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seat-safety-switch · 8 months

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Although the Pizza Hut brand still occupies parts of this world, it no longer stands for what it once did. You'll be hard-pressed to locate a sundae bar, glittery sticker dispenser, or red cups made of translucent acrylic – of which I can assure you were once "bottomless." The only thing left are the disaffected, stoned teenagers taking the orders. That, and the Personal Pan Pizza: more than any other, a symbol of North American culture.

In Italy, where hard-working chefs stole the idea for the pizza from visiting space aliens, they decided that a pizza should be shared. Sure, they are often capable of being eaten solo, and the owner of the restaurant would be extremely pleased if each member of your party slammed their own pizza down before ordering a flotilla of liquor, but the way they are enjoyed best is to give a couple slices to your friend. This means you have to compromise on toppings, of course, which is a concept alien to those of us raised on lifted Powerstrokes and fuzzy VHS tapes of air show disasters.

Not so with the Personal Pan Pizza – you get what you want, and to Hell with everyone else in the dining establishment. As well, Pizza Hut gets to charge a little extra margin on each pizza, their shareholders laughing all the way to the bank. You're happy, they're happy. Maybe the guy (your stepdad?) paying the bill at the end of the night isn't happy, but he can get a Personal of his very own.

Nowadays, this humble concept of individuality is becoming abandoned in favour of collectivism. No, don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those radical psychopaths who films TikTok videos about overthrowing the government from the front seat of his pickup truck. Pretty sure all those dudes got blown up by drones a couple weeks ago, and replaced by exact body duplicates grown in a lab. What I care about is being able to get a good paint colour on a new car.

Nowadays, everyone worries about resale value. Back then, nobody freaked out about choosing the optimal toppings to keep their lease payments low on their pizza; that would have been an insane thing to say. The pizza was for their enjoyment, and it was meant to be used up. Maybe the crusts got left behind and stolen by a rat. That rat is me. What I'm trying to say is: please order your new hybrid Lexus in bright green, so that I can drive it in thirty years. Don't be so selfish.

#best of

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fantastic-nonsense · 4 months

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I think people who genuinely wanted Percy to rebel against the gods and overthrow the system kind of...miss the whole point of the series

The question is not whether or not the gods deserve to rule; the books are kind of unambiguous that they don't! That the gods are generally undeserving of their children's loyalty is the one thing that Percy and Luke both agree on! But PJO is less about divine right to rule vs. ruling via consent of the governed and more about improving dysfunctional family systems. It's not about whether unfair rulers deserve to continue ruling; it's about forcing the gods to be better, fairer rulers and a better, fairer family given limited alternatives.

Because what are the alternatives, as presented to us within the scope of the original PJO series?

Option 1: allow Kronos to topple Olympus and take over. Clearly not a viable alternative for all of the reasons the books show us.

Option 2: the demigods overthrow the Olympians and rule the world themselves. Okay. How's that going to work out long-term, given demigods are mortal and cannot control or protect their parents' domains? Demigods will die out within a generation or two, so that's potentially a one-generation short-term solution, and then everyone's right back where they started. Except worse, because now the world has been out of divine balance for a century and the gods have a completely legitimate bone to pick with all demigods. Materially worse outcome.

Option 3: demigods ignore the gods and their will entirely. They integrate into the mortal world, refuse to participate in quests or talk to their parents, and pretend prophecies don't exist. Except that's clearly not a viable option, since we see that demigods usually can't safely exist in the mortal world without monsters coming after them, the gods are cruel enough to use blackmail and engage in hostage situations to get demigods to act as heroes, and prophecies have a way of coming true regardless of everyone's best attempts to circumvent them. Again: materially worse outcome.

And for Percy, for the demigods at Camp Half-Blood, for Luke and for everyone else who defected....for the most part, they don't actually have an inherent problem with the gods ruling them. They just want to be acknowledged, valued, and loved by their families, to be treated as more than a tool for their parents to wield whenever their services are needed. That was the core thesis of the demigod rebellion, which was wholly separate from Kronos' specific motivations for overthrowing the Olympians, and it's why Percy's asks at the end of TLO were what they were.

The point was always that had Percy grown up in a slightly more dysfunctional family environment...had he grown up with Frederick Chase's seemingly conditional love or May Castellan's madness instead of Sally Jackson's steady, quiet, unconditional love...he could have turned out like Luke. Like Ethan. Like the dozens of demigods who defected from camp to join Luke's cause. Percy could have turned out just as a bitter and angry and vengeful. Just as ready to tear down the system. Just as willing to betray and kill his own family for the sake of making a point.

But instead, Percy openly reprimands the gods for abandoning their families and using them as cannon fodder in their own petty disagreements. He forces them to acknowledge and claim their children. He demands that everyone who is part of the godly family be recognized and accepted, not just those related to the Twelve Olympians. He asks for those unjustly punished (like Calypso) to be set free and accepted back into the family. Because that's the point at the end of the day: not forcing bad rulers to step down, but changing an insanely dysfunctional family system that the gods and demigods are all members of into a better, safer, and more accepting environment for demigods to grow up and live in.

Overthrowing the gods wouldn't solve the problem at the heart of the series, which is the gods' shitty parenting and family management skills. It would only exacerbate the massive familial fault-lines that Kronos exploited and leave the demigods open to more godly manipulation. Which is why the series ends as it does, with Percy using his wish to tangibly improve the lives of his family instead of selfishly improving his own life (via accepting immortality/godhood) or overthrowing the gods. Because the conflict isn't about the gods as rulers. It's about the gods as parents.

PJO's core thesis is Percy, who grew up knowing unconditional familial love, looking at this whole world of children who didn't and saying "that's not fair. Gods should be better than this!" But instead of destroying them the way Luke wants to, instead of overthrowing them and putting himself on the throne, he instead challenges them to be better parents and family members. To be part of the solution instead of the problem. And Percy's demands don't solve everything, but they were necessary first steps! Without forcing the gods to acknowledge a bare minimum floor of inclusion, the cycle would simply begin all over again the next time a major conflict popped up.

So that's the problem Percy solves and how he successfully fulfills the prophecy: by believing that the gods had the capacity to change and forcing them to break the cycle of familial abandonment, he preserves Olympus and takes the first steps towards a new status quo, one that is objectively better for demigods than the one he grew up in. That's why he succeeds, and it's why Percy overthrowing the gods would have made for a much less satisfying ending than what actually happened.

#pjo #pjo meta #percy jackson #luke castellan #ethan nakamura #annabeth chase #long post #pjo tv #wow it's been awhile since I've written proper pjo meta lmfao

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madlad-sadgal · 9 months

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Y'all liked it so here's a few more things I noticed in my watching of Nimona (again).

Nimona Spoilers!

We get a small section of Ball's innocence wall, and we see that his primary suspect is none other than Thodeus "Todd" Sureblade. Also, Blackheart is used everywhere, most likely as a nod to the comic, but also as what the media has dubbed this new villain, as we do as a society in real life. Giving certain famous serial killers names is an example.

Nimona did some drawings and said it was because she wanted her resume to pop, but it was most likely because she can't write or read as no one really took the time to explain it or teach her.

"Lay low until we RISE LIKE A FIERY PHOENIX FROM THE ASHES TO OVERTHROW THE GOVERNMENT!" Nimona not only spoiled her shifting into a phoenix to save the realm from the canon, but also her coming back (rising from her ashes like a phoenix)

We get another shot of Bal's innocence wall, and there we see a place where he circled in red "Who has the ressources for a laser like that?" And honestly, to me, it reminded me of what the canon did, which would explain the Director, since she clearly has access to the canons. The laser in Bal's sword, the laser in her staff, and finally the laser from the canon. Everything was her.

The Director was most likely acting overly dramatic when talking to Bal because she wanted to reinforce the guilt, and maybe even gaslight him into thinking it was his fault.

As the Director is leaving, we can see Nimona sneaking in as a mouse in the bottom left corner.

When we see the beat up knights, in the upper left corner, you can see a knight stuck in a vending machine, which I just found funny.

The light reflecting off Nimona's eyes, indicating her clear difference from everyone else.

When Nimona throws her axe, it hits a knight in the background who then falls off a ledge and falls down a few stories, so she may have actually killed someone.

We can clearly see Ambrosius go through so many emotions when he sees Bal again; relief that he's alive and he didn't kill him, guilt for his arm when he glanced at the prosthetic, confusion when Nimona calls him Nemesis, and surprise when she drags Bal away. Also, when she drags him into the closet, we get a short shot of Ambrosius half way through unsheathing his sword.

Bal's "Did you see the way he looked at me?" Being a parallel to Nimona's "Did you see the way that little girl looked at me?"

Nimona quite literally rips a pole in half and bends it over the door to keep it closed, showing a great amount of strength.

The "You're gonna die in this closet!" Joke that we all catches but I still wanted to point out because it's funny.

As Nimona is falling through the floors as a whale, she tells us that Todd canonically has a small dick ("Cold in here?")

I saw this pointed out once, but still wanted to as well, but Nimona says that she spruced up the Lair by making it more evil, but she quite literally adds Christmas lights, showing her childish side.

When we get another shot of the new murder wall, we can see the picture of Todd again, except Nimona drew a fist punching him in the face.

That's what I have so far. Might do more if y'all like this!

#nimona #nimona movie #ballister boldheart #ambrosius goldenloin #goldenheart #ballister x ambrosius #director

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razorblade180 · 29 days

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Furina:Nilou? Is there ever a time you’re just…insecure about your appearance?

Nilou:Nope.

Furina:….

Kokomi:Pay her no mind. *holds hands* what’s wrong sweetie. Talk to me.

Nilou:Wait! I didn’t mean to sound rude!

Mona:*walks in* What’s with all the commotion.

Furina:Are you ever concerned about your appearance?

Mona:Pfft, no. Why would I?

Kokomi:Furina, if it isn’t me, Barbara, or Candace, expect these initial answers from them.

Furina:Yeah that’s sinking in…

Kokomi: I asked Mona if she questioned her own cunning mind and she laughed.

Mona:What!? It’s the honest answer! I believe myself to be gorgeous and a genius. Part of that is in my name!

Nilou:While I can’t relate on being the best wealth of information, especially where I live, I would never question my ability to dazzle everyone with my performance and smile. Not just anyone can distract people with their talents so well that it becomes a plan to overthrow the government.

Kokomi:It almost sounds like you think you’re the prettiest girl ever.

Nilou:In the world? Oh no haha. Sumeru City however…yeah. *nods* Not to say there aren’t plenty of beautiful people there, but y’know… they aren’t me. Kokomi, I’m pretty sure you are the prettiest girl on your island. You are aware I got my vision after a performance I can only describe as the essence of beauty, right?

Furina and Koko:How the heck do you two get all that confidence!?

Mona and Nilou:…Us. Who else is going to give it to you.

Kokomi:…They aren’t wrong and that’s concerning.

Furina:I am…painfully aware.

Nilou:What was your concern about again?

Furina:Honestly I can’t even care anymore.

#genshin impact #gi furina #mona megistus #gi nilou #furina de fontaine #sangonomiya kokomi

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racefortheironthrone · 5 months

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Why do you think the Westerlands Houses answered Tywin’s summons to crush the Reynes and Tarbecks? He wasn’t the Lord of Casterly Rock or acting lord like Robb they had no obligation to answer his call to arms. Hell if anything Tywin was launching a silent coup against his father when he decided to wage war against the Reynes and Tarbecks.

There's two main reasons:

Tywin is still the heir to Casterly Rock - and is effectively the acting lord, since Tytos hadn't countermanded his actions (as he had done in the past) and had mostly ceased to actively govern without appointing anyone else to rule in his stead - and thus the lords are going to want to be on his good side for when he does inherit the title.

More importantly, the Reynes and Tarbecks had fucked with the other Lesser Houses as well as House Lannister. The landed knights and lords whose lands Walderan Tarbeck had seized by force? House Marbrand, who had lost their lord and hundreds of their men to Roger Reyne's ambush? House Prester, who had had two of their sons kidnapped by Ellyn Tabreck? All the landed knights and Lesser Houses who had fought private wars against the Reynes, the Tarbecks, and their vassals? These people all had reason to hate the Reynes and Tarbecks and want them brought down.

So yeah, the Reynes and Tarbecks mishandled the political side of their revolt by focusing on Tytos Lannister to the exclusion of everyone else - if you're going to try to overthrow your liege lord, you want your peers onside first.

#asoiaf #asoiaf meta #the rains of castamere #house lannister #house reyne #house tarbeck #the westerlands #westerosi feudal politics

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morally-grey-girlbosses · 7 months

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Helen Richardson image courtesy of @accidentalautomaton!

Propaganda under the cut.

Nico Robin:

She is the Devil Child. She has been defying the Government since she was 8. For 20 years she has been betraying her allies at any opportunity, including Crocodile, one of the 7 warlords of the sea. She eavesdrops and manipulates. But really she’s just trying to learn her history. The navy destroyed her home when she was 8 because her community wanted to Learn. And that’s all she wants to do. Plus the girl could never trust any crew/organization she was part of until the Strawhats. So she learned to use them to get what she needed then got out. Now the woman gets to relax and learn the Forbidden Knowledge while being the adult ‘supervision’ for a bunch of teenagers/early 20somethings. She also spent a couple years on vacation with the Revolutionary Army, looking to overthrow the corrupt World Government, and yes they do use violence. Robin also was willing to sacrifice herself for her new crew family, something she had never done before. And finally: she yanked on Franky’s …private square… to get him to join their crew (and also give him an excuse for his goodbye tears since he’s a Manly Man)

Helen Richardson/The Distortion:

Yes, she tortures and kills people, but so does everyone else, so why shouldn’t she enjoy it? She’s just as evil as the Archivist, but she’s fun and a girlboss. She just wants to have a good time, gossip, and drive people insane.

#poll #tournament poll #round 2 #nico robin #one piece #helen distortion #helen richardson #the distortion #tma #the magnus archives

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workingclasshistory · 11 months

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On this day, 10 June 1907, the first edition of Tianyi (天義 – Natural Justice), a Chinese anarchist feminist magazine, was published in exile in Tokyo. It had been founded by He-Yin Zhen (何震 – He "thunderclap"), a leading member of the Women's Rights Recovery Association (女子妇权会). The Association advocated forceful resistance against oppression by men, as well as that by capitalists and the ruling class. It also forbade its own members from being subservient to men or becoming a concubine or second wife, while offering to come to the assistance of any member who was being abused by their husband, or under some other form of male dominance. He-Yin urged: "You women, do not hate the man: hate that you don't have food to eat. Why don't you have food to eat? Because you can't buy food without money. Why don't you have money? Because the rich have stolen our property and walk all over the majority of the people." Tianyi argued for a sexual revolution and the abolition of the family, which it believed gave rise to selfishness, patriarchy and private property. He-Yin also argued that women forming part of a government would be inadequate for the liberation of women, believing that while a few women might be able to join the ruling class, they would only join men in oppressing everyone else. And so liberation would only come with the overthrowing of both patriarchy and the state: "What we mean by equality between the sexes is not just that men will no longer oppress women. We also want men no longer to be oppressed by other men and women no longer to be oppressed by other women." In total, 19 issues of the journal published over the next couple of years. More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8210/Tianyi-first-published Pictured: A print of He-Yin by Han Lilin, made for the first Chinese language edition of our book, Working Class History: Everyday Acts of Resistance & Rebellion https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=641556841350868&set=a.602588028581083&type=3

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leonstoenailunderhisbed · 8 days

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Insurgency: Serpent Killer

Summary: A totalitarian regime reigns over a South American country in which the virus is being distributed to its citizens at the pretense of a “cure.” Leon was sent to retrieve a sample of the virus mutation when he stumbled upon a group of anti-government activists whose main goal is to overthrow their government. Will Leon help the cause or will he fall down with the government as well?

Warning: Mentions of mature themes. Read at your own discretion. Slow burn. Age gap (Leon is 38 and reader is 21+). Reader is female.

Word count: 1,598

A/N: this one’s short but pls bear with me it’s for the plot.

[part one][part two][part three][part four][part five][part six][part seven][part eight][bonus]

“I am constantly trying to communicate something incommunicable, to explain something inexplicable, to tell about something i only feel in my bones and which can only be experienced in those bones," - Franzs Kafka, Letters to Milena

The Insurgents went off to their control panel to deliver the message to President Mendez. Everyone could tell how hurt and angry you were. You were out for blood, and you didn't care about anything else other than seeing the president's head off of her body.

"Tonight, we will storm the tower and end things once and for all. I don't want more innocent people dying," you said and then turned to one of the insurgents, "Tell everyone to get ready for battle."

The insurgent nodded and you watched as everyone got to work. Leon could only stand behind you as he watched you become so blood thirsty.

"Y/n..."

"Leon," you turned around to look at him, "We can handle this ourselves. You are still an important factor for us and I don't want anything to happen to you."

Your tone changed. You didn't sound like the girl he kissed back in San Jolonia. But he knew better than to say anything. He nodded and then took a step towards you.

"I need to complete my mission," He spoke quietly as he leaned down to your ear to whisper, "Remember when I said I was a government agent?"

You nodded and waited for him to proceed, "I need to go to a research facility and extract some information, think you can help me?"

You looked at him with furrowed brows before silently nodding, "Fine. You've been helping us, guess it would be fair to help you as well."

Leon nodded, “Thanks,” he mumbled before he walked away from the room. Now that you were alone, you couldn’t help the surging thoughts running rampant in your mind.

More people dying. More blood. More battles. War.

You were angry and you needed to do something now.

The insurgents prepared their own artillery- tanks, bombs, guns. Anything they could use for battle was ready. As their new leader, you checked that everything was good to go before finally proceeding with the storm.

This was it.

“Alright people, let’s get a move on!“ the people began to move after your order. The sound of their footsteps echoing through the gates as the tanks and vehicles exited first.

You marched with the Insurgents as Leon wandered off to god knows where. You trusted him and right now what you needed to focus on was the fact that today is going to be day where war will take place. Right in the heart of Pruye.

The President received the war declaration and she wasn’t all too happy. She’d thought that after seeing the murders of the innocent civilians, everyone would stop defying her. It only caused the opposite to happen. She quickly turned to her assistant,

“I want you to bring the Membario test subjects. They want a war? I’ll give them one…”

Leon went back to San Jolonia. When you brought him there for scouting supplies, he saw a research facility and he knew that’s where he had to go for his mission.

He hadn’t forgotten the real reason he was here. All he needed to do was get the sample and go back to you for battle, it was that simple.

As he walked through the rubble of the ruined city, he was wondering why there weren’t any signs of B.O.Ws yet. He’d thought that he would see one by now but so far he hasn’t. Which was unsettling, by the way. Something felt sinister about today but he couldn’t put any reason behind this feeling. All he could do right now was enter the facility and hope to find a sample of the virus.

Bombs and bullets went off as you and your people marched through the gates of the inner city state. The tower had been protected by soldiers and tanks.

Smoke filled the air as the ground shook from all the explosives being exchanged on either side. Soldiers and insurgents dying left and right.

But they didn’t seemed to have noticed you sneak inside the tower, ready to climb up the endless stairs. Right towards the president’s office.

The research facility was abandoned but it still had many of its records. It was as if the place was still used. Leon walked around the place and briefly looked over some scattered files, which all contained relatively the same thing. All about Membario and the test subjects.

One paper in specific stood out to him.

Test Subject 119: Subject has responded to commands and has been subdued.

He furrowed his brows as he read the files, more confusion strikes him and he didn’t know what else to expect from all of this. Sure, he knew a war was coming, but what type of experiments happened down here? He only hoped that whatever it was, that it only got scrapped and forgotten.

The further he walked down the facility, the more eerie it got. And that’s because of a green light emitting from a room.

With quiet steps, he slowly approached the room with his gun at the ready. Slowly entering, he made sure to sun his gun at any potential threat. After noticing that nothing came at him, he lowered his weapon and began to look around the room.

In the center of the room, stood a cylindrical tank with green liquid inside. And inside that tank was a mutated humanoid that resembled an all too similar monster- a bio organic weapon.

The hairs of his neck stood up as he felt a chill run down his spine. It wasn’t like anything he fought before. It was more evil and looked almost human. He knew for sure that this must’ve been something related to the government, why else would they keep this hidden?

He needed that sample but he didn’t know how to get it. Instead he just walked away towards one of the computers and hooked up a secret device he hand at the bottom pit of the pockets of his pants. For once he was glad he didn’t have to fight something- or someone- for a sample.

Once Leon hacked the information into his device, he made a swift exit. All while taking a mental note of that humanoid B.O.W.

You barged into the president’s office with your gun pointed and aimed in front of you. Gasps were heard all throughout the room.

And there stood President Mendez.

It was overwhelming. You desperately wanted to pull the trigger but you knew better. Instead, you spoke up, “I’ve got you now… if I were you, I’d be careful with my next choice of action.”

The President chuckled as she lifted her hands beside her head, “I was waiting for this moment… I knew one of you would come and try to pull this stunt.”

Her laugh only made you more angry. You gripped the handle of your gun and took a step forward, “Release everyone and I’ll consider letting you live.”

President Mendez stopped laughing and stared at you with amusement, “I don’t think you’re in any position to make threats like that…” her smug smile irritated you. You felt nothing but rage building up inside you.

You pointed your gun at once of the soldiers next to her and shot him right in the head before turning your attention back to the President, “The difference between you and I… is that I do not hesitate,” you seethed through gritted teeth, taking another stop closer.

The President remained silent as she observed you for a good minute, “You won’t win this fight, you know that right?”

Your eyes narrowed at her statement, “Says who? Because so far, we’ve been beating you and your idiots.”

She laughed at you once again before lowering her hands, “Oh c’mon, take a look. I’ve won even before all of this started. I have connections, I have supporters, I have power. And what do you have? Dreams and a toy gun. You’re nothing compared to me and you’re a fool for believing you can even amount to anything near my level.”

Silence overtook the room as you glared at her.

“Let’s be real, shall we? I have the Americans on my side. The weapons that you and your little friends have come from me,” she walked around her desk to stand in front of you.

“Do not forget your place,” she whispered in your ear. With an angered huff, you swung the back of your gun at her face. President Mendez stumbled back and two soldiers ran up behind you. Each solder took your arm and held you in place. “You bitch!” You yelled at her as you thrashed around.

The President held the side of her face where you hit her and with anger she spoke, “Take her with the rest of them. I want her executed by tomorrow.”

The soldiers nodded before they started to drag you away, “YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!!” You yelled right before the door closed and the soldiers dragged you down the stairs.

The soldiers took you down to their cellars and threw you into a cell with other people. Some were men and women and others were just children. It broke your heart and it only caused your anger to rise.

You are to be executed tomorrow and there was no one who could save you. You were angry but also disappointed.

Leon ran back to San Bandero where the Insurgents were fighting soldiers to storm the tower.

He decided to be useful and help kill some soldiers.

Unbeknownst to him that the new Insurgent leader got captured by the president.

#leon kennedy #leon s kennedy #leon scott kennedy #resident evil #id leon kennedy #leon kennedy x reader #leon kennedy x y/n #leon kennedy x you #leon s kennedy x reader #di leon #death island leon

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qqueenofhades · 7 months

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I can't tell if part of the reason people don't recognize Biden's accomplishments is because society is so shallow and easily swayed by loudness over depth, or because Biden is just too quiet and prone to focusing on the idea that his actions speak louder than his words.

Like yeah, the latter thing is important, but we live in a REALLY shallow society; maybe a bit more bragging about your substantial achievements would be helpful here.

I get what you're saying here, but this kind of thing always seems to hinge on "the Democrats need to be doing more/Biden needs to be saying more/the Democrats are not doing it right/etc," and I just don't think that's the actual problem. Yes, in the past the Democrats have relied on the tactic of just doing good things and hoping that people will notice enough to vote for them, but that TORPEDOED them in 2010 (they didn't aggressively defend/market the Affordable Care Act, the Tea Party crazies got to set the narrative about GOVERNMENT OVERREACH, and they got shellacked so badly that they didn't control the House again for the rest of Obama's time in office). Fortunately, they have awoken to the fact that we live in a corporate noise machine owned and operated by cartoonishly villainous billionaire oligarchs who don't care if the country is pushed into fascism as long as they get their tax breaks, and where the average voter is well conditioned by said media to accept the BOTH SIDES BAD narrative without question.

Whether it's true or not is beside the point; if you flood the zone with enough BS, people act as if it is. See all those polls about how people think the Democrats are "too liberal" more than they think the GOP is "too conservative," even though only one of those parties is actively trying to end democracy. See the people who think Trump and Biden are equally ethically compromised. Etc. etc. Biden has already been considerably vocal about his accomplishments, has given several major speeches about the danger to democracy (which he did just the other day), but it is already so filtered and twisted in a radioactively toxic media atmosphere that just talking more or trying to trumpet more isn't going to help.

The DC media is full of a bunch of narcissists who like to make false equivalences and also openly hanker for Trump to be back in office because it makes them more relevant; they get to break juicy exposes and shocking headlines and whatever else, that gets more clicks, they get more exposure, etc. Biden is (as noted) boring, as in he's not on Twitter every day saying something ludicrous (and if he said even ONE ludicrous thing, far less the nonstop stream of BS that Trump constantly spews and which somehow still makes the media yell about how BIDEN should be the one to step aside, he'd be toast), and just does the job. That's not very Sexy and Marketable. When he talks about how he's doing the job and what he plans to do next, the media is too busy commissioning a dozen bullshit Horserace!!! polls and talking about how, in case we haven't noticed, he is 80 and that is somehow, implicitly, a more disqualifying fact than Trump's 91 goddamn serious treason-level felonies, including for literally trying to overthrow the government. Our politics and civic society have been so irreparably poisoned that actual competence is completely beside the point and makes a normal president less appealing than one who's just insane all the time. Everything's just a game show! Everyone's opinions are equal! Live in all the alternate universes you want! Who cares if we accidentally end democracy? Just another headline!

This is likewise not helped by the fact that in this relentlessly commodified social-media universe, Republicans are constantly on message and united behind their candidates, no matter how openly fucking awful they are, while leftists/liberals/Democrats (and people who claim to be) are constantly tearing into and criticizing their candidates in a way that makes Joe and Jane Low Information Voter even more susceptible to believing the "Both Sides" narrative -- after all, if the Democrats are attacking the Democrats, they really must be bad! Yes, we are not in a cult and therefore are able to have an actual discussion about things, but this falls into the "We're Just Holding Them Accountable!!" line that is just an excuse for ripping the Democrats even more than any of those people ever criticize or actively oppose the Republicans.

Hence all these braindead takes about how Biden should step aside, Biden should drop Harris, Biden should do X Y and Z and this is all his fault, instead of anyone remotely trying to come to grips with the extreme polarization and fascism of the other side. I keep yelling about it, and a lot of other people I respect keep yelling about it, because yet again, we've learned fucking nothing from 2016 and we're teetering on a repeat of it. See how all these Online Leftists want to scream and yell about Biden ending the train strike, and then somehow never seem to have heard that he kept working with the unions for months afterward and got their sick days. Even the people who, in a remotely more functional political landscape and/or if they possessed one (1) working brain cell, would vote for the Democrats get their endless jollies and moral holier-than-thous by absolutely incinerating them. Who needs the Republicans, when these guys will do it for you?

Anyway. Because America is a land of morons manipulated by billionaire corporate interests, just doing the right thing and hoping people notice enough to vote for you is not enough. That's why, indeed, the Democrats have learned that you have to talk about it and push back and argue for what you've done. But when it still exists in this environment that will twist and taint and misrepresent and grind it into tiny pieces, because said billionaire corporate interests are genuinely afraid that the Democrats' current policy plans could dismantle their hegemony if allowed to continue, that's only a very small part of the problem, and we have to recognize that.

#anonymous #ask #politics for ts

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watchingwisteria · 5 months

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“katniss played the games but peeta played the game” “there wouldn’t have been a revolution without katniss” actually let’s stopped the rugged american brand of individualism right there ✋🛑 katniss starts strong with the motive to protect her sister and get back to her family who relied on her, but peeta was also willing to risk everything in a suicide pact to try to live past the games, and haymitch bought into their marketing strategy, doing everything he could to help one of them live (because both of them winning was impossible up until the nightshade trick). but at this point, everyone planned to go back to 12 and have a semi-normal life after that — until they couldn’t. coriolanus snow sparked the revolution by trying to stamp out a few smouldering embers, and everyone else subsequently rose to the challenge to overthrow his government. everyone involved in the revolution had an essential part to play. it wouldn’t have been successful if they hadn’t worked together, relied on each other, played to each other’s strengths and compensated for others’ weaknesses. there was no singular person on whom the entire thing relied, even if katniss often felt that way (being the teenaged voice of a people will do that to you). katniss might have been the face, but she also needed others to act as the head, the body, and the sword. everyone was necessary.

#the hunger games #katniss everdeen #peeta mellark #haymitch abernathy #finnick odair #johanna mason #seeing weird takes in tiktok 🙁💔 critique of american culture doesnt stop at war and violence and capitalism yall #i need to read the books again so i can cite my sources

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yourtongzhihazel · 12 days

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At least voting is doing something, even if it's the bare minimum. All you're doing is talking about a revolution and overthrowing the government without actually doing anything.

And on the very very very slim chance you are doing something, it clearly isn't working and it failed since we're stuck with Joe Biden and Trump.

No, anon, it is you, not me who is not doing anything. 3 states have now banned protesting. Roe v. Wade was overturned under a "blue" regime. Cop cities are being built across the country under "blue" politicians. the surge of attacks on LGBT and especially trans people have continued under the biden regime, who claim "they can do nothing". Some of the most draconian crime bills are being instituted by "blue" politicians. A new PATRIOT act is just about to drop. To cap it all off, you are actively supporting a genocide. The fascism has been here for years, but your pansy ass just won't see it and in fact, constantly run along and defends it. Liberal democracy's chickens have come home to roost. Enjoy the blue fascism we have now. Maybe it's color will change soon. But I know you're, more likely than not, in a camp who doesn't materially give two shits about our suffering. If you did, you would be scrambling for something that works, even direct action. Instead, you're very content living in the current fascist state of affairs.

I am a labor organizer. I organize and work for unions. I do exactly everything I tell everyone else to do. The revolution takes time, energy, and self defense, things which I AM organizing. It is not a cake walk. It is not a dinner party which we can do in a fortnight. If you want to make the claim that organizing isn't working, then you are also making the hidden claim that what you are currently doing, that is, voting, is working. Which, as you even admit yourself, it is not! You have done jack shit but actively support imperialism abroad and fascism at home. You have no material or moral ground to stand on.

Grit your fucking teeth and start fucking organizing or stand with the fascists and wait for a proletarian bullet to enter your skull, you fucking fascist.

#i fucking hate liberals #unlimited genocide on the first world #every fucking day i become more and more third worldist

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yesthisismycurrenthyperfixation · 1 year

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I have a prompt if you're interested: Instead of letting Spider go with Quaritch, General Ardmore immediately sends him back to Earth. Spider spends 4 years on Earth, but is able to return after a government overthrow puts a group in charge that wants to ask the Na'vi for help rather than take Pandora by force (and they know Spider may be their only hope for negotiations). Spider fears that between the 6 years of cryo to Earth, the 4 years on Earth, and the 6 years in cryo back, everyone he loves on Pandora will have forgotten him. Turns out he was wrong, and the Sully kids (now adults) have tried to keep his memory alive, telling their own kids stories about him and trying everything they can to contact Earth over the years. Bittersweet with angst and fluff!

Some thoughts on this wonderful prompt:

*Before sending Spider away, Ardmore had his hair cut into a military high and tight, like Human Quaritch's had been. He was forced to wear human clothes and shoes. His songcord was removed and destroyed. His blue stripes were washed off, and all other traces of his life amoung the Na'vi removed.

*Spider hated Earth! He didn't fit in. He was sick all of the time, because the air quality was horrible and there were so many human illnesses he was never exposed to as a child.

*He couldn't understand people or their drive and desire for money, for having more than everyone else. It was all so foreign and confusing to him.

*He got tattoos done while on Earth. Things that reminded him of his lost home and family. An Atokirina on his shoulder. A picture of his first dagger, drawn from memory, on his forearm. His ssong cord also drawn from memory. A few native Pandoran animals including an Ikran and Toruk in various places. As well as others. He chose tattoos because he never wanted anyone to be able to take those away from him like they took away his stripes and hair.

*Spider had no one. No family, no friends, nothing when he arrived on earth. The RDA and government made sure he had the basics, barely, but he had to learn everything on the fly. Thankfully Spider became a teacher for those that were preparing to travel to Pandora. At least he could help them survive. Spider focused on respecting the balance, the Na'vi and following Eywa. Even being so far away he did all he could to try and help those he cared about.

*Spider was a huge supporter of the new government. Not because they could get him back to Pandora, he never thought he would be allowed to return, but because the new government was more worried about the people than money.

*Spider wasn't allowed to contact Pandora and was sad/hurt that no one on Pandora ever tried to contact him. Eventually he gave up trying to be allowed to contact his true home.

*The Sully family and scientists never knew Spider was alive, Quaritch told them he had died, and they believed him. So they mourned his passing and that he wasn't "with Eywa" so that's why they kept his memory alive.

*When Spider learned he was to be sent back to Pandora he cried, first time he had cried since waking up and seeing Earth after cryo. He was finally going home and that's all that mattered.

*The day Spider arrived back on Pandora a small group of Na'vi were also present, along with some humans. Amoung this group was Lo'ak whom Spider recognized immediately. It took Lo'ak a second to recognize Spider but as soon as he did Spider was lifted into the air, both laughing through the tears.

*I just know Kiri could feel when Spider stepped foot on Pandora for the first time in in about 15 years. She could feel Eywa rejoicing at the return of her human child.

*Neytiri still hissed at and hated Spider but after experiencing earth it no longer phased him. He knew he belonged on Pandora, and nothing Neytiri said could ever change that.

I've had this in my ask box for quite a while but could never come up with how to write it. The idea behind the story is fantastic and I would love to read a fanfiction of this one day, maybe even write one if the ideas would start flowing.

Thank you anon!

#spider socorro #avatar the way of water

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