#because that sounds realistic under capitalism

[gemwolfz]

i think the best genre of image is "creatures trapped in starbucks cups with receipts reading [cup of water (no water, no ice, creature)]"

[ifyourereadingthisblinktwice]

conflict of sticking with my environmental planning degree plan and a potentially more stable/well paying job vs wanting to go for an arts degree in literature analysis and writing and history and culture because i love it so so much but know it wont be considered ‘useful’. FIGHT

[vorthosjay]

Hi Jay. Not wanting to sound mean, but I really think it must be commented and that there's no softer way of doing that: the company's statement of Thunder Junction being an inhabitated plane prior to MoM is not a honest way of capitalizing on a sellable trope without touching its uncomfortable issues. It's even disrespectful. They have done it in a less flagrant way with Kaladesh and both Ixalan iterations, but now they've gotten too far with Thunder Junction. Colonialism is too big an issue to simply being put under the carpet as it never existed and we could just enjoy the sunny part of the history. I really hope Hasbro as a company acknowledges this and changes its way of dealing with the theme. Thanks for letting me pointing this.

Look, you caught me on a bad day, so I'm going to be as polite as possible but let's start with the foundation that this is not a complaint to direct at me. I have no control over any of this. Mark Rosewater exists and takes feedback on Tumblr.

But, let's talk about it, because I've seen some folks take this to extremes.

First off, I've seen a lot of well meaning folks speaking up on behalf of hypothetical indigenous americans, but I'd love to get takes from folks this actually impacts. I'd love for Wizards to post something about their work with cultural consultants, for sure. But the only actual thing I've seen so far is a great story from Magic's first indigenous american author. And when you're speaking on someone else's behalf, you tend to miss things. Like, Kaladesh is not the great representation of south asian culture that you might think when you jumped to it, and it's okay if you didn't know that, but it sort of proves the point that it's very difficult to actually protest on someone else's behalf. And I just haven't heard from anyone who has also mentioned they speak from authority or are impacted by this. That doesn't mean you're wrong, necessarily.

But here's the thing. Thunder Junction isn't history. It takes cues from the American West, sure, but it's a fake world. And sometimes it's okay for a fake world to ignore the bad things that happens in real life and create something more aspirational. Magic does this all the time. Magic doesn't have homophobia, but that isn't really realistic or representative of the real world, is it?

No one, and I mean literally no one, came to me and said that people of color needed to be ostracized and not allowed to work alongside the white people in the demon mob families of New Capenna. That racism was real, it was systemic, and it was violent. But did it need to be tackled in a fantasy crime drama based on america in the 20s? Should it have been? I don't think anyone would have enjoyed it as much. Sometimes it's just fun to play gangster.

Similarly, the colonization and manifest destiny that was the reality of the American West was tragic, but does that need to be our only depiction of indigenous peoples - being colonized? If they were erased completely from the narrative, that would be awful, but can't they just have fun being cool thunder slingers? The Atiin were developed with a consultant, and if you want answers ask Wizards to talk about it.

There's a reason the Oltec were depicted as being sealed off from the Immortal Sun drama that had happened on the surface. To have an aspirational mesoamerican culture that wasn't affected by the Dusk Legion and Azor and all that.

To put it in another perspective, does every period piece featuring black americans need to feature systemic racism to be respectful? Is Bridgerton disrespectful (I mean probably but not for that reason)?

The reason I've framed a lot of this as questions is because I don't necessarily think I know the right answer, especially not for a fantasy card game. I've worked with tribal governments in my emergency management career and spent a week on the Navajo Nation, and talked a lot about perspective on things, and I would not presume to know what the right answer to all of this is.

Edit: to be clear, Could it have been handled better? Probably. I will never deny that. But also it’s a complicated and fraught topic and I’d love to hear from the people wizards contracted who actually know what they’re talking about.

[notscarsafe]

Okay, so in honor of all the Hermits stirring things up on Twitter today, let's REALISTICALLY consider Season Ten. What do we know, what are our clues, actually???

(Speculating and overanalyzing are really fun so I'm just going to embrace my tendency to Listify Everything and spill my thoughts on Season Ten under the cut!)

First Evidence: The Words of the Hermits.

Nine Days ago Scar said in his Jellie tribute video that Season Ten was “Just around the corner”. Five days ago on the 18th, right after the Hermit meeting that probably finalized their start of the season plans, Cub posted his cryptic tweet whose incorrect capitalizations spelled out “SEASON TEN SOON”. I can't imagine either of those hermits using that phrasing if the season start was more than a month away.

What's more, Gem posted yesterday the 23 that “If hermitcraft s10 doesn’t start soon I’m gonna explode!!!” I can't imagine Gem being that impatient unless there was only a couple of weeks or maybe just one week left before filming.

Second Point to Consider: Hermit Conscientiousness.

The Hermits sre generally really kind to each other and have known when the Hermitcraft Vault Hunters challenge was going to end (Jan 31st, midnight) for months. Per Iskall, the videos of the Herald Vault will drop February 1rst and I can't imagine they'd want video competition between that content and the new season.

Clue Three: The Streaming Activities of the Hermits.

The sheer amount of time Joe has spent playing Vault Hunters lead me to believe they can't have started filming for Season 10 yet. Seriously, when Joe finally has a day without a bonus Vault Hunters stream I'm gonna get mighty suspicious. Joe has streamed more than three hours of Vault Hunters every single day for a week. There was Wednesday when he did his art stream, but I wouldn't expect that to have been a launch day because:

Fact Four: Editing turn around times are so grindy.

The traffic series always has a several day turn around for editing time (IE film Monday post Friday) and several Hermits still struggle to get them out on those days. Even if the hermits were going to ignore the Vault Hunters conflict and start filming season ten this week, tomorrow even, they'd just barely have enough time to squeeze those videos out before the Herald Vault videos. As I'm editing this post Impulse just said he's trying to finish his office reorg this week and have a tour out next week. That does not sound like 'filming this week and editing the new season opener' behavior.

If it goes as Iskall indicated on stream, the Vault Hunter hermits will film the Herald Vault and post as soon as possible on February 1st, meaning the earliest they could kick off season ten would be Friday the 2nd. Even if they film on then I can't imagine them dropping new season videos/having them edited any earlier than Monday the 5th. Furthermore:

Clue Five: A lot of Hermits are very protective of their weekends.

Pearl for example almost didn't join the Decked Out visitor day because it was a weekend. It may be that Monday the 5th would be the more likely earliest useable day for filming after Vault Hunters ended. With editing turn around, we'd guess the start date to be Friday at least.

In Conclusion:

My totally bullshit overanalyzed but still blind guess is that the Hermits will film season ten starting February 5th and will drop videos sometime between February 7th and 9th.

That being said, Cub's cypher today that may have just been trolling said season ten would be “sooner than we'd think” so they may surprise me yet.

Keep an eye out for days where no hermits stream or days where Joe does a brief “1 hour chill stream” to see when the Hermits might be suspiciously behind the scenes. I won't be mad if I'm wrong, overthinking is fun. Either way I hope you join me in hypong up the new season and the new Hermits joining the Hermit Fam. I can't wait!

(Note: this post originally reported the herald vault videos as dropping the 2nd which was an estimate from a stream, but Iskalls video today reported they'd drop the first and this post has been edited to reflect that ❤️)

[gnashingwailing]

Kept notes on a reread I was doing of The Art of Love and War because I am so obsessed with the gay little borrower darkfic... sharing with u @fireflywritesgt

it falls apart at ch12 because that is where i consistently turn into a puddle under my covers kicking my legs and making sounds only audible to shrimps.

I HOPE THIS IS A SMALL TOKEN OF APPRECIATION FOR HOW GUD THIS FIC IS, SINCERELY... LIKE I SAID PUTTING THIS IN SOMEBODY'S INBOX IS PROBABLY A WAR CRIME. SO.

There is soooo muuuuch I want to saaaay. I did a reread and excuse my being verbose but.

Ch10 where Harry reads about how tinies don’t ask for things and prefer to do favors for them — how extra insulting that makes his message in Ch1!! “Just ask” no wonder Joe was so pissed!!

ALSO him feeling “dirty, somehow” about accepting chocolate that didn’t kill him… was he having a little bit of feelings for “the kind man” and it got transmuted into self-loathing… 😭 oh internalized homophobia tag we’re really in it now…

Re: ch2 I would kill for Joe’s pov of this… I’m also so fascinated to pick up the detail that Joe apparently talked to himself regularly, for Harry to hear him through the radiator pipes… one assumes Joe doesn’t have guests. Poor guy! He’s really smart! He likes talking! The assistant job is perfect for himmmm.

Re: ch3, i wonder how much Captain Calloway’s “if you die it’s your own damn fault” has influenced Joe’s life ethos of fucking around and finding out (btw… Harry would be sooo horrified to know Joe had been poisoned 3 times and still tried that chocolate 😭 yet another fun! anecdote of his) … im also kinda curious about Gutters. What’s that guy’s deal. And OF. COURSE. How Captain got all his injuries. It’s also so very sad he feels this tension with the guys, what they’d do to him if they knew more about who he really was. I love this as a metaphor for homophobia…

Ch5 I’m still fixated on the giants who are guarding the place. Hundreds of tinies going there every day… you’d think there’d be snatchers all over the place 👀 and the other great worldbuilding… lab tinies… “they were corralling everyone everywhere and the women and kids went one way…” GOD. also them building tiny capitalism plus tiny race science is just 😭😭😭 noooo… the way Harry reinforces their shared dignity and humanity by showing genuine interest in Joe’s art.. ouuuugh it hits every time.

ALSO I WAS SO SUSPICIOUS OF HILL WHEN I FIRST READ CH6 BUT NOW THST I KNOW HE IS A BONA FIDE WIFEGUY ALL IS REDEEMED. I AM so curious as to why he keeps tiny town schematics in his office if he dislikes it…

Ch7 profoundly funny to me how Hill is like “miniature is the academic term” and Joe is like what. Tinies.

I really appreciate how Harry started off having some uh. Idk. Colonizer savior complex stuff + noble savage ideas about Joe? Like “oh it’s in mother nature’s hands whether he survives then… I see…” as if the tinies social constructs about Pets are some immutable fact of nature instead of. A social construct !! It’s really well-done, how you show him gradually understanding that he needs to listen to Joe, not assume he knows what’s best for him just because he read a 50yr old anthropology book!! It makes me love Harry all the more that he managed to grow through it out of fondness for Joe 🥺

AND OF COURSE. THE G/T GOODNESS. My god. I loooooove that Joe is so creeped out by giants that he has to keep his eyes closed to stomach it… just feels. Hmm. Realistic?? It would be so overwhelming. I love that his trust gets rewarded with the doctor not hurting him…

The rapport they establish being based on talking to one another… it’s just suuuuch a perfect central theme for this story… Joe being able to tame Harry’s anger by reminding him of Joe’s own humanity. “Please don’t do that, doc. This is mean. You’re being mean.” And “you’re treating me like I’m not even… not even…” UGH. RENT FREE IN MY HEAD, WARREN. “Maybe he could do it; maybe he could sit in the same room as a giant for five minutes. He would only have to do it once, and then he would never have to do it again, he reasoned.” Bitch u thought… get loved and cared for idiot…

Joe asking him “why not”, echoing Harry’s words that stuck with him…

And then him being sooo pissed at the phone it’s just absolutely amazing stuff. Wagging his finger at it/Dr Hill lmaooo. I was hootin and hollerin when I realized this foreshadows him being the assistant!!! He can talk on the phone just fine!!!!

His legs threatening to give way from the prospect of Harry seeing him at ground level after he escapes using the phone receiver… ouuugh. It’s SO GOOD. He’s come such a long way…

“Touching every wooden beam he passed for good luck” is INCREDIBLY cute mental imagery.., he’s happy… poor guy has awful luck tho so Harry is just pissed 😭 HIM NEARLY DESTROYING THE PLATES BECSUSE HARRY SCARED HIM SO BAD HAD ME FEELING.. SOME KIND OF WAY…

Ch8 also has the first mention of Joe’s books… I’m sooo curious where he got these.. did he perhaps make them…? 👀 YEAH HARRY SHOULD FEEL LIKE A MONSTER THO. YOU TERRORIZED A LIL MOVIE STAR!!! HE ONLY BROKE A FEW THINGS… Making him hide under his covers like he saw a monster… 😭

I love their first god awful handshake lmao. Incredible subversion of the usual g/t first meetings… Joe’s just like OK 👋 NOW GET THAT THANG OUTTA HERE

And then Joe going “I know about that!” Joe protested, his voice growing stronger. “It’s up to me, doc. If it happens, it happens and it’ll be my own damn fault.” … something tells me when Harry finally comes to understand Joe’s recklessness with his own life and what feelings about its worth may be underpinning that, he will be so sad 😔

Joe losing his toes to frostbite… realizing that could very likely be from when he was kidnapped and enslaved with O’Grady… uuuugh he’s so brave to want to connect with anybody at all let alone with Harry!!

Ch9 professor wifeguy moments… yesss… I love that he wants to hang out with another tiny too 😭 Joe is making friends!! I can’t wait to find out about Lorraine and what “other place” she knows about!!! Lmfao I can tell she’s going to be incredible just from the little bit Joe hears of her. I wonder too if she’s been marked… aahhh I’m so excited to learn more about these two. How interesting of a parallel, too, that Harry noted Dr Hill might also be a former soldier… something-something folks unable to fully integrate into society finding and building community with each other…

Also PROFOUNDLY interested to note on a reread that the tiny town on his wall says “a SAFE place to be” and the one in Riverdale said “a CIVILIZED place to be” 😬 a damn prison indeed… I also really wonder just HOW the tinies are paying their rent(?) to stay there, if they’re all as disdainful of “borrowing” as a career as O’Grady seems to be…

MAY I JUST NOTE that Joe stimming around is sooo charming to me. He’s kickin’ his legs. He’s pacing back and forth. He’s doing something like that in the walls when Harry was first listening to him. I LOVE HIM.. aND I love how this chapter we see him going from “that tall bastard (derogatory)” to “that tall bastard (amused)”

AND POOR JOE ON THE MOST CURSED FIELD TRIP IMAGINABLE. There is much to love here but I absolutely adore this imagery: “Joe buried himself in the curtain as the doctor, dressed to the nines in his work clothes and vaguely resembling a horse in a brown suit, sidled over to him and towered there and seethed.” HE’S TERRIFIED 😭 and Joe learns that other people value his wellbeing more than he does… wow Joe no need to ponder that any further until Ch15!!!

There’s SO much incredible prose in this chapter… the haaaaands oh my god the hands. The tinies are on the order of 2-3 inches tall, right? You really get a vivid sense of how big and dangerous everything is to them… absolutely A+ stuff.

This part also slays me everytime I think about it: “Joe was hidden inside [the pocket], and the thought of how unhinged his dear neighbour must look to his fellow giants as he walked and talked gave him no small amount of delight.” HE WOUUUULD.

The mystery of just what Joe created as a boy… what he can’t find it in himself to articulate… why he can hardly fathom talking about himself and his inner world to anyone …

PART 10… the difference in the way Joe confronts Harry here vs with the assistant in part 16 is somehow heartbreaking to me. I think the anger must just be displacement for how he’s really feeling (worried, uncomfortable…) and he’s more able to show his feelings to Harry with the assistants than he is now… but Joeeeee. I don’t ever want him to feel hopeless with Harry, like he just has to accept whatever he wants 😭 I love him in this chapter… Arms crossed, eyes narrowed… red faced… clawing at the air as he ranted Jdhdhdj GOD HE’S SO ICONIC: ““Nope. Not gonna happen! Veto!” Joe leapt up from the box, strode all the way to the edge of the table, and jabbed a finger at him. “I don’t know what kind of sick, twisted doctor things you intend to do to people but whatever it is, it’s not happening in my house!”” I guess I want him to still be comfortable with yelling veto at Harry lmao!!

And then Joe being like WHO GIVES A SHIT ABOUT YOU SAVING ME THE OTHER DAY. THAT MEANS NOTHING TO ME, A WILD AND INDEPENDENT TINY WHO HAD IT ALL UNDER CONTROL, AT ALL.

ALSO: the way he words this, I have a strong suspicion he does not know the word “patients”?! “”Let’s make a deal in exchange for patients. Give me something in exchange for patients.” Joe stammered. “You do that and I won’t make any trouble.””

Harry thinking of Joe as “the little bastard” in counterpoint to Joe’s “the tall bastard” really makes me smile too, hahahah.

AND THE FURTHER G/T TROPE INVERSION… just because he was willing to get in the giant’s hands one time doesn’t mean he’s suddenly fine with it!! I love how pissed they are at each other over this misunderstanding lmfao. He’s 👏 a 👏 wild 👏 tiny 👏 ‼️

And it’s so meaningful to me that the two of them bond more over sharing art with one another… Harry wants to introduce Joe to an amazing piano player… and Joe is so happy!!! The idea for a Charlie Chaplin bit with a rich miniature woman is SO inspired btw, I was as delighted as Joe was 😭 Harry being like “oh shit wait is this offensive” and then Joe just being like “THIS FUCKS SO HARD LMAO IT REALLY DO BE LIKE THAT”

And then the tragic aftermath… Harry NOTICING that he didn’t even know that he was doing anything wrong by bringing Joe there, it just FELT so dreadfully taboo (enough that Hill, who is MARRIED TO A TINY, also seems like he’s been caught doing something wrong when Harry first meets him)…. and then of course society reinforces that fear in a terrible way. Only a shared humanity regarding love of art saves poor Joe.. how lucky he’s gotten enough exposure to be able to speak in the presence of giants. You have to ponder how many tinies just as wonderfully complex as him have died for not having that skill. It’s so very sad!!! THE IMAGERY OF HIM ON THE LAMP LIKE IT’S A STREETCORNER JUST TWISTED THE KNIFE. Your writing really is so excellent, the way you can carry us through so many different emotions… Joe my belovedddd. I’m simply obsessed with the implications of him NAMING HARRY. WHAT IS /THAT/?? And the way that the narration in the story from this point on swaps to using Harry as his name… it speaks VOLUMES without you needing to elaborate on it at all. Joe has changed him! He’s becoming someone he likes better than Herman! A day we had good luck… Harry is good luck… Luck as a concept very different from what giants think of… I am absolutely enamored with how clearly he has a whole other world, another culture, that Harry can only guess at and be grateful to be included in.

JOE GETTING A NICE BATH AND A COMFORTABLE BED IN THIS CHAPTER IS JUST SO WHOLESOME (even if it will torment his Calvinist sensibilities later…) I am also so charmed to imagine how Joe must have woken up and been like “what the FUCK did I do last night. Where the HELL am I 🤨”

And then in Ch11 he’s like I WILL PROCEED NOT TO THINK OF THAT AT ALL. <- clueless

Ch11 is one of my favorites I think… we really get a good glimpse into how much heavy-duty rationalizing Joe is doing LMAO. “Taking food is fine, because I’m just using this tall bastard.” “It’s fine if I have leisure time.” “It’s fine if I like Harry and his company and I miss him when he’s gone and I want to give him a name.” “AS LONG AS I DON’T GET COMFORTABLE ALL OF THIS IS FINE.” This line is such a banger lol: “Joe Piccoli was many things as he went to sleep that night, but he was not a pet, and he was not comfortable.” And then the mouse!!! That Joe decides to draw rather than kill!!! Look at his needs being met!!!!!

IT ALSO ABSOLUTELY FUCKIN KILLED ME WHEN I REALIZED IN THIS CHAPTER THAT THE BOYS HAVE JUST. FULLY LEFT THAT FLOORBOARD OFF LMFAO??? THAT’S HIS SKYLIGHT NOW…

And then. Good god. The arm scene… it’s just. Soooo. 👌👌👌👌 I’m so … 😵‍💫💖❤️‍🔥…

“I’m a wild tiny!” “You’re going to be a dead tiny if that gets infected.” Their dynamic is so fucking funny. AND THE TENDERNESS OF HARRY TOUCHING JOE… Joe being so overwhelmed not exactly with fear but HMMM I WONDER WHAT EMOTION AND WHY HE MIGHT FEEL SO OVERWHELMED HE STILL NEEDS TO CLOSE HIS EYES AND PRETEND HE’S HIDDEN UNDER THE FLOOR AGAIN… 🤔🤔🤔 whyever would the touch of this kind giant make his hair stand on end and make him contemplate the reverence he’s being touched with and leave his cheeks burning… it is a mystery

And then Joe being so afraid the mouse would be hurt because in contrast to the kindness he’s been shown, he still has this long history of awful experiences with giants.. this part in particular made my heart hurt:

“Don’t kill the mouse, Harry, please don’t kill it. It’s just like me. It hasn’t done anything to you.” Joe begged.

Followed by him remembering that this is /Harry, his friend, who he knows/:

“The words hit Joe like the breaking of a spell, and he stood in the kitchen windowsill feeling downright foolish. Of course Harry wouldn’t kill the mouse, Joe realized - of course he wouldn’t do that.”

OUGH. This story is SO delicious I’m beyond obsessed…

The two of them having a much less Charged encounter after Joe has resolved some of his internal conflicts, at least for the moment… chatting away like they’re two normal friends while Harry touches him… 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫 I LOVE THESE TWO SO MUCH‼️

Their motorcycle shenanigans… Harry showing Joe his precious Contraption and Joe absolutely hating it omg it was so peak 😭 PLAYING “WHO’S-MORE-BORING CHICKEN”… the way Joe is like “I would rather Die than have to listen to this guy talk about how he’s more exciting than me. Absolutely not.”

I also very much appreciate the foreshadowing of the street car on this re-read…

AND may I say I really love that they went on a little nature trip together!!! I have thought often of the potential of a g/t story set outdoors, where the normal sized person and the tiny are both made small by how all-encompassing the wilderness is. Something to do with camping or backpacking! Maybe something I want to write one day! This gave me a delightful taste of that.

AND ANYWAY THE ACCEPTING OF COMFORT EVEN AS IT FLIES IN THE FACE OF EVERYTHING HE’S BEEN TAUGHT TO ROMANTICIZE AND VALUE… ouuuughhh GET LOVED IDIOT!! GET SEEN AND KNOWN AND TAKEN CARE OF!!!

And then ch12… Harry’s realization that Joe won’t ever bring up anything if it’s just for his own benefit. Which by the way, on a re-read I can appreciate how cleverly you’ve set this up, if I didn’t write that clearly enough before! There’s something cultural there but also, I think, something uniquely Joe that Harry maybe can’t fully see yet. Harry’s watch from his parents breaking down at the same moment he’s trying to change his relationship with Joe, the new most important person in his life (at least I presume! He doesn’t seem to have other close friends/family) … very very good. This sentence is so evocative. Simultaneously funny and sad: “With the way Joe’s eyes shifted from side to side one would think the doctor had suggested they go rob a bank.” It’s very good angst realizing how much Harry is asking of Joe without him even knowing it…

BTW this part is so delightful. They’re so interested in each other!!! “When his footsteps announced his arrival, he could see the tiny’s movements through the missing floorboards as his neighbour crossed the floor and climbed back up to the windowsill above the counter.” <- guy who absolutely has NOT been gotten

“Joe smiling. A rare sight indeed.” JUST…. My heaaaart ‼️‼️

Also hilarious how Joe and now Harry have both had “mmm I do NOT like the way this guy is smiling right now” moments 🤣

GOD tho, Joe’s opening up about getting snatched… much like Harry, it made me feel absolutely beside myself.

^^^ AS YOU CAN SEE. I'VE FULLY FALLEN APART.

[bloodymarine]

Ok. My first ever public rant: "The Hunger Games is boringly written and Katniss Everdeen is a boring character." Here we go. Pls bare with me.

(Spoilers ahead!)

So I came across a comment under bookstagram post that said Katniss is a boring character and THG is boringly written. The person who claimed this also said they've read the 2 first books. And I cannot wrap my head around this way of thinking. I am not able to understand where that experience would come from. So here we are.

I might be biased since I love THG: I have all the books and movies in physical forms, I've got posters and even the Mockingjay pin. So, I am a fan.

But even non-fans have for years been emotionally moved by the story and have stated that Suzanne Collins did amazing job with how she did the world building and wrote all the characters. The story was (is) inspired by our real world - starting with the major war and resistance theme - and people keep telling how much the story resonates with them. And they keep saying that year after year.

Even the people who've thought it's not much of a great story at first have found their minds changed after reading the first book. People who have thought it's overrated have changed their minds. Why? Because they have found the way Suzanne describes the poor and the entitled rich people, the contrast between the two groups, brilliant and heavily touching with how she is so brutally honest with everything: the complete lack of empathy Capitol has for the people in the districts and how damn hard the lives of the latter are, with literally no other way out than death, doesn't matter how much they work or suffer. Capitalism is always top priority. And with that, the entertainment of the rich people. Nothing is sugar-coded.

I would dare to state that objectively THG is a really well written story with how it deep dives into the darkest places of human mind and how captimalism, money and entertainment rules the world. (Sounds familiar?) And the main character is realistically written too, given the circumstances she's been forced to live in: she doesn't really have much guidance or support since she doesn't really let anyone, even the few who care for her, know exactly how bad her family's living conditions are.

Katniss Everdeen's luxuries are cut so short that she almost dies from hypothermia and hunger while trying to search for food for her and her family. She lives constantly on eggshells, not knowing what tomorrow gives or takes, trying to simply stay alive while trying to keep her family alive. She's 16 when she volunteers for the games in her sister's place. She knows that she has no chance of surviving. How could she, when she's already struggling at home, not even knowing how to fight properly?

Yet with all that she's been put through and how she's never given any time to catch her breath, she's actually a warrior. She survives the games and comes back home, as a victor.

Boring. That's the word that was used to describe Katniss and the whole story.

I didn't make this rant with ill intentions, I don't want to drag anyone down simply because their experience differ from mine. I just wanted to get this out of my chest. I've never came across anyone making this statement so it brought some confused feelings in me. And I thought: I don't really have many people over here who could see this, so why not write a small rant.

Just in case a soul or two happens to find this, I would absolutely like to hear your thoughts about this! ˶╹ꇴ╹˶ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆

[teardew]

-

im thinking about making a patreon because i .. uh .. i cant justify drawing for myself anymore and its killing me lmao

it takes me really long to draw so any time i hav should be spent on comms... iv been trying to fight off burnout by drawing things i like inbetween commissions like that sv anatomy practice and vampire/werewolf mngling was just for me but it still ended up setting me behind schedule because i had to rest my eyes and wrist afterward. but not only that i also wanna like. make a lot more things ...

like i wanna do animal, insect, architectural, jewelry studies and fashion and character design explorations and try designing icon packs and branch out trying embroidery with mixed media and clothes making and get into making like 3d things with clay and soft sculptures. i wanna make historical fashion coloring books with việt phục and fashion zines ...

also theres a lot of stuff i dont post bc im not sure if anyone would be interested in all the design concepts and notes i had for example the homestuck dreamer outfits or the various sha hualing designs and sketches i had before getting to the thing i posted? like i hav a bunch of different sqh outfit and hair designs but theyr more clothing based and not detailed character/face art ...

idk !! it sounds like an excuse. its like, who cares just post it ! i know i shouldnt value my art by the amount of numbers i get from posting on social media and i dont mostly but its kinda unavoidable ? to me ? i know i only post fanart and ppl follow me for that and its not a bad thing ! being realistic i just dont think anybody but me would be interested in it ??

i dont know. god. i dont know what this post is about. ''i dont think anybody would be interested in the things i really wanna make'' but im thinking about making a patreon for things i really wanna make anyway because thats the only way i can justify it is if i can profit off it in some way. i dont really want to, but with my financial circumstances i dont know. i never wanted to make my livelihood off my art. i dont even consider or call myself an ''artist'' really, i just want to MAKE art

i dont know why i still cant find a steady job after 5 months applying to everything and its making me miserable. its embarassing, they say to be persistent with jobs but calling and even walking in to check on applications and watching employers awkwardly try to turn me away without just flat out telling me no even though none of them hire me is an exercise in public humiliation. how bad do you want a job? bad enough to make a fool of myself with nothing to show for it. and i want to make art for myself to cope but it takes too much time and time is money

maybe this post is about my art anxiety under capitalism. i dont know

i think im safe enough now to admit my friends gofundme i was posting about months ago about helping their friend escape their abusive household was actually my gofundme because i was worried about them finding out and preventing me from leaving or internet stalking me afterwards. i did hav a scare when i got a phone call i thought was from my brother but ended up being a police officer, whos my mother's friend ...

but anyways. me admitting this is just to give context that. i ran hundreds of miles away from financial security and everything i ever knew and im still struggling to find steady income nearly half a year later. i just dont understand what im doing wrong. is it my name? is it because im not from here? iv been working continuously ever since i could legally my resume isnt BAD. am i just stupid? should i have just tried to make peace with my lot in life?

i thought getting away from my family would let me be in a better place to create more art, thats one of the things i was so excited about but this feels just as stressful as when i was the only earner supporting my family during covid. i just want a stable job so i can make art. i dont want making art to be my Job. i dont want to be a ''starving artist'' begging for people to care about my art i just want to make art. but fuck i dont know how to sustain any of this

sorry for this mess. insurance is different out here and i havnt been able to find a psych either so its not like i can talk about this in therapy instead of venting on my art blog. all my life i wanted to make things without the fear of it all being destroyed. the main reason i havnt branched out from illustrations is because its entirety can be saved digitally even if its physically ruined. my sketchbooks were thrown away or ripped apart by my family either from carelessness or anger to hurt me but now that im finally enough safe to have them again or make something i can hold in my hands without the fear that someone will come in break it and make me clean up its corpse i cant afford it

i dont know what to do. is it worth it? is making art worth it? i mean. its worth the rent this month. and i still love drawing god this is probably bad for business because i dont want people to feel bad for commissioning me or anything but not to be dramatic why does it feel like im fucking dying

[xeansicemane]

If I may outline my thoughts re: "Vote blue no matter who"

Preview: I see electoralism as a component of most coherent ideologies and the harm reduction argument everyone makes is, of course, correct.

Vote blue no matter who.

It's a mantra I've been aware of for at least the last 8 years, but the attitude has been around since forever.

Fundamentally, it asks that nobody ever expect things of the Democrats. It asks that nobody ever demand progress, ever expect that the government behave like a functioning government.

It says, with its' whole chest: do what I tell you or you will be hurt.

And I get it, comfortable libs and more moderate/ "realist" progressives are making the best argument they know to make; the national party is so mired in gerentrocracy that expecting any radical progress is like expecting the moon to fall out of the sky. And, when it gets right down to it, stasis isn't really so bad is it?

The basic axiom of the argument isn't even wrong, the Republicans would be a hundred times worse in power, everything we feel guilty about as a nation would only accelerate and self-destruction isn't forgiveness, it's just cashing out. Fundamentally we do have a responsibility to make sure this machine that turns human suffering into value for the capital holding class harms as few people as possible.

But the libs just aren't listening. Progressives and leftists aren't arguing (save for a few heavily discouraged accelerationist trains of thought) that burning it all down helps anything. We're asking why the machine that turns human suffering into capital needs to exist at all.

I will vote for Biden come this November. But I won't feel any pride for it. I know he'll make soothing mouth sounds and do nothing while my trans siblings and me remain under siege. He'll frown at the right times while selling more and more weapons to a genocidal state at cost. He'll shrug and smile gormlessly while rents skyrocket and people drown under mountains of debt.

Our problem, everyone, is that things will not get better under Biden and we are being told to be glad for that. We are being told it is either the continuation of these intolerable circumstances or that we will be hurt for our disloyalty.

You aren't promising hope, you aren't linking arms with us and saying "wow, You're right, policing is fucked we should deal with that". You aren't looking out across this nation plagued with so many problems and seeing government as a tool to fix it - you only promise things won't get worse if we're obedient.

And then, what happens after election day? After your blue wave. My voice will not be heard. My friends who are out of their minds with terror will not be helped. My friends struggling to pay rent will not be protected. I will be told to be a good tranny and shut up because "it's early days" "well you can't expect everything you want" "It's an election year, why are you spreading disloyalty, do you want to be hurt?"

You are not engaging with the conversation. You are screaming a threat at us then demanding silence when we ask if things will ever improve.

[zuzusexytiems]

Idk when it was that I stopped typing with proper capitalization but maybe I ought to bring that back, lmao

Anyway. Hello, Tumblr 🥹 It's been a while (again). I have a lot of thoughts on Twitter's X revamp, but the gist is that I'm going through a little ~migration~ process atm and trying to ween myself off Twitter entirely (so I can be more active again here) 😭

It's not an easy decision to make, but unless things get better on Twitter, I feel like going back here and making this my main platform again is something that needs to be done.

So if you're a fan of my work here on Tumblr, I'd like to ask for a little favor.

One of the reasons I've been hesitant to go back to this site is because my engagements here (and elsewhere) just aren't the same compared to the bird app. If I post something on Twitter, I'd get 200 to 500 likes on average (and that's within the span of 5 days).

Here, I'd be lucky to get 30 in a month.

I know that engagements aren't the end-all and be-all of making fanwork, but realistically speaking, when you work on something for days and pour your heart into it, it can be pretty demotivating to see it flopping 😞

So the favor I'd like to ask you guys is this! Reblogging. That's it. :')

For new Tumblr users, this site doesn't have an algorithm, and the only way things spread around here is through reblogs.

Unlike Twitter, likes, unfortunately, don't do anything here 😞 And with only likes and no reblogs, a post on Tumblr dies out and remains in obscurity—unless people start reblogging it.

So yes! I hope it's not too much to ask, but reblogs will help a lot—even if it's old posts from years ago, I really don't mind (and in fact appreciate that you like my stuff enough to go through them 🥺 I see some of you guys in the notifs, thank you so much 🥹🙏🏽)

If you'd like to see some of my original stuff (and would like to reblog any of them 🥺) you can find them under the #jeanpikutiems tag, the #my-art tag, or the #my-writing tag. :)

Second (and only if you want, of course!) please feel free to interact with me here 🥹💜 Whether it's through asks or replying to my posts, or even just adding your reactions in tags.

A huge reason as to why I stayed on Twitter for so long and (preferred it over Tumblr) was because people talked to me frequently there. I made friends and connections, exchanged headcanons with people, and gushed about my love for Jeanpiku freely. So if I'm able to interact with you guys here, I would honestly love that! (especially since it's getting kind of lonely shipping a small ship like Jeanpiku 😭).

I can't always promise to respond on time, but I'll definitely see your stuff and will be happy to interact with all of you whenever my schedule loosens up. 🥺💜

Anyway, I think that's it! Again, these aren't really ~requirements~ and I hope it doesn't sound like I'm asking for too much 😭 But I'm ngl, it will mean a huge, huge deal to me, especially the reblogs. 🥺

If you read through all of this, thank you for your time, and I'll see you around! 🥹💜

[pissmoon]

i feel like there's a difference between a 'golddigger' (as in a woman who has made a decision to marry for money rather than love for whatever reason) who idk maybe comes by her golddiggery naturally or something (respectable, necessary in the environment) and then this weird sort of overperformative influencer type who cant stop trying to recruit other women to what theyve started framing as a lifestyle. like there's a social media grifter style angle to so many of these people i think and that might be what's really grating

I get what you mean i feel like less than 1% of women can be 'successful' at this type of a thing. And its not even about looks and youth as much as sneakiness and being detached emotionally. Then again, even Marylin Monroe and Anna Nicole Smith commited suicides, was it all that 'natural' to them? These 'men are the providers' influencers however, they act like its 'natural' to 100% of women because its feminine receiving energy or whatever buzzwords and they preach this crap like jehovahs witness. Im sorry, Jessica, who are you? You married some ugly boring upper middle class small business owner no one wanted to have a nice car, you are not a sultana in a harem that had to plot against thousands of his sex slaves. I am not impressed!!! Why would i want to live like you or listen to you? Id rather die a brokie than touch this thing u call a husband its not even worth the hussle of pretending not to fall asleep as he's talking.... honestly they take themselves so seriously when they are the ones that got played and not other way around. And even then, its not even realistic for all women to 'stop dating broke men' because there arent that many 'non-broke' (by their suburban american standards) ones to start with and refusing to date wont change a thing bc we live under capitalism most ppl have to be working class for capitalists to profit off them HELLO????? Its a cashgrab for these dating coaches to sell some absolute dumbasses the illusion being a 'golddigger' is 'easy' like 'hehe why work a job when u can go to a golf club or this dating website that is totally not all sugardaddies and be pretty and in ur feminine energy'. No one who actually married a millionaire would be giving 'advice' like that or bragging about it all over the internet, his divorce lawyers would fuck her up. In that way its not 'natural' to them. Their advice doesnt even sound like someone who can successfully do this type of thing, its giving desparation to marry an upper mid class guy. Its a very different vibe i agree actual 'golddiggers' i imagine to be arrogant and lowkey about it rather than desperately giving younger women advice on how easy peasy it is to steal their husbands lol you look stupid

[dipperdesperado]

we need to have a real conversation about hierarchy

Hierarchy is a complex issue that can be found in many different settings. It is often viewed as a tool of oppression and is therefore a contentious topic. Interestingly, people seem to be more willing to accept hierarchy than other forms of oppression. This may be due to a number of factors, such as the belief that hierarchy is necessary for order and stability, or the idea that some individuals are simply better suited for leadership roles than others. Whatever the reason, it is clear that hierarchy is deeply ingrained in our modern worldview. Even in revolutionary projects, where one might expect to find a rejection of traditional power structures, hierarchy rears its head.

Hierarchy can be best thought of as a pyramid. The tip holds the brunt of the social power, while the foundational bricks hold the least. Emphasis on social power. Going back to our conversation about power, the foundational levels of the pyramid have the greatest power potential, (or “potential energy” that can be transformed into a kind of “kinetic energy” of collective action) due to their position in the system and sheer numbers. However, the social system that is in place funnels their power to prop up the tip at their own expense. Their collective power (“power with”) gets drowned out by the tip’s “power over”.

Hierarchy, if nothing else, is problematic because it acts as the glue for other forms of oppression such as power, domination, and coercion. It’s the space that codifies and justifies those relationships, all the way from the personal to the systemic level.

This is what makes hierarchy the most dangerous form of oppression. It is seen as ultimately pragmatic, even if it necessitates stratification by its very nature. It begs questions from those that exist under it, while not allowing space to explore those questions safely. Hierarchy occupies a space similar to capitalism more broadly; though it’s hard to deny the inherent issues from any rational perspective, there is a question of “what else is there?” Any system that can continue to justify itself, even when the agents in that system understand that it’s against their best interests, is one that has reached a spooky level of maturity. Hierarchy is seen as “realistic” and “pragmatic”, the same way that capitalism is.

This probably makes hierarchy sound like a pretty bum deal. I mean, it is. There is something truly sickening about all of the social engineering that occurs to create a system that leads to toil of the many for the comfort of the few. That’s hierarchy in a nutshell. Even more disturbing is that there isn’t any real reason that everyone can’t be comfortable. There’s nothing inherent to the materiality of the Earth that requires unsustainable appropriation. Maybe we all can’t be on the level of those who ascend the pyramid in a hierarchical system, but that is excessive by any metric you could measure. People have to come to the understanding that it is against their best interests to live vertically. Imagine being treated like you’re too unwise to have agency over your life. That’s the reality in hierarchical systems.

At this point, you might be really interested in the answer to the “what else is there” question. Even if you don’t fully buy into the idea that hierarchy can be good, you might not feel like you have any other options. I mean, from a societal perspective, the concept of civilization as we know it has been hierarchical from the get-go. It’s been around much, much longer than the current Big Bad, capitalism. Simply put, if hierarchy is a vertical solution to organizations, then the way out of it is horizontal.

If people organize in horizontal and cooperative ways rather than hierarchical and competitive ways, there is the potential for an egalitarian relationship for everyone involved.

This is important to bake into the work being done in the present because of the rule of means-ends unity. Basically, where we want to go has to be aligned with how we get there. If we want a stateless, moneyless, classes, solarpunk society, but we recreate states, monies, and classes, then our end result will never be achieved. Recreating oppressive systems to fight oppressive systems just leads to more oppression, even if our goal is genuinely abolitionary and liberatory. Sadly, hoping for stuff while not taking the necessary actions for it to happen won’t get us to where we want to go.

All in all, hierarchy should be questioned at every turn. Not for silly reasons like “being a rebel” or an uninformed “dislike for authority”. Hierarchy is a breeding ground for oppression; any perceived gains are drowned out by the human cost. Human societies that will be able to reach their full capacities will by necessity have to be horizontal, decentralized, and systems-oriented, rather than vertical, centralized, and uniform. We should strive for the balance between order and chaos, hitting the sweet spot of emergence. That way, we can have our cake and eat it too. We can organize big societal projects like social programs, while allowing everyone to have the room to live in the ways that they see fit, exploring and creating individually and collectively for the betterment of themselves, their community, and society at large.

[lafcadiosadventures]

Madame Putiphar Readalong. Book One, Chapter Six:

In this short chapter we return to the theatrical scene format. It’s strongly farcical tone since we are focusing on Cockermouth. The other dramatis personae present are his wife and his henchman, Chris.

Printer's ornament by Arthur Rackham, from Tales from Shakespeare

Cockermouth continues to be a sinister caricature. We learn for example, he doesn't really wash his mouth when getting out of bed, but rather ingests a carafe of Rum, lovingly brought to him by his subordinate, Chris.

(a drink perhaps chosen for its connection with the English navy, piracy, and slavery)(in Three Fingered Jack, Borel imbues the drink with symbolism: it is used to preserve a black outlaw’s head and hand, cut for a ransom by slaves, who expect to buy their freedom with the money)

Chris language is nautical metaphors, he calls Cockermouth his commodore. He is his military subordinate working as his henchman at home, enforcing the patriarchal law at home as much as he did abroad.

He comes to report to his superior, and so, we hear the scene between Pat and Debby again. Stripped of all poetry or feelings. The effect is almost like that of reading a novel and then reading a malicious review by a spiteful critic. (like reading this novel and then the Janin review of it) We know the love and affection that motivated the lovers, the events are distorted by Chris’ cynical gaze. So we get a story within a story, highlighting the importance of how the story is told, of point of view in story telling. Give the same basic plot to five writers and you will have 5 widely different stories.

(Chris adores Cockermouth and sounds extremely enthusiastic towards committing violence-especially to Patrick, whom he detests, for reasons undisclosed for now)(one is almost endeared by Chris, ultra violent henchman drooling for his boss’ approval. He seems so eager to please, he reminds me a bit of Balzac’s Paccard, and his unrequited crush on Vautrin. The difference here as we will see, is that there’s nothing really formidable about Lord Cock. His fits of rage almost finish him, Chris could kill him if he wanted, even Lady Cockermouth could. His power is merely the social capital he has inherited, he himself is a pathetic man)

Via Chris’ story we get confirmation that Debby was being followed, and the stealing of the shawl and the shot were deliberately done to frighten and discipline her into obedience. Chris doesn’t fail to tell Lord Cock that he heard Debby say “my mother has warned me we should be careful!”

Once again Lord Cockermouth has a catastrophic outburst, this time he seems at the edge of a heart attack. When he hears Chris has not murdered Pat in cold blood, he has a massive meltdown. He is a force of nature. His fists thrash the wall, his feet crush the bed’s panels. Even Chris is rather shocked at the sight. He is also utterly heartbroken for having failed to murder Pat, out of submissiveness to his lord since he was waiting for his order. His deference has costed him his Lord’s approval.

Cockermouth sends Chris out under the threat of death.

He rings for his wife (i don’t know why the Lady of the house answers the ringing but w/e, it’s not relevant really, we are not in a realist novel)(she is a vassal of sorts to her husband, so it makes sense in a way)

Lord Cockermouth is completely drained, he cannot stand, he barely can breathe or speak. (i regret to inform that Lady Cockermouth does NOT seize the day and whack his head with a frying pan/vase. Because she totally could have rid herself and her daughter of him)(i mean, her submission is so engrained in her brain that she wouldn’t dare, even if she had the chance, and that is not her fault, it’s years of physical and psychological abuse weighing her down) But she lets him catch his breath. Her shock is interpreted as fake innocence. She tries to win him over with caresses, this triggers a reflex of repugnance in Lord Cockermouth, (who calls her in English in the original text: a saint-hearted milk soup) He has not only beat her to submission, but deepens the humiliation by being disgusted when she acts submissive, like she was trained possibly from before the marriage.

Lord C ironically sings her praises, trying to get her to confess that she has been “prostituting their daughter”, but she is in the dark. So Lord C repeats what Chris has told him. Lady C explains as the reader already knows Debby promised she would end her relationship with Pat. She declares she is ready to respond for her daughter with her own head (a bold move, being a woman in a Borel fiction, betting your head is. Very bold)(the insistence of Lord Cockermouth repeating YOUR HEAD!?!??! would have made me think this was foreshadowing, if I hadn’t read the novel before)

Cockermouth mocks lady C for believing in their chastity. This outrages the Lady. Her husband is incapable of understanding disinterested love, affection that does not expect something in return. How could he understand, when he is a satyr and a faun.

Both figures alluding in coloquial speech to men with a high sexual appetite, but also mythological figures connected with rape. He is a voracious, violent man, and we are not surprised at the implication that he has not treated his wife with gentleness or respect in their sexual relationships. We are surprised perhaps, to see her bring it up, confronting him for it, to defend her daughter’s reputation. Not her right, sadly to exert her autonomy and desires in a way her mother never could.

Lady Cockermouth closes the chapter with this also eloquent reproach to his husband, translation by @sainteverge:

“You have been a bad son: you are a bad spouse, and you will be a bad father, my lord” (will be not as in the future, but you are determined by your past to be a bad father)

Fatalism, or intergenerational trauma. Has Lord Cockermouth been a bad son? Or would it be more accurate to say he has been raised in a brutal manner, taught that this is the only manner, thus perpetuating the brutality? Since these are nobles in an imperialistic country, exerting imperial power abroad, family affairs and state affairs are heavily linked. Matters of the family are perhaps never entirely personal and private, but here less of all. Lord Cockermouth had to be moulded and fitted into the role he was supposed to play.

[cartoonscientist]

hmm

how do I say this without sounding hyper-defensive and chronically online

oh well

emphasizing that you or someone else is a Tax Paying Adult With A Job in order to signal legitimacy or maturity is kind of ableist because it assumes that people who don’t make enough money to pay taxes or don’t have a consistent “job” are somehow lacking in common sense or intelligence instead of just having health problems that make it impossible

i don’t think it’s realistic to call anyone out over this or try to modify our cultural language, I guess I just brought it up because it’s something to think about if you’re functional enough to hold a steady job (also, no offense, but even if you THINK you can have a job, your current situation may not be healthy for you. like, people aren’t meant to cry after work, for example. if the infrastructure in the US was better, you would be able to get assistance from the government. obviously people have to work to survive under capitalism but it really sucks that so many people are working who really shouldn’t be or should have different jobs.)

[crowtongued]

{--You know, I think when it comes down to it, I really dislike when people woobify or change a “bad guy” character to a good one complaining about how they “ruined” that character in canon specifically because let’s be honest, it’s pretty much always a character that people like and want them to be “pure” and untainted because they decided to see that character as inherently good even when the signs were there that that person had real potential to be a massive dickbag. (And of course there’s the other caveat that they want to be seen as a good person while still liking the character, and so sweep all the character did under a carpet to maintain their own image of purity).

And when its fiction, that’s all well and good I guess. You do whatever you want with it.

But the problem is, people do this in real life too. Like a lot a lot. People decide they like a person for whatever personal reasons and then it comes out they did something terrible like rape or murder or some other horrible crime that hurt people, and some people will just double down and be like “I can’t believe they would do that, they’re so nice to me.”

Hell, it doesn’t even have to be a capital crime. It could just be abuse. Physical, mental, emotional, financial, whatever. But because someone personally charmed them into liking that person, they refuse to believe that person could hurt someone else, and hurt them really bad at that. Especially when that bad guy in real life is really skilled at crying and playing the victim and seeming really convincing, because they’re just a conman at the end of the day who’s really good at acting and making valid sounding arguments.

People deify real world criminals every day, just because they liked something about them, and have villainized good people, even murdered them or drove them to suicide, because they decided they didn’t like something superficial about them and made up excuses for themselves and others why it was justified and righteous. Hell, there are entire organizations that have hustled millions in profit doing it. Humans are fucking terrifying in this regard.

So I mean. Write what you want; no one can stop you, but I prefer to be a realist and not tailor the narrative to what I want it to be even if its just a total fabrication grounded in pure fantasy.

Idk. I really have to give a side-eye towards people who foam at the mouth about dictating who is good and who is bad not based on the facts presented to them, but based on what they want people to be according to their personal bias’. They’re definitely not the kinds of people I’d trust to have my back if a predator of any kind decided to come after me, whether it be for something serious like a real life crime or just my reputation. I don’t overly trust the judgement of people like that, just speaking from personal experience being thrown under the bus many times in my life, and getting the short end of the stick only because I was less popular than the other person. People have literally gotten away with malicious murder and been hailed heroes because of this shit.

I guess tl;dr is let bad guys be bad guys. You don’t have to agree with them or like them in their villain arcs but trying to paint over it and pretend they’re something else is a little sus imo. And for fuck’s sake, leave people alone who write villains without watering them down to appeal to your sense of morality, they’re villains for a reason.--}

[alexbkrieger13]

Where can the Swedish men’s team sell more tickets, at Friends Arena or at Gamla Ullevi? Is the answer different for the women?

Anon I’m sorry that you don’t understand simple maths or numbers. Greater Gothenburg is 1 million people, greater Stockholm is 2.5 million people. That’s more potential ticket buyers in the area = larger potential fanbase. Gothenburg is the second biggest market. But not the biggest. This should be easy for everyone to understand. It’s the same as saying that Gothenburg, with a population of 600,000 people and 1 million in greater Gothenburg, has a larger potential fanbase than a city of 50,000 or 100,000 people.

Roughly, this means that for every ticket sold in Gothenburg, they should be able to sell 2.5 tickets in Stockholm. Let’s say 2 tickets, to compensate for the more complicated traffic and travel in Stockholm. Assuming that the share of potential buyers (interested fans) is about the same in both places. Which is reasonable to assume. And then I haven’t even added in the populations of Uppsala, Västerås, Norrköping and other cities that can go to Stockholm in under 2 hours and therefore don’t need to take a whole day off and book a hotel to attend a game.

This discussion is getting very lopsided imo. Are we really going to have a situation where actual fans of the team want to hold the women’s team back from selling tickets, becoming profitable and improving their general conditions and salaries, because of some stupid pride, or inherent dislike of Stockholm. Insisting that the women’s team should only play in Gothenburg, maybe in Malmö, but never in Stockholm. Because ”that’s not their arena”. That’s sounds like sexist men scared of the women’s team becoming popular to me.

This isn’t even about some petty fight about rest of the country vs big bad Stockholm. It’s about letting the women’s team have every possibility. The Spain game would have been an attendance record if it was held at Friends Arena. In Gamla Ullevi that is impossible. No one in their right mind restricts a team from maximising their profit. SvFF would never do that with the men’s team. That’s why they play all their games in Stockholm.

Stockholm is the capital, it’s the biggest market in Sweden, it’s where the biggest stadiums are. I can’t help that. People that can’t accept that will simply have to get over themselves and take the high road, for the good of the team. Playing evere game in a small/midsize arena is not the end goal for the women’s team. At least I certainly don’t hope it is. Restricting a team to 18,000 tickets in a game where they could sell more than twice as many, is plain stupidity and bad business.

https://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/fotboll/a/Q7kmjq/ovardigt-att-sverige-spanien-spelas-i-goteborg-anna-ryden

realistically i say we are gonna see at lot more at friends in the next few years

[diaryfullofsparklesandkisses]

Woeew it’s me back again !

Here to complain

Dumbass complins:

Ok I don’t really believe in life purpose too strongly. But w that being said, knowing ur probably supposed to be and artist and/or musician, knowing ur energy probably should be going towards that cuz the results COULD be interesting, but not being able to do that under capitalism, it does feel like torture. Also super bending my “skills” to other ppls ideas for capitalism is very torture too so that’s not recommended. But no it feels bad, it has and it continues to, it doesn’t go away! It doesn’t matter that I feel like I’m basically done making things, cuz I have more ideas but I just don’t feel like it rn, but it feels like that feeling could go on forever and this is just it..

HAVING SAID THAT I feel so unintelligent and immature for having that feeling because 1. Nobody can fucken do that lol, like it’s so improbable u can just go be an artist or musician. Or maybe ur rich and u can afford to fail and never really care. So like, yeah, we all wanna be a creative successful person doing their own thing, get in line me fuck u. And 2. What I make isn’t THAT good like it’s just ok, also constantly having to beat urself for survival is so not good to have to participate in.

I just want to make things with my time, that sounds like a good use. Maybe ppl can benefit from the things too, wooo helping society’s mental health and happiness hopefully. Like why live life besides that. Obv the whole American dream is super unfulfilling on its own, like get more money then u can exceed living in squalor then u can buy things and participate in the economy. All the while most of ur time is spent working on something that’s not ur life’s purpose. Like u only get one life maybe, probably, or maybe not but only one life under one identity in a specific circumstance. It just fuckin sucks having to work all the time, and be grateful for it because without that you’d be so fucked. Like seeeewww fucked, I’ll never make shit off creativity, ik that’s bad to say but seriously be realistic, u have to get so lucky for that to happen. If anyone ever thinks I’m mean to myself for saying my things are mediocre or that it’s impossible to survive selling work, like it is simply a reality check. Go try to do it urself and u will see how impossible it is, it doesn’t matter what u make (within reason), the practice of the selling is still capitalistic usually and it either works or doesn’t. Fuck money, I seriously hate I have to lust for money, fuck u fuck the world I hate that so much. It ruins everything, it ruined my life. And I don’t have a better solution either, it’s all so fucked. I just want to use my innate creative gifts in the way they come out, not someone else’s way for their business. I don’t want to make paintings of faces or songs about love, I want to do something that I want to do, sorry about it. And also like, fuck me for having desires right, because again we all sorta feel this way and we all don’t have access to being able to do that unless we’re born wealthy or something. Or get incredibly lucky. So the system is horribly unfair, and I think I’d definitely feel awful if it somehow worked for me and I knew there was a bunch of ppl having similar thoughts wasting all their potential (not saying I have it horf horf but ik there’s probably random geniuses at a certain thing that have to work at mcdonalds etc) I just couldn’t stand to know that, cuz what makes me special, I’m not, I’m normal. Seeeewwwwuh where does that leave me idk.