why-is-it-always-raining

[why-is-it-always-raining]

reminder that "allies welcome" was once secret code for "those not out yet can still participate without putting themselves at risk", and for those who aren't out yet to comfortably exist in these spaces you have to let allies exist in those spaces too.

[why-is-it-always-raining]

that's... not how it works. you can't guarantee that your work definitely won't squick anyone. what do you think you're saying?

[why-is-it-always-raining]

[why-is-it-always-raining]

its pretty words but it doesn't really mean anything

[why-is-it-always-raining]

This energy though

[why-is-it-always-raining]

hmmm

[why-is-it-always-raining]

I am needlessly riled by all the posts and humans' inherent goodness.

Humans are *neutral*, man. That's why improving society really needs to look like making doing the right thing the path of least resistance.

A majority of people sit right around the tall bit of some sort of bell curve with "does selfish shit that could hurt others by default, is generous under the right circumstance" is one side of the peak and "is generous by default, will do selfish shit that could hurt others under the right circumstances" on the other.

You can observe it any day by observing people under stress (eg: bad traffic, busy supermarket, an unexpectedly un/pleasant interaction with a stranger who is very different to you) - and in yourself in circumstances you find particularly stressful.

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god help me i have eaten too much rice

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"READ MY DNI" no. use your block button like an adult. i'm not scrolling through the many-paragraphs-long pinned posts of every blog i reblog something from. if you insist certain types of people aren't welcome in the notes of your posts then it's your responsibility to curate that. or choose a closed social media platform like facebook or instagram. or go and live in a barn away from humanity if you really don't like sharing the world with people who are different from you

[why-is-it-always-raining]

hmmmm... will biting the inside of his lip until it bleeds and going to kiss hannibal acting all coy and innocent as if he doesn't know the subtle taste of blood in his mouth drives hannibal absolutely insane...,

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Here we go again.

Fox News reported...

"Including the 14 shutout innings that Rothenberger pitched in the sectional finals to help Champlin Park reach the state tournament in the first place, the junior allowed just two runs across 35 innings to close out the postseason."

14 shutout innings!!

So dominant!

First, baseball/softball stats are rarely presented this way.

Shutout games are commonly applauded, but no one cares how many shutout innings a pitcher gets.

Shutout innings are probably one of the most common occurrences in baseball or softball. Most pitchers get several shutout innings per game. It's kinda the reason a lot of people think baseball is too slow.

But if you can get a shutout complete game, that is a little more impressive—though still very common.

A shutout means you were consistent and had the stamina to maintain a peak pitching performance for the entire game.

But if you told a baseball/softball fan someone got a shutout, they'd be like, "Cool."

A no-hitter would yield a "Nice!"

A perfect game... "Holy shit!"

So... is Marissa Rothenberger a "dominant" trans athlete?

Does she throw the ball much harder than her competitors?

Is her shutout playoff game significant?

This is going to shock you, but she is only a slightly above average high school softball pitcher.

In a pitching competition, her fastest pitch was clocked at 58 mph. Her average was 54 mph.

This is a pretty standard pitching speed for highschool girls softball.

An elite pitcher for that age would pitch in the low 60s. And those are typically the girls who are recruited for college play.

So she is good for high school, but she would probably not get any kind of scholarship unless she was also a very good hitter (she is not).

Is her shutout a rare occurrence?

Alicia Hollowell recorded 111 shutouts during her high school career. She also achieved 2,238 strikeouts, 43 no-hitters, 14 perfect games, and a mind-blowing 0.08 ERA.

She is cisgender.

Montana Fouts achieved 77 career shutouts, 1,483 strikeouts, 25 no-hitters, and 15 perfect games in 178 innings pitched.

She is also cisgender.

Marissa Rothenberger has achieved 2 shutouts, 105 strikeouts, and has 11 complete games in 94 innings pitched.

If you extrapolate her performance to match Montana's 178 innings pitched, she would have 4 shutouts, 199 strikeouts, and 21 complete games.

She would have fewer complete games than Montana has no-hitters. She could strike out a thousand batters and still be a thousand short of Alicia's record.

But the Daily Mail claims she is the world's greatest softball pitcher.

Two entire doubles, you say?

That almost never happens except all of the many many times it happens.

And please don't give any credit to her teammates who played terrific defense. And don't give any credit to the girls who drove in 6 runs.

Marissa won the game all by herself.

The article also fails to mention which records were "smashed." (Probably due to the fact that she has broken 0 records.)

Lastly, pitching fast has very little to do with muscles. Many Major League pitchers purposely stay lean for maximum flexibility. There are a few power pitchers who use brute strength to put speed on the ball. But many fast pitchers are a bit lanky. You are essentially turning your arm into a whip, and if that arm is too muscular, it can be difficult to create the whip like motion.

It's like how a lot of bodybuilders can't touch their back.

That kind of physique would be horrible for pitching.

Randy Johnson threw over 100 mph.

Ben Joyce recently hit the 105 mark.

People on Twitter are imagining Marissa as this super jacked boy pretending to be a girl and hurling insane fastballs across the plate.

In reality, she just has good technique.

And I want to be delicate here, because I don't intend to body shame the young trans pitcher.

But I'm pretty sure when I reveal a photo of her on the mound, it will be pretty clear that her pitching speed has very little to do with muscles.

This idea that all trans athletes are muscular behemoths is ridiculous. And I also think it is insulting to all women athletes. This idea that they are all too weak and frail to be competitive against anyone with a drop of extra testosterone is very condescending.

Girls can have muscles.

And athletic girls can have lots of muscles.

This is Madi George.

She is a cisgender high school softball player. She is in the current top 5 for career home runs. To date she has hit 57 dingers in her high school career. And she'd probably be ranked #1 if she didn't experience an ACL injury.

Marissa has 0 home runs. Her only hitting accomplishments are 5 career doubles.

If Marissa and Madi arm wrestled, I don't think Marissa's trans-ness would help her very much.

Marissa clearly put in the hard work and effort to get her pitching mechanics on point. She earned her success and did nothing to gain an unfair advantage.

She is a great player. I hate that I have to compare her to these elite players to show she isn't a scary dominant trans athlete. But she probably won't have a college career. She probably won't have a professional career.

These are high school girls playing a game with their friends.

They won a championship and should be celebrating and having a pizza party.

But vicious transphobic adults are ruining the pizza party.

Because, like Riley Gaines, they are all fucking losers.

[why-is-it-always-raining]

something something chosen one, something something Calvinism

do we have any info on this

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Let’s talk about the Creepers perspective.

For who knows how long, the Creepers have been the (seemingly) apex life form on Nifilheim, if not the only life form.

For no doubt countless generations, these creatures have lived in harmony with the natural environment of Nifilheim before the colonizers showed up.

And, upon first encounter with one of these colonizers, the mother Creeper elects to save him, no ulterior motive evident.

She simply chose to save him, not main, eat, or kill him.

For who knows how long the Creepers have (seemingly) been the only sentient life on this planet and their first choice upon encountering a new species is to save one of them with no nefarious motive.

So, no doubt, upon feeling the death of her child (I’m assuming they work as a bit of a hive mind or are connected telepathically), she was shocked. They’ve probably never experienced one of them dying in such a manner of malicious intent.

What did the mother Creeper feel? The pain of her child, confusion that these beings have invaded her home, changing it, and, after she saves one of them, they kill her child in return.

The utter devastation that must have inflicted upon the entire species of the Creepers.

With the mother’s negotiations, I’m not sure if she was even truly sure of demanding a death, or that it would truly be carried out.

She looked shocked after Mickey 18 blew himself and Marshall up, shocked that this species whom had betrayed her had still made things right by her demands.

We see later the explosion of the mind was all a ploy, no doubt she’d never encountered another hostile species before, so we have no way of knowing what she would’ve done if denied.

Perhaps she’d have torn the ship apart, but either way she saw that even though some of the humans killed her child, others were willing to set things right by her demands.

I don’t know about y’all but I just think it’s interesting to think of this isolated species and their reaction to this and how it no doubt parallels the real world with the effects of colonization.

[why-is-it-always-raining]

the pill bug creatures in mickey 17 made me want to squee out loud in theatre, such a wonderful design, off-putting at first glance but when you look closer, they are just the cutest

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I don’t think I’ve seen anyone else mention how significant it was that Nasha, a Black women was the person who physically put herself on the line to save the baby creeper from the incinerator. I immediately caught that that Micky 17 and Nasha were significantly less hostile to the creepers than almost everyone else (Dorothy). Kenneth Marshall has been panned as an empty, goofy trump stand in, I think this is too dismissive of his character. His politics are christofascist, eugenist and white suprematist. Mickey 17 and Kai mirror Ylfa and Kenneth at the dinner, it’s essentially a double date. When we saw that Mickey had ‘won’ the dinner I thought he’d get to bring Nasha. Then Kenneth tells Kai about her suitably for carrying a white baby “naturally” and everything clicked for me. Kai saw Micky as a novelty and even fights with Nasha over access to the Mickey’s and suggests she’s being greedy by not sharing and disrespects their relationship. She doesn’t even acknowledge the autonomy of Mickey 17 and 18, she’ll take whichever. Early on in the film the ships passengers are warned not to waste energy and calories on having sex. Nasha and Mickey defy this order, regularly but does it matter if they do? Why doesn’t anyone try to stop them? Why are they allowed to live together? Nasha’s Black and Mickey is expendable, he dies and gets reprinted. They are both held in low esteem despite their respective skill and importance. I think the film says a lot politically and most of the interesting stuff has barely been touched upon.

[why-is-it-always-raining]

18 wanted to get freaky with 17 SO BAD im cryingggg

[why-is-it-always-raining]

i like subtle nuanced themes as much as the next guy but you can't argue with the bong joon ho method of hitting you in the face with a sledgehammer