#actual anti-drug message

[babylon-crashing]

Real Stories of True Romance Was it the drinking water of Sioux Falls? or was it ... Methamphetamine magazine "Meth. We're on it," and other survival tips for living in South Dakota as endorsed by J. Edgar Hoover Obey the Comic Code Authority, puny Earthlings.

[thermesiini]

the christ figure shit in riverdale is honestly driving me insane because. what are the intentions here

[cassandraclare]

Chairman Meow to Church

Well, it's been a while! I am trying to be better about posting, I truly am. Today, since it is a miserable rainy day here, have an adorable letter from Chairman Meow to Church, after Church has moved to England. :) Written for Diane from Kickstarter.

Church Cat,

My person, the taller one, promised me that he would bring this message to you at your new palatial home in England. He has told me that the palatial home actually belongs to your human, but I do not believe him. That sounds like humanist anti-cat propaganda.

He also said he did not know what a small cat would do with such a large home. Clearly he does not understand us at all. As you know, there are many rooms that can be important in a cat’s domain. There is the room for lying around sleeping in, and the room for chasing mice, and the room for meowing loudly, and room with the best sunspots for napping in, and the room with the best furniture for sharpening claws, and the room where there are most likely to be mice.

This is the second time I have mentioned mice. I must be hungry. I will find my other human and alert him that it is time for the can-opener. Please accept this housewarming gift of a false mouse stuffed with drugs. The humans call it catnip. I’m sure you have enjoyed it before, since you are very old.

Meow,

Meow

[certifiablyinsanez]

This post is dedicated to our favorite sexual sacrifice, Emberlynn Pinkle, and why she is an important character even if we never see her again. Let’s buckle in for a crazy character analysis of someone we’ve only seen for 4 minutes.

There are many facets of this short that hold importance, including but not limited to the mysterious pendant, any potential foreshadowing, parallels between Emberlynn and pre-Ozzie’s Stolas, etc. What I want to talk about is the character of Emberlynn herself and what is truly represents.

Many anti’s of the show are foaming at the mouth over her, particularly the fact that Emberlynn is a caricature of the Hellaverse fandom that was created specifically to make fun of us. Funnily enough, many of us who have been in actual fandom spaces are not unfamiliar with people like Emberlynn, and at some point, a fair number of us admit to being like her, which is the main thing I want to touch on.

People watering Emberlynn and the short down to a cheap shot at fandoms and fans of the show is intellectually lazy. It can be seen as a critique of peoples’ own biases considering many of us that have been in fandom spaces have done so for a long time. And it’s funny, because these people have been threatening to doxx fans, harm them, send messages to their bosses to get them fired, to schools so they’d lose scholarships, etc. The kind of people that would order a hit on us in hell…Many anti’s and people who are against cringe culture often participate in it unwittingly. Take for instance, the anti’s of the Hellaverse shows who dedicate entire blogs to picking apart everything from character interaction to even three second frames. They take over the tags associated with the fandom just so they can pump bitter content out, and are actively hostile when fans confront them over their weird behavior. Because fans of Helluva Boss or Hazbin Hotel are normally not the kind of people who would watch entire seasons, keep up on content and lore, or interact with actors and fandom over something they hate. We would just…not watch it and not interact. And it’s that kind of strange behavior that is intrinsic in fandom. Fandom spaces have forever had a dark side, that much is undeniable, but now more than ever there has been an influx of people unaccustomed and socially unequipped to participate and interact in the spaces that have been infesting it.

I have been in fandom spaces since 2013 and my first fandom was Hetalia. If you know you know. Many people in these spaces have been targeted for being “freaks” for years, but the areas where we have thrived, made friends and enjoyed ourselves was relatively untouched by the “normies”. That’s definitely changed in recent years, especially when the pandemic forced people who would normally socialize in other spaces come to ours. We all remember alt fashion blowing up in 2020 just for people to be finding entire wardrobes of it at goodwill not even 2 years later. And when they came in, they started adding rules and stipulations. They would allow themselves permission to interact with us weirdo outcasts, but only in a way that could give them plausible deniability later when they knew the trend wouldn’t last. They would enter a space that was nerdy and when furry iconography would show up they would whine about furries “making it weird” when it was already “weird”. They would dress and call themselves punk but still think it was important to listen to “both sides”. And when it comes to the Hellaverse, it’s popular, and entering the mainstream via Amazon picking up Hazbin, but if you’re not willing to be critical of its unsavory parts then you’re complicit in things like rape, violence, drug use, etc.

These people have infiltrated our community, which sounds extreme but when I remember it from my teen years vs now, I think these people genuinely would’ve combusted on sight. Like I said before, I was in the Hetalia fandom for many years. If you don’t remember, people were cosplaying as Germany and doing the Nazi salute at cons and concentration camps. It was bad. It was equivalent to our new blackface Alastor controversy. Back then, the fandom handled it ourselves. We all agreed that that was unacceptable behavior, and people would express disgust, but they were also productive. Fans would post about how we needed to realize that there was real history behind this show and that we needed to be mindful when participating in that environment. I saw many cosplayers altering their costumes to be more mindful. Germany cosplayers would refuse to wear iron cross, which isn’t even technically solely fascisitic in nature, but did it anyway because it was seen as respectful. I’ve seen a resurgence of the fandom on tiktok recently and all of us are allowing ourselves to enjoy it, because for years we had to pretend that we were stupid weirdos for liking it to begin with. Fandom has to allow itself to be cringe again, as it has been affected by people that are in an echo chamber of self righteousness and acceptability.

Getting back to Emberlynn, I have hardly ever seen a take off of a character like this. Even when it was shown that Baxter was coming in season 2 of Hazbin I saw maybe a handful of fan arts and videos. But Emberlynn has EXPLODED. I watched the short when it had been out for only 26 minutes, and within the hour my feeds across all social media were full of her.

I genuinely think that it’s because she is the epitome of fandom, where all of our cringe has been rolled into one character. Her self insert name is literally a reference to old fandom. She’s a proshipper, a selfshipper, she gets into shipping wars and has been fighting with people online for almost a decade. She said the pendant was from an episode “569”, which is strange wording because episodes aren’t usually formatted that way in any sort of media, which could potentially mean that she’s watched over 500 episodes of Akuma no Otto. Her room is full of pornographic material, figurines, the BODY PILLOW. I mean come on. Her parents are fully aware that she watches hentai. She was upstairs moaning and crying while interacting with Blitz and being stabbed and her parents did not go up to check on her, nor think it was out of the ordinary. She is pastel goth, a subset of the gothic culture, and writes self insert fanfiction. She’s A MONSTERFUCKER. HELLO?? When everyone in the Hellverse is as hot as they are…come on. When she dies and goes to hell her sinner form has furry influences. All of us love her because even if we were never fully like her (ie stalkerish, obsessive), we’ve been like her in some way at some point, or even now. I write fanfiction. I’m part of alternative fashion and culture. I’ve been into cringe stuff for a while. I’m not necessarily super into furry stuff, but I love the suits, the artistry and even had an idea for an oc once. My profile pic is literally my Sinner OC.

Emberlynn is a return to form for the standard of fandom spaces and I think to those of us that truly embrace the lifestyle, it’s refreshing. She does not exist in the realm of acceptability; she’s fat, intense and unapologetic. And yet, she’s still super hot, funny, and entertaining. We don’t love her because she’s a respectable fan, we adore her because she’s insane. I’m a cofounder of a Facebook group about being fans of the Vees and we all agree that she would actually do well with Valentino, because that cutie needs some disrespectful eldrich cock ASAP lol. It’s refreshing, and even if we never see her again, I still find her completely relevant and interesting.

Emberlynn Light’ness Demonanya Pinkle, you are PRECIOUS.

[thefugitivesaint]

'The Stuff', ''Starburst Magazine'', #83, 1985 Source When I was 10 at the time this B-movie emerged from the ground, I had no idea that it was intended as a criticism of Reagan era American consumerism and, more specifically, the failure of federal regulatory organizations like the US Food and Drug Administration due to regulatory capture by the very industries the FDA was charged to oversee (also due to the hostility towards such agencies held by the Reagan administration*) it's a cheap amalgamation of films like Invasion of the Body Snatchers and The Blob and various 50s scifi films. Sure, the acting is both undercooked and, paradoxically, overly exaggerated and the script is less than robust but it's still worth a watch as a satire. The ads for 'The Stuff' within the film are presented straight and are hardly different from advertisements for actual products. In a way, 'The Stuff' is a prime example of iconoclastic, low-budget filmmaking with a message. It would be a great pairing with John Carpenter's 'They Live' given their shared anti-capitalist sentiment (although, to be fair, Carpenter has been open about being perfectly happy to make money). I was recently reading about the director of 'The Stuff', Larry Cohen and came across the following in 'Larry Cohen : the radical allegories of an independent filmmaker', from 1997: "Robin Wood hails Cohen’s work for suggesting potentials for an alternative society devoid of all the oppressive social and gender boundaries affecting human beings today. Larry Cohen’s film and television works are critical of the oppressive nature of human relationships....The Stuff represents an ironic elaboration of the old saying “You are what you eat.” However, the film’s absurd premises really reveal the dangers of American consumerism. Business interests and the Food and Drug Administration collaborate in merchandising a dangerous substance on the market to make a profit. The killer yogurt from outer space destroys people from within. Its victims become mere shells housing a killer substance. Cohen’s message can be read literally as well as metaphorically. The Stuff is an attack upon a corrupt society that often deliberately disseminates food or drugs without even testing them properly." (pgs 29-30)

In summary, the execution of the premise is lacking but still fun. I must rather enjoy 'The Stuff' given how I periodically post about it. *fuck Ronald Reagan. Forever.

[tobiasdrake]

What's the best depiction of/metaphor for addiction you've seen in fiction?

I don't know if I'd call it the best; I have a hard time remembering all of the media I've consumed when given general questions like that. But the one that stands out most in my mind, at least, is Willow Rosenberg's four-season decline into overdependence and eventual substance abuse of magic in Buffy: The Vampire Slayer.

A point I really like about the way BTVS handles addiction is that it doesn't blame the substance. The message isn't, "Magic is bad for you; It makes you an addict." The problem is never magic, and we see other characters both using magic responsibly and confronting Willow for the way she uses it throughout the series.

The problem, the message that BTVS conveys through Willow's addiction plotline, is addiction. The problem with addiction is addiction. You can be addicted to all kinds of things, not just controlled substances like drugs and alcohol. Caffeine can be addictive. Sugar. Video games. Fast food. Gambling. Sex. The internet. Money. Whatever gives your brain that dopamine hit that makes life worth living, that can form an addiction.

The problem in BTVS isn't magic. It's Willow's dependency on it. The way she makes it her personality, replacing who she was before. The way she leans on it as a crutch whenever things are physically or emotionally difficult. The way it substitutes for her lack of self-esteem, validating her with an artificial confidence boost by making her feel powerful and uniquely capable.

It starts in season two, with Willow casting her very first spell in the season finale to restore Angel's soul. Giles warns her then and there that casting this spell will "open a door that you may never be able to close". She doesn't really know what that means and neither do we.

But from season three onwards as Willow begins to learn about magic, we see her constantly turning to magic whenever things get hard - against advisement from the rest of the cast. People think the addiction storyline began somewhere in season six, but it actually began in episode 03x08 "Lovers Walk".

Willow and Xander, at this point, had begun cheating on their boy/girlfriends Oz and Cordelia with each other. Willow feels intensely guilty for it. At this point, they have three options in front of them:

1 - Break up with Oz and Cordelia, and get together. 2 - Do a better job of controlling their attaction to one another and remain faithful to their partners. 3 - See if Oz and Cordelia would be up for a polycule.

Willow decides to take a fourth option: She decides unilaterally that she should cast an anti-love spell on herself and Xander to magically erase their feelings for one another. She doesn't even consult him on it; In fact, she actively lies to him to keep him from realizing what she's doing.

She's put in a difficult but relatable situation; This is her first time having to make a choice between two people she's interested in. It's a situation where she needs to figure out what she wants for herself. And her response is "I can lobotomize us with magic".

It's gonna be a bumpy ride from here. This is Willow's chief character flaw. When things are hard either physically or emotionally, she leans on magic - Whether it's appropriate or not. Something that both Giles and Tara criticize her for as the seasons progress, to which her response is to sneak around behind their backs and do spells without their knowing - Such as trying to curse Oz after their breakup or giving Dawn guidance to perform an ill-advised resurrection spell on her mom.

Again, the problem is never that she does magic. Magic is shown to be tremendously useful in making the impossible possible. The problem is that she keeps leaping to extreme gestures of magic to do what was already possible. That she uses it as an emotional crutch, as a surrogate for her own self-esteem.

Magic makes her feel powerful. It makes her feel valid. That's something she didn't have before she had magic, and something she doesn't have when she isn't using magic. So she overindulges and rides the high of being able to crinkle her nose and make party favors go up, or stab a god with knives, or make anyone she loses come back to life because she is Willow Almighty and magic has made her omnipotent.

She likes being Willow Almighty. It's an awful lot better than Willow the Put-Upon Nerd. So she lets an otherwise benign activity become her entire personality, and she is made worse because of it.

[leonstoenailunderhisbed]

Insurgency: The Uprising

Summary: A totalitarian regime reigns over a South American country in which the virus is being distributed to its citizens at the pretense of a “cure.” Leon was sent to retrieve a sample of the virus mutation when he stumbled upon a group of anti-government activists whose main goal is to overthrow their government. Will Leon help the cause or will he fall down with the government as well?

Warning: Mentions of mature themes. Read at your own discretion. Slow burn. Age gap (Leon is 38 and reader is 21+). Reader is female.

Word count: 4,750

A/N: this is an idea I had for a book I wanted to write. I love dystopian books and movies so I really wanted to write something like this. This will be a series lol.

[part one][part two][part three][part four][part five][part six][part seven][part eight][bonus]

“The relief of giving in to destruction.” - Franz Kafka, Diaries.

“This is an urgent message from the president. This is an urgent message from the president. This is an ur-“

“Hello citizens of Pruye,” the TV warning got interrupted by the screening of a middle aged woman sitting down on a desk. Her suit was black as a flag stood behind her. The colors blue and green with a crest on the far left corner- a serpent. The woman had a brown bob with a few grey hairs. Her eyes were deep brown as her lips remained a bright pink. Her rosy cheeks puffed out the look of exhaustion as she embodied the feeling of a confident and strong leader,

“Today is an important day that all must remember. Tonight, we will launch the cure of all illnesses. The immunity to life. We shall bring peace and harmony all throughout the globe. A change never seen in history… until now.”

“Membario will become the new pharmaceutical phenomena. Our people worked hard for this cure and we shall be the first ones to prove to the world that we, too, can make history. Tonight, you all will be receiving a sample of this cure. Tonight, we will boast in the celebrations of what it feels to be victors! We are proud Pruyanians!”

The TV got turned off by someone, your coworker, “What a bunch of mierda,” Your coworker was an old man, a veteran who served in the war and now worked at where you worked. A canteen right in the middle of downtown Pruye. The streets were made of cement but had plot holes from previous battles.

The Pruyanian government, right before the current president won the election, was peaceful and harmonious in which it allowed citizens to have a voice. After President Mendez took charge, she changed everything.

Streets were patrolled by the Pruyanian soldiers who proved their loyalty to the country. Laws were changed and made to accommodate the president’s demands.

“I just don’t understand why it’s such a big deal, it’s just a drug like opium or morphine,” he continued with a grumpy voice.

“C’mon, Franco. Don’t be a buzzkill. Imagine how rich we can be if we were to sell it to other countries?” Another coworker said, a young woman in her early twenties with dyed hair. Red fiery hair covering what was a previous black raven shade.

Franco snorted as he stared at the TV and then back at the young woman, “Don’t tell me you actually believe her words? She’s manipulating us!”

You sighed and went to clean up a few tables, “You two fight like politicians.”

“Look- I’m just saying is that there are better ways to make a living. I don’t want to work here for the rest of my life,” the young woman replied as she too helped you clean around the canteen.

“Too bad, Esme,” Franco replied as he opened a newspaper and began to read, “Life’s a bitch and you can’t do anything about it.”

Esme raised her brow and looked at you for a brief moment, “He gets old but not his spirit, eh?” She nudged you with her elbow gently.

You stifled a chuckle and shook your head as you went back to the kitchen to clean the used dishes.

It’s always been you three working here. Esme, Franco and you were like family. After President Mendez delivered the order to kill all those who opposed her, your family became a target.

Your brother, around 16 years old, died right before a ceasefire was called. He was with his friends when a group of Pruyanian soldiers appeared and shot him. The cause for the shooting? He defied a soldier and showed insubordination.

Since then you’ve grown resentment to the government- specifically President Mendez.

The ground shook as you were cleaning the dishes. You slowly approached the open door entry along with Franco and Esme, watching as battle tanks drove through the city.

“Coño… what are they doing over here?” Esme asked faintly as she watched the tanks and army pass by. Their uniform blue with the serpent crest embedded on their arm. The red serpent you’ve seen all throughout the city.

“Must be presidential orders,” Franco pointed to a big screen on a tall tower. The tower stood right in the center of the city layout. Its purpose was to guide those who are lost- or maybe it was to show who the powerful ones really were.

You and Esme turned your attention to the big screen, watching as a countdown took place. They were about to distribute the cure to the citizens in 6 hours.

Esme huffed in annoyance and went back to stare at the soldiers pass by. Their boots echoing through the humid streets of Pruye as they held their weapons with a firm grip.

“They’re securing the area…” you whispered as you furrowed your brows. You turned back to look at the screen and listen to what the president had to say, “We will be patrolling the following areas- Pucalara, Miguén, San Jolonia, and San Bandero. Do not be alarmed, this is standard protocol.”

Currently, you were in San Bandero. The heart of Pruye. The soldiers all surrounded the city and held their rifles close to themselves. You watched as the tanks all moved inward, closer to the tower.

“They’re locking us in…” you spoke faintly as you quickly walked back inside the canteen. Esme and Franco exchanged a look as they followed behind you, seemingly confused.

“This isn’t protection like she claims- no. She’s locking us inside the city-“ you frantically said as you got your bag and jacket.

“Y/n, slow down. How do you even know that?” Franco put a hand on your shoulder to calm you down.

You shook your head as you swung your jacket around your shoulders, “I don’t. But knowing her… she’s hiding something and I don’t want to be here for that.”

You walked out of the canteen and walked down the sidewalk towards where the soldiers were blocking an exit. As you neared them, a soldier held out his rifle and aimed at you as he spoke through his helmet, “Turn back around. You cannot leave the area.”

You raised your hands in the air and took a step forward, resulting in the other soldiers pointing their guns at you, “I said- turn back around! Now!”

With a glare you slowly took steps back as you walked away from them. They weren’t letting people out which meant that they were also not letting people in.

As you walked back to the canteen, you noticed how people began to get out of their houses and grow confused at the soldiers. Why were they blocking the exits and entries of the city?

Right as you were about to walk inside the canteen, shots were fired. You crouched down to the floor and covered your head with your arms as you looked over your shoulder and saw soldiers shooting the civilians with weapons launching at them.

Your eyes widened at the sight of the people with machetes and guns fight each other. The sound of bodies falling down to the floor as well as the blood seeping through their lifeless bodies, staining the cement under them.

Rain began to pour down, making it hard for the soldiers to see through their helmets. You watched as a person stabbed a soldier from behind with their knife but then fall to the ground dead as the soldier behind them shot them in the head.

This was war.

-

Leon was called to the main office of the organization he was currently working at. Which was for the government. He found himself inside the White House again for some reason.

As he waited inside a room, he couldn’t help but notice how bright and sunny the weather had been lately. Which was a contrast to what he felt. Drained and exhausted.

The door opened gently and two men dressed in expensive suits stepped inside with a file in their hands. They approached where Leon had been sitting and sat on the couch across from him.

“Good news, your request for a getaway vacation has been approved,” one of the men, balding and tired, said as he laid the file on the coffee table between them. Leon leaned forward to pick it up and go through it.

“And the bad news?” Leon asked without glancing at them.

The other cleared his throat before speaking, “You’re being sent to another virus mission.”

Leon looked up from the file to stare at the two men. Another mission about the virus, when will it ever end?

He sighed as he closed the file and leaned back against the couch, “So another zombie apocalypse. Great, just what I fucking needed…” he whispered as he put the file back on the coffee table, “No.”

“No? What do you mean no? This is important, people’s lives are at risk and we can’t-“ Leon quickly interrupted the balding man.

“You can’t save everyone when it comes to this. I’ve seen it many times, why don’t you all just do what you did back in Raccoon City, huh? Bomb them until there’s no trace of the virus,” Leon got up and began to walk towards the door.

“This is different,” the other man said, causing Leon to stop in his tracks. “This isn’t like the virus you’ve seen before… this is much more dangerous.”

Leon turned around to look at the two of them before walking back to sit on the couch. “Go on.”

“Ahem-“ the man continued, “South America. The branch wants you to go over there and retrieve a sample of the virus. That’s all you have to do. Once you give us the sample, we’ll proceed from there and you’ll get your vacation.”

Leon narrowed his eyes at him, growing suspicious of how easy the mission sounds, “You aren’t telling me everything, are you?”

The balding man laughed nervously and readjusted his black tie, “Not per se-“

“There’s a revolution going on in the country of Pruye where you’re being sent to. They mutated the virus’s genetic code into something more dangerous and they’re using it as medicine- I believe you know where this is going,” the other man said.

Leon nodded and kept quiet as the man talked, “The government is planning on distributing this ‘medicine’ to other countries but we cannot let them. Your mission is not only to retrieve a sample but to also stop the spread and destroy the evidence of the virus ever existing. You will be given a team- both air and land to help you complete your mission. Your task is not let others know the real reason why you’re there. You are acting as a soldier proving aid to the government. Once you have retrieved the virus sample, we will pull you out of the country and bring you back.”

“This time I’m actually getting help. Nice,” Leon replied sarcastically. It was obvious that Leon wasn’t all too excited about this. He’s been used as a killing machine ever since Raccoon City. He’s been tossed around the globe with expectations of solving everyone’s issues. And he’s tired. He’s 38, he should be worrying about other things other than war and death.

His hands rested on his thighs as he began to stand up from the couch, “When do I leave?”

“First thing in the morning, you’ll be on a private plane provided by the government,” the balding man answered.

Leon nodded before finally walking towards the door and exiting the room. As he walked down the halls of the White House, he wondered what life would be like for him. Is this all he’s ever going to do? Was his life purpose about fighting and killing? He couldn’t wait to retire.

-

Smoke covered the entire block. Rain poured down harshly against your skin, causing your hair to stick to you like glue. The smell was of gunpowder and metallic blood infiltrated your nose. A vision full of haze as you stood up from being crouched down on the floor.

Blood.

A lot of blood.

They brought tanks and a helicopter. “¡Al suelo!” Someone yelled.

You got down on the floor as an incoming tank shot a building, causing it to crumble down just a few feet away from the canteen. Your eyes widened in horror at the sight.

People screamed- from pain and from the fight. You got up and ran to try and find Franco and Esme. You needed to get them out of here now.

You staggered as you ran towards the canteen. The debris that had fallen over from the building covering the road. You jumped and ducked as soldiers hid behind them and shot at anyone who they deemed a threat.

Panting through the bloodied streets, you had reached the canteen. You heard groaning and some yelling more up ahead.

You didn’t know what took over you but you found yourself running towards that sound. As you approached the yelling, you saw that Esme had been hit by a piece of debris from the collapsed building. Her leg had been squished and she desperately tried to pry the piece off of her. You kneeled down beside her and pushed the debris aside, watching in horror what had happened to her leg.

Her bone broke and penetrated her skin. Snapped in half like a twig. There was blood pooling down her leg. You froze, you didn’t know what to do. You weren’t a medic but you also weren’t heartless enough to leave her.

You took off your jacket and applied it to her wound, hoping you could at least stop the bleeding. She gripped your arm as she let out a bloody scream in pain.

“Estoy aquí- respira. Todo va estar bien-“ you tried to calm her down but she let out another yell, “y/n it hurts- grragh”

Of course it hurt, her bone was poking out of her skin.

“Where’s Franco?” You asked as you tried to get her distracted from the pain.

She didn’t respond and instead pointed to a mountain of rubble. Metal rods and pieces of cement fell down on top of people. You could see limb pieces- arm, legs. But you couldn’t recognize all of them.

Your eyes followed her finger as she pointed to the gore display.

“He’s under there…” she replied weakly and let out another pained scream.

You felt your breath catch in your throat as your heart rate quickened. Slowly standing up, you walked over to the mountain of rubble. “Franco?” You called out in a panicked tone.

Silence.

You hurriedly kneeled in front of the mountain and hastily moved the rubble away. Taking piece by piece as you denied the thoughts scurrying through your head.

Almost immediately, your heart dropped down to your stomach as you recognize the veteran necklace. With shaky hands, you reached for the necklace and took it.

Franco was dead.

Your vision blurred as you held the necklace on your chest. You let out a blood curdling scream as you trembled in horror.

The ground shook as more bombs blew off. Troops stampeded through the streets, their weapons aimed at the citizens of San Bandero.

You went back to Esme and tried to pick her up, “Come on,” you grunted as she leaned her weight on you.

Dragging her alongside you, you managed to walk further away from the city and towards the exit. The soldiers bordering the entry/exit road had been killed and now laid there lifeless. Their uniforms stained with the red tint of what could be assumed was their blood. Maybe it was also someone else’s.

As you managed to get her out of the city, you walked through the dense forest and laid her down on the ground as she leaned against a tree.

“I’m going to get help- stay here and don’t make a single sound-“

“Leave me,” Esme interrupted you. Her gaze defeated and weak as she looked up at you. “I’m only going to slow you down. You need to get out here…”

Your eyes softened at her, “I can’t leave you, Esme. You’re coming with me-“

“For fuck’s sake y/n! Just go!” She cut you off again. She sighed and closed her eyes. “Just go…”

You stared at her in silence, your feet frozen in place.

“Esme…”

“Just go. I’m not going to live, you saw what they were doing to us… please, Y/n… just go…” she rolled her head back against the tree and grunted softly in pain.

You stared at her in silence as you contemplated your next actions.

“Y/n, go to La Séten mountain…” she heaved as she tried to breathe, “There’s- there’s a group of people who can help you, give them this.”

She weakly handed you a piece of paper with writing on it. You took it and put it in your pocket as you nodded shortly.

“I will…” you whispered as you looked into her amber eyes, “I’m sorry, Esme…”

Esme gave you a weak and faint smile, “Don’t be sorry… promise you’ll live… for me…”

You nodded and held her hand as your eyes welled up in tears, “I will.”

You leaned closer to her and gave her forehead a gentle kiss. She closed her eyes and exhaled for the last time in her life.

You stifled a sob as you let go of her hand. You’ve lost Franco and now Esme too.

You walked through the forest, making your way to the mountain Esme mentioned.

-

“Madam President, the city states have been seized and are under troop surveillance.”

“Wonderful, let the Chief in Command proceed with the plan. We mustn’t delay the delivery.”

“Yes, Madam President,” the female assistant walked out of the President’s office, the same one when the announcement was first made. President Mendez let out a soft hum and stared down at the files in her hands.

“Tonight, we will change lives Doctor Ramirez,” she spoke as Doctor Ramirez walked closer to her desk.

“Yes, we will Madam President and it’s all thanks to your help. Without your sponsorship, we couldn’t have progressed so quickly with our research,” Doctor Ramirez was a tall and lanky man with glasses. His hair was neatly parted at the side and his white coat shielded the suit he was wearing underneath. He exuded wealth and power, much like the President herself.

President Mendez laughed and clapped her hands slowly, “Oh.. Doctor Ramirez, you are too humble.”

“Not all Madam President… not at all,” he replied with a quiet tone. His eyes unreadable.

-

The path to La Sénte Mountain was a rough one. It’s one of the biggest mountains in San Bandero that has been classified as unreachable. There was an abandoned trail that originally was used for horse riding but ever since the country got ruled over by President Mendez, everything turned industrial.

Trees aligned the rail as the tall grass reached up your shins. It had gotten dark by the time the bombs and the shootings all faded in the background. As you took a step up, you turned back to look at the city that was once your home become occupied by soldiers. The helicopter flashed its light in search for citizens. There was smoke and fire coming out of the city from where you stood.

You couldn’t believe this was happening. With a sigh, you continued your trail up the mountain. Unknown to you that you were being watched by eyes hidden in the grass, trees, and bushes.

Hours passed and it was now some time past midnight. You took a break to catch your breath. Sitting down on a rock, you took out the piece of paper Esme gave you.

It was a small map with the word ‘Insurgents’ on it. The map was a layout of Pruye, it contained information about where each government and army building was located around the coast as well as the center of the country.

You tucked it back into your pocket not before hearing a twig snap. Anxiety quickly coursed through your veins and you got up to leave. Whatever was out there was probably not friendly given the current uprising in the country.

With a force against your feet, you kept climbing up the mountain. Climbing for what felt hours until you saw an orange light emitting from a cave.

Fire. Someone had lit up a camp inside a cave in the mountain.

You gripped the edge of the cave and pulled your body up. As you entered, you were immediately met with guns pointed at you. There were about four men pointing their rifles at you as you climbed up. A woman came up to you and dragged you up by your arm, helping you stand on your feet.

There was a table right in the center of the cave with a lantern. And behind that table stood a woman with a scar across her face. Her eye a different color as the scar ran right through it.

“Hold your weapons,” she raised her hand to stop the men from shooting you. The men took two steps back and slowly lowered their weapons. The woman who helped you up left your side and walked back to where the other woman was standing.

“I assume you were told about us,” she began as she went around the table and walked to stand in front of you. She was taller than you by at least two inches. Her hair was short and black. Her skin tanned and full of freckles.

You nodded and took out the note Esme gave you, “A friend of mine told me to come here.”

The woman took the note and inspected it before giving it to the woman who helped you up.

“Another recruit, Esme was really good at recruiting more people,” she said casually. Your eyes widened, she knew Esme?

“I don’t suppose you know what we do or who we are?” She walked back to the table and motioned for you to follow behind her.

As you neared the table, there were papers scattered around messily. Maps and files with important information. The woman turned to you and took out her hand for a handshake, “Name’s Yanira. Welcome to Insurgents.”

You took her hand and shook it with a firm grip, “Insurgents? What are you guys?”

She let go of your hand and focused back down on the table, “We are an organization looking to overthrow President Mendez from her position. She and her minions have been controlling our land far too long. It’s time we claim back what’s ours.”

An anti-government group. And they’re fighting the Pruyanian government for freedom. You furrowed your brows and stared down at the table as well as Yarina kept speaking, “We need as many people as possible if we want to make this happen. You’ve seen how they treat people back in the city states. Why don’t you join us?”

You looked at her with wide eyes, “What? Why would you want me to join? I don’t even know how to shoot a gun.”

Yarina chuckled softly, “You’ll learn. We’ve got plenty of people who can teach you different things,” she leaned closer to you, “We’ve been preparing for this moment. All we need is more help. And you- I have a feeling you can help us big time,” she whispered and then leaned away.

She focused back on the table and continued discussing whatever it was that she was talking to the other people.

Join them? You can help them? Up until now you were just a girl working in a canteen living paycheck to paycheck. And now everything turned upside down. The army has taken control of four city states and you’ve lost more people.

It was no lie that a war was coming but to actually partake in it was terrifying, at least to you. But witnessing how everyone seemed to have the spirit and the faith that everything will work out in their favor is beginning to persuade you.

What more do you have to lose? You’ve lost your family and now your friends. It’s time to fight back for what was once yours.

“Okay,” you nodded slowly and looked at Yarina.

“I’ll join you.”

Yarina smiled brightly and hung an arm around your shoulders, celebrating with the other insurgents.

It all felt so overwhelming yet so real. This was happening and there was no turning back.

“Okay, here’s everything you need to know so far,” Yarina pointed to the map.

“The coast has been guarded up by the navy army of Pruye. President Mendez sent out an order to not let anyone in or out of the country. The ports have been closed and the soldiers are patrolling the beach.”

She then pointed to the center of Pruye, right on San Bandero, “San Bandero has become the military center of the country and is where most of the soldiers have been patrolling. This is where their control comes from. If we can target and destroy their center from this point then we have a chance at liberating the other city states.”

You furrowed your brows, “It’s not easy. I’ve seen what they brought. Tanks and helicopters. Are you sure you want to target them first? What about the civilians?”

Yarina let out a soft exhale, “We can perform an underground evacuation- some of our soldiers will go in the sewers and take people out of the city towards the forest. Once the people have been evacuated, we will proceed and attack the main tower.” She then pointed to a tall building colored in red right in the middle of the map.

“This is where most of the military controls the country. If we can hijack and steal their data, then we can convince the rest of the country to join us. And we can also delay the soldiers from terrorizing other city states.”

She already had a plan for everything. No wonder Esme knew about this. If this group was this good then that means that there’s hope for liberation.

“Okay…” you began slowly, “What do you need me to do?”

“You, my friend, have a special mission,” she slid a piece of paper your way.

“The United States will send some troops over here to aid President Mendez. I want you to go back to San Bandero with a few of my people and infiltrate their meeting location,” her finger pointed to another building on the map, “This place is called La Fundación de Membario. It is heavily guarded by soldiers. The place is where President Mendez is currently staying at. She’s going to personally welcome the Americans and give them a run down of what Pruye has been up to. She’ll most likely tell them about us and knowing her-“ her tongue clicked against the roof of her mouth as she stared at you.

“She’ll want the Americans to target us.”

You pinched your brows together and looked back down at the files of the American soldiers that were expected to come, “But why is the U.S. sending their military over here?”

“Because President Mendez sent an emergency alert to their President. She declared her country was threatened by us and needed backup. So, the U.S. playing God in all wars- decided to send their people over here to control us.”

You looked up at her from the files as she spoke again, “But you know what I think? I think they don’t stand a chance against us. We know the country better than anyone. They’ll die right before they can touch land,” she replied quietly.

She sounded like she wasn’t lying. It was a promise to herself and to the people of Pruye.

“When do I start?” You asked after putting the files back down on the table.

“Tomorrow morning. You can stay at our camp and we’ll teach you the basics. For now, you should rest. We’ve a long day tomorrow,” she patted your shoulder and walked deeper into the cave. The other insurgents gave you a look and some gave you a firm nod as they followed their leader.

You exhaled shakily as you looked out the cave. From now on, you were a soldier. No longer the girl working in a canteen. That life was long gone.

You were now part of the Revolution.

[fallout-lou-begas]

On the one hand, it is absolutely a sign of the complexion of the dev team and of the times that FNV has little to no presence of real life Indigenous people. Not "tribals." Real Indigenous nations that live in that general area like the Mojave, Paiute, Apache etc. On the other hand, I think using groups like the great khans, the unnamed "tribal" from Hanlons stories, the zion tribes, as props to hammer in on US settler colonialism in general and of the actual US state of California in particular, is pretty clever. That is, these things can be shown to the player without using the pain of Indigenous peoples, their lives and their blood, as a way to carry that message. If the massacre at bitter springs had been of Apache it would be less effective and in very poor taste, in my opinion. I think overall the criticisms are still valid, but I think theres some interesting alternative interpretations. But on the other hand, the allegory falls apart because the khans AREN'T the victims of colonialism. In the first game and onward they are chattel slave owning rapists. They are more of a criminal gang than a distinct culture. And in FNV theres the suggestion that the khans are defending themselves and are victimized in the mold of Indigenous tribes which fought the US and attacked settlers. But in reality, they are objectively in the wrong when attacking the NCR (don't deserve to get massacred, but still), and the genre fiction of the whole thing breaks the metaphor. Like applying anti colonial rhetoric to the hells angels. Like how the allegory of ghouls as a marginalized group breaks down entirely with the introduction of feral ghouls in fallout 3. While some ghouls in prior entries might attack on sight, this was only if the player got close, and they weren't really a danger. So people having this hard on about hating ghouls in fallout 1 and 2 was meant as entirely illegitimate. That allegory doesn't work after f3 since we are meant to think that at any moment, for no known reason, they can turn into a cannibal corpse. The genre fiction of it all spoils the thing. anyway, read cadillac desert.

this is exactly what i mean by the "baggage" of fallout's depiction of "tribals" and even just the word "tribal" to describe its various disparate post-apocalyptic nomadic groups, because while they can be used as you say to brush up against indigenous identities allegorically, there is a very deafening silence coming from the lack of actual indigenous people as well. it can't help but imply that these fictional groups are 1:1 substitutes for the thing they're depicting allegorically, with a mixed degree of intention and success, because there's no counterbalance or counterexample to either contrast these allegories against reality or even further ground them in it.

you run up against this a lot in genre fiction. the X-Men, for example, have served as a clumsy allegory for marginalized identities and civil rights struggles for decades, with several mixed attempts to try to reconcile its fictional symbolism with acknowledgement of what's real and literal. my own personal bugbear is that while I absolutely love Jadzia Dax in Deep Space 9, I would have loved it even more if Jadzia was a real actual trans woman that Dax had implanted itself into, or even if Jadzia Dax at least had a regular mundane non-alien trans woman bestie to queen out and compare notes with.

and yeah, the whole thing about feral ghouls being completely hostile sight with zero alternative interaction potential (and the same goes for powder gangers as cartoonishly evil victims of an empire's carceral justice system, and fiends as cartoonishly evil drug addicts, and...) is that videos games are constantly trying to stage endless combat encounters for gameplay reasons while also not making the player feel bad about slaughtering endless combat participants for narrative reasons. (and the powder gangers are only shoot on sight if you get vilified by them, but the first non-tutorial quest in the game is either helping them kill everybody in the town that just saved your life because they're harboring the guy they tried to mug, or...stopping them from doing that by killing them instead).

[bloodandflame]

u know that Marilyn Manson is a rapist fucker, right? Why would you listen or wear a shirt of a bitch like that?

I really love his art and music. Have done since a teen. His music is extremely good and his art direction and merch is also impeccable from an objective standpoint.

Marilyn Manson was one of (if not THE) most influential rock stars of the 2000s. I don't deny the things i've read about him being disgusting, but to be real here what do you expect from the guy singing about drugs, sex, and violence.

In my opinion he's also become a bit of a scapegoat for every musician just as bad as him. There's even WORSE people doing twice as good as him at the moment. Kurt Cobain especially being an interesting character to read into.

Being in the music industry and knowing what I know, Manson's actually nothing compared to some of the people you all look up to and think are innocent and "cool". He's just a massive edge-lord and the edge-lord behaviour has caught up with him publicly. That's not to excuse his behaviour, just food for thought.

The message of his music is actually all about self expression, anti-religion, anti-government, anti-gun (he was even blamed for columbine), he presented androgynously, even wore breasts on an album cover. He was the original rockstar who the media HATED for his use of dark imagery and anti-american/anti-establishment behaviour. Which is quite insightful and boundary pushing especially given the time it was all being released. He was a trend setter for almost the entire alternative world.

Although Trent Reznor did definitely birth him.

I do believe his victims and do NOT believe he's some innocent angel that's being witch hunted. He's obviously a very damaged bad man. But again, I'm not going to lie to you and say I hate his work because it's good. Karma will get him if it needs to.

Also if i ever play out This Is The New Shit in DJ sets; it's the number one song people will come up to me and compliment and also express they're admiration for his music. People again want to hide who they are. It's not just me.

[biohorror-human]

Time for another Michael Weinstein appreciation post.

(picture of anti-prop 34 protesters, and Michael Weinstein)

Michael Weinstein is the founder of the AHF (aids healthcare foundation) and the founder of "Out Of The Closet" (a non-profit thrift store which routs all of its earnings back into the AHF so they can continue supplying free hiv/aids tests and aids healthcare)

This basically makes him the coolest person alive, in my opinion, but then you learn that he was openly gay and communist when he was 19 years old in the SEVENTIES? The fucking 70's? This man hasn't backed down from overwhelming dissent or hatred EVER. He was ostracized by literally everyone; by communists for being gay, and by gays for being communist, and by the rest of society for being a gay communist. So what did he do? He makes the "Lavender and Red Union". A gay-friendly communist organization.

Not cool enough? What if I told you that he, basically all on his own, stopped a broadly supported anti-gay bill from being passed? Well he did. Long story short: he countered the bill that proposed legalizing the mass quarantining of people with AIDS by running a flashy and shocking advertisement campaign with the slogan "STOP AIDS CONCENTRATION CAMPS". This campaign single-handedly turned that proposition (prop 64, 1986) from being broadly supported to being 71% opposed.

Do you get it? This man pioneered the commonly used shock-and-awe tactics used by LGBT activists. Without him, gay rights would probably be in the fucking ground. And you bet he's still out there using shock-and-awe advertising to get his pro-LGBT message out. One of his advertising campaigns caused a national scandal in Uganda.

But that's all old history. That's the past. Recently he's been doing super important political work, and you know what happened in this last election? He got FUCKED. The state of California completely fucked him over. The voters did, in fact YOU might have. Because he doesn't have the absurd conservative funds for an insane ad campaign (all of his political ventures are funded by AHF money obtained from the pharmacies owned by the AHF) all of his campaigns get fucking stomped by Republican super PAC's. He's been trying to do political stuff since 2012; some of his stuff seems weird, or even regressive, but I can explain its importance later. All you need to know right now is that he is the one who funded prop 33 in California. It was a bill to repeal a 1995 rent control law: the last rent control law that has been passed in California since 1995. It was super opposed by landlord lobby groups. So opposed, that the landlord lobby's managed to make prop 34: a seemingly useful bill that would require certain healthcare providers to use the money they saved on medicine (from the federal discount prescription drug program) on direct patient care. Sounds pretty good, except, did you catch that "certain"? Yeah, turns out the ONLY healthcare provider that fits the actual criteria of the bill is the AHF. Prop 34 should not exist, and it only exists to kneecap the AHF and stop them from further political activism.

But prop 34 passed. And prop 33 didn't. No rent control, AND the AHF gets kneecapped and will have an exceptionally hard time with obtaining the funding for further political activism in the future. The landlords won.

(POST-WRITING WARNING: I was very tired when I wrote this. Everything from before this marker is mostly verifiable facts that I personally found sources for. This next part went on way longer than I expected, and is about LGBT history which I am not super knowledgeable on. Most of what is here is from basic Google searches, or recollections from my dad who turned 18 in 1986, literally right as the AIDS epidemic became the center of attention for basically everyone living in the United states. Take it with a grain of salt, and actually please correct anything I got wrong, which will probably be mostly cultural assessments of the pre and post AIDS America.)

Okay, now that the main part is out of the way, let me explain to you some of the weird shit he's done that probably seems kind of bad in the eyes of the modern LGBT activist, and why it's actually a good thing:

First off, he has a history of being against the drug PrEP, brand-name "Truvada". Prep is basically THE miracle aids drug, able to prevent HIV infection by 99%. For sexually active gay people, this is fucking huge. That changes everything, literally every scientist and AIDS activist says it's a good thing. Except Michael Weinstein. He seems to have an obsession with condoms, in 2012 and 2016 he tried to pass bills to make condoms mandatory in porn (both of which failed), and he even referred to PrEP as a "party drug". But why? For someone who has been a gay activist for so long, who has fought against HIV/AIDS since 1987 when he started the AHF, why would he be against something as game-changing and valuable as PrEP? It's certainly not for any monetary reasons, this guy is a communist who constantly spends his money on pro-LGBT advertisements and free HIV/AIDS testing. So the answer lies in LGBT history, from back in the 80's when the AIDS epidemic started.

The AIDS epidemic was destructive to the gay community. The public had a terrible understanding of how it spread, and even those who did, like scientists, who tried to explain it, got drowned out by media fear mongering. So, the rule of thumb for survival for gay people was to just avoid having sex altogether. A lot of gay people hated that, and fucked anyway, and they frequently caught AIDS and died. And this wasn't just a "temporary thing while the doctors figure out what medicine works", because it wasn't until 1996 that a drug came out (protease) that was able to REALLY increase the lifespan of AIDS victims. Before protease, if you caught AIDS, you were basically doomed. The first AIDS medicine came out in 1987 (AZT) and it only extended your lifespan by about a year. I say all of this because I need you to understand the absolute severity of the AIDS epidemic. Basically, it was understood, that from about 1981-96 (15 years) having gay sex was more lethal than russian roulette, plus a miserable 3 year long death. 4 years with medicine at the time.

Okay, you understand the severity, and I swear I'll get back to the Michael Weinstein thing, but now I want you to imagine gay life before the 80's. No aids. No risk. Gay people were stereotyped as being lustful sex machines, and mass sinners; glory holes and orgies in public restrooms. Non-monogamous, fucking everything that moved with no risk of pregnancy. No matter what science came out proving homosexuality was normal or natural, gays would literally never be able to be accepted in heteronormative society because not only was homosexuality already a sin, but because they (stereotypically) had sex so commonly with no risk or repercussions; something that straight people were very jealous of. Aids forced gay people to become strictly monogamous, or risk a uniquely painful death; the fight against AIDS brought a huge amount of awareness to the movement, as the issue became more than social, but actually life-threatening, and many gay people were forced to be open about their homosexuality increasing its social relevance further, and straight people suffering from AIDS the same way as gay people did allowed even the most spiteful straight people to empathize with the battle against AIDS. As much damage as AIDS did, it also gave a bunch of strength, publicity, and empathy to the gay rights movement.

So, why is Michael Weinstein so against PrEP? This isn't official, or provable, but I personally think it's because he believes that the only thing making straight people (who aren't allies) empathetic towards gay people is the shared struggle of AIDS. If it gets nullified by PrEP, gay people will get that sinful, polygamous, public use sex-machine stereotype again, and the already precarious rights that gay people have will be under total fire by straights yet again. Again, this is all theory, but I think Michael Weinstein knows that the movement can't afford a stereotype that harmful right now, and the inevitable complete disapproval by the church, and many other organized religions that come with it.

Now, I sort of see Michael Weinstein's words as flawless and true, and it's super out of line for someone like him to be against a drug as beneficial as PrEP. So he has to have a reason, and with everything I know about LGBT history, and with his increased political activism, I think this is the only explanation for that belief, but I also think it only goes to show the intelligence and forethought he puts behind his decisions.

And for that reason it makes me so sad that the AHF got neutered in California by prop 34. Michael Weinstein is someone who tried to help, who has always been leaps and bounds ahead of even what we considered to be the most progressive people of his time; even now he's more progressive than most people. And I think EVERYONE needs to hear about him as an individual.

Sorry if that 2nd section about Michael Weinstein's beliefs on PrEP went on a little long. This part was mostly speculation and opinion, and was supposed to be way shorter, but I got carried away. I will say that everything from the first part, about his history, and about the AHF and "out of the closet" are all verifiable facts.

[wawamouse]

[bursts into your inbox as if we were having a conversation you were definitely not aware we were having] -one reason we need more slightly more modern outside AUs is: how unhinged could the texts between Chico and Miguel get?? The possibilities for conversational wtfuckery with these two!!

(I'm sure for the longest time it would be the most short and uninformative texting desert where they barely go beyond "u hungry?" and "k" level communication. But there would be bursts of amusing absurdist insanity that goes on and on.)

Yes this was prompted by something you reblogged on another blog, and I came here to tell you rather than politely musing in my own area.

Wow you’re so right, we need to make miguel and chico millennials…. or we just need to give them cellphones lol

(for those wondering, the post I reblogged was this )

also i do think “k” & leaving on read is miguel’s style of communication (toward chico) but probably only because i headcanon chico texting him like an insane person, both when he like-likes miguel and also when he hates him (bc that's hardly going to make him leave miguel alone lol). i could see him firing off an essay in single line texts and god help miguel when chico discovers audio messages (but at the same time, i think miguel would send audio messages more) (which chico would love because… come on 😂). i think miguel is better at cyber stalking someone than chico tho (ok now i’m just going into my Technology Headcanons). just, like, miguel is better at researching than chico. but chico knows more about torrenting and vpns and anti-virus stuff. also his bookmarks bar has a bunch of porn sites saved if we're being real

idk, i just don't see miguel as a texting person 😂 I think he prefers face-to-face communication or talking on the phone where as chico who probably has a really aggressive way of texting and also he uses T9 lol

i also think chico would send truly indecipherable memes sometimes, not because he thinks they’re funny (he doesn't get them) but because he just compulsively forwards every little piece of internet junk, clickbait, memes, buzzfeed quizzes, etc, straight to miguel, not really caring if he even responds or not bc anything he Actually wants miguel to see, he'll just bring up in person...

2 AU thoughts that immediately jumped to mind:

they meet as wrong numbers—like, one of them accidentally texts the wrong new contact or something—they got a fake number (haha), etc., and then the other person responds and they have a sort of curt conversation of realising they have theyre talking to a stranger before being like Whoops my bad! ...but then weeks later when the first guy (let's just say, chico - that' kinda what i'm imagining anyway) mistakenly texts miguel again bc he never deleted the contact info. and he's like totally shitfaced too so he just ends up calling miguel and being like HEY Come get me. I'm at xyz location!! … and that’s how they meet—because Miguel is moderately bored and curious and he thinks Chico will have drugs 😂 (maybe he’s mentioned it idk) (anyway he does have them) ...

dating app AU (cough hook up app) 💀 they chat/sext for a long time more as like friends for a while... idk, some people you just sort of end up befriending and having longer running fun conversations with / gossip about your other hook-ups on the app bc there's more to it in a way. they end up exchanging actual phone numbers and chatting bc they have a lot in common—even know the same clubs and know they don't live that far apart, but they just don't meet up right away. And then it gets kind of weird bc at a certain point, they're more lookng forward to meet up but then it's like damn, what if the spark isn't there in person 😵‍💫 what if they meet up, have sex, and then never text each other again or it all falls apart or something. And then something something, when they finally go Fuck It and decide to meet up and get it over with, they get completely sidetracked (just gotta do a minor job real quick! swing by a location!) in a Date Ends Up With Them Almost Getting Shot and Running For Their Lives type way. but good news: even though they bicker like hell in person, and each find the other vaguely infuriating, the spark is definitely there 👀

[ranidspace]

im thinking Breaking Bad again and had a connection to media literacy as a whole. Walt is genuinely an awful person, and it's really easy to say "oh yeah fuck this guy", but that's not how you feel watching the show.

He's the main character. You see his thought process, you see how he got from then to now, you see that in his mind he's doing what's right. So much of the tension in the show comes from almost being caught. While there's multiple antagonists, one is literally his own step brother who wants to catch the biggest drug lord in the entire country, which happens to be Walt. Things would be better if he was stopped, but even then you don't want him to. The scene where hank finds out is deeply tense, Walt is done and he just wants to live normally from now on, and Hank is attacking that desire for everything to be okay.

Jesse isn't innocent either. He sold drugs to people in rehab. He directly killed 5 people and was partially responsible for many more, including two of his girlfriends, one of which was because he got her back onto drugs after a year and a half of sobriety. Jesse had a happy ending. People believe he was a tragic character and that he deserved freedom.

I truly think that no matter how awful someone is, media can make you sympathize with them. It can control your own feelings towards some made up guy and they can make the most deeply inhumane and fucked up shit and make it feel like something that you would have done in the same situation. It was the right thing to do and it was the rational choice.

However, it's only suspended disbelief. It doesn't take much mental effort to snap out of it and think "oh shit this is actually terrible". The thing is that it requires mental effort. Think about how many people idolize Walter White and Patrick Bateman and other characters who are, when analyzed slightly more than surface level, deeply awful, and pathetic.

When media intentionally uses this ability to make you sympathize with anything, for the purposes of changing your mind in the real world, it's called "Propaganda" and very much relies on people not putting in the mental effort to analyze it more than surface level.

As the saying goes "You are not immune to propaganda" can mean you're not immune to a video game funded by the US military teaches you the basics of guns and makes you have fun while killing The Bad People.

The solution isn't to not consume or ban any media with problematic shit in it, it's to take a deeper look at it to see what it's trying to tell you, and really sit and think about it.

Propaganda doesn't have to be negative, like say The Good Place (which i haven't seen) has a lot of positive and anti capitalist messages (i think), and in the cases of where it's like this you already probably are analyzing what what it's trying to say and drawing parallels to real life on the fly.

Though, that's where you have to be MORE careful. If you have a piece of media that agrees with 95% of your viewpoints, they can maliciously slip in some things in that 5% and you can internalize it easily. You have to think the whole 100% it's trying to tell you.

[drdemonprince]

This was several days ago but it was still bugging me (autistic) so I have to be a little pedantic about your tags on the pop neuroscience post: https://www.tumblr.com/drdemonprince/742517045406613504?source=share

The post is 100%. Pop neurosci is complete bullshit. All this "dopamine"/other neurotransmitter stuff people talk about especially.

With your tags though, please don't conflate the entire field of neuroscience with fMRI. For sure, 90% or more of fMRI is total bunk, I am with you. But there are many methodologies besides fMRI. And decades of neuroscience research that is real science. Including actual experimental methods that can establish causality, unlike fMRI. Much of that is done in lab animals. (Don't want to get into animal research ethics here but there is plenty of humane, non-horrifying animal research in neuroscience, although most of it does end with the animal being humanely euthanized. Of course some people hold the position that we should never raise, keep, or euthanize animals for research purposes, which is a valid position that I don't happen to agree with.)

Almost all of what the field of neuroscience actually knows about neurotransmitters is from animal research. So when you say we have no experimental data on that - not true, we totally do, just not much of it in humans.

We even do have a way to look at real time neurotransmitter release in living human brains, by injecting people with e.g. a radioactive dopamine-receptor-binding chemical and then do PET imaging to visualize the movement of the radioactivity in their brain while they do tasks/view stimuli. As their own dopamine floods an area, the radioligand is displaced (it's designed to be a weaker binder to the receptor than natural dopamine) and you can infer dopamine release in that area. It's indirect, correlational, and does involve some fancy math (but not as bad as fMRI). But it is a method that has produced meaningful findings. Nora Volkow is one of the scientists who used that methodology to study cocaine addiction among other things. Her research combined with neuroscience using lab animals contributes to the modern understanding of dopamine's role in drug craving and drug-seeking behavior, and how dopamine has nothing to do with the pleasure or high from the drug.

There are other valuable findings from human research that are not fMRI. Including stuff done on people getting brain surgery (kinda "poke this and see what happens", but it does establish causality); TMS which experimentally disrupts certain areas; studies of people with brain damage; and histological and anatomical studies of human brains donated to science postmortem, where you can look neuron by neuron which you can't do with fMRI or other imaging or EEG. And, fMRI/imaging has produced a LITTLE bit of worthwhile stuff. Just...not much, I agree.

I think coming from social psychology you may have been mainly exposed to "social neuroscience" which is generally fMRI about social psychology stuff. And often being done by social psychologists with not enough neuroscience background, not that fMRI is done rigorously by those people either, but it doesn't help. But that is not all of neuroscience! I used to do neuroscience and taught it to college students for 10 years. It is so much more than hogwash fMRI, I promise!

Thanks for the message. If you'll bear with me being mildly pedantic back (Autism), since we were discussing the topic of anti-psychiatry, I think there being no real studies of neurotransmitter activity in humans as it relates to any kind of psychiatric drug/treatment in field is tantamount to there being no useful ecologically valid knowledge on it. Lab animal research just does not generalize well enough to ground anything that psychiatry is doing or prescribing or that is being reported in the popular press.

And I would certainly chalk up "poke and see what happens" style brain surgery as being under the "exploratory, not science" banner that I already mentioned. To say that we can establish causality with that kind of methodology is just not true. It's also just not generalizable. There is so much we don't know about variation in brain organization.

You are absolutely right that my main area of direct involvement was working in a social cognitive neuroscience lab with an FMRI and an EEG, doing absolute fuckall nonsense, but that's not all that I have familiarity with or training in. Your notes are well taken, and I sincerely thank you for them and I'm sure a lot of people will find them interesting, but I think we're still very much in the dark ages in understanding this stuff, and that stance of mine does incorporate those methodologies.

[brettdoesdiscourse]

Never understood why ppl yap about fictional ships influencing people to think it's OK to do it irl

Does saw make you think it's OK to torture people?

Does drugs on TV make you think drugs are good?

Does SA/Rape on TV make you think it's accepable to commit that crime?

No. So what makes you think a fictional ship is insinuating it's OK to do that irl?

I think it's because a lot of antis genuinely don't see fanfiction as art or creative expression. Like, they might claim to, but not really.

George RR Martin wrote a series full of incest, child molestation, rape, murder, torture, etc. He had siblings being in a relationship and being happy with it. He had a rape victim fall in love with her rapist. The show regularly had over 10 million viewers.

This apparently did not normalize incest, child molestation, rape, murder, torture, etc.

However, a fanfiction that had a thousand hits at most definitely is normalizing all those terrible things because it's not actually art.

"Real" writers and artists have a unique luxury. The benefit of the doubt. Antis don't watch their movies or shows, read their books, and assume the worst.

They don't automatically jump to, "you love incest! You support child molestation! You secretly want to sexually assault someone!"

It's art. It's a story they want to tell. It's a deeper message they want to send. It was just the norm in the period they were writing about.

It's countless different things, but it all comes down to one big message:

There is a fundamental difference between art made by a "real" artist and art made by a "nobody."

And somehow, the nobody has more power and influence and should be called out whereas the person with a major following should not.

(It also likens back to the puritanical belief that, "sex/sexual content is inherently more adult and more inappropriate than violence." Sex and sexual content are often still considered taboo where violence is in a ton of things from the second you're born.)

[djsherriff-responses]

bedsides the hair slowly turning the original strawberry/sunset blonde hair (as his dye/bleach wears off); i also predict that cl rayman would start not only quitting drugs and alchool (and would wear things like nicotine patches or something like that (like patches but made from the same material as the "devil's drandruff")), as well getting conforted and helped by the others and slowly becoming more like his old true self (specially when if he ends up conforting any rescued kids).

This is the perfect opportunity to talk about something that kinda bugs me about the way the fandom makes Ramon be a badass, because the thing is , Ramon? Yeah, he isn’t really a badass despite his edgy new approach to life

The dude got knocked out after one punch to the guts and ran away, which shows he isn’t all that much of a fighter, especially compared to his game counterpart who went toe to toe with the knaarens.

The only reason he managed to do what he did in the show, shoot the board of directors dead, was purely because he had the element of surprise on his side and everyone he was going after was underestimating his resolve to help hybrids (bullfrog in this case). Not counting the message telling him to see Bullfrog (which was likely part of someone else’s plans and thus possibly not connected to any member of the directors) ,the last conversation the board of directors had with him was when he was drunk and having a breakdown.

The fact they didn’t try anything with Ramon as soon as they started using a replacement of him is kinda weird , right? Wouldn’t you want to avoid consequences by getting rid of the guy you just replaced? At least make sure he doesn’t go off to randos about it?

The directors felt safe to replace Ramon right to his face , that’s how little of a threat Ramon is to them

Regardless if Red reported back to them about Ramon’s conversation with Bullfrog or if they had no idea about it, the fact it was so easy (too easy in fact) for Ramon to sneak into their own private office that had very minimal security is….. suspicious.

Ramon killing those people with guns doesn’t make him a badass anti hero who saved the day. It made him a walking target who just threw away his safety net (for a good cause but still incredibly dangerous) and by god, Ramon is not prepared to face the consequences of his choices

So getting back to your actual point, I want to see people portray Ramon as a reckless disaster of a former celebrity and the slow but rewarding journey of Ramon getting off drugs and forming genuine relationships with others

[dynamoe]

still dicking around with my Triple Threat design

Bruce Timm-ish/Batman: The Animated Series-style character rendering. Some Tuxedo Mask inspiration snuck in with all the roses... maybe she throws them to initiate battling evil doers?

I actually really don't like superhero shit (tough considering the direction VBros took in later seasons), but even with my distaste I wanted to do justice to the references.

🌹 more 🌹 →

🌹 Triple Threat in the 1980s

🌹 Rose Whalen (old)

🌹 Billy's prom date

Triple Threat's costume is meant to represent a Broadway chorine, but also it's a bit like a majorette... antiquated military uniform but pantsless. Very gendered. The old-fashioned/family friendly version of sexy... but not TOO sexy.

Visual reference to both the pants-less white tie tails of Zatanna the magician of DC Comics and the stage costumes from the "burlesque" Broadway musical revue Sugar Babies

The revue starred Mickey Rooney in his Broadway debut, Ann Miller... The revue subsequently had a short-lived National tour which starred Carol Channing and Robert Morse, from August through November 1980. (Carol Channing is the model for Rose's speaking voice, obvs.)

Billy's mom as a character sucks— she's introduced as [out-of-touch old person] who becomes [smothering mother] archetype— but in just a few appearances implies potential depths not explored. She's the only canon character I've written aside from Billy & White, in a series of flashbacks to Billy's childhood with her in Boy Genius (← read it on AO3)

Based on the hair, this flashback is mid-1960s. Maybe a bit later. OG Team Venture have been painted as Jonny Quest, Doc Savage and the Fabulous Five and James Bond, but this scene has a real TV Batman '66 feel to it. Best arena for a campy Broadway-musical-themed crime-fighter.

Triple Threat would be interesting to explore in the trajectory of comic book superheroes going from Golden Age goofy to the '80s X-treme en-darkening/en-seriousning (imagine Triple Threat reimagined as a Punisher type). At the same time, her Pollyanna American Exceptionalism/Moral Purity message (that Action Man wants to soil with his filth) would get dragged through the mud as she makes "hard choices" aka being a hypocrite in service of her all-American values.

She buys into moral panics. She warns against rock and roll and drugs, despite being a Baby Boomer. She is defiantly "a square" (as well as gullible to propaganda).

Female Conservatives are fascinating as they are gross. The Anti-Feminist Feminist. She's never shown to be motivated by religious fundamentalism (she seems fine with the possibility of her son being gay), it's more insidious than that. Is she machiavellian like a super-powered Phyllis Schlafly or, like the moral panic stuff, she's really gullible to conservative messaging? I see her more as a Kissinger Neo-Con than a MAGA conspiracy rube. She's not angry or hateful in her conservativeness, just reactionary and myopic.

Another ill-defined aspect... does Triple Threat have superpowers? She can still do flying leap kicks at age 60ish which suggests she's more than just "really good at fighting." What if she had been part of some Captain America super-serum ultimate-soldier program that screws her up medically, later causing Billy's genetic birth defects? Is she filled with guilt? Angry at the government for not telling her about the side effects?

→ → More on Rose Whalen's history

all my Billy & White stuff at → FAILURES of SCIENCE index