I decided ages ago I couldn't bear tweeting about politics. But something has occurred to me, that is at once the most janky fantasy writer's take on the situation, and also kind of interesting. So: magic can be defined as "causing change to occur in conformity with will", right?

Going by the incumbent president's recent tweets, and his history, it seems his hope is to litigate the election results until reality conforms to his will again. You could, indeed, view litigation as a sort of magic in this context.

But all magic, of course, comes with a cost. In the case of litigation, the cost is capital. And what is capital? An abstract codification of human labour, accumulated by the masters of working people.

A billionaire's money is the calcified remainder of other people's man-hours. It's the accretion of millions of days of toil, committed by others from the finite pools of their lives. Capital, in other words, is a fossil of sacrifice.

So. He plans to employ an army of practitioners to change reality in accordance with his will, and the whole effort will be fuelled by the stolen life force of working people.

Guess what I'm saying is, man's a fucken warlock

Only, like, fantasy warlocks are cool and baleful with skulls for shoulderpads or whatever, trying to raise armies of dogmen to restore ancient kingdoms and that. This is just a dickhead in a tie, trying to have his own way and grabbing at straws.

that's it, that's my election take

Fuck, looking back on this, this week has really done a number on me. Capital is fossilised sacrifice, lawyers are magic, and the president of the USA is technically a warlock... Yeah, all totally normal 5am thoughts. Definitely doesn't make me sound like I've lost the plot.

Lemme tell you there is a bloody thin line between "sci fi writer having a reckon about politics and magical theory" and "17 year old baked out of his fucking mind, thinking he's a genius because he's just worked out that hands are just feet, dude, but for your arms"