#guess which lines i said

[brookheimer]

the one thing i feel pretty certain about for this episode is that america will not decide the election. a decision will be made, a president will be elected, but america will not be the deciding factor.

succession can’t mimic 2016 or 2020 point blank, that would be boring and have nothing to say. it can’t try to outdo trump because it’ll go too whacky and fall flat like veep’s last season (sorry conheads, no way he’s winning). but what it CAN do is illustrate the immensely corrupt, often arbitrary, and hugely influential nature of news media and conglomerations on political processes. i think probably jimenez will be in the lead, then atn/waystar does something to, i don’t know, discount votes or cast suspicion on jimenez or call the election for mencken early, and the tide will shift, even though the votes are already in. the votes don’t actually matter. the actual result doesn’t actually matter. that’s the power logan (and as an extension, billionaires and CEOs in general) hold. shiv says it herself to logan in s4e2: “just cause you say it’s true doesn’t make it true. everyone just fucking agrees with you and believes you, so it becomes true and then you can turn around and say like, 'oh, you see? see? i was right.'” but it doesn’t matter that logan’s “a human fucking gaslight,” everything he says comes true anyways. not because he was right, but because that’s how it works. he says things and then they happen, regardless of what the truth is or what should actually come to pass. that’s been one of the key throughlines since the very first episode of the entire show when, in response to kendall calling logan out of touch because times are changing and logan isn't changing with them, logan hisses that everyone always says you’re wrong until you do it and prove you were right: “you make your own reality.” you can't miss the bus if you're the one driving it. the election, the votes, the political process? none of that matters. it was always going to come down to the roys and their ilk (allies or enemies, just the top 1%) — that was the whole point of “what it takes” (the mencken episode) last season, after all.

i’ve seen lots of theories about what america will choose and how the candidates will respond and all that and i just don’t think that’s the show’s focus; i think the whole point is to demonstrate the lack of agency, the illusion of democracy. because, i mean, we’ve already seen the fall of democracy via fascist election and fascist election-denial, both in real life and in the countless (usually mid) satires created afterwards. it would be disappointing to see succession use the election to reiterate that same point of 'ohhh alt-right ahhhhh!!!' i don’t think it’ll be about ‘fascism’ at all — at least, not ‘trump-y’ fascism. it’ll be about fascism in the broader sense, the kind that doesn't sport a KKK hood (even when it keeps one tucked away in the attic). it's the fascism that every single roy (very much including shiv and kendall) aid and abet -- the fascism that so many succession fans don't seem to regard as fascism, despite it quite literally being the definition of fascism. trump wasn’t the entrance of fascism into our political process. he wasn’t the lone sign of the failing of american democracy. democracy in america has long been illusory, trump just made it more blatantly evident with his particular brand of hate-speech-ridden masculinist in-your-face fascism.

so i think that’s what this episode will hopefully focus on — america will not decide. corporations, news media, and the roys will. thus, the president will most likely become president not because the country supports his policies the most, but because he’s likely to agree to help block a business deal for a major media empire, and the other candidate is unlikely to. and this will likely come to pass due to said major media empire's interference and influence: they create their own reality. they say it, and everyone agrees with them and believes them, so it becomes true.

#WOOF okay here's my unnecessary ~thematic prediction~ for this episode #i have some more like random thoughts ab what'll happen but those r less thought out and more throwing shit at the wall etc #but i've been thinking a lot ab this ep n idk i just can't see any other way it could be done satisfyingly -- they can't just do 2016/2020 #again. the focus has to be elsewhere. i have some specifics thoughts on details but again those r kinda random n will be in another post #after bizarrely getting a lot of things right this szn i know a lot of people are looking to me to see what i'll say for this ep and let me #remind yall that I AM LITERALLY JUST GUESSING BASED ON MY UNDERSTANDING OF THE SHOW AND HOW NARRATIVES #TEND TO WORK PARTICULARLY IN SUCCESSION! if i am wrong which i very well might be please do not crucify me. i know literally #nothing more than anyone else i'm just a random english/gov major who likes speculating about media ! that said if i end up right again #somehow then yes i am a prophet i am jesse armstrong i have never been wrong about anything in my life. etc #watch this age so poorly tho. #LOL #also fwiw i dont think the Shock etc is going to come from the election results - maybe possibly from the way things happen (i could see a #line of miscommunication resulting in fucked up outcomes etc which i can get into in another post) or a roy sibs moment but i just #don't think there's any way the results themselves cld be surprising. it's jimenez or mencken. it's not gonna be connor guys. #succession #succession spoilers #except not really. just succession speculation more than anything else #long post #succession speculation #100

[forestgreenlesbian]

.

#feel like my relationship with my younger brother is changed completely forever not to be dramatic lol but i am sad #we used to b very close but he has kind of. found his faith again and gone full missionary christian which like. i knew meant the dynamic #was doomed lmao but actually acknowledging it makes me sad i feel like i'm grieving for the friendship we used to have even though #it is literally a me problem i think from his perspective he doesn't think anything has changed. but i feel weird about everything #also his new gf is nineteen and he is. almost 25 and i am the only one who feels weird about it like i know she's over 18 but! idk i can't #tell if i'm being overly cautious or if my gut instinct is right. my sister & her husband have a similar age gap but they met when they wer #both over 30 so like. it didn't feel weird. and i didn't feel comfortable actually seriously talking to him about it apart from the first #time he mentioned her over facetime (he went to another country to do mission stuff & met her there) so like an idiot i've just been #making jokes about the age gap becausee like. thats always been our thing lightly bullying each other lol but he blew up at me and said #i've had nothing positive to say about her since he's been back home and that he thinks i hate her and i'm out of line for constantly #implying he's creepy for dating someone younger. idk i felt like such a freak idiot horrible person about it. it completely blindsided me #bc yes the jokes were coming from a place of idk how i feel about this situation so i'm going to rely on the humour-based communication #we have always fallen back on as a safety thing but i guess i was wrong or the dynamic shifted or something anyway it's all fucked #& everyone is just telling me i feel weird out of some?? misplaced kind of jealousy thing?? because i'm 'losing' my brother to his gf lol #which does not feel right at all he has dated so many other girls and i have never had a problem it is literally the age gap like i haven't #even met this girl i'm sure she's very nice! i just worry about her being nineteen!! jesus. and yes maybe i do feel some resentment around #a brother younger than me who seems to be able to live his life with zero difficulty whilst i'm stuck being this unemployed loser who ruins #literally ever friendship & relationship ive ever had but i think thats ok right like i can't help feeling that. i don't fucking knowwww #am i just projecting all these sad feelings about our friendship dying onto his new relationship or like. am i right to be genuinely #concerned she's six years younger than him and still a fucking teenager!!!!!! i don't know

[4lph4kidz]

something that irks me quite a bit is when people disavow the shitty stuff in homestuck by saying the only good thing about it is the fandom instead of engaging with the source material critically. i think it is really sidestepping the issue. like i get it, i get that such hostility has been encouraged by the author's antagonistic creative persona and absolutely incoporated into the work itself but i personally do actually like the source material for what it is despite being incredibly critical of it and the author's writing choices. idk. trying to pull this misunderstood ass version of death of the author by acting like the material's only worth lies in being raw material for a fandom to feed upon and repurpose into its objectively better form, and just overall lionizing the fan community rubs me the wrong way

#babbling #then again there are people who are just in it for the fandom #which is fine i guess there's a lot of work out there which is more enjoyable or enhances the good things about the source material #maybe i'm just projecting my own fears about being a creator though #if a community decided they DESERVED my ideas more than i did in such an antagonistic way i would be devastated i think #and i say this as someone who has said stuff along the lines of 'hussie has lost custody of this character' lol #not to mention the fandom isn't a force of good exactly #it's not just cringe culture though that's absolutely a factor #there's some amazing people and ideas and creative work out there but ye gods man it's got a reputation for a reason

[stuworbutwitheds]

I still think about Edd and May so let me talk about a little thing that i need to get out my head really quick

Yall remember this scene right?? May crying bc she got rejected and stepped on (literally) on her love confession and all.

Besides this being a very sweet act of Double D by giving her a card to not make her feel lonely on Valentine's day, there's something else about it.

Double D chosen the card it was supposed to be for Nazz. You know, the prettiest girl for most of the boys in the show. He gave May something it was meant to be for a girl he actually has kind of a crush on just to make her stop crying. I think that's cute.

#i really like this scene bc it is an awkward 12/13 years old trying to comfort another awkward 12/13 years old #I NEED TO SAID AGAIN THAT I DON'T REALLY CARE IF IT IS PLATONIC OR ROMANTIC I JUST THINK THEIR DYNAMIC IS CUTE #it really says a lot about the two of them on how they got their crush on each other tho #how May fall for Dee bc he was sweet to her and Dee bc she was smart lol #i guess smart and blonde is Dee type of girl #and bald and shorty is his taste in man #what a bi icon #anyways #they are so adoreble i wish ppl actually talked about them i get the feeling a lot of fans just want to forget about the Valentine special #which is fair #but hey im still allowed to talk about it #and there are such funny lines in this episode i wonder if the vas were having fun or second hand embarrassment

[cleromancy]

god it was so unbearable how for a while tim writers would just write like "hes the specialest boy in the world and half the ppl he meets are obsessed with him" but i am SO glad that the people who actually remember that that happened approach it like its an inexplicable but undeniable phenomenon that his sickly looks and autistic demeanor continue to captivate an entirely unwilling and unexpectedly sizable portion of the population

and then on the other side you have dick who canonically almost fell off the top of a moving train bc he thought tim was telling him he got his girlfriend pregnant

#dc #like i think dick is always like 1. i do not see it 2. what do you MEAN timmys got game #and like to be clear. timmy does not have game. #timmy was infodumping about the mascot of a forgotten childrens show to a captive audience and somehow this repeatedly inspired ppl to #risk it all #and press their suit #to which he generally blinked rapidly and said something along the lines of ''oh. i guess so? sure'' #timothy jackson goodtimes drake

[mymarifae]

so does anyone else want to talk about the big ass clue about march 7th's past dropped in the clockie movie saga side quest of all places or

because like i'm sorry girl What Did You Just Fucking Say

#i have a few theories bouncing around in my head rn but yeah they all involve the garden and fuli . #beyond just them stealing her memories #my MAIN guess is that she's an emanator of the remembrance #and Chose to give up her memories either for some cause to help the garden #orrrr to protect someone. not herself #we know march. losing her memories won't change who she is at her core #she's not a coward. she'll face anything head-on #so if she chose to give up her old life because of some imminent danger it wouldn't have been because SHE was the one in danger #it would have been for the sake of her loved ones #orrrr said loved ones imposed this on her to keep her alive because if they didn't go to this extreme #she would have done everything in her power (which is quite possibly A Lot) to die for them instead #something along those lines

[ajs-art]

its that time again.

Magenta belongs to @blinkpen

pose is from the magzoe breakup comic

#blinkpen #magenta flags #my lines have been kind of shit recently so like. sorry #but i sure did force myself to finish this which is more than can be said of basically fucking anything else ive tried to draw for months #so. w i guess. #anyway this panel of the comic has been living rent free in my brain since it was posted and like preemptively before then. it was haunting #me before it was even drawn. #me: oh haha what if the letters glowed a little #my brain: that's so interesting time to relearn how to animate in csp . fucking again

[pianokantzart]

Aaahhh you guys weren't kidding about ep 4 being uncomfortable

#which I get it? it's intended to be uncomfortable #it's just so weird that 99% of this show has sex as a punchline #and then they get all serious about a sexually & emotionally abusive relationship real quick #I guess I'm glad they're attempting to approach this? It's not a kid show after all #but it feels like a kids show so often that it definitely gives you whiplash. #It's a really strange combo of adult themes and kid plotlines #so many lines feel ripped straight out of a Saturday morning show #then Angel starts talking really seriously about his self loathing and self destruction and #like I said. Whiplash. #maybe the pacing is partly to blame. IDK #hotel watch

[front-facing-pokemon]

#vibrava #i know the eyes are fucked up i have no idea why. i didn't think it would be so noticeable but apparently it is. so. here's. that #i zoomed it out just a bit so that you could see the rest of it to make it clear it's vibrava because quite honestly i wouldn't be able to #tell that this was vibrava if i didn't. y'know. make this post. i sent it to someone else and they said they wouldn't be able to tell either #i think vibrava into flygon makes sense. i dunno if trapinch into vibrava makes much sense. i used to think that vibrava was the first evo #in the line and flygon was a second evo. but i found out trapinch comes first‚ which looks like an entirely unrelated pokémon to me #i dunno if it's just me. i've talked about not understanding evolutionary lines in the tags before and folks have commented on it telling me #Why They Make Sense Actually and i was just like Damn Ok. it's like interesting to know but shit am i just looking at it wrong #i tend to look for common color schemes and design aspects i guess is my problem. but vibrava looks nothing like trapinch #i dunno what these are supposed to be exactly so maybe it makes sense somehow. like a larva bug hatching from a crab. thing. i dunno #trapinch doesn't look like a bug and vibrava does. i don't. i don't know. why does it get wings. and stay a ground-type

[aptericia]

maybe this a strange thing to get hung up on but like. I can’t be the only one who subconsciously texts my friends a bit more professionally after writing a long email to my professor. Or whose internal monologue temporarily changes to sound like that YouTuber I just binged for 3 hours. Or who acts a little more excited and dramatic after watching an action movie. It’s normal to pick up patterns from other people and situations, right?? Why do my friends act so surpised when I start acting more like them, or tell me I “shouldn’t change who I am”? Like buddy. In NO social interaction am I presenting the Real Me. And besides that, you’re an important part of my life—why would it be so weird to be influenced by you? I don’t like being thought of as Weird or Not Genuine just because I do something differently from your previous expectations of me.

#personal #tbh most of the comments I get abt this are observations (like “when did you pick up that phrase??”) not judgy #but what really got me into this line of thinking was a comment from a friend about a year-ish ago? #she told me “you act so weird when you’re around [mutual friend of ours]. It’s like your whole personality changes.” #and I said “haha yeah well you two are pretty different from each other and I guess I tend to subconsciously act like the people I’m around #and she was like “yeah ik what you mean. I try not to do that” #which now that I write it… she technically said nothing about me #anyway I just. idk. so much of my comfort in social situations stems from being able to act like a part of the community #which I assumed meant act similar to them. but after that exchange it felt like it was more about what they already expected of me #which is absolutely terrifying because I can’t read their minds and CANNOT KNOW what expectations they have #I should probably get over that convo from a year ago like ik most people don’t think that way #but it really worsened my anxiety #anyway thx for reading now please forget I ever posted this #ramblings

[welcometoteyvat]

waterborne poetry you will always be famous

#rewatching it again god bless this event for giving cy > 20 lines of dialogue and x.iao interaction #yang mode cy uewueuweu cutie.. #ramblings! #also i learned that the 'heart of clear water face of ice' thing in cy's stories is actually better read as heart of clear ice face of fros #which i guess has the same meaning but it takes out the water/ice thing which i guess i appreciate #for petty reasons ^_^ no more water ice connection. trust #this event was so funny im sorry i love bullying xq affectionately and babying cy #i also never mentioned how much i fucking laughed out loud at xingqiu's convo w noelle and mika #because dear god help me. he's so authorpilled + i guess he just likes flexing his very prose like dialogue register in front of foreigners #and also peak rich kid vibes of 'idk how to cook i just steal snacks from home when im outside for a long period of time' #also noelle saying 'if you sneak out from home won't you be punished?' (she specifically said wont you be put in solitary confinement? #which specifically i think is funnier because. KLEE HANDSHAKING XINGQIU LMAO #anyways. his response is also so fucking help. 'just dont get caught!' bro pulling an ehe (said like ven.ti) #also hu.tao. i love you my daughter i love your stupid rhyming sentences and little limerick poems literally a sunshine #also zv cohost theyre so sick for this

[bionicbore]

I think it’s hilarious just how many abilities/apps Chase has in his roster, mostly ‘cause there’s a lot of them that just leave me wondering why you’d give that to him?

Going through the wiki, it's like almost anything that was needed for plot got thrown onto Chase. And there are a few of them that I think would’ve been better suited for Adam or Bree, considering the skill sets

Imagine if Adam had magnetism instead, and it overlapped with his blastwave ability as an EMP, making the umbrella ability electro-magnetism

Bree’s abilities are about stealth and scouting, so give her the fingerprint and facial recognition to compliment her vocal manipulation

And for things you don’t have to take from Chase, but just give all 3 of them: the senses to a minor degree. Give Bree the hearing for eavesdropping, give Adam the sight for accuracy, while Chase has both at max

‘Cause the thing is, doing this doesn’t devalue Chase at all. His intelligence, and everything that comes with that, makes him immensely valuable to the team

They were designed as a unit of weapons, so I can’t help but think of their abilities divided as such

Adam’s not the muscle, he’s the combatant. Defense and offense are his specialty, and his passives give him the ability to incapacitate at close and long range

Bree isn’t the hustle, she’s the recon. She can get in and out of secure locations undetected with the utmost efficiency and safely bring the intel home

Chase is more than the brains, he’s the support. He can process the gathered information and strategize accordingly. His ability to link with and override his siblings’ bionics can be a game changer in dire situations and makes him versatile

Idk, I just love power dynamics

#Lab Rats #Adam Davenport #Chase Davenport #Bree Davenport #None of this is like 100% or anything I'm just brainstorming rn #I also kinda wanna explore/revise the purpose of the Commando/Triton apps but this is already kinda long #So I guess ask me about that if anyone's interested? I'll probably talk about it eventually 'cause y'know. I can't shut up #ALSO it's not said in the main post but I still think Chase should keep the force field and laser bo. Those fall in line with support #As well as just personal viability #And the molecular kinesis. It overlaps with the mind angle and it's pretty powerful #It really felt like the writers didn't have any faith in Chase though so they just gave him every convenient ''app'' they could think of #Like they didn't find him useful otherwise #Which I guess tracks since half of his plots are just him trying to prove himself #As if he needed to #I think that might be why he wasn't my favorite. They overcompensated and gave him so much #That Adam and Bree felt underutilized in the bionic department #They really were just Hustle and Muscle 90% of the time #While Chase is the living embodiment of the Matrix for some reason

[sapphicautistic]

My gf was listening to "White Blank Page" by Mumford and Sons and I once again told her that song is SO much better if it's gay.

She doesn't listen to the lyrics of songs but she's extremely good at literary analysis and this time she actually looked up the lyrics and has now come to the following conclusion: "It makes no sense if it's not gay."

My (objectively best) reading is this:

The narrator was in love with a guy who strung him along, never willing to be in a committed (or public) relationship with him and maybe insisting that it's extremely heterosexual "helping a bro out" sex, except in more intimate moments. Finally out of nowhere guy is suddenly committed to a woman and when Narrator confronted him, guy spat out homophobic vitriol and claimed he's not gay like the Narrator.

(For extra flavor imagine them as closeted, straight passing Midwestern flannel wearing, love-bonfires-and-camping guys who sat next to each other at church and elbowed and annoyed each other like best friends do and were each other's go-to source of emotional support! And then to suddenly shut Narrator out for the first time ever, by abruptly marrying a woman and insisting that he's always been straight and their relationship meant nothing...)

Here are the lyrics:

Can you lie next to her And give her your heart, your heart As well as your body? And can you lie next to her And confess your love, your love As well as your folly? And can you kneel before the king And say, "I'm clean! I'm clean!" ? But tell me now, where was my fault In loving you with my whole heart? Oh, tell me now, where was my fault In loving you with my whole heart? A white blank page and a swelling rage, rage You did not think When you sent me to the brink, to the brink You desired my attention But denied my affections, my affections So tell me now, where was my fault In loving you with my whole heart? Oh, tell me now, where was my fault In loving you with my whole heart? Lead me to the truth and I Will follow you with my whole life Oh, lead me to the truth and I Will follow you with my whole life

Why call multiple people "you" in a totally unclear way? Why would you claim that your female ex's new man can't love her AT ALL (not just as much as you did, AT ALL)? And invoking the judgment of God is so fucking tedious if you're just shaming your female ex for moving on or even cheating/getting with your friend. Also you look like a creepy asshole if you think a girl broke up with you for "loving her too much".

This song is tepid, badly written, and makes the narrator look like an asshole if it's NOT gay.

The gay reading is the ONLY compelling one.

#i don't even care about m/m romances lmao i get bored when there's no women BUT #this is objectively the best reading #anyways my gf and I came up with the main beats for an entire romance story about these guys #as a dyke raised in the church i really like the religious midwestern reading here too #also there's SUCH a phenomenon of guys having secret sex out in these rural areas and insisting even to themselves it's not gay #so this reading is very compelling to me #i also like to think the woman is like fine. there's nothing wrong with her she's sweet and friends with both of them. #gf said what if she's Narrator's sister? #like i think it's better narrative wise if the woman has no idea and isn't trying to 'turn him straight' #bc the ex CHOSE this. he caved and all so he can stand before God and insist he's 'clean' #which to me... very very resonant #updates on my boring life #also I think the ex can be either bi or gay like it doesn't matter because either way Narrator is convinced ex loves HIM still n not wifey #god i could go line by line but no one wants that lmao it's extremely funny that i fixated on this #i did not even know it was a mumford and sons song or that they are british until gf told me both facts today #i am in no way a fan #im jsut a sucker for religion flavored gay angst i guess or at least this variety of it

[ectonurites]

i love when i make a placeholder guess about a Real Life Thing while writing a fic and later when i go to look it up my guess was actually correct

#weeks ago in a wip i'd said it'd be about 2 hours btwn point A and point B and. when i just now looked it up... its literally 2 hrs 3 min #and in this same wip i had ALSO managed to accurately guess which day of the week the numerical dates i was using lined up with in #the year it's set in. like in terms of me forming my timeline the numerical dates were what mattered—bc a plot point coinciding #with the anniversary of something from the canon is relevant—the days of the week less so. i had just been like 'ah i'll look at a #calendar and adjust these later' and well. when i looked. i happened to be right for that year SOMEHOW #grandpa max is god? i go to church now

[sweetpaintedladie]

listening to the hackney diamonds live “album” [those like 7 songs that they recorded live] and it’s honestly so jarring how much better the new material is without the horrific production, like truly just astounded the production of the album was so horrible that a group of 80 year old men just fucking around on stage sounds so much better ? you’d think it’d be the other way around but alas andrew watt seems to be in a competition with himself to see how horrendous he can make an album sound via production

#i like the album and all but i had to train my ears to not hear the production which is… not good #the first listen i tried not to let it effect my thoughts on the actual music but it was very hard to ignore #like my heart dropped when the first line of keith’s song came on and he sounded SO autotuned #i think it’s a fine album #good turn your brain off stones music #not like as good or as bad as other albums #but that production is so horrific #it sounds really good live which i guess is what matters since that’s what you really really pay to see #but like andrew watt really fucked it up in the studio #which sucks ! because this is proof that you really do not need to be doing all that #and i’ve said a few times but it should not have been *that* obvious keith wasn’t behind the boards at all #like him and mick produce in a way you barely notice and so having so much production made it so bad 😭 #tired of andrew watt is a savior narrative because he really dropped the ball and im terrified for him to do new music with other artists #tbh #it’s really really…. mmmm #also if the stones release another album with the hackney outtakes they better not go with watt again #he deserves to be locked in a closet

[milkweedman]

Sighs. Am trying to make dinner (on one foot, mid migraine, in a horrible flare up) which my sister said she'd help with. She did a few things (washed the carrots, cut up the beets which were supposed to be whole) and then said i clearly had it under control and went back to the computer. Still have tons left to do. Have no energy and am not even hungry.

#feels like the more help i need the more literally everyone is like. hm. good luck with that. and then they leave #especially doctors but also my sister as well #i know she's not my caretaker ! am well aware ! #just kind of dont understand the lack of reciprocity. i take care of her whenever she's sick #asked her to pick up my last couple meds from the pharmacy #which is attached to the store she was going to anyway and was like 'dont bother if theres a line but if there isnt one could you ?' #after she just saw me struggle massively on my crutches when we got coffee this morning #and she said it wasnt good timing and she didnt know if people can even pick up meds for each other #they definitely fucking can bc ive picked up her meds plenty #anyway am out of my migraine meds entirely and really have zero hope of getting them for the next while #at least until i can walk on my right foot i guess #just feel. what's the words. frustrated and abandoned and alone. and too fucking disabled. #chronic illness #complaining