#it is us vs the people who exploit us (rich)

[thebestusernamepossible]

Seeing how downhill everything going gives me a special kind of pain because I *dont* want to just move to a different contry. Despite everything I like living here, I like the good aspects of it. I like our cultural diversity, I like summer BBQs and visiting my great grandma every few months. I like fishing with my grandpa, and despite what a shithole it is I love the people who love their lives everyday here. And I am so so so so scared for them.

I don’t want to have to leave my home to not live in a facist nazi contry. I don’t want to have to move to be happy.

I hate the America of today…. But the people? The American people, who are scraping paycheck to paycheck and getting fed unjust propaganda? The people in my community? The people stuck in this burnt melting pot with me?

I love them.

And I can only hope for their safety.

[sapphiresaphics]

I think the reason it really bothers me that people accuse Arcane of being “centrist” is because I don’t think people understand what centrism actually is or how it applies to this narrative.

The way people talk about the “politics” of Zaun and Piltover often seem to reframe it like Zaun = Liberal and Piltover = Conservative. And they get angry that the end of the show has the two sides team up to stop an outside foe and see that as a “both sides are equally good and bad” narrative.

But in reality Zaun and Piltover aren’t a 1:1 comparison to liberal and conservative ideologies. Yes, Piltover IS in a position of power over Zaun, but the actual POLICIES that we know of in Piltover are much more in line with being a social democracy than a conservative republic.

For example, one of the main things Piltover is expressly interested in doing is developing new technologies that benefit everyone. Both Jayce and Viktor (somewhat naively) start Season 1 believing that their intentions can benefit the working class in Zaun. Piltover has inventor competitors where Zaunites and Pilties are allowed to compete together. People from Zaun can work their way up through the ranks in Piltover to achieve success as Viktor and Skye prove. Given conservative’s ideology that natural hierarchy exist and that people befit their given station and shouldn’t rise the ranks this is a rather radical leftist ideal that Piltover has.

And Zaun has a lot of conservative ideologies too. There are very clearly a wealth of power consolidated into a small group of individuals who basically control all of Zaun and exploit the working class. Many of them (including Silco) operate like mob bosses which is often a form of authoritarian ideology.

Just because Zaun is poor and Piltover is rich I don’t think you can just graft left and right ideologies onto these two cities. Like I said earlier, it’s not a 1:1 comparison. That’s why being angry because you think Arcane is betraying these left/right ideals is kinda of a faulty position to begin with.

And it’s not really centrist? Centrists are people who believe that both left and right ideologies have ideas that are good and want a mix of both. Literally in the middle of the ideological spectrum. And I do not believe that the message of Arcane approves of the idea that some form of authoritarianism is necessary.

Quite the opposite, actually. Arcane comes down hard on what Piltover does. It doesn’t frame any of the occupation, the police brutality, the corruption with the enforcers, as being a good thing. We get multiple examples of how the occupation is hurting Zaun and how it’s pushing them to be more and more desperate and violent in retaliation. That’s not a good thing. Depiction is not endorsement.

And the fact that the show ends with little progress being made despite Zaun coming to Piltover’s aid isn’t the creators saying the occupation and police brutality was okay. You are supposed to be mad at Piltover. It is NOT a happy ending. The show is about how the cycle of violence is allowed to continue and ending the show with only Sevika as the voice of the people of Zaun on the council is supposed to show that yes the cycle of violence WILL continue. To me that’s a condemnation of the system, not an endorsement. That’s a very LIBERAL perspective to have, isn’t it?

It pains me that Arcane is a very nuanced show and yet people don’t treat it that way. You are supposed to be able to look at these systems and understand why they are or aren’t working. And reducing all of it down to very black and white “Us vs Them” “right vs left” ideology does a HUGE disservice to what the message of the show is.

[creepricot]

No hate but I’m just curious

Why do you ship the papas as brothers or situations where one of them is a minor and another is an adult (IE the Secondo x V brat post)

I don’t have an issue with it personally but I’m curious as to what your thought process behind it is. What makes these ships appealing to you?

i am genuinely very happy to answer! i explained a bit of my reasoning when i answered this ask (and went into a bit of depth as to how writing about taboo topics in the example of this specific work helped me to process some things in my personal life), but there is a couple different reasons i suppose. this may be a bit of a rant, so i’ll continue beneath the cut

to preface, i personally think being “pro” vs “anti” ship labels are gross oversimplifications to describe viewpoints on fictional ships, but i’ll just be using them here for simplicity. but i’m very "proship" with regards to encouraging creative freedom in both myself and others as i do not believe that what you would enjoy in a fictional setting is at all what you would advocate for irl— especially if the subject matter is morally reprehensible in reality. and i say this to get this on record, but i am very aware that there is a vast sea of difference between what is acceptable irl vs in fiction, and i do not condone or support actual abuse, exploitation, or rape. with this being said, i personally believe there is nothing wrong with being interested in exploring incestuous, nonconsenusal, and/or underaged dynamics. i hesitate to call them “ships” because again, its another one of those things that feels like a gross oversimplification when discussing taboo and trauma-causing dynamics; i don’t necessarily like to refer to them as ships because i feel it diminishes the gravity of the topics at hand.  half-related: while i have nothing against people who do not want to engage with or consume taboo fiction (because everyone should be able to choose what they see online– especially if avoiding the content is just safer for them overall), i do, however, have a problem with the antis advocating for total censorship of these topics. that is a rant for another time though

but i find much of the appeal for me has to do with the way that i personally enjoy my fiction. introspection and deeper analysis of characters are incredibly important to me, and as someone who has always had a special interest in psychology (and has been studying it for a number of years), this desire for exploration of the taboo and to dig into the human mind is very, very tantalizing. i like to think about what would cause someone to commit heinous acts, especially against those they love (or are at least supposed to). i like to wonder why sexuality would ever be brought into scenarios where sex should never even be an option on the table, and why one (or even both parties) would consent to that. there is a lot of room for discussion of trauma, of the variety of personal beliefs, of the awareness for how your actions are wrong, but why you just can’t seem to stop even when it would put your entire life in jeopardy if word of your actions were to ever come out, and why victims might react the way they do. when thinking about things from an abuser’s pov, there is undoubtedly a certain thrill that comes from indulging in your impulses, and those who can (even shamelessly!) permit their most disgusting, vile actions have fascinated me for years, over pretty much my entire life lol.

so it’s not so much that i enjoy these dynamics solely because they appeal to certain fetishes i or others may have (but that is certainly a part of it), it’s moreso the fact that i personally think there is a lot of exploration of characters and a sort’ve untapped richness to them. on that note, i personally. cannot for the Life of Me. stand taboo porn for the sake of being taboo porn to get off to which has No substance to it. when it comes down to the work i make, if it doesn’t act as a way for me to decompress and process traumatic things that have happened to me, or as a way to explore some sort of psychological aspect to a character or multiple character's interconnected dynamics, then i sincerely do not care for it and feels insanely soulless (however, drawing can be different because sometimes just straight up making nsfw art is fun for my eyes lmao). most of, if not all of my work, relates to my own personal lived experiences in some way or another, and i believe that having the right to an outlet for it, taboo or not, is important for everyone and people should be able to engage with fiction, or not engage with it, as they please. 

tldr; fiction has no rules, i like fucked up dynamics because i use it to process my own traumas and explore my personal fascinations with psychological states, situations, and mindsets, and how characters will react when these may clash with external societal expectations

[dnpanimationstudioclone]

Hazbin Vendor Faire!!!

The 🌈gang🌈 put on a vendor/booth fair to help with funding & attention for the Hotel!!!!!! Charlie & Vaga r selling tickets, Angel sets up a kissing booth(he def makes most of the profits), Niffty’s selling her crafts(don’t ask what she meant by authentic), Husk & Baxter end up in a kinda magic vs science vendor fight, Sir P is selling some of his safer inventions & Alastor….may have overestimated how relevant he along w/ radio media is these days. Used the fish mom & son from HB S2ep4

I imagine Razzle & Dazzle r helping sell Snacks/food🌭🍿🥤🍦 🧃🥨 I can imagine Charlie also invite others to set up their own vendors & advertise!!! The more the merrier, great way to help Hell’s community promote themselves.

I can see Cherri get to sell her mostly legal fireworks, Mimzy herself trying to do a meet n greet with what fame she has left, Crymini perhaps there checking everything out or selling off junk she doesn’t use anymore, 🎆(lowkey crossover: could see I.M.P try to get into this somehow to make extra dough during a dry spell ) I can also see Velvette be part of this, etheir lowkey poking fun on it online or having her own booth set up for attention/profit & try to best the other booths(plus side Charlie would def have her pay a share of her profits for her booth as well as for entry💰)

Charlie-Hey moneys money! & even if she’s poking fun she’s atleast getting people to come. Dad always said u can just as easily exploit from those who exploit you!

Angel-EAT THE RICH! Or let them kiss up to you for a bunch of money💰

What do u guys think? Could u imagine the gang do soemthing like this? I’d love to know💖

[lipstickchainsaw]

I'm about to start Act 3 in my rewatch of Arcane before the new season comes out, so this is as good a time as any to share my thoughts on how each of the characters in Arcane represent sociological forces.

This post is going to be long, so this post will be about Piltover:

Let's start with Marcus, who very much represents the 'Us vs. Them' mentality topside. A group of people who feel the enforcers didn't do enough to stamp out the criminal element during the uprising, and is left with a lot of resentment and insecurity about why that didn't happen.

But when they do try for that, they very quickly find out that the consequences are horrific, and now they have blood on their hands, and they're in power while their more experienced superiors have been removed from the equation, so they're floundering, facing pressure on every side, and reacting with more violence that doesn't resolve anything and just further increases the unrest.

(Until they get blown up by Jinx' long-repressed pain that they played a part in encouraging, but we'll get to that.)

Marcus doesn't really have a characteristic weapon, but if he did, it'd be a shovel, not just because this is the guy who found a hole and kept digging, but also because he discovered that this hole ended up being his grave, first metaphorically, and then literally.

Grayson, by contrast, represents the people who were there during that conflict, who fought in it and saw how monstrous things got. She's the boots on the ground, though, not the political class, so she didn't just see the results, she saw what it took to get there, and she's not eager to get there again. She's the part that maintains the divide, sure, but with a handshake right over the line. Willing to let things be and look the other way if it helps keep the peace.

But that peace is lopsided, and there is still a lot of unrest brewing under the surface, so when the peace breaks she's the first to go, caught entirely off guard by the ambition and anger still brewing in the Undercity.

Moving up that chain, we get Jayce, the well-off (but not ridiculously rich) upper class whose self-image insists that they are regular working class, and them 'making it' proves anyone can. The one who's grown up with surprising privilege he is not aware of, and who sees the world as remarkably simple, and the only reason problems still exist is because either the elite don't really care to solve them, or they're just not smart enough and Jayce's class would cut the knots that need cutting!

This insistence that things are actually pretty simple, that everything is just a nail to hammer down, is what allows him to be manipulated and taken for a ride by anyone actually savvy, but the power he ends up with still allows him to do a lot of damage (and makes people want to manipulate him).

But he's so stuck in his own head, and thinking he's fairly average and normal (and just smart and charismatic, instead of privileged), that he can't see other perspectives as reasonable.

But unlike the Marcuses of Piltover, the Jayce class started off genuinely meaning well. Their view of the uprising was a kind of beneficent condescension, as they were a step removed from the actual pain involved, so they likely went 'oh those poor people, driven to something like this by their poor lot in life (and not because we're actively exploiting them), clearly we should help them'.

And then when the help he's decided the Undercity needs doesn't work, because he never bothered asking them what they wanted or needed, he's confused and upset and, uh, kind of overreacts.

Going up one level more, you end up with Caitlyn. Caitlyn is the new upper class, who knows of the uprising only because of her mother's stories (and maybe because her mother was a bit more stressed for a couple of weeks when she was six), but otherwise the whole thing is too far removed from her personal experience it doesn't even register. She has seen just enough from the Graysons of the world to see that as a more honest way of living life than what her mother does, and so she decides to slum it, insisting she should be treated just as everyone else, unaware of how her class privilege affects any of those interactions as well.

Seeing it as a more honest living, as a goal to target with a single-minded focus, does lead her to approach the problem with a bit more understanding, allows her to actually see the Undercity and its many aspects, but even then, she's still coming from above, and her family is still responsible for much of that suffering, and when that check comes home, her appreciation for those nuances doesn't exactly survive.

Now, I said Jayces think the only reason things aren't better is because the Mels and Cassandras don't particularly care about solving those problems, and, uh.

They really don't.

The actual rulers of Piltover remember the uprising as this annoying item on the itinerary they had to deal with for a couple of weeks years ago, and they've passed responsibility to keep that from happening again off to the Graysons, so they can focus on the things they do care about: Getting richer and more influential within the council.

And while yes, Mel may be the more progressive rebel of her family, but in Piltover, what she wants is to not be the least of the Medarda's, and if that means turning Piltover into a scientific powerhouse, that's the way to do it!

The Undercity doesn't even register to her, and it doesn't for Cassandra either, as Caitlyn accuses her of, later (and I'm sure that's an argument that's happened in a ton of places).

Now, it's true that both of them eventually vote for peace, but that's because of their emotional connection to the Jayces and Caitlyns.

After all, the thing that makes Mel work is that she's been aimlessly building up political and economic capital, until she catches feelings for Jayce and starts to look at how to spend that capital, only its filtered through the lens of Jayce's own biases, because she doesn't have alternate lenses into the whole problem.

They've spent so long not giving a shit about anything other than their own status within the game the Establishment created for them, that when they finally do act, they are forced to do so without actually grasping it.

And that is, of course, the fault of the Establishment itself, the embodiment of Piltover as an entity: Heimerdinger.

Because Heimerdinger is an institution. Yes, he is the head of the council, but in a sense, he is the institution that underlies that council as well.

And like every other institution, he's slow to change. He completed his mission, achieved his goals, and has been enjoying the fruits of that labour for a good hundred years. He thinks he's done, and so he's stopped paying attention, at least in a structural sense, to the point where he isn't even playing the game the other council members are.

He's assured himself he is the board, and that everything is basically fine. The uprising was probably just a brief flash of something with little consequence to him. It was contained, so it's no motivation for institutional change.

And so he doesn't realise how bad things have gotten, how much the foundations of his grand city of progress have rotten and crumbled until Jayce (via Mel) kicks him out to form a new Establishment, and he finally has to think about what the fuck is actually happening.

It's in part a result of his long lifespan, and that sudden change is the one thing he's most afraid of, because what if the change goes bad?

The problem is, of course, that the change will happen regardless, and he's just neglecting to be part of it.

But hey, he does manage to be out of office when the result of his neglect actually blows up.

Good for him.

Speaking of his neglect, as we've gone up, we most also go down!

Viktor is, technically, the Undercity resident who's made it! He got out of the Undercity, and became the assistant of the Dean of the Academy, one of the highest aspirations possible!

But of course the Undercity hasn't left him. Literally in the sense of the degenerative illness, of course, but metaphorically in that, uh, nobody gave him the respect he deserved, unless he outright clawed for it.

Like, what the fuck is this guy doing as Heimerdinger's assistant? If this guy got the resources that Jayce got from Cassandra, imagine where he'd be?

But no, he has to work twice as hard to get half as far, and, unfortunately, he soon learns there's no point in asking other people for help, because they'll just tell him 'no', anyway. He'll still have to go at it himself, and he now realises he doesn't fit in the Undercity anymore either.

He has only himself, and like everyone in that position, uh, he quickly burns out. In this case, the tragedy is that he doesn't realise he does have someone next to him who he could reach out for help, and who won't go 'you're dying? That sucks buddy, but such is life!'

And instead of noticing that, in his burnout, he ruins that, too.

And as much as a lucky Viktor might partner with the Jayces of the world, he won't get the credit, and the Jayces of the world quickly get the kind of accolades that draw them away from the original work, and from helping Viktor with, you know, the whole dying thing, and the businessman beats the scientist regardless.

And we see this happen despite the good intentions of everyone involved, which is what makes this a sociological, institutional pattern.

Going the other way, however, is Singed, whose role as a disgraced scientist who clearly crossed a number of moral lines makes for an interesting commentary on both Heimerdinger's tenure, and Silco's proclivities, because he found a refuge in the Undercity, that was more willing to accept the many lines he crossed.

In part because they hardly have the luxury to turn him away. Silco's entire plan hinges on Singed's shimmer, so he gets to be a powerbroker there, too. Thriving as Silco lets him poison everything down there.

[alpaca-clouds]

Solarpunk vs Nation States

I was told I should post a bit about Solarpunk again, so let me talk about another thing that I think a Solarpunk future cannot and should not have: Nation states.

These days we consider them a very normal part of life, but let me remind you that for most of history they did not exist. Even in the middle ages nothing like states would exist - not in the way we see them today. Sure, there were kingdoms and duchies, but for most people it did not really matter in what kingdom they lived in, as it was not part of their identity.

The nation states we have today, meanwhile, were created by colonialism and are a product of colonialism more than anything else. And this is why they have to go.

Because here is the thing: Even if we tried to decolonize, pay reparations and what have you... As long as the nation states still exist, some of the effects of colonialism will never cease to exist. Effects like the uneven distribution of riches and things like that. Effects, too, like the political instability of the global south at large.

See, in the global south some of the nation borders have been drawn intentionally to destabilize regions. By putting tribes or religious groups into one nation that the colonizers knew would not get along. And at times splitting tribes apart, who belonged together as well. Splitting cultures apart.

Meanwhile in the "west" the nations are used to keep riches within certain groups. Over here in Europe it is super noticable. I live in Germany, a rich nation, but right next door we have Poland, a considerably poorer nation. And whenever people from Poland or other eastern Europe come to Germany to work, people will fearmonger about the people "fleeing into our good economy".

So, yeah. Nation states are used to destabilize, exploit and keep people apart. If we really want to have a Solarpunk future, we have to get rid of them. They never were a good idea to begin with.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

This day in history

On OCTOBER 23 at 7PM, I'll be in DECATUR, presenting my novel THE BEZZLE at EAGLE EYE BOOKS.

#20yrsago HOWTO break Google Print DRM https://web.archive.org/web/20041011120549/http://vitanuova.loyalty.org/weblog/nb.cgi/view/vitanuova/2004/10/07/2

#15yrsago Japanese court overturns Winny ruling, says file-sharing software is legal even if used for infringement https://web.archive.org/web/20091009232138/http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/news/20091008p2a00m0na016000c.html

#15yrsago Robert E Howard collection, HEROES IN THE WIND: revisit your heroic past https://memex.craphound.com/2009/10/08/robert-e-howard-collection-heroes-in-the-wind-revisit-your-heroic-past/

#10yrsago Sore losers: How casinos went after two guys who found a video poker bug https://www.wired.com/2014/10/cheating-video-poker/

#10yrsago Fixing the unfixable USB bug https://www.wired.com/2014/10/unpatchable-usb-malware-now-patchsort/

#10yrsago 20 meaningful things you can do about climate change http://thischangeseverything.org/twenty-things-you-can-do-to-address-the-climate-crisis/

#10yrsago 10% of Americans have 10 or more alcoholic drinks every day https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/09/25/think-you-drink-a-lot-this-chart-will-tell-you/

#10yrsago $35 Firefox OS smartphone – back to the drawing board https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/10/testing-a-35-firefox-os-phone-how-bad-could-it-be/

#5yrsago For the first time ever, taxes on the 400 richest Americans were lower than taxes on everyone else https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/10/06/opinion/income-tax-rate-wealthy.html

#5yrsago Supreme Court greenlights lawsuit over Amazon’s wage-theft from warehouse workers https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-amazon-com/u-s-supreme-court-rejects-amazon-warehouse-worker-wage-appeal-idUSKBN1WM1FI/

#5yrsago Bernie Blindness: a subreddit for noting the way press narratives ignore or smear Bernie Sanders https://www.reddit.com/r/bernieblindness/top/

#5yrsago Checkm8: an “unstoppable” Iphone jailbreaking crack https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/09/developer-of-checkm8-explains-why-idevice-jailbreak-exploit-is-a-game-changer/

#5yrsago After an injunction against Pacifica radio, New York’s WBAI is back on the air https://twitter.com/2600/status/1181423565389942786

#5yrsago How the “Varsity Blues” admissions scam punished deserving, hard working kids so that mediocre kids of the super-rich could prosper https://memex.craphound.com/2019/10/08/how-the-varsity-blues-admissions-scam-punished-deserving-hard-working-kids-so-that-mediocre-kids-of-the-super-rich-could-prosper/

#5yrsago Facebook’s 2016 election billboards: Buy all your elections with us! https://twitter.com/MarietjeSchaake/status/1180166896294887424

#5yrsago Podcast: Why do people believe the Earth is flat? https://ia601006.us.archive.org/35/items/Cory_Doctorow_Podcast_311/Cory_Doctorow_Podcast_311_-_Why_do_people_believe_the_Earth_is_flat.mp3

#5yrsago The cloud vs humanity: Adobe terminates every software license in Venezuela, keeps Venezuelans’ money https://helpx.adobe.com/la/x-productkb/policy-pricing/executive-order-venezuela.html

Tor Books as just published two new, free LITTLE BROTHER stories: VIGILANT, about creepy surveillance in distance education; and SPILL, about oil pipelines and indigenous landback.

[bella4263]

Part 2 because I have no life

Anyways, I can think of a billion teen drama boys Logan's behaviour pales in comparison to (e.g. Chuck Bass. No they are NOT the same Logan would never dream of selling V for a hotel or forcing himself on a 14 year old). I reckon Logan is one of the only "reformed bad boys" with genuine growth, there I said it. HE WENT TO THERAPYYY HOW MANY REFORMED TV BAD BOYS WENT TO THERAPYYY OMD. Also Logan has been being exploited since the day he was born, cameras and paparazzi in his face at all times, thats gotta fuck you up. Not to mention seeing Aaron out in public vs behind closed doors. Oh and people saying the show and the audience shouldn't romanticize "toxic rich boys like that." I fear you did not watch the show the narrative demonises Logan SO FUCKING MUCH. The real romanticisation was Duncan, who is horrible yet is treated like the best boyfriend ever. ALSO AARON HAS PROBABLY BEEN FEEDING HIM TOXIC IDEALS ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE LESSER THAN THEM SINCE HE WAS A CHILD. Logan was able to disconnect himself from those harmful ideals and form his own moral ground as he grew up, which is really impressive for someone with literally no support. He also managed to graduate after being recently orphaned. Trust me most Logan fans recognise he does horrible things, a lot of us just understand the reasoning behind it and enjoy his growth. Also don't tell me who to like or not like in fiction. Like it's not like I'M the one who gave him a redemption arc please. Also "Logan never had to pay for his actions." We can't be for real right now. The shit that CHILD went through both because of his mistakes and a lot of the time of no reason is horrid. Anytime Logan fucked up in the tiniest way he was beat at home (usually because it hurt Aaron's reputation) WITH A BELT HE HAD TO CHOOSE. Thats a whole other level of psychological abuse. He was rude to the biker gang? Guess what they beat, torture him and frame him for murder. Is constantly cheated on/not trusted by his girlfriends. Constantly demonised in his attempts (even if they aren't the best) to protect Veronica. Most of all having to face his OWN GUILT AND REMORSE forever. So many other things I can't go into right now. Now to the whole other characters issue. VERONICA'S OTHER LOVE INTERESTS ARE NOT BETTER. I've already talked about Duncan. Now Piz. "Veronica should have been with Piz because he was such a nice guy!" The guy creepily obsessed with her since the beginning and constantly made advances on her when HE KNEW SHE HAD A BOYFRIEND. Lied his way into a date with her, tried to convince Logan she was unloyal, manipulative, never stood up for her etc. The only reason he was "nice" was because he had a crush on her. The real "toxic romanticisation" isn't liking Logan because he is "bad" it is thinking you owe the guy you have 0 feelings for who has literally borderline stalked you, ANYTHING, just because he has treated you with halfway decent respect. Which Rob Thomas and his little clan of followers have tried to push on "silly little fangirls" since the beginning. Leo, the 20 year old cop who dated 17 year old grade 11 Veronica. The age gap itself is less of a problem rather than the power imbalance. He also sold child porn of a minor, yes he was trying to help his sister, HE STILL SOLD CHILD PORN OF A MINOR. Logan (THE TEEN) is WAYYY more demonised for destroying the tapes to protect his dead, underage girlfriend from ending up all over the internet without her consent than Leo (THE ADULT) is blamed for selling them. Him coming back in s4 to...ew. I think the second most popular ship in the fandom in WeeVer. I get it, it's just not for me, I prefer them platonic. Weevil is one of my favs, he is literally my baby and was fucked over SO BADLY in s4. However I wish people didn't constantly pit Logan and Weevil against each other. Like, they are literally the same people with different financial status and if they were swapped I believe they would act the way the other does in that situation if that makes sense. Part 3....

[meowmeowmeowmeow4x]

Jojo x DC (or even x DP) lovers out there, where are you?

I am here to passionately proclaim my love for the concept of adding jojo things to the dpxdc crossover verse, out of pure fandom hyperfixation. Yes, I know fanfiction is niche, and crossovers are niches between two niches and a triple crossover is even nicher, so i am here to say why i think this is so interesting (if the adhd allows me)

Reason the first! In no particular order just as I'm coming up with them

The themes! Jojo's Bizarre Adventure was written as a celebration of humanity. Hell, one of the most popular openings, Great Days, has Let the voice of love take you higher as a prominent line. The Jojos are all people who are (or become) fundamentally good just people fighting against the forces of evil and saving the day. This fits perfectly with dc and dp as superhero fiction! I mean, a lot of old superhero comics and a lot of danny phantom is just villain/ghost of the week slice of life, which fits with Jojo's stand user of the week format in parts 3 and 4. The way jojo vibes with dc and dp continue into my next theme

Reason the second: the plot hooks that you can make

Imagine!! Giorno's mafia exploits making it to Gotham as he attempts to wrangle back the Falcones, maybe becoming an enemy of Batman due to his criminal connections or becoming reluctant allies with the Dark Knight as a noble mafia boss with powerful connections. Imagine the interactions with jason as a fellow gang leader with a heart of gold and a seething hatred for the drug trade against children!!! You could even throw in some cool interactions between Gold Experience, the stand that creates life, and Jason Todd, the man who died and was brought back! Who says it has to be Gotham? There are plenty of other places in DC with gang problems, like, i dunno, bludhaven?

And that's just giorno with gotham! What if Jonathan Joestar's archaeological findings turned into inspiration for Jack and Janet Drake's globe-trotting adventures, creating a complicated relationship between the man from the late 19th century and current 21st century lonelly child Tim Drake. What if the Drakes brought something back that they shouldn't like... say... a stone mask? or a Stand arrow? A fragment piece of Sugar Mountain Spring, or perhaps a sword that carried a Stand by the name of Anubis? IMAGINE!!!!

Howabout Jolyne's prison break story intersecting with another prison break plot, like the one in Young Justice, or where she and the part 6 crew see the transfer of a villain from another show? HELL GIVE ME A JOLYNE X LIVEWIRE CROSSOVER!!!

And the main villain's stand in part 7, Funny Valentine's Dirty Deeds Done Dirty Cheap (or D4C for short) can cross the barriers between dimensions. DUDE. IMAGINE A PLOT WHERE HE STUMBLES INTO THE GHOST ZONE AND GAINS ALLIES THERE TOO

And there are so, so many more! Josuke going to university in Metropolis, Josuke or Giorno becoming healers that get underestimaed until their Stands' incredible power and their skill at using them saves the day, Jotaro running into variuos different heroes on his hunt for the stand arrows, Speedwagon's children being part of the big rich people social circles with bruce wayne, lex luthor and oliver queen

And that's not getting into the DP side! Ghosts and Stands are canonically on the same wavelength, so Danny would have the unique trait of being able to see and attack Stands, which is a massive boon. You could do plots where the GiW are at odds with the Speedwagon Foundation's peaceful goals, or stories where ghosts and stand users have a shared origin in ectoplasm!

These three are action stories with great characters and plotlines and really cool powers and you can do so much with them. You don't even have to stick to the 100 year+ timeline of Jojo. There are plenty of AUs where all main jojos live together in the same era. Give me Funny valentine vs lex luthor for president, some supervillain on supervillain action!

darn I'm already running out of things to say uuhhhhhhhhh

Look, most people know Jojo for the memes and the silly outfits and the absurd stand fights, and I love it too, but I think the story and characters of Jojo deserve a critical look and appreciation just as much as the aesthetics and silliness. And besides, it can't really top the ridiculousness of the silver age. Once you dig under the surface, all of these characters have so much richness, which leaves me with the last point

Reason the third: the characters

specifically, Araki has traditionally struggled to balance out his character writing and focus. Over time he improved, to the point where part 8 is a character-driven masterpiece of a mystery story in its first half, and part 9 is already incredible in all regards. Of course, that means that a lot of characters get underutilised or underexplored in the earlier parts, and you know what?

That's ok, because we have fanfiction! Exploring underexplored characters is like. The thing fanfiction is for! We can explore all kinds of jojo characters' mentalities and struggles and then match them up with dpxdc characters who might help them or share their pain. Jolyne's struggles with her dad who's a good guy but left her for years? There are dc characters with daddy issues LINING UP BABY. Josuke trying to handle the responsibility of protecting morioh after his neglect resulted in his grandpa's death? Danny fenton can relate! There is so much potential here i am begging you to see it like i am!!

Ok rant over i'm gonna collapse now good night snork mimimimimi

Also ps i think weather report and billy batson would be a great pair

[capitalism-is-a-psychopathy]

Welcome to the Uncanny Valley of Capitalism

Ah, capitalism. The gift that keeps on giving. Or should I say, the gift that keeps on taking? Let’s dive into the uncanny world of capitalism and its charming little sidekick, the free market.

The Illusion of Freedom

Capitalism is like a magician. It dazzles you with promises of freedom and prosperity. But look closer. The trick is on you. The free market is supposedly a playground where everyone can thrive. Spoiler alert: it’s more like a rigged game where the house always wins.

Inclusive vs. Extractive Institutions

Here’s the deal. Inclusive institutions are like that one friend who actually listens to you. They promote equal opportunities and fair play. Extractive institutions, on the other hand, are the bullies of the playground. They exist to extract wealth and power for the few, leaving the rest of us to fight over the scraps.

Evidence? Look Around You

Take a good look at the world. Notice the widening gap between the rich and the poor? That’s not a bug; it’s a feature. Extractive institutions thrive on inequality. They’re designed to keep the powerful in power and the rest of us in perpetual struggle.

But Capitalism Creates Innovation!

Sure, if by innovation you mean finding new ways to exploit labor and resources. The so-called innovations often benefit the few while the many are left to deal with the consequences. Remember, the wheel was invented long before capitalism.

What Can We Do?

Here’s a thought. Demand more inclusive institutions. Support policies that promote equality and sustainability. Vote for leaders who prioritize people over profits. It’s not rocket science; it’s common sense.

Conclusion: The Real Magic Trick

In the end, the real magic trick is realizing that the system isn’t broken. It’s working exactly as intended. The question is, are we going to keep applauding the show, or are we going to demand a new act? The choice is ours.

[angev111696969n]

Tryna rebut some whack shit on here and Tumblr blocking me from saying that shit but it's making me feel sjw. Like respect you can have your own ideas and not even the repost the original post about sex work is work being stupid like. Ok. When I used to be a part of a sex worker rights organisation and went to the scarlet alliance conference in sydney ijbol. But actually one cause igaf about because people are generally ignorant to what it looks like in the 21st century and that what's being demanded is not dissimilar to the things everyone else in jobs has which is just some kinda protection from employers in the case of brothels and clients in the case of them + private escorts like legit it's just at a more primitive phase of it's worker struggle than shit like construction but carries a similar level of physical risk and yet if you're injured on the job in construction there's a safety net so you and your family don't watch your life disintegrate after but that's not true of prostitution. And just in terms of public reckoning with its existence and being able to like disclose it, have it taken seriously on applications for housing and stuff idk like it's really not that deep it's like your job shouldn't hinder you from security in life is the most basic point and it's sad people let some dumb stereotype and assumptions get in the way of thinking more futuristically about it. I've never felt less exploited or more healthy than when I was escorting full time lolz, but I had to do extra work to lie about my job when I was rich asf from working very little comparatively. So yeah lol. But I'm kinda torn I think it thrives in environments with kinda conservative social norms as there's more need for it as a service, and obviously wealthier areas and cities. But tbh the whole idea that it is a guise for sex trafficking misconstrues why sex trafficking happens in the first place which is that police corruption allows organised crime to continue doing it, and targets places where there's other socioeconomic factors like high unemployment particularly youth unemployment, poverty, illiteracy and general weak governance and law enforcement so idk. And obviously geographically in the EU where there's a development gradient between east and west and it has a proximity to other continents that's more likely but that's like the same as construction labour in the middle east vs construction in australia. When it's viewed in comparison to how it functions in better conditions you can begin to see why people are asking for better legal and labor regulations. And also the solution of criminalising the client is inhumane and it's ultimately functions to reduce demand and probably lower the earnings of sex workers so thanks 👍. Idk it's giving doesn't understand basic economics vibes unlike me who got the highest score in that subject in year 12 then went on to become a whore and do some real world economics 🥰

[rametarin]

'Political balance'

Linguistically, we need to stop talking about "political balance" when it comes to left-wing right-wing stuff in history and social studies. The elephant in the room is that it's not a left-wing right-wing thing. And it hasn't been, for a long time.

It's ideological vs. empirical and objective.

Ideologically, the "left wing" has been fashioning interpretation and telling of history around the idea anti-capitalism is correct and Marxist greviance is as well, and proudly coming to conclusions with these operators without ever explaining that these are interpretive lenses, not mathematical formulas to determine truth and fact. No different in their function than trying to apply creationist, religious dogma to the perception of the world.

Secular, objective, empirical facts and reality do not require Class Struggle Theory, or Queer Theory, or Critical Gender Theory, to validate or shape their positions or interpret them. And that is the conversation being had here.

The Left Ideological position is that all white historical figures were bad, aided, abedded or committed genocides of non-whites because rich and white and male, and that if there were no white people, there would've been no slave trade nor slaves nor disrupted lives in Africa. They go on to say industrialization that destroyed the environment is solely the responsibility of Eurocentricisism.

And even more insulting is they go on to talk about your average mewling leftist who complains about exploitation abuse of indigenous communities as just a liberal, "whom is pretty much just a conservative-lite, anyway." If that latest crank I watched on youtube is to be believed. The kind of professorial twat that put these extremist ideas in the useful idiots and sheep anyway, just to turn around and make fun of them as feckless radicals that no one told to act that way and they're somehow above it and right, because they're Progressive, not Liberal.

We don't need conservative historians, social studies teachers or sex ed teachers. We need people that aren't fucking drinking anti-capitalist, socialist flavor-ade like it's a Jonestown hootinanny. We don't need the sort of people that will support the idea the Lincoln Memmorial should be destroyed, "because Lincoln didn't really care about slaves."

The time is right. We can call it for what it is, and there's enough understanding and awareness across communities and ethnic enclaves and islands for the conversation to be understood. It's not right/left. It's "woke" just being the wink and nod of intersectional feminists and socialists trying to consolidate all minorities under a single political tent, and everybody else. And the hard-left is hungry and looking to eat.

And it's good that they're emerging and separating themselves from liberals. They've polluted liberalism with their profoundly illiberal bullshit and hid behind them for too long, as liberals tried to keep them hidden both because the Progressives work hard to rally, and because in a two party system, they can't afford those stubborn purist assholes sequesting themselves into their own party instead of trying to co-opt the liberal democrat platform.

But they're starting to get more visible and aggressive, and the accusation there's more than one person in those pants is getting more and more substantive. We don't need "balance" between right wing and left wing views, we need to point out when one view is ideological horseshit and requires entire textbooks worth of mental gymnastics in order to even exist in the room, and when one doesn't.

[biblicalhorror]

Finally got to what is (I think) the climax of taash's gender storyline last night [SPOILERS]

First, I want to say I think Taash as a character and what they're going through with gender struggles makes a lot of sense. Qunari traditional gender roles vs. Gender roles in Rivain are naturally at odds, so it makes sense that they'd not really feel like they fit neatly into any role. Their nonbinary identity makes sense, particularly with their personality being very "specific labels are confusing, words are not my strong suit, I just wanna be me" kind of attitude. I used to say that they should have come up with some new qunari-specific words for nonbinary, but I think given the broader context of this conversation being not just about gender but also about Taash feeling torn in multiple directions culturally, it made sense for them to use a more nonspecific term like nonbinary, particularly if Rook encourages them to embrace their Rivaini side.

I also liked hearing Shathaan talk about how she essentially had to go against her own "gender role" so to speak, being a scholar rather than a mother under the Qun but still choosing to put Taash's wellbeing above her own by escaping the Qun after giving birth to Taash, presumably instead of handing them over to the tamassrans, because she was worried that Taash would be exploited and raised as a weapon for the Qunari army. I really believed that a scholar would see her infant start to breathe fire and immediately worry about the broader implications re: imperialism and violence. I think that was really interesting insight on her character's values and motivations and gave some new dimension to the gender talk.

Also, I will say that as a nonbinary person myself, this scene felt extremely familiar to me. Shathaan reminds me of my own mother in many ways (she was also definitely meant to be an academic rather than a mother, she cares deeply for her children but shows it through constant criticism and disapproval, she would absolutely refuse a meal I made for her bc it was "too rich" and demand raw vegetables instead) and I'm sure that was the intention here. Because it reminded me so much of my own coming out to my mother, I did feel emotionally invested.

However, that brings me to my main gripe: what I don't get is why Shathaan seems so tied to, let's face it, human ideas of gender and gender roles while also clearly basing her own identity around gender in the Qun. It's been previously established that "men" are soldiers and generals and occasionally spies under the Qun, and "women" are basically everything else, from scholars to mothers to artisans, and while there is generally an assumption placed on you for your assigned gender at birth, genitals are broadly irrelevant to those categories and it is not uncommon for people to switch categories based on aptitude. It's very strict and austere from what we know, but Taash being a "woman" or not seems like it should be mostly irrelevant to a follower of the Qun, especially because Shathaan seems to know that they are a fighter regardless. If anything, she should be confused that Taash isn't a man. It's not like we see her trying to get Taash to pursue "womanhood" under the Qun by honing non-combat skills. I just don't get her angle, and it frankly feels like the writers weren't really thinking about what an authentic perspective would be from this character and they're just kind of copy/pasting a common real-life dynamic between a nonbinary child and their parent onto this conflict instead of really taking the time to reckon with how this perspective would look within this fictional culture. At the same time, they're using these words and phrases to show us that they DO in fact remember established Qunari lore, which honestly took me out of the scene a bit because none of it really follows the same logical path. It confuses me, to be honest.

I still haven't finished the game yet, so maybe I will change my mind again. Who knows!

[smokefalls]

Title: Germinal Author: Émile Zola Translator: Roger Pearson Publication Year of Translation: 2004 Publisher: Penguin Classics Genre: fiction, historical fiction, classics

Zola’s Germinal is not a novel that I would normally pick up on my own accord, especially because I’m not particularly interested in the subject matter (though, I guess the average reader probably won’t be that invested in mining in France during the 1800s). When it comes to personal enjoyment, I would say that the novel fell in the middle ground, and I didn’t love or hate it. I think what really won me over, though, was Zola’s socio-political commentary, especially if you take into consideration who and what he may have been engaging with during the period he worked on this novel.

Directly inspired by the miners’ strikes that occurred in the 1860s, Zola crafted a fictional version of a miners’ strike in Northern France to dig deep into class struggle, particularly the exploitation of the working class by the bourgeoisie. There were other ideas that he considered as well, with I think the most surprising being the role of women in these spaces. I will say that the treatment of women in this novel was anything but great (to put it lightly), but I did appreciate Zola’s consideration of how women contributed to the labor movement. The living conditions that Zola described in Germinal were unbelievably bleak, but, in many ways, it did give him the chance to create powerful (even if, at times, heavy-handed) symbols reflecting on struggle and survival, particularly through his characters, notably Étienne and Catherine. On the note of his characters, I appreciated that Zola didn’t follow the good vs. evil model and, instead, chose to place them in murkier spaces.

Again, based on personal enjoyment alone, I would say that I don’t have any strong opinions and found the novel to be just okay. However, I have to fully acknowledge the richness of Zola’s symbolism, graphic details, and commentary in Germinal. I do think it’s worth picking this up, should you be able to handle the overwhelming bleakness, as it is a great exploration of class struggle while also giving a glimpse into how people such as Zola may have been reacting to Marxism. I was also a little surprised by his prose, which I found a bit different from his contemporaries. Relatedly, I thought it was more accessible to a modern reader who might be intimidated by nineteenth-century French literature, should that mean anything.

Content Warning: violence, death, domestic abuse, sexism, misogyny, injury details, child abuse, rape, sexual assault, alcohol use

[clairelsonao3]

📖 WIP (Re)Intro and Masterlist: Good Slaves Never Break the Rules

NOTE: As of December 2024, GSNBTR is hidden on Ao3 as I prepare to publish NEVER BROKEN, Book 1 of THE UNCHAINED. All previous bonus content will remain on Ao3 and Tumblr, however! Sign up for my newsletter at Everlyclaire.com for all future free content!

Genre(s): M/F Romance, Slavery Whump, Alt-History

Target WC: ~200K?

Rated: M for mature. NSFW. Only intended for those 18 and older.

Summary

Louisa Phillips, daughter of a once-rich family in an alternate version of our world where slavery is an institution, is scrambling to save her university scholarship before she’s thrown out on the street. The only one who can help her is the nameless golden-haired slave downstairs, who, despite his surprising knowledge of organic chemistry, is stuck scrubbing toilets and building fences for her father.

Amid intense study sessions and long nights full of secrets, his wounded amber eyes, rippling whip-scarred body, and infuriating boldness draw her in like a lightning rod. But she’s forbidden from even being touched by him — as if there's any way she can stop at a touch.

The boy may have been whipped and beaten a thousand times, but it didn't stop him from pulling the strings to get here, find his missing sister, and take his revenge on those who stole her away. And though the last thing he needs is an attachment, if he has to use his master’s spoiled daughter to get that revenge, fine.

Except — damn — Louisa’s far from spoiled. She has a heart, and she’s learning to be brave. But as the two of them continue to collide, the only question is when they'll ignite their world — and whether they can help each other pick up the pieces when they do.

General CWs (these are NOT exhaustive): Institutionalized slavery, physical abuse/whump (the majority guy whump -- unfortunately for him! -- and a comparatively small amount of lady whump, with both male and female whumpers), consensual smut including light dom/sub, sexual assault of a male by a female, dehumanization, forced to watch, attempted rape/noncon and references to rape/noncon; references to underage sex, child sex abuse, and underage sex trafficking/exploitation; references to past kidnapping and murder; addiction and mental health issues.)

NO ABUSE/NONCON IS BETWEEN THE MCs. This is not that type of story. In fact, I like to think of this as a slavefic that has much more in common with mainstream romance than it does with most slavefics you might have come across. (In other words, it's a slavefic for people who think they don't like slavefic.)

Other tropes and elements, major and minor: Mutual pining, strangers to lovers, forbidden/secret love, touch her and die, forced proximity, medium burn, sexual tension, flirtatious banter, physical and emotional hurt/comfort, angst, LGBTQ+ rep, found family, fluff, dark and light humor, light academia, scientific and literary themes and discussions, plot twists, mystery/thriller elements, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

The tags on Ao3 go into much further detail so please read them before diving in, as well as the notes before the story and any chapter-specific CWs, which should give you a very good idea of what to expect.

Vibes

Cages, whips, and shackles vs. fuzzy pink pillows, perfume, and jewelry boxes

"How dare you talk to me that way."

Oops, turns out Daddy's newest investment property is actually a person — a really attractive person

Stealing glances and forbidden touch

Light academia in the desert

Power dynamics shifted and played out in the bedroom

Discovering new aspects of sexuality

Cactuses, mountains, palo verde, hummingbirds

Rocket science and chemistry labs

Gambits and speed chess

Shelves full of hardcover classical literature

"I don't need your help."

Eyes opened to the cruelty of the world

Red brick campus buildings among palm trees

"I'm not going anywhere."

"I wish you could see yourself the way I see you."

Desert wildflowers pressed into chemistry textbooks

Short, sharp shocks of pain

"I know what you want."

Burned, bruised, and bloodied hands

"How can we ever have a future?"

Learning to trust, confessing traumatic memories and showing scars

"You plan, I execute."

Forced to choose between everything you ever wanted and the person you love

Series

This is the first in a planned romance series, tentatively titled NEVER BROKEN, set in the same universe and starring different but connected characters.

Masterlist

At least until it's complete, the main story will remain exclusively on Ao3, but starting in October 2023 (and coinciding with my first Whumptober), I started cross-posting some selected GSNBTR bonus content on Tumblr, featuring the two MCs seen through the POVs of secondary characters and new characters.

These stories can also stand alone as they require no knowledge of the main work.

Aveline

A slave girl wistfully recalls an afternoon she spent with her master's son.

From the Moment I Could Talk, I Was Ordered to Listen (Whumptober Day 26)

A renowned professor of chemical physics visits a discount slave auction, looking for something very specific. But what he finds there is not quite what he had in mind.

With a Guarantee of Company (Whumptober Day 30)

A slave girl is caught in a compromising position with her master's daughter's crush and is forced to pay the price for it.

Tag

GSNBTR for responses to tag games, answered asks, teasers, art, and other miscellaneous content related to the story and its characters. Someday I hope I'll get around to cataloguing it all here.

[aspiringwarriorlibrarian]

I have a feeling that a theme of Vacuo is ultimately going to be about there being no such thing as an ideal solution to any problem, that life is ultimately always going to be a work in progress. That there is no point where an absolute "happily ever after" can ever truly and permanently exist, because the world is flawed and filled with people who will end up at cross-purposes even after the immediate problem is dealt with. That blindly chasing after the happily ever after without recognizing what is happening now in the present, and finding joy in what you have right now ultimately leads to misery and pain.

Vacuo's fixation with constantly trying to drown out their past perception of being "weak and exploited" by treating social darwinism as an ideal thing to be, vs the Crown (book bad guys) constantly fixating on an idealized past via forcefully turning them into a monarchy.

Ozpin's fixation on the idea that he can make the world perfectly united and beg the gods for forgiveness while ignoring the reality that this is impossible, and that the gods themselves are jackasses who pretty much never likely ever expected him to succeed, period.

Tyrian probably wants to destroy the world because he thinks it's more ideal than bothering with the world and its many many flaws, given the little details we can extrapolate about his character.

Conversely, Mercury would be examining how he refuses to even attempt to find a happily ever after because being miserable but safe in his assassin past is more comfortable for him.

And given this is occurring in the location where all of the major nations of the world is gathering, I can see the past tensions and misery they've all inflicted on each other coming to the surface if things go pear-shaped, and the above theme will be addressed because it's the only way to actually begin the process of fixing and healing the past mistakes they've made.

Oh, and the Sword of Destruction is definitely going to tie into this, because I can see people like Atlesian Elites disgruntled about the whole situation trying to force a "happily ever after" by using the Sword to try to eliminate the "problem" and thus allowing them to get their power and comfort back.

Honestly I don't see Ozpin trying to take back control of the narrative in any way. I think he's let it go. And the Atlesian Elites problem is probably going to be a lot more complex than a simple group of rich people we can hate. Remember it wasn't Atlas that destroyed Vacuo, but Mantle. Mantle was oppressed by Atlas, but they also oppressed the people of the crater and the Faunus. And a lot of rank and file Atlesians aren't super wealthy people but just middle class lucky enough to live in the city. It's not going to be as simple as the Atlesian Elites forming into a Voltron we can shoot.

Especially since, as you've noticed about their social darwinism and disdain for the "weak", as well as their recent attempt to return to revanchist monarchy out of nationalistic spite, Vacuo is far from a perfect victim either.

But besides that, yes. The challenging of the happily ever after might as well start now.