[homunculus-argument]

2026 roommate: The dishwasher's loaded. 1926 roommate, having a black coffee, a cigarette, a shot of whiskey, two uppers and a downer for breakfast: Then what the fuck's he washing dishes for?

[iamnmbr3]

I do think it's really interesting that Dracula genuinely seems to enjoy talking to Jonathan Harker. Yes, partly he's trying to learn valuable information from him about English society, customs and laws etc. And yes he wants to practice his English with a native speaker - though clearly Jonathan was not his only source of English lessons. But it goes beyond that. Like when he's talking about the history of his family (well, actually events he mostly lived through but obviously he can't admit that) he gets really animated and just seems excited to have someone to monologue to. After all, he doesn't have that many people to talk to. I don't think in general his meals get much of a chance for a chat. Who knows how long it's been since he's really interacted with anyone (aside from the other vampires in the castle).

It's not a wholesome interaction of course. Part of the enjoyment he gets from their interactions is derived from the way he toys with Jonathan. But it does definitely go beyond simple necessity. He really goes out of his way to spend time with Jonathan, often speaking with him all night - i.e. the whole time that he gets to be awake. And he also goes out of his way to protect him from the vampire women in the castle, even after he's outlived his usefulness. And he becomes increasingly possessive of him - "this man belongs to me" and "tonight is mine" are certainly telling. It seems that initially Jonathan was just going to be fed to the vampire women right away, but then Dracula changed his mind and decided he got first dibs, something that wasn't initially in the cards.

I think this possessive fascination with Jonathan and the way he comes to find their interactions genuinely enjoyable are why Jonathan gets to stay alive so long. Even going poking around in Dracula's crypt the first time isn't enough to get him immediately killed that night. I wonder if in his own way he also was drawn to the "quiet dignity" that Mina mentions is one of her favorite features about Jonathan. Even in the face of fear and despair he stubbornly clings on. Dracula probably finds this makes Jonathan more entertaining and exciting to toy with than most victims, and may also feel a grudging sense of respect for him (although he still views him as an inferior).

[nothingiswrongwithyourarmrests]

Was ART ever afraid of Murderbot? Maybe, but not being the most dangerous thing in the room is definitely relevant to how it can relate to ART in contrast to humans. The knowledge that ART could neutralise it in a fraction of a second if it so chose is a comfort. It doesn't have to be afraid of its own destructive potential when it's with ART.

Tapan may be wrong about fear in general, but not about the fear this story is about. Murderbot's fear is an artificial condition. The thing it fears most, that it could decide to go on an indiscriminate murderous rampage again, that that is part of its makeup, was imposed from the outside. It killed at ganaka pit because of malware imposed from outside. That secunits are a hair trigger away from killing everyone around them all the time and that people should be afraid of them is a narrative imposed from the outside. Override modules are imposed from the outside.

ART can take away part of that fear just by being close, and then proceeded to chip away at the other parts of that fear as a matter of course.

I fucking love artificial condition.

[clairenatural]

there's a cherry blossom tree in DC that keeps blooming every year even though it shouldn't and the park service keeps thinking it's dead and then it keeps blooming! well they're removing a lot of trees to rehabilitate the area and they've said it's finally time for stumpy to go and they're going to mulch it and use the mulch to enrich all the other trees so it can help everything else keep going. and they're also going to plant spliced little pieces of it all over so that stumpy can live forever and this is genuinely sending me into a spiral

[clairenatural]

someone brought it flowers today

[watertightvines]

STUMPY MY BELOVED!!!!

For added context on what rehabilitating the area means: there are structural issues with the Tidal Basin seawall that cause flooding like this independent of rainfall. Big portions of the sidewalk in Stumpy’s section are regularly submerged, which is bad for the land and the trees themselves, not to mention an accessibility issue for visitors.

It’s sad that Stumpy and many other trees in the area will need to be cut down, but it will ensure the continued survival of the other trees in the area, and Stumpy himself will live on in his cuttings!

[the-fisher-queen]

I believe Stumpy will be taken to the national arboretum and his clones will return to the tidal basin after the rebuilding.

Someone left him a bottle of bourbon as an offering.

The Japanese Embassy came to pay him honor this week.

Stumpy and his cohort are part of the original gift from Japan more than 100 years ago, and many have lived this long bc the National Parks takes care of them. Normally the trees live about 40-50 years.

[kaibacorpstocksplit]

it’s killing me that jounouchi’s stopped breathing and has no pulse and the medical care kaibacorp is providing him is… some electrodes on his shirt. they dont even give him oxygen. he’s like this for over an hour at least. kaiba wanted him DEAD dead.

[kaibacorpstocksplit]

must clarify since im seeing it a lot in the tags but the medical staff did in fact take his duel disk off, but yugi just put it right back on. so they left it like that.

[gallusrostromegalus]

90% sure it was Yami channeling some suppressed Pharaohnic memory and going "If Joey dies, he needs to be buried with all his possessions for the afterlife :)"

[n3cropants]

look at him just. look. what is wrong with this kid

[alientitty]

💀

[spazzbot]

I don’t say this often, but you really should unmute and listen to the song



[ceevee5]

Hells yeah!

[tarragonthedragon]

i'm gonna be honest there are a lot of people out here spending their limited time on earth debunking what i thought were clearly jokes

[username0derogatory0]

Cabin Pressure got so much funnier when I realised that like. half of the problems Douglas solves are at least a little bit his fault

Joberg and Ottery and Rotterdam of course, but Helsinki, while definitely starting with Arthur, would have been about 5 minutes long if it weren’t for £500 of fishcakes

Speaking of Joberg, he really does blame the water-bottle on Martin for his quick checks, despite the fact that He Told Arthur To Put It There. King, this was your scheme, its not someone else’s just cuz it went wrong

I love these idiots

[wertfi-penguin]

Maybe the most damming thing about Nolans odyssey is i haven’t seen a single gifset from it

[geekyhistoriansunite]

[kaijuno]

New bedroom who dis

[beadyeyes]

Where's it made? Who brought it here? How much were they paid? Who makes it? Is it made in separate parts and put together? How much were they all paid to do this? Where do they get the materials? Who paid for that? Who brings it there? How much were they paid? Who streamlined the base materials? How much were they paid? Who gathered the base materials? Where? How much were they paid? Is it good for them? Is it good for us? Is it good for the land? Is it necessary? Is it biodegradable? How much does it hurt? Do I need it? Do I even want it?

[unstablecryptid]

idk how many more "higher temperature is expected today"s i got left in me

[mistons]

THE THING

You’ll never forget it

1967 / Mark

[undeadhousewife]

Me when I insist I don’t need to write it down

[mckitterick]

just ADHD Things

[labelleizzy]

Goddangit, I forgot AGAIN

[infriga]

The funniest thing about the Ice Man Job is Eliot and Parker having maximum synergy as they judge Hardison together throughout the entire con with the most exasperated looks on their faces the whole time. Especially during the scene where he calls Eliot a mute and then takes credit for Parker's work, and they exchange this look:

You can tell they were telepathically roasting him over an open flame together. He was really in the dog house that episode lmao.

[emwheezie]

Formation of a black hole

[onlyphantoms]

hi does anyone want a babygirl. the aurebesh says war criminal btw.