#Also consider illiteracy at the time

[mutfruit-salad]

i find the way fans are already shipping cooper with lucy over her black love interest very telling of the clueless white supremacy and media illiteracy in the fandom. coop and lucy are obviously being setup as a father-daughter duo who need to learn caution/kindness from each other to survive, but these weirdos can’t have their white-man fave without a self-insert stand-in for 1 season. and the way people are glorifying cooper’s character is a load of bs - a morally greg white guy who realises he endorsed and was sympathetic to a massive war crime/political injustice… so he goes on to indiscriminately kill/hurt more people who have no idea of, nor say in the bigger picture that he was complicit in… is sooo boring and nothing new. also, giving him a biracial daughter as an accessory to show he’s Not Racist isn’t something we’ve seen half of a million fuckin times before 🤪 the way the show back-tracked on fallout’s message of blind american nationalism and militarism being a problem to It’s All Capitalism’s Fault, seemingly in reaction to the US currently endorsing and aiding in foreign war crimes, and past ones becoming common-knowledge, is horseshit on a platter.

I find the complete lack of a character for his daughter really horrifying- how she only exists to die dramatically for the sake of his sadness. It's odd because his wife is a well-established important character, yet their daughter is not allowed to be a person.

Fallout, in general, has had a habit of completely ignoring racism- presenting the prewar world as some fully integrated post racism utopia. Which is weird when the games regularly display overt anti Chinese (and broader anti Asian) sentiments in prewar logs and ads. This is a problem both the classic games AND the bethesda games have- racism has always been a touchy subject to the devs of the series and it seems like every game they've been content to ignore it, occasionally invoking it for horror or stumbling headlong into depicting it without realizing.

The way Ghoulgins regrets his past and just takes it out on everyone around him is absurd and plays into a lot of very hostile ideas the character peddles.

People shipping Ghoulgins with Lucy is baffling to me also considering he spends the entire series physically abusing her. People just don't want to acknowledge Max's existence, I have noticed. I know her and Ghoulgins get closer by the end, but it's after he's done just unspeakably cruel things to her- and you're right that it is absolutely framed as a father/daughter relationship.

I would also like to point out that the series has always criticized capitalism as well- but would generally frame it as sort of tangled up in American imperial ambition- with one feeding into the other. They were two halves of the same coin.

Vault Tec's entire existence in the classic games was selling smoke- profiting off of the extreme tension and stress of US military buildup- a process which would always inevitably end in disaster: either with Vault Tec going under or brinksmanship coming to its inevitable end.

Vault Tec (and the entire idea of luxury bunkers as a whole) WAS a critique of capitalism, and how it goes hand-in-hand with the American military industrial complex. It was selling the fear of annihilation to the populace. They didn't need to be some secretive controlling force to achieve any of this.

Making Vault Tec the sole antagonist, and the driving force of the apocalypse, is both deeply conspiratorial AND undermines the Cold War roots the series has always had- replacing the fear of American military buildup with a sort of hateful simplicity.

#fallout #fallout new vegas #fallout show

[idkwhatimdoingbutslay]

… I can’t imagine that we actually watched the same show. Like I REALLY AISNSOSNWKMEJDND

hold on I’m gonna need to calm down.

Let me just make a list of why I disagree and at least organize my anger. Long post incoming.

Vander was friends and had a deal with Grayson. The sheriff. Idk what else to even add to that

Caitlyn is more than a cop and Arcane isn’t copaganda. Genuinely don’t know what kind of progress some of these people are looking for. Real allies are a necessity for real progress.

SILCO IS A CLASS TRAITOR. HE FUNNELLED DRUGS INTO THE UNDERCITY AND PUT POOR KIDS IN FACTORIES FOR THAT DRUG FOR PROFIT!!! HE PAID THE ENFORCERS TO LET HIM DO IT WITHOUT CONSEQUENCE

Vi is not as much as an activist as you would like to believe

WHY IS EKKO NEVER EVER BROUGHT UP IN THESE CONVERSATIONS????

Silco was not good for the Undercity

Silco was not a great guy. Ekko had to build an entire separate hidden community for the people he hurt and stepped on for his own benefit

Caitlyn is ignorant and naive. That’s ok. That’s what character development is for.

Loving imperfect characters like Silco and Jinx then hating characters like Vi and Caitlyn is peak media illiteracy to me

FOR THE LAST TIME: VI DIDNT ABANDON POWDER!!!!! Silco literally wanted Vi DEAD for trying to stop him from killing Vander??? How could you possibly say silco was there for jinx when Vi refused to be???? SHE WAS IN PRISON BECAUSE OF HIM???

Silco’s manipulation is working wonders on y’all

Embracing all the outrage without at all looking out for the people harmed by bigotry is not activism

SILCO IS A CLASS TRAITOR x929282929394

Caitlyn was the first person in years to show Vi kindness and care. She listened and stuck by her and took care of her after Vi was locked up for years and beat up by cops (i wonder what led her to be thrown in there?). Cait being a cop stopped being a point of contention once Vi recognized her naivety and genuineness.

NUANCE NUANCE NUANCE. ITS NEVER EVER BLACK AND WHITE

The only way I can see Vi touching ‘class traitor’ in season one was the shimmer raid. Guess who the hell put those kids in there in the first place.

Just hanging out with Caitlyn isn’t being a class traitor if Vander’s allowed to be friends with Grayson.

Critical thinking is very necessary for watching shows like Arcane

What the hell did Silco really do for the Undercity???? What changed over the 7(ish) years he was basically in power of the place? All I’ve heard was he made the air cleaner, which would be great except for, you know, shimmer and the child factory workers

Jinx is unwell and feeding into it like this in a fully serious manor would not help Arcane as a show at all

What do you want Arcane’s message as a full show to be? ‘Screw cops’? That’s a little boring and unproductive isn’t it?

CAN WE TALK ABOUT EKKO AND HIS IMPACT PLEASE???? x9382728283

Caitlyn is trying to make Piltover and Zaun a better place. Is that not allowed? Am I missing something?

Caitlyn and Vi’s arcs have only just started. Season one is basically fully set up except for characters like silco and Jinx. This is far from the end.

Genuinely think Vander would appreciate Vi for being friends (using this term loosely because they are in love) with Caitlyn considering he was the one who was opposed to war and Vi wasn’t.

Silco should NOT be your idea of Undercity independence and respect. He oppressed the Undercity the same way the Council and the Enforcers did. He helped no one but himself, his team (barely) and Jinx.

You’re allowed to like and dislike any character you want but pretending like Silco is better for the Undercity than others is just so ridiculous to me. Everyone is of course completely allowed to like Silco, but we can’t pretend like he’s this stand up guy. If you have to pretend like he was, maybe you don’t like him as much as you think.

“Because Cait’s pretty” is also incredibly incorrect. Go check point #14.

Vi never stopped loving and caring for Powder. Powder’s mental health issues were amplified and utilized by Silco because he couldn’t even heal himself.

If all of your opinions of Caitlyn and Vi start and end with “cops suck” and “class traitor” then you genuinely don’t respect Arcane as a show enough to show you nuance.

The misinterpretation of characters is just so … it’s like you go out of your way to love and/or hate characters no matter how much they show you who you are.

Your closed mindedness is clouding your judgement and making you out to seem like you don’t actually want the Undercity’s triumph, you want Silco and Jinx’s, even if it means ruining the Undercity. And that would be fine because father/daughter evil duo but trying to say you’re all for this duo because you want what’s better for the Undercity when they continue to hurt it is simply not correct and very harmful (to fictional characters in a fictional universe 😭)

Only being able to understand how Silco and Jinx were oppressed and therefore should be able to not just destroy Piltover but also Zaun is not the eat you think it is

Why is Viktor never called a class traitor? I think he's great (I also think Silco and Jinx are wonderfully written) but we hardly saw him in the Undercity/ interact with people from the Undercity plus he killed someone (Sky) from there (accidentally)

EDIT TO ADD ANOTHER POINT: Caitlyn has shown little to NO malicious intent and has no real negative impacts other than Jinx’s attachment issues and insecurities being amplified by her mere existence. Again, this is her story and development. Throughout the season she is exposed to reality and recognizes her and her peers/ families wrongs. I have no idea what you want from this character. Should Piltover just be gotten rid of in the story? Then what? Should Caitlyn have just never gotten involved and continued to embrace her privilege? Should she have left Vi in prison and stay ignorant?

#arcane #arcane league of legends #arcane netflix #point number 32 sums it all up I think #i blocked most of the people who added and made the post so they wont see this lol #i might be overreacting or misinterpreting #maybe i didnt watch the show right #or maybe i did and some of these people are bad at this #some points are most definitely redundant #and im open to people disagreeing.... respectively lol maybe dont wish death on a character and ill hear you out #again i wouldnt dislike silco as much if he wasnt put on a pedestal by people who swear theyre all for the undercity #i wrote this kind of in anger so like sorry about that lol #anti silco #<- for tagging purposes if this is too silco critical for the people who like him #to slay or not to slay #caitvi #this is the second repost because the first two didn’t show up in the tags cuz I messed with my settings 😭😭😭

[chaifootsteps]

Media Illiteracy anon here.

Onto the dreaded episode 4... Warning for SA and all that, of course.

I would like to start by saying that by Definition I am a CSA survivor (I was sexually exploited from age 10 to 16, made to produce CP). But I don't really consider myself to be one since I am not... traumatized by it? I just don't care that it happened. So I don't think I can say much in the way the episode handles SA or even how it might trigger someone who was also exploited for the making of pornography.

That being said. Yikes. I think this episode is the best one so far, as much as it pains me to say that. It's the best paced and it sticks to one plot and the plot... has Some good moments. I really liked the scene where Valentino yells at Angel that he should get rid of Charlie and how he physically abuses him. I think that scene is The best scene in the entire show because of how terrifying it is and how well it shows the damage he causes to Angel as well as his relationships with other people.

I think that scene should've literally been it. It shows physical abuse, it shows Angel's fear, how Valentino owns him (literally) and even implies the SA to come when he says he's going to make him work all day. Overworking is already a horrible thing to put someone through, but as a sex worker there'd be a point where it's no longer enjoyable and you want to stop, which is where it then also becomes rape. That line was Terrifying and made you feel dread with just the Implications of what was gonna happen to Angel, as if This wasn't already bad enough.

Then they ruined it with that stupid song.

Now Poison is not a bad song, in my opinion. I think it sounds nice, and even looking at the lyrics (which is not something I usually focus on, due to the Illiteracy I mentioned), I don't think it's awful. But putting That over a scene where Angel Dust is getting raped On Screen is a bit Very tasteless. That whole scene was Awful, you could easily tell that whoever made it clearly had a thing for it. I'd seen the leaked clip before and that was enough for me to realize how fetishized it was, but seeing there was more was just. Augh. Do they have no shame? It's so blatantly obvious I felt like I was looking at a NSFW Twitter animation.

I kind of hated the aftermath, too. Angel going back to the hotel and drinking was good, but I hated him coming onto Husk like that and then pulling a "a nice guy like me is too good for you anyway". I feel like I had never fully realized before that the Angel and Husk thing was sexual harassment, cause you grow up with movies and shows where like. A female character coming onto a male one is just. Normal, and the result would be them getting into a relationship Anyway, so it was harder for me to recognize that it qualified as Harassment. I think Angel saying that shit made me realize it was and then it was just. Weird. Also the way the line is worded and delivered, it sounds less like that's something Angel is parroting back from what Valentino usually tells him, and more like he wholeheartedly believes it, which certainly didn't help.

Following scene I also kind of like. The bar scene. I liked that even if Husk was reluctant in going, since he doesn't like Angel, and was stalling for time so he wouldn't have to talk to him, he Still stepped in when he saw someone putting something in his drink. I think if this show was written better that could've been a way to show that even those who think they've hit rock bottom are still humans with morals at the core of their beings, and that they still have the ability to care and do good even with years worth of bad decisions and an environment that encourages depravity.

I also liked him getting him out of there and trying to care for him, in his own grumpy old man way. I liked the dark revelation that Angel knows when he's being drugged, and that he just let's it happen because he thinks it gives him some control and that if he's broken enough by this random men, Valentino will finally let him go. That was really messed up.

Then Loser Baby comes on and fucking.

Okay so, I Really like Loser Baby. It's the best show in the show so far. The instrumentals are nice, it's catchy, the lyrics are a little silly and fun, and Keith David carries it, though Blake Roman is not half bad. It's the context in which is used that makes this song just flop HARD.

I think everyone understands what the song was meant to be, and I think it doesn't do Too horribly at connecting both of their situations and how they're not alone because they have each other. It fails at everything else though, because beyond "both are owned by Overlords", Angel's and Husk's situations have Nothing to do with each other, they are Not comparable.

Also calling Angel, a rape victim, a loser is not. Good, even as lighthearted as it is. The song is "suck it up, slut", and while kind of in character for someone in Hell or as grumpy/harsh as Husk, it's still. Yikes? It minimizes the situation way too much, this is not an "Oopsie, made the wrong choices in life" moment. He's getting actually abused and that's not his fault.

Also Alastor fucked off for 7 years and all he makes Husk do now is man a bar where he does nothing all day except drink alcohol. Angel is going through the worst Alastor could've done to Husk, on a Daily Basis, and even if Alastor could be cruel, it would be extremely out of character for him to straight up Rape Husk too. Or torture him without killing him, even torture doesn't seem like something he would do, at least not to Husk specifically.

Husk's lines are tone deaf and kind of offensive, but I think they're passable since it's at least Trying to say something positive, even if they're doing it poorly. Angel's though... Again, you can just Tell someone with a fetish is writing him. I hate how he says "I've got an appetite for samplin'" and "I've got no holes left to deflower". That's super insensitive, it doesn't even feel as an Hypersexuality thing, especially that second line. It doesn't feel like it's "i love being a slut because it's reclaiming my stolen sexuality", it feels like. Shock? Value? like "i'm a big whore", and that's it. It's hard to put into words, because the message comes across in every bad possible way, I have Nothing positive to say about it.

The only good thing about Loser Baby that I like, aside from the sound of the song itself, is the little dancing bits between Husk and Angel. They're kind of cute, I like how he's trying to cheer him up by pulling him up and making him dance with him a little bit.

Augh. After that there's this bit where Husk says Angel needs to learn to respect his boundaries. I Like this scene but the context diminishes the impact it could've had by a lot. It's trying to acknowledge that Angel's sexual harassment is Bad, whether it's a trauma response or not, and that he needs to Stop. And Husk is willing to start from zero with him and become friends if they start like that.

I kind of Like that they're acknowledging that it's bad, and i Would've liked Husk telling him they can be friends if he learns to respect his boundaries but like. Do we Really want to be like that about someone who sexually harassed someone else? That they can be friends? I feel like that is a bit insensitive and offensive to victims. I myself would Not like to be friends with my abuser even if he begged on his knees to be my friend.

It's also implied that Husk and Angel end up romantically involved. If you could excuse the befriending thing, saying that maybe it's not the same since Angel never Touched Husk sexually, i still think that going and making them Lovers is harmful. A "he yanks on your ponytails because he likes you" kind of situation. I like them as friends, hate them as lovers.

Another big problem I have is Charlie. She's a cardboard cut out in her own show. She's a background character in the episode where she causes the main conflict.

She's a bit of a pushover, cause she's nice. Even with pilot Charlie I don't think she's too OOC since calling the news reporter a bitch and defending yourself against her is not really comparable to being face to face with a rapist who is actively harming your friend. She can't just kill him, sinners reform eventually, and then be would be even angrier. Not at her but at Angel, because it's his fault Charlie even got to lay a hand on him in the first place. I think it's a more complex situation than "why didn't she just kill him".

But for as complex as the situation could be, Charlie is extremely. Simple. She barely appears and it's just "I'm sorry" and it's all fixed. I feel like there could've been a bigger emphasis on Charlie's and Angel's relationship (even while still keeping Husk's involvement in it all). I also kind of hate the treatment of her? Like how when Angel says he forgives her, she Cries and is carried away by Vaggie. Idk, that scene made me a bit uncomfortable. They treated her as if she was a child and it was Weird.

I think this episode had a lot of potential to be good and fumbled the bag catastrophically. Husk and Charlie are Worse characters because of it.

That's all. I can only hope the plot twist leaks aren't true, because this story is barely salvageable and that "Rosie is actually Lilith" bullshit will just ruin my experience from how stupid it is. You can be as painfully oblivious as me and this show will still find a way to make itself as dreadful as possible. I really don't understand why so many fans are so aggressive about criticism, I think they also see the disappointing bits but are far too committed to back down and admit they were wrong, so they just double down. I liked Most of the show, even though it's mostly because i already had Some attachment, curiosity and knowledge from before. But it's not as good as it had the potential to be, nor is it the single best show to have ever existed. It's honestly sad that many people, such as myself, have to go on anon on a poor person's blog to lightly criticize the show, because they're too afraid to be harassed or sent their literal house address on a direct message.

Thank you and goodnight, Chai!

You see, this is what I get out of running this blog. You guys write up these fabulous essays taking all the words out of my mouth, and it's deeply cathartic.

Try to hang in there. Vivzie's fandom will probably never go away completely, but I really do think their reign of terror is coming to an end.

#Anonymous #media illiteracy #viv stuff #actual blog post

[accio-victuuri]

EXPLAINED : WANG YIBO IS DESPERATELY ILLITERATE???

On a normal day and considering what’s been going on for years & years, I wouldn’t want to address any negative press about Yibo. I would rather spread positive news and showcase his talents but i’m making an exception on this one. I am writing this as a Yibo fan who has watched a lot of his interviews and shows and feel like I have a good sense of what type of person he is. A fan who is sick and tired of people using the fact that he doesn’t have a college degree against him. There is really nothing that disgusts me more than those who feel superior just because they have a piece of paper. I accept people’s criticism of him but this is obviously beyond that so I wanna talk about it.

Sadly, he is at a disadvantage as casual people will only see a cut video or a certain post and will tend to run with it. add the fact that the general public don’t have much good point of view towards celebrities. I’m not going to discuss the alleged attack from yyxq’s side or the fan war going on cause that’s just too messy. and well, organized black propaganda is expected cause everyone can’t fuckin comprehend how Yibo is embarrassing everyone else with how good he is at acting and making money for companies that invest on him.

»»————-　　————-««

I thought this was gonna pass naturally but today “Beijing Youth Daily” shared the article called : can the desperate illiterate perform well?

The reason is that the lead actor of a Chinese New Year film was interviewed during a road show. When asked about his impressions of the work and the characters, he didn’t know what to do. Netizens dubbed him “desperately illiterate”.

This first paragraph clearly talks about WYB and the incident at one of HB’s roadshows. This is the whole article and it goes on to talk about literacy in terms of being an actor and all that, trying to make their article into a legitimate thinking piece. Take note that WYB is not the only one “mentioned” here but the title and the intro is about Yibo so he is at the center of it.

In fact, "illiteracy" in this context does not mean to engage in academic discrimination. We all know that there are specializations in the art industry, and the level of education and professional ability are not necessarily directly linked. The "illiterate actors" that everyone refers to often refer to those actors with low cultural reserves, empty heads, incomprehensible scripts, and incomprehensible characters.

This has been going around weeks ago but today, there were lots of verified accounts sharing it. I’m seeing talks of this is a fake account, organized verified entertainment accounts reposting or whatever, it doesn’t matter. the point is — this is out there. People have read it. Some have talked about it. I would have loved to see them actually name Yibo if they are really so brave, but I guess not really. They can only hide in their accounts like the cowards they truly are. This should come as no surprise, trending today of all days because it was officially announced that HB’s cinema run will be extended. Also that HB is at the #2 spot with only a meager 7% of the slots. It’s only a matter of time before HB overtakes everyone and that’s bad news for a lot of people. Also HB will be released in North America this week.

Coincidence? I think not. We all know what’s going on here. 💀💀💀

Now let’s see the Q&A portion that sparked this talk of illiteracy:

Q: In another time and space, if you met Mr. Ye, what would you say to him?

Wang Yibo: "Are you asking what will I say when I meet the character? First of all, I think this question is meaningless. I don't want to say anything, and we won't meet."

Q: Yibo, who is Mr. Ye in your mind? Do you think you shaped him and wanted to show him to the audience, what do you think is the most difficult thing about him?

Wang Yibo : In fact, I really don’t know how to answer this question ..

( He tries to answer this but the host and CE end up speaking in behalf of him )

As a Yibo fan, this kind of answer is not new to me. This is not the first person on a Q&A that Yibo has shut down if he doesn’t like to answer. He’s always been honest, sometimes, painfully so and may be misinterpreted by those who don’t know him. I can explain that he’s already tired of all the roadshows or the question itself was too much etc etc but as i said in the beginning, I CAN ACCEPT CRITICISM. I understand why certain people was put off by this answer. Especially if this your first exposure to him after hearing about Hidden Blade or watching it. There is nothing more that I wish for Yibo, than to be appreciated by the General Public and his popularity to extend to more than just his fans. I wanna say that this may be a learning experience for Yibo. This is his first roadshow experience. Promoting a movie is totally different from what he did with Dramas. He has two more movies, and I hope he will be more prepared. The Yibo i know and support will not be screaming and playing the victim because of this, he would learn from it and bounce back. He will be better.

What I can’t accept are the people who obviously are insulting his whole being because of this 1 thing. Don’t mind all the good things he said in other cities or other times — let’s just rally behind this and attack him. The thing is, they don’t have much negative things to say about his performance in the film or how it’s doing in the box office so they will find something to make him look bad. and this is it. It’s also too much to say that he is ILLITERATE. I don’t think someone who is illiterate can host, memorize/choreograph dances, memorize scripts, be considered a language genius, act scenes, understand directions from directors etc.

It’s so unfair cause there are people like Yibo who need time to articulate their thoughts. Or those who prefer to reply in shorter sentences. It doesn’t mean they are illiterate. they are not stupid. All the comments saying “of course he is, he didn’t graduate college..” not only on weibo but on international platforms. It’s always what they say. I wonder if they actually believe it and like how do you sleep at night with that poison in your head? It’s not like Yibo chose to not go to college cause he’s lazy. He had work to do. He had a career that will leave no time to focus on studying. He is clearly not stupid cause he got high marks while studying in Korea. It’s so ironic, especially those people in China who are saying this cause they know a college degree does not even guarantee them employment. Even a Tsinghua University graduate will end up as a tutor just to make ends meet. It’s the same thing all across the board — A College Diploma alone does not guarantee success. but of course people will just happily insult him and it’s fine, at the end of the day, Yibo is thriving and will continue to do so.

The next coming months, as BTF & One/Only gets released, expect more attacks. I hope we don’t get distracted and just let the positive be louder than the negative. 🙏🏼

To the people behind the scenes working to bring Yibo down, well, I hope they turn purple in anger cause this is only the start of his success.

#the way i avoided talking about it cause it makes me so mad and i know it’s a sore spot for yibo #and what makes me livid is i know he said so many good things in the roadshows but people only cared about this incident #wang yibo #personal

[trashiis]

Ok this is a bit of a wordy post but bear with me. I've been reading up on the tech literacy discourse and I thought I'd add my two cents, and how it connects to piracy. LONG post under the cut!

I was born in the year 2000, which puts me on the border of being a digital native. I was brought up on tech, but only in my later childhood and teens. I've always considered myself "tech literate," but no more than the usual kid my age.

The first time I ever truly experienced tech illiteracy with my peers was when I was 23, when in one of my college classes a MacOS update rendered the software we used for said class unusable. After a few days a temporary patch was released, which by that point an assignment that utilized the software was due the next day. I followed the patch instructions, which involved navigating to the software files and substituting a designated file with the provided patch. A bit more complicated than a simple update, but the instructions were clear and intuitive enough to easily understand where the file went. The next day, during a class study session, I overheard multiple people come up to the professor complaining that the software wasn't working. After the second person complained with the professor being clueless, I asked the student what MacOS version they were on. Sure enough they were on the latest version, which as we already know is incompatible with the software. I then walked the student through the patching process step-by-step, with them needing to essentially be hand held through the entire process (almost to the point of me doing everything for them). After the patch was implemented, the student thanked me and said "Wow! How did you figure all of this out?" and to me that question was stupid- I just googled "[software] [version] MacOS [version] fix", went to the first result (which was the company website), downloaded the patch zip file, and followed the instructions on the README.txt file. It was so easy, and I couldn't comprehend that this was somehow complicated for other people, especially those my age. I mean we literally grew up using computers. It wasn't until I started learning about tech literacy and learned helplessness that I finally started connecting the dots.

Tech in general is becoming extremely user friendly, almost to a fault. UI and UX simplicity is taking away any critical thinking needed to use any sort of tech. My peers are so used to one-click and/or automatic updates, so the fact that this required slightly more effort than a simple update triggered their learned helplessness. The professor was no help in this case either, since he just extended the due date for those affected with no penalty. I actually ended up making a very detailed (and I mean idiot proof detailed) step by step picture guide with screenshots on how to install the patch for the software for the class. Anyways, back to the main point- How can I blame my peers for not knowing how to install a "complicated" update when they're so used to being spoon-fed simplicity?

But hang on- how was I the exception? I'm just as used to tech simplicity as anyone else, it's not like I'm using anything differently or making things harder for myself on purpose (I'm looking at you, linux users). So why was I the only one who knew how to install this update? It wasn't until I had a discussion many months later with my mom about this tech illiteracy epidemic that I finally thought it through. I acquired problem solving skills through piracy. To start off: not piracy but adjacent- learning to install mods in Minecraft when I was 11 taught me file navigation and what a README.txt file was, as well as the importance of version specificity/compatibility. Figuring out how to play Pokemon roms on the family computer and my iPod touch when I was 12? That's piracy, and it also taught me how to work with different platforms and the art of jailbreaking. Installing custom firmware on my 3ds so I could pirate games when I was 16 taught me how to follow written tech instructions without any visual guidance. Pirating Adobe software on my MacBook in high school taught me about patching files on MacOS. All of this knowledge and inherent googling that came with it made installing the patch for my class software look like a tiny drop in the bucket in terms of complexity.

So why am I saying all of this? Am I suggesting people learn to pirate to become tech literate?

yes.

With everything becoming pay-walled, subscription services running rampant, the proliferation of closed-source "ecosystems" *cough* Apple *cough*, and (arguably) most importantly media preservation, piracy is a skill that will serve you well in the long term. It will teach you critical thinking in the tech sphere, and if enough people learn then we can solve this ever growing epidemic of tech illiteracy. I'm not really sure how to end this post, so if anyone has anything else they'd like to add please feel free to.

Thank you for coming to my ted talk.

#Tech literacy #media literacy #piracy #essay post #long post #my post #trashiis talks

[yuraslefttoe]

hey, it's me again! I came to pester you with questions!! *there should be a scary laugh, but it sounds more like mean giggles*

(by the way, I’m thinking about sending you such long texts with questions (because I have a lot of them!!) once one or two weeks, if you don’t mind. . . . . . .you don't mind..??? (god, I hope you don’t get tired of me..!) I'm so sorry, please, I'm just very interested!! *qwq*)

ok, let's start with the sweetest part, prelude. ACTUALLY, I DIDN'T EXPECT THAT YOU REPLY SO QUICKLY, GOD, NOT PASSED A FEW HOURS!!!!!! I THOUGHT YOU HAD TOO MANY QUESTIONS SO I DID NOT EXPECT A SO SOON REPLY!!

I’ll remind you once again how much I adore your work (after all, you deserve it!!), and I’ll also say that I specifically shouldn’t talk about posts tagged with the  adm, because I’ve read your tumblr and twitter in its entirety several times, I even have a separate album in my gallery with answers that particularly interested me, there are several hundred screenshots there and I don’t regret anything! (sorry if my hyperfixation may be intimidating!!)

*=^._.^= ∫*

and now the questions!!!! 

1. my wife doesn’t have a tumblr, but her suggestion interested me and can be seen in the first two screenshots(the translation sounds like: “after the release of “red hour” I have an assumption that andrey is more... athletic than misha. either this is because of ferry’s drawing style, or he really has such wide shoulders")so now we are interested to know about the physique of your characters!! maybe some of them are thin, or vice versa, a little overweight. and what about physical training? did you have any headcanons for this??? ( by the way, when I ask about “characters” I mean not only misha and andrey, but also europe and maya, because they are also worthy of attention <зз) 

2. what about the abbreviation "dyusha" for andrey? in russian it is... not used very often, but still, it sounds very cute. so it would be interesting to know how you would feel about this? 3. I also want to hear about the names of the characters!! how did you choose them? I mean........ how did it happen that from ☺europa☺ you switched to 👹MiKhAiL👹?? (I'M SO SORRY, BUT MISHA'S FULL NAME SOUNDS SOMETHING THREATENING. MY UNCLE'S DOG HAS THE SAME NAME EHE- *ᕕ(ಥ▽ಥ)ᕗ*) 

4. and lastly, let's return to my wife for another moment. she suggested that andrey was now also in a time loop. what do you say about that? and also in enigma, she noticed that misha seemed to be addressing the second person in the lines: "and if you wanted to be anything more than just free" and "you’ve seen a hundred lies I see that all the time". is this second person a viewer? or maybe one of the previously mentioned characters??

the last photo, by the way, is one of the sketches that I found so far in my gallery! ^^ 

initially it was planned to attach two sketches, but andrey turned out TOO bad, I’m ashamed to show him. someday I'll redraw it into something normal.... maybe. but! I really like the pic with misha and the wolf(I hope this is the wolf you were talking about lol. google didn’t show me anything else, and I’ve never been to ikea myself, ehe...) 

(and I don’t want to post all this yet, because running a tumblr was certainly not part of my plans, haha)) I registered here solely to read your blog, and not to maintain my own) 

sorry again for possible illiteracy, and also for the chaotic nature of my thoughts, haha, I don’t know how to adequately express them in english.. and also, I’m really REALLY apologize that the text was too long, next time I’ll try to be shorter...

okay im gonna try and answer everything here in a coherent way so sorry if nothing makes sense

im just fine with lotes of questions :) answering asks and responding to comments is one of my favorite things ever and i brings a verry big smile to my face

on andrei: i consider him to be a skinny little gut but not exactly unathletic, and in addition i think he would have basic combat training and probably be good with firearms. misha is probably a very average bodytype, nothing special, not particularly athletic.

i do not speak russian (though ferry has recently encouraged me to learn so maybe in like four years ill be able to form a sentence) so i dont know anything about the short forms so you can do whatever you want. if you coin it and peoples tart calling him that i will not stop it from happening

i do not name my characters, i usually let me friends name them (i think that the only one i named was europa and his partner). going forward maybe ill try to make it more cohesive

the time loop idea im seeing thrown around alot is really cool and while i havent particularly wrote any of my songs about that in general i see it fitting into the loose narrative i have going on. also in enigma misha is definitely talking to andrei whenever he says the word "you" but it could also be to the listener because the entire theme of enigma is 4th wall breaking and meta shenanigans like that

that sketch is SO CUTE oh my god

#asks #adm #misha #andrei #deepest lore

[punkylilwitch]

Highs and Lows of Magick

@euge--rome​

High Magick

High magick, also known as ceremonial magick, is the type of magick done by learning a precise and typically complicated ritual or ceremony. Its origins (in the West)  see it almost entirely rooted in judeo-christian myth until the late 19th century, and today many ceremonial witches continue to work using a high magick within that specific context. During the late 1800's and early 1900's the resurgence was known as The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, or the Golden Dawn for short. “The Golden Dawn was a magical system that blended elements of Christian and Jewish mysticism with elements of freemasonry and tarot, seeking to unify all of the religions into one single framework”. And although today this system is considered dead by many, the influence that the Golden Dawn had on Wicca and Thelema is strong, so it's legacy lives on through them. It is meant to have a spiritual purpose rather than a practical one, however these can absolutely overlap conceptually. These ceremonies and rituals involve improving the soul, which includes gaining divine purification, spiritual knowledge, having regular encounters with destiny/embracing one's own destiny, and attracting the proper magical influences for your soul to learn and grow in healthy way.

Low Magick

Low magick, also known as Folk magick, is a practical kind of magick having to do with healing, attracting luck or love, driving away evil, fertility, good harvest, etc. It is called folk magick because it is said to be the magick of  “common folk”, and records of these practices are sparse due to the illiteracy of the practitioners. This is the kind of magick more well-known however because this is the kind of magick that is recognized and used more often today between the two. Contrary to High magick, low magick is called low magick because of its practical nature and association with the lower class. Rituals were simple and evolved over time and they included everyday items that the modern which is more than familiar with such as plants and wood and so on. Another name for low magick is natural magick, as it is linked closely to the natural world in the ways that I mentioned(it having to do with plants and wood and such).  Natural magick has much to do with astrology and herbalism, however it's still in compasses more modern methods such as divination. Low magick has its roots in spiritual practices such as shamanism, which is regarded to be one of the world's oldest religions as well as one of the newest, as evidence of its practice has been discovered in Paleolithic cave art however it has evolved in such a way that many see it as being new rather than old because of the recently created Neo Shamanism variations. One of the earliest examples of shamanism, or at least that is what this cave art is believed to depict by experts, dates back to around 17,000 years ago. Shamanism is part of the Ainu religion and Japanese religion of Shinto, although Shinto is different in the way that it is Shamanism specifically made for an Agricultural Society. but enough of the history lesson, I'm getting a bit sidetracked here!

Conclusion

In all, the major historical difference between high magick and low magick is the classes it enveloped, however the difference today is that high magick is more ceremonial while low magick is more “casual” and down to Earth by comparison.

https://www.jsouthernstudio.com/blogs/esotericinsights/low-magick-vs-high-magick https://www.learnreligions.com/types-of-magic-95961 (info on shamanism, shintoism, and paleolitic art I learned in my AP Art class a few years ago)

TLDR: High magick is ceremonial, prepared carefully with instruments, emotions, and conjuring. It is rumored that the gods prefer high magick due to its formality.

Low magick is close to the opposite end is done using ordinary objects like a spoon or plants or a stick. Low magick is known for its simplicity and takes power from the earth instead of words or self power. 

#kitchen witch #beginner witch #witches of tumblr #witches of color #witchesofig #witches #witchyvibes #witchy spells #witchy things #witchythings #witchy #green witch #witchcraft elements #witchcraft herbs #witchcraft practice #witch community #witchcraft #baby witch #witchblr #witchlife #witchcraft help

[gnomey22]

Random Failtopia thoughts

(Some of these are new, some of these are not, most aren't canon)

"Pyrotechnic" is a perfectly viable ship name for Lanchi.

Orion struggled to differentiate between Slapo's autism and Shrimp's ADHD, hence the brick for a gift.

Bill being the Cat class initially is never explained, but we know he met Chat right before his first onscreen appearance, and they're obsessed with a man in the Cat class, so the dots connect for it to be Chat who convinced Bill to take up the class.

Chi's illiteracy in S1 probably means she didn't know how to spell anyone's name, especially Pirahnyawn's.

Not one person ever questions the massive circles, grey skin, and complete lack of eye contact that make up Bo's face, because Miitopia faces are usually that fucked-up.

The reason the Dark Lord needed a ghost specifically to assassinate Mar was because the Chef himself is a ghost (Dark Curse), and only a ghost can kill another ghost.

Erica studies anatomy regularly in S2, which means she knows that a regular person begins dying at 25, her current age, so it's no wonder she always has death on her mind.

Bo and Rose being immediate family is impossible, but Rose being a descendant of Bo is not, under the assumption that despite not having children herself, Bo's bloodline didn't die with her.

The only three characters to have a canonical dynamic with Slapo are Orion, Mar, and Bo.

All we know about Chat's backstory is that they came from the Otherworld, and are obsessed with Failboat. The only big thing Failboat did in the Otherworld was the S1 final boss fight, which ended in a huge explosion. It's entirely possible that this explosion is what disrupted the Otherworld faces, to the point they formed Chat.

Erica likes to cut things short, but when she's around Bo, she keeps launching into long rambles about how great she is. These are the only times she feels like she can let her thoughts loose, since Bo did just that in the greenhouse by revealing her darkest secret.

On a similar note, Erica's past keeps being thrown back in her face, while Bo can never get her past back, no matter how hard she tries.

Due to Zone having both pink and black appearances, there may or may not be two Zones. That, or Friend's a good enough hat maker to alter Zone's colouring themselves. Considering her passion for his clothing, it's probably the latter.

Were it not for the S2 Greenhorne Arc, Hank would probably have a similar amount of screentime to Slapo.

Marion is a semi-canon ship, by the definition of one party canonically having romantic feelings toward the other, but whether Orion returns Mar's feelings is made comedically unclear.

Chi has inconsistent opinions on spicy food throughout the series, maybe because her fire obsession gets to the point that she has extremely high standards for what's spicy enough.

Rose holds her fan in the specific way she does to hide the mole on her face, something she's grown to hate because it sets her apart from the image of Rosalina.

"Deko" is not his real name, he was probably given Izuku Midoriya at birth, but his new name had to come from somewhere. That place may have been the lab where he was experimented on. The project name may have been along the lines of "DEK-0".

The lab experiment thing also makes it really funny that the only two people he really bonds with are the Scientists of the series.

Shrimp's in-universe fandom could very well be toxic. There are definitely people who are a little too interested in finding out where that 'mysterious' chip on her tooth came from.

Bill is the only character who consistently calls out Chat for their reckless behaviour. In other words, he's the one who moderates Chat.

If Kronkui didn't control who joined the team, TFFM would be down six members (Bob, Smuk, Deko, Rose, Yawn, Joker). TI, on the other hand, would only be down three members (Orion, Failboat, Chat).

Chi gets very protective when enemies are close to her allies in S1, and in parallel, Erica gets very protective when enemies are close to her allies in S2, especially if that ally is Chi.

Despite Failica being everything that they aren't, the first ship ever concocted in Failtopia was Smukle Bob.

#failtopia #failboat miitopia #failboat #not tagging every character #that would be insane #but I will tag the ships #lanchi #eribo #marion #smukle bob #headcanons go brrrr

[rhineposting]

hey what are your thoughs about hmm scolippi JJBA that guy from part five. oh and diavolo bento aureo. uh huh wait since you asked for asks about women and wifes wow what if scolippi part 5 and diavolo golden wind were women and they-

GIRL COME ON

I'M TRYING TO MAKE A POINT HERE AND YOU'RE ONLY MAKING IT WORSE!!

Okay no but seriously.

Scolippi. Scolippi. Scoliosis, even.

He's such a beautiful yet tragic character, and he ties into JJBA's themes of fate and fighting against it so wonderfully. Even on his own, he's great.

He's a simple man, living in an unfair world full of power craving lunatics and egoists that were granted unimaginable power, while he is stuck with a curse that forces him into the position of being many people's guide to the afterlife ever since he was a child.

Yet, despite being put at a disadvantage from the start, he still does his best to be kind and to not harm others around him, using his ability solely for helping vulnerable people find peace - and to grant them the opportunity to defy Fate through choosing to go on their own terms.

Even after being beaten up, shot twice and held at gunpoint, he still offered his kindness to the two people that were actively antagonizing him at that moment. Even while he lied on the ground bleeding, he still prayed for their well-being and for their misery to not be pointless.

He's all things considered, a Saint.

I also like how his arc is a direct tie to the main antagonist of part 6 - Pucci.

They both had girls who were important to them, who both took their life due to circumstances they had little to no control over and they both seek peace above all else. Peace with what is to come.

While Pucci forces that peace, coupled with the burden of knowledge upon everyone in the whole universe, Scolippi simply offers a choice over their own life against cruel circumstances.

Pucci is also a priest, while Scolippi has elements alluding to Jesus all over him - which makes me think of the difference between institutionalised religion and the actual fundaments of said faith removed from a power hierarchy and alike of the Church.

Wherever Scolippi was after Part 5, I hope life turned out well for him.

Unless we go with the assumption that he was related to...

A certain other, purple haired and green eyed man with a Stand whose ability just so happens to directly mirror his own.

In that case, Scolippi just took L after L, it seems.

As for the OTHER GUY

I FUCKING HATE HIM!!! I HATE HIM SO FUCKING MUCH HE RUINED MY FUCKING LIFE!!!!

GETTING INVESTED IN HIM AS A CHARACTER COMPLETELY CHANGED ME AS A PERSON AND I WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO UNDO THAT NO MATTER HOW MUCH TIME PASSES!!!!!

I HATE THAT THROUGH THIS PINK RACCOON LOOKING THING I MET YOU - THE BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO ME, AS WELL AS OUR OTHER FRIENDS WHO I CHERISH JUST AS MUCH TOO!!

I HATE THAT I OWE SO MUCH OF THE CURRENT HAPPINESS IN MY LIFE TO THIS FICTIONAL MAN WHO CAN'T EVEN BE BOTHERED TO PUT ON A REAL SHIRT FOR HIS DEBUT!!!

I HATE THAT MEETING HIM FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGED ME AS AN ARTIST AND CREATOR AND THAT I WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO RETURN TO BLISSFUL IGNORANCE THAT COMES WITH MEDIA ILLITERACY!!!! I WILL FOREVER BE CRITICAL OF ANYTHING I CONSUME BECAUSE OF HIM!!!

AND IT'S ALL YOUR FUCKING FAULT TOO!!!! I WASN'T EVEN THAT INVESTED IN HIM UNTIL YOU CAME ALONG AND PUT A BUNCH OF PINK , GREEN DOTTED WORMS IN MY BRAIN!!!! I HATE YOU TOO!!!!!! GOD!!!!!!!

but omg what if he and scolippi were in fact women.

Hm.

idk I don't think we'd get some huge AU out of it with them as the main cast

where the two of them are in love and silly and married

and where they have a cute bunny baby

yeah no that definitely wouldn't happen. never.

why do you ask.

#girl im gonna so fucking kill you after this. #jjba #jojo's bizzare adventure #vento aureo #jjba diavolo #scolippi #or rather #serena melone #it's a dumb name i know #serdia #babbi #rhine questions #rhineart #jojo au

[tungledotedu]

i guess this is what passes as humour for the blue maga side of tumblr. what do you even get out of these 'jokes'? it's almost like you people want biden to lose the election.

(moved my original tags here since this isn't only about the superbowl anymore)

#if you're on twitter how do you not know about the massacre taking place in rafah. gazans have literally nowhere else to go #'had a meltdown' just admit you don't give a shit about palestinians sprinkledsalt #i would have thought your Liberal Civil Sensibilities would maybe make you stop and think #'huh. maybe now is not a good time to laugh at this funny meme edit of someone who has been #condemned internationally for aiding genocide and is being sued for it by his own citizens' #while mocking people who are rightfully upset that the western world has done nothing for them and is turning its attention to entertainmen

(edited on 29 feb to add more screenshots of sprinkledsalt being vile about aaron bushnell)

you have to be heartless to see something as serious as self-immolation in protest of genocide and turn it into a petty dunk about voting.

and you have no shame in calling people freaks for pointing out the nuance and complexity that liberals are oh so enlightened for worshipping (when it serves them).

because illiteracy is something to be proud of now. this is incredibly embarrassing enough on its own, but it's even worse considering this is their political side blog where they act high and mighty about how stupid and useless leftists are. 'maybe they're only opposed to extreme acts of protest?' nope, they also think boycotts are dumb and do nothing.

(hamas and the pflp did release a statement about his death.)

you insult people and call them 'extremely mentally ill' for understanding the rationale and impact of self-immolation. and you expect us to believe you actually care about ableism? not to mention, the idea that mentally ill people cannot make clear-headed decisions out of genuine political conviction is ableist in itself.

bushnell left his savings to the palestine children's relief fund. his last post was to ask, 'what would i do if my country was committing genocide?' he live streamed it on twitch because he wanted his message to be spread. he shouted free palestine even as he screamed in agony. there is a reason he chose to wear a us army uniform in his last moments.

yes, it was an extreme and tragic act, but you don't have to condone it or be personally willing to risk your life to appreciate the reasons behind it. but going so far as to say 'suicide is always bad' is simplistic, lazy, and anti-intellectual. even if you don't agree with what he did, derailing the conversation is useless, disrespectful to his memory, and the opposite of what he would have wanted. it's what the anti-palestine side wants. they want his death to not matter. they want to keep your eyes away from the genocide in gaza.

because that's where you should be focusing your attention. you want to talk about mental health and suicide in palestine? children as young as five are saying they want to die. a 6-year-old boy in gaza almost died by suicide after losing his entire family. later, he died of hypothermia. and this is only one story that made it to social media. we don't even know their names. what happened to aaron bushnell is nothing compared to the unimaginable suffering they've endured.

#free palestine #gaza genocide #blocklist #joe biden #suicide tw #colonialism #imperialism #throwing a tantrum and calling people freaks in response to something as mild as this is a red flag honestly

[alpaca-clouds]

Whatever you know about Medieval Europe is probably wrong

Okay, technically this is something I am talking about all the time, but let me make me this much clear: If you are not a historian or really deep into history... whatever you think you know about medieval Europe is very probably either wrong or massively simplified to a degree that is misleading.

And again, it is not really your fault, because the truth is that you were probably never taught much about it and got most of your knowledge through media, which was either unintentionally or willingly misleading. This shows in a variety of factors.

For once, when we talk about medieval history, what we actually talk about is specifically the history of England, Germany and France. Partly because we have a lot more historical documents from there - and partly because of a certain racist bias. Like, we don't talk about the Iberian peninsula partly because the history was very much defined by Muslims, especially Black Muslims.

But we also tend to ignore in general the parts of Europe that had not yet converted to Christianity until they did. And in the end a lot of the history of Medieval Europe focuses very much on the cultures that later would become the central colonial powers.

Which is not a big surprise, because mind you: The general telling of Europe's history is that those powers ARE EUROPE. And everything that was not conforming to those cultures is therefore not European and hence gets mostly ignored in the idea of "medieval Europe".

There is also the fact that in most depictions of medieval Europe the influence of the church gets overstated. Like, don't get me wrong: Yes, the church in medieval Europe was fucking powerful... But strangely enough the medieval time period could almost be considered secular compared to the 16th-18th century. (Which is part of the reason why the Witch Hunts did not happen during the middle ages, but AFTER them.)

People also tend to depict the middle ages as a lot more sex negative than they were. This is partly because a lot of the historical documents we have from the time are church records. And of course, the church was very sex negative. But again, it was all a bit more complicated in terms of how much it influenced people. The other reason for this idea we have about it is, that... Well, it is the Victorians. Because those were prudish as fuck and tried to project their ideas onto earlier times.

The entire idea of the middle ages being super backwards comes from the Rennaissance, of course. When they were like "OMG! Ancient times were so cool!" and then were very salty that the ancient times were over now - so they were like: "Oh, yeah, the middle ages and their backwardsness are to blame."

But the middle ages were not that backwards. There was scientific advancement. Yes, it was slow - but the same is true for the ancient times.

Oh, yeah, this reminds me: No, the church was not anti-science. Quite literally the opposite is true. Most science that was done at this time was done supported and financed by the church.

Now, of course, illiteracy was a big issue during the time. While this, too, gets overplayed (most people could do some reading and were at least able to write down stuff like what they have harvested and their name), especially a lot of peasants were not really literate. And hence had not proper access to science and knowledge. And given that traveling was hard and books were rare, this was not easy to change.

Of course, here is very much were the church hindered scientific progress. Because yes, they were the main financiers of science - and because of that most scientific research was written in the official church language, Latin, which was basically only accessible to clergy and some nobility.

And there are so many other strange ideas people have about the middle ages. Like, enough for me to basically blog about this for the rest of the year. I don't know, whether I should, though? At least for the week. But yeah...

#history #medieval history #middle ages #european history #medieval europe #historical revisionism #misconceptions #fantasy #high fantasy #historical fantasy

[hxhhasmysoul]

I remember you mentioned how most of your online friends in the jjk fandom are meta analysis people.

I’m assuming it due to you being excellent at media analysis, however… I was wondering if you have any online friends that you made who’s media literacy isn’t the highest out any sheer chances?

I’m asking this since I’ve personally have not, in fact I tend to go out of my way and not interact with anyone who’s not within the meta analysis group of the jjk fandom. Which would also include artists. I would still like their fanart and occasionally reblog it, but I’ll not personally interact with them beyond that. For fanfic writers, I personally don’t read any, so I also don’t interact with them either.

Lately though, my other friends notice how I’m been intentionally limiting my circle and being too judgmental, for they mention that while not everyone can create amazing meta posts, they are still expressing enjoyment about the same series.

I’m just personally curious to hear your thoughts and opinions on this, since you’ve also mentioned how you tend to block people you deemed unworthy of your time, so I feel like you might understand a bit where I’m coming from.

i'm not excellent at media analysis, @subdee or @cursedvibes are. and they tolerate me so.

i'm also judgemental and mean and i can rant to my friends and be very unpleasant, i do it less in public but i can also lash out in reblogs.

about the media literacy... with some people you can discuss stuff and kinda point out that they are ignoring some stuff or they could consider something. but online it's hard. and i usually just become snide about it and it never goes anywhere. it's like several stars have to align for it to happen: 1) the person needs to be open to have their opinion questioned, 2) you need to be open to question in a way that will not put them off before the message gets across, 3) you actually need a good argument, 4) you need not to be like me and get confrontational and angry 90% of the time, 5) the conv o needs to move into the dms - in public it's almost guaranteed to fail, 6) other - who knows what really.

most of the time however it ends up in a confrontation. and then blocking.

when i'm in a calmer mood i block preemptively not to rile myself up. but sometimes i'm in a bad mood and then i will start shit.

and there's also the question of flavour of the media illiteracy. like i will not discuss stuff with bigots, these are insta blocks. i will not discuss stuff with the fandom purity police, one because they are often bigots and two because they don't understand they use the language and concepts of the far right and it's like a very fundamental problem.

in the jjk fandom specifically i will not discuss stuff with people who espouse views that "gege hates ...", or call gege a misogynist or accuse them of an incest fancier, or use violent language towards gege, those people are too far gone, those are insta blocks.

i will also not try to talk to people whose main interest in hxh or jjk is completely different than mine. i don't give a single shit about stsg, at this point it actively irks me and i will ignore people who engage in it. ii will not engage with people who call yuuji boring or say he's not the main character, it'd be too much effort to talk to them and probably with no reward.

i have also a lot of smaller pet peevs that i will either block people over or not engage at all. so i do understand you anon and i think life's too short to waste on people you'd have nothing to talk to.

though my situation is quite different, i read a lot of fanfic and write it too so i interact with a lot of writers. not everyone i interact with is into meta.

it honestly depends on what you like and how you want to interact and what you want to talk about. if you only care about meta then interact with people who like these kinds of discussions, it's ok not interact with people if you don't vibe on the same wave length. i've said it before, i'm very much into organically finding people you vibe with. sometimes i interact with people and it feels we have stuff in common but the convo just doesn't really work, it's kinda awkward or whatever. and well it's not meant to be, there will be others.

#answering asks #tldr if you are happy with your circle of friends that's enough #fandom is best highly curated #it's supposed to be fun #life will force you to socialise with people you have little in common anyway #in fandom seek out those you vibe with #politely ignore the rest #block on sight the people whose posts spark even the slightest active annoyance #unless you want to start a fight with them #then knock yourself out

[kyogre-blue]

So I’ve started on Faruzan’s hangout. And we get this: 

The local branch manager of the Adventurers Guild just casually drops that “many” members can’t even read. 

For context, the only other time we’ve seen illiteracy mentioned (that I’ve seen) is one guy in Liyue. Even random hunters in Mondstadt can read and write, and this is supposed to be the nation famous for their education and scholarship. 

Apparently, this might be because the Akademiya gatekeeps super hard. Do they allow access to some books, or none at all...? 

This part is unrelated. I’m just curious what each branch means. Is there more than one branch per nation? Because they’re talking about specifically Sumeru ruin mechanisms, I wouldn’t consider sharing with other branches to be terribly useful (iirc Faruzan specializes in Deshret’s ruins, not the primordial ones). 

This part is also unrelated. I just thought it was cure that the first ending I got applied Faruzan’s life philosophy that she stated earlier, that all knowledge is “useful” and worthwhile, even if you don’t yet know how it might come to be applied. 

#playing genshin #genshin lore

[charlotte-balfours-garden]

🍝/🍰, 🐈 and the 💯 because I love random facts and want more!!! for Eli!!!! But if you want to, also for Ada :3

🍝/🍰 what is/are your oc's favorite food(s)/sweet(s)/dessert(s)?

i genuinely don’t have an answer to that for eli, he doesn’t care at all 😭 he’s not picky, he will eat anything and chances are he likes it well enough, but he would never go as far as to deem something his ‘favorite’. ada is still trying to prepare the perfect colcannon, the way their mother used to do, and she’s gotten pretty close.

between the two, ada definitely has more of a sweet tooth (she got to eat a fig once and is still chasing that high)

HOWEVER

i remember stating ages ago in one of these oc ask thingies that german au eli would really be into franzbrötchen and i stand by that

🐈 does your oc prefer a wide circle of friends or a few close friends?

definitely a few close friends, both of them (this does not exclude having a wide network of acquaintances, ada specifically knows a lot of people, but it takes a while for her to consider someone a FriendTM)

💯 share three random facts about your oc that others may not know

- remember when eli talked ada into tossing her shoes in the pond? she got her revenge a few weeks later by releasing a handful of ants in his bed (this sort of backfired of course, sharing a room and a bunk bed and all that..)

- while she does like to poke fun at eli’s illiteracy, she’s actually not that great of a speller herself (reading is fine though, and she barely remembers the last time she had to write something down [besides the occasional letter to millie] so who cares)

- while eli named one of his horses after their childhood dog sammy, ada, at roughly the same time on the other side of the state, named one of the stray cats at the orphanage after their mule, elliott

three more random facts already answered here :)

#now i’m thinking about norddeutscher lloyd and eli running into each other at kiel hbf or something #like literally running into each other #sending a fischbrötchen and a franzbrötchen flying #anyway thank u for the ask <33 #eli flanagan #ada #rdo

[thethirdromana]

I was reading a journal article on Project Muse that said that in the late 19th century activities like writing a journal were gradually being considered feminine and that it's reinforced in that Jonathan writes in a "female shpere/space" (an oak table, womens' quarters) (then it goes weird with linking his non-physical resistance in the castle and during the Asylum attack as "feminine passivity" but it's not the first time a dracula article says that so will ignore it ig) but it made me curious if you have ever heard of this before and also that if yes if that could make Seward's refusal to write and typewrite seem not weird to the readers?

Hmmm... the short answer is that I don't know.

Typing has certainly been a feminine skill since the late 19th century, in a way that was fully established by the time of Dracula. So it's certainly not weird for Seward to refuse to type. Is there even a point in the novel where Seward typing is mooted as an option for him to refuse? I don't remember the possibility being raised any more than anyone suggests he might, idk, launder his own shirts, but there might be something I'm forgetting.

I'm not aware of that being extended to writing more generally. It's worth noting that Seward's journal is as much professional as it is personal; keeping records of his patients is a core part of his job. It's not a diary in the conventional sense, and so isn't female-coded even if diary-writing was beginning to be seen that way.

I'm also not sure how much Seward's aversion to writing would strike contemporary readers as weird. Dyslexia (termed "word blindness") was already being studied in the 1890s, and though true illiteracy was rare by then, I don't think it would seem odd that someone might dislike writing - even an educated professional.

I think there are two key reasons for Seward's use of a phonograph. One because a key theme of Dracula is the modern world fighting the medieval one, and so the Crew of Light are armed with all the most modern of weapons: phonographs, portable typewriters, and reliable railway timetables. And two, the boring practical reason, because typing up Seward's recorded cylinders is a neat way to bring Mina's record-keeping into that part of the narrative.

But I refer you to the short version of my answer. I don't know much about this. If anyone else has more thoughts that contradict any of this, do share them!

#dracula daily

[yamayuandadu]

Could you talk about Shalim and Shahar? I'm assuming there's not that much about them, but I think they sound interesting. I'm also curious about whether the info on their Wikipedia pages is accurate.

Yeah, sure thing. Shahar's just about the Bible so of course it is not accurate. Imagine if Siris' page was about tracking down every time the common word "wine" appears in the Bible! Shalim's has an absolute abomination in it, "likely Asherah (Athirat or Anat)," this level of depraved longing for full interchangeability of goddesses (coupled here with illiteracy) frankly should result in social shunning at this point. I'm tired of fixing it. I'm tired of it being present even in peer reviewed publications. Granted, in Ugarit studies this longing is so strong even male deities get hit by it, for example mr. N. Wyatt is apparently obsessed with proving Yarikh is El which to me seems like an echo of these christian fundie “moon god Allah” graphics which were all the rage in the Bush era, I genuinely can’t think of any other explanation for this nonsense existing. While I've seen MUCH worse, and honestly you can find 10x worse on wikipedia (which is part of why I did not really put these particularly high in my queue), both articles are weak because they are unconcerned with material evidence. You can't write a good article about a deity until you spent some time reading something like "grain distribution statistics from the Umma province" is what I firmly believe. A good term to use to describe Shahar and Shalim in Ugarit would be "sort of irrelevant." Shahar never appears on his own, only as Shalim's cognomen. Shalim does receive offerings alone in some of the KTUs (Keilalphabetische Texte aus Ugarit, the most common designation for Ugaritic text, next to RS, which just stands for Ras Shamra) but as far as I know he's often near the very end, alongside deified instruments and censers. I think he also gets livers a few times, no clue if this indicates anything specific though (liver was the favored type of organ for divination, fwiw). As a pair, they appear in a single myth which is considered particularly confusing and gets regularly retranslated so the only things which we can say for certain is that both are children of El and that they are voracious (?). That "globetrotting" ritual text where deities are invoked from their cult centers just places them in the heavens rather than in any specific city or mountain like most of the rest.

The Akkadian cognate of Shahar, Šērum, had a bit more clout. He has no twin, though. Also, he inexplicably appears in the Nippur god list with grain deities, though followed by Tiranna (Manzat) and Mahdianna (Kabta), who are obviously astral. Interestingly, a description of his statue would indicate he was not antropomorphic: he had wings, the forelegs of a bovine, the body of a lion, and the face of a man. Interestingly, it is possible that the name of Ashur's... daughterwife (they were already arguing if she's his wife or daughter in the Neo-Assyrian period!)... Šerūʾa either was derived from the same root or received a folk etymology based on it. Gebhard Selz also thinks the "Sumerian" counterpart of Aya, Sherida, was derived from the same word, and personally I find his argument sound, though note it is not universally accepted, see here.

#ugaritic miscellanea #mesopotamian miscellanea