#i just want americans to understand they're not the center of the world
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Look, I just need you guys to understand how important queer coming-of-age forbidden romances on internationally accessible platforms like Netflix is, especially to youth in countries where homosexuality still hasn't been legally decriminalised or socially accepted.
That was a mouthful, so let me explain. You, a white American adult with a liberal family, may not relate to a fictional anxious teen Swedish prince grappling with strict familial and societal expectations versus his first love. You may not find anything special in a bunch of queer British teens discovering themselves and figuring out complex relationships that are honestly rather simplistic, in retrospect. It might be a little too trite for you. Like, just a little vanilla without any extra drama. Perhaps corny—cringe, even. Too wholesome.
But you know what that is to me, a desi queer young adult? It's representation, in an unlikely place. My country certainly isn't making movies or shows where I see my secret relationship between me and my girlfriend portrayed. I don't see that happening in the next couple of decades, either, sadly. But you know who’s telling our stories? Alice Oseman. Lisa Ambjörn, Lars Beckung and Camilla Holter. Through fictional storylines that might seem kind of boring to you, I am finally able watch my lived experiences play out on screen.
American media has done such a disservice to queer coming-of-age stories. I want to scream this from the rooftops. Y’all, I’m glad to see more out quirky queer side-characters—I can’t get enough of them—but why is it so rarely their story, in sharp focus, about how they found themselves? I want to know how they overcame internalised homophobia. When was the moment they knew? What is the cost they have to pay for being out? For not being out?
And no, I don’t want it to be dramatic. I don’t need to see violence or betrayals or victorious kisses in public, really. I’m happiest with the teenagers behaving like real teenagers. Innocent, vulnerable, nervous. I want it to be heartfelt, and excruciatingly slow, and authentic. I want to see the small wins and the subtle losses. The quiet mental toll of how much you have to give to a queer relationship—especially your first queer relationship—and how hard that can be to separate from your Identity itself.
Give me that "am I gay?" quiz and genuinely crying at 3:00 AM because you're in a rabbit hole about LGBTQ+ rights in a country where you actually don’t want to be gay and you don’t even know if you “count” anyway. Show me that moment where you're going back and forth from forbidding yourself from seeing the one person that sees and understands you and it's to protect your mental and physical well-being but it's driving you insane. Give me ALL THE YOUNG ADULT BI+ AWAKENINGS where one person strolls into your life and changes everything. No, it’s really not the same as most cis-heterosexual insta-love movies out there, even if it looks that way to you. It doesn’t even cut it close.
The happy ending, the acceptance is only what I can dream of, not what I can expect. The wholesomeness is actually radical to me.
No, we’re not past the need for basic star-crossed queer romances. For most countries in the world (including for many white American teenagers!), we need them as much as ever.
#gay#queer#lgbtq+#young royals#heartstopper#i just want americans to understand they're not the center of the world#just frustrated at how divided all my american acquaintances are on soft queer media#what do you mean it's just okay??#stfu#wilmon#narlie#wlw#mlm#achillean#men loving men#bi#lesbian#women loving women#sapphic#lgbtq#alice oseman#lisa ambjörn#bisexual#lgbt#netflix#closeted#desi#desi queer#queer muslim#muslim
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Im so sick of north americans claiming all the time to be so inclusive and respectful to other cultures when in reality they're the most ignorant and self-centered people in the world.
Especially now that apparently being a "latino" seems to be just a trend.
And guess what! Disney took the opportunity to start releasing content from its new series, based on Latin America's (actually just Mexico, because for people in the US it is very difficult to understand that there are many countries besides Mexico in Latin America) culture, "Primos".
Created, directed, written by: people who know nothing about Latin America.
I am not going to dwell on the number of errors that JUST the opening song already has because the internet is already full of information about it.
But I do want to dwell on how part of the team behind this series is defending itself against the accusations of how racist their show is.
Myrna Velasco, who voices the main character in the series, recently posted a video on her ig stories making the following statement with an air of superiority in her voice:
"The Spanish language its not a Latin American language. Its a language that Spanish conquistadors forced upon latin american people (etc etc)"
(all of this happened because someone corrected a grammatically wrong sentence that she said in Spanish)
1- By that criteria, English is not a North American language.
2- Spanish has been spoken in Latin America for centuries. Whether you like it or not, that language (in all its shapes and colors, because the same Spanish is not spoken in Mexico as in Argentina as in Peru, etc.) is already part of our culture.
3- You dont like Spanish because its not native? ok then do it in Guarani, Quechua, Aimara, Nahuatl, etc
4- Why you can go speaking a very broken Spanish and get away with it but every time a Spanish speaker, after actually taking the time to learn your language (because it is impossible to communicate with you in any other way), is mocked and mistreated BY YOU for their accent even though they are forming grammatically perfect sentences??? (this goes to the majority of US population)
5- This woman claims to love Latin American culture but posts things like this one:
in conclusion, stop being so hypocritical and learn to look at what happens outside the United States, the rest of the world does not work the same way your country does or how your country thinks it works.
thanks for coming to my ted talk, I needed to get it off my chest.
chau
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I don’t know if you’ve already covered this, but I had a question to ask about the VDC in Book 5. To clarify, I understand that RSA needed to win for thematic and character arc purposes, and that in-lore it was an audience vote not a professional one. The story beats line up. But the choice of cutesy and childlike RSA performance over the more refined and professional NRC performance still doesn’t quite click with me. Is there some kind of cultural difference that didn’t translate to explain why one performance was supposed to be understood as preferred over the other? Even if it was an audience vote, the standards should be higher just by virtue of this being a big name competition for teenagers held at a prestigious school.
Very quickly, I want to add a couple other points that help to explain why RSA won over NRC! Book 6 opens early on with Vil noting that NRC was not able to perform as well as they wanted to since they had just come out of a difficult battle against his OB form. (Because of this, he accepts responsibility for their loss.) Thus, the NRC performance may not have actually been as "refined", "professional", or as polished as we imagine it to be.
Additionally, it’s stated in book 5 that RSA’s song choice had universal appeal whereas NRC’s did not. We see this effect on the production crew when Neige and the Seven Dwarves do their practice run; their performance has a refreshing and soothing effect on what appears to be an older audience (as it plays to their nostalgia); we must consider this when evaluating RSA and NRC. For example, I know that I really disliked NRC's performance (sue me/j) because it sounded very oppressive and therefore unrelatable to me. The lyrics are literally about how NRC will dominate their opponents and win 😭 Sure, the music and lyrics for Neige's song aren't complex, but they're at the very least accessible and easy to follow along with. (That's not to say that I prefer RSA's performance though; I'm just explaining why someone might not find NRC's performance appealing.)
Lastly! We as players are looking at the two song + dance numbers from an omniscient perspective. We need to consider our own biases when judging, and accept that it may differ from the characters in-universe view things. Maybe you prefer NRC’s performance. That’s fair! But how much of that is informed by your personal music preferences? And how much of that comes from your attachment to the NRC characters, since you’ve followed their stories up until this point? As Rook points out in book 5, he’s aware of how hard NRC has worked to get here… but he’s also aware of Neige’s hardships too (er, in terms of his lifestyle; ie living with the dwarves and doing chores, etc.). Consider then, would you honestly not have a bias for RSA had Twisted Wonderland’s story centered on them instead of NRC?
It’s also worth noting that how things are seen in Twisted Wonderland may reflect its own unique culture rather than how we in the real world may perceive it. Maybe the people of Twisted Wonderland just prefer a cute, nostalgic performance. This may not necessarily correlate with west or east at all and that has always been a possibility! (While TWST does take inspirations from the real world, it’s not a 1:1 with the real world.)
dkhlbaiyfadvfoad Okay, NOW onto the actual question being pitched!
When you look at media from different countries, there are some stark differences in how the same information is presented. One example is like... any Gordon Ramsay show yes, I am using him as an example. Compare the American cut and the British cuts; there are much more loud sound effects, dramatic music, yelling, and cussing in the American cuts. The British cuts, by comparison, are notably quieter and contemplative, with hardly any cursing. Another example! Looking at variety shows from the east vs the west, they're quite different as well. Eastern variety shows tend to be "cute", usually using various cute sound effects or edits which make the guests appear more bashful (like drawing blush over their cheeks or something). We don't see this in western TV shows, which are louder and more boisterous. I've noticed a similar trend in the music industries of the east vs the west as well, where eastern stars tend to emphasize their youthfulness and playfulness and western stars try to be more "mature" and grown-up. These are just my personal observations and may not reflect reality, especially seeing as I am not involved in music-oriented spaces.
I asked friends and personal contacts in both eastern and western pop music fandom spaces for their own insights (which is also in no way representative of both fandoms, but at least this gives us other perspectives for consideration). To summarize, most of them replied that they did not think cultural differences account for this situation, since equating a preference for a "cute" aesthetic is not the same as RSA performing what is basically a nursery rhyme. There's no real-world equivalent for that (at least none that they can think of), and I agree with all of this. There’s really no point in trying to compare the two.
I remember lots of Japanese fans being upset at NRC’s loss too (when book 5’s ending was first put out), so the impression I got was they didn’t prefer the performance of RSA over NRC either. It was not just the international fandom that was disappointed. I don’t believe TWST ever intentionally set out to present “Everyone Yahoo!” as the “superior” song and dance number, or as the performance we’re supposed to like more than the other. It was very much framed as something pathetic and unlikely to win in most of the eyes of the NRC characters. They make fun of RSA’s clumsiness and claim it’ll be easy to win over them. The player most likely is supposed to think this way too—until Vil, the one with an eye for showbiz, realizes his loss. Why? Because it doesn’t matter what we think. What matters is how this clumsy performance will resonate with the common person.
What I think it ultimately comes down to is emotional appeal to the audience, which is more of a personal/individual level thing than a cultural thing. The competition is decided by audience vote. The average person honestly does not care about quality or standards. No one is giving them rules to evaluate by, no one is going to tell them off for not having strict standards. They will pick based on what they like best or whatever makes them feel good. And what will make anyone feel food, regardless of age, sex, race, education, socioeconomic status, etc.? Something cozy and familiar, thoughts of simpler times… Nostalgia.
Something else to think about is what a powerful motivator emotions can be. There are irl idol competition shows that are high stakes and decided by audience vote just like VDC/SDC… and people will still vote for their favorites even if they gave a technically bad performance. This is because fans are so emotionally invested in and attached to the performer. It doesn’t matter how “bad” they are, the performer/performance makes the audience member feel impassioned, and they will then act according to those intense feelings. Think about what you’re like when you’re in a terrible mood vs a good one. You act completely differently, right?
I hope that perspective helps! 🙏 I tried to be as thorough as I could be in this response, but please let me know if I misspoke or maybe missed a point.
P.S. I happen to be responding to this ask after TWST showed us the NRC Tribe’s dance performance in a MMD video. I wonder if this only made the “NRC should have own” crowd double down on that opinion since now we’re seeing just what their performance looks like 🤔 (though we don’t have a complete MMD video of Neige’s group to directly compare, just this which shows part of the dance and not in the same clumsy way that Neige and co. perform it).
#twisted wonderland#twst#Neige LeBlanche#Vil Schoenheit#Rook Hunt#disney twisted wonderland#disney twst#book 6 spoilers#book 5 spoilers#notes from the writing raven#question#Seven Dwarves#Gordon Ramsay
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I want to reiterate something that I saw on Twitter. I'd love to share the actual Twitter thread but of course I already can't find it in the massive swamp of stuff going on right now.
The urge to create new organizations is probably pretty strong in most Center to left Americans right now. To work as an individual, finding ways to help that you can do individually , perhaps even visibly. Somehow doing all the ground-up organizational work feels like doing more than joining the organizations that already exist. I'm here to tell you to resist that urge. This is one of those you are not immune to propaganda moments.
There is a fairly pervasive disease, particularly among folks who have protested and donated but not gotten into the nitty-gritty work yet. It's a very well intentioned instinct that you, personally, can do more to fix things as a leader than as a participant. The more privileged you are, the more you are going to believe this. (White Americans, we are very very susceptible to this, and it is a flavor of white supremacy it can be damn hard to unpack.)
You're going to want to join untested Auntie Networks and say individually that you are willing to help your friends/people you know without engaging in the already massive, already well-established, often led by BIPOC reproductive health organizations that already exist.
Your local abortion access organization, whether it is a mutual aid organization run on Instagram or a registered Foundation/charity with a significant web presence is already doing the work that you think needs to be done. There are already networks of people willing to open their homes, cars, and lives to people who need abortion care, organizations that provide money for travel, organizations that lobby heavily in Washington and even in corporate halls for Reproductive Rights.
The best thing you can do to help right now is to join an organization that already exists. To join up with your community, as locally as you possibly can, and let them tell you what work needs to be done. If you are brand new to this, if you are just now raging and you have energy to burn, it may feel like these organizations don't understand and they are not doing enough. But I assure you, they're working their asses off and they have for years.
There are huge groups of people that even before the overturn of Roe struggled to access reproductive health care of all kinds. Poor folks, indigenous communities, rural communities, black and brown folks, people living in abusive situations, disabled folks, they have all been denied appropriate Healthcare over and over and over again and the organizations they have already created and set up know how to do their best to access all the resources that are available, know how to build on their own scaffolding to extend resources, and are your best bet to do real good.
This is a lot like those can drives every year at Thanksgiving and christmas. It feels good to give these big tangible tins and boxes of food, but just writing a check does so much more than you could imagine. 10, 50, sometimes even a hundred times as much food, and of the types and varieties that people are actually looking for, accounting for communities and cultural values and health conditions. But still every year people love to give 50 packs of ramen noodles, rather than $50, because we have this belief that our individual decisions are somehow more valuable than the community decisions made by those actually working and living directly in the community. We are wrong. Please understand that while this Instinct to be a hero and leader on an individual basis is very well intentioned and understandable, it's a bad instinct put in our heads by years and years and years of stories about just one Renegade somehow being the key to saving the world rather than the diligent work of an entire community.
Here are the best things that you can do right now, even though they will not feel as satisfying as running as fast as you can to try to be a hero:
Stop
You're having a lot of feelings right now. Those feelings are utterly, completely valid. But when you are running entirely on adrenaline, on grief or anger or spite, you're going to run out of fuel pretty fast. The best thing you can do is take a beat to live in your feelings and then turn to do what you can thoughtfully and deliberately. It took the right about 40 to 50 years of slowly, pointedly, doggedly working local elections, working individual candidates, building communities and organizations, to overturn Roe. There is a non-zero chance that it is going to take just as long to turn it back again. Prepare yourself for that. Prepare for a long road. Be ready to put your shoulder in it, over and over. Be ready to take breaks while other people push, but without losing your own hope and determination. Then when others are running out of steam, put your shoulder to the work again.
Look
Search for organizations as local as possible. You're going to want to donate national. You're going to want to feel like you're doing the most good in the widest area. Your local community is what needs you most. Big organizations whose names end up on the news will have tons of donations right now. Search for organizations in your neighborhood, city, township, county, and state.
Listen
When you find those organizations, you're going to have a lot of ideas. Spend at least a month or a few meetings listening to what they are already doing. Check out their websites or social media presences and respond to their direct appeals as best as you can. You will often find that your mind changes once you are actually in the community, doing the work. You will often find that your well-intentioned ideas have often already been tried and may even be already in place in a slightly different manner than you expected.
You will also often find that you are going to need to confront your own privilege, over and over. To listen to the people doing the work often means you need to stop talking. There is nothing wrong with having good ideas, but when you are walking in from the outside you need to have the humbling moment of realizing you may not be as much of an expert as you think you are.
Stay
As I previously mentioned, this is not going to be a few weeks work. It's unlikely it's going to be a few months work. This is going to take years. It's going to take election cycles.
Don't burn yourself out. Don't work furiously for a few weeks, give up, and never return. Work this kind of stuff into your regular schedule. Make this a daily or weekly or monthly commitment. As someone with ADHD, I know damn well it can be hard to set a new routine, but it's better for you to work one day a month for 2 years then it would be to work everyday for one month and then never return.
If you need a break, decide when you're going to come back when you take the break and commit to returning to the work. You can always change your mind. But consistency will be a powerful tool in both building communities and doing the work of making real change.
This is the hardest piece of it. It's easy to settle back into a life of privilege where you can choose to no longer think about such things. This happened with an awful lot of white activists after the summer of BLM. I admit I am as guilty as the next person of getting overwhelmed and never returning to some of the organizations I used to help. We are all human and some people will fall away, but those who have prepared to be out there in the long term will fall away less, encourage others to return more often, and keep the fires burning on our long slow walk back.
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What's interesting about the complaints about "no POC" in anime is that the vast majority of characters are not white. They just have different colored hair and eyes for the sake of easily differentiating characters from one another. I guess what they mean is "We want more Black and (Afro-) Latine characters in anime," which is fine, but it does speak to a kind of ethnocentrism that prioritizes the USian understanding/value of race and ethnicity without considering what diversity would look like within the context of Japan. Similarly, I think of lot of people forget that animanga is aimed first and foremost at Japanese people. Foreigners typically only learn of titles because they're already successful enough in Japan to warrant translating and selling overseas. I don't see much value in Japanese creators tailoring their stories for Americans/Westerners because they already have a lot of competition in their fields with works being cancelled constantly. It's just not a good investment.
Whenever I do see diversity within animanga, it is interesting because there are usually characters who are Ainu, Ryukyuan, Portuguese, Brazilian (not necessarily Afro-Brazilians, though some are), Chinese, Korean, and other groups from East and South East Asia. Given the history of Japan, these are depictions that are interesting and answer/address some questions of the presence of these groups in Japan. I would argue that this is actual representation within the context of animanga. The Ainu (and other non-Yamato Japanese people) are oppressed in Japan. There are still Koreans (and their descendants) living in Japan from WWII who are oppressed, as well. There are close sociocultural and historical connections between Japan and Brazil and Japan and Portugal. It makes sense that diversity in Japan would look different from diversity in the US (not addressing how a lot of USian "diversity" is just telling the same White stories with ESG-insentivized checkboxes, so not true diversity at all). The landscape of animanga is just what you get when there's media coming from a country that's over 98% homogenous. I'm a Black and Hispanic animanga fan (same anon from 718760234172170240 and 719551319937007616), so I get how disappointing it feels. But just because you like something, doesn't mean it's made for you or that you're the target audience. It's made for Japanese people first and foremost. They just decided to make money from overseas markets, too. Also, why should a nation of people who typically never encounter Black people regularly feel the responsibility to represent us? It's corny and tone deaf when non-Black people beg to be included in Black-centered stories. The reverse is true, as well. Support more indie creators who make it a point to include "more POC" in their comics and graphic novels, and support creators telling different kinds of stories, not just checkboxes. The world is much broader than American ethnocentrism regarding race and ethnicity.
--
Yuuuuup.
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🔥 For the Masquerade series
so this has....apparently become a hot take in the recent times but
i think that disliking the masquerade series for its tone is something that is perfectly acceptable, even if said person is in love with the locked tomb.
i've seen bits of this debate here and there, and while i understand where the baru defenders are coming from, i sympathize more with the locked tomb people (and not just because i love the locked tomb!)
i baru post a lot. i've answered an ask about baru where the person asked me to give a recommendation for it based on liking the locked tomb. i gave my honest opinion there, and in tags elsewhere: recommending these series next to each other without appropriately warning the reader about the darker tone, themes, and narrative of baru is not only rude, it's negligent.
while i understand that tone does not a book make, it is also vital to a narrative, and i believe that baru and tlt differ greatly in tone, and that should be disclosed from the outset.
i don't have the post saved (and if i did, i wouldn't want to specifically call someone out anyway) but i saw someone sarcastically saying that "of course tone is more important than the similarities on a narrative level" (not a direct quote), as if tlt and baru are really that similar on a narrative level.
these are, of course, my opinions but i don't think they're similar narratively unless you count the most basic premise of "queer protagonist against imperialism". here's the thing (at the risk of being wrong on the internet)
The locked tomb is not focused solely on the Empire at a systemic level until bits of the second book and more dominantly the third book. Are there elements early on? yes. are they in your face, immediately relevant or a key aspect of the narrative, especially on a first read through? no! Baru kicks off with it. tlt's empire is not graphically homophobic. Baru's is, and it is fundamental to both her character and pieces of the narrative.
They're similar in the chivalrous figure dying at the end of the first book, they're similar in the weird brain stuff, in some of the weird bits, but at a fundamental level, Muir and Dickinson are telling stories of empire in different ways at different levels. Baru hates the Empire from the outset, is constantly working against it while she's working for it. Harrow and Gideon are not like this from the outset, and because those are the central characters for the opening two books, not the BoE, not the other Lyctors, it does change the narrative. resistance to the mechanisms of empire in tlt is not the focus from the outset (but definitely becomes more important as the larger story unfolds and we move outside the bubble of the nine houses)!
I understand the urge to defend Baru when people from the locked tomb fandom do read it on recommendation of it being similar to tlt and end up disliking it for how dark it is. i understand wanting the narrative to be spread despite how graphic it is, partially because that is the reality for a lot of people. i wholly acknowledge i'm speaking from a place of privilege in terms of violent homophobia like baru faces and as an american in a world that has been colonized by america and other wealthy nations, so i cannot fully identify with baru as a protagonist or those who associate on a deep level with her. if you do, i'm not saying that's bad or that you shouldn't recommend the book! i do, but i do so always with the caveat that it's dark and graphic and that the narrative is heavily centered in this darkness.
i think the masquerade series is a valuable series, but i think recommending it to locked tomb enjoyers and expecting them to love it because they love the locked tomb (and especially the critique of colonization that muir is building) or hounding on locked tomb enjoyers for not liking baru because of how graphic and violent it is can be uncomfortable and potentially triggering for a lot of people. tone is not everything, but it is key to enjoyment, and questioning why books are lumped together the way they are can be beneficial.
i remember finishing tyrant and reading the author's note dickinson left, where they state they're not sure when they'll finish the fourth book because the series is draining to write. i remember sympathizing to that, because reading it is draining. i mowed through the locked tomb books in a matter of days. each baru book took me months. the depth of the locked tomb is there i'm not saying it isn't, but baru's is like a painfully gaping wound from the outset, where tlt keeps it hidden until near the end of the first book
i'll end here by saying that both of these series are dear to my heart, and both sit in my top five favorite series of all time. i understand the urge to defend baru, who feels like an underdog compared to the largely more popular tlt, i tend to do it all the time. i do think, though, the conversation surrounding these two series and how they relate to each other can be better and more productive, and generally more generative in discussions of current advertising practices of "book similar to x book, so you'll like book!"
#i'm so sorry anon you didn't ask for an essay#but i'm tired of seeing my two favorite fandoms fighting ya know#i think the gut punch reaction to defend baru at all costs can come at the expense of recognizing tone does matter when reading#and that disclaiming some of the triggering material is probably best practice when it comes to both of these tbh#anon#ask#the locked tomb#baru cormorant#the masquerade series#tlt#really praying this does not get me yelled at because i really do love both of these series and they've fundamentally changed me#for the better i think
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I want to write. A saiki k x superman crossover. SO BAD.
Luckily for me, I have actually seen both shows/media (to an extent), which feels increasingly rare these days lmao. I've got two ideas, and I don't know which one I like more. I will say this ended up being a LONG POST.
Either an accidental dimension cross, where saiki gets teleported to dc. He spends a couple hours figuring out what's going on, exploring his options and getting important lore via telepathy, but without being willing to mind control some hotel for a room or whatever he winds up people watching atop a skyscraper in some American city, just absorbing the concepts of public power use and heroes and aliens and all sorts. Reflecting on it's differences. That's when Clark decides to check in on this kid who hasn't moved for hours on patrol. Their heartbeat is calm, no stress, so he wasn't worried but he really should check.
Saiki, of course, has heard all about superman. What's available to the public, at least. An alien. He might feel better if he were an alien, at least then he'd know why. He doesn't really expect him to appear, but maybe he should have. Because it's only seconds after they greet each other and superman moves to sit down that saiki is hit with a plethora of background subconscious that's he's so used to himself. 'check your grip don't react move slower look away from the skeleton check your grip you didn't hear that relax your eyes you'll need to reapply bruise makeup after yesterday check your grip don't get distracted ignore ignore ignore-'
Ah. Maybe here. Here is someone who... Might understand.
I think they'd get on very well. Secret identities because you just want a normal life. Sometimes you can't help to help. You know a million private things you shouldn't and it's not your fault. No one ever shuts up even when they're silent and you're living in a world of cardboard. Superman would definitely check saiki was actually human XD. Maybe a bit of banter. Saiki gets to vent and talk and supes gets someone who isn't a blood relative lol. They talk until sundown and watch the shrimp colours and after Clark treats saiki to something sweet.
The other is a world fusion au, where saiki grows up alongside aliens and demons and maybe superheroes. Would it be better if he was the same gen as the jl or maybe younger?
What if saiki was kryptonian though. Some weird flavour. And his parents never think about it because baby saiki decided they were his parents and so they were. They just found a weird hunk of metal in the mountains on their honeymoon and little kusuke was so young he'd clean forgotten he had a new baby brother! He got over it though! So saiki grows up not knowing and eventually finds a cheap germanian ring, with a fake emerald in the center. It's blissfully silent, but wearing it too long makes him feel a bit nauseous. To be fair, blocking his own powers probably isn't very healthy. He heard there would be an eclipse tonight, over the ocean, and he wants to go see.
He's not alone. There's someone else there, also flying high above the ocean, hundreds of miles away from any land mass. His thoughts are - blurred, a bit faint, like a radio channel he's not properly tuned in to.
The other person, they noticed him too. They're miles apart, it shouldn't be possible. Another psychic?
I don't know which way it would go from there. If it was a same age, it'd be before everything hits the fan, narratively. Saiki and Clark would spend after school going to each others houses (though 80% of the time saiki would be the one going to Clark's) across continents, bonding and testing each others powers, getting into petty challenges. They both would be so good for each other, as equals, and saiki especially needs healthy friendships at that age. Then Mrs Kent mentions how Clark was found one night over dinner, blindsiding saiki because it just never came up in their everyday lives. Everyone assumes saiki was too, that he must be whatever Clark is, but he's not...?
And then they find the fortress of solitude. Meet jor el. And yeah, he very much is.
Psychic, yes. Human? Not so much. In fact, his parents were famous oracles who predicted the death of krypton to such an extent they were dismissed as fear mongers despite their powerful abilities. Jor had shared ship tech with them but never knew if they managed to use it.
Featuring several major identity crises for poor saiki and eventually a hero partner because Japan might be left mostly alone but metropolis sure isn't and unlike saiki supes can't duplicate himself (he's holding out for a yet but saiki just rolls his eyes at him when he says that). There's eight people who found the jl. Saiki REALLY likes mm. Batman is a traitor to normality.
If it were canon ages, there'd be a lot of mentor adoption. Saiki would appear helping to stop some alien invasion with his bare hands and then bows and tries to duck away. He isn't interested in hero stuff no siree but supes keeps politely tricking him into coming round to the farm, where he meets kids in similar situations (bcz supes adopts kon here f u) and sees how they handle it. Lots of tag teaming and attempts at pranking that all fail the saiki k way. There's so much else in the world they don't doubt saikis just Like That Psychic until he brings his ring. They all hone in immediately that 'that's kryptonite' and saiki maintains that it's the metal not the gem that muffled him until someone straight up steals the gem off the ring and he freezes in horror.
Lots of hijinks including 'you're supposed to be in school! Not JAPAN' and packs of overpowered teenagers roving the Japanese mountains looking for a possible krypton pod. Kusuke is feeling VERY VALIDATED RN and also incomprehensibly furious. It's a comedy of errors whenever any of them show up at saikis school or when he's with his friends. His parents remain oblivious while he grapples with either telling them he's adopted (painfully ironic), somehow undoing a decade and a half of mind control, how he'd even go about it... Makoto wakes up one night in Brazil because he made a comment in his house when kon was staying over for tea at saikis.
#saiki k#saiki kusuo no psi nan#kusuo saiki#disastrous life of saiki k#superman#kal el#justice league#Jla#dc comics#crossover#clark kent#fanfiction#What do you guys think?#Obv his birth parents in the second idea have pink hair that's a requirement#I just think saiki and kal have so many similarities in their way of life and their everyday problems and struggles#And just went about solving them differently#Saiki never dared to truly embrace his powers the way supes did. Even by the end he still regards them with a sort of resigned tiredness#Even if he does learn to appreciate them#It's so obvious it ties in to how their individual parents raised them (and their genre I suppose)#Like with saiki it's all suppression and managing what you have left with supes its about balance and inner peace and what you do with it#You know? I think saiki would benefit massively and also his deadpan humour is so incredibly funny if he went to hero land
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A first person story from Michael for the Broadway Buzz! about his experience with A Chorus Line! (X) Published Feb 19, 2008
Michael Gruber: My Twice-in-a-Lifetime Experience in A Chorus Line
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About the author:
Through a combination of talent and timing, Michael Gruber is making theatrical history as the only actor who appeared in both the original Broadway company of A Chorus Line including the legendary final performance, no less! and in the current Broadway revival of the show. In a career spanning almost 20 years, Gruber has amassed a resume that includes yet another record-breaking Broadway show Cats, in which he played Munkustrap, plus Kiss Me, Kate, Swing, Miss Saigon, My Favorite Year, The Wizard of Oz and the Encores! production of Stairway to Paradise. His regional credits include starring roles in Singin' in the Rain, Easter Parade, White Christmas, Godspell and many more. A former all-American diver who trained for the Olympics, Gruber has also composed three musicals himself. He recently shared memories of his unique experience of appearing in A Chorus Line then…and now.
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A Chorus Line was my first Broadway show. I was only 24 years old when I got the role of Mike Costa, the cheerful young dancer who sings "I Can Do That," and I was so stagestruck about being in the show. It's the typical story: I had seen A Chorus Line in Cincinnati when I was a junior in high school and said, 'This is what I want to do.'"
What I remember most vividly about the final Broadway performance on April 28, 1990, is that it was out of control! It was a Saturday, so the matinee that day was really the last time we as a company felt we were doing the show itself. The final performance that night was more about the audience, which included a lot of original cast members and others who loved the show and had come back to say good-bye. I remember the wonderful neon sign that flew in to center stage with the number of performances—6,137—lit up.
For me, the most startling thing was having to stand there after my number for what seemed like a full minute. They just wouldn't stop applauding. I've never experienced anything like that, even when I was in Cats on the night it passed A Chorus Line as the longest-running Broadway show. I realize now that the applause was not really about me; it was about the show itself. It was the end of an era.
I met the original Mike, Wayne Cilento, at the closing night party, which was held at the old Mamma Leone's. He was charming, but the original cast didn't socialize with us much; they were all on one side of the room and we were on the other. It hurt our feelings at the time, but now that I'm over 40, working with kids in their 20s, I understand. They were all friends, and they had their own nostalgic bond.
Since then, I've auditioned for several companies of A Chorus Line, but I'd never done the show again until I was offered the opportunity to replace Michael Paternostro as Gregory Gardner in the Broadway revival. It's been such a fantastic gift to work with Baayork Lee, the original Connie, who was at the epicenter of the creation of the show and has restaged it all over the world. Director Michael Bennett had passed away by the time I joined the cast, but Baayork remembers everything: Anything you want to ask, even after all these years, she can tell you.
I was fascinated to hear about the original Greg, Michel Stuart, who reinvented himself as a cultured, artistic personality. Playing a Jew from the Bronx is far from me, a Midwestern Catholic, but I can understand someone who creates a character from his own life and aspires to taste and sophistication. The fact that Greg is gay should be somewhat of a surprise to the audience; the character has a superiority and a confidence because he's been around. Baayork and Michel were very good friends, so my character's relationship with Connie is strong, and also with Cassie because they're the older dancers. That's why Cassie stands between Sheila and Greg onstage. The audience may not get all that, but knowing the background of the show anchors and orients me.
As I look at the show now, I'm struck by how contemporary it feels. It was ahead of its time back then; that's what made it revolutionary. Michael Bennett embraced the idea of presenting the real-life stories of ordinary people, knowing that audiences would be interested. It's a testament to Nicholas Dante and Ed Kleban, who wrote the book, that A Chorus Line doesn't feel dated. It's timeless because it's so truthful and not based in pop culture. The show is as perfect as it can be, which means that as an actor, I don't need to reinvent the wheel. When you muck about with it, it loses its crispness. My task is to take my ego out of it and serve the show so that its truthfulness comes through. Keep it simple. Keep it real.
I went into the revival last summer with nine other actors, and during rehearsals, we skipped the numbers that didn't involve the replacement cast. So it wasn't until our first performance that I had the great thrill of watching Jeffrey Schecter's brilliant performance of "I Can Do That." Feelings of nostalgia washed over me as the realization of how lucky I was to be standing on that white line again after all these years came vividly into focus. Later, Jeffrey and I shared another "full circle" moment: He remembered seeing a tape of "I Can Do That" on Nightline during a story about the original production just before it closed. "You were in that last company," he said to me. "Did you do a standing back somersault at the end of the number?" When I said yes, he replied, "I saw you on TV when I was 14. And I said to myself, 'I want to do that.'"
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🦇 Good Fortune Book Review 🦇
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
❝ But meeting him now felt like meeting him for the first time, glimpsing a new side of the person she want once imagined she knew. It unsettled her, how little she could trust that her impression of him would stay true to the versions she met later. ❞
❓ QOTD What's your favorite Austen adaptation?
🦇 Elizabeth "LB" Chen's mother is all too excited when she sells the neighborhood's beloved yet derelict community center to two Chinese men from Hong Kong, but LB isn't convinced these investors have the community's best interests at heart. With stubborn albeit good intentions, she fights for the community, too often butting heads with uptight, arrogant Darcy Wong in the process. The two are forced to spend time together, each venturing into the other's world longer than they're comfortable with. Can they see from one another's perspective, or will pride and prejudice get in the way?
💜 It's a truth universally acknowledged that many book lovers adore a good retelling—emphasis on "good." There are many that fail to hit the mark, neglecting the qualities that led readers to fall in love with the original story in the first place.
����Good Fortune hits every mark...and then some.
💜 The first 25 pages feature language so unique and enthralling that, for a moment, you'll forget this was a retelling in the first place. The writing is full of sass and quick wit without compromising the charm or formality of Austen's original works. Modernized, the language is moving, thought-provoking, and refreshing. Once it ensnares you, you'll find the sun has long set—or perhaps, just beginning to rise—as the story makes you forget all sense of time. Despite the familiar characters and plot, Chau does stunning work of making the story her own. The smallest of details—like LB's photography, the issue of gentrification, and Darcy's community outreach—to foundational changes—like setting the story in New York's Chinatown and making the sisters children of Chinese immigrants—all play a part in the story's progression. Chau never abandons the themes that make Pride and Prejudice such a monumental story, instead using them to bring attention to the same problems that still exist today: cultural identity, class divides, the burdens and responsibilities of family. Culture is infused in every page, granting this story a unique authenticity that other retellings lack. Infusing this story with the Chinese-American children-of-immigrants perspective only makes the classical class divide AND family values all the more poignant.
🦇 I think most readers will feel conflicted about the minor adjustments made to some of the supporting characters (namely, Jade and Lydia, who are a little more frustrating than usual). However, the frustrations both cause give LB the push she needs to adjust her perspective. Lydia's scandal and brattish behavior made me set my Kindle aside more than once, but I've never been a fan of Lydia Bennet.
🦇 Though I don't think the book needs to be longer, I do wish we got a little more of LB and Darcy together at the end. However, the original Pride and Prejudice story, along with most retellings, stop at the point they're together, so I understand it. The playful, rather than abrasive version of their banter is so entertaining that it only left me starved for more.
🦇 Recommended for fans of the original Pride and Prejudice, readers eager for diverse stories, and lovers of Sonali Dev's The Rajes series (another great retelling you NEED to read if you haven't already). Book bats, you've gotta grab this one!
✨ The Vibes ✨
㊗️ Debut Novel
🎩 Contemporary Pride and Prejudice
🏮 Enemies to Lovers
🥠 Class Consciousness
🥟 Family is Everything
👠 Stubborn Integrity
🦇 Major thanks to the author and publisher for providing an ARC of this book via Netgalley. 🥰 This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
#book review#book recommendation#book lovers#books and coffee#reading#book blog#battyaboutbooks#batty about books#book: good fortune#book: pride and prejudice#author: ck chau#coffee and books#author: jane austen#jane austen#pride and prejudice
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I love your thoughtful opinions on things! It would be great to read some more of your thoughts.
What do you think happened with the collab, do you think the reason was only because of the hate? And do you think they might release it anytime soon? I mean, it's no secret anymore that it exists, and now a lot of people really want to hear it, like there is the logic in just releasing it now.
And what do you think about Matty's verse? I read that people think his lyrics are terrible, but I really liked them, I think it matches the vibe of the song. And "then she called me a gentleman" will haunt me forever 😭
Sorry if this was too many questions 😅 these two just live rent free in my head
Hi anon! Oh, trust me, these two live rent-free in my head, too. Or, perhaps I should say that the Fearless Love Gaze™ acted as an advance rent payment for some indefinite period. Probably a while. Also, never too many questions! I love answering questions.
When it comes to speculation, I live in a very weird nebulous state where I can see several different viable realities at once. Before I give my opinions I want to preface a little bit…
I don't base any of my opinions or speculation on gossip sites (including longtime assumptions regarding who this or that song is about - you'd be shocked easy many are to debunk, actually). I mostly speculate based on lyrics first and foremost, things that I can prove Taylor or Matty have said or done (with the understanding that they are also unreliable narrators when necessary, as 'Dear Reader' suggests). That said:
What I think happened with the collab:
My best "inside-the-box" guess about what happened with the collab was what I stated previously, but the "cliffs notes" version is that it seems most likely to me that Matty would have requested to pull the collaboration because of the hate campaign against him. As the lead singer of The 1975, he's something of a spearhead or mouthpiece for their band and tour, and dating Taylor put him at the center of our current cultural Panopticon. They might've broken up, gone on break, or distanced themselves from each other for optics.
However, I prefer my best "outside-the-box" guess: Taylor and Matty never broke up. They just want us to think that they did. In actuality, they are proud partners in crime currently writing their Kayfabian 'Love Story' (with the help of Brad Troemel and I would wager to guess, many others). They're pulling a Robbers-style heist on the media and celebrity culture as we know it, and they have us right where they want us: engaging in discourse about the collab.
What I think might happen with the collab:
If my first guess is accurate - Probably nothing will ever come of it. I personally hate this scenario, and not even because I don't get to hear the collab of my dreams, but because then it means the hate mob won. Taylor is about as close as Americans get to having royalty, and I guess that means she's what, beholden to medieval values of her many subjects (fans)? Look at how they rejoice in this strange cultural alliance with the NFL that came as a result of a 'betrothal' to the All-American football Prince. However, the video for Bejeweled mocks this idea. Alexa, play Lavender Haze!
The only kinda girl they see is a one night or a wife
I'm damned if I do give a damn what people say. No deal, the 1950s shit they want from me
Meanwhile, Taylor has likened herself to Juliet since at least 2007/8. The entire point of writing 'Love Story' was to change the ending so Romeo and Juliet could be together.
In this scenario, we probably will get the collaboration! When? Whew, well…
Disclaimer: Wild speculation ahead!
As I've said, "Slut!" feels cyclical to me. In 2014, Taylor described herself as being a "lightning rod for slut-shaming" and she's been quoted as saying, "People often greatly underestimate how much I will inconvenience myself to prove a point." I get the sense that she could coax the world into slut-shaming her more overtly (just after they all streamed the hell out of "Slut!", how poetic that would be!), as right now the public is very interested in this whole "betrothal" storyline going on with a certain football star. The world, so it believes, took away her "bad bad boy shiny toy with a price" and if "Slut!" is any indication, she still wants it: "we'll pay the price, I guess"
That would be he perfect time to drop the rumored music video to accompany it (especially if say, they happen to have some kind of archival footage from 2014).
Again, this is all under the assumption that this is all an elaborate Kayfabian ruse. Let the fans choose her Kens and "play Barbies" until she burns down the dollhouse… While this sounds perhaps callous on its surface (especially for supporters of her current pairing) but… she already told us: This is why we can't have nice things.
But Mark my words: Taylor choosing Matty over a beloved "Chad" in such an overt way could be the catalyst for the cultural reset we desperately need. But that's a different tangent… back to "Slut!"
My thoughts on Matty's (alleged) verse:
I am going to take a wild guess and assume you saw people making fun of the lyrics on Twitter, aka the place where all benefit of the doubt goes to die. What people who simply read the lyrics and judge them to be "bad" are missing is… the melody! Matty's verse is longer than its replacement by one line, but you can kind of sing along with Taylor's second verse, let me try to help by putting them side-by-side with Taylor's lines:
Lights blink // Send the
losing // code, he's
my mind // waiting
What // there
we think // the sticks
happens // and stones
to rhyme // they throw
I // Froze
drink, drink // mid-air
Fortune timing // Everyone's wants him
Days shrink into long nights now // that was my crime (sing fast!)
Plus 44 // the wrong place
on an American phone // at the right time
Cat eye // and I
running down // break down
her cheekbone // then he's
But it's elegant // pullin' me in (sing fast!)
I tell her, "You are not a slut, // in a world of boys
You're just relevant" // he's a gentleman
It's also hard to judge the lyrics without hearing how Matty would sing them, right? Like go ahead and make fun of the 'relevant' line if you must, but I bet his inflection is what makes it.
So, are the lyrics "good"? Well, here's what I will say: it's much easier to criticize someone else's art than to share your own. Regardless of whether or not Matty did pen these lines, gotta admit, I like them (especially correctly paired with the melody). They seem specific to the point that they are likely inside jokes that only Tatty would fully understand, particularly the word most often criticized: "relevant", which I think Matty gave a clever nod to on Chicken Shop Date.
Apart from that, these 'new' lyrics feel Tatty-coded in that they might be self-referential. Considering most people still don't believe 'About You' is actually about Taylor (despite Matty heavily insinuating that it is on multiple occasions, for instance: 1, 2, 3), I won't even bother going into possible parallels…
Anyway, even before the alleged "leak", I felt quite confident that this song was about him (and that The 1975 were always meant to feature on 1989). The "leak" did nothing but validate my suspicions.
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sorry i hate that stupid twitter thread about how baby gays dont understand how its actually good that corporations do gay pride things bc i feel like its indicative of exactly whats wrong with rainbow capitalism
like oh? wells fargo gave you a mortgage? thats cool except wells fargo is constantly in lawsuits over their discriminatory practices towards black people. like they're in one right now! they had to pay 175 million for one in 2012! and 7.8 million for hiring discrimination in 2020! and another 10 million to philadelphia in 2019!!
wells fargo was also a major funder for the dakota access pipeline
and only stopped funding prisons and immigration detention centers in 2019
and it's just admittedly a bit frustrating because this is honestly pretty well known because wells fargo is infamous for just really fucking sucking. and it's frustrating that the concern over rainbow capitalism is swept away as children not knowing what they're talking about because the world used to be so much more homophobic when 1. lgbt teens are currently right now under attack and i wish people would stop pretending like they are not??? and 2. just because things are better for white gays doesnt mean it's better for everyone else
like congrats! you can get a loan from the bank! but do you know how fucking bad the black-white wealth gap is in america?
housing discrimination is one of the most crucial pieces to the disenfranchisement of black americans. redlining has crippled black americans ability to own wealth and it's getting worse.
it's not just an issue of "there's no ethical consumption under capitalism" it's an unwillingness to acknowledge the brutality poc are facing from these corporations where it's then brushed away as childish complaints instead of centuries worth of violent oppression.
we can't just say "well things were worse and even though it's not perfect at least things are better" because that's only true for some people. a refusal to confront the harm of rainbow capitalism is an expression of apathy. it's an admittance of "i got mine so fuck y'all" demonstrating once again how many white lgbt people don't want to end oppression, but instead want to be elevated into the same positions of power as the rest of their white class.
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Black artist exploration: Ruth E Carter
The Academy Award winner and Hampton Alum, best known for her costume design in The Black Panther film series and numerous Spike Lee films has been at it for over 40 years. Let's do a run-down of her decades-long career.
🪡🧵🪡🧵🪡🧵🪡🧵🪡🧵The Phenomenal Ruth Carter🪡🧵🪡🧵🪡🧵🪡🧵🪡🧵🪡🧵
Ruth E. Carter´s Beginnings
Ruth E. Carter was born and raised in Springfield, MA. Initially, Carter saw herself on stage instead of backstage, starring in numerous uni productions as a theatre major during her time at Hampton. She picked up her sewing skills as a teenager practicing with different sewing patterns and used that as a part of her way to express herself as she was the youngest of 8. It was during her time at Hampton that a professor asked her to help in the costume department, and she found her true passion in costume design. She had a small workshop where she created costumes for the theatre department, the travel dance companies, the campus musicals, and the steppers.
In an interview with American Matters she discussed where her love for costume design began: ¨...I realized that it was an artistic medium. And I got to see my work on stage and look at color balance and relationships between people by what they were wearing, and it allowed me to step outside of my desire to be on stage and inside the story, it allowed me to step outside the story and orchestrate what I was doing with all the characters. And that’s how I fell in love with it. I thought this is big. It felt bigger than just playing the one character.¨
After graduating, she went back home and interned at her local theater for a year. The next year, she went across the country to New Mexico to intern with the Santa Fe Opera. She was dedicated to growing her craft, and it was during this time that she truly fell in love with costume design and felt like she was stepping into something new. She moved to LA at 26, and later that year, she worked with the Los Angeles Theatre Center and worked her way up to an administration job. Carter realized over time that administration was not what she wanted and found an opportunity to travel with a dance company as their costume designer. It was at this time she met Spike Lee.
Meeting Spike Lee would redirect Carter to her true passion for creating costumes for film and TV. At the time, Spike Lee had begun production on She´s Gotta Have It and asked Carter to consider working on a student thesis film. It was during this time she understood how film wasn't so focused on bravado as theatre arts were, the focus was more dedicated to showcasing the details, or the subtleties of characters. She understood that even everyday people, in their everyday lives, are telling stories through the clothes they wear and how they wear them.
In an interview with NPR´s Fresh Air: ¨There is someone that you personify in that vision of yourself, in your mind, and there's also that vision of someone who we see, the representative of you. And that's where fashion stops and costume begins, because we create a mood for ourselves. We create a voice that we want to project to the world without us saying a word. And that's what costumes do. They communicate amongst each other. Either they're collaborative or they are in opposition. They say who you are or who you want to be or how you want to be perceived. And that's the part of clothing that can be so simple and yet so complicated.¨
Her Most Iconic Designs
Malcolm X directed by Spike Lee (1992)
To create the costumes for this project Ruth was blessed with the opportunity to interview Betty Shabazz about her time with Malcolm and who he was behind closed doors. She also was granted access to his prison letters allowing for a more intimate understanding of who this person was before he became Malcolm X. To build a costume for a real person, she looked into his personal history and textile history from the 1920s to '60s. The costume design for Malcolm X would grant her the first of multiple prestigious film nominations, garnering an Oscar Nomination.
Carter describes the costuming for Malcolm X:
¨...each stage in his life deserved a different color palette since his mindset was different in all the stages of his life. When he is Malcolm Little and Detroit Red, the color palette is playful with the zoot suits. When he is incarcerated, the palette is a blue like he is being cleansed. When he emerges as Malcolm X, there are black, white, and grey notes for his clean, strict, and unwavering devotion to the nation of Islam." This dark suit, was worn during the time that Malcolm X was fully immersed in the nation of Islam.¨
Black Panther (2018) and Wakanda Forever (2022)
Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever would grant Ruth her first and second Oscar win for outstanding Costume Design. Her designs sit on display at the North Carolina Art Museum honoring her ability to tap into Afro-futurism in design. For these projects she studied not only the comics but kept a specific imagery in mind and remain dedicated to the artistry and storytelling of traditional clothing around Africa, specifically South Africa. Within the story there were multiple fictional tribes represented, a heritage of beading, pattern work, and specific garments were important in portraying the station at which the different characters existed, taking from real life examples instead of creating her own separate designs.
From Ruth E Carter´s website on designing the costumes for Black Panther (2018)
When Carter was in the initial planning stages for the film, she printed out four words and pinned them to her wall: beautiful, positive, forward, and colorful. These adjectives guided her process and can all be used to describe the stunning Black Panther costumes, which merge technology and tradition.
“I think people will be able to contextualize and look at African art and appreciate it so much differently. That’s what we did: We appreciated it, we reimagined it, we took it to another level, another place, and there were inspirations everywhere!”
School Daze (1988)
The 1988 film would be the first of many projects Spike Lee and Carter would collaborate on together. This film was inspired by Lee's times at Morehouse and touched on numerous -isms that exist within the Black community, specifically being exasperated in a college setting. For this project, they would collaborate with the iconic fashion designer known for his ¨street couture,¨ Willi Smith creator of Williwear who provided designs for all of the costumes for the homecoming scenes. Although her time at Hampton would prepare her for the type of costume designing needed for this project, Carter found herself incredibly overwhelmed. This was a small production, with a small budget but she found a way to manage. This project would set the tone for her career to come.
Advice from an interview I thought all creatives need to hear:
¨My advice is that you get a strong foundation of how you go about coming up with ideas and I think it’ll stay with you for the rest of your career. My foundation was research. I love to research.¨ Carter in an interview with American Matters: Creative spark Feb, 9th 2023.
Carter Discussing Costume Design vs. Fashion Design
¨Overall, fashion is about a development of a personality in the world, usually based around a real person that is a celebrity or a muse. Costume design is creating the psychology of the fictional character and the person behind the clothes. When fashion designers give you something, they don’t expect you to, like, dirty it up. They don’t expect you to make it look oversized or rumpled. But with costuming, the clothes are part of telling a story. That story could be that the actors slept in their car. So it’s often really hard to incorporate commercial design because we’re working with different goals in mind.¨
Thank you for reading! I hope you learned something new.
Signing off,
B, the Virgo
sources:
#ruth carter#virgo#wikipedia#black panther#black artist#costume design#hollywood#spike lee#school daze
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Can you share other smutty romance novels books??
Lol, well! Sure, always.
Since you didn't specify historical only, I'll throw in some other authors for you to consider.
Helen Hoang--Maybe my favorite contemporary romance novelist? Writes about Vietnamese and biracial characters, includes a lot of ASD rep. Her first book, The Kiss Quotient, is one of my all time favorites. It focuses on a heroine with ASD who hires a sex worker to teach her how to be good at sex (she's had partners tell her that she's frigid, basically). Very hot and very sweet. He tells her she has a porn star pussy and I? For one? Find it quote romantic. The second book in the series features a virgin hero and a single mom heroine, and essentially what is an attempted arranged marriage setup from his mom? Love it. Will advise that her latest book, The Heart Principle, does deal heavily with the illness and decline of a parent, and some have argued that it's not a romance. Idk about that, but it's definitely in a gray area.
Talia Hibbert--Talia writes black (often fat) heroines, though I do want to emphasize that she writes, as far as I know, ONLY interracial romance. Not all of her heroes are white, but I don't think any of them are black; I don't want to suggest that she's writing black romance. These are strictly interracial romances. Her books also feature other types of rep... One heroine is chronically ill, one is queer, and one has ASD (with a hero with ASD as well) from what I've read thus far. These books are super hot, and not always in a conventional~ way. Act Your Age, Eve Brown features a fabulous scene with a sparkly purple dildo.
Sierra Simone--Sierra writes kinky erotic romance in a variety of different categories. My favorite book by her is Priest, which is essentially about a Catholic priest who falls in love with a woman who comes to him for confession (the book is a solo male POV, heroine is an ex-stripper, which I love). She also wrote American Queen, which kicks off a trilogy that is like... King Arthur's court meets The Kennedys meets kinky sex, I guess? It centers on a throuple featuring the president, the first lady, and the vice president. It's not for everyone, but it's definitely smutty. I also really like her novellas in the Duke I'd Like to F... and Rake I'd Like to F... collections, which are historical romance (DILF features a m/f age gap romance from her, whereas the RILF book features a m/m kidnapping romance).
Nicola Davidson--I've as of yet only read her novellas in the DILF and RILF collections, but she's very much a known entity in smutty historical romance and I want to read more. She writes a good amount of menage historical romance, and from what I understand they always feature everyone together, which I love.
Katee Robert--But of course! Katee writes erotic romance in a wide variety of different categories... My favorite from her is still the first one I read, Desperate Measures (which is Jafar/Jasmine with a ddll dubcon kidnapping vibe--its in her Wicked Villains series, which are pro-villain Disney retellings set in a dark organized crime world). She writes a good amount of menage where swords always cross, etc, as well as some f/f. She and Jenny Nordbak (whose fiction I've yet to read, but I love her memoir about her time working for a dungeon and I highly recommend it, The Scarlett Letters) just pulled off an EXTREMELY successful Kickstarter for a paranormal romance collection they're doing with four other authors. Sounds like monsterfucking!!!
Speaking of monsterfucking--C.M. Nascosta wrote the famous Morning Glory Milking Farm, which is a short book about jacking off and falling in love with minotaurs. It's quite cute and very... explicit. I know she has a mothman book out called Sweet Berries (I haven't read it yet) and I'm pretty sure her werewolf breeding book comes out on July 28.... And I'm VERY excited about that.
If you're open to old school smut, I'd recommend Elizabeth Lowell's medieval trilogy. The descriptions are a bit flowery, yes, but it's pretty hot in my opinion. There's a lot of dubcon throughout the series, and the third book (Enchanted) does feature a heroine who was raped in the past, and that's a huge plot point throughout the book. These heroes are all alphas, at certain points they're all assholes, but they do end up laid low by these women. So that's fun.
A Caribbean Heiress by Adriana Herrera--This is the first full length novel I've read by Adriana. It was really good, and there was plenty of hot sex, including one scene that took place on the Eiffel Tower.
Of course, the usual suspects I've mentioned for historical romance: Elizabeth Hoyt, Kerrigan Byrne, Tessa Dare, Scarlett Peckham, Joanna Shupe... As for others I don't think I've mentioned in this context as much...
Sophie Jordan--She writes very smutty romances, imo. Definitely some of the hotter ones published in the mainstream market. Like.... check out This Scot of Mine.
Vivienne Lorret--I've only read one book by her (How to Steal a Scoundrel's Heart), but I found it to be pretty hot and incredibly romantic.
Stacy Reid--Again, one I've only read one from (A Matter of Temptation) but I thought it was very well done and the sex was great.
Eva Leigh--She has a couple of great novellas in the DILF and RILF collections, and A Good Girl's Guide to Rakes is one of the only recent mainstream historical books I've read that uses the word "cunt", so snaps for Eva!
Jennifer Ashley--I've only read The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie thus far, but ugh it's super hot (also the hero has ASD).
Of course, if I like the author, I enjoy the sex scenes, because sex really matters to me in these books. So like... Sarah MacLean (especially her upcoming book), Lisa Kleypas, Julie Anne Long (not quite as explicit as some but very hot), Beverly Jenkins.
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Chapter Nine - The Meeting
Summary: Returning to Hawkins for spring break, Aria is finally glad to be back at home to see her mom and friends. However, she soon finds out that the danger they’ve all faced before, is back yet again. This time, she may or may not fall at the center of it.
Pairing: Steve Harrington x Original Female Character
Warnings: This story contains mature themes such as sexual content, strong language, violence, mentions of alcohol and drugs, blood, gore, and death.
Note: I imagine Aria Kaul as South Asian but I have decided to let you, the reader, imagine her appearance, hence the reason why I have not given her a face claim. However, her race does not affect the story, whatsoever. You, as the reader, are free to imagine her however you want. If you don’t see her as South Asian, then that’s fine. It won’t affect the storyline.
Series Masterlist
Aria and Nancy walked upstairs towards Nancy’s room, with Steve and Robin following close behind. Steve was a little distraught at the fact that he didn’t have his own fake profile, telling the girls that he could help them out instead of being a babysitter.
“Riya, you're outta your mind if you think I'm babysitting again.” Steve told her, arms out in front of him. Nancy started to shift through her closet to pick out some outfits to wear for their meeting, while Aria turned around to face Steve.
“First, they're not babies anymore.” Aria responded, a little frustrated on why he wasn’t understanding. “And Max is in real danger, so she needs people around her.”
“I know. But why does it always have to be me?”
“Oh my God, you have a Tom Cruise poster.” Robin said, walking towards the poster. “You have a Tom Cruise poster.”
“That's old.” Nancy stated. “It's just…Can you please not touch anything?” Nancy told her, irritated.
“Well, ever since I left for college, you’ve practically adopted the babysitter name from me.” Aria responded to Steve’s question. “So, it’s only fair that you’re here looking after them.”
“I can't do anything here, Riya.” Steve sighed in frustration, walking closer to her. “Maybe I can be helpful with this asylum director dude. I don't know. I could turn on my…my charm.”
Aria crossed her arms. “Not the charm we need.”
“Ouch.”
“No, I just…” Aria shook her head, trying to reason with him. “Look. I did some digging last night and, as it turns out, this Dr. Hatch is a distinguished fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a Harvard visiting scholar, okay? This is a lifelong student of the world. If we're gonna win him over, we're gonna have to convince him we are too.” Aria looked back at Nancy who was still going through her closet. “That, like him…we are true academic scholars.”
“Holy shit. There's a little ballerina in here.” Robin whispered, picking up Nancy’s ballerina music box.
Steve scoffed, pointing towards Robin. “Academic scholar? She's giving you an academic scholar vibe? Yeah.”
Nancy spoke up, bringing out a few dresses in her hands. “No, but…she will.”
“Oh, please, tell me you're joking.” Robin groaned. Aria and Nancy looked at each other, smirking.
Aria, Nancy, and Robin arrived at the asylum in Aria’s car, wearing the dresses Nancy lended them. Robin was complaining the entire time, frustrated that she had to wear an itchy dress. “I can't breathe in this thing, and I'm itchy. I'm itching all over.”
“It's not all about comfort.” Nancy responded, rolling her eyes. “Okay? We're academics.”
“Who are evidently coming straight from Easter brunch.” Robin threw her arms up. “Also, this bra that you gave me is really pinching my boobs.” She looked at Aria. “Do your boobs not feel weird in this bra?”
Aria let out a frustrated breath. “No, my boobs feel fine.” She sighed. “Just…just let Nance and I do all the talking, alright? If that’s even possible?”
“It's not only possible, it's inevitable. Because shortly, I'll be dead from strangulation.”
They sat in the director’s office, him looking at their fake profiles with an impressed look. “3.9 GPAs.” He said, turning towards them. “Both of you.” He looked at Aria. “And a 4.0 GPA. Impressive.”
Nancy handed him a piece of paper. “And this is a recommendation from Professor Brantley.”
He grinned. “Yeah, I know Larry. Quite well, actually.” The girls looked at each other. “Eh, you know what they say. ‘Those who can't do, teach.’”
“Uh, yes, yes, that's actually why we're here.” Aria said with a small smile. “I mean, we can only learn so much in a classroom.”
“And I'm sympathetic to your struggle, truly. But there is a protocol to visiting a patient like Victor. You put in a request and then undergo a screening process, at which point the board will make a decision.” The girls furrowed their eyebrows, worried that their plan was going to end up failing. “I can see you're disappointed. But I'm more than happy to give you a tour. Perhaps you can even speak to some patients in our low-security wing.”
“And we'd…we would love that.” Nancy said, Aria nodding along. “It's just that, um…our thesis is due next month.”
“And you're out of time. Whose fault is that?”
“Ours. Absolutely.” Aria reassured him. “And I do apologize—“
“Don't apologize, Ruby. Screw that.” Robin said, causing both girls to widen their eyes in shock. “The fact is, we did put in a request months ago and were denied. And then we reapplied and were denied again. And coming here was our last-ditch effort to save our thesis. And I really…I can't breathe in this thing.”
Aria turned her head, a little angry that Robin was messing up their meeting. “Well, Rose, maybe you'd like to go outside and get some air.”
“Maybe I should, Ruby. Because I'm starting to think this whole thing is a colossal mistake.” Robin stood up, looking down at the two girls. “I'm breaking out in a rash. My boobs hurt. And I'll tell you the truth, Anthony. May I call you Anthony?” Hatch sighed. “These aren't my clothes. I borrowed them because I wanted you to take us seriously. Because nobody takes girls seriously in this field. They just don't. We don't look the part or whatever. But can I tell you a story?”
Aria and Nancy’s eyes met each other, breathing heavily. They didn’t know what Robin was going to say but they had no choice but to listen.
“1978, I was at summer camp. And my counselor Drew told me and everyone in Cabin C the true story of the Victor Creel Massacre. And little Petey McHew…You know Petey, right, Ruby? Ruth?” She asked Aria and Nancy.
“Of… Of course.” Nancy answered.
“Yeah. Little Petey McHew started sobbing right there on the spot. Full-on hyperventilating. The other campers couldn't sleep for weeks. I couldn't either, but not 'cause I was scared. Because I was obsessed with the question, ‘What would drive a human being to commit such unimaginable acts?’ Other kids wanted to be astronauts, basketball players, rock stars. But I wanted to be you.” Robin exclaimed. “I wanted to be you. So, forgive me if I'll now try anything in my power, including wearing this ridiculous outfit, if I might get to speak to the man that ignited my passion and learn a little more about how his twisted, but let's face it, totally fascinating mind works.”
Aria’s lips parted, a little impressed with Robin’s quick thinking. Maybe she was wrong about Robin after all.
“So, yes, we don't have the official paperwork, but don't tell me that cry-baby Petey McHew wouldn't have gotten an audience with Victor in moments if he'd asked politely, because you and I both know that he would.”
Aria and Nancy smirked, their gazes darting towards the director.
“So…ten minutes with Victor. That's all I ask.”
They followed Hatch out of his office, smirks plastered on their faces. Robin was in between Aria and Nancy, letting her hand out so the girls could give each other a high-five.
“These are our gardens.” Hatch showed them, walking around the outside of the building. “Beautiful, aren't they? We allow them two hours of outside time a day.”
“Can't they just escape?” Robin asked, looking at all the patients.
“They could. But the vast majority choose to be here. They like it here.” They walked into the listening room, where more patients were. “This is one of our more popular areas. The listening room. We found that music has a particularly calming effect on the broken mind. The right song, particularly one which holds some personal meaning, can prove a salient stimulus. But there are those who are beyond a cure.” The girls looked at each other, raising an eyebrow at Hatch’s words.
They finally made it to the prison area, where Nancy spoke up. “Uh, Dr. Hatch, do you think it might be possible for us to speak to Victor alone?”
The guard and Hatch looked at her with furrowed brows. “Alone?”
“I…I think that we would just love the challenge of speaking with Victor without the safety net of an expert such as yourself.” Robin said. “Then we could really rub it in Professor Bradley's face.”
“Professor Bradley? I don't believe I know a Professor Bradley.”
“Brantley.” Aria quickly corrected. “She…she meant to say Brantley.”
“Didn't I say Brantley? What did I say?” Robin laughed nervously. “Sorry, silly me. Words, letters. Guess I'm just nervous. I mean, excited. So excited to speak with Victor. Preferably, as she said, alone?”
Hatch stared at them for a few more seconds, carefully studying them. “Yes. Why not? You've caught me in a rebellious mood.” He laughed. He looked down to check his watch. “And there's something rather urgent I need to check on anyway, so…Sure.” He turned around towards the guard. “Keep a close eye on them.”
“Thank you so much, Dr. Hatch.” Robin thanked him.
“Thank you.” Aria and Nancy thanked in unison.
The guard unlocked the door, the girls following close behind. “Do not startle him. Do not touch him.” Aria’s eyes darted towards all the others patients inside the prison, them looking at the three girls in return. “Do not pass him anything. Stand five feet away from the bars at all times. Is that clear?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Yes, sir.”
They made it to the end of the hall, seeing a man inside the prison with their back towards them, sitting in a chair. “Victor.” The guard called. “Today's your lucky day! You got visitors.” His gaze fell on the girls. “Real pretty ones.”
Aria furrowed her brows, trying not to grimace. Victor started to scratch his fingernails onto the table, the loud screeching echoing around the room.
“Must be in one of his moods.” The guard stated, walking away. “Have fun.”
“Victor?” Aria called out his name. “My name is Aria. Aria Kaul. And this is…”
“Nancy Wheeler.” Nancy said her name.
“And…”
“Robin Buckley.” Robin told him her name as well. “Um, we have some questions.”
“I don't talk to reporters.” Victor exclaimed. “Hatch knows that.”
“We're not reporters.” Nancy stated, the girls walking closer. “We're here because… we believe you.”
“And because…” Aria spoke up. “We need your help.”
“Whatever killed your family, we think it's back.” Robin added. Victor stopped scratching the table, slowly turning around to face the girls. Aria saw his face, his eyes completely scratched out. Her eyebrows furrowed, the corner of her lips turned down.
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hi! i would love it if you checked out this link and commented with your thoughts! —> your theories about aria
no pressure if you don’t do it but i would gladly appreciate it!
#stranger things#steve harrington#steve harrington series#angst#fluff#reticent series#steve harrington x aria kaul#steve harrington x oc#steve harrington x original character#steve harrington x fem#steve harrington x reader#steve harrington fanfic
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People are always like "but you shouldn't need it to be you/your daughter/your wife" or "you shouldn't need some metaphor to understand" or "why are we watering this down for people" - Listen:
If I've learned anything by the (weak, watered down, unfocused) leftist reaction to the current attempted genocide of trans people, it is that very few people will act or put themselves in danger unless it DIRECTLY affects them. ESPECIALLY other minorities who are not multiply marginalized (w the understanding that can bring) but Do have a lot to lose.
That's not true for every person! Some people have a basic understanding of empathy and compassion. Some people have higher level critical thinking skills or kindness. But I hate to break it to you - all of those things (empathy compassion critical thinking even kindness) are SKILLS. They are not a given. They are rarely honed by accident. They are difficult and many times come at a cost to you to learn and practice.
People may not have these skills for a MILLION reasons, but many of them are linked to poverty and generational trauma, lack of funded public education, and living in a dystopian capitalistic society that prioritizes individualism and leaves barely any time or energy for thinking through complex ideologies unless you MAKE that time. None of those reasons are "they're just too dumb" or "they only have the capability for hate and evil."
There are people doing very bad, purposefully malicious, monstrous things - and they are still people. If we lose sight of that we lose sight of the lengths of dangers and kindness capable of EACH of us. Beyond those with real harmful intent, there are MANY MANY MANY more people who are letting themselves accept the wrong solutions to the same problems we all see. For example, many of them genuinely want to protect children! And they listened to the answers for how to do so given to them by church and state and friends.
THOSE are the people we need to make metaphors for, we need to connect with individually, we need to show how and why this will impact THEIR lives. In a perfect world where the entire American society wasn't run on "us v them" that wouldn't be necessary!!! But it is! Because they want to protect the people IN THEIR LIVES right now, not a theoretical kid somewhere else they can't imagine being anything like their own. They want to put food on the table and a roof above the heads of their family, and they have grasped onto ANYTHING that they think will let them keep providing that.
We need to show these people how easily their child could be the center of these debates. How limited a world their child will grow up in without access to information on different ways of being and existing. We need to show them how and why this will impact them, their daughters, their wives, because we need to break through that concrete wall of defensiveness, built and calcified by the words of politicians and leaders with malicious intent but hiding nothing but desperate fear. We need to make it personal, to make it real FOR THEM, to make it understandable without a college level degree of critical thinking analysis why and how this war will show up at their doorsteps too.
It's exhausting. It's hard!!! It's infuriating and invalidating and endless. But appealing to their humanity, in whatever means that must take, is the only way to thaw out those who may stand with us. Because if we stand alone, I know with every bone in my body we will fall alone as well.
#queer#trans#empathy#critical thinking#politics#who is your true enemy: those in silence or casting a single uninformed vote - or those telling them what to do and painting us as monsters#that doesnt mean you shouldnt be angry or betrayed or fearful or mistrusting it just... means falling into those things wont help ys#wont let anyone reach them#we have to reach those we can we HAVE to or we have nothing not even those we marched beside are standing with us#and if youre reading this like “whats rich peoples excuse they had good schooling and no poverty to run them into the dirt exhausted#umm rich people Are the Problem and also i dont know what their excuse is - being out of touch? not meeting real different humans?#being isolated in an echo chamber of beliefs in an environment led by and filled w the very monstrous sharks creating these laws#like idk try to get through to them too but idrc theres like 8% rich people thats the worlds worst minority#we need to get through to the poor working class masses and middle class WASPS with voices at the PTA meeting and the people Around Us
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is it just me, but i really can't take any criticism that includes the word "woke" seriously? i would want to support my fellow Christians and I do agree with some american conservative talking points because western far left leaners are ridiculous (and often racist but act like they're not because they use the term "anti-racist"), but often they use this term as a catch-all term for everything they don't agree with. it's just a joke at this point alongside other phrases like cancel culture. while I get woke comes from aave, it still feels like such a parody idk. anyway, god bless and good luck on your business!
Uuuugh THANK YOU glad to know I'm so done with how people just won't shut up about this woke thing
And yes you're absolutely right: this right has become a catch-all so much that it doesn't mean anything anymore. That's the new "gaslighting" LOL That's what I call "l'anti pensée " just a buzzword people throw around at anything they don't like or understand without bothering into words what they don't like and why. See a Black actor starring in a movie? Woke. A female lead? Woke.
A shitty White french YouTubers shat on Black Panther saying it was a communauty-based movie bc there was only Black people....but following his logic, are every movie where most of the cast is White "community-based" too? 🤔 Nordic Whites had the opportunity to gass up Thor as much as Africans did for BP for celebrating their cultures. But acting like only one movie of them both was using a community based cultural leverage is ridiculous. You can't act shook at a movie about an African kingdom secluded from the world has a mainly Black cast. These men are just cranky to see more and more media not centering themselves as a standard and call it oppression. Pathetic.
Honestly I can't take seriously anyone whining about "cancel culture" when they are so prompt to cancel people once it's fitting for them. Remember last week when conservatives were all up in arms to cancel Kim K for being a Balenciaga ambassador? (and not Kanye who straight up walked down the catwalk for this very same brand a few months before but shhhh narrative 🤫) Those idiots were straight up bitching about banks not dropping Balenciaga as if banks had a history of closing the accounts of convicts (and as a reminder someone has yet to be held responsible for the child BDSM shooting fiasco)...some even had the stupidity to be like "SO ADVERTISERS BOYCOTTED TWITTER BC OF MUSK BUT DIDN'T BOYCOTT BALENCIAGA??😡" ... when Balenciaga is actually a FASHION brand that makes money from SELLING GOODS....not ad money (actually Balenciaga pays ads for to sell their goods). Twitter and Balenciaga have like... entirely different business models but those people were just so desperate to play outrage they didn't remotely realized how ridiculous they sounded like.If you want to cancel somehow at least use to right arguments 🤦🏾♀️ maybe that's why Liberals are better at this.... their arguments make better sense?
Tbh the brand of people throwing around the world "woke* and "cancel culture " are huge at flip flopping. 10 years ago they clowned Liberals for labelling anyone they didn't like "Nazi", now look at them with "woke" 🙄 They're also the same ones who love shutting down African American whenever they talk about slavery but were using slavery comparison during the lockdown and mask mandates. So what's the truth? If slavery was not that bad and Blacks have to get over it, then why are you using it to state how bad you have it right now?🤔🤔🤔
They can all choke tbh lol None of this woke/cancel culture problem exist in the real world anyway. Just a bunch of cry babies acting oppressed over movies casting and TV shows. Pathetic weak and unbreedable.💁🏾♀️
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