#bad people exist everywhere they exist in every country

[wisteriagoesvroom]

for christmas: oscar gets carlos a gift. he leaves it on carlo's desk three days before christmas because he is well-prepared. carlos sees the gift while shrugging off his coat, which oscar knows to be way too expensive and smells like pine and occasionally cuban cigars but it's not like he like. pays attention to that.

carlos seems puzzled. maybe in hindsight, wrapping the present in free city newspapers was a little petty.

"it's a mini sunlamp," oscar says. "you're always flying everywhere and complaining about the jet lag. i once got three wisdom teeth out at once and it's not nearly as bad as your complaining".

"three wisdom teeth? i thought you were just doing that – what do you call it – method acting as a chipmunk for two weeks."

"wow i didn't even think you noticed i was gone, with how much you were still emailing me about," he says the next part with air quotes for emphasis, "franco not understanding my email inbox system, such a rookie."

"ehhh. franco knows i was just joking."

"it's not even a system. it's your weird tagging system with symbols that you expect people to know."

"you know it," carlos says. he kind of mumbles it, so when his eyes dart up to look at oscar, carlos looks less. smooth. than usual.

anyway they stand there awkwardly because carlos does not have a gift for him. whatever. oscar didn't expect anything anyway. and if he did, oscar thinks carlos would get him...something boring, and generic like a bottle of midpriced but well-sourced spanish wine, the same bottle he gives to all his private wealth clients.

but carlos walks into the office on christmas eve morning, and shoves a small terrarium into oscar's hands.

it has a ribbon wrapped around with gourds printed on it, and oscar recognises the make right away because it's a glass blower from okinawa island, and he's had it saved on his pinterest for ages, and they only make twenty of these a year. inside is an equally rare moss starter.

carlos has never, not once, commented about oscar's desk plant or acknowledged its existence. he doesn't again today. just says "merry christmas", putting too much emphasis on the rizzmas, and beelines into his office to take his first client call.

so oscar has to pretend to be professional. he keeps it professional, because he is very efficient, and there are still things to do on christmas eve because not every country was slacking like europe did – the world doesn't revolve around them, just like it doesn't revolve around carlos, much as carlos acts like it does.

oscar gets on with his day. carlos runs out by 11.30am to catch his flight home and barely make eye contact, texting on his phone.

but oscar does spend 8pm on christmas eve just. staring at the terrarium, even when the office lights switch off and there's only his desk lamp haloing the island of desks around him. there's one unopened message from carlos that he hasn't read.

and he wonders if he's missed something here.

the ea is oscar btw <- and oscar “DESPISES” him

carlos walks in after a lunch one day with lipstick on his cheek and oscar shoves a packet of wet wipes at him.

oscar: "had fun?"

carlos: "what?"

oscar: *long sigh* *swipes phone open on selfie mode to show him*

carlos: "oh. that. i had lunch with my mum. she says hi btw"

oscar: "noted. you still haven't authorised the trades for the Rodrigues account."

carlos: "is this a statement or a question?"

oscar: "it's an accusation, because i already fixed it for you."

carlos: "have i ever told you that i love you--"

oscar: "never speak to me again."

carlos: "i will bring you timtams and spanish chocolate."

oscar: "...."

oscar: "...."

oscar: "what flavour."

(stupidness from this post these tags: #cs55 #in another life he is a private banker #and his EA rolls their eyes everytime he comes in to share his receipts for the expenses report #but carlos gets away with it because he always remembers everyone's birthdays and gets snacks for the EA pool and their assorted pets #the EA is oscar btw)

[catdemontraphouse]

Are there a lot of very urgent problems in China? Yes absolutely without a doubt. But I hate to see people use that to justify shitting all over China in a broad sense like writing off all the amazing art and culture and acting like there aren’t tons of amazing Chinese people with good hearts and fantastic talent and such. Like… come on yall. Many countries have serious issues and bad people who are stain on society, that’s a human problem that affects anywhere humans live it’s not an exclusively China only problem. You know what I mean? I know I’m preaching to the choir here but it just frustrates me. Like people can call out the severe problems a country faces and do their part to fight against injustice without simultaneously declaring that anyone and anything from said country is “bad.” It’s not just China that I see this attitude towards but that’s a common target. :/

[evilminji]

I think I figured it out?

My favorite thing to do with Danny? And the Zone in General?

Is to just... zoom out a bit, maybe move stage left, leave the trouble and (most of the) dramatics of his teen years behind and just? Discover that not all of Death is War. Not every Obsession is violence.

Sometimes it's owning a fancy little soaps shop. Or that PERFECT garden of their dreams, where they can share with EVERYBODY, that they could never manage in life. Maybe it's the universe biggest Comics library.

Yeah, when you can't die and pain is kinda subjective, a good ol fashioned brawl IS the best way to communicate. Fist to Fist, ecto to ecto, come out the otherside understanding each other a bit better. But like?

.....you could ALSO just use your damn words, you know? Maybe some of us don't WANT to fight.

The freedom to Do Anything? Means a good chunk of us will say "Nah, we good". And move on to do other, non-violent things! Not every Area of the Zone is the SAME you know. It's like countries. Or, well, Galaxies? Since it IS far more spread out then any country will ever be.

It's why Danny probably didn't notice. Thought his area was all there is. It's the standard "my neighborhood is the default. Normal for everywhere" mindset that people unknowingly tend to have before they travel much. It's not like he had any chance to learn otherwise.

He had school in the morning. Had to stick close in case a fight broke out. How FAR could he truely travel? The end of the metaphorical street? The next block over? The Far Frozen alone was pushing it!

But then! He defeats the Tyrant of his Area of the Zone. And it's like a map filling in, in the back of his head. Perfect outline of what's "his" and "not his". And??? Wait, wut?

Why is he not surprised the Observants fuckin Lied? Pariah wasn't King Of Everything! He was king of... *head starts to violently hurt as he tries to grasp the scale of things* ow, Ow, OW! Bad idea! BAD IDEA!!! A chunk? Yeah, big chunk! Let's go with that!

It was APPARENTLY like saying "ruler of the known world". Other countries very much still existed, just APPARENTLY didn't count. Good to know! AFTER THE FACT.

At least HIS territory likes the "Wooooo! Anarchyyyyyy!" Goverment model. Frees him up to do other shit. He can come back to it LATER. But FIRST? :) Get? :) The FUCK :) Off his lawn! :) *kicks everyone back through the portal* *closes it* AND STAY INSIDE THE ZONE!

Abuse of power? Sorry, he can't hear you over his magically recovering sleep schedule and GPA. The fact he might ACTUALLY graduate. His new favorite past time of watch the GIW slowly losing both their funding AND minds. Mmmmmm~ relaxing!

He graduates.

He is the son of crazy people with a shit GPA. His parents may have finally come around on ghosts, started over on their research... with a frankly ALARMING enthusiasm, but? You can't undo decades of damage. The Fenton name is untouchable.

He applies anyway.

Goes ghost for the first time in over a year.

Is... bigger. Starlight and ice. Royal. It feels right, settled in a way. More HIM then his skin could ever hope to be. He notes it, but doesn't linger. Decides to find out what's OUTSIDE "his" territory.

And...

Huh.

The answer depends?

In one direction? An endless battle. From horizen to horizon, like shooting stars. Crashing and smashing, weapons clanging and ringing. Mad blood stained grins. Worthy opponents. A challenge that goes on forevermore.

He...backs away slowly.

Going sorta, up-ish? Leads to a weirdly muted stillness. Muffled. He can't find anybody. But the doors here are pretty... worn. He doesn't want to keep pushing.

Finally, he tries at an angle to the right. And? Spots a patrol? They look nervous to see him, but hold their ground. He asks what's in this direction. Is polite. They look incredibly relieved.

Which is how Danny? Learns about the SINGLE BEST thing ever. The thing I actively fantasize about. Long for. And gift to him because I can.

Floating island cities FULL of highly specific little shops and passion pursuits. All for damn near free, because they are mostly doing it for THEM and you just happen to be there. The islands go one for days in every direction. Overflow with color and sound and the flash of ghosts flying too and frow.

Stunned, Danny, jaw on the floor. Wanders the streets.

Finds a space themed shop and feels his eyes dilate like a cat. Mine ™. He gets a book on "First Astronaut's of their Species" and some BESPOKE space meme socks. Looks around. Decides that this? This is where his doing ALL his shopping from now on.

He's pretty sure he sees a shop dedicated solely to canned food from across the Multiverse.

There is a sale on corn(non radioactive), apparently.

He tells EVERYBODY. Well, Fenton and friends "everybody". But you get the idea! The shopping trip they organize? Is legendary. His Father finds a Fudge shop and probably scares the local ghost population with his mad Fudge Glee cackling. Mom found a weapon smith. And an old fashion lace maker. Jazz? Lost to the world of intergalactic boy bands and psychology textbooks.

Tucker made a running slide straight for the nearest tech shop. Then the butcher. And Sam?

........m....maybe if he doesn't ask? He can claim plausible deniability?

@hdgnj @legitimatesatanspawn @hypewinter @lolottes @nerdpoe

[xx-slug-xx]

If antis are going to start calling anime fanfiction “pedo propaganda”, then I cannot stress enough how important it is to actually learn what real propaganda looks like.

Great example: if your in the US, turn on any service that gives you ads. Sure this works in other countries too though! YouTube, Hulu, or anything else, doesn’t really matter. There’s a pattern I want y’all to look for, it’s the depiction of the upper class. It might look like upper middle class, but that is not where the upper middle class is really at right now considering everyone is constantly struggling financially. In every advertisement I’ve seen, every commercial that try’s to make you buy their product or sign up for something, it’s always depictions of “nice” upper class people. Never the lower class. The actors are always attractive for their age range, their homes are always spotless, and they can afford to live. It depicts the life that most everyday Americans want, and it’s just at the price of buying something. This is the most prominent form of propaganda, and it’s everywhere. Capitalism at the stage it’s at now, in the point of our society where we’re at now, is spreading propaganda in every corner so that we can buy things to be poorer. It’s propaganda because it’s spreading the idea that most Americans belong to the upper class, when most people are lower to lower middle class where the economy is at currently. Even the upper middle class isn’t doing all that great.

If antis are going to complain about propaganda, they need to learn what it looks like. Because it’s not in the form of a stupid fanfic some 14 year old wrote. It’s not in the form of lolisho. It’s not even in the form of a giant flyer on the side of a building that says “racism is good actually!” because that’s way too obvious to convince the general public!Propaganda doesn’t even need to be about spreading something bad either. Ever wonder why queer topics are so big in the US current government right now? Why the Democratic Party really pushes for equality for minorities (not just queer people). It’s bc they are using our own kindness as a way to convince us that “hey the government is your friend actually! Look how much we love you people who belong to minorities!”. They are using a GOOD message against us to gain our trust, never trust the government! They always have alternative motives behind EVERYTHING. That’s propaganda!

“You are not immune to propaganda” exists for a reason, and it means that it hides in every corner of your everyday life. It means that it’s designed to be unnoticeable by the average person. Learn what propaganda looks like, learn how to avoid listening to it the best you can.

[naisvalta]

i know its not the point of the post but holy shit i've been wondering for so long why i can never relate to other lesbians talking about being terrified and disgusted when they found out they were gay and it taking many years for them to accept it

it took this post for me to realise that its probably because i'm not american

Being raised culturally christian protestant atheist is funny, actually. I was never taught that Hell is literally real or that I should believe in it, or that you go there for being gay. I was told that I'm free to do whatever I want with my life, for as long as I'm doing something constructive and working hard to achieve it. Wanting to suck dick isn't a sin, but wanting to do fuck all sure is one.

I never had to cope with some traumatic realisation that homosexuality is an inherent part of who I am that no amount of repression, prayer or conversion therapy could make it go away. I'm just sitting here contemplating the idea that maybe I never have been and never will be a hardworking, career-driven, passionate and ambituous Dedicated To Their Life's Work kind of a person.

I don't believe in Hell but I'm still convinced I'll go there if all I want to do with my life is to stare at walls.

[headspace-hotel]

Another note on climate change despair:

My politics are pretty leftist, especially by the standards of a red state, but I think there is a such thing as Too Far Left re: the systemic nature of problems

It happens when you start to believe that nothing will ever change unless the current system is completely destroyed and a new one built in its place. In particular, when you believe that taking steps to reform, or decrease the harm of, a corrupt system is pointless or even bad, you've gone off the deep end imho.

People from my own country—the United States—will say things like "Gradual, incremental change is pointless, we need Revolution!"

Look me in the eyes and tell me that women's rights, LGBTQ rights, racial equality, etc. are in the same state they were in 1950. Maybe just google these things first.

Revolution IS an incremental change!!! This country has tens of thousands of elected officials and officeholders!! Every life-supporting industry is run by a fucked up Rube Goldberg machine of bureaucracy that could stretch from here to the Moon 87 times!!! This country's laws, institutions, and supply chains are a Bethesda game programmed in the 1700's, released unfinished and currently running thousands of mods, at least half of which either remove crucial game mechanics and content at random or do things like "make your character take damage when he pees." Do you think it's really possible to raze this clusterfuck to the ground and rebuild it from scratch?

anyway, I say this because a concerning amount of people believe literally nothing meaningful can be done to save the planet until our current government and economic system no longer exist.

I get it. Capitalism is what got us into this mess and it's making it worse right now, but we do not have zero agency, capitalism does not have infinite power and wisdom, and humans and governments can and do make decisions that are contrary to the immediate interests of capitalism. I think it's not only possible but normal throughout history for people's actions and beliefs to flow against the prevailing power of the time.

Think of dandelions. They flourish not because they are wanted, but because they are numerous, and the power that controls the grass and sidewalks cannot reach everywhere at once. And so they are unstoppable, and will never be destroyed.

We must have the raw, opportunistic resisting power of weeds, taking hold in every crack in the terrible machine that controls our lives. We must hold on like little plants in an expanse of cracked concrete—the slab will not be dug up and the soil set free anytime soon, but if enough of us live our lives in spite of it, its power will be weakened and its impenetrable nature changed.

Also, just because technological solutions to climate change don't feel right—they don't satisfy the longer-term, idealized principle of healing the Earth and creating a more sustainable society—doesn't mean they wouldn't, in the short term, work.

Get in losers, we're burning incense to Caesar and tomorrow we will be alive.

[olderthannetfic]

I really need U.S. Americans & co. to stop forcing their race categories on the rest of us. I'm someone who would totally pass as "white" in America. I'm also the target of racism in my birth country because, while my skin is white and my eyes are blue, the rest of my features are fucking "wrong." Wrong enough to experience abuse. I am instantly clockable as "dark" in the context I'm from. Looked at as a "foreigner" in my own home town despite not even having any immigrant background. (That's the result of non-western colonialism, by the way, which many of you don't even recognize exists.)

But guess what, when you grow up internalizing the message that something about your racial background is wrong, messages disparaging a race that you do objectively belong to (by American standards) hurt as much even if they are ostensibly directed at the Bad White People.

It's not "reverse racism exists," by the way. It's that "every society invents its own category of 'other' and you assholes are way too careless while making sweeping statements about humans, and your culture is fucking everywhere so the rest of the world can't actually escape it." I might have had white privilege in America, lol. If only I'd ever been! (Highly unlikely to ever happen for someone with my passport.)

And for the love of everything, I do not want anyone going all "ackchually, it's xenophobia not racism" in the notes.

--

[woso-dreamzzz]

If Music Be The Food Of Love

Laia Aleixandri x Reader

Summary: Leila can't quite believe that Laia's bringing her to see the orchestra

"Since when were you into music?"

"I've always been into music."

Leila gave her a deadpan stare, one perfect brow raised. "Not classical music. You told me when you moved in that classical music was the bane of your existence and if you found out whoever played it in the locker room, you would come down upon them with a vengeance."

Laia had forgotten that but she awkwardly clear her throat, trying to brush the comment away. "Things can change," She said," Maybe I've matured."

"Matured? Ha!" Leila replied," Sure, and pigs can fly."

"Look, if you don't want to be here then fine! Leave!"

"Whoa, whoa!" Leila held her hands up in defeat. "I never meant that. Thank you for the tickets, really. I was just questioning your newfound love for the orchestra. Sorry if I hit a nerve or something."

Laia ignored her friend as they filed into the auditorium, finding their seats in the box. "Hi," She greeted the other people in the box with familiarity as she took her seat, dragging Leila with her," Hello. It's good to see you."

"Who is your friend, Laia?" A much older woman asked, hands wrapped tightly around the walking stick between her legs.

"This is Leila, we play together. For club and country," Laia said, indicating to Leila who looked incredibly confused as to just how many times Laia, the self-proclaimed classical music hater, had been to see this orchestra.

"A different type of playing than this," The old woman joked.

"Very different to this," Laia agreed.

A hush descended upon the audience as the curtain rose and revealed the orchestra, a group of smartly dressed individuals in all black.

Instantly, Laia's eyes sought you out. She had no problem finding you. She never had a problem finding you - even though you sat closest to the audience in the first chair to the conductor's left. She was drawn to you no matter where you were and could find you in a crowd without a second thought.

Your face was a mask of professionalism but, when your eyes glanced to the box, the barest hint of a smile poked at the corner of your lips.

"Don't tell me that's why we've come," Leila hissed in her ear," Because you've got the hots for a violin girl."

Laia didn't get time to respond (not that she would, lost to the world staring into your eyes despite the distance between you) because the conductor cleared his throat, hand up to begin the concert.

Music of angelic quality filled the room but Laia didn't turn her gaze from you. Your eyes were slightly closed as you counted your beats and rests. Your violin was a snug fit under your chin and your bow moved over your strings with such experience and skill that it was obvious why you were the concertmaster.

Laia didn't stop watching you even when there was a flute solo. You caught her eye several times but mainly stayed focused on your conductor. But, every so often, your head would tilt the slightest bit to the side, towards the box that Laia was sitting in.

Your eyes would meet for a moment and you would instantly be transported back to when you first met her, in a hole in the wall café that served the best coffee in the city.

She had asked to sit at your table as everywhere else was full. You would later learn that it was just an excuse so she could finally pluck up the courage to speak to you.

You welcomed her into your booth and got to talking, about her football matches and your orchestra concerts. She confessed her hatred for all things classical and you invited her round to your place to listen to good classical music - because only people who heard bad classical music ever swore off the genre entirely.

Things had blossomed easily from there and soon she was sat in the family box with your fellow musicians' families, listening to you play with a soft smile and warm arms to welcome you at the end.

You adjusted your positioning as the introduction to your solo began to build. The music swelled before, one by one each of your fellow string sections dropped off. Your first violins accompanied you into the first few notes before stilling, letting you take the lead - your shining moment of the song.

You kept your eyes on Laia as you played, not really needing the conductor when you had played this particular solo many times to perfection.

It was actually the first solo you had ever played in Laia's company when she had demanded to hear your excellence on your third date, curled up in your apartment after a warm meal.

●～●～●～●～

"Are we allowed to be here?" Leila asked in a hushed voice even as she took a flute of champagne from the waiter offering it to her.

"For the last time, yes," Laia said back, sipping her own champagne. It wasn't her alcohol of choice but your events tended to be fancy like this so she had gained an appreciation for it.

Leila let out a breath as she surveyed the room where the afterparty was taking place. "You never told me how much I owe you for the tickets. I mean, a box Laia? How much did this cost?"

"Nothing." Laia was only half paying attention, eyes focussed on each of the doors, trying to guess which one you were going to walk through. "They were free."

"Free?" Leila's voice was steeped in incredulousness. "Have you been donating to the orchestra or something? Those seats were fancy."

"Not quite."

You stepped through the door on her left. Your face held a single-minded purpose as you walked across the room. You took a glass of champagne on instinct, not bothering to look at the waiter as you joined Laia and Leila.

"Hi," You said.

"Hi," Laia said back.

"Hi," You said again.

"Hello."

You broke your gaze from Laia and turned it to her companion. You smiled. "You must be Leila, it's so good to meet you. I'm y/n." You held out your hand.

She took it and nodded knowingly. "Violin girl."

You giggled, taking a sip of champagne. "That's not a name I'm quite accustomed to. Usually, it's just the concertmaster."

Leila grinned. "I'll pretend that I know what that means."

"It means that she's second in command," Laia said quickly. She placed her champagne flute off to the side and wrapped an arm securely around your waist. "I'm very proud."

"I'm glad you could come," You said to Leila sincerely," It's nice to finally meet one of Laia's friends."

Leila looked between the two of you suspiciously, taking in Laia's arm and the way you leaned into her grip, practically laying your head on her shoulder.

"I take it I have you to thank for the box tickets."

Your cheeks coloured. "I get up to four free box tickets for every performance. I told Laia she could bring whoever she wanted."

"And is Laia a constant audience member for you?"

"Always." You pressed a kiss against her cheek. "Laia's been coming to shows ever since I made her fall in love with classical music again."

"Laia? Into classical music?" Leila laughed," You must be some persuader."

"I like to think it was my kisses that really sealed the deal."

Leila roared with laughter but Laia didn't care.

She dipped her head down to meet your lips. You tasted exactly like usual, a mix of fancy champagne and the chewing gum you always used before a performance.

You kissed her back just as sweetly.

"So," Leila said, wiggling her eyebrows," I'm getting the sense here that you two are an item."

"What gave it away? The kissing?" You asked.

Leila shrugged and Laia already knew she was going to regret introducing her friend to you. "And the eye fucking every time she looked at you on stage."

[cinnamoneve]

𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞.

heliophile \ ˈhēlēəˌfīl \ (n.) - one attracted to, or adapted to sunlight.

❆ 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: gojo satoru x fem!reader ❆ 𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬: satoru was warm, like the sun. it only took a big social event (and for him to drink a bit) for you to truly see him shine ❆ 𝐰𝐜: 2.3k ❆ 𝐚/𝐧: ough i love him i've been sitting on this for a WHILE !! as always, reblogs n comments are much appreciated &lt;;3 ❆ 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: alcohol consumption ( everyone give a big hand to satoru for drinking !!!! ) and then he throws up from alcohol consumption !!! (emeto warning)

satoru gojo was an easy man. 

he had a laundry list of things he loved more than life. his students, his pretty little girlfriend; there wasn’t a boundary that existed that his persistent and ever-forward personality couldn’t break into. 

satoru was like the sun, in a way. things just…came alive around him. the chaos he brought with him everywhere he went was so common that it was almost comforting. where bad things happened, satoru fixed them. and wherever he was, the good just followed. his rays of light and entropy reached out and warmed everything it touched. all beings seemed to turn to bask in his very being.

for things he hated? well, there was a list for that too. some more prominent than others, but your favorite thing he seemed to hate was the least offensive of its competition: alcohol.

in the years you two have been together, you couldn’t recall the last time satoru was seen with a drink in his hand, let alone remember if you’d ever seen it. he didn’t mind when other people were drinking, of course (and loved to indulge you when you got a bit too drunk), but never let himself take a sip.

you weren’t sure if it was because of a bad experience in his youth, something in his family, or just a personal experience; it was never right to bring it up.

but you didn’t mind. and tonight was a night worth celebrating, after all.

you and satoru got dressed up to go out with some friends. something about a big mission finally being over. you’ve never seen anyone party as hard as sorcerers do after they finish their job. all you and satoru could do was attend and catch up with colleagues. you’d have a drink, he’d have a mocktail, and all would flow like it normally would.

satoru fiddled with the button on his shirt as you two walked into the venue.

some club that was picked out by someone whose name you forgot–maybe they were from kyoto? you couldn’t really remember. it wasn’t the type of scene you frequented, but a change of pace was very much welcomed. 

your boyfriend’s jittery hands caught your eye as you glanced over at him. his other hand kept you close to his body, but just enough so that you could look up at his face. 

“feelin’ okay, baby?” 

he looks at you a little delayed, nodding before his eyes meet yours to put your mind at ease.

“we don’t have to stay too long, if you don’t wanna hang around,”

“that’s not it,” he starts, and he barely opens his mouth before he’s called over by some colleagues. you continue to look up at him as he greets them with a sweet smile, rubbing your back to soothe your worries.

mmm, not like you believed him, but you did trust him; so you followed him along, walking just ahead of him as his hand guided you towards his colleagues. 

and the colleagues just kept on coming, even inside the club. you’d think satoru worked with, or even saved, every single person in the entire country with the amount of people coming up to you at this party. and he had a story for each and every one of them too–his memory about them all was crazy. it almost made you fall in love with him just a little bit more. he’s interacted with hundreds–no, thousands of people for work. but he always seemed to remember those he had a different kind of impact on. 

it made your head spin a bit. sure, he liked to be grandiose about his adventures and his work, but seeing people back him up about it in the flesh seemed like a big gag that you weren’t let in on. you believed him, but was he really that great? he saved that many people, exorcized how many curses?

admiration poured out for satoru quicker than he could extend out a glass to hold it all. it was heartwarming to see. part of you wished people would treat him like this always, in secret hopes he’d be gentler on himself on the bad days. or maybe they already did, and it just wasn’t enough.

it was hard to hear everyone speaking when you were thinking so loud. you caught yourself staring at your boyfriend for longer than you think was normal.

he was the sun. the burning, beautiful, sustaining sun. people turned to him instinctively like sunflowers do when they want to flourish. like the sun, it felt like satoru was bound to detonate at any point–by the time you knew, it’d be over already. fleeting, warm, quick, yet merciless. 

do the people basking in his warmth know that it’s the warmth of a man who lit himself on fire?

mankind could never land on the sun. you’d burn up before you could even truly appreciate it. maybe these people were appreciating him from a safe distance. close enough, but never close enough to scald themselves or be swallowed up in the atmosphere. 

if he was the sun, you weren’t sure what that makes you.

a close planet orbiting nearby? an asteroid? maybe you’re a lone astronaut, untethered in the vastness of it all. with the sun loving you from afar, as it usually does. 

you weren’t sure if you liked the answer, or the implication of it all. it was time for a drink. 

when satoru had a spare moment to breathe, you pulled him away to head to the bar and get a drink. you hugged him a little bit tighter than usual, opting to hold onto his arm instead of just his hand.

“you okay there?” he asked.

you nodded, smiling at him and rubbing his arm. you’d thought yourself into a worry, is all, there was no use in getting him mixed up in it as well. 

“i’m okay! just meeting a lot of people tonight,”

“sorry, i’m sure it’s overwhelming, sweetie,”

“i don’t mind it. i like hearing all of your stories from work,”

you reach the bar and he leans on it, looking at you fondly.

“really~? you like hearing all these stories about your big, bad boyfriend saving the day, huh?”

you roll your eyes at him playfully, trying to suppress a smile.

“mmm, it’s gone. you ruined it,”

he cocks his head smiling, drawing a little nonsensical pattern on your arm while he admires you.

maybe you couldn’t be the sun. but you could get as close as you wanted to it. he accepted you into his atmosphere with open arms.

“don’t pretend you don’t love it, baby,”

you look away as the bartender approaches, smiling gently. 

“something like that,”

you place your order, chatting with the bartender about another patron. 

unbeknownst to you, satoru had been approached by a woman he’d worked with many years ago. she greeted him with a warm hug, touch lingering on him a little too long, eyes traveling too south before talking only about what she’s been up to. 

by the time you’d gone back to him with your drink, satoru was holding a small shot glass in hand. 

“i’ve been treated to a shot! lucky me,” he said. 

you shift your eyes between him and the woman across from him, unsure what was going on. before you could decide, satoru was rubbing your lip with a lemon wedge. 

you couldn’t even wipe the juice dribbling from your chin before watching your boyfriend lick salt off the back of his hand and slam back his drink. 

and then he turned to you, grabbing your face to kiss you incredibly obnoxiously in front of this woman. 

it felt like he’d taken all the air out of your lungs. he was electric. 

and he just took a shot, apparently. 

he turns back to the woman, who was still watching—half in disgust.

“you said it was salt, tequila, and lemon for the order, right?” he asked. his hand moved back down to its rightful position hovering just above the shelf of your butt. 

the poor woman could barely speak. it’d become obvious that she’d bought the shot for him, hoping that a mere tequila shot would have him head over heels for her. all she did was nod, a little bit perplexed and a lot a bit embarrassed. 

“thanks for the shot!” 

satoru turned away from the defeated woman, guiding you back towards the bartender on the other end of the counter. 

“feelin’ dangerous tonight, huh?”

“i’m not gonna turn down anything free,” 

you tap your finger on the counter, mulling it over. 

dramatically pouting, you smile up at him, “you hate alcohol though,” 

he smiles down at you, motioning the bartender over. 

“might as well go all in, yeah?”

he orders ‘whatever you’re having,’ opening a tab while taking a sip and wincing at the taste of it. he’s trying, at least, but his dramatics were pulling out all the stops tonight. 

satoru made his way through the party, socializing with nearly every group of people he could find. it was almost as if being alone would kill him. 

you know how sharks continue moving so that they can stay alive? satoru had to have evolved from them. he couldn’t sit still. 

that was the first indication that he’d had too much to drink. his aversion to alcohol left your oh-so-strong boyfriend with the worst alcohol tolerance you’ve ever seen.

one tequila shot with a drink and a half—he’s already thinking hard about every word that comes out of his mouth. 

his hand never left the small of your back. first moving you like a personal shield in front of him when you arrived, he’s now shifted to using you as a point of balance. 

the night flew by when you turned your attention solely on him. you knew he’d be okay, ultimately, and you cut him off before he did anything embarrassing. but seeing him so inebriated was an unfortunate turn of character. 

“ready to go?” you asked. you and satoru were one of the few left, as everyone else had decided to continue the night at a different club. 

you’d figured satoru wouldn’t mind if you cut the night a little bit short. 

“mhm~” 

satoru spoke slowly, eyes closed as he shifted his body weight more onto you. you couldn’t recall how long you’d been sitting in this booth, but you figured you’d fare better back at your apartment. 

you helped him get up, saying goodbye to the remaining sorcerers as you walked the both of you out to the car. 

satoru ran to open your door for you, as he usually did. just a little bit slower, and definitely more intentional this time. 

“baby, you’re too drunk to drive,” you laughed, “c’mon, get in,” 

he looked at the open car door, not hearing a word you just said to him. 

once it’s processed, he closes that door and speed walks to the other side of the car, opening the driver’s side and motioning you to get in. 

all you can do is smile. 

you kiss him on his hand as you pull it off the door. 

“thank you, love”

he looks at you dumbly, waiting for something. 

“can i have a kiss?” 

he didn’t have to ask for permission for that, and you weren’t really sure why he was now. but you were cold, tired, and ready to go to sleep. 

“i’ll give you one if you get in the car and buckle up,”

you’d barely finished the sentence before satoru was running to his side, getting in and buckling up. by the time you’d caught up to him and sat in your own seat, he was leaning over the center console waiting for his prize. 

so stupid, you thought. so cute.

leaning in, you kissed him as if he was made of glass. as he deserved to be kissed. and loved. gently, kindly, softly. he was easy to love. 

he desperately tried to make the kiss deeper, gently moaning into your mouth and speeding up his pace in hopes that you’d catch on. 

you did. you’re a smart one. 

but he didn’t have to know that. 

you let him kiss you as long as he wanted. indulging every swipe of his tongue, answering all of his unsung moans with one of your own, smiling into his mouth so he could taste how happy he made you. 

maybe drunk satoru was good. 

you pulled away. 

“we have to go home, babe,”

satoru hummed in disapproval, dramatically turning out towards the window in defiance. 

“why don’t you love me?”

a little giggle escaped you at his pouting. always so dramatic. 

“sorry, you’re right,” you giggled. you reached for his hand as you began to drive, “i’ll be more considerate in the future,”

“please and thank you,” 

his actions weren’t matching his words. while he threw one of his appropriately nicknamed “toru tantrums,” his fingers found their way to your thigh as he took hold for an ounce of affection. 

you’re convinced he’d explode if he wasn’t touching you for one second. 

the rest of the drive home was uneventful. every five minutes or so, satoru would say “pull over, i’m gonna throw up,” only to follow up with “false alarm!” 

it was hard to believe him after the third time. 

luckily, you both got home in one piece—with no vomit anywhere in sight. you’d consider that a win. 

you help satoru out of the car, his eyes barely open as the two of you walk back into your apartment. 

he quickly turned away from you, throwing up in a bush in the garden outside your building. you rubbed his back gently, trying to soothe him without getting sick yourself. 

it passed, as it always does. but he looks pale, drained, and just a little bit pathetic. 

“i’m just glad it didn’t happen in the car,” he says flatly. 

rather than kicking him while he’s down, you opted for being doting and sweet. 

“feelin’ better now, sweetie?” 

satoru swallows hard, leaning his weight onto you as he struggles to keep his eyes open. 

“i’m never drinking again,”

at least he’s honest, you think, you had to give him that. 

“let’s get to bed, satoru,” you laugh, “i’ll take care of you, ‘kay?”

all content © cinnamoneve 2024. do not repost, modify, steal, or copy without permission.

[multi-bookworm]

Why does nobody in this universe want to learn Greek like me :( making me sad, and bored, so I've made a list of all THE BENEFITS TO LEARNING GREEK:

1. The writing is really sexy. For example, even saying "you are a fish with a large forehead" looks beautiful

είσαι ένα ψάρι με μεγάλο μέτωπο

(even insulting someone is now gorgeous)

2. You could read Homer's odyssey or iliad with much less confusion since it will make more sense in the original language. Also you seem smarter reading the iliad or odyssey.

3. You seem really cool, this honestly comes with learning any new language, but Greek is connected to English, making it easier to learn, often, despite its complexity.

3. Understanding English itself will be easier since a large amount of the english language stems from Greek, as well as Latin, but Latin writing isn't quite as sexy (my own personal opinion, this is probably just because it is so similar to English, which is boring to me)

4. It is still spoken, as opposed to learning Latin, a dead language, making it easier to learn since you are more likely to have a conversation in it with somebody else.

5. The alphabet is interesting, as all foreign languages are, but the use of certain letters, how there are two different s's, three different i's and two different o's.

6. Interesting etymological origins from words. Some words came from myths, such as the man Narcissus, and particularly my favourite is when something is καλλίπυγος (Callipygious) which originated from an association with Aphrodite calling her Aphrodite Kallipygos, as well as roman reference of callipygian Venus. Callipygian means "one with/of beautiful buttocks," which I find to be quite hilariously accurate in addition to the common reference to Aphrodite in this manner.

7. If none of this enticed anybody and you dont think youll even go to greece so why bother, here are many things in Greece worth seeing:

A) THE MUSEUM IN ATHENS: multiple museums in Athens houses more history than the British Museum (that's saying a lot) with 11,000 artefacts in just the Natural Archaeological Museum in Athens alone (the British Museum has only 2,000 artefacts). Unlike many societies, they docked down much of what they did very early on so we have so much unscripted and crazy history from the Greeks alone in writing, and even moreso in their abundance of beautiful, detailed art. Even if you hate the Greeks (every country has done some bad things) it's still worth checking out the museums there just for historical knowledge and context, it will teach you a lot, i promise you that.

B) THE COASTAL WATERS: just look at the Mediterranean water, does that NOT make you want to jump in??

C) there are cats everywhere, particularly in Crete.

D) there are thousands of sites related to greek myths such as: the cave and temple of the Oracle of Delphi, which actually existed, and are still sometimes praised to Apollo today; Mount Olympus, the largest mountain in greece and worth a climb; the site where the Spartan Society thrived (my favourite society of all time, whom you should seriously check out here if you do not know already, if you do know... you should check it out also bc Weird History in yt really explains it accurately and in such a cool way).

E) greek culture. An ancient custom is to be kind to travellers, which was a belief that the traveller could be a God in disguise, so one always must treat them like a king and invite them into their home. (Again, this was an ancient custom, I'm not sure how prominent it would still be but it is a nice thought and the general public say that Greeks, particularly rural, are the loveliest people you will meet, for they have the strongest connection to this culture.) If you see blue roofs in greece this was a cultural belief as well, thought that rhat particular shade of blue would ward off evil spirits and protect the home from disease and impurity. Greece's long history of celebrated gods which are now well known worldwide through the many tales told about them and worship in their names.

If you still aren't enticed, that's okay, I am not offended, I'm just passionate I hope I didn't hurt anybody's feelings, and pls tell me if i have offended anyone who is greek themselves, because I am not greek, just heavily in love with your culture, so pls do correct me. Have a lovely day everybody :>

[aleksanderscult]

Hi! :D

I have a question, and I'm too lazy to look into it myself rn, so... :)

Does Alina ever mention what she wants from life, save Malyen's attention?

Did she truly want quiet life, or just to avoid responsibility in any way possible?

Does she ever mention wanting a home at all?

Or is it the safe predictability of idealized past?

Thanks, and no rush answering (*glares at my own drafts*). ;)

Heyy! 🩷

Okay I did a quick research myself to verify what I already suspected.

- Does Alina ever mention what she wants from life, save Malyen's attention?

That is hard to answer because Alina keeps thinking about him.

I think this passage from R&R summarizes what she wants:

In S&B Alina thinks only about Mal and she even admits to herself that she deliberately suppressed her powers in hopes that the Darkling would send her back to the First Army disappointed. But in R&R Alina shows a slight change (I repeat, slight🥲). She wants for Ravka to be safe and she wants herself to feel safe. All this running around from the Darkling and looking over her shoulder has exhausted her but she has yet to rid of her old desires.

I've noticed that Alina is a character that refuses to let go of her comfort zone. Mal is her comfort zone. And she doesn't want to let him go or anything that has to do with him (their memories, their common childhood). She takes him with her wherever she goes, she doesn't let anyone insult him, she keeps him on her mind constantly. And that's bad because if you don't leave your comfort zone then you never grow up, you never spread your wings to fly independently. She just clings on him. It's like Mal is her chains and instead of removing him, she takes those chains with her everywhere. By R&R she begins to understand that she has to be a Queen and a Sun Summoner for her people. But she sees it as a duty not as a wish. Because she still wishes to be somewhere else with Mal looking at the clouds.

But she fails to understand that Mal is not the man that "is going to love her for who she is" because he doesn't like her as she is now. A Grisha.

- Did she truly want a quiet life or just to avoid responsibility in any possible?

I'm gonna bring a passage from S&S that's gonna answer it for me 🥲

She never wanted responsibilities on her shoulders, least of all to save a country and her people. She loved her powers but didn't like or wanted the responsibilities that came with them.

When she didn't use them and felt useless instead of doubting Mal's "caring feelings" for her, she tries to remove any bad thought and convince herself that "Hey at least I'm not pathetic anymore".

Even from the first passage of R&R Alina can't keep away the thought: "I wish I were somewhere else". So, no, her heart was never fully into her cause.

- Does she ever mention wanting a home at all?

Just like Daenerys from GoT, Alina doesn't know where her home is. Which makes sense I admit. Growing up in an orphanage like that...

Sometimes she mentions the First Army as her home, sometimes the orphanage and sometimes Mal.

She is confused about that which is one thing that I understand about her. She wants a home but doesn't know where that is. When she arrived in the Little Palace in S&S she felt it like home but then after her dreamlike encounter with the Darkling she said that the Little Palace is not her home (confusion levels 📈).

But Mal is a home for her too, apart from all else (this guy has taken over every fabric of her existence).

- Or is it the safe predictability of idealized past?

Honestly yeah, it's that too. She just can't let go of Mal and, therefore, her past. She grabs it and feels insecure without it. Mal (and everything that he symbolises for her) hold her back but she doesn't even seem to mind. On the contrary, every time Mal threatens to leave her, she crumbles.

I don't know.... By R&R she seems like she wants to help but at the same time her past is her soft blanket that she keeps taking everywhere she goes. Mal was the main problem. That guy should have died, no question about it. Alina just refuses to leave her comfort space and that had consequences on her character. I always wonder "Is this what Alina wanted?" when I look upon her final fate. She wanted peace and quiet, yes. She wanted Mal too. But she undoubtedly loved her powers and didn't want to abandon that side of her. But Bardugo knew that if she had to end up with that sexist piece of filth then her powers must go.

Feminism 🤌

[herukapadmajungiansworld]

Decolonisation is beautiful.

Here’s just one example from one small corner of one small Estonian town, Viljandi.

Picture 1: An ugly communist party building and car park, built by the soviet occupiers on top of a memorial they demolished for local people who died fighting for independence.

Pictures 2 & 3: The memorial, lovingly recreated down to every last detail, is back at the heart of a public square.

There are some commentators abroad who like to lecture russia’s neighbours not to “erase history” by removing the scars of occupation.

It’s weird because this kind of thing is normal everywhere else in the world. In fact, the very same people who get particularly upset about occupation monuments being removed here also tend to be very articulate about the importance of removing statues to ousted oppressors elsewhere. They just think russian imperialism gets a free pass.

Newsflash: It doesn’t.

Rather than erase history, plenty of occupation junk across the Baltic countries has been transferred to museums so that future generations can learn about it in its proper context. But it doesn’t belong in our public spaces. Local people here hated that brutal communist party building, which desecrated the memorial in a way so symbolic of the wider ugliness of russian imperialism.

Public spaces belong to the people who actually live here and should reflect the kind of free, modern, open, independent countries that we are - and which remember those who made it possible.

The other bad take on this issue is to constantly frame this kind of thing as a ‘reaction/response/message to russia’. That, again, is imperialist thinking. We make decisions for our countries based on what we want our countries to be. We’d want to remove this kind of junk even if russia had ceased to exist in 1991 or if it had flourished into a friendly democracy.

In fact, here in Viljandi, it took three decades of planning and sculpting to recreate the monument based off grainy photos of the original. The building was finally knocked down a couple of years ago and the memorial unveiled this midsummer.

In the interim, the building was expanded after the occupation to serve as Tourist Information, which was pretty ironic considering the communist aim was to keep us closed to the world. But that has a new home and the time has come to return the space.

There was quite a debate locally about whether to recreate it exactly or update it with some kind of modern reinterpretation. Both are legitimate, interesting ideas.

In the end, the only difference is that the materials are now of a much higher quality. I think they made the right decision.

And the fact that it was recreated in perfect detail by people who never saw the original but emerged from occupation with the same determination to live free does send its own new message from our time too. We will continue to exist.

Decolonisation can suffer setbacks, horrendously painful as we see in Ukraine, but the long term trend is unstoppable. The special protection that russian imperialism still enjoys in the minds of many around the world is starting to shatter.

I stopped by to take a photo of it for you all and a rainbow appeared. 🙂

[lakesbian]

ok Worm Bigotry Breakdown in more detail for @silverflyingpikachu

tl;dr: author is Cishet White Guy From Canada In 2011. he ostensibly thinks he is progressive. this does not change his proclivity for tossing his Cishet White Guy From Canada Biases into the books and then saying even more bigoted things in defense of those writing decisions on forums. wildbow is just some cunt on the forums with bad opinions on wildbow's writing. the book is 1.7 million words long but i believe in my ability 2 categorize this shit with decent accuracy. everyone who has ever said worm's CWs can't be categorized, including wildbow himself, is a lying ass bitch. this will include some vague spoilers, because i can't really go in-depth without a few examples, but i'll stay away from anything too plot-critical.

racism:

- worm is fundamentally a book abt systems of power and the ways in which they suck. some of the critiques worm issues--e.g, its depiction of how school systems enable bullying, inspired by wildbow's own experiences w/ the school systems as a deaf kid--are viscerally accurate and incredibly compelling. but wildbow fundamentally doesn't understand how certain systems of oppression work--e.g policing--and subsequently, his attempts at depicting them occasionally fall flat onto their face and land in racist territory. this gets particularly nasty when combined w/ the White Guy Author propensity for racist stereotypes--for example, his chosen face of police brutality is a black girl portrayed as predatory & animalistic.

- who is also one of the only black people in the book overall, alongside--for example--an addict portrayed as having less interiority & being less deserving of empathy than A Literal Fucking Nazi. also, the main characters have to team up with the nazis "for the greater good" (defeating the mean asian villains) at one point. it is a mercy to the readers when this part of the story ends. - there are two black characters in the main cast. for the first, wildbow just Straight Up Forgot to include the most compelling aspect of their background + characterization in the text (it was provided via WoG instead, which i provide to all wormreaders like a fuckin' DLC patch when they get to where it's relevant) & entirely forgets they exist towards where the end of their character arc should have been. the second is introduced w/ the most misogynoiristic description on the planet but blessedly has a largely compelling and well-written arc as the book goes on. - depiction of china is just like. fox news level sinophobic "it's all a brainwashed indistinguishable evil cult" shit. not relevant for very long relatively speaking but insufferable to read. asian characters are also like. we got Brutal Yet Honorable Asian Man. we got Fiery Asian Girl With Blue Eyes. it fucking blows it's not good

- oh yeah forgot this one someone mentioned in the tags. #it's an insignificant paragraph and nobody talks about it but the part where it goes #“yeah literally EVERY cape in South America is with a cartel and the heroes are barely distinguishable from the villains” #fuck you #not that the others aren't bad the fatphobia gets really gross but nobody mentions this and that one got me so yeah typical Insufferable Awful Imperial Core Author Understanding Of What Other Countries Are Like - i could make this section one million bulletpoints long but the gist is summarized i think--wildbow's varied racist biases leak fucking everywhere, into character design, into narrative assumptions about who's deserving of interiority/empathy or not, into attempts at Saying Anything About Society, into which characters he prioritizes, into who he offers validity via the narrative, etc etc etc.

homophobia: - theres a girl named amy dallon in it and she is the worst lesbophobic stereotype ever known to man. no other Problematic Lesbian™ you can think of has anything on this girl. the worst part is that she genuinely has a decently compelling character concept and arc, which her being awful is integral to, so you might accidentally find her interesting anyway and then she'll move into your brain - wildbow kept accidentally writing characters that scan as massive dykes and then got really mad about f/f ships for the book being popular in the fandom. he responded by making a deranged forum post involving the phrase "pandering is pandering" insisting everyone (but the bisexual "hedonist") is straight and writing a scene into the book where one of the characters literally turns to the camera and tells the readers "not to get the wrong idea" about her hugging her friend. - over the course of 1.7 million words he finds excuses to loudly inform you that all of the relevant female characters are straight and it's sooo shoehorned in you can always tell when he's doing it - basically worm is like if naruto was about homoerotic teenage girls who do violent terrible things, in terms of levels of unintentional homoeroticism, and the author responds to ppl going "lmao gay" about the unintentional homoeroticism with poorly restrained seething rage

fatphobia: - generic brand of fatphobia you'll see in p much all mainstream media where only side/bg characters are fat and it's obliquely used as a descriptor to indicate that someone has negative personality traits or should be viewed as sort of gross

anti-addict shit: - wildbow generally likes writing about how social circumstances--i.e neglect from society, oppression, failure on behalf of systems--causes crime. he generally likes demonstrating the ways in which the villainous main characters are traumatized teenagers failed by society fumbling to keep existing & holding each other up through The Horrors. unfortunately all of this intelligent writing flies out the nearest window when addicts are involved. there is a gang comprised entirely of addicts, all of whom are portrayed as disgusting, violent, dangerous, and of course often racially stereotyped. it is a mercy to the readers when they're no longer relevant to the story. - on a more subtle level, characters are every so often just like. a little more anti-drug than they would realistically be and you can tell it's wildbow's opinions leaking into their characterization. this is largely what the anti-addict writing is kept to after The Addict Villains leave the story iirc.

if youre wondering wellwhy does anyone read this book then. to that i would say that unfortunately despite it all it'sa fucking excellent book. so we all carry on reading the parts that suck and thinking about how they suck and then reading the parts that fuck and going "ouuugh my god" and rolling down 20 flights of stairs about how hard they fuck.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Hemant Mehta at Friendly Atheist:

Last night was sickening. A replay of 2016. It’s hardly ancient history. We stepped on a rake years ago and we decided to do it again. This was a reminder that 2020, not 2016, was the year where the presidential election went sideways. The year of the pandemic was also the high watermark for the decade. The results are bad for church/state separation. Bad for civil rights. Bad for bodily autonomy. Bad for Ukraine and our foreign allies. Bad for Palestinians. Bad for science and the climate and common sense. Bad for just about every issue that matters to the type of people who read this newsletter. The worst people you know got pretty much everything they wanted. The people who have empathy and expertise—the people who care too much and want the best for others—lost again. A Trump without guardrails is a Trump who’s even worse than he was years ago, and he was really fucking awful years ago.

If the famous saying is “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” we’re about to be ruled by people who’ll do everything in their power to make sure we never learn about the past. The people who ban books, whitewash American history, and reject science have been given another chance to turn their ignorance into policy. We’re screwed in the event of another pandemic. Blue states will not be able to rely on federal funding in the event of a natural disaster because that will require Trump’s signature. When the economy collapses, Republicans will blame everyone but themselves and most people won’t know they’re being lied to. (The mainstream media can’t be expected to push back. They failed to meet the moment this time around, and they’re bound to get worse.) With the Senate now in Republican control and the presidency within Donald Trump’s grasp (the blue wall of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania have not yet been called), we’re on the verge of seeing at least two years of utter chaos with ramifications that will last even longer. At best, if Democrats manage to flip the House, they will still control a mere 1/6 of the federal government.

[...]

I don’t know how to beat back the firehose of misinformation that contributed to the rightward shift of the country. I don’t know what could have changed the minds of the half of the country that seems immune to reality. I don’t know what else the Harris campaign could have done to change the outcome. (There’s an argument to be made that she should have pushed back against Joe Biden’s policies, especially regarding Israel, but given the results, even if that helped her with Muslims in Michigan, it arguably wouldn’t have moved the needle everywhere else as much as she needed.) I also don’t believe Biden or a different candidate would have fared any better. It’s easy to feel like the past few months were just pointless. The debate that Harris won didn’t matter. The half-filled Trump rallies didn’t indicate a loss of support. The meandering ramblings of a man whose brain is clearly broken didn’t turn off enough people. The major endorsements for Harris—and the lack of big ones for Trump— didn’t change much. The overwhelming financial support for Harris didn’t overcome the billionaires backing Trump. The “vibes” didn’t match the other side’s arrogance. The Democratic National Convention, so full of joy, now feels like a last gasp rather than a new beginning. The Democrats’ superb ground game and the utter lack of one for Republicans still didn’t meet the “margin of effort.” Trump’s criminal indictments and impeachments and legal battles and mugshot and looming potential jail sentence (!) weren’t dealbreakers.

January 6 eventually led Trump to another term in office when it should have blackballed him from public life. Too many Americans are nostalgic for a utopia that never existed, and when they realized they’ve been conned, there are going to be a hell of a lot of conservatives eager to blame minorities of all stripes for all the problems they made worse. At the same time, as older generations of Americans understand all too well, the path to progress is never smooth and it requires constant vigilance. We knew that in 2016 and there were reverberations—in 2018 and 2020. We’ll now walk down that path again. It will likely be even more fierce this time around.

Last night’s election results were a gut punch for Americans opposed to the Orange Felon.

For the next four years, there will be horror show after horror show.

[kick-a-long]

Hi I'm the previous anon and I have to say - everything you added was spot on!

I want to say something extra that has been bothering me for a long time.

I can't help but feel like there are specific (major) traits of antisemitism that always appear in every other form of bigotry. As a person of many different minority groups, I am not saying antisemitism is worst than all the other forms of hatred or downplaying the rest at all. But I see these traits that I feel like are inherently antisemitic appear everywhere else and I can't stop thinking "this shows bigotry starts and stops with jew hate"?

For example, I'm from country A (not saying where for personal reasons). In this country, (mainly) Arab Christians have moved here due to religious persecution. They are a very small group and have become wealthy due to 1) transferring of wealth or 2) they used their intelligence to make businesses. Due to assimilation into whiteness, they have become "white people" as well. As a result they are victims of the "they control the country and are behind everything bad" narrative. I would argue that "they control the world" is a uniquely antisemitic belief and it goes to show how people default to antisemitism to destroy any group. Additionally, I would argue antisemitism is truly people's map to the world and they use it to navigate. Moreover, Indians in Africa had also been accused of doing the same "controlling". Now there is a lot to be said about assimilation and doing anything for power and minorities being pit against each other for division but regardless of the nuance, these negative emotions (anger, frustration, sadness, etc) tend to lead back to antisemitism? Indians in Tanzania experienced random acts of mob violence in the 1920s/30s similar to pogroms (important to note: these were not common but their existence still highlights something).

Human beings love an easy, concrete group to hate and project onto hence the reason why the left loves nazis so much (they are their easy punching bags). As a result, the hatred stems from an antisemitic belief and morphs into anti- whatever the "nuisance" is, no matter how justifiable the hatred is.

Like when people hate immigrants and chant "they will not replace us and take our jobs", am I not supposed to think everything is a big antisemitic conspiracy?

!!!this this this^^^^ I agree so much!!!

antisemitism is older than racism, literally. it was around before the concepts of race or nationhood. it was around when feudalism and slave labor was the main economic system. jews were blamed for being poor and stupid just as often as for being smart and rich. jews have always been a convenient 'other' because we have always had to identify as a diasporic group from somewhere else with different customs based on living somewhere else.

antisemitism is in most other forms of bigotry imo because it's the prototype for it, since the roman empire and the destruction of the second temple. probably before.

I think it's pretty accurate to point to aspects of it in other bigotry because it's where hateful troupes were tested and popularized for thousands of years. what's wild is that people don't even realize what antisemitism does or how it's useful to maintain power structures. it's the most time tested way to scapegoat and distract from real problems and unite against real power structures that fuck up people's lives. you see antisemitism spike around economic crisis or huge cultural swings from liberal to traditional, but you never see the blame fall on changing the laws that caused the economy to crash or try to build bridges between liberal and traditional aspects of society. you just have the scapegoat of jews, or minority populations, or homosexuals, or X, or Y... but eventually the story is always explained with jews as architects of it.

conservative states could look at the successes of LGBTQ entertainers from those states and celebrate how their tradition bore that success (true or false) but instead they reject it. southern states could celebrate the black civil rights leaders from there and the parts of their culture that generated that rebelliousness (true or false) but they reject it. you can see it all over. jews are the only ones who are adopted as "from here" when they succeed and "jewish cabal" when the tide changes. it's the conditional oppression and conditional acceptance that alienates us from all other groups.

all bigotry is based on antisemitism but antisemitism is different than all other bigotry, imo.

[ibikus]

Okay, my thoughts right now:

I live in a state in Germany with literal Neonazis in its parliament, people who don't just reject democracy but the German state as a whole, because they deny World War II was ever lost. Yes, sounds crazy, but it's real and many of these people had a decent education in school before they fell off. I watch people repeat history every day just by going out and being subjected to the people who vote for a party that admires Hitler, wants women and queer people to die, wants immigrants to be killed or sent back to war and that LOVES to copy what Republicans are doing in the US. I hear their misogyny, their racism, their homophobia, their transphobia, just casually on the street, some from my very own family members. I am sure many other Europeans can relate, it is scary existing in these areas of our countries, it's scarier looking at the areas where it's even worse.

And I think that's why it's bad to say "oh those stupid americans". I think alot of us do know very well how these things work and that it's just not easy like that. It's a machinery, designed to erode democracy, it's a path they've been on for a long time and it is not easily visible for many, many people. They prey on lack of education, withholding transparency, they prey on desperation, on making the poor poorer so they are more eager to believe their lies of easy solutions. And boy do they lie and lie and lie, even when it's obvious that they are lying, even though they do not believe any of what they're saying themselves. Propaganda through ways you can't even see, on messengers, tiktok and other sites that do not give a FUCK if the content they push at you is real, that drag you further and further into these dangerous believes. It's selfishness but it's also the blatant disrespect for democracy, it's the loopholes, the way to corruption, away from constitutionality. And it's happening everywhere. We are not on the precipice anymore, we are already in the trenches, we have been for a while if we're being honest with ourselves.

I don't want to be all negative, because we know through history that humans are resilient, love is the strongest force and there is always a way forward, but now we also know there will be many many lives lost on the way to mending any of what's happening in the world right now. And there is no glory in that, not at all. But we will keep going, even though it will get worse before it ever gets better again, we will keep fighting, we will wake up and do good and love each other. That's the one thing that will never stop. That we love each other, that we love humanity and the world we live in, and if this is anything it should be a wake up call to support the most vulnerable whenever we can, to protect our planet, to protect each other. We have to keep going, we simply have to.