#seeing as most of our followers don't speak german

[schadenfreudich]

Ich bemerke erst recht wie gehoben und ein wenig altertümlich ich mich anhöre, wenn ein anderes Systemmitglied mein Sprachmuster nachahmt. Nicht jedoch um mich zu beleidigen. Sondern so, wie ich es auch des Öfteren bei ihnen mache. Aus Zuneigung. Als Annäherung zur Sprache des Anderen, aber nur selten mit Absicht. Meist kommt das automatisch, so eine vertraute Redensart und doch nicht die eigene, nicht die natürliche.

[otdiaftg]

The King's Men - Chapter Three

Day: Friday, January 5th Time: 11:25 PM EST

He took the tray with unsteady hands and brought it back to the table. He wanted to send Kevin away, but Andrew would never let him get far without a guard. Luckily Kevin couldn't speak a word of German. Neil sat sideways in his chair, facing Andrew, and said, "Why does Roland think you're tying me down?" Andrew hesitated with his glass halfway to his mouth. He glanced down at Neil's hands where they were clenched on the edge of the seat between his knees. Neil didn't look to see if the angry lines were showing again. He couldn't take his eyes off Andrew's face. At length Andrew put his full shot back on the tray. He didn't let go of it completely but tapped his fingers on the rim in an uneven beat. It seemed an eternity before he finally dragged his stare up from Neil's hands to his face. "Presumably he thinks you're as bad at following directions as he is," Andrew said. "Roland knows I don't like being touched." "That doesn't answer my question." "It is the answer," Andrew said. "Rephrase the question if you don't like it." "I want to play another round," Neil said. "What's outside Coach's pay grade?" Andrew shifted in his seat to face Neil and propped his elbow on the back of his chair. He cradled his face in his hand and considered Neil. He didn't look at all bothered by the sudden interrogation but that calm did nothing to ease the gnawing in Neil's stomach. "When Coach signed us, he promised to stay out of our personal problems. He said the board paid him to be our coach, nothing more and nothing less." That answer wasn't much better. Neil wasn't sure he should keep pushing, but if he didn't get the truth now he knew he never would. "I didn't think I was a personal problem. You hate me, remember?" "Every inch of you," Andrew said. "That doesn't mean I wouldn't blow you." The world tilted a little bit sideways. Neil dug his shoes harder into the floor so he wouldn't fall over. "You like me." "I hate you," Andrew corrected him, but Neil barely heard him. For a dizzying moment, he understood. He remembered Andrew's hand over his mouth in Exites as he backed out of their conversation. He thought of Andrew yielding to his prodding and holding him up when Neil needed him most. Andrew had called him interesting and dangerous and had given him keys to his house and car. He'd trusted Neil with Kevin because Kevin was important to both of them and he knew Neil wouldn't let him down. Neil tried to piece it all together, but the more he pushed, the faster it fell apart. It didn't make sense. He didn't know what he was supposed to think. It could be a lie, but Neil knew it wasn't. Andrew was a lot of unpleasant things, but a pathological liar wasn't one of them. Honesty suited Andrew because he was an instigator at heart and his opinions were often unpopular. It took Neil three tries to find his voice. "You never said anything." "Why should I have?" Andrew lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "Nothing will come of it." "Nothing," Neil echoed. "I am self-destructive, not stupid," Andrew said. "I know better." There was nothing Neil could say except, "Okay," but it didn't sound okay and he didn't feel okay. What was Neil supposed to do with a truth like this? He was going to be dead in four months, five if he was lucky. He wasn't supposed to be this for anyone, Andrew least of all. Andrew said all year long—had said it to Neil's face just this week—that he didn't want anything. Neil shouldn't be the exception to that rule. Andrew downed his shot and dropped the glass carelessly back on the tray. He pried his cigarette pack out of his back pocket on his way to his feet and flicked it open to check the contents. Neil should let him leave unchallenged, but he said, "It's your turn." Andrew shook a stick into his hand and propped it between his lips. The pack was safely tucked away again before he looked at Neil. "I do not have to take it now."

Art used with permission by smokesontheroof. Thank you @smokesontheroof!

[fantasy-mixtapes]

Fig Faeth Junior Year Playlist: Side A

It's no surprise that Fig Faeth's playlist is the one that I actually listen to the most. It's just a very good vibe and I love her. Took extra time to Song descriptions and thoughts down below. Spoilers for Episodes 1-10.

Genres included: Pop-punk, Punk, Alternative

1. hair out, Stand Atlantic

Am I fuckin' up my life? I'm just tryna make improvements Slowly givin' up the fight But I gotta cover up the bruise That I get from all the Expectations give me vertigo Wasting away to the pressure The pressure, The pressure, oh

This song is such an earworm, scratching a specific itch in my brain. Love the fact that both Kristen and Fig (the failing girlies) start with a Stand Atlantic song, and it works with the way that Fig is coming at this season. From the jump, she is one of the most visibly and audibly burnt out, specifically from the pressure of the "sophomore album" that was supposed to come out months ago. This song is definitely about the pressures of a songwriter as well as the pressures of life in general so it fits sooooo perfectly. Especially with the "I can already here people hating the song" outro *chefs kiss*

2. Who The Hell Am I?, NOBRO

God, I'm tired of being like this I can change, but in a minute Always looking for the back door, on the run Always at the party, never quite having fun Play with fire, and you're gonna get burned I'm on fire, and you know it hurts I was always on the outside looking in Maybe it's me 'cause I never wanna fit in

Fig's class struggles, her conversation with Mazey, I can't take it. I feel like we've all been there. I really love how the narrative with her has progressed, like last season was deconstructing her need to mold herself into other people (or into an idealized version of herself) now she's trying to figure out who she is at her core without all the disguises.

3. 7 Years Bad Luck, Glasseater

Something strange seems to be plaguing me Everything I touch falls apart I've lost it all, losing all my luck Suffering 7 years bad luck

I don't particularly love this song, a little too unintentionally underproduced, but it deserves a spot on this playlist. I feel like I would be Fig in the curse situation. It took me a literal year to deal with debilitating stomach problems, and I, too, waited until my friends noticed to actually do something about it. Either way, can't wait to learn more about the weird Galier Pride curse, love the representation for my stomach problem girlies

4. Where the Heart Is, Sweet Pill

Get this My mind's been in a million places but my body hasn't moved an inch And I feel like I'm missing out again Ignoring my plans Wondering how they went Feeling bad about it If I could just take a chance I wouldn't feel so bad To see past myself I wouldn't feel so bad

This is Fig's final decision to try Paladin after doing so well with Warlock. She knows the priorities in her gut don't match with what anyone else says, but she's discovering her loyalty. She's figuring out her actual drive... following her heart <3

5. Impostor Syndrome, Sidney Gish

Unfortunately, I am My own dog, my own fur companion My own old lady on a forum Who types in glittery decorum Unfortunately, I take Myself out walking every day and I had my legs to the feet and I give my head to the leash

Making Fantasy High playlists is like making a ven diagram of which dog-themed songs are Tracker-coded and which are Fig-coded. This one, to me at least, is Fig-coded. (yes, I do have a tracker playlist, and yes, every song in it is dog/wolf specific, BUT THEY'RE GOOD OK). We love our Oath/Pact of the German Shepard.

6. You Owe Me Nothing In Return, Alanis Morissette

I'll give you countless amounts of outright Acceptance if you want it I will give you encouragement to chose The path you want if you need it You can speak of anger and doubts Your fears and freak outs And I'll hold it

So I know that we're gearing up for Fig's Warlock/Paladin agreement post "mooner yulenear," but this is my interpretation of what it's going to look like. She cares about her friends, and she would do anything for them! And though I know this song came out in 2002, Alanis Morissette is a 90's icon and perfect for the grungy riot grrrl vibe I see for her

[orange-orchard-system]

News Summary: "The blind woman who switched personalities and could suddenly see"

We recently discovered this article on how disability can affect different headmates through a post by @sophieinwonderland, and as we like to summarize news articles on plurality for others to have an easier time understanding them, we decided to do that with this article, too! Keep in mind this summary will be influenced by what we found most interesting and important, and you should refer to the news article itself if you want details.

(Heads up before we begin summarizing – the language in the article when referring to the system is very different from what most of the plural community would use, so we substituted those words for more commonly used terms, such as "headmates" instead of "personalities." The base story has not been affected by these changes.)

Here is our summary as we understand the article:

A woman named "B.T." (presumably named as such to stay as anonymous as possible) was in an accident when she was a young woman, and was diagnosed with blindness due to brain damage following this accident. She also has Dissociative Identity Disorder.

As she was seeking treatment for her DID, she discovered that some of her headmates (referred to as "personalities" in the text) could regain sight when fronting, while others were left blind. Over time, more headmates regained their sight, until there were only two who were blind when fronting.

Doctors wanted to know how this happened, and came to the conclusion that her blindness was a psychological problem, not a physiological one. The initial misdiagnosis came from an assumption that, because there was no damage to her eyes, her blindness must be caused by brain damage from the accident.

(Side note not very relevant to this story, but B.T.'s headmates vary in the languages they can speak – some spoke only in English, while others spoke only in German, and some could speak in both. Just a little interesting tidbit about headmates and language!)

The story goes into more detail from there.

A few years into psychotherapy was when B.T.'s sight began to return. It was at first limited to one headmate, who could recognize words but not individual letters, but over time she recovered more, to the point most of her headmates could see most of the time. This is what cast doubt on the initial diagnosis of brain damage causing B.T.'s vision loss.

The possibility of B.T. lying about her disability was disproven through an EEG test, which showed no brain activity that would indicate sight while her blind headmates were fronting.

The current theory is that something related to the accident caused B.T.'s brain to remove the ability to see as a coping mechanism. This may be because in intensely emotional situations such as a traumatic accident, some people may wish to become blind, so that they do not need to see. The brain already does something similar under other circumstances, such as keeping someone from seeing double by removing one of the images they see.

The article goes on to discuss the controversial history of DID as a diagnosis, and how some don't believe it exists. The doctors involved in this case argue against this belief, saying that their findings show that DID can be related to one's biology. Another doctor, uninvolved with the case directly, says that this case study shows that DID "is a legitimate psycho-physiologically based syndrome of psychological distress."

In conclusion: A woman with DID had the cause of her blindness misdiagnosed, which was only discovered when some of her headmates gained the ability to see while others remained blind. The case study of this event supports the idea that DID is a real disorder that has both psychological and physiological effects on whoever has it.

This news story was published on November 24th in 2015 by The Washington Post, and was written by Sarah Kaplan. We hope you enjoyed this news summary!

[intersexbookclub]

Discussion summary: Trans-Intersex studies

On 2023-09-29 we met to discuss our first foray into academic intersex studies! We read three chapters from Transgender and intersex: Theoretical, practical, and artistic perspectives, edited by Stefan Horlacher (2016).

Overall reactions:

Dimitri: I liked there were perspectives I don't normally think about or see

Elizabeth (@ipso-faculty): I found the Costello chapter really useful because I've wondered why there isn't more trans and intersex connections and this explained it for me

Michelle (@scifimagpie): it tapped into and articulated a larger strain in the queer community “the people who want to have a gender” vs “the people who want to destroy gender, there is a fundamental struggle in that can only be dealt with through tolerance and acceptance

vic: multiple chapters make clear that intersex is made by doctors. This thing happens when you give birth and you don't know what to do and conveniently there’s someone confidently giving you a (usually really bad) answer…  we're foisting off this thing that doctors aren't trained to deal with it properly plus have medical arrogance

Connections to Disability Studies

Though the book was intended to get intersex studies and trans studies in dialogue, we made many connections to disability studies throughout the discussion.

Elizabeth: The book talks about the dynamic that the doctors are the ones who socially construct intersex, which is similar to how doctors contribute to the social construction of disability. 

Elizabeth: And also how in our society, when it comes to who is listened to most on disability/intersex, doctors come first, followed by parents, and it's those of us actually affected who come last (disability/intersex)

Michelle: it was interesting to see the arguments against eugenic abortion… The amount of eugenicist propaganda that's still around in our society, the text addressing the fact that people would abort an intersex foetus didn't surprise me but did alarm me

Elizabeth: Coming from disability studies I felt the question of who is/isn't intersex isn't actually a productive question, in DS we posed those questions for a minute before realizing it's not productive, to instead focus on ableism

Dimitri spoke about the idea of seeing your body as a garden that you tend to, rather than a machine to be fixed, and how it’s been a helpful framing

Michelle: one thing about accepting my intersex identity is that my body isn't broken for having a hormonal imbalance and it's just a way of being

The social and medical models of disability were invoked by Costello in chapter 4, to show contrasting models of intersex (social vs medical) and transness (social vs medical).

-=-=-

Chapter 1: Introduction by Stefan Horlacher, Pages 1-27. 

This chapter gave a brief overview of the state of trans studies and intersex studies, and the motivation for putting these two research areas into dialogue. 

We didn’t talk much about this chapter.

Elizabeth: I personally learnt a new word, repronormativity, from this chapter! Per Wiktionary, it refers to the “assumption that all humans want to have children, especially within the context of a monogamous heterosexual relationship”

vic rather aptly described it as “so GERMAN”

-=-=-

Chapter 4: Intersex and Trans* Communities: Commonalities and Tensions by Cary Gabriel Costello, Pages 83-113

This chapter reports on a sociological study of trans and intersex communities on Second Life, noting commonalities as well as tensions between and within the communities. 

Everybody found this the easiest chapter of the three to read lol 😅

vic: “I really appreciated the breadth of voices that were included. The author clearly has an argument, but still lets people speak. Like with the person who said ‘I'm not intersex’ and the author was like ‘this could come from fragile masculinity’, it was neat.”

Costello’s conceptual framework

To understand both intersex and trans communities, Costello employs a framework which differentiates a:

Medical framework, in which being intersex/trans is framed as “as a biological problem: a physical lack, superfluity, or malfunction” (p98). While Costello doesn’t use the word “truscum”, this is how many of us are used to referring to people who understand transness through this lens.

Identity framework, in which being intersex/trans is “framed as social in nature: social stigma is directed toward those who are in some way physically variant.”

An important insight of this study was that to understand the relationship between the trans and intersex communities, you have to realize there are four communities at play, not two:

Medical framework trans people (truscum)

Identity framework trans people

Medical framework intersex people 

Identity framework intersex people (who are the only ones who use DSD)

And as Dimitri summarized, “the tensions [between the communities] arise in the disorder framework, a lot of the problems lie in the disorder framework, and it's pretty important to make that separation”

In Costello’s study, anti-trans sentiment was linked to the intersex-as-disorder framework 

Costello writes about how the majority of intersex people are trained from birth to employ the disorder framework, which can easily result in anti-trans sentiment. Many intersex people are raised in a way where the slightest gender deviance is punished, and feel threatened by gender deviance. 

Multiple people noted how the intersex participant “Anna” from Costello’s study had misplaced anger at trans people, that it’s unfair to blame trans people for trans fetish porn when trans people have such difficulty getting conventional employment, and that the demand by cis & perisex people is more at issue

Elizabeth: so many intersex people are told they're intersex by a doctor and that they're disordered and the doctor will fix them so they're not given any community because the doctor is like "I'll fix you" and people are just used to the disorder framework because that's what they've only ever seen.

vic: Yeah, being born visibly intersex getting framed as a medical emergency

Elizabeth: really liked the dig that the shame of the parent comes above everything else

Dimitri: many parents don't know what's going on when their intersex baby is born and they're kinda pressured into the surgeries…  the parents might have veered to a more neutral stance on their own, maybe they have some hesitance about having a kid being different, that the surgeries are such a pile-on by everyone around them.... the parents of the kids need their own support, what do the parents need or could have had to make them not make those choices

Similarly, intersexism from trans people was linked to the trans-as-disorder framework

Costello discusses how many disorder-framework trans participants made statements along the lines of wanting to be intersex, or have an “intersex variation of the mind”, mistakenly thinking that this means they may be entitled to free gender affirming therapy (it actually makes it harder to access gender affirming therapy).

Costello explains why this sort of sentiment from trans people is poorly received by intersex people: “It alienates intersex people employing the identity framework by working against their mission to recast physical sex variance as diversity rather than disorder. It alienates intersex people employing the disorder framework by implying that trans-identification [...or] gender-confusion should characterize the intersex person. And the stories told by some trans* people employing the disorder framework about having an impossible intersex history angels intersex people of all camps.” (p107)

Michelle: To be intersex is to have a medicalized gender, and how any gender nonconformity is medicalized… it makes sense why so many trans people would cling onto a misunderstanding of intersex

Michelle: the medicalization of being transgender and you need surgery to fix a flaw in your brain, and the medicalization of intersex, they both need an anti-eugenics approach of let people be a little broken/different

Elizabeth: as a disabled intersex person it's been confusing that trans people would want medicalization like they don't know how terribly medicalized ppl are treated, and the chapter helped me realize they are already medicalized and they're trying to get a more "legitimate" medicalization rather than realizing they’re trying to play a rigged game

vic: transness is medicalized, too–the diagnosis is gender dysphoria and the treatment is transitioning. Also transitioning is only seen as a viable treatment because literally everything else doctors did to “cure” trans people didn’t work (they tried *so* many things). Trans people treating medicalization as something that’s desirable sucks, but I feel so deeply for anyone who was put in a place where that seems like their only option–people who feel like their only way forward is to claim things that don't make any sense. They're like “please, I'll do anything, I'll lie out of my ass, help me”. Those poor people!! And, of course, they also cause harm. It's all so sad. 

Criticisms of Costello’s chapter:

Elizabeth: I felt a weakness was not talking about the hypervisibility of trans people vs the invisibility of intersex people. Like trans people who have huge platforms to talk about gender stuff and should know better than to perpetuate perinormative ideas about sex.

vic: transmascs tend to really minimize our own difficulties. We're not well studied, and when we are, the data consistently shows we have the worst outcomes of any gender (in things like health, mental health, employment…). Disheartening to see Costello buy into it at times.

-=-=-

Chapter 5: Transgender and Intersex: Unavoidable Essentialism and the Normative Struggle for Recognition by Sebastian Jansen, Pages 115-140

High level notes

This chapter makes the argument that it’s impractical, if not impossible, to avoid essentialism of some form when theorizing about sex/gender, and so academic gender studies scholars should spend less time trying to avoid essentialism and focus more on improving the material circumstances for intersex, trans & LGBA+ individuals.

vic: I think they were saying that we can't do it because it can't be done without throwing trans & intersex people under the bus

Elizabeth: ch5 was how I realized that in the social [identity] model of intersex where we see intersex as a natural variation it is essentialism and I'm okay with it thanks to this chapter

We all agreed this was a challenging read. As vic put it: “it was very ‘as you know’ and I didn't know”, and that the author was probably nervous about writing it.

Jansen’s chapter got us talking about the nature of gender

Michelle and vic talked about how finding out truth about gender is building houses on shifting sand

Michelle: I liked the stairwell metaphor [that female is one level of a building, male is another level, and there’s a stairwell in between]... I don't like the idea of female and male in opposition, they are categories, you can be both/neither/change

Elizabeth: I did like how ch5 talked about how gender isn't just a thing in your brain, it's made through interactions of people interpreting your gender in interactions and they didn't talk about euphoria and I think gender euphoria is that feeling of people seeing you for the gender you are

Michelle: [Judith Butler’s]  gender as conversation reminded me of how art and research are forms of conversation... is gender a form of art?? [we then spent some time talking about this]

Elizabeth: I like the idea that gender should be like hair colour - it's there, you can change/experiment with it, it affects how people see you, but we don't organize society around it and I agree that's a good goal

vic: my gender is contextual - it's different depending on whether in an arts context vs. in interacting with landlord, etc

vic: in War & Peace there are four pages spent describing the beauty of a woman with a moustache–Tolstoy waxes quite poetic about how beautiful & beauty-enhancing her moustache is.

Elizabeth: yeah so many cultures see women's mustaches and/or unibrows as beautiful and hate how current Western culture hates hair

Elizabeth: yeah it's SO RECENT the idea that women shave legs, the Gillette company had saturated the men's market and convinced women that their hair is bad

A main critique of Jansen’s chapter was how it only considered Western perspectives

Elizabeth: ch5 was so Western, based on a mind/body dualism and I wanted there to be a discussion of other cultural constructions, like in cultures without mind/body dualism from what I can tell it's often that trans and intersex are not separated. 

We then spent some time talking about different cultural ideas about sex/gender such as Two-Spirit and hijra, and the intense medicalization of transness in Russia

Dimitri described how Russian/Slavic culture is big on repressing any kind of sexuality, and being queer is deeply tied to perversion, which kicked off a discussion of Left Hand of Darkness

Elizabeth: another reason I wanted postcolonial stuff was it'd be useful to have strategic essentialism discussed (Spivak), which seems really relevant to a discussion of essentialism.

Overall we were all glad we got to give our brains some exercise, and we’ll be reading more intersex studies in November! 😅 Join us for a discussion of Holmes’ Critical Intersex on Nov 24.

[daryfromthefuture]

intro :)

i realized i never made an intro post so here it is lmao-

hi tumblr, my name is dary! i go by she/her pronouns, but feel free to use they/them as well, i don't mind :D

i'm 17 years old and from europe (my timezone is gmt +1)

as you can see from my blog, my main interest is the back to the future franchise :] i do things for the fandom like writing and drawing; you can find me on ao3 under the same username (daryfromthefuture) and on instagram under @/rynaaa_a.

talk to me about bttf in general but specifically (bold = main fixation):

⭐1940s doc/manhattan project lore

⭐1950s doc

⭐bttf the musical

⭐bttf the game

⭐doc and marty's friendship (!!!)

some fun facts about me:

i learned to skateboard because of marty mcfly and my favorite drink is pepsi (WITH sugar)

i speak english, german, russian and like basic french (english being my third language learned out of these)

my favorite subject is history and 20th century history is another big interest of mine

writing is my favorite thing to do ever and i want to write movies someday

my favorite bands are huey lewis and the news & queen

i'm taller than mjf by three inches

i ran out of fun facts, may add later LOL

thank you for checking out my blog! i'm always open to making new acquaintaces, so feel free to message me :D

fanfic directory under the cut!

FANFIC DIRECTORY (status: September 1, 2024)

MULTI-CHAPTER:

Until I Get Home: Stuck in 1885 AU fic, focusing on Marty and Doc's relationship and how it evolves when exposed to various different circumstances during their time in the 19th century. Words: 100,100, 30 chapters. Status: Complete

Fourteen scraps of paper: Fic focusing on filling out the 30 years between 1955 and 1985 in the Lone Pine timeline. Words: 11,243, 5/18 chapters. Status: On hiatus (dunno whether I will pick it up again tbh...)

November: Smaller, slice of life fic set post-trilogy. Marty gets sick and Doc takes care of him. Words: 4,636, 3 chapters. Status: Complete

We Do Need Roads: Road Trip fic also set post-trilogy. Doc takes Marty on a road trip across the country after the latter graduates, which gives them a great oppurtunity to catch up. Words: 19,016 (estimated to be around 80K), chapters 5/20. Status: Work in progess

TRINITY TRILOGY

The Perils And The Promise: A rewrite of Jules Verne's "Around The World In 80 Days" with the BTTF characters in the main roles (man I love ridiculous AUs). Words: 48,466, 31/37 chapters (estimated to be ~60K). Status: Work in progess

Three stories set in a universe in which Marty accidentally ended up trapped in the 1940s and follows Doc as he goes through the Manhattan Project and the years after. Together, the stories will take up around 135,000 words and 60 chapters. Hyperfixation has quite the power guys lmao

Most People Were Silent (45,352 words; complete)

A Few People Cried (45,024 words; complete)

A Few People Laughed (17,868 words; WIP!!)

ONESHOTS

Time Waits For No One: AU of BTTF 3 in which Marty comes down with pneumonia during the week in 1885. Words: 10,054

Flight Of Fancy: A character stufy of Doc, focusing on his relationship with science and the development of the flux capacitor. Words: 6,022

The Weight Of Us: A small "crossover" (is it really a crossover if it could be canon) with Oppenheimer (2023) in which 1940s Doc and Robert talk in August 1945. Words: 1,129

He Didn't Start The Fire: Prequel oneshot about Marty and Doc's early friendship days and how the teen reacts upon finding out that Doc worked on the Manhattan Project. Words: 5,459

Double Visions: Doc and Marty have a heart-to-heart after the events of BTTF: The Game. Words: 2,028

A Day At The I.F.T.: In a universe in which BTTF: The Ride is canon, Marty visits the institute of future technology. Words: 1,764

Time Heals All Wounds: Oneshot set in 1931. Young Emmett and Marty shenanigans. Words: 1,031

Nighttime Inn: Miitopia AU oneshot in which our hero Marty talkes to Great Sage Doc post-final battle. (have I meantioned I love ridiculous AUs)

Meet The Family: post-trilogy oneshot focusing on Marty's inner conflict about the whole Doc and Clara thing

[alexdelray1]

Spider-Noir x Reader.

Before reading, I will inform you that there was such a German as Jan Sehn. I know the name may be a bit misleading, but in this one shot Reader is half Polish, half German. Who can speak Polish, English and German. It is now 1939. (Jan Sehn chased Nazi criminals, such information. )

PLAN - Polish People's Action for Independence.

My name is Reader Sehn. I was born in 1921. I have lived in Poland since I was born in the former German partition. I have always considered myself 50% Polish. My father was Polish and my mother was German. My surname immediately showed others that I was of German origin. Fortunately, I was homeschooled. My parents and I lived in a city where most of the population was German, but some people didn't admit it out of shame or something.

A few months ago in September, the Germans attacked us. Exactly September 1 at 04:45. The troops passed by our house and shot everyone. We hid in the basement and somehow survived. In the evening there was a knock on our door. My father was a great activist and a university professor, so we knew immediately that they were coming for him.

One of them started asking me questions. My mother and I were afraid and answered in German. And I was going to say that my father was also German so that they would leave him, but my father had a sense of timing and asked us what we were saying. That night they took him away and a few days later they shot him with other people. A month later they came for us. They thought my mother was unclean and had broken the law, so they took her and called me an unclean bastard and left me. They killed her too. I hope they didn't rape her. Death is better than rape. What if this happened to her? God only knows.

-Doll! Pass me the beer and the bill.- said one of the Nazi soldiers in German.

-Of course.- I replied, smiling. Lousy shit will tell me what to do. I work in a pub in Polish lands that have now been taken over by the Germans. I also work as an escort. Don't worry it's not normal escort job. Once a night I flirt with a Nazi and I invite him alone in the forest. It always ends with me covered in blood and someone lying lifeless on the grass. I'm not proud of killing, but I'm proud of killing Nazis. Such a life choice.

-Your beer.- I said with a fake smile and put the beer on the table.

-Adele, you are always so good to us and your body is even better. Do you know what happened to Berdno? - he asked me and slapped my butt.

-Berdn? Unfortunately I didn't see him. I think he found a prostitute for today. - I said, pouring glasses.

-It's a pity because he was so clingy to you and often asked if you would give him a blowjob.- he laughed. Dirty disgusting pig. I left his table and went to another one. There was a guy sitting at the table. He was as far away from others as possible.

-How can I serve you?- I asked in German with a smile.

-PLAN operation.- said the man in Polish. I glanced at my boss across the room and he bowed his head.

-Please follow me.- I said and started walking with the man to the 'storage room'.

We went down the stairs to the basement. Some other guys were there. Some were Jews or Poles and others were both. They were sitting next to a map of Warsaw.

-I brought a new member.- I said and the men looked at us.

-I'm Peter Parker.- He introduced himself.

-What is an American or an Englishman doing here? We thought you had left us to our fate.- one of the boys said sarcastically.

-I have the strength to fight for something, but at least I will fight for something good. What are you going to do with those upstairs above us by the way?- Peter asked.

-Reader deals with these things, we are more interested in political matters and fighting.- said the second boy and pointed at me for a second.

-Reader? So you're not Adele. Clever.- Peter commented.

-What do you want from us?- I asked.

-I'm going to take part in your actions.- he said.

-Do you know German and Polish well? And you don't hesitate to kill a Nazi? - One of the men asked, approaching Peter.

-Yes and yes. You have to pay for blood by blood. - Peter said, straightening up.

-Reader. Show him what he has to do to become one of us. - Jan ordered and I took Peter to the shooting range, which was also in the basement.

-You have to show if you're worth it. You have one shot. Those people upstairs aren't so drunk that they wouldn't hear it. - I said and handed him the gun.

-It's getting done.- he said. He took a deep breath and shot the dummy right in the middle.

-You're good at this.- I commented and he sighed.

-What would happen to me if I missed? - he asked and I crossed my arms.

-Nothing. You would just lie two meters underground.-

[themaddoctorappreciationclub]

The Receptionist

(AKA: I couldn't explain the basic concept of this blog without going overboard) TLDR: You are an investigator that must get information, but are trapped in the club's hideout. So... Ask away!

TW: Possible Blood Mention ("red stains"), Captivity

"Oh! Welcome! Welcome! Please, come in!"

You flinch at the sound of the receptionist's voice. Looking ahead, you see a strange man sitting at the dirty, dingy desk of the check in area. He waves you over, bright eyes gleaming behind his cracked glasses. Standing, you walk over to him.

Your job is simple. You are an undercover investigator, trying to figure out whatever this "Mad Doctor Appreciation Club" is truly planning, as well as the crimes that have been committed. By pretending to be a simple visitor, you plan to sneak in, get information, then sneak back out. You WOULD call the information in as you get it, but your phone has no signal here. Plus, someone might catch you.

The receptionist introduces himself, his movements rather stiff and robotic as he makes a dramatic gesture towards himself "I am Mr. [INFORMATION REDACTED]! You can just call me Mr. Receptionist! What is the reason for your visit, along with your name?"

"I am (Y/N). I just want to look around and ask these doctors some questions. I have always admired their work." You watch as the odd man cocks an eyebrow, saying "I never thought a private investigator would be interested in the work of our beloved mad doctors. That is no problem, however. I shall give you the... GRAND TOUR... Of our beloved hospital." Suddenly, the man shoots to his feet, beginning to walk into a random hall.

Following him, you look around the old walls of the hospital. It looks like the place they are staying in has been abandoned for a very long time. The walls and floors are cracked, with the lights barely holding onto their place in the ceiling. Down the hall, you can hear a bunch of shouting and screaming. "Mr. Receptionist, may I ask what is going on down there?"

He stops abruptly, turning on his heels to face you. "This shall be the first batch of doctors you meet! They hang around the cardiac ward, which is here. There is the Medic, Dr. Ludwig, Dr. Randolph, and Dr. Takuto Maruki. A few others like to roam the halls here, but reside in different wards. Dr. Hauser stays in the library near here. Go inside while I go fetch him."

Slowly, you nod your head. You take a few steps towards the room, only for Mr. Receptionist to call out "HEADS UP! Most, if not all of the doctors there speak English as a second language, and like to talk to each other in their mother tongue. They will speak English for you if you don't understand German or Japanese, or just want to speak in English. I just wanted to let you know, because if you hear them speaking to each other in a language they know you don't understand... they might be plotting something. Or gossiping, I don't know really. Except for Dr. Maruki. He's a sweetheart who wouldn't hurt a fly! Ta-ta!"

You sigh, rubbing your forehead, before walking over to the tattered door and knocking. The various voices behind the door all grow silent, before it suddenly swings open. The man who answered has a very concerned and panicked look on his face, clasping his hands together as he asks "Are you here to pick me up? Please! Tell me you are! I really don't belong here! That's not to say anything negative about the others-" "Maruki! Give the person some space! Also, come back here! We need you for this next test!"

Suddenly, the poor fellow is yanked back by a red gloved hand, with a new person stepping into the doorframe. He adjusts his glasses, grinning like a madman as he speaks, his voice holding a German accent "Ah! Hallo! My name is Dr. Ludwig, but call me Medic. There's another Dr. Ludwig in here, after all. Come in! Come in!"

You are shocked still by how... eccentric this man is, as well as how the other man was practically dragged back into the room against his will. However, you enter the room, not wanting to upset him. Knowing that this place is probably filled to the brim with madmen, madwomen, and mad-anything-in-between means that the best course of action is to not upset any of them.

He room is a mess, with medical tools all strewn about. There's an operating table at one side of the room, which seems to be covered in red stains. The room is also extremely loud, not due to any arguing anymore, but instead due to the various birdcages filled with what seems to be doves. Besides the birds, the room is also a bit crowded. There's the man who answered the door, which you are pretty sure is Takuto Maruki due to what the Medic said, the Medic himself, a man who looks almost exactly like the Medic that is comforting Maruki, and another man sitting at a small desk while talking on a rotary phone.

The Medic grins, clasping his hands together as he gestures around the room at the various people. "That man over there is Dr. Maruki. Don't listen to him about not belonging here. He is insane in his own way! The man who looks like me is the other Dr. Ludwig. Call me Medic, and him, Dr. Ludwig. The man on the phone is Dr. Randolph. He has a bit of a temper, so make sure to be careful! Any questions?" You look around the room, trying to think of something to ask, before responding "Uhhh... yes. Is umm... is he okay? He looks a bit pale?" You try to point over to Dr. Ludwig in a manner that isn't obvious, but are pretty sure you failed, as Ludwig himself is the one to respond.

"I'm fine. Just tired. How about you ask Medic about-?" Dr. Randolph suddenly spins the rolling chair he is in, beckoning the Medic over to him, saying "We need to talk. Ask Maruki something, instead. Be quiet."

You stand awkwardly, sighing, before asking "So... Dr. Maruki... how did you get here?" He runs his hands through his hair, sighing "Well... I don't know. I just woke up here, randomly, and now no one will let me leave." "I'm sorry to hear that..." "You are an investigator?"

You tense up, tilting your head at him. "How did you...?" He shrugs "Well... when you spend so much time in a room full of people who like to speak German, you pick up on some of it. I just heard Dr. Randolph say something about an investigator."

As if on cue, Dr. Randolph asks "What's your name?" "Uhh... (Y/N)." "Alright. Thank you, Mr. Receptionist." Then, he hangs up the phone. He points to you, saying "We can't let you leave, now. You have been designated to a... What did he call it? Oh, yes. You are now a permanent visitor. Congratulations on being the first."

Well... at least you'll now get a lot of information... even if you can't share it. There's no use in running when most everyone here could probably destroy you in an instant.

[lovejoaofelix]

EXCUSES-KAY HAVERTZ

Kai Havertz. Chelsea

<<I have to apologize.>>Kai stops, the mug of beer he was drinking almost falls, those few words of hers have bewitched him.

<<Can you repeat?>>

<<I owe you an apology>> Giulia brings the glass to her lips and drinks up to the last drop of the cocktail.

<<Do you have to drink to apologize?>> he asks sarcastically

<<Then I'll have to order more mugs.>><<No, this was enough for me>> he lifts the empty glass with one hand

<<Then I don't have to be drunk to tell you what I have to.>>

<<Please, go ahead>> he invites her playing with the glass on the table, in order to avoid disasters he decides to leave it resting <<You have my complete attention.>>Giulia nods doubtfully, she wishes she hadn't raised the subject but she can't stall forever, even if a part of her wants it.

<<I owe you an apology because I doubted your words, several times>> she wishes she could say she felt lighter but she has to continue

<<When you moved here to England our relationship was just beginning, I still didn't quite know what I tried for you while you already had everything planned and clear.>>The buzz around them increases, someone starts singing the song that's on the club's playlist, Kai would like to interrupt her and ask her to continue outside but knowing her he decides to do his utmost to hear her.

<<Everything always seems easy for you, I know you and I know it's not that simple, yet you have become a regular for Chelsea and the German national team in a short time, from a complete stranger to one of Germany's promising players>> Giulia catches her breath, noticing the clamor around them he turned up the volume by a few octaves

<<Compared to you, I'm a nobody lady. I'm behind with my studies and every day I wonder if I've chosen the right address, if it's really what I want to do in life or not, I feel eternally out of place and time...even when we're together.>>She almost whispered the last words and Kai learned them by reading her lips, visibly shaken Giulia crosses her arms as if she had to defend herself from the judgment of others and makes no sign of wanting to speak again; seeing her like this, he puts his arm around her and promptly brings her close to him. The screech of the chair attracts some glances towards them, seeing the footballer's severe expression, even the most curious look away from them, once back in their bubble he speaks.

<<You don't care about other people's judgement>> he reassures her by shaking her hand

<<There is nothing that classifies you as further back or ahead than someone, life is not a race in which someone arrives first and others later, moreover, there is nothing to win.>>Giulia shyly raises her head looking straight into his eyes, secretly Kai rejoices in this gesture. comforted a little, he continues the conversation.

<<Everyone has his own life and decides for himself in full autonomy and acts as he sees fit, the university path is different for each person and if you take more time than others this does not make you stupid or clumsy, even if many would like to make you feel like this>> concludes emphasizing the last part.

She knows that the uncertainties about her future are still present yet now she hides them behind smiles, Kai knows her and will be by her side when doubts come back to haunt her.

<<Anyway, I really mean what I said>> he points out between one kiss and another.

<<I know, otherwise I wouldn't have moved here to London>> she reassures him, ruffling his hair

<<And I would never have apologized.>>

Finally a song that the footballer likes passes and he excite to get up and drag her onto the floor to dance, this sudden initiative doesn't excite Giulia but she decides to follow him without complaining much (but just snorts)

Hope you like XXX. make requests if you want to ;)). See you next time and sorry for the mistakes but English is not my first language.

[manyofnine]

You know how fucking insidious it is, that most of the shit i get ads vor are either meal kits or meal replacements?

"i got a busy schedule" "sometimes i forget to eat" "after a long day at work i got no energy to shop for groceries let alone cook them" "it only takes 2 minutes, 10, half an hour!" "sent directly to your doorstep" "i know the grind, the stress, would rather do anything else but concern myself with what to make for dinner" "for your lunch on the go!" "healthy" "protein plus Version" "lactose, gluten, animal free" "i always have it on me" "this way i don't have to go to the hassle" "got my mind free for more important things"

Food. They don't want to sell us food anymore but meal plans and diets and ways to shorten our interactions with it.

You know what Culture is?

It's 5 things:

Community (which they tell you to get on their highly curated Social Media sites, let the Algorithm decide when you see your friends!)

Clothes (which they already got us to give up upon so completely. You can't discern german from french from American from japanese if they all follow the same fast fashion trends)

Language (which they too are trying to overtake, everything is English, everything is pc, everything is polite, everything is "scrubbed clean for the advertisers" of course it's never going to go completely, but if i talk to my peers in my mother tongue, two thirds of the words spilling from my tongue are going to me english or anglizised)

Entertainment, meaning: Art, Music, Theater the stuff we watch and listen to, the stories we see. (which they too are trying to conform, sell for my convenience, easily reprodusable at little cost for them, blockbusters and AI-shit, industry plants and funny ad singles, everything is out to sell me shit and if my favorite podcast or youtube person tells me the same 5 selling points to the same fucking company one more time, i swear to fucking God-)

And Food.

They take everything away from us. They want us to be uniform. Fit in one of 5 labels, best yet fit in all of them. So they can market to us, so that i buy the same shit, spend my evenings the same way, talk about the same issues and never vear from the script.

Free up the time i would normally use to make a decision about who to meet, what to wear, what to say, what to watch or listen to, what eat to make more money, strive for a more productive life, be the best version of myself????! What the fucking hell?

Fuck you corporation. You might speak in my friends voice, you might look like a person i trust, you might say you have my best interests at heart, but i am eternally trying to get rid of all of you. Fuck you.

And that too is what they want, because i am amgry with no way to channel the anger. Only way i can direct it is against myself.

I don't know who is behind this drift, far too many people have found "market holes and niches" far too many people pounced on the opportunity to make quick buck out of the misery of the everyday worker, far too many want the money i earned, promising me that i shall feel a connection, a bit of relief, freedom, time for myself, a good feeling at giving to a good cause or person. Promising me, if i just made a bit more, if i was just that bit better, as a person, as a productive member of society, i would deserve the time that i so selfishly take for myself every evening when i cook, every long phone call that i lie on my bed, every moment where i do not cunsume content mindlessly.

They've long since taken any connection i might have had to my home, now i just need to conform.

That's why conservatives gain strength, to push us all down, to make sure we follow the invisible rules of society because if you don't conform you can't be labeled, can't be put away, you will stick out and rebel or refuse and we don't want that, do we?

Fuck everything, i wanna burn the system to the ground!

[honeybeecomebuzzingme]

Grr why am I worried about him???

All my online friends are saying I need to reaffirm my boundaries and not let myself fall into bad habits. But damn there's this annoying dysphoria when I think about this whole process and I wish I could have the energy to turn it around and be mad.

But I'm not angry. I'm concerned because he's my friend and I want him to be ok.

I don't understand why I need to be angry and turn off that worry I have for someone who I will always consider my best friend.

My brain can't compute these emotions.

It's easier if I compartmentalize and make a list as follows:

1- I appreciate any friends I have who have taken me to hospital or helped me in a time of need deserve equal in return.

2- I understand that my friends all have mental health issues and such things I cannot do anything other than listen and give moral support for them to seek help.

3- I see now that it is not my responsibility to keep bugging my friends to seek help for themselves. They need to do that for themselves when they are ready.

I'm not sure what else to say.

I'll leave with the promise that I am working on myself. I'm learning to be me.

I'm learning to accept myself.

I am an amazing person.

I can sorta play the guitar, some harmonica from primary school, and I'm learning the violin. (I also want to learn to play bass guitar and eventually the harp).

I can speak German, some Dutch, and French, Gaelic from living in Scotland, a tiny bit of Welsh from when I lived in Wales, and I picked up a little bit of Japanese from anime. Also, I have basic knowledge of asl and bsl from classes, I was working on how to write in kanji/hiragana and in Arabic in the past.

I've studied many things over the past ten years. I'm a highly accomplished student despite my shortcomings and absences.

I really enjoy photography and painting.

I can design video games, phone apps, and flash animations. I can make jewelry from precious metals. I can make clothing from scratch, and I understand how the fashion industry operates, how much of what we wear in our every day life has been informed by history and culture.

I can also wire a plug, fix a leaky sink, and install internet in businesses and homes.

I am also experienced and trained in both the care of children and vulnerable adults.

I have first aid training and I am an eagerly experienced archery instructor. I love it!

And I've studied cyber security of course!

Also I know how Trump expects his drink served from my training in bartending and hospitality - our field trips were amazing - I wanted to be a bartender from that course but I prefer cooking.

I've also worked in kitchens in 3/4 parts of the UK. I just need to go to N. Ireland now.

I've had jobs like retail, call centres, but I enjoy cleaning because it's therapeutic!

And most importantly I am a writer! 💯🔥

I have self published the first trilogy of my 12 part book series set in Scotland. I've also self published the first book of my second trilogy. And it all started with a poetry book I also self published! 💪💜

I wrote mostly by myself at first but over time I have built up my supporters and I have a pretty awesome fanbase! ☺️❣️🥰

My profits are small but I love writing!

I love all my friends and family so much!

I love al my Nakama!

[captainaikus]

BELLEEEEEEEEEE ;;;;;; HENLOOOOOOOOOO i-idk if you've already received my message through your other account (or maybe tumblr is being a bitch yet again-) so I'll send my message here on your main! ╰(⸝⸝⸝´꒳`⸝⸝⸝)╯ pardon me for writing with grammatical errors I'm currently writing this at 1:38AM... and for writing it long-

I'm terribly sorry for not being able to be active around the time of your juicy event ;; we just finished our art exhibit and a loooooot of things happened inside the event! My previous colleagues appeared and said 'hi', someone bought my personal artwork (to my surprise), I had to fulfill some obligations to welcome guest and help in some stalls (mostly the alcoholic ones sooooooo that took a lot of guts for me, I just coped with it by looking at the happy expressions of our visitors), some alumnis visited as well (out of all the things we prepared for the event, they really loved how we still care about their past by showing them the panel filled with exhibit predecessors of our college course), and many more! It left a big impression on me and gave me a bit of confidence about what I do inside my career.

Next is.. YOUR 2K FOLLOWERS EVENT--- THE HOST CLUB EVENT WITH BLUE LOCK CHARACTERSSSS BCISMANFKKEKAMS OMAGAHHH THE UTTER DESPAIR THAT I FELT FOR NOT BEING ABLE TO PARTICIPATE - ༼;´༎ຶ ۝ ༎ຶ༽ I enjoyed reading it though! Hehe~ >< especially the Rin and Nagi ones~ I think I can't even stop giggling so much inside the house or outside because I had to visit places for the exhibit (and omfg... The amount of times that I need to shift my phone unsuspectingly so that they can't see what I'm reading SKSKKSKSJFKEKSJFKSM ( ≧Д≦)

And speaking of Rin!! I am a Rin stan at heart and currently planning to buy many merch of him as much as I can so that I can build a little shrine of Rinnie in my room (even though I did hate him before) BUT THE MATCH-UP EVENT WITH NESS???? THE NESS WHO HAS AN OBSESSION WITH KAISER, THE MAGICIAN ITSELF... p-paired with.... m-me??? I- EHHHHHH?!?! (ʘ////ʘ’) ?! THAT SHORT DRABBLE IS MAKING WONDERS WITH MY BRAINNNNN ISTG. H-he kinda cute though- Although Him saying this line as he pins me on the bed, bites the tip of my ear, whispering- "Draw me like one of your french girls/draw me like one of your german boys" I- *shrinks into a size of a peanut 🥜 cuz of pure embarrassment* M-my mind & heart cannot process this but I gotta admit that-!!! after reading it... It felt so good ////////// (Rin, please don't murder me from my dream as I sleep later on ;; he's been appearing nowadays with Sae but they were fox people with reputations and there were two nations, the two of them aren't together.. I'll explain this next time if it's okii for me to share! ╰(⸝⸝⸝´꒳`⸝⸝⸝)╯))

AND YOU CHANGED YOUR THEME AS AIKU!! Still gives me yandere Aiku vibes and yandere Rin (I liked it!! ><💙)

Lastly, BLUE PERIOD!!! OMAGAHHHHHHH YOU KNOW THAT MANGA??? ;;;;;;;; I'm so happy that you do! Oh man... If it weren't for that masterpiece, I would stick to the course where my parents suggested instead of the course that I really want. Which part of the manga really stood out to you the most???? :3 Mine was the part where Yatora talked to his friend in a ramen shop and they discussed some things that UGH-😩 Really hit the spot and seeing how his friend just supported Yatora's decision and became inspired with his actions causing him to make a decision similarly as that???? YESSSSSSS 💙💙💙💙 Tsubasa Yamaguchi is such a good mangaka in both art and storytelling ;; I'm currently waiting for more Blue period content by not reading the recent release of translations and focus more on other stuff hehe~ The manga is just--- the first time I read it, I don't quite understand the content because of the jargons being used but I loved it and I enjoyed reading some panels over and over again. Blue period is like aa frickin love letter to artists and creative people alike! o((*^▽^*))o

I hope you're doing okii on your side of the world ╰(⸝⸝⸝´꒳`⸝⸝⸝)╯ I just saw that one of your fics have 100+ kudos already at AO3! HURRAY!!! and also, Congratulations for having 2K followers on Tumblr 🥳🥳🥳!!! YOU HELLA DESERVED ITTT I promise I will participate on your future events cuz interacting socially here is fun :3 !! Annndddd you're one of the reasons why I still have tumblr on my device wwwwwwww a-and can't help but feel honored that I got to talk with you like this .////. a-and you considered me as your m-moot (I just realized it just now) uwaaaaaaaaAHHHHHH ～(つˆДˆ)つ｡☆ please take good care Belle~

sorry for getting to this ask late mino - i have some matchup asks remaining from my other event n i just saw this :'< i'm glad that your art exhibit went well mon ange! <3 the host event was inspired by ouran high school host club - i had never watched that anime before n when i did, fell in love with Haruhi n the twins <3 i liked Mori senpai as well (yes i like cool men) I even had kyoya as my pfp for a bit then ; as for the ask events - i do them every time i hit a 100+ mini milestone, so there are a lot more to come you won't miss out :) and ofc! feel free to share your dreams - would love to read abt them (why did this remind me of Inuyasha) i very well paired you with Ness cause although he is obsessed with Kaiser, he reminds of a fiercely protective n loyal puppy who is also very cute draw me cause ik you draw - ness likes being the center of attention too yan! rin is out on my ao3 - aiku is yet to come (got a lot in store for him) but i'd probably be releasing that late cause i have a lot of yan! wips to get through - includes reo n nagi as well i had a wip for ness that started off as a writing prompt competition with my friend And yes! i do know blue period - i actually started watching it during my vacation about a year and a half back (ig?) n it was very appealing - esp yatora cause he wanted to go somewhere in life even if it was being an artist my fav part is always the beginning of every manga tbh - so when yatora talks to senpai in the room with her explaining primary colors used to make skin tone art i have to read more of the manga tho - been focusing on blue lock a little too much that i forgot other mangas are left unread *sigh*

Yes! I did reach 100+ kudos on fic - thank you everyone! <3 my day is going well - been feeling sleepy cause of work but i'm doing great! and yes you are my moot !- cause honestly, you show me support n drop by my inbox to send me messages that make my day 💗

[malfiora]

"America has no culture" actually we do

American culture

Beliefs

Regardless of political affiliation or voting history, we all sorta believe in small government and personal liberty

We have an entrepreneurial spirit. Almost everyone here at some point has considered starting a business, and many people have/will

We watch out for our neighbors, even if we don't tell you we do it. This applies to the delivery person we see every Tuesday, the barista who knows our order by heart, the people we commute with during rush hour, and more

Food

If it can be fried, we will fry it (don't knock it until you have tasted deep fried Oreos)

Barbecuing is an event, a sport, and a pastime almost exclusive to summer

Foods that have been co-opted into Americana: Mexican, Chinese, Italian, Korean (new), Indian (new-ish). In fact, American-Chinese food is considered by many a type of American comfort food. We know that X-food in America isn't actually authentic; we don't care

Soul food originated in the Antebellum (i.e. pre Civil War) South by Black folks. It includes hearty, tasty foods, including food items that would be considered scraps since enslaved people would eat whatever was leftover by their owners. Examples: sweet potatoes, yams, collard greens

Holidays and Traditions

Halloween: dressing up and basically begging for candy is practically every kid's rite of passage. An entire corporation (Spirit Halloween) profits exclusively off of this holiday

Thanksgiving: originally meant to celebrate the coming together of the Pilgrims and Native Americans, but this revisionist history grossly ignores the atrocities done to Indigenous people, so nowadays the focus is largely on expressing gratitude. November as a whole is recognized as Native American Heritage Month to bring awareness to this country's actual history while celebrating Indigenous contributions to American culture. Common activities include feasting (usually on American comfort and soul food), watching (gridiron) football, and watching the Macy's Day parade

Fourth of July: the most anti-British day of our year. Fireworks and Stars and Stripes everywhere. And now that Juneteenth is recognized as a federal holiday, the fireworks may last from mid June through the Fourth

Juneteenth: a newly recognized holiday but has been celebrated for centuries. It marks the day that the last of the enslaved people learned that they were actually emancipated, so it is the true beginning of freedom. New traditions are popping up, but fireworks and cookouts seem to be the go-to

Language

Let no one fool you, the U.S. has no official language because this country is meant to be for all people. The majority of people speak American English, which is comprised of several sociolects (e.g. Cajun, African American Vernacular English) which all follow socially determined rules (so they're not just "improper English"). But all languages are valid. Fun fact: America now has more Spanish speakers (52 million) than Spain (47 million). Most, if not all, high schools and colleges require students to learn a language other than English (Spanish, French, and Chinese are standard options; a little less common are Italian, Latin, and German)

Traits

A lot of people don't travel outside the U.S. because (a) this country is fucking huge, (b) anything you want from another country is probably here already, somewhere, and (c) it's expensive af (see point a)

Corporations are treated like people, legally (they are taxed twice) so they often get a lot of say in culture and politics. We're always cynical about anything corporate but also can't escape it. They'll also jump onto anything trendy, including sociopolitical movements, resulting ironically in both supporters and detractors of those movements to criticize the company (e.g. all the pride merch that is pushed onto us in June riles up the homophobes/transphobes while also getting mocked by queers and allies)

Similarly, we have a general mistrust of all politicians, even the ones we like and vote for. This is what paved the way for Trump to get elected – so many conservative voters were sick of the same old Washington blowhard and thought Trump would be different

We use the imperial system of measurement in daily life because we used to be colonized by Great Britain (except in weird cases like using liters for soda). Scientists and engineers use metric professionally, so there's a good chunk of us who can do easy conversions (e.g. knowing that ~3 cm = 1 inch)

Did I mention how big this country is? Driving far distances isn't a huge deal to us. And because there are so many types of roads and terrains, measuring distance in miles doesn't quite make sense. Going down the street (0.25 mile) in a metropolitan area could take you 5 minutes, but the same distance on a rural highway is like 30 seconds. So we measure distance in time – how long will it take to get to the destination?

Addendum:

In addition to all of this, everybody who comes here brings a piece of their home with them, creating pockets of culture throughout the country. To say America has no culture is to deny that these people, who make up the fabric of this country, aren't really American. This is to say nothing of the displaced or stolen people who have no other home (like Hmong and Black folks) or the people who were here first (Native Americans)

[leonbloder]

The Golden Threads of God's Glory

Condemned as a traitor for his opposition to Hitler, Father Alfred Delp, a Jesuit priest, wrote an Advent sermon in a Nazi prison shortly before he was hanged in 1945. 

In this sermon, he addressed the need to faithfully bear witness to the transforming and radical power of the love of God, who became one of us in Jesus to show us for all time what God is really like. 

Delp was writing in perhaps the most miserable circumstances about the glory and hope found in Advent if we actively join God in God's restorative work in the world. 

Here is a line from his Advent sermon that absolutely lit me on fire: 

Delp had a front-row seat to the rise of the Nazis in Germany both before and during WW2.  He watched seemingly upright Christians, including scores of church leaders, not only stand idly by while the extremes of fascism ruled the day, but in most cases, they also supported it.  

His Advent sermon was a primer on being Christian when the world is turned upside down.  One of the passages of Scripture that he quoted is from Paul's letter to the Ephesians: 

“Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.”

Delp also acknowledged that when we wake up from the slumber of a lack of conscience and the blind infatuation of Christian nationalism, we can finally look around us to see the actual state of our world or our lives. 

We might wonder what we could do to improve any of it, which is why Delp's words are so poignant and pointed.  Like "golden threads," the glory of God makes its way to us when we need it most if only we have eyes to see.  

It's our task as Christians who live in the space of Advent to point out these threads, make them known, and help others see them, too.  

Christian nationalism and fascism seem to go hand in hand.  For those who want to see a "return" to Christian values mandated by law, fascism is often the most tempting vehicle for it.  

And so they turn a blind eye to all that comes with a fascist regime, just as countless Germans did during the Nazi era.  

Fascism finds a willing partner in Christians who fall for this temptation.  Fascism tends to flourish when there is some sort of partnership with Religion, and there are always willing leaders who will all too easily carry the banner. 

I find so much relevance in Delp's persuasive argument about the role of Christians during seasons of unrest.  He declares that our job as followers of Jesus is to point to him and to fearlessly demonstrate that love wins.  

Delp knew that he might die at any moment.  He had been imprisoned for years, and even the war's end would not save him.  In the 11th hour of the Nazi regime's ultimate demise, orders of execution were carried out against him and scores of other dissenters.  

It's inspiring to think that even as he neared the end of his journey, Delp clung to the hope of Advent---that the dawn of a new world would shine, and all would see the threads of God's glory.  

Let's each, in our way, strive to be the kind of followers of Jesus who spend the Advent season doing our best to point to light, hope, joy, and love.  

Even though it might mean we're in the minority at times, we also ought to be speaking up and out about the ways Jesus is often eclipsed when Christians don't practice their faith the way they preach about it. 

One of the main points of nearly every Epistle in the New Testament is to not let ourselves become assimilated by the Empire. There is always an Empire to resist, by the way.  

Trust me on this: the Empire never likes it when people begin examining their faith, following Jesus more closely, and publicly sharing what they're discovering. 

During this Advent season, let's raise our expectations about what God can do.  Let's dedicate ourselves to sharing our God-sightings in the world around us. 

Let's find the golden threads of God's glory here on earth and then tell the world about them.  The presence of Christ in the world is not a story that was. Rather, it is a story that is and will be.

May you find your way through Advent with these words of hope and encouragement. May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all, now and forever. Amen.  

[dashawfrostart]

This Week In "Time & Again" #5: Busy Busy! and How I Adhere To Content Guidelines Through Creating Extra Layers! 🤪

Hello there! Let's start off with an important announcement right away: your dedicated artist a.k.a. The Proud Mother of Jeanny and Lothar now has a day job! What?! You though the artists never have day jobs because most of them post 24/7?! Well YOU'RE WRONG! Artists need money for living, too, and since art pretty much never pays anyway 🤣... This is why I'm doing it! Aside from a certain personal challenge that I don't have any intention to disclose. So the things are gonna get pretty busy for me until the end of December! Which means it will most certainly slow down the work on "Time & Again" for me - plus the other little extra goals I've outlined earlier in the previous post. But I'm not in a hurry, so we'll see how it's gonna go for me 😁 Ta-daaaaaa! Moreover, my new job already gave me some extra inspiration for something that I most likely will utilize in promo materials, extra arts, and perhaps even in the pages of the chapters themselves. So it's all going quite well right now.

I know, I know, some of you might really NOT want to hear that yet again 🤣, but anyway! Christmas is on its way. While I was trying to figure out what yummy dishes to prepare for our snowy and magical holiday feast, I suddenly found myself musing about what Lothar really used to enjoy as a Christmas treat when he was little and cute (and not yet broken). The succulent German dishes I prepared last Christmas and New Year's, carefully following the recipes mainly taken from chefkoch.de only avoiding limited ingredients that we don't like, turned out simply delish! I'd like to do something equally spectacular this year as well. So, what would Lothar - as a child and as an adult - absolutely love to have for Christmas dinner in his homeland in Germany?.. Hmmm. Would he rather have Bratwürstchen mit Kartoffelsalat, or something along the lines of Entebraten/Gänsebraten, or even a baked festive fish?!.. Or maybe he'll just go casual and get himself a burger (with colourful sugary icing sprinkles, because well, you know, Xmas and all???)?! Oh maaan, so many things to consider! 🤣 I think this is a very difficult question for me to find the right answer to. That is perhaps because I've never even decided which town he's from. But I do certainly have a feeling he comes from Norddeutschland somewhere... He strikes me as a person who was born in a big and pretty town on the north of Germany. This is probably important to know in order to figure out the answer to my question outlined above. And it's also important to figure out what his favourite soccer team is. For, you know, it's important to German folks. I believe he still likes soccer - he probably simply doesn't have a lot of time to invest into watching it, for he has... much more important matters to attend to. Indubitably. However, strictly speaking, before trying to push my brain to do creative yoga and bending it in all of the imaginary - and non-imaginary - ways possible, the largest question is as follows: Ist das überhaupt wichtig?.. Because in art, certain things have significance only within specifically defined contexts. There's no need to work on something if it does not serve any purpose within the story whatsoever. I am a big fan of the idea that every little element in an art piece should bear significance within its concept. This is how it has always been for me, and this is definitely how I always work on my written and visual stories - and that's also how I will work on my videogame if I ever get a chance in the future - and I want to keep on going ahead with that idea.

But I digress again! Back to "Time & Again"!

(here's a cute little gif of a very bored Lothar... or is it what's REALLY going on on that particular frame?.. 😉)

As I've been dedicatedly and steadily going forward with the lineart for every each page of Chapter 5, I made an interesting discovery - or rather, I came to an interesting conclusion. Unlike the previous chapters, this one is going to be, well, let's say, more graphic. Don't get me wrong: going overboard with excessive violence and "shock content" that is incredibly popular nowadays (cynicism and sarcasm intended) is a total and strict no-no for me, because I really think the world could really go without it - or at least, as an artist, I would not like to contribute to this ridiculousness. So in my story, depictions of violence are going to be very limited and sparing for the reader.

However, in Chapter 5, certain so-called "graphic" parts are essential and irreplaceable. It's pretty clear that any endeavour to define terms such as "little violence" or "too much violence" is purely subjective, and everyone of us has absolutely different degree of tolerance towards this kind of stuff (which, by the way, is incredibly important to be mindful about, I think! and a lot of people, sadly, aren't like that), therefore every website that allows you to host and post such kind of content must have those guidelines outlined in the terms of use - and the tricky thing is, it's similar yet still varies from place to place. So I check on the content guidelines every time right away when I'm trying to decide if I want to share my works on particular platforms or not. In case with "Time & Again" that I PERSONALLY define as a strictly "18+" story (prove me wrong 🤪), you can easily understand how important it all is to make sure that Jeanny and Lothar - and anybody else they contact - don't get burnt on a stake. That would be very unfortunate for them... And for me, too. To avoid another one overwhelmingly giant post (or a series of such), I'm not gonna go into detail and start a whole new thread of discussion about ratings, content guidelines, and so on - although even up to this very day, as a content creator, I'm still not certain about some stuff and cannot fully agree with those concepts. But let's leave the theories out of this post for now (or completely out of my blog - because why should I even bother?..).

Anyway, finally wrapping up this giant prelude and avoiding digressions (which I do extremely badly on my part, but at least I honestly admit it 😁), my point is, I decided to make a few separate layers for "injury makeup" on my characters that can be easily turned off in case they're considered "too much". Thus, all the bruises, scabs (if any), cuts and scratches (if any), and, finally, streaks of blood are gonna be kept on a separate layer (or 2 separate layers - not sure, we'll see about that) to be easily removed for good prior to posting on certain platforms (if the content guidelines call for that). Here, an easy fix! Just like awesome patches for some very old games that don't work on modern PCs anymore (a very good comparison for me, actually). Later on, once The Colouring stage of my work is finally on, perhaps, I will show you what it's gonna look like - that is, only if there are not going to be any major spoilers, of course.

Since I'm trying to avoid spoilers, I don't think I can show you a lot of screenshots today 🤷‍♀️. Although the work on the lineart for the chapter is virtually half complete as of today, I think I'm gonna postpone showing off the progress and I'll just stick another one animated gif in here, again. Because everybody loves animated gifs, right?! Here goes! 😁 Demonstrates how simple it is to draw Lothar's hair.

Since my materials are growing, I'm planning to open a thread with all the WIP stuffs from Chapter 5 on Krita forum sometime soon. I've done something like that before, for Chapter 4, but already after the official release, if I remember correctly - you can view that thread here - don't forget to scroll down to see more. So stay tuned, for one of the next posts I'm gonna make will contain a link to the forum thread with all my Chapter 5 sketches/WIPs.

And for now... Tha-tha-that's all folks! See you very soon! And don't forget to sip on your lovely hot chocolate with cute lil' marshmallows casually floating on its surface - this is the season after all! 👋🤗

[mrfandomgage]

Goat stands looking on as Gage and Alex stand behind him. He looks over a vast light grey ground and white sky.

"So, how much walking is this?" Goat questions.

Gage answers, "a few miles".

Alex responds, "actually for me I walked til I was sleep deprived, I guess my universe was much further out".

"That's why you looked depressed?"

"No I was, just very tired too".

"Oh".

"Guys I'm still here", Goat says, waving his arm.

Gage and Alex look over at Goat. They shrug and walk over to Goat. They all start traveling the vast land. After walking over an hour, the group find scarred grounds, torn with deep gashes and cuts, a crater not to far with a sword still piercing the ground and one not too fair away from the crater. Gage and Alex sit on the edge, as Goat inspects the crater.

"Our first date", Alex sighs, "I wish we were more into each those old times".

Gage rests his head on her shoulder and speaks in a baby tone, "I was into you before the moment you severed my arm".

"You stupid goofy fucking-"

"You?"

"Later. I was talking about myself with that being into each other thing".

"I'm just kinda glad you also consider this our first date".

"Thinks we should stop Goat from tugging on my old sword?"

"I thought you stole mine and stabbed me with it".

"That's clearly a Japanese sword, you were using a European sword inspired by Germanic Crusaders".

"... hammar".

"When did you even make that thing?"

"... I was looking at King Dedede and started working on mine a few weeks after".

"That sexy bastard, I should've known!"

"You should teach me how to use a sword later".

"Sure, so long as you tell me how you lift that hammer so easily".

"HEY, DUMBASSES", Goat shouts up the crater, "Help me out!"

Alex shrugs and pushes Gage down, sending him rolling down the crater, "This should help!" Alex replies.

Gage slides at the very bottom to Goat. Gage pushes himself up and dusts himself off. Goat tugs on the sword. He pulls on the handle trying to unsheath the sword from the ground half heartedly, sitting next to the blade.

"Gage, how did you even get out from under this?" Goat questions, seeing that barely any of the blade is sticking out of the ground.

"Sitting up in the most painful way possible", Gage says, grabbing the hilt.

The blade ejects from the ground as Gage stands upright, spinning the sword with his wrist twisting unnaturally. He examines and cleans the sword from the guard to the point of the blade before handing it to Goat. Gage's hand spins back to normal.

"Say, once you're done checking out that old sword, I wanna use it", Gage says.

"Alright, what are ya gonna use it for?" Goat asks, handing it over.

"Don't worry about it", Gage chuckles.

Once the sword is in his hands he slides one hand across the edge. His hand bleeding as it gets sliced open. Goat turns away as he sees this holding a hand over his eyes. Gage apologizes, as his blood returns to his hand. Without a second passing, Alex is sent flying away from the edge, hidden from sight as the sword has vanished. Goat removes his hand from his eyes.

"Gage?" Goat asks.

"Yes" Gage responds.

"Where's the sword?"

"I gave it back".

"What do you mean 'gave if back'?"

"Don't worry about it", Gage chuckles.

He starts walking to the edge of the crater, walking up the bowl. Goat follows the best he can, gripping onto the bits of broken stone like ground. Gage gets up before Goat and helps pick him up. Goat sees Alex sitting cross legged holding her right hand over her mouth with her sword in her lap. Goat seeing this shrugs as he continues to move. Gage reaches out to Alex to pick her up.

"Gage, at least don't do that in front of Goat". Alex sighs, her face flushed red. She grabs his hand and stands up, sheathing her old blade.

"Oh, right, that is quite embarrassing", Gage says in a flat tone, himself blushing for what occurred.

"At least you just hit me with the handle, I would've lost my mind if you stabbed me".

"Neither of us like blood, sweetheart, I knew you could take the impact of the handle, at least".

"Maybe when Goat's gone we can have a bit of fun", Alex stretches her arms out, and hugs Gage, "but we're playing by my rules, alright?"

Gage returns the hug, "of course, I got to choose our last game".

"You guys are really easy to sneak up on", Goat whispers behind Gage.

"Oh hey!" Gage says, tightening his Gripe and turning his head, "when did you get there?"

"Just a few minutes ago. I gotta get home, I'm making dinner today, remember?"

"Oh right", Gage says, as Alex giggles. Gage lets go of Alex.

Alex smiles, "alright, let's get you home at least".