The Violet Veil

cosplay-and-costumes: Stan Lee cosplay

Mon, 20 May 2013 22:28:06 -0400

cosplay-and-costumes:

Stan Lee cosplay

chick-chicky: So far the most badass looking one i’ve done

Mon, 20 May 2013 20:58:23 -0400

chick-chicky:

So far the most badass looking one i’ve done

battor: succubustykisses: One day someone from tumblr is going...

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:09:59 -0400

battor:

succubustykisses:

One day someone from tumblr is going to come into my store and see the stupid tag lines i add to signs and they’ll just KNOW

OH MY GOD

maria-ruta: I cann’t, guys!!! just look at this little...

Mon, 20 May 2013 13:18:30 -0400

maria-ruta:

I cann’t, guys!!!

just look at this little cutey!

#>U<#

firehouselight: norisus: AHHHHHH these are fun What a...

Sun, 19 May 2013 22:23:26 -0400

firehouselight:

norisus:

AHHHHHH these are fun

What a cutie!

I WANT IT. I’m going to cosplay this. OUO

ikenbot: Star Trek: Into Whiteness If there’s one thing that...

Sun, 19 May 2013 21:11:50 -0400

ikenbot:

Star Trek: Into Whiteness

If there’s one thing that most fans of Star Trek will agree on, it’s the fact that Gene Roddenberry’s vision for the show — and, more optimistically, for human society — was predicated on the idea that all life is valuable, and that the worth of a person should not be judged by their appearance. Much of this was done through the old sci-fi trope of using aliens to stand in for oppressed groups, but Star Trek didn’t rely on the metaphor; it had characters who were part of the ensemble, important and beloved members of the Enterprise crew, who were people of colour. It had background characters who were people of colour. And, here and there, it had anti-heroes and villains who were people of colour … one of whom, Khan Noonian Singh, became well-nigh iconic.

Image 1: “Who is your favorite villain?” ; Actor John Cho (Lt Sulu) answers.

Image 2: TOS Khan looking at a watercolor of himself. Yes, he’s wearing a dastar (Sikh turban)

Image 3: Cumberbatch and Montalbán (as Khan)

And who is now being played by white actor Benedict Cumberbatch in the new JJ Abrams reboot movie, Star Trek: Into Darkness.

We’re all cynical and jaded enough to know the standard dismissal when it comes to matters of media representation: Paramount Pictures and most film studios are not interested in diversity or visibility, they only care about the bottom dollar. Star Trek as a franchise is too much of a juggernaut to affect with boycotts. There are too many people who love it, who love those characters and that world, and will go to see the movie. And for some of these people, this devotion to the idea of a future where even South and East Asian men get to pilot a starship and love swashbuckling, where Black women make Lieutenant on the Enterprise and actually get the boy, will be trivialized and eroded and whitewashed when the most formidable and complex Star Trek baddie becomes a white man named Khan.

It wasn’t perfect in the 60s when Ricardo Montalbán was cast to play Khan (a character explicitly described in the episode script of Space Seed as being Sikh, from the Northern regions of India). But considering all of the barriers to representation that Roddenberry faced from the television networks, having a brown-skinned man play a brown character was a hard-won victory. It’s disappointing and demoralizing that with the commercial power of Star Trek in his hands, JJ Abrams chose not to honour the original spirit of the show, or the symbolic heft of the Khan character, but to wield the whitewash brush for … what? The hopes that casting Benedict Cumberbatch would draw in a few more box office returns? It’s doubly disappointing when you consider that Abrams was a creator of the television show Lost, which had so many well-rounded and beloved characters of colour in it.

Add to this the secrecy prior to release around Cumberbatch’s role in the film, and what seems like a casting move that would typically be defended by cries of “best actor for the job, not racism” becomes something more cunning, more malicious. Yes, the obfuscation creates intrigue around and interest in the role, but it also prevents advocacy groups like Racebending.com from building campaigns to protest the whitewashing. This happened with the character of the Mandarin in Iron Man 3, as well as ‘Miranda Tate’ in The Dark Knight Rises, who ended up being Talia al Ghul but played by French actress Marion Cotillard. This practice is well in effect in Hollywood; and after the negative press that was generated by angry anti-oppression activists and fans when Paramount had The Last Airbender in the works, studios are wising up. They don’t want their racist practices to be called out, pointed at, and exposed before their movies are released — Airbender proved that these protests create enough bad feeling to affect their bottom line.

So the studio has now found a way to keep it secret and underhanded. Racebending.com was there for most of the production of The Last Airbender, and were even able to correspond with Paramount Pictures about it. This time, for Star Trek: Into Darkness, their hiding and opaque practices has managed to silence media watchdogs until the movie’s premiere.

As I said, this racist whitewashing of the character of Khan won’t affect how much money this Trek movie makes. And I’m happy that the franchise is popular, still popular enough to warrant not only a big-budget reboot with fantastic actors but also a sequel with that cast. I’m happy that actors I enjoy like Zoë Saldaña and John Cho are playing characters who mean so much to me, and that they, in respect for the groundbreaking contributions by Nichelle Nichols and George Takei in these roles, have paid homage to that past.

But all of that will be marred by having my own skin edited out, rendered worthless and silent and invisible when a South Asian man is portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch up on that screen. In the original Trek, Khan, with his brown skin, was an Übermensch, intellectually and physically perfect, possessed of such charisma and drive that despite his efforts to gain control of the Enterprise, Captain Kirk (and many of the other officers) felt admiration for him.

And that’s why the role has been taken away from actors of colour and given to a white man. Racebending.com has always pointed out that villains are generally played by people with darker skin, and that’s true … unless the villain is one with intelligence, depth, complexity. One who garners sympathy from the audience, or if not sympathy, then — as from Kirk — grudging admiration. What this new Trek movie tells us, what JJ Abrams is telling us, is that no brown-skinned man can accomplish all that. That only by having Khan played by a white actor can the audience engage with and feel for him, believe that he’s smart and capable and a match for our Enterprise crew.

What an enormous and horribly ironic step backwards. For Star Trek, for media representation, and for the vision of a future where we have transcended systemic, racist erasure.

(via RaceBending)

"Touching him was always so important to me. It was something I lived for. Little, nothing touches...."

Sun, 19 May 2013 15:34:59 -0400

“Touching him was always so important to me. It was something I lived for. Little, nothing touches. My fingers against his shoulder. The outsides of our thighs touching as we squeezed together on the bus. I couldn’t explain it, but I needed it. Sometimes I imagined stitching all of our little touches together. How many hundreds of thousands of fingers brushing against each other does it take to make love?”

- Jonathan Safran Foer (via dailystendhalnitesaudade)

lactoria: nohope4thehomestuckers: theinsufferablefan: paper...

Sun, 12 May 2013 13:17:01 -0400

lactoria:

nohope4thehomestuckers:

theinsufferablefan:

paper stars

Karkat had always been absolutely fascinated by how romantic it sounded, when he’d first heard of them. A thousand paper stars to grant a wish? It was just like some of the best in his vast collection of movies.

But it wasn’t until a while later that he’d actually start making them. After finding out how to make them after a quick Trolloogle search, he set to work, knowing in his pan that it wouldn’t do anything, but still young and naive enough to hold onto a shred of hope.

It took a while, and used up lots of paper. Star after star after star.

When he was at about half a jar, he just.. stopped. It became a bit boring. A tiny bit dull. Star after star after tedious, colorful little star.

A couple perigrees or so later, when he was self-decidedly smarter and also wiser, he got into a dramatic, slur filled fight with Captor. He had thrown his arms up in outrage, when out of the corner of his eyes he spotted the jar, still half-full., covered with a thin layer of dust. Pausing, he slid the pieces of paper over, and began again.

It became a sort of ritual for him after that. Get into a fight, a couple paper stars, wake up in early evening grumpy, a couple more. After a short while of this, the jar was full. He placed it next to the husktop moniter, and stared at it occaisionally. A thousand and one were in there, prevented from growing little legs and escaping by a sturdy cork.

He.. waited. And waited. And then, he started another jar. Feel shitty, make stars, wanted to go into an absolute rage, make a few more. It didn’t make him feel any better, of course. Just gave him something to do that wasn’t tearing his whole hive down and throwing it at Her Condescension Herself until She came over and culled him personally.

The jars multiplied. He made a couple more friends, if he could call them that, somehow. More colors went into the mix. Sooner or later twelve separate colors filled up the jars.

When he’d been thrust into the game, he’d started making them with a fury. Anything to stay inside and not look at the nauseating color of his land.

The jars piled up. He got more and more frustrated with each one, as time went by.

But he kept them there, as a brightly colored silent confirmation that magic doesn’t exsist, and he’d never get any of his wishes granted.

Self-destruction is a beautiful thing.

this is absolutely beautiful get on my blog

what-i-would-do-to-joey-richter: pasturemud: socialjusticefando...

Thu, 09 May 2013 22:58:42 -0400

what-i-would-do-to-joey-richter:

pasturemud:

socialjusticefandomblogger:

wasntgoodenough:

flossingwhiledrunk:

wait for it

I was just sitting there like “the fuck am I waiting for” and then I kinda exploded with happyness

I thought this was just a picture of boots. IT IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN THAT.

OMG THIS JUST MADE MY DAY

GIVE ME THE WELLY KITTY!

rinthewin: caffenespeaks: the legend This makes me so happy,...

Thu, 09 May 2013 22:31:00 -0400

rinthewin:

caffenespeaks:

the legend

This makes me so happy, and yet so sad.

He was smart, he was a writer (you could tell by his phrasing) and this is something he TRULY cares about. That boy has a heart and he cares. He sees the truth for what it is and he refuses to sit idly and watch as the youth of america just stumbles by.

BUT the teacher was done. She didn’t care. She was fed up.

BUT the students were uncaring, even laughing, as this young man walked out

BUT this video was put online to be deemed as a joke and embarrass that boy.

THAT is unexceptionable

THAT is not right.

If you are this young gentleman if you are his relative, or if you have ever done something similar.

I am so proud of you

To take your opinion and share. NOT ONCE did he threaten her, NOT ONCE did he raise his voice above a proper projection so that the class could hear his words NOT ONCE did he insult her in any means past how she was behaving with her job. He didn’t undermine her. He didn’t hurt her, and yet he gave his message and left in peace.

That makes him a true, undeniable, super hero in my eyes.

Thank you sir.

mamalarva: “imagine a yoshi’s island clone where bad batter has...

Thu, 09 May 2013 19:53:52 -0400

mamalarva:

“imagine a yoshi’s island clone where bad batter has to protect zacharie!” - roguesquirrel

Actually, Zacharie commands Bad!Batter!

romeo-montaguetallthebitches: (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ Cute little muzzled...

Thu, 09 May 2013 18:33:58 -0400

romeo-montaguetallthebitches:

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ Cute little muzzled bad batter for your dash

Also here’s the version w/o the muzzle uvu

Photo

Thu, 09 May 2013 16:22:31 -0400

helical-: what if Dedan carrying elsens around in his mouf like...

Thu, 09 May 2013 16:02:25 -0400

helical-:

what if Dedan carrying elsens around in his mouf like a momma cat

WEH

(commission me mang)

mixedbyziggy: rescue three white women who have been missing for a decade, and a baby become a...

Thu, 09 May 2013 15:41:43 -0400

mixedbyziggy:

rescue three white women who have been missing for a decade, and a baby

become a national hero

pull and even bosser move and tell the fbi to give the reward money to the victims

media decides to dig into your past, and bring up your criminal record.

wonderful time to be black in america.

If somebody catches me, I go from ‘geek’ to ‘freak’ around...

Thu, 09 May 2013 15:20:21 -0400

^{If somebody catches me, I go from ‘geek’ to ‘freak’ around here!}

bertmccrackpipe: i wrote a homestuck poem so yep here it is c: Read More

Thu, 09 May 2013 15:18:23 -0400

bertmccrackpipe:

i wrote a homestuck poem so yep here it is c:

Read More

Photo

Thu, 09 May 2013 15:12:19 -0400

totallytransparent: Semi Transparent Cat (fur matches colour of...

Thu, 09 May 2013 14:42:27 -0400

totallytransparent:

Semi Transparent Cat (fur matches colour of your blog)
Made by Totally Transparent

Photo

Thu, 09 May 2013 14:25:15 -0400