Snopes.com was THE fact-checking / lie-debunking website in the 2000s, covering everything from lighthearted fare like "is this a picture of Bigfoot?" to rumors about Iraq War, which at the time often spread via chain emails or Dick Cheney.
Well, Snopes still exists and I encourage you to check it out. They will investigate until they find the primary source of a photo, a quote, an article. This is especially important in a world where AI is increasingly able to fool the human eye and human ear.
In case you were wondering, the status of the photos / articles I clipped for this post are:
Israel making a deal with BetterHelp - Real, and the company was founded by an IDF soldier who proudly brags about this fact in his online profile. Also they have previously been caught selling private medical information.
IDF soldier threatening a woman with children - Real picture but not from current conflict
Are Palestinians forbidden from collecting rainwater? Yes, and the situation is even more dire than the headline makes it sound. Really recommend this article for a deeper understanding of the discrimination the Palestinians suffered even prior to the current conflict.
Did Israel use white phosphorus on Gaza? The evidence strongly points to yes. This article is VERY good, very well-researched.
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Nobody has said it but uhhh
If Hobie and Miguel fought - Hobie would win.
Hands down. It would genuinely be no competition.
Miles has already proven that Miguel's weak to electricity. Hobies main weapon is an electric guitar her takes into every battle.
Miles' power is transmitted through touch.
Hobie however, can do it in any direction. From a great distance, which can be extended by speakers.
If we're surmising that Hobie is using some form of Sound Wave/Electricity combo, his attack would be effective on anybody in direct range of him, no obstructions, regardless of whether the person could hear him or not.
Since his attack is shown to be like.. visible distinct things (things we know Miles and the rest can see, considering they can see Spider-Ham's style clearly) rather than some mystic force.
His attack doesn't just work on people, but things too. So it's not about the sound itself being painful, but seemingly - the sound wave itself being powerful.
Let's call it an Electric Wave.
The electric waves emitted by his guitar look as if they strong enough to physically interact with whatever it is he's challenging, in this case - an electric barrier.
But most interestingly, we see that this power is technically still coming from Hobie. Not the guitar.
Hobies guitar is an electric one. I've spoken about it in the past, but in short
Electric Guitars require an Amp.
An amp is that big speaker looking thing that guitarists string to their guitar. And it electrically amplies the strumming of the electric guitar, to make it into music.
Without an amp, electric guitars just sound muted and unrecognizable - they don't even sound like accoustics.
Hobie however doesn't need an amp to play, he can play freely.
So that implies that he himself is the amp, amplifying his own playing. He can direct this playing - we know this because when he plays in front of crowds, he knows how to not harm them. The effect only happens when he means it to.
His power is powerful - more powerful than the collective efforts of Miles, Pavitr, and Gwen, plus he can use it at extremely far range, plus he seems to have amazing - if not perfect control over it.
Realistically speaking-
If Miguel and Hobie were to actually fight, Hobie could one-hit K.O Miguel from across the room with basically a strum of the right string.
We don't know exactly how strong Hobies power is, or it's limitations. But if we assume that his power is 'electricity' in the way Miles is, one right chord and Miguel's suit is fucked.
Considering his damage at Alchemax - he might be able to wreck all of Miguel's systems, if he tried. Maybe even take out Lyla's server.
We really don't know - but Hobie is POWERFUL.
We don't know if he could beat Jess, or Peter B - but considering Miguel lost to Miles
Miguel would be light work for Hobie. He wouldn't even be able to get a hit in on Hobie.
Just wanted to put that on the record. So everyone knows WHAT'S WHAT.
So we all know whose top dog ALRIGHT Im confident Hobie would have Miguel in SHAMBLES. SHAMBLES I tell you
Hobie is simply too good. Sorry.
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"Louis acting like a pimp to Armand" And what is a pimp exactly? Quickly. And, oh so sexual trauma survivors can't engage in kink now without it being all about that? Pet names? They can't be submissive anymore? Consensually? Sexually healthy? Be serious. I'd hardly say there's much power difference between them during all this anyway, except that Louis is freer than Armand and it's been putting a strain on their relationship. Louis wants more from Armand, and less of this 'being his past' for them both, and so helping Armand with this could fix that. It's healthy to want to help your partners get out of a rough patch?
I mean, the whole exchange was very clearly set up as a "I want to help you" after such a great moment of vulnerability Louis feels just how much Armand is desperate for it. Louis called Armand so they could work out a plan together.
And the bit with the umbrella was Louis' way of asking 'are you willing to listen to me?' and Armand said yes by unfolding it. Louis goes on and explains, Armand is allowed to argue against it, but Louis makes his point. And then he gives Armand a way to make his own choice in it too. Armand's already decided 'I want you, more than anything else in the world', but Louis still asks after if he's sure of his choice, and with a name, Arun, that is the one of his fullest agency, running the point home. Honoring the situation Armand calls Louis Maitre - as a way of being like 'I'll do as you've said then'. To make this work he's going to have to give Louis some of the control, yes. But it's the first time such a role is ever established, and it was his choice to do it. So so what if they do it in a very suggestive way? They can't like doing that? I think it's them having fun.
I struggle to find how Louis is being overly domineering here when really he's giving and offering Armand the most agency he's ever had. Same with finding it manipulative. The manipulation was more earlier in the episode I think, when he was stringing him along, giving mixed signals. He's no longer toying with him like that. Louis might be pushing Armand, leading him on to make a decision, but he doesn't mean bad by it.
But back to this pimp thing. I find it frankly offensive that this is where people are going with this. I get it, but to run with it being the case is, on many levels, wrong.
Louis told us episode 1 this was the only sustainable line of work to support his family and keep their standing, at the time. It was never his choice to be doing this either but his blackness allowed no other options. He did what he did so his family could stay in that house and maintain all their same comforts. It gave him privileges most black men didn't have at the time that he wanted to maintain and even have more of. Anyway, it doesn't and had never defined him the way 'being good at running things' had. And in that case he just likes having that kind of control where he can get it, which makes sense.
The world is what placed that kind of role onto him of what he was allowed to be able to run, not himself. And on that he actually treated the sex workers he employed well and respected them enough to give them more opportunity.** He recognizes they don't have much in the way of options either.
Louis employed sex workers, yes, but he didn't subject them to abuse, (like how Armand was)*. He didn't oversee things in a way that would go against their consent (see; episode 1 again)**. Sometimes a job is just a job. And Sex work is work.
Armand's particular past with sexual abuses may strike a particular cord with Louis, given all that, but the very last thing either is thinking is that Louis' pimping Armand out here. This is merely their decision as companions, and had nothing to do with adding another line in a laundry list of selling Armands body out to people at the command of someone else. Armand rescinds some of his control to Louis' wishes, because he wants him, and he trusts him, that's all.
If you aren't allowing Armand that choice, and are doubtful it's fully his, you're putting him right back in the box of being defined by his abuses. Putting him back into that space where he isn't given any agency over what he does. (Which is exactly opposite of what the intent of this scene is for)*.
*: (edit) added for clarity.
**: (strike through) numerous people are saying I'm misremembering these points so disregard it. (Thought he was siding with Bricks, it was the other way around). (Technically those opportunities were for getting around the law). I don't have a perfect memory, it happens. Let's not get mad about it. Doesn't change much of the point which is that Louis, now, Louis then, was always considering more about the running things and for stated purposes. So I guess I'd say he may only have respected the SWers enough sometimes for what allowed him to do that, and there are moments he certainly expressed remorse over the fact, but he has a great deal higher respect for Armand that is genuine. It's incomparable. Please read my added notes in the tags, it should address most other concerns.
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I've always liked Cucurucho because he's a weird little dude, he's fun for the narrative, and whenever he shows up you know something interesting is about to happen.
HOWEVER I have never in my life sympathized with Cucurucho more than I did in that moment where he opened the door, saw the dark matter infecting everything, and just stood there in silence for a moment clearly thinking "Oh, FFS."
Man's an overworked underpaid unappreciated office worker who's dealing with stuff way above his pay grade while his boss is off doing who knows what. I'm grabbing my screen and shaking it rn like "I GET IT CUCURUCHO! I GET IT!! I'VE BEEN THERE BEFORE, I UNDERSTAND!!!"
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not to be too real but since we're talking about it... we always talk about will feeling lonely which is fair, but... it is such an Ugly, isolating, and genuinely heart-wrenching feeling to be the odd one out in your family, and to watch them treat others who aren't related to you the way you wish they would treat you, to watch them perform their familial roles with them and not you.
nancy's the only person in his family that mike could talk to, the only person that has the same trauma and would understand, and yet... he can't. they don't ever talk unless it's to be snippy and bite. nancy spends more time caring about max and will than she does mike, her own little brother.
holly is too young for him to bond with like that. she's just barely a kid, one that still needs to be cared for.
his mom tries her best, but he doesn't feel comfortable being vulnerable with her. considering the fact that she did everything "right" according to society's standards and married their dad of all people, i doubt he feels comfortable showing her who he really is. he lets her hug him when he's at his lowest, but we don't see them actually connecting.
his dad is just some ghost that haunts his house. he doesn't care about mike or think highly of him at all. the only times we've seen him pay mike any attention are when he belittles his interests, mocks him, punishes him, or shuts him down by telling him to listen to his mother. the only support he gets from him is financial in nature.
meanwhile, everyone else has a family they can turn to. dustin, despite lying to his mother to keep her out of his shenanigans, seems to have a decent relationship with her. even if he doesn't, he still has steve and robin. lucas is shown to have a healthy relationship with his parents and erica. will and el have their family.
max's situation is different, but she has the backing of the party; people that love her and actively try to help her and pull her back into the world of the living. she isn't thrust into a leadership role that doesn't allow for vulnerability. she has nancy who is willing to fight monsters for her, el who literally performed a miracle for her, and lucas who has stood by her since the beginning.
and mike... well. he has will back now, sure, but... things have been different between them for a long time now, even if they're both trying their best to be how they were before. and before then, will obviously was in california, not returning his calls or reaching out, making mike feel like he'd lost him for good.
so... all that being said, it's not that surprising that mike is the way he is: riddled with abandonment issues, wanting to be needed, immediately apologizing whenever he dares to open up, inclined to give others the protection and comfort no one's ever given him, prone to jealousy and possessiveness, unable to be completely and wholly honest about what troubles him, not exactly the most open to new people, and someone with appallingly low self-esteem.
you know how they say people that are drowning don't always look like they're drowning? that's mike.
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