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bonefall · 2 months

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Looking for advice since you're great with stuff like this: I'm struggling with how to have a character fundamentally change. A character in my cat story loses his memory and ends up working with the main characters to stop his own plan he made to destroy the world (and after the plan is stopped, he regains his memories). I want his time in the Starless to change him, make him less obsessed with power, but I'm really starting to struggle with whether or not that makes sense and how to work that.

Hmm.. well, first bit of advice I always give is that characters are not people. They are writing tools. That doesn't mean they shouldn't be "realistic" or that connecting to the human traits in the audience isn't important.

It means that a character exists to tell a story.

By "tool" I mean "machine." Every trait is a piston, and ideally they work together to drive your story along. What are you saying with each trait? What is your beginning point for the story, and their end? What do you want to explore? What do you want the audience to take away?

So if you feel stuck on a character, find the larger message you want to impart with them. The job they're doing in your narrative.

What do you want to say about power?

What do you want to say about why Character X wanted to destroy the world? Why was he wrong? What feelings and information lead him to that conclusion?

What is his redemption arc doing for your themes?

Every writer answers those questions differently. For example, I feel strongly that power doesn't corrupt, it reveals. When you finally have the influence to make others do what you want, you make them do it. I don't see "power" as being like... a magic, abstract thing, it's influence over other people, and those people are ALSO individuals with their own reasons for following the leader.

Digressing; what I'm getting at is that, as a writer, I have a lot of thoughts on power itself. I got this way with a lot of reading and interest on the topic. You might find it insightful to experience more art, essays, and commentary on the subject, if you ever get stuck, and develop an opinion you feel strongly about.

Not just about power, as broad writing advice.

Anyway.

If I was writing the character, these are the things I'd be thinking about specifically and changes I'd be making on personal taste. I don't know your full story enough so, hopefully it's insightful;

First of all I'm always SUPER wary of the "correct but demonized radical" trope. Does my villain have a point?

Am i just giving them a Kick-a-Baby scene to make them wrong when they should be completely right otherwise

What are my themes and tone? This is VERY important. Steven Universe is about family and emotions with low stakes violence; the Diamonds are essentially abusive grandparents that Steven is coaching through intergenerational trauma. They fit the universe they're in. Jack Horner does not belong in SU.

So I'd look at Character X's purpose.

Knowing me, I'd actually take out full amnesia entirely. I have memory problems related to trauma so I'm a lot more familiar with major, important details blotting out RIGHT when I need them. Enough that I can put myself in the shoes of someone like BB!Fallenleaf who remembers a lot but the details are fuzzy.

So personally I think I could write this villan to be VERY funny lmao

"Hello. I am Gnagnathor the Destroyer."

"No you're not. He has three horns. You have two."

(DID I USED TO HAVE THREE HORNS?????)

I also just find it more resonant when a character still remembers what they did, why they did it, and is able to refute themselves with their own growth.

To me like... when a character remembers NOTHING to the point where they're not informed by their actions or history at all, how are they really still the same person?

in general though I find total amnesia uninteresting. I wish it was less popular.

What did Gnagnathor DO with his power? What did he WANT from it?

The simplest version of this I know is "Gnag was hurting and wanted everyone else to hurt too. Now that he has a happy place, he doesn't want that."

TO BE CLEAR THATS FINE. That's a REALLY common power fantasy and it's not automatically a bad story. It's popular for a reason.

Personally I feel strongly about the idea, though, that people with power don't change unless they lose it. There's no reason to.

People don't change until you break the environment that contributes to the behavior.

Especially with victims unfortunately-- the ugly truth is that a lot of problematic behaviors exist because they protected the victim from their abuser's actions. You need safety to really start to unpack that.

You can personally identify it and address it as much as you want, when your abuser starts to use That Tone you will still seize up. Just try to yank yourself back into your head when you're disassociating during a screaming session; your reward is raw distress.

That said, not all villains HAVE to have tragic motivators like that, or be ex-victims at all. Leveraging power to get what you want can be as ugly as just being taught the people you're hurting are subhuman.

Or making up justifications for why This Is a Good Thing Actually.

Some people will lash out violently when these justifications fall apart, because accepting it would mean they're Being Bad

Most people have an innate desire to Be Good. Like... the vast, vast majority of people. Some sense of morality is observable in all intelligent social animals; dolphins, chimps, elephants.

Tangentially, if you understand that people don't WANT to be bad and that the natural response to a scolding is defensiveness, you understand that convincing people of something is a LOT easier when you approach with kindness.

AND IN TURN: be wary of those who are flattering while trying to convince you of something. This is Manipulation 101.

So back to Gnagnathor

Do I want to talk about environment and how it changes him to be away from power? How traits that previously earned him wealth or influence are suddenly incredibly taboo, so he can't use them here?

On that-- HOW did he get his power in the first place? Re: I'm very wary of the "correct but demonized radical" trope.

Were his minions following him because they have serious issues and he exploited their desperation? .....are you centering the experience of the poor, sad abuser over his victims

Or are they ALL united over something important and legitimate? With the redemption of their villainous leader, how are you planning for that to frame all of their former followers?

(This is why redeeming minions is usually a lot more productive than doing it to the leader, imo. Redeeming Zuko means you can explore the familial legacy, the indoctrination of the Fire Nation's children, their justifications, the way systems make monsters out of people. Redeeming The Firelord would probably have caused Azula, one of his victims, to pick up his slack and now, suddenly, you have a VERY uncomfortable situation where Ozai is thrashing one of his abused children but Good This Time.)

(Not to mention that, again... why would he do this. He has power. He's doing what he wants and is used to this situation. It would be a numbskulled narrative choice.)

Aaaand that's about all I can say without essentially being a cowriter or editor. It's on you to figure out what you're trying to do and say here. I'm a good writer on this subject because I think about it a lot, which has lead to my strong opinions and point of view. Your art is a reflection of you.

#This is mega off topic but the question kinda reminds me of hazbin which I watched a couple days ago #I'm starting to identify why I was dissatisfied with it I think #I didn't dislike it though and I'm waiting for the next season #If only as something I enjoyed but wish could be better.#Bones gives advice

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sgiandubh · 6 months

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Far away and long ago

One thing leading to another, I tried to watch A Princess for Christmas yesterday, prompted by my Peleș/Pelișor Anon answer and I have to say I am grinning as I write this post: it is, after all, a Hallmark movie, isn't it?

Maybe if I were drunk and/or in good company, it would have been easier. I was neither, so it was unwatchable. Even with the bits of personal nostalgia, knowing very well all the sets they used: from the two castles in Sinaia, to the Știrbei (princely) House private chapel in Buftea, to the Bragadiru Palace in Bucharest they obviously used for that ball. I finished skimming on fast forward for S and howled at this bit of Imdb trivia, I believe with all my heart to be wishful thinking:

Not only I do not believe ever seeing/hearing such a thing in all the interviews I have read/watched (of which they are a shameless handful), but it would be completely out of character for 'No Ego' 2014 S to declare such a preposterous thing (correct me if I am wrong, for I truly believe I am not).

Anyways. When it looks low budget, it is a low budget (with Eastern European logistics) D-series thing, despite all their efforts. Plot is downright stupid and the painful cheesiness permeating the slightest line uttered makes it unredeemable. Nuh-oh: not even to kill time, not even on a flight from Almaty to Saint Petersburg. No way.

Low budget is particularly apparent when it comes to costumes. This one, for example...

Her dress is ok-ish (heavily insisting on the -ish, here). But his uniform is an operetta reinterpretation of the Romanian Army's dorobanț (infantry) State Protocol uniform. An exact copy of the 1877 Independence War officer outfit (itself a Second Empire French uniform copycat, but that's just the historian in me nitpicking, of course):

The above is a very recent pic (2023 Remembrance Day festivities at a British War Cemetery near Bucharest). I know that place well, spent all my childhood 1 mile away, my grandparents owned a house in that village. It is a small, forlorn plot of infinite melancholy and a striking sight, with its carefully trimmed grass, among what used to be cornfields, circa 1984. 'This is British soil', my grandfather once told me and that made it both absurd and enticing: an alien enclave of sorts, a city of the dead. He was correct, by the way, and that gave our Remembrance Day expeditions a sort of strange, furtive charm. We always brought flowers and he, a former officer and POW, would always salute, bareheaded under heavy rain. But, I digress.

Both that movie and my recollections were far away and long ago. Mercifully so for S, at least. The difference in demeanor, profile and presence is undeniable, no matter what the Disgruntled Tumblrettes would tell you: some pushed the cheapness up to the gratuitous folly of 'he was a much better actor then'. Well, he wasn't: no chemistry with a female co-star who would clearly be more eager to have a dental surgery intervention. And no presence every time a very tired Roger Moore is around, which makes for roughly three-quarters of his part. But unlike many striving wannabes, he managed to pull out of the Prince Ashton (🙄) typecast and give us a very credible JAMMF, when starts aligned and with a surreal bit of luck.

If he could manage to pull out of the JAMMF typecast, I see great things. Until then, I will stand by my words: this is a guy with tremendous, but completely overlooked/untapped potential, who has been repeatedly miscast. And this is why what would immediately happen after OL is of critical importance. Brace yourselves.

On another, completely unrelated note: should I wait for that US copycat, disingenuous McTavish booze circus tour to end, in order to draw a line and my thoughts on his brand? I think I should, but always happy to oblige to public demand :)

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beyondthisdarkhouse · 2 years

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Shoe digression: Horsegirl Hour

A couple people commented on my high heel origin story post that they thought everybody knew that high heels originated with horseback riding. And it’s true. I did know that. I was a dyed-in-the-wool Horse Girl, endlessly obsessed with the topic. I absolutely knew that.

What snarled me up was that I could not believe that it happened circa 1580. I simply could not fathom the idea that nobody in Europe or its immediate neighbours wore high heels on horses until the 1500s. That is more than a thousand years after the invention of the stirrup! Wearing sturdy, closed-toe shoes with at least an inch of heel is and always has been the universal rule for being around horses... isn’t it?

Tumblr, you know the answer from the way I phrased the question. No, it hasn’t. This is from a 1556 manual of horsemanship:

(That type of form-fitting shoe they’re wearing is called a “turnshoe”, which means they have the protective value of a bedroom slipper or a soft leather glove. Because I’m such a nice person, you can get a better look here in this carefully-chosen detail from a 1459 fresco of attendants walking in a mounted procession:)

Also, you know how riders in medieval art always look like the artists are just drunk and out to lunch with foot and leg position?

NO REALLY THAT’S A REAL TECHNIQUE THEY DID ON PURPOSE. Armored foot protectors (”sabatons”) were genuinely jointed to let them do that super droopy toe thing! Even pointing down!

This is the same kind of betrayal I experienced when learning that there are approximately dozens of types of distinct regional and/or utility styles of saddle still being used and manufactured, today, all over the world. And that actually, my entire frame of knowledge around horses had been carefully molded through a highly specific cultural lens and there was a ton I didn’t know squat about.

When I was young and I’d read big books from the library with titles like Horses: The Absolutely Complete Book of All Human Knowledge About Equitation and they would earnestly assure me that there were exactly two types of saddles in the world: English, and Western. Perhaps three; the Australians were gauche enough to use... some hybrid of the two? And did the different types of English saddle count? Wait, are we counting sidesaddles? But in conclusion, there were exactly three types of saddle in the world. Anything else left must be a rustic relic from premodern times.

Which is... just its own miniature class in ethnocentrism and the limits of the British colonial lens. Part of it is because people get raised inside an echo chamber never learn of the existence of alternatives; part of it is that they learn to privilege some information more than others, so what’s considered a “real saddle” worth teaching children about is skewed; and part of it is because for centuries, Europeans in general and the English in particular have been extremely evangelical in telling the entire world that their way of approaching horsemanship (and everything else) is the Best, Rightest, Most Correct Way of Doing Things.

I’d been preparing to go all primary source on this topic, which would have delayed this post’s public appearance considerably, but today I actually found someone else who’d done it all for me. Over at The Works of Chivalry, Giovanni Battista Tomassini says:

[I]n spite of the crucial role that the horse has played in the history of civilization, historians have so far rather neglected the study of these kind of works and, more generally, have paid little, or no systematic attention, to the equestrian practices, the study of which has been mainly confined to the scope of enthusiasts and equestrian professionals.

That’s been changing a lot in the last decade or two, and I applaud him deeply for making his findings accessible to an international lay audience, in English and Italian. I have a few posts I found most interesting:

Horseback riding in the Middle Ages – Jordanus Rufus of Calabria: A look at extant sources on medieval horsemanship and some of their, uh.... less admirable aspects

“A la brida” and “a la gineta.”: Different styles of riding from the European Middle Ages and Renaissance, at least as different as modern “English” and “Western” schools

Anglomania & Anglomania Part 2: How English styles of equitation became popular throughout continental Europe during the 18th century

“Maneggi and Jumps”: Gently debunks the idea that many of the classical “airs above the ground” performed by the Lipizanners of the Spanish Riding School originated for medieval combat, since the earliest texts we see them in say, “These are rad as hell, but this is a SEPARATE SCHOOL OF HORSEMANSHIP, do not teach your warhorse these.”

That last one is especially funny because Hollywood always thinks that the epitome of a Historical Horse being Fearsome is them rearing up on their hindlegs! This is not actually what horses look like when they’re scary, but horses are not good actors, so that’s the closest thing we can train them to do. (It’s called “making a pesade”). And a 1562 manual on equitation actually says this:

Young horses learn pesades easily, and once they have learned them they make them willingly, as they think that once they have done them they do not have to do anything else. For this reason if they are [given the cue] they think they should not do anything else than stop and make a pesade. So they stop very often to rear against the will of the rider, and in a place where it is not required, and they do it even higher than what it is appropriate

HOLLYWOOD: ACCIDENTALLY RIGHT AFTER ALL 😂

#it's shoetime baby #except when it's #horsegirl hour

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witchloversupreme · 4 months

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So, I was thinking about Garlemald lore again, because I'm mentally ill and obsessed, and I had a kinda fucked up thought. Explaining it is gonna take some doing, so stay with me.

If the garlean historians are to be believed (and the Sharlayans agree (As seen in Encyclopaedea Eorzea 1), so they're likely correct), roughly 1500 years ago, the garlean people lived in Corvos alongside the G tribe, in a situation probably not dissimilar to the M and Ala Mhigo, with a sedentary tribe fairly peacefully sharing their territory with a nomadic one.

Okay, so, here's where shit gets a little bit tricky.

There is only the ONE race of Garleans (Unless you count Jullus and Cid as a different race for being Short Kings), unlike all the other species of humans, who have at least two (Midlanders/Highlanders, Xaela/Raen, Dunesfolk/Plainsfolk), and sometimes even three (Duskwights/Wildwood/Ishgardians, Hellsguard/Sea Wolves/Far Eastern). This implies a very, very small, and very specialized population. A population that could, very easily, be displaced by a larger, more powerful group, like (as the historians posit) a large tribe of Elezen from what would later become Bozja, who, very likely, were themselves, forced from their homelands by invading Roegadyn and Hrothgar. If this tribe was sufficiently large (and magically skilled) enough, they could have very easily expunged the proto-Garleans from Corvos and forced them northward.

The Garlean historians claim that this forced exodus pushed them all the way into north central Ilsabard, but this is incredibly unlikely, as no matter how devoted to a people's total annihilation a tribe may be, hounding them the entire distance from Fantasy Greece to Fantasy Siberia is more than a bit ridiculous. But I digress.

What is more likely is that the Garleans were forced more westward, nearer to proto-Werlyt, where they likely settled for a time, before expanding north into the mountains which cut the continent in half (it is still violently upsetting to me we don't have a full map of Ilsabard). A few centuries of relative peace followed, where the proto-Garleans expanded ever so slightly further north, before, once again, they lost a war, most likely one against Hyurs and Raen from either Proto-Werlyt or Proto-Thavnair, and lost their southerly territories.

With no other option but continue colonizing northward, the Garleans did exactly that, eventually founding "Garlemald", the city, a few decades later, and the rest is, quite literally, history.

Now, with that lore dump out of the way, we can get to the real meat of my thought.

Almost all evidence points towards the Garleans simply being another species of human, just like Hyurs, Elezen, and Au ra, and not a "created species", like the Ixal, and, therefore, they definitely had a mirror race on the other shards.

But where the fuck are they?

I have seen neither hide nor hair of a single Garlean, be it in the flesh, as a statue, or in a tomb in Amh Areng, Kholusia, Lakeland, or Rak'tika. There's absolutely nothing to show that the Garlean people existed on the First, which is very, very fucking strange, as even the Amalj'aa and Ixal (sort of) have mirrors on the First in the form of the Zun and the Amaro.

I can think of two answers to my question:

The Doylist answer, (which is much less interesting), is just that Square either forgot to make any Garlean NPCs for the first, or decided against depicting First!Garleans, possibly because the race both didn't have an equivalent from a previous FF game, like the Hrothgar/Ronso, or Elezen/Elves, nor were playable, like like the Au ra/Drahn, or, because the Garleans are the go-to "Bad Guy Race" and they didn't want to confuse players.

The Watsonian answer, (and the one I subscribe to), is that the First!Garleans are extinct, having been driven to the brink by The Flood and over the edge in the ensuing century of strife, alongside many, many other species and peoples.

#This is probably almost incomprehensible #It is five in the fucking morning for me #and I woke up from a dead sleep to goz this autism onto your timelines as if by Divine Mandate.#Anyway #I really hope we get more Garlemald lore in general #For being THE main (non-magical) bad guys of the setting #we really do know jack shit fuck all about their history and culture #And the crumbs Endwalker gave us really doesn't fucking cut it #ffxiv #ff14 #final fantasy xiv #final fantasy 14 #garlemald #Shadowbringers Spoilers (kind of)#Shadowbringers #Endwalker

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theragamuffininitiative · 5 months

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Sorry for barging in like this but I wanted you to know how happy I am to discover a fellow Adam 12 watcher ( and enjoyer) in the year 2023!!

If you don't mind sharing your thoughts, can I ask you, what made you love the show? Or alternatively, what would you tell someone to convince them to give it a chance..

Hello nonny!

You can barge in any time 😊 ESPECIALLY IF IT IS ABOUT ADAM 12 !!!! I saw this message this morning and have been thinking happily about answering it while I wait for my car to be serviced lol, so thank you for that. XD

This is going to be a ramble, so buckle up. I'll put a tldr at the bottom for anyone potentially interested but with a small attention span, scroll to that. XD

Ok so what initially made me love the show is actually how I was introduced to it by a dear friend who had already seen it and we started watching together as a way to spend time together. 💗 I knew one of the officers was named Pete and I made jokes about always falling in love with the crime-solving Peters (I also love White Collar, Fringe, [parts of] the first season of Body of Proof actually I just love that Peter and nothing else and they did him dirty but I digress, and we can even throw Spidey into the mix). So I figured I would be a goner from the start and I was Correct, nonny.

I had such a good time watching with my friend (we especially loved screaming about how Jim is a dear and Pete is amazing, and also obligatory yelled "hi Mac!" every time he appeared, and how we would go from lol-ing to sobbing in two seconds flat every episode) that when she was unable to continue watching with me (😭) I kept on to finish. While I would have preferred to watch it all with her, I'm so happy she introduced me to this absolute gem of television and storytelling.

Ok, so beyond that: things that made me love the show specifically and that I think others should appreciate and watch it for (MY BELOVED FOLLOWERS GO WATCH ADAM 12, see below for reasons)....

1! The biggest is the two main characters. I LOVE PETE AND JIM SO DANG MUCH. They are the best TV officers, and two of my favorite characters. Especially Pete. But I love Jim's growth (they both have such beautiful arcs through the seriesssssss aaaaa) too. I love how he brings joy back to Pete. I love how Pete grounds Jim. I love how they love one another??? I love how protective they are of each other. One of the best character friendship tropes ever is "they make each other better" and Pete Malloy and Jim Reed are an excellent example of it. My whole heart.

2! If someone reading this was turned off by the fact that it is a show about two police officers, fair, but LISTEN. I love me a good procedural drama (see some of the mentions above), I love me a good buddy cop story. But you know what I hate? I hate how every single cop show has the characters do things cops should never do. These shows have a Problem of having their heroes go in without a warrant bc "it's an emergency, we don't have time for the red tape!" and rough up suspects and they don't hesitate to draw and fire on someone, and they bend or break the rules when it suits them to Get the Job Done. It irks me. For many reasons. AND ADAM 12 ISN'T LIKE THAT.

Pete especially lives by the book. And he teaches Jim to do the same. As a fun example, someone asks them to deliver a Christmas tree in their patrol car and Pete says no bc it's against the rules. But who goes to get the tree when off duty in his personal car??? Pete Malloy, with Jim in tow. Pete also turns in a dirty cop who saved his life and it is Devastating to watch. They do everything the right way and the Very Few times they don't it is clear that they Messed Up and they have to eat the consequences. For Pete, I can think of three times throughout the course of all the episodes that he clearly goes wrong. One time he is distracted, one time he is trying to save a life and endangers his own, and one time is really painful involving a child victim and the perpetrator and it's hard to watch and I can't imagine many people who wouldn't have done what he did there but the show even Addresses This and Pete says anyone who did what he did would have been wrong too and he faces the consequences without argument. I LOVE HIM SO MUCH GUYS. There are a couple dirty cops and cowboy cops shown in different episodes and they are Always shown to be in the wrong, to be jeopardizing everything that they should be holding dear. Even Ed Wells, a regular character, is a guy you love to hate bc he pushes the rules as much as he can get away with and Pete and Jim give him nothing but crap for it. XD Bless them.

3! I love the pacing! The episodes are half your standard episode length, which is great (terrible) for binging through lol. There is zero filler. Sometimes you want just a tiny bit more filler but it's so good, they just go pop pop pop from call to call, with Pete and Jim's relationship always playing out in the middle of whatever mess they are dealing with. Later seasons focus on a single story usually, but most early episodes are glimpses of an average day in the life of an LAPD officer and they are Rollercoasters.

4! It is surprisingly sensitive for a show made in the 60s-70s. There are definitely a few episodes that are a bit cringe to more modern sensibilities, especially dealing with racism. However! The stories featured there are actually done really well for the most part, and the heart is in the right place even if some of the writing is an unfortunate byproduct of the era. Also you have to laugh at the hippie slang that heavily douses some episodes, especially early on. It's a riot lol.

5! The series shows you these cops doing cop things that nobody thinks about: giving notice to a young woman about her husband's death, assisting other emergency departments, acting as peacemakers between various complaints, looking out for misplaced people, manning the front desk and phone calls, trying to keep people safe more often than trying to put bad guys in prison. I adore that. I think if more cop shows focused on that narrative, we would have more cops today who saw that as the true hero work. The show also explains early on how they don't often get the full story. Detectives and hospitals and lawyers and family members come in to clean up whatever mess the boys had to step into, and it sucks sometimes, but the final product is not usually their job, and they just have to take each call as it comes.

I could go on but this is already so long.

TL;DR

If you like procedural dramas (or maybe even if you don't) you should really give Adam 12 a try. Give it the first three episodes at least and see what you think.

It's a story about two officers who really embody "protect and serve" instead of whatever belligerent cowboy nonsense is pushed by most crime shows.

Pete and Jim would die for each other. They would also die for any random person they come across who needs their help, bc it's their job. They would also do mundane acts of service for each other (while griping affectionately about it) and anyone else.

It has so much heart.

IT'S REALLY FUNNY. PETE AND JIM ARE SO SASSY.

Pete has spidey senses. They are brilliant. He might also have a photographic memory. It was mentioned once and then never again lol.

If you like "clean" media, there is very little swearing/innuendo/gore/etc. This does not make it Light viewing, but it isn't problematic.

It will rip your heart out. Especially the episodes where it's one of the boys in jeopardy. 😭 "Hostage" and "The Search" and "The Princess and the Pig" and "Killing Ground" and "Suspended" and "Trouble in the Bank" and "Operation Action" and the finale stories my beloved and beloathed to name a few.

It will restore your faith in humanity, particularly of officers, even while you facepalm about people's stupidity (sometimes including the officers).

It has a good ending! Not the most complete tie-up of loose ends, but [spoiler] you know these guys are gonna be ok, whatever comes next. So you feel the fulfillment in the ending.

Ok I'm done now.

I love Adam 12 so much.

Thank you for asking. 😭😭😭😭

#this is so long but the mechanic is taking a while ok #thanks for the ask!#anon #adam 12 #pete malloy #(my beloved)#jim reed #(i love him also)#-with love sent in the direction of mals bc ilysm-

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boojersey · 1 year

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im really annoyed because everyone at work knows i use he him pronouns right

well the other day my coworker says ' i dont see dykes as women ' but hes super cis and kinda young hes only 17 so i dont really expect much more than accident ignorance bc in the three months ive known him he means well at the end of the day and respects my gender the most at work actually he uses the right pronouns almost every time and even calls me a gentleman sometimes and he once even jokingly mentioned gender roles that apply to men like they applied to me and that made my stomach turn in the best way hes probably my most frequent validation in life rn (even tho he messes up but i dont correct him i know he knows and im not gonna chastise him for an accident) but he Does have that cis way of treating women and men differently in a platonic situation u kno? but anyway i digress he was talking about how 'dykes' dress like him talk like him act like him so he doesnt see them as women but rather men and i couldve gone into the whole history of butch lesbianism but 1. im not a lesbian and know only mid to decent knowledge anyway and 2. it wouldve been lost on him and he wasnt saying anything as if he was looking down on butch lesbians he just clearly has more traditional notions about gender that i plan on slowly but surely breaking down as seen by the next series of events

and i go what do you see Me as?

and he was like i dunno a dyke and i responded saying im not a lesbian and my Other coworker who i only just met recently so i have even less annoyance about the encounter regarding her bc shes only spoken to me a handful of hours so far but anyway she goes so what Do you see yourself as?

and i wanted to say a man that has the unfortunate situation of having tits but instead all i did was say im vic bro and that answer absolutely satisfied everyone to the point where i got a high five but i could tell it was in the way that i validated the idea im not a man in their eyes if that makes any sense

this is a very long post considering all i want to say is i dont want to be some nebulous in between. i want to be a man who isnt afraid to indulge femininity. thats it. not something breaking binary. im not nonbinary. i do feminine things and like feminine clothes sometimes but that's just out of me thinking clothes don't indicate gender expression. not some weird submission to my female nature or whatever cis people probably see it as sometimes.

#slurs tw/

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sunstranded · 4 months

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MBTI: Typing People

The margin of error in typing anyone is more important and interesting than typing others. By that term I meant the uncertainty and the percentage of it actually reflecting reality or not.

This is probably the most xNTx thing to say but it'd be so great to have a formula to understand people. That'd be so easy. That'd be more useful to memorize than the quadratic formula that I somehow still remember even if I haven't taken a math class or a competition in years (but I digress).

I don't want to get into the nitty gritty stuff of statistics. I am by no means a professional at that. I just want to deviate from the typing people and having a label and consider the other take of "don't put people in a box" argument.

I don't know nor am I qualified to represent their argument since they're so repulsive to being put in a category, even representing their argument in a singular way is subject to "inaccuracy" and "that's not the point."

So I'll just explore the idea that they keep arguing about, the inaccuracy of personality tests and putting people in a box or label.

First, my simple and singular qualm on the "don't put me in a box." Having a name or even an adjective associated to you is putting you in a box, like it or not. If you see a brown beverage and refuse to clarify whether it's coffee or tea, people will think of it as their favorite. Once you start calling that brown beverage one over the other, the opposition will always dislike it even if their perception of it before was their favorite beverage. I hope I worded that directly and simple enough. It is an inevitability to be put in a box. What is also inevitable is being more than the box you're put on, being more than your name, being more than brown beverage.

Now on the matter of accuracy in personality tests. I have three things we should all consider prior to judging accuracy:

Personal Bias - Especially if we have come to a liking and also been associated with rarity when it comes to our types (Ni-doms looking at you), we would be more reluctant to believe other people that easily say they're just like us when we don't see how they see themselves. Our personal bias can take different forms as well, if a person seeks belongingness or camaraderie, they might start thinking someone who appears like them is just like them.

Masks - We all have our masks the same way we have clothes. We wear them to either represent ourselves or to match the appropriate setting. Either way, the choice speaks more than the action but we can't always prime ourselves to think this way. Hence, we might judge unfairly.

Evolution - In regards to social media in the digital world, I doubt our brains had enough time to evolve by natural selection to adapt to the aforementioned medium (that changes too fast by the way). This also means we develop skepticism or that gut feeling of "too good to be true" in cases that may just be true. INFJs statistically are rare (though ENFJs or ENTJs are rarer now I believe) but a lot of people online identify as such and we don't always believe them. It might be unjust and it might be just; point is, that probability is worth noting.

With those three and the rebuttal prior to it out in the way, we can be in the most same page we could be in this discussion (i notice this type of context noting is what Si doms need to get me but also what they hate hearing first because "i could have said it shorter." Yes I could have but you'll just ask for the context anyway and that wastes more time).

SO KNOWING THAT THE UNCERTAINTY IS CERTAINLY CONSTANT IN EVERY TYPING WE DO (for ourselves and for others) THEN WHATS THE POINT?

It's the most obvious next question to be asking and my answer to that is get rid of the vanity called correctness and focus on something more pragmatic. You cannot convince someone is wrong unless they know how beneficial it is to be right. It's the most constant rule in reality that I have noticed.

If someone is so adamant they are this type, there's no point in forcing them to believe other wise. The point of MBTI and personality typology is to give a name to a personality of a person.

You can only introduce yourself when you have a name, right? Even then, with your name people can mistake you for someone else or just misunderstand you. But the best thing about your name is you can be more than those who had the same name or have the same name as you. That's the same way for personality types.

At the end of the day, you're a name to someone because no one will fully figure you out. They can make you feel understood but unless you let them, they can know you more than your name too. You can take your name and be the standard or you can take that name and follow a standard. Same rules in personality typing.

If you notice, there is no need for correctness, only comprehensibility. Who gives a shit if you're right but no one understands you? Not even robots would care. I've been in that situation enough to realize its a truly lonely and painful place to be.

It's better to be a person people can understand than be a person that is right. It's better to be seen as a person that can be taught something new than a person that knows it all. The rule in knowing is: the more you know is the less you actually understand.

#16 personalities #mbti

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debbiechanclub · 8 months

Note

Hello I came here on to say that not only that NJPW is not a vending machine for aew or any American wrestling company for that matter but also wrestlers are humans just like us so they need to have a schedule that allows them to have breaks in between all these craziness

(This is something that popped into my mind after episode 10)

I’m catching up to the last three episodes on lion mark

Too sweet

MEG

Hello, Meg! I realized when I saw that Taichi has requested a leave of absence that I completely forgot to answer this. But you are absolutely correct! I know I complained a lot about not seeing the boys for over 2 months after the G1 ended, but the reality is that none of them live in Japan and they have lives outside wrestling. And yeah, AEW or whatever other promotion typically only ask for a date here and there, but there's a much more definitive work/life separation with gaijin who work but don't live in Japan than there is with wrestlers who live in America and work for AEW or WWE. They probably want their time off from NJPW to be time off. Unless you're Drilla Moloney and spend the entire two months training people and booking dates all over the globe, but I digress.

And again: NJPW IS NOT A WRESTLER GACHAPON MACHINE.

#asks

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thefanficmonster · 2 years

Text

Change of Heart

Corpse Husband x Reader (Female)

Warnings: Swearing

Genre: FLUFF, Humor, RPF (Real Person Fic)

Summary: A simp like Y/N is known to frequently 'fall' for people left and right, her most current crushes being the content creators Dream and Sykkuno. But she's in for a surprise when she meets their mutual friend.

Requested by @im-honeybee Hi darling! Thank you so much for your request! I'm so sorry for the long with but I hope the fic makes up for it and fulfills your expectations. Enjoy the read! Love, Vy ❤

"Leslie, this is a horrible idea! What the hell am I gonna say to them?! I have no topics prepared and I definitely can't just gush and drool over them for three hours straight." Y/N all but yells into the phone which is currently connecting her to her best friend who also happens to be a popular streamer - Fuslie. She's been ruthless on trying to get her friend to develop the courage to meet her idols but Y/N's refused every single time. To be fair, calling them 'idols' isn't exactly correct considering she doesn't have idols. What she does have is a herd of people she simps for shamelessly. Herd might seem like an over-exaggeration to some but it's a spot-on term to describe her situation. There's always a top tier of said herd which usually consists of three people. As of recent, however, there have only been two, both popular streamers by the names of Dream and Sykkuno.

"Why on Earth would you have to exercise topics in advance? You won't be delving into philosophy and nuclear physics with them! Just be friendly and be yourself." Leslie comforts her, not looking forward to having to deal with her friend's panicking ass until the stream starts. She now regrets managing to talk the girl into this when she was slightly tipsy last night - plus it might be breaking some law but whatever.

"Which one, I can't be both!" Y/N exclaims, running a hand through her hair as she paces through the living room, much to the confusion of her puppy who's following her movements with his gaze from his spot on the couch.

"Figure it out! Flip a coin! I don't know! I gotta go now, I have things to do. Kiss Lux for me. Love ya, bye!" Leslie replies, all in one breath, before hanging up the call, rendering her friend unable to complain further and keep her on the phone any longer. She maybe doesn't have things to do as she said, but she really doesn't want to remain in that awkward position.

"Wait! Hey!....Hello?" Realizing the line's gone dead Y/N pulls the phone away from her ear, "Screw you, Leslie!"

Her shriek of frustration scares poor Lux, catching his owner's attention and filling her with a tinge of guilt.

"Oh, I'm sorry baby. You'd be mad too if your friend did that to you." She says with a sigh, sitting back down and allows the small puppy to climb onto her lap. "What would you do if you had to meet two hugely popular streamers in less than an hour?" She actually pauses as if expecting an answer from the puppy who's only grown more confused and is looking at her with a concerned gaze, "Fuck, I'm asking a fucking animal how I should handle a situation a person half my age would be able to figure out easier." She huffs and stands up, whisking Lux up as she does so.

In her defense, she doesn't go on the internet actively looking for attractive content creators. It's literally destiny that she comes across them. Truth be told, it may be because she knows she'll never get around to dating them which probably sounds weird but allow me to explain.

If she never dates them, they can never hurt her.

She's had her fair share of damn-that-was-a-mistake type of relationships and she finds comfort in the fact that the majority of these people she'll probably never even meet. Well, in about forty minutes Dream and Sykkuno will be the two exceptions to that rule but the point still stands - no dating, no hurt, no money spent on post-breakup ice-cream.

Ok, she buys ice-cream anyway but I digress.

Y/N walks into her office where she spends a lot of time hunched over a tablet and/or a notepad she calls 'Ideatopia' due to how many designs have been jotted down in it with a very few of them making it in front of the eyes of the person or people who requested it be made. She keeps herself busy enough to not accidentally meet anyone decent in her day-to-day life but allows herself free time to browse the web for clearance of her mind.

In short, she's not a romantic but only when the romance is real and she's a workaholic only when she doesn't hang out and watch Minecraft streams.

Y/N sets Lux down on the soft fuzzy carpet where he immediately rolls over and enjoys its comfort. She boots up her PC, moving the tablet out of the way as to position the computer screen in the center of the desk. Plugging in her headset she can't help but sigh, fighting the instinct that's psyching her out.

Fucking hell, Y/N, they're just people. You don't take anyone you meet IRL this seriously. Although that may be cause they don't have millions of followers but that's besides the point.

Or maybe that's the whole point. She doesn't want to think of herself as a shallow person because she's not one, but it's almost second nature to feel a lot more nervous in the presence of someone who can be considered famous.

She sits down in her comfortable desk chair, curtesy of Leslie herself who knows how hard her friend works and knew the perfect gift to buy her for Christmas. She spins in it once, and then again, and then once more, giggling at her childish behavior. Hearing Lux bark, she pauses to let him jump into her lap again so they can both spin on the chair, surrounding them with a careless aura she hopes will carry over into the stream and won't let her lose her cool.

"Here goes nothing." She tells the puppy but is speaking more to herself, if she's being honest.

Lux is too comfortable to be bothered to find himself a new place to sleep so Y/N doesn't even try to ditch him, hoping his presence will have a calming effect on her.

She equips her headset, pushing its microphone down so it's about two inches away from her lips. She opens Discord and joins the VC Leslie told her to hop in earlier during the phone call. Y/N's hands have gone cold with anticipation and nervousness but regardless she proceeds to follow through with it.

"Hello?" She greets the already present players shyly, her voice barely heard which was actually her intention. The quieter she sounds the more invisible she'll feel, right?

"Hi!! Guys, this is my friend Y/N, the one I was telling you about." Leslie hurries to introduce the girl, giving her a momentary sense of relief cause she didn't mention anything else. That relief didn't last for long though...."And Dream, Sykkuno, she thinks you two are pretty damn cool."

Fuck you, Leslie.

The poor girl's face turns bright red at the statement. She hurries to hide it in her hands, hoping they'll cool down her burning cheeks, the embarrassment having turned them into stove burners.

"That's really nice of her. Thank you, Y/N." Sykkuno replies, ever the kind soul he is.

"Yeah, it's super flattering!" Dream agrees, "Now you're obligated to have my number and give me yours."

This actually manages to get a laugh out of her, the lightheartedness helping with her overdose of shame.

"I'm sure she wouldn't mind that." She can practically imagine Leslie winking as she says that which only irritates her more but she's never really been able to stay mad at her best friend so she knows she won't be able to make it last.

"Oh so no love for the rest of us? Wooowww." Childishly complains a voice she's not familiar with. One that catches Y/N completely off-guard with how deep it is. Had she been any cheesier she would've though it was mesmerizing to hear. Never mind, she is that cheesy.

"Holy shit, who's that?!" She asks with an exaggerated theatrical gasp that is halfway her real reaction to what she's just heard.

"That's Corpse Husband, the horror storyteller turned pro impostor in Among Us." Her best friend dramatically introduces the man who's left Y/N in a state of complete whiplash.

"Tis I. Waddup baby?" He wastes no time using his weaponized voice and charm on her as if he's not astonished her enough already. Corpse secretly enjoys putting new-comers in a state of disbalance like this but he'd never admit it.

"Um...hi! Wassup? Nice voice." One would this Y/N is actively trying to show how flustered she is but believe it or not this is her while trying to conceal it. Imagine if she wasn't.

"Thanks." He wheezes in amusement, "I like yours too."

"Great," his correspondent says with a newfound mirage of confidence, "Now you're obligated to have my number and give me yours."

This is more than enough to get the whole VC roaring up in laughter.

"Fucking hell, Corpse! You can't just sweep in and steal our girl like that!" Dream complains halfheartedly as he continues chuckling.

"Get yourself a voice changer and you'll be able to pick up girls as well." The accused teases his fellow faceless streamer.

"That's not fair!" The blond whines.

"Y/N, you've been here less than five minutes and have already left two guys hanging. Damn!" Rae - who Y/N has met before and grown to be friends with - laughs, enjoying the show her friends have put on.

"What can I say." The girl chuckles, her face now deep red but she still manages to pull off that hair flip like a pro as she plays off her confidence, "I simply had a change of heart."

"Worked out well for me." Snickers the bachelor who's ended up receiving the final rose. To think Corpse wanted to cancel on his friends and not show up for the stream, oh all the things he'd missed.

He's lucky he had a change of heart.

@maat-the-prescriptive @simonsbluee @save-the-sky @itsminniekat @hacker-ghost @bi-andready-tocry @imtiredaffff @jazzkaurtheglorious @hereforbeebo @fandomgirl17 @chrysanthykios @maehemscorpyus @loraleiix @letsloveimagines @annshit @i-cant-choose-a-username-help @enigmaticmaze @divine-artemis @waterlilypat @idontknowwhatthisisfam @evi-ka @classyandfabulous00 @redperson58 @lilysdaydreams @solowheein @mythicalamphitrite @axen-gers @luckygirl144 @nj01 @buddyemily @the-albino-lioness @stardream14 @gdhdkfnn @nomadicgypsyy @preciousskye @fluffysuicideunicornsworld @o-kaelin @manacharlotte @awkward-youtube-trash @lolalee24 @bonky-beerns @meme-lord-and-savior-sebastian @strawbrinkofdeath @teenloves @tams0527 @browneyespinkhair @starstruckllamapuppy @daisychains012 @y0ulooked @tinytacosuitcaseflap @supernatural-is-my-only-life @jula-pauline @melodykitty @just-that-bi-girl @crazybutconfidentaf @lowellshade @alphakees @bellero @weallneednamjesus @starryhanji @boiled-onionrings @husherstan @fockingwhore @melaningoddessthings @prettypastelpetals @haleypearce @godwhyamiawkward @y-napotat @daisychainyoonmin @little-miss-rebel3 @free-wheelin-bi-sexual @redmoon261 @darkacademic2 @wiseflamingoqueen @into-the-end @namikhai-i @nastiablr @thelittleplantlover @mirktuan @dont-hyuck @jjk-bunny @vintagegothlover @easygoingtheatre @itsrandombooklover @miiaivi @emmybaybee @befourgolden @jjk-is-my-shit @eternalteaaars @spacebadgerx @princesslunalight @acequinn14 @samm48 @misselsbells06 @simp-lykawa @fo-love @marishimomura-blog @therealglenncoco @cinnamonbun332 @killtherandomness @sanshinexxxsan @fee-btheweeb @press-lay @cathleenpotgieter16 @jazzydoesstuff @moonlxghtbay @forestrain2000 @hyunjinhugs @blood-of-fandoms @lovellylies @ukiyolixx @simpforhpcharacters @chrisdylan17 @parkerjisung @pedernille @theodonyous @wineandionysus @malfoystilinskii05 @morbid-x @coryisagee @jessewa26 @scoobydooluver97 @mindintheskies365 @raeanneinwonderland @indecisive-empanada @gluttonypalace @loriane2503 @btsiguess-kpop @khaoticbunny @lucidlycactus @smiithys @rottenroyalebooks @kpopgirlbtssvt @fangirl-tc27 @fr0z3n-1 @notmesimpingfortechno @shotarosleftpinky @kunoi-chan @idk-whats-wrong-with-me @yikeroonie @goldenstarofthunderclan @poetry-and-tea @ama-do-writing-stuff @wishbonewolf @emeraldxhope @t0xick1tty @kusuinko @speakyourselfloveyourself @sophia902103 @lo-manburg @classsykittykat @dmgama @depressedpuppythatneedscoffee @btsiguess-kpop @akaashi-baby @gun-jong-simp @geschichtenfee @yerapotato-wp @browneyedgirl365 @thysagclub @sparklycloudnight @helloatomicshadow @queentorresstuff @vtte @val-gal @lucy-bunny17 @aaliyahh0 @katluckybear @boyleanti @straybids @franchesca-791 @cosmicstorm19 @averyisbackinthetrashcan @aomi-nabi @xlanawriter @allensimpsforcorpse @sunnyrae-cessh @ladykxxx08 @meowiemari @renupf @booklover76 @sra-verissimo @beatrhizn @blueberrystigma @beatrhizn @chicken-taco-burrito @scorpio-echo @nyctophiliiiiaaa @squirreljoe @azra-x @ace-of-spaids2 @kxllanxtdoor

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sn33z3s · 2 years

Text

notes on contemporary south park fandom and its approach to fanon & headcanons

originally i posted this as a thread on twitter about a week after The Big Fix, in response to the various tweets i saw referring to tolkien as stan’s new best friend, how tolkien is now another character to visit tegridy farms before kyle (who hasn’t at all) and what that means for stan and kyle’s relationship, etc… this is just an observational post on fan culture and not so much a speculative piece about canon, so take from it what you will

a thing i tend to find within new (2015 and onward, i’d say) south park fans of the shipping fandom variety is this interesting way that some of them internalize overlapping character dynamics. beyond subjective shipping morality discourse, there’s a recent insistence of relationships “dying” out... and that is what i want to talk about in this post. warning: it got long, reader beware

for the record, since i got into south park and stan/kyle over a decade ago and have lurked around sp fandom on and off, i have seen folks say “style has died” in multiple waves, and each time i've thought to myself: they’re story arcs. character arcs. it all cycles. it’s reflective of weird insecurity to be like “characters A and C have interacted, therefore the dynamic between A and B is over now.” how so?

ultimately, my concern is mostly about projecting said negativity onto other fans (non-constructively). however, it’s not a Versus thing exclusively; that is, it’s not just some people being win-or-lose about “opposing” ships, it’s also present in how people talk about specific dynamics. like stan and kyle: “stan pines more” “kyle pines more” - is there a correct answer? their relationship shifts the way that sp as a show itself has. simply put, i feel like some fans react in a way that implies moments of canon entirely “cancel” each other out, rather than ~*containing multitudes*~ or such. it’s not that i don’t think there are concrete ways that stan and kyle (for example) “are” - i certainly do - but i feel confused by the one-dimensional approach to their relationship, among other things. i’m applying this to fanon details and ship wars, but i’ll elaborate on the second issue further in this post…

“stan cannot be a jock, because he is depressed, and likes board games and music.” “kyle cannot have androgynous features, because that’s the same thing as an antisemitic trope.” regarding both of these, i’ve yet to see a good argument as to how. i’m still not sure about the insistence on jumping to the extremes for both. i have a lot of feelings about the complexities of stan and kyle, but i see it flattened for silly reasons. this discourse is also decades old, but still. i like jock stan precisely because of stan’s docile personality. i like that kyle is hot-headed, yet very fussy, all the while. kyle via the post-covid specials is shown to be comparatively well-groomed, decorative, etc, to the other three. i’m not sure how that conflicts with his personality, though, as per claims by parts of this fandom. does it need to be any more profound than that? (i don’t like getting into the "why i think it's concerning that some fans strongly dislike masc-fem gay fictional couples" thing because it’s fundamental to me at this point, so i digress because i’m getting off-topic!) (also, plenty of masculine depictions of fandom kyle are antisemitic, but whatever)

anyway, it’s not that matt and trey aren't inconsistent; they are consistently inconsistent. still, i’d say they know their characters. they’re theirs. not to sound like an apologist (buzz word, i guess) or like south park has never made me complain, but this constant scramble to claim “i know what trey parker thought here, what he meant, and you don’t…” is not a healthy way to consume your media, and at that point, taking a step back to focus on other hobbies may be necessary. the truth is that none of us know: we are all just re-interpreting the art. i worry about the fans who reach the level of tin-hatting (a thing which we all do, by the way) that it encroaches into “i am demanding that the creators of this show give me what i think should be canon, and anything else is pure shit” territory

many older south park fans have already prodded this question (phenomenon?). still, my own reasoning for this personal catharsis is that now i’m active in the fandom and i’m seeing this and above all, i feel that after Return of COVID, it’s happening so much more often again, and i don’t understand why

indeed, what i’ve been wondering since becoming an active instead of passive participant in the south park fandom: why spend any time thinking or talking about what you dislike, anyway? if it is coming from a place of such negativity. why be competitive? why not just relax and enjoy? there are nearly 25 years' worth of multiple character interactions, all in fluctuation, with recurring themes. i think the COVID specials were some withstanding point of that. for the record, every individual in fandom reserves the right to critique the art as they feel is best for them, but i don’t mean stating “this is my critical opinion on…” i mean stating “i am asserting my opinion as fact, and i am getting angry and passive-aggressive on public social media when i see others expressing a conflicting take.” reacting to an outright attack is normal and justified, but taking any disagreement as a personal sleight indicates an unhealthy connection to the source material.

when i recently got called a “child abuse apologist” on tumblr for saying [in what was very obviously a self-aware and comedic tone] that i like stephen stotch, it supplemented my curiosity about some parts of the fandom’s ability to recognize satire and subtle dialogue or writing choices. twisting and/or ignoring elements of south park’s canon to postulate your favorite pairing as better is unnecessary because shipping can happen regardless of what canon provides. we have the ability to create the fan content we may feel is lacking. all dynamics in south park have a baseline. whether or not you read into these character dynamics romantically is up to you, but to vaguely refer to others’ ship- or character-related headcanons on public forums in a punitive(?) way is immature at best and downright worrisome at worst

i also saw recent talks about kyle’s choice to tell yentl that cartman gave him AIDS in that scene from Post-COVID instead of mentioning, like, cartman’s constant desires to imitate hitler and-or reinstate the holocaust… well, kyle said that because south park is a comedy, you guys. the plot of a thing can change drastically based on a single line, a single character interaction, and matt and trey only have so much they can fit within a time frame. also, it was just a funny thing for him to say. that’s kind of it

how upset one person “should” get about south park fanfiction or fanart is subjective, but taking to the streets over trey parker’s writing is a bit much, and to be specific, it’s a bit much when you say that “xyz interpretation is wrong, unless adjusted to apply to what i prefer, in which case it is right, and it is not fair game for people to say anything about the characters that i favor, though i will disparage other people’s favorites.” like, okay, let’s all go outside for a walk and some fresh air. being nice goes a long way

there needs to be a two-way relationship in fandom which allows discussion, disagreement, and civil debate on both sides. (well, i don’t know how i feel using the word “debate” like the south park slash fandom is “the marketplace of ideas” or what have you, but…) moreover, it’s basic empathy to understand that this is south park and, with the exception of actual online harassment directed toward other fans, people are allowed to express their discomfort over things that the canon itself presents as uncomfortable. i understand that we all make exceptions, but sticking to your guns and following the consistencies you apply to your fandom consumption is, like, the best way to not look hypocritical or spiteful

#mb tag later

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introvertllux · 2 years

Text

Fated Chapter 1

Genes: Action, Romance, Neo-noir

Disclaimer:

I don’t own any thing associate with the John Wick Franchise.

I don’t own any of the photographs used in the graphics of this story.

The original story idea is my own

Story Notes:

Bolded Text: Third Person POV

Bolded and Italicized Text: Kezia’s thoughts.

The time line of the story hopes around between the first, second, and third movies. This is due to flashbacks as the three movie’s timelines are short (I believe their are only a few days a part). Many of this chapters will include a lot of filler to help introduce Kezia’s since she is an OC!. Also, this filler will be used to catch the story up to speed to the third movie.

There are some small details in this story (including this chapter), that have small hints and details thrown in on purpose.

Some character may not be perfectly reflected as they were in the movies (I’m only human and can be so exact lol).

Lastly, I know not everyone will like the story so please let me know if you would NOT like to be on the tag list!

Thank you to everyone who waited so patiently for this (I’ve been so busy with college and life >:/ ) and loved the idea!

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Wednesday Day 10 8.25pm USA

I revved the engine on my cherry red 1967 Chevy Impala (Monica I had called her affectionately). She was a gift from my husband for my birthday last year.

The car continued to accelerate going, 80 mph per hour on the surprisingly quiet residential highway as I thought about my birthday the year prior.

I would have to say it was only the second- no correction, the third happiest day of my life. The first being the day my husband and I took our vows. The second was the day my husband and I both agreed to retire from our old ways of living.

Sure, getting my dream car was something to remember. A city girl like me- coming from the slums and having her dream car gifted to her like it was nothing. How could I be anything but grateful and joyous? I think more than remembering the excitement I felt when I was given the car of my dreams, was how kind, thoughtful- (The car began to accelerate from 80 mph per hour to 85) and loving my husband was.

Leaving my left hand on the wheel, I scooted up slightly, my foot still steady on the gas as I reached into the right pocket of the oversized black blazer (a single-breasted jacket with notch lapels, flap pockets, and a two-button front). I grabbed my burner, which my husband frequently referred to as “Emergency only.” As I frequently glanced between the windshield, rear-view, and blind-spot alternating, ensuring no one was around or following close behind. I quickly scrolled through my contact frantically, skimming, until I landed on him.

“Pick up, pick up,” I mumbled to myself as I kept the car steady. After the third ring I heard, the typically automated message, “The person you are reaching is unavailable. Please leave your message after the tone.” I immediately hung up and re-dialing again. This time it went straight to voicemail. I let out a loud and aggravated yell. I tossed my phone into the passenger’s seat. At a time like this, with the world’s number one assassin you would think all phone owners would be jumping at the opportunity to answer. Just as it’s given name states, this phone is for “emergencies” only. It’s been a while since I’ve had any of those. But I digress, my loving husband listed a few contacts, four to be exact of who he felt would be the last results for protection should he not be present or I could not protect myself.

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Flashback-

“Baby!” I yelled out followed by a light giggled as I was playfully tackled to the soft grassy ground of the secluded park. I rolled landing on my back. I squinted slightly, as the bright rays of the sun beamed down on me on a perfect summer day. The torture did not last too long, because just knight and shining armor, my husband swooped in as saved the day. His body hovered over mine as he blocked out the sun, his hands placed at each side of my head, and his brown eyes staring back both affectionately and playfully. He quickly reached into the right hand pocket of this light wash jeans and grabbed the phone he had been trying to give me for the past couple of days. He waved it in front of my face for a second, with a small smile, and placed it in the middle of my chest. “Take it.” He says again.

I stared back up into his eyes, smiling smally as I took the phone into my hands. I munovered it in my hands observing it, knowing that John would think I’m taking interest in it. While he took the bait, I swiftly wrapped both of my legs around his waist, flipping us over, so that I was now straddling him. Still holding the phone in both of my hands, I placed the phone over his heart and said, “You take it, I won’t need it.” He then wrapped his hands around my petite ones and squeezed lightly. “Two of the world’s greatest assassins, retired- yes, but you never know what can happen,” He said, sounding hopeful at first, which trailed off into uncertainty.

I leaned forward, and smiled, knowing that my husband was hiding something from me. He knew retirement wasn’t the end, it was the beginning and it broke me to know that.

—————————————————————————————————————

Back to the present-

I quickly returned my right hand to the wheel, both of my hands grasping the wheel with a tight clasp. I closed my eyes as my teeth clenched together, and my foot once again hit the gas, accelerating to 90 mph. Seconds later, my eyes opened wide at the sound of a loud sputter.

“No, no, no!” I shouted out loud as I tapped on the wheel rapidly. “Monica, not now...please," I said in a slightly shaky tone. I could not stop here, It was too dangerous, and I was only about 5 minutes away from my destination. I let out a shaky breath. I let up on the gas and decided to reduce my speed to 60 mph per hour, hoping Monica could hold out for just 5 minutes.

————————————————————————————————————

Five more minutes was just enough time. As we reached our destination, Monica gave out on me. I wrapped both of my arms around the wheel, leaning my head forward, closing my eyes once again, and mumbling “Thank you.”

I turned the key, pulled it out of the ignition. I then grabbed the cell phone from the passenger's side floor. As I exited the car door, I placed my car keys in the left pocket of the blazer and tightly gripped the cell phone in my right hand. I walked stealthily, not sure what I would encounter. Moments later, I reached the door, sliding in silently. I walked in lightly, ensuring that my footsteps could not be heard even by the most skilled killers. As I continued to walk and observe my surroundings, I saw a light and the outline of the one I was looking for, hunching over what looked like the interior of a car’s hood. I walked faster, stopping three feet behind them. I took a light breath in letting out a bone-rattling whistle.

The body stood straight up. It was almost silent aside from the sound of a clank, from the wrench that slipped from his hands.

“Tell me… you're here for John and- and not for me.” He said as he slowly turned to face me. A slight smirk on his lips but fear in his dark brown eyes.

“Depends…” I said staring straight into his eyes with my own brown ones, not feeling uncomfortable or intimidated at all. I tossed my cellphone at him. “Maybe you can pick it up once a while, huh Aurelio?” He fumbled slightly, grappling the phone in his hands.

Moments full of silence passed as Aurelio continued to look at me. He looked surprised, shocked, and had a slight hint of worry. Can’t say I’m surprised. I haven’t seen him in a while since I got married. He couldn’t make it to my birthday last year, a cheap and unbelievable excuse about home being out of town, yet I know he was the one that was able to source and restore Monica.

Aurelio roughly cleared his throat, “So, I… haven’t seen you in a while, I didn’t hear you come in… almost like a ghost.” He said. I hate small talk and real “clever” puns, like a ghost- Banshee. “Uh, last time I checked you and John were out of the game, married, and ready to start a family.” He said as he tossed the phone back to me acting like he wasn’t aware of the current happenings. I caught it effortlessly and disagaured it into my right blazer’s pocket immediately.

I stood still, my eyes slightly widened as I quickly wrapped the oversized blazer over my stomach, taking two small steps back. “Yeah… until he became excommunicado.” I said sadly with a light hint of bitterness. I looked back at Aurelio, following his slightly squinted eyes as they landed on my stomach. I paused my body movements, hoping that would deflect any attention from that area.

His lips parted slightly, and his eyes began to widen, “Oh.” He said in a quiet and breathy tone. He looked surprised, with a hint of confusion. He looks as though he may have had my secret uncovered, but was disregarding it because it seemed too irrational. He wouldn’t be wrong, would he?

I didn’t respond to his response, unclear if he was aware I didn’t want to expose my news either way. I instead wrapped my pocketed arms tighter across my stomach. I took a deep breath in and exhaled.

“Could you- could you fix Monica for me?” I asked, averting from this topic and back to the main one at hand.

“Fix Monica? Who's- your car? Your car’s named Monica? Wait-wait.” He said as he stepped closer to me.

“What exactly are your plans?” He asked. I just stared at him, waiting for the rest of his responses.

“What so, you want me to fix your car so that you can drive around tracking down John?! Are you fuckin’ outta your mind!?” He yelled.

I remained silent, trying not to let my temper get the best of me. Though I felt disrespected, I did not want to sever my ties with one of the only people I had left. “Aurelio…” I spoke calmly yet slightly coldly. “I will be out of my mind in a few seconds,” I said with a dark and demanding stare straight in his eyes.

I guess I haven’t lost my touch, as Aurelio's fearful expression caught the message right away. “I-I take it she’s out front then.” He said and I turned to walk towards the entrance not looking back.

————————————————————————————————————

Aurelio let out a high pitched whistle, “She’s a beauty, isn’t she?” He said with a slight smugness in his voice. “Yeah… she’s something.” I said as I shrugged off his smugness. I tossed him the keys as he continued to ogle over her.

“So where are the car troubles coming from?” He asked. “The engine gave out.” I said simply. He looked stunned about what I said. Which is reasonable as the car was sourced and refurbished.

“Already?” He said low as if he was talking to himself. He then circled around the car to the front and lifted it’s hood and extended the hood support. We both were in silence for a few minutes, until Aurelio spoke, “Alright, so the sputtering you mentioned from what I can see, It looks like it was tampered with on purpose.” He said still examining the engine.

John.

“You know I remember when John came in and asked me for a car about you. I was surprised. Especially with everything that happened with Helen. I never thought he would be happy again. He was really excited to get you this car, he said it was your dream car.” He reminisced.

A part of me felt really happy that John cared so much, that he loved me that much. But right now, a part of me isn’t feeling that way. I feel so many emotions. However, the feelings that weigh heavy on my heart the most are abandonment, confusion, and hurt.

“So, can you fix her in a couple hours,” I asked knowing two things, one I didn’t know how much time I had, or even what time it was, but time was running out, and two that the chances of him saying yes were extremely low?

He slammed the hood of the car and turned to me and shook his head “No, you’re looking at an 8 to 12-hour fix.” He said.

“Can I borrow one of your cars?” I asked, looking for any other solution I could think of.

“I don’t think John would appreciate me gearing his wife up with a car, into a war zone.” He said.

I paused for a moment analyzing what he said. At this moment I realized two things. One, that this whole time, Aurelio didn't seem fazed by the fact that John is excommunicated. It looks like as long as he and his business aren’t at stake he’s fine. That’s probably why he’s denying my request. He seems like he’s trying to conceal his antsiness underneath his cool and collective exterior. It makes sense, Aurelio was never much of a friend to John, merely a friendly acquaintance. Why would I expect any more than that for me?

Second, John is trying hard to keep me out of this. All of this, whatever this is. He knew I would come after him.

First, he leaves with no insight of his plan: where he’s going and where he’s going to end up, not one trace. Then he leaves me with one gun (4 bullets), and now a broken-down car. All I have left are the clothes on my back (including his blazer), four bullets, the sapphire necklace he gifted me for our wedding, and the miracle of life growing inside of me. How kind, thoughtful, and loving of him.

“Look, I don’t think John would appreciate me leaving his wife for dead,” I said, slightly irritated. “I know when people start to realize I’m out of retirement, they’ll come for me. Very few know that John and I are married. Something, not even The Continental. You won’t face any consequences. All I’m asking for is a ride, and I’ll be on my way.” I said stating my final statement on the manner, knowing he’d fold.

He signed, “Fine, but how do you intend on finding him?”

I looked at him, not giving him a response as I thought about exactly where I’m heading next.

————————————————————————————————————

Tag List (I greatly apologize if I’ve missed anyone! I got a notification that I can’t @ over 50 people!):

@shibbymonstermariah @saltyllamakidwombat @greatknightpandacalzone @kathlloid25 @wildlyimpossiblecat @hilarioustickles @head-slut-in-charge @vickyd-2012 @blackanblue @plainjane18 @superanimenatural @paperlessbook @cowwymoo @miyahmaraj @savannah-elliott @smooch0820 @vadeadiugularis @fnafgummy124 @ldysif @rcmancffs @blackandwhitejoker @beautifulhilariousbeachshark @ultrasonicfb @jayyhun17 @writing-of-a-fool @givemethepsychopath @kayweeb2021 @moejdaw @hisgirlwednesdayaddams @zennydaye @hoeboat101 @lifeasj @chubbycgubbs28 @blackwolfqueenzz @embonbon @explicitkiki @danyelle45 @forwardpair @starsupes @youngestxhearts @nunubug99 @gardenof-venus @stayfabulous @monsoon13 @crispysublimecupcake @whatkindofnameshould @charliesahottie @jonotheg @asianchuckie @hon-eey @sukunasstomachtongue @why-wait-4-eventually @attemptedgull @leahnicole1219 @shipatheart @1andonlyashlee @silkjava @skskskskskbts @namjoonswifeyy @anonymous-sis @kandik @mirandadavis9 @amieeagles @idgap07 @coconutxraikage @mandylouis124

#black!reader #black!oc #black creators #original story #black reader #keanu reeves #john wick x oc #john wick x reader #john wick

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twistedmusings · 3 years

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A/N: Riddle is always so weird for me to write because I do see him as baby but the moment things get romantic I can so see him as the type that just...is more than ready to explore the romantic territory with you? Like yes he is baby but he would be so gentle with the smooches... But I digress. I am making my way through requests, currently have five in my inbox so I might close it up once it reaches ten. Just to get the ball rolling since I am a baby blog u wu. Warnings: None! Just tooth rotting fluff! Straight from the cookbook section of our bountiful library, @lunalasolaris!

Let me get that book for you!

“Hey Riddle?”

“Hm?”

“What does a pinch mean?”

Grey eyes look up from the cup of flour he was meticulously trying to measure as you hold up the recipe book in front of him.

“Does it mean that we just put a little bit of the salt into the cake?” you point at the specific line, tapping it twice to emphasize your point, “Or we grab a pinch with our fingers and just...toss it in there?Cause I can grab a lot of salt in between my fingers if I need to.”

Riddle frowns as he tries to remember how Trey used to bake some of his previous Unbirthday cakes. It was easy to break down his process but with how quickly he moved the Heartslabyul dorm leader found himself at a loss of what a pinch looked like. Of all the executive decisions he had to make, why was this one so difficult?

He locked eyes with you, blushing when he saw how close you had gotten before pulling away and dumps the cup of flour into the small mixing bowl.

"We don't want them to taste salty so we'll put only a small amount. What comes next?"

"Eggs...three I think. Oh and we need to add them to the dry mix while it is being sifted." you grab the eggs and scoot closer to him as Riddle grabs the sifter, turning around to see you so close once again.

You hold up the eggs and smile.

"Ready?"

It was nerve wracking being here with you. Not just nerve wracking, it was also stress inducing and blood pumping to have you so close after Riddle had come to a definitive conclusion about his feelings about you. It had come at a cost of many sleepless nights and the certain teasings of some of his oldest friends but once Trey sat him down and asked him how he truly felt about you, the words slipped so easily out of his mouth that even he was surprised at the lack of thought in them.

Riddle likes you. Alot.

It was the way you talked with him during Unbirthday parties, unbothered by rules and manners as you plopped yourself down next to him and spoke about whatever you had going on that day. Riddle thought that it sort of reminded him of Chenya, his friend always appearing out of nowhere with a similar grin yet his was always filled with mischief while yours was nothing more than a way for you to show how happy you were to see him.

Or at least he hoped that was the case.

You smiled at everyone. At Ace and Deuce whenever they did something silly, at Cater whenever he pointed his camera at you, even at Trey whe he would lean down and offer you one of the many pastries he had baked that day. But, and it might just be his own subconscious silently hoping for this, Riddle believed the smile that you had for him was special. The moment your eyes landed on him it was like watching a rose bloom. Those cheeks of yours would turn a soft shade of red as you approached him and pulled him into whatever activity you found yourself doing.

Maybe that is how he had been roped into this situation with you. He had only dropped by Ramshackle to drop off something you had left in Ace and Deuce’s room but he knew that the moment you tugged on his wrist and pulled him inside, he was more than willing to do whatever it is that you were doing before he showed up.

That activity being something you two weren’t particularly good at...baking.

Riddle finally answered your question with a nod, having already dumped the contents into the silver sifter and grabbing onto the small handle. “I’ll start then.”

It had all turned out a mess. Your hands either tended to crack the eggs too softly that they wouldn't crack on the first try or they would be too harsh and immediately break the egg on impact, leaving both of you to fish out the remnants of the shells before Riddle went right back to sifting. Then came the mixing of the ingredients, Ramshackle not necessarily having the fanciest of gadgets you two instead had to mix everything by hand. It was a bit of a chance for him to show himself off for you but the moment he hissed at his muscles cramping up, you took the bowl from him and poked his cheek. “Chill out, dorm leader Rosehearts, I’ll take it from here~”

How odd. Riddle was used to people calling him by his official title but in your cause it was almost alarming how much he liked it.

A few more mishaps, staring at the cookbook and one call to Trey and soon you two were on the floor with a bowl of strawberries in between you as the cake baked in Ramshackle’s tiny oven. “Thank you for going along with this.” you munch on the end of a strawberry before continuing, “I was panicking when I first started so it was a heaven sent when you came along.”

His heart skips a beat as Riddle clears his throat.

“This is just what a dorm leader should do for another. I’m merely completing my duties.”

You pout for a moment but grin as you scoot closer to him, “So if I wasn’t a dorm leader I would just be another face in the crowd?” It is like a shock of electricity shoots straight up his back, straightening him out as he corrects you.

“No! You are still a student here...and someone who has attended many Unbirthdays and tea parties in Heartslabyul! I’m sure that if it wasn’t for that mishap in the dorm selection ceremony, you would have certainly been picked to be in Heartslabyul! To me you are not just someone in the crowd! You are--” He barely registers how close he had gotten, the bowl of strawberries pushed out of the way as you both stare into each other’s eyes. You hadn’t moved back. Your gaze was holding on strong to his as the hum of the oven became the only sound in the room.

Hands so close, fingertips almost touching. “Riddle--I--I like--”

A ding interrupted your words, the little invisible bubble you and Riddle had created suddenly popping as you stood up and grabbed the oven mitts.

You grin as you put the small container on the counter, Riddle cutting into the sides with a dull knife in order to unstick it from the pan. How wonderful was it when things came together that when you both watched the warm baked good slide out of its silvery confine you let out a sigh of relief and started to decorate.

“We almost ate half of the strawberries.” Riddle frowns as you grab the bowl from the floor. “I didn’t hear you complaining when I put them down! You are just as guilty as I if Trey doesn’t like the finished product.”

He stops cutting the fruit into smaller pieces as he watches you spread the whipped cream along the sides of the cake. “...you...are you giving this to Trey?”

Why was he so nervous? Trey liked to test everybody’s baking skills if they seem to have any or he just liked to tease those who couldn’t cook by teaching them how to figure it out all on their own. Besides, Trey was a third year and needed to concentrate on his future internship and not be issuing challenges to first years--!

“Yeah? He said that tomorrow’s tea party was going to be a ‘bring your own’ kind of thing?” you scoop a dollop of whipped cream on your finger and lick it off, further distracting Riddle. “Tea party…”

“Yeah...he said you were having one tomorrow. Did you cancel it?” you give him a surprised look, “Have we been struggling with this baking stuff for nothing?”

No. Riddle knew every single tea party that would be having throughout the academic year. And yes, they were having one tomorrow. There was one detail that didn’t sit quite right with him, however.

Never in the history of the Heartslabyul dormitory had there been a ‘potluck’ tea party.

Either those good at baking made the pastries for that day’s tea party or they would not be any tea party at all.

Great Seven’s knew what would happen if any first years, Ace and Deuce specifically, tried to cook in the Heartslabyul kitchen. There probably wouldn’t be a kitchen anymore.

Yet Trey had gone out of his way to trick you into baking a cake while also telling Riddle that you had left something behind in the first year’s room and that it was his duty to give it back--had he planned all of this from the sidelines and expected it to work?!

“...no there is a tea party happening. I guess I just--Trey must have not told me about that certain detail.”

“Well at least we have something to bring now!”

You both look at your cake, the cutting of the strawberries a little sloppy as they somewhat slipped on the rushed icing job you had done.

“...you know I don’t think anyone will notice if I do this.”

Riddle’s eyes widen when you grab a spoon and dig into the top of the cake. “Hey--!”

The spoon presses to his lips as you grin while holding it up to him. “Say ‘ah’”

Was Crowley sure that you didn’t have any sort of magic? With the way he quickly opened his mouth Riddle would have thought he had been hypnotized. “So?”

He nods at the taste, smiling when he notices the soft sweetness that came with a good slice of strawberry shortcake. “I--I think we did a really good job.”

You grin and stand on the heel of your feet as Riddle licked his lips to get any extra whipped cream, eyes going right back to staring at you as you tug on his bowtie and bring him closer. “You got some right...here.”

The pressure of your hold is light as your lips meet his, his body suddenly going lax as he drops his hold on the knife he had been using before so he could turn his body to meet yours. His hold is immediate, a hand touching your lower back and pressing you a tad closer to him as you both pull back to gauge each other’s reaction.

You are both red as roses, cheeks flushing and hearts beating so fast you were sure you could hear each other’s matching rhythms.

“...did I get it?”

He should be pushing you away and apologizing for such a needy display. Riddle hadn’t necessarily spent his time doing anything else besides studying and trying to bring pride to Heartslabyul dorm so this territory was rather new to him.

“Try again...please.”

Your lips met his again, this time his hold pulling you into the kiss as you cup his face and let him press your back against the kitchen counter.

His second year was still starting, why not explore this path a bit more?

#twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #twst x reader #twst #riddle rosehearts #riddle rosehearts x reader #riddle x reader #Heartslabyul #twst mc #request drabble #this request made me fall for him just a tiiiny bit more no lie #book requests

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learnfromwebtoons · 2 years

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Lesson 4: Have Compassion

Today’s Lesson: Have Compassion

Today’s Teacher: Let’s Play by Mongie

How do you write characters who are not like you? Who have different genders, sexual orientations, ethnicities, and personal backgrounds than you do? It’s a difficult question to answer, because there are a lot of ways this can go horribly wrong. Let’s take a look at some of those now!

Let’s Play is a comic about a shy nerdy audience surrogate girl named Sam and her three identically hot and ripped male love interests competing for her attention. Sometimes video games are mentioned.

Early in Let’s Play’s run, the author does a Q and A episode, like many Webtoons do, and answers a question like this:

“There is an LGBT character, but I don’t want for them to be labeled “the gay” character, so it’s not come up yet. There is more to the character’s personality than their sexuality.”

Since this Q and A ran, there have been no confirmed LGBT characters in the Let’s Play Webtoon. To make sure I didn’t miss anything here, I googled and found that the author confirmed a minor character is gay on Twitter and in a promotional animated short.

That doesn’t even look like a rainbow flag, but I digress!

Let’s Play is full of heterosexual characters expressing their heterosexuality over and over again, having relationships, having sex, sexually fantasizing about their heterosexual objects of affection in lovingly rendered detail, but Dee (the only confirmed extracanonically non-heterosexual character in this comic) is not afforded anywhere near that level of sexuality. Dee exists to be sweet and helpful, not to have an arc or development of her own.

(Here is an example of our heterosexual protagonist having a heterosexual BDSM fantasy rendered in detail. It should be noted there was no warning or indication that the episode this was in was not appropriate for all readers. Click at your own risk.)

Perhaps Mongie is afraid of writing a character different from herself incorrectly. Perhaps she knows her audience is primarily interested in Sam’s romantic entanglements and not much else and is focusing her energy on what her readers want. Regardless, the complete lack of representation makes reading this comic alienating and uncomfortable for readers who are not strictly heterosexual.

This isn’t the only area in which Mongie’s attempts at diversity fall flat (Dean San Martin’s introduction, for example, is... well.)

Can you guess how many Latino characters are in Let’s Play? Correct!

Stereotypes flatten characterization by replacing what could be an interesting original character with a generic image of that group that everyone’s heard of. Creating a story in which every character with depth, nuance and screentime is white, straight, cisgender, able-bodied, middle to upper class, and heterosexual, reinforces the view that those are the only types of stories and characters worth paying attention to.

If you’re interested in portraying a group you’re not part of respectfully, sensitivity readers are an invaluable resource and worth looking into. In general, listening to people who aren’t like you and reading and watching media made by people who aren’t like you is a good way to broaden your horizons both creatively and as a person.

Exercise: Line up all the characters you’ve ever created (or at least all the characters in your current project.) What makes each of them different from each other? What do they have in common? How does their personal background inform their personality? Is this your only character who has this specific trait, and do they have other attributes besides having this one specific trait?

Check out @writingwithcolor for more resources on writing diverse characters without reinforcing tired stereotypes.

Webtoon Rec of the Day: I’ve already mentioned Gourmet Hound like three times but I will mention it again because I love it and Gourmet Hound does portray people of different gender identities, sexualities, races and ethnicities with respect and care, without resorting to stereotypes.

As for a new recommendation from me: Acception is for a younger audience than what I usually prefer, but it’s funny and cute, and the overall theme of the comic is accepting and celebrating differences in people. It’s about a fashion-loving kid going to high school in the Netherlands and the friends he makes there. I really appreciate just how different everyone in the main cast’s home situations are, because I feel like that’s something that often gets overlooked in young adult media but it really works here.

#webtoons #learn from webtoons #webcomics #lesson

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sollannaart · 3 years

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Hello, I've scrolled through your blog to make sure, this question wasn't asked before, but it would seem that it wasn't (though I could've missed it). Can I please ask you of prince Poniatowski's attitude towards Napoleon?

No, this question has not been asked yet, and thank you very much for sending it! It will be my please to write a answer to this.

Relationship between prince Józef Poniatowski and the emperor Napoleon Bonapart

I am sorry, this turned out to be a very long read, and on the topic a little bit wider than asked, so I had to specify the title and give the short answer for those who aren’t interested in details.

So in brief - Poniatowski respected Napoleon, but wasn’t a blind worshipper of the emperor. And in situations when in the balance there might have been Napoleon and Poland, and only one thing was to be chosen for prince Józef this one definitely would be his motherland.

Bronisław Gembarzewski, prince Józef and Napoleon

Emperor Napoleon, as all fans of the epoch knows, first arrived to Warsaw in December of 1806. But to start the long-read about relationship between the emperor and the prince properly we need make a step backwards, to understand what these two thought about each other on the moment of their first meeting.

Prince Józef, in comparison with many of his country men, participated in none of general Bonapart’s campaigns. What’s more - when the count of Provence, future king Louis XVIII resided in Warsaw in 1801-1804 he was an often visitor of Poniatowski’s palace. (So it may be said that before 1806 prince Józef was kind of a “royalist”.)

However, with Napoleon’s victory over Prussia and the emperor’s arrival to the former Polish lands chances of Poland rising from the dead skyrocketed! And prince Józef realized that he couldn’t have stayed away any longer, that if he wanted to participate in his motherland reappearing on the map of Europe he had to join the French.

As for Napoleon - in 1806 the emperor of Frenchmen didn’t have any warm feeling towards the nephew of the last king of Poland. One of the reason was that Claude Carloman de Rulhière, with whose book Histoire de l’anarchie de Pologne Napoleon had studied history of lands he was going conquer, wasn’t sympnathising the Poniatowski family. As other reasons there may be named a fact, that that time in French Army there were other Poles, whom the emperor knew better, like generals Jan Henryk Dąbrowski and Józef Zajączek.

Nevertheless, because when leaving Warsaw the Prussians kinda left the city “in charge” of Poniatowski, Napoleon had to meet prince Józef on entering the city. And from the data I was able to find it looks like the first meeting of the emperor and the prince happened on the 19th of December.

Prince Józef with Napoleon during the war campaign - drawing by Wacław Lipiński

With this image I am obliged to make a small digression. Napoleon, as recent investigation show, was not that short as he was thought to be because of English cartoons. Józef Poniatowski, on the other hand, was described by the contemporaries as a man of the middle height. So, in my opinion standing side-by-side these two must have looked like as people of the same height.

With the emperor so prejudiced against prince Józef, you may ask, how did it happen that less than a month later, on the 14th of January 1807, the latter was appointed as a Director of War? (In October of 1807, after the Duchy of Warsaw was created, Poniatowski’s post acquired the name of “Minister of War”.)

The answer is that behind the event there was a long and complicated intrigue, in which were involved such people as Joachim Murat (with whom, as you may remember, prince Józef quickly became friends) and Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, that time Foreign Minister of France. (As for the latter - his protection was asked by Pepi’s sister, Teresa Tyszkiewicz.)

And I can’t help but mention that Poniatowski’s nomination nevertheless had some advantages, because in comparison with his “rivals” he was a representative of the aristocracy, what might have provided support to Napoleon from the Polish high-society.

And speaking of high-society I can’t help touching a rather delicate topic, related with Napoleon’s love life, with which Poniatowski - in comparison with what is thought about him - had nothing to do. Yes, I mean the story of prince Józef (and other Polish dignitaries) supposedly forcing Maria Walewska to give in to the emperor in exchange for “Poland’s resurrection”.

SCREENSHOT FROM THE MOVIE “MARYSIA I NAPOLEON”. From left to right - Zdzisław Makłakiewicz as prince Józef, Gustaw Holoubek as Napoleon, Beata Tyszkiewicz as Maria Walewska, Ignacy Machowski as Duroc, Kazimierz Rudzki as Talleyrand, Juliusz Łuszczewski as Anastazy Walewski

Many people believe in it because it is written in so-called Walewska’s memoirs, but the investigations of Polish historians (like, fir example, Marian Brandys) prove that not everything might have happened like it was described in the memoirs. And prince Poniatowski’s involvement in the story is one of the facts. (The closest connection he might have had with this is that Mme Henriette de Vauban, his mistress, might have tried to influence Mme Walewska. But this is definitely a topic to continue in - if at all - a separate post.

So, let’s return to relationship between Poniatowski and Napoleon.

In 1809 the Duchy of Warsaw was attacked by the Austrians, and the Army of the Duchy showed its combat strength, winning the war and taking back from the enemy a huge a part of former Polish territories. The emperor was impressed by prince Józef’s inferiors’ performance, till such a degree that he awarded the latter with the highest imperial order of merit, the cross of the Legion of Honour.

But this was done “by proxy”, and the next, after year 1807, meeting of these two happened only in 1811 in Paris, where Poniatowski was invited to attend the christening of Napoleon’s son, the king of Rome.

Prince Józef arrived to Paris on the 23rd of April, and in the evening of that very day received an invitation from the emperor to appear next day in Saint Clou. What’s more, Poniatowski’s visit was to be happen at once, without an obliged advance as the ceremony of representation by the Saxon ambassador.

Prince Józef with Napoleon during the ceremonial audience at the Tuileries Palace - drawing by Maria Artwińska

And this is the image I like, because both - the prince and emperor - seem to have there the “correct” height!

Why was Napoleon so eager to see prince Józef? Well, at least because the latter brought with him news, which was dangerous to trust to paper. Namely - about planning Russian invasion of the Duchy and the tsar attempts to persuade the Polish Minister of War to switch sides and join the anti-napoleonic coalition. (Can’t help but mention there that Poniatowski revealed Napoleon mere facts, but not the names of the people communicating with him, in order not to put them in danger.)

And what about christening? Of course, prince Józef participated in the ceremony, and was even allowed to have an audience with the child-king. And, no doubts, there followed other court events, huntings, balls, etc. Old friend, Murat, and Poniatowski’s sister’s love interest, Talleyrand, introduced Pepi to the highest Parisian society. Also Pepi paid a visit to the ex-empress Josephine.

Prince Józef in conversation with Napoleon and the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Talleyrand - drawing by Andrzej Zarzycki

And though initially prince Józef’s stay in the French capital was planned to be a couple of months, in fact it prolonged to four, till the emperor’s birthday. And leaving finally on the 27th of August Poniatowski received as a farewell gift a beautiful snuffbox planted with diamonds and a loan to… pay the debts of his sister Teresa.

And then there came the year 1812. Prince Józef was made the commander of the 5th Corps of the Grande Armée, and with the rest of the Army went to Russia.

However, above “The Polish corps” there was a commander not very competent and lucky, emperor’s younger brother Jérôme. And when it happened that the Russian Army under general Bagration managed to escape from the “second center” corps led by Jérôme, Napoleon blamed on this... prince Józef.

In the battle of Smolensk, however, the Vth Corps managed to distinguish to such a degree, that together with its commander it was mentioned in a bulletin of the Grande Armée.

Jean-Charles Langlois, The Battle of Smolensk, 17th August 1812, detail

But after that battle there happened a very dramatic scene between the prince and the emperor. Because, as you might know, the city of Smolensk was the most eastern town ever belonged to Poland. So, if Napoleon’s goal was, as it had been proclaimed in the beginning of the war, to restore Poland, the Grande Armée should have stopped there, at Smolensk. Not to go further east.

And Poniatowski, as a witness of the scene, count Ostrowski, recalled, “begged Napoleon on his knees if not to direct the whole French Army to the south, to the former Polish lands, then at least to separated the Polish corps and send it along the Dnieper river, in the direction of Kiev...”

But emperor was implacable.

What happened next we all know. The battle of Moscow, fire, retreat…

In December Napoleon left his army and speeded to Paris. Prince Józef returned to Warsaw, to rebuild “the Polish corps”, to reenforce the people left with new conscripts and to be ready to join with these people the emperor. When the latter comes with fresh forces, to fight the coalition back.

But the emperor of French didn’t hurry to return to the East of Europe. Failing to wait him Poniatowski had to leave Warsaw, going with his soldiers to Kraków. And was waiting here, for almost three month.

To no avail.

At the beginning of May all the territory of the Duchy of Warsaw, except Kraków, was occupied by Russians. A lot of Polish officers, acquaintances and even friends of prince Józef, resigned from the army. A lot of them were persuading the Polish commander-in-chief to follow, to join the anti-napoleonic coalition.

And… well, here I can’t write that Poniatowski rejected these propositions, all and at once. No, he was listening, thinking over… Asking for terms and thoroughly pondering on what would have been better for his motherland - to stay with France or not.

And on the night from the 6th to the 7th of May, on the eve of his 50th birthday the decision was made.

Prince Józef sees “the White Lady of the Poniatowski Family” on the night on 6/7 May 1813 in Krakow (drawing by Ludomir Ilinicz)

Having obtained no written guaranties from the other side, feeling that unconditional surrender - the only thing they were ready to accept from him - was not compatible with the soldier honor, the Polish Bayard decided to stay with Napoleon.

Although to make such a decision was for prince Józef extremely hard (especially if to take into account that he still had not got clear instructions from the emperor what to do). As Poniatowski confided next day to one of his colleagues that night thinking was so difficult to him that he even thought about shooting himself. Twice.

What is not proved - so this fact still stays a kind of legend - that that night prince Józef saw a ghost, the famous “White lady of Poniatowski family”. The fantom that was said to announce with its appearance very bad things to come…

And in 5 month there came… the battle of Leipzig.

Jean-Charles Langlois, The Battle of Leipzig (?)

This image is often signed as „the battle of Leipzig” though judging by the emperor’s, the prince’s and their horses’ poses I suppose it might be another version of “the battle of Smolensk”.

Of course, before Leipzig there was truce, then the battle of Dresden, then retreat and preparations. And in the beginning of the battle there was a moment when French victory still looked possible. But soon it turned out that it was an illusion.

And then the emperor… named general Poniatowski a marshal of France. Thus making him the only foreigner among that cream of French military elite.

Prince Józef Poniatowski receives the marshal baton, French engraving from the XIXth century

How did Poniatowski react to such a promotion? Did he become happy? Or, at least, glad?

No, not at all. (It looks like he felt that this appointment has more with his future attachment to France, than with military achievements.)

So prince Józef continued to call himself a general, sign documents according his old position. Furthermore, in the written explanation that Poniatowski sent to Warsaw it was stated that “if there was not war for Poland, no one would ever see him in uniform”. Which literally meant resignation. (In the very same letter, though, prince Józef announced that before leaving the army he had to escort Napoleon back to Paris.)

So, dear friends, who was interested in what might have happened with prince Józef had he not been killed at Leipzig - this is the answer. He would definitely retreat with Napoleon to Paris, than resigned and… here the certainty is a little bit less, but something tells me that he would have preferred exile to going back home. But I am not one hundred percent sure.

January Suchodolski, Napoleon and Józef Antoni Poniatowski at the Battle of Leipzig

And what about Napoleon? In his memories dictated on St. Helene he wrote that he should have made prince Józef the king of Poland (ha-ha, what would he have done if the latter rejected the crown?), regretted not doing this.

But what is, in my opinion, more interesting, is to learn what the ex-emperor thought on other Poniatowski-related topics? Did he regret blaming prince Józef for Jerome’s mistakes? Had he doubts on not listening the Polish commander’s pleas to take back former Polish land instead of going to Moscow?

Alas, I am afraid, this is a thing we’ll never know…

#józef poniatowski #napoleon #poniatowski #poniatowski and napoleon #charles maurice de talleyrand périgord

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911lonestarscreentime · 3 years

Text

How balanced are the episodes of 911 Lone Star?

Lately I’ve been rewatching season 1 with my mom (she only started watching season 2 with me as it aired) and last night after we watched 1x05, she commented that she thought that the distribution of screen time was better in season 1 compared to season 2 (she does know I do screen time calculations... I don’t know if she fully understands how much of my free time is dedicated to the project but I digress). Anyway, I was caught off guard and wasn’t sure how to answer. I would like to think season 2 is better, but is it?

Obviously, it’s unrealistic to expect that every episode be equally balanced. There would be development of characters if that were the case. However, we all know at this point that when it is unbalanced, the higher times are usually skewed towards Owen. Which is an issue, and I do hope there is some change going forward. But looking at all of the screen times for each episode, it does raise the questions: Which episodes are the most balanced? And is there a difference in balance between seasons?

Answer: In season 1 it’s 1x03 and 1x09; In season 2 it’s 2x05 and 2x06. And there really is no difference in balance between seasons.

Want to know more? Check out my actual analysis below the cut.

Also just to be clear before I go into detail, only the screen times for main characters were taken into account (so not including Nancy, Gwyn, ect;) and credit-only episodes (episodes where the character received credit but did not appear on screen) were taken into account as “0.”

To answer the first question, I’ll break it down by season. The two most balanced episodes by my calculations are 1x03 “Texas Proud” and 1x09 “Awakening.” Some of the other more balanced episodes of the season include 1x04 “Act of God,” 1x05 “Studs,” and 1x10 “Austin, We Have Problem.” The most unbalanced episode (unsurprisingly) is 1x01 “Pilot.” (personal note: seeing it laid out like that makes sense that my mom would think the balance for season 1 is better, watching x03, x04, x05 back-to-back, and not watching x06, x07, x08 yet... all three of which fall in the bottom half).

In season 2, the most balanced episodes are 2x05 “Difficult Conversation” and 2x06 “Everyone and Their Brother.” Some of the other most balanced episodes include 2x02 “2100°,” 2x04 “Friends with Benefits,” 2x08 “Bad Call,” and 2x14 “Dust to Dust.” The most unbalanced episodes are (also, unsurprisingly) 2x09 “Saving Grace,” and 2x13 “One Day.” (again, my moms observations make sense since the most recent s2 episodes she has watched are the ones in the back half of season 2, all of which (with the exception of 2x14) fall in the bottom half of screen time balance).

So, is there a difference between seasons? The short answer is no. While there are more episodes that could be considered “more balanced” in season 2, there are also more episodes in season 2. And looking at my calculations (which I go into more detail about at the bottom of the post) if you remove the four episodes that fall on each quarter percentile, it lines up basically the same.

The only real difference is who has the most screen time in the unbalanced episodes. In season 1, all episodes except for 1x08 saw Owen having the most screen time. However, in season 2 there were 7 episodes where Owen didn’t have the most. That’s half the episodes of the season. Granted, 5 of these episodes fall in the top half for most balanced; but the other 2 are the episodes that are most unbalanced, with Judd having the most in 2x09 and Tommy having the most in 2x13. So however you want to interpret that... yeah. In my opinion, it is getting better. But we’ll see how season 3 goes.

Okay so now that I actually told you the answers, you might be wondering how I came to those conclusions. If you’re not a math person than feel free to ignore this last part...

Of course one could easily just look at the infographics and see that 1x03 looks fairly balanced, but I wanted data to back it up... so I may have figured out my own formula. Idk if this is like mathematically correct but it did the trick.

So I started by calculating the average for each episode. Using 1x03 as the example, the average screen time for that episode is 3.94 (rounded). Then I took the highest screen time (7.5) and subtracted the average from that. Then I did the same thing with the lowest screen time (0.5) and subtracted that from the average. Those two numbers are 3.56 and 3.54, the distance between the highest and the average and the lowest and the average. Then calculating the distance between those two numbers, the total is 0.12 - a very low number, bringing me to the conclusion that the balance for 1x03 is fairly good.

However if you do the same for 1x06, highest (12) - average (4.08) = 7.92, average (4.08) - lowest (0.5) = 3.58, 7.92 - 3.58 = 4.34 - meaning that 1x06 is more unbalanced in screen time compared to 1x03.

here are the charts if you’re interested because why not:

#911 lone star #screen time #comparison #season 1 #season 2 #screen time balance #averages #discussion #methods

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