Zero Utopia
@zeroutopia.bsky.social
Late 30s, mixed agender-aromantic, pronouns ve/ver, post-scarcity humanist and alleged futurist. Political ghoul who also sometimes posts about music, fighting games, art, and other weird stuff.
Reposted by Zero Utopia
Sooo true. I’ve tried to explain the realities of working in various art industries to friends and family and often their discomfort leads to misdirected anger or blaming back at you. It conflicts with what we all agree should be fair and so in turn it must be “because you’re not business smart”
December 7, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Sooo true. I’ve tried to explain the realities of working in various art industries to friends and family and often their discomfort leads to misdirected anger or blaming back at you. It conflicts with what we all agree should be fair and so in turn it must be “because you’re not business smart”
Reposted by Zero Utopia
But I think you are right about people not wanting to think about it too. They don't want to hear that the creator of a character in their "favorite IP" died too young or couldn't afford to pay for cancer treatments because they don't get a fair cut. It "ruins THEIR day"
December 7, 2025 at 5:07 PM
But I think you are right about people not wanting to think about it too. They don't want to hear that the creator of a character in their "favorite IP" died too young or couldn't afford to pay for cancer treatments because they don't get a fair cut. It "ruins THEIR day"
Reposted by Zero Utopia
I'm seeing a lot of the same take of "you should have negotiated a better contract" and people need to understand that most don't have the option.
Marvel/Disney would just hire someone else they can underpay and exploit instead. That's how they operate...
Marvel/Disney would just hire someone else they can underpay and exploit instead. That's how they operate...
Miles Morales co-creator Sara Pichelli says she does not get any royalties from the ‘Spider-Verse’ films, Insomniac games, or merch
"I don’t get anything … that's the saddest part of my life"
(via SiteJamesons | TW)
"I don’t get anything … that's the saddest part of my life"
(via SiteJamesons | TW)
December 7, 2025 at 4:35 PM
I'm seeing a lot of the same take of "you should have negotiated a better contract" and people need to understand that most don't have the option.
Marvel/Disney would just hire someone else they can underpay and exploit instead. That's how they operate...
Marvel/Disney would just hire someone else they can underpay and exploit instead. That's how they operate...
Reposted by Zero Utopia
I think some people are genuinely ignorant.
Most convos I have had with non-creatives in the past decade have revealed that the average person assumes prosperity for the artists working on mainstream hits like Deadpool or X-Men. Because they can see those characters are worth millions.
Most convos I have had with non-creatives in the past decade have revealed that the average person assumes prosperity for the artists working on mainstream hits like Deadpool or X-Men. Because they can see those characters are worth millions.
December 7, 2025 at 5:05 PM
I think some people are genuinely ignorant.
Most convos I have had with non-creatives in the past decade have revealed that the average person assumes prosperity for the artists working on mainstream hits like Deadpool or X-Men. Because they can see those characters are worth millions.
Most convos I have had with non-creatives in the past decade have revealed that the average person assumes prosperity for the artists working on mainstream hits like Deadpool or X-Men. Because they can see those characters are worth millions.
Reposted by Zero Utopia
pros: got a lot done
cons: idk man. feel kinda blah and i'm tired
cons: idk man. feel kinda blah and i'm tired
December 7, 2025 at 5:52 PM
pros: got a lot done
cons: idk man. feel kinda blah and i'm tired
cons: idk man. feel kinda blah and i'm tired
Reposted by Zero Utopia
procrastinating on having fun by working
December 7, 2025 at 3:04 PM
procrastinating on having fun by working
Reposted by Zero Utopia
I BEAT THE GUY. Holy shit. It took me i would say 20 tries. youtu.be/MO11O5M-EuE?...
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - OMG THIS GUY IS THE WORST
YouTube video by AngryBlackLady
youtu.be
December 7, 2025 at 5:55 PM
I BEAT THE GUY. Holy shit. It took me i would say 20 tries. youtu.be/MO11O5M-EuE?...
Reposted by Zero Utopia
honestly if I could just beat literally the first mini boss that might be enough for me lmao
December 7, 2025 at 3:59 PM
honestly if I could just beat literally the first mini boss that might be enough for me lmao
Reposted by Zero Utopia
I bought Sekiro. I know Souls games are too hard for me. But I bought it anyway. I’m a button smasher. You can’t be a button smasher in Sekiro. So I’ve spent like an hour in the training temple trying to figure this shit out. Am I having fun? I don’t know. Probably not. But I’m STUBBORN.
December 7, 2025 at 3:58 PM
I bought Sekiro. I know Souls games are too hard for me. But I bought it anyway. I’m a button smasher. You can’t be a button smasher in Sekiro. So I’ve spent like an hour in the training temple trying to figure this shit out. Am I having fun? I don’t know. Probably not. But I’m STUBBORN.
Reposted by Zero Utopia
she’s happy to see you
December 7, 2025 at 5:00 PM
she’s happy to see you
Reposted by Zero Utopia
So, new evidence from Pompeii in the form of jugs with fava beans and a fruit bowl with pears, apples and sorbs - were found in a “servants' quarter of a large villa in Civita Giuliana, a northern suburb of ancient Pompeii.”
1. We Can’t verify 100% that enslaved persons lived here, but it seems so
1. We Can’t verify 100% that enslaved persons lived here, but it seems so
December 6, 2025 at 12:55 PM
So, new evidence from Pompeii in the form of jugs with fava beans and a fruit bowl with pears, apples and sorbs - were found in a “servants' quarter of a large villa in Civita Giuliana, a northern suburb of ancient Pompeii.”
1. We Can’t verify 100% that enslaved persons lived here, but it seems so
1. We Can’t verify 100% that enslaved persons lived here, but it seems so
Reposted by Zero Utopia
A new report on dietary findings in a select area of Pompeii likely inhabited by enslaved people came out in Scavi di Pompei. Many newspapers are now running w/a headline about Roman slaves “eating better” than free Romans. pompeiisites.org/e-journal-de... Let’s discuss why this is problematic
December 6, 2025 at 12:48 PM
A new report on dietary findings in a select area of Pompeii likely inhabited by enslaved people came out in Scavi di Pompei. Many newspapers are now running w/a headline about Roman slaves “eating better” than free Romans. pompeiisites.org/e-journal-de... Let’s discuss why this is problematic
Reposted by Zero Utopia
The original archaeologists aren’t proposing that one house at Pompeii can be extrapolated out to show us the diets of all servi, but media needs to be very careful with how they word things. Editors and not journalists tend to control headlines. So just try a bit more nuance next time! Like this:
Pompeii, new findings on slave feeding in the villa of Civita Giuliana
Slaves in some cases had a better diet than the free: new discoveries in the servile quarter of the villa of Civita Giuliana, near Pompeii.
www.finestresullarte.info
December 6, 2025 at 1:10 PM
The original archaeologists aren’t proposing that one house at Pompeii can be extrapolated out to show us the diets of all servi, but media needs to be very careful with how they word things. Editors and not journalists tend to control headlines. So just try a bit more nuance next time! Like this:
Reposted by Zero Utopia
4. Look, science and archaeology writing is incredibly important and I get they want to grab headlines. But as I have written about and as Seth Bernard has shown recently: slavery was a horrid institution.
There is never a defense for slavery. hyperallergic.com/new-research...
There is never a defense for slavery. hyperallergic.com/new-research...
New Research Shows Slavery’s Outsized Role in Pompeii’s Economy
It was the violent profitability of slavery as an exploitative labor system that allowed for the region to prosper, the study demonstrates.
hyperallergic.com
December 6, 2025 at 1:04 PM
4. Look, science and archaeology writing is incredibly important and I get they want to grab headlines. But as I have written about and as Seth Bernard has shown recently: slavery was a horrid institution.
There is never a defense for slavery. hyperallergic.com/new-research...
There is never a defense for slavery. hyperallergic.com/new-research...
Reposted by Zero Utopia
3. This then feeds into an old and extremely pernicious myth called “the happy slave narrative” which was often used to defend slavery both ancient and modern. It defended having slaves because they were “happy” (!) www.teenvogue.com/story/the-my... & Roman: crossworks.holycross.edu/cgi/viewcont...
The Myth of the "Happy Slave"
It's a trope.
www.teenvogue.com
December 6, 2025 at 1:01 PM
3. This then feeds into an old and extremely pernicious myth called “the happy slave narrative” which was often used to defend slavery both ancient and modern. It defended having slaves because they were “happy” (!) www.teenvogue.com/story/the-my... & Roman: crossworks.holycross.edu/cgi/viewcont...
Reposted by Zero Utopia
2. This is an extremely small sample size in a house in Pompeii. And yet many headlines are universalizing in order to say ALL Roman slaves ate better than the freeborn. We know that this is absolutely not true.
Look at this Reuters headline:
Look at this Reuters headline:
December 6, 2025 at 12:59 PM
2. This is an extremely small sample size in a house in Pompeii. And yet many headlines are universalizing in order to say ALL Roman slaves ate better than the freeborn. We know that this is absolutely not true.
Look at this Reuters headline:
Look at this Reuters headline:
Reposted by Zero Utopia
There is organizing and messaging work that needs to be done NOW to ensure that blame and anger pointed in the right direction when the AI bubble inevitably pops.
Is anyone doing this work?
Is anyone doing this work?
December 6, 2025 at 4:23 PM
There is organizing and messaging work that needs to be done NOW to ensure that blame and anger pointed in the right direction when the AI bubble inevitably pops.
Is anyone doing this work?
Is anyone doing this work?
Reposted by Zero Utopia
NYC: “I’m born here! Kings County Hospital! Suck my d*ck!”
Trump’s ICE goons grabbing brown and black people. Bounty hunters. Racial profiling is all they do.
Trump’s ICE goons grabbing brown and black people. Bounty hunters. Racial profiling is all they do.
December 6, 2025 at 4:08 PM
NYC: “I’m born here! Kings County Hospital! Suck my d*ck!”
Trump’s ICE goons grabbing brown and black people. Bounty hunters. Racial profiling is all they do.
Trump’s ICE goons grabbing brown and black people. Bounty hunters. Racial profiling is all they do.
Reposted by Zero Utopia
I'm just a dipshit who didn't even go to college, but even I know that there are pedagogical systems where the concept of cheating doesn't even apply, because progress and assessment of learning aren't judged by stressful, secretive trivia tests. But sure, stick to your punitive mindset I guess!
December 4, 2025 at 4:17 PM
I'm just a dipshit who didn't even go to college, but even I know that there are pedagogical systems where the concept of cheating doesn't even apply, because progress and assessment of learning aren't judged by stressful, secretive trivia tests. But sure, stick to your punitive mindset I guess!
Reposted by Zero Utopia
This educator thinks I'm pompous for suggesting that perhaps students who resort to "cheating" are deserving of compassion and that there may be context or extenuating circumstances (like, say, insufficient time, life stresses, or ineffective teaching techniques) that left them feeling unprepared.
My students come to me and say "My classmates are cheating" and this pompous ass here says if I believe them, I'm having "contempt for learners"
Your perception that students are trying to cheat is *also* an artifact of everyone having been lied to about scarcity. If we properly resourced these institutions, we can adopt methods of pedagogy where concepts like cheating don’t even apply. Why do you have such contempt for learners?
December 4, 2025 at 4:15 PM
This educator thinks I'm pompous for suggesting that perhaps students who resort to "cheating" are deserving of compassion and that there may be context or extenuating circumstances (like, say, insufficient time, life stresses, or ineffective teaching techniques) that left them feeling unprepared.
Reposted by Zero Utopia
Insurance companies in this country are such a scam bc tell me why I got dental insurance because of a tooth emergency but my plan doesn’t have to cover major dental work until I’ve been ON THE PLAN FOR A YEAR???
December 3, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Insurance companies in this country are such a scam bc tell me why I got dental insurance because of a tooth emergency but my plan doesn’t have to cover major dental work until I’ve been ON THE PLAN FOR A YEAR???
Reposted by Zero Utopia
There are some really great one-liners in 80s action movies, but it's a rare case where we get a set-up, a callback, a payoff, AND a coda.
December 3, 2025 at 1:58 AM
There are some really great one-liners in 80s action movies, but it's a rare case where we get a set-up, a callback, a payoff, AND a coda.
Reposted by Zero Utopia
We are delighted to share the UK cover for the new book from award-winning author Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, coming in May next year. @chanda.blacksky.app
Pre-order yours now! buythebook.online/edge-of-spac...
Pre-order yours now! buythebook.online/edge-of-spac...
December 2, 2025 at 4:00 PM
We are delighted to share the UK cover for the new book from award-winning author Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, coming in May next year. @chanda.blacksky.app
Pre-order yours now! buythebook.online/edge-of-spac...
Pre-order yours now! buythebook.online/edge-of-spac...
Reposted by Zero Utopia
The Edge of Space Time takes readers to the boundaries of the universe, inviting us to spend time at the edge of what we know about space-time, and about ourselves, through pop culture, poetry and theoretical physics.
December 2, 2025 at 4:00 PM
The Edge of Space Time takes readers to the boundaries of the universe, inviting us to spend time at the edge of what we know about space-time, and about ourselves, through pop culture, poetry and theoretical physics.
Reposted by Zero Utopia
‘With this extraordinary book, Prescod-Weinstein cements her status as one of the most accomplished and important science writers of our time’ Ed Yong, author of An Immense World
‘A great read for any human being who lives in the universe’ Sean Carroll, author of The Biggest Ideas in the Universe
‘A great read for any human being who lives in the universe’ Sean Carroll, author of The Biggest Ideas in the Universe
December 2, 2025 at 4:00 PM
‘With this extraordinary book, Prescod-Weinstein cements her status as one of the most accomplished and important science writers of our time’ Ed Yong, author of An Immense World
‘A great read for any human being who lives in the universe’ Sean Carroll, author of The Biggest Ideas in the Universe
‘A great read for any human being who lives in the universe’ Sean Carroll, author of The Biggest Ideas in the Universe