#marcel's doing great btw

[palepinkycat]

everyone always asks where's Marcel but no one ever asks how's Marcel

Alistair's drowning in the background

#dragon age fanart #dragon age origins #warden amell #mermay 2022 #merman #dao #grey warden #art tag #oc:marcel #oc:cillian #marcel's doing great btw

[mrs-kmikaelson]

05| The Tribrid

Pairing: Klaus Mikaelson x daughter!reader Summary: As you settle back into the Quarter, you juggle your personal and new professional life—but with the Mikaelsons, it was almost as if there was no difference between the two. Warnings: none Words: 5.6K

Masterlist | Part 6

a/n: i see this series getting long, guys; just letting you know. btw, i'm pretty much unoccupied, so u can expect new posts for this series and possibly other imagines like every 2-3 days. and tysm for all the support! anyway, i'll let you get to reading now.

I walked into the Abattoir with a façade of confidence. I was now completely sober, facing the repercussions of my drunken actions. It'd been about a week since my agreement with Elijah and he'd only just called me in to speak with him yesterday.

I was currently cursing my drunk self, but at least Marcel was now allowed back into the Quarter without any fuss. Of course, he wasn't allowed back into the slaughterhouse, but he did compel himself a nice little townhouse a few minutes of human-walking away from my place.

In New Orleans, it was always better to live in the Quarter than anywhere else. This was the heart of the city's supernatural happenings. You were both safest here and also at most danger. But I guess, if you had enemies, you wanted to be in the Quarter because, if you had a crew to roll with, then nobody would really try you.

That's how it used to be at one point in time, and that's what the factions were trying to achieve now.

I was immediately greeted after making it past the gates. "Y/N," Elijah said, walking towards me, hands held out. He wrapped an arm around me, walking me to the couches in the middle of the courtyard. I tried not to show any discomfort at the physical touch. "It's lovely to see you."

I chuckled a little. "Feeling's mutual," I replied, causing the nobleman to let out a little laugh himself. I sat down on one of the couches while he sat on the other. "So, what have we got today?"

He sighed, "The withes are unhappy because of- all due respect, Marcellus' actions."

Right. Marcel forbade anyone to do magic. While I understand his reasoning, trying to protect a little witch by the name of Davina Claire, it was cruel. To ask a witch to go without magic was like asking a human not to breathe; it was damn near impossible.

Even though I get what he was trying to do, I still didn't agree with it—but that didn't mean that I agreed with what the New Orleans witches were doing either.

"So I've heard. But I'm sure you're aware of why he did what he did." He was; otherwise, I wouldn't have brought it up. I wouldn't do anything to endanger Davina; she'd become like a family to me. I knew that the Mikaelsons knew all about Davina, the harvest, and whatnot.

"Yes, of course. To protect Davina, I understand. She is special, without a doubt." Elijah's voice with filled with nothing other than conviction; I'd expect nothing less when people were speaking about Davina.

I smiled thinking about her. "Yes, she is."

"However, it still hasn't done us any favours on a community-wide scale." Elijah ran a hand through his hair. "The witches' spokesperson, Genevieve, is just about furious with the treatment they've received." A look suddenly appeared on his face. "And considering the... interactions my family has had with her, I wouldn't want to anger her further, especially since Hayley is with child."

This was the first time my heart didn't stop at the mention of Klaus' unborn baby. Instead, I was too focused on the witch Elijah named: Genevieve. Now, this was a name Marcel had somehow neglected to inform me about, but I was well aware of who she was.

From my understanding, Rebekah Mikaelson killed her the same year the Mikaelsons fled New Orleans, sometime in the early 1900s. Marcel spilled the whole story to me one night when he was drunk.

Genevieve died. Yet, according to Elijah (and I know this is not a coincidence) she's alive leading the NOLA coven.

Great.

I responded after a beat, bringing my hands together. "Okayyy, so what are we doing?"

"Making the witches happy, love."

Now my heart stopped.

I turned my head to see Klaus just finishing walking down the stairs. "Elijah tells me you're our new... fixer." He shrugged, making his way to the minibar. "So fix it."

"Niklaus."

"Get a grip, Elijah. I don't think I'm offending the young woman," he said before turning to face me. "Am I offending you, love?"

I skipped the whole processing bit of this situation and dived straight into my persona. "Not at all."

Klaus made a gesture to me with his hand, turning back to his brother. "See, Elijah. Marcel's right hand has tough skin." Elijah responded with a much more exhausted sigh than before, rubbing his hand on his face. Klaus ignored this, turning back to me with a bottle of bourbon in his hand. "Want me to pour you a glass, Y/N?"

"It is ten o'clock in the morning, Niklaus."

"All the more reason," he quipped back. "Y/N?"

I tried to loosen up, but my smile probably came out a little more tense than I originally intended. "I'm good; thank you."

Klaus looked at me for a few seconds before shrugging and pouring his own glass. Elijah took this opportunity to continue, but not before letting out another sigh. "As I was saying before my brother so tersely interrupted us, Genevieve has agreed to meet with us after I told her that you—Marcel's right hand, as Niklaus put it—were going to be representing us."

I tried to focus all my attention on the task at hand instead of my absent father who kept looking over at me periodically. I remembered what this was like when I did it for Cellie; I just had to get back in the game. "So, if you are looking to make an agreement of some sort, what are you willing to negotiate—give up, even?"

Just as Elijah was about to answer, Klaus briskly cut him off. "Oh, that's all on you, love." I narrowed my eyes slightly and he elaborated. "You decide then and there what you think is fair." He shrugged again, and although he looked carefree, he also had a smug look on his face that I doubt he was even trying to hide. "Ball's in your court." This was a test.

I didn't ponder on that for too long, nodding to him. "I can do that."

Klaus nodded back. He looked like he wanted to say something, but a quick look from Elijah seemed to make him want to hold his tongue. Thank God.

While I seemed like I was coming a long way, just the mere idea of holding a conversation with this man was terrifying. There were so many things I was holding my tongue about. It was just lucky that I so happened to be 500 years old. A few, quick conversations with my dad who had no idea I was his illegitimate child would not break me. Maybe it fucked with my head, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle.

I'm here after all, aren't I?

Elijah cleared his throat. "Well, it seems to me that we've discussed everything we needed to discuss for today." He stood up and I followed suit. "Again, it was lovely seeing you, Y/N."

"Likewise." I shook the hand he held out, once again ignoring the weird original rush I felt. "I'll see myself out." Couldn't get out faster.

I walked toward the exit before Elijah could say something gentlemanly about escorting me out and before Klaus could say something that'd boggle my mind even further. I assumed he'd text me the details about the meeting later.

I took a deep breath immediately once I was far enough from the compound that I was sure they wouldn't hear me. I had no idea how I was going to get used to any of this, but it was too late to go back now.

In the meantime, I decided to take my mind off the Mikaelsons for a bit by visiting someone who I've yet to see.

I walked into the old church with caution. It wasn't like I had a problem with Kieran; I just felt awkward whenever I talked to him, so I'd rather avoid him. I've had enough awkward situations in these past few weeks to last me a lifetime.

To my luck, he was absent and so I just walked straight upstairs, dodging cobwebs as I went until I made it to the attic's ajar door. A girl sat on a stool in front of an easel, painting a landscape. She was so focused she didn't even notice me push the door the rest of the way open.

I smiled, leaning on the door as I looked around the room that'd changed since I last saw it, now more decorated and screaming it'd been touched by a teenage girl. "So Marcel's still got you holed up in here, huh?"

She instantly spun around with her jaw dropped. "Y/N?!" She ran toward me, engulfing me in a tight hug that I'm sure would've broken some bones if I was human.

I chuckled, "Hi, Davina. I've missed you, too."

She pulled back, looking over me with disbelief visible on her face. "Oh, my God- when did you get back?"

"A little while ago. I'm sorry I couldn't come see you sooner, but I've been absolutely swamped. I promise, though—going into the future, I'll make time to see you." Davina smiled, pulling me back in for another hug. Her happiness spread to me and I started smiling so hard that my cheeks hurt. I think this might be the first time I've been this happy since I got back to New Orleans.

Davina was an amazing kid. I was supposed to meet up with Marcel the night of the harvest when he saved her, and so I ended up meeting her a few months before I left. She just so happened to be one of the few people who know my secret. She was incredibly gifted and reminded me so much of my younger self. I felt like I owed it to her, to myself, to be there for her. In the short time I've known her, she's become something like a little sister to me, if not a daughter.

When we broke from the hug, we both ended up sitting on the bed. I let her catch me up on what's been happening, even though I already more or less knew it from Marcel's summaries. "Okay, so if the witches aren't trying to hunt you down anymore, why are you still hiding away in this attic?"

"Well, I'm not hiding away anymore," she replied. "Marcel just figured it'd be safer for me to stay here instead of with them. He still doesn't trust them and, honestly, neither do I. They've been acting kind of weird since the witches were resurrected, but I just deal with it and go there everyday to practice."

I hummed. I understood Marcel's reasoning; keeping Davina at the church was actually pretty smart. I wouldn't trust her with a bunch of vengeful witches, either, especially after they tried to kill her once. But this attic was far too small for a little girl to spend her days in.

I looked around the cluttered room, thinking before I said screw it and decided to propose my idea to Davina. "What if you didn't have to stay here?" I asked, looking back at her.

She furrowed her brows. "What do you mean? It's not like there's anywhere else I could go, besides with the witches."

"Not necessarily true." I sat up straighter. "I mean, my townhouse has three rooms, and only one of those rooms isn't empty." I shrugged, gesturing around the room. "It's bigger than this place, so all your stuff would fit."

She sat up too. "Wait, are you being serious?"

"Hell yeah, I am. And the protections on my place are a lot better than this church's, trust me."

"You want me to move in with you?"

"Yeah, Davina, that's what I've been sayi-" I was cut off when she threw her arms around me in the tightest hug she'd given me since I entered the attic, and that was saying something.

"Oh, my gosh! Yes, of course!" 

I giggled at her enthusiasm, hugging her back before pulling away to pull my phone out of my back pocket. "Okay, I'll drop you off at the apartment now and I'll text some people to come pick up your stuff and bring it to you." I glanced back up at her for confirmation, looking back at my phone when she giddily nodded. "You can just make yourself at home and get settled in. I'll be home a bit later; I just have a business meeting first."

"Yeah, sure." Davina then stood up, looking around and clapping her hands. "I'll start packing!"

I laughed for what felt like the umpteenth time since I've seen her, standing up too. "Alright, D. I'll see you later," I said, but she was already far too engrossed in packing her things, giving me a distracted goodbye. I shook my head, the corners of my lips going up even higher as I left the room.

Thank God I wouldn't have to come back to this creepy ass church anymore. I really hadn't even thought of asking Davina move in with me; it was such a spur of the moment kind of thing, but I had no doubts then and no doubts now. She'd be safer with me than here, with the witches, or even Marcel.

At the though of my friend, I went to text him about this new development, coming across a message from Elijah along the way.

Elijah M. We'll be meeting the witches at 7:00 PM at the compound.

You OK, I'll be there.

I stuffed my phone back into my pocket after responding to Elijah and texting Marcel about Davina. Seven was two hours away, so I had time to go home and freshen up before the meeting.

I wasn't nervous; I'd already been here before, already done it all, but I did feel a weird pressure to do this well. Something in me said Klaus was counting on me to fail, so it was my job to prove him wrong.

I walked right into the compound later without standing out front for ten minutes like I did this morning. I was gonna have to get used to this all eventually and I'd prefer that'd happen sooner rather than later. 

I was apparently earlier than everyone else because there wasn't a Mikaelson or red-haired witch in sight. I checked my watch: 6:30, it read. Earlier than I expected, but that was fine with me. I wiped the imaginary dust off my outfit: slacks and a tight white dress shirt that I'd unbuttoned just enough to not look like a female Elijah. Resemblance to the Mikaelsons was not what I needed right now.

I was just about to pull out my phone to keep myself busy when I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around, my eyes meeting the mother of Klaus' kid. "Oh, hi," she greeted, a surprised look on her face. "What are you- oh, right, Elijah told me you guys were meeting with the witches tonight."

"Yeah- it, uh, appears that I'm a bit early." I chuckled, making small talk even though I really didn't want to have any unnecessary conversations with anyone that lived in this building.

"No, it's a good quality. Elijah's like that," she told me. I nodded, ignoring my thoughts which were questioning her relationship with Elijah. Something told me it was a lot more complicated than it seemed. "I wanted to thank you, by the way."

My brows furrowed. "Hm? For what?"

"For covering me that day with Elijah- and for saving me from that vampire that day, too," she expressed with an almost bashful look on her face. "I realize I was pretty rude to you, but I was really just having a bad day, and-"

"And I'm a vampire, so you were just being careful." She let a small, embarrassed smile form on her lips which I reciprocated. "It's fine, I get it. I'd do the same if I were in your shoes."

"Thank you for understanding; I really appreciate it." I told her it was no problem, resisting the urge to be nosy and ask why she didn't wanna tell Elijah what happened; I didn't want to risk her growing suspicious of me.

Before Hayley and I could fall into an uncomfortable silence, Klaus and Elijah strolled in through the gates into the courtyard. Klaus' eyes narrowed between me and Hayley, probably in a protective manner, while Elijah greeted me. 

"Y/N, sorry to have kept you waiting-"

"Oh, no, it was no biggie." I gestured to Hayley. "I had good company, anyways." Hayley smiled, excusing herself after wishing us luck with the witches, but I doubted I'd need it.

I was good and I knew it. Half a millennium alone in the world taught you how to negotiate, how to get your way when you had no one else on your side. Really, I was less worried about the witches and more worried about being in Klaus' presence.

Speak of the devil.

"The witches should arrive soon," Klaus announced, glancing down at his watch then up at me, a smirk arising on his face. "And then you'll be able to play your hand."

I stopped myself from narrowing my eyes or doing anything that showed I felt the shade he was so obviously throwing my way. Clearly, without even having really spoken to me, dear old dad has decided he doesn't like me, much less trust me. I don't know why that hurt because I don't even want to be talking to him period. I guess there's just a part of me that disagrees with that.

Like this morning, Klaus didn't waste a second before walking over to the bar. "Can I interest you in a drink whilst we wait, love?" He poured himself a glass. "Some... liquid courage, if you will."

He's being a jackass on purpose.

I declined, "No thanks." I shook my head. "I don't need it." And I also don't need to be under the influence around the Originals.

Klaus chuckled in an almost sardonic manner. Like the night I met him, he had a dark air around him that he barely cared to conceal. Klaus wanted people to notice that about him; he wanted people to be scared. And I was, but for entirely different reasons.

However, I'd sooner die before letting him know that. If he wanted to play hard ball, then I'd be the best damn batter he's ever seen.

Klaus turned around, tipping his glass to me. "You're quite confident."

"Well, I can back it up," I quipped back. In response, he sarcastically smiled, taking a sip of the brown liquid in his hand. From the corner of my eye, I saw Elijah glancing in between us watchfully.

"So I've heard- and you know, it got me thinking, what exactly is it about you that makes you so special?" This-

I was given time to pause by Elijah's interjection. "Niklaus."

He held his hands out in the air. "What, Elijah? I'm just curious," he reasoned.

I cut Elijah off before he could say something more in order to respond. "No, it's alright, Elijah; I understand the skepticism." I looked back to Klaus whose eyes just so imperceptibly narrowed. "The reason why people are more inclined to listen to me is because I don't operate with a desire to instill fear in others, just respect." I maintained eye contact with Klaus, hoping he was picking up what I was putting down. I knew he got the message when I saw his jaw clench.

He looked like he was going to say something else, but before he could, the gates to the compound opened. All three of us looked toward the entrance to see Genevieve and two other witches walking beside her, like a little entourage.

Elijah seemed to let out a sigh of relief at the intrusion. "Genevieve," he greeted, walking toward them. "Thank you for agreeing to this meeting. Please, take a seat. Can we interest you in any beverages?"

While Elijah was clearly doing his best to mediate, Klaus didn't say a word, only burning a hole into the side of Genevieve's head with a hard glare while he drank his scotch.

The three of them sat down on one couch as Elijah and I sat on the one parallel to it. "No, that'll be alright," she said, crossing her legs. "I know you appreciate verity, Elijah, so I'm gonna be honest: I wouldn't have agreed to this meeting if it weren't for the woman sitting next to you."

Elijah nodded. "Yes, I'm completely aware. Y/N is here to make sure that we both get what we want and to ensure that the future of the Quarter, and everyone in it, is prosperous."

I smiled, holding my hand out. "Hello, it's lovely to meet you. I've heard many good things about you." That was a lie.

Shaking my hand, she responded, "Likewise. The elders of the coven are practically smitten with you. I've never seen witches so eager to deal with a vampire."

"Well, I hope that, after our discussion, you will also be more eager to work with the Mikaelsons."

Genevieve almost scoffed at what I said. In my peripheral, I saw Klaus roll his eyes—at me or her, I'm unsure. "Please, Y/N—I'm sure you're aware of who exactly these people are and what they've done. Even though you're a vampire, you have to admit it's outrageous." Her voice was incredulous.

I really don't understand what she was making a big fuss about. From the way the story was told, Genevieve used to have a huge crush on Klaus back in the day—ew—but I wasn't gonna actually use that against her. I didn't want her to resent me; I actually needed her to like me for this to work.

"I understand where you're coming from," I told her, managing to muster up a sympathetic expression. "But we all want the same thing: peace. That is the final destination; there are so many stops along the way to get there, so if peace is where we truly want to be, then we need to be willing to put aside our differences."

The redhead sighed. "I hear what you're saying, but how can we expect peace while working with these people? How do you expect us to trust them?" Now, Klaus scoffed, causing both Genevieve and Elijah to look over at him, Elijah with a more stern look in his eyes. I, on the other hand, ignored him altogether, focusing completely on the witch in front of me.

I said her name to get her attention back onto me, thus causing Elijah to look away from his brother, too. "I am, in no way, asking you to trust blindly. We're willing to negotiate; just state your terms." I knew this was dangerous, giving her the opportunity to ask for whatever she wanted, but the witches had been recently oppressed; giving them the chance to ask for what they wanted was like an apology of sorts, one that I felt they'd appreciate.

Genevieve looked hesitant, glancing at both of her associates, to Elijah, Klaus, and then back to me. Even without looking at him, I could feel Klaus staring at me, probably questionably. None of them were expecting that move. 

See, because I was representing the Mikaelsons, Genevieve expected me to state their terms first then negotiate since they were more powerful. So, of course she was surprised.

After a beat of silence, she finally spoke up. "We want to practice freely."

"Done."

"And we want to celebrate our festivals without a hassle."

"Of course."

"And we want to reclaim witch territory for ourselves and ourselves alone, like the Lafayette cemetery." 

"Reasonable," I noted, waiting for her to say something else. When she didn't, I asked, "Is there anything else we can give you? You don't have to answer right now; we'll take some time then I'll get a contract drafted-"

"Esther Mikaelson's grimoire." At her interjection, the room went silent. I didn't even wanna know what Klaus looked like right now, but Genevieve sure as hell seemed to have regained her confidence. "We want Esther Mikaelson's grimoire." That was one ballsy request.

"Are you out of your mind?" For the first time since the witches walked into the compound, Klaus spoke. I looked over at him to see a look of shock adorning his face as if the redhead just tried to kill him—and, I mean, was he that far off?

You don't ask for the Original Witch's spell book without wanting to kill or at least having the ability to kill if you so need it.

Elijah seemed to recover from a shock of his own, trying to calm his brother down. "Niklaus-"

"I am not giving you my mother's grimoire." Klaus had set his drink down, walking toward where we were all sitting. Smoke might as well have been coming out of his ears. I knew that, if I were one of the three witches sitting across from me, I'd be shitting myself. "After what you tried to do to my family, you expect me to hand over-"

"Niklaus." Elijah cut him off, but more firmly and this time Klaus actually listened, turning to look over at Elijah with hard eyes. His eyes flickered to me for a split second before looking back at Genevieve—or glaring, rather.

While Genevieve looked slightly startled, I saw the dead-set expression on her face. It'd be hard to try and convince her that Esther's grimoire wasn't what the witches wanted, but it was possible.

Gears turned in my head as I thought it over until a quick idea popped into my head. At that moment, I began, "I'm sorry, Genevieve. We can do everything else you mentioned, put it in writing, but Esther Mikaelson's grimoire is a no-go." I saw her shaking her head before I even finished.

"Then no deal-"

Elijah cut in, "Genevieve, please-"

"I can give you the next best thing." I caught Genevieve's attention easily, along with everyone else's in the room. In seconds, I had come up with a quick fix; it was a gamble, but if you aren't willing to go big, then go the fuck home. "I currently have a Bennett grimoire in my possession." I paused, gauging her reaction. Clearly, this night was full of surprises. 

I suppressed the urge to glance over at my relatives; I had a feeling that I already knew what their faces looked like.

Genevieve struggled to compose herself, so I continued, "It's yours, so long as you accept." I understood what was happening here: the witches or the spirits or whatever were already decided, and they wanted the Mikaelson grimoire, but how could they be upset with what I was offering? A Bennett spell book was a damn good replacement if I ever saw one, and if anyone knew that, it was Esther's children themselves.

I knew the history—I've spent my life learning it. Ayana taught Esther everything she knew; the Bennett bloodline was one of the strongest, maybe even stronger than the Mikaelsons. And although I doubt Genevieve knew the lengthy Bennett history, she quickly got her bearings and responded, "I- we accept-"

I cut her off, smiling, "Great. Now our turn." I clasped my hands together. "You guys can keep your sanctuaries, the cemetery and whatnot, but in shared areas like the rest of the Quarter, we ask that you remain peaceful and avoid altercations with other factions. We're asking the same of the other factions, as well. Similarly, the Mikaelsons don't want conflicts, so we'd also like to avoid altercations in that area." 

It seemed pretty simple because it was. It was like what Elijah said to me that night in Rousseau's: everybody wants power, and the witches were no different. They didn't agree to this meeting for peace; they agreed because they wanted power, and the Mikaelsons struck this deal for the same exact reason, even if that's not how the nobleman would've phrased it.

While I didn't provide the witches with the same prepared list of terms, what I was asking for would have the same effect. The Originals were already on top, so what more did they really need to ask for?

Genevieve, once again, looked over at the two girls sitting next to her who both nodded at the silent question she was asking. When she turned back to me, the smallest of smiles was on her lips. "You have yourself a deal."

I reciprocated her expression as we both stood up. I shook her hand. "Pleasure doing business with you. I'll work on getting that contract drafted in more detail, so please, come to us with any other requests you may have."

Genevieve nodded, letting go of my hand, and Elijah took the pleasantries from there, walking them out of the compound. This left Klaus and I alone momentarily.

I looked over at him to see that he was already staring at me. I felt a chill go down my spine from how intently he was looking at me, my mini adrenaline rush dying down. It looked almost like he was picking me apart with his gaze.

I didn't want him to think I had something to hide, so I held his stare. We were both silent until Elijah walked back. This time, he didn't seem to sense the tension in the room—that, or he just chose to ignore it. 

"Thank you, Y/N," he said. I looked away from Klaus to smile in response, but the second I did, he broke his vow of silence.

"How do you have a Bennett grimoire in your possession?" Klaus' voice was cold and accusatory, just as his eyes were. Elijah just might have frozen had he not been a thousand-years-old; hell, I probably would have, too, but I'd already been crafting an explanation as soon as the idea popped into my head.

Not the real explanation, but one that made more sense.

I shrugged, feigning nonchalance. "I met one a few hundred years ago. She died after she was in the wrong place, wrong time, but she left that book to me."

Klaus didn't look sold. "A Bennett witch left her grimoire with you, a vampire? Not with her family?"

"Well, to be fair, she wasn't in touch with her family at that time," I retorted. "And I was human at the time so, yes, she left it to me because she knew it could come of use one day."

Klaus didn't reply to me, instead choosing to continue staring me down. However, his glare was now lessened, so I knew he sort of believed me, even though he had doubts.

In the time that Klaus wasn't saying anything, Elijah cleared his throat, bringing the attention back to him. When I looked over, he smiled and tried to further de-escalate the situation. "Thank you, again, Y/N."

That was my cue to leave. "No problem. Are you okay with meeting up tomorrow to discuss the contract?"

He nodded. "Of course. Lunch?"

"Sounds great," I said, grabbing my bag that I'd left on the armchair next to me. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

Elijah bid me farewell while Klaus remained mute, but I still felt him staring at me, even as I was walking out; only when I'd walked two minutes away from the compound did I finally let go of that feeling

I didn't speed all the way home this time like I had been doing recently after exiting the Abattoir. Instead, I decided to take this time to think since I really haven't gotten a moment alone all day.

The excuse I gave Klaus wasn't too far from the truth—I only warped it slightly. I didn't know who he knew or how well he knew my mother before he slept with her, but I knew that if I gave him the real story, there was a possibility that he'd find out who I was.

The real story was that my mother was best friends with a Bennett. Almost like history repeating itself if you thought about it; Amelia Bennett was to my family what Ayana was to the Mikaelsons. She was both a mentor to my mother and me.

In reality, we were a lot closer than I made it sound. She was a lot closer to my mother than she was with the rest of her family. We were in Salem; the witch trials were just beginning, so any witch in the area was either preparing to leave or to die. She was anticipating the latter, so before she died, she made sure to leave the assets she had to my mother. 

The other Bennetts didn't dispute this, fleeing west. The rest of the story, I try not to think about. I needed to be strong, for Davina, for Marcel, for Amelia, for my mother, and for myself; otherwise, everything I've sacrificed would've been for nothing.

With that thought, I had a new resolution.

This, what I was doing here in New Orleans, could not fail. I have not lived the life I've lived just to fail. So from this moment forward, I decided to be better, to be stronger. No more quivering at the mention of my father or his baby, no more getting shaken up by conversations with the Mikaelsons.

Walking toward my apartment, I made myself a promise.

This city will not break me, no matter what.

#klaus mikealson fanfiction #klaus x daughter!reader #klaus mikaelson x reader #klaus mikaelson #tvd #tvd fanfiction #tvdu #the originals #elijah mikaelson #elijah mikaelson x reader #tvd fandom #tvd fanfic #fan fiction #klaus mikaelson imagine #the mikaelsons #hayley marshall #davina claire #bonnie bennett

[artharakka]

Can I ask you where have you found inspiration for your art? For example I've noticed you have a very specific (and beautiful) way you draw jewelry and clothing. The shapes are very organic yet grounded at the same time, give a bit of a Nausicaä vibes, as well as art noveau meets iron age.

Honestly I could go on and on about the beautiful details of your art but I don't want to seem too fangirlish :D

Ohhh thank you I love those comparisons 🧡 Because I didn't even know those are the vibes I was going for but yeah that's great actually... This is like when one of you made a playlist inspired by my art... (I still have that saved btw! 🧡 And I still cannot believe!!). Here's a little Rhiam drawing with some jewelry she doesn't (yet) have in canon (earrings she does have but she cannot use them yet)

But what are my inspirations hmmmmmmm many! Idk even what all I have inhaled into my art but I try to list something (this got long so rest under cut):

Nature 🌿 I love both mundane (sparrows, plants growing from asphalt cracks, moss covered street signs... the little details) and grand formations that fill me with awe. There's something about things so vast that take my breath away. Like oceans, mountains, high cliffs, endless tundra, wind so strong you could lean against it, ancient stone that has been scraped visible by massive sheets of ice thousands of years ago. (But I'm guilty of not being that impressed by conventional beauty of average gardens. Aren't people tired of only finding planted blooming flowers beautiful!). Most often I'm drawing inspiration from nature familiar to me, that being Nordic/Scandinavian ones.

I already said nature but birds deserve a special mention! Agh I just love those funky little animals 🦅

Stories! I love making stories, I think they help me grasp and go over my thoughts. I love pouring myself into my characters, it makes them feel both personal but also makes it easier to talk about myself to my fellow storytellers. I'd love to do a long graphic novel or write a book one day, but I also love making ttrpg stories just for and with our little group 🧡 For a long time I felt kinda bad that I wasn't doing "real art" that wasn't just illustrations of my characters. But then I realised doing art for arts sake doesn't really inspire me. I don't want to do art that I'd think would be easily consumable nor do I have any great performance to create with my art. I just love to illustrate stories and tell stories through my art and I think that's great! I still love seeing and experiencing artworks that aren't this illustrative, I just don't have the motivation to do that myself. But I can get really excited of works like Emma Jääskeläinen's granite sculptures!

Other artists! There are two categories I think: 1) those whose work I've seen (usually irl) and whose technique or themes or symbolism facinates me. I usually don't want to create similar art, or replicate their style, or medium even. But there's something about them, a feeling of awe or they feel formidable. Or there's something clever about them that lets me have this sense of epiphany. For example, Jääskeläinen who I already mentioned, Marcel Dzama, Merja Palin, Helena Vaari, Marika Mäkelä, to name a few I've seen lately-ish. And then 2) there are artists whose stories and/or style inspires me and influences my art. One of the biggest inspirations to my softer line art style was and is @albabbgg. @serpentface has some really cool worldbuilding and designs, I think they were also a great influence to how I draw bodies these days. @wiltkingart has also very cool shapes and genders in his paintings. @sanctus-ingenium 's stories and art have been a huge inspiration lately. And to list a few others now that I started: @pangur-and-grim/@greer-art, @beidak-art, @elemei, @emilylorange, @pansylair, @cy-lindric, @psrj, @lokorum

And many others I'm probably forgetting now! I also have a side blog @sancta-cessatrix where I occasionally reblog cool art, check tags #art #inspiration

#ask #I hope you all don't mind me tagging you but I wanted to give links! Hi big fan long time listener first time caller! #Rhiam

[barbwritesstuff]

Congrats on finishing the chapter! And for writing paying rent this month we love to see it!!! Question: are you supposed to be able to meet up with Marcel if you don't stay over at Ilya's place? When I leave it gives me the option to chase a girl then goes to the next chapter. Great work so far btw! I love reading your updates no matter the size

*cries in the corner*

I'm sorry, anon. I have tried so, so hard to figure this out. I've rewritten chunks of the chapter to try and make sure it's possible to do both Marcel and Iliya's routes. But I still get asks like this and I genuinely don't know why.

Edit: I just want to say, Chapter Four is the nightmare that never ends and even though I like the writing, the way I coded it is cursed and bad and I hate myself for doing this to myself. It's had so many problems. Looping scenes, missing scenes, weird jumps. I just don't know anymore.

[canmom]

Animation Night 157: Hungary

Jó estét mindenkinek! Eljött az Animációs Éjszaka ideje.

Good evening everyone! It’s time for Animation Night.

Hungary!

Tonight I’m going to continue the grand tradition of ‘copying Aniobsessive-senpai’s homework’, and take us to visit the ‘Hungarian school of animation’, aka magyar rajzfilmiskola. They were a bunch of experimental weirdos from the period when Hungary was ruled Much like the Zagreb School from across the border in Croatia (AN 136), who were a biiiig influence, they launched away from the midcentury UPA style and experiments like Yellow Submarine to make something unique.

The best known Hungarian animated film is Son of the White Mare (1981) directed by Marcell Jankovics. Lemme quote Aniobsessive:

[White Mare] is hard to compare to other animated features. Marcell Jankovics and his team used Hungarian folk art and folk tales as the basis for a huge, mind-expanding, psychedelic adventure movie. It tells an accessible story in an art-house style — 90 minutes of searing colors and spellbinding patterns, with each character in a state of constant transformation.

This film was wildly influential, reaching people like Genndy Tarkovsky to form a big part of the DNA of Samurai Jack. But White Mare didn’t spring out of nowhere.

The 20th century for Hungary was, to put it mildly, a rough time. Here’s a really really brief version. In World War I, Hungary was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which lost the war hard and basically collapsed. In the resulting power vacuum the country was separated from Austria and went through a brief communist revolution which fell to a monarchist counterrevolution; the monarchists surrendered to the Entente in 1920 and gave up most of the country’s land. In the new peace, the new monarchy set about their agenda of ‘doing antisemitism’, which predictably got a great deal worse in the 30s following the great depression and the rise of Hitler nearby.

So in WWII, Hungary sided with the Axis. They joined Hitler in invading the USSR, and got pretty much crushed. The Hungarians started negotiations to break from the Axis and surrender, but Hitler noticed and quickly ordered his soldiers to occupy, appointing a Nazi governor; at this point the Holocaust in Hungary kicked up a gear and the Nazi-backed Hungarian government deported hundreds of thousands of Jewish people to the death camps. To brush over a messy story, within a year the Soviets counter-invaded and destroyed the fascist government, establishing Hungary as in the Soviet sphere of influence in the aftermath of the war. The Hungarian communist party, which had existed despite its ban during the war, joined forces with communists from Moscow... uneasily.

After briefly playing with elections, the Soviets reorganised Hungary as a single-party Leninist state. The new government set about the whole show-trials-and-purges-and-statues-of-the-leader routine, attacking his rivals as spies in the pocket of the Americans, or maybe Big Trotsky. A lot of messy intra-party politics took place while the country struggled economically, attempting to copy Stalin in dismantling the peasants and building heavy industry. In the 50s, a certain prime minister Imre Nagy won popularity by relaxing some of the state control and closing labour camps and so forth, but this put him at odds with Moscow, and he was attacked as a right-deviationist and driven out of politics. But not for long...

(Did you think that was an end to the antisemitism btw? Lmao no of course not. In 1953 the government tried to frame three random Jews for the abduction of Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish industrialist who saved thousands of people during the Holocaust, who in reality died in a Soviet prison. That whole affair abruptly stopped when Stalin died.)

In 1956 it all came to a head with the ‘Hungarian Revolution’, started by students, which like all such uprisings was messy but broadly was pro-Nagy and anti-Soviet. Nagy, who had only recently been returned from political exile in the wake of the ‘Khruschev Thaw’, took control of the party with his allies. He went so far as to announce that Hungary might even withdraw from the Warsaw Pact. ‘Excuse me?’ said Khruschev, and sent in the Red Army tanks to remove Nagy and his supporters, killing about 20,000 people in the process. This is one of the two incidents that led to the coinage of the word ‘tankie’, originally meaning someone who defended Khruschev’s intervention.

The next guy, János Kádár, started out by attacking the participants in the 1956 uprising, but changed his tune and declared an amnesty in the 60s, establishing a relatively relaxed set of policies nicknamed ‘Goulash Communism’ which encouraged foreign trade and consumerism. As such, it’s this period where Hungary started making a bunch of animated films.

Because yeah this is a post about cartoons actually!

In the 60s, Hungarian animators - funded by the state - were following in the footsteps of the Zagreb School, with its unique approach to timing and design philosophy. But eager ot put their own spin on it, they started introducing bright colours and textures to the UPA style, in films like Duel (1960) and Ball with White Dots (1961).

In 1968, Sándor Reisenbüchler, a colleage of Jankovics at Pannonia Film Studio with a wildly improvisational method, released his first short film The Kidnapping of the Sun and Moon, created with the assistance of his wife. The film is an absolute riot of shapes and colours, all relating a story of a many-headed dragon which devours all the stars until a hero comes to slay it. For Reisenbüchler it’s an anti-war metaphor. Despite being controversial back home, the government eagerly started spreading it abroad in Russia and US alike as a symbol of cool shit being made in Hungary.

Reisenbüchler would go on to make many more films, such as The Year of 1812 (Az 1812-es év) in 1972, but he’d still hold a special place in his heart for Kidnapping.

The British film Yellow Submarine dropped in 1968, and sent major waves into both Hungary and Yugoslavia. For Hungarian artists like Jankovics, it was the inspiration they needed to find a third pole of animation, distinct from both the Disney tradition and the UPA style. He appreciated the space it offered for inconsistency - character designs would no longer need to be identical in every shot, the messiness could be part of the style.

In 1973, Jankovics directed the first feature-length Hungarian animated film, titled Johnny Corncob (János Vitéz). Based on an 1845 epic poem, it tells the story of the worldwide adventures of a young soldier separated from his over, completed over a period of 22 months at Pannonia. The film was a huge undertaking, and its style is unlike pretty much anything before or since, with something of a Western flavour, and uniquely Hungarian outfits...

The next year, Jankovics released a much smaller project, the two-minute long Sisyphus. Jankovics was determined to constantly reinvent his style, lest his films get lost in the shadow of the ones before.

In contrast to the bright colours and textures, Sisyphus, completed in just six weeks, keeps things about as simple as possible: pure black and white silhouettes with a brush texture. Most of the 1800 drawings were by Jankovics himself, and much of the rest by Edit Szalay, who would soon become a key part of White Mare. Into the myth of Sisyphus, Jankovics channeled his own struggles with the nigh impossible task of creating the country’s first animated film. And this film proved wildly popular, running around the world from Yugoslavia to Iran. It threatened to overshadow everything else Jankovics did, and so he changed his style up completely for White Mare.

As the 70s went on, the films just got more experimental. Honeymation (Mézes-táncos) in 1975, directed Ferenc Varsáyani, decided to do a stop motion film entirely with gingerbread people. It was photographed by Gábor Csupó, who would later leave Hungary to America and co-create the Rugrats series. Eventually he would reunite with Varasáyani who would come to work on Rugrats too...

The 70s also saw the wildly popular TV series Rabbit with Checkered Ears, dir. Zsolt Richly and written by Veronika Marék. The two became friends while writing for a childrens’ magazine, and that magazine style would adapt perfectly to depict the clumsy, floppy rabbit. In a big cabin in the yard of Pannonia, Zsolt Richly oversaw the creation of the series for years. You can read more about the story here.

And of course this whole thing was a massive success in both Hungary and pretty much everywhere else, launching both into animation. The floppy plush main character reminds me a little of Marumi from Paranoia Agent, but this one isn’t so sinister. It’s just a very cute bunny in an appealing style. All the episodes are entirely wordless, relying on the expressive movement and music to convey the story. This person seems to have uploaded the full series on Youtube, albeit not really organised into a playlist, so check it out ^^

As then we enter the 80s, Jankovics got the studio working on their biggest project, Son of the White Mare, bringing all these threads together into one massive project, the magnum opus of the Hungarian school at large. So that’s what we’re going to watch tonight! A whirlwind tour of Hungarian animation’s important short films, and Son of the White Mare. (I would show Johnny Corncob as well, but it’s late and it’s proving slow to download, so another week.)

Eventually of course the Soviet Union fell, and Hungary’s Leninist state apparently transitioned to a regular capitalist one relatively gently. Pannonia continued to function, making films up to around 2011 with the final film of Jankovics, The Tragedy of Man, but ultimately closed its doors in 2015. Jankovics himself passed away in 2021. I would love to investigate some of this later Hungarian animation, but I’ll have to save that for another day...

And so! Animation Night 157 will go live in just a minute at twitch.tv/canmom, and I plan to begin showing films on the hour (22:00 UK time)! I’d love to see you there!! Let’s check out a corner of animation history that is far too unknown, and watch a film that’s said (by someone somewhere) to be one of the best animated films of all time...

#animation night #hungarian animation #very much 'writing about what i have sources for' here - don't take this for a complete overview by any means

[slayerzach]

Hey there! Do you believe the Mikaelson's deserved their "happy ending." This ask is a bit sporadic btw.

I mean, what does that mean for their victims? What does justice look like in the vampire diaries universe. Literally all the suoernaturals were serial killers or knew serial killers.

Camille and Elijah had this anger searing within them. You could see it in Elijah's annoying sassy speaches. Camille understood Klaus, a serial killer. That's awful. And we see how she became after a vampire. I'm not saying this show is awfully written, i'm just saying their characters are interesting because their awful.

Unpopular oppinion but Elijah's type was ass. He found the worst of the worst with an attitude beyond his and called it a day.

I also heavily hated how they treated Marcel, Elijah and Hayley get to go to peace for that too. You said something that stuck to me and still does- you said the problem with the Mikaelson's is that "they don't try not to hurt eachother" which I could literally see in real life too. They were awful to each other yet got together in the after life. I mean jackson and Hayley too were toxic. Is the after life some parallel to the real world. I mean if their isn't any hell, how the heck does malivore work.

I could argue all supernaturals are bad and they kinda all went to "hell" together- Were-wolfs kill, just not at the caliber of Vampires. But their still a pack of serial killers camping with each other. Marcel did a good job of keeping control of the mass murder, he ruled the city with a keen eye to allow feeding and less death. Witches use blood to fule their magic too and are also awful.

I mean, do you think that the supernaturals killing each other would be better for the community of new orleans?

Just a bunch of questions, sorry !

About time I finally got to this after almost a month. My apologies!

So, I don't really know how controversial this take is, but I don't feel they did enough to deserve a fully happy ending, but I do believe they deserve some credit for trying to change for the better at certain points. However, I feel there was so little redemption done that all I can think is where they were GOING to go. We don't really know. I feel a lot of the redemption happened in the last season of TO, and then they all died, so how much of a happy ending do they really deserve? Or do they deserve it based on who they were going to become? Or WERE they gonna become even better people? I DON'T KNOW!! That's the problem, nobody knows where their direction was going. That's why I personally think if they knew the actors for these characters didn't want to stick around long, they shouldn't have even started huge character arcs for characters that didn't want to continue on into Legacies.

You make a great point with the whole "hell" questioning, I mean where did they really go? That's some lazy writing if I've ever seen it. That's a pretty huge story detail to just go "oops sorry didn't write that in hehe".

If they are in the afterlife together, I hope they're all arguing just like they did in life. I think that's the biggest punishment and hell they can ever have;being stuck together forever.

As for your last question, I do think it's possible that it could be beneficial depending on who died and such. I mean, there probably are some supernaturals who don't want to fight or anything, but the bad ones, I mean sure? Honestly that's a tough question.

Thanks for the questions, this was really interesting and thought provoking!

[serafyyn]

10 Songs, 10 People

thank you for the tag @squarebracket-trick ! her post can be found here.

as per the rules of this tag game,

Put your music on shuffle and list the first 10 songs that come up. Describe how they relate to your WIP and/or worldbuilding.

this is honestly a great tag because it gives me an excuse to talk about the wip playlists that i keep making haha. i'm currently focusing on my short story collection while i prepare the first novel in my duology(?) for camp nano. with its respective wip playlist, here are the 10 songs that came up first:

Sea Power - The Smallest Church in Sussex

Egg - sorry haha i fell asleep

Her's - Marcel

Elliot Smith - Waltz #2 (XO)

Over The Garden Wall (OST), The Blasting Company - Can't You See I'm Lonely (feat. C.W. Stoneking)

Simon & Garfunkel - April Come She Will

Dreamgirl - Teenage Blue

The Smiths - Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want

Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea

of Montreal - Everything Disappears When You Come Around

all these songs share some sort of sadness that resonates throughout my short stories, a kind of resigned to your fate vibe. also a decent chunk of the songs in my playlist are folk classics which have a personal meaning to me, and hopefully shines through when i write.

tagging a few people (no pressure to do this btw): @macabremoons, @chrisandred, @lady-grace-pens, @valanke, @csb-writes, @captain-kraken, @thelasanga-is-poisoned, @hallwriteblr, @rose-may-be, and @lyutenw !

#jonnie's things #writing #tag game #tag friendly #reblog for exposure :) #and poke me if you want to be included too!

[sextonsharpwinhalstead]

IF anything, I wish they would have written him as an annoyance to April [not in the SA sense, but relentless] and maybe have Ethan check him. Since they leaned so heavily on jealous Ethan, which is hot but also sad at the same time. Also, April curving him and being like, WTF why is he so interested the first few times was funny, and it would've been great to see more because Yaya is fine AF; she deserves two men, one in love with her and one who can't have her that she keeps up at night. Plus she's a NYer I know she has it in her two curve the best of them. They still could've put him with Natalie later in the season since Dominc said he wanted to explore the darkness inside the character and April and Ethan def had enough to break up over without CM. They were on two very different pages with the IVF/baby situation. BTW I've been going through your blog looking for troll material and boy did those Sextoi v. Sexcel gif you grief in 2019 lol. Sad. BTW have you seen the spoilers if not do you want to see them I know everyone is not down with them so I ask first.

ETA: I just realized CM has spoken his language and talked about his family and why he has that dumb ass name, eaten something cultural with Natalie and her mom gave him a Persian spice set. Something they haven't done with ETHAN in SEVEN YEARS. And I know dxxn well Yaya being who she is, she would've had no problem learning some Korean so she could say something. I'm willing to be she coached everyone on Portuguese and Spanish. NBC has the money for a damn chef to cook food from each of their cultures, but they're talking about eating Chilli and Sushi. Too many things to be mad at with this show.

I love this idea! At least April would've kept her damn dignity.

Yeah 2019 was basically a moment for me. I started to really pull away from Tumblr and that day in particular was truly f*cked up. 4 HOURS worth of asks in my inbox over that shit. You would've thought I said that April and Marcel should burn Ethan alive and then screw on his dead body because I hate the AMBW dynamic. And legit there was like five of us but people were acting like I had gun to the showrunners head and I was making all of it happen...it was ridiculous and made me really step back and ask myself if being apart of fandom even mattered.

I was glad they had an spot where they divulged why Crockett's name was so horrible lol. But it felt very...idk. Anyway it was a cool night because Crockett (Darioush) and Helen from New Amsterdam were both speaking Farsi because both are Iranian.

But yes in seven seasons they won't even verify Ethan's ethnic identity. Not even when his dad died, it was all military which is what they always rely on when they want to give him depth. Also...where the hell was his mom? What happened to her and why is she never mentioned past Emily's adoption or his father's affair?

Once again you're noticing some of the glaring issues within the OC universe which seems to be why people are leaving at ridiculous rates. We aren't even to the mid session finale and we very already lost 3 characters.

#chicago med #april sexton #ethan choi #ask sextonsharpwinhalstead

[isagrimorie]

[initial reactions] Legacies 4x13 - Was This the Monster You Saw?

- OH JED. I'm glad we finally got his backstory but also, oH JED. But also that first kiss. I'm glad they were able to set this up properly.

TVDU is basically littered with the dead bodies of abusive dads. And Jed's no different.

For all the ways Alaric is not a great dad he isn't anywhere close to Mikael. Or Katherine's, to Tyler's and Jed's fathers.

He and Klaus actually are good dads, just not the best nor the greatest. Seriously, who knew Klaus would be a good dad? Even though he fucked up Marcel, admittedly growing up he wasn't that terrible to Marcel that he grew-up as well adjusted as he did. It's only when Marcel became a vamp that Klaus's insecurities started coming to play and started to treat him as less of a son and more of a 'friend and brother'.

I have no feelings about Alaric at this point except that think the Limbo arc is a dud. Someone free Landon from there, free him, and let him lead a happy and Human life.

- "You also need an accountability partner."

Hope doesn't mention at all that she just lost her supposed unbreakable accountability partner because she was being a stubborn stupid head.

Also anytime Hope mentions Lizzie and Pretends That it Meant Nothing. LOL.

You're back at school because you're lonely and terrified your Humanity is coming back.

Now your Humanity is trying to kick loose.

ETA: Imagine tho if/when Alaric learns that Lizzie was sire bound to Hope. Knowing what he knows about sire bonds. I want to see Alaric’s expression.

Another middle ground for Hope getting her Humanity back is that it's a culmination of her family and her own damned self clawing back to returning to who she is.

Also, for Doylist reasons, I'm thinking that the reason Hope doesn't want to be anywhere near New Orleans is that she's unconsciously afraid that NOLA is filled with emotional triggers for her.

Plus, NOLA is home to some tough factions around. They might not be as powerful as a Tribrid but as a united community, they've consistently held an Original at bay. It might not be a long time but it's enough time.

Vincent will also not let Hope enter New Orleans without a good old fashion: "You're a punk."

I love Vincent a lot and Hope loves him too, and Hope knows Vincent does not fuck around.

- Oh, Lizzie, NO. The brand will bite you in the ass at the most inopportune moment! They're doing a good job with the balance of Aurora. I can feel sympathetic to her cause but also as The Originals fan, I know Lizzie's not wrong about Tristan. But also, I don't trust Aurora as far as I can throw her.

She has her own agendas and those agendas get people killed.

- Once again this episode proves that the real leader of this Squad now that the golden Trio (Hope, Josie, and Lizzie) are not around nor suited for command is Cleo Sowande.

And she didn't need her inspiration powers to defeat the clown.

- I'm gonna say it: because of constantly watching 4x10 -- I love JEN | Vulcan. Jen is the one who legit wants to be left alone but also funny if Jen's actually the Klaus Mikaelson of her family aka the one who coffins her family for one reason or another.

(Also, isn't there a thing where Vulcan | Haphaestus and Aphrodite are married?)

EDited to ADD: BEE TEE DUBS, look at this expression:

This is Pure Klaus Mikaelson Trademarked Bastard Grin. The Full on Klaus Mikaelson Mischief and Mayhem Package distilled into this expression by one Hope Mikaelson's.

Hope sure is Klaus Mikaelson's daughter!

- Also, LOL Egypt. They're really leaning into the hilarity of Greece, 2000 years ago.

Overall this is a set-up episode, just moving pieces to where it needs to go.

CW Renew Batwoman and Legacies, please.

Edit: BTW Aurora still very much thinks Lizzie is in love with Hope and possibly thought Hope and Lizzie are in a relationship, because of the sire bond.

#tv: legacies #initial reactions #legacies spoilers #hope mikaelson #jed tien #lizzie saltzman #legacies 4x13 #jen | vulcan

[calliopecalling]

Queen of the South 5x03 Debrief

Alright. I’ve been marinating on this long enough and I’ve had a few days to relax a little and get over my initial Game of THrones PTSD response to this episode. Thank you to all of you who helped talk me off the edge the other day, lol. I think I’ve moved on from my Daenerys-plot-line panic.

THAT SAID.

I’m still struggling to understand how betraying Marcel was in-character for Teresa. There are so many other ways that they could have portrayed her downward tailspin into queenpin crisis than having her so quickly betray one of her CORE values that they’ve spent four seasons building up. Or at least, spin it for the audience so that it looks like that’s what it is--a huge betrayal of her core values. I mean, she’s been having to betray her values from Day 2 of linking up with Camila, shall we take a quick inventory? Like she tried to say the associate of Lopez’s who was trying to steal from them should go free and quickly learned that’s not how it works (a moment I circle back to below, btw). Over the last few seasons, she:

held the innocent maid hostage

killed the Leon brother who, mind you, James set up to betray

kidnapped and traded in the life of Rios to work with George

stole from the innocent cashier at the horse race who James then killed (and lectured her about how it was totally necessary to kill him)

turned on Lil T’s uncle without actual proof and got several of his men killed in their gunfight

sailed away without Guero and then didn’t try to find out what had happened to him

ordered Kelly Anne killed (but let Camila live?)

tortured and killed Marcel’s guy Bobby for no reason

turned Javier in to the Judge in order to protect her business

And that’s just skimming the surface; I haven’t even gotten into everything. In fact one of my least favorite scenes in the series is her basically putting her own life (and James’s, Pote’s, George’s...) at risk to free La Pena’s sex slaves, because it just felt inconsistent to me with her growing smarts and reluctant ability to compromise in order to play a long game and hold onto what matters most. Like, the gal knows this business isn’t for saints. What makes her different, and ultimately successful, are her instincts, her intelligence, her honesty and transparency, and her ability to own up to her mistakes. People trust her because of a combination of these things--she commands respect and loyalty because of them. And historically, when she’s been forced into corners and had to compromise in order to survive, we’ve gotten to see her figure out ways to take accountability later.

But this time it feels different. Which, I argue, it didn’t HAVE to be. Betraying Marcel in the grand scheme of things really isn’t the worst thing. He’s in the business too. He’s not the innocent maid from season 1. Pote was the first one to suggest it--push it, even, as the only choice she had--at the beginning of the episode, and even Kelly Anne looked like she was grudgingly agreeing by her face. Couldn’t turning Marcel in and letting him know they’d work out a plan to get him out be consistent with her character (and ultimately just a part of the reality of the business)?

But no, they had to make it an out of character thing by planting this whole James speech about how trustworthy she is right in front of it for contrast. I totally agree it was shitty. I also think it was dumb because (1) Pote’s reason for why Boaz shouldn’t be turned over was that he was too unreliable and might leak to the feds but SO WILL MARCEL IF HE FEELS BETRAYED, and (2) literally she’s just showed Boaz that he can get away with murder and won’t face consequences because she needs him too much so... I don’t see anything good coming out of that. How many notches do you think she’s dropped now in his respect for her? Like I fucking love Boaz’s character right now, he carries every scene he’s in, so I’m happy to see more of him, but that just felt really out of character for her. But not in the way the writers tried to show. It was out of character because it wasn’t actually in line with what has always guided her decision-making. And, I think that SAME decision could have been spun in a way that didn’t seem quite so out of character. She could’ve made the decision with her usual integrity and intent to follow through on a plan.

Instead they’re going down a “she’s going to be betraying her core values in a major way” path and I don’t love it. I think there is PLENTY of material to work with to show her going dark and to give us worry for her soul without going in this direction and it just feels a little bait-y. Even just turning away from anything resembling emotion; taking coke to deal with stressful decisions (turning in Boaz could’ve stressed her out to the point of using, too...); etc. could have provided room in the story for her to go dark. So I don’t know. It felt like it got super heavy super fast and I don’t like it when TV shows try to shock the audiences just for the sake of shocking us. She’s a complex and interesting enough character as it is without having to endure some major personality twist.

(Also, I get that James is supposed to be a character whose perspective totally changed on everything after Teresa came into his life; but the guy had no qualms about killing totally innocent people for the first two seasons of the show, so you can’t convince me he doesn’t also in SOME WAY “get” the realities of the business and the tough shit they have to do. That said, HIS FACE when the police came in and how the poor guy had to just stand there and watch. Good acting there. I don’t think his heart broke in disappointment, though. I think he felt let down, yeah, but I think he’s gotta be worried about her now. Worried for her heart and hopefully understanding a bit more about what it is she knows about herself that she’s wanting to protect him from by not being together with him. This isn’t a thing where he really has a leg to stand on in terms of like, feeling betrayed by her himself.)

Anyway, wow, this is getting long and rambly. Point is I don’t love this story-line but I’m hoping that by introducing it early enough in the season, they’ll find a way to have it turn around again. I hope there’s a redemption arc that is less “Teresa becomes a villain and then James rescues her soul” and is more “Teresa is put in the position of making one impossible decision after another, slowly crumbles, and has to crawl her way out of the darkness with the help of people she loves.” I don’t want to be led to hate her by season end. I want to still love her and root for her. The way they wrote the betrayal in this episode really doesn’t make her that lovable and I think that could’ve/should’ve been handled differently. I’d love to hear other opinions about that!

Other random thoughts:

where is George?! George, come back

I really would’ve loved to have seen the Judge under Teresa’s thumb for at least ONE episode, or a HALF of one episode, before getting decapitated

speaking of, that scene WAS pretty golden... the head in the box, the cop moving the box... lolol

James looking all “who, ME?!?!?!?!?!” when Marcel calls it like it is that he’s in love with Teresa... sorry bud, that look would not win you a poker game, you’re going to have to mask your feelings a LITTLE bit more if you’re trying to convince anyone you actually aren’t aware you’re in love with her

the pregnancy story-line - how is Teresa going to react?!?!?!

and Molly’s acting was great in that emotional scene with Pote

but much as I love Pote, I’m really not into it from his perspective -- Hemky’s acting isn’t working for me maybe, or it just feels way too OOC for Pote to be all gushy about the baby

I’m also pregnant right now so I’m like Kelly Anne how are you in the first trimester and not like FALLING OVER WITH EXHAUSTION all the time because that’s been my own and everyone I know’s first trimester experience lol

I missed Oksana in this episode too

I ALMOST FORGOT James’s car chase! That was great. So many great season 1 callbacks so far and we’re only in episode 3.

I also felt like the decision to let Boaz go was a callback to Camila’s very first lesson to her about Lopez’s associate... wrong decision, T. Wrong decision.

I love Marcel’s character, and Alimi Ballard, a lot and hope we still get to see a bunch more of him this season

By the way, I’ve decided to stop speculating about how this is going to end. I don’t want to theorize about whether Teresa actually dies or not, and if so, whether it’s James who kills her, or whether maybe Pote will actually die so that it can be KA and Pote who don’t get the happy ending leaving room for Teresa to get hers, or whether Teresa will become the villain of the season and we’ll all hope she dies, what have you. I don’t want to watch any of the episode promos because they don’t help me not freak out and I especially don’t want to see any leaks about anything coming up. I’m scrolling past things that are obviously spoilerish because those things are not helping my blood pressure this season lololol. YES I TAKE THIS SHOW EXTREMELY PERSONALLY.

#qots spoilers #so much boaz foreshadowing #I'm also not giving up on all the love talk meaning we'll get some more good jeresa material #not to mention all the kissing scenes in the previously on recaps #just keep Teresa lovable please #or at least redeemable #however I will say that Alice's acting has been phenomenal #those hands slamming on the desk #whew #queen of the south #qots #season 5 #5x03 #txt post #qots reaction post

[sapphire374]

Soy Sol: Chapter 2 (Gossip that Spreads like Wildfire)

Wattpad Link

Ch. 1, / Ch. 3 / Ch.4 / Ch.5 / Ch.6 / Ch.7 / Ch.8 / Ch.9 / Ch.10 / Ch.11 / Ch.12 / Ch.13 / Ch.14 / Ch.15 / Ch.16 / Ch.17

Luna is stunned by what she's just witnessed. She'd never expect Matteo to be cozying up so close with a random girl, especially after everything they've been through together. Luna started having doubts and her fears just came rushing over her like a waterfall. She couldn't believe that he would do this, all because she was late

When Matteo sees that it was Luna who opened the door, he immediately got up ignoring Viviana, as if she wasn't there. "Luna, I've been looking everywhere for you. You promised you would be here for my last show and you know how important this is for me. Why were you late.... again? You even promised to watch the entire show this time." Luna just stood there, staring at Matteo. Her rambunctious thoughts were clouding her judgement. She doesn't want to think about it, yet she already is. What if Matteo is cheating on her?

Matteo's face quickly changed when he saw a depressed look on her very pale face. "Que to pasa mi amor? What's the matter my love?" Matteo asks Luna in a very worried tone. Luna shakes her head from a terrified trance. "No nothing, I just came to tell you how proud I am. The arena seemed packed with loads of people. Umm yeah and I also wanted to apologize for being late. Too late it seems." Luna tries to not think about what she noticed yet the random girl staying in the room isn't making Luna feel any better. "I'm sorry who are you?" Luna questions the girl sitting on the couch who seems to not feel bad for listening on their conversation.

"I'm Viviana Marcel. Some people like to call me a very famous actress and rising singer; but if I'm being modest, I've only been in like fifteen movies," Viviana brags to Luna, showing off. "Really. Well sorry I had to ask is just I've never seen you on TV or in anything," Luna says sincerely which brings an enraged frown onto Viviana's face. "Oh, would you look at the time, it's getting late. I don't want to arrive home late since I have a very important meeting at Laix tomorrow. You know the place where famous people work together. I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't know it since you're not, well a celebrity. Ciao Matteo, I'll talk to you later." Viviana leaves after giving a wink to Matteo.

Luna's depressed look still stays plastered on her face. That girl almost reminds her of a celebrity version of Daniela, and after everything was finally going great for her and Matteo. "Luna, your smile has disappeared all of a sudden and hasn't come back. Please tell me what's wrong. I'm always here for you," Matteo states to Luna, expressing his concern. Luna almost stutters when she says, "Matteo why is Viviana here? What were you doing with her?" Matteo instantly takes a sigh of relief because he originally thought something unpleasant happened to her. "Oh, Luna you don't have to worry about her. She's just a friend I met through Rafeal. It's okay." "Matteo what would've happened if I didn't arrive at that moment," Luna asks anxiously holding on to every word she said. Matteo hesitantly replies, "Nothing. Nothing at all."

. . . . . . . .

Next Morning

Simón and Ámbar's House

Simón wakes up in his Buenos Aires home at eight o'clock in the morning. He's surprised to notice Ámbar is not there beside him. He pulls the sheets to their new bed and marches to the kitchen. Ámbar is sitting in the dining table doing some paperwork while drinking a café con leche. This brings a large smile on his face seeing how hard of a worker his soon to be wife is. "Buenos días mi amor. Good morning my love," Simón declares to Ámbar which also brings a warm smile on her face. "So, how's the paperwork going?" Simón asks Ámbar. "Honestly, it's not looking too good. I don't know if we'll be able to keep the Jam and Roller for so long especially since Vidia is considering on selling it to this company who wants to remodel it as a club and bar. They're the ones with the highest bid and if nobody comes soon to place a higher offer... we may lost it," Ámbar reluctantly replies to Simón.

"I can't believe this. First the separation of the Roller Band, then the separation of the Roller team, and now this. The worst part is how can we even tell Luna about this? How can we tell the rest about this," Simon complains while he and Ámbar give each other worried glances. "I don't know how we should tell her but one thing I know for sure is that we need to tell her soon cause what if she finds out and thinks we were lying to her this whole time. The one thing I've learned from my previous mistakes is that lying does no good and the truth always ends up revealing itself... but we'll think about that later. Right now, let's eat some breakfast cause I have a meeting to get to. Whatever happens, we need to find a backup plan to work somewhere else while I study to become a lawyer."

As Ámbar gets up from her chair, she turns the TV on. The news channel announces, "This just in! Viviana has been spotted AGAIN being very close to Matteo Balsano, the infamous 'Quiero Verte Sonreir' artist, yesterday night at his last concert for his Alla Voy Tour. Could this mean that Matteo has a new girlfriend and broke up with Luna Valente!" Ámbar and Simón both turn their heads and look at each other, shocked by what they just saw on the news. "I can't believe it! I wonder what Luna must be thinking watching this. It's just that this doesn't even make sense. Matteo would never do such a thing to Luna and even so she would have told me by now," Simón states confusingly. Simón and Ámbar are both confused and concerned about what they have just witnessed.

. . . . . . . .

Nina's Apartment

Nina accidentally spills her coffee after hearing what she just saw on the news. Gastón hears the loud noises in the living room, so he runs quickly to Nina from the kitchen to help her. "Que paso, what happened? Are you okay Nina," Gaston asks while helping her clean the mess she made. Gastón arrived last night from his job being an engineer. The company he works at has multiple branches, so he tends to travel all around the globe to set up meetings and build all sorts of new gadgets. Nina had also arrived from Oxford after finishing the semester early. She only has one year left to graduate and can't wait to travel with Gastón as a professional writer.

"Did you hear what was on the news? Apparently, Matteo has been spotted multiple times with this girl named Viviana. News outlets think that he broke up with Luna and replaced her with Viviana. I just couldn't believe it. I was so shocked I accidentally tipped over my coffee. Sorry for the mess," Nina states to Gastón. "No pasa nada. It's okay, the stain easily comes off but going back to what happened with Matteo... is this true, en serio," Gastón wonders, hoping Nina would say a 'no, just kidding' but sadly that was not the case. "Well we don't know if he did break up with Luna but the pictures that they showed of him with Viviana look very real and very close." "Esto no puede ser. This can't be true. I'm going to call Matteo right away. We have to get to the bottom of this," Gastón vividly expresses his disbelief right before turning his head and seeing the TV screen, in which he noticed the girl that's with Matteo. He doesn't for sure know who she is, but that girl appears very familiar to him. Then, Gastón remembered who she is and quickly runs to go call Matteo. After Nina puts her mug inside the sink, she rushes to go call Luna as well.

*BTW: Thank you guys for the support you've been giving Soy Sol in the last chapter. I really do appreciate it and hope you guys like the rest :D *

#soy luna #soy sol #soy sol universe #soy luna fanfic #lutteo #simbar #soy luna fanfiction #disney soy luna #sl fanfic #sl fanfiction #soy luna Wattpad #sl wattpad #gastina #pelfi #yamiro #jico #Karol Sevilla #Valentina Zenere #Soy Luna one shot #Soy Luna one shots

[seventeenlovesthree]

Hi I know its been years, but I was going thru your blog and I came across the failure of the wc2018 and I read that you compared the team spirit to the euro 2012. As I said its been years but can you explain me with more details why was the team divided and what players were part of this in the euro 2012? Idk why but I remember loving how the team played until the Italy game where it was notorious that they lacked motivation also what changed from that year to change the spirit for the wc2014?

Hi anon, it really has been years, hasn't it, my brain feels a bit rusty at this point, since, admittedly, I have "logged off" myself for a while now. And, as always, I only ever get back when I'm on vacation and have the opportunity (and energy) to actually collect my thoughts on stuff like this.

Going down memory lane, I do remember having a few posts me and @miasanfamilie have created to explain the whole information, if you're curious, feel free to search for my "mh" tag (and this reply in particular).

To keep the story very, very short - I loved the German NT team of 2010, which got me into football in the first place. Right after the WC 2010, Dortmund had risen to become quite a competitive team, winning the league 2 years in a row in a remarkable fashion. Thus, it was only natural that players would have been called up from that team, especially those that helped winning the U21 EUROs 2009. And basically... It all came down to Bayern and Dortmund players not getting along. Thus the team was split up into basically three groups at this point (Bayern players+sympathizers, Dortmund players+sympathizers, the neutral rest). Those barely interacted and if at all, they took the p*ss out of each other, but pretended to get along - which they obviously didn’t. The main aggressors here, as mentioned in the post above, besides Mats Hummels (this is a great read about it btw), PRESUMABLY were Thomas Müller and Toni Kroos, as they were the most “vocal”, even though we don’t have 100% confirmation on that. Manuel Neuer might have been involved as well. As for others being involved... We can’t tell, as they were probably just “tagging along”, without actively “bashing” one another. (Iiiiif I remember correctly, Marco Reus and André Schürrle tagged along with Götze and Schmelzer, who tagged along with Hummels. I’m not 100% sure who was on the neutral group, but I feel like Julian Draxler might have tagged along with Benedikt Höwedes, who was on somewhat neutral grounds, altogether with Per Mertesacker, Tim Wiese, Ron-Robert Zieler, Miroslav Klose, Lars Bender, Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira. Podolski probably just did what he wanted. :D)

The EURO 2012 was the following (thank god for the team charts I saved through all these years): Legend for: regular starters, subs, players who didn’t play at all (A for playing abroad)

1 – Manuel Neuer (FC Bayern München)

2 – Ilkay Gündogan (Borussia Dortmund)

3 – Marcel Schmelzer (Borussia Dortmund)

4 – Benedikt Höwedes (FC Schalke 04)

5 – Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund)

6 – Sami Khedira (Real Madrid CF, A)

7 – Bastian Schweinsteiger (FC Bayern München)

8 – Mesut Özil (Real Madrid CF, A)

9 – André Schürrle (Bayer 04 Leverkusen)

10 – Lukas Podolski (1. FC Köln)

11 – Miroslav Klose (SS Lazio, A)

12 – Tim Wiese (SV Werder Bremen)

13 – Thomas Müller (FC Bayern München)

14 – Holger Badstuber (FC Bayern München)

15 – Lars Bender (Bayer 04 Leverkusen)

16 – Philipp Lahm (FC Bayern München)

17 – Per Mertesacker (Arsenal FC, A)

18 – Toni Kroos (FC Bayern München)

19 – Mario Götze (Borussia Dortmund)

20 – Jérôme Boateng (FC Bayern München)

21 – Marco Reus (Borussia Mönchengladbach)

22 – Ron-Robert Zieler (Hannover 96)

23 – Mario Gómez (FC Bayern München)

I feel like the time between 2012 and 2014 had been a wake-up call. I remember that when more players went abroad (f.e. Arsenal Germany), Bayern had regained their winning spirit again and more “diverse” players were called up, the team dynamics changed. I can’t really put my finger on what exactly it was, but the WC qualification matches, while just as bumpy sometimes as the matches today, already felt different. More alive. Happier. The groups had started to mingle again and the bad blood was just... Gone. I assume someone hit the three names mentioned above on the head and told them to pull themselves together. It had worked. Not to play the bias card here, but players like Per, who lived and breathed team spirit, may have had some impact here on the sidelines as well. He himself mentioned he was quite depressed during the EUROs 2012 and had taken this experience for himself to grow stronger. And I can only assume that this applied to other players as well.

It was indeed a lovely transformation and I gotta say, the post 2012 era up to the WC winning in 2014 had been my absolute favourite of eras. It was a lovely team, a lovely dynamic, “villains” had managed to redeem themselves by becoming team players, the more experienced players getting the same opportunities as the youngsters, it was a great mix. And it is what today’s team severely lacks - the team of 2018 had a vileness about it that I cannot really explain. It did feel like 2012 all over again, with a huge divide between experienced and young players this time. It felt like the “WC winners” had not been willing to give up their spots for the “Confed Cup winners”, an experience that the pre 2004 players would have reconized as well. And, sadly enough, I feel like THAT was PROBABLY one of the reasons why two of the three aggressors mentioned above may have been axed after the tournament (while the third one gets hyped to no end, which makes it feel a bit random to me, not gonna lie).

As said, we might never really get to hear what actually happened, there’s a lot of speculation out there.

#anon #mh #tm #tk

[erenscherub]

Thank you so much for clarifying! I love your rambling btw lol it give me more insight on both eren and readers feelings that you might not catch in the story. You have me so excited to read the rest of this story. Is it bad that apart of me want eren to get his shit together and they better their relationship together 🙈 everybody is on the fuck eren train lol and I’m just like they need to communicate, get everything out that’s hurting both of them, and work on bettering their marriage and family! ( I do not think him cheating is right btw)

Hello again, Nonnie! It’s great to see you in my inbox 🥰💕💕 you have no idea how happy it makes me to get asks like these and that someone actually reads through my Ted talks tag.

I’m sending you extra virtual hugs ❤️❤️

It’s ok to root for Eren. There’s two friends that go through all the rough drafts and one of them (A) said the same thing you did while the other (E) said Eren had a chance at redemption if he saved the reader from a near death experience.

It’s actually interesting that studies find over half of marriages do survive infidelity, yet only 16% of couples do. You know I think I’ll have to do a chapter centered around the Sunk-Cost fallacy…

Thank you so much Nonnie for that little plot bunny.

Somewhat related commentary below the cut.

When it comes down to it, life is very complex and if you nitpick at all the details, you can’t always simplify relationships to this person was the villain or make rational decisions on the fly like ‘just cut your losses and move on.’

Doesn’t justify cheating at all in the slightest.

But discussions with my friend E always help me see there’s another side to every story. The first arc is almost entirely from the reader’s perspective. It’s very easy for her to remember the amount of times Eren is absent because he wasn’t there during some pretty critical moments. So you could make the argument that he wasn’t there for her the five events when it counted, but what about his defense that you can’t eliminate his previous track record of the hundreds of times the reader was able to rely on him.

While Eren is toxic in this fic because he’s a cheater and insecurity led him to baby-trap the reader, he isn’t the only asshole in this relationship. E pointed out that it almost felt like the reader was keeping Colt and Marcel around like back-ups and doesn’t really do anything to assuage Eren’s insecurities.

While no relationship is perfect the key takeaways:

Communication is key in all relationships. So so many problems can be avoided/solved if people are willing to talk to each other and understand you can’t have it all.

Like your SO is not the enemy. There are times where there will be differences in opinion and ups and downs. But when it comes down to it, we’re all human and everyone makes mistakes.

The golden rule of moderation applies — don’t be a doormat but you do need to have the door open to allow room for error. Or I guess a better way to say it, there is nothing wrong with holding people accountable and calling them out on their shit. But you also have to be understanding that life fucks you up and no one is infalliable to error.

Don’t compromise. Instead you and your SO need to collaborate on the best solution

Also it is a HUGE red flag in relationships if your partner wants to get even and/or teach a lesson. No matter how pissed you may be at someone, you should never want to sabotage them or purposely hurt them.

This relationship is basically a blueprint of shit that shouldn’t happen and I hope no one ends up in a relationship like this.

After I finish this series, I really need to make an AU of this modern AU where Eren doesn’t cheat and they actually follow all the points above and it’s a healthy relationship. Eren’s Ever-After…? Confession Booth?

Ok. Definitely putting this under my Ted talk tag to revisit this idea later.

To whoever actually skimmed through all of this, take care of yourself, bubz! Remember to stay hydrated and get plenty of rest.

#[☆彡] — seasons #[☆彡] — tiresome ted talks #[☆彡] — anon #[☆彡] — random rambles #sending you all my love anon #also giving you an extra hug for popping in my inbox again #I always love talking with all of you #like you have no idea how much these asks help me organize my thoughts for future chapters #because writer’s block sucks ass

[hollowisthyname]

🖊 Onyx!

I am. so sorry. I have been writing this for over a month at this point I think?? I've got a lot on this character but I'm not good at writing it down, so..... ah. yeah :') hopefully I got enough in this to justify the wait, but either way let's go!!

[as per usual, infodump under the cut]

TW // brief mention of suicide in the paragraph where I explain how they died, mentions of death throughout (ghost character, kinda hard to avoid)

Onyx Hart: ghost, performer, and excessive flirt. they are extremely fun to make up stuff about, especially bc they're one of my only extroverted characters. I have so so many ideas for them and they're one half of the third "cannon" pair of characters ("pair" meaning they have backstory together and I associate them with each other so it's easier just to think of the two of them as their own little group. the other two are Marcel and Sorrel, and Cory and Rhys).

they have black hair that goes down to a little above their shoulders and then flips out (think Kokichi, but slightly less drastic), and the.... sides? of their hair, like the parts that go in front of your ears or something, are much longer than the rest of it, about to the middle of their chest. their skin is v pale bc they're kinda anemic and don't spend much time in the sun, and their eyes are really bright green and reflective like a cat's. they've got freckles across the bridge of their nose and they kinda glow. I don't have all the details of their outfit worked out yet (bc I just changed it a bunch ehehe) but their general style is v punk. ripped denim stuff, chokers, pins, etc. they wear mostly dark colors but with bright accents, it's extremely cool :] the kinds of clothes they wear for performances are..... very different. their color palate for shows is black and gold, and they wear a lot of flowy stuff- silks and whatever makes them look extra cool flying through the air like they do. it's definitely fun to watch, but they're actually pretty hard to get around in. Onyx is not a fan.

so. ah. for all I've thought about this character, I don't actually have a backstory for them fully formed or written out at all. I know some basics- performing has always been a big part of their life, of course, but the reasoning for that varies. they come from a family of acrobats, they ran away and joined the circus, they were recruited by Lavka very young..... so many possibilities. so instead of trying to decide on one now, let's skip to the part I know more about!! enter Lavka, the ringmaster :D

very brief explanation of Lavka: fallen angel/deity, amnesia, still powerful and malicious enough that he decides to create a.... what do I even call it? magic circus thing??? and it traps people or he kills them or something. it's bad but very cool. think of him as like, a siren, but tall and with a lot more eyes.

the thing about a circus is, you need acts. and Onyx is the star of the show. Lavka went around recruiting people to work for him and thought they'd make a good central act. they were great, and the two of them worked together for a while. aaaaand.... that's as far as I've gotten :') I have virtually no concrete story for them, and seeing as the thing that would probably prompt them to leave the circus is meeting another of my characters and I've been avoiding deciding anything for that..... yeah.

it's the same thing for how, exactly, they became a ghost. they died by suicide during a performance, but I don't know when, how, or why. gotta work on that but I'm awful at backstory and I can't always think abt it without triggering myself :') I think my brain lets me create either a personality or a backstory for a character and. not both hgdf

however!! this brings us to their personality, which I somehow completely forgot to do earlier even though I've come up with much more for it than the backstory!!!! I said extrovert and flirt already, but I don't think that encompasses just how good they are at talking to people. hardly anyone could work a crowd the way they do- Lavka and Marcel can both be good with people as well, but they all do it in very different ways. Marcel becomes whoever people want them to. Lavka radiates power and charisma. and Onyx is just impossible to look away from- they're always doing something, and it's always flashy and spectacular and amazing to see. even when they're not performing, there's just something kinda irresistible about them. they're also a very good liar, which- esp when combined with Marcel's ability to completely change how they act at the drop of a hat- has gotten them into some. situations (it's gotten them out of them too, though, so it kinda evens out) Onyx is the kind of person who will push themself past their limits to keep up appearances and please everyone. and once they can't take it anymore, they completely shut down. they'll shut themself off from everything and everyone until they have the energy to go back to acting the way they always do in front of people. usually when this happens they go completely nonverbal, and are very easily overwhelmed. it's a stark contrast from how they usually act, and they only trust a handful of people enough to actually interact with them when they shut down. most of the time around people they're constantly being charming and performance-y, but when they're just with close friends they chill out some. they're still p energetic most of the time, and they love pulling pranks on.... everyone (especially Elis, and Cory's their partner in crime for pranks) but they're not trying to make everyone love them all the time. they have HEAPS of anxiety btw, they might be great with people but that doesn't stop them from worrying that no one likes them. they're very much a people-pleaser and have trouble saying no and setting boundaries, but at the same time they have no problem with confronting someone they don't like or who hurt anyone they care about. (it seems contradictory but it's not I promise)

and then we have their whole story with Everest. I think I explained this before but I'm not sure and you've probably forgotten by now, so basically: I came up with an Onyx-centric "au" where Onyx is one of two humans from a human world to get transported into a magical one. and from that came Everest, complete opposite to Onyx and their best friend. Everest is also mostly not included in my main story bc he's my newest character and I don't have as much about him, but he's cool and I love their whole opposites-attract dynamic. I really don't have any more backstory for this version than I do for the main one, and I'm kinda wavering between the two of them running away and getting transported together, or them not knowing each other before getting sent to the magic world but ending up in the same place and becoming friends. anyway that whole thing is kinda confusing but v fun!!

now it's time for a list of facts that don't need whole paragraphs!!

- Onyx knows sign language p well bc of going nonverbal a lot (they all have to so they can talk w Rhys effectively, this is my explanation for them lmao) - they really want to perform with Elis (they have wings, great for acrobatics stuff) but Elis absolutely hates the idea - I originally came up with them for a. wattpad applyfic. absolutely fucking amazing reason I know - they're just transparent enough that it's kinda unnerving but you wouldn't really know why unless you knew what you were looking for - various other species ideas for them are selkie and nine-tailed-fox spirit - Onyx's pronouns are actually they/it and a lot of neopronouns but I usually just use they/them bc I either forget or worry abt being judged (for absolutely no reason lmao)

a moodboard I made for them!! I need to remake it bc I figured out how to make them better but I still really like how this one looks :D

#ranger rambles #icarus infodumps #oc infodumps #onyx hart #again i am SO SORRY #i hope you like it though!! they're one of my favorites #i may not be an extrovert but by god are they fun to write #(i do not in fact write) #(like ever) #(but i come up with ideas so close enough asdfgf)

[cupidmarwani-archive]

The Med Groupchat

Summary: The title speaks for itself.

WC: 1.5k

[crickett has renamed the chat “SEXY BITCHES”]

crickett: my city now

[Maggie<3 has renamed the chat “Gaffney ED”]

Maggie<3: Absolutely not

J. Lanik: Dr. Marcel, I can just kick you out of the chat if you cannot take this seriously.

crickett: rude

[J. Lanik has changed “crickett”’s username to “Crockett Marcel”]

[Crockett Marcel has changed “Crockett Marcel”’s username to “crickett”]

[crickett has added “HUBBY” to the chat]

HUBBY: Hi this is Ethan Crockett made my username and I don’t know how to change it

J. Lanik: I can change it in the chat for you I have admin privileges

crickett: no fun

HUBBY: Please change my username

[J. Lanik has changed “HUBBY”’s username to “Ethan Choi”]

crickett: how come u have all the power

J. Lanik: Because I’m an adult.

FreeWilly: who acts like a five year old lmao

J. Lanik: YOU KNEW I WAS SAVING THAT SORBET FOR FRIDAY NIGHT AS A TREAT FOR MYSELF

crickett: no need to yell

[crickett has sent an image to the chat]

FreeWilly: WHAT THE FUCK CROCKETT

J. Lanik: HOLY SHIT

[Maggie<3 has left the chat]

[crickett has deleted a message from the chat]

crickett: sorry babes i meant to send that to @EthanChoi

Ethan Choi: I’m breaking up with you

[J. Lanik has added “Maggie<3” to the chat]

Ethan Choi: You’re safe now, Maggie

Lesbian’s Wife: hey google how do i bleach my brain

Lesbian: Seconded

Maggie<3: Remind me which one of you is which

Lesbian: I’m Ava

FreeWilly: I remember cos Sarah never shuts up about being Ava’s wife

Lesbian’s Wife: I’m Ava’s wife <3

[J. Lanik has changed “Lesbian”’s username to “Bekker”]

[J. Lanik has changed “Lesbian’s Wife”’s username to “Other Bekker”]

crickett: not that i dont love and support dr bekker but this is the ed chat 

crickett: since u wont let me name it the sexy bitches chat

J. Lanik: She’s married to Sarah and cardiology is always down here.

J. Lanik: WAIT

[J. Lanik has added “connor” to the chat]

[J. Lanik has added “MommyPower” to the chat]

Maggie<3: I love you, Nat, but please change your username

crickett: give me admin power

[MommyPower has changed “MommyPower”’s username to “Nat”]

Nat: I’m in a mom chat leave me alone

Maggie<3: How’s Owen btw

crickett: @J.Lanik give me admin give me admin

Ethan Choi: do not give him admin I’m begging you

[J. Lanik has promoted “Ethan Choi” to administrator]

[Ethan Choi has changed “J. Lanik”’s username to “BooBoo the Fool”]

Nat: Owen is great thanks for asking! He just started soccer.

[Ethan Choi has removed “BooBoo the Fool” from the chat]

Ethan Choi: YOU FOOL

Ethan Choi: I HAVE ACCESS TO ETHAN’S PHONE

Ethan Choi: AND HE IS EASILY DISTRACTIBLE!

crickett: He locked himself in the bathroom with my phone. But now I have his

Ethan Choi: WAIT NO I HAVE PRIVATE STUFF THERE

Maggie<3: More private than your dick pics?

Connor: his WHAT

[Ethan Choi has added “BooBoo the Fool” to the chat.]

[BooBoo the Fool has changed “BooBoo the Fool”’s username to “Lanik”]

[Lanik has demoted “Ethan Choi” from administrator]

Lanik: This close to removing you from the chat, Marcel.

crickett: u love me too much

Bekker: Crockett sent us all his dick earlier @connor

crickett: NOT ON PURPOSE

connor: ...is it a good dick

crickett: i mean yeah? i hope so 

Ethan Choi: I’d like to stop talking about my husband’s dick please

Ethan Choi: (but for the record @connor it is a good dick)

Other Bekker: can we not talk abt his dick

Other Bekker: not unless i can talk about the strap but lanik said thats not allowed

Bekker: So he can send nudes but Sarah can’t talk about our new strap?

[Lanik has added “Dr. Charles” to the chat]

Lanik: Will this make you all calm down?

Dr. Charles: I don’t want to be involved here.

[Dr. Charles has left the chat]

Other Bekker: DAD

connor: lmao daddy issues

Bekker: @connor is this the hill you wanna die on?

[connor has deleted a message from the chat]

FreeWilly: can we all calm down lol

crickett: no. @connor dm if you wanna see my dick

Ethan Choi: …

crickett: i was kidding!!

crickett: haha unless……..

Lanik: Please do not plan threesomes in the work groupchat.

April: @Lanik bitter because you weren’t invited

crickett: OOOOOH burn

Ethan Choi: Does @no-ah have us on mute

April: yes

crickett: I’ll dm him some booty pics

Ethan Choi: Do not dm him booty pics

crickett: doing so is a public service

FreeWilly: to be fair Ethan he does get naked anywhere and everywhere

Nat: Including my birthday party >:(

crickett: in my defense u and april and sarah were also naked

Other Bekker: i remember that lmao

Lanik: This is a work chat.

FreeWilly: we should have a nude exchange

[Lanik has removed “FreeWilly” from the chat]

crickett: ooooh drama. are yall gonna break up

[Lanik has muted “crickett”]

Maggie<3: It’s so… quiet

Ethan Choi: Please unmute him he’s whiny

[Lanik has unmuted “crickett”]

connor: anyways 

connor: who wants to talk about their trauma

Bekker: @connor Like when you accused me of murder

Other Bekker: when i was a kid my mom really hated me and ive never really felt loved and maybe thats why im in a constant state of loneliness and being unfulfilled and even though im the happiest ive ever been i constantly feel like im on the edge of a cliff and at any moment im gonna fall over the edge and die

connor: that was loaded

Other Bekker: you asked

Maggie<3: I was traumatized by seeing Crockett’s penis

connor: lucky :(

Lanik: Jeez kids can you lighten up a little

Nat: HE KNOWS MEMES HE KNOWS MEMES

crickett: WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN HIDING THIS JIMOTHY

Lanik: Don’t call me Jimothy.

Ethan Choi: @connor why are you thirsty

[Lanik has added “FreeWilly” to the chat]

Lanik: It’s worse without you

FreeWilly: that may be the nicest thing youve ever said to me…

crickett: hey baby

crickett: baby

crickett: baby

crickett: baby

Nat: Use dm

crickett: baby

crickett: baby

Ethan Choi: What

crickett: since ur going to the hospital tonight can u pick up my meds uwu <3

Ethan Choi: Only if you promise to never say uwu again

[Other Bekker has renamed the chat “uwu”]

Nat: uwu

connor: uwu

Other Bekker: uwu

Bekker: uwu

April: uwu

Maggie<3: uwu

FreeWilly: uwu

Crickett: OWO

Ethan Choi: I want a divorce

[Lanik has renamed the chat “SHUT THE FUCK UP MARCEL”]

connor: lanik snapped

FreeWilly: hot

connor: WAIT CROCKETT DID YOU DO THAT ON PURPOSE

crickett: ;)

Bekker: What did he do

connor: i saw the dick pick. @EthanChoi you were right its nice

Lanik: Please stop planning threesomes in the chat

Ethan Choi: @connor I’ll set up a private chat

connor: yesyesyesyesyes

Nat: I wish I could get laid this easily…

April: You can

Maggie<3: I’m with @Lanik can you guys not be horny in this chat

Other Bekker: my two modes are horny and depressed

Bekker: Actually you have a third- hungry

Other Bekker: fair

No-ah: This is why I have the chat muted

[No-ah has left the chat]

[Lanik has added “Queen Elsa” to the chat]

Bekker: Rounding out the lesbianism I see

Queen Elsa: Is this even a chat I want to be in?

Ethan Choi: No

Maggie<3: No

crickett: yes

Other Bekker: to summarize: crockett sent a dickpic on accident and connor was disappointed he didnt see it and now hes gonna sleep with ethan and crockett and also i think nat and april are gonna get laid and also in case you didnt know yet will and jimmy are dating

Other Bekker: AND @Bekker IS MY WIFE!

Maggie<3: There it is

Lanik: Hi, Ms. Curry. This is the groupchat for the ED and I trust that you’ll treat this respectfully unlike some of the other doctors have been

Queen Elsa: Did you just call me a doctor?

crickett: do not listen to him this chat is all fun and games and dickpics

Queen Elsa: If that last part is true, I’m leaving the chat.

crickett: it only happened once and it was an accident

[Other Bekker has sent an image]

Other Bekker: look at my wife look at my wife look at my wife

FreeWilly: @April @Nat are you guys still here

Maggie<3: It looks like they both have us on mute

crickett: good for them,, we been knew they were in love

Ethan Choi: Please act like a person

crickett: bold of u to assume im a person

[connor has renamed the chat “tinder for lonely gay doctors and nurses”]

Other Bekker: DOES THIS MEAN WE CAN HELP ELSA GET A GIRLFRIEND

Queen Elsa: I have one.

Other Bekker: omg omg omg spill

Lanik: I feel like none of you are taking this seriously.

[Lanik has promoted “Maggie<3” to administrator]

Lanik: Never let it be said that I did not try.

[Maggie<3 has changed “Lanik”’s username to”BooBoo the Fool”]

[BooBoo the Fool has left the chat]

#chicago med #chicago med fic #one chicago #mine #fic #medgroupchat

[kimyoonmiauthor]

Types of Cultural Dissemination for Laymen

If you won’t bother reading the profile, and the previous posts, I’m going to introduce myself again. I’m an anthropology major, and short of Calc I for my degree. (which I’m miserably failing and I don’t need). For my BA I focused mainly on systems (racism, sexism, etc), but my true interest is in media exchange with systems. i.e. trade of things like movies, books, and seeing how they are interpreted in the country of origin v. internationally and how they might be reinterpreted, etc with a focus on say... gay people. So say, how Sailor Moon views gay couples and how they are represented versus how say, Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus were made cousins for the sub and why that might have changed for the DVDs. No one was interested in something like this though, since we’re still stuck with Eurocentricism, even though I did a paper for my high school’s senior thesis back in 1999. (It’s been a long road) As such, I know the internet loves, loves to confuse cultural dissemination terms up, and make it super simple, but it isn’t. And last round of me doing this essay had it stolen, so, in respect to that, I’m going to be giving my profs credit for their ideas, so if it does get stolen (again), at least SOMEONE will get credit. (maybe, hopefully). So I tip my hat off to:

 Wendy Fonarow for the basic analogy of the house for imperialism. 

Also Eric Johnston for the physical Anthropology parts of the article. 

Lilith Mahmud for having an awesome class on systems and power struggles.

 Jerry Won Lee for being really good at talking about Korean history and its relations with the US. 

Eleana Kim for doing studies on Korean adoptees and economics of that. 

And James Egan for teaching about Economics and various types of reciprocity and exchanges. (He’d also credit Marcel Mauss’s work on reciprocity.)

I ask, if you don’t credit me for this, you at least keep in their credits. Though it’s pretty much a terrible move to appropriate an essay on the subject of appropriation in the first place. Also, any mistakes made aren’t their fault since I compiled this myself. I apologize to them ahead of time if this is the case. But please please keep the credits. If this essay is so good, to be stolen, at least have respect for them.

Basic terms:

Cultural Dissemination is the spreading of culture to one place to another either by mutual, imposed or invited consent.

There is an essay (which I know my professors would chase me after to cite... but I disagree) about how Nationhood is more recent, so ideas of “imperialism” and “appropriation” are more problematic for time periods roughly before the 1400′s (probably a mistake on the dates). But I’m still a bit skeptical about it being so widely accepted since there’s historical evidence for the idea of sacrificing yourself to the state going way back in human history (They would point to the rise of agriculture, mainly) and the essay is widely Eurocentric with no one questioning this fact. So while we don’t have specific dates for the following things, I’m going to probably simplify it in ways my professors are going to hate me for and mark me down for. But then this isn’t a paper for them. Types of Cultural Dissemination

Cultural Exchange- basically, this is your trade. Someone comes up with a cultural good, you share it with them, and you think it’s a great idea, so take it back and keep it as it is and then give them something in return. Trade, BTW, goes back to Homo Erectus, so humans didn’t invent it. There is evidence in a Chinese cave of rocks from Africa (yes, I know that Africa isn’t a country, but it also got sliced and diced to smithereens, so in respect to that, that’s why I say Africa, the continent) that must have followed a trade route. Granted there is debate whether it was someone traveling from Africa specifically to that location or if it traveled more slowly by local trade. (Credit to Johnston for this). The idea that Homo sapiens sapiens invented trade, and specifically Europeans is pretty ridiculous. We’ve always traded from the beginning.

Cultural Adaptation (as a sub category of Exchange)- If something exchanged is adapted to the country in its own unique way because of exchange over a long period of time, that’s Cultural adaptation of the object. And no, I’m not saying cultures get “better” with this term. There is no such thing, they change, but the needs from that object when embedded into a culture might need to change. So chopsticks and how they are used is slightly different from China, Korea, Mongolia and Japan, so since they became a part of how to eat food, their design is different. (There are youtube videos on why, etc) Cultural Sharing or Cultural Invitation- is one way. (Cultural sharing is used more than cultural invitation, but I think Cultural invitation is more precise). I invite you to learn about how I do things and participate. Like learning how to make kimchi or soy sauce. But I also expect that once you have this knowledge, you won’t backstab me later after all of that emotional labor put in. Cultural Appreciation- Look, don’t touch. Basically the museum model. You don’t try to steal the painting off the wall and then take it home and claim you painted it. You look at how its curated and appreciate it for where it is (Yes, I know about museums appropriating objects... we’ll get there.)

Fetishization of a culture- Basically having a crush on a culture without understanding and accepting the downsides of the culture. Accepting means you can’t change what’s wrong, but can enable people within that culture to change it if they want to. (How to do charity is another essay, though). For example, K-drama fans who weren’t Korean were not appreciative of Greatest Marriage, the drama, because it showed the underbelly of Single Motherhood in Korean society and they rallied against it and judged Korea directly for it, rather than taking a balanced approach to it.

Cultural Appropriation

- Stealing. If people made the word stealing, I think they’d understand it better. There are three basic conditions for this and exacerbation points. It’s not clear cut in some cases. (I’ll get to those) BTW, some would also argue can’t exist before the nationstate... as I said I’m iffy on that considering the history of China which predates most of Europe.... but later.

The three main points are:

History of Imperialization (exacerbation of making it worse)

Mockery of cultural items (or history thereof)

Taking of Sacred objects without invitation of participation or any understanding.

Imperialism -

Basically forcing “help” along the way by imposing one’s culture on another with total disregard for what’s there. (for the context of this essay, though my professors would chase me for simplifying it this way.) Not sorry. Also argued, you need the nation state for this, but I have a whole other essay for why Europe tried to colonize and imperialize the world. Imperializing, though, initially profitable ran out of steam once they came to the Pacific, though no doubt they did a ton of destruction, including the US causing a nuclear disaster in the area. (The irony that the US dropped more nuclear bombs than anyone and has one of the largest programs, yet regulates others is an example of nationalism and imperialism all in one neat package). This one goes to Egan, BTW. People have meltdowns over these things and mix them up, but I put it in a simple way for you. All of these have basic forms of human rules worldwide of emotional intelligence, consent, boundaries, love and respect. What you are willing to share or not share and how, on an individual level should be understandable to everyone. Those rules might change per culture or individual, but it’s basic human intelligence to respect boundaries. And this type of intelligence is taught in kindergarten worldwide (and believe me I’ve watched a lot of those videos--most kindergartens teach emotional intelligence). Got it?

The idea that sharing, appreciation, appropriation, and adaptation are the exact same thing is ridiculous. So let’s get into why this is different since some people forgot their lessons from kindergarten. But let’s get to the next section. An Analogy to break it all down. The initial analogy handed to me was that often White Europeans would go to a different tribe and then try to get them to sell a different tribe’s lands. (Africa and North America and Australia and New Zealand apply here) which is like someone going to your neighbor’s house and offering a bunch of cash for your house, writing up a deed of sale, and then claiming that your house is there’s. This is Wendy Fonarow’s analogy.

What I did, since I got annoyed with how people couldn’t personalize it and thought that say killing 80,000 people isn’t as bad as someone they know dying, was when I was in a doctor’s office, think about how to break it down, since my analogy of the museums and paintings wasn’t working for a group I was talking to about appropriation, and how to extend that to a larger sample. I wrote that essay, posted it, it got stolen (the irony isn’t lost on me), but I’ve improve it since because I’m a fan of extended analogies. In the positive reciprocity model, as James Egan would put it, you give hoping for something close to an equal exchange. But often money is the cut off point for this. This is called “Balanced reciprocity”. (There is also generalized reciprocity and negative reciprocity).

So I’ll go over the set up for the balanced reciprocity models with two families for the terms except fetishization, appropriation and imperialism.

Say, Person X is invited to Person Y’s house. This would be sharing. They have dinner, there, they really like the food. If they look at the art and like it, then that’s appreciation. They looked, but didn’t touch it. Now, say, Person X invites Person Y to their house. They also serve them dinner, then that becomes an exchange. Person Y comes to admire a painting of theirs

Say Person X goes to build a family and Person Y does too. They become the best of friends, and over time, Person X is like, “You know what, I want to give you the painting you so like.” And then Person Y said, “And I’d like to give you the painting you so like.” So they trade the paintings and talk about their history and meaning to them. So for generations both families keep the paintings and keep in contact, but the paintings, as they do, get damaged beyond repair, and being sad, one of the family members tries to recreate the paintings, not as an exact replica, but more like a tribute to it with their own interpretations of what has happened so far. This becomes adaptation. So let’s go over the negative models in analogy. You have Person A, and they really, really think that Person B does not deserve the house they are living in. I mean, look at all that gold. And they’ve heard there is a fountain of youth inside. And they look dirty all the time. Plus they have a beautiful garden they want. Person A, then goes to Person C, Person B’s neighbor and says, “You know what, I’ll give you a bunch of goods and money to sell Person B out.”

Person C has always hated Person B, and Person A knows it, so Person C writes up a house sale slip, even though it’s fake. Person A, living in a different county currently is able to file the house sale. They break into the house, steal the food, wreck the garden, and say the upper floors are all for them. Person B finds out and is devastated, but can’t get the house sale overturned because they have no jurisdiction there. They work from home, but now Person A says they own their transportation too.

Person A starts telling them how terrible they really are. “You’re dirty, you’re angry, and you’re violent.” when Person A was the one that broke into person B’s house. What’s more, Person A moves their family in, who also trash the house and starts claiming that the alter that Person B set up was invented by them and they built it. Then claim all of the clothes are also theirs because they bought it with the house. Person B can’t get the law to kick these people out. How are they less than A? How are they violent? They try to resist, but get taunted and jeered at, but Person A’s family tells them, they can live in the basement--if they want.

Person B’s family has no recourse and no money to recover the house or move--besides, this house was in their family for generations--it means a ton to them. They remember when their great grandfather planted that apple tree which he brought to the property by a tiny sapling. They live in the basement, hoping things will change.

Things don’t change. Person A starts telling Person B’s family, they own the house, and another generation rolls by. Person B’s family is fighting for the house, but law enforcement is ignoring them.

Person A starts saying that the clothes that Person B owned were their invention. That they can do as they like, but Person B needs to adapt to Person A’s way of life, otherwise, they’ll cut off their food supply, and water to the basement, though Person B barely gets either of those. Person A’s family starts selling the unique designs of Person B’s home business and Person B finds out once again, they can’t sue, but they are upset about it. What’s more, they find out that the items from the alter are being sold. So far, it’s imperialism. So, say Person A’s family after generations goes, “You know what? Our bad. You’ll still have to live in the basement, but now we think we kinda like you enough to let you guys have jobs, even though you’re lazy all this time and we can’t understand why you couldn’t make any money.”

Someone from Person A’s family, let’s say Becky, thinks of the poor people living in the basement and starts calling them a great culture that people should appreciate. But when Person B’s family complains about the generational hate they received from Person A’s family and how much that hurt their present conditions because they don’t get heat in the basement, food or water, and they have to fight each other, Becky won’t hear about it. Becky cares more about what clothes are Person B’s family creating now that they can sell to her. She cares about more what types of entertainment they watch. She doesn’t want to hear about how they have barely any food or water and have to live by her family’s terms. Because her family is good and righteous and besides, it was her great grandfather that stole the house and where is Person A’s family supposed to live anyway? Back at Person A’s original house? Unthinkable. The old house didn’t have the garden, the clothes, or Person B’s established business. This is fetishization. If you have no interest in understanding why or who the people are in full breath and their joys and sorrows, it is a total misunderstanding of the culture. Basic rules of consent, boundaries, love and respect apply to large groups of people as it does to individuals. Also, punching people while telling them how great they are, is generally a terrible idea. The fancy jargon doesn’t change that. You don’t go and wreck people’s temples and think you’re a great person. You don’t steal their stuff. And you don’t buy their goods only and think you know everything about them. Anthropology teaches you to ask respectful questions and listen and dive deep. That’s respect. Something if you forgot, Mr. Rogers taught on his TV show. Where appropriation gets tricky

The easiest one is dread locks. The history of dread locks is that they started in Africa, traveled and were shared/traded with West Asians (Jews, for example,) then traveled to India. Some say they started in India. You can read the history here: http://ragingrootsstudio.com/the-history-of-dreadlocks/

So then it strongly got associated with black people, but really, it’s a giant circle. The problem lies in the face that white people (despite white people also wearing them in history) often call dreadlocks “dirty” and “unkempt”. (This is why I instill the rule of if you’re going to judge others, look at yourself first). So this is where it gets tricky... There is also sideways appropriation. Say when Koreans take reggae music, and then say they like it because they relate to the struggles of Jamaicans. (This one makes me squirm personally) Koreans have no understanding of the music dynamics of reggae music, how it relates to the culture, and are appropriating a struggle of slavery that isn’t theirs. At the same time as absorbing Hollywood movies which contain anti-blackness (like the N-word, gangs, etc). But technically, Korea has never imperialized Africa. (There is some history in Joseon and the earlier kingdoms where they cooperated, but you really have to dig to find it). For me, it makes me uneasy... but it’s this wobbly line since there are equally black people into K-pop music that have no intention of learning anything about the culture. (Two wrongs don’t make a right... but still iffy around the corners.)

Then there are the politics with diaspora with some countries too, where say, a Native Japanese says they are “real” Japanese and have NO problem with say a tea ceremony, (even if the details are done wrong), because the country is pushing towards tourism to generate profits, and then the diaspora saying “You’re backstabbing us because you don’t go through a third of the prejudice that we went through” (In this case the internment camps). Because people don’t all think the same. And if native Japanese saw the rise and fall of diaspora businesses, they probably wouldn’t be backstabbing about fetishization. (BTW, this also goes for Korea, which I’m pretty much railing against them trying to push tourism so much because I’ve seen the cost of cultural fads. Chinatowns are looking pretty nasty these days for a reason. And fetishization can easily turn to hate in the next breath and devastate economies.) And then someone say, writing a black person as a white person, which could go several ways. It could be brilliant because they did the research, figured out the boundaries and consent rules, or it could be say... Uncle Tom’s Cabin for the modern era. It’s OK for it to be iffy. Just sort it out. And most of the time it’s better to get an invitation and research and learn than it is to take and say you appreciate it. People want it to be black and white, especially with the European ideals of binary. But also examine and be uncomfortable with the grey’s too. Because everyone is on some kind of spectrum there aren’t clear cut answers the majority of the time. Celebrate that. (Except that the Earth is egg-shaped-ish and is rounder than a ping pong ball and you should always give credit where it is due, because the idea of copyright goes back to the time we were all foragers.)

#culture #cultural appreciation #cultural appropriation #cultural anthropology