You end up making good stuff by making a bunch of bad stuff, which is why everybody who’s blocked, the reason they’re blocked is because they are committing the cardinal sin of assuming their job is to make something good. You’ll never make that. Your definition of good will change as you get better. It will always be something you’re not capable of. Whereas you know you can make something that sucks. You live in terror of it. So, do that. You’re also a very critical person. You’re very critical of your own work, other people’s work. So make something that sucks and then criticize it, and fix it. That is a much better way to get something done than this idea that, you know, you’re gonna use your brain, which is so special, you’re gonna make all the right choices ‘cause you’re such a great, great person.

Dan Harmon (via digital-femme)

This quote kinda reminds me of a totally unrelated tweet by Ta-Nehisi Coates I read yesterday:

The thread tying them together in my head, I guess, is this idea that you should stop worrying about being smart and do the work. Study, Write, Listen, Consider what you’ve heard and what you’ve written, and how/why you respond to it as you do. THAT’S how you get to “Good”; not by being born with the right, ephemeral, mental “trait”. Follow one small step with the next, and before you know it a journey of a thousand miles is behind you.

(via zenosanalytic)

I basically think that all art is escapism, and I question any art that isn’t or doesn’t want to be an escape. Escapism sounds irresponsible, burying one’s head in the sand. But what I mean by escapism is an enlargement of experience, a hope of a better world. Art at its best teaches us that there is something beyond our own meager experience, some option other than the limited and repetitive events of our own lives, some possible future other than the one dictated by our circumstance. It pulls us out of learned choreography and lock-step patterns. It tells us that the world is larger than ourselves. Reading Sam Shepard as a teen, and listening to [Patti] Smith as a young adult, I was looking for art that put blood into the world, that would urge me to usefully endanger myself. Their language gave a shape to my desire to go away from the soft edges, to find the things that hurt, to live like a giant against the landscape.

Buddies | Helena Fitzgerald (via sashayed)

anotheryellowfog:

Charles Simic, ‘Totemism’, from Dime-Store Alchemy: The Art of Joseph Cornell

zenosanalytic:

lines-and-edges:

freedom-of-fanfic:

shipwhateveryouwant:

no really though, can anyone explain to me why fictional depictions of violence are only wrong when they’re sexual? why it’s universally understood that simulated violence can be consumed without danger of influencing society, but any depiction of any part of the sexual violence spectrum will inevitably contribute to real world sexual violence? have any antis made an attempt at really explaining that? I’d love to see it

Obviously I’m not an anti, but as someone who has always had an underlying reaction of ‘this comparison doesn’t feel right’ whenever someone calls hating fictional sex but not fictional murder hypocritical, I wanted to respond.

I think it’s a reflection of how society reacts to sexual assault victims differently from murder/attempted murder victims. Specifically: society behaves as if the thoughts and fantasies of a sexual assault victim have an effect on the severity of their rapist’s actions but does not do the same for murder victims.

in other words: in an anti’s eyes, it’s easy to see that only a murderer is responsible for murder. But rape culture (not the rapists) are responsible for sexual assault and anyone contributing to it (i.e. creators of dark fandom content) is/are responsible for cleaning up and ending rape.

*

Frank talk about about rl sexual assault and murder below.

Neutrally speaking, sex itself can be a good or a bad experience. murder or attempted murder can only ever be a bad experience.

When someone says they were sexually assaulted, society zeros in on whether or not the victim enjoyed/wanted/previously fantasized about the sex instead of focusing on the being forced part. If we treated murder victims the same way we treat sexual assault victims, we’d concern ourselves with whether the victim enjoyed/wanted/previously fantasized about being stabbed/choked/poisoned/etc to death instead of focusing on the being dead part.

Keep reading

This is a really good analysis, thanks!

Also, this deserves to be a pull quote:

“[A]s long as society pushes the blame for sexual violence off the abuser/rapist and onto the victim, or the state of society… antis will contribute to this mindset by demanding that the victims and society clean up their act first.”

This is good but I’d like to add: “antis”(or, well, their philosophical ancestors) TOTALLY tried to do this with violence.

For most of the 90s and early 00s, people with precisely this mindset fought HARD to ban or censor games and music(exclusively rap and other “deviant” genres) for violence(and, surely by coincidence, anti-establishment messages) with the same sorts of arguments and on the similar theory that violence in art caused violence in society. That violence and crime in US society during this period were persistently falling inspite of its, to their eyes, ever-increasing “deviance” never seemed to register with them, oddly enough. And before THAT -during the 70s, 80s, and 90s- the same folks campaigned against violence in films, tv, and music. Antis lost all those fights, eventually(well, TV censorship is more complex. The FCC was, and remains, very susceptible to their gaming, particularly on language and sex).

And during all these eras, mostly the same folks were caught up in the anti-porn fight as well. Which also failed. So why does this particular arm of the anti-porn campaign continue? Here’s one theory:

All of this -from slasher flicks to pornography- were normalized by society in the wake of their success; they became, or became part of, billion dollar industries and, in the US, how can something worth billions of dollars be deviant? Commodities are as American as Apple Pie. These are all also Industries controlled by, and profitable to, white men. Fanfic is (mostly)non-profit. It’s non-commoditized and, in fact, very difficult to commoditize due to IP laws. It’s primarily controlled by folks afab. Because it’s non-institutionalized, the sort of structural gatekeeping which keeps poc and non-men out of positions of influence and control aren’t as developed and established(racism and sexism are still social institutions that impact and exist in fandom, obvsl; upholding them is the point of the racist+sexist harassment which happens in it). Fanfic sex remains “deviant”, and thus an open target for christian moralizers(disguised, unaware, or otherwise), because Fanfic communities themselves are “deviant”; more open to those excluded by establishment society, and more difficult for capitalists to integrate into their system of profit-exploitation.

important message to all of my followers

jumpingjacktrash:

sacculetta:

splendidland:

carolimejone:

splendidland:

frognoodle:

splendidland:

weeaboo-chan:

splendidland:

conglomera:

splendidland:

ommanyte:

splendidland:

imalwaysaslutforthevoid:

splendidland:

weeaboo-chan:

splendidland:

kawaii-never-cease:

splendidland:

tid3000:

splendidland:

rintezukas:

splendidland:

agpicklefeet:

splendidland:

sacculetta:

splendidland:

the-faeriedae:

splendidland:

radiation:

splendidland:

bisexualscotty:

splendidland:

straightfromtakkocentral:

splendidland:

darkisthenewlightnow:

splendidland:

amfinwat:

splendidland:

splendidland:

jeweljessica:

splendidland:

you are now all trapped in my vast puzzle dungeon. good luck.

Can I get a hint

HINT MOUSE SAYS: *in a little squeaky voice* collect the silver rod from fabio’s grotto and bring it to the bridge of malice. be sure to talk to “knight doogle” on the way.

*hint mouse scurries away into a nearby hole*

i go to fabios grotto

*you hear the sound of distant strained moaning, followed by the creaking of something getting up from an old wooden chair. something is approaching you.*

FABIO: welcome to my grotto.

I say hello to Fabio, and ask them if they have a Silver rod?

FABIO: silver rod? oh….

*fabio dissappears into his grotto and rummages around in his back room. he is gone for quite some time and hasn’t offered you anything to eat or drink, so you just stand around in his home feeling really awkward. what if he lives with relatives and they come out and say something to you?*

FABIO: sorry that took so long. here’s my silver rod. now that i remember i have it at all, it’s my most treasured posession. you’ll have to offer me something for it

i offer to knit fabio a nice hat, for when the grotto gets drafty in the wintertime.

FABIO: what a wonderful hat. thank you.

I thank Fabio for his help, and leave the Grotto to head for the Bridge of Malice.

*fabio snatches the silver rod back from you and hits you across the room with it like a baseball bat*

FABIO: help??? what help? we never reached a deal. i was simply thanking you for such a lovely hat. i demand more.

i give fabio two shoes made for dancing.

*fabio slips his new dancing shoes on. his socks are a bit wet so it makes a funny fart noise*

FABIO: wonderful boots!
*fabio does an embarrassing dance move with all the coordination of a dead windmill but he’s having fun so you’re encouraging towards him*
FABIO: but…it’s still not enough for me to part with my beloved rod…

I give Fabio a big pair of glasses for his big beautiful eyes.

FABIO: my magnificent glistening eyes have been magnified by these lovely glasses! i can see my treasured silver rod better than ever now and it’s even more beautiful than i thought. it’ll take something really special for me to part with this..

I go ask Doogle for help

*fabio cackles and waves as you excuse yourself from his grotto, which was easier than expected because fabio seems more interested in the gifts he has recieved than your company at the moment, and head back towards the guard tower you actually passed on your way but didn’t notice until now*

*as you approach the tower, a metal face peeks around the corner*

KNIGHT DOOGLE: huh? what? who goes there? i left my spear in the tower but if you’re up to no good i will really go back and get it. i’m really tough.

I remove Doogle’s helmet.

*you catch doogle off guard the moment he nervously breaks eye contact with you and lift off his helmet*

KNIGHT DOOGLE: ah! my helmet! i needed that to protect my head from attacks! why did you do that?

*doogle paces around a small radius of a few feet looking very worried*

knight doogle you are beautiful

KNIGHT DOOGLE: huh? oh, thank you, that’s very sweet. but you didn’t have to just take off my helmet like that, you could have asked first. i feel so embarrased now.
*doogle shuffles back to his tower like a sad sneaking tree, and then returns, armed with a spear*

KNIGHT DOOGLE: sorry, i hope this isn’t threatening to you. i have lost all my confidence so i’m just holding this as a comfort item.

Wanna help us Get Fabio’s Silver Rod?

KNIGHT DOOGLE: fabio’s silver rod? he’ll forget about it in a week or two, he always forms fleeting attachments to things. but if you need it sooner rather than later, there’s one thing he has always desired above anything else…all i can tell you about it is that it’s small, yellow, and quite helpful.

we call hint mouse for help

*from a nearby hole, you and doogle both watch a creature, that’s small, yellow, and helpful scamper towards you. it’s the ever so helpful HINT MOUSE!!!*

*a round of applause and cheering is heard*

HINT MOUSE: *in a little squeaky voice* ahem ahem…
it is me, a mouse am i!
i only tell truths and i never lie!
reliable, helpful, and handsome to boot!
for all of your labour, i am the fruit!

*hint mouse looks around, hoping you’re all impressed by his new rhyming speech thing he’s trying out. rhyming is hard for mice because poetry is frowned upon in mouse culture*

I clap politely in appreciation of his speech and ask him if he would like to come visit Fabio with us

HINT MOUSE: thank you, i really appreciate the support. i will happily come and visit fabio with you…oh, sorry, hang on.

*hint mouse clears his throat*

HINT MOUSE: i’m always here for you, that’s my motto.
so i shall accompany you to fabio’s grotto!
you’ve supported me in all my life choices
you’re a lifelong friend to all little…moices!

*he messed up a little at the end, but he did really well, all things considering. you, doogle, and hint mouse arrive again at fabio’s grotto, however the door is closed, though not locked.*

i knock politely and ask if Fabio is home

*your knock on the door echos throughout the surrounding area, and you can hear a familiar voice call to you from inside*

FABIO: come on in…so long as you’re not a greedy thief…yee hee hee…

I smile warmly at hint mouse, look knowingly at knight doogle, and gently push open the door

*the door opens, but it required quite a shove, as it feels like something is in the way. as you step into his grotto, hundreds of items are strewn across the floor.

FABIO: oh….welcome back…!
since you’ve been gone, people have been laying items at my feet, all to get my beloved silver rod! it must be truly valuable..or truly blessed! as long as i have it, i’ll become the richest man in the caves! gah hah hah!

I turn to hint mouse and ask him to recite Fabio a poem that’ll blow his socks (and newly acquired shoes) off

*hint mouse looks back at you and nods, then leaps from your hand, hopping lightly from object to object across the room. fabio is so engorged on avarice that he’s already forgotten that you entered the room at all.*

HINT MOUSE: *gets fabios attention by briefly playing on a tiny flute*

the room is silent. hint mouse owns the stage now.

HINT MOUSE: ahem ahem!

you’ve gathered yourself quite a collection!
but now youve…oh…uhh…ah!! (why did i end a verse with “collection”?? this is awful…what should i do?)

I whisper ‘correction…dejection…direction…. affection’ to HINT MOUSE out of the corner of my mouth, with the realization that his hint-giving generosity has taught me how to give hints to others myself

*hint mouse is re-energized with the inspiration he needs to finish his poem*

HINT MOUSE:
you’ve assembled yourself quite a collection!
but i have arrived to give you affection.
your riches are piled right up to the cieling
but deep down i know you suffer with a feeling. (feels awkward but…i can keep going! everyone believes in me!)
you’re cooped up in here and you’re all alone
just yourself, a rod, and an old wooden throne
it doesn’t have to be that way, you don’t have to be bleak
let me introduce myself, i’m hint mouse, squeak squeak!
in exchange for the rod, i’ll be your best friend
a little yellow creature who you can always depend!

*applause is heard yet again, the crowd is going hog wild.*

*fabio takes a gentle tumble down his tower of riches and cradles hint mouse in his arms*

FABIO:
hint mouse…that was beautiful. you’d do all that just to help an old
man? you’re truly the best treasure i could ever ask for, i’ll cherish
our friendship forever…

FABIO: thank you so much all of you. i have no need for material goods anymore. the silver rod is yours to take!

*you obtained the silver rod at last!*

i bring the silver rod to the bridge of malice

*you and doogle leave fabio’s grotto, silver rod in tow. fabio and hint mouse wave goodbye to and live the rest of their lives in peace.*

*as you walk towards malice bridge, doogle turns to you.*

KNIGHT DOOGLE: sorry i didn’t say or do much back there…what happened was really beautiful though.

*knight doogle stops and thinks for a second, his ears and hair sway in the breeze and it looks so cool*

KNIGHT DOOGLE: i’ve spent my whole adult life just guarding my tower selfishly, but people like hint mouse do so much to help others. once this is over i’m going to change my lifestyle, i’ll give up the knight life.

*you enjoy the rest of your walk with doogle, and eventually arrive at malice bridge, which despite the name, is actually pretty ordinary. at the other end of the bridge, light from the surface trickles down, the way out.*

*suddenly, the air around you grows cold, a shiver travels up your spine, and a giant shimmering monster appears out of nowhere*

SILVER GUARDIAN: YOUR JOURNEY IS ALMOST OVER, TRAVELLERS! I AM THE MASTER OF MALICE BRIDGE! HAVE YOU SEEN MY MISSING FINGER ANYWHERE?

present the silver rod (or finger, i guess?) to the silver guardian! ask he how lost it, too, if it proves to be his

*the silver guardian rattles and shakes with glee*

SILVER GUARDIAN: MY FINGER! MY PRECIOUS DIGIT! OH…I LOST IT BECAUSE I WAS POKING AROUND IN MOUSE HOLES LOOKING FOR HINT MOUSE, BUT A LESS HELPFUL MOUSE STOLE IT…

*the silver guardian reattaches its finger, which is gross, so you look away while it does that*

SILVER GUARDIAN: NOW HUMAN….ARE YOU READY TO LEARN THE TRUE PURPOSE OF THE SILVER ROD?

*you tremble as the silver guardian does some really confusing poses with its hand, not entirely sure where it’s going with this.*

SILVER GUARDIAN: HEH HEH HEH….TO CROSS THE BRIDGE YOU GO IN THIS DIRECTION!!!!

*as you cross the bridge to the outside world, the rocky walls of the dungeon give way to fields and forests.at the middle of the bridge, you turn back, and all of your friends are there, and now they are all friends with each other all thanks to you.*

HINT MOUSE: go ahead and be free! meeting you has filled me with glee!
FABIO: you have people waiting for you out there, go and be with them!
DOOGLE: i’ll never forget our adventure, you can keep my helmet to remember me!
SILVER GUARDIAN: I DIDN’T REALLY GET TO KNOW YOU THAT WELL TO BE HONEST BUT YOU SEEM COOL. THANK YOU FOR FINDING MY FINGER!

*you turn around for the last time, and step outside*

THE END

this story was so perfect ;-;

i’m completely satisfied. what a good adventure.

dirkar:

I’ve been seeing a lot of posts about the “dangers of fiction influencing reality” with linked scientific findings and stuff and I appreciate the effort to back things up with psychological studies rather than, like, memes, but I’m just letting y’all know… that was literally the argument Tipper Gore used when she went after Prince music for fear it would turn her daughter into a stripper. That’s the exact argument that was used against Rockstar when they were accused of ‘making’ kids shoot up schools. These crusades against media have time and time again failed with their only positive results usually just being more prevalently available warnings for mature content. And their negative repurcussions have been far greater, such as an increased stigma against black music and parents banning their children from playing any video games. (Blocking people off from experiencing multiple genres based on racial bias and excluding access to an entire artform.) I’m not saying that there’s not stuff to be concerned about/critique. I’m just saying that if you’re going the “fiction is dangerous!” route it has historically been proven to be a lost cause.

temporaldecay:

kesandor:

“Diverse media is treated with a harsher lens than everything else” Probably because we’re assuming if you took the time to include us you’d do the bare minimum which is treat characters like us with respect and how dare we be upset when that doesn’t happen

True, but in a capitalistic-driven world like ours where media’s success is measured in revenue rather than it’s cultural importance, how we engage diverse media is literally a deciding factor of if we’ll get more.

And what type of media is it affects this even further.

TV shows and movies do not have a history of reacting to outcry or criticism by re-engaging and trying to fix it, they have a history of going “oh, right, no one wants [minority] in the focus, got it” and then shelf the project and go back to “white boy wonder #3000″ and his cookie cutter story that’s guaranteed to bring in money.

Videogames have a better reaction to critical commentary about their handling of diversity, hilariously enough. This is why we had things like Gamer Gate. Because the industry is willing to listen, much to the disdain and distaste of some of its fanbase.

I get it, though. White, straight, cis people have this pool of stories and if something is not to their liking, they can complain about it and go find another one they like better, because statistically, someone out there has tackled that specific take in a story. But if you’re in a minority and the movie/game/comic/THING you got is the only one you’ve got you want it to be everything. You feel it has to do everything perfectly, on every aspect. Because you don’t have anything else.

I sincerely believe that our engagement – critical and political – with diverse media needs to radically change, however. Because our own reactions to imperfect representations of ourselves – and let’s be honest, they’re ALL imperfect representations of ourselves, someone might find them suitable and someone might find them offensive, and we’re back with trying to make ONE THING that will satisfy ALL THE THINGS FOR EVERYONE EVER – don’t encourage people to try again and do better next time. This hyper critical culture in our own communities, that also has slowly been bled out of rational or structured long term planning, has resulted on people dogpiling anything that is even remotely “problematic” and decrying it as the Absolute Worst, thus demanding it be boycotted and as far removed from everything as possible. You’re not allowed to discuss the things diverse media did right, on penalty of being told you’re supporting everything they did wrong. You’re not allowed to say “Okay, it’s not FOR EVERYONE or ALL THE THINGS, but you know what, it’s doing THIS ONE THING really well”, because then you’re a traitor and must be destroyed.

I’ve seen people stirring in the Asian and Latino camps that Black Panther is not a big deal, because there aren’t any Asian or Latino people in the front and center of the movie.

I’ve seen people hissing that Wonder Woman should be boycotted because it’s an all-white imperialistic fantasy.

Look, guys. This approach to media betrays a simple misunderstanding of what Diverse Media is. Diverse Media is not the search for The One, you know, The One Good Book/Movie/Series/Game/Comic. Diverse Media is a road towards becoming Media, without qualifiers. It’s not about finding The One and stopping, because nothing will ever represent us that well ever again. It’s the constant road we’re paving, one step at the time, to reach the point where we too will be able to wrinkle our nose at any given piece of media and then shrug and go look for something else, like white, straight, cis people do today, with that same confidence that we WILL find something else, for whatever the reason, because we’re no longer genre pieces.

Be critical of Diverse Media, by all means. But be critical while you support it. Be critical while you scream at the top of your lungs that you want More of it.

And for the love of anything holy, please learn to engage media without that fucking Purity Culture filter bullshit that’s just ruining everything for everyone around you.

zenosanalytic:

prokopetz:

I keep seeing those “[film with positive representation f X] didn’t get a sequel because you didn’t support it!” posts going around. While it’s true that what people say they support in film is often very different from what they’re willing to spend money on, and that sort of performative support-without-substance is definitely a problem, we’ve also gotta bear in mind that – the studio system’s protestations to the contrary notwithstanding – which films get sequels is not, in fact, a purely rational economic calculus.

Some films that bomb horribly at the box office have sequels rushed into production immediately because they “have franchise potential”, while other films enjoy resounding box office success, only to have any sequel plans unceremoniously buried the moment the social media buzz wears off – and, with respect to which particular films experience each of these scenarios, there are certain conspicuous patterns.

Like, I’m not saying that people failing to put their money where their mouth is isn’t a problem, but we can’t lose sight of the fact that the game was rigged to begin with.

Same deal with television. Everyone, at this point, is probably aware of how Fox used scheduling to sink Firefly, but there were a whole rash of scripted dramas Sci-Fi had on at around the same time, their Friday block, that were sunk in just the same way because USA put in a programming head who wanted to shift the channel to “reality television” to cut overhead.

More recently there’s been talk that Andy Lack, the head of NBC News, has been trying to shift MSNBC rightward, politically, by, among other things, going after Maddow and O’Donnell; two huge ratings leaders. Here’s Wonkette’s typically snarky take on the rumors.

So yeah, the whole “these shows/movies fail because no one goes to see them” argument is wrongheaded. The People running media congloms have their own agendas, and they sabotage or promote, kill or maintain, shows to serve those agendas. The whole “ratings did it” claim they trot out is just a responsibility-dodge.

jumpingjacktrash:

vastderp:

youcantseebutimmakingaface:

sunderlorn:

rhube:

Suddenly all those Hinterlands quests to go round up a random farmer’s druffalo don’t seem so silly.

Dragon Age Inquisition – doing something right.

(source)

#war in pre-industrial societies was *very different* from what many people imagine #i keep seeing calls for ‘realistic medieval huge military battles’ and im like #yon average feif could maybe afford like 10 guys tops

YES. This whole thread is the best thing and betterbemeta’s tags (above) are on point. I would love actual ‘realistic ancient battles’ where like ten actual fighters and whatever serfs they can persuade to accompany them posture and try to intimidate each other, or have an Official Scrum on a mutually beneficial day. That and just…cattle raiding.

I guess in post-collapse terms it’s theoretically different because your whole raider gang exists to nick other people’s shit so doesn’t need to cultivate or craft much except perhaps to make them more self-sufficient in weaponry, armaments, and other logistical things that’ll enable them to raid harder and more often. That’s exactly why, on the other side of things, as many citizen’s as possible in your vulnerable good-guy farming commune might need to be militia members to protect themselves from people who can dedicate their full-time everyday energy to Being Raiders.

I say in theory because, even if you’re nicking other people’s shit, why not treat that as a bonus? Why not look to history’s peoples who placed a particular import on raiding as a way of life, and notice that none of them were just straight-up predators. They had enough agricultural or pastoral or pescatoral (is that a word?) infrastructure to subsist, and then the luxury, the surplus, came from attacking other people part-time, very occasionally. Look at norse folks going viking; look at the invasive pastoralists of the Eurasian steppe. Just in terms of the caloric requirements and risks inherent in combat, you’re not gonna want to do that full-time. Training to do it well will take more calories and they need to come from somewhere. You pick your battles. You take without fighting at all where you can – so intimidation and making enemies surrender without having to fight is important here; c.f. pirates of the Golden Age – and you fight rarely and only when you know you can a) win, b) benefit hugely from it.

THANK YOU

i think this post has changed my world. literally.

the ‘death is cheap’ approach to warfare only really came on the scene in the 19th century, and not full-blown until WW1. the american civil war and similar conflicts, with mass charges against cannon and the like, that’s a very modern approach to warfare and it assumes manpower is your cheapest resource.

in a non-industrialized setting, manpower is your most EXPENSIVE resource. you don’t throw masses of bodies against a position unless you’re an idiot, except in very rare cases – say, xerxes vs the 300 – where numbers are your only advantage and you don’t have any other options.

in pre-industrial warfare, tactics could make a shockingly outsized difference. there are many documented cases of a few commandos or a surprise flanking move defeating an army ten, twenty times their size. well-trained, well-equipped soldiers are not expendable in that setting. they are your best hope of winning. a medieval warlord would no more throw away his knights, archers, sappers, or other trained troops on massed action than a modern general would throw away her heavy bombers on a strafing run. that’s not how you use those.

just as the modern general uses long-range missiles for bombardment before sending in rare and expensive things like helicopter gunships for close engagement, the medieval warlord used mobile cavalry to isolate and harrass the enemy, and archers to soften them up, before picking his moment and ground to strike with heavy cavalry.

as ellis points out, these trained and equipped troops need a lot of support. reducing the enemy’s support was an essential tactic. when fantasy writers have a siege happen, they tend to think it’s just about starving the other guy or breaking down the wall. but the besieged army often ran into trouble long before that. running out of arrows was a problem, for instance, and when you eat your horses you no longer have a cavalry. a lot of times, that heroic ‘sally forth’ business that broke a siege one way or the other was just because it was eat the horses or use them, and a knight on foot was no longer able to fulfil his tactical role, so the leader rolled the dice rather than have his knights downgraded to footsoldiers.

one result of the need for civilian support for these troops was that you really, really didn’t want to slaughter the peasants if you could help it – at least not if you were taking over the territory, or thought you might want to at some point. it’s not like you could just ship a hundred thousand political prisoners from moscow to work the farms. the peasants WERE the land. without them, it was just a lot of mud you had to get across. you couldn’t stay, you couldn’t use it.

so i’d advise a moratorium on medieval armies burning every farm they pass, and slaughtering the inhabitants of cities they occupy. a few particularly ruthless warlords in history did that a few times, to make a point, and it was shocking back then, or it wouldn’t have worked. alaric sacked rome as revenge, not a takeover bid; you wouldn’t do that to a city you wanted to keep.

The key issue is that because our power depends on collective fictions, we are not good in distinguishing between fiction and reality. Humans find it very difficult to know what is real and what is just a fictional story in their own minds, and this causes a lot of disasters, wars and problems.

Yuval Noah Harari, author of Sapiens and Homo Deus

The best test to know whether an entity is real or fictional is the test of suffering. A nation cannot suffer, it cannot feel pain, it cannot feel fear, it has no consciousness. Even if it loses a war, the soldier suffers, the civilians suffer, but the nation cannot suffer. Similarly, a corporation cannot suffer, the pound sterling, when it loses its value, it doesn’t suffer. All these things, they’re fictions. If people bear in mind this distinction, it could improve the way we treat one another and the other animals. It’s not such a good idea to cause suffering to real entities in the service of fictional stories.

(via awed-frog)