#and quality control is practically non-existent there

[diamondzart]

Achieved bliss today

[literaryvein-reblogs]

What is the difference between urban fantasy and low fantasy?

Using the Fantasy Fiction Continuum, urban fantasy is closer to "reality" in comparison with low fantasy. But also consider other elements that further distinguish both of these fantasy subgenres.

Urban Fantasy - fantastical characters and concepts are placed in a real-world urban setting, often in the present day; also sometimes called "Modern Fantasy"

Low Fantasy - set in the real world, and includes unexpected magical elements that surprise ordinary characters

Urban Fantasy can also be split into 2 distinct subgenres of its own:

The fantasy elements are out in the open

Or they exist in a kind of a shadow society, with the rest of the world operating normally, generally unaware of its existence.

Elements of Urban Fantasy

If you’re asking yourself “what is urban fantasy?” think of it this way: Imagine a book that combines the dense worldbuilding of fantasy and science fiction with the gritty grounded reality of contemporary novels set in New York City, Chicago, or other iconic urban locales. That’s the urban fantasy genre. Here are some key elements of urban fantasy novels, short stories, and films:

Fantasy tropes: Urban fantasy storylines combine the real-life grit with of modern world with fantastical worldbuilding.

An urban setting: Although small town urban fantasies do exist, most take place in present-day major cities.

Magic: Supernatural elements, sci-fi technologies, fairy tales, and folk mythologies are all found throughout urban fantasy novels.

A noir aesthetic: Urban fantasies lift genre conventions from noir and gritty police procedurals.

Mythical creatures: Urban fantasies are populated with supernatural creatures including (but not limited to) undead zombies, vampires, werewolves, druids, demons, shapeshifters, and perhaps a mage or wizard.

A protagonist with a foot in both worlds: The main character of an urban fantasy is typically savvy to the real-life ways of their urban environment yet can also wield or exploit magical powers.

A young protagonist: Relatively young characters who practice wizardry or witchcraft are common in urban fantasy series.

Elements of Low Fantasy

Low Fantasy is a catchall, and inexact, term for secondary world (i.e., a constructed world; a completely fictional setting, rather than our world) fantasy.

The designation is not a description of the quality of the work, but rather the prevalence of fantastic elements.

Tends towards less “traditional” (simplistic) morality.

Sometimes comedies are also excluded from the genre, but either way the works that remain don't have a natural unity.

However, while there is no complete list of defining features, there are features and tropes common to many Low Fantasy works that can help distinguish them from other fantasy works; each tends to be the opposite of one of the defining features of High Fantasy. Examples:

Magic: While Magic is prominent in High Fantasy, it's generally rare if not non-existent in Low Fantasy. What magic does exist is complicated, ambiguous, reserved for a very select few and/or has specific scientific rules. It's also likely to be dangerous, corruptive, or difficult to control, and magic-users are likely to be distrusted and often genuinely untrustworthy sorts.

Heroes: Usually normal people that have taken up a cause rather than The Chosen Ones of High Fantasy. It's not uncommon for them to be an Anti-Hero of some kind and/or have non-heroic motives (e.g. they take up a cause for personal ambition, for vengeance or just to survive as opposed to doing it for the 'greater good').

Shades of Grey: While High Fantasy usually features Black-and-White Morality with clear-cut heroes and villains, many Low Fantasy works have Grey and Gray or Black and Gray. More importantly, the success of the victor often has no bearing on their motives or honor.

Methods: Victories are usually achieved through physical combat and cunning, not magical battles and certainly not by moral superiority.

Scope: Down to Earth. Tends to focus more on the survival and tribulations of one or a few individuals rather than the whole world.

Examples of Urban Fantasy Works

The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher (2000)

The Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch (2011)

The Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews (2007)

The Merry Gentry series by Laurell K. Hamilton (2000)

The Hollows series by Kim Harrison (2004)

The Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs (2006)

The Jane Yellowrock series by Faith Hunter (2009)

The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris (2001)

Moonheart by Charles de Lint (1984)

War for the Oaks by Emma Bull (1987)

Examples of Low Fantasy Works

When the plastic figurines come to life in Lynne Reid Banks’s The Indian in the Cupboard (1980).

A Song of Ice and Fire is a generally low-magic setting, with a cynically pragmatic worldview and a focus on political maneuvering between rival factions who are all at least morally gray; however, the politics spans two continents and reaches epic levels on its own even without more traditional, stirring High adventure elements. However, because The Magic Comes Back slowly over the course of the story, the fantasy does get progressively Higher as the series goes on, even though the general tone remains Low in nature. The magic and other mysteries are treated as ambiguous, yet highly dangerous, potentially world-changing and complicating factors in an already combustible political and social situation.

Tangled has very little magic — with the only source of it being Rapunzel's hair. Besides the animals being somewhat more intelligent than normal, there's little else. The protagonists are all human, and the story is mainly Rapunzel's journey to the kingdom. The antagonist is said to be a witch, but she has no powers other than knowing how to activate Rapunzel's magic. As far as Grey-and-Gray Morality goes, one of the lead characters is an unrepentant thief and various side characters are implied criminals with Hidden Depths.

Sources: 1 2 3 4 5 ⚜ More: References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

Do go through the sources for more details and examples. Hope this helps with your writing!

[grey-sorcery]

Title: Shadow Work: First Steps

Related Articles

Shadow Work Concepts Emanations of The Subconscious Dualities Biases in Witchcraft Finding Balance Divination Basics of Spellcasting Basics of Astral Projection Fundamentals of Energy Work Spell Design What is Witchcraft?

Important: Shadow work is in no way necessary for witchcraft. Nor should magical applications of shadow work be the crux of your self-reflection.

The concept of the shadow holds a lot of significance to most witches today. The shadow, as elucidated by Carl Jung, represents the concealed and often repressed aspects of an individual's psyche. It encompasses the less desirable qualities, such as fears, insecurities, and suppressed emotions, which are typically kept hidden from conscious awareness. Engaging in magical shadow work entails embarking upon a journey of self-discovery and self-integration, allowing individuals to explore these hidden depths in order to achieve greater personal understanding and growth. And while Jung may not have been the most savory character, his contributions were and continue to be very useful! I highly recommend looking into his ideas and how you can potentially modify them to better fit your own life.

The Shadow

The shadow, as defined and utilized in shadow work, refers to the concealed and often repressed aspects of an individual's psyche. The shadow represents the repository of thoughts, emotions, and impulses that are deemed unacceptable or incompatible with one's conscious self-image. A lot of the shadow’s characteristics are forged through traumatic experiences and manifest themselves as trauma responses. These hidden aspects of the self reside in the unconscious mind, remaining largely inaccessible to conscious awareness.

Shadow work involves a deliberate and introspective exploration of these suppressed elements. It is a process of bringing to light the aspects of ourselves that we may disown or deny, aiming to integrate them into our conscious selfhood. By engaging with the shadow, individuals gain insight into their fears, insecurities, and unresolved conflicts, shedding light on the hidden motivations behind their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. This exploration of the shadow is not limited to psychological analysis alone. It encompasses various practices and techniques, such as magic, divination, self-reflection, journaling, therapy, and emotional intelligence development. Shadow work allows individuals to confront and confront their shadows in a compassionate and non-judgmental manner, promoting personal growth, self-acceptance, and authenticity.

Techniques for Exploring and Integrating the Shadow

One approach to delving into the depths of the shadow is through the practice of meditation. By cultivating a focused and contemplative state of mind, individuals can delve into their subconscious and uncover suppressed emotions, memories, and beliefs. Through consistent meditation practice, one can gradually bring these shadows into conscious awareness, allowing for a deeper understanding of oneself.

Rituals and spellwork can serve as transformative tools in shadow work. Rituals provide a structured framework within which individuals can confront and engage with their shadows. By employing symbolic gestures, such as the use of correspondences or ritual objects, or the implementation of astral projections and energy work, practitioners can externalize their inner struggles and navigate the complexities of their shadows in a controlled and intentional manner. Through spellwork, it is possible to influence the psyche, open up self awareness, make it easier to gain access to repressed memories, aid in inducing relaxed states, and form energetic representations of emotional states. 

Archetypes and symbolism serve as potent vehicles for exploring the shadow within magical practice. Archetypes represent universal patterns and primordial images that exist within the collective unconscious. By working with archetypal energies, individuals can gain insight into their own shadows and access the transformative potential residing within them. Symbolism, too, can play a central role in shadow work, as it allows practitioners to express and explore complex emotions and experiences that may be difficult to articulate directly. By utilizing symbols, such as colors, animals, or mythological motifs, individuals can unlock the safety, self-awareness, and confidence contained within their shadows.

Magical Shadow Work

One of the primary benefits of engaging in magical shadow work is the revelation of hidden aspects of the self. By courageously diving into the shadow, individuals can shed light on the suppressed emotions, desires, and beliefs that have influenced their thoughts and behaviors. This process of self-exploration enables individuals to develop a more comprehensive understanding of their true nature, promoting authenticity and self-acceptance.

Magical shadow work also holds the potential for healing past wounds and traumas. By addressing the suppressed emotions and traumas stored within the shadow, individuals can initiate a process of emotional and psychological healing. Confronting and processing these experiences in a supportive and intentional manner allows for the release of stagnant energy and the restoration of emotional well-being. Engaging with the shadow can lead to personal transformation and empowerment. As individuals become aware of and integrate their shadows, they gain the ability to reclaim the aspects of themselves that were once repressed or denied. By embracing the full spectrum of their being, individuals unlock their true potential and experience a greater sense of wholeness and authenticity.

Before engaging in magical shadow work, It would be wise to approach it mundanely first. At the very least, mundane shadow work will give you an idea of what your shadow is, the shape of it, its reactionary patterns, its roots. Without mundane shadow work, or a very experienced healer, you’ll be flying blind. Shadow work is an intimate process of getting refamiliarized with the sum total of your being, your life. If you’re ready for magical shadow work, here are some spells that can help. (Be sure that they’re of your design for best results.)

Anti-anxiety spell candle

Spell to remember dreams

Spell to make accessing sensitive memories easier

Binding your own trauma response (temporarily)

Cord cutting (Actual cord cutting, not that candle & string tiktok bs)

Glamour for self-love and acknowledgement 

Reveal truth spell

I may write some spells for this purpose, If I do, I will link them here in this section.

Mundane Shadow Work

Mundane shadow work refers to the process of exploring and integrating the hidden aspects of the self from a psychological and self-care perspective, without invoking supernatural or metaphysical beliefs. It involves delving into the unconscious patterns, beliefs, and behaviors that shape an individual's thoughts and actions; as well as taking the time to care for yourself, even when the cost required to do so means draining yourself. Unlike magical or mystical approaches, mundane shadow work focuses on psychological principles and practices to uncover and address these hidden aspects.

From a psychological standpoint, mundane shadow work involves examining the unconscious patterns and behaviors that influence an individual's life. The unconscious mind plays a vital role in shaping thoughts, emotions, and actions, often driven by deep-seated fears, unresolved conflicts, and unacknowledged desires. By exploring and understanding these unconscious elements, individuals can gain insight into the underlying motivations and dynamics that affect their daily lives. Mundane shadow work also involves exploring the impact of childhood conditioning and societal influences on one's personality and behavior. Early experiences and societal norms can shape beliefs, values, and attitudes that may be limiting or detrimental. Through introspection and analysis, individuals can identify and challenge ingrained patterns and beliefs that no longer serve their personal growth and well-being.

Self-reflection and journaling are effective practices for mundane shadow work. Taking time to reflect on thoughts, emotions, and experiences can help uncover hidden patterns and gain insight into one's motivations and reactions. Writing in a journal allows for a deeper exploration of thoughts and feelings, enabling individuals to recognize recurring themes, triggers, and patterns in their lives.

Self-care can serve as a valuable tool for shadow work, facilitating the exploration and integration of hidden aspects of the self. By engaging in self-care practices, individuals create a nurturing and supportive environment that allows for deep introspection and personal growth.

Examples of self-care as a form of shadow work include:

1. Mindfulness and Meditation: Practicing mindfulness cultivates awareness of one's thoughts, emotions, and sensations, creating a space for acknowledging and exploring the shadow. Meditation provides an opportunity to observe and process unconscious patterns and emotions that may arise during the practice.

2. Journaling and Reflection: Writing in a journal encourages self-reflection and can help uncover hidden aspects of the self. By expressing thoughts, emotions, and experiences on paper, individuals gain insights into their shadows and can identify recurring patterns or triggers.

3. Self-Compassion and Self-Acceptance: Embracing self-compassion and self-acceptance involves acknowledging and accepting all aspects of the self, including the shadow. By practicing self-compassion, individuals can foster a non-judgmental and nurturing attitude towards themselves, creating space for healing and growth.

4. Emotional Regulation and Boundaries: Developing emotional regulation skills allows individuals to navigate and process challenging emotions that may arise during shadow work. Setting boundaries helps establish a safe and supportive environment, protecting one's well-being and allowing for focused introspection.

5. Rest and Relaxation: Prioritizing rest and relaxation is essential for replenishing energy and fostering emotional well-being. Taking breaks, engaging in hobbies, and practicing self-care rituals such as baths or massages create a conducive environment for self-exploration and introspection.

By incorporating self-care practices into one's routine, individuals can enhance their well-being while simultaneously engaging in shadow work. These practices create a nurturing space for deep reflection, emotional processing, and personal growth. Self-care as a form of shadow work enables individuals to develop a deeper understanding and acceptance of their shadows, leading to greater self-awareness and integration.

Engaging in therapy or counseling is a valuable approach to mundane shadow work. Mental health professionals provide a supportive and objective environment where individuals can explore their unconscious patterns, childhood conditioning, and societal influences. Therapeutic techniques, such as psychodynamic therapy or cognitive-behavioral therapy, can aid in uncovering and addressing underlying issues, facilitating personal growth and transformation.

Developing emotional intelligence is another crucial aspect of mundane shadow work. Emotional intelligence encompasses the ability to identify, understand, and manage one's own emotions, as well as the emotions of others. By enhancing emotional awareness and regulation, individuals can gain insight into their unconscious emotional reactions and learn healthier ways of expressing and processing emotions. Practices such as mindfulness meditation, emotional regulation exercises, and empathy-building activities contribute to the development of emotional intelligence.

Mundane shadow work is an integral part of personal growth and self-actualization. By exploring and integrating the hidden aspects of the self, individuals can achieve a deeper understanding of their motivations, desires, and fears. This process fosters self-acceptance, self-compassion, and a greater sense of authenticity. Through mundane shadow work, individuals gain the opportunity to transform limiting beliefs, heal emotional wounds, and cultivate healthier relationships with themselves and others.

Similarities and Differences between Magical and Mundane Shadow Work

Magical and mundane shadow work share common goals and principles despite their different approaches. Both seek to explore and integrate the hidden aspects of the self, acknowledging the existence of unconscious patterns and behaviors that influence thoughts and actions. The shared goal is to achieve personal growth, self-awareness, and transformation. Both approaches recognize the importance of addressing suppressed emotions, traumas, and limiting beliefs for healing and achieving a more authentic and fulfilling life.

Magical shadow work often involves metaphysical or spiritual practices and rituals, whereas mundane shadow work focuses on psychological principles. In magical shadow work, practitioners may utilize meditation, visualization, energy work, rituals, and working with archetypes and symbolism.

In contrast, mundane shadow work primarily relies on psychological approaches supported by scientific research. It emphasizes self-reflection, introspection, therapy, and emotional intelligence development. Techniques such as journaling, therapy, and emotional regulation exercises are used to explore and understand unconscious patterns, childhood conditioning, and societal influences. Mundane shadow work seeks to integrate psychological principles and evidence-based practices for personal growth and transformation. Mundane shadow work can also use symbolism and work with archetypes. The shadow is an archetype, a subcategorization of the psyche. 

While magical and mundane shadow work have contrasting approaches, they also have complementary aspects that can be integrated for an approach to self-discovery and growth. Practitioners can incorporate psychological techniques into magical shadow work. For instance, individuals can use self-reflection and journaling to deepen their understanding of the symbolism and archetypes encountered in magical practices. This integration can provide a psychological framework for exploring and processing the experiences and insights gained from themagical, mystical, and metaphysical practices, enhancing self-awareness and personal growth. In mundane shadow work, practitioners can draw inspiration from the use of symbolism and archetypes in magical practices. Symbolism and archetypes provide a rich language for exploring and expressing complex emotions, experiences, and unconscious patterns. By incorporating these symbolic elements into therapy or counseling, individuals can tap into a deeper layer of self-understanding and facilitate transformative healing processes.

Both magical and mundane shadow work recognize the importance of the mind-body connection in personal growth. Engaging in practices such as meditation, mindfulness, or breathwork can foster a deeper connection with the self and facilitate emotional and psychological healing. This mind-body integration can bridge the gap between magical and mundane approaches, emphasizing the interplay of thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations in the process of shadow work. Both require a level of intimacy and honesty that may be uncomfortable for those who are just starting. They both often involve reflecting on past traumas and how they are reacted to.  

Choosing the Right Approach

When it comes to shadow work, it is crucial to choose an approach that aligns with individual preferences, needs, and goals. While both magical and mundane methods offer unique perspectives, it is essential to consider personal inclinations and strike a balance between the two. However, prioritizing mundane approaches for mental health considerations is of utmost importance. Without professional guidance, a practitioner may end up hurting themselves more than healing. Especially for younger practitioners. 

Each individual has their own preferences and inclinations when it comes to self-exploration and personal growth. Some may resonate more with the mystical and metaphysical aspects of magical shadow work, while others may find solace and effectiveness in the practical and evidence-based approaches of mundane shadow work. It is essential to honor these individual preferences and inclinations when selecting an approach to shadow work.

Before starting shadow work, it is vital to identify personal needs, goals, traumas, boundaries, and influences. What aspects of the self do you wish to explore? Are you seeking healing from past traumas or a deeper understanding of your unconscious patterns? Understanding your specific needs and goals can help determine the most suitable approach for your shadow work journey. Finding a balance between magical and mundane approaches can provide a well-rounded and comprehensive experience. The metaphysical aspects of magical shadow work can offer a sense of awe, wonder, and connection to something greater than oneself. On the other hand, the psychological grounding of mundane shadow work can provide a practical framework for understanding and integrating the shadow. By incorporating elements from both approaches, individuals can tap into their intuition while also utilizing evidence-based practices for self-discovery and personal growth.

While both magical and mundane approaches have their merits, prioritizing mundane approaches to mental health is crucial. Mundane shadow work is rooted in psychological principles and has a strong evidence base. Engaging in therapy or counseling, utilizing psychological techniques, and focusing on emotional well-being are essential components of addressing mental health concerns. It is important to recognize that while magical shadow work may provide spiritual or mystical insights, it should not be relied upon as a sole solution for mental health challenges. By prioritizing mundane approaches to mental health, individuals can ensure they receive the necessary support and guidance from qualified professionals. Therapeutic interventions provide a safe and structured environment for exploring the depths of the shadow, addressing past traumas, and developing healthier coping mechanisms. Taking care of one's mental well-being is paramount and should not be overshadowed by the allure of magical or mystical practices alone.

How Shadow Work Enhances Magical Practice

Shadow work, with its focus on exploring and integrating the hidden aspects of the self, can significantly improve magical practice in various ways. By delving into the depths of the shadow, practitioners can enhance magical potency, deepen their connection to their own practice, and develop self-awareness regarding potential negative influences on their spellwork, metaphysics, and magical praxis.

Shadow work can enhance magical potency by addressing and transforming the unconscious patterns, fears, and limiting beliefs that may hinder the effectiveness of magical practice. When practitioners engage in shadow work, they uncover and work through these hidden aspects, allowing them to reclaim personal power and align their intentions and energies more effectively. By integrating the shadow, practitioners can cultivate a greater sense of authenticity, clarity, and focus, thereby magnifying the potency of their magical endeavors.

Shadow work offers a unique opportunity to deepen the connection one has to their own magical practice. By exploring the depths of the shadow, practitioners gain insights into their motivations, desires, and fears that may unconsciously influence their magical workings. This self-exploration allows practitioners to align their magical practice with their true selves, fostering a deeper sense of connection, purpose, and resonance. By integrating the shadow, practitioners can cultivate a more authentic and fulfilling magical journey.

Engaging in shadow work helps practitioners become self-aware of potential negative influences on their spellwork, metaphysics, and magical praxis. The shadow, with its hidden and repressed aspects, can manifest in unintended ways within magical practice. By exploring the shadow, practitioners can bring these influences into conscious awareness, thereby minimizing their detrimental effects. This self-awareness enables practitioners to identify and address biases, unresolved traumas, and unacknowledged emotions that may impact their magical workings. By integrating the shadow, practitioners can ensure that their spellwork and metaphysical understanding align with their authentic selves, promoting ethical, balanced, and effective magical praxis.

To become self-aware of the shadow's potential negative influence, practitioners can engage in regular self-reflection, journaling, and introspection. They can analyze their magical experiences, observe recurring patterns or emotional reactions, and critically evaluate their intentions and motivations. Seeking feedback from trusted peers or mentors can also provide valuable insights and help uncover blind spots or unconscious biases. By developing this self-awareness, practitioners can actively work towards minimizing negative influences and ensuring their magical practice aligns with their true values and intentions.

Tips for Shadow Work

Prepare by gathering comforting items and keeping them close by so they can be used afterwards.

Bathe afterwards (This may not be helpful if you suffer from dysphoria)

Practice regular meditation so that it becomes easier

Take notes during solo shadow work practices in order to discuss the points with a therapist.

Analyze personal biases and preconceptions to prevent them from influencing your exploration.

Understand intersectionality and how it affects your life.

Utilize symbols and archetypes without ascribing unnecessary magical attributes to them.

Cultivate emotional awareness, empathy, and self-regulation.

Seek information from various disciplines, including psychology, history, and ethics, and apply critical thinking to what you read.

Stay open to different viewpoints and be willing to modify your beliefs as you learn.

Dedicate time to reflection and self-assessment to facilitate growth.

Strive for authenticity rather than attempting to conform to any particular spiritual or magical tradition.

Understand your limits and maintain healthy boundaries in your practices.

Recognize that tools and accessories can aid practice but are not inherently magical. They only serve to support headspace.

Share your findings and thoughts with a professional for feedback.

Recognize the cultural origins of various practices and treat them with respect.

Distinguish between metaphorical and literal interpretations to prevent falling into delusions, especially for those with a mental illness.

Extend compassion to yourself and others, recognizing that shadow work can be a challenging process.

Understand that shadow work leads to change, and be willing to embrace it.

Surround yourself with supportive friends, family, or community.

Keeping a journal aids in tracking progress and thoughts.

Acknowledge your responsibility for your actions and beliefs.

Understand that complex phenomena cannot be reduced to overly simplistic explanations.

Seek out primary sources when researching different traditions.

Utilize both logic and intuition in a balanced way.

Recognize how language shapes thought and be mindful of your word choices.

Understand historical practices in their proper context without romanticizing them.

Recognize the metaphorical nature of certain concepts without taking them literally.

If using substances to aid in exploration, do so responsibly and with awareness of potential risks. It is unwise to employ alcohol consumption for shadow work.

Establish a physical and emotional environment that feels safe and conducive to exploration.

Stay clear of pseudoscientific explanations and theories. Especially those originating from New Age “Spirituality”.

Understand that shadow work can be taxing and prioritize self-care.

Recognize the limits of personal understanding and be humble in your approach.

Embrace a nuanced view that avoids rigid binary classifications.

Familiarize yourself with psychological theories that pertain to consciousness and the unconscious.

Be aware of the tendency to seek information that confirms pre-existing beliefs.

Recognize the connection between body and mind and engage in physical activities that promote well-being.

Recognize and avoid superstitions that might influence rational thinking.

Understand how societal norms and constructs can shape personal beliefs and behaviors.

If using visualization, do so with an understanding of its psychological basis rather than mystical.

Recognize the multifaceted nature of human personality and experience.

Be willing to change directions in your practice if something is not working, regardless of the time and effort invested.

Establish a consistent routine that supports your shadow work practice.

Maintain a strong connection to reality, recognizing the symbolic or metaphorical nature of many spiritual or magical concepts

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[jeanjauthor]

What would be the top five non-natural (like a river or forests) things for a land to have that makes it super rich? in medieval times

Ouff...non-natural?

A really good agrarian situation, so that there is a food surplus instead of a lack. This includes good farming techniques and good animal husbandry practices, fertilizing, irrigation, flood management, coppicing skills for renewable wood resources, etc. Food surplus means that everyone has good nutrition and thus the strength to take on more tasks beyond the hard-scrabble life of hand-to-mouth subsistence living. In the latter situation, all of your time & attention is devoted to getting barely enough to eat to survive, but if you have good agrarian practices and take the time to educate yourself & others (observation, experimentation, sharing of ideas), then you can gradually turn things around, making acquiring a surplus of food much, much easier, freeing up your time and giving you more energy for other things.

A really good attitude of being charitable toward the less fortunate, so that the excess foods and other goods don't go to waste. A society that encourages sharing and discourages hoarding is going to be richer overall than one where a few control all the resources while simultaneously refusing to share them. This could include the royals, but it also could simply include a better-off neighbor who shares with one whose crops were wrecked by a bad flood.

A strong crafting industry, so that there are plenty of people who know how to build safe houses, good furniture, sturdy baskets, leak-proof barrels, excellent pottery for cooking and food storage, tiles or thatching for leak-resistant roofing, fiber crafts for durable clothing and stout ropes that don't break easily, so on and so forth. Once you have enough spare food that you don't have to spend every single moment getting that food to eat, you will have the time and the energy to practice various techniques and find ways to improve everything you make, which leads to a better quality of life overall for everyone over time.

A leadership that genuinely cares about making things better for everyone, (and by that, I mean the nobles & royals, clergy, mayors & burghers, clan leaders, etc). This includes trying to figure out ways to mitigate and manage natural disasters like flooding, making retention ponds for irrigation in case of drought, encouraging the basic freedoms of people so that they're able to go find careers that they honestly enjoy rather than being essentially a slave to a plot of land, and taxing just enough to pay for these public works (along with paying for the upkeep of defensive forces) without over-taxing the people. If all you have are leaders that hog all the resources to themselves, don't care about protecting their people from wild animals or enemy raiders, etc, you are not going to create and maintain a land that is rich. Personal wealth =/= national wealth, and all that.

Good relations & alliances with other groups. And not just for national safety reasons, though that one is perfectly valid! No, this is for trading reasons. No single location is ever going to "have it all" in terms of natural resources. During the Bronze Age, the only location within a couple thousand miles of the Mediterranean that had tin deposits existing closer than 500+ miles of copper was in the south of of the British Isles (like 80 miles at most, iirc). So in order to make good quality bronze, you had to be good neighbors, good trading partners, etc, with people far away from you as well as within your own country / territory. During the Middle Ages, the best wool was considered to come from the British Isles, but the best weavers were in Flanders on mainland Europe. The best dyes came from various places all across the land, so if you wanted high-quality clothes in bright colors (and contrary to Hollywood's over-use of grim-dark, medieval people LOVED bright colors), you'd have to have good relations with several nations to be able to get all the quality ingredients to make that fancy outfit to wear to the next feast or festival. But if you're at war with England, you're going to have a hard time getting your hands on their best-quality wool without, y'know, engaging in combat to get it.

So those are what I'd pick to be the 5 top non-natural resources a land should have to be able to be rich.

And yes, people are a resource. People are your #1 resource, if they have plenty of food & education, and are protected from dangers by good leadership type people.

...If you wanted natural resources, I'd say a decent supply of safely potable water for drinking, cooking, and irrigation, good soil for growing food, plenty of wood for building stuff, some mineral deposits for metals and things like limestone for making plaster & mortar, and terrain that mitigates bad weather while still providing good transportation routes--aka lots of sun-facing farmland but with like some mountains or hills on the windward sides to blunt the forces of winter storms, and maybe some rivers that are navigable by boat as well as good solid ground for making transportation roads.

[loki-zen]

The trouble is that you don't get to control how people on "your side" behave.

So you get shit like the air traffic controller story, which gives a plausible route to condemning "DEI" whole-cloth.

Except that "DEI" initiatives also include things like "Projects that aim to teach managers when the important holidays of significant-by-local-population minority religions are, so that they can plan around the amount of leave people will want to take then", and "Projects that aim to make this a more pleasant and practical place to work for a subset of people for whom that's often a problem - which isn't just a nice thing to do, but also enables you to retain a broader pool of talent than places that don't pursue this," and "Projects that aim to help managers to hire and promote the best people for the role, by overcoming cognitive biases that lead to basing those decisions on non-job-related qualities, and by eliminating barriers that narrow the talent pool you're working with." Since there are self-interested reasons to pursue these things, hopefully they're fairly resilient to long term sea change, but ofc even short term pendulum swinging is harmful and takes work to undo.

Unfortunately, another subset of what's likely to be parsed as "DEI" is stuff where like.

So.

It is the nature of humanity that, if it is to survive, there are significant care duties that someone must be doing; a certain level of care obligations must exist. In order for humans to continue existing, new humans must be produced and they need a lot of care for at least a decade and change, each. And in order for there to be humanity (as opposed to inhumanity), adults who can't care for themselves need to be taken care of too. Finally there's an in-between category of people who need some care, which might come from another person or it might mostly come from themselves, but in a fashion that imposes some limits on the paid-for work they can do, or which means they need particular arrangements to make it possible for them to do that work.

Employers do not want to shoulder any of the burden of this, but as a society we absolutely count on them to. We actually need the talent and productivity of people with care obligations (including care obligations to themselves) and furthermore we don't have any setup that enables these people not to work, and only limited publicly-funded sources of help with the care obligations.

Programs and policies which enable employers to use the work of people with care obligations is another subset of things that are going to be considered "DEI" and unlike the former category, there's a straightforward incentive for any given employer to try to just employ the folks without care obligations and shift the burden of keeping humanity going onto someone else. But at a certain saturation that's all going to fall apart - we actually don't have any other plans for people who aren't quite disabled enough that they're completely incapable of any work. We actually don't pay the vast majority of usual-childbearing-aged men enough to afford a family home on one salary; if women can't work and have kids some amount of them just won't have kids. We don't have another plan for the elderly and disabled who are cared for at home. We don't have a plan for who is going to do all the work that the carers were doing if they choose their caregiving obligations! It's a mess basically.

So yeah at this stage if we unpick "DEI" too hard society could actually fall apart. Categories suck, I guess

[dailycharacteroption]

Roleplay Ramblings: Spell Storage part 2

(art by Nimphradora on DeviantArt)

Writing

Magic, as we’ve well established over the years here on the blog and in society as a whole, is the power to go beyond the mortal limitations and affect reality through thought and will, typically by following ritualized practices to make it so, invoking the gods or spirits or simply forcing your will on reality.

Whatever the case may be, it is important to note that the idea of a book of spells, or grimoire as some may call them, dates back a very long time, as far back as Mesopotamia. For the non-history buffs out there, that means that spellbooks and written incantations and rituals have existed for pretty much as long as writing has. That’s super old, Over 5000 years ago old.

Now, whether these ritual books are more religious text or occult and if there is any significant difference between the two is a question for the historians and the theologians, but the fact is that as soon as they had a writing system, spiritual leaders were writing that shit down so they could just teach the next generation from it and also to remind themselves so that the oldest person in the village doesn’t stop the spring fertility rites because you forgot the rabbit blood and therefore are doing it wrong.

As civilization developed, however, it became increasingly clear that the written and spoken word were powerful tools for many reasons. Communication, records-keeping, history, complaining about poor quality copper, and more. It’s easy to see how such people would come to believe that the words themselves had power all their own. After all, to give name to something is to demonstrate a great enough understanding of it to choose such a name, and therefore, gain some measure of control over it.

And so throughout history and various cultures, the power of the written word is demonstrated, from religious texts to the Norse runes to the prayers and invocations written on ofuda, and more.

And with that crash course on the history of the written word as a source of mystical and spiritual power, let’s talk magic in settings where it can irrefutably be proven to exist.

So I guess the big elephant in the room when it comes to linguistics and magic, why does this cosmic force, underpinning structure of reality, or raw energy source respond to words? Whether they are spoken aloud or written down on scrolls or books, why does such a powerful thing react to some mortal waving their hands and invoking them? Depending on the setting, it might be because mages are simply giving description and form to what they want to happen. Alternatively, the words might be some primal language of the cosmos, the proverbial coding language of reality, which they tap into to run “programs”. Alternatively, maybe magic is in some way alive and aware, and spells are more like requests than commands.

Which brings me to my next question: Is the language of magic universal? Depending on setting and how you interpret certain things, it might be, or it might not. In many editions of D&D as well as Pathfinder, draconic is often used as the go-to language for writing down arcane magic, though this might be because draconic is THE language of magic, or it might just be the language everyone agreed to use for a form of universal notation on the subject, possibly because dragons were the first to note such things down. Additionally, primal magic might written and invoked in the druidic language, while divine casters probably write their magic down in the outsider language most appropriate to their religion. Occult casters are another story since they don’t really require words for casting their spells themselves, but that gives them some greater freedom, perhaps interworking a spell that buffs strength into the writings of a manual of military exercises, or a 2E bard making scrolls that are literally sheet music, and so on.

Of course, this changes a little if there is no universal notation for any form of magic. Imagine finding a scroll and having to cast read magic on it because the creator wrote it in a foreign language, or perhaps an old and outdated magical notation that barely anyone uses anymore.

And that brings us to what you’re writing on. Paper, vellum, and papyrus are common choices because of their lightweight nature and compact form, but consider a scroll carved into a polished wood stick, or drawn and baked into clay tablets (or carved into heavier stone ones if you want your wizard to work on his gains), or scrimshawed into bone or horn. Such materials may seem impractical to us, but if you haven’t invented paper or have no access to it, one must often make do. I remember that Pathfinder adventures often have scrolls or spellbooks in such unusual forms.

And how do these unique materials react to the magic inscribing them? While spellbooks are almost entirely mundane in most rules, being a repository for knowledge and nothing more, scrolls have the entire spell inscribed into them. Are there better materials for holding that power in such relatively flimsy (or not so flimsy) form? And what about Grimoires in Second Edition? They have magic all their own despite being otherwise just spellbooks.

Written magic can have so many forms, as many forms as there are to write things. I hope this provided some inspiration though. However, tomorrow, we’ll talk about how spells are stored in living flesh and thinking minds.

[anghraine]

I hate, hate, hate the posts about how it's so important to read real books and not just fanfic.

I personally do read non-fanfic books, and I think it's a good idea to read things that are not fanfic, much as it's a good idea to read things other than genre romance or litfic or horror. Reading a variety of things is a good idea, in general, depending on what that variety consists of. But lots of people only read in one or two genres they like (true crime, procedurals, sports biographies, whatever), and there's far less lecturing about that for some mysterious reason.

And once you dig around, there's a lot of ?????? in the arguments for why the only-fanfic diet is uniquely objectionable and desperately needs to involve Real Books (of any kind, I guess).

Q: If someone binds a fanfic into a book, is it a "real book" for these purposes?

The usual answer: no, it's about the content, not the format. You need to encounter original characters and settings and plots.

Q: Okay, so a traditionally published book that uses pre-existing characters (e.g. a re-imagining of the Iliad or a Shakespeare play or so forth) is not truly a book for these purposes?

The usual answer: no, those are real books. They're fine.

Q: What about the over 200,000 fics in the "Original Work" category on AO3? Does reading a book-length one of those count as reading a real book?

The usual answer: no, those aren't real books. It's not actually about originality per se, it's about quality control from the professional publishing process.

(Wow, I knew people were harsh on self-published books, but I didn't know they weren't even books! You learn something new every day. I guess the legitimacy of real books is completely determined by a handful of increasingly consolidated publishers who often expect authors to also be influencers. Cool, this could go wrong in no way.)

Q: Oh, and if a work was originally a fanfic and then gets the serial numbers filed off (or doesn't even go that far, if the canon is out of copyright), but is largely the same text, and gets traditionally published—is that a book?

The usual answer: yes (sometimes with caveats).

(Okay, so the same text with a few minor changes between versions can be fanfic [inferior, getting you stuck in a rut] and a real book [intrinsically superior, important change of pace]. Schrodinger's book, I guess!)

Q: Ooh, let's get into texts that predate modern publishing practices! Are those books?

Usual answer: yes.

Q: Even if they were published by the author or his(almost always his) personal friends?

Usual answer: yes.

Q: Even if they don't have any original characters or settings?

Usual answer: yes.

Q: Even if they're deeply flawed?

Usual answer: yes.

It's like ... is there any consistent concept of what a book even is here, or is it all just grandstanding about the evils of fanfic?

[serpentface]

So how does magic, gods, and other supernatural nonsense work in the new blightseed?

The biggest material difference between this world and our own is an objectively existing parallel plane that leaks into the material plane at certain points and makes the 'laws' of the material plane more malleable where they cross (rift zones). It has many names but 'the Ether' and 'the Dreamlands' is what's used most commonly in my writing.

The Ether has both sentient and non-sentient 'fauna' that frequently cross into the material plane. Most come and go unnoticed, but those that are noticed are highly susceptible to influence by an observer- frequent observation will shape Etheric fauna into fixed forms and ascribe qualities to the fauna that the witness believes it to have. It's sort of an unknowing dream-dreamer relationship.

An Etheric lifeform that is repeatedly observed and becomes culturally established may gradually be shaped into what we would describe as a spirit, supernatural entity, or even a god, and develop some of the reality-altering abilities ascribed to them. (note that this relationship is not even CLOSE to well-known or understood, and tends to be only theorized by devoted scholarly groups or the knowledge of peoples historically living close to rifts).

THAT BEING SAID.....

GODS/RELIGION/THE SUPERNATURAL:

Assume it functions basically the same as real life (with some additional nuances). There is no more of what most would consider 'definitive'/'material' proof of creator deities/the afterlife/etc than there is in real life. Cultural/religious groups see evidence of their gods and other religious elements in the world, but it's nothing ''''solid'''' per-se. (IE you could be an atheist in this setting without anything directly contradicting your beliefs)

However there is the aforementioned etheric fauna that are have functionally been shaped into gods/supernatural entities via observation and belief. Some folkloric entities are material Etheric fauna, but just as many legendary monsters are in the realm of mythology and belief. I'll mostly call deified Etheric fauna 'living gods' which is an in-universe scholarly term in the Great Gate region.

FOR EXAMPLE: the Nekh demigod Hai-Taihe materially exists as an unkillable talking dog with a sword that is physically encountered by travellers, she was once Etheric fauna who has been shaped into a living god through over a thousand years of belief and veneration. The Nekh 'river queen' spirits said to haunt fishermen, (depicted as gigantic river kings with female elowey attributes) are widely believed in and encounters are claimed, but there is not necessarily a physical entity running around with those characteristics (who knows, though?).

Magic:

Magic DOES materially exist, but it's incredibly subtle and there is no clear and objective line between folk belief/witchcraft and 'actual magic', no single in-universe word to describe the phenomena, and no one in-universe can make definitive factual statements on how exactly it works, what powers it, where it comes from, etc.

Observations made through rigorous magical scholarship tends to connect magic with the Ether (as its effects are strengthened in rift zones) and identify magic as will made material, influencing possible physical outcomes by concentrated willpower. A person can influence a moving ball to roll off a table more easily than to influence a motionless ball into rolling. It's effects can be strengthened through practices affecting consciousness such as psychoactive substance usage, meditation, oxygen deprivation, heightened emotional states, dreaming, etc.

Any sophont is capable of magic, but the degree of practice and mental control required to generate practical results makes its usage relatively insignificant in the grand cultural schema, and has had fairly minimal impact on the technologies of this setting. And as in real life, forms of magic/witchcraft/rituals etc are practiced without necessarily generating any unambiguous material effects (while still being believed effective).

There is absolutely nothing inherent to sophonts that allows for their magic usage, it's just that animals who do not have abstract cognitive abilities typically cannot work magic by the nature of it needing abstract cognition to work. (there are a few exceptions with non-sentient animals who have, via natural selection, developed highly specific forms of magic (usually used for predator evasion))

[crazy-pages]

The more I read economics literature about automation trends and globalization trends (the actual economics term, not the rabid racist term) and their economic impacts on developed economies, the more I realize that the fundamental picture we have been sold these things is a lie.

The general picture of automation revolutions is that they present some way of doing work more efficiently and/or to create a better product, and so market forces simply demand it. And we have to figure out how to deal with all of the lost jobs which are resulting from this. Because even in a socialist utopia, surely it would be absurd to continue forcing people to use old and outdated technology to do work less efficiently just so they could have work to do, right? Maybe the socialist utopia will take care of people displaced by this work better, but the displacement will still happen.

Except then I start reading about the actual history in the actual economics of automation revolutions (I recommend Blood In The Machine for a history of the Luddites and the automated textile revolution in Britain). And that's not what happens even a single time. These automated revolutions increase the cost per unit to create a good! They make the quality worse! And the existing workers get displaced, and replaced with oppressed or even outright enslaved labors who make nothing in worse conditions! They didn't even actually reduce the amount of labor involved significantly, they just started working orphan slaves 80-90 hours a week rather than artisan workers doing 30-35, to "reduce" the labor involved by reducing the number of laborers. It seems like no one benefits from this. So why is it happening!?

Well the answer is simple. The machine looms were less efficient, created lower quality products, and were worse for every single person in every sector of the economy ... except insofar as that they enabled a more unequal economy. The textile industry itself made less profit. The world itself had worse and less textiles. But the machine loom owners specifically made more money, because machine rooms enabled more control over workers in ways which could be used to relegate them to an even smaller share of the smaller profits. And they didn't outcompete others by being better, they did it through regulatory capture, illegal business practices, outright fraud, and by having a pre-existing place of power in their society.

The same applies to the classic story of Ford and his great automobile factory model. Sure it produced a lot of cars at low prices, but what the history doesn't tell you is that a bunch of other automobile companies which weren't using the factory model were putting out their own cars similar cost. Sure they weren't scaling up as fast, but everyone involved was making good money and the market kept on producing more companies to fill the gap. Ford made the decision to sell to a new lower cost car market sure, but he did not make a better profit margin per dollar of car purchases than his competitors did. He made significantly worse actually because he had such hideous turnover at his factories, and his cars were of lower quality than non-factory line cars aimed at the same market could be.

So why the hell did the entire automobile industry follow in his wake? Well, because he personally was making an insane amount of money. The factory line model let him simplify the production chain in a way which cut out a lot of people who previously been making good salaries, and it let him replace well paid laborers with dirt cheap labor. (Despite the hubbub about how good Ford's factory jobs paid, they only paid well relative to other no skill no training work available. They paid much worse than the skilled laborers he fired had made.)

And the people who controlled how the car manufacturing process worked were the people who would stand to make money by switching over.

The same is true for globalization. When a berry monopoly which controls 60% of all berry sales in the US does so by importing berries from South America, from varieties optimized for durability rather than flavor, that isn't cheaper than growing them at home. Not even with the higher cost of labor in the US. Not even if you actually paid farm hands a good wage rather than by abusing undocumented workers who can't fight back as effectively. The transport costs are too high.

All across the US food sector we have examples of food monopolies exporting produce production overseas in ways that make the final product more expensive for the customer, and lower quality at the same time. Why!?

Well because it allows them to access even more vulnerable labor markets. So even though the whole pie shrinks, the company owners get a bigger enough cut of the pie to make up for it.

The lie of automation and globalization of work and the damage it does to developed economies is just that, a lie. It is not economically predestined for this stuff to happen. Alternatives are not predestined to be competed out of the market. Unless, of course, ownership of profits is concentrated in only a few hands. Unless what's being competed for isn't net profit or net service provided or net quality of goods, but how much profit you can localize in capital owners.

If that's the actual competition, and of course it is because the people making decisions for companies also own those companies, only then does job automation and the presence of exploitable overseas labor devastate economies.

If laborers actually owned their places of business piecemeal, the motivation for these kinds of economic shocks would largely dry up. Like, sure, labor saving devices get invented sometimes and you need less people to do the same work. And sure, sometimes work can be done overseas for cheaper because standards of living at lower or because there's some comparative economic advantage. But that is not actually what is happening most of the time this stuff occurs.

If there's one thing I've learned studying this stuff, it's that genuine examples of net gain automation are less common than we think, and tend to be implemented on fairly slower timelines. Same for globalization of work. What is very common is ways in which already unequal systems of ownership and decision making and profit can be made more unequal. And the only fix I can imagine is fundamentally changing and democratizing how businesses operate, and how we handle concepts of ownership.

[blackpilljesus]

''Surrogacy enables men to bypass what is a crucial step in 'quality control' (albeit a hugely unreliable one in itself). If a partner will accept you enough to have your child, that at least raises the chances *slightly* that you're not a total monster.''

Yeah this mostly applies in western society and even if, some girlies suffer from c0ckholm syndrome.

"Cockholme syndrome" is brilliant lmfao. In theory that's true but in reality that quality control is practically non-existent.

[colorfullcast]

KHR! N-> Dictionary

Unseen Varia

"Unseen Varia" is an unofficial describtor and title refering to the top members of the Varia, right beneath the officers and boss. It's said that performing a kill in itself is not much more difficult than chopping onions or boiling pasta (correctly). If you want to become a cook or simply master the art, these are basics that even novices and hobby cooks should be able to perform. Not many can do it properly, some will never be able to, but this is the bottom of the basics, among true pros. The same sentiment is given to the act of assassination. Simply killing someone is not a difficult feat, especially when your target is a civillian or a non combatant.

The Varia is known for their high quality and sucess rate, so it is not a surprise that it's members have mastered at least this simple skill. However there is still a difference between a simple kill and an assassination. Among trained individuals in the industry the highest form of skill is shown by assassinating someone without any trace left behind. A murder that seems like an accident. A killing with no killer. This special skill set is not a requirement to be a member of the Varia, however it is a noticible divider between the lower ranked members and the higher ranks. Individuals at Rank 3, in some cases even 4, can perform a traceless kill and therefor are regarded as the "Unseen Varia", due to their work being untracable. Especially among the Second in Comand seats this is a requirement. This is why the kill count of the Unseen Varia is hard to pin point and their mere presence demands respect and caution.

It seems almost contradictory that someone is regarded an "Unseen Varia" if having such a title is proof of some trace remaining- after all, how can you be sure that someone is worthy of the title, if you can't prove that they have this skill? However it has been something that established itself over time. Two common factors are usually what differentiates the top Unseen Varia from the rest of their colleagues. Their given rank by the organisation, as it requires a certain set of skills (AN: this is debatable when it comes to the current Mists Second in Command) and control over murderous intent.

Murder Intent and Bloodlust

Murder intent and bloodlust are two specific intesities in atmospheric change/pressure/energy that can be picked up by trained individuals and sometimes even by untrained people. These are usually things that take a long time to master the control of, as it's pure existance is a natural occurance.

The act of a killing brings with it a lot of intensity and strain. It is a tension that is noticible and can be picked up on by others. Having complete control over it, to the point of being able to conjour or hide it, like ones presence is a difficult skill to master and takes years of practice and hands on experience. For someone to be disciplined enough to have mastered such a craft, it truly takes someone quite terrifying. Untracable killings require this skillset, as any form of attention to the assassin can be fatal. Only someone who has a complete hold of their presence and murder intent, can in turn learn the art of true assassination.

If you stand in front of someone who mastered this and who you know is a member of the Varia, you might just be in the presence of an Unseen Varia. Be cautious, but do not worry. They are not here to kill you, or they would've done it without you noticing.

[fadingscarabtunnel]

Riding Wakes: Thoughts on UK Supreme Court Ruling That're Going to Piss Off Everyone.

This tumblr is intended for complex thoughts on complex issues, to get them out of my head so they don't get into the way I think about actual people I may have actual interactions with. Supreme Court ruling on legal definitions around stuff that is basically "grown adult looks at a baby's private parts, and writes a word on a piece of paper that will define every interaction, expectation, and opportunity that person will have for the rest of their life." So: What is a woman? The opposite and complement to a man. Okay, what's a man, then? Someone who centres their p*nis, or the desire to be able to physically embody the full mythology of "The P*nis." Look at the John and Lorena Bobbitt case, where Lorena Bobbitt's brother-in-law says he "would have killed her if he'd been home and known what she'd done", because "she did worse than kill him, she took the most important thing to a man." Look at how ALL the discourse from cis people is about "if you have a p*nis, you are X, go Y, don't be in Z." This means that the SINGLE THING that is true of ALL women is they do not centre The Mythology Of The P*nis. And that was always historically the case with trans women. They may not have grovelled apologies for having that particular anatomy, but they didn't centre it. We now have a lot of people calling themselves women who very much do centre their p*nises, and all the mythology that comes with them. Who'll talk about themselves as being "d*ck girls", who'll post photos of them fondling their erect schlong whilst wearing the most trashy representations of "tarty schoolgirl, but make her legal" - which is a very masculine idea of "attractive womanhood." Oh, okay, so you just hate pre-op and non-op folk. No. I am a trans medicalist, because everyone else, with every other life-impacting thing they need accommodations for, has to have a formal diagnosis first, but I also recognise that medical treatment isn't easy to obtain quickly, and surgery, particularly, may not be practical for everyone. But, just as I have significant concerns about the actually-trans-ness of "trans men" who are constantly presenting themselves as "smol and fuckable oowoo boi with my bonus hole", and of trans men who pursue pregnancy, and a very public "me being my own baby daddy!" aesthetic, I have concerns about "trans women" who present an aggressive, phallo-centric sexuality. Not because women can't be aggressively sexual; they absolutely can. Not because women can't want to do sexuality in a way that includes them experiencing having a p*nis - pegging exists for a reason. But pegging is about experiencing having a p*nis, not centring their p*nis. Centring their p*nis is the preserve of those with an identification with maleness. Does that necessarily mean that the p*nis-waving "trans women" are men? Yes. Sorry, not sorry. Women can wear strap ons, they can happen to have p*nises, but they do not centre them. Just as men can not have p*nises, can wear lacy thongs, can be submissive, but they do not centre child-bearing attributes about themselves, or the idea of being sexually engaged via a vagina. (If they did, wearable fake v*ginas, of high quality, and wearable pregnancy bumps, would be as widely available as dildos, but they are not.) Our sexuality represents our selfhood, and people calling themselves women, but lensing everything around their penis, are telling society that their sexuality is male - and thus their selfhood is male. (This doesn't mean that asexuals "don't have a self" - they are communicating a restrained, calmed self, a self which is fully in control at all times, a self which cannot be manipulated.) You don't have to "pass" to be genuinely trans - but you do have to pass the prioritisation of your natal genitalia out of your thinking, your behaviour, and, yes, your adult material, if you choose to pursue that, or are compelled to pursue it for survival. Being non-cis does not automatically mean you are trans.

[ladycatastrophe7]

Fantasy Worldbuilding 101: Power

Freedom of Speech Versus Propaganda:

Who controls the information? Where do people get their news from? How credible/corruptable are thease sources?

Who do people consider educated (authority bias, the power of being considered credible, who fact-checks the educated?)

Who has access to education? If there's only a small, select group allowed to get educated - chances are that the subjects taught will be partial, and there will be little to no fact-checking or bias-checking on official documents.

Ideology and Culture:

What do people fear? Fear (disease, poverty, exclusion, external threats, etc) + a sense of powerlessness makes people vounerable if someone swoops in and promises to ease their fears.

What do people value/desire? What does the society favour? The people who represent the 'ideal life' or the 'ideal persona' will have power (consider: Halo Effect)

Who controls culture? Who are the celebrities, artists, innovators and thinkers of this world's time? And who sets up events, funds them and promotes their work?

Problem Solving:

Service. Healthcare, legal protection, police and military protection, human rights, infrastructure planning, deciding who gets a certificate for handling thease services etc. Everything that a government is expected to do for their people in return for power (but consider: if the government isn't providing thease things; then who is?)

The common enemy. People who hate each other can become momentary allies to fight a common, threatening enemy.

Brutal Force and Military. Self-explanatory why this would gain someone power. Just consider why and if the military is loyal.

Reasources:

What people need (shelter, safety, food, warmth, electricity, transport, clothes)

What people value (material possessions that have symbolic value (religious or historically important symbols, status objects (like cards or luxury items)

Who can produce the highest quality product for the best price?

Who can deliver the product in the easiest, most efficient, non-time-consuming way? Is there an ethical downside to making the production cheap? (like using cheap workforce or abusing natural habitats)

What does it cost to make the product and pay the workers?

Ultimately, power exists because we allow it to. 

Whether through fear, faith, tradition, group identity or practical necessity, every form of power in your world needs a reason to exist and why people don’t resist it. 

Even if this is a post about fantasy worlds, I do want to encourage you to think about what power you have and what control you give away. The best fantasy worlds reflect real people and society. 

Why do you follow the law? Is it to avoid punishment? Is it because you grew up in your society and have been socialised to accept the laws and norms around you on autopilot?

Why does your government yield power over you? What would happen if everyone stopped believing in society altogether? Would there be chaos – would someone else rise to power and how? Or does government provide a needed structure to give an outlet of power, to avoid chaos? 

If you're a nerd, and want a more extensive list, I've written a (free) blogpost on the subject.

[scorchingbread]

Game Time 🎮

Seoho x Reader

Warnings: one slightly suggestive bit (ageless blogs + underaged will get blocked‼️)

Might make a part 2 to this, not decided yet, but if I do it would be a bit more spicy. (This is written gender neutral, but the next part would be more fem centered since it's what I know best)

If there was one thing that was a guarantee, it was that you and your boyfriend Seoho had quite the competitive streak. And what made it even more evident? Fighting games. 

Even though he was more of a street fighter guy himself, your favorite was mortal kombat so he had practiced a bit secretly so you would be on an even playing field. And boy did it pay off... The whole gaming session had been neck and neck, both of you barely managing to be the other each time. 

You have a reputation to keep. No way you would let your boyfriend beat you at your favorite game, it was time to play a little dirty. Besides the times you were specifically sentimental on date night or etc, you typically weren't that touchy with each other as quality time and acts of service were much more y'all's style. In a time like this that worked in your favor.

Slowly during the match you tried to subtly move closer to Seoho, your arms occasionally brushing against each other while you played. Other than his arm stiffening a bit at the grazes it didn't seem to affect him too much, outwardly at least, especially since he kept his focused game face on.

Okay, time to kick it up a notch then... You may have let him beat you this round just for this moment. With a huff of disappointment you took your hands off the controller, letting your arms fall to your sides. Since you had already conveniently scooched so close to his side, your hand happened to 'accidently' land higher on his upper thigh. It was just subtle enough that it seemed like it wasn't on purpose, but was still just enough that it caught him off guard for the next round.

Seoho's cheeks flushed and his ears turned red. It took him a second to process that the next round had started and that you were already landing hits on his character. Soon the match finished and "finish him" was on the screen. Victory was all yours! Now you just had to do the right combo for the fatality... and... unsuccessful... Oh well. 

"Suck it!" You stood up and did a victory bow to the non-existent crowd. 

"Now how was that fair?" He pouted and crossed his arms, complaining shamelessly. 

"How was that unfair in any way?" No way you were going to give away that you tried to throw him off on purpose. "Just can't handle me being successful, can you?" 

"You know what you did..." He sighed and wrapped his arms around your waist, rocking you back and forth to get back at you a bit.

You turned around in Seoho's arms to face your accuser. "I don't know what you're talking about." Nope. You weren't going to admit to anything.

Seoho unwrapped his arms from your waist and puffed out his cheeks. He didn't want to admit what it was either, since he didn't want to admit such a small touch was enough to get to him. It was so brief, how could that have even gotten to him and thrown him off his game?

"Whatcha all quiet for hun?" Despite the slight teasing tone, you almost were starting to feel a little guilty for it now that he was so shy. 

Seoho groaned and grabbed a pillow, shoving his face into it to hide his blushing. He mumbled a muffled "evil..." into the pillow.

ᴴᵒⁿᵉˢᵗˡʸ ᴵ ᵈᵒⁿ'ᵗ ᵈᵒ ᵐᵘᶜʰ ᵐᵒʳᵉ ᵗʰᵃⁿ ᶦᵐᵃᵍᶦⁿᵉˢ, ˢᵒ ᵉᵛᵉⁿ ᵗʰᵒᵘᵍʰ ᵗʰᶦˢ ᶦˢⁿ'ᵗ ᵛᵉʳʸ ˡᵒⁿᵍ ᵇᵉ ᶠᵒʳᵍᶦᵛᶦⁿᵍ ᵗᵒ ᵐʸ ᵈᵒᵒᵈᵒᵒ ʷʳᶦᵗᶦⁿᵍ ˡᵒˡ, ᴵ ʲᵘˢᵗ ᵏⁿᵒʷ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ᵗʰᶦˢ ᶠᵃⁿᵈᵒᵐ ᵈᵒᵉˢⁿ'ᵗ ʳᵉᵃˡˡʸ ʰᵃᵛᵉ ᵐᵘᶜʰ ᵒⁿ ʰᵉʳᵉ ˢᵒ ᴵ ᵗᵒᵒᵏ ᶦᵗ ᶦⁿ ᵐʸ ᵒʷⁿ ʰᵃⁿᵈˢ

[dailyanarchistposts]

I.1.3 What is wrong with markets anyway?

A lot. Markets soon result in what are termed “market forces,” impersonal forces which ensure that the people in the economy do what is required of them in order for the economy to function. The market system, in capitalist apologetics, is presented to appear as a regime of freedom where no one forces anyone to do anything, where we “freely” exchange with others as we see fit. However, the facts of the matter are somewhat different, since the market often ensures that people act in ways opposite to what they desire or forces them to accept “free agreements” which they may not actually desire. Wage labour is the most obvious example of this, for, as we indicated in section B.4, most people have little option but to agree to work for others.

We must stress here that not all anarchists are opposed to the market. Individualist anarchists favour it while Proudhon wanted to modify it while retaining competition. For many, the market equals capitalism but this is not the case as it ignores the fundamental issue of (economic) class, namely who owns the means of production. Capitalism is unique in that it is based on wage labour, i.e. a market for labour as workers do not own their own means of production and have to sell themselves to those who do. Thus it is entirely possible for a market to exist within a society and for that society not to be capitalist. For example, a society of independent artisans and peasants selling their product on the market would not be capitalist as workers would own and control their means of production. Similarly, Proudhon’s competitive system of self-managed co-operatives and mutual banks would be non-capitalist (and socialist) for the same reason. Anarchists object to capitalism due to the quality of the social relationships it generates between people (i.e. it generates authoritarian ones). If these relationships are eliminated then the kinds of ownership which do so are anarchistic. Thus the issue of ownership matters only in-so-far it generates relationships of the desired kind (i.e. those based on liberty, equality and solidarity). To concentrate purely on “markets” or “property” means to ignore social relationships and the key aspect of capitalism, namely wage labour. That right-wingers do this is understandable (to hide the authoritarian core of capitalism) but why (libertarian or other) socialists should do so is less clear.

In this section of the FAQ we discuss anarchist objections to the market as such rather than the capitalist market. The workings of the market do have problems with them which are independent of, or made worse by, the existence of wage-labour. It is these problems which make most anarchists hostile to the market and so desire a (libertarian) communist society. So, even if we assume a mutualist (a libertarian market-socialist) system of competing self-managed workplaces, then communist anarchists would argue that market forces would soon result in many irrationalities occurring.

Most obviously, operating in a market means submitting to the profit criterion. This means that however much workers might want to employ social criteria in their decision making, they cannot. To ignore profitability would cause their firm to go bankrupt. Markets, therefore, create conditions that compel producers to decide things which are not be in their, or others, interest, such as introducing deskilling or polluting technology, working longer hours, and so on, in order to survive on the market. For example, a self-managed workplace will be more likely to invest in safe equipment and working practices, this would still be dependent on finding the money to do so and may still increase the price of their finished product. So we could point to the numerous industrial deaths and accidents which are due to market forces making it unprofitable to introduce adequate safety equipment or working conditions, (conservative estimates for industrial deaths in the USA are between 14,000 and 25,000 per year plus over 2 million disabled), or to increased pollution and stress levels which shorten life spans.

This tendency for self-managed firms to adjust to market forces by increasing hours, working more intensely, allocating resources to accumulating equipment rather than leisure time or consumption can be seen in co-operatives under capitalism. While lacking bosses may reduce this tendency in a post-capitalist economy, it will not eliminate it. This is why many socialists, including anarchists, call the way markets force unwilling members of a co-operatives make such unpleasant decisions a form of “self-exploitation” (although this is somewhat misleading, as there no exploitation in the capitalist sense of owners appropriating unpaid labour). For communist-anarchists, a market system of co-operatives “has serious limitations” as “a collective enterprise is not necessarily a commune — nor is it necessarily communistic in its outlook.” This is because it can end up “competing with like concerns for resources, customers, privileges, and even profits” as they “become a particularistic interest” and “are subjected to the same social pressures by the market in which they must function.” This “tends increasingly to encroach on their higher ethical goals — generally, in the name of ‘efficiency’, and the need to ‘grow’ if they are to survive, and the overwhelming temptation to acquire larger earnings.” [Murray Bookchin, Remaking Society, pp. 193–4]

Similarly, a market of self-managed firms would still suffer from booms and slumps as the co-operatives response to changes in prices would still result in over-production (see section C.7.2) and over-investment (see section C.7.3). While the lack of non-labour income would help reduce the severity of the business cycle, it seems unlikely to eliminate it totally. Equally, many of the problems of market-increased uncertainty and the destabilising aspects of price signals discussed in section I.1.5 are just as applicable to all markets, including post-capitalist ones.

This is related to the issue of the “tyranny of small decisions” we highlighted in section B.6. This suggests that the aggregate effect of individual decisions produces social circumstances which are irrational and against the interests of those subject to them. This is the case with markets, where competition results in economic pressures which force its participants to act in certain ways, ways they would prefer not to do but, as isolated individuals or workplaces, end up doing due to market forces. In markets, it is rational for people try to buy cheap and sell dear. Each tries to maximise their income by either minimising their costs or maximising their prices, not because they particularly want to but because they need to as taking into account other priorities is difficult as there is no means of finding them out and deeply inadvisable as it is competitively suicidal as it places burdens on firms which their competitors need not face.

As we noted in section E.3, markets tend to reward those who act in anti-social ways and externalise costs (in terms of pollution and so on). In a market economy, it is impossible to determine whether a low cost reflects actual efficiency or a willingness to externalise, i.e., impose costs on others. Markets rarely internalise external costs. Two economic agents who strike a market-rational bargain between themselves need not consider the consequences of their bargain for other people outside their bargain, nor the consequences for the earth. In reality, then, market exchanges are never bilateral agreements as their effects impact on the wider society (in terms of, say, pollution, inequality and so on). This awkward fact is ignored in the market. As the left-wing economist Joan Robinson put it: “In what industry, in what line of business, are the true social costs of the activity registered in its accounts? Where is the pricing system that offers the consumer a fair choice between air to breath and motor cars to drive about in?” [Contribution to Modern Economics, p. 10]

While, to be fair, there will be a reduced likelihood for a workplace of self-employed workers to pollute their own neighbourhoods in a free society, the competitive pressures and rewards would still be there and it seems unlikely that they will be ignored, particularly if survival on the market is at stake so communist-anarchists fear that while not having bosses, capitalists and landlords would mitigate some of the irrationalities associated with markets under capitalism, it will not totally remove them. While the market may be free, people would not be.

Even if we assume that self-managed firms resist the temptations and pressures of the market, any market system is also marked by a continuing need to expand production and consumption. In terms of environmental impact, a self-managed firm must still make profits in order to survive and so the economy must grow. As such, every market system will tend to expand into an environment which is of fixed size. As well as placing pressure on the planet’s ecology, this need to grow impacts on human activity as it also means that market forces ensure that work continually has to expand. Competition means that we can never take it easy, for as Max Stirner argued, ”[r]estless acquisition does not let us take breath, take a calm enjoyment. We do not get the comfort of our possessions … Hence it is at any rate helpful that we come to an agreement about human labours that they may not, as under competition, claim all our time and toil.” [The Ego and Its Own, p. 268] Value needs to be created, and that can only be done by labour and so even a non-capitalist market system will see work dominate people’s lives. Thus the need to survive on the market can impact on broader (non-monetary) measures of welfare, with quality of life falling as a higher GDP is created as the result of longer working hours with fewer holidays. Such a regime may, perhaps, be good for material wealth but it is not great for people.

The market can also block the efficient use of resources. For example, for a long time energy efficient light-bulbs were much more expensive than normal ones. Over the long period, however, they used far less energy than normal ones, meaning less need to produce more energy (and so burn coal and oil, for example). However, the high initial price ensured that most people continued to use the less efficient bulbs and so waste resources. Much the same can be said of alternative forms of energy, with investment in (say) wind energy ignored in favour of one-use and polluting energy sources. A purely market system would not allow decisions which benefit the long-term interests of people to be made (for example, by distributing energy-efficient light-bulbs freely or at a reduced cost) as these would harm the profits of those co-operatives which tried to do so.

Also, markets do not reflect the values of things we do not put a price upon (as we argued in section B.5). It cannot protect wilderness, for example, simply because it requires people to turn it into property and sell it as a commodity. If you cannot afford to visit the new commodity, the market turns it into something else, no matter how much you value it. The market also ignores the needs of future generations as they always discount the value of the long term future. A payment to be made 1,000 years from now (a mere speck in geological time) has a market value of virtually zero according to any commonly used discount rate. Even 50 years in the future cannot be adequately considered as competitive pressures force a short term perspective on people harmful to present and future generations, plus the ecology of the planet.

Then there are corrosive effects of the market on human personalities. As we have argued elsewhere (see section B.1.3), competition in a free market creates numerous problems — for example, the creation of an “ethics of mathematics” and the strange inversion of values in which things (property/money) become more important than people. This can have a de-humanising effect, with people becoming cold-hearted calculators who put profits before people. This can be seen in capitalism, where economic decisions are far more important than ethical ones — particularly as such an inhuman mentality can be rewarded on the market. Merit does not necessarily breed success, and the successful do not necessarily have merit. The truth is that, in the words of Noam Chomsky, “wealth and power tend to accrue to those who are ruthless, cunning, avaricious, self-seeking, lacking in sympathy and compassion, subservient to authority and willing to abandon principle for material gain, and so on … Such qualities might be just the valuable ones for a war of all against all.” [For Reasons of State, pp. 139–140]

Needless to be said, if the market does reward such people with success it can hardly be considered as a good thing. A system which elevates making money to the position of the most important individual activity will obviously result in the degrading of human values and an increase in neurotic and psychotic behaviour. Little wonder, as Alfie Kohn has argued, competition can have serious negative effects on us outside of work, with it damaging both our personal psychology and our interpersonal relationships. Thus competition “itself is responsible for the development of a lower moral standard” which places winning at any cost above fairness and justice. Kohn quotes Nathan Ackerman, the father of family therapy, who noted that the “strife of competition reduces empathic sympathy, distorts communication, impairs the mutuality of support and sharing, and decreases the satisfaction of personal need.” [No Contest, p. 163 and pp. 142–3] Thus, the market can impoverish us as individuals, sabotaging self-esteem, promoting conformity, ruining relationships and making us less than what we could be. This is a problem of markets as such, not only capitalist ones and so non-capitalist markets could make us less human and more a robot.

All market decisions are crucially conditioned by the purchasing power of those income groups that can back their demands with money. Not everyone can work (the sick, the very old, children and so forth) and for those who can, personal circumstances may impact on their income. Moreover, production has become so interwoven that it “is utterly impossible to draw a distinction between the work of each” and so we should “put the needs above the works, and first of all to recognise the right to live, and later on the right to well-being for all those who took their share in production.” This is particularly the case as “the needs of the individual, do not always correspond to his works” — for example, “a man of forty, father of three children, has other needs than a young man of twenty” and “the woman who suckles her infant and spends sleepless nights at its bedside, cannot do as much work as the man who has slept peacefully.” [Kropotkin, Conquest of Bread, p. 170 and p. 171] This was why communist-anarchists like Kropotkin stressed the need not only to abolish wage-labour but also money, the wages system.

So it goes without saying that purchasing power (demand) and need are not related, with people often suffering simply because they do not have the money required to purchase, say, health care, housing or food for themselves or their families. While economic distress may be less in a non-capitalist market system, it still would exist as would the fear of it. The market is a continuous bidding for goods, resources, and services, with those who have the most purchasing power the winners. This means that the market system is the worst one for allocating resources when purchasing power is unequally distributed (this is why orthodox economists make the convenient assumption of a “given distribution of income” when they try to show that a capitalist allocation of resources is the best one via “Pareto optimality”). While a mutualist system should reduce inequality drastically, it cannot be assumed that inequalities will not increase over time. This is because inequalities in resources leads to inequalities of power on the market and, assuming self-interest, any trade or contract will benefit the powerful more than the powerless, so re-enforcing and potentially increasing the inequalities and power between the parties. Similarly, while an anarchist society would be created with people driven by a sense of solidarity and desire for equality, markets tend to erode those feelings and syndicates or communes which, thanks to the resources they control (such as rare raw materials or simply the size of their investments reducing competitive pressures) have an advantage on the market may be tempted to use their monopoly power vis-à-vis other groups in society to accrue more income for themselves at the expense of less fortunate syndicates and communes. This could degenerate back into capitalism as any inequalities that exist between co-operatives would be increased by competition, forcing weaker co-operatives to fail and so creating a pool of workers with nothing to sell but their labour. The successful co-operatives could then hire those workers and so re-introduce wage labour. So these possibilities could, over time, lead to a return a post-capitalist market system to capitalism if the inequalities become so great that the new rich become so alienated from the rest of society they recreate wage-labour and, by necessity, a state to enforce a desire for property in land and the means of production against public opinion.

All this ensures that the market cannot really provide the information necessary for rational-decision making in terms of ecological impact as well as human activity and so resources are inefficiently allocated. We all suffer from the consequences of that, with market forces impoverishing our environment and quality of life. Thus are plenty of reasons for concluding that efficiency and the market not only do not necessarily coincide, but, indeed, necessarily do not coincide. Indeed, rather than respond to individual needs, the market responds to money (more correctly, profit), which by its very nature provides a distorted indication of individual preferences (and does not take into account values which are enjoyed collectively, such as clean air, or potentially enjoyed, such as the wilderness a person may never visit but desires to see exist and protected).

This does not mean that social anarchists propose to “ban” the market — far from it. This would be impossible. What we do propose is to convince people that a profit-based market system has distinctly bad effects on individuals, society and the planet’s ecology, and that we can organise our common activity to replace it with libertarian communism. As Max Stirner argued, competition “has a continued existence” because “all do not attend to their affair and come to an understanding with each other about it … . Abolishing competition is not equivalent to favouring the guild. The difference is this: In the guild baking, etc., is the affair of the guild-brothers; in competition, the affair of chance competitors; in the union, of those who require baked goods, and therefore my affair, yours, the affair of neither guildic nor the concessionary baker, but the affair of the united.” [Op. Cit., p. 275]

Therefore, social anarchists do not appeal purely to altruism in their struggle against the de-humanising effects of the market, but also to to egoism: the simple fact that co-operation and mutual aid is in our best interests as individuals. By co-operating and controlling “the affairs of the united,” we can ensure a free society which is worth living in, one in which the individual is not crushed by market forces and has time to fully develop his or her individuality and uniqueness:

“Solidarity is therefore the state of being in which Man attains the greatest degree of security and wellbeing; and therefore egoism itself, that is the exclusive consideration of one’s own interests, impels Man and human society towards solidarity.” [Errico Malatesta, Anarchy, p. 30]

In conclusion then, communist-anarchists argue that even non-capitalist markets would result in everyone being so busy competing to further their “self-interest” that they would loose sight of what makes life worth living and so harm their actual interests. Ultimately, what counts as self-interest is shaped by the surrounding social system. The pressures of competing may easily result in short-term and narrow interests taking precedence over richer, deeper needs and aspirations which a communal system could allow to flourish by providing the social institutions by which individuals can discuss their joint interests, formulate them and act to achieve them. That is, even non-capitalist markets would result in people simply working long and hard to survive on the market rather than living. If one paradox of authoritarian socialism is that it makes everyone miserable by forcing them to altruistically look out for the happiness of others, market-based libertarian socialism could produce the potential paradox of making everyone miserable by the market forcing them to pursue a limited notion of self-interest which ensures that they do not have the time or opportunity to really be happy and at one with themselves and others.

In other words, bosses act as they do under capitalism in part because markets force them to. Getting rid of bosses need not eliminate all the economic pressures which influence the bosses’ decisions and, in turn, could force groups of workers to act in similar ways. Thus a competitive system would undermine many of the benefits which people sought when they ended capitalism. This is why some socialists inaccurately call socialist schemes of competing co-operatives “self-managed capitalism” or “self-exploitation” — they are simply drawing attention to the negative aspects of markets which getting rid of the boss cannot solve. Significantly, Proudhon was well aware of the negative aspect of market forces and suggested various institutional structures, such as the ago-industrial federation, to combat them (so while in favour of competition he was, unlike the individualist anarchists, against the free market). Communist anarchists, unsurprisingly, argue that individualist anarchists tend to stress the positive aspects of competition while ignoring or downplaying its negative sides. While, undoubtedly, capitalism makes the negative side of competition worse than it could be it does not automatically follow that a non-capitalist market would not have similar, if smaller, negative aspects to it.

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