#and also ubi of course

[talons-mcbeak]

Hey I have an idea

A system where “your rent should be 1/3 of your income” no longer means “we don’t rent to poor people” and instead means “show us your income and your rent will be a third of that.”

Oh is that a chorus of weeping landlords I hear? Poor babies. Delicious as the sound is, may I propose a solution to your vewy sad pwobwem of “oh noes I hoarded all the houses and now I can’t get rich about it”

Y’all fuckers are probably good at lobbying, yeah? Pretty influential? Got a connection or ten up your sweaty little sleeve? Drive up wages. Do it. Cowards. Raise the minimum wage? Again? Higher? Positions start at $100/hour!! Bread still costs $3-5ish or whatever and sure your rent is like $4k/month but your slimy landlord makes $4000 from you now instead of like $1500 or whatever a 1br apartment goes for now (that’s pretty typical here but ymmv). Everybody wins

Wait, what’s that? Impossible to run a business if wages far exceed profits? Fair, yeah, sure. Hey quick question has anyone ever heard of universal basic income? Just throwing that out there

But maybe maaaayyyybe there’s a simpler solution I suppose

Abolish landlords???

Did I hear someone say abolish landlords?

Oh okay okay well maybe we can meet in the middle. Let’s say like… you’re allowed to own one rental property. Little extra cash on the side, right? Sure. Of course you’re gonna be held accountable and responsible for maintenance and building codes and utility services and… oh? That’s too much to deal with? Mmm too bad. Anyway okay that weeded out most people so we’re left with… what’s that? A society where everyone has a safe and affordable home accessible to them and we’re all generally happier and more functional as a society because we’re not stressed out of our buttholes from living under a constant threat of sudden financial ruin? Neato :)

#abolish landlords #and also ubi of course #universal basic income #eat the rich

[txttletale]

Wtf is Lancer and why is it shit (serious question)

lancer is a tabletop roleplaying game made by the guy who drew kill six billion demons and another guy. i wouldn't call it 'shit', necessarily--it's good in a lot of the ways that matter. it's first and foremost a tactical mech combat game and on that level it's incredible. its ruleset is finely tuned, provides great amounts of GM support to make running what might otherwise be overwhelmingly crunchy combat easier, and has a truly stunning and cool level of character customization available. so as a game, i think it's great fun to play and run, genuinely innovative, and a huge step forward for battlemap tactical wargame type TTRPGs in general.

the lore though, kind of sucks. i think it has two clear and overlapping core problems. problem #1 is that it is a utopia as envisioned by a social democrat. it's a world which the text describes as 'post-capitalist' (but there are still evil megacorporations with private armies who own slaves) and 'post-scarcity' (but only in the developed 'core' systems, so. y'know. there's scarcity). at many points in the text they say that Union (the game's main faction) is utopian, throwing around that exact word a bunch of times as well as 'mutual aid' and 'direct action' and the like. but what they describe is just kind of an imperialist Space Sweden with several distinct forms of slavery that constantly expands and uses its Benevolent Imperial Power to intervene on the Backwards Violent Worlds on its outer border but its good because its just trying to bring them UBI.

to show what i mean, here's one of the game's writers¹ talking about how it would be morally wrong for Union to, say, appropriate the property of a private military corporation that also operates as a fascist nation-state:

it's 'revolution' as imagined by the limpest of social democrats. and of course this would honestly be fine, whatever, most sci-fi settings are fundamentally achingly liberal, but the game goes so out of its way to signpost how Radical it is and how Hopeful and Liberationist you're meant to see the setting as

the other core problem is closely related--it feels like the lancer guys put every cool sci-fi idea they had into lancer even when it completely clashes with the core ideas behind it. like, AIs in this settings are callled 'NHPs' (non-human persons) and they're eldritch god-like beings from another dimension who have be kept 'shackled' (lancer's words, not mine!) to keep them as pliant and obedient AI assistants instead of hostile eldritch abominations. this is obviously horrifying and dystopian but it rules, it would be sick fucking worldbuilding for something with the tone of 40k or a one-off doctor who or star trek episode--but as a fundamental technology foundational to what we are supposed to believe is a post-revolutionary society founded on mutual aid and solidarity and blah blah blah it's glaringly dissonant.

bear in mind this is all just going off the rulebook. lancer fans have told me that the supplements and campaign modules fix some of this or contextualise it. but on the other hand communists have told me that they make it worse and i trust the communists more. i leave you with this incredible passage from the game's foreword:

#ask #brendanicus #ttrpg #lancer

[kaija-rayne-author]

I guess the discourse today is about Astarion being the favourite poster boy of the devs to the detriment of the other characters.

Yes. That's unequivocally true. Wyll having so little compared to Astarion is also an example of racism.

It's also capitalism. Larian can't make more games unless BG3 does well. So far it has, so in their choice of poster boy they chose correctly.

Every business, especially entertainment ones, follows a similar model. Develop stories or games that the previous game helped fund. It's common in book publishing too.

(Which, tbf, is my realm of knowledge, but the business facts are the same.)

What you, if you're indie, or the publisher, if not, chooses to spend time on is the thing/character/aspect/story that will sell the most copies so they can stay in business.

They bet on Astarion being popular because:

1. Vampire, vampire stories don't seem to get old. People want more.

2. White hair, if you're at all into gaming or anime, you should recognize the white-haired anime boy coding Astarion has.

3. He's pretty. In games & books like these, people want to get turned on or be sucked into emotions, that's rather the point. So, of course, they made him pretty and gave him an angsty backstory about it. Have you noticed that his vampire fangs are the more traditional style and the rest have funky (and likely more efficient) chompers with the fangs on the front teeth?

4. Twink, you'd have to be really not paying attention to not notice that one. They tend to be attractive to the largest section of players.

6. Slow burn, a lot of people prefer slow burn romance.

7. Classically handsome. You could turn him into a statue (and can!) and he wouldn't look out of place.

I don't experience this type of point form character building, my characters tend to march fully formed into my head and demand I write them.

But Astarion was built as a fictional character that would (hopefully) capture a broad cross-section of players and give the game some more sex appeal.

Sex sells.

I'd lay money I don't have on every aspect of Astarion's character having been a deliberate choice to encourage sales.

And that's fine. That's what capitalism does. Don't like it? Start voting for social support programs and things like ubi so that people can create without worrying about the bills.

Is it fair to the other characters and to the gamers who love other characters more than Astarion? Absolutely not. I do hope Larian gets the message and produces more content to make them all equivocal.

Especially for Wyll, they did him so dirty.

Is Wyll having the least lines and scenes racist? Yup.

Larian, despite their faults, produced something that so few games companies have done recently. A single purchase, single player RPG without micro-transactions that was an excellent game straight from release.

Other games companies are bitching about that because it's like sand in the oyster of their business models.

Which, for a while now, has been to roll out a game that wasn't ready yet and use the players as unpaid, uncompensated labour to find bugs etc. As a gamer, I've really hated that.

Did Larian fuck up? Uh, yeah. On several issues. But they also made an amazing game that was awesome from release.

It would be a shame to lose sight of that.

It's important to call out the shite when we see it, but the current 'it has to be perfect for me, or I won't play' attitude rampant on the 'net these days is disturbing to say the least.

I've read Larian has a feedback thing on fridays. If this really bothers you, hustle on over and participate in the feedback session.

They're still actively working on the game. They can still make changes and they seem reasonably responsive to fan feedback.

But just remember... the reason Astarion is the poster boy with the most content is because of capitalism. It was likely a cold, business focused decision vs anything else.

Which doesn't make it better. I just figured inserting a bit of entertainment business knowledge might be helpful to the discussion.

#bg3 astarion #bg3 #KaiPlaysBG3 #Larian #Larian studios #larian critical #bg3 critical

[rarepears]

Ok I was rereading your "Break news: Westeros lord marries a stranger?" Fic and I am almost sure Jinwoo would be the kind of parent that would gift those super expensive security stuff (like those necklaces that point to your ubi and stuff like that

But of course he can just teleport himself to the child and they have the shadows to protect them

But I just imagine him looking through the system's shop and seeing these jewelry that looks beautiful, maybe has a leon charm or a sword that looks like one of Jaime's drawings and he goes: why not?

So he buys some, cause the children are the kind of using different accessories for the week and he just thought that those earrings were very pretty and that bracelet wouldn't interfere with sword practice

And look! That ring would look really pretty on Tywin (cues their drama cause one of Jinwoo's books told about this tradition) and why not? :D this isn't the first gift he gave to him

So yeah, in my mind Jinwoo is the parent that buys his family everything they want and doesn't see a problem, they work very hard and deserve a reward and he likes to spoil them

Firstly, what is "ubi"? Because I'm thinking "universal basic income" and that's not what you're referring to. If you were thinking more along the lines of "gps", that wouldn't be possible since GPS requires satellites to circle the planet that Westeros is located and the GPS chip uses said satellites (on a very precise orbit) to decode and compute the precise location of said chip. Unless Jinwoo starts importing satellites to float around Westeros...

Something that I was consciously writing into this fic was Jinwoo and Jinah's kind of over the top gifting/shopping. They went from buying only the bare necessities (and some times not even that) to now having more money than they could ever spend. This sudden swing in financial purchasing power is making them go a little crazy like how Jinah is buying waaaaay too many clothes for Jinwoo to wear and paying a lot of attention to Jinwoo's PR. At least Jinah has a bit of Sudden Wealth Syndrome - a bit of an identity crisis because she can suddenly afford to spend money on her hobbies and other wants, fear that Jinwoo needs a backup plan in case he gets too injured to keep clearing gates, and also not quite knowing who she is going to be as a person (because she is just a teenager).

Then there's Jinwoo's mom who doesn't quite know if it's her place to say anything about the siblings' shopping spree. These kids are so incredibly independent from what she remembered before her coma; do they really need her, a parent, around? And it's not like they can't afford to spend with Jinwoo's current income. Their mom doesn't really know her place in the family dynamic now, so she's kind of backed off and is quietly looking on. She's not spending money if she can't because it's not her money; but she's also not sure what she could or should be doing, so she does things like make a cloak for a lion, cook meals for what she thinks are Jinwoo's friends, and try to make herself useful and not appear overbearing to her suddenly-so-mature-and-independent-children.

And then there's Jinwoo who is just a hoarder and now finally has the means to spoil all his loved ones because he feels very guilty that he couldn't give Jinah a proper childhood while their mom was in a coma. Jinah missed out a lot, he thinks, because of his inability to provide.

So yes, here's a mini character analysis about the Sung family's relationship with money and gifts.

#tywin lannister x sung jinwoo #sung jinwoo #solo leveling #solo leveling ideas #tywin lannister #game of thrones #a song of ice and fire

[olderthannetfic]

While I do feel the entire "read books my X minority" can and often is useful, I also feel that it falls under that same sort of individual consumer choices over systemic change problem we encounter a lot. Because while it is good to expand your horizons and help support authors who might be disadvantaged in the current publishing industry, what is far more important for long-term change is addressing systemic inequality in the publishing industry. It's like how it's good to recycle as an individual but it's not going to fix global warming.

You cannot tell an author's race just by reading the summary or even the book itself. In this way books can be surprisingly equitable when reaching an audience in terms of an individual looking at a bookshelf and deciding what to read (though of course the contents of the books can impact a potential reader's choice to pick it up such as the main character being non-white, as well as what they've heard about what others think of the book which can be affected by the author's demographic). But how does the book get on that shelf in the first place?

And on how many shelves? How does it get to be advertised? How is it marketed? How does it get published in the first place? What of the internet and the algorithms? What of industry connections? What allows a book to be written, when that takes time and effort in a capitalist society where women often are assigned more domestic labour and class is heavily influenced by race and the lack of support we have for disabled people andandand–! And of course many authors have managed to write under even worse circumstances but if we're talking about the general trends in the industry, where the privileged merely need to be good (or not even that) while the disadvantaged must put in double the time and effort to get a foot in the door and still they might face discrimination from publishers who do not first see a book but are dealing directly with the author first–

Not to mention I am very uncomfortable with how marginalized authors need to expose themselves to the masses' scrutiny for judgment, often at great risk of harassment with focus put on really vulnerable parts of themselves, for even a chance at success now. Making them essentially sell their status as marginalized to the public is not a good alternative to the publishing industry not publishing or marketing books by marginalized authors.

This is basically just a long way of saying we need to deal with capitalism and get a UBI.

--

And like film and such, while it's nice to have a minority author or actor, it's a fuckload more helpful to have a major publishing exec or producer.

[averokagejd]

ok ykw im bringing this back

BIG JD24+ SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT

what does this mean ubi.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN

ok, sweet dreams is coming back with a kinda eh replacement track, fine

murder on the dancefloor is here, amazing! i kinda wanted a scarlet's palace map for it but leda's outfit for it looks stunning so nice

now.

why is the traveler here.

and the question on everybodys mind

what is their relationship to each other

were they friends? were they sworn enemies from the jump? where does this take place?

and of course

with all the talk about who jack's father is

were they together.

look, if there was a reason for the distaste of jacklust out there besides the community manager just not liking it

it would've been said already

so leda and the traveler having a duet together raises some very interesting questions

however, and this may age badly, i think they were never together

to start off, a big thing

Discoball is in the image

we know that Discoball was made well after Wanderlust's birth

meaning that either this is a weird retcon

they just put the graphic in because why not

or that this takes place well after the traveler and si'ha nova got together

that also wouldn't make much sense because he's noticeable younger but like whatever

[also isn't he like a god, do they age at the same level as regular people in the jd world]

also a thing about murder on the dancefloor, going by leda's outfit, i think this is gonna be a similar thing to the music video

i think they'll be in a dance competition, competing for uh something

and then traveler wins and leda swears revenge or smth

i think they're gonna be against each other from the jump

but that's just me

this could be the map to make all jacklust posts go away in a snap, who knows

we'll see in the upcoming weeks

but for now i just wanna try to calm everyone i guess

#just dance 2024 spoilers #just dance #just dance 2024 #jd24 #jd night swan #jd the traveler

[alpaca-clouds]

Being Pro-Sex Work

I wanna talk about sex positivity a bit this week - and I am going to start by talking about one of the more visible issues in regards of sex negativity. And that is the topic of sex work.

Now, I talked about this before, but: I live in Germany. Over here we have decided to more or less fully legalize sex work. So, while regulated through some special government agencies, sex work is allowed to happen here. This covers pretty much all forms of sex work. So prostitution, other sex services and - of course - also all sorts of porn. Aka the one form of sex work that is legal in most places.

But of course there are a lot of "concerned people" in Germany, who want to ban it or at least do a Nordic Model (a ban on buying sex) to "protect women" and who in generally ignore the voices of actual sex workers, often then trying to make it about sex trafficking (which, just to make sure we are on the same place, is obviously illegal in Germany). The argument often goes like this: "But when prostitution is legal, it is easier to hide sex trafficking." And as it so often is with conservatives: They are very much immune to any and all studies that show the opposite, evn though it is frankly quite logical.

See, if you criminalize sex work, the police and other agencies taking care of this are busy processing just normal sex workers, clogging up the system, that they might not even get around to find those sex trafficking rings.

Not to mention that you will in the end harm the sex workers - yes, even with the Nordic Model, that ends up making it harder for sex workers to find housing and access certain medical services.

Another big argument people, who are Anti-Sex Work, will bring is that women are - if not physically, then economically forced into sex work. Now, there is a thing to be said, that it is always about just women. Sure, women make up most sex workers - but not all sex workers. But this argument also betrays another thing: This idea that sex somehow has to be this pure, almost holy act.

Why is "women forced into sex work" worse, than "women forced into some other job they do not want"? Like, how is it worse than having to work as a cleaner or maintanance worker? Or as a fast food worker? Because I have talked to quite a few sex workers, who ended up in the job for economical reason, and most could have had some of those jobs - but they decided that in that regard was "the lesser evil".

And, let's face it: If you are so worried about those women forced into sex work out of economical reasons... then instead of campaigning to band the one kind of work that saves them from homelessness and the like, you should campaign for UBI and similar measures. Because yes, once you have some tools in place that allows people to be somewhat save from poverty, then, yes... Those who work a job like this, will do so because they want.

And if someone wants to do sex work - but you do not like it. Well, guess what, buddy. Then it is a you-problem.

#sex work is work #sex work is real work #sex positivity #universal basic income #ubi #purity culture #politics #european politics

[therrerium-valkryonia]

The chains clankes pulling them towards her body and she cries letting out a deafening shriek her bare pussy began to crown the newborns head her locked legs throbbs against the metal cuffs her tears go down her tan skin as the very lonely ancient egytian beautiful nakedbwoman screams from the immense pain of the severe contractions "Ha- Huff*- Huff* Guuuuuhhhhh- Eugghh- Hgyaa!- aaaaagggghhhhhh!!! Hu- Argh! Hngg! Hoo- Aagghh! Gaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!".

The head tore through her labia and fell out and dragging the shoulders out against her swollen lips and pulling out the rest of the body gushing fluids everywhere "Euughh- aghh!! Hoo- Gaahh! Gyaaaaargh!! Haa- *Huff *Huff Shh- Haah Hooh" The baby fell onto a scale that began lowering and pulled chains attached to a block in front her big sensitive belly and pulled the block into her belly and causing her severe pain "AAAGHH! HNNGGGG!! H- *whimpers* AAAGGHHHHHH!! "

And the baby plummeted out crowning and was ripping through and squeezed the head out and the baby came falling out onto the plate.

Putting more weight on the plate and pulling the block back even harder and squeezing her belly even more "Huu- GAAAAAHHHHH AAAAAGGH! HAAAAAAAAAAGGGHHHH!! R- AGGHHH!!!" the baby popped out with a huge puddle of fluids all over the place and her vision became blurry all the noise started getting muffled and she faints.

And she got up after fifteen minutes and saw a woman walk in and smiled as she saw her angel coming to free her of the unjust punishment as she was released of her chains she spoke "Q- Quid fe- cisti ill- is? (What did you do to them?)" As the angel responded "Et poenas (I punished them)" As she was released she held her belly in pain as the angel held her shoulders spoke "Shh, suus 'iens futurus bene (It's going to be okay)" And it placed a hand on her belly and chanted "Et natus est, Et natus est, Et natus est, (You will be born" And Neith let out a ghastly scream and pulled herself closer to the angel gripping it's shoulder "AAAAAGGGGHHH!! HAAAGGGHH!! AAAAAHHHHHHH!! *Gasps" H- Heu huc infa- fantem me- meum (Come here my little baby)" And pulles it to her plump round chest feeding the young child and asks "Ubi ssunt aliae infan- t tibus? (Where are my other babies)" And the angel pointed behind the entirely naked Neith as she pulls the three into her arms feeding them.

As the angel cut off the cord of the last baby as it also pulled out the placenta as it carried her to the tent and let her rest as it blessed her with a marking showing her extreme power gifted to her as to protect herself and her loved ones and her very adorable newborn children of course.

#birth kink #painful birth #labor #labor kink #pregnancy #pregnant #pregnant kink #pregnancy kink #labor and delivery #labor fic #birth fic #birth #birth fiction #birth story #giving birth #pushing #chained birth #forced birth #cave birth #pyramid birth

[wanderingmind867]

My Political Manifesto

In order for an ideal society to come into being, there must be certain agreed upon elements. Number one: Extensive Social Programs are needed. I don't care if you're conservative or progressive. I'm probably a bit of both in different ways myself (I hate change in my personal life and I like monarchies, but I like things like socialism).

Whether you be Conservative or Progressive, you must acknowledge the importance of a social safety net. If you can't do that, then clearly you don't have empathy for those who can't care for themselves or who might not be able to work (like me). In all cases, social programs are a necessary facet of government.

And when I say extensive social programs, I mean extensive. I don't care fully if we get rid of money, but we really need to at least devalue it. Money is just paper. You can always print more. Economics are a scam created to support the idea that money is fundamentally a part of society. It isn't. It can be, but it doesn't have to be. If you need to print more money to provide for all these social programs, do it. Nobody can stop you. It's just paper, after all. Merely paper society has convinced us contains deep value and significance.

Getting back to the Extensive Social Programs, they truly will need to be expansive in their power. We need a UBI, a national healthcare system, Unemployment Insurance and Benefits, Disability Insurance and Benefits, etc. We will need all the social programs. A government that doesn't provide for its citizens cannot be said to be a truly compassionate government.

Once society has agreed to support all these extensive social programs unconditionally, then the main mission I have been pushing for will be complete. I still have other objectives politically, of course. But my first priority is making sure that the government knows to care for all of it's peoples. If you can't work or if you're incredibly shy or if you otherwise can't function in this cutthroat world of ours, the government should care for you and make sure you're not neglected. If the government isn't willing to do this, then they have abandoned the people. And once they've abandoned their people, no government can be fully and truly legitimate.

Once society has learned how to care for its citizens (cost be damned! You can't put a price on these services! Not when they help so many!), then my main goal is finished. Once we've learned that you can't put a price on helping people, then I will be at peace. I have taught people that economics and fiscal matters are all nonsense and idiocy invented by people in the 1700s. Economics were not around when humanity was first created. They are a social construct, and a useless one at that. The sooner they're stamped out the better I say!

Once I have destroyed the foul spectre of capitalism and economics, there's only a few more things I'd want to advocate for. I would advocate for pacifism and a promotion of peace on a global scale.

I would also advocate for the abandonment of most forms of social conservatism. I understand it's easy to be afraid of the unfamiliar (I've been afraid of new things too), but you can't use that fear as an excuse torment people who are different from you. We are all humans. We all think, we all feel. You cannot be so quick to judge. A little Conservatism in your personal life and affairs is one thing (lord knows I've been afraid of changes in my personal life), but conservatism should never be used an excuse to discriminate against those who are different from you. That's the opposite of my message with my Social Programs: For a society to function, you must have compassion for those around you. Social Conservatism tends to destroy that empathetic quality in people. It is not a good ideology, not at all.

I would also advocate for monarchism (or at least not for the abolishment of monarchies). Even in this ideal world of mine, I don't see the problem with monarchies. They are a good rallying point for people, and it would also just be unfair to get rid of most of them. I'd be fine with making them only symbolic figureheads, but we shouldn't abolish them. That usually leads to cruelty and unnecessary violence. Anyone who is so devoted to the abolishment of monarchism that they want to have a repeat of the French Revolution has ignored my tenant of compassion and empathy. You may not like royal families, but killing them is just inhumane. Monarchs are people too. And all people deserve compassion and empathy. Complete hatred of someone leads to violence, and that always ends badly.

Also, outlaw eugenics and impose harsh penalties on anything promoting survival of the fittest ideologies. I understand Charles Darwin was a genius biologist, but I legitimately think this world would be better off without evolution. Too many people use it to promote hateful beliefs and violence against people with disabilities.

Although I have a lot of other beliefs too, I think this is a good place to stop for now. If you want to establish a movement, there's got to be room for at least some mild disagreement between members of the movement. But as long as people can rally behind my core tenants of extensive social programs and a government/society that shows compassion to all its members, then I think I can really make this into a movement.

#politics #political #political beliefs #political manifesto #autism #asd #neurodivergent #autistic #adhd #audhd #actually autistic #actually audhd #anti capitalism #socialism #I think that's kind of what I supported here #at least there's elements of socialism here #my thoughts #my political beliefs

[thebreakfastgenie]

I'm not against UBI or anything but this is so strange to me. We have to work to live, because we need food and shelter and to manage waste. Do people not notice because the relationship between the actual jobs most of do and work necessary for our survival is more abstract in our current system? If you follow it down far enough, it's all about paying someone to pay someone to pay someone to the n to grow, harvest and process food for us; to procure materials and build homes for us; to manage and treat our waste for us. This system evolved because people preferred it to subsistence farming.

There are plenty of criticisms of this system, not least of which is many of us rely on an underclass to do these necessary jobs while we experience ennui about sending emails. And before anyone says anything about capitalism, of course capitalism isn't the only option. But people in socialist and communist societies also work because maintaining a society that allows people to live is in fact work!

Is it just the word "earn?" Does that make people feel like it's being granted by some overseer? It doesn't feel that way to me, but maybe that would make sense.

And of course there are always people who cannot work and one of the moral duties of society is to provide for them. But most of your society does need to be working in some way because it takes work to live. That's not a judgment on deserving to live, it's simply a statement of fact. What is "normal?" Nature? Animals spend most of their time working toward their own survival.

I mean maybe someday we'll have a post-scarcity society like in science fiction but not in our life times.

#i haven't read marx since college and i didn't do a lot of the reading back then #but i'm sure he had something to say about this??

[everythingodysseydd]

SO late getting into this game, but I’ve just gotta say…

What makes Odyssey so compelling as a fanfic writer is that it’s just SUCH a masterpiece and SUCH a disaster all at once. It’s hilariously aggravating. If you’re interested in a SAGA… I’ve got a hell of an example for you that I just can’t get over…

A while back I was working on a sequence around the Monger scenes in Korinth and got caught in a plot hole... I side with Brasidas there (obviously), but when it comes down to it, it’s a hell of a gamble, even for a great pair of thighs…

Unwilling to change course, I figured Brasidas is one of the greatest strategists of his era, right? Surely I can find a way to make his reasoning more compelling than “it’s secluded” 😑

But y’all….

Turns out it’s WAY deeper already.

No fabrication needed.

I started digging into what makes this cave sacred...

At first I was looking for records of the cave itself - it’s an odd city landmark, so I figure it’d be mentioned somewhere. Nope. Entirely fictitious from what I can tell. So then I needed to know why Ubi included this random-ass cave in the middle of town.

So my next dive was into Apollo and Aphrodite (the city’s main deities, but that was a dead end too.

I was ready to craft a complete smoke screen when I stumbled across another tidbit…

Through (WAYYY too much) research (especially for a fanfic I sincerely hope NO ONE reads 🤣)… I learned that Korinthia also served a local nymph called Peirene, who had a fountain in Korinthia. Ubisoft even included this fountain - it’s across from the Temple of Apollo.

This fountain was allegedly fed by an underground spring that came from Akrokorinth. This spring was the main site of Peirene’s worship. Curious enough, this spring is also on the game map… and it just so happens to be significant to the plot…the place we meet our favorite hetaera… Anthousa 👀

Coincidence? I think not.

Even more… our Sacred Cave sits loosely on the path between the spring on Akrokorinth and the fountain in Korinthia proper. AND its central chamber is full of water. This seems pretty decisive to me.

I’ve stumbled across a gem.

If Anthousa (and possibly the hetaera as a whole) revere Peirene and this cave is a place of a rawer connection to her, then maybe Brasidas’ plan is already deeper than I realized…

At this point, I think I have enough to craft something with actual roots.

BUT THEN….

Before writing the scene I went down to get a better look around and discovered it’s ALREADY being used for worship of a male deity. A HUGE snag in my theory.

That is… until I discovered the statue is Ares.

The whole thing was baffling, especially considering Ares’ common characterization and the reputation of Korinthia… The two seem very much at odds.

But ya know who in Korinthia WOULD worship Ares…? You know who would turn a sacred site of Peirene (the weeping mother) into an altar to the brutal, ruthless god of war, Ares?

The Monger 😳

And what makes Brasidas think we could easily lure the Monger way down inside a dark, secluded cave?! Because it’s a place he ALREADY goes.

My mind is blown.

Holy Hell… And there’s too many weird in-game references and coincidences… it HAS to be intentional… SOMEBODY PLANNED THIS.

Brasidas’ plan is fucking BRILLIANT.

It’s sheer, undeniable poetry.

What’s the ONE way you could kill The Monger while defying Anthousa outright and still earn her respect… still walk away with the information you need?

You could spill The Monger’s blood on the sacred ground he defiled in the name of brutality and bloodlust.

You could restore Korinthia’s most famous mother to her rightful place and wash away The Monger’s power with her sacred tears, reclaiming the place of her rawest beauty and restoring her worship.

You could let the literal gore of the Monger wash up into the fountain, a sign for the whole city that his reign is unmistakably ended.

Its so logical. It’s so ‘cut the bullshit and get straight to the heart of the matter.’ It’s so fucking Brasidas…

The longer you sit on it, the more thematically layered and gorgeous and brilliant it becomes. And it’s just plausible enough for the player to gamble on… exchanging Anthousa’s plan for something less theatrical, but more personal, more meaningful. And saving lives in the process. Its crazy enough to work.

I’m CONVINCED this whole web is somebody’s silent masterpiece. And yet somehow it never became more than subtext (excuse me while I shake my fist at the sky).

AND this SAME CHARACTER… At Amphipolis… takes my CASUAL COMMENT and is like, “Hey, FUCK strategy, let’s just run over there RIGHT NOW on a whim ‘cause you said so!!!”

Can you say plot hole?!

WTF Ubisoft?! 🤣

Odyssey… the perfect balance of STUNNING depth of detail and WILD, GLARING gaps… a writer’s playground! I’m completely hooked by the intricacy and completely frustrated by … basically everything else!

So… if you’re wondering what I’m up to for nanowrimo, I’m over here frantically patching holes and dumping water over the sides to keep this glorious ship just a tad above the waterline 🤣

#ac odyssey #brasidas #the monger #anthousa #port of lawlessness #ainulindaelynn

[mordcore]

i grew up with the belief that there's "a correct opinion" to be had on everything and looking at my peers and superiors to find out which it is, and i seem to still believe that and i get stressed when i don't know what it is.

i've been so stressed about forming my own political opinion. it's just so hard. it's so hard to know what to believe and whomto believe and everyone is saying different things and i'm so so terrified of being wrong. also i'm easily impressed by confidence :( someone can literally say "the companies will figure out climate change if left to their own devices :)" over and over with confidencewand nothing else and i will go ":((( i dont have any sources on hand or braincells so i cant argue back or make good arguments...." not that i Have to always argue back either. but it does feel like my opinion holds no value if i can't defend it. even though it's just because of my amnesia and brain fog and the way i store information and the way i get nervous when challenged :( i've actually had a single discussion where i didn't feel stressed like that and i guess the guy was just really good at listening and taking me seriously ! a rare skill. it doesn't help that i'm damaged from tumblr cult and have the compulsion to "call out" everything "problematic" that anybody ever says. uhm what was i talking about. right. i guess i'm trying to figure out if or how anarchism would even work on a scale bigger than a single commune. and my friend said that i don't have to have alll the answers and that most people don't. but i'm frightened and stuck. if i don't have all the answers then how can i decide on a path to pursue. i'm stuck because i can't make a choice like this but i feel like i must. i wish i could free myself of labels to mitigate some of this stress but i've grown attached to "anarchist" and giving it up even if just for a while and to orient myself would be a loss :( and yeah i'm trying to figure out what the "correct opinion" is because if i make a choice with too much room for doubt then i am personally responsible for every bad consecuence of this path, even if others are the ones that implement it. hmm this is still "problematic-contamination by association" brainworms. is this what people feel like who leave a xtianity-based cult but still practice the religion? i left a leftism based cult(ish thing) and i'm still a leftist but the worms. are in my brain. or the shrapnel. whatever.

i can't choose any path because no path is perfect and whichever path i choose i am personally responsible for all its evils. so yeah of course i'm paralyzed. i no longer believe that if i just follow the right person i will have all the answers. or at least. i no longer believe that i know who that right person is. i have more questions than answers. i think i like both thinking about communes and anarchism and also thinking about ubi and how to make democracy democratic (to include poor and disabled people and immigrants for example). if i can't choose one then maybe instead of choosing neither path i can choose both?

#my stuff #venty #be nice to me

[beardedmrbean]

No stake in it, but the fallout 5 discourse is going to be FUUUUUUUN

Oh got a division and ac game anon back to back

Here a dev bts on how they created dc

https://youtu.be/RBnC942-z5g?si=U9ulr2sHruVu1GV1

And here a comparison

https://youtu.be/nnyuWPikWts?si=Mwv19vekC9F0u7rT

Now I asked about the MLK library because I went “huh?” when I was sent to go there as I didn’t know it existed. There also a aero and space museum.

I also learn that division 2 executed the landscape of dc so well that a lot of people who visited, lived, or been there can walk around in game without every look at a map. Now keep in mind this was created to cash in on the looter shooter trend but still impressive

Didn’t we have a lot of museums and tourists traps in dc.

Now got assassin creed

https://x.com/assassinscreed/status/1779962935051202854?s=46

This exhibit make think of the collabs ac red can do with Japanese museums. Of course Ubi already went to the museums (actually I wonder how it feel like how to Japan. Doing exhibits and talk to historians and you need to make sure you don’t break the ndas?)

Now I vaugely knew, but learning about who Naeo historically dad is and the importance of Iga province is to ninja culture and boom they have ninja museum

In red I can totally seeing it (unless the Templars blow it up) the iga Provence being the main hub for the Japanese assassins. And I would have turn into the ultimate parkour experience like you can seeing assassins running atop rooftops, being trained, you can use secret tunnels and passageways

I would also make Ai programs of npc kids who are ninja trainees that you are see being taught or even use the pathways as you do

Oh sorry, now I’m thinking about a sidequest in the ninja village where a trainee (poorly) took something and you track him down and figure out what place he trying to escape out of. Only for you see him as he get out or put something a top of the exit until he admit he does it

He get reprimand, but it to make sure he don’t make the same mistakes when he become a full fledge ninja

Also my kids npcs training thing is meant to show that most ninjas were born and raised into ninja clans hence why it so difficult to learn about the ninjas as it was often family secrets or methods

In fact Naeo being part of a known ninja is probably going to tied her to this

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bansensh%C5%ABkai

TLDR, most ideas and foundations of the Shinobi image we know today is because the Fujibayashi clan created and edited the great ninja book for centuries

Side note I can’t really find a historical painting of Naeo father. Fujibayashi Nagato, hmm Ubisoft probably going to do a collab with the Ninja museum and probably make a model for Nagato

But it will be funny if I see hi res promotional images of nagato used for exhibit

Sorry rambling, please have a discovery tour for red ubi! Because I want to walk around Japan WITHOUT every animal wanting to kill me.

No stake in it, but the fallout 5 discourse is going to be FUUUUUUUN

Ya, never played the games or any of that and I know just enough to stay out of it and watch the fireworks.

They did a good job with the modeling on the DC stuff.

Now I asked about the MLK library because I went “huh?” when I was sent to go there as I didn’t know it existed. There also a aero and space museum.

Air and Space Museum is my fav part of the Smithsonian (shocking I know) managed to make it there a few times and just nerded out each time. Went to a private school through 8th grade and the 8th grade class does a trip to the eastern US namely the stuff in the DC area, Williamsburg, Gettysburg, and DC all that good stuff. I managed to wind up having people not from my school following the little group I was in there because I couldn't shut up about absolutely everything I saw and what it was.

I also learn that division 2 executed the landscape of dc so well that a lot of people who visited, lived, or been there can walk around in game without every look at a map. Now keep in mind this was created to cash in on the looter shooter trend but still impressive Didn’t we have a lot of museums and tourists traps in dc.

Very Impressive, and yes

Haven't been to the Castle, American Art, Anacosta, and the African Art one. US mint does tours we did that and we went to Arlington National Cemetery see the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and Kennedy's grave, I managed permission to wander off with a friend so I could go visit my dad's parents who don't live there's graves.

Side by side in Arlington, they got their spots early, can't get that now.

This looks rad

I would also make Ai programs of npc kids who are ninja trainees that you are see being taught or even use the pathways as you do

I'm having a "revenge of the sith" younglings moment in my head right now, 'Yasuke Sama are we in danger'

TLDR, most ideas and foundations of the Shinobi image we know today is because the Fujibayashi clan created and edited the great ninja book for centuries

Interesting. I always figured the ninja you actually learn about were the ones that weren't good at ninjaing, best spy in the world is one that the only the person that gives them their assignments knows exists.

Side note I can’t really find a historical painting of Naeo father. Fujibayashi Nagato, hmm Ubisoft probably going to do a collab with the Ninja museum and probably make a model for Nagato

Japanese art was never too focused on being photo realistic anyhow so even a good one isn't likely to look like the dude.

But it will be funny if I see hi res promotional images of nagato used for exhibit Sorry rambling, please have a discovery tour for red ubi! Because I want to walk around Japan WITHOUT every animal wanting to kill me.

Should be interesting, and no worries I ramble all the time, even did it with my little personal tangent about DC in this ask, lol

#zoomer huey anon

[hypaalicious]

IS3 thoughts

Aiight so once again, no one asked for this so ofc I’m gonna share my opinions (story spoiler free) on the newest Integrated Strategies incarnation!

I’ve completed every ending with every squad and gotten all the collectibles already, which went MUCH faster than IS2. But as I continue to play through all the difficulty levels (yes I’m a masochist) I expect some of these thoughts to change.

OKAY LEGGO:

Best Rejection - Concentration Disorder

As a proud AFKnights kind of Doctor, I willingly subject my entire squad to this so I don’t have to think 😂

Worst Rejection - Metastatic Aberration

This can be a run-ender if it hits your cornerstone Operators 😩

Best Enlightenment - Leithanien’s Elegance

It was a toss up between this and Victoria’s Honor but since ranged units are always squishy this one gives a higher advantage

Worst Enlightenment - Columbia’s Inspiration

What am I supposed to do with a funky lil 70 bonus exp on one battle only?? 😒

Best Starting Squad - People-Oriented Squad

Having everyone cost one less Hope to recruit is kinda OP, ngl

Worst Starting Squad - Spearhead Squad

Fuck this squad forever. 🤬 The stat bonuses aren’t good enough to subject yourself to the pain of losing light on default every time you battle

Best Call of We Many - Echoes: Predation

Okay so, I am one of the few that loved Survivalist hallucinations in IS2 so yeah the ASPD boost will always win for me even if your Medics be healing like 27 HP at a time… but you don’t need to heal if you murk everything fast enough!

Worst Call of We Many - Echoes: Adaptation

When you tryna get a certain Encounter or Battle but you can’t fucking see the nodes in front of you is PEAK annoyance

Best good relic - Chivalric Commandments - New Addition

Nothing is beating the ASPD boost endorphins, sorry 🤷🏽‍♀️

Worst good relic - Sui’s Wrath

If you disagree you have never had this relic and attempted to complete Ubi bona somnia 🥲

Easiest 3rd floor boss - Course Correction

Just get you some carpet bomber DPS or a reaper guard to stall this mfkr and his lil minions; when you beat him all the hellspawns die and you are left with easy stage completion

Worst 3rd floor boss - Eternal Wrath

Saint Iberia only has one shot, but he will wipe your entire party if you don’t murk him before he comes around the bend, especially if you don’t have a fast redeploy to get rid of the radar people

Hardest battle node - Out of Control (Emergency)

Straight cancer. 😭 You gotta park everyone up at the blue boxes and pray you somehow survive the first half of the stage with all them running enraged Sarkaz fucks. Honorable mention - Ubi bona somnia (Emergency) cause WHYYYY are there two Origitant mutants here???

Easiest endgame node - Curse of Cognition

Very straightforward stage, especially if you can stun the boss to where it falls down and your melee Operators can curb stomp it

Hardest endgame node - Fate’s Favored Child

I guess since BSL in IS2 happened, the 2nd ending boss is always gonna be terribly fucking annoying. Freezing Operators each attack they do??? Straight up running to the exit in second phase and can only be hit by ranged units??? The mobs?? FUCK YOU

Hardest Encounter Battle - Business Empire?

Ngl I have not reliably beat this stage yet without major leaks because holy shit I wasn’t prepared to fight all three side characters at once! It also pops up very rarely for me due to RNG so I don’t get much practice either

Hardest relic to get - Last Refrain

Don’t talk to me about this stupid thing; I have done over 100 runs I swear and I only got this Encounter ONCE and that was after I had already gotten all endings multiple times over and my light was at like 10 or something on the run

Best improvement over IS2 - easier to unlock different ending events

There were SO MANY runs I did in IS2 that didn’t pan out because I only got one encounter out of the two I needed to open up the 3rd or 4th endings. This does not happen to me in IS3

Worst “improvement” over IS2 - not enough Encounter nodes

It’s cool to have Wonderland stuff or Dispatches or Tulip Commissions but I think the ratio is kinda off. If you’re tryna get all the relics this can be annoying cause you’ll only have a handful of Encounter modes to aim for per run

What I miss from IS2 that ain’t make it into IS3 - Shadow relic

I absolutely loved getting this relic and trying to build a squad full of nothing but temp recruitments, cause it’s not only a way to try out Operators you may not own, it makes it fun to figure out strats with the most random but maxed out group of Operators ever

Goated Operators (very subjective and general):

Goldenglow (nothing is beating her global range and relic synergy)

Horn (just her s1 alone will clear maps)

Flametail (synergy with relics that increase attack upon dodge)

Texas the Ometerosa (she trivializes most of this content especially with relics)

Pozemyoka (want to beat the 3rd ending boss in 8 seconds right from stage start? She’s your girl)

Gnosis (freezing flying Seaborn will ground them and it’s so funny to watch)

Lappland (her silence is goated, we learned this during the Stultivera Navis event)

Whisperain & Lumen (you are gonna need that status resistance especially if you are fighting The Last Knight)

Mulberry (she has higher elemental damage recovery than Honeyberry who was the MVP of IS2)

Blue Poison (her S1, especially if mastered, is unmatched. Even better than Exu)

Jaye (you will not fear the Water & Fire Union stage if you have him)

Thorns (ironically I don’t choose him UNLESS I can quickly E2 him because he’s mid without access to his S3)

Highmore (she doesn’t beat La Pluma in anything EXCEPT IS3, and I always start a run with her cause her 3-block is delicious)

#also you know what’s hard? keeping the last knight alive through your whole fucking run #cause don’t let the damn bear show up and you can’t beat him before he punches TLK out #or you gotta do a stage with Pompeii in it and it’s just spewing lava on everyone #just everything about that boss and his stage is not very fun LOL #also damn truly why is IS3 this depressing?? 😭 #none of the files are happy like???? #this up there with Children of Ursus type depression idk #also fuck that crying dog from SSS #why they put him in here? the insta stun and camoflauge combo irks me #anyway I love this mode truly I can’t wait for is4 😂 #arknights #integrated strategies

[bittersweetblasphemy]

hey sorry you're sick bud. what's your oc with the most tragic backstory? vs an oc with a relatively chill past?

the most tragic? woof that's a tough one. and i'm gonna use it as an opportunity to infodump about a lot of OCs lol

most of my characters have at least some level of trauma. i mean just going through my works (and not touching reader characters):

your First Mate in LLTQ comes from a species known for stealing people away to use as brood queens and where said Queens are usually not consenting, then was sent off to perpetuate that same cycle completely alone for the first time in his life. one has to wonder what he went through to decide your consent actually mattered to him.

Hulo was once a human man whose literal humanity was slowly stripped from his soul and eaten over the course of decades

David's no-contact with his family. mom was neglectful from the beginning and cares more about his half-siblings than him. step-dad is some ex-military jackoff who thinks he's a loser who will never amount to anything. doesn't have many memories of his bio dad who just up and left when he was three

Brizeth and Colovan i won't say much about bc i'm actually going to talk about this in the next chapter for B&D. what i will say is that their childhood was fucked up but also a completely normal childhood for demons like them, so is it really that tragic? 🤔 (and bc im sure people's minds are going there, no, there is no CSA involved despite them being concubi)

Adrian is a fallen angel whose anger got his wings ripped off

Hector watched his first love die

Malak is the bastard child of a palace concubine who very conveniently isn't around anymore so you do the math

Tuq left his herd to live completely on his own due to rampant transphobia

Sasha got his scars from attempted murder via arson by homophobic wannabe monster hunters who were hoping to kill him and Theodore

Viktor's big sister, who he looked up to, was killed by a werewolf hunter

the imps in QR paint a pretty clear picture of the hell (literally and figuratively) they'd lived through before being taken in by Horace

where do i even start with Arro? [1][2][3][4]

but ultimately if i had to pick, i think i'd pick Gage. they were kidnapped and sold into forced sex work where all of their memories of their prior life were completely wiped, effectively factory reset, and they frequently deal with trauma by just erasing memories they can't handle. this includes deleting any knowledge of entire people and friendships because they were either killed or committed suicide, and Gage would rather forget than deal with the pain of missing them.

and while they may not have those direct traumatic memories haunting them, they're perfectly aware of the gaps in their memory and what they mean, which just strikes me as particularly sad.

Chill backstories? I mean,

Willow had a normal childhood and learned her love of gardening from her mom and dad, who she has a good relationship with

Marius came from a decently well off family and just liked having sex enough to make a profession of it

Ahlex grew up in a world with UBI, Universal Healthcare, and where there's always plenty of food and fresh water to go around, so despite being raised by his single disabled mother, he had a pretty easy time growing up

Marble and Button were childhood friends that fell in love as they got older

ignoring the tragedy that led to his current position as Malak's guard, Bic had a great childhood and was being mentored to be a clan storyteller, which is a very highly respected position in goblin clan hierarchy

Nina lived a comfortable life with her mother and father, who taught her the art of monster hunting and also impressed upon her the importance of the honor code she still lives by.

anyone else who i haven't listed either has their chill backstories at least alluded to in their fic (like Melia), or i just haven't given them a backstory yet

#madax answers #lore #too many ocs to tag #tag later

[judasvibe]

the previous post is also why i think the idea of (tax financed) pure cash benefits à la UBI while still in a capitalist economy is a disastrous idea.

not because i don't like free money or because i think the people who could use it deserve to die or whatever...if you live in a market economy, but everyone suddenly gets free money, the rent-earning class (which means housing rent but broadly speaking anyone whose revenue is based on periodic payments for commodities with inelastic demand like housing, food, transportation etc) will just raise their prices by that amount.

car manufacturers have done it very recently - a tax credit of i think around 7k was available for those who buy an electric vehicle...of course, the rational free market decision of the car manufacturer in that context is to just raise their prices of exactly 7k. and why should they not? they aren't the government, they don't have a mandate to attempt (im not gonna call any government a success there) a comprehensively effective set of economic policies.

it you got 1500 bucks free from the government every month, forever, starting next month, with no fundamental changes to the economic system, all that means is that the cumulative price of necessities you cannot do without would increase by more or less exactly that amount. the benefit has been funneled away from its intended recipients, and straight to the rent-earning class.