#bears are better than people

[vbsvartalf]

Do they really think they can stop me?

[loganswdc]

every day i learn something new about logan sargeant and his racing career, not just about his performance in f1 but in f2 and previous series, too. and every day i end up so sad because he genuinely has so so much potential and can do so much but he keeps being give a poor hand of cards. this guy out qualified his teammate in f2 TEN TO FOUR. and who was his teammate?? liam lawson. liam joined redbull’s driver academy in february of 2019 while logan only got to join an f1 team’s driver academy in october of 2021. that team was williams. which, as we know, hasn't exactly been the best performing team in recent years. oscar piastri got to join an f1 team’s driver academy in january of 2020 (the renault sport academy, later rebranded as the alpine academy). liam and oscar both got the opportunity to do f1 tests for YEARS prior to their f1 debuts in 2023. liam had 4 and a half years of experience in f1 cars before 2023. oscar had 3 years of experience in f1 cars before 2023. even if it was just testing and practice sessions, it's still something.

what did logan get? one measly fp2 session, post-season testing, and then jumped right in to pre-season testing in 2023. he already had a seat in williams then, so with the experience from before the pre-season testing in 2023 he got to do maybe 800km of testing in an f1 car. the others — in this case i mean oscar, liam, and heck even nyck de vris — had opportunities to drive f1 cars and gain experience for YEARS before logan. if you look at nyck de vris: he got signed to the mclaren young driver programme in 2010. he joined the audi sport racing academy in 2016.  granted, he left the mclaren programme in before the 2019 season and left audi after the 2019 season, too. but he then went to mercedes as a reserve driver and tester for 2020 and afterwards. this means he got just about a DECADE AND A HALF of teams putting their time and energy into training him to join f1.

logan got a year. one. single. fucking year. that is entirely incomparable to the other rookies from 2023, who had so much more experience before hand. and yet logan was jumped into f1 and the expectations were so high for a guy who hasn't had the chance to train and learn and gain experience.

and yet when we look at the 2022 f2 season, logan sargeant, a rookie, was 1 point off from his teammate —the one and only liam lawson — scoring p4 in the championship. he outqualified his teammate 10 to 4. he was the first american to win an f2 race (that is, of course, following the rebrand from gp2 to f2, but regardless, that’s still an important thing to note and an achievement of his that should be celebrated).

logan sargeant has so much potential and if only williams would show him a little more faith unlike what they’ve been doing, if only they’d give him the same upgrades as alex, if only they wouldn’t force him to drive a car 15kg overweight from that of his teammate’s car, if only they wouldn’t force him to use outdated rear and front wings from the season prior. then perhaps he would have a chance to show what he can do. perhaps if he wasn’t stuck in a team with a crap car who have shown zero faith (which has been vehemently obvious since the circus in australia) in him and made him absolutely miserable, a shell of himself — which you can clearly see in recent interviews and photos of him — then maybe he’d be able to show how good he really is. and maybe if williams hadn’t been so adamant about taking him out of f2 so quickly and let him develop for one more year, we’d be seeing headlines that say “logan sargeant, first american f1 driver on the podium since michael andretti in 1993.” and perhaps we could even see him winning races.

no matter what someone says about his current f1 performances — though most base that solely off of where he ends up on the grid rather than looking at his actual driving and seeing how good he is as a driver considering the crap circumstances he’s in — logan sargeant is a better driver than what everyone says. he is trying so insanely hard to get a car that is miles off from the rest of the field to place as high as humanly possible. no one can say that if you put another driver in that car that logan is driving they'd be doing better than he is now. the fact is, they wouldn't be. he's been given an absolute tractor and is expected to score points when that car isn't built for getting in the points. and yet logan managed to get p10 in the miami sprint race — which should be recognized and commended. because he was in an awful car and he absolutely shined that day. that was just the start of showing what he could do. but he hasn't been given the same resources as alex, those being the upgrades, so what more can he do compared to what he's doing now?

and i am actually sitting here crying as i type this because this is a driver who is giving it his all even when the entire world is against him, even when his entire TEAM is against him, and he is persevering to the best of his abilities. and i know exactly what it’s like to sit here, wanting to reach for your dreams and show everyone how good you are, but to have only your closest friends and family on your side, rooting for you. what it’s like to look everywhere around you and see everyone calling you crap and saying you should quit and that you aren’t and never will be good enough. to look around and see your closest friends and family cheering for you, yet feeling like crap because you aren't doing as well as you would want, feeling inferior to everyone around you.

news flash: logan sargeant is and will always be good enough. he just needs the opportunity to show it, and williams is ruining that for him.

and yes, i will defend him with my life. people who try to say otherwise can try to do the same hours — the WEEKS — worth of research that i’ve done about logan and his career because he IS a good driver and HE DESERVES BETTER.

any hate comments towards logan will be deleted, because i have neither the time nor the energy to deal with that and argue with logan haters. i've said all of what i know and can remember about him and his career above, and will add what i can as time goes on and i remember something else or learn something new. if you have the time to hate on logan, you have the time to do your research and examine the fact that he has the potential to do well, but is not in a position for that because of the abhorrent circumstances he is currently in.

thank you for coming to my ted talk. edit: i'd also really recommend reading this twitter thread!! it goes into some more depth on logan and his f2 / f1 career, and even a little bit about his f3 career. it's very informative and articulates much of logan's career and why he is a better driver than many believe very well. https://x.com/herrocult/status/1795747913588761027

[child-of-hurin]

Part of what charms and compels me in Jeyne Poole's arc is her reaction to her predicament. All the female POVs in this book are dealing with a lot of gendered violence, and they all deal in different but dignified forms... Jeyne is not a POV character and she is absolutely not dignified lol. She cries and begs, she is utterly helpless. But unlike most women in this book who are utterly helpless, she survives. It's frustrating how fans refuse to celebrate that, simply because there is no glory in it.

[undead-moth]

I know I've been on about this for a while now and I'm being a hater but you're telling me SydCarmy was "always meant to be platonic" even though there are two seasons of writing making use of tried-and-true explicitly romantic tropes, themes and writing signals, and SydLuca is going to be romantic because...he was nice to her on screen for a few minutes?

I don't even care if people ship SydLuca, or if they just prefer it, but you can't honestly tell me that you believe Carmy was always meant to be a friend but Luca is an obvious love interest.

Just because Syd and Carmy haven't kissed or confessed their love to each other doesn't mean that isn't very obviously the direction this show is going. The Bear has already shown you who is endgame. It has shown you every episode of the show so far.

Honestly I really don't think The Bear fanbase understands this show or cares about these characters or the story being told here, which is unfortunate because this show is shockingly well-written in comparison to most shows right now, and we should be so grateful for it but all we're doing is complaining that the writers led us on by not making a ship canon fast enough. It's just. Sad.

[hella1975]

the thing about trauma and i think the reason im always more compelled by characters who lash out as a result of it instead of being made stronger by it is that it’s pointless. none of that shit happened for a reason. there’s nothing you’re supposed to do now that it happened. i can’t stand narratives that romanticise trauma bc the reality of it is that you went through that for no reason and you have to just deal and keep going. there’s nothing beautiful or brave about it. no one is writing you for it to mean something. it’s just… there

[bitchthefuck1]

That one chef saying that the worst thing about a bad boss is how they unlock that behavior in you and seeing Carmy mirror the attitude of the chef that terrorized him and gave him panic attacks and then ending the season with Syd having a panic attack because of the stress of working with Carmy...diabolical.

[juniperleafdelivery]

[cerise-on-top]

Nikolai with a s/o who always has a hand on his chest? With consent ofc, and it’s always to feel his heartbeat. I think of this all the time and it’s always super cute in my head.

Hello! That is pretty cute!

Nikolai Always with Reader’s Hand on His Chest

Nikolai is a pretty laid back and chill sort of man, so he usually doesn’t mind you putting your hand over his heart. Maybe not while you’re walking, though, he doesn’t want you to trip. It’s very sweet to him: You wanna make sure that he’s alive? That he’s still with you? That his heart is still beating? Trust me, not even death could take him away from you. He’d dig his way out of his grave after killing the reaper with his bare hands himself. You can always put your hand over his chest while you’re at home together, though. It’s nice to feel you. After a while it would be reassuring to him as well, feeling that you’re there, that you’re with him. He thinks it’s sweet that you always want to be touching him, because if it was up to you he’d do the same thing with you. After some time, once he’s realized that you’re always touching him whenever you can, he tries to get into positions that facilitate you touching him a bit. Usually lies on his back when you’re cuddling so you have full access to him. Can and will fall asleep like that, but will also want to hold you back. Will also put his hand over your heart as well so he can “get back at you”. In reality, feeling your heartbeat is also just nice and reassuring to him. However, he sometimes might lie on your chest in order to hear it as well, something like it lulls him to sleep, after all. You can put your hand over his chest in public as well, though, he doesn’t particularly mind cuddling in public either. There’s a good chance you’ll be nicely clothed, though, so you won’t feel his heartbeat unless you slip your hand under his clothes. You can do that, he doesn’t care about strangers staring in public. However, once it’s time to continue walking around, release him. You can continue your antics once you’ve found another nice bench to sit on.

[katmaibearfan]

okay so the explore.org comments are annoying me right now -- a better phrased version of these points will go in the new pinned post im making. but, for now:

the bears are better at being bears than you think they are. they are better at all aspects of bear life -- whether it's a new subadult being on their own and needing to provide for themselves for the first time or a momma bear fighting a boar much larger than herself or spring cubs swimming when the current is strong -- they are more capable than you think, they have a better understanding of their situation than you do, and they know their limits and capabilities better than you do. because they are a bear, and you are not. they have evolved to do these things. trust the bears to succeed at being bears.

similarly, we as viewers have no rights to know all details of their lives and what happens off camera. this is not a tv show, there is no script, and we are not entitled to loose ends being tied off neatly at the end of an 'episode' or a season. the cameras see very little of the very large area that is Katmai National Park. there will always be things that we will never know. if a recently emancipated subadult is never seen on camera again, that does not mean they are dead. they might be! but in all likelihood, they are alive, and simply somewhere else. maybe they'll come back after 3 years, or 8, or 12. maybe they won't. us not seeing them means exactly that -- that we cannot see them. nothing more, and nothing less.

we also have no right to demand that we be provided with a sanitized version of reality, or a version that aligns with our human morals. the policy at explore.org is specifically NOT to shy away from seeing "the gross stuff" because "the gross stuff" is a necessary part of the natural world. they will show cubs going over the falls, and they will show them being charged by a boar. they will show the nasty fights boars have among themselves, and they will show the resulting injuries even if they look quite bad. they will show it when two bears court and they will show it when they mate. these are all part of the realities of these bears' lives. these are all part of nature. it is important that nature not be sanitized for mass consumption. it is important that nature is allowed to be nature.

i will not sanitize the realities of these bears. i will give warnings for posts that have images, gifs, or videos of fights between bears. i will give warnings for posts about bears that have died, and will specifically note if the dead bear in question is a cub. if a bear has a wound that is particularly nasty and i post an image of it, i'll give a warning for that too. no one has to look at things that upset them, but neither should these things be removed from the conversation for the comfort of some humans. it is a great privilege that we are able to watch a small sliver of these animals' lives, and we need to be responsible with it.

also, like, don't humanize the bears. its fun to make jokes about them, even if that involves a human concept that the bears have no way to know. but like, bears are bears. don't apply human morals to them. let them be bears.

[dykedvonte]

If Ulysses has a million haters, then I'm one of them. If Ulysses has one hater, then I'm THAT ONE. If Ulysses has no haters, that means I'm dead. If the world is with Ulysses than I’m against the world.

[zooweemama143]

last rb had me thinking of how lame bif would actually be as a person

[riickgrimes]

i can’t tell you how bitter i am that we didn’t get sydney and carmy’s taste testing food adventure i would have loved to see carmy and syd bouncing ideas off of each other, sharing their thoughts on the food they were trying, learning from each other, getting a deeper understanding of how the other views and understands the passion that they share

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

You know, for as much as I didn't like all the romance soap opera drama and what happened with a lot of the ATLA cast in Legend of Korra, I can admit that just because it wasn't my thing and bothered me in a lot of instances doesn't make it necessarily bad per se. I just think there were some weird decisions character-wise

However. I did not like what they did with Wan and the Harmonic Convergence, and I am quite confident in saying that it thematically weakened the show and was a wasted opportunity to do something truly special with the concept of the Avatar itself

[zeb-z]

I dunno, and I haven't read the Ascendency novels to be clear, so I can’t speak of who he was before his exile - but maybe Thrawn accepting Grand Admiral for that shitshow on Batonn sealed his fate. Maybe he wasn't the one to pull the trigger, maybe he was appalled by the needless death - he still took the promotion, even if he didn't want it. The moment he took the rank plate was the moment the blood on his hands became insignificant in the grand scheme of things. The moment where all his intentions begin to be buried by his actions.

Everyone is all about how Thrawn isn't that bad of a guy - and honestly I do agree that his character is misunderstood more often than not - but he still did terrible things with the Empire. Turned a blind eye and condoned much more with silence.

Because the fall of Nightswan and Batonn may not have been his fault - but he accepted the stain when he took his promotion.

For all you try to keep things fair, it doesn't matter if you're working in a system that is instituted to be cruel. And while Thrawn had never claimed to be a good man, and had only joined ultimately for the protection of his own people, there's something to be said of this deterioration of morality. How he doesn't understand politics, but is still shaped by the dangerous and vindictive workings of Imperial political scene, forgoing honesty for station.

Pirates and smugglers turn to insurgents and rebels. Capture turns to execute. He kills to prove a point.

He develops for the worse. For all he shapes the Imperial Navy, it shapes him all the same. I dunno. Complex character and all o that. He’s no scum of the earth true evil, but he’s no shining star either.

[adimouze]

idk why you're still saying "if" when daniel sounds confident? you've been harping on about retirement for a while and i wanted to ignore it bc everyone in ric nation seemed to be sensitive but you always seem to hesitate to be positive.

If daniel says “if” i feel like im allowed to say “if” too nonny! ❤️ if it makes you feel better I’ll say in shaa Allah next time

[blackjack-15]

syd you're doing great! and carmy on her right hand the whole shot, i'm so happy

using the notes! and richie working the tables! amazing!!

it's tense but it's good. carmy getting between marcus and syd (marcus baby you gotta chill it's okay she said no) was beautifully done -- firm, no yelling, and he's back at syd's right hand. where the EFF is josh carmy can't cover two stations all night

wheels are coming off. carmy off to serve, syd angry about it, and things are going Off

carmy now is not the time to hallucinate chef joel. please baby

good deescalation there. and tina picking up the 'i'm sorry' ASL. beautifully done

NO CARMY'S IN THE FRIDGE. EFF

okay that was an effing rush. richie is incredible, syd's incredible, tina's incredible -- everyone pulled together, well done

all season carmy was sending people out to be trained, keeping people on focus, etc etc. and they can operate! he did it! he has a functioning kitchen!

but he feels like he failed everyone. this poor boy.

and of course it's not the NYC chef. but carmy's so haunted it doesn't matter.

CLAIRE YOU SHOULD NOT BE GOING BACK THERE. like fak what the eff you don't tell her he's in the walk in, but hey, true to form, she wasn't accepting 'no' for an answer, so...

yeah. so if you hear your boyfriend who you Love So Much having a complete mental breakdown, you...let him know you're sad and then walk away? ooh. ooooh. absolutely not. go eff yourself claire

richie now is not the time to white knight. i get the protectiveness, richie's like that, and he's mad b/c he wants carmy to have Nice Things, but like. calling him donna? absolutely not called for. he's immediately sorry, but the damage is done. there's gonna be a Talk about that next season i'm feeling -- those two are family but they're dysfunctional family

lovely scene with syd and her dad!

MARCUS NO YOUR PHONE. MARCUS. MARCUS YOUR STICKS

incredible closer. give season 3. get carmy out of the EFFING FREEZER please

can we please see the last of claire soon, and let's get back to the kitchen. the bear's got a lot more to do.