#I am ready to get hurt again.

[nontrivialproof]

I find the entire conceit of the album undeniably corny but in a way that is authentically Taylor Swift and that appeals to me as a fan of Taylor Swift. That said I'm used to Taylor Swift albums not living up to the potential of the concept so I'm not incredibly hopeful about the vibes.

[skoulsons]

-Spoilers for end of tlou1 in the last paragraph-

Love isn’t a feeling. If it was, none of us would truly love anything. If we base it off of only feelings, then we wouldn’t love our spouse, parents, siblings, or friends. Those butterflies fade. That giddiness with that person will ebb and flow. Arguments and disagreements come up; and the second they do, people leave. Because they’re relying on how this person occasionally makes their heart flutter.

Love is in actions. Love is in the commitment to that person or group of people. It’s how you treat them. Through arguments, disagreements, heartbreak, anger, hormones, moods, and whatever other circumstance, you love them. You stick by their side and they stick by yours. Love is sacrifice. Sacrificing your needs for them and them for yours. Love is forever.

And this is exactly Joel and Ellie. It’s their sacrifices. Their commitment to each other, true commitment. Their actions toward the other, especially in terms of protecting the other. Joel giving up his nights rest to watch over her. Ellie waking up early and letting him have his much needed rest while she watches over him. How he tells her to hide during the ambush and he kills the hunters and finishes Bryan off so she doesn’t have to. When the infected were attacking and he wordlessly protected her like he trained his entire life to do just that. How Ellie will protect him through Winter without ever griping. Because she loves him. She loves him in the big, fast paced moments. In their adrenaline, running and hiding, but also in the small moments. Their nights, days of teaching her survival techniques, and especially now. These moments where he is dependent on her. And how she tries, just as he’s done for her, because she loves him.

And how, in the end, he will save her. He will doom the earth to save the world. That girl. How he will kill every single person in his way because they’re going to take her away from him. He sacrifices the chance for the world to go back to the way it was. He sacrifices the integrity of their relationship just so she can live. So that he can continue to protect, provide, and care for. So he can continue his commitment to her. So that he can continue to love her

[chimaericalanimal]

put all your parental instincts into a pet much shorter lived than you. What Could Go Wrong.

[apostaterevolutionary]

I am so sorry, apparently it’s 2024 and I’m arguing about dragon age again lmao. How did I get here! Why is this happening!! Time is a flat circle!!!

Anyway. People can feel how they want about the past games not mattering in this game. If you’re cool with it, I’m happy for you. But there’s one particular argument in defence of this choice that is really, really bothering me and I have to rant

The thing I keep seeing is “well all this other stuff has nothing to do with the main plot or Rook, so it should be cut” and that’s. Not a good way to tell stories in my opinion. Because here’s the thing: it’s not about the Big Overall Plot. It’s about the characters that live in this world, big and small

I’m going to use the example of Varric and Hawke cause I think it’s the easiest to explain quickly. Varric is a storyteller. That’s the defining trait of his character. He tells stories, and sometimes they’re true and sometimes they’re not and sometimes it’s something in between. In DA2 he tells you about his brother. In inquisition, he talks about hawke and there’s banter about several of the companions. Most of these are just little one liners that don’t “serve the overall plot” but they serve Varric’s character

And that matters

So if we take this character known for telling stories about people that have been in his life, well, he largely can’t do that now. How can he talk about Hawke, someone who can be a very close friend of his, without even their gender being a choice you can select? Or whether Varric should be saying ‘is’ or ‘was’ about them? How can he talk about the companions in DA2 or inquisition when a lot of them don’t have to be recruited or can die? Will he limit himself to only characters that are guaranteed to be a part of it and alive? Or is it that he and Rook will have such a shallow relationship that Varric, of all characters, never talks about his life and past exploits?

Or has Varric as a character changed so much that he doesn’t even want to tell stories anymore? That Hawke living or dying means nothing to him? That the friendships he built with people in 2 games mean nothing to him? That he’s become literally unrecognizable?

This is where the problem is. Sure, Rook maybe doesn’t care about these people they’ve never met. But do they care about Varric? What about if a companion mentions an old friend of theirs, talks about an experience they had that made them who they are - is that only okay if that experience isn’t from a previous game? Or are all the characters so flat that we never learn anything about their connections to others outside of Rook? Is this story SO focused on this player character and this plot that NOTHING else matters, even within the world, and there’s no depth to be found in any of the characters that feature in it?

Writing characters so that they only ever talk about things that “directly serve the plot” is how you get flat, unremarkable, boring, forgettable characters. And that’s not something I would have accused bioware of doing even if some instalments are stronger in this area than others. But it sounds like that’s what they’re doing here, at least with the past characters. Cause sure, maybe Morrigan is so closed off she’ll never mention her son and partner. That’s believable, even if iffy given that they’ve said she’s going to be more involved than we think. But Varric? VARRIC??? Never mentioning ANY of the people he used to spend time with and care about except Solas and maybe some of the inquisition characters that can’t die or not be recruited but also carefully skirting around what happened to them in the game? That’s literally not the same character

And I would expand this to like. A letter mentioning this or a codex mentioning that, or ambient dialogue about so and so - that makes the world feel deep and those random, unimportant NPCs feel richer by connecting them to the larger world. It’s not about “serving the plot”, it’s about making your world and characters deep enough that they feel real, lived in, and like something we can actually care about

[darkandstormyart]

"And you thought I was gonna be the problem?"

couples who patch wounds together stay together

until they don't haha

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Collection of edits from this comic with Disco Elysium dialogue.

[wlw-webcomic-bracket]

Am I aware that adderall can’t do its job if I don’t get enough sleep?

Have I utterly failed to make use of this knowledge?

Am I, an entire adult with a wife and a salary, hoping “you wouldn’t want to disappoint HP, would you?” is the thing that finally motivates me to go to bed before two in the morning?

The answers to these questions will probably not surprise you!

[galedekarios]

i am not ready

[markantonys]

THE WHEEL OF TIME | season 2 characters → Egwene al'Vere

[stripedstarsblueflags]

oscar trying to get lando’s attention after the win and lando listlessly turning in his direction for about two seconds and offering little to no engagement is one of the many reasons my heart should be wrapped in styrofoam and bubble wrap on sundays. apologies to my 122894 wips i’m drawing landoscar next.

[thelvadams]

RED VS BLUE: RESTORATION - THE FINAL SEASON

RvB is back for its ​final​ season. Written by Burnie Burns and directed by Matt Hullum, Red vs. Blue​:​ Restoration completes a story told over 20 years.

[fisheito]

hiya l'il-- medium?...large?? Assorted Sizes-Guy

oh thanks! i could always use more spices-

. what am i supposed to do with this.

[dimsilver]

🙏🏻

[devilsskettle]

i think i'm finally gonna read house of leaves wish me luck

[souj]

.

[james-spooky]

this is a test