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missmayhemvr · 8 months ago

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How Europe underdeveloped Africa and its legacy

first and formost before i break this down, this is not a post for white people to express their guilt, or savoir complex or love of historical revisionism. you'll not just be blocked, you'll go on a block list on this post, don't do it to yourself, i wont even have to be the one to do it. secondly this is a covering of the broad themes, lessons, and understanding within the book and what we should learn from it. third, i will often talk from my own perspective from which i will round to a larger context.

part 1- history and anthropology

As someone who has grown up black in the us, i grew up with a particular understanding or idea of Africa, the slave trade and the way America and Europe came about. you hear about tribal or ethnic disputes in the context of modern Africa and hear quite a lot of blatantly racist things about Africans. which caused me to get very into history, to which you learn when it comes to Africa there's not a lot of great places to start. this is something quite similar to the various indigenous peoples of the Americas as well. this has always been presented to me as a fault of Africans for not having history and is a long standing idea of white intellectuals from the 1800s to the Joe every man of today. the truth is Africa has history, there's no land, that has no history and Europe just devalues histories not associated with itself. there's a absolute glut of kingdoms, empires, languages, historical traditions, governing styles, cultural roles, trade networks etc etc. the fact of the matter is, that there's just very little Europeans want to learn about Africa that isn't to colonial ends, even today.

This is something Walter covers in great detail, to such a point that even as someone that has been purposely elbows deep into listening to everything i can find on African history i still had to go look up various pre-colonial kingdoms and figures. there is not a region of Africa that he doesn't take time to address in at least some detail, from Oyo and Ashanti on the west African coast, to the north of the Maghreb with Morocco and Algeria, east to the great lakes region, the horn of africa and south to the Zulus, koi koi, and Nguni peoples and kingdoms. The extensiveness to which he covers material forms of production, trade, and methods of historical preservation of culture, the types and breath of items, created and traded all through like cloth, glass, iron working, artistic ventures like bronze sculptures of benin and food production and cultization and the formations of various styles of rule, early democracy, and other such information put to bed nearly all of the non-nonsensical ideas that africa was a grand continent without progress, innovation, or skills and everything great, large, or more complex than rubbing to sticks together came from europe or arabs.

The book delves quite deep into the mythology of intense african slavery and violence which would be later used by europeans to justify colonization of africa to each other, said colonization, i will swing around back to much as the book does.

The middle passage, the triangle trade, the atlantic slave trade, these are all names for the event that was one of the chief reason to the economic and scientific take off of europe that would lead to industrialism, with the other being the colonization of the americans. stolen land and labor pushed the european world from not much a concern to anyone but those who had to deal with the crusades to the paramount power that controlled nearly all the sea trade, and held large swaths of territories of the world. we all know most of that, but walter ask the question on the other side of that coin. what did the slave trade do to africa? and why did they participate? the short answer is it changed the entire way african economies functioned and lessened the possibility of growth not just of kingdoms over territories, but of production and developement of sectors such as iron working, glass making, and agriculture. and in a very literal sense was one of the earliest forms of the phenomenon known today as brain drain and depopulation. we quite literally will never know the amount of people stolen or killed for slavery, we only know that as the rest of the world experienced high population growth africa and the americas started to experience intense depopulation. these phenomena weren't incidental they were known, and admitted as purposeful by figures qouted in the book. The african leaders at the time how ever were stuck between a rock and a hard place, many noted not just the importance of guns, but also recognized the importance of population growth at the onset. the game however being rigged from the start would have taken a miracle to over come. japan was the one country to escape colonialism in most meaningful senses, and that was because the dutch taught them how to produce guns and would trade with them "almost" as equals. these are also things addressed by rodney, the sale of arms was often highly lopsided, with Portugal and dutch traders only being willing to trade badly produced or broken guns, low quality powder and shot for slaves. this would not change until europeans would learn of other african products that they could make us of in their markets as raw materials such as ivory or kola nuts, this change would not happen for quite a while and mainly after the Europeans had already built their industrial bases and had taken total control of trade routes and begun to flood African markets with "cheap" products. the combinations of factors both purposeful and accidental shifted the African economies into a near total reliance on Europe economically and militarily but not yet politically. these are all expertly researched and explained to a point it is nearly impossible to refute any points. This points are all also something i can confirm from nearly every single source that ive looked into on African history.

part 2 -colonial "development"

This is a portion of history ill admit to doing my best to stay away from, generally much of my knowledge on it till this book has been on what happened with various kingdoms that fell in the late 1800s and early 1900s or by the various oral and 3rd hand accounts of what peoples familes, parents and even political elites went through. ill be frank, i did not go into the depth of the horrors of what happened with slavery, slave raiding, and its secondary effects, for this section and the next ill have to go through quite a lot. ill try to tone it down as best as i can, but on some of it even the implied parts are going to be horrid. I believe it is however important to face those head on, to truly understand the so called "white mans burden" or the reality of what that meant was.

colonialism meant making the final step, taking africa politically and physically. europe made the leap whole heartly to take all of africa, land, people, and any potential valuables, resources and to exploit everything they could get their hands on to the fullest extent possible. i do not use anything in the prior sentence lightly. Europeans like to play word games and often, the idea that they ended slavery in any meaningful sense is false, and ill come back to that in the final section. during the period of colonial control europeans destroyed just about anything of the prior rulers they could, and stole anything they could. theres a likelihood in my mind that theres many and african sculpture, painting, and cloth or glass work that sits in the home of a collector that got rich off the stolen plunder of africa. these includes many villages, cities, and palaces and shires and places of worship and places of craft. whole cities were destroyed such as kumasi, taking with it histories, architectural stylings and methods of production.

during this period was the final shift from internal political and economic growth to purely serving the empires to which ones lands belonged. no longer would rulers push for education reforms or challenges on religious bodies to strengthen any part of the nation, it was a total transformation into a form of state slavery. this is as metaphorical as literal, europeans would begin to change agriculture to be primarily centered around cash crops and mining labor to which labor was forced. people were made to pay taxes in the modern sense through the wages made through said labor. these taxes were in turn used primarily to fund the upkeep of oppressive forces and funding the check books of colonial governors, an insanely tiny portion of these funds were used for anything besides extracting wealth and resources.

the various governments put little to no money, research, or development into anything but cash crops and pulling things out the ground. the only times they put money into schools, training or even medical resources for people in African, it was for better wealth extraction and always the bare minimum. i believe (don't have the book in front of me rn) west Africa (from west of chad and south of Algeria) only had one university until the late 50s. the industrial sector of Africa was near completely killed, Africans in settler areas were not allowed to own even small scale industrial machinery such as cotton gins or fruit oil extraction machines, in non-settler state areas generally only peoples brought into Africa for the purpose of being a separated class of petite boug representatives for the colonizers were allowed to own industrial machinery. electricity was mostly for those same classes of individuals, hospital access, education access, pretty much anything you need for a community to survive esp in the modern era was highly restricted from Africans. To say that Europe "developed" Africa in any sense is beyond a bold faced lie, and it was something ,Rodney points out, that Europeans were quite proud of until they started to face push back for the level of humanity and exploitation they were facing. Once they started to get pushed out they changed their tune to the lie of African development and modernization. just like the lie of ending slavery for moral reasons and invading Africa to end slavery. Speaking of ending slavery in Africa, Rodney points to several figures who openly gloated about how they ran their colonial post or corporate holdings as slave plantations. king Leopold is one of the more famous examples of it, but far from the only one, many took delight in their cruelty. famine became endemic in regions that were the origins of many foods and cultivates crops, as all the agricultural process that could be shifted to cash crops were. Roads and trains ran from the mines and plantations to the seas and very little else. Various things needed to export raw materials were built with slave labor, like a airport in Kenya built by hand, no machinery via forced labor of Kikuyu peoples

Europe's only goal in Africa was land and profits, the same as in the Americas. genocide, slavery, starvation campaigns were common tools of colonizers in Africa all the way up to today, which i will re-address in part 4.

part 3 - education, traditional and political

Education is a very clear and important part of modern life, but also for building a nation, and self dependence, so it is of no wonder than colonizers thought that it should be restricted in Africa in regards to Africans. The various quotes and framing that Europeans used to dismiss the idea that Africans should have access to any form of formal education sounds exactly like quotes pulled from the most vicious of slavers of the prior centuries in the US and Haiti. One of the most prominent ideas that was education would "spoil" Africans, was a sentiment was also expressed by slavers. this section of the book is very much facts and figures on just how little access to education there was, how little funding went into it vs the amount of profits coming out of the various regions as well as how this was over come. two of the prime ways that was done according to the book and much of what Ive heard prior, was through the use of missionary schools or independent schools. These schools were primarily funded not by the colonial governments but by the peoples seeking education, their families, and so on, with the expectation that those educated would teach the rest of the family. education how ever was shown to not really pull people out of poverty nor to really give African peoples the possibility of positions of power or influence. this was such a near universally a rule, Amilcar Cabral, revolutionary leader and agricultural engineer even spoke to his personal experiences with being educated far beyond the man in charge of him yet having zero say in his job, his boss was renownly a dumb man. This was not an uncommon thing. Rodney goes well into it, and this just exemplifies how Europeans only saw Africans as a source of cheap and "unskilled labor". Access to education even if funded by the peoples seeking education themselves was clamped down on sharply once revolution was on the wind. Those who know the patterns of history though would have known that the clamping down made that worse, it simply accelerated the wants for education, as well as for independence.

part 4 - modern Africa and modern euro/america

When the cards started to fold on empire they took many different routes to lessen the fall for power, France tried blowing thing up and killing cattle and destroying things needed for civil life, a all call for genocide against Algerians. Britian, Portugal, most of them tried the same things, but they were pushed out in some ways, and when that became obvious they turned to the small group of political insiders they rapidly trained to take over in their stead. for those that weren't under the control of the colonizers they turned to the coup and military dictatorship. very few of the revolutionary leaders of africa were able to stay in power, many turned toward methods some would call authoritarian. without the context of what was going on and how unstable the situation was for these leaders and just how quickly and violently these revolutions could be overturned, it would be easy to take these figures as just becoming despots without reason, some of them really did become despots who just started functioning as neocolonial cops. This brings us to the modern era, and the current method of colonialism not just in africa but much of the world, Neocolonialism, or as i like to call it "home rule".

European nations were not ready to give up control, but they decided they would be willing to give up the appearance of direct rule. economic decisions, the political direction of countries, borders, very little of the modern africans situation was not directly decided on by europeans or americans. financial institutions such as the world bank and IMF lend these governments that had to try and start building actual nations with functioning economies loans with interest rates they would not be able to pay back in time, with conditions that made it even hard to meet the internal goals or pay back the loans and additional conditions of economic control by the IMF for failure to pay these loans. colonial governments such as France forced nations like Mali to pay taxes till recently, and nearly all the colonial powers set the trade rules between them and their "former" colonies in Africa. very few leaders were able to chart much of a path for progress or development that met the needs of the people before these various things snatched much of the independence back away from the people, pushing Africa away from shifting toward an agricultural sector that feed the people and an industrial sector capable of growing the economies or a scientific sector able to make adjustments or provide notable push in any direction. Fifa has more say in policy when they decide to host in a country than the people or even large segments of the governments of Africa. Nkrumah and Rodney both in their respective titles showcase this well, however neither would live to see much past the end of overt colonial rule.

Today there is a larger push against neocolonial rule and economic control than prior, organizations such as BRICS, china's one belt one road policy, and smaller grass roots works and various coups have shifted us to a different situation in Africa than what it has been in for the last 80+ years. However this is not a wholly different situation to that my grandmother would have heard of. much of the continent is still very much under euroamerican influence, the us of slave labor or near slave labor conditions is still a significant factor in the economic relationship between Africa and its former colonizers, which is seen very strongly in the Congo and in coco production. Africa is still yet to industrialize in a manner that matches its needs and this is generally at the behest of its colonizers, and in the majority of the continent the colonial capitalist ventures still own land and resources they stole and murdered their way into, settler property relations have also been solidified in places like south Africa. i would believe that Rodney would say that say that Africa still has a long way to go if he was still around.

The themes of the book were quite complex, and it was refreshing in many ways to be presented with such a sober look into Africa. Read the book, understand what its saying and try to use a similar level of consciousness, nuance, and thought in your day to day analysis of the world around you, and we may have a chance at fixing this ship.

To depart from the contents of the book, i would like to address the white man in the room. Europe, its role in history and its modern role in history, like I've said at the top, not time or place for white people tears. I'm going to be brutally honest, and I'm going to combine the thoughts and finding of not just Nkrumah and Rodney, but also figures like Fanon, Malcom X, Kwame Ture,Rev Martin Luther king Jr and many others of the course of Africana histories and philosophies.

Europe, more particularly Western Europe, has spent the last few hundred years visiting horror on horror on the world, when it comes to the modern era, they simply have not stopped. the damage Europe as a bloc has done, much like the amount of people who were enslaved or killed for the slave trade, will never be full accounted for and that tab just keeps growing. There is no sign of it slowing or stopping. Empires don't like to stop existing, this is something those interested in history know very well. The problem is that Europe cannot be honest nor up front about this, be it the League of nations or the EU and America, or even in the face of the UN, Europe and its Settler states it spawned is just as addicted to domination and profit seeking at all cost as it was 100 years ago which was no different when the slave trade began. Europeans/ White people as a whole as still strongly in the belief that they have a moral high ground to speak to the rest of the world when the truth of the matter is for nearly 500 years, white peoples flying European flags have been histories biggest villains. even in the 21st century, Europe's role on the world stage has been that of a vampire. sucking the life from others to sustain itself. it is still violently racist and xenophobic, which is ironic for peoples who have literally invaded the vast majority of the world, nor is it any more moral or upright today than on the eve of colonialism in the Americas or Africa or any other portion of the world. the EU can barely come together today to denounce blatant acts of genocide and white people are finger waging about anti-LGBT laws in places they couldn't point to on a map (im not happy about anti-lgbt shit, im trans bi and poly this shit actually tears me up). Europeans and their settler offshoots boast about the safety of their cities while actively being the cause of the violence elsewhere. This is all to say Europes fucking evil ya'll, which we should all know at this point, but to further it, they aren't really going to stop as that's what its designed to be. these nations aren't going to suddenly produce radical leaders who are going grow morals or empathy and compassion and move us closer to a just world and fight climate change and help develop the global south or anything like that unless some extreme changes happen, not just among the ruling classes, but the everyday person because like i noted, its policies are racist and colonial and imperialistic, but that really only last not just because people aren't willing to guillotine people over it, but because a substantial enough portion of the populace that they care about are happy to be that way or are passive about the suffering of black or brown people or poor people. they will accept the idea the x group of brown people are homophobic or terrorist( never questioning what terrorist even means) and accept that they should constantly be bombed or killed or have their land and resources stolen, which if people cant see the parallels to the largest slaving nations going and invading under the guises of ending slavery and the nations the mainstreamed homophobia across the world and did acts of political terror across the globe going and claiming those are valid reasons to do what they do idk how to help you. your average white American or European is truly no more curious or wanting to actually learn and have dialog about African cultures than isrealis are about Arab culture, nor are they any less willing to throw white supremacist ideas about these peoples onto them. Those last things are not problems i really know how to solve because we are constantly shown even in internet spaces the white supremacist notions of the "other" will animate people into heinous actions, harassment, doxing campaigns, etc without POC even having to say a word against people. Unless White people yes in the monolithic have a substantial cultural and economic shift, you'll keep producing hitlers and leopolds, guilt will not push you, your nations, or your friends and families into a more positive role.

if it could, slavery would have done it, colonialism would have done it, the holocaust etc. you guys have to change, you must . Peace.

#black liberation #colonization #indigenous liberation #world of the oppressed #pan african #the colonized #politics #save for later #how europe underdeveloped africa #walter rodney #liberal hypocrisy #fascisim #scratch a liberal and a fascist bleeds

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docholligay · 1 year ago

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Marrowbone

Thank you so much to @iscahwynn for buying this from me for my mother's birthday trip! I am happy to say this is SOLD OUT FOR THE YEAR. (And I have no idea if it'll come back next year--I don't think I have a major trip to help with) In October, I'll be doing Hero, and in November, I'll be doing Parasite. Keep your eyes peeled if a book is of interest to you, and then after I get my schedule done, there may be some other ancillaries!

This is a Spanish horror film in English. That isn’t me saying that everything inspired by a different film is stealing it, this is me saying a Spanish writer and a Spanish director made a film in English, and it is very Spanish in feel and in the sort of “scare” we’re offering up. Me putting that in quotation marks makes it seem like I don’t appreciate Spanish horror but Spanish horror is in fact my very favorite if we have to pin down extremely large and broad swaths of movie by country. However, I understand why a movie like this would not necessarily be appreciated by a lot of fans of horr or casual horror watchers. It’s pensive, it’s slow, it doesn’t have a lot in the way of actual ‘scares’ because that’s just not, by and large, what Spanish horror films DO. If someone is looking for a film that involves a lot of the American style of extreme tension and release (Which I also enjoy. This is absolutely not me dogging on American horror.) then this film really isn’t for you.

BUT, if you love the idea of pursuit in an emotional sense, of the walls closing in and reality coming for you as you attempt to hide from it, this might be right up your alley. Is it as good as The Orphanage? No, I’m not sure I think it is. It’s really missing some of those ‘pop’ moments, like “toca la pared’ in its driving force, and I think a couple of the characters feel a little half-formed, but it is a deeply enjoyable film if you are a fan of this style of horror film

Horror is always a difficult medium because what horror is and means to people is so different. It’s like comedy, only I would argue that people seem to realize more easily that comedy is extremely personal. Horror is the same. Not just ‘what scares you’ though that as well, but ‘what are looking for in a horror? What does that mean to you?’

So, Me: In horror I generally want a supernatural base for a story, and I prefer it to say something, though i am totally fine with “Isn’t this fucked up?” as long as the tension is well balanced and i don’t feel insulted. I tend to prefer ghost stories where there is some sort of explanation for the haunting, as is more common in European and American stories, and truly adore possession stories. When it comes to what i like horror movies to be about, many things, but I’m very fond of memory, and history, and guilt, and what the idea of a person is.

All this to say that in many ways, this is tailored to me.

Jack is this axis upon which the family spins, even long before his mother dies, the stable and straightforward one. Each of the siblings has their own role, but it matters that Jack is the one to survive because in truth he’s the only one that could survive. And with his mother dead, he has to keep this massive secret. I would argue with a great many parts of this whole “We have to hide that our mother is dead to the extent that we cannot fucking leave the house in rural Maine” and as someone who has lived in rural America most of my life, I am not sure that it holds up in narrative court, but ultimately it’s not so distracting that it pulls me out of the story. It’s part and parcel of how the story has to work, though it DID make me figure out they were dead. Jack is under immense strain, though, even before they die. It’s plucking at the fabric of his mental state long before his father comes and kills everyone.

(For all being confused by the fact that he can’t do anything until he’s 21, the age of majority in the US was not 18 (I would argue it still is not, but that’s a different post entirely) in the US until 1971, in the wake of the Vietnam War and specifically the draft. Not that he would have been in much better shape in the UK--the age of majority became 18 there only in 1969.)

But when they ARE killed, they come back to save his life (according to Jack’s version of them*) and they are all aspects of Jack. It’s important to remember that Jack is actually doing everything for himself. So, Jane is the nurturing aspect of Jack’s self, the one who cooks and cares and soothes, Billy is his anger, his ability to destroy and to kill--at the end, it’s the voice of Billy that goes, “let me do this”--and of course Sam is his innocence, Jack’s need to be protected and cared for, the part of him that is afraid and young. On a rewatch, it’s actually pretty easy to see how their personalities change to fit these incredibly broad strokes after they die, because our memories of people are not those people. They are the coastal outlines of how we remember them. Jack is saved by the aspects of the people he loved.

I want to DO something with the idea that the family escapes England, runs from it, to come to America, and the exact same trouble that they had in England follows them here. The same murder and abuse and pain comes for them anyway, a sea between them. And the mother is from Maine, or her family is. I’m not sure what to do with all of that, but it feels like that’s so much work to simply be a coincidence. But I’m not just not sure what to do with it. I could do a whole idea about the very formation of America, about this idea that is very much a part of the building of the American idea where your history is anew the second you step over the border, where you are far enough away from the ‘old world’ that you can escape its horrors. But you can’t. It comes for you, it comes down the chimney, it kills the things you love, and is this part and parcel of the inescapable horror of Where You Come From? I don’t know that I LOVE that as an answer, it feels imperfect to me, but I feel like that’s such a very specific choice, especially with taking the money from there, that there has to be something in it.

And I mean, that doesn’t have to be specifically about the US and the UK, you could say the same thing about Spain and Mexico, to bring it back to the writer/director, where there are so many good things about the US/Mexico, but also horrors that have been inherited from the UK/Spain, and it is impossible to live in a house that was built for people across the shore and to keep out the horrors.

On that note, let’s talk about Tom, who is a little mustache-twirling for my tastes in a movie that is essentially about escape and memory and how we choose to live with tragedy. I’m not sure if this has anything to do with The UK, sure, but specifically England--and this family is specifically English--and the US have a really difficult history, we are family of a kind, but we can also resist each other and be pretty cruel to one another. This feels like a kind of anger, a kind of resentment that no matter how well you do, no matter how absolutely ruined Jack/the UK is, he’s preferred for what? Suffering in silence instead of wanting more? ALSO ALSO, and I don’t know that the writers even knew this, but it could be something about how the well-being of the UK has, for at least the last 70-odd years, been tied in a large way to the well-being of the US. The two worst recessions in the Uk before the pandemic were tied to US CRISES. The recession in the early 00s, the worst in the UK since WW2, was tied to OUR subprime mortgage crisis. In the 90s? Tied to our savings and loan crisis. We are inevitably fucking tied to each other, and also we hate each other. I was going to write something else, but I’m getting off-track, and I don’t know if I think this is totally supported by the narrative, but I want to do something with Tom that is more than ‘mean antagonist’ and so I’m standing here before you with a list of recessions in the Uk going “Is this anything?”

I actually think Anya Taylor-Joy is a bit wasted here, as her character requires very little, and is mainly an accessory and an idea to everything that is happening. Maybe I’m underselling it--it’s completely possible that without Taylor-Joy, the character would become so weak and one-dimensional as to be annoying, and she never really does that, she feels unexceptional and real, and that is enough.

This is by design, of course. WE are Allie. We immediately fall in love with the family and are kept emotionally distant from the reality of their situation. We understand things only as they come to us through Jack. We have to rely on his version of events. Remember the ‘reveal’ is through his little book. We choose to believe him, because like Allie, we love him.

So Iscah asked me what I think of the ending and specifically what I think of the idea, as put it “that it seems to be cast as positive” that he is still seeing his family. Do I think it’s being cast as positive? I don’t know if I do. I do think it is designed to put him in sharp contrast with his mother, who has everyone step over the line and forget everything that came before, and even when Jack himself does this, it’s to forget something instant and specific. I think part of what’s it’s saying is that what his mother attempts is impossible. That our pasts and our presents are impossibly tied up in one another, and to set it aside is going to end in tragedy. And, in fairness, maybe that makes it correct that Jack’s still living ‘with’ his siblings.

It’s certainly not being cast as fully negative, I’ll give you that all day long, but I don’t know if I fully agree that it’s being cast as positive. It’s sort of cast as neutral. If it were cast as positive I’d argue that he would be living a richer, fuller life. When we come upon him, we don’t even really interact with him, Allie comes upon him sleeping on the porch, and wakes him up. There’s no indication that he’s helped by the haunting of his siblings. There’s no indication he ever leaves the house. Now, could he someday end up having a good life, with something he enjoys doing, and marrying Allie, fixing up the house, al the things he’d like to do? Sure, perhaps. But also could he end up essentially always sitting on that porch staring into the field.

I do think that is the point, actually. That he could go either way, now. That he has decided, and Allie has decided, that living with the denial of what’s happened is better than living with the reality of what has, and whatever happens after there is still up to them. He was going into town and making cakes and selling things and all that when he was hallucinating his family as alive, so there’s really no reason why he can’t learn to repair plaster and lath while Billy holds the ladder or whatever. I realize I’m being a little flippant about it, but I think when you’re dealing with being, we’ll just call it odd for the sake of casting a wide net, you can learn to live with it, and learn to be a reasonably happy person with it, most of the time. You may not do everything the way other people do, but you can learn to make it work.

In all, I really enjoyed this movie, but I don’t know that I would say it’s a slam dunk. The characterization really leaves something to be desired, and while I am absolutely making things out of it, I have no idea how much of that is based in intention and how much of it is simply me seeing what I’d like to see. The dialogue is sometimes very stilted, and while I think the idea is fantastic, I think the execution needs a little massaging. All that said, I love this kind of movie and so I would happily recommend it to anyone else who ALSO likes this kind of movie.

*This brings me to a very very interesting point, which is: Do they come back, or are they only figments of Jack’s imagination? You might say, ‘Well, Doc, the doctor says that he’s nuts, and even you said that every single one of them is an aspect of Jack.” Listen just because I said something doesn’t mean I’m not going to argue with it literally five minutes later, and also, this could be something that almost BECOMES a possession narrative. Is there a chance that he

On that note, I don’t actually think the narrative believes this or backs this, because we have Allie physically and literally see his father, but an interesting idea that his father is also an aspect of himself and he killed his siblings under the pressure of caring for them. Note that I don’t think the story bears that out and I don’t think that’s the intention of the film, but it’s an interesting thought experiment. But it’s at the bottom because I don’t think it’s ‘real’.

#commission reviews #Doc watches movies

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misc-obeyme · 1 year ago

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yooo it’s ur weeb friend!!

lmao so asmo got banned from peru (and probably greece after the incident with helen BUT that’s water under the bridge) and levi got banned from japan for being too cringe-fail (the americans are already enough, NO MORE) but what about the others?

i feel like beel got banned from ireland after causing the great potato famine and from italy after eating all the pasta in the entire country once…

mammon got banned from vegas FOR SURE for causing a scene (not a country BUT he’s been banned from every casino in the US, and steadily working his way through canada and europe (starting with england) he’s making progress…

lucifer got banned from italy also for the vatican city incident. he wanted to see it cause he’d heard so much about it. no one is allowed to talk about it…but the brothers will tell you about it later if you want to know.

belphie and diavolo got banned from all of africa because due to a mix up they got blamed for spreading the sleeping sickness and malaria respectively (they didn’t actually do it but can’t seem to escape the allegations)

i think solomon got banned from mexico and all of south america and is the cause behind a lot of the superstitions based on devils/the occult there. people run from him in fear. he claims to not know why but you know there’s a reason. you can try to ask someone but they’re all too busy fleeing in terror.

barbatos claims he got banned from russia and china. no one knows why, not even diavolo. it’s one of the mysteries that he’s very secretive about, but legend has it that it’s related to something he did before he joined forces with diavolo.

i also think asmo got banned from india and some regions of france as well as various other european countries like spain and scotland but the stories behind those pretty much revolve around a party, drinking, and members of nobility. and they’re usually so long and crazy and asmo is always insistent he did nothing wrong and will leave out parts of the story to make himself sound good BUT if you’re a real history buff you can usually sus out what actually happened. or get him drunk. he always has loose lips when he drinks.

satan got banned from the americas (specifically north america) due to his rebellious streak/temper tantrum days resulting in the satanic panic. mostly caused by americans being rude and making him angry. he’s also a basis for a lot of mexico/south american superstition, though somehow…not as much as solomon?

just my silly lil ideas i wanted to share! what are your thoughts?? 🤔🤔🤔

Hello there, my friend!!

al;dskjfasdlksfj Beel causing the potato famine looool!

I definitely think they all have the potential to get banned for causing specific issues. Definitely Beel eating all of everything, Mammon causing trouble at casinos, and Asmo just getting drunk and partying too much.

I also think Mammon would be banned for doing something like insurance fraud. I don't know why but that just seems like something he'd get himself into. Or maybe it turns out he's the mastermind behind all the internet email scams asking you to send them thousands of dollars.

I think Lucifer has to be extra careful because uh... he's Lucifer. You would think he'd be banned from the Vatican before he ever even showed up there. Satan, too. Just stay away from religious locations when the religion in question considers you to be the source of evil, okay?? Though I would absolutely demand the story from the other brothers about the incident lol.

Okay see I headcanon Solomon spent a significant amount of time in the southwestern US just because he's always wearing that bolo tie lol. So I love the idea that he was also in Mexico and South America, just being the menace he always is. In the Devildom, the stuff he does isn't too weird, but can you imagine normal people in the human world encountering him and all his weird experiments? And if he was actually covered in pacts marks that look like demonic sigils? I have no doubt that he would be the source of years worth of superstitions.

I LOVE all ideas where Satan is the cause of any kind of Satantic activity anywhere. Like the Satanic panic was so ridiculous, but I love the idea of him causing it just by being angry about rude people.

I do think Satan could also have been banned from Japan - most specifically, Tashirojima where the cat population far surpasses that of the human one. Possibly also Hydra Island in Greece, which is another island known for its high cat population. I just think eventually they'd be like listen we appreciate how much you love the cats, but you need to leave now lol.

All of this seems more than enough to get any of them banned from the various human world locations they've caused trouble in. It's so funny to think about them running rampant in the human world. Lucifer out here probably acting like he'd never get banned, but he's caused his fair amount of problems, too.

#seriously hilarious #MC finds out about it all over time and is just like... that was YOU #I should've known lol #obey me #obey me nightbringer #anon asks #misc answers

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shovson · 3 months ago

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🔥 how do u feel about Logan Sargeant

uh oh

Send me a “ 🔥 “ for an unpopular opinion. (bonus points for a topic)

Okay. Gotta just say. Obviously some of the treatment Logan has gotten....been kiiinnndddaaa questionable. Even beyond the nuanced explanations about Australia this year and also all the rumours and speculation about everything within that team. I'm sure there's a lot that goes behind the decisions of JV but from an outside perspective....the emotional intelligence isn't really there. The fact I needed someone else to show me the James quote after the Carlos signing of him saying it was awesome of Logan to be on the team etc. etc...you know doesn't bode well. I feel like everyone has really said everything that needs to be said: really unfair treatment, thrust in too early into an F1 seat, etc. etc.

That being said. I cannot stand this woobification babygirlification he's just a sad puppy losing dog stuff any longer. Annoying as fuck. I feel there's kind of always been this narrative around him of his isolation which is just...I don't know man. I really have so much feelings about it I'm losing my mind a little but I never really understood this. There are so many other drivers with the same "foreign place, had to move and migrate to push my F1 career." Doesn't make it right. But I can't imagine being let's say Zhou or Checo in a similar situation.

Also there is (was, I guess now he's got a foot out the door) so much to talk about with the fact I've seen people try to co-opt social justice language to make him seem like his treatment is worse than it is is pissing me the hell off. Man oh, man.

In terms of fandom/fan reception, OBVIOUSLY can't control fans yk etc. etc. BUT i do think it does affect my perception of drivers sometimes. NGL I haven't looked in the James Vowles tag in so fucking long bc everyone thinks I want to read the haterism about JV and how he's mistreating Logie and how he should get his revenge on that middle aged man. And beyond that, I don't think the Alex heads who have probably more of a community around them don't want to fucking see the shit talking about their guy and would rather live in peace too (not to mention...wtf did alex do to deserve that huh? why are u in that space?). People can say this is just a general community thing but also...yeah I mean fucking seeing the same guy in the wrong fucking tag would make me insane too. Especially when ppl r like "look at how logan OWNS and alex is LAME AS FUCK -> #alex albon".

In my complex nuanced mind, I think it's easy to bring up the European treatment (loose) of American Racing (loose) as lame, lacking history or interest, basically dirty poor ppl shit. I think this is also part of why people are so protective about Logan. And while I do think this is such an ignorant take on Racing in the US (and America's presence in F1 period), I think ppl are really using this to dismiss the amount of privilege Logan has.

My ass getting tired you know I've ranted about this in DMs and also voice call but like...Logan got a chance. I hate that it didn't work out. But also, you know how many people don't get a chance? That's just the reality of the sport. And it sucks balls.

#asks #i didnt get everythang #tbh this is nonsense #oh well *posts*#tthank uuuu

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youdontloveme-yet · 11 months ago

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So, the UN has voted. Not a binding vote of course. And those who were against were as per usual:

So idk about the Island countries enough to speak, but Austria was a fun addition. Not that it is a surprise, tho I expected them to just abstain.

So, here's the thing. US and Israel were you know, certain to be there, since fascism cannot thrive unless it represses. Czech Republic... I mean, as everyone else, under someone's boot, so I won't even go there. But Austria is a treat to this. Big, big treat. Let me put it like this: Austria along with Germany and the Netherlands are very much all about keeping outsiders out in a way. Austria has been one of the biggest and loudest opposition to Balkan countries for ages. Idk if it's the usual western type of mentality where we are uncivilized and uncultured and whatnot, but it's a known fact they've been blocking nations from Schengen for fucking years. And their fucking reasons have always been that they cannot keep the outside borders of the Europe safe. Mind you, this simply means that they don't want people from the Middle East to get into Europe, same reason why they absolutely hate Turkiye. The way I see it and have been seeing indications of it for years, they consider anything beyond Central Europe to be dirty, uneducated and a basic lowlife. So, showing their true form Infront of the entire world has been coming for some time.

While this does not surprise me, it only confirms my observations throughout the years. They, and I am not talking solely about Austria anymore, would much rather have a genocide unfold before their eyes, leading to a world war rather than have the possibility of immigrants. Hence the truth is European powers continue to live in favour of their racism and hatred, rather than take humanity as what it actually is.

I haven't looked at who has abstained from the vote, but I can bet money that the Netherlands and Germany are in that list. Basically those who are rapidly falling into fascism.

What I'm trying to say here is nothing really. Yet it is quite obvious. Draw your own conclusions I guess. Also, I want to clarify that I am talking exclusively about governments, not citizens. Since some love to make everything seem like a generalization. It is not. But it is about EU powers thriving on mayhem and destruction, as it fuels their fascist ideals.

I'd also like to mention that given the opportunity these governments would love to ban anyone and anything coming East from Central EU, as they've indicated throughout the years and the many instances in which I've spoken with people who were treated like second class humans in them.

Anyone who speaks of themselves as being better at fundamental things is a liar. And everyone who speaks of equality, yet complains about immigrants is a hypocrite.

I rest my case. Europe and America can go fuck themselves really. Descend into fascism deeper, your own grave.

And as always, free Palestine 🇵🇸

Ah, and don't stop talking about Palestine, protesting, boycotting, acting. The worst is yet to come. Isnotreal is known for ramping up massacres when things do not go their way, so watch out, be vigilant and stay safe.

#palestine #UN #europe #idk #politics #i guess

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lockdown-bard · 9 months ago

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If it isn't enough to be in the middle of a heatwave with the south of my country in flames, you can always count on some stupid privileged arsehole to ruin your day even more. I like keeping up to date with news from Oceania because a friend of my family moved to NZ recently, and what do I find in their newspaper but this:

Not only does a former PM have to boast about how cheap it is for him here, he also has to be stupidly condescending by telling everyone it's "remarkably clean for a city that's poor and densely populated"??

I hate how people don't know shit about Latin America in general, but still take their time to come be tourists here and yet have the gall to badmouth everything. It's cheap for a former prime minister? Well goody! Tuition, food, transport, rent, utilities and everything else have gone up in price, but good thing it's cheap for a foreigner! Ah, but Argentina is poor, so it should be dirty, right? Why? Because you equate poverty with no being able to maintain a cleaner environment?

This sounds just like the Americans and Europeans who came here before the exchange rate became more stable that always boasted about being able to live like "Kings" here. Screw their gentrifying arses, most of the apartments in my neighbourhood are either Airbnbs or rented in US dollar, which is not what most of the people earn here. I heard European and American "expats" complaining the other day on live TV because of inflation, the gall they have to complain.

#rant #personal #latin america #gentrification #i'm just SO angry at these people #boohoo you can't afford the same luxuries while the rest of us are here just trying to live #and then they wonder why we don't like their gringo ass mentality #how I wish the tables were turned some day #see how they would like it having bullshit spread about their own birthplaces

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yana125 · 2 years ago

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Okay, I didn’t have many MCoG thoughts recently and it’s not even midnight it’s midday (when I started writing this but then I got carried away and I wouldn’t be surprised if it would be midnight by the time I post this.....) (aaaaand it’s not midnight yet but it is dark outside X’D) so ideas like that shouldn’t come to me at daylight, but I was watching an amazing video about why Princess Momonoke is better than Avatar at teaching a lesson about nature vs technology and how this conflict should be solved, and there was the part starting at 30:18 that then made a connection to MCoG, making me think about the real historical conflict behind the fictional characters, and it then all reconnected to what those earlier 30 minutes were about in the video, and that in return made me realize what an absolutely wasted potential we are facing right here.

So the part starting at 30:18 talks about the European conquest of the Americas. But it doesn’t put the conquerors on the side of absolute evil and the Native Americans on the side of absolute good like Avatar does. Like in Princess Momonoke every side has good reasons and bad decisions. And everything started with an other conflict started by an other conflict started by an other conflict. The Europeans were pushed by the Ottoman Empire pushed by the Mongols. It’s a domino effect. A cycle of hate and violence. Everyone wants to get their hands on resources to fight against the invading forces to protect their home (good reason) and in the process do to others exactly what the invading forces did to them (bad decisions). (Also there’s this video about Attack on Titan and violence made by the same person also connecting to this.)

So in regards of MCoG, obviously there are the European conquerors in the Americas robbing and enslaving the natives. The resources they get from the Americas would then be shipped to Spain where they would use those resources to fight the Ottoman Empire. (Also this is the part where I’d like to make the sidenote that I won’t expand here that the video also mentions, that kudos to MCoG for not showing the natives as inherently good, because there ARE bad and good people among them too with good and bad decisions, like the Urubus who kidnap people from the tribe who live on the lake. [Who don’t fight back to defend themselves thus dooming themselves, because they can only survive if they defend themselves, but if they get overwhelmed by the hate and violence they feel against their invaders and attack them not out of defense but out of revenge than they would enter the cycle of violence and become just like the people that invaded them.])

But what I really REALLY want is for all of this to affect the relationship between the children. For them to have a REAL conflict of beliefs and opinions that would test their bond originated from this bigger conflict that surrounds them.

There ARE conflicts between the characters, like Esteban being an extrovert dreamer/idealist vs Tao being an introvert thinker (ExFx vs IxTx in Enneagram terms, if you prefer that) and Esteban pushing or pulling Tao into situations he’s at first very against and is very uncomfortable about. What comes close to what I’m thinking about is Esteban’s trust and Zia’s distrust in Mendoza. Zia’s always very vocal about not trusting Mendoza, and Esteban is always ensuring her that they can trust him. Both of them have their own reasons, neither of them are inherently right or wrong but this doesn’t generate any long-lasting and bond-breaking conflicts between them. So let’s start with this, I always like talking about the more complex and important things last.

The Zia – Esteban conflict

Zia is full of anger and hate. Period. Zia’s home was attacked by Spaniards. She was separated from her people and her family, her mother was most likely killed in the conflict, and she was taken to Spain against her will and was given to the royals as a gift from the New World like she wasn’t even a human being. Then she was kidnapped again and was put on a ship heading back to her home so her knowledge could be used against her own people. Returning back to her home continent all she sees is that the Spaniards are still killing her people, they capture her again with her friends, they threaten to kill her friends if she doesn’t help them, and so on. Zia has every right to be angry and hateful. She is basically treated by the Spaniards as a ragdoll, the same Spaniards who, as mentioned before, attacked her home and now kill her people all over the continent. Zia being only a child means that she couldn’t protect herself physically from all of this. She was most likely traumatized by all those events and probably how she was treated by the royals. That led to her overgeneralization of the Spanish. I only know the dub version since the Japanese episodes I have are not subbed ಥ_ಥ So, in the dub version of episode 2 she says:

“He’s like all the Spaniards. All Mendoza cares about is his gold.”

(In Japanese she says she would bite him next time X’D)

The only Spanish she knows are the conquistadors and the royals, of course she overgeneralizes the Spanish. She probably wasn’t let outside to see what kind of people live in Barcelona. And either she didn’t know anything about the Ottoman Empire or didn’t care about it. For her the Spanish are greedy conquerors who want to kill her people.

And I think this should’ve radicalized her a bit more. She should’ve been more hateful and angry and as she was getting older she should’ve been more aggressive to the point that if the series were continued right after the first season ended, she should’ve gotten her hands on a knife or a rifle by the time they find all the Cities and point it at a Spaniard. (And I’m pointing here - without a knife or a rifle - at Avatar The Last Airbender – that I haven’t watched yet – and the Southern Raiders episode and Katara. What I’m saying is that Zia could’ve very well been a mix of Katara and Azula. Just imagine.)

On the other side is Esteban who as Zia say as the continuation of the previous quote:

“I didn’t mean you when I said that. Anyway, you’re not really Spanish.”

Yeah, he’s not really Spanish. His mother was an Inca, his father had unknown origins, and he only lives in Spain because he was found by Spanish explorers on the Pacific.

But, if he doesn’t know anything about his origins, looks like an average white person and passes as European by looks, and lived all of his life among Spanish people, doesn’t nurture is a dominating factor here over nature thus making him also Spanish not by blood but by upbringing? The monks were Spanish, they weren’t conquistadors. We don’t know what business they had with the royal family but looking at Esteban and what a kind boy he is they had to be good people. Good Spanish people. So that makes Esteban a good Spanish person by upbringing.

In the Japanese version of episode 2 the following conversation happens between the two during the medallion scene (and I don’t know how many times I had to listen to this as I was writing it into google translate, but also thank you google translate):

Esteban: So you were brought here from the New World. That Pendant is from the New World? I have the same thing.

Zia: Eh?

Esteban: Look! Mine’s Sun part is kept/protected by Mendoza./Mendoza took the Sun part when he saved me. (? I couldn’t really understand what he was saying.)

Zia: It’s just as I thought. You’re not Spanish.

This is the first time Zia speaks, and it’s ‘oh, so you’re not one of them’. So when Zia learns that Esteban is not Spanish she immediately opens up to him and talks to him because she doesn’t considers him one because of his origins by blood. But Esteban doesn’t have any connections to his blood relatives apart from being born. In all of his known life he considered himself a Spanish orphan. One among the many Spanish orphans who were most likely orphaned because their parents either died in war or illness (and this would mean that Esteban also knows about the Ottoman Empire). And he only found out that he wasn’t Spanish when Father Rodriguez told him on his death bed. But does it make him not-Spanish when he was socialized among Spanish monks and sailors all his life? His first hand experience about the Spanish is that they’re kind (the monks) and merry (sailors). And sometimes they lift him high in the air to chase away the clouds.

So Esteban didn’t go through the same as Zia. He knows all kinds of Spanish people, good and bad, and doesn’t generalize them. He judges them by their actions and not where they come from. He’s also naïve and let’s Mendoza manipulate him for a bit at the beginning, but he’s also a good judge of character. (AGH Season 2!!!! (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻)

AND! He’s able to forgive. Esteban is someone who doesn’t hold grudges for long. And he’s able to help others in need even if they did something wrong previously. He’s careful with them, but he’s also a good kid, because Father Rodriguez and the monks taught him to help others.

So this conflict between Zia and Esteban could’ve naturally escalated to something bigger. Zia’s hate, profound distrust and overgeneralization of every nation ever that conquered an other nation (mainly natives) vs Esteban who judges individuals by their actions. In their journeys they could’ve come across more Spanish people who’d never done anything wrong in their lives (maybe they are slaves of the Ottoman and the children meet them when they somehow get to that area), but because they are Spanish Zia could’ve treated them like they were also responsible for what happened to her people. And Esteban could’ve stood up against her in this matter because he knows there are good Spanish people. But Zia is still full of anger and hate and does Esteban really side with the Spanish? After everything? And then there could be a moment where Zia realizes that Esteban is Spanish. No matter where he originally came from and where he was born and who his parents were, he thinks and acts like a Spaniard and what if he deceived her all this time, what if he wanted to use her like all the conquistadors, how can she trust him after all of this! (Ohmygod, the potential of this! ⚆_⚆)

Also how cool it could’ve been if Esteban was the one who stopped Zia with his reasoning if Zia had gotten her hands on a knife or a rifle around the end of the series. Saying that by doing this she would be the same like those people who attacked her home and he knows she’s a better person than that.

But the main conflict! Between the characters who never really had a conflict!

The Zia – Tao conflict

So why this would be the more complex and important conflict? Well, the Zia-Esteban conflict is personal but this would be more… global.

You see, Zia as an Inka has a closer connection to nature. She has a pet condor, she talks to animals, she respects traditions, and so on. For her technology is for destruction. The Spaniards used rifles to kill her people. Technology must be bad then.

Tao is the last descendant of Hiva/Mu. It was an advanced nation with incredible technology and they were so advanced and they used solar power for ships and flying machines. Technology is so good!

But that very technology destroyed Hiva/Mu and Atlantis during their conflict. And the natives of the 16th century had their own technologies too. And the Inkas were most likely the descendants of the Empire of Hiva/Mu. So what now?

For me Tao is someone who because he wasn’t influenced by outside conflicts on his island can look at everything from an outsider’s perspective without swaying to either sides. He lived alone on his island close to nature but also he was surrounded by the technological inheritance from Hiva/Mu. So in a way there is perfect harmony between nature and technology where he lives.

When we look at all of this from Zia’s perspective, since Hiva/Mu is connected to the Inka’s since she as an Incan girl has the medallion made by the King of Hiva/Mu, it has to be good technology then. She would most likely consider the people of Hiva/Mu natives like her who are in no way similar to the Spaniards, no way.

Then we get to the Olmecs who in the Japanese version were always from Atlantis, and I have no idea if the children knew about that or not, but if they did then Zia could easily connect them to the Spaniards. Because how I think Zia with all of the anger and hate is that she doesn’t see grey. Everything is either black or white, good or bad, and the good doesn’t have any bad in it, and the bad doesn’t have any good in it. Hiva/Mu and Atlantis was a war of good and evil, and since Hiva/Mu is connected to her people and they are on a quest finding the Cities made by Hiva/Mu they had to be the good ones.

This is where Tao’s outside perspective could come in. I have this scene in draft form right after Season One. They stop for the night, they look at a map they got from Mendoza, agree that they should be careful around here because there could be Spanish patrols since there’s a port north to them:

Esteban: After what we’ve been through with the Olmecs, some Spaniards are nothing.

Zia: You shouldn’t be so unwary, Esteban. In many ways the Spaniards are as cruel and unmerciful as the Olmecs.

Esteban: You’re right, I just…

Tao: They were fighting for their survival.

Esteban & Zia: ?!

Esteban: What do you mean?

Tao: Exactly what I mean. Everything the Olmecs did, they did it so their people would survive.

Esteban: They tried to freeze us.

Zia: They killed my father.

Tao: I know. And that’s exactly why I’m not siding with them. What they did was wrong, but for them it was the only way to save themselves from extinction.

Esteban: I wouldn’t hurt others so I could stay alive.

Tao: You’re saying that now, but you won’t necessarily do the same when you get there. People start acting differently when it’s about their survival.

Zia: …

Esteban: Survival…

And this could build up over time. Like they go to North America where they would’ve met the proto-Ambrosius an English scholar or something who the natives were about to burn, and later the children would talk to the chief who mentions that these people (Europeans) lost their touch to nature. And Tao would call bullshit because he knows this is the natural progression of a society, that people would come up with new technologies to make their lives better, and then he would point at the fire and the weapons and everything around them and says that all of this is technology.

And then they would travel the world and find new Cities and they would learn more and more about Hiva/Mu (I almost wrote Ancient Kingdom, but that’s One Piece X’D) and see the good and the bad side of its technology and the conflict between Tao and Zia could gradually escalate, because wherever they go Tao would engage in science talk with everyone no matter where they come from and it would bother Zia because conquering nations are all the same.

Then in the end comes the truth. That Hiva/Mu and Atlantis were also conquering nations. They enslaved tribal people (maybe to mine resources or something related to resources), like the Spaniards did to the Native Americans, like the Ottoman Empire did to the Spanish, like the Mongols did to the Ottoman, and so on. And then after the fall of these nations the tribes created their own nations who then enslaved other tribes, who then enslaved other tribes, who then enslaved other tribes…

I can hear Zia’s world view shattering to pieces. Because her people were descendants of the Hiva/Mu Empire. How could they do something the Spaniards did? (Or what if the ancestors of the Inka were slaves who fled from the conflict to South America?)

The video about Princess Momonoke and Avatar says that humans are part of nature, because nature and civilization are part of the same cycle, and the world is cruel because it needs the death of something to keep something else alive, and technology can improve lives. The Attack on Titan video says that the cycle of violence will continue until people from different backgrounds decide to come together and learn to forgive.

So the lesson in The Mysterious Cities of Gold could’ve been that there will be always conflict when it’s about resources until there is a technology that can provide unlimited resources, like the power of the sun. But that technology has to be used wisely and shouldn’t be turned against others. And the people of the 16th century are not mature enough to use this. Maybe Hiva/Mu and Atlantis evolved too fast technologically and the collective maturity of their societies weren’t able to keep up the pace with it. Maybe their conflict started with something stupid and it escalated too fast and got out of hand so much that these two destroyed not only each other but themselves too. And the King of Hiva/Mu maybe saw where this would all lead to. Maybe he repurposed the Cities of Gold because the Cities originally were something else, like palaces of different noble families or the capitals of the seven main tribes of Hiva/Mu or something, and since these were the safest places of the world he hid the greatest scientific achievements and technologies and other things that should be preserved there (like the Svalbard Global Seed Vault) because all of these are for the good of all. And it’s the children’s responsibility to decide what would happen to the Cities. Should they be hidden forever and either never be revealed to the world or potentially be taken over by someone with ill intents, or should it be destroyed and future societies have to come up with a solution themselves if they want to survive.

Wasted potential! щ(゜ロ゜щ)

#mcog #les mystérieuses cités d'or #mysterious cities of gold

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dragonstepp · 2 years ago

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Life Across the Pong

Depends on which side of the Pond you live on.

As an American who has never traveled very far from home (though I moved around in the states in my younger years), I keep up with things through reading, and lately, on the computer. I see so many things that one might think are differences, but really, are the same.

We had another killing last night in Atlanta. And today we learn about a marine who killed a homeless man by putting a chokehold on him in the subway, for 15 minutes.

There are exceptions to everything. I have admired a few white men (Eisenhower comes to mind; there are others), but mostly, I hate white American men. They have done so much damage to other diverse peoples ever since they landed on Plymouth Rock. To name a few: native Americans, blacks, Latinos, the poor, the disabled, anyone who does not have money, nor power.

To say I love European men a whole lot more simply means there are people in those places who think the same way about their own folks, and wish to be in America. So we see things differently; the old adage the grass is always greener across the fence. No it is not. You learn that (I learn that) by moving myself to the greener grass, only to know it really wasn't.

So as I read writings about how the English hate their monarchy system, but maybe love our justice system, both are crook, full of sin, wealthy on the backs of others, and never the twain shall meet. But they are the same.

Why do I write this today? Because I will be up by 4 o'clock in the morning on Saturday to watch the coronation of Charles III. That is not because I like Charles very much, nor Camilla at all, but because I love the pomp and circumstance. I love the processionals, I love watching the hoi polloi who stand on the curbs and watch the parades, I love the very Britishness of it.

I am certain that there are those elsewhere who love to watch the inaugurations of our presidents, even if they don't like the person him/herself. But they like the pageantry. Or watch the funeral processions of past presidents (Kennedy was a remembrance to watch), but I don't want the trumpeter to get a military funeral. Unfortunately, to my thinking, there are folks who will weep for him.

So we are a diverse set of humans on this planet. As long as we can treat one another with compassion and kindness, toleration, and patience, we could live in peace. As we can see with today's situations across the whole planet, we can not and will not ever live in peace. Such is the composition of human beings.

So forgive me for loving the Brit pageantry of coronations, and I will you for non-Brit pageantry. I plan to enjoy the coronation of King Charles III, even if he is not my favourite person in the world.

Carol

Austin, Texas

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neptunianashes · 2 years ago

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I am happy that we won against France so we could shut the mouth of Mbappé for what he said. That being said, I consider more important the victory against The Netherlands than the victory against France, the real south america vs europe match was Argentina vs The Netherlands and not against France. What Mbappé believes and what Mbappé said is only the tip of the iceberg of a much deeper problem, what he said is the culmination of decades of him growing up in a continent listening the words of people like the netherlands coach Van Gaal. Look how fiercely argies and defensive argies were in the match vs the netherlands versus how argies were in the match against France, there is not even a close comparison. The decisive battle was against The Netherlands. Mbappé is just a new consequence because of Van Gaal. For my non argies followers who may not know the importance of the “Qué mirás bobo?” Messi said after the match against Holland and what means this image:

this picture represents a big personal fuck you to Van Gaal and what he thinks of Argentina and South America as a whole. Messi ran half the pitch to be in front of Van Gaal and do this in front of him on purpose. Van Gaal, the coach of the netherlands is widely considered one of the greatest coachs in the history of football, he has never lose a single match as coach of the netherlands except when he faced Argentina in 2014 and 2022. When he was the coach of Barcelona he hated an argentine player by the name of Riquelme, and he was the coach of manchester united he had a player in the team that he hated by the name of Di Maria. During those times he said a lot of shit against them and almost never put them as titular main players, which they were before van gaal took control of the teams, he sent all argies in the teams he worked to the bench and not used them on purpose for years. Riquelme every time he did a goal his way of celebrating was doing this pose Messi did. Messi has been always critized in Argentina as being a “pecho frio” (spoiler alert he isn’t that) a pecho frio is an argentine player who isn’t passionate about our national team, someone who doesn’t defend our jersey on the pitch and fight with everything they had. Why Messi was critized as being like this? Because he usually is very humble, he doesn’t confrontation and usually avoid problems and conflicts, he is a very chill peaceful person and it’s not chaotic, fiery and problematic as all fucks like most argies. This is why the reaction Messi had during this match was a surprise for everyone even for Antonella, this time Messi was out in the pitch wanting Van Gaal’s blood. If Mbappé believes and said what he said it’s because of coaches like Van Gaal who has been behind all the big teams in europe talking shit about south america football, taking shit about south american players and forcing them to go to the bench for months after he takes control of a team, old people like him moving the strings against us with his power in european football. Mbappé was just a young boy who just happened to be raised in the middle of that, he chose his side, but people like Van Gaal were the ones who started this shit decades ago. This match was from the start a very personal match for everyone involved and the stakes were very high, this battle was way more important than against the french. That’s why the netherlands vs argentina was such a chaotic match. Van Gaal was eliminated in 2014 world cup by Argentina, and again in 2022 by Argentina again, karma has hit him like a truck, he has resigned as coach of the netherlands after 20 years, he can swallow his own words and choke with his hatred for us. Van Gaal and europe can keep hating on usbut yall are just making us stronger to fight against your shitty european pathetic asses. Stay mad Argentina world champion for the third time, how many stars does your dutch jersey have Van Gaal?

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dreamy625 · 2 years ago

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This rockstar life - 3.17 Freelance

Words: 1343

Content: The occasional swearword

—-----------------------------

“You know you said you’d always wanted to go on a proper tour, in a bus?”

“Uh huh.”

“So it turns out, we’re going to do the Australia dates by bus. Something about the insurance for a jet being astronomical, according to Peter. So do you think you could get more time off? It’d be about a month. Then there’s a bit of a break before the next lot, so we could do a bit of travelling around too.”

“Oh wow, that does sound cool. Aw, but I don’t think I can. I’m already taking three weeks for Europe and that month unpaid to come to America. I’m seriously stretching their goodwill as it is.”

“But this is a once in a lifetime thing. My last one, remember? I want you to see it too.”

“I know, and I will, the European leg and a bunch of the American dates, and maybe some more later if it keeps going like last time.”

“It could be months and months away. I’ll miss you, won’t you miss me?”

“Of course. It’s going to be awful. I’m trying not to think about it. But I can’t take all that time off.”

“You could just quit, it’s not like we need the money.”

“I do. I don’t want to sponge off you for everything.”

He makes an impatient shrugging gesture, “But you know I don’t care. It’s just stuff.”

“It matters to me. And it’s not just about money, I like my job. It makes me feel… useful… functional. Like a proper person, not a total waste of space.”

“But you complain about it all the time.”

“Okay, yeah, it’s not the best job ever. But one day, if I don’t fuck it up, I’ll be able to get another one, a better one, that’s just mine and nothing to do with my father. And then I’ll be free, not beholden to them anymore.”

“You could be free now, just leave. You can get another job later if you want, after the tour.”

“Oh can I? Thanks.”

“I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant, it doesn’t stop you going back to it later.”

“But then I’d have a big gap. I’d probably have to start right at the bottom again. You don’t know what publishing’s like. Who’s going to want to employ someone who just up and quits to swan off round the world?”

“You could do whatever you wanted, you don’t ever have to work again, I’ll look after you.”

Alice’s frown softens.

“That’s very sweet of you, but I don’t want to be kept.”

Steve opens his mouth to protest but Alice holds up a finger to shush him, “And besides, what if we break up?”

“You don’t trust me.”

“No, it’s not that at all, I’m just not naive enough to believe that things will necessarily last forever just because you want them to. And what if you…” She stops and blinks her eyes shut at the sudden painful thought, “what if you died?”

“I’ll leave you everything.”

“What if we’ve already spent it?”

“Oh you’re just making things up now.”

“I’m just trying to make you understand. This matters to me. Not just for the paycheque but for security, and for making me feel like a person in my own right, not just Martin’s daughter or Steve’s girlfriend.”

“Okay, I get it. I really do.” He walks back to Alice and wraps his arms around her. “I just… miss you when I’m away.” He kisses the top of her head and then plaintively adds “Why doesn’t anyone just want to be with me?”

“Oh baby, we do, I do. You just pick stroppy, independent women that want their own life too. If you want someone who follows you everywhere and caters to your every whim you’d better find some… dippy girl who just likes… shoes and Dynasty.”

Steve scrunches his face up.

“Exactly.”

—-----------------------------

When the taxi at last drops Steve home just before 7am, he is met by the highly unusual sight of Alice awake and up and dressed in outdoor clothes. She is scurrying from the dining room to the hall to the living room and back again in a frantic manner, muttering to herself.

Spotting him in the doorway, she pauses for as long as it takes to say, ‘Oh hi. Hello. You’re back. Right.’ before scooting back to the dining room again.

Slightly disappointed with this less than ecstatic welcome after more than a week apart, Steve shuts the front door behind him, drops his bag down, and waits to see if there will be some sort of explanation for this uncharacteristic early morning activity.

A few moments later, after some thumping and rattling noises, Alice reemerges carrying her capacious work handbag with a folder clutched under one arm and starts vigorously attacking her hair with a brush in front of the hall mirror.

“Everything alright, love?”

“Mm? Yes. No. I have to… do a thing. A really stressful thing. It’s… argh, I’ve got to go. Are you here tonight?”

“Think so.”

“Excellent, I’ll tell you later.”

With a final hurried glance in the mirror, muttered ‘oh god’, and last desperate smoothing of wayward tendrils of hair, she dashes out the door, banging it behind her.

Steve blinks, befuddled, at the closed door before turning to the mirror and shrugging at his similarly confused reflection.

—-----------------------------

Steve wakes to someone stroking his cheek and he opens his eyes to find Alice’s face just inches from his own. She is radiating outdoor chill, but none of the tension that was crackling off her that morning. In the orangey glow from the streetlight outside the window he can see that she is smiling.

“Hey.”

“Hey. Have you been asleep all day?”

“No, just since it started to get dark. Couldn’t keep my eyes open. What time is it?”

“About half six.”

Steve swings his legs round and sits up rubbing his eyes. He pats the cushion next to him and Alice shucks off her coat and sits down. He leans sideways until his head rests on her shoulder.

“I fucking hate jetlag.”

Alice yawns, “I think I have it too, from waking up at five-thirty.”

“Oh yeah, your stressful thing. How’d it go? What was it?”

“I think, I hope, I’ve fixed it so I can come to Australia!”

Steve’s head jerks up, “You did? How?”

“I’m going freelance.”

“What’s that?”

“Where you don’t work all the time for a company but they just hire you for particular projects. There’s a couple of people at the office that aren’t employees, they just come in when we’ve got a job on that needs their area of expertise. So I talked to them and found out how they did it and then just asked. So yeah, I’ve got to stay until the series we’re working on now is finished, but then I can be their on-call translator for art and architecture, which is mostly what I’ve been doing the past year anyway. And I can work for other people as well, if I want.”

“Wow, that’s amazing!” He looks genuinely impressed.

“It’s a bit scary. No security. And I’ll have to do taxes.”

“No problem, I’ve got an accountant.”

“And I’m going to need a better word processor.”

“I’ll buy you a supercomputer if it means you can come on tour!”

“I don’t think that’d fit in my suitcase.”

“Oh love, that really is brilliant.” He wraps his arms around her and presses a kiss to her temple.

“And I do actually have to do work, not just follow you around like a live-in groupie!” Steve laughs. “And I’ll need access to a fax machine, and a modem, whatever that is, and…”

Steve can tell from the rising pitch of her voice that she’s starting to stress about the details. “It’s fine, all the big hotels have that stuff. For businessmen and journalists and grumpy band managers. Speaking of which, I’ll phone Menschy and tell him there’s one more passenger for the bus.”

#Steve Clark #steve clark fanfic #steve clark fanfiction #def leppard fanfic #def leppard fanfiction #This rockstar life fic

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hjellacott · 15 days ago

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And now a pause for the USA Elections 2024

You know I'm European, but with the elections THIS close, I must pause and talk to you about them.

I know you're fed up. Perhaps you didn't like Biden. Perhaps you hate Democrats. Perhaps your entire family has always voted Republican. Or you're concerned with the erasure of women by the trans collective, or the far left, or the Woke movement, or you hate gays, or you're Catholic, or you hate the immigrants, or you're worried by the high amount of foreigners in your city, "taking your jobs".

Well I'm European, but I'm also a woman, and bisexual, and feminist, and I was raised Catholic, and I am an immigrant where I live. I understand all those bits, and I understand you and I will disagree in a billion things. But the thing is, you and I CAN disagree. You and Biden, you and Harris, you and the Democrats, CAN disagree.

You can go on industrial action with the Democrats. You can take them to court, you can cancel them, you can protest in the streets, you can strike, you can write articles bullshitting. Because Democrats will always protect your freedom, your Constitution, your right to be angry, to disagree, to protest, to complain, to seek a better life. If you think Republicans under Trump will, you need to take a look into European history. A proper one.

That is why I'm here talking to you. Listen, I don't like the USA. I never have. But I am here for you, talking to you, trying to be a friend to you, because I understand that, differences aside, my parents lived dictatorships. My grandparents lived dictatorships and fought civil wars. My entire continent suffered Nazi Germany, and fascist Italy, fascist Spain, and the rise of the far-right now. And I can tell you when we listen to Trump talking, when we watch his speeches, his conventions, see what he does... It's like he's copying Hitler word for word. Hitler was also democratically chosen. Hitler started by telling Germans "listen, your struggles are because the Jews are taking your jobs". Trump's propaganda techniques are TEXTBOOK Nazi Propaganda. In the beginning, like Trump, he wasn't too bad. He seemed inoffensive. Most Germans didn't even know about the holocaust until it'd been happening for years. He didn't start raiding homes and killing people left and right immediately, it took him a few years. So his party defended him, figured out he wouldn't so bad... By the time they realised just how bad he was, he had become so powerful it was too late and they could no longer vote him out. We, Europeans, know enough about our own history to see exactly how identical yours is getting to our past, and to be able to warn you. So please do listen.

We are not exaggerating or being dramatic. I'm not a Democrat, I don't favour Harris for any reason. I simply know my history pretty damn well. I know that when people like Trump "joke" about no longer having elections, about becoming a dictator, about kicking people out, about removing immigrants or POC... you can think he's joking, but I promise you he isn't. I've seen it before. Us in Europe learned the lesson in the worst, cruellest, most tragic of ways.

If you're a Republican, this is your opportunity to tell your party you will not align with the likes of Trump, who are a threat to the very essence of the United States of America, and who represents the worst of humankind, and everything the USA is supposed to stand against. Don't support Republicans until they change their leader. Don't give your vote to a man drunk on power dying to blow up women's health, freedom of marriage, to destroy your Congress, your Constitution, your freedom, your democracy. Doesn't matter what he says now, believe what he's DONE. Believe what he's been saying for years. Believe your eyes when you saw what he did to your Congress. He doesn't give a shit about you. You're below him. He only cares about himself. He doesn't even care about his wife and his children. And he will burn your country to the ground if that's what it takes for him to have more money and more power.

I can't tell you Harris will be a great president, I can't know that. I'm sure you'll find things to disagree about with her. But I can tell you she'll keep your freedom to do so. I can tell you voting Trump is voting to shoot your country. You might as well set bombs in the streets. Voting Trump is voting for a future with no more elections, no more freedom, no more peace, no more rights. He's no Jesus. I read the Bible. I know Jesus when I see it, and it's not Trump. He's more like Satan. He's the devil in sheepskin, and you've got to listen. With him in power, forget about striking, protesting, using justice and democracy to fight for those things you want. With him in power, there will only be his word, his voice, his way. Be warned.

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