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themagnusbane · 1 year

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All of 'Dem Things

It finally hit me that I should probably create a pinned post so my crackpot of a blog is slightly more navigable. So here you go.

Name is Noria. Pronouns are she/her. I use queer as an umbrella term because it best captures my experience as a biromantic graysexual who's attracted to women, non-binary folx, pretty boys, and G-Dragon (who is technically a pretty boy. But my man is his own category. It is what it is).

Currently watching: Between Us, GAP the Series, My School President, Old Fashion Cupcake

Present obsession: Love in the Air, KinnPorsche

All-time obsession: Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (Modaozushi), One Piece, Sandman comic, Death (as a concept), RPGs, especially Mass Effect and Dragon Age (Yes. BioWare owns my ass. Corporate fucks!).

Show Reviews/Thoughts

Gap the series: Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6, Episode 7, Episode 8, Episode 9, Episode 10, Episode 11, Episode 12

Fanfic (in order of most recent):

Never Have I Ever (Love in the Air) one shot.

Prapai finally apologies for the twink he had draped over him in episode 12. All hail the gremlin king: Saifha!!

31 Days of Wei Wuxian (Mo dao zu shi) 1/31.

It's meant to be a collection of one shots and drabbles, based off the 2021 Mayhem November prompts. I will probably get back to this soon)

The Killing Machine (Shadowhunters) 3/12.

Two separate assassin groups, pair up to kill the fucker who's put a price on their heads and on the heads of those they love. Everybody's an assassin. Except for Luke. And everybody's fucking. My ass hasn't updated this in 4 years. I need to rewatch the show if I plan on continuing this. I probably should. I hate leaving this uncompleted).

Woven in my Soul (Shadowhunters) 1/10.

What if the devil employs the services of an angel, to locate his missing prince of hell? Alec's an angel (because of course he is). Magnus's the prince of hell (duh!). And their union is about to be cataclysmic. Or it would be. If I got my head out of my ass and actually continued writing this. Urgh. I really need to rewatch Shadowhunters this holiday, so I can finish up the two fics.

Spotter (Shadowhunters) one shot.

Jace drags Alec to the gym where he meets very buff, very foine Magnus Bane. Magnus is a babe and he knows it. Honestly this is one of my most closest to life fic experiences. Cuz I did become a gym nut for a short period of time, cuz of a crush and what can I say? No knowledge or experience is ever wasted!

31 Days of Magnus Bane (Shadowhunters) 31/31

A collection of ficlets and drabbles celebrating Magnus Bane in all his magnificent glory. And unlike my Wei Wuxian one, this one is actually complete. I really should finish Wei Wuxian's fic though. Urgh!

And So It Begins (Shadowhunters Universe - TDA) one shot

Domestic fluff that has Max Lightwood-Bane asking a ton of questions, nudging his parents into getting him a sibling. Honestly this is more Shadowhunters universe than the TV show, as neither Max nor Rafa made it to the show, but they are in the books.

It's Time to Lose Your Virginity Brother Dearest (Shadowhunters) 9/9

Magnus is a stripper. Alec's having a birthday. There's some plot in there somewhere. This was actually inspired by a prompt from a tumblr mutual who isn't on here anymore, and was a blast to write.

Happy Birthday, Beautiful (Shadowhunters World Inverted) one shot

Takes place in the world inverted shadowhunters universe. Magnus isn't interested in celebrating his birthday. Alec, his boyfriend, and party planner extraordinaire, disagrees. This was my first fic on AO3 after years of lurking. Still holds a special place in my heart, truth be told.

Ficlets and drabbles

#masterpost #shadowhunters #gap the series #love in the air #mo dao su zhi

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myungodlyhour · 2 years

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DISCLAIMER FOR SPOILERS

I’m probably going to rewatch this season, but here’s my major thoughts on House of the Dragon that no one asked for (from someone who read the books and is nearly a super fan, my favorite fantasy series by a mile from all the ones I’ve read in my life)

First off, The people upset the Vaeleryons are black are racist and need to get over it. It also proves y’all have no sense didn’t understand whats shown to y’all. Jace and Luke are not Laenors kids biologically. Those kids are completely white by blood, but black by name. And Jace has the Targaryen last name due to to the deal Corlyes and Viserys made, so its only Luke with the name anyway. And neither of them end up on the throne anyway, they die. Dany is a descendant of Rhaneyra, but from Rhaneyras son with Damon. Dany is all white still for those who care so much. Fucking idiots.

The pacing in the beginning was wild, unnecessarily fast. There could’ve been 2 more episodes between that 6 year time jump (the third jump to get to the cast we have now) just to explore the characters and their dynamics more. Especially with Rhaneyra and her lover, Damon and Laena, Aemond and Vhagar bonding (or the fail of it), Aegon and Helena, Alicent being Alicent and etc. I think one of the issues I see with shows that are prequels, or shows that are trying to get to something (this show is both) always rush to get to that exciting part. Like, we know how this ends from GOT (thanks Joffrey), take your time. You have an entire other season to start filming the actual dance, two more episodes would’ve been fine so we can connect with characters and it be more tragic and upsetting with what happens cus it’s all so tragic.

The childbirth and death scene with Aemma was uncalled for. I get what they were attempting, but completely uncalled for in the way they shot that. My mother had c-sections for all 5 of her kids and was horrified when watching that. That was completely irresponsible, and I don’t want to hear anything about “that’s what happened in medieval times” pls shut the fuck up. We know that, and we kno it still happens now, we’re not stupid.

Ladies, never be an Alicent. Yes, she was forced into the situation by her father, we saw that. However, the actress that plays the older version of Alicent (Olivia Cook) said she thinks of Alicent as a woman for trump and it’s very obvious and correct. However, she does not say republican, and women need to remember that white women aren’t the only women for trump, and more importantly from the amazing GRRM himself, Alicent is a woman who uphold the patriarchy. Both things are true, she for trump and upholds the patriarchy regardless of the man in charge. Black women, Asian women, Hispanic women, old and youn women, higher educated and not women, rich and poor women, able and disabled women, straight and queer women. There’s so much more in depth I could go with Alicent, but this woman (especially the show version) has no self respect. Princess Rhaenys, The Queen Who Never Was, said it best that all Alicent wants is to make a window on the wall of her prison. This woman lets Clubfoot degrade her by showing her feet for information, puts her rapist son on the throne when he doesn’t even want it. This woman does not uplift herself at all when uplifting the patriarchy. The show is clearly attempting to make Alicent more likeable in the show and oblivious to the consequences her actions will have, but book Alicent isn’t nearly as stupid. She knows exactly what she’s doing.

Otto started the whole thing. No one was going after Alicent children when Rhaneyra ended up on the throne. He planted that seed in her head. There was never going to be a civil war between lords, he was egging it on. Otto wants power for himself and the hightowers, he doesn’t give a damn about Aegon and what’s best for the realm. And he ain’t no Littlefinger either, he plays the game too publicly and messy, that’s why his ass got caught and fired the first time.

Why are people shocked and outraged with what Damon did? He’s always shown signs of what a piece shit of a husband he is to literally all of his other wives. Y’all think Rhaeneyra was going to change him? There such a power struggle and balance in daemons favor that he absolutely takes advantage of constantly, and episode 10 showed it perfectly. This man has ambitions and that’s never going to change, it’s always a high chance that that ambition will trump his love for anyone. It’s very obvious and I’m not shocked that Viserys didn’t tell him about the dream, I wouldn’t either. He’s reckless alas the Rouge Prince nickname and I doubt he would take it seriously. Granted, they shouldn’t have taken the scene out with him hugging his daughters after their mother passed, but he’s overall not a good person. Matt Smith (the actor who plays him) just does an outstanding job.

Some people are forgetting that this show is based off a book that is not a novel, but a history book written by a maester with testimonies from others. The book is based off rumors and gossip by onlookers. None of these characters have a pov like in ASOIAF books. The show is attempting to be objective and show what actually happened during the dance, which automatically signals changes are to be made. And the change they did with the fight at Storms End makes complete sense. No one was up there with Aemond and Luke but Aemond and Luke. Everyone knows that Aemond has resentment, a grudge, and wants Luke’s eye for repayment for what he did to him. So why do people think it’s far fetched that the person writing this history book wouldn’t believe it was an accident when all Aemond has shown for years is animosity for his nephew?

The seeds were planted from the jump. Viserys literally said the Targaryen control over dragons is an illusion. Why would anyone think they could actually control those beasts? They are intelligent creatures who have autonomy. Which ks why Aemond had every right to claim Vhaegar. They’re not passed down. You want one, go get one. Was it wrong for him to do it at that time yes, but you can’t hold a dragon. That dragon could have rejected the little girl who they were going to give Vhaegar to, because dragons choose their riders, not the other way around. And it’s obvious that Aemond used Vhaegar as an object and symbol and toy, not a champion with the respect she deserved from a rider. You don’t play in the sky with a big ass war dragon like that. VHAEGAR IS A WAR DRAGON TRAINED TO KILL NOT FUCK AROUND. You might have been playing, but dragons can feel the emotions of their rider. She felt the anger Aemond had and acted on it. Arrax blew fire and Vhaegar said not only will I not be disrespected by a child dragon, but I know how to get us out of here alive because I been here before. She has war flashbacks and only saw an enemy at that point. That’s exactly why Rhaneyra said she didn’t want to start a war with dragons, because although team black has more, theirs haven’t seen war. And neither did Aemond, so of course he couldn’t control her. Neither could Luke control Arrax, bc Arrax felt Luke being terrified in that situation which made him terrified and decide to act and protect them both. Arrax was not in the wrong, he was antagonized and defended himself (and Luke). That was a fight between dragons who didn’t give a damn about their riders command, they’re trying to survive just as their riders are. Luke literally had to calm Arrax before they even took off because he was scared as hell seeing that big ass dragon and having to fly inside a storm. Aemond is a perfect example of ducking around ad finding out. You don’t do stupid shit like that. Now he either has a choice in season 2 to go home and say it was an accident or play it off that he did it in cold blood because either way, he’ll be known as a Kinslayer, and the incident will be written in the history books exactly how it was in Fire & Blood.

Aemond was a kid bullied by his brother and nephews, then got disabled and bullied for it and constantly reminded of it, and lives in a world that treats disabled people like shit, very much like our own. I’m not saying all disabled people would do this, but what would people think this character in this world and personality and family was going to do when he gained possession of a big as dragon, the biggest and oldest one alive? Terrorize those mother duckers back.

RIP Lucareys Vaelaryon. He followed his mothers orders and came as a messenger not a warrior. That poor baby just wanted to go home. He didn’t even want to go. He shouldn’t have been there in the first place and I stand by that. He had no confidence to win over the Baratheon’s loyalty, it was going to fail regardless. That baby died terrified just wanting to go home.

Even knowing that Luke was going to die going into the show and episode (from the book and not the leak, whoever leaks stuff are shifty people ruining stuff for others like a get a life), it still had me tearing up and on the edge of my seat panicking. For them to fly through a storm and think they’re in the clear when they get to a clear sky, and have them be shown clear as day getting devoured is awful but genius and a beautiful scene visually. Very well done scene.

I’m not ready for 🩸 & 🧀 that’s going to be horrific. I’m interested in seeing how they’re going to go abou that in the show version.

No matter what team you’re on (I’m neither despite loving Rhaneyra), you have to acknowledge that Team green is doing everything illegally, which fundamentally makes them in the wrong. Alicent had no documentation that Viserys said he wanted aegon to be king, which he didn’t. He was talking about Aegon the Conqueror and his prophecy of A Song of Ice and Fire (the white walkers), not his incompetent, abusive, rapist son. Alicent heard what she wanted to hear, which is Aegons name and ran with it. And she knew this man had dementia. He thought he was talking to Rhaneyra. HE LITERALLY CALLED ALICENT AEMMA (his dead first wife) AT THE FUNERAL FOR LEANA.

Viserys should’ve made Rhaneyra his hand, then she would’ve been there at his death and would know exactly how to rule because she was at his side to see how it’s done. She never should’ve been at dragon stone, especially with his clear demise. He should’ve made his daughter Halena marry Rhaneyras son Jacerys to keep the peace. But even at his weakest point he still showed up for his daughter, because that’s what a father does. The actor (Paddy) who plays him truly deserves an Emmy. Phenomenal job.

The vast majority of these characters will do terrible things, including my girl Rhaneyra. They’ll have tragic endings (some deserved more than others). Unlike Tolkiens middle-earth that is good vs evil, GRRM who was inspired by that world took that and explored very, very morally gray characters.

And for all those complaining about it not being accurate, no movie adaptation ever will be a 100% copy of the book. It’s impossible, and every writer and author knows that, but for some reason fans/readers are incapable or refuse to understand that. The conversation is always was it good changes or bad ones when authors are upset, they’re never upset that things are changed. Unlike with most seasons of the GOT show, GRRM has heavy input and is said they are listening to him and he’s signing off on these changes. So if he’s happy and/or fine with it and is possibly suggesting it, then why are you mad and complaining on the basis that it’s not 100% accurate? And again, the book itself probably isn’t accurate on the events that happened itself anyway.

And the joke that Vhaegar thought Visenya was still on her back attempting to conquer Dorne and being like “we did it Visenya, we got Dorne! Wait—-what happened to your 👁” is hilarious 😂 and probably the most accurate thing out of the whole show (I really hope we get a prequel prequel on the conquest, how epic that would be)

#house of the dragon #game of thrones #a song of ice and fire #george r r martin #fire and blood #aemond one eye #prince aemond #aemond targaryen #daemon targaryen #rhaenyra targaryen #luke targaryen #dance of the dragons #vhaegar

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malec-ao3feed · 11 months

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by sky_neverending a shadowhunters chatfic full of pining, flirting, idiocy, and pride. Words: 1030, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English Fandoms: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: F/F, M/M Characters: Magnus Bane, Alec Lightwood, Isabelle Lightwood, Clary Fray, Simon Lewis, Raphael Santiago, Jace Wayland Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Magnus Bane & Alec Lightwood, Magnus Bane & Isabelle Lightwood, Clary Fray/Isabelle Lightwood, Simon Lewis/Raphael Santiago Additional Tags: chatfic, Texting, Alternate Universe - High School, Pansexual Simon Lewis, Asexual Raphael Santiago, Gay Raphael Santiago, Lesbian Clary Fray, Bisexual Isabelle Lightwood, Bisexual Magnus Bane, Gay Disaster Alec Lightwood, Everyone Is Gay, except Jace, Flirting, Good Sibling Isabelle Lightwood, Raphael is done w this shit, Other Additional Tags to Be Added

#IFTTT #ao3feed #fanfic #shadowhunters #tmi #malec #magnus bane #alec lightwood #magnus x alec #malec fanfic

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belle-keys · 3 years

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Unpopular opinion: I like Matthew and Cordelia friendship? I think it be unhealthy for it to turn romantic, yes, but they were good honest friends to each other as all the crap was coming down on them in Chain of Iron. It’s about the honesty that they were able to have with each other that is the basis for their relationship and the fact they are quite similar in personality (James has a type in saying). That being said Matthew crush on Cordelia is so comp het it hurts.

Matthew isn’t a bad friend, or at least he hasn’t been a bad friend to the merry thieves for all their friendship, HES depressed and suffering but that doesn’t mean he deserves to be abandoned because he doesn’t notice Thomas has a crush on Alastair. similarly, Matthew and James are good parabaratai and the fact James WASNT mad at Matthew for leaving means he understands why things were happening and doesn’t fault them for doing what they thought was right with the facts they had…why is it hard for the fandom to understand then.

James doesn’t need to forgive Grace, or want to be around her just because she was forced to do things. He’s aloud to dislike her for as long as he Damn well wants too.

Uh…also (slaps Matthew) this boy can hold so much bpd diagnosis in him.

Charles is gonna be the first of the family to learn what happened with Matthew and Charlotte and like he’s gonna be mad, but I think he will hold his secret. I just generally think Charles and Matthew will get closer later in life (Chain of thorns). Frankly? I think Charles, when he wasn’t with his mother, an interesting angle would be him being third parent to Matthew in their younger years but instead of accepting the responsibility like let’s say Julian did, he grew bitter at Matthew over it, especially as they they grew up and both realized they were queer and like went two different directions.

Cordelia is a great protagonist YOUR ALL JUST MEAN! Shes held to such an impossible standard sometimes and it infuriates me.

None of the tlh Herondales would begrudge Tessa “moving on” with Jem and her children in modern times.

Clary also isn’t a bad protagonist! She’s obviously a first attempt by a young author but she’s not BAD! Shes quite a badass and always spoke her mind, it’s HER story not Jace and that’s pretty cool.

The fact that all the books are trilogies now fucking SUCK! she should go back to non ridged books, too many plotlines to stuff into a trilogy.

Aight there is a lot going on here:

1. I agree about the Matthew thing, in that Fairstairs is a good friendship and I actually think it would be a nice romantic interlude but I damn well know it isn’t gonna be endgame. I don’t want it to be. That being said, Matthew and Cordelia’s relationship is honest and good.

2. Heronchild bestest parabatai, wbk. I don’t think Matthew is a bad friend either. It’s not a matter of the black or white where a character is “good” or “bad” in my book. It’s just a really complicated situation.

3. Sure, James doesn’t need to forgive Grace. He’s entitled to hate her forever if he wants. But, I love Grace, and I wish that he won’t.

4. I’d stay away from, uh, diagnosing Matthew with a mental disorder of that sort. I just don’t feel comfortable being like “Character X is bipolar” if it wasn’t explicitly stated or if I’m not a mental health professional, especially because Reasons.

5. Yeah, I agree that Charles is redeemable. That’s something I’m 90% sure will happen if he doesn’t die.

6. Yes, about Cordelia.

7. Yes, about the Herondales.

8. Yes, about Clary. She’s generic asf, but as you said, a clear “first attempt” at writing.

9. Nah, I love the trilogies tbh. I love the separation of the major plot into three acts, and I think Cassie will find a way to tie everything together well by the end, especially since we have SOBH.

I wish I could go into more detail about my thoughts on each of these as I usually do, but your ask was PACKED so my responses for each had to be clipped.

Sorry :(

#tsc ask #ask #anon ask #books #the last hours #tlh #ya books #chain of iron #chain of thorns #chain of gold #cordelia carstairs #tsc #the shadowhunter chronicles #matthew fairchild #james herondale

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sky-neverending · 5 months

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Kinda obsessed with Alec in chatfic always making sure Magnus eaten 🥹

Also very excite for drunken Magnus love declarations 😬

aaa i’m glad!! protective!alec is one my of favs to write, especially in this au because i get to toy with magnus’s family dynamics and what that means for how he takes care of himself.

drunken magnus love declarations will be coming very very soon eheheheh

thank you for the ask and i’m glad your enjoying the fic!! it means a lot to me

#sky’s stardust #sky answers #6 queers and a jace

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bookclub4m · 2 years

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Episode 137 - Music Non-Fiction

This episode we discuss non-fiction books about Music! We talk about sea shanties, whether musical scores count as non-fiction, reading about music we’re unfamiliar with, how we interpret lyrics, and more! Plus: We made a playlist of music for you to listen to based on the books we read!

You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or your favourite podcast delivery system.

In this episode

Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | RJ Edwards

Things We Read (or tried to…)

808s & Otherworlds by Sean Avery Medlin

808s & Heartbreak (Wikipedia)

Sailor Song: The Shanties and Ballads of the High Seas by Gerry Smyth

Wellerman (Wikipedia)

Uproot: Travels in 21st-Century Music and Digital Culture by Jace Clayton

Girls to the Front: The True Story of the Riot Grrrl Revolution by Sara Marcus

Disasterama!: Adventures in the Queer Underground 1977 to 1997 by Alvin Orloff

They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us by Hanif Abdurraqib

You're History: The Twelve Strangest Women in Music by Lesley Chow

Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes to A Tribe Called Quest by Hanif Abdurraqib

Everybody's Doin' It: Sex, Music, and Dance in New York, 1840-1917 by Dale Cockrell

Companion Playlist for this Episode

Spotify

YouTube

Other Media We Mentioned

Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain by Oliver Sacks

33 ⅓ Series

We Oughta Know (How Four Women Ruled the '90s and Changed Canadian Music) by Andrea Warner

Hip Hop Family Tree, Vol. 1: 1970s-1981 by Ed Piskor

Burning Down The Haus: Punk Rock, Revolution and the Fall of the Berlin Wall by Tim Mohr

Fargo Rock City: A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural North Dakota by Chuck Klosterman

Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story by Chuck Klosterman

This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession by Daniel J. Levitin

Todd in the Shadows

One Hit Wonderland: "Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Dop)"

Billbuds

I Only Listen to the Mountain Goats

Punch Up the Jam

Song Exploder

All Songs Considered

Brave New Faves

BBC Radio 6

Pump Up the Volume (Wikipedia)

The Boat That Rocked (Wikipedia)

Iron and the Soul by Henry Rollins

Vintage Sadness by Hanif Abdurraqib

Hospice by The Antlers (Wikipedia)

“Hospice tells the story of a relationship between a hospice worker and a female patient suffering from terminal bone cancer”

Master of Reality by John Darnielle

Let's Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste by Carl Wilson

Links, Articles, and Things

Episode 008 - Christmas/Holiday Reads

22 Winter Holiday Books by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour) Authors

Manga in Libraries: Spooky & Scary Manga

Anime Planet booklist

Google Doc

Episode 125 - Literary Theory & Literary Criticism

Hark! Podcast

Harvey Pekar (Wikipedia)

Canadian Content - How the MAPL system works (Wikipedia)

Riot grrrl (Wikipedia)

Vote for which romance genre we’ll discuss in our February episode!

Amish

Contemporary

Fantasy/Fairy Tale

Western

20 Non-Fiction Music books by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) Authors

Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers’ Advisory Podcasts chooses a genre at random and we read and discuss books from that genre. We also put together book lists for each episode/genre that feature works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) authors. All of the lists can be found here.

A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance by Hanif Abdurraqib

Rock Roll Jihad: A Muslim Rock Star's Revolution by Salman Ahmad

Rebel Music: Race, Empire and the New Muslim Youth Culture by Hisham D. Aidi

Boyz N the Void: A Mixtape to My Brother by G'Ra Asim

Violence Girl: East LA Rage to Hollywood Stage, a Chicana Punk Story by Alice Bag

Black Music by Amiri Baraka (published as Leroi Jones)

Queen Bey: A Celebration of the Power and Creativity of Beyoncé Knowles-Carter edited by Veronica Chambers

Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation by Jeff Chang

Decoding Despacito: An Oral History of Latin Music by Leila Cobo

Spitboy Rule: Tales of a Xicana in a Female Punk Band by Michelle Gonzales

House of Music: Raising the Kanneh-Masons by Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason

Gone: A Girl, A Violin, A Life Unstrung by Min Kym

My Name Is Love: the Darlene Love Story by Darlene Love

Black Lives Matter and Music: Protest, Intervention, Reflection by Portia K. Maultsby

Soul Serenade: Rhythm, Blues & Coming of Age Through Vinyl by Rashod Ollison

Approaching Fire by Michelle Porter

Run As One: My Story by Errol Ranville

Hungry Listening: Resonant Theory for Indigenous Sound Studies by Dylan Robinson

Buffy Sainte-Marie: It's My Way by Blair Stonechild

Musicians from a Different Shore: Asians and Asian Americans in Classical Music by Mari Yoshihara

Give us feedback!

Fill out the form to ask for a recommendation or suggest a genre or title for us to read!

Check out our Tumblr, follow us on Twitter or Instagram, join our Facebook Group, or send us an email!

Join us again on Tuesday, November 16th we’ll be talking about Adaptations of Books into other media!

Then on Tuesday, December 7th we’ll be discussing the genre of Thrillers!

#music #nonfiction #episodes

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tsc-living · 3 years

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I'm not trying to come off as mean because I think your opinions are super valid and I actually really appreciate a different view on Cordelia, but why is it that when a male character in TSC is lovesick for a girl/guy it's romantic and adorable and said guy is seen as near perfect, but when a girl is it's seen as just being lovesick and weak/pathetic? I just don't really understand 😓

Lol no, I don't like it either, not when it's written the way Cordelia was written. I think I speak out more now, on Cordelia, because I have more confidence. I don't care if I lose followers, and I don't care if people come into my DMs and attack me for my thoughts. When I created this blog, I cared more about those things so I kept my mouth shut.

I'll also address the fact that obsession (even predatory behavior) from a man aimed at a woman has a long standing history of being romanticised and the predominantly female based readership of TSC may still be subscribed to that way of thinking. Paired with women's internalized misogyny (think: women's behaviour to Taylor Swift, Kristen Stewart and Jameela Jamil), Cordelia will automatically be less favourable to some. This is something I've considered in my own analysis of Cordelia and I still feel confident that my dislike of her character isn't based in that inherent idea. We must also address the often times creepy, near enough fetishization of mlm characters by females with the uwu cute baby gay boy attitude (think: Nico Di Angelo from the Riordanverse). If Alec, Magnus, Kit, Ty, Kieran, Mark, etc were obsessive over their respective Male counterparts to Cordelia's extent with James, it would just fuel that creepy attitude. We do kind of see it with Kit and Ty anyway. The only excuse I can respect for that is mlm or queer people in general appreciate the reality of the gay experience when you're young and still learning, and CC cut it off at the knees and we are desperately trying to keep it alive. I digress.

So please, without further adieu, have my opinions on Shadowhunter men in TSC.

James: Get your head in the game dude. Liked him in TFtSHA but he's gone downhill from there. 2/10

Matthew: Gives me anxiety, not sure if I like him being the cornerstone for bisexual representation, but we'll see. Has started yet another fucking love triangle. Again, I like him in TFtSHA but has gone downhill. 2/10

Alastair: I like him but that's just because I relate to him. Can't wait to find out more about myself him as the story goes on. 7/10 (docked points bc he's kind of a douche canoe).

Jace: Obsessive. As an adult (the age I am now when I read Chog), his love for Clary makes me supremely uncomfortable for 90% of the series. 3/10

Simon: Again, his teen angsty crush on Clary I can do without, but when he starts crushing on Izzy, it's not as obsessive and lovesick as it is with Jordelia. He has the vampire thing to think about, and the getting stuck in hell part of it, and there's more depth to his character (although not enough, let's be honest). 8/10

Alec: Manages to focus on things other than Magnus for thirty seconds. We even have the entirety of CoHF where Alec is suffering with his fear for Magnus' life, but we don't know that deep until we have the conversation between Jace and Alec. Good man, loved the fact he got some character development, cares more than just about his boyfriend. 10/10.

Will: Bro. His character all around is... a lot. He gets praised as this broody, beautiful, perfect type, but during my reread every time he waxed poetic about Tessa I rolled my eyes. He is just as bad as Cordelia, but I do think CC rounded out his character a little better eventually (I hope she does the same with Cordelia). I like Will in the glimpses we get of him as an adult and a father more than I like the Will in TID. 5/10 for TID, but overall 6/10

Jem: This man deserved so much more in depth character work, but at the very least he wasn't boiled down to 'I love Tessa and that's all I'm capable of'. He is driven by love, but he loves more than just Tessa. 9/10

Gideon & Gabriel: We don't get a lot of their side of the story and Gabriel is like 19 and dating a 15 year old so we're moving right along. 4/10 for Gideon (wish it could be more but we dont know hime) and 2/10 for Gabriel (because he did make me laugh).

Julian: I just... no. I don't like Blackstairs story very much. Julian kinda freaks me out and his obsession with Emma is A Lot™️. 4/10 (because he loves his family and has been through too much).

Mark: Hey look, a character that has a relationship and isn't entirely consumed by it. There's some poly confusion (like gay panic, but for polyam). I support him, and I wish him well. 7/10

Ty: Not sure he knows what's up. Good egg. Have yet to see his (in depth) POV of Kit so this could change, but so far he's pretty chill. 10/10

Kit: Get a grip, then get a clue. Is perhaps a little obsessive as the books wear on, but his character is balanced more in favour of trying to do what he needs to do and trying his best and that's less motivated by his (unacknowledged) crush. If he dissolves into a lovesick and obsessive character with little to no other personality traits, then his score will go down. 9/10.

#long post #cordelia discourse #asks #anon ask #unpopular opinion

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johnseedfanclub · 3 years

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microscope, mixtape, ufo, and parachute for Angel please!!

okay....This one’s quiiiiite lengthy sorry about that 😅😅😅

Thanks for the ask! ♥️

Hope y’all like this one~

microscope: zoom in – describe the little, insignificant details about an OC.

Angel loves Thai iced tea and sweet drinks! He only drinks coffee for the caffeine but doesn’t actually like coffee (he prefers his with a lot of sugar/flavoring to cover up the bitter coffee taste)

Angel wishes he could have a pet but is scared he might hurt them with his bad mood swings

He secretly loves and wants plushies. He also has an attachment to them but never admits it because he’s “too old” for them.

His type is brunette, charming, suave, rich/wealthy men (not literally but is a nice add on yk~) , with light colored eyes (coincidentally it sounds like John but he can’t stand him)

Actually acts out/badly for a bit of attention he usually does it for shits and giggles but does it to receive a reaction out of someone whether it be from the person he’s talking to or the audience watching

He actually wishes people gave him more affection and reassurance. He never truly knows how much his friends appreciate him an a lot of times he feels like they don’t much. He doesn’t tell them the truth though because he doesn’t want to come off as jealous, needy or as an “attention seeker”

Likes dressing feminine more than masculine. He absolutely HATES men’s clothing Hawaiian shirts, turtlenecks, tuxedos/formal wear are the only exceptions (he would pretend to like the boxes of men’s clothing he would receive from friends as gifts. Would never even wear them. Maybe once if he doesn’t want to hurt their feelings)

Canonically he is “blonde” but he’s actually a brunette (light brown hair) but likes to dye his hair blonde instead

ufo: identity! what are some key identifying qualities or traits of your OC(s)? how to they identify in regards to gender/sexuality?

Special Qualities: his personality. Angel has a very unique personality compared to everyone he knows. He has this funny, mean/sarcastic, chill vibe to him. He always teases and plays around with his friends, not to mention he’s quite blunt and honest with anyone (even more harsh to people who annoy him). And though he seems like a small angry chihuahua at times, he’s a real sweetheart to everyone. He is never afraid to try anything new, no matter now fucking crazy or dangerous it may be he’s totally down to do it. That’s why both Eden’s Gate and the Resistance fear

Good Traits: He’s comedic (even at the worst times or when you need it), is the best at throwing house parties (even at 30 years old), he can help you with any favor it doesn’t even matter what it is (almost impossible to ask him of something he can’t do), he’ll take care of you when you’re sick/hungover/injured/depressed/having a panic attack, he’s a great cook and willing to share whatever he makes with anyone (if there’s enough), and he’s always generous (a big gift giver)

Bad Traits: He can a bit overly aggressive/rude (sometimes accidentally), he’s bad at remembering/keeping tract of things (he knows everyone’s favorite animal but totally forgets their birthdays and/or names), tends to crack under too much (bad) pressure and become extremely aggressive or violent, holds in his true feelings and emotions, has really bad mood swings, can be easy to piss off, can be too loud (mouthed) at times

Sexuality: Gay (attracted to men)

Gender identity: depends on the way he dresses/his mood normally he prefers he/him/they/them but if he dresses more feminine (wears makeup, tight dresses, feminine accessories) you could call him by she/him, or even they/them. (No pronoun preferences when he cross dresses)

#squad: who’s friends with who? what are the squad dynamics like?

Angel has few friends outside Hope County. The main people he’s friends with are Mary May, Jerome, Staci Pratt, Sharky Boshaw, Hurk Drubman Jr, Adelaide, Faith Seed, the Angel Twins (Jeremiah and Isaiah), the Whitetails, and a few of the peggies of Eden’s Gate

The only squads that Angel are apart of are

Sharky + Hurk = The Bomb Squad

Peggies = Eden’s “Gays”

Angel, Sharky, and Hurk are like the best and worst pairing. They’re all sweet, funny, and humble but can be obnoxious and destructive as FUCK. Anytime they go somewhere to find/finish some mission. It always ends in them leaving a trail of either, fire, gunpowder, or an explosion of some sort (either vehicle, silo, bliss tank, or outpost/building). Don’t even ask or mention what they do for leisure time. More crazy stunts and tricks that could put any normal person with a normal brain in the ER in critical condition. And at the bar? Jesus Christ. They order enough alcohol to kill 5 men but somehow make it through the night. And if they aren’t drinking, they’re sure as hell smoking weed or whatever the fuck Sharky has been brewing in his trailer (it’s most likely a 50/50 chance that you’ll pass out or die from it). They’re definitely one crazy ass group, nothing you would ever even expect, not even out of a crazy...Hollywood...Michael Bay movie. A feminine Latino city gay, an old cheery bomb-rocket enthusiast, and a insane pyromaniac that has a warrant. There definitely isn’t a dull moment with these three. But...you’re good as gone if you’re stuck with them for more than 11 minutes.

Angel and the Eden’s “Gays” are a pretty decent sized group of 6 men (plus the Twins some days) that are the few queer men of Eden’s Gate. Originally they seemed quite closeted because of the cult’s religion and some of its rules. But with Angel around they soon became another loud, obnoxious group of men. Before the whole group was “founded” the original 6 peggies (including John Seed himself) didn’t like Angel at all because of how loud and “out” he seemed (not to mention the carelessness). But as Angel visited the bunkers more often (after he was kidnapped by John) they slowly grew fond of him. Angel would always do kind gestures to learn more about Eden’s followers by helping them with chores, tasks, bringing them food and treats from outside the compound (though he wasn’t supposed to), and even help them find comfort in their own troubles. Though Angel liked a lot of the members he really favored 6 different followers in particular Connor, Michael, Anthony, Jace, and Jefferey (those who were the first followers he interacted with). Now they’re known as Eden’s Gays troublemakers. They sneak out to the Spread Eagle to drink, host secret parties in Hope County, and smoke as well. There isn’t a moment where they aren’t breaking the cult’s rules. They’re the only group of peggies some of the resistance members trust mostly because Angel made a rule of not attacking or harming them and actually enjoy being around. They’re definitely always getting into trouble with both sides too, much like Angel, starting small fights during church/sermons, fooling around on the job, or going around Hope County not to attack the locals but pester the living shit out of them. They almost stop being violent mean peggies and instead just become this goofy comedic group of young men. (Fun Fact: the “Eden’s Gays” were actually a thing before the cult became hostile *during its first few years in Hope County* and John was mostly the “leader” of the crazy group)

mixtape: 5 songs that describe your OC(s) or songs they themselves would like.

Ohohohooooo~

(The possibilities are endless for this one so I’m sticking to a Baddie playlist he would listen to)

May I ~ Flo Mili

Literal Legend ~ Ayesha Erotica

Yikes ~ Nicki Minaj

I like it ~ Cardi B

Sway With Me ~ Saweetie & GALAXARA

parachute: who does your OC(s) trust the most? who makes them feel safe? who would they do absolutely anything for?

Missy (my U.S. Marshal oc), is one of the few people he trusts the most. During the time from when he was arrested to when he was released out of jail (and transferring to Hope County Jail), she was always like a mother figure to him. And though she was supposed to investigate Angel’s murder and drug charges, she treated him kindly and respect, instead of a criminal. Without Missy, Angel might as well been as good as dead since she was the one that helped him move to a psychiatric ward instead of federal prison after discovering who he really was. Even after he was released, Missy still treated him as if he was her own son. She allowed him to stay at her penthouse apartment when Angel told her his father had disown him and he had no where to go. She always cared about him, made sure he ate, drank water, took care of himself, and even helped him get a better mindset. Though Angel still teases Missy by calling her “Mama Bear (Missy)” or “Mother Goose (or hen)” he’s forever grateful she was always there for him.

#deputy oc headcanons #farcry oc headcanons #farcry oc #far cry 5 oc #oc: angel sanchez #far cry deputy #deputy oc #far cry 5 #fc5 #far cry #john seed #jacob seed #joseph seed #farcry 5 #far cry fandom #far cry fanfiction

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2ndnpc · 4 years

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OK time to start the Lovestruck Questionnaire by @walkerorteganazarioramsey (i hope that’s correct)!

Im gonna do these in small batches so that its not one a day but not all at once.

1. what is your favorite series?

Its definitely a tie between Love and Legends and Reining Passions. I’m a sucker for high fantasy and both are written so well! Sin with me is also up there but only for Onyx

2. top 5 male characters?

In no particular order it would have to be Nikolai, Sevastian, Roman, Yoshimitsu (but not in his own route ironically), and Malakai

3. top 5 female characters?

Again in no particular order: Onyx, Aurora, Amara, Helena, and Vinca

this was hard cuz i have so many favorites

4. top 3 nb/gender-queer characters?

Galen, Jace, and Baphomet (just for their design as I skipped through JD’s route for hearts)

5. favorite character overall?

Absolutely has to be Miss Helena Klein, she will always be my favorite even if that ending was trash

6. character you hate most?

It changes all the time but right now it’s a threeway tie between the Witch Queen, the Summer Goddess, and Nista. They are all just the absolute worst people for so many reasons

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marauder-level-chaos · 4 years

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Why So Complicated Chapter One

Welcome to yet another Malec fic. This one’s a High School AU set in Alec’s and Magnus’ senior year. I think I am going to make this a multi chapter thing. Here is part one. And this is the masterlist. If you wanna be added to the taglist please let me know. Anyway I wrote some angsty things yesterday so here’s some fluff/not so angsty fic. Besides, who doesn’t love some good malec? Reblogs and feedback is very much appreciated. It encourages me to write more. I will now stop ranting and I will let you lovelies get to it.

Warnings: swearing, mutual pining, Magnus and Alec being one joint dumbass unit

6:00AM. It was 6:00 AM. Summer was officially over and now Alexander Lightwood would have to go back to that god forsaken school of his. It’s not as though he didn’t enjoy learning because he did. He just didn’t care for half of those stupid, racist, homophobic bastards that he had to deal with for another fucking year. On the bright side, at least this was the last year. He would never have to look at their sorry faces after graduation. With that in mind, Alec reached over and turned off his alarm. He threw on the same black AC/DC tshirt and the black jeans that he had worn for the last three years of high school.

“IZZY!” He shouted as he knocked on his sister’s door. She was two years younger but 200% times more annoying. She was sixteen but still could not get up on her own. Luckily, and unlike most other days, she did not take too long to get ready.

“For fuck’s sake, Alec, you need new clothes. Please just let me take you shopping, please?”

“Iz, I don't go to school to impress people with my style choices.”

“You really need a boyfriend so he can take that stick out of your ass, you know?” Alec rolled his eyes at that. Isabelle was one of the few people in this whole entire world who knew about Alec’s sexuality and he wanted to keep it that way. He was not prepared to come out to a bunch of homophobes. Least of all to Jace Herondale. He was the asshole on the football team who would make Alec’s life hell if he ever found out about Alec’s secret. Sometimes Alec wondered if maybe Izzy was right. Maybe the best way to tackle this fear was to face it.

7:50AM. The first period was about to begin and like every other time, Alec was there early. Now, Mr. Lightwood was a straight A student, but to say that he loved all subjects equally would be extremely unfair. However, Law was something Alec had been passionate about since a very young age. And for the first time in a very long time, he was excited.

“Hey, is this seat taken?” A voice snapped Alec out of his thoughts about being a lawyer. He looked up to see a handsome man with gold eyeliner smiling down at him. Normally, Alec would have preferred to sit alone, but today something was different. Maybe it was the smile this man was flashing at him but Alec shook his head and made room for the man.

“Hi. I’m Magnus Bane.”

***

5:00AM. Yeah ok, that was a little early to get up, but Magnus really needed the time to get ready. Besides, he was excited for senior year. He had decided that this was finally going to be the year where he gets a boyfriend. It was no secret that Magnus was bisexual, but he had only been with girls so far. This is the year that he was going to change that. He was going to show assholes like Jace Herondale that queer people could be happy too. He slowly headed into his bathroom, took out his gold eyeliner, and started getting dressed. This was going to be one hell of a year.

8:00AM. Oh great! It was the first day of class and Magnus was already running late. Normally, he wouldn’t have cared. However, today he was running late for a law class. Magnus may not have found his calling yet but he knew that law was something he had always been passionate about. So here he was, running into class, trying to find a seat. And it seemed that the only seat remaining was next to this tall handsome boy. Magnus knew that boy. Magnus had been crushing on that boy since they were 13 years old. With a deep breath and a disarming smile, Magnus walked up to him.

“Hey, is this seat taken?” That’s when Alec looked up at Magnus with those deep blue eyes of his. Somehow, Magnus noticed, his eyes looked even bluer up close. Relief was evident in his eyes when Alec shook his head ever so slightly and invited Magnus to come sit with him. Magnus slowly slid into the empty chair beside Alexander Lightwood and smiled his best smile yet.

“Hi. I’m Magnus Bane.”

Taglist:

@thatwinchestergirl67 @alfredhoe420 @literally-magnus-bane @tolkienlockian @lucy-lane-deserves-better

#malec #magnus x alec #alec lightwood #magnus bane #shadowhunters #why so complicated

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colesartandbooksandstuff · 3 years

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My Auto-Buy Authors

I wanted to make a quick short post about authors that I will automatically buy any books that they publish. I had seen this a little bit around bookstagram and thought I’d give it a shot.

1- Leigh Bardugo: If King of Scars is as good or better than Six of Crows/Shadow and Bone, there is a very good shot that she will be my favorite author. I have given every of her books 5 stars (the only other two authors with that achievement being Angie Thomas and Holly Black). I am currently finishing Ruin and Rising, and King of Scars is a few down on my TBR. Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom are #4 and #3 of my favorite books of all time. (Desperately holding out for both Six of Crows 3 and Alex Stern 2) *I have rewatched the character trailer for Shadow and Bone on Netflix far too many times- I need that show NOW!

2- Karen M. McManus: My second favorite movie is The Breakfast Club, so when I saw One of Us is Lying for sale, it really could have been hit or miss. I finished it in 2 (very late) nights. Since then I’ve gotten each of her books as soon as I could, and absolutely can not wait until she interprets Ferris Bueler’s Day Off next fall. *Also One of Us is Lying is going to air on Peacock and I will be first in line to stream it.

3- Becky Albertalli: Simon vs was one of the first books that got me back into reading, with Leah on The Offbeat really drawing me back in. What if Its Us broke my heart and made me want a start dating. Yes, No, Maybe so got me thrown into politics more so than I already was. I love all of her books (I haven’t read Upside yet, but after that I’ll be caught up). She seems like such a genuine author and that trait is found in her characters. We need more books with queer characters and happy endings and for that reason I will always support her.

4- Angie Thomas: I was LATE to the game on The Hate U Give. When I say late, I mean that I didn’t read it until this summer (I know- it was always checked out of the library and hardcovers are expensive). I picked it and On the Come Up off of book outlet and oh my god was I kicking myself for waiting so long. I will be reading Concrete Rose as soon as I get the chance; straight to the top of the TBR. I would love to see her write a romance with Becky or Adam Silvera, since theyre friends in real life. Similar to Becky, we need more diverse stories and the best way to increase the number of them is to prove to publishers that readers need them too.

5- Cassandra Clare: The Shadowhunter Chronicles is my favorite series. I’ve read them all, including the short stories and spin off series. I know that some people don’t like that there are so many books, but I do. I miss the OG crew (Clary, Izzy, Simon, Jace, and Alec) but the new characters are nice too. That being said, I can’t wait for Sword Catcher to come out and hope that it is even better than TSC.

*Honorable Mentions:

-Sarah J Maas: I’ve only read Crescent City (loved it) and Catwoman, but all 4 ACOTAR books are on my night stand. I’m have 4.5 books to finish before then (I KNOW I KNOW I KNOW), but then I’ll finally start. Once I finish those I’ll get to Throne of Glass (which I do want to read, but to be honest, it likely won’t be until the middle/late summer that I get to start). I’ve heard good things and liked what I read, so I’m sure that once I read some more, its a safe bet that she’ll be one of my auto-buys

-Adam Silvera: I have read all of Adam’s books except for History is all you left me (on my night stand) and More Happy Than Not. I loved What If It’s Us, liked TBDaTE, wasn’t in love with Infinity Son, but I want to give it another shot. Odds are, if he publishes something, I’ll pick it up. I know that it will have diverse characters, but I don’t know if I’ll love it.

-Casey McQuiston: Red, White, and Royal Blue is my second favorite book of all time. It is the reason that I am taking a poli-sci minor and that in turn lead to me wanting to go to law school. It made me want to write my own queer love story (in progress- barely). However, she has only released one book. I will be picking up her sophomore novel (One Last Stop- 6/1/20) as soon as I can get my hands on it, but I can’t say that I’ll pick up everything without her repeatedly releasing books I love.

*Queer Books: I’m bi, and I worked at a bookstore for over a year. I own most of the queer books that we sold, 1) because I want books I can relate to, and 2) because I feel obligated to support those authors and those stories. That is where I end up with books like “We Contain Multitudes” and “Call Me by Your Name” on my shelves. I hated WCM. I think that it was damaging to the community, it glamorized statutory rape and abuse, it was low quality writing, (my whole review is on my blog). I got rid of it after I read it. I will likely buy a book because it has a queer storyline, but that doesn’t mean that I will keep it. I have a bunch of queer books on my tbr and my shelves that I havent gotten to, but i’ll type them out for recs: Only Mostly Devastated, Fell of Dark, Stay Gold, Late to the Party, Damaged like Us. These are all books that I haven’t gotten around to reviewing, but hopefully will eventually

#leigh Bardugo #karen m mcmanus #becky albertalli #angie thomas #cassandra clare #sarah j maas #adam silvera #casey mcquiston

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noxstellacaelum · 4 years

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Filtering Female Characters Through the Male Gaze

Female characters filtered through the male gaze: A (way) too long post about why we need a more diverse and inclusive approach to staffing showrunners, writers, directors, crew – heck, all roles -- in TV and movies.

Yes, I know I am not the first person here on this.

And note that while I have included a few tags b/c I talk about my frustration with Shadowhunters, Veronica Mars, the Irishman, Richard Jewell, and a few other recent shows/movies, I don’t get to this stuff until the very end, I appreciate that fans may not want to wade through the entire essay, which (again), is a bit of personal catharsis.

I recently had a random one-off exchange with a TV writer on twitter. The writer said that she had enjoyed the movie Bombshell much more than its Rotten Tomatoes rating would have suggested. She wondered if the disconnect between her experience/perception of the movie and that of mainstream reviewers might have been shaped by gender: Specifically, she observed that Bombshell is a movie about women, but most reviewers are male.

I have complicated feelings about Bombshell. On one hand, yes, there was and is a toxic culture at Fox News. Yes, Gretchen Carlson and Megyn Kelly were victims of that toxic culture. But no, these women were not mere bystanders: They traded in the racism, misogyny, and xenophobia (for starters) that still characterize Fox News today. Why should these wealthy, privileged white women – both of whom spent many years as willing foot soldiers in the Fox News army -- get a glossy, Hollywood-approved redemption/vindication arc? On the other hand, I am glad that the movie makers made a film about sexual harassment, and that the movie presented Kelly, in particular, as an at least somewhat complicated character. This would not be the first time that a movie about women – especially complicated, and not always likeable women – has proven to be polarizing.

My ambivalence about Bombshell notwithstanding, the writer with whom I exchanged tweets is (not surprisingly, since she is in the industry and I am not) on to something when it comes to gender, character development and critical reception. It’s not just that Bombshell was about women, but reviewed largely by men; it’s that stories about female characters (real or fictional) often are filtered through the male gaze in Hollywood: On many projects – even those focused on female characters – creators/ head writers are male, directors are male, showrunners are male, and producers are male. This matters, because preferencing the male gaze impacts what stories about women get told, who gets to tell them, and how these stories are received inside and outside Hollywood.

First, though, the caveats. I do not mean to suggest that men can never tell great stories about women. Of course they can. I also don’t mean to suggest that being female exempts creators, writers, directors, showrunners, etc. from sexism or misogyny (or any other forms of bigotry, as my discussion of Bombshell suggests). There are plenty of women who prop up the patriarchy. Rebecca Traister’s work speaks to this issue, as does the work of Cornell philosopher Kate Manne. There is an important literature on the concept of misogynoir (misogyny directed at black women, involving both gender and race), a term coined by black queer feminist Moya Bailey, as well. Intersectionality matters in understanding what stories are told, who gets to speak, and how stories are received in and outside Hollywood. I also don’t mean to suggest that there are no powerful women in Hollywood. Shonda Rhimes; Ava DuVernay, Reese Witherspoon (increasingly, given her role as a producer of projects like Big Little Lies), Greta Gerwig’s work in Lady Bird and Little Women, and others come to mind. As I am not in the entertainment industry, I am sure others could put together a far more complete and accurate list of female Hollywood power brokers. And, finally, I appreciate that Hollywood is a business, and people fund and make movies that they think their target audiences want to see. So long as young, male viewers are a coveted demographic, we are going to see projects with women who appeal to this demographic onscreen.

Given these caveats, why do I think that the filtering of female characters through the male gaze is an issue? For me, it has to do with a project’s “center of gravity” -- that place, at the core of the project’s storytelling, where the characters’ agency and autonomy comes from. It’s where I look to understand the characters’ choices and their narrative arcs. When a character’s center of gravity is missing or unstable or unreliable, the character’s choices don’t make sense, and their narrative arc lacks emotional logic. Center of gravity is not about whether a character is likeable. It’s about whether a character – and the project’s overall storytelling and narrative voice – make sense.

When female characters are filtered through a male gaze, a project’s center of gravity can shift, even if unintentionally, away from the characters’ agency and point of view: So, instead of charting her own course through a story, a female character starts to become defined by her proximity to other characters and stories. She becomes half of a “ship” . . . or a driver of other characters’ growth (often through victimization, suffering, or self-sacrifice) . . . or mostly an object of sexual desire (whether requited or not). Eventually, she can lose her voice entirely. When that happens, instead of a “living, breathing” (yes, fictional, I know) character, we are left with a mirror/ mouthpiece who advances the plot, and the stories, of everyone else.

What are some recent examples of this? The two that I have mentioned recently here are Shadowhunters and Veronica Mars S4.

- With SHTV, I will always wonder what might have been if the show – which is based on books written by a woman, intentionally as a “girl power” story – had female showrunners. Would an empowered female showrunner have left Clary, THE PROTAGONIST OF A 6 BOOK SERIES – alone on an NYC street in a skimpy party dress, in November, with no money, no ID, no mother, no father figure and no love of her life, stripped of her memories, her magic, and chosen vocation, as punishment, after she saved the world? Would a female showrunner have sidelined Clary’s love Jace, and left him grieving and suicidal, while his family lived their best lives and told him to move on? Would a female showrunner have said, in press coverage of the series finale, that the future of the Clary and Jace characters was a matter for fan fiction? After spending precious time in the series finale wrapping up narrative arcs for non-canon and/or ancillary characters. And to my twitter correspondent’s point, I guess I am not surprised that mainstream entertainment media outlets didn’t call out the showrunners’ mistreatment of Clary, and by extension, Jace, and the obliteration of their narrative arcs -- and yes, I am looking at you, Andy Swift of TV line (who called the above-mentioned memory wipe “actually perfect”).

- Likewise, with Veronica Mars, would a more diverse and inclusive writers room have made S4 Veronica less insightful and less competent than her high school self, or quite so riven with self-loathing, or quite so careless and cruel with the people in her life who love her? Would a more inclusive creative team have made S4 Veronica less aware of the class and race dynamics of Neptune, yet more casually racist, in her mid-30s, than she was in high school?

- There are so many other examples from 2019. Clint Eastwood falsely suggesting that a female reporter (who is now deceased and thus unable to defend herself) traded sex for tips from an FBI agent in Richard Jewell. Game of Thrones treatment/resolution of the Ceresi and Daenerys characters – where to even start. Martin Scorsese’s decision to give Oscar winner Anna Paquin’s character a total of 7 lines in the 3-plus hour movie the Irishman.

- And, in real life, I wonder whether a Hollywood that empowered and supported female creators would make sure that people like Mira Sorvino and Annabella Sciorra got a bunch of work while also making sure that Harvey Weinstein never again is in a position of power or influence. Same with female comics targeted by Louis C.K. Matt Lauer, Charlie Rose … the list is long, and Kate Manne’s work on what she calls “himpathy” is useful here.

To be clear, I am not saying that stories involving “ships” of whatever flavor, stories of suffering and self-sacrifice, and stories of finding (or losing) intimate relationships are “bad” or “wrong” or inherently exploitive of female characters. I don’t think that at all. I also don’t think that female characters have to be perfectly well-adjusted, virtuous, or free from bias, or that they should never be make bad choices or mistakes. I want female characters who are flawed, nuanced. I don’t mind lives that are messy, or romantic entanglements that are complicated. Finally, I don’t think that that faulty, reductive, or unfair portrayals of female characters is a new thing. Mary Magdalene was almost certainly not a prostitute, after all. And classicist Emily Wilson – the first woman to translate the Odyssey into English – has brought a hugely important perspective (including an awareness of how gender matters in translation) and voice to the translation and study of canonical characters and works.

At the end of the day, I just want female characters to be able to speak with their own voices, from their perspectives. I want them to have their own, chosen, narrative arcs. I want them to speak, act, see, and feel as autonomous individuals, with agency, and not just in reference to others. And, I think that more a more diverse and inclusive approach to staffing writers rooms and in choosing show runners, directors, and key positions in storytelling would help.

#shtv #veronica mars #clary fairchild #clary #jace #clace

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phyrexian-mama · 4 years

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Planeswalker Racial Breakdown

So, through a long train of conversation, my husband and I were discussing the name Chandra and how we see it pop up a non-insignificant amount among Indian communities from time to time, and how strange it was that Chandra Nalaar (who does come from an Indian influenced plane) would have the name yet look so... well... white.

And there was some talk that perhaps the style guide was really loose and never defined her race, and when an artist was left to their own devices of racial ambiguity they just went white and it stuck. After all, the other Lorwyn Five were White (Well.. Ajani was a cat, but still)

And it got me thinking about racial representation among the planeswalkers that we have cards for. What I found wasn’t... surprising, really, but I’d never seen it in hard numbers, so. Here’s what I found.

First I counted it based on just the characters, and not by number of cards they have - so Jace counts as one, Liliana as one, etc... I also skipped Un or Mystery Set Planeswalkers, and as mentioned before, I’m only looking at the planeswalkers that have Planeswalker Cards. Lastly, I’m not looking into “coded” characters - there may be arguments that certain characters that are races such as goblin, merfolk, etc... could be “coded” for other races, but that’s flimsy representation at best, and incredibly harmful and racist at worst. So, we just won’t go into that.

More explanations below the cut because... it’s... long

“Other” was what I used to refer to things like... Kor, Vedalken, whatever Ashiok is, as well as Merfolk, Leonin, Dragons, etc... anything that didn’t neatly fit in the other categories, especially since, as I mentioned, I’m not counting characters as being “coded” in any way.

The result is that half the characters that we can follow from plane to plane are White, while less than 1/4th of them are any other notable race. In instances of Latin and Indian, there’s only one character each that fits into those categories.

Now, as hard as I said these are, there’s... a few cases that fall into grey areas that you could argue should be classified a bit differently. For example

I listed Calix and Gideon as white, because in most cases that I can find, Greek/Italian nationalities are reported as White on like... census forms and such. However I could see them being classified differently depending on your definitions.

I also listed Chandra as white because, despite being from an Indian influenced world, she is.. portrayed very white. Like, very white.

Arlinn and Ob Nixilis I listed as White because, while both turn into “monster” forms (permanently or not), their human portrayals were white.

Koth I listed as black, because despite his body being like... half rock, he seems clearly black (there are other humans with him who are clearly white, so it seems a fair assessment and not just coloring from the rocks or whatever)

Wrenn (from Wrenn and Six), Ashiok, and Nahiri I counted in the other category because, despite them being white-ish, they seemed inhumanly white enough that I didn’t feel completely confidant placing them in that category. So, into other they go!

Already things don’t look super great on the representation front. I had thought beforehand that maybe most of the planeswalkers would be in the other category, but that wasn’t the case (although there were a lot). Character-wise, there are about 2-3 white characters for every poc.

So, knowing it wasn’t going to make things better but wanting to see the numbers anyway, I decided to count each card individually. Now, I didn’t count each printing of each card, just each different card name.

It surprisingly didn’t change as much as I thought it would, but it definitely skews it more towards white than it already was. This means just less than 1/5th of the planeswalker cards designed portray poc.

I’ll admit. I don’t really have anything to do with this information. It’s not like it reveals anything I didn’t at least subconsciously already realize. But I feel its important to recognize the discrepancies and be aware of them.

There’s a lot of other types of representation (gender rep, Queer rep, etc...) that people look for as well, and I certainly don’t want to downplay the relevance of the representation some of these poc currently have (Vivien already has 6 different cards, which is as much or more than 2/3 of the various white planeswalkers) but it just feels like it should be easier to have more? Especially with how many of these white characters only have 1 card, and so could have easily been different.

IDK. I don’t have anything to do with this info, I just wanted to see the actual numbers and thought someone else might want to as well. So. Here it is.

#mtg #magic the gathering #planeswalker #representation #long post

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