#going along with what ted says even if he doesn’t agree and even if it doesn’t make him happy

[coachbeards]

honestly. I love it when ted and beard are a little toxic codependent dynamic that has a power imbalance . I think it’s swell

[schlattslambo]

imagine making a stupid “going to every ____” videos with ted but you guys get into a very heated argument and you won’t stop bitching so you guys end up getting a motel room and ted is PISSED because it delays his video!! hour later you end up hate fucking saying degrading insults to eachother

a/n: i’ve never really written hate sex before, so i hope that i did this justice!

warnings: degradation, unprotected sex, panties used as a gag

———————-

Ted had brought up the idea a few weeks ago, and you’d agreed at the time. Traveling the country with your boyfriend seemed fun enough. But, once the car was packed and you set out on the road, you weren’t too sure what to think about it. Of course you’ve never been on these kinds of trips with Ted before. He’d gone around with Eddy a few times, but that was it. This time, he wanted to bring you, insisting that it was great to see how you guys would interact on a trip like this.

You even got to pick where you guys were going. You thought it would be fun to visit the world's largest objects in each state, starting in California. The journey started out simple enough, visiting the world’s largest ballerina clown in Venice Beach and then moving east as you went along. The two of you would take pictures with the object and then drive to the next state to get a motel. It was going to be a very long road trip, but you were up for it at the start.

Now, you sat in Kentucky traffic, waiting to find the world’s largest baseball bat. Ted hadn’t listened to your directions and made the trip longer by a few hours. Every few inches the car moves, you mumble something about how Ted should have listened to you. He’s been biting his tongue for the first half hour, but once your complaining hits an hour, he grits his teeth and glares at you.

“I missed an exit, big deal!” He snaps. “Will you please give it a rest?”

You just roll your eyes in response. “I was telling you to merge for at least two miles before the exit but you didn’t listen to me.”

“You know what, I don’t even know why I invited you.” Ted grumbles.

“Well, that’s too bad, because we’re stuck in bumper to bumper traffic for at least 50 miles!” You reply, crossing your arms over your chest.

A few miles up, there’s a turn to a motel. It’s shady, but Ted doesn’t really give a shit. He just needs to get out of this car and stretch his legs. Looking around, he doesn’t spot any police cars, so he drives on the shoulder, pedal nearly reaching the floor as dust flies up behind you.

“What the fuck are you doing?” You yell.

“Driving to that motel.” Ted says as he nods over to the motel in the distance. “I need to get out of this car before I say something I regret.”

This isn’t your first fight with Ted, nor is it the last. It is, however, the first fight where Ted is so angry he could call you a bunch of names. So, he needs to get out of the car before he does so. He skids into the motel parking lot and doesn’t even wait for you before he gets out of the car, slamming the door behind him. When you catch up to him, he’s already speaking with the receptionist. He’s got that smile on his face that he uses when he wants to get a better room.

“We have the honeymoon suite available.” The woman behind the counter says, completely disinterested as she chews her gum. “It’s got two beds and a couch, with a large bathtub.”

“That’s perfect, we’ll take it.” Ted says with a smile that doesn't reach his eyes.

He’s given the hotel keys and the two of you walk silently to the room. He unlocks the room and places his things down by the far side of the room.

“I really hope you’re happy, this is going to delay the video by at least a few days, maybe even a week.” Ted snarls.

“This was your fault!” You snap. “You didn’t listen to me and just kept fucking driving!”

Ted stalks over to you with a few large steps. The way he towers over you would usually make you cower in both horniness and fear, but this time, you stand your ground.

“Keep fucking talking with that attitude,” He says. “We’ll see where it gets you. You have no idea how hard I work to make good content to sustain both of us.”

Your anger falters a bit. “I know how hard you work!” You reply. “You work so much that you barely spend time with me!”

Ted stares at you. “Then stop fucking bitching at me.”

There’s a tense moment of silence, the two of you glaring at each other. You want to scream at Ted for not listening to you, that you just want to help with the video. He wants to scream and say that this video is important to him. But the only thing he can do is slam his lips onto yours.

He pushes you back and you land on the bed. His pupils are blown and he’s breathing heavily.

“Do you know how fucking angry you’ve made me today?” He grits as he yanks his pants off.

“I really don’t fucking care.” You reply, sighing as he leans down and bites on your neck.

“I hate you so much right now.” Ted whispers against your neck.

“Show me then.” You reply.

With a swift motion, you’re naked from the waist down. Ted takes his cock out and strokes it a few times before jamming it inside of you. You whine at the intrusion but with a few rubs of your clit, you ease up to his size. He’s fucking into you angrily and his thrusts hurt.

“Can you let up a bit?” You ask with an eye roll.

“No,” Ted replies. “Since you wanna act like a bitch, you’re gonna get fucked like one.”

“Well, it’s good to know that you can do one thing right.” You reply as his thrusts get harder.

“Shut the fuck up.” He growls, wrapping his hand around your throat.

You hate how your toes curl and the way that your mouth quirks up at the corners when he chokes you. It’s not something that he does often, but only when he feels rough enough to. He fucks into you recklessly, smacking your tits as they bounce.

“Fucking make me.” You growl, smirking when Ted looks down at you.

He reaches over and balls up your panties, shoving them in your mouth. Your eyes widen but roll back into your head as he thumbs your clit. Your cunt flutters over his cock, telling him that despite your brattiness and attitude, you actually love this.

“Stupid whore,” He smirks. “You like that? You like being gagged with your own fucking panties?”

Your attitude diminishes as your orgasm approaches. Ted isn’t too far behind, his grip on your hips bruising as he chases that high. He presses on your clit with one hand and pins your wrists to the bed with the other, watching as you come undone underneath him. His cock twitches, painting your insides as he groans.

“I don’t want to see a single fucking drop fall out.” He says as he pulls out.

Ted’s fingers slide inside of you, pressing his cum back in. You twitch in response, closing your legs. He opens them again forcefully, smacking your pussy.

“You gonna behave now?” Ted asks.

You nod, not even willing to put up a fight anymore. The panties come out of your mouth and he slides them back up your legs.

“I’m sorry.” You say softly, your voice slightly gravelly.

“For?” Ted asks, pulling his pants back on.

“For being a bitch.”

“Good,” Ted smiles. “Now shut up so we can cuddle.”

No matter what, Ted always holds you after you two have sex. His hand runs through your hair and he holds you close, whispering how much he loves you. In this case, he apologizes for missing the exit and extending the trip. He also tells you how beautiful you are and that he’s sorry he treated you like that. But when you say that you liked it, he makes a mental note to fuck up on the directions again. Maybe the video could be something like “Fucking my girlfriend in every state”.

[hoss-bonaventure]

i want to expand on this post just cause i can.

so much of gus and jesse’s relationship is played as an affair. this is only because it makes walt’s anger about their dynamic feel more jilted, like a lover. when he confronts jesse about the two of them having dinner he uses language an excusatory husband would use if he caught his spouse cheating such as “tell me you weren’t as his house last night?” it’s very clearly written as jesse being disloyal to walt and their partnership. now the audience knows that’s just simply not true with jesse literally saying “if you kill mr. white, you’re going to have to kill me too” when he thinks gus is suggesting killing him. he’s devoted to mr. white throughly. even when he’s being shoved into these new situations by mike and gus, there’s never a moment where he thinks about abandoning him. he’s still in the back of his mind through everything, and every character knows this except for walt. that’s what makes most of the build-up leading to gus’s death so ironic. to walt, gus is the other woman who needs to be killed for fraternizing with what’s “his”. in reality, it’s his own brutality and sadistic behavior that is putting a wedge between him and jesse. 

it’s very reminiscent of walt finding out about skyler’s affair with ted. he lashes out and throws a tantrum but he never stops for a second and asks why it happened. he never comes to the conclusion that his actions are what’s driving skyler into another’s arms. he plots to get revenge on ted, but it’s never more serious than toxic masculine how-dare-you-sleep-with-my-wife bullshit. he wants to kill him, i don’t doubt that, but he can’t. how can he? killing, torturing, and all that depravity belongs in the “heisenberg” part of his life. he cannot touch ted because he is as mundane as the life he is fronting. 

now, i will admit, the skyler affair storyline and jesse’s so-called adultery are really not that similar at all. like i said, jesse is not betraying anyone--he is still fiercely dedicated to mr. white. his unfaithfulness is only interpreted as much by walt himself, and it’s walt’s delusions drive him away in the first place. skyler cheats as a means of revenge, as a way to take back some autonomy that walt had stripped her of. however, it’s the way that walt handles these individual perfidies that’s so captivating to me. when deciding what to do with gus, he immediately decides he needs to kill him. this was his plan prior, but now it’s more dire. jesse is gone. he needs to kill two birds with one stone: win back jesse and kill gus. more importantly, he needs to show jesse that him killing gus was something he did for the both of them. so thus he embarks on this convoluted, deplorable, fucked-up scheme. and hey! it works. he successfully manipulates jesse once again, implanting in his brain that no one will have your best interests at heart but me. “gus had to go” and jesse has to agree because this pseudo-son is dying and mr. white is right there and he saved him right? he saved brock and he saved jesse and it doesn’t matter that their love has a body count. their reunion is so impactful because they’re like magnets in a way. the connection they share is so strong that it doesn’t matter how hard they fight or run away, they will cling to each other once more. but what’s devastating this time around is that jesse doesn’t have a leg to stand on with mr. white anymore. he almost fucking killed him and it turns out the “real” mastermind was gus all along. so he offers his submission as an apology, when mr. white holds out his hand he takes it because this is how he can say he’s sorry. and walt? how could he not fall in love all over again. he has jesse, freshly martyred and in his arms once again. 

[ohbabydollie]

omg the schlatt x masc fem s/o headcanons make me go absolutely insane ckksjfksjdkskskksk please please please do more

LMAO i’m glad u liked them

everyone asks you what to get him for his birthday since you know him best and ted took you on a mini shopping spree which you were excited for!!

as soon as you guys were walking through the mall you stopped at a victoria secret, looking at all the lacy panties and bras before picking up a thong

“i think he would like this, it’s not his size though” you say before asking a worker for their biggest size

a bunch of stupid shirts with saying like “i ❤️ getting pegged” “must be on estrogen from the way my rack keeps growing” etc.

the biggest monster dildo you can find at spencer’s with a tube of flavored lube

of course while you got him a few stupid gag gifts you got him shirts and things he would genuinely enjoy

getting mad at him and saying you’ll shove things up his ass and nicknames getting more insulting

“fisting your ass tonight, no prep” “i’ll stick my foot up your ass, bitch” “shut up, that’s why your hole is fucking gaping” “move broad”

schlatt laughs at it sometimes, kissing you on the forehead as you call him a broad and wrapping an arm around your waist

when he asks for your food you feed it to him, airplane and all

if he’s struggling to open a bottle or something and getting frustrated you’ll calmly grab it and open it before handing it to him with a wink and kiss

yk how he was pretending to eat pussy in that one chuckle sandwich vid? you pretend to part open and eat his ass

when you two walk off together you kick his ass and/or the back of his knees because you think it’s funny

yk those videos that are like “when the 5’2 homie finally agrees to cross dressing (he’s definitely getting it tonight)”

yeah you send those to jay all the time and tell him that the height is slowly going up so you’re just waiting until it’s 6’2

along with other memes like that

if anyone tries to defeminize you he’s on their ass IMMEDIATELY!!

“she might as well be your boyfriend with tits and in a dress” some girl says laughing slightly “well she’s my girlfriend with tits and more femininity than you could ever dream of” schlatt says crossing his arms “not ran through either”

doesn’t like it when men flirt with you but finds it funny once you get tired of them talking about fucking you and get started talking about fingering their asshole and they grimace in disgust before he appears

“hey sweetheart” he says wrapping his arm around your shoulders “thanks for keepin’ her fingers warm for me champ” he says to the guy jokingly as you giggle

posting him with songs like eating by CP hollywood & suki

“fuck is this?” he asks showing you your latest instagram story “an appreciation post for you” you say innocently smiling

Silly costumes for bits or for halloween parties!!

schlatt dressed as jessica rabbit n u as roger rabbit!! you as a prim and proper doctor n schlatt as a sexy nurse, complete with the fishnets and fake syringe

u get the silly costumes n he gets the sexy slutty ones

your behavior gets so normalized schlatt doesn’t even bat an eyelash at it anymore

“pegging session tonight?” you ask him, grinning as he rolls his eyes “only if you’re in leather”

groping at his man boobs, ass and thighs

“goo goo ga ga, i want milk” you say groping at his chest as schlatt pushes your face away, annoyed

if he’s ever walking in front of of you, checking out his ass and whistling at him

nsfw!!

drunkenly going up to schlatt at a costume party and saying “you look so pretty in your costume princess, imma eat you out when we get home” before schlatt pulls you into his lap and telling you “we’ll 69 it” as he undoes your tie and you go red in the face

making out with him at a party, parting with your face flushed and a string of saliva connecting the both of you

the first thing you say, looking up at him with hazy eyes, “no homo” schlatt looks at you confused before yelling “ITS NOT FUCKING GAY”

likes watching you walk around in flowy dresses and skirts knowing the second you both are alone he’s gonna be lifting them up and having you sobbing for him

he loves taking you into a bathroom, lifting your skirt snd fucking you into oblivion

“where’s the big strong girl huh? the one that said she was gonna peg me, huh?” he asks with your knees over his forearms (full nelson) and making you look in the mirror, completely weak to his touches and unable to escape

“look at my girl when she’s all cute and submissive” he says grinning and forcing you to look into the mirror

“where’s that bratty mouth you had earlier, hm?” he asks while he has you bent over on a counter as he goes in and out of your cunt, making you tighten up on his length

is mean to you in bed but there are times where he’s soft with you, calling himself lucky for having you, calling you his pretty wife, etc.

aftercare is top tier, will clean you up and get you food or drinks, whatever you want

[jamietwat]

Time loop fic set during season 2 when Jamie’s back around but Roy isn’t coaching yet where it takes Jamie and Roy an embarrassing amount of do-overs before they finally realize they’re both caught in it because for days Jamie goes over to Keeley’s place and antagonizes Roy in basically the exact same way because he thinks making the same stupid old man jokes all the time is funny anyway and any slight changes in conversation he just assumes is because he showed up at a different time or worded his own end of the conversation a little differently but Roy’s still basically saying the same grumpy old man shit anyway

And Roy makes basically the same retorts every time because he stands by it and he assumes Jamie shows up at slightly different times looking for Keeley as a butterfly effect of his morning with Keeley being different but that there’s no escaping him showing up to be a little bitch at some point

And like they both sometimes tell people but not the same people on the same version of the day so Keeley individually thinks that both of them are losing it on different versions of the day before eventually they both mention it

And then on like day 5 of the same day over and over Jamie doesn’t show up and Roy is irrationally angry about it but thinks it must be somehow connected to the fact that he was acting absolutely insane with Keeley trying to explain what’s happening while she thought he was fucking with her and somehow that made her brush off Jamie and him not show up or something?

And it takes Jamie showing up at 100 and just tearing Roy apart and going on about what a dick he is (which isn’t unusual but isn’t how this routine goes) and weirdly fixating on how he was excited to meet Roy but then he ended up just being an old washed up prick that never even gave him a chance because Jamie figures he can just show up, yell at Roy for all the reasons he’s so fixated on being a little asshole with a grudge against Roy in particular to get it out of his system, and then never have to deal with any consequences of Roy finding out about the whole embarrassing having been a big fan and expecting it to be so cool to play on a team with him just to immediately get offended that Roy didn’t give a shit about him and his bullshit and so Jamie ended up hating him thing

But instead Roy just scowls at him and is like “that’s not what you’re supposed to say” and Jamie’s like “…what.” And Roy’s like I’ve done this day like ten times already and either I make Keeley think I’m certifiable first thing in the morning and you don’t show up or else you show up looking for her and then make the same completely uncreative old man jokes at me and Jamie’s like what the fuck I’ve been doing this same day over and over and you’ve been making the same shitty jokes that weren’t funny the first time over and over again

And Keeley’s just sitting there watching this like “Are you two fucking with me? I can’t believe you two got along long enough to plan whatever the fuck this is.” And honestly, the fact that she couldn’t imagine them ever getting along to plan this stupid joke and agree on it is the main reason she actually starts to believe them that time in an okay either I’ve completely lost it or you two are stuck in a time loop kind of way and when she starts going on about how every time loop movie there’s like a moral the person has to learn and maybe they’re both caught in it because they’re supposed to learn how to get along and be friends and Roy’s supposed to take Ted’s offer and that’s how Jamie finds out about the Ted trying to convince Roy to coach thing

But they’re both like fuck no absolutely not, that’s not it and I’d rather be stuck in this stupid fucking loop forever than voluntarily spend time with him let alone get along (as if Jamie hasn’t shown up to annoy him practically every version of the day and Roy hasn’t just been sitting there waiting for him every time) and then they actively avoid each other for like a week’s worth of versions of the same day before they start considering that Keeley might have been on to something but it still takes three more days of pointedly not seeking the other out and waiting for the other to give in first before they run into each other at Ted’s place anyway and finally start actually swapping information they’ve picked up from their loops and what they’ve tried changing to try to get out and discussing ways to try to get out of it while Ted’s just sitting there cracking jokes and making annoyingly similar to what Keeley said comments about how in time loop and body switch things it’s always that you have to learn to see things from another perspective and be nicer to someone you don’t usually see eye to eye with before you can get out (Ted doesn’t actually believe they’re stuck in a time loop though, he’s just going well weird hypothetical but I’ll play along if this almost certainly made up scenario is what it takes for them to have an actual conversation with each other)

[mercoolry]

I feel bad for Roxanne (masm)

Tldr at bottom if you’re lazy lmao

Honestly, I feel bad for her, I don’t like Roxanne, and I never really have ever since her introduction, but since the most recent episode I honestly just feel bad for her, she got caught up in Sun and Moon’s whole thing with each other, Moon tried killing her when he went yandere even though it’s not her fault Sun liked her (I say liked since Sun basically confirmed he doesn’t like her anymore, he said it near the end of the episode).

I know Roxanne kinda manipulated (?) Sun into thinking she likes him back, and there’s plenty of proof for this, but that isn’t the point, I’m not defending Roxy since I still really don’t like her but I’ve seen her get a lot of hate as of recently because she was “ruining the relationship between Sun and Moon”

Like damn, some of these Sun x Moon shippers are wild.. I stopped shipping them a while ago when I realised it was kinda toxic (I don’t ship Sun x Roxy either tho.) I’m not saying all Sun x Moon shippers are like that and if you still like their.. dynamic? That’s okay, I’m not trying to judge anyone, but the point is that Roxy, even though she’s not really doing anything particularly bad, kept being targeted, not just in masm but also by the fan base.

I wanna say a lot more but it’s kinda hard for me to put it into words so I’m sorry if this little rant was kinda confusing-

I’m not necessarily hating on masm and what Davis and Reed chose to do as I think it’s valid how they went along with the ship, after all, remember what Dark Sun said? It was doomed from the start. I still miss how things were before Roxy, Foxy and Bonnie and it was just Sun and Moon and things were less chaotic and silly, but I’ll keep watching from afar to see how deep the story goes, even if I don’t watch every video.

Anyways, just wanted to put my thoughts out here, but please, whether you agree or disagree with my opinion or not, please do not go harass Davis, Reed, Flora, and Matt for any decision they have made with the series. If you don’t like masm, don’t watch it, if you do, keep watching it, you have free will. Please do not harass the creators and writers. They’re human like everyone else.

Tl;dr- I don’t like how Roxy kept getting targeted by everyone, SOME Sun x Moon shippers are kinda toxic, Sun x Moon was doomed from the start, None of this is Roxy’s fault (even though I still don’t like her), and whether you like masm or not don’t harass the creators for their choices. Ty for listening (or reading) (to) my ted talk:3

[thetarttfuldickhead]

If When Jamie is named England’s captain a few years from now and he’s asked about inspirational figures and captain role models, he will not stop singing Isaac’s praises. Just, the way Isaac runs a tight ship and won’t tolerate any nonsense but always has their backs and makes sure there’s a lot of fun, too, silly stuff that keeps the team close and happy and mutually supportive; keeps them feeling like family, almost. It’s Ted’s heritage, the seeds Ted planted, but Isaac’s nurtured and sustained them, tended to the garden and kept it in bloom, and added some vibrant saplings of his own.

Jamie probably names a couple of other people too, whoever was in charge when he played for Man City, someone from his academy days or England’s under-21s, people like that.

He doesn’t mention Roy. And no one asks about it, and no one thinks anything of it—

—except for Roy, who watches the interview with Keeley curled up against his side on their couch and who notices the omission with a wild jumble of hurt and wounded pride and shame and jealousy (all mixed up with the shocking, burning pride he feels for Jamie, England’s captain, fucking hell).

Because Roy knows he wasn’t a great captain for Richmond, yeah, and was a horrible captain for Jamie (though to be fair, Jamie was a horrible person to captain, and Isaac isn’t likely to have been able to handle him at full-on prick either, only Roy’s not fantastic at being fair to himself, so), but he’s still Roy fucking Kent, the best on any team he’s ever been on and Jamie’s fucking childhood idol and his fucking everything now, so to have the little prick not even mention him…

He sulks. He tries not to, because he knows it’s silly and it’s Jamie’s big day, isn’t it, and Roy’s not going to ruin it by having A Feeling, but the feeling(s) persist and he walks through the afternoon with his scowl several shades darker than normally.

“What’s the matter, babe?” Keeley asks, and Roy’s long since given up trying to bullshit her so he spills. Keeley nods and listens and gives him a hug and a kiss and tells him that yeah, you’re gonna need to let that go or actually talk to Jamie about it, because she has long since taken a stand on not sorting their shit out for them.

And she has a thing with Rebecca that afternoon (only it’s the first Roy’s ever heard of it, so he can’t help but wonder if she had a thing with Rebecca prior to Roy’s confession), so when Jamie gets home, bouncing through the door like a puppy on speed, it’s just Roy there to greet him and tell him how amazing he is and yes, of course Roy watched the announcement, your hair looked fucking fine, yes, Keeley saw it too, no, don’t worry, she’s just out for coffee, she’ll be back for dinner and let you know how very impressed she is, and it’d be easy to just let it lie, put the lingering regret away and bask in Jamie’s joy, but they’d said they’d try not do that anymore, not cover stuff up when there’s the chance they might fester, so when Jamie furrows his brow and cocks his head to the side and asks if he’s okay, Roy takes a deep breath:

“It fucking hurt my feeling when you didn’t mention me, when they asked about captains that have inspired you,” he says, and then adds before Jamie can reply, “I know why you didn’t and that’s… that’s fucking fair, innit, but. It also made me wish that I’d been. Better. A better captain. For you.”

“Yeah,” Jamie says after a long, silent moment. He’s wearing that slightly blank look he adopts whenever someone’s caught him by surprise and he’s trying to figure out how to react. “Um. Sometimes I wish I’d been less of a prick, too, you know.”

Roy nods. He knows. And it’s not absolution, and it neither erases or rewrites any of their past mistakes, but it eases the ache in Roy’s chest all the same.

“We’re better now,” he offers, to Jamie, to himself.

“Yeah,” Jamie agrees with a small sigh. He grabs hold of Roy’s hand, tugging him along as he sits down on the couch, and then he curls up against Roy’s side, same as Keeley did just hours ago. “You’re a great fucking coach, though” he tells Roy seriously. “Me favourite, swear down.”

Roy snorts a laugh as he puts an arm around Jamie. “Better fucking be, considering how many blowjobs I’ve given you this week alone.”

“Mm, fucking mint, those,” Jamie agrees thoughtfully, then jabs a finger in Roy’s side. “Oi, this is the part where you tell me I’m your favourite player.”

And oh. That’s perfect, innit. “You’re not my favourite player,” Roy says, carefully not looking at Jamie.

The noise Jamie makes are equal parts disbelieving and outraged. “Um, excuse me, mate?”

“You’re not,” Roy insists, feeling a smile tug at his lips as he innocently adds, “It’s probably Isaac.”

And Jamie huffs a laugh against his neck. And Jamie says you’re an arsehole. And Jamie says you’re me favourite arsehole, though.

You’re me favourite everything, man.

And Roy holds him tight and breathes him in and, for the moment, believes him.

[ad-hawkeye]

You came up on my recommended feed at the perfect time bc I have Artem brainrot rn AND YOUR ANALYZATION OF ARTEM’S CARDS ARE FANTASTIC! I’m one of the few players that avoids most CN server spoilers, and I’ve been abstaining from pulling most cards so I can pull for 3rd anni(which now I’m kinda questioning if I should LOL), so I missed out on a TON of content for all of the male leads. BUT, from the very few cards I had pulled this past yr, I did notice an odd shift in Artem’s personality. Although, I wasn’t too sure if it was just me being dumb or if it was a real thing that was happening. And after reading some of your posts I kinda want to re-read Artem’s Second Anni Card again bc I was so excited for the artwork from that event, that I didn’t pay much attention to the story LOL However, now that I’ve seen what you’ve said and what many other Artem fans have said, I’m sure my feelings weren’t wrong. And now I’m sad 😢

Artem was my favorite bc his relationship with Rosa felt the healthiest and was built on respecting each other’s boundaries, learning how to set boundaries, and working as a team, while also having a more traditional framework of a male leadership role(which I’m extremely fond of). Artem never restricted Rosa from spreading her wings as his work partner or as his life partner, he simply asked if he could come along beside her where ever she wanted to go. AND LIKE HIS ORIGINAL PERSONAL STORY IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF THIS BEHAVIOR! Rosa makes a reckless decision to go get evidence, without Artem, for a the domestic violence case they were working on and almost gets hurt in the process. After that, Artem scolds Rosa for being reckless and for not taking better care of herself. And Rosa doesn’t take it lying down either! They equally argue and get their grievances out in the open, feel bad about later, and apologize. (THE COMMUNICATION IS SO REAL 😩) FURTHERMORE! This incident leads them to learning and understanding how differently they work as lawyers. Artem learns that Rosa is a lot more personal with her clients and handles her cases with an empathetic approach, while he works more pragmatically, so through this case they learn to work to each other’s strengths as partners, covering for what the other person lacks. And the chapters this incident took place in solidified my growing love for Artem bc unlike Luke or Vyn(I’m not sure about Marius bc admittedly I haven’t read his original personal story 😅), Artem doesn’t hinder Rosa by being overprotective like Luke or push her beyond her capacities like Vyn tried to do in his original personal story. Artem allows a natural course of growth to occur in Rosa, while being a hedge of protection for Rosa BUT ONLY when she seems to REALLY need it, and the same can be said for Rosa towards Artem.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk, sorry for ranting 😅

WAHHH YOU'RE TOO KIND!! ;_; thank you so much for the sweet words, it really means a lot!!! i'm so so happy you enjoyed my ranting and raving, honestly having a community of super awesome people to talk about this with has been such a comfort and ive made some awesome friends from my time here, even if we don't chat as much anymore!

and omg, do NOT ever feel bad for ranting in my inbox!!!! i've been ranting about tot in the main tag for two years at this point and i will Always be thrilled to read delightfully written meta such as yours!!!!!

i have to say, i entirely agree with all of this. and i mean ALL OF IT. his personal stories 2, 3, and 4 are my absolute favorites of his and gosh that's like. prime artem to me, i think. your ask reminded me of some meta i read such a long while ago about his second personal story (link can be found here, it's SUCH a good read)

i think a huge issue is that artem originally always felt like the antithesis to your typical daddy dom boss character. when you start playing tot, appearances wise, he looks and even comes across as one. but these initial appearances are quickly shattered.

he is absolutely inexperienced with interpersonal relationships. he fumbles the bag CONSTANTLY with rosa. he's terrible at holding conversation, he's constantly apologizing for being boring. he needs his own fucking boss to wingman (haha. wing) for him. he blushes if mc looks at him the wrong way. he's kinda strange. but he's earnest and genuine. he respects rosa's boundaries. he makes mistakes, but learns from them. he gives rosa time to think over her feelings for him so she can still say no to him if she changes her mind.

it's the contrast between this and his initial appearance that makes him interesting. what is extremely bizarre with artem's recent writing is it feels like someone who only read artem's introduction scene got some vague pointers and was like oh. your typical daddy dom boss guy. okay yeah i can write this. and then they did. which . defeats the whole entire point of what made artem compelling in the first place. he was compelling BECAUSE he subverted this trope. by just making him play the trope straight, you remove any and all intrigue from his character.

by not building off of older cards, you abandon all of the plot lines he had set up. they undid any angst in his stories. they dropped his issues with his parents. they downplayed neils impact on his life. he doesn't even grieve for him anymore. he doesnt even think about him most of the time. what happened to entwined fate? praying for neil's safety? what about neil being his father figure? neil potentially betraying the nxx? are we just going to ignore that now so we can watch artem be an insane freak who just apparently woke up with the skills of a sex god, forgot all of the lessons he learned, and doesnt care about consent anymore?

god, now IM ranting.... regardless. youre so right. i hear artem's newest cards are good so im praying those rumors are true : ((

EDIT: SORRY I MEANT TO TALK ABOUT HIS THIRD ANNIVERSARY CARD!!! it's not as bad as his second anniversary card. i know the bar is in hell but it's something. it's pretty contrived in the grand scheme of things (like why are they moving into a house...?) and has some weird moments, but is ultimately not as bad as it could have been in the slightest. i'd say its biggest crime is being boring as sin. holy fuck. i put that shit on 2x speed and i still found myself wanting to fast forward. like nothing happens at all???? it's so bizarre HAHA

[henrysglock]

What really catched my eye in the article was that the play depicts an "traumatic event". Now this could be referring to the Creel murder incident, but also possibly to something else we haven't seen yet. Also the emphasis on the importance of Brenner is not surprising! Especially the "no one will ever guess how it leads to this crazy place"? Plus Kate implied that the Creel house scenes as shown in the series are very likely unreliable...

Right?? It’s like I’ve been saying for a long time: something happened that made Henry/One feel that Dr. Brenner was someone he needed to escape…by any means necessary. We’re likely going to find out what that something is, and it makes me a little queasy.

And while I’d agree that the Creel murders would be traumatic for the community, I get the feeling that’s not the event being referenced. I feel like it’s something to do with their new characters, who they’re super protective of plot-wise.

We have a principal who’s hanging around Brenner, it’s seems:

And his daughter hangs around Henry. We’ve got Bob’s Mr. Baldo thing to address along these lines, too.

We’ve also got some kind of play with in play based in the community church, which has led me to look at Carrie-type scenarios re: Henry for a hot minute too. That’s not even going into inter-kid dynamics: Hopper, Lonnie, Ted, etc. vs Henry, Patty, and people like Al Munson.

There’s something that’s going to rock the community, and I’m not 100% convinced it’s the murders.

I’m also still not convinced any of this is real, given the weird age fuckery that moves in patterns of 2 and 5 years re: age fuckery in ST4. One of our versions is straight up wrong, and we’ll have to wait and see which one it is.

Here are the snippets for anyone who doesn’t want to dig for them:

[yellowsugarwords]

Can we get some reactions for the HIMYM gang of reader being taller than them?

oooo this is gonna be a fun one

Ted: Ted had been having a great time with Y/N, so much so he wasn’t noticing the time slipping away. They had run into each other at MacLaren's and struck up a conversation. Suddenly, hours had passed. It had only felt like minutes. “I better get going,” Ted admitted sheepishly, standing and sliding his coat on. “I work in the morning.” “Me too,” Y/N said with a chuckle, standing up and grabbing their coat as well. Ted’s eyes widened, stunned at the height of his apparent date. “Wow,” he said softly and under his breath. It was involuntary, but Y/N heard. “What?” Sheepishly, they gave a meek smile, sliding their coat over their shoulders. “My height, huh? Wearing heels probably isn’t helping my case.” Apparently, they got this often. Ted smiled, cheeks warm. “I think it’s great. You’re great.” Y/N smiled, buttoning up their coat. “Maybe we’ll need to meet up here again, just without the heels.” “I don’t think it’ll change much,” Ted teased. The two chuckled.

Robin: Robin chuckled, thankful for deciding to bite the bullet and go out on their date. She had been nervously postponing actually planning something but decided it was time to stop stringing them along and go for it. Truthfully, she had a better time than she thought she’d have. She often hated first dates. They were far too awkward and nerve-wracking. “Thanks for agreeing to come out,” Robin said, grinning from ear to ear. “This has been a lot of fun.” “UI agree,” Y/N said gently, pushing themselves to their feet and grabbing the coat off the back of their chair. Robin’s eyes widened and she choked on the last sip of beer she was attempting to finish. She sputtered and coughed, snagging Y/N’s attention. “Woah, are you okay?” Robin nodded, waving her hand to dissuade them from worrying. “Yes, just, wow.” She coughed once more. “You’re, uh, tall.” Y/N chuckled, offering to help her to her feet. “I get that a lot.” “It’s not a bad thing!” She rushed to say. “It’s a great thing.” She meant that.

Barney: Barney smirked to himself as he sipped away at his beer, content with the way his date was going so far. He arrived fashionably late - as always - and Y/N had already selected a table or the two of them at the bar. “I’ve already ordered your go-to,” Y/N said. Barney smirked. Maybe, just maybe, this one might last. Even just a little while. They talked and chatted for hours, about anything and everything, about values and mindless blabber. Then, just as Y/N excused themselves to go to the bathroom, Barney practically choked on his beer. He swallowed and tried to play it off, staring at them, craning his neck. “Wow,” he finally managed to say before they left. “You’re very, uh,” he hesitated, trying to find the right words to use that wouldn’t offend them. “Tall?” Y/N smirked and chuckled. “Hope that doesn’t threaten you.” With that, they left for the bathroom and Barney was left stunned, shocked that his date was just as confident as him, if not more so.

Marshall: Marshall fiddled with his fingers - a telltale sign that he was nervous - as he and Y/N made small talk. It had been a while since they had caught up - practically over a decade - but it was nice regardless. It felt so new. So strange. He wasn’t quite adjusted to seeing them again yet. “Hey, it was really good seeing you again.” Y/N said, setting their empty glass on the MacLaren's table. “It’s been too long since we actually got to hang out.” “Agreed,” Marshall said with a smile and nod. “Do you have a ride?” Y/N nodded at his question. “I do, thanks. Ordered a cab 20 minutes ago.” As they spoke, they stood, tossing their jacket over their left arm. “Holy--” Marshall caught himself before he blurted out what he was thinking. “You’re like a building.” Y/N smirked, chuckling to himself. “I get that a lot. More than you’d think.” “What kind of steroids are you taking?” He asked jokingly. Y/N pat his shoulder and started away without another word, just a smile.

Lily: Lily smiled, cheeks bright and full of life. Lily had run into a childhood friend at a coffee shop. It was her day off, and she was treating herself to a warm coffee and a brisk walk through the park to clear her head, but spotting Y/N, those plans went out the window. “It’s been so good to see you,” Lily said, squeezing Y/N’s hands sweetly from across the table. Just as the two went to stand, Lily’s eyes widened. “Woah!” Lily said, immediately clamping her hand over her mouth. She chuckled to herself nervously. “S-Sorry, you’re just so much,” she hesitated, “taller than I remember.” “The last time you saw me was, like, 5th grade.” “Exactly.” The two chuckled, Lily left in awe. Both of them had changed so much, especially Y/N, it seemed.

𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 💌☕️♡

[fardell24b]

Spider Quinn 08 The Three Misfits - Part 4

It didn’t take Anna long to find such a map. She pick up several different ones and returned to the table when she saw Gerald staring at Ted with annoyance.

“Thanks,” Quinn said, when Anna passed out the map. “Let’s see. Arboretum, to the southeast. The Zoo, also to the southeast.”

“Forests to the west and east,” Gerald added.

“Reed beds along the Creek to the southeast also,” Anna added.

“And the lake to the south,” Quinn said.

“Although it is the furthest,” Ted said.

“True,” Quinn said.

“And the eastern forests are closer than those on the west.” Anna said.

“That’s because the subdivisions extend further to the west,” Gerald said.

“True,” Anna allowed.

“So, where?” Ted asked.

“I’d say the Zoo,” Quinn said.

“Arboretum,” Ben said. “A controlled environment compared to the forests or the wetlands.”

“Forest,” Gerald said. “On the east.”

“Forest, but on the west,” Anna said.

“Disagreement,” Ted said as he wrote a note.

“Yes,” Quinn said with a sigh. “I guess I can do a forest, maybe on the west.”

“I guess the west would do then,” Gerald said.

“Oh why, the west?” Ben groused. “It is thicker than the eastern forests.”

“We could go to the east instead if you like,” Quinn said.

 “No, it’s fine,” Ben said.

“Are you sure?” Quinn asked.

“I’ll cope!” Ben said.

‘It doesn’t sound like it,’ Anna realised. She knew that she was going to be talking to him later.

“So, when will this take place?” Gerald asked.

“Like, I would have liked tomorrow, but the holidays are starting,” Quinn said. “So, it’ll be after the holidays.”

“Good!” Ben said. “I can cope with that.”

“The article will be coming out then, too,” Ted said.

“But we will meet again tomorrow,” Quinn said.

“Sure,” Anna said.

Anna and Ben left first, followed quickly by Gerald.

Quinn sighed a sigh of relief.

“You didn’t think that would go well?” Ted asked.

“Not really. But putting it off until after the holidays will give me extra time to prepare.”

“That makes sense.”

“Anyway, you want to do the interview now, or wait until the morning?” Quinn asked.

“I can do it now if you want?” Ted asked.

“Sure?” Quinn said after a quick look at the time. Whilst she was usually out as SpiderGirl at that time, she was sure Lawndale could cope, even though some people could find themselves in difficult situations.

“Yes.” Ted said. He took out a tape recorder. “Are you OK with being recorded?”

“It’s fine, go ahead,” Quinn said. ‘I’ll tell Mom later, though,’ she thought.

The interview didn’t take long.

“And do you think that this will help Anna, Ben and Gerald ‘reach their potential’ as Principal Li put it?”

“Yes. Like I see that Anna at least is connecting to me in some way, and you saw that Ben was willing to consider going to the forest.”

“True,” Ted considered. “But do you think the break for the Holidays is a good idea?”

“I don’t think there’s much choice. Tomorrow’s the last day.”

“That’s true, but.”

“But we will meet tomorrow, I’ll see how that goes.”

SpiderGirl left the school and immediately saw that Feli was waving at her from the strip mall nearby. She sighed and swung in that direction.

“What’s up?” SpiderGirl asked Feli as she landed.

“Oh, just want to catch up.”

“Are you lonely?”

“A little. My friend has gone home because of his problems,” Feli answered. She didn’t really want to talk about Ben’s hypochondria to the superheroine, so didn’t elaborate.

“I see.”

“And I wanted to talk to you about that project I’m involved in.”

“Go on then,” the superheroine said in a resigned tone.

“Right. We’ve agreed that we will do a field trip in a forest after the Holidays.”

“What’s the problem?”

“I might forget and It’ll be a shock,” Feli answered.

“Oh. Then have some kind of notes. That’ll help you remember.”

“That’s a good idea.”

“I’ll be going then,” SpiderGirl said.

“Wait!”

“What now?”

“One more time?” Feli asked. She had liked the other two times SpiderGirl had carried her across Lawndale.

“Why not?” SpiderGirl asked. “Where?”

“Home. 326 Eichler Street,” Feli answered.

She set Feli down in her backyard. “Three days in a row…” she considered.

“I won’t be asking tomorrow, nor over the Holidays,” Feli said.

“Good,” SpiderGirl said. “I’ll see you another time.” She then swung away towards Stacy’s front yard.

“Quinn?” Stacy asked as she answered the door.

“Sorry I haven’t caught up this week,” Quinn said.

“That’s fine,” Stacy said. “Like mentoring other students is important.”

“It is, but it shouldn’t be at the expense of existing friends.”

“Of course.”

“And I can spend time with you this afternoon,” Quinn said.

And so, the two friends caught up as they watched a couple episodes of Sailor Moon.

Lawndale Sun-Herald

Friday December 18th, 1999

SpiderGirl seen carrying mysterious Blonde

Quinn entered the Principal’s office again.

“So, the problem is, this is the last day of school before the Holidays,” Ms. Li said.

“We talked about that. We’ll do it after the Holidays.”

“Very good, Ms. Morgendorffer. I will send out a reminder note for them on the first day back.”

[mariacallous]

The recent burst of generative artificial intelligence is forcing the US Senate into a debate lawmakers have put off for years: privacy reform.

While Americans’ personal data is a commodity sold, traded, mined, and even “recycled,” passing from second party to third party to digital banana stand, some senators believe your personal data is siloed off from the earth-altering AI work those companies, like OpenAI and Google, are testing, tweaking, and deploying daily.

“They want to predict the future for purposes of marketing and selling products, and that’s already there,” says Florida Republican Marco Rubio, the vice-chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, dismissing the need for an overhaul of federal privacy laws.

Rubio is far from an outlier. Ted Cruz of Texas, the top Republican on the Senate Commerce Committee, agrees. “I think if the Democrats push through restrictions on innovation and AI, it would be disastrous for America,” Cruz says. If the United States doesn’t lead, goes the GOP’s stock argument, an adversarial nation (read: China) will.

Still, there’s fear about AI’s potential to dramatically alter the world, which has kept senators mostly united over the need to do something. But with lawmakers beginning to write AI-related legislation, old and unresolved privacy debates are proving a major impediment—and there’s little room for error on the tightrope of bipartisanship in today’s Washington.

In our rapidly evolving world, Congress must debate the past, even as AI is statistically generating our future.

Lesson Not Learned

Before Congress left Washington for a month-long August recess, senators held their third and final all-senators AI briefing. Although not all 100 senators attended, the bipartisan, closed-door AI briefings were intended to provide a baseline framework for understanding artificial intelligence. If nothing else, the briefings surely got senators talking about AI. Almost instantly, the AI chatter resurrected data privacy debates that had died in each recent congressional session.

Rubio’s gut reaction is that he’s fine with American tech companies running unregulated through the frontiers of AI as they create even newer frontiers. Commerce, he says, is commerce. “They’ll take the data to try to predict what you’re going to buy tomorrow or where you want to travel to tomorrow or what you want to look at. It already does,” Rubio says. “We still have laws that govern things like privacy and property rights and all kinds of [areas]. Certainly, those things would still be prohibited whether it’s a human or a machine that’s violating it.”

Senators like Rubio and Cruz appear to forget what happened the last time Congress decided to just let the tech industry run wild. Google swallowed our ability to find information while collecting every bit of personal data it could. Facebook and Twitter created dossiers on everyone who touched them before dictating who and what can be said on social media. And Amazon consumed nearly 40 percent of the retail world (along with our data) while expanding into cloud storage, entertainment, satellite internet, and a bazillion other markets.

In short, the tentacles of US tech firms are everywhere—vaccines, food, cancer research, psilocybin centers, criminal justice reform, homelessness—the list could reach the moon. (Speaking of the moon, how could we forget commercial spaceflight?) And the AI boom is likely to further expand tech firms’ power and riches. Yet on Capitol Hill, some powerful Republicans are focused on one goal: ensuring American AI dominance.

On this front, Rubio generally sees any new regulation as a needless-to-harmful constraint on US technology giants and their AI experiments. One near-universal takeaway from the briefings is that America can’t afford to be number two.

“You’re dealing with a technology that knows no national borders, so even if we write laws that say a company can’t do that in America, it doesn’t mean some company in some other part of the world or some government in other parts of the world won’t innovate that, and use it, and deploy it against the US,” Rubio says.

Senator Mike Rounds, a South Dakota Republican and one of four senators who spearheaded the all-senators briefings, echoes this sentiment. “AI is gonna advance regardless of whether it happens here in the United States or elsewhere. We have to be advancing faster than our adversaries,” he says. “We have to advance it, but we also want to put in appropriate safeguards.”

Specifics remain impossible to pin down in most corners of the Capitol. Lawmakers are still taking in the potential of new language learning models, like ChatGPT and Google’s Bard, even as AI laps us all. Rounds maintains an openness to nebulous new parameters, on the one hand, but in a critical, fatherly way, he also faults Americans for signing over our data privacy.

“Here’s the deal, we voluntarily give it away,” Rounds says. “People don’t seem to realize that when they sign these agreements, they’re giving up a lot of their personal information.”

Recklessly handing over our data might be fine if it’s American tech companies that are grabbing it. But Rounds, like most lawmakers, decries the idea of giving our private data to Chinese-owned TikTok. It’s the one privacy matter everyone can agree on—excluding, perhaps, the 150 million US-based users the company claims to have.

“There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of concern about it by a significant amount of the American public, which is unfortunate because that’s helping to create the databases that eventually may be used against us,” Rounds says.

While Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and the others tried to steer the conversation around artificial intelligence clear of politics, AI now seems lodged in the age-old partisan debate that pits laissez-faire capitalism against Big Brother, which New Mexico Democrat Martin Heinrich says is regrettably shortsighted.

“We failed to regulate the internet when it was regulatable, and Republicans and Democrats today—for the most part—are going, ‘Holy cow, we subjected our entire teenage population to this experiment, and it’s not serving us well.’ So I just don't think it’s helpful to get hardened,” Heinrich says.

It’s not just Democrats who are voicing concern. There are some outspoken privacy hawks in the GOP, chief among them Senator Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican. When asked about Cruz and Rubio’s positions—that encroaching on the Silicon Valley data mining model could imperil America’s AI future—Hawley laughs.

“Ha. I don’t know that we’re gonna be able to hermetically seal it like that,” Hawleys says, before laughing uproariously. “This idea that we can just trust Google and Meta to be good actors, you know—not gonna happen.”

While his colleagues are almost solely focused on America’s adversaries, Hawley—who may be China’s biggest critic in the Senate—is unsettled by the thought of American tech companies plugging your private data into their AI language learning models right now.

“We need to just ban that. That’s the way to do it. Yeah, we just say no—in federal law,” Hawley says. “They wouldn’t let you sue if they didn’t. That’s the way to fix that, in my view.”

That’s Hawley’s number one priority. He’s the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law and teamed up with its chair, Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, in introducing the No Section 230 Immunity for AI Act.

The bipartisan pair say the legislation is essential because it explicitly tacks an AI clause onto Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which shields online companies from liability for anything their users post on their platforms. While both senators have spent years trying to overhaul Section 230, they say there’s no time to waste in updating it to protect consumers from generative AI-powered deepfakes.

Point of No Return

This summer’s AI briefings also instilled the need for speed, and senators are finally moving—if at senatorially turtle-like speeds.

Before lawmakers left town for the summer, they passed their first generative AI amendments, tacking them onto the annual, must-pass National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). One such measure requires the Department of Defense to set up a “bug bounty program” so Pentagon officials can test American-made AI for security flaws.

Senators, led by Schumer, also tucked a nondefense AI amendment into their version of the defense bill, which still must be reconciled with the House version. It mandates that any AI “gap in knowledge” from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, National Credit Union Administration, or Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection must be reported to Congress.

Many Democrats agree with the GOP on the need to lead the AI race, though the details are devilish. On the left, the prescription is one of those much-decried government ones.

“We cannot put ourselves at a disadvantage compared to China or other adversaries or competitors. But just like in atomic energy, there needs to be some kind of international structure,” Blumenthal says.

He says that means international agreements, multilateral trust, and “one central agency or office that is responsible for AI and can conduct negotiations with other countries.”

Behind closed doors, senators were warned about an AI fiscal cliff on the horizon, and many seem acutely on edge over how easy replicating AI is now and will be tomorrow. “One of the things that was discussed—I don’t think it’s classified in any way—is, like in almost all technology, the price is going to come down dramatically,” says Senator John Hickenlooper, a Colorado Democrat. “Look at how many billionaires we have, they can create their own large language models.”

Senators are now engaged in many side debates, with a few focused on the technology’s impact on democracy.

“Frankly, I personally haven’t quite figured out what we ought to do,” says Senator Mazie Hirono, a Hawaii Democrat. “But you can see the damage that can be done in the political arena, and I think that there should be some disclosure requirements in the political arena.”

Others are looking at potential disclosure requirements, especially when it comes to AI making decisions on loans, insurance applications, and other consequential matters.

“If a decision is made about you based on AI making the decision, whether it’s an insurance company or your own government, you have a right to be able to know what’s the data set that’s behind that, whether it’s a valid data set,” says Senator James Lankford, an Oklahoma Republican. “And so that’s a bigger challenge.”

Some newer, younger senators left the private AI briefings more unsettled than when they entered. “The lack of specific detail in some of these briefings makes me a little bit worried about what both the Senate and maybe the Department of Defense know about where we are on AI relative to other countries,” says Republican JD Vance, the freshman senator from Ohio. “It’s not clear if they’re so substance-less because they think that you’re stupid or because they’re hiding something.”

While the Senate is now demanding an AI health checkup from an array of federal agencies, lawmakers are also getting in the weeds on their specific committees and hashing out targeted AI proposals.

There’s broad agreement that there’s no going back. “One thing I’m certain of is I know of no technological advance in human history that we’ve been able to roll back. It’s going to happen,” Rubio says. “The question is, how do we build guardrails and practices around it so that we can maximize its benefits and diminish its harms?”

The Senate, meanwhile, can’t go forward without first taking steps back—to the debate Congress never had. For Senators Hawley and Blumenthal, AI safeguards start with overhauling Section 230. “You’ve got to put that there, and then you can build around that,” Hawley says. “If people don’t have the right, you can tell them, ‘don’t use your data stores for generative AI,’ but then if they do it anyway, it’s like what, the FTC fines them $1 million? No, you have to let people sue and do class actions. Then they pay attention.”

[rqgnarok]

The thing about nates redemption is that I expected it to be a big focal point of this season and i was looking forward to it given how well they tackled rebecca’s and jamie’s but….ive been disappointed in the way its played out. There are things ive liked, like the way they show nate gradually becoming more self-confident and hating himself less, and how this causes him to treat other people more kindly, too. And maybe if this wasnt the last season then that would be enough. But i think the fact that nate hasn’t actually taken any strides to make amends (with ted, at least) is what’s making the whole arc feel a little incomplete. And i know it’s coming, i know he’ll obviously apologize to ted and maybe even beard. and I think the apology he gave to will was great. But it just doesn’t feel like enough. Idk for me maybe its less of a Nate specific problem and more of a ‘this season a whole has felt directionless.’ They wasted so much time on zava and shandy and didn’t spend nearly enough time actually like. Really focusing on Nate and Ted and the specific pain of that betrayal and their relationship as a whole. And I guess I also dont like how jade plays into it all either. Idk sorry for rambling on in your inbox but i guess my point is its ridiculous for people to be upset that nate is getting a redemption arc, something that was always going to happen given the kind of story this is. But I understand people’s frustrations with how the show has actually gone about it.

i do agree they wasted a lot of time in the zava/shandy storylines- zava i understand his purpose, making the team come to terms about their bond and getting to play the way they are now- shandy i do think was completely useless lol.

every time one of the main characters breaks from the group, in this case, nate, i'm always afraid that the show won't do them justice when trying to divide the time between the main characters now that they aren't in one same place or environment. most of what we've seen of nate has been pretty meh, him being an asshole and having small and rare moments of "huh, maybe i'm being an asshole" but him saying no to rupert and then suddenly quitting with no explanation did feel like going from a 0 to a 100. i would've liked seeing abetter build up to that and not waste time with shandy like we did (literally, what was the point of her at all?).

also, the roykeeley break up not being brought up until this week's episode and seeing roy getting "unstuck" from whatever was bothering him when we hardly talked about it (other than the speech he did about enjoying himself instead of leaving chelsea) didn't sit right with me. the lack of sharon also makes me a little sad tbh, i feel like she could've been of great help around ted and michelle's storyline (like, she was there but not really? and suddenly hanging up on ted like she does feels a little out of character tbh), along with colin and isaac's, sam's, roy's...... we have what, two episodes left? i hope they tie all these loose ends and have many many important conversations we haven't had yet.

i completely understand not liking how they're doing nate's redemption arc, but people who are mad he's getting one is like ???? you do know what show we're watching, right?

and don't worry about rambling! it's always nice to talk ted lasso with someone who understands!

[percontaion-points]

Covet chapters 84-87

Click to see the rest of the snark & image descriptions

Chapter 84

And then we’re fading, straight off the roof, down the three flights of stairs, and up the hallway that gets us to my room. His mouth never leaves mine once.

Chapter 84 summary: All of the kids hang out on the roof for a long time and eventually trickle down to go to bed. There’s a heavy implication that Luca and Flint are going to slide into bed together. But since this is nothing more than a throw-away line, I kind of don’t care. 

Finally, it’s only Grace and Hudson alone up there. They dance for a moment before they start making out. Hudson bites her neck a little. When he asks if it’s too much, she says that it’s not enough. The two of them go downstairs together. 

Chapter 85

At first, I think he’s going to argue, but when I lower my mouth to his, he grins against my lips. And says, “I can totally live with that.”

Chapter 85 summary: They go down to Grace’s room, where things get even steamier. However, instead of banging, Hudson bites her. It’s so pleasurable that Grace ends up having an orgasm from it. After she’s calmed down a little bit, she insists that all of this is only because of the mating bond. Which… come on, babe. Stop kidding yourself. 

Chapter 86

“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not very good at following rules. Besides, there are lots of other places I want to kiss you.” And then he starts tugging down my sweats.

Chapter 86 summary: They continue to have this weird PG-13 sex stuff, where they’re banging, but the writing is vague enough that I’m not actually sure that clothes have come off at all. I don’t know what’s happening. 

Anyway, I’m pretty sure that Hudson has his own orgasm. After, he’s lying on top of Grace, and she again brings up the fact that she doesn’t know much about him. She also randomly says some stuff she learned about the Library of Alexandria from a TED talk. 

Chapter 87

And though we didn’t technically have sex last night, we did a lot of other stuff.

Going to leave this right here…

Does that mean this is a real mating bond or is it another manufactured one like what I had with Jaxon? And do my feelings just ebb and flow along with who I’m mated to? Or do the feelings I have for Hudson have more to do with that three and a half months we spent together than I ever imagined? Does my heart remember something my conscious mind has forgotten?

Considering that she’s already been burned once, it’s kind of hard to blame her for feeling like this. Her second thoughts about Hudson are valid. 

“No, you said it was only the mating bond,” he tells me, sitting up now. As he does, the sheet falls down to his hips and, fight or no fight, there is no missing how beautiful his body is. 

“You agreed!” I tell him. “Your exact words were ‘I can totally live with that’!” 

“I can live with it,” he tells me with a shrug. “You’re the one who seems to be freaking out here.”

Look, when I said that I understood why she was having emotional problems getting attached to Hudson, I didn’t mean that Grace should sabotage her relationship with him. JFC girl, go to goddamned therapy. 

Big feelings, huge feelings that scare me so much that I can barely breathe. Barely think. I loved my parents and they were murdered. I loved Jaxon and he was ripped away from me. If I love Hudson—if I let myself love Hudson—what’s going to happen to me if I lose him?

Again, I’m sorry that her parents were murdered, and that the bloodletter manipulated her and Jaxon. 

This is a girl who is in desperate need of some intense therapy like a year ago, but she’s not getting any. And she’s also letting past hurt dictate her relationships in the future. 

It’s not that I don’t understand where she’s coming from, but she’s pushing Hudson away because of shit out of her control IN A PREVIOUS RELATIONSHIP. 

One, I feel more for Hudson Vega than I ever imagined I would. And two, I can never, ever tell him.

Chapter 87 summary: Grace wakes up the next morning in a chipper mood. However, as she lies there and thinks about the mating bond, she begins to feel this unholy panic. Because her first mating bond was fake, so who’s to say that this one isn’t as well? 

Hudson wakes up, and she decides on cruel, hurtful words rather than to actually talk through her feelings. As I said in previous cards, the entire thing boils down to her fear. She loved her parents and Jaxon, and they were both forced from her life. She’s afraid to get close to Hudson for fear of what his leaving would do to her next. But again, rather than to simply tell him all of this, she lashes out and says hurtful things. 

[theliterateape]

The Price of a Gun

by Don Hall

“I think he should be charged. If you point a gun at someone and it goes off and they’re killed as a result? Manslaughter. You don’t handle a firearm unless you know how.”

Dad was sounding off about the Alec Baldwin Rust on set tragedy.

In October 2021, Baldwin allegedly discharged a firearm prop while filming a scene for Rust on a ranch in New Mexico, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring the film's director Joel Souza. Hutchin's windowed husband filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Baldwin and the movie's other producers. Baldwin settled that lawsuit but was recently charged with involuntary manslaughter, along with Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the film’s armorer. Assistant director David Halls, who was reportedly the go-between, taking the gun from Gutierrez-Reed and handing it to Baldwin, agreed to plead guilty to negligent use of a deadly weapon. The terms include a suspended sentence and six months of probation.

There’s common practice on films and in theaters that does not level responsibility on actors shooting guns that have been (hopefully) properly vetted for safety by armorers and prop masters and then there is the law. The law does not exempt actors or performers should these sorts of mishaps occur.

“Hmmmm… Even if the producers hired someone to ensure the safety protocols?”

“Doesn’t matter. You shoot the gun, they die, you go to prison. Actors don’t get a pass.”

I’ll admit, the old cat has a point. If you are so bold as to grab a gun of any kind without serious training and an understanding of the safety protocols involved in shooting one and you accidentally pop someone, you should be held accountable. On set safety is serious business and, given the sheer number of films that involve gunplay (funny word as I’m not sure there’s a lot of play in the act) it’s extraordinary how few people have been shot, injured or killed, by prop guns. Apparently, most if not the vast majority of armorers take their job with earnestness.

As of this writing, at least eighteen people were shot and killed in California with two mass shootings in two days. Thirty-eight times in the past twenty-three days someone has walked into a public space and opened fire. Sure, lots of people were shot and killed but those mass shooting deals get lots of media attention. For some reason, when a lone asshole marches in and kills a dozen or so folks in one setting it gets far more attention than, say, the hundreds shot and killed in drive-by’s or liquor store holdups. It makes sense when the cry of the 2020’s is that Black Lives Matter but really only when it’s rabid cops doing the killing rather than random street violence by fellow citizens.

What sets the Baldwin case apart is that not only he, the shooter, is being charged but both his armorer and the guy who handed him the gun are being held to pay. Which opens up a larger question: why aren’t those who sell the guns to both crackpots with a mass shooting fetish and run-of-the-mill criminals likewise held accountable?

Scenario: Bob is mad. In general. He is lonely from COVID, has some incel shit going on, and basically hates the Chinese. He decides to do a mass shooting. He buys an AR-15 from Ted. Ted does the background check, Bob has some prior assault violations but, hey, a buck is a buck. Ted sells Bob the rifle. Bob kills a bunch of innocent people, turns the weapon on himself, boom.

The G decides that Ted, like Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, is as culpable as Bob. He is charged with multiple counts of involuntary manslaughter. He goes to prison. The message is sent to all other retailers and private citizens who sell guns. They sell less guns to criminals and head cases. Mass shootings become less frequent.

This concept doesn’t infringe upon anyone’s Second Amendment rights. Ted can sell any kind of weapon to anyone he wants but he has the added consequence of selling to the wrong guy and instead of having the government regulate sales, Ted is required to regulate himself.

When Nevada went to the COVID lockdown, the governor didn’t mandate masks once we re-opened. He did require that casinos regulate them, requiring casinos to mandate masks or lose their gambling licenses. Corporate regulation. Why not push this idea onto weapon sales?

[ceruleanwhore]

Thank you for tagging me and yeah, I do really agree with this. They did so little to set up and then build up Ted’s relationships with his family and especially his relationship with KS that, as this person said, the bits of symbolism they throw in feel really meaningless. Also, especially with what nonsense this anon is spouting about Ted’s relationship with KS, not once in the whole damn thing did he appear to have any actual connection to the state itself. He has the ties to America than any expat would have, for sure, but his only tie to the state of KS is Henry and I guess also his mom and ex wife.

To me, that was actually a big problem with the finale. They had Ted’s mom come in and talk about how Henry misses him and then they acted like the only solution for that problem they just pulled out of their asses for manufactured conflict was for Ted to go back to the states. It genuinely doesn’t work though because what we see every single episode is how much he loves London and his whole community there and how it really is his true home, whereas we never see even a fraction of that connection between him and KS. They show us one thing and tell us another and then hope we won’t figure out that yeah, the issue of Henry missing Ted absolutely could’ve been solved by Henry going to Ted instead of the other way around.

Tbh I thought that’s where they were going with when they had Henry’s bullying incident. I thought they were going to have it so Henry wasn’t fitting in at school and was having trouble there so they were going to then change his school, which would most logically feature him going to live with Dad instead, especially if they had actually set up domestic conflict around him also not getting along with the therapist asshole. Then, Henry could have gone to live with his dad, problem solved, and he would then also by default get sort of adopted by the team and get all this positive influence and interaction. Everybody wins and it’s an arc that genuinely makes sense, yeah?

But no, they instead try to convince us on this bullshit idea of Ted ‘going home’ when, in truth, he’s leaving his home behind. So yeah, I agree with what this person is saying 100% and I hate that, like they said, the writers basically set up a normal emigrant experience and then somehow it’s gotten twisted around and misidentified as like “Ted is homesick and needs to go back to KS.”

the show has established how much ted loves and misses kansas from day one sorry you're too stubborn to accept it

lol not gonna deny the stubbornness, but to me it really didn't feel like they show did enough to establish ted missing and longing for kansas?

like qualitatively what did they show from him as a character about his missing kansas itself? his tshirt collection, peanut butter and bbq sauce, mentioning the state flower? bitching about local stuff? like um ok?

this might just be coming from my own experiences as a 15-year emigrant, but like... i long for bagels, i really do. it's one of the greatest tragedies of my life that i no longer fly back to the states through new york and getting real bagels is now a long and miserable planned trek. i genuinely can taste in my mouth rn a toasted sesame bagel with a schmear of veggie cream cheese from bagel boss on merrick road my god i would do crimes. don't even get me started on real deli pickles gOD all pickles here are sweet it's so deeply wrong. (and btw our state flower is the rose very sexy). don't wanna move back tho.

like...idk that's just part of the emigrant experience? like idk if they intended all of that to signal a deep and tragic desperation to go back to the wide open skies of kansas but that kind of just felt like standard emigrant behavior to me (lmao i just realised my desktop bg is literally ny street scenes too), esp bc at least one of the writers has had that experience themselves? they needed to really give ted something more to get me to believe that he's somehow got the kansas soil in his bones and would be incomplete without it.

and imo things that and like the wizard of oz pinball machine only work as symbolic emphasis if the character work has been done to give them something to emphasize? as it stands, it feels like a lot of floating symbols were thrown around instead of actual character work, attempting to cheaply borrow meaning from elsewhere to make ted's supposed homesick longing feel real.

and tbh that kind of felt like his relationship with henry too? we got the symbol of the concept of a traditional father/son relationship, we got the symbol of the legos, we got the symbol of cat stevens father and son demanding our heartstrings be pulled... but what material things were those symbols emphasizing? how much time was given to showing ted and henry's actual relationship? like even in the episode this season when henry was literally present, ted p much ignored him in favor of stalking michelle! they didn't have one-on-one conversations except for ted trying to pump him for info about dr jake??? what are we supposed to do with that?? feel like everything's healthy and cool and great for them esp isolated in kansas?

it's like a bunch of floating signifiers that we're supposed to take as substitute for actual story. here's some barbecue sauce can't you just taste the longing? listen to stevens's music - that's a relationship, right?

empty symbols just aren't good enough for me, especially when there are plenty of relationships between people and places on this show that aren't just froth with no filling.