#jon greenaway

[gothicseverance]

Capitalism is, in Marx’s words, sodden with gore — a monster which emerges from the grave dripping with the viscera of those who are chewed to pieces in the gears of the machine.

—Capitalism: A Horror Story

[queen-mabs-revenge]

had to take a break from reading capitalism: a horror story on page 37 with the poem 'i fell asleep, just standing like that' by xu lizhi - a foxconn worker who died by suicide at 24:

眼前的纸张微微发黄 The paper before my eyes fades yellow

我用钢笔在上面凿下深浅不一的黑 With a steel pen I chisel on it uneven black

里面盛满打工的词汇 Full of working words

车间，流水线，机台，上岗证，加班，薪水…… Workshop, assembly line, machine, work card, overtime, wages...

我被它们治得服服贴贴 They've trained me to become docile

我不会呐喊，不会反抗 Don't know how to shout or rebel

不会控诉，不会埋怨 How to complain or denounce

只默默地承受着疲惫 Only how to silently suffer exhaustion

驻足时光之初 When I first set foot in this place

我只盼望每月十号那张灰色的薪资单 I hoped only for that grey pay slip on the tenth of each month

赐我以迟到的安慰 To grant me some belated solace

为此我必须磨去棱角，磨去语言 For this I had to grind away my corners, grind away my words

拒绝旷工，拒绝病假，拒绝事假 Refuse to skip work, refuse sick leave, refuse leave for private reasons

拒绝迟到，拒绝早退 Refuse to be late, refuse to leave early

流水线旁我站立如铁，双手如飞 By the assembly line I stood straight like iron, hands like flight,

多少白天，多少黑夜 How many days, how many nights

我就那样，站着入睡 Did I - just like that - standing fall asleep?

[lumillsie]

ೃ⁀➷ fandoms & characters I write for. ੈ✩‧₊˚

the fandoms I'm currently taking requests for are marked red. my favorite characters to write for will also be marked red.

if a piece of media you want to see me write for isn't on this list, ask me about it and I'll see if I'm familiar with it or intrigued by it enough to watch/read it. this list will be edited in case I become interested in writing for another fandom.

banner credits : @dollywons <3

╰┈➤ movies ₊❏❜ ⋮ ⌒

- the twilight saga - aro volturi, caius volturi, marcus volturi, demetri volturi, felix volturi, sulpicia volturi, athenodora volturi, leah clearwater, paul lahote, jasper hale, rosalie hale, alice cullen, carlisle cullen, benjamin (of the egyptian coven)

- the hunger games - finnick odair, johanna mason, gale hawthorne, cressida, cato, madge undersee (platonic)

- the ballad of songbirds and snakes - coriolanus snow, lucy gray baird, sejanus plinth, tigris snow, livia cardew, reaper ash,

- james bond franchise (daniel craig) - james bond, vesper lynd, le chiffre, gareth mallory (m), maximilian denbigh (c), lyutsifer safin

- harry potter - godric gryffindor, salazar slytherin, rowena ravenclaw, helga hufflepuff, newt scamander, theseus scamander, tom marvolo riddle, abraxas malfoy, barty crouch jr, regulus black, severus snape, evan rosier, james potter, sirius black, remus lupin, peter pettigrew, lily evans, marlene mcckinnon, pandora lovegood, xenophilius lovegood, bill weasley, charlie weasley, fred weasley, george weasley, ron weasley, draco malfoy, theodore nott, blaise zabini, hermione granger, harry potter, oliver wood, cedric diggory

- gladiator - emperor commodus, maximus decimus meridius, lucilla, lucius verus aurelius, marcus acacius, emperor geta, emperor caracalla

╰┈➤ tv shows ₊❏❜ ⋮ ⌒

- game of thrones - robb stark, sansa stark, jon snow, daenerys targaryen, jaime lannister, margaery tyrell, cersei lannister, ramsay bolton, tywin lannister, tyrion lannister, joffrey baratheon, theon greyjoy, viserys targaryen, oberyn martell, bronn of the blackwater, edmure tully, ygritte

- house of the dragon - otto hightower, alicent hightower, gwayne hightower, daemon targaryen, rhaenyra targaryen, aegon 'the elder' targaryen, aemond targaryen, jacaerys velaryon, mysaria, alys rivers, addam of hull, ser criston cole

- from - ellis stevens, sara myers, nathan myers, kenny liu, fatima hassan, randall kirkland, jade herrera, tabitha matthews, jim matthews, boyd stevens, julie matthews (platonic), victor kavanaugh (platonic), kristi miller, marielle sinclair

- elementary - sherlock holmes, joan watson, marcus bell, mycroft holmes, jamie moriarty, odin reichenbach, gareth lestrade

- criminal minds - aaron hotchner, jennifer jareau, kate callahan, emily prentiss, elle greenaway, spencer reid, derek morgan, luke alvez, penelope garcia, tara lewis, jason gideon, david rossi, will lamontagne

- bones - zack addy, seeley booth, temperance brennan, angela montenegro, jack hodgins, camille saroyan, lance sweets, daisy wick, arastoo vaziri, jessica warren, finn abernathy, vincent nigel-murray, wendell bray

- castle - kate beckett, richard castle, javier esposito, kevin ryan, lanie parish, tom demming, hayley shipton, alexis castle (platonic)

- gotham - jim gordon, barbara kean, victor zsasz, oswald cobblepot, edward nygma, sofia falcone, jerome valeska, jeremiah valeska, tabitha galavan

- brooklyn 99 - rosa diaz, gina linetti

- shadow & bone - genya safin, kaz brekker, nikolai lantsov, jesper fahey, zoya nazyalensky, nina zenik, inej ghafa, matthias helvar

- squid game - kang sae-byeok (player 067), seong gi-hun (player 456), hwang jun-ho (the policeman), cho sang-woo (player 218), the recruiter, hwang in-ho (the frontman), ji-yeong (player 240), ali abdul (player 199), park gyen-seok (player 246), kang dae-ho (player 388), lee myung-gi (player 333), se-mi (player 380), kang no-eul (guard 011), kim jun-hee (player 222, platonic), jang geum-ja (player 149, platonic), park yong-sik (player 007, platonic), cho hyun-ju (player 120, platonic),

- yellowjackets - jackie taylor, shauna shipman, taissa turner, van palmer, lottie matthews, misty quigley, natalie scatorccio, travis martinez, kevyn tan

╰┈➤ books ₊❏❜ ⋮ ⌒

- a song of ice and fire series (mostly fire & blood) - arianne martell, young griff "aegon", aegon ' the conqueror' targaryen, rhaenys 'the conqueror' targaryen, visenya 'the conqueror' targaryen, maegor targaryen, rhaena targaryen, aemon targaryen, baelon targaryen, aegon 'the younger' targaryen, viserys ii targaryen, aemon 'the dragonknight' targaryen, daemon blackfyre, shiera seastar, daemon blackfyre

- the secret history - julian morrow, richard papen, henry winter, camilla macaulay, charles macaulay, edmund 'bunny' corcoran

- the folk of the air - jude duarte, cardan greenbriar, locke, nicasia, valerian, dain greenbriar, the ghost, the roach, the bomb, liriope

- house of hollow - iris hollow, vivi hollow, grey hollow, tyler yang

[mybeingthere]

Jon Klassen CM (born 1981) is a Canadian writer and illustrator of children's books and an animator. He won both the American Caldecott Medal and the British Kate Greenaway Medal for children's book illustration, recognizing the 2012 picture book This Is Not My Hat, which he also wrote. He is the first person to win both awards for the same work.

[ynscrazylife]

WHO I WRITE FOR *will be continuously updated

(Platonic means familial and/or friendship)

9-1-1

Romantic & Platonic: Chimney Han, Eddie Diaz, Evan “Buck” Buckley, Hen Wilson, Maddie Buckley

Only Platonic: Athena Grant, Bobby Nash

Bridgerton

Romantic & Platonic: Anthony Bridgerton, Benedict Bridgerton, Cressida Cowper, Eloise Bridgerton, Francesca Bridgerton, Kate Sharma, Simon Bassett, Tilly Arnold

Only Platonic: Daphne Bridgerton, Gregory Bridgerton, Hyacinth Bridgerton, Violet Bridgerton

DC Movies/Arrowverse

Romantic & Platonic: Alex Danvers, Bruce Wayne (Patterson), Kara Danvers, Lena Luthor, Selina Kyle (Patterson)

Call of Duty

Romantic & Platonic: Alejandro Vargas, Alex Keller, John Price, Johnny MacTavish, Kate Laswell, Kyle Garrick, Simon Riley

Criminal Minds

Romantic & Platonic: Aaron Hotchner, Derek Morgan, Elle Greenaway, Emily Prentiss, Jennifer Jareau, Luke Alvez, Spencer Reid, Will LaMontagne

Only Platonic: David Rossi, Penelope Garcia

Game of Thrones

Platonic & Romantic: Brienne of Tarth, Cersei Lannister, Jamie Lannister, Jon Snow, Margaery Tyrell, Ned Stark, Robb Stark, Sansa Stark, Theon Greyjoy

Grey’s Anatomy/Station 19

Platonic & Romantic: Addison Montgomery, Alex Karev, Amelia Shepherd, Andrew DeLuca, April Kepner, Arizona Robbins, Ben Warren, Callie Torres, Carina DeLuca, Derek Shepherd, Jack Gibson, Jackson Avery, Jules Millin, Jo Wilson, Lexie Grey, Lucas Adams, Lucas Ripley, Mark Sloan, Maya Bishop, Monica Beltran, Nathan Riggs, Teddy Altman

Only Platonic: Meredith Grey, Owen Hunt

Harry Potter

Romantic & Platonic: Bill Weasley, Cedric Diggory, Charlie Weasley, Draco Malfoy, Fleur Delacour, Ginny Weasley, Harry Potter, James Potter, Lily Evans, Nymphadora Tonks, Remus Lupin, Ron Weasley, Sirius Black, Viktor Krum

— MCU/Spiderverse

Platonic & Romantic: Bucky Barnes, Bobbi Morse, Carol Danvers, Clint Barton, Gamora, Kate Bishop, Loki, Maria Hill, Melina Vostokoff, Maria Hill, Miguel O’Hara, Natasha Romanoff, Peter B. Parker, Peter Parker (AG), Peter Parker (TH), Pietro Maximoff, Sam Wilson, Scott Lang, Sharon Carter, Stephen Strange, Steve Rogers, Thena, Thor Odinson, Tony Stark, Wanda Maximoff, Yelena Belova

Only Platonic: Agatha Harkness, Pepper Potts

Star Wars

Romantic & Platonic: Anakin Skywalker, Han Solo, Leia Organa, Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padmè Amidala, Poe Dameron, Rey Skywalker

Stranger Things

Romantic & Platonic: Eddie Munson, Chrissy Cunningham, Jonathan Byers, Nancy Wheeler, Robin Buckley, Steve Harrington

Only Platonic: Jim Hopper, Joyce Byers

Superntural

Platonic & Romantic: Bela Talbot, Dean Winchester, Gabriel, Jo Harvelle, Sam Winchester

Only Platonic: Bobby Singer, Ellen Harvelle, John Winchester

The Bear

Romantic & Platonic: Carmy Berzatto, Natalie Berzatto, Richie Jerimovich

— The Rookie

Angela Lopez, Aaron Thorsen, Bailey Nune, Jackson West, John Nolan, Lucy Chen, Nyla Harper, Tim Bradford, Wesley Evers

— The Vampire Diaries

Caroline Forbes, Damon Salvatore, Elijah Mikaelson, Enzo St. John, Hayley Marshall, Klaus Mikaelson, Kol Mikaelson, Rebekah Mikaelson, Stefan Salvatore, Tyler Lockwood

— Top Gun

Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw, Jake “Hangman” Seresin, Natasha “Phoenix” Trace, Nick “Goose” Bradshaw, Penny Benjamin, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell

[endlessly-cursed]

Riddle Era- Geena Greenaway

"𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙩𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛."

Name: Geena Lucie Greenaway

Nicknames: Gennie, Gen

Birthdate: 23rd of December, 1930

Zodiac Sign: Capricorn

Personality Type (MBTI): TBD

Blood Status: Pureblood

Nationality: British

Physical Appearance

gif credit to @/tessgifs

Hair: Black

Eyes: Black

Height: 1.64m

Weight: 60kg

Body Type: Short and slender

Skin Tone: Slight tan

Distinguishing Marks (scars, birthmarks, etc.): Purple marks on her decolletage from an experiment gone wrong

Background

Hometown

Geena grew up with her mother and grandparents in Greenaway manor, being her grandmother's most favoured grandchild and the one they saw the most, and despite her mother owning a flat in London, they spent most of their time in the famous house. She also got to see the final years of Uncle Ezra's years and grew up hearing his stories firsthand.

Family

Mother: Nadine Ambrosia Greenaway

The only parent she's ever known in her life, she grew up alongside her, always from one adventure to another, following Ezra's footsteps, becoming her mother's pupil. She never once told her about her father, telling her it was for the best that she never knew the man. Geena never questioned her, but when she died, she received a letter from a mysterious man claiming to be her long-lost father. And she'd soon regret that decision.

Father: Maverick Harlow

A two-thousand year old heretic (half vampire half mage), he and Nadine had met in one of her adventures and fell in love while fighting rogue werewolves. Nadine was unaware of what a threat he was, his age not being a concern to her... until she saw his bloodlust. The two of them argued and physically fought, and Nadine left in a huff, only to find out (while digging on him) that he had founded a cult for the elite. Geena found out and started snooping around, and soon backfired. One of his lackeys kidnapped the fifteen year-old Geena as some sort of revenge in Maverick's name and, while preparing her for an offer to an old god, fighting back, fell onto unknown chemicals. The next thing Geena knew, she was bleeding and the whole place blew up. The only survivor? Geena herself. And Maverick, who quickly left the UK and fled to the States. Meanwhile, Geena had to deal with the aftermath: being thrown into jail for a week, and her newfound immortality.

Grandmother: Lucie Anna Cromwell

Geena always knew that her ever-perfect grandmother had secrets, secrets she knew she'd never know. However, she always ideolized her and kind of envied her. She passed away when she was just fourteen, not old enough to be let into family secrets or rumours.

Grandfather: Thane Greenaway Jr. ( @potionboy3 )

Geena always grew up with stories of her grandparents' epic love story, how it trespassed time, class, duty and blood purity and won everything. She admired him and was her favourite man in the world and the one to act like a father figure to her. She was devastated when his time came too.

Son: Jonathan Everett of Alderly

Geena did her best to raise her son to be a good man, however, he was always a troubled man. The reason? He was a gay man in a deeply conservative society where sex between men was some kind of guilty pleasure kept hush-hush, and where if you were a man, rich and single, all eyes were on you. Jon came to his smart mother and asked her for her protection. After a long talk, they agreed on looking for a suitable beard wife, and found one on Nina Morland, a lesbian who was looking for a cover of her affair with a famous actress. The couple managed to have one child, George, per the wishes of the marriage, and the secret wasn't out until they divorced amicabily in 2013 and Jonathan married his lifelong paramour, (OPEN!) and Nina married her own.

Daughter: Adaline Cora Louise Primrose of Alderly

Her daughter Ada was her brother's opposite: cheery, fun-loving, the life of the party and shone as bright as the sun, all while keeping a good head level and making sure both families' fortunes increased. She inhereted her love for being mysterious and kept her life private.

House: Gryffindor

Best Class: Flying, Charms, Astronomy

Worst Class: History of Magic

Boggart: Her father, finishing his job

Riddikulus: Her father blows up in a big balloon

Patronus: TBD

Patronus Memory: Waltzing with Henrik

Mirror of Erised: Being able to age with Henrik and her family

Amortentia (what she smells like): Rose petals, vanilla, freshly baked sweetmeats, expensive cologne and powder

Amortentia (what she smells): Sandalwood, cigar smokes, expensive cologne, new paper and coffee

Career

11-18: Hogwarts student

17-64: Private Investigator

65-72: Cult disbander

73-??: Archivist in the ministry

??-??: Restaurant owner

Personality & Attitude

Priorities: Her family, taking down her father, disband cults, being on the right side of history and making sure nobody knows who she is

Strengths: Brave, bold, intuitive, daring, passionate, fierce and protective

Weaknesses: Proud, reserved and closed-off

Stressed: When reminded of her immortality

Calm/Comforted: Seeing that her family will be well

Favorites

Colors: Red, golden, blue, emerald green and beige

Weather: Heavy rain with thunder

Hobbies: Reading, knitting, travelling, discovering new adventures and living her life

Fashion: Geena dresses casually, but still with style

Relationships

Significant Other/Love Interest: Henrik Victor of Alderly

Geena knew of Henrik's fame as a hopeless romantic heartthrob and a spineless tool, and although he amused her and intrigued her, he didn't seem interested in her... until, three years after graduation, they met again in his sister's debut and realised how much he had changed. He worked hard to get her heart, and he succeeded. They slowly courted, keeping a long engagement while Geena slowly unpacked the dark aspects of her life. Henrik was incredibly supportive, and they both married when she was 26.

They had two children, Jonathan and Adaline, and kept a low profile, staying away from politics as much as they could help it and, although they stood up for what was right, they were pretty much under the radar, making their own fortunes and enjoying their quiet life. During her lifetime with Henrik, she didn't think once of her father or the cult still lurking in her family's lives.

Geena is open for a second love!!

Friends: Portia Augusta of Alderly

Geena got along well with her youngest sister-in-law Portia, whose lively and fierce personality always put at ease the overthinking personality of Geena.

Gia Somerset II, Baroness Sudeley

Her cousin-in-law, despite Geena being older, was truly an inspiration of how to navigate cunningly the volatile court of both George VI and Elizabeth II. They both got along like a house on fire and learned much from one another. Geena was devastated when she, alongside most of her family, died within time.

Rivals: The Saviours of Cingerix

A cult that goes way back to the 1530s, what started as an underground Counterreformation, soon began its cult to much older gods during the early 19th century and its romantisation of Ancient Greece and Rome, all the elites working in gruesome ways to keep themselves in power through a cutthroat hierarchy that very few fully escalated. His leader, Maverick, has held power ever since, his tyranny and cruelty, as well as thirst for power, keeping him in power and in control of the wealthy and powerful.

Trivia

As she started getting older but didn't age properly, she took Polyjuice potions resembling old people who were forgotten to history so nobody would suspect of her immortality

After Henrik died, she faked her death and changed her name to 'Danielle Hastings' and for every ten years, she did such ritual

In 1997-1998, she took part in the Phoenix Resistance after Semele Thorne found out about her and, discovering that her father was also a Death Eater, she joined, determined to weaken him

She's the grandmother of Naila of Alderly, who'd finally put a stop to the cult with Geena's help... unbeknownst to Naila

She loves bagels and can bake them from scratch

She has a cheese addiction

Her mother's travels made her a fan of Mediterranean foods and diets

After the cult was disbanded, she created her own Mediterranean cruisine restaurant, 'The Green's Way' as an ode to her birth family. Each of her family members got the best dish names: her grandmother Lucie got the homemade cheesecake named 'Sweet Nana Lucie's Cheesecake', her mother's patatas bravas were named 'Nadine's Bravado Chips'...

Despite being immortal and never aging, she can procreate children and is very unlikely to miscarry it, given her system is much stronger than an average woman's

[sleeplittleearth]

rules: list 9 favorite books of 2023 or 9 books on your TBR list for 2024

thanks for the tag @occasionaloverboy !

I'm a notorious book starter, and not so much of a book finisher, so here are six books I hope to finish in 2024, and three more I'll probably start before that happens:

1. The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

2. Elsewhere by Alexis Schaitkin

3. Perfume by Patrick Süskind

4. Men, Women, and Chain Saws by Carol J. Clover

5. The Mushroom at the End of the World by Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing

6. Moby-Dick by Herman Melville

7. The Marigold by Andrew F. Sullivan

8. Capitalism: A Horror Story by Jon Greenaway

9. Removable Type: Histories of the Book in Indian Country 1663-1880 by Philip H. Round

no pressure tags @thirrith @sarumans @cranberrymoons @aquilathefighter @likemmmcookies

[botchedandecstatic]

Books Read/Reread, July/August 2024

Italo Calvino, The Baron in the Trees* Kenneth Silverman, The Life and Times of Cotton Mather Karl Ove Knausgaard, So Much Longing In So Little Space Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound Stacey D'Erasmo, The Long Run: A Creative Inquiry Virginia Woolf, Jacob's Room* Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway* Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse* Elisa Gabbert, Any Person Is the Only Self Sara Gran, Come Closer* Cassandra Shaw, Nothing But Blackened Teeth Kathleen Jamie, Sightlines Christiane Ritter, A Woman in the Polar Night* Mary Oliver, Upstream Remedios Varo, On Homo Rodans and Other Writings Patricia J. Williams, The Miracle of the Black Leg: Notes on Race, Human Bodies, and the Spirit of the Law Monica Black, A Demon-Haunted Land: Witches, Wonder Doctors, and the Ghosts of the Past in Post-WWII Germany* Jon Greenaway, Capitalism: A Horror Story Philip Hoare, The Sea Inside Barry Lopez, About This Life: Journeys on the Threshold of Memory Ned Blackhawk, The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History Leonard F. Guttridge, Ghosts of Cape Sabine: The Harrowing True Story of the Greely Expedition * = reread

[ancillary-review-of-books]

For this week's episode of our podcast, A Meal of Thorns, Gothic scholar Jon Greenaway joined ARB editor Jake Casella Brookins to discuss Sarah Perry's MELMOTH:

[gutterandthestars]

Get to Know Me Tag Game

tagged by @rooksunday thank you :)

rules: answer + tag 9 people you want to get to know better and/or catch up with.

favourite colour: they're all good. But. Blue.

last song: Angel of the Morning from the Deadpool & Wolverine soundtrack (that film had me howling)

currently reading: kalluzeb fanfic. But also 'Capitalism: A Horror Story' the new book from my friend Jon Greenaway, just got the China Mieville / Keanu Reeves novel 'the book of elsewhere'. And we are reading Pratchett's 'Fifth Elephant' for not-book-club-book-club

currently watching: Star Wars Rebels (while I use the indoor bicycle, nice 20min eps), Taskmaster (with the housemate)

currently craving: a beach holiday I could miraculously teleport to

coffee or tea: coffee, in moderation.

a hobby you would like to try: I have too many already, but I did say I wanted to try boxing this year

a discipline you'll follow during the olympics: The short-stature badminton in the Paralympics, because my bestie's husband is competing. He got bronze in Tokyo, so all fingers crossed!

an au/alternate universe you've been plotting for: I have a venom!Commander Fox (clone wars) AU and also my long-on-hiatus Venom vs Stargate Atlantis fic to continue. I do like writing venom.

tagging @emjee and @raedear if they want to!

[stories-all]

Capitalism

Capitalism is a horror story. In this book, pioneering film critic and cultural theorist John Greenaway delves into the dark side of radical imagination. What does it mean to see horror in capitalism, and what can horror tell us about the condition and nature of capitalism?

Link to learn more

[gothicseverance]

The Gothic is history out of time, the ghosts and violence of the past becoming visible again in the present.

—Capitalism: A Horror Story

Gif by @holocrone 🖤

[queen-mabs-revenge]

"This brings up one of Bloch’s other favorite phrases: the cold and warm streams of Marxism, or the two ways of Being Red. The cold stream of Marxism is that of clear, rigorous analysis — a focus on political economy and on capital: quantifiable and precise. The warm stream of Marxism is that of the prophet crying in the wilderness. It is the intuitive awareness of the unfairness of capitalism, the desire and joy for a world of justice and abundance for all, and for the liberation of humanity from the drudgery of exploitative labor.

Importantly for Bloch, one could not have one of these streams of thought without the other, certainly not without incurring some major problems. The cold stream of Marxism without the imaginative and creative spark of the warm stream led to empty, hollow materialism: a hectoring Marxism that had little to say about things like religion, or culture, beyond a dismissal of its false consciousness. This was the Marxism that Bloch could be utterly scathing about: an imaginatively malnourished Socialism which had nothing to say of ideals, of enthusiasm or of the real needs of ordinary people. On the other hand, Marxism without some careful, cold, and sober analysis risks a descent into a kind of revolutionary fanaticism where the active process of revolution instead becomes revenge.

Only with these two forces, these two essential structures of feeling held in a delicate homeostasis could Marxism become the Utopian philosophy it was meant to be: or, as Bloch put it, only Marxism is both detective and liberator."

— jon greenaway, 'a primer on utopian philosophy: an introduction to the work of ernst bloch'

[xlntwtch2]

wiki...

"Jon Klassen CM (born November 29, 1981)[1] is a Canadian writer and illustrator of children's books and an animator. He won both the American Caldecott Medal and the British Kate Greenaway Medal for children's book illustration, recognizing the 2012 picture book This Is Not My Hat, which he also wrote.[2][3][4][5] He is the first person to win both awards for the same work.[a]..."

The Skull: A Tyrolean Folktale by Jon Klassen. Candlewick, 2023. 9781536223361. 108pp. http://www.powells.com/book/-9781536223361?partnerid=34778&p_bt

I picked this up at Third Place Books and then had to buy a copy. The free print that came with it had something to do with that, but mostly I was buying it for the illustrations, and because the shelf talker was right, it's a perfect children's book.

It's about a girl named Otilla, who runs away in the middle of the night. She runs and runs and falls and in the forest finds a huge house that looks abandoned. But it has one resident, a skull who has lived there a long time. (He can talk and move around with some difficulty, but he needs some help.) There's a bottomless pit, a bunch of spooky masks, and a tower, and something that comes looking for the skull every night.

The story is spooky, but not too spooky. In Klassen's author's note at the end, he explains how he first read the original tale (in a library) and how his brain misremembered it. I'm so glad the bookseller who sold me a copy told me to read his comments.

[vivacissimx]

In ASOS, we see Stannis's method for dealing with rapists as a standard punitive one. Gelding is generally the punishment for rape in Westeros, although it's fair to say most monarchs don't seem particularly interested in administering that punishment (much less when the victim is lowborn/the rapist is a noble ex. Tywin/Robert with Gregor Clegane, Randyll Tarly telling Brienne the "blame is yours" re: the wagers for her virginity)

"All I did was protect Val and the babe against looters when the wildlings fled, and keep them there until the rangers found us. I never captured anyone. King Stannis keeps his men well in hand, that's plain. He lets them plunder some, but I've only heard of three wildling women being raped, and the men who did it have all been gelded. I suppose I should have been killing the free folk as they ran. Ser Alliser has been putting it about that the only time I bared my sword was to defend our foes. I failed to kill Mance Rayder because I was in league with him, he says."

-ASOS, Samwell IV

[Jon's not particularly praising Stannis there, more stating that his own contributions in defending Val and Dalla against looters were minimal because there weren't many looters anyway.] However even this basic nod to custom is more than Jon was accustomed to at the Wall. The Night's Watch is full of convicted rapists, and when the ranging expedition comes to Craster's Keep where Craster is raping his own daughters the most we get is... this.

Any man lays a hand on my wives, he loses the hand."

"Your roof, your rule," said Thoren Smallwood, and Lord Mormont nodded stiffly, though he looked none too pleased.

-ACOK, Jon III

Craster had nineteen wives, but none who'd dare interfere once he started up that ladder. No more than the black brothers had two nights past, when he was beating one of the younger girls. There had been mutterings, to be sure. "He's killing her," Garth of Greenaway had said, and Clubfoot Karl laughed and said, "If he don't want the little sweetmeat he could give her to me." Black Bernarr cursed in a low angry voice, and Alan of Rosby got up and went outside so he wouldn't have to hear. "His roof, his rule," the ranger Ronnel Harclay had reminded them. "Craster's a friend to the Watch."

-ASOS, Sam II

Gelding functions as a deterrent but it isn't directly preventative. Meanwhile the Watch's punishment for sworn celibate men who have sex (consensual or not) with wildling women, whores, etc. is nonexistent.

Something I find interesting about Jon's time as Lord Commander is that he proactively deals with the reality of having plentiful women at The Wall. He doesn't turn a blind eye to the risks of it, knowing that there is a degree of unavoidable mingling, but he also doesn't adopt the harsh view held by the likes of Randyll Tarly, that therefore the only solution is for women to be removed entirely.

"Hardin's Tower." Of the sixty-three who had come back with him from Mole's Town, nineteen had been women and girls. Jon had housed them in the same abandoned tower where he had once slept when he had been new to the Wall. Twelve were spearwives, more than capable of defending both themselves and the younger girls from the unwanted attentions of black brothers. It was some of the men they'd turned away who'd given Hardin's Tower its new, inflammatory name. Jon was not about to condone the mockery. "Three drunken fools mistook Hardin's for a brothel, that's all. They are in the ice cells now, contemplating their mistake."

-ADWD, Jon VII

It was already controversial for Jon to allow women/girls from Mole's Town to volunteer, but he clearly took into account his experiences with the whores of Mole's Town assisting with the defense of the Wall against the wildlings, and his time spent among spearwives. Mindful of the particular vulnerability of the girls he hadn't actually meant to bring (he goes from allowing girls 16+ to join him to girls 12+, after a wildling girl who reminds him of Arya speaks up), he pairs them with spearwives to defend them against predation. Almost immediately, this pays off.

The fact that the attempted mingling is punished by time in the ice cells is also a preventative touch - it makes even the attempt of rape a crime.

One of the underappreciated parts of this, however, is that Jon's plan relies on utilizing a part of free folk culture against the Black Brothers themselves. The concept of spearwives who administer their own justice without coming to a lord/higher authority figure isn't within the legal framework of Westeros. It also represents a growth of Jon's own thinking, because his initial ACOK view of "stealing" women is a scornful one (They have no laws, no honor, not even simple decency) yet quickly he comes to recognize the utility of their ways enough to rely on them. There is a newfound appreciation for their customs and capabilities.

"You should put guards around the women."

"And who will guard the guards?" You know nothing, Jon Snow. He had learned, though, and Ygritte had been his teacher. If he could not hold to his own vows, how could he expect more of his brothers? But there were dangers in trifling with wildling women. A man can own a woman, and a man can own a knife, Ygritte had told him once, but no man can own both. Bowen Marsh had not been all wrong. Hardin's Tower was tinder waiting for a spark. "I mean to open three more castles," Jon said. "Deep Lake, Sable Hall, and the Long Barrow. All garrisoned with free folk, under the command of our own officers. The Long Barrow will be all women, aside from the commander and chief steward." There would be some mingling, he did not doubt, but the distances were great enough to make that difficult, at least.

-ADWD, Jon VIII

Tormund scratched his beard. "A hostage is a hostage, seems to me. That big sharp sword o' yours can snick a girl's head off as easy as a boy's. A father loves his daughters too. Well, most fathers."

It is not their fathers who concern me. "Did Mance ever sing of Brave Danny Flint?"

"Not as I recall. Who was he?"

"A girl who dressed up like a boy to take the black. Her song is sad and pretty. What happened to her wasn't." In some versions of the song, her ghost still walked the Nightfort. "I'll send the girls to Long Barrow." The only men there were Iron Emmett and Dolorous Edd, both of whom he trusted. That was not something he could say of all his brothers.

-ADWD, Jon XII

He doesn't use his trust in the spearwives ability to handle themselves to absolve him of his own responsibility to protect the girls he sees as under his own care, however. There's still a tension there.

It's also not purely egalitarianism that drives him. It's necessity, to strengthen the Wall against the Others regardless of what that takes, but it's also a moment of Jon learning from his experiences & learning from those around him. One of the most fleshed out wildling women in asoiaf is Gilly, and Sam is the one who values/respects/is trusted by Gilly foremost. Sam is the one who advocates for Gilly when he first meets her, while Jon is still angsting over his duty v honor in the whole situation. The respect between Jon and the spearwives is imperfect, learned, & earned.

But it's also rooted in something that was there before, from his upbringing as an outsider and therefore being sympathetic to other outsiders as well. An old notion of injustice that he's seeking to correct:

Jon shrugged. "Girls get the arms but not the swords. Bastards get the swords but not the arms. I did not make the rules, little sister."

-AGOT, Arya I

Not then he didn't. But now he does.

[wittyrosebush]

🎉 100 Follower Special!!!!!!!! 🎉

Yes, I know that 100 isn't a lot, but I'm happy about it. I have made a playlist of 100 songs, give me a number, pronouns, and a character on the list and I'll write a prompt for them! My only conditions are that it's not smut.

I also do poly and platonic relationships!

Characters:

Star Wars:

Kylo Ren

Rey Palpatine

Poe Dameron

Obi Wan

Padme Amadala

Mando/Dyn Djarin

Marvel:

Steve Rogers

Bucky Barnes

Loki

Stephen Strange

Natasha Romanova

Wanda Maximoff

Pietro Maximoff

Criminal Minds:

Emily Prentiss

Aaron Hotchner

David Rossi

Spencer Reid

Derek Morgan

Elle Greenaway

Penelope Garcia

Luke Alvez

NCIS

Tony DiNozzo

Ziva Davidd

Stranger Things:

Nancy Wheeler

Jim Hopper

Steve Harrington

Game of Thrones:

Sansa Stark

Jon Snow

Podrick Payne

Miscellaneous Musicals:

Heather McNamara from Heathers

Eliza Schuyler from Hamilton

Maria Reynolds from Hamilton

Michael from Be More Chill

Jeremy from Be More Chill

Miscellaneous Movies/TV Shows

Zuko from ATLA

Ransom Drysdale from Knives Out

Songs:

I'm So Sorry - Imagine Dragons

Piano Man - Billie Joel

I'm an Albatraoz - AronChupa

Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap - AC/DC

Help! - The Beatles

Come Together - The Beatles

Human - Rag'n'Bone Man

Counting Stars - OneRepublic

Castle - Halsey

Don't Stop Me Now - Queen

Take On Me - aha

Should I Stay or Should I Go - The Clash

Girls like Girls - Hayley Kiyoko

Welcome to the Jungle - Guns N' Roses

Dream On - Aerosmith

Live and Let Die - Paul McCartney

You Give Love a Bad Name - Bon Jovi

What it's Like - Everlast

Crazy Train - Ozzy Osborne

Survivor - cover by 2WEI

My Life - Billie Joel

Control - Halsey

Monster - Imagine Dragons

No Scrubs - cover by Unlike Pluto

Black Hole Sun - Soundgarden

Like a Prayer - Madonna

Material Girl - Madonna

Mr. Brightside - The Killers

Feeling Good - Michael Buble

Americano - Lady Gaga

You should see me in a Crown - Billie Eilish

River - Bishop Briggs

Love Like You - Rebecca Sugar

Bad Romance - Lady Gaga

Little Talks - Of Monsters and Men

Pound the Alarm - Nicki Minaj

Viva La Vida - Coldplay

Who We Are - Imagine Dragons

Birthday Suit - Cosmo Sheldrake

Good as Hell - Lizzo

Truth Hurts - Lizzo

Juice - Lizzo

Come Along - Cosmo Sheldrake

Welcome to the Black Parade - My Chemical Romance

You Don't Own Me - SAYGRACE

Bury a Friend - Billie Eilish

Bad Guy - Billie Eilish

Tiny Dancer - Elton John

Crocodile Rock - Elton John

I'm Still Standing - Elton John

Come Along - Cosmo Sheldrake

We Didn't Start the Fire - Billie Joel

Somebody That I Used to Know - Gotye

Mr. Glassman - Scotty Sire

Gasoline - Halsey

Don't Go Breaking My Heart - Elton John

These Boots Are Made For Walkin' - Nancy Sinatra

Edge of Seventeen - Stevie Nocks

Juke Box Hero - Foreigner

Uma Thurman - Fall Out Boy

Sweet Dreams - Eurythmics

Oops!... I Did It Again - Britney Spears

Some Nights - Fun

I Will Wait - Mumford & Sons

I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) - The Proclaimers

Sweater Weather - The Neighborhood

Ophelia - The Lumineers

Hayloft - Mother Mother

Line Without a Hook - Ricky Montgomery

Arms Tonite - Mother Mother

Look What You Made Me Do - Taylor Swift

Shatter Me - Lindsey Stirling

She Wolf - David Guetta

(Don't Fear) The Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult

Renegades - X Ambassadors

Crazy - Gnarls Barkley

Roxanne - The Police

Dude Looks Like A Lady - Aerosmith

99 Luftballoons - NENA

Funkytown - Lipps Inc.

Blood in the Water - Grandson

Verbatim -Mother Mother

Baby One More Time - Britney Spears

Hooked On A Feeling - Blue Swede

Mad World - Gary Jules

Feel It Still - Portugal. The Man

Handclap - Fitz and the Tantrums

Friction - Imagine Dragons

Yesterday - Imagine Dragons

Bleeding Out - Imagine Dragons

Natural - Imagine Dragons

All of Me - John Legend

Ho Hey - The Lumineers

Private Eyes - Daryl Hall & John Oates

Ain't No Mountain High - Marvin Gaye

I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor

Art is Dead - Bo Burnham

Cake by the Ocean - DNCE

Under Pressure - Queen

Tell Him - The Exciters