#magess

[littleeyesofpallas]

[1] [2] [3]

[thewapolls]

The WILD ARMS Hero Tourney: SECOND DIVISION - Match 12 of 12

[aikoiya]

LoZ - Link's Secret Magical Powers

I was reading the Triforce of Power webcomic by @nayru-s-clay-tablet & there was actually this really cool idea there. Like, I think it was mostly for comedy, but good gracious was it an interesting idea!

Like, what if the Links are just weird? And have magical powers? But the sort that works passively, instinctively.

Like, most Links have infinite storage, right? What if that isn't typical? Like, if a normal person wants something like that, it's like a Bag of Holding? Like, literally, a Bag of Holding. Meaning it's magically infused & crafted specifically, meaning super expensive because it basically has some seriously powerful spacial magic woven into it.

But if a Link holds onto a regular bag, it basically just becomes a Bag of Holding.

Same for bottles & pots reappearing. Only instead of being bigger-on-the-inside(TM), they become indestructible.

And the pots just sort of reappear after Link comes back into a room. (Like, I just find it hard to believe that the Minish just cause such things to happen. Craft things? Sure. Hide useful things in places for people to find? Cool. But just magically repairing pots en masse at a moment's notice whenever someone utterly demolishes an entire warehouse' worth of pottery? Unless they have access to Reparo, then no. The Minish have lives too, ya know.)

Basically, he has extremely powerful, passive infusion abilities that seem specifically geared towards adventuring.

And it, evidently, being related to Farore really liking him? Brilliant!

But, yeah. I just thought that was a cool idea.

Also, I'm pretty sure that Wild's inventory is something entirely separate from the Sheikah Slate/Purah Pad. Like, the cooking ingredients, weapons, & armor are definitely not stored in them at the very least.

If they were, then you wouldn't have access to them at the beginning of TotK. Also, if your weapons were stored in them, then why would you need Pouch Upgrades? That suggests that you have pouches to begin with. And that his weapons are stored in them.

Also, you cannot convince me that Wild doesn't secretly have Hearth Mage magic. It isn't normal for food to do that stuff. I absolutely think that he's using his infusion magic to bring out those things. It's basically nutritional gastronomy with magic.

But, what'd be cool af would be if his mom was a Hearth Magess & she taught him too, but that he's now just doing it instinctively until he remembers everything.

LoZ General Masterlist

[notsanguineatall]

share an old fic meme

@smilebackwards tagged me to share an old fic!

I've been nostalgic for Clint/Coulson of late. Is Clint/Coulson still a thing? Always, in my heart at least.

Take a Leap of Faith with Me (MCU, Clint Barton/Phil Coulson, post Thor, 909 words, locked on AO3) But then there are moments like this, at the end of a mission when they check each other for new wounds or lasting scars, when they erase the danger and worry through touch.

If you prefer something not locked, how about some Torchwood fic?

Objectively (Jack/Ianto, 2299 words) Objectively, it's fair to say that Ianto Jones threw himself at Jack Harkness.

Tagging @out-there-tmblr, @cacchieressa, @magess, @sharpestasp, and anyone with an itch to share!

[wanderertwinkle]

Well :D

I drew this picture with my favorite Inquisitor from DAI a couple of months ago

Unfortunately, a very sad story is connected with this art :_З

But I adore my Inquisitor, Theo Trevelyan, with all my heart... For the first time I played as a templar warrior with a shield and a sword

And I felt really invulnerable.

My character was so tenacious that everyone (except Cassandra) could die except him

It was a cool experience (especially considering that I always choose the "magician" class)

Also, I would like to share more information about Theo :D

I came up with a backstory for him!

◇Nickname: Sir Grumbles-a-Lot(from Dorian)

◇Age: 23 years;

◇Height: 192 cm;

◇Race: human;

"Sister Nightingale,

at your request, we were able to collect all possible information about the 'herald of Andraste'.

His full name is Theo Rene Trevelyan. The information that the 'herald' hails from the city of Ostvik in the Free Marches is confirmed by reliable sources. We gathered information about all of Trevelyan's relatives and found that many of them are related in one way or another to the Church. In this report, we want to highlight only the closest relatives.

The father was Harold Trevelyan, a noble man who had a large fortune and strong ties with the Church. He was a high-ranking templar. He died at the Conclave. It is known that he was a stern, domineering and religious man, and raised his children in the same way.

Mother - Constance Sophie La Tour d'Auvergne, originally from the aristocracy of Orleans, was a magess. Not much is known about her personality - she died at a young age after the birth of her son, was a gentle person by nature, left her only son a good inheritance, namely an estate and a title in Orley.

We also learned that the messenger has a half-sister. Their relationship has not been officially confirmed, but we have information on this matter.

The sister is Vanessa Underwood, a half-elf born to an unknown prostitute. The girl is 4 years older than the 'herald'. He has a magical gift, which the family, at the insistence of his father, hid. After revealing the truth, she was sent to the nearest Circle of Magicians, and subsequently subdued. The reports of the templars of the Circle say that the girl sowed revolutionary sentiments in the tower, which is not surprising, because it was at the beginning of a mass uprising of magicians. We also know that Vanessa maintained a very good relationship with her brother before she was subdued. After that, it is difficult to say anything about the girl's affections due to obvious circumstances. She is currently alive and in Skyhold with the rest of the magicians.

This concludes the circle of Trevelyan's closest relatives. I'll move on to the biography.

Since childhood, his father had been preparing Theo for the ministry of the Church. At a very young age, almost immediately after Vanessa left for the Circle, the boy was sent to a monastery, where he was able to undergo proper training. We learned from the archives of the monastery that Trevelyan was a diligent and exemplary student, showing great promise in this field. The templar mentors noted that the young man is "very hardworking", "faithful to the ideals of the Church and the rules of the templars, but overly compassionate towards magicians, which may cause problems in the future." After completing his training at the monastery, Theo became a full-fledged templar. Most likely, thanks to his father's connections, he was sent to the same Circle as his sister Vanessa. At this time, the dissatisfaction of the magicians was already beginning to gain momentum, resulting in protests or massacres. The behavior of most of the templars also did not comply with the rules, they showed excessive arbitrariness and aggression. The radical templars, without proper meetings, showed arbitrariness, pacifying all unwanted magicians in the Circle. Vanessa was among them. According to our data, the pacification of the sister had an extremely bad effect on Trevelyan. His character has changed a lot. The Templars from the Circle said that "he became silent," "apathetic," "stopped eating" and "lost all interest in work." Reports said that he received reprimands and punishments for condemning the Order. When the dissatisfaction of the magicians became widespread and the Circle broke up, Trevelyan immediately left it with his sister. They were both in their hometown for a while.

At this time, there were no incidents worth your attention, Sister Nightingale.

After some time, the elder Trevelyan and his son went to the Conclave, where Harold Trevelyan died in the explosion of the Temple. The rest of the events are known to you."

Several additional papers were attached to this report.

"After interviewing eyewitnesses, we were able to make an approximate portrait of the personality of the 'herald'.

In the words of the subdued Vanessa, Trevelyan's sister: "Yes, I've known Theo since birth. He was a very sweet and kind child, always bringing home different animals - kittens, puppies, chicks. But my father wouldn't let me keep them. For some reason, as a child, I often made fun of him... Also, once it was important for me that he became an honest and fair templar, not like many others... Before I left for the Circle of Magicians, Theo promised me this. He promised that he would protect the magicians, not oppress them. I don't know why it was so important to me anymore."

An extract from a conversation with the templars Amy and Terry, who worked with the 'herald' in the same Circle:

"- Yes, I was well acquainted with Theo. He is a good guy, always took a very responsible approach to his duties, and sometimes even did the work for others. He is generally altruistic to the core, even to some extent an idealist.

- That's it. He treated the duty of a templar differently from many others. He wanted to protect the magicians. It was on this basis that we came together... It even seemed to me that Theo and I were friends. Anyway, before my sister was subdued, we communicated well. NO, I'm not saying that Amy and I are involved in this case, just after that... The incident... It was as if Theo had stopped talking at all. Before that, he was sociable, good-natured, and he even joked with everyone.

- Yeah, and then he became not himself! Gloomy, looks like that all the time... It's like he's freezing with his eyes. Of course, I felt sorry for him, but I was also scared at the same time... And he doesn't seem to take jokes anymore..."

According to Cullen:

"I didn't know Trevelyan before the events at the Asylum, but at Leliana's request, I made some inquiries. Reports from the Circle in which he worked indicate that Theo is a very efficient and disciplined person. Knight Commander Emerick praised him highly, noting only that "the young man is reliable, but suffers from idealistic and moralistic fantasies about the work of templars, therefore, for personal reasons, he is not allowed to do dirty work."

"Sister Nightingale, here is another list of minor facts about Trevelyan that we managed to find out:

◇ He loves horses very much

◇ He built the strongest friendships with Dorian, Sarah, Cassandra and Varrick (Postscript: which is very surprising for us...)

◇ He likes to play the lute

◇ He is looking for a way to return magic and emotions to his sister (Postscript: Lady Pentagast seems to be helping him with this)

◇ For a long time, he really considered himself the 'herald of Andraste' "

[obi-wansorrow]

There is a fic called Star Wars: The Golden Saber by darkmagess on ao3.

Here is the thing about this fic.... it's earth shattering. It is paradigm shifting. It feels like one of the Star Wars novels you'd buy at the bookstore.

The characterization of Obi-Wan Kenobi is sublime. The world building challenges George Lucas on his best day. The OC makes me cry. I think of this fic at least once a week, and I read it over a year ago.

It explains the Jedi order better than the movies do. It takes you on journeys that build towards the canon story.

Everyone should read it.

Edit: Their tumblr is @magess!

Please let me know if the link does not work.

[mussfis]

Name: Yngvǫr.

Clan name: Dolf (doesn't use much)

Age: 23 (09.11.4E178) (Atronach)

Gender: Female

Place of Birth: Imperial city

Race: Nord

Occupation: The Synod, Blades, College of Winterhold

Position: Former student of the Synod, Dragonborn, Arch-Mage

Yngvor grew up in the province of Cyrodiil, in the Imperial City. In the shopping district, the girl's family, a mage and jewelry maker, has a small store and an apartment above it. Also living with them was grandmother of Yngvor, who in the past was also a magess. The girl spent her entire childhood under the guidance of her family - she studied magic arts from her mother and grandmother, and jewelry making and trade from her father. Yngvor was always happy to spend time with her family, especially when it included gaining new knowledge.

Yngvor had only one problem - her Atronach sign did not allow her to fully restore mana. But the girl’s parents took this into account and for her twelfth birthday they gave her an amulet that reduced the negative aspects of the sign to almost zero.

After this, Yngvor began studying at the Synod, where her mother, a fairly famous enchantress, also worked. Before this, however, she insisted on home schooling for Yngvor, but she was adamant, especially after the death of her grandmother, with whom she was especially close. Only after a while did the girl understand her mother’s wishes.

At the Synod, Yngvor achieved some success in various types of magic and enchantment, but most of all she was fascinated by the study of various cultures and world history. She was especially attracted to the history of already forgotten peoples - the Dwemer, Ayled, Falmer and others. After some time, the girl began to participate in various expeditions and even wrote scientific papers, which made teachers and sponsors proud. Things didn’t work out right away for the girl with the student group - many saw her as slightly aloof and perhaps even too self-confident. But a little later, they changed their opinion about her when she began to protect the weak and support others in their endeavors. Yngvor could never ignore injustice, even if it sometimes backfired on her. But despite this, the girl still put herself and her interests first. Knowledge and perhaps power were the goal of her training. Strength - because magicians of Nordic origin have always been treated with some disdain, even despite such a famous person as Shalidor. She wanted to prove to everyone, including herself, that the Nords were something to be reckoned with.

And they began to. Success after success - Yngvor was offered to take part in an expedition in Skyrim, her homeland, albeit not by birth, but by origin.

True, it could hardly be called an expedition - she needed to check how things were going with her colleagues, who were exploring some ruins in which, perhaps, a powerful artifact was hidden - the Staff of Magnus.

The parents, of course, did not want to let their only child go to another province, but they still found the strength to do it.

Having collected everything she needed, Yngvor hit the road.

***

Height/Weight: 182 cm/72 kg

Physical Appearance: Yngvor is quite a beautiful girl with a typical Nordic flavor - wide cheekbones and jaw, bright eyes looking from under her brows, a straight nose with a slight hump, thin lips and a pronounced chin.

Despite being a magician, the girl has a fit, strong figure.

***

Skill: Magic (Destruction, Illusion, slightly Restoration and Alteration)

Short Blades

Light Armor

Alchemy and Enchanting

Smithing (Jewerly)

Speechcraft

Lockpicking

Strength: High level of intelligence, erudition

Weakness: Relationships with people, power hunger

Yngvor had magical abilities from birth thanks to the Atronach sign under which she was born. This was also influenced by relatives on the mother’s side, including herself - all of them, one way or another, were magicians. From childhood, the girl grew up under the watchful supervision of her mother and grandmother, improving in the art of magic. On her father's side, Yngvor inherited a love of swords and jewelry making. She always tried to help him in the small family store, which contributed to the development of eloquence and sales skills.

When Ingvor got to the Synod, she was fascinated by various studies about ancient civilizations, which became the girl’s main activity, in addition to magical art. She often went on various expeditions, where she learned some more tricks.

***

Personality: Yngvor has always had a rather difficult character. She has always been interested in knowledge and power, so she would go to great lengths for this. The girl always puts herself and her goals first.

But despite this, she also has a strong sense of justice and an inner core, which makes her a favorite of many people who are unlucky enough to encounter the dark side of this world.

Yngvor also has a good sense of humor. She is quite eloquent and knows how to get an extra discount in a retail store.

To strangers, Yngvor may seem self-confident and aloof, but this is not entirely true - the girl is simply an introvert and likes to do more with her hobbies than with establishing social connections (of course, if this is not necessary for work). As for excessive self-confidence, the girl is really confident in her abilities and will not let herself be offended, but deep down in her soul there are still doubts whether she can be called a good magician and succeed in this.

***

Love Interest: Taliesin

Friend: Lydia, Serana

[wolfpurplemoon]

PEOPLE YOU'D LIKE TO GET TO KNOW BETTER.

tagged by @mywitfailsme

LAST SONG:Probably something on tiktok, but intentionally listened was Let My Love Lie On Your Life by Eliot Sumner who I just rediscovered after last listening to their I Blame Coco album in 2010 (yes they are Sting's kid and yes they are non binary)

FAVOURITE COLOUR: Purple

CURRENTLY WATCHING: I don't have any TV shows I'm keeping up with or binging right now, need to catch up on so much!

LAST MOVIE: We have a friend who's into Godzilla staying so we've watched a whole bunch of those, last night was the 1964 Godzilla vs Mothra movie which was amazing

CURRENTLY READING: Dracula Daily

LAST THING I GOOGLED: Bitwarden Passkey

SWEET/SPICY/SAVOURY: Savoury

CURRENT OBSESSION: the low FODMAP diet I've been put on

CURRENTLY WORKING ON:Some finance paperwork

tagging @lazytechsupport and @magess

and anyone else who feels like participating tag me back so I can see your answers.

Blank under the cut

LAST SONG:

FAVORITE COLOR:

CURRENTLY WATCHING:

LAST MOVIE:

CURRENTLY READING:

LAST THING I GOOGLED:

SWEET/SPICY/SAVORY:

CURRENT OBSESSION:

CURRENTLY WORKING ON:

[magess]

Huh. I did not expect buying a domain to automatically turn Custom Theme back on. But it did. But I can turn it off and it'll just be a redirect to tumblr.com/magess

[naiokiara]

@samcatsketch dis ur earthy magess spittin lines?

[anantradingpvtltd]

Price: [price_with_discount] (as of [price_update_date] - Details) [ad_1] Experience the full possibilities of audio with the SoundSlayer Wearable Gaming Speaker System by Panasonic. This exceptionally lightweight neck speaker, worn around the shoulders, features incredible, immersive sound for your gaming, movies, and music, with a microphone to chat during interactive games. SoundSlayer Wearable Speakers puts you in the moment by placing crystalline sound all around you with three-dimensional precision—even overhead and behind. Unlike on-ear headphones, which can squeeze your ears, SoundSlayer headphones lets you listen for hours in comfort, with no pressure on your head. Three gaming settings are optimized for each game genre: RPG, makes you feel like you're inside the game, with unprecedented sonic realism and intensity; FPS lets you hear accurate sound location, with an enhanced ability to hear subtle sounds like footsteps; Voice Mode provides clear, distinct dialogue so you can connect deeply to the drama. Cinema, Music, and Stereo modes let you enjoy your favorite content with incredible vibrancy, plus take advantage of the built-in mic for interactive tasks such as videoconferences. Go all the way into your story and feel a deeper connection to your gaming, video and audio experiences with Panasonic SoundSlayer Wearable Gaming Speaker. Dimensional, True-to-Life Sound: True Majestic Augmented Gaming Environment Sound System (MAGESS) technology with 4-channel surround speakers to put you in the center of the action A Lightweight, Wearable Speaker System with Built-In High-Performance Echo Canceling Microphone: The powerful experience of realistic audio for gaming and more, with an easy-to-wear, ergonomic design that rests comfortably on your shoulders Optimize your audio for intensity and realism: 3 Gaming sound modes (RPG, FPS, or Voice Mode) developed in partnership with the Final Fantasy(R) XIV (FFIXV) Online sound team plus Music, Cinema, and Stereo modes to connect you to your entertainment A Headphone Alternative for Children: The comfortable, wearable design allows kids to enjoy gameplay without hours of loud noises directly on or in their ears. And, the open speaker design gives close-by parents an ear to what’s going on during the game [ad_2]

[velourpublishing]

Sigvard The Nameless Book #5 of The Dokiri Brides Series and Final Book

Check out the review for the last book in the Dokiri Brides Series.

Review by Veronica Woods Book by Denali Day Purchase Series Purchase Book He’ll break her chains. She’ll free his soul. “Tasked by his chieftain, Sigvard the Nameless will do whatever it takes to save his people, and the whole of Sestoria, from succumbing to darkness. He’ll travel the continent to claim a magess said to be so powerful, she can wake a sleeping mountain. It won’t be a true…

[thewapolls]

The WILD ARMS Hero Tourney:

SECOND DIVISION - Match 7 of 8

[aikoiya]

LoZ: Wild - The Feral Chef

No one can stop me from classifying Wild as the Feral Chef.

Like, yes, he's an amazing cook, but he only seems to care if a meat is fish, bird, mammal, or monster.

Like, "what's it matter if it came from a deer or a cow or a boar? It doesn't make any difference."

Yes, it freaking does, you absolute cauldron goblin! It makes ALL the difference! How dare!?!?

And, I can almost guarantee that that boy just uses a random sword or claymore or, heavens forbid, a dang Vicious Sickle/Demon Carver or the freaking Gloom Sword to cut ingredients with.

Except for when he's cooking for Flora. At which point, man is all about the kitchen safety & food prep etiquette.

And that his preferred alcohol to drink is any cooking alcohol available at a given time.

You also can't convince me that he wouldn't try to catch a puffer or lionfish with his bare hands. And then keep trying just to prove that he can!

Like, I'd almost bet that he was a more... sane? Conventional cook before the Calamity, but that conventional cook is probably either dead or buried so deep in his head that he's yet to recover it again.

Though whether he'd go back to being that more conventional chef after regaining the memories of how... That's debateable...

At the same time, I think he's an unknowing, unrefined hearth mage in the making, which are basically food wizards. They use herbalism, nature mysticism, & magic for healing & other such health benefits. Like nutritional gastronomy but with magic.

Basically, the magical effects that we get from cooking in the Wild Series.

Imma call it gastromagy.

But you know what'd be cool? If his mom was a Hearth Magess (maybe even the herbalist/medicine woman of Hateno) & she taught him too, but that he's now just doing it instinctively until he's remembered everything.

And when he does, maybe he'll be able to imbue multiple effects or merge compatible ones.

Also, I'm probably gonna add more feral chef habits as I think of them, so check back in when you can.

Also, here are some lists of made up ingredients to play with.

New Ingredient Ideas - Flora & Fungi

New Ingredients Ideas - Fauna & Byproducts

New Ingredients Ideas - 2nd Tier Ingredients

Beastiary Expansion

---

LoZ Linked Universe Masterlist

[notsanguineatall]

✨️When you get this ask you have to put 5 songs you listen to, post it, then send this ask to 10 of your favorite followers (positive vibes are cool)🎶

Weird -- I was just drafting a "my year in music" post!

Delta Rae - Bottom of the River

Reyna Roberts - Raised Right

Dick Jr and the Volunteers - Raspberry Beret (I love bluegrass covers in general, but I really can't stop listening to this.)

The Kills - U.R.A. Fever

Danielle Ponder - Some of Us Are Brave

tagging @wyomingnot, @out-there-tmblr, @magess, @cacchieressa, @luredin or anyone else who might care to share.

[mitzvahmelting]

hey, approval voting is bad actually. approval voting cleaves towards the center, and competitive elections lead to "bullet voting" anyway. approval voting is the last thing that's going to get a third party off the ground. frankly i have no idea what you're talking about by suggesting approval voting @magess ?? approval voting in america will get you a city council full of centrist democrats and "fiscally conservative socially liberal" republicans.

i wont comment on star voting since i'm not familiar. but like. RCV will get you a more diverse city council than approval, including third party candidates actually winning seats.

see https://www.opavote.com/methods/recommended for actual recommendations on voting methodology.

When parties fail, movements step up

This Saturday (19 Aug), I'm appearing at the San Diego Union-Tribune Festival of Books. I'm on a 2:30PM panel called "Return From Retirement," followed by a signing:

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/festivalofbooks

Does anyone like the American two party system? The parties are opaque, private organizations, weak institutions that are prone to capture and corruption, and gerrymandering's "safe seats" means that the real election often takes place in the party's smoke-filled rooms, when a sure-thing candidate is selected:

https://doctorow.medium.com/weak-institutions-a26a20927b27

But there doesn't seem to be any way to fix it. For one thing, the two parties are in charge of any reform, and they're in no hurry to put themselves out of business. It's effectively impossible for a third party to gain any serious power in the USA, and that's by design. After the leftist Populists party came within a spitting distance of power in the 1890s, the Dems and Repubs got together and cooked the system, banning fusion voting and erecting other structural barriers.

The Nader and Perot campaigns were doomed from the outset, in other words. Either candidate could have been far more popular than the D and R on the ballot, and they still would have lost. It's how the deck is stacked, and to unstack it, reformers would need to take charge of at least one – and probably both – of the parties.

But that's not cause for surrender – it's a call to action. In an interview with Seymour Hersh, Thomas Frank (Listen, Liberal) sets out another locus of power, one with the potential to deliver control over the party to its base: social movements:

https://seymourhersh.substack.com/p/ordinary-people-by-the-millions

It's been done before. The parties are routinely transformed by power-shifts within their internal coalitions: since 1970, corporate Dems have consistently pushed the party to the right, making it the power of white-collar professionals and relying on working people showing up and marking their ballots with a D because they have "nowhere else to go."

Bill Clinton was the most successful of these corporate raiders, delivering the parts of the Reagan Revolution that Reagan himself could never have managed: dismantling tariffs and bank regulations, passing the crime bill and welfare "reform." He came within a whisper of (partially) privatizing Social Security.

This set in motion the forces that made Trumpism possible: when Dems told deindustrialized workers to "learn to code" and blamed them for the destruction of their communities, it opened a space for Make America Great Again, the (empty) workerist rhetoric of the GOP. The Dems' plan of putting "really smart people" in charge and letting them run things was a (predictable) disaster. "Really smart" isn't the same as "infallible" and really smart people can be spooked or bulled into doing the wrong thing – like Obama "foaming the runways" for the banks with the houses of mortgage holders, and leaving the bankers responsible for the Great Financial Crisis unscathed:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/15/mon-dieu-les-guillotines/#ceci-nes-pas-une-bailout

"Really smart people" can't get us out of this mess. Instead, we need the kind of muscular political action – the "whirlwind" – that characterized FDR's New Deal: "complete reformation of the banking industry.. just about every other industry as well. Regulation. Social Security. Public works. Antitrust. Soil conservation."

FDR got there by alienating his former classmates and refusing the go-slow entreaties of his cronies. He got there because there was a mass social movement that made him do it ("I want to do it, now make me do it"):

https://humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2014/09/16/i-agree-with-you-i-want-to-do-it-now-make-me-do-it/

Every time in US history where one of the political party duopoly listened to its base, it was because of a mass social movement: the farmers' movement (1890s), labor (1930s), civil rights and antiwar (1960s). As Frank says:

Social movements succeed. They build and they change the intellectual climate and then, when the crisis comes, they make possible things like agrarian reform or the New Deal or the Civil Rights acts of the 1960s.

Today, we see the seeds of those social movements: the new union movement. Black Lives Matter. Neobrandeisians with their "hipster antitrust." These are the movements that are creating "ideas lying around": ideas that, in time of crisis, can move from the fringe to the center in an eyeblink:

https://doctorow.medium.com/ideas-lying-around-33a28901a7ae

They are setting in motion another transformation of the Democratic Party, from its top-down, "really smart people" model to a bottom-up, people-powered one, kept in check by movements, not party bosses. As Frank says, "They require the mass participation of ordinary people. Without that, I am afraid that nothing is possible."

I'm kickstarting the audiobook for "The Internet Con: How To Seize the Means of Computation," a Big Tech disassembly manual to disenshittify the web and make a new, good internet to succeed the old, good internet. It's a DRM-free book, which means Audible won't carry it, so this crowdfunder is essential. Back now to get the audio, Verso hardcover and ebook:

http://seizethemeansofcomputation.org

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/17/popular-front-of-judea/#speaking-frankly