#like its good to learn! that was a learning moment for people! but also @ the education department: im fucking coming for you.

[psychotrenny]

There's a real unearned confidence to the way that Social Democrats talk about their ideology, like they've cracked the code and found the perfect way forward and the only reason people disagree is because they're misguided or evil. Like they'll correctly point out problems within Neoliberal Capitalism before spouting some absolute nonsense about how uniquely evil and dysfunctional Communism was (nearly always in the past tense too; they take it for granted that the end of the USSR was the end of all Communism) and then going "Don't worry though, there's a third way; a mixed regulated economy. We can have a free market in consumer goods while making sure that corporations pay their fair share in wages and taxes that can fund the welfare that looks after everyone". And like putting aside the fact that such a model relies on the super-profits of imperialist exploitation to actually function, and the inherent instability of an arrangement where the Bourgeoisie make concessions even while maintaining ultimate control of the economy, there's the simple fact that much of the Imperial Core did indeed had Social Democracy but does not anymore.

Like these Social Democrats never think about why that might be, why their ideology failed and what they can learn from it going forward. They just act as though some dumb individuals (i.e. Ronald Reagan, Milton Friedman etc.) managed to slip into power and make bad decisions and like the best way to fix this is to vote good people in who'll change it back. Like hell a lot of these people take the previous existence of these policies as like a good point, the whole "We had them before so we aren't being radical by wanting them back. We don't want anything crazy we just wanna bring back The New Deal or Keynesian Economic policy or whatever". There's never any thought about why those policies failed (how often do you hear these people even talk about "stagflation" or "the oil crisis" let alone the impact of the fall of the soviet union) and what implications this might have on the viability of bringing it back. They also love talking about how Social Democratic institutions are still largely intact in the Scandinavian countries, but rather than even consider what specific factors in their political-economic situation led to this these people just go "Damn isn't Sweden great. Why aren't we doing exactly what they do?"

And sure some people might compare this to Marxism-Leninism, the whole "trying to bring back a defeated ideology", but for one it's stupid to treat the dissolution of the USSR as the end of Communism as a global political force. It may have been a major blow, but even if you write off like Cuba and Vietnam as too small and insignificant to matter you can't just fucking ignore that over 1/6 of the world's population continues live under a Marxist Leninist party. Whatever concessions these countries may have made to global Capitalism, it's just plain ignorant to act as though Communism suffered anywhere near the humiliating loss of global power and credibility that Social Democracy has. Sure the latter may be more politically acceptable to toy with in "The West", but "The Western World" ≠ The Entire World. Also, nearly every ML on the planet is painfully aware that Soviet Communism collapsed and that it collapsed for a reason. There might be plenty of contention about why exactly it died and what exactly we can learn from this, but nearly everyone agrees that we need to learn and ideologically grow. No serious Communist wants to "bring back the USSR" in the same way that many Social Democrats want to "bring back The Welfare State". Far from being a form of "best of both worlds" mixed economy, Social Democracy is nothing more than a flimsy tool to stabilise Imperialist Capitalism at its moments of greatest strain. And if people are still gonna promote it wholeheartedly as the best possible solution, I wish they'd be a little less arrogant about it. It's not as though they have history on their side

#Stella Speaks

[markantonys]

What is your ideal Gawyn show intro?

tick tock, it's gawynposting o'clock!!! i love being enabled, thank you :')

okay, so here's what i'm thinking. 3x01 focuses on catching up with our established characters and setting up the main storylines for the season. 3x02 is time for our caemlyn crew to make their grand entrance; the episode title seems to be "a question of crimson" (though this isn't guaranteed) which would be perfect for an andor & elaida intro episode.

3x02 cold open. scene: caemlyn palace nursery 20 years ago. baby elayne (there was allegedly a baby needed on the caemlyn palace set) is snoozing in her cradle with a nurse (lini cameo!) keeping an eye on her. 10ish-year-old galad is there playing with toddler gawyn. elaida enters the room and takes gawyn over to elayne's cradle and explains to him what it means to be her first prince of the sword, then makes him swear the oath we famously hear about in the books, the oath he swore over her cradle when he was just barely tall enough to look into it, "my blood shed before hers, my life given before hers". the audience goes "wow! this is a pretty fucked up thing to do to this 2-year-old" and thus we learn something about both gawyn (was psychologically fucked up at age 2 by being taught to see himself as a tool to protect other, more important people) and elaida (cares a lot about protecting the royal house of andor and has no problem psychologically fucking up 2-year-olds to do it). and there can be other stuff in the scene to tell us a bit about galad and morgase maybe, depending on how big of a role they're going to have in s3.

this is where i would put the opening credits IF I HAD THEM. (hashtag bring back the opening credits in every episode not just the finale you cowards.) now we go to present-day caemlyn, where the fam is discussing their worries that elayne is missing. gawyn in particular is upset about it and is blaming himself (and being blamed by elaida, and maybe even morgase makes some queenly Harsh But Fair remarks), and the audience goes "yep, sure enough, that 2-year-old has grown up to have Issues." and thus, right away, we've been given a point of connection with and sympathy for gawyn as well as an important insight into why he is Like That. this toddlerhood oath-swearing scene is buried in his narration in the books and i think a lot of people miss it or miss its importance, but it is THE formative moment for his character and the key to understanding why he is Like That, and i'd die if it was portrayed directly onscreen via flashback cold open.

meanwhile, elayne, nynaeve, and mat have set off for tanchico from falme, but the rest of the gang is headed for caemlyn (either as a stop on the way to the waste, or as their intended final destination but shenanigans later force them to flee and only then do they decide to go to the waste). perrin goes out and about in the city and hears rumors of trouble in the two rivers, setting him up to branch off from the group by the end of 3x02. egwene heads to the palace, having been tasked by elayne to deliver a letter to her family assuring them she's well, and rand tags along.

but the guards won't let these two hooligans in, so instead they go around back and break in over the garden wall, falling off the wall at gawyn's feet and setting off the biggest bi crisis of his life. egwene has a whole flirty meetcute with a handsome prince while rand, with whom she officially broke up in 3x01, has to bear witness to the whole thing (and this shows the audience that egwene is also moving on, thus soothing them about rand getting new love interests this season), but gawyn is friendly to rand too and defends both of them from galad's bitch ass and all the guards galad tattles on them to.

rand and egwene are hauled off to an audience with morgase and elaida, and gawyn defends them again but obediently shuts up when morgase and elaida tell him to (showing us that he has a good heart but is easily influenced by authority figures, especially elaida - seeing that gawyn tends to obey elaida is a surprise tool to help us later). whole tense convo here where egwene and rand both get to meet their mutual future mother-in-law as well as their mutual future kidnapper, and egwene delivers the letter but then elaida has her ominous foretelling of rand, which calls his and egwene's integrity and thus the veracity of the letter into question. morgase lets them go (against elaida's advice) but doesn't trust the letter (at elaida's advice) and continues to worry for elayne's safety. so, elaida sets off for the white tower to get answers, with gawyn in tow because, as we learned at the very start of the episode, protecting elayne is quite literally his life.

there we have it! a gawyn intro that sets up a ton of important stuff for him (his oaths to elayne, the way he ties his self-worth to his ability to protect people he deems more important than him, his fucked-up mentor/mentee relationship with elaida, his crush on egwene, his friends-to-onesided-homoerotic-rivals arc with rand, his relationships with morgase and galad), gets the audience to understand and sympathize with and maybe even feel fond of him right off the bat, AND doesn't violate any of the handful of tidbits we know about s3 so far. a win-win-win!

this is my ideal version. but there's a couple other possibilities, such as a) we meet gawyn in caemlyn, but rand & co don't go there, so gawyn does not meet egwene until a future season, or b) elaida and morgase have a one-on-one convo in caemlyn (both actresses were leaked to have been on that set, but no word on if the brothers were there) and gawyn isn't introduced until a later scene arriving at the white tower with elaida (and so doesn't meet egwene until a future season).

i'm leaving galad out of the white tower trip for now because i remember musing a while back how it could actually be more effective if it's an elaida-gawyn duo and galad stays home with morgase. both women are important to both brothers' stories, but elaida is more important to gawyn and morgase is more important to galad. gawyn can be alone with elaida doing all the coup stuff, and galad can be with morgase watching her start behaving strangely, not understanding why, and starting to turn to the whitecloaks (because he blames the aes sedai for elayne's disappearance, because he's afraid morgase is losing her grip and starting to do andor harm, and maybe because morgase was compelled to treat him cruelly and kick him out a la bryne* in the books and he feels he has nowhere else to turn to). gawyn/elaida/tower + galad/morgase/whitecloaks feels like two logical groupings, and in that regard keeping galad in caemlyn could allow for more efficient storytelling than sending him to tar valon. and the galad/morgase/whitecloaks storyline could be held until s4, leaving galad and morgase as just 1ish-episode characters in s3, or it could be another s3 subplot if they want to speed things along. there's also a chance galad could already be a whitecloak and is in the two rivers storyline with dain, but i would prefer that not be the case because my opinion is it's important to his character for us to see him start normal and then get radicalized into the whitecloaks. plus, galad has SO little content in the books that the show is absolutely fine to stretch his stuff out a bit, they don't need to rush to have him already be a whitecloak at the start of s3.

*i've also made these theories with bryne being cut, since i have elaida take his place in gawyn's oath-swearing and galad take his place as the big bridge burned by compelled!morgase. i have no idea whether he actually WILL be cut or not (though i'm 99% confident his romance with siuan is off the table even if he's in), but he feels like a character where it's easy to divvy their stuff up among other more important characters. mat and bashere have us covered for Great Generals, thom has us covered as morgase's ex with whom things ended badly, and egwene could get soldiers from another source (or could even have her army simply be aes sedai and warders).

#i can't believe we STILL have no gawyn casting #how much harder do i have to work to manifest him??? #wot #wot book spoilers #anonymous #answered #gawyn trakand #gawynposting

[writingquestionsanswered]

Do you have suggestions on how to write a story in the romance genre where the couple stays together, never breaks up, never cheat and never doubt their feelings but are still somewhat tested in their life together?

Romance Where Conflict is Being Tested in Life Together

This is a less common setup for a romance, but one that I think has its appeal. Part of what people like about romance is the "will they/won't they"/"just kiss already" tension, so the trick to doing this well is finding ways to test their relationship, even if their love and fidelity to one another remains fully intact.

Some indirect strains on a relationship can be things like financial problems, familial problems, health issues, or stressful events they must navigate together. You might also test not their relationship but their mettle as a team, having them share a challenging adventure. For example, a road trip that goes wrong, a major project like renovating an old house, solving a problem or mystery, helping another person such as a family member or friend, or participating in a competition together. You can also delve into more personal, "daily life" type moments, such as the nuances of their relationship, tender moments, and everyday moments of domestic bliss.

You may also want to let the characters grow individually and show how their relationship is challenged by these changes, but perseveres. In other words, show how they adapt as a couple as they grow and change as individuals.

I hope that gives you some good ideas!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

♦ Questions that violate my ask policies will be deleted! ♦ Please see my master list of top posts before asking ♦ Learn more about WQA here

#wqaadvice

[nenelonomh]

organization 101

organization is about how we gather stimuli in our environment to complete tasks quickly and more effectively. it's about arranging our surroundings, providing order, and structuring items and activities around us.

this topic can be applied in so many instances - including physical spaces, digital files, schedules, and mental clarity.

staying organized offers several benefits:

★ when you're organized, you waste less time searching for things or figuring out what to do next. this efficiency leads to increased productivity

★ clutter and chaos can contribute to stress. an organized environment promotes a sense of calm and control.

★ organization helps you allocate time effectively. you can prioritize tasks and allocate resources efficiently.

★ a clutter-free workspace (or living space) allows you to concentrate better on the task at hand.

★ organized spaces encourage healthier habits, such as regular exercise, balanced meals, and adequate rest.

but how can you stay organized?

★ start with one area of focus (e.g. closet, desk, documents, ...) and gradually expand. focusing on one area allows you to see tangible progress, and as you declutter or organize, you'll build momentum to tackle other spaces.

trying to organize everything at once can be overwhelming. by narrowing your focus, you can prevent feeling swamped. concentrating on a specific area also allows you to learn effective strategies,, which you can apply to other parts of your life!

★ keep a to-do list. you can use a planner or digital tools to track tasks - and prioritize and sort tasks by urgency. write things down promptly to avoid forgetting them.

by freeing your mind from trying to remember all of your tasks, this mental offloading allows you to focus on the present moment. you can also assign urgency and importance, ensuring you will tackle what matters most.

★ give everything a home. clutter happens when items lack designated spaces. organize your physical and digital spaces intentionally.

★ once organized, maintain order consistently by building habits and systems. regularly review and adjust your systems when needed.

maintaining daily habits can significantly contribute to staying organized.

digital files

personally, the biggest issue i have with organization is building (and maintaining) a good system for digital files. it is crucial for me to learn how to organize these well, however, as a digital creator.

here is the process:

★ create a folder structure,, and design a clear hierarchy of folders that reflect your workflow. organize files logically based on projects, departments, dates, or file types.

at the moment i sort my files as content home < links, content plan, instagram, pinterest, tumblr, youtube < scheduling, post ideas

however, sometimes i find myself with documents that don't fit any of these sections. my plan for the future is to reorganize this to be the most effective it can.

★ use descriptive file names,, and name files clearly and concisely. include relevant keywords to make searching easier

★ consider using tags to categorize files across multiple dimensions. tags enhance searchability and allow flexible organization.

this is something that i am looking to employ!

★ utilize cloud services like google drive or dropbox for easy access from anywhere.

i will forever be a notion girl,, even though it is not quite a cloud service, it allows me a similar experience.

★ make decluttering a routine. delete duplicate or unnecessary files.

★ pin essential folders to your sidebar for quick access.

physical decluttering

writing this, i was reminded of the (horrid) bedrotting trend, especially those videos where people would show their rooms with shit everywhere and mould growing on stuff. i'm aware that some people find it super hard to maintain organization or declutter - hoarding is a very real issue.

the benefits of staying organized were previously mentioned, but decluttering specifically has its own little set of positives. this includes reduced stress, improved focus, enhanced productivity, and more positive overall wellbeing.

here are some essential tips if you are struggling to get started:

choose a small area or category to begin decluttering. set a timer (15-30 minutes) and sort items in that area into 'keep', 'donate', 'trash', or 'unsure' piles.

you could also attempt a room-by-room approach, by tackling one room at a time. focus on completing each room fully before moving on to the next.

try to organize your belongings into categories (keep, donate, sell, discard) to make decisions easier.

remember - progress comes from consistent effort, and small steps lead to a clutter-free space.

further reading

i hope today's post was helpful!

as for further reading, check out these sites: ★ How to Declutter Your Home: 6 Best Room-by-Room Methods (thespruce.com) ★ First Steps to Decluttering - Understanding the Clutter - Being Minimalist ★ Productivity, Organization & Personal-Development | 101 Planners ★ Executive Functioning Skills 101: Organization | Life Skills Advocate ★ How to Be Organized - 10+ Habits - Organized 31 ★ How to Be More Organized & Productive | 10 Habits for Life Organization (youtube.com) ★ How to Be More Organized (verywellmind.com) ★ How to Organize Your Digital Files | Reviews by Wirecutter (nytimes.com) ★ Master How to Organize Digital File Management (riverfy.com)

❤️ nene

image source: pinterest

#that girl #becoming that girl #productivity #student life #student #academia #chaotic academia #study blog #nenelonomh #organization 101 #orgnaization #organized #study #study tips #studying #study time #study hard #study motivation #100 days of studying #studyblr #study aesthetic #study inspiration #study community #study notes #study inspo #study with me #studyabroad #study space #studyblr community #studyinspo

[igglemouse]

So today is Summer Solstice Day which means...a celebration of summer, I guess? I do have one minor plan for it and that's to visit the local swim park later today with Pascal. At least for a moment. He actually has to work today but I know we'll make the most of the time we have together.

As for now I'm starting my morning cooking an egg salad! I think that's a healthy breakfast!

I think I've gotten used to cooking breakfast for Pascal. I never would have imagined it, to be honest, spending my time in the kitchen for my boyfriend but...it's not a problem for me because cooking is no chore. It's something I really enjoy doing and it seems like Pascal enjoys it as well.

"Egg salad?" he looks down at the meal I had prepped for him with some, looking down at his bowl with some distaste. "N-no, I'm not saying its bad but-"

"Give it a try!" I tell him, although the look on his face tells me he's not too excited about it. "You said you are on a strict diet! I figure you'd need lots of proteins and-"

"Frida, yes, but...it's nothing. I was hoping you'd cook those waffles of yours or pancakes or...something like that? This way I have an excuse for cheating on my meal today when the team dietician asks me. I'd say, oh, my girlfriend made this, but this..." he looks down at the bowl again and shakes his head. "You are way too considerate!" he jokes.

After we finish our breakfast we settle into something more usual. He was studying his next opponent while I couldn't allow myself to live in a dirty house with dust floating around everywhere.

And after that he's outside kicking a ball around. It makes me think about what Sara had said days ago of him. How dedicated he is to his craft which is something I certainly see now. It's almost like he's practicing before going out to practice?

But as I've mentioned today, for me at least, is about summer and celebrating summer! So, I manage to drag Pascal off to the community pool park and thankfully, with it being so cloudy for whatever reason, we both drop right into the pool before others arrive.

We basically just spend some time wading through the water, teasing each other, and splashing each other.

"You know, if you're such a big shot, why has no one asked for your autograph yet?" I taunt and at that he splashes me in the face with a handful of water.

"I'm still a sub, you know!"

I splash him back in the face then, revenge, but he only laughs at my attempt.

"I'll be giving you my autograph later tonight," he tells me and I can't help but laugh at that. You know, he just might, but I've learned pretty quickly that Pascal is often so very tired after 'work', yes, so tired that sex just isn't appealing and that's saying a lot because we've been at it a lot since I've virtually moved in.

Our outing together wasn't long and so off to 'work' Pascal goes, leaving me at the park pretty much alone. Some people wander in but they seem to also be on some kind of solo mission. Perhaps this is a place people come to celebrate Summer Solstice alone?

So, with little else to do I find the nearest grill and get to cooking. Barbecue is not my specialty, in fact, this is my first time using a grill and so why not try the first thing one thinks of when grilling?

I feel like my first attempt at ribs are not bad, nothing perfect, but definitely good enough to eat. Cooking is cooking, after all, and its a lot like riding a bike. At least for me.

But I really do not plan on spending the rest of this day alone and so I call in some reinforcement. Sara and Marj who, still being single ladies, were both just sitting at home doing nothing. They both jumped at the chance to meet at the pool.

It did not take long for either of them to arrive and it did not take long before we decided to settle into a hot tub. Sure, it's a public one, which kind of sucks, but once you're in, you're in, and you put any stray thoughts about what might go on in a public hot tub out of your mind.

"Surprised you just didn't invite us over to Pascal's place, I imagine it has a pool, hot tub, game room, a-"

I'm shaking my head as it really has none of that stuff.

"Must be the frugal type," Marjorie adds in along with a chuckle.

I shrug. "I've not been with him that much," I say, because I don't know anything about his finances only that they are better than mines. His house is nice but it's not the kind of place they've imagined it to be.

"You know," Sara says. "I kind of doubt that. He's the flashy type on the field. I've seen him kick it over a defenders head a few times, and then he-"

You can almost hear Marjorie's eyes rolling. "Can we not spend our time here talking about socc-"

"Fútbol!" Sara insists.

I just laugh. I might be a third wheel when it comes to these two but it's fun to watch them go back and forth.

We weren't just here to chat though because what is a day celebrating summer without some kind of summer activity? There was a waterslide at the park and no one was using it so it seemed a perfect chance to let loose a little and enjoy the day doing something a little different.

As you can see, some of us were better at water sliding than others. I won't name any names but at least no one got hurt!

We linger a little more around the pool since the day was nice, perfect almost, and it allowed us to just hang around more without the fear of melting.

Of course Sara wanted to talk about Pascal a little more which at this point I would not allow because she can be annoyingly nosy. Already knowing about Sara's situation and her lack of confidence when it comes to men I instead direct my curiosity towards Marjorie. "Do chu have a boyfriend?"

Sara starts to laugh then and Marjorie does too but only after some time.

"Marjorie has a mens every season, for about a week and then..." she starts laughing again. "He dumps her-"

"No!" Marjorie cuts in right away. "I dump him! Look, my advice to you, Frida, if Pascal is halfway decent, cling to him, because you might not find anyone better."

"She's very picky," Sara teases although I can tell this tease isn't met with mirth or humor from Marjorie.

"That is bad?" I ask a little casually but I can tell from the small smile Marj gives that she appreciates that.

"Thank you, Frida. Some of us just have high standards. I'd rather be single and happy than coupled and miserable."

Thankfully the tension between these two remained light and we were happy to continue our outing and talk about anything other than relationships or Pascal.

I get back home and decide to make a little ice cream for myself. I think sometimes I get so caught up cooking for others that I rarely make things for myself. That definitely needs to change and so it's nice having a cone of ice cream solely for myself.

I wasn't sure what to do with the rest of my day and just when I think it'll be possible to just sit back, kick my feet up, and relax, I get a call.

It's from Irene, my new friend. She asks if it is alright if her boss comes over and talk to me about a job opportunity. That he's interested in hiring me.

How can I say no to that? I might as well see what he's offering, like I mentioned before.

And so I wait until he arrives and once he does we sit down on the couch. I'm starting to realize that while I don't really live here I'm staring to behave as if I do, after all, I'm inviting someone into Pascal's place while he's not here. I hope he'll be alright with it? He's not here to say anything about it at least.

Any ways, the man introduces himself as Martin Lucena and I can tell just by how he carries himself that he's a man that gets right to business and he proves it because the first thing he says to me after introductions is "So, here is my offer. You come in as a sous-chef, 2nd in command, and-"

"I-I'm not sure I can do that," and here I am already denying his offer. My reply comes out too quick, I'm not sure why but already the vibe is off. There's a desperation hiding in his offer that tells me this is the wrong move. I'm ready to tell him to have a good day and escort him out but he's stuck to the couch, deciding he will not be put off so easily.

"I was going to say that you would not have the responsibilities of the role, do not worry, I realize you don't have the experience for it but I do think your presence would help my business."

No, this is not right. I might not be the smartest girl but I was born with street smarts. I had to be in order to still have a head on my shoulders. Why give someone a job if you don't think they are capable of doing it? "How? How can I help?"

"You bring a level of authenticity to the restaurant," he admits. "Your food stand is as authentic as can be, its why it's doing so well. People can tell you do it because you enjoy doing it, people can tell you honor your heritage, people can just feel it. It's, well, IT, as it's called. You have an aura around you that people want to be around."

"Yes yess..." I'm not convinced.

"So you'll be paid well, you won't have to do much. You'll have to close your food stand, of course, you'll be making a lot more," he laughs a little, too dismissively for my tastes. "So you won't need that little stand right now."

"No." I say, that decided it for me. While his logic is sound I don't like the feeling of it. It feels wrong. If he had told me that I could keep my stand open maybe I would have changed my initial feeling on this but...

"No?" He repeats as if he needs to hear it again. "What do you mean no? We can negotiate a little, we can-"

"No, no to it all." I clarify because it seems he wasn't getting it. "Thank chu for the job but no. Just no."

A large groan pushes from his lips, his face twists into one of anger and only anger, and I'm suddenly wishing Pascal were here but before those fears could settle his face softens.

"What a stupid mistake, the biggest mistake you've made in your young life." The tone to his voice tells me this is not over. What this is, I'm not sure, but I know that I've made an enemy today.

"Y-your place es very good, Mr. Lucena! I love eating there and I-"

"We're done here. I do not waste time with fools."

He leaves in a huff and a puff and makes me regret meeting him at all.

Episode List - Next Episode 5 ‘Offsides’

#The Sims #The Sims 4 #ts4 #Sims #Sims 4 #sims legacy #my sims #generation 1 #soot #sims of our time #frida varela #pascal alcocer #sara chavez #marjorie whipple #martin lucena

[mejomonster]

On a serious note, I do feel mysterious case lotusbook has a lot of sincere themes about getting older, realities of responsibility and dreams realized, how it's difficult to succeed and not always the direct path one expects, how there's value in little aspects of life. Almost every li lianhua scene seems to be about that to some degree. The murder cases aren't particularly deep as far as super complicated to figure out or Able to be predicted super well (since they don't always give all the details in the initial setup), but the themes about who was killed and why do connect to li lianhuas situation.

#mysterious lotus casebook #lb #by all this i mean: a lot of the positive things li lianhua AND di feisheng say are fairly good advice tbh #like a fei? hes like you need to be fair in your decisions for your actions to be worthwhile and earned #li lianhua: sometimes being the one taking all responsibility was bad for you and the people you led who felt burdened #by You taking the burden. and stepping back can be a respectable choice. #cooking is more difficult than fighting. keeping yourself alive is Hard and its the hardest thing we do #and its admirable even when youll never be a hero never be able to achieve what those around you might #your peers are worthwhile if they choose diffetently than you (qian wanmian isnt lesser for not choosing to lead a sect and instrad #dissolving it. di feisheng doesnt think li lianhua is no longef worth his time even though hes weaker now. li lianhua is still someonr he #wants to see alive see brlieve in himself see passionate about things. the monks think its never too late to #reconnect to people again. that people who love you will want you and accept you even when you fail. #even fang duobing by knowing li lianhua gets the experience of someone who wants him alive #and fondly smiles and Is proud of him. evrn if hes learning and fails and moody #fond of him in a way his family wasnt that strangers lied about due to his status #in a way that he clung to li xianyi for ALSO seeing value in him when he felt he didnt live up to expectstions of the world #its the Kindness of little moments of acceptance. of being kind to yourself and kind to others (even down to #not wantjng to kill suspects but take them to trial. not wanting scapegoats blamed. which arent usually done in wuxia) #its the fact this show is quite about gentleness and healing (i see the Love and Redemption screen writing ismilarities) #rather than about power struggles. do you know what i mean?

[sparring-spirals]

Rewatching the goat scene from yesterday because I wanted to clip Donny-boy and. I somehow missed that in the initial cacophany right after the murder while Chetney is beginning to saw apart Jerry and Deanna is shearing and Imogen is full on sceaming and sobbing "what the fuck!!!", Deanna, hands presumably bloody*, looks up and cheerfully goes "This can't be the worst thing you've seen! Your dreams are bad!"

*From Chetney's uh, disassembly, let the record show that shearing doesnt generally draw blood, afaik. .........And Chet's butcher bib is probably not helping.

#critical role #cr spoilers #deanna #c3e56 #imogen temult #scene #shitpost #added a note bc im PRETTY sure that shearing doesnt draw blood but also with chet nearby dismembering i assume blood would be spread. #aabria has such a good way of like. having deanna poke right to the core of people in such a casual way #and so watching deanna interact with characters that have So Many Things Going On that Bells Hells have lovingly learned to navigate around #is GREAT. like its not always kind! maybe its an overgeneralization sometimes! but sometimes its not! and no matter what. its. So. fun to #watch the moment of contact. #anyhoo what im saying is #terrible. hilarious. poor imogen.

[brother-emperors]

Allow me, if you will, a moment to go absolutely rabid over your blog and everything that goes on here. I’ve always loved history but the USA hardly likes teaching anything that isn’t American History. I’ve forgotten how much I love WORLD history, specifically the rise and fall of empires.

I’ve been smothering myself in your posts and I love it ALL. JC, Pompey, Crassus, Sulla, Octavian, Antony, Cassius, and Brutus. Wow what a mood. You don’t miss on your references or your modern AU’s and I’m over here like- I’m trying to buy whatever web comic you put out, book you write, etc.

Also, if you’d be so kind to list some material with like themes to start breaking into these topics. Preferably materials in English or translated materials.

HELL YEAH LET'S GO

if you really want to start on the ground floor for breaking into something, I'd recommend my personal favorite approach which is picking the figure that's most interesting to you, reading through plutarch's biography on them (free! online! in english!) and then putting their name through a jstor search and reading whatever sounds fun.

other than that, the primary theme I've been wandering around in lately, so these are the materials I've been really enjoyed related to that:

The Deaths of the Republic: Imagery of the Body Politic in Ciceronian Rome, Brian Walters

The Game of Death in Ancient Rome: Arena Sport and Political Suicide, Paul Plass

Ideology in Cold Blood: A Reading of Lucan's Civil War, Shadi Bartsch

Statius and Virgil: The Thebaid and the Reinterpretation of the Aeneid, Randall T. Ganiban

Rome, Blood & Power, Gareth C Sampson

I also have a comparatives tag where I play connect the dots with texts that made my brain go brrr

#also thank u 💓 #ive been obsessed with history and historical non fiction since i was like. five. and my dad noticed that i liked watching documentaries #on pbs lmao #i lucked out: all of my history teachers through highschool were FANTASTIC but my sister's grasp on history #(w/ different teachers) is way worse and she was like. all honors and got a wicked scholarship to a very nice college #idk where im going with that. something about how history is taught with such inconsistency makes me feel :| #i feel passionately abt the subject so i want other people to love it too aughghhhhh #and the way history is taught in schools unless you get a good teacher. is not conducive to this. its a TRAGEDY #thinking about how my best favorite man mabini. ppl not knowing that polio was what caused paralysis in his legs #back when heneral luna came out. (head in hands) #like its good to learn! that was a learning moment for people! but also @ the education department: im fucking coming for you. #IM GETTING OFF TRACK thank u for sending this anon this ask made me really happy to read 🥺🥰💕💕💖💞 #i hope you're having a nice day! #ask tag

[fiapple]

for such a small fandom, the moral orel community really does have a huge fucking problem with woobification of the adult cast.

it's gross.

#this isn't about liking characters this is however about using that as an excuse to pretend they are not horrible people. #like literally the only decent adult in moralton is stephanie- others may have their moments but overall? just her. #& that's thematically fucking important! like the fact that the only good person in a town suffocated by it's own rigid adherence to WASP #social norms is a visually non-conforming lesbian? yeah that kinda fucking means something! that was a pointed writing choice! #also before anyone mentions officer papermouth hes a cop. moreover he's a cop in a town where several characters are canonically racist. #& its a town where people are known to mostly hold the same views on social issues due to the aforementioned strict adherence to WASP norms #do not “officer papermouth seems like a good guy.” me i will chuck your kneecaps into a river. #but enough with the uwu cutesy headcanons about characters who are canonically racist/homophobic/abusive/misogynistic! #enough with the blaming literally every character except your personal favourite for the climate of the town! #enough with blaming only one parent for the puppington family dynamic! #enough with acting like characters don't have faults because you happen to find a clay figurine unreasonably attractive! #you're missing the fucking point! #enough enough enough enough! learn how to actually analyze & interact with the media you consume please! #moral orel #also: #proshippers dni #you lot are the worst of the fucking bunch & your approach to media as a group is horrific. fuck off.

[spotsupstuff]

you know something i think it's interesting (and even cute) from the broadcasts? that one sliverist chatlog where a sliverist is reminiscing about betting on creature fights with SOS

idk why but i never considered it but it does make sense that many sliverists were old friends of SOS wanting to find out what happened to them

gkldsmclkds well, "many",,, i mean that does depend on how social Sliver was! but yes, most likely all of her friends are Sliverists. except those who might be too hurt to keep pondering her, i suppose 🤔 sometimes one just needs a break from heavy stuff like that

#spot says stuff #rw #i like that one broadcast a good bit too its such a good characterization for this ''godly'' person #like we only knew her as this mystical figure in the pre-DP days? and now we learn something so human about her. im fond of it #it grounds her very well as just another person which i am Extremely fond of. regular people unique by nothing going thru things #n also just overall- it is one of those moments when we get to see the iterators overall being blatantly human n that is always a plus

[rainc0at]

I LOVE THIS FUCKIJG FILM SO MUCH EVERYTHING ABOUT IT IS PERFECT

#the casting is so good its oerfect they all do such good jobs iCAAAANNTT #roman and zsasz do SO WELL they creep me OUT its so GOOOOODODODO #“fuck fsmily! all due respect but fuck that!!!” all his. tantrums? how else would i word thst idk so. and like from the little bits we see #we learn so much about them. like idk shit avout them sorrt im a poser. but FUCKKXKCK its just so good #obviously margot robbie does incredibly. and cassandras actress! i know people have said they sorta dilute her character down which IS sad #esp bc i dont know anything about her either. but fuck #and the way it depicts gotham!!!!!!!!!! ive talked about this alot before and god its always sssoooooo #ITS JUST ALL SO GOOD. the humor THE WARDROBE. once again the causal lgbt rep. all the sexism stuff. #its just perfect its genuinely perfect #AGRGRHFHSJ I LOVE THIS FILM. #birds of prey #AND JUST THE WAY EVERYONE TALKS AND THE DELIVERY OF EVERYTHING. I DONT KNOW ITS JUST ALL. PERFECT. #also another mention to roman and zsasz. they do it SO. WELL. the changes in zsaszs voice AND JUST HIS GENERAL ATTITUDE. sionis and how wel #his actor does the quick switches. and again the delivery of ALL his lines. also special mention to his little spin at his first scene. #ALSO HIS AND ZSASZS LAUGHS ohmyod #and montoya does it all so well and inlove her voice and same with canary and i cant say much on them because its ALL so good that i cant #pinpoint it?????? #ALSO THE HAIR TIE SCENE 💘💘💘💘💘 #also forever thinking of roman and his thing with how people pronounce words. actually im sorta just always thinking about him and zsasz #zsaszmask hoffstrahm and now hannigram all live in my head. and another ship i wont say incase noah sees this. OH AND SUKEVE. #another mention to the soundtrack. oh. my. god. #another mention to how it depicts gotham. like you just see people living. in the daytime. hanging out living rhwir lives. and you see smal #businesses and a supermarket and a club and the graffiti and just somuch of the film being. in. the daytime. AND THE SKATING DERBY! #GOD i love this film so so so much can you tell #also why is all the content of my posts only ever in the tags. like okaaayy sure. #DINAHS SIDE EYE AT ROMAN AND ZSASZ WHEN THEYRE BEING EXTRA GAY I CANT DO THIS #am i gonna go and look at loads of zsaszmask content now. yes. dont judge. #also anti-big establishments moment (her robbing the store) and her promising to get sal the 75 cents. support small businesses #also bruce wayne mention theyrr always so funny #rain rambles

[lupismaris]

Tbh there's nothing quite like getting roped (pun intended) into watching a truly mediocre show that can only be described as a Trainwreck fueled by racism and abuse.

#theres enough legitimate potential that im irritated about it but the rest is just a perfect mix of everything systemically wrong #with white men in film/tv writing esp in the genre AND its a great example on just what not to do in imo for good screen/story writing #will i watch further nah only if BF needs a PT binge again but augh #what i will say is in theory it also has the benefit. if you pay attention (tho id want to research it). #of examining and explaining how bad people in the 1% get away with shit. like the long short or whatever the movie was called #but without any pay off or grace or anything of substance #and without anything shows like leverage have going for it #so you like. learn pieces potentially of how these horrific businesses operate to butcher communities and land and communities #whether its legit idk but it's one redemption or would be if there was any satisfaction in it. but there isn't because it gets drowned out #in the constant flood of conflict per episode. i mean the quota of misery and conflict per episode is impossible to meant the tension #is untenable and cannot be maintained so you end up not caring when you should be caring and the emotional moments are no longer emotional #and the interesting things you could be picking up along the way and the foreshadowing get drowned in top much (sometimes literal) bullshit #anyway. two cents on a mediocre racist show about abusive rich white men written by rich white men that could been something.

[ruffgem]

a lot of my teachers this year have randomly complimented me on my writing even when the class largely has nothing to do with it and tbh??!??! it's really nice and it makes me want to write more?!?!?!!?!?!

#i thought i was bad at it but i think it's just bc i had to write so many academic essays that i stopped having time for creative writing #but i was shocked today because i had a one-on-one with my painting teacher which was basically my final #it wasn't even a crit just a talk basically about my painting #and i had to submit a write-up in advance about what i learned through the process of that class basically #so anyway when i got to the one-on-one the first thing he did was thank me for the write-up and he was like 'clearly you love writing' #'you're a good writer' #and i was like what!?!?!??!?!? #BECAUSE #im not trying to brag SERIOUSLY but i wrote it really fast and i didn't think it was that crazy #but it meant a lot coming from him because he's probably the most articulate and insightful teacher i've ever had #and also he like has a degree in english LOL #and he said i was a storyteller... so anyway..... i almost cried in the club immediately #well anyway. top ten moments #also my art history professor who i deeply respect wrote a very thoughtful comment on my work today to tell me that she thinks #that i 'have a true talent for written visual analysis' and to 'take her word on it' #BOTH OF THESE MOMENTS?? IN THE SAME DAY?!??!!?! #sorry for 18 paragraphs of bragging but i was truthfully floored #i am always floored when people compliment my writing because lowkey i am hugely insecure about it and feel like i can't articulate shit #like so insecure i cant even write lyrics for songs im like 'i have nothing to write about' man stfu just make shit up its called FICTION #anyway.... #top ten days of my life

[the-busy-ghost]

Warning- this is a very petty post, but I think I'm entitled to at least one petty, pissed-off reaction every time I finish a classic novel that hit harder than I expected so take this as my quota for the year.

Also spoiler warning for a book that came out over a century ago but still, I didn't know the plot going in so don't want to ruin it for anyone else, if you haven't read it shut your eyes. (Also Local Tumblr User Going Wild Over Book Published a Hundred Years Ago That Everybody Else Already Read should probably be categorised as akey part of indigenous tumblr culture at this point).

Anyway I just finished the War of the Worlds and in between studying I've thinking about Themes and Motifs as you do, and idly looking for further analysis. I then accidentally ran into an article called 'A Quiet Place II Succeeds Where the War of the Worlds Failed' and:

Now I haven't seen any of the Quiet Place films, this is not a rant against them and of course everyone is entitled to their own opinions. But re: the ending of The War of the Worlds, I have to ask, did this guy somehow miss, uh, the entire point of the book or am I just utterly insane?

#You're right it's not very satisfying for humanity that the invaders are foiled by a bacteria and not human action! Maybe that's the point! #Maybe it's supposed to be FRIGHTENING and make you ask questions about what humans will do under extreme stress #Not be a morally uplifting tale about Humanity Heroically Defeating the Martians in a Glorious Hollywood Ending #Maybe it's MEANT to be unsatisfying because this is not a straightforward fairytale #I mean I've only read it once and don't know much about Wells' work so I might have misunderstood the point of the book too #But at places it is a very pessimistic view of the human condition and that's partly WHY IT'S SO POWERFUL #That doesn't mean there aren't moments of individual acts of heroism (the Thunderchild for example) #But the question is not just 'how will humanity beat the Martians and prove that we're still the masters of the universe' #Rather 'a) why is humanity so confident that it's ultimately in control of its own destiny #And b) here's lots of scenes of societal collapse and of people pushed to the brink and what would YOU do in those circumstances? #Would YOU feel remorse about silencing the curate even if it did lead to his death? #What if it rather than a foolish adult it had been a small child? #And even if they were weak did they DESERVE it? Yes it might have been necessary but should it be policy going forward? #Would you also be attracted briefly by the certainties that the artilleryman's (rather fascist) plan seems to offer so humanity survives? #But what sort of humanity would that be if it DID survive and is it worth it? The narrator feels he needs to justify the curate's death #The artilleryman would have probably never have thought it was anything OTHER than justifiable or indeed laudable #Under strain and stress would you start to turn against even your loved ones and become brutal? #Is that the only hope for human survival beyond complete surrender? And was the destruction of London maybe even 'cleansing' #In the eugenics sense or in the sense of a natural horror of dirt and germs? #And the vast exodus of six million people fleeing headlong in panic - we might not have seen that exact phenomenon #But didn't the twentieth century subsequently go on to show us unprecedented scale of slaughter and refugee movements and communal strife? #At the end of the day what really separates humanity from other animals? And what separates us from the Martians? #It's not an uncontroversial book- it was written over a hundred years ago for goodness sake and there are questions worth asking #about the way imperialism and arguments about eugenics and population control and all sorts of other dodgy areas operated on Wells' mind #But dear God I really don't think the problem with the book is that 'Humanity didn't save the day!' #Unsatisfying ending? Yes. A FAILURE? No not in my opinion- looks like it was exactly what Wells set out to do #Humanity didn't win the war of the worlds they had a narrow escape and though it might not be martians next time #Why wouldn't disaster return in the future? Sure we've studied their flying machines and even preserved a martian in a jar #But for all our science what have we ACTUALLY learned that will enable us to avert future human catastrophes? Ethically or socially? #Alright rant over- as usual my opinion is not universal nor necessarily well-informed this take just really got my goat

[save-the-villainous-cat]

Alright everyone STOP sending prompts so that she can work through the ones she has already 🙄

(this is a joke)

#no writing #I have dropped into a deep depression. very serious stuff. watching the first got seasons make me sad. this tv show couldve been the best. #it couldve changed the world and in certain aspects it did #but no. d&d wanted to work on their star wars show or whatever and the long fucking night was reduced to one episode #i watch people talk about the long night in s1 and then I think oh yeah this plot actually had value. the characters were actually scared #and then i watch dany being assulted and i think how she was betrayed by her lover in a moment of intimacy and i am like #oh yeah thats what a great comment a vicitm of abuse dies because she trusts the man she loves #also her transformation into super hitler is ridiculous. tHe BeLls made her mad? what the actual fuck? the bells? seriously? #so targaryans are seriously just a flip of a coin huh? I am the dumb one huh??? thats what youre showing me. you point at the screen and say #HA Cat youre a fool! you rooted for her! you thought she was good! #you thought plot lines and character development actually means something? HA how foolish Cat how dumb you are! #Jamie Lannister? learning about how to care for others? WRONG back to cercei!!! #you think tyrion is smart? WRONG lets put the kids and women in the crypts full of dead people when the bad guy creates zombies #you think dany is actually going to stick to the values shes gotten through her character arc? CAT DONT YOU GET IT? YOURE DUMB YOURE STUPID #JONS HERITAGE DOESNT MATTER #DONT YOU GET IT CAT? EDDARD STARK DIED FOR NOTHING! #ISNT THAT WHAT YOU WANTED? ISNT THAT CINEMA? THE LONG NIGHT? HM? BATTLE OF WINTERFELL? HM? ISNT THAT WHAT YOU WANTED? #no. d&d. this is not what i wanted. in fact. i hate you for ruining a clever show. perhaps the cleverest show on this planet. #i love house of the dragon. but its simply not the same. #this makes me want to quit consuming media #and then i watch chernobyl and i am like. hm. maybe there is hope for cinema and tv #just maybe there is hope for writing. maybe quality is more important than quantity

[uraniumglassgirl]

I love aokiji from one piece. Hes my little swimbly bimbly

#i like him a lot. i love how one piece gets a lot of morally gray antagonists #like. aokiji is kind of a really good guy in certain moments. #like he cares a lot about civillians . he just works inside of a really shitty system . hes like the idea of a ‘good’ cop #who like joined the marines with the intent of helping people but he does more harm than good . #i think it makes a lot of sense for him to have quit after the time skip. i know hes rolling with the blackbeard pirates now though #which is weird to me. bc that doesnt seem to suit his ideals. i think he’ll turn out to be undercover or some shit or a sword operative #im excited to learn more abt sword bc its apparently really important in the manga rn #but im not caught up so it’s just like. a vague thing i know now #*thinks about robin backstory* dereshishishishishi….. #also it makes me so mad how oda does so many of his black characters bc. aokiji is right there. you know how to draw black people #give that same treatment to usopp!!! or blackbeard. its lame. it sucks #related. hes a minor antagonist but i wish they did more with mr 5. hes another black character with a good design (at least in the manga) #the anime kind of connects the corners of his lips and makes them look bad but in the manga its natural yet still cartoony #he has such an underutilized devil fruit too T_T he can basically explode any part of his body. #and its usually used in the form of flicking exploding boogers at people (funny) but i was expecting him to get a cool moment where he just #fuckin. BOXES someone with explosions and some cool kicks. sadly we never get that though