#Oliver Explains

[thatstormygeek]

I think a lot of Dems - and liberals in general - would do well to really absorb the messages in these two posts.

There is no clear dividing line between traditional Republican conservatism and Trump’s “MAGA” conservatism, no matter how much the media and nostalgic Democrats (like President Biden) want to say there is. Even the in-your-face brash rhetoric of Trump and the embrace of crackpot conspiracy theories is not a MAGA development. It wasn’t “MAGA Republicans” who accused Bill and Hillary Clinton of committing a murder spree in Arkansas in the 1980s. It wasn’t “extreme MAGA” who accused President Barack Obama of a socialist takeover of health care, enacting left-wing “death panels” to kill the elderly. It was just boring old Republicans.

Oliver Willis argues a frustration a lot of us have - so many folks seem to really believe all the Bad Stuff can be traced back to 2016 and Trump. Thus, a lot of energy is spent rehashing the 2016 election (something I haven't seen nearly as much of since 2020, thank fuck, but we'll see how it goes heading into an election year) and punching left.

The thing is, the constant search for a boogeyman, the incessant need to point the finger at The Ultimate Bad Guy, the ever present "this is the most crucial election" refrain - it's exhausting. And it is a lot of time and resources wasted in a perpetual spin cycle that accomplishes nothing but fatigue and burnout.

As Oliver reminds us, before MAGA, it was the Tea Party. And, according to Jared Yates Sexton, MAGA itself already on its way to being obsolete.

Trump’s takeover of the GOP demands investigation. It’s become conventional understanding now that he showed up, gained immediate control, and the rest is history. But he began as a sideshow, an oddity, and his antics and unpredictable stances on certain issues led the way to a hostile seizure. Fox News, Rupert Murdoch, and the rank and file of the Republican Party resisted until there was no more resistance.

Right there he's pointing out yet another risk with the rotating Bad Guy: it leads to some rather egregious rewriting of history. Bush was just a misguided grandfather. Trump was always the leader of the GOP cult.

But what Trump did was deliver what appeared to be a fatal blow to the ideology of Neoconservatism that had dominated the GOP for years. The idea that America was somehow “fated” by God and the universe to be a champion of liberty and freedom, and that, as a result, it was our responsibility to wage war and carry out crusades in the name of that liberty and freedom, was unapproachable within the party.

You can see how unpopular it is in the video embedded in the post. Trump gets booed. Which...can you even imagine that happening today? (also notable is how different the man himself was back when he could be coached and his handlers had some say)

But now things have changed. With the outbreak of the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, we’re seeing Neoconservatism rise from the ashes and already Nikki Haley is gaining momentum and attracting the attention of a whole host of billionaire donors and the interest of those Never Trump Republicans.

I can't speak for what's behind the paywall, but the freely available content alone should concern those who have put all their eggs in the anti-MAGA basket.

[irregularjohnnywiggins]

You ever have those moments where an idea just... won't leave your head?

[im-totally-not-an-alien-2]

Danny couldn't really explain why he always answered this specific summoning ritual. It was like a feeling. One of warmth. Of a mug of hot cocoa in your hands and a nice weighted blanket dropped around your shoulders as a fire blazed in the hearth in front of you, keeping the chill in the rest of the room at bay.

Danny always lost himself in the sensation and found himself back in that stupid circle of protection with that same wierd guy demanding answers. But Danny didn't know anything about a "Lazarus Pit" or a "Pit Madness" let alone a cure for it. Even if he did he wasn't going to tell Red Robin anything after all the times he'd used the marriage summoning spell to get him here.

Earlier on Red had explained it was the only spell known to thier universe that could summon an entity from "The Lazarus Dimension" Which he guessed was another name for the ghost zone and Phantom was the only one to ever be summoned.

Danny couldn't help but wonder why...

After escaping Bird boy and his supernatural pop quiz (oh look, another test for him to flunk) he returns home only to discover his parents had seen him get summoned and accused him of being a ghost that replaced thier baby boy.

Naturalally the next time Red Robin had summoned Phantom he was angry. He was tired and dirty from being on the run from his parents, his worlds US government, and Vlad. Not to mention his own rogues gallery didn't exactly cut him any slack.

So Danny decided that if Red Robin wanted to abuse the power of a marriage ritual than the very least he can do is put his money where his mouth is.

Danny grinned and exited the magic circle, taking delight in Reds widening eyes before he lunged. A kiss sealed the deal, making sure Danny had a safeish place to stay.

After all, married couples in the infinite realms were obligated and even compelled to protect and care for eachother.

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

#Just Insane Moments

[sammygender]

im so serious when i say disliking sam is an immediate red flag. what is there to dislike. what has he ever done

[humming-fly]

as expected the fma mobile game event side story that inexplicably features og greed and ling as high schoolers is just as wildly batshit as you'd expect - all these shitposts are all taken nearly Verbatim from the translation shit really was just that funny i still laugh when i think about it

(also in case ya'lld like to see it for yourself i saved all the screenshots and google translations to a zip file here though fair warning they may or may not be in order good luck o7)

[tiringwritings]

just opened my eyes, about to rip em cause what do you mean this isn’t buck canonic boyfriend

[cyellolemon]

Faded

[annabelle--cane]

people like to give callum brodie to jon and martin as an adopted son, which is valid and fun, but oliver and annabelle also have very ambiguous fates so I like to imagine them as britain's worst found family. famously good liar annabelle dragging famously bad liar oliver into a parent-teacher conference where they pretend to be married so they can talk to a school principal about why their "son" keeps meddling with building's fuse box whenever he's stressed.

[aspenous]

Posting this for now since it's been a hot minute and I still haven't figured out how to render this

My pookies I'll come back to this wip one day

[coldflasher]

okay but re. that post about elseworlds!barry realizing that oliver woke up in bed with iris... if we coldflashed this, i feel that crossover event would have gone VERY differently because you're not telling me that leonard snart wouldn't have realized there was something wrong the second he woke up in bed with oliver queen

like picture this: you're leonard snart. you have years of trauma, hypervigilance, and experience surviving dangerous men (and, ultimately, being one). and you fall asleep next to barry, the man you love---who, don't get me wrong, IS dangerous, but is in most situations seemingly unaware of it; who appears nonthreatening and harmless unless riled, who, most of the time, just seems like a sweet and normal guy---and you wake up next to... something else. something that looks like barry, and sounds like barry... if you aren't paying attention.

this is a thing that walks without making a sound, like it has years of experience sneaking around and moves that way by default (like len does); it turns into a statue at the slightest sound and doesn't even seem to breathe. barry is always crackling with frenetic, fidgety energy, even when he sleeps; he has nightmares and thrashes until the covers are bunched up around him, but this thing slept stiff as a board, flat on its back without moving a muscle and barely wrinkled the sheets. this thing is wary, and quiet, and it moves like a killer, with a killer's instincts. and it's looking around their bedroom like it's never seen this room in its life

and len would KNOW.

[buddiesmutslut]

When people say “I’m okay with Buck & Eddie not ending up together as long as their friendship doesn’t change”, I hate to say it, but that’s just not possible.

I’m not saying that they’re going to stop being best friends or anything, but if they get into actual, healthy, serious relationships, with people that are well matched & good for them, their current relationship is going to change. It’s inevitable.

I do believe that they’ll always be family, that they’ll do their best to be there for each other & for Chris, but they get so much from each other. In the past, even unintentionally, they’ve been more emotionally connected to each other than they have been with their partner, & that’s part of why their friendship is so solid, because they’re both only ever vulnerable with the other.

If they find good, healthy, stable partners, they’re not going to need each other in the same way, and that’s going to change their relationship. Do you honestly believe that Eddie is going to leave Buck as Chris’ legal guardian if he finds a partner that he actually & genuinely loves and enjoys being with? (The fanfic writer in me wants to say yes, but the realist in me says no lol.)

If Buck falls in love with someone who is accepting & soft and kind and understanding with him, that person is going to be the one he goes to first for everything, not Eddie.

So much of their friendship is rooted in the way they show up for each other in ways that only committed partners really do, and if they fall in love & get serious and marry other people, it’s not going to be the same.

I just, idk if I’m explaining it eloquently enough, if I have the right words for it, but unless Buddie goes canon or they keep ending up in these half-assed relationships where they repeat the same mistakes over & over again, their relationships and these “moments” everyone loves so much are going to stop.

[innerlmnt]

Operation: ENHAPPIFICATION is underway!

Behold, the poster that I put together for this wonderful event happening in just a week and a half! In case you don't know, The Ghost and Molly McGee is one of my favorite animated shows and it was canned this year. Its fans are leading an effort to carry out Molly McGee's mission of "enhappifying" the world in OPERATION: ENHAPPIFICATION.

As part of this effort, Sunnyland Productions in collaboration with the Molly McGee Discord server (aka Mollycord) are airing a 6-hour charity livestream on Saturday, March 2 at 2 PM Eastern Time, featuring the cast and crew of The Ghost and Molly McGee! All proceeds from the event benefit the charity Give Kids the World, a nonprofit aiming to provide kids with critical illnesses a weeklong theme park resort experience free of charge, all in service of their happiness.

The event is co-hosted by Sunnyland Productions, Let Me Explain Studios and Mann of 1000 Thoughts, in cooperation with the wonderful folks of Mollycord. You can expect Q&As with our guests, games, premieres of fan projects and more. It's going to be a really fun event and I invite you all to join.

Our guests include the following:

show creators Bill Motz and Bob Roth

the voice of Scratch, Dana Snyder

the voice of Darryl McGee, Michaela Dietz

the voice of Libby Stein-Torres, Lara Jill Miller

the voice of Geoff, Eric Edelstein

the voice of Oliver Chen, Alan Lee

writers Sammie Crowley, Brandon Hoang, and Paul Chang

musician Rob Cantor

Come and watch at YouTube.com/@SunnylandProds on March 2 at 2pm EST, and FEEL FREE TO DONATE GENEROUSLY!

Follow @LongLiveTGAMM on Twitter for updates!

Note: this poster and visuals were made by me with input from the event's organizers and artists, and I'd like to especially thank Lemy for his help with this.

[love-bokumono-fics]

Had a thought occur to me and it seemed like a fun idea for a poll.

If you were given a choice of which season to start playing a farm sim in, which yould you choose?

Spring? The traditional choice. Every game starts here. With mild weather, cheap but fast growing crops, and items to forage in abundance, it's a good place to start. You have a whole season to build up your funds and your stamina and prepare for the seasons to come. It gives you time to get your feet underneath you, explore the town, meet your neighbors, and maybe even afford some upgrades before the intensity of summer arrives.

Summer? You arrive to a wider selection of crops that are more time-intensive to grow, but also sell for a higher price. Not to mention the areas around your farm tend to be overflowing with the bounties of nature, which you can turn around for fast cash. You'll need it, as time may not be on your side this season. Half the season may pass before your first big harvest, and saving money would be difficult. Not to mention, there's the risk of hurricanes that could wipe everything you've worked so hard for off the map. But socially, your friendships can bloom quickly. With easy gifts to be found everywhere, you can quickly endear yourself to your neighbors.

Autumn? Often the most bountiful season, but also the most labor intensive. To get the most of the season, you have to be prepared to run before you walk. A beginner's low stamina may struggle to keep up with the demands of the farm if they hope to make enough money to spend through the winter. And the time demands of the farm may also cut into your time to meet locals and forge friendships. A boatload of money can be made off the few crops your beginning funds can purchase, along with taking advantage of the final bounties of nature for the season. But it can come at the cost of being a recluse, and going into winter practically a stranger to your neighbors.

Winter? Often it's a season in which nothing will grow, or there may be a few pricey crops that can be planted. But this season is usually marked with an abundance of free time. A season of rest and recovery and preparation Making money is difficult, with few things to forage, and going into the mines or collecting material resources will not be very easy with no stamina built up over the year. But careful planning can get you far. You can take the time to clear your fields, delve into the mines for ores to sell, start buying livestock, and spend every day making friends with the townsfolk. It would be a much slower start to your farming endeavors, but can also leave you set up to hit the ground running when spring arrives. Watch out for blizzards erasing all your hard work, though.

[riddlerosehearts]

i am so tired of seeing this screenshot about wish's ending reposted everywhere and used to make fun of the movie:

and this is coming from someone who didn't even like the movie very much, but this is misrepresenting what happened. yes, there is a thing where asha wears a cloak resembling that of the fairy godmother and at the end star makes her a magic wand and the kids say she's like a fairy godmother, king magnifico does get trapped in a mirror, etc, and the movie was absolutely filled with easter eggs and references to previous movies--yep, when i saw the movie i did in fact take these scenes as just easter eggs! after all, think about this logically, if all currently existing movies in the disney animated canon were meant to take place in the same universe, and asha canonically grows up to be cinderella's fairy godmother, then...

how can you explain such a drastic difference in appearance? how can you justify asha, a brown-skinned afro-hispanic girl with a face full of freckles and long brown hair, and this old white woman being the same person? you can't, because they're not!!!! if i recall correctly asha doesn't even wear that cloak at the end when they're calling her a fairy godmother, she just wears it during one scene when she's a fugitive and has to sneak around. also...

the creators of the movie have directly confirmed that they were not trying to set up a disney multiverse and that it's not meant to be taken that seriously. rapunzel and eugene's cameo in frozen also wasn't meant to be taken anywhere near as seriously as everyone took it. neither were any previous cameos like belle in hunchback of notre dame or aurora in oliver and company (and if aurora being in oliver and company was canon, she'd be over 600 years old!). and, back to wish specifically, the little easter egg earlier in the movie where magnifico sees a wish bubble from someone who wants the perfect nanny to take care of their kids and says he's "poppin' that one" also doesn't mean the banks family from mary poppins canonically lives in rosas. the scene at the end where a boy named peter who wears all green and dreams of creating a flying machine goes to work with a girl in a blue nightgown whose wish is to fly doesn't mean peter pan and wendy actually somehow lived together in rosas and knew each other before the movie peter pan ever happened. it is literally impossible for all of these movies to take place in the same time period and universe, so it's a good thing that they, uh, don't, and were never intended to. please, if you don't like the movie, that's perfectly fine, but don't say disney is trying to create some convoluted multiverse and "MCU-ify" their movies when that just literally isn't true.

[maydaydiaz]

buck being the one to say bee-nado just feels so right