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cobragardens · 2 years ago

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My Favorite Good Omens Moment:

An Essay on Why It Is Cool and Rad (Part 1)

There's this moment in Good Omens that makes me cackle every time I see it and leaves me full of warmth, so here's an essay on its context and meaning, because explication and analysis are how I show love. I will try to keep my thoughts as tight as possible, but they do have a tendency to spiral outwards, and I am very stoned. Come, sistren, and get nerdy with me.

My favorite moment in the series so far occurs in 1601. To approach it we will first need an assload of context. There's a TL;DR in bold at the end of the Context if you don't fancy reading the whole assload. Key arguments are in italics and bold throughout.

David Tennant gives Crowley a very consistent facial expression every time Aziraphale says something so outlandish Crowley can't quite believe he's hearing it. It's this one:

Chronologically, we see the Eyebrows of Disbelief twice before my fave moment in 1601: once (above left) in that scene on the Garden Wall that familiarizes the audience with Crowley's face before adding the dark glasses, when Aziraphale admits he's given away his sword; once when Aziraphale tells Bildad the Shuhite that he, Aziraphale, has Fallen because he lied to the angels to save Job's children.

The Eyebows of Disbelief always signal surprise and amusement with something Aziraphale has said or done. This amusement is sometimes at Aziraphale's expense and sometimes not.

In the gifs above, Crowley is laughing because what Aziraphale has just admitted to doing is fantastic and unexpected and frankly pretty gd punk rock. He's not laughing at Aziraphale, he's laughing because he is delighted with him. The only record we have thus far of Crowley laughing at Aziraphale is this one:

Crowley laughs when Aziraphale informs him--him, a demon who has personally been through the process of Falling--that Aziraphale is Fallen and must be a demon now. As though of the two of them Aziraphale is the expert on how and under what circumstances this occurs.

And yet when Crowley sees Aziraphale's distress--not his fear of being taken to Hell, but his heartbreak and lostness over the fact that his conscience has diverged from God's stated will--Crowley stops laughing, and instead he acts very kindly towards Aziraphale. He validates the gravity of what Aziraphale has done and assures him he won't turn him in. He sits with him so Aziraphale isn't totally alone (like Crowley probably was) as he goes through the loneliest moments of his existence to that point and picks himself up newly weighted with the secret he must now bear.

And after this scene (in canon as it stands thus far), we don't see Crowley laugh at anything Aziraphale says or does again.

And he really has to work for it sometimes. We talk a lot about the things Michael Sheen is able to convey with his face in Good Omens, and absolutely rightly so; David Tennant earns a chunk of his paycheck in this regard as well. If you haven't given yourself the treat yet, rewatch the scene in Will Goldstone's magic shop in 1941 and focus on Crowley's reactions:

youtube

Tennant takes great care to show, with precision, that Crowley is expending effort not to react to Aziraphale's nervous chaos Muppetry and lack of self-awareness. Crowley is self- and socially and contextually aware enough that he knows (better than Aziraphale, at least, which is not a high bar to clear) what's cringe, what's funny, what's ridiculous, how to behave. But whenever Aziraphale crosses a boundary of normalcy, or even sanity, and there is opportunity to laugh at him, Crowley very carefully doesn't react. He doesn't interrupt him, he doesn't try to correct him, he doesn't make fun of him, he doesn't even smirk; he just watches him, as stone-faced as he can manage, no matter how bizarre Aziraphale becomes.

We should be reading this lack of reaction to Aziraphale's social and rational transgressions as powerful positive action. Go watch the Doctor Who episode "Human Nature," or literally any episode of The Inbetweeners, or read or watch Regeneration, and reflect on what it shows you about English masculinity; then consider again the depth of significance in how English- and male-coded character Crowley treats English- and male-coded character Aziraphale in an England created by an English and male-codedpresenting author based off a book written by himself and another male-presenting author. Within its context of English masculinity, Crowley's lack of reaction is not a neutral stance; it is a very fucking loud show of support.

This is not even an inference; it's stated outright in the show. Crowley himself puts it into words 422 years after my favorite moment:

You know how Crowley calls Aziraphale "angel" because the factuality of the descriptor offers him plausible deniability to any Heavenly or Infernal agents who might be listening? Remember how Crowley is a great equivocator? Crowley is equivocating here, too: he's using the cover of what Maggie and Nina will take as a disparaging joke at Aziraphale's expense in order to make a perfectly sincere statement. This is his genuine perception of one of the relationship dynamics he has with Aziraphale and how he feels about that dynamic. Crowley thinks he himself is quite witty (an accurate assessment), Crowley thinks Aziraphale isn't sufficiently self- or contextually aware to hide how strange he is and therefore frequently says and does mad things (also an accurate assessment), and Crowley is Into. That. Shit.

Okay. Now let's look at 1601.

Chronologically it's been almost 1,000 years since we last saw Aziraphale and Crowley. In 537, Aziraphale isn't willing even to consider a labor-saving working arrangement with Crowley of fucking off home out of the damp of Arthurian Wessex; but by 1601, he's worked (and met, and Arranged) with Crowley "dozens of times now," Crowley says, and Azirapahle does not correct him.

In that millienium, Aziraphale has grown to care deeply about Crowley:

In fact he may be somewhat smitten with him:

Seriously, go back and watch Aziraphale here as Crowley approaches and starts speaking to him: he doesn't start smiling until he recognizes that the person speaking to him is Crowley (but he only smiles at Crowley while Crowley's not looking at him).

And Crowley is definitely become smitten with Aziraphale:

Our man(-shaped entity) is so allergic to work he sets up a meeting to weasel, cajole, or (as it happens) cheat a coin toss to get Aziraphale to do an easy temptation for him in Edinburgh, and then in the same conversation agrees to miracle a play into success because Aziraphale gives him a single hopeful look. Crowley's got it bad.

TL;DR: The Eyebrows of Disbelief happen when Crowley is surprised and amused by something Aziraphale has said or done. Sometimes that amusement is delight with Aziraphale; sometimes it is at Aziraphale's expense. Crowley is aware of this distinction, and when his amusement is at Aziraphale's expense, he suppresses it, even when it takes some effort on his own part, and remains stocially composed. This is equivocation on his part: to Celestial/Infernal operatives lacking knowledge of the intricacies of human behavior, this non-reaction would seem like neutrality; to Aziraphale, who shares with Crowley and the audience the contextual knowledge of English masculinity's utter viciousness, this non-reaction is a profound show of support; and in the safety of support from Crowley, Aziraphale lets his weirdness blossom.

As another meta points out [link if I find it again], we also see in Aziraphale's wordless request about Hamlet and Crowley's immediate understanding of it that by 1601 Aziraphale and Crowley have developed an unspoken, coded method of communication with each other.

Now that we have all of that in mind, here's my favorite moment in Good Omens:

Ixi of Fuck Yeah Good Omens has even kindly archived a closeup of the aftermath, for Crowley, of "Buck up!" In gif 4, above, you can see that the tiny smile is an involuntary reaction that happens as Crowley's eyes widen: for a fraction of a second, he's caught off-guard. In the closeup it's easier to see that he suppresses the smile and gives a tiny shake of his head, Eyebrows of Disbelief heading for his hairline.

There are a number of things Crowley's reaction could mean and what messages it could communicate (we'll get to that in a sec), but regardless, his reaction is, unquestionably, one of surprise and suppressed amusement. This is an aspect of Crowley and Aziraphale's relationship and characters that I like very much, viz., that one of the reasons Crowley likes Aziraphale (though Aziraphale is judgy and occasionally, unintentionally, horrifyingly cruel) is that in addition to being one of the kindest and most courageous beings in existence, Aziraphale is mad as a bag of frogs. Crowley does not know what is going to come out of Aziraphale's lovely mouth next, but Crowley does know there's a good chance he will struggle to believe he's hearing it, and Crowley likes that.

That's what makes this my favorite moment. What makes this moment so cool and rad, though, is its ineffability. We know from the Eyebrows of Disbelief that Crowley is surprised and amused, but any of several things could be read in that almost imperceptible headshake. Like:

What are you doing? or

Why are you like this? or

How can you be aware that you say these things out loud and yet still say them out loud? or

How has my existence come to this? this moment of listening to such insanity?

each of which is a fair and just feeling to have/message to communicate to a man(-shaped entity) who is yelling "Buck up!" at Hamlet.

But that's only if we read Crowley's amusement as being at Aziraphale's expense. And I don't think we should. Because watch Aziraphale here:

He's doing it on purpose. He is shouting a hilariously inappropriate, 100% authentic Aziraphale-brand thing over arguably the gloomiest passage of Shakespeare's famously gloomy play--right after Crowley complains about its gloominess--and he is watching Crowley as he does it. Look at his smile! He knows he's being Deeply Uncool, and he is doing it literally right into Crowley's face.

Remember that we just talked about how by this point in the chronology Crowley and Aziraphale have learned to communicate with each other nonverbally through facial expression? So what does it mean when Aziraphale responds to Crowley's grumbling about Hamlet's gloominess by smiling his minxious Mona Lisa Aziraphale smile, looking right into Crowley's face, and yelling at Hamlet to buck up? Aziraphale, in a carefully coded, carefully Aziraphale way, is joking with Crowley. His silliness in this moment is for Crowley.

So with aaaaaaallllll of this essay in mind, what does it mean that Crowley's reaction to "Come on, Hamlet! Buck up!" is widening eyes, an involuntary twitch of his mouth toward a smile, and then, his eyebrows still showing surprise and amusement, a tiny shake of his head?

Once more, with inferences:

I do propose, y'all, on the basis of this web of evidence I submit for consideration, that what we are seeing here in my favorite moment of Good Omens is the ineffable equivalent of Aziraphale and Crowley sharing a laugh.

Crowley's amusement here isn't at Aziraphale, because Aziraphale is eliciting that amusement consciously and deliberately. Aziraphale, in good spirits and happy to see Crowley, uses his Aziraphaleness to offers Crowley not only an opportunity for amusement, but the opportunity to be in agreement with him about what in this situation is funny. They're on the same side of this joke.

And his humor lands just as he wants it to: Crowley, just for a moment, is caught off-guard, and tickled--

But remember, Crowley is worried in this scene about being surveilled ("I thought you said we'd be inconspicuous here"), and he worries about audio surveillance a lot ("Walls have ears"; "Don't say that. If my lot hear [etc.]," etc.), so he's very limited in what reactions he can show or voice. Aziraphale knows Crowley must be perceived by anyone watching or listening to disapprove of his, Aziraphale's, behavior (just as he must be perceived to disapprove vociferously of Crowley's). Both of them know this.

--so Crowley suppresses the smile almost successfully, and shakes his head at Aziraphale, minutely, to say Stop. What you're doing is working, you're close to making me laugh, and if I show how much you have just delighted me, it will blow our cover of "just an Arrangement."

I offer three final data points in advancing my argument that what we see in my favorite Good Omens moment is Aziraphale successfully attempting to joke with Crowley and Crowley recognizing that overture from Aziraphale and being momentarily surprised into a reaction of genuine delight before pulling his face back under control and indicating to Aziraphale that he must stop:

Datum 1. Nothing going on with Crowley's face in this moment is accidental. We know for sure we're not seeing David Tennant react to Michael Sheen here not only because of literally every other point of Tennant's and Sheen's performances in the show, but because Tennant is wearing opaque contacts and sunglasses under film lighting and therefore cannot be reacting to anything more compelling than a level-10-lift blur because Tennant cannot see shit. Crowley's reaction is a deliberate and careful performance choice on Tennant's part, and it's underscored by director Douglas Mackinnon's choice to film Tennant in 1/2 profile to keep Crowley's eyes visible and face readable to the audience. This reaction is supposed to be there and supposed to be meaningful.

Datum 2. The husbands in 1601 is not the only moment in Good Omens when we may be seeing an angel and a demon communicate the message Stop doing that, it makes us look too familiar between themselves with a little headshake:

Datum 3: There is another moment in Good Omens when Aziraphale offers Crowley the opportunity to enjoy a joke with him. There, too, his humor lands just as he intends, so we can use this other moment as a comparison to our 1601 moment. I don't have gifs for it, but go back and watch it, S1E6 49:27-42. Snips below.

Aziraphale says something that surprises and amuses Crowley (he asked Hell for a rubber duck while he was sloshing around in the holy water)--

--but what Aziraphale says makes Crowley smile long before it makes him laugh.

In fact, his laugh, though a genuine cackle, is quite delayed, and he laughs only after Aziraphale starts laughing too.

In other words, Crowley's reaction to Aziraphale offering him amusement they're both on the same side of is exactly the same as his reaction to "Come on, Hamlet! Buck up!" right up until he laughs instead of shaking his head. Here, after Armageddidn't, Crowley doesn't have to suppress his reaction, so he can let the smile bloom; he doesn't have to control his response, so, although it takes him a few extra seconds, he lets the smile turn into a laugh.

But in 1601, it's not safe to laugh at Aziraphale's humor. It's not safe even to smile at him. A single piece of evidence or eye/earwitness testimony that he and Crowley have anything more friendly than the most passing and acrimonious of professional relationships could mean death to either or both of them, and depending on what Falling is like, maybe something worse than death for Aziraphale.

But Aziraphale is so funny, so effervescent for Crowley, at Crowley, that it catches Crowley just for a moment. Crowley's eyes widen and the corner of his mouth twitches toward a smile.

And that's dangerous. If Aziraphale keeps acting so charmingly mad, Crowley is going to laugh, and they can't afford that risk, so he shakes his head at Aziraphale. Stop, or I won't be able to keep a straight face around you.

And Aziraphale apparently receives that message, because he immediately eases off. Less than 60 seconds later we learn that he's deeply concerned for Crowley's safety--and that it's not so much that Aziraphale has Crowley wrapped around his little finger as it is that Crowley has wrapped himself around Aziraphale's little finger like a snake arranging itself on the tree branch it calls home.

UPDATE 14/10/23: HOLY SHIT Y'ALL IT GETS EVEN BETTER! THERE IS A SEQUEL!

#good omens #good omens meta #good omens 1601 #good omens microexpressions #good omens headshake #angelfish #aziracrow #ineffable husbands #good omens fanalysis

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venusdayo · 1 year ago

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The gender of the person that Teru likes and the wrong translation in this scene, a really small analysis:

(Reuploaded here bc a month ago I uploaded it to Twitter and no one saw it... )

Okay, all of this investigation started bc I asked myself “what if teru actually likes aoi (girl)” And this scene came to my mind, i didn’t remember what he exactly said (about if was a girl) so i rewatched it after. If you want the short answer is no, teru doesn’t mention gender.

If you want the explication, read this post (pls this took me like two hours to investigate )

Let’s begin with the dubbed scene, where he says “her” referencing that hes crush is a girl. I almost added the subtitled scene but I didn’t bc it says the same lol

So, I went to the manga, if i was correct, i remembered that he never said the gender/ pronouns, and I was right

I could have confirmed that, but I wasn't convinced. What if the MANGA was poorly translated?

So, i went to the raws panels.

“But Venus! I don’t speak Japanese, what says there?” If you translate ぃ僕好きな子がぃるんだ on google, the first option is “there’s a girl I like” but ALSO shows up the option “there’s someone I like”

"but it is implied that is a girl, otherwise It would give the option of "there is a boy that I like"" be patient my little friend, let me explain you:

I started to investigate deeply the kanjis, conjugations and things like that, after a while I learned what I am going to tell you and now I understand why it is simplified to the feminine gender

The translation of ぃ僕好きな子がぃるんだ depends on the context and the tone of the phrase. In general, it can be translated as “there’s a girl I like” or “there’s someone I like”, but it can also have other meanings

According to the DeepL dictionary, “ 僕”is an informal and affectionate way of saying “I” or “me”, which is mainly used by young men. 好きな子 means “child/person I like”, and does not specify the gender of the person.

ぃるんだ is a colloquial way of saying “there is” or “there are”, which expresses emphasis or confession.

Therefore, the phrase could express the feeling of a boy who likes a girl, or a girl who likes a boy, or a person who likes another person regardless of gender

So, in the translation (anime dub and sub) it refers to a girl bc the "僕" (mostly used by young men,who teru is ) and the 好きな子 which refers to liking someone, it can be assumed that it refers to a girl because of the assumed heterosexuality, you know lol

it is never confirmed that “them” is a GIRL, the gender is never mentioned, so there are chances that the person he likes is not a girl. Obviously them could be one, I don't deny it, but it also doesn't rule out the possibility that Teru being queer.

Conclusion: the manga in English is well translated but not the anime, the person Teru likes can be either a boy or a girl. End of explication.

And if you're wondering, could I find the answer to the initial question? Well no, but it reduces the options for Aoi to be who he likes, since it doesn't boil down to her just being a girl, which leaves other options.

But then who could be the person Teru likes? Well, I don't know, but I could make a thread theorizing about it.

*cought* *cought* 𝒶𝓀𝒶𝓃𝑒 *cought* *cought*

#teru minamoto #tbhk #tbhk teru #terukane #minamoto teru #toilet bound hanako kun #jibaku shounen hanako kun #tbhk analysis

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turtleblogatlast · 1 year ago

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after finding out he's trans from Draxum, Leo drops the news to his family with a joke and zero explication. The family wants to be a supportive as possible, but misunderstand and think that Leo just came out as transfem. The fact they didn't even consider Leo is biofem is surprisingly validating.

“Guess who just gave a new meaning to to word trans-portation!”

This is the first thing Leo says to everyone after going off with Draxum to who-knows-where for who-knows-what.

“Normally, I unfortunately understand the flow of logic for Leo’s puns, but I admit that I am blanking here.” Donnie says, looking at Leo with narrowed eyes.

Leo laughs - maybe a bit hysterically - as he saunters on over to the rest of his family. “Eh, just a little joke about my awesome portal powers mixed with- uh-“ He coughs into his fist, finding it difficult to keep his regular act up. “-a fab new finding about myself. Turns out I was born…a female turtle……?”

There’s silence for a moment.

Then- “Omigosh! Leo!” An orange blur rockets its way into Leo’s arms, making the slider let out and “oof” before steading both he and Mikey. “Thank you for telling us! Wait, is it still Leo? Or Lea now, maybe?”

The shock wheels its way out of Raph’s form as he comes over, eyes shiny, “I’m glad you told us, little sis.”

Leo blinks at them. “Wait-“

“Please note that if any of our enemies or allies refers to you incorrectly I can and will use deadly force to correct them.” Donnie states, with a grin that looked a little too excited about the idea.

“Same here!” April states, pounding one hand into another, “And- it’s cool to have another girl around.”

Leo thinks something got lost in translation. “Uh, guys-“

Splinter comes up to his side, patting his arm gently. “Oh, my Baby Blue, I’m so proud of you, my daught-“

“Okay, no, no, you guys got it wrong.” Leo laughs again, more uncomfortably than hysterically this time. “I’m- I’m not, like, a girl. I was-“ He looks away, feeling way too embarrassed about all this for his comfort, “I was born as a female turtle. Biologically.”

A beat.

“Oh.” Raph blinks down at him, surprise on his face, “Oh we may have jumped the gun there.”

“Well, this is embarrassing, though my offer of violence stands.” Donnie states.

Mikey rubs the back of his head sheepishly, “So…still Leo? Our brother?”

Leo gives a fond grin, “Yeah, yeah, still your brother.”

(April makes a noise of amusement, elbowing Splinter as everyone turns to her, “Hey, y’know what Splints? I think your DNA may have accidentally became some kinda HRT for Leo.”

Donnie thinks, “It does make sense, if a female red eared slider were to become mutated with a male human’s DNA then hypothetically it could create a mutant that takes on a more masculine outer appearance while retaining the female make up that was used as the base-“

Leo cuts in, “Okay, okay, no science-ing my gender, bro, let’s just order some pizza.”)

#rottmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt leo #trans leo #writing blurb ask

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baeddel · 1 month ago

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I think the purely in-game reading of gwyndolin betrays the out-of-game reading which is an obvious 'trap' situation, that is to say, a trans woman written by someone who either doesn't know what a trans woman is or has reasons to avoid the concept. Out of all the unreliable narrators of dark souls, miyazaki is but one of them.

see my previous post for why i don't agree with your interpretation of the "purely in-game reading"

i also really find this perspective quite shocking; what about Gwyndolin strikes you as insensitive or ignorant? just because she has an identity that isn't exactly yours? i feel like this is binarist at least... it's similar to how people say that GGACR's Brigitte and Testament were transmisogynist stereotypes and were corrected in Strive; that is the transmisogynist position...

also just look at how Dark Souls is written. virtually nothing in it is assumed from our world; everything that enters its cell of meaning is subjected to complex critical assessement. it is demanded of everything that it be fully explicable in terms of the world of Lordran and not in terms of earth. even the existence of a glaive, which we have in our world as a common weapon and would not startle any player more than a sword or shield, is rigorously explained as arising from Gwyn's knights' conflict with the Izalith demons, demanding special weapons that can stand up to large enemies. of course in this setting you won't just get a normal transgender woman with the same relationship to gender as us. the demand it makes of us is to interpret gender in light of Lordran's own system of meaning, and locate Gwyndolin within it.

the games have gender and hormones sliders ffs XD

because calling it a gender slider ASSUMED TOO MUCH! so in the next game they called it a HORMONE SLIDER!

no one was ever that careful with their game!!

by the way, on Miyazaki, let me defend him a little bit: i won't be able to find it too easily (translations kept getting made and hosted on some google doc that later disappeared) but there was an interview with him on some kind of gaming show that had twitch-like viewer comments that they'd respond to. the topic came up that everyone was saying who their waifu would be (and they all hade cute bynames for their favourites). Miyazaki acts embarassed: 'i didn't know i made this type of game...' then he's looking at the chat and he reads it out: 'otokonoko... otokonoko... who do they mean?' the interviewer explains that they mean Gwyndolin. he says: 'i don't understand, Gwyndolin is clearly male... he has a male voice actor...'

this line has fascinated me so much, for over ten years... look at it... he can't be an otokonoko, says Miyazaki. because he has a male voice. what did he MEAN!!!!!!!!!!

i've started to think that he was actually joking, like playing dumb. as if he didn't even know what an otokonoko was and thought they were pretty young girls :) i'm not sure... i would have to hear the tone of his delivery, etc... in effect learn Japanese (because i'll never trust someone else to tell me!)... maybe one day i'll understand. in any case, Miyazaki's views are probably strange and complicated. we do not know how we got Gwyndolin out of them; but we did, and that makes all the difference.

#fs #ds1

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mmavverickk · 2 years ago

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Pjo hadcanon, - demigods don't really suffer from PTSD, they can't suffer emotionally at all or are as blunted as possible.

They are disconnected from their feelings/emotions and cannot react to bad things Like ordinary people.

They are frighteningly indifferent to any pain, mental or physical - the pain from physical injuries or something emotional lingers for a maximum of a couple of weeks and then disappears into oblivion like a morning mist. grief passes easily and quickly, fear disappeared in a few minutes, the risk of pleasant waves of adrenaline warming the blood.

And they are prone to sadism and any enjoyment of any kind of violence.

It doesn't matter if it's over yourself, a monster, a mortal, or another demigod.

They are always happy to use weapons or hands/abilities.

These children learn to hold weapons, wear armor and be able to cause serious harm, as soon as they enter the camp, do not expect anything normal/correct or at least explicable from them.

They are not human, they - living weapons, expertly crafted from golden divine blood and mortal flesh.

They were born to fight and die in battle with a blissful smile on their lips.

They were born with broken souls and sick minds.

It's just that someone is bigger, someone is smaller.

this is a fun headcanon, but i want to put a bit of an angstier spin on it:

these children are human, but only partly. they can suffer PTSD. they know what's happened to them, what's been done to them, is wrong. they can suffer flashbacks and repressed memories and trouble sleeping and nightmares and intrusive thoughts and panic attacks and depression and apathy. they do suffer it. but they always get back up. there's surety in their recovery, and there's tragedy in it. they can't stop, can't falter, can't take time to process, can't slow down enough to work through their trauma before the next terrible thing happens.

these demigods are too inhuman to move at a normal pace. they have too much mythical strength in their bones and their blood to stop for any amount of time and heal. they throw themselves at each threat that comes their way like a battering ram with terrifying speed and strength and awareness. it just builds, and builds, and builds until they die or they break.

(sometimes, they think the ones who do die are the lucky ones.)

maybe it's the ever-growing trauma. maybe it's the divinity in their veins. maybe it's something entirely new, entirely too human to be godly, but too godly to be human. maybe they've just finally snapped.

some slowly feel their grasp on reality slipping. what time is it? did they sleep through a whole day again? when did they get to the lava wall? how did they reach the top, and is that a real burn on their hand? it doesn't hurt. is that a camper, or a monster? did the border fail? are those heavy footsteps outside the cabin real? are they really still alive, or is this their eternal punishment for failing succeeding?

some watch as their moral code slips through their fingers like sand. they'll fight as hard as they have to to save their siblings and their allies. they'll kill any monsters that come their way. maybe, they'll kill any demigods, too. maybe even humans. maybe they couldn't save someone, but the battle was still a victory. maybe that sacrifice was necessary to win. maybe sacrifices are okay, to minimize the damage. maybe damage is okay, so long as the enemy dies. maybe, just maybe, a pyrrhic victory is worth it, no matter who was lost, so long as they're still standing at the end of it all.

some stop feeling. it starts as depression. is winning wars worth it if they couldn't save everyone? their sibling died, their friends and lover died, and the world still turns on, cold and unfeeling. maybe cold and unfeeling is the way to go. maybe joy is unnecessary in the long run. maybe sadness is, too. maybe it will make things better. they pick themselves up, resume their routine. everything is normal. archery practice. lava wall. weapon smithing. capture the flag. everything is normal. everything is numb. why should the gods care when their children can't even manage it?

some turn violent. they grew up in war, training endlessly, fighting battle after battle, the only thing standing between the world and its doom. what is there to do now that the war is over, is won, than train more? practice weapons they've never tried, master moves they've never managed. kill in ways they've never thought of. they grew up in war. what good are they without it? what good is a weapon, just sitting around, gathering dust? maybe hurting people isn't right, but if it makes them feel something, isn't it worth it?

it's a cold world. it's not meant for children, human children. those children evolve to survive, and what they turn into barely resembles their mortal parentage. it's a dog eat dog world, survival of the fittest, and the unlucky ones? the ones that didn't die? the ones stuck in their trauma and PTSD and broken minds? they have to figure out how to live in it.

#mav.ask #anon #bro that's a super awesome headcanon #dark percy jackson #dark camp half-blood #aftermath of war #dark demigods #angst headcanon #pjo #heroes of olympus #percy jackson angst

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grimmcodes · 11 months ago

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Tutoriel Installation 🛠️⚙️🔧

Je vois que certaines personnes galèrent avec la mise en place du thème que j'ai partagé (notamment pour héberger le css). Alors voici un tutoriel d'installation pas à pas, avec captures d'écran, pour vous permettre de le mettre en place correctement 💗 ⚠️ Pour rappel, le Blank Theme dispose de ses propres explications, que vous retrouverez juste ici. ⚠️ Veillez à bien avoir configuré votre forum comme l'indique le Blank Theme juste ici. ⚠️ Le forum doit impérativement être en version ModernBB.

1️⃣Pour mettre en place tes templates.

Nous allons commencer par copier les templates depuis le github. Ici, ce sont les différentes parties d'HTML qui nous intéressent.

Nous allons progressivement les coller dans les diverses sections de forumactif (voir screen ci-dessous). 📌Exemple ici avec le template images_list que je vais copier depuis le github : 📁HTML (templates) > 📁general >📄images_list.

Et coller dans le template images_list de forumactif (qui s'obtient en allant décocher l'utilisation des blogs au préalable)

Les noms des HTML sont exactement les mêmes du github vers forumactif donc vous ne pouvez pas vous tromper. Vous avez juste à copier d'un côté et coller de l'autre, en n'oubliant pas à chaque fois de sauvegarder à droite en cliquant sur le symbole disquette💾(ouais, j'vais rentrer dans les détails à ce point).

Quand l'ensemble de tes HTML ont été copiés et collés correctement (général, poster & messages privés, profil), tu vas pouvoir passer à l'hébergement de tes divers CSS.

2️⃣Pour enregistrer ton css afin de l'héberger.

Je t'invite à aller sur le github mais dans la section CSS cette fois-ci. L'ensemble des CSS devront être enregistrés sur ton ordinateur puis hébergés en dehors de forumactif car ils sont trop longs. 📁 CSS > 📄CSS_global

Tu peux copier le code et le coller dans un logiciel qui permet d'éditer du code. Pour moi, ce logiciel sera Notepad++, parce que j'aime me faire du mal, mais sachez qu'il existe aussi SublimeText. Ces logiciels sont gratuits ✅ et indispensables pour pouvoir enregistrer vos feuilles en format .css (comme on le ferait pour une image en format .png ou .jpg quoi).

Quand j'ai copié mon css depuis github et que je l'ai collé dans mon logiciel d'édition de code, je n'ai plus qu'à lui donner un petit nom en sauvegardant (chez moi ça sera CSS_global) et à l'enregistrer en .css (Cascade Style Sheets File).

3️⃣Pour héberger ton css en dehors de forumactif après l'avoir enregistré sur ton ordinateur.

Ca y est, à cette étape, tu as normalement l'ensemble de tes CSS (global, instagram, messenger, page d'accueil etc...) d'enregistrés individuellement sur ton ordinateur. Tu peux désormais aller les héberger en dehors de forumactif. Pour cela, j'utilise personnellement Archive Host (parce que j'aime vraiment me faire du mal) mais, tu peux très bien utiliser Dropbox. Il te suffit juste de créer ton compte. Tu arriveras ensuite sur une page où tu pourras ajouter tes fichiers et les stocker dans un dossier. J'aime que mes documents soient rangés donc, je te conseille de créer un répertoire et de l'appeler par le nom de ton forum (comme ça, si t'en as plusieurs, impossible de te tromper !).

C'est ici que je vais y ranger mes feuilles de CSS préalablement enregistrées. Je clique sur ➕Ajouter des fichiers puis sur ⬆️Démarrer l'envoi quand j'y ai ajouté ceux que je voulais.

Ca y est ! Ta feuille de CSS est désormais hébergée. Mais ce n'est pas terminé. Il faut maintenant relier ton forum à cette feuille. Et pour cela, rien de plus simple :

En survolant ta feuille de CSS avec ta souris, une flèche va apparaître en haut à droite ⬇️, clique dessus puis sur 🟦 Informations et Codes.

Cette fenêtre va s'ouvrir. Je t'invite à cliquer sur l'URL à côté de Principal et de la copier. C'est le lien de ta feuille depuis Archive Host. Tu vas ensuite aller la coller dans ton overall_header sur forumactif. Mais pas n'importe où !

Ici, les URL vers mes feuilles de CSS sont collées les unes après les autres juste en dessous de <!-- CSS Externes -- > ET sous cette forme : <link href="URL ARCHIVE HOST ICI" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" charset="utf-8"> Il faut absolument que ces feuilles se trouvent avant la balise </head>. Tu verras, dans le code HTML de l'overall_header (à la ligne 20) j'ai laissé cet endroit vide, tu auras juste à les coller en dessous.

N'oublies pas de sauvegarder ! Et voilà. C'est tout. Rien de plus simple 💗 Cela te demande juste d'installer un logiciel d'éditeur de code (gratuit) et de te faire un compte sur Archive Host ou Dropbox (gratuit aussi). Si là encore vous êtes paumés.és (parce que ce n'est pas impossible malgré les screens et explications pas à pas), n'hésitez pas à m'envoyer un petit mp. 🌈

#forum rpg #forumactif #codage #code #thème #rpg #rpg francophone

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mizaryrottmnt · 10 months ago

Text

"My Dear Puppet"

FR: Un bon début

(you can use thé internet translation, I simplified my language)

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

Unity laisse échapper un soupire long alors qu'elle est seule dans une petite pièce qui ressemble a une chambre a coucher. Un matelas au sol plutôt propre avec des draps couleur saumon aussi propre. une petite boite en bois qui fait office de table de lit avec une vieille petite lampe de chevet. Étonnant quand on sait où elle se trouve. Dans le repaire de la famille Hamato, les égouts plus précisément.

On lui a préparé spécialement cette petite couche pour qu'elle puisse dormir correctement et cela se voit. C'est plus propre que ce qu'elle avait pu imaginer avant d'y être. La jeune femme fait quelques pas en avant, regarde autour d'elle. Il y a des tags aux murs, mais pas ceux grossiers trouvés dans les rues que les tagueurs utilisés pour marquer leur présence contre un mur, mais des dessins vraiment artistiques. De beaux motifs qui semblent exprimer plus qu'une simple signature. Ça change encore de l'idée qu'elle se faisait d'un mur d'égouts. Puis l'odeur, il n'y en a pas. Pas d'odeur de fosse septique qui remonte a ses narines, pas d'odeur de putréfaction quelconque ou d'eau croupie là depuis des mois. L'air est bon.

- C'est propre.

Surprenant.

Alors qu'elle zone, sa mémoire retrace la journée qu'elle vient de vivre.

Se faire remarquer par le fils au bandeau bleu Hamato était facile, elle avait le panel parfait pour attirer son attention. Une Yokai licorne. Il était donc simple d'amorcer un premier contact. Mais elle n'avait pas pensé qu'il n'allait pas juste aller lui parler mais complètement la kidnapper en lui laissant a peine le temps de dire "bonjour". Et peu importe si elle avait des protestations, la tortue avait déjà décider de la ramener a peine avait-elle posé les yeux sur lui. En y repensant, si elle n'avait pas accepté de rester pour que la famille fasse pardonner le geste de leur frère, on aurait pu croire a une prise d'otage. Mais même si elle était devenue une otage, le but était d'arriver ici, et elle avait réussi. Il faut juste qu'elle retienne ce nom d'emprunt qu'elle s'est donné : "Unity". Étonnant qu'ils n'aient pas réagi à un nom aussi singulier.

Drrrring drrrring!

Dans sa pose, son téléphone sonne. Un petit appareil à clapet violet lavande avec un porte-clé en forme d'atome. Vieux, usé et quelque peu rayé.

-Oui... Oui je suis bien arrivée. Bien sûr.

-Je suis impressionnée de te voir réussir aussi facilement alors que mes autres petits laqués n'avaient même pas pu suivre l'un d'eux.

-Que voulez-vous Madame, je... suis juste meilleure qu'eux. Répond Unity avec un ton sans joie ni même fierté.

-Ah ah ah! Bien sûr! C'est certain maintenant que je te vois en action. je ne regrette plus du tout mon choix. Peut être l'un des plus judicieux depuis longtemps. Je compte beaucoup sur toi à présent~

Malgré les mots doux et mielleux, la Yokai a une petite grimace devant cette fausse confiance que lui donne la personne à l'autre bout du fil.

-Bien sur. Je vous les amènerais sur un plateau d'argent, soyez en sûr. Juste le temps de gagner leur confiance et de les sédater.

-Efficace. Mais, il semblerait que je n'ai pas pu suivre ton signal une fois passée une certaine zone, large. As-tu une explication ?

Unity fait silence, se remémore la journée, les détails. Les quelques objets qu'il l'entouraient sur sa route avant de passer par ce portail bleu.

-Je pense, que le traceur a été brouillé par un boîte noire.

-Oh! Ce doit être le fait de cette jeune tortue violette.

-Donatello Hamato?

-Oui c'est bien lui. Gagne sa confiance et trouve le moyen de désactiver son brouilleur. C'est ta mission première.

Gagner la confiance de quelqu'un. Quelque chose qui la fait déglutir d'anticipation. Est-ce qu'elle va y arriver? Est-ce possible ? Même s'ils ont l'air ouverts dans cette famille et... Généreux, celui au bandeau violet lui semble bien plus fermé. Son rythme cardiaque s'intensifie alors qu'elle réfléchit a comment faire alors qu'elle est toujours au téléphone avec sa commanditaire.

-.... Me suis-je bien faite comprendre ?

-O-Oui Madame.

-D'ici là, je te permet un budget illimité, carte blanche pour que la mission réussi et si tu as besoin de quoi que ce soit. Mais j'attendrai des résultats. Je les veux tous face à moi, y compris Lou jitsu, et complètement a ma merci, annonce froidement la voix de l'interlocutrice à travers le téléphone. Faisant grincer des dents la Yokai licorne.

...

-Je ne le ferai pas, Big Mama.

Unity déglutit, et raccroche une fois la discussion close par sa patronne. Elle fixe son téléphone, puis regarde le matelas et jette d'un geste ample son appareil sur le lit avant de retirer son poncho et de se poser sur le lit a son tour. Un long soupire quitte ses lèvres, une pression disparaît avec, mais une autre persiste. Une grosse tension sur ses épaules, une épée de Damoclès.

Je ne veux pas y retourner, je ne veux pas y retourner. Je dois y arriver. Si ça marche, alors je pourrai enfin...

Soupire. Elle s'affale sur le lit, les bras tendu et regarde le plafond. Le sommeil ne devrait pas tarder à la prendre, pourtant quelque chose la dérange. Le manque de bruit. Elle a l'habitude a d'un brouhaha constant autour d'elle, des gens qui parlent, qui crient, qui se battent. C'est trop calme pour elle.

....

Demain, je commencerai par celui au bandeau orange. Il semble plus simplet que les autres. Je dois en profiter.

C'est demain que tout commence.

"TBC"

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fdelopera · 7 months ago

Text

Welcome to the 39th installment of 15 Weeks of Phantom, where I post all 68 sections of Le Fantôme de l’Opéra, as they were first printed in Le Gaulois newspaper 115 yeas ago.

In today’s installment, we have Part VII of Chapter 14, “La Lyre d’Apollon” (“Apollo’s Lyre”), and Part I of Chapter 15, “Un Coup de maître de l’amateur de trappes” (“A Masterstroke of the Trapdoor Lover”).

This section was first printed on Tuesday, 23 November, 1909.

For anyone following along in David Coward's translation of the First Edition of Phantom of the Opera (either in paperback, or Kindle, or from another vendor -- the ISBN-13 is: 978-0199694570), the text starts in Chapter 13 with, “'Christine,' said Raoul as he got to his feet, 'you say you love me but it was only a matter of hours after you were free again that you went back to him',” and goes to Chapter 14, “Then she rushed out in a state of near-panic, still pulling and smoothing her fingers as if she thought the ring would somehow mysteriously reappear of its own accord.”

There are some differences between the Gaulois text and the First Edition. In this section, these include (highlighted in red above):

1) Chapter XV was printed as Chapter XVI. This numbering error was made in Chapter VII, and was not corrected, so it was propagated throughout the Gaulois publication.

2) Chapter 15 in the Gaulois text is Chapter 14 in the First Edition, etc.

3) Compare the Gaulois text:

… vous dites que vous m'aimez et quelques heures à peine s'étaient écoulées depuis que vous aviez recouvé votre liberté, que déjà vous retourniez auprès d'Erik !…

Translation:

“… you say that you love me and yet scarcely a few hours had passed since you had regained your liberty, and you were already going back to Erik!…”)

To the First Edition:

… vous dites que vous m'aimez, mais quelques heures à peine s'étaient écoulées, depuis que vous aviez recouvé votre liberté, que déjà vous retourniez auprès d'Erik !…

Translation:

“… you say that you love me, but scarcely a few hours had passed since you had regained your liberty, and you were already going back to Erik!…”

4) This passage was added to the First Edition (indicated by the red arrow above), and does not appear in the Gaulois:

Soudain une silhouette bizarre se dressa devant les jeunes gens, leur barrant le chemin :

« Non ! pas par ici ! »

Et la silhouette leur indiqua un autre couloir par lequel ils devaient gagner les coulisses.

Raoul voulait s’arrêter, demander des explications.

« Allez ! allez vite !… commanda cette forme vague, dissimulée dans une sorte de houppelande et coiffée d’un bonnet pointu.*

Christine entraînait déjà Raoul, le forçait à courir encore :

« Mais qui est-ce ? Mais qui est-ce, celui-là ? » demandait le jeune homme.

Et Christine répondait :

« C’est Le Persan !…

– Qu’est-ce qu’il fait là…

– On n’en sait rien !… Il est toujours dans l’Opéra !

Translation:

Suddenly, a strange silhouette loomed before the two youths, blocking their path:

“No! Not this way!”

And the silhouette pointed to another corridor by which they must reach the wings.

Raoul wanted to stop, to ask for an explanation.

“Go! Go quickly!…” ordered this shadowy figure, enshrouded in a sort of houppelande and capped with a pointed hat.*

Christine was already dragging Raoul away, forcing him to run again:

“But who is that? Who is that man?” asked the young man.

And Christine replied:

“That is The Persian!…”

“What is he doing here?…”

“No one knows!… He is always at the Opera!”

* NOTE: Leroux's character of "The Persian" was based on an actual French historical figure, the Persian gentleman and expat, Mohammed Ismaël Khan. This image below depicts the houppelande coat and Astrakhan cap that Leroux was likely imagining when he was writing his novel.

This image is from Les Célébrités de la rue, by Charles Yriarte, published in 1864, a book that listed notable figures in Paris in the early to mid 1800s. It was published during Mohammed Ismaël Khan's lifetime, as M. Khan passed away in 1868.

It is worth noting that the Opera House that M. Khan frequented was the Salle Le Peletier, which was destroyed in a fire in 1873 (five years after M. Khan's death). Two years later in 1875, the Paris Opera was moved to the newly opened Palais Garnier (aka Erik's Opera House). So, contrary to Leroux's narrative, M. Khan never actually frequented the Palais Garnier. This is an example of faction (fact+fiction), one of Leroux's favorite literary devices, which Leroux used throughout Le Fantôme de l'Opéra to build a feeling of verisimilitude into his fictionalized narrative.

5) Compare the Gaulois text:

C'était Erik. Il avait les yeux de braise dont vous m'avez parlé. J'aurais dû le clouer sur la lyre d'Apollon…

Translation:

“That was Erik. He had the fiery eyes that you told me about. I should have nailed him to Apollo’s Lyre…”

To the First Edition:

Si vraiment nous avons aperçu Erik j'aurais dû le clouer sur la lyre d'Apollon…

Translation:

“If that truly was Erik that we saw, I should have nailed him to Apollo’s Lyre…”

6) Compare the Gaulois text (this was likely an error on Leroux’s part, since earlier, Raoul agreed to be in Christine’s dressing room at midnight sharp):

… à minuit et demi ! fit le jeune homme …

Translation:

“… at half past midnight!” said the young man …

To the First Edition:

… à minuit je serai dans votre loge, fit le jeune homme …

Translation:

“… at midnight I shall be in your dressing room,” said the young man

7) Compare the Gaulois text:

Jamais ! répondit-elle avec énergie. Je la renverrai à Erik en la déposant dans la loge du fantôme. Il faut qu'Erik puisse rentrer tranquillement chez lui le soir…

Translation:

“Never!” she replied forcefully. “I shall return it [the key] to Erik by leaving it in the Phantom’s box. Erik must be able to return calmly to his house in the evening…”

To the First Edition:

Jamais ! répondit-elle avec énergie. Ce serait une trahison !

Translation:

“Never!” she replied forcefully. “That would be a betrayal!”

8) Minor differences in punctuation.

Click here to see the entire edition of Le Gaulois from 23 November, 1909. This link brings you to page 3 of the newspaper — Le Fantôme is at the bottom of the page in the feuilleton section. Click on the arrow buttons at the bottom of the screen to turn the pages of the newspaper, and click on the Zoom button at the bottom left to magnify the text.

#phantom of the opera #poto #gaston leroux #le fantôme de l’opéra #le gaulois #phantom translation #apollo's lyre #mohammed ismaël khan #15 weeks of phantom #phantom 115th anniversary

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lolochaponnay · 1 year ago

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Après une soirée très arrosé, un homme rentre chez lui après s'être vomis dessus. Sa femme, qui l'attendait, lui demande des explications : - Chérie, il m'est arrivé une histoire incroyable, je buvais un café au bar avec des copains, quand un type complètement bourrer est entré et m'a gerbé dessus... Remarque, il a quand même été correct, il m'a donné 20€ pour le pressing. .. Le lendemain matin, sa femme le réveille : - Dis-moi, le type qui t'as gerbé dessus, tu le connais ? Tu vas le revoir ? - Oui, pourquoi ? - Tu lui diras de te donner 20€ de plus parce qu'il a aussi chié dans ton slip !

#Après une soirée très arrosé #qui l'attendait #lui demande des explications :#- Chérie #il m'est arrivé une histoire incroyable #je buvais un café au bar avec des copains #il a quand même été correct #il m'a donné 20€ pour le pressing. ..#Le lendemain matin #sa femme le réveille :#- Dis-moi #le type qui t'as gerbé dessus #tu le connais ? Tu vas le revoir ?#- Oui #pourquoi ?

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riseofthecommonwoodpile · 9 months ago

Text

I’m reading John Ganz’s When the Clock Broke (which is outstanding btw) and there’s a passage he has about William H Parker (the chief of the LAPD during the Watts riots, and mentor to Daryl Gates, police chief during the Rodney King riots) that i think is fascinating and illustrative of why attempts to use ~facts and logic~ against reactionaries can be so ineffective:

In Parker’s opinion, any tool to maintain control and order was justified, including racial profiling. “At the present time, race, color, and creed are useful statistical and tactical devices…If persons of Mexican, Negro, or Anglo-Saxon ancestry, for some reason, contribute heavily to other forms of crime, police deployment must take that into account. From an ethnological point-of-view, Negro, Mexican, and Anglo-Saxon are unscientific breakdowns; they are a fiction. From a police point-of-view, they are useful fictions and should be used as long as they remain useful.”

although i cannot get an exact date on that quote (Ganz cites a recent book partly about Parker as his source and I do not have access to that book currently to cite their citation), it is worthwhile to note it had to have been said in 1966 or earlier, as Parker died in 1966. that would mean it was 20-ish years before that icon of “respectable conservative” thought, National Review, would uncritically publish a book review by Joe Sobran that called scientific arguments against the reality of race ridiculous, a view echoed by William F Buckley. Parker states in the 1960’s, significantly ahead of his political allies and even many of his enemies, the (obviously correct) view that race is an ethnological fiction– a social construct, if you will– but that had zero impact on his actions. These fictions are useful in maintaining hierarchies and the status quo, and thus will remain in place for as long as they serve those purposes.

The material reality of these things is less significant than their use and the worldview underpinning them; they need these things to be true, and so they must act upon them as if they are true regardless. Reminds me a great deal of Milton Friedman’s The Methodology of Positive Economics, or much of Leo Strauss. The maintenance or (re)introduction of hierarchy to social systems requires the maintenance or (re)introduction of structuring fictions and mythologies.

I don’t point out this right wing tendency toward a sort of solipsistic idealism to say that explications of material reality are useless; rather, it should not be a surprise that the reactionary will take and leave the world as it is whenever needed in order to maintain the world as they believe it should be, and any attempt to combat them that focuses primarily on debunking is often just punching smoke.

(The right are not the only ones who do this, of course, and ideology is necessary in one way or another to interpret anything politically, but I do find this specific prioritization of myth to be far more common and explicit in reactionary political theory)

all of you know that though so there’s no real point to this post. just talking out loud about a book i’m reading i guess

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centrally-unplanned · 11 months ago

Text

Let's talk about narrative formation for a sec:

I saw this thread going around as a counter-narrative "explainer" around the Supreme Court decision. First off Russell, "I don't have a tribe" is just such a line. I'm sus tbh? But the important thing is you found a way to feel superior to the other tribes, good for you. Still, if you deliver you deliver, what is the "just the facts" summary?

Right now the "headlines" around this case are essentially "the president granted immunity for official acts", which is a bad headline, because of course the president had immunity for some definition of official acts. You could never sue the president for the consequences of vetoing a congressional bill, or for the unintended civilian damages of a military operation, and this is true in most all countries. You might be saying "well sure obviously" but in law these things have a process - do you think laws around monetary damages liability have a clause at the end saying "oh except the President, this doesn't apply to him"? No, every law does not have that rejoinder - the way the president is immune to those laws is via having immunity above those laws, in the US via court precedent supposedly derived from the constitution - in other countries you might have an explicit bill about this, or an explicit constitutional clause.

Which is why OP can say things like this:

Executive immunity has always been a thing. The underlying rationale is that presidents cannot be encumbered in carrying out their necessary official duties with fear that they will be sued into oblivion for doing so... ...SCOTUS today laid out the tension: the president needs to be able to act within the scope of office without fear of politically-motivated prosecution after leaving office; but the president also cannot be "above the law."

And be correct; most headlines were setting up the idea presidential immunity as shocking, when in fact it is normal. He proceeds to explain that the court set up the terms of immunity, denying Trump X while affirming Y, and make it look very balanced, like they just defined the parameters of immunity a bit. So he can conclude with this:

And it can be a strong "calm down" note, which can even be true to an extant - but only because he is buying into the narrative social media set, and setting up his conclusion against that as the barometer.

In reality, everyone in the court knew that presidential immunity existed, that wasn't what the case was really about. It was always and forever about those parameters. And these are the parameters it set:

Taking into account these competing considerations, the Court concludes that the separation of powers principles explicated in the Court’s precedent necessitate at least a presumptive immunity from criminal prosecution for a President’s acts within the outer perimeter of his official responsibility.

Outer perimeter is defined in the document as essentially the maximum possible breadth of presidential power. There is nothing inherent about this - presidents could, for example, have immunity for every veto they issue, but still be liable to libel & incitement laws for speeches they give as president. This is explicitly rejected:

The indictment also contains various allegations regarding Trump’s conduct in connection with the events of January 6 itself. The alleged conduct largely consists of Trump’s communications in the form of Tweets and a public address. The President possesses “extraordinary power to speak to his fellow citizens and on their behalf.” Trump v. Hawaii, 585 U. S. 667, 701. So most of a President’s public communications are likely to fall comfortably within the outer perimeter of his official responsibilities

You see how outer perimeter comes back into play - any and all acts that could possibly be considered official fall into this bucket.

So the only place immunity doesn't fall is when an act is "unofficial", aka not part of their role as president: Which is where you get to the evidentiary standards pieces, things like:

In dividing official from unofficial conduct, courts may not inquire into the President’s motives. Such a “highly intrusive” inquiry would risk exposing even the most obvious instances of official conduct to judicial examination on the mere allegation of improper purpose.

Or the parts where they say evidence & testimony from "official acts" cannot be used as evidence in trial based on the context.

You saw a lot of headlines that were like "Trump has immunity for official acts, but not unofficial" acts, like that was ever in contention. Outside of the Trump campaign no one thought the President could wander drunkenly into a bar and murder someone and get away with it. The case was forever and always about where is the line for immunity, what counts as official, and how you determine it.

And at almost every possible avenue this decision pushed the line towards immunity, to expanding presidential authority. But it gets to appear balanced to our boy Russell when it does shit like this:

Finally, SCOTUS considers and rejects Trump's "far broader" argument for immunity. Trump's team argued that he can't be prosecuted for anything unless he is first impeached & removed for it. SCOTUS says there's no textual support for this argument.

See, they rejected ludicrously spurious claims that impeachment existing as an option made legal drunkenly murdering people in a bar. Compromise!

OP is a contrarian - they like to push against the mainstream. I get it, I have that instinct too. And he is smart, he noticed the radical redefinitions of evidentiary standards - but only in the replies:

But since the mainstream narrative around the case set up a sort of false dichotomy, of the case being about "immune or not", "official or unofficial", it makes the contrarian instinct push back on the idea that the case is a big deal. Trump isn't getting immunity for all his past actions! After all, he didn't have this ruling as a playbook and so fucked up by trying to do some of it in secret. So it's fine!! He gets to say this:

And be like "haha" because the narrative he is fighting against is that "official versus unofficial". It lets him ignore that Sotomayor understands that; what she is saying is that Presidents - who have killed American citizens before! - can probably just define actions as official under this doctrine if they do it right. Outer perimeter, baby. You cannot question their motives. Threat to national security, trust me bro.

(Do I think in practice the SC would actually ignore a murder? No - but they would waive immunity by contradicting their own case here. They would discard consistency for practicality. The real concerns are less fanciful, but still serious)

So this is an extremely long-winded way of saying that narrative formation does matter vis a vis truth. I can't blame the headlines too much or anything, this shit is very complex, but because they misrepresent the details of why the case is so worrying, it gives easy fuel for people to dig a little bit, feel superior to the headlines, and ignore them. And the majority opinion did a lot of work to brand it that way - casually dismissing, even mocking, the dissent opinions while misrepresenting their concerns. As a news org you shouldn't carry water for them like that. Don't let Russell get his "I have no tribe" points that easily - make him earn it.

(And, to cover my own base - the one big place the court wasn't maximalist was that they extended presumptive immunity, not full immunity, to the outer perimeter. Which is vague, that is not some precise term, but it does give them an out)

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