#pharma deserves to be kind i think | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lord-squiggletits · 22 days

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Could he really?

Are you really, really sure Pharma could have just run away or asked to be transferred?

Is it really that easy to stand up to the DJD?

It's almost as if Delphi being on the same planet as the DJD's base (something that was common knowledge and that Prowl didn't care about when stationing Pharma and an ex-Decepticon ward manager right next to them) means that there was no escape from the DJD.

It's almost as if isolating victims and keeping them from calling them for help is explicitly part of the DJD's modus operandi.

It's almost as if psychological warfare is just as much of a weapon in Tarn's hands as physical torture/killing is.

It's almost as if being a victim of the DJD is considered a fate worse than death.

Kind of weird how it is that in the same issue that the DJD are established as a terrifying threat, the same issue where Drift is compassionately asked if he's scared of being so close to the DJD, is the same issue where Pharma gets framed as a selfish madman for doing what he thought he had to to survive.

Dying of the Light came about 30 issues too late to vindicate Pharma and make it understandable why he did what he did. But even so, it's still really annoying how Pharma is the one and only victim of the DJD who gets called selfish and cowardly for doing what he thought was his only option to escape blackmail or death.

No one on the Lost Light, much less Ratchet himself, had any problem with considering Drift to be "on their side" even after millions of years as a member of the mass murdering Decepticons. And Ratchet had plenty of compassion to spare for Drift to ask him if he was scared of the DJD. Absolutely no sympathy to be had for Pharma, though; he's just a terrible doctor and Autobot who deserved everything that came to him. Murdering patients was just because he was an organ harvester working for the DJD, not because everyone at Delphi (including an ex-Decepticon who would be on the DJD's list) and himself was under threat of death by horrific torture.

Honestly I don't even think the unfortunate implications/unfairness were intended, at this point I just think that Pharma was simply intended to be a "mad doctor" character trope + token evil villain Autobot to add variety to the rogues gallery so like. The fact that the characters treat him like shit was just meant to be a narrative signal "look how much this guy sucks and is just so evil not even the good guy Autobots like him."

#squiggposting #pharma apologism #a little unhinged on this one sorry lol #ultimately pharma is just a victim of narrative framing and being too much of a tertiary character to merit depth #he has like 3 meaningful appearances and the rest are just brief flashback cameos #of course he was never gonna be written to be that deep #nevertheless i will make it that deep. i don't just have a shovel i have a whole fucking drill

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ephemeralgalaxies · 2 months

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Y'ALL. Re-listening to The Penumbra Podcast (s3 now lol bc yes I am specifically looking for Nureyev lore since s4/5 new info) and Man in Glass has me SOBBING IT WAS RIGHT THERE ALL ALONG.

s3ep2, Buddy telling Nureyev his "calling card"

Buddy: "An endoring moral core, coupled with a strong desire to excise that core completely...like having a heart embarrasses you. I brought you on this ship for that moral core. If I distrust you, darling, it is only because you have proven that you can do anything you set your mind to, and so I am certain that you are capable of excising those morals for good. You just haven't done it yet."

Then later, s3ep2 still, Nureyev is talking with Juno in his room and Nureyev narrates:

Nureyev: 'I feel the weight of potentiality sit heavy on my shoulders, I hear Buddy's words about the excision of my moral core and about my ability to do it. And I realize, for the first time, that there is a kind of helplessness in complete freedom[...]when trouble arises, I disappear. [...]but looking at this new man [Juno], there is nothing I want more than to stay.'

AND THEN AND THEN IN S5ep14 The Sixteen Tons,,, yeah I know this line by heart :')

Nureyev and Juno talking (arguing) after Juno takes him into the closet at the facility (near the beginning of the ep)

Nureyev: "I do not want to see you anymore, Juno."

Juno: "...What?!"

Nureyev: "You said that it would just take those words to excise you from my life entirely, didn't you? Well, I've said them..."

THE EXACT WORD CHOICE. THE WAY HE WANTED TO STAY ON THE SHIP AND JOIN THE AURINKO CRIME FAMILY FOR (money, but also) JUNO. BECAUSE JUNO IS HIS MORAL CORE, THEIR MORALS DO ALIGN. THAT'S WHY THEY WORK SO WELL. SO OFC HE HAS TO "EXCISE" JUNO TO CARRY ON WITH THIS.

Because the reality of it: keeping someone between life and death for YEARS, helping fund the Big Pharma that has vowed to safe Slip and yet also commits such horrific acts, but he has to do it or else he never gets to know Slip or have someone know him as he thinks they should bc surely he must not be worth all of this to Juno, the lady's just being stubborn again and inconsiderate, but deep down Nureyev KNOWS that's not it at all. He knows that Juno does know him and will continue to know more about him, and if he can do that and love Nureyev... well, that means Nureyev could have a future.

But Nureyev has been trying to stretch out the future for over 20 years. He's set his mind to it, and he can do anything he sets his mind to. Including destroying himself until there is nothing left to bother with a future anyway. Until there is nothing for Juno Steel to know and love and so he gets the punishment he believes so adamantly that he deserves long before Juno first left him in that hotel room.

If he is alone, then when trouble comes he can just disappear. If he is alone, there is no one to hurt when that bomb goes off.

#juno and nureyev being character foils will always destroy me #yes I know they have many similarities for character foil label but so do Aang and Zuko and look where we are #also the way Nureyev finally realized Juno HATED Zola in s3ep2 bc he is morally disgusted by her — as is Nureyev's words #IN THE SAME EPISODE that Buddy talks about knowing Juno is Nureyev's reason AND that he can excise those morals if needs be #It is that being what Nureyev admires most about Juno but also the reason he must push him away to continue down this path #Because Juno already almost died for him. Nureyev cant have Juno living for him #Train from Nowhere also makes me sob if u cant tell #the penumbra podcast #long post #ehe #tpp #tpp s1 #tpp s3 #tpp s5 #tpp s5 spoilers #tpp spoilers #just in case #jupeter #juno steel #peter nureyev #peter ransom #juno x peter #buddy aurinko #my beloved mother #the aurinko crime family

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lucysweatslove · 4 months

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I got my new car today!!! I haven’t actually driven it yet. Because new things are scary for me and it takes me a little while to get used to something like driving a new car, I wanted to drive it around my parents’ a little before going in a busy road. Rob said it has “responsive break” and i wanna get that “feel” down before I’m in heavy traffic. I like it though and am very grateful and excited!!

Being at my parents’ hasn’t been too triggering this time around. Usually there are some kind of comments about my body or what I’m eating, but we have such a short turn around this year that thankfully it hasn’t been too bad…

Did have to listen to my mom talk about this guy who has multiple myeloma (my mom has a precursor to MM) and apparently is in “full remission” using an antiviral but it came back because he got the covid vaccine…. Tried to explain why that’s probably not true actually but you know… I think she just desperately wants there to be simple/easier answers to the cancer she might develop, which I get, but I also feel like this is how misinformation takes roots.

(We don’t have a perfect system here in the US by far, but we aren’t lagging behind in the cancer treatment realm…. If antivirals worked to cure MM, there would be research on it… and people would do it… contrary to popular belief, Big Pharma isn’t pushing ineffective expensive drugs to steal your money and keep you sick…drugs are ridiculously expensive, but it’s not malicious… insurance companies are far more malicious for refusing coverage than the pharma companies imo)

Also listening to some people talk about pot shop workers (specifically managerial roles) not deserving to be paid a certain amount, all the gender critical bs, like yall, I don’t like government regulations in general and I have my views on how we attempt legislating morality and why it doesn’t work, but like…… when you use that argument to justify why people who “don’t have any education and just know drugs” (not a real quote just a paraphase) don’t deserve to be paid a certain amount, AND you don’t use it to say that like, gov shouldn’t restrict access to health care like abortions and gender affirming care… that’s not “government shouldn’t legislate morality,” that’s “government should legislate the morality I agree with” which is… the same thing you’re complaining about the “other side” doing.

Especially the gender stuff. It takes very little actual energy to use somebody’s preferred, correct pronouns. Affirming care literally saves lives. When you spend a lot of energy and time lobbying against these things, it really just tells me how uncomfortable you are with the idea that somebody could have a different life experience than you. The only person who should be spending that much time and energy caring about those things… should be the person themselves. Partners or family ofc should care too, but in a “how do we support this person so they can live a fulfilling life” way, not in a “i can’t handle anybody having a different lived experience than me” kind of way.

And also if you’re gonna complain about federal spending and budgets, can you at least acknowledge the ridiculous defense budget? Even if your viewpoint is “I don’t know how we can realistically and safely scale that back,” just like… recognize how little the government actually spends on programs like VA health care in relation to the massive defense budget. We rank third in the world for per capita military spending… I’m not saying you need answers on how to solve anything, but if you’re gonna criticize the drops in the bucket, acknowledging that they are in fact drops in the bucket comparatively would be nice.

#political bs sorry #I’m grateful for my parents in so many ways #but it would be great if they could acknowledge their own biases #and also look at the actual data #like no you don’t care about the trans persons health #because if you did you’d realize that gender affirming care and BEING A KIND HUMAN is the most life sustaining thing you can do #lord forbid they ever find out I like neutral pronouns and hate the concept of gender all together #also like yeah a pot shop manager might not have advanced degrees #but that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve the same pay as managers in other retail fields???#so much work these days actually doesn’t require higher Ed #and not pursuing higher Ed doesn’t mean you’re incapable or contributing less to society #it’s giving ‘burger flippers dont deserve more than minimum wage because I don’t actually see them as valuable people’#call me radical but I’d like to see people who work full time regardless of industry be able to afford to live #I’m not saying push legislature through to ensure everybody is making enough to buy a 4 bed house in their own #just like maybe don’t talk about pot shop workers with disgust and vitriol #like the TONE man it’s the TONE

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foxeswill · 14 days

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also i want to explain finally that Yes i sometimes kind of hold a very petty grudge towards the people in chronic illness communities who aren’t addicts and i can not find someone trustworthy until i know you’re “safe”. this is because back in the late 2000s i got piled up on in *the* most popular livejournal community for chronic pain for admitting i was addicted to pain pills.

i wasn’t telling anyone they were addicted, i would never cross that boundary without being asked, i mentioned it in my comment. turned into a long comment thread with dozens of comments, from multiple community members quoting bullshit purdue pharma “statistics” the company made up to push Oxycontin (which was known and i said but no one listened), i had members telling me i couldn’t have any real pain because when you’re in pain you magically can’t get high (people who had NO idea what they were saying tried to explain this to me “scientifically” but it was literal pseudoscience nonsense, to the point i started to wonder how many addicts in denial were responding to me, but i kept quiet.)

i had multiple people tell me i deserved it because people like me were the reason they couldn’t get their medicine. when the moderators intervened they said while they wouldn’t kick me out, drug addicts were “not very welcome” and everyone’s reaction to me, was “reasonable” and they had done nothing wrong.

i had only a couple people defending me because they had also been drug addicts, and that drug addiction didn’t exclude pain, and invalidating members was against the rules. it was incredible how the rules suddenly didn’t apply to me, because junkies were a scapegoat.

things have progressed since then but a lot of chronic pain patients still will reveal how they think and their stigma, they will try to make every post about drugs *about them*, then act like the only issue drug addicts face is that they can’t get meds from doctors, and somehow this ties into why they should have meds, to help the addicts. and like, i agree with that, but it really reflects how many only care when it involves them.

(and when you point this out — they go off, accusing me of hating addicts, invalidating them, such and such because it was *never* about drug addicts in the first place. if you really do care, then read up about activism, harm reduction, and listen to recovered addicts like me, and addicts who are currently using. throw away your anger and judgment, and learn how you can help. making posts about you is not help.)

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luminusobscurum · 3 months

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Homie, what is your oc lore?

ok lets do this.

cw abuse, self harm, drug use

A huge chunk of my lore comes from make-it-up-as-i-go-along then throwing away or glueing together what i do and dont like, since my husband really likes Ess her character has a bit more development. So I'll start with Lyssa.

Lyssa found "sanctuary" in cannibal town beforw hazbin hotel, she lived in hell since the 80s. She's socially anxious, has ptsd, and depression. She suffered from these disorders in life and being a woman in the 80s. She was taken as seriously as mentally ill women during that time would be. She wasn't mentally well enough to keep up with friends and her family wasnt very open minded. In her early 20s she loses her fight and commits suicide only to end up in hell because suicide is a sin- 😭

Lyssa is a girlfailure and a hopeless romantic. She's not emo, she just kinda looks like that. Realtively she's very kind and nurturing and often stays in places where that behavior isn't treated so hostile. (If not for Alastor and Rosie that bitch would be dead, like, hell would have ate her alive)

She had feelings for Alastor of course like everyone does, but he just patted her head and said the right fellow will surely come along. Rosie has helped Lyssa understand social cues and emotions, as Lyssa often found herself in a pattern of falling for anyone remotely kind to her and kept getting her poor lil heart broke.

Right now she resides in Hazbin Hotel, she adores Charlie and would adore Emily if they ever got the chance to meet. Lyssa's redemption is gonna be interesting because the cornerstone of her case is "She didnt fucking do anything wrong??"

Estelle (hes gender fluid) is hellborn, his prince, Felkivae has a domain of drugs, controlled substances, Felkivae is basically the CEO of big pharma, its where hospitals in hell get their medicene and good shit and yes Felkivae's workers do in fact distribute crack into the pride ring because they think its funny. This is Felkivae by the way.

Estelle lived with them, and ess is a very unruly chaotic bitch to deal with. He's antisocial and narcissistic, given a lot of it is trauma induced defense mechanisms from living with Felkivae being a crackhead. Felkivae got sick of seeing their consequences come out through one of estelle's tantrums one day and sold her soul contract to valentino for 62 cents. (felkivae has the coins framed on the wall in their room because they think its funny)

And just to clarify, theyre not related. Felkivae made Ess and many of their feline-based creature servants from like the ground and magic and shit. Estelle is about as much related to Felkivae as a cake you bake being related to to you. A cake you have full total control over and will mule drugs for you for v-bucks.

Felkivae revoked Estelle's goetia status. (If she'd kept it, then she'd have superceded the Vees in hell's heirarchy and all shed have to do is walk out of pride to avoid Val lol)

If Ess proves he can 'grow up (hes almost 30) and prove himself responsible enough' he can leave and get his title back which will void the contract. But by the time that happens the little idiot will have stockholmed himself with the vees. And adapted to his situation, she's learned to get back control of Her life she has to control valentinos.

which she does overtime by being a good kitty and kissing everyones ass a lot, (like how female hyenas move up in ranks) at the beginning ess and val's relationship was definitely 'oh ess you poor thing' but it quickly grows into 'wow! youre both awful people and deserve each other'

ess is also in no means is to get between voxval, in fact i think bullying my ocs is fun (lyssa is a sweetheart and itd be cruel but kicking ess down a flight if stairs is morally correct, its like hell's equivalent to returning a shopping cart)

i could see vox and val making her walk back home in the rain from a movie they went to go see but its okay bc when she got back hime she bit a chunk out of their faces like the florida bath salts guy

essie really loves the vees, (fucking hilarious to say that after my previous statement) shes flirted with velvette before (who i hc as a lesbian) but vel laughs and thinks shes weird bc ess is already fucking around with her gay dads so vel would simply verbally destroy her ego for being older than 25 then give ess an outift that doesnt make her look like such an unwashed tramp

theres also like a side plot where ess ends up having a kid from valentino (a blind moth girl named perdita) who ess hides from him and PLEADS with adam to take to heaven to get her away from val

how adam and ess have a relationship is DLC lore i might explain that one later if theres a care

realistically and truthfully valentino would have adored and loved his daughter (perdita) but given how he used to treat ess she was very much afraid of what hed do.

(imagine a little moth/kitten underneath adams robe and it goes MYEHH really loud and st peter goes 'what was that' and adam just says 'shut up')

that side arc with ess and adam is really nice though sorry to disrespect it by throwing up a poorly described synopsis

adam was the best awful dad who stepped up he handed perdita over to an elderly archangel named Nan (whose a lil out of it mentally but would protect perdita with her life) and she often hadoukens adam with holy light through a hole in the house because he does shit like let this baby drive him home in flying horse drawn chariot when hes too drunk too drive (perdita is 4)

one time for her birthday he bought her ribs and a 6 pack of beer saying shed be the coolest 4 year old and Nan dented him with a frying pan over it

anyway you came for lore of two characters i gave you 30 im sorry this is so long i have a permit but if you made it to the end youre beautiful and i want you to have these

#hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel oc #oc lore #id do character tags but theres a lot of namedrops #essie.ask

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deadlysoupy · 1 year

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wait i just saw the fandom game too!!!! gosh i cant make up my mind between transformers and teenage mutant ninja turtles!!! i'll let you pick between the two. or omg both!? too much? aah well i wanna know your thoughts on it all LOL

-bumblebeesdoorwings 💞

since i already answered the tmnt one here's transformers!!!

the first character i ever fell in love with: absolutely tfa bumblebee. i remember like it was yesterday. it was like three or two years ago, i was scrolling insta and saw an edit of tfa bee (i can't link it and i won't put it here bc it's obviously not mine) where prowl said "we're gonna use bumblebee's greatest weapon. his obnoxious personality" and i LOST MY MIND it was love at first sight

but imagine my surprise when i finished watching tfa and realised that all the other bees... are just not the guy i liked. i watched prime and didn't enjoy it as much as i could have, had i forgotten my weird obsession with sorta hot shot-like bee and just appreciated prime's bumblebee. it didn't stick tho and i stopped looking for tf stuff for like two years (i realised i just gave like my whole backstory about tf ok sorry lmao)

a character that i used to love/like, but now do not: swindle. idk why he's just another jerk to me now, tho i do like the tfa take

a ship that i used to love/like, but now do not: ratchet/wheeljack from prime. i like dratchet now <3

my ultimate favorite character™: still bumblebee. even tho he's not what i expected at first he's one of those archetypes i easily fall for, i simply had to stop looking for a comic-relief arrogant teen

prettiest character: drift <3 or starscream. or ratchet from prime and idw. or knockout from prime.

what are transformers so pretty for......

my most hated character: unicron? i can't get what his deal is and what is he even why is he in the plot in every continuity i'm kinda sick of him tbh get some new ideas

my OTP: STARBEE STARBEE STARBEE *dies*

my NOTP: starscream/megatron. i can kinda see it but like.... nah

favorite episode: it's not really an ep but. ALL OF TAAO. like all of it. superb character writing, beautiful art, gay. haters will say.. idk what they'll say i'm not a hater nor an empath so

saddest death: bee... in idw... and in prime... in idw specifically. "we're stronger together than apart" FUCK OOOOOOOOF

prowl from tfa was tragic too.... hxhdduirejejkf

favorite season: the first season of tfa actually! it's really cozy and humorous and character-driven i love it (and earthspark obviously i don't know if it counts as a season)

least favorite season: i don't think i have that but unicron idw the one that's the ending just pisses me off. everything gets re-set why. why is my otp Like That

allow me to rant here for a few seconds bc i can't even anymore

LIKE WTF WHY IS BUMBLEBEE A JERK TO A GUY HE WAS STUCK WITH FOR LITERAL YEARS DID HE FORGET OR SOMETHING THIS IS SUCH AN ASSHOLE MOVE

AND STARSCREAM DIES AS REDEMPTION???? that's just CHEAP and for the sake of it like they needed to tic it off the list of completed arcs that's not how it works!!!!! i mean yeah SURE it comes full circle when he comes back as a ghost tethered to bee but we could have had it all and for wHAt.

character that everyone else in the fandom loves, but i hate: pharma? i have no idea. perceptor? yeah sure. shockwave too what an asshole

my ‘you’re piece of trash, but you’re still a fave’ fave: STARSCREAAAM how did i even end up loving him

my ‘beautiful cinnamon roll who deserves better than this’ fave: blurr lmao

but really it's prowl i think. especially now when everyone screams acab i don't agree. but i won't get into that. anyway prowl interesting but has poor execution

my ‘this ship is wrong, nasty, and makes me want to cleanse my soul, but i still love it’ ship: starbee also..... it's sooo weird for me to ship a "hero" and a "villain" i don't typically do that but idw changed me fundamentally

my ‘they’re kind of cute, and i lowkey ship them, but i’m not too invested’ ship: megop. i just don't like optimus i think. he's boring... hot take right at the end there

hope you don't hate me now 🥺🥺

some of these are.... questionable for sure

#asks

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aimless-passerby · 1 year

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Who's your favourite dwarf and why?

I didn't expect an ask 👀

I will be dull with an answer and say I can't choose only one dwarf out of them all.

I think it was Bofur at the very first time when me and my sibling saw the movie, because they chose Bombur as their favourite. So I chose the older brother accordingly. I love these two and headcanon them being the most friendliest and kindest towards Bilbo. And their cousin Bifur, I love his black and white braids so much. He is also very funny, kind of an enygmatic character, with "two wolves" inside of him xD Although actor gave him some sad backstory. His fate in Sansukh (I will mention a fanfic, because I really love it) is so upsetting, though I am not yet aware of his canon fate (need to reread many things on English).

Then I thought of Dori. He is described being the strongest among the dwarves of Thorin's Company in the book, and in the movie I think he is supposed to be not the most masculine (I may be wrong at viewing it like this) dwarf, and I love when a character knits mittens and then kicks enemies' asses. He is also a mother hen to his younger brothers, who are also very wonderful. What I love in the movies is how different dwarven characters are. Nori's star-shaped hairstyle though! And funny to think that even after Nori stealing something from Bilbo's house, Bilbo is still friendlier to him than to Lobelia xD And Ori is an adorable and shy young dwarf, watching him on background is a lot of fun (like any other dwarf really, but they all deserved a proper screening time, maybe some of their background stories being brought up...), but now I am thinking of the scene in Moria...

So it leads to Balin. I love his movie version so much, they made him older than Thorin and he probably was like an older brother to both him and Dwalin (to Dwalin a real one asdfghjk), and their handwrittings are so similar, is it easy to guess who was busy teaching Thorin to write xD (maybe?). I love how he interacts with Bilbo too 😭 And Dwalin asdfghjk In the movie he is not the friendliest looking guy, but he is a good guy xD Man loved his cookies. Also for how long he lived asdfghjk My guy, your fam and friends are waiting for you in the Halls of Mahal, hurry up (I am joking of course). I also don't see a lot of people mentioning how he confronted dragonsick Thorin, which probably was so difficult to him, since he was extremelly loyal to his cousin and friend to step up against him.

Oin and Gloin are often forgotten and I am so glad to see bits of fanworks with them. You can see where Gimli got it xD Oin is a pharma guy, I guess it partially works for him to be a healer too (?). I don't mind him being an advanced healer as fandom often describes him. How else were they supposed to go on the quest without a healer? His movie design is wonderful, need to practice drawing him though. And I call Gloin a family guy xD He looks very fierce but in reality a very fond and loving father and husband. Love that. I am glad I can interact with him in LOTRO while he is in Misty Mountains, heh. He talks about his son and about Bilbo 🤗

Kili and Fili, another set of brothers :') They are just silly guys, who sometimes try to copy their uncle (unsuccessfully, thanks Mahal). I guess it is a rule that every Tolkien (movieverse) group should have someone like Merry and Pippin xD How can you not be fond of the boys. Also how Fili is a protective older brother :( And I also like Kili with Tauriel, though I don't like how it was played out in the movie (how could they be so disrespectful towards Tauriel's actress?). Oh, and of course I like Fili and Kili confronting Thorin. As well as the fond scenes with them (dwarven familial head bumps!)

I like movie Thorin. Nice singing voice, bro 👍 Although he is funnier in the book (as well as he is more of a prick), he has his silly moments in the movies too (thanks for them, he should be a silly guy too, not just a majestic and an epic hero) xD Topographagnosia and nearsightedness (probably common for dwarves unless they are in their mountains; also funny not the conditions itselves, of course, but how Thorin still stays overconfident); his exeggerated dislike of elves, although he uses an elven sword, which looks pretty cool actually; and then how he acts around Bilbo in last movies (I don't even know why actor decided to bring this, he is a Tolkien fan who read every bit of lore, but not that I mind, although it is still kinda strange). O, and I like his cartoon version, he is cool.

His papa and grandpa are also cool by the way. But movies (once again! 🧐) did disservice to Thrain! Such a disrespect, and this dwarf had such a bad fate..

Never can't stop being sad over Frerin and Dis 😭 I love how fandom made Dis very similar to Thorin, though she might be much wiser xD But still sad(((

Dain Ironfoot, of course! And his obsession with pigs as pets and steads xD He has a gorgeous beard, sad it had to be cgi-ed because it was too heavy. And I am afraid to mention Sansukh too often 😅 I think this story has a very awesome portrait of Dain. Also sad 😓

And Gimli! So sad they made him exclusively a comic relief in the movies. His eternal friendship (I am tend to broship them more, but I don't really mind the romance too!) with Legolas kind of brings some soft feelings. Also Lego LOTR Gimli is the cutest thing ever 😄

Narvi! Always appreciating Narvi, their (fandom sees this character very variously, which is awesome) bro Celebrimbor and the damn door they've made xD

I will also add Mim. Yes, he is a petty dwarf and kind of an antagonist, but I was rooting for him 😆

Honestly, I'd also name many dwarves from Sansukh, but it is a fanfic, and yeah, there are truly a lot lot of them to list asdfghjl

#replies #ok but also it is needed to be renamed from Throin's Company to Bilbo's dwarves because he was pulling them out of situations too often xD #can I mention my dwarf character from LOTRO? 😆#I think I wrote more about dwarven relationships with each other rather than about dwarves themselves #I think this is why I don't 'simp' for the character but rather for character's interactions with others I guess #I also like funny sides of the characters #I think I wrote a lot of stupid stuff #but okay #oof #how inconvenient

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katsuki-king-of-twinks · 2 years

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Anyone who is opposed to making narcan widely and extremely accessible can literally go to hell.

You wanna know the best way to help someone overcome addiction??

Fucking keep them ALIVE!!!

The longer they live, the more likely they'll find something to live for and/or access to the resources they need to get better.

As far as I'm concerned, saying you don't want narcan to be easily accessible --yes, even to the homeless and other actively using drug addicts-- is paramount to saying you think that Purdue Pharma was merely "doing the Lord's work"/"enabling fate" by exterminating those of us who are susceptible/have fallen victim to addiction. You know, by straight up fucking lying to the FDA about the high risk of addiction that their opiates have.

Which is not only a eugenicist kind of argument, but also proves complete and total ignorance of the exploitative, profit-centric goals of pharmaceutical companies in the U.S.

"But if addicts know they can easily just get narcan to reverse the effects of an overdose, it will just encourage/enable them to keep us-"

Literally SHUT THE FUCK UP.

There are people who will die of overdose because of addiction, most often in combination with other issues (trauma, mental illness, family problems, neglect, financial insecurity, etc.), and I don't think that we as a society can comprehensively end addiction/death by overdose in the foreseeable future. But anyone who overdoses on an opiate, realizes they fucked up, and has any desire to undo that mistake and have another chance at life FUCKING DESERVES IT. I don't CARE how often/how much they use, I don't CARE how many times they've overdosed in the past; I DON'T CARE.

Impeding an addict's access to something like narcan means that either you believe addiction is incurable/people are incapable of recovery, growth, and change, or you straight up just don't give a fuck about people less privileged than you who have had to endure a much more difficult life.

#i have FEELINGS about this #and more than one very personal connection to this issue #ppl who have heard this argument and still think it's just enabling/a cop out... fucking FIGHT ME.#SERIOUSLY. I DARE YOU.#bc this fills me with so much fucking rage that I'm pretty sure I could literally kill at least ten men whilst fueled by this anger #anyway #rant over #don't mind me #mine #drugs

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bigolgay · 4 months

Note

hello love! sounds like you had an…eventful day! is your back feeling a bit better by now? i went grocery shopping today and then ordered some takeout, right now i’m trying to decide on an outfit for the new year’s eve party i’m going to tomorrow…because you know, your girl has to look good tomorrow or else she won’t get her new year’s kiss ;))

nooo but i like that!!! i wouldn’t want to shut you up because i like the non stop talking and the essay length responses!! do not stop with that haha :) mhm maybe i can try that, the pharma industry scares me :/

aaand now i’m blinking manually, make it stop please! but yes, blinking is weird too! blue eyes kinda freak me out a bit haha, it just feels like blue eyed people stare straight into your soul…

well that’s good, isn’t it? that was pretty early i believe? i think i fell asleep shorty after i sent that ask, but i was rudely woken up by my mom at like 8am ://

Finally getting around to answering you! Sorry. My back is a bit better now and my head is too, but I’m putting that down to the painkillers😂my day started out eventful but… after having 2 naps (one of which was more so a hibernation of sorts) most of the day was gone. Sort of made up for it tonight though… but I’ve just looked at the time and it’s 4am so… oopsie! Oooooo fun! I sort of like grocery shopping, not the stuff at the tills but the rest of it is fun hehe. And what takeout did you get? Why of course, a sweetheart such as yourself deserves a kiss at midnight😉did you pick out an outfit?

Stop it, you’re too sweet🤭I always feel a bit bad about my essay length messages, I just dunno how to keep things short🫣honestly, that’s understandable. A lot of people are hella medicated now and it’s like… kinda wild? Idk science is weird as hell.

Now that is a new one, just blue eyes? But… also I kind of agree??? Those eyes are just… penetrating. They’re looking into your eyes and seeing your past, future and present… and possible the inside of your head😂

Yeah it was! Ruined by the early morning a bit but never mind! That’s good! I can’t remember exactly what time it was but it was earlier than our 2am goal! Well done! Yuck, 8 am is far too early to be existing. That is prime sleepy time I think😌i hope you get a lay in tomorrow (…today) and that you got to sleep okay!

#thank you again for being so patient with me darling #i really appreciate it❤️#a sweetheart has stumbled into my asks!

0 notes

shitpostroundhouse · 1 year

Text

I don't run this blog as if I'm a person talking to other people. It's just a humor repository. I rarely interact, because it's only in emergencies, like a scam on tumblr or other dangers. These rarely get on my radar, but I throw down when I see it.

It's a bad idea to every put personal info about yourself (or anybody else). You don't know who or what is lurking, trolls, lurkers, bots harvesting data and content. For example, your age could be cross referenced with all kinds of random info you post about, going back as far as your blog goes. Easy for bots or anyone with some basic software. And who knows what motivation there is? Your politics that somebody doesn't like, or your perceived politics, or values, opinions... Or they're just a psycho. There are lots of psychos on tumblr. Or bots who, well who knows what all they're getting up to. Harvesting data to hand over to the Chinese or North Korean governments, Russia, big pharma? Jeff Bozos? So, age, sex, location, job, hobbies? I suppose if any of these are vital to what your blog is about, like if you post about your favorite trains. Or you discuss important things that happen at the clinic you work at. But your specific age? That's got to be the riskiest one. Once that's out there, you're much closer to being identified specifically. Over years of blog posts, you might let it slip where you live, the field you work in, hopefully not your name IRL.

And requiring others to include their specific age? Really, requiring any data others may not feel safe posting anywhere online.

And I just want my blog to look a certain way. This blog doesn't have anything to do with my identity. It's not about me. Any demand to post personal details is presumptuous, entitled, unsafe, and just really bratty.

Just as I have a right to post what I feel is safe for me, and keeps me safe here, so does everybody. Posting "Minors DNI" is wholly appropriate. How many minors won't get the idea to make up a fake age if they're so motivated to interact with over-18 blogs? How does posting that request protect you from... anything? Isn't it more about your guilt vs plausible deniability? "He said he was 18. It's not my fault." The whole scenario just gets creepier the more we analyze it. Risks vs safety, right? Encouraging age-posting is the danger. Posting 18+ or 21+ or any other standard is legit, but telling others what they are or are not allowed to do is not your responsibility. It's over-stepping and creepy. I'm kind of doing that, but look at the context. Everything being equal would be to keep your needs on your blog, minus telling others what they are required to do, or face banishment. I may as well declare that I will block anyone who reblogs my posts unless they include their real first name and place of employment in their bio.

Our very inherent right is to block anyone we aren't comfortable with, without any obligation to state why. So many different kinds of blogs deserve to be blocked, I could never list them all, and most of the ones I'll block wouldn't pay attention to my bio, much less follow instructions. I could list five types of blogs I don't want anywhere near me, and they'll still follow or reblog or comment. I'd say some are even more likely to engage.

But it's reasonable all the same to say, "I'll immediately block anyone who's hateful, uses slurs, is obsessed with Go-Bots fan-fic, or thinks that sardines are OK to eat. (I like sardines, but I doubt I'd ever bring it up online.)

#tos #toss #etiquette #safety #stranger danger #never wear your name on anything in your way home from school #don't tell strangers anything about your house. family. or pets.#impeccable behavior

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lord-squiggletits · 3 months

Text

I think my favorite part about the Luna-1 hotdog-style Ambulon incident is the "fuck around and find out moment" of Ratchet taunting Pharma with his insecurities only to be surprised/fearful when Pharma brought in Ambulon and First Aid to be bisected.

Like, aside from the fact that I love Pharma and think he deserves some murder as a treat

It's actually kind of a really good character moment for Ratchet where he super fucked up, like it's extremely rare in the whole of IDW for Ratchet to have made a mistake that bad and it's a fun addition to his character imo. He clearly thought he was in control of the situation and felt some kind of arrogant/clever about thinking he'd successfully manipulated, only for it to turn out "oops you just ended up escalating the situation and putting your friends in danger instead." Arrogance/recklessness aren't something you typically associate with Ratchet so I think the situation is really cool if only bc we got to see an aspect of Ratchet's personality that doesn't really come out otherwise.

Also it means that Ratchet 🤝 Rung -> Making a really stupid decision to provoke/taunt someone emotionally unstable in the middle of a hostage situation and just making it worse

#squiggposting #like ratchet.... my guy...my dude #pharma was wildly emotionally unstable in that moment and you thought it'd be a good idea #to pour salt in the wounds pharma has been harboring for a very long time?#like dude of course pharma decided to escalate the situation into something nasty what did you think you were going to accomplish #like yeah pharma is the murderer and you can't blame ratchet for that #but i don't think i've seen anyone really talk about the fact that ratchet escalated that situation to where amb and FA got involved #setting aside that it was a dick move to pharma i think that was prolly one of the worst things ratchet could've done in terms of safety lo #truly there is no medic on cybertron who is free of bad practices lmao ratch is emergency response shouldn't he know better?

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enhypia · 3 years

Text

JS ; exes

exes answers questions with the choice of drinking instead of answering

pairings: park jongseong x gn!reader

genre: angst, mild fluff

words: roughly 1.7k

masterlist ⸺ series masterlist

~guides and warnings~

italics - reader speaking

bold - jay speaking

[enclosed] - interviewer speaking

italicized bold - both reader and jay speaking

[enclosed bold or italics] - question (depends on who's speaking)

heavily inspired by: rec.create lie detector games, cut truth or drink

warning: contains and mentions of !!! drinking, swearing, neglect, breaking up

i don't promote underage drinking, save your livers

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

hello, i'm (y/n)

and i'm jay

we're (awkward eye contact)

uhh we're exes

[you guys were invited here today as exes for a fun little drinking game, you guys were aware of that right?]

yes

yup

*interviewer shuffles awkwardly

sorry it's just, our friends were the ones who signed up for us

yeah, we just found out about it three days ago

[but are you guys still okay with doing this?]

we're okay

just give us a few minutes to get used to environment

*(y/n) chuckles

[okay, for this game, questions will be asked and if you refuse to answer, you drink, it's that simple. are you guys ready? should we start?]

*jay nods

ready as i'll ever be

[how long were you guys together?]

we were together for almost 3 years

[how long have you guys been broken up?]

about a year and a half now

[who broke up with who?]

i did they did

[why did you break up with him?]

so this was all a year and a half ago okay? no coming for jay, he's grown, we've grown

thanks?

you're welcome

*jay laughs

uhh.. it just really reached a point where i felt neglected in a way? and it was just tiring? i kept thinking 'do i deserve this treatment?' and i hated that i was doubting everything, including his feelings. so i just said let's talk about it and then yeah we split up

*jay drinks and (y/n) laughs

sorry sorry

nah i just needed that

[okay, how about we officially start the q&a portion between the of you now?]

*both nod and played rock paper and scissors to determine who gets to ask first, jay wins

*he picks up a card and facepalms after seeing the question

goddamn

should i be scared?

not sure, but you might opt to drink though

[do you blame me for what happened to us?]

oh my god *(y/n) laughs

i know right

so we're unpacking emotions today? okay noted

you can just drink if you're not comfortable with it

i'll drink but i'll still answer, might ease your mind no?

*jay couldn't stop his head from nodding

*(y/n) drinks

i admit that i blamed you at first, but then i got to thinking that it wasn't just you, i was also at fault too since i never really vocalized what i felt? i just let it build up until it reached the point where you couldn't do anything about it anymore, and i couldn't too.

yeah but it's more of my fault since i felt something was wrong but i just brushed it off, i brushed you off.

....

shot?

*jay smiles slightly and both raised their glasses to cheers before drinking

we were both at fault and i don't blame you, jay. i hope you stop blaming yourself

*(y/n) smiles softly then picks up a card to stop any reply they might get from jay

god why are these questions so heavy? it wasn't like this from other episodes

*jay and crew laugh

okay, hit me

[what's your biggest regret about our relationship?]

what the fuck

SEE ?!

*both laugh and jay drinks

okay, next question

no, i'm answering

[we won't stop you but just reminding you both that it's okay not to answer if you drink]

the alcohol releases the unhinged-ness

in other words, this is really just us using the alcohol to actually say what we feel

i think you already the answer, and it's that i didn't do anything about us even if i felt something was wrong. i just kept on focusing on my career that i reached a point where i brushed everything off as nothing. and in the end, while i got the success i wanted, somehow i also feel like i'm on the losing end really.

*(y/n) drinks making jay laugh

what? it's my first time hearing all this !

it was a rough break so

omg is this our closure ???

*jay's eyes widened

and it's filmed ?!?!

*everyone laughs

couple goals *(y/n) does a hashtag

oh wait *(y/n) looks at jay

exes goals *both do a hashtag pose

*they laugh, ignoring the sting in their hearts

okay, okay moving on

*jay laughs again

is it a heavy one again?

nope

[do your friends hate me?]

*(y/n) bursts out laughing

please 😭

we have the same friends

we share a lot of mutual friends

that's why there was like tension for a month in the friend group because no one knew what to do

i'm sorry you had to endure all that friends

remember when they literally made an organized schedule to hang out where we wouldn't see each since the break up was still fresh?

yeah like i got heeseung on tuesdays

and i got him on thursdays

😭😭😭

we love them though, they did their best to console us both

thanks guys <33

*(y/n) picks up a card

goddammit

[do you think we could've actually worked out our problems?]

i think it's unfair that i get a lot of heavy questions

i have the power of god and anime on my side today

i think we could've, if i just had taken the actual time to reflect and sit down and talk, we could've worked it out.

*(y/n) slaps jay's arm

i told you, stop blaming yourself

*(y/n) rolls their eyes

*jay picks up a card and

what?

*he is stuttering guys, he is fidgeting

[do you wish we were still together?]

yeah

.....

*both drink

i mean-

*jay has been paralyzed, he did not expect (y/n) to answer

i'm happy where i am right now, maybe there are moments of weakness that the thought crosses my mind but i don't dwell on it too much. i think we're both still learning and growing.

*jay doesn't want to think about the fact that (y/n) never said a clear yes or no

*(y/n) picks up a card and groans

please just drink to this

why?

[what do you think of me now?]

....

drink.

no?

why?

because-

why?

i'm answering

why?

i want to?

no.

right now i'm just really proud of you.

*WORLD PAUSE, (y/n) is malfunctioning

it's a little sad that i didn't get to witness a lot of it but i promise i watched from afar and i'm so proud of you. like it makes me feel lighter in a way? knowing that you're still going and pursuing your dreams. it just made me at ease that -

*(y/n) drinks, looking very much like snow white's apples

are you blushing?

jay i will kick you

*he laughs and pinches (y/n) cheeks making them redder, (y/n) slaps his hands away

i won't hesitate bitch

how about you huh?

[what do you think of me now?]

*jay you should know not to tease too much or else it'll bite you back

i think you're absolutely amazing.

*jay could only blame himself

i am in constant awe and there's this pride that i have in me whenever i see you thriving. it's weird because i thought i'd be bitter about it, but since i knew of your goals and how passionate you were, all i felt was pride. it did hurt a little that i couldn't go "that's my baby!" anymore.

*alert! jay's ears are red and it's spreading to his cheeks and neck

okay next question!

*he quickly picks up a card making (y/n) burst out laughing

everything i said was true though.

hajima. stop. pause. i'm not listening

*(y/n) laughs at flustered jay

this is the last one.

[question for both: if you could tell me anything, what would you say?]

sheesh

same

rock paper scissors? loser goes first

*jay wins

*(y/n) drinks

can you turn around for this one, like don't look at me.

*jay followed

i want to say that,,,, that it's not your fault for putting your future first. it kind of stung since you made me feel like i wasn't a part of it but i know that wasn't your intention. i understand your actions and i don't blame you. if i was in your position i probably would've been the same. i'm sorry that i didn't try harder, like you said we could've made it work but i just got so tired, i hope you can forgive me for that as well.

okay i'm turning around as well, your turn

*(y/n)'s eyes are glassy, but jay doesn't need to see that

i want to say that i'm sorry for neglecting you. i feel like you're tired of me saying sorry but that's really all i could do. i forgive you by the way even if i don't get why you're apologizing to me. i also want to say that, it wasn't you. it sounds cliche but you weren't the reason i became like that, it was me. it was never you. so please don't blame yourself for anything. please don't question your worth because you were more than enough.

yah i didn't want to unpack that

well i still know you and i was given the chance to say it now so

*(y/n) turns around wiping tears, jay is sniffling

i need a drink damn

*(y/n) pours a shot and jay as well, both drink after clinking their glasses

[you guys good?]

*both looks at each other and chuckles

we're good

i can't believe we have to thank our friends for setting this up

*jay groans

[care to answer one last question that is in everyone's minds' right now?]

oh god

is it what i think it is

[will we see you guys be featured again? maybe exes to couples again?]

let's drink!

*both take one last shot and waves to the camera

*(y/n) shrugs and jay winks

bye~

»————-　♡　————-«

bonus: youtube comments (peep last one)

masterlist ⸺ series masterlist

a/n: i was planning to post this sooner but my pharma prof suddenly dropped a 6-page activity lmao rip, im scheduling the timestamps i forgot to post last update sorry sorry. my angst skills are subpar forgive me but i tried my best. i hope you like this one too !! jake's will be uploaded next ! please look forward to it <33

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violetren · 4 years

Text

The Old Guard did one of the best betrayal within a found family arcs I think I’ve ever seen.

It’s not some self righteous “I’m doing this for their own good” thing.

It’s not some “I’m sick of doing things your way” thing.

It’s not some “I deserve money/power/status” thing.

All of which have been done many times before, with wildly varying degrees of effectiveness. They’re not bad motives, just too often tossed in as shorthands rather than fully developed so that there is more time for action scenes.

What we get with The Old Guard though is just a very depressed man getting too caught up in his own head to reach out to the people he loves, and who love him, and making terrible decisions because of it. Booker is (up until Nile) the youngest of the immortals and is as cynical as Andy, who is at a conservative estimate about 30 times older than him.

We don’t hear about Andy or Nicky or Joe having much family before their change, or about what it was like for them to lose them, but we do hear about Booker’s. How he tried to be there for them, and how he ended up being hated by them for it. As far as we know his last time he saw his youngest alive resulted is his son telling calling him a horrible parent who never really loved him. Which is so obviously untrue just by the fact that Booker tried approaching him at all even though he’s smart enough to know how dangerous outing himself as immortal could be. Booker loves beyond reason, he would have given his immortality to his son in a heart beat even if he died on the spot in the process if it had been possible. If the opportunity arose for him to go back in time and do exactly that he probably would without a moment of hesitation. Instead he has to live for potentially milenia knowing he was helpless to save someone he loved.

So right there we have a well established clear and understandable reason quite literally presented to us as to why Booker would sell out the team to a big pharma company. It might kill him, something he believes he deserves, and it might save people who are dying from the same thing that killed his son.

But then on top of that there is another unmentioned reason. One that you’re just kind of left to realise for yourself. Quynh.

For little over 200 years Booker dreams of her drowning. Lost, alone, seemingly abandoned, and driven a little bit more insane with each revival. And it’s implied that he’s the only one up until Nile that has to deal with that. When he says he felt alone compared to Nicky and Joe it leaves the question of why didn’t he reach out to Andy who was also alone? Short answer he probably did for a lot of things. But how could he approach her about Quynh when she looks physically pained whenever the subject comes up? Even Nicky and Joe look uncomfortable thinking of her. Booker loves his found family as much as his old one. He can’t bare to cause pain to them on purpose, and talking about Quynh hurts them. If keeping the trauma of experiencing those dreams for so long to himself keeps them from being hurt then that’s just what he’ll do.

Finding a way to die through his deal with Merrick means he gets to be free of all of it. Free of every ounce of survivors guilt he experiences for his family, and for Quynh. He’s prepared for his found family to hate him for it, he’s already lived this long with his original families hatred. They’re strong, and smart, they’ll escape and go on living eventually.

But then Merrick wants them all, and Andy isn’t healing, and he realises what a colossally bad idea all of it was, and throws himself into trying to fix his mistake. And its not some stupid last minute change of heart for plot convenience. It is 100% within expectations for his established character. Best of all when all the shooting is done he doesn’t expect instant forgiveness just because he swapped back to their side. He accepts that they’re all going to need time and that his actions had consequences. And it’s great.

#the old guard #booker #quynh #tbh i don't particularly like booker #i don't NOT like him #i'm just ambivalent #but damn if he doesn't have some beautiful story telling behind him

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mostlysignssomeportents · 3 years

Text

The doctrine of dynastic wealth

The biggest news story of the moment Propublica's reporting on the Secret IRS Files, a trove of leaked tax data on the wealthiest people in America that show that they pay effectively no tax, through perfectly legal means.

https://pluralistic.net/2021/06/15/guillotines-and-taxes/#carried-interest

The Bootlicker-Industrial Complex has completely missed the point of this reporting and its followup, like the revelation that an ultrarich candidate for Manhattan DA was able to pay no tax in many years where her family booked millions in revenue.

https://pluralistic.net/2021/06/17/quis-custodiet-irs/#trumps-taxes

The apologists for super-rich tax-evaders lean heavily on the fact that America has a tax-code that substantially reduces the spending power (and thus political power) of people who work for a living, while enhancing the wealth of those who own things for a living.

The rich are obeying the law, so there is nothing wrong here. But what Propublica documented is that America has a different set of laws for the super-rich than for the merely rich, and that these laws are in a wholly different universe from the laws for the rest of us.

It's another example of America's unequal justice system - a subject that includes long prison sentences for crack possession and wrist-slaps for powder cocaine, long jail terms created by the cash bail system, and a host of other race- and class-based inequities.

It's more proof, in other words, that America isn't a republic where we are all equal before the law, but rather a caste system where inherited privileges determine how the law binds you, how it punishes you and how it protects you.

One person well-poised to describe how this system perpetuates itself is Abigail Disney, granddaughter of Roy Disney and great-niece of Walt Disney, inheritor of a vast family fortune shielded from tax by a generation-skipping trust contrived solely to avoid taxation.

Writing in The Atlantic, the heiress describes how she was inducted and indoctrinated into the system of American dynastic wealth, surrounded by brilliant accountants who treated their exotic financial vehicles as completely ordinary.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/06/abigail-disney-rich-protect-dynastic-wealth-propublica-tax/619212/

Personally, these financial enablers were "decent, good, kind men," and they gave Disney 40 years' worth of gospel about protecting the capital, growing it, and passing it on to the next generation.

As a credible 21 year old, Disney had no frame of reference. The creation of a dynastic, ever-growing fortune through legal but frankly bizarre accounting fictions was treated as normal.

To the extent that these tactics raised any doubts, they were addressed through doctrine: the idea that government bureaucrats can't be trusted to spend money wisely.

Disney doesn't say this, but a common trope in these discussions is that the government is ever tempted to give money to poor people, and must be protected from this impulse.

This racism and classism are dressed up as "meritocracy" - the tautology that the rich are worthy, the worthy are rich, and anyone who isn't rich is therefore unworthy.

In the first generation, this doctrine is merely sociopathic, but when passed on to a new generation, it is eugenic. Walt and Roy demonstrated their worth by founding a studio and navigating it through the challenges of the market, and that is why the market made them rich.

But their children - and grandchildren - didn't get their wealth by founding or running a studio. They got their wealth by emerging from the correct orifice. If their wealth is deserved, those deserts are a matter of blood, not toil.

In other words, they were born to be rich, not just as a matter of sound tax planning, but as a matter of genetic destiny. They are part of a hereditary meritocracy.

https://pluralistic.net/2021/02/13/data-protection-without-monopoly/#inequality

Disney describes what it's like to be indoctrinated into the hereditary meritocracy: her family told her that the appearance of philanthropy is good, but actually giving money to poor people is a foolish enterprise, "unseemly and performative."

And they urged her to marry her own class, "to save yourself from the complexity and conflict that come with a broad gulf in income, assets, and, therefore, power." Power should be in the hands of "successful" people, because they know how to wield it.

Accept this ideology and you will be showered with wonderful gifts: like private jet trips, which quickly become necessities ("once you’ve flown private, wild horses will never drag you through a public airport terminal again").

It's a subject that is well-documented in Mike Mechanic's 2021 book JACKPOT, on the daily lives, dysfunctions, and above all, ideology of the super-rich:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/13/public-interest-pharma/#affluenza

As to the seductiveness of the ideology, I had my own experience with the "decent, good, kind" professionals of the finance sector. When I moved to London in 2003, I opened a checking account at Barclays, a giant high-street bank.

I quickly discovered that part of Barclays' legendary profitability came from understaffing its branches; when I had to see a teller, I could end up waiting in line for an hour.

When I complained about this, a teller told me that for a nominal annual sum, I could get a "premier" account that came with a host of benefits, including priority tellers. I signed up and was inducted into the premiership by my branch manager.

He asked me if I needed any help with tax preparation, and boy did I ever. I was filing tax returns in Canada, the US, California, and the UK - it was a mess: not just expensive but confusing, and I couldn't make heads or tails of the paperwork.

A week later, a very smartly turned out Barclays "tax specialist" came by the academic research center where I'd borrowed a desk to meet with me. She was wildly excited to discover that I was on a work visa and not a UK citizen.

She told me that this made me eligible to become a "non-dom" - someone living in the UK, but not "domiciled" there - and therefore not subject to any tax at all.

She laid out a whole plan for me: I could establish residence in one of the Channel Islands (Jersey, I think?), incorporate a shell company there, and continue to get free health care from the NHS, use the public roads, etc - all without paying a penny to HM Exchequer.

And when I was ready to buy a house, the whole thing would only get better: I could buy it through the shell company, reverse-mortgage it, rent it to myself, take fabulous deductions on the way, and pass it on tax-free by transfering the shell company rather than the house.

It was dizzying, and I kept asking her to go back and explain it again. She assured me that it was legal and normal, what every non-Briton living in the UK should do, and really poured the pressure on.

It was weirdly spellbinding, like a wizard was demonstrating an interdimensional portal to me and asking if I wanted to go through it to a magical land - a magical land that "everyone else" was already visiting on the reg.

I told her I'd think about it. Five minutes after she left the office, I snapped out of the trance. I never called her back. I figured out my UK taxes.

But today, reading Disney's account of having reasonable-seeming, friendly experts tell you something bizarre and indefensible is normal, I was powerfully reminded of my own brush with the dynasty-creation industry.

#pluralistic

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lazyyogi · 3 years

Note

why do you love the government so much? why did the dali lama take the vaccine? why are you such a big promoter of it/

1. The government is a large scale organization. Just like any organization, whether the size of a hospital or a country, it will function in good ways and bad. Therefore it never makes sense to me to love the government or hate it. Instead, it is more important to be thoughtful and constructively critical. These days everyone is a critic but rarely are they constructive. We should be working toward the benefit of all beings as best we can.

2. I didn't know the Dalai Lama received the vaccine, but I haven't looked into it. If a person chooses to take a vaccine during a pandemic, I think it is pretty obvious as to why. Buddhists possess an abundance of common sense that you don't see as often in other spiritualities or religions. There are, of course, exceptions to that perspective.

3. Think about it: This vaccine has been around longer than the delta variant of covid. And yet people are more willing to risk covid infection than get the vaccine. Why? Because of their own perceptions regarding those things. I have yet to hear a convincing argument against the covid vaccine that is actually grounded in science. I'm certainly open to it, because I am more interested in the truth and also in keeping our population as healthy as possible.

There have been no long term effects discovered for any kind of vaccine, covid or otherwise. Any adverse effects that resulted from vaccines presented with long a short time period after the vaccine was given.

Any medical intervention deserves a discussion regarding risks and benefits. Vaccines most certainly deserve that discussion.

Medical practice these days is based on the best available evidence. And so this means applying the study of populations. Over a period of time, it is evaluated as to what would positively impact the population the most. However, this does not take into account the individual. So what is good for a population may not always be good for an individual. Such things are rarely one size fits all.

I am a physician and I am invested in the wellbeing of others, yourself included. I am also thorough in my examination and evaluation of things, covid and the vaccine included. So my recommendations are not based on beliefs, such as loving the government and promoting vaccines for some other reason.

Healthcare providers don't get paid much if anything for administering vaccines. That's all big pharma profit. If doctors felt the vaccine or some other big pharma product wasn't beneficial to their patients, they wouldn't suggest it. Doctors are overworked as it is, the last thing they want to do is make more work for themselves by allowing harm to come to their patients (this is a joke, mostly :P).

Someone profits when you drink water or take a shit. Someone profits when you turn on the TV. Someone profits when you visit a webpage or sign up for a mailing list. That someone profits from the vaccine, big pharma, is hardly a surprise given our capitalist society.

Be smart about this because we are quite literally in this together. Your decisions will effect me and many others—and vice versa.

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