#that reads PIRACY WAS NOT A GREAT JOB TO BE IN

[piratekenway]

squints at OFMD fandom. you got a show set during the Golden Age of Piracy named Our Flag Means Death and you’re…surprised? that there’s character death?

[psychoticallytrans]

I believe very strongly that if you want to be an ally to marginalized groups, you should absolutely read and watch material bigoted against them.

This is because one of the big things that radicalization pipelines benefit from is the principle I've seen framed as "milk before meat", where they feed you palatable, easily digestible ideas, often with a kernel of truth, in order to work you up to the core of the bigoted ideology. If you go to the meat first, you will choke on it. This will make you more easily able to spot it when they try to feed you the milk, and more resistant because you know the meat it's building up to.

There are two keys. First, you need to start with the meat, and second, you need to read it with a sharply critical eye.

If you're looking to read something fatphobic, for example, Harry Potter may be a great mainstream example, but it's in a way that is so culturally acceptable that it can slip by if you aren't looking for it. "None For You: How Fat People Are Ruining America and the Planet and What You Can Do About It", on the other hand, is rather obvious in its biases, allowing an amateur to see them clearly for easier interrogation of the premise. Most bigoted material can be acquired by piracy or through your local library. This is one of the big reasons that libraries stock bigoted material.

Then, start noting down all of the things that the material says that seem to make sense, or that you are sure are true. There's no shame in this. Bigoted ideas are ingrained in your upbringing, and on top of this, a lot of bigots will take real problems and build on them in ways that are bigoted.

For instance, anti-immigrant sentiment in the USA is often bolstered by the fact that wages in the USA are effectively decreasing, along with job security. They say that this is because immigrants are taking the jobs, decreasing the amount of value that is available to USAmericans. To a USAmerican who does not know much about immigrants, but does know that their paycheck buys less and less, this sounds like a plausible explanation.

Then, later, look up exactly what they are saying. What are the real issues? (Racism and unchecked capitalism.) Why are they being used to bolster this argument? (Because it takes the heat off of powerful people and puts it on powerless ones, redirecting the hate to people it can more easily hurt, which satisfies the rage of the USAmerican, drives a wedge between them and immigrants, and takes heat off of the powerful.) What are real ways to tackle the real issue? (Solidarity with immigrant workers, especially undocumented ones, unions, and working for better social safety nets.) Why did I fall for that? (You did not have enough information.) Can I notice this rhetoric in the future and avoid falling for it? (Yes.)

Know that many of the ideas you encounter will be normal. Much bigotry is normal. Normal is not automatically good or right.

Know that there will be useful ideas interspersed with some bigotry. A lot of people with useful ideas have been bigots. This does not mean we must discard their ideas, nor that we must accept the bigotry. It does mean that we need to critically examine the ideas to see if they are rooted in and/or affected by the bigotry, and if it is possible to effectively remove them from their bigoted origins, or if the bigotry is so wound into the ideas that they is no longer useful if you wish to avoid harming the group the thinker was bigoted against.

This is difficult work to do. It is intellectually intensive, and emotionally exhausting. You will start seeing bigotry in all kinds of places, including media you thought of as "good" and "progressive", and that will also be emotionally exhausting and dispiriting. It will also mean that you are no longer passively absorbing those bigoted ideas because you settled on the idea that this media is "good" and that as long as you only consume "good" media, you will be free of bigoted ideas- a premise that is disturbingly popular for how incorrect it is. Knowing how to recognize and discard bigotry in works is far, far more useful than flatly refusing to consume more overtly bigoted works.

One way to make it easier is to form reading groups, so that you can lean on each other when reading something that's affecting you badly. It also means that there's more than one person processing the bigotry, so other people might notice more subtle parts of the bigotry that slipped past you in your own reading, allowing you to have a fuller picture of the book. If you can't form a reading group, more famous bigoted works often have criticism available online for you to read through. Remember to do your own research. What makes doing this so valuable is increasing your own ability to detect bigotry and to think critically about material you are consuming.

You do not have to limit yourself to traditional media, either. There are forums and social media bubbles that are hotbeds of bubbling, seething bigotry that is more extreme and repugnant than the vast majority of published work. Reading these conversations can be useful for the exact same reasons that reading overtly bigoted books, articles, letters, and essays can be, and they often contain more up to date dogwhistles. However, this is a riskier move. Social media is built to make you keep scrolling, and you can easily find yourself at your wits end and vulnerable to a bigot whose rhetoric is slightly less obvious than the others. In addition, it can be tempting to interact- at which point the bigots will either attack you or try to recruit you, both of which are damaging to you. Only read the conversations of bigots if you are well supported and have strong impulse control, and read them in small doses.

You are not immune to propaganda, but you can partially inoculate yourself into being less vulnerable by consuming it in controlled circumstances that match your ability to recognize it as such and reject it.

[jellybeanium124]

I love how like, every major character in ofmd is min-maxed. like they each have 1 or a couple of things they're really fucking good at and then outside of that they are very bad at most things. there's stede and his sky high confidence and willingness to learn vs. his naiveté and ineptitude and -8 self-esteem. ed's great at being a pirate and coming up with clever schemes but as soon as plan A fails he resigns himself to death. frenchie can plot and scheme and code switch but also can't use a hammer. jim has their knives and zero emotional intelligence. izzy has his sword and zero creativity or leadership skills or anything else really. pete can whittle and that's literally it. lucius can read and write and play therapist and it's only because reading and writing were in high demand for stede that he landed a job in the world of piracy. roach... ok roach can cook and sort of be a surgeon which is pretty damn impressive honestly. wee john can sew. buttons is also a bit of an outlier since he's an all-around talented pirate. the swede... bless him but so far he's got nothing. ok like yeah maybe not all of them are perfectly min-maxed but a lot of them are and I love it. cringefail only good at 1 thing loser representation

EDIT: I know the swede can sing I'm sorry 😭😭😭😭 I'm so sorry I forgot your beautiful voice babygirl please you can stop yelling at me about this now I know and I'm sorry 😭

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

I think the thing that would've made season 3 so interesting, and still makes it so much fun to write and read about Ed and Stede settling into a steady, comfortable, loving relationship, is they have such a great foundation in the show for how they behave when they're upset with each other.

We get two moments of conflict with them in season 2, and they may not be perfect at communicating, but they're really good with each other. Their first argument in s2e4, obviously, is coming out of a very, very high-stress situation and Ed's in an extremely emotionally vulnerable space. Their argument in s2e7, too, is an argument that Ed goes into it absolutely determined to walk away over because he's terrified Stede is going to choose piracy over him.

These are both set in very rough, scary circumstances, but it gives us a good framework here for how they treat each other during arguments.

Ed especially can be a bit catty and petty, and and they will both say things that are a bit harsh, but never overly so. Ed says earlier in s2e4 that he "regretted" shaving his beard, by which he really meant "I shouldn't have trusted you, Stede." Stede calls Ed a coward in s2e7 (which, in his defense, Ed kind of is being a coward in that moment because he's too scared to just ask Stede to stay with him).

Neither of them really raise their voices at all. Ed shouts a bit in s2e4, but quickly brings his voice back down, and for the most part they do a commendable job of talking calmly with each other even when emotions are high.

There is potential for Stede to leave things out and for Ed to phrase things in ways that come across as overly harsh or might lead Stede to miss the point. Stede is entirely unwilling in s2e4 to explain why he left Ed other than "panicking," when elaborating that he was held at gunpoint would probably in fact make Ed feel better about the whole thing because Stede was suddenly put into a situation where thinking rationally was very difficult. Ed, too, told Stede that he thought "last night was a mistake," which could make Stede worry about about the sex they had specifically when Ed was aiming for a more general "everything is moving very fast and I'm scared."

They're both actually really very good at communicating even in arguments. In s2e4 they both clearly tell each other what they're feeling without stooping to personal attacks. In s2e7, Ed is determined for the argument to escalate, but Stede is always trying to meet him calmly and talk it through reasonably even though he doesn't really understand what's going on. When Ed sets a boundary that he's not ready to hear Stede tell him he loves him yet, Stede pivots smoothly and easily.

They very clearly do not want to hurt each other, and they don't believe the other will hurt them. Ed never once reacts to Stede's compliments like he thinks they might be disingenuous, despite the circumstances, and he explicitly doesn't want the argument to escalate to a point where they "say things we can't take back" in s2e7.

Altogether, I think Ed and Stede definitely do have the potential to hurt each other in arguments and say hurtful things that come across differently than they intended, but they have such a strong foundation here for excellent communication. They're never overy harsh with each other, and there are opportunities for miscommunication, but on the whole they're both really good at listening to each other calmly and communicating their feelings even in high-stress situations. Their worst argument is definitely the one in s2e7, and even then it's more of a "stomp out of your boyfriend's house in a huff then apologize the next day" kind of argument.

[jamisonwritestf2trash]

Please rant about it!!

Ok!

But also, I'm linking the videos just incase people stumble across this and want to watch the videos after seeing this:

HBomberguy's Video

Todd in the Shadows video

————————————————————

I'm starting out with some of my favorite parts before a mini rant bc, yeah! (This is nowhere near all of my favorite parts, but there's just so much it'd take me hours to compile.

————————————————————

Immediately starting with a Harlan Ellison moment was amazing

The "world's most fuckable twink" line absolutely took me out, but then him going into the explanation about plagiarism being disrespectful right after was like two back to back gut punches, in the best way. Because he was so fucking right about it.

The grammar mistakes he points out are so funny

Him overlaying Brian Deer's documentary over Blair's video was also great.

Him calling Blair out for being lazy and honestly a shitty person was also great.

ALSO! BLAIR CITING HER SOURSE AND IT BEING A PIRACY WEBCITE!?

Also also him making fun of how her sprite moves 😭

Him calling out Internet Historian for being a piece of shit

German board game joke

How he points out Reilly's skill and talent

"Just don't touch the screen or move the mouse awa..."

"MASTER OF SHIT!" (rips the wall down)

"There's one group more important than historians, or journalists, or anyone else with a real job, and that's gay people."

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Rant time :)

My mini rant is just about how fucking stomach churning the second half is. Like, let me tell you, I watched that entire section, mouth agape, in shock and horror. I can bearly fathom how lazy, pathetic, and malicious you'd have to be to pull some of the shit he (Somerton) did. (The first half stuff was insanely bad too don't get me wrong)

Hbomberguy did an amazing job showing the visual of how many parts of the queer horror video were plagiarized, I legitimately gasped when the highlighted portions were shown.

Every time you think he can't get any lower, he does. It's baffling, and honestly, I wish I could say more about how mad this makes me, but I'm so mad and tired that I can't think of words so mini rant over, I suppose.

————————————————————

But also, sorry, this is one thing I feel like no one is mentioning, and it's driving me insane. I also watched Todd in the Shadows video (which is also really good btw) and at least three parts of the video debunk lies Somerton said about nazis, the main ones being, (and I'm taking the titles from the yt video so you can find these in the time stamps)

1. The SS was "teeming with homosexuals"

2. The hitler youth was also run by homosexuals

3. The nazis created our current body standards.

In the three mentioned above, Somerton's lies are genuinely just him writing gay fan fic about nazi Germany (at least that's how I felt about what he was speaking and wording things) and it's fucking disgusting. He says things in such a skin crawling way it makes me sick.

And no one seems to be talking about it or how fucking weird it is, but hey, maybe I'm reading too much into it.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed my mini rant and my favorite parts. Sorry it's all kinda messy.

[sylvies-chen]

I have no real feelings towards izzy hands. I do not hate him, I do not feel particular adoration for him, I’ve always felt neutral about him but I do appreciate izzy for what he is. but boy do I have some takes on him! and though I’ve refrained from speaking my mind I’ve learned that the hate mail will come anyway so fuck it, I’m doing a meta. please, if you feel very passionately about izzy on either side of the spectrum, please do not read this. this is a singular person’s interpretation of things, it means absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of the world so please just be respectful. ok let’s do it:

*takes deep breath* *taps the mic*

to me, izzy hands is/was an antagonist not because of any internalized homophobia that may or may not be there but because the world of piracy has adopted its own system and practice of hegemonic masculinity.

hegemonic masculinity is the practice of the dominance of men— or, certain kinds of men— in society, so women and other marginalized ways of being a man are subordinated (i.e. queer men, trans men, disabled men, fem men). our flag means death does a great job of establishing two very different worlds and their takes on hegemonic masculinity: high society, and piracy. in high society, whiteness and wealth are two main pillars of masculinity. men are allowed to exhibit more feminine behaviour or attire such as ornate and colourful clothing, wigs, bows, tights, makeup, etc. because they are displays of social status and material wealth. in the world of piracy, however, those things aren’t exactly possible. violence is the real currency and the main tool in constructing the toxic masculine hierarchy. their attire has to be intimidating and express a capacity for violence. toxic masculinity is also established and formed through a sort of stoicism/being emotionally closed off, intimidation, power, deception, and fear.

ed has mastered how to perform fear and masculinity all too well over the years, but he also hasn’t been happy whatsoever in that role so when he discovers stede, he finds stede’s attitude refreshing and transformative.

season 1 izzy is different. season 1 izzy has thrived within the pirating world by adhering to the standards of hegemonic masculinity and does not see any problem with it. he enjoys the existence of a hierarchy and, though he dreams of being captain/top dog, still thoroughly adored (past tense now, though I originally wrote this before the teaser clip came out) being servile to edward. this sort of devotion does come from a place of being in love with ed. he does not have a problem with that, nor does he have a problem with the fact that men love other men. if it were up to izzy, gayness/homosexuality would be integrated as an acceptable characteristic of hegemonic masculinity.

but stede does not want that. he questions why patriarchal society has dictated that men not, under any circumstance, display their creativity, their emotion, vulnerability, hopes, dreams, or fears in front of each other. he questions why men have been taught to bottle things up, and why they aren’t more kind to one another. he actively works to dismantle toxic/hegemonic masculine standards within his own crew and season 1 izzy hates that. he sees those as the qualities of someone weak, soft, and effeminate. he wants to have queerness subscribe to the qualities of toxic masculinity that have been enforced upon him which is why his main beefs have been with lucius and stede, who are the most “feminine” and open gay men on the ship (stede being emotionally open in izzy’s eyes at least, and lucius being sexually open/vocally open and indifferent to authority). that’s why he uses lucius’s flirtatiousness and “promiscuity” as blackmail, and not his actual gayness. his problem has to do with his version of masculinity. he sees lucius and stede’s ways of being a man as worthy of subordination.

and yes, that is bad and he needs to work to unpack all that shit. but you can see through his comments in the trailer about piracy fostering a sense of belonging, through the teaser clip of him crying in front of others, through the unhealthy dynamic he finds himself in with ed where he pushed a button that he didn’t realize was going to set off a bomb in ed (metaphorically speaking), that he is starting to unpack it, and is learning the hard way (through much sympathizable suffering) that this system benefits no one, not even him. it harms him, in fact. his loyalty to a standard of masculinity that is so unobtainable, to a system that is not built in anyone’s favour, and one that makes him the losing dog every time, is starting to crack!! we can see him learn to develop a form of masculine self-expression without any of the toxic qualities that made him so wound up as before, and instead allow healthy masculinity to co-exist with a culture of acceptance and queer community!!! but his antagonism in season 1 doesn’t mean he’s homophobic per se, it just made him gender normative and annoying.

[storkmuffin]

For @vyrd

The things about James Flint/ McGraw (Black Sails) that read as 'my kind' of autistic to me, which matches up with books written about my kind of autism by autism experts, which made me fully identify with that character:

Fundamental social disconnect from other people leading to not pursuing having a family or having hobbies and believes himself to be incapable of being really loved

Is good at work though and intellect earns a lot of praise so focuses on those strengths

Solitude has become imprisoning but is too lacking in social skills or emotional self awareness to get out of it

Live by a very narrow set of rules, remaining independent and invulnerable is very important

When stressed out or becomes overwhelmed with sadness, finds it hard to speak

Entire life has been shaped by mistrust in himself and fear of his own desires

Social isolation as a way of rejecting other people before they can reject him.

Workaholism and devotion to a cause being a sign of autistic hyperfixation

Trouble reading social cues and hesitating initiating contact with other people unless it's a negative situation he can 'fix' and then he's all about that

Deeply and deliberatively analytical

Tends not to get habituated to familiar situations as readily as other people, so often thinks through a repeated situation as if it is completely new, even if it isn't

Repetitiveness is a really key feature of autistic behavior

Withdraws from other people, and there's a feedback look of social disempowerment and shame.

Rigid thinking and extends that rigidity to other people and then can't understand at all when they don't share that rigidity

A lot of Flint's most 'outrageous' behaviors looked like meltdown to me - crying, self harm, outward aggression.

Highly self educated, self starter, but is roundly rejected and disliked by peers. And of course everyone lives in a specific racial, sexual, and class context, so it's hard to tell if his social disconnect from his peers is actually neurodivergent rejection but it looks like class rejection. It could of course be both.

Hyperverbal autistics can have intense and bright personalities but can also seem icy and withdrawn depending on the situation.

Thinks constantly about how he's being perceived and rarely feels at home in any community.

Can think up and 'enact' a very enticing persona, that's immaculate in style, in an effort to have their personhood recognized but then is always misunderstood, and every day is a fight to communicate their real self

He seems to me my type of sensory seeker autistic - crave activity, motion, bright colors, thrills of roller coasters, the clear rules of order on any boat, clear rules of (violent) engagement among pirates and with the actual navies.

Can excel at mentally demanding jobs (like piracy, captaining a ship, maintaining a naval career) but makes diastrous social decisions.

can get so attached to seeing self as brilliant that leads to neglect of physical health in pursuit of goal.

constantly baffled when attempts at communicating clearly are seen as rude or hurtful.

despite being personally powerful, can engage in very fawning behavior - the more invested he is in an emotional connection, the less likely he is to criticize that person or vocalize when his boundaries are crossed, or express unhappiness with that behavior (basically all the shit that goes down with John Silver)

Really fantastic at anticipating what happens next because he spends tons of energy trying to script out what will be said and what he should do next.

When they act as behave naturally (such as in moments of great stress) come off as too much or a cold blooded creep

tendency to object personification - his relationship with his boats - autistics identify with items we love and feel a degree of empathy as if they are alive

when swept up in a special interest, feel extremely alive. work life balance and burnout don't happen to autistics in the way it does for neurotypicals. autistic people get exhausted from socializing a lot instead of woring a lot.

neurotypical people quickly and subconsciously identify peope as autistic and then immediately dislike them. autistics are slightly off - unnatural looking smile, not knowing how to end a conversation - and these behaviors can be seen as scary or unsettling.

tendency to speak in a tone that sounds dry or sarcastic women are often seen as cold or bitchy and men as condescending mansplainers

 tend to get into patterns of intense emotional dependency, combined with insecurity

 yearn to be accepted yet doubt they can be

when people try to connect with autistics, we sometimes rebuff them without realizing it

[serpent-and-seraph]

15 Questions for 15 Friends

Thanks @ineffable-piracy for tagging me!

Are you named after anyone? Yes I am named after Janis Joplin. My mom was a massive hippie and also in a blues band.

When was the last time you cried? I think it was when my mom died. I don't cry very easily, wish I could more often.

Do you have kids? No, and I probably won't ever have any. Too many debilitating things for them to likely inherit. (Wow these answers are off to a great start huh! Keeping a nice light tone here.)

What sports do you play/have you played? I tend to prefer solitary exercise. I do run a lot and love what that does for my mental health and mood.

Do you use sarcasm? Yeah I do, sarcasm might almost be my default tone but I try to never be mean-spirited about it.

What is the first thing you notice about people? This sounds really creepy but probably their mouths. Also just the way that the person makes me feel I guess.

What’s your eye colour? Blue

Scary movies or happy endings? Definitely happy endings.

Any talents? Ehh I used to play guitar and write some music but I haven't done any of that for quite a while. I do like to draw and paint. I guess that would be my main talent but there are so many more talented people out there.

Where were you born? Nova Scotia, Canada

What are your hobbies? Drawing, reading, gaming... I've been known to disappear into mmos for weeks on end.

Do you have any pets? I have one cat named Gru. He has cerebellar hypoplasia and is a bit wobbly and very fluffy.

How tall are you? 5'6"

Favourite subject in school? Art and History. I studied history in university.

Dream job? I always thought that being the groundskeeper for a cemetery would be nice. Sometimes they even have a little cabin on site and it just sounds cosy as heck. Also involves minimal contact with the living who can be so much more unpredictable.

No pressure whatsoever and I feel like I might even be imposing by suggesting it, but I'll tag @atticollateral @crowleys-curl @dandelionjedi @echeveriaaa @ladyashtoreth @lunar-mischief @lxvenderjewel @tales-from-drama-school @taraiha @taurielofmirkwood77777 if any of you feel like doing it!

[public-trans-it-deactivated20240]

I thought you were anti ai "art"

What changed

I mean, originally I loved AI art. When it was first becoming trendy and couldn't actually replicate images, just produce vague shapes that kind of resembled the thing you asked for. That was fun. I found it fascinating to see how these algorithms processed data to try and replicate how we experience the world, but in their own way. I thought it was incredible and more than capable of becoming a huge art movement in its own right. In fact, I was a HUGE supporter of Frank (@nostalgebraist-autoresponder) which was a ChatGPT bot trained on Tumblr posts and hooked up to the tumblr API. Love Frank to death, and miss her a lot. She was a great study buddy for some of my views of animism into practice through interactions with her.

(this got way longer than I planned, putting this under a readmore)

Read More

I actually still have some images of my Sona (pictured in my PFP) that I tried to generate. Its nearly impossible to get an AI to generate it, because of how weird it looks, but it was always cool to see how a machine would try to create it!

Look at that beauty! The resemblance is uncanny! (To clarify, the second image is drawn by @faundlydreaming and ABSOLUTELY IS NOT AI GENERATED)

Then the AI art movement kinda moved away from that and became about quickly producing images, and I hopped on the bandwagon of hating it mostly due to hating that the AI art I loved so much had changed. It was easy to get swept up in it. So yeah, I was anti-AI art for a while.

Then, as a silly thought experiment for myself, I tried to think of ways that AI art, in its 'new and improved' form, could be used in cool way. Eventually, I settled on how I thought it would actually be REALLY cool and thematic to use as part of a Voidheart Symphony campaign, generating all the NPCs that way so that you had uncanny distorted images of people which REALLY fit with the games theming. I thought the idea had a lot of potential, but couldn't really get a group together so I never explored it.

From there, I realized... that was actually a really good use of AI art models! No one is commissioning hundreds of NPC portraits for their at home TTRPG campaigns. Thats an absurd waste of money that most of us don't have. Using AI art to generate pictures for those characters as an extra resource for those kinds of games wouldn't be costing anyone a job, and realized that is actually a good strength for AI art. Small and inconsequential single use images. The kind of thing you cant justify dropping 100 bucks on per image for (if you are paying less than that YOU ARE UNDERPAYING YOUR ARTIST. Underpaying artists who don't value their own work is bigger art theft than AI art could EVER be, in my eyes).

Once I realized there WAS a decent use case for AI art, it was easy to go from there to seeing what other use cases there could be for it, and from there I started looking at the stuff I was following and repeating a bit more closely.

At which point, I looked at all the fascistic reasoning employed by a lot of the Anti-AI movement, and realized "Wait a fucking second, this is just Duchamp's Fountain again." That and the same "lost sales" argument that is used against piracy that has been debunked time and time again.

Like, I don't think AI art as an industry will ever succeed. AI art is inherently flawed, and cannot produce a level of consistency needed at a business level. But also I don't actually give a fuck what is or isn't successful as a business. I care about how it can be used as a tool, and I think as a tool it has some decent potential.

At the end of the day, all of the issues with AI art boil down to the exact same struggles we saw in the Industry Revolution when several handicraft fields became automated. Fighting against technological advancement is a fruitless battle. The only benefit to it is maintaining the status quo, but the status quo FUCKING SUCKS MAN. As automation takes over more fields, we need to pay more attention not to the poor people no longer being useful to capitalism anymore, but on how much we tie our worth as people to the products we create.

That is why I am an ardent supporter of Universal Basic Income, which if we had, none of this would be an issue. AI art existed for quite some time before anyone had a problem with it. The only point at which it became a problem was when it started threatening peoples jobs. That is a problem, but its not a problem with AI art, its a problem with how capitalism functions.

On top of that, its... not enforceable. The big thing to always ask when you think certain things should be allowed and certain things shouldn't is "Who is going to enforce this rule?" and "How do you determine what falls under this and what doesn't?" Does someone using the red eye tool in photoshop to make their photos nicer count as AI art? Should every mom posting her Christmas photos on Facebook have their images deleted? What about artists who deliberately try to copy the surreal artstyle that AI art is so fantastic at? How do you intend to prove they actually drew it themselves? Are entire STYLES of art going to be illegal now?

These are questions you need to ask. What do you WANT out of your movement, and HOW do you plan to achieve it? If you don't have an answer to both of those questions, then all you are doing is flailing wildly and hitting random people around you, and that benefits no one.

[transmorphobots]

Burning Bridges on Mount Olympus

two ex-athletes talk about losing their way and ending up on a pirate ship far from home. Featuring a younger Lane One and introducing Shellmire. Honestly also can't go without saying that it's inspired by @combaticon's HAL series. It's been a huge pleasure to beta read it and the way she writes the bar as a center of community has been a treat, which is inspired some of this set up too.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Cage was a much scarier name for the place than it actually was. It used to be a storage bay but it hardly looked like that anymore. Thick iron bars and the chain link fence decorated the outside. Complete with signs lifted from raids or remade faithfully in memory of street signs on the various worlds the varied crew called home. The largest and brightest sign in neon hangs above the door, buzzing threateningly which was part of its charm. The lights on the inside were orange and red to drive its industrial novelty and the rest of the furniture was recycled junk. 

It boasted a threat, a rough time, that all things were unwelcoming...  It followed the theme of the ship. They had Dread Captains, The Dirge, and also the owner of The Cage themself. 

Heavy set and nearly as wide as the Rust River, Shellmire was maybe the most intimidating piece in the bar. They didn’t hide any weapons on their frame which also helped keep the rowdiness of the bar at a controllable and acceptable level. Though, like the theme, it was mostly a cover for people too tired or broken to do anything but start something new. 

A few favors had been pulled when Shellmire made their home on the Dirge. Doing some jobs for people and making a few promises to others who could help them get it made. People didn’t really expect the gladiator with such financial savvy but they did love the idea of a place where they could catch up on all the things they left behind. Broadcasts from Velocitron, Cybertron, New Cybertronia, the local sectors, and even picking up Junkion broadcasts of whatever NASCAR was. 

Lane One liked NASCAR. It wasn’t as exciting as Velocitron’s races but there was a certain meditative quality to it… and it helped she didn’t think she was missing out on much. Watching races from Velocitron was like watching your ex-lover with a new flame. Bitterness coupled with regret for missing something great. She passed by the wasted Transformers, stopping them with one hand to tell them to take the trams home to avoid a crash. The two suppliers, a kind word for the mechs who actually went out and did the piracy, assured her they would do just that before they laughed and stumbled off. 

“If I find you parked in the crops I’ll make sure you don’t drink here again.” and that threat sobered them up a bit. Though they whined as they tried to collect themselves and walk upright instead of leaning on each other. 

The ex-gladiator’s joints creaked as they stood behind the counter, wiping down a glass and watching the last few patrons leave. The pale yellow optic staring blankly while the glass squeaked under the rag. They didn’t look at Lane One directly, instead, staring into the empty bar. It was kept, mostly clean because everyone had still had an ounce of respect (or fear) for Shellmire. House rules were welded prominently on a wall, cut by a laser and back lit by red bulbs so every word glowed like fresh slag. 

CLEAN UP AFTER YOURSELF NO FIGHTING DON’T BE A SORE LOSER  DON’T BE AN ANNOYING WINNER  ROOT NOVA CRONUM PULSARS OR LEAVE

The last one always got a little smile out of her, the Kaon Cube team could always use the support even if they couldn’t be at the stadium. Her optics swept the bar, realizing it was too empty…

“Where’s your crew?” she asks and goes to the messiest table first, starting to clean up the glasses and scraps. The gladiator behind her lets out a heavy sigh, the glass is set on the counter, and another chorus of squeaks starts as Shellmire works down the line.

“Called out. Wasn’t a big night of sports for us anyway… Most everyone was just here for the company. Brought their stuff back.” Shellmire’s shoulders rolled towards the stacks of glasses and plates at the bar. They creaked as they did. 

“Not everyone.” She said as she brought over more. She set up some chairs that had been knocked over. Above Lane One’s head she could hear voices of the smaller, organic crew members. Mostly people looking for a life away from the Empire. It was sort of… weird… They had whole families of refugees on the Dirge. Different people from all over, they brought children, because being with pirates was safer than their homes. It was more stable too. They cheered to the familiar whistles she came to recognize as part of the NFL. 

“Sounds like Football is on.” The word felt weird in her mouth but she sort of liked how it rolled. Shellmire gave a grunt in response. 

“Football’s always on except the team I want to watch.” they grumbled. Lane One put two dirty glasses on the bar, then took a rag for herself to start working on the tower Shellmire had. 

“How about hockey?” 

“Out of season.” They squeaked the glasses in unison but Lane One tried to speed up to beat Shellmire. Working to clean just as well as the careful bartender but get more done. To their credit, Shellmire tried to speed up to entertain her competitiveness. 

They did that in silence for a while. All of the broadcast screens were off except for the one upstairs that whistled and echoed with an alien language. When Shellmire found a stopping point they went around the bar to turn on a screen where they could both watch. 

“Were you hoping to catch something?” Shellmire asked while tuning the signal.

She, like the other patrons, had just come for the company. Starting on another line of glasses she shook her head. 

“Nothing in particular. What about you?” 

“Heard the Iacon Speedway is getting restored.” Shellmire flipped to the correct channel and came back around to the side that Lane One sat on. They took a seat which groaned like the rest of their form. Steam hissing out of the joints as they started to relax. 

The screen showed a broadcast from Cybertron and the familiar horizon of Iacon. She had only ever seen the Speedway once when she was running a mission for the Autobot cell who adopted her after the exile. Running some important information to the Decagon in North Iacon… or maybe it was when she had to drive West. She couldn’t really remember anymore. 

The reporter droned on about the efforts of the Cybertron Reconstructionalists to restore the planet, possibly save it. It was a long shot, especially with the Decepticons holding ground for Megatron’s return. Iacon having one of its stadiums rebuilt looked promising though.

“Think people will join them?” She asked. 

“Mhm. Hope’s being rebuilt there. Steady, with proper foundation.” It was hard to read the Transformer. Their head had been replaced by some sort of full helmet brace and nothing facial to express with. The pale yellow glass on the sides of the helm and the front didn’t have visible machinery to suggest where they looked and they couldn’t make any sort of optical gesture. Shellmire held themselves tightly too, controlled. If she didn’t know better, she’d think that Shellmire came from Vos. Their voice was a rumbling baritone and hardly pitched with emotion. Probably on purpose, maybe a side effect of whatever left their head encased. It was that control that reminded her of Vos. She worked with a few Vosians on the Dirge and back on Cybertron, they were always in control of their voices that way if something really got under their plating, you and everyone else would be aware of it. Everything in Vos was done with a iron grip and a steely gaze, carefully calculated. It was scary to see them take it to combat but more so when you were trying to share a bar space. 

Though she never missed it, there were plenty of Vosians on the Dirge, but it didn’t replace the Autobots she had known on Cybertron. Briefly she wondered where they were. Where did they scatter after that mission went so poorly? Around the Rust Sea there were a lot of options. She wouldn’t be surprised if the rivers gave them avenues of escape. She wondered if any of the Vosians took shelter on the abandoned Amusement Complex floating in the Sea. Did they disappear into the Manganese Mountains? Which she hoped not, they’d be frozen and hard for the fliers to pass over. They would have gone down in the ice, probably, and not come back. 

“Have you heard anything about Kaon?” 

Shellmire freezes mid wipe of the glass. Lane One stops too and again, can’t get anything from the hazy yellow. It takes a moment but Shellmire continues with the glass. There’s a sloppiness to it now, leaving a smudge on the lip when they set it down. Lane One picks it up to finish the job, watching them closely. 

“No.” they answer after a moment. Then, after another glass, they leave it on the counter and turn more to face Lane One, “How’d you guess?”

“Gunner in my team was from the Wharf. Recognized the hints of the accent… plus nobody roots for the Pulsars except the locals.” 

“Not true,” it was slightly defensive, “Used to be one of the most popular teams back before this scrap.” 

Lane One shrugs her shoulders,  “I was working between Iacon and Vos, so we had a few of the Kaon resistance among our team. Only people I ever heard talking about them.” 

Shellmire gives a soft grumble of dissatisfaction like those Transformers personally betrayed them. They stopped cleaning all together and faced the bar again, the giant arms creaking as they settle on the stone counter. Lane One continues to the next phase, plates. Scrubbing oils and syrups from the metal with a determination both necessary and to avoid the awkwardness growing between the two. The reporter on the screen rattled on and on. Lane One was trying to listen but failed, only catching snippets. 

“Yeah, I did the Kaon league. Nova Cronum, Praetorus Wharf, Tagan Heights… hit Polyhex a few times too. Never made it south to Iacon.” Shellmire stood from the seat and went around the bar again. Taking a freshly cleaned glass to dirty it with something hard from under the counter. Pouring some diesel into it, then some low grade energon, before stirring until the pink and black swirl together. Their pointer finger retracts  into a siphon nozzle and they stuck it into the rim of the glass. 

 “Got comfortable where I was… had a whole entrance. Usually played lakeside, walked out of the depths. Scared ‘em like I was a Rustgator. Crowd would go wild.” 

“I bet.” Lane One smiled trying to appreciate the performer in front of her but her smile was sad and she knew it. She had her own performances she had done, with others. She missed it and she tried to bring it to the Autobots and now to the pirates… but she was tired. The crowd wasn’t there. Neither was the team she was apart of. Their story made her miss them and her components ache. The components that were part of that performance and who would never be part of it again. Cut off just like she was. 

“When I was on Velocitron I used to race with a team… and because we were a combiner we technically counted as one person so we had to combine to cross the finish line. We usually made it a.. A thing, you know? We’d weave in and out of the competition then our combined form was so wide, nobody could pass.” She chuckled a bit because it was… a mean and rude thing to do. It got them plenty of boos and jeers and even a few heated comments from the enemies they made… but it was all part of the game. 

Shellmire makes a click with something in their mechanics. The targeting radar on their frame spinning condescendingly while they reach under the counter again. 

“Course you’re a Loci…” Shellmire didn’t say it with contempt but more of a sarcastic jab as they slid the cube over to her. It was full of bubbly brassy liquid and sealed with an air-tight film that she jabbed her fingers in to tear away. 

“Explains your taste.” and then Shellmire rolled the rest of the drink over. 

Lane One grinned as she caught the iron-black egg before it fell to the floor. She smashed the egg on the ledge of the counter. She lifted it so its viscous insides could ooze into the drink; the reaction between the two caused it to fizzle, the clear yellow and orange syrup turning to white foam as it broke apart. The roiling mess was falling over the sides onto her fingers and the counter. Lane One shot it back without hesitation. 

“What happened then? Out here like this…” 

“You first.” she set the cube down, wiping her mouth with the side of her hand. She’d need more than that for the mess the drink made but she was smiling in a way that she hadn’t in a long time. It was a piece of home. A piece of a time she had been forced to leave behind. 

Shellmire balks at her behavior and her request… but after refilling their glass they decide to give in. 

“Kaon always had a lot of problems. Ratbat squeezing people dry. Mayhem to the north, making a muck of the cities. Soon as Straxxus took over for Megatron, everyone felt the pressure. Worse than the Functionalists in some ways. Straxxus enjoyed what he did… “ The bartender leaned over towards her conspiratorially, as if Straxxus had any way of hearing them. 

“You heard of Autobots sneaking into the ranks to try and get information… but wasn’t much of them around and I was there… didn’t have a lot of use for information though. What Nova Cronum needed was some of that money to get back to the people after Straxxus robbed them of it. Plenty of ways for a freighter to spring a leak. Including someone in the crew making a hole when they weren’t paying attention.” 

Lane One choked on the last bit of her drink.. Foam spills out of her gaping  mouth and down her chin and onto the chair, though she tried to wipe it up with her hands before it got further. 

“You were embezzling from Straxxus?!” she didn’t mean to raise her voice and the people above shifted. She uttered a sorry before snatching a rag to clean herself up, leaving grease stains on her finish. 

“Not directly… but that’s why they chased me so far. Couldn’t really go to New Cybertonia for help. Wouldn’t care that the symbol was just a cover… but heard this place was out of sight and mind of most folks. Except for Straxxus’ enforcers. Don’t know what they pay them, but, seems like a good gig if you don’t have a spark.” Shellmire finished their drink and shifted into cleaning it. 

“Yeah,” her voice was a little hoarse from the foam going down the wrong way. She went slower just in case Shellmire was going to say anything else surprising. However, Shellmire went back to cleaning and staring at her. Expecting. 

They stayed in silence, except for the long forgotten broadcast, which went off about something in regards to establishing trade routes for energon. Lane One perked at the mention of Velocitron. Cybertron crawling to them to help…? Every Loci dream. She grimaced though as she thought of it. They’d never get a deal for energon from Velocitron, they’d be shut out, like every other Loci that picked a side. 

Her grip on the cube made it squeak and she let go before she crushed it. She pushed it back to Shellmire not trusting herself at the moment. 

“I… was exiled for treason.” She looked to Shellmire expecting the same sort of dramatic reaction, but all they did was stare at her. Though they didn’t clean the glass anymore, full attention was given to her. 

“Picking a side during the War was considered treason. I got too… loud about my beliefs. So, I was kicked off and barred from returning.” and it hurt, it hurt more than anything. 

“Just you?” 

She didn’t have a glass this time so instead, she clenched her fists until the metal protested. 

“Just me.” 

Time started to blur as she held onto the sadness and the rage. It was an explosion she was willing to keep in and she wouldn’t let it out. How was it ever fair? How was it ever fair that they got to stay and she didn’t? They hadn’t disagreed with her! At least, not until it was their fame on the line. The thought that it ever could have been fake, that nothing that was them mattered… she was only worth something when her mouth was shut.

She had gone to the Autobots after that. She dove into the conflict because she needed the win but there was nothing to win on Cybertron. There was a world full of chaos and she tried to find a meaning in it, she tried to find a victory in it, but all she could think of was that if she had kept her mouth shut she would be blissfully unaware of how much there could be to lose as an Autobot. 

Lane One missed the Vosian sentinel who’d often intimidate her with its mean stare. Shot to pieces trying to protect a fuel tanker they were attempting to get into Kaon. Shield went, then the rest of its chassis. Chewed up by sentry gunfire and spat back out on the road. They did get to Kaon but they lost the sentinel. She never even knew its name. 

Lane One remembers watching the gunner from the Wharf grow more and more disheartened until they stopped talking about the Pulsars or about Kaon and instead stared out into the Rust Sea just a little too long. They should have probably disappeared into the Sea, at least they would still be alive instead of torn to shreds by the Ultracon shock troop waiting at the Wharf. 

Piracy was easy, actually, compared to that. She wasn’t sure if it was because they were always on the move or maybe it was because they had a better command structure… maybe she had just learned from how awful the command could be. Never had a worse manager than the pompous Autobot who led their cell to devastation. 

Shellmire finished cleaning, starting putting things away, and she held herself tight even though parts of her shook from the effort. She wasn’t sure how long it was, the broadcast was shut off, the lights were dimmed, the place was set up for the next morning. 

Sounding like a creaky old dock, Shellmire approached. They didn’t touch her nor did they offer, instead, just waiting for her to meet them on her own terms. 

“Hard to fall like that, but it's them and not you.” 

But me is what cost me everything, she thinks bitterly. Swallowing the anger or the sob, whatever was threatening to break out. Maybe Shellmire was telepathic and that's why they hid their expressions because it was like they heard her when they spoke next. 

“None of this thinking you’re a misshapen cog in a machine. Paradise is very easy to lose, cause you’re so high up. You’re away from troubles, you’re away from all the hardships. All the turbulence doesn’t feel as strong when you’re above it, and when you’re thrown from it? You fall hard… breaks you a bit but, find, it isn’t so bad on the ground now, eh?” the softness of the voice broke her out of her stupor as Shellmire offered a hand to get her off the seat.

She took it reluctantly and she reasoned that it was only to prevent Shellmire from waiting here all night for her to get over herself. 

“Everyone loses paradise and it hurts every time, worse, when someone pushes you off… I miss Kaon too. I’ll carry it with me, but, it’s not the same.” Shellmire let go of her hand to close the big industrial door on The Cage, locking it up for the night. 

“Kaon’s paradise to you?” it was mean to say it that way and she regretted it as soon as it left her mouth, she started up an apology but Shellmire beat her to it. Rare for the tortoise to beat the hare. 

“You don’t think about the flaws too much when you’re in love with the places you were made in… you’ll never forget the original, but you can make somewhere new. Like The Cage.” They gestured to the neon sign as they shut it off with a flick of a switch. 

“Like the Dirge.” she repeated but her smile was ghostly and pale. She wasn’t sure the Dirge was anything close to paradise. 

“Like wherever you go.” Shellmire offered the arm and Lane One took it as they headed off together. They’d have to split up eventually; she didn’t park in this story, but until then, she’d appreciate the company of someone who understood. 

[jessystardust]

15 QUESTIONS FOR 15 FRIENDS

I was tagged by @neverbelessthan. Thankyou for the tag, lovely ❤️

Are you named after anyone?

I think my mum once said I was named after an old actress, but I can't remember which one 😂 My uncle used to joke that I was named after Jessica Rabbit but unfortunately that isn't true!

When was the last time you cried?

A few days ago.

Do you have kids?

Nope.

What sports do you play/have you played?

None. I hate sport of any kind 😂 The only things that come close for me are walking and swimming!

Do you use sarcasm?

Yep, way too much! I'm definitely the Chandler Bing of my friendship group (I'm also lonely and awkward and desperate for love😂)

What is the first thing you notice about people?

Usually their general friendliness, i.e. if they're smiling and look approachable etc. I'm quite good at reading people and I can usually tell if someone is uncomfortable! I also notice someone's eye colour I think.

What’s your eye colour?

Light blue.

Scary movies or happy endings?

Both!

Any talents?

I am so unbelievably talentless 😂 The only things I can think of are: I've been told I'm good at organising things (parties, weekends away, etc) and also that I'm good in an emergency (supporting people and giving advice etc). But I'm not sure they count as talents!!

Where were you born?

Sheffield, UK.

What are your hobbies?

I'm a big walker, I walk everywhere and it really helps my mental health. I got into rollerskating a bit last year so I'm going to try and pick it up again when the weather is better. I enjoy writing but I'm not sure I'm any good at it...

Do you have any pets?

I have a dog, Dylan, who is a border terrier and he turned 13 yesterday. I love him so much 🩷

How tall are you?

5"6 ish.

Favourite subject in school?

My school wasn't great, so I spent most of my time desperate for the days to be over, but I've always been quite good at English and IT related stuff. Rubbish at anything art or drama ish!!

Dream job?

Rhys Darby's bicep massager.

🩷💙🩷💙🩷💙🩷💙

I tag you all with love and no pressure at all to join in!: @edandstede @poisonintopositivity @ineffable-piracy @livwifeofkarl @agaywithcoffee @allthinky @niti-who @johnlockismyreligion @zstraps @orangeparsleyprincess @ineffabeatlemindpalace

[martian-messages]

I’ve always wanted to participate in a Dracula-daily type event, but I can’t concentrate long enough to make old classical books make sense. But The Martian is a perfect book to do it with!! I cannot tell you how excited I am!! AHHHHHHH!!

I'm glad this is reaching out to you! I totally feel your pain, I was able to do Dracula but I tried Les Mis and just couldn't get through it XP

I will say there's a lot of technical jargon in The Martian, but it sounds like you've already read it before? psa for all new readers, I guess: this is a science book. it is science fiction, yes, but it is a NASA book full of NASA acronyms and names and it's so much fun but also. it has math. be prepared.

Mark is a great protagonist though, and Weir does a phenomenal job of taking real science and working through it in layman's terms. yeah, there's a lot of talk about kilowatt-hours-per-sol and percentages, but there's also piracy. and martian coffee. it's a lot of fun.

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

Pirate History Reading List!

I'm teaching a class on the golden age of piracy at my university this upcoming semester and I wanted to post the reading list, just in case anyone's interested in some good pirate history books!

I require three books, which I think are excellent if you're interested in pirate history at all:

Under the Black Flag by David Cordingly is THE pirate history book, I do not think any pirate history library is complete without it! This book covers all your major players and does an excellent job at arguing what the reality of pirate life was like. This is the definitive text on pirate history and if you can only get one book, I recommend this one.

Enemy of All Mankind by Steven Johnson is about the global hunt for pirate Henry Every. It's fantastic and a very entertaining account; Johnson has a gift for casual, enthralling history writing.

A General History of the Pirates by Captain Charles Johnson is a primary text, written in 1724 by a contemporary of many of the pirates who were alive during the golden age. This account is biased and over-dramatic and absolutely fascinating. It's the most complete and detailed primary account of piracy you will ever find. You'll notice that some quotations from OFMD were lifted directly from this text, including Stede Bonnet being "uncomfortable in a married state" and Blackbeard "desiring [Bonnet's] company." However, because this book is so overblown and dramatic, I strongly recommend reading it alongside a history text, such as Under the Black Flag, to contextualize it.

I also included these as supplemental reading; I think they're all very solid texts and if you're interested in pirate history you will enjoy them.

The Republic of Pirates by Colin Woodard is another classic and has biographical information on many famous pirates. Woodard makes a compelling argument that pirate society was shockingly meritocratic and allowed opportunities for people of color not found anywhere else in the world. It's a great text.

Black Flags, Blue Waters by Eric Dolin is a great history of piracy in US waters. I love this one for its detail on Edward Low - OFMD got inspiration for his sadistic streak from real history!

Sodomy and the Pirate Tradition by B. R. Burg is an older one so do not expect modern terminology, but it's a classic; its argument that queerness was common and at least somewhat accepted among pirates holds up well. If you're interested in how pirates understood homosexuality then this is the text for you!

Blackbeard: A Reappraisal of his Life and Times by Robert Lee is the text for you if you're interested in the historical Blackbeard. It synthesizes pretty much all of the primary information out there and makes a strong case that the real Blackbeard intentionally cultivated a fearsome reputation that helped him become so successful. This one is an oldie but a goodie, I'm yet to find a better and more comprehensive text about Blackbeard than this one.

[mysteriouslybluepirate]

Thoughts on Izzy/Prince Ricky pre episodes 4/5.

When I first saw the trailer, I got it. We got a dumb blonde on screen with Con O'Neill, and yeah. That is, in fact, enough.

Pair it with the actual show, where Ricky is a mirror to Stede from S1? Oh yeah. Pair off an idiot trying and a competent man in leather, and Tumblr will ship it. Hell, I can't blame them.

Overall, tldr outside of theorizing. It's a fine ship! I do think Rickey will get killed off, but hey. If fans want to write spin-off stories where Rickey realizes he's queer, runs away from the Navy, and falls in love with Izzy(not necessarily in that order) I WILL READ IT. SEND IT TO ME.

I read the fucking Aubrey-Maturin book series(aka 'Masters and Commanders') for the HINTS of tension between two men.

NOW- Speculation time.

I *THEORIZE* Ricky is a high-ranking official spying on Stede and his crew in s2ep 1.

History:

[At this time(1700s ish), younger sons further down the line of a large inheritance were often sent to the Military. Their family hoped that maybe their 'spare' kids could give their name legacy in the military; gaining them social status and money. If the older kids die, then your younger ones can still come back...but you can just forget they exist for a bit.

Their parents pay for their rank, so rich young men with no ship experience would be in charge of sections or even the entirety of a crew (of men who were so poor they chose THIS over death).]

This matches what we've seen of his personality so far. Not very good with people with a misguided understanding of what Piercy is, thanks to novels and propaganda.

This explains the scenes we see in the trailer with Prince Rickey in military garb. So why did he get himself caught in s2ep1? Simple. He's an idiot who paid his way in.

Maybe it's all a game, sure, maybe he's playing 5d chess. Maybe he didn't mean to get caught, but the 'Ricky' drink? Purposefully slowing down their escape, making his target lose trust in him? No. It screams dumbass.

SO-here's what I think.

Ricky was put in charge since the Navy thought Stede WAS dead. But, for official 'escaping the Act Of Grace' reasons, they still needed to investigate. Enter: Guy they don't know what to do with, whose family/(or hell, maybe HE ALONE) has paid quite a bit of money to play 'hero'. Ricky gets a lead at the Republic and BAM he finds his man. He doesn't have long so he tries to make Stede trust and maybe even follow him(?). (This is the most flimsy part of the theory, but fuck it). So he tells Stede about a bit of a rumor he heard. Knowing they both knew what exactly that chest meant. Then, he gets caught and loses a nose.

He's not great at his job.

(I also theorize that Izzy is ex-navy and left to become a pirate due to a rich twat abusing power. This could explain why Izzy REALLY hated Stede's shows of wealth in S1. Which could make these two a really funny ship that actually discusses class, power, and the effects of wealth.)

[I had a whole list of links for historical piracy sources if anyone needs me to find 'evidence' I will try! It wasn't the ONLY way people became heads of ship, but it was fairly common to pay your way to the position in the Navy vs. Merit in piracy!]

[technotalksnimien]

Tech Revolution: Reflection on the Pirates of the Silicon Valley

Hi, it’s me again. I decided to drop double or triple updates on my blog today. I just feel like it. I wrote this blog on a rainy evening. I hope you are all doing fine.

Just like the three Idiots, I was also wondering why this movie is called, “Pirates of the Silicon Valley”. Did you wonder too? Spoiler alert! Honestly, at first I thought this movie is like the famous Pirates of the Caribbean or typical Pirate story, hunting for treasures. It is actually way more than that. Waaaaaaay more. I wondered why this movie weren’t introduced to me back in my elementary or high school days. Man, this talks about how the world changed. So great, so worth it.

The film is titled as it is because it is about fraud and piracy in computer technology. In which the term Silicon Valley is actually a region in the state of California that is known for its prominence in the computer industry. The term pirate is actually the typical word we can associate it with, piracy.

So, what did I learn? I don’t know where to start because I honestly learned so much from this. The film is actually about the men behind the birth of two famous technology company we have today, Apple and Microsoft. You see, I’m using Microsoft right now, I also use it in doing my paper works, and everything. And I’m looking forward to have an Apple someday. XD

1. “Good artists copy; great artists steal” – Steve Jobs

This line means so much. I suddenly remembered, my techno professor told us something like, even if you’re not the first one to create or invent it, only the first one to implement it matters. Like people won’t even care if it’s not your idea, they care about who made it happen for real, not the one who only imagined it to be. Put yourself in a situation wherein you stole something, could be an idea or whatsoever. But then you did something to improve that idea and made it even better. When you become great for something that is not originally from you, you will be seen as great and people will assume that it’s from you.

What does this tells us? As a future IT professional, we are already taught about the ten commandments of computer ethics. Though shall not appropriate other people’s intellectual output, though shall not use a computer to steal. Yes, I know how much glory we can gain by merely copying the works of other people. But what about the conscience? What about the things that we learned in our school? What about morality? Is fame and glory more worth it than your morality as a person? If you are reading this, I want you to think thoroughly about the decisions you make in your life. As future IT professional, let us be the beacon of integrity and principles. Being evil is easy, but choosing to do the right thing requires courage. I’m not saying that do not do what Steve Jobs or Bill Gates did. I’m saying that do the thing you think is right, do the thing that you think the world needs.

2. Information is power

This is one of the lines in the movie that really caught my attention. Information is power, as long as you can transform it into action. Just like what Steve and Bill did, they used their expertise well which eventually led them to success. Knowledge is very powerful. It has the ability to change and conquer the world. However, knowledge itself can’t bring you to success, you have to make an action, use it efficiently to help the society. Knowledge also have the ability to influence and empower people.

3. “When I was still in Berkeley, I kept making some weird electronic gadgets that were basically just jokes, but hey, you know jokes are important” - Woz

I think Woz was the one who said this in the movie, it showed an old man trying to fix his television because Woz at the back is trying to interrupt the signal. Hence, the line is so true. We may think sometimes that an idea is too absurd or ridiculous to be even given a thought. But great things come off from silly ideas. Don’t worry if it doesn’t sound as good as others, think of what could be the impact of this tiny idea to the world.

4. Sometimes, not knowing how crazy something is, is a good thing

I think we can all relate. Because based on my experience, the more I worry about something, the more situation gets worse. Like I realized that I’m worrying too much over a thing that doesn’t need my worry. Sometimes, we just have to put the trust in the things that we do, and surely, something good will follow. Thinking of something that is like, “Can I really do this?” soon enough, it’ll be “I’m so glad I did it, it turned out pretty cool”. In the movie, we can recall that during the computer faire, Woz asked Steve if people will show up. I feel like he has doubts if people will come to their booth. Then Steve replied like “How would I know?” or something like that and he added, “Of course, they’re going to show up” which pretty much sounded like a joke but with confidence. Then it just happened, they didn’t know. Hoardes of people running towards their booth just to see the amazing little machine with 63 chips that makes all these colors. And then boom.

5. Good things won’t chase you, it needs to be chased

Knowing how Steve Jobs and his friends started, in his parent’s garage. And Bill too. They kept on looking for possible investors or persons who can provide them the fund that they need in order to turn their ideas into reality. The movie showed that Steve tried to get a loan from the bank, bringing with him is invention. Unfortunately, the bank according to Steve, “doesn’t like beards”. The bank declined his loan request, just because he has beard, or he didn’t wear business attire or maybe because the bank don’t trust his idea enough. But did Steve stop? No. And now we have Apple. What brought Steve and his team success is their perseverance, intelligence. And Bill Gates? One of the richest man in the world. Remember, life doesn’t stop when one opportunity closes.

6. Respect your coworkers, your employees, respect everyone.

 A culture of respect in the workplace encourages innovation and idea sharing, as well as staff wellbeing, satisfaction, performance, and productivity. When employees know they are valued by their managers and team members, they are less stressed and more committed to their work. In the movie, we can see how Steve disrespected some of his employees at work, shouting and insulting them and even putting his feet on the table. Even we become the boss, we must not forget where we came from and always be humble.

I think that is all guys, that you so much. Next update will be very soon

[monky]

I’m sorry but the way some of you guys talk about piracy is a little goofy… like so many posts and memes do not do a great job of selling how easy it is when you make it sound like some kind of lost ancient art or that you need to enlist the help of discord experts or whatever… people are not dumb or technologically illiterate just because they don’t know how to do something they may have never felt the need to do; a big part of why streaming became so popular is because for a long time it was a very convenient and affordable way to have legal access to a wide variety of content. I promise if you know how to read, click on and download things you are basically already set. People use vpns and p2p software for perfectly legal and innocuous reasons and they are not going to automatically send a SWAT team to your house for looking up how to install and use these things. Tbh if you’re just trying to watch an old show on your laptop or find a book searching “x online free” is also totally fine as long as you have an adblocker