#member retention

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[543magazine]

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[serpentface]

may i have the 10 wholly unasked for paragraphs of semen retention belief lore please 🙏

Ok

MEDICAL MODEL:

The philosophical core of Wardi medical model revolves around the universe’s primal dualism- it exists in between the extremes of Sea (cold wet dark female) and Sky (hot dry bright male). These forces are sterile and stagnant when separate, God emerged at their interacting boundaries as their synthesis, capable of creation. Life itself required God’s sacrifice of Its living spirit and the shedding of Its blood, which rendered sterile earth fertile and inhabitable and kicked of the perpetual death-rebirth flow of living spirit that maintains all life. The body is a reflection of this primordial state- it is maintained by the flow of living spirit (contained in the blood), and its core matter is an interactive mixture of primordial Hot Sky and Cold Sea, Warm in balance, with male and female physically differentiated by the presence of primordial extremes- the male has Hot testes, the female has Cold womb, the interaction of these extremes allow for creation.

(I promise this will have to do with semen retention eventually.)

Blood is understood as carrying the body’s living spirit, the animating force whose proper flow maintains life and health by balancing the body’s primordial extremes. Semen is a type of blood, given Hot nature by its isolation in the testes, and also carries the living spirit. It functions as the active seed of the living spirit. It is the Hot element planted in the Cold of the womb, the mingling of these forces allow for creation, and insemination with living spirit creates a living body that can host an immortal soul. (Wardi belief describes two souls- a living spirit that animates and maintains the body and an immortal soul that houses the mind).

Male gender designation revolves almost entirely around the testes, the Hot extreme of the body where semen is (assumed to be) produced and stored. In addition to its procreative functions, the testes are an organ whose function is to masculinize and strengthen the rest of the body. Each organ requires the proper flow of healthy blood/living spirit to function properly, and thus loss of this living spirit must be performed with great care- bloodletting in offering is highly controlled, bloodletting in medicine is carefully selected and done in accordance with balancing procedure. Since testes are regulated specifically by the living spirit in semen, semen should not be discharged with reckless abandon.

SOCIAL SEXUAL NORMS:

Cultural ideals for sexual behavior revolve around moderation and self-restraint. Sexuality itself is not demonized. There is nothing wrong with nonprocreative/nonmaritial sex in of itself (unless it is adultery on the part of a woman (male adultery is ostensibly bad too but is rarely treated as gravely), or a girl losing virginity prior to marriage, or it violates a litany of gender-sexual norms), but sexual RESTRAINT is an expectation.

Having an active but controlled libido is idealized, particularly in men. A man who is an absolute paragon of ideal masculinity has a libido, but is not ruled by it. He does not masturbate and rather seeks a partner for sexual release. He usually has a wife for this, and otherwise is capable of the patience and restraint to attain a quality sexual partner rather than finding the easiest release out of desperation. His partners are suitable to proper male interest, being good looking women or pretty beardless youths (going for 'unseemly' women or older, masculine men (so long as one performs the penetrative role) is not wholly unacceptable but suggests desperation and a weak control of libido).

This is an IDEAL and not strictly enforced- very few people will think you’re a weak failure of a man for jerking off sometimes or bragging about fucking some random tail, and hiring sex workers is entirely normalized (and will only be condemned if deemed notably ‘excessive’ and disruptive to a normal patriarchal role, or truly symptomatic of being unable to get laid without paying for it). Rather, if someone is already identified as a weak or effeminate man, ‘excessive libido’ may be cited as a cause or symptom, or rhetoric to criticize them.

THE SEMEN RETENTION:

Encouragement of semen retention/regulation stems out of both of these forces. Proper masculine social/sexual behavior encourages a limitation to discharge of semen, and medical thought deems it necessary for physical masculinization. A man who does not 'excessively' lose semen via an uncontrolled libido is thought to be physically more masculine- it is assumed to directly make the testes larger since they are Storing More Cum, but also to deepen the voice, assist in the growth and maintenance of the beard, and generally enhance strength, mental acuity, and vitality. Men are regarded as innately physically and mentally stronger than women, with the medical model slapped on as one of the means of explaining patriarchal norms (in addition to spiritual concerns of pollution and metaphysical vulnerability). Regulating semen is one of many behaviors that allows a man to stay this way.

This is also an element in why 'effeminacy' in men is linked to hypersexualization- there is an assumption that men who are physically or behaviorally non-masculine have exaggerated, uncontrolled libidos. Effeminancy or ‘softness’ in men is a failure to perform a wide set of behaviors and not strictly an accusation of receiving penetrative sex, but this is often an element- a man who receives is presumed so desperate and out of control of his libido that he will submit to debasement and shame for fulfillment (an un-masculine man who cannot be a penetrative partner could at least retain his dignity by having enough self-control to abstain entirely).

Some scholars, high ranking warriors, and politicians will (at least claim to) be functionally celibate and refrain from all discharge of semen in order to function at peak performance. This total abstinence is rare and NOT culturally mandated, and is often looked on with a little snide derision as a tryhard performance. More commonly, men will attempt to live a life with a controlled libido, and may temporarily abstain from sexual activity leading up to situations that require physical and mental acuity (combat, debate, sport, etc).

Of most concern to the average day to day person is accidental loss through nocturnal emission. While this is harmless every once in a while, it is cause for concern if it occurs frequently- your body is discharging part of its living spirit completely outside of your control, you are directly weakened by this and you don’t want this happening on a regular basis. Recurrent, frequent episodes may indicate polluted blood, or outright inhabitation by evil spirits.

The only level on which semen retention tends to be actively, directly enforced is with children. Teenage boys are typically discouraged from masturbating (especially during the early stages of puberty)- retention of semen masculinizes the body, therefore will contribute to a healthy and normative puberty and should be preserved at this vulnerable time. It is considered normal to chastise and punish a pubescent boy for masturbation. This is seen as preventing him from harming his health, and to teach him to regulate desire and exercise self control, one of many facets of shaping a boy into a proper man during this critical time. This norm does not contribute to children developing lingering psychological issues AT ALL.

Wardi traditional medicine is a holistic methodology of spiritual/physical treatment, using a base system of items (foods, animal parts, herbs, metals, stones) with Hot or Cold properties and individual Essences to manage imbalances in the body and it's blood/spirit flow and dispel evil spirits. This medical system (and related subdivisions of folk medicine) is commonly used to treat nocturnal emissions, and may also be used to lower libido and/or discourage teenage masturbation. These are largely medicines with Cold properties and noted anaphrodisiac Essence. Eels are a big one- given that eels, obviously, are sexless and emerge from river mud, their bodies are anaphrodisiacs and consumption of eel meat/eel based tinctures can lower libido (this should be done with caution, as it also lowers fertility in humans and animals). Medicines may be directly applied to the penis, this does not interfere with the intended function of the testes but subdues excess lust. Phallic amulets are worn regardless of gender and have holistic nonsexual protective properties, but may also help defend against nocturnal emission. Other medicines are worn in sachets that are tied around the hips during sleep, often weighted with lead. In very severe cases (mostly associated with other dysfunction), the penis or testes may be infected with polluted blood and should be bled.

---

Tangent: If the Wardi community had reddit you would occasionally see threads like "DAE eat their semen after masturbating so you don't actually lose any?" and most responses would be "no wtf" but there would be a decent number of people going "omg yes I thought I was the only one" "I mean that's kind of weird but I guess it makes sense if you really think about it" and then one very angry commenter ranting about how, No, eating your semen DOES NOT suffice as mitigation of the loss, this is why so many boys are SOFT AND EFFEMINATE these days, the men of old NEVER jacked off and NEVER ate their own cum and had MUCH FULLER BEARDS AND LARGER TESTICLES.

[theinfinitedivides]

saw someone i follow elsewhere (not this hellsite) post a pre-gym workout photo with the ass and the hip dips a couple days ago and got so light-headed i almost blacked out. htg i'm still woozy

[powderrblue]

i know i never had a brand but this is not it either whar

[vcrnons]

the vernon mistreatment intervention letter i saw on twt this morning certainly is…………….. something

[thecoachingdirectory]

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[innerfare]

Blue Balls - Law: Part 1

Summary: Law ends up with a case of blue balls; text below the cut

Pairing: Trafalgar Law x Afab!Reader

Genre: smut

CW: dirty talk

Word Count: 954

———

In a rare moment alone aboard the Polar Tang, Law had you pinned to the metal wall. He hadn’t had the patience to drag you back to his quarters, coming on to you right there in the hallway and caging you with his larger body, a muscular thigh between your legs. Looking down at you, at your pretty face and the swell of your breasts, he couldn’t figure out how he had gone so long without his sweet, sweet girl. 

You’d been gone for three weeks, and in the seven days you had been back, almost every night there had been something keeping you from his cabin- an extra late night at the tavern with the crew, falling asleep with some of the others in a common area- and by extension, something keeping you from his bed. 

The days were no better. 

The crew had missed you as much as he had, and it showed in the way they were clinging to you. Anytime he thought you might get a moment alone, even to exchange a few soft, private, intimate words, a crew member interrupted with a dumb question or an even dumber joke, asked you to once again regale them with a story from your time away, or insisted you sit beside them rather than him. 

He couldn’t take it anymore. 

“Come on, y/n-ah,” he said in that deep voice of his, soft but firm. “We don’t have time to fool around.” He wanted you to unbutton his black shirt. He wanted you to run your cold little hands up and down his tanned abdomen, pulling your bottom lip into your mouth and getting a little shy as you admired his muscles. He wanted you to do what you always did, but you were toying with him, playing with his earrings and tapping his nose. 

“What’s the rush?” You asked, looking up at him with innocent eyes. “I won’t be leaving again anytime soon. Besides, I thought you wanted to fool around.” You had been only a little bit aware of the burning looks your boyfriend had been shooting you from across the room, teasing him a little but ultimately too caught up in the chaos of your return to do much about it. 

Law let out a heavy sigh. Arm braced against the wall, he leaned his forehead against it and screwed his eyes shut, the tension in his body almost too much to bear, the only thing worse than that the embarrassment of it. “I can’t believe I have to explain this to you.” 

“Explain what to me?” 

“It’s been four weeks, y/n-ah. Four weeks.” 

“I know that, Law. I missed you.” 

“I missed you too, y/n. But that’s not the point.” The strain in his voice made him sound almost as pathetic as he felt, the vein in his neck twitching. 

You wanted to reach up and kiss that vein, then bite down on it while your fingers undid the buttons of his black shirt- your favorite on him. But the only thing you enjoyed more than doing that was watching him unbutton the shirt himself, absolutely pissed that you made him beg like some sort of slave. 

He was a man, he would snap at you, not a dog. 

And yet, he came when called. 

“I can tell you missed me, Law.” You shifted, pushing yourself down on the leg he had between your thighs. 

Law made a sound he tried to swallow, but you knew that sound all too well. 

“What’s wrong? Couldn’t get yourself off while I was gone? Surely you’re a little more capable than that, Dr. Law.” 

He peeled his eyes open and lifted his head from his arm, glaring down at you. “Do not call me that.” 

“What?” You pouted. “You love it when I call you doctor.” 

“That’s why you shouldn’t do it.” His eyes almost burned a hole in you. 

You could feel the heat rolling off of him. When he pushed his erection into you, you swore you felt it pulsing. 

“Semen retention is-” 

“Please,” you interrupted, “spare me the lecture on semen retention, Law. I’ve only had to listen to it a thousand times.” 

“Three times,” he argued. “You’ve had to listen to it three times. Each time because you thought it was funny to get me to the edge and then leave me hanging.” 

“It’s called teasing, Dr. Law, and it’s half the fun.” 

“Well, I don’t think it’s fun.” 

“You don’t think anything’s fun.” 

“That’s not true.” He actually pouted a little bit, and it was that expression on his face that had you wracked with guilt. Your poor captain had spent four weeks alone. Twenty-eight full nights without the woman he called his secret medicine- emphasis on secret. 

Just then, the sound of voices drifted around the corner. Two of the crew members were approaching- Penguin and Shachi, from the sounds of it. 

Law went tense, his body as hard and rigid as the walls of the submarine. 

He was supposed to pull away. He was supposed to jump back and straighten his clothes. He was supposed to start a casual conversation with you and hope neither Penguin nor Shachi noticed his raging hard on. But that raging hard on made it impossible. He couldn’t pry himself off of you, not when he was so close, not when he could smell your apple-flavored shampoo and feel your skin, soft like rose petals, and press his throbbing cock into your body. 

“Come on,” you conceded. “Let’s go to your cabin.” 

He melted. “Really?” 

“Yes, really.” You pushed him off, sliding your hand into his. “But be quick about it. You’re not the only one who’s gone four weeks without sex.” 

———

Hope you enjoyed it! You can read Part 2 here! If you want more, you can check out my masterlist here!

[stereax]

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[newsfromstolenland]

Atlantic Canada's largest newspaper chain is now officially owned by Toronto-based Postmedia Network Inc.

On Monday, Postmedia confirmed the closing of its $1-million purchase of SaltWire Network Inc. and the Halifax Herald Ltd. in a short statement on its website. The sale was approved by a Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge on Aug. 8.

Andrew MacLeod, Postmedia's president and CEO, said his company is "delighted" to welcome the new media properties, saying the sale "preserves their vital role within the community."

Full article

Let's explore why this is a very bad thing.

Postmedia, the company that just bought a chain of over two dozen Atlantic canada newspapers, is known for many things- none of them good.

This is an incomplete list of harmful things that Postmedia and its executives have done/are known for:

Right-wing politics. "The National Post was founded in 1998 by Conrad Black, who has connections to conservative politics and sat as a Conservative Party member of the United Kingdom's House of Lords. The Post has always been aligned with the right side of the political spectrum. ..."Just in the past couple of years, Postmedia has issued an edict stating that they should move even farther to the right, so they're very reliably conservative," said [Media journalist Marc] Edge. "In fact, [they] endorse Conservative candidates often over the objections of their local editors.""

Union busting. "They employed a mix of cajoling (such as with buyouts and raises), entreaties to preserve the paper’s uniquely collegial newsroom culture, office-wide memos decrying the havoc a union would wreak, and, according to CWA Canada President Martin O’Hanlon, one-on-one meetings between staff and management."

Monopolization of canadian news media. "Postmedia Network’s purchase of Saltwire Network will extend its grip from coast to coast, as it already dominates Western Canada with eight of the nine largest dailies in the three westernmost provinces. This purchase will give Postmedia the largest dailies in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland to go along with the largest in New Brunswick, which it acquired from the Irving Oil family two years ago."

Cuts to pensions and benefits while giving large bonuses to executives. "...several top Postmedia executives had received enormous retention bonuses at a time of aggressive belt-tightening (after which many left regardless), and second, the March 2017 announcement that benefits and pensions would be curtailed significantly."

Already beginning to lay off staff from the Atlantic canada newspapers they now own. "...the long-term future of workers in departments like circulation, advertising, customer service, finance and production remains uncertain. "Staff believe maintaining local jobs in the community is critical to retaining both subscribers and clients," the union said. Last week, the union representing workers at The Telegram confirmed that four of the paper's 13 newsroom positions will be eliminated."

More reading: source 1, source 2

Tagging: @allthecanadianpolitics

[rnadett]

"Caitlyn did not grant Zaun independence."

There's no current evidence for that. When Jayce negotiated with Silco, he promised a seat on the council and independence.

Since Jayce and Silco's situation mirrors Caitlyn and Sevika's, and we know the writers love parallels, it's likely that this is what happened.

So there is a high chance that Zaun gained independence as well, not just a seat on the council.

But whether yes or no - Let’s analyze the political situation after the war in Piltover from a rawer, more realistic perspective:

The new council members are relatives of the previous members—households. This is an important detail that most overlook. Due to their resentment, they will likely never reach the level (or after a long journey) where they can understand Zaun's situation, like Caitlyn did by the end of season two. However, Caitlyn, unlike them, genuinely wants to help Zaun.

Who better to represent Zaun's interests than Sevika, who, unlike Silco, would never abandon anyone?

(Yes, I know, Ekko. But the fact that he wasn't the one—there’s a reason for that, which we’ll probably learn from the spin-offs.)

Silco unlike Sevika - was never truly loyal to anyone but himself - He would have sacrificed everyone, except for Jinx, making him unfit to represent all of Zaun's people, since he even enslaved the next generation (employing children in factories) to maintain his power.

Unfortunately, by the end of season two, the political situation wasn’t one that could be solved with a snap of the fingers, especially considering everything that had happened in the second season, or that Zaun would ever truly be in a position to retaliate without massive losses.

(And for those who think this would be the right solution—I don't understand why there should be repeated bloodbaths? To more innocent people die? For what? To put your ego before the sake of people? For revenge? After finally both side willing to cooperate?)

Another important point, as mentioned earlier: council positions are inherited in Piltover, not filled through elections, so if Caitlyn had wanted to include more Zaunites, it wouldn’t have been possible. In the beginning of s2 she could only be "the leader" because Ambessa didn’t just manipulate her, but also the influential houses, who empowered Caitlyn with this position. Caitlyn, in turn, accepted this position because of the manipulation, even though she never asked for it (just as Zaun's people made Jinx a symbol, though she never asked for it).

By the end of the season, neither Mel nor Jayce were in the council to form a unified majority with Sevika and Shoola, nor did Mel give up her position for another Zaunite (this could have been independent of her; we don’t know if Piltover exiled her or if the rest of the council was only willing to compromise with one Zaunite member).

Also Caitlyn gave up much of the political influence guaranteed by her family name (- since Caitlyn didn't want her mother's privileges in season one either). This was a massive loss of prestige for her house, something she was aware of - and just likely, after Silco’s death, the Chem Barons began shifting their power - (After all, these people—regardless of whether they were born as Chem Barons or council members—will always be greed-driven hyenas.) - The Kiramman family’s wealth was slowly being dismantled politically—its retention would have only been guaranteed by remaining on the council. Caitlyn consciously gave that up with putting Sevika and Zaun in her position.

As I said, politics in Arcane is much rawer—gradually less visible—than it can be portrayed.

If we look further down the rabbit hole, or even back to season one, the events hint at this pattern.

What else happened politically in the first season, and how did it unfold during season two?

If it could be visually represented and quickly understood by people, 3/4 of the fandom, for example, would blame Heimerdinger—the true culprit of Zaun's neglect—not Caitlyn or Jayce (season one).

He was the one who had been the most influential figure in Piltover for 200 years, spanning countless generations of council members, until Mel turned the power dynamics in the council in Jayce’s favor. After that, Jayce immediately saw what Heimerdinger had ignored—the damage caused by Zaun’s systemic neglect, a consequence of Heimerdinger’s 200 years of blind governance. Heimerdinger was the one who always hypocritically spoke about the safety of inventions, but under his supervision, toxic factories were built, which sickened people, like his own assistant (Viktor).

His real fear of Hextech had nothing to do with abandoning Zaun.

Everyone in Piltover knew about the toxic factories—even the Kiramman family, who provided Zaun with ventilation systems. Heimerdinger failed every generation, even Vi and Jinx’s parents, and even after the civil war, he never crossed the bridge, during which this generation lost many people. Moreover, Heimerdinger’s irresponsibility contributed to Jayce and Viktor building the Hexgate in a way that poisoned Ekko's tree, as he was still one of the leading scientists and most influential council members at that time (before Mel shifted the political power dynamics) - so the responsability was not just theirs but he also was responsible for it.

Against all this, Caitlyn in season one completely went against Heimerdinger’s ignorance. Her first action in s1 was to go down to Zaun—not taking 200 years—and see the other side as well. Contrary to the fandom’s (again) misinterpretation, she was the first character to show real empathy for Zaun. This is symbolized by her relationship with Vi, which also built the foundation for Ekko and Heimerdinger to work together (which I will elaborate on below).

Let's jump to season two right after the ending events of season 1 : Despite Caitlyn's grief and anger, she always stuck to one of her core principles (with varying degrees of success): no Zaun civilian should be harmed. And before you think that’s bullsh*t, let me explain further:

Caitlyn’s kill count among Zaun’s people is ZERO.

I’ll explain this in more detail soon, but first I need to build the puzzle:

First of all:

What was Ambessa’s real plan with the memorial attack?

I think we all clearly saw that she didn’t want to let the desire for revenge 'extinguish in Piltover's heart.' But her more important goal was to:

Find the perfect person who would serve her manipulation best, someone with enough influence and respect in the eyes of Piltover’s houses and someone who, due to their inexperience and blinded anger, is malleable enough to serve her interests.

Caitlyn always struggled against Piltover's propaganda within herself—and the seed of this was her rogue mission to Stillwater in the first season. By the end of the first season, this seed could have blossomed into a flower. However, when her mother died (an event she blamed herself for) and after she felt that Vi had "betrayed" her (a parallel to Jinx), it was like cutting down that flower. The roots remained, but Ambessa hoped that a different kind of plant—one she could guide—would grow in its place.

The moment Caitlyn and her strike team with Vi interrupted the council meeting, Ambessa knew Caitlyn would be the person to build her entire plan around - I think she had a feeling before too - that's why she sent Maddie to be close to her, but after that she was sure. For Maddie she was likely just an ordinary spy for Noxus—sometimes spies operate in foreign nations for decades, even when the two nations are not at war. Why she was chosen? Mostly because Caitlyn caught her attention. In fact, if I delve deeper, it might have been the exact opposite: There is more likely she was the one who told Ambessa to keep an eye on Cait. I mean, if you were in Maddie's shoes, wouldn't it strike you as extremely unusual for Piltover's most influential daughter to choose a profession that’s entirely unbecoming of her rank—one that, no less, focuses on cleaning up the filth of the elite? Of course it would. So, Maddie, and the fact that Noxus’s gaze had irreversibly shifted to Caitlyn, wasn’t a coincidence, especially given that Caitlyn had repeatedly mentioned she had first-hand knowledge of the events.

Also, contrary to another misinterpreted image in the fandom, Caitlyn and Vi did NOT gas all of Zaun. Their plan was a complete cooperation between Vi and Caitlyn, as they fully followed Vi’s plan from season one and the gas was, unfortunately, an added consequence—aka a "necessary evil"—to avoid the real catastrophe: the bloodbath that Salo and the families of the other deceased council members wanted (and likely the majority of Piltover's population supported) under Ambessa's incitement.

So you can critise it all you want, and I in fact agree with your moral ground, but you need to accept some harsh realities too: with this single action, they completely prevented a civil war (which again - Salo, under Ambessa’s leadership, wanted), which likely would have led to the near-extermination of Zaun, with countless civilian and child casualties. But Ambessa wouldn't have been able to actually profit from it, because she wouldn't have had enough time to gain anything from the situation and get closer to her main goal: Hextech. Additionally, with a quick, bloody strike, it’s likely that the majority of Piltover would have eventually opposed her actions/presence in their city- losing her political power.

And as I mentioned before: Contrary to the widespread belief in the fandom, if you check the scenes of The Grey frame by frame from ep 3 and compare them with Episodes 2 and 4, you'll see that the claim "the entire civilian population of Zaun was gassed" is a huge misconception and misinformation.

Caitlyn and Vi only went after Chem Baron members/heads, who kept children like Isha as slaves—whom they also didn’t kill. Only old industrial areas were gassed, which at the time served as Chem-Baron bases.

Moreover, "thanks" to the denser air (mentioned by Ekko in s1) the gas didn’t spread to other areas. Several things confirm this: Ekko’s base is deep within Zaun, yet it wasn’t affected. If the entire Zaun had been gassed, they definitely would have been impacted.

Also Cait and Vi's kill count with this was essentially zero.

Even Chross and Margot were only captured, and the rest were temporarily disarmed with gas and then released (Later, you can see the same gang members at Vander's statue alive and well - but without their leaders) - So the "lethal gas" theory has also been debunked.

The gas itself—likely in dense and concentrated amounts—probably had a "tear gas"-like effect (as evidenced by Jinx's reaction and symptoms). It’s "only" the long-term (years of continuous) inhalation that poses a serious health risk over time.

Following these points, I would like to bring up a few more references, particularly from the perspective of character interactions—or the lack thereof—which ultimately serve as pillars for the above and are interconnected:

Ekko’s lack of intervention in Caitlyn and Vi’s actions shows that they were not against neutralizing the Chem Barons and gang members in Zaun.

The Firelights, as revealed in season one, knew practically everything happening in Zaun, as they were able to track Caitlyn and Vi when even Silco couldn’t.

Ekko completely agreed with neutralizing (capturing) the Chem Barons, as their power struggle involved many refugees.

The Firelight members only turned against Caitlyn/Piltover/oppression when Ekko disappeared (independently of Caitlyn) because they thought Caitlyn had captured Ekko—and when Ambessa, mostly behind Caitlyn's back, used police brutality. Caitlyn, however, was not entirely unaware and held Ambessa accountable. Of course, her biggest mistake was not immediately turning away from her.

So I think Caitlyn's greatest guilt was not the gas (which was again: It was Vi's plan too) But to allowing her anger toward Jinx to ultimately not be directed at Jinx, but rather at everyone else through Ambessa—mainly the innocent civilians, whom she never wanted to harm from the very first season. And the fact that she let this drag on for so long, even though she was lowkey aware of what Rictus had done in Zaun, yet was still able to stay with them for months after that.

I didn’t initially intend to write this post solely about Caitlyn, but everything seemed to land on her, misinterpreted. Also, when talking about political undertones, it’s important to mention that Heimerdinger wasn’t accepted by the Firelights without real confrontation (unlike Caitlyn) because he immediately won their trust, but because Caitlyn, through her interactions with Ekko in season one, had already paved the way for Ekko to trust a Piltover citizen, as Caitlyn nearly died for the cause on the bridge in season one.

Clearly, if Ekko had been there in season two when the enforcers and Noxian soldiers were abusing innocents in Zaun, he would have confronted Caitlyn again, but unfortunately, this didn’t happen. However, at that point, I think Caitlyn just needed a push, as she was full of ongoing internal struggles, which pulled her back to her true self—and that this push came from Vi—more specifically, Vi’s family and all the suffering that their story represented for Zaun—made their relationship much more valuable in this context.

In summary: Politics in Arcane was portrayed very well and complexly, but precisely because it wasn't presented simply to the viewer, many couldn’t/don’t interpret it correctly. Also, just because something wasn't specifically presented on-screen doesn't mean it didn't happen (I'm referring to the first three paragraphs about Zaun's independence), as the writers deliberately connected ALL the scenes and interactions in various ways from season 1.

Thank you for reading all this. :)

Also, If you're curious for even more, I have an 8-minute video analysis where I delve into Heimerdinger's situation—what I hinted at here—mainly through Viktor and Jayce, and you can find the link to it here: https://youtu.be/y7Y__xyDyG8?si=5d5bl-Mc8758Gq6L

[recurring-polynya]

I think the secret sauce of the Gotei-13--the thing that makes it such a compelling operation to me--is that despite being a magical ghost military, it works exactly like academia.

A bunch of deeply arcane information and skill held by thirteen people who are each responsible for their own succession plans and retention of knowledge

Each of the captains has one hand-picked '''successor''' (post-doc) who does basically all their work for them, gets paid peanuts, and is far more likely to die than ever making captain themself.

There's like two thousand other people wandering around (undergraduates). This is who most people consider "the Gotei", although they contribute basically nothing to the institution

The older the captain, the less likely they are to do any work

Bickering

Incredibly sloppy dating pool

Budget/oversight provided by a bunch of people who are not members of the Gotei and have only the vaguest idea of what it does

The people who manage to succeed are a weird mix of legacy families and highly driven individuals who are determined to come in and make a difference (they will not)

The department head/head captain still has to do regular captaining shit. No one likes listening to him but also they do out of fear that if he dies or quits they might be promoted to his job

Too much paperwork to ever actually get anything done

Nice library

[simply-ivanka]

Oversight, Judiciary, and Ways and Means Committees Release Report on Impeachment Inquiry Finding Joe Biden Has Committed Impeachable Conduct

Below are key findings from the impeachment inquiry report. The 291 page report can be found below.

From 2014 to the present, as part of a conspiracy to monetize Joe Biden’s office of public trust to enrich the Biden family, Biden family members and their associates received over $27 million from foreign individuals or entities. In order to obscure the source of these funds, the Biden family and their associates set up shell companies to conceal these payments from scrutiny. The Biden family used proceeds from these business activities to provide hundreds of thousands of dollars to Joe Biden—including thousands of dollars that are directly traceable to China. While Jim Biden claimed he gave this money to Joe Biden to repay personal loans, Jim Biden did not provide any evidence to support this claim. The Biden family’s receipt of millions of dollars required Joe Biden’s knowing participation in this conspiracy, including while he served as Vice President.

Joe Biden used his status as Vice President to garner favorable outcomes for his son’s and his business partners’ foreign business dealings. Witnesses acknowledged that Hunter Biden involved Vice President Biden in many of his business dealings with Russian, Romanian, Chinese, Kazakhstani, and Ukrainian individuals and companies. Then-Vice President Biden met or spoke with nearly every one of the Biden family’s foreign business associates, including those from Ukraine, China, Russia, and Kazakhstan. As a result, the Biden family has received millions of dollars from these foreign entities. 

The Biden family leveraged Joe Biden’s positions of public trust to obtain over $8 million in loans from Democratic benefactors. Millions of dollars in loans have not been repaid and the paperwork supporting many of the loans does not exist and has not been produced to the Committees. This raises serious questions about whether these funds were provided as gifts disguised as loans.

Under the Biden Administration, the Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) afforded special treatment to President Biden’s son, Hunter Biden.Several witnesses acknowledged the delicate approach used during the Hunter Biden case, describing the investigation as “sensitive” or “significant.” Evidence shows that Department officials slow-walked the investigation, informed defense counsel of future investigative actions, prevented line investigators from taking otherwise ordinary investigative steps, and allowed the statute of limitations to expire on the most serious felony charges. These unusual—and oftentimes in the view of witnesses, unprecedented—tactics conflicted with standard operating procedures and ultimately had the effect of benefiting Hunter Biden.

The Biden Justice Department misled Congress about the independence of law enforcement entities in the criminal investigation of Hunter Biden. Biden Administration political appointees exercised significant oversight and control over the investigation of the President’s son. Witnesses described how U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware and now-Special Counsel David Weiss, who oversaw the investigation and prosecution of Hunter Biden, had to seek (1) agreement from other U.S. Attorneys to bring cases in a district geographically distinct from his own and (2) approval from the Biden Justice Department’s Tax Division to bring specific charges or take investigative actions against Hunter Biden. Despite the clear conflict of interest, Weiss was only afforded special counsel status after the investigation came under congressional scrutiny.

The White House has obstructed the Committees’ impeachment inquiry by withholding key documents and witnesses. The White House has impeded the Committees’ investigation of President Biden’s unlawful retention of classified documents, by refusing to make relevant witnesses available for interviews and by erroneously asserting executive privilege over audio recordings from Special Counsel Hur’s interviews with President Biden. In addition, the White House is preventing the National Archives from turning over documents that are material to the Committees’ inquiry.

See report at the below link

[radwolf76]

Just draw a bubble around it like you did for the notes to make it clear it's a button. Except it'd be a bubble around empty space and you'd probably have to draw a bubble around the username to make it clear that it's a button within a button that does something different.

Removing the ability to go directly to a specific reblog is a disastrously bad change! I can no longer engage with it when someone reblogs a post referencing the previous reblog's tags, which is, if you somehow missed it, a very common way people interact with each other on tumblr. I also often end up following new people because my mutuals regularly reblogged from them and they have interesting tag commentary; if I can't click through and look at their tags anymore, I'm not going to naturally find new people to interact with, which seems like the kind of thing that tumblr should want to incentivize rather than actively prevent?

I'm aware that this was not your decision personally, in the sense that you were apparently unaware of it at first, but it's a very bad decision, it makes my user experience of the site much worse, and I am going to use multiple avenues available to me to register a complaint about it in order to emphasize this badness!

Whatever this change is supposed to achieve, do something else to achieve it that doesn't remove the ability to actually look at specific posts.

a lot of changes we make won’t be well received by people who have survived the kinda insane ways this site works as-is. that’s the price we have to pay to help make tumblr a growing platform.

i’m sorry, it sucks, i don’t like it either, i’m also someone who’s been using this site for over 10 years and i’m used to the way it’s been working for most of that time. it’s a challenge for me to accept that tumblr isn’t actually working right now for the vast majority of people, who aren’t as vocal as we are.

please do send in feedback, but try to understand that most of what you’re describing is behavior you learned the hard way, and we can’t keep tumblr around if “the way to effectively use tumblr” is learned the hard way.

[calvincell]

As a 100% devoted evangelist of The Batman (2022) I was duty bound to give The Penguin a watch. Despite my low expectations for spin-offs generally even with the plus of Matt Reeves’ continued involvement in the series I’m happy to say that I enjoyed Episode One a lot. Felt genuinely like DC’s version of the Netflix Daredevil series only with a minuscule booster shot of added levity. No significant spoilers btw:

My absolute favorite moment of the show and how I knew that showrunner Lauren LeFranc & her fellow creatives truly were onto something is the encounter Oz has with Falcone Jr. in the pre-title scene. Beyond just being an excellent hook for the show, IMO it was also a fantastic display of what makes The Penguin specifically a villain who firmly belongs in Batman’s rogues gallery outside of simply his penguin/avian gimmick as well as cutting to the heart of why he isn’t to be categorized as just one more generic mobster in the gnarled web of Gotham’s crime families; something which Batman Caped Crusader & Batman Audio Adventures tapped into recently as well. The scene along with the glimpse of his home life & familial relationships we get later in the episode shows how when you get right down to it, The Penguin is at his best when he is portrayed as having more in common with the villains at Arkham Asylum than with the garden variety members of the criminal underworld. Just like with how Daredevil highlights why Fisk is a different kind of gangster, The Penguin’s first episode shows how standard gangsters who underestimate him & pigeonhole him as just another mob earner with no teeth only makes them vulnerable to the “real Oswald”. That’s also why the character who they set up as his season long foil/obstacle works in giving The Penguin an opponent worth fearing who isn’t The Batman.

I also shouldn’t fail to mention that Colin Farrell once again truly cooks & absolutely disappears into his role & is once again surrounded by a suite of terrific actors matching his earnestness & talent beat for beat.

Overall, I definitely recommend at least this first episode to any Batman fan especially if you loved The Batman (2022) & Matt Reeves’ vision for the character, world and franchise.

My only worry is that similar to Netflix’s Daredevil, the amount of episodes coupled with the length of each might bloat the series a bit and harm the pacing. Though with the DCEU’s different priorities in the Gunn Era compared to the MCU it might not end up as an issue & the show might end up being better paced & worth the episode count. Relatedly, my only gripe is just general annoyance at our collective return to weekly episode releases for shows instead of binging but I’m not an expert in TV marketing & production so maybe weekly releases are truly a better boost for audience numbers, retention & growth than bingeable releases have been.