Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

RJ the Spooky Monarch @rjank.bsky.social · 5m

This seems like as good a time as any to share my story with the black bloc. When I was younger, I thought they were just a bunch of hot-headed bozos. My time in Oly changed my perspective in a big way, though.

While I was living in Olympia, right-wing rallies, featuring genuine organized hate groups, came to town about once every 90 days. Hundreds of dudes who spent their lives online fermenting their brains in Facebook and Twitter circles dedicated to painting Oly as the devil's den came to rile each other up and take their political impotence out on whatever minorities they could find. And I'm not saying that figuratively. Before and after the rallies, a lot of them would rove around town and harass brown and visibly queer people. One of my friends got followed home. A couple other people in my circle got jumped by dudes in trucks and jeeps with Trump stickers and American flags. I saw the bruises and welts myself.

OlyPD didn't help a lick. Hell many of them were in those groups. One even did a photo op with the three percenters during a rally.

But I'll tell you who did help: Oly's black bloc. They'd show up downtown to counter-protest the rallies, and without fail, every nazi jackass in town would drop what they were doing to go try and start fights with the black bloc. Oly's black bloc always had more discipline than them and refused to break ranks, so they were just kind of a sink for all that aggression. They confronted a bunch of raging goons who were armed to the teeth with improvised shields at best. Two of them even took bullets for it.

I remember one time Sunrise Oly and I were helping out with a Dia de los Muertos event at Heritage Park ahead of one such rally. Keep in mind this was a kid-focused event. About halfway through the morning, dudes in camo, overalls and sunglasses started wandering through. A couple started questioning someone at a stall about their immigration status. The mood got real grim real fast. Us Sunrisers tried to intervene, to kinda ward the guys off, but there was only so much fiveish kids could do beyond asking them to leave. Then one dude I was near got a text. He smiled, told the guy next to him "Whaddya know, antifa showed up," and almost instantly they all cleared out of the park. Didn't have a single problem the rest of the day.

It wasn't always pretty, but from when the black bloc arrived to when the right-wingers went home, the streets of Olympia were safe.

I've never been black bloc. I had, and often still have, similar gripes to you about them. I'm not always enthused to see people bloc up for a protest. A lot of them have no protest discipline. Some of them have never organized a day in their life. Some even think that just being confrontational will advance the cause. With that said, I, as a visibly queer activist from West Oly, probably owe my life, or at least my health, to the black bloc.

An on-duty Olympia police officer in the parking lot of Private Sector Arms, a popular spot for hate groups, posing with 11 armed men holding their index finger and thumb together and sticking their other three fingers straight out, the sign of the right-wing militia The Three Percent.

1

RJ the Spooky Monarch @rjank.bsky.social · 16h

No worries! The added wrinkle the League part adds to this format makes it a little tough to translate for people familiar with standard Domain rules.

1

RJ the Spooky Monarch @rjank.bsky.social · 16h

The rule for Domain League is that the DM grants its domain to all monsters in the deck. Since Extra Joker becomes a tri-beast under Nerval's domain, it's eligible to be cheated out with Nerval's effect.

1

RJ the Spooky Monarch @rjank.bsky.social · 17h

The Tri-Brigades are fun DMs, because they can cheat out just about any link monster, meaning no link is a dead draft. So far, the funniest Tri-Brigade boss monsters in the cube are World Gears of Theological Demiurgy and Arcana Extra Joker.

2 3

RJ the Spooky Monarch @rjank.bsky.social · 17h

This cube is so close to being ready to draft for real. I'm really excited.

3

RJ the Spooky Monarch @rjank.bsky.social · 18h

This is my favorite deck I've arena drafted from my domain league cube yet.

The deck revolves around Swap Frog's Aqua domain giving it the ability to bin any LV1/2 monster, so it can mill a monster with GY utility to match almost any Therion it opens with, unlocking every other Therion in the deck.

A row of almost every Therion monster, followed by a row of dinky monsters that match their type: Sinister Serpent, Ronitoadin, Re-Cover, Spore, and Quilbolt Hedgehog.
On the bottom is a series of ED monsters the deck can summon, including Adamancipator Risen Dragite, Gacchi Gacchi Gantetsu, Onibimaru and Link Eria

2 5

RJ the Spooky Monarch @rjank.bsky.social · 18h

I think both of these terms are the stones thrown at revisionism by people who live in glass houses. Historical and theoretical revisionism are both problems in left spaces, but "tankie" and "anarkiddie" are the weapons of people who haven't even read enough history or theory to be revisionist.

1

RJ the Spooky Monarch @rjank.bsky.social · 18h

I've never had the flavor of something overcome such a dramatic smell L.

4

RJ the Spooky Monarch @rjank.bsky.social · 18h

This substance performs an almost magical feat by tasting very good, despite smelling uncannily similar to an in-use urinal cake.

A hand holding up a raspberry cream ghost energy drink in front of, appropriately, a secret lab gaming chair

1 6

RJ the Spooky Monarch @rjank.bsky.social · 19h

Hate it when the brain and body conspire against me. You're strong, and I believe in you!

1

RJ the Spooky Monarch @rjank.bsky.social · 20h

And unlike every other card in the format I've heard people say should be banned (e.g. FuFu, Oppression, Brio) this card enables no cool combos or plays, has no innate punishes, and can't be outed reliably. It subtracts a ton of gameplay and adds none back in return.

2 1

RJ the Spooky Monarch @rjank.bsky.social · 20h

There is ONE(1) card I think Edison would be better without, and it's this one.

2 4

RJ the Spooky Monarch @rjank.bsky.social · 20h

Iain writes really cool explorations into Yugioh's history and culture! If you aren't already following them and are the kinda person they're looking for, please consider helping them out! I'm sure this one's gonna be a banger.

Thempire Iain 🏳️‍🌈🧡🏳️‍⚧️ @thempireiain.neocities.org · 20h

Hmm new video essay is written i think, but I'm potentially looking for input from more women adjacent people
Would be cool to like put in the voices of other women alligned people who are tired of people calling shit waifu in Yu-Gi-Oh to make the argument more persuasive

4

Reposted by RJ the Spooky Monarch

Thempire Iain 🏳️‍🌈🧡🏳️‍⚧️ @thempireiain.neocities.org · 20h

Hmm new video essay is written i think, but I'm potentially looking for input from more women adjacent people
Would be cool to like put in the voices of other women alligned people who are tired of people calling shit waifu in Yu-Gi-Oh to make the argument more persuasive

6 6 15

RJ the Spooky Monarch @rjank.bsky.social · 23h

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAÀAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Jessica @yamadoll.kawaii.social · 1d

yup

3 11

RJ the Spooky Monarch @rjank.bsky.social · 1d

Scrolling Yugioh Bsky like

Post 1: I want a huge spider girl to paralyze me and wrap me in her web. I want to see 20 eyes regarding me as nothing more than pitiful prey. I need to feel her sucking out my liquified guts and using them to nurture her spawn.

Post 2: My Baby🥺 [QP'd Excavate Bot post]

3 5 31

RJ the Spooky Monarch @rjank.bsky.social · 1d

PleasepleasepleasepleaseHolyFuckPLEASE

1 5

RJ the Spooky Monarch @rjank.bsky.social · 1d

The fact that this is the most man-coded thing I've done in years was only mildly undermined by the fact that I was in my bridesmaid's makeup and had freshly shaven legs.

RJ the Spooky Monarch @rjank.bsky.social · 1d

After a verrrry long wedding day yesterday I spent my afternoon today with the couple in the sun and breeze chatting and extracting the last of an incredible pilsner out of this keg, and the vibes were immaculate.

9

RJ the Spooky Monarch @rjank.bsky.social · 1d

After a verrrry long wedding day yesterday I spent my afternoon today with the couple in the sun and breeze chatting and extracting the last of an incredible pilsner out of this keg, and the vibes were immaculate.

4

RJ the Spooky Monarch @rjank.bsky.social · 2d

🫂💕

1

RJ the Spooky Monarch @rjank.bsky.social · 3d

No I genuinely love it. It's very emblematic of the deck. Just like how the Dragoon decks were very often Dragoon feat. Dragoon.

2

RJ the Spooky Monarch @rjank.bsky.social · 3d

I love Dragon Master Magia feat. Dragon Master Magia

1 3

RJ the Spooky Monarch @rjank.bsky.social · 3d

Just did the math to learn that One Piece has a roughly comparable number of pages to the entire Cosmere.

3 8

Reposted by RJ the Spooky Monarch

∂ire @dire.bsky.social · 3d

i love the new card design trend of
"dark knights with black armor and red decals and green accents that have light blue/gray-ish hair and look like they're about a week away from realizing that they're women"
PLEASE keep printing more konami they're so gender

3 9 68

RJ the Spooky Monarch @rjank.bsky.social · 3d

Thank you for birthing days. Things would suck a little more if it was always night.

1 1