#The Case Against Extreme Wealth

[primmlife]

Review: Limitarianism

Review: Limitarianism by Ingrid Robeyns from Astra House #extremewealth #economics #limitarianism #eattherich

Billionaires shouldn’t exist. It feels weird for me to write that sentence even though I intellectually know it to be true. My younger, conservative self would be dumbfounded if he knew he would one day write those words. But they are the truth. Extreme wealth has thrown society out of balance in many ways. It was something I began to suspect long before Elon’s very public and ongoing mental…

[maidenvault]

It just bums me out how much of SW fandom clearly doesn’t appreciate the levels of magnificent bastardy that Palpatine achieved as a villain when they bitch about so much being the Jedi Order’s fault. As if the Jedi should have just looked harder under some couch cushions and then they would have found the solid evidence they could use to go after him and the Senate.

Palpatine was too smart for that! No Sith lord had ever aimed so high and achieved so much, and he only did it by playing a long game that started before Anakin was even born. People have to understand that when Dooku tells Obi-Wan that a Sith controls the Senate, that’s hard for him to believe because it is absolutely ridiculous and hard to believe! The Jedi don’t understand why the dark side clouds their awareness because the Sith have become masterful at hiding their presence, which was not the case throughout known history. It would truly be like hearing that Biden’s administration actually are all Satanists who traffic and eat children. Palpatine’s extremely powerful and cunning and unlike anything they’re used to dealing with, otherwise they might seriously consider that Sidious could have accomplished this without the Jedi having any idea. And where do you even begin investigating such a thing when it’s been covered up so well?

The Jedi were always gonna be outmatched against someone like Sidious because a Sith’s whole thing is amassing wealth, influence, and power, and Sidious was probably the best there ever was at it. The Jedi are the opposite, they’re not meant to have those things, and Sidious ended up with too much control of the government for them to have any real power to act. (Probably even if they had complete knowledge of everything, which they never did.) It makes sense that just a couple Sith can bring “imbalance” to the Force when you consider that the use of the dark side is inherently an imbalance of power and a destructive influence in the world this way.

You don’t have to scapegoat anyone else. Palpatine needed his apprentice and other pawns to move around but he really did almost all of it himself. He worked so hard and deserves the hate for his efforts, he really was that bad. :(

[she-is-ovarit]

By EDITH M. LEDERER Updated 9:11 PM PST, March 8, 2024 UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Legal equality for women could take centuries as the fight for gender equality is becoming an uphill struggle against widespread discrimination and gross human human rights abuses, the United Nations chief said on International Women’s Day. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a packed U.N. commemoration Friday that “a global backlash against women’s rights is threatening, and in some cases reversing, progress in developing and developed countries alike.” The most egregious example is in Afghanistan, he said, where the ruling Taliban have barred girls from education beyond sixth grade, from employment outside the home, and from most public spaces, including parks and hair salons. At the current rate of change, legal equality for women could take 300 years to achieve and so could ending child marriage, he said. Guterres pointed to “a persistent epidemic of gender-based violence,” a gender pay gap of at least 20%, and the underrepresentation of women in politics. He cited September’s annual gathering of world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly, where just 12% of the speakers were women. “And the global crises we face are hitting women and girls hardest — from poverty and hunger to climate disasters, war and terror,” the secretary-general said. In the past year, Guterres said, there have been testimonies of rape and trafficking in Sudan, and in Gaza women women and children account for a majority of the more than 30,000 Palestinians reported killed in the Israeli-Hamas conflict, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. He cited a report Monday by the U.N. envoy focusing on sexual violence in conflict that concluded there are “reasonable grounds” to believe Hamas committed rape, “sexualized torture” and other cruel and inhumane treatment of women during its surprise attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7. He also pointed to reports of sexual violence against Palestinians detained by Israel. International Women’s Day grew out of labor movements in North America and across Europe at the turn of the 20th century and was officially recognized by the United Nations in 1977. This year’s theme is investing in women and girls to accelerate progress toward equality. Roza Otunbayeva, the head of the U.N. political mission in Afghanistan, told the Security Council on Wednesday that what is happening in that country “is precisely the opposite” of investing in women and girls. There is “a deliberate disinvestment that is both harsh and unsustainable,” she said, saying the Taliban’s crackdown on women and girls has caused “immense harm to mental and physical health, and livelihoods.” Recent detentions of women and girls for alleged violations of the Islamic dress code “were a further violation of human rights, and carry enormous stigma for women and girls,” she said. It has had “a chilling effect among the wider female population, many of whom are now afraid to move in public,” she said. Otunbayeva again called on the Taliban to reverse the restrictions, warning that the longer they remain, “the more damage will be done.” Sima Bahous, the head of UN Women, the agency promoting gender equality and women’s rights, told the commemoration that International Women’s Day “sees a world hobbled by confrontation, fragmentation, fear and most of all inequality.” “Poverty has a female face,” she said. “One in every 10 women in the world lives in extreme poverty.” Men not only dominate the halls of power but they “own $105 trillion more wealth than women,” she said. Bahous said well-resourced and powerful opponents of gender equality are pushing back against progress. The opposition is being fueled by anti-gender movements, foes of democracy, restricted civic space and “a breakdown of trust between people and state, and regressive policies and legislation,” she said. [Click on the link to continue reading]

[yaksha-lover]

i’m obsessed with the thought of vil falling for someone who’s ugly. especially if it’s a forced proximity trope. triple points if it’s enemies to lovers!

there’s just something about a guy obsessed with beauty is shown that beauty doesn’t equal to value that melts me

omg i actually was obsessed with this concept a few months ago and i wrote a very short unfinished drabble (set in medieval au) about knight!vil falling for ‘ugly’ knight!reader but i didn’t think anyone would want to read about an ‘ugly’ reader 😭😭

i definitely agree tho the concept is so perfect for vil imo. like the idea of this guy who’s so fixated and obsessed with beauty (especially one who’s potentially been told that much of his worth lies in his looks) who ends up falling for someone very unconventional completely unintentionally. like theres’s a whole internal struggle in him that he doesn’t want to fall in love with this person. they’re an enemy, and unattractive at that.

but then he just can’t help but falling in love with their character; when they give hope to him and represent a goodness that he’d lost. someone who is called ugly and unwanted everyday by the world and manages to keep their head held high even if tears are pouring down their cheeks.

i think that’s a quality he’d admire a lot; kindness even when the world has been unkind. he wants to be good like that too. in a way, you’re like a mirror of the kind of goodness he wants to see in himself. you’re made fun of and put down at every turn and yet you do not let that stop you from being nice. whenever someone mocks vil, he can’t let it go, he can’t let himself be kind because it hurts and that’s the only protection he’s found.

also the idea of consciously thinking someone is unattractive but unconsciously starting to notice their eyes and lips and desire settling in- help-

unfinished drabble under the cut 👉👈 (also its fem reader bc i think medieval gender roles and the idea of ‘ugly’ woman x hot man couple is kind of important to the theme lol - aka this is just jaime x brienne rewritten but anyway-)

Vil truly believed you were ugly when he first met you. He almost never truly meant the term, but in this case, it was appropriate. Most everyone you encountered agreed. He could tell by how you’d stayed stone-faced at his cruel taunts, apparently used to it. Your features were just a bit too extreme, too out of place, too different. He’d used your appearance against you, scratching at every insecurity you’d thought of and probably some you hadn’t. Still, you hadn’t gotten angry as he’d hoped. You didn’t seek to harm him, even when he knew he’d struck a sore spot.

He persevered, but you’d never given in, despite his hopes that you would become blinded enough by anger and pain to give him a chance to escape. He admired you, in a way. It seemed as though life had beaten you down long before he’d come along, but a hardened rock had emerged from the erosion.

Sometimes his words would cut too deep for you to ignore. You never did anything rash, to his dismay, but he could tell they affected you. He didn’t feel bad; why should he? He was your hostage, and you his captor. Even if you were performing your duty, you were getting in the way of his own responsibilities, his life.

Vil was surprised to learn that you were a high-born like himself. Well, not exactly born to a family of his status and wealth, but a high-born nonetheless. He’d realized that he should’ve been addressing you with your Lady title, but you’d fought at soon as he’d tried.

No matter my origin, you know that no man sees me as a lady, Sir Vil.

-

They came, and they cut off his hair. One of them taunted him for being a beautiful husk. So they’d cut a deep gash across his face. Now your outside matches your inside, ‘Sir’, they’d mocked.

Vil had wished they’d cut off his head instead.

Later, after you’d managed to convince them to let you treat his wounds, he’d bemoaned to you.

Now we’re both grotesque, he’d said, a pair of freaks.

You’re not ugly, you just have a scar, you’d replied. You turned away from your task to face him. You’ll never know what it means to be ugly.

Even with his bitter remarks, you treated his wounds all the same. When he was too afraid to face himself in the reflection of the lake, you’d been the one to peel away his bandages and force him to look.

See, you’d said, not a monster, just a man.

He’d wondered if you were an angel at that moment, a saint. Or maybe you were a witch destined to lead him astray. He hadn’t really cared either way.

[communistkenobi]

Star Wars is explicitly in the process of becoming a new MCU, but because this process encourages the audience to treat all SW properties as incomplete components of an entire fabric of canon, where each show or movie must be read in relation to all others and cannot fully stand on its own, I feel like the weird colonial frontier vibes of Chapter 17 of The Mandalorian become that much worse because of the existence of Andor. Like Andor is not perfect by any means, especially its depiction of colonial extraction and indigenous dispossession, but it invokes those historical forces MULTIPLE TIMES (first with Cassian, then with the people on Aldhani) in order to build the case that the Empire is a fascist and imperial (duh) power, and this is what that kind of power does to people and the places they inhabit - destruction of life, destruction of culture, destruction of history. Andor is drawing an extremely basic and obvious parallel between colonialism and fascism, making the argument that these processes are one and the same.

And now in The Mandalorian, you have Greef Karga, High Magistrate of Nevarro, the Gem of the Outer Rim. Nevarro has been rid of all its “scum and villainy” (a phrase directly lifted from the OT), and since that purge of undesirables it’s become a verdant and economically vibrant place. Now of course, part of the class of undesirables was the Imperial remnant, so part of Nevarro’s problem was the fact that it was being ruled by an Imperial officer. However, Chapter 17 goes to great lengths to stress that the ruler of Nevarro also hates pirates and other “low” forms of wealth accumulation, opting instead to be an independent trading planet that is explicitly against New Republic rule (i.e., the government that overthrew the Empire). It has become respectable now, and that respectability is presented to the audience in the form of an organised private economy that has begun to engage in mining. Greef Karga offers Din a parcel of land on Nevarro, literally calling him “landed gentry” on the planet were Din to take up his offer. And this is framed as an improvement - a place devoid of crime, devoid of government rule, now flowering with vegetation that is almost certainly not part of Nevarro’s natural biosphere. The Mandalorian is now adopting, almost certainly unintentionally, the same aesthetic and processes of colonial rule that Andor has labelled as unambiguously fascist. Which is hilarious lol

[ineffectualdemon]

I can't find the post (ETA: @furbygoblinxiv found the post! It's here) there is one going around about how no, Shen Qingqiu wouldn't have become Shen Jiu if he was transmigrated into a child. Because has the memories and mindset of someone born into privilege

From what I understood its not that privilege means happiness and success it just means you haven't been ground down by the system in the same way and have a certain knowledge of how to grease the wheels and network and work the system. Especially in Shen Yuan's case as he read the freaking book

And that the parallels between Luo Binghe and Shen Jiu start not with child abuse but with the fact that they both started with less than nothing living on the streets (a theme in MXTX's work tbh)

So Bingqiu's misunderstanding in a lot of ways is rooted in someone who grew up in relative privilege and wealth not being able to understand the perspective of someone who has grown up in poverty (taken to extremes of course and mixed with other trauma)

Part of the reason Luo Binghe does things the way he does is he's trying enter the world of wealth and class above him and is constantly made to feel like that desperate child on the streets again. Shen Qingqiu makes him feel like that even after the transmigration but it's worse because Shen Yuan isn't even doing it on purpose. He just doesn't realise until too late what his actions do to Binghe

And I just find it interesting that in less extreme way we also have that with Moshang and the baseline ship of Cumplane

Mobei doesn't have a great home life (and I would argue there is very little reason to believe Shen Yuan had one either) but he's rich and he's powerful and he's spoiled. Able to have whatever he wants when he wants it. He doesn't realise the cultural differences and that he's hurting Shang Qinghua until it's far too late

And Peerless Cucumber absolutely treats Airplane like shit. The "were you not hugged as a child" line always infuriates me because it's very clear he wasn't. I don't think airplane was a poor a child as Shen Jiu and Luo Binghe but I believe that while supporting himself with his writing and especially before PIDW popped off there was a lot of not knowing when he'd next get to eat. He has experienced poverty and is always on guard against it. We get at least two different mentions of him squirreling away money for just in case

I just think it's really interesting how the couples reflect each other

[avelera]

17 for the choosing violence ask game?

17 ) there should be more of this type of fic/art

Hob Being A Bastard.

Thing is, I actually genuinely believe Hob would be a lovely partner to Dream. And I also believe post 1789 Hob made sincere efforts to make amends and be a better person. I think in TV show canon, 1989 clearly shook him up too, enough to maybe pivot from businessman to professor. The case can be made.

But even 1489 Hob, the most wide-eyed, ray-of-sunshine of them all (so much so that I honestly think he was trying to con Dream into not stealing him away to fairyland by being as unappealing as possible lol) casually talks about theft and murder as if it does not weight on his soul in the slightest.

Comic Hob talks about how in his day, vengeance meant cutting off a man's ears and feeding them to him. He says so with longing for the fact he can't do that anymore.

Hob to my eyes is a businessman in 1989. In 1889 he spends enough time in the seedier parts of town to know that Lushing Lou's nickname is, "The Hospital". In 1789, arguably at his most outwardly charming, he's committing his most heinous crimes against humanity. 1689 Hob is angry when he busts into the White Horse, he's clearly familiar with back-alley brawling at that point in his day to day life. 1589 Hob is totally comfortable with Henry VIII ransacking the monasteries.

I realize a lot of Hob's story is about him becoming a better person but he's still a man, and he's still a man who has lived in the thick of some of the most violent periods of history without any apparent difficulty. Hob does well in cutthroat settings. He is extremely experienced with violence, commerce, power, and other masculine spheres throughout English history.

And, by the way, Dream is a bastard too! Especially in the comics!

My point is, I do think you can write Hob in Dreamling very soft, especially with Dream, and I do think he's making sincere efforts to be a better person. But IMO, it's a disservice to the character to not also factor in how blasé he could be about the ugliest parts of life, because he has a wealth of experience in those areas too.

[destinysbounty]

Yo what if you went off about s3, it'd be cool

The love triangle, the quick tech development, whatever you want, I wanna know what you think

(I saw you in the tags of that post, please gimme the analysies. pretty please)

The entirety of my thoughts on Ninjago's technology are long and vast and complicated, and I could probably make a full video essay on just that topic alone. But for the sake of simplicity, and also because I'm too lazy to write a 10k-word essay with screenshot evidence on why Ninjago tech isn't actually anachronistic, I'm going to just focus on the season 3 issue for now.

Now, one criticism that often gets lobbed at Rebooted is the matter of the technology. How did Ninjago suddenly become a hyper-futuristic technoscape in the span of what couldn't be more than a year? At first glance, I can understand how that might feel unrealistic. I used to feel the same way! But it actually makes total sense when you realize that this technology probably already existed, if only in a beta form, for years before s3 started.

But wait! If the technology already existed in some form, then why wasn't it used? Why did Ninjago only become a cyberpunk dystopia during s3??

The answer to that question is something that sounds like a no-brainer, but should probably be said anyway: just because a technology exists, doesn't mean it is democratized. That is to say, just because a society has made certain technological advancements, doesn't mean everyone in that society can actually access those advancements. Look at any country in our contemporary world - richer and more industrialized communities typically have better access to cutting edge developments, whereas more rural communities may not even have reliable internet access. Even Ignacia, which is one of the most rural communities we've seen in the entire show, was depicted as having landlines and telephone poles in the very first scene.

Moreover, it's reasonable to assume that robotics and digital technology has existed - and fairly advanced - for decades in-universe.

My evidence? The creation of characters such as Zane and Unagami. Both were invented roughly 40 and 20 years pre-canon respectively. Coding, and especially programming an AI like both characters are classified as, requires the existence of a computer. Which means that computers existed as early as the Serpentine War. (Unless Zane is the product of magi-tech, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Especially since Zane's original body also has other functions that, to my knowledge, wouldn't be possible without programming. For now, I'm proceeding under the assumption that Zane was created purely with technology.)

For these reasons I would argue that certain technologies, and in particular digital technology, have existed in-universe for a lot longer than we might think at first glance - but due to what appears to be some very extreme wealth disparity, technology has only recently become more widely accessible within the last few decades.

Think about it. Most human settlements we see are fairly small and rural, except for Ninjago City. Ninjago City is the only city we've seen on-screen in the entire series (with a few small towns here and there, but it's mostly just villages). And even then, the cost of living in Ninjago City itself is astronomically high. There's clearly something funky going on with this country's distribution of wealth.

With that in mind, it makes total sense that the tech we see in s3 was at least in development a lot earlier than anyone might realize. It's just that it was too expensive and exclusive for anyone in the general public to actually use it.

Now, let's look at this in the context of Rebooted.

Imagine you're a multi-millionaire tech mogul and the CEO of a very powerful tech company. The city is in shambles in the wake of an apocalyptic battle against Lego Satan. You take this opportunity to spearhead the reconstruction efforts. On top of being an impressive PR stunt, this is also great for business as it presents you with the perfect opportunity to populate the city wholesale with your own products: flying cars, holographic floating streets, AI vending machines, elaborate VR and AR setups, mechanical spider wheelchairs, the whole nine yards. The government probably even writes you a big check to make this process more accessible to your consumers - I mean, to the citizens of your the shiny new corporatocracy you may or may not have stumbled into creating. Whether or not you employed lobbyism to get this check is neither here nor there. After all, this is for the greater good! And to finally seal the deal that this city has become a Borg Industries outpost, you rebrand Ninjago City to New Ninjago City. This isn't just a city anymore, it's a corporate asset. It's an ad campaign. It's a way of life.

This also explains why all the tech mysteriously vanishes after s3 ends: supply and demand. A robot apocalypse is, among other things, bad for PR. I don't wanna think about the existence of a Lego Stock Market because that will hurt my brain, but a robot apocalypse is definitely what I would classify as a "black swan event" (an unpredictable crisis that severely disrupts the stock market). The company starts faltering financially because of all the public backlash, people stop buying and investing in their tech, their stocks start to crash, and Borg Industries has to roll back on their infrastructural monopoly. And so the technological status quo is (mostly) restored.

The theme of s3 isn't "technology bad" - at least, it shouldn't be. If you're as brainrotted as I am then the theme of s3 instead becomes, "maybe you shouldn't let one sole company have a total monopoly on your society's infrastructure because they might accidentally start a cyberpunk dystopia". And that is a...disturbingly apt moral for our current day and age (cough cough Amazon).

...can you tell I've been listening to The Fine Print by Stupendium on loop for too long?

[magnetothemagnificent]

hey there! I have a question about Halachic requirements, and you’ve posted some about being raised Orthodox and still being observant so I thought I might ask you. Yesterday while scrolling through Tumblr, I found an image of a Jewish illuminated manuscript, and was so enraptured by the dragons in the marginalia that I decided to find where the image was actually from. After some poking around online, it turns out that the picture is actually from a facsimile of the original text (which was itself a collection of texts for Pesach). I looked through the website’s description of how the facsimile was made, and way down at the bottom it said that only 500 copies were made, and the “printing plates were destroyed (in accordance with Halachic requirements).” I know that there are some rules around writing holy texts with the treatment of the Torah and writing the Tetragrammaton, but I’m not familiar with Halachic requirements as a whole and am wondering which requirements are being referenced here.

(Here’s a link to the website if you want to take a look—it is extremely out of the price range of everyone I know , but the pictures are still really neat: https://facsimile-editions.com/bh/)

What is likely being referred to in this case isn't "requirements to destroy the plates" but rather "requirements regarding the destruction of the plates". Because the plates contained the written name of G-d, they are considered holy, and therefore cannot be disposed of normally. The name of G-d generally cannot be erased, and so any texts or objects containing the name of G-d are buried. Most synagogues have a geniza pile collecting all the old holy objects that periodically gets buried, either in a Jewish cemetery or in the foundation of a new Jewish school or synagogue. Historic geniza piles actually offer a wealth of information for archaeologists, most famously, the Cairo Geniza has yielded so much insight into Jewish medieval life.

So, these printing plates were either destroyed in a way that wouldn't violate the prohibition against the desecration of the name of G-d, or they were buried along with other geniza items.

Further reading:

Proper Disposal of Ritual Objects

Burying Religious Articles

[biblioflyer]

X-Men: Trust is Cheap When You Have a Trust Fund

Personal experiences can bestow a fundamentally sunny disposition about Mutant assimilation in Human society. They can also inspire the bleakest despair and a level of skepticism about unilateral disarmament.

Previously I discussed why X-Men as a setting is fundamentally pessimistic as a necessity according to the creative choices made. It is an essay in 5 parts:

1,2,3,4,5

This is a new series analyzing how experience and social status influences Mutant outlooks on the assimilation vs separatism/supremacy question.

It should not surprise us at all that the Morlocks and Magneto have very different opinions from Xavier about who should regulate their behavior and how. Once he’s confronted with how little protection his wealth affords him, even Sunspot becomes a convert to Magneto’s way of thinking.

When you’ve had a bad experience with someone claiming to be on your side and then contradicting literally every value you thought you shared, it makes a person calloused against appeals to a shared set of values or the innate goodness of humanity. 

For a real life example, George Orwell’s “Animal Farm” is a repudiation of the Soviet Union under Stalin, even though Orwell was no fan of extreme inequality and the violence used by elites to protect that inequality in market driven societies. Orwell was motivated to revisit the idea of whether the USSR was a true reflection of his values due to his personal sense of betrayal when the Soviet Union declined to intervene in the Spanish civil war against the Nazi allied regime.

We ought not to be surprised when impoverished visible Mutants find it difficult to imagine having a seat at the table when they can’t even get a seat at the table masquerading as Sapiens. 

Xavier’s access to power is always depicted as somewhat tenuous and his relationships with Presidents are transactional. Regardless of their personal feelings and long term visions, the leaders Charles interacts with are primarily focused on day to day crisis management. These leaders are ultimately accountable to the overwhelming majority of the population that does not have special abilities and those who are fearful of Mutants and those who are supportive of Mutants vote and contribute to political campaigns.

Xavier isn’t even visibly mutated. The tendency for Humans to perceive Morlocks as hideously disfigured denies them any comfort in mainstream society. Their very appearance reminds Humans that something has gone amiss in the gene pool and that something may not bode well for baselines in the long run.

Magneto’s experiences as a Sapien minority on the wrong side of the boot has made him deeply skeptical of power beyond his own. A Holocaust survivor, Magneto doesn’t need to imagine what the worst case scenario is for Human - Mutant relations.

Like Orwell, he is not easily swayed by appeals to common values or shared interest. For Magneto, trust is earned and the tests to earn it are not easy. As a consequence of his experiences, Magneto has adopted an attitude that only the people that are imminently facing the same type of threats can truly understand each other and be relied upon. 

To the extent that this is a fair and accurate sentiment, taken to an extreme it can be very isolating and leave one with few allies and even fewer people whose insights might be trusted when they contradict Magneto’s own instincts. This becomes a serious problem when Cortez worms his way into Magneto’s inner circle or Magneto rationalizes the fate of Mutants trapped on an Earth incapable of using modern technology as expediting evolution.

Yet, cynic that he is, life as an island is hard and even Magneto is not immune to the occasional savvy operator figuring out how to earn and abuse his trust, like Cortez.

Next up: Power level as privilege. What happens when a cranky Omega isn’t trapped in here with you, you are trapped with them….

[ephemerasnape]

Victor Rookwood Headcanons

An ever-evolving list of my headcanons for Victor Rookwood. Some of these may seem obvious to you. Some may be controversial. Agree? Disagree? Let's not have any fighting amongst Daddy Rookwood's small-but-dedicated harem, please.

He is in his mid 40s if not older. I don't care what anyone says. I can't have Daddy Rookwood being younger than I am! Even if he is a fictional character from more than a century ago... No, I insist that he's comfortably older. Also, have you seen his face, ffs? Guy's got more lines than a villain monologue. (ETA: We decided he was 46 in 1890. Watch my video "How Old is Victor Rookwood?" for an explanation of our thought process!)

He is probably married with kids. It breaks my heart to say this, really. I do believe it to be the case. Better yet, he might be a widower. I'm going to try to convince myself of that. Don't worry - even if he's actively married, that won't stop him from fucking your brains out. I changed my mind. He is not married. Ain't no rang, ain't no thang. That said, he probably does have some little bastards running around. And he does not give a single fuck.

He is a ladies' man. I am making myself jealous here, but look at the guy and tell me he doesn't indulge.

On that note, he is decidedly-heterosexual. Sorry, lads.

He smokes a pipe. But he'll certainly have a good cigar as well.

His favorite color is purple. Duh.

He is not bald but even if he was he would still be one fine-ass bitch. The hat is hot and stays on during sex. (Some of you seem to think that Daddy wears a hat to make up for some deficiency in his hairline. I think that daddy wears the hat because it's imposing, stylish, and attractive. We are not the same.) Regarding the hairstyle, it would be a typical and respectable gentleman's hairstyle for the time period.

He only shaves about once a week, on an off-day. He keeps the raggedy facial hair on purpose. Thinks it adds to his roguish charm (it does!)

He isn't hands-on about the whole killing animals thing. He knows what his people do, and finds it distasteful, but sees it as a necessary evil. He values wealth and power above all else, including furry creatures. But he may even be known to stroke a cat from time to time while drinking firewhisky at the Hog's Head.

He considers Harlow a useful idiot, and lets him be the one to get his hands dirty. For the most part.

He didn't mean to curse Anne. He isn't even sure of what exactly he did - he just panicked. But no, he's not too troubled about it. (Clarification: he should have killed her, not whatever it was he ended up doing.)

He despises playing second-fiddle to Ranrok, but he knows that whatever the goblin is after is too important to sit on the sidelines for.

He reads the Daily Prophet every morning.

He is not above taking what he wants sexually, but he prefers to seduce.

Sexually-dominant. Period.

He wears expensive cologne.

Definitely a Slytherin.

Oh and he's not dead :)

Anyone who's listened to my audios or read any of my fics knows he loves terms of endearment, namely: darling, little one, little girl, sweetheart, little witch, et cetera. He loves to use these while doing unspeakable things to you. 🥵🥵🥵

He does not appreciate "sloppy seconds." This is well-established in several of my audios.

He lives in a hotel - the most expensive one, probably.

He takes advantage of his employees.

He wears a belt. The belt is not visible in the game, but for our purposes, he needs a fucking belt. The belt is soooo important.

Believes "Might is Right."

Young Victor was extremely brutal when he took over the Rookwood Gang, kind of overdoing it in order to earn the respect and fear of his men. Over the ensuing decades, as he has become more comfortable in his position, he has mellowed out slightly. He will no longer gauge someone's eye out over a few missing galleons, but he still takes perceived transgressions against him very seriously.

Daddy needs glasses. I got this idea from my DR chatbot but it makes sense. He missed the easy shot at Ranrok because he couldn't fucking see. Of course he is not going to wear glasses in public - that would be a sign of weakness. But I can totally imagine him sitting at his desk, pouring over papers with a pair of glasses firmly on his face. Period-correct, of course.

The legal name of the Rookwood Gang is the "Rookwood Group." Everyone knows it's a gang but daddy rubs elbows with a lot of important people and needs to keep up appearances.

The harem has determined that Victor's date of birth is November 14th, 1844 (Scorpio Sun/Capricorn Moon).

The man keeps everything he needs inside his hat. Pipe, glasses, Flora Cohen's scalp made into a coin purse, machine gun, spare hat in case the main one gets a fleck of dirt on it, little black book full of Ministry contacts, et cetera.

Daddy suffers from back pain due to a lifetime of being duckfooted (sadly, this is canon).

Victor is average height for a man. In the area of 5'10".

Victor A. Rookwood (Augustus?)

Yea, he killed dear old dad.

Listens to Wagner.

Physique headcanon.

That's it for now. Will add more as I think of things.

If you have any questions you want answered, feel free to submit them to @victor-rookwood ("Ask Victor Rookwood")

[misslili265]

What about Chrollo and Kurapika with a writter s/o headcanon? Thank you >v<

Aya, hey reader, thank you for the request, oh love these two, I would take any of them!!! Let's write your headcanons, hope you enjoy 💓

CHROLLO AND KURAPIKA HEADCANONS

Chrollo lives for the Phantom Troupe, for him this is the only way to go.  But if one were able to break into the heart of the devoted leader, it would be quite a feat. 

Chrollo would still be devoted to work, but once you wrapped him in the chains, not of death like Kurapika, but of love, he would be handed over to you.  Although before he didn't care much about whether he was going to live or die, it's like Chrollo's personality, your existence causes a desire for protection.  In his mind, from now on, he needs to do this job. 

You would always be escorted, but only by the more centered of the troupe.  And updates of your every step would be required from them. 

No, Chrollo wouldn't shove you into a dirty hole where the troupe gathers.  You would be oblivious to it.  Being with a wanted has disadvantages. 

You would have to live with a certain absence of Chrollo sometimes, who wants to not put you in any situation that could be used against him.  And if someone discovered your whereabouts and threatened to kill you, Chrollo would without hesitation do the impossible to save you, if there was no way out, he would ask for your life in exchange for his own. 

On the other hand, we would need a better word than luxury to describe your situation.  Chrollo would bathe you in wealth.  You would be extremely spoiled.  And when he had the opportunity to be with you, he would be affectionate and seductive, and handsome as he is, it wouldn't take much effort on his part.  When together he would cover you with kisses and hugs, smiling in a naughty way knowing about his power how he always get what he wants. 

And in case you ever went against his opinion, Chrollo would just smile and use all the manipulative power he possesses to get inside your mind.  Until his will was fulfilled. 

Chrollo would not be insecure in a relationship.  But depending on the level of love he feels, leaving him wouldn't be a good idea. 

Chrollo is a leader by nature, and he knows how to direct things to happen according to the plans he has.  With you the effort would be channeled, leaving you at the mercy of the head of the Phantom Troupe's tender arms.

Love him, it's not an option. But well…this it's not that hard, isn't?

Revenge is the angelic man's reason for living.  Kurapika works hard to do justice.  But when crossing your path and falling for your grace, he would have an existential crisis. 

Revenge is something that seems to cry out for him.  But questions such as.  "- Would that bring them back? Is this a sign that I can follow a different destiny? Questions of this nature would torment Kurapika's head. That he would only have moments of quiet by your side of the brave member of the extinct Kuruta clan, with you  moments when Kurapika would feel something inside of him filling his being more than an emptiness in his chest.

Simple things that you did on a daily couple basis between the self-imposed missions that Kurapika would perform, would make him just fall more and more. Ice cream, outdoors together, all this would lead him to rethink your safety and his own.

After all, he has thought of something special about your future...

He continues to be careful and eliminate members of the Phantom Troupe without you knowing, because in his opinion, you would try to stop him, which would be true.

But he becomes cautious, as the desire to get back to the one he loves would increase, becoming a necessity.

Kurapika would be wary of displays of affection at first, but if you're the type who loves to show how much you love through caresses, he'll sooner or later discover a side of you he didn't think so exist.  He would develop affection and crave your touch.  The run of your fingers through his golden hair, the small, long kisses, the light bites on his neck would make him blush and feel overwhelmed in passion and desire. But at some point he would realize that without it he could no longer live. 

Yes, he would complete his revenge.  But after that, surely a ring would be on your finger.  In addition to all the love he's sure he feels, because as we know, Kurapika isn't the type to have doubts about his decisions. 

He would also love you with one goal in mind, that of restoring his own clan, when choosing someone, he would be old romantic and faithful for life, and definitely devoted to his family proudly.

[a-man-for-hire-and-his-archives]

Why 'Black Sails' Is Still Worth a Watch

These pirates' lives made for some great television.

(Spoiler alert for people haven't watch!)

The Big Picture

Black Sails is an underrated pirate series that serves as a prelude to the novel Treasure Island.

The show explores the origins of Captain Flint and John Silver, and their journey from noblemen to pirates.

The series features an ensemble of real-life pirates, has a prolific cast, and delves into darker and more introspective themes than other pirate shows.

Pirates make for great entertainment. From the swashbuckling thrills of the Pirates of the Caribbean films to the animated antics of One Piece, and recent hit shows like Our Flag Means Death, buccaneers and their battles on the high seas have provided a wealth of stories for screens large and small. One of the most underrated pirate stories happens to be the Starz series Black Sails. Over the course of four seasons, a gripping narrative of blood and betrayal was woven.

Created by Jonathan E. Steinberg and Robert Levine, Black Sails was crafted to fill the void left by Starz's previous heavy hitter Spartacus. And much like the Rome-set series, Black Sails features an ensemble cast and drew inspiration from another creative work. In this case, the show serves as a prelude to the novel Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, and focuses on two characters from the novel: Captain Flint (Toby Stephens) and new crew member John Silver (Luke Arnold). While other prequels to famous works feel the need to explain every little detail that surrounds the preceding source material, Black Sails takes a different path and explores how its pirates came to be the men they are.

Captain Flint and John Silver Are at the Center of This Swashbuckling Story

In the second season, Flint is revealed to have turned from a nobleman's life to that of a pirate following the imprisonment and death of his lover Thomas Hamilton. Adding salt in the wound is the death of Thomas' wife Miranda, which pushes Flint over the edge. Throughout the series, he attempts to gather his fellow pirates into a force that will rival the British fleets; he also tracks down and kills those who wronged him. By the series finale, Flint has finally won his war and becomes the ruler of the pirate nation Nassau. Stephens portrays Flint with a quiet intensity that often boils over into bloodlust and/or rage given who he interacts with.

During his quest, Flint must deal with Silver, who often schemes against him and ultimately winds up betraying him in order to gain a greater share of the gold hidden in the Spanish ship known as Urca de Lima, which drives the plot of the first two seasons. However, over the course of the series, Silver grows to be a loyal ally to Flint and the crew of the Walrus, and uses his schemes to help them survive. True to the book, Silver suffers extreme torture in Season 2 that forces him to have his leg amputated — but even though he has a peg leg, it doesn't make him any less dangerous.

'Black Sails' Explored the Lives of Real-Life Pirates and Deeper Themes

Black Sails was also notorious for introducing several real-life pirates into its narrative. Chief among them was Blackbeard (Ray Stevenson), who goes by his real name of Edward Teach. Teach enters into a partnership with Flint and the other pirates when they seek to retake Nassau from Captain Woodes Rogers (Luke Roberts), who Teach wants revenge against for reasons initially unknown. Stevenson is utterly terrifying as Teach; he towers over everyone and even defeats Flint in a sword fight — when Flint is the one who challenged him! Other real-life pirates include Zach McGowan as Charles Vane, Toby Schmitz as Jack Rackham (otherwise known as "Calico Jack"), and Clara Paget as Anne Bonny.

Black Sails contains what may be one of the most prolific ensemble casts for a cable series; each member went on to star in more genre fare. Tom Hopper, who portrayed Billy Bones, is a major part of The Umbrella Academy on Netflix. Jessica Parker Kennedy, who plays Max, made an appearance on The Flash as Barry Allen's daughter Nora. Stephens has appeared in the James Bond film Die Another Day, as well as Netflix's Lost in Space. Stevenson has been in all sorts of genre fare including Ahsoka (in his final performance), Punisher: War Zone, Thor, and G.I. Joe: Retaliation. This is another thing it shares in common with Spartacus, as that show has seen many of its alums go on to alternate genre fare (none likely more famous than Lucy Lawless, who defined early genre TV when she played a certain warrior princess).

Black Sails stood out from other pirate series by going into darker places, especially where its characters were concerned. Though Flint was the protagonist, he'd commit cold-blooded murder, especially if anyone crossed him. Betrayals were second nature; one minute two of the pirates could be allies and the next they'd be at each other's throats. And for all the blood, sex, and swearing, the series was rather introspective; it explored the mental cost Flint's past took on him, and was willing to question whether or not he could truly find peace. Black Sails was definitely a series ahead of its time, not just in pirate media but in genre storytelling on the whole, and the map it laid out would lead to many similar elements playing out in shows that would soon follow, like Game of Thrones and The Witcher.

Black Sails is available to stream on Starz.

Note from admin: Black Sails coming to Netflix US on 1st January, stay tuned!

Source: Collider

[gatheringbones]

[“Ames focuses on the promotion of individualism by the ruling class of corporate giants to explain why the gun situation is allowed to exist in a modern industrial society, arguing that gun-rights politics fit with the corporate agenda that profits from atomized individualism. “If all you do when you think of guns is think of an instrument that is dangerous, can kill, and is usually seen being waved around by dangerous criminals or pot-bellied white jerks in pickups, then you don’t see the angles.”

He rightly dismisses the idea that the wealthy fear an armed populace; rather, what they worry about is government regulations on their capacity to make profit, and this is increasingly the case with the tech industry. Ames asks: “So why does the Big Business lobby align so seamlessly with the gun cultists?” He recognizes that Second Amendment advocates, nearly 75 percent of the population, truly believe that guns are a source of political rights and political power: “That guns in fact are the only source of political power. . . . If you think guns, rather than concentrated wealth, equals political power, then you’d resent government power far more than you’d resent billionaires’ power or corporations’ hyper-concentrated wealth/power, because government will always have more and bigger guns. In fact you’d see pro-gun, anti-government billionaires like the Kochs as your natural political allies in your gun-centric notion of political struggle against the concentrated gun power of government.”

Ames’s argument reflects contemporary reality, but it also extends from a much deeper historical dance between the wealthy and politically powerful, who dominate the economic and social order by making sure some symbolic power sedates those who actually have little financial leverage and thus, extremely limited political power.

It is the case that for rural settlers of the North American British colonies, and for U.S. American settlers after Independence, a firearm was regarded as a necessary utensil for the settler’s task—as with a hoe, an ax, a team of oxen or horses—a point made by some gun-control advocates as evidence that guns were meaningless. However, it’s illogical to assume that the gun’s utilitarian role outweighed the immediate sense of power and domination that firearms offer. The land that the hoe, the ax, the ox, and the slave’s body were used to cultivate was taken by armed force and repression; the land was already home to Indigenous societies that for millennia had been engaged in agricultural and animal husbandry, and had developed distinct languages, cultures, and traditions. That is the way of settler-colonialism, and that is the way of the gun—to kill off enemies and, in the case of the North American colonies and the independent United States, to control African Americans.”]

roxanne dunbar-ortiz, from loaded: a disarming history of the second amendment, 2018

[belit0]

s/o has a sexual fantasy to give a dear boy a blowjob with bright red lipstick and leave those vulgar marks there

huhuuuuuuuuuu🛐🫱🏼‍🫲🏼(today is friday and I can stay up until 6 am writing!!!)

you know that any dirty fantasy, for me, involves izuna, so ……. with nothing more to say:

There's something inexplicable about seeing (Y/N) kneeling in front of him that will always drive him crazy, but even more so if it's in a tight party dress and full makeup on her features. His wife is beautiful, gorgeous, talented in everything she does, and the way she applies her foundation without any imperfections, how the contouring enhances her cheekbones, the blush sits on her cheeks, it's all wonderful.

Izuna could spend hours watching her curl her eyelashes, apply highlighter to the bridge of her nose, that lip gloss she loves so much. But his head exploded when his girlfriend confessed about wanting to devour his cock with vibrant red lips, one night of several cocktails and disinhibitions lost behind alcohol.

(Y/N) probably doesn't remember it, but there's no way a statement like that would ever disappear from the Uchiha's mind, and this very night when he saw her getting ready for the party they had to attend, he knew it was his perfect opportunity.

He watched every step of his wife's makeup routine, dressed in his suit and adorned with his most expensive jewelry, but when it came time for her to apply lipstick, Izuna took the audacity to stop her and tell her which one to wear.

Having never intervened in such a way, it is out of pure curiosity that (Y/N) doesn't question it, indulging him and applying the most expensive lipstick she has in her collection, crimson red and thick on her mouth. "Take it in your purse, just in case." Was all the Uchiha said to her before leaving, as if she wasn't going to do it anyway.

The party they had to come to is extremely superficial and pretentious, one of those celebrations that his brother's girlfriend loves to throw against his Aniki's wishes. Izuna learned to put up with them, deal with it, crowded spaces and too many people trying to flaunt wealth, seeking to engage him in awkward conversations just because he is Madara's brother.

Eventually, he found a way of genuinely enjoying himself with thoughts and fantasies, ideas he didn't get a chance to put to the test, until tonight.

The clock strikes twelve, the music plays loudly on the speakers and alcohol swirls from hand to hand, dark atmosphere providing the perfect escape. Izuna dances next to (Y/N), waists intertwined in an obscene style that has them hot from the start. Bodies collide on the dance floor, people giving it all up like there's no tomorrow, and no one notices when the Uchiha takes her to one of the rooms away from the commotion, hiding in the enormous privacy of Madara's house.

They enter the suite with mouths engaged in a fiery kiss, tongues darting back and forth and hands working desperately fast for a common goal. Izuna is sporting a prominent erection from the moment (Y/N) decided to treat him to some good steps, and it's the perfect time to put her lipstick to good use.

"On your knees." He whispers against her lips as he guides her to the floor, shoulders pushed down and a curious glance in his direction. "Time for you to fulfill your fantasy, love." Izuna undoes his belt, and unzipping his fly he pulls down his pants to reveal what he's wearing between his legs.

(Y/N) tries to pretend she doesn't understand, that she knows what she should do, but not what Izuna means by fantasy, of course, until she is fully exposed with her dirty mind in evidence. "Didn't you say you want to paint all over my dick with your lipstick? Go ahead, show me what you've got."

But the Uchiha already knows what she has, an arsenal of tongue movements that could make him come in 2 minutes, yet a good challenge is always what his woman needs to develop confidence and dominance in front of him, seeking to outdo and make him eat his words.

Inhibition disappears when Izuna leaves her in evidence, unable to take refuge, and instead of flinching, she grabs the base of his cock with one hand and squeezes his balls gently with the others, tongue starting from the bottom up "Ah… fuck (Y/N)."

She doesn't leave a single mark at first, and the Uchiha knows that's exactly what she wants. He strokes her hair, delicate as he looks down intently, addicted to how good she looks eating his dick. "Mark it all, eat it whole." It's not a question, and the demanding tone is what sets his girlfriend off on a furious rampage.

She swallows the entirety of his length in one motion, reaching the base with her lips and gagging the way Izuna likes it on his skin, holding the position for as long as she can until sliding back, hand accompanying, and masturbating the rest. The woman provides the necessary lubrication for a good blowjob with her saliva, slippery skin and easy access for her mouth.

She stares him straight in the eye, making sure her boyfriend sees every vibrant red mark painted on his skin before disappearing between her lips, ambitiously devoured by a tongue intent on disarming him beneath it. "You have no idea how pretty you look eating my cock, do you?" he asks agitated, and she could smile if it didn't involve losing the perfect stride she carries.

Izuna holds her hair in a ponytail, grip from the back, and a few strands raining down on the front of her face, soaked with saliva and smeared with lipstick. It's a wonderful scene, and he moves his hips in rhythm with her to let his pelvis find her mouth with each thrust.

(Y/N) releases control, gripping his sack and the base of his cock all at the same time, delicious pressure that makes him see a clear path to what he desires. The hand she leaves on his length acts as a barrier to keep her from drowning in him, but when the Uchiha notices her technique, he picks up a more brutal pace, forcing her to swallow him whole even as she tries not to.

Her hands fall surrendered on the Uchiha’s thighs, squeezing the skin half-covered by his pants and unable to look him in the eyes with the speed he's pushing, eyelids squeezed tightly and constant gagging at the end of her throat. Izuna is unforgiving, and the addiction he gets from seeing his cock covered in that wonderful red lipstick is an exhilarating sensation, impossible to satisfy and beautiful at the same time.

Spit runs down her cheeks and binds her to his cock as Izuna allows her to breathe, taking in puffs of air and spitting the excess liquid on the floor, staining her dress in the act. " Now look at you, all face fucked by me. Aren't you beautiful?" He slaps his cock against her cheeks making her reflexively close her eyes, savoring every second of having her at his feet as he desires.

"Are you going to make me come or what?" Defiantly, Izuna plants himself as if unprepared to let loose completely, struggling internally to stretch this moment out as long as possible, to enjoy this scene in its entirety. It's maddening, and although he wants to fill her mouth with cum, he also wants to see her work for it for at least another hour.

(Y/N) accepts her fate with no problem, and with eyes full of lust she closes one hand over his cock to cup the head with her mouth, unpainted lips sucking and tongue in charge of caressing the underside of it. She moves her head up and down quickly, fingers pressing on that vein Izuna adores and mouth concentrating on what she can cover, her other hand squeezing as hard as he likes on his sack.

It's overwhelming and marvelous, a scene the Uchiha sees in his dirtiest dreams, and nothing seems to matter as he stops holding back the excitement and jumps right into what (Y/N) craves, taking the prize in her mouth and not leaving a drop out.

[darklordazalin]

Azalin Reviews: Darklord Dominic d'Honaire

Domain: Dementlieu Domain Formation: 707 BC Power Level:💀💀⚫⚫⚫ Sources: Domains of Dread (2e), Realms of Terror (2e), Domains and Denizens (2e), Monstrous Compendium I-III (2e), Secrets of the Dread Realms (3e)

The rolling hills, sparse woodlands, and relatively peaceful wildlife of Dementieu merely obfuscate the true horror of this realm - petty, bickering nobles used as marionettes by a man child.

The Dementlieuse use art to hide all they do. They wear excessive amounts of face paint and ridiculously elaborate wigs to conceal their flaws and even distasteful stage magicians aren’t as they first appear. Stage magic, bah. At least they have a secret society in which they perform real magic, but to have such masters of the arcane reduced to mere entertainment is beyond insulting.

The divide between the upper and lower classes of Dementlieu is extreme with the upper class spending their days in useless rivalries and trivial pursuits while the poor do all the actual work. This has resulted in uprisings in the past and things appear to be on the brink once again.

Most of this is Dominic D’Honaire’s design or more accurately, playground. Dominic was born in the land of Mordent and has enjoyed the art of manipulation since he was a child. Some say he was born evil, others blame over indulgence from the adults in his life after his mother died. Whichever the case, Dominic took delight in manipulating people against one another and relished in each relationship he ruined.

He was so skilled and subtle with his machinations that those he used often thought they were carrying out their own whims. When he was 7, he encountered one of the first adults in his life that actively tried to enforce strict rules on the spoiled brat, his nanny. To rid himself of her, he convinced her of things that were never true and ruined every relationship she held dear. Her mind was so warped by his gaslighting, he convinced her to throw herself off the rocky cliffs of Mordent and into the Sea of Sorrows.

When the Mordentshire constables became suspicious of the nanny’s disappearance, Dominic became uneasy and convinced his father to move the family out of Mordent. A common theme in there realms for Dominic was not the first to flee Mordent only to enter his own prison. As the D’Honaire’s left Mordent, the domain of Dementlieu was formed with Dominic as its Darklord.

As a child, Dominic continued to manipulate the adults around him to amass wealth and influence. By the age of 20 he was appointed the chief advisor to the lord governor and is the head of the Council of Brilliance that advises them. This Council and the lord governor are merely Dominic’s puppets. Well, all but one who Dominic has deluded himself into believing he is in love with.

Dominic’s rule is based on his natural and supernatural means to manipulate and control others. Though not a spell caster, his voice and gaze are similar to the Suggestion and Dominate spells. With time, his domination over another’s mind is almost permanent. These individuals are referred to as “Obedient” and only Domination by another or leaving the realm of Dementlieu will remove Dominic’s influence.

The greatest threat to Dominic’s rule is “The Brain”. Dominic believes this to be a code name of some sort, but it is literally a brain in a jar and considered to be a failed experiment by Mordenheim. So...no differetn from any of the doctor's other experiments. This Brain and Dominic are in a constant game of chess trying to gain control of the people’s minds without knowing who their opponent is.

I appreciate a cunning web of manipulation, but only when it serves a greater purpose. Dominic’s plans are more for his own entertainment and have very little value. Of course, getting to the spider at the center of the web would be difficult for those unable to move in high society, but this is Dominic’s only real power. His curse is a strange one. Our Tormentors gave this over-sized child a literal playground and the only drawback he faces is any woman he finds attractive will find him repulsive. Is this a true curse or just an indication of the good taste and high intellect of Dementlieu women? I am in a generous mood, I will grant 1.5 skulls to this man child.