#i will wait until they're comprehensible to say something

[mellowdrawsthings]

:D

[exhuastedpigeon]

Sometimes I sit back and think about how almost all of the most insane and unhinged stuff about Buddie is stuff that, before getting into 9-1-1, I thought was fanon.

I started watching at the end of s6 and binged watched s1-s6 and I thought I was getting into another show where two guys stand near each other and the fandom ran with it and instead I got Buddie. I was sitting there watching being like.. wait this is all in the actual show? I thought it was all fan created stuff.

-> Eddie's introduction being set to "Whatta Man"? I thought that was a fan edit. -> Buck getting bashful after Eddie says "You can have my back any day" felt like something you'd see in fanon until you watch it ant realize it's canon. -> The entire Christmas elf scene -> Eddie holding Buck's hand while Buck is trapped under the ladder truck -> "There's no one in the world I trust with my son more than you" with Ed Sheeran playing over it??? CANON???? -> "Wanna go for the title" -> Buck digging at the earth like he could get to Eddie through 40 feet of mud is canon???? -> Eddie seeing flashes of Chris and Buck while he was buried under ground was canon and not an edit (this one blew my mind I'm not gonna lie to you). -> Chris ran to BUCK when he was mad Eddie was dating someone. -> The whole "construction on sunset" scene being that domestic blew my mind too. What do you mean that was actually in the show. -> The entire shooting scene? I genuinely can't believe we got that one shot of them just staring at each other in slow motion -> "Just say with me" -> THE WILL??? I truly thought that was fanon until I watched it with my own two eyes. -> Buck and Chris spending time together without Eddie (Eddie's line about Buck taking Chris to the zoo all the time in s5 I was like.. I've read this fic before) -> Buck canonically worrying about Eddie's health and mental health in s5? How is that canon and not fanon? -> Chris calling Buck during Eddie's breakdown truly blew my mind. That was in canon. When Chris was scared and worried about his dad he called Buck! -> THE LOVE HEART BUCK DREW?? THAT WAS CANON?!? -> The small moments we get of them (both together and with Chris) that just have a different vibe than when they're hanging out with other characters. Again I thought that was fanon and it turns out, nope it's just canon. -> Eddie running up the ladder without a safety line to get to Buck (screaming Buck's name) when Buck was struck by lightening. -> EDDIE CALLED BUCK COWBOY! THAT HAPPENED IN CANON TOO?! -> Eddie yelling "DO MORE" when the get Buck to the hospital after the lightening. -> Poker night? The same episode when all the canon couples were on dates Buck and Eddie actually got dressed up and Eddie took Buck to a secret poker game? IN CANON! That isn't fanon either??!? -> Buck's entire "Eddie, Eddie, Eddie, Eddie" moment in 704. He was about to be kissed by another man and he said Eddie's name, what? 7 times? -> Buck being SO nervous about telling Eddie about his date with Tommy. Like just freaking out for an entire episode. -> THE BACHELOR PARTY?!? Those two being in cahoots is another thing that I thought was fanon at first and then you get moments like that and you're reminded it's canon. -> Buck being who Eddie turns to when he needs parenting support because he sees Buck as a co-parent of some sort. I still can't believe that's canon. Like in the text of the show Eddie has turned to Buck for parenting support multiple times. -> Buck being there when Chris left with his hand on Eddie's shoulder. Again, so insane that it's canon.

Anyway, this list is in no way comprehensive since there's a lot of other stuff in canon that I thought was fanon, but my god the list is already so long I don't think I need to add more. I didn't even touch on the casual touches and the way they're almost always looking at or for each other when they're in scenes together.

[robogalaxies]

☎️ - The Unneeded But Happily Researched Crumbs Of Everything We Know About The Commissioner

“If anything happens… I’ll deny I ever knew you.”

The Commissioner is, as we all know, a mystery, and I hope it stays that way, but I put it upon myself to wrangle every little tidbit of information we have on him outside of giving cases! I do this solely because of three things:

I have nothing better to do

I find myself strangely endeared to his character (i.e. I do a gay little "favorite character" clap every time I hear him mentioned)

I want to share all my random knowledge with you all because I go digging for it in every S&M media there is

I'll be dividing this up into 4 sections for ease of access: comics lore, games lore (HtR, Telltale, TTIV), cartoon lore, and misc. lore. Some things MAY be assumptions based on other characters' reactions to what he MIGHT be saying or say about him, sure, but I will source all information on where to find it & provide images when they can be easily provided!~ If anything new comes up or I have forgotten something, I'll update. Until then... hope you love both hyperlinks and "at least I laughed at it" style commentary! ☎️

Comics Lore

The introduction of The Commissioner, as with everyone else! Small tidbits of his quite understated character outside of being The Phone are here, obviously, including:

the Commissioner's one and only speech bubble! (Bad Day on The Moon)

the beginnings of the implied "I love you" statements towards Sam & Max with an "XOXO" on a postcard (Bad Day on The Moon)

he shows SOME disdain towards Sam & Max's attitudes towards achieving their goals, being the one specifically to tell them to go on a road trip (On the Road #1, "Prisoners of The Casbah")

Games Lore

Hit the Road

The Commissioner is barely a character in this game (big surprise, right?) and you do not get much information on him minus the bare minimum of "he is Sam & Max's boss," so there's not much to be said here. In fact, I don't know why I mentioned it. Great game, though, go play it! Now! I'll wait until you get back :)

Save The World

Welcome back! There're only minor silly tidbits here, but they're needed for this comprehensive list. Everything is worth mentioning about a character with nothing to his name but "The Commissioner." I mean, you're reading this post, right?

wears bifocals! 👓 ("The Mole, The Mob, and The Meatball")

was once in contact with & worked with Harry Moleman, as he sent him to be the mole for the Toy Mafia. Crossover of the century... I wonder if he knows how far poor Harry has fallen ("The Mole, The Mob, and The Meatball")

Takes Sam & Max out for dinner sometimes, apparently, if they do well enough on their cases! Squirrel Garden sounds disgusting, but I'd be jazzed too if they also had the free breadsticks ("The Mole, The Mob, and The Meatball")

likely just a quick jab, so I don't really know why I'm putting it here other than humor, but Max apparently doesn't trust him! I hope that gets solved; Commissioner is sorta signing his meager paychecks ("Bright Side of The Moon")

Beyond Time and Space

The middle child of the Telltale trilogy, this game has barely anything in terms of tidbits given that he really only assigns the beginning cases in 1 out of 5 episodes, and even then, that doesn't give a single thing away. Despite this, there's gotta be one or two tidbits we should learn, right? Sure!

is aware of Sam's insistence on answering the phone & seemingly asks straight up why he didn't answer (What's Up, Beelzebub?)

Can confirm an "I love you" towards Max... d'aww! (What's Up, Beelzebub?)

The Devil's Playhouse

The Commissioner barely shows up or is referenced in this game, mainly due to the story existing outside of the common framing of "assigning cases," but we learn two small yet revealing tidbits:

British Columbian! 🇨🇦 (The City That Dares Not Sleep)

Has provided books on cultural and racial sensitivity for Sam & Max because they kept "reducing people to obvious stereotypes." (The City That Dares Not Sleep)

This Time, It's Virtual!

The phone exists yet again... but in your VR HEADSET! Some fairly funny Commissioner lore in this one even if you, like almost everyone I've seen in this fandom, dislike or even hate this game:

His family is in hiding, and I'm assuming Witness Protection?! Must come with the territory (phone call after completing first three Freelance Training segments in-game)

Can confirm an "I love you" of some sort said to Sam ... d'aww! (phone call after completing first three Freelance Training segments in-game)

Signs off even official, legal wanted posters with "The Commissioner," asking people to seek the help of Freelance Police & associates himself as PART of the Freelance Police!

signs your certificate at the end of the game, which mentions the Illuminati in conjunction with his name for some reason! What kind of policing are we running here....??

Cartoon Lore

Truly, the 90s cartoon is where most Commissioner lore lies if we take into consideration all of these happen within the same universe, which we likely shouldn't. This being said, the cartoon provides us with the only picture we have of the guy (see post photo above the cut). Alongside this, we also get a LOT more information than any other media:

before we even start the information in the ACTUAL cartoon, Sam & Max say within the show's initial Bible believe he's out to kill them, in some way, saying they're the "troubled, ungrateful sons he never had." That's so sweet ... in a way. As well, there's a very small section dedicated to the Commissioner as a character, though not much is said that we don't already know (Sam & Max Cartoon Series Bible)

has Geek's number, or at least a number to the Sub-Basment of Solitude, as he calls it more than once over the course of the series, which makes me wonder how well he may or may not know Geek! Like a grandniece or something (episodes 1, "The Thing That Wouldn't Stop It" & 3b, "They Came from Down There")

cried over the story of Sam & Max having to get rid of John, their beloved alligator son... must be a shared parental instinct (episode 6a, "That Darn Gator")

apparently sends sticker books in case briefings on a semi-regular basis, as Sam comments that he "loves when the Commissioner does that" as if it has happened before - how whimsical! (episode 6b, "We Drop at Dawn")

confirms the Commissioner as a legitimate police commissioner alongside being Sam & Max's boss (episode 6b, "We Drop at Dawn")

seemingly very fussy if not given his private bathroom and honor bar. Fancy stuff, Commissioner, & he apparently allows Sam and Max up there! Or not, they just sorta bust in. Whatever! Sharing is caring (episode 6b, "We Drop at Dawn")

the Commissioner has a DAUGHTER! and somehow, Sam & Max got invited to her WEDDING! I think she's beautiful and I hope she doesn't resent her special day getting ruined (episode 11a, "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang")

that iconic, signed, chest only photo given with the solemn, loving, promise of "If anything ever happens, I'll deny I ever knew you," followed by Max crying that it's "It's just... so him." - what a loving, tender and slightly bordering on oddly familial relationship he has with Sam and Max... stop, I'll start crying! (episode 13, "The Final Episode")

Misc. Lore

These are lore tidbits that are present in mediums either outside of the media itself, belong in a game that is not technically part of the larger S&M canon, or has to do with out of media context, but should be included anyway because why not!

gifts Sam & Max a new floaty pen from a different United State every Christmas ... but not really anything else! (Poker Night 2)

Sam & Max discuss the Commissioner's power in response to doubt about his existence, claiming "Don’t you know he’s everywhere? He knows we’re talking about him right now!" - which is sort of scary, but I'll let it slide because it implies that the Commissioner's surveillance is of a much higher caliber than we initially thought and that is BANGER (in-character interview for Telltale, found here on Steve Purcell's Sam & Max FB page)

He's affectionate yet surly & I'm sure all those "I love you" statements contribute to that! D'aww... (Skunkape Origin Video)

Voiced by a member of Bay Area Sound, Julian Kwasneski, in the Telltale trilogy! Talked about and even has a LINE recited in this specific developer commentary! We love a mysterious boss who sounds like an adult in Peanuts.

God bless the guy, he had a rash! Does this matter? No. Will it ever matter? Likely not, as it was from the sadly cancelled Sam & Max: Freelance Police trailer. Sighs. At this point, you can tell I'm just adding whatever mentions we get of the guy. Makes me giggle, though.

Conclusion...?

In the end, the Commissioner is a mystery, and always WILL be a mystery. Hell, I sort of never want to know as it will ruin every single thing I have worked so hard to archive, but it is fun to comb through the different canons! Of course, it is likely any of this can be tossed out or considered non-canon in the blink of an eye because Sam & Max always loves to give a middle finger to character details if they don't affect the main plot & likely a lot of these are mere gags. The Commissioner is phone, and always will be only phone. However, it's always in my best interest to try to find ANYTHING to push back the curtain even the tiniest inch, and I hope my efforts were worth it. Now, to sign off, just press that phone! You got it, you got it! ☎️

[ann-atar]

Another observation re Sauron and Celebrimbor in ep. 7. (Yes, more. Op is a teacher and is posting while grading today.)

While Celebrimbor slowly, painfully made his way back to the tower, what did Sauron do? He stayed there.

He was tearing the place apart, pacing and fuming, but he stayed put for some time, almost as if he was waiting for Celebrimbor.

As if the fact that Celebrimbor escaped, even for a short time, was momentarily beyond his comprehension.

Like, where is he, where are the nine, I left him right here!?!

He was panicked and enraged, but when Celebrimbor returns, there is still this sense that Sauron expects him.

And then instead of killing everyone immediately and dragging Celebrimbor out to take him to the nine he pauses, makes a show of killing the guards, continues their back-and-forth, says, "you will place them in my hands."

It's showy and theatrical, such a performance of intimidation, is what I'm saying.

Now, maybe there is something essential to the creation of the rings that requires Celebrimbor to surrender them in their finished form to Sauron willingly, because even though the rings incorporate Sauron's blood they are still Celebrimbor's creation and until he gives them away, he remains their master, at least while he's alive. (Which is cool if true and I approve!)

But I think there's something psychological at work too. For months and weeks Sauron and Celebrimbor have been cohabitating in that tower. It's their enclosure, their habitat, their little dysfunctional home. And by leaving (and then returning as expected), from Sauron's perspective Celebrimbor is still playing by most of the rules that govern their relationship.

They're even at the stage where the abuser starts scrambling to justify their choices and tries to win over their victim again ("this too shall pass"). Sauron feels solidly in control of Celebrimbor and now that he knows his identity, Sauron is basking in the heady feeling of being known.

So their codependence is still very much a thing and even though Celebrimbor won this round the game is still very much on, and Sauron expects him to come back, to continue the battle of wills until the next round is settled, and the one after that, and the one after that.

Sauron expects to win, to have Celebrimbor place the finished rings in his hands, because the nine belong to him and so does Celebrimbor.

What Sauron doesn't quite get is that Celebrimbor understands all of this because he can see the pattern now. He went back to that tower not because, as Sauron might have thought, he was compelled by the guards or by fear or by his own complicity, but because he understands the clockwork horror of Sauron's mind.

Despite his show of emotion about their time together ending, Sauron still expects to be in control because he's fighting with might, but now that the veil has been lifted Celebrimbor is fighting with light.

We know that Celebrimbor doesn't have long to live, but if I had to make a prediction about how, exactly, he meets his end it would be this: after drawing out their game by provoking Sauron and slowly "breaking" under torture, he finds a way to end his own life. (Yeah.)

At which point Sauron's rage will be enormous, and destructive, and his version of grief might cause him to display Celebrimbor's body in the way we're all dreading.

Sauron is super powerful and like Celebrimbor told Galadriel there might be no one in Middle-earth who could resist him, but Sauron is not all-powerful. There are flaws in his design, weak points in his facade and Celebrimbor can see them now, he knows where to apply pressure so that cracks form, little by little. He might not deliver the killing blow but I believe he will weaken the form of Sauron's mind, so Sauron will not be in the right headspace to kill Galadriel during their inevitable confrontation.

[palskippah]

🌟How does Toadsworth react to Mario's pregnancy?🌟

I'm thinking that Toadsworth goes through a wide arrange of emotions when he's told, because:

His baby girl is going to become a mother (father's happiness, he's going to be a grandfather!)

His baby isn't a baby any longer [father anguish, she grew up too fast! (never mind that she's thirty-one now)]

His baby isn't married to the man she's going to have a baby with (father's wrath? Maybe he's old-fashioned like that and thinks that they should do the whole thing correctly!)

Overall, he's very happy, and congratulates both Mario and Peach eagerly, and goes on and on about how the experience of parenthood can be wonderful and has a lot of many great moments. How he remembers when Peach was a baby and how happy it makes him to see her grow and become the woman she is now- until he stops and realizes that Mario and Peach are going to have a baby.

And goes: "Wait, a baby? And you're not even married!"

Mario and Peach look at each other briefly, while Toadsworth frets about it and says that they must get married as soon as possible, before the baby is born. But Mario and Peach actually planned to get pregnant, and say so to Toadsworth, and they have no intention on marrying sooner because of that.

So, he's like, "But princess! The baby will not be a princess or prince if you don't marry by the time they're born!"

"They'll be royalty either way if we marry later," says Peach smiling, trying to take the seriousness out of the matter. Because she really, really doesn't want to get married yet*. "If we marry now, I'm certain I will not enjoy it, Toadsworth, and that's the least I want for the day I marry the man I love."

Mario's like respectfully listening and all, and goes 🥰 for a second at her words, and then serious again.

Toadsworth's like :c but still accepts that she wants to take her time on that matter. He sighs resignedly and shakes his head while Peach is clearly waiting for his answer on it, unsubtly worried (something silly like her with them big ol' eyes looking directly at him).

Finally, he says, "You're very set on your ideas, princess... But I think that's on me, I raised you like this." His words have a nice tone to it because he's smiling and looking at Peach fondly. She sighs relieved, and smiles brightly too, and leans down to hug her father again. She's glad he's comprehensive about it.

Eventually, Toadsworth gets over the fact that Mario and Peach are merely boyfriend and girlfriend and have no intention on marrying soon. Although, it does take him a very long time to come to terms with the fact that his baby is going to have her own babies, when just yesterday it seemed that she was too small for her crown.

Almost through all of Mario's pregnancy Toadsworth has these moments where he's nostalgic and remembering when Peach was younger. He's very happy for them, and hopes the babies have a likeness to Peach (they'll be the cutest babies if that were the case!)

Also, Toadsworth has a respectful relationship with Mario, because he's the man that always looks out for his daughter and also he's earned Toadsworth's respect through all his actions. Mario also has him in high regard due to the fact that he's Peach's father figure, and he's never given him a reason not to.

But Toadsworth still very, but very rarely asks to feel the babies, and Mario doesn't mind one bit about it (especially because he asks very nicely and Mario never feels like he can't say no), but the old toad is still a bit hesitant about it. He mostly does it when the babies are very big already and can easily be felt if you place a hand on Mario's belly.

Toadsworth mostly has conversations with Peach about the babies, when Peach asks for stories or advice on parenting. He gladly goes on long monologues (like the old man he is-) about his experiences while raising her, while Peach listens attentively.

And when the babies are born, he's best grandpa and gladly takes care of the girls whenever he can.

Nettarina and Mariella may look like two mini Marios, but they remind him very much of when Peach was a baby. He takes them on walks in Peach's stroller, talks to them about his day, and also reads them stories. Sometimes he gets emotional about how similar yet different it is from back then :'v

*Peach doesn't want to get married to Mario yet, and it has to do with Bowser's kidnappings. Maybe I'll do a post where it's more explained :y and also where it shows when they do get married, years later when the girls are older.

[transgenderteensurvivalguide]

I turn 18 next year and I’m not sure where I can get testosterone, I’ve looked at planned parenthood’s website but the only one in my state doesn’t offer hrt services 😭 do you have any advice on how to access hrt?

Lee says:

Happy (Very very) early birthday! If you're still a year away from being 18 you have plenty of time to figure this out.

You should start by talking to your primary care physician and ask if they are knowledgeable about gender-affirming care and are willing to prescribe you HRT themselves. If they are not experienced with HRT for gender-affirming reasons, ask them to look into it and refer you to a healthcare provider who is.

While you're waiting for your appointment (often it can be at least a month away even if you schedule the first available date) use that time wisely and go out into the world (And internet) and talk to people! There must be at least ONE other trans person in your state who is on hormones, right? You just have to find ONE other trans person in your state who is on hormones (and trust me-- there's more than just one trans person on hormones in your state! But all you need is one person), then find out where they're getting their prescription from!

Online platforms can be a great resource for shared experiences and advice so I'd just start by googling "transgender [insert hormone name] in [insert state]" until you find the right key terms. You might also be able to find something on Reddit or through Facebook groups.

Additionally, going to trans support groups and meeting people there and asking your trans friends to ask their friends, etc can all be a good way to find a provider through word-of-mouth.

Another thing you can try is contacting LGBTQ+ centers or organizations in your state and seeing if they have any recommendations. Even if Planned Parenthood's local branch doesn't offer HRT services, they may have a lists of trans-friendly healthcare providers or clinics that do, so it could still be worth reaching out to them.

If you're planning on attending college or university, check if the campus health center provides HRT or can refer you to local resources that do. Some college health centers offer comprehensive services for transgender students, but unfortunately most do not.

Many healthcare providers now offer telehealth services for transgender patients looking to start or continue HRT. These services can be particularly helpful if you live in an area with limited access to transgender healthcare. Providers like Folx Health, Plume, and QueerDoc offer gender-affirming care to patients in many states, all through telehealth platforms.

There's more info on starting hormones in this post, and you should take a look at that too.

Finally, I'm guessing that you don't have much experience with adulting which is fine because everyone starts somewhere! I was in the same position as you once. I also started to look into starting T when I was 17 and got everything ready (appointments scheduled for after my birthday, letter of support since it wasn't fully informed consent, lab work done the month before I was 18, etc), but didn't actually start hormones until I was 18.

Everyone has a different path through life, but this may be your first time scheduling doctor's appointments for yourself, signing up for a patient portal, getting your own health insurance (unless your parents support you being on HRT and wouldn't boot your off of their coverage), paying for appointment and prescription and lab work copays, etc.

Since you have a year until you're actually 18, it would be a good idea to start getting prepped for your first dive into the healthcare system as a legal-adult-even-if-it-doesn't-always-feel-that-way and google the basics of having and using health insurance. There's a lot of words you're going to need to learn one day (what's a deductible vs an out of pocket maximum vs an allowed amount etc) and this is as good of a time as any to start learning some of those basics (The advanced level is learning how to appeal denied claims, etc).

You got this anon! You're clearly on the right track by starting to investigate the process of starting HRT in advance, and remember that starting HRT as an adult also comes with adult responsibilities like figuring out how to pay for it! When you're thinking through the logistics of finding an in-network prescriber, don't forget to budget for those things too.

Followers, any tips for anon?

[twopoppies]

The usual stalkers on your blog are happy that you just criticized Louis and his sisters. They’re happy that you dislike him.

That's nice. Not surprised. None of them have any reading comprehension. I didn't criticize Louis. But, as ALWAYS, when I don't fawn all over him, they decide I hate him. Honestly, if they had any real faith in him and his career they would completely ignore my thoughts. But they hang around here like losers, waiting for me to say something they can pounce on. I literally said he was extremely successful, especially considering what he's up against. They're all smoking crack, I swear.

His sisters are, as usual, annoying. So...I ignore them until someone tells me about them, and then, usually, they're doing something that I find irritating, so I criticize them. What? I should love them and everything they do simply because they're Louis' sisters? 🙄 I don't like his sisters equals I don't like him? Why are these people all so fucking brainless?

[arizonaconservativegal]

So what's going on with Project 2025? There are a lot of people freaking out about it but I cannot find a comprehensive list of stuff the Republicans are saying they'll pass through the HoR and Senate.

The short answer is that Project 2025 is nothing. It's not happening and no one legit is taking it seriously. Classic lefty boogeyman and red meat for the base but ultimately nothing. Long answer...

It's something the Heritage Foundation cooked up as a transition plan and policy agenda they want the next Republican administration to use. It is not an official plan. If it were, they wouldn't have released it. It's extremely bad form to start talking about the transition before the votes are counted - it looks arrogant and voters don't like it. The Trump team is almost certainly talking amongst themselves about the transition at this point - it's way too big a job to wait until the official transition period so that's very standard - but no one's going to see that until November.

Project 2025 is a pipe dream, at best. Heritage put it out so they'd have something flashy to show off to their donors and they're hoping to get the base to bully Trump into adopting a few of their ideas. It is exactly the opposite of a secret plan - they want people talking about it as much as possible because that's the only chance they have of getting what they want from it.

Heritage wrote it so it's full of every wishlist item Heritage has ever conceived of and some of them are straight up batty. Again, this is from the Heritage Foundation, not the Trump team or the GOP. Heritage has its own agenda and though there is some overlap there with what the party wants, there's also plenty in it that no one outside of Heritage wants. Trump is not going to do those things. The Republican Party is not going do those things. No one is going to do those things. It's not a real plan so Heritage can put whatever they want in it and they did. If a couple of their ideas do start to get some traction, they'll pull those out specifically and create a small, simple, focused plan for those ideas on their own. That's how serious policy is presented. Until you see them do that, it's not worth getting worked up over this because it's just the political equivalent of a kid asking for a pony for Christmas.

If you enjoy suffering, you can read all 920 pages of the dopey thing here. If you only want to suffer a little, I will give them credit for putting together a fairly decent table of contents that you can use to skim through and jump to the bits you might actually care about.

Again, I cannot stress enough that none of this is official. It's there if Trump wants it but I think we all know Trump marches to the beat of his drum, for better or for worse.

[cosmicjoke]

The amount of people that I see give Eren a pass and say he was right actually makes my head hurt. They say “well he said sorry” or “he’s hot so he gets a pass” and some even call him selfless. I also find that a lot of these people think he only attacked Marley when it was actually the whole world and so they say it was warranted because the fucked around and found out. Anyways it’s a very large amount of people and I see it so often that it makes me wonder what is wrong with this fandom and wether people actually have any sense of humanity.

Yeah, that really is an unfortunate aspect of this fandom, that there's so many people who seem to hold Eren up as some kind of hero, when he's literally the opposite. He's the villain and he was always the villain. They don't get it. Of course there's plenty about Eren that's quite tragic, but his actions are completely inexcusable and not remotely understandable. He didn't enact the Rumbling to save Paradis or his friends, he did it because he wanted to, because he wanted to experience his idea of personal freedom, and he did it at the expense of everyone. He's the definition of selfish. I don't understand how so many people miss this again and again. He didn't attack Marley because they were a threat, he attacked Marley because it was the only way to enact his plan of destroying the whole human population beyond the walls, again, not because he thought it would secure the freedom of Paradis, but because he wanted to see the world as it had appeared to him in Armin's book. Eren explicitly states this more than once, and yet people still don't get it. It drives me insane.

And he and Zeke literally engineered the entire world to become Paradis' enemy. He didn't just attack Marley. He and Zeke planned it so that every ambassador of every nation would be there in Liberio, knowing that Eren's attack would unit them all against Paradis. Zeke convinced the higher-ups of the Marleyan government to declare war on Paradis in front of a crowd of the other nations ambassadors, fully aware that Eren was lying in wait beneath the stage to transform and crush all of them to death. I don't understand how people continually miss this detail. They aren't paying attention or something, or maybe they're just dumber than rocks. Eren and Zeke are 100% responsible for Paradis being placed in imminent danger of a world invasion. Without their interference, Paradis would have had several years more to come up with an actual solution to their predicament, since neither Marley nor any other nation had any plans or designs at that point of attacking the island. Not until Eren and Zeke made sure they would.

Anyone who excuses Eren's actions or tries to claim he was justified or that his actions were understandable missed the entire message of the story and seriously need to go back and work on their reading comprehension skills, because it just went right over their heads. (And I swear to Christ on a crutch, if anyone comes at me in my inbox now whining to me about how mean I am to people who disagree with me, I'm going to go tell you to go jump off a cliff).

[kimkhimhant]

Directors cut: if I can't hold you like a lover. No specific questions i can think of, but all the commentary?!?!

ooh okay !! thank you for the ask!!

so like, if i can't hold you as a lover started as just an exploration of autistic kim – a little bit of projection, as usual. But i'd just done a rewatch and found kim's body language and general presentation in different situations really interesting. like, he acts like a completely different person at the open house as wik vs in the studio with chay vs with korn or the people he's investigating, and he seems much more sure of himself & the dialogue he's exchanging with people when he's in Wik mode and Khimhant mode, compared to when he's alone with Chay. (i made a post last year about autistic kimchay – chay doesn't understand social cues intuitively, and he doesn't try to mask. kim doesn't understand them intuitively, and he resorts to following scripts based on who he's dealing with & then flounders a little when he can't find a script to follow, which happens repeatedly with chay when he does Chay things).

but anyway. the pining while fucking trope is delightful, and i think it works really well for kimchay. It especially works well for them when they're both struggling to really communicate effectively with each other. kimchay fandom in general focuses a lot on kim learning to communicate, but i wanted a story where they're both fucking up with communication a little, and they both have to see each other for who they really are and meet each other there in order to fix things.

chay is bold and assertive in this fic, but he thinks he's being more straightforward than he is, so he assumes kim understands what he wants and is like. intentionally disregarding that. but between kim's autism and his very deeply rooted trauma and self-worth issues, kim is misreading pretty much everything chay does and assuming the absolute worst.

they both spend the whole fic thinking that they love the other more, and waiting for the other to make a move and say what they want, or in kim's case, simply just accepting that maybe all chay wants from him is sex and being willing to settle for that because at least he'll have chay in some way, but they don't realize that until it finally comes to a head and they really take the time to understand each other and talk things through.

this is already really long, but a few final notes:

all of the 'tism characteristics are pulled from my own experiences

porsche saw himself in kim, a little, and chay's conversation with porsche at the compound was the push that chay needed to stop and talk things through with kim

kim is written as not knowing he's autistic – he knows there is something different about him, and that things that seem easy or okay for other people are difficult and distressing for him. chay figures it out before kim does. (i hc that the diagnosis was withheld intentionally when he was a kid – a diagnosis would give him more autonomy and confidence, and it would also be Dangerous and "shameful." i haven't quite decided if his mom knew he was autistic and hid it from korn, or if korn knew too)

i have more wips for the series still sitting in my drafts but they are very slow going....

thank you for the ask <3 i hope this was at least a somewhat comprehensive answer, but if anyone has any specific things they'd like clarification on, lmk!

[thehubby]

So I heard that you've recently watched Digimon The Movie and I would like to know your thoughts about it.

Since I was a guest along for this incredible ride, I felt it appropriate to wait until Doc said something about the Digimon Movie. She has, and now I can.

One of the all-time great Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes is Riding With Death, which is a 1970s movie formed from piecing together two unrelated episodes of a failed television series called Gemini Man. The movie involves a law school graduate played by Ben Murphy who was ostensibly a cross between, I dunno, James Bond and Steve McQueen? But not good or cool in any way, don't be fooled. In this case the whole was definitely far less than the sum of its parts. The plot of each individual episode bordered on insipid, and when added together became incomprehensible and insulting. The characters were one-dimensional, the dialogue was tedious, and extra pains had to be made to explain things that as an audience member you should have known but could not possibly unless you had significant experience in the original material.

Watching Digimon the Movie is like watching Riding With Death, except without the benefit of the MST3K mockery. It is at least two, possibly more, completely different animated features squeezed into one baffling mishmash. It has characters whose actions range from the boring to bizarre with backstories (such as throwing up into your love interest's hat and then forgetting to tell them that fact before they put it on their head) that are more interesting than what's going on in front of you.

The plot of the first half apparently involves some sort of evil digimon attempting to take over and destroy the internet. Fine, let him, we can make another one, this really didn't seem like an Earth-shaking deal, especially in 2000, three years before the launch of MySpace, and when Amazon was still known as "The World's Largest Bookstore." The second half is a road trip with several characters going to Colorado because they're worried or something about one of the digimon who seems to have malfunctioned. (Digimon are organic, but they seem to come from cyberspace, so I'm going to say malfunctioning if I want to.) Neither of these stories is all that compelling and there were points where I was potentially more confused than with any other anime ever, and I've watched Serial Experiments Lain, End of Evangelion and the original Ghost in the Shell stuff.

All of this is compounded by two problems: first, and immediately noticeable, is that the dub of this movie, which is what we watched, hails from the dark ages before anime had fully transitioned into being a serious business. The writing, combined with spastic delivery of lines that may have in fact been too literal to the original translations, is grating to listen to and sounds like something designed for children who cannot spend two seconds digesting a thought before you have to throw another at them. Remember that South Park episode about Chinpokomon where there was this stereotypical way of fast-speak that the children adopted? It felt like two hours of that. In my time, I've watched iffy dubs like Project A-Ko and horrific ones like Cyber City Oedo. This brought me back to a place I thought we had left behind us. (Turns out we mostly have, because this movie is old enough to have a master's degree from a university.)

Second is the weird-ass nature of the digimon themselves, which feels so incredibly arbitrary that the logic feels made up as they go along. They're living creatures in our world...but they also live in computers? They have at least human intellect and can speak and pretty much evolve on command but for reasons unexplained in the movie, they frequently choose to de-evolve to weaker forms? They attach themselves to these chosen one children (with the awkward title of "digi-destined") for reasons beyond our comprehension. And the world doesn't seem to care about this. The opening of the movie features essentially a t-rex fighting a giant parrot in Tokyo and the crowd is just, "meh." I am not a child and I require just a little more rationality out of my media.

For those that enjoy the Digimon movie and series, awesome, more power to you. I am not part of its target audience. I have my fair share of guilty pleasures that could be charitably described as garbage. This isn't going to be one of them. All that said, I had a great time watching this in a group setting with support and encouragement, and sangria.

[kylieneko]

Mod Malware Situation Update

Edit 2023-06-09: The researchers have updated their guidance to all-clear on unmodded versions of Minecraft Java, and work continues with both CurseForge and Modrinth to improve safeguards against new variants or copycat attacks. They are still advising staying away from mods a bit longer while this work continues.

As an additional note, I want to clarify something I don't think was clear in my original post: this was not a failure on CurseForge. What went down here has happened to other platforms. It's just the first time such a malicious package attack has been observed in the Minecraft modding scene. It may not be the last.

Original Post Follows:

As you may have seen yesterday, the modded Minecraft community is experiencing a malware incident.

The quick "do I need to worry" is if and only if all the following are true:

you are using Minecraft Java Edition

. . . and are using any mods or modpacks

. . . and those mods were downloaded/updated in the last 2-3 weeks or possibly as far back as March (timeline still unclear as of my post)

If any of the above were not true for you, then you should be clear. Investigators are advising maximum caution even of vanilla Minecraft, more on that at the end of this post.

If all of the above were true, don't panic. You just need to take a few extra steps to be sure.

A document for non-technical users explaining the situation in more detail and steps to take has been developed on github.

If you used any of the scripts from yesterday to verify your stuff, you may still want to try the new tools which will peak inside the mod files for that extra sure feeling.

The document provides links for checking yourself out, and what to do if the worst case happens.

CurseForge has an update on their twitter:

Modrinth is also in the process of verifying their site as well:

Okay, so, why is the document recommending not even running even vanilla Minecraft Java

There are a lot of brilliant people working on this incident, and they're all smart enough to not give an all-clear until all the facts are known.

Everyone wants fast results. Accuracy takes time.

The way this malware worked was to infect all Java jar files it finds on the system.

Including Minecraft itself.

Including things that have nothing to do with Minecraft.

This spreading to infect other jar files appears to be how it spread to infect legitimate mod files:

The malicious mods have upload dates multiple weeks in the past. Most of them were uploaded by single-use accounts with clearly autogenerated names, and were likely the seed of the infection. Luna Pixel Studios was compromised due to a dev testing one of these mods, as it was an interesting new upload.

At the end of the day, it's all about risk. They can't give a clean bill of health just yet, so they won't. If it turns out that something bigger and nastier was happening, they'd be on the line for that.

This is also why every list of mods published by the investigators comes with the "not comprehensive" disclaimer -- it's what we know. What we don't know can still hurt us.

So, running vanilla launcher for vanilla Minecraft Java is considered a risk. It may be low-risk.

Is it a risk I'm willing to take? Maybe next week, when I know more. (I often wait a week after an update, which coincidentally happened yesterday, so this just happens to align with how I do things normally)

If it's a risk you take, just be safe, stay vigilant, and keep an eye on the main repository of information for more news because I am not a reliable reporter.

[wooltoesocks]

things i want to get answers to in the remaining episodes of four leaf: a very comprehensive list that must be missing some things i just cant remember at the moment (also soilers for up until ep 139):

just in general evrything about the bells, and more especiall like how is lina giving lupe her bells (because that is 100% gonna happen i think) gonna affect them, for example if they'll get lina's bell as like their own, and if that bell being kinda broken is gonna be any problem

will that be a permanent change, is lupe gonna give the bell back to lina after they deal with the wolf

what's gonna happen to cricket if they really do deal with the wolf? or how will tehy come to some wsolution that doesnt harm anyone

CARLA!!! is she gonna be okay? that wound looks very nasty. i hope they'll be able to cure it somehow, and if not, then chopchop there goes a leg :/

talking about carla, is she gonna give er bells to someone like she mentioned in 138? that is only in case she wont be able to continue, but it loks very bad rn, so my question is, is it gonnna be mercy? or in general, who is it gonna be?

also about the bells, i really wanna know how many bells each witch has!! it''s just something i think would be interesting to analyse. (i looked through all the episodes where a witch has their bells out buut i still now only know for certain the number of bels like 7 witches have (before 137 and emma giving up her bells): Erica 1, Emma 2, Socks 2 (most likely, unless she got mor after the prison break, that's when she at least shows only 2), Alishba 3, Linda 3 (both of whose bells were shown during the prison break), Carla 20, Lina 21.

also also (i use that word so much), the names of the witches! we now know there are 17 witches in the red hoods (+lupe +lina so maybe 19 but oh well) and of those 17 we know the names of 12 (episode 133)

what i wanna know too is like which bell belongs to which witch? we've seen some, for example in the flashback of when they first appeared, and also in the festival of roses we see some, but like i wnna knowww (ye sit's very trivial but that's what makes it fun i think)

the mom. what happened with her in the 8 months that have passed since lupe was last in their original world? did she just continue on like normal, or did she actually regret some of the things she's done? will lupe go see her again?

the inevitable. the thing i've been waiting for for like 2 years. the KISS! alvar mentioned the witch loking very mad and the also saying he's the kinda guy to ask twice before a first kiss and what i think will happen is that he is gonna ask. like he's just the kinda guy. but the thing lupe (most likely) will be "mad" about is just that al didnt tell about it (even tho he was gonna tell you lupe, you just didnt want him to). or they arent mad, but just like very confused/fristrated and Al just interpreted it wrong? i dont know. we'll see (hopefully tomorrow in 140 but at the evry least in 141?? like i dont think it will take so long that it would be 142? (i am delusional). also looking at the future chapter thumbnails (not a fast pass reader), it looks like someone is using some kind of reddish/pinkish magic / teleporting right next to him)

okay this isnt a theory or anything, i just know lupe's dad is gonna be so smug learning about lupe and al's relationship when they do get into one like judging from ep 116 and the "crush" i jut know

okay wow this is a long post but i need to get these out of my head and scream into the void and wait if it screams back

back to the bells, they'r gonna give everyone their own one back right? if they deal wit hthe wolf, there shouldnt be any need to hoard all the power, and i dont think it would be very fair to let 72 people just go on about life without really even knowing what's going no just because you wanna levitate. i know it's probably more complicated than that but yeah

also (fuck, this word again) what's gonna happen to the witchs' craving of gloom? is it gonna go away if there is no wolf (okay this is assuming that it's dealt with and they wont come to a peaceful comclusion but if that happens i just really hope cricket will be okay)

are other witches gonna wanna get rid of their bells and become human like emma?

i would like some more information about the different worlds, although i think it's unlikely tha will come up in the chapters themselves, but maybe as some bonus content somewhere?

okay so i already wrote about like if Lina's bell being broken is gonna have any effect on lupe, but will it affect Lina herself? i would assume not, but you never know

just in general, i cant wait to see how everything comes to a conclusion and how the ending is gonna be (even tho i would love for it to go on for longer). are we gonnna see another time skip?

man i just remembered there are alaso civilians in Garua at the moment too like the redhoods are gonna get the to safety right? maybe that will also help a little with the public's fear of the witches, the news that hey maybe they're not bad through and through (even tho that was never the case but most people still thought that so)

fuck this is long how many words even is this... 1005???? man that's like 2/3 of the essays we had to write in high school. yea it's easier to just put stuff from your mind into bullet points but this has taken me like maybe 45 minutes where as those essays took at least 5 hours. i bet i could make one from one of my interests in like 2 hours and i would be much better than any of those monstrocities i wrote

anyway back on track

actually those are the main ones i remember now, maybe i'll update this once more come to mind, but for now this is enough for today

pictured above is me falling for this series

wait one more thing: is it stated anywhere how much the bells weigh? i would assume they're more like incorporeal so they wouldn't hve any mass, and i fell like should know this i've read this series 5 or 6 times. but if they do infact hve mass, do the witches have to actively levitate them or are they jsut funky like that

[lacrimosathedark]

I really wish people applied Hanlon's Razor and Grey's Law to their daily lives.

In case you don't know, here is what those mean.

Hanlon's Razor: Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity/incompetence.

Grey's Law: Any sufficiently advanced incompetence is indistinguishable from malice.

They sound in direct opposition, but I feel like people don't consciously think about either of these and apply them almost at random and it sucks. I know the lack of people thinking like this has effected me personally, and those around me.

Starting with Hanlon I suppose.

One of the few things I'm confident is is that I'm intelligent. That said, I'm wholly aware I have specialties and there's so much that I don't know, and my memory sucks so I often forget things too. I also am the furthest from malicious someone can really be without being a complete doormat (and I'm still a bit of a doormat, I'm working on it). Upsetting people is genuinely distressing on so many levels, and because of this I feel compelled to explain myself for literally everything, or say nothing at all. So I'm long rants and silence.

Sometimes I'll assert something and someone will disagree with me, be it because they got offended for some reason or because they have information I don't. I assume one or both of us is lacking information, so I share what I have and ask for theirs. You may have noticed this if you see me responding to posts asking for sources.

I hate being wrong. I know in a lot of people that manifests in becoming stubborn and defensive, but I actively try not to do that. I want to be correct, so I want to learn more. I want to know what I was missing. If I'm wrong, I want to know so I don't make the same mistakes again. If I'm not wrong but was missing information, it can give me a clearer understanding of the topic as a whole and people who think and feel differently than me which is fantastic because I love learning how people and things work when I don't understand the logic. And I love to share information to. And I might go overboard.

But people assume I'm trying to argue, and not that I genuinely want to understand their perspective.

And I'm not saying part of that's on me for not communicating well enough. But no matter how hard I try, someone always seems to assume I'm out to hurt people when the thought of vaguely upsetting someone often paralyzes me. I've been scolded for not asking for help because I feel like an inconvenience. (TW) The only reason I'm even alive is because I know at least one person would grieve, and hurting someone like that is so much worse than suffering through existence. (TW end) I'm not someone who would ever go out of my way to cause harm unprovoked.

And I know I'm not the only one to experience this. Neurodivergent people often have trouble communicating. Children still have a lot they don't know. Some people grew up incredibly sheltered. That's not even to mention people getting into a niche or study and being brand new, just learning. Everyone starts somewhere and no one begins as an expert in anything. And the world is big and there's so much to know in so little time.

Why do we assume people are playing dumb or ignorant on less consequential things just to be a jerk?

Assuming people are malicious because they're ignorant or even stupid hurts people who mean no harm. And it sucks.

Onto Grey.

I'll make this example a little less personal.

The American education system sucks, and most people never get comprehensive sex ed. Many states have laws limiting the education to "abstinence only". This results in many people not knowing how the reproductive system works.

This, therefore, results in our government full of old cishet white men to not know what the fuck they're talking about while trying to limit "women's" healthcare. People have died because of their idiocy. Doctors are scared to abort babies that won't survive birth, and make the mother wait until they are literally dying to help them. People have given stillbirths at home because doctors refused to help for fear of legal recourse. A woman was fucking arrested because she had a stillbirth at home because they refused to abort the dying fetus.

That incompetence and stupidity and the stubborn refusal to be educated costs actual lives.

Both Hanlon and Grey work for transphobia too.

Like, you should always initially apply Hanlon's Razor if you get misgendered. Maybe the person didn't know. Maybe it's new to them and they're still learning. Maybe they just need to unlearn the habit of how they've thought of you. It's a process and people make mistakes. It may hurt, but it's not automatically malicious.

However, where Grey's Law comes in is there can be people who say they love you, genuinely think they mean it, try to give you the world, but refuse to respect you as you are. They don't put effort into changing for you. And it's not malicious, clearly. They don't hate you, probably want what's best for you and think they know what that is. But with the amount of harm that attitude causes, can it be distinguishable from malice? I don't really think so.

I just wish people thought about that more. Me included.

[f1-birb]

watching people count out mclaren based off piastri's tyre degradation during his race sim and just. i know media was trying to push the narrative that lando needed to be worried and oscar was right there with him in pace and was nearly flawless last year, but this was a major weakness of his that hardly anyone actually wanted to acknowledge. until we see lando do a comprehensive long run and struggle to this extent, i'm not believing that the mclaren is just utterly hopeless.

thing is though, Oscar's two main 'weaknesses' last year in comparison to Lando were his race pace and his tyre management

Lando's actually so good with his tyres, often even where the mcl just naturally suffers from high tyre deg, that it made it even more apparent at particular circuits, and we saw multiple times Lando was lapping faster, and also at times lapping faster and still preserving the tyres which is completely normal! last year was Lando's 5th season and Oscar's first, tyre management especially is something drivers learn with time and experience so I'm sure with how talented he is Oscar will be better at managing them this year

I would bring up Qatar but I like being alive

and as you also pointed out, Lando's not done any real, comprehensive long runs to be able to properly compare the two of them, or for us to really truly be able to get a measure of the car across a typical tyre life-race distance

Bahrain is also known for being a circuit that's very rough/coarse and causes high deg, it's why they've all been saying we'll likely be seeing C1/C2 and only really C3 in quali

and you're not silly/delusional/daft/hopeful at all, testing is a measure but it's not a true representation - there's a reason the phrase "sandbagging" exists. I don't think any team has EVER fully shown what the car is capable of during testing because why would you ruin any upper hand you might have? similarly with free practices, you don't know what set ups, programs, fuel loads, run plans people are using, testing is for teams to gather whatever they want to gather

even during the race, you can't get the true measure of a car from one circuit because they're all different, either surface or corner style or straight length, etc. You can get an idea of where the car might suit, but not until we're a few races in and as always in this sport: shit happens

so even if it's a circuit that may not suit, crashes, collisions, punctures, electrical/technical faults, etc can all come out of nowhere and change the odds

I'm just glad despite the blips, testing seems to be going a lot better than last year and that we hopefully won't have to wait for a b-spec car to save our season 😭

[vampyr-game]

by the way i loooove usher talltree 🥰✨

DONTNOD made him the hint-dispenser with a silly off-brand tarot deck and yes i take that personally. i love a good application of tarot and this one is weak. BUT then again, the Rider-Waite tarot deck wasn't released until 1909 so I GUESS it's possible that usher's is from an older, non-standardized deck. tarot used to be done with just playing cards, after all. so perhaps he received his specific deck as a gift, or he acquired it as a novelty during his travels?

occultism grew popular among the bored upper class during the Victorian era; palm readings and seances and tarot readings in the parlor were common, and since the Brotherhood feels so well-established and socially exclusive in this way, it's possible Usher picked tarot up from his peers? maybe people asked HIM often enough that he was like "ok lol if u want ur silly cards so much here they are!"

there's ALSO a possibility it's an expression of his own beliefs. because without going into too much detail, some Sikhs do keep daily practices which resemble bibliomancy (flipping to a random page of a book as a form of divination); imagine a Christian flipping to a random page of the bible in search of daily guidance, or a solution to a problem they're facing. it's kind of like that, but a bit more formalized within the practice of Sikhism. from what I've read, a tarot deck would not be an inappropriate substitute for this practice. it would also be more portable, and more comprehensible to an outsider more familiar with tarot than Sikhism (such as Jonathan, who looks an awful lot like a bored Victorian upperclassman lol).

Usher's character model sports all the visual hallmarks of a practicing Sikh man: his skin tone and features seem to point toward Punjabi descent, and he wears a bracelet on his right hand, a brightly-colored turban on his head, and a dagger on his belt. yet his name is Usher Talltree, when Sikh men who come of age mostly take the surname 'Singh'. so is this only the Anglicized name he offers to Englishmen who he doesn't trust to pronounce his 'real' name? is this his one and only name? or does he simply have several (I personally go by several different names depending on who I'm speaking to, so I don't find this especially unusual)?

and also like, WHAT does this name mean? 'Talltree' feels fairly obvious; does this mean he sees himself as, hah, a pillar of the community? a source of stability and support for scholars of vampirism? and/or vampires themselves? looking at his letters, he DOES seem to view the Brotherhood's primary role and responsibility to be the custodianship of vampires who can't control their bloodlust.

also, The Fall of the House of Usher was published in America in 1839, so I mean. maybe he read that and chose that for his name, because the story touches on the undead? or maybe it is only DONTNOD making the E.A. Poe reference, and his name is not intended to be read as something HE chose. though I think either interpretation is perfectly defensible.

ok this post got long but suffice to say I love usher talltree. I think he and edgar take tea together during the day (and that's how usher heard about jonathan...) and that's SO cute of them... edgar calls himself the black sheep of the brotherhood for wanting to BEFRIEND vampires instead of merely study them... but usher still makes time for him and takes an interest in his research...! perhaps they are transforming the brotherhood together... i love them 🥺💓