#so he could do the same for native american tribes?

[neechees]

Hi! You don't have to answer this if you don't want to, that's totally fine! But you talking about Orville Peck's appropriation of indigenous culture with his fashion choices made me realize that I had never considered that there might be some aspects of "cowboy clothes" that white ppl shouldn't wear and that was super wrong of me. Again, you totally don't have to answer this, but I was just wondering what ways a white person could wear "cowboy clothes" in a manner that wasn't disrespectful? Or perhaps, should we not wear them at all? I can't afford T yet, but when I can finally get it I was planning on getting a cowboy outfit to embrace my trans mascness, but if that would be wrong of me I can scrap that plan no problem!

Ehhh again this is actually SUPER HARD to answer because almost everything about cowboy fashion & the cowboy "aesthetics" are lifted directly from Native American fashion and culture, either because a lot of cowboys back in the day were Native American themselves (including Afro-Natives & Indigenous Mexican vaqueros) or they were White & just kinda. stole the look from the Native cowboys due to a number of factors.

If you google "cowboy jewelry" the first thing that comes up is silverwork & belts & turquoise jewelry, which is taken from Navajo metalwork. Fringed leather clothing? Again, many Native tribes did that (& in some tribes the fringes could mean something, its not just for looks), most popularily with vests, jackets, and pants. A lot if the leather jackets were a result of Native women just sewing their clothes the same but in a European styled cut. Compare this "cowboy" look below to a Lakota war shirt: both have hair embellishments dangling from the arms.

Studded belts? Inspired by Cheyenne mirror belts, which often also have metal studs in them & you'll still see Native pow wow dancers have this in their regalia. Floral vests? A lot of the inspiration comes from Plains floral beadwork. Geometric patterns and blankets? Came from Southwest or Mexican Native American blankets & designs, ask any Navajo weaver & they'll tell you the same. Feathers in cowboy hats? Who else is famous for wearing feathers on their heads--? Native Americans. The look is still popular with older Native men.

Hell, if you visit this site that sells Western/cowboy fashion, you'll see a SHITTON of appropriation going on, taking Native imagery & designs, including one taken from Native American ledger art, all on White models.

The appropriation of Native culture and fashion in the cowboy/western sphere is ongoing, and the influence that Native fashion & culture has in Western/cowboy fashion as it is is absolutely MASSIVE. I once said in another post that the cowboy/western aesthetic essentially belongs to Native Americans, Latines (especially Mexicans), and Black people. And the history of White cowboys has been one largely of colonialism, racism, and displacement of Indigenous peoples, and the masculinity associated with White cowboys especially is also steeped into racism & American patriotism (think John Wayne. There's a reason he's an American icon who played cowboys & killing Indians in films.). I think the only thing that isn't influenced from either appropriation or colonization is like, jeans. Even the style of cowboy boots themselves and potentially chaps were influenced from vaqueros.

So if you're White I'm not sure that'd exactly be a good route to take because trying to seperate Indigenous elements from this fashion/look (nevermind the problematic history of White cowboys) is almost impossible. Obviously I can't force you to do anything, but honestly if I were you, I'd try a different direction, because otherwise I think you'll find trying to do this will be very hard.

[gascansposts]

Howdy howdy hey! I’ve been thinking about thinking more about that cowboy au, and so I’m trying to make some satisfying human designs for it :D this is what I’ve got so far though:

Kremy Lecroux, african American! One of the more recently learned black men after the civil rights act of 1866 (with help of course from Remy Guru) Conman and cook extraordinaire! People only ‘trust‘ him because he’s a stupid black man (wrong) The stache is still penciled on of course.

Gideon Coal, Mexican. Forced to help his pop in the Coal Mines after his mother left the two on their own with little money. His father died in the mines and Gideon was exploited (even more) as easy labor by white men. Has a set of manacles and chains he used to kill his original employers during an uprising and uses them as a lassoooooo

Morning Frost, Chinese immigrant. He originally came to America with his parents during the California gold rush. Learned English from whatever posters and newspapers he could find along with listening to white people speak. He also learned his mind games by doing the same thing. His robes are a gift from his parents when he set off to do…. Something

Gricko, Native American. He’s a younger generation, and is trying to meld into society after hearing their musics. Was kicked out of his tribe and eventually found a carnival (witchlight). There he met a young hard of hearing girl nicknamed hootsie and adopted her and ran. The two are slowly making a sort of sign language that the rest of the party eventually also learns to speak with Hootsie. Gricko picked up whittling to make toys and such for Hootsie and makes carvings of interesting animals he sees or hears about.

That’s all I have for them rn… I will likely change or flesh out certain parts of backstory’s and character designs. If there‘s any suggestions I’d love to hear them! (Im worried this comes off as insensitive or racist, I’m trying my best but there’s only so much research I can do) I’m really having fun making this so far hehe >:3c

[pinkyjulien]

Just a heads up: you, a white creator, putting Native American/First Nations/indigenous inspired clothing on your white OC, and then calling it the "wilding" appearance, could be considered cultural appropriation and could also be considered offensive to people from those cultures.

And yeah, I am doing this from a throwaway account to protect myself because I know how Tumblr and the cyberpunk 2077 fandom works. Even if I do have a valid point or critique, I could still be attacked by "fans" on my main who refuse to use any critical thinking for themselves.

Safe travels 👋 I hold no animosity towards you personally.

(From a "cowardly" anon in an extremely hostile fandom which likely will pretend that this outfit and the name for it isn't tinged with implicit and internalized racism.)

(And, no, I'm not one of the so-called "housewives")

Hey Anon,

Not sure what to say, you claim to not hold any animosity towards me, yet this could've easily been a DM. I'm only assuming you're blocked and had to create a side blog to by-pass the said block.

If this was truly a well-spirited heads up, it would've been a DM.

But anyway, if you're here to accuse me in a sugarcoated way, I already know you're having the time of your life about it in some obscure discord server, so might as well.

The Aldecaldos (and Nomads in general of every clan and family) are multi cultured, there's people of every races, every ethnicities- we see it in game and it's mentioned time and time in the sourcebooks. They're communities, formed of many minorities; queers and pocs alike.

Valentin joins the Aldecaldos during the Star ending, just like the canon game event; he makes friends left and right, and friends makes gifts to one another. We also know that resources, clothes, cars, guns, are shared in nomad communities.

The name "wilding" is a direct reference to the Neo Tribe sourcebook, page 21. I used that same name for Mitch's appearance. They use those outfits to ride off near cities, just like the definition on the page below. They're both proudly showcasing their Aldecaldos colors in whichever place / cities they're visiting.

In my own canon, Dakota is kind of a mother figure for Valentin; she helped him after fleeing the Wraiths, she gave him his first gig with Jackie, she made sure the 'caldos ripper kept the bullet he revoved from Valentin's skull, etc etc

That Jacket could've well been a gift from her before leaving to Arizona, but I haven't decided yet. I was just happy to share my modding project of those past two days.

I've always liked Nomads and what they stand for, their diversity, their lives, their outfits and aesthetics too.

None of the above information is presented as an excuse, they shouldn't be seen as excuses either; I'm simply sharing what inspired me (actively or subconsciously) for this outfit.

If Valentin's appearance, both models and name, did actual upset anyone, I apologize, as this obviously WASN'T the intention. If it does bother you, I invite you to block me.

With all of the "explaination" out of the way; why are you really here?

Because we both know you already knew that about the Aldecaldos. You played the game, you know Panam is half native, you know there's a bunch of native characters in the Aldecaldos and in the game in general.

This ask isn't fueled by kindness or by an attempt at educating someone who could've made a simple mistake.

Nope, you're simply part of this "hostile fandom" problem. Everything you said in brackets reeks of past drama.

Again, you claim to not hold any animosity, but I believe otherwise; that's totally fine, but refrain from contacting me with this fake benevolence, everyone can see it's bullshit.

Repeating myself, this could've been a DM, yet you choose to assume I have some "internalized racism" that You Need to point out, doing so via a side-blog supposedly out of fear (since I don't know who you are, I'll choose to believe you simply by-passed a block) while also dragging in the "Housewives" for no reasons.

You're part of this fandom problem. You're part of the reason why nobody feels safe about sharing anything; you and your friends are out there spying, monitoring what everyone does, assuming the worst at any given occasions and ready to write callouts, to throw witch hunts.

Please, do some critical thinking yourself, remove all the bias and all the "Pinky Bad so this is obviously Racist" bullshit fogging your brain, and ask yourself why you really sent that ask.

[tired-reader-writer]

Aaaaand here it is, fellas! Finally! Gieve's character design sheet!

This took quite a while as I immediately tried to jump in after uploading Farangis' sheet— I was caught up in that high of creation that I forgot. I legit forgot. That I was a human being with a very limited amount of energy to spare.

So I crashed. For a long time. So long that I forgot some of the ideas I initially had for his designs, and my creative process working on this again could be summarized as Mayhem™.

For the first design, let's start with junipers, shall we?

Junipers can represent hope, faith, healing, regeneration, cleansing, and protection.

“Juniper berries are believed to be a staple during winters. This is especially true for birds and mammals that feed on juniper berries during tough winter months. This has led people to associate juniper berries with hope, comparable to someone clinging to hope during the darkest of winters.”

×

“Since junipers can easily grow in places where other plants can’t survive, it also symbolizes a sense of healing. It was also used to protect people from plagues and negative energies during ancient times, making it a perfect reflection of its healing qualities.”

×

“Junipers are also recognized as symbols of purification and protection. Juniper berries are used in cleansing rituals that are meant to protect people from evil forces. They have been traditionally used in ancient medicine to ward off infections and in ceremonies that involve putting someone under another’s protection.”

The way I interpret Gieve, and this is definitely canon to Wolfpack, is that for all his cynic exterior he does want to believe there's good in the world, something worth fighting for, something worth believing in. He's quite the secret romantic, if I say so myself, and I don't use the word romantic to refer to his flirtiness, lol. I think something that symbolizes hope would be quite fitting for that.

Also, do keep an eye on the “protecting from evil” aspect. It'll tie in with another plant I'm planning to include.

Aside from the symbolism above though:

“Junipers are tough yet flexible, making them a perfect material for bows and arrows. Native American tribes in the Great Basic region used their wood to create bows and arrows for hunting. In addition, they have been used in Gaelic Polytheist rites, where people blessed households and protected their people by burning juniper and using its smoke to perform customary rites.”

He's a very good archer, among the best in Pars, and isn't it just perfect for him to be associated with something that's used to make bows and arrows?

And what's that dangling from his ear? Oh, a squirrel tail! He doesn't have a squirrel familiar, no, but maybe his housecat brought a dead squirrel to him one day and he just went, “ah, might as well” 😂

It's a reference to how he wore some animal's paw as an earring? We literally don't know what animal it's from or anything, and at first I tried doing the same, only to find that... It just wasn't working in my eyes. So I replaced it with a fuzzy squirrel tail fur... thing.

Oh well.

But wait! I do actually have reasons for choosing squirrels in particular!

Squirrels can represent resourcefulness, adaptability, and playfulness. Gieve is very good at using what he has available to him, turning his environment to his advantage in sticky situations, is pretty casual and likes to fool around and live in the present. He's someone you can stick pretty much anywhere and he'd adapt pretty damn fast.

“In its joyful leaps and bounds, the squirrel becomes a symbol of embracing the present moment and finding delight in life's spontaneous expressions.”

That just sounds a lot like Gieve, doesn't it?

“One of their most notable traits is their agility and acrobatic skills, as they effortlessly leap from tree to tree and navigate through branches with precision.”

Gieve is one of the most acrobatic characters in this whole manga, lol. Along with Farangis and Jaswant (and kinda Alfarīd).

“Their keen sense of observation helps them detect potential dangers and quickly respond to any threats. Their playful nature and curious spirit make them endearing and captivating creatures, symbolizing adaptability, quick thinking, and an unwavering pursuit of survival and success.”

Living as a travelling musician must've honed his survival instincts quite a lot methinks.

“Within the realm of symbolism, squirrels are commonly associated with attributes such as joy, light-heartedness, and detachment.”

He's... he cares, he does, but even in canon he never had a sense of attachment or obligation to the ruling class and the royal line, he cares about who he cares about, social norms be damned. He's one of those people who wholeheartedly care about a very limited pool of people in my opinion, and his nomadic lifestyle in canon (and his disillusionment with the world) would've meant there's some measure of lackadaisical detachment from the rest of the world.

In Wolfpack as well, while his earnest side comes out a lot more, he still steers pretty clear from the rest of Parsian society outside of Gorgan's bounds— he doesn't care about the larger politics, he doesn't care about what the royal family or whatever is doing, he's just chilling in his own corner. So I think this is quite fitting!

The little charm on his bracelet is supposed to be, uh, a cat, but I don't know how visible it is anymore. I'm afraid I shrank it too small. I'll deal with what the cat represents once I get to his ceremonial attire (the third one). You'll see.

Looking at the way he wears his clothes, it's quite loose and casual and I think embodies air/wind quite well, which is something I associate with him for lightness, freedom, that sort of stuff. The little details on his shirt could be wind or water, because both of them are “shapeless” elements unlike say, rigid earth.

Moving on from that, here we arrive at the second outfit! It's warmer, a little more elaborate than the first, but nothing too crazy.

I gave him soft spring colours— spring just feels right for him— colours that perhaps bring out his softer core. Although there aren't many actual flowers I tried to invoke the feeling of a meadow full of blossoms with these colours.

The arrow-tail designs on his clothes are taken from his canonical crest, and they're the same ones on Areyan's second design!

The tiny little flowers in-between are plum blossoms (or what I hope come across as plum blossoms, Buddha knows I'm not very great with plants—) for a number of reasons:

“In Chinese philosophy, the Plum tree’s blossom is a symbol of winter ending and a herald of spring. The tree’s pale pink blossoms are cherished because they bloom vibrantly and so bravely amidst the winter chill. They symbolise perseverance and hope, as well as, beauty thriving in adverse circumstances.”

×

“Japanese tradition holds that the Plum (or ‘ume’) is celebrated as a protective charm against evil, so the ume is traditionally planted in the northeast of the garden, the direction from which evil is believed to come.”

×

“Plums grow in tough environments and that is why they can be viewed as a symbol of hope. Despite facing many hardships, the fruit still manages to survive.”

×

“You see plums growing in a range of environments. They are seen growing in city backyards as well as high, frosty mountains.”

The end of winter and the arrival of spring sounds quite hopeful, doesn't it? And beauty in adversity paints quite the romantic picture.

Recall the “protection against evil” thing juniper had going on, turns out plums also have that! It is fitting, in a way, since he (and his family) are opposed against Zahhak and his sorcerers, who are undoubtedly evil.

I do find it quite funny how it says “evil comes from northeast” considering Gorgan's location (northeastern corner of Pars) and how I placed the clan's old, old, old, mythical homeland in the faaaar northeast. Oops?

Perseverance in this instance, in my opinion, can also tie into adaptability!

This is also why, despite not having the actual flowers in the design, his first outfit is kinda meant to invoke the feeling of plums anyways through its color. There's a lot of purple-red going on, after all! And those are the colours I primarily associate him with.

I also, of course, gave him his signature arm-bandages in this one. How could I not?

Also, fun fact, I based his clothes slightly on the clothes of the Saka people, it's not an exact thing but:

You see it too, right? The bands on the upper arm portion of the sleeve, the cut of the garment...

I refrained from giving him a cap, though.

Why the Saka, though? Well, there's this theory/speculation we had about his origins since we know next to nothing about in canon, and I decided to take that and run with it.

And quite coincidentally, it kinda ended up resembling the Marda clan's attire anyways! Like Areyan's second design again, and also two of Kazai's.

And now we move onto his third and ceremonial garb, and I'm quite pleased with the outcome. To get right to it, his earring has an oleander flower and... a feline... thing.

Okay, hear me out.

The feline thing? Based off of this thing:

An actual archaeological find of the Saka people! They labeled it feline, so I thought, why the hell not? (Though in my opinion it looks like a weasel—)

What is that, though? Truth be told, I don't know, all I know for sure is that it wasn't an earring, lol 😂

Oh, and I did say I would get into the cat thing. Cats can represent grace, intelligence, cunning, and independence.

“The cat is a fascinating animal that cultures around the world have long revered. They are agile and nimble, able to move with silence and stealth. At the same time, they are also fiercely independent, choosing to live on their own terms.”

That's quite Gieve, isn't it? In the earlier versions of the AU when it was still in a cradle, I contemplated giving Gieve crow/raven familiars and Farangis a cat, but ended up reversing them in the end and let me tell ya, I'm really glad I made the switch.

As for the oleanders:

“Oleander symbolizes desire and destiny, but it can also mean caution. It is also associated with romance, charm and everlasting love.”

×

“A beautiful Greek maiden was wooed by Leander who swam the Hellespont every night to see his beloved. One night he was drowned in a Tempest. Wild waves dashed his body against sharp rocks and left him lifeless on the white sands. Here his lover found him as she walked the shores calling "Oh Leander, Oh Leander." The beautiful flower was clutched in his hand. She removed it and kept it has a symbol of their love. Magically it continued to grow and from this symbol of everlasting love came the beautiful and abundant oleander.”

The tale doesn't have much to do with Gieve, I'll admit, but the vibes of such a beautifully tragic tale may very well be something he sings about. He's a bard, after all, and quite the romantic one.

“Oleanders may symbolize caution, potential threat, or risk. They can also be used to symbolize attraction, passion, love, but may also signify death. They can also represent elegance, beauty, cleansing, and healing powers, as well as inner strength, bravery, and resilience support.”

Despite his casual and loose demeanor, Gieve is a cautious person in my opinion. He doesn't trust easily.

The colors on his necklace represent the aurora borealis that was said to have been visible from the clan's ancient mythical homeland, though of course they haven't been there in several millennia at this point. The necklace reflects Kazai's, signifying their close relationship as mentor-protege and even almost parental, despite there only being nine years between them. In any case, though, they share a deep familial bond as Kazai stepped up to care for him after Kashi and Ayunnen died.

The little plant in the pendant also mirrors the pine tree symbol in Areyan and Kazai's! It's not quite the same but it echoes it.

And now the tassels! Boy did I overthink the colours on that one. So each tassel represents someone he holds dear. From left to right it goes: Kazai, Farangis, Areyan, Isfan, and Shapur.

The way he wears his clothes in all three of these designs reflects his nature!

Oh, wait, we're not done yet.

It's time for the scarf!!

Would it be Gieve without his scarf? I omitted them in the main sheet because I'd spent a lot of time and effort on the embroidery details on the neckline area, and I really wanted to show them off. The embellishments on this scarf does not match his canon one, I'm aware, but I was too tired to hunt down a decent reference image from the manga and I thought this was a golden opportunity to cram in even more symbolism.

What? It's me you're dealing with. You'll always get more symbolism.

“A dragonfly is a symbol of change, transformation and self-realization. It teaches us to love life, to rejoice and have faith even amidst difficulties.”

×

“A dragonfly symbolizes love, growth, new development and adaptability. Though they are small, they emerge as messengers of rebirth and renewal—bridging the gap between earthly and spiritual realms.”

Not much but see my post about the magic system I made for Wolfpack— where music is thought to be the bridge between worlds, the language of all languages.

“Dragonflies have long been associated with new beginnings (rebirth and transformation). During their life span, dragonflies grow in the water before taking to air and flying. Dragonflies undergo a metamorphosis and transformation within themselves. From being unseen to spreading their wings above ground and showcasing their beauty, dragonflies symbolize new beginnings on the horizon.”

×

“Dragonflies only fly around in their crazy manner for a short period of their lives. But they certainly make their presence known with the way they joyfully dart and seemingly dance around. Dragonflies symbolize joy and happiness. They serve as a testament to the importance of living in the moment and enjoying each day as it comes.”

So that's pretty much it! Gieve's design sheet! Chaotic and hectic though it was, I immensely enjoyed making this one as well.

I'm not gonna start another one for a long time, though. I've learnt my lesson.

[badlysummedupmoviestournament]

If you recognize the movies hiding behind the decoy titles, please do not give identifying details about them in the notes.

Movie n°1: Giant Lizards but no car insurance

Afro-american artist goes into an area he shouldn't have to try and find his best friend who had run away from home, gets drugged, abducted and "sent back to his country" (despite not having any memories of his birthplace because he came to america at age like 2 or something) by a bunch of aggressive folks, which he only knows because he woke up for a second during their meeting before getting shot with new sedatives. He finds himself lost at sea when he falls from the boat (in which he didn't even WANT to be in the first place!) after it was hijacked by pirates, and his best friend (also drugged, abducted and sent) as well as two others find themselves on a desert island. Which isn't so desert after all, as they learn when they interrupt what looks like a religious ritual or a party, and a tribe of natives decides to adopt them because they look like they could protect them from the monsters that lurk in the shadows. (among other things, the smallest of the four is still like one head taller than the natives, if not more) However, living in the wilderness is slowly starting to transform one of the four main characters into one of these monsters, and bites one of the other three, so they cast him off. The pirates come back to the island, save the bit friend, help deescalate the situation, then give a cure to the fast-changing friend, who had overcome his change to try and save his friend from predators earlier. The fate of the other monsters is unknown but it's presumed they couldn't be helped because it was too late.

Movie n°2: Paella and french accents

Teenage girl wants to become an anthropologist, much to her father's dismay as he thinks she's just saying that to catch the attention of her crush. When he breaks all the artworks she collected on her free time from different civilizations, a neighbour encourages her to run away from home and burn all her bridges, and she does run away and ends up sleeping on the couch (well technically not a couch but that's the idea) of a guy from another country altogether. While her friends, who followed her so her father would know she was cared for and didn't make things worse by coming to pick her up himself and force her to go home, are trying to make the girl's crush realize she wants him to make the first move, the guy refuses to do anything because she's got nowhere else to go and he doesn't want to make her uncomfortable by making a move on her. But the same neighbour who encouraged her to run away from home comes around and manipulates the crush into thinking of getting with her instead, at which point the friends on both side decide to just act before anything unreparable is done or said. In the end, the girl and her crush kiss and she also speaks to her father again, who realizes he had been wrong all along about her.

[hero-israel]

I’m Afro-Indigenous as well as a mix of other things including NA Jewish and Palestinian. So I have a somewhat personal anecdote that could explain a little more into why Palestinian-Americans (imo MOST, not just some) are so unwilling to recognize indigenous American sovereignty and the (still ongoing) colonialism of our land.

The not-so-short answer is: they just don’t want to take accountability for their own actions and engagement in settler-colonialism, and they realize how hypocritical they sound when they screech at Jews being settled-colonizers while simultaneously doing the same thing. Sometimes they’ll try to defend this by saying they get a pass because the only reason they are on this land is because the evil Jews kicked them out. But that quickly falls apart when you remember that 1) majority of them are BORN Americans and not refugees (despite them claiming so), and 2) even if their parents or grandparents were actual refugees, being a refugee or fleeing persecution doesn’t stop you from being a settler-colonizer (this coming from their own logic that they use against Jews escaping persecution in Arab countries and after the Holocaust btw). So they are able to ignore their hypocrisy and cognitive dissonance by saying ‘we’ll colonization is done, so that means we aren’t hypocrites for willingly engaging in the same type of oppression we claim to be against!” and then they turn around a buy a house on indigenous native land while doing nothing to show solidarity to Native Americans other than to appropriate our Land Back movement while doing nothing to help us… get our land back. Im thanking I’ve met some Palestinians who are actually active in supporting Native sovereignty and have done tons of work to support Land Back, but the majority of Palestinians do not, whether they are leftist, liberals, islamists or communists.

And yes, many Jews are also not supporting Natives either. And that’s a problem. But Jews also don’t make a habit of saying people should be killed for being settler-colonists while simultaneously being one themselves. And their is much more similarities between Native American history, oppression and goals of sovereignty than Palestinian ones (despite what many claim). NTM the rhetoric Oalestinians use literally being the same rhetoric used to harm Natives. One off the top of my head is “the Jews / Natives were all died off/were expelled so long ago so it’s okay for us to keep their lands” which is super common and is literally the same rhetoric behind why the US considers multiple tribes extinct despite living people being apart of them, and why most Palestinians still refuse to even accept the fact that Jews still continued living in Israel and Judah even after they were expelled and colonized, just as a minority.

This is also where you get another one, the “they were colonized/expelled too long ago for it to matter today and others moved into the land so it’ll be unfair if we give it back to them (despite unjustly settling on and taking it in the first place)” which is one of the biggest reasonings anti-Indigenous people use to defend their opinion that Natives shouldn’t have sovereignty.

Anyway, the whole point is that they are essentially hypocrites and anti-Indigenous. They may use indigeneity politics to defend themselves, but that’s all they care about. I gave up trying to have any kind of support from the Palestinian movement here in the US when I went to a activist organization/meeting and had many of them say I was a zionist (before I even was one) for simply saying it’s not right of them to ignore Indigenous Americans while appropriating a movement (Land Back) created by us.

It actually hurts me a lot that they’re like this. I grew up closest to my moms side, which is the Afro-Indigenous and Palestinian side. It was even until last year when I began reconnecting to my Jewish family and ancestry (my dad was North African Jewish and Bengali-British) since it came from my dad and he died when I was young, so I had no one to teach me about it. So I grew up around Palestinians, so it’s really weird to be disconnected from that side and community now. But I can’t stand the anti-indigeneity and hypocrisy. I do the same with Jews and non-Natives and non-Blacks too, so I’m not a hypocrite, but thankfully it hasn’t happened that much in the Jewish community for me to fully disconnect myself. I literally went to a high school created by Jewish people (literally majority of the faculty were Jewish and the people behind the creation of it were all Jewish iirc) to teach social justice, and for the full four years they included Native American focused curriculum and took us to protests, powwows, indigenous activist groups and so on. So yea they’re much better at this whole solidarity thing 🤷🏾‍♀️

Thank you for that very detailed and personal insight. I am sorry that you saw firsthand what poor "allies" so many Palestiners tend to be, as they relentlessly redirect all attention from other causes (i.e. immigration, police brutality, climate change, Anne Frank...) to themselves.

[cat-downthestreet]

So I was watching this video, and I had a few thoughts.

Listen, I love the theory that it's a curse that's preventing the people of Natlan from leaving, but I'd like to raise a more detailed point.

For context, my dad plays Genshin- he's currently on his way to Liyue. I've been discussing minor bits of lore with him, in part because we both like a good story, but also because he's working towards a degree in history and he's an author. Because of his writing skills and his knowledge of history, he has a bit of insight into what could be happening with Natlan. Here's what we came up with:

1) It's possible that the people of Natlan find it too difficult to cross the region between it and the other nations. After all, it's quite possible that the Mare Jivari (or maybe a highly dangerous volcanic region) is in-between Natlan and Sumeru Desert, and we all know how dangerous and difficult to traverse that area is. It's like a desert on crack, and deserts like the Sahara have historically deterred people from interacting with nations beyond the sands. That doesn't mean no one ever tried- people did manage to cross the Sahara eventually, and the same goes for the Great Red Sands/Mare Jivari/whatever is in-between Natlan and the other nations because we know Vennessa's tribe made it through the region at some point. They must've had a pretty big reason to, like maybe dragons becoming more hostile towards their tribe specifically or the wars becoming too difficult for the Children of Murata to handle. They might've even been hunted due to their affiliation with the former Pyro Archon, which could be the result of a battle to earn that title taking place that might span back all the way to Vennessa's time. (Yes, this theory is inspired. I'll let you guess by who.) (Also this could be another nod to Natlan's inspiration. The ocean separated the Americas from the other continents for thousands of years before anyone decided to cross it.)

2) Natlan is extremely xenophobic, which would make sense due to its inspirations. Natives (both North and South American) have always been wary of outsiders due to some... certain people. My dad also brought up that some conquistadors in the Americas were known as "dragoons" due to their weapons, which you can look up on Wikipedia if you'd like to read more. Maybe Hoyoverse is going for a play on words with Latin American history and the dragons we hear about are/were invaders in Natlan, causing the nation to fear and hate outsiders. Maybe that is all in the past, but a Harbinger looking to win a tournament could use that history to cause some tension between the people of Natlan and the dragons they live with...

3) A combination of the previous two as well as war and/or a curse could be making it extremely difficult for the people of Natlan to exit their nation. This is the most likely option, historically speaking (minus the curse- consider that the thing that makes Genshin's version special). That is, if Hoyoverse plans to base Natlan on the Americas as much as they did with other nations and their inspirations.

What do you think?

[that-lazy-snail]

What is it about Avatar (the movie) that when people are trying to find ways to discuss the harm it does to indigenous they feel the need to make up things instead of using the arguments that are actually supported by the problems with the film? I'm specifically talking about when people are looking to criticize the film in regards to it (and James Cameron's) treatment of marginalized people.

I'm not going to argue whether or not the film does harm to indigenous people, there are enough people who claim it does for that to be true. Although I don't think it's as bad as people make it out to be, as most white people who watch the movie walk away rooting for the Na'vi, not the humans and that is the point of the film and the movie inspired positive views towards native people from my conservative relatives who are in all honesty racist af normally. So the movie does have the potential to further people's desire to engage with actual native voices if nothing else. However that doesn't mean the depictions aren't harmful. Intent vs impact and all that. There's some really great short video essays on tiktok by @/connorbeardox that I think really nicely describe in accurate ways how elements of Avatar can be harmful, and while I don't agree with him on all of them, I value his perspective and criticism as it is well thought out and clear and he makes his argument using facts and evidence.

That's not the case for what I've seen everywhere else, particularly the viral boycott post that's been going around. I honestly can't and don't want to defend what Cameron said in that quote and I won't. Although I think the guardian article it's pulled from works against the argument that he's anti-indigenous (you can read it here) but what he said is genuinely awful and I'm not going to argue that. And by all means if you want to call people to boycott the film because you think it has a harmful depiction of Native Americans please do, but don't use the argument that the indigenous characters are played by white people, because they aren't. One of the things I personally love about Avatar is that all the Na'vi are played by bipoc, and usually indigenous bipoc. The only real exception to this is Kate Winslet in the new movie, whose casting is one of my least favorite parts of the film. If you took enough time to actually look at the cast list you would see that. The Avatar drivers are white because they're meant to be the invadors, the wolfs in sheep's clothing, and the reality of the avatars is that regardless of the fact that they look like the Na'vi, they're clearly not and the Na'vi recognize them as not indigenous, so the argument that they get to "dress up as the indigenous" I find to be pretty weak although it can be made. Jake only starts to "look" like them after he is accepted into the clan and allowed to learn. The Avatars don't really look like the Na'vi, that's kind of the point. But that aside, all true indigenous characters, are played by bipoc (excluding Kate Winslet).

Cliff Curtis who plays Tonowari in the new movie is Maori, which is the tribe the Metkayina are inspired/based on, and he was consulted in their movements, the use of things like Haka and their tattoos as well as other cultural advisors which you can actually see in the credits. The two Metkayina boys are played by a Philipino and another Maori actor. Tsireya, the Metkayina girl, is playing by Bailey Bass who is black. This same logic follows for the first movie as well, the lovely Zoe Saldana who's Dominican and Puerto Rican. The actor who plays Eytukan (the clan leader) is Cherokee native, tribal member. The woman who plays Mo'at (the Shaman) is a native woman from Africa. The actor who plays Tsu'tey is black. The argument that they cast white people in Native roles is simply factually incorrect.

I guess you could argue that Jake's son's aren't played by bipoc, however I don't find this to be as big of an issue as Jake is white, though they could have gotten mixed kids, or indigenous child actors. Trinity Jo-Li Bliss however, who plays his daughter Tuktirey, is a person of color.

Recently I was also told by someone that they didn't credit the person who invented the Na'vi sign language, which is so blatantly untrue that I was baffled. He's directly credited under Paul Frommer (who created the Na'vi language) in the credits, I saw it, I watched them. He's also all over the Avatar YouTube channel and Instagram. They introduced him and have him doing promotion for the movie. He's also a deaf individual. They hired a deaf black actor to write and design the Na'vi sign language, I'm not sure if you can get more inclusive than that. His name is CJ Jones, and he's 100% credited.

Basically, I'm really tired of people using false arguments or even outright lies to argue for why the film is bad. Look there are plenty of things you could actually use to argue for why the film is harmful to natives, as connorbeardox does, but please do your research before you open your mouth and say something untrue.

Misinformation is a plague, don't be a carrier.

[ziptie-bouquet]

Alright. So. The Bioshock Infinite issue.

I haven't completed the game but I doubt it'll do a 180 to completely change its politics at this point. (Long post so I added a cut!)

I went into the game and immediately recognized the "Bioshock tm" lack of subtlety and depth when dealing with serious political issues. It has been plaguing all the games in the series. But still, I had an optimistic mindset. I told myself that even if it lacked nuance, racism is a very important issue to bring awareness to.

Something that bothered me with the shallow takes on chauvinism and racism in this game is that it portrays them as things of the past. It doesn't help that they're so exaggerated. It doesn't have the bite of things you can actually still see today. It's not pervasive, it takes the idea that bigotry is only ever bigotry if it's blatant hatred to the extreme.

I think that, like the two other games, it has a very rich environment and potential. DeWitt's involvement with the Native Americans genocide could have genuinely been an extremely compelling plot point had it not be relegated to some sort of INDIVIDUAL guilt. His native american heritage is just a small detail within the tapes. The pride his old sergent has about killing tribes that he could be a descent of is never fully confronted, and you even get encouraged to treat him with kindness and mercy.

I'm honestly waiting for this to get expanded on, but it's the reason why I was in denial for so long about what had happened with the revolutionaries later in game. He's still a guy who was part of a genocide and has not fully confronted it out loud. He's unreliable and I would not trust his takes on racism.

With that in mind, I make my way to Finkton. As soon as I get there, I start killing every cop I see without even getting told to do so by the game. I think I might have missed a fuck ton of scripted animations and dialogues by doing this. The game very strongly established the people there are slaves, and are constantly under the surveillance of the cops I just killed.

I am hyped as shit as soon as the revolution rolls out, but DeWitt's first comment about how "Fitzroy and Comstock are the same besides the names" worried me at first. No worries, I tell myself, surely the game will be smart about it! Surely it will be about how DeWitt is wrong and Elizabeth is gonna teach him he has internalized racism from genociding indigenous people.

Then both him and Elizabeth make this comment again. The game HAS to give Daisy a completely out of character moment to even make killing the black female revolution leader seem like a sensible thing to do. It HAS to make the revolutionaries you kill almost all white after this to prevent you from seeing the obvious racism of what you're doing (alongside resource minmaxing I imagine). I went from being hopeful this will be a just and nuanced tale about confronting your own biases to seeing the game is going to be the weakest lib shit ever. Genuinely going down the route of "all violence is bad :(". They have the absolute gall to do this after literally breaking time and space to bring a revolutionary back to life because he was a POLITICAL PRISONER and got brutally murdered by white supremacists. (Also its fucking hilarious I can kill cops in the hundreds but when the oppressed minority wants to then its some horrible terrible thing)

I don't know, this was a lot of words to not say a lot but it's 7 am and I'm still in shambles I cannot believe they did this. Did nobody proofread the script?? How did this even get published?? Why is it so critically acclaimed??

I am really hoping it'll do a 180 but god am I doubtful.

( @solsono Je te réponds avec un poste à cause de la limite de caractères + en anglais pour les gens qui passent devant mais merci!)

[spiderfreedom]

I've now twice run into the situation where a relatively famous feminist-minded scholar was basically smeared after her death by a single man who was so angry at her research, that he launched a campaign to "reassess" her work and call her either a crackpot or naive. it took decades for the field to change and people to realize either that the attacks were lies or that her theory was right

I'll post in more detail later but I really do think that it takes a relatively small amount of very angry men who take feminist women personally to launch full on attacks on them. and since in both cases this happened after the female scholar was dead, they weren't even able to respond

when I was a kid I had this idea that feminist science was an oxymoron, that you cannot be a feminist and be a researcher at the same time because your objectivity would be compromised. I fully believed that feminist researchers were crackpots, and only "good non-partisan women" could be researchers

turns out none of that was right. firstly, science absolutely requires subjectivity and people who are willing to fight for an issue to the death. pitting totally different viewpoints against each other and analyzing the evidence is how the field moves forward. anti-women researchers have never excused themselves from research on account of their anti-woman bias, so why should feminist researchers?

secondly, i'm just going to be much more sceptical when anyone calls a previously admired woman researcher a crackpot. especially if she's dead. it's not that there aren't women researchers who do bad science or unethical science (ask me about the lady who tested the genes of a native american tribe for incest without their consent 😬). but when one guy is leading a crusade and spends decades angry about a feminist line of inquiry? yeah i'm going in with extra caution

i'd like to write more about how feminism and the philosophy of science can actually work together, but it's a very new idea i have, it will take a while to develop. but i was just reading a book on philosophy of science that argued that subjectivity was actually quite important for debates in the natural sciences because it meant there was a diversity of opinions where people had the motivation to do the grueling tedious work of science in the hopes of finding evidence. and over time the field will agree or disagree on that evidence, but we need passionate motivated people doing that work in the first place... and I don't see why feminism can't be a motivator

[publius-library]

What was Hamilton's opinion on people of color? (Outside of slavery, like just them in general)

Well, firstly I'd like to narrow down which people of color we're discussing. Hamilton's opinion of Indigenous people is pretty much the same as his opinion of black people, which generally boils down to being that they are people and not property. However, he was very suspicious of the natives and their loyalty. Federalists did not support westward expansion, so there's that. Hamilton, as someone highly invested in finance and economy, believed that the country's best bet was to maintain amiable relations with Indigenous tribes.

As for people of color outside of Indigenous and black people, I do not know anything of his opinion.

Now, to the elephant in the room. Hamilton explicitly discusses his views on slavery and African Americans in a letter to John Jay on March 14, 1779. I just had to analyze this letter not too long ago, so it's fresh on my mind.

In this letter, he defends John Laurens' plan to raise black battalions to fill the extreme need for more men in the war. Hamilton endorses this plan to Jay, who was serving as the president of the Continental Congress, where Laurens would be presenting his plan. In this letter, he states,

"The contempt we have been taught to entertain for the blacks, makes us fancy many things that are founded neither in reason nor experience; and an unwillingness to part with property of so valuable a kind will furnish a thousand arguments to show the impracticability or pernicious tendency of a scheme which requires such a sacrifice."

What I find interesting here is his acknowledgment of the fact that racism is learned, not inherited. I haven't seen anyone else make this specification from this time period, so that is very interesting to me. The next sentence seems contradictory from a modern perspective, since if the previous clause hadn't been there, it could seem as if it came from someone who was more moderate or centrist. Knowing that, during this period, Hamilton was the most opposed to slavery that he would be, I see this as almost foreshadowing his near apathy towards slavery later in life. We're not talking about slavery specifically here, but that is noteworthy.

Hamilton also comments on his opinion of what kind of soldiers black people will be:

I have not the least doubt, that the negroes will make, very excellent soldiers, with proper management... It is a maxim with some great military judges, that the sensible officers can hardly be too stupid; and on this principle it is thought that the Russians would make the best troops in the world, if they were under other officers than their own... I mention this, because I frequently hear it object to the scheme of embodying negroes that they are too stupid to make soldiers. This is so far from appearing to me a valid objection that I think their want of cultivation (for their natural faculties are probably as good as ours) joined to that habit of subordination which they acquire from a life of servitude will make them sooner became soldiers than our White inhabitants. Let officers be men of sense and sentiment, and nearer the soldiers approach to machines perhaps the better.

That's a long quote, but trust me, the actual paragraph is far longer.

So, Hamilton's overall point here is that good officers make good soldiers, but in that he gives a very good picture of how he views black soldiers. He says that their natural faculties are probably as good as that of white soldiers (whether you think this is him not fully believing it, or attempting to avoid offending Jay, that's up to you). He also mentions that he believes their "habit of subordination" results from being enslaved, which is something his contemporaries, such as Jefferson, have only stated as being a possibility. He, unlike Jefferson, believed that it is the factual origin of this stereotype.

His final comment may draw some attention, since the use of the word "machine" can appear quite dehumanizing. In this instance, he is referring to the behaviors of soldiers as being machinelike. Where I believe the dehumanization aspect comes in is where he believes it is easier for black people to fit this characteristic than white people. Though, taking into consideration his previous statement, it makes sense. Hamilton was very careful with his words, and this choice seems a bit harsh to me, so that's why I think its noteworthy.

Overall, the impression that we get from this letter is that Hamilton believes those enslaved people of African consent are inherently equal to the white population, however the centuries of enslavement have greatly limited their opportunities that would typically be awarded to white people, such as basic education, and, you know, freedom.

After Laurens' death, Hamilton's anti-slavery passion highly fades. He does become a part of the New York Manumission Society, and he never says anything that contradicts the ideas stated in the above letter, he doesn't say much else to add to this. Hamilton knew, even back in 1779, that abolition was unattainable at the time, but I also believe that it wasn't as much of a priority to him. Unlike Laurens, it wasn't a core value of his.

I hope this helps. It's pretty hard to discuss race outside of the context of slavery in this time period, but I work with what I've got. Thanks for the ask!!

[cryptid-killjoy]

The Rez / ((Back Dated - also please note as Brother Bear uses a fictious and cumulous variety of native American cultures to create the indigenous lore even though they've stepped out of Feral I'm taking them to a ficticious rez and tribe and those will be cumulous too even if anything sounds realistic or has the same names))

Their road trip finally made it to the grounds his father was raised on.

"This is it. This dusty road. We're almost there."

Koda was smiling.

"Home."

Not his home away from, or vacation home, second home, like home, but just simple home. Koda had family. He had places he could go unlike so many others in the circle. He wasn't alone. It made stepping into Feral that much harder. Delta always felt he was a wild card, but he's proven loyal thus far.

When they finally hit civilization the area was run down and there was an old man with nothing on just sitting on a ledge talking to himself.

Koda smirked and waved. The guy waved back. "Nothing's changed." He chuckled to himself and said, "Moose is on the drunk again. Don't worry about him. He just doesn't like tan lines. He's harmless. He always finds his way back home."

And that was her first image of his town, but boy did it have Koda smiling. They'd pass other people, all native, different ages, all moderately dressed, middle to lower class neighborhood style homes, trailors.

"Here we go. This is it." He'd say again as they'd pull up to a little place. What could be noticed quickly was the place was plain, not a lot of personal touches to the outside. There wasn't even grass. If one checked out the windows close enough they'd notice even that was faux. They were for show to look like a normal home on the outside but the real windows were boarded up so no light could get in during the day. This was his uncle's place. There was nothing fancy around because as a vampire he wasn't much into decorating at night when he couldn't admire it during the day. It served no purpose to him.

"Come on. We can finally stretch our legs." He got out of the truck and took a look at the back where his mothers were stored and still frozen ready for ceremony soon. That's what they were here for. It was time. It was long overdue.

He opened the truck door yanking on it hard because it stuck sometimes and then slammed it shut. Then he shook his own legs out as he walked up the steps. He got out his keys. He wasn't even going to knock. That's how home he was. He had his own keys to this place.

"Denahi! Denahi? I'm home. We're here." He called as he pushed the door open.

Of course there was a vampire trap foyer to make sure the light didn't hit. It was a small room to go through with a second door for safety. The rule was always shut the door before opening the next and then everything would be alright even in the day.

"He might be asleep. You know how they are."

He meant vampires of course, but right as he said it an older gentleman came out of the back room.

"No chance. Not with you hollering through the house like that."

He grinned at the boy.

"It's been way too long." There was emotion in both their faces for all to many reasons.

"Besides, you haven't introduced to his purdy lady yet. Bring 'er in Care Bear."

Koda rolled his eyes. "Don't call me that."

"Oh, it's happening. It's never not happening, Care Bear." Then he puled Koda into a big ol' bear hug, pardon the pun.

Then since Koda hadn't quite managed to intro Elsa yet the vampire made his way in front of that blonde lady and gave her a smile too. "Well hello there. I don't know what a fine woman like you is doing with a boy like this, but I sure am glad to meetcha. I'm his uncle. Denahi Skies. I'm the wolf totem of this here Crow Clan."

"Alright, alright, wise one. You sure you didn't get the peacock?"

"Funny, funny. Now who do we have here?" If she would take his hand to shake it she'd notice that same ice cold of the dead as she had before with the last vampire she'd known. This was an aged vampire and blinking rather well, learned to fake the human condition rather well like pretending to breathe even though he did not need to. But, he couldn't hide the paleness of his skin no matter the tone of his heritage. Dead still looked dead. There was strange sheen to vampire's skin that could not be mistaken as normal. The only reason half of them got away with walking around like normal people was because they were out in the darkness sheilding them from full view.

[camping-with-monsters]

Considering what I’ve just posted is pretty vague, I wanna talk a little more about their deal. So here’s the basic gist and the beginning:

A lot of Tags of Whistlegrimm’s cast have always been mishmashes of different fairy tales. In Duck Duck Goose, I mostly stuck with one’s most are familiar with. But in Blind Man’s Bluff, my plan is to branch out a little more and include some universal representation.

Case in point, Robin, Nightingale, and Snow’s first idea came from a Native American folktale called “The Robin and The Bear”, which tells the story of a persistent robin trying to ignite a fire for a freezing tribe against a bear who keeps blowing the fire out at each turn until the Robin’s fire overpower’s the bears ability to blow out— in turn, this is how the robin got it’s red chest. The choices of how I could apply this to already existent fairy tale characters were not hard picks. The robin as Robin Hood, of course, and the bear being represented as Snow White, considering the cold winter the story took place during. Nightingale is the fire the robin continued to ignite.

Considering this disdain the robin and the bear kept against each other, Robin and Snowie were depicted as strong enemies who wanted nothing more than the other dead for reasons we may never get the full picture of. But what starts their story? How do they get forced upon each other to create the rest of the plot?

These two are ruthless, and despite what anyone may assume, are both generally unlikable people. Not the ripest of the bunch for sure, and it’s almost like these two are trying to eliminate the other to be the least likable person in Whistlegrimm! Which is… props to them? But is trying to kill the other over their differences really optimal?

The plot will be sure to say otherwise.

Against their hatred for one another and how often they find themselves going at each other’s throats, their wandering battles enter some pretty risky territory… that of royal territory, of course. You know, where you’d typically see the king. Well, they make an awful mistake that day. One of the tenders of the garden catches wind of the scene and runs in to attempt to disperse the two or otherwise figure out what the issue is and why bring it here at the kingdom. But in the process, the two are so focused on getting the upper hand that neither suspect the oncoming patron, and when they do catch up, it’s already too late to react when both attack so mercilessly and the unsuspected incomer gets mutilated in the crossfire, and dies on the scene.

Now in shock, the two realize what’s happened, and there’s no time to react before they are immediately pinned by the guards and presented to the king for their tyranny.

Lord Whimsical Whistlegrimm (yes, that is indeed his name) is skeptical of why this would be necessary. Upon allowing the two to argue, he’s quick to decipher that the death was not warranted by either, and was completely by mistake, actually aiming for the other. Lord takes some interest in this strange set of circumstances, and orders the two be locked away until he knows what his next course of action is. When presented to the warden, he makes a special request that they be in the same cellar.

Robin, Nightingale, and Snow are all pretty helpless. Their desires to kill the other seem futile as they’ll likely be beheaded for their crime anyway. They can’t bring each other to fight the other at this moment, and when Lord returns, he has… a proposition. These two are curious and he wants to see if they really value their own lives as much as they hate the other’s. Lord informs them of a concoction they can create— one they need a plethora of ingredients for that are scattered around Whistlegrimm’s Wonderlands, that is spoken to raise the dead— to revive the innocent gardener they mistakenly slayed. And if they can create the tincture, their punishments will be severely lowered if not retconned.

But considering in Whistlegrimm that actual magic is rare and a risky practice, the two are skeptical of the authenticity. But who are they to question the king? If it means living a little longer— maybe so they can actually succeed in outliving the other— who are they to refuse? They take the offering that’s given, but not without a special catch. The king provides a little bit of magic for each— magic in the form of a durable red string that wrings around the necks of the trio. If they want to be at each other’s throats so bad, than so be it. The string will only remove when their end of the deal is confirmed— and they have to be together to do it. If they get careless and one of them perishes during the journey… they’ll have to carry the weight for the rest of their lives, figuratively and literally.

Lord is asked about what his prediction will be about this. Can he be so sure they won’t come back empty handed or come back at all? Ah, Lord cannot confirm either… he almost feels bad.

So off these two go to erase their debt. But it’s not going to be simple considering the predisposed hatred they have. Protecting each other is not going to be fun when all this time they’ve known each other they’ve been actively trying to end each other. But… if this means fixing their mistakes to the kingdom, they only have one way to go— onward!

[evermore-quoththefangirl]

Random Redacted Headcannons from my AU and Listener OC's

Angel and Starlight are siblings, Angel is the older one

Also, Angel is older than David by like, 2 years, and loves it.

Sweetheart is actually from Georgia but lost their accent after moving away for college. It rarely ever comes out. The first time it does it when they get possed off at Christian at a solstice party for making fun of Milo's height and the most vicious 'bless your heart' falls from their lips. Everyone's in shock.

Sidenote, Sam was there and was smirking because just from those three words in a thick ass accent, he could pinpoint where Sweetheart grew up almost down to the city.

Darlin first shifted during a really bad bout of the flu and didn't even know it. But they'd been next door neighbors with Angel and they made sure their pregnant mom didn't see their friend going back and forth between human and a very small wolf.

Angel is hard of hearing and wears hearing aids, they taught the selectively mute darlin ASL.

(Angel is also a navy brat and retired marine, an accident meant they couldn't continue to serve, its why they have a hard time sleeping during storms.)

Damian also lives across the street from them, his single mom and him lived with his aunt and uncle (navy) until he was in highschool.

Freelancer's best friend outside of the gang from DAMN graduated their first semester but they still talk. It's Cutie.

Freelancer is a very proud genderfluid person and has short little sibling energy, they only chill out in certain situations or in the presence of Angel. (No one really knows why, but that's their big sister now)

Baabe, never to be forgotten, is black. No I don't take criticism. But whenever they redo their hairstyle, Asher helps. (They sort of showed him but he also secretly went to a hair parlor to learn how to do it too.)

Baabe is also a business owner. They're an enigneer/mechanic and do large scale cosplay commissions for the most part. LIke moving things like wings and tails and even tails that are connected to a heart moniter to react to emotions and ears that react to sound and move accordingly.

They went to college with a dude named Marcus, who they haven't heard from since turning down an offer he also got for some secret project.

Angel has the uncanny ability to mimic people's accents

Freelancer is an amazing dancer, loved it to death, and knows all kinds of types from different neighbors they had growing up. This including Classic Indian Bellydancing from a gypsy, bollywood style dancing from the same person, West Coast Swing, Lindy, Ballroom Dancing, both Two Step and Square Dancing, Hula, and Raqs Sharqi from an old middle eastern woman and her daughter. The only she knows of and about but hasn't learned is a Native American dance from a family who'd introduced her to their Tribe when she got lost hiking once and didn't actually learn it out of respect for them after seeing it that night before they took her home the next day.

Cutie is an interior designer and uses their powers to make sure they get what looks good but what the client wants. They've been known to take odd jobs on the side though for empowered people and worked with Shaw Pack Security a few times with high risk jobs that they didn't have much info on.

Starlight and Angel are mixed, their mom is half Brazilian (she was a baby of convince and never learned about her other culture), and while Angel looks pretty mixed, Starlight look just like their mom and studied in Brazil for a while, having the urge to learn about their heritage that Angel never really had.

Starlight is humanborn and has no idea their older sibling knew about empowered people, so despite being super close as kids, they drifted apart when their powers manifested since it was a secret thing. They got pulled in with Avior while going to visit Angel, wanting to rekindle their relationship.

Avior started calling them Starlight because they love mythology, but astronomy (the myths behind them speciffically) is a huge love of theirs.

There will be a aprt two with the boys btw, for now enjoy my offical return to tumvlr after some shit happened and I love my old account. In case you want to know btw, I was Forevermore_Quoth_the_Kitten.

[synergysilhouette]

Trying to Fix the Ilvermorny Controversy

Okay, so I don't remember it clearly, but I recall there being controversy about the NA representation in the creation of Ilvermorny and how it continues the cycle of colonialism. Please (politely) correct me if I'm missing or misunderstanding any information about it!

Do you think the controversy would've been alleviated if:

James, Webster, and Chadwick were Native American. James being an NA No-Maj would be beneficial, not just because he makes an interracial, intermagic couple with Isolt, but also because his influence would help Ilvermorny have more of a Native American flair in terms of styles of teaching and architecture. The couple adopting Chadwick and Webster (who in this perspective are NA orphans) only further cements this relationship, as does the birth of Martha and Rionach.

Sticking to specific cultures and maybe having more than one school. Conflating a bunch of different NA tribes with magical creatures and houses could seem insensitive. Since Ilvermorny is located in Massachusetts, perhaps focus on tribes from the Northeastern Woodlands--granted, that's still A LOT of tribes, but perhaps take the Wampanoag tribe and Iroquois Confederacy as starting points of inspiration. As such, the thunderbird (which is found in the Pacific Northwestern US) probably wouldn't be one of the houses. The Wampus cat is found in Cherokee belief systems (in the Southeast US), so it probably wouldn't be included either--of course, this is in no regards to migration patterns. You could just go with normal animals like Hogwarts' Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Hufflepuff (maybe using an eagle instead of a Thunderbird and a lynx or cougar instead of the Wampus), or use creatures from Northeast NA cultures (such as replacing the and Wampus and Thunderbird with the Djieien and the Badogiak). An alternate take, if you're intent on doing one school, is explaining how the magical Native American communities interacted with each other for many centuries, resulting in them having a unified culture/tribe outside of the various No-Maj Native American tribes.

Ilvermorny isn't the only school, or it's a MASSIVE school. Texas alone is three times the size of the UK, but Ilvermorny covers ALL of North America? No way on EARTH. The North American population is over 604 million people, according to "world population review" (in contrast to the Uk's 68 million according to "worldometer"), and even if only 10% of them were wizards/witches and 1/5 of them were 11-17, you'd probably need several schools; JK said Hogwarts only has 1,000 students, so each school would have to be HUGE. The only alternative is it being a huge school as big as (or bigger than) Indira Gandhi National Open University, which is the largest university in the world in terms of enrollment, with over 7 million students. Or we could do this the super easy way: NA's current population is over 8.77 times the current population of the UK, so perhaps multiply that by the 1,000 students that attend Hogwarts to get the number of Ilvermorny students: over 8,700 students (as of the time I'm writing this, it's 8,772 students). But that makes the magic population ages 11-17 seem SUPER small; suddenly a school with students in the tens of thousands doesn't sound too small. If you divide Hogwarts' population by the UK population and then use that equation to find the number of wizards/witches attending Ilvermorny, it'd be under 7,400 students. That could also work.

Just have Ilvermorny take students from the United States (and related territories) or the American Anglosphere as a whole--which is basically the same thing, but also includes Canada.

Please let me know if any of this makes sense, if I missed anything, or if I got information wrong about Ilvermorny and/or NA cultures.

[giveamadeuschohisownmovie]

Pitch for a Dark Pictures Anthology game:

1) The title:

ISLAND OF BRASIL (based on the urban legend)

2) The plot:

(Prologue) In the year 1010, Viking warriors Ulric and Magnus, along with their crew, come across a mysterious island shrouded in fog while sailing past Ireland. The Vikings make camp on the island before being slaughtered by a mysterious force hidden in the shadows.

(Main story) In the present day, world-famous British photographer Colin Brenner has lost his creative spark. He feels that he has done photoshoots in every possible exotic location he could think of. One day, he learns about the island of Brasil, a mythical island that lies west of Ireland that appears once every seven years. Despite the ludicrousness of the story, he decides to find Brasil in the hopes of doing a photoshoot on the island. One last, epic photoshoot before retirement.

Along with four famous supermodels (names will be listed below) and his crew, Colin sets sail for Brasil. Miraculously, the group finds Brasil and lands on the island. But what should’ve been the vacation trip of a lifetime quickly becomes a disaster when the group realizes the same thing the Vikings did centuries ago; there’s something on the island. Something…evil.

3) Details of the game

* Based on the Irish mythical island of Brasil (also known as Hy-Brasil)

* In terms of horror movie inspirations, I pictured this game as a modern take on the cannibal horror movie. For those who don’t know, there’s an entire sub genre dedicated to primitive cannibalistic tribes that terrorize “civilized” people. Movies in this genre include The Green Inferno, Bone Tomahawk, and Cannibal Holocaust.

What I wanted to do was change the setting since most cannibal horror movies feature tribes of Asian, South American, or Native American descent. I wanted to do one where the cannibal tribe, for once, is of European descent.

So, yeah, the game’s main villains are the cannibal tribes of Brasil and it’s up to the players to get our main characters (Colin and the four supermodels) off the island.

4) The main characters

* Colin Brenner (AMBITIOUS, OVERBEARING, ABRASIVE): World-famous British photographer who led the expedition to Brasil in hopes of one last photoshoot to cement his legacy. He is voiced and motion-capped by Idris Elba, the game’s starring actor.

* Amy Simpson (CONFIDENT, ADVENTUROUS, STUBBORN): Supermodel from the United States. Amy uses the same face model as Julia from Man of Medan.

* Claire O’Reilly (FOOLHARDY, PASSIONATE, CHARMING) : Supermodel from Ireland. Claire uses the same face model as Clarice Stokes from House of Ashes. Also, Taylor/Tanya from Little Hope.

* Karin Yoshimitsu (SUPERSTITIOUS, INSECURE, EMPATHETIC): Supermodel from Japan. Karin uses the same face model as Felicity Graves from Hidden Agenda.

* Aminder Chopra (RATIONAL, CURIOUS, WITTY): Supermodel from India. Aminder uses the same face model as Erin Keenan from The Devil in Me.

5) The prologue protagonists

Ulric and Magnus: The two Viking warriors who find Brasil and are later killed (and eaten) by the island inhabitants.

Ulric uses the same face model as Eric King from House of Ashes.

Magnus uses the same face model as Merwin from House of Ashes.