#Soviet-style future

[wakingdreamworld]

Soviet Russia Sailing Spaceships

Soviet style.

[psychotrenny]

If psuedo-progressives with incoherent politics weren't so consistently anti-communist, I could easily imagine a movement of people latching onto Soviet-styled retrofuturism as the aesthetic they base their politics around. Not even actual Soviet art mind you, but taking up various Western caricatures and going "yeah this rules". It's almost sad they we'll never see posts about "building a tankiepunk future" or have people making tweets like

[sovietpostcards]

Soviet Fine Art of 1920-1930 (book from 1988)

1920s were such an interesting time in Russia. Artists were exploring new styles. Futurism, constructivism, avant garde propaganda art. This book includes dozens of artists, such as Lisitsky, Goncharova, Deyneka, Kandinsky, Petrov-Vodkin, Tatler etc.

Please note that page photos come from another edition of this book that I had (hardback). This edition is paperback (soft cover). 252 pages, in Russian. Size 24 × 33 cm (9.4" × 13"). Light handling wear, good vintage condition.

Available for $55 + $36 international shipping (with tracking number) SOLD

Message me if you want to buy this! Other items in my shop. I combine shipping. How to buy.

[wearethekat]

February Book Reviews: Where the Axe Is Buried by Ray Nayler

I received a free copy of the book from Farrar, Straus, and Giroux in exchange for a fair review. Publish date April 1st.

I requested this book since I enjoyed Nayler's previous novel, The Mountain in the Sea. In Where the Axe Is Buried, the world is split between a Federation ruled by an immortal series of cloned presidents, and nations governed by AI. Programmer Lilia's new invention sets in motion a series of events, from an assassination attempt on the President to the recruitment of an elderly revolutionary living in the taiga, which will change the world irrevocably.

Where the Axe Is Buried is a much more explicitly political book than The Mountsin in the Sea. It's structured in much the same way, with multiple interlinked but separate POV characters interspersed by excerpts from a fictional book, revolutionary Zoya's banned text. Here, the central metaphor is the creosote bush rather than the octopus. The creosote bush forms a system of genetically identical cloned plants, following the root systems of long dead Ice Age trees. Like a flawed governing system, removing the piece of the creosote will not change the shape of the overall plant, dictated by patterns laid down centuries ago. We get the anecdote as a piece of Zoya's book on the very first page, and it recurs as different metaphors--a fungal system, a steppe tsar--throughout the book.

It's always a bit tricky to write a book about revolution. Nayler's a very good writer, and he easily dodges the trap that so many books about war and revolution fall into (ie, mouthing empty platitudes about change as the authors demonstrate that they haven't thought deeply about a complex and loaded subject). Nayler's elegantly constructed near future dystopia is split between an authoritarian future Russian regime and countries ruled by supposedly infallible AIs in a very post LLM way. On the one hand, the Federation has developed refinements that the Soviets or even Orwell never dreamed of, in a panopticon where a tiny mistake could collapse your social score and send you plummeting into a shrinking circle of restricted parole, and then to a forced labor camp and death. Or, alternatively, in the rationalized states ruled by AI, you can work in an horrifically optimized Amazon-style warehouse while your every movement is scrutinized by companies trying to sell you things, to the degree that looking at a soda half a world away for a moment with your face covered can identify you.

Whether Nayler threads the other needle and manage to not say something about revolution which the reader has a strong personal disagreement with is, inevitably, more individual. It held together well enough to be a five star read for me, even if I'd quibble with a few points. Although I do think the open ended conclusion carries a lot of the rhetorical weight here. Nayler gracefully presents you with a possibility for change, rather than attempting to answer the unanswerable question.

An ambitious and sophisticated dystopia about revolution with a compulsively readable pacing. Highly recommended, especially if you liked Nayler's The Mountain in the Sea.

[iamcautiouslyoptimistic]

Deja Vu ~ Russell Adler x Female Reader

{Author's Note} This was inspired by @alypink's recent Adler render where he's leaning against a muscle car AND HOO BOY that put tons of thoughts in my head about a younger Adler before he heads off to Vietnam. Reader in this story dated him before he went off to war and they got together again after the events of the Cold War game. I probably got some timeline stuff wrong but I did my research and tried to keep it consistent lol. A horrendous sinus infection has given me a short break from school as I start some medications to clear it up so that means more time for writing! Anyway, I hope y'all enjoy this! I've got plenty of ideas for a younger Adler x reader series so expect more in the future! And let me know if you'd like to be removed or added to the tag list🫶🏻 I don't know if I managed to include everyone that I wanted to so please let me know! AND YES I'm using a Robert Redford gif because they're basically the same person in my eyes LOL {Tag List} @littlemissclandestine @alypink @mctvsh @adlerboi @deadbranch @a-small-writer-in-a-big-world @ghostlythots @glitterypirateduck

Russell Adler x Female Reader

❌Content Warning: none❌

~ ~ ~

1965

“When are you leaving again?” 

Adler sends you a glance through dark shades as you pass him a bucket full of water. He takes it easily, hefting it with little issue while you had struggled to lift it only moments ago. 

“In a month,” he responds and splashes the bucket’s contents across the windshield of his car. “Higher ups are gettin’ worried about the increased communist presence in Vietnam so they’re sending in some troops. I’ll be going on behalf of the CIA to do some recon and see if we can figure out what’s happening over there.”

You knew that already. He’d told you half a dozen times before but he answered you anyway. He knew how worried you were about the threat of impending war, especially when he was being sent into the midst of it with little choice to refuse. 

All you can manage is a nod as you focus on sponging down the window opposite him. He notices your silence and rounds the car, drying his palms on his already damp tank top. 

“I’ll be fine, sweetheart,” he murmurs softly as he grasps your chin and guides your face to look at him. You blink back tears and he wipes away the few that manage to escape with gentle thumbs. 

“Just gotta make sure the Soviets aren’t meddling in things,” he continues. “It shouldn’t take long.”

You nod as he caresses the curves of your cheeks. “I just want you to be careful.” 

And come back alive, you think to yourself. Come back to me. 

He leans to press a kiss to the crown of your head. “I will. Promise.”

His lips meet yours in a tender kiss, one that makes you smile and clears the mist from your eyes. 

“Now, help me finish cleaning this thing before Sims gets here. He needs to see this baby in all her glory.”

You laugh, feeling your heart lighten as Russ turns up the radio. He bobs his head to The Beach Boys song flowing through the speakers and you promise yourself to commit this moment to memory. The glint of his shades in the sunlight, the shimmer of golden hair as he pushes it off his forehead, the movement of his arms and back as he leans over the hood of his car. The image is imprinted in your mind’s eye for years to come.

~ ~ ~

1982

Adler has changed, though your memories of him have not. He’s still stubborn as a mule with an envy-inducing sense of style and a love for muscle cars. He’s older now, quieter and less open, scarred both physically and mentally after his time in Vietnam. His most recent escapade involved a former Soviet agent who he refuses to talk about so you don’t push the topic. You’re just happy he’s come back to you.

“You gonna keep staring or help me clean this thing?” Russ says with a slight smile. His shades reflect the sun the same way they did all those years ago and you hurry to his side, upping the radio’s volume on the way.

Russ likes to talk about cars and so you let him, enjoying the sound of his voice as he guides you through the inner workings of the machinery before you. He's gentle and careful with his movements, and you notice the serenity in his features. It was one of the few times he was able to relax, a brief moment where he didn't carry the world on his shoulders. You know he's not perfect, far from it, but he deserves this temporary peace and you're thankful that you're present to enjoy it with him.

“Do you know that I love you?” you ask suddenly. The comment makes Russ pause in his work, gaze lifting to yours as he straightens.

"That so?"

You giggle. "You're supposed to say it back, you know," you tease, fully aware of his tendency to play coy with this sort of thing.

He brushes stray strands of hair from your face, the pads of his fingers delicately tracing your features. He was hesitant to touch you these days, fearing you'd be disgusted by his calloused hands, but you made it a point to remind him that such things were a sign that he had survived and kept his promise to you, even if it had taken longer than either of you had anticipated.

"I love you, too," he murmurs, his voice a low whisper, as if he were afraid to release the phrase into the world where it could be taken from him.

You grin and lean to press a kiss to his scarred cheek, hearing his contented sigh as his arms settle around your waist. You promise to commit this moment to memory, just as you had countless times before, adding it to the complicated collection of images and sensations that made up Russell Adler.

[fataldrum]

The Magnus Protocol and The End of History

In episode 21 of TMP, Leonardo Kennings, co-treasurer of the Magnus Institute, debates the Institute’s plan to participate in the London Millennium Exhibition.  

The calculations provided by Dr Welling and his team presuppose that any outputs from the site will be broadly balanced; that as a symbol of the future it captures both optimism and despair – the belief in a better world and the terror that a new millennium will bring nothing except new ways to suffer. It is my belief, however, that the actual balance of energies involved will be profoundly skewed towards the fearful and despairing[…]

This modern social and political order, following the fall of the USSR, has taken root in the popular imagination as a natural and final state of society with an emergent and inherent stability. The turning of the millennium is therefore felt as an “end of history” to borrow a term, and in this context the Dome may be seen as a monument to this order. A full stop. 

I’ve been hearing a lot about The End of History lately and wanted to share some information for those who are unfamiliar. Note that this is based on secondary sources like Philosophy Tube and the podcast If Books Could Kill, because I’m not about to read 400+ pages of a neoconservative being deeply wrong about everything.

In 1992, political scientist Francis Fukuyama wrote The End of History and The Last Man. In it, he makes a pretty bold claim: Western liberal democracy is the final stage of society. After the recent collapse of the Soviet Union, people worldwide would accept capitalism and American-style democracy as the objectively superior way of life. 

Once every country adopted liberal democracy, there would be no real need for major social change. Small events would continue to happen, but the overall shape of history is an arc that ends with liberal democracy. Everything else would just be minor adjustments. That’s it, guys, we won. History is canceled!

Admittedly the word end can be a bit deceptive. On one level, Fukuyama was describing liberal democracy as the final destination of society. But he was also using end in the sense of a goal, borrowing from the works of Hegel. 

I don’t need to tell you that Fukuyama was full of shit. Every major event since 9/11 has been a massive callout post for him specifically. To be fair, he wasn’t alone in his bullshit. Plenty of Western political scientists assumed the fall of the Soviet Union would lead to mass adoption of liberal democracy. 

There was a lot of misplaced optimism at the end of the Millennium. Take, for instance, the Millennium Dome in London.

A massive undertaking, this 48-acre building would cost £789 million and be the ninth largest building in the world. Tony Blair, the Prime Minister at the time, declared confidently that it would be "a triumph of confidence over cynicism, boldness over blandness, excellence over mediocrity." Critics called it a Museum of Toxic Waste, based on the site’s history as a gasworks. 

The Dome contained 14 zones aiming to depict modern British life. There was a concert by Peter Gabriel. There were daily acrobatic shows, and a special Blackadder film.

In the statement, Kenning asks the foreman how long the Dome will last. He went quiet for a moment, then told me he wasn’t sure. “Could be there forever!” he said, with an odd manic edge to his voice. “Or it could be gone in a year. You just… never know. Do you? You never know what’s coming.” 

Organizers predicted the Dome would bring in 12 million visitors per year. They got just over half that. It was closed after a year, and even then, it cost over £1 million per month to maintain. The government couldn’t even sell the damn thing, because who needs the world’s ninth largest building? It ruined a fair number of careers. To quote the Sunday Times: 

At worst it is a millennial metaphor for the twentieth century. An age in which all things, like the Dome itself, became disposable. A century in which forest and cities, marriages, animal species, races, religions and even the Earth itself, became ephemeral. What more cynical monument can there be for this totalitarian cocksure fragile age than a vast temporary plastic bowl, erected from the aggregate contribution of the poor through the National Lottery. Despite the spin, it remains a massive pantheon to the human ego, the Ozymandias of its time.

Kennings describes the Dome as “almost uniquely dangerous to our work as a place of power, adding, “It is my firm belief that not only is this site already on its own journey to become a decidedly hostile locus, but that the future it represents, and that we are being pushed to incorporate into our grand ritual, is unfit being so profoundly and irrevocably poisoned.”

The Magnus Institute burned down on December 24th, 1999. The Dome was officially opened to the public on December 31, 1999. It appears Kennings was right about one thing: the Dome was a very bad idea for the Magnus Institute.

[apas-95]

You got me to try Workers And Resources. I'm just playing the tutorials for now, but I'm loving it already. I don't know much about the developers, but it captures the style of early 2000s post soviet bloc games so well, I genuinely thought it was at least 20 years old.

Also, I know a lot of the commentary is supposed to poke fun at the soviets, but whenever it's like "We need to make sure the future generations know about the greatness of our ideology" I just go "Yes sir yes! Glory to our beautiful worker's republic!"

I do love how 2000s the design is lol, even the janky little launcher window.

[mariacallous]

As the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion draws close, the chorus of voices calling for new elections in Ukraine is growing louder and louder. Curiously, however, these calls are not coming from the Ukrainians themselves, but from the Kremlin and the Trump White House.

Since his inauguration one month ago, US President Donald Trump has begun echoing Russian demands for fresh Ukrainian elections. This week, he sparked outrage by branding Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator without elections.” These attacks have proved popular in Moscow but have fallen flat in Kyiv, with most Ukrainians rejecting the US leader’s claims and rallying behind Zelenskyy.

The debate over Ukrainian elections reflects the challenging wartime realities in the partially occupied country. Ukraine was scheduled to hold presidential and parliamentary votes in 2024 but was forced to postpone both ballots as the Ukrainian Constitution does not allow national elections during martial law, which was introduced in 2022 and remains in place. Zelenskyy has vowed to hold elections as soon as the security situation allows, but argues that it would be impossible to stage free and fair votes in the current circumstances.

The majority of Ukrainians appear to agree. Two of Zelenskyy’s main political rivals, Petro Poroshenko and Yulia Tymoshenko, have publicly rejected the idea of wartime elections as impractical and illegitimate. Ukraine’s vibrant civil society has also voiced its opposition to the return of elections before a peace agreement has been signed. Meanwhile, a new opinion poll conducted in February 2025 found that 63 percent of Ukrainians are against holding any national votes until the war with Russia is over.

This lack of appetite for wartime elections is not the product of apathy or oppression. On the contrary, Ukrainians are fiercely proud of their country’s democratic credentials, which were hard-won during two separate pro-democracy revolutions in 2004 and 2014. On both occasions, millions of Ukrainians took part in massive protest movements opposing Russian-backed attempts to subvert the country’s emerging democracy and place Ukraine on a trajectory toward Kremlin-style authoritarianism. This grassroots embrace of democratic values has become central to modern Ukraine’s sense of national identity.

For more than two decades, Ukraine’s burgeoning democratic culture has been one of the key issues fueling Russia’s escalating campaign of aggression against the country. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s obsession with Ukraine can be traced back to the 2004 Orange Revolution, which was in part provoked by his botched intervention in the Ukrainian presidential election. This was to prove a watershed moment in relations between the two post-Soviet countries. Over the subsequent two decades, Ukraine would pursue a European democratic future, while Putin’s Russia turned increasingly back toward the imperial past.

Putin’s fear of Ukrainian democracy is easy enough to understand. As a young KGB officer in East Germany, his formative political experience was the fall of the Berlin Wall and the rapid collapse of the Soviet Empire in Eastern Europe. Ever since the Orange Revolution, Putin has been haunted by the idea that an increasingly democratic Ukraine could serve as a catalyst for the next stage in Russia’s imperial retreat and spark the breakup of the Russian Federation itself.

Mounting concern in Moscow over the possible impact of Ukraine’s democratic progress was a major contributing factor behind Putin’s fateful decision to invade Ukraine in 2014. When the occupation of Crimea and eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region failed to prevent the consolidation of Ukrainian democracy or derail the country’s Euro-Atlantic integration, Putin felt compelled to embark on the biggest gamble of his entire reign, and launched the full-scale invasion of February 2022.

Ukrainians would be the first to admit that their country’s democracy is still very much a work in progress that suffers from a wide range of imperfections including deeply entrenched institutional corruption and excessive oligarch influence. At the same time, they are acutely aware that independent Ukraine’s burgeoning democratic traditions set them apart from their Russian neighbors and offer hope of a better future.

The vast majority of Ukrainians do not support the idea of holding elections in the current wartime environment. This skepticism is understandable. More than ten million Ukrainians, representing over a quarter of the population, have been internally displaced by Russia’s invasion or forced to flee abroad as refugees. Millions more are currently living under Russian occupation. Without their participation, any vote would lack legitimacy. Likewise, around one million Ukrainian men and women are now serving in the armed forces. Attempting to provide safe voting conditions for them would be a logistical and security nightmare.

It would be similarly impossible to organize a credible election campaign. With the entire country subject to virtually daily Russian bombardment, large-scale campaign events and election rallies would be out of the question. It would be even more reckless to open thousands of polling stations on election day and force the public to act as inviting targets for Russian drones and missiles. Over the past three years, the Kremlin has repeatedly attacked Ukrainian civilians at train stations, funerals, and other public gatherings. There is little reason to believe election day crowds would not also be targeted. Even if a ceasefire was introduced well before the vote, the threat of renewed Russian air strikes would loom large over the campaign and deter public participation.

In addition to these practical impediments, attempting to stage an election campaign prior to the signing of a peace treaty would risk sowing division within Ukrainian society at a pivotal moment in the country’s history. Many believe this is true reason for the Kremlin’s sudden and otherwise inexplicable enthusiasm for Ukrainian democracy. After all, Russia is the world leader in election interference. While Putin’s army has been unable to defeat Ukraine on the battlefield, he may feel that he can still achieve his goal of dividing and subjugating the country via the ballot box. At the very least, if current Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy failed to win reelection, this would remove a very high-profile obstacle to a peace agreement in Russia’s favor.

Democracy is at the very heart of Ukraine’s current fight for national survival and is destined to remain one of the core values in postwar Ukraine. For now, though, most Ukrainians acknowledge that any attempt to stage elections would be impractical and irresponsible in the extreme. For this reason, there is currently no clamor whatsoever for elections within Ukrainian society, and no sense that Ukrainians are being denied their voice. The current generation of Ukrainians have fought long and hard for their democratic rights, but they also recognize that the country must be at peace before credible elections can take place. It would be absurd to ignore their wishes and impose premature elections on Ukraine as part of a Kremlin-friendly peace process.

[s10127470]

The Story of X-Men: The Next Mutation (Part 1)

@ariel-seagull-wings, @rei-ismyname, @soviet-supersoldier, @black-but-mildly-sunny, @kazunewolfwood-blog, @scarletwitching, @wildpaws62, @seiryuuchan, @justfuckthegarbagedisposal, @nightcrawlersimpblog, @alternaterobin2336, @silver-bells-and-cockle-shells, @reinedeselfes, @su-alteza-emia, @roisegold314, @seccruz,@cryptid-moone, @please-ignore-me-in-general, @mochalep, @yofrogsstuff, @zeldaspellmaniswife,@atrociousssssss, @valepgogoo, @patientstriderart, @chips4lays, @lilly-does-stuff, @andrewmoocow, @cheesecakeluvrs, @amethystpaladin999-blog

Can you guys actually believe it?

This month marks an entire year since I started my fanfic series, "X-Men: The Next Mutation"!

It's been a wild ride doing this series!

And I couldn't be more thankful for all of you who read it sticking with me through eight action-packed episodes!

You've seen the mutant teens face against an unstoppable foe from the past, a ravenous race of aliens, an animal-morphing hunter, a disgraced geneticist, a crazed religious zealot, and a fun-loving madman.

And there's certainly more to come!

So in honor of my series officially turning 1-year old, I wanted to share with you all the story of Next Mutation.

How i came up with the idea, my reasons for a lot of the choices made in this series, my ideal vision if it was an actual animated series, and even plans for the future of the series!

So sit back, grab a snack, and follow me as I take you all on a journey into the making of X-Men: The Next Mutation!

The Premise, The Team, Tone and Style:

The concept for X-Men: The Next Mutation dated all the way back to 2023.

I initially worked on the series in order to commemorate the 60th anniversary of The X-Men.

When coming up with the concept, my biggest inspiration was Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Which saw the titular heroes getting special new powers and becoming the most powerful we've seen them before.

I've always been fascinated by what that series did and I wanted to see something similar to that done with other famous fictional characters.

And among those characters were The X-Men.

And how would they become more powerful?

SECONDARY MUTATIONS!

And so, I decided to have Secondary Mutations, in stark contrast to the comics, be FAR more common among mutants.

Another aspect about this version of The X-Men was to have them in a world where mutants were far more socially accepted.

Not only because I felt that it would allow for the focus on the new powers to truly flourish, but also because let's be real, I think we're all starting to get burned out by seeing The X-Men being hated by all humanity and on the verge of extinction for the umpteenth time.

And after coming up with those aspects, I immediately came up with my roster.

This version of The X-Men would've consisted Cyclops, Jean Grey (who would be going under an actual codename: Psyche), Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Shadowcat and Lockheed, Rogue, Iceman, Beast, Gambit, Nightcrawler, Angel, Thunderbird, Sunfire, Emma Frost, Psylocke, Banshee, and Xavier.

And I had already had their Secondary Mutations in mind.

And so, with all my basics down, I realized something....

I wasn't able to come up with any stories or episode ideas.

So I decided to scrap the project.

But with the impending release of X-Men '97, it gave me the encouragement to do my own X-Men series.

So I decided to revive the project, but with some changes.

I decided to scale down the roster, only keeping Cyclops, Psyche, Beast, Storm, Angel, Nightcrawler, Colossus, Iceman, Wolverine, Shadowcat, Lockheed and Xavier.

I wanted the starting roster to be a mix between the First Class and Giant-Sized cast.

I also decided to age down the cast as well.

They were originally gonna be around the same ages as in the comics.

But I aged them down to be teenagers and young adults instead.

And this ties into the main reason why I couldn’t think of any episodes for the original version.

The X-Men were already gonna have their Secondary Mutations from the start of the series.

And I felt that wasn't a good idea, as it would essentially make the series feel pointless.

So I figured it would be best to focus on The X-Men getting their new Mutations and seeing them gradually get use to them.

Hence why I made them so young.

As for the depictions of the X-Men themselves, there are two members I specifically want to highlight: Angel and Xavier.

Angel because in contrast to the comics, adaptations and even most fanfictions......he's a female here.

This was heavily inspired by the artist oni18064, who in his Marvel AU, had made Angel a female by the name of Wren Worthington.

I found the concept rather intriguing and I'd decided to adapt the idea into my series.

I had this idea in mind even for the original version of Next Mutation.

As for Xavier, I kinda wanted to help him out.

I've already gone on record about this, but it does bare repeating.

The comics have not been kind to this man for the last 20 years.

Constantly revealing tons of shady and terrible things he's done.

Going so far as to RETCON them during major events in The X-Men's early years!

I get that Xavier is not suppose to be perfect, but this movement of just tearing him down and revealing that he's a horrible person has become OVERKILL!

And having The X-Men (or anyone as a matter of fact) gradually wanting nothing to do with him anymore.

And they're still doing it to this day!

I swear to God.

90% of the horrible things that happened (or have happened) to The X-Men, Xavier is usually somehow involved in it.

And this has done so much damage how many people view him.

So many fans tend to view Xavier in an incredibly negative light and see him as a let's be real, the fucking Anti-Christ!

And I don't know why the comics became so obsessed with making Xavier into the true villain of this entire series!

But from what I've heard, this can largely be blamed on the original Ultimate Universe.

Where everyone was literally the worst versions of themselves.

Xavier in The Ultimate Universe was incredibly manipulative and was clearly shown to use his powers to get what he wants.

Also, he had the hots for Jean.

Apparently the reason why he's like that is because the Ultimate Universe had the basis of taking the negative traits that many of these characters briefly had and just made that their entire personality.

And Xavier did display a few moments of manipulation and having an interest in Jean in the past.

So they basically made that his entire personality.

Though I must ask why they decided to bring that over from the Ultimate Universe?

If they did that, why didn't they bring any of this as well?

(P.S.: Firestar in that panel is about 15 years old)

So for this series, I wanted to......not do that.

I wanted show while he may not be perfect, Xavier is a genuinely good person.

Along with that, I wanted to fix many of the major criticisms levied against him

In the comics, it's been shown that Xavier has used his powers to manipulate and tamper with the minds of others, specifically the original five.

Here, while not shown yet, The X-Men all joined Xavier by their own free will.

I really want his relationship with The X-Men, especially Cyclops, to feel much more genuine.

Not only being someone they can truly look up to and look to during their tough times, but also being someone that is truly their friend.

Another major complaint is that he never really helps out, using sitting on the sidelines while his band of child soldiers basically risk their lives for his goal.

So I decided to make him a more active player in The X-Men's adventures!

This aspect was heavily inspired by, of all characters, Joe Swanson from Family Guy!

Before he became a total joke, Joe was portrayed as not only a very competent cop, but also a surprisingly tough fighter, in spite of the fact he was stuck in wheelchair.

And So, I decided to have Xavier's fighting style being a mix between his psionic powers and his combat prowess.

Remember, the guy is canonically an Army veteran.

One thing to note about this version of Xavier is his ideology.

It's essentially the same as Cyclops' in the comics.

He believes that while mutants and humans can peacefully co-exist, but he knows that not all of them are willing to.

And that mutants should be allowed to have rights and defend themselves from prejudice.

One last thing to note about Xavier is his racial background.

In contrast to most other iteration, Xavier is of mixed heritage.

With his father being Caucasian, and his mother being African-American.

This was heavily inspired by lot a recent fan interpretations of the characters.

Which themselves were inspired by the popular fan casting of Giancarlo Esposito as Xavier.

So I decided to adapt that aspect into my fanfic and made Giancarlo the voice of the character.

Sidenote: I'm actually kinda surprised that none of readers have made any Breaking Bad jokes yet.....

Speaking of voices, when casting The X-Men, I already had who I wanted in mind.

And the choices I had were already recurring VAs for the characters.

Scott Porter as Cyclops, Jennifer Hale as Jean Grey, Danielle Nicolet as Storm, Liam O'Brien as Nightcrawler, Chris Cox as Colossus, and of course, Steve Blum as Wolverine.

But for the others, this where things get interesting.

For Angel, I already had Grey Griffin in mind for her.

Same goes for Dee Bradley Baker as Lockheed.

As for the other three X-Men.....

I choose Jason Marsden for Iceman, as I felt that he would make for a pretty solid new voice for the character.

Plus, he's actually voiced Iceman before!

That being in the video game, X-Men Destiny.

It was admittedly a little tough to find a voice for a younger Beast.

But in the end, I settled on Yuri Lowenthal.

The reason why is actually an Easter Egg.

One of Yuri's most famous roles is of course, Ben Tennyson.

And several times in the series, we've met future versions of Ben, going by the alias Ben 10,000.

And the in the original series, Ben 10,000 was voiced by Fred Tatasciore, who's basically been the penultimate voice for Beast since Wolverine and the X-Men.

So basically, Fred is gonna be how Beast will sound like when he gets older.

But the hardest character for me to find a voice for was Shadowcat.

Since I wanted to give her a new VA.

But it was so damn hard.

So much so that I even considered giving her one of the prior VAs like Danielle Judovits or Kath Soucie.

But in the end, I settled on Jennie Kwan, who you'll know best as Chun Li in Street Fighter 6 and Suki in Avatar: The Last Airbender.

For the team's outfits, I used the exact same ones done by TheScarletMercenary.

I wanted to give the team for this first season matching uniforms.

And essentially, these outfits are like a modernized version of the original, First Class outfits.

The only exception with this is Wolverine, who's wearing the same outfit also done by TheScarletMercenary.

Which itself is pretty much a modified version of his classic outfit.

For the tone and style of this series, I wanted it to be a callback to a lot of the teen-focused action shows a lot us grew up with.

Teen Titans, Alpha Teens on Machines, Ben 10, Totally Spies, Danny Phantom, and even X-Men Evolution.

With a lot of action, a lot of adventure, a lot of comedy, and most importantly, a lot of heart.

One thing to note is how this series isn't really as heavy with the themes like most other X-Men series.

That's because I kinda wanted to avoid that.

Sort of....

I know how important they are to the identity of the brand, but I've always kinda had the fear that The X-Men could only be used as just for allegory and commentary and.......literally nothing else.

But even then, those themes are still there, just little more low-key.

In episode 3, "The Beast Within", we get to see Beast's childhood and the struggles he faced due to his animalistic appearance.

And in episode 5, "Flight of The Thunderbird: Part 2", we find out how Edwin Martynec's experiment had turned the residents of Camp Verde into anthropomorphic animals.

Another thing to note is how you hardly see The X-Men in their uniforms.

Like, they've only been in the damn things for two episodes.

This essentially ties into the more slice-of-life approach to this series.

Given that's something we hardly see from The X-Men nowadays.

Hell, in the little downtime they get, they're always usually still in their uniforms.

It reminds you that in spite of their extraordinary powers, they're still just normal people with their own hobbies, dreams and interests.

But real talk though, this might be the X-Men fanfic version of Regular Show.

Like, we usually start off with these guys doing normal, everyday stuff and then BAM!

They suddenly find themselves thrusted into a world of insanity with whatever villain of the week they're facing.

Though they haven't reached this level yet.....

One major aspect of this series is it's world building.

Particularly when it comes to Mutations.

I already mentioned how Secondary Mutations in this world are far more common.

But I also gave the Mutations their own system.

As stated in the series, Mutations are divided into six classes.

Energy: The mutants in this class possess the ability to manipulate some form of energy.

Mental: The mutants in this class possess various psychic capabilities.

Feral: The mutants in this class have Mutations that involve the transformation into or the obtaining of physical traits of members of the animal kingdom.

Elemental: The mutants in this class possess some kind of manipulation over the forces of nature.

Molecular: The mutants in this class have the ability to manipulate and alter their own bodies in some way.

Hybrid: The mutants in this class possess a set of Mutations that don't exactly fit into one specific class.

This system, along with the Mutations having actual names, was inspired by the Quirk system from My Hero Academia.

I also wanted to fix a major issue that's been plaguing X-Men stories for a long time....

Being that they've kinda made mutants a lot less interesting.

One thing that was cool about them was that not all of them were connected to The X-Men and many of them were doing their own thing in order parts of the world.

But with everything that's happened to them, they've unfortunately been reduced to being huddled and grouped together.

So for this series, I wanted The X-Men to have allies who while mutants, are usually off doing their own thing.

Like with Thunderbird, who's based down in Arizona.

And lastly, I want to talk about what this series would be like it if was animated.

The character designs would be Jeff Matsuda, who's famous for his work in comics and animation, especially the latter!

He did the character designs for Jackie Chan Adventures.....

The Batman....

And TMNT.

And he already has experience with The X-Men thanks to their comics.

As for the animation, it would be done by Flying Bark Studios, the animation studios behind Rise of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Glitch Techs and LEGO Monkie Kid.

Like, you’re telling me you wouldn’t want a X-Men series animated like this?

Well that was part 1!

Part 2 will be going into detail on the X-Men’s Secondary Mutations and the inspirations for them, their supporting cast, and even their villains!

So stay tuned!

But until then, let me know what you guys think about this behind the scenes feature.

Also, let me know what you guys think makes my fanfic work in general.

[httpsoftbunni]

🇩🇪 The Fragile Weimar Republic

Let's return to Germany in the 1920s. While the past events we discussed left deep scars on the German psyche, they also revealed a critical weakness in the country's political system: the Weimar Republic. Today, we'll focus on this government's creation, its struggles to gain legitimacy, and how its fragile nature contributed to the ride of extremist movements.

The Birth of the Weimar Republic

In 1918, Germany was in absolute chaos. The Kaiser, Wilhelm II, had retired, leaving a power vacuum. A new democratic government was proclaimed in Weimar, a city chosen for its distance from the unrest in Berlin. This government was an ambitious experiment–a parliamentary democracy in a country accustomed to monarchy and militarism.

The Weimar Constitution, drafted in 1919, was progressive for its time. It included universal suffrage (voting rights for both men and women), freedom of speech, and a range of social protections. On paper, it seemed to promise a modern, fair and equal society. However, the republic faced immediate challenges.

Many Germans blamed the Weimar leaders for signing the Treaty of Versailles, viewing them as traitors who stabbed Germany in the back and ultimately associated the new Republic with defeat. Their politics were also extremely fragmented. The Reichstag was made up of multiple parties, ranging from communists to monarchists, which made forming stable government pretty difficult. Hyperinflation and unemployment were also undermined in the government's ability to provide for its people.

The Struggle for Stability

Despite its grand ideas, the Weimar Republic was built on a shaky foundation. From the beginning, it was under siege from both the left and the right. In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, communists in Germany sought to overthrow the government and establish a Soviet-style regime. The Spartacist Uprising of 1919, led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, was one such attempt. Although it was crushed by the Freikorps (paramilitary groups loyal to the government), it revealed the deep divisions within German society.

On the other hand, monarchists, nationalists, and militarists despised the republic for dismantling the empire. The Kapp Putsch of 1920 was a right-wing coup attempt aimed at restoring authoritarian rule. Although it failed due to general strike, it showed that the republic lacked widespread loyalty. The government's reliance on the Freikorps to suppress leftist uprisings further weakened its legitimacy. These groups were known for their brutality and often harbored far-right sympathies, paving the way for the future paramilitary organizations like the Nazi SA.

The Culture Wars of the Weimar Republic

The Weimar Republic was not only politically unstable but also culturally transformative. Berlin became a hub for avant-garde art, cinema, and progressive social movements. Cabarets, jazz, and daring films symbolized the break from tradition. However, this cultural vibrancy was polarizing. Many conservative Germans viewed it as moral decay, a betrayal of traditional German values. Groups such as the Nazi Party exploited this discontent, painting the republic as a breeding ground for corruption, degeneracy, and foreign influence.

The Dawning of Extremism

By the mid-1920s, the Weimar Republic had weathered numerous crises, but at great cost to its legitimacy. Its domestic ideals were overshadowed by its association with economic failure, political chaos, and cultural divisiveness. For many Germans, democracy seemed foreign, weak, and incapable of restoring Germany's former glory. The disillusionment opened door for extremist movements. The Nazi Party, under Adolf Hitler, promised a return to order, unity, and strength. They capitalized on the widespread belief that Germany needed a leader who could stand above the squabbling politicians and restore national pride.

The Weimar Republic was a bold experiment in democracy, but it was plagued by political instability, cultural conflict, and economic hardship. These weaknesses made it an easy target for those who sought to dismantle it. As we move onto the next lesson, we'll explore how Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party exploited these vulnerabilities to gain a foothold in German politics.

[no-face-no-shame]

Ok. I said I will write some of my thoughts on Disco Elysium a few days ago, and I'm finally in the mood to do so, so here we go.

First things first - it's one of the most unique, incredible games I've ever played. It just feels different from anything else that I know. The world, the characters. It feels real. The worldbuilding is spectacular. As someone from a post-Soviet country, the atmosphere of the whole game hits too close to home. Even stupid things like architecture - I've seen it all before. I've seen these buildings, those streets. DE is the kind of game that will make you laugh until the full meaning reaches you, and then there is no laughter left.

Staying on the topic - the art style and animation blew my mind. The portraits are beautiful, painted in a very characteristic way. The animation of the game itself perfectly translates the atmosphere of the drawings into 3D. Extremely detailed backgrounds and locations, just a beauty overall.

Great soundtrack. The boat song made me cry. Literally. It just paralysed me. The whole OST is spectacular, but there is something so etheric about this particular track and its placement in the game.

There are no fully good people there. And I love it. I love how complex everyone is. It's one of the aspects that make DE feel so real. Everyone has some shit going on, everyone has some stupid opinions, everyone has fucked something up. Just as in real life. It doesn't make the characters any less sympathetic or likable. Quite the opposite - it makes them feel human in a very touching way.

Harry is a fascinating protagonist. He has so much good in him, and so much evil. It depends on how you play him - from the same background you can obtain such different people. Just like in real life, it's up to you to interpret his past and make a future out of it. Will Harry become bitter and hateful towards everyone? Will he start hating women and pouring his frustrations out on minorities? Or will he see the hope in the future and not give up on himself, letting the world welcome him back? The only chance for him is in love. Yes, you can choose the path of a hateful bigot who scares everyone. But this is how you get the weakest version of Harry. He can't build himself up, create a new himself out of violence and hatred. It only ruins him.

The way DE deals with the topic of addiction is one of the best takes I've seen in any media. The drugs will give you bonuses on checks, so you want to do more of them. Everything seems easier. Before you know, you take something before every check. And we're back at the beginning. I did my playthrough without taking anything, and I'm thankful for that. I like how especially alcoholism isn't shown in a profound, elegant way it is often in media. It's ugly, it's embarrassing, it reeks, it makes you stupid. Nothing elegant about it. Quite the opposite. It's a humiliation. No romanticising.

DE also has one of the best takes on politics I've seen recently. This is a very political game, it's one of the most important mechanics. To cover this topic more fairly, a separate post would be needed, but it's really refreshing to see such a complex portrayal of such a complex topic after being regularly exposed to, well, social media takes on politics. DE seems to be mocking all political fractions equally, however the reality quickly shows that they aren't the same.

Leftist Harry is the only one who has a chance to make some change - not only in his own life, but in the world around him as well. Yes, he's cheesy. Yes, he says stuff that sounds naive. But the thing is - he's right. The naive dreams about justice for the weak are right. It reminds me of that one quote, I can't recall the author, who says that children are naive in their belief that everything should be fair and that life should be good, and they are right in their belief. Things won't change immediately, especially not for Harry. But there is hope.

Centrist Harry never does anything and lets his life remain bad. Just as real life centrists, he sees harm, injustice and suffering, and is indifferent to them. But he's also indifferent to the good of the world. He's stuck in limbo which he will never leave.

Fascist Harry is a miserable rubbish that will probably die soon. He hates everything and everyone, and himself the most. There is no hope. The fascist route is the one where Harry gives up, collapses into the darkest chasms of his own mind. Everything is ugly, everything is violent, and the world will fall apart. Harry takes no pleasure in his views - they literally hurt him (by taking away his morality points), but he can't stop making himself and everyone around miserable.

Now, into the supernatural. I'd classify Disco Elysium as magical realism (one of my favourite literary genre.) Many times it reminded me of South American literature, with its smooth mixture of brutal reality and magic that's just right outside your grasp. There are so many moments in DE when you're wondering if something is actually happening, if this world is magical or not. And you never get the answer. Once again, spectacular worldbuilding and atmosphere.

The Pale is an intriguing, unique concept. A mixture of science and something supernatural. The End, Death, Freedom and Oppressor of the world. There are people who travel through it, yes, but they never come back the same. Some don't come back at all. The whole concept is linked to the side plot with the whole in the universe and the scientist woman. It was one of those parts of the game where I just sat in my chair and thought very deeply about not only the reality of DE, but also about ontology in the context of our world.

Dolores Dei and her becoming one with Dora in Harry's mind. What can I say. The dream was so eerie. I find it interesting that it happened towards the end of the game. "I will see you tomorrow, Harry." He’s not free from her. Will he ever be? The figurines won't win her back. Nothing will, because she's gone. The innocence and war criminal at the same time. The love of his life and his nemesis. With a crown on her forehead and an ugly suitcase in her hand.

I could talk about a million more things, but I think this post is already long enough. My final thought is - if you haven't played Disco Elysium, do it. It's one of those games you won't ever forget. I believe that there is a piece of it that detaches itself from the rest and buries somewhere deep within you, not allowing you to ever forget what you've seen.

[burlveneer-music]

VA - Synthesizing the Silk Roads: Uzbek Disco, Tajik Folktronica, Uyghur Rock & Tatar Jazz from 1980s Soviet Central Asia - new compilation from Ostinato Records

Compiled from ultra-rare dead stock pressed at a Soviet-era vinyl plant in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, this first-of-its-kind fully licensed album features a supreme selection of Uzbek disco, Tajik electronic folk, Uyghur guitar licks, Crimean Tatar jazz, Korean brass, and genre-defying styles from Soviet Central Asia. Drop the needle, and you're not just hearing rare Soviet dance music. You're journeying along the Silk Roads, revisiting raucous USSR disco nights, and immersing in grooves that inspired Soviet youth to envision a different future, ultimately unraveling the Iron Curtain from within.

About the vinyl release:

Not a gatefold, but a trifold. A gatefold has 2 panels when you open up the LP package, a trifold has—you guessed it—3 in the center spread, along with one more panel adjoined to the front and back cover. A comprehensive historical package complete with rare 1970s & 80s photos from the Soviet Union, Uzbekistan, and elsewhere in Central Asia.

[madphantom]

What does your mom have against your beloved? :(

It's a long story but to sum it up: My mum is pretty conservative. She grew up in a fanatically Christian environment in soviet Russia and spent a large part of her twenties pretty isolated from people her age because she had to take care of her mother after a house fire. My beloved is a vegan atheist antifascist communist I met at an antifa camp. He's seven years older than me, has tattoos, piercings, dyed hair and a vaguely alt style. He's mentally ill, on meds, a university dropout and has no teeth. He's fantastically flamboyant, not afraid to play around with gender roles, just the right bit of a sardonic cunt and takes me serious as my own person with my own agency.

Those are all qualities that either don't bother or very much attract me, but those are all qualities that my mum never wanted to see in my partner and/or possible future husband. It's honestly a weird mix of disliking his worldviews and just the sliiiightest bit of eugenics ("oh no your children could be mentally ill" "are you sure you can handle the burden of someone who's Like That?", you name it) but over time that just kind of grew into a general resentment towards him. If there's something to criticize about him she absolutely will. Even if it's just the fact that he has a lisp (??).

I think by now she has accepted that I'm madly in love with him and he's exactly the person I needed in my life, so she's just kind of occasionally throwing a hissy fit over me coming home with hickeys after the weekend, but she can acknowledge that he is a positive influence on me. Even though she occasionally comments that I could probably find all those qualities in someone who has less health issues.

[tomorrowusa]

Executing your own troops must do wonders for morale. No wonder Russia is losing.

Those comparisons of Putin to Stalin and Hitler are not really hyperbole.

“We have information that the Russian military has been actually executing soldiers who refuse to follow orders,” U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said at a press briefing in Washington on Thursday. “We also have information that Russian commanders are threatening to execute entire units if they seek to retreat from Ukrainian artillery fire,” he added. “It’s reprehensible to think … that you would execute your own soldiers because they didn’t want to follow orders,” Kirby said. “And now threatening to execute entire units. It’s barbaric.” [ ... ]

Kirby said Moscow appears to have resumed the “human wave tactics” of throwing hundreds of poorly trained soldiers at the Ukrainian lines, which the Kremlin first used in the winter offensive last year. “Russia’s renewed offensive is a sobering reminder that President Putin has not given up his aspirations to take all of Ukraine. As long as Russia continues its brutal assault, we have to support Ukraine,” Kirby said.

If Russian troops know that Putin's Mafia-style enforcers are probably going to shoot them, they have plenty of incentive to shoot the pro-régime henchmen first. 💡

It's Day 614 of Putin's 3-day "special operation" in Ukraine. It's getting increasingly difficult for Russia's dictator to find people who will voluntarily fight for his cherished goal of restoring the decrepit Soviet Union in all but name. Just yesterday you may have seen a post here about how kids in Russia are being militarized.

The best advice we can give to Russian males of military age is GET OUT.

Neighboring Mongolia and Kazakhstan are supposed to be beautiful in the autumn. It's the perfect time for a vacation.

Putin has ruined Russia for at least a generation; it's gradually turning into a large version of North Korea. Even if the war ends tomorrow there is little future for anybody in Russia – except maybe in Putin's secret police.

Leaving Russia may be difficult but staying there could become catastrophic.

[beardedmrbean]

State-backed North Korean hackers have stolen $1.5bn (£1.2bn) of cryptocurrency in the largest heist in history.

Agents from Pyongyang were able to breach the systems of Dubai-based exchange Bybit to steal the digital coin Ether, according to security analysts.

The hackers stole more cryptocurrency in one attack than all the funds stolen by North Korean cyber criminals in 2024, when the rogue state’s cyber attackers made off with around $1.3bn in digital coins, according to cryptocurrency analysts Chainalysis.

The $1.5bn total eclipses the largest known bank theft of all time, when Saddam Hussein stole $1bn from the Iraqi central bank ahead of the Iraq War in 2003.

The record haul comes as Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s supreme leader, turns to elite units of computer hackers to prop up the Communist dictatorship’s failing economy.

Chainalysis said the attack served as a “stark reminder” of the advanced tactics employed by the country’s hackers. As well as technical skills, North Korean hackers are adept at what is known as “social engineering”: manipulating people to do what they want in order to pave the way for a heist.

This can involve developing relationships with targets over email and digital chats, sometimes over a period of months.

Cyber security experts believe North Korea’s notorious Lazarus Group are the masterminds behind the latest attack. The group has terrorised Western businesses for more than a decade with a series of cyber breaches that have caused billions of dollars in losses.

Elliptic, a cryptocurrency analysis business, said the hacking group was the “most sophisticated and well-resourced launderer of cryptoassets in existence”.

The group is believed to be part of North Korea’s intelligence agency, the Reconnaissance General Bureau. It has been linked to past attacks including the hack of Sony in 2014, when the group leaked private emails from executives in an attempt to block the release of the comedy film The Interview, which lampooned North Korea’s supreme leader.

Lazarus Group has also been blamed for a near-$1bn heist from a Bangladeshi bank in 2016 and the global Wannacry cyber attack, which knocked hundreds of thousands of computers offline with damaging ransomware, including NHS systems.

While Pyongyang once relied on its elite hacking cadres to conduct espionage or steal trade secrets, increasingly they have been employed as a weapon of economic warfare to bolster the coffers of the heavily sanctioned regime.

“North Korea started using cyber attacks for espionage, stealing R&D and intellectual property,” said Rafe Pilling, of the cyber security company Secureworks. “Subsequently, they have really capitalised on it as a source of revenue.”

A Soviet-style focus on science and technology has created a “whole education pipeline” for future cyber experts, said Mr Pilling. North Korean science prodigies are identified from a young age, before being pushed to compete in international maths and programming competitions.

The country’s hackers are prolific. In 2024, they made off with approximately 61pc of the $2.2bn of cryptocurrency stolen globally, according to Chainalysis. Including last week’s attack, North Korean hackers have stolen upwards of $6bn in cryptocurrency over the last decade.

The thefts offer a substantial boost to the nation’s beleaguered economy and help support its military spending, including its ballistic missile programme. North Korea’s GDP is estimated at just $28bn and it is heavily reliant on agriculture and trade with its main ally, China.

While most members of Lazarus Group are unknown, the US has issued indictments against several North Korean military figures it believes are linked to the group.

North Korea relies on multiple different hacking techniques, ranging from uncovering so-called “zero day” hacks that can break into IT using previously unknown flaws to using fake remote-working contractors to infiltrate US companies.

Cryptocurrency analysis companies including Arkham Intelligence and Elliptic identified Lazarus Group as the likely Bybit hackers. Researchers were able to trace the digital wallets that were used by the hackers to quickly launder their funds, which are recorded on the “blockchain” technology used by the cryptocurrency industry.

Some of the funds moved through wallets believed to be associated with past North Korean hacking attacks. TRM, a cyber security company, said there were “substantial overlaps observed between addresses controlled by the Bybit hackers and those linked to prior North Korean thefts”.

The North Korean hackers were able to steal the huge crypto haul through a multi-layered and long-planned attack, according to Chainalysis. Hackers gained access to Bybit’s internal systems using so-called “phishing” email, which prompted an employee to input their login details to a seemingly legitimate website that was actually compromised.

The hackers were then able to gain access to a so-called “cold wallet” – a supposedly secure cryptocurrency storage device that holds coins offline and away from the internet. When Bybit came to transfer funds from the offline wallet to its online systems, the hackers sabotaged the transfer and stole the funds.

Within minutes the hackers had fed them through a series of other wallets and digital currency exchanges, attempting to obscure their origin by trading them for other coins or passing them through trading houses with no customer checks.

The nature of the cryptocurrency industry, which is virtually unregulated, has made it a haven for cyber attackers to launder funds. Chainalysis said it had worked with exchanges to freeze $40m in funds stolen from Bybit, but far more remained unaccounted for.

North Korea’s hackers are showing no signs of slowing down. According to Chainalysis, its attackers are getting “better and faster at massive exploits”.

North Korea’s cyber prowess allows it to be a “major player even if in the real world they are highly isolated,” Mr Pilling said.

Bybit has said it has “more than enough” assets to cover its losses and insisted the hack was an “isolated incident”.

[mesetacadre]

Since you were talking about Podemos, PCE, I'm assuming you're familiar with the political parties in Spain? (I always assumed you were from Latin America, but maybe I was wrong rsrsrs) I'm curious if you know about what happened to Herri Batasuna/Batasuna and now EH Bildu (or about ETA's history in general.. fascinating stuff ngl) and the other pro-independence parties like BNG. Do you think they can ever suceed in the future? Death to monarchies everywhere ofc.

I mean as a Marxist I support self-determination for Euskal Herria/Catalan Coutries/Canarias/etc, not to mention the decolonization of Ceuta and Melilla, but yeah I've seen the arguments about how some - like Sinn Fein in Ireland - do end up falling for the burgeuiousy (how tf you spell it) side and not the workers. I doubt a Soviet "style" Iberian Union would work due to Castilian(Spanish) chauvinism not giving space to Basques Galicians and Catalans, not to mention a fully union would have to include Portugal and Andorra tbh it wouldn't make much sense.

(you can answer in Spanish if you want, I understand it ok I'm Brazilian just don't speak it very well)

Como me diste la oportunidad, responderé en español. Por fortuna o por desgracia, vivo y nací en España, pero agradezco la confusión con mis hermanos hispanoamericanos.

ETA surgió durante la dictadura, en el 58, como respuesta a la violenta castellanización llevada a cabo por la dictadura. No conozco los detalles, pero cosas como prohibir el vasco y hacer lo posible por suprimir su cultura, aparte de la represión contra cualquier tipo de movimiento popular, como en el resto del país. Sobre todo por aquel entonces, había una importante influencia comunista en ETA, sobre todo entre los años 70 y 80 con ETA-pm (político-militar), había hasta influencia marxista-leninista. No hablaré mucho más de ETA, pues no tengo tanto conocimiento, pero si diré que el terrorismo como estrategia política comunista, ya sea principal o supeditada a otras estrategias, prácticamente nunca es productiva. Y sobre el aspecto separatista, llega el resto de tu pregunta.

Los movimientos regionalistas e independentistas surgen en el siglo XIX de la mano de su burguesía regional, al igual que surgió el concepto de nación española como se conoce hoy. Esto no es un descalificador, sin duda para que estos movimientos surgieran, tenía que haber detrás un trasfondo cultural y lingüístico suficientemente diferente para darle sustancia. No estoy diciendo que la burguesía se inventase el catalán o el vasco. Pero lo que sí estoy diciendo es que hay que tener en cuenta que, al igual que el resto de identidades nacionales, estas tienen un carácter ligado al desarrollo de la burguesía. Si la autodeterminación de una nación conlleva tener un estado y gobierno propio, entonces, como marxistas, entendemos que esto supone una división de la clase obrera mundial en categorías ajenas a su condición socio-económica objetiva de proletariado, tanto para un estado español, como para un estado catalán/vasco/gallego/etc.

La auto-determinación de una nacionalidad en los marcos del capitalismo sólo supone la autodeterminación de su clase capitalista correspondiente. Acaso el estado español defiende los intereses de los trabajadores españoles? No, porque es una dictadura de la burguesía. Lo mismo pasaría con un estado catalán o vasco. A los comunistas nos concierne la emancipación del proletariado, nada menos. El único caso en el que sí se suele apoyar movimientos nacionalistas así es en contexto imperialistas, de liberación nacional, como puede ser el de Palestina, el de la República Saharaui, o el de Argelia en su momento, por poner unos ejemplos. El imperialismo es una serie de características económicas específicas, de dominación y concentración financiera. Este no es el caso en España. Por más desiguales que puedan ser ciertas regiones, que no niego que lo sean, o por más que se haya reprimido sus lenguas en el pasado, esto no constituye una relación imperialista. España, en su conjunto como país, es un estado imperialista, pues se encuentra en los escalafones más altos de la pirámide imperialista, de la mano de la OTAN y la UE. Y no hace falta ni meterse a analizar las relaciones del capital financiero dentro de España y su concentración, puesto que las regiones como Cataluña, País Vasco, Galicia o Canarias, por más que tengan sus problemas específicos, se benefician por activa y por pasiva de los beneficios imperialistas que llegan a España. Si de verdad se tratase de una relación imperialista, esas regiones no percibirían esos beneficios. Los palestinos no se benefician de la posición de Israel en esa misma pirámide imperialista, por ejemplo.

Visto esto, que significa, como comunistas, apoyar la independencia de estas regiones sin ni siquiera pasar antes por la construcción del socialismo? Eso constituye oportunismo. Si buscamos superar el concepto de la nación, de qué sirve apoyar su profundizamiento en el seno de nuestra clase? La revolución es nacional en su forma, pero internacional en su contenido.

Para evitar malentendidos, y pasando a la parte de tu pregunta sobre la forma que tomaría un estado socialista en el territorio que ocupa España actualmente, dependerá del todo en cómo se ha desarrollado el contexto general para aquel entonces. Pero ahora sí podemos hablar de autodeterminación y autonomía. Si digo que la autodeterminación dentro del marco capitalista supone una división innecesaria de nuestra clase, no viene de ningún chovinismo español ni de un ansia por la fracturación de la patria, como diría el FO otras personas que van de obreristas, viene del principio de internacionalismo proletario. Le tengo tanto aprecio a la nación española como cualquier independentista, y deseo la no división de la clase obrera dentro de España con la misma intensidad que deseo la futura unión de toda la clase obrera mundial. Dentro de un sistema socialista, se debe, por cojones, partir del contexto que dejó el sistema anterior. Las desigualdades entre regiones que existen dentro de España y que sin duda seguirán existiendo hasta su abolición, por lo tanto es muy seguro que se requerirá de algún sistema de autonomía y de favorecimiento al desarrollo de estas regiones. Igual que se deberá afrontar la desigualdad que tiene Euskadi con el resto del país, también se deberá afrontar la de Extremadura, por ejemplo. Se trata de fomentar el desarrollo parejo de todo el país.

Aunque usar ese nombre sea demasiado folclorista y bastante sinsentido, la comparación con la URSS me parece apta porque ellos lidiaron con las centenares de nacionalidades subyugadas por el imperio zarista haciendo esto mismo, en cuanto las circunstancias se lo permitieron. Fomentaron la educación en las lenguas locales, su administración territorial se basaba, mas o menos, en líneas nacionales, y todo esto a la vez que empezaron a superar el concepto de nación, también fomentando el desarrollo de una "nación" soviética, basada en la condición de proletario y el orgullo en los éxitos de su revolución. Hay bastante que criticar en esta política, como por ejemplo, su uso de las jerarquías preexistentes para implementar sus políticas, sobre todo en los años 20 y 30. En la constitución de 1936 se contemplaba, y este derecho lo defendió Stalin hasta el final de su redacción, el derecho a la salida de cualquier nación de la URSS, si lo decidiese. Ninguna república comenzó este proceso porque la URSS realmente le dio la vuelta a las relaciones de dominación que solía tener Rusia sobre estas. Finlandia, por el otro lado, solicitó su independencia en 1921, durante la Guerra civil y de intervención, y se le otorgó sin hostilidades.

Algo similar, pero atendiendo a las diferencias en las relaciones entre regiones y otras particularidades, se llevaría a cabo en una "España" socialista.

TL,DR: no ganamos nada dividiéndonos en estados capitalistas, y tenemos mucho que ganar uniéndonos como clase