#don't make us dream

[petit-papillion]

Charles's post-quali comments | Belgian GP Qualifying Day | 27 July 2024

📸 Scuderia Ferrari

[theminecraftbee]

Here's the thing about anger:

It doesn't last.

It always feels like it will. Like you're going to be angry forever. Like you have to be. Like you have to be the very fires of hell that you did not let burn you, lest those fires catch up. Like you've got to hold on to your anger lest that thing you're angry with convinces you to love it again. Like you've got to blow the whole world up, because if you don't, it'll hurt you first.

For a bit, it'll be true.

One day, though. One day you'll walk through the snow to a house on the edge of the world, and you'll look at the things that used to make you angry, and you'll realize you've grown up. Maybe you're still angry, somewhere in there. Maybe you're still sad. Maybe you're still hurt. Maybe, if you think about it long enough, the people that destroyed everything and burned you and made you who you are can still change you.

But maybe, you'll realize, you've just...

Fire doesn't burn without fuel, and when a forest burns it leaves behind new soil.

There's no point being angry over a losing hand, is Jack's point.

He has time. He's not on fire any more. He can just play a new one.

[kaiserouo]

if ordan karris wanna complete that sentence does that mean he also likes us?

[inkskinned]

one of the things that i think we should pay attention to, socially, about the disney v. desantis thing is that it is really highlighting the importance of remembering nuance.

in a purely neutral sense, if you engage in something problematic, that does not mean you are necessarily agreeing with what makes it problematic. and i am worried that we have become... so afraid of any form of nuance.

disney isn't my friend, they're a corporate monopoly that bastardized copyright laws for their own benefit, ruin the environment, and abuse their workers (... and many other things). this isn't a hypothetical for me - i grew up in florida. i also worked for the actual Walt Disney World; like, in the parks. i am keenly aware of the ways they hurt people, because they hurt me. i fully believe that part of the reason florida is so conservative is because it's been an "open secret" for years now that disney lobbies the government to keep minimum wage down, and i know they worked hard to keep the parks unmasked and open during the worst parts of Covid. they purposefully keep their employees in poverty. they are in part responsible for the way the floridian government works.

desantis is still, by a margin that is frankly daunting, way worse. the alternative here isn't just "republicans win", it's actual fascism.

in a case like this, where the alternative is to allow actual fascism into united states legislation - where, if desantis wins, there are huge and legal ramifications - it's tempting to minimize the harm disney is also doing, because... well, it's not fascism. but disney isn't the good guy, either, which means republicans are having a field day asking activists oh, so you think their treatment of their employees is okay?

we have been trained there is a right answer. you're right! you're in the good group, and you're winning at having an opinion.

except i have the Internet Prophecy that in 2-3 months, even left-wing people will be ripping apart activists for having "taken disney's side". aren't i an anti-capitalist? aren't i pro-union? aren't i one of the good ones? removed from context and nuance (that in this particular situation i am forced to side with disney, until an other option reveals itself), my act of being like "i hope they have goofy rip his throat out onstage, shaking his lifeless body like a dog toy" - how quickly does that seem like i actually do support disney?

and what about you! at home, reading this. are you experiencing the Thought Crime of... actually liking some of the things disney has made? your memories of days at the parks, or of good movies, or of your favorite show growing up. maybe you are also evil, if you ever enjoyed anything, ever, at all.

to some degree, the binary idealization/vilification of individual motive and meaning already exists in the desantis case. i have seen people saying not to go to the disney pride events because they're cash grabs (they are). i've seen people saying you have to go because they're a way to protest. there isn't a lot of internet understanding of nuance. instead it's just "good show of support" or "evil bootlicking."

this binary understanding is how you can become radicalized. when we fear nuance and disorder, we're allowing ourselves the safety of assuming that the world must exist in binary - good or bad, problematic or "not" problematic. and unfortunately, bigots want you to see the world in this binary ideal. they want you to get mad at me because "disney is taking a risk for our community but you won't sing their praises" and they want me to get mad at you for not respecting the legit personal trauma that disney forced me through.

in a grander scheme outside of disney: what happens is a horrific splintering within activist groups. we bicker with each other about minimal-harm minimal-impact ideologies, like which depiction of bisexuality is the most-true. we gratuitously analyze the personal lives of activists for any sign they might be "problematic". we get spooked because someone was in a dog collar at pride. we wring our hands about setting an empty shopping mall on fire. we tell each other what words we may identify ourselves by. we get fuckin steven universe disk horse when in reality it is a waste of our collective time.

the bigots want you to spend all your time focusing on how pristine and pretty you and your interests are. they want us at each other's throats instead of hand in hand. they want to say see? nothing is ever fucking good enough for these people.

and they want their followers to think in binary as well - a binary that's much easier to follow. see, in our spaces, we attack each other over "proper" behavior. but in bigoted groups? they attack outwards. they have someone they hate, and it is us. they hate you, specifically, and you are why they have problems - not the other people in their group. and that's a part of how they fucking keep winning.

some of the things that are beloved to you have a backbone in something terrible. the music industry is a wasteland. the publishing industry is a bastion of white supremacy. video games run off of unpaid labor and abuse.

the point of activism was always to bring to light that abuse and try to stop it from happening, not to condemn those who engage in the content that comes from those industries. "there is no ethical consumption under late capitalism" also applies to media. your childhood (and maybe current!) love of the little mermaid isn't something you should now flinch from, worried you'll be a "disney adult". wanting the music industry to change for the better does not require that you reject all popular music until that change occurs. you can acknowledge the harm something might cause - and celebrate the love that it has brought into your life.

we must detach an acknowledgment of nuance from a sense of shame and disgust. we must. punishing individual people for their harmless passions is not doing good work. encouraging more thoughtful, empathetic consumption does not mean people should feel ashamed of their basic human capacities and desires. it should never have even been about the individual when the corporation is so obviously the actual evil. this sense that we must live in shame and dread of our personal nuances - it just makes people bitter and hopeless. do you have any idea how scared i am to post this? to just acknowledge the idea of nuance? that i might like something nuanced, and engage in it joyfully? and, at the same time, that i'm brutally aware of the harm that they're doing?

"so what do i do?" ... well, often there isn't a right answer. i mean in this case, i hope mickey chops off ron's head and then does a little giggle. but truth be told, often our opinions on nuanced subjects will differ. you might be able to engage in things that i can't because the nuance doesn't sit right with me. i might think taylor swift is a great performer and a lot of fun, and you might be like "raquel, the jet fuel emissions". we are both correct; neither of us have any actual sway in this. and i think it's important to remember that - the actual scope of individual responsibility. like, i also love going to the parks. Thunder Mountain is so fun. you (just a person) are not responsible for the harm that Disney (the billion dollar corporation) caused me. i don't know. i think it's possible to both enjoy your memories and interrogate the current state of their employment policies.

there is no right way to interrogate or engage with nuance - i just hope you embrace it readily.

[webonchin]

Had a little baby fever so better idea to give my favorite pair a baby, but ,me being me and taking advantage of the interesting things, I decided that the baby would be a little (literal) nightmare, yes

Bonus

Baby's name is Dusk, I use any pronouns to refer to them.

[uncanny-tranny]

All I want is to go to a trans person's funeral after they lived a full, enriching life. I want to see trans people grow old, I want us to live like the stars. We don't deserve to burn out before everybody else. When we die, I want it to be because we grew old, because we had lived.

[royalarchivist]

Phil: Gee, I sure hope I'll get to go on many more adventures in the future! That would be incredible.

Phil: ...What's this like, heavy feeling in my chest, like I'm forgetting something? ...Chayanne? Tallulah?

Phil did NOT have to break out the QSMP angst in the middle of his anime-protag speech as a bit, that was foul 😭😭

[ Full Transcript ↓ ]

—

[While the Minecraft song "Alpha" plays in the background]

Phil: Boop, there we go! [To Chat] Why are you staring at me? Why- why are you staring at me? I'm not gonna do it!

[Phil turns his camera off]

Phil: What's that, Piglin? You think I should go on an adventure? Wow! You know, I think I will! I think I will go on an adventure! I'll bring back so many treasures for you, you'll see! You'll all see! [Laughs] Here I go! Soaring through the sky! [Laughs] Gee, it reminds me of that dream I had that lasted a little while where I couldn't fly. Now I can! Oh, it was a terrible nightmare, terrible nightmare indeed. [Laughs] I sure do miss that wet cat. [Laughs and snorts] I wonder how he's doing! I'm sure he's gone on many adventures. Whee—!

Phil: [Temporarily breaking character] We gotta get some soul sand, hold on, this guy's a dumbass. [Thanks a sub]

Phil: Gee, I sure hope I'll get to go on many more adventures in the future! That would be incredible. ...What's this like, heavy feeling in my chest... like I'm forgetting something? [Quietly] ...Chayanne? Tallulah? No, it's nothing. No it's nothing, it's nothing, it's fine! Let's keep digging. I'll just keep digging and it'll be fine! [Laughs]

Phil: [Breaking character as he turns his camera back on] I can only be mean to you for so long, I can't keep a straight face saying that sht, oh my god, that– that was so foul. That was so foul, I apologize. [Cracks up again]

[wouldntbehim]

mix: firstprince (taylor's version)

[msfcatlover]

Commissioned the amazing @magua-vida to draw my original Princesses, The Dancer & The Dream! I'm absolutely delighted with how they came out, they both look so pretty and bursting with personality!

For anyone who doesn't want to click through, you get the Dancer if you unlock the Princess's cuff & die of a heart attack, making her flighty but concerned, fussing over your health & safety. The Dream is Dancer's unique Chapter 3, who you get if you fall asleep in the cabin with Dancer fussing over you, and is smotheringly protective to the point of aggression & possessiveness while acting manipulatively sweet & fragile.

She just wants to take care of you... even (or especially) if it means chaining you up to keep you safe.

[dollykiller]

[pinkd3mon]

Gardening pals

[kaiserouo]

traveler powder

[ifisawyoueverydayforeverwill]

Y'ALL NEED TO SEE THIS PANEL

[moderndaypandora]

The LAYERS needed in a modern/human Dreamling au.  Some level of Endless family dysfunction, obviously.  Hob's family can be be dead or not, it's all good. Are they old enough to have individually gained the awareness they are off-puttingly intense and should hide it a bit at first, or still in that "no, why would I need to Elsa this" stage?

Option A is both of them trying to play it cool, like "don't scare him off" except they so badly want to go from zero to sixty.

(Death and Desire have ruthlessly drilled Dream with flashcards about how to react appropriately in situations.

Desire: it's your one-month anniversary, what do you do?

Dream: [hesitantly] NOT propose?

Desire and Death, conferring, because that's technically correct but the delivery was suspect.

Death, encouragingly: Good start. And?


Dream: a nice dinner and maybe a walk?

Desire: well done!

Death: and for a three-month anniversary?


Dream: give them a key to my flat.

Desire: [airhorn] NO. RED CARD.)

Option B makes them the classic anecdotal "my grandparents got engaged within seven days of meeting each other and still are happy together".

(Death, rubbing her temples: so you met this guy--

Dream: Hob

Death: -- Hob, and within 1 day you gave notice to the Registrar's Office and figured out the best day to get married. And Hob agreed to this?

Dream: NO.

Death: oh thank go-

Dream: Hob SUGGESTED this.

Death: . . .

Dream: are you going to be a witness or not?

Death, 29 days later in the Registrar's Office, to Hob's witness: Is he sane?

Johanna Constantine, drinking heavily from a large flask: unfortunately yes, by all legal definitions.

Death: fuck

Johanna: [passing the flask over] if your brother's even a tenth as intense as Hob, they'll be fine. Probably.

Death, brightening: Is Hob that bad?


Johanna: You know how sometimes you meet somebody and think "oof, they're a bit much, best give them a wide berth"?


Death: yeah.

Johanna: Hob's like a camouflaged hole in the ground of muchness. Except he's done the hole up all nice and he knows that sometimes you just want to be left alone in the hole to sulk and rattle the spikes for a bit, and occasionally get a F&M hamper tossed in.

Death: [hmmmmmmm'ing approvingly]

Johanna, morose: the bastard.

In the background, Hob and Dream are pressing their foreheads together and basking in each other's presence)

[coldshrugs]

glamtober #31 - supernatural: mothman

my favorite american cryptid. i spent half my childhood in appalachia and those mountains are haunting and comforting. there's something nice about a fucked up creature trying to warn folks away from harm. this fit is silly but we can pretend she found it in eorzea's version of spirit halloween, right next to the sexy chirurgeon costumes.

items used:

head: tonberry head (jet black | ruby red) body: quaintrelle's ruffled dress (jet black | jet black) arms: demonic gloves (N/A | ruby red) legs: bunny tights (N/A | jet black) feet: makai priestess's longboots (ruby red) fashion accessory: fallen angel's wings

[hunxi-after-hours]

"Qin Zhou's" throat trembled as he quietly closed his eyes, no longer looking at those souls. "I will protect all of you." "Qin Zhou" slowly spoke his promise. In this moment, everyone heard only the promise, but Mu Sichen heard the words that Qin Zhou could not say out loud. "I will protect all of you, so that no divine monster can harm any of you, including myself." Accompanying these words, all of Qin Zhou's emotions vanished. Even desire, even aspiration, even hope — silently, he obliterated them all. All that was left in his soul was that promise. From this moment, he became Him.

ok ok ok I'll admit I haven't read many books that regularly use 祂 ta (the divine third-person pronoun) so maybe this is me 少见多怪 but GENUINELY this was such a cool moment. I almost had to take a lap around the subway car because this was so well done