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IMPORTANT SITE REMINDERS ARE LISTED AFTER THIS RANT (so please read all of it in order to find the rules >:3)
On this mega I shall take the opportunity to rant about one of my favorite things: the Webnovel UNJUST DEPTHS!
Do you love transgenders?
Do you love communism?
Do you love queer romance?
Do you love killing fascists in a giant fucking mech?
Would a plotline with all of these things happening in a underwater retro-futuristic gundam setting intrigue you?
Especially if its actually really well written with good characters, rich worldbuilding, and a marxist leninist transfem author?
All of the answers should be: YES I DO ~~or else I WILL BAN YOU~~
Since you obviously love all of those things then Unjust Depths is perfect for YOU yes YOU! It is DESTINY
The Imbrian Ocean is at a time of severe instability. The monarch of the vast Empire that spans its unjust depths (:3) is sick and nearing death, every territory of the ocean now vying to carve their own Destiny out of the chaos. From the Volk fascists , Zionists (they literally will not die why are they still here oh my god), The 'Anarchists' (social chauvanists) in Bosporus, and the monarchs of each vast noble domain, each vies for power and prestige no matter who they crush underfoot, but it would be a pretty depressing story without a bright light in the dark.
On the edge of the Empire sits the glorious Union! The (Soviet) Union is a socialist federation of three states (and one anarchist mountain )that were formerly slave colonies under the Imbrian Empire until they broke away in a fierce liberation war. They have spent the last 20 years since then building themselves up. Whether they be Human , Shimmi (Catgirls who usually follow a religion closely related to modern Islam), and Kattaran (a hybrid humanoid species with characteristics of sea life ranging from sharks to cuttlefish)building socialism side by side.
First lead under the revolutionary leader Dashka Kansal, then the Idealist Ahwalia who lead the country to near ruin in pursuit of building a utopia on pillars of sand, then under the scientific socialist leadership of the Grand Marshall of the Union, Bhavani Jayanskar (I love Jayanskar so much shes basically as if Stalin, Lenin, and Zhukov were rolled into the same person but was a black lesbian badass who wore the uniform REALLY WELL)(she aint the main character at all tho shes only in very few scenes i just love her so much). Under Jayanskar, the Union has been growing their economy to both eliminate hunger and give everyone a home , but also growing their military capabilities for the inevitable return of the Empire. The Union is alone, but with the people by its side nothing, not even Destiny, can snuff out true freedoms light.
As war wages between the Empire and Republic (basically underwater USA) once more over the lands between them, the facade begins to finally crack...
And a border conflict between the Empire and Union escalate, and the dreaded reconquest begins.
Amidst this turmoil, lives our main characters (yes there are multiple and all of them are lovely). Each of whom I personally love dearly, and are very well characterized. Many are soldiers of the Union, some are scientists, some are divers (mech pilots), some are lost strands finding new meaning after joining this band of Brigands
All are Communists
All serve the Union
All would gladly give their lives to defending socialism
but even they would have little inkling of the adventure set in store for them as the lands beneath the waves erupt in fire, fury, and revolt
Can these transgender badasses kick fascist ass?
Can they kiss? (oh my god please kiss ISTG THERE IS SO MUCH SHIPPING AHHHH ITS GLORIOUS)
FIND OUT HERE: https://unjustdepths.com/
please do or else I will pout incessantly
just try it pleeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaase i need to talk to someone about it after Cromalin went AFK
(I miss her, she was a real one)
REALLY IMPORTANT RULES BELOW, MUST READ
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As a reminder, be sure to properly give content warnings and put sensitive subjects behind proper spoiler tags. It's for the mental health of not just your comrades, but yourself as well.
Here is a screenshot of where to find the spoiler button.
i think the discussion of socialists is different in universe and is inherently represented as such. Since the socialists do deal with dealing with racism, but in universe is represented as mostly solved. The Union has a very empowered shimii population, and Shimii fighters were at the frontlines of the revolution as well as its leadership. The people of the Union are a very diverse group of humanoids who all fought together against slavery. In such, the contradiction is represented as being solved, and the solving of which is represented as a core part of Mordecaism-Jayanskarism (in universe marxism leninism).
The anarchists in universe dont really have that history, especially that of the bosporus anarchists. (The reason i keep bringing them up is because they are like the only anarchists in the ocean besides that in the United Front organization and the Mountain. The mountain anarchists not really being touched upon all that much besides the small hostility due to purely political reasons.)
So its hard to talk about anarchists in universe since the only ones we have experience with ARE the racist ones.
dw about it i sponge things up too, and i do acknowledge how damn hard it is for us neurodivergents to dedicate to theory. I myself do it too rarely, and usually through video or audio format sadly. Even then only when im on meds. im with you on that.
I can say, the whole Shimii unity stuff we get to see in universe fucking rocks. I think that's in Book 9, but in a lot of ways the Union seems kinda like a utopia, looking in from our hellworld. I guess I should keep reading to see how this goes, if anything improves regarding various other issues of basically-racism in and around the funny ocean.
I actually didn:t know the mountain anarchists were distinct from the Bosporan ones, uh TIL I guess. I mean it is telling that the webnovel's lens is only on the big racism anarchists, but since there's room for that to change or expand I guess it deserves a little slack. Uh, Trust The Madiha Plan or smth.
Pft I fucking hate life, seriously I thought it was gonna be Theorytown when I got fired and I'd spend all my time reading volumes of Lenin and shit, maybe become a Capital vol1 understander, but I'm not that much less exhausted than I was, this sucks. It was legit easier to read theory on stolen time at work, lol.
My apologies if I came off as too harsh at any point today..
definitely, one of my favorite parts of the story is seeing their better society. sure its got some rough edges and issues, but they're looking forward, empowering each other, and leaving no one behind. Its a dream, to see the downtrodden of society rip off their chains and walk their own path. Im getting very emotional about this ahhhhhhh lol.
and yeah its definitely so much better compared to the shit we have to deal with right now its not even close. Widely available free hormones? Free universal healthcare? Us transgenders not just accepted into society but the builders of it and equals to all. Transphobia literally was not encountered by Murati until she left the union by my recollection. Imagine just being trans and never feeling like you're under threat from it, like its a secret, but that its something you just are that no one will judge you for unless they're reactionaries. And transphobes literally get locked up its amazing.
Thats just the trans stuff. Its the only place in the whole ocean where all humanoid races can truly say they are treated without discrimination. It means a lot coming from Shimii and Katarrans after seeing the prejudice they face in the day to day, as Homa's arc really shows us in a truly grim fashion. The Union also has the largest membership of a shimii religion that is a smaller divergence from the main one. I think it is called Rhadinists, and the larger one Mahidists (something close to that sorry because i definitely misspelled). That scene of Bhavani walking around one of the Shimii communities in the Union just was so goddamm good. Compared to the communities forged out of shimii under occupation, these are shimii without the boot of racism upon their heads and it brings tears to my eyes sometimes to just see a race so commonly discriminated and broken carving itself away and making its own path. Another example would be the Caliphate the Bosporians attack, when the delegate walked around and saw all the Shimii living free. But in that situation they were forced into hiding and living off piracy (based but they deserve to surf their seas as their own not 'stealing' from what is rightfully theirs), but in the Union Shimmi live free. Seeing that kind of unity and self empowerment is just beautiful to behold even if its not real.
being real with you, do not depend on the united front anarchists. It isn't their fault necessarily but it doesn't...
well you'll see. A very very old enemy makes a return and the anarchists are caught unawares.
same, i learned much more while procrastinating at my work then when i had all the time in the world. Its weird ig lol. Maybe the active wage exploitation becomes a motivator??? Brains are weird.
we are tired even when we sleep lmao
nah its fine it all worked out
So real... Like chuds screech about getting locked up for wrong pronoun usage, MOTHERFUCKER I WISH, look at society if we do!!! An optimistic future to work towards tbh, which I doubt that's the first time I've said that about Unjust Depths.
Okay can we talk about how good every 10.x chapter is? I find Homa's portion is sooooooooooo fucking good, the bit where she's on the train and staring up at the station tower feeling powerless is so good, hits like a ton of bricks. Fucking incredible.
Oh yeah this is what I was referring to earlier!!! This shit slaps, no notes. It is beautiful, it's great to see even in fiction. Most narratives are liberalism smh.
lol perhaps I will
Fuckin frustrating, but I will admit stealing work time to read the Manifesto felt pretty rad. Work is usually so mindnumbing that my focus goes right to my ereader, and so theory...