#Go-Bloc

[lunargracklepersonal]

I've lost the post but I saw a post a while back asking why you don't generally see people in punk jackets at protests or riots (in the vibe of complaining about it, saying punks are faking some political ideology) and I was thinking.... yeah of course not, a good punk jacket is like a fingerprint. That shit's identifiable. If you know what you're doing, you go in black bloc and leave the jacket at home.

[grenade-maid]

Signalis, Authority, and History

There's a level of nuance to how Signalis presents the violence of the authority of the nation that doesn't call attention to itself but which I really appreciate. Which is basically just, all the officers and cops and spies who make life hell for people like the Gestalt mine workers, Ariane, and the Itou family--we get little glimpses into who they are in Adler and Kolibri's diaries and despite the propaganda and the authoritative tone they take in official communications, for the most part they don't seem to actually be particularly invested in the hard line of national ideology. They uphold it though, viciously, both because things were worse under imperial rule (we don't get hard details on what it was like but it's mentioned in passing enough that I believe it) and because they're scared that if they don't they will be decommissioned and easily replaced. They are literally stamped out of a production line after all. There's a subtext of well, if I don't do it my replacement will anyway and I'm not trying to die so what's the point of rocking the boat?

I think Kolibri stands out to me most clearly on this because in communications from the block warden regarding Ariane there is emphasis put on how it is unacceptable and suspicious that she should be so interested and invested in art and literature that does not serve the purpose of furthering the goals of the nation. But we know that Kolibris themselves are bookworms, Adlers are fiends for stimulating experiences, and both get miserable FAST when deprived of art and puzzles and entertainment and hobbies. Y'know, just like anyone. Far be it from being a paragon of The Nation only interested in productive labor, we are reminded that the block warden, too, hates this shitty town and wants to transfer but is denied. They're hypocrites, but not monsters, nor brainwashed puppets of the state.

The monstrousness at play is not contained within any particular subset of evil individuals, or even an inherent universal force of evil contained in the broad notion of The Nation. There is no cosmic evil force that makes them all do these things to each other. The monstrousness is within the social systems, the mechanisms of how authority perpetuates on a structural procedural level, held in place by fear and tangible threats of violence, each link in the chain restraining the next through those threats out of fear that if they don't, then they'll be next. Regardless how many, if any, of those people in this chain are true dogmatic hardliners, they must act as such because failing to do so opens them up to danger.

Here then I think of the quote that is so prominent, "Great holes secretly are digged where earth’s pores ought to suffice, and things have learnt to walk that ought to crawl", from Lovecraft's The Festival. This is not just a chilling abstract visual that conveniently evokes a mineshaft-- in Lovecraft's story, this line refers to worms which ate the decomposing bodies of wizards whose wretched souls had remained after death, complete with the terrible powers they gained through contracts with demons. Those worms inherited both their power, and also the evil. The Nation, despite having overthrown the Empire, is built on imperial technology, in particular Replikas and bioresonance. So too, then, we can imply that The Nation inherited with those things some of the monstrousness of The Empire as well. There is no end of history, nor clean break with the past, no matter how violently it may seem to be rejected. That which remains from the past--and something inevitably always does--creates the present.

This is a game that is not shy about evoking East Germany. And I think all of this provides a sophisticated picture of repressive authority that we rarely see in fiction of the English speaking world, especially in games. The year the S23 incident takes place is notably 84, but, frankly, I find this to be more compelling and illustrative than 1984 (and I'm a librarian and have taught English classes so I get to say that). Orwell, let's be honest, presents a fairly one dimensional picture of authority, where people seize power and wield it against others out of seeming mustache twirling evil or malice.

Here though we get a more humanistic view. Authority did not come from nowhere and is not wielded arbitrarily out of gleeful cruelty or mindless brainwashed allegiance. People aren't "just following orders". Individuals have rich inner lives. They make decisions, and those decisions are based in the context they're in. Even the decision to carry repressive tools of the past into the present is a decision that was made strategically with the big picture in mind. Nobody woke up and decided to be evil that day. Everyone operates on self interest, and, we must assume, an earnest desire for things to get better. Even the [spoiler] program which served as an inspirational demonstration of The Nation's power, you can imagine the chain of officers and bureaucrats who genuinely wanted the people of the nation to believe in the future, to confidently trust that everyone was working together towards something great and beautiful. And, through a long chain of those people who couldn't say "No" without being decommissioned, we ended up with something unbelievably cruel.

We get to know Adler and Kolibri and the other officers not to say well they're human too, maybe it wasn't so bad that they condemned all those people to agonizing suffering, but to remember that if we keep looking for true monsters we will not find them. There are no monsters and there are no demons. There are only people making decisions. A better world is possible. A better world, where Adler is just a paper pusher who does puzzles after work instead of signing papers to authorize torture, where Kolibris are librarians instead of spies and cops, where EULEs can gossip and play piano and ARARs can do maintenance on facilities that don't contain torture rooms, is one that would not have led to the Ariane and Elster's tragic cycle and ultimate end.

Authority and its attendant cruelty is not contained, radiating forth from The Great Revolutionary and Her Daughter, it is within the social systems of control. When those two women die, that cruelty will continue so long as those social systems continue. Like Lovecraft's worms, no matter how long dead the evil of the past is, so long as it continues to be fed upon, that evil will not only remain, but evolve into something new in the present. A better world can't be achieved through the death of the old world alone, even if violent overthrow is warranted. There is no end of history. There is no clean break from the past.

"Men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please; they do not make it under self-selected circumstances, but under circumstances existing already, given and transmitted from the past. The tradition of all dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brains of the living."

Karl Marx, The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte

[moeblob]

So uh. Eventually I'll stop drawing these guys so obsessively but not today I guess.

(DND AU where it's just these two, Brent, and Paul on a life mission to annoy Chris the GM by having the pact of "we're only here for Karen's benefit")

Karen is a warlock, Right is a cleric, Paul is a paladin, and Brent is a bard (so he can use bardic inspiration on Karen).

[leeenuu]

well well well, look how the tables have turned

[schnuffel-danny]

I need to find someone who can replicate Mr. Hartman's art style so I can commission them for two extremely important drawings

Jack and Vlad being gay

my Crocker design

[lolalovesfilm]

the best thing about saltburn was that masterpiece of a soundtrack

[singinginthecar]

also 40/40 clean sweep in tn 😭 i'm actually sobbing i love TAMIL NADU!!

[da-riya]

[thedreadvampy]

ok like not to be a cunt but day 1 of pride month During A Genocide, During An International Rollback of LGBTQ+ Rights In Europe And North America, and STILL all the Pride posts I'm seeing are either wahoo rainbow gay or rehashing the exact same 2 talking points as we go through every year for the last decade.

should there be kink at pride? (yes on fact there should be much more filth)

do ace/aro people belong at pride? (frankly at this point it's been about 8-9 years since I saw a single person not actively obsessed with this discourse say they shouldn't but ok)

don't get me wrong I understand why these things are important to people. but fuck man it is EXHAUSTING that in my entire adult life we haven't moved forwards and also that from 00:01 on June 1st the SAME EXACT DISCUSSIONS come so loudly back into rotation that basically nobody is discussing any OTHER imo slightly less uhhhh navel-gazey? issues around Pride, pinkwashing and the issues faced by LGBTQ+ people in our communities.

by which I mean not only are these two discourses stultifyingly static and unchanging, but also they're literally just about Who Goes To A Parade? there's shit that is directly to do with Pride which feels more relevant, like the idea of Pride as a marketing brand rather than a political or personal statement, or the fact that Pride events are being sponsored by companies like Barclays who are funding genocide, or how Pride provides pinkwashing cover for politicians, corporations, police and arms dealers. and we're also looking at that in a political climate where trans people in particular are having their rights and safety and access to public life removed, where homophobic rhetoric and violence is seeing a huge resurgence, etc. but no by all means let's for the billionth time spend the whole month rehashing who we think are the Correct Sort Of Queer in the exact same Sisyphean cycle with absolutely no movement or advancement of any side.

(my disdain for this shit btw is entirely unconnected to whether I agree with it. I personally think Pride should be a tits out leather chaps and kink gear challenge to what is and isn't considered socially acceptable sexuality, and I personally think that there's no serious reasons to exclude aro/ace people from People Pride Is For. but I think it's dumb as fuck to spend your whole time dying on that hill and it's dumb as fuck to spend your whole time dying on the opposing hills because after the 10th year doing this in circles it has truly got so old all round when there are other conversations at could be having that MIGHT ACTUALLY MOVE FORWARDS AT SOME POINT.)

(and the thing specifically about the ace inclusion at pride thing is - ace people ARE AT PRIDE and have BEEN PART OF PRIDE FOR YONKS. I've never been to a Pride event where ace people weren't both welcome and visible present in significant numbers. ace people are welcomed at pride by the vast majority of people. the war is won. bring the troops back home. can we please move on to some of the CURRENT problems that are happening NOW?)

[ask-clement-and-casino]

Clementine Starry ( Clement for short ) won the name vote so I decided to do some art of her when she was however old the cup bros were during the game

some things to point out cus why not:

Sorry it’s kinda lazy- as always- I’ve been on art block and I’ve been sick and it’s not the best combo lol, But since it’s summer I will have more time to work on my art so expect more soon! And just a ‘ by the by ‘ I’m deleting all the questions of Dawn caster and some other stuff simply because I’m not ready to actually create the story. I changed the plot multiple times and character designs so I will have to start with that. I need to also practice drawing the various characters and I need to work on body shapes. Don’t worry though, this was a test run so I could see what I could work on and so I will do this again but I will come back more prepared! For now we’re stuck with doodles and concept art

[post-futurism]

BLOC PARTY | Little Thoughts EP 2004

[telogreika]

Czechoslovakian field uniform, early 1950's

[cve-th3mvsic]

i feel so smart for using the queue thing now.

(well, i feel happy that i found it, and glad that i’ll use it) (i feel proud as if it were a huge accomplishment)

[zuzypiia]

by the way would you guys believe me if i told you I am in the process of literally rewriting the Cold War alongside with World War 1&2 and the French Revolution... for a modern royalty au of rivalsduo + dnf centered fanfic?

[lesbiansandgayssupporttheminers]

undefined

24 hour general strike in Greece, Black Bloc clashes with police.

This is what we should be seeking to replicate, and all solidarity with our Greek comrades.

[ajthepeach]

minecraft makes me kick my feet and giggle so hard why are these funky little block people so heartwrenchingly entertaining