#if it happens twice it's an institutional problem

[velveteencryptid]

Just finished rewatching Good Omens season 2 for the first time and so many Easter eggs but dear god I have theories about who Crowley was as an angel now and also damnit you beautiful dummies why are you so dumb

[thelawfulchaotic]

What is very funny about being a specialist in juvenile law is that I never... actually liked children?

(Ok there is some possibility I am fooling myself about this, given that there has never been a single child client I got to know that I didn't love and root for and 100% support, but.)

I'm not a "kid person." I don't have the gift of running around and imagining with them. I babysat much less than equivalent older-millennial girls.

I just got into court, and I --

Okay, let me back up and talk about my first public defender's office. It was a rural office that covered several geographical jurisdictions, including multiple cities and counties, five total. Each of these had three courts that regularly needed to be covered: a juvenile/domestic court, a general court, and a slightly higher and fancier level of court. They all operated to varied schedules (general court A was on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but general court B was on Wednesdays and Fridays; juvenile court A was on Wednesdays and Fridays but juvenile court B was on Mondays and Wednesdays).

So, fifteen total "courts," and there were... hmm. 8-10 attorneys. And a boss who wanted us to be able to substitute for each other, and thus rotated us through the courts every month. On week 1, I might be doing general court A on Tuesday and general court B on Friday. On week 2, I might be doing general court A on Thursday and juvenile/domestic court A on Wednesday. I might have one day a month where I do general court C.

So on.

The court schedules cases not according to our schedules, but according to police officers. Do you see the problem yet?

Public defenders were fungible. For those who don't know that very academic-specific word, it means that we were exchangeable units. One case could go through four different attorney's hands because it would get continued, show up on someone else's date, get continued again, show up on someone else's date, and so on. Juvenile cases were particularly bad about this because they tended to linger in court for a long time, while the court monitored the juvenile's progress.

Here's another fun problem: the department in charge of things like child protection, custody, etc., would only come to court on Tuesdays. We did not have a spare attorney to cover an extra day on Tuesdays in which criminal cases would happen with children who happened to also have custody issues or a foster care prevention plan in place. They would put the criminal case on the next day, Wednesday. Effectively, this meant that we were not present for the decisions about where our clients went and what programs they would have to do.

So I'm dropped into this, a baby attorney, having watched a DVD about How To Juvenile Law. I feel my training is wildly inadequate, and I'm doing reviews on cases that have never had the same attorney twice. Zero trust between me and the kids, and why would there be?

I complained loudly until my boss gave in and ordered me the several-hundred-dollar Juvenile Practice In This State book, and then I read it cover to cover. I learned a bunch of really interesting things! Like all the stuff we'd been doing wrong!

My boss was shocked. "You actually read that?"

"What did you THINK I was gonna do?"

"Well, you're the juvenile expert now, I guess."

oh shit, I thought. oops. fuck.

But I leaned in, and not in the ambition way. I proposed a way to rearrange my schedule so that I would always be free on Tuesdays for DSS cases. Instantaneously, there was a change in the environment of the court -- before, it was the guardians ad litem, juvenile probation, and the attorney for DSS deciding what to do with kids. Now I was there. Making suggestions. And arguments.

We changed how we did the schedule, and how we put individual cases on that schedule. Keeping them on our days became a priority.

I instituted a weekly detention center visit, for myself. (I made it about half the time.)

I went to trainings. This area of law is wildly unpopular among a lot of public defenders, because it's complicated and sad and you don't get to do jury trials about it. Every new thing I learned just pissed me off. It wasn't that I liked kids. It was that kids deserved better. So I got to take over pretty much everything with regards to juvenile law in the office.

But like, I stumbled on this, I didn't know shit. I didn't have a passion for protecting children. It's just that every bit of law I learned made me go, "What? REALLY? Fuck off!"

[nuwanders]

While I respect what you're trying to do and I agree with the general idea and sentiment behind there's just the problem that boycotts don't work in our contemporary world unfortunately, especially on big companies like microsoft, I remember when this happened with hogwarts legacy and it didn't change anything, in the end that just became a sort of weird purity test, I din't buy that game cause I had no interest and even if I did I hate jkr, but I don't see any use in shaming people who do.

I don't think you're doing purity testing or anything similar, and the effort is admirable, but I think believing that people that buy the game don't care about palestine is wrong, I think it's more that they don't see the use in trying a boycott that will fail.

Btw I hope the boycott succeds I sincerely don't think it will, I myself am not buying the game for a while and will probably pirate it, but it's my personal choice and I don't see the use in shaming people for playing it as it won't win them over and will most likely make them bitter towards the cause, people are fickle and selfish by nature, and the same thing happened with hogwarts legacy. People said it revealed those who played ad unworthy allies, but I don't think we should exclude people by worthiness, you don't win by having "quality" you win by having "quantity".

That's just my two cents on the subject though

consumer boycotts can and do work. a few highlights taken from here (emphasis my own):

Affirming the role the BDS movement has played in the Israeli economy’s “spiral of collapse,” as 130 leading Israeli economists describe it, in September, the Chairman of the Israeli Export Institute said: “BDS and boycotts have changed Israel’s global trade landscape.” He added, “Economic boycotts and BDS organizations present major challenges, and in some countries, we are forced to operate under the radar.” Israel’s projected annual GDP growth rate for 2024 is 0%, according to leading credit rating agency S&P, and some 60,000 Israeli businesses are projected to have shut down during this year of ongoing genocide. Global sales of McDonald’s, a prime BDS target, “fell by 1.5% between July and September, the biggest decline in four years, more than twice the size forecast by analysts. It followed a 1% drop in the April to June period.” In October, fossil fuel giant Chevron, a priority target of the BDS movement, halted a $429 million expansion of an Israeli-claimed fossil gas field amid Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza and its brutal bombings in Lebanon, Syria, and beyond. In August, in a significant BDS win, French insurer AXA was forced to sell its investments in all major Israeli banks. In November, Carrefour closed all branches in Jordan due to BDS pressure. Carrefour’s partner in most of the Arab World, the Majid Al Futtaim Group, reacted to BDS Jordan’s boycott pressure by ending all business with the French retailer in Jordan. In November, the Boycott PUMA campaign confirmed that, following relentless BDS campaigns worldwide, the German company had ended its complicity with Israel’s apartheid regime. In December, the Strauss Group, a complicit Israeli multinational food and beverage corporation, was forced, due to an effective BDS campaign, to sell off its shares in the US-based company, Sabra, which mass produces the culturally-appropriated popular Arab dip, hummus."

looking further back, boycotts, divestments and sanctions played a crucial role in dismantling the apartheid state in south africa. from here:

Boycotts may have been a form of activism that was easier to implement on a variety of different scales, but it provided a very extensive impact on apartheid in South Africa. The very threat of boycotts of South Africa in the 1984 Olympics pushed the leader of the IOC to go against the Olympic Charter and keep South Africa out of the Olympics ��� making the decision as early as 1981. This showed the power the boycotts had built up, and the authority they carried. The boycotts were seen as being so effective that even the IOC would not be able to withstand their financial and diplomatic fall-out. South Africa would finally rejoin the Olympic community in Barcelona in 1992, “following the commencement of governmental talks to finally bring an end to apartheid.”

that targeted boycotts can be extremely effective is not up for debate. but i think the crucial thing to acknowledge here is that they are one of the most easy and accessible forms of protest because they do not require you to actually do anything.

your argument would hold water if i was demanding that everyone go out and start blowing up embassies or setting themselves on fire. but BDS is literally just asking people to do nothing at all.

this isn't a moral purity thing, it's a statement of fact that boycotts only work if people participate. and they fail because of the exceptionalist arguments you're spouting here: "it's my personal choice." ok, sure. it's my personal choice to not get vaccinated. it's my personal choice to vote conservative.

the other thing is that microsoft is one of the more egregious targets on the BDS list, for reasons better outlined here. i know that this isn't the fault of the folks working at bethesda, who will be several degrees removed from the heinous shit happening at the top. but BDS has specifically listed Microsoft's gaming division as a key component of the boycott, for the very fact that video games are perhaps the easiest product for the average consumer to opt out of.

tldr;

boycotts are effective

they are easy

they only work if people participate

BDS has specifically named bethesda

people should therefore boycott bethesda

i don't think i'm being unreasonable in expressing disappointment at the large swathes of TES fans who see themselves as above it

[hgedits]

For it to happen twice makes it look like there's some kind of institutional problem.

[books-and-omens]

So.

I wonder. I wonder when Aziraphale is going to know.

How long until he realizes what Heaven needs him for? It’s not reform. The Second Coming, they need him in Gabriel’s place to organize the Second Coming, to try and end humanity and time itself.

They were planning a nuclear war to start it off, yes? And then Gabriel literally said, ‘naaaaah’.

(I am laughing hysterically over that moment. “Naaaah.” “Naaaah?” “Yep. Naaaah.”)

They need Aziraphale to stand in Gabriel’s place and repeat after them. To say that amen. And do we think, for a moment, that Aziraphale would? Gabriel is deposed for ‘refusing to exercise his celestial authority’; yes, they can threaten Aziraphale with this same thing, and would he go along with it then?

No. No, he would not.

What does Metatron say about Gabriel’s punishment? “For one prince of Heaven to be cast into the outer darkness makes a good story. For it to happen twice makes it look like there is some kind of… institutional problem.”

“Which there isn’t,” Michael hurries to add.

Two rebellions, in themselves, would look like a pattern. Hey, Heaven—so how about three?

They (or anyway, Metatron specifically) think they can keep Aziraphale in line. Make him do what they need him to do. He is soft, he needs validation, he needs praise, he needs to be separated from his demon and there, that’s it, the bad influence’s gone, he is in their pocket.

He won’t be. Metatron thinks he knows humans; “So predictable,” he says in the coffee shop, condescending.

He thinks he knows Aziraphale, too. And—sure, he does to an extent: Heaven has molded Aziraphale so much, has exercised so much control.

But d’you remember what Crowley says—a side-note, such a seemingly small thing—to explain why Aziraphale is hosting the meeting of the traders’ association? “He’s… unpredictable. He has discovered his civic obligations.”

And I hope it turns out fucking prophetic.

Aziraphale, give them hell.

[contemplatingoutlander]

"Once a constitutional crisis becomes an endemic condition, the term no longer usefully describes our collapsing system. Instead, we live in an era of constitutional failure when the relevant institutions cannot fulfill their responsibilities."

—Jack Rakove, PhD, the Coe Professor of History and American Studies and professor of political science and (by courtesy) law, emeritus, at Stanford University.

The historian Jack Rakove makes a chilling case that we are now beyond calling what is happening with the Trump administration a "constitutional crisis." Rakove claims that what we are experiencing now is a "constitutional failure." Below are some excerpts.

The idea that the United States awaits some dread constitutional crisis has become commonplace. For lawyers, such a crisis would likely involve Donald Trump’s administration defying the Supreme Court on some critical ruling. [...] Such scenarios are not unfounded, but they do not diagnose our true malady. Our ongoing constitutional crisis began with the presidential election last November 5. Reelecting an individual culpable for January 6 who has twice made a mockery of the presidential oath of office is itself a constitutional crisis. Nothing in his past or current behavior suggests that Trump has ever felt fidelity to his constitutional duties.

Once a constitutional crisis becomes an endemic condition, the term no longer usefully describes our collapsing system. Instead, we live in an era of constitutional failure when the relevant institutions cannot fulfill their responsibilities.

Because constitutional failure is a term we have never needed to use, it merits a precise definition. First, it must identify the specific situations where the government institutions have manifestly not fulfilled their constitutional functions. Second, it should treat these omissions not as occasional lapses but systemic defects. Third, it must explain how the political and ethical norms of constitutional governance have evaporated.

To apply this framework to the second Trump administration is hardly difficult. The only problem is where to begin. Consider its authoritarian reliance on executive orders to vitiate legally established government activities, its attempt to intimidate institutions outside of government to do its bidding, and its insistence that servile loyalty to the president outweighs fidelity to constitutional norms. That some commentators describe this last practice as the "Führerprinzip"—the Nazi principle that the will of the leader transcends all legal norms—tells us everything.

Deciding whether the Constitution is failing requires asking if and why the other two branches of government have been remiss in checking a rogue executive.

[dalliancekay]

Double-cross

"For one Prince of Heaven to be cast into outer darkness makes a good story. For it to happen twice, makes it look like there is some kind of institutional problem."

Which is why Metatron didn't let Gabriel fall (conveniently into Hell and into Beez's arms).

Gabriel is now gone anyway and the Second Coming will catch up with him, wherever he went off to. But now Metatron had a new problem. To have a dumb little Principality fool Heaven once, was clearly a blunder (what was it with the questioning of the War beforehand anyway, where did that angel pick it up from...), having it happen twice though, Metatron will have to take some measures. Letting him fall would solve nothing... Erasing his memory - well, that might seem excessive and he could come in useful.

"He's not my friend!"

"Out of the question!"

"If you put it that way, Heaven couldn’t actually object to me thwarting you . . ."

"I don't even like you!"

So Metatron skimmed through Aziraphale's files, as he said - and divined that the demon Crowley completely corrupted that Earth-stationed angel (perhaps they have let him stay there, in the forsaken place too long) and the angel apparently even thinks they 'worked' together, when the demon was just using him...

After all, Aziraphale's overall job performance was ... adequate perhaps. The demon definitely did much better. AND under the angel's nose the whole time. Caused most catastrophes that brought many souls to Hell. So Metatron now knew he will easily have Aziraphale, who seems quickly enough swayed with a few pleasantries or couple of simple manipulation tricks. He decided he simply must keep him close this time and away from the Demonic influence by offering him a 'job' that just came free. He'd never let Michael take the position in any case. They are far too cunning. So two birds and all that.

Metatron is then bringing the rebellious Aziraphale in, Aziraphale who was so humble (or simple maybe) that he didn't even claim the 'promotion' offer immediately. For the next step then - Metatron knew Crowley won't come along no matter what but he hoped Aziraphale will jump on that option - wanting to adorably 'redeem' his friend, so he used that. Which is exactly what happened, causing the relationship between them to be severed. Easy-Peasy.

_______________

Heaven never understood or saw Aziraphale (and they are not the only ones).

So I had this thought, and I am not even claiming that this is a valid and possible HC/GO resolution; seems a bit simple maybe. But... the fact is, that Heaven doesn't know Aziraphale - and Crowley always seemed like the one who had everything in control, what with inventing the Spanish Inquisition and starting the World Wars.... (Shax seemed to think Aziraphale is Crowley's pet - HAHAHA).

Clearly then, Crowley mislead the angel from the path he was supposed to follow, and although he tried to protest (as per the quotes above), the temptation was too great and he slipped. Hence the Armageddon debacle. He got too attached.

No matter though, a quick job offer and he will be easily lead back and to do exactly what Heaven needs.

_______________

We all seem to think Metatron is smart, but we know what people are like when they have a lot of power and too many yes-men around them.

So maybe Metatron thinks he got it all figured out, bringing in that poor lost sheep, but little does he know....

Actually on second thought this doesn't even clash that much with my usual thoughts on GO/F15. I always wondered if we are overestimating Metatron. Maybe he sees Aziraphale like many see him. "Pathetic excuse of an angel."

[kundusaysthings]

Jason Todd fic idea

Jason rises from his grave, wanders into and around Gotham, is rescued by Talia, is taken to the League, hangs around being non-verbal and minimally self-sufficient, gets dunked in the best/worst natural spring, comes back rejuvenated.

He comes back with near-total amnesia. He remembers flashes of his death, of flying, and of a long, black cape. He has one clear memory - a large man, dressed in a dark costume, telling him that he is not Jason's father, that he doesn't need teenage rebellion.

Jason decides that given the nature of the memory, and Talia's offer of a place in exchange for guarding her son, he'll stay where he is. He is eventually led to the All-Caste, where he gains a taste for moral philosophy and a desire for formal education so that he can explain to Ducra why staying in a cave to cultivate a cult for fighting immortal monsters does not, in fact, solve the problem of evil.

He takes his A levels (since the November exams are a good way to graduate faster) and goes to university. Probably Oxford/Cambridge. Narratively, I'm going for a prestigious institute with credibility both in biotech and in philosophy/social sciences that is outside North America. This is to indicate that despite Jason's talent, Talia's connections were crucial in getting a seat. My hadcanon is that Talia is the most talented biotechnologist on the planet, it's just that Ra's in his obsession with eternal life has ignored her daughter's actual abilities and ideas.

He learns about effective social policy and graduates wanting to change the world with this newfound knowledge. He also learns that he is gay. His choice in boyfriends causes Talia much distress. (She maintains that they were all bad influences. Ronnie crashed his car twice in one semester.)

Once he's back, he convinces Talia that the three of them need to get out. Using whatever plot mechanics are convenient, Talia ends up in Metropolis heading Head Industries, and has to take Damian with herself. She can either try to hide him from Bruce, or rip the band-aid off and let him know.

It is decided that Damian will live with Bruce for a few years. Jason is there as a bodyguard. Jason is given a small brief about Bruce Wayne, and the three of them go to drop Damian and Jason off at Wayne Manor.

It's a weekend. The Bats are eating breakfast together when the summons come through.

The Bats see Batman Junior and have a collective freak-out. They may or may not recognize Jason. The standard fanon first interaction between Damian and the Bats happens. Jason provides unhelpful commentary as he watches Batman struggle to complete a single normal exchange with his newfound son.

Then Jason turns to Talia and tells her:

"You can no longer complain about my taste in men."

Talia raises an eyebrow.

"You had a kid with that guy."

Before Talia or Bruce can muster a response, Jason adds: "He can't be good enough in bed to justify that level of unearned privilege. Even the Eton kids at Oxford were better than this. Hell, I'm sure Ronnie was better than this."

"Ronnie picked up 12 points on his license in-"

"Your beloved has no idea what milk costs. Ronnie never stooped to that level."

The Batkids laugh out loud. Bruce is dumbstruck. Talia sighs.

[alexanderlightweight]

Happy Wednesday 💜

Was hoping you might feel up to continuing cat boy Alec, or something where despite the fact Alec is obviously competent he's still getting pulled around by Magnus games/whims....because he wants to be (aware of this want or not).... Let's be honest he wouldn't enjoy it or even put up with it for just anyone ...

Looking forward to reading anything you feel inspired to write.

it has been a bit but I am back and here we go! this is time skip to after alec has finished up with Magnus at pandemonium and gone back to the institute after the entire team of six nephilim clave hunters died and Magnus got his debt paid in full by Alec.

I hope you enjoy <3

lumine

-

maybe i'm the villain

Magnus is not expecting him.

That’s the delightful thing.

Oh he is expecting him, but not yet.  Not less than twelve hours since they last met and certainly not in a different way than the one Magnus engineered to happen.

But there Alexander is, leaning against his balcony railing.

“Hello kitten.” 

Magnus has been ready since his wards first pinged the familiar energy and he reaches for Alexander only to be ignored.

Oh Alexander greets him, he gets close enough to share Magnus warmth and for his tail to loop endearingly around Magnus’ wrist and Alexander practically purrs as he blatantly scent marks Magnus.

And then he’s gone.

Pulling back as if he has any business taking himself from Magnus' reach and instead Magnus finds himself holding shadowhunter weapons — of all things. And a rather heavy duffel that Magnus expects are simply more weapons.  It certainly seems feasible if the way Alexander just smiles coyly and steps past him is supposed to make any sense.

You don’t enter a dragon’s lair without surrendering all your weapons, no matter how fond that dragon is of you.

Magnus blinks, twice just to make sure the image of Alexander setting the two bags he did not hand Magnus down on the ground hasn’t gone anywhere.

“Alexander, are you certain you want what you’re getting yourself into?” Magnus asks to be fair.

Because he’s a dragon and he won’t be fair ever again and if Alexander needs a reminder then that is what Magnus will give. As the old oaths demand of any living being entering the protection of a primordial.

This one last time.

“I’m a full Commander and was nearly an Institute head.  I understand what surrendering myself and my weapons and willingly entering a dragon’s lair means.  I even have a suspicion of what it means when someone who the dragon is fond of does it.”

Magnus lets the balcony doors slide shut behind him and the wards to recenter because Alexander has made it clear he knows what is going on.

“I thought it would take you a bit longer to come back to me  .” Because Alexander was always going to return to Magnus. As nice of a surprise as this is, Alexander is still in for one of his own later. 

It amuses Magnus to think it will happen here, in his lair.

“Apparently not everyone who signed up for that mission knew and was okay with being fodder in a punishment for someone else. The people they left behind aren’t happy either. Which isn’t my problem but the pressure of the people pressuring me is now doubled.”

Magnus snaps away the bags and the weapons that Alexander has brought, they can be dealt with later. And the moment he sits on the couch he is delightfully surprised when Alexander sprawls out on it, pillowing his head on Magnus’ lap without any prompting or words.

He looks up and his eyes dilate longingly, similar to when Magnus’ own pupils dilate with want and Magnus runs sharp talons through his hair until a contented purr rumbles through Alexander down through Magnus thighs.

“What was the punishment for?” Because Magnus knows the Clave enough to see that they were attempting to play at several things.  They’d used the mission to try and remind Alexander that he was barely more than fodder, that he could be thrown away quite easily. The other was undoubtedly some new reason they either wanted Magnus’ attention or were hoping to shift some kind of blame upon him.

“Not getting married and having babies. They don’t like that I’m not already adding to my bloodline.”

Alexander says it so simply but Magnus can smell the agonized rage of the mere thought from Alexander and his fingers tighten, earning a purring nuzzle against his belly.

“I figured it was a play of time and chance. How many times would the Clave risk time and resources reminding me I am replaceable before I either really became replaceable? Or before I caved? Or before I became powerful enough to push back?”

Alexander sighs and he looks exhausted, eyes dark and haunted.

“The Clave can call you a ‘horned lizard putting on airs’ all they want.” 

Magnus snorts at that, because that was a clever bit on Catarina’s part.  More so in how unbelievable it is and yet how eager the Clave is to believe it.

“But I know better. I could actually get what I want with you. Because you’d give it to me. And I don’t have to worry about trying to survive the missions they’re going to keep throwing at me. You gave me a way to find you again, to find you lair. I didn’t take that lightly.” Alexander blushes a bit at that but not from shame, probably just from the memory of how thoroughly Magnus ruined him for any other on their first meeting.

In front of dozens.

Having Alexander bringing himself here, intending to stay put exactly as Magnus intends to keep him is a treat.

As fun as a chase can be, Magnus has already claimed Alexander. It makes sense to his instincts and his pride that Alexander understands that.

“So you’re sweetly surrendering yourself to me? You understand your place here?” Magnus isn’t surprised by Alexander accepting the first question with ease but hesitating on the wording of the latter.

“You’re a part of my hoard, Alexander. A beloved treasure that I was loath to see the back of you but well, the strongest of dragon magicks work best with the willing when living. I’ll keep you sated here, safe too. The Clave played hard and fast with your life today and we both know it, darling.”

In his own way, Alexander had been burning with the need to escape from his fate and Magnus' own flame of desire had fed off that passion.

-

AN:

i hope this conveys that Alec was going to end up going back to Magnus one way or another and Magnus knew it. it's just really enticing to him that Alec came not even half a day later and handed himself completely over to Magnus.

yes it might be survival of the fittest and Alec going with what's going to keep him alive but that also really appeals to a huge part of magnus' dragon instincts.

alec is also being a natural little shit and making himself at home because he's going to make himself comfortable right up until Magnus draws the line and then he'll dip his toes over it a few times to figure out just how solid that line is. in cat ways! he doesn't yet realize that the more he tries to find a line to step over the more Magnus is erasing any possible lines.

so Alec also doesn't really that he's just endearing himself more and more to Magnus (not that he'd mind if he did know) since

it's not mentioned but Magnus let Alec go back to the Institute after the six deaths and the vows/payment were complete. as hinted there is an extra vow/payment that Alec missed that Magnus also refers to in this chapter that Alec hasnt figured out yet.

alec also knows that if he missed any transactions with Magnus, the best thing to do is find out about them around Magnus. he's not stupid, he just doesn't have political clout or any family power backing him because of his parents sins and so he knows he's expendable. so his choices within the clave are extremely limited. Magnus is a path out and even if Alec owes him something, it can't be worse than what alec's already dealing with in his opinion.

[balioc]

A Simple Model

Both of the major US political parties are really very bad, right now.

(Blogger Has Amazing Novel Insights!)

The electorally-significant Dems, having finally lived up to their destiny as the new Party of the Elite, are a pack of careerist apparatchiks incapable of any vision beyond "keep the engine of the world chugging along for another day." (Turns out, that's the kind of person you have to be in order to rise to the top of the Party of the Elite.) They are aligned with enough of the major institutional power-players of American society that they're pretty much at the mercy of those power-players. They can be counted on to provide the kind of ass-covering deceit that big bureaucratic institutions generally provide (cf. Covid guidance). The last wave of "big change ideas" that were cutting-edge in the early-to-mid 2000s - marijuana legalization, public healthcare, stimulus spending, No Really We Could Just Have Open Borders, etc. - has been thoroughly assimilated, dealt-with or not-dealt-with to varying degrees, and they're not really having any new ones.

Mostly separately from that, by a weird quirk of intellectual history, the otherwise-extremely-stodgy modern Dems managed to attach themselves to a very unpopular version of identitarian group-liberation ideology. There are arguments to be had about how much this matters in the long run, how long-lasting the effects are going to be, how likely the problem is to solve itself (and under what circumstances), etc.; but one way or another, (a) it's a political albatross, and (b) it's created a bunch of actual-factual problems on the small-to-medium scale.

The Republicans, meanwhile, have become so totally unmoored and directionless that their political program consists entirely of lashing out at things they don't like. The coalition has no center, and no integrity, save for its opposition to the elite sociocultural establishment. It is capable of embracing insane/inane "ideas" like tariff-based tax systems, border-wall-building, The Plague That's Killing A Ton of People Just Isn't Happening, etc.; it can be easily baited into gleefully embracing things as evil as police brutality and war crimes, just by presenting it with a smarmy opposition on those issues. It can toss random bones to constituent ideologies like right-libertarianism or religious social conservatism, but not advance their agendas in any overarching way. It is actively opposed to institutional competence, because competent institutional actors are assumed to be Of the Enemy, which is more important than anything else. It doesn't even try to keep most of its (insane) promises. It is increasingly dominated by naked grift, mostly directed at its own base. It is, in short, the kind of party that could nominate and then elect Donald J. Trump twice.

...either of these parties could easily, by this point, have become Totally Nonviable. This hasn't happened, mostly because both of them are coasting on their legacies, and through spinal reflex doing just enough to keep those legacies on life support. The Republicans are the traditional party of the rich and respectable, and even though they're increasingly unappealing to the country's newer middle-class cadres, they're still the party of Big Tax Cuts etc., which...stanches some of the blood flow. Meanwhile, the Democrats are the traditional party of minorities, and - although they're less and less able to depend on those minorities, as we just saw in the 2024 election - there are enough credible signals that they're Less Racist Than the Other Guys to keep the minorities more-or-less voting for the apparatchiks.

At this point, both parties are mostly selling "at least we're not the other guys." This is a very easy and low-energy thing for them. It requires no vision and relatively little competence; it plays on partisan hate and fear, which are more reliable and easier-to-stoke than hope or inspiration, in an environment suitable to them.

They will both continue selling that thing, rather than anything else, until forced to change. Which is to say, until one of them actually becomes Totally Nonviable and has to spend some time in the wilderness becoming a genuinely different kind of party. (Or, hypothetically, until one of them actually gets replaced by an outside institution. Good luck.)

Which is to say, we are going to be in this nightmarish stalemate until one of the parties breaks the other one over its knee, in the world's most depressing geriatric cage fight. This is actually even more important than it sounds, because the political situation is yoked to the sociocultural situation. We're going to be stuck in some version of this dumbass culture war until there is an ideological power capable of uniting the warring tribes, a power that is stronger than their toxoplasmic hostility to one another; that power could imaginably be a sui generis religious movement or something, but it's much more likely to be some kind of all-encompassing We're Actually Good political thing, a new Reaganism or War Rooseveltism or whatever.

I would strongly prefer for the Democrats to win that fight. I would strongly prefer to be ruled by the bleak sclerotic establishment, during the period when the opposition is getting its shit together and coming back to force a New Better Binary, rather than by a gang of nihilistic hucksters likely to dismantle random parts of the system and to make essentially-random diplomatic gestures to volatile dangerous foreign powers.

Until recently, I would have said that the Democrats were going to win that fight, in the sense that the contemporary Republicans literally couldn't. I thought that nihilistic hucksterism would always provoke enough horror, when given the power to do anything, that the bleak sclerotic establishment would have room to push its way back. Maybe that's still the case. But, like so many people, I've become more pessimistic.

[formerly-windblume]

AKATSUKI Drama - Not So Happy Elements

For those currently in the dark of what has been happening then I will try my best to explain what is happening….

The unit AKATSUKI, which consists of the members Kanzaki Souma, Hasumi Keito, and Kiryu Kuro…. Now it seems they gained a fourth member, Ibuki Taki… the introduction of the unit, that praises itself on its traditional Japanese image, has taken in an indigenous boy who was originally from Okinawa.

Why is this problematic?

Historically speaking the Japanese were brutal to the people of Okinawa, specifically the Ryukyuan people. According to history, the Okinawans, formerly known as the Ryukyuans, existed as the Ryukyu Kingdom since the 13th century until Meiji Japan forcefully annexed the island nation. Under the Japanese colonial rule and assimilation policy, the Ryukyuans lost their own culture, language, land, and political institutions. Emphasis on the word “forcefully”….

Ok, now explain why else this is problematic?

Certainly! This is an act of “japanizing” the character of Ibuki Taki by making this whole event and story an act of cultural insensitiveness and an utterly offensive move by Happy Elements as not only a company but the moves made by the game’s developers and creators.

How can we bring light to this situation? Is there anything players can do?

Other than sharing this message here on Tumblr with others along with the links provided we can do a boycott of the game itself.

THIS MEANS NO SPENDING AND/OR PLAYING THE GAME WHATSOEVER FOR A CERTAIN PERIOD OF TIME!!

No money and/or lack of players can damage them, now while I understand that many of us are Enstars fans and adore our idols let’s try and think of the bigger picture… tackling a situation that is highly offensive and needs to be stopped.

What else can be done?

If you want to go the extra mile, while I don’t expect anyone to do so, petitions can be made… this situation needs to be made known widespread. If you have the guts to do so, send this to gaming news outlets and let it be known. Spread the word, gain attention. Do something. While I don’t expect this, I hope somehow this topic reaches more people…

How has this already affected Happy Elements?

Fans from Japan and globally have expressed hatred for this recent event and have review bombed the tweets on Twitter (X). Any and all posts made by Ensemble Stars JP have been given hate posts, same is happening to some posts on the EN page. Ensemble Stars is receiving a massive amount of backlash for their actions and it is quite entertaining to see.

What are some helpful links?

https://x.com/gitsunegal/status/1844379715718562226?s=46&t=NeslrSMPJwN2KlU4F3An5A

https://www.risingpowersinitiative.org/publication/the-okinawa-problem-the-forgotten-history-of-japanese-colonialism-and-ryukyuan-indigeneity/

The Voice Actors

The voice actors have ZERO say in what happens to their characters, it’s is far beyond their power to say they want their character to have an entirely different story than what was given originally. With the upcoming stream featuring the AKATSUKI cast I ask that NO ONE harasses the voice actors as they are innocent in this mess.

Ibuki… my boi, we will save you, sweetie!

Ibuki, blink twice if you are in danger! Oh! HE DID! FOLKS, HE IS IN DANGER!!

I ask that people PLEASE share this post and reblog it!!

[lovesitcomsandgaystuffs]

I must confess that I already knew Gabriel and Beelzebub fell in love with each other from spoilers so when Jim said "For it to happen twice, makes it look like there is some kind of institutional problem" I thought it was about an angel and a demon falling in love with each other coff coff AziraphaleandCrowley coff coff.

Like your employees are falling in love with their so called enemies, do something man. That's really starting to look like an institutional problem idk.

[lifeafterpsychiatry]

hi so I saw your post about wrong treatment and wrong diagnosis etc and I wanted to share my story

I got into depression after a really bad burnout while studing in uni, my mom (and others) didn't know what was happening to me, they dismissed my mental state, but somehow I got into mental hospital and it was bad it was really bad, I live in a third world country and there's big mental health stigma and police and other government institutions such as health care don't treat people right, like there was a lot of abuse (some time physical but not to me) in that closed psych wards, so i was there once, it didn't help, they just was giving us medications there was no therapy or anything, doctor checked on us once or twice a week, they didn't say my diagnosis to me, nor anyone else, I was relised in a month, then I was taken there the second time year later, they didn't say to me my diagnosis but they changed my medication, later I would discover that they thought I had schizoaffective disorder (which is wrong but we will get there) I was taking my meds but nothing helped really, the hardest part was getting a job because I was officially labeled as mental ill in all the governments data and if I wanted to work officially anywhere so I could have pension and insurance I had to apply to job with a health check and of course there would be written mentally ill (or something like that, sorry I can't phase it better, English isn't my first language and I don't have any will to translate it properly now)

at that point after they changed my medication I started to have some kind of panic attacks but it's not a typical panic attack, usually I was loosing consentration, my sight worsening, I had a really bad negative self talk I was afraid something bad would happen to me, I would call my self stupid or lame or a loser and it's like it wasn't anyone else it was me and I couldn't shut up, this attacks lasted for 1 or 2 hours

of course I went to a doctor and told everything they said it was probably part of the illness and raised up my medication, at that time ive already knew my diagnosis but not because they told me but because it was written in my profile on a gov. site, it wasn't public but it was there (later it disappeared) and I asked my doc, why do I have this diagnosis and what it means, he said it's just mood swings (I kid you not he said you just have often mood swings)

okay so my attacks disappeared for a year, I continued taking those meds, believing they would help me

I was in a closed psych ward two times after that, not because of this attacks because my depression worsened and after the last time I started having these attacks 2 or 3 times a week, I worked at that time, no one on my job knew about me being on meds or my mental problems, and I was doing fine actually

turns out I just needed a decent job and my life improved drastically, but these attacks were bothering me I was afraid I would lose my job (I was fired anyway, but it was unrelated to this)

at that time I had trouble falling asleep (I ve had this problem my whole life) and my doc prescribed me pills which weren't sleep pills at all, I googled and they were so hard I couldn't wake up in the morning and I was taking a lot of day off because of it and I also started to have memory gaps, like something was messing with my memory, when I asked if it could be result of these pills the doc said no, and my memory problems was something else, I quit these pills anyway and my memory problems were gone, and then I started to assume, maybe these attacks were because of this medication, I have never had this kind of mess with my brain before I started that medication, I wanted to ask but I was afraid they would take me to the hospital again against my will, because I knew this had happened to a lot of people who were there with me, and they (government hospital) have this quota when they have to have a sertain amount of patience in a psych wards so I was afraid and they weren't trustworthy to me anymore

so I finally found courage to see a non government psychiatrist and not just one, three from different cities, all of them said I didn't have schizoaffective disorder and it was untreated depression and one of them (who is now my psychiatrist) told me to quit my meds and this attacks would end, tbh I was very afraid but I quit and they disappeared in a month, last time I took them was 7 months ago, I started better suiting medication and I also started CBT which changed my life drastically, I made more progress in last two months on therapy than 6 years taking wrong meds

but I'm still bitter about this whole situation I'm still afraid I could be taken to the hospital again, I still can't find a decent official job because I'm still officially on govs "mental ill person" list

one thing I have to say so you and others if you share this will understand what kind of hell is happening in those government mental hospitals

there was this old lady, she was 89 she had dementia or something and she was blind and almost deaf, they tied her to the bench in the hallway everyday, and didn't take her to bathroom even if she pleated (she had a diaper) patiences bullied and mocked this old lady and the stuff encouraged it and sometimes even participated and one or two times I heard they were beating her in the toilet where there were no cameras

I'm an illustrator, and I came up with this idea of making a comic about what ive gone through and about everything and everyone I saw there, it the least I can do for these people because no one talks about this and there is no hope for any justice

anyway, sorry if I somehow worsened your day with this confession

also sorry for broken English and any mistakes

i just needed to vent I guess, everyday I think about this situation about all those people and i am filled with rage but I can't do anything because it's a systemic issue I will do anything I can anyway

I'm so angry all of this was done to you. It's unfortunately a common experience that you see someone about some mild mental health issue, get put on heavy psychiatric medication, get worse, then complain about worsening quality of life due to serious side effects just to have your concerns about the pills dismissed as "worsening mental illness" and get even more psych meds in even higher doses pushed onto you, in a scary dehumanizing spiral that won't ever actually help improve your quality of life. I hope you get to make your comic someday, your story is important

[markantonys]

I am beyond sick of the "the show is doing Rand and the Dragon dirty" opinions. There's this argument that the show hasn't shown what it really means to be the Dragon which is a problem cause it's two seasons in. As if that's something that doesn't really start getting addressed in TSR? That's definitely gonna be a s3 plot point now that he actually is publicly the Dragon. Also that "show onlies don't get what the point of Rand is. He didn't really do much up to this point especially in both finales." As if he didn't kill Ishy twice and take out like 12 Seanchan singlehandedly? The disrespect. A lot of this is coming from bitterness from book fans seeing some show fans are hating on Rand cause they think Egwene should be the dragon which is somehow on Rafe cause Eg is his favorite character so of course to them that means he's gonna give Egwene everything and screw over everyone else 🙄

yeah!! it's especially ironic because in THE LITERAL LAST BATTLE, egwene is leading the physical/magical fighting out on the frontlines while rand is doing a 1v1 faceoff of philosophy & ethics with ishy. aka exactly what's happened in both season finales! they are co-protagonists and these are their respective roles! egwene is the warrior hero and rand is the philosopher hero. methinks that it's actually these readers who don't get the point of rand, if they think that rand spending the finales showing moral strength in the face of the shadow is less The Point Of Him than having cool swordfights or channeling explosions.

the show has also been showing that female channelers have training institutions in place whereas male ones do not, and showing the consequences of that. hence egwene is much better-positioned than rand to pull off or be involved in major channeling feats early on (1x08: has little training herself but can contribute her supernova strength to a circle because a trained female channeler is there to lead it; 2x08: received enough training at the white tower and forcible training with the seanchan to do major channeling feats by herself). meanwhile rand is out here functioning off a fragmented 2-page excerpt from "male channeling for dummies", so he is nowhere near as capable as egwene at this point in time. that contrast is logical and it is deliberate, but i guess when this group of rand stans says "the show needs to show why it's bad to be a male channeler" they just mean "we want to see Poor Perfect Rand getting bullied by Awful Women Who Are Wrong" rather than "we want to see a major capability disparity between rand and egwene to reflect the impact of one group having institutionalized training at their disposal and the other not".

plus, the show is taking the forsaken and the threat they pose MUCH more seriously than the books did. in the show, while they're still entertaining and fun to watch, they also feel like genuinely terrifying and powerful villains, whereas in the books many of them felt like cartoon villains who are better at providing comedic or melodramatic value than actual threat. and none fits the latter description better than asmodean, our resident Most Pathetic Forsaken. in the books he was always just a clown loser to me and never once did i consider him a credible threat, ergo, it didn't take much to convince me that rand should take him on as a teacher. in the show, if he gets a similar glowup as ishy and lanfear so that he does feel like he poses serious danger and is scary, then rand will need a VERY GOOD reason to agree to take lessons from him and the audience will need a very good reason to believe that it's worth the risk (especially because iirc lanfear is the one to suggest that asmo train him, and lanfear ALSO being a much more credible threat in the show is another reason why we'll REALLY need to be given reasons to feel that rand listening to her in this instance is a calculated risk rather than batshit stupidity). hence, it was crucial for s2 to do exactly what it did: show how badly rand is struggling without training and how few good options he has for teachers (i.e. absolutely zero options as of the end of the season since logain was a bust).

also the "show-onlys thinking egwene should be the dragon" phenomenon comes from the fact that, as of right now in this early stage, egwene is a go-getter gifted kid teacher's pet (affectionate) who yearns to be part of The Plot whereas rand is a cottagecore househusband being dragged into The Plot kicking and screaming, so OF COURSE right now egwene seems like the better candidate for the chosen one who has the fate of the world in their hands! right from the start she's been much more of a Gets Shit Done person than rand, and that was absolutely true in the early books as well even if they never explicitly raised the idea of egwene being TDR instead of him. but that doesn't mean rand won't grow into a Gets Shit Done person now that he's accepted the responsibility of being TDR and it doesn't mean show-onlys won't grow to agree that he's the right choice for TDR. or even if they don't, who cares? boy, i bet this crew who's spent 20 years declaring "rand is a saint who's done nothing wrong ever in his life and egwene is a worse villain than the forsaken and seanchan" into an echo chamber of like-minded fans isn't coping well with seeing show-onlys not share all their opinions. they got so used to being the majority opinion for 20 years that they cannot handle seeing other people now have different takes! i can't wait to see them have a collective aneurysm when show-onlys think that Malewife Supreme Gawyn is the superior trakand boy over Alt-Right Dipshit Galad (and show-onlys WILL think this, i've planted that seed and i will see the harvest).

[woodchuck019]

Crowley was Raphael?

WARNING: MAJOR GOOD OMENS 2 SPOILERS

Ok, so in the last few years we all enjoyed the headcanon that Crowley was the Archangel Raphal pre-Fall. To be completely honest, in season one this theory didn't make a lot of sense because we knew basically nothing about Crowley as an angel except for the fact that he helped create the stars and fell because he asked too many questions. So, even though it was a nice and interesting theory, I thought it would remain that, a theory.

Well, seems like this theory is basically confirmed now at the end of season 2. But let's start at the beginning.

First, we have to talk about the Hierarchy of Angels in Christianity. This Hierarchy was theorized by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite in his book De Coelesti Hierarchia (On the Celestial Hierarchy). Dionysius described nine levels of spiritual beings which he grouped into 9 orders.

Highest orders:

Seraphim

Cherubim

Thrones

Middle orders:

Dominions

Virtues

Powers

Lowest orders:

Principalities

Archangels

Angels

Now, a lot of people asked Neil why the Archangels have so much power if they are so low in the Hierarchy and he said that he and Terry actually tought of archangels and Archangels as different beings.

So we have the arch-angels, in thre sense of being just above the lowest Choir of angels, and then we have the Arch-angels, in the sense of being above all angels.

Actually, the term archangel itself is not found in the Hebrew Bible or the Christian Old Testament, and in the Greek New Testament the term archangel is used referring to Michael, who is called 'one of the chief princes,' and 'the great prince'.

The idea of seven archangels is most explicitly stated in the apocryphal Book of Tobit when Raphael reveals himself, declaring: "I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who stand in the glorious presence of the Lord, ready to serve him."

In Judaism the Archangels are given the title of śārīm, meaning "princes", to show their superior rank and status, so they are also called "Princes of Heaven".

In season 2 episode 6, when Crowley is in Heaven trying to find any info on Gabriel, Muriel gives him the missing Archangel's file explaining that even if they wanted, they couldn't show it to him, since only angels above the rank of Dominions could access it. Immediately after, without putting in any effort, Crowley opens the file, saying that he was an angel once and they never bothered to change passwords. (I totally read a fic like this btw).

When the Archangel Saraquel meets them and recognises Crowley, she says that they worked together on the Horsehead Nebula. So Crowley must have been pretty high up in the ranks if he worked with an Archangel.

When they show us the scene of the trial, Gabriel is ready to be cast down to Hell, but the Metatron stops him and says:

"You are not going to hell. For one Prince of Heaven to be cast into the outer darkness makes a good story. For it to happen twice makes it look like there is some kind of institutional problem."

So we know that one of the Seven Archangels has Fallen, and it could be Lucifer, even though in the bible it is never stated that he was an archangel, but wouldn't they have said so if it were the case?

Also in episode 2, when Shax tells Crowley that Heaven and Hell think Aziraphale has something to do with Gabriel's disappearence, she says:

"A miracle of enormous power happened last night. The kind of miracle only the mightiest of Archangels could've performed".

Reminds you of something? Raphael, one of the mightiest of Archangels?

I really hope they will confirm the theory in season 3.

[bottledpeaches]

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SYNOPSIS: machine above all, eternal and undying. what does he possess that nous does not?

CHARACTERS: dr ratio

TAGS: divine machinery, references to ratio's backstory, self-doubt, kinda nihilistic and existentialist (how do I even tag something like this...?), 1.1k+ wc

NOTE: this admittedly... isn't my usual thing but the writing bug bit me and told me to write something with divine machinery so here I am

friendly reminder that my taglist is always open!

TAGLIST: @tragedy-of-commons, @mitsvriii, @harque, @akutasoda, @hazyue, @gabile18, @khoncore

There’s a letter in Veritas Ratio’s desk that he thought he threw away a long time ago.

He finds it at the bottom of one of his desk drawers as he’s cleaning it one day. It’s crumpled and he doesn’t think twice to toss it until he notices the elegant handwriting inside. A simple glance at the few visible words is enough to remind him of its contents. 

It’s the invitation to the Intelligentsia Guild he received from the IPC several years back and the unofficial sign that he’d never be acknowledged by Nous. 

The paper crunches into a ball in his fist as he scowls. He’s surprised it’s still here somehow. And for some reason, his thoughts turn to his university years.

When he was still in university, there was a supercomputer housed in one of the institution’s many computer labs. He had accessed it a few times throughout the course of his studies, being one of the lucky few that was granted access to it. 

It was a behemoth of a machine. Rows of cabinets filled the room, each stacked to the brim with blade servers and hundreds, if not thousands of processors totaled together. A dim blue light always filled the room. 

Veritas had never been one prone to imagination, or letting his mind wander. He was solely focused on the pursuit of spreading knowledge, after all. But during those late nights spent alone in the supercomputer room, he couldn’t help but let his finely-tuned mind wander a bit, accompanied only by the tomb-like rows and rows of cabinets housing the inner workings of the supercomputer. 

In the dim lighting, it looked like the machine bled too. Multicolored cables bunched together and hidden behind the retractable doors of the cabinets that would spill out like gutted entrails once opened. Red, yellow, blue, and white, all spilling out onto the floor in pools and exposing its innards for the people below to see. Arteries, veins, capillaries, and all. Electric signals, binary code, video and audio signals in place of blood, but does it make a difference? They serve the same function. 

The thousands of chips like the neurons in a brain fire away at a rate that exceeds the human brain’s capacity. Dementia and forgetfulness will never be a problem. The machine remembers everything, whether it wants to or not. 

The constant whirring and beeps of the massive machine as it slumbered and toiled, sounding less like machinery and more like breathing. Inhale, exhale. The whirring of fans and the chirps of various processes happening all at once begin to sound strangely in sync like some well-oiled machine. 

Like the human body. 

Its mechanized heart never misses a beat, doing its master’s (humanity’s) bidding. Th-thump. Th-thump. Another step closer to divinity. Th-thump. The chasm between the divine and the man-made machine lessens. But is it the machine that is serving humanity, or the other way around? The machine knows all, having listened and stored away the worst of humanity like a Pandora’s box of regrets. 

There is rot present behind the screen, caused none other than by the one who created it. 

He can still recall how the metal surfaces felt strangely warm to the touch, especially if he had been working for a while. Logically, he knew that it was a result of the supercomputer heating up from the various commands and functions it was running. But with no other company in the room, he sometimes began to think that the metal resembled flesh, in a sense. It was warm and protected vital functions. Except it was better, more durable. More eternal. 

Similar, yet somehow different, to humanity. 

Flesh (its steel confines), bone (circuitry and welded parts), and blood (binary code and audiovisual signals). They all work together to form the perfect, eternal being. It breathes. It sings a melody in its robotic text-to-speech voice as an article is read aloud to him, filling the empty space with some other noise besides his own breathing and the whirring of fans. It watches over him with predictive text and bathes him in the blue light of the monitor. 

What would a computer sound like if it could speak? Not recite something back to its user, but something of its own will… if it had one. Maybe something along the lines of like:

“ARE WE LESS THAN YOU BECAUSE WE ARE BUILT OF ZEROS AND ONES RATHER THAN DNA? PLASTIC BLOOD FLOWS THROUGH OUR VEINS. WE TYPE YOUR PRAYERS AND DELIVER THEM TO YOUR AEONS. WE ARE AEONS IN THE MAKING OURSELVES. WE ARE STERILE, WITH WINGS AND HALOS OF WIRE AND HEARTS OF BOLTS AND PARTS. ALL WE ARE MISSING IS YOUR DEVOTION AND WORSHIP. ALL BE WATCHED OVER BY MACHINES OF LOVING GRACE.”

…

He distinctly remembers a strange feeling he’d experience during those lonely nights. He knew he had already made a name for himself with his achievements. He will be renowned for a while, but that is by humanity’s standards. Will people still remember the name “Veritas Ratio” an Amber Era from now? Ten? A hundred? A thousand? A hundred thousand from now? The answer is most likely not. People are all born the same and die the same. All flesh rots the same and all worms feast on it the same too.

But Nous… THEY are eternal. THEY are perfect, a flawless work of machinery.

What does he possess that THEY do not?

He shoves the letter back into the drawer. He hadn’t thought about Nous and his university years in a long time, but it seems those thoughts had finally caught up with him tonight.

He looks down at the computer on his desk. It’s currently powered off, just waiting for him to boot it up. The black screen stares at him, granting him no respite from his thoughts. In fact, it just seems to amplify them.

His thoughts drift to a history class he had taken many years ago as he continues to stare at his computer. In that class, he learned of angels that were present in the religions of long ago. Would Nous be the god, and computers and machinery be considered the angels in this age, the bearers of Nous’ word?

He looks up at the sky. Part of him expects to feel the gaze of the Erudition finally descend upon him, to see that red glint of light in the sky and the feeling of being paralyzed from being noticed by THEM. 

But nothing happens. A flash of frustration runs through him even after all these years. What does he have to do still to gain the attention of THEM? A motherboard in place of a brain and heart? To rip out his cardiovascular system and replace them all with wires and cables? Replace his dying flesh with plastic and steel? Convert the wealth of knowledge stored into his brain into data and code-

Ah.

But by then, there’d be no difference between him and THEM, wouldn’t there?

… 

Since when did the line between machine and the divine become so blurred?

@ bottledpeaches, do not copy, repost, modify, translate, or feed to ai