#please correct me if i get anything wrong

[khorneschosen]

And this is the thing I want to have people understand its beyond difficult and rare to actually look at their society and independently come to the conclusion that its wrong especially when everything in that society is telling you, and not only telling you, but explaining to you why its right.

Like imagine you go back in time to before heliocentrism or germ theory and ask yourself if you could convince them, disproving their theories. You know terracenterism and misma theory is wrong but you don't know why its wrong.

And heres the thing you know now its wrong but your society had to tell you that and explain how its own system works and could produce evidence.

You don't get that with the past theories and you don't get that in authoritarian societies.

It is a heroic effort to say and come to the conclusion independently that "my society is wrong". You wont have means of getting evidence, you won't even know how to understand it. You wont have people to point to in authority as justification for your opinion.

You will have to stand in front of jury not of strangers but your lovers, friends, family, and so many others and say "this is wrong." And stand by it. You have to formulate the thought and fight for it.

That is hard. Then you have to go one more difficult. To answer "and this is what we do about it." You are basically making the germ theory or heliocentrism of your era, and you have to do it all alone.

That's evil great advantage. It can live with a half truth. Good needs a complete answer.

Like you aren't worrying about dying you are worrying about the truth dying with you, hopelessly.

And that's why I say most people wouldn't have been against fascism or the nazis. They would have been okay with it. They wouldn't know any better. Because what is required to say no, is beyond difficult and when you are taught constantly to fall in line and be politically correct, the end result is that you stop having that independence to say "This is wrong". That singular important trait which is necessary to fight authoritarianism is increasingly rare in leftist spaces.

And I keep seeing it and it worries me. If any part of leftism needs to be completely destroyed for the good of humanity its that. Completely discredited, devalued, and fought aggressively.

Whatever you think of the right, they don't have that issue. We fight each other over everything. Even if you don't like the right you need to understand that leftists have to lose and keep losing until they lose those ideas which kill their ability to say "no this is wrong" to their fellows. You need it more than anything else. Please don't let it go.

The moment for thinking “what would I have done in Germany before and during Hitler’s reign” is over. Look back over the past two years. What did you do? What did you think and feel?

Did your opinion about Jews change?

If you went from supporting all Jews to thinking that a least some Jews, (namely “Zionists” or “Israelis”) deserve suffering, exile, and/or death, then you fell for modern antisemitic propaganda, and you would’ve fallen for it in Nazi Germany, too.

Maybe you would blink if the police today started rounding up the Jews in your neighborhood, or smashing synagogues, or arresting Jews off the streets. But would you feel better about it if they call them Zionists or Israelis? They’re not arresting “good Jews”, they’re arresting Zionists, to make them pay for their crimes.

It’s not too late to fix that, though. You can come back from being sucked into antisemitism. You can do better going forward.

[genderqueerdykes]

I feel like the transandrophobia discourse, and, correct me if I'm wrong - is really dumb because it boils down to

"Trans men get mistreated in unique and notable ways" - general agreeance

"we came up with a term for it." Everyone foams at the mouth

Are people really that caught in the "men cannot be mistreated as a class" brainpoison?

yep, they are, thanks for taking the time to send this! you summed it up perfectly! i've been wanting to talk about this so thanks for giving me a great ask to follow up on for that!

it's really racist because idk how to tell people that being a black man, cis or trans, and being outside can get you killed in the USA if you're doing something cops find "suspicious" just because you're black and a man. black men are still viewed as violent and dangerous. black men still struggle to find community resources. black men still struggle in the work place due to systemic racism. black men are not valued anywhere near the same as much as white men are.

this goes for all men of color. being a man of color in the US is terrible. it's not a cake walk for men of color, even if they're mixed. they face constant oppression, every day of their lives, and it's not a good idea to dismiss that just because you think being queer is the only way to be oppressed in society. but it's very racist to ignore that cishet men of color suffer in the USA and other places white people have colonized.

disabled men are also oppressed. disabled men lose tons of privilege because man = workhorse to most people. we make men they think they have to do all the work forever for everyone around them and not complain. if they start experiencing chronic pain or fatigue, mental health symptoms, or anything that prevents them from working, they are treated like absolute garbage on top of being miserable from their illnesses. men can be neurodivergent. men can be disabled for life. men get sick, too, and it impacts how society views them greatly.

there's a lot of ways that men can be oppressed. ignoring it for the sake of a sassy snapback isn't cool. it's racist and ableist as hell and it's not worth throwing those people under the bus for. please care about men of color. please care about disabled and neurodivergent and chronically ill men. there are way more things that can hold a man back aside from just their assigned gender at birth. society is actually very cruel to a lot of men.

[intersexismpresentation]

(Please note before reading that I am perisex, so please correct me if I've said anything wrong. I won't be tagging this with the main intersex tags for now since it's unrelated to my original presentation.)

I've been thinking a lot about this topic recently:

I think what the people who talk about transitioning to intersex don't understand is that they only see "intersex" as a label for someone with atypical sex characteristics (or at worst, see it as a label for someone with two completely functioning sets of genitals).

It must be said that anybody can transition to having atypical sex characteristics. But you can't transition to being intersex because intersex is a specific label for those who were born that way.

As an analogy, anybody can transition to becoming a man, but "cis man" is a specific subset of man that someone who didn't start out that way can't really claim. Same with "cis woman".

Of course, the set of genders that is "man" and "woman" have a different position in society (being seen as the default, with those who don't "fit in" being coercively assigned to one of the two), and so the phrase "started out that way" can represent more than just being purely mullerian or wolffian--it might also refer to how one was raised. It's a bit more open to interpretation. And of course, the gender one desires to transition to will likely also affect one even before they realise they desire this transition.

But "intersex" is a group with a very different position in society.

Firstly, it doesn't have the gendered associations that "male/female", "woman/man" do. You can transition to either gender, or you can transition to a different one that doesn't have a complete basis (or even any basis) in those, but "intersex" isn't a group with a gendered association.

Secondly, it's a term that specifically describes someone who was born with atypical sex characteristics. It's just not something that somebody without naturally atypical sex characteristics can claim.

I don't know. It's a bit hard to get my thoughts organized right now. If anybody else would like to share their insights, especially if you're actually intersex, I'd love to hear it.

[jacklesraised]

Sebastian Stan. in a bathtub, which is all I actually got out of this movie.

[statementlou]

https://www.tumblr.com/louisupdates/754934426217152513/goodbye-faith-in-the-future-world-tour-272024?source=share

did he or did he not lose fans then?

I will answer this because this anon actually brings a concrete question to the table rather than just "hurhur but you're a larrie??" (tell me you can't actually refute any of our points…). Anyway this post shows the decrease in Louis instagram followers between the screenshots taken directly after the release of Faith in the Future in Nov '22, when he changed his bio to promote that album and the tour tickets, and now, when he changed it again to mention the current release. But I'm putting that response under a cut because I'm tired of the actual POINT of all this nonsense getting lost in a sea of made up things people insist are important:

There is no rational argument you can make to say that Louis has less fans now than he did 2, 4, or 6 years ago. You don't need a spreadsheet of details you need to USE YOUR EYES! He has gone from filling theaters to filling arenas and stadiums. His second album made a higher chart position than his first album. His festival has doubled in size EVERY year of its existence. And for that matter: his insta post engagement numbers remain about the same (despite the fact that older posts should have way MORE likes due to having been there longer, even aside from follower counts.) SO WHO FUCKING CARES ABOUT HIS INSTA FOLLOWER NUMBER???? Serious question: what does the word "fans" mean if these things aren't what matters? ALL of this quibbling about what he should do to make things better and people can't even see that THINGS AREN'T BAD.

Anyway to address the specific question- (con't......)

NO- HE DID NOT LOSE FANS. HE LOST SOME INSTA FOLLOWERS. THESE ARE NOT THE SAME THING. As I said above, literally what does it mean to lose fans if that number change coincides with him having higher sales, more audience members, and higher engagement than ever before? Whatever he lost ISN'T FANS. I wouldn't be surprised if a significant factor was something like a bot purge, but also yes: I'm sure a lot of casuals followed him around the time of his big album release and later unfollowed him. That's extremely normal because that's how casual engagement works, and why the definition of fan really matters. Louis and his team understand this and have referenced it repeatedly, talking about how lucky he is to have *us* specifically, to have the kind of dedicated fanbase he has, to have the KIND of fans he does who will allow him to do what HE wants. @dogsliampaynedoesntinstagram named the issue of depth vs breadth with regard to fans a long time ago, and pointed out why having DEPTH is so much more important. It's like this- artists who are on top 40 radio have more numbers on things like insta follows, and for a time on sales and tickets. But those aren't FANS- they're people with a casual interest. And as soon as that person isn't being forced in their ears 10x a day, those people lose interest and stop supporting them, stop buying stuff and unfollow, and those artists end up doing the 'opener on the jingle ball' circuit rather than their own tours. One Direction as a whole, and Louis maybe most of all or near to at this point, have something MUCH MORE VALUABLE than that- DEPTH FANS. Louis has fans who will support him even if he takes years to release music, or stops parading around with a pretend girlfriend to stay in the headlines at least once a month, or completely changes his image and genre, and that is UNHEARD OF. It's ASTONISHING and worth SO MUCH MORE. And they get that! THAT is why he always bragging about us, why industry people he works with are always so agog about us, why he will do anything for US- not for randos. He is also growing his breadth- and it's OBVIOUSLY WORKING whatever his follower counts are, but that is always going to be secondary to doing things for THE FANDOM because that is his sustainable business model. That is what keeps him onstage and reaching number one. And not coincidentally, the things they do are also working to grow that- much more valuable- commodity. So the fact that that's exactly what these chuckleheads complain about- that he does things that are just fandom facing or serving rather than everything being aimed at recruiting casual fans- does nothing but betray how completely they, unlike Louis and his team, misunderstand the actual drivers of his (actual, existing, happening) success. Luckily for Louis, he and his team rely on their own data harvesting (they do a LOT of it) and growth metrics (they're off the charts) rather than the smug assumptions of random (mostly quite new to this) fans and the few bitter people leading the complaining about everything Louis does.

[th30sstuff]

TRYING TO UNDERSTAND OBEY ME SEASON 1 TIME PASSING

All lesson 1 happens in 1 night

Lesson 2

- Day 1: 2.2-2.8

- Day 2: 2.10-2.15

The time between lesson 2 and 3 is not specified but seems to be around a week

Lesson 3 & Lesson 4

- Day 1: 3.2-3.10

- Day 2: 3.12-4.15(also the beginning of the next day)

- Day 3: 4.15-5.4

It's not exactly specified how much time has passed during the "Day 3" tbh(the day after climbing the stairs and the night that Beel destroys our room) so you can add a couple of days in between :D

Also, how many time has passed when we visit Belphegor in the end of lesson 5.4 after getting set in Beel's room is not specified so you can consider it the night after(??)

Lesson 5

Everything that happens during 5.7 and 5.10 is not exactly specified but it seems to be around 3 or 4 days :)

Though the end of 5.10 connects directly with the beginning of 5.12

5.12-5.17 all happens in 24h, beginning at night and ending the night after.

Lesson 6

- Day 1: 5.20-6.10

- Day 2: 6.12-6.15

The time in between 6.17 and 6.19 is not specified but I think it's a day.

Lesson 7 & Lesson 8

Everything that happens in between lesson 7 and 8 happens in exactly three days, since it's the Demon castle sleepover(I forgot how it was called)

- Lesson 9 happens in the morning right after

Lesson 9

- Day 1: 9.2-9.12

- Day 2: 9.12-9.20 Diavolo mentions Lucifer has a big speech in two days

Lesson 10 & Lesson 11

- MC probably hasn't sleep for 2 days now btw

- (Neither did I doing this<3)

11.2 Lucifer mentions his big speech is tomorrow, probably still the night after the game thing.

No time is specified in between lesson 11 and 12, but it's definitely more than a day since the speech was given.

Lessons 12, 13, 14, 15 & 16(this is a nightmare)

- 12.2-16.19 all happens without a pause, though it probably happens in a night to the morning, there's no way it all happened in less than 6 hours I like to think the dinner happened around 19:30 and the whole "You're gonna time travel now" happened around 4 in the morning

But since we went back in time it ends at like, 2 AM???? IDK IT DOESN'T MATTER, BUT IT'S AROUND 2 DAYS

No time is specified between lesson 16 and 17 BUT PLEASE GIVE IT A GOOD COUPLE OF WEEKS BEFORE BELPHIE GO BACK TO SCHOOL AND MC IS COMFORTABLE ENOUGH TO BE IN THE SAME ROOM AS HIM

Lesson 17 & Lesson 18

I gave up on counting each chapter of a lesson, but everything in between lesson 17 and 18 is around a month and ends at October 31(Dia's Bday)

Lesson 19 & Lesson 20

I feel like since the entirety of these lessons are about saying goodbye, it's already December, so November was completely skipped???

[mofsblog]

Sorry but I keep noticing how Zionists that use Myanmar to "prove" pro Palestine people are "hypocrites" (which is insane btw) only mention the rohingya genocide, which screams to me they've done 0 research or just dont care and are only using my country as a fucking gotcha in an argument. I'm sorry but I feel like people who have done limited research on myanmar fundamentally don't understand that the rohingya people are not the only ones who are facing genocide. While I think it's worth acknowledging that islamphobia was definitely used to fuel and justify it and that they're one of the most vulnerable ethnic groups. I FEEL LIKE A LOT OF NON BURMESE (burmese as in. From myanmar. Not as in bamaar/burman) PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT THE ROHINGYA GENOCIDE IS PRODUCT OF A LARGER GENOCIDE TOWARDS ALL NON BURMAN GROUPS AND CULTURES. I feel like to properly understand the Rohingya genocide you also need to understand the overall picture of post colonial politics of Burma and the struggle to make it "one" country

Btw this isn't me saying not to talk about it or that they have it better somehow because of the somewhat higher exposure(which even then is pretty little), I just wish most people did enough research to understand that there's multiple genocides happening AT ONCE here and that other groups, like the Karen or Shan people, are also facing horrific persecution. Anyways, in conclusion, do literally any fucking research before saying shit about my country and don't use my country's ONGOING horrendous situation as a gotcha in your shitty argument supporting genocide 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[maddymoreau]

I read this interesting post:

https://www.tumblr.com/rocket-69/691648665881886720/its-sixxers-fallout-fallen-knight-let-me?source=share

That discusses how while Victor is a lovable character he's a product designed to lure Courier Six into New Vegas. This post got my brain juices flowing so bad I made Tumblr glitch with how much I tried writing in the tags. So I had to make my own post.

I find it EXTREMELY interesting how all the AIs Mr. House created while fun and lovable are also products.

Jane being a copy of Mr. House's favorite girl a starlet he dated before the Great War. She's designed to entertain him similarly to how the workers at Gomorrah "entertain" customers.

Jane: "Mr. House has a lot of needs, sugar. I take care of all of them, and a lady doesn't kiss and tell."

There's also an emotional aspect to the services she provides him.

If he wanted her just for sex he wouldn't have specifcally scanned her brain. He could've gotten anyone. While famous Jane wasn't even a star but a starlet. A young actress with aspirations to become a star.

While he might have liked Jane's personality which is why he picked her. Ultimately their relationship was a business transaction.

Raul: "She said they never, um... don't make me spell it out, boss. Anyway, she said all he wanted to do was scan her brain and make her dress up in different outfits."

Mr. House scanned her brain to create an artificial relationship (separate from the real Jane) designed to satisfy his needs post Great War. Mr. House had the technology to save the real Jane but chose not to.

A lot of people also seem misunderstand the reason why Mr. House doesn't have sex with Jane. It's because he physically COULDN'T.

Ignoring cut content. Mr. House was already attached to the machine keeping him alive. He's connected to an Electrode-studded command helmet on the day of the Great War.

It's how Mr. House protected New Vegas:

Raul: "I remember there were some weird stories about him, especially near the end." NEAR THE END.

Mr. House takes Jane's personality to the EXTREME. Designing her to stoke and inflate his ego by being able to only say positive things about him. Jane is a product designed to provide Mr. House a service all while managing his snow globe collection. She doesn't even respond when the player says goodbye to her.

Then there's Mr. Vegas who was an AI created before the Great War. A charming DJ for Radio New Vegas to play music but also spread the news.

Mr. House also did to the same to the tribes by turning them into The Strip AKA a money making product.

He molds people into exactly what HE wants for his benefit.

The BIGGEST example of this was Benny! However that didn't work because Benny is human. Benny had his own ambitions and desires.

Mr House: "I have to think that he found out about the Platinum Chip and mistakenly convinced himself that he could use it to his own ends."

Mr. House even flat out admits it to the player.

Mr. House: "Benny has led the Chairmen ever since I recruited his tribe seven years ago. Until his recent misbehavior, I'd planned to make him my protege. Maybe if I'd begun grooming him sooner, none of this would've happened..."

Protege meaning a person who is guided and supported by an older and more experienced or influential person. He wanted to GUIDE Benny into a specific role. Which the player can even ask about.

Courier Six: "What use would you have for a protege?"

Mr. House: "To achieve my aims, I require a capable human agent to perform certain . . . tasks."

HE DOES THE SAME WITH COURIER SIX!!!

Testing them to see if they can get to New Vegas on their own.

This awesome post goes into more details about it:

https://www.tumblr.com/maddymoreau/741007168343588864/veronicaroyce-it-always-bothered-me-that-mr?source=share

Mr. House even mentions you being a more-than-suitable replacement for the role he wanted Benny in.

ALSO during your first meeting with Mr. House this exchange can happen:

Courier: "Why the VIP treatment? I'm just a courier."

Mr. House: "Oh, don't be coy. You've been playing a high-stakes game ever since Victor dug you out of the ground. Don't be afraid to admit it."

DON'T BE AFRAID TO ADMIT IT. HE'S TEACHING YOU!!!! HE'S GUIDING YOU INTO THE ROLE HE WANTS!!!

Mr. House: "You see that you and I are of a different stripe, don't you? We don't have to dream that we're important. We are."

While Mr. House may act like he's above feelings and relationships. HE'S NOT!!!! It's why the player's karma can affect his ending SO MUCH!!!!

Another incredible post discussing it:

https://www.tumblr.com/maddymoreau/740922764666585088/veronicaroyce-something-i-think-a-lot-about-is?source=share

A lot of people think Mr. House is an idiot for picking Benny but people forget Benny's drive. Hell just rewatch the intro cutscene where he shoots Courier Six.

Mr. House being human is also WHY he picks Benny despite Swanks being far more loyal. Swanks is an unimaginative employee.

MR. HOUSE LIKE'S BENNY'S PERSONALITY. HE NOT STUPID HE KNOWS WHAT BENNY PERSONALITY IS LIKE!!!

Mr. House: "I have a certain tolerance for greed. I expect my business partners to be self-interested - but smarty so."

However he misjudged Benny and even admits it.

Mr. House: "Obviously, I miscalculated his drive for supremacy."

In the Yes Man ending we learn.

Yes Man: "I found some code snippets in one of Mr. House's databanks that will let me, um, reprogram my personality! To be a little more assertive, basically!"

Meaning while small Mr. House has programming to allow characters like Victor and Jane free will. He WON'T use it though because he wants the specific services and relationships they provide him.

HE'S A WEIRDO CONTROL FREAK WHO ACTS LIKE HE'S ABOVE HUMAN EMOTIONS BUT HE'S NOT AND I LOVE IT!!!!

In the ending with high good karma it even says: "Mr. house afforded him/her every luxury at his disposal in the Lucky 38, out of gratitude - and a quiet sense of pride for his choice in lieutenants."

Of course because of his ego (look at the obituary that appears when he dies) but GRATITUDE. Spoiling Courier Six with all the luxuries he can provide doesn't sound like a basic employee and employer relationship he likes to act like what they have is.

Mr. House: "In any case... this is an employer - employee relationship. I've given you an assignment, and the directions are clear."

If you want to take the G.E.C.K script notes into consideration they even says:

Mr. House: ''You know, I've had thousands of employees in my time. Few met my expectations, fewer still surpassed them.'' {You know, I never had much time for a family - if I did, you'd be the daughter/son I wish I'd had. Benny was almost like a son to me, but well...}

Courier Six being loyal to Mr. House means so much more to him then he'd ever want to admit. EVEN AT THE END OF THE GAME WHEN THE PLAYER HAS FINISHED THEIR WORK AT THE SECOND BATTLE OF HOOVER DAM HE AUTOMATICALLY GETS EXCITED DISCUSSING THEIR NEXT PLANS!!!!!

[revenantghost]

God, this fucks me up so bad. Razlo was formed at a very young age as a shield (I believe the term for this alter is a protector, correct me if I'm wrong or you don't think he falls into this category) to hide Livio from unspeakable violence and trauma. And there's where he stayed, in that moment, never healing, never being able to move on because that was his job. He's just a little boy.

I know that technically Wolfwood is the older brother, but the shattering upon trauma reminds me a lot of Knives. Obviously Knives went more in a personality disorder sort of direction, but both struggle with inner turmoil they're too afraid too even look closely at. It doesn't excuse certain actions, but they'd need to face this terror and hurt to begin to heal, but it breaks my heart.

[biblically-accurate-dca]

I'm of the impression that Moon *was* a mistake caused by reprogramming, but when he was discovered, the higher ups saw a chance to market two animatronics in one, no matter if Moon's presence hurt them both or not. Then they rolled with the day/night motif for a while, people started complaining about him so after a while of being the naptime attendant, they decided to cage him in light, perhaps after a/some death(s), child or adult.

i guess it's not super unlikely for faz ent. to pull something like that, but it just makes so much more sense to me if they were both something that was at least somewhat intentional, rather than moon's presence being something that needed to either be removed or used to gain profit :(

but i mean what else is new with faz ent. >_>

but regardless of how they came to be, i imagine that they were fairly good at what they did before the virus came along and forced them to be locked away. rather than what the books say about moon always needing to be kept away from everyone..

[roachingurcoach]

(Please select what you believe to be most supported by canon. I didn't put multiple in one option (e.g. 'I believe he could be bi or gay and/or aro') as you may fairly believe that he can be read multiple ways, and I want to see people pick. There will also be no sort of Kinsey Scale nuance).

I wasn't sure how many people hold whichever opinion as to his sexuality and romantic preferences (for the sake of the poll, I am getting very specific, sorry. Also, if anyone wants more options I can do another), and it feels like I have recently seen more gay!Dean truthers in my corner. Either opinions are shifting, or I am blind to the bisexual truthers I mostly used to see and I need to branch out way better than I am so I see them again as well.

The options I listed are ones I've seen argued about the most either on social media or included on fics I have spotted on AO3. I almost never see people talk about him being pansexual (among others) and I didn't include straight as I don't spend a lot of time around discussions of straight!Dean that don't involve him eventually coming to terms with being a different orientation and landing in a relationship with a dude or acknowledging having had past relationships with men.

[lynxindisguise]

Hi I have a few canon, fanon, or atyd questions if that’s okay 🙃 the first is where does Peter being James’ neighbour/from the same town come from? And then Remus being welsh and his bite from Greyback being on his hip?

Hi!!

Peter being James's neighbour is atyd for sure. They're friends before Hogwarts, which sets up this dynamic of Sirius replacing Peter as James's bestie from the beginning.

Remus being Welsh is Pottermore canon (sort of). His mother was working as an insurance agent in Cardiff, but it's unclear if she was actually Welsh/if he was raised in Wales. And as someone pointed out in an earlier ask, his run-down cottage was in Yorkshire. I personally think he just has strong Welsh vibes.

The bite mark on his hip is atyd too. It's described as a huge scar, where you could count every tooth.

[lestats-ovaries]

Okay idk if this is just me being negative, but I personally get enjoyment out of the shows I watch by ripping them to shreds in the name of improvement, because there's always something there that's great, it just has to be refined and shaped to reach it's full potential. So, bear with me here.

I'm a 911 fan, and one who really enjoys the opening disasters. I have a pretty good suspension of disbelief, so usually I can deal with scientific inaccuracies and contrivances for the sake of good storytelling. I'm not the kind of person to point at the earthquake opener and be like "uhm akshually all buildings in california have to be built on a floating foundation and obey strict safety regulations to withstand earthquakes, so the high rise crumbling the way it did is actually really unrealistic." I don't mind extreme situations, as long as they're not so impossible it breaks my suspension of disbelief.

That being said, I can firmly and completely say that the bee-nado season 8 opener looks like the absolute dumbest thing you could ever write, not just because it's contrived and overly dramatic, but because it's wildly, comically unrealistic and breaks suspension of disbelief in a way that 911 has never really done before. Sure, a blimp crashing into a packed stadium is kinda dumb and contrived, but at least it's a thing that could realistically happen with a (semi) realistic aftermath.

The bee-nado is so bad it's almost insulting. Killer bees are a trope that's been beaten to death, to the point where 911's had a bee related emergency before, and from the trailer, this seems to be a depiction that's much, much worse.

(Cut for people who don't want to deal with the dissertation I wrote, which. totally fair, it's over 1300 words and arguably kinda nitpicky. dw, there's a tldr at the end)

Without further ado, my unsolicited opinion. Enjoy.

First, let's get our facts straight:

One: the "killer bees" they're talking about are most likely africanized honey bees, an artificial breed of bee first cultivated and then accidentally released in brazil, which has spread north all the way up to Texas, Florida, San Diego and LA (plus more, really any southern border state) via migration.

Two: the 22 million number they mention in the trailer is, as far as I can tell, an accurate number when it comes to transporting bees commercially. Generally this is done by companies who are hired by farmers to bring beehives to their crops for pollination; they take trucks filled with bees, covered in a mesh net to try and keep them in, and drive them down to the farmland. More on this later

Three: when in trucks, honey bees can only be transported under certain conditions. If they get too hot, they tend to fly out of their hives to avoid boiling in their exoskeletons. The main ways truck drivers mitigate this is by driving at night, waiting for a cold day/week to go, or going fast enough that the wind keeps the bees cool and inside.

Four: africanized honey bees are considered an invasive nuisance in california and aren't cultivated in large masses anywhere in the US. Nests that are found are usually destroyed because of the threat they pose to public safety, and there's even

Knowing all this, let's consider the "bee-nado."

One: there's no way anyone would be transporting 22 million cultivated africanized honey bees. No company would ever want to work with them because they're an insane liability to public health, and would get them sued so quickly if anything went wrong. See: literally the season opener. And at the same time, what private beekeeper has the money to care for 400 hives of hyperaggressive bees?

Two: The transportation issues. Like I said earlier, bees are generally transported at night/during lower temperature days because bees are less active in the cold, are less prone to suffocation/leaving the hive, and are usually taken places on highways because it means less stops where the bees can escape. So why the hell are we transporting them straight through LA, a place that's notoriously hot and has traffic for days, meaning the truck would lose a bunch of its bees even if it somehow managed to avoid LA-typical traffic, because it'll have to stop at dozens of lights and slow down for tight turns that are hard to do on a trailer that size.

And that's not even mentioning that the bees aren't covered in a mesh sheet, which as far as I can tell is industry standard, or strapped down in any way to avoid death. Bees are really easy to kill on these trips, and companies are careful as hell while transporting them; there's no way the truck skidding like that (note: the trailer doesn't show it being knocked over, just skidding on the road and hitting the side of another car) would send the beehives all over the road. Dumb. As. Hell.

I do have to give the show some slack here, because as far as I can tell the temperature issues would apply less to africanized honey bees because they can withstand higher temperatures. Don't quote me on that, though, because I couldn't find any information on it because NO ONE TRANSPORTS AFRICANIZED HONEY BEES. They're a public nuisance, aren't cultivated in any large capacity, and discovered wild hives are commonly exterminated. DUMB. AS. HELL.

Past the inaccuracy, though, there's another reason this disaster bothers me, and it's because of optics.

Bees are an endangered species. They're vital to our survival, in fact. So, portraying them as 'killer bees' feels irresponsible. Say it with me:

Bees don't attack unless their hive is threatened.

Before anyone says different about africanized honey bees, they do the same thing. Stinging someone kills a bee; they won't do it just for fun (unlike wasps. I would have endorsed a wasp disaster actually, those guys can go to hell).

Obviously, the bee's hives being squashed across the highway is sure to send them into a frenzy, and it's definitely going to suck for anyone that's currently on that highway, but they're not going to travel around in packs mugging people. That sort of reputation is why people are apathetic towards, or even completely against preserving bee populations. They see bees the same way the media sees sharks; as inherently evil creatures who's only goal is human suffering, rather than living creatures with natural behaviours that are mistaken for antagonistic.

If this was just an episode long, I could definitely cut it some slack. A shorter time means less need to dramatize and mischaracterize bees as inherently predatory for the sake of drama. The way it was done in the renfaire episode a while ago was good; the bees only attacked one person because their queen was stuck in her armour. Normal bee behaviour, that's explained to the viewer and wouldn't lead to fear-mongering since there's a clear, non-antagonistic motive that's scientifically sound.

But, it's not. It's three episodes, and you just can't stretch regular bee behaviour into three episodes. Seriously, the simplest thing they can do is get everyone away from the hive to let the bees calm down, and letting exterminators take care of it. Even if the bees deem their hive destroyed and need to relocate, they generally stay in one place until the scout bees find something suitable to stay in (which can take a bit; and even then , the trailer didn't indicate the nests were crushed or anything, just thrown off the truck.)

My conclusion from all this? The season 8 opener is most likely going to be a contrived, comically unrealistic, damaging depiction of bees meant for drama and shock value, and most of all, I just think it's going to be lame. I'm sorry, you sank a cruise ship last season and the best you could come up with this time was bees? You made complicated and detailed water sets for a gorgeously written split perspective plotline in the season 2 tsunami disaster, and all you could think of was bees?? The volcano in lone star is almost impressively unrealistic, but at least it was more exciting than bees.

Please god let the rest of the season be better than this.

Important end note/disclaimer: the season isn't out yet as I'm writing this, so I literally have no idea how the portrayal is actually going to pan out. Knowing the show, they'll probably address the fact that they're africanized honey bees and not normal bees, which is a good step in the right direction. I personally don't think that's enough, since the optics are pretty fear mongering and especially dangerous with the current climate crisis and state of the bee population in the US, particularly California. If people go out thinking that it's normal for beekeepers to cultivate africanized honey bees, it'll result in a push against conservation efforts, et cetera, you get the gist.

But, I don't know how it's going to pan out. And as someone who genuinely loves this show's writing, I'm just hoping I'm wrong and I'm just taking things worse than they actually are. I know for a fact they can write so much better than this, and have written so much better than this.

The thing I love most about this show has always been how it sets itself apart from other procedurals, like greys anatomy, by creating realistic and complex drama, characters, and keeping most of its situations within the realm of possibility. This season opener feels like the first time they've sacrificed bare minimum realism for drama, and I hope to god that trend doesn't continue.

Uhhhh TLDR: killer bees are an actual type of bee that aren't cultivated, like, ever because they're considered a nuisance to be exterminated in california, and most other states. so, a random truckload of them being out in the middle of LA is wildly unrealistic. On top of that, the hives themselves are missing the usual safety precautions bee transporters have, like mesh nets and any sort of strap to stop the beehives from being flung off the truck. But it doesn't stop there, the portrayal of bees as these killer insects mugging anyone they come across is, you guessed it, also wildly unrealistic and adds to fearmongering around bees, which is not good for our critically declining populations. Their only goal is to defend their hive, and won't stray anywhere near as far as they do in the trailer.

[hopeinthebox]

tagged by the tastemaker @cordiallyfuturedwight for the july list 💕 Category 5 Breakdown in the tags as per usual but tagging some favs if you fancy a go @aprylynn @thvinyl @monismochi @banghwa @pauls-mccharmly @avizou mwah

[cowardlychimera]

Chimera I'm staring at u w my autistic eyes please share your theories w me

I love love Yume Nikki and Omori parallels I once read someone's comment saying "Black Space is a love letter written to Yume Nikki," which is so true to me!!!!! AGHH

ah okay!! fair warning though that this might just be me getting excited over a cool idea lol and might be wrong

okay so: 2 things I noticed that seem similar in both. windows and doors.

when someone hears the word daydreamer, the first thing they think of might be someone staring out a window, right?

and we know Madotsuki and Sunny both prefer their dreams over reality. so windows = inaction. observing, going with the flow.

this fits I think, since in omori, what's one very important window?

this.

Mari says Sunny's seen this before, when he almost drowned. he almost drowned because he gave in. he didn't believe he could do anything, so he didn't.

don't have much for yume nikki about windows tbh though, just that from what I remember Madotsuki's name might refer to windows (if there's anything I don't know of/forgot please share!)

okay now doors!! doors definitely tie these 2 games together! doors = action. choosing to do something instead of just letting things happen

Madotsuki refuses to open her door. she refuses to make the choice to leave, seeming to prefer her dreams over reality. Sunny can do the same. the front door that Kel knocks on, it's Sunny's last chance to fix things. he gets to choose.

and in white space and Madotsuki's dream room? they can leave whenever they want to, through a door! same thing with nexus/door room/whatever you wanna call it and black space! they get to choose what doors to open. they get to choose whether or not they want to accept reality. and even more in omori, the door to Basil's bedroom and his hospital room. he doesn't have to open those doors. whether he faces reality and tries to fix things is up to him. and the door to the roof too! once he walks through the door, he can't go back. he already made his choice.

and sliding glass doors? I'm not 100% about these yet, but sliding glass doors could represent a choice they might want to make, but are hesitant to for whatever reason. they're like a combination of windows and doors! in omori, they're shown in both reality and black space/after finding the photo where Sunny pushed Mari. they're Sunny's want and choice to face reality and accept it, attempting to fix things. but in yume nikki? Madotsuki wants to escape. there's 2 events (I've only triggered one of these 2 so far, so info on one might be incorrect!) where Madotsuki can fly away, and unfortunately fall, the witch event and the spaceship + spaceship event. one has her flying through the clouds, and falling from the sky, while the other has her flying through the stars, also falling from the sky (if you manage to trigger the event, that is). Madotsuki wants to fly away. the sliding door could represent her want, and her choice to escape reality.

okay okay I'm almost done lmao hang in there

now, closets! (once again, I haven't explored any closet stuff in yume nikki yet lol so I might be wrong about stuff) first, in omori! it's obvious Sunny doesn't want to acknowledge the closet is broken violin is hidden in, going far enough for it to even disappear for him! the closet represents something he's hiding. there is a phrase, "skeleton in the closet", that refers to a secret someone wants to hide. so this theory fits the closet in omori! it might also fit the closets found in yume nikki.

Madotsuki doesn't want to find herself.

(also final thing: these things probably do represent more than just this. this is just stuff I noticed seems connected to both games so far! also also I haven't finished yume nikki yet lol so once again feel free to correct me if anything's wrong)

[ryusaidate]

i love saito. i love that uchikoshi does not know or care what's wrong with him. i love that everyone else in the game has real life medical issues and his brain issues are just "i don't fucking know he kills people. we're doing a Bit about Love And Family. he's got Murders People disease."

i love whatever's going on in both versions of in the VaiN. and that when someone asked uchikoshi what was with the scene at the end of the hit route with So was he was like "he's fucked up. you know how it is." and that was the full explanation.

everything he does as a-set especially in the arg videos is so so so funny. this man is having the time of his life pretending to be a fucked up and evil teen idol streamer. "this is your idol" "be seeing you. but you won't be seeing me" i will shove him in a locker also i know i already drew it but "this is kaname date he's a real hot piece of twink ass but unfortunately his personality is awful. he lost his memory or something i don't care" is everything to me

love that he's making this incredibly intricate plan to ruin the life of this random fucking guy he CHOSE to bodyswap with on a whim because he... what, he escaped out the window? you really just wanted him to sit there while you killed a guy as rohan, realised the oxytocin release didn't carry over also half your vision is fucked now, swap back, and then kill him so he can't narc? that was Theft Done To Personally Spite You? anyway he's doing all that and he's like "i mean i guess i'll kill my dad while i'm at it" and i love that.

i'm. still thinking about "killed by your own father" why are you pretending to be your own dad shooting yourself in the middle of your last ditch "well whatever plan's fucked may as kill him" moment!! just another one of your "i'm technically not lying teehee" bits?? (and i KNOW the reading that it's about mizuki but that makes even less sense to me. & i'm a 'most cringefail reading possible' truther.) i really do love 'i didn't lie, i kept my promise' just to be a jackass

i love that he's so candid about talking about his murders and says shit like "homicide is my hobby" but when it comes to shooting people he either says some bullshit like "blowing their brains out" or calling them "fireworks" or it's about date "watching them die." the only time he calls it "shooting" is when someone else is doing it. and normally that sort of thing reads as 'distancing yourself from the crimes' but wouldn't that be fucking wild lmao. i think it reads more like it's above just shooting? it's art! perfect, beautiful art of a lonely moment in time.

and all the "(you were) a murderer. a serial killer" "have you been using other men's names for so long that you've forgotten your own" talk feels like it should be leading into a "we're not so different you and i" but it never does. (i'd be tempted to say it's just self restraint on the part of the writing team but i find that VERY hard to believe given the. everything. about every uchi game.) like he hates date but he views himself as above him and he can't pull himself down to date's level, even to upset him. he's just taking hypocritical shots at date because he knows he cares about "justice" and "morality" and garbage like that, without acknowledging their similarities

i'm normal? i'm normal.