#those middle class americans you see on tv are a minority

[weirdocvnt08]

Title: Don’t be a loser!

Relationship: Rise!Leonardo/Yuichi Usagi (one-sided)

TW: Mentions of underage smoking of nicotine/marijuana [Pls skip this post if this stuff doesn’t interest you]

Author is listening to: California Here We Go by The Garden

AN: This was written for shits & giggles & even though the boys didn’t actually smoke in this, I have to put it out there for the minors reading this to pls avoid vaping. Don’t matter if it’s nic or THC, both aren’t good (yes even THC & as someone with first hand experience lemme tell you if you have family history with addictions & have autism then bby you’re most likely gonna end up reliant on it which is no bueno) and it can very much damage your still developing brain as corny as that sounds. With that being said, enjoy this sorta/sorta not crackfic and Usagi’s poorly hidden one-sided feelings bc Leo just sees him as his bro (for now, maybe ƪ(˘⌣˘)ʃ)

~⛽️💨~⛽️💨~⛽️💨~

Usagi and Leo had been in the middle of playing an online game on their phones until Usagi’s abruptly shut itself off. Heart rate quickening and hoping their game was still connected, Usagi tried to quickly turn the device back on but was instead met with the zero-battery icon that had displayed itself on the screen.

“Dude did your phone just die?!” Leo exclaimed as he watched Usagi’s character lag and glitch before the game ultimately kicked him off, taking him back to the main menu.

A regretful whine was all Leo could get in response. He sighed as he closed off the game and set his phone aside. “Wanna watch something then? While we wait for your phone to actually charge?” Leo asked as he leaned over to his bedside drawer to pick up the remote control for his TV.

“Yes! Can I choose?” If the platinum haired teen were animated, he’d have sparks shimmering around him and stars gleaming in his eyes, but sadly this was the real world and as Leo kept his focus on his flatscreen he cocked a restive brow as he replied nonchalantly, “After you made us lose our mission and we’ll have to now start from our last checkpoint that was, like, forever ago? Sorry, but it’s a hard ‘no’ my guy.”

“Mmh!” The Japanese boy grunted out in a miff manner as he got up from Leo’s bed to retrieve his charger from his bag and plug it to the nearest available outlet. Choosing the small lone spot beside Leo’s bookshelf, he bent down on one knee to connect the plug but stopped himself at the odd sight before him.

“Leo why do you have this usb type thing charging, and why does it look so weird?”

Knitting his thin eyebrows together in confusion, Leo mouthed to himself ‘USB?’ but the realization quickly clicked in his head and couldn’t help the brief chortle that escaped his mouth as he thought of an exciting idea.

“Oh that? Bring it over here and I’ll show you what exactly it is.”

Having not noticed the impish look on his American friend’s face due to his allowance of getting the strange object, he took a closer look at it as he walked back to Leo. The surface was a matte electric blue and on one side there was what he assumed was the brand name. ‘STIIIZY?’ he confoundedly thought.

The more that he stared at it, memories of his past encounters in their school’s restrooms that involved this same type of gadget would suddenly rush into his mind. In his option-less runs to use the poorly maintained restrooms around campus, he’d always have to brace the groups of people who’d ditch class to hang out and smoke both outside and inside the stalls carrying those similar rectangular objects in their hands.

Sometimes (if he wasn’t immediately kicked out from it) he’d opt to just walk to the closest restroom and avoid the horrid mixed stench of sweet artificial cookies and sewage water, but nine times out of ten he’ll ignore the sharp glares and sneers that’ll get sent his way as he makes his way to do his business that the restrooms were purposed to do.

Besides all that, Usagi just hopes that it’s not what he thinks it is as he plopped himself down onto the bed and extended his left hand towards Leo, who was leaned over again and digging a hand inside his drawer. After he found what he was looking for he swiftly took his sleek object back and attached a familiar looking compact filled with a yellow substance into the open slot. His fear was now just confirmed.

“Yui y’know what a—?”

“You smoke?! And nicotine at that? Why?! Leo you’re too pre—!” Coughing fugaciously at his near slip up of calling his best friend pretty, Usagi covered with, “I thought you were too cool for that kind of stuff?”

Playing with the thin vape in his hand, Leo laughed at the claim. “Mmmm, I don’t ever remember saying about my stance on vaping, but chill out it’s not nic, it’s weed.”

“How is that any better?”

“Look I’m not gonna explain the politics of the two, but just know this is way better and funner than nicotine!” Leo exasperated. What the shaved headed teen had left out though was that he himself hadn’t smoked nicotine ever in his life and just jumped straight to marijuana, so his answer holds no weight. He continued, “I don’t even do it a lot and just use it when I want to have a good time during movie nights or want to make my favorite meal ten times better because I have the munchies. It also helps when I feel myself becoming too absorbed into my thoughts, but that’s beside the point.”

Usagi felt icky for feeling this way, but he couldn’t help but feel sort of disappointed that Leo, his most favorite person since moving here, is a part of the hordes of teens that find the weird appeal of owning that useless junk just so they could make grossly sweet scented smoke clouds in front of their friends and not caring about the harm it can do to their young and healthy lungs. Despite his own opposing views though, he tried to swallow his judgment.

“How can anyone underage even get their hands on this, isn’t it illegal? Who even gave you this and does anyone else know you do this stuff?”

“I mean, it's pretty easy if you know someone who has connections, and to answer that other question, only Donnie—who also smokes—and my sister Frida knows. Ida’s also the one who hooked us up with the battery and cart but she’s so stingy though ‘cause she didn’t want to get us the full gram that this brand offers!”

Blank faced, Usagi answered, “I don’t know what that last part meant at all, but I really don’t wanna know anyway.”

The two sat in silence as Leo continued to fiddle with the concentrated THC pen with only a YouTube video playing on the TV to act as background noise. Usagi hoped that meant Leo lost interest in the topic now that he showed off his vape pen, that was until Leo opened his mouth again.

“So wanna take a hit?”

“Huh!? No! Weren’t you catching on with my obvious oppositions to that kind of stuff?!” He vicariously shook his head in disapproval. “I have important people in my life that expect me to be better than to do these types of things. Also don’t wanna die of lung cancer anytime soon.”

Sucking his teeth, Leo pressed “C’moooon! We can shotgun if you want!”

“Shotgun?”

“Basically I’ll take a hit and I’ll pass it to you by blowing it to your mouth for you to inhale.”

A strained expression appeared on Usagi’s face as he painted the image in his head and from what he’d seen it wasn’t very appealing if not super awkward. “That sounds dumb and weird.”

Leo cackled as he instantly knew the other teen didn’t get it, so he explained through small fits of laughter, “I don’t think you’re picturing it right dude. Our mouths have to be like really close so it’s sorta gonna look like we’re gonna go in for a kiss.”

‘Kiss?’ Usagi thought to himself as he re-imagined Leo’s new description. What he saw was Leo’s attractive face up close to his and his plush mixed tone lips slightly parted and nearly touching his slightly cracked ones, that maybe he might actually find out what Leo’s glossed lips finally taste like if he leans his head forward just a bit more. His heart picked up at the thought and with red tinting his tan skin he quickly adversed “We’re not doing that!”

“Oh? Sorry, was that a lil’ too gay for your straight-male self?” With an amused smile, Leo playfully rolled his eyes and coolly replied “Chill out man, it’s just a suggestion. But since you’re such a chad, I guess you’ll just do it on your own then?” He tried to hand him the rectangular device, but Usagi merely pushed the cold and slender brown hand back to its owner’s vicinity.

“Iranai. Don’t need it, so have fun doing that stuff by yourself.” He firmly stated but just like him, Leo wasn’t going to lose his ground and continue his pursuit of convincing Usagi to smoke with him.

“Don’t be lame and have a sesh with meee!”

“Nope.”

“Smoking isn’t as fun if you’re not doing it with someone! Yui!”

“Sucks to be you I guess.”

Leo let out an elongated sigh before voicing, “I get that you have this weird honor code thing where you take promises to heart n’ stuff, but aren’t I just as important to you too?”

Perplexed brown eyes met his hazel ones and with a casual shrug Leo resumed, “I just asked you to do this with me because you’re cool, and I feel comfortable around you, but if you really don’t wanna, then I won’t force you since it’s not fun if you’re not into it too.”

Usagi was gradually starting to feel his ‘tough as nails’ facade slip at the compliments Leo threw his way because of course he’d give more of shit of what this guy says than anyone else who’s known him for years or even since his birth.

“I wasn’t kidding when I said I don’t do this a lot y’know. Sorta why I really wanted you to try it with me, since it could be like a really fun memory that only you and me can share.” Leo suddenly said, and although Usagi knows better than to blindly trust Leo’s word he could tell that his friend was not fully lying at this time.

“So, what? Trying to tell me that you don’t smoke with everyone?”

“No sir.”

“I don’t buy it.”

“I’m serious. I’ve literally only smoked with my siblings. I don’t trust the crap people at school have, and I don’t trust the people at school like that even less so yeah, I don’t smoke with everyone and only a few select people are worthy to see me at my stupidest.”

Silence fell upon them again and Leo didn’t really know if his bait had worked or not, but sure enough it did as Usagi abruptly huffed out “Give it” and extended his hand to reveal his open palm that waited expectantly to receive something.

“But I thought—.“

“Just pass me the stupid thing you manipulative asshole!”

Ecstatic over Usagi’s change of mind, Leo quickly handed him his vape pen and watched as Usagi mauled over his new decision.

“If you’re worried about how you’re gonna act, don’t worry. Since I’m not as new to this like you, I can keep my bearings and take care of you if you end up doing something stupid.”

Cupping Usagi’s hand that held his little item of relaxation and enjoyment, he looked into the other boy’s eyes and earnestly promised “Swear on my dad’s life that I won’t let anything bad happen to you. Trust me, all that you’re gonna feel is as if your whole body is floating and even find yourself kinda hungry.” Letting good of his hand, Leo encouraged him to go for it with a nod of his head.

‘Am I really going to do this?’

With one last glance at Leo’s smug yet gorgeous hazel-green eyes he felt as if his heart had been squeezed from the huge amount of affection he was currently feeling for the other teen across of him.

‘Yeah, I really am.’

Hesitantly, he brought the pen to his lips and the more he dared to take a hit he could hear the loud anxious pounding coming from the center of his chest. It beat so loud that once he finally took a brave inhale from the pen he didn’t even register Leo’s rushed warning, and before he knew it, he felt as if a ball of fire had invaded his airways.

[halliescomut]

KinnPorsche Week 2022-Day 6: Favorite Location

So, my choice for favorite location is the Kittisawat home (pic from @colourme-feral ; link):

And now in a shocking twist here is my rambling discourse about why this is my favorite location.

So, as mentioned before, I was not raised in a well-to-do household, the reality is that my family was never even considered middle class during my childhood (This is specific to America, so there's probably going to be some differences for non-American readers). But the general idea is that we lived in a nice house, but it was never renovated or updated, it still has the original 1964 teal bathroom even (because it still worked so why would we change it?). But anyway, because of my own life experience, I kind of can't relate to many of the other locations in the show. The safe house and minor family residence get closer, because they're far more personal, and I've been to a bar that has a similar vibe to Yok's, but outside of that there's not much for me to personally connect to. The major family compound is a mix of a residence and a business, decorated/furnished practically, but not with a great deal of personality (outside of Tankhun's room).

Returning to my original point, the Kittisawat home has far more personality than many of the other locations. It's warm, and vaguely shabby, and reflects the life of Porsche and Porchay , at least to me, but y'all know how I like to over analyze. I wasn't sure how I was going to structure this, but I think I'll focus on the main sections of the house we see, and we'll start with the exterior.

So the house itself is lovely, and clearly would be out of reach as a residence for Porsche and Porchay if it wasn't their family home. The set decoration of the home exterior is simple, with furniture that's practical as well as worn down. Pieces bought many years ago, and just due to their quality are still in good usable condition. I like that they've set multiple seating areas on the exterior, having a dining table outside of the patio door, the concrete table in the yard, and then the swing as well. For night shots, the inclusion of the string lights gives lovely atmosphere while also being something that would be fairly cheap, since the expectation is for us to believe that Porsche and Chay hung them up. From what you see the yard is vaguely unkempt, certainly not left to grow wild, but it gives the impression that it's something Porsche might forget to do until it starts to get a little crazy, because really why would that be at the top of his list.

Moving inside we have the Living Room

Again we've got nice, fairly basic, and sturdy furniture. The space isn't overly styled, and through the season you see different furniture pieces moved around inside the space, which I find very nice. There is always a concern of continuity from take to take, but I always find it a bit strange if nothing ever moves in a show. As for decor/clutter, there are pieces from their parents, and match what we see during the finale flashback scenes, and some other decor from those scenes is gone in the present. But that gives an amount of believeable continuity to the story of the series. Over the past 10-15 years some stuff would have been packed away, moved to other spaces, broken, possibly sold since we know there's financial stress. Homes that are lived in don't stay the same, so it would be far more odd to see the house still exactly matching the past. One sweet touch you see in the space is a framed photo of Porsche and Porchay, that you actually see Apo and Barcode take in one of the behind the scenes videos (episode 12).

Next location is the Kitchen:

A lot of the same themes from the rest of the house repeat here. Simple, good quality, but a slightly outdated feel, and the kitchen is no different. The newest things we see in the house are probably the fridge (and the flat screen tv in the living room), but other than that the whole kitchen looks like it could be 30 years old. It's serviceable, fairly clean, and gives a lived in feel. The set design with the condiments and spices just grouped on the counter next to the stove, the dishes still in the drying rack, they give more of that lived-in homey feel that we don't see a lot in the other residences.

Now on to our last location, Chay's room:

Chay's room is one of the most interesting, but sadly we don't get a whole lot of time there. I love the behind the scenes stuff for the show, but I would love entire eps with the set designer and the costume designer. Like I just love that shit. Back to my point. This is the only personal space we see in their home, everywhere else is communal space. Yes there are personal items, but not to the extent we see in Chay's room. Again, the designer's done a great job fitting the space to the occupant, there's posters hanging, but they're hung with tape, we have the string lights. There's the oddly placed bookshelf in the doorway, which appears weird, there's no where else to put it. It would block the light switch and crowd the bed if you had it on the wall to the right, and it's exactly the type of shit a 17/18 year old would do. I imagine Porsche picked it up wanting to have somewhere for Chay to put his awards and stuff, but wasn't considering whether it would fit in the space, and they just made it work. There's also a nice passage of time-continuity to the space, with some toys, the stack of cds, the sort of layering the bookshelves, that indicate that as things become less used, other things get placed in front of them. This again brings more realism to the space, and makes it feel familiar to the viewer. Like, we don't have the stories behind each item, but the characters are presented in a way where we could guess. Additionally with the layering, on the WiK wall we see pictures layered over each other, which for me really sells it. Technically we know that the set designer and dresser would have been handed a bunch of these pictures to put up, and our instinct would be to put them up in a more ordered manner, but they're meant to have been added over a couple of years. Chay would have gotten them from magazines, or printed them out and stuck them up kind of wherever they fit. I also love that there's not just WiK, but other music-based pictures and art.

My closing statements---the lighting and cinematography!

I've talked in previous posts about how beautiful the cinematography of the series is, and it's truly gorgeous. In relation to the Kittisawat home, it's always presented in a warm golden light. Every other location we visit more than once is colorgraded differently based on the emotion of the scene. But even in the flashback scenes of the death of Porsche and Chay's father, when told from each perspective, that warm golden tone is still there. By choosing to light the space the way they have they're adding onto that feeling of homey-ness and comfort. They've built this space where essentially everyone who steps into feels that warm comfort, and they've made it look incredibly simple, but I am CERTAIN that it was a lot of work. Especially for a space where they spend relatively little time over the course of the season.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my thoughts about this topic. 1,300 words and about 3 hours worth of screen-capping and writing. Definitely worth it. Hmm....what should your reward gif be today??? How about...

[rabbitcruiser]

Top Gun Day 

Host a watch party, with costumes and topical games, or simply gather your friends to watch the 1986 Tom Cruse classic Top Gun and its sequels.

In 1986, smack dab in the middle of the bodacious decade of neon, headbangers and The Brat Pack, the movie Top Gun roared into theaters like an F-14 Tomcat. It got a missile lock on the box office and shot down just over $356 million, making it what would eventually be the 11th highest grossing movie of Tom Cruise’s career. The movie centers on Maverick, a hot shot pilot, who is sent to the US Navy Fighter Weapons school, and all of the drama, pride and testosterone that scenario entails.

History of Top Gun Day

The actual Navy Fighter Weapons School was formed in 1969, during the time of the Viet Nam War, by the Chief of Naval Operations Admiral, Thomas Hinman Moorer, at the recommendation of Captain Frank Ault. The realization came that the Navy’s fighter pilots needed more training.

During Operation Rolling Thunder, the United States lost nearly 1,000 aircraft over North Vietnamese skies. The USAF and Navy both sought the causes, but came to two different conclusions. The Air Force believed that the fault was mechanical: that MiG pilots caught American pilots in a rear blind spot. The Navy decided that the failure was in training. The Air Force responded by developing new technology, while the Navy started the Top Gun school, eventually paving the way for 110 minutes of heart pounding action, backed by a roaring theme song.

Top Gun Day Timeline

1969 Top Gun school admits its first class

The Navy Fighter Weapons School is opened for extra combat training at the height of the Viet Nam war.

1981 Tom Cruise debuts on the big screen

Playing a minor role in the film, Endless Love, Tom Cruise was beat out for the starring role (opposite Brooke Shields) by Martin Hewitt, an actor who would end up doing mostly random TV appearances afterward.

1986 Top Gun is released

Quickly earning a deep love from audiences, Top Gun becomes the highest grossing film of the year.

1987 US Navy uses the film for recruiting

In a “Join the Navy” commercial, songs from the movie are used along with shots that look like that came straight from Top Gun footage.

2022 Top Gun 2

After waiting more than 30 years, the world finally gets to see Tom Cruise in action again as “Maverick”.

How to Celebrate Top Gun Day

Top Gun Day celebrates the movie, but at its core is all about attitude. It teaches about the importance of teamwork…and shirtless volleyball. So how do you take the highway to the danger zone?

Get started with some of these ideas:

Reenact the best Top Gun Movie Scenes

A good way to begin might be by reliving the adventures of Goose, Maverick and the Iceman. Go to a karaoke bar and sing “She’s Lost that Loving Feeling” and “Take My Breath Away.” Why not try to play a little volleyball with a group? Shirtlessness is optional, of course. Download some Kenny Loggins and blast “Danger Zone” out of those car windows as loud as is possible.

But maybe karaoke isn’t the thing and the weather isn’t good enough for sports. It is still possible to find other ways to enjoy the day!

Host a Top Gun Day Party

Get friends and family together for a cool party in honor of Top Gun Day. Invite people to dress up like their favorite characters. Entertain by playing Top Gun trivia games before settling in to watch the movie.

During the movie, don’t forget to grab a pair of dark aviator glasses and an old leather jacket. For an added challenge, try to find a pair of overalls to convert into a flight suit! It might even be fun to make it into a double feature with some other jet-fighter movies of the era, like the lesser known Iron Eagle, which actually came out a few months before Top Gun.

Snacks served at the party could include a variety of airplane and naval themed treats, such as patriotic m&ms in red, white and blue, cookies in the shapes of stars, airplanes or clouds, and even aviator glasses. Decorations can, of course, feature anything red, white and blue, stars & stripes, naval, airplanes, American flags or even quotes from the Top Gun movie.

Listen to the Top Gun Soundtrack

Of course, the music played at the Top Gun Day party is key. After all, the movie won more awards for its soundtrack and score than in any other category! It’s packed with quintessential 80s classic songs, like these:

Playing with the Boys by Kenny Loggins. Featuring in Tom Cruise’s shirtless beach volleyball scene, this song plays when Maverick (wearing full-length jeans) and Goose beat their adversaries. Of course, then Maverick bails because he has a date with his love interest, Charlie, played by Kelly McGillis.

Take My Breath Away by Berlin. It must be good because this song plays in Top Gun no less than four times! Incidentally, the band named themselves Berlin in an attempt to make people think they were German, but they were really an American new wave band.

Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins. Appearing in the movie three times, this is the ultimate fighter jet song.

You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ by The Righteous Brothers. This one is a classic from 1964 that made a comeback more than 20 years later because of the Top Gun Movie. It plays in the movie when Maverick and the other naval officers lip sync it to Charlie in the bar while it plays on the jukebox.

Show Off with Top Gun Quotes

The Top Gun movie offers a ton of quotable lines that can be used to make an impression. For instance, you can ask your friends for permission to buzz the tower. If they say no, do it anyway. If they ask YOU to buzz the tower, be sure to say “Negative Ghost Rider, the pattern is full.” Just be prepared for them to buzz you anyway.

Or, even easier, simply tell everyone you see that you have the need, the need for speed. “You can be my wingman forever”, “Let’s turn and burn!” and “Remember boys, no points for second place” are also some other great lines from the film.

Learn Some Fun Facts About Top Gun

Even those who consider themselves to be pretty big fans of the movie might have something new to learn when it comes to Top Gun Day trivia! Here are some fun facts to impress friends and coworkers alike on the day:

Top Gun is set in San Diego, California and many of the sites for filming can still be visited, including Charlie’s little blue house and Kansas City Barbeque, which still features Goose’s piano.

Tom Cruise, at only 5’7”, wore lifts in his shoes to balance out the taller 5’10” Kelly McGillis as his love interest in the movie.

The movie didn’t originally have a love scene. That scene between Maverick and Charlie was added later, after test audiences said it needed one.

Bryan Adams was invited to sing on the Academy Award winning soundtrack, but he backed out because he thought the movie promoted war.

Play Top Gun Video Games

There are also two Top Gun video games currently available. The first is simply called Top Gun and was released for iOS devices by Freeverse Software. The second is called Top Gun: Hardlock. It comes from 505 Games, and is playable on PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

Talk to a Member of the Armed Forces

There are many ways one could enjoy and relieve the excitement of the movie, but perhaps one of the more meaningful things you could do is to find a member of the armed forces, particularly an aviator, and thank them for keeping the skies safe. Ultimately, without someone up there, we might not have the movie, or the day, down here.

However you choose to celebrate, be sure to raise a glass for Goose, Maverick, Iceman and the rest of Top Gun class of 1986. Let the world know that you haven’t lost that loving feeling, even after all this time.

Top Gun Day FAQs

How old is Tom Cruise in Top Gun?

Top Gun was released when Tom Cruise was just 23 years old, just three years after his break-through role in Risky Business.

Are Top Gun pilots real?

Yes! Top Gun was an actual pilot training school in San Diego, California, known as the Navy Fighter Weapons School, until it merged with another school and moved to Fallon, Nevada in 1996.

When was Top Gun made?

The original Top Gun movie was made in 1986.

What is the most famous song in Top Gun?

“Take My Breath Away” by Berlin won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe. Other popular songs from the film include “Danger Zone” and “Playing with the Boys”, both by Kenny Loggins.

Did Top Gun win any awards?

Top Gun won most of its awards for the music and sound, but other awards include a People’s Choice Award and an ASCAP Award.

Source

[mineofilms]

Political Discourse on Perspective

“Great Minds Talk About Ideas. Average Minds Talk About Events. Small Minds Talk About People…” ~Eleanor Roosevelt

The Extreme-Progressive-Woke-Left collectively talk a lot about other people and/or groups of other people, usually pertaining to Donald Trump, whom I am not a direct supporter of. I am probably going Independent if I vote at all. Just so it is known. I have just as many issues with the right than I do the left.

Your everyday average-middle-class American are thinking more, they are talking up more, they are curious, they ask questions and then ask more questions. They are humble, they will and often do listen to multiple angles of a conversation. They try to make the illogical, logical. They try to make all the things that do not make sense, make sense. Your average-middle-class person is attracted to these things. Go to New York City, Chicago, Denver, Seattle, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. What do you see besides the obvious? Lots and lots of bitterness. I see a lot of, ‘alleged,’ smart people who do not have the sense to use that, ‘alleged,’ intelligence and who do not have it mentally, emotionally, and intellectually together. What I see is a lot of people who say they are smart by default based on where they went to school. When I say school, I mean college. None of these people would ever attempt to say they are smart and not be from a fancy college. I see these same people, bitter, living in interconnected boxed right angles, stacked onto one another, like how one would organize the useless things they own and then sit back and be proud of that. Working dead-end jobs, being jealous of others that live free, outside in the sunlight, eating fresh non-processed food. We see the people in the Mainstream-Progressive-Woke-Left-Establishment trying to appear to be intellectuals, but what they are really doing, in doing so, making stupid decisions or saying illogical things, like not being able to properly define what a woman is or that "kill the Jews," is not harassment on college campuses. They won’t condemn “Death to America” chants in public. What we are seeing now isn’t just illogical, it is just really dumb. Extreme-Progressive-Woke-Left collectively attempts to make minority issues displayed as majority issues and those issues be labeled as normal and/or everyday ‘FACTS...’” They keep telling us everything is great and the country has never been better.

We all look outside for ourselves, check our bank accounts, go to the grocery store and that is not the reality that is being projected onto us by them.

The disconnect of the Extreme-Progressive-Woke-Left with your average everyday citizen that identifies as left and/or right is becoming a real problem. It has been a real problem since this movement has attempted to make what are obviously bad ideas appear good and use very poorly executed reverse psychology to tell us we are all wrong, bad, evil and stupid for questioning anything this point of view labels as normal, news and/or facts... As previously stated; I am not even a Trump-guy and can see through all this bullshit. Basically, anyone that doesn't agree with their 'class' is an ‘anti-intellectualist.’ First it needs to be stated that in order to be an intellectual, one has to be, you know, 'intellectual.' Simply going on TV and pulling a Vice President-Second in Command-Dumb-Dumb-of the Year-Kamala Harris-Word-Salad of nonsensical rhetoric does not make what anyone has to say right by default. That is why more people are looking / scoffing at the left. Not because they are left or democrat by default but rather they have had power and look what they did with it. They undid Trump's work out of spite, regardless of right/wrong for the country. It was literally like 15-yr-old high school TikTok drama and then they turn around and tell us, it is all our fault too. That to me is crazy. It would be ok if the left was; “hey, we FK'd up, we'll do better if we win.” No. They say we're better now with Biden than we were with Trump and here is the proof. What proof? The reality is we are not better. They keep on telling us bad is good and we need to accept it. We try to vote, talk, say things that make sense and they turn around and use more language that logically makes no sense.

"Anti-intellectualism…" What in the hell are they talking about?

After “The Matrix Reloaded” (2003) came out. I first thought that both the red and blue pills did the exact same thing. If you take the blue pill or the red pill that one would still wake up in a pod fighting the good fight. That is what I thought back then. I used to joke that if it were me I would give Morpheus the finger, take both pills and jump out the window yelling “wild card,” like Charlie from “Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” Nowadays; I see Red/Blue, in both political terms and philosophical terms, that each ‘choice’ may have a different road, but all roads lead to the same destination. The Red/Blue pill itself is like seeing reality in 2D, flat, a straight line, no depth, while those that control the flow of both pills/colors, see reality in 3D and/or 4D depending on what level of control we have here. 2D beings will never be able to understand and/or perceive 3D, let alone 4D. Even how we perceive 4D, from the 3D perspective is very tough to see/interact with/understand. You take red, you go right. You take blue, you go left. Both roads are curved, but they seem straight to us. Eventually, because they are curved both roads lead to the same destination. The majority of humanity follows the curve, thinking they are going in a straight line away from the opposing color never conceiving that they are playing right into the system's hands.

• Control Dissidence – is when a person believes that they are free, but they do not know that they are more oppressed than those who are still stuck in “The Matrix.” Both pills are a lie. The choice was always an illusion. “Choice is an illusion created between those with power and those without. You see there is only one constant. One universal. It is the only real truth.” ~Merovingian, “The Matrix Reloaded” (2003).

A logical fallacy is a flaw or error in reasoning that undermines the validity of an argument. It involves deceptive or incorrect reasoning that may lead to an unsound conclusion. Logical fallacies can be categorized into various types, and they often manifest in the form of faulty patterns of thinking, misleading evidence, or irrelevant reasoning. These flaws can occur in coherent or probabilistic reasoning and may be intentional or unintentional.

Common Types of Logical Fallacies Include:

• Ad Hominem – Instead of dealing with someone's argument, you attack the person who's making the argument.

• Straw Man – Making someone else's argument look weaker than it really is, so it's easier to criticize. (Over simplification).

• False Cause – Thinking one thing caused another just because they happened together, without enough proof.

• Circular Reasoning – Using the conclusion of your argument as one of the reasons your argument is true, but it doesn't actually prove anything. (Most popular and currently in play most days of the 2020s).

• Appeal to Authority – Believing something is true just because an important person or source said so, without looking at the actual argument. (Very common in the political landscape).

• False Dichotomy – Making it seem like there are only two options when there could be more. (Most binary information systems, like the two-party system).

• Hasty Generalization – Jumping to a conclusion based on too little or biased evidence.

• Appeal to Ignorance – Saying something is true just because it hasn't been proven false, or vice versa.

• Red Herring – Bringing up something irrelevant to distract from the main point.

• Honorable Mentions – Pseudo – Pseudo-logic – Pseudo-intellect – Pseudoscience. Pseudo literally means ‘made-up.’ Let’s not forget, ‘anti-intellectualism.’

Recognizing and avoiding logical fallacies is essential for constructing sound and persuasive arguments, as they can undermine the credibility and effectiveness of reasoning. Critical thinking skills, common sense and logic practitioning are crucial for identifying and addressing logical fallacies in both everyday discourse and more formal debates.

Presentism – uncritical adherence to present-day attitudes, especially the tendency to interpret past events in terms of modern values and concepts.

Presentism is a WOKE and/or Progressive attribute of belief. WOKE is both a Subculture and Internet Subculture that attempts to make minority issues displayed as majority issues and those issues be labeled as normal and/or everyday ‘FACTS...’ Keyword semantic concepts, 'minority...' Minority means, minor, not many, not all, not most, but “some.” Minority can never be mistaken for majority, which is most, much more than minority. These concepts are not one in the same. Presentism refers to a common tendency to judge historical events, people, or ideas by today's standards and values. Instead of understanding the context of a particular time period, presentism applies current beliefs and attitudes to past situations. For example, it's like saying someone from the past was wrong because they didn't act according to today's morals, even though the norms and values back then were much different than present day society. This approach overlooks the complexities of history and fails to appreciate the unique circumstances of each era. Presentism can distort our understanding of the past and prevent us from learning valuable lessons from history. In simpler terms, it's like trying to fit square pegs into round holes—forcing current ideas onto past events without considering the differences in time and context. So, being aware of presentism helps us approach history with a more open mind and understand it in its proper context.

Rhetoric as Semantics:

Rhetoric is the art of being a master bullshiter…

In semantics the meanings in the words would require logical, real, facts and not pseudo-facts where ‘pseudo’ literally means ‘made-up.’ The one part of this that I have always challenged is this all comes down to what a real, true, fact is and what isn't. Facts are obtained by the scientific method, not faith or a/the belief of it (whatever 'it' is). Belief in something doesn't necessarily always mean it is both real and/or true. Belief is just that, a belief, a thought that something ‘could be’ real/true. One believes this, whatever this is, to be true. A fact is taking that belief and proving it is actually real and/or true in the real world… I look deep into most of the things that are being spewed as semantics, but really are just rhetoric, where semantics is the study of real and true meanings of words and phrases and are based on credible facts. Where rhetoric only has to appear it is based on credible facts, but doesn’t actually have to include anything real, true or fact, merely that it only sounds plausible.

For some very odd reason our society has allowed far too much nonsensical thinking to become part of our everyday mental processes. Our attention spans are so limited now. We can blame the internet and/or social media, but the internet was not always like that. People used to spend hours behind their computer screens. I still do, very much so. Things used to be long format. Things used to take time. Now anything over a few sentences on social media via a smartphone or a video up on YouTube is longer than 8-minutes people skip it and move onto something else that is over-simplified.

It is us. We did this. We are doing this. We are allowing this.

It is a real shame that people who are not very intelligent, in general, should become people who lead us. It really does boggle my mind sometimes that some, ok, most, of the people who lead us are of less intelligence than a majority of the very many that make up our everyday average-middle-class American. In a world where presentism reigns supreme, the past becomes a battleground for contemporary ideologies that don’t even make logical sense. History is and is always both complex and written by those that won the wars. To judge it through the narrow lens of today's hypersensitivity of narcissistic-sociopathy that is now our ‘new normal’ misses its richness entirely. As we attempt logical discourse, let's strive for fuller depth of context, recognizing that the past is not a mirror of the present, but a window into how we used to be and where we should go from here. So, let's approach history with humility and curiosity, embracing its diversity and learning from its lessons and/or mistakes. The 80’s were better than the 90s. The 90s were better than the 2000s. It’s always been that way. All of the above, all at once, never ending.

It is more important to remember how it actually happened or those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it. And that is exactly where we are heading. Rome fell over a time span of 150 years. I dare us to do better…

Political Discourse on Perspective by David-Angelo Mineo 4/19/2024 2,182 Words

[firespirited]

Yikes

USA post got wheaton-ed. lots of angry takes and frankly i don’t disagree with many of them LOL. YES it’s lucky when you still have elections, elections that aren’t bogus, elections that hopefully won’t be undone by the CIA (man alive! That would be ironic) but people fought very hard to keep the dictatorship at bay for the past four years to get here, they’re pushing with all that they’ve got left because of judges and senators and states that refused to let the current prez take over all branches of government (and we’ve seen him try). If RBG had died earlier and the post office hijacking hadn’t been so transparent, well there probably would be been an “election” with a pretty 80% with a bow on top so Trump could have his printed red map to show off.

YES i AM coming from a place of great privilege being a brit who’s trying to earn french citizenship instead (as I can currently vote in neither) but I’m not speaking from complete ignorance. I’m a socialist, european political history nerd and have been immersed in it since childhood, also an immigrant who mingles mostly with other immigrants, often political exiles. I’m not going to pretend that americans have it as bad as other worse places. Not gonna pretend that Biden’s even close to my political tastes. I’m also not going to pretend that democratically elected officials, especially populists, don’t turn around and take as much power as possible. Fighting back isn’t easy: other countries have done the same thing as the US is now, lost and because of the extra 3-5 years they’ve got a full dictatorship on their hands instead of a dictatorship that’s just barely being held in check.

YES the US might not qualify as a dictatorship according to your definitions but they weren’t exactly starting out as a first world country to begin with. There are dictatorships with healthcare and welfare and far better covid rates ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  Let’s not pretend that the US is in any way a fair country with a basic safety net where people didn’t risk their health (and homelessness from hospital bills) working ‘essential jobs’ or voting in person when mail was ruled out in states where the plague is running rampant and unchecked.

[grootpoepjeplasjehoofd]

If we talked about what is happening in Minneapolis the same way we talk about events in a foreign country, here’s how the Western media would cover it. The quotes and those “quoted” in the piece below are fictional.

In recent years, the international community has sounded the alarm on the deteriorating political and human rights situation in the United States under the regime of Donald Trump. Now, as the country marks 100,000 deaths from the coronavirus pandemic, the former British colony finds itself in a downward spiral of ethnic violence. The fatigue and paralysis of the international community are evident in its silence, America experts say.

The country has been rocked by several viral videos depicting extrajudicial executions of black ethnic minorities by state security forces. Uprisings erupted in the northern city of Minneapolis after a video circulated online of the killing of a black man, George Floyd, after being attacked by a security force agent. Trump took to Twitter, calling black protesters “THUGS”’ and threatening to send in military force. “When the looting starts, the shooting starts!” he declared.

“Sure, we get it that black people are angry about decades of abuse and impunity,” said G. Scott Fitz, a Minnesotan and member of the white ethnic majority. “But going after a Target crosses the line. Can’t they find a more peaceful way, like kneeling in silence?”

Ethnic violence has plagued the country for generations, and decades ago it captured the attention of the world, but recently the news coverage and concern are waning as there seems to be no end in sight to the oppression. “These are ancient, inexplicable hatreds fueling these ethnic conflicts and inequality," said Andreja Dulic, a foreign correspondent whose knowledge of American English consists of a semester course in college and the occasional session on the Duolingo app. When told the United States is only several hundred years old, he shrugged and said, “In my country, we have structures still from the Roman empire. In their culture, Americans think that a 150-year-old building is ancient history.”

Britain usually takes an acute interest in the affairs of its former colony, but it has also been affected by the novel coronavirus. “We’ve seen some setbacks with the virus, but some Brits see the rising disease, staggering unemployment and violence in the States and feel as if America was never ready to govern itself properly, that it would resort to tribal politics,” said Andrew Darcy Morthington, a London-based America expert. During the interview, a news alert informed that out of the nearly 40,000 coronavirus deaths in the United Kingdom, 61 percent of the health-care workers who have died were black and or have Middle Eastern backgrounds. Morthington didn’t seem to notice. “Like I was saying, we don’t have those American racism issues here.”

Trump, a former reality-TV host, beauty pageant organizer and businessman, once called African nations “shithole countries." But he is now taking a page from African dictators who spread bogus health remedies, like Yahya Jammeh of Gambia, who claimed he could cure AIDS with bananas and herbal potions and pushed his treatments onto the population, resulting in deaths. Trump appeared to suggest injecting bleach and using sunlight to kill the coronavirus. He has also said he has taken hydroxycholoroquine, a drug derived from quinine, a long-known jungle remedy for malaria. Doctors have advised against using the treatment to prevent or treat the coronavirus.

Meanwhile, Americans desperate to flee will face steep challenges to cross borders, as mismanagement of the coronavirus and ethnic tensions in the country have made them undesirable visitors. But some struggling American retailers, like Neiman Marcus, are hoping to lure shoppers with traditional 19th-century colonial travel fantasies through neutral khakis and cargo shorts as part of a “Modern Safari” collection. “Utilitarian details & muted tones meet classic femininity,” reads a caption under the photograph of a white woman. Pith helmets were not included in the accessory lineup.

Some nations are considering offering black Americans special asylum. “Members of the white ethnic majority are forming armed militia groups, demanding their freedom to go back to work for the wealthy class who refer to workers as ‘human capital stock,’ despite the huge risk to workers,” said Mustapha Okango, a Nairobi-based anthropologist. “This is a throwback to the days when slavery was the backbone of the American economy. Black slaves were the original essential workers, and they were treated as non-human stock.”

Africa could be an ideal asylum destination, as several African countries have managed to contain the coronavirus outbreak through aggressive early measures and innovations in testing kits. Senegal, a nation of 16 million, has only seen 41 deaths. “Everyone predicted Africa would fall into chaos,” Okango said. “It is proof that being a black person in this world doesn’t kill you, but being a black person in America clearly can.” The African Union did not respond to requests for comment, but it released a statement that said “we believe in American solutions for American problems.”

Around the world, grass-roots organizations, celebrities, human rights activists and even students are doing what they can to raise money and awareness about the dire situation in America.

“It’s sad that the Americans don’t have a government that can get them coronavirus tests or even monthly checks to be able to feed their families,” said Charlotte Johnson, a 18-year-old Liberian student activist, who survived the Ebola pandemic. “100,000 people are dead, cities are burning, and the country hasn’t had a day of mourning? Lives don’t matter, especially not black lives. It’s like they’re living in a failing state.”

[kramlabs]

Miles Mathis on the Carter-to-Reagan playbook being rolled out again:

Intel has so far proceeded via containment, and you don't create containment by creating martyrs.

Yes, Intel could respond to that by shutting down the internet and preventing my readers from continuing my site or reposting my papers anywhere. But that would require complete tyranny, a step they have so far hoped to avoid. Under such a system, they wouldn't need to fake protests at the Capitol, would they? They wouldn't need to manufacture compliance with such theater, since they could just force people to comply. The Capitol event was allegedly in response to an election, remember, and in a real tyranny you don't have elections or candidates, do you? So it would appear the controllers still prefer to maintain a semblance of democracy and freedom, for reasons I have previously explained. For one thing, turning the US into a slave colony in the year 2022 would be the height of foolishness, since how much real work are you going to be able to get out of a nation of fat, weak morons. Most Americans wouldn't last five minutes driven by a whip. You will say that is why they are exterminating us with deadly vaccines, but that doesn't work, either, because the governors actually LIKE high populations. China is now paying couples to have children, after decades of one- child policies. Why? Because wealth is generated by high populations and growth. The US is still a growth economy, you know, and you can't get growth by exterminating populations. We have been compared to cattle, and a rancher wants as many cattle as possible. More cattle=more wealth. A cattle rancher isn't going to become richer by exterminating his cattle and dumping them in a ditch.

Does this mean I think the vaccine deaths are fake? No, but they aren't fully intended, either. I assume Big Pharma sees them as collateral damage to the big profits they are taking. They aren't exterminating us, but if some of us die, they don't really give a damn. Even if the number is currently 50,000, as some are saying, that isn't an extermination or even a culling in a population of 330 million. It is murder, and should be prosecuted as such, but it doesn't even signify as population control.

Which is all to say that neither the US nor China wants to become more overtly tyrannical. As I have said many times, the US should be reverting to a 1950s model, where trust in government was very high. In which case everything they are doing now is counterproductive. The current models are a disaster for long-term governance. Which is why I don't think Intel has any plans to make a martyr out of me or to fake my death. What they need to do is put the general population back to sleep, and that won't be done with more tyranny. It will be done in the short term with a red-state savior like Ron DeSantis, and some new fake move to conservatism, as with Reagan. Before they reverse you into 1950, they have to reverse you into 1980.

Notice how much the current playbook resembles the Carter-to-Reagan playbook, except that it is now on steroids. Everything now has to be ten times as noisy, to puncture the general stupor. Carter the Democrat made a huge mess of everything (I now think on purpose) and Reagan the Republican rode in to save the day, reinvigorating the Republican Party for 12 years. In that playbook, the Republican

Party was sold heavily as the party of the middle class and even the poor, with downtrodden farmers supporting Reagan, and Southerners, and even minorities. Given hindsight, it now looks like a big joke, but it worked. The entire country was moved hard right, and that move was so successful and so permanent not even Bill Clinton could move it back. He didn't even try, running as a moderate or “conservative” Democrat, remember? The Republican party had moved so far right the Democratic party had to follow it right, and the country has never moved back. You will say Obama was a lefty, but he wasn't. The country had moved so far right by his time that he was actually to the right of Nixon. Obama admitted it. But that still wasn't enough for the Phoenicians, who wanted to move the country further right after Obama. In part, Trump achieved that, but it still wasn't enough. Like Nixon before him, Trump balked at some of his instructions and had to be taken down. So Biden was brought in as Carter-on-laughing gas, to decimate what was left of the left. The American left has been re- crafted once again as a minority of over-educated but clueless ninnies loudly espousing all the most unpopular talking points of modern academia. In a planned fail, all the strangest, least charismatic, and least attractive people have been hired from the furthest reaches of academia and combined with the dregs of Intelligence expressly to call out your “ick” response. The lowest basements of Langley have been dredged for the palest and most wide-eyed on their worst hair days and parked on TV or the internet, told to play it up for all it is worth. All to draw your hate.

So you see, they plan to move you right not with overt tyranny. The overt tyranny will appear to end when DeSantis or whoever rides in to save the day and the country returns to a Trump or Bush level of normalcy. As usual, they are moving you right mainly by tricks. They make the left so unappealing you want to be as far as possible away from those people there. By sliding the scale beneath you, they will eventually have you right where they want you. Like Mike Adams or Alex Jones or one of those people, you will be a revolutionary claiming to be a conservative. Your answer to tyranny will be to move further right. Since tyranny is as far right as you can go, that answer doesn't make any sense. Like everyone else yapping right now, you will be a walking talking contradiction.

Miles Mathis link:

http://mileswmathis.com/desantis.pdf

[mrs-nate-humphrey]

What do you feel about amandamaryanna’s video on gossip girl and cosplaying poor? It reminds me of those tik tok videos that are about the most insane rich person behavior you’ve experienced. I feel like it’s subjective because the characters Dan Vanessa and Zoya are basing their poor ness around THEIR environment. So yes, there are MANY people who are actually poor but compared to their UES counterparts they would be considered “poor” due to the fact that they do not have the insane amount of disposable wealth that the other characters have and I do not really see that as them trying to cosplay as poor.

Also what are your thoughts on her argument on GG not really talking about class consciousness and POC issues. Even though the characters Ursula, Jane and Raina had short appearances on the show, as a Black person I think that is was great that they added the few POC characters on GG because their identity was not the main focus of their characters. Usually with Black or POC characters they have to go through some racial turmoil as part of the plot and in GG they got to be rich UES-ers simply because they are. Even though GG is very verryy flawed Penelope, Nelly, Kati, Isabelle and Zoe were shown how POC characters can be rich like the white characters in the show as well GG is obviously a fictional show that’s not based on anything so I don’t think that racial income statistics/racial implications need to be talked about 24/7.

so i started watching this video & just ended up reading the transcript instead. anyway. under a read more:

like, yes. i agree with her on one hand - i think gossip girl 2007 messed up by making dan's grievances be connected to financial status, because the humphreys certainly weren't "poor". like i think this point she says makes sense to an extent:

The comparison between outsiders and insiders and gossip girl is all about relativity. To the average viewer it seems absurd that a character like Dan is supposed to represent the outsider when he is so farther in than any of us could get.

But honestly, something i hate is how people who talk about this show act as if everyone who's watching is expected to know the prices of rent in new york city, etc. like i did NOT realise how expensive that loft is until someone else mentioned it to me and i would not have guessed! who is your "average viewer" - is it an American? someone who lives in New York? someone who lives in Brooklyn? you can't just define an average viewer in that way, i feel! like you are making a BIG Assumption there and it's not necessarily accurate. people who aren't american watch american tv! such is the world we are living in.

but keeping that aside, yeah: dan and jenny had stable and secure housing, the guarantee of meals, and were attending expensive private schools, so i think the show's messaging regarding class was a little strange. they definitely weren't in a financially unstable situation.

but also, you're right. like, dan and jenny weren't super duper broke, and at no point do they actually act like they are, tbh. dan is very 'oh my parents sacrificed so much to send me to st jude's' and jenny is very 'damn i wish i was richer' but there isn't really an instance where the humphreys seem to view themselves as being extremely poor, that i remember at least. in s1, jenny says something along the lines of, "we're humphreys; we're not exactly royalty." and like. she is not wrong! they're financially stable kids, but they're ordinary kids living in an environment where everyone else has the safety net of millionnaire parents to fall back on, and however much money rufus has, he isn't that.

so i think it's a grey area, like, YES, the humphreys have wealth related privilege (i don't know if this can be said for v, because honestly we don't know much about her living situation, but we do know that she works as a waitress for a bit in s1, and also that she's homeschooled, so she isn't shelling out big $$ for school fees.) but also dan and jenny are treated as 'less than' because they are considered nobodies.

and i feel like THAT is the angle the show should have taken. not "i am oppressed because i am not rich" but rather, "everyone at school alienates me and treats me different and it's making things so difficult for me." whenever people say that dan and jenny acted like they were more oppressed than they actually were i'm like. they were both, in different ways, made to feel small and insecure and hopeless, at school? like of COURSE they're gonna feel victimised. dan is treated like he doesn't exist, and jenny is treated so horribly that i don't even have an adjective. like. i think the writing of the show would've been much stronger if it had focused on THAT and not made it a class thing.

i haven't watched the reboot beyond ep02, so i'm not gonna comment on that.

so yeah, i don't think it was 'cosplaying poor' as much as it was 'showing wealth related stuff extremely inaccurately.' like an anon told me, portraying nyu as community college is super inaccurate, as well. and it makes no sense? like i don't know why they had to do this and why they couldn't just... shoot at a regular community college. gossip girl 2007 did not care for representing poor people at all, like, if you watch the show you can tell that it just luxuriates in this aesthetic of like: more food than anybody can eat at every meal. so many luxuries. unnecessarily expensive things everywhere. like the show was very much luxury porn. to me it felt like it wasn't cosplaying poor as much as it was offering people a chance to wank off to the rich. & maybe because of that, the humphreys weren't allowed to be poorer. gg 2007 wasn't supposed to represent all of NY, it was supposed to represent the uber rich elite. and then you have dan and jenny humphrey, and vanessa abrams. they weren't allowed to be rich, because we needed a class conflict. but they weren't allowed to be poor, either, because this show was all about rich people aesthetics. so we got something weird & in the middle instead.

people forget that chuck was canonically a billionnaire - like, that is a LOT of money. and he is dan & jenny's peer! sadly, i think solely because of THAT, a lot of the oppression the humphreys face... checks out. like chuck being shitty to both dan and jenny - he' has an unethical, absurd, uncomparable-to-whatever-the-humphreys-have amount of money. he can do whatever he wants & buy his way out of there. rufus humphrey's ten thousand dollars or whatever amount he mentions are like pocket change to that guy. if jenny is gonna be treated like a commodity by everyone around her, do her upper middle class roots and expensive loft really matter? well, not do they matter as much as like. can they protect her? (we've watched the show. we know the answer is no.)

re: the characters of colour... i think it's subjective. i ADORE raina, and honestly, if we'd had a NJBC that was nate, serena, blair & raina, the show would've actually been AMAZING. like raina was such a cool character to me - i liked that she was driven, passionate, intelligent, sensitive, caring, fun-loving, thoughtful.... she wasn't on the show for long, but her character felt really solid and fleshed out. i remember a review (idk who wrote this one) in which someone felt that raina's character was "lazy" because a lot of her traits and her backstory paralleled chuck, but i strongly disagree. on raina, those traits were interesting. on chuck, any backstory and larger motive felt like a carpet to cover the dust that was his predatory nature, and to me, felt forced and off. like. this dude assaulted people, i don't care about his daddy issues. but raina seemed SO amazing. her backstory actually fit her personality and gave her depth, and to me, didn't feel forced.

i liked ursula, too! she was a really minor character, but she had a whole arc, and i liked that a LOT. her friendship with serena was very cute! i sadly do not remember jane. i think she was... someone's assistant? but i don't remember who. but i agree with you about raina and ursula, their arcs were very interesting and did not end up being about racial trauma & all that, which, like you said, is refreshing when done right.

that said, i think blair's minions were, uh, an example of blair's racism, and i think it would've been cool if the show unpacked that. blair uses her minions as a status symbol - her 17th birthday at kati's place which is anime themed (?) leaves a bad taste in my mouth because it feels very tokenising of a culture that blair isn't a part of? it would be different if blair treated her minions with respect and dignity and like they were her equals and peers, but she doesn't. the word "minions" itself makes me flinch because it's such a "oh you're inferior" kind of word. it felt to me very much like - they never got to be characters in their own right. they solely existed to prop up blair. and i think that is racist. there was a sense of "Oh, I can't be racist! I have a Black friend and an Asian friend" from Blair - like that's what kati & is were to her. and i think that is a big problem, especially glossed over like that.

i also do think that racial stuff doesn't always need to be the focus! but i don't think it can ever be completely ignored, either. an example of something that is maybe unintentionally racist, but racist nonetheless, is how dan cuts vanessa out of his life entirely but forgives his white friends for treating him farrrr worse. it's an inherent double standard, because dan kind of went "oh yeah. my threshold for white people fucking me over is really high, but if my Black best friend who's so close we're practically family does something even slightly wrong i'm going to cut her out of my life 4ever." did the writers realise this? i don't know. maybe they just didn't think about it. but this is exactly the sort of double standards and racist bullshit that woc, especially Black women, have to face irl (though of course i don't need to tell you that at all), except here, the narrative doesn't even address that, hey, maybe dan's being a dick by reacting this way. and i think that's a problem, too.

[sarkywoman]

Writing Asks

Tagged by @under-the-shady-tree, thanks!

20 questions, writer’s edition, let’s go!!

How many works do you have on AO3? 85

What’s your total AO3 word count? 712708

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they? Oof, uh... since like, 1999? Um, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Andromeda, Supernatural, Heroes, NCIS, DC, Marvel, The Umbrella Academy, Kingsmen, ASoIaF/Game of Thrones, Borderlands, Community, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, Doctor Who/Torchwood, Final Fantasy, Harry Potter, Misfits, I think I’ve forgotten some...

What are your top 5 fics by kudos? Noble Blood (Game of Thrones, ASoIaF - GRRM)  A Song of Bastards and Wards (ASoIaF - GRRM, Game of Thrones)  Young God (Borderlands)  Story and Sorcery (Loki: Agent of Asgard, Marvel)  My Shame is True (The Umbrella Academy (TV))

Do you respond to comments, why or why not? I try to! Comments are so important in the fanfic community and I know how hard it is to think of something to say about a story, even when you’ve loved it to bits, so I don’t want people to feel ignored. Especially because I appreciate comments so, so much! I will say though, I have lapses, often when my mental health isn’t good, where I simply don’t know how to respond to people and then months go by and I feel weird about replying... so sorry if you’ve ever commented on one of my stories and got silence - it was me not you!

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending? The Aimless One (Misfits (TV 2009)) Straight up the saddest story I’ve written, no question. Normally writing sad stuff doesn’t make me sad but I had to take a break in the middle of this to just try and grapple with the idea I’d had because it tapped into a lot of depressing thoughts I have about life and death in general. The comments were all complimentary but so upset that at first I was like ‘hooray, it had the desired impact’, then after a while I started to think ‘why did I want to hurt people like this?’

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending? Probably  Realising All You Ever Wanted, a Hobbs/Dirk fic for the Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency fandom. There’s such minor conflict in that one that the sugary sweet ending isn’t out of place. 

Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written? Well. I have some fandoms that are sort of crossovers already, things like Marvel where you have comic versions and movie versions and it doesn’t really feel like a crossover to be picking and choosing. Same with a Dirk Gently/Thor fic I did, because Thor cameos in the DG canon, but not this Thor. I think the most ambitious crossover I’ve worked on was a collaborative chatfic with @freshgratednutmeg that we’re never likely to post, where the need for more background characters in an Umbrella Academy A/o fic led to it being crossed over with Marvel and Brooklyn 99. (Leading to such amusements as Diego sparring with Rosa, and Five competing with Shuri in class.)

Have you ever received hate on a fic? Yeah, but it’s never been very well-reasoned so it’s been fairly easy to dismiss. Some people expect everyone to share their own perspective of the characters and it’s weird.

Do you write smut? If so what kind? Not really. I can go there and have done on occasion, but it doesn’t interest me very much. I think I did it more when I was younger because I felt like it was a necessary aspect of grown-up fanfic writing (when I started I was a teenager amongst mostly adults... or other people lying about their age too lol). These days I’m more likely to fade to black or allude to the acts. But I’m not averse to writing it or anything, but it’s never the focus of my story.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Only in the sense that I see them on other sites I didn’t upload to, sometimes in other languages, sometimes not. They normally say my name somewhere on them so they’re not stolen as such, but it’s still uncomfortable to see my work circulated to other sites without my permission.

Have you ever had a fic translated? Not with my permission, but yeah. I don’t know how to feel about translations. Obviously I want people of other languages to be able to read my work, but at the same time I’m not fluent enough to be able to check the translator’s work, so I won’t know if they’ve done any better than google. Word choice is pretty important in fiction. A bad translation can totally warp a text.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? Not for posting or sharing, but me and @freshgratednutmeg cowrite all the time.

What’s your all time favorite ship? All time?! That’s impossible to answer. I’m a multi-shipper for starters, in pretty much every fandom I’ve been in. When I find a ship I love, I love it intensely above all others for the duration of the fixation. Then eventually it gets set aside when I find a new fandom. I’m also indecisive enough to not really have an all-time favourite anything. 

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will? A Song of Bastards and Wards (ASoIaF - GRRM, Game of Thrones). I can’t begin to describe the pages of notes I have for this beast. Unless I threw them out, which... scanning my room... is a distinct possibility. Ouch. I’d hoped to parallel the books for a long time with this one, but the amount of work for a project like that is too much when you’re no longer as passionate about the source fandom. I suspect what I might do is scenes with interconnecting notes, just so people get some sense of closure.

What are your writing strengths? Dialogue, baybee! Kinda makes me want to be a scriptwriter. People are always telling me that the characters ‘sound like’ them. I think it’s from reading voraciously from when I was young and being quite a social child, that moving speech patterns and quirks into writing is something that comes very naturally to me. Too natural, in fact, because IRL I write how I speak and that’s not always suited to the situation.

What are your writing weaknesses? Most things other than dialogue. Even thought processes are an internal dialogue, so they’re okay, but then like... a fight scene? A sex scene? Just even... what are their hands doing while they’re talking? How are these people physically present? Where are they? Are they inside, outside, is the building on fire? My descriptive skills are lacking, to say the least. It’s something I’m working on.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? I’m not quite sure what’s meant by this. I’m not fluent in anything other than English so I don’t see that would work well for me. I know a few phrases in German/French/Welsh/Latin/Spanish but nothing useful for conversation. Dropping in words can work, if it’s the same way the speaker would use them amidst their English. Most of the time the characters I’m writing wouldn’t be speaking in another language anyway. We can blame the tag-team of English colonialism and American media for that one I think. I think that sometimes authors utilise a character’s language in a way that just exposes how little the author actually knows of the language and that’s a bit cringe for me.

What was the first fandom you wrote for? Buffy the Vampire Slayer. None of those are online atm because they’re so so bad XD I should post them just so people can see improvement but... I can’t even read them, they’re hilarious. The most gratuitous self-inserts, the most ludicrous arguments, the most out-of-character romantic declarations.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written? Hmm, that’s a quandary. I think I’ll differentiate between favourite to write, and favourite end product. Favourite to write was probably  Noble Blood (Game of Thrones, ASoIaF - GRRM) because it was just a romp through my favourite themes. Given it’s one of my most popular stories, I’d say that just proves you should write what you want! I was going to quickly say  Young God (Borderlands) is my favourite fic for quality of the finished product, because I pretty much just sat down one evening and spilled it into a word doc then reread it back and thought ‘huh, did I write that? Awesome’. But I’m happy with a couple of more recent things I’ve done for The Umbrella Academy fandom, notably  The Price of Parenthood, which is very different to what I usually write and is a look at the life of one of the mothers who gave up her child to Reginald. Also The Water Calls, which was the only thing I managed to write for the recent MerMay event. It took me a little while to puzzle out how it all fit together, then once I had it worked out it came together wonderfully and I was very happy with the tone of it. 

Tagging anyone who fancies doing it.

[so-this-is-my-blog-i-guess]

I was tagged by the beautiful, intriguing @thatsnotyourpurse to share eight albums that changed my life. Apologies for my verbosity.

1. Elton John - Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy. 1975. I remember laying in the grass in my backyard with my Dad’s cassette player. You know, one of those plain rectangular things with a handle and all the buttons on the end. I’d lay there and listen to this over and over. As a pianist myself, I fell in love with Elton. Hey, “Someone Saved My Life Tonight”.

2. Ramones - Leave Home. 1977. Yeah. Life changing. I can’t imagine existing without having had the music of the Ramones in my life. The songs were mostly simple, and about things I could relate to. “Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment”. Listening to this with Wen, singing and screaming it together. I had the great fortune of seeing them in a small north Jersey club twice. And I dragged the ex to see them in a small club in Asbury Park. There may have been a fourth time, but my brain is foggy. The very first show I saw, they blew the power out during their first song. Ha.

3. Depeche Mode - Some Great Reward. 1984. I remember being in the bedroom of my first apartment, my tv on in the living room. The relatively early MTV doing its thing. And then I heard, “People Are People”. I had to go into the living room to see who that was. Within a few days, I’d gone to the Sam Goody in the biggest local mall to buy this album. I ended up talking to the manager, Joel, who showed me the earlier DM albums that I then proceeded to buy. Vital listening for me. I had the pleasure of seeing them on the, “Music for the Masses” tour, and a few more times since.

4. Echo and the Bunnymen - Songs to Learn and Sing. 1985. A greatest hits kinda. Went back to Joel and bought the albums I’d missed previously. I don’t remember the first song I heard nor the first time I saw them on MTV. But Mac’s voice has been a comfort to me many times in my life. And that iconic hair. I never saw them live until 2009. But a few more times since.

5. Whirling Dervishes - History Kicks You. 1985. I sat behind the lead singer in my senior year of high school class, “Current American Problems” haha. Too appropriate. Several other members of the band were also in my high school at the same time I was dragging myself through those hallways. Since they were classmates and semi-friends, I had to buy their records at the local record store. When I heard about shows, I tried to see them as often as possible. The night of my first date with the now ex husband, after dinner I dragged him to the Stone Pony to see them play. Let’s just say that my ex didn’t enjoy them as much as I did. He’s Mr Classic Singer/Songwriter Rock. I’m Ms (god, I hate that Ms thing) New Wave/80s Alt Rock (with a touch of goth). 🤷🏼‍♀️ They got airplay on the rock stations throughout the area. And they showed up a few times on MTV. Their version of the Grinch song got national airplay and was actually kinda popular.

6. JS Bach (Itzhak Perlman, Isaac Stern, and Zubin Mehta) - The “Double” Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor. 1983. My parents were huge fans of Time/Life books and record collections, and this “Great Performance” was a record I fell in love with immediately. My love for Itzhak Perlman then inspired me to take my parents and two of their friends to see Mr Perlman perform at a relatively nearby community theatre hall, up close and personal, for about $150 a seat... back then. He was absolutely amazing. Because of this man, I had a great desire to learn the violin. My piano school/teachers had been very against their students dividing their time from piano studies. So I never persued it earlier. I eventually rented myself a violin, but couldn’t find a teacher. Apparently then you were supposed to start orchestra studies in middle school. :(

7. Radiohead - In Rainbows. 2007. I’d been watching, “Rockstar INXS”, and hearing all the contestants attempting to sing, “Creep”. Marty Casey made me fall in love with the song. When I became aware that Radiohead were going to release a new album, I had to have it. When I received the cds, I listened right away. My very first thought upon hearing, “In Rainbows”, was... what the fuck is this shit??? So when they announced the tour for the album, I bought tickets for their show in Bristow, Virginia. Amazingly, I’d become a bit social and made a few friends on one of the band’s message boards (wow, that sounds old). So on Mother’s Day weekend, I drove to Virginia, met up with two women (and one’s husband) I’d become friends with on the board. Hol and I waited in the pouring flooding rain for the gates to open so we could run to our spots in the pit! I bought pit tickets. Standing behind one row of people right in front of Ed, drinking our $10 cans of beer. I was social. I had legitimate friends from the internet. I had a new favourite band. And I saw them three more times on that tour. There were people who actually sincerely liked me. People I’d talk with on the actual phone! Yeah. I’d say this album changed my life.

8. Rammstein - Liebe ist für alle da. 2009. So. Someone on that message board posted a link for Rammstein’s new single... “Pussy”, which the video for was actual porn. Being the hypersexual person I had developed into, I had to buy the album. Then, when a concert opportunity came around, I had to go. December of 2010, I took the train into New York City to see Rammstein at Madison Square Garden. By myself. Gee. Apparently this show was something of a special show, as it was their first concert after being allowed back into the US (they had a few little things go on that got them banned. Them? haha). No doubt it was an incredible experience. I was seated to the side of the stage with a perfect view. Then, that spring, they set off to tour. In May I saw them again, but at the Meadowlands. I had tickets to see them in Philly a day or two later, but I had a major panic attack as I was enjoying a coffee from Wawa before the drive. I ended up just going home, after arguing with myself in the car for a bit. So. I didn’t get to see them a third time, but I was and am so thrilled that I was able to see them... at the age of 49. 💜

____________

All of this would’ve been under a cut, but until tumblr makes it available on mobile, 🤷🏼‍♀️ Sorry.

I really dislike tagging people, so please do this if you’d like to. And please tag me so I can see what changed you guys’ lives. (I almost really showed my Jersey. I almost typed, “youse guys”... not like I’ve ever spoken like that. Who am I kidding? There’s Jersey all over this.).

[rachelbethhines]

Tangled Salt Marathon - One Angry Princess

There’s two halves to this episode. The first is a well constructed, if over simple, mystery for the kiddos to solve. The other is a failed attempt at being ‘deep’ and ‘mature’.  

Summary: Attila is finally opening up his own bakery, but people generally don't want to stop by because of his scary helmet. The next day, Monty's Sweet Shoppe is destroyed, and Attila is arrested. He is about to be banished from the kingdom, but Rapunzel makes an appeal to investigate the matter further. 

The Episode is Meant to be a Homage to 12 Angry Men, but Misses the Point of the Original Film

So for those who haven’t seen the movie, (though really you should) 12 Angry Men is about a jury trying to decide if an accused person is guilty of a violent crime. At first the evidence seems clear, but one lone juror refuses to vote guilty until the evidence has been gone over again. One by one he convinces the other men to vote not guilty as they each have to face they’re own personal biases.

Sound familiar? 

In the show Rapunzel is the sole believer in Attila’s innocence despite evidence to the contrary. She insists on investigating herself while challenging everyone else’s personal biases. 

The difference?

12 Angry Men is a hard hitting look at how privilege, prejudice, and cognitive bias can interfere with the American judicial system. None of the jurors are named, but they are all middle class, presumably Christian, white guys. And that is the point. They are all different from the accused; a young, poor, arguably non-white teen (the play is intentionally vague about the kid’s race so that you can slot any minority in there) who has a history of getting into trouble. If you were to change the ethnicity, race, gender, class, or age of any of the 12 characters then you would suddenly have a very different story. It’s their backgrounds and pre-formed opinions that inform their decisions. Even the main protagonist is not exempt from re-examining his own personal biases. 

Meanwhile the writers of Tangled: the Series are too busy showing off how clever Rapunzel is to actually deal with the themes of injustice and bigotry that they added in themselves in the first place.

Rapunzel Knowing Attila Before Hand Weakens the Message

In 12 Angry Men none of the jurors know the accuse. In fact, they can’t know him. It’s against the law. In order to have an impartial jury, no one can have any ties to either the defendant or the prosecution, and they must not have knowledge of the case or have had specific experiences that might cause them to be biased or unfair. 

Rapunzel being Attila’s friend means that she already has her own bias and an invested interest in making sure Attila goes free. She’s not acting out of the simple goodness of her heart here. She’s doing something that directly benefits herself. 

I don’t expect a children’s fantasy show to recreate the US judicial system with all of the complexities there in, but I do expect it to uphold it’s heroine as the selfless person it claims her to be. Yet the show constantly undermines this supposed character trait by only having her help the people she befriends, and only if that help doesn’t require anything emotionally challenging or mentally taxing from her.   

How much more powerful would this episode be if Rapunzel was defending a stranger or someone she actively disliked? Imagine if it was Monty who was being accuse and Raps had to swallow her pride in order to do what is right. But that would require the show having Rapunzel actually learn something instead of placing her on a pedestal. It would also mean giving Monty a reason to exist rather than keeping him around to be a convenient red herring.      

Rapunzel Shouldn’t Have to Prove Attila’s Innocence 

Rather than have a courtroom drama the show opts to have a ‘whodunit’ story instead. This unfortunately gives the implication that Corona’s judicial system runs on a ‘guilty until proven innocent’ mantra, which is backwards to any humane legal system. ‘Innocent until proven guilty’, ‘reasonable doubt’, ‘due process’, are the cornerstones of our modern social ethics. 

In 12 Angry Men, we never find out if the accused actually committed the crime or not. That is because his actual innocence isn’t the point of the story. It’s about whether or not the system is working like it should or if it’s being compromised by human error. 

Once again, I don’t expect a recreation of the US judicial system, but if you’re writing a story for a modern audience then you need to reinforce modern morals. Simply crouching Corona’s legal system as ‘of the times’ or ‘fantasy’ while ignoring why we no longer have such systems in place reduces the story to puerile fare. 

It also means that show’s writers didn’t put enough thought into their world building. 

No One Calls Out the Obviously Corrupt System 

The show has interwoven throughout its ongoing narrative themes of classism, injustice, abuse, and authoritarianism, but then fails to follow through on those themes by not having any of the protagonists actually examine any of these issues. They just sit there in the background, even as the show tries it darndest to present Rapunzel as an arbiter of reform. However a person can’t bring about change if they can’t even admit that there is a problem to begin with.   

In this episode alone we have

Banishment is considered a reasonable punishment for an act of vandalism. A crime that is usually considered only a misdemeanor unless the damage goes over a certain amount. Keep in mind that not even most felonies would be given such a punishment in the real world

Introduces the prison barge that regularly carries away convicts. In the past ‘undesirables’ would be shipped off to prison colonies as a form of persecution. Attila and every other person we see subjected to Corona’s legal system are of a lower class. 

Many prejudge Attila based off his appearance, lower class, and past upbringing. However, it is either Attila who is expected to change or Rapunzel who is expected to win people over. At no point is anyone told that they shouldn’t be prejudiced to begin with. 

There is no judge, jury, or lawyers. The king alone decides the fate of criminals, the Captain is expected to be the both the prosecutor and the ‘executioner’, which is a conflict of interest, and the defendant has no one to represent them unless they so happen to know a kind statesperson. Meaning you have to be either rich or well connected in order to even have a chance to defend yourself. 

Oh and there’s this...

Uh, yeah you do. You’re the flipping king. You make the law. You’re the one to bring charges against Attila, and nearly every other criminal in the show, in the first place. 

The show constantly wants us to view Frederic as simply an everyman who is only doing his job, but he’s not. He’s a ruler and as such he has powers and responsibilities that no one else has or ever will have. The series gives both him and Rapunzel all of the privileges of being in charge without holding them to account for the consequences of their actions. 

By not pointing out how wrong these actions are, the show winds up avocating them instead. When I call Tangled the Series authoritarian, this is why. Because authority is never questioned even when clearly wrong and nepotism is presented as the solution to conflicts as oppose to being the problem itself.

The Show Introduces Complex Issues but Then Oversimplifies the Conflicts Surrounding Those Issues

The creators of the show have constantly declared that the series is ‘not for kids’. That they were shooting for an older audience than the pre-school time slot they were given. Now ignoring the fact that Tangled was always going to have a built in audince of pre-teen girls and ignoring that children’s media can be mature, TTS lacks the nuance needed to viewed as anything other than a pantomime. 

As stated before, this episode alone ignores the very real issues interlaced within the conflict in order to give us an overly simple mystery that anyone over the age of five could figure out.  

It’s frustrating to watch the show constantly skirt towards the edge of complexity only to see it chicken out and go for the low hanging fruit instead. As a consequence the series winds up being for no one. Too shallow for adults and older teens, but too confused in its morals to be shown to small children and younger adolescents. 

I wouldn’t recommend this show to a parent, not without encouraging them to view the series either before or alongside their child in order to counteract it’s ‘lessons’ and I know parents within the fandom itself who’ve stopped showing newer episodes to their kids; stating that they want their child to be old enough to point out the harmful messages to before doing so. 

Once Again No One Learns Anything 

Rapunzel doesn’t learn that the system is flawed. Attila doesn’t learn to open up to people. Nobody learns to treat people with respect and to not judge others based on appearances alone.

The whole point of the episode is to just show off how much ‘better’ Rapunzel is than everyone else. The show constantly feels the need to tear down other characters in an effort to make its favs look good as opposed to just letting the mains grow as people. 

Conclusion

Tangled the tv series is no 12 Angry Men. It’s no Steven Universe/Gravity Falls/Avatar:TLA/She-Ra/Gargoyles/Batman:TAS either. It barely reaches the same level as the likes of DnD, Sonic SATAM, or Voltron. Interesting ideas but poor pacing, build up, and lack of follow through, with some naff decisions thrown into the mix bring things down in quality. And unlike the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon from the early 80s, TTS lacks the benefit of being a pioneer in the field of animation, where such flaws are more forgivable. 

[rabbitcruiser]

Top Gun Day

Host a watch party, with costumes and topical games, or simply gather your friends to watch the 1986 Tom Cruse classic Top Gun and its sequels.

In 1986, smack dab in the middle of the bodacious decade of neon, headbangers and The Brat Pack, the movie Top Gun roared into theaters like an F-14 Tomcat. It got a missile lock on the box office and shot down just over $356 million, making it what would eventually be the 11th highest grossing movie of Tom Cruise’s career. The movie centers on Maverick, a hot shot pilot, who is sent to the US Navy Fighter Weapons school, and all of the drama, pride and testosterone that scenario entails.

History of Top Gun Day

The actual Navy Fighter Weapons School was formed in 1969, during the time of the Viet Nam War, by the Chief of Naval Operations Admiral, Thomas Hinman Moorer, at the recommendation of Captain Frank Ault. The realization came that the Navy’s fighter pilots needed more training. 

During Operation Rolling Thunder, the United States lost nearly 1,000 aircraft over North Vietnamese skies. The USAF and Navy both sought the causes, but came to two different conclusions. The Air Force believed that the fault was mechanical: that MiG pilots caught American pilots in a rear blind spot. The Navy decided that the failure was in training. The Air Force responded by developing new technology, while the Navy started the Top Gun school, eventually paving the way for 110 minutes of heart pounding action, backed by a roaring theme song.

Top Gun Day Timeline

 1969

Top Gun school admits its first class 

The Navy Fighter Weapons School is opened for extra combat training at the height of the Viet Nam war.

 1981

Tom Cruise debuts on the big screen 

Playing a minor role in the film, Endless Love, Tom Cruise was beat out for the starring role (opposite Brooke Shields) by Martin Hewitt, an actor who would end up doing mostly random TV appearances afterward.

 1986

Top Gun is released 

Quickly earning a deep love from audiences, Top Gun becomes the highest grossing film of the year.

 1987

US Navy uses the film for recruiting 

In a “Join the Navy” commercial, songs from the movie are used along with shots that look like that came straight from Top Gun footage.

 2022

Top Gun 2 

After waiting more than 30 years, the world finally gets to see Tom Cruise in action again as “Maverick”.

How to Celebrate Top Gun Day

Top Gun Day celebrates the movie, but at its core is all about attitude. It teaches about the importance of teamwork…and shirtless volleyball. So how do you take the highway to the danger zone?

Get started with some of these ideas:

Reenact the best Top Gun Movie Scenes 

A good way to begin might be by reliving the adventures of Goose, Maverick and the Iceman. Go to a karaoke bar and sing “She’s Lost that Loving Feeling” and “Take My Breath Away.” Why not try to play a little volleyball with a group? Shirtlessness is optional, of course. Download some Kenny Loggins and blast “Danger Zone” out of those car windows as loud as is possible.

But maybe karaoke isn’t the thing and the weather isn’t good enough for sports. It is still possible to find other ways to enjoy the day!

Host a Top Gun Day Party

Get friends and family together for a cool party in honor of Top Gun Day. Invite people to dress up like their favorite characters. Entertain by playing Top Gun trivia games before settling in to watch the movie.

During the movie, don’t forget to grab a pair of dark aviator glasses and an old leather jacket. For an added challenge, try to find a pair of overalls to convert into a flight suit! It might even be fun to make it into a double feature with some other jet-fighter movies of the era, like the lesser known Iron Eagle, which actually came out a few months before Top Gun.

Snacks served at the party could include a variety of airplane and naval themed treats, such as patriotic m&ms in red, white and blue, cookies in the shapes of stars, airplanes or clouds, and even aviator glasses. Decorations can, of course, feature anything red, white and blue, stars & stripes, naval, airplanes, American flags or even quotes from the Top Gun movie.

Listen to the Top Gun Soundtrack

Of course, the music played at the Top Gun Day party is key. After all, the movie won more awards for its soundtrack and score than in any other category! It’s packed with quintessential 80s classic songs, like these:

Playing with the Boys by Kenny Loggins. Featuring in Tom Cruise’s shirtless beach volleyball scene, this song plays when Maverick (wearing full-length jeans) and Goose beat their adversaries. Of course, then Maverick bails because he has a date with his love interest, Charlie, played by Kelly McGillis. 

Take My Breath Away by Berlin. It must be good because this song plays in Top Gun no less than four times! Incidentally, the band named themselves Berlin in an attempt to make people think they were German, but they were really an American new wave band. 

Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins. Appearing in the movie three times, this is the ultimate fighter jet song. 

You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ by The Righteous Brothers. This one is a classic from 1964 that made a comeback more than 20 years later because of the Top Gun Movie. It plays in the movie when Maverick and the other naval officers lip sync it to Charlie in the bar while it plays on the jukebox. 

Show Off with Top Gun Quotes

The Top Gun movie offers a ton of quotable lines that can be used to make an impression. For instance, you can ask your friends for permission to buzz the tower. If they say no, do it anyway. If they ask YOU to buzz the tower, be sure to say “Negative Ghost Rider, the pattern is full.” Just be prepared for them to buzz you anyway.

Or, even easier, simply tell everyone you see that you have the need, the need for speed. “You can be my wingman forever”, “Let’s turn and burn!” and “Remember boys, no points for second place” are also some other great lines from the film.

Learn Some Fun Facts About Top Gun

Even those who consider themselves to be pretty big fans of the movie might have something new to learn when it comes to Top Gun Day trivia! Here are some fun facts to impress friends and coworkers alike on the day:

Top Gun is set in San Diego, California and many of the sites for filming can still be visited, including Charlie’s little blue house and Kansas City Barbeque, which still features Goose’s piano.

Tom Cruise, at only 5’7”, wore lifts in his shoes to balance out the taller 5’10” Kelly McGillis as his love interest in the movie.

The movie didn’t originally have a love scene. That scene between Maverick and Charlie was added later, after test audiences said it needed one.

Bryan Adams was invited to sing on the Academy Award winning soundtrack, but he backed out because he thought the movie promoted war.

Play Top Gun Video Games

There are also two Top Gun video games currently available. The first is simply called Top Gun and was released for iOS devices by Freeverse Software. The second is called Top Gun: Hardlock. It comes from 505 Games, and is playable on PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

Talk to a Member of the Armed Forces

There are many ways one could enjoy and relieve the excitement of the movie, but perhaps one of the more meaningful things you could do is to find a member of the armed forces, particularly an aviator, and thank them for keeping the skies safe. Ultimately, without someone up there, we might not have the movie, or the day, down here.

However you choose to celebrate, be sure to raise a glass for Goose, Maverick, Iceman and the rest of Top Gun class of 1986. Let the world know that you haven’t lost that loving feeling, even after all this time.

Top Gun Day FAQs

How old is Tom Cruise in Top Gun?

Top Gun was released when Tom Cruise was just 23 years old, just three years after his break-through role in Risky Business.

Are Top Gun pilots real?

Yes! Top Gun was an actual pilot training school in San Diego, California, known as the Navy Fighter Weapons School, until it merged with another school and moved to Fallon, Nevada in 1996.

When was Top Gun made?

The original Top Gun movie was made in 1986.

What is the most famous song in Top Gun?

“Take My Breath Away” by Berlin won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe. Other popular songs from the film include “Danger Zone” and “Playing with the Boys”, both by Kenny Loggins.

Did Top Gun win any awards?

Top Gun won most of its awards for the music and sound, but other awards include a People’s Choice Award and an ASCAP Award.

Source

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #332

i’m even more tired than before to try and think up song lyrics, i’m pasting from Word and then fucking off to bed lmao.

What was the last video message you received on your phone? I think it was a clip of Doris (Sara's beardie) eating and just being her perfect self? Was your last birthday cake homemade or store bought? Store-bought. One thing you miss about middle school? Shit, nothing. Middle school was the worst. Do you have any shirts signed by famous people? No. Have you ever entered an art competition? Yes. Would you ever pierce yourself? No. I am very much about having a professional do your body mods/art. Plus, I have tremors in my hands. Do you live in a safe neighbourhood? Supposedly. We haven't lived here nearly long enough to know. What is the last thing you did that shocked someone? /shrug Do you often find yourself questioning your future? Only always. Have you ever been for a ride in the back of a truck? Yeah. Do you like your license photo? I hate my permit picture. Are you into superheroes? Who’s your favorite? Not very, but I like 'em enough. I always say my favorite is Deadpool, but I know he's technically an anti-hero, but whatever. If you don't include him, uhhhh... maybe Spiderman. Have you started watching any new TV shows recently? No. Have you ever been able pet a normally wild animal, like a tiger or dolphin? No. :( At least, not to my recollection. Have you ever eaten snow? Yeah. There's actually a winter treat 'round here that you make with snow and sugar called snow cream. Good stuff. What is the messiest area in your home? Right now, the spare room/my wanna-be "office." What’s your favorite computer game genre? Still horror, like video games. Do you have any exes your parents never liked? No. Have you received financial help from your parents in the past 5 years? I'm completely financially dependent on them still. Are you a fast or a slow eater? I eat like, stupid fast, but without being messy. People *cough*Mom*cough* will absolutely point it out, but I seriously can't help it. Making a conscious effort to eat slow feels way too weird. What was the last thing you purchased from a small local business? I don't know. Is there anyone in your family/household whom you frequently argue with? No. Have you ever used chewing tobacco? Ew, no. Tell me what's on your mind? I've been considering yet again reaching out to some tattoo parlors and asking if they're open to hiring someone to handle the front desk and take care of business besides actually performing piercing and tattooing, given my tremors. My group therapy has kinda been encouraging me to use the possibility for social exposure, and besides, I'm very comfortable in the environment and just general aura of tat parlors. I'm sure I'd have to answer the phone, handle money, and obviously talk to costumers, but I know and accept that. I've been at such a stagnant point with my social anxiety in particular that I have to start pushing back harder, and doing this I feel would be one of the most relaxed, social job positions I can hopefully handle. I don't dare to even try this though until I get vaccinated to protect my immunocompromised mom. Writing this all out has actually been pretty encouraging about this idea... Do you wish you never dated someone you dated? Yeah, Tyler. It was such a "I'm lonely and he was nice in high school, so we'll try it" situation. I got nothing from it. Are you scared of growing old alone? Pretty badly. What are you listening to right now? I'm listening to/semi-watching John Wolfe play the remaster of Resident Evil 2. What breed was the last dog you saw? He was a German shepherd. Would you ever go swimming during a thunderstorm? No. Any time a thunderstorm was brewing and I was in the pool, I'd always get out. What is the next concert you will attend? Mom and I plan to see Ozzy when/if he reschedules his tour after he had to cancel with his Parkinson's diagnosis. What was the name of the last pet of yours that died? Teddy. :/ What's the highest science class you have taken? I don't know, actually. What makes you squeal like a school girl? No shame, seeing Mark and Amy do something cute together actually does this, lmao. What’s your favorite symbol? (i.e. the pentagram, the cross, etc.) Do fictional ones count? Because in that case, the Halo of the Sun from the Silent Hill franchise. I'm getting it tattooed somewhere at some point, I'm thinking the left side of my neck. I'm either gonna fashion it in a way where it looks branded on or carved into me. Have you ever been on anti depressants? For all of my pre-teen, teen, and some of my adult life. Apparently, I've only had one truly educated psychiatrist out of no less than a dozen I'd seen, because he fixed me right up. He taught me that those who suffer from bipolarity should avoid anti-depressants; they ramp up your bipolar symptoms. Instead, mood stabilizers are favorable. And what do you know, after I was prescribed a stabilizer and a catalyst for that medication, my depression decreased dramatically and became handleable. Have you ever starved yourself? Kinda. What’s the stupidest name you’ve ever given a pet? I had a guinea pig named Harry Potter. For no particular reason lmao. I'm not even a Harry Potter fan. Do you have nice legs? God no. Do you like fedoras? Okay so I know I am in the strong minority, but I actually do, haha. What is your favorite food group? Carbs. @_@ Have you ever got told that you should be a model? No, but one of the most flattering indirect compliments I've ever gotten was being mistaken for one. Jason's phone wallpaper was one of my favorite pictures of myself with my first snake, and someone asked him if I was a model. ;v;' What song is in a language you don’t speak, but you love it anyway? "Donaukinder" by Rammstein is one of my faves. Who’s a villain you sympathize with and why? SOBS Darkiplier bc his origins are so damn tragic and unfair. What book do you think should be directed as a film? Was The Giver ever made into one? I don't remember that book well, but I do recall it being absolutely beautiful. Have you ever found a stranger’s note somewhere? If so, what did it say? No. Have you ever edited Wikipedia? No. Have you ever edited any other wiki? Yeah. I have thousands on the Silent Hill wiki, where I'm one of the admins. I'm also a content moderator at the Team Ico (Shadow of the Colossus devs) one. Every now and again I used to go on the meerkats wiki as well, where I mainly fixed the fucking nightmarish grammar. Very briefly, I edited at the Dragons of Atlantis wiki as well. Do you get scared when you know some virus or sickness is being passed? Not very, but of course I still acknowledge the risk and am more conscious of hand washing and stuff. What popular social media platforms AREN’T you on? Snapchat, I don't actually use my Twitter, I don't have a personal Instagram... There may be more, idk. Is TikTok a "social media platform?" Because I don't have that, either. What was the name of the first porcelien doll you got? Never had one, given I was afraid of dolls as a kid. What’s your favorite Paramore song? "Decode." Would you be happy with a life without romance? To be entirely honest, I'd feel like I was missing something. Was your childhood happy? Mostly. What fundamentally matters do you? Love, kindness, peace, all that gooey stuff. Is true world peace ever possible? As much as I hate to admit it, I don't think so. The human population is far too big to come to a unanimous agreement on anything. Do you hold yourself to higher standards than you hold others? Yeah. Would you ever own a pet black widow spider? No. I'm getting more into the idea of owning invertebrates (I jabber enough about wanting tarantulas, and there are others, like mantises, I'm interested in as pets), but black widows, I'm not into the idea of having. Too venomous for me to be comfortable risking. If you have a job, what is the longest shift that you've worked? N/A Do you know all of the words to "Bohemian Rhapsody?" FUCK YES I DO. ^ Do you sing it with all of the different voices? sho nuff Do you own more than one copy of a certain book? No. Do you like interpreting poetry or just reading it for fun? Both. I love symbolism, so I get joy out of digging for subtle meanings in poems. Do you have a favorite Dr. Suess book? Yeah, it was always Green Eggs and Ham. Do you watch The Walking Dead? If so, favorite character? Not the show, but I've watched let's plays of the games, haha. In which case Clementine is inarguably one of the best female characters in a video game universe. Who has/had the most mature romantic relationship you’ve seen with your own eyes? Uhhh. I mean I never saw them much, but probably my late grandmother and her last husband. He was fucking incredible to her, and Grammy adored him as well. They helped each other so much and just obviously had the purest love between them. When was the last time you got something for free (legally)? What was it & have you enjoyed it so far? Lmao do balls in Pokemon GO count? Their occasional free boxes are the reason I can play the game because PokeStops are essentially non-existent here, so yes. What is the one fruit you can’t stand to eat? How about vegetable? The first one that came to me were oranges. I enjoy orange juice, but I just caaaaannot with the white veiny shit that you can't totally get off when peeling it. Without that, I might actually enjoy them, but idk. As for vegetable, asparagus is absolutely abhorrent. When’s the last time you actually recited the pledge? If you aren’t American, do/did you have anything similar in your country that you do during a time at school? Probably not since high school. Last person you shared food with? Ummm I have no idea. It's really just Mom and me here and we eat our own stuff. What was the last song you heard for the first time and enjoyed? I believe it waaas... "Down In The Park" by Marilyn Manson, maybe. If your life was a TV show, what would be the theme song? My inner high school emo just screamed "All Signs Point to Lauderdale" by AD2R. Who are some of your favorite female fictional characters, and why? Gahdamn, there's a lot. I don't feel like going through a mental list in my head and then describing why. A character (in anything) you wish hadn’t been killed off? Vol'jin; I think the entire WoW fanbase will forever be pissed about it. It was THE most "lul we dunno what 2 do w/ him anymore, let's let a totally random, unnamed, unimportant demon kill him" like what the fuck, Blizz. Most of his "oomph" was in the book, and I just really wish they'd done so much more with him in the game. Has anything “cute” happened in the past week? Off the top of me noggin, no. When did you last say “I love you”? Did you mean it? Yesterday to Sara. OF course I did. Is there someone who pops into your mind at random times? Hi, PTSD, how are ya. Have you ever slept all day? Essentially. When I was on a larger dose of my anxiety med, I physically couldn't stay up for barely even five minutes, and when I'd lie back down, boom, I was OUT. I stayed on that dosage for I think just that one day, it was so bad. Can you have kids? Well, I have a functioning menstrual cycle, so I would assume so. Doesn't mean I will, though. What colors of mascara have you worn on your lashes? Only black. Do you like eating sour things? Hell yeah, I love sour stuff, candy in particular. Do you like pickles? fuuuuck yeah Did you ever have a really close friend move away? Yeah, in elementary school. I feel bad I can't remember her name at the moment... What's the most creative thing you've ever done? I mean, I guess the things I've written in RP. What's the most creative thing someone has done for you? For me? I don't really know. Do you like to watch ghost-hunting shows? Sure, they're some of my favorites. What’s something you’d like to be better at? Social interaction. Have you ever stayed up to talk to someone who was sad? Yeah. Do you think you would make a good parent? No. I know I wouldn't. The only time I ever wanted kids was with Jason, and honestly, I really hope I don't end up with a man because I never want to deal with that urge again and make a mistake. I'm just in no way emotionally fit to be a mother. How many best friends do you have? Just one. What do you cry over the most? My PTSD, honestly. I never sob about it anymore, just shed some tears. What language did/do you take in high school? Latin for one semester, then all four available for German. Which sports do you follow? None. Who was the last person you talked about marriage or having kids with? About marriage, Sara. Kids, the subject was lightly touched upon with Girt, though "with" was never a part of it, but obviously implied seeing as we were dating with long-term in mind. Have you ever been in a house fire? No, thankfully. Have you ever made out for one straight hour? them is rookie numbers Are you any good at remembering phone numbers? No. I literally don't even know my own, nor my mother's. I need to fix that. Who is your best friend of the opposite sex? Girt. Do you have a bookshelf? If so, just one or how many? No. If I gave you twenty bucks what would you do with it? Save it to go towards Venus' terrarium. Is there a movie from your childhood that you still watch today? Well of course! I'm unashamed to watch any "kids" movie I enjoy, like Disney ones. Most "kids" movies tend to be better than those intended for adults, it seems... Are you afraid of mice? Oh no, I adore mice and I think had a pair as pets before I got rats. What type of souvenir do you usually purchase when on vacation? I can't really answer this; I haven't gone on nearly enough vacations to develop a theme. I can say confidently though it'd probably be something small. If you could see any musical on Broadway right now, what would it be? I don't enjoy musicals. Have you ever watched Doctor Who? One or two with Sara, yes. I know we at least watched the weeping angels episode. If you read, which book or series did you enjoy most as a child? Warriors by S.E. Hinton. Sometimes I wanna get back into them, but I am YEARS behind and more into Wings of Fire anyway, so. I don't read nearly enough for both. How do you get rid of your hiccups? Literally no trick seems to work for me. I just suffer lmao.

[hereidinathoreauwrites]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (TV), Come From Away - Sankoff & Hein Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Zoey Clarke/Joan Characters: Zoey Clarke, Joan (Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist), Annette (Come From Away), Beulah Davis, Beverley Bass, Claude Elliott Additional Tags: Crossover, Angst and Tragedy, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, two people end up stuck together somewhere and oops they're in love, Developing Relationship, mentions of 9/11, the author is clearly just mashing together two things they very much enjoy and seeing what happens, Zoey and Joan are closer in age, college!Zoey, Gander (Come From Away), References to Come From Away Summary:

For Zoey, it was a return home from a study abroad program, back for her final semester at San Francisco State. For Joan, it was a business trip meant to fix her marriage from imminent destruction.

But when history crashed across the world on that fateful day, their lives were thrown together as they took refuge in Newfoundland and tried to cope with tragedies personal and global.

ZEP and Come From Away crossover. Because I said so.

She just wanted to get home.

Zoey Clarke tripped on her way to her seat, nearly smacking an angry-looking dark-haired first-class woman in the face. Mumbling an apology for the near-mishap, Zoey darted towards Economy, face burning.

It had been six months. Six glorious months of baguettes, and croissants, and the view across the Seine, and coding with her French classmates in two languages until the early hours of the morning. But she was finally going back home to California.

Zoey finally settled into her seat (an aisle seat) and threw her backpack into the overhead. She carefully tucked her computer case under the seat in front of her.

She’d barely settled herself before the cabin address began.

 “Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome aboard this American Airlines flight 846 nonstop service from Paris to Los Angeles. My name is Captain Bass. We have an estimated flight time today of roughly 11 and a half hours and we are due to arrive in LA at 2pm local time on Tuesday, September 11th. Please sit back and enjoy your flight.”

Zoey closed her eyes as they taxied; nervous but a small part of her relieved.

She’d be home soon.

***

Meet you in LA.

Joan Bennett scowled at the SMS on her phone screen. That’s it. That was all he’d been able to muster up. Skipping out on their anniversary in Paris entirely for some stupid reason. He hadn’t even called.

She sat back in her seat as the cabin address came on, eyes already closing as the standard pre-flight information was given.

LA was his last chance. If Charlie couldn’t buck up and actually give a damn about their marriage this time she was going to…

Joan pursed her lips, resolve faltering. You’d be all alone. Despite his many, many shortcomings, Charlie was still a warm body alongside hers (on the nights he was actually home). He was still a partner in this unfriendly world. And the thought of being without him…

She drifted into an uneasy sleep as they took off towards America. Towards the man she didn’t know how to love.

 “L…ladies and g…gentlemen…p..please, please fasten your seatbelts and put your tray tables up…we are preparing to land.”

Zoey blinked awake, confused. Were they in LA already?

Glancing around, she saw several others looking just as confused as she was. Zoey glanced at her watch. It had barely been five hours since they’d left Paris.

“What’s happening?” She asked the man next to her.

He just shook his head.

Zoey tightened her seatbelt and sat back, heart racing as the plane began a slow descent. She glanced over her neighbors and saw a tiny strip of land surrounded by vast ocean.

They weren’t falling. But something about this just didn’t quite feel right.

***

The plane touched down and Joan stared out the window. This wasn’t LAX. It was some rundown airport surrounded by trees.

“Where the hell are we?” She demanded.

“Newfoundland.” The flight attendant informed her, seeming distracted. “Nothing to worry about madam.”

“Any idea when we’ll be on our way?”

But the woman didn’t answer her. She vanished into the cockpit.

Joan heard hushed voices and some kind of chatter on the pilot’s radio.

She frowned and pulled out her cell phone.

As she dialed a number, she glanced out the window again.

It was then that she registered the dozens of other planes lined up in haphazard rows. And the long line of cars beyond the airport, stretching out along the winding country road.

What was going on?

***

Seven hours later, Zoey felt like she was losing her mind. She’d tried to ask the flight attendants questions or chat with her neighbor but no one seemed to know anything or be willing to share if they did. No one around her had a phone so she couldn’t even call her parents to let them know about the delay.

Her unease had only grown when the captain announced that complimentary drinks were going to be provided. Alcoholic drinks.

In Zoey’s limited experience, businesses only gave alcohol away on holidays and during the shittiest of circumstances. She doubted it was a holiday in…wherever-they-were Newfoundland.

As her fellow passengers got drunker, they got louder. And the plane only got hotter and more stifling.

An hour after the drinks, someone finally cracked open the airplane door. It did little overall but something was better than nothing at this rate.

Zoey couldn’t take it anymore. She needed to move. She needed to plug herself into her code and block out all this madness.

Her neighbor had joined the drunken revelry at the back a half hour ago. Scooping up her computer, Zoey wriggled out of her seat and made her way towards first class. There might be more leg room up there at least. And it was further from the drunk singing.

***

Joan wanted to kill somebody. They’d been sitting on the ground for over seven hours by this point, not including the five hour flight beforehand. And still, no one was telling them what was going on.

At least the free vodka was taking some of the edge off. But if she didn’t get off this plane soon, she was going to lose her mind. Or strangle a flight attendant.

“Excuse me…?”

Joan turned and saw the klutzy redhead from earlier pointing at the empty seat beside her. “Do…do you mind if I sit here? I need to get some work done and the back of the plane is filled with a lot of singing drunk people.”

Joan eyed the stranger, seizing her up. She was younger than Joan by maybe a decade and looked even younger in her bright shirt. An even brighter cardigan was tied around her waist. Her smile was soft and hesitant, like she was afraid to offend or even exist.

Joan shrugged. “No, of course not.” She was way past the point of caring. They were stuck in a plane in the middle of nowhere. Not like things could get much worse.

The woman took Charlie’s empty seat, giving Joan a soft smile.

“I’m Zoey.” She was clutching a laptop like it was a lifeline. That was the only reason Joan engaged with her.

“Joan.” She replied.

“H…how are you doing?” Zoey asked, her face pinching in concern.

Joan sighed. “Wish I knew what was happening.” She bit her lip and swigged the rest of her vodka miniature. “And worried about someone who was flying today…I wish I could tell him I’m in…Iceland!”

“Newfoundland.” Zoey’s face immediately fell as Joan rounded on her at the correction. “Sorry! Sorry, I didn’t mean to correct you!” The young woman gave a sheepish smile. “I’m hoping you’re one of those people who laugh when awkward people say stupid things.”

Joan couldn’t help but smile. “It’s fine. Don’t mind me, I’m just frustrated.”

Zoey nodded and Joan had to admire her empathy, especially under these circumstances. “Where were you coming from?” Zoey inquired.

“London.”

Zoey tilted her head, interest apparently piqued. “Really? You dont have an accent!”

Joan laughed. “I’m not from there…I���m…just working there. I haven’t developed the accent yet.” She gestured at the laptop. “How about you? What are you working on?” She normally wasn’t one for small talk, especially with strangers. But there was literally nothing else to do at this point so why not? Besides, Zoey wasn’t the worst option on the plane. Not by a long shot.

Zoey blushed and placed her laptop on the tray-table. It was a fairly expensive model but a few years old and clearly well-loved. “I’m actually a student.” She admitted. “Senior at San Fran State. I was coming back from a semester abroad in Paris. I’m studying computer science with a minor in languages.”

“Really?” Joan found herself turning towards the young woman, actually interested. What were the odds? “What are you going to do with that?”

Zoey gestured at the computer. “I’m working on my thesis: a piece of software for instant translations on emails and instant messages. I’m starting with English to French but hopefully I’ll be able to expand it.”

Joan was intrigued. “Well…this may be your lucky day…” She smiled. “I work for Google.”

Zoey’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

The next two hours flew by. They talked about everything: job prospects at Google, the finer coding points of Zoey’s software, life in London, and dog breeds. For a time, they were both able to put aside the trepidation and frustration of the long wait inside the plane.

They only stopped when the captain turned on the intercom and the voice of the president filtered through the plane.

 “My fellow Americans…”

They listened in confusion at his words: talk of victims and brave Americans rescuing their fellow citizens. Joan bit her lip, worry starting to creep in. What had happened? From the sound of it, some kind of natural disaster or explosion. But there was no way to get information while they were stuck here. Her phone was dead and anyway, there was…no one to call.

Joan turned to Zoey and was startled to see the younger woman trembling.

“Hey…” She gently touched Zoey’s shoulder, unsure if the action was welcome. “Hey, you okay?”

The younger woman smiled in gratitude but it seemed forced. “Joan…I know we just met…but…” She swallowed hard, seeming like she was looking for words. “I just…I’m all alone and I dont know what’s happening and…”

Joan touched her shoulder once more. “It’s fine.” She assured her. “I’m…alone too. You can stick with me until we figure things out.”

Zoey seemed relieved.

***

Joan briefly lost track of Zoey during the madness of disembarkation. The younger woman had slipped back to her seat as they heard they were leaving, needing to grab her bag. For all the long hours they’d been stuck, once word came down that they were finally getting off, leaving took very little time.

Joan was ushered down the aisle before Zoey reappeared. They finally left their plane and were herded through the darkness into the airport.

Joan swore it was older than she was - probably a relic from the Cold War…or World War II. Thankfully, they didn’t spend long inside.

The local soldiers guided them towards a line of school buses; keeping some flights together and splitting others up indiscriminately.

Joan glanced around as she shuffled along, wondering where Zoey had gotten to. Wondering if the vibrant young coder had fallen out of her life already. It was a shame if she had…Joan had rather liked her.

She followed other passengers from her flight onto a bus and claimed a seat about halfway down. It was cramped and squeaky. But at least it wasn’t a plane. She sat there for 20 minutes, one hand on the other half of the seat in a halfhearted attempt to save it.

But just as every other seat on the bus filled up, a familiar redhead climbed aboard. Joan’s heart jumped.

“Zoey!” She stood and waved to her, guiding her towards the empty seat. “I thought we’d lost you.” She was very glad she hadn’t.

Zoey shook her head, clutching her bag in one hand and her laptop case in the other. “No…No I just needed to get an emergency prescription filled….” Her eyes widened and she shook her hands. “N…nothing serious! It’s not like…I’m going to go crazy because I…I’m off my meds…” The younger woman deflated slightly. “I…I’ll stop talking now…”

Joan chuckled. “It’s fine.” It was…kind of endearing actually.

Zoey settled next to her. “Did you find out about your husband?” She asked. “Was he flying today?”

Joan stiffened. “Do you mind if we just dont talk about that?” She had called Charlie moments after they first landed. The conversation had barely lasted a minute before her battery died. He was safe. And he didn’t seem to care about…whatever had happened or wherever she was. But Joan was more concerned with her utter lack of relief about that revelation. Maybe once she knew just what the hell was going on, she would actually feel glad that he was safe. But right now…

“How about you?” She asked Zoey, finding she was genuinely interested in her companion’s state. “Did you manage to get through to your family? In San Francisco?”

Zoey’s face fell. “No. The pay phones were all out of order…and no one had a cell phone…I just…I just wish we knew what was happening!”

Joan was filled with a resolve so intense that it erased all thoughts of her husband. “I know. I’m sorry.” She squeezed Zoey’s shoulder, utterly unconcerned at how quickly that action had become commonplace for them. “I’ll help you find a phone as soon as we get…” She glanced up, out the bus windows and into the darkness surrounding them. “Wherever we’re going…”

Zoey smiled in thanks. They didn’t say much for the rest of the bus ride. But neither did anyone else.

***

The bus took them to a school gymnasium. Hundreds of gym mats, air mattresses, and army cots had been laid out in long rows along the floor. Some had pillows or blankets but most did not. Joan was glad she’d grabbed her airplane blanket but this still looked terrible. Were they really going to be staying here overnight? Surely they could find a better hotel. She’d gladly share with Zoey if it got them both out of here.

A woman greeted them as they ambled in, identifying herself in a thick accent as Beulah, a staff member of the school. She directed them to grab a spot for themselves and that once they were settled, they could come back into the cafeteria and watch the news on several old television sets.

As eager as she was to know just why the hell they were here, Joan decided she’d rather have first pick of the beds.

Through it all, Zoey clung to Joan’s side. She took the air mattress next to Joan’s, tucking her computer between their beds. Joan waited for her while she carefully covered the case with her blanket.

Then they went into the cafeteria.

It seemed like everyone from their flight and beyond was there, crammed into the space, trying to get a glimpse.

Joan managed to push her way through to the front, Zoey trailing behind her.

Then they finally saw.

They all stood there in front of the TVs, taking it all in in stunned silence.

Smoke, steel, dust. A plane appearing out of nowhere and…

Joan couldn’t look away. She felt…lost, untethered. Any sense of safety she’d had the privilege of ignorance about was shattered forever.

The same footage was on an endless loop, like some kind of cruel flipbook. It should have been a movie. But it wasn’t.

When the first tower fell, a collective gasp went up around the room.

Without thinking, Joan reached for Zoey’s hand. The younger woman was pale and trembling but she gripped Joan’s hand so tightly she felt her tendons re-arrange. In that moment, Joan was so glad the coder had chosen to take Charlie’s seat.

This was a history-defining moment. And all they could do was assure the other that in this moment when they could do nothing, when they were stranded thousands of miles away from all the chaos and death, they were not alone.

Some time later, after someone had turned the news off in frustration, Zoey finally let go of Joan’s hand. She turned away and pushed her way out of the crowd, towards the hallway.

“Zoey?” Joan followed her, unwilling to let her out of her sight again.

She found her collapsed against the wall. The young woman looked shaken, like her world was crumbling.

Joan kneeled beside her and placed her hands on her shoulders. “Zoey, what is it?” She asked, as gently as she could.

Zoey shook her head and swallowed. “My…my brother, David…is in law school in Manhattan…” She looked up, face pale. “What…what if he was there?”

Joan didn’t have an answer for her.

Zoey looked down. She wasn’t crying, it was more like…helplessness. Or a despair so deep it had rendered her unable to move.

Watching her, Joan felt the true weight of their situation settle heavily on her shoulders. They were stuck here in wherever Newfoundland, while there…people were dead, people were dying, the wreckage was burning.

It could have been any of them.

She could have been in the towers, visiting on business like she had been a year ago. The terrorists could have hijacked their flight and flown it off-course. Zoey could have been in Manhattan, visiting her brother. Zoey’s brother could have been on the ground.

They couldn’t do anything…couldn’t call people, couldn’t go home, couldn’t seek revenge, or help the wounded.

Zoey gave a tiny sound, something like a gasp but fainter, more vulnerable.

Joan fixated on it. It was something. Something she could do.

Maybe if she could just help this poor girl find out about her brother, everything would somehow be okay.

***

Zoey barely slept.

It felt like every time she closed her eyes, she was seeing smoke engulfing New York City streets she had walked a mere year before. The sounds of people screaming and sirens blaring echoed in her head. The creaking of her air mattress sounded too similar to the crunch of concrete.

Finally, she gave up. Wrapping herself in Joan’s airplane blanket, she staggered towards the gym doors and forced one open. A blast of cool Canadian air whipped past her, bringing her body back here, back to this strange place. Far away from there. Far away from David.

Wherever he was.

Her lip trembled as she thought of him. When was the last time she’d called? The last time she’d said she loved him? When had she last heard him laugh? Why hadn’t she cherished those moments?

The cold had stopped helping.

Now it was inside her. It was consuming her.

***

As dawn broke, a woman named Annette brought Zoey a cup of coffee. She was sitting in a chair by the edge of the room, exhausted and still lost in horrible thoughts about David. Joan was nowhere in sight, having slipped out early in the morning for unknown reasons. Zoey missed her.

“Mornin’ hun.” Annette greeted, “you hungry? We got breakfast down in the cafeteria.”

Zoey shook her head. Her stomach was empty but the thought of food nauseated her. And the televisions were still on in the cafeteria.

“Well then, do you need to change?” Annette asked, “I can get you some clean clothes if you want.”

Zoey almost refused but then she realized that these were the same clothes she’d put on the day before yesterday, underwear and all. Suddenly, it felt like they were melding into her skin. She nodded and Annette patted her on the hand before getting up to grab her a change of clothes.

It was a relief she hadn’t known she needed. But at the same time, the strangeness of it just made her miss home even more. And think about how far away she was from David and from San Francisco.

Zoey had just finished putting on the fresh underwear, slightly too big jeans, and was pulling on a plaid shirt that clashed horribly with her hair when Joan finally returned.

The older woman cocked her head at the outfit but all she said was: “Is your hair different? You look good.”

Zoey chuckled, fingering the hasty ponytail. “Thanks. It’s just super unwashed…” She wrapped her arms around herself, feeling like a different person. “Are we leaving?”

Joan shrugged. “No one seems to know.” She was still wearing the same clothes from the plane and she was fiddling with something in her pocket. Her hair was also pulled back but into a severe bun that Zoey immediately envied. Zoey opened her mouth to tell her about the free clothes but Joan seemed preoccupied. She jerked her head towards the door Zoey had stood in front of the night before. “Zoey, come with me…”

Joan led her outside the building, one hand in her pocket, the other clutching Zoey’s tightly. Zoey followed, silent but alert.

As they stood in the chilly air, Joan finally pulled out her other hand.

A cell phone. A fancy, expensive, international phone.

Zoey gasped, eyes sliding from the device to Joan’s face.

“I finally got a chance to charge it.” Joan said, sounding apologetic. “I…I wanted to make sure you got to use it first, before I offer it to the others.” She held it out to Zoey. “Go on, check on your family. I’ll be just inside if you need me.”

Hands shaking, Zoey took the phone. Her stomach was in knots.

“Wait,” She called as Joan turned to go inside. “Stay? Please?”

Joan nodded. She took a few steps back, far enough to give Zoey some privacy but never letting her out of her sight.

Her heart thrumming, Zoey dialed the number.

***

Joan watched intently as the coder used her phone. Her eyes traced Zoey’s path as she spoke rapidly with someone on the other end. She folded her arms tightly as Zoey stopped pacing and her face pinched with sympathy as she saw the young woman place a hand over her chest.

After a few moments, Zoey hung up and made her way back to Joan.

She braced herself.

“He’s…he’s okay…” Zoey let out a shaky breath. “David he…he’s with my parents in San Francisco…he wasn’t in New York when it…” Her lip trembled, a single tear dripping down her face.

Unsure what else to do, Joan only held out her arms.

Zoey fell into her embrace, her small form shaking with relief as she sobbed.

***

The next two days were torturous.

There was nothing to do. Nothing but wait. Wait for a phone to be available in the hallway. Wait for the news to show the clips again. Wait for the word that they were leaving.

While knowing that her family was safe had taken some of the edge off, Zoey still found herself anxious, jumpy and unable to sleep. She stuck by Joan like a barnacle.

Joan seemed to notice and would try to distract her. On the second morning, after finally managing to stomach some food, they risked going outside for a walk and explored the town together. Joan had finally caved and accepted a gift of clothing from Annette. She was bundled up in a sweater that was far too large for her and jeans she constantly complained about. They talked more about Zoey’s thesis, about Joan’s favorite parts of London. Anything but the dark cloud hanging over the world.

For a brief moment, Zoey convinced her to open up about her husband and learned the sad truth: after 6 years of marriage, Joan was getting divorced.

Joan didn’t seem sad about it.

Some of the local kids invited them into a yard they passed and spent an hour playing with Zoey’s hair, putting her messy locks into braids and plaits. The youngest of them eventually convinced Joan to sit and receive a single sloppy braid. Zoey had to laugh at the ridiculous hairstyle. Joan did not take the braid out.

As they walked back to the school in the quickly dwindling sunlight, Zoey reached for Joan’s hand again. Joan took it without a second thought, her thumb rubbing Zoey’s hand soothingly.

It was a simple gesture. But to Zoey, it grounded her here.

She barely knew this woman. But she was here. And she was amazing. She’d spent all day just talking to her, distracting her from the horrible state of the world and the remote location they were stranded in.

Zoey hated to think that Joan would tire of her and leave her all alone again. She desperately tried to think of ways to pay the woman back for her attention and came up blank.

She didn’t want to be alone. And she didn’t want Joan to be alone.

But was that enough?

***

The following night, (after another day spent walking with Zoey, this time along the coast) Beulah invited them all down to the local Legion building for “some drinking and some fun.” Which was probably a good call: there had been several loud arguments over phones that day and even a brief fight between several of the passengers. Everyone was on edge and stuck in place. A little drinking could only help at this rate.

Joan wasn’t going to go; it didn’t feel right with everything that was happening. She didn’t want to celebrate: she’d finally decided that her marriage (it it had ever really been that) was over. She’d be going back to London alone if all this ever ended - to an empty flat and a demanding job and a cold bed. It felt wrong to be upset or even happy over such a thing when the world was still reeling from Tuesday.

But then Zoey piped up and said: “I’m only going if Joan is going!” and just like that, she was slipping on her borrowed shoes (heels only got a woman so far in this place) and following the crowd down towards the Legion building. As soon as she stepped inside, Joan knew it had been the right choice.

The night was insanity in the best way. Over 400 people from all over the world were celebrating together: drinking, dancing, even swimming in the river! And then the instruments came out.

Joan had never particularly cared for fiddles or accordions. But after two beers, she forgot that.

Lost with Zoey among the strangers from around the world, Joan forgot all about her aversion to dancing and her image: she tore up the dance floor with jig after mindless jig. Of course, the fact that Zoey was pulling her along and laughing and holding her hands certainly helped with that.

It was a new feeling for Joan: enjoying spending time with someone. And having someone enjoy spending time with her. Charlie had never seemed to care for their date nights, he more put up with them for the promise of sex.

But Zoey clearly enjoyed being here. And more importantly, she enjoyed being her with her. So Joan let loose.

As the night went on, the locals decided it was time for a ceremony.

“We needs a couple of volunteers!” Mayor Claude declared, “Who wants to be Newfoundlanders?”

Zoey snatched Joan’s arm and dragged her forward, not giving Joan enough time to bring her drink along. “Us!” Zoey cried, “we wanna be Newfoundlanders!!”

Joan, already a little tipsy and way too engaged in Zoey’s enthusiasm could only nod along.

Claude beamed at them. “Where are you two from?” He asked.

“California!” Zoey shouted, drowning out Joan’s murmured answer.

“What part of California are you from, ma’am?” Claude asked Joan.

“No! No!” Zoey waved her hands. “I’m from California.” She pointed at Joan. “She’s in England!”

Claude chuckled, “wait…now how does that work?”

“How does…what work?” Joan asked.

“Well how does your marriage work?” Claude inquired, “with one of you in California and the other in England?”

Zoey and Joan exchanged a quick glance, both of their faces red. Joan only just realized how close together they were standing. And in borrowed clothes and no makeup, the age difference between them seemed invisible to onlooking strangers.

“Uhhh...we’re, we’re not married…” Zoey told him. Joan was having trouble forming words.

Claude laughed again. “I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I thought you were…” He regarded them, seeming to read something in their embarrassed silence. “Well…” He raised an eyebrow at them, “would you like to be?”

Zoey’s face lit up. “Well why not?!” She cried. She seized Joan’s hand and lifted it up into the air. “Whoooooo!!!”

Logically, Joan knew it was the alcohol talking. Zoey herself had said earlier that she’d never had more than one beer at a time before and yet she’d watched the woman down two beers in quick succession that night.

Nevertheless, Joan, her face on fire and a stupid grin that she couldn’t justify on her face, went and got the woman two more beers.

The actual ceremony of becoming a Newfoundlander was a bizarre mix of local culture and sorority hazing.

Joan stuck by Zoey’s side as they sang a long upbeat song, tasted local food, and knocked back a horrific rum that burned her sinuses clean off.

But then came the cod.

It was a large, slimy thing that stared at them with big, dead eyes. Two local men were needed to hold it up.

And to Joan’s horror, the final part of becoming a Newfoundlander was kissing this dead fish.

“I’m not kissing a fish!” She declared.

“I will if you will!” Zoey promised, her face a pleasant shade of red from the alcohol. It was hard to dismiss that face. Joan eyed the thing distastefully as another volunteer puckered their lips and kissed the scales.

But they’d come this far…and it couldn’t be worse than kissing Charlie after sushi night, could it?

“Oh my god…” Closing her eyes, Joan pursed her lips and leaned forward. She pecked as soon as she felt something cool and slimy and darted back, retching.

It was worse. But only barely.

But when her turn came, Zoey balked. “I can’t do it!” She exclaimed, covering her face with her hands.

“Come on, I did it!” Joan protested, elbowing her forward. “Pucker up!”

“You gotta kiss a cod, it’s a vital part of the ceremony!” Claude insisted.

But Zoey backed off again, shaking her head and giggling. “I can’t do it!”

Claude chuckled. “Okay, I tell you what. I’ll make you a deal.” He pointed to the cod. “Either you kiss this fish…” His finger slid to Joan. “Or you kiss this English-woman that you’re ‘not married to’.”

Zoey didn’t even hesitate. In a single motion, she launched herself at the taller woman and wrapped an arm around her waist.

Startled, Joan could only catch her. Since she wasn’t wearing heels, their faces were mere inches apart. Zoey pressed forward. Their lips met and held in a glorious kiss. All around them, the room erupted in yips and cheers.

Zoey broke away after a second, grinning stupidly and completely red in the face. Then, as if nothing had happened, she grabbed Joan’s hand and pulled her back into the crowd of dancers.

Joan couldn’t stop looking at her the rest of the night.

***

The word finally came down early on Saturday: the FAA was going to open the airspace back up.

Captain Bass got in contact with their flight and informed them that they’d be leaving as soon as it was possible so they shouldn’t travel too far from their shelters.

Zoey managed to convince Joan to take one last walk with her. She’d heard about a nearby geologic marvel called the Dover Fault from Annette and thought it might be the perfect last hurrah.

They clambered up what felt like several thousand stairs carved into the cliff, panting and assuring the other that they were okay.

Finally, they crested the edge and gazed out from the overlook. The ocean crashed into the rocky inlet, scouring the ancient rocks.

“This is incredible!” Zoey called. She beckoned Joan forward. “Look! I can’t believe we’re here!” But as she stared at the gorgeous view, Zoey felt her smile start to slip away.

“I can’t believe we’re leaving…” She lamented. It all felt like a dream that was drawing to a close.

“…I don’t want to go…” Joan murmured.

Zoey turned back to her, “What did you say?”

Joan shook her head, smiling. “Oh nothing…I’m going to uh…” she held up her disposable camera that she’d purchased in town. “…to take some pictures.”

Zoey nodded. “O…okay.” She stood aside to give Joan a better shot.

She was a bit of a light-weight but Zoey remembered the night at the Legion in snatches: lively dances, delicious rum, and shouting that she wanted to be married to Joan. She remembered launching herself at Joan out of desperation to not kiss a slimy sea creature. She remembered her stomach and chest filling with fire as their lips met.

But Joan hadn’t said a word about it. Hadn’t even indicated that she remembered any of it. They continued with their walks and their discussions of technology and little things.

They didn’t talk about the kiss.

Zoey realized Joan was still pointing the camera towards her and took another step back. “No…stay where you are!” Joan called, eye still in her camera.

“Really? I’m blocking your shot!”

Joan smiled at her. “It’s perfect.”

The shutter clicked, capturing the moment in time.

Zoey felt like she should say something; tease Joan about her taking her photo or ask her if she had really meant what she’d said.

Staying here…it was a ridiculous idea. They were only here because of…because of the tragedy. They had lives of their own to get back to. But the more she thought about it, standing there on the chilly edge of a cliff on the edge of the Atlantic, going back to her life in California felt…empty.

Logically, she knew that once she was back she wouldn’t feel that way. Her family was there, and her friends, and her thesis that needed completion. There were things she loved and fulfilling work to occupy her time.

But Joan wouldn’t be there.

Zoey stared as Joan slowly lowered her camera, the device whirring to indicate it was out of film.

Joan would return to her incredible job in London, working long hours and finalizing her divorce. As the days returned to normal, she’d forget all about the redheaded college coder she’d briefly known in this place. Zoey knew she was unremarkable; a mere blip in Joan’s life. A chance encounter.

They stared at each other, standing on the edge of this chasm that marked a time when tectonic plates had unexpectedly crashed together and then separated forever.

Zoey never wanted this moment to end. If the world had stopped spinning right then and there, she would be happy.

***

They barely made it out before the hurricane made landfall. Pack-up was hasty and haphazard, with no one sure if they should keep the borrowed clothes and no one knowing how to thank the people of Gander for their incredible compassion and hospitality.

Joan and Zoey scribbled a hasty thank you across the wall closest to where their air mattresses had been. They wrote it in three languages: English, French, and binary code. Then it was back onto the buses and back to the ancient airport.

The winds were picking up and it had begun to rain as Captain Bass taxied the plane down the runway.

No one had cared about assigned seats for the flight back. Joan’s feet had followed Zoey into the Economy class and they had taken two seats in a row near the back. No one joined them in their row. Despite the utter lack of anything resembling personal space, Joan couldn’t have cared less. It was where Zoey was. And that was the only place she wanted to be.

As they picked up speed, Joan reached for Zoey’s hand but recoiled a second before she grabbed it. What was she doing? Trying to hold onto this moment? Trying to stop them from leaving?

It was too late now.

They were leaving. And she was going to return to a newly-empty life a continent and an ocean away from Zoey’s warmth and light.

The first hour of the flight was silent. Zoey kept opening her mouth like she wanted to say something but she never did. Joan didn’t know what to say. Or if she should say anything at all. Every possible thing she could say felt inadequate.

But as Captain Bass gleefully announced over the intercom that they had crossed back into US airspace, Joan glanced over at her companion. Zoey was crying, silently and intensely, as if she just couldn’t stop.

Joan immediately wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She leaned in, aiming for Zoey’s forehead to give her a comforting kiss.

But the plane jostled at the exact moment Zoey turned towards her.

Joan’s lips grazed the corner of Zoey’s mouth instead of her forehead.

Zoey gazed up at her, eyes wide and hopeful.

Her heart leaping, Joan shifted the angle of her mouth.

Their lips met again. And this time, they simply didn’t stop.

They kissed and canoodled for hours at the back of the plane. All around them, Joan was aware of cabin addresses and their fellow passengers drinking and sharing stories of their stay. But all she cared about was Zoey. Wrapping her arms around Zoey, playing with Zoey’s hair, kissing Zoey as often as she could. Zoey was real. These feelings were real. And like the Dover Fault, she would remain real no matter how long it was after they parted ways.

At one point, not long after Captain Bass had announced that they were now flying over California, a flight attendant paused alongside their seats, tongs ready to hand out hot towels.

“Cold towel?” She asked, smirking.

Blushing, Zoey hid her face in Joan’s neck. Joan couldn’t stop smiling.

***

But of course, they had to part ways.

There was a measure of relief among all of them as they safely touched down in LAX. If she was being honest, Zoey had been carrying a tiny knot of fear in her chest the whole flight home, a small part of her convinced their journey would end the same way as all that footage on the news.

But as soon as they were safely on the ground, that knot of fear became a hard ball of dread.

“So…” She faced Joan at the baggage claim, laptop clutched in one hand, the other hand clasped tightly in Joan’s. Zoey knew her family was anxiously waiting outside and that Joan had a connection to send her back across the Atlantic to London leaving soon.

But neither of them wanted to move.

“So…” Joan echoed, trying to smile but failing.

“So, you’ll call?” Zoey asked.

Joan squeezed her hand. “As soon as I get back.”

She leaned forward and pecked Zoey on the lips. Despite the hours of frantic making out they’d done on the plane and the drunken kiss at the Legion, it felt like their first kiss.

Joan smiled one last time and let go of Zoey’s hand.

And then Zoey was all alone.

***

Joan’s flight back to London passed like a dream. Since she’d been hastily rescheduled onto this flight (having missed her original days ago), she was stuck in Economy. And despite the fact that there were literally only six other people on the plane, she still was not permitted to move up to first class. But she hardly cared.

When she finally opened the door to her flat, she swore it had all been a dream.

Her belongings were still exactly as she’d left them, barely any dust to mark the passage of time.

So far away from New York, London bustled about as normal below her window, the fear still internal and existential for now.

But as she unpacked, Joan found the camera.

She dropped everything and ran out to find a 24-hour photo developer.

Within two hours, she held living proof that it wasn’t a dream.

Zoey, standing on the edge of the Dover Fault, her red hair flying in the ocean wind, her smile soft but fondly directed towards the lens.

Joan stroked the print, tears forming in the corner of her eyes.

The flat was so empty.

***

“Hi.”

“Hey”

“How are you?”

“Good…my advisor says if I can finish my report by the end of November, I can graduate as planned.”

“That’s great!”

Zoey paused, unsure what else to say. She would call just before bed, knowing that it was about the time Joan woke up. But life got in the way and the calls had dwindled from a few per week to one per week when they were lucky. And even then, their conversations, which had flowed so effortlessly in person, barely lasted an hour before one of them had to go.

Zoey had found it increasingly difficult to remain optimistic the past few months. Everyone was just so afraid all the time. David had transferred from Manhattan to a California law school, not wanting to be so far away anymore. He’d refused to fly and instead carpooled across the country with his girlfriend Emily. Her parents spoke in hushed voices when they thought she couldn’t hear and her father increasingly watched the news over anything else.

Zoey found herself crying more often and thinking increasingly about how lucky she’d been. But that was always quickly followed by guilt. How dare she celebrate finding Joan and a small bit of happiness in the chaos when so many people were dead?

And while she didn’t feel alone, Zoey still felt unsettled. She’d told her parents about Joan but they still didn’t seem to get it. They hadn’t been in Gander. They hadn’t known the feeling of being stranded and yet feeling at peace amid all the horrors.

“Zoey?” She hadn’t spoken in awhile.

“I…I miss you.” Zoey admitted, her voice small. “I miss Newfoundland. And I know…I know we cant go back but…”

She couldn’t finish her sentence. She couldn’t tell Joan how some nights she slipped out of her dorm room and walked to the pier just so she could close her eyes and imagine she was back in Gander, Joan’s hand in hers as they looked out over the ocean. She couldn’t say just how much she needed Joan here - as she had been at the beginning of this terrifying new world - to be at her side and talk to her, hold her hand and provide comfort in the darkness.

Joan listened intently, unsure if Zoey was crying or just at a loss for words. She wanted so badly to be there. Her life since Gander had been nothing but work. Endless hours at Google and a few spare hours with her lawyer. Her flat was starting to feel stifling.

She dreamed of Gander, of long walks with Zoey, of crashing continents and salty air. She longed for a warm embrace, for soft lips on hers. Her thoughts formed dangerous plans that had her terrified. Suddenly nothing of her old life made sense…and she cared nothing for it.

“J…Joan?”

Joan sighed down the line.

They couldn’t do this. It wasn’t going to work if they were a continent apart.

“Zoey…I’m going to move to San Francisco.” She said it softly, giving those dangerous plans more leverage.

Zoey’s breath caught. “Joan…”

She barreled on. “I applied for a transfer to the main Google office…don’t try to change my mind.” Joan beseeched her, knowing Zoey was about to protest. “The divorce papers are signed, my bags can be packed in a week. I’m coming to you. If you’ll have me.” Her voice was heavy with meaning. The kind of meaning that expected an answer.

Zoey let out a shaky exhale, clutching the phone cord tightly in her hand. “Yes. Yes Joan.”

***

 One year later

Joan gazed out over the bands of ancient rock. Now that she was really looking, she could see the bits and pieces that stood out: parts of another that had been left behind during an intimate collision.

“Remember the last time we were here?”

Joan turned to the voice, smiling. “Of course…” She wrapped her arm around the shorter woman, pulling her close as they stared over the Dover Fault. “I never wanted that moment to end.”

Zoey took her hand, finger rubbing the smooth plane of the brand new golden band around Joan’s finger.

“It didn’t.”

Because like the continents, when the world had crashed together in a moment of upheaval, they had found some small, beautiful thing to cherish from the chaos.

[rotationalsymmetry]

In an attempt to not overload one single post: Feminism has been a major theme in fantasy and science fiction for longer than I have been alive. Identity politics have been part of geekdom for generations. I freaking learned feminism from science fiction and fantasy books.

Lack of representation, it’s not an anger thing. It’s not an offense thing. It’s a *hurt* thing. It’s an, “am I really a person?” thing. “Do I really exist?” Lack of representation isn’t, you know, something people get angry about? I mean, it is, but it takes a while to get to the anger. Before the anger, there’s “wait, am I really a person? Am I really who I think I am? Why don’t I see anyone like me?” And there’s the intersectionalities: I left out the queer aspects. I saw queer characters in my dragon books long before I saw them anywhere else, or knew any queer people in real life. I got my first queer *protagonists* in speculative fiction. Not only are not all geeks men, the geek men aren’t all *straight* either, and the geek women aren’t all straight, and sometimes nonbinary people find their representation in speculative fiction when it isn’t anywhere else. (Although that might be changing, so that’s pretty cool.)

There’s race: I used to think “fantasy racism” was a good way to explore the topic, you know, and...I mean it’s a way to explore bigotry in the abstract? But a lot of race issues is about specifics, and a lot of fantasy racism reinforces the idea that white people are normal and people of color are other. Most of the speculative fiction I’ve read has been heavily white with POC characters showing up as a small minority, often exotified/appropriative. The fantasy equivalent of the Chinese-American who grew up in LA and barely speaks two words of Chinese almost never gets seen. But, some speculative fiction books have an actually diverse cast (where white people aren’t the majority or always the protagonists) and some fantasy is based on a non-Western culture without being all weird about it. It can be done well. Religion is complicated: I’m not thrilled about how Brandon Sanderson handles religion in the Mistborn Trilogy for instance -- so many different religions, and they’re all basically just palette-swapped from the same “one god with one focus” template. Which kind of reinforces the idea that religions that aren’t Christianity are still basically Christianity, just a little different (and/or, just not true) whereas in the real world, what it means to be a religion varies a lot. (Some religions are a lot more tied to culture and/or geographic location, one deity/many/none, focused on faith vs focused on practice, etc.) And there’s sometimes anti-Semitism and/or Islamophobic stuff (Tolkien’s dwarves, C S Lewis’s Tash worshippers, Mercedes Lackey’s Karse.) OTOH fantasy can be a great source of inspiration and guidance for pagans, even fantasy that wasn’t written by pagans, and science fiction is often a home for atheists. There’s some Jewish influence in Star Trek: TOS although none of it is overt. TV shows in particular tend to have non-Christian Christmas equivalents, which again normalizes Christianity and downplays real religious diversity. Disability...dunno, I’m still pretty new at analyzing ableism. I know some books etc handle it really badly. Avatar: The Last Airbender and Legend of Korra do some interesting things with disability and disabled characters. There’s a widespread tendency across visual media but especially in superhero stories to use disfigurement to indicate villainy. More generally, the “outsider looking for a place to belong” trope comes up a LOT in speculative fiction, which can be a real magnet for people who are marginalized in all sorts of different ways. Look at Harry Potter: the magical/muggle dichotomy could be seen as an analogy for all sorts of different ways people are marginalized, minority cultures and being queer and being neuroatypical. The idea that geekdom is the natural habitat of people who are privileged on every nameable axis -- white, male, able-bodied, straight, non-immigrant, English-speaking, not a member of a minority religion, often middle class and affluent and well-educated -- and only those people by default, that’s just...so wrong. I mean, people who are very privileged do have a place in geekdom, but if that’s you, you gotta share, OK? Lots of other people find our home in geekdom and need that home as much as you do, if not more. Anyways: if you’re reading this and thinking “well, you’re preaching to the choir, but what do I do?” It starts with deliberately introducing more diversity into what you read (characters and authors), then into what you recommend to other people (including people who are privileged on axes where you’re marginalized.) What you write, if you write fanfic or original fic (but: sometimes bad representation is as much of a problem as lack of representation, so do some research.) The general advice for writers is to have beta readers of whatever marginalized identities you’re writing about when you’re writing about other communities -- in general, if *you* get paid a significant amount for your writing you should pay your beta readers, if not, swapping labor is fine. Sharing articles or posts about this stuff. Writing letters to publishers, TV producers, people who put on cons etc. I tried to write this and especially the other post to be accessible/not too offputting to people who aren’t already in the choir, so if you know someone like that who might be open-minded feel free to pass the post on. Thing is: yes, there are total assholes, but there’s also people who aren’t assholes who just, their worldview is missing something. Some people are persuadable. I think. (Other people can be shamed out of siding with the bigots; I’m not saying that the shame approach is wrong, but that works best on people who haven’t already staked a claim; for people who have and might get talked down, talking about feelings and appealing to empathy might be more effective than an “if you take this side, you’re a misogynist” approach. That’s not how *they* see themselves.) OTOH I’ve never actually been able to talk someone down on the gender front with the gentle approach, so idk. I’ve heard it’s doable though? One thing I’ve heard about that is, it does tend to be more effective when someone from a position of privilege is doing the talking. Men talking to other men about feminism. White people talking to other people about race. Basically: when you’re privileged, you should 1. read/listen to what marginalized people have to say and 2. pass that message on/amplify their voices to people who are privileged in the same way that you are. This is kind of counterintuitive: I know I’m a lot more motivated to talk about gender and sexual orientation (things that affect me) than about race or culture. It takes some intentionality to see onesself as part of a broader movement for inclusivity, and not just fighting for the things that affect you personally.

[allthislove]

I wanna come back to the affirmative action thing, because I’ve been thinking about it for a while and the shit bothers me, okay?

Racial intelligence is a myth. Positive or negative, this is not a real thing. I’m going to talk about the Model Minority Myth and bit here, and also how Black people, especially Black Americans, are seen as inherently stupider than other people.

On one end of the spectrum, you have Asian people, who do well academically. People talk about them like they’re inherently better at school, or smarter than other people.

On the other end, you have Black people, who are thought of as bad students, stupid, incapable of succeeding in school without the assistance of affirmative action.

Neither point makes much sense, because they ask the person listening to imagine that neither Black nor Asian students have individuality. They can’t succeed or fail because of their own merits, but that their success or failure is because of some thing encoded into their DNA. 

In reality, this is socialization. Before I get into this, I wanted to remind the world that Black women are the most educated demographic in America, today, and so what I’m about to talk about is (thankfully) changing, but let’s take a look at what factors help create both of these myths. 

Asian families, especially immigrant families, tend to push education. It’s almost a virtue. Getting good grades became important for some Asian immigrants because they wanted their children to have their best chance. Immigration is hard. Many immigrants (not just Asian immigrants) come here and have to completely start over. Degrees they earned in their home countries sometimes become useless, here, especially if they’re not fluent in English. They often came to this country and had to initially work very menial, hard labor or dirty task jobs that Americans didn’t want. So, they pushed for their children to do well academically, so that they could become something better when they grew up. 

So, right from the start, Asian parents are pushing for their kids to do extremely well in school.

What happened to Black kids, then? People never seem to tell the full story, here, but when I thought about it, it was obvious. I’m working on a play, right now, about Black people in the American South around the time of the first World War. The main character is a young Black woman who “finished” school at the 8th grade level because there wasn’t a school that taught Black people after that in her area. This wasn’t just some random thing I made up for my play. This is the situation that Black people lived in for a very long time, after Emancipation. While some HBCUs were being founded (thought many of them were initially just seminaries or agricultural schools) many parts of the country just didn’t have places where Black people could learn after a certain point. Couple that with a country that really doesn’t give a crap if Black people get good educations and education just never really became the most important thing, for us. 

Black people valued a lot. We valued our stories. We valued our culture, which we built ourselves because most of our original cultures were stolen from us. We valued music. But, we never got a chance to be socialized to value education, because education was not available to us. And then when it was, it was often subpar.

So, right away, you have two completely different situations. One group, largely immigrants who have everything to lose and access to education; education being one of the main reasons to even come here. One group, brought here on slave ships, enslaved, freed, and then kept from good education for decades, if not an actual century. 

The other factor in Asian academic excellence is that, especially at the college level, you have the top students coming to the US specifically to study at American universities. So, already, you’re skewing the numbers.

Anyway. So, Black people weren’t socialized to treat education with the reverence that many immigrant families do. So, once we started to get better access to education by the mid 1960s, most Black people just didn’t find it to be a virtuous thing to have good grades. Good or bad grades are just a thing. Don’t get me wrong. Black parents still get happy when their kids get an A, and upset when their kids get an F. But it was never treated as this all-encompassing thing. It just is what it is. 

Couple that with, you know... a lot of socioeconomic factors that a lot of Black people still live in, and grades and scores just aren’t that important. 

The thing is, that is shifting. A lot. Like, almost the sharpest course correction Black Americans could have. As I mentioned before, Black women are the most educated demographic in America, now. Why did this happen? I’m not exactly sure. A lot of people credit the emergence of images of Black success on TV in the 80s with shows like The Cosby Show and A Different World with sparking this shift. More Black kids saw that it was possible and therefore more Black kids went to college. The thing, though, is that that’s still mostly Millennials and Gen-Z. Meaning barely 1 generation of Black people have started to become more educated. Which also means, like... we haven’t had the time to see what the impact of this is going to be.

The Model Minority Myth for Asians is decades old. Black people even being able to go to PWIs is shorter than the Model Minority Myth. 

I guess what I’m trying to say is... Black people aren’t more educated because education went easier on us than other people. We’re more educated because we’re capable, and we never were not capable. 

Again, affirmative action makes sure you’re not overlooked because of your race. It doesn’t magically create a spot for you just because you’re Black, and especially not because you’re Black in spite of you being undeserving. And the other thing Affirmative Action doesn’t do is change your grades. If a Black student earned a 4.0, they earned the same 4.0 as and Asian student with a 4.0. Black students succeed or fail on their own merit, not because they’re Black. 

And as for poverty... poverty is incredibly difficult to escape, no matter your race. I’m not the best person to speak on Black poverty, because I’m not poor and I grew up comfortably middle class with two college educated and professional parents, so yeah, but I can say that because I grew up like that, it was far easier for me to go to any 4 year college and earn any degree I wanted than it will be for some poor kid living in the projects with a single parent with a GED. I’m not sure why people act like Black poor people are an example of why Black people are inherently bad or stupid. First of all, you can be incredibly good and incredibly smart and still live in the projects and be poor. Second of all, the existence of bad people in the Black race doesn’t mean that all or even most Black people are bad. Third of all, nobody is stupid, and if they seem “stupid” to you, something else is going on. A lack of education. A cognitive disability. Something. “Stupid”, like “crazy”, is a dismissive, and often ableist, word, and basically means nothing. 

And since I brought up the Model Minority Myth, I think I should mention that it’s also very harmful to Asian people, especially students. One, it’s dehumanizing, and makes people hold Asian people to impossible standards that obviously every Asian person can’t meet. And two, it misses the experiences of Asian people who didn’t come here for academic reasons, many of whom don’t have the same “education as a virtue” thing that many specifically East Asian or Indian immigrants have. Like, people who came here as refugees instead of exchange students. Many of those people find that they get left behind by the myth, teachers offer them less help because they’re Asian and are supposed to be “smarter than everyone else”, and they end up falling into a sort of gap. Many of them drop out, and the cycle of poverty continues. And I guess a third, big problem is that it makes colleges and universities judge Asian applicants more harshly and hold them to a higher standard than everyone else, which means that unless you’re a high flying Asian overachiever, you might have a harder time getting into college than your white or Black friends. 

So, anyway, what I’m saying is that assigning a certain intelligence level to someone based on their race is bad and like... America really has a big problem with race and we need to fix it.

Also, we need to do better, as a whole, about understanding why we have the misconceptions that we have. It’s really frustrating, for me, to constantly feel like I have to prove I’m not stupid to strangers because they all assume I am because I’m Black. Or at least less intelligent than they are. And to have to defend my two degrees constantly because old Duck Dynasty looking white guys think I didn’t earn them because of affirmative action. To have to constantly explain that a Black person’s A is the same A as anyone else in the class, because, while teachers do sometimes grade on a curve, it’s not given racially. And that if you answer a question correctly, it’s correct. And if you solve an equation correctly, you solved it correctly. And that the answer doesn’t change for Black people, and that the work isn’t easier. 

And I think people know that it doesn’t make sense, because when you think about it logically, it doesn’t make sense that one group of people is inherently stupid or that another is inherently smart. We understand individuals. We know lots of people, each of us. We know someone who isn’t bright at all, we know someone who is incredibly smart, we know some people like this who are the same race as each other, and even the same race as us. We know they’re different because they’re individual people, and that they don’t represent our entire race. So, why, FOR THE LOVE OF PETE, can we not... as a society... yet understand that race effects our conditions, but does not dictate the type of person we are in the slightest?? Good, bad, smart, pretty, not smart, ugly, short, tall, funny, boring, brave, scared, energetic, whatever the hell... THESE ARE TRAITS THAT MAKE UP INDIVIDUALS, NOT RACES. Race is a lie we tell ourselves to explain why certain people share certain physically features and/or geography. Nothing more. We have built entire societies around this lie, and like... I’m not naive enough to think that race will no longer be a factor any time soon. Some people are far too hung up on their racism for us to truly move on as a society. But I also know that, for us to begin the process of moving on from it, we have to be honest about how it has shaped our society and stop this thing of blaming people for the conditions the society forced on them and how it affected them through the generations. 

This was a lot, and I’m not sure if it’s clear, but yeah. All of this shit is more complicated than you want it to be, and people don’t fit neatly into little stereotype boxes. You have to get that shit out of your head and learn to both see individuals AND understand how history shapes our present reality.