hampton.
@hampton.bsky.social
rhetoric PhD student @ UGA | senior researcher @ Princeton | founder @MilitiaWatch.bsky.social | staring into the abyss at: state violence & paramilitarism + radical memes & graphic media + paranormal realities & haunted presents
The article in the quote mentions the Black Mirror episode but I'm interested in two possibilities of tech dystopian fiction:
1) that these tech guys have no interest in engaging with speculative fiction that identifies the folly of such ideas, and/or
2) that they instead take inspiration from them
1) that these tech guys have no interest in engaging with speculative fiction that identifies the folly of such ideas, and/or
2) that they instead take inspiration from them
February 16, 2026 at 11:55 PM
The article in the quote mentions the Black Mirror episode but I'm interested in two possibilities of tech dystopian fiction:
1) that these tech guys have no interest in engaging with speculative fiction that identifies the folly of such ideas, and/or
2) that they instead take inspiration from them
1) that these tech guys have no interest in engaging with speculative fiction that identifies the folly of such ideas, and/or
2) that they instead take inspiration from them
Of course! And the real thanks is to you and your interlocutors, for putting in the work, collecting it all together, and putting it down on paper to keep the history current and easy to access
February 16, 2026 at 4:14 PM
Of course! And the real thanks is to you and your interlocutors, for putting in the work, collecting it all together, and putting it down on paper to keep the history current and easy to access
Idk I'm still mulling this over - I might collect these notes into something for a blog but for now thinking aloud.
The Turalyon/Alleria and Light/Void split is a binary that WoW writers are obviously playing with, but it's interesting how old (and gendered) this conversation has been for so long.
The Turalyon/Alleria and Light/Void split is a binary that WoW writers are obviously playing with, but it's interesting how old (and gendered) this conversation has been for so long.
February 10, 2026 at 3:23 PM
Idk I'm still mulling this over - I might collect these notes into something for a blog but for now thinking aloud.
The Turalyon/Alleria and Light/Void split is a binary that WoW writers are obviously playing with, but it's interesting how old (and gendered) this conversation has been for so long.
The Turalyon/Alleria and Light/Void split is a binary that WoW writers are obviously playing with, but it's interesting how old (and gendered) this conversation has been for so long.
WoW writers have constantly talked about how seductive the Void is, parroting some of what Socrates et al were allegedly saying about rhetoric. It's interesting that the first major good (for now?) character representing the Void is a woman, notably one whose sister fell to a different corruption.
February 10, 2026 at 3:23 PM
WoW writers have constantly talked about how seductive the Void is, parroting some of what Socrates et al were allegedly saying about rhetoric. It's interesting that the first major good (for now?) character representing the Void is a woman, notably one whose sister fell to a different corruption.
Applying this to the Ancient Greek binary (philosophy/rhetoric), it's interesting how the character who loses control in BT (Turalyon) is not the one whose whole character arc is not defined by harnessing ("taming" for Sutton) her source of strength to which she is always on the brink of succumbing.
February 10, 2026 at 3:23 PM
Applying this to the Ancient Greek binary (philosophy/rhetoric), it's interesting how the character who loses control in BT (Turalyon) is not the one whose whole character arc is not defined by harnessing ("taming" for Sutton) her source of strength to which she is always on the brink of succumbing.
Quick summary of these two married characters:
Turalyon: light-forged, priest turned paladin, who WoW writers have kept showing as adhering to a deeply manichean worldview
Alleria: void-touched, ranger from tragic house, who WoW writers keep making run from her issues or struggle to keep control
Turalyon: light-forged, priest turned paladin, who WoW writers have kept showing as adhering to a deeply manichean worldview
Alleria: void-touched, ranger from tragic house, who WoW writers keep making run from her issues or struggle to keep control
February 10, 2026 at 3:23 PM
Quick summary of these two married characters:
Turalyon: light-forged, priest turned paladin, who WoW writers have kept showing as adhering to a deeply manichean worldview
Alleria: void-touched, ranger from tragic house, who WoW writers keep making run from her issues or struggle to keep control
Turalyon: light-forged, priest turned paladin, who WoW writers have kept showing as adhering to a deeply manichean worldview
Alleria: void-touched, ranger from tragic house, who WoW writers keep making run from her issues or struggle to keep control
In WoW, I had always thought of the Turalyon/Alleria split between husband/wife and Light/Void an interesting and dramatic decision on WoW storytelling, but reading Jane Sutton's 1992 essay on the gendered problems of the tradition, this perhaps brings these characterizations into clearer focus.
February 10, 2026 at 3:23 PM
In WoW, I had always thought of the Turalyon/Alleria split between husband/wife and Light/Void an interesting and dramatic decision on WoW storytelling, but reading Jane Sutton's 1992 essay on the gendered problems of the tradition, this perhaps brings these characterizations into clearer focus.
The Light in WoW has always been firm, unwavering, likened to "truth" in the empirical sense. The Void has often been Light's counterpoint, known for its possibilities and unsettledness. This binary has been articulated in Azeroth mostly since Legion, often in the background or in these books.
February 10, 2026 at 3:23 PM
The Light in WoW has always been firm, unwavering, likened to "truth" in the empirical sense. The Void has often been Light's counterpoint, known for its possibilities and unsettledness. This binary has been articulated in Azeroth mostly since Legion, often in the background or in these books.
Reposted by hampton.
Please take the time to read what the children detained in Dilley wrote me in their own words: www.propublica.org/article/ice-... 10/
“I Have Been Here Too Long”: Read Letters from the Children Detained at ICE’s Dilley Facility
Hundreds of children are currently being held with their parents at an immigration detention center in Dilley, Texas. In letters and drawings, eight kids convey the pain of feeling trapped with no end...
www.propublica.org
February 9, 2026 at 11:21 AM
Please take the time to read what the children detained in Dilley wrote me in their own words: www.propublica.org/article/ice-... 10/
Reposted by hampton.
The danger of “we already knew who/what Trump is, so we don’t need to keep up with the latest outrage,” is that it can obscure the ratcheting steps by which he drops even faintest veneer of democratic practice. In general, each rhetorical escalation marks an IRL increase in state violence. “
February 6, 2026 at 1:05 PM
The danger of “we already knew who/what Trump is, so we don’t need to keep up with the latest outrage,” is that it can obscure the ratcheting steps by which he drops even faintest veneer of democratic practice. In general, each rhetorical escalation marks an IRL increase in state violence. “