#but its BULLSHIT and unjust

[kujakumai]

Personally, I agree that TKB has every right to feel anger and take action to prevent the tragedy of Kul Elna from happening ever again. But the second he says "I'm going to work with a demon to destroy the entire world" is when I put my foot down, because that makes him no better than what the ruling class did to him; it makes him worse because he's inflicting that to other innocent people. Neither Atem and TKB are completely correct or wrong, but the story siding with only Atem is morally iffy

-TKB isn't a real person independently arriving at moral actions, he is a character in a narrative whose structure and characters are consciously designed by human beings to tell a particular story

-Saying "Well, TKB was still evil because he wanted to destroy the world" is accepting the premise of the narrative and TKB's motivation as if it sprung forth from the ether, ever-extant in its present form and incapable of being written any other way

-The narrative of MW paints a portrait of a world that is visibly and systematically unjust and whose domestic and military power is derived from the literal death and exploitation of the poor; it then has a character, TKB, make very deliberate criticisms of this system, and puts them in direct contrast with Priest Set and Akenhadin's own ongoing corruption.

-Since again, this is a story being crafted with intent, this contrast directly leads audiences to conclude that TKB's criticism is valid, and the author intends us to reach this conclusion and has deliberately set up his commentary. Determining that TKB is right about the monarchy is the logical conclusion of the facts and narrative tools we as the audience are given.

-However, instead of leading us to a satisfying conclusion based on this setup, the story instead tacks on "...but he wants to destroy the world, so we can kill him!" and never meaningfully addresses the questions about good and evil or the nature of the throne, nor does Atem ever have to really face them. It disposes of TKB and quickly sets about putting a heroic coat of paint on a mostly unchanged Set and reducing everything to a quick and tidy good vs. evil shonen fight scene, contradictions be damned.

-The problem with this plot twist isn't fantasy-monarchism. It's that it is actively disorientating. We as readers have been told in loud, bold letters for over two dozen chapters what this story is about and what message it's trying to communicate (a very powerful one, based on how passionate people become about it!) and the story simply...dumps it all, and starts pretending to be a totally different story. Like none of that earlier stuff mattered and we should suddenly be content with power-of-friendshipping the bad guy into dust.

-Tongue-in-cheek declarations that "TKB was right!" aren't moral statements about TKB or Atem's actions, because Thief King and Atem aren't people, they are characters--a narrative tool the author is using to tell a story. And again: the narrative is telling us that TKB is right and the monarchy is troubled and unjust. Vocal declarations that Thief King was right are really an expression of disgust for a clumsy narrative betrayal. "MW told me this excellent story, got me invested, very deliberately set me up to draw these conclusions about the story it was telling and the message it wanted me to get...and then tacked on the ending for a completely different story that had nothing to do with any of that! This is bullshit!"

-If TKB were a mere generic evil, who intended to destroy the world for his own gain and had no compelling criticisms of the hero's world or complex tragedy, he wouldn't be anywhere near as interesting (see: the anime, which did almost exactly this), but I don't think people would be half as worked up about it. It would be neat, at least, because if everything is a fantasy good vs. fantasy evil from the start, then at very least the story would match its ending. No one would feel misled or disorientated.

-But the story did ask moral questions of our characters, and it did so carefully, deliberately, and with fireworks; it is therefore culpable for failing to even attempt to have them answer them.

-At the same time, the trope of the "rebel turned murderous extremist" is well-worn and troublesome. There are ten thousand examples. A villain who challenges the status quo, who takes issue with real problems, revolutionaries and rabble-rousers with righteous fury...but they want to, uh, kill innocent people also! for some reason! which is why our heroes (defenders of the status quo) need to get rid of them and we don't need to listen to what they are saying!

-Why does fiction so frequently depict people angry about real societal problems, and who act to change them, as people whose legitimate complaints are inexorably tainted by tacked-on inexplicable violence?

-Who benefits when fiction frequently conflates righteous criticism of injustice with supervillainy? When fiction conflates heroism with stalwart defense of the current system? How do we carry these narratives with us into the real world?

-You are criticizing Thief King as if he were a person. I'm not, and I'm not interested in doing that. I am criticizing the poor formulation of a story.

-anyway. TKB did nothing wrong

[fortunatelyenchantingtaco]

JJK lore haunts me so badly. Why the fuck is RCT so rare in modern times and barely anyone knows it but everyone from Heian era seems to have it. Where have you lost that knowledge or where are you hiding it.

The fact that techniques depend only on your genetic lottery is so insane. I know it’s to further show just how unfair everything in jjk is, but its honestly no wonder the clans are so insane about their blood and everything. Unless you are lucky enough to be randomly born a sorcerer with a powerful technique(very rare and also hard to find), there aren’t many sorcerers to come around except in the clans.

If we look at RCT as something thats also genetic, it doesn’t make sense cause we know it can be learned. Then its a variation of curse energy manipulation, like strengthening your body with it(its the same with simple domain). Not an inhate technique but a form of control. Then my point still stands why the fuck is it so hard to learn if everyone should be able to do it, Gojo would certainly want to teach his students it, esp Inumaki

Like fucking hell, did CTs just appear? No one created them they just appeared? With all those rules and nuances? This is such bullshit. It doesn’t make sense. People should be able to create them. The fact that Sukuna adjusted his domain so it wouldn’t have a border, while domain is very much a manifestation of your technique, means you can change it. Fuck. I am in Gege’s walls screaming and judging. So much just doesn’t make any sense AAAAAA

Like no wonder Gojo and Sukuna and Kenjaku are overpowered as hell. Most people get one (1) technique but not them. Like i get the point of an unjust and unfair world built on blood relations but god it just doesnt add up. Like i understand we see Heian era sorcerers as so strong cause they wouldn’t have lived till modern times otherwise but it really seems like RCT was more commonplace and the general power level was much higher. Fucking tell me what led to that. Why Gojo’s birth was such a big thing. Why did yall started to thin out. TELL ME

[thecurioustale]

Art Begets Art and the Law Should Respect This

I believe in the tradition of folk art, which is to say: Borrow liberally and lovingly.

It's a practice we've been mostly sterilized from embracing in our modern corporatist society, where all of the big-name, commonly-recognizable "IPs" are imprisoned behind layer after layer of obnoxious lawyers with nothing better to do than torment the innocent. It's a terrible thing, a deprivation of our cultural oxygen—a crime against art and ethics.

As an artist myself, I often have to thread the needle of building upon the inspiring works of others while still remaining within the letter of our outrageous IP laws. It's something I think about a lot.

In Galaxy Federal, for instance, I mentioned last time that the name "Galaxy Federal" was inspired, among other things, by the mention of the "Galaxy Federal Police" title screen of the original Metroid game. When I was settling on this title for my series, I also found that Galaxy Federal is the trademarked name of a bank. I spent considerable time and mental resources, years ago, to determine to my satisfaction that it is permissible under the law for me to use this title.

I have to do way too much of this bullshit, and I know it'll still be for naught: If I ever do become an even remotely successful author, I'm sure I'll be sued anyway, probably for something I never even realized was an "infringement" despite all my vigilance. Because, at the end of the day, for big corporations and for IP trolls, our IP laws are just a racketeering scheme—a side hustle. I mean, Best Western trademarked the word "seniority." If someone wants to sue you, they're gonna find a way.

I am not really a "from scratch" writer. I don't sit down at a blank page and just come up with prose from first principles. My art is almost always inspired by things that I experience in my life, or by the ideas that result from those experiences. Sometimes—frequently, even—my inspirations come from things that are copyrighted or trademarked. I have written in the past about the influence of the video game The Secret of Mana on me as a kid. Among many other inspirations, that game has a neat sandship in it, and that's why the desert easts of Relance are prevalent with sandships.

Over the years I've become a pro at reinterpreting IP-blocked inspirations into usable, original ones—both in terms of the legal research I've done and the skills I've developed at transforming an IP-blocked inspiration into something usable. I've also become more knowledgeable about what I can get away with quoting directly: Certain things cannot be copyrighted, and trademarks have a finite zone of applicability.

It's all a very needless and skill-intensive ballet to achieve something that should be directly accessible. Obviously, there do need to be limits. As an artist myself, I am keenly aware that I wouldn't want to have no special claim to my own work. But if I were to rewrite our outrageous IP laws—and over the years I have amassed considerable material for a book on this—I would make it vastly easier for artists and the public in general to "borrow liberally and lovingly" from the sources that inspire them. Our current IP laws are like a crime-ridden police state: The security is in all the wrong places and just doesn't work. We could relax the laws considerably without hurting artists, and potentially even tighten them in other respects to better combat trolls and thieves.

But in the meantime, here's my advice: Don't let it daunt you. Dance the friggin' ballet. Get good at transformation. Liberate intellectual property from its prison in spirit if not in substance. And, when you're fearless and/or sufficiently obscure, just straight-up pirate. I think society has a duty to reject unjust laws through word and deed.

I don't usually don my pirate's hat, but I do sometimes. When I published the Prelude in 2015, for a limited time I also published a free companion soundtrack consisting entirely of, gasp, copyrighted music. Nowhere is the horror of our modern IP laws more evident than in the realm of music. What I did was basically create a curated playlist, to help set the mood of the story. I don't know if anyone even availed themselves of that soundtrack, yet for me to license all of those pieces to make my limited-time links lawful would have cost me thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars! All for something that it's possible nobody other than me even listened to. That's a crime against art. And it's a crime against artists. Our draconian IP laws hurt small artists the most. If I had had thousands of fans, I'd have been able to pay to play—and I would have done so, or perhaps I would have spent the equivalent money to hire composers to write an original soundtrack. But, as a nobody-artist and a poor person, whose own Curious Score musical compositions are long in the making, the lawful avenues are all unassailably closed off to me. This too is an injustice, of another sort.

Doing the companion soundtrack was the right thing to do in the tradition of folk art. None of those other artists (or, let's be real, the corporate goliaths that hoard most of this "content" in their treasure-vaults) was deprived of a single penny; in fact that's one of the great lies of the IP lawyers and their corporate masters: Cultural interchange usually improves income for people whose work is quoted by others. Borrow liberally and lovingly—and give credit where credit is due.

That's the way it should be.

And, one day, that's how it will be again.

[kishimotomasashi]

A symptom of having been in the online Naruto fandom for a few years now and having Sasuke as my favourite character means that I’ve been incessantly exposed (at the very least, on Tumblr) to arguments about Sasuke not receiving his due justice, being condemned by the narrative for expressing anger at the crimes committed against him and his family, and how the ending of the Naruto manga completely dropped the ball regarding any and all of its political plot threads, leaving the status quo intact, and the only change regarding Sasuke in particular is that he is now complacent with it.

These are arguments that I entirely agree with! And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with their frequent discussion, seeing as Naruto is a very popular manga and new fans will take the place of the old ones. It doesn’t surprise me that the discourse hasn’t slowed down, because new people are discovering it and will want to chime in. This is fine and natural.

But for me, from the perspective of someone who’s been here a while and has seen talk of this happen over, and over and over and over and over again, it understandably gets a little... exhausting. Especially since, as far as I’ve seen, the discourse rarely goes outside of “here is how Sasuke was wronged, here is how the shinobi military industrial complex is fucked up”, and so it feels like I’m seeing less interesting conversations regarding it and more parroting the same universally agreed upon ideas over and over.

It’s just... boring. Because even when the discussion goes outside of “this is why it’s wrong” and enters “here’s how it should have gone” territory, I rarely see it go anywhere beyond “Sasuke should’ve remained angry” “Sasuke should’ve never gone back” “Sasuke should have rejected—“ etc, etc. Sasuke and the Revolution discourse rarely goes beyond Sasuke’s personal vindication regarding Konoha. And to me, it’s just... is that really as far as our imagination extends? Is Sasuke’s anger really the most important thing to focus on? Should anger be the main driving force behind changing a world that is undoubtedly unjust?

My answer to all of those questions is, obviously, no. And I’m writing this to explain why, to propose an alternative to the vindication tunnel vision there happens to be regarding Sasuke vs Konoha/Shinobi System discourse, that I believe even the ending of Naruto (barring chapter 700 and onward to Boruto) provides a solid basis for.

First let’s talk about chapter 699, and Sasuke’s decision not to stay in Konoha but to journey around the world instead.

Now when people talk about Sasuke’s journey, they mostly focus on the part where he calls it a “journey of redemption” and so a lot of discussions concerning whether or not he should have stayed in Konoha revolve around that line and its reasoning. It’s all “he doesn’t NEED redemption” or “oh please journey of redemption is bullshit, stay in Konoha to heal with your friends”.

Which is a damn shame because what he says in the panels above? Before the “you have nothing to do with my sins” thing? Is significantly more interesting. In fact, I consider it a monumental statement for him to make, indicative of his development; it’s the culmination of all he’s been through to get him to this point.

This line is Sasuke recognizing his own limitations related to the volatile emotional state he was nearly constantly in beforehand; Sasuke’s view of the world was incredibly selfish. It was selfish in the sense that his own goals mattered before anything else, that anything slowing him down in his hurry to reach them was an obstacle; it was an incredibly unhealthy view of the world, one that ended up making him hurt himself and others. That his goals are sympathetic and understandable doesn’t really change the reality that he did put himself in danger and was a danger to those closest to him. When we meet him for the first time in Shippuden, at Orochimaru’s hideout, he says word-for-word:

“I don’t care what happens to me or to the rest of the world, so long as I can get my revenge. Nothing else matters.”

And even when the truth about Itachi is revealed to him, this doesn’t exactly change. It’s only his range of targets that expand, and what he did to get to those targets in the 5 Kage Summit arc are unarguably his lowest points in the entire series. While there is a double-standard regarding how Sasuke’s anger and hatred are treated in the narrative, it’s not incorrect to say that his laser focus on them were ultimately harmful in the end, and that to grow he could not continue to rely on them indefinitely.

In fact, Sasuke is always shown to be at his best when he’s not so angry his view of the world is only concentrated on what he alone can see. Sasuke when observant of others is kind, has compassion and understanding and a willingness to prioritize others’ safety: we see this when he protects Team 7 all throughout part 1, and when he protects Team Taka in the Killer B fight. When he’s not clouded by his own rage, Sasuke also has a better willingness to learn: when Itachi left him after their fight against Kabuto, he went out of his way to learn more about the village he’d come to justifiably despise, to understand Itachi’s own point of view, and to learn the point of view of those that had built it. Sasuke in general is someone who doesn’t accept things so readily and is constantly questioning things even when he’s set his mind to them, and he is also someone who does have a clear idea of justice: needless human suffering on a large scale is something he’s disgusted by (see how he reacts to Itachi before he learned the truth and to Orochimaru). When he’s truly of the mind to sit down and listen, that potential is increased tenfold. He came out from under the Nakano Shrine after speaking with Hashirama and the other Hokage seeing the shinobi system as something that causes needless human suffering on a large scale, and though he’s not quite at the ideal point yet, the idea to do something about it (to dismantle that system) is there.

And now here we are, chapter 699: Sasuke’s anger is no longer his main driving force, and he is learning to accept love back in his life, and what does he say? That he’s going to look at the world, now, with new eyes. That he’s going to take advantage of this new healing state of his, to properly observe the world because his perception of it isn’t obstructed by his unhealthy vengeance fixation anymore. Sasuke, who already has the capacity for compassion, who already has a sense of justice, who knows how to listen and observe, is now going to take the time to use these foundations to build himself a more expansive perception of the world. He’s showing willingness to look outside of himself!

Now before I talk about the point I really want to get to, I want to talk about anger. I know anger is often portrayed as something awful in many stories (including this one), as something that is a personal failing next to those who can just endure what is thrown at them with little complaint, and that it’s a narrow view of it. Anger is a very useful emotion, and sometimes a necessary one: anger helps you perceive injustice done to yourself or others, anger can help you prevent people walking all over you and help you to recognize that you’re not getting something that you deserve. I’ll never condemn anger.

And I don’t condemn Sasuke’s anger! I am very firmly in the “Sasuke was right” camp; I don’t think he has to kiss up to a government so cowardly it wiped his people from the face of the Earth in the dead of night, I think a system that can justify a crime that outrageous while it continues to perpetuate itself needs to be entirely dismantled. And I believe that though there are limits to how seriously you should take this shounen animanga, the fact that these plotlines were introduced in the first place as well as every other time shinobi militaristic violence was clearly shown as being evil but were given shitty resolutions means that it is both normal and in fact encouraged to point out that these introduced plotlines were given really, really shitty resolutions.

Though while anger and pointing out how wrong things are are incredibly useful, when you really want to start talking about revolutionary action, incentive to change the world, I think that anger alone is insufficient.

Specifically in Sasuke’s case, as I’ve said above, Sasuke’s anger is ultimately selfish. He sees how he himself was wronged, and that’s great, but like... he’s also not the only one who suffers under the shinobi system. He’s not the only one it’s brought incredible wrong toward. Even when he demonstrated growth during the 4th War and was willing to expand his own knowledge to better understand why Konoha exists as it is, he wasn’t sharing what he’d learned with others, he wasn’t reaching out to build connections, to build solidarity— he was working on his plan entirely alone.

(And yes, we can talk about how the narrative purposefully makes the villain characters seem more unreasonable though they have justified feelings on why the system cannot continue as is, but again, as I’ve said at the start, we’ve had those conversations at length already.)

I believe genuine change, the desire to see a better world, has to fundamentally come from the desire to see people in a better place, not from vengeance. I think to get there, you need to see how other people live aside from yourself, you need to work at helping them see their lives becoming better as well. “No one’s free until we’re all free”, etc. I think your outrage at injustice has to extend to everyone outside of yourself, and your fight against the injustice be also a fight for them.

As I’ve demonstrated, Sasuke in chapter 699 in the space where he can actually work at doing that, to work at doing direct, radical action. Travelling as he wants to do will introduce him to more people, to more perspectives, to more ideas on how to meaningfully combat the injustices of the shinobi system and to directly help people to escape suffering the worst of it.

Recently I watched the Sasuke Shinden anime, and though it was still incredibly imperfect in its politics, it introduced the idea of Sasuke doing the closest thing to everything I am saying right now: it introduces shinobi being forced to fight in a human trafficking coliseum, and Sasuke being told by one of the characters, Chino, that being an inactive third party to injustice makes you just as guilty to it, which leads Sasuke in the end to free all shinobi forced to fight in the coliseum.

It also introduced the idea (and I was genuinely surprised that anything Naruto-related was actually willing to go there) of the Uchiha Clan, and by extension Sasuke, being victims but also being perpetrators of the same system that got them killed. In Shinden, they were hired by a feudal lord to deport another oppressed kekkei genkai clan called the Chinoike (that Chino is apart of) to a land unsuitable for any human to live in, and rather than help the Chinoike escape this fate, they simply carried out the mission order, which caused suffering for the clan. While I don’t think that that plotline was handled as well as it could’ve been, it really hammers in the point of it being important to learn about the position and suffering of others and to do something about it, because despite your own suffering, your participation in the system that perpetuates it still makes you complicit. And Sasuke accepts this! When he learns about the Uchiha and the Chinoike, he relates it to when Chino told him about being an audience to injustice making you just as bad if you don’t do anything about it. I think Sasuke Shinden is a good, if imperfect, snapshot into the very potential I’m talking about.

In fact, all of this is why I really believe it to be important that Sasuke travels and works outside of Konoha rather than within it; because as we’ve seen with Nagato and Amegakure, being apart of the Hidden Villages themselves, fighting in their wars and participating in their ranks, makes you complicit in the crimes they commit against the other smaller nations. Everyone we’ve seen fight in the wars, the Sannin, Kakashi, everyone in allegiance with Konoha and yes, including the Uchiha Clan, share responsibility in the crimes the village commits, even if they’ve personally suffered at its hands as well. Nagato, Konan and Yahiko are certainly justified if they don’t care that your war buddy died in front of you since you both had a hand in the destruction of their village for your military village’s interests.

This is also why on my blog, I am constantly advocating for the potential Team Taka represented. They were all shinobi working outside of the framework of the Hidden Villages, with little allegiance to them, and given that Sasuke in the ending is open to apologizing for his behaviour and accepting bonds again, they could’ve easily travelled together again in the ending and done just exactly everything that I’ve been talking about in this post. And they could’ve become closer than ever!

I think it’s telling, in a way, that what finally got to Sasuke in the end was genuine empathy; acceptance to realize there are other people around like him, that might share what he feels, and this is done through Naruto, someone who saw his own loneliness in him but that Sasuke rejected because he felt (understandably) defensive that anyone should get how he felt at all. Sasuke healing in learning that he can understand people other than himself, safely, is a big step into learning to properly observe and accept others, and then that’s another step that could lead into genuine revolutionary consciousness.

My conclusion here isn’t that any of this was something Kishimoto was actually going for. It’s that despite everything, there are already interesting building blocks in Sasuke’s canon characterization in place where you could create a meaningful story about resisting oppression and fighting for change, one that doesn’t surround a myopic, vengeful idea of it. I dont think of that as an interesting path for Sasuke’s character, especially since he already spends most of the series with nothing but vengeance in mind. I think he has the potential to do better, and we have the potential to write fix-it stories in which he does better than that.

[tododeku-or-bust]

☀️Raybearer, by Jordan Ifeuko

I am so full of emotion rn, having just finished this book. So I'm just gonna list off all the top great things I've found during this adventure:

The protagonist, Tarisai, is a Black girl. God knows I would have loved to have this when I was 13 bc I was (and am) a fantasy fiend. And she fights the status quo that is the unjust system she lives in, that wants to weaponize her in many ways? I'm seated! 🔥

Reading this as a grown Black woman, I feel the frustration at the world behind it. I feel the frustration, from a Black Woman Author, when I see the world around me making the same poor choices over and over and parroting it "unity", "justice", "peace" and "order", especially at the sacrifice (instead of the priority!) of those who need us most. That's what's filling me with the most emotion, though there are so many things I relate to in this story. I feel....seen. seen, heard, validated.

I read more characters of color in the first 20 pages than I have read in 27 years of fantasy books EVER. The countries are fantasy, but the characters' names show the influence. (Nigeria, China, Korea, West Asia, India, and more). The author is putting everyone's "brown ppl break the illusion of fantasy" bullshit in the DIRT.

The main romance is between an Indian boy and a Black girl. I've seen that ONCE! Very rarely do we get interracial romance where the Black person is the girl, let alone in pairings between different people of color! (Black girl characters deserve to be loved XOXO)

Queer people exist in this universe and it is no sweat. Like, they just do!

The plot of this book!!! It's some heavy shit fr! It keeps you on edge as you follow Tarisai. She's weighed down by so many expectations, and you want so badly for her to break away from it and do what is Right. I love a 'Sins of the Parent/Lineage' story, and I especially love a (thanks ATSV) "imma do me" story.

Imma reemphasize this bc it's my favorite: one point this book has that I REALLY appreciate is that it emphasizes the idea that those who want to change the world should be willing to do so at the risk of themselves. So often in our society it's always "things will get better but you have to suffer in order for us to get there, not Me-," and its frustrating bc a lot of those who speak a big game politically are usually never the ones willing to go First. The claim that things will get better is always at the cost of someone weaker and less heard.

The worldbuilding of this book is rich. You will be plied with visuals and information in this universe. And if some of the cultural concepts are confusing (given that we live in a White Western default world for writing)..... Learn it. Get comfortable with it. Kids should grow up learning new things in fantasy (I had to learn Irish to read some books and I'm better for it; you'll be okay!)

This is more personal, but I love reading about my hair in fic. Curls, coils, locs, braids, beads, afros like clouds. It's so nice. Our hair and skin are beautiful and I want to see more that actual effort put into describing us in writing.

There are a couple things that I think could be better/paced differently, but overall the experience is very, very good. I am absolutely going to buy this and the next one in the series. Jordan Ifeuko did an excellent job with this and I would highly suggest it.

[lordadmiralfarsight]

Essentialism, it's bad even if it looks left wing

Essentialism, its a conceptual base for a LOT of shitty things.

Racism is a variety of essentialism, where you are considered confined to the essential qualities or flaws of your "race" (whatever bullshit is put in the word). It creates a veneer of superiority based on skin color/ethnicity/whatever to comfort the adherant's ego, make them more amenable to the professing populist's ambitions and occult one basic reality : people of all color and origins can be wondrous geniuses who bring amazing advancements to humanity or terminally awkward dumbasses (and sometimes both at once).

Classism and casteism is the same, evaluating the social value of someone based on the essential qualities or flaws of their social class or cast. These two rests a lot on tradition and the natural tendency to social endogamy and self-reproduction through education. But in the end, the "superiority" of the higher social strata class or cast is attributed to essential qualities instead of access to better education and learning materials.

But when it comes to sexism, the essentialism seems to, most of the time, be only recognized one way in many keft wing circles, at least on the surface (which is the most visible part). What prompted this? I saw a post on the Barbie movie on this here hellsite that quoted a bunch of tweets. Up to the end, it was fairly feel good, cute, positive. Even if most of the quoted tweets seemed to have missed the commentary on gender relations that is apparently part of the movie.

I will be upfront, I have not seen the movie. Not by ideology, but simply because I do not feel the urge. But from my understanding, the situation of the Kens is ... not ideal. It could be better.

Most of the tweets did not mention that, focusing on the female aspect. And then there was this :

So, over generalisation based on gender elevating one gender as sweet and kind and non-violent, just vibing, while the other is decried as brutish, oppressive and violent. No nuance, just big homogenous blocks. That is incredibly essentialist. That is also a kind of take that feeds Far Right pundits like nobody's business.

Think a bit on the underlying philosophy. What's being said isn't "inequalities are bad and both genders should be equal", it's "the wrong gender is in power and everything would be perfect if gender relations were switched around". That take doesn't have a problem with the system, but with who is in control. When the system is unjust, changing who controls it or benefits from it doesn't make it just.

And just to pre-empt : yes, I'm a man. So what? I am not obligated to suffer for the actions of other dick-owners.

[w98pops]

I just love how much layers your characters have. I love Aletus. Im really enjoying how he's a good father, sweet guy but a legionary and a coward and its doesnt seem out of place, you write him so good. I would love to see and read more of Aletus. He's great. Not a great person, but a character 4sure. ❤️❤️❤️

TW: MENTIONS OF Menstruation, child marriage, slavery, sex, Aletus being Aletus

Thank you a lot. There is so much Aletus loving lately for some reason, and I'm totally not complaining, I loooove when my characters are loved 😭🙏🙏 I don't really intend much on writing nuanced characters, I don't think they're THAT great, but I'm glad it seems organic and people enjoy it. Aletus is a deeply flawed man and I planned him like that from the start. AND since y'all want more of him for some reason, here's more.

The reason he's not a total anti-hero is probably because I mainly tell and draw my characters from Wendy's perspective. For her, Aletus is a god-like figure. He was always kind and gentle with her, he taught her everything, pretty much, he was there for her always and his opinion matters to her more than anything in the world. She loves him dearly and will never let go of that love. So she tends to dismiss all the bad shit, because she loves him, or because she doesn't know.

I mean, he's a legionary after all. I don't want to spoil all the stuff 😭 because I still want to do SOMETHING with this story. At the very least, an illustrated google doc or something 😭😭😭, but holy fuck is Aletus an awful human being. Not in a cartoonish type of way, like legionaries tend to be, but like. He's an absolute megalomaniac. In a subtle more boring way. He thinks he's better than anyone else and it's his only motivator, most of the time. He thinks he's better than other legionaries, he's better than the enslaved, he's better than the NCR, he's better than Sarah and Wendy. He loves Wendy, genuinely, but. He loves the love she has for him more. Aletus preys on her dependence on him and thrives when she's unhappy. He's not aware of this, of course, it's a deep unconscious thing he just does. Her love make his ego grow, his love makes her miserable. He's never cruel or unjust to her. But Aletus does things that are kinda good on paper, as in reality it fucks up everything.

There's a big fat example, which I referenced many times in my posts, it's the way Wendy "escaped" the Legion. She never really did. She never wanted, she had a normal life, her dad was a privileged man and she never even knew the fact that she was a slave. But as soon as she hit puberty and the whole afab menstruation bullshit started, Aletus just kinda. Kicked her out, crudely speaking. By the laws of fhe Legion as soon as a girl starts to bleed, she has to get married, and Aletus couldn't have that. Not because she's still a child and it's fucking awful, but because If Wendy gets married then she will have all her attention on her husband and Aletus won't be taking up all her mind space all the time. He tried to let her escape like. 2 times. The first time she refused, the second time he physically forced her and ordered to ran away, she came back. She literally had no problem living in the Legion. She was fed, she had toys, she had a loving father and she was safe. Wendy grew up soft and fragile, she wasn't ready for the Wasteland, and Aletus chose to ingore it because HIS DAUGHTER IS IN HER EARLY TEENS SHE CAN'T MARRY, I'D RATHER LET HER BE KILLED BY THE TERRORS OF THE POST-APOCALYPTIC WORLD. I'm laughing at it, but it's kinda still a hard choice. So I don't inherently judge Aletus for the fact that he physically moved Wendy on the caravan he bribed while she was sleeping, so she wouldn't disagree again or find a way back home. But it was one most cruel thing he did to her. Although, Wendy never held a grudge against her dad. She couldn't possibly, even though she should totally. She's not that kind of person.

I think that one of his actions characterises Aletus the most? I mean, this one and the fact that he refused when his ex-lover Noam offered him to escape the Legion with him and Wendy, which was years before her "escape". I don't think I need to explain that one? Aletus is a coward, and he had no reason to leave Legion. Noam was a victim of Caesar's conquest. Aletus chose this life. For all the reasons Wendy refused to leave, by the way. He's a megalomaniac AND a hypocrite.

He's kind of an awful partner too? Not counting Sarah, he's an absolute asshole to Lucullus. I mean, it's Lucullus, but still, when you're in a relationship you typically have some sympathy for your companion. Aletus, on the other hand, sees Lucullus as a tool. Easy access to sex + easy spying on Wendy, no more. Pretty much was with all of his other boyfriends. He just can't bring himself to care for another human being as much as for himself. AGAIN, HIS LOVE FOR WENDY IS REAL. IT'S JUST BURIED UNDER A GAJILLION LAYERS OF CRUSTY EGO. Noam was probably the only one who truly saw Aletus for what he is and made a smart decision: he left.

ALSO, kinda the reason why he neglected Sharky as a child. Sharky looks so much like him, he hates it. He's egotistical, but is lying to himself about it, and through Sharky's eyes he sees himself for what he is, and really really doesn't like it. Also, Sharky was non-verbal and not really interested in nerd stuff that Aletus got Wendy into. Aletus' negligence of his own kid (who he's BIOLOGICALLY related to) was for good, in the end.

Aletus is a coward who can't look in the eyes of his own child and his cowardice is the reason he canonically dies during the Second Battle for Hoover Dam. Wendy comes to him and begs him to leave the Legion with her, she KNOWS that they will lose and he will die, but for Aletus, Legion is all his life. To live past the Legion is to live to face the consequences of his actions, and we can't have that. Again, in the end, his love for self was stronger than love for his daughter. His as does not deserve a good ending 😭🙏

But I still think he's likeable. At the very list. He's a Dante Alighieri fan, very dramatic, but with a good sense of humor. He's smart, cares for Wendy, does silly stuff from time to time, but actually did a LOT for the children that were forcibly recruited and enslaved by the Legion. I don't know If i mentioned in plain this fact, but Aletus is a pre-school teacher by profession :) With a degree in history. He genuinely passionate about teaching and he truly does everything for his students. In the comparison, he's just a good survivalist. There's nothing inherently wrong with being selfish in this hard cruel world and we all make mistakes. Most of them Aletus did unintentionally or out of self-preservation anyway. And we can't all be superheroes and find the courage to face our inner demons, sorry for cheesiness.

I LOVE Aletus. I think he's pretty good in terms of complex morals and writing. I like my dilfs morally grey and miserable.

Thank you for the feedback and giving me a reason to ramble about my favorite idiot!!!!

[transmutationisms]

hi! so i dont know much about 2008 finantial crisis, i think you mentioned something that succ fans should learn about it to understand economy better and all that jazz, so question;

would a good deep dive into it significantly improve the succession experience

AND

do you think the show looses its full narrative when one is watching without understanding much about anything bussiness related, or is it more of a "if you get it you get it but if you don't its whatever" kinda thing

well im biased because this is what happened to me, but i think it's impossible to study 2008 in any depth and not come away with a profoundly cynical understanding of how finance and global capital works. like the way capitalism demands the use of risky financial derivatives (because it demands increasing profits, always) means that vast swathes of the economy are several layers abstracted from any material product or process; are essentially gambling games in which owners of capital can bet either side and banks can bet both; and are consequently at constant risk of collapse and meltdown because their normal mode of operation is fuelled by bullshit and confidence. it's like when you read about anna delvey, and then you realise the way she faked having wealth was essentially donald trump's entire business strategy forever, because you don't actually need to have money to be wealthy as long as you have a name or connections and banks are willing to keep writing you lines of credit. like it makes you a little insane to think about. words are just complicated airflow.

also i think there's a degree of intertextuality between succession and the big short specifically, partly by subject matter and partly because adam mckay directed the succession pilot and is still a producer on the show. and this is not me defending mckay (bitch ass liberal) or michael lewis (rules but also sucks) but i've always thought the succession ending is going to hit a lot of the same notes as the big short ending: here is a system that is fundamentally unjust, that puts working people at risk, and that runs not on some kind of mystical business genius but on brazen greed, reputation, and wilful ignorance of economic risk; the people who are granted access into the upper echelons of this system will not face consequences for participating in it, and they will continue to make the world worse and meaner as long as they are allowed to do so, by the state of deregulation and by capital's tacit reliance on such practices for its own continued growth.

business-wise... i don't know a ton about business honestly, and i think the show does a pretty good job of conveying the plot points you absolutely need to understand. like there are maybe some nuances some viewers have a tendency to miss (the psychological ramifications of stewy being in private equity?) but i think it's possible to get a lot out of the show without necessarily understanding the intricacies of business practices. this is hard for me to answer though because i guess it really depends on what baseline level of knowledge you're coming from here. i guess i would say if something confuses you in an episode, no harm in googling?

[rebelwheelsnycpoetry]

A Good Jew (written in 2023)

by Michele Sommerstein

Pt 1 Wednesday, Los Angeles, white supremacists same rhetoric spewing, lies antisemitic, oozing, while, Zionist Jews in Israel, play theft again, in Palestine, these, violence unjust

and I feel fucked up, unsure, walking this high wire, delicately balancing poorly stacked and trembling plates & china of various sizes pondering what is my place, my lane, my right, my responsibility in this As an activist, a person of Jewish ancestry, this history that I awkwardly dance with awkwardly

unsolicited two cents, as people tell me how I should be. If I am to be “a good Jew” (if I am not to cause harm) as if speaking out against the occupation, especially during attacks from anti-Semites - causes harm has me questioning if and how and when I should speak?

this identity, that I do not list in my bio, for it would somehow feel fake as if I somehow haven't earned enough points to declare it, and yet whip out strategically, like a card in my wallet, when it comes to politics for I know of it's value, of its weight & and at times privilege Dear Senator, I write to you as a Jewish constituent.

It's been decades but I remember going with my mother temple too warm, small child drowsy, rabbi speaking, drones on and on, slow near monotone, and I am, disconnected from the meaning, not understanding, attending out of some weird obligation expectation that somehow came with my birth, and why? forget that it was often in another language that I did not understand (nor yet appreciate) sometimes I'd drift off day dreaming, mid sermon, of those after service cookies served in the basement that never really felt worth it nor were they ever that good. and yet every Thursday night on repeat

I remember, small child, inquisitive, inquiring But if God is everywhere, why do we have to pray in temple? For I was told that good Jews go, that god favors those, who attend

but the women in the two back rows, always gossiping I said even if they're not even paying attention? Yes, even if someone prays in the forest sincerely, he is less favored? Yes and it didn't make sense

Don't ask so many questions. Why can't you be more like your peers? Who ask nothing (they are good) and although still a child, it all just felt like bullshit that Jewish was just this thing you go along with without really knowing why & so by 13 “I did my time” and got out. L'Chaim.

Pt 2 I recall, late teens, paternal, grandparent's Oldsmobile (boxy with no power steering), grandfather (typically passive) parked in the Jersey driveway when the Queen Matriarch (my grandmother) turns to me, asking if I was yet dating, and I was, but she said “Well, when you're serious, he'll be Jewish.” For years I'd always inquire “Why?” “It's tradition” without fail she replied “But why is it tradition?” but tradition, presented as infallible and was not to be questioned. (why must you ask so many questions)

until one day, 19 years, late teens, backseat. Oldsmobile, boxy with no power steering, in frustration “But why is it tradition?!” This expectation to follow without reason And she, rooted in Zionism & trauma (and the intersections of) said “OK, you're old enough to know…” Spoke of my duty as a “pure blooded” Jewish woman a what? To marry, to mate with a pure blooded Jewish man and your pure blooded – she said again – Jewish children will be part of a collective army, so when – not if but when the next Holocaust comes, this time, we will. be, ready… Stunned and silent but with the blaring awareness that pure blooded was a term that Hitler had used against us and what the fuck?

But at the time I dared not utter a word because she was the Queen Matriarch, and respect, an elder with a free pass And I dared not utter a word because the women in my family were raised to be subservient to the men, who were then underfoot to The Queen (this also never made sense) I dared not utter a word because we had led very different lives not that this justified what I was hearing but I, who never had to escape by night, by boat, as a child from Russia so what right did I have to speak my mind? To tell her how to deal with her trauma? (a word that was never used, but influenced most things in my family)

I remember at the party DJ playing Hava Nagila (mandatory but welcomed) and everyone danced, loose & drunk-like, floppy though sober but not my grandmother. She, who moved with intention and purpose. With pride like a form of protest. In ways I did not comprehend at 13, why so serious (for no one really talked about the past, and you knew not to ask questions) but in that moment, she danced for all the times in Russia, she and her family could not Their culture, their religion, their existence, persecuted to no end I wish I was told more as a child, so I too would not have taken it for granted.

Pt 3 I don't remember ever hearing the word Palestine in Hebrew School. Nor seeing it on the maps they had us color in as kids But as I got older, I learned of its existence,

And the actual history, the hypocrisy, falsely justified as if those who were oppressed, could never become the oppressors. As if our history justified it all – it does not.

I saw Zionists twist the term anti-Semite to mean anyone who criticized the occupation, even when valid watering down the meaning of the word

I saw a video of Palestinian people who could not even wave their own flag without persecution. and I could not help but to notice the similarities

I saw Zionism exploiting the trauma of the holocaust, perpetually jabbing the wound, insisting “you need this to keep you safe!” but always failing to do so.

And when I spoke up, making art and poetry that points this out. I was yelled at, all caps, put down told to not ask so many questions, that I am bad, a self hating Jew

but I am not & nor am I alone

I've marched with Jewish groups protesting conservative Zionists who had teamed up with white supremacists on the topic of Israel – and what?!

I've met Jewish activists in solidarity with Palestine, who cry out “not in my name” taking a stand because “If Not Now, When?” teaching the history of Jewish rebellion & good good trouble

I've seen protest signs carried that read: “Zionism is not Judaism” (because that needs to be said) I've seen temples, boldly religious but not as in controlling, oppressive - restricted as in joyous, inclusive, ask the questions! as in love, community, as in growth, as in connection, this that was healing this that I wish younger me could have seen because then I would have known there were other people like me because then I could have separated the wisdom from the trauma and acknowledged and learned from both and Jewish would've been in my bio along with Queer and Disabled and writer and nerd and activist all the things I declare with pride.

Monday, New York City, white supremacists same rhetoric, spewing, lies antisemitic oozing, while Zionist Jews in Israel, play theft again, in Palestine, may it be known & without apology - these, violence unjust

[cumulohimbus]

Dear fellow transmascs, trans men, afab nonbinary beings, and anyone who is not directly impacted by transmisogny; (*Note: we won't get all the terminology right here probably, but we don't keep up so much on current discourse about labels and acronyms--we apologize if some is outdated, we did our best.)

We know sometimes it's hard to not feel hurt, and in some cases personally smeared by other beings talking about the impact of transmisogny and transmisogynoir. Sometimes these messages are interwoven with comments about shitty (white) transmasc/afab enby beings, and we understand the urge to protest: "Are we not also at risk of discrimination and violence for being trans?"

Well, yeah, sure. And there's already a word for that: it's just "misogyny". This being is not so scared of being saddled with unlawful charges or even flat out murdered by police, because we expect that, despite passing okay-ish, if police were to clock us as trans they're going to just treat us as uwu weak woman.

We have noticed a common pattern with transphobia/transmisia.

For transmascs & afab enbys, transphobia/transmisia often seems to manifest in being dismissed and not taken seriously. "You're just a lesbian." "You just have depression and anxiety and you're overreacting." "You must have penis envy." It's patronizing and invalidating, absolutely. We cannot just be what we say we are; we will forever be the weaker, submissive, maternal ones. Some of y'all get so incensed at this that you participate in "pragmatic denialism", i.e. the mindset of "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em". You swing so hard at masculinity that you perpetuate unjust and demeaning patriarchal social structures. This being has been there before--early on in our transition, because it was the only way we felt like we could have any sort of autonomy. And we've moved past that now; we very much hope you learn to do the same.

A former religion teacher of ours once mailed us a four-page handwritten letter about how she was praying for us because we must be so mentally ill to think we're trans. She could accept us if we were bisexual, but we "have a vagina", therefore we "are a woman".

But she didn't silence our voice and try to cut us off from our entire community. She didn't threaten (or perpetrate) violence or calling law enforcement on us. She didn't call us an "it" (I mean, it/its pronouns are fine for us these days, but you know what we mean). She didn't paint us as a sexual deviant or predator. She didn't brand our very existence as obscene. We were wrong--misguided--but never obscene.

For transfem and amab enbys, transphobia/transmisia carries extra layers of complexity. Many deal with a number of the same things we've described above I'm sure (the not being taken seriously, especially if they do not go to great lengths to present themself as femininely as possible, which we find extraordinarily infuriating). But then there are those who do take transfem and amab enby beings seriously, and in doing so also label them as abominations. Because who would willingly demote themself to womanhood and femininity? There must be some sort of predatory motive...

To try to summarize these patterns of transphobia:

Transmascs/afab queers = are and will always be women = misogyny Transfems/amab queers = were men who 'chose' to demote themselves to womanhood (and therefore must have some dangerous ulterior motive) = transmisogyny (a type of misogyny where victims are seen as men simply playing pretend as women; it denies transfem beings their womanhood AND punishes them for their femininity because femininity is already inferior to masculinity)

All this is to say, please don't divide the community more. Please just listen to the experiences of trans women and amab queer folks; ask how you can be supportive if you're able. And do yourself a favor as well: throw away your puritanical beliefs about obscenity. Obscenity is largely a whole crock of bullshit. My religion teacher would have been equally, if not more correct about us if she had deemed us "sexually deviant" instead of merely "mentally ill", and you know what? We own our weird kinks; they're not hurting anybody else (unless it's consensual ;p ).

For those that read all the way to here, there is nuance we surely skipped over for the sake of this post not being wordier than it already is. We encourage you to analyze the words we have said, and not put any in our mouth which we have not said. The things we have left out would require an entire textbook.

Transfems and amab queer folks (and also intersex folks!) feel free to add on anything as you see fit; my sword and shield are yours.

-Cumulohimbus, et al.

[mintyeels]

BYF/DNI

Call me Splat or Scissors. I go by xe/god/slime/it. I prefer masculine language.

Alright fuckers, this is my honesty account! Im gonna be keeping this separate from my mains for a good fucking reason because like fuck am I losing all my damn moots and shit for this <3

I am (or we are) a polyfrag multigenic system with npd, bpd aspd, and possible hpd along with several other mental illnesses. I experience psycosis, I have adhd and autism, and I have several controversial special interests. Get used to that if you stay here.

I will not censor my thoughts here. If you wanna be friends then you should know im a two-faced cowardly bitch who loves attention and pushing others away. I do not fucking trust you <3

That being said if I say something bigoted or unjust, lmk. I’m incredibly aware of my potential impact on others, and I pride myself on being helpful, non-harmful, and using progressive language. I am physically disabled.

(That is to say, in non aspd language: pls lmk if I say smth offensive. I genuinely want to learn and become more aware, as its important to me that im not harming others with my language or actions. Call my bullshit out (politely!) and I will be more than willing to accommodate and adjust!)

I am currently in an environment where I cannot safely seek treatment or therapy for my personality disorders & systemhood at the moment, however I am educated on mental health, mental illness, and psychology (self researched). I also plan to pursue a career in social work or psychology.

With that context it should be clear that I DO NOT self-diagnose myself lightly. I am not making light of, purposefully demonizing, or making a bad name for people with these disorders. I am simply being honest about how they affect my life and outlook on this blog.

I have been medically recognized as a system, and don’t give a fuck what you think of my origin or pronouns. Mind your fucking business and shut your fucking mouth.

Self diagnosis is valid. Endogenics are safe and accepted here. Introjects are real (I cant believe I have to say that). I refuse to call source memories/exomemories “psuedomemories,” as it is invalidating imo.

My proper BYF is much longer, but here’s the gist. [late addition, im anti-sexual age-regression (CGLG/LB [squick] or CGLG/LB agere [immoral imo]), and pro-nonsexual age-regression. sfw regressors are welcome here, though please be aware that this blog is not always child/little-friendly!]

(ID: A black box with neon green text reading, “DNI: PRO-CONTACT FOR HARMFUL PARAPHILIAS, TRUSCUM/TRANSMED, ANTI-NEO PRONOUN, TERF/SWERF/RADFEM, SYSCOURSE/DISCOURSE BLOG, EXCLUSIONIST, TRANSRACE, ANTI-MSPEC IDENTITIES, POLICE LGBT TERMS/IDENTITIES, ANTI-AGEREGRE/ANTI-LITTLE, CTLG/B (AGEREGRE), ANTI-KINK, ANTI ENDO/TULPA, DON’T RESPECT CLOSED PRACTICES, TRANSID/TRANSX (EXEPT TRANSSPECIES AND TRANSAGE IN GOOD FAITH), ANTI-NEOPRONOUNS, GENDERSKEPTICAL/CRITICAL”)

My spins (special interests are):

Hermitcraft

Zombies

Apocalypses

Art

Shifting (scientific interest)

Dsmp (dream sucks.)

Slimecicle

Slimecicle cinematic universe

Ranboo

AstralSpiff

Asmr

Video games

Categories of suicide and/or muder

Witchcraft/paganism

The sorry boys

Half-life/Portal

Systemhood

Mental health

Personality disorders

Creepypasta

Marble hornets

Scp

Indie Horror

The forest

Batim/batdr

Poppy playtime

Resident evil

[nyashykyunnie]

Solo Leveling x Return of The Blossoming Blade shitpost

So you saw the latest teaser of Arise right? The game? The sword is called "Demonic Sword Plum Flower" AND DID YOU KNOW THERE'S A MANHWA WHERE THE MAIN CHARACTER HAS THE TITLE OF " Plum Blossom Sword Saint"? THAT MAN IS CHEONG MYEONG SO BUCKLE UP EVERYONE LISTEN TO MY DAILY BULLSHIT WHERE AS LING AS I CAN DO IT, I WILL FIT JINWOO EVERYWHERE

Jinwoo was just 13 years old when suddenly he isekaid to another world and he was about to try and make a way to come back to his world(even tho in his world he has no family to go home to, je also alr regressrd in this and has his own shadow monarch powers idk how it happened just shut up and listen mWaH) and as he was fcking around he caught the eye of one of Sect Members of Mount Hua. The stranger was just watching him before randomly blurting out, "Hey, Kid. Wanna get into mount hua?"

Jinwoo: ????

???: Quit staring, kid, this old man doesn't have that much patience.

Jinwoo: **is even more comfused because that kid doesnt even look past 14**

???: Hey. **skerryyyyy face** mtf I'm tryna adopt u get ur ass to say yes or I'm forcibly gonna fcking kidnap u and force u into mount hua

Jinwoo: a name at least?

???: Cheong Myeong^^

Jinwoo: alright, I'll come with you?

little did he know Cheong Myeong is the greatest mtfing brat who does not hesitate to slam dunk your head onto the pavement and is a BIG ALCOHOLIC. And as Jinwoo was about to dismiss this lil brat. He realized everyone is batshit scared (and so done) with Cheong Myeong so he cant help but be intrigued. And so the part where the training come sup. Yknow Jinwoo is alr a monarch so he cant help but feel bad that everyone else is suffering intense training and here is cheong myeong going "IF ANY OF DUMB LIL SHITS FALL BEHIND OR GO TOO GODDAMN SLOW YOU'RE REPEATING THE WHOLE DAMN SET BUT TEN TIMES MORE."

Though Jinwoo could see how much the kids are suffering, it wasn't unjust tyranny because he could see how determined everyone else was in training.

Jinwoo was just melting in the bg until one night he was goofing around in the forest and he found Cheong Myeong drinking alcohol.

Jinwoo: Aren:t you too young for that?

Cheong Myeong: As long as the sect leaders dont see I'm fine~

Jinwoo: ....

Cheong Myeong: Hey, I know you're not having a hard time on training

Jinwoo: ..... **shit.**

Cheong Myeong: Its obvious you are stronger, but are you really gonna stay like that? Huh? You're part of Mount Hua, and since I made it my.decision to drag you in here— I'll make sure you're gonna be a top swordsman.

Jinwoo wanted to refute, god he did but the fire in Cheong Myeong's eyes. That cold and calculating gaze. Cheong Myeong knew there was more to Jinwoo than what he looks but doesnt press on to milk more info. All that matters in Mount Hua and for mount Hua to prosper.

Cheong Myeong: Starting tomorrow I'll double— No triple? I'll add so much to your training, I wanna see you panting and bleeding from your palms tomorrow^^

Jinwoo: Sure.

Jinwoo was intrigued, intrigued at this so-called "Kid." He knows this brat is also more than what he appears. This kid has an air of wisdom around him, something benevolent and old—

Then he sees Cheong Myeong being the absolute menace one time and all that acknowledgement goes to the bin. Atleast Cheong Myeong was serious in making Jinwoo train extra harder. Jinwoo alr has incredible stamina so he secretly doubles his own workout for the fun of it.

But ofc training aside, Jinwoo is having a hard time to adjust because modern world and old world traditions are so vast. He cant even differentiate "Sajae" and "Sahyung" withour fucking up one way or another. Not to mention the stress Cheong Myeong is causing like man that brat is an absolute menace, when he's pissed. HE IS PISSED.

i would go more into detail but my brain juices out. just know that Jinwoo had to watch sm of Cheong Myeong's bullshit

[tea-with-evan-and-me]

Really glad that we can discuss pretty much anything on here. I was a victim of domestic violence for many years and just keep in mind that it’s a very embarrassing and humiliating thing to go through. I’d imagine for a man even more so. I’m sure Evan has moved passed it but its one of those things you kind of don’t really get over cause it’s so traumatic. Dredging up all this is just going to bring up memories that I’m sure he’d rather not be thinking about. I’m just assuming he sees what’s said online and this is always a big topic it seems like. It’s just a delicate subject and going back and forth about it with people who clearly won’t change their mind just seems kind of pointless. It’s just giving this evil person attention that she does not deserve.

hello! first off i want to say i totally understand why someone would feel this way. it is a sensitive topic. but i do want to clarify: the reason i speak out about this is not because i believe for even a moment that anything i say will change the mind of these people who stan emma.

i do this because as far as twitter goes, 99% of evan’s fans have pretty much given up on trying to defend him, as they seemingly fear getting dragged for defending a man in this situation, and her fans have realized this. they park under posts about evan and spread misinformation, capitalizing on the whole accidental retweet scandal, some people having unjust animosity towards him, and the fact evan himself is no longer on social media. i personally have a huge issue with people demonizing a victim of DV, by lying and spreading misinformation about a REAL event with a verifiable victim. as i said directly to that twitter user, i am not doing this for them. i am doing it for the people who will read these threads and take it at face value, believing evan beat emma. i have seen many instances where someone brings up emma being arrested for assaulting evan, one of her minions reply with their bullshit and bruised knee photo, and someone going “oh wow, i didn’t know he beat her too”. and i’m just not someone who is going to sit back and let that go unchecked, which is why i talk about it and have long wanted to compile information, so that myself and those on here who feel the same can be equipped to correct this.

also, i would hope evan isn’t on twitter searching his name. that place is hell on earth. 🤦🏻‍♀️

[subconsciousmysteries]

Musings about my 8 experiences

So… most 8 descriptions turn the type into a shallow meme. “Orly? You think you’re an 8? Go start a scene at the mall! because 8 is about being a Karen” “Prove ur a literal psychopath before you identify with this type”. Everyone (especially all the ppl who date 8s! Lol) begs 8s to figure ourselves out. Enneagram does a piss poor job at helping us figure ourselves out… just turns us into a caricature and forces us to prove any psychopathic behaviors we may already harbor due to this fixation.

So, I have done you people the honors of figuring 8s out!

Read what Ichazo, one of the OG, says about 8.

———

——— This is not The Cool Type. Nor is it “the dark edgy traumatized type that only the most dark edgy traumatized people can be” — that is an indirect way of still glorifying 8 as The Cool Type. 8 is literally just another type which gives its own problems to the person who has to deal with it.

I actually believe that low Te 8s are more common than high Te 8s, since as you can see here, 8 is about the inability to tolerate structure including any structures that you yourself build. 8 is NOT the Te-like desire to create more structure. Immature Te where you create a structure you didn’t really think deeply about creating, and then tear it down immediately because your immature Te doesn’t know how to keep it up, or because your more dominant Fi takes over and feels like it doesn’t want to continue suddenly, is common in 8s.

I commonly see high Tes thinking they’re 8s becuz they’re assertive bosses and good leaders. Lol. No. You guys are 3s or 1s. 8s must do a fuckton of conscious growth and development before we can begin to add the structure and consistency to our lives AND TO OUR BRAINS, that is necessary to make us good leaders of anything. The most stereotypical 8 is an ESFP Antifa looter or gang criminal with no concept of their direction in life whatsoever. Not an ambitious CEO following a tight schedule of meetings! That is structure. 8s cannot handle structure without bursting into a rage and tearing it down, by definition of the type.

The 8 being unable to handle structure is not purely an external thing. The hatred of structure runs so deep, that the 8 cannot even handle structure within his or her own mind. The 8’s hatred of external authority is the manifestation of her hatred of authority within. 8s tear down any authority they attempt to create in their own lives just as much as they tear down any external authority they see. Self destructive? Yeah. Do 8s care? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Concepts like “self destructive” are toxic and flawed and must be torn down too, according to the 8. All standards of morality are unjust and lacking truth somehow and therefore must be torn down, internally and externally. The 8 is the ultimate postmodernist.

——————

Now let’s talk about my life experience. Setting goals feels like locking myself into a cage full of chains. I literally feel like a caged beast when I define simple goals for myself, with the level of anger it causes me. I could tell you my goals but I know it’ll all be bullshit and I won’t actually follow them because I get angry about the chains the structure is imposing on me (even tho I’m the one who built it. Once its built it is out of my immediate control and has a life of its own it can use to control me). I angst and I rage about how I can’t do simple things. I only do Te stuff when absolutely forced by something in the external world which repulses me more than my own Te. I’m not able to do structure even though I know that it’s the way to make money and become the 8 -> 2 provider protector goddess queen I want to be. Um… why should money even be a thing anyways? Money is a construct of the unjust power structure. It makes my body REEEE to discipline myself into seeking money.

If I happen to spontaneously run into money without putting an elaborate, STRUCTURED effort into making money, I’ll be like “yippee!” and take it. But putting too much conscious effort into working hard and making money makes me fucking REEEEE as it activates my sense of injustice about everything you could possibly feel a sense of injustice about.

I’m too prideful about how I won’t be controlled, even by my own superego and my own dreams. I will tear those structures I create down too because I believe there is no truth in anything, not even anything I create or aspire to (loss of Holy Truth). My superego knows that it’s good for me to follow my work ethic and go to work. My rageful vengeance complex cannot go to work because I’m too angry about all the little injustices at work and the corrupt nature of corporate work to begin with. Self-destructive internal struggles like this where you tear down any decision-making framework you are trying to build due to seeing little injustices everywhere, are all part of the 8 fixation. 8s must heal ourselves through being aware of them and reasoning with them.

The 8 fixation is not purely externalized. No fixation is purely externalized. It is most important for the Assertive types out of any of the types, to realize the internal psychological nature of their fixation, as these types are the most negligent of their internal psychology

[valiantvillain]

Writing feminist stories does not inherently mean that all female characters are good because in real life, not all women are good people even if they might be sympathetic. Because the sad reality is that some women will try to play patriarchy to their advantage in the hopes that they can transcend it. That by playing to the structures and systems built by misogyny they can get their own, their own power, their own agency, and fuck all other women because at least they made it. They might see that the world is unjust to women, but they are not interested in breaking down barriers for women as a whole. Instead, they would rather find a way to get beyond the barrier themselves and leave the rest behind. Sometimes they do it by making the long, arduous journey of climbing over the wall and facing the obstacles & dangers firsthand. They tend to be the "well, I managed so you can too, so suck it up" types and believe me, I remember those women well throughout my academic career. Others find different ways, playing to the advantages of beauty and sexuality, or just agreeing with the men, to perhaps bypass the wall altogether. In this method, the woman gains a semblance of power and agency through proximity to that of men. I live in the US, I see women like this every day on television & on social media parroting the patriarchal bullshit of conservatism and propping up misogynist men bc hey, if they keep agreeing then surely patriarchy will spare them, right? The answer is ultimately no, but they'll do it. And those sorts of women will, unfortunately, likely always exist.

To ignore the existence of women who uphold patriarchy in feminist writing is to neglect knowledge vital to destroying the barriers they put in women's way. Women who uphold patriarchy are its most insidious weapon and they are something that must be challenged both in reality and in fiction, especially in feminist fiction. In order to promote solidarity, we must not tolerate those that prevent it in the first place. And that means having the uncomfortable discussion of acknowledging, deconstructing, and challenging those women.

[s0ym1lk]

Back on my media analysis bullshit. This time around: Battle Royale (book, not movie). Spoilers for the book, CW for violence.

One of the things I find fascinating about BR is the use of Kazuo as an antagonist. The action of Battle Royale is, of course, a proxy fight, a stand-in for the protagonists' fight against an intentionally malicious, unfair government. It becomes really interesting to see all the junior high students as symbols of regular society. Some people in an unjust society give in and go with the flow. Some actively hurt others to get ahead. Some stay idealistic and try to fight back. Most just fight to survive, and the harder they're pushed, the harder they'll fight and the worse things they will do to protect themselves.

So, Kazuo. If you examine him as a /character/, he doesn't quite fit. He's too perfect, too unemotional, too convenient. He's better than every other character at basically everything: he's described as being a match for Shuya and Shinji athletically, leagues better than the violin player student, a superior fighter and thug to all his lackeys. He's well-educated and highly privileged. He has the best weapon in the game almost right away. He's always magically in exactly the place he needs to be to foil the protagonists. He quite literally has plot armor: Shinji BLOWS HIM UP with an explosive that could have destroyed an entire school and Kazuo comes out completely unhurt. The book also makes him as unempathetic as possible by literally canonically stripping away his capacity for emotion. The only time you spend in Kazuo's head is when you find out he suffered an accident that leaves him unable to feel emotion. After that, while the book puts you in the head of almost every other character to a painfully intimate degree, he's totally closed off. If you want proof you can't humanize Kazuo, remember the elaborate trick that was his introduction, where Kazuo's right-hand man spends pages waxing eloquent about their close relationship, only for Kazuo to immediately gun him down without a shred of remorse based solely on a coin flip.

He's the personification of the Greater East Asia government. That's why he's so unbeatable; every advantage he has is meant to show how nearly impossible the struggle the students are facing is. And what is so chilling is that, as shown by Kazuo's coin flip, it didn't have to be this way. The government is malicious and uncaring almost by chance and yet refuses to change itself to take care of its people.

This was such a smart move because there was really no way for the protagonists to go from waking up in the game to beating the government in a single book, even a very long one. Yet, if they hadn't had some sort of symbolic victory, the hopefulness of the book wouldn't have shone through. So making the Kazuo the stand-in allows for that victory even though the end of the book still requires Shuya and Noriko to escape. Very clever.