#communism is our future

[eggcolomba]

What is Communism? Communism is our future

WATCH NOW https://youtu.be/mO4U45oopvM?si=exfin-vgelzb8h0B

How can this turn into a force for revolution? How can communism win? Socialist Revolution editor Antonio Balmer explains the foundations of communism and why we need to study marxist theory to achieve a successful socialist revolution in our lifetime.

This talk was part of the NYC Marxist School, which gathered some 200 communists from across the Northeast and Canada on October 7-8 for a weekend of discussions on Marxist theory and revolutionary strategy.

[keirientez]

Pokemon trainer AU, Reborn is the champion meanwhile Tsuna is his apprentice. Tsuna’s design belongs to my friend @Cloud_Knee (Twt or X)

[failyaoi]

throws them at you and runs away

[the-alarm-system]

if i had a choice to be reborn as a singlet or be apart of a system, I'd choose system over and over and over

[lilac-set]

Reminder: even if trump wins, we’ll be ok. The presidency isnt the only political position that matters, he wont be a dictator, the president doesnt have the power to remove every other part of government that keeps the president’s power in check. Also politics isnt the only thing that matters. Even if we lose some rights (which he cant singlehandedly do) we still have community, we still have activism, we’ll always be ok. We survived one trump presidency, we can survive another. We survived before gay marriage or transitioning were legal, if we have to survive that again we will. Please, no matter what happens, promise to stay alive. Youre valuable, youre important, and youre going to be ok. Its better to be overprepared than underprepared. Im not asking you to lose hope (im doing the opposite of that), im asking you to practice coping ahead, get all your coping skills ready, determine now to stay alive, because i dont want any of you to make any rash decisions later in case we get bad news and emotions are high. Make a safety plan if you need to. Make sure you’re gonna be ok

[lilacprose]

MECHANICAL MIND // MECHANICAL BODY — a star wars story

There he’ll awake, with a clear mind and clear direction. Black cloak drifting over his empire. This is what he wants. There he’ll stand, atop manmade planets surrounded by explosions of stardust. Breathing in power, exhaling out fear...

Read my new short story MECHANICAL MIND // MECHANICAL BODY on ao3.

I wanted to get a little sappy below the cut for a bit. First of all, thank you if you decided to read this note and Mechanical Mind // Mechanical Body. This story means a lot to me. The idea for this story came to me in a dream. At first, I didn't intend to make anything out of it. But the images of that dream stayed with me in my mind for a long time until I simply had to put them down to paper. I started writing it in November 2023 and it's been a labor of love for the past six months. Dear reader, I sincerely hope you enjoy this story.

Finally, I would like to express my deepest thanks to my best friend @itsladyliv who took the time to beta read Mechanical Mind for me. Your feedback and sweet comments mean the world to me. Couldn't do this without your support 💜

[raineandsky]

#115

The villain slips out of sight, and civilians crowd the hero before they can think to follow. Several microphones materialise half an inch from their face.

“What does it mean for the city when villains get away like this?”

“Why is this villain so difficult to catch?”

“[Hero], this way!”

“[Hero]!”

They can see one reporter elbowing his way to the front of the crowd. He nudges his glasses up his nose awkwardly, a clipboard in one hand and a voice recorder in the other. He looks like an old school nerd, in a way.

He manages to wrestle his way to the front of the mob, miraculously. The hero isn’t convinced even they could do that. He clears his throat, adjusts his shirt against his neck, and presses a button on his recorder.

“What are your relations to [Villain]?”

The hero could’ve not spotted him and it would’ve been the loudest question of them all. Their gaze snaps to him traitorously before they can stop themself. He stands there expectantly, his voice recorder raised slightly towards them.

“My relation to them is that they’re a criminal,” they say carefully, a response well-practised, “and I am the person who will put them behind bars.”

That prompts a flurry of more questions, but the hero can only watch this one reporter. He nods, and they’re not sure if he’s trained to stay neutral or if he doesn’t believe them. Their stomach flips uncertainly.

“Can you really be the one to put them away if they keep evading you?”

The hero wants to smite him where he stands. They try to force a confident smile that probably looks more pained. “Then the victory will be all the sweeter when I finally catch them.”

“Are you helping them?”

There it is. The other reporters go quiet, curious. The hero’s aware they probably look like a cornered animal, but they can explain that away later. They were worried that the masses are losing faith in them, perhaps. They can throw a speech together tonight.

“Why would I be helping a criminal, sorry?”

“I’ve done some of my own research.” The reporter pushes his glasses up again as he looks down at his clipboard. “The villain’s getaway car looks alarmingly similar to yours.”

Another flip. Would it be bad to claim they have somewhere to be? They don’t have any answers prepared for this. The reporter’s watching them with an intensity that’s making them feel sick. Avoiding the question is worse, surely.

“It’s not my fault if [Villain] has impeccable taste.” They glance out over the sea of people, trying to seem distracted. Fuck it. Time to go. “Look, guys, I’ll answer everyone’s questions when I’m not actively chasing a criminal. Job first, interviews second.”

The hero flees like the fury of god is chasing them. They can feel eyes on them as they go, that little pain in the ass watching them the most intently.

They practically throw themself into their car, slamming the door like it’ll hide them from the outside. “Took you long enough,” the villain says from the backseat.

“Reporters,” the hero explains shortly. The villain hums thoughtfully.

“Always is.” The villain sighs, tearing their gaze from their phone and up to the hero. “What’s this week’s conspiracy?”

The hero turns the car on to ignore the question for a moment. “They think I’m working with you.”

The villain barks a laugh at that. “Can you imagine?” Their eyes turn back down to their phone amusedly. “A’ight, let’s get outta here.”

Gladly. The hero pulls out of the little alleyway, checking the streets for reporters, unexpectedly nervous, and onto the road. They always take the back roads like this. They don’t need any more reason for people to get suspicious. One reporter putting the thought in people’s heads is enough.

“Don’t get any ideas, by the way,” the villain pipes up after a bout of silence. The hero was quite content to listen to the rumble of the engine all the way back. “You work for me, not with me. Let’s keep it that way.”

The hero nods. The less they have at stake in this stupid little charade, the easier it’ll be to get the hell out at the first opportunity anyway.

[beachyserasims]

Name : Reece

Age : 21

Zodiac : Leo

Generation : Millennial

Scariest movie : Paranormal Activity

Believe in ghosts? No

Relation to Author : Boyfriend

Start / Previous / Next

[svtskneecaps]

ngl if streams get dry i think qsmpblr should create some initiative where we day by day watch the series over again in order. give it some fuckin stupid ass tag name like "qsmp reverse redux" for proper filtering and tag it all as vodblogging and set ourselves loose on bits of the series that some people may never have had a chance to watch because this series moves SO. GODDAMN FAST. and there's barely ever time for vodwatching.

pick your pov or watch multiple who cares but it has to be in our pocket dimension reverse time day. a qsmp electric boogaloo. idc if we have to make a fucking discord server to keep track of what day we're on or to maybe even coordinate those "watch2gether" youtube tool groups or whatever it was so those who feel inclined to twitch chat can still feel the feeling of being in a live chat except the streamers can't hear you.

i just think it would be fun. and i like liveblogging with y'all. and not everybody was around from day 1, so we can try to give them that. unfortunately we missed the exact one year so it'd be a bit messy but who the fuckkkkk cares :D

[seaside-lovers-archive]

Learning to Trust Again

art by @/shadowmisfire | divider by @/chachachannah

Scarecrow is visited by a new friend who brings him a gift.

Word count: 1,079 words

Scarecrow lay in the darkness, curled up into the corner as tightly as he possibly could, cursing his masters for their decisions. Of all the things for us to share, the ability to feel pain is one they had to give… Every part of his body ached, his joints creaking in protest as he shifted, trying to get comfortable under the pile of cushions.

While he certainly was not going to turn down the opportunity to live once again, he certainly had not missed the physical pains that came with life. While his kind were certainly made to be healed at least once, a second time was mostly unheard of, and being brought back from the dead was thought to be impossible… until he found himself back on his home planet with a human ship several hundred feet away.

He shifted again, his neck stiff against the pillow which provided little comfort against the wooden slats. A human shelter would never have been his first choice but he was not going to reject shelter. He was wiser than that. Any shelter was better than no shelter, especially considering the weather patterns of Alpha Centauri had been rainy lately. Rain would not help his body at all.

A noise, shuffling of small feet against dirt. His sensors lit up like explosions, alerting him to a possible threat. Despite his aching body, he was up in an instant, lasers powering up, ready to fight for his newly given life.

“Scarecrow…? It’s me. I wanted to check on you.” The barn door creaked open, Kate’s silhouette bright against the dim atmosphere outside.

He forced himself to relax, powering down his lasers and tucking his upper arms back into their place. He realized his body was shivering and his joints flaring, being reminded of electricity coursing through them. You’re not in danger. You’re fine. She’s not going to hurt you. This mantra repeated in his head over and over again, trying to remind him that this was not a bad human.

He took a moment to force himself to focus on her as she gently closed the door behind her, then approached the ladder that led to his loft. “Can I come up?”

He slowly approached the ledge and peered over, staring down at the human. She stared right back up at him, blinking slowly, waiting for his permission.

He gestured for her to climb, then retreated back to his corner, listening to her footsteps and light humming.

She approached him slowly and carefully. Scarecrow assumed he scared her - he was much bigger and stronger than she was. He could easily rip her to shreds if he wanted to. And yet, despite his assumption, she didn’t seem to actually fear him in any way. Her cautiousness seemed almost… respectful, in a way.

She smiled warmly at him, eyes crinkling, and held out something - he had not noticed it tucked under her arm before.

A blanket.

“I thought you might want this,” she said, still smiling. There - that was a hint of nervousness. His first meeting with her after she had offered the barn to him was similar - that never-disappearing smile, a sign of her not knowing how to handle what she had gotten herself into. 

He craned his neck to get a better look at it - the material seemed soft, dyed a dark red with white symbols scattered across it. The human interpretation of stars, he noted. He stayed where he was, staring at the blanket, then looking up at her. What would I need a blanket for? 

Kate’s smile disappeared, her brow furrowed, and she pursed her lips. “I-I’m sorry, I figured the cushions aren’t much protection against the cold. Maybe you don’t even get cold… but something soft might still be a comfort to you.” 

He tilted his head to the side, curiosity getting the better of him, then reached forward slowly. Taking the blanket from her outstretched hand, he felt his claws gently trace along her rough soft fingers as he drew his arm back. Scarecrow held the blanket up in front of his screen, inspecting it further.

A comfort. That was a good word to use for the blanket. He had always been fond of red, and the blanket was a nice shade. While he scoffed at the crudely shaped stars, he still liked the way the white broke up the continuous red and formed a nice pattern. He finally drew the blanket up to his chest and began to knead it, enjoying the feeling of the material under his claw.

Scarecrow glanced back up after a few moments to see Kate smiling again, a much more relaxed smile than before. “I’m glad you like it.” She turned and began to walk toward the ladder, waving to him at the same time. “Let me know if you need anything else, Scarecrow. You know where to find me.” As she began her descent down the ladder, Scarecrow found himself feeling more trustful of a human than he had in a long, long time.

“Thank you,” he rumbled.

Kate paused momentarily, turning back to face him, eyebrows raised. “Well… you’re welcome.” She gave him a small smile before turning back and climbing down the ladder. He listened carefully as she exited the barn, the sound of her footsteps and quiet humming fading into the rain.

Well, she was certainly right about the blanket. He was much more relaxed than he had been in a long time. He began to knead the blanket with both of his lower arms, feeling a rumbling starting up deep in his chest as he enjoyed the texture. 

Maybe, just maybe, he thought, this source of purring isn’t just because of the blanket. An image of Kate smiling warmly at him flitted through his mind, but he quickly squashed that thought back down into the dark recesses of his memories; he certainly wasn’t ready to deal with that whole situation yet. 

He would, in time.

How that would go, he had no clue. But he knew he had her patience, and she had given him all the time in the world to build up his trust.

Soon, perhaps, we can get to know her better, he thought, settling back down into the cushions with the blanket wrapped in his arms. The pattering of rain continued as he was lulled into rest mode, thoughts of Kate’s smile warming him from the inside out.

[inchidentally]

https://x.com/MERCL4REN/status/1743286121973555513?s=20

find the difference level impossible :D but seriously, this tweet gave me a stomachache from laughing so hard.

THERE'S MY TWO CREEPY TOO SIMILAR VESTAL VIRGINS THAT MAKE ALL THE MEN ON THE GRID (except lewis) GO HUUUHHHHH???

[aroaessidhe]

2024 reads / storygraph

Charlie Tangaroa and the God of War

book 2 in a middle grade series about a boy whose father is a Ponaturi (sea-goblin)

charlie and his brother are back living their normal lives - until a visiting scientist is stabbed in a local campground, right before a meeting between iwi and the government over local resources

they try to investigate and quickly learn that Whiro, atua of chaos is involved, sowing discord between various groups, and they have to figure out a way to solve things before anyone else gets hurt

cover & illustrations by yours truly!

[cognitivejustice]

I liked reading the thoughts in this essay, you may too

Extract:

When we consider waste, we need to divide in our minds two types of waste. First, are the existing wastes which we are already committed to. These materials and installations already exist and 1 day must be disposed of. Second, are future arising wastes where we could make the choice not to indulge in the activity which creates the waste.

The morality of a choice can depend greatly on the question of if the waste existing waste or waste which will arise. For example if a national regulatory body was to authorize the transport of goods under conditions which would normally be illegal, then if the dispensation to ignore the law was to enable an act required to protect society from poorly managed waste which already exists then it could be a noble and reasonable act. Such a dispensation could be justified to enable the management of waste which is currently endangering the public due to the abandonment of waste where the transport is only slightly falling short of the standards required in law. But it is hard to imagine a situation where it is acceptable for a regulatory body to issue a similar dispensation to enable a new activity to commence in an area.

It was said by William Shakespeare in Julius Caesar that “The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones.” Sadly, in this world we are burdened with consequences of reckless, criminal acts and those things which seemed reasonable at the time but with hindsight are clearly inadvisable. We have the problem of how best do we put these things right. We even have to ask the question of “should we attempt to put them right or is it better and more sustainable to let sleeping dogs lie?.”

[andypantsx3]

been feeling like culturally we're in a crisis of creative integrity rn and so i cannot tell you what a relief it is to not only see plagiarism discussion on the dash but nuanced plagiarism discussion 😍

[dancedance-resolution]

well fellas it’s happening i think i am maybe developing a crush on the girl ive been fucking recently 🫥