#Class differences

[tillalives]

So, guys, can we agree that the reason Stolas is in trouble with the Goetia's isn't because he's gay, but because he's with an imp?

Because in the show, not once does anybody say things or act in a way that's homophobic.

Not even Stella.

NOT ONCE.

Stolas is only ridiculed, not for being with a guy, but for sleeping with an imp. It's a class difference problem.

Not homophobia.

[wangxianficrecs]

A Thousand Things by tickertape

A Thousand Things

by tickertape

M, 108k, Wangxian

Summary: Wei Ying can’t find his words. “What would I do in Gusu?” The man’s mouth quirks in what Wei Ying cannot interpret as anything but a tiny, smug smirk. “Learn.” Wei Ying has made a fine life for himself. He’s got his jiejies and his talismans; he doesn’t need anyone’s charity. But spending a whole year in Gusu? That’s hard to turn down. Kay's comments: A Wangxian My Fair Lady AU is something I never knew I needed until I started reading this story. It's such a great idea and wonderfully done, it works to well! A story, where Wei Wuxian doesn't get adopted by the Jiangs but still ends up with some cultivation talent, enough to sell talismans and make a living. Eventually, Lan Qiren stumbles upon him and gets humbled so good by him that he decides to take him to Gusu so that he gets properly trained. Cue: the slowest of burns between Wangxian that's so worth it though. Really loved how the characters are portrayed! Excerpt: The man huffs, a derisive sound. “You may be clever, but you are not a professional by any standard.” “I’m paid for my work. That makes it my profession.” “You are untrained and thus cannot profess to be qualified by any official standard,” the Lan teacher retorts. In the same scathing tone, he mutters, “Not to mention your attitude and illegible script.” Asshole. Wei Ying scowls at him. “So, I’m unqualified and you’re discourteous. Seems we’re both flawed men, yet here you are using my work to educate your students.” The man balks minutely at that, and one of the white-clad students makes an indignant noise. Wei Ying continues: “My pieces are valuable enough to the people who buy from me. If I’m not good enough to meet your qualified, highly-trained standards, then please feel free to pass me by.” He can’t quite hold himself back from one last jibe. “I’d like to see your students recreate even one of my talismans half so well.” The daozhang opens his mouth as if to speak, but then pauses. Wei Ying watches his eyes move over the table once more. He forces himself to recompose, straightening his shoulders and loosening his hands from where they had been unconsciously gripping at his robes. Composure, dignity, control: the three most important qualities to display when facing the world. No sleeves on fire today. But Wei Ying has never been the best with keeping his composure; he’s too spurred by his own wild thoughts, prone to ‘fits of inspiration’ as Qing-jiejie likes to call them.

pov wei wuxian, canon divergence, wei wuxian isn't adopted by the jiangs, wei wuxian goes to gusu, rogue cultivator wei wuxian, genius wei wuxian, inventor wei wuxian, developing friendships, developing relationship, strangers to lovers, misunderstandings, miscommunication, nightmares, class differences, panic attacks, night hunts, cloud recesses shenanigans, cloud recesses rabbits, slow burn, wei wuxian has a fear of dogs

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(Please REBLOG as a signal boost for this hard-working author if you like – or think others might like – this story.)

[pratchettquotes]

"So that's all settled then?" said Verence.

Finally, Magrat's voice returned from some distant apogee, slightly hoarse.

"Aren't you supposed to ask me?" she demanded.

"What? Um. No, actually," said Verence. "No. Kings don't ask. I looked it up. I'm the king, you see, and you are, no offense meant, a subject. I don't have to ask."

Magrat's mouth opened for the scream of rage but, at last, her brain jolted into operation.

Yes, it said, of course you can yell at him and sweep away. And he'll probably come after you.

Very probably.

Um.

Maybe not that probably. Because he might be a nice little man with gentle runny eyes but he's also a king and he's been looking things up. But very probably quite probably.

But...

Do you want to bet the rest of your life? Isn't this what you wanted anyway? Isn't it what you came here hoping for? Really?

Terry Pratchett, Lords and Ladies

[bisexualseraphim]

USAmericans will literally live in a trailer working 3 jobs for $7 an hour surviving off gas station food and still call themselves ‘middle class.’

Here in the UK if you’re middle class you’re probably a neurosurgeon with a stable-barn and a mansion big enough to have its own name. US middle class is our working class.

Not got owt to say about it, just really fuckin weird innit. I’ve had a few USAmericans describe me as middle class and I’m like mate… I make half of what you do lol

EDIT: I have since been corrected on this!!! Please stop reblogging this without checking the notes first, I was quite wrong!!!

[easternpine]

Life gets in the way and thus my 2024 Mass Effect Big Bang project fizzles into a regular story. But... a trilogy! This is a story that's been living in my head and on my computer as little bits and bobs for a long time now. I was happy to finally have the excuse to write it. Description:

Ex-Alliance soldier, Jane Shepard, is out of work and down her luck when an old childhood friend, Gianna Parasini, comes calling. With Gianna’s help, Shepard high-tails it to the Citadel and begins a brand new life as a corporate investigator. But things quickly turn deadly as one of Gianna’s former colleagues is found drowned in the galactic capital.

Under the guidance of C-Sec’s special investigator, Detective Garrus Vakarian, Shepard and Gianna work to unravel a tangled knot of avarice, murder, and corporate corruption.

A Shakarian, No Reapers AU

There was nothing to weigh her down, not really. Two pairs of sensible shoes, a selection of shirts (black or gray) , three pairs of pants, one pair of brand new jogging shorts, socks, underwear, and the usual personal hygiene products: these were the things that Jane Shepard had brought with her onto the ship that had ferried her from Earth. She owned little in the way of personal effects. She had no use for sentimental things—no family heirlooms, no trinkets bought on holiday, not a single photograph committed to physical form. The only thing she’d packed besdies the basics was her Alliance service medal, a heavy, brassy thing that had never been removed from its original box, now shoved into a hidden pocket inside her rucksack like a forgotten, ancient talisman. Leaving Earth was not as regrettable as she had expected. Seven months she’d been unemployed, about the same amount of time since she’d finished serving her last tour with the Alliance, and she was desperate to do anything, anywhere, as long as it meant keeping her nose clean and keeping herself housed and fed.

continue reading the story on AO3

[thebigpapilio]

I want to get opinions on a thought from some of my favorite Mareach creators here.

@elitadream @akiiame-blog @palskippah

If you don't want me tagging you again, please let me know. I'll be respectful about it.

Make no mistake - Mario is great as Peach's knight/guard/et cetera. But what if he was - or at least started out - in some other "servant's position"?

Chef, waiter, janitor, doctor, mechanic, plumber, I have no idea what at the moment. But it helps him pay his and Luigi's college debt and keeps them afloat.

And then he (accidentally?) interferes with some political attack - perhaps a mercenary attack on a Mushroom Kingdom dignitary, if not Peach herself. Mario, being Mario, saves the day, and Peach insists on rewarding him.

"It really wasn't a big deal. My job is to serve you, principessa."

Peach insists on doing something to pay Mario back, but Mario is even more stubborn. Even after leaving Mario be, though, Peach can't get him his kindness out of her mind.

Mario wakes up at home a few days later and their house is paid off, as are his loans. Peach pretends she has no idea what happened.

[msfbgraves]

Cobra Kai 2.0

Something that struck me about the new Cobra Kai versus the Cobra Kai in the films -

Nearly every Cobra Kai member they focus on in the series is underprivileged. Hawk is disabled. Miguel is a poor boy whose family are immigrants. Tory is a fatherless poor caretaker of a sick mother and younger brother. Kenny is a poor black kid picked on by a bunch of rich white kids. Yes, there's Parker, but did he ever get his own episode? Aisha is a bullied black kid, though she's rich (which got her booted off the show).

The Miyagi Do's are the rich ones, the stable ones (no one we know of among them, other than Robby, has much hardship to overcome). Beautiful dojo and everything.

But that wasn't what the films were selling! The Cobra Kais were a group of mostly white preppy rich kids ganging up on one new poor kid, who, to some people in that Encino club, might still have counted as not-quite-white (if Aly was born around 1966, her parents will have been born around 1930-1940, and to those people, Daniel LaRusso would have been called a swarthy wop, guinea or dago by some people they grew up with, if they're too polite to use such language by 1983). Daniel definitely takes pains not to seem other to his environment even in 2018.

Sorry, but if your message is: "Cobra Kais are people too", why can't you simply try to win sympathy for preppy white kids? Why make Johnny into a blue collar worker? Nothing in his background suggests that. Why not make him a divorced, washed up, bankrupted investment banker? Why have Eli not simply be the vaguely Jewish kid who has trouble making friends? Really, if your whole raison d'être is "shitty rich kids are people too", why are you making it so that your protagonists are always fighting the rich kids? Who... aren't even shitty? Who did Samantha LaRusso ever hurt? And maybe there's Anthony, but he's barely in the show for three seasons.

Teaching poor kids to fight dirty because life can do you dirty is borderline justified. But The Karate Kid was about rich kids being taught to fight dirty and then taking all their advantages out on poor kids, because might makes right. Johnny, with his bike, and his preppy clothes, laughing at Daniel who has to sneak in through the kitchen to see his uptown girl. Chozen, the strong henchman to his insanely rich uncle, ganging up on the poor foreign boy. Terry Silver, making business deals with career fighter Mike Barnes. Humanise that all you like - but we also see what that looks like in the films, and that's Aly. The rich girl who really likes this new sweet kid, and doesn't care his mother is probably too outspoken for her parents' liking, and doesn't care her girlfriends don't much care for him. Aly, who is nothing but polite to Mr. Miyagi (compare that to Terry Silver's openly racist taunts), and only breaks up with Daniel when he jumps to conclusions (once about the class difference, another time when he was openly jealous about her talking to other guys). Show why, as taught by Johny, Cobra Kai 2.0 is good for those kids, or indeed show Johnny figuring out why it isn't and trying to make a change.

Because a poor kid learning "No Mercy" because they're trying to survive in a world that is trying to crush them is a very different setup than teaching a rich kid with all advantages in the world how to go around and pick on people, which is what Kreese was doing. The closest we get to that in the show is Hawk. It indeed isn't pretty and his redemption is entirely rushed, but even Eli, vaguely Jewish kid with a scarred face and trouble understanding social cues, had it much harder than, say, Tommy, who simply liked to win fights with his friends, if that meant nearly beating a young Newark boy to death after a school dance.

[lacewise]

Any understanding of class that derives from mid-20th century Britain, United States, or Canada is probably wrong. And that’s a problem because that’s where most people get their ideas about class.

If you look further back, middle housing (townhomes, condos, apartments, triplexes, quadplexes, etc) are where the middle class historically found themselves living (usually, there are exceptions). Suburbs are mostly new and they are extremely wasteful. The idea that people lived in single family homes or even semi-detached housing with large green outdoor spaces (as opposed to shared courtyards) just strikes me as very, very silly and very, very American.

A better, more honest, more accurate description of the decline of the middle class is not just the disappearance of middle housing—it’s how much middle housing has deteriorated qualitatively. We no longer consider that apartments can be big enough to raise families in. Nor do we consider that they should be well-made enough to hold up to decades of uninterrupted housing.

“Luxury” condos have nothing on early-20th brownstones of the working class. And that’s the problem.

I am having trouble reconciling the same people who rightly said that density over space are now claiming that the birthright of the middle class is the ownership of implied single family homes, presumably with spacious yards. No.

There is no class worth establishing that pines for the trappings of the rich. And there’s no need to establish it anyway, it already exists. That’s the upper middle class.

I cannot believe people are saying that waste is the only sign of being middle class that matters again. But, what’s worse, I can believe people are buying it.

Anyone who says that is no better than the TikTokers who insist that $500 Shein hauls are a necessity and excess clothing (to the point of never wearing the same outfit twice) is a human right.

[clemsfilmdiary]

Saltburn (2023, Emerald Fennell)

1/21/24

[bandomfandombeyond]

if the Great American North is so Progressive, and all the poor, dirty, stupid Southerners should be crawling all over each other trying to escape, why (when the average rent is already 3-4x what it is in the South) do Northern landlords still collect security deposits and first/last month's rent? why aren't they making it easy and appealing for poor Democratic voters to leave the South, if it's such a lost cause?

oh, is it because class and access to capital is a more powerful societal division and motivator than where you live on a map? *gasp* scandalously shocking! totally new information!

[wangxianficrecs]

light and sound by Anonymous

light and sound

by Anonymous

E, 37k, series, wangxain

Summary (Part One): “Baba,” A-Yuan is saying, tugging happily on his father’s hand. “Wei-laoshi is here!” “Yes, I see.” Lan Wangji dips his head in Wei Ying’s direction, then begins to gently steer A-Yuan back into the house. “Let’s step aside so that he may come in. Wei Ying, thank you for making time in your schedule.” “Oh, it was no trouble,” Wei Ying says, waving a hand. It was: he had to rearrange two lessons with other students. “Really, I’m happy to do it.” He realizes he’s still kneeling on the porch, and clambers to his feet. “Besides, money is exchanged for goods and services, right? It’s your money! There’s no need to thank me.” Lan Wangji blinks. “I suppose… Yes. That is one way of phrasing it.” (Or: Wei Ying gets a commission, a tutoring job, and a crush.)

Summary (Part Two): Lan Zhan had known, right from the start, that he was fucked. Wei Ying had blown into his life like a hurricane. He was messy and loud and opinionated, too much and all at once. He was talented and smart and witty and beautiful, and Lan Zhan wanted to drown in it. (Was it possible to drown in a person?) (Or: food as a metaphor for love, five times Wei Ying cooks for Lan Zhan, and one time Lan Zhan cooks for him.)

Mojo's comments: This was sweet, with the timeless and well-loved Harlequin plot of the young art tutor and the wealthy, remote, single parent. It goes just as you would hope!

modern setting, single parent lan wangji, kid fic, mutual pining, misunderstandings, light angst, angst with a happy ending, slow burn, strangers to lovers, getting together, happy ending, blow jobs, musician lan wangji, artist wei wuxian, self-esteem issues, class differences, first kiss, first time, self-worth issues, love confessions

part two: food as a metaphor for love, 5+1 things, soft, fluff, marriage proposal, harlequin, the wei wuxian can cook agenda

~*~

(Please REBLOG as a signal boost for this hard-working author if you like – or think others might like – this story.)

[pratchettquotes]

"Tea's up, sir," said Polly. Tea was an amazingly useful thing. It gave you the excuse to talk to anyone.

Terry Pratchett, Monstrous Regiment

[ukiyozora]

Stardust and Pixie

pairing: satosugu

synopsis: three times shoko does not empathize with lord satoru and lowborn suguru and the one time she does. or exploration of the romantic relationship between gojo satoru and geto suguru through the eyes of shoko, the pixie.

rating: m

status: complete

[spacefruitpress]

Rustle up your copy of The Heir & the Outlaw: A Historical M/M Cowboy Heist Romance by Rena Butler - available now on Amazon for all your wild west & gay love requirements.

[easternpine]

Taking Off, Chapter 2

A Femshep & Parasini BFF, Shakarian, No Reapers AU

As she continued to gripe, the datapad she’d been holding slipped free from her fingers and clattered to the floor. “Shit…” Awkwardly, she tried to squat, but the fabric of her skirt strained against her muscular thighs, and it felt like the garment might rip in two. She stood up again, tugging at the hem. God, she hated these things. The skirt kept riding up, and she found the feeling of free air between her legs unsettling. At least trousers moved with your body; slim skirts were just cages for your legs. She could have sworn the masochist who designed it had looked at their breakfast one day and decided a sausage casing would make for a fantastic piece of fashion. Shepard peered over the reception counter, but there was no one there. Where the hell was Marianne? Why was no one manning the front desk? Attacking from another angle, she contorted at the waist while bending her knees and reached toward the floor, but her thin heels were making balance impossible. Her fingers brushed the edge of the pad and she grunted, struggling to gain purchase on the slippery casing. Just then, she heard the doors slide open. A pair of scuffed combat boots appeared at her feet, each one host to two toes. “Here, let me,” said a distinctly turian voice. Three long digits scooped up the datapad and held it out to her. “Oh…” Shepard’s head shot up. A rangy turian man dressed in a C-Sec uniform was looking down at her with curiosity. His face was a hard-bitten rock gray—typical for a turian—but his eyes were ice blue, a striking but unusual feature she’d never seen in one of his kind. He wore an expensive looking visor over one of his eyes, all but obscuring it. She continued to stare as she regarded the blue markings across his face, and she wondered which colony they were meant to represent. The turian cleared his throat and gestured with the datapad. Quickly, she straightened to standing and smoothed her skirt down at the front with a frantic yank. “Thanks,” she said, taking the datapad back.  “You know, I’ve never understood how you ladies can stand such restrictive clothing,” he said with casually. “Seems awfully impractical. Maybe it’s unfashionable, but I like to be comfortable when I’m working,” Shepard bristled at the stranger’s judgment. Nevermind that she hadn’t exactly chosen the clothes, or that she agreed with his point wholeheartedly, but it was awfully presumptuous—not to mention a bit sexist—for him to make the comment to her face. “I’m sorry,  I don’t believe we’ve been introduced,” she said with a strained smile. “Detective Garrus Vakarian, C-Sec Special Investigations. I’m guessing you’re….” His mandibles fluttered slightly as he narrowed his eyes. “Jane Shepard?” “How did you know?” Shepard stood with her feet apart and crossed her bare, sinewy arms. The turian eyed her up and down. “Just a hunch..."

Read the rest on Ao3

[heretherebedork]

The way that Hai Yi is trying so hard to be romantic and sweet with Johnny and Johnny is practically going out of his way to misinterpret it because the fancy dinner is just too expensive for him and too much for him to understand the meaning behind it when all he can see are the dollar signs... Ooof, what an interesting class distinction, the way that money can change your thinking.