Can We Focus On The "#she Makes It A Point To Leave Flowers At It Whenever She Can" Tag For A Moment

Can we focus on the "#she makes it a point to leave flowers at it whenever she can" tag for a moment because imo it's just so sweet and I want to explain why.

Mostly because she is an Amazon and lived in this society for majority of her life. What does this change in this situation? Amazons are based on Ancient Greeks and from what little I know about their funerary traditions (I should change it ig, gimme links if you have something good), they were quite different from nowadays. Like, they gave their dead a coin (or three I haven't read reliable source on that and what I did contradicts each other) so they could get a ride on Charon's boat. There is probably much more to it but once again, I have no idea. But the thing is, I don't think they actually were giving their dead any flowers. So for Diana, Amazon born and raised, when she has to show a respect to the dead flowers aren't first instinct. So this means she repeatedly went out of her way to honor him in a way appropriate to his culture.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love idea of people honoring Danny in a way appropriate to their culture, I brought up this idea literally yesterday on other prompt but I need you all to see how absolutely precious it is this way.

It's a difference between telling someone "I love you" in your mother tongue and explaining what it means and learning how to tell it in their language. Both causes cavities but the second one just hits different

Phantom, the newest addition to the Justice League, pulls Wonder Woman aside.

He has...a strange request.

He's nervous, flustered, fading in and out of the visible spectrum. It's clear that what he's about to ask of her is important to him, and even though she has an uncomfortable voice in the back of her head telling her this young hero is about to ask her out, she resolves to listen before she jumps to conclusions.

She's glad she did.

"Can...can you put a grave for me in Themyscira? I know it's just for women, but it's the safest place I can think of for it! I just...I don't have a grave, and Clockwork says it's starting to stunt my growth as a Ghost, and I have too many enemies on American soil, so. It's okay if you say no, though, I'll figure something out, it's fine."

Diana lets him ramble to the end, already knowing what her answer is going to be.

"We would be honored to host your grave, Phantom. Do you have any remains I can take home? Do you require a funeral service?"

Phantom looks...he looks beyond grateful. Close to tears.

"No, no remains. A symbolic grave is fine, it just. It has to have my real name on it, my mortal one." He says, looking hesitant. "Please don't reach out to my family, Wonder Woman. They don't know."

With that, he hands over a small slip of paper, torn from a notebook and clearly folded one too many times.

She takes it as though he were entrusting her with the rarest diamond in the world. She wants to, but she does not ask how they could not notice the death of someone so very bright.

Instead she nods, tucking the paper away.

Phantom will get a grand grave, one worthy of a friend to the Crown of Themyscira. She will ensure it.

CREATING AUTHENTIC DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING CHARACTERS: A WRITER'S JOURNAL

Introduction

Creating authentic characters in your writing is essential for engaging storytelling, and this includes characters who are deaf or hard of hearing. To craft a character that accurately represents this community, it's crucial to do your research, gain a deep understanding of their experiences, and portray them with sensitivity and respect. In this journal, we'll explore how to write a deaf or hard-of-hearing character, including key information and preparation steps.

Understanding Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Characters

Research: Start by researching deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals' experiences, challenges, and culture. Read books, articles, and personal stories, and watch documentaries or interviews featuring members of the Deaf community.

Consult with Experts: Reach out to members of the Deaf community or experts in Deaf studies to gain insights into their experiences. They can provide invaluable guidance and help you avoid common misconceptions.

Diversity Within the Community: Understand that the Deaf and hard-of-hearing communities are diverse. Some individuals communicate using sign language, while others rely on lip-reading, cochlear implants, or hearing aids. Be aware of these differences when creating your character.

Character Development

Backstory and Identity: Consider your character's background. Were they born deaf, or did they become deaf later in life? How do they identify within the Deaf community? Understanding their identity and experiences will shape their character.

Language and Communication: Decide how your character communicates. Are they fluent in sign language, or do they primarily rely on lip-reading and spoken language? Their communication style will influence their interactions with other characters.

Cultural Awareness: Explore the cultural aspects of the Deaf community. Understand the importance of Deaf culture, including its history, art, and values. Incorporate these elements into your character's life when relevant.

Writing Tips

Dialogue and Communication: When writing dialogue for a deaf or hard-of-hearing character, be mindful of their unique communication style. Use visual cues, body language, and facial expressions to convey emotions and context.

Access to Information: Consider the challenges your character may face in accessing information. This could involve issues with closed captioning, subtitles, or accommodations in educational or work settings.

Social Interactions: Depict social interactions realistically. Show how your character navigates conversations, group dynamics, and social events within their community and with hearing individuals.

Preparation

Sensitivity Readers: Consider hiring sensitivity readers who are part of the Deaf or hard-of-hearing community to review your work and provide feedback. Their insights can help you avoid stereotypes and inaccuracies.

Learn Sign Language: If your character uses sign language, take the time to learn at least basic signs. This will not only enrich your writing but also demonstrate your commitment to accuracy.

Beta Readers: Seek feedback from a diverse group of beta readers who can assess the authenticity of your character and offer constructive criticism.

Engage with the Community: Attend Deaf community events, workshops, or online forums to immerse yourself in the culture and better understand the perspectives and experiences of deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals.

Creating a deaf or hard-of-hearing character that resonates with readers requires dedication, empathy, and thorough research. By following these steps and embracing the rich culture and diversity of the Deaf community, you can create a character that is not only authentic but also promotes understanding and inclusivity in your writing. In addition, when writing dialogue for your deaf or hard-of-hearing character, remember:

It's important to clarify why, when writing dialogue for a deaf character, you should continue to use structured English grammar and not sign language structured grammar.

Maintaining Structured English Grammar:

Readability: Writing in structured English grammar ensures that the text remains accessible and comprehensible to all readers, including those who may not be familiar with sign language or Deaf culture. It avoids potential confusion that could arise from using sign language grammar in written text.

Universal Understanding: English is a global language, and adhering to its grammar rules allows for a wider audience to understand and engage with your story. Sign language grammar varies between different sign languages, making it less universally applicable in written form.

Respect for the Medium: While sign language is a rich and expressive mode of communication, it is primarily a visual and gestural language. Attempting to replicate sign language grammar in written text can be cumbersome and may not fully capture the nuances of sign language communication.

Balance of Realism and Readability: Striking a balance between authenticity and readability is crucial in storytelling. Maintaining structured English grammar while depicting a deaf character's interactions helps convey the character's experience without compromising the reader's ability to follow the narrative.

As an illustration, consider the following text: Dialogues with Descriptive Sign Language:

Sarah greeted John with a warm smile, her hands moving gracefully as she signed, "Hi, how are you?"

John returned the greeting in sign language, his expressions mirroring his words. "I'm good, thanks. Did you see the new movie?"

Sarah's eyes lit up as she signed back enthusiastically, "Yes, I loved it!"

In summary, using structured English grammar when writing dialogue for a deaf character is a practical and respectful choice that ensures your writing remains inclusive and accessible to a broad audience while still authentically representing the character's identity and experiences.

Furthermore, it's essential to avoid creating a character who is overly perfect or one-dimensional. In real life, we understand that everyone has imperfections and complexities, regardless of whether they are deaf or hard of hearing. Therefore, it's entirely acceptable to depict your character as a villain with a hearing issue if that aligns with your storytelling goals.

1765

Thank you so much for asking!

It was an interesting time. Not necessarily this year in particular but a few following decades for sure. Not a good time but interesting. Like in this Chinese curse.

However, 1765 was not just your ordinary year in this dying country either. Just a year before the Polish and Lithuanian aristocracy (and Ukrainian I guess, even though the country at the time was called the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the territory of now Ukraine was included and aristocrats living there also had the right to vote) elected the new king (yeah, since 1573 this country had elective kings, it was a bit of a mess tbh). His name was Stanisław August Poniatowski and for once he was not a foreigner (it's like 5 foreign/6 local or 7/4 ratio depending on how to count Władysław IV Waza (Vasaätten in Swedish) and his brother Jan Kazimierz who were from foreign dynasty but from what I know were actually raised in Warsaw. Add one to local if we count Anna Jagielonka but she wasn't actually ruling I think)(Jeez, I get sidetracked a lot, am I not?). Anyway, long live the king! At least this one tried to do something about all of the shit that was going on! He failed miserably, yeah, but at least he tried. It's much more than can be said about at least a few of his predecessors.

Back to the 1765 because I'm spoiling, back then it was believed there were some chances of healing. New King just opened a new school in Warsaw but it was not your ordinary Sunday school. Szkoła Rycerska (Knightly School I guess) was a special school for aristocratic youth in the spirit of Enlightenment and raised a bunch of much-needed wise patriots instead of drunk short-sighted idiots who were governing back then. Kinda late for the party with Enlightenment, I know but anyway, it was really needed back then. Unfortunately, they were still deep in this whole "aristocracy is a pupil of an eye of the country" mindset (though this aristocracy was a bit different than what it means in the West, we have separate word for it but aristoracy is best translation I could get, because you could be dirt poor and aristocrat, just born into the right family and supposedly they were all equal. supposedly. They made up about 10% of the population though. There were three or four "classes" of them, based on the amount of money they had, I can talk about it more if someone is interested), so only blue-blooded deserved to go there. But, you know it was a step in the right direction and between the fact that the king had very little influence on anything, lots of conservatives in parliament, fucking liberum veto (this shit deserves its own, separate rant, the stupidest idea in the history of Polish law and I have a vague memory of chimney tax being a thing), and the way foreign powers were messing up, it probably was almost as good as he could get. As the name suggests, its main focus was the military and civil servant type of service. Each year supposedly 200 boys from poorer (still aristocratic though) families got stipends from the state budget to attend it. During almost 30 years of working, it was finished by 950 people. IDK what happened with these 200 stipends/year. Probably didn't work because this country was quite literally dying, burning, okay, maybe I'm overexaggerating but t'was bad.

Anyway, like any school, Szkoła Rycerska had its share of famous graduates. The most famous one definitely is Tadeusz Kościuszko. Idk if Americans tried to translate his name in any way, so here you go, certified Polish spelling (he himself translated his first name as Thaddeus). Anyway, yeah, he is The Guy who fortified Philadelphia and a bunch of other places like Saratoga, West Point, etc. during the American Revolution (I'm not all that knowledgeable when it comes to his success in this war tbh). He also used money he got from Congress as a payment/thank-you gift to free as many black slaves as he could, while having enough to give each of them a decent start in free life (education and stuff like that). His last will too was like that but it was never executed ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Unfortunately, he wasn't as successful in Poland.

Btw, the highest mountain in Australia is named after him. No, to my knowledge he had never been in Australia.

Other graduates of Szkoła Rycerska also did some amazing things but their more of the local heroes, so tell me if you're interested in me telling you more about them.

Yo, I just made quite a long post about the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth near the end of the 18th century and hadn't outright mentioned that it disappeared as a country in 1795. Not in a "got separated into two countries like Czechoslovakia in 1990's" but in a "not a sign on a map it ever existed"

That's an achievement.

I can and will elaborate on anything that spiked your interest, I hope it's coherent enough to be readable

I was well into answering this when my god damn ancient laptop decided to freeze and delete it all, I swear just getting angry with this thing is shortening my life more than stress of finishing high school ever could

happy aromantic spectrum awareness week!

Hey students, here’s a pro tip: do not write an email to your prof while you’re seriously sick.

Signed, a person who somehow came up with “dear hello, I am sick and not sure if I’ll be alive to come tomorrow and I’m sorry, best slutantions, [name]”.

Gotham mourns the day of Jason's death, and Tim Drake should too, but he can't.

It's a day of pain and sorrow in many, many ways. Bruce wakes up earlier and leaves earlier, and Alfred speaks softly and quietly, as if there's real grief in the air.

(There is. Tim knows. He remembers finding out about Robin, about Jason Todd, and then realizing the bitter truth behind it all. Robin is dead.)

In the beginning, people used to call Jason a street kid, a rat. Tim's memory has always been fantastic, and he remembers people's harsh words about that young, young boy, and how Bruce Wayne was fraternizing with poverty, while others were kinder, gentle and sweet, because if even a rich man like Bruce can do such a thing, then there's still hope. It was stupid, and Tim still can't understand how people can be so shallow.

Such a young boy, and Mr. Wayne was a hero by adopting him, by taking him under his wing, by treating him like his son.

It's been months, and yesterday Wayne Enterprises made a big donation to some shelters of homeless kids that is definitely going to be in the news, something about Bruce Wayne remembering his dead son's life.

Bruce took the day off.

It's weird. Every year, Bruce will mourn like Jason was just killed again.

Maybe. Maybe the Jason Todd he knows really is dead forever, and this version of him is what was left, something different and twisted.

If Tim tries hard enough, he can feel the scar on his scalp, the ugly pattern on his skin, close to his nape. And he can hear the shouts. And the screams. And the sound of broken glass being stepped on. Everywhere. And blood blood blood, a red mask standing over him, fists clenched and hoarse voice.

He feels like throwing up when he thinks about it. It's kind of hidden in his mind, but not exactly—a blurry memory.

Sometimes, he closes his eyes and has a flashback of a bloody uniform. A memoir. The uniform of a young soldier.

For some reason, the second Robin was known for being ruthless. Sometimes, in the past but not that long ago, Bruce would call Tim by Jason's name, and wouldn't even notice his mistake. Tim wouldn't correct him either.

Today, on day of Jason's death, Red Hood is nowhere to be found.

Big boots, strong arms, a gun. Sticky blood.

Replacement, Replacement, Replacement.

Now, they're in the Batcave, high-tech equipment everywhere around them. Tim is standing but Bruce is sitting down, typing something in one of the computers, because a day off as Gotham's bachelor doesn't mean a day off as Batman.

"B," Tim says. Soft but not too soft, because Tim isn't supposed to talk about today, not like that, not like it's easy.

Robin was created to save and to smile, never to suffer or to die.

"Hm."

"Are you okay with patrolling on your own?"

Say no, so I'll stay. Please. I'll sleep here, in my room, and we'll wake up tomorrow like this day never happened.

Please.

"Of course. You should go, Tim. It's late."

Never too late. He wants to stay. Bruce is big and tall and Tim wants to hug him and tell him about the scar that is never going to fade away and the blood and the glass.

Look what he did to me. I mourned too, but look what he did.

Anger is something no Robin should feel, and yet—

Tim's cheeks are suddenly warm and he looks away from Bruce.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Alfred can give you some food so you can eat when you get home."

"I'm not hungry. And I can cook, you know?"

Blue eyes, just like Tim's and Jason's, but Jason's are also kind of green. Tim wonders how much of a father figure Bruce used to be—did he buy Jason books and toys and watch movies with him? Did Jason have nightmares just like Bruce still has? If so, did Bruce hold him through it?

Tim's parents are traveling. They're coming back next month.

Bruce isn't there to hold him when he wakes up in the middle of the night, but why would he be anyway?

And Tim knows Bruce asks his next question more because he needs to than because he wants to, "You know you can stay the night whenever you want, right?"

Even tonight?

"Yeah. Yeah, I know, B. But I have school tomorrow, so… I should—I should go. See you tomorrow, kay?"

Tim doesn't even talk to Alfred about the food. He just leaves.