#Having massive political implications for the world

[wherestoriescomefrom]

rian johnson took all that time, put in all that effort to make glass onion a fantastic period piece to the first four months of pandemic, a prescient narrative that anticipates the stupidity of rich billionaires, and then pulled the rug from under us because the world of benoit blanc just straight up doesn't have the mona lisa anymore

[ur-mag]

‘Worrying’ revelation about Big Brother housemate could have massive implications for final result | In Trend Today

‘Worrying’ revelation about Big Brother housemate could have massive implications for final result Read Full Text or Full Article on MAG NEWS

[northgazaupdates]

Journalist Hossam Shabat responds to a problematic article about journalists in the west being unable to reach Gaza. Hossam writes,

The biggest problem is not Western journalists being unable to enter, but the fact that Western media doesn't respect and value Palestinian journalists. My colleagues and I risk our lives every day to report on this genocide. No one knows Gaza like we do, and no one understands the complexity of the situation like we do. If you care about what's happening in Gaza, you should amplify Palestinian voices. We don't need Western journalists to tell our stories; we are capable of telling and reporting on our own stories.

Context under the cut:

From the very beginning, Western journalists have neglected the people of Gaza. They focused on how resistance actions have impacted settlers, and mentioned Gaza in only the most reductive of terms. But now, as the scale of atrocities by the IOF finally becomes too great for them to ignore, these same journalists are crafting a new narrative: ‘We didn’t ignore Gaza because we don’t care, or because it was politically convenient to do so. We just couldn’t get there to report on it.’

This is a lie concocted under the weight of ever-fickle Western guilt. They deflect their accountability for creating IOF propaganda by claiming they were kept from reaching the area. However, even more than a lie, it is an insult to Gazan journalists—those still living and those murdered by the occupation.

Gazan journalists often have contacts outside of Gaza who could help them evacuate, but they chose to stay. They chose to stay and document the genocide against their people, and did so at immense personal cost. Montaser Al-Sawaf was injured and lost 50+ family members in a bombing attack, before he was bombed again by the occupation and left to slowly die in the street. Mahmoud Ziad Aliwa and Mohammed Saber Arab are still missing after being kidnapped by the IOF while reporting from Al-Shifa Hospital during the latest siege. Eshak Daour lost his brother just a few days ago.

But as they tried to share their footage and words with the world, they were ignored, in north Gaza especially. The world had no interest in the words of Gazans, but especially if they were Arabic-speaking. Rather than undertake the relatively simple task of finding a translation for Gazan sources, or contacting Gazan journalists directly in English (of which many of them speak at least a little), they were flat-out ignored. Only English-speaking journalists with massive social media followings received any acknowledgment, and even then it was extremely minimal.

The journalists of Gaza have always been there, they have always been speaking out and asking others to simply share their words. The implication that only western journalism counts as “real” journalism is insulting, degrading, imperialistic, unprofessional, dishonest, and cruel.

This blog was created due to uplift the words of north Gazans, which were not and often still are not reaching the rest of the world. We will continue sharing from people in north Gaza, but we ask that you, reader, do so as well. Do what western journalists have refused, and uplift the voices of people fighting for their survival in all of the Gaza Strip.

Many journalists post partly in English, but for those that don’t, Arabic speakers will often leave English translations in comment sections. You can also ask for someone to do a translation in the comment section, and often someone will reply. If they don’t, you can copy and paste Arabic text, or take screenshots and upload them into Google Translate. These are not perfect tools, but they give you some idea of what is being said. It’s better than simply not listening.

[the-wine-dark-sea]

So, why Shostakovich?

That's what I wondered, watching Aziraphale in Maggie's record shop.

Shostakovich is a rather recent composer for Aziraphale to listen to - I mean, he regards Glenn Miller as modern. I would have expected him to get something that's a more obvious choice - maybe one of the composers Crowley mentions early in S1? That would have been a nice nod to that scene. Why Shostakovich? So I read up on the man, and then I understood.

Because Shostakovich was a Soviet-era composer, and came into conflict with the regime more than once.

In 1936, his career took a massive hit after a campaign against one of his works, because the music was viewed as "deliberately dissonant" - it didn't conform to some people's idea of of what Soviet music should be like. He did not strictly adher to their narrow ideals and felt the consequences. (And he was lucky. He had friends and family who were killed during the Great Terror, which started around that time.)

This forced him to try and adept and eventually his career recovered.

He was denounced again 12 years later, during a wider campaign against Western influences on Russian music. He had to apologize, many of his works were banned and he and his family lost privileges.

In 1960, Shostakovich made a controversial decision: He joined the Communist Party. It is unclear why he did this, whether it was fear, political pressure or indeed his own free choice - though reportedly he was in tears afterwards and told his wife about having been blackmailed.

So we have a composer whose work was repeatedly marked as non-conforming to the regime he lived under, not living up to some arbitrary, propagandistic standard, even after he tried to adapt his style. And we have an angel who never quite fit in with Heaven, whose approach to the world and his work were seen as silly at best, who was admonished for the way he used miracles and eventually declared a traitor.

We have a composer who, for one reason or another, ended up joining the party that had punished and humiliated him in the past. And we have an angel who ends up going back to Heaven.

I get why Shostakovich was an obvious choice, after all. What I can't get over is the implication that WE WERE TOLD AS EARLY AS EP 1 THAT AZIRAPHALE WOULD REJOIN HEAVEN!?? EVEN THOUGH IT WOULD MAKE HIM SUFFER AND MIGHT NOT BE AN ENTIRELY VOLUNTARY DECISION EITHER?? The audacity (I love it) to put that out there right from the start, for everyone to see who only cared to look, when none of us would be paying too much attention to it on the first watch.

[vilevenom]

Hello @90svn!! Thank you for your request and sweet comment ❤️

I took this request as a personal challenge, because Trollex has a whole 5 minutes of screentime in World Tour, and only maybe eight voice lines. Very hard to get a good read on a character with such a short appearance, but I did my best!

Hope you enjoy!~

To say that Clay felt overwhelmed was putting it mildly. Reuniting with his brothers had been one thing. Heck, even reintegrating the putt putt trolls with pop village had been a drain on his mental and social batteries, but he'd muddled through. However, following Viva along to royal meet and greets and council meetings was just too much. He felt out of his depths in so many ways. Sure, he'd helped co-run the golf course, and a lot of the rules and regulations that kept the place stable had been his doing, but there was just so much more to all of the other kingdoms. Not to mention the fact that he didn't really feel like the other leaders necessarily took him and Viva seriously. He was an ex-boyband member with no political background, and Viva had been unintentionally usurped as queen by her younger sister. They didn't exactly fit the standard leader stereotypes.

This latest meeting, to discuss territory laws and transportation between kingdoms had initially intrigued Clay, and when Viva all but begged him to go with her so she wouldn't be bored, he'd happily agreed. Now he sort of wished he'd stayed home. As much as he had thoughts on what was going on, absolutely no one in the room paid he or Viva much, if any, mind. They were treated more like Poppy's entourage than leaders of a subdivision of Pop trolls. Even Branch was getting asked more questions than either of them.

He was about to suggest to Viva that they leave, since no one seemed to really care what they had to say, when the door to the meeting room burst open, and the king of the techno trolls floated in, grin on his face.

"Sorry I'm late," Trollex laughed as he moved across the room to take his seat, "Last nights rave went on a bit longer than I had anticipated."

Clay rolled his eyes, sinking down further into his seat. He'd seen the techno king from afar a few times before, but he never struck Clay as the type to take anything seriously. He was always talking about the parties the techno trolls threw, never seeming to have a serious thought in his head. He figured, from here, the meeting could only go further downhill.

He, of course, hadn't been paying attention to what was being said due to his miserable ruminating, so hadn't caught that he'd been directly addressed. Not until Viva elbowed him squarely in the rub cage, anyway. He grunted, sitting himself up with a quick frown shot to his best friend, who simply grinned back at him. "Sorry, what was that?"

"I said," Trollex waved his hand at Clay to get his attention, his previous grin and chipper attitude seemingly gone, "What do you think about the implication of having trolls of multiple genres potentially staying all in one place? Since regional customs and attitudes are so wildly different, it opens up a massive amount of safety concerns. Viva said you were the best troll to talk to, outside maybe Branch, about what sort of measures could be kept in place to make sure everyone stays happy and healthy."

Clay perked up as Trollex spoke, not having expected the king to ask such an insightful question, especially not to him. Perhaps his first impression of the king had been all wrong. "Well, there are a lot of different things we'd have to keep in mind for such an undertaking…"

~

Trollex, it turned out, was an incredibly insightful king. Throughout the entire meeting he lobbed questions to several of the kingdom rulers, and directed most, if not all, concerns in regards to safety to Clay. All in all, he felt pretty good when the meeting came to a close, as they had several rough documents drafted up for new inter-kingdom laws.

So, it threw Clay off a little when Trollex floated past him, wide grin on his face and headphones over his ears, flipping a glowstick between his fingers, like he hadn't just been discussing transgenre rights barely five minutes prior. He froze when the kings eyes landed on him, his shoulders unconsciously hiking up to his ears as he was approached.

"Hey, hey! Clay, my man," Trollex crowed, only lowering his volume once he pulled his headphones away from his ears, "Nice work today, yo. Usually Branch is the only one who can figure out all that nuance-y regulatory stuff."

"Yeah, well. Boring legal stuff is my jam," he said with a little laugh while throwing up a peace sign and sticking his tongue out without even realizing what he was doing. He quickly straightened up, a flush forming on his cheeks as a grin slowly spread across Trollex's face.

"Yeah, bro! Nice," Trollex laughed, reaching over to shake Clay's shoulder gently in a friendly gesture, "Live your best life, yo. Speaking of, you should come on by Techno Reef sometime soon! We've got some bangin' raves comin' up. Would love to see how you unwind."

"Haha, yeah," Clay forced a smile onto his face, giving the king a little nod.

"Sweet! I'll send word to Pop Village with dates for the next big one! It's gonna be LIT," Trollex called out, earning whoops from some of the trolls milling near the meeting hall. He laughed as he put his headphones back on, tossing Clay a glow stick as he began to bob his head in time with his music, shooting him finger guns before floating away.

Clay didn't even register when Viva appeared next to him. "Ooooh, does Mr.Clay have a date?"

"Cupcakes!" Clay dropped the glowstick in favor of slapping a hand to his chest, "Viva! Ugh…we seriously need to get you a bell, girl."

Viva simply cackled at him, poking him in the side until he couldn't hold back his laughter and swatted her away. "Well?" she prompted as she took a step back to let Clay catch his breath.

Clay sighed and bent to pick up the fallen glowstick, shrugging a bit. "Pretty sure it was a general party invitation, Viv. Not a date request."

"Well, you gotta start somewhere," Viva chirped, wrapping both of her arms around one of Clays. "What do you think about him, anyway? He totally seems right up your alley."

"What?! How?" Clay asked with a laugh, arching an eyebrow at Viva curiously.

"Oh, well, you know," Viva hummed, resting her head on Clay's shoulder, "He's a party guy, sure, but you saw him in the meeting. He seems like he really takes his responsibilities seriously. I figured you'd admire him for that."

Clay gingerly twirled the glowstick between his fingers. "Yeah. I guess that's true…"

~

"Hey! The party has arrived!"

Clay couldn't help but cringe at Trollex's shout, offering an awkward wave as the king swam over to greet the small group of pop trolls that had travelled down to Techno Reef. Clay had been the one to officially receive the invitation, surprisingly, but it had said that anyone from Pop village was welcome, so he'd asked Poppy to spread word that any troll who wanted to could go. In the end, Clay, Viva, Poppy, Branch, and a smattering of villagers had all decided to go.

"Welcome to Techno Reef! We've got glow sticks for days, and the party's always poppin'," Trollex called with a laugh, tossing a handful of glowsticks out, which gently floated down into the waiting pop trolls hands. "If ya'll would follow Leguna, she'll show you to the accommodations we've prepared for your stay."

A purple techno troll swam forward and gestured for everyone to follow her, which Clay was about to do when he was stopped by a hand on his wrist. He paused and turned in surprise to find Trollex with a large grin on his face.

"I'm really glad you accepted my invitation," the king hummed, releasing Clay's arm and floating backwards slightly.

"Uh," Clay said smartly, glancing around quickly to find Viva shooting his a thumbs up while giggling with her sister, "Thanks, man. Me too. I'm real curious about your culture and it's really cool to finally get to see some of the other kingdoms."

Trollex chuckled, nodding a little as he pulled a glow bracelet off from around his own wrist, swimming forward to secure it around Clay's. "Well, if you've got any questions, you know who to come find," he said with a little wink. Clay was endlessly glad for the darkness of the water around them as his cheeks flushed, just before Trollex swam away.

"I think he likes you."

"VIVA! A BELL! Damn."

~

Raves were, apparently, not Clay's cup of tea. Perhaps when he was younger, before, well, everything, he would've loved a good rave. But older, serious boy Clay was not having the best of times. Branch wasn't, either, but Poppy had dragged him and Viva off almost the moment they had reached the large area that the party was taking place in (He had a feeling the sisters were conspiring against him, somehow). Which left Clay, alone, at the edge of the dance floor, awkwardly watching and wishing he could covers his ears from the loud bass. Unfortunately, the helmets the visiting pop trolls had to wear in order to even be down in the reef impeded his ability to do so.

He was debating on heading back to the rooms the techno trolls had prepared for them, when Trollex appeared out of the crowd, swimming over once he spotted Clay.

"Heyyy, Live Wire!" Trollex shouted over the music with a grin, "There you are!"

"Live Wire?" Clay echoed, arching an eyebrow at Trollex, who grinned wider, his cheeks glowing slightly.

"Yeah, man! Your rave name! Everyone's gotta have a rave name, and you've got the best hair. So, Live Wire," the king explained, swimming forward to tap at the side of Clay's helmet, where his hair was bunched up against the glass.

"I assume you're making fun of me, 'cause my hair stands up like I got electrocuted?" Clay snarked, folding his arms over his chest, not looking the least amount amused.

"What? No? Why would I make fun of you?" Trollex tilted his head like a confused cuddle pup. This gave Clay pause, dropping his arms to his sides.

"I, uhm…I guess I don't know," Clay admitted, shrugging a little. He chewed on his lip a little as Trollex gave him a contemplative look.

"Let's get out of here," the king said, just loud enough for Clay to hear, before he reached out and grabbed both of Clay's hands. With a smile he began to swim backwards, pulling Clay up along through the water after him.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Clay yelped, kicking his feet to try and keep himself from dropping back down through the water and onto the dancefloor. This pulled a delighted laugh from Trollex, who shook his head.

"Just relax. I've got you," Trollex hummed, sliding his hands down Clay's arms until he had a hold on the green trolls elbows, while shifting his position so he was half swimming beneath Clay. "You'll be okay, Live Wire. I won't let you sink."

~

Trollex let Clay's feet hit solid ground again once they'd reached what Clay could only describe as a palace; a huge building near the center of the reef, standing prominently above all the other structures of the town, with twisting spires and glowing accents that lit up the surrounding area.

"Wow," Clay murmured, admiring the architecture, while also noting that they were far enough away from the rave that he could speak at a normal volume.

"Yeah. It's pretty lucky Barb only targeted the DJ booth when she attacked. I'm not sure how well we could've reconstructed this," Trollex said, floating next to Clay with an easy smile.

"Wait…she attacked you? Like, actually?" Clay turned his head sharply towards Trollex with a frown. He'd heard plenty about Barb's world tour, but the finer details hadn't really been openly shared. He supposed it would make sense that Barb would have to attack trolls to gain what she wanted, but knowing it was enough that the techno trolls had to reconstruct buildings was a lot. Barb had been at their meeting, and no one had treated her like she'd terrorized them.

"Yeah. But it's all good. Things worked out," Trollex said with a little shrug.

"But, what if they hadn't? You would've lost all this," Clay declared, gesturing widely at te palace and surrounding buildings.

"True. But we didn't," Trollex swam in front of Clay, taking his hands in his own with a light laugh, "You can't dwell on the 'maybes' in life, bro. You just gotta focus on the here, and now, and what you can do in the moment." Clay felt his anger dissipate at Trollex's words, though he still frowned.

"'Maybes' are what keep people safe," Clay insisted, unconsciously squeezing Trollex's hands.

"Future 'maybes', totally. But past 'maybes' can't be changed. You gotta go with the flow, bro," Trollex chuckled, tugging Clay forward a bit, "But enough of that. C'mon, I'll show you around."

Clay sighed heavily and followed after Trollex, taking note of the fact that the king had only let go of one of his hands.

~

"This is all really impressive," Clay praised with an easy smile while pulling his helmet off. The last stop on the tour of the palace was a series of rooms dedicated to visiting dignitaries from other kingdoms. Much like the rooms arranged for the visiting pop trolls, these rooms had been made air tight and drained of water to allow for other genres to visit without the need for helmets.

"Thanks, man," Trollex said, taking the helmet from the green troll to set aside on a table. "We've only had a few trolls come to visit so far, so it's nice to know our efforts aren't in vain."

"I thought the whole world tour thing was a while ago?"

"Oh, yeah, it was," Trollex shrugged, floating over to a couch and patting the spot net to him in invitation to Clay, "But, we're a bit harder to get to, being underwater, an' all. Plus, as much as I'd love to extend more open invitations to other kingdoms, we haven't finished hammering out all the necessary laws to make sure everyone stays safe."

"Man," Clay said with a little laugh, flopping himself onto the seat next to the king, "How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Just…so easily flip between being dead serious and being a party guy? How do you make sure people still take you seriously?"

Trollex watched Clay for a moment, before letting out a little breath and curling his fins beneath himself. "You're talking about the whole 'fun boy' thing, aren't you?"

Clay startled, leaning away from Trollex with wide eyes. "How'd you know about that?"

"Queen Poppy gave us a bunch of pop records when the kingdoms first started talking to each other again. There was a BroZone record in there. Which, by the way, makes for some killer mixes and spinbacks! But, uh…yeah. Not hard to put two and two together when Branch was talking about his brothers, meeting before last. Poppy also might have mentioned that I shouldn't call you 'fun' before we met," Trollex said with a light laugh.

Clay groaned, dropping his face into his hands. "Is that what this is, then?" he asked, slightly muffled, "Some sort of weird intervention to show me that I can be fun and serious, not just one or the other?"

"What? No. Man, you sure do jump to a lot of conclusions," Trollex chuckled, gently taking Clay's hands away from his face. "You just genuinely seemed like a cool troll. Is it so hard to believe I might wanna get to know you better, without any ulterior motives?"

"Yes."

That startled a burst of laughter out of Trollex, making the techno king reel back and wave his hands through the air. "Oh! Oh, man. Clay," he snorted, wiping at his eyes, "Bro. Trust me, it shouldn't be hard to believe. You really made an impression on the council with your ideas at the last meeting, and Viva told me about everything you did at the golf course. You're a really impressive troll, Live Wire."

"Oh. Well…thanks," Clay chuckled awkwardly, his cheeks flushing.

"It helps that you're real cute, too," Trollex added cheekily, shooting Clay a grin.

"I-What?!" It was Clay's turn to reel back, his back hitting the arm rest of the couch as his cheeks practically caught fire.

Trollex simply laughed, leaning his arm on the back of the couch so he was a bit more in Clay's space. "Okay, so maybe I had one ulterior motive," the king admitted, "I thought, maybe, you and Viva were a thing, but I overheard her teasing you about me."

"You had headphones on!" Clay squawked, shaking his head slightly.

"Yeah. I didn't have any music playing. Sometimes it's nice to be left alone because people think you can't hear them. Plus, I get to hear things that people might not want me to know," the king confessed with a little shrug. "But, y'know, if I'm reading you all wrong, just tell me to back off. I won't take offense."

"I…okay?"

"That was definitely a question, and not enthusiastic consent," Trollex chuckled, reaching out to gently take one of Clay's hands in his own. "You gotta say the magic word."

"Please?"

Trollex snorted. "I was looking for 'yes', or something to that effect, but I suppose that works, too." With that he leaned forward and cupped Clay's jaw in his hand, his smile turning soft. "You just do what you gotta do if this doesn't feel right, okay?"

Clay gave a little nod and let his eyes slip shut as Trollex pressed their lips together. He genuinely couldn't remember the last time he'd been kissed. Was it all the way back when he'd been in BroZone? Probably. He'd always been too busy at the golf course to ever entertain the idea of getting involved with anyone. And, as much as he and Viva were teased for being in each others back pockets all the time, there really wasn't anything more than close sibling feelings between the two of them. So, as the kiss broke and Trollex shifted back, he had no real idea if it felt right or not. He did, at least, know it didn't feel wrong. He opened his eyes to find Trollex watching him intently, a nervous little smile on his face.

"Well?"

"Repeat experiments must be run in order to ensure the results are valid and consistent," Clay muttered, pulling his hand free of Trollex's in order to take the kings face in both hands and draw him in again. He smiled into the kiss at Trollex's surprised little grunt, pleased as he felt the techno king all but melt into him.

When they pulled apart the second time, Clay took note of the dumbstruck expression on Trollex's face, feeling a little curl of satisfaction in the pit of his stomach for putting the look on the kings face.

"One more? To, uh, make sure the results are consistent?" Trollex asked, his cheeks glowing a faint pink as he leaned in again.

"Just to make sure," Clay easily agreed, tugging Trollex closer so the techno king was half in his lap as their lips met again.

~

Clay smirked as he fixed his hair and adjusted his romper as he glanced back at Trollex, who looked like a ragdoll on the couch, one arm over his face and one fin flopped onto the floor.

"Live Wire is a perfect nickname for you," Trollex sighed, sitting up as Clay picked up his helmet. Slowly he rose from his seat and floated over to the green troll, resting a hand on the top of the helmet. "I hope…I really hope this wasn't a one time thing?"

Clay blinked, a bit taken aback by the question. "It isn't?"

"I mean," Trollex floated backwards, twisting his fingers together in front of himself nervously, "If you wanted it to be, that…that's cool. I just…I know we don't know each other super well yet or anything, but I really like you, Clay. And I'd really like to get to know you better. I know you've got all your responsibility with the pop trolls and Viva and stuff, but…I'd like to see you again. I'd like to see you more."

"Oh," Clay breathed, oddly somewhat startled that anyone would want to see him again, let along a King. "You mean that?"

"I wouldn't say it if I didn't."

"Okay. Okay! Yeah," Clay nodded, shifting the helmet in his hands to rest on his hip so he could reach out and take Trollex's hand. "Next time, you come to ours. You can stay with me."

Trollex's face lit up in a giddy grin, his cheeks flushing bright pink at Clay's words. "Already looking forward to it."

[historicity-was-already-taken]

hi! hope you're doing okay—I've got a holocaust-history-in-media question for you. I was talking to my brother the other day, and he mentioned how his 10-year-old son tried out "Anne Frank mode" on the meta VR headset. I was kind of horrified, because that sounds deeply exploitative and disrespectful—but he went on to say it's just a VR version of the Anne Frank house, and that it let my nephew explore history in a new way. He was able to touch things and move them around in a way he wouldn't be able to IRL, not to mention the accessibility of not having to travel.

My nephew's kind of an unusual kid, and he chose this "game" while at a friend's house. All the other kids got bored and left pretty much immediately, but he stayed to learn, and my brother says that at the end his takeaway was, "It's so sad. It's so sad and awful what human beings do to each other."

Part of me is just like "No, absolutely not, that is not for VR companies to profit off of in any way, this feels inherently exploitative." But idk. If it increases accessibility and education in a meaningful way, then perhaps that disquiet is simply reactionary.

Then I remembered I have access to an actual Holocaust historian, someone who even specializes in women's narratives and the media portrayals of same.

So, no worries if you're busy/don't have time to respond to this, but I thought it might be an interesting question for you. Do you think the VR Anne Frank house is a good thing?

Ooooooh this is an interesting one. It's also a question that I think I would have answered differently a few years ago. I mean, I've posted here about my issues with central role Anne Frank has been accorded within Holocaust memory, I've posted about the politics of people playing Pokemon Go at sites of atrocities and disasters...

But. Technology changes SO quickly. I read this fantastic article probably 10+ years ago now about how the millennial generation began to express collective nostalgia SO quickly and so young, because technology and the norms it introduces change so quickly. I'm 34 and while that's hardly ancient, the technological world inhabited by children and adolescents is effectively alien to me because of this massive, rapid, ongoing change.

Moreover, I think the pandemic gave us all an...unwanted but helpful bootcamp in what works wrt education over the phone/computer, and what doesn't. In my personal and professional life, I've met and spoken with STEM companies/individuals who specialize in working with museums, historical societies, etc. And they're not just in it to make a buck--they're there to work with museums etc in increasing access and keeping up with educational trends because they know it's important and smart people value STEAM education.

So, despite my acknowledged concerns issued in the first paragraph, and the kneejerk negative reaction I think you and I share, I think my conclusion is that this is a good thing. Like, as a Holocaust historian, pubic historian, educator, and now a Hebrew School teacher of 7-11 year olds, I think whatever gets kids interested and engaged is Good; whatever draws them and gets them thinking about it is Good; even if the tech and infrastructure involved is something that I previously took (philosophical) issue with.

This doesn't mean I don't still have concerns about the centrality of Anne Frank, but let's be real: I lost that battle a long time ago. I've said my piece, and if Anne Frank is going to be kids' gateway into learning about the Holocaust, I'm glad to see that it's being done responsibly, well, and in keeping with how kids engage with education and tech in 2024.

There are, obviously, many theoretical conversations to be had about the implications of this kind of thing, and I hope a grad student applies like, Walter Benjamin to it for a first year paper, but this is my answer purely in terms of access and education.

[rinbowaman]

hi hi! i hope ur doing well, i dropped by here to ask if you can write a drabble where like a rare event happened and heelel went to the mortal world to like idk have fun go to theme parks and sum and then he spots like a woman who looks like realena but not entirely. He sees her from like her behind or her back and comes up 2 her and flirts w/ her but her bf is like there like 🤨 and thats all my brain let me produce, i would LOVE for u to write abt this, ily stay safe and keep healthy eat ur meals! ♡♡♡♡♡♡

”Like a Sore Thumb.”

This one has two versions of y/n. One on earth that resembles the y/n that Devil!HS is in love with. This is not canon.

Warnings: shameless flirting, deceiving, mentions of non-con acts, yandere theme, mentions/implications of non-con acts used as a form of punishment and or to express love, mentions of forced breeding, creampie (implied), human rights violation, reader is kept against her will, imprisonment. MDNI 18+.

What an exciting day it was for you and your boyfriend! The new theme park had just opened, and the day couldn’t be any more lovely for the occasion, which is why you adorned his favorite sun dress, paired with tastefully subtle heeled shoes. You bloomed like the flowers of spring.

“We should go check out the Ferris wheel after we get a cotton candy ball.”

You were eager to taste the massive fluff of cotton candy, as evident by your prolonged stare at the food vendor that served it. “Let’s go stand in line then.” Your boyfriend mentions, jovially taking you by the hand in seeing your smile. You both wait in line, it was so long, but you knew it would be worth the wait. The temperature grew hotter, and you both started to feel thirsty. “Do you mind standing in line while I get us some waters?” He mentions, and you shook your head as you pull him in to kiss his cheek. “Not at all. I’ll be here.”

He delicately shakes your hand before heading off, and as you promised, you wait in line. It felt as if the line was barely moving, what with the vendor taking time to create each cotton candy stick, you knew that it would be a while before you’d get to the front. But no matter. This was part of the experience, so you continued to wait, picking your nails as you stood motionless.

…………………

“What a pretty flower.”

you heard a deep voice emerge from behind, and furrowed your brows together in confusion. Did someone just call you a flower? for a split second, you thought it was your boyfriend being sneaky, yet the very moment you turned halfway, you come face to face with a dashing figure. The man was tall, had dark hair, and was dressed all in black. It was strange, he looked so poised and clean, as if the heat was not affecting him, despite wearing trousers, a button up with a black trench coat. His hair was somewhat smoothed over to the side, partially revealing his forehead; and his face…it was devilishly handsome. Too handsome in fact.

he just stood there, smirking at you. You felt the blood rush through to your cheeks as the heat of blush takes over. God, you hope he didn’t notice.

“I-I’m sorry? Were you speaking to me?” You soundlessly spoke, almost too scared to say anything really, the man’s looks was more than just attractive, it was intimidating.

“oh yeah.”

his response was simple and yet, it caused your heartbeat to rise. “Oh yeah”?? What sort of answer is that? You couldn’t help but become more curious about the man who continued to stare down at you.

“I’m sorry…do I know you?” You were confused by his behavior, despite him being the most handsome man you’ve ever laid eyes on, you had a feeling in your gut that proposed a level of uneasiness as the man continued to scan your face with his eyes, looking as if he had seen you before.

“no.”

You internally huffed at his naught response. Clearly he didn’t care to elaborate, which sent signals that the man may have been a creep. Nonetheless, you did your best to be polite and to shoo him away. God only knows you didn’t want to make him mad, because even though he was handsome, there was a glint of subtleness in the form of chaos and malice in his eye.

“oh I’m sorry. I have to meet with my boyfriend, please excuse me.”

“Try harder.”

“excuse me?”

He chuckles aloud, revealing a toothy grin. You had to admit, it only made him more attractive to see a dashing smile to go with his aura. He speaks lowly, in a very deep tone, one that nearly made you collapse.

“I said try harder.” He takes a pause to bite down on his lip, furthering that uneasy ball that was forming inside. “That lie about meeting with your boyfriend, it ain’t it. If you really wanna lie to get your way out of things, you need to…” leaning in, he raises a hand and gently pinches your strands in between his fingers. Rubbing them softly together, he takes in the softness before looking back into your eyes, deeply…closely…and intimately. Whispering, he finishes his remark, his breath grazing your skin. “Try harder.”

you couldn’t think, breathe, or speak. You stood there nearly zoned out in his gaze. He spoke out once more, snapping you out of it. “Go ahead, try. I’m giving you a second chance….pretty.”

you gulped as you took him up on his offer. “I’m not interested…sorry.”

smirking once more, he narrows his eyes and whispers “good girl.” His hand drifts over, his finger traces your jawline until it levels at the center of your chin. From there, you felt the cold tip of his index drag downward, along the center of your throat, in between your collar bones, and right down at the center of the faint cleavage exposed from the scoop neck of your dress. It was enough to make your heart stop beating.

“y/n?”

you blink and widen your eyes as you hear your boyfriend from behind the unknown man. You slightly tilt your head to the side and watch as your boyfriend witnesses the man taking in the feel of your skin.

“oh…um..” you stutter, yet was cut off when the man injects his smooth tone, as he turns his face to reveal his side profile. “The boyfriend.”

you watched as your boyfriend stood, rather frozen. It was apparent that he too sensed the intimidating flow of the man’s aura. Not to mention that a faint switch in his gaze caused his rather handsome face to look more frightening than anything. The man turns back to you, and cups your cheek as he bids you farewell, all the while his thumb strokes in side motions, just above your cheekbone.

“Didn’t mean to disturb your date, you just look like someone I know….someone very dear to me. It’s a shame she can’t be here to show you the resemblance….” He sucks the air through his teeth and formulates a “tsk” sound as he finishes his statement…a statement that sent shivers down to your spine. “But she was a bad girl, so I had to lock her up for a while. That’s okay though…you’ll eventually know how to use that face.”

“U-use…my face?”

“mmhmm.” His thumb continues to stroke your cheek, your boyfriend stood uncomfortably and irritated, yet he was uncomfortable to say anything after receiving what looked to be a death glare from the man in black.

“I…I um…I don’t understand.” Confused, you took in his gaze as you broke the awkward silence.

“well…I can show you.” He leans his face closer…too close. You winced your eyes shut before feeling his breath coat your lips as he spoke. “Tell me….what you want, preeeeeeetty…”

you flutter your lids as you re-open your eyes. “Umm….I don’t know…”

“yeeeees you do….tell me what you want.”

“Um…well…” You peer your gaze off to the side at the cotton candy truck. His chuckle instantly caused you to look back at him, when out of nowhere he raises his other hand. In between his cold fingers, was a long stick with a giant ball of cotton candy, in the flavor you wanted to order.

“h-how—“

“Learn how to use your face.” He smiles as he presents the cotton candy to you. As soon as you took it out of his hand, he peers off to your side, taking a grab on your upper arm and squeezes as he passes through. The very second he was no longer in your sight, you turned to reach out, yet….

“where did he go?….he…he was just here….”

your boyfriend was also flabbergasted as the man disappeared in a blink of an eye. He walks over to you and hands you a bottle of water.

“um…y/n?”

“oh…I’m sorry babe….I…I don’t know who that was but….”

“never mind. Since….I mean now that you have this giant ball of cotton candy….I guess we don’t have to stand in line. Let’s go to the Ferris wheel.”

“okay.”

you both walked off and enjoyed the rest of the day. Throughout your entire visit at the theme park, the man’s words replayed in your head. “Learn to use your face.”

………………………….

The chiming sound of the chains cling together as you remain immobile on the grand bedding. Under the watchful eyes of dual dragons, you lay resting, knowing that you the possibility of you staying locked and chained would be likely. Guess you messed up big time, angering him, all by going against his wishes and continuously begging to go back to the life you once had. For days and days, you tested and pushed his patience out the window as you snapped and yelled, demanding to either be killed or to be released. He stood, not saying anything. Instead, he glared heavily and performed physical acts that left you sore in between your thighs. Who would have thought that out of all the scum you knew on Earth…the Senator, and his shallow followers, it would be the Devil, your own husband, to sexually assault you…all in the name of his insatiable “love” for you. Was it really love? Or was it madness? Or maybe…both.

the way he plunged deep inside, pinning your wrists down on the silk threaded sheets, thrusting, pulling, burying and seeping his essence inside of you as he whispered how much you hurt him with your careless words. He locked, bit, and sucked on every part of you. The marks are still there, they’re everywhere…you looked as if you were recovering from some sort of disease as the coloring scheme of purple, red, and pink adorns your nude body. And his words….the words that replay in your head over and over again….they won’t leave you alone. You could still feel the warm breath of his whispers penetrating your ears….

“don’t ever talk like that….you stay…you will stay…and be here with me….forever. My wife….my queen….I need my queen…I need you so much.”

……..

you shutter as you recall his sickening words were followed by his grunt as he released deep inside your crevice….forever reminding you of the fear you could not escape from…the fear of being forced to carry and birth the offspring of this monster…this demon…the devil.

you begin to sob quietly when you hear the calm footsteps of pure leather shoes meeting the marbled flooring.

“crying?” His voice was calm and smooth. Too smooth. Your body shivers as you hear him approach closer. Why can’t he just let you leave? It had been weeks since he brought you to Hell, and already you were going out of your mind with being stuck, forever under his gaze and nude. He wouldn’t even let you wear anything, always claiming that he wanted to take in everything about you before he drapes fine silk and chiffon on your body.

Your mind snaps back to the reality of the situation as you feel him take a seat by your side on the bed. The dip of the weight causes you to look his way and watch him sit while being finely dressed in black. His trench coat was light, and draped over the side of the bed as he crosses his legs and arms. His back leaned against the golden headboard while his eyes fixate on you.

“please….what am I supposed to do? I…I can’t live like this…..I just want to go..to go home.” You tearfully jut out as you cross your arms to cover your breasts. He tilts his head and peers a narrowed gaze your way with an expectant look.

“didn’t we learn anything the last two days? I guess you need more time to think about your wrongs.”

just as he was about to stand and leave you alone, you reach for him. It didn’t make sense to you, but somehow, even though you despised being here and was upset with his selfishness in keeping you, somehow….you found yourself not wanting to be alone. Perhaps it was from all the numerous punishments; being restrained and kept from contacting anyone for a long period of time really messed with your brain. Somehow, you became dependent on him, yearning for comfort and social interaction as the thought of your stay being prolonged in this glorified prison was too much to bare.

“please! Please! I promise I’ll be good. I don’t want to be alone anymore….please just…anywhere but here….I don’t want this….anything but this…..”

delighted that you had a change of heart and that you were begging for him to stay, the Devil’s heart softens. The one thing that makes him happy, was your love for him….your dependence on him….you yearning to be with him just as much as he wants to be with you. Slowly, you weee getting there.

“did you learn your lesson?”

“yes! Yes!”

“Good girl.” Snapping his fingers, the chains disintegrate and you gain mobility. You look up at him with pleads of mercy in your eyes, and he returns a look of reassurance and satisfaction.

“y-you’re not mad anymore?” You quietly stutter, desperately trying to confirm that he had forgiven you.

Shaking his head, he cradles your waistline and pulls you in. Reaching up, he taps the tip of your nose as he smirks. “Of course not. If you say you’ll be good, I’m going to trust you.”

He eyes you up and down as he takes your hand and forces you to run your fingers through his hair.

“don’t I always tell you? I’ll do anything for you…for that face. All you gotta do is use it.”

[captainremmington-13]

A Lady Made of Snow

DISCLAIMER: I don’t own The Hunger Games franchise, the images above, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, or any of the characters in this fic other than Bellova and her parents. I also do not condone the beliefs or actions of Coriolanus or Bellova.

SUMMARY: Bellova is done letting Coriolanus’s presence hinder her. She decides it’s time to take back control once and for all.

⚠️Warnings⚠️: slight angst, implications of blackmail

A/n: This chapter takes place right before the epilogue in TBOSAS occurs. I know it’s a short chapter, but the next two will be MUCH longer :))

An hour after returning home from President Ravinstill’s mansion, Bellova lay in bed, clutching her sheets tightly. It had taken her maid awhile to take all of the pins out of her intricate hairstyle, and she’d spent a significant amount of time in the bathroom, scrubbing off every last bit of makeup on her body. She took a scalding hot shower that helped soothe her aching muscles, but she was sure she’d still be sore in the morning. Finally, she had pulled on the first nightgown she could find in her massive closet, and crawled into bed.

Normally, Bellova would’ve fallen asleep straight away. Alcohol and partying was as exhausting as it was exhilarating.

But her body refused to rest.

Her heart hadn’t stopped pounding. Not since she left Coriolanus standing alone in that room. 

He had scared her.

He had never made her felt that way before. She always felt superior, or at least equal, to him. Now, she wasn’t so sure. 

When she had looked into his eyes, all she saw was cruelty and arrogance. Any trace of vulnerability seemed to have disappeared, but she was sure it was still there somewhere.

She just had to search harder for it.

Bellova sighed in frustration. She could not let his presence affect her. It would ruin all of the progress she had made since he had left, and it would give him the upper hand. And she would never willingly let him have the upper hand.  

Her life would be so much better if he had stayed in District 12. But no, he had to ruin her peace.

Typical Snow.

But, as much as she hated it, she accepted that it was going to be difficult to continue ignoring him. She knew that with his charm and intellect, he was going to climb up the social ladder quickly. He would end up in a prominent position eventually, and then he’d be impossible to overlook.

‘There has to be a way to use his return to my advantage,’ she thought. ‘There must be. Or I will have no-one but myself to blame for my failure.’

Bellova racked her brain, searching for any snippet of her father’s words of wisdom to guide her. He knew plenty about power plays and how to use social connections to enhance status. In his younger years, he did many things in order to secure his position.

After all, his marriage to her late mother had been a political decision. She was born into the Avalon family, who had been involved in the justice system and lawmaking for generations. In marrying her, her father gained crucial connections to the higher-ups in the Department of Justice. He impressed them with his intelligence and ambition, and landed himself a powerful position in the department very quickly.

Her parents did learn to love each other eventually, but it took years of being together until that occurred. They had Bellova during their late twenties, and lived harmoniously for five years until her mother passed away.

When Bellova got a bit older, her father had a long discussion with her about the most powerful vices the world had to offer, and how each one could be twisted to work in her favor.

“Love is a beautiful but tricky thing,” he had said. “It can bring you unimaginable joy, but it can bring you unfathomable pain. It can be a hindrance, but it can be one of your strongest assets. You can harness it and use it to bring yourself happiness as well as power.

“And power? It can be just as beautiful as love.”

Then, Bellova knew.

She knew exactly how to end the constant battle for superiority she and Coriolanus had fought for years. 

And if he turned her down, he would regret it. 

After all, she had a long list of his secrets that were just begging to be spilled.

✧ ‧˚₊ ❆ ‧ ₊ ⊹˚✧ ‧˚₊ ❆ ‧ ₊ ⊹˚✧ ‧˚₊ ❆ ‧ ₊ ⊹˚✧ ‧˚₊ ❆ ‧ ₊ ⊹˚✧ ‧˚₊

TAGLIST: @daenerysqueenofhearts, @squidscottjeans, @euphemiaamillais, @gracieroxzy, @effectwalker, @vxnilla-hxrddrugs, @mystargirl-interlude

Author’s Note: Thank you for reading! Please let me know what you think in the comments! I’m SO excited for the next few installments👀

Also, let me know if you want to be added to the tag list!

[nothorses]

ive seen a few posts talking about gender socialization as a terf idea, and im not sure I understand... I was wondering if you could help? I understand gender essentialism is a dangerous tool they use, and I see how "socialization" gets used as a more acceptable way of framing hatred of trans people.

but also, im a trans man and I do genuinely feel like my being raised "as a girl" affected my personality and interests, especially in childhood. particularly things like being taught to be quieter and more polite than my classmates and stuff. is there something im missing here?

The term "gender socialization" generally implies that socialization relies strictly on gender, and I've seen this defined either to mean AGAB (trans women are socialized and men, and trans men are socialized as women), or the gender you actually are (vice versa). Either way, it's an extremely reductive and restricting view on what is, yes, at least related to a real phenomena.

The thing is, "socialization" is different for everyone. The factors that play into it can range from the gender other people think you are, the gender you think of yourself as (which might change over time), the gender you actually are, to things completely unrelated: race and ethnicity, disability status, religion, the culture you grow up in, and so many others.

What's being discussed is essentially the impact of one's culture, and their culture's view of gender, on the way they think of themselves. Boiling that down to "male or female", even if you're not calling trans women "men" and trans men "women" to fit them into that model, is still a massive oversimplification that denies any possibility of variation in experience.

For example: I also internalized a lot of misogynistic ideas about myself growing up. But I was raised by a single mother who believed in some feminist ideals, and in a progressive area, and without the influence of religion in my family; so some of the ideas I grew up with were "you're a bossy bitch who talks too much", and some of them were "Never Rely On A Man". And while I didn't know I was a trans man yet, I also felt dysphoric about things like crying; not because I believed men couldn't cry, but because my mom encouraged me to fake cry because crying (white) women get their way.

That's not really a comparable experience to one that, say, a Christian cis woman in the US south might have.

The other flaw in this theory is the implication that "socialization" is static. Once you reach a certain age (which is never really defined), you magically stop absorbing messages from the world around you, and become cemented forever as Socialized Male or Female.

Aside from the fact that this obviously isn't true, you have to wonder: what about trans people who transition when they're children? What are they socialized as?

This isn't just an inaccurate view of the way people develop. It's a form of gender essentialism- the idea that gender determines certain immutable qualities in a person- which is itself related to, and supports theory underlying, sex essentialism; i.e., TERF and otherwise transphobic ideology.

Buying into the same idea that "man" and "woman" are stagnant categories with no overlap isn't good when you allow trans people to be categorized by their actual gender instead of their AGAB. It's still the same core philosophy, and it's still just as damaging- to intersex and nonbinary people in particular, but also to all trans people. The gender binary doesn't serve any of us.

Trans liberation means understanding, or at least leaving room for, the nuances and complexities. It means allowing people to exist in complicated ways, and to define and categorize themselves. The strict, static, and binary understanding of gender presented by "gender socialization" theory only works against that.

[echo-echo31]

Egos + Fireworks | Headcanons

A/N: It's Bonfire Night here in the UK so we're celebrating.

Warnings: Brief implication of PTSD

DARK 🖤

Unimpressed™

"I am an eldrich entity of powers beyond your comprehension, my love. These human sparkles are nothing but echoes of the fires you crave to keep you warm in the dark. I am the dark,"

He's very dramatic and you just roll your eyes whilst he monologues.

ACTOR 🌹

Of course he needs to organise the biggest and best fireworks show around, from his own Manor.

In fact, you're a little nervous that you're about to cause a fire hazard, so you watch with a look of concern throughout most of it.

That is until there's one firework in the shape of a red rose - followed by your name in silver. That's when Marc puts his arm around you, and your blush is lit up with every flash.

YANCY 🎵

He remembers sitting on the fire-escape on the 4th July, watching the fireworks in the city.

It's been so long, and the thought of loud bangs that he can't differentiate from gunshots makes him a little anxious.

Still, you leave your little flat in the evening, holding hands as you go to the highest place you can in order to see what this new city has to offer.

There's so much colour and Yancy is mesmerised. You spend the entire evening looking at the wonder and joy on his face.

GOOGLE 🖱️

"This is an entirely inefficient way to use such energy, I do not understand the appeal,"

He tries to explain his argument to you for a while, so you don't think fireworks are going to be on the agenda any time soon.

That's why you're surprised when he takes you by the hand, a look of utter excitement on his face, and leads you to the back yard.

You're utterly mesmerised. In the sky are about 30 shining lights, forming different patterns and animals and images silently but beautifully.

You realise that Google's got about 30 drones, controlling them all through his own systems. 

"I see the appeal now, Y/N,"

BING 🔶

Tries to light a massive Fuck Off rocket in your back yard.

You have to stop him - explaining why that's a bad idea - before giving him a hand-held sparkler.

The sight of him pouting whilst the tiny thing spits and sparkles has been memorialised on social media.

ILLINOIS 🔥

He's not often in one place long enough to celebrate any occasions that would require fireworks.

Still, he's listened to your stories. The ones from when you were a child and used to watch the fireworks with glee and wonder.

The fact that he arranges for you to be exploring a cave system just a few miles out from a major city with a famous fireworks display that night is a complete coincidence.

The way he kisses you under the stars and light is entirely deliberate. 

HEIST 💣

He sneaks you into a VIP event at a local art gallery just to see the display.

The polite applause from the upper class crowd is disturbed by your deliberately dramatic shouting and whistling.

When you're asked to leave you can't stop laughing, even as he puts his tuxedo jacket around you and calls a cab.

ENGIE 🚀

It's hard to deny that the sight of towering nebulas and exploding supernovas can't really compete with the fireworks from Earth.

Still, it's an old tradition. So when you finish the construction of the 1st Generation Base for the new colony, the crew react as happily to the display as to any beauty in the universe.

"We did it, Captain," 

You look at Mark, face illuminated by flashes of colour on a brand new world.

"We did it,"

NOIR 🔎

It's hard to appreciate a display based on lights when the entire world is in black and white.

You hear his monologuing complain about the ridiculousness of the entire thing - as well as how much it reminds him of his ex-wife leaning him on New Year's Eve.

You tell him to cheer up otherwise you'll lock him in the cells for the night.

MURDOCK  🔪

He says he'd rather be making you see fireworks than standing in the forest seeing the worms from the city try to light up the sky.

Still, he's with you, holding your hand in his as you stand outside your cabin. 

It's worth it to see your reaction. He spends the entire time looking at you.

PORNIPLIER 💘

"Baby, I am the display,"

He tries to distract you with one of his routines to see if he can be prettier than the fireworks.

It works.

[maaarine]

India overtakes China to become world’s most populous country (Hannah Ellis-Petersen, The Guardian, April 24 2023)

“It is also the first time since 1950, when the UN first began keeping global population records, that China has been knocked off the top spot.

China’s population decline follows decades of strict laws to bring the country’s booming birthrate under control, including the introduction of a one-child policy in the 1980s.

This included fines for having extra children, forced abortions and sterilisations.

While initially highly effective in controlling the population, these policies became a victim of their own success, and the country is now grappling with an ageing population in steep decline, which could have severe economic implications.

Part of the problem is that because of a traditional preference for boys, the one-child policy led to a massive gender imbalance.

Men now outnumber women by about 32 million. “How can the country now shore up birth rates, with millions of missing women?” asks Mei Fong, the author of One Child, a book about the impact of the policy.

Recent policies introduced in China trying to incentivise women to have more children have done little to stimulate population growth.

Women still have only 1.2 children and the population is expected to fall by almost 10% in the next two decades.

According to projections, the size of the Chinese population could drop below 1 billion before the end of the century.

In India, the population has grown by more than a billion since 1950. Though growth has now slowed, the number of people in the country is still expected to continue to rise for the next few decades, hitting its peak of 1.7 billion by 2064. (…)

India’s demography is far from uniform across the country.

One third of predicted population growth over the next decade will come from just two states, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, in the north of the country, which are some of India’s poorest and most agricultural states.

Uttar Pradesh alone already has a population of about 235 million, bigger than Nigeria or Brazil.

Meanwhile states in India’s south, which is more prosperous and has far higher rates of literacy, population rates have already stabilised and have begun to fall.

In the next decade, states in the southern states such as Kerala and Tamil Nadu are likely to start grappling with an ageing population, and by 2025, one in five people in Kerala will be over 60.

The divide in population growth between India’s north and south could also have political implications.

After 2026, India’s electoral lines are due to be revised and redrawn based on census data, in particular relating to the number of people in constituencies.

Many politicians in southern states have expressed concern that their successes in bringing down population numbers, through education programmes, family planning and high literacy, could result in a reduction in their political representation in parliament, and a further political domination of the northern states that continue to have a population boom.

Currently the average age in India is just 29, and the country will continue to have a largely youthful population for the next two decades.

A similar “demographic dividend” proved highly useful in China, leading to an economic boom, particularly in manufacturing.

While India has one of the world’s fastest-growing economies in the world, and recently overtook the UK as the fifth-largest, experts have stressed that the country needs more investment in education and employment to seize the opportunity presented by a young population over the next few decades.

India continues to struggle with high youth unemployment and less than 50% of working-age Indians are in the workforce.

The figure for women is even lower, with just 20% of women participating in the formal labour market, a figure that is decreasing as India develops.”

[inventors-fair]

Outstanding Charges: Crime Winners ~

Our winners this week are @corporalotherbear, @curiooftheheart and @izzet-always-r-versus-u!

@corporalotherbear — Raucous Celebrators

For a common design, this is a pretty good corner case, and once more I'm pleased with the kind of designs that Battlebond 2HG play has to offer. The ability to confer with a teammate is one of the best advantages that 2HG has over other formats, and even then, in Commander or similar formats the ability to cast two spells and get a free Shatter isn't anything to shake a stick at. Situational, yes, but necessary—in a way that probably comes up more often than not in the formats where it'd be played.

I think this is one of those cards as well where the name, flavor text, and abilities give rise to an idea of the art and mood without having to explicitly spell it out. I can quite easily see the brightly painted faces and the hooting-slash-hollering that would be taking place here. We don't need to see the sighing Sylvia or even the aftermath of the destruction; the implication of an arena already in the process of being decimated is enough. It gives a little bit of humanity to the world, in the sense of connections between our Earth's sports fans and the crowd here rushing the stands. I really love how you've got that subtle story there that's funny, flavorful, and quite polished overall. You know, it just struck me: this card can show either the joy of a winning team, OR the anger of a losing team. Great work.

@curiooftheheart — Jaywalk

I was tempted to just put "10/10 no notes" and have that be the end of the commentary. I've never laughed so hard at a submission, and I really have nothing to add that this card doesn't already demonstrate. Perfect name, perfect vibe, perfect modes, perfect flavor text. I think when I shared this in with the other judges, Florence mentioned that this pedestrian was having a really bad day if they're getting hit with every vehicle at the same time.

Maybe there's something to say about limited? I dunno, it's a removal spell in the right shell and a perfectly adequate combat trick otherwise. Perhaps there's something to be said about the "crime" aspect being, like, situational, but that's not eve what this contest was about. You demonstrated perfectly the kind of fine balance between dark humor and utility. I'll be thinking about this submission and sharing it around for quite some time.

@izzet-always-r-versus-u — Graverobbing

And today I learned about the word "fossor!" I love learning new words, and this card's pretty standard for what we're looking for in a way that elevated it with the other kinds of grave-themed submissions; there were a few this week, which I should've expected, honestly. What I like about this card in particular is the versatility of it and the simplicity that comes from the choices. You gotta have creature cards in graveyards, but maybe you only need one. Double Raise Dead ain't nothing to shake a stick at, but you need the double black pips, so there you go—and blockers slash bodies is important as well.

This one is on the higher end of complexity, but in a world where multi-paragraph commons exist (looking at you, Sticky Fingers), this one isn't the hardest to grok, in my opinion. You gotta pick creatures, yours go back to hand and your opponents' make Zombies. Ain't so bad, right? It could be an uncommon, but that would be situational with the set's gist. Flavor text here is fun, too—it's worded well and reads great. Actually, I love how the Imperial aspect speaks to the nature of the world where the political positions have their backstabbingly-oriented nature no matter where you are. That's how you speak to a greater world without massive amounts of exposition. Phenomenal job overall.

Runners coming up! @abelzumi

[robotnuts]

i dont know much and i havent really Read a lot of theory so id probably be laughed out of the room by anyone that has but even as someone who knows nothing i do think its clear that like. even if the broader political implications werent fully intended by burnie (which, considering the problems with disability rep in rvb, i sure Hope they weren’t), there’s still meat to sink your teeth into there. 

reading the AI as assistive tech in the story creates some really interesting thoughts about biopolitics and the military. there’s interesting stuff about how maine’s disability is treated and how care is forced on him that he doesn’t ask for and how york is treated of course, i just reblogged a post on it, but i think pushing the framework further to extrapolate what it means for characters who Aren't understood as disabled being provided assistive tech highlights some interesting points about disability politics. what does it mean if you consider even the able bodied freelancers being (classified as) ‘disabled’ by not living up to a superhuman standard that no one can access without modifications. 

having an ‘abled’ or ‘disabled’ body isn’t a natural inherent objective state of being but a classification produced by and given to you by sociopolitical circumstances, what is considered 'disability’ is subject to change with shifting cultural norms, etc. so in an incredibly high-control hierarchical environment like the military, with absolute control over your environment and body and goals, the standard of behavior you need to achieve to be considered 'abled’ can be pushed so far to the extreme that it falls out of the range of behaviors that can even exist without assistive tech so fantastical that can't exist in the real world. this view challenges the 'common sense' conceptualization that being abled is just the ‘natural, healthy’ condition of one’s body as an inherent physical state with no societal influences or contexts. instead, disability and ability is produced by the interaction between one's physical body and those contexts, and in extreme contexts, we get extreme conclusions. no one at club errera would consider agent carolina disabled, but under project freelancer, in order to further the aims of the people she works for, her not being able to run 50mph is a ‘disability’ that needs assistive tech in order to fix. 

and also under the control of the military, the abilities of agent carolina’s body are owned by her superiors. her assistive tech isn’t given to her in order to allow her to run fast because she wants to and thinks it would enrich her life, and being granted More Ability is not an unquestioned net good with no drawbacks**, but a material tradeoff that comes with different advantages and disadvantages for one's dayt o day life. it's not for her, it's solely because it would allow her employers to continue exerting power and maneuvering towards their political aims. in short, her own well being is completely disregarded, because, well. duh. it’s the military.

assistive tech’s designs and aims are also not apolitical and always a positive thing. using the AI has extreme physical and mental risks and harms for all the freelancers, as well as just being a MASSIVE interpersonal burden/change in how they’re expected to interact with the world on a fundamental level, which makes sense as a trade-off! in order to be able to perform the superhuman feats required by PFL the tech is fundamentally invasive on the deepest possible level. but it helps PFL look better and satisfies the director’s enigmatic whims,* so get on the operating table. 

this point reminds me of posts i’ve read about prosthetic arms and how they’re extremely difficult to learn to use and how most people give up on them because they aren’t comfortable and aren’t helpful in the long run, but people are still encouraged to be fitted with prosthetic arms, because thats the Natural state of an Abled body and wouldnt it be best if everyone could Return to that, instead of considering assistive tech that might actually treat the needs of an amputee, such as tools modified to be able to be used with only one hand (also, militaries even use soldiers who are given these devices after losing their arms as promotional fluff pieces, calling them bionic arms and showing off how high tech and cool they are, even though from what i understand, they suck! fuck the military!!!)

*(and i don’t think the director’s enigmatic whims are necessarily me being snarky about weird character writing and don’t reflect any real life phenomena either- this being the director’s Pet project and theory and people with power being able to use that power to extreme ends to get incredibly stupid ideas manifested in reality reminds me of the elizabeth holmes, the silicon valley blood girl, and how she got investors excited because they were sold on the story of the idea and not because of any real merits it had. NFTs work as another example. the director decided he’s going to do this dumb fucking AI dissociative identity disorder scheme because it seemed so clever, and there’s no checks on his power as the nepo baby in charge of the big shiny war machine, so he can totally just fucking implode his entire organization and ruin countless lives on this pipe dream fueled by his fucking dead wife angst 

**this is why this essentially just being the case and all we're given wrt wash's disability in zero drives me so crazy lol. i mean most of the stuff i find interesting here is in 6-10, its not really doing the same kind of interesting stuff in 17 either, but i do think a story about a disabled character coming to terms with what his and future will look like is an important story to tell, even if i don't have as many interesting thoughts how the plot intersects with the explicitly political environment of the military in the same way i do with 9/10

[serpentstole]

Hey I was wondering what your view on luciferianism is? I know a lot about theistic satanism (as one myself) and the horned god but not much on Lucifer.

That's a bit of a complicated question! I'll try to keep things brief so I don't end up writing you an essay, but I welcome any follow up questions if there's something I didn't go into/cover/explain.

My view on Luciferianism as a whole is that it's a very vague label. It can encompass a lot of beliefs, both theistic and atheistic (as with Satanism). In the past, I made myself this working definition.

Luciferianism is a religion or system of belief held by those that appreciate and strive to embody the traits typically associated with Lucifer as Lightbringer, such liberation and rebellion over blind faith and obedience, and a pursuit of knowledge or enlightenment. It can be theistic or atheistic, and typically involves an equal appreciation for the arts and science. Incorporating the occult or some form of magical practice is common among theistic Luciferians, but not a requirement.

How people then choose to put those concepts into action can vary wildly. For example, I'm personally of a belief that a focus on liberation, rebellion, a rejection of dogma, and a pursuit of higher understanding of the world around us should lead people to be more socially minded and aware of how many bigotries and biases are built into our cultures and our day to day exchanges. Meanwhile, many people who fall under the vague LHP umbrella (Luciferians, Satanists, etc) will regurgitate militantly evangelical talking points with a coat of black paint, use their animosity towards Christianity as an excuse to be Islamophobic and antisemitic, have incredibly homophobic or transphobic attitudes, so on and so forth. Everyone wants to think they have the actual enlightened truth, you know? I don't think Luciferians are any more or less immune to conspiratorial thought and systemic bigotry than the rest of the population.

I'll also give a quick list of what I (personally) think Luciferianism is not, or at least doesn't have to be, since there's some trends I see in discussions about it that I don't particularly like.

Inherently better or more thoughtful than Satanism. I often see the two described in contrast/opposition to each other, with the idea being that one focuses on the philosophical while the other trends towards being more carnal. I feel like the way they're compared gives an overly simplified view of both, and I don't like that I tend to see it written with the implication that Luciferianism is the more noble set of beliefs. I have my quibbles with LaVeyan Satanism especially, but they're far more to do with the writing that helped inspire it and how I see that put into practice by the Satanists I've known.

Automatically hostile towards other religions. This truly exhausts me. I think the harm that religious groups that have a massive amount of political or social power can inflict on individuals, communities, and even countries cannot be understated. However, I far too often see this devolve into animosity towards the very concept of that religion or the religious individual instead of examining what this says about power, control, corruption, the protection of abusers within their communities, and other important aspects of the issue.

Inherently demonic, infernal, edgy, and so on. I know this is a bold claim coming from me, given my personal aesthetic, and I have often been quietly irked by the Luciferians who try to push too hard in another direction and reject the concept that anyone should approach Lucifer as anything but a love, light, and knowledge Jesus alternative. However, I think a lot of people cling to the idea that a concept, deity, or style of magic needs to be appropriately "dark" enough to be incorporated into Luciferianism. The end result is a lot of appropriation from closed practices and very samey books or talking points.

If you wanted to take a look at some of my thoughts in great detail, I have a bunch of posts tagged as 30 Day Luciferian Challenge. Some of the links between them don't work since they were written before I changed my blog name, but I try to keep the tagging as coherent as possible. I stand by what I wrote (so far as I can remember) so they're a closer look at questions like who Lucifer is to me, what drew me to Luciferianism, my thoughts on the community, advice I'd give, that kind of thing.

[attonitos-gloria]

If the main tension in the last seasons of Game of Thrones was between Jaime and Dany, what would that look like? How would it have changed things?

friend, thank you for this ask. This is going to be very long heheh sorry in advance. writing Jaime's arc is the most satisfying part of IKTE for me so I'm very happy for this, thank you truly.

Jaime is a character traumatized by fire. Not the only one - but he is prominently traumatized by it, and indeed his entire reputation was built around the fact he has broken sacred vows because of a Targaryen king who used fire as a tool of intimidation and social controlling. More than any other character in the show, Jaime knows the political implications of fire as a weapon. And if the daughter of said king comes back from the ashes of House Targaryen to conquer Westeros and re-establish her father's dynasty... using fire-breathing monsters as her main weapon... do you get it 😭

(that scene of Jaime trying to get Drogon killed is so good - the way the camera focused on his face, on the fire and ashes and smoke and the people burning alive around him ! he was reliving the Throne Room he was a knight trying to kill the dragon he was trying to make it right and tyrion was THERE on the enemy's side but watching him ;-; they were so close of getting it right WHY NOT LEAN INTO THAT !! It was delicious!!)

You can argue that Jaime is barely aware of this, since, true to his Lannister name and blood and inheritance, he spends his life in denial about this trauma. I would agree with this statement, which is why I think putting Jaime between Dany and Cersei as political choices is more interesting than putting Jaime between Cersei and Brienne as love interests in the most bland way possible.

If Jaime is going to leave Cersei at some point, why not earlier, at the end of season 6 when Cersei pulled an Aerys against the Tyrells?? Their relationship already is, in a way, a coping mechanism against the institutional violence of knighthood; he is the knight and she is the queen, everything is justified because of that. Their idealized versions of each other only exist in their heads anyway. Imagine if the Sept of Baelor is the last straw in a relationship that has been in crumbles for a while now. All their children dead and Cersei the very embodiment of Aerys. (Forget the pregnancy plot. It was stupid.)

And then there are so many possibilities from then on when Daenerys arrives in Westeros. The show sets her up to be rejected. I can follow that. I truly cannot conceive, in show canon, a happy ending for Dany - and by happy ending I mean everyone loving her and welcoming her as their Queen. I think her dragons are an ethical problem that needs to be addressed; the show and books themselves already pointed in that direction. The Dance of the Dragons is a cautionary tale about this, the entire story of House Targaryen is about this. I do love Dany and I believe she is a good person at heart, but also. Consider. She has the canon equivalent of nuclear weapons. The dragons are useful to kill the true enemy (the Others) and you can argue that there is an ethical justification to use them to end slavery, but then what. Then what comes next. When the enemy is defeated and this woman is the only person in the world with weapons of massive destruction. What do you do with the weapons after the War is over - I cannot be the only person who thinks this is an issue like 😭 Jaime has reasons to be wary more than anyone - yes, even more than Sansa; Sansa has reasons to be concerned and to worry about the North, but Daenerys was coming with aid in the War, and I don't see any reason why Sansa didn't even >>try<< to be mildly diplomatic, except that the writers wanted the conflict to rise. I don't know; I'm grumpy about this, and it is very hard to make sense of Sansa's actions in season 8 for me, but I will stop myself right here because this isn't about her. This is about Jaime !!!

I feel like a lot of what we call Jaime's redemption relies on his romantic feelings for Brienne; even in the show, he leaves Cersei and goes North to fight for the living because it is the ~right thing to do~, but the subtext kind of says that he went for Brienne. And it's not that I don't ship them: I do! But falling in love with Brienne is not a redemption arc, doing things because Brienne would approve is not a redemption arc. It has been said before, by people smarter than me, but Jaime is not in a redemption story; he is in an identity crisis story. I feel like the show tried to give him an redemption arc only to pull the rug at the end going like "nope, sorry, people don't change" - and since said redemption relied completely on his romantic feelings for Brienne, it wasn't enough to knight her; he had to sleep with her. Since the point being made was that people don't change, that meant necessarily ending his affair with Brienne and cruelly breaking her heart so she would let him go back to Cersei. Because what else is there to say about Jaime Lannister other than which woman he chooses to fuck by the end of the story?

Do you get what I'm saying? Like, I know he is pretty. But the choice of framing Jaime's story as primarily a love story between two women, the good one and the bad one, is wild to me. Really? That is the most relevant thing about this man?

Did he change? Did he find a solution to the problem of knighthood? That doesn't mean loving Brienne (he did say "I have never slept with a knight before" to her, after all. The man literally wanted to fuck knighthood! in every meaning, layer, and way! okay Jaime). That means *becoming* what Brienne already is - a person who is willing not only to kill, but in fact, to die defending the vulnerable and the innocent. And I felt like the show shaped this like "will Jaime choose Brienne or Cersei?" And everything else was secondary to that, when I think the romance could really stay in the background and the knighthood crisis should come into focus on main stage. And because Dany and Cersei are meant to be each other's foils, both in their similarities and differences, I do like the idea of Jaime being stuck between these two Queens who are, each in their own way, Aerys, who made him who he is (a Kingslayer).

SO. There are many ways this could go about:

Maybe Dany demands Jaime to kill Cersei in exchange for royal pardon; this man, after all, killed her father in an act of betrayal. She forgave him way too easily in the show. All that tension! For nothing!!!! Do we want a grim ending? No problem. Maybe he does kill Cersei and then kills himself (favorite book ending, for me). Maybe he can't handle being confronted with the reality that his life is built on an empty lie. Maybe he looks at Cersei and sees wildfire and madness and Aerys, and there is no escape, and he does not know how to live with himself with or without this woman. This has always been the cost of knighthood: blood. It has been this way since Arthur Dayne knighted him. And he cannot stand the idea of serving the daughter of Aerys for the rest of his life; he would literally rather die. Maybe love can't save the day this time.

Or: maybe Jaime vows to kill Cersei and publicly and officially bends the knee to Dany, only to break his vows again and betray her, killing Dany instead, before she can set King’s Landing on fire. Or even better: after. After he sees her as Aerys' extension. Maybe Jaime is in a time loop, doomed to repeat this, doomed to kill the dragon. Do we want grim endings for everyone? No problem: this time, he actually suffers the consequences of high treason - he is sent to the Wall, he takes the Black; or he is exiled. You can get away with killing your Monarch once, but not twice. For once, he is not rewarded for an act of brutal violence and betrayal. No cathartic death for him: he only needs to live with the consciousness that he saved the world twice, but he had to sacrifice his soul twice to do it. And no one sings his praise. He's still the Kingslayer.

Are we tired of grim endings? We don't want Jaime to be the Kingslayer? Also, no problem. Because the memory of the War that traumatized him, the trigger for it, is embodied alive in the person of Jon Snow. The boy Jaime's heroes and brothers-in-arms died trying to protect. Maybe Jaime is tired of being torn between two Mad Queens and he decides to give his life to put Jon, Rhaegar's son, on the Iron Throne. He is not the Kingslayer anymore. Fuck that. He is the Kingmaker. Kind of like Criston Cole, but cool and less catholic. He could even be Hand of the King to Jon.

Or maybe it bothers you, as it bothers me, the fact that Jaime actually pushed a child out of a window, and that event is treated like a small detail in his story once he gets North. It was not a thing Cersei commanded him to do. Cersei did not take his hand and forced it to do it. Jaime tried to kill a boy. He permanently damaged Bran's body. Any attempt at redemption that does not address this is flawed. Maybe the only way to redeem Jaime is to make him Bran's ally because Bran is one of Dany's strongest narrative foils, right there with Cersei and Tyrion: some characters have magical attributes, things they are able to do; some characters have magical things happening to them; but Bran and Dany *are* magical in themselves. They carry the power along with them. And, by the end of the show, Bran is KING. He is one of the most powerful creatures alive - he can travel in time AND control people's and animals' minds/bodies - and he apparently has been PLANNING the whole thing (why do you think I came all this way, etc) all along. Does that even make sense? What is it about Bran that allows him to be powerful and in charge by the end of the story, to the point of allowing the destruction of a city in order to get what he wants, while Dany has to be sacrificed and is deemed too power-hungry? Why is Dany's inability to have children a problem, and Bran's assumed inability to sire children presented as a solution? And more importantly- what does Bran WANT? (To hell with that ableist "Bran has no feelings or desires and can't be tempted" bullshit). And given all that: if Bran and Dany are foils and parallels, what if Bran gets things done with Jaime's help? (Not necessarily as heroes). Because he kind of owes Bran. He is the man who put Bran on that wheel-chair and changed the course of Bran's entire life. And Lannisters pay their debts, or so we are told. Maybe we could even try to actually say something relevant about magic as a weapon and the people in power wielding it.

I feel like you could still pull something out of the fact that 1) Jaime's alleged last chance of honor (Sansa) is already antagonizing Dany and 2) His little brother sided with Dany after killing their father, and he actually forgave and forgot about that too easily in the show too. There is a lot of implied drama and nuance because so many relationships in Jaime's life are bridges to Dany. I just wanted to see it explored to the last of its potential.

Anyway. I'm rambling at this point. but the gist of it is that if Dany needs an antagonist in Westeros, a character to embody her rejection, Jaime is a better candidate than Sansa, imo. This man needed to be used in a political plot as a relevant, game-changing player at the end of the show. Some of those ideas I don't even like lol all they have in common is that they force Jaime to own his bullshit and stand up to something and put his skin in the game instead of running between Brienne and Cersei through 8 seasons, and I say this as someone who appreciates both Jaime/Cersei and Jaime/Brienne from a shipping perspective.

[zevranunderstander]

I know the Eurovision Song Contest is, even completely ignoring the Israel and Palestine conflict right now, a complicated topic to debate, and I wholeheartedly understand people who wouldn't watch it no matter what. I honestly wasn't really aware of the actual details of what is going on in Palestine *until* the year it was hosted in Israel, and I did still watch it that year because I genuinely only heard that you were supposed to boycott it after the event happened, which sounds like I am just defending myself here but I promise I have a point.

A lot of people who watch this show usually don't do it out of malice, but because in their bubble, they never really heard about what's wrong with the ESC and why it's a thing people boycott - and this is the show where enough people said they'd withdraw from the competition if Russia was allowed to compete, and then the broadcasting network *actually* kicked out Russia and that year's show was all about celebrating the Ukraine.

EVEN IF YOU HATE THE SHOW, even if you think it's silly and corrupt and full of greenwashing politics and something you would never actually watch in your life, you should STILL write to your country's hosts about your concerns about Israel being in the show, write to the sponsors of the ESC - tell the "progressive" Irish brand Bailey's what that will do to their image. The above link was compiled by youtuber verilybitchie, who also made an accompanying video, which shows that Israel could be banned from the ESC if there is enough public outrage, and I think she makes a really really good point.

Even if you genuinely think it's the dumbest show in the world, Israel being banned or publically challenged to be in the ESC could be a massive turning point for a lot of less politically active people who genuinely don't know all that much about what's going on except for what they hear in European media outlets (especially a lot of younger white liberal middle-class people). I know people who love the ESC and never cared about political implications, who will refuse to watch it this year altogether if Israel is allowed to compete. If we can actually hit where it hurts and address the sponsors and networks to declare that we would not watch at all this year, predicting to them a massive loss in profit if Israel is allowed to participate *could* be massive.