#but that’s more true outside urban areas

[marzipanandminutiae]

Do you know much about historical cuisine? Saw yet another anime with friends and they went the whole 'modern food always tastes better' bit. I feel tired of the trope and am wondering how different historical cuisine would taste compared to modern times. So anything you happen to know as a historian would be cool to know!

That varies MASSIVELY based on time and location. Like. Much more than fashion does, even, I'd imagine (in a given sub-region- I can talk about Mainstream European and Euro-American Fashion of the 19th CenturyTM but the food was so different in different countries that were dressing the same, if that makes sense? just as an example).

Food is often more globalized in a lot of places nowadays, so the characters might have more diversity of flavors from the regional norm than they're used to. But this could be a good or a bad thing- a woman from 17th-century Japan might love pizza and much sweeter Western pastries, or she might absolutely hate them. Which is not to say regional cuisines haven't evolved, too- a museum here in Boston used to have tastings of 18th-century-style hot chocolate, and it was very different from the modern sort. But that's the largest blanket difference across the globe that I can think of, food-wise.

Not sure what anime this was, so it could have been Japan-specific, but I feel like this gets applied the most to the 19th-mid 20th century UK and United States. The whole Captain America line about "food's better; we used to boil everything," for example, and the general belief that everything was bland mush in those areas until the 1950s and then it was incomprehensible Jell-O mold horrors until approximately the 1980s. And of course, none of that's true- there were plenty of dishes that used spices and different cooking methods, many of which are still popular today. See also: Jonathan Harker, a Normal 1890s Englishman, getting so rhapsodical about paprikahendl that he simply must have the recipe for his fiancee to make. There also WERE bland mushes and fluorescent nightmares, but there's less than ideal food today, as well.

(Note that I'm much less confident talking about the whole English StodgeTM thing as we get into the 20th century. That is outside my history wheelhouse and there's a lot of different stuff embroiled in it relating to class and such that I don't want to talk out my ass about. All I know is that I've seen plenty of recipes from as late as the end of the 19th century, from England and some from urban Scotland if I recall correctly, that made ample use of spices. Nutmeg, mustard, black pepper, rosemary, caraway, and cayenne pepper were especially popular (not all together obviously). There was a belief among the middle and upper classes that strong flavors of garlic and onion were distasteful to ladies, but the fact that cookbooks and such feel the need to mention it implies that those elements WERE being used in cooking generally, in the UK, at that time. So wherever the idea that All British Food Is Beige And Tasteless came from, it wasn't mainstream late Victorian cooking for adults as far as I can tell)

(They gave kids a fair amount of the beige and tasteless because they believed their digestive systems couldn't handle strongly-flavored- okay now I'm getting off topic. Read Ruth Goodman's "How To Be A Victorian." Anyway!)

tl;dr- The answer to "is modern food better?" is "that's literally impossible to answer as a blanket statement, since it's massively dependent on the character's original time, place, social status, and personal taste- and where they end up in the present, of course."

Now, I do agree that the trope is annoying the same way every single princess being totally shocked and appalled when her marriage is arranged gets annoying- not because it can't be true based on history and human behavior, but because fiction treats it as some kind of universal precept. Mix it up a little sometimes! Have a Regency character who comes to the present, finds out that her favorite local cheese isn't being made anymore, and loses her entire mind!

[harlowsbby]

Snooze 💘

Requested, Jack admits he has a crush on the readers but wonders if she feels the same way.

“What if she doesn’t feel the same way? What if I ruin our friendship by telling her how I really feel.” Jack worriedly asked Ace.

“I’m telling you nothing will be ruined because I know she feels the same way.” Ace reassured Jack but he was still on edge.

Jack and You have been best friends since first grade and he’s had the biggest and fattest crush on you ever since. It’s been hard for him watching you go through life with other men that weren’t him.

But this time around he was going to make sure that you knew he loved you and not just as friends he wanted to love you outside of being friends, he wanted to make you his.

“How about tonight when everyone is asleep you take her out somewhere maybe to the movies or to the park to look at the stars? Didn’t you say your friend Jade has a ranch near by?” Ace suggested.

“She does! I’ll message her right now and see if she can set up a little picnic type thing under the stars.” Ace smiled. “I hope tonight ends well for the two of you.”

Jack nodded his head. “I hope so too Ace.” He sighed.

There was a lot weighing on Jack tonight it was either he’d gain you as his girlfriend or he’d lose you as his one of his best friends. He wasn’t sure how tonight was going to end up but he could on wish for the best.

“Imagine she turns you down?” Druski joked. “Gosh he’ll be crying about it forever and forever.” Urban said.

“He’ll be rapping about Y/N next.” 2fo added on.

“He’ll be like true love? What is a true love all I know is heartbreak man fuck out of here with all this love shit.” Druski attempted rap.

“You’re all idiots.” Jack mumbled and stepped outside to get some air as the guys laughed. “Please let tonight end well.” He talked to himself.

————————————————————————

“Where are we going Jack?” You questioned him as the two of you pulled him to Jade’s ranch. “Do you trust me?” He asked when the car was finally put into park.

You looked up and tried your best to inspect the area it looked like a farm but there wasn’t any animals around at all, just a few lights and lots of apple trees.

You looked at him with your eyebrows raised wondering what he had up his sleeve. “I do?” You stated but you were a bit unsure. “So just follow my lead.” He said.

Jack got out the car first and made his way over to your side of the car and opened your door for you. “Thank you.” You stated. “You’re welcome, now come on grab my hand.”

Your stomach started doing flips when you grabbed his hands. Your feelings for Jack have always been there you’ve just been way too scared to admit them to him, you didn’t want to ruin a good friendship by telling him that you wanted to be more than friends.

Even though you had lots of boyfriends growing up you mainly only had them to try and hide your feelings for Jack. You were in denial at first because there was no way you could ever fall for your best friend right? Well you were wrong.

Jack walked the two of you to the back of the ranch and you gasped upon seeing the picnic table with a few candles spread out, a red and white checkered table cloth and a picnic basket that had a few of your favorite snacks inside.

“What’s all this for?” You turned to Jack who was already looking at you. “We’re going to be watching the stars tonight so I figured we’d have a little like picnic while we did.” He smiled softly.

“This is so cute!” You squealed and gave him a side hug. “You’re cuter.” He mumbled under his breath.

“What was that?” You innocently asked him. “Oh I said let’s go sit yeah? I heard there was going to be a few shooting stars tonight.”

The two of you went ahead and sat down at the table and you looked up at the sky looking at all of the different stars. “I love watching the stars I wish I could be one.” Jack chuckled.

“Why?” He asked and looked at you and watched the way you admired all of the different stars in the sky. “Because not every star is the same every star is different and original in its own way kinda like you.”

“I’m original?” He asked. “Yeah you’re one of a kind Jack.” You smiled softly. “Ooo look a shooting star!” You pointed to the sky.

But while you were looking at the shooting stars Jack was too busy admiring you his heart started to race a bit with the thought of having to confess his feelings to you.

You knew he needed to do it sooner or later or else you’d become someone else’s. “Y/N.” He said and your head whipped over to him.

“Yes Jack?” You asked him nervously. “Uh.” He scattered the back of his neck nervously he didn’t know how to start the conversation.

“Well you see the thing is.” He gulped. “What’s wrong? You’re making me scared.” You nervously laughed.

You weren’t sure why you were so nervous but you just had this gut feeling in your stomach that something was going to go down tonight you just weren’t sure what.

“Fuck shit.” He chocked and you giggled. “Fuck shit?” He sighed heavily and stood up and rubbed his hands against his face. “I can’t do this.” He said.

“Jack?” Your lips turned into a small frown when you noticed just how frustrated he was getting.

“What’s the matter? You know you can tell me anything right?” He removed his hands from his face and sighed.

The two of you were now face to face. “I like you like I really like you, like you Y/N. I wanna be more than friends with you I really wanna be your man and I want you to be my babe, baby, honey pie, baby girl.” He kept rambling and you giggled.

“How about this for your answer.” You grabbed his face and connected your lips to his he was shocked at first not expecting for you to react like that but he nonetheless melted into the kiss.

You both pulled away for air eventually and both laughed softly. “I’ve always liked you for the longest Jack I was just scared on what it would do to our friendship.” You expressed to him.

“Me too but I promise I’ll never do anything to break your heart, will you be my girlfriend?” You smiled and nodded. “Of course I will.”

After some time the two of you decided to head back home to get some much needed sleep but one your way back to the car you had gotten a call from the guys.

“It’s one in the morning what are you guys doing up?” You put the phone on speaker so Jack was able to hear.

“Sooo are you finally Jack’s little boo thing?” Urban teased. “Yeah I bet they were kissing and making out all night.” Clay said and made kissing noises.

“You guys are annoying.” You giggled. “Mhm you say that now but you know we’re right just remember keep it wrapped up Jack.” Jack’s jaw dropped as you bent over in laughter.

“Alright we’re gonna go now we’ll see you guys later.” The guys chuckled. “Don’t do anything we wouldn’t do.” They teased before hanging up.

(Sorry this is out so late a bitch been working 😭)

[loudclan-clangen]

HEY so the last ask reminded me that this is set in Alaska! As someone who used to live there it makes me very happy to see, so just for fun I brainstormed lore ideas/questions for a Clan there n I thought id share :) this is Long lmao i apologize

The terrain for one thing. Growing up I remember all the horror stories of people getting stuck in muskeg and not being able to get out before the tide comes in. so that’s always freaky, but i imagine that if theres any in the area then the cats might try and take advantage of it as safely as they can? for prey and such. on that note whats their water situation like anyways? braided rivers?

any specific ideas for what area of mountains the cats are in? are they in the higher ranges, the ones wrapped up in clouds, the rocky kind like the ones around Denali? the greener ones with all the trees? is their territory frequented by hikers and/or tourists or are they relatively untouched wilderness? I think i remember it being said that LoudClan is somewhere more towards the south, is it intended to be generally vague? :0

Predators!!!! The cats can deal with all sorts of unique stuff in a setting like this, bears n lynxes n wolves… eagles… possibly even wolverines since theyre up in the mountains? i’d be curious to see how a clan would react to a wolf pack passing through the area lol. also ive always just loved the concept of a queen finding an abandoned lynx kitten or smth and unknowingly adopting it and it just keeps… getting bigger… whoops… oh well its the clans weird child now

So many fun lil prey animals too, ground squirrels n ptarmigans n such!! I bet ptarmigans would totally harass cats during breeding season and that could be funny. maybe standard apprentice training is to learn the different ground squirrel alarm calls. maybe they even sometimes encounter dalls or caribou or moose on patrols (perhaps moose have even been known to kill before, so theyre considered dangerous).

Also just….. the day-night cycle??? I’d honestly be pretty interested to see how that ties in, like it’s daylight forever in the summer-early autumn and pretty much perpetually nighttime in the winter-early breakup. do the cats have any thoughts or beliefs towards that? do they like to look up at the northern lights, and listen when theyre so clear that they can hear them?

Okok thats all now sorry. I got way too excited lol i miss AK sm, i left when i was little 💔 if any of this has been discussed already in a lore post then ignore me its been a hot minute and i rattled this off on a whim!!!

Love this! Okay, let me try to hit all of these questions in a way that will hopefully be understandable for everyone so if you're the asker please skip past the definitions/backstory.

A 'muskeg' is like a swamp or a bog. I assume that you're referring to the area outside of Anchorage that we always called the 'Mud-Flats", because that's where I heard stories of people getting stuck. (Specifically there's a very famous urban legend of a soldier stationed in Anchorage who went out with his buddies, got stuck up to his waist, ended up tied to a helicopter, and when they tried to pull him out with the helicopter he uh... separated. And his legs can supposedly still be found in the flats. (I WANT TO CLARIFY THAT THIS IS NOT TRUE. THERE WAS A SOLDIER, HE GOT STUCK, HE DROWNED, THE SEPARATION HAPPENED AFTER HE WAS DEAD AND THEY TRIED TO RETRIEVE THE BODY. THEY DID GET HIS LEGS BACK TO MY KNOWLEDGE.)) It's pretty much a long stretch of quicksand (but it's like more mud and silt than sand? idk how to really describe it i haven't been there much cause ya know, hearing stories like that will kinda cure your curiosity as a kid.)

Anyway, Ghostclan's territory used to be Mud-Flats, but long before the cats moved in twolegs came and installed the Rip Rap (big jagged rocks that are placed on the coastline to keep it from erroding) that make up Freezingclan's territory and that kinda took some of the danger out of it. Since the tide no longer comes up so high, while getting stuck is certainly not a good thing, it's not a death sentence as clanmates have time to gather help and dig you out. Though it does make it hard/near impossible to launch an attack on Ghostclan without an insider to lead you around the wet spots. Larger prey can sometimes be found stuck in the mud, having died from exhaustion, but the wetness causes the meat to rot quickly, and what is left draws the attention of larger predators, while also adding the issue of having to avoid getting stuck as you retrieve it, so it's not really a reliable source of food as much as it is a last resort. Ghostclan also contains the territory's braided river, which the cats call the "Friendly River" because it's three smaller streams that meet up into one large one. (I didn't do the best job rendering this on the map but that is what I was trying to represent. I'm not a landscape person, I'm doing my best.) Because the territory is a narrow valley set right on the coast they don't have a ton of room for the rivers to braid, but the thought was there!

It is intented to be generally vague, because I'm not an expert on geography and I live a couple of hours from this exact area, I didn't want to say "yeah it's here" and then have people correct me with minute little things. Plus if it's entirely made up then I can alter things to my liking. But the territory is inspired by the land along the Seward highway, where on one side it's these big mountains and on the other it's just a short sloping coastline. It looks like this in real life:

(You can even see the railroad and layer of rip rap that I included in the territory map) I imagine it's a place where the road veers inland so that the clans can have more space to roam. While the railroad runs through the mountain the highway is just on the other side of it. The mountains here are nowhere as tall as Denali, but they aren't anything to scoff at either. I imagine them being something like this, (which I believe is Exit Glacier?):

The lower areas are densely forested with tall trees and thick shrubs, but the greenery gets thinner and shorter as the elevation rises until you get to the higher ridges and peak which is pretty much just rock. Loudclan camp would be located at the transition point between grass and rock, so that there is no place above them where their enemies might hide and wait to pounce. As for humans, the territory used to belong to a small mining town. They dug the mine, installed the rip rap, built the buildings, and leveled the area of the mountain that Loudclan camp is set on, but over time resources dried up and people left. Now it's nearly untouched save the railroad, which still runs through the mountain regardless of whether there's a stop there anymore. The fact that you have to either cross railroad tracks or mountains to get to it, and its remote nature mean that hikers don't usually put in the energy to venture that way. (My mom grew up in Sutton, a former coal mining town and railway hub that was long past it's glory days by the time she was born and so this fictional town is kind of an omage to that).

The cats absolutely will interact with unique predators! The game has done me the favor of adding in wolverines already (and let me tell you, they cause PROBLEMS), but the cats might also face off against an aggressive little ermine (which are much fiercer than their appearance would have you believe) or even find themselves stumbling upon a blackbear gorging on blueberries early in the fall. They aren't really in the correct area for a wolf pack (and to my knowledge i don't remember writing about any) but who knows what's to come? Okay, now onto Lynx. Up until about 30 seconds ago I was under the impression that domestic cats and lynx could hybridize. Why did I think that? Well because everyone and their mother up her SWEARS that their female cat got out and mated with a lynx at one point or another. That or their big long hair tom cat is part lynx. So who was I to question whether that could even happen? Well apparently it can't but oops, too late, already headcannoned that several characters are part lynx so fuck it. These cats are special. They've speciated. Juneaucliff's dad was a Lynx. What are you gonna do about it? Huh? Regardless, yes, the cats do interact with Lynx, but they speak the same language, so it's a bit of a different situation. It probably won't be mentioned unless people ask about specific characters, but anyone with ear tufts/unusually large stature/big paws may have been descended from a lynx at some point.

The prey animals I think are more dangerous than the predators honestly. So many of them are specifically adapted to the terrain in ways that the cats aren't. Imagine chasing a snowshoe hare across the mountainside, following directly in their tracks only to suddenly feel the snow fall away beneath you, because while their big feet allow them to skid across the crevasse without disturbing the crust of the snow, you're just a little bit too heavy and you sink a bit to far and now you're falling to your death. You're sitting on the edge of the river during a salmon run, watching an eagle dive down to grab a fish. What are the chances it changes it's mind and grabs you? A cat weighs a lot less than a king salmon. And moose would be a danger. 9/10 they won't even glance twice at you but the one time you get unlucky enough to jump down from a tree and land between a cow and her calf? Maybe with no snow a cat could outrun a moose but those long legs mean that there's no feasible escape in the colder months. Even in the warmer months a cat can be trampled by a herd of caribou if they aren't vigilant while walking along the flat lands of the valley. Ptarmagins are easy food, but they're annoying and they spook off every other kind of prey within their designated "territory" and are just generally a nuisance. Some of them are useful, though, Dall sheep wool is is great for insulating nests and shed antlers from moose and caribou can be used to strengthen camp walls and build dens or can be broken into smaller sections to splint broken bones.

The day/night cycle absolutely plays into it! That's why starclan moved into the Black Water Pool. It's the only place where night always exists. In moon 14 Part 2 Twistedtail explains to Wildfirecry that starclan had to move, saying "We couldn't survive there. Not when the sun silenced the stars for seasons at a time". Many cats believe that their ancestors can't see them while the stars are hidden, that the light of the sun blinds them, and therefore are more likely to do devious things in the summer when the sun never leaves the sky in order to avoid punishment. They don't live far north enough to experience perpetual night but even so, only having 6 hours of daylight in the winter does make patrolling and hunting much more difficult. As of right now, the northern lights mean something different to every cat. They each interpret them/were taught to believe something unique about them. Are they the last words of dead cats frozen in the air? Are they the souls of your ancestors dancing across the sky? Maybe they're a sign from starclan, demanding that the lead healer come speak to them at the black water or a sign of good luck for a little born beneath them. No one really knows, except for that they're something important. (I'm not committing to anything cause they could be used in so many interesting ways that i don't wanna limit myself ya know?)

anyway, thank you for the ask, this was so fun to talk about! My apologies for not answering as many asks as I had hoped to over my break, I was on a trip and then had to buckle down on school work and then got sick (just a cold. im fine) but things are looking good for a beginning of July return time still! (Note because I know what tumblr reading comprehension is like: I'm not returned quite yet. I still have to write a paper for school. But soon! Yay!) If you have asked an ask in the past month: I'm so sorry please be patient. There's so many of you. If you were sending me actual, physical mail I would be completely buried in it. I love it, and hope you keep doing it, but... just know it might be a minute... or two... or ten.

[ghostofhyuck]

Dead Man Runnin'

Dead man! Lee Donghyuck x Tourist! Reader

Summary: On a vacation at the neighbouring town’s lakehouse, you found yourself befriending a local named Haechan, who seems to be clueless about his town’s urban legend called ‘The Dead Man.’

Word count: 4.7k

TW: Contains violence, death, a bit of gore, and blood. NCT Dream and Aespa members are mean here, but it’s for the plot. Read at your own risk

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Summer has always been a joy for you. No school, great weather, and just spending the time lazing around. 

But your friends have other plans for this summer. It’s understandable that it’s your last summer before you enter senior year in college. So you agreed to join even though you prefer to just stay at home and have your own solo activities. 

That’s how you ended up in the minivan your friend owns, bags and luggages placed on the trunk, while the six of you squeezed inside the minivan. The radio is blasting with music, bass boosted that it can be heard from the outside. 

“Fuck yeah!” Jaemin, the designated driver, shouts. Taking a chug from the can of beer he’s holding at the same time. 

“Are you even sure we’re on the right route?” Karina, who’s in the driver’s seat asked. She’s seated there in case Jaemin fucks up, she can control the steering wheel. 

“Duh, of course! I’ve been here many times.” Jaemin replies. 

“Still weird that you chose this place when there’s a lot of good lake houses around,” Giselle complained, rolling her eyes. 

“Just say you’re afraid,” Renjun teased. “Of the dead man!” tickling Giselle on the process making the girl scream and causing chaos at the backseat.

“Hey hey! You guys are the reason why we’ll get into an accident,” Jaemin shouts. 

“The reason why we’ll get into trouble is you drunk-driving,” Jeno interrupts. 

You only watch your friend’s tease each other, but you couldn’t help but pique curiosity at what Renjun said earlier. 

“What’s the dead man?” you asked, making them fall into silence. 

“Are you serious? You don’t know about it?” Renjun asked with a shocked tone. 

You only shrugged, “why?”

“Hey, don’t blame yn, she’s not a local in the area,” Giselle said. Placing an arm around you. “There’s a myth about here where there’s a man who died but resurrected a week after.” 

“That sounds bullshit.”

“It is said that he only shows up on clueless strangers and they say he murders people so that his lifespan increases.” your friend added. 

You only laughed at her story, “that can’t be true.” 

“It is! The longer story was that there’s a man who’s on his deathbed made a deal with the devil to remain immortal forever. He died eventually but became alive a week after and not only that, he also maintained a youthful look.” Renjun explains. “In exchange, he has to offer the souls and blood of people. The more people he offers, the more he remains immortal.” 

“And that’s just a myth! So there’s nothing to be afraid yn,” Jaemin said, turning around to give you a wink. “I’ve been here since I was a kid and there’s no dead man here. If they did, then the killings should’ve been on the news already.” 

“But there was a mass murder that happened during 1992. A group of friends were found dead at the lake house —” 

“Which is on the other side of the town,” Jaemin added. “Seriously guys, we’re here to have fun, don’t ruin the vibe.” 

The van turned left, towards a more secluded road. The road passed by empty lots and a forest area where wild trees and tall grasses stood firm. It became dim as the trees blocked the sunlight from the road. It was tranquil, you think, eyes staring at the view from the outside. Jaemin’s drive became smooth, it seems like he has already memorized the area. 

He spotted an open steel gate and turned to enter the place. There awaits a small lake house that he has been going to ever since he was a kid. Jaemin parks the car in the parking area, and turns off the engines. 

“We’re here! Let’s go!” Jaemin excitedly said, exiting the car first. One by one, all of you went out of the van. 

You were in awe when you noticed that the place was beautiful indeed. It was quiet, clean, and empty too. It’s just the six of you there. The lake house was huge. There’s a few cabins built that can be rented by families or groups of friends, but in your case, Jaemin rented the whole place so that you guys can have the place on your own. The lake was just near, with a long dock that is perfect for diving and jumping. On the right is a trail path that leads to the deeper side of the woods.

“May I help you?” the six of you turned around and saw a guy who you assumed was the same age as you. He’s wearing a plain black tee shirt and khaki shorts. He’s perfectly tan and with a set of moles on his face. You were a bit intimidated by his blank expression but nonetheless, you found him attractive. 

“Who are you?” Jaemin asked instead. 

“Haechan, I work here,” Haechan introduced. He stretches his hand but your friend only stares at it. 

“I didn’t know Aunt Hyojoo hired people,” Jaemin stated. 

“I just started working here two months ago,” Haechan answered. “Just a small help because it’s not like Aunt Hyojoo’s getting any younger.” 

“Yeah thanks, but I’ve been for so long, I know my way,” Jaemin offered him a smile instead, and started walking away. One by one, your friends followed Jaemin but you didn’t move. 

You saw how Haechan retrieved his hand but out instinct, you grabbed it quickly. You saw how Haechan’s eyes went wide. You were surprised by your action too so you slowly shake it. 

“Sorry…about Jaemin, he’s just like that,” you said. But in a split second, Haechan smiles. 

“He’s kind of an asshole you know?” Haechan pointed out. 

You only laugh. “Yeah, he’s a bit of a jerk, sorry about that.” 

Haechan stares at you for a second. “He’s your boyfriend isn’t he?”

You were surprised by his question, “no! Goodness, he’s just a friend. I’m not his type either.” 

“Why? You’re beautiful, you know that?” 

You felt your heart skip a beat, surprised by the sudden compliment from Haechan. He only gives you a smile and you swore that he has such a pretty face. 

“Yn!” a voice called out, making you remove your hand from Haechan. 

“Sorry, my friend is calling me,” you said, avoiding his gaze. “I’ll see you around?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Haechan nods. “See you around yn.”

You only smile as a goodbye before turning your heels around to go after your friends. As soon as you reached your friends, they began asking questions about what was that all about, about you only brushing it off. Convincing him that you’re just being friendly then proceeding to nag Jaemin about his behavior. Jaemin shrugs it off, and tells you that it was nothing. 

After settling down your bags and luggages inside the cabin. The six of you plan the itinerary for the rest of the weekend. The area was huge. You guys have plans on camping overnight tomorrow into the deeper area of the woods, but for now, you guys agreed to stay within the vicinity of the lakehouse. 

You changed into your swim suits, leaving the cabin with laughter and teasing. The sun was at its peak but it wasn’t hot so it wasn’t painful to stay outside. Soon, the boys came running towards the docks. Pushing playfully to the water while the three of you girls remained at the docks. Karina has her phone recording the chaos. 

“We didn’t come here to use your phone!” Jeno shouted, splashing water against the three of you, making you three laugh. 

The three of you followed them immediately. The lake was cool and deep enough for your reach. The six of you enjoy swimming around, and playing water games. It went on until your fingers started to wrinkle. Some of you rinsed while others remained on the water. 

“Jaemin! Stop doing that!” you screamed when you felt someone grabbing your legs. Jaemin ascends from the water with a teasing smile, making you splash water on him as revenge. 

“Sorry! Your expression was priceless!” Jaemin teases back, which makes you splash water on him even more. Soon, you two are there having a war until he wraps his arms around you. You squealed when he suddenly dipped into the water. 

“You asshole!” you shouted, trying to push yourself from Jaemin who’s been laughing nonstop. 

“It’s always fun teasing you yn~” Jaemin coos, pinching your cheeks in the process.

It made you stop, staring at Jaemin who’s only smiling at you. You always have a crush on Jaemin, but you know that it’s unrequited since you’re far from his ideal type. But it’s just a crush, it’s not like you’re dreaming of being his girlfriend. You still consider him as your friend despite the budding feeling. 

“Hey lovebirds!” Renjun shouts, making you two turn around. “The sun’s almost setting, we should settle down for dinner!” 

“We’ll be right there!” Jaemin shouted back.

“You can go first, I wanted to swim for a bit,” you told him. 

“Just make sure you return before the night comes,” he reminded. 

You only gave him a nod, watching him swim away from you. Soon, it’s just you, alone in the lake. You only let out a sigh as you lay down to float against the surface. The sky’s turning golden orange. Pink hues slowly appear as you can feel the cold water against your back. There’s no current in the lake, so you remain where you are floating. It feels so relaxing that you could only close your eyes. 

It wasn’t that quickly that you heard footsteps, making you open your eyes and fix your position. As you looked up to the dock, you noticed that it was Haechan. 

“Hey, it’s you again.” you said, swimming your way back to the dock. 

“Having fun there?” Haechan asked. 

“Yeah, never felt more relaxed than before,” then you reached your arm. “Care for a swim?”

“Maybe next time,” then he stands up. “You should rinse off now, it’s dangerous for you to be alone.” 

His words remind you of something. That’s when you decided that’s enough for you. So you rise off from the dock’s ladder. Ignoring Haechan’s gaze at your body. You passed by him to grab your towel but you turned around to him. 

“Is it because of the dead man?” you asked. 

You saw how his forehead creased, “the dead man?”

“It’s a myth here, my friend said,” you pointed. 

“It’s a hoax, like bigfoot,” Haechan explained, placing his hands on his pants’ pockets. “You still believe in that shit?”

You only shake your head, “not really, it’s my first time hearing about it.” 

Haechan turns to his left then glances at you once again, “have fun here, I should get going now.” 

“Wait —” you watch as he walks back to the lake house, following him you notice that Giselle was standing nearby the dock. She gave Haechan a side eye when the guy passed by him, then she only crossed her arms as she looked at you. 

You shake your head as you walk your way to her. She didn’t say a word, so quietly, you two returned to the cabin. 

Later that evening, the six of you decided to stay at the bonfire area to hang around. Cans of beer were passed around, and as the night became deeper so was the conversation. Senseless conversations were brought up, you guys were talking shit about some of your classmates, and then it shifted into a new topic. 

“Seems like you’re getting cozy with that staff,” Giselle blurted out. 

“Haechan? No, it’s nothing,” you denied. 

“Ohhh, so it's a first name basis now,” Karina teased. 

“Does it matter? Plus, I’m just being kind to him because someone couldn’t be nice enough to strangers,” you explained. 

Jaemin laughed, “wouldn’t be surprised if he thinks that you being kind to him means you like him.” 

“Why would you think of it like that?” you raised an eyebrow. 

“Come on yn, he looks like a town loser who has never touched a girl before,” Jaemin pointed out. 

“I mean, you two can match each other, you've never touched a guy’s dick before haven’t you?” Giselle added. The rest of your friends let out a few “ohhh” and “oh shit.” different reactions but same meaning; they were teasing you again. You’re a virgin but that’s because you never wanted to indulge into sexual activities unlike your friends who revolve their life around it. 

There’s peer pressure, you can feel it. But at the same time, you don’t want to give into peer pressure. You just hated that your friends still keep on teasing you about being a virgin when they know that you are that by choice. 

“Whatever,” you said, standing up. “I’ll just get some water from the cabin.” 

“Hey, what, I was just joking!” Giselle defended. 

“Yeah right yn, you used to laugh it off,” Karina said. 

But you ignored their words. Walking back towards the cabin, you didn’t go inside but instead, you sat at the staircase of the cabin. Letting out a sigh because your mood went sour. This vacation should be nothing but a nice getaway with your friends, that’s why you didn’t like how they went too far with the comment. 

“Didn’t think I’ll see you here, alone,” you looked up and saw Haechan standing in front of you. 

“Why is that, you’re always there when I’m alone,” you joked. 

“I’m just doing my nightly patrol,” Haechan explained. “So, why are you here without your friends?”

You rolled your eyes, “friends, yeah right.” 

“Seems like you’re not in a good mood, maybe I should just leave you alone —” 

“Wait,” you stopped him. “No, I’m not mad at all. It’s just —” you turned around when you heard footsteps approaching.

You glance at Haechan which in a split second understands what you wanted to say. He grabs your hands and quickly, you two run towards the opposite direction of the sound. You don’t know why but you just let your feet take you where Haechan is dragging you. You didn’t notice that you two are off from the vicinity of the lakehouse. He went deep into the woods. 

“Where are we?” you asked as soon as Haechan’s steps became normal. He never let go of your hands, he continued walking around the dimly lit path. It was pitch black and you two have nothing but Haechan’s flashlight. 

“Somewhere away from your friends,” he answered shortly. 

You two have been walking for a few minutes until he steps out of the wood, and as soon as you exit your eyes go wide at the view. 

You found yourself staring at an empty field. There’s nothing but a small hill, the grass swaying lightly against the winds. It was eerily quiet but it was tranquil for you. But what amazed you more is that there’s fireflies around the area. 

“It’s my first time seeing fireflies,” you said, eyes locked at the swarm. You turned around at Haechan who’s only staring at you. 

“Thank you,” you said to him. 

“Do you want to stay here for a while?” he asked. 

And you did. You and Haechan sat on the field while the fireflies lit up the area. You could only stare at them for a few minutes until it sank into you the reason why you’re here. 

You vent to Haechan about your friends. You love them so much, but sometimes they can be too much. You admit that you tend to feel out of place with them. The guys are athletes, while the girls are known to be very pretty and popular. You're plain jane. The goody-two-shoes who would rather stay home reading books rather than to party on a friday night. But nevertheless, your friends treated you genuinely. 

It’s just there are times that they tend to cross the lines that you don’t like. And this is one of the teasings that went too far. You’re fine being teased as a virgin, but you didn’t like that they had to drag Haechan into the teasing. 

“I don’t know why they have to involve you when they don’t even know you,” you explain. “They can’t even be nice to you.” 

��It’s okay, they just think they’re superior when they stoop on other people,” Haechan laughed. 

“I’m really sorry,” you apologized once again. 

“It’s not your fault, there’s no need to apologize,” he said smiling. 

You smiled at him back, and from there, you two gaze at the view in silence. You only let out a sigh as you rest your head on your knees, feeling the cold breeze of summer night.

“It’s so much better here,” you mumbled. “I prefer this kind of stay.” 

“You don’t want to go back?” 

You shake your head, “no. I prefer your company.”

Haechan shyly looks away. Another silence engulfed you too. You couldn’t help but to stare at him. God, even at the dim night, you can still see his beautiful features. Slowly, you reached out your hands to trace the moles on his face. Not even touching him, Haechan flinched. 

“Sorry,” you were about to retrieve your hands but he grabs it, ang gently, he places it on his cheeks. 

It was soft, as he let go slowly of it, your fingers traced his moles. You were locked into it, not even noticing how his eyes are gazing at you. 

You didn’t notice how Haechan slowly approached you, until your eyes went wide at close proximity. 

“Can I kiss you?” he asked, it made your heart skip a beat. 

You only close your eyes as an answer, and in a few seconds, you can feel his soft lips crashing onto yours. You’re not new to kisses, that’s only how far you can go. That’s why you couldn’t help but to kiss him back, it was sweet, intimate, and something about it felt right. 

-

Morning came and that’s when you decided to return to the lakehouse along with Haechan, you two were smiling widely as you walked your way back to the lakehouse. 

“So that’s where you’ve been the whole night,” you stopped when you hear Jaemin’s voice. 

“I can’t believe you ditched us just to be with him,” Giselle complained. 

“Hey, let it slide guys, seems like yn had fun,” Jeno pointed out, earning gasps from your friend. 

“No freaking way!? Never thought you’ll go down on him,” Karina teased. 

“What? Guys what the fuck, we just slept, nothing happened,” you defended, but all of them ignored your words. 

“No way, yn you’re kinda a freak you know that? Doing it in the woods,” Renjun teased. 

“Bet you had fun with her didn’t you?” Jaemin asked, taking a step to approach Haechan. Your friend only smiles at him who only has a blank expression. “Was she good? I mean, she’s a virgin so she’s probably inex—”

You let out a scream when Jaemin fell on the ground, a trail of blood flowing out of his nose. He wasn’t able to fight back when Haechan topped him and continued punching his face. 

“Haechan! Stop that! Stop that!” you said, trying to pull him away but Jeno and Renjun immediately backed-up but they weren’t able to fight back when Haechan landed a punch and kick on both of them, both falling into the ground limping. 

“Haechan stop that! Please!” you begged as you tried to pull him away from Jaemin who’s almost unconscious.

“Stop it or I’m calling the cops!” Karina shouted, you managed to scream once again to call Haechan’s attention and with that, he stopped. 

He stands up and drags you away from the scene. 

“Haechan! Stop it! Haechan you’re hurting me!” you shouted. He stops and turns around, you only clutched at your wrist, feeling the pain of how tight his grip was. 

“What the fuck was your problem!?” you shouted at him. 

“What — have you heard what he just said to you!? And you’re defending him now?” Haechan asked in a disbelief tone. 

“Still, you shouldn’t have done that! You could’ve killed him!” 

“Trust me yn, I can kill him if I want to.” Haechan answered with a bored tone. 

“You’re a monster!” you shouted, pushing him away. “Get away from me!”

He didn’t move when you turned your heels around. Haechan watched as you disappear from his sight. He lets out a sigh, glancing at his bloodied wrist. He only wipes it on his shirt before going back home. 

Instead of going back to your friends, you found yourself at the dock of the lake. You don’t know what happened to your friends, they disappeared when you returned to the lakehouse. You feel guilty because a part of it was your fault. Maybe, if you sucked up all the teasing then this wouldn’t happen. 

You’re worried about Jaemin, his face might’ve been disfigured at that point. All you can remember was blood and all the screaming, it was chaotic. You tried to close your eyes in hopes that it could erase the scene earlier, but you couldn’t. You couldn’t help but feel tears roll down on your eyes. So much for a summer getaway, you think. It’s all ruined because of you, and it becomes worse when you remember the words you said to Haechan. 

Haechan was trying to defend you, he might have used it in the wrong way but he did that because he didn’t like what Jaemin said to you. It was horrible, you couldn’t condone what he did to Jaemin but it was still wrong of you that you said those words to him. 

You know that the only thing that can solve all these problems is to apologize to everyone. It was you who started the fight after all. You pondered about it for a moment before you stood up from the dock and started walking back to the lake house when you felt droplets from the sky. You looked up and slowly, a downpour happened. 

You ran yourself towards the cabin when you noticed that it’s locked, maybe they’ve brought Jaemin to the hospital, that’s why you raced yourself towards the small lodge where the owner is staying. 

Aunt Hyojoo was a kind woman, she let you stay in one of her guest rooms, even offering you spare clothes and snacks. 

“Teenagers, I am used to it, this fight is just small compared to what I witnessed,” she jokes, staring at the window. “Looks like this rain isn’t going to stop at any moment.” 

“Do you think they’ll return here?” you asked, munching on the biscuit. 

“Oh! It’s nothing dear, they’ll be here before sun down,” she said, smiling. 

“By the way, do you happen to know where Haechan’s house is? I want to visit him,” you asked. 

You saw how his forehead creased in confusion. “Haechan? Who is Haechan?”

“He’s your staff? He said he started working here two months ago.”

“Are you sure dear? I don’t hire any staff here.” 

You became quiet. Her confession fell deaf to your ears. You stared at her, who gave you a confused look, that’s when you fake a smile. You stared at the window where the rain continued pouring, wondering when it would stop. 

You stayed at the lodge the whole day. With the rain accompanying you, you only slept for the duration of your stay. The rain became heavier mid-afternoon and it was nearing sun down when it became light drizzle. That’s when you decided to search for Haechan and apologize to him. 

Your white shoes became muddy as you tried to find your way back to the woods — the same place where you left Haechan. Holding an umbrella and a flashlight, you venture out even though you’re not familiar with the route, you trust your instincts and choose the path that looks like a man would walk onto it. 

After a few minutes of finding your way, you’ve escaped the woods but you were frozen to see what’s the end of the woods. 

A cemetery. You couldn’t help but feel goosebumps running on your skin as tons of tombstones welcomed you. Different tombs and mausoleums stood tall at the hectare. Your hands shakingly cover your open mouth. Some are old, covered in ivy and moss, but some are fresh, newly placed. You took a step back, not noticing the wild ivy behind. You screamed as it tangled around your ankle. You kicked it out of your feet and scrambled your way back into the woods. 

You tried to find your way back, but due to your panic, you couldn’t remember your path back. You tried to look everywhere but everything’s pitch black. It wasn’t until you heard a faint scream from a far. Your eyes widened, you knew that scream, so with an agitating body, you tried to follow that scream. 

As you reached the lake house. You were surprised at how eerily silent it was. There were no lights either, and not even Aunt Hyojoo’s lodge. You were about to go straight to your cabin when something catches your attention. You aim your flashlight at it, and you couldn’t help but to scream at your view. 

It was Jaemin’s minivan, crashed into the wall, the front’s completely crushed, and the windows were destroyed. What shocks you the most is your friends are inside, unconscious. 

You were about to step in to rescue them when someone grabbed your hands. 

“What the fuck!? Giselle!?” you were confused to see Giselle, blood trailing on her forehead. She was crying and shaking, and couldn't even mutter a word. 

“What happened!? Tell me!” you screamed, but you were only answered with her cries. 

“He…he did it…” Giselle mumbles. 

And before she could even say another word, Giselle felt a small tug on her back. You watch as her mouth starts to vomit blood. You were shocked at the scene, not even properly processing everything when Giselle dropped onto the ground and fell flat on the ground. You let out a scream when you saw that an axe stabbed her back. 

“Now that’s a bullseye,” you looked up and saw Haechan. Smirking devilishly as he walks his way towards you, you took a step backward but due to shock, you fell on the ground. You watch as Haechan grabs the ax with ease, and if it wasn’t enough, he swings the ax and in a split second, your friend's head rolls onto you. 

You scraped your way away from him not until you felt someone grabbing your ankle. You struggled out of his touch but you were only welcomed with an inflicting slit on your ankle, making you scream in pain. 

“What? You’re going to kill me?” you taunted as Haechan walked his way towards you. He kneels in front of you, chin resting on the end of the ax. That’s when you noticed that he’s all covered in blood. 

“Not really, I mean I got five people already, it’s enough for me to survive,” he gives you a smile, and that’s when you knew. 

“You’re the dead man,” you mumbled. 

“Seriously, people could’ve given me a better name,” he rolled his eyes. “But yeah, I am him.” 

“Now what, you’re going to kill me too?”

“You’re stupid, aren’t you?” Haechan taunts. Grabbing a fistful of your hair to lift you up so he could face you. You only groaned in pain as you can see Haechan’s gaze at you. “I have no intentions of killing you dear, you’re going to be mine.”

“You’re insane.” 

He gives you a smirk, eyes darkening as he only tilts his head at you. “Funny because that's what the devil said to me.” 

You pushed him away, making Haechan fall from the ground. You took the opportunity to stand up but you only let out a painful scream as you felt your left ankle numb. You tried your best to drag your feet away but you failed to do so when Haechan grabbed you, hugging you from behind. 

“You really think you can escape from me?” he asked, voice more threatening than usual. 

“Let go of me! Or better, just kill me!” you screamed as you struggled your way out. 

“Oh no dear, I have no plans of killing you,” Haechan laughed. “If it means dealing with another contract, I’ll make you spend the rest of your life with me.”

And with that, he turns your body around, facing him who only has nothing but desire in his eyes. “You’re going to be mine forever.”

[earnestecho]

Was listening to a podcast I like and they started talking about crows and I ended up falling down a rabbit hole of googling crow facts. With this new information I got struck with the realization: Jean is not a raven. He’s a crow.

Sure, if you don’t know much about birds they look identical. They’re both big and black. An easy mistake to make, though they’re rather different.

Ravens are found in isolation. In forests, wildlife reserves, and the like. Crows flourish in two types of areas: 1) large, open habitats like agricultural fields and 2) urban areas like parks and city centers. Jean belongs outside of the nest and in the light of day surrounded by others.

Crows are a large bird, but they’re smaller than ravens. The tail of a raven is tapered, causing raven tails to have a pointed end and giving an overall diamond shape to their appearance. Crows have tails that fan at the end. In addition, ravens have longer wingspans and heavier beaks where crows have shorter wings and thinner beaks which speaks to agility. Jean, like the crow, cannot be described as soft. However, in comparison to the raven, he is less harsh.

The two birds have different calls as well, which (for birdwatchers) is the best way to tell them apart. The crow has a high pitched caw, while the raven has a deeper, throatier croak. The crow call is similar to birdsong in that it is used to signify presence within a territory rather than mark it. In fact, both birds do not use their call as a way to mark territory but rather as a way to communicate with other birds of their species within the territory, specifically their families. The reason i bring attention to this point is because Jean has always been speaking in a language unavailable to his teammates. He has been using crow calls to speak to ravens that do not view him as family, in the species sense of the word. His words are only given power when he speaks to what becomes his own family, whether that be Kevin in the nest (who is also not a raven) or the Trojans.

The way that they deal with mean humans is an important point as well. Crows are extremely intelligent and inquisitive. A crow is known to never forget a face, and when encountering a mean and potentially dangerous human it teaches others in its family how to identify that human. I don’t think I need to draw the clearest line here to Jean “is Cody safe” Moreau. He speaks for himself.

My final point comes in the form of false beliefs about crows. One of the biggest beliefs surrounding them is their love for shiny objects (which i was going to evidence Jean’s experiences with bisexuality until I started to read more on it lol). However, this is a common myth. In fact, crows show little preference to shiny objects (the same is true of magpies!). It is simply a falsehood, if you would, that is believed by many people…sound familiar to any rumors floating around about Jean?

How in the hell is a crow supposed to survive in a raven’s nest?

[3liza]

every single "but the poor YA authors" reply on the piracy post are genuinely convinced that "just go to the library" is a universal option for every person on earth, that every book or album or DVD is represented in every library collection, and that when an author's sales hit the shitter there's absolutely no explanation other than those awful pirates voraciously stealing their urban fantasy shifter novels. could it be that the book is bad and there's no other way to make people pay for it than to prevent them trying before they buy???

i live in a super liberal metropolitan area in the usa and my own city library is barely accessible, has enormous waiting lists for stuff that should just be piled on the shelf, rotten hours, bad transit access, and even though I do have a library card i just never use it because it will take me hours or days to find out they don't even have what i need in their extended loan collection. this happened enough times that i gave up

friend texted me this a few days ago, we live in the same city:

major work in the English canon that every library would presumably have adequate copies of, the type of book that libraries get too much of and have to sell or send to the pulper regularly right? maybe a librarian can confirm here. i don't think the YA writer people who say "just go to the library" actually read. i think they write fanfic and change the names so they can publish it on amazon, and probably read free copies of the same genre given to them by their writer acquaintances for the purpose of blurbing covers, but anyone who has actually reads extensively and broadly, who has had to depend on a library for their media provision, would know you can never "just go to a library" for everything either literally or metaphorically outside of maybe three cities in the world. libraries "having everything" is a liberal fantasy that i wish was true

edit: im not blaming the library for ANY of this. it is a funding issue and politicians do not give a shit about public services and have been systematically attacking libraries for decades. this is not the fault of libraries, librarians, or people who actually support libraries. i am in favor of giving libraries more money and support. all im saying is that the material reality right now is that libraries cannot replace piracy as a way of accessing media and claiming they can is just evidence that you dont actually care that much about media of any kind.

[lolo3hwriting]

Prompt Writing: Burn the Witch

Summary: Wynn, Victoria the witch’s apprentice, gets caught up by a witch hunting mob and Victoria uses it as a teaching opportunity.

Words: ~2.4k

Additional Notes: Takes place in a more modern fantasy setting, so there's modern technology and magic existing at the same time.

Wynn can’t say that she regrets becoming a witch’s apprentice, she has a lot of fun actually. Meeting new people, developing new skills, learning new things, it was all she could ask for in a job really. However, there were a few things that made her… not second guess her position, but there were parts that she could do without. She wouldn’t say that she was a squeamish person, but dealing with so many different body parts and various viscera from creatures she couldn’t name made her wonder if any of the blood would fully wash off of her fingernails. And she helped bury, and sometimes raise, more bodies than she would care to admit to others, leading her to sometimes question in the middle of the night if what she was doing was ever sustainable. If it wouldn’t just degrade her mental state more and more until she became a lifeless vegetable that would eventually become another ethically sourced body to donate to necromancer students. 

But her mentor Victoria told her to try and not think of things like that, and to focus on the now rather than debating on what-ifs that may even not come true. Wynn didn’t think it was the healthiest mentality, but then again her mentor had been practicing witchcraft for over a decade, so her words must have at least some meaning to them. So Wynn would follow her advice and try to distract herself whenever her thoughts veered too close to any potential existential crisis. 

Another thing that she didn’t particularly care for was the… inherit occupational hazard of her profession. Wynn acknowledged that witchcraft wasn’t completely legal, but she figured it was similar to speeding. It was generally fine unless you got caught. In this instance, she hadn’t been caught so much as she had been at the wrong place at the wrong time. 

Usually Wynn and Victoria stayed in larger cities in order to blend in better. Whether it was the anonymity of the crowds, the more inclusive atmosphere, or just the city's indifferent attitude, no one got suspicious when they were in urban areas. However, they had been traveling through a more rural, and as they quickly discovered, a more conservative area.

Sure, maybe it was a little eye-catching for a woman in her late twenties and a college age girl, clearly not locals, stopping into a quaint town nestled in the mountains for a quick break during their road trip. It’s not like they were actively doing anything occult related on their trip, but Wynn supposed there were a few things that hinted at their true natures. Maybe it was their unusual jewelry, or their leather bound books that they carried, or perhaps it was just their attitudes. Wynn would admit that she was a rather quiet person, and that Victoria was cheerfully morbid with her jokes, so the two of them would be an intriguing pair to outsiders. 

But whatever may have caused such suspicion, it didn’t matter much when the two of them were crouched at the edge of the woods, hiding from the townsfolk who had already accused them of witchcraft. The sun had just slipped below the horizon, most of the light being cast from flashlights carried by the mob. 

Though they weren’t in immediate danger, as they could easily use their 'skills' to escape, Wynn was reluctant to expose themselves if it could be avoided. She viewed it more as a puzzle, figuring out a way to elude capture without revealing their true nature. Their car was parked halfway across town, but Wynn figured they could sneak over there under the cover of night. 

Just as Wynn was turning to tell her mentor of her plan, Victoria tapped her on the shoulder.

“Hey, this is a great opportunity for you!”

“...Pardon? What do you mean?”

Victoria's eyes sparkled with excitement as she flashed a bright smile at Wynn, an expression that seemed oddly cheerful given their precarious situation hiding in the woods from an angry mob. 

“This is a great time for you to test your fire magic!” Victoria whisper-shouted, “I saw some people carrying firewood to the church, so they’re probably preparing to burn one of us. You can escape it, I know you’re competent enough!”

Wynn took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to keep a neutral face as she pondered her mentor’s suggestion. She couldn't decide whether Victoria was a genius or utterly reckless for turning such a precarious situation into a training exercise, but nevertheless her mentor did have a point. Wynn had longed to apply her knowledge in real life scenarios instead of just practice. She knew of a basic fire protection spell and minor pyrokinesis, and she had used both in the past successfully to stop an out of control campfire. It would be at a much larger scale, but would it really be so difficult to survive a burning?

Finally, Wynn let out a quiet sigh and nodded.

“Fine, I’ll do it, I’ll turn myself into them. You promise to bail me out if things get out of hand?”

“Of course! Though I highly doubt that you’ll need to, just shout my name if you need me.”

Wynn nodded, stepping out of the woods with an encouraging pat on the back by her mentor, then running out onto the street. 

She was caught within seconds, a burly looking man with a grizzled face forcefully grabbing her shoulder and holding her in place. Wynn struggled a little, mostly out of instinct with the uncomfortable way she was getting held, but forced herself to stop when she realized that she was supposed to be going along with them. Wynn wouldn’t say that she was physically weak, but she needed to conserve her energy to focus later, struggling against their grip wouldn’t do anything but tire her out. 

She was shoved into the grasp of another person, a muscular looking woman this time with a stern expression, who forced Wynn’s hands behind their back before tying them up with some type of cloth rope. Wynn couldn't help but acknowledge their efficiency and coordination, they had clearly prepared for this moment. 

Once the mob was sure Wynn couldn’t escape, they agreed amongst themselves to bring her to the church where she would await her ‘trial’. It would be a sham of course, and everybody knew it, but they all spoke of following proper proceedings and the rewards they would get for being the ones to capture her.  

As the group dragged Wynn along to her supposed execution, she caught the glimpse of Victoria sneaking behind them, giving a cheeky wave to Wynn before darting behind a building. Despite her own predicament, she was worried for Victoria and hoped that she wouldn’t get caught too. 

Most of the townsfolk were already by the church, openly staring at Wynn as she was being led to the pyre they had set up. As Wynn was paraded through the crowd, she noticed the variety of expressions directed at her. Some faces were twisted in scorn, clearly disgusted by her presence. Others were etched with fear, apprehensive about the 'danger' they believed she represented. There were also those who looked relieved, satisfied that she had been caught and the perceived threat neutralized. 

Wynn stepped up to the wooden pyre, intricately made for something done in only a few hours she noted, and she was handed off to a clergyman. The church member raked his eyes up and down her body, looking at her with quiet disdain, before tying her to a wooden stake and turned around without a word. 

As she looked out into the crowd, she noticed that there were several people on the younger side, her age and younger. She even spotted a few children, which initially made her angry at the parents that would allow them to witness such violence. But as she considered the situation, it was probably several decades since a witch burning happened in this town, so it was probably a spectacle to them. Wynn couldn’t say that she agreed with the presence of children, but she herself would probably be curious as a child as to what was happening. 

Among the young faces, Wynn spotted her mentor in the crowd watching on. She had removed her jewelry and most of her accessories, put on her reading glasses and a coat around her. Her eyes were wide and pleading, but Wynn knew that expression was an act. She had seen it multiple times before, from where they were shopping together and trying to convince Wynn that they needed to buy yet another doll. She supposed that Victoria had done a good enough job blending in, appearing as just another young, pearl-clutching woman in the sea of onlookers. Although most of the crowd’s focus was on Wynn, she was still a little surprised that they had not noticed a complete stranger worming their way in. 

The crowd’s mumbles gradually rose in volume, turning into shouting and screaming at Wynn. 

"She has cursed us with misfortune and brought illness to our children. We cannot let her live!" a man bellowed, his face contorted with rage.

"Look at her! She shows no remorse for the suffering she has caused. She must be punished!" another voice rang out, dripping with venom.

Okay, Wynn supposed her expression was a bit too relaxed for someone being tied up, but that was only because she knew she wasn’t in any major threat. 

"Light the pyre! Let the flames purify her soul and rid us of her wickedness!" another woman shrieked, her high pitched voice piercing the crowd.

"Burn her! Burn the witch! She must pay for her evil deeds!" echoed another, the chant quickly picked up by others, yelling over and over again to burn the witch. 

But throughout the noise, she heard one dissenting voice.

“No, you fools! She can control the flames!”

Wynn glanced over at Victoria curiously at her remark, wondering what she was doing. They made eye contact, Victoria briefly smirking at Wynn, before morphing her expression into one of faux-worry. Wynn highly doubted that anyone actually heard her mentor’s warning, but it confused her nonetheless. Was she just trying to be cheeky?

A man in ornate robes, the priest Wynn suspected, carried a torch to the base of the pyre and lit it. 

As the flames crept towards her, Wynn chanted a fire protection spell under her breath. Admittedly, she wasn’t entirely confident about the exact words. She should have really studied more, and she had left her notes back in the car, leaving her no way to confirm her choice. 

Wynn took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. If the fire protection didn’t work, then she could use pyrokinesis. It would take more focus, but she was sure that she could use that spell at least. 

It got hotter and hotter, causing her to break out in sweat. It was like she was standing in a sauna with someone constantly cranking up the temperature. It was most certainly uncomfortable, but not at all painful. Wynn took this as a sign that her spell worked and let out a sigh. 

With the flames rapidly engulfing the area around her, obscuring her vision with the smoke. She couldn’t make out Victoria anymore, but she was confident that her mentor was watching. 

With the flames licking at her feet, Wynn felt a tingling sensation shoot through her body. She figured that if she hadn’t used the protection spell that it would have been much more painful, but it still wasn’t good enough to where she felt nothing. Wynn mentally kicked herself for not practicing more, but realized that there wasn’t much use regretting it now.

The fire reached the wooden stake she was tied to, causing the painful tingling sensation to increase rapidly. Wynn bit her tongue down and endured it, until the fire burned the ropes binding her hands together and fell off. She brought her wrists in front of her, rubbing them with her hands to relieve the chaffing. 

Her hands were freed, Wynn focused her mind on the fire around her, the energy all around her. She focused her breathing, in and out to match it with the dancing of the flames, until the fire was breathing along with her. With newfound reassurance, she pushed her hands upwards to raise the flames up and out, hopefully without burning any buildings or people. All that was left was a thick cloud of smoke, which Wynn used to cover her escape, jumping down from the pile of ashes and sprinting towards a dark alley behind her. 

As Wynn pressed her back to the wall of the building, she could hear the crowd’s surprised shouts and murmurs. She risked a glance back and saw that there was nothing burning except the pyre, which was petering out until it was just a smoldering pile of wood. The people were glancing around in confusion, wondering what had happened. Wynn let out a sigh in relief, both at no one getting hurt but as well as her escape. 

Wynn closed her eyes and tried to calm her rapid breaths and beating heart, adrenaline still coursing through her. However, her eyes snapped open when she heard someone approaching. Wynn tensed, not knowing if to bolt away or to just stand still, hoping that the person won’t spot her. 

“Wynn, are you there?”

Wynn froze, her heart skipping a beat before she turned slowly to face the speaker.

“Yes, it’s me Victoria. Could you please announce your presence next time?”

Wynn tried to relax, rolling her shoulders and taking a deep breath to steady herself.

“Sorry, I just wanted to say that you were amazing! You pulled that off perfectly!” In the dim light of the alley, Wynn could see her mentor’s giddy grin and her eyes sparkling in pride.

“Thanks, but I really could have done better. I nearly forgot the steps to the fire protection spell and it became uncomfortably hot…”

“Oh that’s okay,” Victoria waved her arm in dismissal, “You still made it out in the end, so you don’t need to doubt yourself so much.”

“I suppose…”

Victoria let out a playful sigh before stepping forward and wrapping her arms around Wynn in a gentle, reassuring embrace.

“You did great, okay? Let’s go back home.” 

[femciolente]

Lumpen Theory : Genealogy of a Panoptilumpenism (Part 1)

“ Terrible things happen daily of which we are not aware of, hidden under the pretense of normality and coherence of the world you and I are forced to experience. Together, but yet so far away, a digital sea of modern colonization exists. All that is hidden is understood to exist as oppression, and that oppression is but the systematic death once the inevitable misery catches up to the rowdy prosperity of the cybernetical un-friendship orders.  “

.

What became projected as a refusal to expand on the different forms which the oppressed populations of the world took, the Lumpenproletariat has always been nothing more than a slur. The Lumpen  have seen their potential, actions and even existence reduced to a mere splinter of class society under the classical Marxist framework, and even more reductive under a liberal scope. 

The liberal status quo seeks to uniform these outliers, to create a non-porous, fully glossy and brand new form of governance that does not imply the existence of the faults and burdens called Lumpen. And the Marxist seeks to merely fault it for the errors of its own actions. What both of these conceptions have in common is simply their will to reduce struggle to a mere flaw, forgetting the moments and large periods in which the Lumpenproletariat took apart of, not as the subject of a movance or drive towards a narrative goal, but more-so as the undisputed net losers of the movements of the societies we trap  our thought around. The construction of a “better world” under the progressive stance implies the wiping down of the impurities the liberated subject of the  Lumpen are : there cannot be a better world for those  at the bottom of the existence of the present state of things, and the future ones if we try to be cynical. Engels retains the crown of anti-lumpen sentiment, very early on embarking in hatred towards a group he barely defined in order to assert the position of the proletariat as the unique pawn in their path of the progress of history. Nothing constructive comes from the Lumpenproletariat, and this understanding leads to conceiving them as historically “scum” and “opportunists”, friends of reaction and the status quo. The myth of the Lumpen representing the outdated populations of the early-modern urban development is something that persists nowadays. Mercenaries, crooks and “parasites” are what Engels, and then Marx, meant and explicited by the Lumpen, entities devoid of revolutionary character, outside of the glorious proletariat and most importantly, in opposition to it. In many regards, the reductionism that Marx and Engels apply to this strata of the population  is clearly tied to the events they analyzed ever since 1848 and the many abuses the working population suffered because of this undisclosed exploitative Lumpenproletariat. The vagueness of what they even imply by Lumpen at this stage makes for it to become the quick insult many cement the term as, even when Marx’s own conception evolves when Capital arrives. His true, real critique of political economy outside of the realizations he has on the conditions of the revolting bodies involving themselves in England, France and other areas of the  European theater, comes with the realization of a new concept that will be very useful following up : the  one of Lumpenization, or understood as the process that turns sectors of a viable population towards a much more precarious, fluid and non-protected existence, basically creating a larger aflux of Lumpen.

Efforts from the capitalist systems turned the varied populations of an evolving society into elements of what he saw as being the “exploitative degeneracy” that constituted the element to oppose inside his notion of the Lumpen, making it not a desirable process, but more so a subjected one with the whole entire violence of the state and capital behind it all. A scheme so simple in its perpetuation that it gets overlooked and assimilated into the “natural” processes of capital, alongside  commodity production and fetichisation. His opposition to the Lumpen is, as commonly described, political. But nonetheless, I see his opposition as coming from a severe lack of will towards a deep understanding of  outside regards, or as Ernesto Laclau would put it in this same topic, "the limits of Marxist determinism“ . In short, Marxism, as the established framework of analysis and understanding of class society guided by the proletarian socialist meta-narrative, has no room, nor want, to establish a thoughtful consideration of what the Lumpen REALLY are, outside of all value and moralistic judgement many engage with nowadays. The conditions of such a shift and change in the perspective of the Lumpen should be set, first of all, on the basis of a “non-marxist” framework, one that does not establish a subject for revolutionary progression above all other possible material analysis. 

Combating the many forms the systematic train of thought Marxism has historically represented comes in the originally Marxist realization of the end of the “labour movement”. The late Paul Mattick essentially considered the labour movement to be “dead” and non-existent in the modern times of the postwar world. No longer could the forms of organization of the working class combat capitalism the same way it once used to. No longer can the proletariat unite under the thought of Marx or Lenin in order to advance the  progression of social systems. No longer could liberation be achieved by the same old conceptions of revolution we had carried around essentially since the early Fourrieriusts. As he would put it : “The labour movement preceded Marxian theory and provided the actual basis for its development. Marxism became the dominating theory of the socialist movement because it was able convincingly to reveal the exploitative structure of capitalist society and simultaneously to uncover the historical limitations of this particular mode of production.” On this same basis, Marxism was able to grasp the concept of leading progressive revolution in terms of using a same, concrete and particular subject, one not free but alienated and exploited, with enough potential to set itself free and dissolve the forms that put it there to begin with. But no  longer can that be seen as a coherent labour movement, and the flaw comes with this essentialization of The Proletariat, the utmost important cog and at the same time, the main pawn to the creation of Marxist analysis.

With this in mind, many properly Marxist groups through the (mostly) modern history of class struggle (1960’s-80’s) have undertaken this fallacious class consideration, and taken on a Lumpen defense, one that does confront the previously mentioned un-legitimate attacks from the early socialist revolutionaries. Denning, Fanon and even Marcuse embark in the commonly found “revolutionary potential of the Lumpen”, explaining its colonial history as being the “radicals of the radicals”, a sort of unmeasured group full of revolutionary fervour, similar to what the classical proletariat can achieve if set  under the line of class consciousness. While these defenses have served as the proliferation of the term in a less commonly conceived pejorative notion of the Lumpenproletariat, they fall under the baseline that creates the issues of Marx and Engels : they create a new revolutionary subject,  this time more radical, not removed from any constructive logic in order to achieve the building up of a concise class identity. It cannot be said that this is truly the liberatory form of the Lumpen. We should in turn, consider this defense as the first kind hearted attempt to remove the monopoly of revolt from the hands of the western and white proletariat  in order to atomize  it further into greater depth. Back to the first international and the period of the mere inception of the Lumpen-Prole divide, Bakunin encountered a similar attempt, as the label he was attributed of the “Prince of the Lumpen” was a simple reaction towards what he had conceived as a preferential strategy to out-socialist the marxists. In order to defend the vague and, very un-deleuzian, nomadic peasantry of the remains of economic development in the European labour world, he provocatively took on the position of “Only the Lumpen can liberate and act towards the social revolution”. To repeat myself one last time, this is not but a change in the subject of history and a retention of the notion of the progression of history towards a being-just and not a liberatory becoming. 

The role of the diversification of the relations under the precognition of the Lumpen is one that serves a greater purpose, but once again, the Lumpen is already a liberated subject, only constrained by its own influenced volition. The repetition of the subject form instead of its abolition and liberation on a general form is nothing brand new or outstanding, and hence the proclaimed Lumpen defense of these authors remains incomplete, inconclusive and truthfully useless for a construction of the real genealogy behind the liberation of Lumpen. One group, however, embarked in the tale to liberate and act upon the Lumpen’s condition with greater notions and wider conceptions on how to approach it, this being the Japanese New Left (JNL). In reality, this wide movement of social upheaval in the Japanese islands was much more than just a grouping of pro-Lumpen students. From the Trotskyists and Maoists that confirmed the improvised parties and informal revolutionary groups at the borderlines of the control of the state, many groups seeked an avant-garde approach to acting upon the conditions of the Japanese sphere, and a revolution of Japanese culture as a whole after the fiasco of the expansion and construction of a cultural identity on the precognition of the expansion of the empire. This pre-conceptual imperialist nature to what it meant to be Japanese inherently implied a re-thinking of what groups constituted as the internal operations of the Japanese cultural machine, and those that conformed a noumena, purposely blinded and devoid of any constructive forms on which to base themselves on. The bulbous mass of deformed victims of the violence of the Imperial Japanese construction became the allies of the revolutionary groups : ethnic minorities were, for many groups of denominational variety, the main primary focus on their struggle. Doing so bought them the hatred of some more orthodox Marxist groups, claiming their “non focus on class” as being contrary to the bouillant social climate that might at the time host an actual revolutionary movement. The ethnic minorities that they sought to protect under many circumstances were grouped up vulgarly under the notion of all being Lumpen, below the Japanese worker. And under such framing, groups of students in Tokyo and Osaka claimed this aspect proudly, hailing the defense of the Lumpen into action, seeking to organise outside of the prefecture of Osaka proper the members of the Lumpen, in the case of Japan, the prostitutes, day labourers and marginalized ethnic groups that were comprised as the poster children of this movance popping up in the area. The so-called “inner colony” of the newly constructed Kamagasaki council, constituted of the Lumpenproletarian actors that constitute a majority of the activity in that area, was considered “the 3rd world inside the 1st world”. The notion here implies a heavy dose of colonial relations into the logic of the interaction with the Lumpenproletarian populations. This relation exists because of the following parameter:

Lumpenproletariat = Alienated > Proletariat ----------> sense of outside -------> colonial logic is applied for it, maintaining margin and distance with class society.

That last part remains an integral part of the actions of the JNL on the eyes of the Lumpen : the alienation due to the misery and visceral exploitation of the Lumpen from the whole of Capitalist social actors makes them a subject of the “borderlands” of class society, outside, but remaining on the grasp of the exploitation they phase. Because of this separation, they are unable to construct a destructive imperial entity, just like the Japanese proletariat, willingly or not, did. Of all the groups that appeared during this clearly intellectually fertile time in Japanese class struggle, the East-Asian Anti-Japaneist Armed Front (EAAJAF) remains as the biggest and best example of how to envision the lumpen. Many of the Marxist groups, specially those in accord with Eiji Oguma’s notion that the Anti-Japaneist movement had a clear “post-structuralist character, understanding its use of pseudo-history as realization of the “linguistic turn” ”, none of them actually continued and carried out the proposed total and radical deconstruction of a Japanese cultural identity itself, basing themselves around the “zenkyoto” form, or joint struggle committees that were used as organs that can be classically found on any other Marxist organization. On this, the Daidoji couple that founded the front did so in a non-explicitly “opposition” towards the general direction of the Zengakuren, that by then had abandoned all sense of radical deconstruction and erasure. The group held on to the stance that became the more Lumpen-friendly out of a movement that already greatly considered this sector. Their direct attacks on the Empire, whether it be via the numerous sabotages like in 1974 or simply the intellectual intention behind their collective writings and most specifically the Hara Hara Tokei, had crumbled, as Till Knaudt would say, the entirety of the still not anti-Japaneist enough New Left. Their actions are an expression of the concerns of the victims of this newly appearing virtual-colonialism that is so omnipresent in their conceptions. Basically founding an armed struggle group on the collaboration and retaliation of the Lumpen against even the workerist Prole identity seemed too far for the anachronistic Marxists of modern discourse, and even the ones at the time acting as formal opposition to the EAAJAF, but in reality is the utmost example of an action, an attitude and a thought against the anti-lumpen sentiment, and one favorizing its revolt, self-abolition and proliferation as the vector of the creative destruction they so wanted to see unfold on the Japanese archipelago. The Lumpenproletariat then follows the agitation that it is brought, not prescribed like in the case of the proletariat, and perpetually seeks the total liberation that is the lustful object of Communistic projects : a liberation from all sides of class society, an affirmation of non-exploitation.

Similarly, Deleuze, in his lectures on the State War Machine, retook this term and applied a machinic logic to the developments of capitalism he saw in the later part of his life. The “3rd world inside the 1st world” was then the 4th world, an absurd difference between the affluent perfection of the wealth created and then fetichized by the rich populations, and the misery created, not in response, but in consequence of such development. Total misery contrasted to total virtuosity of capital’s developments. As such, the 4th world is the situation in which Lumpenization occurs, one in which the machine of Capital, that we will from now on describe as “Technocapital”, perpetuates modes of production and exploitation in order to conceive a “virtual-colonial” situation. This neologism is something I have coined to describe that distance in the treatment of the Lumpenproletariat that was considered a form of colonial relationship by the JNL theorists. This relationship relies on distance and separation, all geographical, social and economical distance from class society, to the Lumpen inhabitants of its borderlands. Added to this notion, we have the central word of Panoptilumpenism, a porte-manteau word encompassing “panopticon” and “Lumpen” to define the effect that is to be understood as the self-biopolitical regulation of the Lumpenproletariat that is on itself the reason of their sense of “outsideness” and non-liberation, as a direct result from the total alienation they face and the absolute bottom of the barrel position in society that they held, and still hold, in relation to other groups. Panoptilumpenism, to be more concrete, is the genealogical perpetuating coincidence that pin-points the raison-d’etre of the Lumpenproletariat in its various forms.

Part 1 -

[artemisbarnowl]

What is life like in Melbourne? I’m looking into moving there from the UK and would love some insights and whatever else from people who live and work there 💕

I've only visited the UK briefly as a tourist so I'm not sure how to compare them in a way that's going to give you useful info. But I'll give you info at least. Please sit comfortably and we'll begin.

Melbourne has 5 million people in it, but is also quite a large sprawling urban area, so it doesn't feel really packed and busy. It sits on a bay, so it doesn't get freezing but does have the '4 seasons in one day' jokes which are true. I never really got in the habit of checking the weather in the morn before I left for work until I moved away from melb where the forecast was such that I could dress appropriately without surprise.

When I talk about what I love about Melbourne I mean inner suburbs and CBD (which is a beautiful grid and shining example of urban planning for the now that is weighed down by no plans for the future). Public transport connectivity is decent (comparable to London imo) but wait times, delays, and travel times on trams and buses might be relatively crap depending on your experience. It's no Moscow metro (my beloved), but you can probably get to where you're going somehow. Also e scooters have popped off. Further out there's no trams and there's more big gaps between train stations (the train lines are arranged like spokes of a wheel around a central city circle. There will be another city loop slightly overlapping the current one in service next year). This is what I despairingly call The Suburbs. Where you probably need a car to get around and it's like at least 20 mins drive to Anywhere for dinner, groceries or fun activities. Mostly Melbourne is not overly hilly so bikes are an option but infrastructure such as bike lanes is really hit or miss depending on area. Especially good in the inner north. Melb inner suburbs are very walkable and I love love love that. I lived in the inner north and could walk into the CBD to do whatever.

In terms of culture things I think Melbourne is the most international of Aus's capitals in that it has a lot of different people but also that there's a lot open late. Sydney probably can and will make the same claim. But that's it. The rest of Aus is a country town. Major shops will probably close 5.30 or six mon to wed but there's plenty of stuff that's open later. You can always find a bar* or 8. There's plenty of different cuisines in gourmet or fast food dining. There's a cafe in the CBD that's open 24 hours where I can sit outside and have a pot of green tea WHENEVER I WANT. Bookstores open til 10pm. There are lots of events throughout the year and lots of cultural institutions to visit on a whim for free! Some are paid also obvi but I find it difficult to be bored when I can go to the museum to see taxidermy or the NGV for art for free whenever. I am a zoo member which means I get to hang out in a beautiful park/garden which creatures for free whenever I want. Again as you go out further this becomes less true. Fringe cities at the ends of train lines are likely to have what you need to live but less fun activities less often. Not nothing though!

Melbournians really do love wearing black. Especially in winter. They also love strategic Grey. I thought people were exaggerating until I left. A head to toe black outfit is uncommon enough to be remarkable where I live now. Even in a regular boring office where people wear very muted colours I'm the only one who does it. There is no functional difference between the a mourning outfit and one of a Melbournian. it's common wear sneakers with a lot of seemingly formal or corporate outfits, but not thongs with jeans. That's some weird Sydney nonsense.

Being around the bay there's plenty of places to swim in summer! Most of the bay is bordered by beach, most famous and reachable from the city is St Kilda beach. Which is excellent and beyond reproach if you're not Australian and 'fine' if you are. Traveling down towards Mornington Peninsula they get better. 5km makes a difference to the grain of the sand. Some are more fine, can get more coarse and shelly as well. Never stony. Only a little bit of seaweed here and there.

There are parks in the heart of the city (nothing huge like Hyde though) and little wildlife corridors or reserves in most suburbs but it's not an especially Nature city. It's only one hour by train and bus or by car to the Dandenongs (a low mountain range, not to be confused with hugely underated immigrant suburb of Dandenong in melb) though which have cool temperate rainforest national park, lots of gardens (huuuuuge rhododendron garden up there), little b&bs, english style cafes (miss Marples in Olinda is the most famous) and lots of walking and biking. I say one hour but Melbourne as an area reaches right to the base of the range, which is why you can get a bus from the shops. There are national parks that are native woodland or grasslands closer to the heart of the city but these are less special to me because that's the standard nature I see every day of my life. There's a pink lake in south melb which is fun. But I love tree ferns and fresh damp dirt and the tallest flowering trees in the world!!

If you have more specific Q's feel free to ask. I am a city gal at heart but did live rurally originally and frequently do short stays (2 weeks to a month) in rural or remote areas so I am used to comparing amenities and connectivity.

*Melbourne has regular bars but also is very big on rooftop bars. Sydney has some, but other cities hear rooftop bar and think 'bar inside but with views or on top floor of building. Probably formal'. Melbourne roof top bars are on the roof. In the open air (maybe some shade sail) and it's very much a casual thing. Jugs of beer or sangria, chips, feels like a good barbeque rather than a refined cocktail bar. Those are often in basements.

[catdotjpeg]

[Image ID: A large group of people are gathered in protest on a sidewalk. A purple banner reading “Stop Cop City” is centered in the front of the photo. End ID.] 

A broad coalition of groups in Atlanta has launched a referendum to give voters a chance to say whether they want the controversial police and fire department training center known as “Cop City” built in a forest south-east of the city.

The effort requires organizers to collect about 70,000 signatures from Atlanta registered voters in 60 days. Then the question of the city canceling its agreement with the Atlanta Police Foundation to build the $90m center can be added to municipal election ballots in November.

The push comes after an estimated thousand people who showed up at City Hall on 5 June proved insufficient to stop Atlanta’s city council from approving about $67m for Cop City. Meanwhile, machines have already begun clear-cutting trees on the project’s 171-acre footprint in South River Forest.

The referendum faces what one organizer called “an atmosphere of repression” – including two activists being charged with felonies last week while putting up fliers, bringing total arrests since December to 50.

The largest group of arrests, on 5 March in a public park in the forest near where the project is planned, was followed by local government closing the park, in effect shutting off tree-sitting protests by “forest defenders” that had gone on for more than a year.

“We’re at the stage where they’ve pushed people out of the forest, they’ve arrested people … they’ve fenced off the forest, they’ve even begun clear-cutting,” said Kamau Franklin, founder of local group Community Movement Builders. “We’re at the stage where the most direct, legal mechanism to stop this project is by referendum.” [...]

...the movement opposing the project has drawn a wide range of people locally, nationally and internationally who oppose police militarization, urban forest destruction amid climate change and environmental racism. Most residents in neighborhoods surrounding the forest are Black.

Most of the organizations driving the referendum are also Black-led, including the regional chapter of Working Families Power, Black Voters Matter and the NAACP. Officials from the Georgia governor, Brian Kemp, down to the mayor have consistently referred to opposition against the center as the work of white “outsiders”.

“That narrative is false,” said Britney Whaley, regional director of Working Families Power. “This has been national, but it’s also been community-grown for a few years now.”

Ashley Dixon, an Atlanta-area organizer, has led canvassing efforts to inform neighborhoods around South River Forest about the center for nearly a year. Her team has spoken to more than a thousand people. About 80% opposed the project once they knew about it, she said.

The only academic poll on the issue to date, from Atlanta’s Emory University, showed slightly more Black respondents opposed the project than supported it, with the opposite being true for whites. Atlanta’s population is 48% Black.

The idea for the referendum came from one that succeeded in stopping a spaceport from being built in coastal Georgia, said Will Harlan, founder of Forest Keeper, a national forest conservation organization. “To me, Cop City is the most important issue in conservation in the south-east,” Harlan said. “A referendum is the smartest, most democratic solution … [and] a way to find resolution and closure.”

Although the 2022 spaceport referendum affected a county of only 55,000 people, similarities between the two controversies point to the role voters can play when other efforts fall short.

In that case, local officials “dug their heels in” and stopped responding to press requests or providing transparent information to the public, said Megan Desrosiers, who led the referendum. In the case of Cop City, the Atlanta Police Foundation has stopped answering press requests for at least a year, and the city of Atlanta was recently discovered to be understating the project’s cost to taxpayers by about $36m.

The project is planned on land the city owns that is located in neighboring DeKalb county. Because of Atlanta’s ownership, only Atlanta voters can participate in the referendum. [...]

Organizers of the Cop City referendum pointed to the state’s heavy-handed approach to protesters as a primary concern. There have been 42 domestic terrorism charges to date. A bail and legal defense fund’s members were also arrested and the state added fundraising to its criminal description of the training center’s opposition.

In that context, it took about a dozen attempts at finding a legally required fiscal sponsor for the referendum, which may need as much as $3.5m to reach success, said spokesperson Paul Glaze.

Cliff Albright, co-founder of Black Voters Matter – one of two organizations that agreed to take the sponsorship role – said the recent Atlanta Solidarity Fund arrests were done “to send a message, in hopes it would have a chilling effect. We’re not naive about what the threats are – but we believe our community cares about this issue.”

-- From “Activists push for referendum to put ‘Cop City’ on ballot in Atlanta” by Timothy Pratt for The Guardian, 16 Jun 2023 

[fishrpg]

2024-12-07: North Colorado (Hex 7)

Hairpin turns and switchbacks zigzag across the mountainside, the narrow roads providing majestic views alongside the fear of falling from a great height.

Notable Feature: Constructed Landmark

Ski lift gondolas hang from cables draped over the mountain. Some are probably operational, but just as many are probably unsafe to use because of a lack of maintenance. For the lifts that aren't turned on, there's usually a switch inside one of the ski lodge chateaus that provides power. But you have to find the right chateau first.

Hidden: The Absent Father

Inside a sturdy A-frame house on the mountainside lives Phil Bradbury, a man who now works odd jobs in construction during the summer and helping out at ski resorts during the winter. He's starting a new life out west after moving from North Dakota. Though he won't willingly disclose this information, he escaped from a North Dakota prison after being convicted on manslaughter charges. The individual he killed was a changeling, and the changeling's family is out for revenge. He is worried that the changelings are closing in on his adult son's (Jonah) location back in North Dakota, but he can't step foot in North Dakota (inside or outside The Routes) without attracting the attention of the changelings in the area.

For those that are willing to head to North Dakota and do a little bit of physical labor, Phil requests that a car-load worth of enchanted metal pipe be buried in the ground around the perimeter of Jonah's house. Phil suggests that the easiest way to do it would be to pose as workers from the local gas company who need to trench some pipe around the property. Under no circumstances is Jonah to know that his father is behind this gesture, because Jonah will try to track Phil down and put both of them directly in the path of the changelings.

Lair: The Manor of Keleman Farkas, Local Vampire

In Lafayette, Colorado, in the southeastern portion of the state, there is an urban legend that a dead vampire is buried underneath the grave of Fodor Glava. This is only partially true, because the pauper who was buried underneath Fodor was a half-turned thrall for a vampire. The thrall was under the control of a vampire named Kelemen Farkas who emigrated from Hungary prior to 1900 and currently lives in north Colorado.

Kelemen is a moderately wealthy man who keeps odd hours (because of the vampirism, obviously), but he also has a type of blood cancer. Although Kelemen's vampirism is able to keep his own infection in check, it inevitably takes over his thralls after a year or two and turns them into feral monsters without the slightest hint of humanity. Until Kelemen can be slain or evicted from the area, encounters in this hex or the adjacent ones are much more likely and will almost assuredly involve feral vampires.

Service Station: Alpine Slopes Mountain Mart

The Alpine Slopes Mountain Mart provides several important functions for the people living in remote parts of north Colorado. Fuel, canned food, and firewood are the primary goods for sale, though the store also offers gas or diesel generators for purchase. The shop also offers a towing service for those unfortunate cars who get stuck on desolate roads.

Running the shop are twin brothers who both go by the name John. John is actually their last name, and their first names are Leroy and Fredrick; no one can tell them apart, so they go by John instead. Both brothers have a "one of those faces" that drive people crazy as they try to remember who the Johns remind them of.

[ethanm8n]

Gulls

March 19, 2024

“I was mugged by a gang of seagulls” reads the title of a Tripadvisor review for Granville Island1. “When I came outdoors [a] gang of seagulls attacked me and stole part of my lunch.” Anyone who has eaten a meal outside of the Granville Island Public Market will understand this frustration. Seagulls watch like sentinels from rooftops, above benches and dining tables, on the lookout for a loose pizza slice; grey-coloured seagulls beg near sitting diners, screeching incessantly. Some seagulls patrol the skies above, while others choose to stay close to the ground, walking around on webbed-feet, waiting for loose food items and handouts. It would be easy to overlook these birds as a nuisance—rats with wings, to quote the pelican from Finding Nemo. They may be kleptoparasites, stealing food from other animals, including lunching humans and unsuspecting tourists. But seagulls are so much more than just ratbirds. In the Salish Sea region, they humble the proudest of birders trying to make an ID. (Is that light grey-mantled gull with darkish grey wingtips a Western x Glaucous-winged Gull hybrid or a darker Glaucous-winged Gull? Does the slightly smaller, petite head indicate hybridization with a Herring Gull, or is it a female of another species? Is its eye colour dark or pale? How about the colour of the orbital rings?) Their increasing reliance on urban breeding grounds (e.g. rooftops) serves as a litmus test for habitat degradation, and also gives researchers an opportunity to study how fauna adapt to urban living. How does the diet of an urban dwelling Glaucous-winged Gull Larus glaucescens differ from one that spends its time in more remote areas? Do urban seagulls lay more or less eggs than their counterparts? What is the survival rate of their young in to adulthood? Researchers have been hard at work answering these questions2. One recent study flew drones above buildings in Victoria to study nest sites of Glaucous-winged Gulls, a wonderful example of new technology opening up more avenues for scientific inquiry3.

Before going further, I need to address a misnomer. Gulls belong to a diverse group of birds in the family Laridae, from the circumpolar, all white Ivory Gull Pagophila eburnea, to the grey-bodied Lava Gull Leucophaeus fuliginosus and coal-black backed Olrog's Gull Larus atlanticus in South America. (Melanin—the pigment responsible for skin colour in humans—is what gives darker tones to feathers. It helps resist sun bleaching, which is why gull species's upper bodies trend towards darker tones closer to the equator4.) The Heermann's Gull Larus heermanni is a true pelagic (literally “ocean”) species, individuals spending their days hunting for fish, rarely going inland. Then there is the California Gull Larus californicus, which breeds inland of the Western United States; and the Ring-billed Gull Larus delewarensis, prolific in most of North America, but rarely straying beyond coastal waters5. This is why you will almost never hear birders refer to seagulls as such. Many gulls are generalists, found in urban centres, prairies, rivers and lakes, landfills, open oceans and coastlines. Calling them seagulls would be a disservice to their enterprising nature, breeding on every continent, including on the fringes of Antartica. Many of these species have adapted to living in rapidly expanding human-made habits. We can conflate this success with the annoyance conjured up in many people's minds when they think of these birds: Their pervasiveness; their loud squawking; the mess they make with their guano; and their proclivity towards thievery. Perhaps the things humans find so irritating about gulls are actually what we hold most in common. But I digress. No birder or ornithologist worth their salt is going to call you out for saying seagull instead of gull. (If they do, they will bring it up benignly.) Gulls as a label in itself is taxonomically ambiguous, pertaining to several genera within the Laridae family while excluding terns, skimmers and noddies. Instead of splitting feathers over vernacular, try learning about local gulls in your neighbourhood (if you have any.) Download an app like Merlin or Audubon for quick reference if you stumble upon an interesting bird. Your local gull species may not have the vocal acumen of a Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia, nor the fantastically coloured plumage of a Wood Duck Aix Sponsa. For me at least, I find tremendous enjoyment in watching a second winter Olympic Gull walk past me, a collage of grey and brown and white; or seeing a first winter individual staring at me with those deep and dusky eyes, its first grey scapulars developing, like ash on a dirt road. Gulls are full of personality. I observe them trying to snatch fish from cormorants; pulling up worms from park grass; standing on volleyball pegs and tidal rocks, heads tucked in behind their backs and bodies rotating side to side as if to lull themselves asleep. Even the seemingly normal, mundane, sometimes irritating aspects of life can offer up wonders if you are patient. Gulls or otherwise.

References:

“I Was Mugged by a Gang of Seagulls – Granville Island, Vancouver Traveller Reviews – Tripadvisor.” Tripadvisor, 2011, www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowUserReviews-g154943-d156255-r120159573-GranvilleIsland-VancouverBritish_Columbia.html.

Edward Kroc. “Reproductive Ecology of Urban-Nesting Glaucous-Winged Gulls Larus glaucescens in Vancouver, BC, Canada.” Marine Ornithology, vol. 46, 2018, pp. 155–16.

Louise K. Blight, Douglas F. Bertram, Edward Kroc. “Evaluating UAV-based techniques to census an urban-nesting gull population on Canada’s Pacific coast.” Journal of Unmanned Vehicle Systems, vol. 7(4), 2019, pp. 312-324. https://doi.org/10.1139/juvs-2019-0005

Steve N.G. Howel, Jon Dunn. “Peterson Reference Guides to Gulls of the Americas.” Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2007, p. 25.

Birds of the World, https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow

[wufflesvetinari]

Hi! This is so bizarre, and feel free to ignore, but I'm planning a trip to Japan in November. If you feel comfortable, would you share some of your favorite places. And also where you saw the shows? It looked like such a good trip from what you've shared.

hey not bizarre at all, i love talking about it!!!! disclaimer that i don't know shit

so we chose to do something slightly unusual and skip kyoto, which is like. the big one other than tokyo. we did it because 1) we wanted to spend half the time in a less touristy place and 2) we think we will come back. so keep in mind that my experience missed a really big "essential" stop according to some. so we did 1) an urban leg in tokyo 2) an outdoorsy/quiet leg in nagano prefecture and 3) one night at a ryokan in hakone

in tokyo, staying in shinjuku was great for nightlife/people watching during said nightlife. it was also very central both for getting trains out of town and for easy access to harajuku and shibuya, which were my favorite neighborhoods. ginza was also a good contrast as like a very high-class commercial center. go to Bar Owls for a secluded li'l classy basement bar. our two super splurge restaurants in tokyo: X X

also a kind of overlooked neighborhood is yanaka, which is quieter with more historic buildings + a huge cemetery. yanaka ginza is a cute cheap shopping street themed around black cats

the show in this first photo is the samurai restaurant in shinjuku, which is VERY touristy but so much fun. the dancing and costuming and atmosphere were all super good

we also did a tea ceremony with MAIKOYA (where you are invited in to participate and given context for everything that is happening) and saw a sumo tournament with an english-speaking guide

in nagoya prefecture we based ourselves in hakuba for the hiking--it's an off-season ski resort and quite charming. i do think if i did the area again i'd stay in matsumoto nearby, which besides its castle has more public transport and central routes to a national park, the snow monkeys outside of nagano city, etc (we did not get to see the snow monkeys but they might be more present in november, idk). we saw several shrines and buddhist temples, and rode the ski lifts up happo-one to hike (bottom left)

LOVED going to a ryokan. hakone is a hot spring resort town and we could have spent more than a night there!! we stayed at kowakien mikawaya. they fed us SO well and we got a room with a private onsen (top two + the food middle right). very good, very relaxing concept for a vacation

my other bit of general advice is to double-check whether the things you really want to do need reservations, and do it EARLY. there's a great direct tourist train from shinjuku to mt. fuji, but tickets were sold out by the time we got there (it's better to get a service to buy them for you ahead of time is my understanding) and the same was true for the ghibli museum. but we had a lot of fun just meandering in neighborhoods between our booked activities so i don't feel like we were missing much

[cruelfeline]

I had a conversation on Discord today that made me realize that some players - particularly those from outside the US - may not have the background knowledge to get the best running gag in the game: the Newark-New York bit!

So, the real humor in this isn't that Cuff just keeps mispronouncing "New York." The humor is that he mispronounces it as "Newark," which is a specific city in New Jersey, one of the states bordering New York.

The reason this is funny is that there is a longstanding cultural rivalry between New Yorkers and people in New Jersey. People from New York, and New York City particularly, view New Jersey as like... a sort of loud, trashy cousin. There's various reasons for this, both cultural and political, and I'm not going to get into them because they're outside the scope of my personal knowledge, but the general idea is that it's an insult to mistake a New Yorker as coming from New Jersey.

Newark specifically is right up against the border to New York City and is really part of the large megacity made by the urban sprawl in the general area. So it's like... the "cool" city being right next to the "trash" city.

The joke is that everyone hates Jersey, New Yorkers in particular because it is right there next-door.

And like, it's not generally a "real" rivalry that causes any true animosity or conflict. It's more exaggerated in media for the purpose of humor. It's one of those silly state relationships that you might not know about if you're from outside the US, or even outside the general region.

Basicically, it's very funny because Cuff landed on a specific cultural insult for Frey without having any real knowledge of the particulars of New York and New Jersey. And he just kind of runs with it because it's obviously annoying Frey, which is probably Cuff's other life purpose besides destroying Athia.

Tl;dr: The main takeaway from all of this is that Newark is an actual place, not just a mispronunciation, and suggesting that Frey is from there is uniquely annoying because of cultural reasons involved New York City and Newark.

[disenchantedif]

may i ask for more information about the magical society and human society?? im confused by it, sorry. mainly in how the magical community is so tight-knit and huddles its people into magical spaces (like you said theres only one magical college in this area?). like id like to hear more about that, especially since i assume through chekov's gun that humans/hiding from them is going to be important later? i apologize if i am nearing spoilers. i ask because it's part of why i decided to play a banshee, because they look so human, that i assume having more human-passing characters would be advantagous to the team haha

(i guess i could just be confused in the sense that i am misreading, in which case i apologize. i hope i am not missing the mark totally in what ive processed about this world's lore and relationship with humans)

id also like to hear about why the characters are designed like they are in the sense of "why not more monstrous, why are they so human-looking naturally?" at first I assumed it was because of glamors but then i realized then that Vik would have no horns and Theo no wings and so on with glamors activated. and im asking out of genuine curiosity, not judgement or entitlement; i love character design so im curious why you decided on this relatively high percentage of humanness over a lower (really monster them up basically) or even higher (like Harry Potter and the like where everyone's human, even nonhumans really) percentage. because it seems like theyd still need glamors to interact with humans outside of their secret-society to cover up several traits, but also they wouldn't need much. in most stories i read or urban fantasy, it's either Harry Potter No Glamors Needed We All Pass As Humans™️ or its something where characters have a really monstrous true design that looks very little like their human-glamor-disguise form. what you decided is neither of those things, so im really curious what made you decide that because i dont see it often! (/tone indicactor: i swear to god i dont mean for this to sound critical, im just curious and i think i worded this well enough to convey that im only feeling curiosity but i SUPER apologize if my tone implies judgement)

admittingly, i am more of a monster-fucker than most so i am more used to Katee Robert's The Dragon Bride, if not a full-on dragon love-interest, than i am a dragon like Viktor haha but, again, i do like your designs! im just curious on why that percentage of humanness, basically, in addition to my aforementioned question about this magical society's relationship with humans. your desired percentage reminds me a lot of X-Men's typical idea of mutants (like more Wolverines and Cyclopses over Beasts and Nightcrawlers, if that makes sense) which is oddly nostalgic for me, it makes me miss the X-Men cartoons i used to watch hahaha

So, when it comes to the different supernaturals, you have to understand that there are far more humans in the world. That means a lot of intermixing and typically a lot more human genes as a result.

As I’ve said before, there are totally cambion that are literally half demon (typically they have horns and their eyes are fully black, etc.) and draca with more dragon blood (Vik’s mom is fully human so he and his siblings don’t have wings and the more prominent draca traits aside from horns and slitted pupils).

Sirens are probably the most “supernatural” looking, because of the eyes that glow in the dark, the gills, the claws, the sharp teeth. That’s also because siren pods are more secluded groups that really only interacts with other pods.

As for the magical society’s relationship with humans, the obviously supernatural looking individuals do require glamour as humans at large are not aware of the supernatural.

For example; if an assault or murder were to happen on college grounds, supernatural police officers would be contacted over human police officers due to pre-existing placements on police forces across the world.

The Council, which is the supernatural governing body in each country, has their own officers within the police force that use magic to ensure the continued safety of other supernaturals (though keep in mind the police can still be just as corrupt as the institutions they serve, magical or not).

They use things like mind manipulation and the like to ensure they can detain supernaturals safely to reduce human casualties while maintaining the secrecy of their world.

However, human standards and morals have long since infiltrated the supernatural community. It’s why nephilim are so trusted despite the majority of the old families being corrupt politicians. It’s an interesting relationship to be certain.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Richard Hanania

Published: May 14, 2023

The topic of black crime has taken over Twitter. It all started when Elon Musk responded sympathetically to a Tweet that presented data showing black-on-white crime is the most common form of interracial violence. The original tweet was completely correct, and you can see Noah Carl for some of the sophistry that has been used to try to deny or obfuscate on the underlying facts.

I personally don’t have the patience for taking part in these kinds of arguments, at least in the way that Noah is engaging here. It’s like the people who spend all their time arguing with trans and feminists by pointing to *scientific studies* showing that boys have penises and girls have vaginas. Men have more grip strength. Scientists just proved it! I guess someone has to do it, and I’ve run into some actual human beings (on the internet anyway) who tell me that they accepted the blank slate view of sex until they looked at the data. This makes me sad. But since the data does convince some people, I guess I’m glad someone is providing it.

Race and crime is similar. The numbers are there if you need them. I suppose foreigners might. But I grew up just outside of Chicago, and data on black criminality is to me just as unnecessary as sex comparisons of grip strength. Chicago is about a third black. Like many midwestern cities, it is extremely violent, with nearly all of the crime concentrated in black neighborhoods. When crime does spill over into the nicer areas, it’s committed by the people from those neighborhoods.

I knew many family friends who were Middle Eastern immigrants and store owners in the city. Every now and then, some distant relation or acquaintance would get their store looted or, in at least one instance I remember, shot and killed. Michael Jordan’s greatness was much appreciated and respected but its consequences used to fill the community with fear, because another championship tended to create another possibility that stores would go up in flames. The Arabs would speak in shorthand. “What happened to Walid’s store?” “You know, the blacks…” “Ah.” Actually, they would say “the slaves,” if you want to really know how Arabs talk.

Here’s the thing: while only immigrants and white proles explicitly discuss this aspect of their reality, every single person within the orbit of the city behaves as if they know the truth. No matter who you are, unless you’re one of the residents of those communities, your life is organized around avoiding the pathologies of the inner city. If you’re a desperate immigrant, you might open up a store, put up a “We Take EBT” sign, and take the risk of being shot. White Americans are less inclined to do this, so they instead just flee black neighborhoods and do what they can to get their kids out of black schools. They’ll make any commute or pay whatever tuition is necessary. No one is confused about this — liberals are correct that entire swaths of a major city don’t end up with zero white people by accident. They just attribute this to “racism” rather than the desire not to be sexually assaulted or physically harmed.

I’ve been talking about Chicago, but the same things are true for Milwaukee, Detroit, St. Louis, Cleveland, Baltimore, and countless other major cities. It’s also true for the cities where American elites and policymakers live like Washington, DC, which is why I’m always amused by theories that say they are actually acting in their own interests by coddling criminals. Other than blacks themselves, no group would benefit more from solving our crime problem than wealthy urban whites.

We can therefore ignore those who deny the reality of black crime. They’re either too stupid or dishonest to engage with. Among others on the left, there has been an acceptance of reality combined with pleas to simply frame the issue differently.

When liberals talk about perspective here, what they usually mean is that the likelihood of a white person being victimized by a black person is small in an absolute sense, so why worry about it? It would be a fine argument, except that we are constantly told to obsess over the harms done by police shootings, white supremacist violence, and vigilantes falsely accusing innocent black men of crimes.

I thought about showing you NYT and CNN headlines implying that blacks have to live in constant fear due to racism. But you’ve probably seen them, and instead I’ll share this clip showing how the topic was addressed a few years ago on a major network TV show.

As a digression, I would recommend checking out a few episodes of A Million Little Things if you want to see the horror that is the PC therapeutic slop that normies are being fed these days, but that’s a discussion for a different time.

So the crime debate has been going something like this.

Conservatives: Look at all the black-on-white crime.

Liberals: Get some perspective man. It’s nothing compared to the chances of being murdered by your own race. Not to mention heart attacks or covid. These are very small numbers.

Conservatives: You guys are the ones telling us blacks are living in constant fear. Stop doing that.

Now, when having these debates, what’s frustrating is that people are usually talking past one another. There’s not like one guy named “conservatives” and one guy named “liberals.” The liberals who are telling you to have some perspective on black crime often aren’t the same ones pushing the narrative that blacks should live in fear of whites. It’s easy to “own” the other side by putting together views of different people and finding contradictions.

That being said, the myth of substantial white-on-black violence is so deeply embedded in the culture that it’s a storyline in network TV shows. I think it’s fair to ask people to take a position on it. If you dislike racists on Twitter focusing too much on black-on-white crime, know that they are closer to the truth than the race obsessives on the other side, and have a lot less power.

One odd thing about these calls for perspective is that when liberals say that intra-racial crime is more common than crime that crosses group boundaries, what they are essentially saying is don’t worry about black crime, because the victims are overwhelmingly black people. But wait! Since when are liberals uninterested in problems that disproportionately affect blacks? These are the people who write serious NYT think pieces about how national parks are too white. They now turn around and say, let’s not talk too much about murder, because blacks are the victims? It’s a very odd thing, and it’s hard for me to even steelman their lack of interest in solving this issue as they obsess over every other black grievance, real or imagined.

Some years ago I noticed that fact checkers started providing “perspective” on claims rather than simply saying whether they were true or false. Of course, what perspective to take on facts is a huge part of what political discourse is about. Do blacks commit a lot of violence against whites? Compared to the number of cancer deaths, no. But in the context of a comparison to white-on-black violence, absolutely. One can conduct a similar analysis of issues like covid, terrorism, and school shootings.

For me, I like cost-benefit analysis as the way to understand what problems are worth worrying about and what we should be doing about them.

Black-on-white violence is not the biggest issue in the world, but it is useful to talk about in order to challenge narratives that pose much more serious problems. Arguments about supposed racism committed by whites against blacks are why we can’t effectively fight crime in this country and why we can’t have freedom of association or meritocratic criteria in hiring. The belief in white racism as a major factor in American life is the force that distorts all of policymaking and culture. Any arguments that are effective at discrediting that narrative are worth making.

And no, I don’t consider acting on statistical realities to be a kind of racism society should solve. Once you remove reactions that are based on group behavior, and private preferences that are none of the government’s business in a free society, the remaining “racism” in the United States against blacks is negligible, and more than balanced out by the ways in which they are advantaged.

The truth of the matter is we have a disgraceful amount of crime in the US, and the costs are not simply a matter of the number of people robbed, raped, and killed. It’s also a tragedy that what could be some of the most valuable urban real estate in the country is basically uninhabitable. In fact, part of the reason that black-on-white violence is rare in this country is because whites have overwhelmingly fled places where blacks live due to the threat of violence.

Other pathologies of American life, like NIMBYism, which drives up the cost of housing, are also downstream of the crime issue. If you’re a resident of Tokyo, you don’t need to worry about greater density leading to a decline in public safety, the way that Americans have to.

There’s no “perspective” one can take from which a reasonable observer won’t find that inner city crime is a major problem, and something we should do our best to solve. The chart below shows the ten American cities of at least 100,000 people that have the highest murder rates, and how they compare to the most violent countries in the world. The murder rates for cities come from CBS, while the country data comes from the World Bank.

[ How the ten most violent US cities with a population over 100,000 compare to the most violent countries in the world. Red is US cities, blue is countries. ]

You might be saying that it’s unfair to compare cities to entire countries, since urban areas might have concentrated violence. Yet the most violent countries in the world tend to be small. For example, St Louis, which is number one in murder in the chart above, has 293,000 people. That’s a larger population than St Lucia (180,000) and St Vincent (104,000), which are shown on the graph. Detroit has 632,000 people, making it more than 50% larger than either the Bahamas (407,000) or Belize (400,000). New Orleans (384,000) and Cleveland (373,000) are close behind. So this isn’t a matter of cherry-picking areas with minuscule populations and making them look bad. These cities are the size of small countries, which means we are pretty much comparing apples-to-apples in many of these cases. And if you want to make a real apples-to-apples comparisons, try contrasting American cities to those in other first world countries, like London.

As I argue in my articles on El Salvador, any polity that has a high enough murder rate needs to make solving crime its number one priority. This was true for that nation before Bukele came along, as it is for major American cities today. It’s not a big mystery how to do this, it’s just politically difficult, because literally everything that works is considered racist. You need more cops, more prisons, and more use of DNA databases and facial recognition technology. You can’t have concerns about disparate impact in a world where crime is so overwhelmingly committed by one group. And yes, liberals are right about one thing, which is that gun laws matter too.

But the left is so out of its mind on everything touching on race that even though they’re right that gun laws matter, when it comes to actually enforcing them, they tend to shy away from doing so for the obvious reason.

While I support policies that can make incremental improvements, actually solving our crime problem to any serious extent would take a revolution in our culture or system of government. Whether you want to focus on guns or the criminals themselves, it would involve heavily policing, surveilling, and incarcerating more black people. If any part of you is uncomfortable with policies that have an extreme disparate impact, you don’t have the stomach for what it would take. And, unlike some, I’m not naive enough to think that non-criminal blacks would end up grateful towards those who took the steps necessary to make their communities safer.

Dealing with the crime issue is complicated for reasons that go deep to the heart of the American psyche, which means there’s little hope that things will change any time soon. Until they do, we should continue to at the very least push back on the most malicious lies being told about race in America.