#all wars are profit wars

[stillmind2]

We are Being Ruled by Idiots

Photo by Art Guzman on Pexels.com Humankind has reached a level of stupidity never seen before (well, almost never). One side spent tens of billions sending missiles that the other side brought down like flies, costing billions. The makers of said missiles are laughing all the way to the bank, making billions, replacing all the missiles downed, and selling them to both sides. Now, both sides are…

[kanansdume]

I've recently been watching these very interesting Star Wars video essays on YouTube (yeah I know, a rare breed) and it brings up these comments Lucas has made about how he views Star Wars as almost like a silent film in terms of how important the visuals are to him in comparison to the dialogue. But this essay also points out how important Lucas finds all of the "rhyming" moments in his trilogies and the way he utilizes them to remind you of something else for emotional or thematic reasons. And there's so many of them, both in visuals and in dialogue, and it's interesting to consider how important this is to him, the repetition for a purpose as well as the storytelling through visuals above everything else and then to look at Star Wars since the Prequels came out and realize how little has really been able to match up to those ideals since then.

The ONLY thing that's come out since the Prequels that I think really hits these two things the same way is, in fact, Andor. One of the things I noticed about the way people discussed Andor as it was airing in a way I haven't really seen for any of the other shows or films was the visual SYMBOLOGY. So many times I saw people noticing the Imperial cog everywhere, from the aerial shot of Narkina 5 as the prisoners escape to the architecture of Mon Mothma's house. There were people picking up on the use of items in Luthen's shop that are familiar from other things to give this idea that Luthen is from another time, he's attempting to preserve this world he lost, that if you're not looking closely enough you won't notice what he's really saying or doing with this shop. The color choices for the different locations and people got analyzed because the people involved spoke about how they intentionally utilized color to SEND A MESSAGE about the characters and the world. We know that the people who made the costumes and sets really worked hard to treat Star Wars almost like a period drama and study the history of the franchise as if it were a real place so that the things they came up with felt like they belonged in this world everyone knows so well even if it's completely new. And of course there were all of the myriad references to things from Rogue One, the constant repetition of "climb", the sunset on the beach, etc.

Nearly EVERY SHOT in this show was created with so much intention behind it in order to say something meaningful about the characters, the world, this specific story they're in, and the overall saga of Star Wars itself. It's insane how much greater impact this show was able to achieve through the incredibly careful usage of visual symbols and thematic repetitions, much like Lucas did before them. It feels like they didn't just study the history of the galaxy far far away, but they studied the history of STAR WARS and what Lucas was trying to do and say with this story. They peeled back his onion a bit more and were able to create something that really has that same visual feel even when it's not created for a child audience. It also is experimenting with its narrative style through its structure and through Cassian's character being allowed to be somewhat more reactive than proactive, and while that didn't work for everyone, it does feel like it's following in Lucas's footsteps of experimentation through Star Wars. Push the boundaries of what Star Wars is and can be and what you can say with it.

But this only works because they peeled the onion back enough to TRULY understand all of the messages Lucas was sending with it. They got the heart of Star Wars and despite its lack of space wizards, despite the lack of most major characters in the Saga, this was a show that honestly got the message more than just about anything else Star Wars has put out since the Prequels. The choices between selflessness and selfishness, the themes about how you always HAVE to make a choice even when it feels like you don't have any (sometimes ESPECIALLY when it feels like you don't have any), and how important it is to make sure to choose the path of compassion above everything else. The themes of connection to others, the symbiotic circle and the impact even the smallest person can have on world around them, it's RIGHT THERE and it's CENTRAL to Andor's storyline.

So yes, it experiments a little with narrative structure, but it's possibly the most Star Wars thing to exist Revenge of the Sith because it honestly truly GETS what Star Wars was about, both in its themes and in its filmmaking. A lot of people said that Andor didn't feel like Star Wars to them, usually because of the lack of space wizards and the fact that it's not a story aimed at children. But to me, Andor is EXACTLY what Star Wars is and has always been. They're stretching the boundaries of what Star Wars can be, but it's saying the exact same things Star Wars has always said, it's just saying it slightly differently. This doesn't feel like fanfiction to me, not really. Unlike things like the Mandoverse or the books, Andor isn't just taking some of the toys out of the sandbox and going to play with them somewhere else. Andor is IN that sandbox. It's building a slightly different sandcastle, but it's still within the sandbox, using the same sand that Lucas did.

[alluralater]

thoughts/vent post

yesterday i was thinking about how big the united states is and how it’s crazy that if someone were to invade, we really just wouldn’t know if they were quiet and smart about it. then i started today thinking about the insane amount of cop cities being built all over this country, quietly. specifically being built in places that have been known for protesting. we are being invaded right now, quietly but surely. our government has realized that there is possibility to overthrow them and they’re putting all this shit into motion now because in 5-10 years there will be an INSANE amount of unrest, even more than we’ve seen in the 2020 black lives matter protests, even more than we’ve seen in the current palestinian genocide protests. the police presence at both of these kinds of protests have been overwhelming. though protesting is a legal right. (for non-americans-> it is legal but it isn’t actually and that’s why it’s so dangerous to do. our government will pretend certain laws don’t exist whenever convenient). all cops here are bad and they serve a system meant to harm and imprison citizens + protect property of the rich. doing anything else is actually what you’d consider outliers to their intended purpose, though it still doesn’t negate ACAB. even the way it’s taught in our country, protesting was actually only okay for this group of white guys when THEY wanted to overthrow the british government. that one we’re supposed to clap for and anything else historically was frowned upon at the time. many people are killed, jailed, and/or injured at protests at the hands of police and our mainstream media is owned by those in power, so they’ll call it “rioting” and flip shit around to confuse even more of the population + try to turn us against each other. it is extremely rare that anyone protesting actually does something to cause harm and therefore dEseRvEd to get their shit rocked by these weirdos in uniform that sold their soul for 22k a year. in my opinion it’s like the stanford prison experiment but imagine it large scale because there is very little training and they’re basically taught to shoot without more thought than it takes to upholster their weapon. oh and they’re taught to aim for kill shots so that’s… ??? pretty much they’re just untrained idiots walking around with no idea what they’re doing and they get off on the sense of power given to them. AND the way the military + police system work similarly is that they teach people not to think. don’t think, just shoot. don’t think, just take someone to the ground. don’t think, act. they are vessels without thought and harm people the same way— thus in my opinion, are soulless.

btw does anyone wonder where all this funding is coming from?? where this country refuses to help their own citizens or deliver aid to countries in need while saying it isn’t in the budget, they will instead always have money for weapons, for bombs, for sending money to other countries that want to commit atrocities. they will always have money for militarization. this country is guilty of so many things and the fact that we can just print more money to continue the horrors is— well, it’s horrifying. you can’t even count on the idea of us running out of money because somehow there is somehow ALWAYS money for murdering people overseas. fucking disgusting. that pentagon tax audit missing trillions of dollars is makin reeeal noise right now.

does anyone know the process of how you go about getting a country disbanded? more on that, how do we go about ruining the process of these cop cities. i’ll be researching. i want them left empty like those unfinished amusement parks. i want them turned into free or low-income housing. i want them turned into agriculture or food centers because food deserts are at an all time high.

the media is flooded right now with trending pop culture topics and while this is distracting, if you live in the USA, cop cities are a HUGE problem and we’ll be seeing just how bad the effects are in a few years. we’re going to see a lot of our citizens desperate for work (because the economy is in a perpetual state of decline and the rich are getting richer while costs of living for the rest of us increase even more and jobs become more scarce) and there’s no way these cop cities won’t start eventually offering programs for debt relief, education, healthcare, and housing— pretty much exactly what the military here does already for many citizens who believe they have no other options than to enlist so they can survive.

militarizing your citizens against your citizens??? leading by fear and oppressive force??? taking advantage of the vulnerable populace??? not changing the system but instead doubling down when eyes are drawn away?? overturning laws meant to protect them??? drafting new laws to smite them?? encouraging genocide and taking part in said genocides because it’s profitable?? that’s just… so… american government. we have literally never lived in an actual democracy. not once. everything we have is stolen and/or covered in blood. there is no changing or redeeming the past but the future is wide fucking open for change. if we lived in a true democracy, the changes we (the overwhelming majority noted in polls and census taking) have been asking for would already exist. america is a force of greed and deception, eating and eating itself and everything around it without pause while claiming it is still hungry for more. it will consume itself eventually but not anytime soon. i doubt i’ll be around to see the fall. i doubt any of us will. i wanna grab people by the shoulders and be like— please don’t wait on the future to save you. we only have right now to save ourselves.

god ugh anyways okay i’m done. probably gonna talk more shit in the tags though

[crazy-fangirl2524]

Aaron spitting facts

[subjxctseventeen]

ac gays do we think abstergo would rainbowwash their logo for pride month yes or no

[placesyoucallhome]

Mayqo'te #2 War/Peace

Castrum Occidens used to be bustling, he used to have to sneak and slit throats to get in and out with bits and baubles to sell, a gun here, a magitek bit there, gil and gil and gil.

Now? Barren, and picked to hells and back, nothing but steel bones left. He could waltz in and play kick ball with a forgotten helmet, skull usually not included.

Peace was better for the long run, sure, but war was better for business.

[nugulover69]

Didn't expect realism in my goofy car sentai

[arsenicflame]

my most bitter proposal for a season 2 fix it is that the crew refuses to let ed back on the boat (as they should) so stede throws a tantrum and ultimatums that if ed stays so will he but the crew just take him up on that.

they make their inn in the wreckage of anne + marys house and the crew goes off and continues to have fun hijinks with izzy as the ship parent

[gen-is-gone]

hrgh every time I think I've come close to forgiving lance fucking parkin I skim the gallifrey chronicles. and then I remember the Horrors.

[sandinmybed]

i generally keep my mouth shut on the Israel Palestine conflict because there is nothing I can say that is of any value, but saying that all striking actors deserve to be replaced by AI and don't deserve fair pay just because you don't agree with the SAG president's statement on the conflict? it just proves that you never cared about the strike in the first place and only supported it for clout.

[regicidal-defenestration]

Steven Moffat had like 3 separate metaphors he figured he could put in a Doctor Who episode some day and got given exactly one (1) episode to do it all in

[dots3a]

I don't believe that every target on Lavender's hit list was a Hamas member and I don't believe that the Israeli government is unaware.

Israel has claimed that every single martyred Palestinian male was a member of Hamas.

You are playing a dangerous game when you take Israel at its word after six months of lies being rapidly told and exposed one after another after another after another.

This is not a simple error of AI. This genocide is intentional. Pay attention to the men behind the curtain.

[bolithesenate]

Having thoughts? I'm enjoying watching you have so many thoughts about komari

Komari thoughts!!!!

Yes, ofc I have them.

So, maybe you have gathered it, maybe not, but I am definitely hc-ing Komari on the spicier side of neurospicy. I personally have a specific brand in mind when I write her, but imma leave that open here so that everyone can interpret that as they want.

She is a character that imo has very much been dirty by canon and thus It seems just fun and fair that I give her brain some crosswiring that irl also carries quite a stigma.

It doesn't work out for her in canon, but it sure does in my Happy Fun Time Crack AUs where all is well and (almost) no one gets hurt.

[capriszn]

isnt this so absurd and surreal??? i feel like im losing my mind. wdym a veto against……..saving lives?? its so unreal to me that there needs to be a voting in the first place. theres a literal massacre going on and youre telling me there needs to be a decision made to stop a whole genocide, to stop warcrimes in real time even though youre perfectly capable and have the power to put an end to this? and instead you support it, you fund it, you celebrate and applaud it, you willingly want more children to die than already have?? its insane. there is no justification no forgiving ever its so absurd and insane

[flowerflamestars]

I completly did not think about the Spring Court!!! Now I am just thinking about the sentries, who were loyal to Tamlin, yes, but to Lucien first, because he was sane and there and active and one of them (in a way). I do not want the Spring Court to fall, but I also really want the sentries to see Lucien Archeron alive and be like "actually? Yes, yes I WILL pledge my life to my long-time friend and his scary new family."

Could Lucien and Elain ever take over the Spring Court? It's such a hard decision. With Nesta ruling over the Archeron lands and if the Illyrians decide to stay and with the wall gone, we could have a huge human-fairy court (because I know Elain and Lucien and Nesta would either have no divide or a very loosely controlled one).

But on the other hand there is the Summer Court, to which Lucien is heir. Does he want it? He, who has never wanted to be a ruler, but who is so good at it, possible heir to so many courts? What connection does Lucien have to the Summer Court except that a man there impregnated his mother and the result was Lucien. Why would he go there when he could be part of the Archeron lands, or rule the Spring Court, or help Eris with Autumn and work to put good things out in the world?

Perhaps the real question is, where does Elain want to go? Because I think it would not matter to Lucien if every single person from Spring, Autumn and Summer would pledge their loyalty to him - if Elain wishes to stay with Nesta in the Archeron lands, then nothing in the world could make him move.

That IS the big question of the story! What happens when Lucien gets to be himself? What happens when Elain and Nesta have choices? How far will the three of them go to protect that?

One of my favorite Lucien Things is that he doesn't have that ego so SO many acotar characters are afflicted with. There's this stable center at the core of Lucien, despite everything that has happened to him. The Autumn crown is sitting on Elain's head, and no part of him is howling about denied birthright. His processing vis a vis the Day Court has two notes he'll really engage with- this, this, is why he was always a little wrong. This is somewhere his mother will finally be safe.

He doesn't want the crown. He kind of wants to punch Helion in the face. There is a part of him that's just...heartbroken about Day. That's not fixable. It's centuries too late to save the child Lucien was, and even now, Lucien loves Autumn.

Lucien, to himself, thinks he's a little selfish. His entire desire for power has only ever been personal: he wants to protect the people he loves. He want to take care of the people. He has a pretty serious sense of right and wrong, and has spent most his life in much more minor roles than he should have, mostly to try to help.

(these are, of course. All things that are GOOD, but Lucien is uh, working on it, we'll say. The Archeron's are hellishly good for a man's self esteem if it works out.)

Lucien wants to stay.

With Elain. With Nesta. With these people, who have never made him choose which parts of himself matter.

In some ways, one of the biggest hurts of the coming conflict is not the loss of land SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS, but people, and PERSONALLY (SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS) what feels like the loss of the long-term ability to keep that little family they built together.

They would have been happy. They didn't need more. Lucien liked taking care of the Archeron vassals, playing up a love story that was actually entirely true. He and Elain would have gotten married, sealed the safety of all their positions. Both sisters would have been happy, allowed to do what they were good at, their birthright, forever.

Destiny keeps saying otherwise, Prythian just keeps pulling.

There's some outlying stuff I've overwritten- canon only sometimes likes to acknowledge that Prythian is coming out a half century of hostile occupation and basically, has to be, at least a little in chaotic shambles.

There's Lucien, unable to forget the people in Spring, but also less inclined to seek vengeance for himself than say, Elain. (and her new friend, the deranged shadowman with the magic knife, genuinely considering killing his own High Lord). There's Sorcha, whose fully absconded from her husband. There's the abject mystery of where the hell the Archeron's magic actually comes from. There's Cassian, unsubtly yelling to anyone who will listen this scary hot amazing lady WILL BE A GREAT FEUDAL LORD, FEALTY WELCOME

The only certainty is that Lucien isn't letting go, this time.