#nothing will ruin it now

[sugarcoatednightshade]

thinking about how Humans Are Space Orcs stories always talk about how indestructible humans are, our endurance, our ability to withstand common poisons, etc. and thats all well and good, its really fun to read, but it gets repetitive after a while because we aren't all like that.

And that got me thinking about why this trope is so common in the first place, and the conclusion I came to is actually kind of obvious if you think about it. Not everyone is allowed to go into space. This is true now, with the number of physical restrictions placed on astronauts (including height limits), but I imagine it's just as strict in some imaginary future where humans are first coming into contact with alien species. Because in that case there will definitely be military personnel alongside any possible diplomatic parties.

And I imagine that all interactions aliens have ever had up until this point have been with trained personnel. Even basic military troops conform to this standard, to some degree. So aliens meet us and they're shocked and horrified to discover that we have no obvious weaknesses, we're all either crazy smart or crazy strong (still always a little crazy, academia and war will do that to you), and not only that but we like, literally all the same height so there's no way to tell any of us apart.

And Humans Are Death Worlders stories spread throughout the galaxy. Years or decades or centuries of interspecies suspicion and hostilities preventing any alien from setting foot/claw/limb/appendage/etc. on Earth until slowly more beings are allowed to come through. And not just diplomats who keep to government buildings, but tourists. Exchange students. Temporary visitors granted permission to go wherever they please, so they go out in search of 'real terran culture' and what do they find?

Humans with innate heart defects that prevent them from drinking caffeine. Humans with chronic pain and chronic fatigue who lack the boundless endurance humans are supposedly famous for. Humans too tall or too short or too fat to be allowed into space. Humans who are so scared of the world they need to take pills just to function. Humans with IBS who can't stand spicy foods, capsaicin really is poison to them. Lactose intolerance and celiac disease, my god all the autoimmune disorders out there, humans who struggle to function because their own bodies fight them. Humans who bruise easily and take too long to heal. Humans who sustained one too many concussions and now struggle to talk and read and write. Humans who've had strokes. Humans who were born unable to talk or hear or speak, and humans who through some accident lost that ability later.

Aliens visit Earth, and do you know what they find? Humanity, in all its wholeness.

[alarainai]

My laptop breaking after I post about James being bad in bed. Coincidence? I think not.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Siffrin plays Disco Elysium AU: Featuring backseat gamer Loop.

[respectthepetty]

I don't even know where to start about First Note of Love! I knew I would love it because it's a Taiwanese BL and I love ALL Taiwanese BLs, but I LOVED the first two episodes, so let me list the reasons:

First, I don't know why I acted like I wouldn't like the music in First Note of Love when I still listen to the music from About Youth.

Because just like how Magnet's first performance felt like it would be a gimmick after they busted out this move, the music (unsurprisingly) has some heart.

It's clear from the BTS that the show put a lot of thought into the music and the actors were trained by female musicians, plus the music for the show was created by a female artist.

Which I also like the female characters in the show! Ting Fei did not need the guys to cause a ruckus (and get her fired) and Xiao Mei is not here for Neil's bullshit. They have dimensions.

When Reese asked if they knew each other, I'm not sure who said they did and who said they didn't, but I love that Neil looked slightly bothered by that yet Sea still admires Neil despite Neil being a jerk to him. I also love that Neil calls Sea "kiddo" so Sea starts calling him a "has-been." It's mutual hatred mixed with respect.

And I like that Sea eyed Neil's necklace because Neil will be handing it over to Sea as a a declaration of love before this ends, and I will be unwell about it.

Because the way this 19-year-old looks at his idol like he hung the moon and the stars yet is immediately hurt when Neil dismisses him is only the beginning of the love Sea is willing to give Neil if Neil will just take him seriously.

I love that it's clear Reese cares about his friend and also took Matt's death hard, but that his patience is running low with Neil's resistance to everything.

Also, Liu Min Ting's beauty might just get me to watch Guardian.

Now I'm even more excited to see him kiss a man!

I love that Sea also has a friend who is a hopeless romantic and overly optimistic so he can push Sea to accept the opportunities (and love) coming his way. When he told Neil he was attractive despite what Sea said, I loved that he was just as embarrassed as Reese was that their friends are being so damn rude to each other.

I love the combining of these scenes.

I hate this wig though. Take it off and light it on fire!

And I want to hate this, but it makes me love this show more.

Because I love everything about this show!

(except that damn wig)

[enjoythebutterflies11]

reminder that lawson got a new engine and was given the best strategy (over yuki) which vcarb would have never given daniel

[everytaylorswiftsongisaboutcats]

[arthur-lesters-spinal-cord]

Happy halloween!

John is dressed up as Frakenstiens monster from the 1931 hollywood movie and Arthur is Dracula (also 1931).

[melyzard]

Okay, look, they talk to a Google rep in some of the video clips, but I give it a pass because this FREE course is a good baseline for personal internet safety that so many people just do not seem to have anymore. It's done in short video clip and article format (the videos average about a minute and a half). This is some super basic stuff like "What is PII and why you shouldn't put it on your twitter" and "what is a phishing scam?" Or "what is the difference between HTTP and HTTPS and why do you care?"

It's worrying to me how many people I meet or see online who just do not know even these absolute basic things, who are at constant risk of being scammed or hacked and losing everything. People who barely know how to turn their own computers on because corporations have made everything a proprietary app or exclusive hardware option that you must pay constant fees just to use. Especially young, somewhat isolated people who have never known a different world and don't realize they are being conditioned to be metaphorical prey animals in the digital landscape.

Anyway, this isn't the best internet safety course but it's free and easy to access. Gotta start somewhere.

Here's another short, easy, free online course about personal cyber security (GCFGlobal.org Introduction to Internet Safety)

Bonus videos:

(Jul 13, 2023, runtime 15:29)

"He didn't have anything to hide, he didn't do anything wrong, anything illegal, and yet he was still punished."

(Apr 20, 2023; runtime 9:24 minutes)

"At least 60% use their name or date of birth as a password, and that's something you should never do."

(March 4, 2020, runtime 11:18 minutes)

"Crossing the road safely is a basic life skill that every parent teaches their kids. I believe that cyber skills are the 21st century equivalent of road safety in the 20th century."

[wasyago]

im gonna start killing

[sergle]

what I was talking abt earlier. we have fully looped back around and away from feminism, societally, whereas before it was very Feminism 101 to acknowledge that many parts of existing as a woman in a misogynistic society are painful and upsetting. not that being a woman is Inherently Negative in a bubble. but that living on this earth, in the conditions we're living in, is hostile to women. and that gender is a performance. that many of the Staples Of Femininity as accepted by society are things that you have to create and perform and mold artificially and aren't inherent, that COMPLAINING about day to day difficulties of existing as a woman is something that you're allowed to do. acknowledging these basic, again, feminism 101 things, that something tied to womanhood is more time consuming or more expensive or more dangerous Because Of The Problems. does not CREATE the problems. that when women complain about having to perform femininity, they are not, in fact, oppressing themselves. the call does not come from inside the fucking house. saying that you HAVE suffered does not fucking equate that you believe you SHOULD have suffered.

like I could talk about this for hours. how braindead and one-dimensional the Takes are getting. "being a woman is looking in the mirror and going fuck yeah i'm a woman" damn. I guess any negative experiences you have by living in a misogynistic world... are your fault if you are anything but positive? "you don't actually want liberation" we've fully gone back to telling feminists "you WANT to be oppressed" when anything negative about our society is pointed out. it's not real until I say it out loud, I guess, and then I'm actually the one who caused it. if anybody expresses any unhappiness with how they're treated or the status quo or the language and culture surrounding womanhood and femininity. they've created it, right that second. they invented it just now. it wasn't a problem before somebody complained, right? also trans women aren't braindead zombies who just follow the flow of whatever cis women around them say. I am pretty fucking sure they are very much aware of pain, and are MORE than aware of the swirling torrent of misogyny and standards of femininity than anybody else. actually. and I am pretty sure someone complaining on tumblr that being a woman means always putting on a performance is going to make someone change their mind about transitioning. also "performing femininity" as a necessity to being treated well as a woman is not fucking NEWS to your Local Trans Woman. I AM PRETTY SURE SHE GETS THE CONCEPT. using trans women as a scapegoat for this braindead perspective on gender politics is spineless, meritless, and pathetic.

[oifaaa]

Jason gets like a week into his red hood plan and then finds out batman is his sister instead of his dad and has to backtrack hard and come up with a whole new plan and he’s super mad about it.

Jason when he first realizes that it's actually Cass and not Bruce he's been antagonizing for 5 working days

[lewishamiltonstuff]

Good morning to Sir Lewis Hamilton, Oscar Piastri, and Charles Leclerc!

[heartisbrave]

bottoms doesn’t need a sequel but I need another movie with the exact same cast and crew. time for gay people to have their own brat pack

[jazzkrebber]

I'm gonna miss them

[shukruut]

if you're someone who draws fanart you can't let spoilers get ya because sometimes you're casually looking for references of a neat background-maybe-eventually-major character and then oops they die. and you did that to yourself.

[psalmsofpsychosis]

Luke Hunter: Girlfriend Material