#political can of worms

[severus-snaps]

just to celebrate the UK general election results today, a young sev demonstrating his right to freedom of expression

[lazyveran]

ive decided to create an elaborate childhood backstory for azulon and his mother. specifically to make sozin look even more incompetent but also bc time is a flat circle and i want to torture that man AND azula

[drumlincountry]

Every organisation (however revolutionary its rhetoric and however well intentioned its goals) which models itself structurally on the very system it seeks to overthrow becomes assimilated and subverted by bourgeois relations. It's seeming effectiveness becomes the source of its greatest failure.

Murray Bookchin “Anarchy and Organisation: A Letter to the Left” (1969)

[name-that-isnt]

My thoughts on a matter that no one asked me about

[rabarbarzcukrem]

To be honest.... I've never thought that hard about ships like Yuezula or Azuki, I thought they were nice simple girlboss x girlboss femslash pairings. But it has just occured to me how much potential they have...

Azula and Suki are both strong, confident warriors who don't take anyone's bullshit. At the same time their experiences, worldviews and approaches to leadership are different enough to provide an interesting conflict between them (Also it's pretty funny if you include the fact that Suki "stole" Ty Lee from Azula in their dynamic, and I don't think I need to explain how hilarious it would be to see Sokka losing his girlfriend to the fire nation princess who kidnapped her....) I think their relationship would be pretty intense and include a lot of rivalry, at least at the beginning. I like the idea of them using sparring as a way to resolve disputes.

Meanwhile Azula and Yue are both young princesses and have to deal with societal expectations that come with it (not to mention that the writers were also planning for Azula to be in an arranged marriage, like Yue). But these cultural expectations differ - Yue needs to be passive, gentle and self-sacrificing, Azula needs to be powerful, intimidating and dominating. It'd be interesting to explore how their respective upbringings shaped their personalities and how that would influence their dynamic. I imagine they'd start off very judgmental and disapproving of each other, only to gradually realize how much they have in common.

[lakesbian]

Never read Worm, but should I read Worm? Its concept n characters intrigues me greatly and I enjoy your posts but the fact that even the fans hate it is making me hesitate lol

the fans don't hate it they hate the author, who is some cunt on the forums with bad opinions on his own writing. the book is excellent and we like it very much or we wouldn't still be posting about it ten years later. go read it

[wormspoodle]

guys you should, uh, send me your 2003 TMNT headcanons haha wouldn’t that be so wild (please send me them)

[linka-r9-vysocina]

I know this is gonna sound like, fake or shallow deep (hehe shallow deep) but the more i read about the history of the baltic region (i am studying for my finals) the more i am thankful for today's european politics and the european union. I mean, criticize it however you want, but I am so glad that as of today and in europe, war is not just another means of doing politics. I am noit going to pretend that everything is okay in today's world and in today's europe etcetera, but... I can't imagine living in that time. Territories constantly changing hands, every few years. Armies going through your homeland several times in your life. States attackign each other whenever someone senses weakness in the other, trying to bite off pieces of land. (A part of me feels like today's Russia got stuck in this thinking as well as the guy in former Trump's administration arguing that "the US should buy Greenland".)

And while I can somehow understand that yes, this was a quest for power etc. etc., I can't help but feel like that was so, so damn stupid. Maybe someone with a history degree could explain all of that to me a little better, but I feel like any of those lands would have been better off if they had focused on what they already have and not lost countless lives and resources on wars. I don't want to act like a smartass or pretend that "oh what an enlightened time we live in", because in many ways, people and times did not change. But I am really thankful for the ways they did. I am glad Germany is not trying to seize our Czech asses whenever our government falls.

[myatlantispoets]

anyways superfans go watch the girls on the bus (the first two eps premiered yesterday), starring our lovely lady and saviour melissa benoist

the characters are funny and complex and the story is compelling...unfortunately julie pl*c is involved but so far it's fine

[skitskatdacat63]

This is not really a question but just popping into say that I am OBSESSED with your boy king Seb au.

Is this partially because Seb is my favourite driver? Yes. Is this partially due to the fact that history and by extension, historical fiction one of my favourite things ever? Yes.

This is a really random tangent but when you mentioned the AU being loosely based on the Spanish War of Succession, I was like I recognise this but from where? I looked it up and realised that I learnt a little about it when I studied Louis XIV. This also reminded of how much I used to love making fun of Louis XIV as well.

This just struck me as I was writing this but since Fernando is based on Philip and if I remember correctly comes from Renault (basically) in this au, would that make Flavio Briatore the Louis XIV in this universe...

Sorry for the really long text - I got carried away lmao

Nooooo don't apologize!! I absolutely love long asks, and I'm so glad you like the au so much!!!! That makes me so haopy to hear 🥹 But you're so real, this au does in fact stem from my obsessions with my f1 boys and history. I'm very happy to have found a way to combine my two major interests into one thing 🤭🤭 But as I said to someone earlier today, it often feels like this AU is just a way for me to force-feed people niche history trivia LOL

Imagining Flavio as Louis XIV gave me a heart attack sjkfkflf, that man cannot and should not have that amount of power 😭 Flavio is Fernando's top advisor!! I think he works better as someone working behind the scenes, in the shadows, the little devil on Fernando's shoulder. I like to imagine he's some merchant who gained enough reputation and favor, that Fernando's father or smth was like, yeah sure you can be my son's advisor....not knowing he'd become king later on.

I think he obviously genuinely really cares for Fernando and makes decisions in his best interest but uhhhhh is not upset when it also happens to put a bit of money in his own pocket. I imagine he was like, super gung-ho about the arranged marriage, and giving fernsndo all these platitudes like "don't you think this is your best chance at being King 🥺 maybe you can find true love 🥺" but then is also making deals behind the scenes sjkfkv. Just constantly doing mental arithmetic, weighing out and balancing how much he's benefitting Fernando, and how much he's benefitting himself. Also lol, I like to imagine he tries to be all schemey with Seb, but then can't help but become endeared with him(reminds him of a younger Fernando 🤧)

[fandomshatepeopleofcolor]

I feel stuck in my head and I need to ask someone: what's gonna happen to us when biden's reelected? What can we do to stop the genocide? What can we do to get roe v wade back? How to we make things okay?

Answering the last question first — how do we make things okay? We get informed, and we get involved.

If you want to change how things work, first you have to understand why they work the way they do. I’m not saying you have to become an overnight expert, but you gotta know the basics. You have to know who *really* makes the decisions about the stuff you care about. And I’m not being snarky here, but there’s a very very very good chance that that person is not Biden.

(long-ish more in depth USA-specific thoughts under the cut)

Let’s look at the two specifics that you mention. Yes, the president may be commander in chief of the armed forces but that “just” (air quotes bc obviously that is hugely consequential power, but it’s not the only power at play) means he’s the guy who says yes or no, stay or go. A more effective tool to address the United State’s relationship to Israel? Money. You know who controls the federal money? Congress. You know which political body has elections twice as frequently as the president? Congress. Look into who your Senators and Representatives are, look into their voting records, look into their hiring choices, look into their public statements and appearances, look into the company the keep.

If you like what you find, let them know, and if you have the resources, donate money and/or volunteer your time to make sure they win reelection. If you do not like what you find, and you think they might be responsive to public pressure, let them know you didn’t like what you found. If you found it abhorrent or do not trust that they will adjust to their constituents expectations, figure out if they have a competitor, and if they don’t, make sure that someone steps up to the plate. That someone doesn’t have to be you, but while we live in an ostensible democracy, these people can lose their jobs if and when we vote them out.

Regarding Roe v Wade, this might be upsetting to hear but you need to get used to the idea that it’s not coming back, and if anything, things might get worse. If voting and the legal system is your jam, I can recommend researching the circuit and district judges that preside over your region. If organizing and direct action are more your thing, there’s probably a Nurse’s Union in your area that can point you in the right direction. If your school district has an elected body where you can run for a seat to make sure that kids in your area are getting appropriately scientific sexual health education, do that. If you feel brave enough to start actively having conversations about sexual health and reproductive rights among your daily/weekly social groups, and maybe even start a book club style study group to learn about the legal and medical aspects most relevant where you live, do that. Even on the most individual scale, if you can make it clearly known that you are a safe person for people to talk to about this stuff, that’s a great step in the right direction.

To wrap this up, I think I’ll just say that I think big picture, if Biden wins a second term, things will be fine. If anything, maybe his administration will be able to bolster the environmental wins in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) but at a basic level he will probably maintain the status quo and then after the four years are up, he’ll leave office.

Let’s please not pretend the same can be said about Trump.

But in the spirit of ending on a more hopeful note, if you do not want Kamala Harris to be the presumptive nominee for the Democratic Party in 2028 (and/or if you want a third party other than the Democrats and the Republicans to stand a snowball’s chance in hell) the time to start organizing is now. We deserve better than the status quo, we can do this, let’s fuckin go 💪

mod dyr

[yr-obedt-cicero]

Get better rizz, Phil.

[whatudottu]

i have this question about your Andromeda 5 au for a long while now what do they think of argit do they know that he basically betrayed Andreas and left him for death and if they know how to they react to argit did Andreas ever meet argit again or did they rest of Andromeda 5 ever met him

Because I am shamelessly stealing inspired by Kariachi’s necromancer Argit because of this fic, as well as using a ‘revived from the dead, warded to high hell’ possession (and incidentally mind reading) block as an excuse to why Ra’ad can’t just read Andreas’ thoughts anymore as part of the whole ‘Ra’ad is both mutant AND magic’ Mutant and Magic AU stuff (an equal part ‘what if there were EVEN MORE mutants and magic in OS that continues into the sequels’ and ‘nerf alien species natural powers’ AU), I often bullshit my way out of this question :P

That’s a hell of an opening statement-

There’s a lot of moving pieces in this AU that I’ve constructed from random headcanons that sometimes include hcs of someone else, Argit’s treatment of Andreas being one of them. Remove the whole necromancer thing and AU Ra’ad can not only read Andeas’ mind again due to undiagnosed psychic magic, but is also the first of the Andromeda 5 to learn about Argit and his dynamic with Andreas, which he can’t continue reading into because eventually the castle gets totalled and Andreas is severed from having more memories of Argit to have an opinion.

Wouldn’t stop Ra’ad from having his own opinions, mostly on what he could see (a castle hunting criminal with a runaway thug he pays in food), whether or not he brings it up to the others to be on the lookout for Argit or even in the OV future timeline where he becomes President of Earth :P

[munch-mumbles]

see my problem is i need to be more vocal so people can get to know me better and maybe actually want to befriend me but i also need to stop talking so much so i dont irritate people and make them want to avoid me

[weird-and-unwell]

So I'm in a very privilleged position despite being on benefits. But I need people in the UK to understand that if I were not disabled, and purely living on the basic rate of UC, I'd be fucked.

I live alone with two cats.

My food bill averages £80-£120 a month. (I eat a lot of dried beans and cheap grains.)

My cats food and litter averages £80-£100 a month. (I use the cheapest litter but they have more specialist foods. I've tried cheaper foods, didn't work out.)

My bills come to roughly £370 a month.

I do also have netflix and pay for cat flea treatment, equalling £22 a month.

And the basic rate of UC for me is £393.

So you may spot a problem.

If I pay all my bills I have £1 for food for myself and my cats.

If I say no to netflix and cat flea treatment, I'm up to £24 a month.

I could get my council tax removed, but I've done that before and it gets shitty once you reinstate it (I was paying 50% extra a month!!) But say I do. Cool I now have a bit under £150 for myself and my cats.

If on my own I'd manage, with roughly £30-£70 left. It'd be tight, yes, but just barely managable as a single person.

But my cats come first, because they are small creatures dependent on me. So in reality I have some £50-£70 max for food.

I could do it. It'd suck but I could do it.

But then once I was able to pay council tax again I would end up with the same nonsense as last time - a sudden massive increase in bills. I still don't understand how it works rip but there we go.

Anyways the point is, this is a "just barely doable" situation from someone who is in fact in a privilleged position. I have family who can help me out (to an extent), I'm in stable housing. But without my disability benefits even I would struggle significantly.

(We'll discuss disability benefits another time lol.)

[dreamworldportal]

long vent-ish post warning

it's an odd dilemma when you're a POC out your homeland

in a way i feel westernized in the sense all my friends are white and come from families vastly different from mine. it feels comforting being in a space so much more liberal and pop culture oriented (of which pop culture i actually recognize)

but there's an uncomfortable realization you will make, be it sooner or later.

there is an irrevocable difference between you and your friends. sometimes you'll make a joke that falls flat and awkward about your home country, you'll use phrases or sayings from your language they don't understand the way your parents do.

you don't look like them, either. your facial dimensions seem off. you know you're normal, but you may catch yourself looking in the mirror too long, wondering why you don't look like an ethnicity that isn't yours to begin with.

the point when you become considered 'one of the good ones' and only then you realize something is bad, like really bad. it makes me feel inferior, like a tamed savage, who 'evolved' from my land's 'inherent backwardness' by adopting western ideals. and it makes me feel even worse, thinking of my muslim, non-english speaking people!! if i'm 'cured' then what are they??

i really feel like i have nowhere to belong, and idk if this is a weird thing to say but i envy other race groups that have a strong sense of community, especially since the arab world is so divisive.