seven percent more likely to later have contact with the juvenile justice system. Moreover, once these students returned to their schools after suspension, they were 20% more likely than their peers to face another suspension.

The consequences of hair discrimination extend beyond the classroom. A 2021 study found that Black women with natural hairstyles are less likely to be recommended for a job interview compared to white women with curly or straightened hair. Natural hairstyles like dreadlocks were deemed less professional. This employment discrimination limits economic mobility and forces Black women to incur the financial and health burdens of damaging chemical treatments, including increased uterine cancer risk from chemical straighteners.

To achieve the goal of ending hair discrimination, the CROWN Act must expand to cover all facets of hair style and presentation without exceptions, such as those found in the Texas version. Congress should pass the federal CROWN Act, joining states like Colorado and New Jersey in enacting more comprehensive bills that close loopholes. Enforcement will also require dedicated resources and training. School administrators must learn how to shift away from punitive dress codes toward supportive, culturally-informed policies. Human resource professionals need guidance on removing Eurocentric appearance standards from hiring and grooming practices.

The CROWN Act reflects an important step towards ending race-based hair discrimination. However, true progress requires closing loopholes that allow for continued disproportionate enforcement against Black students and workers. Comprehensive legislation coupled with proper training and enforcement provides a path forward to ending harmful policies rooted in white supremacist standards. Schools and workplaces must move beyond narrow beauty norms towards valuing diversity in how individuals present themselves. This includes embracing and protecting all hair lengths, textures, and colors.

Why it matters

Hair discrimination limits educational attainment, career opportunities, and economic mobility for Black Americans. It also exacts a psychological and physical health toll by forcing assimilation to white beauty standards. The CROWN Act has the potential to eliminate centuries-old institutional policies and stereotypes that perpetuate racial inequities and trauma.

However, achieving this goal depends on enacting legislation that fully encompasses all facets of hair, including length, texture, color, and style. Comprehensive legal protections coupled with training and enforcement can help create more inclusive environments, where individuals are empowered to show up authentically. Getting the CROWN Act right matters for racial justice and equality of opportunity.

[fantomcomics]

What's Out This Week? 10/18

Y'all coming to our Furry Nite event this weekend??

Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees #1 - Patrick Horvath

Don’t. Murder. The locals.

This is small-town serial killer, upstanding citizen, and adorable brown bear Samantha Strong’s cardinal rule. After all, there’s a sea of perfectly ripe potential victims in the big city just beyond the forest, and when you’ve worked as hard as Sam to build a cozy life and a thriving business in a community surrounded by friendly fellow animal folk, warm décor, and the aroma of cedar trees and freshly baked apple pie…the last thing you want is to disturb the peace.

So you can imagine her indignation when one of Woodbrook’s own meets a grisly, mysterious demise—and you wouldn’t blame her for doing anything it takes to hunt down her rival before the town self-destructs and Sheriff Patterson starts (literally) barking up the wrong tree.

Cyberpunk 2077: XOXO #1 - Bartosz Sztybor & Jakub Rebelka

Beneath the skin, flesh, and cyberware lies a beating heart--and only two things can stop a heart from beating: love and death. It's gang on gang violence as the Maelstroms target the Moxes for an ambush. Is a bloodbath underway or could this be love at first sight?

BRZRKR #1: Pen & Ink - Keanu Reeves, Matt Kindt & Ron Garney

For those that couldn't get enough of Keanu Reeves' record-obliterating jump into the comics world, BRZRKR returns in a new format while fans eagerly await the Netflix feature film, the Netflix anime series, the novel, and more comic books!In addition to enjoying the brutality in the refreshingly bleak black and white of BOOM! Studios' Pen & Ink line, series artist Ron Garney brings some method to the mayhem with brand new exclusive commentary!

Crypt Of Shadows #1 - Rebecca Roanhorse & Karen Darboe

The heroes of the Marvel Universe spend most of their time in the bright sun, flying high above it all…but every once in a while, they venture into the darkness that lurks in the hidden corners of the world. There lurk the creatures, the monsters, the vampires…the ones who prey on innocence and goodness. Join us, and some of your favorite heroes, for tales of fangs, claws and silent, stalking swamp creatures to celebrate All Hallows’ Eve!

Fear The Funhouse: Toybox Of Terror One-Shot - Timmy Heague, Danielle Paige, Michael Northrop, Ryan Caskey, Ryan Jampole, Tango & Sweeney Boo

In Riverdale, even the toys are terrifying in this anthology one-shot set in the universe of last year's successful Fear the Funhouse comic. Three tales of dolls, robots, and puppets gone awry all thanks to the work of a shadowy toymaker and a young girl intent on revenge, in the vein of the widely successful M3GAN movie and Child's Play franchise.

Gargoyles Halloween Special One-Shot - Greg Weisman, Bonesso Diego & Matteo Lolli

It's young Gnash's first Halloween in Manhattan, and you're invited to come along as he heads out to find friends on the one night of the year when Gargoyles can roam the city unbothered! Unfortunately, he's about to run afoul of the masked Quarrymen, who are out to hunt down any Gargoyle foolish enough to brave the streets on All Hallow's Eve. That means Brooklyn, Katana, Lexington, Broadway, Angela, and even Goliath are in real danger! Will they survive this cruel trick, or become a treat for the marauding Quarrymen? Find out in October with this all-new 40-page special featuring a 28-page main story written by Gargoyles creator GREG WEISMAN!

Hack/Slash: Back To School #1 (of 4) - Zoe Thorogood

Slasher hunter Cassie Hack is only just getting used to her man-monster partner, Vlad, when she's drawn into a new case involving a murderous bunny mascot, dead kids, and an entire squad of maladjusted teenage serial-killer hunters!

A completely new chapter in the beloved, long-running series that's perfect for new readers and old fans alike, just in time for Halloween.

Headless Horseman Halloween Annual #1 - David Dastmalchian, Valeria Burzo, Phillip Sevy & Lukas Ketner

Boils, ghouls, vampires, monsters, and creatures of all kinds, welcome. Take a seat, go on, fill the aisles, relax your fangs, and sit with us for a while. Join us in a macabre and magical journey through all the haunts and spooks that keep you up at night for here we revel in the darkness and present to you a chilling, nay petrifying experience as the Headless Horseman presents a collection of five terrifying tales to warm up your cold soul. Hurry up now, you won't want to keep them waiting...

My Little Pony: Black, White & Blue One-Shot - Tee Franklin & Agnes Garbowska

Sorry, everypony, it seems our printer ran out of pink, purple, yellow, green, red-uh, well, all the colors except black, white, and blue! What to do with all this blue? Hmm... OH! Drumroll please...In Misty's first comic appearance, everypony's favorite blue pony is in Maretime Bay for a sleepover with the Mane 5! But when everypony wakes up...all the color is gone! It kinda looks like Violette and Skye's favorite old TV show, Betwitched-at least the years it was in black and white-but everypony can still see blue for some reason. Determined to make the best of a gloomy situation, Vi and Skye put together a plan to spread cheer. Meanwhile, Izzy helps the distraught Misty see the beauty in messy situations using the power of unicycling! Join us for a magical one-shot of color calamity before returning to your regularly scheduled programs.

Sensational She-Hulk #1 - Rainbow Rowell, Jessica Gao, Genolet, Andres, & Jen Bartel

THE SENSATIONAL SHE-HULK IS BACK! Jen Walters is dusting off her adjective and kicking off a new era! The best hero slash lawyer in the Marvel Universe is going to remind you why she's so SENSATIONAL, going up against her deadliest challenge yet! PLUS: MARVEL STUDIOS SHE-HULK series writer JESSICA GAO makes hers Marvel in a short story with the Jade Giant!

Spine-Tingling Spider-Man #1 - Saladin Ahmed, Juan Ferreyra & Rod Reis

Terror continues for the Web-Slinger! After a fight with SPIDER-CIDE, Spider-Man gets taken on the most terrifying ride of his life. If you think you've already read the scariest Spider-Man story ever, you may stand corrected after this one!

Subgenre #1 - Matt Kindt & Wilfredo Torres

A man is living two lives. He is a private detective in a dystopian cyberpunk future trying to solve a triple murder. But when he falls asleep... he wakes up as a wandering adventurer in a barbaric fantasy world where magic exists. Is he two separate people? Or is he a third person that has undergone a psychotic split? He jumps back and forth from sword-wielding barbarian to jaded private eye trying to solve the brutal crime. But the bigger question is, can he merge these realities without losing himself?

A Splatter Western One-Shot #1 (of 4) - J M Brandt, Tom Napolitano & Garry Brown

A chance encounter between a sideshow owner and a man with his fair share of secrets unleashes an unholy terror on the folk of Randall's Oasis and Professor Morris' Pageant of Curiosities. A grisly murder brings the attention of fastidious Sheriff Jacob Dillon. What will he discover in the desert, and how will he stop it? Read the darkly comedic Splatter Western Swallower of Shades to find out those shocking answers!

TMNT: The Best Of Bebop & Rocksteady - James Biggie

Elegant. Mild-mannered. Graceful. Two upstanding gentlemen eager to help their neighbors. Just Kidding! Bebop and Rocksteady are wild, angry degenerates with muscles the size of sedans. And they're charging toward your local comic shop to relive their greatest hits! Try not to miss the party, will ya?

Whatcha snagging this week, Fantom Fam?

[globofhoney]

I believe that each Dragonborn has their dress code to represent themselves, modded or not.

Mine is White 80% , silver 15%, Blue 5%

A snow elf mage who has a very VERY hard time accepting a single flaw about herself. Getting shit from the Dominion quite a lot since she is not an Altmer, both mentality and appearance.

The arrogant mage were made, not born into.

she left Summerset to find her own path.

With a facade of happy and articulated chatter, behind the mask is a cold and bitter person who is not afraid to lashes out at those she deemed nuisance.

Gifted and ambitious in the study of arcane, she mastered all school of magic and enchanting by the age of 85, and arrived in Skyrim by accident at the age of 91 years old.

And that is when she discovered that she is gifted for more than just magic. The Dragon god of time has chosen her of all people to be his champion.

All this time, the ambitious and domineering nature of hers has roots from a hidden draconic soul all along. Finally she finds a thing that she likes, a unique power...one that also requires cultivation and mastery over time. But there's no need to rush, patience and mindfulness is also hey key to success. It is alright, she can wait and learn along the way, after all, there is plenty of time as a long living race such as hers.

Many bandits cannot see beyond the veil of peaceful and noble looking of frail and weak woman, therefore, their punishment is justified trying to rob her.

Dragon aspect: White and shining in color.

Dialogue:

- Idle

"the lack of progression serves no purposes..."

- Get hit (90% - 60% HP)

"Well met"

"How rude!"

- Get hit (HP below 50%)

"My patience wears thin with you..."

"You got some nerve laying your hands on me..."

- When it's raining

"A perfect weather for good shock spells, shall we hunt for storm Atronach?"

- When it's snowing

"How lovely, these dancing little snowflakes..."

- When the weather is nice

"Hmm~ such a nice weather for reading"

//when someone offers her Lusty Argonian maid//

"I...have to refuse. I could use another book for entertainment, something more refined. But still, I thank you for your kind offer"

(Translate: "thank you for trying to help me find a book to read, but I don't need this shit" )

- When it is sunny

"It is almost time for an afternoon tea"

Color represents

White: In some people, white color may represent angles and goodness, but in this case, I chose the colour theme for my LDB as white because of her perfectionist concepts, clean, rigid, empty, and bland. Like an Order untainted by chaos.

But, the grand clarity and purity in the color of white represent her arcane aspects. Her mind is ready, and her heart is resolute and cleared, just like a diamond, brilliant and unyielding.

Elegant when unprovoked, but also barely approachable (don't mind the courier part, that guy approaches everyone) not many people have a heart to directly ask her for help, even though she would do it for free to kill her boredom.

Silver: The color of nobility, illumination and enlightenment. But also...insincerity, deceiving, immoral, and enigmatic nature.

Aside from glittering gold and jewels, the person who has deep insecurities about not being enough, and being a target for making a fool of. She prefers to let her brilliant light shine to hide the flawed inside.

Like a swan that tries to hide a black feather..or even pluck them all out without fearing pain or grave consequences it may bring to itself.

But what does the great father of dragons see of the Eminence, chased after by his champion?

Blue: while the color blue can represent tranquility, honesty, trustworthy, wisdom, and reliability. It can also represent yearning, sadness, passiveness, aloof, and predictable nature.

A simpleton, a No one who once never has a role in anything big, got what she wanted in the end and yet it never made her whole as much as she thinks it will be. Instead, it created a big gap between her and the people around which... didn't actually help much.

The question in her heart remains unanswered. What does she really want?

"A mighty Dov that has scales shine in all platinum lays atop its mountain of hoards and ponder, is it not enough? Or is this never the right answer to begin with"

So...what is the dress code and color theme of your LDB????

[anonymusbosch]

trying to help an acquaintance with some severe life issues and I'm beyond the point where I can help. below the cut, heavy mental health stuff:

she needs to get into grad school and get a job and move out from a bad living situation. I've offered to help review her resume or do practice interviews and I've offered tide-over money and I've tried to be supportive and talk through some of the "the world hates me and I should kill myself and no one will ever love me" stuff, but I think she's possibly having some kind of reality disconnect or interaction... issue that I'm not familiar with. she just told me I should either directly give her a job or shut up and leave (this doesn't follow from previous bits of conversation, but as a stress/frustration reaction I'm not surprised) but also that she should kill herself because of people like me. that one came out of nowhere. there was a lot of black-and-white "either i succeed 100% or i need to die" that I was trying to meet with "are there things that can help address aspects of the situation even if they don't solve the whole problem/intermediate steps to get more stability". which was apparently the wrong thing to say, because not supporting her by directly giving her a job meant not understanding the situation, not caring, and directly hurting her. and therefore being part of the problem and both deserving to die myself (like everyone else who hasn't helped her) and that she deserves to die (bc the world is uncaring and doesn't want to help her).

I'm respecting her request to not message her though she's sent more invective at me. the previous conversation went on for several days with me trying to reassure and support and being at least somewhat successful, but I guess something tipped the scale? I don't know how to help - there's no one she trusts and no one I know near her, and I surely don't intend to message her against her directive, and I can't and wouldn't try to get a wellness check on her. but I'm worried she's having some kind of break with reality and that there's a nonzero chance of harm to self or others.

i don't know. I just don't think there's anything I can reasonably do and I don't know what I could have done better. her reactions had been a little extreme and unpredictable but I still didn't expect this.

I guess all there is to do is hope? hope the storm passes?

just needed to articulate this somewhere. can't get it out of my head

[redwoodwv-hq]

Name: Mayra Rojas Age: 38 Town Occupation: Hairdresser / Cook / Gardner Previous Occupation: Exotic Dancer / Hairstylist / Singer Redwood Resident Length: ≈ 2 years Faceclaim: Nathalie Kelley

Bullet Points:

She lives in a little cottage built by both Isaac and Sol, surrounded by wildflowers and sunflowers.

Knows both English and Spanish fluently, also knows a bit of French and Quechua due to her father.

Everything she was before her traumatic experience has been pushed inside a huge mental box besides one thing: her love of piano.

Considers herself a spiritualist and is all about holistic remedies.

Has a black cat named Salem.

Biography: (tw: eating disorder, sa mention)

Big expectations were placed on Mayra Rojas from the moment she was born. With one of the most successful and respected Pediatric Neurosurgeons in Philadelphia as a father and a mother who ran the number one marketing company of the region, Mayra was expected to evolve beyond their own capabilities. As a child, she surely exhibited the traits. By the time she was four years old, Mayra knew how to play both Claire de Lune and Für Elise on piano without sheet music. When year ten hit, the girl had won countless awards and medals for her musical talents and written papers. The parents spent thousands on tutors and teachers to push their daughter beyond her own limits. With the pressures thrown from all directions, Mayra felt as if she had no control over her life. She was twelve when her eating disorder started.

Hiding food, sneaking it from the kitchen or from lunch at school into her room, Mayra would stash it away to binge when her parents would fall asleep. Her weight rose quickly. Noticing, her parents put her on a strict diet and had her enter sports along with her honors academics. Mayra joined the softball team along with volleyball but hated every second. The girl had no life, and because of this, the students would tease her for her loner tendencies. Mayra wasn’t popular; she wasn’t a cheerleader. She definitely was no one’s favorite whenever the teachers would rave about her glorious grades. Mayra wanted nothing more than to shrink.

College was a different experience. Mayra was accepted and attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for STEM cell research at the demand of her parents. They believed their daughter had what it took to discover the success of gene therapies and splicing. In a different environment, Mayra began to lose the weight she had gained from high school. Her mental health was getting better, and she was excelling in all her classes. The teachers all recognized how talented she was; one specifically took notice. From the lack of attention and appreciation in her younger years, Mayra was blinded to the red flag waving heavily in her face. The abundance of compliments, the random gifts, and words of encouragement all made her feel on top of the world. However, in her junior year of college, Mayra’s life was ended figuratively speaking. An act so heinous was forced upon her.

Mayra dropped out of school and disappeared. Neither her friends nor her parents knew where the girl had gone. Private investigators were hired with no success. Finally, on the fifth anniversary of what had happened, Mayra showed up in her hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a changed woman. Mayra went to the community college for cosmetology and became a hairdresser. The intelligent, know-it-all girl was gone, and a promiscuous woman strutted all over town. She later became an exotic dancer, collecting mountains of cash from mediocre rich white men. Mayra also became a local star in the music world by singing at functions, playing piano and acoustic guitar. During one of her shows, a patron suddenly rose from their seat and began attacking others. This was her first experience with an infected.

Due to her parents’ money, Mayra fled to one of their many cabins. Located in West Virginia, right at the Pennsylvania line is where she held up as long as she could with her black cat, Salem. Surviving in an apocalyptic world wasn't exactly high on her list - but she made due, putting her faith in the Universe that everything was going to be okay, and so would she. Eventually, her resources ran out, and Mayra had to move in fear of the savages returning (after their first appearance). Walking aimlessly, Mayra came across another survivor. Once she realized he wasn’t part of the savages, the two traveled together - later coming across Redwood.

[memoriae-lectoris]

In short, enslaved blacks often eschewed Western medicine because they suspected their owners of a greater interest in them as capital than in their welfare. They also questioned the acumen and the motivation of the “regular” Western practitioners who, in turn, ridiculed the spiritual component of African medicine as “superstition.” Then, too, slaves had their own healers and preferred medicines that were less harsh and often more efficacious.

Slave medicine, unlike the physiology-based, almost mechanical ministrations of whites, incorporated African healing philosophies and techniques, including strong psychological, social, and spiritual components. Slaves themselves illustrated this by the parallels they drew between their medical treatment and that given the livestock. Appeals to God, the importance of moral fitness, and enlisting the help of departed spirits, especially the intercession of ancestors, were all key to the African-based healing process. Ancestors who were angered by disrespect or neglect could cause illness, alienation, and other troubles for the living. This is one reason the respectful ritual treatment of the dead was so important to slaves and why they reviled Western medicine when they discovered that physicians appropriated the bodies of dead slaves for display and dissection. Western medicine was thought ineffective against spirit-caused illness, and slaves often lacked confidence in a Western doctor’s ability to cure them: If a doctor did not believe that one could be cursed or “conjured,” how could he remove the threat? This is a wide generalization, because some slaves mistrusted African practitioners, who sometimes used their skills to harm as well as to heal.

However, whites had no monopoly on science. The African tradition involved physiological as well as spiritual approaches to healing, including an encyclopedic knowledge of herbs, roots, and other natural medicaments. This detailed knowledge was continually passed down along lines of apprenticeship from wise women and male herb doctors to gifted young members of the community. Despite their characterization as primitive, African healers first employed citrus juice for scurvy and inoculation for smallpox and other viral illnesses; midwives used African techniques, herbs, and medicines so successfully—without dangerous tools of the day, such as forceps—that many white women called them to attend births.

Some whites were impressed by the success rate of Negro doctors and “doctresses,” consulted them, and placed their medication recipes in the family book, and Western doctors faced brisk competition from black herb doctors. In an 1855 journal article, Dr. R. H. Whitfield of Alabama railed against “unscientific” midwives.

White doctors denigrated black midwives and healers, calling them “uneducated,” but white physicians themselves usually had no academic preparation beyond a few months in proprietary medical school or a few years of apprenticeship, which many blacks also shared. So until the mid-1800s, such claims of superior education rang hollow. Also, regular medicine embraced no consistent curriculum, but roped in a motley association of disciplines. At the bedside, healers practiced a variety of Western fads such as hydrotherapy, which utilized harmless but ineffectual “water cures” for many ailments, and Thomsonism, followed by disciples of New Hampshire farmer Samuel Thomson, who, like black healers, advocated the use of milder herbal and vegetable remedies and emetics.

The constant friction between white physicians and enslaved healers sometimes erupted into open hostility. Physicians denigrated black medical practice and imposed punishment, including execution, upon black healers, on the pretext of protecting the larger community from poisoning and from the evil machinations of occultists who, doctors claimed, controlled the minds and actions of superstitious blacks.

Black contributions to early American medicine included research. In fact, slave doctors sometimes developed medications that were so highly prized as to garner them fame, fortune, and their freedom. In 1729, Lieutenant Governor Gooch of Virginia authorized the payment of sixty pounds to manumit an unnamed “negro man.” Gooch declared that his mixture of pharmacologically active roots and bark had proved an effective syphilis remedy. “It is well worth the price of the negro’s freedom,” wrote Gooch, “since it is now known how to cure negroes without mercury.”

In 1751, a South Carolina slave doctor named Cesar developed several medical innovations, including an almost foolproof snakebite antidote. The cure featured a shrub called plantane and horehound, a plant that derived its name from Egyptian priests who called it the “seed of Horus” (the Egyptian god of the sun and virtue), mixed with sassafras, wood ashes, and tobacco. On February 25 of that year, the South Carolina Gazette published the recipe as a public service, and demand ran so high that it was reprinted widely and published as a monograph in 1789.

In 1799, it was mentioned in the text Domestick Medicine. Cesar’s medical acumen earned him his freedom from the South Carolina General Assembly, which also granted him an annual pension of one hundred pounds. Primus was another slave who won fame for medical achievements, which included a rabies treatment.

The medical career of Wilcie Elfe of Charleston, South Carolina, benefited rather than suffered when the white pharmacist to whom he was apprenticed turned out to be incapacitated by alcoholism. Left to his own devices, Elfe formulated new medications, which proved so effective that his patent drugs became popular across the state. Meanwhile, Western doctors complained that overseers resorted to a standard remedy for every complaint: “an emetic followed by calomel and oil.”

[wemeetby-accident]

Personnel File: Sunshine E. Davar

Basics Name: Sunshine E. Davar Codename/Callsign: Angel, Sunshine, Eclipse Rank: N/A Role: Intelligence Analyst Eye Color: Brown-Green Hair Color: Brown Height: 5’2” Weight: 124lbs Distinguishing Marks: Freckles across bridge of her nose, across her face. Freckles continue down the chest/neck. Tattoos: Sun on inner left bicep, above arm crease. Floral sleeves on both right and left bicep (shaded black ink with hints of color; eventually covers scarring); large thigh piece with floral design on right thigh. Several ear piercings. Age: 28 Gender: Female Date/Place of Birth: May 16, 1995 - Albany, New York

Skills and Abilities Powers: “Knowledge” (Monster AU: Fae - Seelie) Weapon of Choice: Knife. CQC skills (both learned after joining the Shadows) Languages Known: English, ASL (fluent). Spanish (near fluent). Other Skills and Abilities: Cool head - able to talk panicked peers down. Skilled at organizing and processing information, verbal and physical. Detail-oriented. Good listener. Dedicated to tasks. Weaknesses to be Concerned About: Physical strength is lacking. No formal combat training. Can be easily overwhelmed.

Personality General: Kind, polite, romantic, loving, compassionate, empathetic, genuine, warm, skittish, shy, malleable/submissive, bright Likes: -Flowers, specifically daisies and sunflowers -Gardening (she’d rather be operating her own floral business than whatever job she’s pushed into) -Strawberries (eating and growing) -Small animals (ducks, kittens, and bunnies) -Romance novels (especially the cheap pulpy kind) -Comfy games (not a full-tilt gamer since she was never allowed to play much as a kid, but enjoys things like Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing)

Dislikes: -Getting reprimanded/whenever someone angrily raises their voice towards her -Crying in front of others (she gets embarrassed) -Squash (the vegetable. It’s the only one she doesn’t really like!)

Fears: -Severe injuries. -Losing loved ones.

Other: -Very sentimental and affectionate (learned from her grandmother) -Good cook! Had to learn to cook for herself as a teenager as her parents were often out for work. -Can be shy at first but once she is warmed up to someone - very outgoing. -Often does small gestures for others (such as making/offering tea or coffee, etc); often confused with going “above and beyond” in her internships with people who she had considered peers

Relationships Parents: -Joseph Davar (father), Grace Goldman Davar (mother). Government workers. Worked their way up from small local positions to DC. Currently on a committee that benefits Shepherd; Sunshine’s current position with the Shadows was an IOU based on a deal the three managed. -The family has a history of moving: remained in Albany until Sunshine was approx. 11. The family then moved south to White Plains, NY due to promotions and a need to be closer to NYC; Sunshine went to middle and high school in the area. Upon graduation and acceptance into Yale, Sunshine moved to New Haven, CT while her parents moved to NYC for yet another promotion. They then moved from New York City to Washington, DC in the middle of Sunshine’s graduate program without notice.

Siblings: None. Only child. Extended Family: -Grandmother, mother’s side - Elise Goldman, “Nana” - very close and only family member that the Davars keep in touch with. Raised Sunshine for several years when she was young due to her parents taking jobs with busier schedules. -Grandfather, mother’s side - Clark Goldman, “Grandpa” - deceased; d. 2012. -Father’s side - unknown. Little contact; family history suggests a line of politicians. Ex-Partners: None of note. No serious relationships prior to employment with Shadows PMC.

History Education: Loaded high school transcript (6 successful AP credits earned by the end of her high school career.) Attended Yale for both undergraduate and graduate programs. -Undergraduate coursework: AA in Art; Certificate in Data Science; Bachelor’s in Political Science, minor in Business Management; additional coursework in cyber security and risk management -Graduate coursework: Master’s Degree in Asset Management Military Service: N/A. Civilian recruited to Shadows as a favor to the Davar family by Shepherd. Criminal Record: N/A Medical Incidents: Broken tibia, sprained wrist, concussion (27). See note below.

Notes -Regarding medical incidents: see file log dated 23 March 2021 involving Corporal Wolffe. -Previous work experience includes work in political offices and state/county jobs. Interned several times thanks to her parents’ in large offices; not a stranger to office work and overtime without pay.

Additional notes: -Sunshine, 28: slender. Obviously petite but she's clocking in under 130 so she's tiny. Screen fatigue x1000000. She has one of those brightening sticks in her desk drawer and she's tired and pale. She skips meals I think when she's working really really hard to the point where she's had to had an IV but. Those occasions are less frequent? -Sunshine, 32: much softer. She's eating more, eating better. She's got a garden and fruit at her fingertips so she's just enjoying herself all the time. Her hair is longer, but rather than being in two braids she just wears it out? She's not quite got the screen fatigue going on, but she's still got some dark circles. She spends a lot of time reading or working in the garden. She enjoys her time but she's very much trying to use every moment of it all now that she's doing things for herself. Stays up late. Lots of time in the sun, her freckles are much darker but she sort of sunburns - lots of SPF to make up for being inside for so long? She definitely wears hats (all varieties tbh) outside when working, lots of overalls.