#I am just angry and sad

[jellyfishline]

I've been really, really breaking my own rules when in comes to Veilguard. I don't like making opinions on media until I've experienced it in full, especially when those opinions are negative, and double especially when it's a piece of media that's part of a series that has such a.... long and proud tradition of truly insane takes, to put it lightly. And I know for a fact that there is character writing in this game that would appeal to me, characters that I would love, and maybe some of the less than stellar plots would roll right off me in the face of that.

BUT!

I was prepared to cringe at parts of this game. I was prepared for, idk, discourse about the fumbling of certain sensitive topics. I was prepared for controversial lore revelations, for a lackluster/controversial villain or two, for some janky bits of story or mechanics. If it was just (and god, this feels awful to say) things like "Taash's gender is handled respectfully but there’s no attempt to make being nonbinary feel integrated into the setting" or even "Taash's quest massively drops the ball on being multicultural and forces the player into a gross binary choice about which culture to encourage Taash to explore" that would be like, what I expected. I can accept clumsy writing, even hurtful clumsy writing, to a degree.

But the SANITATION of it all.

Taking out the teeth of the Crows. Making pirates have a code of ethics about not stealing elven artifacts and not turning that into anything INTERESTING (say, internal strife between the pirates who care about plundering from oppressed cultures and pirates who don't, or making this a recent change after an, idk, elven captain takes charge of the organization and showing the struggle of it, or making the pirates all staunch individuals who have completely disparate individual moral perspectives, or SOMETHING.)

Setting your game in MOTHERFUCKING TEVINTER and not talking about anti-elf prejudice???? What the fuck???? Being an elf doesn't radically change how the Imperium sees you?? There aren't elven slaves in every corner of this society??? You’re going to set your game in the place where Fenris came from and just.... not address anything that was part of his story???

And this is all shit I KNOW about the game, because even though I haven't played it I have seen screenshots and banters and dialogue choices. And I just.

Do the folks at bioware/ea/whoever was responsible for this understand that by taking the "problematic" elements out of the world they haven’t made it friendlier or kinder or less problematic. They've actually made it worse, imo. Because it makes the struggles of previous characters and the systemic institutional problems they raged against in previous games feel unimportant, silenced, removed. The most charitable explanation is that these characters' struggles have been retconned out of existence. The least charitable is that they have been reduced to being outliers, which in turn makes their insistence that the problems are indeed SYSTEMIC and not just the result of one "bad villain who was operating totally alone, no really" seem irrational or overblown.

I just. DAI fumbled a lot of shit but at least there was shit to fumble.

[misslaevna]

A little rant about episode 11

Just finished watching episode 11, and to be honest I am so, so disappointed. I'm not one to complain openly about something, but right now I feel like it's time to.

Spoilers below, also tw: personal opinion, if you can't take that, please do not read this.

Also I'd like to state that I like bsd. I love bsd, I wouldn't have a blog and a tiktok account dedicated to the series if I didn't - this isn't to hate on the series nor on Asagiri, just my two cents regarding the plot.

I have voiced my concerns to friends and mainly on discord how the current direction of the manga and the plot worries me, and I am beyond stunned that my biggest fear actually came true.

All the 'Fyodor is my comfort character' personal stuff aside, I feel like since the prison break arc started, the quality of the writing and the plot hit an all time low.

From my perspective, we got this huge buildup about Fyodor being this absolutely genius of a character. He is smart, he accounts for every possibility and there is no detail that he could possibly miss.

On the other hand, we have Dazai, who is, well, just as smart and perceptive as Fyodor.

So, we have two very smart characters up against each other, which I get why is challenging from a writing perspective, however (especially) since the intrudction of Time Cat Lady, I feel like the writing went from a carefully and logically built up plot to throwing in deus ex machinas and a looot of explanations afterwards to conveniently give the upper hand to Dazai.

I have no problem with Fyodor dying and Dazai emerging as winner (actually I kind of do because I would've loved to see the Agency or Atsushi or Ranpo take him down, but what else could have possibly happened anyways? Dazai is a fan favourite, we don't kill the money machine), however I have a bone to pick with the execution.

I think I would've loved to see a more carefully constructed plot where I can actually root for characters and actually worry for them. Asagiri pulled way too many 'oh they look dead but oh wait actually this and that happened which the reader wasn't aware of so they're not dead' shenanigas to the point where, in my opinion, as readers we simply just couldn't take any major character 'death' seriously - they'll somehow be resurrected anyways or it's gonna eventually be revealed that they weren't even dead to begin with.

And this was the case with Dazai and Chuuya here as well. To me this feels more like trying to put out a fire because of being cornered and having created characters so smart that they prove to be too difficult to write (at least in a pace fast enough for monthly chapter releases?) than actually putting effort into the plot.

All the 'well actually Chuuya wasn't even a vampire' bullshit to me was just way too fucking convenient. I'm happy that Chuuya is alive and well, but this too just served as a convenient plot point to give Dazai the upper hand while dumbing Fyodor significantly down.

I'm sorry but I didn't interpret Fyodor's character so careless (especially for someone who's very sensitive about his physical health) as to not take the antidote as soon as he got out. I didn't get to know Fyodor who would just fall for that trick Dazai pulled.

I really feel like we missed out a LOT on Fyodor with no backstory or whatsoever provided. His character stayed shallow and empty, and I'm actually really mad at Asagiri about this because he was supposed to be this very dangerous and complex villain but I feel like what we were teased with was just not delivered.

I really hope we get a more refined manga ending or that this will be better executed in the upcoming chapters.

Once again, I'm not mad about Fyodor dying, I'm rather disappointed by the way it was delivered. It feels rushed, it feels empty and it didn't live up to my expectations at all.

[teaboot]

tranny freak :)

[sweet-allien]

If I keep reading comments from people comparing Logan and Colapinto I swear I'm going to stop being a friendly blog and I'm going to be one of the most fucking aggressive blogs.

To begin with, they did not have the same car, LOGAN DIDN'T EVEN HAVE THE SAME CAR AS ALEX and let's not forget that JV was not the one who saw that spark in Logan, he never saw him as a possible driver for Williams or as someone to accompany Alex, the the one who saw that potential in Logan was Jost Capito, not James. Not to mention all those derogatory comments from journalists towards Logan for being American (I really don't understand why that was a problem).

Colapinto has the support of both the Argentines and his own fans and James himself. Logan didn't really have a support network like Franco's, which, realistically, added to the pressure of being in one of the most competitive sports, is not exactly the most favorable for a person's self-esteem and confidence.

Logan was not only compared to Alex, his teammate with more experience in both F1 and Williams, but also to Oscar, Oscar, who drives a McLaren, who probably had more experience regarding F1 cars, Oscar, that always stood out in the rest of the categories and that has Mark Webber as support.

There's really no way to compare Logan and Franco, firstly, because they're both completely different, and secondly, because they were never on equal footing.

[nicollekidman]

realizing that people who equate cynicism with intellectual rigor are often just being lazy and pathetic has been so helpful tbh

[konohamaru-sensei]

ah. it hurts

[septemberkisses]

for me cleaning my room is equivalent to getting my shit together

[dathomirdumpsterfire]

[fisheito]

collab #2 with @xenole i was given a chibi yakumo and i.. i...... turned it into thiS

[tearlessrain]

I'm so tired of performative social justice that doesn't actually do anything. stop worshiping the concept of a glorious revolution that will fix everything and make an actionable plan while you push for incremental local change. trump winning isn't going to kickstart some YA novel bullshit and save the day it will destroy us and kill any chance we had of stopping the genocide you're claiming to care about so much. just swallow your pride and fucking vote so we have a chance in hell to work toward a better world and achieve any degree of progress/harm reduction. for fucks sake.

[uncanny-tranny]

I think it's only natural to feel anger when somebody isn't "taking your advice" or listening to you about their mental health or what will help them. People want to help people, and the anger comes when you are perceiving somebody as not being receptive but...

It can be a selfish impulse to say that your opinion about their illness is the only thing they need. It isn't about you, even though the advice you give is given by you.

Nobody deserves to suffer, this is true. But, also, nobody deserves to be forced to do things that either won't help or won't be genuine. If somebody isn't taking your advice, there's a reason for it (maybe it's not a good enough reason for you, but this isn't the point). It's okay to be disappointed or angry, but it's not going to help to lash out at them. That is only pouring water onto a grease fire.

[aikuse]

the worst part and the part i’m drowning in is he won everything. he won popular and electoral. it was never about jill stein or protest voting or abstaining or caring about g3nocide or women or queer people or ab0rtion rights. none of it would have fucking mattered because he would have won anyway because white cishet women sold out against their sisters rather than vote for another fucking woman. none of it would have mattered because this country cares more about pressing their boots on some poor sod’s neck to get ahead.

this country has bred selfish, bigoted, misogynistic, disgusting pigs and we are going to have to eat the same slop as them.

[courfee]

ah yes, the happy soft vibes for the @sillylovesongsfest, you get it...

based on the assigned prompted song Till Forever Falls Apart by Ashe and FINNEAS, as well as this photo shooting

So this is it, that's how it ends I guess there's nothing more romantic than dying with your friends

for an even sadder and bloody version look under the cut <33

[ozonecologne]

.

[theaccidentfactory]

I just don't understand how my mom had me, her oldest and first child, raised me for 18 years (kind of?), and then chose some guy she barely knows and is objectively terrible over me and kicked me out unexpectedly after telling me I'm no longer a part of her family and all my childhood trauma (that HER at the time husband caused) was my fault. And now she's banned me from seeing my siblings that I RAISED (because she wasn't able to at the time.), she refused to answer my phone calls or texts when I was in the hospital, terrified, crying and begging her to come help or support me because I was completely alone in the hospital in the worst pain in my life and just wanted my mom, and on top of everything, made it clear I'm not invited to family thanksgiving. I don't understand. How is she even able to do that. I don't need her, I'm an adult, but I'm still her child. I don't think I'll ever understand.

[ein-shtink]

Sometimes I think about the fact we’re neighbors. There are more things that bring me and a Palestinian woman living in Gaza together than things bringing us apart.

We grew up watching the same sunsets, the same sunrises. If there were no borders, it would take about an hour for us to go and visit one another. We grew up listening to the same music. Our parents did, too.

Our grandparents read poetry in the same language, watched the same Egyptian movies. The foods are similar, the hobbies are, too. When I was in high school I met a girl my age, who grew up in Gaza but relocated with her family to an Arab village within Israel, a five minute drive from where I used to live. We made movies together. We joked a lot. We were one and the same, more often than not.

I can’t stop thinking about the Palestinians in Gaza. I can’t stop thinking about the horrors they endure. I can’t stop thinking about Palestinian men, women and children, having to fight for food. For hygiene products. For water. I can’t stop thinking about them having no time to hide before a bomb hits, about them not being allowed to evacuate. I can’t stop thinking about the ones who died protesting for a better life, long before this war started. They are my neighbors. We watch the same sunsets.

I can’t stop thinking about the hostages, either. I can’t stop thinking about the desecrated bodies of innocent women paraded around Gaza’s streets. I can’t stop thinking about the sisters who were raped and murdered together, aged 13 and 16. The older one was my sister’s friend. I can’t stop thinking about Shlomo Ron, the art-loving 80 year old man who sacrificed his own life to save his wife and grandchildren. He looks just like my grandpa. I can’t stop thinking about Thomas Hand, who was told his little girl was dead and cried tears of joy, because being dead is better than being taken hostage. I can’t stop thinking about the fact Emily Hand didn’t die, and actually was taken hostage. Ever since she was released, she only whispers, too afraid to speak up.

I can’t stop thinking about the suffering. About the loss. About the mothers on both sides of their border who had to watch their children die. About the pain.

Their faces haunt me.

I don’t understand why the West is calling for a ceasefire when they should be calling for peace. I don’t understand why the West is calling for the destruction of Israel when they should be calling for a solution that will allow both people to live side by side, in peace. I don’t understand why the existence of Israel is a bad thing. I don’t understand why the West refuses to call out Hamas, for the crimes of October 7th and their gross mistreatment and neglectful leadership of the Palestinian people ever since they rose to power. I don’t understand why the West views this decades old conflict through a one sided lens, amplifying the voice of one people’s crying and shutting down the other’s.

We deserve better. Palestinians and Israelis deserve better. We deserve to prosper, we deserve to live long and proud of our heritages in the land we both call home.

Maybe one day nations around the world and our own corrupt leaders will stop making us paint one another as the enemy. Israelis and Palestinians, we’re not each other’s enemies. We’re each other’s neighbors.

We deserve to let our children play.