Empress of Mars: Undisputed @zebratron2084@awoo.space

@Phorm Yeah, I came dangerously close to being that kind of person. The Trump Era cured me good and hard.

@Leucrotta Catch-22 Chapter 8, "Lieutenant Scheisskopf."

@Aradia the "others" wouldn't happen to be like 50 feet tall and made of stone would they

yeah that's just some elfy fucker doing a wizard of oz thing

they had me going for a while too but i met this scottish guy in a thong and baby he straightened me out

@Cerulean happy birthday hun <3

i know there is no magic in this universe and even the strongest will can do nothing to turn the tide of an indifferent clockwork universe

i know this because otherwise i would have a cheeseburger and fries

"Politically, he was a humanitarian who did know right from left and was trapped uncomfortably between the two. He was constantly defending his Communist friends to his right-wing enemies and his right-wing friends to his Communist enemies, and he was thoroughly detested by both groups, who never defended him to anyone because they thought he was a dope. He was a very serious, very earnest and very conscientious dope."

Hot take:

The single most important character in modern literature is Clevinger, the character in Joseph Heller's Catch-22, described by the protagonist Yossarian as "smart but dopey."

Why? Because people who are "smart but dopey"---very capable at narrow skills like finance or social manipulation, but painfully literal-minded, absolutely impervious to nuanced thinking---are the single biggest threat to human society in 2021.

Jeff Bezos is smart but dopey. Elon Musk is smart but dopey. Jordan Peterson is smart but dopey.

The guy I just saw get *really really angry* in a discussion of how Bugs Bunny shaped the etymology of the word "nimrod" is smart but dopey.

The president of my college fraternity, who literally could not imagine, nor be interested in, any explanation for UFO contact experiences except "they're just stupid." He was smart but dopey.

Sometimes I am smart but dopey.

It is the sin of missing the forest for the trees. It is the sin of looking at the hand of someone who's pointing at the sun and smugly observing "But that's not the sun, it's your hand."

It is how Very Smart Centrists comfort themselves. It is how people come to mistake things like "reason" and "logic" for badges you are awarded for believing the right things, to be worn *at* people, instead of a praxis that must be pursued with near-religious devotion.

@JulieSqveakaroo @Phorm ...

yes?

n.n;;;

@JulieSqveakaroo @Phorm Those are both fine options really. n.n; Melting is not innately a _thing_ for me, though, while sealing/encasement... kinda is?

@Phorm *blinks green helmet light* 🌀_🌀​​

@Phorm Mold press and assembly line, especially with built-in mind press, very yes. :)

@Phorm Fun fact: I actually HATE goo. :D I'm very squeamish about squidgy stuff. There are some substances I'll tolerate like gelatin or thick rubber, but... I won't even eat okra. I am really more of a Candy Princess than a Slime Princess as it were. :> (But Orange Princess is still Best Princess...)

@001zlnv Not _exclusively_ but there's a big metaphorical association there, yeah.

@001zlnv I mean, I always love a good recruitment, assimilation, or industrialized reprocessing scenario... Wink-wink ""Dystopian"" Depersonalization is a real big kink for me. Alien abductions are always a big winner, too.

@monsterblue It's not quite my kink but it rubs up against mine rrrrreal close...

@monsterblue Usually in my experience it describes Character 1 turning Character 2 into Character 1B. :>

Um, no actual kink content, sorry. This was a test of the emergency kink broadcast system. I should talk more about kink.

Relatedly, I am extremely drunk and stoned at the moment. If you ever wanted to seriously TMI, interrogate, and/or manipulate me, this is the time. <3

@spacewastrel@yiff.life Thank you! I strongly suspect I'm just in the notorious "vicious cycle" of swimmer's ear debris.

NEVER EVER EVER STICK A Q-TIP IN YOUR EAR KIDS, NO MATTER HOW MUCH IT ITCHES. THE GODS WILL PUNISH YOU. IT HAPPENED TO ME.

(Good to see you. <3 )

I was going through old messages and found a picture of seven cats on our porch.

We have six cats.

Yeah. *weak smile*

It's OK, we've actually had more like FIFTEEN semiferal cats living here. Our neighbor would just let them kinda wander when they got old enough. We finally got them snipped and ended that cycle.

I'm pretty sure Number Seven in that photo was Penumbra. I loved the shit out of Penumbra, but just like his identical-looking older brother Umbra, he bolted within DAYS of me thinking we'd really bonded.

Umbra was the one who turned out to have hit the Cat Jackpot up on Banks Street-- we met his new Food Lady and she seemed awesome. And there are at least five healthy black cats in the neighborhood that I look at and think, "Penny...?"

Love ya little voidlet. I hope you are having an excellent cat life, and if you ever decide to come back, there will always be food and a scritch for you.

I will say this for the chronic ear issues I'm battling: I've listened to some very good true crime podcasts that had less interesting twists, turns, and sudden surprises.

I have an ENT appointment Monday. I'm REALLY hoping there is no Season Two and there is a happy ending. But this show has a 43-year backstory-- so I'm braced for this not being over.