#i have to believe that

[bluheaven-adw]

Just thinking about them, and how this episode was a turning point in their relationship. Jim willing to protect her at any cost, armor or no. Claire seeing him for who he really is for the first time. Not the slacker fuck-up who misses play rehearsal and trashed her house.... but the hero struggling under the weight of two worlds who saved her and wants to save her brother because he cares for her, and because it's the right thing to do. And in return... she saves him. And I'm reminded that this scene won't happen... and it makes me horribly sad.

[crime-wives]

ok so i've been rewatching the good place recently and there was once scene in season 2 episode 6 that stood out to me.

the scene between michael and janet in his office where michael refuses to kill her. "why are you making such a big deal about turning me into a marble forever?" "because of reasons. there are reasons. they exist, and I just don't want to explain them right now." "what are the reasons?" "they're reasons, janet!" "okay, but what are they?"

"the reason is friends!"

after he says this, we see michael blink in shock over the fact that he actually, truly cares for someone. it surprises him that he even has the ability to care. it humanizes michael to the audience by showing that even after years of nihilism, he still cares somewhere deep down. this is the first time we've seen michael express his feelings honestly. and it feels raw and real in a way that is emphasized so well in the show. before this moment, michael was trying to form excuses over his reluctance to kill janet, i.e. 'vicky will find out' 'we need you to escape to the real good place' etc etc. after the shock has set in, michael stands by his statement.

"but for me, our… our relationship has become important. you're my oldest, my truest, my most loyal friend. i can't just get rid of you and replace you with some other janet I don't even know."

in this moment we see michael recognize the value of external connection and companionship. the realization that things, that people matter to him.

i talk a lot about michael, but this moment also humanizes janet. i mean this in a way that's different from michael. throughout the show so far, we've seen janet as a comic relief, or as someone who really isn't very fleshed out as a character. she's mostly used as a device on the show for the main characters to gain items or knowledge for their own benefit. it's established very early on that she's not human and therefore does not have feelings. however, as we progress through the show, after all of the reboots, we see janet begin to develop feelings. she becomes more human because of that. additionally, this scene impacts janet as well. this is because it's different for janet to matter to someone not just because she's useful to them. michael values her because she's his friend, because he cares about her. not what she can provide him. maybe it started like that, but now, she has value outside of being useful. it shows janet that she is not replaceable, no matter what she may think. however, even with her developing psyche, she's still pragmatic to a fault. insisting that killing her is the choice that causes the most good.

in fact, now that i think about it, this is an interpretation of the trolley problem presented for michael. 'kill his closest friend to save the neighborhood, or not kill her and let the neighborhood be destroyed, and his experiment deemed a failure, risking retirement'

in the previous episode titled "the trolley problem" we see michael's fickle grasp of ethics as he plots on how to cause the most carnage. however now, when faced with the exact scenario in a way that applies to him, he is unable to do anything. he chooses to save janet's life, risking the entire experiment, his future, and the existence of everyone else. and is that selfish, sure. but it shows that michael has grown. that he prioritizes the people he cares about over all else. it shows that michael is loyal, a trait we have not seen him display so far in the show.

anyway, what was i on about again? oh right, the importance of michael and janet's relationship in the development of both of their characters. about how friendship, having people to lean on, being vulnerable, caring, having external support can help you build yourself into a better person. i think that good place is a show centered on the belief that everyone can change, that it is never too late to improve oneself. the good place shows that being "good" is a choice. that you have to choose it over and over and over again. and that even in this bleak world, it matters. all you can do is be kind and caring and good towards others, and i think this is the moment where michael chose it for the first time.

[dozyrogue]

Foolish ate hotdogs threw up in a cup spilt it on someone said they would come back with a napkin and never returned

Is it true??? I believe its true all of his stories r true either way

Edit: it was false but I don't fucking believe him

[kidfur]

things r getting bad and im making stupid mistakes but we stay silly goddammit

[gingerbreadmonsters]

6k in and my head is about to explode. STILL not allowed to say what i want :(

[tobuo]

makes me feel a little less sick thinking about money to find out nearly half of the UK has less than £1000 in savings and the average for my age group is only £3000 like. ok…..

[borbealis]

wow.fuck this jonah guy man. stopping chimneys heart like its some game??? thats a life we’re talking about

i can’t wait till he’s dead or behind bars

[mr-snailman]

last night I dreamed I was standing on the bleachers again listening to the soft sound of the waves from the other side of the trees

and I started running through the overgrown grass, across hot pavement and down damp sand, washed up red brick fragments digging into my feet until I felt the water cold on my toes

and I jumped and it hit me like a tidal wave, shocking the breath out of my lungs with the taste of salt, my city reaching up to catch me, and I was home

[critterofthenight]

today wasn't as shitty as i thought it would be, but i believe that i'll have something better soon

[probablygayattorneys]

Given that while I move into Layton, I am gripped by an almost paralyzing fear that the same thing that happened with Ace Attorney is going to happen again, that Professor Layton is going to end up doing something that I cannot forgive, I understand this on a deeply personal level.

[dwtdog]

ok i said this after the truth video i think. but after the dust settles from this it really feels like everything is on the table and i won’t be as stressed anymore- not because nothing bad will come out ever again bc well. men in powerful places. but idk. it’s always been like this

[phagethemage]

I've been away for some time.

Life has been rough I truly won't sugarcoat it. From overworking, lack of genuine rest, losing a close family member, and slowly feeling more alone in the world. It has taken its toll on me.

But I remember why I used to love coming on here so much. The friends are irreplaceable and I love them all dearly, but this place helped me feel like time wasn't shooting by. My days felt like the actual length of days.

So for those who care to read, I'll be here more frequently. And unlike I ever did before, I'll probably actually post about myself and my life as things carry onward.

P.s. thanks to all the spam accounts for giving me even more followers. Weird as hell, but spam accounts gonna do what they do.

[bluetraverser]

Remember this fact when you feel hopeless. Yes, things look bleak. But we are all still fighting and change is happening. As good things happen, bad people fight it as hard and vicious as they can. Because they feel the world change in a way they ultimately cannot stop. We will persevere.

“At the same time, families across the country face excruciating decisions to relocate to a different state to protect their children from dangerous and hateful anti-LGBTQI+ laws, which target transgender children, threaten families, and criminalize doctors and nurses. These bills and laws attack our most basic values and freedoms as Americans: the right to be yourself, the right to make your own medical decisions, and the right to raise your own children. Some things should never be put at risk: your life, your safety, and your dignity.”

That’s an excerpt from President Biden’s Proclamation on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex Pride Month, 2024.

In my lifetime, we’ve gone from the White House press secretary laughing uproariously at AIDS patients and making sneering accusations of members of the press corps only asking about AIDS because they were gay to POTUS supporting the rights of trans people, trans kids, in a proclamation of national recognition of Pride.

No, more plainly, we’ve come to this point in the last fifteen years.

The depth, breadth and speed of this progress is astounding, especially as it has coexisted with absolute regression and a constant state of attack of LGBTQIA rights from Republicans.

Do not take this for granted.

[straightlightyagami]

u ever see someone with extremely fucked up views (or actions) and think wowww if a couple of things in my life went the tiniest bit differently that would have been me

[runawaymarbles]

The midjourney stuff just reminds of when we were trying to find a new platform to host the ao3 donation form, and companies kept trying to tell me about all their "ai" features that would track donor engagement, and figure out the optimal pattern to email individual donors asking for follow up donations, and all the ways they suggest we manipulate people into staying on our websites. It was a great way to filter out who either wasn't listening to us when we described our ethics and donor base, or just didn't believe us.

Now granted ao3 is a unique case based on a) the amount of page views we get in any given time period and b) the fact that most donors absolutely do Not want to be identified as such anywhere, (the default "list of recent donors" module got nuked Immediately) but it surprised me some that the concept of "donors who value their privacy and would be furious at even the whiff of AI" is unique. Some of us really are just existing in different worlds.

[hunny-k]

This is the funniest way you could've put it