#social commentary in fantasy

[joncronshawauthor]

The Phone Losers of America: A Unique Muse for Fantasy Writers

In the creative world of fantasy literature, where authors spin tales of magical realms and uncharted territories, an unusual but intriguing source of inspiration might come from the Phone Losers of America (PLA). Known for their prank calls and humorous exploration of the telephonic underworld, the PLA’s blend of mischief, subversion, and humour offers some unique lessons for fantasy…

[whereserpentswalk]

There's a door somewhere that's been closed forever. As long as people can remember, the first records of its existence, it's been closed. And even in the first records of its existence, people were watching it, waiting for it to be opened.

It's a massive door, in an underground chamber, the room its in is the largest room on earth. It's beautiful and ornate, and so strangely alien. After the initial hallway the room with the door is the only room in the chamber, like it's the entrance to a massive complex that humanity will never see. It's architecture is like no known culture, there are carvings on the walls of animals that don't exist, and writing in a language nobody knows. Some think that it's the work of aliens, some think it's the work of an advanced ancient culture, others that it's the work of beings from another dimension. Scientists and historians find all of those possibilities disturbingly possible.

There are tons of theories as to what's beyond the door. Every single religion that has come in contact with the door has managed to tie it into its mythology, especially ideas about the end of the world. And secular conspiracy theorists love it just as much. There are theories that the door will lead to hell, and that the rapture will start when it opens, theories that the door is where the messiah waits, or where God's body on earth is. There are theories that behind the door lies the secret of eternal life. Theories that aliens will open the door when they're ready to contact humanity. Theories that behind the door are the secrets to the universe, that it'll usher in a new age of humanity when opened. Theories that there's treasure behind the door, or technology that will change the way humanity lives. But there is one throughline amoung almost all theories, at least those belived by those invested in it, which is that they believe the door will open soon, and that those who see it opened will benefit the most. And there's been theories like this for thousands of years.

People of all religions will save up to make holy pilgrimages to the door, skipping meals, depriving their children of toys, so they can sit in front of the door for a few days, hoping to be the ones to see it open, returning home disappointed. There are conmen who'll sell the smallest things from the door, from water thats touched it, to pebbles that have fallen off of it, and people will believe it'll heal the sick, or work miracles. In ancient times conquerors would go to the door, making such a big deal out of it being in their lands. In modern times a small republic of a few thousand people, as old as the first world war, controls the territory of the door, they do their best to let people of all walks of life come to it, and try to stop any single group from dominating the space.

And of course there are people who live near the door. The entrance to the chamber is now surrounded by a modern city, and the room the door is in, and the hallway before it, are so large that they basically contain an entire town/neighborhood. The people who live in the room of the door are all those who are waiting for it to open (and a small population of people making good money off of them). They all have their own sections within the giant room, from evangelicals waiting to see Jesus behind the door, to alien theorists waiting to see the secrets of the stars, to new agers waiting for the opening of the doors to enter earth into a new era. The underground town is one of the most crowded places on earth, and as long as you're outside you can see the doors. Basically everyone who lives there thinks it's the only place they can ever be, as dark as it is down there they need to live where the doors will soon open. Some even go so far as to never leave the room even temporarily, many people living and dying in this one underground room, never being anywhere else, never seeing the sun. When those who where born in the room grow up to move somewhere else, abandoning their hopes of seeing the door open, their parents grieve as if they've lost their chance at salvation, and mourn them as if they were dead oftentimes.

Trying to get very close to the door is nearly impossible. It gets more and more crowded the closer you get to the door. And the space where it's close enough to actually touch the door is constantly covered with people, you have to sift through the thickest crowds on earth to get close enough to touch it, and people, thinking it has mystical properties, will. People have been trampled to death trying to touch that door. The entire underground town is unreasonable crowded, but nothing comes close to that small sliver of space where the door can be touched.

Science has had a rough relationship with the door. In older times people have tried to open it. The last time it was tried was when it was under British rule in the 19th century. It didn't go well. They might be able to do more now, but most of the people the door is important to don't want them to. There was a scientist who was beaten to death by an angry mob in the 1970s for suggesting there might he nothing more then an empty room behind the door, not even that it was likely, juet that it was possible. Science has spoken little on the door since then. And the government that has the territory of the door now does not allow any door based science to occur.

The reason why I bring all of this up, is that a few days ago the doors opened just the slightest amount. Not enough for anyone to step through, but enough to be noticeable. It's so hard to see through, but reports are starting to come in. They say that behind the door is a short hallway, and at the end of the hallway is another set of doors, of similar size and shape, waiting just as patiently to open.

[exiaax]

In Parkour Civilization, no one jumps for the beef. Why risk your life for a little bit more hunger bar when you can make a 1 block jump for chicken?

However, today, I’ll be making the 1 block vertical jump, and taking on the challenge of the Parkour Temple after winning a ticket. I will do whatever it takes to become a Parkour Pro, and see what’s on the Top Layer - Parkour Noob Kim Dokja

[gameshowtrainwreck]

"Going Postal" by Terry Pratchett

I just don't understand the outrage being directed to those who have expressed some degree of satisfaction from the news of that United Health Care CEO getting shot. Why would his death be any more outrageous or any more unacceptable from the slow, often painful deaths endured by those at the stroke of his pen?

Frankly, the victim got off lighter than what some movies use for plotlines. It's not something I woulda done, probably not even how I'd do it (a couple of ideas, but they're assumptions that would require stuff anyone privy to the investigation might have already ruled out and i feel as if i contribute enough to the problem of online content as it is anyway), but the ruling class experiencing the same kind of terror they've been okay with allowing everybody else to endure is not something that really moves the needle for me. Frankly, I hope they never catch the shooter and the perp becomes a folk hero for the 21st century. Hell, murder ballads about the shooting are already popping up online. This shooting is reviving folk music. Nobody but family weeps for the low-born criminals dead in the gutter, why are the rest of us low-born expected to weep for an industry who has killed more than the drug cartels? Nah. They spent a lot of money on a lot of politicians to fuck us all over. As ye have sown, so shall ye reap. If a paycheck depends on abstracting people into a line item on a ledger and people end up dying because of it, then you really should consider another line of work.

"I have never laid a finger on anyone in my life, Mr Pump. I may be–– all the things you know I am, but I am not a killer! I have never so much as drawn a sword!" "No, You Have Not. But You Have Stolen, Embezzled, Defrauded And Swindled Without Discrimination, Mr Lipvig. You Have Ruined Businesses And Destroyed Jobs. When Banks Fail, It Is Seldom Bankers Who Starve. Your Actions Have Taken Money From Those Who Had Little Enough To Begin With. In A Myriad Small Ways You Have Hastened The Deaths Of Many. You Do Not Know Them. You Did Not See Them Bleed. But You Snatched Bread From Their Mouths And Tore Clothes From Their Backs. For Sport, Mr Lipvig. For Sport. For The Joy Of The Game.”

― Terry Pratchett, Going Postal

Sometimes there are people in this world who will make their best contributions to humanity on their departure. If you're afraid that might happen to you: (1) if you're letting shit get so bad in your interactions with others that somebody might take a swing at you that's probably something you should turn yourself in to the authorities over and try to plea bargain even though you can still get shanked in prison, and (2) lol why are you rich enough to work in health insurance and still fucking slumming it on tumblr? Get tae fuck with that scrub-league bullshit. Rich people are horrible fucking fanfic authors anyway, look at what's getting made in movies. (yes, golems speak by capitalizing every word of dialogue in the Discworld novels, it's something Sir Terry Pratchett did with his books and supernatural characters; Death is a character in them and speaks in small-caps without quotation marks. It's a little annoying personally, but Terry is such a good author you get used to it to the point where it feels wrong without it)

[chaibunbao]

Hello Void!

I posted my thoughts on the 5th episode of Interview with a Vampire to my YouTube!

I’m trying to keep the videos around the 15 minute marker.

Talking points include:

Claudia’s resentment for humanity

Louis despair of Claudia’s absence

Troubled marriage between Louis & Lestat

The Fight

CAUTION: I misspoke and called Mr. Anderson, Mr. Alderman. Oops…

Thank you!

I’ll be leaving a link to my video down below so, please give it a watch and tell me your thoughts!

[eccentricphilosoph]

Harry Potter was the first commercially popular fantasy series written by a white English author, at the time, to have wider diversity.

People do realize Rowling can’t retcon Harry Potter to be even more inclusive than she already made it in the 90s/2000s right? Also, the UK hasn’t been as occupied with race as the US historically and even outlawed slavery before the US.

The context of the history and society of England is important to understand why Rowling made the decisions she made at the time. Being unaware of DEI doesn’t make someone automatically racist, especially in a time where DEI in the UK was likely not a priority, let alone in the US.

She tried and wasn’t really up to date on the ideas of diversity of race that we have today and we don’t stop to think maybe she’s part of what influenced these ideals we have of DEI today. The same sentiments of diversity were there in her writing about purebloods and muggles. Also, in England, classes create a larger divide than races and she made a point to make one of the main characters not only a red head (which somehow get a lot of flak in the UK), but from a poorer class and Harry is shown to act as a benefactor to the twins in their endeavors since he has an inheritance.

[troythecatfish]

[icewindandboringhorror]

More misc. daily life pictures and such

[ariel-seagull-wings]

@thealmightyemprex @themousefromfantasyland @the-blue-fairie @piterelizabethdevries @stormandforge

There is not always a guarantee that a more realistic depiction of minority characters, our struggles and opression will be better when written in a realistic scenario.

Sometimes, the realistic scenario does a poor aproach in representation, while a fantasy or sci fi allegory or even a case where a minority viewer or reader identifies with a fantastical character that wasn't necessarily meant to be a metaphor for them, becomes the better received, most effective and respectful form of representation.

I am thinking primarily on the X-Men franchise as a comentary on passing, assimilation, minority opression and resistance, but other examples can be The Matrix, Nimona, the Star Trek franchise, fairy tales and their film adaptations, Dinosaurs, The Muppets...

Feel free to ad more examples.

[joncronshawauthor]

The Captivating Magic System of R.F. Kuang's Babel

R.F. Kuang’s novel Babel is set in alternative 1930s Oxford, and tells the story of Robin Swift, a Chinese orphan studying at the prestigious Royal Academy of Arcanalogy. Kuang has crafted a richly imagined magical world, with a complex and innovative magic system at its core. In this blog, I’ll take a closer look at how Kuang’s magic system works and what makes it so compelling. Lost in…

[whereserpentswalk]

The Night Hunt

I need to eat. It’s not eating anymore. It doesn’t feel like thirst or hunger. It’s not something I would have understood as a human. I feel like I’m going to die. I don’t want to die. I don’t think anyone would mind if I did. My mouth is shaped so differently than it once was, I can’t move my jaws, I feel empty, I need it to fill me, and I feel empty.

The upper west side vampiric community center was cramped, getting everything it could from limited funds and real estate. The walls were white and the lighting sterile, their deadness only broken by overly enthusiastic posters. It was strange looking at the other vampires in the building, most of them seemed to be doing much better than me. Even most of the ones that ones you could tell weren’t human at a glance usually looked more human than me. It felt like everyone I saw was doing better than me, the petite girl in a black dress talking to her parents on the phone, the bearded man with cats eyes dressed in fancy clothes he had probably owned some version of for centuries, the snake mouthed person guzzling down a can of commercially sold blood like it was soda. I could assume a lot of the vampires I saw here had supportive families, and many others were old enough to be well adjusted to their lives. It almost hurt looking at vampires who could pass better than me, or who could better mask vampiric traits, this embarrassing envy, that I was a monster even by the standards of monsters.

I could have socialized, but I was too tired, and too thirsty. I had just been denied a good behavior slip by the New York State government, and thus denied a month’s supply of donated blood, and the building stopped being somewhere I wanted to be. Most vampires can’t get a good behavior slip, A lot don’t even try just because of how humiliating and restrictive life during the audit can be. A lot of them live off of relatives’ and friend’s blood, or buy it wholesale. I don’t have the option for either of those, at least not consistently.

I walked up Broadway, when I left, below the safety of the dark sky, and the calming yellow light of the windows, past the old brick buildings of a childhood that now seems alien to me. Best to get outside time in while I can, it’s summer, giving me few hours before the sun rises. It’s strange to remember when I walked down that street as a human. That deep loss of something I can remember but will never feel once more. Remembering how easy things were. When the restaurants smelled good to my body, instead of sickly sweet. It would’ve made me cry to see myself reflected in a window, if my eyes had tears to cry. To see I was the type of vampire other even other vampires shunning, too vampiric perhaps, to close to what they all fear being, too close to what they’re all accused of. I used to think of losing my humanity was a horrible fate, and now I am the bad ending for so many other nonhumans. I wonder how many of my kind’s advocates think I’m worthy of oppression. They say not all vampires look horrifying to humans, but I look horrifying to humans. They say not all vampires think violent thoughts about humans automatically, but I find myself doing that so often. They say not all vampires are weak to sunlight, or are hurt by symbols of their prior faith, but I am, and it hurts, and if acceptance means telling people it doesn’t hurt I’ll just get hurt more.

I tried to think of something to distract myself. Tried to think of friends who still cared about me, about that show I wanted to finish, tired to think about that Lord of the Rings fanfic that I wrote in middle school that I had though about on that street, on a bright day so alien to the humid night I walked through. No matter what I thought about there was always blood in the back on my mind. Even when a vampire isn’t thinking about blood directly, when they’re low, as almost fatally low as I was, it’s always able to be felt in the background. I could feel my body’s desire for blood, feel the pain and weakness of not having it. It was strange, to know that my body hurt because it wanted like, that my body only transformed into a vampire because it would have died from being bitten by one if it hadn’t. My body wanted to live as a vampire so much more than I did. My hands shook, my gate more unbalanced, more stumbling than it usually was, my twisted and inhuman mouth, the most inhuman part of my body, salivating. The staggered and almost animalistic walk must have made me look even more like a monster. The pigeons flew away when they saw me, they must have known, or maybe that’s just what pigeons are like.

 My once tan skin now so pale my organs are visible, my once fit body now skinny, my brown eyes forever white, and my mouth perfectly round and unmoving and filled with sharp tooth after sharp tooth like a lamprey. All so perfect to drink blood, all built to drain blood. It hurts to think I’ll probably be in this body for centuries. The same hoodie I’d been wearing for days still covers me a bit, as does my mess of uncut hair, I don’t really have to wash these things without human oils on my body anymore. It’s not good to think too long about that fact. There is no wonder my parents would rather consider their precious daughter basically dead, than know that she lived as this. I might do the same if I had a choice. I think about when I was turned sometimes, how I didn’t get to be turned out of love, or lust, or spite, how the bite was meant to kill me, how it would have killed me if I wasn’t rushed to the hospital, or if I hadn’t fought the attacker off. I never even knew the name of the vampire who attacked me. I didn’t know why he did at the time, I assumed it was from hate, I understand now, I would never defend attacking someone like that but I understand, he was hungry, I know how it feels to want blood like how he must have. People would have had me better in their memories if I had died, nobody admits it, but it’s true, my parents convinced themselves I had on religious grounds, saying my soul had left my body, I understand why, my reputation was not tarnished.

As I walked past stores and restaurants that had closed hours earlier, saw how little the world wanted me. I wondered how I would keep existing. I remembered that my transformation has made it so I wouldn’t age, couldn’t die a natural death at all, I realized how strange it would be for me to exist in a body like the one I did for hundreds more years, thousands if I got lucky. There was the feeling that maybe I’d be murdered, most of society didn’t even want the most human passing, most privileged vampires to live, it sucked even for people who had it so much better than me, maybe I’d just die, maybe one of those monster hunter gangs would finally due me in like they always threaten to online. But what if I didn’t, what if I had to still live. If I actually had put the work in to having positive relationships with the community maybe some vampiric elder would be able to tell me. As it was I felt lost, I didn’t know what I could be doing a hundred years from where I stood. Would things be better than, for me, for us? Would I be ok?

For a moment my eye caught a girl around my age. As a human I would have felt lust for her, she had that exact look that I used to like. Glistening hair dyed a candy colored red, a pale pink Cowboy Bebop t-shirt covering her chest. I would have felt lust, or perhaps a more noble sounding attraction, but now that part of me is gone, and seeing a young healthy body like that just makes me think about what it would be like to drink her instead of making me think about being in bed with her. I knew it was wrong, but it would feel so good, to feel my mouth punch into her neck, and drain her dry. I don’t want to feel this way, the logical part of my brain doesn’t like feeling this way, but it’s a feeling in my body. When I looked at her soft skin my teeth ever so slightly extended outwards, and the tiredness from the pain of thirst temporarily ceasing as my body filled with energy, my dreaming mind fantasizing about holding her as I drank her blood, as ashamed as I am of such thoughts, as little as I’d want to ever hurt someone like her, it felt so good in the moment just to fantasize. It was the closest I still had to feeling anything sexual or romantic, as many social media posts as there are telling you it’s a myth that all vampires lose their sexual or romantic feelings, it’s true for me, I don’t even have breasts or sex organs anymore, as horrifying as that is to even acknowledge about myself. Just another thing that makes me seem less human, and just another thing that makes drinking human blood seem to desirable. I didn’t want to hurt her, just looking at her walking, she seemed so happy, so pure.

I did nothing, yet she still crossed the street. I understood, it was late, and I was a ragged looking vampire walking near her, she had a right to feel safe. I ran, as thirsty as my body was I didn’t want to be near her, and didn’t want to cause a scene.

Best to flee uptown, Time Square is filled with Faeries, and Central Park with werewolves, and neither take kindly to my kind in the places they tend to hang out. There is a safety in being human, despite all the stories of young maidens scratched up in monster’s arms, with blood contrasting on top of their pretty white skin, most monsters with ill wills are way more likely to target other species of monster rather than humans. Humans are often well armed, and well defended by the law, and so many monsters are so eager to prove their kind’s validity through their hatred of another species of monster.

My running only stopped when I had to cross the street to avoid a church. One of those big ornate ones you’d see a vampiric villain hang out in in a thriller movie, with that shining stained glass they haven’t built in generations. They say it’s not anything divine that burns vampires that are weak to holy symbols, it’s just the memory of faith that hurts, the memory of the most human of all actions. Doesn’t change the fact that the pope still says we don’t have souls. The church ghosts all fled, they floated somewhere else just from seeing me, I wanted to yell to them “What? Are you too good even to haunt me.” I didn’t of course, I didn’t want to cause a scene. Maybe I would have if I wasn’t so weak from thirst.

I can’t get blood. The state won’t give it to me. My friends would say no if I asked. I can’t afford to buy it. I dropped out of school when I was turned, there wasn’t accommodation, and late classes were hard to get. Most of the friends I still have either treat me like a tragedy to fawn over, or like I could kill them at any time, they’re only human after all. I guess that’s why they recommend socializing with other monsters. I barely look for work anymore, even well-meaning humans are uncomfortable around me, though to be fair I’ve done nothing not to make them uncomfortable, and it’s impossible to ask them to close daytime windows, or keep silver and garlic away.  I spend so much time on the internet. I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t ask to be this thirsty. I don’t want to look this way, and I don’t want to need blood. I never chose any of this, never chose to be bitten, never chose to be saved.

For a moment I saw another person on the street, alone with me. Some rich kid staggering drunk and barely knowing where he is, a sweatshirt from some fancy wizarding school clinging on to his body. His rosy yet pale cheeks, so vulnerable, not so privileged that he could hurt me, just privileged enough to feel like every bad though I could have towards him was punching up. He was the exact type of asshole that I’d expect to call me a slur, to be proud that wizards like him had engaged in just enough vampire hunts in the thirties and forties to be considered another type of human. But he didn’t. He didn’t notice me at all, he just sang to himself with his earbuds in and his eyes glued to his phone as he stumbled past closed stores.

I can smell blood on his lips. I remember that there is another way to quench my thirst. I’d have to drain him dry so that nobody would know. I don’t want to. I don’t want to be that type of vampire. His body is so fresh, I’d be full for like a year. I can’t stop looking at him and remembering my life. He’ll run but I can catch up to him, and he’ll taste so good. And I would be so hard to catch if I drained him to death, he’s a stranger, the case would go cold. I need blood, and he has blood, it’s like a trolly problem, you don’t need sadism to pick yourself when you’re tied to the tracks. And I can’t think of another way I could get blood before starving to death.  It feels weird to grab his wrist as he struggles, too thirsty to think too deeply. I don’t want to look at his face when he screams, but something deep within me is excited to hear a human scream. I feel sorry for him I think, he didn’t deserve this, I didn’t deserve this, if things were different… well they aren’t different. God my voice sounds demonic with this mouth. “I’m sorry, but I have to do this.”

[ahb-writes]

"How am I supposed to sign up for my death if my eyebrows are uneven?"

"Wu Zetian" (Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao)

[vaperarmand]

btw i had the haunting realization yesterday that saltburn is actually potentially supposed to be a social commentary of some kind but emerald fennell is just straight up so bad at doing social commentary in movies that i didn’t even notice. miraculously this does not stop it from being a five star movie to me

[tinyreviews]

It’s a movie by women, for women. Choked full of witty, allegorical quotes.

Barbie is a 2023 American fantasy comedy film directed by Greta Gerwig, who wrote the screenplay with Noah Baumbach. Based on the Barbie fashion dolls by Mattel, it is the first live-action Barbie film after numerous computer-animated films and specials. The film stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, with America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Helen Mirren, Issa Rae, Simu Liu, Michael Cera, Rhea Perlman, and Will Ferrell.

[mediamatinees]

Hollywood's Obsession With Youth Leads to Some Fatal Consequences in "Death Becomes Her"

Get ready for tons of laughs, ahead-of-its-time visuals, and a truly insane yet oddly relatable plot. Today, we're diving into one of my favorite films: Death Becomes Her.

Content Warning: Death Becomes Her contains scenes of intimate partner violence, (cartoonish) body mutilation, murder, and some serious dark humor. It’s definitely worth the watch, but still. Viewer discretion is advised. Spoilers for Death Becomes Her ahead! Sometimes it’s really fun going through an actor’s filmography and seeing how they’ve grown throughout the years. Looking at a decorated…

[chaibunbao]

Hello internet void!

I posted my thoughts on AMCs Interview with a Vampire to my YouTube channel! Season 1 Episode 4: Pursuit of Blood with all a Child’s Demanding!

It took a little while longer due to me learning more about photoshop and A LOT of editing. I’m a blabber mouth and originally put too much into my scrip making the video unacceptably long.

It would have been twice as long if I didn’t cut a lot of my thoughts lol

I’m pretty happy with the outcome and I’m hoping it keeps the audience attention more than my previous videos.

In this episode I utilize the graphic novel. Some of my topic points include:

Claudia’s Transition

The relationship she has with both Lestat and Louis

Her struggles with coming into womanhood

And Charlie

Please go ahead and give that video a watch and get back to me with your thoughts! As always, I appreciate honesty and good old fashioned constructive criticism. Be kinda nice please (:

Thank you in advance!