#idk what that means in context with EVERYTHING ELSE GOING ON but rn..

[species-dysphoria]

the more I look, the more I feel it's me. the more I look, the more I feel it's me. the more I look, the more I feel it's me. the more I look, the more I feel it's me.

NO.

the more I look, the more I KNOW it's me. and maybe, has always been me.

(sorry kinda big rambling vent mess below, might not make sense)

who am I? what am I? how can I be this and a coyote? why am I so sure that I am a coyote and a dolphin now? Who am i? where did this all come from?

it feels so familiar. it feels so real. it feels like I know it. it feels so new and yet...so natural.

why? why did this suddenly come out of nowhere? when I've had no connection to water or aquatic things or anything. or so I thought. maybe, the original kept this locked away from me until I was ready? I've been...content in my coyote self. so why would they let me access their zoanthrope memories and let that part of them awaken inside me?

it's not bad. it's not a bad thing that this discovery is happening. it isn't bad. it's the first time I've actually felt kinda...more comfortable with myself. it's felt like a fragment of myself has been returned. like im more complete?

...acknowledging that this is real and this is a serious part of me, that has been crucial. this is important. it feels very important to take this seriously.

unlocking memories from our childhood and discovering our zoanthropy has been going on since then feels like a big discovery. for me, at least. I never knew that about the original host.

I know I must sound so dramatic. but this is like discovering that your family member is also a zoanthrope to me. it's this ghost who has been around since i started to exist in this body, who I am constantly surrounded by. their family thinks I'm the original. I am not. I am not them. but...i

I formed as a split off from them. so I guess in some ways, we are kinda the same person? I just carry some parts of them within me.

so to just suddenly find out that this person who I thought I was so different from, someone who I thought had cursed me so I could never be my own person...

to find out that they are almost like my own kin...it feels like that's a big thing. like im carrying something very important. the original host was a dolphin.

and...now I've never felt more connected to them. to have their memories. to know a piece of what they had experienced and now that lives on through me.

I don't feel comfortable saying that me and them are the same being. cause I don't believe that. but I do believe that that part of them lives in me.

idk if I'm making any sense. I just know that this dolphin is me. and this dolphin was also them. I am this dolphin. I am a Common Dolphin.

idk what this means for my coyote self. but I think it's ok for them to exist together. I'm a coyote but I'm also a dolphin. right now, it feels like a 50/50 split. half of me is coyote and the other half is dolphin.

this feels really big. and it's scary. all I know is that it's important and I think things will be ok.

[imminent-danger-came]

how would you rank the ninja from worst to best based on the ninjago seasons youve seen?

Nya and Wu are the best, everyone else is the same to me

[fictionfixations]

the dawn knight in place of yuu

MAJOR JP BOOK 7 SPOILERS

(anyway i like calling him the knight of dawn but also thats too many words for a name im going to be repeating a lot throughout this post so dawn knight)

okay so. i was thinking about a fic to write where a character had a part of themselves appear somewhere else? like ive been getting into omniscient reader but i have a diff story im trying to commit to rn so i cant really write something with it when i dont really know shit that happens besides like end game spoilers lOl

but i find the idea of like the 49/51 (?) interesting? i think thats the right numbers. no context to people who dont know what that means but that part broke me even though all i know about omniscient reader is by reading a shit ton of orv fanfiction. my heart man... sob.

but so anyways my mind wandered to the dawn knight

kudos to that like one fic where the dawn knight's soul appeared and attached itself to yuu except i read it when i didnt even know who he was but i thought maybe he was a buddy of lilia so im just reading and getting confused on like no why you no like lilia what (also he doesnt remember iirc and i think that was just like a instinctual feeling cause yknow humans vs fae??) but uh i know context now lMFAO

but like

just imagine this person who looks like silver but blonde. who doesnt remember who he is (as hes kind of more of just a fragment of his soul? but like he appears in NRC and not RSA because he still has a lingering attachment towards silver. wanting to see him grow because he never got the chance to)

who worries over silver

is a little nervous around fae, but maybe this is ooc but like without all the pressure from what the fuck was his name henrik(??) and like the people around him who are all anti-fae, cause he wouldve liked it if they couldve been in peace and stuff yknow? and also without those memories so its not too difficult for him to get past that and see them as people who will probably not harm others (LOOK i just want twst characters to be happy man cause everything is so sad :((( )

anyway lilia has grown since then and doesnt hate humans. maybe he doesnt exactly know how to feel about the dawn knight (UM like cause meleanor. or is it maleanor? i think thats EN spelling but tbh if not for en i wouldnt know how tf to spell it. but uh ykNOW.. he kinda. uh. still killed.)

but then maybe it becomes clear that this dawn knight (who needs an actual name. dawn sounds too on the nose and i dont think lilia associates dawn with positive feelings considering when maleanor died didnt it turn dawn or something. and then they broke down because shes DEAD.???)

is not the same dawn knight he met so long ago.

like

idk

think about it in like a. okay im pulling out honkai star rail examples now. but think of it maybe like dan feng and dan heng where they're like reincarnations of each other? but not the same person? (some people think of them as still the same considering i think(? its been a hot minute since i went through story) those memories of those reincarnations are then shared to other incarnations to help them in high elder duty thingy whatever its called but i think of them as entirely different people who happen to look similar)

i guess you could view it as a 'i once was [this], but now im this and im not the same person who did all those things'

EDIT: I AM WRONG. 2.5 spoilers but its mentioned that someone made dan heng remember his past life so its NOT canon that they remember their past life. "...led her to perform certain healing arts on Dan Heng, who had just finished his hatching rebirth, so that he would regain the memories of his past life?" but anyway thats how it turned out so uh just pretend that i mean reincarnating/past life type deal but stlil having some of those memories of the former life

idk maybe theres some lilia treating him as another son since like. all three of them are orphans who were taken in???? like its implied parallel of lilia being taken in by the mal... dRACONIA family sorry i forgot the last name om. and the dawn knight being taken in by the whoever is in charge. like the dad of henrik(?) and that person whose name i cant remember i think it was leah who the dawn knight liked and married? but so anyway they both got taken in by a family and owe them a debt and fight for them (and care for them. although idk about henrik ew, but he was also like. wanting princess glow(???) which could supposedly grant wishes i think to like cure their ill father, and saying that the dawn knight should do it for leah or something? i cant remember but he convinced him with something something leah)

i dont know where im going with this thought but like. i remember the dawn knight said something like. if things could be different? but like it cant be because they've gone too far now to forgive each other? but like he wanted there to be peace.

i remember thinking about lilia's wish in the wish upon a star event, maybe it was similar i cant recall exactly

Lilia: My wish is... ...for humans, fae, and all other species to live in harmony. [Img of the wishing star] Trey: Haha, wow. That's a pretty ambitious wish. Lilia: To join joyous hands with one another is no simple feat, even for those among the same species... To say nothing of the difficulties across species divides. You've learned about our history, have you not? All the countless tales of our failure to compromise, and the resulting conflicts? I have no desire to see such history repeated. So I make the same wish every Starsending.

like the dawn knight expressed regret that it had to be this way and wanted things to change but it was far too late. but like. he never did that stuff now (well lilia will remember so poor grandpa but. he's also been really forgiving towards humans when doing it for someone? like he endures it? like when he was searching for a way to hatch malleus and these people were really against lilia for being fae when he just existed, and he didnt fight back because it would paint a bad picture for the draconias? there was another example related to silevr but i cant remember it im. not what i was thinking about but theres also when he contemplated killing baby silver but changed his mind because he'd been trying to teach malleus to like. 'walk in time with his neighbor' and so and so and i forgot what he said but that how could he do that when he should be like setting an example for malleus or something right?)

also silver learning who his parents are in a maybe less traumatic way (like NOT running away knowing malleus' mom might die and then oh shit the ceiling collapsed and IS THAT THE ENEMY oh god please dont let malleus' egg be hurt and then he shares the same face as me? and that ring-- cue silver hating himself and being dragged in by darkness and i am just sobbing my eyes out like no silver he loved you so much :((( )

and even if lilia still holds anything against the dawn knight. still has lingering feelings even towards this not-dawn knight. that he wouldnt want to condemn the dawn knight, and then have silver condemn himself for being of that blood even though he didnt even do anything yknow?

and then when lilia dies he can meet up with the ghosts of maleanor and raverne (is that spelled right? i genuinely cant remember the EN spelling but it was something like that. uhh.??) and i know thats sad but i want lilia to be able to spend more time with maleanor and raverne too yknow? but im not sure how to do that

maybe. like the. the the . council? i cant remember its name fshuidfh but those assholes who appeared when we made it to. blackscale(?) castle... ? i. forgor. maleficia(THATS GRANDMA RIGHT?? i get so confused by who is who in draconia) castle??

but like when we get there with malleus' egg and then maleanor dies

and theres just these voices of long dead old geezers who are bitches to lilia and i hate them and i dont know how they're still there and can talk but i dont want maleanor there because they're horrible. also they literally said her sacrifice was like noble or some shit like that and im just like BITCH- (also lilia is banned from the capital or something isnt he?? like i mean he can still visit the castle. but secretly. but still :( )

so i just think.

fully getting over stuff. heart demons. talking things out. lilia gets to talk about stuff for the first time in awhile (remember when like literally no one talked about the circumstances regarding malleus' birth or something so silver and sebek just had no idea what they were getting into??? and like i guess he could talk to baul? baur? idk which one is the one on EN i forgor. but idk man.)

not-dawn knight being a really good listener. being understanding, sharing his input where appropriate. and like he also gets some of his memories which put a lot of things into proper context. and so sharing thoughts of so and so. and just. basically this talk that spirals into moving on.

sharing frustrations, sharing things that never really got to be known.? like regrets, etc etc

since i think the last time they met was when silver father reveal, and time passed and he died so its just all these lingering things that never got to be said out loud for various reasons. like maybe because company is against so and so so to say something would be like idk maybe traitorous? i dont think thats the right word but words are hard and i keep forgetting words the moment i need them

its like. the unique point of view of talking about things between former enemies. like how they viewed things, etc etc

and then when lilias lived a full life, no regrets, he meets maleanor and raverne in the afterlife.

oh yeah also about his dorm i have no fucking idea. i honestly mostly forgot what each dorm represents but either ramshackle or diasomnia, which i know is like nobility or something? but anyway dawn knight married a princess, also i associate diasomnia with fae / briar valley which is related considering hes book 7 stuff so im pushing him there anyway

or maybe the mirror cant read him because his soul is fragmented. or maybe retcon and his soul isnt like that? idk but i like to think the other part of his soul is in the afterlife with his wife yknow? and eventually silver will be there and able to meet his mom and huggies, and acknowledging that these are who his parents are, but also that lilia is also his parent and the one who raised him yknow? there can be more than two parents in my eyes.

its just that his soul is like in half because of the part of him that wants to have seen silver grown. i think i said this earlier in the post but that since the last time he saw silver was as an infant (also he had blonde hair so-)

also wasnt infant silver asleep for like hundreds of years until it was either because someone who loved him came by (lilia) or because the spell finally wore off (which is what lilia thinks. i dont know where to put my two cents at tbh of which i think is right)

so dawn knight just sitting there in the afterlife like. ..man. my childs still not here. i mean. thats a good thing that they're not dead but like. i kinda wanna see them.

or well silvers the only one so i should be saying he but gidfhuj

also it was either leah or leia i am a dumbass? maybe leah was the EN one. idk i forgot.

anyway thats enough yapping for me

[sanderssidesthehouse]

intruality ship bingo?

You are speaking my language.

Do you know how many Intruality WIPs I have? These two do not let me sleep.

Just want to address the mark I put in "Toxic (affectionate)" before we go any further. Morality kind of... did that to 'Dark' Creativity/Intrusive Thoughts (unless there's something else going on we don't know about yet???). Pretty messed up tbh. Not that I mind. It's just something to consider.

So other than that I think they would have a lot in common. They are both full of whimsy (yes, I'm calling what Remus has going on whimsy). They both kind of project a certain part of their personality to cover up other pieces (in my opinion/hc/whatever). They WOULD be good for each other. Patton needs to loosen up, and Remus needs love and attention. They would both be soooo clingy like physically and emotionally and why shouldn't they get someone who matches their freak? Plus Remus is going to think Patton's froggy traits are sick as hell (bc they are!!!) and I think he needs someone who appreciates ALL of him.

Now of course, Patton might have to chill tf out first. Or maybe hanging out with Remus would help him chill tf out. Even if he just got desensitized he might gain the ability to say "Wild, anyway-" in response to Remus being Remus. Remus also might have to chill tf out, like I'm not going to act like that's all on Patton. Remus does also very much need to chill. But that will come with being acknowledged and listened to, he's been locked in the basement for however many years, being weird about literally everything is kind of understandable.

I think at the very least they need to be friends. The potential of reactions from the others to them literally just hanging out could be absolutely hilarious. Or angsty. My two favorite things. But can you imagine the unhinged ideas the two of them would come up with?

PLUS!!! I just thought of this, but you know how Patton likes to make up games that are overly complicated and Remus loves to make Rube Goldberg machines? They are complicated chaos buddies. They would literally have so much fun. Put them in a room with a few thousand dominoes. I want to see what happens.

Usually when I write Remus in a relationship I write him as an absolute simp regardless, and I think that holds true here. He's just so unabashedly 100% about things, but I could also see him being a bit shy- and hear me out- bc it's something that actually matters to him, right up there with being listened to by Thomas, and he doesn't want to fuck it up. He's not the romantic side like Roman, and I think he probably can't help but compare himself, especially in this context, and he knows it. This isn't his strong suit (insert birthday suit joke here). You could make this or literally any Remus ship soooo angsty if you wanted. And I do bc I'm evil, actually.

And Patton at this point I think would also be worried about fucking up relationships bc... Um... Well, you know. We all saw that episode. But one of his needs, and in his case I do mean need rather than want, is to love. C!Thomas is a lover, Patton is that particular piece of him. It's actually his job to dish out affection, and idk how willing everyone else is going to be to receive it rn.

But anyway wouldn't that be fun if both of them are desperate for acknowledgement and affection but both so terrified of fucking up a relationship, of fucking up something that actually matters, of breaking something that can't be repaired. Or you could be normal about ig.

I'm trying not to make these too long, so I'll end it there. As always, feel free to add or ask questions or whatever else. I do not bite, I prommy. Love y'all, bye!

[theplatypusblue]

COMPILING ALL LEGENDS OF CHIMA SEASON 1 THOUGHTS BELOW THE READ MORE (super long post, written as I was watching)

(I can be a little mean but I promise I’m having fun lol)

Episodes 1 + 2:

Man this shits super boring.

Idk if I can get behind craggers plot line tbh. He’s too much of a dumbass for me to really root for him.

The lore seems really cool so far. I like the settings and the stuff about the legend beasts.

Like?? Forest full of trees that just fall down all the time? Epic.

Legend beasts are especially cool cuz it means this is how Chima characters react when seeing a regular ass lion for the first time:

Episode 3:

Man Laval really fucked everything up.

I have a feeling all of cragger’s dumbass-ness, like, transferred over to laval and now we’re gonna be seeing him making all the dumbass decisions

The only thing I really care about here is the b-plot about Gorzan and his flower. More engaging than the main plot

Episode 4:

Prediction about Laval replacing Cragger as the resident dumbass seems to be coming true

Gorzan is quickly becoming my favorite.

Oh hey look it’s the beavers!! I remember they show up in that one episode of ninjago. I had zero context for what they were all about then but now I know!!

Episode 5:

The gorilla tribe seems like the most chill out of everyone. Gorillas 👍

Can I just say I hate the fucking skunk. He sucks.

Honestly kind of a nothing episode

Episode 6:

Eagle spire does that cool thing where all the buildings are built on super scary precipices. There’s literally a post going around about this exact thing but I can’t find it rn

Oh so the eagles are just a bunch of nerds. A little weird I guess(?) I feel like eagles are usually symbols of strength n stuff so that’s different. It’s giving cloud kingdom.

“Wing girl” tf kinda nickname??

Apparently the ravens are double crossing everyone but I have not been paying close enough attention to what’s going on to really process that

Ok so it was all an extremely convoluted way for the crocs to get everyone to fight each other. And the ravens tried to profit but they’re kinda stupid so nothing really worked out for anyone

Episode 7:

Purble moon??? Epic

Man the bears are so epic just like me fr

Nooo don’t mess w the gorillas they’re so chill :(

I am entirely uninterested in the 100 year full moon skunk fart lore. Sorry.

It’s a little strange and maybe I’m hallucinating but I feel like the animation has has somehow gotten better?? Like the lighting or smthn…. Or the facial expressions???

Oh….. skunk fart lore is plot relevant………

Now that I’m thinking… is that the only skunk in chima?? Cuz rn it looks like just the one guy

Episode 8:

Oh it’s a big boy chi

There’s a fucking peacock?? Don’t know how to spell his name. So wait if he wins who does the chi go to?? He gets it all to himself?

Oh wait nvm it’s probably a cragger thing. Mr. Peacock comes back after retirement or w/ever in order to do some evil shit with the crocs I get it I get it

Gorzan I love you

WHO THE FUCK IS THAT GUY?? Is it a pig? A warthog??? It’s giving Mr. E vibes.

Man idk this episode is structured rlly weirdly. Nothing really fit together very well. It’s alright tho.

Episode 9:

GORILLA EPISODE?? Let’s go dude

It funny cuz I feel like gorillas aren’t actually this mellow irl

STOP FUCKING WITH THE GORILLAS CRAGGER I’LL KILL YOU

Oh hey it’s our mystery mans. Oh nevermind he left again.

There are balloon plants?? Oh yeah those are the things they were using in the other episode. Sorry I wasn’t paying attention to anything else that happened.

Episode 10:

Uhh I forgot to take notes while watching uhhh

The fox guy was cute. I like a little fox guy

This episode managed to make me feel a little bad for cragger!! He wants to do a good job but he kinda sucks at everything :(

It also made me confused abt cruller!!! What are you doing w ur life girl!!!!

Kinda messed up how the wolves had to serve the crocodiles tho… probly for the best she threw away that pledge

If Laval’s dad is right when he says they’re not gonna race for chi for a long time, I’m guessing they’re not gonna do any more racing episodes for some time. That’s fine honestly.

WAIT THAT RHINO GUY’S DYING. Oh nvm. This whole situation is cringe I hope it’s a one-off thing….

Also I forgot everyone thinks craggers parents are dead but really they’re just chilling in that canyon. Kinda funny actually

Episode 11:

Oh man the wolves are fucking everything up

“We all gotta stay here till the walls are fixed” bruh just call the beavers or smthn

Man what is the deal with this shadow wind dude.

If there’s one similarity I could point out with ninjago, it’s all this talk abt ~the balance~. I guess it makes sense since they take place in the same universe, technically

These bears are so cute lol napping does solve everything so true

Episode 12:

Jets travel super fast in the air. If they’re going through a storm Laval should totally be dead by now

Cragger is setting boundaries!! We love to see it. Cruller is acting pretty cringe. In her ~~girlfailure era~~

Is Laval gonna fall in this gorge?? Oh yeah he’s gonna fall in this gorge

Noooo Gorzans underwear is gonna tear

It’s a little sweet how Laval still wants to help out cragger

Episode 13:

I guess I’m still not super into cragger but I pity him a little. He’s trying his best but he’s just a bit stupid. And also his sister sucks ass

Okay. So she may be cringe but cruller is living her best(-ish) life.

That wolf is wearing a really cute apron

Man they were bringing up Shadow wind earlier and I thought they were gonna reveal their identity but now I’m a bit disappointed…

Laval is being peak dumbass rn I kinda like it. “The warm milk of oppression” lol

Episode 14:

“You bears think you’re so clever” bro they are literally asleep I don’t think they give a shit

I think the thing with Cragger is that I absolutely hate him when he’s under the influence of the flower thingy. He’s unlikable in a not-so-fun way, but he seems much more cute/compelling when he’s normal lol.

Oh my god they’re getting back-alley chi lmao

Oh is everyone gonna think Cragger did this on purpose. That’s sad.

This Reagle(?) guy is really silly I like his design a lot

Ohhhhh the wolves are gonna plug the fake chi and become chickens. It’s not a Cragger-might-be-evil thing. Gotchaaaa that’s cute

Seeing Cragger and Leval act like buddies again is genuinely nice they’re friends :)

Episode 15:

Eagles are based communists that live in the sky got it 👍

Cruller stop fucking with the gorillas istg.

Okay what the hell did burning the flower do. Is that like taking an inhalant

The ravens attempted to use the eagles’ based communist values against them. However, they didn’t realize that the eagles are boring as shit, and don’t “own” anything cool in the first place. Based communist eagles for the win.

Okay wait is Eris liking the rhino like. A brand new development or was it hinted at before?? It’s been a hot second since I watched the last couple episodes

Also I recognize that animation from the Ninjago season 5 finale lol

Episode 16:

Man I just hate this stupid skunk

This fog of destiny stuff is really goofy looking from the outside lmao it’s hard to take serious

So it’s like. Making them entirely delusional or something? Some of them are acting the opposite of how they usually do, but others are having like, delusions of grandeur. Idk how it works exactly

Laval there has got to be a smarter way to wake them up. You keep getting thrown into the lake…. Oh my god is the skunk gonna fart again. If that’s literally how they wake them up I’m gonna be so mad.

Oh okay thank god I was wrong.

Oh wait it randomly made cragger evil again. Man come on.

Cruller you stupid dumb idiot lmao get wrecked honestly

I hope the skunk dies like actually for real

Episode 17:

Oh shit Lavals dad also had a best friend that did shitty things and eventually grew apart from?? Damn.

Also Laval in exile time!!! Hopefully this will be cool

Eh. It’s not so cool with the skunk around

OH SHIT is the shadow wind the guy that was exiled before??? Ohhhhh

Ahhh okay Cruller backstory time. Damn girl was getting compared to her sibling straight out the egg. Didn’t even have a moment to spare there huh

Noooo Laval you just enslaved the wolves again by giving him the treaty. That was like the one cool thing cruller manages to do

Oh. I guess the exile thing literally didn’t matter at all lmao kinda underwhelming

Episode 18:

Lol so Cragger is such a dickhead now it’s even causing his stupid ominous dream to take notice

Okay so the floating mountain that gives everyone the chi also makes you on fire when you touch it. Chima world building really is epic man I gotta include random cool shit in my stories once I get around to writing stuff

This definitely feels like part of a finale lol maybe we’ll finally learn what the deal is w shadow wind

Andddddd the chi’s all fucked up now

Episode 19:

Tbh I would also be kinda mad at the lions like. They had no idea what they were doing or if it would have any negative consequences.

Man the whole thing with the wolves just kinda. Fizzled out huh? Like a few episodes ago they had ~all the chi in chima~ and now they’re all like “idk man why don’t we all just get along” lol

I love the attitude of just asking the beavers to fix the mountain. Like let’s just chuck a couple of construction workers at this malfunctioning holy site that’ll probably work

Episode 20:

I’m guessing this is the finale?? Let’s see

Laval looks so weird without his little crown thingy lol hes so square

He’s definitely not dead tho

CROCODILE LETS GOOO!!!!! EPIC!!!

OH UM. Okay well that complicates things. And there’s like a million other questions we still haven’t answered but ok. I guess all of that other stuff can wait until later????

I thought the eagle guy said chima only had 2 moons left before everything fell apart?? So they really gotta get the ball rolling on that one uhm. Oh well.

**EDIT** Last time I posted this I thought it stopped at episode 13 for some reason?? Tubi is stupid; thanks to the person who pointed out the actual episode number. I’ll probably stop here for a while, sorry it took so long to update this lol. My initial thoughts and feelings haven’t really changed all that much, so I’ll keep them as they were:

I definitely feel like it’s a show that doesn’t have super strong characters. I think it would better if the show leaned more into the world it’s created instead, if that makes sense. Maybe later the character writing will improve a little bit, and I’ll changed my tune. But!! Who knows. I’m having fun with it.

Idk when I’ll get to season 2, cuz I get super busy sometimes (I started this one a couple months ago but couldn’t finish it till now ugh) but I do want to continue watching!! Eventually!!!

[f0point5]

Re: the recent landogate Funny thing about this man is that sometimes he gives such good responses and seems to genuinely be able to self reflect (ex. "I'm not a well rounded driver like Max and Lewis", "I don't want to be given wins" etc.) and then he will utter the most stupid thing he could because he does not think well before speaking (probably not with bad intent). As for the recent debacle, I don't think it was as deep as people made it seem and I reckon he hadn't seen that picture of George post race, obviously looking worse than the other drivers due to the overheating Mercedes car. So I wouldn't even deem this a proper "landogate". It certainly was weird though. The vast majority of landogates are snippets from interviews taken way out of context. There are some instances, though (of which I found out about very recently) where he has said things that I cannot find a way to justify properly. And he seems scared to own up to them sometimes. I don't think his age could justify them necessarily (I'm the same age). The "fans" (big emphasis on the quotes) really make it even worse. I don't know if he actually understands when he has fucked up. It's just so weird because I really, really root(ed) for him cause I genuinely believe that he races well (and Oscar, ofc, I find it wild how they try to make them seem like they have beef when they don't) and like. Idk. I feel a bit iffy about it all rn haha. In the end, they are all rich boys and I definitely won't be losing sleep over them lol.

I always figure Lando’s responses are always visceral. They seem to just be based on who is around and how he feels in the moment, which also seems based on who’s around and what’s going on for him professionally at the time.

So like, he’s sitting next to Max and Lewis, very aware he’s being filmed, probably not entirely comfortable, asked a question that specifically compares him to the guys next to him, so it’s at the forefront of his mind how much they have achieved and how much he doesn’t want to piss people off so he says something complimentary. Conversely, after a bad day, high on adrenaline, feeling like a petulant child who just had their toy stolen, being spoken to directly and not asked to engage with anyone else, he might say something really dickish in the media pen, and then only remember later how it will come across.

I genuinely think what he says is how he feels in the moment and then sometimes he can’t fully connect with what he said previously or is embarrassed to have said it. I don’t think he’s some evil mastermind who has some big Shkeem (James Charles knows) to denigrate Lewis or erode Max’s self esteem. I think he just talks as he thinks.

I still don’t see what the big deal was about the Merc comment. “Toto Wolff issues health update” does sound like something one would laugh at, considering he probably saw George and Lewis later after they’d recovered and knew they were fine. Merc released a video of them joking around later that evening. “Health update” made it sound like they’d been hospitalised, instead of suffered adverse effects of the sport that they were well prepared for, and specifically train for, and recovered from shortly afterwards. I genuinely think he was just like “what do you mean health update? They had heatstroke, we all have heatstroke, we all get heatstroke every year…why do we need an update”. Did he articulate any of that? No. Could he articulate that off the cuff? Probably also no. But he was playing a game on stream, not hosting a podcast.

People overdramatise everything he says, and his fans are wayyy too quick to defend his foot in mouth disease. And it just makes for Stan wars. Because you can’t have a sensible conversation about the fact that Lando does in fact put his foot in it very often for someone who is in front of a camera so much. It’s either “he’s the worst person ever he should die” or “omg he’s the kindest person alive who has never had an impure thought how dare you”. And in reality, it’s neither of those things. He’s a 24 year old who doesn’t speak well…it’s really not the end of the world.

But at the end of the day…he’s just a boy who races cars. Like him, don’t like him…he doesn’t give a fuck about any of us, nor should he, and people on both sides of the fence need to realise that

[respitelocklyre]

⚠️ Failed to post due to network connectivity issues. Please check that your connection is stable and try again.

[The following session summary is set up as a series of fast-paced tweets from Respite's private account, none of which posted successfully.]

>Heyyy so this is a longshot but does anyone here know spells that can undo, like, idk... transmutation magic? I think I messed w some fae shit and now im tiny and trapped inside an enchanted dollhouse lol [Attached are pictures of gigantic furniture, as seen from through a window, presumably from inside said dollhouse]

>As if my date night hasnt been going badly enough im gonna kms

>Okay for some context, if u follow my insta or dinkdonk u know im at the seelie market tonight and everything seemed rlly fun but it turns out there's some dark shit happening. so we wanted to snoop more while their main show was going on.

>(like ENSLAVEMENT kinda dark shit btw- we're trying to help ppl! there's a hag running the market and holding ppl hostage!! including my friend's sister maybe!!! I promise I'll have a whole other post abt that later tho lol)

>Anyways i talked to the guy running the ring toss & he said the show would be like 30min but didn't know if the big bad boss lady (Madame) would be there or not so we were being sooooo careful

>We even checked for divination magic but Sersh didn't find ANY magic at all, which was ultimately WAY more sus. Thad kept saying we should just leave which, like, FAIR, but i felt like we couldn't just go back empty-handed (mistake)

>Can't go into too much detail but i found my way into the totally unlocked Madame's caravan to try and search for the contracts keeping everyone enslaved. it was full of puppets and dolls and dresses and this crazy ornate dollhouse (foreshadowing)

>Also wait omg i almost got caught while sneaking in, but i used a bunch of cantrips to make everyone think there was an earthquake and then i pretended to be one of the marionettes inside the caravan when the goblin workers came to investigate lolol suckers totally fell for it

>And once they were gone i found a key and a couple slips of paper inside a wardrobe! The papers were these weird fairytales. Does anyone recognize them??? [Attached images of the uploaded document/story from the DM]

>The key went into a slot in the dollhouse so naturally, if a key fits im gonna turn it, right??? it must've been trapped tho bc that shit knocked me TF out

>So that's where im at rn. I just kinda woke up inside the dollhouse. im gonna keep trying to call my bf or my party but the service is spotty af. Any advice is appreciated 😭

>^^^For legal reasons this is all a joke btw and i didn't do any of this. Making it up for clout, etc etc

>Kind of urgent

>Also OMG I almost forgot the most important part: one of my party members showed me his fucking SOUNDCLOUD and it was so 💀💀💀 PLEASE go give it a listen and tell me ur thots lol his handle is @/ThadyT

>like dont be mean or comment anything bc he'll know whats up so be cool but omfg i just need someone else to listen to this alfkjasldf;fdhg

>Oh shit i dont think these are posting LMAAOOOO RIP TO ME 🪦 SEE U GUYS IN THE SHADOWFELL IG 🫡🐦‍⬛👑

[mushroomwriter]

Hermanos anon here - WHY WOULD YOU PUT THAT GIFSET ON MY DASH AAAAAAAH!!!!! i came out here to have a good time and honestly i feel so attacked rn

Anyway, so happy for you that the exam is over and you passed <3 I actually have exams coming up myself lol so I completely understand... also have you heard? Berlin was renewed for s2! Really really hoping Alvaro returns and we get Sergio and hermanos rights in the next season 🤞 (and to fill the need for hermanos content!!) Also pls don't feel like you have to make a set again soon, happy to wait until you get the inspiration, and ofc it's always a good idea to rewatch their scenes, instant serotonin boost - just skip that minor scene that shall not be named at the end of the Mint Heist 😭

Haha I'm sorryyyy! It's something I realised long back but I never had the chance to inflict the angst on anyone else lmao. you added the cherry on top with how you worded it "literally a little brother begging his big brother not to leave him, and knowing on some level that he'll never be able to make him change his mind" 🥺 in some way he would've known right at the moment nairobi and helsinki emerged alone so seeing him going from denial to desperation. hurts

(pt 2) YES, brotherssss!!! Oh, the fact that Andrés is so selfish and narcissistic otherwise just makes the hermanos bond even more special to me?? it hits different than if they'd just been relatively normal/good characters, idk. And yes that's such older brother behaviour of him!! I will tell you some happier observations of mine this time. One of my favourite "older bro" things Andrés does in the series, when he and Sergio sit down to drink together, he ALWAYS pours wine for Sergio first. In the bella ciao scene, his wedding scene in s4, even s3 he literally wakes up Sergio to come have breakfast with them, which means he didn't even allow either Martin or Tatiana to start without his hermanito lol. It's a very sweet minor detail that melts my heart. I can totally imagine them in the Toledo house, pretending they don't know each other but then andrés does little things like these, serving Sergio first or preparing coffee for his brother just the way he likes it before making his own cup :') OH, the feels. Yes, I agree, I definitely think the Bella Ciao lyrics are foreshadowing, and that is exactly what happened in the end. (I have been struck by that thought too, more than once 🥲 it's heartbreaking isn't it? especially when you consider that oslo/moscow had their loved ones with them when they died + a funeral. nairobi had a funeral too. tokio had rio with her before she died. but andrés had none of that, sergio was miles away and then ofc they had to escape leaving him behind... don't think about the guantanamera scene lyrics in this context too. Poor Sergio :( (pt 3) Btw sorry for how long this got!! Please feel free to put everything under a cut if you want 😅 I'm just out here rambling like there's no tmrw. Back to the happier note (omg we really just keep switching between angst and joy) I love that idea!! Yeah, I can definitely see them having that as an inside joke, something that only they share from their childhood memories, it's very sweet! Sergio "I don't dance" Marquina WILL dance if his big bro requires, and it makes me a puddle everytime. Somehow he has the most stiff yet adorable dance moves ever, I loved those moments we got. Andrés mirroring Sergio's moves in the guantanamera scene never fails to bring a smile to my face. Unironically, I used to watch that scene so many times during the pandemic days. I was not doing too well but those few seconds seeing them smile and laugh and dance despite everything used to give me such comfort :D I was glad to see your reply (and once again, completely understand, hope you're taking care of yourself <3) Thank you for putting up (and being so kind) about my rambles, glad you like them! And ofc, please feel free to tell me to shut up if I get too annoying 😭 As always, such a JOY sharing the enthusiasm for these heist bros with you and i hope you have a great week!

AT LEAST WE CAN SUFFER TOGETHER!!! And talk about Sergio, who usually considers every single possible outcome, Never considering his brother could die... whew!

Thank you so much! The best of luck on your exams!! (If you've already taken them, I hope they went well!) I saw that, yeah... and speaking of the spin-off I watched some more of it, I need to watch the fifth episode next... anyway, they better use that new season to give us some new hermanos content or ELSE 🔪🔪 like, just Andrés mentioning Sergio was enough to reawaken my heist brothers obsession, an actual new scene with the two of them would be so Powerful (also I miss Sergio sooo) Thank you, I'd like to gif them again soon but right now the inspiration isn't really on my side, UGH. But I really hope watching and rewatching their scenes (and looking for possible quotes) can help! Honestly since I love pain I will probably watch the Scene That Shall Not Be Named as well but I promise I'll proceed with caution...

Well, I can't blame you, angst is made to be shared! Poor Sergio, he really is in denial at the beginning, huh, insisting Andrés should get into the tunnel... and that's another thing that gets me, because truly there was no time, waiting for Andrés and not blowing up the tunnel basically meant getting captured, and yet Sergio who's usually so cautious and always aware of every risk just refuses to see it. Andrés must get into the tunnel and to safety! And then he gets more and more desperate when it really becomes apparent that it isn't going to happen :(

Oh, I definitely agree! Part of the appeal of big brother Andrés and of their bond imo is the contrast between their usual demeanor and how they behave around each other. When they're together they're a big brother and a little brother, you know 🥺🥺 OOOH thanks for sharing! I don't know if I ever noticed that (if I did I forgot) it really is sweet! I'm smiling a bit at the thought of Andrés not allowing Martín and Tatiana to have breakfast because the most precious hermanito in the world is not there yet! I love that thought! I enjoy picturing how it was for them in Toledo, having to pretend they didn't know each other, and the image of Andrés finding all the sneaky ways to take care of his hermanito makes me melt <3

What can I say, Bella Ciao, Guantanamera, they truly looked at the lyrics and went "ooooh 😈" That completely breaks my heart, like it makes Sergio's grief even WORSE.

Please never apologize about how long your message gets, as far as I'm concerned it only means I have more stuff to enjoy (also thank you for reminding me I can put this under a cut, I probably should lol) It's kind of amusing how we can switch between oh no Andrés was killed and Sergio was completely helpless and awww nice little childhood memories but hey it's great how they give us tragic and happy thoughts both! I absolutely agree about Sergio having the most stiff yet adorable dance moves ever, at some point he's basically like "ok, since I'm doing this with my big brother I'm... actually enjoying it, but this doesn't take all my awkwardness away" and it's so CUTE, Alvaro plays it so well! And Andrés mirroring his moves makes me smile so much!! It truly is a comfort scene and I'm glad it helped you through those times (man, it was surreal).

Thanks so much for your patience! And nooo don't worry, I LOVE your rambles!! It really is a real joy to talk with you about these brothers!

Thank you so much, I hope you have a great week too! (And if you're still studying for your exams, well, I wish you a productive study and hope it doesn't stress you out too much!)

[sherbetlemonss]

Here is this :]

Ok some context: this comic is from the story in my head is where everything in ducktales is the same except Gyro is Scrooge’s son and grew up with Della and Donald in the mansion

This comic thingy happens after timephoon and probably richest duck in the world basically after Della sends Louie off in timephoon Gyro tries to stand up for him (bc in this mind storyline he’s quite close with Louie for lots of reasons in the story that aren’t important right now)

it turns into an argument and it gets heated when Della says something like ‘what would you know, you’re not even a real mcduck’ and everyone is shocked Beakley and Scrooge and even Della herself knows she went too far

She tries to apologise but Gyro is just like no (it went a certain way in my head but again not important rn) and he leaves

Fast forward to after richest duck in the world she’s made up with Louie yadda yadda but she hasn’t with Gyro

They go on an adventure and Scrooge forces Gyro to bc he’s important for something

Something happens and they get trapped in a cave place thing and are forced to talk about things (™️/j) make up

EDIT: I forgot to mention what ‘everyone’s said it at some point means’ basically Scrooge said it some point after spear of Selene and so did Donald idk who else maybe one of the kids ok bye

[cookinguptales]

You deserve so much better, and I'm sorry people have treated you this way for any reason. It's especially ridiculous in the context of "differing opinions about the quality of a show/season finale/creative choices," but you absolutely should not have gotten any of these comments for any reason. I love reading your work and your thoughts, but I fully understand if you don't want to share any of that again. There are things I have never posted and likely never will, entire creations that I'm never going to share, due to this exact phenomenon. Online creations, from meta to fic to everything else, are a delight and a privilege, not a given that anyone's entitled to.

You deserve better, and you have the right to share as much or little as you want. Please do what's best for you.

Thank you. This is really kind, and I appreciate it.

Honestly... like, I keep trying to not make a big deal out of this, but it feels so shitty. I know that right now I'm flaring and that makes everything seem worse than it is, but I can't tell you how demoralizing it felt to be unable to eat anything for like 24 hours, then actively pushing my dislocated fingers back into joint and looking on my phone and seeing a paragraph about what a fucking idiot I am. I just wanted to straight-up cry. This is the first time I've ever turned off anon asks, and I've gotten some real doozies over the years.

At first I felt better when I realized it was fewer people than I thought who were angry with me, but I think it's finally sinking in that there were people who hated me so much that they sent me messages for months. I don't get it! Like... I don't think I'm a particularly awful person. Not perfect, to be sure, but I try to be as nice and patient as I can be online. What the heck is so bad about me that I inspire people to follow me around for months?

It feels bad, okay! I'll admit it, it feels bad. I know we're supposed to act like we're above getting our feelings hurt by trolls online, but all this feels weird and bad. I don't like it.

I know that I'm going to keep posting my thoughts again eventually; I think I'm probably physically incapable of shutting up. My thoughts just bounce around in there driving me nuts if I don't get them out. I keep telling myself that there's a significant amount of people who do like me and do like my work and don't feel the need to send me mean comments, I reiterate, for fucking months. Sometimes that does make me feel better, and so did this ask.

idk. I'm just feeling very tired rn. Sorry to be so whiny but I'm just. Really tired. I don't know. I wish I could keep food down. I'm sure that would help my mood. But there's a lot of things I wish, I guess, and all I can really do is curl up with this heating pad and watch people build houses or something.

(...I find watching things getting built to be very soothing. lmao)

Anyway, kind of sucks when your comfort show that you usually turn to when you're stressed is one of the sources of your stress! :')

[liliansun]

no one particularly cares but i need this moment to vent bc i’m on the verge of tears and i wanna smash a pumpkin against my wall. and like,, if for some reason you read this lmk if i’m being unreasonable bc i feel like i am but then again i’m not.

so my bf is going into the military and he’s gonna be leaving in december right? so he just left meps today and got to his house and said his family pushed his birthday dinner from tonight (it’s his birthday today) to tomorrow night. i was like okay, he was gonna come over in the morning and we hang out w my baby and then he was gonna skedaddle off to the bday dinner with his family.

with this information i was gonna make him a cake and surprise him bc i didn’t get to see him today. so then he tells me his dad pushed it off to wherever so he was gonna go out w his guy friends to hang out and plan for the bday dinner to be later this weekend and i’m like okay and he tells me he’s gonna come by later in the day tomorrow instead of the morning bc he’s out w the boys. i’m like okay, have fun and be safe and i update him and yada yada. so then he tells me he’s going to texas which is like a few states over (4+ hour drive in the night) and i’m in the middle of a cod mobile game and i’m thinking to myself. wtf? bc in my head that contradicted the whole plans he kept changing for tomorrow (context: i was off today and tomorrow) and then he’s like nvm my friends voted against it and idk if you think like me but i thought that was dumb as hell.

so then i’m in a sour mood, i lost my br match bc i was so just out of it bc i’m like wtf? sure go do whatever you wanna do w your friends,, but if we made plans to hang out how tf do you expect me to feel when you plan to go state hopping instead. so we get into this discussion which i don’t want to call an argument and he’s like “i’m sorry but at the same time i’m not” and i’m like. elaborate. bc that shit didn’t make sense to me. “he’s like i’m sorry i’m being difficult but i’m not sorry bc i assumed you had no plans for tomorrow. well sir,, i was trying to SURPRISE you and idk if me asking a million times what time you wanted to come over didn’t give a hint?? guess not?? but okay and i’m trying to end the conversation bc i’m annoyed and he’s annoying me even more by wanting to talk it all out right here rn and i’m the type of person who needs time to think over everything,, collect my thoughts and readdress it once i’m clear headed and can see where i was wrong and he’s not

and then we get to the point of conversation where he’s like well what do you have planned for tomorrow and i’m like nothing now, you wanna go out w your friends so go out w them and he’s like we’re not going and im like okay, so go do something else w them i’m just not in the mood and he’s like no i wanna see you and i’m thinking to myself that i don’t particularly wanna see him but ik it’s bc i’m in a bad mood and maybe i’ll feel better in the morning maybe i won’t but rn i’m like stay the hell away from me before i start crying. and he’s like well the latest i’ll be by is 3 and i’m like okay. nice. and he’s like my recruiter might need me around 4 ish and i’m like. so you mean to tell me you wanna drive 40 minutes to my house to turn around and drive another 30 minutes and come back for another 30 minutes?? this is coming from the man that literally told me earlier today “since i’m quitting my job bc i’m going into the military, i don’t wanna be reckless w my spending till then”

so i mention that bc that’s a waste of gas and idk where y’all live but that shit ain’t cheep here and he tells me to let him worry about that and i’m like okay bc atp i’m done having the conversation and he’s trying to be lovey dovey and i’m about to throw my phone into the gulf and cry to tswift songs bc i just don’t know what to do.

part of me is like let him come bc he’s gonna be gone soon and you don’t know how long or where he’s gonna be at for boot camp and part of me is like he didn’t take in consideration the fact that he made plans with me and threw them out the fucking window on the highway while he was keke giggling at the thought of driving idek how many hours away and sleeping with his friends in his friends’ car.

so yeah. if you’ve made it this far on my lil ted talk, i love you. i think i’m genuinely gonna go cry and hold my baby and just try to sleep bc my head hurts and my heart hurts and i feel like i’m being irrational but at the same time i feel like i have a right to feel this way.

[unlikely-bloom]

Honestly the constant discourse about Kyman, as someone who ships it, is kinda making me want to distance myself from what used to be my OTP. People speaking ill of Kyman shippers is working on me and starting to make me worry that I'm doing something wrong by shipping it. I shouldn't care about what ppl on the internet think and I usually don't but constantly being told that I'm "supporting" something thats "abusive" or problematic is getting to me. Like dammit, I didn't even know about the discourse when I got into Kyman; I got into it by watching the show itself and it was my first SP ship but honestly if I knew that people gave a shit about it in the SP fandom I probably wouldn't have bothered. It'll always have a place in my heart but I'm getting tired of this shit 😔 Im extra emotional rn so Im not being rational here and you dont have to publish this. I know fandom shouldn't have that affect on me I'll get over it after Style vs. Kyman fight 2192943290 blows over. Idk if you're comfortable with vents sorry if I crossed a boundary here.

Oh, anon. It never used to be like this.

Fandom discourse these days is insane. Unhinged, even. The idea that anyone is more morally correct than someone else for what they ship and enjoy in fiction is absolutely ludicrous. Especially within the context of shipping fucking South Park characters.

The hard truth is that every fandom is like this now. You don't have shipping wars just arguing over what makes more sense 'in canon', but moving on to an ever-changing line of what is and isn't 'morally acceptable.' As if that's ever something the majority of people would ever agree on. (Hint: it's not!)

But there is a certain irony to see people arguing this for South Park of all things, as if we aren't all equally degenerate for enjoying such a 'problematic' show in the first place. Like... seriously. Be so serious, people. It's South Park. Everything is exaggerated for comedic effect-- including character's personalities, their actions and their relationships to one another. It's never going to be a character driven show no matter how much this fandom sometimes wishes it was. We're going to have characters who don't give a fuck about each other, literally wishing death or plotting to kill each other in one episode and then they're just going to be chilling playing video games in the next episode like nothing happened. It's episodic. That's part of the appeal. It's why it's such a sandbox.

Even if you didn't ship Kyman, their dynamic is impossible to ignore, try as some might. They say they hate each other, yet they keep hanging out. Both parties are there of their own volition. They both enjoy each other's company, and no amount of write-up's anyone can post on tumblr dot com is going to change that canon fact. They're friends.

Also-- they are just plain fun to watch, fucking hilarious and a huge appeal of the show! If someone else who watches the show doesn't like them, that's their problem. Them not liking an aspect of the show isn't going to make that part of the show any less valid and/or canon. And guess what? You're supposed to like their dynamic. It's supposed to be entertaining and captivating. How you interpret it is up to you, but there is 100% nothing wrong with watching an episode of South Park and enjoying Eric and Kyle's dynamic-- that is what you're supposed to do. So don't feel bad about it. The show is made for people to enjoy, after all. Also, it's important to keep in mind that just because you can find a dynamic appealing doesn't mean you endorse everything about it. That's such a wild and new-age fandom take. Fiction is an escape-- a safe space to explore unrealistic relationships and unrealistic characters. You're allowed to like fucked up things in fiction. You're allowed to like stuff in fiction you'd find repulsive or abhorrent in real life.

I think I can speak for a good chunk of the fandom when I say, I'd fucking hate Eric Cartman in real life. Hell, I'd probably hate Kyle, too. I have a lot of favourite characters from different fandoms I'd probably hate in real life. They're fun because they're fictional and it's different from real life. If I wanted to read about stuff that happens in real life, I wouldn't be here.

In the end, anon, fandom is supposed to be fun. To me it's just fun to take these silly little egg construction paper kids, draw 'em as anime characters, and give 'em some angst. It's fun! There's so much to do with them! They're soooo dynamic!

But if you're not having fun-- if you're stressing-- there's nothing wrong with taking a step back for your own mental well-being. I'm not about to tell you your feelings are invalid, because I know how any internet discourse, no matter how trivial or silly it may seem, can still stress you out. If you're constantly being told you're morally corrupt or problematic, it can take a toll on you-- even if you know you're not. The truth is you're never going to agree with everyone on the internet, and people will weaponize something as trivial as a South Park ship to make them feel better about their ship while also making you feel worse about your ship.

Anyways, when it comes to stepping back, I think there's a few ways you could go about this;

You could disengage with the social part of the fandom-- focus on the show itself, maybe just hunker down with some fanfics.

If you'd like to remain active on social medias, I think it wouldn't hurt to start blocking liberally. Anyone who has anything along the lines of 'Kymans DNI' in their profile, just block right away. You don't want to see their opinion, anyways. You're never going to convince them otherwise.

If you have a few close friends, I recommend sticking close in a small private discord server where you can discuss your headcanons and gossip in private. It's much more liberating than trying to get involved in any of the insane discourse that plagues both here and Twitter.

Anyways, anon, do what's right for you. Kyman shippers will always be here to welcome you back! They can say what they want-- we have too much canon fodder for us to ever go away!!

[centrally-unplanned]

im not gonna say cahsr has been without... many many problems... but that article makes no sense. a route that only connected the bay and la and not the cities of the central valley might be cheaper in some sense, but it also is far less useful. like this isnt some side concern inserted into the project, connecting valley cities to the two coastal metros is also a significant part of the *point* of having a hsr. those are not insignificant cities, and hsr systems in europe generally make a point of connecting many smaller cities between the major metros, so its in line with how existing hsr systems work. as for palmdale ive heard conflicting stuff that palmdale is cheaper and faster to build from an engineering standpoint as well, so idk with that one. also palmdale has a rail connection to la, so if hsr gets there before the tunnels are built it will allow rail trips to la from hsr, and i suppose a possible connection to vegas is also relevant. theres prob more to point out as well but thats what stands out to me rn.

Yeah I don't disagree with a bunch of this, in fact my follow-up to the post adding more context digs into it; not that I expected you to see it or anything, it didn't go viral like that first post. The NYT piece has a perspective that it is pushing that is far from the whole.

Still I will defend it, its not as bad as this makes it out. "High Speed Rail" has the point of being, well, high speed. Its *not* a typical train line, meant to connect everyone to everywhere if they absolutely gotta go. Every stop you add to a train line increases trip duration; its even worse than normal with high speed rail, as you are travelling at higher speeds and so need more time to decelerate and accelerate. If you add enough stops to HSR it simply ceases to be that. You absolutely must cut out some viable stops to preserve travel times, its impossible otherwise.

Additionally, HSR between San Francisco and LA is not local travel, and has a goal of reducing emissions amoung other things - which means it wants to reduce airline flights. If its not in reach of flight times, people will just fly instead, and the line will fail.

Add on top, population density isn't travel. Los Angeles & San Francisco are travel hubs in a way Fresno just isn't - per capita they get visitors in numbers leagues above the inland strip. And it isn't just tourism, its business & events too. Quick speed between the two hubs of industry of the state has economic benefits beyond simple ridership numbers.

And speaking of wider benefits, its not just about where people live, its about where people should live. Way less people should live in Fresno, endless suburbia sucks. LA & San Francisco fucked over their urban planning, but you fix that with, amoung other things, infrastructure. HSR is a small but real way to promote dense, urban development and reduce the size of car sprawl, you want to overpriviledge the real cities in the state.

And as a final note, California's coast has people too, the original proposal would have had some stops:

Its not crazy to say "this line serves some-but-less towns but has better construction costs and travel times". In particular, given the US tendency to literally fail to build anything ever and break along every conceivable metric, it makes sense to privilege cost reduction over literally anything else. California got nothing over this whole ordeal, what's optimal may not matter.

So I do think some of the pushback the NYT article got is overblown, HSR is about tradeoffs. I still agree with the core objection though, that America's doomed infrastructure projects have less to do with 'route choice' and everything to do with our complete inability to build anything in budget, govern any project, or overcome veto points strewn like candy in the system.

[straykats]

15 questions !!

tagged by @sulfurcosmos as always <3

ARE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? not that i'm aware of..?

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? yesterday; was not feeling well so i couldnt do my assignments, which would have been fine if i'd been able to sleep instead but i couldn't so idk ig i got really frustrated 💀💀

DO YOU HAVE KIDS? no and (this isn't the question but) at this point in life, i kinda really dont want to in the future either

DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? when talking in person, yes, but online only to a handful of people (or in public posts, yes LOL but like not in private/direct convos online? if that makes sense)

WHAT’S THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? their eyes and or smile, i think? or alternatively, their lack of smiling.

WHAT’S YOUR EYE COLOR? dark brown/black

SCARY MOVIES OR GOOD ENDINGS? im really bad at this or that questions bc half the time it depends on the mood? i do love a scary movie but good endings are.. well, good. but also when i choose a movie i don't really decide 'oh i want to watch this bc it has a good ending' (on the assumptoin that good = happy ending here).

ANY SPECIAL TALENTS? ...no? in the past i used to be able to make a un out of almost anything and everything but uh in the present day.. nothing 'special' ig. i mean if i dedicate the time to it, i can make clothes but thats a very selective talent LOL

WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES? wriitng, reading (hopefully i'll actually get to do this instead of saying i do this), sewing, playing piano, listening to music???? oh and people watching !! .. in a non-creepy way

DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS? we have a koi/fish pond and canaries at my house, but i don't really consider them my pets? its kinda the father's hobby ig

WHAT SPORTS DO YOU PLAY / HAVE YOU PLAYED? i don't do any rn 💀 but outside of mandatory participation (ie in classes) i've enjoyed swimming and soccer, though that wasn't competitive (like soccer was competitive but like. the way kids playing at lunch on the school oval is). i used to do tae kwon do and badminton as well.

HOW TALL ARE YOU? 167cm 'on a good day', as they say, or else 164cm LOL

FAVORITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL? music and lit, but also partially bc i enjoyed the social atmosphere in those classes? i also enjoyed learning chem and bio.

DREAM JOB? i mean, given that i swapped courses, it'd feel wrong to not say 'author' lol but also like. even just editting? one thing i do really wanna do though is go to retirement homes and share the stories of the older adults - be that their life, or just a story they want to write but might be unable to? i mean, the best outcome/goal would be to enable or facilitate them writing it themselves, but i do want to write for people as well. especially within this specific context, i think having that social aspect is super important. (side note i just remembered a story one of the residents told me when i was on prac in '21 year and now im sad lol i hope she's well)

tagging tagging tagging @chogiwow @decembermoonskz @neo-shitty (again, no pressure !!) + anyone who read this tagging section hehe

[danieldaystreep]

They thought they had it covered in the next scene with Louis and Claudia "he doesn't love her" "you heard him say it" "he wanted us to discover him, he's all kinds of fucked up and he would have killed her in a second if he thought I would take him as he is". They didn't think it through and it was a mess, they just wanted to have a plot twist and the audience mad at Lestat so they could consider the murder totally justified, but the writing was lazy and full of poor choices. They planned a redeeming arc for Lestat but I really don't know if they will be able to do so without destroying the other characters.

yeah but they're limited by whose perspectives we have access to rn so idk what else they could've done once they decided they needed her to be used for that twist, it's never gonna be fully convincing because we can only see the situation from louis & claudia's view. that's why fandom has to use sam's statements to understand it better cause that's the only insight we have on lestat atm. so yes WE know that lestat only didn't kill her cause louis didn't ask and won't admit his feelings cause sam says it but in the context of the show what louis believes isn't fullproof cause he doesn't know for sure.

also you have to look at that scene on the park bench cause the meaning of that scene changes drastically once we see the reveal in 1x07. at first we're meant to believe per claudia's line that lestat is just flouncing off to see antoinette to get his rocks off but once it's revealed antoinette is hiding behind a tree spying on them, the context changes everything cause now we know he's not just going to see his mistress but actually using her to make sure he doesn't lose louis (and claudia but she's a means for him to keep louis). imo stuff like that is probably what the show plans on doing with lestat's pov in s3, like you think this situation was about one thing but it'll be revealed later what the true motivation was. is it smart to make the audience wait 2-3 yrs for that? im not sure but i think that's what they're going for.

[sputnikodin]

re: the watcher anger

i know $6 a month isn't a lot in the united states, but they have a pretty international audicence and with currency exchange, $6 is a lot. like in hong kong that's $50 a month, mexico its 102 pesos a month, in the phillipines that's 345 pesos a month, in argentina that's 5,221 argentine pesos--you get the idea. hell, i live in the us and i can't even afford to spend an extra $6 a month 😭

i agree on paying creators fairly, and i know watcher has 25 employees who deserve to paid. but the channel already pulls in over $100k a month from patreon alone; they also make bank from all their sponsors and merch sales. i mean, one of their main series is steven lim eating expensive food like gold flaked beef. i mean, he has a new tesla!

idk it just feels like that ceo thing where they aren't happy with consistent success, it needs to be increasing success. but ofc idk them, i'm just an outside observer so idk the full story, etc.

first up -- i actually think $6 a month IS a lot for some people in the US & have talked in private w friends about how i wish they'd started at like, $1-$3/mo or smth because even that would make it more affordable for a lot of their fans :-) just to clear that up! $6 is a lot when most streaming services that offer way more than 2x as much content cost like 2x as much on average (i think? the only streaming service i have is for baseball, i pirate everything else so idk). $6 a month is also a lot, Period, for many people, regardless of context. it's the principle of paying for it at all that was my main point in that post

to everything else -- great points and i appreciate the info and your perspective. re: money i know $100k/mo sounds like a lot + they have the other revenue sources you mentioned but i think it's important to keep in mind that they're not just paying for their own/their employees' lives but also funding the shit they make -- travel, gear, production costs, everything they need to buy for the videos etc. like it's not JUST 28 paychecks that the money is going towards but also the necessary costs of the job itself. not to mention that at least shane steven and ryan live in a super HCOL area ($100k/yr for a single person is literally considered "low income" in san francisco lmao & i dont even wanna know what it is in los angeles). they could still be making bank, idk! i have literally no idea what their finances look like, i'm spitballing the same as everyone else. but i think shit costs more than a lot of people realize

i have zero argument with the frustrations with how expensive this will be for their non-usamerican audiences, i'm really sorry that they didn't roll out different prices for different locations or like ... seem to take that into consideration at all. like i said in the original post, i have no beef with anyone who is personally upset about getting priced out of content they love. honestly my only point here is that i do not doubt at all that everything they release on watcher will be uploaded to piracy sites by people w accounts & that everyone anywhere who is capable of piracy (ik some countries are harsh about it but # of countries where it faces strict repercussions < # of countries where watcher's pricing is prohibitively expensive afaik) will be able to access it, and i bring that up more in hopes that it's encouraging for people worried about getting to still watch their content than bc i'm trying to argue anything

ultimately i still think this was not an outrageous thing for them to do & i empathize with people who are pissed and sad with the Way this is going down but i still at the end of the day think we gotta adjust to artists wanting & requesting to be paid regularly and directly for their work cuz that is the world we live in rn. it sucks but i can't get mad at them for it