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nintendomofo · 2 years

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Nintendo Download: Turtle-y Rad Ninjas Come Out of Their Shell | Your Money

REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 16, 2022--This week’s Nintendo Download includes the following content:This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220616005341/en/Fall Guys game will be available June 21. (Photo: Business Wire)- Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch- Fall Guys – Compete through escalating rounds of absurd obstacle course chaos until one lucky victor remains! Fall Guys is a free, cross-platform, massively multiplayer, party royale game where you and your fellow contestants fight the laws of physics to become the last one standing. Fall Guys will be available to play on June 21. - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge – With a blend of retro and modern visuals, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge finds the four favorite turtles kicking some serious shell in classic arcade-style beat-’em-up action. Up to six players can play locally or online in this bodacious game developed by Tribute Games and published by Dotemu, who also published Streets of Rage 4 and Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap. - Neon White – You are White, an assassin handpicked to compete with other demon slayers for a chance to live permanently in Heaven. The other assassins seem familiar, though … did you know them in a past life? Uncover Heaven’s mysteries by getting to know the other assassins in a lightning-fast first-person action game about exterminating demons. This is your shot at redemption. - OMORI – Travel back and forth between two strange and vibrant worlds, each one brimming with colorful friends and foes, to uncover a forgotten past. You’ll experience an unconventional story and turn-based battle system, supplemented by warm illustrations from renowned artist OMOCAT, who also produced, wrote, directed and coded much of the game. The critically acclaimed RPG OMORI will be available on June 17. - Hextech Mayhem: A League of Legends Story – Get ready for more mayhem with new DLC! Introducing three new BOOMBOXES for Hextech Mayhem: POP/STARZ, ZEGENDS NEVER DIE and GET ZINXED. In this fast-paced rhythm runner, every action has an explosive reaction, and no amount of mayhem is too much. Take on the role of yordle and Hexplosives expert Ziggs as you rampage through the neighborhoods of Piltover. Bomb, bounce and bop to the beat of the music to avoid obstacles, disarm enemies and light fuses to achieve maximum chaos. Cause musical mayhem while outrunning no-fun-allowed Heimerdinger in your quest to build the greatest bomb the world has ever seen! Available now in Nintendo eShop. - It’s Honest Work – Set out to begin a new life and restore your grandfather’s old farm to greatness in Stardew Valley. Learn to live off the land by transforming the overgrown fields into a bountiful place to call home, and raise animals, go fishing, tend to crops, craft items and maybe even start a family … the choice is yours. Until June 20 at 11:59 p.m. PT, Nintendo Switch Online and Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack members can try the full game for free!* Your save data for the Game Trial is not deleted when the trial ends, so you can continue where you left off if you purchase the game later. Plus, save 20% off on Stardew Valley in Nintendo eShop until June 27 at 11:59 p.m. PT. - Rocket League – Season 7 brings glitz and glamour to Rocket League. Luxurious Rocket Pass rewards will keep your cars looking classy all season long, while top Soccar champions can use their skills to earn fabulous Tournament Rewards. Show off your style in the Utopia Coliseum (Gilded) Arena or earn Golden Painted Items while you level up. There’s a lot to explore, so remember to keep it classy! Season 7 starts on June 15 and runs through Sept. 7. - Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch, Nintendo 3DS and Wii UAlso new this week in Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch:* Any Nintendo Switch Online membership (sold separately) and Nintendo Account required. Not available in all countries. Internet access required for online features. Terms apply. nintendo.com/switch-onlineIn addition to video games available at retail stores, Nintendo also offers a variety of content that people can download directly to their systems. Nintendo adds new games weekly to Nintendo eShop, which offers a variety of options for the Nintendo Switch family of systems, the Wii U console and the Nintendo 3DS family of systems.Nintendo Switch Online is a paid membership service that allows members to team up or face off online in compatible Nintendo Switch games, such as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Luigi’s Mansion 3 and Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Members also enjoy a curated library of NES and Super NES classic games, including Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Metroid and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, among many others. To find out more about the benefits that come with Nintendo Switch Online, to view membership options and to learn about a free seven-day trial for new users, visit https://www.nintendo.com/switch/online-service/.With a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership, players get access to even more benefits, including a library of Nintendo 64 games with newly added online play for up to four players (additional accessories may be required for multiplayer mode; sold separately), Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Happy Home Paradise DLC, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Booster Course Pass DLC, Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion DLC and retro SEGA Genesis games.Nintendo eShop is a cash-based service that features a wide variety of content, including new and classic games, applications and demos. Users can add money to their account balances by using a credit card or purchasing a Nintendo eShop Card at a retail store and entering the code from the card. All funds from one card must be loaded in Nintendo eShop on the Nintendo Switch family of systems, Wii U or the Nintendo 3DS family of systems, but can be used in any Nintendo eShop if the systems are linked to a single Nintendo Account.Customers in the U.S. and Canada ages 18 and older can also link a PayPal account to their Nintendo Account to purchase digital games and content for the Nintendo Switch family of systems both on-device and from the Nintendo website. Once the accounts are linked, users may also use PayPal as a payment option when buying digital content for the Wii U or Nintendo 3DS family systems from the Nintendo website.My Nintendo members can earn Gold Points on eligible digital purchases. Already have Gold Points? Redeem them toward your next digital purchase of Nintendo Switch games and DLC on Nintendo eShop, or on discount rewards for select Nintendo 3DS and Wii U software. Visit https://my.nintendo.com/reward—categories for more details.Remember that the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo 3DS family of systems feature parental controls that let adults manage some of the content their children can access. Nintendo Switch players who register a Nintendo Account gain access to free-to-start games and free game demos from Nintendo eShop, and also get the latest news and information direct from Nintendo. For more information about parental controls on Nintendo Switch and other features, visit https://play.nintendo.com/parents/crash-courses/parental-controls/ and https://www.nintendo.com/switch/. For all other systems please visit https://support.nintendo.com/.Note to editors: Nintendo press materials are available at https://press.nintendo.com, a password-protected site. To obtain a login, please register on the site.View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220616005341/en/CONTACT: Eddie [email protected] [email protected]: WASHINGTON UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICAINDUSTRY KEYWORD: ELECTRONIC GAMES TECHNOLOGY ENTERTAINMENT ONLINE MOBILE ENTERTAINMENT GENERAL ENTERTAINMENT HARDWARE LICENSING (ENTERTAINMENT) CONSUMER ELECTRONICSSOURCE: NintendoCopyright Business Wire 2022.PUB: 06/16/2022 09:00 AM/DISC: 06/16/2022 09:02 AMhttp://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220616005341/en Copyright Business Wire 2022. Read the full article

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maximumcheese · 2 years

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219. Crying

Rinne: “Gyahaha! Well then, let’s make like idiots, and get onto stage…☆”

“Hey! Hey! Hey! You’ve gotten all grown up while we’ve been apart, haven’t you?”

“Just a few days ago, you all were little chicks that were just flutterin’ around with your new-grown feathers!”

“You’ve all got the nerve to fly up so high, it’s great view upon great view, ain’t it! But, hey, don't get carried away and soar up so high!”

“We're just a few weak and puny insects that get swept away by the wind, so why don’t you guys be a little more courteous to us all ♪”

“We don't even know why we're here, so we don't want to be dragged around and torn to pieces for no good reason.”

“I’m like a moth to a flame. It's a good thing I flew straight into that bonfire with a bang, so there's not much of me left to burn…”

“But as I’ve said before, the other guys in Crazy: B have no reason to get such harsh punishment, you know?”

“If all you want to do is dox and beat them, I'll stab you to death!”

“I'm going to pump so much poison into you that you'll cry "I'm sorry" and apologize with a big, fat, swollen face!”

Kohaku: “I think it's us who should apologize for the trouble we've caused everyone. Why are you actin’ so tough and defiant all of the sudden?”

Rinne: “Yeah? If you show weakness, they’ll just take advantage of you, right?”

“Have you forgotten why we were treated like dropouts and bullied so much—Kohaku-chan?”

“Because we were weak. Because we were weak, we lost, and because we lost, we became the bad guys. And because we became the bad guys, they thought it was okay to flame the hell outta us—"

“I was completely used like a stress toy, and while I was being ridiculed, I was made to appear like a disposable piece of trash.”

“Hey! You bastards! All you fucks who came here! You, you, you!”

“Don't look at me like I'm some other person's problem! Even if you weren’t the one who bullied me directly, if you stood by and let it happen, you’re guilty of the same damn crime!”

“A crime deserves punishment! Even a fucking kindergartener knows that, it’s just common sense in this world!”

“To just conveniently forget that you’re a perpetrator is one of the least ethical things a person can do!”

“Yeah? Even if all of them are guilty of the crime they perpetrated, we don't have the right to judge them, right?”

“Isn’t that right, I know, I know! Well then, what fucking right do you have!?”

“What right do you have to pick out the good idols and the bad idols, the real idols and the fake idols, and discard the useless ones just based on your own preferences!?”

“Frankly speaking, you do have that right…!”

“Fans do have the right to judge their idols, to cut them down or uplift them according to their tastes, to decide their life or death!”

“Because idols are creatures who don’t exist for the sake of honor or making a profit—But for the sake of delighting their fans!”

“'Because that's what they're there for! The fan's gain or loss, their feelings of good or bad, their logic, everything takes precedence over the idol's!”

“Violence, no—To put it bluntly, the violence of authority! And you bastards have that clutched right in your hands!”

“Don't forget that, and always swing it around like you own the place! Gyahahahaha ☆”

“So I beg of you…Don't just obediently believe what the big guys say, think for yourselves. What is ES, some idols' utopia?”

“Anyways, who’s fuckin’ idea was that?”

“Is it that guy who profits off of all of this? The guy who’s successful at business gets to decide what’s right?”

“Should idols who didn't live well and didn't earn their money be dismembered and discarded like cattle that have lost their milk?”

“That’s the environment that ES is in now. If you look at idols as a mere profession, it's fair to say that the one who earns the most money is the one who is the best.”

“But. That's not the kind of idol I wanted to be, not like that at all.”

“It's not just a job, I’m not just some salaryman that rides a crowded train to work, just to make ends meet.”

“It was the hope that brightened up my boring days.”

“That was the very dream that made me happy and smile just thinking about it. It was an ideal, a yearning, a way of life.”

“In such a recessionary and unstable world, people may want to become salarymen or civil servants, which look stable, instead of taking a gamble.”

“I didn’t want that. I didn't want to be an adult like that, even if it killed me.”

“That's all there is to it. That's why I tried so hard to change the situation, but unfortunately, I ran out of time—”

“I've got something to protect. I threw stones into the flowing river with everything I got, but I could make only ripples…."

“We didn't have the power to change the course of the river itself.”

“Since you can control everything you want about an idol, and your precious thing gets spat on…”

“It was already decided from the beginning that I was gonna lose.”

“But, even though I knew I was gonna lose, I couldn’t help but shriek out.”

“Hey, you guys—Are you really sure this is okay? Are you sure it’s okay to just accept all of ES as it is?”

“Being an idol isn’t so refined as to be called an art, but it’s not just another way to make money—It’s not just another type of job!”

“Aren’t we supposed to be sparkling and precious?”

“Is it okay to be systematic about this?”

“If it’s more stable, and if you invest in it, you can make money, which could maybe be the right thing to do in a capitalist society, right?”

“To be honest, what is the point of being an idol, anyways? If all you want to do is to make money, wouldn't it be faster to sell arms, oil, or energy?”

“Nah. If the guy who makes the most money is the greatest, then you could say that arms and oil are better than idols.”

“I feel insulted that ES, which works by that logic and mechanics, has undermined and insulted my precious idols.”

“Everyone, how do you feel about that sorta thing? Ah, I see—”

“Well if that’s the case, it can’t be helped. I’m just an idiot that got the wrong idea and made a fuss, so I’ll just have to laugh about it in my old age.”

“I’m really sorry, everyone. I’m so sorry I got the wrong idea, snapped and went on a rampage.”

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#ensemble stars #enstars #english translation #rinne amagi #main story

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writing-in-april · 3 years

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Unintentionally Unrequited

Lesley Smith-Juniment x Gender Neutral Reader

Summary: Reader tries to hold back their love for Lesley while he’s still reeling from his broken engagement.

A/N: Hey Heyyy!!!! This is my first fic for Lesley guys!!! It’s also my twenty-fourth fic for my 30 fics in 30 days for April! It’s based on this request- I had a lot of fun with it!!! (Hope I got his character right 🤞) Lol low key I might have been projecting my love of the cold in the first paragraph- im sorry to all my warm weather lovers!!! 😂 Feel free to leave an ask here (I promise I don’t bite, I swear) Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy!

Warnings: I swear three times- that’s it 🥰

Main Masterlist Word Count: 1.5k

The sun beat down hard on me, making my eyes squint and my skin hotter than I would have liked. Normally I would have been wallowing in misery as I thrived in the cold, even though I lived in Texas. That’s where my job was and that’s where Lesley was, so I swallowed up my complaints, especially now.

Lesley was grabbing our drinks, which was more of a challenge than I expected. I watched him stumble about a million times in his closed toed Birkenstocks he still insisted on wearing, kicking up streams of sand while the concession worker snickered. Instead of laughing like most I smiled brightly, finding it incredibly endearing rather than using it as a reason to make fun of him. I may have not found his closed toed Birkenstocks very fashionable, but he loved them, and I loved him.

I could only say that in my head though, he was still unequivocally in love with Summer- even though she had stomped on his heart. He had thought he found love and watched it cruelly be ripped away from him when Summer broke off their engagement. Normally with whirlwind engagements it was expected that they wouldn’t last. But, with Lesley and Summer I had really thought that they would stand the test of time. I loved him too much to break the fragile happiness he had, though it turns out someone was going to do it for me anyway.

Lesley was still holding a torch for her, I could tell by the way he got a little melancholic sometimes when he talked to me. I did my best to get his mind off of it, that’s why we were here, on this unremarkable beach.

I was glad I at least did something good when I whisked him away to the beach for a while so he wouldn’t have to see Summer or be reminded of her. I knew that eventually we’d have to go back, but it was nice to pretend in this utopia I had crafted for us for the time being, even if the beach was slightly shitty. And, I meant that literally; there was tons of uncleared bird poop everywhere. We had to find a specific spot that was somewhat secluded to find a spot not covered in it.

When he came back with our drinks, it was a little more graceful than the first time, though the worker still laughed when his back was turned, which earned him a glare from me. As we sipped on our slushies while sitting on a rickety bench by the beach, I contemplated everything that had happened in recent months. I had been by his side through it all, mostly with my eyes blown wide at how ridiculous it all was.

Six months ago we had been very different people, sure we had the same personalities and acted relatively the same. But, our experiences over the last months have changed us into different people. I still knew Lesley, better than anyone, and certainly better than Summer claimed.

It was getting too difficult to keep trapped up inside anymore, each day I chose to say nothing made it even more painful. I sucked on my staw, trying to keep it bottled up, keeping it down by the colorful ice that tasted artificially sweet. It felt like I was choking on the love, it wanted to spill out and compel me to confess even though I didn’t want to.

Before I even knew what I was saying it started to tumble out, bubbling up to the surface getting ready to explode any friendship Lesley and I had,

“I know you never will feel the same way, but I have to tell you this,” He cocked his head to the side in question, not expecting what was about to come out of my mouth next, “I love you.”

His mind had obviously short circuited going by the look on his face, jaw dropped open, eyes blown wide, and fingers shaking in shock. It took him a minute to process, frozen in the same place trying to understand what I had just said.

Not long ago he had made the same confession to someone that ultimately ended up leaving him heartbroken. I was afraid I was due for my own dose of unrequited love.

His body must have caught up with his mind as he stood up, knocking over his red colored slushy in the process, staining the sand. He was rubbing the front of his khaki shorts in panic, I grabbed them without thinking; he could hate me now and never want to touch me again.

However, he did not pull away from me, in fact he gripped my hands in a tighter hold while he also squeezed his eyes shut a few times. I opened my mouth to say something, but found myself completely choked up at Lesley’s own admission, “I love you too.”

“I thought you still loved Summer?” Tears were falling down my face, but each drop was quickly brushed to the side by my hands, not wanting to have Lesley see me cry. I had thought Summer had meant the world to him, the way he looked at her made me think that he’d never look at me the same way. I had never even thought to turn around and see if he was looking at me in the first place.

“No, I don’t she was- Never mind it doesn’t even matter. All that matters is that I love you- it’s always been you. You’re the only person who really knows me, really sees me for me.” His hands enveloped my cheeks with cold from him holding the slushy cup while he said his own confession, much more wordy than my own. With his confession heat began to bloom in my cheeks, warming up his cold hands. They were warming up from sheer embarrassment rather than the sun that was still beating down on us overhead. It seemed so silly now, to keep my love for him secret while he walked into a romance his heart wasn’t fully in.

“I’m sorry.” I meekly whispered, dipping my head down in shame.

“Why are you sorry?”

“Because I didn’t tell you…” He then tipped my head up to look at him with confidence I didn’t often see from him.

“You told me now and- that’s all that matters.” Bridging the gap that had slowly been decreasing between the two of us, surprisingly he initiated the kiss.

His lips tasted like the cherry slushy he had been drinking, mixed with the blue raspberry one I had been downing. It was a sugary sweet combo almost sickly, but all I wanted was more. I had deprived myself of the sugar I had been pining for, for so long, I didn’t care if it was somewhat overwhelming to my taste buds.

We had both been idiots, colossal idiots for not getting the nerve to open our mouths and speak up to one another. Though maybe I was the bigger idiot because I had watched him pretend to love someone else, not noticing all the looks he had probably thrown my way. I had been so convinced that he would never love me back that I let the sweetness of him be used by someone else, even though it was always meant for me. Running my fingers through his hair I pulled him even closer to me, touching him without pause or thought of the repercussions. It felt good to be free, like I was flying high up above the clouds unrestricted by my own self doubting thoughts that always tried to sabotage me.

Lesley had been kissing me back with the same amount of force as I was, not a shred of hesitation in sight as he sucked on my bottom lip. Unfortunately I had to let him go when I noticed the concession’s vendor eyeing the two of us while eating a bag of peanuts. Glaring hard again at the man I then refocused onto Lesley, and I never wanted to stop looking. He seemed disappointed at first when we seperated; he had tried to chase my lips as if that would be his first and only taste. I gave him a quick kiss on the tip of his button nose, another taste of the affection he’d be treated to as long as he’d let me give it to him. Speaking softly I then expanded on my confession from earlier, “I promise there’ll be more where that came from- I love you and I never want to let you go.”

He looked down at our intertwined fingers still with shock, he brought them up to his lips, giving his own affection to the tops of my hands with two sweet pecks. “I love you too.” He then mumbled into our palms, giving them one last peck before releasing them.

Tugging his hands I then walked backwards towards our shitty hotel rooms that matched the shitty beach, though I wouldn’t be separating from him once we reached mine. “Come on let’s go.” I said with another tug before breaking out into a run with him right behind, ready to start our adventure of requited love.

Ask Me Anything

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catboyroycebracket · 2 years

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Seeing your transistor posts always immediately throw me back into obsessing over it. Do you have any thoughts on the country? Surface level it feels like a sort of 'heaven' to cloudbank but (and I might be misremembering/ reading too much into it) it feels almost like a sort of paradise in comparison to cloudbank

>:) !!! proud to reignite such an obsession!!!! the country is SO mysterious its so much fun.. it mostly raises even more questions about the worlds structure for me. its like, this "higher" layer/plane of semi-digital (digitized?) existence, where cloudbank is the "base" layer and the process is on an unseen "slightly below base" layer, but this doesnt at all explain how cloudbank came to be, just how digital vs tangible it is, or how one enters cloudbank to begin with.. its so strange!! you can get in but you cant get out.. and it is INSIDE the transistor .......

i believe mr kasavin talked about how an important aspect of the city vs country worldbuilding he wanted to establish was making it apparent that for cloudbank citizens theres an even *better* place to live. even though cloudbank is an idyllic utopia where pain is near nonexistant and everyone spends their lives doing what they love most to better their city.. theres still an even *more* idyllic and *more* utopic place thats extremely desirable. you will work hard enough to retire and earn a vacation outside the city forever.. the country is poised as this perfect escape from the already-perfect city where things will be forever most perfect.. yet no one knows anything about it..

the city vs country theming for mortal life vs afterlife is also fascinating. the concept of structuring your entire life around working but then upon death you Never work again.. vocation is something chosen and beloved by cloudbank citizens and its implied they dont work for survival or under any sort of oppressive conditions.. so why would you aspire to one day finish it and never return..? and the fact everyone chooses for themself when to die.. this Contrast of living for work and dying to never work again HAS to have an alternate meaning for this world that just!!! isnt told to us!!!!! how could a city where technology is advanced to the point of eradicating illness, a city where everyone is given a direct purpose to follow, have a visitation time limit after which you are to wander an infinite farm under an infinite sky......!!!!!!

"see you in the country" sounds like a blessing/wish/farewell phrase of sorts but may be fully literal? the way citizens refer to it cryptically as in an almost metaphorical way suggests its un-studyable and possibly just an aspiration, the same way the word "heaven" functions in everyday language without attachment to any specific religious beliefs, but then the fact we SEE onscreen that the country is indeed real and does look like a countryside!!!!!!! is even more mysterious!!!!!!! how did they know to call it the country if you cannot view it or know anything about it when youre in the city!!!!!! is "the country" just a nickname??? does it look like a countryside for all that go there or was that specific to our protagonists??!!??! the fact we actually see the elusive paradisiacal otherworld in the bittersweet ending we fought so hard for is so puzzling!!!!!! are all dead people in the same country ? if not, can they venture out and meet eachother?? are they immortal there like in the christian concepts of an afterlife? can they go really Never go back to the city? how do they function there if their existence in the city was something controlled by a digital system.. how different is that system between country and city.. what even is there to do there.. there has to be more to it thats just never shown to us.

its all so mysterious. i DONT know whats up!!!!! but its my personal belief that the camerata get really into baking wherever they are in there 😏

#would lov to hear others' observations and conclusions on the topic :) tysm for asking!!!!#ask #mytext

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swordoforion · 3 years

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Orion Digest №42 - The Crossroads of Human History: Why We Should Persist

The events of the past few centuries have brought the threat of extinction closer than it has arguably ever been. War, pollution, disease - as much as the human race has come together with modern innovations, we have also opened the door to the end of human history, and our choices now will determine the future of billions, if not potential trillions. Will we die in a hate-fueled inferno, or stride atop the surfaces of distant planets? Will we drag all of life on Earth down with us, or will we learn to find harmony with it? While there have been many tumultuous times in the history of our species, the idea of it coming to an end makes this time especially vital.

And yet, there are many who argue that perhaps humanity does not deserve to live on, or that it simply cannot. There are some who object to our past and current actions, and believe that human nature prevents us from living peacefully and logically. They think that even if we did survive, we'd be at each other's throats, and it would only spell suffering for many at the hands of few. Others raise the moral flag in regards to our effects upon other species and nature, citing our haphazard destruction as grounds for us to die so that other species may live. Some believe that existence itself simply isn't worth the costs it requires upon the individual.

It is hard to deny that human history has been filled with suffering, and what is worse, unequal and unjust suffering. There have been many souls who, by their mere appearance, have been condemned to live life treated differently than others, spending their days in fear, and working their whole lives just to find some semblance of comfort. Progress has been made on some social fronts, but that fight is far from over, and with a great many problems of our own design on the rise, it is safe to say that the toughest times of humanity may not yet be behind us. The world is getting hotter, the disasters are becoming rougher, the class divide and associated required labor from the working class is increasing, and we still haven't yet cracked the goal of equality.

The situation, admittedly, can seem rather hopeless. And, with the storm on the horizon, we might have the first opportunity in history to stop the race entirely - before things get worse, we have the option to end the human race through whatever means are available, and be done with all of it. We, as the human race, stand at the crossroads of human history, and are granted two choices - accept our destruction, guaranteeing an end to suffering, or persist on, going into the unknown and chancing that our circumstances will worsen. It is a question that has been asked many, many times.

So, what reason do we have to persist, in the face of all that is horrid and terrifying in the world?

As painful as life can be, most people choose to keep living it. Buried beneath the poignant pains and toils, there are brighter things in the world. Large joys that give us purpose, small joys that brighten our day. There is even meaning in pain - by knowing what it feels like to lose or hurt, we appreciate much more how it feels to win or remain safe. The grand knowledge of all that there is and could be in the world - the sights around us, the stories we tell, the friends we love, the memories we cherish - when simply put to the background of our perception, they may not seem worth as much, but to weigh those below the void of non-existence, they are rather valuable.

What is more, we assume that we must go on without improvement, that this crisis we face is all that humans can be or amount to. What is past cannot be changed, but the knowledge of our past gives us the ability to learn from it, and we have proven time and time again that the human mind can conquer anything in its path given time and reason. If we have the ability to subjugate ourselves, to put ourselves in so grave of danger that it could spell not only the end of Earth's dominant species, but potentially most of life on Earth, surely we also have the ability to undo what we have wrought. It is merely a matter of how we order ourselves and where we shift our weight. Given the knowledge and push, the suffering we believe is inevitable could be lifted, Earth made a utopia.

It is a risk to rely on the hope that humanity will settle its issues, but the chance becomes more assured the more we believe in it, the more we support it. If we assume it to be impossible, something unachievable, then it will become so. All those who argue that human nature is to be violent, angry, and spiteful see only a sample of humans forced to resort to their animalistic natures for survival. When one is forced to fight tooth and nail for food and shelter - as one must do in the job market so they may earn money for necessities - they will of course put their survival as a priority. Raised in a world where the value of wealth and luxury is placed on so high a pedestal, it makes sense that people would rush to assure their security, even at the cost of others, for how many would risk their own downfall for a stranger when raised to do the opposite?

However, the unique quality of humans is that with our intelligence and empathy, we can overcome these instincts and fears, rising higher into levels of psychological need and actualization, where we see the strings that hold the puppets. We can come to understand that the system of economy, if managed adequately, could easily be made to support all who live under it, and that with understanding, we could prosper together. We may have within us animal instincts, but if we can understand them, we can control them. Human society already does, in its own way, harness the power of human behavior, manipulating each and every citizen to act in a way that perpetuates its qualities, positive and negative.

The toils and struggles of human existence, that drive many to wish that they had never been born, are human in origin. We are aware of this fact, and while a difficult task, we could one day hope to create a future in which new generations are born, still laboring and having their own individual struggles, but never unjustly, and never without the accompanying joy and hope. It is one thing to push a stone up a hill, and another entirely to do it in chains. It is hard to envision a better world when you have spent your entire life in one; for all you know, it is entirely imaginary, and impossible to achieve. You have spent all your time meeting maybe a handful of people (if any who don't ultimately buy into the flaws of the system in some way; how could there conceivably exist an entire society who behaves as such? From an insider's point of view, flawed is all humanity might ever be.

But that is just it - humanity is both gifted with the ability to see past our mundane perceptions and illusions, as well as to allow our minds to settle into them. It lets us have the foresight to know that the illusion can be shattered, and that we can overcome what we believe to be absolute, while also not being so overcome by such presence of mind that we view life in terms of numbers and psychology, savoring the joy and feeling true the fear. Our emotions and logic affect one another, with the realization of change accompanied by hope, and the frustrating monotony of the world bringing about hopelessness and fear. The same world can cause one mind to imagine life as a purposeless bout of pain, while bringing another to see the beauty and majesty that does exist, and can exist in even greater measure.

The difference in the two is circumstance - what side of the world are you raised in, and what do you see? We know, through logic, that our problems are based on economics, government, and the socialization bred via layered ignorance. A child can be raised in a healthy manner, given the chance to learn about the world around them and respectfully form their own identity, and have the belief that life is indeed worth living, with happiness worth the pursuit of it. However, that same child could have instead been thrown through different traumatic events, and trapped by the demands and expectations of the world around them while they still struggle to process it all. The second child will know the world as cruel, and may lack trust - for what would trust bring them but possibly greater pain? Pain they could not hope to bear?

Which side is right about the world, and not merely the constructed world of humans, but the metaphysical world that is existence itself, in all its infinite potential? If we made such relatively small adjustments as changing how we view mental health and allowing for more personalized models of labor, the entire universe for one person could change, the grand picture of existence reshaped by something as small as policy and structure. While able to understand the concept of things beyond our own point of view, the truth is that these bleak ideas of nihilism come from a perspective that only views the world through a small lens, that sees the horrors and mistakes we have made, but not the capacity to change, if we knew we were able. It is a self-perpetuating cycle - we created a hopeless world which convinces us it is hopeless, and so we continue to create a hopeless world which convinces future generations, and so on, but if we were to break the cycle and take advantage of our ability to change the world, no longer would people be convinced and raised to act so terribly.

At this crossroads of human history, the question is asked - if we brought ourselves to the brink, should we just fall in, rather than potentially making it worse? This question is asked by those who have only ever known the cruel world, watching others taught that it is acceptable to treat others with such disgusting indifference. However, to broaden the lens and see that it was ignorance that caused the first misstep, bringing us through a domino chain to where we are today, tells us that if we are capable of destroying the world, we are certainly capable of changing it. Which option we take is ultimately a matter of which we believe in. If we believe that humans can be good and overcome our animal natures, I have full faith that it will happen. If we believe that humans are incapable of doing so, then we may very well perish.

Between the two options, I have given much thought. For the sake of those that might come into this world just to suffer, I hesitate to say it is worth it for those who might come afterwards in an improved world - sacrificing lives not just to death but torture, all for the happiness of those who have not yet been born. However, this assumes suffering will become an eventuality, and if we were to actively seek humanity's demise, so would suffering result in the inter-rim. To give up hope entirely ensures things will not get better; to persist means that very well could. Instead of wasting time arguing about how bad things could get if we fail, it would do much better to get up and fight to ensure that we don't. Even if we are unsuccessful, is it not better to die in hope than in misery?

And so, I believe that when faced with the choice of dying here at the crossroads or continuing onward into the unknown depths of the future, the latter choice is entirely worthwhile, despite the sentiments of others. We cannot wipe off the stains of our history and ignorance, but we can ensure that the deaths of all those who perished under the sword of injustice do not go unavenged. New children could be born one day, the groundwork for a better and more informed start beneath their feet, and live the lives their ancestors dreamed of, carrying on that hope. And those that march on in the future will appreciate our decision to fight on another day more than we can ever know.

- DKTC FL

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dutydreamed · 3 years

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pick five tropes for your character!

01. BADASS BOOKWORM

These characters are quiet, smart, and seemingly physically unimposing, but with Hidden Depths of formidable physical and practical skills. They are Brains and Brawn, with brains dominant, if not quite Strong and Skilled.

Their physical abilities might result from applying their genius to solve physical challenges like they were math problems. Their attention to detail might also result in a Diagnosis from Dr. Badass. While some badass bookworms are surprisingly strong, others might be Weak, but Skilled, relying on flawless technique or supernatural abilities. Sometimes a bookworm can lack any special physical traits, but has access to an Impossibly Cool Weapon or enough firepower to make toe-to-toe combat, as they say, academic. A favorite weapon of the bookworm might even be what's always close at hand.

Elderly examples are often Old Masters who have spent decades contemplating philosophy and punching trees in half. Another common type is the Adventurer Archaeologist, who spends as much time studying in the University as that type does evading the poison-tipped arrows of angry natives. If the bookworms are a bit ditzy or talented but lack common-sense/etc, expect them to be Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass. If they prefer not to fight, doing so only when they must, then they have Minored in Ass-Kicking. They are very likely to wear Specs of Awesome. In a Five-Man Band specializing in Brains, a Badass Bookworm might as well be The Big Guy.

The trope is the converse of Genius Bruiser. A Badass Bookworm looks like your standard geek, but then displays a surprising amount of physical prowess, whereas a Genius Bruiser looks big, strong, and tough, then unexpectedly shows off an intellectual side. See Muggle with a Degree in Magic if their bookworm side is what's making them impressive.

02. SPIRITED YOUNG LADY

There is a certain kind of character commonly found in historical fiction set in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (though she can appear earlier or later, too). Her literary ancestress can be found in some of the best-loved novels of the Regency and Victorian eras. She is the girl who bends the rules just a little. Oh, she can dance a country dance or pour tea with the best of them, but she may also be a good walker or horseback rider. She may be the most intelligent girl in the story, and she is almost certainly the wittiest and the most outspoken, sometimes earning her the title of spitfire. She may be talented in more practical ways, as well: if given the opportunity, she may turn out to be a wise investor, and she may harbor talent for music, writing, or art that goes beyond drawing room entertainment and might become a means of financial independence if necessary. In rare cases, she may even solve a murder. Though she occasionally runs into some trouble, especially if she fails to obey the powers that be, she usually comes through in the end. She will be the Veronica of a Betty and Veronica love triangle, and the hero is likely to find her more enticing than her more docile sisters.

The Spirited Young Lady has the same grace and style as the Proper Lady plus an added spark of attitude or rebellion that is missing from her more-prim-and-proper literary cousin. This is what makes her such a popular character today: she is the character modern audiences can most admire or relate to. In historical fiction, she is likely to be a proto-feminist. In nineteenth-century literature, she may not speak out for women's rights generally (a few examples do), but she will speak out for her rights pretty clearly. Her willingness to say what she wants is part of what makes her stand out.

03. UNDYING LOYALTY

A character characterized by their loyalty. Can be a trait of both heroes and villains. Most of them are supporting characters, intended as sympathetic. Indeed, if used on a villain, it can sometimes be used to flesh them out and give them redeeming qualities. Alternatively, it can be negatively portrayed as a threat to conscience.

When given to a main character or one in an authority position, expect it to manifest itself in protective instinct: as a Papa Wolf or The Caretaker or someone who is A Father to His Men. When given to a Sidekick, expect it to be an unselfish willingness to support the main character. It can also be given to friends who, despite their differences, are genuinely fond of the other, and bonus points if it works both ways.

Should the object of this loyalty die, expect generous helpings of Due to the Dead as the loyal one works to honor the fallen one's memory.

See also: My Country, Right or Wrong, My Master, Right or Wrong, Thicker Than Water, I Will Wait for You and I Am Spartacus. An Act of True Love will often be used to prove how loyal one character is to another, by having them perform a great sacrifice to show that they'll put someone else's needs before their own.

Similar to but not to be confused with Blind Obedience, where a character follows unquestioningly believing their liege to be infallible. A loyal character isn't necessarily defined as a perpetual Yes-Man, and may know when to defy or contradict the subject of their devotion, especially if it's as much for their well being as their own. At times this trope might actually come at the expense of those they follow, since they will generally not obey an order that comes at their expense or abandonment.

04. STRANGER IN A FAMILIAR LAND

A character returns home after a long absence and finds that they no longer fit in, either because their home has changed too much over time, because they themselves were changed by their experiences or both. In the second case, it can lead to a But Now I Must Go sentiment. In less extreme cases, the character may eventually settle down again with some effort.

Prominent real-life examples are usually based on soldiers returning home, most commonly from World War I or The Vietnam War, or prisoners who find after serving their sentences that they can't adapt to life "outside". This is also relatively common among anthropologists and related fieldworkers who come home after a long stint in another society only to realize how bizarre their own culture really is. Another common case is people who were raised in another culture who travel back to their family's homeland — despite sharing cultural ties due to their family's past, they experience Heritage Disconnect and find themselves alienated due to their foreign upbringing.

Present in Western literature as early as in Homer's The Odyssey, making it Older Than Feudalism.

Related to You Can't Go Home Again, Never Accepted in His Hometown, Going Native, and possibly So What Do We Do Now?. This experience may be part of causing the character in question to go From Camouflage to Criminal. Occasionally overlaps with Where It All Began. Contrast Home Sweet Home — although this trope may also make the character realize that his home is no longer the place where he used to live. He may find that his old bed is too soft and he now Prefers Rocks to Pillows.

05. I DID WHAT I HAD TO DO

Sometimes a decent person has to do something bad because it is the only way to prevent something worse from happening. 'I Did What I Had To Do' generally involves an after-the-fact justification for morally questionable actions. The culprit presents this statement when he's confronted with a "What Were You Thinking?" or "What the Hell, Hero?" reaction from someone (particularly The Heart) to whom he owes an explanation.

The questioned character will generally say, "I did what I had to do." And, more often than not, nothing else.

The consequences of such an action vary, of course, depending on the work's place in the Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism. A character who sincerely regrets the 'necessary' action is likely to regard it as Dirty Business, suffer Past Experience Nightmares, or try to forget through chemical means. Someone who realizes they don't feel all that bad about the 'necessity' may be suffering from Start of Darkness. A character who was already rather amoral might say this only because they're upset that they had to get their hands dirty.

Generally associated with OOC Is Serious Business. Compare Well-Intentioned Extremist and It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time. When the character's motivation is her responsibility to those under her command, see The Chains of Commanding. If the consequences shown actually justify the action, then The Extremist Was Right. A character growing too comfortable with 'doing what I had to do' is guilty of a Reverse Slippery Slope Fallacy. Can be a Moral Event Horizon if it was particularly cruel or if they're particularly callous and nonchalant about it when confronted. If invoked large-scale by a Visionary Villain, it's Utopia Justifies the Means. Also, see Just Following Orders.

TAGGED BY: @standbetween

TAGGING: @edithmaslow @wclfdreamt @papilosomnia @inqisita @highaever and you, yes you reading this right now

#there are many names in history (codex).#well-intentioned extremist also applies post-trespasser :)

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arcticdementor · 3 years

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“Hey bro! Check out this Nike ad!” This was my entry point into a new world.

…

Since Carlos had lived mostly outside the United States, he was able to follow soccer on a level I’d never encountered in my hometown. Back then, before social media and the advent of scarf-wearing Northwestern fútbol hipsters, big-time European soccer was like the metric system: Known to almost all but ourselves. But Carlos knew, and immediately used LimeWire to curate me a massive archive of 1990s through early 2000s soccer highlights. What was I doing in the world without them?

Oddly enough, in trying to inculcate me in soccer fandom, he started not with game highlights, but with the advertisements. Yes, Carlos was an educator and a voluntary footsoldier for Big Apparel. Going in, I had no clue about high-quality, internationally popular Nike soccer ads. The ads, written by the legendary Wieden+Kennedy firm, were miniature movies, films that were often creatively daring but also quite funny. The most popular of these ads might be “Good vs. Evil,” from 1996, where Nike’s best soccer players team up to play Satan’s literal army. The blending of sacrilege, theology and comedy just worked, like a more ambitious version of Space Jam that somehow took itself less seriously than Space Jam.

…

Yes, I know ads aren’t supposed to be high art. I understand that they are the purest distillation of manipulative greed. And yet, they sometimes are culturally relevant generational touchstones. While Nike was weaving soccer into enduring pop culture abroad, it was having a similar kind of success with basketball and baseball stateside. These ads weren’t just pure ephemera. Michael Jordan’s commercials were so good that, as he nears age 60, his sneaker still outsells any modern athlete’s. “Chicks dig the long ball” is a phrase (a) that can get you sent to the modern HR department and b) whose origins are fondly remembered by most American men over the age of 35.

Modern Nike ads will never be so remembered. It’s not because we’re so inundated with information these days, though we are. And it’s not because today’s overexposed athletes lack the mystique of the 1990s superstars, though they do. It’s because the modern Nike ads are beyond fucking terrible.

…

They’re bad for many causes, but one in particular is an incongruity at the company’s heart. Nike, like so many major institutions, is suffering from what I’ll call Existence Dissonance. It’s happening in a particular way, for a particular reason and the result is that what Nike is happens to be at cross-purposes from what Nike aspires to be.

…

For all the talk of a racial reckoning within major industries, Nike’s main problem is this: It’s a company built on masculinity, most specifically Michael Jordan’s alpha dog brand of it. Now, due to its own ambitions, scandals, and intellectual trends, Nike finds masculinity problematic enough to loudly reject.

This rejection is part of the broader culture war, but it’s accelerating due to an arcane quirk in the apparel giant’s strange restructuring plan, announced in June. Under the leadership of new CEO John Donahoe, Nike is moving away from its classic discrete sports categories (Nike Basketball, Nike Soccer, etc.) in favor of a system where all products are shoveled into one of three divisions: men’s, women’s and kids’. Obviously Nike made clothing tailored to the specificities of all these groups before, but now, Nike is emphasizing gender over sport. Gone is the model of the product appealing to basketball fans because they are basketball fans. It’s now replaced by a model of, say, the product appealing to women because they are women.

And hey, women buy sneakers too. Actually, women buy the lion’s share of clothing in the United States. While women shoppers are market dominant in nearly every aspect of American apparel, the clothing multinational named after a Greek goddess happens to be a major exception. At Nike, according to its own records, men account for roughly twice as much revenue as women do.

You might see that stat and think, “Well, this means that Nike will prioritize men over women in its new, odd, gendered segmentation of the company.” That’s not necessarily how this all works, thanks to a phenomenon I’ll call Undecided Whale. The idea is that a company, as its aims grow more expansive, starts catering less to the locked-in core customer and more to a potential whale which demonstrates some interest. Sure, you can just keep doing what’s made you rich, but how can you even focus on your primary business with that whale out there, swimming so tantalizingly close? The whale, should you bring it in, has the potential to enrich you far more than your core customers ever did. And yeah yeah yeah, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, but those were birds. This is a damned whale! And so you start forgetting about your base.

You can see this dynamic in other places. For the NBA, China is its Undecided Whale. It could be argued that the NBA fixates more on China than on America, even if the vast majority of TV money comes from U.S. viewership. The league figures it has more or less hit its ceiling in its home country, so China becomes an obsession as this massive, theoretical growth engine.

…

Here’s the main issue for Nike in this endeavor: The company, as a raison d’être, promotes athletic excellence. While women are among Nike’s major sports stars, the core of high-level performance, in the overwhelming majority of sports, is male. Every sane person knows that, though nobody in professional class life seems rude enough to say so. Obviously, there’s the observable reality of who tends to set records and there’s also the pervasive understanding that testosterone, the main male sex hormone, happens to give unfair advantages to the athletes who inject it.

Speaking of which, there’s a famous This American Life episode from 2002 where the public radio journos actually test their own testosterone levels. The big joke of the episode is just how comically low their T levels are. Sure, you would stereotype bookish public radio men in this way, and yet the results are on the nose enough to shock.

As a nerdy media-weakling type, I can relate to the stunning realization that you’ve been largely living apart from T. Before working in the NBA setting, I was an intern in the cubicles of Salon.com’s San Francisco office, around the time it was shifting from respectable online magazine into inane outrage content mill. Going from that setting to the NBA locker room was some jarring whiplash, like leaving the faculty lounge for a pirate ship. To quote Charles Barkley on the latter culture, “The locker room is sexist, racist, and homophobic … and it’s fun and I miss it.”

…

The “Good vs. Evil” ad boasts a “Like” to “Dislike” ratio of 20-to-1 on YouTube. On June 17th of 2021, Nike put out an ad ahead of the Euro Cup that referenced “Good vs. Evil” as briefly as it could. In this case, a little child popped his collar and used Cantona’s catchphrase. As of this writing, the new ad has earned a thousand more punches of the Dislike than of the Like button.

When you see it, it’s no surprise that the latest Euro Cup ad is disliked. I mean, you have to look at this shit. I know we’re so numb to the ever-escalating emanations of radical chic from our largest corporations, but sometimes it’s worth pausing just to take stock and gawk.

…

But today we are in the land of new football, where we take dictatorial direction from less-than-athletic minors. After her announcement, we are treated to a montage of different people who offer tolerance bromides.

“There are no borders here!”

“Here, you can be whoever you want. Be with whoever you want.”

(Two men kiss following that line, because subtlety isn’t part of this new world order.)

Then, a woman who appears to be breastfeeding under a soccer shirt, threatens, in French, “And if you disagree …”

And this is when the little boy gives us Cantona’s “au revoir” line before kicking a ball out of a soccer stadium, presumably because that’s what happens to the ignorant soccer hooligan. He gets kicked out for raging against gay men kissing or French ladies breastfeeding or somesuch. Later, a referee wearing a hijab instructs us, “Leave the hate,” before narrator girl explains, “You might as well join us because no one can stop us.”

Is that last line supposed to be … inspiring? That’s what a movie villain says, like if Bane took the form of Stan Marsh’s sister. Speaking of which, was this ad actually written by the creators of South Park as an elaborate prank? It’s certainly more convincing as an aggressive parody of liberals than as a sales pitch. Why, in anything other than a comedic setup, is a woman breastfeeding in a big-budget Euro Cup ad?

It’s tempting to fall into the pro-vanguardism template the boomers have handed down to us and sheepishly say, “I must be getting old, because this seems weird to me,” but let’s get real. You dislike this ad because it sucks. You are having a natural, human response to shitty art. This a hollow sermon from a priest whose sins were in the papers. Nobody is impressed by what Nike’s doing here. Nobody thinks Nike, a multinational famous for its sweatshops, is ushering us into an enlightened utopia. Sure, most media types are afraid to criticize the ad publicly. You might inspire suspicion that what you’re secretly against is men kissing and women breastfeeding, but nobody actually likes the stupid ad. No college kid would show it to a new friend he’s trying to impress, and it’s hard to envision a massive cohort of Gen Z women giving a shit about this ad either.

Now juxtapose that ad not just against the classics of the 1990s but also the 2000s products that preceded the Great Awokening. Compare it to another Nike Euro Cup advertisement, Guy Ritchie’s “Take It to the Next Level.”

…

Here’s the problem, insofar as problems are pretended into existence by our media class: The ad is very, very male. Really, what we are watching here is a boyhood fantasy. Our protagonist gets called up to the big show, and next thing you know he’s cavorting with multiple ladies, and autographing titties to the chagrin of his date. He can be seen buying a luxury sports car and arriving at his childhood home in it as his father beams with pride. Training sessions show him either puking from exhaustion or playing grab-ass with his fellow soccer bros. This is jock life, distilled. Art works when it’s true and it’s true that this is a vivid depiction of a common fantasy realized.

Nike’s highly successful “Write the Future” ad (16,000 Likes, 257 Dislikes) works along similar themes.

…

The recent Olympic ads were especially heavy on cringe radical chic, and might have stood out less in this respect if the athletes themselves mirrored that tone on the big stage. Not so much in these Olympics. It seems as though Nike made the commercials in preparation for an explosion of telegenic activism, only to see American athletes mostly, quietly accept their medals, chomp down on the gold, and praise God or country. Perhaps you could consider Simone Biles bowing out of events due to mental health as a form of activism, but overall, the athletes basically behaved in the manner they would have back in 1996.

But Nike forged onwards anyway. This ad in celebration of the U.S. women’s basketball team made some waves, getting ripped in conservative media as the latest offense by woke capital.

…

“Today I have a presentation on dynasties,” a pink-haired teenage girl tells us. “But I refuse to talk about the ancient history and drama. That’s just the patriarchy. Instead, I’m going to talk about a dynasty that I actually look up to. An all-women dynasty. Women of color. Gay women. Women who fight for social justice. Women with a jump shot. A dynasty that makes your favorite men’s basketball, football, and baseball teams look like amateurs.”

When she says, “That’s just the patriarchy,” the camera pans to a bust of (I think) Julius Caesar. At another point, the girl says, “A dynasty that makes Alexander the Great look like Alexander the Okay.” Fuck you, Classical Antiquity. Fuck you, fans of teams. You’re all just the patriarchy. Or something.

Nike could easily sell the successful American women’s basketball team without denigrating other teams, genders and ancient Mediterranean empires that have nothing to do with this. Could but won’t. The company now conveys an almost visceral need for women to triumph over men because … well, nobody really explains why, even if it has something to do with Undecided Whaling. In Nike’s tentpole Olympics ad titled “Best Day Ever,” the narrator fantasizes about the future, declaring, “The WNBA will surpass the NBA in popularity!”

…

There are theories on the emergence of woke capital, with many having observed that, following Occupy Wall Street, media institutions ramped up on census category grievance. The thinking goes that, in response to the threat of a real economic revolution, the power players in our society pushed identity politics to undermine group solidarity. Well, that was a fiendishly brilliant plan, if anyone actually hatched it.

I’m not so convinced, though, as I’m more inclined to believe that a lot of history happens by happenstance. If we’re to specifically analyze the Nike Awokening, there is a recent top-down element of a mandate for Undecided Whaling, but that mandate was preceded by a socially conscious middle class campaign within the company.

This isn’t unique to Nike, either. Given my past life covering the team that tech moguls root for, I’ve run into such people. They aren’t, by and large, ideological. Very few are messianically devoted to seeing the world through the intersectionality lens. They are, however, terrified of their employees who feel this way. The mid-tier labor force, this cohort who actually internalized their university teachings, are full of fervor and willing to risk burned bridges in favor of causes they deem righteous. The big bosses just don’t want a headline-making walkout on their hands, so they placate and mollify, eventually bending the company’s voice into language of righteousness.

…

All the guilt and atonement transference make for bad art. And so the ads suck. There’s no Machiavellian conspiracy behind the production. It’s just a combination of desperately wanting female market share and desperately wanting to move on from the publicized sins of a masculine past. So, to message its ambitions, the exhausted corporation leans on the employees with the loudest answers.

There’s a lot of interplay between Nike and Wieden+Kennedy when the former asks the latter for a type of ad, but the through line from both sides is a lot of cooks in the kitchen. Based on conversations with people who’ve worked in both environments, there’s a dearth of personnel who are deeply connected to sports. In place of a grounding in a subculture, you’re getting ideas from folks who went to nice colleges and trendy ad schools, the type of people who throw words like “patriarchy” at the screen to celebrate a gold medal victory. The older leaders, uneasy in their station and thus obsessed with looking cutting edge, lean on the younger types because the youth are confident. Unfortunately, that confidence is rooted in an ability to regurgitate liturgy, rather than generative genius. They’ve a mandate to replace a marred past, which they leap at, but they’re incapable of inventing a better future.

…

Ironically, Nike mattered a lot more in the days when its position was less dominant. Back when it had to really fight for market share, it made bold, genre-altering art. The ads were synonymous with masculine victory, plus they were cheekily irreverent. And so the dudes loved them. Today, Nike is something else. It LARPs as a grandiose feminist nonprofit as it floats aimlessly on the vessel Michael Jordan built long ago. Like Jordan himself, Nike is rich forever off what it can replicate never. Unlike Jordan, it now wishes to be known for anything but its triumphs. Nike once told a story and that story resonated with its audience. Now it’s decided that its audience is the problem. It wouldn’t shock you to learn that Carlos hated the new Nike ads I texted to him. His exact words were, “I don’t want fucking activism from a sweatshop monopoly.” He’ll still buy the gear, though, just not the narrative. Nike remains, but the story about itself has run out. Au revoir.

#ethan strauss #nike #sports #substack

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dailytechnologynews · 5 years

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Society should shift towards a technology and science focus and away from consumerism and amassing wealth

It seems that humanities' current purpose is largely to make money, pay taxes, and die. If you're able to escape to a different purpose it still revolves around your capacity to earn money, which usually is driven by a consumer based economy, pay taxes, and die.

If you're an artist, you are typically only making money if your art can make money for someone. For video games, if there isn't a profit involved then it doesn't get made. People sacrifice quality and passion to drive profits. But what are these profits after all? Essentially they're the individual's ability to amass more wealth and that wealth is used to amass more consumer goods.

What if, instead, a higher emphasis were placed on advancing science and technology for the betterment of all of the planet? If everyone looked away from consumer goods and could contribute to a higher purpose, then even mind numbing jobs would have more meaning than simply acquiring wealth for consumerism and survival. Instead, now you're working to improve the advancement of all of humanity, because your tax contributions (for example) are focused on giving all of humanity greater advancements in science and medicine and tech which would, in turn, make life easier and enriched for everyone.

The excess wealth would not be amassed by individuals which is sat on and squandered, but it would expand and enrich these pursuits which have the primary purpose of automating processes and providing solutions to problems which all humans face.

Imagine if a medical program had trillions of dollars at its disposal worth of power, instead of a few hundred humans having that wealth between themselves for no reason other than that they invested it half a century ago?

I know this is a radical attack on our current principles and economics but I think that we need to make a drastic shift because the rates of suicide and depression are very obvious indicators that humans are not content with slavery to a perpetual system of stepping on each other for the sake of profits and increasing individual bank accounts.

Cant we, instead of fighting and hoarding for a better future, work towards sincerely creating as close to a utopia as possible without individual wealth and power being a concern? What if there is simply a solution through future tech that every human can experience happiness and have all of the necessities they require for a healthy and fulfilling life? What if it doesn't involve owning mansions and drowning in excess? What if that could be experienced through future virtual reality for personal pleasure instead of actual reality at the expense of so many billions of humans lives?

I think we have come to a point where this is actually possible. Maybe not in the next ten years. But I think it is something that can be worked towards. It would involve cooperation and genuine interest in providing our societies most brilliant minds with the propensity they need to achieve the greatest groundbreaking achievements possible in the shortest amount of time.

Currently many limitations in science, medicine, and technology are set by financial limits. Why should this be the case? I think that our planet has enough resources and enough hard working and intelligent people that we could achieve a far greater version of life than the average person currently experiences. Imagine instead of having to choose between buying a new fancy car and a new fancy house if you were already content and happy with what you have and you were able to choose how you spend your free time with your friends and family? I think time is more valuable than the pursuit of consumer goods. We could provide much needed time and peace of mind to more people if our science and tech allowed us to.

Why do we not have bright minds focused towards these pursuits by giving them the tools they need to do so? We put so much emphasis on working long hours to amass wealth to make the next expensive clothing or the next fast car or the next big television, but these things are empty temporary pleasures that have very little happiness value compared to a harmonious society where people rely on advanced possibilities, technologies/scientific & medical breakthroughs of the future which are no longer a dream because we have all contributed to making them real here and now instead of simply wishing.

It would be possible for everyone to have everything they could dream of in an advanced virtual reality for example. Why do we need physical goods and waste and byproducts of waste as things and stuff just grow obsolete or damaged and constantly replaced by the next shiny things and stuff?

This is a little bit of a rambling but it's an idea I had and thought I'd share it. Maybe I'm not able to make sense of this idea any better. Perhaps some of you can throw your ideas out there as well. Even if we are just dreaming, I think dreams are important and eventually become reality when people see incentive in them. A lot of talk of socialism seems to still revolve around profits and an archaic sense of monetary wealth. I just feel that our current technology has shown that this system is becoming obsolete and we should shift towards something better. I know rich people wont like this as much as poor people because they have a hand up on everyone, but what if that hand up is unnecessary and what if your happiness could increase along with everyone else's by owning and being part of an advanced civilization instead of sitting in the 21st century still arguing over 17th century ideologies?

#Futurology #Technology #Tech #Studies #Humanity #Development #New #Gadgets

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anniekoh · 5 years

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elsewhere on the internet: utopia / dystopia

Another Word: The Trouble with Utopia by Kelly Robson (Jan 2019)

So, here’s my Utopia: A post-scarcity, borderless world where everyone freely pursues their bliss and nobody dies in war or lives in fear. It’s crowded and there’s very little privacy, but those trade-offs suit me just fine. How about you? You likely aren’t willing to make these same trade-offs to get a post-scarcity, borderless world. You might not even want a post-scarcity, borderless world. Your Utopia is probably completely different, and the trade-offs you’re willing to make for it might make it a dystopia for me. So, if we can’t agree on what makes a Utopia, can we even make one?

Strategy of Wildness by Jack Halberstam (Feb 2019)

At the end of the film Looking for Langston (1989), Isaac Julien’s beautiful meditation on the life and desires of Langston Hughes, a mixed group of black and white gay men are dancing in a warehouse. As the music speeds up and the dancing becomes wild, scenes of a white male mob gathering outside cut in and out of the speakeasy scene... But at the climax of this montage, the police and the white thugs enter a space that is empty and they encounter only the traces of the dancers. The dancers, who have engaged rituals of joyful mourning that exceed conventional religious practices, have now left the space for an elsewhere that we do not see and on behalf of a practice of evacuation that eludes theory. They are elsewhere and will remain elsewhere. The dancers, as one poet has it, “are all gone under the hill.”

The practitioners of queer and black leisure, who leave by the back door to avoid confrontation, refuse the oppositions of right and wrong, black and white, the law and outlaws, straight and gay in favor of the destitution of the space of encounter. Julien’s dancers, an undercommons of sorts, have not simply disappeared. As the police look around for the “deviants” they came to discipline, they see only smoke and mirrors, but the dancers live on in place that we cannot yet see, a place and time situated as Jose Munoz put it, in a “forward-dawning futurity,” a time to come when the utopian dreams of queerness will no longer be necessary.

[Still of two Black men in evening wear dancing, from Isaac Julien’s 1989 film Looking for Langston]

This is frightening. “A Rust Belt educator takes us through the grim realities of training to kill one of his own students.”

Teachers with Guns What happens when a school district votes to arm teachers? By Thomas Baxter (Feb 2019)

The training encourages this result. Everything about its vocabulary is designed to dehumanize our aim. The instructors’ military language—“soft targets” and “areas of operation” for schools, “threats” for shooters, “tactical equipment” for guns—rubs off. On the final day, a pep talk analogizes students with lambs. We are the sheepdogs, charged with protecting them from the wolves. I am aware that this is changing my way of thinking. I enjoy how I feel. It is a potent energy, a righteous virtue that seems completely earned. The training reassures me of my decision-making ability. The other recruits are undergoing the same shift. During downtime we discuss guns: which we plan to buy next, what ammo our districts will provide us, and how that ammo impacts a body. We have become gun nuts almost overnight.

And a fictionalized dramatized dystopia out of a real community.

Six myths about electronic waste in Agbogbloshie, Ghana by Maja van der Velden and Martin Oteng-Ababio (March 2019)

Let’s examine this statement, one sentence at a time: “Agbogbloshie, Accra is the largest electronic waste dump in the world.”

The part of Agbogbloshie where electronic waste is dismantled is not an e-waste dump, but a scrap metal yard. All kinds of machinery and household equipment, cars, buses, bicycles, generators, air conditioners, computers, etc. are taken apart for scrap and spare parts. The myth is often repeated that it is the largest e-waste dump in the world, despite the fact that there are many other sites in the world, actually specialized in e-waste, that are many times larger. For example, Giuyu, in China, employed at its peak 100,000 people and covered 52 square kilometers. The Agbogbloshie scrap metal yard occupies an area less than half a square kilometer! All scrap is brought in by the people who work there and who are organized by the Greater Accra Scrap Dealers Association.

...

The myths about the Agbogbloshie e-waste situation have been busted before (for example, here, here, here, and here). While Welcome to Sodom is clearly well-intentioned—especially by lifting the profile of minorities in the context of poverty in Ghana—it is not well informed. In fact, it is a good example of what Bennett called dramatization bias. Its images reinforce common cultural attitudes and values among an audience that has no opportunity to check the validity of the statements made in the documentary. The uninformed statements made in the documentary, combined with imagery that doesn’t distinguish between the scrap metal yard, the slum, and the household waste dump next to the yard, presents an uncomplicated objectionable image of Agbogbloshie as an e-waste dump. By portraying Agbogbloshie as an “apocalyptic society”, the film may even contribute to risks for those vulnerable people for whom it clearly seeks to generate sympathy.

What Future is There for America’s Desert Cities? By Saritha Ramakrishna (2018)

“The impact of the heat island in terms of warming the City of Phoenix is almost an order of magnitude greater than climate change, greater than global or regional warming,” Dr. Selover said. Though she does not expect that this will remain the case, this notion is counter to narratives that frame climate-related issues as matters of individual choice, as opposed to summative infrastructural ones. All of Phoenix’s development and its storied overlays play a role in these hazards—developers, sellers, and homebuyers alike.

Dr. Sharon Harlan, a sociologist who has studied Phoenix’s attempts to adapt to extreme heat and climate change over the course of its history. A faculty member at Northeastern University, Dr. Harlan met me for coffee on an unusually cold January morning. Some of her work has examined how microclimates relate to wealth. One of the studies she co-authored found that for every $10,000 increment in average household income in a neighborhood, the area’s land surface temperature was lower by half a degree Fahrenheit based on greater availability of vegetation and shade. Dr. Harlan said that for “neighborhoods that are most problematic in terms of heat and being barren landscapes, this is more of a neglect of attention from the city in terms of bringing poor people into the mainstream of development.”

#utopia #science fiction #dystopia #documentary

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mentallydatingahotcelebrity · 6 years

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Immigration without assimilation is not immigration, it is invasion.

~ Teddy Roosevelt

I expect this to generate some intelligent remarks, at least a few. Probably like five that don’t tell me to fuck myself and die in a hole or something. No one can have intelligent adult conversations anymore without pulling one of these cards when they realize they’re losing or can’t articulate their side of the argument any further:

Homophobic

Racist

Sexist

Xenophobic

Islamophobic

Transphobic

Nazi (guess no one knows how to write Neonazi anymore)

Bigot

And the list goes on from there. So I’m sort of daring you guys to have some nice, non-cursing, non-ranty, non-childish, non-slur-slinging, mature adult conversation with me. If we can’t agree, we can stop talking. You can go tell your friends about the uneducated freak on Tumblr who needs to burn in Dante’s Inferno and I’ll talk to the next person in the queue. I just want to talk; I don’t want to be insulted and I don’t want to insult anyone. Think of it this way: this is an exercise in respect and tolerance. If you can’t be tolerant and respectful, just walk away, that way no one gets angry and no one gets frustrated.

Because, honestly, I’d like to know from people -- especially the ones who champion this fabled notion of some sort of glorious, border-free utopia -- what you expect the result to be with these immigrants? Are you just going to allow them to come into these various countries, overrun the population, and eventually take over? I know you guys have this massive white-guilt complex and this “hate all whites” and “hate your country” ideology going on, despite a lot of you being white yourselves, but in spite of that I really want to know what you all are going to do when these people turn around and kill you in your ideal society. Because your ideal just isn’t factual or sensical.

It won’t work.

Literally every YA dystopian book series (Hunger Games, Maze Runner, Divergent, Harry Potter-- yes, even that one) prove that these “perfect utopias” we envision and dream of are actually dystopias and we will all be miserable in them. Especially communistic-based ones like Panem, where the belief that everyone can “get along as long as they stick to their place” suck and fail astronomically. People fight, they have differences of opinions, factions are created, people make borders.

I mean, that’s essentially Basic Human Existence 101. Find a space you can protect for you and your family group, then set a parameter around it so you can defend it. Dogs do this. Animals, for animals, it’s first instinct. Yet you guys seem to think that we can just drop borders -- a subconscious, animalistic, basic instinct -- and everything will be good and rosy and these flocking immigrants will just embrace the law-abiding citizens of the country happily?

Help me to understand from your perspective so I can feel some sympathy for you, because right now I’m just really confused. Not even dogs are so naif as to let other strange dogs into their territory without seriously sniffing (vetting, if you will; sometimes even fighting) them beforehand. Not even domesticated dogs can be bred enough not to have a parameter, no matter how long we breed docility into them.

I know that what I’m about to say will be very difficult for a lot of people to accept, but guys, immigrants, illegal immigrants, have no right to be anywhere outside of the country in which they were born. And countries that want to turn them away? They have every right to do so.

There’s literally nothing wrong with that, please understand; because inviting illegals in isn’t good nor is it helpful. Because, let me tell you this: the majority? They don’t like you, they don’t appreciate you, they don’t care how much you fought their corner, they just want stuff. (Specifically, the stuff they think you have which they envy.) They in fact, more often than not, hate you because you have stuff that they want and can’t get as fast as they want it.

I do not care how many of these immigrants are children, it’s irrelevant (children are being used to manipulate sympathies; it’s been done since forever. Think of the kids in the third Hunger Games book that get killed. It’s all emotional manipulation).

They [immigrants] must assimilate, learn the language, become citizens, or else I have no reason to care about them. The lack of respect for my country, the country they want to live in, proves that they haven’t yet earned the right to be here. The country they came from is crap (proven by stats and facts; I know you hate that to be said about a 3rd world country “it’s a hell hole” but it’s true; either work to make it untrue or move on) because they allowed it to be that way, so now they’re coming here to get away from their mess and the mess of their forefathers who were stupid-- usually the ones that thought democratic socialism was cool and Would Work (news flash it sucks ass and if you ever think it’s gonna work you need to go take a good long research dive into the USSR; aka Russia. Because communism fails every time and capitalism always works). They cannot come to our country or any other country where they think life will be better and try and make that country like their old country.

Stop feeling sorry for these guys and realize that they are using your extra-emotional feelings for their gain and you guys are buying their con.

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lizartgurl · 6 years

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So for your ocs could you do numbers 1 through 15?

1. How many different places have they lived?

Emma: Has traveled the world and speaks at least five different languages fluently. Can communicate somewhat effectively in ten others.Eliza: Has lived in Dakota City her whole life until she moved to BYU Idaho for school, and then Barcelona, Spain for a mission.Astra: Lingkyra was and always will be her home. Her spirit lives with those of her people. Mount Justice is welcoming, but can never measure up to her Ancient Utopia.Samantha: Sand Diego girl through and through.Kiran: Travels a lot to explore with her parents, but she’s only ever lived in Washington DC and Delhi, India.Jaina: There’s Coruscaunt, and unnamed secret planet for the protection of her and her brothers, Yavin IV for training, Mount Justice, Ossus, and then Coast City. The universe is her home.Lorena: Also a San Diego girl. But Atlantis is amazing too.

2. What is their dream vacation?

Emma: Anything where she or her family don’t have to fight crime. Even a staycation would be fine if Bruce wasn’t so focused on catching Calendar Man of all people.Eliza: She likes cruises so long as her parents aren’t helicoptering over her and her health all the time.Astra: No vacation. The Universe must be defended.Samantha: Family reunions are the best! Even a house full of flies is great, so long as she’s got her cousins, silly aunts, musical uncles, and the rest of the family (based on a true story)Kiran: Visiting Archaeology sites isn’t exactly a vacation for the Singhs, but it’s got the sightseeing built in and Kiran gets to skip school so she counts it. She loves spending time with her parents.Jaina: Just let her have peace and quiet for a few seconds that’s all she’s asking.Lorena: Hawaii.

3. What is their favorite color?

Emma: RedEliza: BlueAstra: PurpleSamantha: RedKiran: Pink!Jaina: Purple and GreenLorena: Silver

4. What is their favorite book?

Emma: Elantris by Brandon Sanderson. She reads it with Kaldur.Eliza: Secrets of the King’s Daughter by Renae Weight MackleyAstra: She has only ever really read the history of Lingkyros, but the myths and legends are entertaining.Samantha: Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day GeorgeKiran: The RamayanaJaina: It’s childish, but her favorite will always be the Little Lost Bantha Cub. Her parents reading to her and her brothers will always be her favorite memory.Lorena: Goose Girl and the other Books of Bayern by Shannon Hale.

5. Have they ever cheated on anyone before?

6. Have they ever been cheated on?

No, though Kaldur betraying the team feels a lot like being cheated on to those who loved him.

7. How many partners have they had?

Emma: She’s only seriously been with Kaldur’ahm, but she has dated Donna Troy, Luke Fox (he’s so cute, okay!), Frankie Charles, Nadimah (from the BG of Burnside), and a couple of people who are dead now.Eliza: Eliza has been on many dates, but she has only seriously dated one or two of them (Kaldur, and a guy from BYUI when he went dark)Astra: TwoSamantha: *Sammy voice* “Ain’t nobody got time for datin’!”Kiran: She’s been so wrapped up with her studies and her parents that she never really thought that anyone would want to be with her until she met Kaldur.Jaina: Jagged Fel, Kaldur’ahm, Tenel Ka, and Zekk PeckhumLorena: She had a “boyfriend” in middle school but it was a kid relationship. She eventually thought it was dumb and broke up with him. And now she’s with Kaldur

8. Already answered

9. Already answered

10. Introvert or Extrovert?

Emma: She’s in the middle there.Eliza: Introvert, unless she’s onstage. She gets spiritual support on her mission.Astra: Extrovert.Samantha: More introverted. She likes to keep to herself but when she does talk to other people or strike up a conversation with a stranger she can make them feel very special by the questions she asks and the attentions he gives them.Kiran: ExtrovertJaina: IntrovertedLorena: extrovert

11. Have they ever been arrested and why?

Emma: A few times as a hero, mostly when she was first starting as Finch, but she always escapes. She got a DUI once, on a bad day. She has never drunken again since.Eliza: Never. She is scared to death of police cars.Astra: She was never arrested on her home planet,t he model princess, but she gets approached a few times when first acclimating to Earth, but they were never good enough to actually bring her in.Samantha: NopeKiran: How dare you accuse my perfect angel.Jaina: So many times for various offenses during her rebel teen phase, which is strange because she’s supposed to be a Jedi. She is single-handedly responsible for half of Leia’s gray hairs.Lorena: She’s too good to get caught.

12. Who would they sacrifice their life for?

Emma: Literally everyone except the Joker or Lex Luthor.Eliza: Her parents, Raquel, Kaldur, the team, baby Amistad, and it’s not a person, but she would sacrifice everything for her belief in the LDS church.Astra: All the people of LingkyraSamantha: Her family especially, but also her teammates and the people of San Diego.Kiran: Kaldur, her kids, her parents, Kamala, M’gann, Artemis, Zatanna, Raquel, Gar, and Cassie.Jaina: The entire Universe, which she just might have to do.Lorena: Her family and all of Atlantis.

13. What are their spending habits?

Emma: She likes to be wise with her money like her parents taught her, but Bruce is a billionare so either way he sends her 5mil at the beginning of every month like he does the rest of his children.Eliza: She works very hard to earn money herself for her mission and her car (her parents insisted on paying for college, and they agreed that a mission was something to personally save for). She will always splurge on clothing, accessories, and stuffies. She owns a zoo and an aquarium of plush animals.Astra: She is very conservative with her money, only authorizing insane amounts of money on necessities like food, shelter, water, education, and protection for the people of Lingkyra.Samantha: Her parents can also pay for her school, but she has to save up for a mission. She shares a car with Abby when she gets old enough, but she doesn’t really like to spend too much money, unless it’s on food or books.Kiran: Is drowning in unused notebooks and pens. She loves to spoil Kaldur, and they both love spoiling their kids.Jaina: lol what money?Lorena: Gets an allowance from Aquaman for superheroing and spends so much time trying to think of how to spend it in a way that shows him and her parents that she’s responsible so she usually ends up putting it in savings.

14. Do they like hot or cold temperatures better?

Emma: She likes it in the middle, like fall/spring weather.Eliza: She likes the hot weather. Better for swimming. And outdoor theater performances!Astra: Lingkyra has a temperate climate over the whole planet, so extreme temperatures bother her to the point of sickness. She is not allowed to fight and of the ice or fire villains. Junior always tries to flirt with her anyway (she has that effect on people)Samantha: She likes the cold because then she can wear her scarves, hats, and favorite boots.Kiran: She doesn’t like desert heat, or winter cold. So let’s say in the middle. Fall has such pretty colors, and she can wear her favorite shawls (it’s like carrying a blanket all the time)Jaina: She does not care. Either way, she’ll adjust. And she’s probably seen worse before.Lorena: She likes warm wetter, also better for swimming.

15. Are they religious?

Emma: Yes, Christian.Eliza: LDS Christian.Astra: There are many religious sects on Lingkyra, but she has never participated in one, even though her parents were devout worshippers of their own sect.Samantha: LDS Christian.Kiran: Hindu.Jaina: Does being a Jedi and believing in the force count?Lorena: No.

(I really like making my characters religious. It’s very rarely seen respectfully in media, and religion plays such a big part in my life, I want to see it in others too.)

#ask lizart #lizart writes #my ocs #nightingale #siren #aster #salamander girl #sosltice #jaina solo #aquagirl

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sgreffenius · 3 years

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The National Education Association finished a statement, or series of statements, this week that stated the union’s intentions in the clearest possible language. The statements instruct or guide, the union’s three million members about the basics of political indoctrination in public schools. The union seems to have no awareness that most of the children under their care have no choice about where to attend school. They plan to show us how to compel children under their supervision to think in certain ways. That’s how we do education now.

Compulsory Reeducation

Thus they propose to hijack both primary and secondary school curricula at a time when parents already regard teachers’ behavior during the pandemic with disbelief and frustration. Teachers who used to serve parents and their children will show us how it’s done in places like China, where school teachers still treat Mao Zedong as a great hero of the people. One difference is that we do not put so many troublemakers in prison, as they do in China. Progressives in the United States have a different tactic: ensure that people who diverge from Woke Thought cannot earn a living.

Note that the Chinese, significantly enough, used to call their prisons for dissident troublemakers ‘reeducation camps’. You went there to get your thinking straight, which meant, ‘aligned with Mao Zedong Thought.’ Mao Zedong Thought during the Cultural Revolution aimed to overturn society’s power structures - all of them, including those rooted in social mores, economic relationships, and of course class structures. In that sense, the current effort to promote Woke Thought in schools, and everywhere else, is the left’s own version of a cultural revolution in our country.

Origins of Woke Thought

Businessmen may not know the origins of Woke Thought when they give money to Black Lives Matter. Academics know. Mao’s perverse visions of utopia have driven revolutionaries’ ideological urgency, as well as their ruthless methods, for a long time. For Shining Path in Peru, radical Communists in the United States, Maoist workers’ parties in Indochina, and numerous other movements, Mao Zedong Thought inspires guerrillas and activists who aim to remake a entire societies. So it is with Woke Thought. So it is with Critical Race Theory, which, even when defined broadly, remains a subset of Woke Thought.

If the cancer of Woke Thought on campuses did not alarm people enough, the metastatic process by which woke activists have brought their oppressive vision to public schools ought to do it. This ideology is a lot more dangerous than people seem to realize at the moment. It aims to dominate the spirit, to establish dominion over it, exactly as George Orwell warned. In fact, the Founders predicted that should democracy fail in the new republic, it would die from within, due to factions that operate exactly the way woke activists operate.

We think, “This is the United States. We have free speech guaranteed in our Constitution. We have strong traditions of liberty and free thought, as well as strong traditions of conflict resolution via negotiation and compromise. Nothing like Mao’s Cultural Revolution could happen here.” Think again. It is happening right now, with familiar groups like the NEA, whose members used to attend meetings of their local Parent Teachers Association, among its advocates. This aggressive form of social destruction wants access to your children, in classrooms the state regards as laboratories for indoctrination.

Resistance from the Black Community

One more point comes to mind. If I am a black intellectual, conservative or otherwise, I would look at Critical Race Theory’s current development with dismay. It is not friendly toward any aims that civil rights activists have promoted in the past. In addition, it directly contradicts the color-blind ideals that Barack Obama worked to instill during his presidency. It is difficult to imagine that he left office a little over four years ago, in January 2017. His legacy was a democratic America that could move beyond race-based politics. His election was proof that such a movement could succeed. Woke Thought aims to overturn Obama’s legacy, along with many other democratic ideals.

If this retrospective view of a black president who tried to heal racial division in his country does not evoke both sadness and indignation, the hard-left, Marxist affiliations of Black Lives Matter should cause even more alarm. These affiliations align with the overall aims of Critical Race Theory, and with Woke Thought in general. They infect a movement that started out, years ago, as relatively non-ideological.

When you want to overturn society from its foundations, Marx and Mao are the ideologists close at hand. America’s woke activists have turned to them with celerity, with little effort to disguise their allegiance. They do not pledge fealty to the First Amendment, or to any other tradition of civil rights in the United States. They are interested in power, power required to remake society from the inside out. The NEA’s statements radiate that interest in every sentence.

After George Floyd’s murder a little over a year ago, Woke Thought took advantage of anger that spread over the entire nation, to take over a civil rights movement that already tended toward the left in the nation’s political conflicts. If black leaders, especially academics who work in settings where this cancer began, were to explain why this movement is so dangerous, they might disrupt its fearsome growth. Black business leaders and cultural leaders should support black intellectuals to oppose Critical Race Theory, and all it entails. If Woke Thought succeeds in its aims, no group - Black Americans included - will escape its attacks on civil liberties and freedom of thought.

#Woke Thought

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manypersons · 3 years

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Hey so my WIP The Wordweaver is pretty awesome and I love how it's got Giver vibes, because that's exactly what I was going for and I'm super hyped to be working with it until I get the energy to work with Unstable again (I have a lot of outlining I need to get done before I can feasibly think about that)

Anyways, this was the original world concept for The Wordweaver. I wrote it for an English assignment, because I didn't want to come up with anything new

The utopia would be a group of small secluded communities of which it is impossible to gain admittance to except by birth

The children’s role in society would be to go through the education process, which is rigorous and takes place daily. Children are separated by age and each class is labeled as such. This is their life until the age of twelve which is when they determine the job they want with options based off of scores from an enormous final exam. They continue their education as an apprentice under a master of the trade they choose until they are nineteen. Those who fail the final exam are cast into the fields, where they work as farm laborers the rest of their lives ***They are not exposed to words or literature of any type as ideas are dangerous

Since the test determines how somebody does financially, their really is no hierarchy or way to buy yourself to the top. Work leaves little time for leisure. Work schedule is determined by worker, but since pay is very scarce, the more you work the better off you are. Those who laze around are cast into the fields. Food comes from the fields, but those living inside the community know little of how it’s grown

There is no technology in this community and since they have no exposure to the outside world, most everything is made by hand. There is no energy, people are dependent on the sunlight. Science is inexistent in the eyes of these people, there is no trees and few plants and animals within the boundaries, no books or words. Waste disposal is one of the jobs offered to the twelve year-olds, reserved for those who just barely pass. They have to pick up buckets during the night and dump them into the river past where the field hands draw water

There is no religion, as people were never exposed to the thought of it, but if religion did happen to crop up, it wouldn’t last because there would be no written word

There probably wouldn’t be any arts, as art doesn’t provide any income and people don’t have time for leisure activities. There would be no control over this, if artists did happen to crop up, but they may be thrown into the fields if this became a problem

The houses are small plots of land, with a main room, bedroom, and a washroom interiors for the family. Everyone is assigned a house after pairings are made (Are pairings regulated by government?), the houses would be comfortably spaced and people would live private lives beyond work. Private and public lands would be pretty separate, but neighborhoods would be pretty tight knit

((punishment)) I have said it before and I will say it again: the fields. This would be monitored by those who chose the regulator position at twelve, had to earn high score on test

((motto)) “Build your place in society”, since where they end up in life is totally up to the individual and not who they are and where they come from in life

#writing #manypersons writes #The Wordweaver #wip #world outline #i've completed the first chapter #so if there's enough interest #I might share

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hannahmatthewswestminster · 4 years

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the social dilemma, netflix

a deeply disturbing documentary that explores the catastrophic impacts of social media on us as a specie, culture and society. our lack of trustful information, enabling us to live in a disinformation society, taring apart the very roots of how society works and is formed. it showcases a family and represents the impacts it has within family constructs; younger children and teenagers who can’t seem to get themselves away from their devices. it visually showcases how detrimental these devices and platforms are to mental health, with the rise of suicide & mental health directly coinciding with the rise and popularity of social media. no average person truly understands how these platforms work and how they enable you to stay online, addicted and focused for so long, on things that seemingly won’t help us develop in our lives and within ourselves, its as though these devices have put a pause on evolution. of course, they have enabled instant access to pretty much any kind of research, information and knowledge, however how much of this information is true and what is not. many had a lot of admiration for google on these terms, whilst they built a parallel money machine, away for the majority of the publics understanding, tailoring information to the individual and not the truth

it’s sad how infected we have become by these platforms, and very intentionally. the corporations make more money, the more time you spend using them. ‘if you are not paying for the product, then you are the product’ we are being sold. but really i feel it delves deeper than that. the algorithms deeply understand you more than your family, more than you even do, they predict the future in terms of your behaviour, your interests, how long you spend on specific things, learning what to send you next to keep you attached for longer. you are against a powerful and highly intelligent algorithm that is changing the way you behave and is wasting your life to using these platforms. these platforms are competing for your attention. their business model is to keep you engaged on the screen, and figure out how much of your life they can get you to give to them, how they can keep your attention. our attention is the product being sold to these corporations, changes in our behaviour is the product, changing what we do and how we think. who we are. a very gradual change, very gradual. its scary and the world is being infected by this technology. they are earning enormous amounts of money from our innate human capability of attention. surveillance capitalism enables this to happen, by gaining vast and huge amounts of data, data has now surpassed the price of oil. this marketplace trades in human futures, changing the future as we know it. these markets have made the internet companies the richest companies in the history of humanity

everything you do online is being watched, being tracked, every single action you take, how long you look at an image for; they know when you are lonely and when you are depressed, whether you are an introvert or extrovert, they know what your personality type is. they have more knowledge about us that has ever been known in the history of humanity. there is no supervision and they are just continually making better and better predictions about us. they build models that predict our actions, they build a whole online digital version of us, like an avatar voodoo doll. everything we’ve ever done, all gets brought back into building an accurate model about us, predicting what we will do next. what video will keep us watching, what images we want to see, how to keep us engaged. they are able to control your behaviour to an extensive length, that you can’t consciously grasp and that pretty much everyone other than these technology companies is unaware of

the very meaning of culture has become manipulation, deceit and mistrust has become the centre of everything we do. these companies know so much about the psychology of what persuades people, and then use that within technology. they learn how to make technology persuasive, it is designed intentionally to modify people’s behaviour. ‘positive intermittent reinforcement’ - it operates like the gambling shot machines. you are being programmed at a deeper level, you don’t even realise it and this is all within the design technique. these aren’t things you can necessarily decide to ignore, even in terms of tagging a photo... they don’t show you the photo they just show you you’ve been tagged which logs you on, facebook have used this to its maximum capacity, which gets people tagging left right and centre

its mass scale manipulation

50 white middle-aged guys make the decisions that have impacts on 2 billion people, causing them to have thoughts that they didn't intend to have, due to notifications and things appearing on the screens

we have evolved to care about whether people in our tribe think well of us or not, but we are not evolved to be aware of what 10,000 people think of us, we were not evolved to have social approval dosed at us every 5 minutes. we conflate hearts, likes and thumbs up with truth and value, for short hits of dopamine

if something is a tool it is genuinely sitting there waiting patiently, if something isn't then it is there grabbing your attention, taking your time away from you, it has its own goals and own means of pursuing them by using your psychology against you. this is overpowering human nature. we have less and less control over who we are and what we believe. we don’t trust anything anymore as we don’t know what to believe. they’re dragging people into this matrix and harvesting them to gain insane amounts of money

technology is an indirect existential threat, its the technologies ability to bring out the worst in society, which is the direct existential threat

a lot of people fear AI yet AI already runs today’s world, right now. “there is only a handful of people at these companies who understand how the systems work, and even they don’t necessarily fully understand whats going to happen with that particular piece of content so as humans we’ve pretty much lost control over these systems, because they’re controlling the information we see. they’re controlling us more than we’re controlling them” - you build the machine and then the machine builds itself. the technologists are framing this as a problem that they are able to solve. in terms of misinformation, AI cannot even solve the problem of fake news, google can’t either but most importantly they don’t know what truth is. we can’t agree what is true which means we can’t navigate out of any of our problems. and worst of all, AI is just going to continuously get better at predicting what is on the screen, not worse

you see different results depending on where you live, depending on your interests. they tailor your information to what you are interested in, the computers calculate what is perfect for you, so they create your world. everyone’s reality online is different, which has a catastrophic effect in realtime

how do you wake up from the matrix if you don’t know you’re in the matrix

“if we go down the current status quo, for say like another 20 years, we’d probably destroy our civilisation through wilful ignorance, we’d probably fail to meet the challenge of climate change, we’d probably degrade the world’s democracies so that they fall into some sort of bizarre autocratic dysfunction, we’d probably ruin the global economy, er... we probably don’t survive. you know, i really do view it as existential”

“whether it is to be utopia or oblivion, will be a touch-and-go relay race right up to the final moment...” - buckminster fuller

its simultaneous utopia and dystopia

“we live in a world where a tree is worth more financially dead, than alive. a whale is worth more dead than alive, as long as the economy works in this way, and the companies go unregulated they’re going to continue to destroy trees and kill wales, to mine the earth and pull oil out of the ground even though we know that it is destroying the planet. they know that it is going to leave a worse world for future generations. this is short term thinking based on this religion of profit at all costs. as if somehow magically, each corporation acting in its selfish interests is going to produce the same result, this has been effecting the environment for a long time. what’s frightening and what is hopefully the last straw, what will make us wake up as a civilisation to how flawed this theory has been in the first place, is to see that now we’re the tree and we’re the whale, our attention can be mined. we are more profitable to a corporation if we’re spending time staring at a screen, staring at an add, than if we’re spending our time living in a rich way and so we’re seeing the results of that. we’re seeing the results of corporations using powerful artificial intelligence to outsmart us and figure out how to pull our attention towards things they want to look at, rather than things that are most consistent to our goals and our values and our lives”

the attention extraction model is not how we want to treat human beings. we can demand to not be treated as an extractable resource

an interesting concept to explore within my project, looking at the 3 men controlling your notifications (behind the devices) who are experts in how to grab your personal attention; experts on you, they understand you more than you understand yourself. knowing your routine and how to catch you at specific times of the day, what will get your attention and what wont. they build up a digital persona of you, an ‘avatar voodoo doll’. how people have become digital counterfeits of themselves, how our data is collected, what it visually collects about us. facial recognition; face id to unlock iphone. exploring the structure of the face turning our body into a digital organism that can control the digital world... looking at fingerprints, other ways to identify yourself that is gradually being integrated within technology, which highlights how these systems have physical data on us, not just online interactions and locations

#6IMAG001W.1 #FMP #thesocialdilemma #netflix #documentary #research #technologycorporations #massmanipulation

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