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csuitebitches · 1 year ago

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Book Review- The Wealth Elite: A Groundbreaking Study of the Psychology of the Super Rich, by Rainer Zitelmann Notes

I came across this book because I was looking for psychology books. I found the first of the book rather boring and too textbook-y. The second part is much better.

The author interviewed like 45 millionaire - billionaires. These were his findings.

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48% stated that real estate was an ‘important’ source of their wealth, and one in ten described real estate as the ‘most important’ aspect of their personal wealth-building. And a total of 20% described stock market gains as an ‘important’ factor in wealth-building, although in this case only 2.4% stated that this was the ‘most important’ factor in building their wealth.

‘Creative intelligence’ is key to financial success. The following is a comparison between the percentage of entrepreneurs (and in brackets the percentage of attorneys) who agreed that the following factors played a decisive role in their financial success: seeing opportunities others do not see: 42 (19); finding a profitable niche: 35 (14).

The role of habitus

* Intimate knowledge of required codes of dress and etiquette

* Broad-based general education

* An entrepreneurial attitude, including an optimistic outlook on life

* Supreme self-assurance in appearance and manner.

He identifies a key quality that is essential for any prospective appointee to the executive board or senior management of a major company: habitual similarities to those who already occupy such positions.

Skillset of Entrepreneurs

* The ‘conqueror’. The entrepreneur has to have the ability to make plans and a strong will to carry them out.

* The ‘organizer’. The entrepreneur has to have the ability to bring large numbers of people together into a happy, successful creative force.

* The ‘trader’. What Sombart describes as a ‘trader’, we would more likely call a talented salesperson today. The entrepreneur has to “confer with another, and, by making the best of your own case and demonstrating the weakness of his, get him to adopt what you propose. Negotiation is but an intellectual sparring match.”

Entrepreneurial success personality traits

* Commitment

* Creativity

* A high degree of extroversion

* Low levels of agreeableness

Entrepreneurial success personality traits

* Orientation towards action after suffering disappointments (the entrepreneur remains able to act, even after failure)

* Internal locus of control (the conviction “I hold my destiny in my own two hands”)

* Optimism (the expectation that the future holds positive things in store)

* Self-efficacy (the expectation that tasks can be performed successfully, even in difficult circumstances).

constant power struggles with their teachers in order to ascertain who would emerge the stronger from such confrontations.

Secret of selling

* Empathy

* Didactics

* Expert knowledge

* Networking.

Conscientiousness is the dominant personality trait. Extroversion is also very common among the interviewees. Openness to Experience is very common

A high tolerance to frustration is one of the most characteristic personality traits of this group.

exceptionally high levels of mental stability.

primarily characterize entrepreneurs as being prepared to swim against the current and make their decisions irrespective of majority opinion.

“No, I never did that (lost my temper). I never get loud. But I can be resolute and say: “That is unacceptable.” And then you either have to go your separate ways or make a decision that the other party might not like. It’s the same in negotiations. I was always described by other people as a bit of a toughie.”

Having the courage to stand against majority opinion is probably a prerequisite for making successful investments, as this is what makes it possible to buy cheap and sell high.

Many of the interviewees spoke about their ability to switch off and direct their focus, even in the event of major problems. The interviewees consistently referred to their ability to focus on solutions, rather than torturing themselves with problems.

At least in the initial phases of wealth creation, most of the interviewees rated their own risk profiles as very high. This changes during the stabilization phase, when risk profiles decrease. In this phase, the hypothesis of moderate risk does apply.

Conscientiousness was the interviewees’ most dominant personality trait. It is important to remember that the Big Five theory’s definition of conscientiousness does not just include qualities such as duty, precision, and thoroughness, but also emphasizes diligence, discipline, ambition, and stamina.

#c suite #powerful woman #strong women #ceo aesthetic #personal growth #that girl #productivity #getting your life together #balance #book review #books

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porcelainseashore · 10 months ago

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Into the Ether (1)

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Vampire! Toreador! Leon Kennedy x Fem! Reader

Summary: At the all-night events cafe you run, you’ve become acquainted with an elusive patron, Leon, though you can never remember the last moments of your interactions together. After a harrowing encounter, a love-hate relationship develops between the two of you as you grapple with your newfound status in a world of darkness and investigate the reasons behind the untimely attacks.

Content & Warnings: 18+ Resident Evil x Vampire: The Masquerade crossover, horror, mystery, romance, slow burn, strangers to enemies to lovers, angst, fluff, eventual smut, swearing, smoking, alcohol, drug references, non consensual blood drinking, blood bond, vampire turning, violence, injury, mild gore, torture, religious themes, minor character death, RE ensemble, VtM concepts.

Author's Note: Super excited for this crossover series! I’ll try to keep a regular update schedule on Wednesdays. I might take some liberties with VtM lore and mechanics to fit the story, but hope to stay as true as I can to the source material. Finally, I imagined RE2R Leon (my favorite!) in this role 🫶

AO3 Link

Chapter 1: RC By Night

You first saw him in summer, when the days were long and the nights were short, and the streets came to life again. There was the heady smell of pollen in the air and the humidity was sweltering. Just a couple of months after you and a bunch of idealistic friends from your theater school days had taken the plunge, and opened an all-night cafe in one of the cheaper, grittier areas of town, east of the river of Raccoon City.

It had been a scrappy little project, one you didn’t expect to receive a cult following and gain in popularity amongst the intellectuals and counterculture crowd. But then again, there was also the City College nearby and the events program you’d lined up each week drew them in. From comedy nights and disco fevers to site-specific and performance art, you knew what people liked and how they wanted to be entertained. A bit of kitsch, a sprinkle of avant-garde and a generous dose of unpretentious social drinking. It pulled him in too.

Him. You didn’t even know his name. The first thing you had noticed were his striking blue eyes that seemed to glow from the shadows of the dimly lit space, peering out at you. Always observing, always watching, never speaking. Sometimes he’d glance over across the opposite end of the room at another pair of companions — a rugged, broad-shouldered man with a dark crew cut bumping shoulders with a younger, spunky redhead in a matching biker jacket. They’d exchange subtle looks of recognition and mild suspicion before returning to whatever they were doing. Though they never uttered a single word to each other.

He came back week after week, ordering the same drink each time, but never touching it. One Manhattan, please. You obliged. A waitress you had sent over to pry on your behalf told you he enjoyed the cocktail, but couldn’t tolerate much alcohol. You saw him lift the drink to his nose, sniffing it as the corners of his mouth turned upwards, silently smiling to himself before he placed it back down on the table again. Strange. You shook your head and prepared a cup of black coffee, taking it over to him as his eyes lit up in surprise with your approach.

“On the house,” you explained, plonking it down on the table. He raised an eyebrow but remained tight-lipped.

Maybe he didn’t like coffee? Or how did he usually take it? “Uh—” you turned back towards the service area, as if to check that the condiments were still in place. “Would you like some creamer or sugar to go with it?”

He raised his hand to indicate it wasn’t necessary and his jaw clenched, before fixing it into an awkward smile. “Thank you.”

Those were the first words he had spoken to you. It rolled off his tongue like a swirl of mist, a sliver of a dream you couldn’t quite remember when waking up. You took another step forward to get a better look at him. He had a baby face, angelic almost, with that typical, boy next door charm your mom would have gushed at, and you imagined he couldn’t be older than his early twenties. Upon closer inspection, he seemed slightly pale, faint dark circles around his eyes that had seen more than his fair share for his age. There was a sense of weariness and jadedness behind them that made him appear older than he was.

Bringing the cup to his lips, he sipped a small mouthful, letting it sit for a moment, before swallowing it down languidly. You admired the curve of his Adam’s apple, bobbing as the liquid poured down his throat, littered with freckles and specks of moles. Something about his very presence mesmerized you, even more so than earlier. It was hard to place a finger on what it was exactly, and why this feeling seemed to grow with every second you were lingering near him.

He pulled out a pack of cigarettes, tapping it on the table before offering one to you. Why not? You were a social smoker and took it as a sign to join him. In fact, there was no other place you’d rather be at the moment. You were confused, but did not question it as you took a seat beside him, noticing that he flinched each time he flicked open his lighter to ignite a flame.

His fingertips brushed across your wrist as he lit your cigarette, causing you to shiver in response, while his jaw tensed again, as if trying to rein something in. Licking his lips, he took a puff from his own, exhaling the smoke as it billowed around him and for a second you thought you’d lost him to a wall of fog. Both of you continued smoking in silence, checking in with each other through furtive glances, even though there was nothing to be ashamed about.

At some point, you followed the direction of his gaze and saw that same pair of companions he often regarded from the corner of his eye. They were frowning, giving him dirty looks as he shrugged nonchalantly in return.

“Not much of a talker, are you?” you broke through the thick stillness of the air that surrounded the both of you like a bubble, separated from the rest of the evening revelers.

“You’re observant,” he teased, his eyes crinkling as he stubbed out the leftovers of his cigarette in the ashtray. You followed suit.

“So, what brings you here?” you asked, gesturing to the suit attire sans tie that he was wearing. “Don’t get me wrong, but this place doesn’t exactly seem like the kind you types hang out at.”

“Hm,” he huffed, though your question didn’t phase him. “And what exactly is my type?”

“I’d say you were a yuppie,” you blurted out, your mouth rarely had a filter on these days. “But I can’t be sure, something about you seems…”

“Off?” he offered, smirking, yet his expression carried a hint of somberness.

“Different,” you corrected, but mumbled out a quick apology nonetheless soon after.

“Don’t be,” he grazed your hand again as he adjusted himself in his chair, and you felt like he was doing this on purpose. “At least you’re honest. It’s a rare quality to find these days.” Though the way he said the last sentence sounded loaded with a double meaning.

“These days?” you guffawed. “You’re speaking like an old man.”

He joined in your laughter though that was the end of your conversation for that night. The rest of the evening went by in a blind haze, and you found yourself in a dazed state later on in the wee hours of the morning, still sitting at the same table, but your newfound friend gone without a trace. None of your colleagues had noticed a thing. You didn’t even get his name, but you shook yourself, commanding your limbs to get back to business and clean up after the customers that had left.

The next time you saw him was when you were hosting the karaoke night of the month. Decked out in a shimmery mermaid glitter jumpsuit, hair tied up in pigtails and face caked with extravagant make up, you hopped onto the stage, only to nearly stumble on your flimsy heels when those piercing blue eyes landed on you from the all the way back. Of all the nights he could have dropped in, he chose this one.

You suppressed your embarrassment and warmed up the audience with a couple of well-placed jokes before kicking the event off with those who had registered to participate. It appeared to be a tough crowd as you only had a handful of sign ups, and would need to potentially seek out volunteers when they were done. You hoped the rackety sound system would hold up till then too.

Fortunately, when it came to the crunch — which it did — you always had an ace up your sleeve. “You there,” you called out, pointing towards the back of the room. “Yeah, blue eyes, you.” Crooking your finger, you beckoned him over, waiting in anticipation to see what he would do.

To your surprise, he bowed his head, accepting the challenge, before slowly weaving his way through the crowd, who were cheering him on with your prompting, towards the stage. He flashed you his pearly whites as he climbed up the short stairs, his floppy bangs bouncing with each step. For a moment, you thought you caught something feral in his gaze, but it dissipated when he reached out for the mic from you, his hands sweeping over yours with an electric touch.

You were in awe of him, like almost everyone else in the cafe, when he broke out in a rich tenor voice, effortlessly floating through the notes of the gentle melody, that you felt as though you were being wrapped in a serene, velvet cocoon. Enthusiastic claps and hoots filled the space when he finished. The only two people in the room who were scowling were the same pair of companions he knew from before.

“Will you join me after the show?” he whispered in your ear as he handed you back the mic. Nodding was the only appropriate response.

You were rushed off your feet for the next couple of hours and it was late by the time you called the event to a close, but he was still there, by his usual table, waiting patiently for you.

“So you decided to push me into the spotlight,” he accused with a wry smile.

“Don’t pretend you didn’t enjoy it,” you shot back. “Here.” You set a cup of black coffee down in front of him. “My treat.”

“You’re too kind.” It sounded flat, like a game that had become routine between the two of you. He took a sip from it, nothing more, nothing less.

That was all you could recall from your conversation. You didn’t get his name until a few nights after.

“Hey, blue eyes,” you acknowledged as he strolled in.

“Leon,” he disclosed sharply. “It’s Leon.”

That was the night of exchanging introductions. You named all the nights you’d spent with him under various labels, so you wouldn’t forget.

Another night, he had whipped out a flip phone and you nearly choked on your drink. “They still make those?” You stared in disbelief.

He turned to face you in amusement.

“Bet you don’t have a—”

You didn’t even need to finish your sentence for him to fish out his pager, dangling it in front of you like a toy.

“Fuck off,” you laughed. “No fucking way.”

He grinned at your outburst and it was one of those times, few and far between, where you experienced a glimpse of that youthful energy he often hid behind a calm, matured facade.

“You’re still living in the 90s dude?” you jested, grabbing the pager as you flipped it over, trying to determine if it was real. It was.

His lips curled up into a playful smirk. “Something like that.”

“Healthcare,” you guessed, squinting at him. “I heard people there still have them. You’re a doctor?”

“I wish.” He coughed out a self-deprecating laugh, before rummaging through his wallet for a sleek white card, sliding over to you. “P.I., actually.”

“Private Investigator Leon S. Kennedy,” you read the title out loud, deliberately emphasizing each word.

“Go ahead, shout it from the rooftops,” he joked.

“Don’t tempt me.” You gave what you hoped was a cheeky wink, not flirty, definitely not flirty.

A lopsided smile spread across his face, and you wondered if you were finally beginning to unravel the mystery of this man, one that he seemed to carry around like a burden.

“Well, now you know where to find me.” He winked back, taking a tiny sip of his free coffee.

That was the night of P.I. Kennedy. Soon, these nights blurred into each other. You felt like you were getting a step closer, but yet you weren’t. He always had you at an arm’s length for some reason, even though he seemed to want more. Why did he keep coming back?

He also appeared to care about what you thought of him. At some point forth, he started dressing down, exchanging his usual formal attire for a shirt with no blazer, and his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. A fine gold chain necklace peeked out from underneath his top collar, which was left unbuttoned. “Better like this?” he asked with no context. You had to pause and consider what he meant for a while before you understood.

“If you’d like to fit in.” You shrugged indifferently. “But I don’t think you want to.”

“You know me well,” he murmured fondly. The back of his fingers caressed the side of your neck, just under your jawline, along a pulse point. You closed your eyes and sighed. It felt sensitive and tender.

“And how well do you know me?” you asked.

There was no reply, but somehow you already knew the answer.

Another thing you were vaguely aware of was that you kept missing the tail end of your interactions with him. It was as though after a certain point in the night, you would come to, like waking up from a daydream, and he would have disappeared by then.

Your colleagues asked if you were seeing each other. Were you? You were only chatting, you surmised. Nothing had gone that far yet, at least from what you had gathered. But you liked him more than you would’ve liked to admit.

He walked you home one night, and when you reached your doorstep, you were about to invite him in, but he interrupted you. “There’s something I need to tell you…”

Guilt clouded his eyes, unmistakable and heavy. But as he was about to say more, he held back, as if pulled by an invisible thread. Then, you felt yourself overcome with tiredness, but it was pleasant and comforting. “Can you help me to bed?” Your voice sounded far away.

All at once, you felt yourself being propped up under his arm and your weight shifting under your feet, until your head touched a feather-soft pillow. He draped a blanket over your unmoving body. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I never should have—” Even in your state, you could tell it pained him.

“I won’t do it again, unless you let me.”

That was the last you heard from him for a while.

━━━━━━━━━━━

Leon couldn’t get enough of you. Believe him, he tried countless times, but it didn’t work. From the moment he had set foot into that establishment, he had damned himself. He knew it when he spotted you and smelled your sanguine resonance from afar. It was the humor of your blood, and it was stronger and more consistent than he was used to. You were just so full of life, and enjoying it to the point where he was envious. You signified all the hopes and dreams that had been dashed spectacularly to the ground, ever since becoming… what he was now.

He had to have a taste of you. A little drop wouldn’t hurt, would it? He’d been taught ages ago, by Ada, his sire, that he needed people like you to survive. If one ignored their hunger for too long, things would get worse, so much worse, and not just for himself, but for everyone else around him. It was simply the lesser of two evils to feed, and he’d never actually killed anyone by doing so. Then, why did it feel so wrong? He had gotten good at pushing down these thoughts, until they were reduced to an inaudible hum at the back of his mind. Just like many other things, he learnt to compromise. But compromising meant that sometimes, he’d lose a piece of himself. If there was an equivalent of a soul within the monster he had become, then it was fragmented, and he’d never get back the ones that had dissolved into the ether, due to the bad decisions he had made. Like the ones he would soon make with you.

Taste. Taste was something he had acquired since young. In his human life, he always had an eye for detail, an eye for what fit, what worked, and what didn’t. It certainly helped when he became a cold case detective with the police force, filled with unbridled potential, only to have that overturned, when he decided to chase after love instead of missing people and puzzle pieces. For years, he would’ve done anything for her, only for it to amount to wasted time and regret when the inevitable boredom that came with time struck, and he was tossed aside over something exciting and new. Still, he knew a delicious vessel when he saw one. You were just meant to be a special curiosity that he could pass on to the older vampire for a favor or two. At least, that was what he told himself, when you took the initial bait and he beckoned you to stay through unnatural means. That was the first lie.

When he bit into you, he was met with a burst of color, vibrant shades of all kinds of red. The flavor saturated his mouth: sweet roses, his favorite kind, their scent carried on a gentle zephyr; warm light that enveloped him but didn’t hurt; traces of nicotine coursing through your veins; and the familiar iron tang that gave it its kick. Your face, your voice, your very essence haunted him in that taste. He could see you like a will-o'-the-wisp performing on stage in one of your many plays across a lifetime, laughing with your friends in the back of a car speeding down the highway, crying into a pillow when you had your heart broken by your first love… How was this possible? Your memories came flooding through him and you were blissfully unaware of it all. He felt like a spy, listening in to all your secrets and desires, and his blatant invasion of your privacy disgusted him.

This was wrong. He shouldn’t have gotten so close. He should’ve heeded the warning glances the Redfield siblings were throwing his way. So, he tried his best to stay away, but like an addict, he kept crawling back, seeking you out like a dog with its tail between its legs. How could a mere mortal have such an effect on him? Did he taste this way to Ada when she turned him? He laughed sardonically. If only she could see him now, being so torn up over a woman he had just met.

He tried to erase you from his mind, but you were always meant to be something more. You reminded him of all the things he missed when he was living. You were the best he had ever tasted, but he didn’t want to turn you over to her, not yet. After all, he could afford to enjoy you for just one more time. The second lie had spun its thick, dark webs throughout his head. Truth be told, he would never share you with anyone else.

The third lie came when he resolved to tell you what he really was. He couldn’t keep going on like this and deceiving you, but his sire’s words bore down on him. “You don’t get attached to a vessel,” she scoffed. Wait, wasn’t he one too at some point? Her contradictory words replayed in his ears like a broken record. In any case, he wasn’t attached. He was being brave and honest, which was how he liked to think of himself. But when it came to the crunch outside your doorstep, he was a coward, finding himself unable to breach the rules of the Masquerade and gave in to his urges instead. It was then that he realized deep down, he was truly a despicable and hateful low-life.

Thump! He felt his body slam against a solid wall, as he entered a secluded alleyway round the corner from your apartment. A dull ache bloomed across his skin. After the events that had happened that night, he didn’t even bother putting up a fight. He slumped down until the brawny, older male sibling, Chris, lifted him by his collar and pinned him in place. At the same time, the slender redhead, Claire, Chris’ female counterpart, spoke, “Where the hell are you going with this, Leon?”

“Why do you care?” he spat, blood coating his teeth. “The cafe’s in neutral ground, no one’s claimed domain over it yet. I can feed on whoever I like.”

“Listen, you’re Cam scum, but you saved my brother back then, and you used to hang with us,” she hissed, jabbing her finger into his shoulder to emphasize each point. “So, I’m gonna give you a tip, but just this once.”

She brought her mouth to his ear. “There’s interest in the domain… and you’re not the only suitor vying for her attention.”

His eyes widened at the threat.

“Whatever you do, do it fast.”

#leon kennedy x reader #leon kennedy x you #leon kennedy #leon kennedy smut #leon kennedy angst #leon kennedy fluff #resident evil #vampire au #vampire the masquerade #vtm #crossover #fic: into the ether #porcelainscribbles

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valacirya · 1 year ago

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Indis appreciation post!

Disclaimer: All the canon info is taken from Morgoth's Ring and Peoples of Middle Earth. Also, this isn't a character analysis/meta. It's just a list of stuff I love (plus some headcanons) about one of my favorite characters in the legendarium.

1. She's athletic and outdoorsy. We're told that Indis is "exceedingly swift of foot" and that "she walked often alone in the fields and friths of the Valar, turning her thought to things that grow untended." When Finwe sees her, she's chilling on a mountainside. I love that she's associated with nature, specifically the wilderness. She parallels Feanor in her exploration of Aman and interest in the imperfect. Also, this is purely self-indulgent but ever since reading HoME for the first time, I've pictured Indis as tall and broad, and muscular beneath a layer of fat.

2. She doesn't let her unrequited love affect her life. "There was ever light and mirth about her." She's not the pining, languishing princess stereotype. She goes on. She doesn't let it make her bitter or depressed, and she is so restrained that only Mandos and possibly Ingwe are aware of her feelings.

3. Part of her attraction to Finwe is intellectual. In HoME we're told that his "mastery of words delighted her." Considering that Indis is also a poet/composer ("wove words into song") and that the Vanyar enjoy linguistics, it makes sense. It's also just really cute.

4. She's politically minded. Her reasoning for pronouncing 's' instead of 'th' is: "I have joined the Noldor, and I will speak as they do." This is the right thing to do to gain the respect of the Noldor and their acceptance of her authority. I also think she makes a statement with Fingolfin and Finarfin's mother-names. Arakano ("high chieftain") and Ingoldo ("the Noldo, eminent among the kindred") are not only powerful, prophetic names, they're also strikingly similar to Ingwe ("chief of chieftains") who is the High King not just of the Vanyar, but all Eldar. What a power move.

5. She's able to balance her own culture with the culture she marries into. Indis integrates into Noldorin society easily while remaining Vanyarin at her core, as is evidenced by Finwe saying that "above all her heart now yearns for the halls of Ingwe and the peace of the Vanyar." Her sons also respect and are proud of their mixed heritage; Finarfin "loved the Vanyar, his mother's people" and is said to be like them (as are Finrod and Galadriel), and Fingolfin's daughter-in-law is Vanyarin (plus the Nolofinweans have a special connection to Manwe).

6. She gets an awesome prophecy about her line. "But I say unto you that the children of Indis shall also be great, and the Tale of Arda more glorious because of their coming. And from them shall spring things so fair that no tears shall dim their beauty; in whose being the Valar, and the Kindreds both of Elves and of Men that are to come shall all have part, and in whose deeds they shall rejoice. So that, long hence when all that here is, and seemeth yet fair and impregnable, shall nonetheless have faded and passed away, the Light of Aman shall not wholly cease among the free peoples of Arda until the end." Fuck yeah.

7. Her name means "valiant woman." This is the only definition given in Morgoth's Ring, I believe. I highly prefer it over the "bride" meaning because it's a badass name and is similar to Artanis ("noble woman") and Astaldo ("the valiant"). A headcanon that I'm particularly attached to is that Indis's mother-name is Indome, meaning "will of Eru."

8. She's popular with most of the Noldor. We're told that "Finwe, King of the Noldor, wedded Indis, sister of Ingwe; and the Vanyar and Noldor for the most part rejoiced." The majority of the Noldor also follow Fingolfin and Finarfin instead of Feanor.

9. She's friends with Nerdanel. HoME states that Nerdanel went to "abide with Indis, whom she had ever esteemed."

10. She gets pissed off at Finwe when he sides with Feanor. So much so that he thinks she won't want to see him if he's re-embodied. I know this is from his perspective but I'm inclined to agree. [However, this is still very presumptive of him, and his comment that "Indis parted from me without death" is super shitty. Eugh.]

11. She's close to her kids. Finarfin takes after her, Fingolfin passes on the name she gave him, Findis lives with her, Lalwen goes by the name she gave her. Finwe also says that "she hath dear children to comfort her."

So there we have it! What little info we get about Indis is pretty awesome. And this is just a list; I could write a whole essay on her fortitude and unconventionality and my numerous headcanons about her.

#indis

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spiderbitesandvampirevenom · 6 months ago

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sorry if you've already answered this (i searched ur blog) but if it's okay to ask, do you have any recommended readings for modern marxism (with a racism or colonialism lense)?

ok so prefacing this real quick I am high as hell. and also before i say anything id like to make it clear that i am not an authority on marxist communist theory, honestly i barely consider myself familiar with it. i went to school to study history so i interacted with marxist thought primarily in a historical/historiographical context, and generally in the context of colonial and postcolonial history. even then i studied mostly pre/early colonial american (in the broad sense not the USAmerican sense) & medieval islamic history. my knowledge of modern marxist theory is far from comprehensive.

with that said, I can certainly offer some suggestions, though some of them aren't necessarily marxist theory. but what the hell, lets get intersectional. for funsies. heres a few contributors to colonial/post-colonial/marxist thought that worked a little more recently than the 1800s

Fanon - Frantz Fanon was a french afro-caribbean marxist who, along with his wife Josie (who was the actual one writing, he dictated most of his works to her), wrote Black Skin, White Masks, A Dying Colonialism, and The Wretched of the Earth. From the portions I read while in school I would heartily reccomend all three. The Fanons were masters of decolonial theory and their commentary on whiteness, primitivism, anti-colonial historiography, and colonial class violence (among a billion other things, they were really prolific theorists) is the first place i would recommend people go if they want to start decolonizing their marxism.

Che Guevara - I really hope I don't need to explain who Che Guevara is. Anyways read Guerrilla Warfare and his motorcycle diaries. Oh and while I haven't read any of his work personally, I would imagine Fidel Castro would also be a good one to read for 20th century anti-colonial marxism.

Subcomandante Galeano - Previously known as Subcomandante Marcos, this guy was the figurehead/spokesperson for the EZLN until pretty recently. Our Word is Our Weapon is a collection of some of his writings translated into English.

Eduardo Galeano - Eduardo Galeano was an Uruguayan Journalist and his book The Open Veins of Latin America is a cornerstone of 20th century colonial theory even if it might not strictly be marxist thought.

Edward Said - Said was a palestinian academic and journalist whose book Orientalism is required reading for any colonial historian and should be for any self-proclaimed communist as well. It's perhaps marxist in the broadest sense but it is first and foremost a book about peeling the white supremacy goggles off of your face when studying the history of SWANA, which is a practice you should then apply to every intellectual endeavor you undertake for the rest of your life forever including your marxism.

anyway thats hopefully a good list to get you started. I know a few of my mutuals can probably add recommendations and provide a more educated communist perspective. Like I said before I'm a marxist historian more than I am a marxist in a communist sense.

#caught in the web #personally i dont really consider myself a communist #im an anti-colonialist first and foremost in terms of political theory #the fact that various flavors of communism have been the prevailing anti-colonial theory #just means i exist in plenty of communist circles.#anyways mutuals feel free to pitch in #also im calling it now im gonna get called a poser by someone for not being an expert in marxism

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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 18 days ago

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The image is by Josef Albers, one of the most influential teachers of art in the US in the 20th Century. The image is part of his “Homage to the Square” series, an extensive study of color and light. The text on the poster says, “Learning never ends.” The poster is signed by Shirley Hufstedler, who served as the first Secretary of Education from 1979 to 1981.

The poster in this image was Shirley Hufstedler’s personal copy. I purchased it at a charity auction on the promise that Shirley would sign it.

I mentioned several weeks ago that my close friend and former law partner Seth Hufstedler passed away at 102. Shirley Hufstedler was Seth’s wife. For several years, Shirley, Seth, and I were partners in the same law firm, although I knew Shirley my entire professional career. Shirley passed away in 2016.

On Monday, my wife Jill and I went to our storage locker to drop off Christmas decorations. Jill reminded me that we had the poster signed by Shirley. It hung for many years in my wife’s office when she was a professor of education at LMU in Los Angeles. The poster went into storage after Jill retired. We are now giving it to one of our daughters, who was just admitted to the bar and will be practicing in education law.

Shirley Hufstedler was a trailblazer. She was the first woman (or among the first) in nearly everything she did: attending Stanford Law School, serving as an editor on the Stanford Law Review, becoming the only woman in the 119-judge Los Angeles court system, serving as the first female judge on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, and serving as the first Secretary of Education, appointed by Jimmy Carter.

Jimmy Carter intended to nominate Shirley as the first woman on the US Supreme Court. (I have seen Carter’s handwritten note to Shirley stating his intention to do so.) Carter lost, and Shirley returned to the private practice of law.

During her career, Shirley served as a leader in many capacities, including serving on the governing boards of Cal Tech, Stanford, Harvard, West Point, the American Bar Association, and the California Bar Association—to name only a few.

Shirley told the story of her first day on the job as Secretary of Education. She was ushered into an office that contained a desk, a chair, and a phone. She had no staff, no office supplies, and (I believe) no convenient restroom for women.

But she persevered and built the Department of Education from the ground up.

As a sign of her broad worldview and commitment to education, she commissioned the poster pictured above. The image is subtle—which is the point. Josef Albers was born in Germany and began his career as a schoolteacher. The message that “Learning never ends” describes Shirley’s lifelong intellectual curiosity. She wanted to pass on that commitment to lifelong learning to others.

Shirley Hufstedler was eminently qualified to found and lead the Department of Education. She was placed in that position of trust by President Jimmy Carter, whose state funeral will take place on January 9, 2025.

Eleven days after Jimmy Carter’s funeral, a man who has promised to dismantle the Department of Education will be sworn in as president. He will nominate a woman to lead the Department of Education whose main qualification consists of promoting fake wrestling matches in an organization plagued by claims of sex abuse. The nominee, Linda McMahon, has been sued for allegedly enabling the sexual exploitation of children in the wrestling industry. (She denies the allegations.)

Linda McMahon’s primary connection to education is that she falsely claimed to have earned a degree in education. She did not earn such a degree and now claims to have been “confused” about whether she did. See Newsweek, Linda McMahon Lying About Education Degree 'Disqualifying': Attorney.

I doubt Ms. McMahon would authorize a similar poster extolling the virtues of lifelong learning. Or use a work from a German émigré who created a multi-year study of light and color entitled “Homage to the Square.”

In the span of forty-five years, we have traversed the landscape from Jimmy Carter and Shirley Hufstedler to Donald Trump and Linda McMahon. But here is a hopeful thought: Neither Trump nor McMahon have a clue how important the Department of Education is in the lives of millions of schoolchildren and their families. But they are about to find out—a real-life demonstration of the adage that “Learning Never Ends.”

Ronald Reagan tried to dismantle the Department of Education—but failed. In three short years, Shirley Hufstedler and Jimmy Carter gave the department deep roots that survived the efforts of stronger men than Trump to dismantle the Department of Education. I believe it has a good chance of surviving this latest adversity.

[Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter]

#Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter #The Department of Education #Robert B. Hubbell #Ronald Reagan #Jimmy Carter #Shirley hufstedler #American History #history

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blankd · 10 days ago

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(not to detract from, but inspired by recent revelations about certain male authors)

rambling about Brandon Sanderson, the author, the mormon OR "If he's So Nice Why's He Proudly In This Shitty Cult"

it's always weird to me when people praise brandon sanderson by saying he's a professor at BYU, a college that is a literal institution of mormonism

like, even IF we ignore that whole "mormonism is a cult" bit (a TALL ask HONESTLY!!!), how is it not seen for the intellectual dishonesty that it is?

but a greater oddity to me, is that for how vocal people are to call for the rightful boycott of JKR for her open transphobia, that same crowd sees no hypocrisy in buying sanderson's shittillion books- even though he's comfortable enough to disclose his yearly tithe of !!10%!! of his income going to the mormon institution

"but he's a nice guy! he's changing the mormon faith from within!" matters of faith are tricky, but you cannot say something is "correct" while 'vocally' seeking to change it. Unlike government, faiths can successfully splinter to (better) represent the totality of your morals- mormonism is ALREADY a split from a different faith, what's another?

Sanderson is also rich enough (literally) and has enough fan support that he is in the rare position to do well on his own (see any of his insta-funded multimillion kickstarters).

this leaves us with some very broad (albeit simple) interpretations for What Is Going On:

-sanderson is powerless against his own faith, he is under the sway of the mormon cult or someone within it; if this is true, he cannot effectively change it (as he is powerless)

-sanderson is an idiot, naive as a newborn and just as easily tricked; he claims to care and in his ignorance, continues to directly fund an unkind organization because he promised he would!!

-sanderson is doing a PR sleight of hand because it is good business, the magician does his tricks, but he is not lying, it is an acceptable performance to make card and coin disappear and reappear where they may

I'll never know the answer, but maybe these words to the void will cause something. But regardless, if you unironically call yourself a "Sanderfan", please reflect on your parasocial relationship.

#blankd's blabbies

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mochinomnoms · 7 months ago

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okay... so I'm watching the little mermaid 2 for the first time quite literally as I type this when i remembered a certain short merman named Tony. Is it possible he's based on Undertow? I just noticed the tiny shark guy and spotted some similarities!

if this is dumb you can just ignore it lol

-🦷

Yes! He is!!! I wanted to reference that Undertow was originally a shark before being turned into a piranha, so Tony is very very small but broad and very strong like a shark! For correctly guessing Tony's inspiration, here's some fun facts!

Tony Lombardi

“An unconventional man with a detached sense of humor but a soft heart. He is laid-back and easy going, making him an excellent mediator. He is surprisingly detached from others despite being friendly. Is often referred to as Aspen’s ‘keeper’.”

Quick Facts

Birthday February 15th (Aquarius)

Grade Freshman

Hobbies Stargazing

Age 18

Class C (No. 30)

Pet Peeves Cold weather

Height 155 cm

Club Spelldrive Club

Favorite Food Stingray machaca

Dominant Hand Right

Best Subject P.E.

Least Favorite Food None

Homeland Coral Sea

Talent DIY-ing

Family Unnamed father and mother

Other Names(s) Jaws (himself)

Appearance

Tony is a young looking man with tanned skin and is a considerably shorter height than his peers. His hair is black, often slicked back and sporting a gray undercut. Despite his short stature, he is rather muscular. His eyes are dark brown and narrow, and he is often seen sporting a sharp-toothed grin.

Personality

Tony is a relaxed, sociable, and surprisingly flirty man. He is often seen as someone unbefitting of his dorm’s traits, as he is less intellectually inclined and capricious than his peers, rather being “coquettish and foolish”. He makes for an exceptional mediator however, and often defuses situations on behalf of his friends. Tony is also called on often by Azul to mediate between himself and discontent clients because of this. He has a rather detached sense of humor, is often sarcastic, witty, and ironic; he enjoys suggestive humor, but isn’t very tactful when sharing it with others. He tends to act unconventional, doing what he feels is best for himself and his friends, and would rather deal with the consequences of his actions afterwards.

He does find his Ramshackle peers' antics humorous and is happy to go with the flow of their activities, though won’t take the fallback for them unless Aspen is also involved. Much to many students’ horror, Tony interacts with Jade and Floyd in an incredibly friendly, occasionally coy way, which they return tenfold.

Tony is insistent on being referred to as “Jaws” by everyone he meets, referring to his predator traits as a tiger shark. However, no one refers to him as such, much to his disappointment.

Trivia

Tony is inspired by Undertow from The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea

Tony’s name is pronounced Tow-ny, as a reference to the ‘tow’ in Undertow (this is a stretch, let the author have this they just wanted to make him an Italian mafia-esque character).

Tony likes to be called “Jaws” by others in reference to his many rows of sharp teeth.

No one calls him Jaws besides himself

Tony’s family and the Leech family are well-known in the Coral Sea, and often work together.

Tony grew up with Aspen, Azul, and the Leech twins

#mochi asks #🦷 anon #twst #twisted wonderland #twst oc #twisted wonderland oc #tony lombardi

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elliepassmore · 16 days ago

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His Majesty's Dragon review

5/5 stars Recommended if you like: historical fiction, dragons, historical fantasy, alt history

I actually got two copies of this at a book event nearly 10 years ago, never read it, then gave both of them away in 2020, only to come back and read it and love it, lol. Admittedly I like this cover a lot better than the one I had, so it's probably a good thing.

This book is set during the Napoleonic Wars, and everything is roughly as it was in actual history, except there are and have been dragons, which obviously changes some things. I'm not an expert on the Napoleonic Wars, but the broad strokes of it seem to be the same, with Napoleon facing down Britain's navy on one side and a flagging Austria on the other. Tensions are high and everyone is worried about an invasion. The battle of Trafalgar happens with, I think, only a couple notable differences (spoilery, so I won't say).

I haven't read a ton of alt history books (I think the Lady Trent memoirs might be the only other?), so I really enjoyed seeing the differences between what I know of history and what played out here. It's also interesting because it's less of a "what if X won Y war instead" alternate history, and more of a "what if we've always had dragons" kind of alt history. There are a lot of changes to the basic setup of things because dragons are a known thing and have been for a while, so obviously certain accommodations have to be made and some things play out differently because how could they not?

Will Laurence is an upright navy man faced with the end of his Navy career and the beginning of his Aerial Corps one. I did feel bad for him in the beginning since he seems to really like his life and he has a nice setup for getting married soon, but over time as he and Temeraire bond more, I feel less bad since he also feels less bad. Laurence is one of those people who believes in Duty, Honor, Country, and generally thinks they're the same thing. It can be annoying, though it isn't here yet, so I'm interested to see in how things play out in later books. I liked seeing how Laurence bonded with Temeraire and I'm glad that the two of them not only get along but seem to genuinely love each other. He does things a little differently than most riders, but it's to the benefit of his dragon. I also liked that Laurence was open to the little ones and willing to help them learn.

Temeraire is a rare breed of dragon who ends up partnered with Laurence. He's exceptionally smart and is quick to learn new things. I enjoyed his thirst for knowledge and love of reading and having intellectual conversations/debates. He's got a lot of natural curiosity that I enjoyed. At the same time, Temeraire is also compassionate and extremely loyal. He feels for other dragons and riders when something goes wrong, and at times bad things happening to others puts him in somewhat of a depression. His loyalty is to Laurence, which causes some friction when he wants to protect Laurence potentially at the cost of others/England's defense, which I feel like makes sense considering what Temeraire knows at this point in his life. I do think he gets 'duty' a little more at the end of the book, when they're faced with a big battle.

Considering this is the intro to the world and to the Aerial Corps, I feel like we don't totally get to know the other characters all that well yet. There's Catherine Harcourt and Lily, the leaders of the formation Laurence and Temeraire are in. Lily is also a young dragon, but doesn't have too much page time, and Catherine is much younger than a lot of the other characters. She clearly loves Lily, but we don't get a great feel on her yet. Same with Matthew Berkley and Maximus, but they do get a little more page time. Berkley and Laurence hit it off right away, despite things seeming rocky at first.

We get a little bit more page time with Rankin, which ends up being interesting. I'll be honest, and this has nothing to do with the series or the author, but the author of the main source for the research project I'm working has a last name of Rankin and it did bring me out of the story a little every time I read his name. Besides that, Rankin and Laurence hit it off quickly, albeit not for long, due to their similar interests and the fact that he's one of the few Aerial Corps people who isn't annoyed Laurence got the fancy dragon instead of one of their own.

Granby also gets a decent amount of page time, surprisingly. He appears friendly at first, but becomes more antagonistic when he learns what dragon Laurence has. Most of his other appearances for a while are him being petty/antagonistic toward Laurance. However, after spending time on Laurence and Temeraire's crew, Granby softens up and seems to recognize that Laurence not only takes good care of his dragon but also that he's a good leader. I ended up liking Granby and Laurence's relationship and how they came to rely on one another.

Overall I enjoyed this book and liked seeing an alternate history of the Napoleonic Wars if there were dragons. It's a somewhat slow book, but I enjoyed getting to know the characters and learning about the world and dragons.

#book review #book #books #book recommendations #bookblr #bookaholic #booklr #bookstagram #bookish #fantasy #fantasy book #historical fiction #historical fantasy #dragons #his majesty's dragon #temeraire #naomi novik #napoleonic wars #alternate history

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karamazovposting · 7 days ago

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I was wondering, why do you think that we aren’t given the appearance of Ivan? Or even Rakitin? Is there some correlation between the intellectuals / students and their appearances?

(Please note that I’m on Book 11, Chapter 9 or whatever chapter is the devil one but I still think that their appearances must’ve been given earlier in the book)

Rakitin's appearance is briefly described at the beginning (in An Unfortunate Gathering) while Ivan is never physically described at all.

I think that when it comes to Rakitin the explanation is quite ordinary: he's a side character so it makes sense for the author to not focus on that too much, we know the basics (tall, broad fresh face, clever narrow brown eyes) and if compared to other side characters, like Kalganov for example, the amount of description given is pretty much the same.

For Ivan it's a little more complicated than that because he's one of the titular characters and has quite an important role in the book, so it seems strange that he's the only character who never gets described at all, especially when even characters that appear for a few lines and never show up again get a physical description.

One thing about Dostoevsky is that he tends to equate physical appearance with morality (very ancient Greek of him, dare I say), which is why many characters in TBK are described as being beautiful (Alyosha and Grushenka are the most obvious example of this to me) and there are many references to the physical appearance of his characters (like Dmitri thinking of himself as ugly while the narrator refers to him as being average looking and there being other clues later in the novel that suggest he's actually perceived as attractive, or Pavel's physical unattractiveness being highlighted multiple times); so why is Ivan's appearance never described, if his morality is a major plot and discussion point? I feel like the answer is in the question itself: I don't think we're supposed to have a clear idea of him (after all the other characters don't, they're almost all unreliable narrators when it comes to him and he's also an unreliable narrator about himself) and honestly, the fact people are still arguing about him to this day kind of sustains my thesis. I've talked about this aspect of his character a lot since I've started this blog and the book itself tells us that he's a riddle and a paradox so yeah. And the fact that the devil gets a physical description but Ivan doesn't makes this whole thing even more interesting in my opinion; lots of implications.

Another thing I've mentioned before is that while we don't know what he looks like we know a lot about other aspects of his appearance, particularly his facial expressions, which is something that doesn't really happen with the other characters to that extent; while we know what the other characters are like based on their looks, we know what Ivan is like by his mannerism, his voice, and the way he moves his body and face. I'm pretty sure I described him as being a ghost in one of my posts, or having a ghost-like quality and feeling to him, but if I didn't here it is: nothing about him is corporeal, his presence in the novel and in the Karamazov household is less physical and more ideological (he's not even in town when the murder takes place) and while it seems like he has a lot of "screen time", he actually doesn't; he's not physically present most of the time, yet it feels like he's always there since his ideas are always there to haunt the narrative (again, like a ghost). He's a fleeting presence and has been his whole life, so it makes sense for him to "not have" a physical body as well.

This said, I think it's funny that most people seem to imagine him looking in a similar way since in illustrations and in fanarts I've seen on here he seems to have a more or less fixated character design across all artists despite him having no canon appearance. There's just something about him that gives off a specific vibe I guess.

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communistkenobi · 2 years ago

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I’ve been re-listening to the Alex Jones depositions, as well as coverage of Jones generally, from the Knowledge Fight podcast, and in one of their episodes where they’re covering Jones’ evolving rhetoric about COVID-19, one of the hosts makes the argument that Jones was trying to downplay the virus but still keep people afraid of it, because if his audience was too scared they may be more inclined to follow public health guidelines, so Jones was pushing anti-vaxx and anti-public health sentiments in order to scare people just enough to buy his survival meal packs and colloidal silver toothpaste instead.

And I think this is a really good way to approach discussions of modern american fascism and reactionary thought - the perfect marriage between anti-intellectualism and the logic of capitalism. Every time you hear an absurd reactionary claim about covid, these are not claims about reality, they are advertisements for right wing wealth accumulation. Which is of course conducted with the long term goal of building right wing power and justifying the disenfranchisement and oppression of marginal populations, but these “problems” are framed in such a way as to encourage a consumerist solution. Their undergirding logic is capitalistic in nature - the idea that you can give your money to an authority in exchange for salvation, which comes in the form of a standardised unit of metal-infused toothpaste or vitamin pills.

This view also makes it much easier to understand why people were taking horse heart dewormer to treat covid - even if they were buying that shit in a local store and the people peddling it (like Jones) don’t directly financially benefit from it, the claim that you can individually purchase your way out of a global pandemic still benefits the right wing, because it’s the direct opposite of broad public health initiatives like free vaccinations and social distancing guidelines, which is viewed as a form of communism. Something I don’t actually disagree with (the logic of these public health programmes is basically socialist in nature, even if the government doing it is anti-communist) but this framing prevents people from ever accepting any kind of government social program, instead flocking to the right wing, who plaster promises of eternal life on their billboards

#book club

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alicesadventuresinffxiv · 3 months ago

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What are the most popular F/F Final Fantasy XIV ships?

(*on AO3, as of October 13, 2024)

I like writing femslash, so while I was doing the FFxivWrite challenge, I had the thought: wouldn’t it be fun to try writing each of the top 10 most popular FFXIV F/F ships?

I figured it would be a good way for me to learn to write characters I wasn’t used to, plus hopefully it would mean some of the well-liked but rarely-written pairings would get more fic for them!

But then I ran head-first into the question: what are those F/F ships? I hit some interesting challenges attempting to figure that out, so here’s a post about how I reached my answer!

First things first: I’m using AO3 stats for this analysis, entirely because AO3 has the most robust searching and filtering tools. Trying to wrangle this kind of analysis on tumblr or twitter would be a nightmare, as much as I’d love to know the answer on those sites!

Second, let’s quickly double check my assumption that F/F ships are indeed rarepairs in this fandom.

Yep, if you’re at all familiar with @centrumlumina's work on AO3 stats (which this analysis is somewhat inspired by ^^;), this is exactly in line with general fandom trends! For reasons that I understand intellectually but not in my heart, F/F fics tend to hover at around 6% of AO3 output overall.

Interestingly, this small slice of femslash makes FFXIV more similar to large, broad fandoms like the MCU or MHA (pictured above), and less similar to other online multiplayer videogame fandoms (pictured below). You might think that given its friendly reputation, FFXIV would attract more women and/or LGBTQ+ players and therefore have a higher proportion of femslash. But nope!

(Admittedly, pitting FFXIV against the fandom that contains Arcane feels a little unfair... :P)

So alright, with that out of the way, let’s start by doing the obvious thing. Hey AO3, what are the top 10 relationship tags when searching FFXIV on the F/F category?

[Note: Since the Warrior of Light is typically written as the author’s original character - especially in cases with multiple WoLs - I am combining the WoL/WoL and WoL/OC tags together.]

If you’ve been in FFXIV spaces for a while, you probably already guessed the #1 result! But as someone relatively new to the fandom, I was actually quite surprised. None of my previous fandoms had nearly this much focus on original characters!

Indeed, WoL/NPC ships and OC/ OC ships absolutely dwarf the numbers for any NPC/NPC ships, with the exception of the three largest M/M pairings (Aymeric/Estinien, Emet-Selch/Hythlodaeus, and Thancred/Urianger). Also, given that not everyone tags their OCs using either of the WoL or OC tags (ack! please use tags, your works get lost otherwise!)… you can always expect results for OCs to be an undercount. Woah!

Anyway, since WoL ships are so huge, I decided it made the most sense to give them their own list:

Another thing that surprised me is that male characters in FFXIV are so many times more popular than female characters that genderbent M/M pairings will show up in these F/F lists.

And… I wasn’t quite sure how to count those ships in my tallies.

On the one hand, genderbending (not to mention trans headcanoning-ing!) characters is a fun and often subversive way to approach popular ships. More power to everyone doing it!

On the other hand, part of the underlying motivation for my own writing goal was that I wanted to write pairings that fandom somewhat overlooks.

As such, I went with a compromise: I’m including pairings with canonically male characters in my graphs (those are the pink bars), but I kept the lists going until I reached 10 pairings involving characters who are portrayed as women in the source material.

(There were no nonbinary FFXIV characters which placed on any of my lists, sadly. Apologies to Feo Ul, who is still the loveliest of branches in my heart.)

Other than that caveat, the results here aren’t too far off from my own guesses. Anecdotally, I’d seen that a lot of WoLs are self-inserts for their players, so it makes sense that typical WoL ships are with NPCs that are generally considered to be attractive by the fanbase. Correspondingly, the Reader/Character fics that are somewhat common in other fandoms don’t even rank on these lists, which might suggest WoL/NPC ships are largely fulfilling that niche.

(Something something, FFXIV is a dating sim with combat, in this essay I will…. :P)

Anyway, WoL ships are nice, but what I actually wanted to write were NPC/NPC ships. So let’s add a bunch more excludes to the filtering… and…

Hm. That's interesting. There's a bunch of F/F ships that I know I’ve seen fic and art for that are missing from this list!

Out of curiosity, I did a few searches specifically on these missing pairings, in case they were so rarely tagged as purely F/F (or so commonly shipped alongside a WoL ship) that trying to find them via excludes didn’t work. These were:

Alisaie/Tesleen (20 total, 13 tagged F/F)

Krile/Tataru (14 total, 7 tagged F/F)

Ysayle/Heustienne (5 total, 5 tagged F/F)

Wuk Lamat/Sphene (4 total, 4 tagged as F/F)

[Note: The first number is what I used during the writing challenge last month… which is how I ended up putting Krile/Tataru over Lucia/Hilda. Oops! But the second number is more in line with the rest of the analysis here, so I will use that going forward.]

Seems my expectations were flat-out incorrect! Of these four, only Alisaie/Tesleen makes the top ten. Meanwhile Wuk Lamat/Sphene is a pairing consisting of very new characters... so perhaps it will grow over time!

Right then, let's add Alisaie/Tesleen in, and while we're at it, let's run direct searches on all the potential candidates rather than using excludes to ensure no fics are getting needlessly thrown out.

With those adjustments in place... I reached my final top ten!

Not bad! Predictably, pairings that get more focus in canon (Gaia/Ryne and Sadu/Cirina) tend to place high, as do pairings involving Y’shtola (since she’s a very popular character overall).

As a Lyse-enjoyer, I found Lyse getting 3/10 spots on the list to be pretty funny, as was the heavy presence of Stormblood characters! Apparently I’m not the only one who thought StB was a good expansion for lesbians. :D

There are also a few pairings here that I hadn’t ever considered before doing this analysis. But hey, that was the point of making the list! And trying to figure out the dynamics for pairings I didn’t usually ship did indeed turn out to be a fun writing exercise last month.

So what do you all think, tumblr? Did the results surprise you like they did me? Or did I overlook a pairing that really deserved to be included?

In any case, I hope you enjoyed reading this analysis!

#ffxiv #ffxivwrite #ffxiv analysis #fandom stats #fanfic #wolship #femslash #wlw #my ramblings #read more #I was thinking of analyzing race/ethnicity stats too #but boy oh boy attempting that would be like...#multiple nested cans of worms #if there's interest I might make an attempt though!#also it looks like I owe everyone a lucia/hilda fic sometime #hehe

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cyberpunkonline · 1 year ago

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The Cyberpunk Genre: From Fiction to Reality

The Real-World Cyberpunk Narrative

In the realm of science fiction, the cyberpunk genre has long captivated audiences with its vision of a high-tech, low-life future. Cyberpunk, a subgenre that emerged in the early 1980s, combines advanced technology with a layer of dystopian elements, often exploring themes of artificial intelligence, cybernetics, corporate hegemony, and social decay. However, what once seemed a distant future is now becoming a striking reflection of our present reality.

The Cyberpunk Reality of Modern Corporations

As we delve into the corporate world, the parallels between cyberpunk narratives and current events become strikingly clear. This article examines the activities of major corporations like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, SpaceX, and OpenAI, highlighting instances that resonate with cyberpunk themes.

"Google: The Digital Panopticon"

Google, with its vast array of services, has created a digital ecosystem that closely resembles the omnipresent corporations in cyberpunk lore. The company's foray into various sectors, from search engines to smart home devices, has raised concerns about privacy invasion and data control, reminiscent of cyberpunk's surveillance-heavy societies.

"Microsoft: The Silicon Overlord"

Microsoft's dominance in the software industry, particularly with its Windows operating system and Office suite, mirrors the cyberpunk trope of a corporation wielding enormous power over everyday technology. The company's expansion into cloud computing and AI further cements its status as a tech giant with a reach that extends into the very fabric of digital life.

"Amazon: The Corporate Colossus"

Amazon's transformation from an online bookstore to a retail and technology behemoth aligns with cyberpunk's portrayal of mega-corporations that transcend traditional industry boundaries. The company's ventures into cloud computing, AI, and even space travel through its Blue Origin subsidiary evoke images of a corporation with almost limitless ambition and resources.

"SpaceX: Architects of the Starbound Future"

SpaceX, under the leadership of Elon Musk, brings to life the cyberpunk fascination with space exploration and privatization. The company's ambitious projects, including the colonization of Mars and satellite internet services, embody the cyberpunk vision of pushing humanity's boundaries, both technologically and geographically.

"OpenAI: The AI Enigma"

OpenAI, known for its groundbreaking work in AI, reflects cyberpunk's preoccupation with the potential and dangers of artificial intelligence. The development of advanced AI models and their applications in various fields raise questions about the future of human-AI interaction, a central theme in many cyberpunk narratives.

Industrial Espionage: A Cyberpunk Reality

The world of industrial espionage, a staple in cyberpunk plots, is no stranger to these tech giants. The competitive nature of the technology industry, driven by the race for innovation and market dominance, has led to numerous instances of data breaches, intellectual property theft, and corporate spying. These incidents underscore the darker aspects of the corporate world, mirroring the intrigue and deception often found in cyberpunk stories.

Cyberpunk Tropes in the Modern World

Several broad tropes characteristic of the cyberpunk genre are increasingly relevant today:

Technological Advancements vs. Societal Decay: The stark contrast between cutting-edge technology and societal challenges, such as income inequality and privacy concerns, is a recurring theme in both cyberpunk fiction and the modern world.

Corporate Power and Influence: The immense power wielded by mega-corporations, often at the expense of individual freedoms and government authority, is a reality in both the cyberpunk genre and today's corporate landscape.

Ethical Dilemmas of AI and Cybernetics: The ethical and philosophical questions surrounding artificial intelligence, cybernetics, and human enhancement are as pertinent in real life as they are in cyberpunk narratives.

Conclusion: Cyberpunk as a Now Genre

As we examine these parallels, it becomes evident that cyberpunk is no longer a genre fixated on a near future. The themes, concerns, and narratives central to cyberpunk are increasingly manifesting in our current reality. The once speculative fiction has transformed into a lens through which we can view and understand the complexities and challenges of our high-tech, corporate-dominated world. Cyber is no longer a near future genre. It's a now genre.

- Raz

#cyberpunk #article #tumblr #microsoft #google #openai #space x #amazon #dsytopia

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dailyanarchistposts · 4 months ago

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B.1 Why are anarchists against authority and hierarchy?

First, it is necessary to indicate what kind of authority anarchism challenges. While it is customary for some opponents of anarchism to assert that anarchists oppose all kinds of authority, the reality of the situation is more complex. While anarchists have, on occasion, stated their opposition to “all authority” a closer reading quickly shows that anarchists reject only one specific form of authority, what we tend to call hierarchy (see section H.4 for more details). This can be seen when Bakunin stated that “the principle of authority” was the “eminently theological, metaphysical and political idea that the masses, always incapable of governing themselves, must submit at all times to the benevolent yoke of a wisdom and a justice, which in one way or another, is imposed from above.” [Marxism, Freedom and the State, p. 33]

Other forms of authority are more acceptable to anarchists, it depends whether the authority in question becomes a source of power over others or not. That is the key to understanding the anarchist position on authority — if it is hierarchical authority, then anarchists are against it.. The reason is simple:

”[n]o one should be entrusted with power, inasmuch as anyone invested with authority must … became an oppressor and exploiter of society.” [Bakunin, The Political Philosophy of Bakunin, p. 249]

This distinction between forms of authority is important. As Erich Fromm pointed out, “authority” is “a broad term with two entirely different meanings: it can be either ‘rational’ or ‘irrational’ authority. Rational authority is based on competence, and it helps the person who leans on it to grow. Irrational authority is based on power and serves to exploit the person subjected to it.” [To Have or To Be, pp. 44–45] The same point was made by Bakunin over 100 years earlier when he indicated the difference between authority and “natural influence.” For Bakunin, individual freedom “results from th[e] great number of material, intellectual, and moral influences which every individual around him [or her] and which society … continually exercise … To abolish this mutual influence would be to die.” Consequently, “when we reclaim the freedom of the masses, we hardly wish to abolish the effect of any individual’s or any group of individual’s natural influence upon the masses. What we wish is to abolish artificial, privileged, legal, and official influences.” [The Basic Bakunin, p. 140 and p. 141]

It is, in other words, the difference between taking part in a decision and listening to alternative viewpoints and experts (“natural influence”) before making your mind up and having a decision made for you by a separate group of individuals (who may or may not be elected) because that is their role in an organisation or society. In the former, the individual exercises their judgement and freedom (i.e. is based on rational authority). In the latter, they are subjected to the wills of others, to hierarchical authority (i.e. is based on irrational authority). This is because rational authority “not only permits but requires constant scrutiny and criticism … it is always temporary, its acceptance depending on its performance.” The source of irrational authority, on the other hand, “is always power over people … Power on the one side, fear on the other, are always the buttresses on which irrational authority is built.” Thus former is based upon “equality” while the latter “is by its very nature based upon inequality.” [Erich Fromm, Man for Himself, pp. 9–10]

This crucial point is expressed in the difference between having authority and being an authority. Being an authority just means that a given person is generally recognised as competent for a given task, based on his or her individual skills and knowledge. Put differently, it is socially acknowledged expertise. In contrast, having authority is a social relationship based on status and power derived from a hierarchical position, not on individual ability. Obviously this does not mean that competence is not an element for obtaining a hierarchical position; it just means that the real or alleged initial competence is transferred to the title or position of the authority and so becomes independent of individuals, i.e. institutionalised (or what Bakunin termed “official”).

This difference is important because the way people behave is more a product of the institutions in which we are raised than of any inherent nature. In other words, social relationships shape the individuals involved. This means that the various groups individuals create have traits, behaviours and outcomes that cannot be understood by reducing them to the individuals within them. That is, groups consist not only of individuals, but also relationships between individuals and these relationships will affect those subject to them. For example, obviously “the exercise of power by some disempowers others” and so through a “combination of physical intimidation, economic domination and dependency, and psychological limitations, social institutions and practices affect the way everyone sees the world and her or his place in it.” This, as we discuss in the next section, impacts on those involved in such authoritarian social relationships as “the exercise of power in any institutionalised form — whether economic, political or sexual — brutalises both the wielder of power and the one over whom it is exercised.” [Martha A. Ackelsberg, Free Women of Spain, p. 41]

Authoritarian social relationships means dividing society into (the few) order givers and (the many) order takers, impoverishing the individuals involved (mentally, emotionally and physically) and society as a whole. Human relationships, in all parts of life, are stamped by authority, not liberty. And as freedom can only be created by freedom, authoritarian social relationships (and the obedience they require) do not and cannot educate a person in freedom — only participation (self-management) in all areas of life can do that. “In a society based on exploitation and servitude,” in Kropotkin’s words, “human nature itself is degraded” and it is only “as servitude disappears” shall we “regain our rights.” [Anarchism, p. 104]

Of course, it will be pointed out that in any collective undertaking there is a need for co-operation and co-ordination and this need to “subordinate” the individual to group activities is a form of authority. Therefore, it is claimed, a democratically managed group is just as “authoritarian” as one based on hierarchical authority. Anarchists are not impressed by such arguments. Yes, we reply, of course in any group undertaking there is a need make and stick by agreements but anarchists argue that to use the word “authority” to describe two fundamentally different ways of making decisions is playing with words. It obscures the fundamental difference between free association and hierarchical imposition and confuses co-operation with command (as we note in section H.4, Marxists are particularly fond of this fallacy). Simply put, there are two different ways of co-ordinating individual activity within groups — either by authoritarian means or by libertarian means. Proudhon, in relation to workplaces, makes the difference clear:

“either the workman… will be simply the employee of the proprietor-capitalist-promoter; or he will participate… [and] have a voice in the council, in a word he will become an associate. “In the first case the workman is subordinated, exploited: his permanent condition is one of obedience… In the second case he resumes his dignity as a man and citizen… he forms part of the producing organisation, of which he was before but the slave; as, in the town, he forms part of the sovereign power, of which he was before but the subject … we need not hesitate, for we have no choice… it is necessary to form an ASSOCIATION among workers … because without that, they would remain related as subordinates and superiors, and there would ensue two … castes of masters and wage-workers, which is repugnant to a free and democratic society.” [General Idea of the Revolution, pp. 215–216]

In other words, associations can be based upon a form of rational authority, based upon natural influence and so reflect freedom, the ability of individuals to think, act and feel and manage their own time and activity. Otherwise, we include elements of slavery into our relationships with others, elements that poison the whole and shape us in negative ways (see section B.1.1). Only the reorganisation of society in a libertarian way (and, we may add, the mental transformation such a change requires and would create) will allow the individual to “achieve more or less complete blossoming, whilst continuing to develop” and banish “that spirit of submission that has been artificially thrust upon him [or her]” [Nestor Makhno, The Struggle Against the State and Other Essays, p. 62]

So, anarchists “ask nothing better than to see [others]… exercise over us a natural and legitimate influence, freely accepted, and never imposed … We accept all natural authorities and all influences of fact, but none of right.” [Bakunin, The Political Philosophy of Bakunin, p. 255] Anarchist support for free association within directly democratic groups is based upon such organisational forms increasing influence and reducing irrational authority in our lives. Members of such organisations can create and present their own ideas and suggestions, critically evaluate the proposals and suggestions from their fellows, accept those that they agree with or become convinced by and have the option of leaving the association if they are unhappy with its direction. Hence the influence of individuals and their free interaction determine the nature of the decisions reached, and no one has the right to impose their ideas on another. As Bakunin argued, in such organisations “no function remains fixed and it will not remain permanently and irrevocably attached to one person. Hierarchical order and promotion do not exist… In such a system, power, properly speaking, no longer exists. Power is diffused to the collectivity and becomes the true expression of the liberty of everyone.” [Bakunin on Anarchism, p. 415]

Therefore, anarchists are opposed to irrational (e.g., illegitimate) authority, in other words, hierarchy — hierarchy being the institutionalisation of authority within a society. Hierarchical social institutions include the state (see section B.2), private property and the class systems it produces (see section B.3) and, therefore, capitalism (see section B.4). Due to their hierarchical nature, anarchists oppose these with passion. “Every institution, social or civil,” argued Voltairine de Cleyre, “that stands between man [or woman] and his [or her] right; every tie that renders one a master, another a serf; every law, every statue, every be-it-enacted that represents tyranny” anarchists seek to destroy. However, hierarchy exists beyond these institutions. For example, hierarchical social relationships include sexism, racism and homophobia (see section B.1.4), and anarchists oppose, and fight, them all. Thus, as well as fighting capitalism as being hierarchical (for workers “slave in a factory,” albeit “the slavery ends with the working hours”) de Cleyre also opposed patriarchal social relationships which produce a “home that rests on slavery” because of a “marriage that represents the sale and transfer of the individuality of one of its parties to the other!” [The Voltairine de Cleyre Reader, p. 72, p. 17 and p. 72]

Needless to say, while we discuss different forms of hierarchy in different sections this does not imply that anarchists think they, and their negative effects, are somehow independent or can be easily compartmentalised. For example, the modern state and capitalism are intimately interrelated and cannot be considered as independent of each other. Similarly, social hierarchies like sexism and racism are used by other hierarchies to maintain themselves (for example, bosses will use racism to divide and so rule their workers). From this it follows that abolishing one or some of these hierarchies, while desirable, would not be sufficient. Abolishing capitalism while maintaining the state would not lead to a free society (and vice versa) — if it were possible. As Murray Bookchin notes:

“there can be a decidedly classless, even a non-exploitative society in the economic sense that still preserves hierarchical rule and domination in the social sense — whether they take the form of the patriarchal family, domination by age and ethnic groups, bureaucratic institutions, ideological manipulation or a pyramidal division of labour … classless or not, society would be riddles by domination and, with domination, a general condition of command and obedience, of unfreedom and humiliation, and perhaps most decisively, an abortion of each individual’s potentiality for consciousness, reason, selfhood, creativity, and the right to assert full control over her or his daily live.” [Toward an Ecological Society, pp. 14–5]

This clearly implies that anarchists “challenge not only class formations but hierarchies, not only material exploitation but domination in every form.” [Bookchin, Op. Cit., p. 15] Hence the anarchist stress on opposing hierarchy rather than just, say, the state (as some falsely assert) or simply economic class and exploitation (as, say, many Marxists do). As noted earlier (in section A.2.8), anarchists consider all hierarchies to be not only harmful but unnecessary, and think that there are alternative, more egalitarian ways to organise social life. In fact, we argue that hierarchical authority creates the conditions it is presumably designed to combat, and thus tends to be self-perpetuating. Thus hierarchical organisations erode the ability of those at the bottom to manage their own affairs directly so requiring hierarchy and some people in positions to give orders and the rest to follow them. Rather than prevent disorder, governments are among its primary causes while its bureaucracies ostensibly set up to fight poverty wind up perpetuating it, because without poverty, the high-salaried top administrators would be out of work. The same applies to agencies intended to eliminate drug abuse, fight crime, etc. In other words, the power and privileges deriving from top hierarchical positions constitute a strong incentive for those who hold them not to solve the problems they are supposed to solve. (For further discussion see Marilyn French, Beyond Power: On Women, Men, and Morals, Summit Books, 1985).

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