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letters-to-rosie · 19 hours

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Me and bestie are having a conversation about what whiteness even is and we reached the point where even I had to reread the conversation once or twice and be like wait.

And I’d love for to include y'all in on this (especially white people) cuz it seems fairly profound to me and I’m wondering if anyone has anything to add (even on anon, like this convo is so interesting to me rn and I’m so genuinely invested in hearing y'all’s thoughts).

And when I say whiteness I mean the construct of whiteness, not necessarily white people. Just wanna clarify that.

So Whiteness -after this talk- at it’s core really just seems like it’s about being seen as better than others. It’s almost defined more by everything white people don’t want than what they Do want to be. Not much else.

And what they don’t want is to be like the poor, the savages, those icky colored people, the gays, and those gd annoying mentally ill people. And whiteness means separating yourself from them by any means necessary. Shitting on poor people, stigmatizing mental illness, calling poor whites White Trash, trying to eugenics/genocide everyone you dont like out of existence, “luxury food”, 1st class seats, comparing dicks and country GDP, measuring success by numbers and accomplishments, hoarding more and more billions of dollars just because you can, having the newest/latest gadget to prove how trendy and well off you are, children’s pageants, punishing everyone who can’t meet the standards of whiteness with shame and passive aggressive “well if you tried harder…”

Everything is centered around being better than someone else in any way you can measure.

And following that same line of thought… Whiteness can’t count generosity. It can’t tally how good your music taste is to determine your artistic value. It can’t break down how much you care about your community into a braggable percentage. There is no way to prove that you support human rights more than anyone else. Supporting BLM and Landback doesn’t increase your social currency. You can’t argue and prove with evidence that you’re the funniest person in the room. You can not add, subtract, debate, or use logic to make someone understand and accept you’re a Nicer person than them. There is no I’m An Objectively Loyal Friend test that you could humble brag about passing to your #positivevibes insta followers. Being happy and content with your life doesn’t make you morally better than anyone else. Being there for people when they need you isn’t how you get on a magazine cover- so that’s not success. And most importantly Whiteness has no measure for when you’ve been a good enough person, let alone better than anyone else. You’re eternally building yourself up with no sense of relief or accomplishment.

Imo, whiteness happens when you take every natural thing about being human and make humans hate it.

And that’s just my take after some discussion. Look at the golden truth bombs bestie is illuminating on whiteness though. Because damn.

Y'all really live like that???

All seems to boil down to the fact that perhaps white people struggle so much to dismantle whiteness because you have no sense of self or clue on how to behave outside of it.

How many of my white followers would agree with that? And if you do… Are you discussing this with other white people or is this something most don’t even think about? Or is this like a thing you all Feel but never talk about? And if you disagree with the post… Can you tell me why?

#yeah i like the end of this post because it's important not to naturalize culture #like what we have as culture is just practices from a long time ago #it's never too late to make a new practice and build a new culture #black people in america have been doing it and anyone who feels a lack of a culture can too!

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letters-to-rosie · 23 hours

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AHHHHH the family fluff I love it!!!! and Ekko is just so sweet to her they're perfect

meeeeeeeeeeeeeee I have a prompt

bird races! maybe Ekko and Powder race but he's also trying to prepare her to beat Mylo or something. Claggor is tired. Vi is mildly amused. Vander is pointedly ignoring everything

Feel the Rush

Peace and quiet, something rare in the Last Drop, usually it was full of chatty and rowdy patrons or bickering and noisy teenagers. Vander hummed along with the record player as he wiped the well-worn bar down, zoning out in the familiarity of the action. He stopped mid swipe. It. Was. Quiet. Oh dear Janna, it was quiet.

No sooner had the thought occurred to him when a flurry of feathers rushed past with the skawk clucking of Mylo with something in his beak and Powder bursting in behind him. Vander let out a long-suffering sigh.

“Be careful, you two!” The warning, unfortunately, came too late.

Nothing could quite describe the feeling of anger, frustration, and embarrassment Mylo caused. It brought out the worst, most impulsive side of her.

“That's mine!” She shouts as she makes a dive for the pheasant and tries to grab the bane of her existence. Only Mylo takes a sharp turn at one of the tables and has her crashing into a table leg with her shoulder. The cry she lets out has Vander winching. It hurts. Badly. And her eyes sting with both pain and failure. Why did such things always happen to her?!

Vander pinched the bridge of his nose and moved to help her up. She couldn't hold back a sharp gasp as he did. “Careful, let me check that."

“Now, what is this about?” The question stern.

With a crack in her voice from the pain, she begins “He took the chain I had picked!"

“Hey! You left it, and you're only going to use it in one of your wonky contraptions!” Mylo wines.

“I put it there, I said I wanted it! Vi and Claggor heard me."

“You snooze, you lose, klutz."

“Enough! No fighting."

Between the finality in Vanders tone, Mylo's dismissal, and the pain, she feels so small. Why? She was finally proving herself, and it still wasn't enough.

“Pow!” She suddenly feels Vi cradle her cheeks before trying to hug her, which results in another squeak.

“What did you do?!” Vi's already balling her fist at Mylo.

“She bashed into the table, not my fault!"

“Vi!” Vander snaps. “You run ahead to the healer and give a heads up."

“Mylo, you know you all get to pick one thing from the loot to keep.” Vanders tone firm.

“But,”

“You get closing chores for the rest of the week. No buts."

“Claggor, you sort the loot and make sure your brother doesn't run off. Come on Powder lets get you sorted."

…

For two weeks, she sulks, she's ‘grounded’, injuries she learned carried over. Luckily, it was only badly bruised, still to be on the safe side. No strenuous activity for a week or two was advised, which included flying. Her mood was already sour, having been deprived of something that gave her such a scene of freedom, only got worse, with Mylo's pestering. Here they were arguing again. Couldn't he just leave her alone?

“Fuck you! It's all your fault. I have extra chores!"

“Shut up! It's your own fault! You shouldn't have taken what I'd already claimed!"

“I'm the older one. I get the first pick!"

“That's not fair! You're never fair!"

All she wants is to fly and stop feeling less than him. She's the wronged party here, and she really wants him to shut up.

“Tell you what you brat, you beat me in a race you get to keep whatever you want from the next time, if you don't muck it up!"

Powder is not quite sure what possessed her, but it was definitely her who finished issuing the challenge.

“The next ten times! And I get to pick from everything!” She's angry, done with being last in line, done with stupid Mylo, thinking he's better than her because he's older, because she's smaller.

She glares at Mylo, daring him to accept or maybe a part her hopes, back down. That was not to be, even if it wasn't Mylo saying it.

“I heard that, and I'm keeping you to it, Mylo. She'll beat you, no trouble."

Vi's voice chimes out from the doorway. There'd be no backing out now. Powder has that dreaded insecure squint again and is running her fingers over the long feather of her earring. She knows her nerves are on full show, but Vi carries on.

“Two weeks from now, we'll have a race, I'll set out the track, get popcorn, and a flag.” Vi's buzzed for this, Powder can hear it in her sister voice, then with a gentler pitch; “You can do it, Pow. This is your chance.''

"Pfffff, I got this in the bag. Good luck. Don't jinx yourself.” With that, Mylo sauntered away.

…

Oh, the nerves were making her feel nauseous. She’s only just healed and just ready to fly again. And here she goes and agrees to this stupid race, but Mylo was just so, so, so aarrrchh! Could this day get any worse?

“Hey there, heard from Vi what's going down, and I thought, maybe you'd like to practise with me?"

Ekko's face is suddenly close, and his hands are over hers. At the feeling, she stops digging her nails into her palm.

She wants to curl in herself and, at the same time, unravel. Ekko's suggestion to practice does sound like a good idea, and spending some more time with him is always good. Maybe when they're done, they could go by Jericho's again.

“Come on, let's go catch some wind currents.” How could she say no to that grin? With a laugh and just before he shifts “Catch me if you can.” Oh, he wants to play chase? It's on.

She’d always been a klutz, tripping over things that were barely there, her inventions failing, always somehow causing an accident. It ate at her even if Ekko told her there was nothing wrong with her, and Vander and Vi told her she just needed to grow into herself. She still feared she'd never improve.

But here she was, at neckbreak speed chasing Ekko, weaving over and between the many interwoven buildings of Zaun, catching wind currents and seamless gliding. This was fun. This was freedom. She gave into this game they'd created wholly.

Flying had come to her with ease, driven that first time by an urge to get away. Now, it was driven by how free she felt. But she'd remained just that bit cautious. Long dive drops, narrow passages, and sharp turns, her mind supplied her all the reasons she wouldn't be able to do them. She didn't even notice these obstacles, the thrill of trying to catch Ekko's graceful form rushing through her.

That was until she saw Ekko tilt sideways, suddenly parallel between two walls of a very, very narrow passage.

She lets out a panicked kaw as she gets close, he's almost through, and she has no option but to try or crash. So she does, heart rising to her throat, adrenaline kicking in as she dives between the walls. Breaking through on the other side with an upward swoop, she crashed into him and sent them tumbling to the nearest roof as they shifted back.

Are you ok? She blurted out. She'd never forgive herself if she hurt him.

“Woooo! look what you did, you caught me, Blue!” She did, didn't she? And then the other bit registers.Blue, she likes that, her still stunned mind supplies. Does it mean she's his favourite?

At that, she realises just how they've landed. It sent blood rushing to her cheeks and thinking that the day could not only get better but exponentially better.

She's leaning over him, one of her knees between his legs, and they're almost nose to nose. Should she lean in just that inch closer? Their breaths mix, and he's not moving away either. It would be so easy, and she wants very much.

“You worried?” The question snapping her back to reality. “Don't be, you were awesome, all sleek and fast, and that dive!” It's hard not to give in to the ego boost, and then he adds the cherry on top. “If you win, you can pet me as long as you like."

She's stunned for a moment before she lets the addicting feeling of just going with the flow take her. “As you are?"

“I ment as an owl!!!”

“Isn't that more of a prize for you?” She giggled. It's a pity she can't really see his blush. He looks adorably bashful.

Were either one really sure of what they were doing anymore? No. Was the likely answer, but she really didn't mind, and neither did he, she thought. Later, she thought, this may well be her new favourite game. Could it be his, too?

…

Vi had gone all out. Up on the roof of the Last Drop, she'd painted the start and finish line, two long rods with a strand of colourful flags between them. Claggor and Ekko had taken a seat on the edge of the roof.

She wondered if she really should do this. If it went wrong, Mylo would never shut up. Her lip stings a bit as she realises she's been biting it. Ekko turns around at that and gives her encouraging thumbs up. Does he have a sixth sense for her worry?

As Powder lets his grin distract her, she feels Vi put her hands on her shoulders and look her in the eye.

“Ok, I know I kind forced this, but I think it'll be fun and I do think you got this, Mylo's cocky, sure he can run through the narrow passages but he ain't got half your grace and he can hold his breath till he chokes but he is just that bit slower.” It's a whole spiel, but if Ekko and Vi believe in her, she could try, right?

It's at that moment Mylo starts pestering her again. “Readly to jinx yourself?” That's all it takes for that spark to ignite again “You wish! You get jinxed!” If he wanted to keep calling her that, she'd twist it back. Vi doesn't leave much time for bickering, calling them to the start line. "Alright! Follow the flags, up to the Entresol and back her. On your marks!” With that, her sister waves the flag.

Vi had made a proper obstacle course of it. Plenty of drops and narrow alleys where Mylo can run, but she can dive now, and then the stretch to the higher level has him straining. And Vi was right, when flying, she is that little bit faster even if her speed burts is less explosive. It's exhilarating.

The last stretch back one final narrow alleyway. Powder remembers her rush when she'd chased Ekko. Would he be by the finish line to catch her? Mylo hits the ground running and she dive bombs through, and just in front of Mylo, where he needs to take off, just when there's room to spread their wings again she rises ahead straight under the row of flags.

Ekko's standing there and sod it, she's too happy to care, over the line she shifts mid air and tackles him with her victory hug. She did it, she did it! He spins her, and oh, what a rush in all the senses of the word.

...

Vander opens the door to the roof with a tray of drinks and lets out a sigh. He's not quite sure what triggered all of this. But they were having fun, except Mylo, who, by the looks of it, was entering a massive sulk.

He wondered briefly if it was ok to just be done with your children and their shenanigans occasionally.

“Better luck next time, Mylo, and you might, just might, want to consider this a lesson. Who was out practising, and who was out boasting, hmm?” With that, Vander sets a drink down and pats Mylo's shoulder consolingly.

Thank you for the promt @letters-to-rosie hope you like it.

#timebomb #the owl and the crow #fic by friends #inspired by me!

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letters-to-rosie · 1 day

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what do you wear to take your most fashionable cousin out to eat lol

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letters-to-rosie · 1 day

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No offense but the American driver's awful lack of respect for others and inflated ego because they have a BiG tRuCk is why we need widescale accessible cheap public transport

#book rec #white skins black fuel #by andreas malm and the zetkin collective

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letters-to-rosie · 1 day

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this good friday, i think of palestine. i think how the symbol of christianity, the cross, was the method of execution used by the romans for those who were not considered citizens of the roman empire. jesus, a man born and lived in the land called palestine, the land called judaea, who knew the wood of its trees and the dust of its fields, the taste of its water, its bitter herbs, its wine and grapes, its olive oil, was killed as someone who was not granted full citizenship in his own land by the violent colonizers who occupied it. he was killed by them for the audacity to envision a better world. the legacy of easter is the cry of the oppressed and the stateless. tonight i pray not for new life in christ but for the new life of a free palestine.

#crying #free palestine

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letters-to-rosie · 2 days

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from Garden of Eden

Ekko paces the length of his room, and Jinx tries not to dwell on the fact that this is the biggest reaction she’s gotten from him all year.

“That was stupid,” he grunts, throwing down his mask. Jinx watches it clatter unceremoniously against the floor. He keeps talking, but she can’t parse it. He’s ignored her since she stepped foot in the base and now wants to act like he cares? He probably would’ve been happy if she died because at least then she’d be out of his hair. She bets the only reason he saved her was a fucked-up sense of obligation. He’s too soft.

“You’re not worried,” she spits. “You haven’t given a shit about me since I came here. I get it. You’ve moved on, you hate me. Fine. But I’m not going to sit here and listen to you yell at me when this worked and you’re going to get what you wanted.”

Ekko storms across the room. Jinx realizes too late that he’s got her backed into a corner. Tonight’s the first time since the bridge that he’s been so close, and she finds herself just as vulnerable to him as she was then. She’s too soft.

There’s anger in his eyes; something else, too. “You don’t get anything,” he whispers.

Jinx swallows. If she were to move even the slightest bit, their lips would touch. His scent seeps into her space—sweat, something sharp like citrus, something earthier. Like a tree. She wants to breathe him in deeply, but if she breathes, she moves, and if she moves, she kisses him. She doesn’t know if she should yet, but the fact that she’s even asking that question means she wants to.

In the end, Ekko makes the decision for her. Hand on her nape, he pulls her in. It starts as an extension of their argument, with plenty of teeth. He’s almost mean about it, and the more Jinx pushes, the more he pushes back.

99.9% of Ekko and Jinx's arguments end in very aggressive French kissing.

#and then they fuck lol #timebomb #shameless fic promo #rosie's writing desk

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letters-to-rosie · 2 days

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part of being an ally to trans men is not being a dick to cis men for their appearance btw

#TRUE!#revolutionary folk don't make attacks based on appearance #we transcend that shit

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letters-to-rosie · 2 days

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I must admit one thing I don't miss from my intense kpop days is stan wars tho...... truly don't have the energy for that now lol

#all the stream wars #fighting over music video views #it's more peaceful to listen and go haha

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letters-to-rosie · 2 days

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now playing: peaches

art of Ekko by @typewriteringalaxy!

read the fic here!

#arcane #timebomb #rosie's writing desk #revolution-verse #ekko #fanfiction #little canva board #i am supposed to be writing a paper #um #anyway #in other news i am standing on my enjoyment of kpop #i've been told i need to be more decisive so i am starting with low-stakes things lmao

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letters-to-rosie · 2 days

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Mom Jinx and Papa Ekko [Family AU]

The doodles were the scenes where Jinx tells Ekko she got a bun in the oven :3

#his brain exploding is so cute ahhhh #timebomb

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letters-to-rosie · 2 days

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OKAY UPDATE

literally right after posting this I check my email and I got an A in my theory class and that prof said my writing has become sharper and more precise 😭😭😭😭

so naturally it is again final papers season and I was telling my supervisor about how my confidence in my writing has taken a hit this semester because it's been really hard and my grades haven't been what I've hoped for. and he was just like "your professor who's grading you is just one person. some people don't see the vision. some people don't like Beyonce" and it's sticking with me

#his comment on my last paper was just “competent” tho lmao

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letters-to-rosie · 2 days

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#he really loves beyonce #she's like his all-time fave #so to be compared to beyonce by analogy by him is very good lol #academic adventures

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letters-to-rosie · 2 days

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Price of Freedom - Anarchism, Violence and Hope in Arcane

"fairness, justice, and freedom are more than words, they are perspectives"

Symbols are given power by people. Alone, a symbol is meaningless, but with enough people (...) (V for Vendetta)

Arcane has this little gold spot that it actually has a representational characters that can be 100% read as anarchist. And the proper anarchist philosophy, not the at best "scary grey moral antiheroes that just went too far" MCU style anarchists. Yet anarchist philosophy w/o label (which granted I understand why) is very popular since V for Vendetta the movie and similar works capture audience's imagination, Alan Moore author of V for Vendetta is much better at explaining the whole concepts then me so I'll just use his writings.

Anarchy in the core is a worldview that people can live in society without coercive power structures and build something better. A world without rulers, not without laws. Anarchism is philosophy that structures should be built by voluntary cooperation in non- hierarchical institutions and society. Which is, as one may imagine, not widely popular perspective with governing bodies.

Don't get me wrong, anarchism is an extreme worldview by our current world standards.

How could we live in a world without governing bodies over us?

And Arcane actually answers what is the natural order of governance, question that is also posed in V for Vendetta

Eve: All this riot and uproar, V... is this Anarchy? Is this the Land of Do-As-You-Please? V: No. This is only the land of take-what-you-want. Anarchy means "without leaders", not "without order". With anarchy comes an age or ordnung, of true order, which is to say voluntary order... this age of ordung will begin when the mad and incoherent cycle of verwirrung that these bulletins reveal has run its course... This is not anarchy, Eve. This is chaos.

Firelights create their own order. They are egalitarian, horizontal group that came together on the principle of free association and mutual aid. They build their 'society', the little tree commune, together.

mutual aid is a voluntary reciprocal exchange of resources and services for mutual benefit. Mutual aid projects can be a form of political participation in which people take responsibility for caring for one another and changing political conditions.

Wait... one may say that sounds suspiciously like gofundme, and labour unions, and activism, and many other things. Can't we just stick to these names. Well, how should I say this... 'you can call it however you like'. It's not about the name, many same principles can be shared under different labels and come from different thought currents. Anarchism is just a name it was labeled with in western philosophy.

In the line of true anarchism Ekko is not their "leader" yet he acts as their leader sometimes a bit. Anarchism rebels against coercive power and authority, that is power that forces people to abide by their rule, not just any authority since communities were always built on flexible authorities that are agreed upon by all. In Firelights case the power comes from how robust community they built on mutual aid and cause. They're all in this together, not one person shouldering their victories or failures. To understand better we even have comparison in the show:

Vander is the typical storybook leader. He shoulders the blame of failure for the uprising by himself which in turn makes him unable to act outside of upholding crumbling peace or status quo with Piltover.

He is not willing to loose anyone.

Neither is Ekko, but with egalitarian structures you don't really decide for others. Everyone participates voluntarily because they choose the risk, since upholding the 'status quo' is the worse outcome. They know what they're fighting for and they share their pain, happiness and responsibility together. That's why Firelights can go on while Vander's led to a very broken man and undercity.

This is why these scenes have such a different atmosphere to it.

Also Vander is clearly wrong, someone 'won' in that war - the old order won, or Piltover. Yes, they spilt some blood of their own enforcers, but it's small price to pay for a government. There are just some necessary prices governments need to pay, "no- I don't mean closing the Hexgates for trade".

Now for the crowning jewel of the whole anarchism issue. Violence - why violence?

As once someone put it:

"change is a slow process that requires patience and not rocking the boat too hard" literally has zero political precedence. None. Every bit of decent reform we've had came from agitation, not waiting patiently."

Well the long story short, if government or coercive authority uses violence then the only reasonable way to change it or to 'talk to it' is with violence. Violence is not for violence sake.

Anarchy wears two faces, both creator and destroyer. Thus destroyers topple empires; make a canvas of clean rubble where creators then can build another world. ” Alan Moore

And here is the funny thing, what if two characters representing very similar outlook on necessary means of change can't agree who is at fault - like Jinx and Ekko. Since in episode 6 we have two music pieces, they kind of act as conversation about two viewpoints. First, we have Ekko and the Firelights:

For them the coercive power structure is Silco and his rule. When Ekko gets the gemstone, his first idea is that they can take down Silco with this (just like Silco's first idea they can use the gemstone as leverage against Piltover).

I declare war On anybody standing in the way of what I dream for How could you ignore The ones that are voiceless, screams from the poor (...) It’s hard to give back while the politicians kick back (...) Rich get richer while the poor pickpocket Swipes Maxwell ‘til the cops come knockin’ (^that line is actually about Jinx stealing shit from Jayce, btw. Maxwell was a scottish physicist that worked on theory of electromagnetism, we'll come back to this because it's one of pieces that shows these two songs are a 'conversation') Have or have not, bein’ broke is not an option Time after time when you got a thing for watches When you the plug in the socket And the powers that be can’t stop it Our neighborhoods held us hostage Some nights we slept in our closets Gun fights was outside the projects So you can't blame me for nonsense I'm here to collect deposits All else defies the logic My people need me beside them

And there's Jinx's reply:

For Jinx the coercive power structure is Piltover btw., but I mean they killed her parents so...

In this gothic underground city We all sin If I bring a couple rounds with me Then we all win I came back and brought the crown with me The king's den (^ this line is also about Jinx stealing shit from Jayce, and her reasoning for it) Break your nexus and your neck 'cause Everybody's on your head Underground utopia dynasties and dystopia Fear is never an option so dying's not a real phobia I'm beating the odds Rising to every occasion as if I defeated the gods If you ain't talking realness then just change the topic now They laughing at the top like they can't see the bottom Enemies circled around me three-sixty I count 'em one-eighty

This is basically conversation which part is too blame, in Jinx's lyrics at least Ekko is not seeing the 'real' issue and party at fault, even when she acknowledges that the undercity is not perfect - they all sin there.

So about the finale:

Evey: You really think that blowing up parliament is going to make this country a better place? V: There's no certainty, only opportunity. Evey: I think you can be pretty certain that if anyone does show up, Creedy will black-bag everyone of them. V: People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people. Evey: And you are going to make that happen by blowing up a building? V: The building is a symbol, as is the act of destroying it. Symbols are given power by the people. Alone, a symbol is meaningless, but with enough people, blowing up a building can change the world.

Yes, the council-academy building, the lanes (RIP, Vi has shut off your lights) and the firelights treehouse are all symbols of certain order. I guess I just answered why posters of Arcane include bg for the Last Drop etc.

So little Q&A before we start arguing in the comments:

How do you know Firelights are anarchists?

Well, no one outright says the label, right? but it's the same way when one watches a depiction of organisation of ie. big corporation in Blade Runner. No one needs to tell you, this is a big mega-corp. Same here.

A big corporation like Riot would never made a story where anarchists would signify hope or the good guy?

Of course, they're named Firelights. The name makes all the difference.

This is also why V for Vendetta was decidedly not financed by Warner Brothers. /j

So, what happened to the anarchists in our world, I never heard anything about anarchists?

I metaphor of Disco Elysium:

JOYCE MESSIER - "Oh, and the anarchists too! They shot them well. So well one forgets they even existed." YOU - "You could say they got *totally* shot in the head." JOYCE MESSIER - "Indeed. They piled them in mass graves in Ozonne and, well --that's the last anyone heard of those people." Or V for Vendetta words: Evey: Are you, like, a crazy person? V: I'm quite sure they will say so.

I read something from some anarchist said and I don't agree with their point?

Good, everyone needs to think for themselves. Blindly agreeing even with own role models puts them on a pedestal, people are equal.

So about anarcho-capita...

No. ____

Other posts by me - mostly politics, tech and character parallels.

#yeahhhhh #arcane meta

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