#very liberal use of i and who there

[mallach]

inane system bitching. not knowing who i am most of the time is internally annoying (but i deal with it) and conceptually devastating HOWEVER the real dilemma it presents is not knowing what icon to throw on things

[demi-romantics]

Something exciting I just realized is that, with the reemergence of the aro and ace communities in the 2010s, and with us learning that we are part of this community, we will finally have so many aro and ace elders for the next generation to look up to!

I’m so grateful for each and every one of you that made it into adulthood and continue to get older. We will be able to create a world in which future baby aro’s and ace’s don’t have to struggle as much as we did in understanding our place in this world.

I’m very thankful to our queer elders for forging the path through seemingly insurmountable struggles. They created the foundation for us to create our communities. Now we will be able to build upon them for the next generation of our peers to find a safe haven online and in real life where they can feel comfortable, accepted, and normal. Just like we should have had.

[lostinthewoodsomewhere]

A conversation in the Oceanview that began with 'who in the Oldest House would be the best at solving a murder', somehow devolved into 'Jesse has fun dressing up as different detectives while Emily committs solves said murders'...

So, uhhhh, here's Miami Vice Jesse and Emily 😎🫠😎

(Background is from clipstudio assets!)

[the-evil-skull]

Probably the reason grand admiral thrawn hits so hard as autistic rep is because he is taken seriously. In an age where canon autistic rep can range from Pretentious Edgy Asshole to Quirky Individual- Watch Them Do A Trick! Thrawn definitely falls closer to the asshole end of the spectrum, but he can't be considered an Autistic Asshole because he's worse than an asshole, he is a fascist tool unyielding in his own beliefs and unquestioning that the end justifies the means. The assumption that autistic individuals are more likely to "sniff out" or "question" reactionary patterns is challenged in Thrawn, who has gone from one militaristic hellscape to a worse one because it happened to align with his goals. And he does get fucked over by both the Ascendancy and the Empire- multiple times, but does he quit? No. It's unthinkable to him.

But more than that: there are characters who like or even love Thrawn. There are characters who fucking despise him on both sides. But love or hate, they take him seriously. When you are autistic, even if you are perceived as intelligent you are fucked if people are unwilling to meet you as you are. But Thrawn, loved or hated, is never dismissed. You can't ignore him or wait for him to go away. You have to look him in the eye and hit him with everything you have.

[theatrekidenergy]

The trans FTM experience of not knowing how to feel about your detachment from femininity and growing up a woman

[doloneia]

how much evidence do we have for making the ahhiyawa-mycenaean connection?

Great question!

The answer is a bit complicated - it’s less a matter of “quantity” and moreso likelihood.

The question of whether or not Hittite references to Ahhiyawa are references to Mycenaean Greek palatial states is still a somewhat ongoing debate, and has been for about a century. For the purposes of this post I’m going to be referring back to two books I’ve read that give a pretty good rundown of the issue - The Ahhiyawa Texts (written by Beckman, Bryce, and Cline - three eminent scholars in studies around the Aegean & the Hittites) and The Cambridge Companion to the Aegean Bronze Age. These two books make use of a lot of previous scholarship that I recommend you check out as well, I’m just using them out of convenience here. In short, it’s a combination of both Hittite textual sources and ample archaeological evidence of Mycenaean interactions with Anatolia at this time.

On the matter of Hittite textual evidence, the connection is made based on linguistic grounds (Emil Forrer, as early as 1924, made a very hesitant suggestion that Ahhiyawa and Achaea sound incredibly similar) and deduction based on the limited geographic evidence provided by Hittite documents mentioning Ahhiyawa. Hawkins (1998) observed that the Hittites describe Ahhiyawa as “across the sea” from Assuwan territories (western Anatolia), a detail that simply cannot work if Ahhiyawa is located in Anatolia. Considering that Ahhiyawa is regularly discussed in conjunction with Hittite activities in the region, there is very little room for Ahhiyawa outside of Mycenaean Greek states (which are - barring the identification with Ahhiyawa - strikingly absent from Hittite sources). One Hittite king - Hattusili III - refers to an unnamed king of Ahhiyawa with the phrase “My Brother, the Great King, My Equal” - which is (in Late Bronze Age correspondence terms) putting this guy on the level of Egypt or Assyria, so it’s clear that the Hittites viewed Ahhiyawa as somewhat significant on the world stage.

The total absence of Mycenaeans from Hittite sources makes even less sense when considering archaeological evidence from the Late Bronze Age. Shipwrecks from this period (most notably, the Uluburun wreck which was most likely going west from Anatolia) point to ongoing trade between the Aegean, Anatolia, Egypt, and the Levant during the Late Bronze Age. Mycenaean pottery is also found frequently in western Anatolia (especially Miletus and Müskebi, which indicate the presence of Mycenaean cultural influence & burial practices). Mycenaean remains in Hittite territory itself are relatively sparse, but Tudhaliya IV also told the ruler of Amurru (another LBA state) to “let no ship of Ahhiyawa go to [Assyria],” and the Ahhiyawa regularly sheltered Anatolians fighting against the Hittites like Uhha-ziti during the reign of Mursili II, so it’s likely that the two regions weren’t exactly on great terms.

Personally, I think that the introduction to The Ahhiyawa Texts sums the issue up pretty well - “If the Mycenaeans are not the Ahhiyawans, then they are never mentioned by the Hittites. This, though, seems unlikely…. otherwise, we would have, on the one hand, an important Late Bronze Age culture not mentioned elsewhere in the Hittite texts (the Mycenaeans) and, on the other hand, an important textually attested Late Bronze Age “state” without archaeological remains (Ahhiyawa).” Alternative theories regarding Ahhiyawa's identification can't really account for this discrepancy, and there's been a gradual lack of dissent to the identification because it's simply the most likely option.

What Ahhiyawa constituted politically speaking, however, is an entirely separate can of worms that I will not touch with a ten-foot pole.

[non-un-topo]

Lol not to brag but I was meeting with the assistant of the grad program I want to apply for and she pulled up my transcript and yelled "HOLY SHIT!"

[catiuapavel]

This is possibly the funniest (derogatory) plot twists I've experienced

Aedis Eclipse: GOC's second storyline (The Surface World) starts with a cutscene of two characters as children: prince Raphelos from Laurid and princess Fiona from Zemora. Their kingdoms are allied, and they see each other as childhood friends until Zemora invades Laurid.

The prince is rescued by his guard, and the game skips ahead to 10 years later, introducing the three main characters: two pirates (Duo & Liza) and a vagrant knight (Herault)

Out of these three, Herault, the long haired blond knight sporting a similar attire to prince Raphelos, gets the most focus (Liza is the daughter of the captain, and Duo is just there). He wants to return to his birth country Laurid to rid it of its occupier, and to get revenge on what was done to him.

Eventually he comes face-to-face with the princess and attempts to take her life. This is easily the best cutscene I've seen in this game, and Herault undeniably has the most fleshed-out and compelling character arc (that being said the competition isn't very strong).

Evidently, Herault is the sweet prince we see at the beginning. The loss of his country has turned him into a bitter man who resents the childhood friend he had untold romantic feelings for (and clearly his feelings toward her remain complex). Right?

Wrong!

This isn't the conclusion you should come to:

This is the conclusion you should come to:

The pirate with little to no story involvement (and little to no personality) is the prince. Herault is actually just Jeliah, the son of the bodyguard you see at the beginning.

Obviously the game baits you into believing otherwise until this reveal. Not just through looks, the entire framing leans into this interpretation on purpose. Perhaps, the point was to subvert your expectations, but

This wasn't well executed (much like a lot of things in this game).

This has come at the cost of the single most fleshed out and compelling character arc in this game. Now all that baggage implied through the introduction cutscene is gone, and all this build-up collapses on itself. Herault's character suffers from it, and Duo's character doesn't even benefit from it 🤔

[tatarstani]

conservative salafi aligned caucasian influencer on twitter are so obsessed with how tatar women dress it is actually ridiculous. like genuinely just fucking kill yourself or get over it

[apocalypticdemon]

man. antidepressants.... good

[sukibenders]

I feel like, in the upcoming days given everything that is going on, it could be really beneficial if everyone (specifically Americans) researched and understood specific tactics such as pinkwashing and imperialist feminism and how many times those in positions of privilege use it to justify harm towards those (countries) they view as "lesser than" or "uncivilized" in comparison to them/their own.

[po-1-yb-1-us]

i love all the stuff about fear in tmagp being tied to love and ep 6 shows that so perfectly with needles; he clearly kind of loves what he’s doing where a lot of “avatars” in tma didn’t. they reminded me of why i loved the vast avatars so much, they were all so happy to serve their fear (but maybe thats because they had the best one)

[compacflt]

Hi, big fan of your fics. I've just found your Tumblr and binged everything Icemav-related. When reading about Icemav's political beliefs, I've gotten curious. Does Bradley share the same political beliefs as Ice (and Mav)? Does being raised by them or them pulling his papers influence how he votes? Or there are other factors in the play (e.g. generations, social media)? How about Jake and the other Daggers? How does this young generation of the Navy perceive politics (elections, gender, etc.)? My apologies for bombarding you with questions. But as a non-American, American politics have always been something we must pay attention to. I've seen many interesting interpretations on Tumblr but it feels more or less wistful than realistic, but I might be wrong (again not an American) so I would love to see your perspective on this. Thank you.

a good politics roundup post before i leave this blog

icemav & their conservatism: here, here, here

ice’s NECESSARY conservatism as commander of the pacific fleet (i.e. officers who are most likely to get promoted to the highest ranks do NOT break the service line when it comes to domestic politics, so by necessity ice would’ve had to keep his mouth shut, he Cannot be both a four-star and a revolutionary, like he just can’t; and being a revolutionary is otherwise antithetical to his character anyway): here, here.

and the original “ice & mav politics post” which is being updated here: here

I’ve gone back and forth on everyones politics over the last year of me being involved with these characters, but let me just tell you where I’ve ended up headcanoning them politically, if ur interested

ice: reagan democrat. “educated moderate” who was more right-leaning pre-9/11. now just a regular ol liberal (did you SEE those gay little round glasses in tgm? no way this guy isn’t a straight-up lib) with absolutely no strong feelings about most domestic politics besides “fascism bad”. Has some foreign policy opinions that areeeee questionable at best, like all members of the military elite (hangman voice: DO NOT ASK ICEMAN ABOUT CHINA. WORST MISTAKE OF MY LIFE). foreign policy neoliberal favoring the dovish side of the spectrum. A force conservator (“let’s save our military assets [read: my boyfriend maverick 🥺] for when we really need them, not for any old conflict. the deterring specter of the American war machine should outweigh the risk of underperforming”). He’s in favor of marriage equality of course, but treats it like a privilege and not a right. would be sad/upset if it got repealed but wouldn’t necessarily fight for it. “well at least my marriage will always be legal in california so i just won’t leave, problem solved.” Normie median Biden voter.

mav: political wildcard tbh. original 1986 mav is DEFINITELY right-leaning (i think i’ve written elsewhere, “he fully believes bill clinton is an affront to god”). i get young republican vibes from him. Full on patriotic (but dispassionate) 1980s reaganite anti-commie neoconservative. but after the 2010s i am very confused tbh. Tom cruise’s political aura is an insanely confusing one. idk. No matter what, Mav has some Hot Takes that a.) can immediately be shot down by ice using Facts and Logic at any time and b.) are not strictly partisan. He’s registered democrat just to support marriage equality (his marriage is his top priority but he doesn’t care about Other gays’ marriages, only his own), doesn’t care about any of the party’s other lines. Votes however ice tells him to. I get real “kind clueless libertarian” vibes from 2022 maverick tbh. Especially with the “isolating himself in a hangar in the middle of the mojave desert.” that has a political connotation to it for sure. bro just does whatever he wants out there

also, ice & mav live in San Diego, which… while in blue/democrat leaning California…is famously a bastion of right-wingers & has a hitler particle level off the charts… (sorry its not my favorite place in the world). That’s why they’re both continually so disgusted by San Francisco (a metonym for effete liberal homosexuality). Theyre from San Diego, hatred of SF & liberal SF politics is kinda par for the course down there.

Bradley: as u will see in the extras i definitely hc Bradley as an activist, but because he’s… in the navy and also like in his 30s… It’s not college campus activism, it’s just “things all of us in the left wing can agree upon” activism. so, like, BLM or pride, etc. He’s an “in this house we believe” yard sign liberal. He is 38 years old. hes a solid millennial so not politically hip with the kids (me)

Bradley & ice/mav disagree on the VISIBILITY of politics. Ice & mav, who did live through the vietnam era draft/near-dissolution of American society in the 60s and 70s, are not in favor of possibly losing their job/honor they have fought and killed for, for the sake of a political statement. And they believe their relationship IS a political statement, whereas Bradley would rather encourage them to treat their relationship like, I don’t know, a relationship that has a right to exist independent of politics!

Jake and the other daggers: idk. i don’t really give a shit about the daggers sorry. They r blank slates 2 me. jake especially is canonically frat-boy sexist in a way that gives me the heebs, much like original 1986 maverick and ice. But the navy tends to be the most left-wing (or thought of as left wing in common thought) service of the military, if that helps. But it is also the most traditional service of the military, and by traditional I mean BRITISH!!!! 🇬🇧💂there’s so much pomp and circumstance and hoity-toitiness that comes from the navy’s origins in the Royal Navy. A lot of sticking to outdated tradition in the very fabric of the navy itself, while the navy’s enlisted demographics shift younger and more left-wing/“revolutionary…” some interesting conflicts there. Like that one sailor who got blasted by multiple congressmen on social media for (with permission!) reading a poem about their queer identity on the USS Gerald ford’s intercom a few months back, if I remember correctly. Hoo boy the Takes that day were wild. Younger Americans tend to be more liberal but YMMV with officers, who are by nature trying to uphold outdated traditions of the navy for the sake of keeping the navy a unified service

i am of course writing carole as a christian republican who has gay friends and a gay kid not by choice but by the Grace of God

[stimmingandstruggling]

if you refused to vote you do not get to absolve yourself from all blame here. yes, it is inaccurate to point all blame on people who didn’t vote or voted third party, the primary fault will always lie in the people who actually voted for that cretin and the fucked system.

BUT YOU DO NOT GET TO ABSOLVE YOURSELF FROM ALL BLAME. trump received about as many votes as 2020. but not enough people showed up for kamala. did the democratic party make mistakes? absolutely. does that mean the blame for yall not fucking voting WHEN WE WARNED YOU THIS WOULD HAPPEN lie solely on their shoulders? NO. you refused to pull the lever on the trolley problem, and while the main perpetrator will always be the one tying people to tracks, THERE IS STILL BLOOD ON YOUR HANDS. you could have made this better. you could have made it safer to protest. you could have ensured there would BE a 2028 election. by refusing to be complicit in genocide you have in fact been SIGNIFICANTLY MORE COMPLICIT IN GENOCIDE. we were trying to pick the more reasonable executioner while you decided to watch as a madman wreaked havoc. you could have made things better.

but you didn’t. so yes, this IS partially your fault. and i hope every time a queer person, or a black person, or a brown person, or a non christian person, or a palestinian you claim to care about when you won’t vote to give them a goddamn chance, tells you they are AFRAID, i hope you remember this. i hope you feel guilty. i hope you lie awake at night and wonder if things would have gone different if you had gotten off your ridiculous moral pedestal.

[tatarstani]

What do you think of the Russian communist party? Love your blog!

there vibes are off ngl

[meyerlansky]

4 for mota 👀👀👀👀👀👀👀

4. what was the last straw that made you finally block that annoying person?

gale stan faux wringing their hands about not caring about curt. i bet they're seeing less curt content now! considering i'm the only one fucking making any!

🔥 C H O O S E V I O L E N C E 🔥