#and it will definitely be a government op this time when it happens in the coming months

[gojuo]

[siffrins-therapist]

👾censoredmandibiles Follow

OK time to settle something

EDIT: this post WAY ended up breaking containment. GO CLUTCH YOUR PEARLS ELSEWHERE

🦑tentacleovi Follow

YO FREE BLOCKLIST IN THE NOTES HOLY SHIT

#RIP OP's notifs #i don't go here but i suggest making popcorn before diving into those notes #some of it is puritan bs you'd expect #some of it is discourse i never even knew existed

41.6K Notes

🕷️friendofcharlotte

I think a painting my friend got at a thrift store was painted by Mr. Italy Veneziano? Is there a way to authenticate it? Google isn't helping.

⭐wishonadeadstar Follow

Try here. Turns out my nan's portrait of her farmhouse was originally painted by Mr. Romano when he was living in NY during the 1920's.

🕷️friendofcharlotte

THANK YOU

8 Notes

📽️bisexuallightinggoggles Follow

hey yo so the US rep put like 100 hours into playing that game Spiritfarer just this week... anyone want to go check on the guy??

💿newagepirate Follow

There are literally government workers who's literal job it is to check on him

⛰️lesbianmothernature Follow

how tf do you know he put 100 hours into playing a game anyway????

📽️bisexuallightinggoggles Follow

We're friends on Steam. He adds like everyone who asks.

And for everyone in the notes asking what Spiritfarer is it's one of those cozy simulator games here's the trailer.

#isn't the 'deathiversary' of his friend Davie this week? #i'm definitely not the first person to think of that #okay looking at the notes was a mistake #like i'm not one of those ppl who puts #'DNI if your username makes fun of davies death' but #immortal or not #even if it happend centuries ago #you can still be sad your FUCKING FRIEND DIED

12.3k Notes

🥾hikingawayfrommyfeelings Follow

So if I become a citizen of Ladonia can he just... visit me through my computer?

🦝trashypanda Follow

He gets mad when you summon him :(

🦘callmejoeythewayi Follow

"summon him" Like a fucking demon?

🫒shrekbignaturals Follow

We are NOT rehashing that old discourse.

🎱magic8saveme Follow

Oh god I just revived my blog after escaping x/twitter and last time I saw that disk hoarse, my dash was just post after post of this for DAYS

🪄magictrio-dropout

#was there actual discourse about whether the nation-people were demons? #cuz the discourse i saw on my dash was #whether tales of things like demons vampires and #other immortal or 'came back to life' creatures #were born from when the nation-people resurrecting #or like #doing creepy stuff

IDK about tumblr or the first bit (I've personally never heard that at least not from anyone being serious) but the other stuff has been debated in academia for decades! One of my literature professors is ADAMANT that the vampire myth can be traced to old folklore about the reps and them reviving and possibly the blood-drinking comes from an evolution of the myth when before, old stories talked about blood soaking the earth where vampires rose. If anyone's interested, here's where you can find my professor's paper about it.

🎃warongayxmas

So like. *grabs a bat and slowly approaches a hornet's nest* Then does the Jesus story have the same roots then?

🫒shrekbignaturals Follow

WE 👏 ARE 👏 NOT 👏 RE 👏 HASHING 👏 THAT 👏 DISCOURSE👏

🥾hikingawayfrommyfeelings Follow

Wtf happened to my post???

#so did OP become a Ladonian citizen or what?

187.4k Notes

🐦‍pinchforawish Follow

MY DAD GOT TO SEE MR ENGLAND LIVE BACK WHEN HE WAS IN A PUNK BAND

🐦‍pinchforawish Follow

TUMBLR WTF HOW TF DOES THIS VIOLATE GUIDELINES

🏴dinotonugget-deactivated

Finally. Proof that the site runs so shittily bc Mr. Eyebrows works for staff

🫎moosecrossing Follow

Spoke the truth and got fucking killed for it

67.9 Notes

[codecicle]

If you don't mind me asking how did you get top surgery at 15? Not that there's a problem with that! Its just really cool thay you were able to, i dont think ive heard of that before

Ah, really it was all the work of my wonderful amazing mother! In all honesty, I would never be even CLOSE to being this happy if it wasn't for her and everything she did to keep me safe and let me transition. Short answer: I got lucky with living in the transgender shield of New York because my parents are rad and moved us up there

Long answer: Quite a few things actually! For starters, I was lucky enough to live in a state that allowed it, and I had proof of being dysphoric from a young age through therapy records and mental health checks. (<- not Necessary, but definitely helped my case! the government LOVESS the mentally ill lmfao) Really when medically transitioning, you need a few things on a list.

1: A letter of recommendation from a therapist (I've been through Several, so no problem there! Just need proof from a mental health professional that you are who you say you are, and you're not going to regret the change)

2: A letter from your general practioner/medical provider, signing off on the surgery (this will actually happen Several Times. but you need one to start off the whole thing)

3: If you're a minor, proof that you're fully developed puberty-wise, through a physical exam with your doctor!

Then, you take all of those to a plastic surgeon. I had an amazing doctor that took wonderful care of me and did a perfect job with the surgery, and I'd really recommend doing a metric shit-ton of research on whatever surgeon you end up choosing! The best bet most often is whatever other trans people recommend. This surgeon will then sign off on it, and you'll book some dates. In my case, there was 2 pre-op meetings! One where they looked at my chest and decided on the best procedure to use, and one where they had my mother fill out consent forms and book the date of the final surgery. (Again, assuming it's a minor like me going through this process, it's likely they haven't been through a surgery before! So there might be one more appointment with a doctor where they check your general muscle strength and how well you'll recover from the anesthetic/surgery in general. Really easy check-up, that typically functions as a less invasive physical)

It's a long, time consuming process that's very fuckin expensive lmao, but I promise you it's worth it. It's so very very worth it. I could go into all the little details of every step of the process and all the hoops I jumped through, but it can and will vary from person to person! Again, I just got very very very goddamn lucky with a family that supports me and was willing to help me as much as they have. Im the luckiest guy on the planet I'm pretty sure. Everyday I get to wake up in the body I've always wanted to have and feel amazing about it.

[supermarine-silvally]

Ace and Yara if they had kids? 🧸

alsdkasdlakjsd Portada-as-parents my beloveddddd (this got so long I had to put it below a cut lmao)

OC x canon ask game

🧸 Would they want to have kids together? If so what are their kid(s) like? How are they as parents?

Firstly, I should acknowledge just how OP any potential Portada offspring would be-- like, they’d have hella strong genes, especially considering who their grandfathers are lmao the World Government and the Marines would be shitting themselves just thinking about it.

Anyways, Ace and Yara would absolutely want to have kids, but there are certainly some hesitations around the matter. Ace loves the idea of having children with Yara, but it also scares the hell outta him. Does he want to condemn them to sharing his bloodline? What if they hate him as much as he hates his own father? What if something happens to Yara, and he loses her in childbirth the way he lost his own mother? What if the World Government comes after his family? He knows they’d never know a moment’s peace, especially after his secret is unveiled to the world at Marineford. But Yara assures him that she knows the risks, and that he won’t be an awful father, and that nothing will happen to her in the process. She’s actually the one who’s initially more on board with the idea of having kids. She loves Ace, and she also loves the idea of pissing off the World Government by continuing [redacted]’s bloodline. Marineford was a powerful motivator for her in that regard. 

Overall, they’d have about 2-5, I’m still undecided (Yara only really wanted one, but Ace is insatiable when it comes to his gorgeous wife lol I’m just not sure where the point is when she puts her foot down and says ‘that’s it, no more kids’). Their first one wasn’t planned, but wasn’t exactly unplanned, either. It just sort of… happened while in the process of negotiating whether kids would be a good idea for them. Ace is the most stressed about it, waiting on Yara hand and foot while she’s pregnant. He’s a constant mixture of excited and terrified, but the further along she gets, the more he falls in love with the idea of having a family, and Yara constantly assures him he’ll be an amazing father. During the pregnancy, he’s glued to Yara’s side and won’t let her lift a finger (much to her annoyance sometimes). He talks to the baby constantly, telling them stories about his childhood on Mt. Corvo with Luffy and Sabo, his adventures as the short-lived Captain of the Spade Pirates, and how he met and fell in love with Yara, as well as humming sea shanties occasionally, too. He gets super excited every time he feels the baby kick (and definitely cried a bit the first time he felt it and it really hit him that wow, he’s gonna be a dad). 

Once their first baby (their eldest son, Shiro, named after Whitebeard) is born, Ace takes to fatherhood immediately. He’s so good with literally everything, from feeding to diaper changing to rocking the baby to sleep. Yara, on the other hand… actually struggles with being a mother at first. She hates the constant crying and not getting enough sleep and finds herself getting really frustrated that it’s not coming to her very easily. She wonders if her own father felt like this-- it gets bad enough that she actually starts to sympathize with Mihawk lol. Ace reminds her that he’s good at it because he has a lot more experience with kids than she does-- he practically helped raise Luffy, after all. He reassures her that she’s doing a great job and that it’s okay to not get it all immediately. But Yara doesn’t start to feel like she’s suited to being a mother until Shiro gets sick for the first time, and she throws all her effort into nursing him back to health, realizing that the fact that she’s so worried about him must mean that despite her earlier reservations, she actually does have a strong bond with her baby. And when he calls her “Mama” for the first time, she cries. 

We all know Ace is the fun parent, but weirdly enough, he’s also the stricter one, too, just because his parenting style is way more hands-on than Yara’s so he’s more likely to be the one to tell the kids ‘no’ when they want to do something they shouldn’t. Yara is more inclined to let her kids learn by experience. That’s how she was raised, and she turned out just fine (according to her). She’s very much the ‘I don’t want to deal with this right now, go ask your father’ style parent.

Ace loves playing with his kids-- in a way, he’s making up for the early childhood he never really had. Any little accomplishment of theirs, no matter how small, he treats like it’s the best thing ever. They drew him a picture? He’s running around the ship showing absolutely everyone he can find, beaming with pride the whole time. Ace as a big brother was already a lot, but Ace as a dad? He’s committed to it 10000%. Being a father gives Ace a whole new reason to want to live. When he was younger, he never could have imagined he’d have a family someday, and he wants his kids to never ever feel like they didn’t deserve to be born.

Yara might not be as outwardly expressive of her love as Ace is, but she very much loves and is proud of her kids in her own way. She might not react too strongly when her kid hands her a drawing they did other than a ‘oh, you drew this? This looks nice’, but within the day, the drawing will be neatly framed up on the wall. Yara does a lot of the behind-the-scenes parenting, preparing snacks and making sure they have clean clothes that fit and stitching up their favourite stuffed animals. Ace and Yara are a great parental team, playing to their strengths and making sure that between them, all the bases are covered for their kids to have as best a childhood as they can offer. 

The kids all take the Portgas name-- and the D, of course, too, since they end up inheriting the Will of D. I only have set ideas for the first two, but I might come up with more at some point later. As mentioned above, their firstborn is Portgas D. Shiro. He looks quite a bit like Ace when he was younger, with wavy black hair and freckled cheeks, but he’s got the Dracule hawk eyes. Personality-wise, he’s quite a bit like Ace, too-- cheerful, stubborn, headstrong, and has a bad habit of never retreating from a fight, but he inherited his mother (and grandfather)’s prowess with a blade, becoming a swordsman. Yara tries training him when he gets a bit older, but they end up butting heads so often that she ends up giving him to Zoro as a student, hoping he might actually listen to someone who’s not his mother. Shiro’s goal is to surpass Zoro as the World’s Greatest Swordsman one day, and ends up inheriting his grandfather’s blade Yoru. 

Their secondborn is Portgas D. Relie, their (potentially eldest) daughter. I named her after her step-grandmother in my crossover with Evie (@auxiliarydetective)’s OC, La Donna Dracule Aurelia, since Aurelia is a really important person in Yara’s life and she gave her daughter the name to honour her (but everyone calls the younger Aurelia “Relie”). She has violet hair like her mother, though it’s a bit more wavy, and soft brown eyes (the same colour as Yara’s right eye). She also got Ace’s freckles-- some even say that her face is the spitting image of her grandmother, Portgas D. Rouge. She definitely has more of the Dracule personality, quiet and reserved. At some point, she gets her hands on a Logia fruit (my idea was for it to be volcano-related somehow, perhaps volcanic ash, but I’m too lazy to check if that Devil Fruit concept already exists in canon lol). Also, she notably inherits Ace’s narcolepsy. 

Mihawk, as the only living grandparent, is surprisingly involved with his grandkids’ lives. As the now-retired former World’s Greatest Swordsman, he spends his time chilling on some secluded island where he can peacefully farm for the rest of his days. He babysits the kids fairly regularly when their parents are off having adventures that are too dangerous to have children around for (or when Ace and Yara just need some Alone Time), and they have a great time with their Grandpa Mihawk. Plus, Mihawk’s involvement makes the Marines hesitant to try any funny business, sort of like how Whitebeard protected Ace. 

These kids have SO MANY aunts and uncles between Ace’s brothers and their crewmates/associates in the Straw Hats and the Revolutionary Army, the other WBP division commanders, and former Spade Pirates-- not to mention Zoro and Perona as well. Luffy and Sabo spoil them rotten whenever they come visit, and retired Marine Hero Great-Grandpa Garp has been known to visit every now and again. (Garp has no idea how he got roped into caring for his old rival’s descendants, but the kids like him and he even tolerates the great-grandpa label, even though it makes him feel reeeeally old lmao). If Whitebeard is still alive at that point, he’s the best grandpa ever. It’s a huge, chaotic extended family, but Ace and Yara are extremely grateful for all the support-- it really does take a village (or a few pirate crews), after all.

also tagging @daughter-of-melpomene @oneirataxia-girl @box-of-bats in case you want some Portada-being-parents headcanons since I haven't really touched on this much heheh

[resident-rats]

Krauser for the character ask game 🫡

How I feel about this character:

HEHE GIGGLING AND KICKING MY FEET <33. Again I love the depth they added to Krauser in the remake!! Especially kinda having him be what Leon could have become if he had gone down another path?? Both were used as pawns by the government and were impacted negatively by that

All the people I ship romantically with this character:

Definitely Leon lol, but I’ve also seen some fanart/comics of him and Wesker, and ngl i think that’s a very interesting dynamic too!!

My non-romantic OTP for this character:

Honestly I don’t know, I kinda headcanon him as not having friends lol. Like he just hasn’t got time for them, even in his army days I think he kinda kept to himself amongst those of a similar rank

My unpopular opinion about this character:

I don’t think he was a complete asshole when in the military. I’d like to believe that the after op Javier/post plagas Krauser is pretty unrecognisable compared to the Krauser that trained Leon. Not only does it make it all the more heartbreaking for Leon to see someone who he once admired and looked up to succumb to corruption like that, but I think it also just adds a lot to the story?? And how hurt and betrayed Krauser would have felt after op Javier for him to be lead to that?? Plus it would fit in with the whole theme of change that the game has going on

One thing I wish would happen/had happened with this character in canon:

Wish we actually saw operation Javier </33. I was clinging on so hard to it becoming a dlc before the gold version was announced. But really just any information about Krauser and Leon’s training days as well?? Please Capcom give me this

Thank you for the ask!! <33

[ao3wasntenough]

I am seriously crying writing angst not Sam in tfp.

From my observation if we fused bay and prime time. Tfp take place one or two years after revenge of fallen, and that incident quite big at same time Sam change into cybertron. And I can guess government want autobots to hide and side Sam part of cybertron government hide him also and and government kind want 'poking' Sam , optimus definitely not like it so he take action and the best action to make government stay away is that isolation, isolated Sam from all humans and he meant all it's meant all. And it's work government stopping poking Sam.

Optimus actually can sneaking to Sam meet his parents but unfortunately mearing is they aliason/ambassador and she very strict and even not like gollway, mearing more fierce to get what she want. So in that situation optimus hands are bound

Until Fowler becoming they new ambassador, and while Fowler is strict , he willing to broke rules and hide things for them (in limited things of course) Fowler considering as 'easy going' , optimus actually planning to Sam meet his parents again but well decepticon active again, the kids also he not sure about Sam meet his parents again after years, optimus fear that Sam parent rejects Sam and lead Sam into more depression.

And well optimus never forget who was Sam, he actually keep remember that Sam was human and not stuck permanent in middle of war. Optimus actually feel guilty that he can give best things to Sam and like it or not optimus feel failed to protect Sam despite all things he did. And when Sam say that he wish they never met it's broke his heart but optimus accept Sam hate to him because he feel Sam losing everything because of him.

it wasn't meant to work out like this.

"I'm sorry Witwicky. It may just be a case they've left the country or changed address or and contact details one to many times and haven't been updated yet" fowler rubbed the side of his neck. The open lack of a answer probably hurt Samuel more. More for his mind to ruminate over in sleepless nights.

Optimus truly wanted it to work. Wanted to give Samuel slight comfort or a fulfilled wish. for his long battle to connect as ambassador for them and human government again to give him something in return. Optimus cant recall the last time Sam asked for something for himself outside of materials or information to aid them all.

Optimus watch Sam's shoulders for the drop of grief, the bend of ache he was no doubt feeling. Primus knows how Optimus felt like that himself. So maybe it was worse it never happened.

"You know" he shrugged, "It happens, hard to keep an eye on everything right? even a hyper surveillance country can loose a few right?" his shoulders raised like he was releasing tension or trying to seem unaffected. By Fowlers own deepening frown Optimus wasn't the only one not buying it.

Samuel seemed to judge Fowlers reaction at loss, he didn't turn back to see Optimus's reaction. Putting his hands in his pockets he twirled to the Hallway only he and Fowler had access to.

Even if Samuel and Fowler had warmed to the children being in the base they seemed content to leave Samuel his own retreat amongst them all.

He shouldn't let Sam walk away, Optimus knew he needed to tell his friend he would keep trying, pushing, reaching out. That he couldn't let Sam think Optimus Prime had put his first Human relation on the backburner amongst new changes to the live they had lived with each other.

"Samuel I-" he was cut off, Samuel didn't even turn around

"OP its okay, I'll be okay" He tried to convey in a soothing tone, something Samuel often only used on Bumblebee. Something in Optimus spark ached.

Sam shot a small nod over his shoulder. one to Optimus and another to agent Fowler with a tight but kind tired smile.

"Really, Thanks for trying guys-" he seemed to stop like he was about to finish his sentence before scrunching his face up and shaking his head. banishing a thought perhaps.

"I think their probably being smart, trying not be tracible to me and this life" The Door closes.

And with it whatever Optimus was using to hold himself straight is cut. and he bows with a deep sense of grief and another tally of failure he's accumulated under Samuels name.

[hang-on-lil-tomato]

Op Ed from Rex Huppke - USA TODAY

Every.Single.Word

Op Ed from Rex Huppke - USA TODAY

I never want to hear the words “America is better than this” again. I never want to be told about America’s better angels. I want honesty. I want an admission of exactly who we are as a country, and let’s be damn clear about that definition: We are a country that just elected – that just willfully chose – one of the most cruel, unscrupulous and transparently self-serving political figures in modern history to be president again.

We just elected a convicted felon who has normalized bullying, spread hate like an industrial sprinkler and shown us over and over and over again he sees laws as irrelevant and self-enrichment as sacrosanct. Faced with a billowing ocean of red flags – from indictments for trying to overturn the 2020 election to the coddling of dictators who rule enemy nations – a majority of Americans cast their vote for the man who is a totem of the worst in all of us.

So spare me the wails of “This isn’t who we are!” I’ve got bad news for the sane and decent among us: This is exactly who we are.

We’re a country that supports the mass deportation of immigrants, a promise Donald Trump made and will undoubtedly keep. When families are pulled apart, cities and towns are raided by federal law enforcement and the people who once worked in communities and made homes there – some for decades – are penned in detention camps, it is the voting public that approved such a thing.

If legal citizens get swept up in the chaos, so be it. It was the voters’ choice.

When an unhinged and unqualified billionaire like Elon Musk is put in charge of slashing the federal government to bits, that will be what America chose.

When the Department of Education is abolishedand our education system falls into the hands of right-wing ideologues and religious zealots, that’s the outcome of the choice U.S. voters made.

When Trump’s tariffs hit and drive up prices across the board for consumers, it won’t be the fault of the myriad economists who told us what would happen. It will be the thing a majority of Americans chose. It will be the economic pot they chose to be boiled in, even though the Biden-Harris administration has the economy rocking.

As The New York Times reported Oct. 30: "Consumers are spending. Inflation is cooling. And the U.S. economy looks as strong as ever."

When Trump does away with his own legal cases – trashing the rule of law his party once claimed to stand for – that will be what the people wanted. When he turns the U.S. Department of Justice on his so-called enemies, when he goes after Democrats and others with malicious intent and calls in the military to stifle any form of dissent, keep your mouth shut about that being un-American. It’s now 100% American, because it’s exactly what people in this country willfully chose.

I don’t want to hear a damn word – ever – about anyone not realizing just how bad things could get. I don’t want to hear about how grocery prices were too high so you figured voting for Trump couldn’t hurt. I don’t want to hear how you didn’t like either candidate so you sat the 2024 election out.

The stakes of this election could not have been more clear and could not have been broadcast any louder. Vice President Kamala Harris ran as smart a campaign as I’ve seen. She reached across the aisle and offered a big tent for people to seek shelter. She was qualified – as a former prosecutor, a former U.S. senator and a vice president – in ways Trump could never imagine.

But America chose the guy who cavalierly said he’d be a dictator for a day. Voters chose the guy who denounces our allies and cozies up to our enemies. Voters chose the guy who is an adjudicated rapist, a role model to none, an often-incoherent and always hate-fueled loon who has turned Americans against each other in ways I never thought possible.

Voters chose Trump. He won. Cruelty won. Bullying won. And that’s who America is right now. We are Trump, and we will own every bit of the shameful and painful and embarrassing things he does. We are not "better than this." We lost the right to make that claim the moment the presidential race was called.

[crowpolitics]

Lol, okay, so the previous blog responded to me saying they don't know what a genocide is by calling me a dipshit and an antisemite. Specifically, they said:

"I know what a genocide is, you dipshit, I think you need to brush up on the actual definition. All bad things do not always have the same name. What’s happening in Gaza can be horrific without it being a genocide. Begone, antisemite."

However, reblogs appear to be turned off so I can't respond to that... so... here's what my response would have been I guess?

Well that escalated quickly. I know what genocide is, too, thanks. You are correct that not all things that are bad are also a genocide, but when Israeli officials are outright saying their plans are to flatten a region and everyone in it, that's pretty telling, and doesn't even begin to get into the "soft" methods of genocide they have been employing, alongside the killings, for decades.

This century long genocide has brought about horrific amounts of islamophobia and antisemitism on pretty much all sides, with people either spouting bigotry out of ignorance or because they are bigots and are using these atrocities to justify their views. The existence of bigotry does not negate the existence of genocide (please see pretty much every genocide that has ever occurred - while my primary case studies were Bosnia and Rwanda, I am pretty confident in saying that).

You said in another comment to someone else, "Literally there are specific and quantifiable thresholds that have to be hit in order for it to be considered genocide. The situation in Palestine, while awful, does not meet those thresholds. There are likely far-right individuals in the Israeli gov’t that may WANT a genocide, but the actual military action currently happening is not one at this time. So by calling the current situation a genocide, people are watering down the term and are diminishing the horrors occurring in actual CURRENTLY ONGOING genocides in other parts of the world."

This suggests to me that OP only understands the first part of the definition of genocides, the part that discusses the method that uses death. That leaves out the "soft" definition, however, which describes all of the other methods. Not to say the Israel hasn't also been using the "hard" method - intentionally slaughtering families, neighborhoods, and towns to eradicate as many Palestinians at once as possible, but they have most definitely been using those "soft" methods as well.

I'm used to having to argue that part of the definition to people who don't know the definition is, so it's odd to see someone acknowledge the atrocities that are occurring, claim to know what the definition of genocide is, and then just bury their head in the sand.

OP also stated that the reason this can't call this a genocide is that Hamas is not an ethnic group, which completely ignores that Hamas is a resistance/ terrorist group that rose out of a century long genocide and the Israeli government has said on numerous occasion over the last century that their end goal is not the eradication of Hamas but of Palestine. Given Hamas came out only a few decades ago and this has been going on for much longer than that, this is a really asinine take.

The one argument that people on the "this is not a genocide" can potentially lay claim to is the intent clause. This meets every other part of the definition as described in the UN's convention on genocide, with intent always being the hardest part to prove - and why the international community has Never intervened until it was too late to make much of a difference, or until after it was already over.

Of course, given the government has been just saying the quiet part out loud since... well, the beginning, I would argue this is also a pretty clear case. They have stated on dozens of occasions - in interviews, in letters/ correspondence, in memos, etc - their intent to eradicate the people living their to make way for settlements.

You can't argue against the methods that have been used for a century, you can't argue against the documentation they have not tried very hard to hide, and frankly I don't really understand why you would.

Anyways, TLDR: what's happening in Palestine is a genocide, as per the UN's convention on genocide and according to pretty much every genocide scholar for the last century. I highly recommend people at the very least read the convention before talking about genocides - it's a baseline, but it's probably the best place to start, given it's the basis for the international law surrounding genocide.

And, referring to the original point of the post that this all spawned out of, USAmericans who chose not to vote this election are fucking awful and should feel ashamed for their actions. They have made a choice that allowed a racist, homophobic, islamophobic, antisemite to take control of our government and I hope they sit in that shame.

I hope it twists in your stomach, and you fucking do something to help put out this fire you helped spread. After all, the whole reason you decided to surrender one of the few tools you have in this democracy was to help Palestinians, right? Hope you have a plan to do just that.

[ygsunflower]

Yes! Your last post *chefs kiss* from the start of this show I was wondering how this propaganda of the military would play out through the show because when you’re portraying people in the military of coarse it will be full of pro-American and pro-military sense. But I love how Cruz really does break down through the episodes and as sad as the finale was I am obsessed with the fact that she’s finally seen right through this Mission of the military and how she’s against it at the end of the day

If the show’s not literally named Special Ops: Lioness, it’ll be so interesting to follow Cruz and explore what’s next for her… Will she stay in the military? Will she go back to the Marines? Will she try to find Aaliyah on her own? Will she stay in the Lioness ops so she might get a chance to work on ops that could lead her to Aaliyah? Just how and what will happen to this poor woman now that her whole world is shattered and she’s lost in the darkness?

I do think Cruz is someone with a morale, and this whole experience also made her realized that for her, the ends don’t always justify the means: using Aaliyah to kill the dirty oil guy/terrorist; joining the military to get her life a second chance. There needs to be a line drawn to when the ends can justify the means. And maybe she’s just discovering that.

A side note: In my imagination for their future story, Aaliyah is now left with her dad’s business as her brothers are useless and her fiancé who her dad deemed as a heir is dead. She’s overwhelmed by everything but at the same time there’re also threats that required her to run and hide: her dad’s old partners and his enemies are now hunting her for the business. Cruz, on the other hand, may or may not left the military completely, but she’s definitely out of Joe’s lioness ops. She still keeps contacts with the team though, and this is how she heard about Aaliyah being chased by the “bad” and “good” parties. [Good and bad are really no difference in this case because they both are after the access to Aaliyah’s dad’s middle-eastern oil connections… The so called “bad” ones refer to her dad’s friends/enemies and the “good” ones are the CIA and other western governments. ] Once Cruz learns about this, she goes rogue trying to make connections with Aaliyah. And during this journey, she gets to explore where the lines between the means and the ends are drawn for her. While Cruz and Aaliyah still have feelings for each other, so much have happened since, and their relationship now is more complex than ever. Will they work together to stay alive? Can they trust each other? Who else or which side can they trust more?

I wish they could explore more on this storyline, but again, the show’s called Special Ops: Lioness, so if Cruz’s no longer a lioness, she’s not gonna be in s2. Also, let’s be honest, even with this show title, they still focused so much on Neil and the daughter’s drama this season. Sometimes it feels like that this part of the plot is more well-written than the supposedly main Lioness plot. So, I doubt going forward this show will ever give the sapphics the type of main plot I want to see. But you never know, we might get a surprise once in a blue moon, and no matter what, I still have my wild imaginations 😂 Tbh, as much as Aaliyah x Cruz and their characters are so interesting to me, the overall plot of the show is a bit weak. Things are too predictable and almost too one-dimensional for my liking. Whatever happens in s2, I hope they have better writing/plotting of the story. Show the audience the complexity and nuances more!

[merlinfromberlin]

Theoretically, if I ever were to consider writing a TF One Shattered Glass retelling/continuation, I would definitely base it off of Animal Farm.

A few more details/ideas below the cut bc of TF1 spoilers.

Also, it's been a while since I've last read Animal Farm so I'm sorry in case I got any names wrong/am a bit wonky on the plot. I don't have my copy with me right now, so I can't look any of it up.

Characters

Quintessons = Humans Sentinel = The Farmer Orion = Napoleon D-16 = Snowball Elita-1 = The third pig (?) Various miners = the other animals

First Half of the Movie

The first part of the movie would largely stay the same except that Orion is not as naive or nice. Instead, he's clearly power hungry, he saves Jazz not bc he cares about his co-worker/friend dying but bc Jazz will be in his debt, he's looking for the Matrix not bc he wants to help the miners but bc it will make him more powerful and maybe even allow him to overpower Sentinel.

I think I'd even keep D's darker moments - he can still want to kill Sentinel, but I don't think he'd try to kill Starscream anymore. Mostly bc the High Guard's motto has changed to sth like "Together We Are Strong" (no, that's not a quote from Reinhardt in Overwatch - you are imagining things). Not yet sure if it's him or Orion executing Sentinel.

Pretty sure I would have them abandon Bee (who is slightly more bitter and jaded than in the movie) in Sublevel 50, though. Maybe it's even B-127 who wants to go back bc he is afraid of the things (punishments) that may be awaiting him in the outside world and they just let him, Orion maybe even convinces him that it's better to stay safe down there. This way, he has one less competitor for power. Then they move on and never think about it again. D might remember him later, once he's Megatron and banished and go back to get him bc he realises that that was very fucked up. But tbh. as much as it hurts my heart to treat my blorbo like that, I think it would be the best statement for the story if B just vanished from the story and we never get to see him again. Because this time they (Orion) are not out to actually improve stuff. They just want to change who's in power.

Rest of the plot till they return to Iacon stays largely the same for now.

Some more plot points:

The uprising of the miners/Orion leading them into battle? That's the Great Battle between Animals and Humans.

Sentinel's execution? That's the animals banishing the humans from the farm.

Orion receiving the Matrix ? That's the pigs taking control of the political system of the farm bc they are "best suited" to it. All seems to be fine and dainty for a bit. :) (Not yet sure how Orion would receive the Matrix. Not yet sure if he actually even gets it. If he does, it's not almost sentient like it is in the movie where it only bonds with good leaders. Instead it is just a pure power-up. Instead of Megatron, Orion gets the transformation/power-up scene.)

All the miners receiving T-Cogs? First Liberation of the Animals. All Animals Are Equal.

Optimus banishing Megatron (would happen later than in the movie - only after the first functionist rules have been introduced)? That's Napoleon banishing Snowball. We don't see Megatron (or the High Guard) again for the rest of the story.

Some more:

Not yet entirely sure what I would replace the windmill with. Maybe some sort energon refectory/distribution system.

The everchanging/vanishing rules on the farm? Some animals are more equal than others? That's OP and his governement slowly introducing more and more functionist rules.

It ends, rather suddenly, when one day one of the miners realises that oh damn, OP is barely distinguishable from Sentinel. Except instead of cogless miners we now have Functionism.

Maybe there is another racing scene with two new miners (Hot Rod, anyone?) And someone, maybe Jazz or a random NPC we met in the first chapters/during the first racing scene is like: Huh, when did we start needing miners again?

And that's it.

Maybe, if I'm weak, there'd be an epilogue/additional oneshot where we get to see B-127, Megatron & co. again and learn what happened to them. But at the same time, I think that would dramatically weaken the story. + It would be depressing af bc they are not in a good place.

[furiaae]

time for me to do a lil word vomit about eri's OP verse eehehe

this might not be coherent because most of it is just jumbled thoughts in my brain buuuuuut anyways

Asteria's original form was that of a devil fruit, eaten by someone in the early days of the Void Century. It has been so long since then though that Asteria has begun to forget their face and the way they sounded. She was somehow sentient even though she had been eaten, though not enough to influence her eater however but just enough to be conscious of the world around them both.

While Asteria had no way to communicate with the person that ate her, she was very fond of them and the way they'd act with the people around them. Including that of Joyboy. Asteria's person was a comrade of Joyboy even before the Great War, often crossing paths with the pirate and eventually joining him in the war against the Alliance (later the World Government).

As such, Eri does have some capacity in understanding the writing of the poneglyphs, though this skill has deteriorated slightly over the years and even then she hadn't been exactly fluent in it beforehand.

Yes there is some poetic irony in her becoming wholly human because of the World Government and I like to think it was. Whoever Imu is definitely knew that Asteria was that Devil Fruit and had planned for her to be under their control but clearly underestimated Asteria's sheer will.

Due to the nature of Asteria as a devil fruit, her dreams are mostly premonitions of the future and even then it is merely a potential to her, they're never explicitly a firm confirmation of what is to happen. When she has visions while awake though, it is very similar to the future sight used through observation haki. Even then, like future sight as well, this future that is seen DOES have the capability of being changed in the moment unlike the dreams Asteria witnesses.

Also because of Asteria's origins and her subsequent forceful shove into a physical form, she has a very weird outlook on creating personal connections with others in the sense that she doesn't feel quite human enough to "deserve" it so to say.

[chrisodonline]

The other day, I was being ridiculous (no surprises there) and telling Apryl that I wanted to see Chris O’D and Paget Brewster do something together and even pitched a show about 2 widowers who meet at crossword puzzle convention and stumble into solving murders. I was joking around about seeing it on Paramount+, so, of course, my brain kept going and came up with possible LA spinoffs. You’re welcome -- or I’m so sorry. There’s no telling which it should be:

Kilbride and Kilbride: Kilbride thinks he’s retired, but then he and his son set up a private investigation business in San Diego.

Assault and Batter:  Nina Barnes a.k.a. Cake Boss Lady balances her day job keeping up a bakery and teaching classes, supplying arms, and helping government agencies with intel. But things get complicated for Cake Boss Lady when she’s asked to become the primary supplier to an international syndicate the feds are trying to take down. Their weapons guy uses her cake decorating classes as a cover to retrieve the goods, but Nina finds herself starting to fall for him. Will she have to pick a side -- or can she have her cake and eat it, too? (The movie version of this would be called Disarmed.)

In from the Cold: Arkady Kolcheck goes Hollywood! When a TV show about Russia during the Cold War is looking for a consultant to help them make things “authentic,” some back channels lead them to Arkady. Arkady thinks he’s the perfect person to help since he’s KGBeen there and done that. After everyone goes through enough legal forms to build a small shelter with, Arkady is hired -- with a federal agent assigned, as their punishment for a recent botched op, to make sure he doesn’t reveal any intel that might hurt the US. Arkady has no issues adjusting to the Hollywood life, but can Hollywood adjust to Arkady?

PSYOP: When the navy needs to conduct a PSYOP, a less common approach for them, they ask Dr. Nate Getz to help plan and prep the team. Nate is surprised by the assignment until he meets the team: a rag-tag bunch of misfits with rogue tendencies and an allergy to authority. While Nate is initially thinking, “Oh no. Not again,” he starts to realize he might be able to help this team in more ways than one. Will this team accept that kind of help, though? (Even though they definitely need it.)

Colonel of Truth: Raymond Hanna’s doctor suggests he start journaling to better cope with his memory loss. Unfortunately for his son Sam, Raymond decides to do something a little different: he’s discovered social media, and he’s not turning back. Raymond is brutally blunt and straightforward with any and all opinions he has on everything: from news stories to movies to women he flirts with at the Senior Center. Sam sees some improvement in Raymond’s overall mood, and his father even seems sharper. However, Sam knows there’s a risk his father could say something he’s not supposed to at any time. Can Sam keep his father at least somewhat reigned in?

(The next one is an inside joke that just keeps going.)

Good Queen Bess Goes West: When Good Queen Bess’s owner inherits a house in a sleepy little town whose main attraction is an Old West themed park, Good Queen Bess goes along for the ride. All is not as it appears, though, and strange things keep happening. People disappear. Items go missing. Rumors that the place is haunted keep swirling. Lucky for the town, Good Queen Bess is on the case, and she is one bad mother clucker. Good Queen Bess soon assembles her team of Bock-aroos to get all Scooby Doo on this joint. Can they find the culprits and bring them to justice, or will they find out the place is truly haunted?

[birlwrites]

I was wondering what Dumbledore's role as chief warlock of the wizegamot means in this universe?

ok the short boring answer is that i forgot that was a thing 😬

the LONG MORE INTERESTING answer is going to be me talking through how i can retcon that - which i absolutely can because we haven't really gotten into wizengamot politics in ttdl yet!!! so the only people who will know that i totally forgot will be the people who see this post afhslgkshkgjskhldjfs

SO. my immediate thought with 'chief warlock' is that dumbledore is kind of a master of ceremonies. he's not a wizengamot lord - his job is to introduce bills, hold the votes, and all sorts of things like that which are mainly ceremonial/logistic but in the hands of someone particularly motivated CAN be political tools. once again taking inspiration from the united states congress because i know how that works and i don't know how other governments work, dumbledore can control what order bills get introduced in, whether they get introduced in the first place, etc.

now, there's definitely a failsafe. the wizengamot would not stand for some plebeian controlling what they get to vote on. so if they can get together a critical mass of lords, they can force through a vote even if dumbledore doesn't want to introduce the bill. it means there's a tug of war between dumbledore and the dark lords for power

next question: how did dumbledore BECOME the chief warlock? my guess is that it's an appointed position by the minister of magic. at the moment, that's harold minchum, i believe, soon to be replaced by millicent bagnold (probably as the war gets worse). idk when exactly that will happen, i'll figure out a moment that works with the plot

dumbledore's been chief warlock for a WHILE, though. minchum reappointed him because he's functionally an institution. once he defeated grindelwald, plenty of people were calling for him to run for minister - he didn't do that because he's smarter than that, but he did accept the position of chief warlock when it was offered to him several years later, and that's a big part of how he stays in the public eye. (i think he probably also writes op-eds whenever there's something Sufficiently Important to write about)

in atfhv, wizengamot sessions happen twice a year, in fall and spring, and they run for exactly 2 months each (march 7 to may 7, september 7 to november 7). in that time, dumbledore's quite busy, seeing as he has that AND a school to run. plus a war to fight.

and that means that orion knows dumbledore PERSONALLY. as does pretty much the whole wizengamot, and not just because they were students when dumbledore was a professor

which now makes me really want to have orion do a take your child to work day in which regulus casually shows up to a wizengamot session and stares dumbledore down the entire time. the dark lords are pleased with this behavior. he clearly knows who the enemy is

[fancoloredglasses]

Once More With Feeling (Better than Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark)

[All images are owned by 20th Century Fox Disney and Mutant Enemy Productions. Please don't sue, bite, or stake me]

(Thanks to Samantha Graff for all video clips)

Joss Whedon wanted to do a musical episode for Buffy since its inception, but it wasn’t until Season 6 that this would become reality.

None of the actors had much experience with singing or dancing (though Michelle Trachtenberg, who played Dawn, had ballet training and Anthony Stewart Head, who played Giles, was in a band), and the episode’s musical/dance scenes (19 hours of singing and 17 hours of dancing!) were shot at the same time as four other episodes, making it one of the more grueling episodes to film.

The actors really didn’t want to do it. Sarah Michelle Gellar protested until Whedon suggested asking Jewel to dub in her songs (there was no way Gellar wanted to have someone else sing what would be a key moment in the season!) Trachtenberg and Alyson Hannigan wanted their singing to be minimized (Whedon agreed, giving Dawn a ballet number…and Willow has a bit in one song stating “I think this line’s mostly filler”)

I will note that, due to Tumblr’s restrictions, I can only include so many videos of the songs. Any I cannot include I will provide links for the curious.

Enough background, on to the show…which starts with (as all but the earliest episodes do) with…

PREVIOUSLY ON…

At the end of Season 5, Buffy sacrificed herself to save Dawn (wait, does that mean there are now THREE Slayers running around?) Willow used a spell to bring her back, thinking she was trapped in Hell (SPOILER: she went the other way) Since her return, she’s been pretty much sleepwalking through her days.

Tara and Willow had a fight about Willow’s irresponsible use of her magic, so Willow cast a forget spell on Tara (doesn’t that prove her point?), with a sprig of a plant known as Lethe’s bramble as a focus.

Xander and Anya have gotten engaged, but Xander’s still having issues getting past the fact that Anya used to be a demon.

Dawn, mostly in an attempt for attention, has begun stealing from various shops around Sunnydale, including the Magic Box (the shop the Scooby Gang uses as a base of operations).

Finally, after getting a chip in his head by a government black-ops program to curb his more violent tendencies (with pain-inducing shocks), Spike has more or less aligned himself with the Scooby Gang and fallen in love with Buffy.

Now, on with the show! If you would like to watch the episode, it’s available on Hulu or behind your favorite paywall.

(As I mentioned, there are too many numbers for me to provide clips for, so I’m going to focus mainly on what I feel are the important ones. If you feel I left out one that was vital to the plot, let me know and we can debate!)

(Yes, that was the Lethe’s bramble Tara found under her pillow in the opening scene)

Now, Buffy doesn’t normally sing her way through fights with vampires and demons, so the following morning she asks if anyone else felt like they were on Broadway the previous night.

I’ll take that as a yes.

The group starts brainstorming when Giles suddenly breaks into song.

Xander thinks it could be witches (which earns a glare from Willow and Tara), while Anya sings a power verse about it being bunnies (that Anya, always good for a chuckle. I mean, it couldn’t be bunnies, right?…right?!?!) Meanwhile, Buffy doesn’t care what’s causing it because they’ll defeat it like they always do, and the rest of the troupe gang joins in the chorus in agreement…

The gang wonders how widespread this is, so Buffy looks outside.

Definitely widespread.

Then Dawn arrives wanting to tell everyone what happened at school, but they already know. So she sees a pendant lying on the counter and pockets it.

Then Willow and Tara make an excuse to leave (they say “research”, but I’m fairly sure it’s more about “exploration”) Sure enough, once they leave, they break into song and start a TV-13+ sex scene that is quickly cut away from.

Later that evening, we see the dark side it the musical-ness of Sunnydale (c’mon, you knew it was coming) as a man starts dancing uncontrollably until he starts smoking, then combusts!

Cue commercial break!

(In case you didn’t guess, this is the Demon Of The Week. He is never named in the episode, but IMDb calls him “Sweet”, played by 3-time Tony Award winner Hinton Battle)

 We come back to commercial the next morning with Xander and Anya in bed.

So, much like a traditional musical, the victims participants occasionally sing out secrets to the audience. However, unlike a traditional musical…

...Xander and Anya are fully aware of what the other was singing when the song ends.

As they lament about their number and Giles tells them about the man who burst into flames last night, we get an aside of a woman trying to sing her way out of a parking ticket (I’ve heard of worse schemes) The three continue to discuss as we get a dance number involving street sweepers.

The conversation switches to Buffy and her disinterested approach to her Calling. That night, Buffy looks to Spike for any insight.

Meanwhile at Buffy’s, Dawn tells Tara she’s happy Tara and Willow made up after their fight about Willow's magic use a few days ago…

…which Tara doesn’t remember. With an “oh shit” expression, Tara heads over to the Magic Box, leaving Dawn alone.

After Tara leaves, Dawn puts on the pendant she took earlier and starts singing…

…but is interrupted as demonic Pinocchios kidnap her!

Cut to commercial.

We come back to Dawn waking up in the Bronze (a nightclub that for some reason teens are also allowed in) where she dances a bit with the Pinocchio demons before meeting her host…

…Sweet, who does a bit of a tap dance before singing to Dawn that he’s planning on taking her back to hell as his Queen. Then Dawn sings to him about Buffy…

…so he sends the Pinocchios to invite the Slayer to the wedding.

We then cut to the back of the Magic Box, where Buffy is training. Giles tries to talk Buffy into having a more active role in raising/disciplining Dawn (Dawn has been acting out a lot since Buffy came back from the dead for a second time)

This sparks a song from Giles about being treated like a crutch as Buffy does a training montage.

Meanwhile, Tara finds a book in the Magic Box that tells her about the Lethe’s bramble.

To say she’s hurt is a major understatement. She’s so hurt that she has a duet with Giles.

Then Spike bursts in with a Pinocchio demon and tells it to sing for them. As the music swells, it simply speaks.

Buffy starts to brainstorm about their attack plan, but…

…yeah, Dawn’s life in the balance ain’t the time to cut the cord, Giles!

Anyway, this sparks the Big Inspirational Number!

Buffy makes a proposal to Sweet: If, after the Boss Fight, they’re both still standing, then she’ll take Dawn’s place as his Queen. Now for the Climactic Power Ballad!

So now it’s out there for everyone to know, but there’s still Sweet to deal with.

Sweet prepares to leave with his bride-to-be (Dawn, not Buffy), but Dawn denies summoning him despite wearing the pendant she stole found that contained the summoning spell. But if Dawn didn’t summon Sweet, who did?

…yeah, my money was on either him or Willow. Turns out Xander wanted a musical wedding and didn’t realize what he was invoking.

Turns out Sweet isn’t as enlightened as you’d think and decides he doesn’t want Xander as a bride.

With that Sweet gives a final refrain and vanishes.

Despite Sweet’s exit (stage left), his presence is still felt as the gang sings the closing number.

Hope you enjoyed this. While not the only bonkers episode (and not even the most bonkers), it is an iconic episode that is fondly remembered by most Buffy fans.

[reasoningdaily]

Advance digital equity today or usher in a future of egregious economic inequality - Connect Humanity

At Marconi Society’s “Decade of Digital Inclusion” conference last year, we heard from leaders in technology and digital equity. What follows is a précis of my remarks and some additional reflections for the session, ‘The (Big) Data Economy: Inclusion and Fairness’, in which I focus on the importance of digital equity now to secure a future that works for all.

When ‘good enough’, isn’t good enough

Rural and low-income communities have been expected to make-do with antiquated infrastructure and low-performing technologies offered at high costs, such as legacy copper (DSL) or coaxial cable networks, or satellite service. Time and again, communities are told not to expect fiber-based networks, but to settle for whatever technology is offered to them. In his book, Farm Fresh Broadband, Christopher Ali calls this the “politics of good enough”.

Digital inclusion — having access to quality broadband infrastructure, devices, and the digital skills to use them — is key to upward mobility. It is a portal to healthcare and education, a platform to start and grow a business, and the first rung on the ladder to a well paid job.

For much of the 20th Century, individuals were able to enter the middle class, with or without a college degree, through jobs in manufacturing and retail. Today most jobs have a digital component and employers across sectors look for candidates with well-honed digital skills. If you haven’t grown up with access to data and devices, you’re starting at a disadvantage. And if you don’t have a computer and a connection, good luck applying for a job in a world where recruitment happens almost entirely online.

Digital exclusion doesn’t just punish job seekers, it holds back the creation of jobs in the first place. When a community doesn’t have the fiber infrastructure to attract and retain 21st century businesses, it loses out on so many fronts. Fewer work opportunities. A lower tax base. Less activity in the local economy. Higher unemployment — and the economic and social costs that often follow in distressed communities.

Digital inclusion is economic inclusion

‘Digital exclusion’ is ‘economic exclusion’. By maintaining the digital divide, this politics of ‘good enough’ will perpetuate ever greater income and wealth inequality. By the same token, ‘digital inclusion is economic inclusion’ and by pursuing what Jonathan Sallet calls broadband networks ‘fit for the future’ we can start unwinding the entrenched poverty that has robbed communities of a brighter future.

We cannot miss this moment. The longer we wait to close the digital divide, the harder it’ll be for those on the wrong side to catch up. We have the technology, the established research methodologies and data sets, and best practices. We have business and operating models, philanthropy, and, in the U.S., the Community Reinvestment Act, that can support the connection of low-income, BIPOC, and rural communities that large national providers have not served equitably. Let’s heed the warning of one of our most trusted leaders in broadband policy, Blair Levin: “…our country may take the biggest backwards step any country has ever taken in increasing, rather than closing, the digital divide.” Let’s not blindly proceed on that path. 

Civic participation at its best

There are local and regional ISPs, co-ops, local governments, and community partners across the country who are rolling up their sleeves and building next generation broadband networks for underserved communities. And they know better than to aim for the minimum speed, i.e., the FCC’s definition of 25/3 mbps that seems to be frozen in time, driven by a scarcity narrative in a world where accelerating technology demands require that networks ‘fit for the future’ offer far greater speeds. This is civic participation at its best — and the government, philanthropy, and the private sector must support these efforts.

Rather than wasting time entertaining inaccurate, unreliable, expensive maps (at least $44 million for the new FCC “Federal Broadband Map” by CostQuest) and catering to powerful companies that write the rules and misrepresent their service, we must engage with communities to understand their needs, their context, and work with them to shape our shared digital future. This is the work I joined Connect Humanity to do, with a special focus on the Texas-Mexico border region. 

When we make investments in local communities, we support an inclusive economy and opportunities for under-represented groups to use, create, and own assets in the digital economy. That level of inclusion is necessary for a diversity of people to become the makers and shapers of fair algorithms, the owners of local and regional  ISPs, the ethical managers of the internet of things, and the leaders who engage communities to make policy and law to protect people from the deleterious use of big data and AI.

Here’s a link to replay the panel.

[thebreakfastgenie]

just wanted to say I appreciated your reply to that pulaski v bones post. I reblogged in haste (having not really registered the text part of the post tbh) bc I get so annoyed with people who jump on that excuse to hate Pulaski while not acknowledging her growth, and turning a blind eye to similar (albeit, yeah, *significantly* less harmful) behavior from a popular male character. I'm also not a fan of using "racism" to describe either situation so I just shouldn't have reblogged in the first place. your comment seemed aimed at the op but it was a valid call-in for me too, thanks

Oh!! Thanks!! It was aimed at the OP, yeah. And I almost reblogged before I read the caption, because the thing is Pulaski is very clearly written as a Bones analogue and yeah, she gets hate he doesn't because of misogyny. I like her btw! She has a good arc learning to see Data differently.

I will say to be entirely fair the reason she doesn't work as a Bones analogue is that Data isn't a Spock analogue in the ways that matter. Vulcans are not an oppressed minority in-universe. For some reason people will argue about this with me??? But it's literally just textually true. Vulcans are incredibly powerful within the Federation, arguably even more than humans even though Earth is the seat of government when you consider the canon added later with First Contact etc. But regardless, Vulcans are treated as superior. I think some of the writers (probably Gene) actually did think of them as better than humans; consider Amanda saying the Vulcan way of life is "a better way" in Journey to Babel.

I think it's easy to forget that Vulcans aren't a minority because Spock is a minority on the ship. And Spock does face racism because Romulans resemble Vulcans. But in Federation society in general, Vulcans are not a minority, and if you look at TAS, it's pretty clear the Enterprise is a mostly human ship because showing a lot of diverse aliens every week was beyond 1960s special effects capabilities and not because starships are mostly crewed by humans. The Enterprise happens to be (at least that we see, again TAS suggest more diversity) and it's definitely interesting to explore Starfleet deliberately assigning crews that are mostly from the same culture. But anyway.

People have tried to tell me that although Vulcans are not an oppressed minority in-universe, they are still used as an allegory for oppression, but 1) I don't think that's true 2) I still don't think that means we can call one character's in-universe behavior towards another racist. The aspect of Spock that's usually used as an allegory for minority experiences is that he is mixed race. Which in-universe often takes the form of other Vulcans looking down on him for his human side and Spock himself not accepting his human side.

Bones genuinely believes that emotions are important, morally and philosophically. He is serious about this! He values empathy and considers it an important part of his work which is saving lives, alleviating suffering, etc. He considers suppressing emotions--which is what Vulcans do, btw--almost a form of self-harm. Spock is dismissive of this. Spock also insults humanity all the time. This is not Spock "being bitchy" to Bones. This is Spock insulting an entire species. And it's not a minority insulting the oppressor class. Spock was raised on Vulcan, with a Vulcan way of life, by Vulcans who consider themselves superior to humans. With Spock it is complicated because, again, a lot of it is rooted internalized disdain for his own humanity. Spock's arc confirms this, by the way. He basically considers himself entirely Vulcan, to the point of pursuing a ritual to purge all emotions, but ultimately realizes that's not what he wants. This simple feeling is important to him and the later movies show him treating logic as a beginning rather than an end and truly embracing the best parts of both sides of his heritage.

Humans are actually better at handling emotions than Vulcans are. I think the episode that establishes this is The Savage Curtain when they meet Surak (and also Abraham Lincoln). Vulcans are a highly emotional species who turned to violence (as did humans) and nearly destroyed each other, before Surak suggested logic. Basically, they trust in logic and suppress their emotions because if they give in to them, they will destroy themselves, or at least they believe they will. This is also evidenced with pon farr where they must have sex at a particular time or they will literally die; their urges are very powerful. But humanity, in the Star Trek universe, had nuclear wars and horrible atrocities but survived, and did it without repressing their emotions! By Federation time, humans too are peaceful and enlightened, and they're emotional.

If anything I think Bones and Spock's relationship is very Jewish because it's a passionate philosophical debate. Both of them have cultural as well as personal belief behind their positions. And as bitchy as they can get, there is an underlying respect there.

Frankly saying Vulcans equal minorities and therefore Bones is racist is just a really superficial way of engaging with Star Trek.

@aunt-pol I just realized I got so wrapped up in that I forgot to explain how this is different from Data!!!

Data, unlike Spock, actually is an oppressed minority. He is a unique lifeform and has his humanity legally called into question. He faces discrimination for being an android. He also does not consider himself superior to humans and in fact really wants to be human, which just makes telling him he's not nastier and more mean-spirited.

Data and Spock fill similar roles on the show but while Spock just happens to be the only Vulcan on the Enterprise and is the only half-human Vulcan, Data is actually the only Soong-type Android anyone knows about and the others who turn up in TNG are literally in the single digits (one doesn't know she's an Android, one is evil, one dies...). So Pulaski can't have the same dynamic with Data that Bones has with Spock, because Data's position in Federation society is very different. Additionally, Bones and Spock have an established relationship when we meet them and we never find out exactly how far back it goes. Pulaski is introduced in season 2 and meets Data for the first time.

There is a lot of sexism in how the fandom reacts and refuses to see the complexities of Pulaski or her character development but it's also a show fuck up.