#especially under the guise of capitalism

[damianurl]

my premonition? the future will be predominately female.

[ovaryacted]

Randomly ranting about AI.

The thing that’s so fucking frustrating to me when it comes to chat ai bots and the amount of people that use those platforms for whatever godamn reason, whether it be to engage with the bots or make them, is that they’ll complain that reading/creating fanfic is cringe or they don’t like reader-inserts or roleplaying with others in fandom spaces. Yet the very bots they’re using are mimicking the same methods they complain about as a base to create spaces for people to interact with characters they like. Where do you think the bots learned to respond like that? Why do you think you have to “train” AI to tailor responses you’re more inclined to like? It’s actively ripping off of your creativity and ideas, even if you don’t write, you are taking control of the scenario you want to reenact, the same things writers do in general.

Some people literally take ideas that you find from fics online, word for word bar for bar, taking from individuals who have the capacity to think with their brains and imagination, and they’ll put it into the damn ai summary, and then put it on a separate platform for others so they can rummage through mediocre responses that lack human emotion and sensuality. Not only are the chat bots a problem, AI being in writing software and platforms too are another thing. AI shouldn’t be anywhere near the arts, because ultimately all it does is copy and mimic other people’s creations under the guise of creating content for consumption. There’s nothing appealing or original or interesting about what AI does, but with how quickly people are getting used to being forced to used AI because it’s being put into everything we use and do, people don’t care enough to do the labor of reading and researching on their own, it’s all through ChatGPT and that’s intentional.

I shouldn’t have to manually turn off AI learning software on my phone or laptop or any device I use, and they make it difficult to do so. I shouldn’t have to code my own damn things just to avoid using it. Like when you really sit down and think about how much AI is in our day to day life especially when you compare the different of the frequency of AI usage from 2 years ago to now, it’s actually ridiculous how we can’t escape it, and it’s only causing more problems.

People’s attention spans are deteriorating, their capacity to come up with original ideas and to be invested in storytelling is going down the drain along with their media literacy. It hurts more than anything cause we really didn’t have to go into this direction in society, but of course rich people are more inclined to make sure everybody on the planet are mindless robots and take whatever mechanical slop is fucking thrown at them while repressing everything that has to deal with creativity and passion and human expression.

The frequency of AI and the fact that it’s literally everywhere and you can’t escape it is a symptom of late stage capitalism and ties to the rise of fascism as the corporations/individuals who create, manage, and distribute these AI systems could care less about the harmful biases that are fed into these systems. They also don’t care about the fact that the data centers that hold this technology need so much water and energy to manage it it’s ruining our ecosystems and speeding up climate change that will have us experience climate disasters like with what’s happening in Los Angeles as it burns.

I pray for the downfall and complete shutdown of all ai chat bot apps and websites. It’s not worth it, and the fact that there’s so many people using it without realizing the damage it’s causing it’s so frustrating.

[ballad-of-birdy-lamb]

bestie… may i ask for literally anything with coral from tbosas? i just watched the movie and i keep thinking about her like just general romantic hcs or smth… anything

I literally love Coral, she is so cool and so cunty.

Coral x Gender neutral! Reader (romantic headcanon)

This is specifically for the Games, the reader can either replace Mizzen as her district partner or be from a different district entirely

She is so fine it's not even funny

While waiting for the Hunger Games to begin, all the tributes stayed in the monkey house. Which many viewed as salvation because they didn't die the day they came to the Capital. Coral would take the opportunity to learn more about you (if you aren't from the same district)

She has a specific tone she uses when she doesn't know if her feelings are reciprocated by you. It's a harsh tone, her normal rudeness but a hint of love she saves for you and you alone. The only other person she spoke so kindly to was Mizzen but that was because he was so young. You, she's grown a fondness of

During the tour of the arena, she immediately called you, either calling your name or a special nickname she made for you. Of course, if you're still in the stage between getting together and not understanding each other's feelings then she would make her nickname a joke

“Sweetheart”, “Gorgeous”, any nickname she can pass off as a joke but she means it. Coral cannot deny you're gorgeous

She is a very demanding person, especially in the arena or anytime before the Games. Her wanting to team up is more of a statement than a request

But Coral is kind in specific ways. Tending to the water that Lucy Gray’s mentor sent in was your job. It was much kinder since she didn't want you getting swung at by Lamina while trying to attack her

Affection is more common before and during the Games. She needs to know where you are and at least have you next to her. Handholding is a more common affection in the zoo than in the arena since she needs empty hands

Another affection used mainly in the zoo is holding each other. Let it be under the guise you need comfort or not, she wants that closeness

But in the arena, kisses and holding each other (when you have a split second of free time) are the most prominent. The kisses she shares with you are mostly quick pecks, not as long and tender as she would prefer

__

This was lowkey short, I’m sorry!

My tbosas masterlist

[anotherhumaninthisworld]

Abbe Proyart talking shit about his former students compilation

(With the exception of student Robespierre, who he spoke so much shit about you can make a whole post only about it)

Camille Desmoulins, Robespierre's warmest friend and most ardent advocate, was the son of a Lieutenant-General of the Bailliage of Guise in Picardy. Appointed as scholar by the Chapter of Laon at the College of Louis-le-Grand, he completed his studies, if not with distinction, at least with some success. Although from then on he wrote his scholastic compositions well, he spoke very heavily and stammered in speech. He had an ugly and repulsive exterior, a black complexion, and something sinister about his eyes. He had nevertheless announced in his early youth the double emulation of work and virtue; but, disturbed in his higher classes by vicious comrades, he abjured piety, and soon showed himself a more bitter enemy than even those who had driven him away from it. From then on, a muddled spirit, surly and eloquent, he made himself odious to all his fellow students, and no longer had a single friend among them. We then saw him, son of nature and ungrateful disciple, displaying all the feelings of a bad heart. He made his debut at the bar with a plea against his father, whom he pretended to oblige to furnish him in Paris with an interview which exceeded his faculties. He never forgave his Masters for the efforts they had made to correct his budding vices. In the time of the Revolution, he was still cruelly resentful of one of them, on the occasion of a close encounter fifteen years earlier. “I will never forgive him, he said, for having told me one day that I would mount the scaffold.” However, if the horoscope wasn’t flattering, it was nonetheless verified. We shall see later how, still believing himself to be the friend of Robespierre, he was rewarded for his revolutionary labors by his friend. La vie et les crimes de Robespierre, surnommé Le Tyran, depuis sa naissamce jusqu���à sa mort(1795) by Le Blond de Neuvéglise (abbé Proyart), page 93

Fréron, in his youth, showed a gloomy and defimulated character, especially near his masters. He announced rather few talents, and no will to cultivate them; he was also cited as a rare example when speaking of laziness and indolence. He was one of those indifferent to religion to whom justice is done by always suspecting their morals. Coming out from the college, he walked his impoverished existence for a long time on the pavement of the Capital, a burden equally incumbent upon both his family and Abbé Royou, his protector and brother of the estimable Madame Fréron. Ibid, page 90

Duport-du Tertre, born in Paris, of a not very wealthy family, after having done fairly good studies at the College of Louis-le-Grand, became a lawyer, and got a certain reputation, above all, for probity and justice. He was of a gentle and honest character, although a little cold. He loved work and solitude. His conduct at the College had always been good; but of a wisdom more philosophical than religious. He was not born to be a scoundrel, and it cannot be said that he was; but he had not enough religion to cling to, in a slippery step, to the great principles which it enshrines, and he abandoned them. As Constitutional Minister, he tried to serve the Constitution and the King; and, without doing anything useful for the King or for the Constitution, he could not escape the guillotine. It had been less by any particular affection than at the request of his old college comrades whom Duport-du Tertre had endeavored to make known to Robespierre, whom he knew little of himself. Robespierre, in return for the disinterested zeal he had shown him on his arrival in Paris, worked harder than any other Jacobin to make him suspect and determine his execution. Ibid, page 85-86

Le Brun, known in his youth under the name of Abbé Tondu, was from Noyon. Provided by the Chapter of this City with a scholarship assigned to young clerics, he found himself a contemporary of Robespierre at the College of Louis-le-Grand. He had made less of a sensation than him in his humanities, but showed more talent in philosophy. He then bore an extraordinary depth of timidity, which he retained something of his whole life. He was one of those soft and easy characters who, having neither the boldness of crime nor the courage of virtue, become what circumstances and societies that surround them make them into. The Abbé Tondu, who liked neither his estate nor his name, left both at the same time, and called himself Le Brun, after his mother. Leaving the college, he obtained at the Observatory one of the Places paid by the King to young men who had a marked inclination for Mathematics. The bad companies having thrown him into licentiousness, he pledged himself to it. […] The tottering Minister tried in vain to rely on his old liaisons with Robespierre: Robespierre no longer knew as a friend the one who could also have been friend of a man whose pride had always revolted his own. Le Brun did not cause the death of the King; but, like Dumouriez, he had the cowardice to consent to it; and, like him, he truly became its accomplice, while doing nothing of all that he ought to have done to prevent it, or to provoke vengeance. Ibid, page 87-88

Noël, born under the name Dumouchel to poor parents, had received, like Robespierre, the gratuitous education of the poor. Student first at the College des Grassins, then at that of Louis-le-Grand; after rather brilliant successes in the distribution of the University Prizes, he was made quarter master, and then professor, at the College of Louis-le-Grand. This sudden passage, from extreme poverty to the last term of ambition among the young masters of the university, turned his head. He had little religion, he became impious. At the beginning of the Revolution, his sentiments, expressed in a journal of which he had made himself the editor, earned him a post as clerk in the war office, and then a secret mission on the part of the Jacobins in a foreign court. Friend of Camille Desmoulins, the latter had introduced him to Robespierre when he arrived in Paris for the Estates-General. Robespierre, although welcomed and celebrated by Noël, had conceived against him a fund of aversion, because he had obtained more constant successes than him at the University, and because Camille Desmoulins never ceased to exalt his talents. He spared him at first as a proponent useful to his views, then fell out with him, and then lost him as soon as he found the occasion. Ibid, page 86-87

It is again from this school that came two low servants of these man-tigers, and the worthy adjudans of their villainy: the name of one was Sijas, that of the other Pilot. Sijas had obtained, from his college comrade Robespierre, the employment of confidence of overseeing the massacres of the guillotine in Paris; and Pilot, exercising the same Commission in Lyon, wrote to Robespierre that the pleasure of seeing the Lyonnais having their throats cut restored his health. Louis XVI détrôné d’être Roi, ou tableau des causes de la Révolution française et de l’ébranlement de tous les trônes (1803) by Abbé Proyart, cited in Le collège Louis-le-Grand, séminaire de la Révolution (1913) by H. Monin.

And some of his fellow teachers too…

None of his masters contributed so much to the growth of the republican virus fermenting in his (Robespierre’s) soul than his Professor of Rhetoric. An enthusiastic admirer of the heroes of ancient Rome, M. Hérivaux, nicknamed The Roman by his students, thought that Robespierre’s personality had a strong Roman physiognomy. He praised him, cajoled him unceasingly, sometimes even congratulated him very seriously on this precious similarity. Robespierre, no less seriously, favored compliments, and was grateful to bear the soul of a Roman, be it the atrocious soul of a parricidal Brutus, or that of a conspiratorial Catiline.   La vie et les crimes de Robespierre… (1795) page 46-47

One day, however, a prefect, suddenly opening a door, finds him (Robespierre) on the commode reading a very nasty pamphlet. Caught in flagrante delicto, Robespierre thought himself lost; and, forgetting his natural pride, falls at the feet of the Arbiter of his fate and comes down to the humblest supplications. The Master with whom he had to deal was neither inflexible nor fervent in Morale. He was a man who had been heard more than once to exclaim among the young people: "Long live liberty, my friends: far from us the hypocrisy.” It was the Abbé Audrein, who since deserved, by his apostasy, to become the collegue of Robespierre in the Assembly of Factious, where he still sits. With such a judge, the affair of the bad book was civilized without difficulty, and did not even come to the knowledge of the other Masters of the House. Ibid, page 37-38

Dumouchel, son of a poor Peasant from Picardy, would not have found within his family any resource for his education: the Sanctuary and the charity of the Faithful paid all the expense. Scholar of the Community of Ste. Barbe, he entered the College of Louis-le-Grand in quality of a quarter master. He fortified himself to go and teach Rhetoric at Rhodez, from where he was called back to Paris to occupy a chair at the College de la Marche. The Abbé Royou, to whom he paid court, had employed him, for a time, for the drafting of certain unimportant articles of his journal, which he had no leisure to deal with himself. A fairly ritual appearance, a supple character, a lot of talk, a little literature, and many more ambitious pretensions had given Dumouchel a certain reputation among that swarm of deplorable subjects which filled the Colleges of Paris; and, by their votes, he found himself Rector of the University at the time of the holding of the Estates-General. Hiding his unbridled ambition and his irreligion under the mask of the most complete devotion to the respectable Archbishop of this Capital, he united the voices of the Clergy for the Deputation. Scarcely had the Hypocrite been in possession of the title he aspired to, than, abandoning the sacred interests which had been entrusted to him, he formed an alliance with Robespierre, whom he at first advocated, and of whom he was later advocated, so much so that the Jacobins of Paris, judging him worthy of the Episcopat, sent his name to the Club of the town of Nismes, with the injunction to make the subject known to the electors of the department, as the one who suited them and whom they should name. All the Catholic Electors, with the exception of two, having refused to cooperate in the crime of an intrusion by Eve that the Protestant Electors, less delicate, assembled, gave their votes to the one whom the Jacobins had designated for them; and Dumouchel, proclaimed Constitutionally Catholic Bishop that, by fifteen Electors only, of which thirteen were Protestants, said goodbye to his friend Robespierre, and went to install himself in the Episcopal Palace of Nismes, which soon, as we know, was defiled by the most scandalous Scenes. Ibid, page 83-85

[cogandstar]

long and ramble-y post about persona 5 tactica and politics below the cut. spoilers and all that jazz, thou hast been warned.

persona 5 tactica has Interesting politics to me. because, well, it talks an awful lot about revolution and that jazz. and in the Kingdoms, you do a fair bit of revolution-esque stuff, complete with mass movements which are necessary for the overthrow of tyrannical rulers.

(the rebels are tbh one of my favorite parts of the game, especially with how they could very easily have been relegated completely to background noise, but instead at multiple points they are key for the success of the Phantom Thieves. it's great!)

in the cognitive realm, the game seems to come down pretty solidly on the side of "revolution is worth the accompanying violence" -- see the scene of Yoshiki presenting the Thieves with footage of the rebels suffering against the Aizen Squad, and, of course, the final boss being a god of peace who has decided to crush the revolutionary impulses within the hearts of humanity to ensure peace and tranquility.

Salmael is actually pretty interesting as a criticism of that general mindset of "peace over positive change." he's kinda (or at least can be read as) a symbol for the same thing Disco Elysium represents with the ideology of moralism. the thing that's most striking to me about him is his second form, wherein his appearance changes to be partially composed of bullets and other symbols of violence. with this, not only does p5t argue that the maintenance of peace over positive change is bad, but that it is, under the cover of gentility and nonviolence, itself fundamentally built upon violence and force.

it's not that hard to construct a leftist reading of this, even without the influences of Soviet constructivist art on the menus and UI, and the presence of Che Goddamn Guevara as a heroic Persona in the form of Ernesto. it's a game where the heroes organize mass movements to overthrow tyrannical rulers based on, respectively, a wealthy corporate heiress and a corrupt politician. (i'm not really counting nakabachi because he's not a real ruler and also Kingdom 3 is just less political than the others, it's very heavily focused on Toshiro as a person without really even a political surface level.) then, the heroes fight against the God of Liberalism, revealing the hidden violence underneath its guise of peace and moderation, and ultimately defeating it.

but you kind of run into an issue of like, what are the Thieves' revolutions for? ultimately, they're basically just all against what the tyrants do. in kingdom 1, they're against a wealthy aristocrat forcing people to set up a wedding for her and her forced-groom. in kingdom 2, they're against a ruler running an all encompassing surveillance system and forced labor camps. in kingdom 3 they're against school staff blackmailing students for personal gain.

and i think it's notable that both Marie and Yoshiki are mainly presented in settings that distance them and their wrongs from modern day capitalism. Marie's Kingdom is based on vaguely-revolutionary France, and she herself is fairly clearly based on the pop culture image of Marie Antoinette, from her name to her behavior and aesthetic in the Kingdom and even how in the real world, she makes reference to "the poors" and "commoners." if there's any class being criticized through the character of Marie Anto, it's not the bourgeoisie -- it's the old feudal aristocracy.

Yoshiki is also distanced from modern electoral politics by being predominantly shown in a world based on Bakumatsu-era Japan. it's also notable that, in the Kingdom, he is described as being a general, not in any way elected. so while in the real world, his power comes from the edifice of liberal democracy as it stands in Japan, the system that you actually lead a revolution against is a feudal-military dictatorship.

this is all without mentioning that, underneath the political veneer, the Kingdoms are all in-universe metaphors for what's going on in Toshiro's head. in the end, everything's very personal! and ultimately, after Toshiro has gone through all his character development and unleashed Che Goddamn Guevara as the manifestation of his true self, what does he do in the real world?

he gets two specific bad actors arrested, apologizes for his personal role in their corruption, and then restarts his career as an electoral politician.

as soon as p5t retreats from the cognitive world, so too does it retreat from the idea of revolution against prevailing power structures. i cannot recall a moment where anyone, really, even considers the thought of revolution against the systems that produced Marie and Yoshiki and Nakabachi; they have defeated Salmael and gotten the bad actors arrested, so it's all good.

so, i guess in summary, p5t presents pro-revolution (even pro-revolutionary violence!) and borrows aesthetically from communism, and though you can certainly read certain parts (i.e. Salmael) as fairly pointed criticisms of liberal capitalism, but. considering the game as a whole, it's structured in a way that distances its arguments in favor of revolution from those modern power structures both by limiting them to the metaphorical realm of cognition and by structuring the most political cognitive realms as historical oppressive structures.

[jarvis-cockhead]

Okay one person has given me an excuse to yap so:

An Overview of Moz Politics

Disclaimer this is super informal but essentially I think I've cracked the Morrissey code as to why he seems to hold so many conflicting beliefs at once. My finding is that he doesn't, actually, his beliefs just play out differently within the UK vs the US. This means a man can side with both Bernie Sanders and Nigel Farage and not be contradicting himself, somehow. Anyway. The key Moz policies to be aware of:

- Anti royalist & despises the monarchy

- Hates Thatcher

- Hates the Conservatives (I think it's very funny that in 2010 he backed up Marr on saying David Cameron isn't allowed to like The Smiths)

- Anti war (? evidence inconclusive especially recent events, this is mostly an assumption based on his 2013 criticisms of Bush for the Iraq war)

- Believes Obama should've done more to tackle police brutality

- Sexuality inconclusive but we know he supports gay rights. Criticised Trump for not having any sympathy for the victims of the Pulse shooting

- Speaking of Trump, in 2017 when asked if he would push a button to kill Trump, he said yes, "for the safety of the human race"

- Early in the 2016 election he endorsed Clinton but later praised Bernie Sanders as "sane and intelligent" and said the media should've given him more coverage

However 😸

- His views on animal rights have led him to support PETA and call Chinese people a 'subspecies' because of their treatment of animals

- Said in 2019 he thinks Farage would be a good prime minister

- 'Nearly voted' UKIP (2013)

- Doesn't like the EU, presumably voted leave

- Claimed to have nothing against people from other countries but said in 2007 that British identity is disappearing due to immigration

- Endorsed Anne Marie Waters far-right party For Britain in 2018. "She believes in British heritage, freedom of speech, and she wants everyone in the UK to live under the same law. I find this compelling"

- Supported anti-islam activist Tommy Robinson under the guise of free speech, "It's very obvious that Labour or the Tories do not believe in free speech"

- In response to racism accusations he claimed that "everyone prefers their own race"

All of this is taken from his Wikipedia page, and there haven't been any updates on recent politics, so as of right now this is all we have to go off.

The TLDR:

Morrissey hates conservatives and capitalism, he's pro 'the people' and British heritage, and is so far up himself he'll let his animal rights beliefs turn into abhorrent racism.

His own personal description of his politics:

The way I've come to understand it is that when it comes to British politics, since he hates capitalism, the Conservatives (and he doesn't seem to think much of Labour either), the monarchy, and seems very strong on heritage, his views align closer to working class far-right groups like UKIP and For Britain. In America on the other hand you're a bit more limited to Republican vs Democrat, and of course he isn't going to support the super capitalist Republicans. He also doesn't have any ties to heritage to muddy his choices.

His racism in relation to animal rights is it's own thing but clearly shows he has no issues with racist views.

... And that's essentially it. Probably the only Morrissey hypocrisy is him stating in 2004 that The National Front Disco is him expressing sadness and regret for anyone who joins far-right movements, when later he'll go and do... Just that. Aside from that, he's very unchanging in his principles. It just depends on the playing field.

I don't care to go into the morals and ethics of liking his music/The Smiths, he just fascinates me as a person. Do I still wish he'd get his head out of his own arse? Absolutely.

[skaruresonic]

I mean I can totally get, getting very pissed if people make porn out of my child characters, I might threaten with copyright too

The child characters I made are based on actual kids in my family. It reminds me of that interview with Miyazaki where he complains about the otaku culture making porn out of Kiki and Chihiro. Especially the latter one, since Chihiro was based on a child family member.

I might threaten with copyright too

Well, for starters, I doubt you'd get very far because that's not technically your jurisdiction as a creator. As far as I understand it as a layperson, copyright is not there to curtail "gross" fan content, but to protect your rights as a creator to capitalize on your intellectual property. Meaning people can't claim your characters as their own and sell their work for profit.

Fanfic and fanart, on the other hand, are protected under the umbrella of transformative work. The nuances are different and hair-splitty for each, but IIRC, fanfic is allowed to exist on the basis that it isn't monetized. Can't remember what the stipulations are for fanart.

Second... Nah, man. The solution to your discomfort with people sexualizing your characters over the internet is to draw a boundary, which is not something you impose on others, but an action you take to protect yourself and your best interests.

State in clear terms: "I am not comfortable with seeing this kind of content, please don't send it to me; emails and the like containing such content will be deleted," and leave it at that. You don't call for censorship or witch hunts or threaten people with copyright strikes that don't fall within your legal purview.

As a creator, you bear responsibilities not to abuse your power over fandom. Accepting that Rules 34 ("if it exists, there is porn of it") and 35 ("if no porn of it exists, porn will be made") exist is one of them.

...Frankly, I find it a more relevant social hazard that creators forge intense parasocial relationships with their fandoms and proceed to weaponize them against their enemies. Because in those instances, real people are being manipulated for selfish gain, and it's depressingly common to see. Fandom is often comprised of vulnerable groups without much external support to begin with, and it's skeevy as hell to sic them like a pack of dogs on people just so you can win a Twitter debate.

(Besides, for as much as antis gripe about "Reylo will groom you into thinking toxic relationships are romantic!" and shit, they certainly don't preach much on the dangers of predatory parasocial relationships.)

But, back to the topic at hand: I've heard enough antis conflate pixels on a screen with irl children to know that calls for censorship never go well. While it's perfectly valid to be uncomfortable with sexualization of child characters, you also have to kind of grow up a little and realize that no one is inherently harming children by making Tails porn. No one sexualizes your childhood just by sexualizing pixels. That's why the Back button exists.

If they are hurting real children, then the offender must be charged appropriately. Nine times out of ten, however, trying to control the art people make under the guise of "protect the children" is authoritative and does shit-all to protect real children from harm.

To wit, it's within Miyazaki's right to complain about porn of Chihiro, but Miyazaki can't actually go around telling people they can't make that kind of art upon pain of cease-and-desist.

Also, just speaking for myself, aside from stuffing my characters with trauma, I haven't modelled them after real people. I made them to be abused, to be placed in fucked-up scenarios, to be sexualized, even, if folks want to. Why do you think Arthur has an assassination kink.

That is to say, not all creators share the same mindset, and frankly, fandoms shouldn't have to live in fear of pissing off the Almighty Creator(tm) anyway.

[tenjin-no-shinja]

Chapter 3: The History of Hie Shrine

Hie and the Tendai Temples on Mount Hiei

[Saichō]...stated his hope that these deities may overcome the evil karma that had caused them to be reborn as kami, that they may serve as protectors of the monks' practice hall, and that they may bring their innate seeds of buddhahood to maturation by listening to the preaching of the Lotus.

...echoed Chinese rhetoric on the Budhist "taming" of local mountain deities. Chinese biographies of eminent monks (Gaosengzhuan) refer frequently to the submission of hostile and violent deities who seek to obstruct the building of temples in their domain. By demonstrating the superiority of the universal Dharma over local "demons," Buddhist monks proved both the truth of their religion as well as their ability to apply it for useful purposes. Throughout the Buddhist world, monks faced local deities by defining them as deluded beings subject to the eternal laws of karma... I classical Japan such skills were especially welcome. Deadly epidemics, fires, and other disaters constantly threatened the court and the populace, and the control of "wrathful spirits" (onryō) was at the top of the political agenda.

...this Buddhist approach to local deities took many forms... founding of shrine temples, where sutras were read for the deities... Slightly later, shrines themselves were decked out with Buddhist paraphernalia and the deities themselves were depicted as human-like sponsors or practitioners of the Dharma, or as emanations of Buddhist divinities (Teeuwen and Rambelli 2003: 7-31). The founding of the Jingū Zen'in... Hie's "shrine temple"... followed this pattern. The court supported the Buddhist taming of Hie by allowing the annual ordination of two Tendai monks with the specific task of reciting sutras for the benefit of the deities of Greater and Lesser Hie (in 886)... subsequent centuries, the Hie Shrines themselves became the main scene of Buddhist rites to the kami, and the Jingū Zen'in gradually lost its significance (Sagai 1992: ch. 5).

—Pages 77-78

The shrines were also given new identities: Ōmiya was now known as Ōmiya Gongen, associated either with Miwa or with Kamo in the capital; Ninomiya... Ninomiya Gongen, associated with Kuni-no-Tokotachi, the first deity of the cosmogony... Shōshinshi Shrine was identified with the great bodhisattva of Usa Hachiman...⑧... All three deities... identified both in Buddhist terms as avatars or bodhisattvas, and in terms of Japanese myth.... In the new shrine buildings they were represented in the form of statues, Ōmiya Gongen as a man in Chinese-looking aristocratic attire, and the other two as monks.

—Pages 78-79

⑧ From the Endnotes: "Note, however, that there is no way to ascertain exactly when these associations became established."

It would appear that the dark "basements” underneath the elevated shrine floor served as both living quarters for all kinds of marginal, religious figures, and also as ritual sites. All of the seven Hie Shrines had such basements, known as geden or “lower halls” in contrast to the strides proper. Fragmentary evidence suggest that, in at at least some of the shrines, the deities were shrine in their Buddhist guises in these cellar-like spaces. The same Buddhist “originals” of the kami (Śākyamuni at Ōmiya, Bhaiṣajyaguru at Ninomiya, Amithābha at Shōshinshi, and so forth) were also displayed on large circular boards with a diameter of ca. 1 m, exhibited high up under the eaves of the shrine buildings and known as “hanging buddhas” (kakebotoke). These boards displayed each shrines Buddhist identity, flanked by the protective “kings” Avalanche and Vaiśravaṇa (Sagai 1992: ch.9). Each shine, then, combined different cults conducted by different people, and the priest who traced the roots of the ancient Hafuribe now shared the shrines of many others.

—Page 80

Yet another group of religious figures was a type of "shaman” known as rō-no-miko (“children of the corridor”) and yorikidono (“mediums”). They appear to have been based at the eastern compound…The yorikidono, described in one source as the “daughters” of the rō-no-miko, acted as mouthpieces of the gods, pronouncing oracles that could scare even the most powerful. In 1012, for example, the famous imperial regent and hegemon Fujiwara-no-Michinaga succumbed to an illness that, according to rumor, had been called down upon him by a Hie deity, as announced by a Hie medium. In later literature… the oracles of Hie often hover over the greatest political and military battles of the age. Clearly, despite the Buddhist rhetoric of domestication, the deities of Hie were still designed to inspire fear as much as salvation.

Both the miya-komori and the rō-no-miko were figures of ambiguous status. On the one hand, they were a little more than beggars, living off, offering presents to the shrines where they were staying, no doubt in very primitive shelters. On the other hand, they enjoyed semi divine status and exerted considerable power… according to legend, “spirits of love” were born from their sexual encounters; these “spirits” were then abandoned in a Hiei valley where they transformed into children… eventually adopted by the Jūzenji deity and supported by Jien’s temple… This legend reflects sexual practices between elder monks and young novices, and it documents the prescience of outcasts who claimed spiritual powers at the fringes of the shrines (Faure 1998: 254-8)⑮… it’s immediate purpose, however, purpose was to secure both imperial and divine status for the lowly shamans of the Jūzenji corridor. The fact that there were rō-no-miko at Hie until the end of the Edo period attests to this legend’s legitimizing potential.

—Page 81

⑮ From the Endnotes: "Faure argues that Jien "had interiorized the secret tradition of medieval Tendai" that "salvation through sex with a chigo (medium-child) was in accord with the will of... Sannō Gongen" (Faure 1998: 257)"

[sophia-zofia]

1-UAE!!

Under the guise of saving refugees, the United Arab Emirates is running an elaborate covert operation to back one side in Sudan’s spiraling war supplying powerful weapons and drones, treating injured fighters and airlifting the most serious cases to one of its military hospitals, according to a dozen current and former officials from the United States, Europe and several African countries.

The operation is based at an airfield and a hospital in a remote town across the Sudanese border in Chad, where cargo planes from the Emirates have been landing on a near-daily basis since June, according to satellite imagery and the officials, who spoke on the basis of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence.

Despite strained Sudan-UАЕ relations, gold shipments flowed freely from Sudan to Dubаi, with exports facing no obstacles and operating with official approval in Port Sudan. Political tensions didn't disrupt the lucrative trade, which continued despite the December 2023 expulsion of diplomats and accusations of smuggling.

2- Russia (Wagner group)

The Russian mercenary group Wagner has been supplying Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces with missiles to aid their fight against the country’s army, Sudanese and regional diplomatic sources have told the CNN.

The sources said the surface-to-air missiles have significantly buttressed RSF paramilitary fighters and their leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo as he battles for power with Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Sudan’s military ruler and the head of its armed forces.

(Reports years ago claimed the hemedti smuggles gold to Russia)

3- Libya

The eastern Libya strongman, Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifah Haftar, has actively backed the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) against the Sudanese military and armed forces in the ongoing fighting in Khartoum and its surrounding environs.

Haftar calculates that an RSF victory in the Sudan power struggle would secure valuable trade and smuggling routes through Sudan.

By supporting the RSF, Haftar is aligned with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Russian mercenary Wagner Group.

4- Chad

Chadian sources said that the Chadian transitional government is building a new military base or depot 6-7 kilometers north of the city of Abéché in Wadaday state, with full funding from the UAE to support the Rapid Support Militia.

Mobilization campaigns and movements are now underway to prevent this criminal operation carried out by the Chadian government against citizens, with funding from the UAE, to destroy Sudan.

5- Ukraine

In September 2023, CNN reported that Ukrainian special services were behind a series of drone strikes and a ground operation near Sudan's capital, Khartoum, which targeted Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a militia backed by the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary outfit.

6- Israel

There has been evidence that Israel is also sending supplies to the RSF. Israel wants to curb Iran's expanding influence in the region, while halting human and arms smuggling routes from Sudan to Gaza. Better relations with Sudan would also enhance Israel's ties with other African countries, helping it to gain access to African markets, especially after the suspension of Israel's observer status in the African Union.

Also using Sudan’s war for cheap propaganda and diverting attention from their atrocities in Gaza by claiming that Hamas Is tied to the RSF. Hemedti tried to organize a secret meeting with officials from the Israeli Mossad without the knowledge of the government and the Sudanese army in Khartoum,on January 2022, but he was forced to inform the army of the meeting in the end, after Israel announced.

7- Iran

Media reports said Iran has supplied Sudan's army with combat drones. The army has not denied the claims. Later, Sudan's Foreign Minister visited Tehran and held talks with high ranking officials as part of the two countries' efforts to restore their diplomatic relations.

8-The EU

The European Union has been accused of "hiding" the impact of its funding of the Sudanese government and its paramilitary forces as part of a programme to stem the flow of migrants from Africa to Europe. Though the EU claims it provides no funding to the government, activists and researchers say otherwise, arguing the organisation's migration initiatives also benefit, at least indirectly, the country's notorious Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group.

9- The US

During the transitional period, there were long bread lines, and sometimes people had to wait for days to get gas. And that could have been avoided if:

1) The U.S was quicker in getting Sudan off the state sponsor of terror list which blocked it from much of the global economy. It was particularly insulting that they demanded that the only way to do that was to 'normalise' relations with Israel.

2) If the U.S wasn't insisting that the government (which arose because the Sudanese people overthrew Bashir's regime) pay reparations to the U.S for an attack that they had nothing to do with.

3) If the IMF didn't force Sudan to cut fuel and bread subsidies to get debt relief after Bashir's overthrow. One of the triggers for the 2018 revolution was that Bashir was also forced to do this. It made life miserable.

10- Saudi Arabia

The Saudis and Emiratis have turned to battle-hardened forces from Sudan with combat experience in Darfur and other parts of their country. In fact, 8,000-14,000 Sudanese mercenaries including child soldiers between the ages of 13 and 17.

Many of the Sudanese fighters in Yemen come from the Janjaweed (armed horsemen) RSF militias made up of ethnic Arabs from western Sudan, eastern Chad, and the Central African Republic (CAR).

[etymology-of-the-emblem]

Duvall /ドバール and Pizare / ピサール

Duvall and Pizare are members of the Orgahil Pirates that stage a mutiny against their captain, Brigid, in Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War. Duvall likely gets his name from famed highwayman Claude Du Vall (more commonly Duval). Born to a family of French nobility stripped of their title, Du Vall was in service to English royalists in exile during the English Civil War. He joined his lords in crossing the English Channel after the ascension of Charles II. It would be in England that Du Vall's criminal record began; tales spread of a well-dressed man of politesse snatching riches off the stagecoaches of London. Yet all accounts claimed this rogue never resorted to violence, and was quick to give in to the will of women. These stories serve as the foundation of many fictitious highwaymen written around the time, and was possibly one inspiration of the gentleman thief trope. It's possible a reference to Du Vall here was intended to contrast the well-mannered thief with the Fire Emblem character's foul personality, his penchant for violence, and his ill treatment for his boss—the only woman he is seen interacting with.

Additionally, the county of Duval (JP: デュバル; rōmaji: dyubaru) in Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes likely is named after Claude Du Vall as well. This likely is meant to relate the chivalrous bandit with the ideals of Faerghus.

Pizare's name is likely derived from Pizzare: a French adaptation of the Spanish surname Pizzaro. The name was seemingly created for the purpose of the opera of the same name based on the life of conquistador Francisco Pizarro. He began his career exploring the New World with the first European exploration of the Isthmus of Panama alongside Vasco Núñez de Balboa and became the alcalde of the newly-founded Panama City. Rumors of a city of gold hidden in South America motivated Pizzaro to venture further south. His third journey to make contact with the Inca Empire, Pizarro came on orders from the King of Spain to conquer Peru. In the peace following his conquest, Pizarro's fellow conquistador Diego de Almagro II would have him assassinated.

In Japanese, both of these Orgahil scoundrels have names derived from The Tragedy of the Sons of Tuireann, an Irish mythological tale following the brothers Brian, Iuchar, and Iucharba. Pizare is called ピサール (rōmaji: pisāru), in reference to King Pisear of Persia. In the story, Pisear possesses a poison-tipped spear (debated as to being the Gáe Assail or the Areadbhair) that is kept in a vat of water to prevent its heat from setting the capital of Persia ablaze. Brian attempts to convince Pisear to hand over the weapon under the guise of a bard singing the king's praises. However, Brian is incapable of telling a good poem. When Pisear refuses to humor the brothers, Brian chucks a magic apple through his head. The trio then slaughters the entire city.

In Japanese, Duvall is called ドバール (rōmaji: dobāru), from the King of Siogair (Sicily), Dobar. He is the owner of two great steeds and a chariot that can ride over the water as land. After their trial in Persia, Brian decides that to get in good favor with Dobar, the sons of Tuireann would serve Siogair as mercenaries. The brothers pledge an oath to the king and act under him for a month and two weeks—not once in that time do they see the horses. The three then confront Dobar, swearing to end their service to him if they are not allowed to bear sight of them. Dobar, understandably, is disappointed to hear their loyalty was so fragile, especially when he would have brought the brothers to the vehicle if they just asked day one. Soon after the horses and carriage are brought out, Brian strikes down king and the sons of Tuireann bring ruin to the court before setting off for their next destination.

In both scenarios, the kings and their people are assailed by the Irish outsiders and their valuables stolen. It may be that the use of the names Pisear and Dobar are less meant to invoke the largely nonexistent personalities of the kings and more to reference the theft of items and lives by Brian, Iuchar, and Iucharba. Befitting of the trouble caused by the pirates. In fact, the noble goals of the Orgahil Pirates' two known captains being betrayed by Duvall and Pizare could reference how the Sons of Tuireann themselves are gods that commit such foul acts. That, or that the eight-step fetch quest the brothers are sent on in the story is punishment doled out by the god of light and one of the most important Irish deities, Lugh.

In a tangential advertisement: I had the privilege of cooperating with the lovely folks behind the recently released Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War Spanish fan-translation! They brought me onto the team to research and provide localizations for the names that currently lack anything official. If you've ever wondered why so much of this blog is biased towards the Jugdral duology, that's 50% of the reason. But I digress; in this translation project, Duvall, Pizare, and many others have their names changed to be more accurate to the mythology and history they pull from. To any Spanish-speakers who follow my work: I highly recommend giving it a go! And I don't just say that because I worked on it!

[wrathsofgrapes]

Social Media, Sousveillance, and the Self (The Three S’s!) REVISED AND BASS BOOSTED

Preface: I posted this as a gaggle of thoughts some months ago, which you can see if you scroll down just a little bit on my blog. These thoughts were decently unorganized and months later, after slow broiling and marinating these thoughts some more, I decided to turn it into a real conjecture of sorts.

Very special thanks + shoutout to my philosophy professor Daniel Rodriguez-Navas for his careful, thoughtful, constructive, and encouraging guidance throughout the development this paper.

Most young people are socially expected to have a form of social media now, and especially expected to have some form of personal information be public. Many find it strange if one does not post photos of themselves online. Most of us, generation Z, are expected and encouraged to contribute to this massive user-curated database, and in exchange, we are able to receive more attention than what was previously fathomable in the form of likes, shares, and comments. This attention is addictive, debilitating, heart-wrenching and hyper-fixated. It has never been possible in human history to access this many people at once, to be heard by this many people and hear this many people. The digital space has never been “natural” - though depending on particular definitions of “natural”, the transhumanist may argue that the digital space is the next step in evolution; an extension of the human realm. But we were not eased into this digital realm, we were thrown, many of us at a very young age, into this realm with a violent and perverted amount of freedom, enticed by information overload and the addiction of attention. The societal over-exposure to the current climate and habits of social media platforms has had not only a detrimental effect on users’ physical health and self esteem, but has also created an uncanny simulacrum of the ways in which we interact and present ourselves with/to others in real life. The incorporation of social media in our everyday lives has solely transformed the ways in which we love, hate, cry and laugh, prioritize - at others and especially ourselves. 

The new product of attention has become a pinnacle of desire; and we pay with sensation, with shock, with beauty and individuality. When these technological experiments first came out, our young, malleable, dissatisfied minds were the first to latch on. Our parents critiqued this, which made the project even more successful. But it is not a phase like our parents said it would be. They caved. All it took was a few years of normalization - advertising, attention, and they too, became hooked. A 2021 Pew research center study found that 91% of US adults aged 30-49 use online platforms, slightly decreasing in ages 50-64 with 83%, and 49% in adults aged 65 and up. We no longer even have an ancient antagonist to complain about “kids these days”. It has become all free and liberated, no shame in this addiction because the algorithms have improved, proved to be impenetrable in its strategy. 

What we now value is increasingly impacted by the digital sphere, riddled with advertisements for particularly desirable lifestyles. With a life revolving so much around the aspect of the digital realm, and with the digital realm being created on the foundation of capital pursuit, value is no longer personal. Life and culture are no longer personal. The personal is no longer personal. Lee Artz, author of “Global Entertainment Media: A Critical Introduction” describes how world culture no longer stems from local cultures, created by people. Instead, TNMCs (TransNational Media Corporations) create a culture based off of the pursuit of production and wealth, skillfully peppered with some features of local culture for the sake of relatability and familiarity, sold under the guise of “cultural diversity”. 

The transaction is subtle - we buy a fix of attention, a sense of connection in exchange for personal information, the more intimate the better. Post a photo of yourself - better if you are wearing less, better if you are doing something vulnerable, intimate, better with more controversy. A 2018 study by Bell, Cassarly and Dunbar examines the extent to which young women aged 18-24 posted self-images that were sexually suggestive and its correlation with the amount of “likes” and online engagement one would receive. The results concluded that this type of positive engagement on sexually suggestive photos encouraged young women to post more of them. As young people have been subject to this reward system for longer and whilst our young minds are still developing, we have a heightened sensitivity to this type of social reward. The oversharing of one’s sexuality and body essentially transfers ownership, or feeling of entitlement to the consumer, who possesses the power of encouraging it, or negatively engaging.

It’s not only sexualization that receives this engagement - the new phenomenon of oversharing personal information on the internet, especially now that less people are choosing to stay anonymous on the internet than ever before, has become essentially a new norm. Simply opening the Tik Tok app will present you with people in their homes, talking to the camera about intimate, vulnerable, and often embarrassing stories in full detail. The fascination with this seemingly raw and unfiltered form of content, or sexualized content, taps into a different type of perversion in the human psyche; this type of content, because it is in a way so humiliatingly honest, welcomes the most brutal responses. Though many love informational oversharing, with netizens commonly expressing that it makes them feel better about themselves, or relieved in its relatability, a 2022 study concluded that informational oversharing stems from anxiety and alienation from society, where people desperately try to find intimacy, attention, and relatability in their vulnerability.  “Better to shock than to bore” - or relevance over irrelevance, has become the subconscious logic. Relevance is emphasized more than ever now, where even “normal” people have a fixation on “staying relevant”, much like a celebrity would traditionally have. The “digital footprint” is no longer about reservation or preservation, it is about sensation and impact. That’s the new age of fame, and it is stupidly easy, stupidly addictive. 

I feel like this newfound addiction to attention and instant gratification has shifted our collective values. We value privacy much less, in favor of attention. Social media platforms have taught us that we can receive a great amount of attention, validation, and discourse just by trading one’s privacy, the value of which has been artificially decreased by TNMCs just as the value of fame/exposure has been artificially increased. 

The strategy of self advertisement is now learned by young adolescents before, or even instead, of the strategies of self preservation and self protection. No real cyber literacy is taught - it is simply learned through experience. Older generations and very young children do not have the years of developmental experience infiltrated by the digital space to garner an awareness of the real-life-to-digital dissonance. The two are not as easily separable to someone naive to the difference of impact they have. The digital space gives one, in a way, the illusion of ultimate privacy, almost like it encourages the exploitation of your deepest vulnerabilities. You can tell your innermost secrets out loud, alone, in the comfort of your own room, and be heard and seen by millions. Accounts of very young children or older people often go viral because their personas online are often either the most vulnerable pure reflection of their reality, or they are presenting themselves in a very obviously curated way, where they naively act like how they think people on the internet should act. These types of accounts are almost always loved by the public in an exploitative or patronizing way, where the humor lies in the fact that they do not act on social media in the way that shows a sense of “getting it”, part of this dreadful post-ironic, terminally blasé attitude that has plagued those with experience-based, shame-based digital literacy. I propose that this attitude is formed out of self protection, or a need to present oneself as somebody who is impenetrable in vulnerability.

The internet is where anything is said mostly without real life consequences - and this is another large aspect of why the digital space is addictive. One gets addicted to the honesty, which coaxes you into delving into and producing opinions that one would not think of producing in real life. Because of this honesty, people often purposefully think of things to critique and reasons to attack. But this is also a product of the oppressive real-life social norms of courtesy and the overbearing expectation of niceness. The digital realm is, in a way, a solace where we can reject that. But that freedom of communication is simply on the other extreme end of the spectrum of healthy communication. The pendulum never stops in the healthy middle. I often like to think of all my social media comments as if they were being said to me, in person, by the people behind these profiles. They usually have photos of themselves publicly posted. They say vile things because I am not real. To them, and funny enough, oftentimes to myself as well, I am just a monkey that is dancing on the circuit board inside their phones, in their pocket, accessible at any time and able to be deleted at any time. I am so beautifully insignificant, so temporary, and yet it inexplicably gives me a sense of a permanent presence - a stable one, that will not fade. I am not immune to the fetishization of fame.

Schlosser identifies self presentation versus self disclosure; self presentation being a goal-oriented, strategic, and curated presentation of the self, with self disclosure being sharing factual information to another about oneself, regardless of its impact on one’s social reputation. She finds that the internet gives affordance for self disclosure due to the option of anonymity, but also discourages disclosure through unfiltered and open audience feedback. Through personal observation, I believe that the issue is more complex, and calls for a more nuanced discussion than whether social platforms promote or discourage presentation or disclosure - because this discussion suggests that there is no blurred line between the curated self and the objective self. Even in a non-social media context, it is hard to differentiate between genuine and performative behavior, since it is so hard for a subject to differentiate and admit to it. With how engrossed most people are within their digital selves, I will argue that it is all presentative - and that even content that feels like disclosure is self presentation. Is there really no motive in disclosure, as Schlosser puts it? 

Maybe disclosure is innocence - a naieveté that is ironically revered and unironically feared. With the internet being an automatic concrete archive of one’s opinions and expression and a machine that almost always guarantees a consequence, there is a saying that has emerged in recent years: “be careful of what you say on the internet”. This is referring to the fear of getting “canceled” for saying something problematic, or to the possibility of publicly embarrassing oneself whether in action, speech or aesthetics. When people have an understanding of this ruthless internet system, everything one says and does on the internet is purposefully curated, with extra care in the desired effect of the content. Even when content is created for the purpose of self-degradation or self embarrassment for humor, it is still careful to not be too vulnerable, or too weird. 

Referring back to my earlier observation of how content from young children or older people who do not necessarily “get” the internet often go viral, I think that maybe this form of simple, naive, innocent and vulnerable content is the only true disclosure that exists on the internet - unintentional disclosure. Unintentional disclosure also can come forth in times where one may try to present a lie to consumers, and are proven false. I believe that this is why these videos and posts go viral - we all truly do love disclosure. We love honesty and vulnerability, proof of humanness and unintentional subjects of endearment. I do believe that my current generation is striving for real human connection, closeness, and earnest communication in this epidemic of loneliness, spearheaded by the cave-like illusion of comfort that technology brings. We’re just scared - I know I am - because who wouldn’t be, as involuntary test subjects for mystifying technologies? 

Altman and Taylor proposed the social penetration theory (SPT), where surface-level relationships can develop into much deeper ones, where the seal of intimacy gets penetrated, in a sense, through the sharing of personal information - self disclosure. The goal within self disclosure is social penetration, which is more present than ever in the context of social media, except social media does not give the affordance of other strategies to gain social penetration - such as a slow, gradual relationship, face-to-face contact, and mutual acknowledgement. Since content creators do not have these other affordances, I will argue that they feel the urge to go to extremes with a performance of self-disclosure, for the main goal of social penetration, creating parasocial relationships. 

The parasocial relationship is the driving force of the use of influencers in modern day advertisement. Simulating intimate, honest relationships is what the content creator strives for, because that is what creates the most engagement and makes for the best product endorsements, encouraged and funded by TNMCs. It is what the consumer also loves to consume, because without the added aspects of social penetration such as a slow, gradual relationship, face-to-face contact, and mutual acknowledgement, the consumer is able to have a fundamentally not whole but idealized version of the curator, where the curator’s personality can seem much more wholesome, specified, honest and relatable than the personality of anyone that the consumer could know in real life. 

The influencer blurs the line between “normal” person and celebrity. Celebrities used to be elusive creatures, where a sighting of them outside of a movie or magazine was considered fascinating - because celebrities used to be untouchable. They were Gods rarely among men and worshiped for their unapproachability. The influencer in the digital age has fundamentally transformed the concept of fame into one based not necessarily on traditional talent, but on social penetration, controversy, and very importantly, attractiveness. Even traditional celebrities are now, in recent years, joining social media platforms to engage with fans in a parasocial way - to show that celebrities are just like us! They eat food, shit it out, and have bad hair in the morning! We have all found out how profitable it is to be human - but not too human - that now, even the Gods have come down to earth to cash in. 

Even if consumers are aware of these dynamics in their media consumption, they will still often choose to engage positively in this system. 54% of young Americans would even become an influencer themselves if given the chance, because of how it is advertised and idealized. The parasocial relationship has created a simulation of what a person should be, due to the lack of affordances for actual human connection whilst simulating a version of human connection that is advertised as better than a real human connection - but I will argue that in reality, digital social penetration, or maybe even the illusion of it, fails to satisfy real social needs, but instead of this dilemma spurring people to seek out in-person connections, the instant and effortless gratification of a digital parasocial relationship makes users simply seek out a surplus of it.

My image, or at least the image I carefully project, has been seen by millions. Millions now have a specific perception of me - two-dimensional and dictated by an altered fraction of my legitimate self, locked in time. But what is the legitimate self? The digital age has created a larger gray area in the concept of “self” and “individual”, widening the hole that capitalism has created, where one is not only a product, but a walking advertisement. We now express and define the self through sousveillance, and often do not know ourselves without it. The self has come to be defined as the density and reaction of digital perception. Sometimes people no longer know who they are after their popularity leaves them. Late stage capitalism, bass-boosted by new technologies, has made individuals to be solely defined by reaction - because reaction is what creates transaction, what creates currency, whether it be a fix of mental gratification or actual money. I cannot think of anyone who would possibly like to admit it, but there is certainly a present attitude of “if you don’t exist online, do you even exist? Why wouldn’t you want to be online?” Why wouldn’t you want to partake in this addictive algorithm, endless scrolling, information overload, stimulation overload, and the promise of attention? You are weird if you don’t.

 With the value of personal information going up, and the value of privacy going down, with people believing that they are so insignificant that their information does not matter - I will refrain from using that as a main talking point. The promotion and investment into the advancement of social technologies almost feels like state-funded propaganda, but I also will not get into that talking point in fears of sounding like a crazed conspiracy theorist. The main issue is how it has shifted our entire social attitude, and has deeply affected the social dynamics of communities and circles in real life. Human connection is strained by image and obsession. It is strained from a disembodiment of the self and the environment. We now have to control our social lives online (transcending location and social boundary) as well as our social lives in real life. Because of how personal one’s social page seems, and how unintimidating and easy it is to contact anyone, there is no secrecy left. And some of the world’s greatest stories revolve around the beauty of secrecy.

This conjecture is not just to say that everybody should return to analog, and that the digital age has not had its glorious moments - but social media tries to convince you that the main purpose of your patronage to their platform is connection, fun, and inspiration, while the purpose is really all capital. And because we, the 21st century, have become test subjects for these new, cruel, untested technologies, there was truly no restriction or boundary on who was deemed able to access essentially this panopticon of positive/negative reinforcement, and content from every dark crevice of the world. This promotion of self exploitation has wedged its way into being a priority for many. Friends become friends and lovers become lovers based on aesthetics, image, and attraction. The curation of a profile is just as important as the curation of the real self. The curation of a profile becomes the self. The line between who one is online and in real life is becoming more and more blurred; people try to mold themselves to act in the way they are able to online. Online, one is free to lust and lie and hate and obsess and love. Online, one can be confident, sexy, loud, carefully vulnerable, relentlessly controversial, smart, beautiful, mysterious, careless, carefree, detached, ethereal and unreal. But maybe humans were not meant to be all of those things, all at once.

Author’s note: If you read to the end of this, thank you, and if you’d like access to the bibliography please PM me! I would have liked to make this longer - there’s so many things I could have gone on and on about. I’d also love to hear any comments or questions or general feedback.

[ssmhhh]

Wishing a very healing Midsummer’s Day to the Parry Family and @liarbelacqua and all the brave Gorgeous In Blue circus queens of Panjava Nation only!

my main beef with pullman’s HDM ending:

He uses the concept of romantic true love as falsely-equivalent allegoric collateral for why capitalism and colonialism are bad and should be stopped but in so doing he draws an incongruous parallel between those two inextricable ideologies and romantic love; something that is always diametrically opposed to the latter two, and therefore should never be tethered to their downfall/destruction and rather should be what ultimately triumphs over them instead of co-opted as a tool for their reinforcement. One of the definitive tenets of colonial capitalism and neoliberalism is isolation and individualism marketed as “freedom” on a level that is simultaneously personal, political, and economic.

Colonial capitalism necessitates a deeply unequal heteronormative contract sold with the false promise of romantic relationships which are transactional and devoid of true love under its guise, which ultimately led to the disillusionment of the mid-century postwar “nuclear family”; housewives turned to pharmaceutical medication because they were “free” but they were unbearably alone and devoid of agency in any real capacity.

Yet what Lyra and Will experienced with each other, both for the first time, was organically detached from these structures. It was pure experience deeply rooted in innocence and completely separate from the hegemonic influence of capitalism, colonialism, and cultural hegemony, especially given that they were both from different universes and each uniquely estranged from their respective cultures and familial ties. This is what makes their sacrifice so unsettlingly unjust— their love does not reflect the toxic conventions that pervade the motivations for romantic couplings in our current reality. They are a shining example of how love could and should be if it were not tied to the overarching structures of conquest and greed that our western historical context has imposed on a global scale (as mandated by the catholic church, mind you).

So why the fuck should They be the sacrificial lamb to bring about any change towards an alternative model in the collective unconscious? This is pure negative reinforcement and reverse psychology, both of which are the bread and butter of catholic ideological control— as Audrey Lorde so astutely articulated: “the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house”.

Given this premise, does their forcibly coerced separation not pose a manifold ethical dilemma? It’s not as though their experience has motivated them to meaningfully communicate a different message to the public through actions or words in their respective worlds as isolated individuals; their heartbreak, after all the trauma they have endured both separately and together became an unbearable burden for them to shoulder in their young adult lives to the point of being completely debilitating and all-consuming (at least in Lyra’s case, given what transpired in the secret commonwealth), the weight of which renders the gravity it holds to yield only destructive results.

xoxo, panjava clown 🤡

[reportscammers]

### Exposing and Stopping Fake Scam Call Centers in Kolkata, India

#### Introduction

Kolkata, the vibrant cultural capital of India, is unfortunately also known as a hub for fraudulent call centers. These scam operations target unsuspecting victims globally, tarnishing the city's reputation and causing significant financial and emotional distress. This blog explores the mechanisms behind these scams, the efforts to combat them, and how we can contribute to stopping this menace.

#### Understanding the Scams

Fake call centers operate under various guises, from tech support and IRS impersonation to lottery and loan scams. These operations are sophisticated, often using advanced technology to spoof caller IDs and create believable scenarios. The scammers are well-trained, fluent in multiple languages, and skilled in social engineering techniques.

#### The Impact of Scams

The impact of these scams is far-reaching:

1. **Financial Loss**: Victims lose thousands of dollars to these scams, often their life savings.

2. **Emotional Toll**: Beyond financial loss, victims suffer immense emotional stress, guilt, and shame.

3. **Reputational Damage**: Kolkata's image suffers, affecting legitimate businesses and tourism.

4. **Legal Consequences**: Those involved face severe legal repercussions, damaging their future prospects.

#### Efforts to Combat the Scams

1. **Law Enforcement Actions**: The Kolkata Police, in collaboration with international agencies like the FBI and Interpol, have been actively raiding and shutting down these scam centers. Recent operations have led to numerous arrests and the seizure of equipment used in scams.

2. **Public Awareness Campaigns**: NGOs, government bodies, and tech companies are working to educate the public about recognizing and avoiding scams. These campaigns are crucial in empowering potential victims with the knowledge to protect themselves.

3. **Regulatory Measures**: Strengthening cyber laws and implementing stricter regulations for call centers can help prevent the establishment of fraudulent operations.

4. **Technological Interventions**: Tech companies are developing tools to detect and block scam calls. Collaboration between telecom companies and regulatory bodies is essential to identify and shut down spoofed numbers.

#### How You Can Help

1. **Stay Informed**: Regularly update yourself on the latest scam tactics. Knowledge is your first line of defense.

2. **Report Scams**: If you receive a suspicious call, report it to the authorities. In India, you can contact the Cyber Crime Cell or use the government's helpline.

3. **Educate Others**: Share information with friends and family, especially those who may be more vulnerable to scams, such as the elderly.

4. **Support Legitimate Causes**: Contribute to or volunteer with organizations working to combat cybercrime and support victims.

#### Conclusion@ jim i want to.join your team to expose scammers in India as much as I can sir

The battle against fake scam call centers in Kolkata requires a multi-faceted approach, involving law enforcement, public awareness, regulatory measures, and community involvement. By staying informed, vigilant, and proactive, we can protect ourselves and help dismantle these criminal networks. Together, we can restore Kolkata's reputation and ensure a safer digital world for everyone.

#### Call to Action

Have you encountered a scam call recently? Share your experience in the comments below and let’s spread awareness together. If you found this blog helpful, please share it with your network to help others stay safe from scams.

[oh-my-damn]

It's so ironic to me that America has made their motto "the land of the free" and not to mention the phrase "America's number 1" (at what exactly? Nothing good, I assure you, but you are number 1 at a lot of terrible things, including country to commit the most war crimes without being prosecuted for it)

America wasn't free for everyone when they coined that phrase and I would argue it still isn't. When do we start seeing the system and the way it's been set up for what it is?

Pledging allegiance to your country every morning before class is an arguably very strange thing to do, yet it's been custom in America the past many decades.

Having to practice how to hide from school shooters is an arguably very strange thing to do, yet it's been custom in America for the past many decades.

Invading other countries and killing civilians under the guise of "protecting them" or "granting them freedom/democracy" is an arguably strange thing to do. Especially considering the lack of freedom and outright democracy that exists in your own country as you do it.

I recently started a re-watch of Scrubs. In that show, which originally came out in 2001, there is an episode that mentions and slightly discusses the Iraq War. The episode itself paints the picture of a divided people, with very conflicting opinions regarding whether or not the war is valid, and why America is in it to being with.

It reminded me of today, and the wars America have since been and are still fighting. It reminded me of the justice system, not just the American one, but the international one, which has been set up to ensure that America has free reign to do basically what they please without any repercussions.

I ask, if your citizens cannot earn a livable wage or pay rent due to massive inflation, if they have to go in massive depth to go to school or in case they get sick, if they have to fear repercussion for expressing their opinions, are they truly free?

If they are trapped in a system based on capitalizing on and controlling everything that makes one human, who is truly free?

Perhaps the billionaires are. It's interesting, is it not, that America has such a large number of billionaires while simultaneously having such a large number of homeless people?

It is interesting, is it not, that America claims to be the driving force of "democracy" yet their voting system is inherently flawed and dare I say outright corrupt due to the fact that you can practically pay your way to presidency, and the people are not considered nor listened to when it comes to matters of law?

It is interesting, is it not, that America claims to be the land of the free, yet they police their citizens so heavily, they don't even know when their rights are being taken away?

It is interesting, is it not, that we glorify a country that historically has caused so many issues and problems, has taken part in fighting wars on behalf of other people at the cost of millions of lives, that acts as if they are the leaders of the democratic world despite their presidents being paid for by corporations or nations to serve their own interests, that polices peoples free speech, that is capitalistic in its fundamental values and does not care about its own citizens safety or wellfare.

Isn't that interesting?

Why is that?

[goongiveusnothing]

"i think he had better help in the past over his clothes and looks." honestly, I commend you for being able to see this in him years ago because unfortunately i was fooled for a long time lol! I agree he had better help in the past. Though, when I really think about it, Harry could never dress. To the point that it is absurd and frankly laughable that some consider him to be a fashion icon. The man cannot dress well to save his life and also he just doesn't appear to care about fashion... at all. Unless, the fashion is somehow getting him clicks and attention (i.e. every cover shoot he's ever done). And I think you're also right about the looks. Tbh he has historically never been great at not looking unkempt when on his own time-- and maybe that his thing, but I definitely think he's better groomed when under the guise of a team vs not. The problem now, like you mentioned, is I think his team doesn't advise him very well. If I were him, I would've fired harry lambert soooo long ago. Harry's hair and outfits are hardly ever flattering lol. He just does not ever capitalize on his really strong features. He has a nice body, yet he's usually thrown in something extra baggy. He also has a whole sleeve of tattoos (albeit not the best looking) that is often hidden away. He has a really pretty eye color, so darker hair would suit him better to bring out those out. His hairstyles the past few years have been criminally bad (especially the one he has now). He's always pushing his hair away from his forehead and I think some strands need to go down onto his forehead to give him a more youthful look. (what happened to his curls?? was that a perm?) He dresses like a late 40 year old and that's partly why he appears to be aging badly as well. I wonder if he thinks he's above the cool, hip fashion trends the young people are doing these days.. or if he's just mimicking his nepo baby babysitters' style.

i agree with everything.

when i say better dressed i mean the floral suit he once wore for an event, and the basic skinny jeans, chelsea boots, tee shirt look he would wear, that loads of men would wear, because it looked good on many of them.

harry decided all of that was too mainstream and because he no longer even seems to have any normal friends, he's completely out of touch with dressing for himself anymore. it's all the wanky art scene type of dressing that looks deeply uncool to anyone outside of it.

i think he does care about fashion in that he listens to people who kiss his ass telling him what ridiculous thing to go out wearing, but i don't think on his own he has any real interest or knowledge about fashion. he very obviously doesn't enjoy it. there's no fun there or personality or exploration. he dresses off rack. and dresses so badly for his age, his size, his body. no fashionista would've been seen wearing that abomination he wore with taylor when he was karening someone on the phone.

[jerrydreams]

Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire

Once again, Zach goes in with an open mind. Again he's rejected, but he confidently decides to prove that he was wrong. Again, just like with DC, he goes bare-knuckle on the huge Disney corporation. Everyone loved the story then and everyone was waiting (and longing) for it now. But behind the crusade of a peculiar director comes a film education that isn't quite coherent. In Snyder's exceptional style, with slo-mo and pathos taken to the absolute (absurd), this, in some places quite ancient Greek saga, looks like a set of highly artistic clips.

(Like his "Batman v Superman". But the storyline is still better ).

The lore of the film project is smeared in a thin layer under the feet of the heroes carelessly fighting with evil. The world of those "own", "Snider's", Star Wars, which never fits into this concept. Because it's desperately forlorn. In the creation of George Lucas, from the first moments of any film from the screen, the hope to defeat evil and find the long-awaited peace. In the world of Rebel Moon, heroes go to beat evil to beat evil.

And every hero (and especially the protagonist) is a warrior here. No one has ever found peace on the "green and beautiful" planet (in Zack Snyder's colour correction, any greenery puffs with the brightness of hopelessness and death). Everyone is just waiting for the next twist of fate that will bring them back to the battlefield. And the peace and tranquility that Zack wants to deceive us with is not even seen in the cute village children of simple farmers. (in the second part, the girl from the village begins to perfectly handle the weapon literally from the first touch).

And such atmosphere of eternal movement in the battle to the death is very typical for Warhammer universe. Where every particle of the visible universe breathes war. This is where Zack Snyder would be brilliant. This is his world. How beautiful the Ultramarine giants would look in all that slo-mo. How magnificent would those slow motion and bright flashes from bolt cutter shots illuminate the emblems of the invincible Space Troopers. How beautiful the Dark Eldar played by Zack Snyder would have been. How accurately and succinctly would all this moody colour and slowness fit in the ritual of dressing a space trooper in armour (even stretch it to the whole film). It's as if you can still imagine Zack Snyder in the director's chair as an emperor on a golden throne, almost dead but incredibly powerful.

The film didn't live up to many expectations, but what it sure did well was Evil. Yes, with a capital letter. In these times of resurgent evil, Zack Snyder is definitely pointing the finger at it. This is it. Uncompromising. It's impossible to negotiate with. Vile and powerful, it is sure to hide behind nobility and the promise of freedom, but from goodness. And the time of doubting and self-doubting superheroes is passing. Enough of this illusion that everything can be avoided or get to the bottom of Evil. It has no foundation, but it does have a nature of absolute destruction and total superiority over all that is good. Evil, constantly returns. Perhaps in a different guise and we do not even see it at first (or prefer not to see it), but sooner or later it comes out and begins to do the same thing that it did before - to destroy. And if the world and we change, evil never does. It's always the same. It's always the same. Destruction. And the only thing we need to know is if it can be defeated once and for all. And the only way to find out is to fight it. Like Zack's heroes (and probably himself) do.

Part Two is coming out soon. And despite the first, we're all waiting for the sequel (and the victory over Evil). And we'll all be watching it. Like a mirror.