#extreme ramble

[dizzymudskipper]

Something I really find interesting about Sark is how he acts/ talks. He's a pretty direct guy (being a commander and all), and almost all his scenes are him talking down other programs, except with MCP.

When he talks to MCP, there's the obvious power dynamic with MCP in control, and Sark underneath him. However, Sark is both comfortable and distressed around him. He knows how powerful he is under him, enjoying the control he has over others with MCPs influence, but he doesn't fully have the same mindset at MCP. When he first talks to MCP, it's pretty casual. Sark even gloats about wanting more challenging programs when MCP tells Sark about a new recruit for Sark to torment.

When he is told about Flynn, there's a change in ego. When he knows about Flynn being a user, he's practically astonished by MCPs power and the thought of a user even existing in the Grid. He knows the power of a user, since he says that users created him and MCP and hesitates. "What if I can't?" He asks, but he is given an order, not a choice. He's threatened by MCP.

If you ask me, Sark being MCPs Second in Comand makes him very arrogant, especially when he knows he because of how good he has it compared to other programs. But when talking to MCP, he's constantly reminded of what his place his constantly reminding him to only be MCPs puppet. It's in a way mimicking Sarks user counterpart.

But I don't feel Sark really wanted that kind of responsibility, kinda like his own user. They are both underneath MCP, except Ed Dillinger (Sarks user) had a choice, but was blackmailed into staying and was far too deep to stop. Sark, however, was pretty much made to be under MCPs control. His only choices were either follow his commands, or derez

I feel like the one line that most showed his true self was when he told Tron how they could have made a good team because, yeah he could have. They are both essentially protection programs, Sark being a commanding program made to protect only MCP, and Tron being made to protect other programs and users. I feel that's why Tron sees Sark as a less than, since he was made to protect so much more compared to Sark protecting MCP when the MCP never needed protection in the first place.

Anyway ramble over

[whatafuckinnerd]

I find it unfathomable and astounding that Tumblr isn't more obsessed with Sam Reich. You're telling me there exists out there a man who was born into the aristocracy of our country—with every privilege of modern society at his fingertips—who didn't complete high school (due to his mental health) and instead chose to devote his life to making strangers laugh and raising awareness on mental health. A full-bearded short king who is so committed to being the change he wants to see in the world that he decided to take the company he worked for into his own hands so that he could make sure all the people who worked under him could keep their livelihoods.

How many other CEOs are out here being as honest and transparent with their target audience/market as Sam Reich is? How many of them acknowledge when they fumble and continuously strive to be better than they were? How many of them actually seem like they respect their talent, both in the cast and crew? Sam Reich is the standard we should be holding other CEOs to.

But forget about all that (I could talk for a long time about the respect I have for Sam Reich)—ignore just how respectable he is as a businessman and a person. Ignore all the wholesome reasons for obsessing over Sam Dalton Reich.

The man is a stone-cold fox.

He's a little chaos gremlin and an absolute evil mastermind all rolled into one classy suit and well-groomed beard. Whenever Sam is on the set, you can guarantee he is going to make you crack a smile. And for someone with such natural authority, he's never afraid to be the butt of a joke and show himself being embarrassed. Go ahead, watch any clip of him trying to improvise in No Laugh Newsroom and just try to resist that blush.

You're sleeping on a goldmine of a man, here, damnit! And I will NOT let this go ignored any longer!

[misteria247]

Broke: Pacifica only bullies Dipper

Woke:

They bully each other

[sapphic-supernova6]

just wanna fold her like a pretzel and watch my strap sink in and out of her for HOURS is that too much to ask for ?????

[sematarygirls]

how are you gonna put him in one of the sluttiest shirts he's ever worn WHILE HE'S SPREADING HIS DAD'S ASHES ????

[cuntressgoingdigital]

free palestine! click this link for more info + dono links

i feel like abby would thrive with a really annoying pestersome girlfriend. a yapper with no off button. 

at first she found your endless chatter a little irritating. to you, silence felt cold and awkward and you were trying hard to befriend her. when patrols were uneventful you’d start on your little tangents, analyzing the philosophy of whatever book you’d read recently. she never understood what you were talking about, but never had the heart to tell you to be quiet. you always took her nods and “mhms” as the go ahead to keep talking. you weren’t too good with social cues. it took some time, but abby started to find your observations endearing. 

you loved to be big spoon and lay in the dark with her. when her insomnia acted up and her thoughts grew too loud, she knew you didn’t mind being woken up for a bit just to chat. 

“would you still love me if i were a bug?” your eyes were still closed, the need for sleep hanging on your eyelids. you rubbed abby’s back trying to coax her into relaxation. 

“yeah probably. i think i would keep you in my pocket.” 

“would you still love me if i was infected? like full blown fungus face, completely out of my mind, nearly unrecognizable.” 

“i would let you bite me so we can be together forever.”

“what if i were a shambler?”

“i would happily breathe in your spores. can’t be any worse than you smell right now.”

you playfully bite her shoulder. 

[passerinesoncaffeine]

I’M SORRY. WHAT

Achilles writing the codex:

[bluerosefox]

Portal Passage

Anther DPxDC idea (it can be either turn into future Dead on Main or Anger Management, I'm not picky)

With Toddler!Damian~

So

When Jason was being 'trained' by the LOA in a fit of Pit Madness he somehow manged to stumble upon a toddler Damian in the base when he fought his current 'teacher' and fell into Damian's own training room at the time he was training.

Jason, even in a Pit Rage episode and not yet fully 'trained' out of his Robin teaching and his own (deeply buried) morals of protecting children, see's a toddler being trained with a legit sword and see's some of the wounds and cuts the kid has on himself from the training. He does not take it well and in a fit, fights the other teacher and gathers Damian into his arms.

This leads to Jason, in half coherent and half Pit Madness, to try to escape with Damian in his arms and get the heck out of the League with assassins at his heels.

However the fight eventually ends up with them near the Pits itself and in a single wrong move the two fall in.

The two do not resurface.

-x-x-

It was a normal day in Amity Park.

As normal as Amity Park could be to be honest.

When one of the Fenton siblings came down to clean the lab for the day when the protal suddenly flared up and for the lack of better words spat out a teen around their age and a toddler.

Both passed out on the lab floor.

[aphel1on]

laios has very quickly become dear to me not just because he's an autistic protagonist but because his autism is itself one of the reasons his party has an edge over others. though we see him struggle in social situations, his special interest makes him hypercompetent in the context of dungeon survival. i'm aware that's not a NEW observation on him but i was impressed that he even used his special interest to successfully solve a crisis that relied on noticing social cues- he was able to pick out the impostors bc he honed in on the small discrepancies in their attitudes toward monsters. if that isn't weaponizing your autism, i don't know what is

[thatrandombystander]

Ashur's whole Deal in Veilguard is extremely ripe for the sorts of identity shenanigans I love very dearly. I think Tarquin shouldn't know who he is so he can get to have a whole crisis because he's got a crush on both his day job boss (the Pope) AND his extracurricular job masked revolutionary leader (basically Batman)

Throw in a bit of religious imagery and devotion, and we are COOKING

[labotor]

my bougie dwarf LoF rook Tyarva and her sugar baby silly charming professor who she adores so very much <333

[the-witchhunter]

DP x DC worlds greatest detectives ramble

You ever just get a bit tired of the batfamily being dumb?

Sure I appreciate a good “Danny is weird and the Bats try to figure out his deal and draw wrong conclusions based on incomplete evidence” fic as much as the next guy, and I’m definitely not saying not to write them

But the thing is, they’re all really smart. It’s their whole thing, they’re a family of detectives that dress up in colorful costumes and fight crime, but detectives nonetheless

And I get it’s for humorous effect to have otherwise intelligent people be incredibly dumb about one thing, but it’d just be nice to see them be smart sometimes. Even in a fic where they’re drawing the wrong conclusions, it’d be nice to see them use their detective skills

Like build a case so solid Danny questions whether they’re actually right about him and if he’s just confused

Or just apply it to more conventional situations/crimes

Because frankly it’s funnier if you show they’re smart before having them do something really stupid

If you build them up a bit, then it’s funnier when they fall down.

“Where did he go? It’s like he vanished into thin air!?”

“Don’t be silly, see these scuff marks? Someone recently went down this way. The gravel here has been disturbed indicating this manhole cover has been moved recently. Now if we just prop this up…”

“…huh, is that…?”

“Killer Croc and not the twink we were just tracking?”

“Yeah, that”

“Yeah, that’s killer croc… hi Waylon”

*large scaly hand darts out and drags Bat in question down in the sewers while Danny watches invisibly*

[misteria247]

Some random weirdo who doesn't like Stan: Who's gonna be in this loser's corner anyway????

Ford already cracking his knuckles menacingly and stepping forward: Me asshole.

[huginsmemory]

The one thing led to another night is very much likely hinting at Bill and Ford fucking, but considering Stan's penchant for getting married while drunk, LITERALLY at one point to ol' Goldie, a horrifying gold panning statue souvenir dispenser(?), may mean that Ford would also have a penchant for that. So Ford marrying Bill that night, instead of them fucking (or marrying and fucking) is actually plausible, and also EXTREMELY FUNNY to me. Both of them have such terrible romance track records.

Also like, I know there's a lot of jokes going around about Stanley being like YOU FUCKED A TRIANGLE? Which I love btw, but like. SIR YOU MARRIED A MAYBE CURSED SOUVENIR DISPENSER THATS A STATUE OF A HORRIFYING OLD MAN GOLD PANNING, DO YOU REALLY HAVE A LEG TO STAND ON?

[psystirene]

i've been thinking about this reddit comment ever since i read it. the sheer rage. almost tearful i think. the horrendous take. underestimating the ability of sapphics to find sickly little leech women irresistible.

[doomdoomofdoom]

With the ongoing investigation into the CEO Killer, it's interesting to see how little people know about police investigations. Which is funny, because most of that stems from Copaganda and is now kinda biting the cops in the ass.

Semi-Educated rambles about copaganda and real procedures below the cut

I say semi-educated because I am writing a thesis paper on copaganda, but much more about the brutality aspects and not the crime solving ones. I did write a much less intense paper on that almost ten years ago, and presumably some things have changed. Take my "expertise" with a grain of salt.

The Copaganda Thing

Copaganda (Cop Propaganda) is basically what the name suggests. Anything that makes police look good. Social media posts about community outreach, the adorable little K-9 units, kneeling next to a protestor that you brutalize after the camera turns off. But the massive elephant in the room here are Cop Shows. There are literally too many for me to name. NCIS, Blue Bloods, True Detective, any of those weird "live" police shows, and yes, Brooklyn 99, too. These shows (often produced in cooperation with the police btw) serve to humanize cops and portray them as good, honest people, who maybe have to cross the line sometimes but it's always for a good reason and they're always right and save the day! The other half of it is vastly misrepresenting how (and if) crimes get solved.

Reality

Ripping this band-aid off first: Police are dogshit at solving crimes. There are aspects technically outside their control, like that only about half of all crimes (excluding murder) actually get reported to the police. (Based on comparing the 'Uniform Crime Reports' and the 'National Criminal Victimization Survey') But this also means that the Police Clearance rates are only half of what they calculate. Numbers get further skewed by not accounting for a lot of online crimes because the system hasn't caught up with like, the 90s. Anyway, for reported crimes, investigations will lead to an arrest in about 20-25% of cases. Three out of Four cases die without ever apprehending a suspect. (While there are ways to deal with a case without an arrest, ask yourself if you think that's likely in a system that measures success by arrest numbers) Conviction rates (which vary massively depending on crime) even out to about 4%, or 2% of total known crimes. (x) Worth noting: Generally, violent crimes have higher clearance and conviction rates. For murder, the conviction rate is around 60% while larceny-theft can dip below 1% of reported crimes. (It's generally assumed that the number of known and reported murders is the same, as the NCVS doesn't track it. Because murder victims are bad at filling out surveys.) To recap: Police solve about 4% of crimes reported to them. Meanwhile in your average cop show, you've got a success rate of about 100%. That's a stark difference, even if you take only murder rates of 60%. If you're an average citizen who's the victim of a crime, the most helpful thing the cops will do is file a report you can submit to your insurance.

Forensics & Procedures

I've seen these float around a bit and it's mildly ridiculous. Supposedly they've found a bottle and a protein bar of our killer and will be testing fingerprints and DNA. If those worked flawlessly, they still would only bring up results if the killer has been detained before. Databases of random civilian fingerprints/DNA samples are not kept by law enforcement. These analyses only work by having a point of comparison (and even then fingerprint analysis remains subjective), so they won't actually help finding the culprit, but they would be relevant to confirm the identity of an apprehended suspect and as evidence in an eventual trial. (There is also something called familial DNA which would work if they had a couple of relatives in the system, but that's both a flawed and incredibly time intensive approach. We're talking months of drawing family trees.) Also your average DNA test takes like 24 hours and fingerprint analysis is algorithmically supported now, but still mostly done manually. And both require a clear sample, so good luck with that. Fingerprint might as well be the clerk who sold the bottle. There's an infamous case of a serial killer whose DNA kept being found on crime scenes all Central Europe with no connection to each other. Turned out the Swabs were contaminated during production. There was no serial killer. Quickfire round of unrelated notes: 1) Lie detectors don't detect lies, they detect stress, anyone can trick one with some practice. the guy who popularized their use thought they could detect stress in plants too and that the plants could read his mind. 2) We're not actually sure if all fingerprints are completely unique. 3) Bite mark analysis is a pseudoscience that needs to be removed from criminal and legal proceedings asap. 4) Any algorithmic detections inherit the flaws of their human predecessors. Those are their training data. (That's also how they keep turning up racist)

And as a final note, it's common for the police to not share details on their ongoing investigations. That's just common sense. The only details that get released to the public are ones that could lead to direct hints or vague ones if there's a lot of public attention, to assure everyone there is progress. For similar reasons, while everyone and their grandma has put together the motive from the bullet casings, cops can't actually go out and confirm that. It's like how Bulbapedia has to say Flamigo appears to be based on a flamingo. Contrary to the cops, Bulbapedia does not have to carefully watch what data they release that might elicit more sympathy for Flamigo.

Why tho

So after literal decades of copaganda brainwashing, the public perception of crime and punishment is heavily skewed. We've been told over and over that cops can catch any criminal in a matter of a 60 minute episode, max. And that's by design. Aside from the image polishing, copaganda is a deterrent. If you're convinced you'll be caught after committing a crime, you wouldn't commit it, right? You don't wanna go to jail. And the bad guys always get what they deserve on TV, no matter how smart they are. You're not gonna risk that, are you?

That's why we keep using lie detectors, that's why the news are full of arrests being made constantly, that's why cop shows get so much support from the police. That's also why we keep pouring money into policing. Part of it, at least. We've built a police force that isn't about solving crimes. If that was priority, we'd invest more into forensics and labs to keep up with the demand of samples that need to be analyzed. Instead, we built a police force that gets new tech gadgets and military gear. It's an arms race against the general public that isn't even running. We take cops and we give them paranoia, weapons, justifications for violence, and targets to brutalize. I don't have to remind you of the riot gear and responses to peaceful protests. The police isn't your friend and helper. You must fear them. Fear their superior intellect, fear their crime solving abilities, fear the high tech arsenal at their disposal. Fear them so much, you won't even think of doing a crime unless you're rotten to the core. And if someone's rotten to the core, then surely the violence is justified.

But that's also why this guy in particular is so dangerous. They've built up this image of being near infallible (to anyone who never actually interacted with police proceedings, at least) and being able to stop any threat, catch any criminal. And yet, this guy shot someone in broad daylight, in the juristiction of the country's largest police department, and he's currently getting away with it.