#honestly most popular white woman are in America | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

valley9irl9limmer · 11 months

Text

VALLEY 9IRL TIMES ୧₊˚

ENTRY 06. 🏹

Tw: r@pe, slavery, and @ssault

Dear Girlbloggers,

It’s been 13 days. I honestly didn’t even realize. I don’t know how gossip girl did it. No wonder she’s a legend. Thinking back on how these past 13 days could’ve made for some great entries makes me sad as hell. So from now on I’m holding myself to it.

Today’s topic is…black mothers and their hindrance on girlhood.

Because I am black this conversation is going to have some level of intersectionality. Sorry for every other communities but I can’t voice what girlhood and your relationships with your mothers are like simply because I’m not apart of those communities. You however can comment about it if you like.

Growing up a girl and black (alongside many other things), finding my footing in girlhood was ten times harder.

I didn’t get the chance to wear makeup in middle school like mascara and blush, I didn’t get to wear certain cute tops and dresses, I didn’t get the full unadulterated sweet and pure childhood experience. Because I’m not just a girl…I’m black too.

Since the beginning of America, certain images of certain types of people have been coined, flagged, and mutilated into some other form of who they are. These form 2D boxes that would never be able to fully encapsulate these people. Because caricatures aren’t made to help and show the world people with simple and easy to understand images, they’re made to harm.

Amongst these caricatures every race has their own, specifically their women. EA women have the Madame Butterfly and the Dragon Lady, Latina’s have the Spicy Latina Troupe, and Black woman have the Mammy and Jezebel. (note: there are more races and more caricatures. I mostly hit the most popular and easily recognizable ones.)

The Mammy is an obvious one. You know, Aunt Jamima (who I’ve been compared to too many times to count), horror character Ma, and the women from The Help. She’s this desexualized big black woman wired to be maternal. She picks up after and takes care of you with no needs of her own and is in fact happy to raise the little white children while you sell hers. From that previous sentence I hope I gave its origins away. You guessed it, it arose during the American Slave Trade.

The Jezebel is a little bit different. Where the Mammy is inherently asexual with no desire for it, the Jezebel is inherently sexual. She’s a beast that can’t contain herself. And she’s coming after you and all your superior sexual beings, your white husband. Similarly, she also arose during the American Slave Trade.

The Mammy was promoted to soothe white audiences and make sure none of them really noticed that their slaves were unhappy. It had the white girls and boys believing their Mammy was happy raising them and there was no harm actively happening to their caretakers. In fact she wanted to be there. She loved being enslaved.

The Jezebel, however, was promoted to take away any accountability from white men who chose to sleep with/rape their slaves rather than sleep with their actual partners. That way they were blame free. She seduced him not the other way around. And if you don’t keep your sons and husbands close she’ll seduce them too.

I brought these up to talk about how demonized and encapsulated femininity is for AA and black women. Most of the things that happened during slavery became information and such passed down from generation to generation. You were damned if you do and damned if you don’t.

Something prevalent that arrived from the Jezebel troupe was this idea of being “fast”. Black women in the south didn’t want their baby girls to be stolen and raped and auctioned off. They didn’t want them to garner too much attention. To prevent this from happening you were forbidden from being pretty. Your hair and clothes and everything else couldn’t look or be a certain way. You couldn’t put off a certain vibe. You couldn’t be fast.

The idea of being “fast” is this idea of little black girls rushing to grow up in an attempt to garner male attention. Red lipstick and nail polish was/is fast. Tank tops and skirts was/is fast. Long hair and straight hair without the ends bumped was/is fast.

On any other race of girl, especially white ones, it’s not seen as such, because they aren’t seen as inherently sexual beings. Instead it’s cute, she wants to be pretty or she wants to be “just like mommy.” She’s not seeking the attention of her uncles and cousins and any man walking by. She’s just being herself.

Slave parenting soon got passed down and relabeled as regular parenting. Black parents are quick to beat their kids even though Massa is no longer around. The little black girls can’t dress up and wear eye catching colors even though Massa isn’t around.

I need them to understand, especially mothers. You aren’t protecting your kid. You’re hurting them. You fell into the trap and are now your little girl’s first bully. You are no longer that little girl, instead you are the thing hurting her.

And to the mothers who do this out of fear. Fear of what someone did to you. I’m here to take that blame away. He or She didn’t touch you in that way because you were asking for it or because of any of your actions. They did it because they wanted to. It was out of desire and nothing else. Nothing you would’ve done (dressing different or walking different or having a different hairstyle) would’ve changed that. You are blameless.

Now break the cycle before something happens to your baby and she thinks the same way. You are no longer Eve from Eve’s Bayou. You are you. And you can fight it and make sure no one else ends up like her.

To Chloe Balle and all the other black girls, including myself, I’m sorry. We don’t deserve this and neither do our little girls. Do better and be better. You are loved.

Xoxo, Valley9irl9limmer

#baby pink #coqeutte #girlblogging #pink aesthetic #soft pink #black femininity #black tumblr #soft black women #black woman #parenting #women #girl blogger #cinnamon girl #forthegirls #coquette angel #coquettecore #coquette aesthetic

1 note · View note

woman-child91 · 2 years

Text

Racism in Texas?

I’ve lived in Dallas, Texas my entire life. Supposedly the most racist state of all of America. But, again, I’ve never been a victim or seen any type of racism.

In fact, the only times I’ve seen racism were in obligatory (I hated school after Elementary) schools. I’m talking about Elementary, Junior and High School. And do you also know something? The Whites were NEVER racists! It was ALWAYS the Hispanics!

Like, I still remember this girl named Bianca in my 5th grade and 6th grade class. She was Black and NO ONE would want to hang out with her or be her friend. They’d bully her. The kids who were the most cruel and racist to her were the Hispanics. I’ve always been a compassionate person (which got me into trouble and brought a Stalker into my life. But, that’s not important right now.) and I was sick and tired of watching this kind of behavior.

So I befriended her and even invited her to all my birthday parties. I’m so proud of myself for making a difference in her life. The bullying was so bad that she once thought about suicide. And I remember that (again) a Hispanic girl jokingly. At least, I hope it was jokingly. Well, she asked her, “Why didn’t you ho through with it? You should’ve ended your life then.”

Sheesh! I was so stunned and just don’t even remember what I said or did. But, I probably gave Bianca some comforting words and told her that Jacqueline was only kidding.

Yeah, I honestly don’t get why other kids were so mean with her? Bianca was so nice and funny. She was one of my favorite/best friends during childhood. But, we went to different High Schools and lost contact.

Then, in Junior High School? OH MY GOSH! Okay, so the whole 911 thing had just happened like 3 or 4 years ago. We had a Teacher who was from Afghanistan. I had this one classmate named, Liliana. She was really pretty and one of those cliché popular girls. But, she might have been beautiful on the outside. While on the inside? She was absolutely horrendous, disgusting, cruel and rotten to the core.

Liliana was not doing her work and kept on gossiping with her friend about something. The Teacher POLITELY asked her to start working on the class assignment. Liliana (who was Hispanic) told our Teacher.

“Shut up. You can’t tell me what to do. Go back to your desk. Unless you want me to tell President Bush that there’s an Afghanistan woman in his country.”

Yeah, to this day I still haven’t been able to get that whole scene outta’ my head. Because, I felt so sorry for my Teacher.

#true real life experience from a Texan girl who has lived in Texas her entire 32 years of life #racism #racist

0 notes

blogassignent3 · 2 months

Text

Blog Post #3

Throughout this past week’s discussions and lectures, we have gone over many more important factors of African American Horror. The points regarding this evident topic that we discussed in class so far have taught me many new things about this field which I previously had not been exposed to. This week in particular, however, the movie Candy Man and the many themes that are involved in it is what stood out to me the most. Specifically, the theme of black trauma through a white lens is one thing that we discussed which really intrigued me. As was mentioned in Thursday's lecture, this theme where the many horrors of black trauma are seen through the lens of a white person. For example, in the film Candy Man, we can see how the black characters are seemingly the background characters to Helen, the white woman. After discussing this in class I also began to think back to one of the previous lectures and started to draw connections between this theme and the one about how black characters are typically made to be seen as easily dispensable in film. I believe that this theme of making them easily dispensible is seen once again here in this film, especially in regard to their appearances compared to Helen’s story. Another theme of this film that I found to be engaging was the common theme that has been seen throughout movie history where a film will portray a black man sort of ‘on the hunt’ after a white woman. This was another type of common characteristic in African American Horror, and even just horror in general, that I had not really paid much attention to in the past. However, after discussing the history of Hollywood, it becomes clear that this theme has been seen time and time again. For example, in “Birth of a Nation”, this horribly racist film that was once praised by America demonstrates this exactly, depicting black men as monsters. Another example of this that we went over which I honestly never even thought of as matching this description was the example of the 1930s film “King Kong”. This has obviously been one of the most popular films in Hollywood’s history, however, I never thought to draw a connection between the plot of that film and this theme of making black men appear as evil toward white women. While this may be a more subtle application of the harmful stereotype, a connection can definitely still be made.

0 notes

purple-goo-writes · 3 years

Text

The Shadows Watching Gotham

Or Watcher as most knows them,is a popular YouTuber and Podcaster and is the outside world's only reliable source of information about the on goings of the Mask Community within the crime ridden city known as Gotham. Aka the No Man's Land and the Crime Capital of the World.

Rumor has it that Watcher is the only way an outsider can contact the Bats. If this is true or not, Superman is about the find out.

Chapter 1: A rattle of bones

The Justice League of America and their younger counterparts watched the monitor in their meeting hall with rapt attention. On it, Barry had pulled up the channel of a popular youtuber, The Shadows Watching Gotham, hoping to get some more intel on the situation on Gotham and the vigilantes that the JLA wished to recruit. Though while the older members were listening with only half an ear, the younger ones were entranced with the hypnotizing and haunting narrative as Watcher spoke. His soft, raspy voice wrapping around them like an intoxicating perfume leaving the Young Justice Members wanting to hear more. Perhaps it was the strange ambient music playing in the background that added to the mystery surrounding Watcher that had them so entranced.

"...Just a friendly reminder for all my Gothamites listening in, Dr. Crane, otherwise known as The Scarecrow, escaped Arkham during last months breakout. Please do not forget your gas masks at home as he is still at large."

Watcher sat at an old and cluttered desk, the only light from an offscreen lamp, possibly a gaslamp, which bathed the teen and his surroundings in a soft golden glow. Though the JL couldn't see anything behind the teen except for pitch blackness, possibly the result of a backdrop. They couldn't see much of the Watcher as his face was blocked by the arm, the pop filter and mic of the studio microphone the teen was using. The teen was wearing a white long sleeved shirt which was rolled up to his elbows, showing off wiry, yet muscular arms covered in an odd variety of scars most Gothamites had littering parts of them, and a pressed red vest with black embroidery swirling across it, a gold tie could be seen just below the arm of the mic. Over all, the Watcher was just as mysterious and cryptic as the vigilantes he talked about.

"Now as the sun rises upon the decrepit bones of our fair city, I must bid you all a fair the well and a hopefully Good Morning. This is Watcher signing off."

And with that the screen went dark, snapping many out of the trance they had fallen into whilst listening to the Watcher speak.

Superman cleared his throat, before standing, "As I was saying. In order to hopefully meet with these vigilantes, I have managed to establish contact with The Watcher, as he is so far our only reliable source on the vigilantes that are not simply rumors spread by the Gotham Gazette or hearsay spread about through the villain network."

Hal frowned, leaning back in his chair rocking it back on two legs, "Yet isn't he just as hard to get a hold of?"

"Which is why I am going to meet him as Clark Kent with Kon acting as my back up in the form of my son shadowing me at work," the man of steel replied, ignoring how his clone/son rolled his eyes and muttered, "Isn't that what I normally fucking do?"

Their relationship was still rocky at time, but Ma Kent was determined to get Clark to do right by the boy. After all they were only on good terms due to Ma Kent. But, Kon was going through what Ma called his rebellious stage and trying to break out of his father's shadow as most teenage sons do. Which lead to snippy comments during meetings and Clark wondering just how Kon managed to get another new piercing, personally he blamed Lex for those because of course the man would figure out how to give a Kryptonian piercings just to piss Superman off.

Clark simply sighed and went back to addressing the others, “The Watcher agreed to meet with us tomorrow evening after I explained that I was writing an article about Gotham and it’s rumored vigilantes and found that he was the only reliable source I could find with recent information. And that I learned about him thanks to my son, Conner.”

“Meaning, I have to watch over fifty videos on Youtube so not to sound stupid when I talk to the dude,” Kon muttered to his best friend, Bart, who giggled softly into his hands. Both ignoring the looks their mentors gave them, though Barry’s was more fond then reprimanding like Clark’s.

“Exactly how will you know if it is this Watcher that you are meeting?” Wonder Woman inquired, a frown settling on her face in contemplation, “After all we do not know what this mysterious Watcher looks like…”

“We will be meeting him at the abandoned opera house within Central Gotham. He said he would know it is him by the red feathers he wears,” Clark sounded confused at this but only shrugged, “It’s the best I could get, he wouldn’t agree to meet outside of Gotham. Due to Gotham being declared No Man’s Land still by the President, even with the major rebuilding done by the Waynes… Most Gothamites don’t leave now.”

He sighed at the confused looks he was getting from the other members, “That was how Watcher explained it to me after I asked.”

The next evening…

Gotham was just as gloomy and foreboding as it was described in all the forums Kon had schemed the night before. What they had failed to mention was the literal stench of despair and fear that hung in the air. Or how Kon felt like the shadows were closing in slowly around him and his sorta-dad/Genetic donor as they hung outside the desolate opera house. Really the building was something out of a horror movie, and that was saying something considering this was Fucking Gotham and most places were probably used as references for horror movie scenery. It was huge and probably had been grand looking back in its prime with its gothic architecture and scale...though now the huge dome of the building was crumbling, slowly caving into itself and the once bright walls of it’s outer shell were now grey and covered in graffiti with most of the stained panels of it’s windows busted out from various villain attacks, bullet holes littered the siding and the once bright letters announcing the next play were broken and mostly missing. Honestly, Kon expected either a ghastly apparition from Hamlet to start monologuing or a serial killer to leap from the crawling shadows of the building looming over them.

He was not expecting someone to fucking sneak up on them out of the shadows and nearly scare Kon into fucking space!

“For an investigative reporter, you aren’t very observant, Mr. Kent,” came a soft, yet raspy voice like smoke behind them, causing both Kents to nearly break cover and leap on top of the building they were standing in front of. A smoky chuckle greeted them as both Kents whirled around just shy of inhuman speeds, “Really, I’ve been standing here watching you two nervously pace for about an hour now.”

An hour?

But how did they not hear him?

Kon was distracted from his thoughts as he took in just who was standing before them. The other teen, as their voice sounded young and didn’t yet have the full changes that signaled adulthood, only came up to Kon’s chin making him around five foot something compared to Kon’s near six feet. (He was so glad they fixed the aging and growing thing. He did not want to be stuck at the height of a thirteen year old forever.) They looked possibly male, but Kon wasn’t going to assign pronouns until they properly introduced themselves it was only polite according to Ma. Kon was still surprised that they managed to sneak up on the two Kents. They were wiry, yet muscular, built mainly for running from what Kon could tell, it was hard to tell with them still somehow blending in with the shadows despite how they were dressed. A white button down, sleeves rolled up to the elbows, with a bright red vest with black embroidery, a golden tie tucked into the vest, black dress slacks and slightly scuffed yet still shiny red loafers. A black trench coat was slung over one shoulder as the person watched them with amused blue eyes, the only part of their face they could see thanks to the bulky, yet futuristic looking, black gas mask with red lights. Kon could only see the person’s eyes thanks to the clear face shield protecting their eyes from foreign objects. Shaggy and long black hair framed the person’s face, the inky blackness of their hair almost blending into the Gotham night if it wasn’t for the bright red feathers tied throughout the inky mass.

Bright red feathers…

Feathers!

“Oh you’re Watcher!” Kon exclaimed being the first to recover, causing the podcaster to chuckle, “Oooh? I see you actually did remember. I was beginning to think that staring was just what Metropolians did.”

#the shadows watching gotham #podcaster!Tim #tim is a mystery man and apparently the YJ teens dig it #listened to Heather Dale Incantations 1 album for this #batman #batman au #isolated batfam

84 notes · View notes

commajade · 3 years

Note

hi amber! bringing this up because i saw other talk about ali in your inbox too and it just wouldnt feel right without telling you about ali's character wasnt all that well done. im south asian too and first icky thing was that he perfectly fits the stereotype that people have of south asian workers especially with his subservient attitude towards sangwoo, those weren't really big things so i did try not to let it affect while watching the show. personally that scene where he's telling his family to leave was very visceral and hard to watch because those are heavy personal experiences. but i was honestly enjoying how thought provoking the show was up until the point where han minyeo starts insulting him for his race and then that was never addressed again, and it felt like a slap to the face at that point. it felt like a heavy topic was brought up but it never got resolved so it ends up looking racist. i dont usually want to bring these things up because once squid game got popular amongst western audience they've started talking about it weirdly like making fandoms and games abt this stuff. but once i started talking about how the racism in ali's character was never addressed i even got accused of having "american" views and blowing things out of proportion even i am a sasian immigrant who's never been to america lmao. this might not be the right time because everyone's acting real weird about the show, but i just do want to say that ali's character have been hurtful to a lot of sasians i know who watches kdrama too and this isnt the first time kdramas do this to not white characters they're trying to be progressive about (like how the female lead is racist to toni in itaewon class but it never got addressed) and wish people would Listen instead of telling to stop whining about it

ty for the info! definitely didn't consider those points before. i do think tho that while ur right and there was obviously racism and tokenization in ali's character because he's the only not korean person on the whole show and this show is made for a korean and western (implied white) audience, the specific points u had i don't really agree with? pls feel free to send me another ask with clarifications if i'm misreading u but here's what i thought.

you're of course right to be uncomfortable or offended by a character being literally racist to ali in the script but i think there is a huge difference between han minyeo being racist and the female lead of itaewon class being racist. han minyeo is an archetype for the most hated kind of woman in korea, low class and sleazy and manipulative and self-serving and hypocritical. the scene where she is racist to him is supposed to confirm her as being a terrible person because ali is framed as the most moral contestant. the peak of han minyeo's character arc is that everyone abandons her and choose the people she ridicules over her. the resolution of her plot with ali is the same as her plot with the old man and the young girls, everyone chose them and not her and they left her to die alone. and then she died as she lived, clinging onto someone who doesn't like her so she can fulfil her own selfish goals. in itaewon class the girl is framed as someone unconventional and blunt but usually right and she and toni become friends afterward with implied forgiveness. not at all the same situation. 100% agree with you about itaewon class.

the scene where he talks to his wife is supposed to be visceral and painful. it's understandable if it's unpleasant for sa viewers and they don't like it, but the point of the show is to illuminate the painful situations people are forced into under capitalism. the whole show is supposed to be hard to watch and it was very hard to watch for me a korean person. i don't think this one is a reason to say the character's portrayal was a harmful portrayal of an sa person because a story that hits close to home is not necessarily a racist one. if there's something i'm missing i'm def open to changing my opinion on the scene i only watched it once. and i actually think the subservient thing is a big place of possible harm because it's very much a stereotype of the innocent super strong brown person that's tokenized by being the Most Moral. and while ali calling sangwoo sajangnim and then not is an important character beat and is reflective of skorean social structure in a necessary way (squid game is a fable about skorean capitalism) ali becoming super devoted to sangwoo because he gave him a few small things is another tokenizing trope.

but anyway there are very few south asian characters in kmedia so if people are hurt that a globally viral kdrama had this kind of portrayal of a south asian person in it they're right to feel that way and ty for the info, i hadn't considered it from that angle before.

#asks #long post //#squid game

14 notes · View notes

permets-2 · 4 years

Note

Your tag that says why do we have to say this, I get it's a hypothetical question but JFC this is the most racist fandom I've ever been in. I can't conceptualize why, but it is. It's the epitome of white queerness and feminism, and is just tiring.

Okay I’m so sorry this is probably a longer response than you wanted but I’ve been thinking about this for a while now and yeah. Let’s talk.

Why is the Les Mis fandom so racist?

(Disclaimer that this is based on my own experiences in this fandom, I don’t speak for all Les Mis fans of color, obviously. Also that this is not a post to “prove” the Les Mis fandom is racist. If you need that before you wanna know why, you’re part of the problem.) (There’s a tl;dr at the end)

It’s because at the end of the day, anon, no matter how many Black Grantaires are drawn and no matter how many Asian Cosettes we get, Les Mis is media primarily by, for, and about white people. I mean, on a factual level, Hugo was white, and let’s not forget he had some wild thoughts on race - saying that white people were “the highest type which the human race has so far reached” and talking about the “inferior races,” saying that Europeans would “civilize and cultivate” Africa in the letter he wrote to The London News regarding slavery in America and John Brown. Also, obviously, all the characters are canonically white. That’s part of why content of the Amis as involved in BLM protests is so harmful imo - no matter the surface story you’re depicting, no matter how you draw them or write them, these are characters who are rooted in and steeped in whiteness, and The Black Lives Matter movement is not for or about them as white people. And, however you rewrite this story, it doesn't change the fact that you'd be imposing a narrative created by a white supremacist on a movement against white supremacy. This is not to say headcanoning/drawing/writing characters as whatever race you want is wrong, or that there isn’t power in artists of color reclaiming stories that have excluded or erased us for so many years! Lord knows I live and breathe for Amis of color, especially when they’re culturally well-represented. But it would not only be naive but also factually inaccurate to pretend that Les Mis is a story for People of Color, or a story that contains acute discussions of racial dynamics, let alone actively dismantles white supremacy.

Also, anon, the culture surrounding Les Mis source material is steeped in whiteness and exclusion. Musical Theatre is one of the most financially exclusive forms of art - tickets are often upwards of $100 each especially for a big name show like Les Mis. I could talk forever about the ways theatre is used as a tool of classism and racism, but in this instance, it boils down to People of Color are directly and indirectly denied access to the world of musical theatre, as audience, writers, directors, performers, etc. We basically see only white people playing the characters of Les Mis in professional (and non-professional) theatre, which is another less tangible barrier to communities of color. You’d think the brick would be more accessible, and on a factual level, sure, most people can find a copy for $9 at Barnes and Noble or get it from the library. But by God, the amount of academic elitism in high school essays to tumblr posts about the brick is off the charts - classic lit has a long history of pushing out People of Color. Why is Hugo one of the most well-known names in all of literature and not Hurston? Baldwin? Du Bois? (This is rhetorical. We know why.) There’s a lot of reasons why the brick and musical alike have been kept away from people of color (that i could get into, starting in 1619, but honestly we’d be here a while)- making this, once again, a piece of media by, for, and about white people.

Which is not to say there aren’t people of color in this fandom, or that we don’t belong here. I know so many Les Mis fans of color in our online community (myself included) who love it here and are so grateful for this space. It’s just harder - we have to write things off all the time. Why is almost 100% of cosplay white people? Why are most all the most popular creators white? Why, when characters are drawn/headcanoned/written as POC, does it play into stereotypes- why are Joly and Combeferre (the doctors) and Cosette (the woman who does not get much agency) the ones depicted as Asian, why are Eponine and Grantaire (the characters who Hugo explicitly calls ugly) the ones depicted as Black? (My broski @everydayatleast as a great post about that here) Why are we so set on blond Enjolras, no matter what ethnicity he’s depicted as?

And here’s the kicker: because of the plotline of Les Mis, we tend to ignore any issues of injustice in our own fandom. We think that because Les Mis is about equality and revolution, we’re automatically culturally and politically progressive. We think that because “Enjolras says Eat The Rich” and “books like these will never be useless”, we have achieved Wokeness. We think that when we stan these activist characters, we’re checking our activism box. We think that because we’ve got a diversity of genders and sexualities we’ve checked the box of representation but that’s another can of worms I will not get into. And this is almost always unconscious, I don’t think any of us are actively and maliciously trying to be racist! There is nothing wrong with having a background of whiteness! There is nothing wrong with being factually or culturally white as a piece of media (or, like, a person)! It is when we fail to be critical of the ways this whiteness affects others that we create racist spaces. (Which, as you said, anon, is how we get White/Non-intersectional Feminism.)

This is not directed at anyone in particular in the slightest, and this is in no way intended as a callout - I have so much love for this online community. And no, I don’t mean every single one of you is actively and aggressively being racist on Tumblr every single day. But yes I do mean the collective us as a fandom contributes towards a culture of racism every day, myself included. We as a fandom can do so much better. As Moose said when we yelled about LM racism for a hawt couple hours today, “In a fandom that purports to be about equality and social justice, we have to live up to our own ideals”.

(tl;dr - the Les Mis fandom is racist because it is a piece of white culture and writen by/for/about white people, Broadway and classic lit is rooted in exclusionism and there’s a lot of forces keeping people of color out of our original source materials, and because of the narrative of Les Mis being about revolution and social progress, we feel like we’ve achieved that and aren’t critical of our own shortcomings)

(phat thanks to my bro moose @everydayatleast for editing and contributing and Yelling with me!!)

#Les miserables #les mis #les amis #fandom racism #sollie speaks #if you feel hurt offended ashamed bitter guilty targeted while reading this post #maybe its time to do some thinkin #Things i did not include in this bc i have self control: the complexities of Black Javert and White Valjean #White Enjolras with a raised fist (aka BLACK POWER FIST?)#how i see almost no art of latinx/hispanic amis and even less indigenous amis #i think once i saw a middle eastern feuilly #how i looked through the faculty of prestigious univerisity classics departments and found 2 people of color out of hundreds of total facult #white people dont clown on this post challenge #other people of color would Love to hear your thoughts on this #seriously lets chat #would also love if yall (poc) have thoughts for you to message me instead of publically vibe checking me #plz im doing my best here #A series of disclaimers #first op is a person of color if that wasnt clear #listen to black creators and black voices especially for issues around BLM #second i have not read all of hugos letters #but i read this one on slavery a while back for apush and it stuck with me #hugo was racist #and im not saying like hes cancelled or some shit #because fuck cancel culture #just please can we be CRITICAL here #third PLEASE dont come for me about saying cosette has no agency #this is not what this is about #you are missing the point #fourth seriously this is not a callout

842 notes · View notes

kyber-crystal · 4 years

Text

pop the question || s.r.

summary: steve goes to his old love to ask her for advice on making the most important decision of his life.

words: ~2.5k

warnings: really nothing, just fluff and cheesy steve as always :)

a/n: this was an old oneshot and it’s poorly written i’m so sorry. post civil war au where everyone is happy and peggy is still alive hehehehe let’s keep in mind this is unedited so there’s a lot of errors.

Upon hearing that your boyfriend was going to go visit Peggy, you immediately jumped at the opportunity and begged him to let you tag along. Hearing countless stories about the fearless woman who helped found the very organization that you had been a part of for so long made you want to see her in person. So after several days of convincing, he finally caved in and allowed you to come with him.

The room she was staying in was brightly lit and minimalistic, mostly uncluttered with the only thing on the wall being a framed black-and-white photo of her back in the 40's. A grey-haired woman lay peacefully in the middle of the bed and as you took a step forward, she stirred slightly and for a moment you were afraid you'd woken her up in the middle of her sleep.

Her eyes opened and a bright smile lit up her face, softening immediately upon seeing the two of you side by side. "Oh, do come in...And who is this beautiful lady you've brought along with you, Steve?"

"I'm Y/N. Former SHIELD agent, currently an Avenger," you explained as you made your way over to her. She reached out and gave your hand a quick squeeze, returning your warm smile. "It's so nice to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you."

"And I've heard plenty about you as well," she replied kindly, "You're even lovelier in person."

You laughed nervously and rubbed the back of your neck. "I don't think so."

"I've always wanted to get to know the woman he's fallen so hopelessly in love with."

"Peggy..." Steve felt his cheeks heat up at her statement. "stop, you're embarrassing me—"

"I can tell why he chose you," Peggy smiled, "He's a good man...I know he loves you more than anything."

"Actually, I beg to differ, he loves Bucky more than me," you raised an eyebrow in suspicion at the super-soldier. "He wouldn't pay attention to me after he got roped into an Uno deathmatch last night."

"Classic Rogers," she laughed, shaking her head in disbelief as he pulled up a chair to sit next to you, by her bedside, "a true child at heart. I see you haven't changed much over the years."

Steve took your hand in his, intertwining your fingers together and soothingly rubbing circles across your palm with his thumb. Peggy noticed the softened look in his eyes when he glanced over at you and you felt your face grow warm.

"So how long have you been together for?"

"Almost two years," Steve replied, with a light pink shade tinting his cheeks. "Our second anniversary will be on..."

"May 20th. Two weeks from now," you finished his sentence.

"That's wonderful," Peggy laughed again, "I wish you two the best in your relationship."

"You're too kind," you thanked her, "I've been a huge fan of yours for so long."

"And I, you. He always talks about you every time he visits. He never shuts up about you, so I was dying to meet you from the moment he first mentioned your name."

"What did he say?" you looked over at your boyfriend to see that he was now flushing a bright tomato red, much to both yours and her amusement. "It was all good things, I assume?"

"Of course. He tells me he's never been this happy in his life until he met you...I honestly couldn’t be more proud."

"Aww, Steve," you nudged him in the side as he grew an even deeper shade of red, "you're so sweet."

"He is a hopeless romantic," she added on. "Captain America is great with the ladies."

"Peggy!" Steve exclaimed.

"Aw, you're making him blush," you giggled.

"He is the easily flustered type, if I'm being completely honest with myself here, though one might not see that right away when they first meet him," she agreed, but then her face fell. "Y/N, would you be a dear and get me a glass of water and some yogurt from the cafeteria? You just have to head straight down the hall, then turn right. You'll know it when you see it."

"Yeah, of course," you nodded as you stood up. "Just a minute."

Once you were out of earshot, Peggy gestured for Steve to come closer so he could hear her speak better.

"I'm glad you found a woman like her to stick by your side," she said quietly, "All these years, I waited for you, and I was completely, utterly heartbroken at the idea of not being with you ever again. But after hearing you talk about her frequently and seeing your face light up every time her name was mentioned...I didn't want to take that away from you. You're still that good man with heart from Brooklyn I met so long ago, Steve, and I hope you'll continue to treat her well. She’s a real keeper. Promise me you'll keep her close."

"I will," he promised, reaching over to gently squeeze her hand. "I love her more than anything, and there's nothing I wouldn't do to make her happy."

"Good," she nodded with a smile, "you make the perfect pair with her."

After you returned with Peggy's yogurt and water, you stayed for about an hour and a half longer before a buzzing sound from your phone indicated a new text message.

Natasha: Hey, love. I'm in the parking lot right now, where do you want to go for lunch? I kicked Bucky out before he dragged us to shawarma for the third time this week, so it's your pick today. Thank me later.

You: I'll be out in a sec. Meet you outside.

Natasha: See you in a bit.

You looked back up at Peggy after sliding your phone in your purse, giving her an apologetic look. "I'm afraid I have to go now. I have a lunch date. Natasha doesn't like to be kept waiting, especially when there's food on the line."

"It's okay," she reassured you as you stood up and shook her hand again. "It was absolutely wonderful meeting you. I hope you can come and visit again soon."

"Of course."

After exchanging one last round of goodbyes with her and Steve, you slung your purse over your shoulder and pushed the doors open to head outside, where Natasha was awaiting you in Tony's Audi.

"Hey, girlfriend," Natasha sent you a flirty wink and wave. "Get in."

You slid into the passenger's seat, buckling on your seatbelt as she stepped on the gas pedal. "Hey."

"So, how'd it go?"

"It was pretty nice. She seemed to ship it pretty eagerly," you chuckled. "Oh, also, Thai food."

"Got it." She typed in the directions to the restaurant into the GPS. "That's cute, having another person who's an avid shipper of Y/N x Steve. You guys have any plans for your anniversary?"

You shook your head, "I have no idea. Usually, it's him who makes the move and goes all out for the night, but I'm not sure what either of us have in mind this year."

Oh, he definitely had something in mind.

There was a burning question sitting in the back of his head and had been doing so for as long as he could remember. Right as he was prepared to leave half an hour later, he decided to ask Peggy and get it off his chest.

"Could I ask you something important?"

"Of course."

"I, uh..." he fiddled with his thumbs nervously for a few seconds before reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out a tiny, cubic box encasing a gorgeous diamond ring inside. "Because our anniversary is coming up soon...I wanted to pop the question. How should I do it?"

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Peggy clasped her hands together excitedly. "Well...I'd suggest you go over-the-top for this occasion, it's a big, life-changing moment so why not? Don't be afraid to go all out, be romantic."

"What should I do, then?"

"Hmm. What are some things she enjoys?"

"Laser tag, crushing her opponents and beating them to a pulp in fights, Tom Cruise, Italian food, and Taylor Swift. She’s a popular pop singer these days."

"Ah, I see," she laughed, "She's a woman who enjoys variety."

"Exactly."

"A nice candlelit dinner would help set the mood very well, but if you're not wanting to pop the question in front of a crowd, you could always set that dinner up at home. Are any of you good cooks?"

"Bruce makes good pasta, and Vision's the baker of the compound."

"Back when my husband and I were still dating, he'd always surprise me with nice little fancy dinners at home. I believe that is the way to a girl's heart; sometimes you do not need to be extravagant to win her over. And you said she likes Taylor Swift, yes?”

“Yeah...”

“Take her to a concert! I heard from my niece that she’s in town right around the time of your anniversary...so you’re in luck. Get tickets, and take her there.”

"Thank you so much, Peggy. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Anytime, Steve."

...

"So," Natasha spoke up as you were on your way back to the compound after lunch, "it's been two years since you finally got off your asses and admitted you were in love with each other, how do you feel?"

"I honestly don't know," you shrugged, "but I guess I have you to thank, right?"

"Damn right you do," she smirked, "I've been rooting for you two since we were called in to take down SHIELD, and I started suspecting things during the Battle of New York."

"That was three years ago! And New York was five!"

"I know!"

You let out a long sigh, a wistful look appearing on your face. "I wish Mom and Dad were here to see where I am right now. You know, they always pushed me to get back into the dating game once I got over my nasty breakup in college...before I got my level 8 SHIELD promotion."

"Didn't they always tell you that they wished you'd date Cap?"

"They did, actually," you chuckled, "and here I am now. Their dream has become my reality."

"I always loved your mom. Remember when we were having dinner at their house? She snuck me extra cookies under the table. Being your best friend for over six years has its perks, you know."

"And she'd fangirl over Thor."

"Ho, boy. Yup," she shook her head as she thought back to that chaotic family dinner.

Two weeks went by in a flash, and before you knew it, it was the day of yours and Steve's anniversary. Strangely enough you'd been prevented from seeing him all day, with the team making extra efforts to keep you separated.

After a fancy home-cooked dinner, you found yourselves curled up together on the couch as you absentmindedly watched Tangled - one of your favorite Disney movies of all time. Your head was resting on Steve’s broad shoulder as he traced patterns on your arm, feeling his breath gently fanning over your head.

But partway through the movie, you noticed he seemed to be fidgeting a bit as well, glancing between you and his pockets frequently.

"Hey," you placed a gentle hand on top of his, still staring ahead, "are you okay?"

"Huh? What? Yeah, I'm fine," he blinked a couple times before snapping out of his daze.

"Okay..."

Several more minutes passed in silence before he decided to speak up again. “...If I recall, you’re into Taylor Swift.”

“Oh yeah! Why do you ask?”

“An insider told me she’s going to be in Brooklyn this weekend for a throwback tour. I managed to snag last-minute tickets for the two of us...what do you say?”

“YES,” you practically squealed, jumping out of your seat and throwing your arms around him. “You’re the best! I love you.”

“I know, darling, I love you too,” he laughed, one hand rubbing your back as the other was absentmindedly fiddling with the box in his pocket. You blew it, Rogers...

...

You were nearly bombarded by paparazzi as soon as you stepped out of your Audi with Steve by your side, reporters flooding your path. The guards at the main entrance were quick to notice, however, and led you aside so you could enter through a different route.

“This feels so surreal,” your voice echoed across the walls as you made your way down the hall hand-in-hand. “I’ve been dreaming about this moment ever since I was a kid.”

“I’m glad I was able to make that dream come to life.”

“This is why you’re the best person ever.”

“Not because I always have your back during missions?” he raised a brow.

“That too, but also because of the fact that you got me tickets to the concert of one of my favorite artists ever.”

He chuckled. “I get that.”

You ended up standing right in front of the stage - so you had not only a close-up view, but could hear everything beyond fantastically. As Taylor came out on stage and began to sing, Steve couldn’t help the look of adoration that crossed over his features at the sight of your brightened eyes and glowing complexion. You truly looked like an angel - and he knew for sure in that very moment, you were the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

His train of thought was interrupted at one point by you grabbing his hand and squealing excitedly. “My favorite!”

Steve recognized the familiar, soothing tune as Love Story. He recalled you and Natasha drunkenly dancing around on karaoke night to this very tune - heads thrown back in laughter as you exaggerated your movements, making everyone laugh. You’d explained that the reason why you were so attached was because listening to it made you long for a happy ever after - a perfect future. A girl could dream.

Romeo, save me, I've been feeling so alone I keep waiting for you, but you never come Is this in my head? I don't know what to think He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring And said,

You were too busy jumping around and singing your heart out to notice the spotlight was now shining down on you, and it was only when the crowd started shrieking in excitement that you turned around to see-

Steve was down on one knee, holding up a tiny velvet box with a beautiful diamond ring nestled in the very center. Taylor was grinning down at you two as she continued to sing, the audience chanting for you to say something.

"Marry me, Juliet You'll never have to be alone I love you and that's all I really know I talked to your dad, go pick out a white dress It's a love story, baby, just say, "Yes"

“Yes! Yes,” you nodded, choking on a happy sob as you put a hand over your mouth, letting him slide the ring on your finger. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

He stood back up and wound his arms around your waist, pulling you in for a passionate kiss to your lips.

Oh, oh, oh Oh, oh, oh, oh 'Cause we were both young when I first saw you

...

if your name is striked out, that means i couldn’t tag you for some reason

general tags: @yoomum @captainchrisstan @sandystoriess @naomiiiiiiiiiii04 @patzammit @rynhaswritersblock @capcapcapsicle @wheresmyjae @thinkingofbuckybarnes @carryonmywaywardbucky @musicalkeys @buckybarnesthehotshot @zaddychris @optimistic-dinosaur-nacho @sylvie-writes @sis-it-dont-add-up @tonystankschild

permanent tags: @sandwitch-god @renaissancecherub

steve/chris tags: @marvelfanatic16 @angrybirdcr @speechlessxx @epiphanybucky @smokeandnailz

205 notes · View notes

awhiskeyriver · 3 years

Text

le cirque monstre

This is the prologue to an old but newly updated story I idea I’ve had for years, sort of forgot about and recently remembered and became interested in again. I honestly don’t know when I will transfer this over to ao3 (probably at least the prologue, soon) or when I will add more. My inspiration for things is very fleeting right now, but I wanted to get your thoughts here in tumblrland on whether or not I should bother continuing!

Unedited and some things might end up changing in the future, but enjoy!

+++

Prologue: 1918, Coney Island

She used to think the cotton-spun candy that tasted like melted sugar was just like a dream; too good to be true. She was younger then, and everything about life was shiny and vibrant. Her nose crinkled with distaste as her boney knee stuck to the floor of the bleachers. Not anymore, though. Now, the popular fair treats were only a nuisance, making her job of cleaning between shows all the more difficult.

“Applesauce,” she muttered, twisting to sit on her butt as she peeled a piece of gum from her skin.

“What are you complaining about now, Katniss?” Gale asked, poking up from the row behind her with a devilish grin. Katniss rolled her eyes when he reached out to poke her nose, wondering how someone three years older than her could still be so immature. Gale and her had been best friends since the time she was small, bonded through unfortunate circumstances of life.

“I’m tired of cleaning these seats,” she pouted, sweating and absolutely exhausted. It had been their fourth show of the day, with five more to get through before calling it an evening. Katniss felt the sharp pangs of hunger vibrate through her stomach and moaned.

“If you quit being such a dewdropper this could’ve been done by now and we’d be off eating lu—“ he cut off, ears perking at the sound of distant voices growing closer. Katniss turned to face Gale before he pushed the top of her head in signal to crouch, doing the same for himself.

Female voices billowed through the auditorium, followed by that of her father, whose voice was authoritative and all business. He cleared his throat loudly a couple of times before joining in their quiet laughter with a hardy one of his own that reverberated off the bleachers. Katniss shrunk further into the ground with the sound. Father had always been a vocal man. Vocal when he was happy, even more so when he was angry. He talked, and Katniss listened. Katniss was always listening.

“The children all loved the performance today.”

“Simply loved it!” another high-pitched voice agreed. Katniss twisted her head uncomfortably in hopes of seeing beneath the bleachers and caught sight of two women dressed in long black robes with matching white-lined headdresses.

Nuns from the orphanage.

Gale had sold them tickets earlier before the last showing, and Katniss had hoped she would’ve finished her chores in time to see the children. Because despite living within her father’s circus (what he advertised to be the happiest place in America) there was a surprisingly low number of people who were willing to keep her boredom occupied.

“Children, what must you say now to Mr. Snow?” A chorus of cheerful thank you’s sounded, and underfed children whose clothing didn’t exactly fit wore bright grins. Perhaps the advertising hadn’t been entirely false. They all sure seemed to think so.

The children lined up behind the tallest sister like toy soldiers, marching towards the opening flap of the tent. All, except for one.

“Not you, young man.”

Katniss had practically turned herself upside down in effort to keep the woman in her line of sight, and caught the faintest glimpse of the child. He wasn’t facing her, but his hair was ash-blonde and unattended. Although he wore the same uniform as the other boys, it was sloppy with his shirt un-tucked and it’s color slightly off-white.

“You are not going anywhere,” she spoke dismissively as the other sister came to stand beside her.

“…But, have I done something wrong?”

His voice surprised her. Strong for a child, despite the same unavoidable squeakiness Gale experienced sometimes, being almost fourteen.

“Part of becoming a man,” he’d said proudly when her and her baby sister Prim giggled. “It’s called puberty.”

“Puber-what?” Prim asked, nose wrinkled.

“Awe, forget it.”

“Peeta...” The one reached out, as if to touch him but recoiled before her hand could land on his shoulder, and drew back. “Our home has no place for you, anymore. There is nothing we can do for you.”

He remained quiet as the softer one peered up at her stone-faced sister, who only nodded with agreement.

“You belong here. There is simply nowhere else for you to go.”

“There is not a soul in New York who cares to take in a crippled boy.”

Father took a step in closer to the nuns, who stood a fair distance from the wilting boy. Katniss watched on, her heart beating explosively inside of her chest in a way that made her breaths almost ragged. She’d witnessed cruelty tenfold and was not blind to its existence. But the reality of what the young man was crashed down on her heavily, and she realized perhaps they were not being heartless afterall.

The boy was grotesque. Evidence of the fact made clear as he turned on a crutch made of wood and exposed his profile. It took a hand covering her mouth to keep from making any audible sound.

So, they were simply right, then. There wasn’t a soul in New York, or most likely any state, that would willingly take him into their care. Nobody but a circus.

He resisted as her father’s thick hand clutched his arm, but surprisingly enough did not scream. He did not say a single word as he finally spun around fully into Katniss’s view. Watching with a mixture of fear and dread as the two nuns who had escorted him in left without him.

+++

“Quit trying to bug him, Kat,” Gale snapped, catching her arm outside of the tent where all of the circus freaks were busy preparing for their shows.

Three weeks had passed since the boy joined her father’s circus, parading around with clowns on stilts and the small people that waddled around in shoes five times too big and circular red noses. Three weeks and any time she tried to catch a glimpse of him outside of the show, Gale caught her.

“Aren’t you at all curious?” she huffed, twisting out of his embrace with a thoughtful rub to her elbow. “Haymitch says he is only thirteen. The youngest carnie we’ve ever had.”

“Then going in there will only make him feel like more of a freak,” he scolded and Katniss wilted, realizing the truth to his words. They both jumped as father’s booming voice sounded from a distance, calling Gale’s name.

“I need to go start selling tickets,” he sighed, turning to leave with suspicion in his eye. “Promise me, Kat.”

“…Oh, alright.”

“Promise me.”

Katniss sighed, smoothing out the fluffy material of her dress as something to keep her hands busy. “Yes Gale, I promise to stay out of trouble. Now go, or you’ll have to answer to the whip.”

He left and Katniss paced the length of the carnie tent. There was music playing inside, the soft blare of a saxophone and some sticks against metal pots. Katniss enjoyed spending time with the performers when allowed. Chaff, the deep-skinned muscle man that could lift four hundred pounds despite missing a hand, made her laugh. And Haymitch, a magician, let her play with some of his props when he was drunk enough.

So, really, her going inside of the tent wasn’t completely for the new boy. She had been keeping her fingers crossed during the promise to Gale, anyways.

Katniss glanced around the abandoned backlot, where dark puddles of mud created divots in the green grass she was forced to hop over to keep her shoes clean. Then, she slipped past the thin curtain, which closed off the strange world of fantasy from harsh reality.

Katniss went unnoticed, weaving her way through lounging performers and billowing clouds of smoke. It was always louder in the back tents – deep laughter and saxophone practices, occasional drunken arguments and the escaped moans from two closer carnies. She winced when the volume grew unexpectedly, and bowed her head as if to provide a thin veil of privacy to a group of outlandish people who didn’t know the meaning of it.

She waved at Haymitch, who only raised up his eyebrows in her direction before blowing up a shining red balloon and twisting it with his skilled hands. The other clowns seemed to be hanging close by; some sleeping, others smoking. The new boy most likely wasn’t far. She bit the inside of her cheek, silently debating with herself whether or not to ask of his whereabouts before she caught a glimpse of something that captured her attention.

There it is again, she thought, following the thin trail of light that bounced off the draped edge of the tent, which was otherwise dark. She bent over in half, silently pushing past it with curiosity in her expression. The corners of her mouth lifted when she saw him, sitting perched on the clear opposite end near one of the long poles, which held the tent in place. With a thin, melting candle for light, he kept a novel perched in his one bent knee, his eyes scrolling the pages like a typewriter.

“Hello,” she offered, jumping in surprise when the boy dropped the book and shot up on one wobbly leg.

“Oh…” she bit the corner of her bottom lip to keep from giggling at his startled expression. His overgrown hair fell haphazardly into his eyes despite his best efforts to push it back.

“Did I scare you?” She asked, reaching out to hand him his cane. He didn’t reply, but accepted the crutch quickly before bending over for the book, which he tucked behind his back away from her view.

“It’s alright, I’m not gonna take it,” she promised. He glanced down at her, bright blue eyes narrowed in suspicion. “I was just curious.”

He huffed in silence, falling back to the ground silently as he dusted the dirty pages. Katniss frowned, shifting on her feet as she watched the boy flip through his story. She hadn’t thought past the initial finding him, and now that she had, the silence was deafening.

“Can you speak?”

The tips of his ears turned red as he kept his gaze focused at the ground, running his hands over the dirty cloth of his pants.

“Of course.”

“I know,” she smiled slyly, inching closer to him the way one might approach a nervous animal. “I just wanted to hear you say something.”

She sat down, pushing her butt closer when he didn’t protest and leaned over his shoulder to glance down at his lap. She’d never seen a book so close in real life, only in the hands of strangers or in pictures. Father had never bothered teaching her how to read more than a few simple words, claiming it was pointless for girls to fill their heads with nonsense like knowledge. Certainly, as a circus girl, it wasn’t Katniss’s place to argue. But, it hadn’t helped her curiosity. She sat in silence, wondering if the boy could actually read the words on the pages, or if he was pretending. It was just as ridiculous for the time to be spent teaching him such a skill as it would be for herself.

“What is your novel about?”

“You can borrow it, if you would like,” he offered, dog-earing one of the pages before handing it over to her waiting hands. Her lips pursed sourly as her eyebrows furrowed, pushing the book back into his hands with a sting of betrayal in her chest.

“Well, you don’t need to make fun of me.” she mumbled, rising up to her feet. How humiliating, to be made fun of by this boy she’d only hoped to make feel more comfortable.

“Wait.” He grabbed hold of her arm, the first physical contact he’d offered to her since she’d approached. Her body stiffened and the warmth of his fingertips was gone in a flash as his hand twitched back down to his side. He pushed a long lock of hair back behind his ear, eyes boring into her despite her back being turned.

And it was then, under the candlelight that she saw the gnashes and hideous scarring that ripped apart more than half of his face up close. Quickly, she looked away.

“I wasn’t making fun of you,” he promised lowly, sounding almost sincere. “I wouldn’t.”

“I can’t read. You should know that,” she sniffed, chin tilted up in the air as her eyes shifted back to his forlorn face. “I’m a lady.”

“My apologies. Someone I kne—” he stopped himself short with a shake of his head before cocking his chin back in the direction of the book. He ghosted a hand over its impressive script before opening it back up to the page he’d previously closed. “Perhaps, I could teach you. If you wanted to learn, then you could borrow it sometime.”

Katniss took a moment to truly ponder the idea. Plenty of carnie’s had taught her things over the years. Octavia, the lady with facial hair as long as that which grew on Katniss’s head, had taught her how to properly buckle her shoes when she was younger. And to that day, Haymitch took credit for teaching the girl her first words. She didn’t suppose accepting such a proposition from this boy was much different.

“What would you like in return?” she wondered aloud, confused by the boys humorless laughter, sounding through the dark space.

“Your company shall be payment enough.”

She imagined the boy, all by himself in the dark confines of the carnie tent with only the book as company, and pitied him. She knew well that it took more than being surrounded by a sea of people to not feel alone. Gale and Prim would like her new friend though, she was sure of it, and together they would all keep him fine company until he found a solid place within the odd circus family.

“Alright,” Katniss agreed, dusting the dirt from the bottom of her old dress. She needed to be going soon, or Gale would grow suspicious. The last thing she needed was father out searching for her when he had a show to run. “Friends, then.”

“Sure,” he agreed slowly, as if mulling over the word. “Friends.”

“But we can hardly be friends if I don’t know your name,” she argued, waiting patiently with her hands twisted together. Her tightly spun sausage curls bounced with every step she took in the direction of the main tent before stopping just outside of it. “Mine is Katniss.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Katniss,” he spoke, so eloquently for someone of his status. “I’m Peeta.”

#fanfic #writing #circus!everlark #this will definitely be on the darker side...lol #probably the darkest thing ive written #very different #but i hope interesting??#let me know if its worth continuing or aborting LOL #writing is hard #everlark #everlark fanfic #thg #why is putting something out into the universe so hard?? lol

60 notes · View notes

avasnotalee · 2 years

Text

I WILL NOT SHUT UP. NOTING CAN STOP ME I CAN DO ALL THE TALKS IN THE WORLD.

spotify pls sponsor me bc my podcasts would go like- viral? is that how you refer to a popular podcast? ANYWAY- bc honestly after mine are released y'all gonna make some bank off me. assuming I were to make one. which if I did- SPOTIFY SPONSOR ME. anytime someone talks about sponsors I think of the hunger games and how I still to this day have dreams multiple times a week that i'm in the hunger games. I never die obvi bc im CLEARLY stronger than everyone despite the stick-like state of my 4'11 body at age 16.... THE WAY IM SIXTEEN YEARS OLD AND A KIDS SIZE 10-12 IN JEANS?!!?! WHO?!?! WHAT? WHEN? WHERE? WHY? HOW? HELP!! no no no bc guess what- KIDS CLOTHES ARE CHEAPER SO JOKES ON YOU muheheheheh HAHAHA WAIT DO YALL KNOW THE TIKTOK SOUND OF THE EVIL ROBLOX LAUGH ITS SO FUNNY I CANT NOW I QUOTE IT ALL THE TIME AND PPL STARE AT ME LIKE IM CRAZY 😭 I wanna play roblox again but my wifi is ~shet~ and as a middle aged white dad would say, I live in the sticks 🙁👎 MY HOUSE IS SO PRETTY ON BLOXBURG I CANT WAIT TO BE A MILF UGHHHH I wanna grow up and go to college bro. I cant WAIT. im gonna host all the holidays, and be the mom I never had 😃🤙 HAHAHAHAHAHAHA YALL SEE I CANT SHUT UP GET ME A PODCAST RN 💀💀 no bc why would you ever hit your kid? that's just literally never sat right with me because I remeber being a little tiny kid and running away from my mom while she tried to hit me crying "please mommy no" like?? how could you ever do that to a child? as they're begging the one they love most not to hurt them. that breaks my heart honestly. can I literally just be the next virgin mary? I wanna kid. I think it's prob my woman hormones coming in but like BRUH I wanna raise a human. WAIT OMG THE WAY I WENT FROM TALKING ABT HUNGER GAMES TO HITTING KIDS WHAT 😭 wait holdup that's technically the same thing except in the hunger games children were murdered- and isn't panem based off america in the future? no bc I remember that it's all bc the ppl rebelled AHAHAHAHA REMEMBER THE REDNECKS STORMING THE CAPITAL?? WHAT IF WE HAD LIKE AN ALTERNATE REALITY AFTER THAT HAPPENED THAT THEY WERE THE ONES WHO REBELLED AND THEN NOW WE LIVED IN PANEM AND HAD TO DO THE HUNGER GAMES???? OKAY OKAY IMMA STOP BEFORE MY IMAGINATION GETS OUTTA HAND 💀

#AVA ACTUALLY STFU BC I PROMISE YOU NOBODY GIVES A SINGLE MICROSCOPIC SLIVER OF A RATS ASS #i'd be genuinely in shock if someone took time out of their day to read this absolute brain rot that is my imagination

2 notes · View notes

metanoiyed-archive · 4 years

Text

The Ahistorical “Burning Times”, Or: Why White People Shouldn’t Be Trusted To Record History

*cracking knuckles* If you saw this post about this post, you know what this is about. If not, read them and come back. Without further ado: The Ahistorical “Burning Times”, Or: Why White People Shouldn’t Be Trusted To Record History.

“The important backdrop for this group is the time period that modern witches and pagans refer to as The Burning Times.”

So the first thing you’ll notice about posts or books that mentioned the ‘burning times’ is that they use very purposeful wording and diction. Notice how the OP says ‘that modern witches and pagans refer to as’ and not, “what historians refer to as”? That’s because historian’s don’t refer to it as the burning times, they refer to it as the ‘Witch Craze’ or ‘Witch Hysteria’, where many people in medieval Europe and America [14th-17th century, but 16th and 17th were the most popular years] were often falsely accused of witchcraft and hung - not burned - for the crime. During the Salem Witch Trials, especially, people like to say ‘we are the granddaughters of witches you couldn’t burn’ -- but no witches were even burned at the stake in Salem (1). Accusing someone of witchcraft was very, very often a political tool used by the Roman Catholic Church or others who operated under it to execute whomever they wished, but we’ll get to that in a second.

“Europe and America were thrust into a moral panic and hysteria over alleged satanic witches. Most of those accused were midwives, healers, poor women, women suffering from mental health issues, and women who were practicing preChristian traditions.” So... Yes to: hysteria, healers and women suffering from mental health issues and practicing pre-Christian traditions. No to pretty much everything else. Men who were healers or suffering mental health issues were also accused, but that’s because anyone could call witchcraft like a boy crying wolf and it was believed. In my ‘A Deed Without A Name’ notes, I go over how in some cases it appears that a certain aspect of people who are in some way different can indicate they’re touched, but often in the past I’m inclined to think in most cases it was simply used to execute people. Also, they killed people practicing pre-Christian traditions because they were racist Europeans and colonialists, and most of the time those pre-Christian traditions were by POC. 14th Century-17th Century is by no means pre-Christian, by that point a lot of folk belief in Europe had been touched by Christian belief, not so much that it entirely changed it, but enough. ‘Alleged’ Satanic witches? Are we just purposefully looking away from Isobel Gowdie’s confession before she was executed? Confessions of people [of those who confessed and were actually witches] who made deals with the Devil/Man in Black/Witchfather in some form are overwhelmingly common. (2).

“Many witches fear a return to the Burning Times, when any old woman was burned at the stake for merely existing below the poverty level.” I really have nothing groundbreaking to say about this one, just that I hate the OP for making me look at it and I hope they stub their toe. ‘fear a return to the burning times’ my ass.

“The total number of those murdered under the guise of witch accusations varies widely by source. Many historians have argued that the number is anywhere between 40,000 and 60,000. Other sources, however, have claimed the number is closer to 100,000 with potentially hundreds of thousands more unaccounted for. It has even been suggested that there were 392,000 in Great Britain alone. The highest number, and number that has become part of popular legend, is approximately 9 million (with the fullness of the Crusades and Spanish Inquisition included). It will never be certain how many women, men, and children were killed, and truthfully the numbers game is irrelevant in the face of trauma. Any genocide, no matter how big or small, is a moral stain on our history.”

Other sources? What sources. You don’t name any of yours, I noticed. ‘Any genocide ... a moral stain on our history’ yet I am sure you turn a blind eye to the plight of those right in front of you, while my people suffer a real continued genocide, you make a fantasy crime. Statista did a chart on how many people were tried and executed between 1300 and 1850, and the number is even lower than you think. (3).

“The Burning Times were a systematic rooting out of female power and autonomy, and non-christian practices. The midwives and healers posed a threat to the structures and systems of politics and medicine... both groups challenging the patriarchy.” This sounds... so fishy. Doesn’t this sound like a weird radical-feminist argument? I’m not implying anything about OP, but the way this whole paragraph reads while trying to include ‘men, women and children’ and then focusing on how this was a whole attack on the women against the patriarchy just... grosses me out, a lot. Because it was never about that, has never been about that, and will never be about that. I also just don’t trust people who refer to women as ‘females’ but that’s just me.

“Most of the following women were (wrongfully) believed to have had sexual intercourse with Satan, signing their names into his black book with their blood.” Again, are we just ignoring Isobel Gowdie’s straight up confession? Or any of the other confessions from Scotland, England, and surrounding areas? This stupid purity culture of wanting to be seen as better to outsiders is so annoying. “I’m not like that trope of witches you’ve seen, we don’t actually have sex with the Devil or sign his black book with blood!” Just because some of us aren’t worried to get our hands dirty and you are doesn’t mean that other witches don’t do that. “wrongfully” where the fuck are you getting your information? Many confessions that they did get included detailed accounts of joining the Man in Black for sabbats, having sex with him, and signing his black book. Not everyone continues the practice today, but some definitely do, they definitely did, and it definitely wasn’t “wrongfully believed”. They were powerful women in their own right. If anything OP, by trying to separate themselves from the legacy of these women, has disgraced them in that way. It takes courage and strength to work with infernal forces from the otherside like that, and here this asshole is just shittin’ on their name pretending they never risked their lives doing it. A source on this from Isobel Gowdie, “As I was going betuix the townes of Drumdewin and the Headis, I met with the Devil, and ther covenanted, in a maner, with him.” and from ‘A Deed Without A Name’ by Lee Morgan, “As we can see when we look over the testimonies of witches from earlier times not everyone is initially approached by an animal spirit. Isobel Gowdie seems to have initially been approached by ‘the Devil’, Bessie Dunlop by a faerie man who claims to have once lived as a human man, others were taken by faeries or by the spirit of another living human practitioner.” (4)

And obviously there are various other sources, these are not the only ones. I’m just too tired to go through my library, cite them all, attach them all - y’all gotta do your own work for once. Read actual history, please. Learn discernment. I don’t even have the energy to go through the list of people the OP put as ‘in memoriam’ because I have no idea if those are historical reasons, either, but honestly I don’t even wanna know. Anyway, it’s bullshit and ahistorical, thanks for coming to my tedtalk. If you push this narrative you owe Black, Native, Jewish people and anyone else otherwise affected by the witch-craze repatriations immediately, I don’t make the rules except I do and those are the rules.

Citations:

Andrews, Evan. “Were Witches Burned at the Stake during the Salem Witch Trials?” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 13 Aug. 2014, www.history.com/news/were-witches-burned-at-the-stake-during-the-salem-witch-trials.

Wilby, E. (2013). The visions of Isobel Gowdie: Magic, witchcraft and dark shamanism in seventeenth-century Scotland. Brighton: Sussex Academic Press.

McCarthy, Niall, and Felix Richter. “Infographic: The Death Toll Of Europe's Witch Trials.” Statista Infographics, 29 Oct. 2019, www.statista.com/chart/19801/people-tried-and-executed-in-witch-trials-in-europe/

Morgan, Lee. A Deed without a Name: Unearthing the Legacy of Traditional Witchcraft. Moon Books, 2013.

#witchcraft #witchblr #isobel gowdie #bessie dunlop #a deed without a name #lee morgan #emma wilby #burning times #ahistorical narrative #ahistorical #history lesson #history #witch craze #witch hysteria #long post #history of witchcraft

58 notes · View notes

maddie-grove · 3 years

Text

The Top Twenty Books I Read in 2020

My main takeaways:

I’m glad that I set certain reading goals this year (i.e., reading an even mix of different genres and writing about each book I read on this tumblr). I feel like it really expanded my horizons.

There are a lot of proper names on my Top 20 list this year, which possibly means something about identity? That, or I just tried to read more Victorian novels.

Be horny, and be kind.

Now...

20. The White Mountains by John Christopher (1967)

In a world ruled by unseen creatures who roam the countryside in tall metal tripods, all humans are “capped” (surgically fitted with metal plates on their heads) at age fourteen. Thirteen-year-old Will Parker looks forward to becoming a man, but a conversation with a mysterious visitor to his village raises a few doubts. This early YA dystopia has gorgeous world-building (notably a trip to the ruins of Paris) and expert pacing. The choices Will has to make are also more surprising and complicated than I ever anticipated.

19. What Happened at Midnight by Courtney Milan (2013)

John Mason wants revenge on his fiancée Mary after she skips town following her father’s death...apparently with the funds that her father, John’s business partner, embezzled from their company. When he tracks her down, though, she’s working as a lady’s companion to the wife of a controlling gentleman who refuses to pay her wages, and John’s fury turns to sympathy and curiosity. This is a smart, well-plotted Victorian-set novella about a couple who builds a better relationship after a rocky start.

18. Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes (1943)

It’s 1773, and fourteen-year-old Bostonian Johnny Tremain has it all: a promising apprenticeship to a silversmith, the run of his arguably senile master’s household, and...unresolved grief over his widowed mother’s death? When a workplace “accident” ruins his hand and career, though, he must “forge” a new identity. Despite its jingoism and surfeit of historical exposition, I fell in love with this weird early YA novel. It’s a fascinating, heartbreaking portrayal of disability and ableism, and, to be fair, Forbes was just jazzed about fighting the Nazis.

17. Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf by Hayley Krischer (2020)

After universally beloved jock Sean Nessel rapes starry-eyed junior Ali Greenleaf at a party, his queen-bee friend Blythe Jensen agrees to smooth things over by befriending his victim. Ali knows Blythe’s motives are weird and sketchy, but being friends with a popular, exciting girl is preferable to dealing with the fallout of the rape. This YA novel is a complex, astute exploration of trauma and moral responsibility.

16. The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein (2017)

Rothstein details how the federal U.S. government allowed, encouraged, and sometimes even forcibly brought about segregation of black and white Americans during the early and mid-twentieth century, with no regard for the unconstitutionality of its actions. He brings home the staggering harm to black Americans who were kept from living in decent housing, shut out of home ownership for generations, and denied the opportunity to accumulate wealth for generations. It’s an impactful read, and I was honestly shocked to learn Rothstein isn’t a lawyer, because the whole thing reads like an expansion of an excellent closing statement.

15. My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf (2012)

In this graphic memoir, Backderf looks back on his casual, fleeting friendship with future serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, a high school classmate who amused Backderf and his geeky friends with bizarre, chaotic antics. Backderf brings their huge, impersonal high school to life, illustrating how the callousness and cruelty of such an environment allowed an isolated, troubled teen to morph into something much more disturbing without anyone really noticing. It’s a work of baffled, tentative empathy and regret that stayed with me long after I finished it.

14. Daniel Deronda by George Eliot (1876)

Gwendolyn Harleth, beautiful and ambitious but with no real outlet, finds herself compelled to marry a heartless gentleman with a shady past. Daniel Deronda, adopted son of her husband’s uncle, finds himself drawn into her orbit due to his helpful nature, but he’s also dealing with a lot of other stuff, like helping a Jewish opera singer and figuring out his parentage. I love George Eliot and, although this bifurcated novel isn’t her most accessible work, it’s highly rewarding. The psychological twists and turns of Gwendolyn’s story are a wonder to experience, and Daniel’s discovery of his past and a new community is moving.

13. The Plot Against America by Philip Roth (2004)

The Roths, an ordinary working-class Jewish family in 1940 Newark, find their quiet lives descending into fear, uncertainty, and strife after Charles Lindbergh, celebrity pilot and Nazi sympathizer, becomes president of the United States. This alternate history/faux-memoir perfectly captures the slow creep of fascism and the high-handed cruelty of state-sanctioned discrimination, as well as the weirdness of living a semi-normal life while all of that is going on. Also: fuck Herman and Alvin for messing up Bess’s coffee table! She is a queen, and she deserves to read Pearl S. Buck in a pleasant setting!

12. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens (1850)

Young David Copperfield has an idyllic life with his sweet widowed mom and devoted nursemaid Peggotty, until his cruel stepfather ruins everything. David eventually manages to find safe harbor with his eccentric aunt, but his troubles have only begun. Although the quality of the novel falls off a little once David becomes an adult, I don’t even care; the first half is one of the most beautiful, funny, brilliantly observed portrayals of the joys and sorrows of childhood that I’ve ever read.

11. The Rise and Fall of Adam and Eve by Stephen Greenblatt (2017)

Greenblatt examines the evolution and cultural significance of the story of Adam and Eve from the Bible to the modern day (but mostly it’s about Milton). I can’t speak to the scholarship of this book--I’m not an expert on the Bible or Milton or bonobos--but I do know that it’s a gorgeously written meditation on love, mortality, and free will. Greenblatt brought me a lot of joy as an unhappy teenager, and he came through for me again during the summer of 2020.

10. The Music of What Happens by Bill Konigsberg (2019)

Self-conscious seventeen-year-old Jordan is mortified when his widowed mother hires Max, an outgoing jock from his school, to help out with their struggling food truck. As they get to know each other, though, they realize that they have more in common than they thought, and they end up helping each other through a particularly challenging summer. This is an endearing, exceedingly well-balanced YA romance that tackles serious issues with a light touch and a naturalness that’s rare in the genre.

9. Red as Blood by Tanith Lee (1983)

In nine wonderfully lurid stories, Tanith Lee retells fairy tales with a dark, historically grounded, and lady-centered twist. Highlights include a medieval vampiric Snow White, a vengeful early modern Venetian Cinderella, and a Scandinavian werewolf Little Red Riding Hood. Fairy tale retellings are right up my alley, and Lee’s collection is impressively varied and creative.

8. A Room with a View by E.M. Forster (1908)

Unnerved by an impulsive make-out session with egalitarian George Emerson on a trip to Florence, young Edwardian woman Lucy Honeychurch goes way too far the other way and gets engaged to snobbish Cecil Vyse. How can she get out of this emotional and social pickle? This is an absolutely delightful romance that gave a timeless template for romantic comedies and dramas for 100-plus years.

7. My Ántonia by Willa Cather (1918)

Jim Burden, a New York City lawyer, tells the story of his friendship with slightly older Bohemian immigrant girl Ántonia when they were kids together on the late-nineteenth-century Nebraska prairie. It was a pretty pleasant time, give or take a few murders, suicides, and attempted rapes. This is one of the sweetest stories about unrequited love I’ve ever read, and it has some really enjoyable queer subtext.

6. Mister Death’s Blue-Eyed Girls by Mary Downing Hahn (2012)

In 1956 Maryland, gawky teen Nora’s peaceful existence is shattered by the unsolved murder of her friends Cheryl and Bobbi Jo right before summer vacation. Essentially left to deal with her trauma alone, she begins to question everything, from her faith in God to the killer’s real identity. Hahn delivers a beautiful coming-of-age story along with a thoughtful portrait of how a small community responds to tragedy.

5. The Lais of Marie de France by Marie de France, with translation and introduction/notes by Robert Herring and Joan Ferrante (original late 12th century, edition 1995)

In twelve narrative poems, anonymous French-English noblewoman Marie de France spins fantastically weird tales of love, lust, and treachery. Highlights include self-driving ships, gay (?) werewolves, and more plot-significant birds than you can shake a stick at. Marie de France brings so much tenderness, delicacy, and startling humor to her stories, offering a wonderful window to the distant past.

4. Maus by Art Spiegelman (1980-1991)

In this hugely influential graphic novel/memoir, Art Spiegelman tells the story of how his Polish Jewish parents survived the Holocaust. He portrays all the characters as anthropomorphic animals; notably, the Jewish characters are mice and the Nazi Germans are cats. I read the first volume of Maus back in 2014 and, while I appreciated and enjoyed it, I didn’t get the full impact until I read both volumes together early in 2020. Spiegelman takes an intensely personal approach to his staggering subject matter, telling the story through the lens of his fraught relationship with his charismatic and affectionate, yet truly difficult father.

3. At the Dark End of the Street by Danielle L. McGuire (2010)

McGuire looks at a seldom-explored aspect of racism in the Jim Crow South (the widespread rape and sexual harassment of black women by white men) and the essential role of anti-rape activism led by black women during the Civil Rights movement. This is a harrowing yet tastefully executed history, and it’s also a truly inspirational story of collective activism.

2. In for a Penny by Rose Lerner (2010)

Callow Lord Nevinstoke has to mature fast when his father dies, leaving him an estate hampered by debts and extremely legitimate grievances from angry tenant farmers. To obtain the necessary funds, he marries (usually!) sensible brewing heiress Penelope Brown, but they face problems that not even a sizable cash infusion can fix. This is a refreshingly political romance with a deliciously tense atmosphere and fascinating themes, as well as an almost painfully engaging central relationship.

1. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen (1814)

Fanny Price, the shy and sickly poor relation of the wealthy Bertram family, is subtly mistreated by most of her insecure and/or self-absorbed relatives, with the exception of her kind cousin Edmund. When the scandalous Crawford siblings visit the neighborhood, though, it shakes up her life for good and ill. I put off reading Mansfield Park for years--it’s practically the last bit of Austen writing that I consumed, including most of her juvenilia--and yet I think it’s my favorite. Fanny is an eminently lovable and interesting heroine, self-doubting and flawed yet possessed of a strong moral core, and the rest of the characters are equally realistic and compelling. Austen really made me think about the point of being a good person, both on a personal and a global scale.

#books #reading #rape #racism #genocide #murder #(it was a more cheerful reading year than these tags indicate)#(or was it? i don't know)

13 notes · View notes

whetstonefires · 4 years

Note

Thank you so, so, so much for that Tony Stark post. Because, yes, exactly you hit the nail on the head: he is not personally controllable with legislation and he is definitely suffering from guilt and self recrimination but that DOES NOT MEAN you get to hurt others. He is painful to watch. I've never seen anyone articulate it so well, thank you. I ended up writing an essay in my notes just agreeing with you a lot because he cannot use his pain as an excuse for the scale of damage he does.

Where is the essay nonny??? I cannot find it. Show meeeeee.

💖 Thank you for the positivity! Ngl it’s always scary criticizing a popular character, you never know what’s going to happen.

I’ve tried a lot of times to respond to this ask without going on another tirade, but they keep building up, especially whenever I see someone tearing Steve down to build Tony up, and I go from zero to a full head of steam so fast.

I’ve avoided engaging about it, but it fucks me up so bad every time, it’s crazy.

Because I didn’t think I was all that attached to Cap, I don’t even really consider myself a fan, but he. Right up until that unintentionally appalling ending they derailed his character into, he worked so hard to be good.

He doesn’t want to kill anyone, but he doesn’t like bullies.

He spent his entire life under conditions of extreme suffering, and unlike Tony he refused to let it warp him into something vicious and selfish that lashed out at others to comfort himself--or rather, he bound himself with adamantine chains to make sure that when he used violence, even as a coping mechanism, it was only ever against people more powerful than him, individually or in aggregate, who were doing something harmful he could interfere against, and who had the freedom to walk away.

Tony never bothered with any of that. He doesn’t have to. No one expects anything of him, in his life or ours; our standards are in the basement and we’re super willing to identify with him, so even the manifestation of the awareness that he did something wrong is cheered like heroism. He expects ‘points’ for remembering there was a connection between Pepper and strawberries, even if she’s allergic and he thought they were her favorite, and he gets them.

All he has to do is turn away from being his worst self, no matter how many times he completes that rotation a full 360 degrees, and we’ll cheer for him.

Which is a great character design strategy! Honestly! Except they walked it into the ground.

Tony was introduced as someone learning to be better, but then he wound up getting worse and worse and worse. His redemption arc derailed really early, because Marvel Studios were lazy or afraid or didn’t trust their audience, idk.

He sacrificed so many people to his own gaping emotional wound, that hungry maw of egotism turned Byronic and recharacterized as heroism, as goodness or at least its sketch.

Jumping on the grenade is so much easier than reining yourself in every minute, not abusing your power, respecting the lives and needs of others and treating them as real.

Nothing Tony ever achieved moved the dial away from his narcissism, and very little of it did anything about the toxicity of how he inhabited that narcissism. And a heroic death would be nothing in the face of his personal crimes even if it had been one that was a little more rationally necessary, and not one that took several hours of movie and the contrived failure of every other person in the setting to even be possible or relevant.

(And even if you’re willing to hang onto suspension of disbelief and pretend that dropping 3.5 billion refugees into a world that just barely patched itself together in the face of 50% mortality somehow isn’t going to result in a staggering death toll.)

Unlike Vader, Tony Stark died as he lived, and so the death means much, much less.

With great power comes great responsibility, and with his billions Tony was always the most powerful Avenger, because Thor never took his throne when it was still tall and golden and untouchable. And he spat on that principle every day of his life.

And when people act like his ‘suffering’ somehow justifies that, it’s like every single piece of the warped rich-white-confident-male-centric empathy gap of our culture leaping into life and strangling all ethical rationality and justice. I just.

I know it’s just superheroes. I know it’s not serious. Except superheroes and cinema are mainstays of our shared cultural sense of right and wrong. The Violence Against Women Act exists purely because of the shift in public perception created by one movie about one real woman.

So when a massive superhero film franchise has a moral narrative that I find repulsive, and I see that reasoning echoed out in the world, it feels important.

I am attached to Steve, small angry starving Steve looking Death in the face every day he drew breath and refusing to blink, but I think what’s making me so damn mad when I see this insistence on tearing him down to prop up a mass murderer is the proof that even Captain America, who is white and male and tall and beautiful and romantically interested in women, who ticks all these boxes that help when it comes to Mattering, still doesn’t have enough Real Person Points to stand up against the absolute certainty in a billionaire’s heart that he is the only real person in the universe, that his self-pity is the truest sorrow that ever was.

Not in Tony’s eyes, and not when it comes to our willingness as a society to inexplicably believe him.

#tony stark negative #steve rogers #this is the shortest i've been able to keep this #empathy gap #tony just grew steadily into a nightmare #although honestly he never really stopped #and i was able to go along and forgive him #for the sake of hte story #right up until the narrative started telling me i *had* to #and that his feelings *really were* the most important thing in the universe #at which point i would very happily drive a stake through his heart #i throw salt #hoc est meum #many feelings #a nonny mouse #ask

74 notes · View notes

swissmissficrecs · 4 years

Text

Most kudoed Sherlock (BBC) fics in 2019

Sherlock fics from 2019 with more than 1000 kudos on AO3*

1. Riptide Lover by jinglebell - 4011 kudos 114K, E, Johnlock, John/others The year is 1866. When John becomes swept overboard, he never expects to encounter a living creature of myth. When the merman absconds with John, the lost sailor must use every tool at his disposal to convince Sherlock not to kill him. But it seems that killing John Watson is not what the deadly, beautiful creature has in mind at all...

2. The Only Unproblematic Slash Fic by songlin - 2641 kudos 554 words, M, Johnlock I decided to write this after being OUTRAGED by the number of highly problematic and abusive fanfics I see on this site! Honestly I shouldn't even post it here at all, since AO3 is complicit in LITERAL SEX TRAFFICKING and ABUSE by allowing just anyone to post whatever they want. But it's the best website for posting fic. What am I supposed to do, raise money to pay for servers and use AO3's entirely, 100% open source code to start a new site that upholds REAL MORALITY? Anyways here's my fanfic.

3. A different kind of adventure by curiousbees (orphaned) - 1996 kudos 27K, E, Johnlock A series of rash experiments at twenty-three left omega Sherlock unable to form a bond or have a child. He never particularly cared, even if he sometimes caught himself wishing after meeting John. Now at 36, this inability is simply another part of who he is, like his intellect or his tendency for addiction. So after one night's loss of logic with his married best friend, he doesn't think to question it. In hindsight, he really shouldn't have taken it for granted.

4. What We Could Be by Mottlemoth - 1908 kudos 46K, E, Mystrade Ficlets and short stories featuring Mycroft Holmes and Greg Lestrade. Fluff, smut, humour, a little well-marked angst... and of course, lots and lots of romance.

5. East End Boy by Mottlemoth - 1620 kudos 192K, E, Mystrade "You fear becoming the plaything of a powerful man." Greg Lestrade might have risen to the rank of Detective Inspector, but he's still just an East End boy at heart. That's why this arrangement with Mycroft Holmes, power incarnate, is starting to feel so weird—if only Mycroft weren't so hard to resist.

6. Minutiae (Or 156 Things I Know About You) by AtlinMerrick - 1572 kudos 105K, E, Johnlock Here, in no particular order, are some of the things John has learned about Sherlock, and some of the things Sherlock has learned about John.

7. A Novel Romance by EventHorizon - 1511 kudos 357K, M, Mystrade Mycroft Holmes is a successful, yet reclusive, mystery writer. His agent nearly had to resort to torture to persuade the writer to allow a studio the rights to film one of his books. The studio wants the highly profitable and extremely sexy Greg Lestrade for the role, but Mycroft isn’t happy with the choice. The studio sends him to Mycroft’s remote country home to do some persuading. Once there, after getting to know the secretive, brilliant and slightly-eccentric Mycroft Holmes, Greg isn’t certain which ranks higher on his persuading list - him getting a role he dearly wants or him getting a man he dearly wants.

8. Sensory Science by sussexbound (SamanthaLenore) - 1439 kudos 80K, E, Johnlock John Watson has been invalided home from Afghanistan and is struggling with anxiety, depression, PTSD and insomnia, when an old friend from med school recommends something that might help: An ASMR YouTube Channel run by a friend. One session in and John is hooked, not only by the way the ASMR seems to calm him after nightmares, and help him sleep, but also by the mysterious man who runs it.

9. White Knight by DiscordantWords - 1360 kudos 69K, M, Johnlock Sherlock needs to fake a relationship for a case. He doesn't ask John.

10. Just To Hold You Close by sussexbound (SamanthaLenore) - 1324 kudos 70K, E, Johnlock When a woman is murdered and the last person to see her alive is recently invalided army vet turned reluctant (and prickly) professional cuddler, John Watson, Sherlock Holmes is pulled into a world of intimacy and intrigue he never could have imagined.

11. Proving A Point by elldotsee, J_Baillier - 1296 kudos 186K, E, Johnlock Invalided home from Afghanistan, running out of funds and convinced that his surgical career is over, John Watson accepts a mysterious job offer to provide care and companionship for a disabled person. Little does he know how much hangs in the balance of his performance as he settles into his new life at Musgrave Court.

12. Dearest Life by InnerSpectrum - 1265 kudos 276K, E, Johnlock / Warstan / Mystrade Sherlock is forced to marry John, a wealthy Alpha doctor, who is married to Mary, an infertile Beta. Both of whom hide dark secrets from each other.

13. Soul Mate by Mottlemoth - 1258 kudos 4K, T, Mystrade The words appeared on Mycroft's arm aged fourteen, foretelling the first thing his soul mate would ever say to him—and horrifying his respectable parents. He's now lived with the unfortunate words all his life, not certain that he even wishes to meet his soul mate if that's how the man talks. But when Sherlock befriends a Scotland Yard inspector named Lestrade, Mycroft might just change his mind.

14. Isosceles by SilentAuror - 1212 kudos 56K, E, Johnlock and Sherlock/OMC After solving a case for a major celebrity, Sherlock gets himself asked out. When John asks, he discovers that Sherlock has no intention of going, at least not until John agrees to coach him through whatever he might need to know for his date...

15. Beloved Baker Street by LadyLibby - 1164 kudos 203K, T, Sherlock/female!Reader / Warstan / Mollstrade / John/OMC Y/N Hudson grew up in America, daughter to a loving British mother and the leader of a notorious drug cartel in Florida. She grew into a brilliant and yet compassionate young woman with a penchant for solving mysteries. Accepted into the forensic department at Scotland Yard, Y/N never expected to be swept up into the whirlwind life of Sherlock Holmes....

16. It takes John Watson to save your life. by Sparkypip - 1135 kudos 105K, T, Gen A series of One shots where John saves Sherlock's life in so many ways.

17. The Bells of King's College by SilentAuror - 1131 kudos 64K, E, Johnlock It's only been two weeks since Eurus Holmes disrupted their lives when Mycroft sends John and Sherlock to Cambridge to pose as an engaged couple at a wedding show in the hopes of solving six unsolved deaths...

18. And if it begins anywhere, it begins here by Salambo06 - 1080 kudos 26K, E, Johnlock When Sherlock finds a letter in his bedroom, he doesn't expect to read the words of another version of himself from a parallel universe. What he expects even less is to read Sherlock Watson-Holmes at the bottom of the letter.

19. Pink, Purple and Blue by Mottlemoth - 1044 kudos 5K, T, Mystrade After eight years of failed marriage to a woman, with his boyfriends now a distant memory, Greg feels unwelcome in his own sexuality. Fallen between two factions, it seems like he belongs to neither. Comfort and reassurance come from an unlikely source.

20. Better Late Than Never by sussexbound (SamanthaLenore) - 1020 kudos 3K, T, Johnlock He suddenly wants John Watson out of his bedroom, out of his flat, out of his life, because he has been lying to himself these last few months, he realises. He doesn’t want John here, not with the way things are. He doesn’t want to keep being so careful, so generous, so, so…

* And now for the caveats:

- I’ve cut some of the summaries down because they were way too wordy. Sorry, authors. Write shorter summaries. It’s an AO3 blurb, not a dust jacket. - The kudo count is as of 2 January 2020. Obviously, fics that started posting earlier have the advantage, since they had a longer time to gather kudos. - For this list, I disregarded all fics tagged with multiple fandoms, since their popularity may be due to those other fandoms. - Fics may get - or not get - kudos for various reasons. This is not intended to be a rec list per se, and being on or off this list is not a statement on the quality of any given fic.

#rec list

349 notes · View notes

arrowsjusticeleague · 4 years

Text

Why I will stand by my opinion of the Arrowverse having built a better team of heroes with the (as of yet technically unnamed) Justice League than Marvel's Avengers, despite the latter being more economically successful and popular: an essay by me

(Please don't hate me I actually really like Marvel and the Avengers and stuff I just think DC have done it better)

Character Development: They built up every character in the Justice League properly, giving them time and space to develop before making them part of a team. Each character has their own show, bar Martian Manhunter and Superman, but Martian Manhunter has had plenty of screen time and character development on Supergirl, and Superman, while having only brief appearances on Supergirl, he's certainly had more screen time than Hawkeye did before The Avengers. Furthermore, Superman is probably the most well known superhero in DC comics alone, if not the most well known superhero ever, and his own TV show (along with Lois!) has been announced as a work in development. This contrasts with Black Widow, who despite having been in many Marvel movies since her first appearance in Iron Man 2 in 2010, is only now getting her movie after ten years of being in the franchise, and after almost eight years of being part of the most popular superhero team in the world. Every other character: The Flash, Supergirl, Batwoman, White Canary and Black Lightning are all the leads of their own shows, and have been developed over years of TV episodes, each as individuals before they became part of what is possibly the most iconic superhero alliance ever.

Diversity: Marvel has only recently started adding "diversity" to its movies after criticism from the viewers who want to see representation onscreen. DC and the CW have never had that pressure regarding the Arrowverse, as a less popular franchise than Marvel's Avengers, yet it has more diversity in the franchise than many I've seen before. Two of the League are black men, one is a lesbian, and the new leader of the League is a bi woman. Each of the shows involved in developing this team has in some way directly dealt with discrimination in society, and many of the shows have multiple POC and LGBTQ+ characters on them, with Supergirl having the world's first ever live action trans superhero. What I've just described should be the normality amongst TV and movies today. This representation should be seen everywhere, and the fact that the MCU has so little is honestly shocking considering the immense scale of the franchise now.

The League was only created after the huge 'change' in continuity: Respectively, Avengers Infinity War/Endgame and Crisis on Infinite Earths represent similar turning points for the MCU and the Arrowverse. But the Avengers were formed before this turning point even happened. The Justice League have only been established since then. This may seem like a ridiculous point, but it ties into point 1 largely. The Justice League needed a trigger for them to form: Oliver’s death was this. The Avengers formed because the world needed them, and this I understand, but it seemed to early in the MCU's continuity to establish an official team of heroes which from then on could only work together and not individually. From then on, there had to be a cameo from one of the other Avengers in almost every MCU movie from then on. Captain America: Civil War was Avengers 2.5, and Spider-Man: Homecoming could've worked without Iron Man to boost its sales. Black Panther (one of my all time favorite MCU movies) was an incredible movie even without the appearance of Bucky Barnes during the end credits, and characters such as Black Widow, Hawkeye and the Hulk were stuffed into other movies within the franchise when they couldn't find another place for them. Only three out of the six original Avengers had movies featuring the same actors, (all of them were white, seemingly priveleged men) one had a movie with a completely different cast which was disregarded as canon when it didn't hit a high enough box office boom, and two were characters which had made cameos in other movies with very little screen time and even less development. The Arrowverse having 'unofficial' team-ups, AKA the crossovers, when several different groups of heroes, each established on their own individual shows got together for a threat that was too huge for them to handle individually, gave the characters space to have their own shows and develop DC lore without having to appear in any official context, before creating the Justice League after their pioneer and original hero who inspired them all has sacrificed himself to create a universe where they can all live in. Furthermore, the writers had clearly been planning this for potentially up to six years, as in an episode of The Flash season 1, Gideon says: "Barry Allen... one of the founding members of the....", suggesting that the Justice League (which The Flash of the original comic book variety was an original founder of too) was partially founded by Barry, yet they still took a further six years to develop him and many other characters. If they'd so desperately wanted an onscreen Justice League then, which I'm sure they did, then they could've created it then, much like Marvel did, introducing Supergirl and Batwoman etc. to the universe without first developing them.

My overall point is, the MCU may have done it first in the form of the Avengers, but that doesn't mean they prioritised storytelling. The Arrowverse have built it up over time, and yes, it may have been predictable, but this anticipation has led to an incredible payoff, and whereas it may be the end of an era for both the MCU and the Arrowverse, it is also the beginning for the Arrowverse. It may have had live action onscreen superheroes for years, but it's only just beginning to create a new era, an age of heroes, a league of heroes. For Marvel, this era is over, but it never really got started.

(Again sorry for rant no hate on marvel I love the comics and no hate on the mcu I love many of those movies, plenty hate on disney as a franchise and how it's storytelling direction was just: what sells, fast and with poor development for characters that deserve it)

#crisis on infinite earths #dc #dctv #dc comics #arrowverse #marvel #mcu #avengers #avengers endgame #avengers infinity war #arrow #supergirl #the flash #batwoman #black lightning #legends of tomorrow #coie #coie spoilers #justice league

197 notes · View notes