#way to go bernie

[rickybaby]

CH: [Helmut] said a driver in Formula one. We could rent him out. If we don't take up the option on Liam, he's a free agent for 2025.

[ramenwithbroccoli]

hey. turns out there's a wholeass robot i keep forgetting to post about besides it's rapid development so ughh

meet Bernie!

originally named Bernadetta (but she just goes by Bernie) it was build in 1949, with strong mechanisms destined for factory work and a red matter core installed at the back of her head - to keep it as high and far away from dangerous tools and chemicals as possible. it did great in it's work - until a tragedy from the shoreline made general attitudes more and more hostile towards the "robots"

after the story of Giewont broke the news, Bernie's work got tougher as people all around her either feared or outright despised her for what she was. when one day it finally fought back against the harassment, her anger was too great to control. it ended up seriously injuring two of her co-workers and losing its job

with no place in the world that deemed her dangerous, she stuck to the only thing that brought her relief - anger. with all the injustice that happened to her, she decided to pin the blame on the one who started it all - Giewont. it didn't help that her now biggest enemy escaped the country and was never caught. Benrie promised itself to get its revenge one way or another, resentment getting worse with each day she was stuck in the smoking ruins of a hostile country while Giewont left god knows where.

but there was another thing that kept her going. messing around with nothing to life for, Bernie found refuge in creating films. hanging around the producers and actors, perfecting the craft, it found itself amongst the creative group of people who inspired each other. and she drank it all in, sticking out even more from the crowd - if that's even possible with a plasma-ball like head. she also picked up a fancy for motorcycles :]

still, the general public opinions on robots didn't change. that's why it found itself on a mission - to Make Them Understand. because surely, once everyone knows the Truth, they wouldn't treat her so bad. they would know better.

set on her quest to create a movie conveying the Absolute Truth, it found itself in a role of a screenwriter and a director - still, no actors could play their roles as well as she imagined. and so, it's still lead on by three things that power her - revenge, inspirstion and the need to Show Them All

but behind it all. she's still such a loser<3

bonus under the cut:

midnight meme redraw because her ego is fragile as shit<3

[traumatizedbymay2016]

If I could Thanos snap a single time, I think I might use it to teach all the "But she supports Israel! :(" crowd what the Overton Window is and how we shift it left.

[macaronkitty]

Im truly no expert, but please look at other political parties and consider voting for the person you actually believe in.. In my opinion, between the democratic and republican candidates, there is no lesser of two evils, and continuing to support this two party system for the sake of that thought process is not helping.

[tvckerwash]

ah yes I've been reminded about how much I dislike wash's arc with locus on chorus because it makes no fucking sense!

like that scene in s12 where wash has that dream about shooting donut? while perhaps understandable when looked at in a vacuum, it makes absolutely no sense in the context of wash's arc from s6-s10.

wash repaid his debt to donut by protecting him from one of the tex bots in the 100 tex battle (which is what that seemingly random line in that fight where wash says "okay, we're done here" is referencing), and wash mentally justifying shooting donut in the dream with a "I was just following orders" also makes no sense because that's not what happened!

pretty much everything wash did from mid s7 through s8 were all things that he chose to do. wash chose to go to the chairman and make a deal after he found out that caboose still had epsilon, wash chose to shoot donut and lopez (because he didn't know them and had no attachment to them), wash chose to take doc prisoner, etc etc.

yet despite all of those awful choices he made, the reds and blues still refused to let him die. they chose to save wash when they had every reason to not save him, and they did it because that's what friends do—they protect their own.

this is why wash pulling his gun on lina in s10, and the words that followed him doing so were so important. wash knew what she was feeling, he understood her on an intimate level because lina was mentally in the same place that he himself had been in not too long ago—but he was not going to stand by and watch her hurt his friends, and he was not going to let her force the reds and blues into a battle that wasn't theirs (like he himself had done in s6 on his quest to defeat the meta).

tldr; wash's arc on chorus with locus doesn't make sense because the whole point of his arc (and kind of lina's arc too) prior to chorus was unironically about rediscovering the power of friendship thanks to a group of dumb guys in colorful armor.

[idsb]

its very funny to me that you suddenly think you're some kind of good person or political genius lol please show us again how you lick taylor's racist pig boots

me: makes 2 posts and one reblog about the biggest political news story of the year, that everyone else was is shitposting about for obvious reasons

you: you suddenly think you're a political genius!!!!!!

ok. why are you here if you think this about Taylor, again...?

[cordycepsbian]

epic divorce bee and the abominable snowmoth but gijinka au

[snekdood]

if you dont vote for biden you're a dumbass who only cares about their image. swallow your shit pride and vote you utter fucking dipshit.

[aubins]

she is rasping and literally crawling toward yuri with big wet eyes because the week has been very unkind to her and she's a little scraped up from getting caught in a wilderness trap but don't even worry about it. however! she reaches them and her fluffy head perks up.

"yuri! yuri, we weren't on the same island last week, and bernie didn't want to miss you just in case—" rustle, rustle. from her belongings, she fishes out a lilac-ribboned box. inside there is makeup, carefully curated and dorothea-certified of course, along with a flower accessory she'd made herself. its blossom is the color of their eyes, which she is doing her very best to meet now, thank you very much.

(in fact, she's trying so hard that it pinches her brow just slightly. eye contact will always be her worst enemy but god if she isn't pulling out all the stops to show her earnestness. they deserve that much and plenty more.)

"happy, uh, early birthday...!" the gift is ushered into their possession. then her arms flap at her sides, and she blurts: "please don't get eaten by alligators, okay?! wait, are there alligators on this island? w-well, don't get eaten by anything! please. um, yes." nod, nod. "i don't get this whole competition thing, but you're still bernie's dear friend. and bernie really, really wants to keep being friends by the time your next birthday comes, too."

a pause. then, lips curl into a silly, fond smile that bernadetta can't help but make. "a-and it doesn't have anything to do with this weird island, but, um... you make me happy. so i hope this makes you happy, too."

Yuri Leclerc does not celebrate their birthday.

Sometimes, there are exceptions. Like the treats and surprises of a certain red-haired girl or the odd greeting here and there from Abyssians who have known them for long enough to learn it. Yet no matter how routine these exceptions start to become, they will always be just that: exceptions. Because, for so long, the day they'd said was theirs never really was their birthday anyway. Because, a long time ago, the boy who was born on their actual birthday died on the streets of Adrestia.

“Bernadetta,” is their hummed greeting as their gaze flicks over her, pleased— well, always pleased, really, to see her, and even more so when she appears to be in relatively one piece— their usual smile curling at the corner of their lips. “That for me?” they ask, tone teasing as she fishes the box from her belongings. It's not even my birthday yet, is the follow up, already upon the tip of their tongue when—

“Happy, uh, early birthday...!”

And Yuri blinks, stunned for a moment, because no, they think, they will never quite get used to these exceptions. Even as Bernadetta shuffles the gift into their hands, babbling that they shouldn't get eaten by alligators, if there even are any— “No,” they think they hear themself say automatically, first instinct always to reassure, “I haven't seen any alligators. And I won't get eaten, so don't even worry about it.”— and that they're her dear friend— “...ah?” is the only sound they make in response to that one, a little quiet and a little confused, because there's no automatic answer to it, not one that they want to give to such a genuine effort anyway.

They glance at the box now in their hands for a beat, then pull it open gently, as if afraid it might break. “You didn't have to,” Yuri says, gaze immediately attracted to the collection of makeup within. They know, of course, what it costs, and suddenly mean it doubly so. “Must've cost you a pretty penny. You should've spent it on yourself.” And even if some people would say it just to be humble, humility has never been one of their features. They know what they do and do not deserve.

After all, Yuri is no stranger to gifts like these. Makeup and jewelry offered to them because only the finest of accessories should decorate the most beautiful dolls— and never for free, of course, because nothing in this world is ever for free, and they are quite used to trading both face and body.

They kept them all, no matter how they loathe them sometimes. They may be prideful, but they are not foolish. There is a trunk under the floorboards beneath their bed in Abyss filled with their hoard, bountiful enough to convince someone they are a magpie and not a mockingbird. Bountiful enough to remind them that, now, the Savage Mockingbird can take a noble's expensive gift and slit his throat while wearing it if they wanted, then toss it without a second thought to disappear within their collection.

But while Bernadetta is a noble, she is not like them. (But how do you know? asks a voice. Yuri silences it. They just do— they must believe that.) Not because of this island, she says next, and as much as Yuri can guess where her mind tends to spiral to, they wonder if she can do the same. Because they would have thought it next, yes, wondered about an objective handed to her in the interim that perhaps needed completing or some other game their hosts wanted to play. Even with the reassurance, they might have still wondered.

But maybe it is because it is Bernadetta, because she had known them before they were Yuri, and know all the secrets and vulnerabilities that come with that, because no matter how many times she says she has forgiven them, Yuri is used to bracing for betrayal, that the mockingbird pauses. Briefly, yet completely and utterly struck still mid-flight.

And then they believe her, even when the first instinct ingrained in them is not to.

“It...” they start, then pause. Correct themself. “You make me happy, Bernadetta. With or without the gift. But thanks for thinking about my birthday.” Because it's nice to be thought about, in the end. If it needs to be put simply for her, without the mess of their past, then it— and she— makes them happy. Bernadetta doesn't need to know the rest. Yuri grins, then plucks the flower accessory from the box to hold out to her. This one, they can think about without straining their smile. No shadow haunts it; this one is just Bernadetta. “Help me put it in my hair?”

Next birthday, we'll still be friends. But they do not say it aloud. This one is a promise all for themself. Yuri resolves not to break it.

[polyamoryprincess]

the fact that they thought replacing Biden with Harris would be BETTER is fucking crazy. I don’t know of a damn thing she’s done this entire time except take stupid walking photos at the beginning. She’s literally a cop. And she was still a part of the administration that was perpetuating genocide. Also, why would we want someone who Biden is endorsing???? We. Don’t. Like. Him. Why would we trust his endorsement???

This is unbearably tone deaf. The democrats are truly living in a different reality.

[spacestationstorybook]

berntigone is kinda‏‏‎ ‎farcille‏‏‎ ‎coded but it's a tossup as to who is who from moment to moment

[lightdancer1]

I also have one headcanon on the Anakin-Padme relationship:

More broadly I see it as a match made in Hell where they make each other worse and are massively codependent on each other because they are sheltered people who leaped into something without really understanding what they were doing. But in terms of things 9 in 10 of the faults originate with impulsive rabid golden retriever Anakin Skywalker. The 1 in 10 that didn't is that the Anakin of the Prequels and OT era is a dramatics specialist who is one of the most flamboyant people in a Galaxy of flamboyant people.

Does anyone believe this idiot could really be the brain trust behind keeping a secret? I think that the whole secrecy part, which is one of the big parts of how the garbage fire did its reverse Midas touch on both of them, was 100% Padme because there is zero evidence that Anakin Skywalker has the self-control for such secret-keeping or the ability to consistently stick to it.

As such I also think that a lot of this stems from what's been built up with Padme that the poor woman had very little in her life that was truly hers, and Anakin Skywalker was a lot of it, which tells you a lot about both of these people that it was so. It never comes up in canon because the canon is how Anakin copes, and that badly, with the prospect of things falling apart but if it somehow happened in reverse where he gets a sudden brick to the face of proportion, would Padme really accept that relationship falling apart easily and the loss of one of the very few things truly hers and not Queen or Senator Amidala's?

She doesn't have to be a villain or a bad person for any of that, either. This would be 100% hero antagonist aspect and specifically antagonist, not villain, because it'd be a very painful exercise in growing up for two people who never really did it and where in canon one of them balked and it went badly for everyone I can't see the other one managing it any better if it somehow went that way.

Naturally since most fanfic takes the easy road of making the rabid golden retriever the one whose issues come from clinging too much and go for either 'Palpatine/the Force decided the Jedi done gone the way of the dodo' or 'the Jedi were uWu innocents and not an established religious organization indoctrinating people from infancy and very clearly dogmatic with aspects of fundamentalism and real life tells you repeatedly how religious fundamentalists cope with nuance', well.....

I've decided since I haven't really seen this take done anywhere or a plausible route to it that I'm going to bite the bullet and once again do the 'nobody's really written this story where everyone involves are humans as opposed to shilling one or another faction instead of 'nuance where everyone's deeply flawed and some flaws come with a side dish of impulsive mass murder' it falls to me to at least try it.

[thesmokinpossum]

I have exactly a week to teach myself an entire semester of latin and I also need to study for two other exams and go to work, I'm sure it's gonna go great

[navree]

am once again negatively polarizing myself against a historical event because people don't know what they're talking about (sorry to the ides of march this time)

[krispyweiss]

Friday Flashback: Garcia, Grisman are Friends of the David on “Letterman” in 1993

- Old & in the grey friends sit in on “As Tears Go By” during commercial break

Jerry Garcia and David Grisman had just finished playing a warm and comforting version of “Friend of the Devil,” when the camera catches Garcia smiling - beaming really.

He looks happy to be alongside his old pal. Humble. Satisfied with a strong performance.

It was September 1993 and the former Old & in the Way bandmates - reunited as an eponymous duo - were appearing on “The Late Show with David Letterman” backed by the CBS Orchestra including Bernie Worrell on melodica.

This “Devil” is half the 1970 studio version - in that it’s acoustic - and half the Grateful Dead’s live version - in that it’s played slowly. Garcia sings it sans harmony support and cedes the majority of solos to Grisman and his mandolin. It’s exceptionally well-done and the musicians - as evidenced by Garcia’s facial expressions when it ends - know it.

Whomever is responsible for this video rounded it out with audio of Garcia, Grisman and the orchestra playing an instrumental version of “As Tears Go By” during commercial. Exquisite. And one needn’t be a Dead Head to notice it.

Friday Flashback is an occasional series in which Sound Bites flashes back to memorable musical moments on television

9/30/22

[and-to-you-its-just-words]

You know, I’m watching that scene where Marcus confronts Bernie about her affair, and I can’t help but think about the scene in Love Actually where Emma Thompson confronts Alan Rickman about his affair.

Emma Thompson says “Yes, but you’ve also made a fool out of me, you’ve made the life I lead foolish too.”

And like, UGH. It breaks your heart a bit. And I think it can very much be the dynamic between Bernie and Marcus. The whole episode Marcus takes pride in showing how well he knows his wife. After 25 years, how could you not? To then find out that not only has your wife not been faithful, you have somehow missed one very crucial thing about your wife. The person you’re supposed to know better than anyone else. Marcus, in a very short amount of time, starts to wonder if any of it was real. All the love he has for Bernie, for their children, for making their marriage work despite extenuating circumstances, for trying to raise their kids not to hate their mother, for keeping the front porch light on waiting for Bernie to come home, for spending most of his marriage sleeping alone…was it worth it? Marcus values the life he’s built, the one he thought he built with Bernie. Except now she doesn’t want that life, maybe she never wanted it. How absolutely devastating it would be to learn that it all might have been a lie?

And don’t get me wrong, I love Bernie, I’m glad she finally figured out what she wanted and ended their marriage. But it doesn’t change the fact that she made a fool out of Marcus, and made the life he led for 25 years foolish too.