Harrow And Gideon, Stupid #1 And #2

you’ll wish she didn’t!

For science, I collected what each of the Houses hears when Gideon speaks to them for the first time.

Seventh: “Yo. Step off.” (when Cytherea faints)

Sixth: “Then get off your ass and help me.”

Fifth: never got to hear her talk :(

Fourth: thee line of all time, which is to say, “Did you know that if you put the first three letters of your last name with the first three letters of your first name, you get ‘Sex Pal’?”

Eighth: “They had names, you lily-livered, tooth-coloured asshole, and if you want to make a thing about it, I warn you that I’m in the kind of mood that can only be alleviated by walloping you.”

Corona: “No. I thought their arms would all flop around.” (in response to Corona asking if she’s seen a necro hold a sword before)

Ianthe/Babs, probably also the Second: “Why?” (after they gather to confront Cyth about Pro’s head)

I’ve been thinking about the significance of names in GotG 3, and how it plays into the movie’s themes of intelligence and a being’s intrinsic worth.

Each of the test subjects’ names shows a different level of abstract thought:

Floor, seemingly capable of only very basic associations, named herself based on where she was while picking the name

Teefs named himself after a distinctive personal feature, and didn’t quite get the grammar right

Lylla picked a “real” name that she decided fit for her

And Rocket named himself aspirationally, using his name as a metaphor for the kind of person he wants to be

And the great thing is that all of these names were enthusiastically accepted by the group of friends, regardless of the complexity of thought that went into them. Because unlike the High Evolutionary, who places all living things on a spectrum from least to most evolved with only the most developed and “pure” being judged worthy of life, Rocket and his friends loved and valued each other for the beings they were.

This theme is then carried over to another naming scene at the movie’s climax: when Rocket declares himself to the High Evolutionary as “Rocket Raccoon”.

Throughout the series Rocket has taken offense to being referred to as a racoon, not wanting to be seen as “just an animal”. But in the climax he looks at a cage of baby raccoons and sees himself, not as the intelligent creation of the High Evolutionary but as the baby animal he once was, who never deserved what was done to him. And he looks at the other animals (the camera lingers in particular on a rabbit) and sees his friends, who were never as intelligent or “developed” as him but were no less valuable and important in his eyes.

And so he accepts the moniker of “Raccoon” alongside his personal name of “Rocket”, and insists that every creature on the ship be saved, not just the “higher lifeforms” as the other Guardians said. Because the truth he comes to realize is that there is no such thing as a “higher life form”: every living being has value, regardless of how intelligent, “developed”, or “evolved” they are.

While we don’t have sentient raccoons in our world, this is still a message that is so important, and so relevant to issues we face. It has takeaways for environmental stewardship and animal welfare (not as much separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom as we like to think, and it’s important to treat all living things with respect and care), as well as for issues of fascism, eugenics and disability rights (there are no types of people who are inherently superior to others; a person’s intelligence and/or level of functioning has no bearing on their status as a human being deserving of dignity, respect and self-determination).

It’s a lesson I hope we all can learn someday. Bless Guardians of the Galaxy 3 for portraying it in such a clear and meaningful way.

A Pangolin reacts happily to a human grooming it in places it could not reach or take care of it by itself. There are many benefits to humans having opposable thumbs. 

(Source)

htn act v… pour one out for gideon nav

these gay asses again

A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN | 1x08 "Perfect Game"

Something about Pratchett villains.

There's a lot of Pratchett villains who share one common thread: they're unromantic. They rip the charm and soul out of things.

Reach's service sends messages 'as warm and human as a thrown knife'. He himself 'kills people by numbers'.

Teatime is literally trying to kill Santa.

The Magpyrs turn the Gothic-vampire-novel style of the Old Count into industrial blood-harvesting.

Similarly, Wolfgang exchanges the traditional Game for just straight up killing people, and seeks to implement a werefascist regime to boot.

The Auditors are, by definition, made of unromantic. They are objectively unromantic.

And I think the idea of ripping apart the whimsy of things ties back to the idea of believing the little lies to believe the big ones. If you can't see charm and warmth, the dreams and imagination, you'll fall into what STP says is the biggest sin of all: treating people like objects.

generative AI literally makes me feel like a boomer. people start talking about how it can be good to help you brainstorm ideas and i’m like oh you’re letting a computer do the hard work and thinking for you???

here have the book 1 reread doodle dump. who does it like them

+ bonus