#and i have to be quote unquote respectable at work

[chimcharstar]

.

[horseimagebarn]

are you a furry

no but every single disparate friend group i have been a part of in the last five years of my life makes a joke that i am a furry so i guess i have that energy or something i just hyperfixated so hard on warrior cats for the majority of my formative years i guess it gives me a similar energy and result in the draw a dog litmus test but it is not at all the same my girlfriend however is genuinely terrified of furries so i couldnt be one anyway i thought this fear was more of an ick until one day when i was working at the comic con at our local mall we were walking around and there was a furry by the door so i tried to get her to go take a picture with them as a jest however as we neared them she started to tense up and seemed to go into genuine fight or flight and begged me very seriously to go hide until the furry left as they were by the exit so she couldnt escape it was then i realized this ran deeper than the simple mans quote fear of furries unquote and we went and hid in the bath and bodyworks until the coast was clear

i asked her why she fears furries so much and they said it was partially that the suits just freak them out and partially the psychological concept of a fursona so i dont really know what to do with that information at all

i am fine with furries though i think their suits are cool and their community is incredibly creative and innovative and that they are a fine example of a group of bad apples spoiling the whole bunch to the general public most seem like they just want to have a good time and i respect that especially when they have to deal with so much fervent hatred or in my girlfriends case true mortal fear directed towards them a few weeks ago two of my roommates almost ran over two therians that were crossing the road on all fours though

[txttletale]

how do ml's reconcile with lenin going for a bigbrainhaver hierarchy which just so happened to place him at the tippy top? most of the things he's quoted for writing make a kind of sense in that longwinded academic philosopher way, but, like, russia went from having a revolution against monarchy to having a monarchy, essentially, and what folks do tends to align with their desires, yeah? wouldn't that make everything he said, idk, suspicious?

we reconcile with this because none of this is even remotely true. lenin did not 'happen to be placed at the tippy top' but was in fact elected by the soviets, who worked in a very simple electoral system by which workers and peasants would elect representatives to their local soviet, who as well as administering local services would also elect members to higher bodies. the quote unquote bigbrainhaver hierarchy system in question was as follows:

The sovereign body is in every case the Congress of Soviets. Each county sends its delegates. These are elected indirectly by the town and county Soviets which vote in proportion to population, following the ratio observed throughout, by which the voters in the town have five times the voting strength of the inhabitants of the villages, an advantage which may, as we saw, be in reality three to one. The Congress meets, as a rule, once a year, for about ten days. It is not, in the real sense of the word, the legislative body. It debates policy broadly, and passes resolutions which lay down the general principles to be followed in legislation. The atmosphere of its sittings is that of a great public demonstration. The Union Congress, for example, which has some fifteen hundred members, meets in the Moscow Opera House. The stage is occupied by the leaders and the heads of the administration, and speeches are apt to be big oratorical efforts. The real legislative body is the so-called Central Executive Committee (known as the C. I. K. and pronounced "tseek") . It meets more frequently than the Congress to which it is responsible-in the case of the Union, at least three times in the year-passes the Budget, receives the reports of the Commissars (ministers), and discusses international policy. It, in its turn, elects two standing bodies: (1) The Presidium of twenty-one members, which has the right to legislate in the intervals between the sittings of the superior assemblies, and also transacts some administrative work. (2) The Council of Peoples' Commissars. These correspond roughly to the Ministers or Secretaries of State in democratic countries and are the chiefs of the administration. Meeting as a Council, they have larger powers than any Cabinet, for they may pass emergency legislation and issue decrees which have all the force of legislation. Save in cases of urgency, however, their decrees and drafts of legislation must be ratified by the Executive Committee (C.I.K.). In another respect they differ from the European conception of a Minister. Each Commissar is in reality the chairman of a small board of colleagues, who are his advisers. These advisory boards, or collegia, meet very frequently (it may even be daily) to discuss current business, and any member of a board has the right to appeal to the whole Council of Commissars against a decision of the Commissar.

—H.N. Brailsford, How The Soviets Work (1927)

you might notice that the congresses of soviets were not directly elected -- this is because they were elected by local soviets, who were directly elected, in a process that many people have given first hand accounts of:

I have, while working in the Soviet Union, participated in an election. I, too, had a right to vote, as I was a working member of the community, and nationality and citizenship are no bar to electoral rights. The procedure was extremely simple. A general meeting of all the workers in our organisation was called by the trade union committee, candidates were discussed, and a vote was taken by show of hands. Anybody present had the right to propose a candidate, and the one who was elected was not personally a member of the Party. In considering the claims of the candidates their past activities were discussed, they themselves had to answer questions as to their qualifications, anybody could express an opinion, for or against them, and the basis of all the discussion was: What justification had the candidates to represent their comrades on the local Soviet. As far as the elections in the villages were concerned, these took place at open village meetings, all peasants of voting age, other than those who employed labour, having the right to vote and to stand for election. As in the towns, any organisation or individual could put forward candidates, anyone could ask the candidate questions, and anybody could support or oppose the candidature. It is usual for the Communist Party to put forward a candidate, trade unions and other organisations can also do so, and there is nothing to prevent the Party’s candidate from not being elected, if he has not sufficient prestige among the voters. In the towns the “ electoral district ” has hitherto consisted of a factory, or a group of small factories sufficient to form a constituency. But there was one section of the town population which has always had to vote geographically, since they did not work together in one organisation. This was the housewives. As a result, the housewives met separately in each district, had their own constituencies, and elected their own representatives to the Soviet. Here, too, vital interest has always been shown in the personality of every candidate. Why should this woman be elected ? What right had she to represent her fellow housewives on the local Soviet ? In the district next to my own at the last election the housewife who was elected was well known as an organiser of a communal dining-room in the district. This was the kind of person that the housewives wanted to represent them on the Soviet. Another candidate, a Communist, proposed by the local organisation of the Party, was turned down in her favour.

[...]

The election of delegates to the local Soviet is not the only function of voters in the Soviet Union. It is not a question here of various parties presenting candidates to the electorate, each with his own policy to offer. The Soviet electorate has to select a personality from its midst to represent it, and instruct this person in the policy which is to be followed when elected. At a Soviet election meeting, therefore, as much or more time may be spent on discussion of the instructions to the delegate as is spent on discussing the personality of the candidates. At the last election to the Soviets, in which I personally participated, we must have spent three or four times as much time on the working out of instructions as we did on the selection of our candidate. About three weeks before the election was to take place the trade union secretary in every department of our organisation was told by the committee that it was time to start to prepare our instructions to the delegate. Every worker was asked to make suggestions concerning policy which he felt should be brought to the notice of the new personnel of the Moscow Soviet. As a result, about forty proposals concerning the general government of Moscow were handed in from a group of about twenty people. We then held a meeting in our department at which we discussed the proposals, and adopted some and rejected others. We then handed our list of pro¬ posals to a commission, appointed by the trade union committee, and representing all the workers in our organisation. This Commission co-ordinated the pro¬ posals received, placed them in order according to the various departments of the Soviet, and this co-ordinated list was read at the election meeting itself, again discussed, and adopted in its final form.

—Pat Sloan, Soviet Democracy (1937)

Between the elections of 1931 and 1934, no less than 18 per cent of the city deputies and 37 per cent of village deputies were recalled, of whom only a relatively small number — 4 per cent of the total — were charged with serious abuse of power. The chief reasons for recall were inactivity — 37 per cent — and inefficiency — 21 per cent. If these figures indicate certain lacks in the quality of elected officials, they show considerable activity of the people in improving government. The electorate of the Peasants' Gazette, for example, consisted of some 1,500 employees, entitled to elect one deputy to the Moscow city soviet and two to the ward soviet. For more than a month before the election every department of the newspaper held meetings discussing both candidates and instructions. Forty-three suggested candidates and some 1,400 proposals for the work of the incoming government resulted from these meetings, which also elected committees to boil down and classify the instructions. These committees issued a special four-page newspaper for the 1,500 voters; it contained brief biographies of the forty-three candidates, an analysis of their capacities by the Communist Party organization of the Peasants' Gazette, and the "nakaz," or list of "people's instructions," classified by subject and the branch of government which they concerned. At the final election meeting of the Peasants* Gazette there was literally more than 100 per cent attendance, since some of the staff who for reasons of absence or illness had not been listed as prospective voters returned from sanatoria or from distant assignments to vote. The instructions issued by the electorate in this manner — 1,400 from the Peasants' Gazette and tens of thousands from Moscow citizens — became the first business of the incoming government.

—Anna Louise Strong, The New Soviet Constitution (1937)

does this mean that the soviet project was some utopian perfect system? no. there were flaws in the system like any other. it disenfranchised the rural peasantry (although not, i would like to add, to any extent greater or even equivalent to the extent to which the US electoral system disenfranchises the urban working class) -- the various tiers of indirect selection created a divide between the average worker and the highest tier of the executive -- and various elements of this fledgling system would calcify and bureaucratise over time in ways that obstructed worker's democracy. but saying that it was 'a monarchy' is founded in absolutely nothing except the most hysterical anticommunist propaganda and tedious orwellian liberal truisms.

even brailsford, in an account overall critical of the soviet system, had to admit:

Speaking broadly, the various organs of the system, from the Council of Commissars of the Union down to the sub-committees of a town Soviet, are handling the same problems. Whether one sits in the Kremlin at a meeting of the most august body of the whole Union, the "C.I.K.," or round a table in Vladimir with the working men who constitute its County Executive Committee, one hears exactly the same problems discussed. How, be-fore June arrives, shall we manage to reduce prices by ten percent? What growth can we show in the number of our spindles, or factories, and in the number of workers employed? When and how shall we make our final assault on the last relics of illiteracy? Or when shall we have room in our schools, even in the remotest village, for every child? Was it by good luck or good guidance that the number of typhus cases has dropped in a year by half? And, finally, how can we hasten the raising of clover seed, so that the peasants who, at last, thanks to our propaganda, are clamoring for it, may not be disappointed?

—H.N. Brailsford, How The Soviets Work (1927)

genuinely, i think you should take a moment and think about where you learned about the soviet union. have you read any serious historical work on the topic, even from non-communist or anti-communist sources? because even imperialist propagandists have to make a pretence at engaging with actual facts on the ground, something which you haven't done at all -- and yet you speak with astounding confidence. i recommend you read some serious books instead of animal farm and reflect on why you believe the things you believe and how you know the things you think you know.

[liesmyth]

i’m new to the fandom and am incredibly surprised that more people aren’t sad about tamsyn muir not having an official website for tlt or all her works. Not even at least a tlt official insta account. Like what.

I think most people in the fandom understand that she values her privacy and mental health and respect that. In general, I think that not being accessible to the fandom is a good thing for creators, especially queer creators writing queer works that are quote unquote problematic, especially works that attract a large fandom, who can start to feel entitled to the creator's time or opinions or attention, or demand updates or that they should weigh in on the issue du jour.

Also: as a new fan, you might not know that TazMuir got fandom cancelled in 2020 for fanfic crimes, and that's why she stopped being online. She still might be if she hadn't been harassed, or maybe she'd have peaced out for different reasons, but as things stand it's not as simple as her not being online — she was run out of fandom spaces by an angry mob. (x) (x)

(Broader rant you didn't ask for: I understand everyone does fandom differently but personally I'm not enthusiastic about doing fandom on Instagram or other algorithm fuelled platforms. I understand it's necessary for some authors to be online to promote their books.... #booktwt #booktok #bookstagram etc all seem soulless cesspits to me and I'm glad that TM is successful enough that she can market her writing without having to farm for clicks on social media if she doesn't want to. This isn't to dismiss the authors who DO, and I'm sure some of them might actually enjoy it, just like I know for a fact many people have a grand time on fandom insta or tiktok. But here in my lil tumblr cave, everything I hear about book social media is controversies and someone's 15 mins video essay where they dissected a book they knew they weren't going to like just to cash in on the outrage hype, and I'm glad I can be a part of the TLT fandom without having to stay up to date with that)

[eisforeidolon]

I am sorry but I just need to vent about misha being an absolute creep. I am so goddamn tired of him constantly trying to insert himself into jensen and danneel's relationship saying danneel is his girlfriend or in the recent purgatory 8 con, his wife. It's so disrespectful towards their marriage, kids and family. I understand it may be a joke but there's a limit and misha always seems to cross that. It's like he's in love with the idea of having a threesome with the ackles. He always has something or the else to say about danneel sexually which is honestly creepy to me. And I've noticed how that makes jensen so uncomfortable, like dude that's his wife back off. He has done this soo many times over the years. Ughhh I strongly dislike him, idk how the others stand him after he makes such crass jokes. And the fans who ship the 3 together are soo toxic and delulu like which sane couple would want to include such a problematic person like misha into their relationship and make it an unhealthy environment for their children to grow up in. I'm sorry for the vent, I'm just very disgusted by him😶

No apologies necessary, because I agree, it's just so fucking weird.

We know the the Ackles primarily (if not exclusively) only hang out together with Misha around work-related events. On the one side, while Danneel has made some vague noises about being a fan of Misha/Castiel, and Jensen does talk about him as a friend? Most of Jensen's comments about him are dunking on him for being awkward, for saying shit he can't back up, and just generally ribbing him for the weird shit he gets himself into and what a strange guy he is. Then on the other side you have Misha frequently making these very sexual and/or suggestive quote unquote jokes about both of them. Like, I'd still think it was odd if they were all publicly sharing that kind of sexualized banter back and forth on a regular basis, but they aren't. It's always Misha starting it and often Misha doing it alone, metaphorically behind their backs. Which is a huge part of what makes it so creepy, because it makes him come off more like some weird invasive fan failing at boundaries who they have to publicly be nice to because ~*SPN fambily*~ rather than it being an understandable friendship that genuinely exists between them.

Which is bad enough, but you can't separate his behavior from the context of the fandom he's pointedly doing it for. The loud majority of people still buying his crap (ops/autos/merch) and potentially following any future projects he might have? Are hellers/cockles shippers. Who only really care about him in terms of fantasizing about him and Jensen together (and pointedly include Danneel to contrast themselves against the wife haters in the extreme J2 tinhatter camp). Which takes the whole thing from just awkward creepy into a very calculated, opportunistic user kind of creepy.

I'm not sure there's anyone or anything Misha wouldn't "joke" about being intimate with if he thought he could make a buck off it. He's shown over and over he has no integrity and blatantly lacks respect for other people if throwing them under the bus (or talking about them as a sex object) will play well with his audience.

[crownmemes]

The Game Sentences

(Sentences from The Game (2014). Adjust phrasing where needed)

"I'll give you information about my missions, about my tradecraft, but nothing about the people I work with."

"In our game, insecurity can cost lives."

"So, how do you like to spend your free time?"

"As you know, small talk isn't my strong suit. Actually, a friend thought that a list of prepared topics may help…"

"Am I to take it you believe in this quote-unquote 'plan'?"

"We are ancient nations. We both want this war to end."

"The warrior who lifts his arm for the killer blow leaves his heart exposed."

"That's a little dishonest, don't you think?"

"Working? On a Sunday?"

"Liars often place objects between themselves and the person they're talking to."

"You don't actually know what it is you're investigating."

"This is a war of variables and unknowns, and all we can do is watch, surmise, and react."

"People gossip. It's ghastly, but that's people for you."

"This is no time for sentiment. We must look to the future."

"I didn't ask for this assignment. I want to make that clear."

"You think you're above the law."

"I think this is a conversation for another time."

"Why did you do it? Betray your country?"

"You're not lying to me, are you?"

"Be careful. You're too beautiful to die."

"Hey, how come you get the gun?"

"Could I rely on you never to betray a country? Perhaps not. Could I rely on you never to betray me? Yes, I believe I could."

"I still don't think there's anything impressive or romantic about this."

"Do you think our fathers would be proud of us?"

"Work can only ever be a mistress. Mistresses are ravenous."

"We're engaged in a delicate, volatile operation, and you're pursuing a vendetta!"

"I know this is serious, but you can still smile. You're allowed to enjoy things."

"Why does this ever simple concept continue to elude you?"

"I miss the war. The other one. A chap knew where he stood."

"You can't court your boss and expect people to respect you!"

"I don't care about some tedious work thing - I just want to spend Friday night with you!"

"At school, were you away the day they taught reproduction?"

"You mustn't concern yourself so much with how I'm perceived."

"For a man in your position, you are tediously dense."

"You want to blackmail a man using the lives of his wife and child?"

"Rumours have a terrible habit of resurfacing, don't they?"

"I don't want to know you. I don't need to know anything about you."

"I'm sorry, were you thinking about me in the bath?"

"There aren't any heroes in war. There's just… Meat."

"You took it, didn't you? I think you went through his pockets."

"Do you have something you believe in so deeply, so passionately, it goes beyond simple loyalty?"

"People are going to say things about me, and I want you to know that I'm not like that."

"I'm sorry, is this a discussion about professionalism?"

"For what it's worth, I don't believe you're guilty."

"Doubt will kill you as sure as any bullet."

[only-lonely-stars]

Burning the Midnight Oil

Oneshot – (FFN) (AO3)

Summary:

Lois Lane, dedicated reporter for The Daily Planet, will not rest until she figures out Superman's secrets! She's only an intern, but she will have her story! Clark Kent, her partner in crime, is always there to keep her afloat in the sea of information.

Note: This fic is set right after Season 1, Episode 3 of MAWS (right after Lois gets her interview with Superman). Let's all just pretend there's one or two more days between that and Episode 4, and this fic slots right into that gap.

FANART! Thank you @tsbdhdndj!!!

Late one evening, Lois Lane knew that she was staring her answer straight in the face– but she was still missing something. 

Who was Superman? 

What was he trying to hide? Who was he when he wasn't Superman? He obviously wasn’t Superman all the time, no matter what he said. And he was obviously keeping secrets! No one could blame her for being curious– and she had so many questions that kept going unanswered!

Lois’ hard-fought, very short, very disappointing interview with the maybe-alien had given her nothing she could use. Not even a scrap! Superman hadn’t answered any of her questions the way she’d hoped. 

(How could someone not know who they were, or where they were from? Why didn’t he know how to use his powers? Even if it was the truth, she couldn’t print it. It would scare people!)

No. Here was part of the truth, plain and simple.

Superman had planned his responses carefully, saying only what he had scripted. Whether by himself or with help from someone else, he’d been trained on how to respond to the press.

It was as if he knew that she was trying to expose him.

She wasn't even trying to expose him, per se! She just wanted to know all his secrets and then publish them for all the masses to read! Then she would finally be a respected reporter, a real investigative journalist. 

(No longer an intern of over a year, never having her name on the byline, always having her quote-unquote “research” stolen by Cat Grant…)

If she could just get published, then she was one step closer to her Pulitzer–

“Hello?”

The unexpected voice behind Lois startled her, and she jumped a foot in the air. “Wha– oof!”

“Woah, Lois!” Clark protested, stumbling, and he bumped into the door. Coffee splashed against him and the bag on his arm swayed, but after a moment of panic, he managed to stand upright.

Lois gasped and ran to help him, taking two coffees in a to-go holder from him. “Oh my gosh, Clark! I am so sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it!” Clark stammered, putting the bag on top of a pile of ripped-out tabloid pages on their work table– pages that had no business being everywhere, but were, because she’d been adding them to the murder board and stopped halfway in the middle of her work. “I’m sorry, I– I should have knocked.”

“No, no, this is your office too.” Lois put the coffee down and looked at him.

For a split second, there was a trick of the light. Clark’s jaw looked just a little more square, his hair a little neater than usual…

His sweater, stained with a spreading splotch of brown.

Lois panicked. “Your sweater!”

Clark glanced down, eyes growing wide. “Oh!”

Lois reached for the bag and pulled out a large wad of napkins, then ran to dab them at the stain. She only barely caught herself, stopping from putting her hands all over his chest, and offered him the wad of paper. “Uh– here, for– for your sweater. Quick!”

“Ah– thanks, Lois.” Clark took them, blotting haphazardly, but it was too late. The brown stain had spread into a blob, marring the cream waffle knit, and barely any was picked up by the napkins. 

In the back of her mind, Lois thought it resembled a little heart.

(Not that that was anything special! She was observant, it was just how a reporter behaved!)

Clark eventually sighed and gave up, putting the napkins on the table. “Well… anyway.” He offered Lois a sheepish grin. “I was just… wanting to bring you some food! Since you’re still here. Burning the midnight oil, looking for m– for Superman.”

“Oh, you shouldn’t have!” She glanced at the bag, then back at him, admiring the smile on his face. “What… is it?”

“Well, coffee for starters! Mocha with an extra shot of espresso for you, decaf black for me.”

It was her favorite coffee order, and the cups said they were from Waid’s– her favorite coffee shop. How was he so thoughtful? Lois felt a blush coming on, so she tried to ignore it by investigating the bag. “And what’s in here?”

“Ramen!” He sprang to open it, pulling out a bowl. “Here’s mine, no spice of course. And yours!” He offered it to her with a big grin and slightly pink cheeks. “Extra spicy, with bean sprouts.”

Lois laughed and took it, her fingertips brushing his. “Clark…”

“It’s nothing. Honestly.”

“It’s not nothing,” she protested, but she still opened the lid and took a deep breath of the contents. It smelled like spice, and the steam relaxed her face. Had she been frowning while she worked, if her face was this sore? She was probably going to have frown lines by the time she was thirty.

Clark watched her expectantly, so she set it down with a smile in his direction. “I guess it’s about time for a break. I’ve been so busy, it’s just… I’m close to a discovery. I know it!”

“You– you are?” He looked surprised, but pulled out a chair and sat down anyway. “Is this about m– Mister Superman?”

“Mister Superman? No, it’s just Superman, that’s crazy.” She laughed it off, sitting down next to him. “Look. He’s keeping secrets! I played that recording for you. Didn’t it strike you as odd?”

“Of course, but you said yourself he’s probably an alien. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“It’s not about worrying, it’s about what it means.”

“What bad thing could it possibly mean for Superman to be an alien? Or to have secrets?” Clark argued with a passion, opening his bowl of ramen and searching for a pair of chopsticks. “C’mon. He’s just a regular guy who happens to be able to fly.”

“But he’s not what he seems, Clark! He’s keeping something from Metropolis. If I could just figure out what–” Lois cut herself off with a sip of coffee, frustration taking over. “I don’t know what, or what I’ll do. I’m just– I’ve been here all day, and I still don’t have any answers.”

Clark glanced at the clock, then at her. “It’s seven o’clock. You’ve been here ten hours. Maybe it’s… time to call it a day?”

“But it’ll still be here tomorrow!” Lois pounded the table, making a little of their soup broth splatter, and Clark grabbed a napkin preemptively. “You don’t understand! I have to get this scoop! Otherwise I’ll never get a Pulitzer!”

“A Pulitzer? Lois, that’s not what this is about.” He set down the napkin, resting his hands on the table as he leaned toward her. His voice was more confident now, the way he got when he was assured of himself, which wasn’t very often. “You’re a great reporter. The best one I know. Don’t doubt yourself so much.”

She glanced away, using her chopsticks to push around her noodles. “Clark…”

“I mean it! You’re incredible, and so smart, and you always get the story.”

“I’m not that good! I’m just an intern.” And not even a good one, she added internally– she couldn’t say it out loud, or he’d just tell her she was wrong. “Maybe I won’t figure him out…”

“Hey.”

She looked back up at Clark. He was staring at her, intent clear behind his glasses. He was big– so big, so kind, Kansas born and bred. She felt her whole body flush under the heat of his gaze.

“Lois, you will figure him out. If there’s one reporter in Metropolis who will find out Superman’s secrets, it’s you. Stop doubting yourself so much.”

She mustered up a smile and rested her hand on the table, just barely brushing his fingers with her own. “You mean that, Smallville?”

He blushed, a soft pink that complimented his piercing blue eyes and black hair. “Of course I do.”

Lois laughed. “Then I guess I’ll have to trust you. You’re not a liar.”

Even though he always seemed to be making excuses about bagels… but everyone needed a good excuse, so she was willing to overlook it. He had his reasons for needing to step away from everyday life.

Clark laughed with her, sounding self-conscious, and he reached up to scratch the back of his neck. “I… appreciate it?”

“You should! And don’t sell yourself short, either. You’re a great reporter.” She moved to cover his hand with hers, delighting in the small point of contact between them. “We’re both going to be real reporters one day, exposing the corruption in Metropolis.”

“Yeah! We’re going to be great.”

Clark leaned closer, like he was about to share some secret, and Lois followed suit. His intense stare captured her attention and kept her from thinking about anything else. 

What incredible thoughts did he think in that intelligent, beautiful head of his? Solutions to global warming? Political scandals? Questions about the meaning of life and why there wasn’t a wider acceptance of the value of cream cheese bagels? Maybe he was wondering about the stories that were still alive and breathing on the street level…

Carefully, oh-so-gently, he reached out and brushed his thumb against her cheek. “You, uh, had a little bit of broth there…”

Lois had to smile, a fluttery feeling in her chest. “Oh. Thanks.”

Clark laughed softly and sat back, and somewhere deep down his absence almost felt like a loss. “No problem.”

She turned back to her soup and took a bite of the noodles. The spice burned her throat in a delicious way. It lent sharpness to her thoughts, like dragging a blade across a whetstone, like the cold when she learned to navigate by the stars as a child.

Clark Kent made her feel safe. 

Respected.

Loved, even.

All of those things were part of how Lois felt about him, too. He was a good man, a gentle soul with strength to back up his convictions. He was beautiful and amazing. She felt embarrassed by how much she appreciated him, but…

…maybe that was a good thing.

Maybe her dad was wrong, and love was something worth exploring.

Distantly, she wondered if he felt like he loved her too. Dwelling on it wouldn’t give her answers, so she stole a glance at him as he drank deeply from his to-go container. The warmth in her chest was affection, not from the chili pepper in her ramen, and it felt all-consuming. Its heat felt like the sun, bright and hot and empowering!

Even so… she would deny it until she had more proof. There was no reason to act on a lack of proof. Lois was an investigator, not a tabloid writer. She worked with facts!

Despite the emotions raging inside of her, she felt like a new question was more approachable than Superman. Maybe even more important, somehow.

Did Clark feel anything like this for her?

What would she do if he did?

So she turned back to her meal, focusing all her attention on Clark and his kind attention, the way he provided for her simply because it was like him to do it. He cracked jokes and talked about their work. Jimmy’s latest conspiracy theories and nonsense. Cat Grant’s obsession with her newest celebrity boyfriend story.

It was a pleasant blur, and when Clark walked her home that night, Lois found that she didn’t want to go in. He was a gentleman, not making a move. She didn’t want him to leave, so she pulled him into a tight hug.

“Thanks for walking me back, Smallville.”

Clark simply hugged her back, warm and sturdy, like an invulnerable shield. She let herself be immersed in him, focused entirely on how he made her feel. “Anytime, Miss Lane. Sweet dreams.”

[see-arcane]

Cannot screenshot all the tags as phone won't let me but wanted to say this is exactly it you Get It and can't wait for what you have to write exploring All That. Also to be fair Mina is smug, she just sometimes goes "Now if you forgive me for bragging...." first

I think it would come down to a very specific arrangement of social factors for her to brag aloud and/or for the Harkers to flaunt their whole deal in the first place. Because yes, Mina is capable of a little social spice...but only before/after some apologetic or self-effacing comment. For Mina to 'brag' about Jonathan would require Jonathan Kool-Aid Manning his way into the setting to show rather than tell.

It goes without saying they're both absolute terrors on Valentine's Day. But Jonathan 'My Inhibitions Died in Transylvania' Harker takes it up a notch by, say, 'accidentally' interrupting a dreary conversation in which sundry aristo friends*** Mina met through Lucy--imagine Marjorie Lindon and Dora Grayling if you can stomach them--are rambling about their respective quote-unquote catches, complete with pity claps for Mina about her little clerk lucking into running his dead boss' business, what a lovely half-step up the ladder, ha ha--

Jonathan, loaded down with roses, a wad of handmade Valentine cards, and a heart-shaped box: "Mina, there you are! I simply couldn't wait until after work to celebrate so I figured I'd take the day off. Here."

Mina, opening the box: "Is that..."

Jonathan: "Chocolates molded in the shape of every car in the new train model you've been eyeing in the shop window since January? Yes. I had to make the molds myself, I do apologize for the amateur craftsmanship. I hope the actual trainset will make up for it. I laid it out around the table at home. Now, how's the taste?"

Mina: "Perfect. Is this Swiss?"

Jonathan: "It is."

Mina: "You should have some yourself."

Jonathan: "If you insist."

Cue an obnoxiously long 'I think I need to get my hand fan out' kiss that has onlookers wondering whether the Harkers have more than human lung capacity. Then Jonathan Spider-Mans them out the window, still kissing.

It does more than any verbal boasting could manage.

[dsmplaurel]

𝓕𝓸𝓻 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝔀𝓸𝓻𝓵𝓭 𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘

Hello hello hello to you!! :DDD My name is Laurel, but you may call me Laurs :]]. I've been in the dsmp fandom since 2020, and have been awfully on and off (mostly on) here after 2022 :DDDD. I just recently got into writing fanfics for the fandom (from being committed to just being an avid reader to being the writer, desperation is an underrated drug/exag) and will probably draw more art for it in the future :DDDDD. Quite late I know, but I recently decided to screw societal norms and embraced being quote-unquote cringe lately. Hoping you enjoy my works <333 Thank you for sticking around :]]]].

Mains and favs:

⋆˚✿˖° SBI SBI SBI SBI (and all the duos you can make from them 4)

⋆˚✿˖° Benchtrio

⋆˚✿˖° Parentsduo

⋆˚✿˖° Niki

⋆˚✿˖° The syndicate

DNI if you support:

✿ Basic DNI criteria (racism, homophobia, ableism, etc.)

✿ cc!Dream team

✿ cc!Wilbur Soot

All characters I write and draw about are based purely on the characters of dsmp, not their respective creators. Support victims <333.

[lakesbian]

here’s a question, do you think Blake’s responses to Rose would be fundamentally different if Rose was a guy? cause like- there’s Absolutely misogyny to it, as is, but I always thought Blake would’ve reacted like a cat being shoved in a bath to anyone trying to “tell him what to do” (quote unquote).

genuinely could not keep reading pact until i blake misogyny posted because he's sooo bad. he's literally worse than brian. like he's out here making brian look like a feminist. the thing that really sucks about Blake Misogyny is like.

brian will espouse misogynistic gender essentialist viewpoints he believes to be The Natural State Of The World, but in the context of his social environment, it's sort of just him beating himself against a brick wall. if it doesn't successfully alter his social environment to his preferences--which it never does--he'll get crotchety about it, but he's really not manipulative or vitriolic about it. it has 0 impact on the behavior of his female teammates, and he ultimately has to live with that. sure, in a different circumstance he might be able to socially steamroll over women, but as-is all he's doing is giving himself a concussion.

blake, on the other hand, is misogynist with plausible deniability. which is how vast portions of misogynistic behavior presents itself! obviously men believe (& frequently outright say) the things brian says, but they also have consistent interactions w/ women they have material power over where they demean, exert control over, and expect the women to cater to them--all while never directly bringing gender up and thus leaving them with enough plausible deniability that someone can go "well, he might respond the same way if she was a man, right?"

the answer to that question doesn't matter--even though it's very plausible that rose would be afforded far more respect if she was a man, it's insidiously impossible to prove it (which is part of the point of the behavior!), and either way proving it is irrelevant to our ability to point out the ways in which blake's interactions with her are already fundamentally misogynist.

as i've already mentioned, he does a lot of expecting her to "compromise" where "compromise" just means "you do what i want and i put up with the agonizing ordeal of knowing that you're not 100% happy about it," and he's also really prone to putting the burden on her to "communicate" while being fundamentally hostile to sentiment which even remotely infringes on his utter control over a situation (& subsequently over both of their survival). not to MENTION how gendered their division of labor is. you know how, 4 example, men are the ones supposed to know how to fix a car/drive (& are subsequently given the power of freedom of independent movement) whereas women are the ones supposed to do, 4 example, the laundry (confers no power, is labor which consistently services the man in the household)? similarly, rose is the one who does consistent domestic labor--i.e reading/researching/memorizing information to support blake with (thus consistently lowering his workload without having influential power over his behavior)--whereas blake holds power over infrequent & power-conferring tasks like deciding what they're buying* or calling all of the shots in a social interaction.

(*while mundane and laborious financial decisions are usually the woman's responsibility, like what to buy for dinner each week, the infrequent & high-stakes circumstance of purchasing survival supplies mean that blake is in fact the one holding power by being responsible for determining what weapons/etc to buy.)

also, to circle back to the topic of blake's expectations regarding "communication" for a second, i think this post is an exceedingly good explanation of exactly how that little dynamic works between them. hint: it's also him being misogynist. (yes, that post is mandatory reading for this post.)

all of these points culminate in this awful little exemplifying example of his behavior here in 2.1:

“Don’t worry about me if you’re not going to worry about yourself,” Rose said.  “You look as tired as I feel, and since you’re the one making the big decisions, like when to go out and-” “Woah,” I said.  “Woah, woah.  You’re talking about this?” “About going out with Laird.” “I thought we weren’t fighting.” I could see her expression change.  Barely restrained frustration, slowly but surely being covered up, hidden behind a mask.  “We’re not.  Nevermind.  I got carried away.  I’ll meet you downstairs in a bit, and then we’ll go?” A big part of me wanted to argue.  To press the issue.  To air grievances and get things on a more even keel.  To convince her that I didn’t want her as a slave or a servant. Except we had more pressing matters.  Better to find a way to show it to her rather than tell her. “Sure,” I said.

he's:

dramatically interpreting rose mentioning that he's been the one to make big decisions thus far as "fighting," manipulatively smothering both her ability to acknowledge their social dynamics + division of labor & her ability to even approach critiquing his decisionmaking--because how can she criticize him, when even mentioning a circumstance that turned out badly, with zero focus on his errors, results in him treating her as if she's being cruel?

again internally focusing on the idea of "communicating" ("airing grievances/getting on a more even keel"), but outright stating that the intended outcome of the "communication" he wants to have is "to convince her that he didn't want her as a slave or a servant"--in other words, he's viewing her feelings as something inaccurate that need to be corrected and brought in line with his viewpoints vs. as possible indicators that he needs to alter his mindset or behavior

sure, he purchases the bike mirrors as part of his attempt to "show it to her," but without self-awareness regarding how he's treating her, it will ultimately just be an attempt to "convince her" vs to genuinely address her concerns. i actually find it hard to believe that she was smiling about the bike mirrors when he was shopping for them--i don't think she would have any reason to read it as a genuine shift in his mindset & intentions. i'd be willing to guess that she had something else going on over there she was smiling about and he coincidentally caught her at the right moment to misinterpret it as being about bike mirrors.

in conclusion: "damages 2.1" more like. Damaging your relationship with rose thorburn by being a bitch idiot misogynist

[writeouswriter]

Started watching a show with one character that my friends just absolutely hate, like truly despise, they think he's shallow and see no sense of redeeming qualities or characteristics or anything, they cannot *stand* him, but I... think he's so far the most complex and compelling character of the series.

Like, sure, he's done some questionable things, he's very much the product of his terrible upbringing, perpetuating the cycle of abuse; he's not quote unquote "good," but he's interesting *as a character,* you see how he cycles between doing good things and bad, you understand why he is the way he is, you see how he digs himself deeper, and my friends said well, they prefer characters who *break* the cycle, who dig themselves out of it, which, yeah, that's fine, sure, but... you do realize it doesn't always work like that, right? Some people don't break the cycle, some people can't, and not always for lack of trying. And even if it did work like that, you do realize the difficulty of that task, right? Breaking that cycle doesn't just happen overnight (or over the length of a single episode or even several), it's messy, it's ugly, it's gradual, it takes time, and this particular show is still very much in its infancy.

Even then, if that really is their caveat, in this case, in the little details, even if he screws up more often than not and isn't directly shunned, even if it's not in conventional, accepted or huge ways, you can clearly see this character actually *is* trying? To be a better father, to care for his friends, amidst his own issues and his fear of being seen as vulnerable or taken for granted, underneath a very obvious mask *designed* to make people see him one way or be disgusted by him, but audiences have no patience anymore... and no ability to sense when a mask *is* a mask, even when it slips, even when presented on a stage.

I mean, I'm not saying they have to *like* this character, to each their own, he's weird, he is occasionally awful, I understand the distaste on that front, but it's genuinely disheartening to see all the other details of his personality just completely fly under the radar or over everyone's heads because no one wants to look beyond the surface, and no one wants a "damaged" character anything less than pure or palatable in specific ways. No one wants a less than perfect victim.

And yeah I know I'm overreacting a little, again, I reiterate, you can like or dislike any character you want for whatever reasons you please, god knows I hate plenty of characters and some don't have any redeeming qualities even writing wise, but... sometimes looking at things just a little longer or through a different perspective can give you a whole new respect or understanding you might never have thought of.

Characters are complex. People are complex. And sometimes, it really *is* that deep, and you can't expect every character or piece of media to hold your hand and directly spell out its moral code for you like it's made for children.

[seramilla]

I’ve found a way to distinguish the asks of Clara/ Velvette without them ret-conning Clara/kiki.

In my opinion all the asks that deal with Clara/velvette take place in the past throughout velvette and Clara’s various breakups, however all of the asks with Clara/kiki take place in the present.

It’s easier so that the relationships don’t get ret-conned because Clara/Velvette’s relationship really helps Clara open her eyes to see that not all relationships are going to work and not all relationships are going to be easy work. And it also helps Clara grow as a person and realize that her feelings towards Velvette are ones of fear and resentment but she doesn’t want to let Velvette go because in Clara’s mind, Velvette is her first serious relationship so she’s afraid to let it go.

Kiki/clara’s relationship is based off of feelings of mutual respect and love for each other. There’s hardly any yelling or arguing because they work together in order to conquer the problem that is bothering them instead of fighting. It’s not Clara v.s Velvette and the rest of hell, it’s Clara and Kiki v.s what stands in their way.

Just because they’re fictional doesn’t mean we can’t add that growth and development as a character and in relationships. And toxic relationships no matter how people disagree are a huge point in development in a character’s growth in their mind and as a person. Because it affects the way they act around people and how they do things.

Speedy for rambling I wanted to get this off of my mind lmao

Bumping up this ask because it’s relevant.

No, this is all very insightful! You’re basically on the same page as me, anon. I am just kind of flying by the seat of my pants with the Clara relationship stuff. I’ve just been leaving it up to you guys to float ideas and then trying to incorporate that into a narrative. I had no idea how it would go. Kiki came out of left field and kind of put the impetus on Velvette to start to give a damn. But it’s been a fun challenge to balance out the Velvette favorable asks with the ones supporting Kiki.

You are so right about different types of relationships contributing to a character's growth, and how learning from toxic ones can lead to healthier ones down the road. I think that's the fun part about character analysis through shipping; everyone has different ideas, and you throw them together, and it plays out like a TV drama of sorts, haha! I don't think that's a bad thing, either!

I think your analysis is pretty accurate. Not every relationship in media is a healthy one, and often characters can have very complicated, complex relationships and that evolves over the course of the work. Especially by nature of these people being in Hell, it makes sense that not everything is sunshine and rainbows all the time.

This is kind of how I've mapped out the quote-unquote "canon" events around Clara in my head thus far:

Velvette is Clara's first real relationship. Velvette initially pursued her because she thought she'd be an easy route to Carmilla. She never really took the relationship seriously, treated Clara like another one of her assets, and just generally left Clara feeling confused with very off again/on again feelings. It's up for debate whether they were ever exclusive, since Velvette is also involved with Vox and Valentino to some extent.

Clara meets Kiki when Odette starts seeing Verosika. During a lull in Clara's relationship with Velvette, she and Kiki hit it off and start seeing each other. Again, not sure if they're exclusive at this point.

Velvette sees Clara with a new beau and starts making moves. She's determined to weasel her way back into Clara's life, and makes several poor, underhanded attempts, and blows up about it each time when it doesn't work.

Kiki defends Clara a lot in the beginning. As a Hellborn, she's not afraid of a Sinner, especially not Velvette. At some point, Clara gets brave enough to confront Velvette herself on her BS, and she has to do this a few times before Velvette gets the picture that it's over between them.

Velvette starts to catch real feelings. She doesn't realize what a good thing she had in Clara until it's gone. This leads to a lot of explosive, childish behavior from her. Whether or not she's willing to pursue Clara in a more genuine way, or whether it's truly over, is up for debate.

I have no real vision for what is, and isn't, endgame for these three, or if there even is one. Maybe Velvette or Kiki will reign supreme. Maybe both of them. Giving Velvette the boot? Eventual polycule? IDK! I'm just rolling with the punches!

Thanks for sharing!

[whattraintracks]

3. Surprise Party – TMNT 1987 

This is totally inspired by iztarshi's birthday loop fic please go check it out.

After a very long day of fending off several well-meaning friends, acquaintances, and enemies—those might not have been well-meaning. Probably not? Hard to say—Leonardo is exhausted.

Who knew unplanning surprise parties was even harder than planning them?

Look, Raphael made it very clear last year that he did not enjoy his birthday, nor did he appreciate anyone's attempts to make him celebrate it. Leonardo could make some sacrifices to respect those wishes.

But after a whole day of it, he is really and truly beat, so when Michelangelo suggests ordering in and having a movie night, he readily forgoes his planned meditation session. Pizza and bad monster movies: the great panacea for every teenage turtle.

He unsurprisingly spends most of the film just shy of sleep until the snap of the television shutting off startles him back to awareness. Raphael releases the remote to the clutches of the couch cushions with a jaw-cracking yawn.

Donatello and Michelangelo, he notices, are curled together on a pillow nest at the base of the couch. They likely drifted off partway through the movie, equally exhausted from their day of misadventures.

"Well, gang," Raphael announces, perhaps unaware they're the only two awake, "It's officially a new day. And I must say, I am just so crushed that not one of you wished me a happy birthday yesterday."

Confusion laps at the edge of his consciousness as the words filter in. Was it really past midnight alre—

Wait. Crushed? By what?

No, not physically. He's upset. With them?

Oh no, he's hurt his little brother, hasn't he? He told Donatello they should have asked Raphael before making plans behind his back. Leonardo lurches forward to grab Raphael in a hug.

"Oh, you're awake," Raphael pats his shell automatically, "and crying. I was kidding, Leonardo."

Crying, right. The jumble of sensations on his face is starting to make more sense. He clings a little more.

"Man, I always forget how weepy you are when you're tired." Raphael shuffles around, readjusting for as much comfort as possible with his arms full of sniffling turtle.

Raphael sighs, "Look, I may not be a Ninja Master, O Great One, but my senses work perfectly well. Despite what I will magnanimously assume were your best efforts, I know what you three got up to today."

Leonardo blinks until he's somewhere a little closer to wakefulness. "Oh."

"And Michelangelo might be loud, but Mondo Gecko is a lot louder."

He giggles at the memory of Michelangelo trying to yell over Mondo Gecko. At about midday, he'd all but invaded the lair with an unholy number of streamers and party hats, singing "Happy Birthday" at the top of his lungs. "Oh."

Raphael peers down at him with a smirk, "Eloquent."

He leans up to double-check Raphael is un-crushed physically and emotionally, smushing his cheeks with great seriousness. "So, you’re not upset?"

"No, Leonardo." Raphael endures the smothering but not without sounding incredibly put upon. "I am not upset about our quote-unquote 'absolutely, one hundred percent normal, honestly-it'll-just-be-like-any-other day.'"

They both chuckle at the reminder of Donatello's words that morning. They sound silly coming from Raphael, but he has a gift for matching their brother's unwavering earnestness with biting humor.

Then quietly, so quietly Leonardo only hears it because he is fully in Raphael's personal space, he begrudgingly adds, "A day that the three of you went to truly ridiculous lengths to maintain."

And maybe he's just tired, worn out, and bleary, but tucked beneath the familiar sass, Leonardo detects a kernel of gratitude.  

"Oh."

With a magnificent roll of his eyes, Raphael finally shoves him away. "Well, now you just sound like a broken record. How are you still awake? You look like the dead."

"Because I am." He sinks back into Raphael's arms, words muffled as he nuzzles closer. "You are speaking with the ghost of Leonardo."

"Hah! Go to sleep, you goof."

"Hmmkay. Good night, Raphael. Happy unbirthday."

He huffs, "Who, me?"

And then Leonardo finally, blessedly falls asleep.

[mrstsung]

Look mk shipping discourse ahead

So warning ya before you kontinue. These are just my opinions. Plz dont take them so to heart ok?

Cw: vent,discourse

If yall gonna actually do subscorp.....

Bi-han and hanzo have more sexual tension than kaui ever fucking did but y'all aint ready for that conversation. ☕ *sips coffee*

Kuai and hanzo had misunderstandings and genuine friendship. Could it be something more. Sure but it doesn't need to be to be interesting or even wholesome.

Meanwhile bi-han og subzero and hanzo had this love hatefuck in their eyes. Good fucking god like y'all be shipping the wrong subzero brother.

But y'all just only like kaui cuz he's the quote unquote "nicer" brother. Meanwhile what actually happened could male for better and classic AND REAL ENEMIES TO LOVERS TROPE. i mean it's right fucking there. Kuai and hanzo were never enemies. Let alone friends till waaaaaaaaay later. And even then....they had better things to do than each other. Sorry not sorry. Kaui and hanzo were just damn to platonic to me. Meanwhile bi-han and hanzo be like "bitch" "bitch" and then internally probably all like "💖🔥🔪"

And hanzo and kaui couldn't work because of that tension hanzo has with bi-han. Mostly on bi-hans half than hanzo. Cuz y'all conveniently forget. Hanzo killed bi-han over a misunderstanding,yeah a mofo dont just forget that. You'd be pissed too if you were wrongfully killed over something you didn't do by a ninja from a rival clan. Like bruh.

You can't have this ship without complications and problems.

So you either fix that. Or do the smart thing and ship KUAI LIANG WITH TOMAS VERBADA AKA SMOKE. BECAUSE THEY ACTUALLY ARE FROM THE SAME FUCKING CLAN AND HAVE WAY MORE IN COMMON AND HAVE ACTUALLY LIVED AND BEEN AROUND EACH OTHER!!! ffs.

Hanzo hasashi has not shown in canon anything to kuai than just mutual respect.

Kuai maybe but i dunno. I feel people reach so much with this ship it's like do we even play the same game?

Meanwhile the fucking "bitch fest" bi-han and hanzo have is on another lvl. Granted all this hate is still misplaced and quan chi is the real problem. But ya know.

If you're gonna ship a subzero with hanzo. Bi-han subzero makes more sense.

Tho i personally don't ship hanzo with any subzero ever. (I either self ship or have him just be dad ninja)

And i ship kuai liang subzero with tomas and bi-han with sareena (and self ship with either on occasion)

Either way the point is. Y'all be going about these characters and their dynamics so wrong. And i feel people just want different characters than what is actually happening. Like go make an oc at that point. It's different when they dont have certain dynamics shown and aspects. (Most mk villains dont because they are treated majority of the time as guys to beat up. So they aren't like sub and scorp. Which is shown.....everywhere,all the time,and takes up a majority of the plot. So we know all there is about yellow n blue ninja clans. Even then it doesn't go into that much detail but still we get more insight with them than any other character. Even liu kang and kung lao don't have as much as the two posterboys of mk. Which sucks)

Shipping aside. It sucks that both subzeros(kuai and bi-han) and scorpion(hanzo) get so grossly misinterpreted by fans. And think that everything is hunky dory peaches and roses. When it really isn't. While neither clan after a certain point is warring or fighting each other. There still is tension. Simply because of years,decades even of the mess left behind. Hanzo has to rebuild from the ground up. And kuai has to repair and restore the lin kuei to what it used to be but better and more equal. And less....robotic. lol. There was still a lot of work. Not to mention if noob became bi-han subzero again,somehow. That would add even more awkward tension(good storytelling tho) because bi-han while maybe he could forgive hanzo,he could never be friends truly. And if you guys ship kuai and hanzo. I dont think kuai would feel comfortable with having his only damn brother he's worked so hard to bring back and rekindle his family with just so he cpuld get some dick. Im sorry,relationships dont work that way. Hanzo and kaui are family oriented,and if one or more of parties involved are not on equal playing field or cares for the other. It's a no go.

What im trying to say is the dynamic is not healthy,long lasting,or even worth it. There is not any good chemistry.

Until bi-han and hanzo in canon make amends. Only then could you MAYBE. JUST MAYBE. Make that work.

But again shipping aside.

Tomas/smoke and kuai liang subzero. Works better. Because they not only like i said are from the same clan,grew up together. Bi-han more likely than not. Would understand tomas and actually be pretty cool with him.

Like I'm just saying people.

If you want kuai liang to be with a pyromancer fire dude so damn bad.

But Thank you for koming to my ted talk.

MAKE A FUCKING OC!

Maybe this is just me tho.

[mwebber]

im p confused rn lol, feel free to ignore this ofc but questions are meant genuinely.

is it the domination that you have a problem with? the lack of fight at front?

or is it more simply you want seb to keep his record(s)?

or just with verstappen winning?

i understand the first 2 and hear the 3rd a lot but just ur prev posts came a lil outta left field for me lol. i'd like to hear your thoughts, with peace and love on planet earth <3

pourquoi pas les trois... actually i think it might boil down to two main things: my frustration at the continued erasure and diminishing of seb's achievements, and my pet peeve of Total Fucking Bullshit.

it's no secret that this sport has a problem with dominating teams. and yes, you could argue that's the point--hello, it's a constructor's championship, the point is to have the best car. and red bull have built beasts the last couple of years! seriously, all my respect to the team as a whole for pulling everything together. i was and remain a red bull fan at heart despite it all, and it makes me happy from an objective standpoint to see so many elements of a team come together in harmony. red bull is a well-oiled machine at work.

but i genuinely don't think there's been this level of domination by a singular driver in a singular team since like, 2013. think: if lewis' era of domination was so much "worse" than this as the dudebros like to say, why hasn't lewis come close to beating 9 wins in a row? the main phenomenon at play is the sport's short term memory--but really, the way fans like to completely forget 2015-2018 and arguably 2019 too really frustrates me. it wasn't like 2014 hit and suddenly lewis was winning everything. nico won the 2016 wdc. seb posed a real fucking threat in 2015, and in 2017-18 the messaging from the sport was that the battle between him and lewis was, quote unquote, titanic. a battle between, quote unquote, titans of the sport. fast forward to 2020/21 and the narrative is that nothing has stood in lewis' way for the last 6 or 7 years, and that his era of domination needs to be ended for ~the good of the sport.~

so seb makes a couple mistakes, fine, but mostly gets visibly cucked by his team for years, and suddenly he's nothing. his four championships mean nothing, his 3rd most wins in the history of f1 mean nothing, he's just ferrari's next failure.

but then the narrative around max. max, who's introduced in 2021 like he's an up and coming driver intent on toppling lewis' throne. it's a great narrative, right? mercedes took red bull's ball. red bull want it back. casually ignoring how max has been in the sport since 2016, max is red bull's new young golden boy, the one who's going to lead them to victory as the youngest driver like seb already did before and wow, wait, sorry for mentioning seb in relation to success there, let's keep on reinforcing that he's an old man who needs to retire. anyway, max is someone who doesn't give a flying fuck about anyone or anything except racing! max is a beast on track! max is [checks notes] our great white hope!

let's put the racism discussion on hold, because i think people try really hard to pin him down as this like, absolutely sociopathic bigot who is the most racist person in the world, and while he's not NOT racist, i don't think the extreme conclusion ppl are reaching is true. plus this rhetoric is mostly smoke and mirrors to try and find a leftist/social justice reason to hate on him anyway. so let's get fucking real: i dislike max for the same reasons i dislike taylor sw*ft. i hate that there's this blatant marketing campaign that fans buy into and perpetuate, that these people are the greatest of their generation, that they're masters of their craft. like, what? max's racecraft is just threatening to crash people out or push them off the track, something multiple drivers have been quoted saying. that's not ruthless, that's just bad fucking driving. that's an asshole on the dvp suddenly merging into your lane without using their blinkers or checking their blindspots and forcing you to pull out your defensive driving skills from that one class in drivers ed just to avoid a massive pileup on the highway. and i'm expected to suck this guy's dick?

max wins a fraudulent championship in 2021 and proceeds, for the next two years, to basically cruise at the front. it's like the second half of 2013, except it's lasting for a YEAR AND A HALF. only this time, instead of the sport trying to diminish this stint by saying it's just the car or that the golden boy has put himself above the team, people are......... celebrating? listen, i enjoy a singapore 2013 moment as much as the next seb fan but come on. get real. if every race was singapore 2013 that would be boring. and that's what we're seeing, but that's not what fom wants us to think we're seeing. it's complete bullshit.

which leads me to my posts. oh my god, i hated the comparisons between max and seb's first championships. the circumstances could not be more different--it was fucking insulting. seb won his championship fair and square, no rulebook bending required. seb's most violent moment on track that year was in turkey with mark--but he didn't park his car on top of mark's head and walk out saying that's what you get. how could people say that seb was anything like max.

seb's 9 wins at the end of 2013 were the culmination of five years spent fighting tooth and nail for his success. even for how dominant he was in 2011, there were still other teams up there! he had to fight his own teammate for so many years! and even with displays like singapore 2013, there were races where he was fighting in the second half of the season! and now we see this current streak of wins from the last two years where everyone else has tumbled behind and perez is contractually obligated to be a doormat. (not to say that teams haven't tried--i had so much hope at the start of 2022 when ferrari showed up with that pussy monster.) so look me in the eyes and say that max has fought with everything in him just to get that #1 spot. the two of them are leagues apart, but people--the same ones who have said seb is washed--are inevitably going to say that max has beaten seb, that max is on par with the third most successful driver in the sport. it's like a slap to the face.

and so we end back with the constant retconning of seb's position in f1 history. it drives me insane. he's nothing when it comes to propping max up, and then he's the benchmark to prop max up. he's a titan of the sport, and then he's just a failure. come on. come on. i'm just tired of my favourite driver never being given the credit he deserves, and i'm tired of having this fictional story shoved down my throat that max is anything like the goats in the sport. tl;dr. get real.

[qqueenofhades]

I truly hate to ask, but could you please break down exactly what's being proposed with Moore v Harper? From what I understand it's more possible meddling in voting rights but can't quite get the details anywhere.

Welp. Okay. Basically, Moore v. Harper, which SCOTUS is going to hear oral arguments for today, is a Frankenstein's monster of a case and the culmination of decades of Republican work to suppress and overturn elections by quote-unquote legal means (rather than you know, armed coups). In a nutshell, it proposes to totally undo the last 235 years of federalist democracy, under the guise of sticking to an "originalist!" interpretation of the Constitution. Fun, right? Fascists! They're just so fun!

The points at stake are these:

The Constitution technically grants individual state legislatures the ultimate authority over how that state selects its Electoral College delegates. As such, every state soon adopted laws stating that those electors shall be chosen by the popular vote. BUT, since the wording remains that the legislatures have the final say... you now see where the problems are incoming.

As such, if the fascists get their way, SCOTUS will just... throw out two centuries of precedent and allow state legislatures to select their presidential electors any old which way. This, and I cannot stress this enough, WILL NOT BE BY POPULAR VOTE, especially in Republican-controlled states. People can have their little elections and vote for their little candidates, but if the state legislature is not legally bound to respect their choice, they can appoint whichever electors they want. In the GOP dream scenario, a Democrat would win the state, the Republican-controlled legislature would ignore that, certify Republican electors (remember, the Constitution says they have the final say!!) and send them to the EC to vote for the Republican. This result would then, despite being a brazen subversion of democracy in plain sight, be legally binding.

In other words, a Democrat would never win a presidential election again, and the state legislatures would also probably not feel too fussed about respecting other results they disagreed with, i.e. for state-level results.

This is, yes, basically a nightmare. So! How worried should we be?

Kagan, Sotomayor, and KBJ, the court liberals, will vote against it.

Thomas and Alito will straight up vote for the worst possible version of this they can come up with and only then bother making up some nonsense legal theory to justify it, probably Blah Blah States' Rights.

Gorsuch will probably also vote for it, because his big thing is Textual Originalism!!!

So that's 3 for and 3 against. The wild cards here are Roberts, Kavanaugh, and Barrett.

Roberts will probably try to persuade the wingnuts to accept some watered-down, plausibly deniable version of this, not because he is a moderate (he's not) or because he doesn't want this (he does). However, he's been having a lot of fits over public perception of the court and he doesn't want to build popular support for reforming it, so as he did with Roe, he might try to come up with some milquetoast middle ground. However, since he did fail with Roe and then went ahead and voted with the rest of the conservatives anyway, he can NOT be trusted.

Kavanaugh is bought and paid for and will probably do whatever his puppetmasters tell him to do. Barrett is a theocrat and will probably vote for it.

I feel as if the most likely outcome is that we get some monstrosity stitched-together patchwork nightmare that gives more cover for GOP legislatures to "legally" meddle with election results, rather than straight-up ending democracy, but since they have done that before, we honestly don't know.

As I have said before, SCOTUS does not NEED to hear any case that comes before it. They have total discretion to refuse. So the fact that they agreed to hear this one means they do intend to do something bad. The only question is HOW bad.

FASCISM! SO FUN.