If Venom is so much of a loser back home, how did they end up on this highly important mission? What possible purpose would they serve? Riot is the leader, of course, and I’m assuming Carrion (yellow) and Blight (blue) would probably be like combat and study, so why is this dumb gay there?
And then it hit me.
The only constructs Venom ever produced during fights were defensive. When the Foundation goons bust up Eddie’s apartment, they make a shield to protect the people whose window they just crashed through from getting shot. The fight with Riot, they produce a big one to keep him from tearing their face off. After the rocket, they created a parachute so Eddie didn’t get hurt—at what could easily have been the cost of their own life. They told Anne not to get involved because it would be dangerous.
Venom was just a tank. The only reason they were there was to take damage and keep the others safe.
Fuck, man.
…and of COURSE the team protector would be the one to look at this planets sweaty inferior meatbags and go ‘but consider: what if I protect THIS, actually’
I feel like we as a society don’t talk enough about the fact that Faramir and Boromir could see the future, and that Faramir might have been a fucking psychic??
No listen now I’m finding page references because I honestly can’t believe I didn’t find this weirder the first million times I read these books
So we all know that the reason Boromir goes to see Elrond in the first place is because Faramir has been having these dreams about “seeking the sword that was broken” in Imladris and that Isildur‘s bane is there and such. Presumably after Denethor ignores him for long enough, whoever is sending out these prophetic dreams gets fed up and sends one to Boromir so Denethor will actually finally listen and take action (my complex feelings about Denethor are for another post lmao)
So there’s some solid evidence that Faramir, and at least to some extent Boromir can fucking. SEE THE FUTURE. And that little fact just doesn’t really get brought up again AT ALL in Fellowship of the Ring? (JRR Tolkien I love you but why were we deprived of the random travel conversations the fellowship must have had while traveling all over middle earth together)
Later on, Faramir describes seeing Boromir’s body in the boat he was sent down the Anduin in, and he knows way ahead of time that Boromir was dead – another instance of somehow knowing about things that happened hundreds of miles away when there is ABSOLUTELY no way he should have.
BUT THEN things get a lot weirder in The Two Towers when Faramir captures Frodo and Sam and Gollum. Faramir is interrogating Gollum about whether he had ever been to Henneth Annun before, and this is what happens:
Slowly Gollum raised his eyes and looked unwillingly into Faramir’s. All light went out of them, and they stared bleak and pale for a moment into the clear unwavering eyes of the man of Gondor. There was a still silence. Then Gollum dropped his head and shrank down, until he was squatting on the floor, shivering. “We doesn’t know and we doesn’t want to know,” he whimpered. “Never came here; never come again.”
“There are locked doors and closed windows in your mind, and dark rooms behind them,” said Faramir. “But in this I judge that you speak the truth.”
– The Two Towers, pg 689
That’s kind of a really weird thing to say. Maybe Faramir is being poetic and not literal when he says he can see into Gollum’s mind, but the elaborate description of their eye contact almost makes it seem like there’s something else going on here. Plus, somehow the eye contact alone is enough for Faramir to judge definitively that Gollum is telling the truth. This brings up something Gandalf says to Pippin about Denethor:
“[Denethor] is not as other men of this time, Pippin, and whatever be his descent from father to son, by some chance the blood of Westernesse runs nearly true in him; as it does in his other son, Faramir, and yet did not in Boromir whom he loved best. He has long sight. He can perceive, if he bends his will thither, much of what is passing in the minds of men, even of those that dwell far off. It is difficult to deceive him, and dangerous to try.“
– The Return of the King, pg 759
Like father, like son, it seems. I bet Denethor just loved that.
Again, maybe Gandalf is just speaking figuratively and is saying that Denethor is just really insightful. But it’s kind of weird to interpret it like that that in light of Gandalf putting that right next to a statement about Denethor’s bloodline that makes him and Faramir “different” somehow. Is Gandalf saying that they both can literally perceive “what is passing in the minds of men”??
BACK TO ITHILIEN (sorry this is more of a ramble than a well structured essay)
Faramir is asking Gollum if he knows what Cirith Ungol really is:
“It is called Cirith Ungol.” Gollum hissed sharply and began muttering to himself. “Is not that its name?” said Faramir turning to him.
“No!” said Gollum, and then he squealed, as if something had stabbed him. “Yes, yes, we heard the name once.”
– The Two Towers, pg 691
“As if something had stabbed him”?? There’s really no indication of what this “stabbing” could be in this context. It’s not Smeagol trying to keep Gollum from spilling the beans, because Gollum is the one who wants to keep the hobbits in the dark about Shelob. So who/what is stabbing his fucking mind?
Faramir sends Gollum away with Anborn and is talking to Frodo about Gollum.
“I do not think you should go with this creature. It is wicked.”
“No, not altogether wicked,” said Frodo.
“Not wholly, perhaps,” said Faramir; “but malice eats it like a canker, and the evil is growing. He will lead you to no good.”
– The Two Towers, 691
Gollum leading Frodo to no good might be the understatement of the year, as well as an incredibly accurate one. I don’t need to keep saying this but of course he could be speaking poetically or figuratively. It just seems to me that there’s a LOT of these instances over the course of these books.
Putting Denethor and Faramir in a room together is, of course, always fucking wild for a MYRIAD of reasons, but let’s look at (the part that always fucking kills me) this scene:
“Do you wish then,” said Faramir, “that our places had been exchanged?”
“Yes, I wish that indeed,” said Denethor. “For Boromir was loyal to me and no wizard’s pupil.”
–The Return of the King, pg 813
I’m pretty sure this is the first(?) instance of Faramir being referred to as Gandalf’s pupil. I’m highlighting this point because it kind of sets a precedent as to why Faramir and Denethor, despite both seeming to have these supernatural abilities to read people and situations, come to SUCH different conclusions about what to do with The Ring. Faramir has been studying with Gandalf, a magical wizard, since he was a kid. I really don’t think it’s that far of a stretch that Gandalf, who once again is literally a god or Maia or whatever, was able to teach him how to actually use this ability to read and/or influence minds. (Plus he wasn’t wrecking his own mind by staring into a palantir 24/7 but I digress)
I’ve been writing for too long, so here’s just a couple of other points that come to mind.
When Denethor is on the pyre, Faramir, who apparently hasn’t moved for like two straight days, somehow seems to know that his father is nearby
When Faramir is retreating from Osgiliath the first (second overall, first in the book) time, he can somehow get his horse to turn around and go back for the men being chased by FIVE NAZGUL when every other instance seems to involve people and animals just immediately losing their shit
When he’s talking to Eowyn in Houses of Healing, he mentions that this situations “reminds” him of Numenor’s destruction, which took place, hmm, an AGE ago. And he says that he dreams about this all the time (this one is linked to that weird ability to see things happening when they’re not happening in real time)
Anyway. Those are my two cents on the subject. Everyone in the line of Stewards is a fucking psychic to some extent and that’s what Tolkien intended
honestly I always just took this as read & presumed it was down to this:
‘(Denethor) is not as other men of this time, Pippin, and whatever be his descent from father to son, by some chance the blood of Westernesse runs nearly true in him; as it does in his other son, Faramir…’
ie, Faramir & Denethor are basically full-blooded Numenoreans, who had special powers due to being half-elven. This would also shed some light on why Faramir is able to ‘recall’ the destruction of Numenor.
This suggests that Aragorn is also psychic which I believe there’s some evidence for, tho the only thing I can recall off the top of my head is this passage:
Aragorn said naught in answer, but he took the (messenger’s) eye and held it, and for a moment they strove thus; but soon, though Aragorn did not stir nor move hand to weapon, the other quailed and gave back as if menaced with a blow. ‘I am a herald and ambassador, and may not be assailed!’ he cried.
in which Aragorn MIGHT be having a psychic battle of wills with the Mouth of Sauron (who is also of Numenorean descent & knows ‘great sorcery’).
So. Yes. the Blood of Westernesse gives people psychic powers. probably.
the NYT 2018 midterms morning-after narrative, with all the chin-stroking about mixed results and the bland end of the Dems driving the successes, seems really wrong to me and frankly kind of enraging. obviously there were disappointments but, net-net, this is not a morning for wailing and gnashing of teeth. I compulsively wasted hours and hours of my life following this shit last night, so I’m just going to lay out some of the story points supporting a more robust and optimistic narrative real quick
the objective was always to take the House; the Senate was always an almost hopeless moonshot
we did take the House, decisively
the things that follow from that are now going to be realized. it means not only more robust Trump oversight, the tax return subpoenas and protection for the Mueller investigation and so on, but also much needed brakes on the runaway GOP legislative agenda. the Republicans are not going to get to try to repeal ACA again, or kill Social Security, or defund Planned Parenthood, or have their way with the 2020 census or the budget. those things are all huge
the >9% popular-vote D advantage is comparable to or bigger than past midterm “wave” elections, including 1994’s Tea Party wave. that’s literally how we fucking took the House despite 1. the disastrous 2010 census gerrymandering and resulting structural 5- to 7-point GOP advantage and 2. the more recent horrifying surge of strongman fascism. excuse me but we 110% fucking deserve wave status
got a bunch of governorship wins that really fucking matter! Scott Walker, don’t let the door hit you on your way out of Wisconsin! welcome home, Michigan! fuck you and the horse you rode in on, Kris Kobach!
what’s not the matter with Kansas, multiple excellent results there with both Laura Kelly and Sharice Davids winning upsets. possibly they’ve finally put it together that austerity is terrible and are positioning themselves to start fixing the damage. good going, Kansas
this whole weird line that it was moderate Dems that drove all the key successes and dynamic progressives only ever have any chance in the very bluest coastalest elitest cityest races is bullshit. I can’t believe the NYT can say that with a straight face. Sharice Davids is NOT your bland straight white guy DINO, and Kansas is, um, not the Bronx? Pennsylvania is literally going to have a DSA caucus? Beto O’Rourke lost what was, come on, a moonshot race by a high-suspense hair, he clearly has cemented his rising-star status and generated real excitement and momentum
meanwhile DINO “moderate” poster children Heitkamp and Donnelly lost us two (2) Senate seats. wtf with this narrative?
several of the highest profile GOP wins were in states with especially flagrant and egregious voter suppression. we’re all looking at you, Georgia, North Dakota, TEXAS whose Senate race was still close as hell. this is one of the things a Democratic House is well positioned to make a goddamn fuss about.
also Michigan and uh I think another state passed anti-gerrymandering ballot initiatives and, may I goddamn repeat, official face of ‘voter suppression is actually good’ Kris Kobach is out on his ass. plus, granted Florida is a trainwreck by a hundred thousand or so people again, they’ve also just reenfranchised 1.4 million ex-felons, so that may be goddamn changing in future
Virginia is a blue state now btw
New York internal state shit here but the state senate has finally thrown off its shackles so maybe we can actually get some good goddamn legislation passed, seriously if you don’t live here you have no idea the bullshit that’s been going on in Albany thanks to so-called moderates
is everything in the garden lovely? hell to the fuck no, shit sucks in abundance out there, but we knew that! that’s not the surprising bit!
give hardworking blues the credit they deserve 2k18
On the progressive side, I would also note that Stacey Abrams (who hasn’t conceded yet but I’m not holding my breath on this) came the closest to flipping the Georgia’s governor’s mansion since the 90s when middle of the road democrats since 2002 have lost from between 5 to 20 percent. Good lefty Abrams got within 2 percent (and outperformed Clinton in total number of votes received in Georgia…IN A MIDTERM YEAR). The Southeast did tend to go less blue than might have been hoped, but the Midwest made up for that and the vote totals show the progressives can get out to vote.
This despite entireblue districts in GA getting allocated non-working voting machines and being no joke completely shafted for voting, BY THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE WHOSE LITERAL JOB WAS RUNNING GA STATE ELECTIONS. It’s not a disgrace, doing this well in the face of not only a legit mixed af Southeastern state constituency but also flagrant bald-faced cheating.
I mean, this is what I’m saying. Something important was accomplished today. Um, sorry that democrats weren’t able to wave their wands Harry Potter v. Voldemort style and vanquish every single republican in a puff of smoke? Like, that wasn’t ever going to happen. But a lot of cool shit got done– we took the gd house for crying out loud– and as I mentioned in my last post, republicans should’ve killed it in this election but instead they’re squeezing victories out of less than 1% of the vote. Lol, ‘blue ripple’ my ass! When I went to bed last night I was like, is tomorrow going to feel like 2016, but today I had hope for the first time in two years instead.
Like, hello, Colorado just elected a gay governor– the first in the country! I grew up in Colorado and that bitch used to be stop sign red, clown nose red, red delicious red. Look at it now. When I was a kid a law was passed saying gay people didn’t deserve special rights (not to mention the whole recent cake baker thing) and now a gay man is governor??? I feel proud of Colorado and proud of this midterm. I refuse to be so crushed by Trump and the non-stop pummeling of bad news over this last two years that I have to look for the poopy diaper in all this good news. Something rad happened all over the whole country yesterday and it’s a real and true good thing.
Donald Trump sending thousands of troops to the border isn’t just ridiculous, it’s horrifying. What exactly does he plan to do with all those troops? He just recently said he is prepared to gun down people who throw rocks… it gives you a clue doesn’t it?
I’m genuinely worried that these people are going to get hurt, I don’t trust Donald Trump and I’m worried as to why we are comfortable with sending thousands of troops to greet families and children with guns… horrifying.
it’s also a massive breach in military deployment protocol, specifically the Posse Comitatus act and Article 10 of the United States Code. Donald Trump is breaking the fucking law
HE’S GONNA HAVE TROOPS GUN DOWN & MURDER WOMEN & CHILDREN.
I’m hoping that none of them get an itchy trigger finger as another commenter pointed out, but there is no other reason for them to be there and he’s talking about shooting people who throw rocks and it just sounds like an excuse to open fire. Let’s pray that nothing violent takes place against those people.
And they will all say “I was just following orders”
We can afford all these troops at the border but not 15 dollars minimum wage, free college, or Medicare for all.
I live on the Border. It’s peaceful, beautiful, and very nice overall.
He’s just afraid of brown people. Even women and children.
and we still have sent no aid to Puerto Rico, alright
I saw someone in the tags say this is fearmongering but there’s fearmongering, and then there’s actual fear. All of the comments on this post are reactions of genuine, sincere concern for the people at the border. Nobody is trying to fearmonger.
WE ARE ACTUALLY AFRAID.
Just to provide some context here since I haven’t seen a single soul talk about the Caravan online, I only know about it due to the controversy caused by several local Spanish news stations that decided to air coverage despite many stations in Mexico forbidding it;
There are currently thousands of people migrating in a Caravan up to the Mexican border. They are escaping poverty, and violence amongst other things from their home countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. They’re hoping to find a better life or apply for Asylum.
They’ve been walking for nearly a full month now having started October 12th of this year (2018 time stamp for anyone seeing this in the future.)
[Pictured above is the Caravan as it reached the Suchiate river at the border between Guatemala and Mexico]
[Pictured above is the first wave of the Caravan reaching the Tijuana border -not apart of the massive wave that was seen at the river.]
[Pictured above are several caravan men who decided to jump into the river when the crowds on the bridge got too dense when it was decided that only Women and Children could pass, most were fathers, brothers, and sons who didn’t wish to be separated. Many mothers with small children were also lowered down into the rafts to avoid the crowd that was stuck on the bridge for 24+ hours.]
The Donald Trump political campaign put out an ad that was as dehumanizing as you could imagine towards the immigrants, who again, at this point are largely unarmed women and children who are trying to escape the violence in their home countries.
Donald Trump has deployed 1,000 troops to the border in anticipation for the Caravans arrival. Promising to more than double the number to about 5,000 troops lasting until about December 15th, 2018.
[Pictured above are children waiting in line for their turn on playground equipment.]
[Pictured above is what sleep and rest has typically looked like for them, many only having a backpack or so left of their personal belongings to take with them.]
[Pictured above is man holding up a sign that reads, “Thank-you Mexico for opening up your hearts.” After the bridge and border were opened.]
These are the faces of the people Donald Trump is sending thousands of troops over to shoot down because he sees them as a threat.
Pray for the Caravans safe travels.
Does anyone know of any direct action being planned, to protect the arriving caravan of people from military violence? I feel like prayers are not enough, and would like to be involved in getting people safely into the country.
people talk a lot about getting the mcelroys on critical role and whether or not they’d break matt and honestly? I think matt would be fine. matt has been doing this for many years of many different players’ bullshit and he actively enjoys it when his players throw him a curveball. (also he has a serious advantage that Griffin doesn’t, to whit, he isn’t their shithead little brother and therefore it is unlikely to be as fun to make him Mad.) he can run with whatever they throw at him, it’ll be great.
no, what I think would be the biggest problem is Matt frantically scaling his encounter difficulty down mid-battle as he realizes that he made an extremely boldassumption about their grasp on the mechanics of Dungeons & Dragons.
gonna hear a lot of fingerwagging about how yet again all the losses are the fault of an apathetic voter base or whatever and to every single one of you that gets out of bed ready to die on that hill of condescending arrogance:
run these numbers through whatever fuckbrain filter you use to interpret statistical data and explain to me in plain english how “people didn’t vote” explains the results of an election with numbers like this.
because you gotta be some galactically endowed genius to somehow think that’s how numbers like that could happen.
We took the House, held our losses in the Senate in the worst damn map imaginable, won seven governor’s mansions, picked up quite a few trifectas and flipped some legislative chambers even where we don’t have the trifecta, expanded Medicaid in three states (and with the governors’ wins we’ll get Kansas and Maine on top of that), won a ton of criminal justice and voting rights reforms.
It wasn’t a perfect night. There were some real disappointments. There was some truly ugly fear-mongering and disenfranchisement, and the rules of the game are tilted such that a 9% popular vote margin, one of the biggest in the history of midterm elections, didn’t feel quite like the wave that it was.
But even in our disappointments, we made critical gains that will change things in the future: Beto didn’t win, but running a competitive race in Texas helped several Democrats over the line in the House and in the state legislature which wouldn’t have happened otherwise; Florida was a disappointment for the Senate and Governor’s races, but the passage of Amendment 4 means that the next election in Florida won’t have 10% of the population disenfranchised.
So take the win, even though it’s not perfect.
To quote Max Weber (and apologies for his 19th century language here):
Politics is a strong and slow boring of hard boards. It requires passion as well as perspective. Certainly all historical experience confirms–that man would not have achieved the possible unless time and again he had reached out for the impossible. But to do that, a man must be a leader, and more than a leader, he must be a hero as well, in a very sober sense of the word. And even those who are neither leaders nor heroes must arm themselves with that resolve of heart which can brave even the failing of all hopes. This is necessary right now, otherwise we shall fail to attain that which it is possible to achieve today. Only he who is certain not to destroy himself in the process should hear the call of politics; he must endure even though he finds the world too stupid or too petty for that which he would offer. In the face of that he must have the resolve to say ‘and yet,’—for only then does he hear the ‘call’ of politics.
just moving along like everyone else 