#but this is one case in which that was a garbage fucking choice

[sockich]

#anyway fuck this storyline fr #like it makes sense for jamie to be drawn in yet again by the childlike desire to have his dad love him #but the show presenting that as a GOOD thing? #that lol his mom's just spiteful and jamie should ignore her in favor of what ted says #that no matter how badly your parent (or anyone) has abused you you have to make nice #good for james for getting rehab i guess #but that does NOT mean jamie should — let alone needs to — forgive and forget and reconnect #or that james getting rehab means he's suddenly a good person who loves jamie #and he hasn't even acknowledged what he's done; certainly he hasn't apologized for it (tags via samwpmarleau)

“Just forgive him.”

[psychedelic-ink]

𝑰'𝑴 𝒀𝑶𝑼𝑹𝑺 𝑻𝑶 𝑻𝑨𝑴𝑬

**gif by the amazing @pedrorascal

pairing: joel miller x fem!reader

genre: smut, hurt/comfort (but mostly filth let's be honest)

word count: 2.1k

summary: Not being able to sleep, you sneak in next to Joel on the bed. You're stirred awake with a still-sleeping Joel grinding his hips into you.

warnings: brief nightmare mention, accidental somnophilia, dry humping, very messy blowjob, mouth-fucking, gray sweatpants

After reading this post and the endless horny thots of @the-ginger-hedge-witch & @write-and-buried and screaming about pillows and gray sweatpants to @inklore I felt like I had little choice left and wrote this. I'm so weak for this man and I'm not even sorry

You stir awake with your top sticking to your skin and heart fluttering wildly in your chest. 

At first, you think you’re dying; your breathing uneven, and chest throbbing painfully. Your eyes struggle to adjust to the darkness, and when they finally do, you let out a sigh of relief at the familiar sight of the ceiling, bruised with humidity. Your back aches in protest as you twist and turn on the couch. Every night the same nightmares, every night you survive and every morning you’re trying to breathe through the pain. 

Your fingers twitch with the need to touch something, or someone. Your sleeping schedule has been absolute garbage the past week and it started to show during the day, Joel’s comments about how distracted you were never-ending. One time he asked if it was because of the couch, and if that was the case you should take the bed instead but you know it isn’t an issue of comfort. 

Well, it is but not the type of comfort Joel was referring to. 

You find yourself slowly sitting upright, the heels of your palms pressed painfully into your eyes as your back slides down the backrest and your head is tilted up. You don’t know what to do. The silence is deafening, you can feel the chaos even in the late hours of pure darkness. 

Joel’s snores reach your ears. They sound soft, oddly at peace, and with a brief moment of weakness you think of waking him, talking to him but you end up shaking your head. He’s in pain too. He’s tired too. If he has a chance of being blissfully at peace—even if it’s only for a night— you owe that to him. 

And you agree with that notion completely as you get up and head towards his room. You lean against the doorframe, arms crossed. 

You watch him, his form looking surprisingly child-like, a pillow under his head and the other end of it caught under his arms and between his legs. He’s laying stomach first, blanker kicked away, and a pair of gray sweatpants hugging him tight. His face is smushed against the pillow, lips parted and a small dark patch growing over the fabric. 

You never see him like this—never. 

Which might be the reason why you’re moving inside. You stand firm at the edge of the bed, watching the way his back raises and falls with every breath. 

Before everything went to shit you always found yourself drawn to the sky; to the shapes of clouds and the light of the moon—the way your heart aches right now makes you reminiscent of that specific feeling. 

You just can’t help but gawk at him, at his tortured beauty, at his briefly subsided pain. 

Suddenly, your eyelids feel heavy, sleep curling around your body and pulling you down to the empty space next to him. You lay on your back, staring blankly ahead. Anxiety churns heavily in your stomach. You’re not a fan of the thought of accidentally pissing off Joel with this. However, there’s still empty space between you, and for the first time in days, you actually feel that sleep comes naturally. 

Heaving out an extended sigh, you turn, curling into a small ball. Moments pass, your body relaxes and drifts above the wave of a somewhat peaceful slumber. Your mind is silent for the first time in months, ears focused on Joel’s breathing. 

You don’t know how much time passes after that. It could’ve been minutes. It could’ve been hours. But when you wake again, it’s because of two strong arms pulling you in, the raw earthy musk of Joel overwhelming your nostrils. His muscles tighten around you, his chest flush against your back as his warm breath fans your skin. 

“Joel?” you whisper— no answer, only the sound of breathing. 

You try not to focus on the fact that this is exactly what you wanted since the first time you laid eyes on him. His arms curled around you, a small shield of light battling the shadows that lurk about. You’re still as a rock, your breathing done in small, sharp inhales. The pillow he was hugging before is tangled between your feet, his pelvis nestled against your ass. 

You don’t dare to close your eyes now. You feel too warm, too awake. 

You hear him whimper. 

It’s the smallest of noises. A sharp muffled sound done into your skin. You hold your breath, and the sound repeats itself. Only louder this time. You note the small grind of his hips, the pulse of his length heavy under his loose sweatpants. 

You should wake him up. You really should, but you don’t. A pleasurable tingle buzzes throughout your body, heat building under your cheeks as your own breathing grows heavy. Joel presses closer, seeking you out like a dream. His mustache tickles your skin, lips touching your neck. He doesn’t know you’re there. He doesn’t know it’s not a dream but you he’s kissing in the dark. 

His fingers twitch right above your stomach, cock hard as he thrusts himself into your clothed flesh. Your hand claps over your mouth, nostrils flaring, you try to keep yourself silent. You’ll leave as soon as his grip around you loosens—even if it seems like it won’t be happening for a while. 

Joel moans into your neck, fingers spreading over your ribs. You slick pools between your legs with every brush of his hips, the seam of your underwear sticking to your mound. Heat stings the small of your back. It’s been too long since you last touched yourself, exhaustion and hunger not being the best lubricant for pleasuring yourself. 

The sounds he makes drop, his groans deeper, needier. He’s suddenly racking his hips in stinging strikes against your ass, giving you a very vivid idea of how he might fuck you in real life. Cock trapped underneath the loose binds of his sweatpants, your own imagination runs wild with the rough way he sways you back and forth. 

His breathing hitches and you think he’s about to come. Your eyes squeeze tight, your body electrified with the way he engulfs you. Your brain tricks you with images of Joel folding you into two and taking you from behind, his fingers wrapped around your throat and cock stretching you out. 

The rest happens in a blink of an eye; your hand falls to clutch the pillow under your head, you push yourself back to meet the rocking of his hips—the moan that follows is loud and unfiltered. 

“Fuck,” you breathe out shakily when Joel’s movements slow down to a halt. His hands move but hesitantly, trying to figure out what—who—you are. He stills, much to your surprise he doesn’t move away. 

“What’s happenin’” he slurs, lips moving along your nape. “Why are you here? Why am I—” 

He swallows. Every muscle on his bone goes tense, his hands now only hovering a lick away from your skin. He doesn’t need to look down to know that he’s hard as a rock, the inside of his sweatpants smeared with precome. He tries to move away and a hiss echoes in the silence, the tip of his cock catching against the soft fabric, a wave of arousal washes over him. 

“I’m sorry,” you whisper, you wrap your fingers around his wrist and pull his hand back to your body, screaming for the comfort of his touch. “I couldn’t sleep,” 

His touch soothes you like a scared animal, warmth blossoming where his fingertips touch. His hand stays but his hips remain apart. 

“I’m pretty sure I should be the one apologizin’” he sighs. His hand sneaks under your shirt, skirting up your torso, your breast fits perfectly in his palm—you shudder. “You should’ve woken me up if you were having nightmares. Tell me what you need,” 

“I didn’t want to bother you. You looked…peaceful.” 

“I’m never at peace.” 

You stay silent, his breath damp across your neck. He palms your breast and pinches the tender flesh that makes you jump. 

“Tell me…” he presses his nose into the curve of your neck, little hairs scraping your skin, and inhales you deeply. “Tell me what you want.” 

“Tell me what you want,” you challenge him. 

Your fingers trace the slopes of his knuckles, feeling every cut that’s been long since healed over with stretched skin. Joel denies himself of everything, as long as he’s able to, that is. He doesn’t enjoy living, doesn’t hold onto it tight as most people do. He just survives—and that’s it. 

“Please,” you beg, covering his hand with your own. “Tell me.” 

Despite not touching, you feel the twitch of his cock. You’re hoping that he hears the need you have to please him in your voice. You want to chase his heat with your body— live inside of it, and drown in it. His hand rolls down your body and squeezes your hip. 

“Want your mouth,” he groans out, voice still thick with sleep. “Wanna feel your lips tight around me,” 

You’re moving before he finishes his sentence. You throw the pillow tangled between your legs to the floor and crawl between his legs as he spreads them further. The back of his head is snug against the bedding. You trace the outline of his shaft with your fingers, your thumb brushing over the patch of wetness that had seeped into the fabric. His palm skims over the roundness of your shoulders and to the back of your neck, pushing you down. 

Slowly, you pull the restricting fabric down and smile when you notice he’s not wearing anything else. “You go commando every time you wear these?” 

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” his chest heaves but you don’t miss the small tug of the corner of his mouth. 

You close your mouth around the fat head, swirling your tongue, you taste him eagerly. He’s pulled taut, every fiber of his being coming alive at the swipe of your tongue. You swallow him halfway and breathe heavily, your own slick coats the inside of your thighs. Your chin is strained as you wrap your fingers around the base, pumping him into your mouth. His hips stutter forward, plunging his shaft further down your throat. 

You swallow again and again, moving up and down and flattening your tongue underneath. It’s easy to fall into rhythm, as if the heat of your mouth was made for him to fill. Blunt nails bite into your skin and you allow him to push you further down, the entirety of his cock being squeezed by your throat. Soft hairs tickle your nose, your hands move up and down the thickness of his thighs. 

Joel holds you there, your mouth waters, spit trickling down the corners of your mouth. 

A loud moan falls from his already parted lips, thrusting shallowly into your throat. You choke around him, and he moves faster. 

When he releases you, you pull back and press your cheek against his thigh, your hand stroking his spit-slick shaft. Joel pulses heavily with the glide of your palm, the tip of his cock a dark shade of red. 

“Don’t stop,” he growls, hand moving falling, and cradling your neck. “You can take it, can’t you? This is what you asked for,” 

You trace the wet length of him with open-mouthed kisses, he cants his hips into your hand, skimming over your lips. A moan trembles in his chest. 

“It is.” 

The heat of your mouth is everything Joel could as for. It’s comforting, dangerously so. You suck on the tip, swirl your tongue, his stomach clenches as sweat beads over his skin. He tenderly grabs the back of your head, thumbs moving over your cheeks as he fucks himself into your mouth. He can’t hold back, the need to spill into something real— into someone he cares for, proving to be too much. 

You can barely think with the way he fills you, you hallow your cheeks, swallow around him. Joel, is visibly shaking, his eyes closed and mouth agape as he loses himself in you. Your own hand moves between your legs, cupping your sex and slipping two fingers between your slick folds. You groan at your own touch, the reverberations of your throat making him jolt. 

His thighs tense and quake, you’re so wet, the sweet symphony of noises that falls from his mouth in parts makes you clench. Joel licks his lips, thrusting into your mouth once—twice, his balls tighten, and sweat pools at the tailbone. He comes heavily down your throat, spilling into and forcing you to swallow every drop. He holds you in place, whispering sweet nothings into the dark. You swallow eagerly, the taste of him bitter but not unpleasant. 

When he finally releases you, a string of saliva follows as you part with him with a pop. You sit on your heels, fingers now drawing slow, teasing circles around your clit. Joel chokes out a gasp and lifts himself with his elbows. 

“Need help with that?” he rasps, you trace the veins meandering down his neck with heavy-lidded eyes and smile. 

“I would very much like so, yes.” 

[txttletale]

Your discussions on AI art have been really interesting and changed my mind on it quite a bit, so thank you for that! I don’t think I’m interested in using it, but I feel much less threatened by it in the same way. That being said, I was wondering, how you felt about AI generated creative writing: not, like AI writing in the context of garbage listicles or academic essays, but like, people who generate short stories and then submit them to contests. Do you think it’s the same sort of situation as AI art? Do you think there’s a difference in ChatGPT vs mid journey? Legitimate curiosity here! I don’t quite have an opinion on this in the same way, and I’ve seen v little from folks about creative writing in particular vs generated academic essays/articles

i think that ai generated writing is also indisputably writing but it is mostly really really fucking awful writing for the same reason that most ai art is not good art -- that the large training sets and low 'temperature' of commercially available/mass market models mean that anything produced will be the most generic version of itself. i also think that narrative writing is very very poorly suited to LLM generation because it generally requires very basic internal logic which LLMs are famously bad at (i imagine you'd have similar problems trying to create something visual like a comic that requires consistent character or location design rather than the singular images that AI art is mostly used for). i think it's going to be a very long time before we see anything good long-form from an LLM, especially because it's just not a priority for the people making them.

ultimately though i think you could absolutely do some really cool stuff with AI generated text if you had a tighter training set and let it get a bit wild with it. i've really enjoyed a lot of AI writing for being funny, especially when it was being done with tools like botnik that involve more human curation but still have the ability to completely blindside you with choices -- i unironically think the botnik collegehumour sketch is funnier than anything human-written on the channel. & i think that means it could reliably be used, with similar levels of curation, to make some stuff that feels alien, or unsettling, or etheral, or horrifying, because those are somewhat adjacent to the surreal humour i think it excels at. i could absolutely see it being used in workflows -- one of my friends told me recently, essentially, "if i'm stuck with writer's block, i ask chatgpt what should happen next, it gives me a horrible idea, and i immediately think 'that's shit, and i can do much better' and start writing again" -- which is both very funny but i think presents a great use case as a 'rubber duck'.

but yea i think that if there's anything good to be found in AI-written fiction or poetry it's not going to come from chatGPT specifically, it's going to come from some locally hosted GPT model trained on a curated set of influences -- and will have to either be kind of incoherent or heavily curated into coherence.

that said the submission of AI-written stories to short story mags & such fucking blows -- not because it's "not writing" but because it's just bad writing that's very very easy to produce (as in, 'just tell chatGPT 'write a short story'-easy) -- which ofc isn't bad in and of itself but means that the already existing phenomenon of people cynically submitting awful garbage to literary mags that doesn't even meet the submission guidelines has been magnified immensely and editors are finding it hard to keep up. i think part of believing that generative writing and art are legitimate mediums is also believing they are and should be treated as though they are separate mediums -- i don't think that there's no skill in these disciplines (like, if someone managed to make writing with chatGPT that wasnt unreadably bad, i would be very fucking impressed!) but they're deeply different skills to the traditional artforms and so imo should be in general judged, presented, published etc. separately.

[carriesthewind]

Yeah so anyway, I'm making my response to this fucking garbage its own separate post in case people want to reblog it without having to reblog a scare-mongering lie.

This video pisses me the fuck off whenever I see it, and today I'm not in the mood to just scroll past.

Wow! Am I being lead to panic by scaremongering algorithm fodder completely unsupported by real evidence?! test:

The reason you think something exists is just what you're being told by a nefarious *them*, there is actually a conspiracy behind it!

I, an ordinary person with no expertise who critically examines the world around me, have uncovered this conspiracy.

"That's what they're telling you." (put the emphasis wherever appropriate for the conspiracy of your choice - in this case, it's on *telling*)

This new tech thing is actually a bad idea and the old school method was better - which clearly proves there must be a secret conspiracy, because why allow the possibility of incompetence and investor tech-hype when you can instead assume a highly-competent evil conspiracy?

I will now tell you my conspiracy theory while scrolling rapidly through a document without pausing or allowing you to actually read any of it. This allows me to look like I have proven my claims while doing nothing of the sort. Because do you really think someone could do that? Quickly flash a document on screen and just lie about what it says?

But Owl! This is real! A user upthread found the patent and it *does* prove it!

Yeah. I read the linked patent. Did you?

Let's quote the "real purpose" hidden in the patent, as claimed out in the video:

"The real purpose of these screens is to use the little camera at the top right here to scan your face and use AI facial expression analysis to judge whether or not you like the packaging designs of the product you're looking for."

This is complete made up horseshit.

First, let's look where the reblogger directs us, to column #4 on page 17:

"Preferably, each retail product container further comprises customer-detecting hardware, such as one or more proximity sensors (such as heat maps) , cameras, facial sensors or scanners, and eye-sensors (i.e., iris-tracking sensors). Assuming cameras are employed, preferably cameras are mounted on doors of the retail product containers. Preferably, the cameras have a depth of field of view of twenty feet or more, and have a range of field of view of 170 degrees with preferably 150 degree of facial recognition ability. Preferably, software is employed in association with the cameras to monitor shopper interactions, serve up relevant advertisement content on the displays, and track advertisement engagement in - store." (emphasis added and references to figures removed for readability)

That is the extent of the "nonconsensual data collection."

Now, to be fair, there is some stuff on page 18 and 19 which kinda-sorta-maybe has at least some relation to the claim in the video:

"Preferably, the controller/data collector is configured such that as a shopper stands or lingers in front of a given retail product container, the display associated with the retail product container changes yet again. At this point, preferably the controller/data collector has been able to use the customer-detecting hardware to effectively learn more about that particular customer, such as gender, age, mood, etc. The controller / data collector is configured to take what has been detected about the customer to determine which advertisement and other information to present to that particular customer on the display associated with the retail product container in front of which the customer is standing. By tracking shopper data in parallel with which advertising content is being served on all displays within the viewing range of the shopper, the retailer and the brands are better served, providing new analytics. As such, the system provides advertising, influence opportunities at the moment of purchasing decision, optimizing marketing spend and generating new revenue streams....

"Additionally, preferably all inputs collected by the IOT devices will be analyzed locally as well as remotely (via cloud) to provide the feedback inputs for the system to push more relevant/targeted content, tailored for the consumer. The analytics are preferably conducted anonymously, images captured by cameras are preferably processed to collect statistics on consumer demographic characteristics: (such as age and gender). This data is preferably subsequently analyzed for additional statistics for the retailers that are valuable for in-store merchandise layout design and smart merchandizing, including the ability to track the shoppers “traffic” areas, known as “heat maps”, areas were [sic] customers would concentrate more and spend more time exploring, etc." (emphasis added and references to figures removed for readability) (And note the repeated emphasis on preferably - they don't have a patent to do any of this.)

Which, like, not great! I fucking hate the idea of shit like this! But there is literally nothing here about monitoring your expressions to sell the data about how you react to packaging!

This isn't a nefarious plan hidden in the patent. It's tech bros adding on totally sick ideas about how they can sell this shit to walgreens. (Because to be clear, I'm sure walgreens's corporate office would love to collect and sell this kind of information. But just because they would, doesn't mean they can or are. And this patent sure as hell doesn't prove it.)

Because let me be clear: the image capture of consumers is so irrelevant to the product that it literally isn't even included in the claims section of the patent.

Because the patent is quite explicit and detailed about the idea they are selling big retails stores on - this is a better, new, innovative, tech-driven way to "provide an innovative advertising solution"! (The words "AI," "intelligent," and "machine learning" are deployed liberally, but in the same way that "blockchain" was a few years ago. It's advertising tech hype.)

I want to make it clear - the OP in the video is straight up lying to you. Whether for fun or profit or just attention, I don't know and I don't care. If you shared this, you probably should have know better, but everyone makes mistakes. OP, on the other hand, is just a fucking liar.

But Owl! What about "the senators looking into this"?

I don't know how to tell you this, but thing linked about is a press release by a politician's office. That doesn't mean it's not true, but it's not evidence on it's own. Like, the letter linked in the link included links to sources, but is not itself evidence (ooh, layers of links to actually get to a source, my favorite)(actually my computer wouldn't even goddam open the links to the source, I had to independently search for it).

Anyway, the letter to Kroger linked in the press release by the senators contains a single sentence and a single link relevant to the claim here (linked for your convenience because it sure as hell wasn't for mine). Unfortunately, this article is itself based on a goddam press release (That isn't linked! Again, you're welcome.)

And when we finally get to the underlying fucking source. "In addition to transforming the customer experience and enhancing productivity for associates, the EDGE Shelf will enable Kroger to generate new revenue by selling digital advertising space to consumer packaged goods (CPGs) brands. Using video analytics, personalized offers and advertisements can be presented based on customer demographics." So it's purporting to something *kind of* like the claim in the video, but an entirely different format completely unrelated to the thing the video is scaremongering about.

Now Kroger did actually start using the advertising screens in 2023. And you can believe what you want about the data privacy claims and the claims about not using video, just sensors (which remember is entirely consistent with the patent). But remember: being skeptical of a company's claims is fine and good! It does not mean you have proven they are lying, and it especially does not prove you have claimed they are doing something extremely specific! And most of the articles, and the letter from the senators, are (much more reasonably) concerned about so-called "dynamic" or surge pricing. (Which is not related to the screens.)

Like goddamn. Aren't there enough real problems with surveillance and price-gorging to be concerned about without having to make up fake ones? Hell, why can't we at least be concerned with the real problems with those dumb screens, which is that the a) make shopping harder and b) catch fire?

[leliwardens]

kind of want to throw together a collection of my thoughts from the new veilguard news and while i do have exceptionally positive thoughts over some things most is...not. and that was kind of what i expected from what i had seen previously, and the limited choices thing.

(spoilers + negativity under the cut)

like the return of a certain character, horrific and racist design aside, is for...who exactly? with no choices to influence them, then it's not really for long term fans outside the ones that just like random cameos i suppose? and it's presumably a fun npc for new fans but that could of been fulfilled with a new npc with no ties to previous games.

from what i've seen i do think that really sums it up for my biggest issue. it's even worse than inquisition with trying to cater to everyone, but this time around there's less for the longterm fans (unless you played a certain route, it seems).

and this in mind with veilguard being described as a "send off"? for...who exactly i ask again? i know that's far more opinion based with reviews and will vary from person to person, but like...given you have no influence over any returning characters or major previous events, then it's not sending off anything for long term fans. the most i can assume/hope for is a bookend with killing the last of the old gods and finding a cure, but without any mention of the hero of ferelden it rings hollow. and i truly can believe this is a send off to, i guess, any final remnants of everything that came before a big time skip which i always suspected would happen just not coming from a game that already cut off previous material.

and this is purely my opinion but one of the small fears i had was this was just a springboard for the next mass effect game it......unfortunately seems like the case. both franchises are cash cows but the space military shooter is the bigger one i guess lmao. i like me fine, casual fan, but it never stuck with me the way da did, and i never liked how regressive it felt compared TO da or restrictive when it comes to roleplay. but again opinions. i just want both franchises to be their own thing, but it's being blended together probably because the dev cycles are hot fucking garbage for bigger and bigger games and having to merge elements to make it a big more bearable and more general audience appeal. so i won't be surprised if veilguard was a testing ground for me5 and it shows.

idk, there's other things like i'm not sure what to make of the apparent lack of conflict between characters of lack of meaningful choices, both are very objective based and from what i under don't come from unbias places. regardless i wouldn't be surprised if it were the case given how toothless inquisition was made, so this seems like it's on the right track. and the lack of moral grey? apparently? still feeling like it's an unfortunate natural progression also from inquisition, with the broadening of the audience appeal because you gotta make more and more money but i'd also not be surprised of fan backlash (some fair and some not) lead to more basic palatable choices.

we'll see how it goes when i play but i think my opinion won't change much given there isn't anything you can do about the limited choices, which is really what killed it for me.

[chaotic-leaf-enthusiast]

House wasn't a show about a mad genius doctor who was misunderstood by everyone around him. House was a show about a man who thought he was superior to everyone around him to the point where he destroyed every human relationship he had.

His loved ones made a difficult medical decision for him in an attempt to save his life, but instead of acknowledging that they were doing the best with what they knew, he acted like his rights had been maliciously violated and harbored anger about this for years, while making no connection to the countless times he violated his patients medical rights and emotional and physical wellbeing just because he thought that he knew more than everyone else around him so he got a pass to do whatever he wanted.

He manipulated his friends and co-workers, he played mind games with them seemingly for his own amusement, belittled them constantly, assaulted them, forced them to do unethical things, and frequently made them endure a hostile workplace for no reason other than that being the price you pay to work with the "greatest doctor ever."

With his personal relationships, every time someone would set a boundary or require him to meet their needs, he would punish them, and never made geniune efforts to be a good friend/partner, and only did nice things for them if he got something out of it or to maintain the connection to them. If someone walked away from him, he'd manipulate them and mess with their emotions to prove to himself that he could still get them back if he wanted to, on his terms.

He was awful to the students he was teaching, and when they would quit he would frame it as weeding people out of the medical field who would be too weak to be good, but in reality he was weeding out people who had enough self-worth or ethical standards to object to his abusive working conditions.

Tritter was portrayed as a belligerent cop who wanted to get revenge for House refusing to kiss his ass, but House as the doctor failed to read his chart, dismissed the patient's concerns, and used his position of power to humiliate a patient just because the patient had a legitimate worry and insisted on a test instead of accepting that House Knows All. Yes, ACAB, and also House was abusing a position of power to punish a patient who didn't submit to his superiority. All the trouble that Tritter caused for House and his friends and coworkers was deserved, because House was literally committing crimes and the people around him were turning a blind eye to it or even helping him, because again, "greatest doctor ever!"

While he saved many lives, he saw his patients as puzzles, not people, and was a blight on the lives of everyone he associated with. But that was okay with him, because he knew more than everybody else and was surrounded by idiots, and acted as though he believed that idiots don't deserve decency, kindness, respect, privacy, or whatever rights he wanted to infringe on, and don't have any room to stand up for themselves because he's smarter than them and knows what's best for them more than they do.

Just a truly abhorrent piece of garbage, and I really don't like how the show portrayed him. You're meant to see some kind of humanity in him and accept that despite all the medical malpractice, he did save a lot of lives. The show portrayed his abusive behavior as a "defense mechanism" for his fear of emotional vulnerability as though it was an unintentional reflex instead of choices he was making to be abusive. He was even given a tragic childhood to justify his behavior. Reviews for the show frequently make the point that "despite his asshole behavior he's a genius," or "everyone hates him but they respect him cause he's always right" and no. That's his delusional perspective that the show paints as reality. He's frequently wrong many times and has to use trial and error to solve cases, which anybody with enough medical knowledge could do. He's not special. And it's fucked up that he seems to enjoy people who hate him being forced to acknowledge that he's right sometimes, which he equates with superiority. It seems like another mindgame. "No matter what I do to you, you have to admit that I'm better than you."

I really hate this character and this show so much. I watched all eight seasons hoping that the show would include the consequences of his actions, but the consequences never seem to stick or actually change him. He never has to change, he can just move on because he's such a special genius. All of his relationships were painted as "this is toxic, buuuuuuuuut he's an amazing doctor!!! And if he does some nice thing at the end it'll redeem him!"

I guess you can take the show as though it's through the lens of those who have co-dependent relationships with him and then you can understand it as a kind of horror, but a lot of people aren't going to think that deeply about it and the show doesn't really seem like that's what it was going for.

I could go on and on about this but it all leads back to the same point- this show was flashy and cool for it's time but was geniunely awful about the main character.

[thefloatingstone]

Sadly I'm not even sure it isn't a calculated choice on ubisoft's part to include a character who will stir up blatantly obvious racism just so it can be the primary discourse of their mediocre game to cover up all the other problems and microtransactions its bound to have, and get people who otherwise wouldn't have cared to buy the game both on principle and to hate review it. Cause it sucks but man is the racism so... predictable. But I hope the people who wrote the game at least took advantage of it to write a good story and characters if that is the case.

Oh yeah make no mistake Ubisoft is an awful garbage company who makes terrible games on purpose so they can sell micro-transactions and they have openly stated they want to move forward by having NPC ambient dialogue written by AI from now on. They also harbour an environment of abuse towards their workers and have been protecting high ranking members of their studio from facing legal or financial consequences for sexual assault.

Fuck 'em.

The game is not going to be good. I already know this and it sucks. Especially because I know a lot of the devs and writers and researchers working on AC want to make good games and really want to be historically accurate as they were once highly praised for when AC was at its peak.

Including Yasuke as such an important focus of the game is absolutely a marketing stunt by AC both to drum up support for their studio run by confirmed rapists and the backlash and racism is a convenient smokescreen from how awful their company and studio is. Especially if it can outrage people enough to support the game out of spite.

It all sucks because an Assassin's Creed game as they used to be made at their peak making a game with Yasuke as a major focus would be really interesting and something I would love to see. Hell, make an entire game ABOUT Yasuke and follow a fictional imagining of his life from whatever tribe he was part of in Africa, his capture and selling into European hands and being shipped of to Japan where he is elevated into the Samurai class structure in (I think??) the Edo period. That would be great!

Yasuke is a very interesting historical figure simply due to his very existence. And I think interpreting what his life could have been like would make for a fascinating narrative. And at one point Ubisoft could have done it justice.

But their studio is awful, they are using this as a smokescreen to distract everyone from their liberal use of AI to do their quest writing and dialogue, and they are still protecting their higher ups from facing legal consequences for sexual assault. All while selling games which are made to be bad on purpose so they can sell a criminal amount of micro-transactions to you.

And it just sucks.

But what sucks more is how these people who love to complain about "woke culture" are the ones who seem to be so incredibly obsessed with this with SUCH fragile coping mechanisms that the simple use of a real historical figure who was black is enough to send them into a shrieking tamper tantrum about it.

They have literally become as sensitive, maladjusted, and unable to cope with reality as they THINK "SJWs" and "Woke culture" is. When in reality most normal people don't get this upset about a video game character existing. It's really pathetic.

But, on the trailer for Assassin's Creed Shadows I saw this comment, and I think it says all that needs to be said about the whole situation;

[thegeneralreturns]

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is the first Tim Burton movie to actually feel like a Tim Burton movie since 2007.

There's not a whole lot here story-wise, but it's still more coherent than the original, which concerned itself more with flitting in between Burton's visual conceits, and less with forming a plot or establishing an internal logic. Which isn't to say that Beetlejuice is bad, or that Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is better, but the original was Burton's second feature, the sequel is his twentieth, and those facts are obvious in the case of both. In the case of the former, the scattershot approach was the work of someone who didn't know what he was doing. In the latter, it's a stylistic and narrative choice.

Which is how Burton's films usually pan out. I see critics calling this new one "All over the place," and it makes me want to show them the back of my hand. In what course of human events over the last forty years did we come to expect consistency from Tim Fucking Burton? Inconsistency's his mode! So much so that when you do get a Burton picture with a tight, coherent screenplay (like Sweeney Todd or Ed Wood), you actually stop and call your friends over to gawk at it like you're looking at a birthday clown who started showing signs of stigmata. Like "How the hell did that happen?"

Burton shines his brightest when he indulges his fancies for both Gothic aesthetics and Boomer kitsch. Because as great as his reputation is as The Archduke of Hot Topic, he's still a genial nerd who likes people and has a strong affection for all the square normie shit he felt he was excluded from in middle school, and that is all over Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Up to and including a Soul Train line and a lip-sync sequence of MacArthur Park. It's when he can't indulge himself that you get garbage like Dumbo and Planet of the Apes.

He has found himself a new Ingenue figure, for what was once Winona Ryder and Christina Ricci is now Jenna Ortega. And he has found a new Wifey figure, for what was once Lisa Marie and Helena Bonham Carter is now Monica Bellucci. Michael Keaton picked up like he never left off, and Catherine O'Hara left the womb in God Mode and has not once in the decades since decided to dial it back.

When I was a little kid, The first name that I attached to the concept of "filmmaker" was that of Tim Burton. He has been supplanted by other names in the years since, but the genesis? That was him. And now that Tim Burton? The one who scared me and delighted me at the age of five? He's back. And now that he is, I can't tell you how much I missed him.

[crystalelemental]

Full tier list is here, breaking down the F-tier. Time to expose my Hater Tendencies.

Red Realistically, Red is not inherently awful, my hate is a byproduct of the franchise itself constantly pushing him as the biggest most importantest trainer ever to live, and I despise that. He exudes nothing to me. I think his challenge in GSC also sucks, the remakes actually made it way worse, and Let's Go's conditions are so annoying I refused to even entertain the idea. I have no respect for him, and think the general fanon perception of selective mutism is giving credit where it's not due. He's just supposed to be strong and silent warrior man archetype, which is boring as sin, and people are out here making him actually interesting. Stop it. I'm trying to be a hater.

Brendan "Your dad's a gym leader so I thought you'd be a guy." "Unlike you, your dad seems tough." Brendan is a piece of shit masquerading as your first "nice" rival and I never got over the bad vibes. Fuck this dude.

Flint He looks stupid, and is in love with Volkner. Atrocious taste.

Thorton He's just kind of a dweeb, and then Masters had a really early event where he's supremely rude to Hilda for literally no reason. His vibes are rancid.

Flannery Every tier has one I look at and go "I am being a little unfair, but I must be true to my feelings." Flannery is that pick. I cannot stand Flannery for entirely unfair reasons, but nothing gets me past it. I'm sorry, it's an ongoing hangup, but I cannot get over how much I hate when they make a female character whose thing is being shy or self conscious, and put her in a revealing outfit. Like come on. I know what this is and I'm mad about it. Consider her my entry point onto some guys being just really skeevy about female character designs.

Volkner "Oh, I'm so bored of battling because no one is a challenge to me, guy who isn't even on the Elite Four." Get over yourself, loser.

Klara/Avery I'm lumping them together. I hate them both equally. Galar is already fighting an uphill battle with its atrocious aesthetic, and these two being petty losers is doing nothing to help their case.

Sordward/Shielbert I mean...do I really need to explain? His head is a penis. Literal dickhead. Worst post-game segment of the series.

Ball Guy Originally omitted, decided to include just to shit on garbage reddit meme culture. Masters, you fucked up putting this thing in here.

Mohn/AZ Okay, these two are the actual, beyond all else, bottom of the barrel losers. Why? Because they are the only inclusions that I think actively harm their games. In the case of Mohn, the only emotional center Gen 7 has is the Aether Fam, and the husband/father is literally just hanging out on an island. We know where he is. He's the bean man. And this angst gets absolutely annihilated over the fact that he's literally just right the fuck here. USUM even has him interact, only to shut down a real resolution with him. Like great Lusamine, glad you've decided to move on, that is a choice, but like. We're all really going to pretend like this wasn't the entire core of the issue and just let it all go in a half-cooked scene? I wish he never showed up.

AZ is much the same. His presence as an eternal entity wandering the earth bothers me, because honestly bro, it's been 3000 years. Do you know how quickly people change who they are? I'll give you a hint, it's fewer years than that. And at no point was there any real attempt to like. Reflect or undo his previous actions? Like you could've dealt with the machine since you knew where it was, man. You could've done literally anything. And his resolution is supposed to be one (1) battle with you where he suddenly feels like he can just let go of the weight of his sins of creating a doomsday weapon that runs on Pokemon life and committing a genocide with it. Hooray. Glad we wrapped that up. He should've just been a cautionary tale that existed in history, not a literal guy who continues to be here. I hate him so much.

[loremaster]

GOOD NEWS!

wicked movie… good

ok first of all i gotta say… i shipped gelphie before i really understood People Can Be Gay And I Can Be One Of Those People. i saw the musical on stage and was like. huh…. these two girls should have ended up with each other instead of fiyero. they give me soft feelings. baby’s first yuris…..

i went in with low expectations of course because as we all know movie adaptations of musicals can be very hit or miss, and film adaptations of anything lately have been mostly garbage it seems. but thank GOD they delivered on this one (or at least the first half).

- Honestly out of everything my favorite part has GOT to be the set design. the village, the school, the city, the miniature city, the tower, the FUCKING ROTATING LIBRARY?!?!?!?! coolest shit ever. knocked it out of the fucking PARK.

- costume design was also phenomenal. love all the funny little outfits. the gowns, the shoes, THE shoes, the variation in the school uniforms, the glasses, the sheer amount of Pink Things in glinda’s wardrobe (and the choices of which scenes to wear which shades of pink? spot on)… i’d unironically wear that Froat. gorgeous needle felting. and of course all the funny outlandish costumes in the One Short Day scene were amazing, especially those bouncy men, and those twisty ribbony skirts…

- also speaking of student uniforms i LOVED seeing visibly queer people at shiz. that half-skirt-pants thing was iconic. loved every instance of gender nonconformity, no matter how small. i’d love to rewatch the movie just for that. of COURSE this colorful magical musical world is filled with people like us and thank GOD the director + cast + crew had the brains/heart/courage to display that on screen.

- special shoutout to jonathan bailey whom once again has baffled me with his ability to convincingly fall in love with women on screen… but this time he gets to be a little bi with it! he managed to seduce practically every single student in that school, even boq, hot damn

- loved boq’s little quirk of standing on things to make himself taller. and - can’t remember if this was in the stage version - the line about the hankerchiefs “i cry a lot.” all those little foreshadowing moments made me chuckle. “Get Stuffed.” can’t WAIT to see fiyero get stuffed in part 2 ;0

- side note, i heard they might be adding a new musical number to part 2?!?!? and if it were up to me… i’d love to see some fun scarecrow/tin man/cowardly lion three-part harmonies. they probably won’t do that though since it’d be hard to do so without making dorothy an Actual Character and i like that she’s a faceless plot device in this version of the wizard of oz story. time will tell

- i thought the whole thing was very well cast. even though there were some cases i wish they had gone with better vocalists… (michelle yeoh and jeff goldblum) their acting chops did definitely make up for it so i’m satisfied

- one little detail i really really loved is there’s this illustrated poster of the wizard you see in the background in several shots throughout the movie - and it looks like a bland generic white man… but once they reveal which actor is actually playing the wizard you realize in hindsight… hey it DOES kinda look like jeff goldblum. not super recognizably, but the facial proportions are there. they got his wide set eyes. whichever illustrator did that, you toed the line between accurate and vague soooooooo well. hats off to you

- the one thing that kinda irked me acting wise was ariana grande’s lack of facial animatedness…. i’ll begrudgingly accept it as a Character Choice since she rocked the vocals and the body language (and i know she worked her ass off for her dream role) but oh man. would have loved to see her wrinkle up her face a bit more. sigh.

- cynthia erivo fucking KILLED ITTTTTTT in all respects. i got nothing negative to say about her at all, mwah mwah mwah. she’s gorgeous and she has such a great voice and was such a good choice for the role.

- hair and makeup crew for elphaba killed it too, awesome wig, awesome nails, awesome shades of green in her skin (and the cute little freckles!!!!)…. beautiful. selfishly i thought she looked better with the glasses but that’s a Me Thing. i think everyone would look better with glasses

- staging and choreography was awesome. every number was great. they even managed to make everyone’s least favorite song A Sentimental Man entertaining! the power of cinema! and shadow puppets!

- loved the addition of the other animal characters to Something Bad. aging mustachioed snow leopard…. call me

- and fiyero’s banter with his horse… great way to show what kind of person he is right off the bat: snarky and playful but also got a kind heart and doesn’t look down on anyone.

- i had heard a negative comment (on xitter of all places, should have known) that they padded out the runtime with a bunch of stupid filler but honestly i didn’t think it was stupid. i guess it was frustrating from the point of view of someone who wanted to sing along to the songs as i know them from the obc soundtrack but, like. it made sense. the pacing felt good.

- of all the New Additions to the film (and besides the aforementioned badass rotating library) my favorite was probably glinda’s two besties. they probably had names idk. LOVED them. great comic relief without taking too much attention to themselves. looking forward to seeing them again in part 2…. and i love having no idea what’s going to happen to them. will they recede into the background? get mini character arcs? split apart or stay together? either way they’ve gotta stick around because they are so entertaining to see on screen.

- i can safely say i’m shipping gelphie again. they are very important to me. love this beautifully tragic doomed yuri.

- the little smiles… the gestures… the development of their relationship… the part when they’re laying in bed together looking at each other… AAUUUUGGGHHHHHH MY LITTLE GAY HEART CAN’T TAKE IT

-Do You Think They Explored Each Others’ Bodies Flushed Emoji

- ok but this time. im smart enough at media now. i recognize that fiyero is a Good Character and not just getting in the way of the girls. he can be part of this relationship too. in a perfect world the three of them could all get married together………… but this is not a perfect world

- god. what a great movie. i’m really eager to watch it again already. the level of detail and love that was put into this production is so, so, so clear. thanks to jon chu for recognizing this story is so important to so many people and transferring that onto the big screen with not only fidelity but creativity and passion. from the producer to the director to the cast and crew - especially the crew and ESPECIALLY the section of the crew specifically dedicated to covid management. everyone involved gave their all and, pun intended, i couldn’t be happier. thank goodness!

- oh wait never mind i forgot my least favorite part of the movie. the kristen chenoweth idina menzel cameo was stupid as hell. like they were funny and all but the meta humor was so out of place it took me out of the moment. if i were a kid watching this and i didn’t recognize those people i’d be confused. …they did have cool outfits though.

- ok. can’t wait for part 2. i will wait as long as i need to for it to be Good

[elenaril]

Times Like These “I’m not… I don’t want to die, Johnny. I’m not ready.” She sucked in a sharp breath of air, and blinked away the tears again.  “I’ve considered every single fucking option and choice we have, and it’s just. It’s not looking so good, y’know? The malfunctions are getting more frequent, I barely know who and where I am most days after waking up, I’m forgetting things, things that are important, and I just. I don’t fucking know anymore. I’m just not sure if it’s worth it anym-” She was trembling, the thought of an ending sending her into a quiet panic

 “Fucking finally, do you ever take breaks like a normal person?” Johnny’s digital form glitched into visibility, grumbling as usual. Eden had finally sat down on a bench, in one of the many hidden nooks and crannies of Kabuki, letting out a quiet groan as she stretched her shoulders, and flexed her hands. The streets were, as every other place in NC, littered with trash and discarded items, and the scent of cheap liquor, smoke from the various industrial sites (or a certain engrams’ phantom cigarettes), garbage - the holy trinity of NC, filled her nose. Even after almost a decade in the dystopian hellscape that was Night City, she couldn’t help but make a face. 

“Hey, legendary rockerboy/terrorist/most impressive man you’ll ever meet to planet gonk? You listen to anything I’ve said in the last five minutes?” Eden, aka “planet gonk”, apparently, rolled her eyes. Johnny was pouting, tapping his foot against the ground, arms crossed, looking down at her, huffy and annoyed, and obviously in need of attention. She sighed, and sat up straight, crossing her own arms in response, and looked up at him. “What? If you couldn’t fucking tell, I was trying to relax, something you’ve been bitching about for the last two hours.” They’d just got back from a gig, escorting a client to safety; some idiot who had gotten caught up in corporate schemes, and now had a bounty/potential death sentence on his head. Nothing Eden wasn’t familiar with.

“As I was saying, which you’d fucking know if you ever bothered listening - you’re fucking starving, and your lack of self care is impacting me, so get your ass over to that takeout place over there. I don’t know about you, but even in my glitched out form, I can tell shit smells amazing. Might also just be me.” he finished, adding a wink to top it all off, along with a smug grin. Fuck, she thought to herself. He was absolutely right. She had not eaten a single thing since the previous night, and that had been a half-eaten, cold Burrito XL she’d gotten herself for breakfast.

“Okay, fine, you have a fucking point. About the food, thank you.” With a grunt, she got to her feet as Johnny’s construct faded away, and shuffled through the street, zigzagging between the other NC residents, and trying to avoid stepping in something nasty. 

 As she neared the little eatery, the scent of grilled meats and whatever vegetable substitute they were using, filled her nose, and she felt a pang of hunger. Fucking Johnny and his terrible (good) ideas. Even though the place was open, facing the streets, it was surprisingly cozy. It served as a quiet little pocket, where one could find some peace and quiet, at least this time of night. She stepped towards the counter, pulling her jacket slightly tighter around herself. She smiled at the chef, and leaned across the bartop, placing her gun within reach on the counter, just in case. Night City etiquette and all that. She placed an order for a simple stir-fry, and within minutes, a takeaway container was placed in front of her. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, trying to shrug off the nausea that plagued her, due to the various medications Vik and Misty had given her, to deal with the Relic. She picked up the chopsticks, and began eating. A wave of satisfaction washed over her, and she knew that it was not all her own. The chef was busy tending to a pair of customers at the opposite side of the counter, and the rest of the little eatery was empty. It was nice, being able to sit down and just enjoy the peace and quiet for once, and get lost in her own thoughts.

“Don’t get too comfortable, princess. With all those loud ass fucking thoughts you’re having, I might get the impression you don’t like me.” Eden rolled her eyes and stuck the chopsticks in the container, pushing it aside.

“Can I seriously not have anything nice without you ruining it?” She huffed and leaned over the counter again, flexing her hand.

 “Hey, I practically bought you dinner, I can be nice. Not my fault you’re being such a bitch about it.” Eden swatted at him with her left hand, both feeling the impact for a short second, before her hand glitched through his arm, leaving a jitter of code and static, before settling back into him. He snickered, and shook his head, before pulling out a cigarette. Eden refused to humour him further, and instead chose to look away.

They stood there in silence, side by side. Johnny smoking, Eden lost in thought, much like usual. The food beside her was getting cold, and a sharp pain at the nape of her neck that spread down her spine, straight to her chest snapped her back into reality. Johnny winced, feeling it too, and he turned to look at her, as she sucked in a sharp breath of fresh air. 

“‘m fine, don’t worry.” she muttered, flexing and clenching her fist repeatedly, trying to ground herself. Johnny’s eyebrows furrowed in concern, and he took another drag of the cigarette, waiting for her to talk. But she didn’t say anything. Instead, she kept standing here, hunched over the counter, flexing and clenching her fist, focusing on the repetitive movement, and ignoring the tension in the rest of her body. The nausea was back, and she felt cold.

“...you alright, V?” Johnny reached towards her, and put a hand on her arm. She flinched, but leaned into him. Barely. She took another deep breath, and exhaled shakily.

“I’m… I don’t know. It’s getting worse.”

“...”

Johnny looked at her, and he could feel her growing desperation, the two of them connected in both body, and mind. He felt her agitation, and it had been getting harder and harder to shut each other out. The Relic was working as intended, blurring the lines between them, and erasing her in the process. They both knew  that it was only a matter of weeks at this point.

Eden yanked away her arm, and leaned down, burying her head in her arms. She felt the familiar sting of tears in her eyes, and aggressively attempted to blink them away. Johnny, not taking a hint, or ignoring it, as usual, reached over, and gently stroked the back of her neck with his organic hand, brushing the rose-coloured hair away. He did not push his luck, however, and removed his hand shortly after. Eden was holding her breath.

“...you wanna, I don’t know. Talk about it?” Johnny was toeing in foreign territory for them both. They had free access to each other’s feelings, and Johnny could read every single thought that crossed through her head, but talking about things? They were both terrible at it. But, they tried, when it mattered. And tonight, it mattered.

Eden stood up again, brushing her hands through her pink bangs as she straightened slightly, before resting her arms at the counter, fists clenched. She refused to look at him. If she did, she would probably break down. And that, she refused.

“Johnny, I…” Johnny lit another ghostly cigarette, and looked at her, his usually sharpened gaze, soft.

“I’m not… I don’t want to die, Johnny. I’m not ready.” She sucked in a sharp breath of air, and blinked away the tears again. 

“I’ve considered every single fucking option and choice we have, and it’s just. It’s not looking so good, y’know? The malfunctions are getting more frequent, I barely know who and where I am most days after waking up, I’m forgetting things, things that are important, and I just. I don’t fucking know anymore. I’m just not sure if it’s worth it anym-” She was trembling, the thought of an ending sending her into a quiet panic.

“Lighten up, princess.” Johnny looked away, and stared right in front of him. It was like any other of his usual, snarky comments, but there was nothing of the sort in his tone. He took a deep drag of his cigarette, and exhaled it, the smoke glitching into nothing. There was an air of solemn stoicism in his words, as he continued. 

“We’ll get you and that thick fucking skull of yours out of this, just trust me. If there’s anyone who’s stupid enough to come up with an insane, last minute plan, and lucky enough to go through with it, and come out on the other side? It’s you.” Eden stood there, quietly, as Johnny turned to look at her, again.

“You’re an absolute fucking nightmare, Eden, but we’re in this together. You took a bullet for me, and I’ll take the Blackwall for you.” Eden shuddered at the thought, and looked down again. When she spoke, it was barely a whisper.

“...I just. It’s stupid. But I just hoped there’d be a way we’d both make it out of this fucking mess. It’s just not fair. We both deserve better.” Johnny smiled, and let out a chuckle, and Eden looked up at him, teary-eyed and confused. “You almost had me there, princess. I almost thought you cared about me, for a second.” She let out a snort, and rolled her eyes, elbowing him in his side, as he flipped her off and blew a cloud of smoke in her face in return. She shook her head, and grabbed her gun, before leaving a few eddies for her meal. They had to find a solution. They still had time. For now. She tightened her jacket around her, the Samurai emblem at the back glowing a deep red, and they walked back into the alley, and into Night City. Eden leading the way, fast-paced and determined, and Johnny, nonchalantly strutting along, glitching in and out of view as he pleased. They still had time.

[allamericansbitch]

'but i do think she's just in a moment of "what if i make all the worst choices humanly imaginable"'

I'm sorry, but I gotta laugh at some of these takes here lmao. Even if that WAS the case (which would be absolutely batshit of her), are we then just supposed to forget about it and move on?

Matty healy is racist, antisemitic, homophobic and sexist and probably some other shit as well. So how are the fans who one or more of these labels apply to supposed to feel? Because this shit affects us. It's not just 'tehe making some bad choices, in my dgaf era ✌️' This is hurting people, and we shouldn't just let it slide considering what times we live in and what's happening to these groups of people everywhere. I've especially seen lots of poc fans who are really upset by this.

Like, I'm aware we can't dictate who she dates, but we also don't owe her blind support and worship. I've been with her for 15 years, I've defended her when she got undeserved criticism while also acknowledging when she fucked up. I was disappointed by her silence regarding anything politically important the past three years, but that's a lot easier to swallow than her actively associating and dating a trash human being like matty.

This goes against everything she used to claim she was (and against the 'activism' she liked to use to promote stuff...), and as fans we should not just be okay with this because idk, she's going through something and wants to make some bad choices??? When I go through it, I eat a bunch of trash food and smoke a pack of cigarettes and cut my own hair, I don't go dating a bigoted piece of human garbage.

Yes!! This is so well said and exactly what I was trying to say. Literally I have nothing left to say, this is perfect, no notes.

[alloutofgoddesses]

PJO TV Thoughts

S1,E6

(There will be book mentions/spoilers)

Can’t lie to y’all im on my second week of this semester and already just so eepy

Okay the first line does tell you exactly what’s happening in this dream but I was so confused by it being Percy’s headmaster from Yancy

Anyway omg I swear you can see Luke in the reflection like it’s gonna be so obvious it’s not Clarisse on rewatches

WE GOT “Little Hero”

Cracker Barrel! What o would give to eat at a Restaurant rn

A SECOND SEAWEED BRAIN HAS HIT THE PERCABETH TOWERS

(I am aware others have made that joke)

Omg hi Luke

Good not being sus Luke

ARREST HER?!?! Percy wtf

Luke I’m positive you would know what Ares is like

OOP if Luke picks up on it IMMEDIATELY…

The episode is titled “A Zebra Takes Us To Vegas” AND WE INLY GET A SECOND OF A ZEBRA ON SCREEN?!?!

Anybody else see the Geia fashion billboard or just me

Way to be obvious about it

“I had a premonition that we fell into a rhythm/where the music don’t stop for life” I think that Levitating was chosen WITH INTENTION for these lyrics only

ODYSSEY MENTION

Graphic novels do count

ODYSSEUS MENTION

Oh besties… the lotus eaters have upgraded darlings

WISE GIRL WISE GIRL WEE WOO WEE WOO IT’S HAPPENING EVERYONE STAY CALM

The fact that they haven’t shown Grover eating garbage yet… cowards. COWARDS.

I do think that them knowing takes tension out of it but they think that it’s okay unless they eat something

CASTELLAN LORE ALREADY

A Saytr?? I’m saying that TV screen image is a sun so APOLLO MENTION

A gay satyr?!!! The subtext

Oh? I’m compelled certainly what kind of magic does the Lotus have to convince satyrs Pan is there

DREAM TALK

Like you can see extras wearing dated clothes but it’s just not the same

Also I’m waiting for others to find the di Angelos, I know I’m not gonna be able to find anything

(If they cut it out I will lose it)

Are the employees also under the spell? I would have to assume so

Uh oh Grover is forgetting

HE’S HERE

The way his face fell… I’m afraid LMM is eating as Hermes

BTW I saw someone say LMM was a bad choice as Hermes because canonically Hermes has the most children and they don’t think LMM is sexy enough for that… girlie do you not remember what happened when Hamilton came out be SO FOR REAL

At first I thought I wouldn’t be able to seperate actor from character but he’s doing such a good job that’s Hermes I’m sorry (no I’m not)

ORPHEUS MENTION (I’ve helped others [get into the Underworld] before)

Are the fields Italy? Once again folks I’m not gonna be able to find it so I’m reaching out to

Someone looks back I’m guessing

Oh babey the lore the tension

HEY WHAT WAS THAT

My guess is something to do with Gabe or as one brilliant Twitter user said, Percy’s first time at boarding school

YEAH ANNABETH MOVE BABY YOU DON’T DESERVE THAT

(Also how the fuck can Hermes do that)

Sure buddy see you next season

“This was all just a waste of time. We don’t have time to waste.” Oh Annabeth I’m so sorry for what you’re about to learn

I love all the helmets and stuff really lets you know what’s going on

Oh noooooo oh boy oh buddy oh wow that hurt

Sorry he’s making Hermes feel so empathetic which is exactly how he is in the books. He’s good!

OOP

Were those the di Angelos? They were brunette and small (still reaching)

Oh so that’s why they mentioned days earlier I see

HIS KEYS?

Are George and Martha on there are they wondering what’s happening

CENTRAL AIR BABEY

Oh no Percy’s forgetting too

Just rip him out and leave besties

Oh geez they’re never leaving at this rate

Damn there’s that fatal flaw again Percy

RIP Grover playing a human hunter game I will never forget you

Annabeth it was good it really was but you’re right. He is the god of thieves.

Oh boy now we know why they let him drive though

Me when I first started learning how to drive standard

Just in case you forgot Percy is a New Yorker

Oh NO bestie got distracted looking at the princess (his words not mine though I agree) next to him

NO DON’T TURN OFF THE LIGHT I WON’T BE ABLE TO SEE ANYTHING

What did I just say. What is happening on screen

Oh boyyyyyy

He’s just three apples tall

Oh it’s so much worse underwater

SEAWEED HAIR

Wait… were AFTER the summer solstice? WHY

Exactly Percy you gotta finish it

YEEAHHHHHHH

Four?!?! What about ‘you will fail to save what matters most in the end?’ He better lose one I stg

Next ep trailer

Okay so who’s eye is in the credits what do we think

Crusty’s!

Desert and terrible forest?

Okay yeah he definitely loses one or uses one to trick someone or something he said said “you guys leave with my mom”

Oh wait what if he uses it on Crusty… Disney let Percy actually be violent

SWORD FIGHT NEXT EP? At least the beginning

HOLD FAST MOM OHHHHHHHHH OUCH

BONUS: Hermes in cat form

[will80sbyers]

My worst case scenario for season five is bc of all those damn time references and the fucking clocks someone has time travel powers and the someone is Will but in order for them to work he has to be injured (like if he gets a small scratch he can rewind like a minute or whatever etc.) So Vecna wreaks so much havoc on the real world than the damage is irreversible, El looked for Max in Vecna’s brain but she wasn’t there like she’s for real DEAD dead this time, Will gets rejected by Mike and we get st4ncy and m11ven endgame and Steve or Jonathan die protecting the group and/or the other one during a demogorgan fight. Everything is going wrong so in order to rewind time Will decides to fight until he dies so he can reset the timeline and we get Willel team up to try and defeat Vecna, they sacrifice themselves to stop him and because Will’s time powers are activated by him getting hurt him dying rewinds time back to November 6th 1983, the night he went missing but this time before he leaves the Wheelers Mike tells him to stay at his tonight just cause he has a feeling something bad will happen, thus preventing the entire show from happening and rendering everything completely pointless and a waste of time. There is no plot writing choice I despise more than timeline resets, wasting my damn time and I know for a fact with all these time references I KNOW that something like this could happen and that is my worst case season five scenario!! OR alternatively, everything goes great and then at the last minute the timeline is reset which would also suck cause imagine we finally got byler endgame and everyone is alive and happy and then BAM!! Gone and none of it ever happened, rewatching the show it’s like one big time loop.

I hate these types of reset things too but I don't think they are going to do it for stranger things because I think from how the Duffers speak about their characters and plot they know it wouldn't be satisfying as an ending!

the only time in which I do like these resets is when the show is super weird like just bonkers from the pilot and you don't understand anything at all in all the episodes and it's about mystery and psychological metaphors, in that case I love it because you don't have time to get attached to the characters really!

but the Duffers know that the heart of the show are the characters, they have talked about it many many times so they wouldn't throw in the garbage all the character growth they made them have ❤️

so I wouldn't worry about it, the only time travel related thing we could have imo is the type of time loop that starts the show in s1 but still resolves the future at the same time, like the time loop was already going on and we never knew until the end but they go out of the time loop basically by starting it

[lenorethequietbookkeeper]

(Screencapping the og post cause it's pretty long)

Ok so this is something I've wanted to do with my own old fucks, but I didn't know exactly how I wanted of go about doing it!!! Until my mate @prettyputrified sent in the ask that gave me an idea; polyvores!! So anyway, I made some more "What's in [x character]'s bag" type posts as a response to this!

(Shout-out to @/cuuno for the og concept btw! Png credit will be in reblogs)

(Read tws in tags before proceeding)

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Sylvain's Bag

Work Bag: The plain black bag Sylvain takes with him when he goes on jobs. It contains only what he needs, which are usually no more than his weapon of choice and his collection of burner phones. Oh, and a pack of cigarettes. Murder is pretty stressful after all.

Casual Bag: Sylvain's own personal purse and wallet. Despite his rough and violent demeanor, he loves self expression and indulging in the emo/pastel goth aesthetic.

- Pocket 1: Self defense pocket. The streets of Pythonel are a dangerous place, so Sylvain makes sure not to leave the house without a gun and/or knife. The weed is purely for sale by the way, not edglord enough I guess.

- Pocket 2: Self care pocket. Contains his own personal phone, which he decorates in cool stickers he finds while out and about. Also makeup and protection, in case he wants to doll up for someone he fancies.

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Aldin's Bag

Shopping Bag: Aldin just uses the same plastic shopping bag he got ten years ago to carry everything. Usually has empty cans and drug garbage in there with everything else. Phone is busted to hell, but you know Aldin's broke ass can't replace it. Get your shit together man what is this???

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Jeagar's Bag

Bag: Ann made it (and basically all his clothes) for him. She tries to include stuff she knows Jeagar likes on it. He never says it aloud, but his old ass appreciates it. Always has bugs inside it that he finds in dire circumstances.

- Pocket 1: Used to store weapons and cigarettes. Usually alternates between his collection of fancy weaponry when he goes out. Matchboxes are from Ann's thrift shopping. Never buys any of his cigarettes, instead he digs up used ones from the dump.

- Pocket 2: Leisure pocket. Contains whatever books he's reading at the moment. Carries around his favorite songs on cassette tapes because the radio people have bad taste. Phone is an old ass brick phone he's had for the last 20 years. How does that thing still work??

- Pocket 3: Emergency pocket. Always has at least one Molotov cocktail in his bag. Just in case.

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John's Bag

Backpack: Simple brown backpack John brings when he goes on trips. Has his keys and pins that he finds funny. Tomagachi is a gift from Ferris for when he's stressed out.

- Front Pocket: Sketch pocket. Has all his little sketchbooks and pencils for when he's bored. Also draws on pieces of loose paper like receipts and used envelopes.

- Inside (smaller part): Comfort pocket. Has porn and alcohol in it all the time, always. Keeps more hardcore drugs in a vintage tin case. Please don't ask about the wedding ring.

- Inside (larger part): All the random shit he's stolen. Purely does it to satiate his "tendencies", as he calls it. Usually takes valuables or vintage items, but will nab literally anything if need be.

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Charles' Bag

Backpack: Old backpack Charles covered in cool stickers and patches. Loves creepy stuff and clutter, which shows in how he decorates most of his belongings. Negative space who?

- Front Pocket: Fun shit pocket. Ready access to drugs, money, music, and most importantly, video games. Phone is some dinky bullshit covered in stickers. Actually has to replace it semi-regularly due to being a temperamental little bitch that destroys shit.

- Main Pocket: "Important" storage pocket. Where he puts his bong when he goes out to a buddy's. Pretty much always has a shitload of random snacks. Always contains at least two guns no matter what.

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Ferris' Bag

Handbag: Bag Ferris stole from a thrift store and covered in patches and pins. Decorates the same way Charles does, but has more vintage and kidcore-esc tastes. Oh and also sexy ladies.

- Pocket 1: Storage pocket. Always has drugs on him, either to sell or use. Keeps his wallet in there for business purposes. Mainly has weed, but will also carry other stuff too.

- Pocket 2: Fun pocket. Books and video games for when he's bored. A rough draft of whatever gross fic he's working on in case inspiration strikes him. Weapons used to make potential inspo. A camera to capture said inspo. Phone is nothing special, just a sticker-covered little flip phone he actually takes decent care of.

- Lunchbox: Usually carries this along with his bag. Keeps the bigger snacks and drinks he can't stick in his bag. Organization is important after all!

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Daniel's Bag

Handbag: Alternates between one of his many vintage-looking, designer handbags. Loves excessive gold and jewels in his accessories. Minimalism is so overrated. Daniel's cutesy pink and white flip phone is hardly anything special on the surface. Gets a bit strange when you realize it's the only bit of modern tech in Goldberg. Weird...

- Help Pocket: :)

[crystaltoa]

There's probably an interesting conversation to be had about whether being "anti-terf" is or should be similar to being "anti-racist." My thinking is that it's probably quite different.

People who say and do racist things, typically, don't identify as racists. They think their views are the norm. Many people say insensitive and hurtful things without realising. Many decent people carry and act on unconscious biases and enforce racist systems. So pointing out the problems with these behaviours is helpful to them, and helps POC. Even people who openly express bigoted opinions knowing many people find them offensive typically don't identify as racist. They may identify with a particular political ideology in which racism is normalised, but being racist is not in and of itself an identity to them. Calling out that behaviour and letting them know their views are not shared or tolerated by you is still a useful thing to do. Often it makes them think twice about acting that way in future. Even if their opinions don't really change, it makes the world a marginally better place for POC to be in.

With TERFs, you have the problem that it's become an identity to them, and they wanna be oppressed so bad. The say and do the things that they do because they want conflict, they want to rile up trans women and their allies so that they can then point at them and say "see? I was right! They're all VIOLENT MISOGYNISTS". Chances are they've been told why their behaviour is shitty before, and they didn't listen then and won't listen now. On a more serious note, some TERF circles operate basically like cults, encouraging the unpleasant behaviour which leads to the terfs being isolated from normal people and getting further entangled with an increasingly small social circle and further and further out of touch with reality.

That's not to say that being explicitly anti-terf is a bad idea. It's just that the context of their behaviour is somewhat different from other forms of bigotry, and I wonder what the implications for meaningfully addressing that problem are.

Personally, online, I don't get involved in their debates. I block every TERF I come across. I don't reblog memes of, say, Shadow the Hedgehog pr whoever with a gun telling them to shut the fuck up. While it's funny on one level to see them overreact to that kind of thing, the reality is that this is a group of dangerous, hateful and volatile people who are adding fuel to each others' garbage fire over anything, and then using the resulting panicked mob mentality to spread propaganda and cause genuine harm to people.

I don't claim to know better than anyone else, and if and how one engages with these people is a personal choice. But from my perspective as somebody who isn't a trans woman, my reasoning is this: If I was to start riling up terfs up into an incoherent rage for my own amusement and/or sense of justice, I would likely suffer no serious consequences as a result... but it does potentially have consequences for trans people. I am not directly responsible for how another adult human being reacts to my actions, sure, but am I really being a good ally if I deliberately provoke cruel and volatile people who like targeting vulnerable minorities?

It's a little different with examples of casual IRL transphobia, since often the person saying it isn't actually a TERF, they're just ignorant and parroting nonsense a friend of a friend said one time, and I've found that asking them what experiences informed their views, or gently correcting misinformation, actually does lead to a productive conversation in many cases.

Again, not a criticism of OP's post or the concept of "anti-terf" in general. I would genuinely like to know how other people define what it means to be anti-terf in actual practice, since it seems subtly different from how one might respond to other forms of bigotry.

incase it wasn’t clear - i am and my blog is anti-terf 👍