#they understand the value of this information

[quasi-normalcy]

So, in science & technology studies, one of the words we throw around is "scientization," the act of making something into a science. And, you know, a lot of this is good, or at least neutral: the scientization of medicine; the scientization of cosmology; it means that a field has gotten more rigourous and definitive than it used to be.

But in politics, what scientization often means is that something that should be a policy issue is kicked over to scientists as a means of naturalizing or normalizing it, exempting it from normal political debate, or avoiding responsibility for unpopular decisions. "Oh, we needed to bomb this place because our models said it would end the war faster"; "Oh, we needed to privatize this service because our economists said it would save us money"; etc. And a lot of the debate in the field of science policy is given over to the question of when is it legitimate to kick something over to scientists, and in what contexts, because it's often kind of arbitrary. Like, I think that anyone who takes climate change seriously believes that science needs to inform the response to it, but you can build whatever assumptions you want to into your models, and the math will gobble them up indifferently; and Western liberal governments have overwhelmingly chosen to imagine scenarios where we can just keep doing capitalism because magical new "carbon capture" technologies will probably be invented down the line, and cap-and-trade will probably work perfectly, and anything that might be lost due to climate change can be straightforwardly assigned a monetary value and compensated, and refugees from desertification and rising sea levels will probably just not exist and so on. [Obligatory reminder that Climate Change is way worse than pretty much anyone in mainstream politics is willing to admit]

And anyways, I think that a special case of this "scientization-as-political-bullshit" phenomenon is at play in the field of polling. Like, consider Kamala Harris's entire campaign (or if you prefer, practically any neoliberal politician's campaign anywhere in the world since 2008 or so). This was a campaign where seemingly every decision was kicked over to pollsters. Can't call conservatives weirdos--you might offend moderates! Can't call on Israel to stop bombing Gaza--you might offend moderates! Can't stand up for transgender rights--you might offend moderates! Can't call for single-payer healthcare--you might offend moderates! And so on, and so forth. In every case, it's trying to do politics without being political, and it's doing so by embedding a bunch of incredibly insidious assumptions into models and then calling it science! Like, maybe "moderate" voters would get on board with a ceasefire, or trans rights, or single-payer healthcare, if a prominent politician with a billion-dollar war chest to get her message out fucking tried to make a case for it! Like, remember when the overwhelming majority of Americans opposed gay marriage? I do! I wonder why that changed? Or, for that matter, why courting moderates--as all of these models seem to assume--should necessarily be a higher priority than inspiring disenchanted voting-age adults to turn out at all?

And I worry I'm making this sound like innocent incompetence--it's not. This was done very specifically and very intentionally to foreclose upon discussion of progressive priorities while saying that you're being scientific; while saying that you are, ridiculously, being apolitical when a running a political campaign. And now we have these useless, disingenuous assholes patting themselves on the back and saying that this campaign was never winnable! Because the "SCIENCE" says so!

And meanwhile, you have Donald Trump--idiot nazi bastard thug child of a demon and a swine Donald Trump, cursed be his name--bowling through the political scene like a bull in a china shop, utterly indifferent to all of these fancy-schmancy mathematical models and too stupid to understand them...and winning enormously! Making his own coalition. Because thick as he may be, ignorant as he may be, incurious as he may be, he at least knows one single solitary thing that the Democrats don't: Politics isn't science; it's magic. And you don't get anywhere in magic without the will to power.

[hatesaltrat]

I did a pretty deep dive on SARS-2 and how viruses work etc. I am no authority but I do understand more than the average bear when it comes to Covid. I just wonder how it all relates to bird flu. Transmission rates and the R0 (R nought) value across species etc.

I have had my own suspicions about influenza and the flu shots since the whole h1n1 debacle. Trying to get ahead of the new strain is nearly impossible without gain of function research which creates its own issues. It would seem that culling would see the end of a virus spread but that doesn’t seem to be the case which implies great fuckery. When you add any obfuscation and/or coercion it becomes extremely suspect. From there everything is challenged from information to motives. Thanks for the link @vomitdodger , I appreciate you.

[arwensarboretum]

I've been wanting to talk about this for awhile, but Ridley O'Bannon, specifically in the episode Impact (S2, Ep9) really BOTHERS me! 

Her decision to stay aboard the Global One is, in a word, selfish. I know she compares it to Thunderbird 5 in order to convince John, and she sees it as a home and it's important to her and I get that, but she created unnecessary risk that could have cost her life and John's. She could have ejected with the rest of her crew (which means it would have been acceptable even if the asteroid hit Global One as the Thunderbirds' focus is on human life), but she chose not to. Even if she'd been ordered to stay to protect the station or try to move it out of the way to save the financial investment it represented (and we have no evidence that she was), she was also making a personal decision, evidenced by her personal reasoning to convince John. SHE wanted to save Global One and she leveraged John to do it.

When she first brings it up, he refuses outright, because that's not what the Thunderbirds do. They save PEOPLE, not things. And she says the line that frustrates me: "I'm people. Save me." 

I can't see that as anything less than manipulation. She could be safe. This could be a non-issue, but she chooses to endanger herself to save her home and she chooses to endanger John by putting him in the path of the collision. Things get worse (of course) when Ridley needs to fire the station's jets and she and John have to travel the length of Global One while dodging debris, but all of this is unnecessary. Travelling through the vacuum of space, while debris rains down on them and any move could be fatal, all for a piece of equipment that was simply not necessary. His life and hers in peril for nothing. 

I understand Global One is important to Ridley, but her life and John's should have weighed more. I can't see her line as anything else than a manipulation of his values. She knew he wouldn't leave her because that's what HE does. He saves people. But this person didn't need to be saved, until she put herself in danger on purpose. And that just frustrates me a lot.

There's also the side note of Virgil and Alan, currently having issues with detonating the asteroid, and while it's not guaranteed (and they figured it out on their own), they might have benefitted from Thunderbird 5's sensor information. John could have been helpful to them and they might have been able to succeed more easily. I know the situation has to ramp up for the episode to maintain tension, but as an event that happened, Thunderbird 5 could have been better utilized supporting John's brothers rather than as a tow for a space station.

John watched the asteroid hurtle towards Earth with tiny Thunderbird 3 clinging to it and I can't help but imagine how John would have reacted if Thunderbird 3 didn't make it and he a) had to watch it from Global One and b) felt he could have done something to help from Thunderbird 5. Maybe EOS could have monitored any needed data and gotten it to 3 in time, but I still think about it.

Ridley manipulated John's core values for selfish gain in that episode, and that just really BOTHERS me.

I don't even dislike her otherwise, but that one action really negatively affects how I see her.

Note: this is not to reflect negatively on @gdf-ridley-obannon, @starman-john-tracy or @starmantracy. They're all great. Check 'em out.

[prolibytherium]

One of my all time biggest pet peeves with historical(ish) fantasy is when the writer constructs a religion with a clear bias that it's stupid and false and therefore only the Stupid People and/or commoners believe in it and all the smart/elite main characters are like, quasi-atheists or otherwise just routinely flout established religious conventions of orthodoxy and/or orthopraxy because they're Too Smart for it or etc.

It's usually an extension of assumptions that people in the past were just less intelligent than in the contemporary, just being like "I know that the sun is a star millions of miles away that the earth orbits, but this ancient religion describes it as a chariot flying through the sky" and not really bothering to learn the context and just (consciously or subconsciously) settling on 'that's a crazy thing to think and was probably believed in because they were Stupid'.

And that whole attitude pisses me off so much. People were as 'smart' 10,000 years ago as they are today. These beliefs aren't just desperate, random flailing to explain phenomena that could not directly be accounted for either, it's not like people just looked at the sun and went "Uhhh I don't know what the fuck that thing is, actually. I guess it might be a chariot or a boat or something?? Yeah let's go with that." and based entire religious practices on this. Every well-established belief system exists within broader contexts of cultural values/subjective perceptions of reality/knowledge systems/etc, and exist as part of a historical continuum of religious practices that came before. Even when not Materially Correct, they have context and internal logic, they're not always dead literal with zero levels of allegory, and they're never a result of stupidity.

[everyonesadoptivedad]

One thing that nobody prepared me for as an adult.

Some would say that it's because I'm a scorpio, others would blame it on me being sensitive to shame. I've always been somebody who would go to great lengths not to be seen as vulnerable. Of course, being seen as weak, being hurt, displaying limitations, trying and failing and all that jazz are like...the obvious part of it. But one thing that I was not prepared for

Was the realization that being happy and genuinely liking things also counts as being vulnerable. People I've known for 10+ years regularly tell me "I never knew you were this passionate that???". Guess why? Because displaying genuine joy is very vulnerable!!! What you like and why you like it tells a lot about who you are! It allows people to put puzzle pieces together about you! About your needs!

Of course that I would keep those in a secret little box. Of course that those things, however silly, are the fucking pinnacle of the sacred to me! Nobody should even be remotely able to take those from me and taint them with shame. It would destroy what's left of my inner child. Of course my psyche fiercely tries to protect those.

The other day my friend invited me to a kpop store and I spent the entire time biting back tears. My eyes fill with water at the very thought of it. I don't even like kpop that much anymore, but I'd never told anybody at all that I'd ever liked it? But it felt like my secret garden was being clawed open with unrestricted allowance. How could it be so easy? How dare it be so easy? To have somebody as me about a group that I liked with genuine interest?

So Please, please never make fun of anybody for anything at all. Joy is vulnerability. And somebody sharing joy with you is a great gift of trust. It is a big deal. Every fucking thing is a big deal. Every single thing about everyone is a huge deal!!!!!!!!!

[lenodrysalad]

There's a good video about this here, but it's exhausting seeing people yelling about "keeping politics out of sports" again. Like OP said, it's impossible to keep politics out of sports. It's impossible to keep politics out of anything, and nation states are inherently political. Right now this isn't even just about nationality, this is about the threat to people.

Politics have always been embedded in sports; booing a national anthem is literally the smallest form of protest. Yet again this demonstrates the luxury of ignorance athletes have about sociopolitical issues. It's not surprising. We don't watch sports for politics, we watch it for entertainment. There isn't a high degree of expectation. It's just as well that athletes keep their mouths shut, and the league perpetuates that silence. We know where this organization sits; they've made it clear they only support inclusivity and causes with capitalistic incentive, and that veneer is pretty thin.

What's confounding is the way athletes are coddled as if they're exempt from so much as thinking just because their job is playing sports. Why? Are they not people? Citizens of society? Do most people not also have jobs and still manage to pay attention? Why should their profession give them a free pass? It isn't difficult to inform yourself or have an ounce of integrity; some athletes have managed it just fine.

So while it's not surprising, it still sucks being reminded how many of these guys support Trump and/or people like him. But those who are uninformed or uncaring are also ludicrous. Yes, do not put these guys on pedestals, do not hinge your values around strangers on TV. It's also likely there's professional pressure from the league for players not to speak on certain issues. But it's also not a crime to hope for better. Emotional connection is human. Seeking familiarity is natural, as is wanting to approach people in good faith.

We're not asking for their opinion about pineapple on pizza. We're asking them to empathize. We're asking them if they know what they're supporting. We're asking them to have the same awareness and humanity asked of everyone.

People's identities are not political until politics are brandished as a weapon against them; until politicians decide they get to determine who deserves to be considered a human being. The moment you threaten someone's existence, safety, rights, and autonomy, you make it a political issue. You don't then get to turn around and complain about everything being too politicized when people are being forced to fight for their right to live in peace.

The fact that these guys don't understand what the booing is about is ridiculous. So is the way it's being reported, with this framing of "inciting hate and negativity," or spun into this underdog narrative of "what spurred America to victory." The questions players are being asked are an insult to journalism; they're being asked about how they feel about the booing. That's it. Here's a thought: ask them why the anthem is being booed. Ask them what's going on right now. Ask how they would feel if a global superpower run by an authoritarian bigot was threatening them. Ask them to take their blinders off.

You don't see the point in booing? Why do you care? Like OP said, it's not directed at American citizens or American athletes. Oh, no, it hurts your feelings, so you don't like it. Well, we don't like tariffs and oligarchs and bullies insulting and threatening us. We don't like having our existence threatened.

i know the majority of contemporary hockey players all grew up privileged and most of their education was abbreviated, but it’s crazy to me how many of them refuse to see why the american anthem is being booed. no, canadians aren’t booing american players. they aren’t booing american teams. they aren’t booing american citizens. they are booing the united states as an entity, more specifically what the people in power over the country are choosing to do to canada.

national anthems aren’t just a nice song meant to celebrate american people; they always have and always will be inherently tied to politics and nationalism. governments and other people in power have historically weaponized nationalism and patriotism (and will continue to do so), and symbols of national pride like flags and anthems are direct conduits of that pride from government to citizen. there is no removing their political nature just because they’re being performed in the context of hockey, and to expect people to ignore what a country’s government is trying to do to them is naive and, frankly, a little insulting.

so no, brad marchand, montreal was not booing the american players during the anthem. matthew tkachuk, i’m sorry you “didn’t like” the boos, but given that you seem to have no interest in saying anything about what the american government is doing to cause all of this, your complaints about a political song being received poorly due to current politics come off as out of touch and petulant.

as long as national anthems are performed at games, there will always be the risk of current events changing now they’re viewed, due to the fact that the crowd of people are in fact real humans who have an awareness of things besides sports.

[a-sketchy]

ohhhhhhhhh “sea of thy soul” = personal unconscious, “sea of souls” = collective unconscious. hey guys did you know that persona is kinda jungian

[miabrown007]

at least we now know that neither Marinette or Adrien are aware of him being a senti. after the S3 final we all assumed Adrien knew Rena Rouge and Carapace's identity, because it was so evident: cue Rocketear. after Félix and Kagami's theater kid nonsense we all thought Marinette finally knew Hawkmoth's identity, because how could she not? : cue Confrontation.

almost makes it look like our main characters are not allowed to learn or deduct anything that isn't explicitly spelled out for them

[billiethetween]

i have seen many posts from people who have good intentions but who straight up do not know what the fuck they are talking about, and thousands and thousands of people just take these statements at face value because of the good intentions instead of bothering to take 30 seconds to read critically.

because of the incoming constitutional crisis it is more important than ever to be informed, because you cannot survive in let alone fight against a system you fundamentally do not understand. random people on tumblr do not have any qualifications. writing good fanfic does not mean someone is a great political mind. and posting is ultimately just a thing we do to feel less helpless and can backfire, and i know this because i was on the website back in the day and 2016 happened. we were totally unprepared for the real fight when it came.

anyone worth listening about politics on here will be referring you to something else. books, news articles, experts, etc. but they won't be just trying to educate you through tumblr posts, and if they are they're not someone worth listening to. they're just yapping.

that is all. back to jokes now.

i feel the need to make it clear that while i like to blow off steam on here and joke about politics i do not consider being on the tumblr dot com a form of serious political education or engagement. i thought we'd all learned a valuable lesson about that a decade ago but unfortunately that just does not seem to be the case!

[wreneging]

every time i see someone misinterpret jason’s death i lose my mind a little more

[rememberdamonn]

thinking about damon in s7 being told by anyone and everyone, from the beginning, that he was going to screw things up, that everyone he loved was better off without him, being asked what mess he was going to make next, etc… in a lot of cases before anything had actually really happened yet! is it any wonder that he preemptively goes into damage control mode (and consequently actually does cause damage as a result)? is it any wonder that he thought the only way to save his loved ones from himself, that the only way to not disappoint them was to take himself out of the picture?

and then they were angry with him for that too (and justifiably so, but) it’s not hard to imagine that he would feel like he’s damned either way. that he can’t do anything right. not hard to imagine why he would want to sacrifice himself (take himself out of the picture) again even though it’s objectively Not a Good Idea.

[databent]

strated writing and gave up on 2 separate posts basically just yelling about how mad it makes me that n24 is so misunderstood and accomodations are so unavailable. MAN

[burnwater13]

Pedro Pascal as Din Djarin in The Mandalorian. Image from Season 2, Episode 7, The Believer. Image depicts a helmetless Din Djarin in an Imperial vehicle driver's armor.

Note: This is the final chapter of Grogu goes to Rome.

Marcus Acacius thought he had seen many wonders. Lived through many battles that should have ended him. Had given his life to honor an old friend and the love he felt toward the woman who gave him everything he ever dreamed of. As the arrows had sunk into his flesh, he knew that he had done all that he could to live his life as a Roman should. What puzzled him now was how had this come to pass? His return to Terra Mater. Breathing the air of his ancestors. Feeling the Tiber upon his skin as if he’d never left it all behind in the arena. Why had the gods chosen that moment to take interest in him?

And, if a god should take any interest in him, why the god of the Mandalorians? He’d never heard of them. He’d learned of the Celtic gods, many that there were. He’d heard tales of familiar Roman gods among the tribes and peoples of Gaul, but with their names changed to suit the people who told them. But no where had he ever heard the name ‘Mandalorian' or knew any of their tales, attributes or disguises. Was it solely because the small daemon had found him? 

Marcus did not think the creature that referred to itself as ‘Grogu Jedi’ was really a god. He wasn’t sure he actually believed in any god, as the wonders he had witnessed had all been performed by man or nature itself. Philosophers might argue that was one in the same, but he was a solider. A commander of legions. He had seen what men could do when they were motivated. That had been both wondrous and terrible at times.

Now here he was, floating down the Via Aurelia, holding the daemon and wondering if he was actually dead and that this was really the famous Charon taking him to his final rest. Would he find the peace and tranquility of a life lived with honor, or the pain of fields of punishment for daring to defy the Emperors? 

Perhaps a question for the daemon?

“Grogu Jedi, tell me of the Mandalorians. I have not come across your legends in my travels.”

The small creature looked up at him with a look that was clearly a sign of its confusion, it’s large, green ears folded down emphasizing it’s childlike aspect.

“Warriors. Fierce. Honorable.”

The creature’s voice was soft, like a child’s. Just three words used to describe a pantheon of gods? Marcus smiled to himself. The words he would have chosen for his own gods were capricious, spiteful, and proud. He liked the daemon’s words better.

“It must make you proud to be part of those people. Can they all float as we do?”

Marcus regretted asking that question as soon as he did. No good would come from helping the daemon understand that he was never not a soldier. He would always care about the people of Rome, as he had sworn to defend them against all foes. 

“Yup.”

Well. The daemon either considered it to be information of so little value that providing it required no other words, or… it recognized that verifying status of a vastly superior force would act as a deterrent all on its own. It had been a foolish question. It’s answer had only produced more questions.

“Your people are fortunate then. We have horses, ox carts, litters, and carts that we use to carry goods and people along these roads, but nothing quite like this. I am surprised we have not yet seen any. Normally this road would see significant use on a day such as this. When we reach the city, we will have to walk. I do not believe that the law would permit even this miracle to float along the narrow path that this road will become.”

Marcus paused to see how his companion would handle that information. It had clearly been annoyed when it had tripped and dropped all that it was holding. Certainly a god or god-ling did not trip. That was what convinced him that Grogu Jedi was actually a daemon sent to convey him somewhere. He didn’t know why or how, but that didn’t really matter at this point. 

“You? Statue?”

The creature pointed at a milliaria. It was almost as tall as Marcus, made out a slab of limestone and to the creatures obvious delight, it bore an image that was strikingly like his own, with a good deal of text below it.

“Halt. I must examine this.”

Once a legate, always a legate. 

The creature moved his hand and their floating seat came to a halt. Marcus climbed off it carefully, not wanting to disrupt or disturb the daemon or any of the possessions it held close to its body. He walked over to the marker of distance traveled and caught his breath. It was a memorial stone. For him. It told of his exploits and his death and what had become of the people he knew and the few he loved. He felt unable to move on. He no longer felt like a man who had woken in the Tiber, but one who was caught in a harrowing dream that wouldn’t change.

“Sad?”

But the creature was still with him. How could he dream of a thing he had never known or heard about? None of this made any sense to him.

“Yes. I am sad. I am lost and found and lost again. Have you any idea how that feels?”

Marcus could not stop the tears from filling his eyes or clogging his nose. To lose it all again… it was too much.

“I do, Justus Marcus Acacius. I have been both lost and found and lost again. But I was also found again. As you are found again. I have found you to set you upon a new path. Try not to lose your way this time. There is no honor in working for those who have no honor. I have other things to do. Return to Rome and the people who need you. I will be checking in on you, from time to time.”

Marcus believed his ears, but his eyes were enthralled by the change that had come over his companion. No longer a small green daemon with the round face and full cheeks of a child. A tall, slender goddess stood before him, her face and arms decorated with marks that he recognized as the pattern of the stars in the night’s sky. She wore simple clothes and her long hair was tied back in a braid. If she didn’t seem to glow with intensity of sun, he would have thought her an emissary of a the Vestals or some other cult. 

He had no words to say but simply nodded. 

Just that action was enough and his eyes closed against the tears and when they opened he found himself caught up in the blankets on his sleeping couch. He pushed them roughly aside and found himself in his own clothing. No strange boots on his feet. No armor. No scratchy collar vexing his neck. He was home. As himself. He looked across the space and saw Lucilla on her own couch, sleeping peacefully. He really was home and safe from that strange dream.

Epilogue

“Djarin, I think you are being too harsh with Grogu. He didn’t mean to get your armor all covered with dirt and fish guts. He was pretending that he was Pedro’s character from that new movie. He just wanted to see what it was like to be a hero, like you.”

Ta’lan stood before him, her scars almost glowing from her concern for Grogu, who was crying in his room as he clutched his stuffed rancor. 

The Mandalorian looked at his partner and shook his head. He’d watched that movie with Grogu and it hadn’t inspired him to run around in park while it was raining, dragging his helmet across the mud, like he was brining a captured prisoner back to Rome.

“Fine, but he can’t keep calling me Marcus. I don’t even see the resemblance.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that. I think he has your eyes.”

Ta’lan just smiled at him. The Force really was strange and mysterious.

A map of Ancient Rome, depicts various sites of significance and the location of the Tiber River. Map published by Anness Publishing.

Note: This story was inspired by a suggestion from @porgsandpops. Hope you enjoy it.

Grogu had been sound asleep when the Razor Crest landed. Well, if you call something of sharp thump, a slide, and a crashing sound a landing. He had called it unfair, but that was mostly due to the fact that he had landed on the floor of cabin with a thump of his own. Now his head hurt. Normally his dad didn’t just crash the ship if he could possibly avoid it, so something bigger must have happened and the Mandalorian hadn’t thought to wake him up for it. Meany. 

Once he was on his feet, Grogu crossed the lower deck as quickly as he could and made his way up the ladder to the bridge. Fortunately his dad seemed to be all in one piece, but it was clear from the crack in the Razor Crest’s canopy that it wasn’t. It was also clear that wherever the ship had ‘landed’, it wasn’t Nevarro or Tatooine, or any planet Grogu had ever been on before. Weird.

Grogu touched his dad to make sure that he didn’t need any healing and was happy to find that Din Djarin was just cross. Annoyed. Angry even. And, a bit puzzled. He probably didn’t recognize where they were either. At least that made two of them. 

“Hey, Buddy, sorry about the hard landing. It seems like we passed through an anomaly in hyperspace and got dumped out like yesterday’s yard waste. Are you okay?”

Grogu nodded his head as he watched his dad take off his helmet, look it over, and then put it back on again. What the heck? Was Din Djarin okay? Grogu didn’t think so, but when he touched the bounty hunter’s hand, his body didn’t seem to be hurt at all. Should he touch it again and check on his brain? That seemed wasteful. In human’s the brain was part of the body. If one was fine, the other was fine, right?

“Come on. You can help me check out the ship and make sure that cracked canopy is the only major repair we’ll have to make.”

Grogu nodded his head again as his dad left the bridge and slid down the ladder to the lower deck. What the heck! Why not just run a quick diagnostic from the bridge and then verify it’s output? Mandalorians didn’t usually waste time like this. But then this wasn’t normal and Grogu decided, for the sake of expediency, to just go along with his dad. It was almost as if Din Djarin had forgotten that he was a Mandalorian. 

A few minutes later and they had completed a traverse of the ship. The canopy being cracked was the one big problem they found. Now they needed to find a solution to it. The tools that the Mandalorian might normally use to fuse the crystalline structure back in place were damaged. The tools that he needed to fix those tools were back on Tatooine in Peli’s repair bay. Uff.

“Come on. Let’s see if there are any villages or towns near by. They must have a smith or a trading post or something around here.”

Grogu wondered why his dad didn’t just use the scanners built into his helmet to collect that data. Din Djarin must have taken a pretty good bump to his head and it affected his memory. Or something like that. It was weird. 

Rather than explain how to use the scanners to his dad, the Mandalorian bounty hunter sworn to the Creed, who’d been using the silly things most of his life, Grogu lifted his left hand and reached out to the Force. 

Womp! 

What the heck!

There was a lot of life on this planet and it was everywhere, all around them. The Force had knocked Grogu on his butt with just a little bit of ‘hey, what’s going on’ as its impetus for action. That was very weird. 

Grogu lifted his hand again and used his softest internal voice to ask ‘what’s the deal here’ and found himself surrounded by more information than he’d ever encountered anywhere. Even the Jedi Library on Coruscant didn’t have this much information! Wow. 

Grogu took a deep breath and let the information continue to flow to him until he just had to stop it because two things were happening over which he had no control. First, he realized that he desperately needed to use the privy. Then he noticed that his dad was just walking away from him, going down a path with his helmet tucked under his arm. Under his arm! Dank Farrik!

Grogu trotted after Din Djarin and tried to keep an eye out for a good sheltered place where he could do what he needed to do without losing sight of his dad. Something on this strange planet had affected them both and he really didn’t want to be separated from the Mandalorian. What if he forgot he was Grogu’s dad? What if he forgot that they were supposed to be on their way to Naboo? What if he forgot that going through ‘Cin Vhetin’ hadn’t been all it was cracked up to be? Din Djarin still couldn’t swim and Grogu didn’t think the mythosaur in the waters of Mandalore was going to be as sympathetic the second time around. The best Grogu could hope for was that they could fix the canopy and get back where they belonged, sooner, rather than later.

He pushed those thoughts aside as he watched his dad drop his helmet on the ground and begin to strip off the rest of his armor. It wasn’t hot out. It wasn’t actually cold out either. It was just pleasant. Why the heck was his dad doing this? Grogu trotted up to the helmet and collected it as he called to the Mandalorian. Din Djarin didn’t even look back at him. He just kept walking. And stripping.  Now his second layer was on the ground next to his boots and Grogu suddenly noticed what his dad could see, but he couldn’t. 

A river!

Oh, no! Why did this have to be the day that Din Djarin decided to go for a swim!

To be continued...

[lord-squiggletits]

Actually the funniest example of Megatron apologism (neutral) I've seen is when people call it biased and rigged for Optimus to be the judge for Megatron's trial, but have nothing to say about the fact that Optimus let Megatron on the Lost Light AS CO-CAPTAIN which is ALSO incredibly rigged and biased and no one wanted it and Optimus barely had the authority to even do that.

It just seems like a case where people will always take the angle/interpretation that favors Megatron as a victim of Autobot eeeevillll, so they harp on how unfair it was for Megatron to be put on trial, but completely skirt over exactly how and why Megatron even got to serve parole/not rot in prison in the first place. I guess because it would disrupt the ever-present fan wank about how actually Megatron is being victimized for being put on trial and those Autobots are "just as bad" (lmao).

[m-feys]

that art of L deathnote got me thinking about death note and like......... im not even against l/light as a ship conceptually its just like i cant stand the way fandom does it.

like. theyre a lierally judas and jesus paralells theyre toxic. you have to be an L understander to get why he is obsessed with light and its not because he has this cute gay crush on him. and i REALLY dont get the people who like woobify light and make it so ‘kira’ is like a possession like???? thats not the point of any of this why are you even using these characters for this? it confuses me

but anyway i can support L/light ONLY if its done in a very specific way, thats very toxic and almost one-sided (or maybe unbalanced is a better word) not because Lights not interested (hes so like misogynist gay we all know this) in L but because he can NEVER understand L the way L understands him and thats all L wants is to be seen and to be on that level with someone. and thats the tragedy of their friendship is that L sees this person he can contend with and he can meet on his level but the same cannot be said for light. 

but anyway ive never seen anyone who ships l/light do it that way specifically so ill continue to be a hater.

[confettihipster]

thinking again about when david cameron came to our neighbourhood and was confused about muslim parents sending their children to a jewish primary school and natalie said "we are not tom and jerry". a lot of yous think life is tom and jerry.