#I'm so furious right now

[burnhamandtilly]

the way trying to get tickets for the eras tour is pretty much becoming a nightmare.. all this mess it's taking away all the fun it was supposed to be. the tickets are being bought in mass by people who only care about profit and today some of them announced floor tickets for R$12,000 in a resale website (that's TWELVE TIMES the original price).. who the fuck can afford this shit? plus fans are literally being THREATENED on the queue for the physical sales tomorrow. ppl called the police, who did nothing and went away after a few minutes. when will this nightmare end!!!

[cosmiclove-heavenstruck]

honestly fuck teachers who don't give clear instructions on what gets asked in a test and don't tell you they'll write a test until less than a week before and especially fuck teachers who despite us writing three big tests in a week still give us assignments that will be graded

[blackbird-brewster]

Regarding the post about Tebecca: They don’t really go much in depth with their past other than they just talk over coffee after the meeting. It’s only just the flashback, coffee date and apology, Rebecca backing Tara and Emily up when the Attorney General didn’t want to reopen the case, and Rebecca tells Tara that she got a job offer at Sacramento and was considering it, and Tara says she misses her and she wants to make it up to her over coffee. Rebecca also holds Tara’s hand in present time when she saw Tara’s hand shaking in fear for her teammates in the field.

Thank you so much for the info! Why can't we just have one good relationship on this shit show? Tara is so happy with Rebecca!! It honestly feels like their relationship was entirely written so that they could use Tara's queerness to get the death row guy to out himself. Then once her relationship served it's purpose, they pushed Rebecca out of the picture. It's so annoying. What was the point of having Tara be SO SO SO happy? With her and Rebecca taking such a HUGE step to move in together? Even if Rebecca hasn't been physically injured, this plays so much into the bury your gays trope. Heaven forbid we have a queer couple be happy together. Nope. Queerness can only exist if it's being used to create trauma as a plot device. I hate it.

Just let Tara be happy. Let her and Rebecca exist in domestic bliss. Let them be soft. Let them have conflict but ultimately let them work through it and only grow stronger together. Let queer people exist outside of the vacuum of trauma.

The showrunners making Tara queer, only to rip her happiness out from under her is NOT good representation. It's bullshit.

They deserve better.

[wistfulwatcher]

"at least natalie's death was narratively satisfyin—"

no. it wasn't. they gave us a character who has struggled with addiction her whole life. struggled with self-harm in a variety of forms. who has felt lost and guilty for the last twenty-five years. a character who has been suicidal multiple times in the past, a character who was literally suicidal a week ago.

and you killed her a day after she started to actually, truly try to heal.

yes, this show has always been dark. yes, from the first moment of the entire series we knew these girls committed unspeakable violence on one another, and did so ritually. yes, we knew that the adult versions of these characters spent the last twenty-five years struggling with their guilt and shame and trauma, and were doing it very, very poorly.

all of this just shows that the story has been in their struggle. this has been—or at least it was initially sold as—a show about women and their trauma. a show about women who don’t know how to examine their trauma, don’t know how to process it. who can’t take more than small glances at what happened, but who can also never, ever forget that it’s there. this has been a show about women who are coping, most times poorly, but very, very realistically.

and there was so much hope in that, despite (or because) this is such a dark show. these women can screw up and struggle and be real people—which women never get to be on television—and still maybe, they can heal bit by bit. there was always an inherent hope in this story, because they were all still, as adults, trying to make a life for themselves even if they were muddling through it.

in season two, natalie starts to heal at the retreat. (apparently—i personally found her 180 between "qui" and "burial" highly suspect and very poorly executed, but that's a moot point now.) she spends most of the season struggling against lottie, but finally accepts lottie's therapy (thanks to lisa) and beginning with "burial" she keeps trying to get the girls to talk about what happened. she figures out what she needs to move forward—to finally, truly address what happened in the wilderness by talking about it. that becomes her goal, and her focus with the others.

but natalie doesn't get to talk about anything. the girls want to drink instead of talk in "burial". and in "it chooses," the second nat suggests they talk, lottie shuts her down and suggests they drink poison instead. natalie is sober, and trying to do what she thinks she is supposed to do by confronting her trauma. she has made all of the "right" choices to actually heal from her pain, but she never gets to.

natalie’s entire story line, set up in her very introduction in the pilot, is to find her purpose. she talks about her self-destructive behaviors being due to her lack of one, and makes it clear that she intends to find that purpose once she leaves therapy. thus, for natalie’s story to be narratively satisfying, her story needs to end with her finding that purpose, right? which means that, if we are to treat this as a narratively satisfying ending, then natalie physically sacrificing her life for lisa is supposed to be that purpose. 

but death is not a purpose. and, to portray it as such for a character who has tried to commit suicide is, honestly, disgusting to me. especially for a character who was saved—again, a week ago—from her attempt by the very woman who then encourages her to drink poison that is used to "put animals out of their misery". who is then told in her death vision to “let the wilderness in” (when "the wilderness" has been a pretty clear metaphor for trauma!!!). they spent all season telling a suicidal character to suddenly let go and give in and stop resisting in a narrative that leads to her “””finding purpose””” in her fucking death. not to mention letting that death be recorded as "an overdose" after she has been explicitly sober as part of her growth!!

a far, far more narratively satisfying path for natalie is for her to actually find a purpose that is consistent with the hunter-protector she’s always been described as. in “no compass” tai says that natalie is the reason they all made it out of the wilderness. (again, wilderness as a metaphor for trauma!) so why, on earth would the better story line, the more consistent story line, the more satisfying story line—especially when this show is all about parallels and cycles repeating—not be natalie leading them all out of “the wilderness” by helping them process the trauma? by getting them all to talk about it?

(i didn’t necessarily need or expect yellowjackets to give a truly “good” message or resolution—bittersweet would be plenty for me—but can you imagine the beauty of that story? the character who has felt nothing but pain and guilt, who has been alone for the majority of her life, who has never felt good and stable love, being the one to break through the trauma first? the one who finally learns to heal first, and protects them all once again by leading them through the wilderness? a story of a woman supporting women through trauma that only they can understand?)

instead natalie's story goes from struggling with her pain and guilt, to trying to find some purpose in her life, to losing that purpose and attempting suicide, to being saved and actually starting to address her trauma head-on. and then dying before she can. i'm sure there are some people who believe that this is character growth (the briefest moment of addressing her trauma), but it wasn't; her growth is blunted by her death.

and this makes her death both tragic and unsatisfying. a character who struggles so hard and so long, who finally, finally sees a light, and the moment she reaches for it, is shifted back to where she was a week ago, having never gotten to actually grow.

so no, just because i am personally devastated by nat's death does not mean that i am blind to the narrative; quite the opposite. i am furious both as a fan of the character and a fan of the story. i feel deceived, disappointed, and insulted by every single part of this story. i feel like we were all cheated out of what could have been a beautiful exploration of a complex and fascinating character. and on top of all that i am very, very hurt.

[rapidhighway]

dad just sent me an ominous text to intimidate me ig

[noirandchocolate]

There's nothing like (derogatory) scrolling through the tags for something you enjoy and seeing people conflating their personal headcanons with actual canon and repeatedly making viciously nasty posts threatening and name-calling anyone who has a different view and saying they're 'not welcome.'

Oh fandom, never change please change.

[frostycatblr-fandom-files]

I'm just so fucking mad right now. This whole thing about having to *MANUALLY* opt-out of allowing your posts to be fed to god-damn plagiarism machines is such fucking bullshit.

You want to take *MY* hard work, *MY* labor of love and time and effort and give it to utter scum who want to find a way to profit off of that???? FUCK OFF.

Why do I have to just ✨trust you✨ that you'll honor the fact that I've opted out, too? How about you go fuck yourself you untalented, greedy corpos and pro-AI bootlickers?

BEING OPTED-IN SHOULD NOT BE THE DEFAULT. WHY DO YOU HATE YOUR ARTISTS AND WRITERS ON THIS SITE!!

[unofficialadamtaurus]

what they don't tell you about migraines is how god damn fucking annoying they are

[messengerhermes]

Look, I've spent my entire adult life advocating for voting as harm reduction, that candidates will never be perfect and most democrats are really just centrists who we have to scream at to get them to do damn near anything, but that's still preferable to the outright violence of the republican party. I get the point of voting as not the only step but the first step. But. But. But is in the middle of a genocide really the time to be hollering in people's faces about how they cannot vote third party in this coming presidential election? About how they *have* to vote for Biden, because at least he's not Trump? There is a time and place for the discussion about avoiding putting a dictator in the Whitehouse when we have a broken two party system where the electoral college does not adequately represent the will of the people. I would politely argue that time and place is *not* in the middle of the sitting president endlessly doubling down on supporting an active genocide. People have the right to be furious with the democratic party. People have the right to not trust the democratic party, or agree about them being "the better of two evils." The Clinton administration escalated the War on Drugs, gave us the deeply anti-Black "super predator" concept, and are the origins of today's ICE and the deterrence strategy that has led thousands of migrants to die in the desert. The Obama administration broke records when it came to drone strikes over Syria and when it came to deportations. Continuously using the threat of the Republican party as a stick to pressure folks into voting Democrat grows less and less effective every time the Democratic party makes concessions that move it farther center. Which they have been doing since the Reagan administration as a strategy to capture centrists and maintain power. The Biden administration has done good on a number of policy fronts. But it's also caved to pressure to end the public health emergency, ended eviction moratoriums and been slow on a number of fronts to address people's rising unrest at the soaring costs of inflation. Our current Congress has been a shitshow rife with in-fighting that has stalled out key policies, and yes, has seen Democrats make concessions to Republican extremists in ways that weaken bills that could have gone farther in providing relief and boosting our failing infrastructure. Then we hit October, and the US federal government throws its weight behind a genocide, ignoring the swelling outcry and condemnation from its citizens. The US government is continuing to fund Israel's genocide of Palestine and federal staffers are having to walk out on the goddamn job to get their bosses to acknowledge the calls coming through. Biden has been caught multiple times spreading misinformation regarding the genocide in Palestine. Representative Rashida Tlaib, the one Palestinian American in Congress, has been censured for daring to speak up on behalf of her constituents and condemn this violence. Funders of the democratic party are angling to force out Progressive members of the party like Rashida Tlaib, Cori Bush, Ilhan Omar, and others in the upcoming elections. Hollering at people to "Vote Blue no matter who" right now is profoundly callous and ill timed. It is also a remarkably ineffective strategy to try and ensure we don't have a red wave in the coming election. This is not a matter of "holding your nose and voting" this time. There is a 12,000 person body count in the last month. Americans are watching live on Twitter as Palestinians are slaughtered with our tax dollars. We are witnessing a Democratically controlled government still choose to fund imperialism over feeding, clothing, and housing its citizens. I beg you to consider how callous you sound throwing a fit about folks who no longer see supporting the democratic party as a valid strategy to fight Republican conservatism as we witness three genocides at once.

[tolerateit]

i'd love to just put out there that selling and making friendship bracelets has helped me with anxiety, panic attacks, making friends, sharing bracelets with others around the world, and finances when i cannot work and have to apply for disability as well as a lot of other things. so people who talk down on that... i don't really get it. stay in your lane ?????????????????????????????

[trans-axolotl]

so hot out. fainted twice already today! chugged a gatorade. trying to do things but i think the rest of the day will be for lying on the floor. trying not to get lost in my brain but this place is full of ghosts and i am haunted. just going to hold. until i leave tomorrow night.

[unproduciblesmackdown]

truly lmao 2024 lambda literary award finalist wynnstannery

[blackjackkent]

OK. There are definitely a bunch of nooks and crannies to explore in Wyrm's Rock, but we're gonna go straight to the coronation and then explore after, because all of the Steel Watchers keep yelling at Hector that Gortash is expecting him and it's getting annoying. XD

So here we go!

This feels like it must be very awkward to enter with everyone looking at them. XD We have to walk all the way down the red carpet to get to the quest trigger, too. The music here, though, is SUPER epic and intense, v much fitting with the feeling that Something Big is about to happen.

"Kinspeople, Baldurians, and dearest Duke Ravengard. Thank you for joining me on this exceptional day."

Gortash stands at the far end of the hall in front of the throne, a casual, comfortable smile on his face. If he is aware of Hector's entrance with his friends, he gives no sign of it. At his side stands Wyll's father, Duke Ravengard; he stands straight and attentive, though Hector can discern a somewhat glazed expression in his eyes.

As they take their place among the crowd, Hector can feel the temperature around him rising; he can already guess the expression on Karlach's face before he turns to look at her.

"It's him," she hisses. "Gortash." The rage in her expression is fiercer than he has ever seen it; seeing Gortash in the flesh has brought everything boiling to the surface. "This is it. I can practically taste his blood from here." The flames lick along her neck, up her face, through her hair as the engine in her chest begins to pulse more quickly.

Wyll, on Hector's other side, shifts nervously. "My father's here, Karlach!" he mutters urgently. "Cool your fires - he must not come to harm."

(A/N: One of Hector's dialogue options here is (to Karlach) "I couldn't stand to see the Steel Watch get their hands on you. Let's wait for a more opportune moment." Which is cute, and something he's definitely thinking internally, but not what he would actually say, I think.)

Hector can see Karlach scowl at the idea of caution, and it pains him to have to restrain her further, but he shakes his head. "Wyll is right," he mutters. "We attack Gortash and Ravengard falls too." Not to mention the vast crowd of innocent Baldurians also invited to this event, all of whom could easily be caught in the crossfire. No - Gortash needs to die, but it can't be here.

"Fine," she growls. "I'll wait for now. But that prick Gortash is going to pay."

He will, Hector thinks firmly, catching her hand and squeezing it briefly. I promise you that, my love. Before this is over he will suffer for what he did to you - and to all of us.

They turn, hoping to conceal themselves behind a pillar or something to watch the situation unfold - but it's too late, and perhaps they had no hope of hiding anyway. Gortash has noticed them, and immediately he raises a hand and a hush falls over the room.

"A moment please, my friends," he says, the cool smile on his face widening as if with delight. "An old acquaintance has come to pay her respects." His voice takes on a mocking note, his eyes narrowing; though the words are polite, the tone has an undercurrent of laughter. He can see her fury, and it amuses him. "Please, Karlach. Come and say a proper hello."

"My respects?!" Karlach snaps. Her voice is loud in the suddenly quiet room, all eyes on them, but she doesn't care - and frankly, neither does Hector. "You're lucky I've agreed not to shove my boot up your--"

"Ahhh... how I've missed your colorful turns of phrase," Gortash says smoothly, his eyes glinting with laughter. The disdainful, taunting smirk is carefully calculated; to the casual observer watching it might seem a polite grin, but Karlach knows - and Hector knows - that it is not. He believes he has all the power here, and that he can still treat her as if she is nothing.

"We must catch up," Gortash continues casually; his eyes flick to Hector. "Just as soon as I've had words with your... little friend."

Hector feels an uncharacteristic bloom of anger starting to grow in his own chest. How dare you? he thinks icily. How dare you treat her as you have, and speak to me like that?

"As for you," Gortash goes on, seemingly unaware of the reaction he is engendering, "I understand congratulations are in order. Thorm's defeat hasn't gone unnoticed. You're *known* - for who you are, and for that Netherstone you carry."

He gestures Hector a little off to the side, lowers his voice until it is audible only to them and not the wider room. The veneer of pomp and circumstance vanishes abruptly, and Hector can see the jumped-up black marketeer underneath, speaking in plain, practical terms.

"The quakes are a clear warning," Gortash says coolly. "If nobody steps in soon, it'll free itself from the authority of the crown. I expect it'll start with turning the Sword Coast's infected - you among them. That Prism of yours won't last indefinitely."

He takes a slight step closer to Hector, staring him down. "Next, the Grand Design. The mind flayer empire reborn. If we're lucky, we'll become slaves. If we're unlucky, well... Not the most thrilling of prospects. But it's a fate that can be avoided if you and I come to an understanding." He folds his arms with a pointed glare. "Together we can still restore authority over the brain."

The Emperor's voice rings in Hector's head. "Of course... Gortash always did have an eye for opportunity..."

Hector feels himself smiling tightly, a sort of rictus grin of astonished rage.

Gortash said they are known. And in some ways it is true - Gortash clearly does know some things about them. He knows what they did to Ketheric, he knows about the Prism. He knows they stand against him, and that they have killed many of his cultists already.

But he doesn't know everything; that much is also obvious. He doesn't, for instance, know that Hector loves Karlach. He must not, because he is saying that he wants to cut a deal with Hector for control of the brain. And if he wanted that to work, he should not have mocked Karlach publicly in front of the patriars of the city before attempting it. He should not have sent Karlach to the hells, for that matter, to live or die under Zariel's whip.

"You're a dead man," he answers coldly, his eyes not leaving Gortash's face. "I can't let you take over the city."

"Please," Wyll whispers anxiously. "Stay your hand. My father's life is at stake."

Gortash laughs softly. "Sage advice," he says, unconcerned by what he can see of Hector's tightly controlled anger. "My Steel Watchers take unkindly to threats - no matter how hollow. You are of little use to me dead, but dead is exactly what you will be if you arouse the ire of my Steel Watch."

Hector shakes his head. He has no intention of forcing violence here - but he will not say yes to this man's plans, no matter what. "I'm not interested in bargaining with the likes of you."

Gortash shrugs. "The likes of you stand to benefit from the likes of me," he answers calmly. "There is an old wisdom - a brittle alliance can never be mended. It can only break. With Ketheric gone, Orin proved treacherous. Bhaal's Chosen wants the Netherstones for herself." A muscle in his jaw twitches. "She only cares for blood. And your blood and mine are of particular interest to her."

True enough. Orin has already made it perfectly clear to Hector that she seeks only chaos and destruction - his, and the rest of the world's. "I'm not afraid of her," he says. But he is a poor liar, and he is sure Gortash can see right through this front of bravery. Of course he is afraid of her. He is terrified, in fact.

Gortash's eyes narrow disdainfully. "You've met her assassins. Efficient killers, by all accounts. I know you survived previous encounters - but she won't relent. Orin changes shape faster than you and I change clothes. You know - she's tricked you before."

He tilts his head thoughtfully; the smirk slips just slightly. True fear? Or a calculated moment of weakness? "She's targeted me as well," he goes on. "I'm well protected, but she's extremely good at what she does. If Orin obtains all three Netherstones, she'll plunge the Coast into chaos and paint the city in blood. I can't let that happen. I want to lead this city to glory, not scorch its earth."

Hector lips tighten into a sharp frown. "You want me to believe you mean no harm to the city?" he snaps.

Gortash spreads his hands in a welcoming gesture. "I'd like to propose a pact. A divine oath, sworn upon spirit and flesh. I do no harm to you, nor you to me. Furthermore, you'll have nothing to fear from my Steel Watch while our pact stands. Thorm's stone is yours to keep. When you slay Orin and take her stone, you bring it here, so the three are united once again."

His eyes light with an almost maniacal glint, and he brings his hands together with a sharp slap. "Together, we rule Faerun as kings. No - more than kings. Gods. We rule as the Absolute."

Wyll has been listening in silence to all this, and now speaks, wary and soft. "And... my father?"

Gortash smiles. "Your father will do whatever you command him to, like any other subject in our kingdom."

Hector feels his neck prickle with discomfort at the mental image this calls up. He sees Wyll shoot him an alarmed look, a slight shake of the head.

Gortash returns his gaze to Hector, that smile still fixed on his face. "What do you say? Shall we be allies?'

Hector flinches almost imperceptibly as the Emperor speaks again in his head. "I can detect no deceit," the mind flayer says thoughtfully. "This alliance could serve us well. And if it does not... well, we need not honor it."

Hector's jaw sets in a scowl. All of these people who would be his allies, and yet none of them know anything of him, or what it would take to make him agree. The Emperor claims they are comrades - but believes he would be willing to turn his back on a sacred, divine oath once sworn, as casually as breaking a business agreement. And Gortash... Gortash believes he would wish to stand over a whole city and command it like a beaten dog.

Karlach, at his side, snorts in disgust at the offer being put to them. "'Let's be allies,' said the viper to the frog," she quotes with a sharp shake of her head.

[MONK] "You seek to rule this city," Hector says firmly. He has control of himself again, now that he sees the full shape of the situation. Only his fists clenched at his sides still betray his anger, and his utter hatred for this man and everything he has done to the Sword Coast, to Hector, and to the woman he loves. "I seek to better its people. We shall not be allies, Enver Gortash."

Dismay flickers through Gortash's eyes, though his smile doesn't shift. "What a shame to refuse the power of a god," he murmurs. He tilts his head, eyeing Hector thoughtfully for a long moment. "Perhaps a demonstration of why you need my help will motivate you to make the right decision," he adds coolly.

He takes a step forward, rests a hand on Hector's shoulder, and his smile widens with sudden, gleeful cruelty. "Your camp is compromised. One of you is an imposter. A Faceless. Who, I can't say. I'd suggest a thorough investigation - you'll find I speak truth."

Hector goes very still. His blood runs cold. This is the thing he feared from the moment he learned that Orin was a shapeshifter - the possibility that one of his friends might be taken, replaced, and his trust in them used for the enemy's gain. But is Gortash telling the truth? Or simply trying to seed conflict between them?

"Take that with a grain of salt," Karlach mutters. "This is Gortash we're talking to."

Gortash shrugs. There is an unmistakable note of urgency in his voice, a little agitation not quite masked. "Let this be a warning. Orin is the spark in a powderkeg. We make an alliance, or the city is made ash. I will give you time to reconsider."

"Tread carefully," whispers the Emperor in Hector's mind. "Remember, you must do what it takes to survive. Even if it means striking a deal with the enemy."

Hector feels himself begin to tremble. No. He can't make a deal with Gortash - he can't stand there and sign on the dotted line with the man who destroyed Karlach's life. He can't listen to the illithid in the Prism about the correct course of action. And he can't stand here idle while there is a potential interloper among them that must be rooted out.

"You're on your own, Gortash," he says hoarsely.

Gortash smiles again, recovering his composure at once, like a switch being flipped. "Oh, but I most certainly am not." He takes a step back, turns to gesture towards the throne, and the Duke, behind him. "Now come - be witness as I make history as the first Archduke of Baldur's Gate!"

Hector shakes his head once sharply, turns on his heel and begins to walk away. "I have no interest in this sham of a ceremony."

Before he can take another step, pain explodes through his head and he staggers, almost collapsing to the ground.

"Then allow me to pique it for you," he hears Gortash say behind him.

Narrator: Your brain twists and stretches under the Watcher's gaze. The pain almost brings you to your knees... before fading.

Gortash watches Hector's agony impassively. "You will follow me," he says coldly. "And you will show due respect." He lifts his voice to the rest of the room. "Distinguished dukes, patriars, dearest Ravengard - I will heed your call. A new chapter begins!"

Without another word, he turns and moves back to the center of the room where Ravengard is waiting. Hector gasps for breath, trying to regain himself; he feels Karlach's arm tightly around his shoulders, steadying him.

He is only half-aware of the ceremony beginning, of Ulder Ravengard's deep, resonant voice speaking the prescribed words, echoing to the ceiling.

"Enver Gortash. Swearest thou, by Balduran's blade, to defend the citizens of Baldur's Gate from enemies within and without?"

"I swear."

"Swearest thou true faith and fealty to the same, by word, deed, and decree, so that none may suffer?"

"I swear."

Ravengard's dark eyes, still with that almost imperceptible note of blankness, sweep the watching crowd. "Gathered guests, grant ye consent?"

Say nothing.

Everything in him aches to lash out. Ketheric Thorm was a Sharran madman, but nothing in Hector ever desired his death half so much as he desires Gortash's at this moment. But Wyll is still right. This is not the place. They will have to find the right time. They have other concerns that must be dealt with first.

But we will stop you. I swear that by the Moonmaiden and every ray of her light. We will stop you, and we will end you, for good and all.

"Enver Gortash, the Council appoints you Archduke of Baldur's Gate."

"My friends - the Steel Watch stands ready. Let its blade fall on any who would diminish our city!"

"And you, honored guest, will find me in my office above when you return. Do not come empty-handed."

[chaseprice]

,

[dianetastesmetal]

Oh boy, here I go spiraling again!

[redhead-reporter]

FUCK MY ENTIRE LIFE

i got called for a criminal case that starts on the 9th. it's supposed to be 20 days long - if i'm not excused ? not only is this basically gonna eat up my entire october, i'm gonna miss the first week of sm2's release (the thing i've been WAITING for for literal years)