#I just used you in the general sense
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I just saw someone talk about Simon Riley being a rapist and the only way they tried to confirm it is by saying that he is a war criminal and all soldiers are misogynistic and sexist and they also talked about how he dreamt of hurting women in the comics when that's quite literally a normal reaction by being raped by both men and women (what I mean is that abused people sometimes dream of becoming someone they're not and don't want to be) but they conveniently forgot to mention how that "dream" was a nightmare. (Just wanted to rant about this and see your opinion)
The sigh I let out when I saw this ask this morning.
I'm so sick and tired of seeing this discourse. Not just in this fandom but in every fandom. Maybe it's just because I'm old and my frontal lobe is fully developed, or maybe it's because I was in fandom back in the days where there were no tags. You were lucky if you got a warning at the beginning of a fic. Most fics you walked in blind and if you didn't like something? You hit the back button and found something else.
This sudden mainstreaming of fandom has ruined these spaces. People come in, refuse to "learn the rules" that most of us learned by just existing in these spaces and watching others interact. There were no written rules back then. We learned by observing and occasionally being guided on fandom etiquette by those more experienced than us. Now it's just like people come in expecting fandom to be like every other space on the internet and then get defensive and angry when they realize it's not. Fandom is cringy. It's nerdy. It's happy and sunshine and it's dark and ugly like every media out there. Us creators and those of us more experienced in fandom have been screaming how to exist in fandom spaces from the rooftops but no one is listening and then everyone wonders why creators are leaving these spaces. Why fandoms keep getting abandoned.
All of that aside, this discourse about FICTIONAL characters pisses me off. Simon Riley is a FICTIONAL character. He has no morality, there is no right or wrong because he's FICTIONAL. You can make him do whatever you want to do because he's NOT REAL. You can give him wings and have him fly and guess what?? Cool, that can happen because he's NOT REAL. You want to make him a rapist? Cool, you can do that because he's FICTIONAL. You can make him whatever you want to make him because he's a character. He's not a living, breathing human being. There are no consequences of his actions because he's FICTIONAL!!!
Don't even get me started on this sudden discourse about dark fics and dead dove that's appeared recently. Dark media has existed for literal centuries. The Epic of Gilgamesh from 1800 BCE. The Odyssey. Mostellaria by Plautus. The Castle of Otranto published in the 1700s. Frankenstein. Dracula. The works of Edgar Allan Poe. Lolita. Hell, look at the Bible. The Bible, especially the old testament, is fucked up. Even in the watered down, bastardized King James version, the things the old testament "God" supposedly did, when you sit and actually think about them outside the lens of religious brainrot, are super fucked up.
People have been creating dark media for a long time. Horror has existed for a long time because it plays to our worst fears. It gives us a safe way to express those fears and to experience them without having to experience them first hand. You wouldn't bitch at a horror movie director for including things like rape and gore and murder in their movies?? So why is writing different? You think every horror movie director agrees with the things they portray on screen? You think every horror movie director would go out and murder someone just because they made a movie about it? No, because we're allowed to portray things in all forms of media, we're allowed to write things without morally agreeing with them. Guess what, most people that write rape or assault or violence, aren't going out and doing those things in real life. They don't support those things in real life. In fact, people that write dark fanfics are some of the loudest protesters against those things.
If you want to make Simon Riley a real person, guess what? He's not going to be even morally grey. Most people in the military are not good people. They're not. The people that are good people in the military, or were in the military, are the ones saying that the loudest. People that got tricked into joining, people that got promised things, people that did it because they had no other choice and then realized what it was really like after getting in? Those are the people to listen to. Not Call of Duty, not the people trying to convince you to join because they're glorified sales people and have a quota to fill. Look up videos of what happened in Iraq and Afghanistan at the hands of American and British soldiers. You would not like Simon Riley if he were a real person.
But he's not real. He's FICTIONAL. Even as a fictional character, he's not a good person. So many Call of Duty fans put on the blinders and ignore the fact that these men are out here committing awful acts of violence and killing people because they're "the good guys." People love to forget that Price literally kidnapped a woman and a child and had them held at gunpoint to get information out of someone. Not only that, he was okay with it. If he were a real person that did that, you would not be questioning if he were a good person or not. You can tell the people that have never played the games or watched playthroughs, who only know these characters through the lenses of fanfics and artwork and headcanons.
Call of Duty is military propaganda. They paint these men as heroes, make it easy to put the blinders up and ignore the things that are happening, the things they're doing so that they can convince young men that they want to do that and they should join the military so they can go out and do that too. That's Call of Duty's audience. That's who they're creating these games for. These young, impressionable boys who get excited by the violence and the action who will go on to fill quota numbers for recruiters. Call of Duty was not made for us, the people writing fanfiction and creating art for it. This side of the Call of Duty fandom will be the first to tell you all of this.
This side of the fandom creates fanworks which would turn Activision's eyes red. We babygirlify their military propaganda because it actively goes against what Activision is trying to do. It goes against what Call of Duty is at its core. Sure, some people water it down a lot, and others keep it more realistic to what these men would be like in real life, because it's FICTION. You can portray these characters however you want because that's what fiction is for.
And guess what, anon? Rape kinks exist. Consensual non-consent exists. It's well known. And guess what? Victims of sexual assault and rape can develop those kinks as a coping mechanism. Here's a study from the NIH website, and if that's too complex for you, here's a VICE news article that uses that study. People can write rape and rape kinks and CNC and noncon and not support it in real life. People can write those things to bring awareness to the fact that they happen to people in real life, or because people in real life have those kinks. People write those things to help victims, to support them. It's cathartic. Dark media most often is created for catharsis. It gives people an outlet, and it allows people to experience those things in a safe, controlled environment for whatever reason.
And that's the thing, anon. People don't have to give anyone a reason for why the consume that kind of media. Creators don't owe anyone an explanation as to why they create it. It's none of your business, and if you're not comfortable with it, then don't consume it. You can turn off the TV if a horror movie is too much for you. People walk out of theaters all the time because a movie is not what they were expecting, be it because it was bad or because it was too graphic or violent or disgusting. You start reading a book and you don't like it for whatever reason? You put the book down and pick up another. Why do people have such a problem with not reading fanfics they don't like? Why do people have such a hard time just blocking creators that make things they don't want to see. Most dark fic and dead dove creators put ample warnings on their blog and their posts. That's why those tags exist. You don't like it and you don't want to see it? Then block and move on and let others enjoy what they want to enjoy.
You pearl clutchers are ruining fandom and soon there won't be anything for you to enjoy. If you can't handle fandom, then don't be in it. There is no algorithm here. You're going to see things you don't want to see and it's very easy to just block and filter tags. There was a time on Tumblr where you couldn't filter tags. I remember those days. You had to download the X-kit extension to block things, and that only worked on desktop. The fact Tumblr gave us the option to filter tags on the site and on the app was a big deal when it was rolled out. I remember so many people that didn't want to use the app when it first came out because you couldn't block potentially triggering tags.
It's not a creator's problem if you were triggered by their media. Life doesn't come with trigger warnings and it's a blessing that it's become so normalized to include warnings at the beginnings of fics. There's websites that exist for other forms of media that will give trigger warnings. If you can look up trigger warnings for a movie and decide not to watch it, you can look at the trigger warnings for fics and decide not to interact with it. You're not out here emailing the directors and producers of movies that include triggers you don't like, telling them they're awful people for including those things in their movie and they shouldn't. Yet you have no problem coming into the comments and inboxes creators who do this FOR FREE because we wrote one dark fic. Because we wrote something that's triggering to you.
And yes, some abuse victims go on to be abusers, some people continue that cycle because they don't have the help and support to break it. It's a sad thing that happens, but it happens. It happens in the fictional world and it happens in real life. People can make that happen to fictional characters for whatever reasons they want.
I've written dark fics. I've written several. I consume "disturbing" media for fun. I've read books and watched movies that would send these pearl clutchers to the hospital. Hell, I've probably written things (some published, some that will never see the light of day) that would turn these pearl clutchers inside out. Guess what? That's okay because it's FICTION. It's cathartic. I don't have to give my reasons why because it's no one's business except those I decide to tell because I trust them and I know they'll support me. I don't support those things in real life. Just because I write for Call of Duty doesn't mean I support the things the game portrays. If you consume Call of Duty media be it the games or fanfiction, does that mean you support what the game supports? What the creators of the games support? What militaries around the world support?
Think about that next time.
I’ve made my stance very clear here before, but I’ll do it again. In real life, I am anti military, anti war, anti gun violence, anti genocide, anti fascism, anti terf, anti homophobia, anti conservative, anti rape, anti domestic violence, anti colonialism and pro choice.
Just because I may create or consume media with those things in it, does not mean I support them. It's high time some of these pearl clutchers learn that.
The next time you want to come into a creator's inbox or comments and spew hatred towards them because of the things they write, why don't you do something useful with your time instead.
This will be my only discussion on this topic. I will not be answering any more asks like this. I will delete and block anyone who tries to come "well actually"-ing into my inbox. If you don't agree with this stance, then get off my blog and block me.
#free Palestine#free congo#free Sudan#free everyone living under a colonial apartheid regime#this was not directed at you anon#I just used you in the general sense#unless you think like that then it was#answered
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consumed by the inevitable
#messyr#you know- I kept thinking: One day. The cage will be open but I feel like I'll stay. Because if I run- I'd wind up dead from their bullet#so I just- tend to- follow as much as I want to rebel and put sense into this fuckass household. I hate seeing the others in pain as well#and it hurts more that it feels like I can NEVER be the one to break this cycle of abuse- when I knew from the start- when I knew too much#but here I am ending up like the rest of them- helpless and unable to do jackshit about the situation. I cant say or do anything at all!#I dont want to end up like them- if anything I want to BREATHE- i want all of us to LIVE without this pain that has existed for generations#I want to help so bad no matter how much I know I am unloved.#no matter how much hate i carry- no matter how much burden- Underneath it all- I'm devoted to them- that's how fucked up I am#i know i'll never be enough. I know how often I think of death and wish it.#But I have a dream to achieve and I am not planning to die until I reach it. Not yet. If pain is where I strive best then so be it.#doodle#vent art#artists on tumblr#bpd#toxic behavior#learned helplessness
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my Nevarra headcanon is that they love Memento Mori rings
#(irl these rings / types of jewellery more generally are thought to have been in use in Europe from the 16th century as a way to#remember a recently deceased loved one and serve as a reminder that death is never far away)#which is a very cool concept to me and i will be stealing it for dragon age purposes#i like the idea that they buy or exchange them for special occasions. not just deaths but also milestone birthdays and weddings and such#as a culture they're big on death and also gold and also heavy ornamentation so this makes sense to me#and you know. a birthday is a step closer to death. a wedding means more heartbreak when death does come. a shared grave. etc
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I've been doing a lot of reflection as of late, especially after this past class.
This past class was about the Torah and Tanakh in general, and the way the rabbi talked about the commandments (specifically the ten commandments) has made me really reflect on how I interpret them, specifically the fifth commandment, or honoring your mother and father.
This is a commandment I have wrestled with for a long time - in fact, it brought me away from g-d at multiple times. I was severely abused when I was incredibly young by my mother, and I used to feel insulted at the implication that I were to honor her while she got to live a better life. It was hypocritical, in my eyes.
But this rabbi surmised that this particular commandment was because parenthood is an act of creation, something that is like the g-d from which we come from. My realization is this: I don't think we're necessarily meant to take even these commandments literally.
I this particular commandment is more of a call to honor creation - creation is a gift, and like any gift, many people simply will not like it and will discard it. The person who abused me created me, but she did not honor creation. She didn't honor me, but I can still honor it.
I have started to honor creation much more. I'm too young, too unstable, not mature enough to be a father (though I fantasize about it), but I create all the time. I create relationships, I create with my hands through crochet. I create memories, I create my world. And I can honor who I am and where I came from that made me who I am. I've been learning one of the mother tongues of my family (Italian, since part of my family originates there) and it was judaism that inspired me to do this.
I don't think g-d wants me to honor my abuser. I think He wants me to remember the Holy action of creation. When I am a father, that act of creation will be Holy, and indeed, I am already joyful about the thought.
I have seen many people struggle with this particular commandment, but I think this perspective helps me personally. I don't think I ever have to forgive my abusers (plural), and I don't think I am commanded to simply because they happened to be family. I am commanded to recognize the holy, to elevate the mundane. In doing so, I will remember g-d. Through creation, I honor g-d and everything he has done for us, for me, and for our collective people.
#jumblr#jew by choice#jewish conversion#personal thoughts tag#abuse tw#i am not sharing this for the sake of pity and i also ask not to be told to divulge my abuse story. that isn't relevant#i have been needing to engage with this topic for a long time though and judaism has helped me a bit in navigating healing#but i decided to share this publicly in the hopes it will help other survivors specifically of familial/parental abuse#i know how it feels (in general). it's so lonely and you can really harbor (understandable) baggage about this particular commandment#i have a meeting with My Rabbi (sponsoring rabbi) and i might bring this up. we've only spoken once face-to-face (zoom)#so that might be really Intense to bring up to him but he is very kind and i trust him (which is why he is My Rabbi)#and he has already told me that he WANTS me to wrestle with g-d and His word *with* him#again i am posting this publicly so i can document my thoughts and keep them straight but also with the hope it MIGHT help others#if it even *casually* inspires another survivor i will feel so grateful (though it is THEIR achievement and not mine to claim)#i want us to survive. i want us to eat well. i want us to smile#i will say that this must be a very sudden whiplash in tone from my last post about sex. from sex to awful horrific abuse#my stream of consciousness is just Like This though in the sense that i have very sudden realizations and tonal whiplashes#so you're just getting a very frank look into how my brain is structured and what my brain thinks are important enough to think about#if i seem much more verbose it's because i needed to write this on my laptop which makes typing and more importantly yapping even *easier*
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One of the biggest things that makes me see Leo as trans is absolutely the size of his carapace in comparison to his brothers’.
And I’m not talking about height! I’m specifically looking at his shell here, because when you compare him to the others, particularly Donnie who is nearly the same height as Leo, it’s very clear that Leo’s carapace is much longer in proportion to the rest of his body.
Like - standing side by side, even though Donnie is shorter his carapace ends noticeably higher up than Leo’s does. And I like this not only because it really helps push the idea that Leo could very likely be trans (or intersex!), but it’s also just a fun design difference between them.
(It also lends way to future scenarios of Donnie eventually getting taller than Leo, but sitting down still has Leo being the taller one haha.)
#rottmnt#rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles#rottmnt leo#trans leonardo#rottmnt headcanons#rise leo#trans leo#it’s like 4 am and I’m having trans leo feelings again sorry guys#totally get if other people disagree with me on this! but it’s always gonna be my no.1 headcanon fr#his complexion the vibrancy of his colors staying even in adulthood his general demeanor and this? this hc is LOCKED in my brain#plus the times Leo’s depicted in pink white and blue throughout the series like I KNOW it wasn’t on purpose but damn if it doesn’t help#(his nails are also the exact same as his toe nails/claws but I don’t super count this one tbh)#(even though it is TECHNICALLY another point in favor of trans leo)#(mainly because all the boys’ nails are very much more humanoid than turtle)#(just like how their tails aren’t really a factor either since we see them only in their baby forms and never again)#I really like the idea that he was a female red eared slider pre mutation#and Lou Jitsu’s dna paved how his humanoid features came out (aka a more masculine build and voice)#but his turtle features are all very much more in like with a female res#love the thought of rise bros meeting og comic turtle boys and Leo being like wait you guys are res too?? but…you’re not colorful……#one headcanon I have is that - you know the cute chirping and stuff we have the boys do?#I like to think that Leo’s chirping actually sounds more feminine to himself and his bros (so he tends to not do it)#idk I love thinking about this hc a lot and there’s no time like four am to talk about it huh?#future scenario has future Donnie going up to future Leo all smug like ah Nardo how’s the weather down there#and Leo’s all like good *sits down* why don’t you join me :)#Donnie: …*sits and stretches his neck out to be taller still*#Leo calls him a cheater but Donnie calls it ‘making use of his species’s advantages’#but yeah basically for many turtles the case is - bigger carapace? female. smaller carapace? male.#so it’s very interesting to take that knowledge and apply it here#did you know one of the turtles that this rule of thumb DOESNT apply to is alligator snapping turtles? male ones are the bigger ones there!#by a big difference too so Raph’s size makes a LOT of sense
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Thinking about post game Illario again and the mental state he must be in. He's literally lost everything.
Things will never be the same between him and Lucanis. Even if they do get better someday, they can never be the same.
He is never going to be First Talon now. He's actually gone down the ladder, which I don't think he even considered as a possibility, since he figured it was a success or death kind of deal. The man who loves being admired and adored now has to face a future full of disdain and hatred.
He has to watch Lucanis become First Talon. Something he wanted (needed). And worse, something he knows Lucanis doesn't want. He has to watch Lucanis continue to be suffocated under Caterina's grasp and the weight of her expectations until it kills him. He's back to having to watch and wait for Lucanis to die. He was able to justify killing Lucanis in part to prevent this exact fate and now he has even less power to stop it than he did before.
Where do you even go from there?
#Not to mention that I think his life was pretty empty BEFORE all of this went down#Even Lucanis never mentions anything Illario likes besides his image and that's hardly a personal hobby#you could even argue that's just a survival tool for him it's no different than Lucanis and his knives#Illario Dellamorte#Does he have even one thing for himself?#Has he ever?#His only personal goals and desires seem to be living a comfortable life#(his likes include being First Talon and luxuries like fancy silk gloves nice clothes good wine etc)#(And 'debauchery' but that's just the unhealthy coping mechanisms talking)#He doesn't have any friends. Or hobbies. Or any general interests at all that we know about?#Lucanis knits and brews coffee and cooks and likes wyverns.#Even as children all we get is Illario listening to Lucanis talk about wyverns and going wyvern hunting with Lucanis#Everything about Illario is actually about either Lucanis or Caterina#Tbh I think getting knocked on his ass and having everything taken away from him could be the best thing to happen to him#If he can pick himself up and go on from here#He was probably never going to have the freedom to develop a sense of self as First Talon either#Use all this new free time to get a hobby Illario
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i said it over on twitter but i‘ll say it here too! it‘s crazy to me that not even smth as little as a bit of banter about meljay can stay exclusively about meljay w/o being co-opted by jayvik or meljayvik at some point? like imagine i‘d go to a jayvik screencap tweet and comment "aww that‘s how he looks at mel"… that would get me ripped to shreds.. like the times i had comments or tags on a meljay post trying to swap her out??? wdym you‘re (figuratively speaking) swapping mel out on the mel post?? at this point if they actually do the pregnancy plot i‘m just gonna call it now and say general fanon will be vik raising mels child while she runs off to be evil woman™
#kds.txt#arcane#meljay#onlymeljay#sorry for ranting but i feel like#no fandom has made it its goal to completely erase the woman that is right there in the picture#and replace it w smth else#im talkinh quite literally about the little spoon screenshot#but honestly that sentence works in a wider general sense too#idk man its just exhausting when youre excited to look a little and read a little about the ship you like#only for people to use it as an opportunity to make it about smth else instead#maybe engaging w fandom was a mistake asdgjhsfk
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You folks hear that? That's the sound of me sighing heavily. See this? This is the type of shit some of you got to stop doing.
Nobody cares you don't like the ship, but don't tag it with the ship tag.
I promise you, I feel like people do this on purpose.
Going "I'm not homophobic" is not earning any brownie points with anybody because starting the post with calling people delusional already is some asshole tomfuckery.
Okay, so people ship SatoSugu??? Why does it bother you enough to call shippers "delusional"?
And then tagging the post with the ship name and "straight ships"? What does straight ships got to do with SatoSugu or the other ship?
I guess adding that tag is to draw in people who only like straight ships to look at this post and go "Yes, oh my gosh, yes! They are delusional, aren't they? Straight ships for the win!"
Yeah, some people hate straight ships... but I don't think turning around and bashing a M/M ship is the right way to make a point.
Like, if you're going to talk about straight ships... then do that. Make a post about straight ships. Unless you deliberately tag the post with queer ships and be hateful, no one is going to care or attack you for liking straight ships.
And come on, SatoSugu shippers are delusional? SATOSUGU?! I have seen people who don't even ship them even go "Yeah, something going on there" because of the canon context between the two.
Come on, folks, can't we do better than this?
#'go cry about it' and then use the crying emoji because you saw someone be upset about satosugu#LOOK IN THE MIRROR!!#okay they're upset why does that bother you enough to attack shippers in general because of one person???#'people hate straight ships' and some hate gay ones what else is new?#like one day can i go in a ship tag without seeing one hate post?#people who like a ship can be annoying enough we don't need haters coming in to be asses too#i hate some ships too but I'm not going waste my time antagonizing the shippers#WHAT SENSE DOES THAT MAKE?!#just kiya's thoughts#jjk#jujutsu kaisen#satosugu
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NO BUT LIKE I DO HAVE A LOT TO SAY ABT HOW REDMANES BUT MOSTLY FREYJA AND HOW SHE SEES RADAHN OR HOW WE PERCIEVED HIM IN GENERAL, LIKE, JERREN WAS CLOSE TO HIM, TO THE POINT WHERE JERREN KNEW EXACTLY HOW HE WISHED TO DIE BUT EVEN THEN WE DON'T GET 100% IF THAT IS TRUE BUT THEN WE HAVE FREYJA THAT INSTEAD OF FINDING THAT HER GENERAL MIGHT BE CHARMED BY MIQUELLA, SHE DOESN'T FIND THAT TO BE APPALING NEWS AS ANSBACH DID BUT SHE LOOKS IT AS A WAY TO FURTHER PUSH WAR SOMETHING SHE INTERPRETS WAS RADAHN MERE AND ONLY GOAL. THE PROBLEM LAYS THEN IN THE FACT THAT WE NEVER KNOW EXACTLY *WHAT* RADAHN WANTS, HE JUST CAN INTERPRET AND TAKE GUESSES, BUT HE'S THE ONLY DEMIGOD BOSS THAT DOESN'T HAVE ANY LINES.
FREYJA INTERPRETATION OF RADAHN'S GOAL WAS JUST WAR FOR WAR’S SAKE, THERE'S NO FURTHER THOUGHT OR REASON JUST WAR FOR GLORY.
BUT THEN WE HAVE JERREN AND OTHER ACCOUNTS THAT SHOW THAT RADAHN DID HAVE A REASON FOR WAR, HE WAS KIND, HE TOOK AND RESPECTED PEOPLE THAT WEREN'T DEEMED ACCEPTABLE TO THE GOLDEN ORDER HE GAVE THEM RESPECT.
#elden ring#i just think too much abt radanh and his lack of dialogue#we have yappers and haters#we have TOGETHAAAA#but then we have deafening silence with radahn#i also think this is due to his main inspirations#mainly ancient heroes like#they sooo muddy as to who they were#just actions are left behind and leaving us to try to make sense of these#its just#....#i need to study you general radahn#elden ring spoilers
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i feel like chloe and max having relationship problems makes a LOT of sense considering everything the two of them went through, and max sacrificing arcadia bay would 100% be a huge one of them. especially considering chloe lost her mother to that. it’s a decision max made to save her, but regardless. all of their troubles r incredibly realistic but you lost me at chloe dumping her for VICTORIA CHASE. like?????? it’s like they completely forgot every single aspect of what makes chloe chloe. yes they would be rocky but she would fight for her, just like how she fought for her hope and love of rachel still being out there. like. she is incredibly loyal and not once in the original games did she even fuck with victoria. i’m less mad about them breaking up and more mad abt the character assassination of chloe
#life is strange double exposure#life is strange spoilers#life is strange de#chloe price#max claufield#pricefield#lis#life is strange#amberprice#i feel like the entire reason they do this is that with every new lis game there is a new relationship introduced/new love interest#and that’s the format they’re used to#but nobody was asking for that. nobody wanted that#the entire reason most people were excited to see this game was because of chloe and max#and getting to see them happy together in the future like we’d been teased with on other games#idk i feel like throwing away this relationship and not really giving a clear reason why just so you can introduce new romance plots#is a quick road downhill#this is not me saying you need to stick with someone you’re having relationship problems with if you’re a loyal person. in general.#to anyone who might read too much into this#i’m just saying it doesn’t make sense to me with the characters. and if you like this choice that’s fine i really don’t care THAT much
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Do you think that people who invent things with very destructive consequences are blinded to the downsides of it more by money or more by scientific curiosity?
I think the downsides are not always immediately obvious. Coal-fired electricity looks a lot more attractive in 1882 when there's literally only one such power plant and the global population is like 18% its present value. TNT was invented as a yellow dye, and it's so stable its usefulness as an explosive wasn't discovered until thirty years later.
We have this collective mental image, promoted by simplifications of historical narratives, that the inventor is a lone genius who through his labor produces an artifact and all its consequences in a single moment in time, and without which the thing would never be invented. Pretty much every point in that narrative is wrong. New technologies are the culmination of many different discoveries; there are enough very smart people working at the cutting edge of these fields that if one of them did not discover the principles behind these inventions, another almost certainly would sooner or later; and the exact applications of new technologies, nevermind how they will change society when those applications are utilized, often take years or decades to discover.
Now, I think there is an extent to which, as a working scientists, you can reasonably be held to account for the work you do. If you work at the Acme National Horrible Death By Chemical Weapons Laboratory, and invent a new, horrible chemical weapon, you do not get to go "oh no!" in shock when somebody dies to your horrible chemical weapon. And sometimes scientists do have a pretty good idea of how their technology will be used--the Haber Process was originally invented to manufacture fertilizers, but its application to the manufacturing of explosives was pretty clear to Fritz Haber, and he joined the German effort to develop deadlier chemical weapons pretty enthusiastically.
Men like Haber seem historically to be motivated not by intrinsic greed, but by the things which motivate us all: the desire to provide for their loved ones, the approval of their peers and the respect of their colleagues, and their status in society. The problem with respect to scientists who know damn well what they're doing isn't that everybody working at the Acme National Horrible Death By Chemical Weapons Laboratory is greedy and the job pays too much; the problem is that society, by and large, respects you and looks up to you and fetes you at public events and talks about what a patriot and a community leader you are if you do really well at inventing new, horrible chemical weapons.
#i knew a guy in university who said he would have no problem working for weapons r&d#because it's not the designers of the weapons who decide how they're used#and there was a valid point there:#shaking your finger at fritz haber only absolves the german general staff of the decision to use the weapon#or the kaiser of the decision to wage war#of all the people involved in the chain of events leading to chlorine gas in the trenches of the western front#fritz haber was probably the most generic#in the sense that if you went back in time and killed him in 1915 probably nothing significant would change#i think it's a little too pat to say the person designing the horrible chemical weapon has *no* responsibility#i certainly would find the idea of trying to figure out new ways to kill people extremely morally unpleasant#but without the military and political will to use those weapons#they just sit on shelves until they stop working
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lol not me crying because someone from my program texted me to ask how i was doing and that they hadn't seen me around in a while
#i don't really have any friends here so even getting a text makes me 😭#like i have 'friends' in the sense that i like most of the people in my program and i'm reasonably certain that almost everyone likes me to#but we're not close and we don't spend time together or anything#all of the people that i was closer with aren't in the program anymore and live elsewhere and they just don't stay in touch#and like i do just get very frustrated because in all of my friendships where one of us has moved away#or even when we're just like at different jobs or stuff so we don't see each other much anymore#i've tried SO HARD to stay in touch and aside from ONE person it always fizzles out despite my best efforts#and i don't think it's anything to do with me or them per se#but just sort of this broad dynamic of how our general society conceptualizes and (de)prioritizes friendship#which isn't what *i* want for *my* friendships#and there's also this dynamic of like. almost every single person in my program has a partner. and i do not.#and like blah blah blah amatonormativity etc#i try really hard not to let my brain twist it all into anything more hurtful than what it is#i know that's life and we're in grad school and everyone's busy etc etc etc#but it does really wear me down to be so alone and lonely literally all of the time#and to end on a lighter note: thank you to all my tumblr pals for being such great pals 🥹 you are so loved and appreciated 💛
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kingisle whenever they need to coax older players back: HEY YOU PERSON WITH A WALLET!!! REMEMBER DRAGONSPYRE?!? REMEMBER HOW SAD THE LAST ACT MADE YOU FEEL? HERE'S SOMETHING REFERENCING DRAGONSPYRE!! ISNT THAT YOUR FAVORITE?!
#artenoise#ki101#wizard101#pirate101#like i have no issue with dragonspyre as a world but the extent that it's use to generate more hype is getting old#the mali the undying stuff with AZ and darkmoor and then the catacombs#and now this new pirate update#like it doesn't even matter if it doesn't make much sense like the young battledrake mount#DS is the cash cow even more than WC because they know people that played up to the end of DS or DM have some fondness for it#but it's getting so sour and overused imo#like if mali the undying didn't happen and get resolved ten years ago i would've bet real money they would've pulled it now#but they bank so heavily on the nostalgia but it isn't even that good of a world#the pacing comes to a screeching halt once you reach ashley#and the weakness spam is really tilting if you're trying to get it done in a day or two#but it's also not bad it still has the best aesthetics and ideas and doesn't feel like One Thing#like how wallaru is Just Australia or zafaria is Just Africa#and the atmosphere is great it gives off this post protagonist feel ig. where it feels like any other game would have you doing stuff#during the invasion. but no. it's just an active graveyard#that's the other thing the more KI tries to expand on it the less harrowing and mysterious it feels#which is a huge bummer.#even if the catacombs was cool#i know this is a long ass ramble but dude after seeing the new pirate update im just. bruh.#Yaknow
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Freylin lovers… all four of you out there…. please talk to me abt them. I will love u forever
#re-inspired by the fanfic I just read of sapphic freylin#SAPPHIC FREYLIN SAVE ME#anyway even if it isn’t sapphic freylin#if you like freylin in any form!!!!!!!! even if not it's necessarily romantic/typically romantic! I need someone to gush about them with#I used to like them a very mild amount once upon a time.....#but then that changed once the Thinking tm started#it's about the themes............ transformation..mostrosity.... understanding each other in a way few others seem able to#about exoneration through the other#which kind of doesn't sound like the right word but I mean it in the sense that exoneration implies the accusation of sin/guilt is flawed#(unlike something like absolve.... which implies forgiveness for sins rather than the fact that there was no sin in the first place)#idk if that makes sense but I hope. the general gist comes across#anyway I have lots of thoughts about them but it will take time to write them all out#but pls tell me someone thinks about them as much as I do#look I know why they aren't a popular ship and I understand. but STILL#I need to know if there are others out there!!!#Freya#Merlin#freylin#bbc merlin
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#maybe I was naive before and/or maybe I'm just bonedead tired af and not making much sense (i know I am)#bue the thing is if you had asked me before this night why the USA have never had a female president unlike so many comparable countries#I would have...attributed like 50%-80% of the reason to structural causes and the obsession with male candidates#yes there are extremely regressive and misogynistic regions and subcultures in the US - but that is true for most countries!#it is also a country with some VERY progressive people#and I don't know any country where so many people are so constantly actively and vocally arguing in favour of FINALLY having a female leade#so yeah I attributed it mostly to the general obstacles for female politicians and how elections in the US work and even past candidates#and I guess a big part of me wanted to believe that all this clownery of men saying they feel emasculated voting for a woman#was just a special sub-category of freakishness that gets pushed into the spotlight during the election#but at this point (dead-tired and annoyed as all shit)...I'm at the point where I say the United States have an almost unique problem#with voting for a woman + the idea of having a female president#maybe it's the huge role of the military and the president as leader of the troops or maybe it's the impact of evangelicals on the culture#maybe it is the role of gender roles in pop culture being so deeply entrenched#obviously this election racism and Harris being a woman of colour also plays a huge role#but at the point I am it genuinely feels to me like there's a very specific hang-up in the US regarding female candidates#and I know a lot of people are going to end up saying: 'oh it has nothing to do with it it has nothing to do with gender'#and I would have had that discussion and said that the issue with discrimination is that often you can't prove the individual case#but at this point....specifically with the US I have a hard time being like 'maybe it was maybe it wasn't' in regards to this factor#sorry to say
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"Man Ginger, why don't you like doing lineart for things?"
BECAUSE IT TAKES TOO LONG AAA
Art for me is usually more about getting the broad strokes of an idea out so I can more easily visualise it when writing/planning. This, unfortunately, does tend to clash with my innate need to be good at the things that are important to me but I think I've gotten better about embracing the 'messiness' of my style over the years.
That said, LOOK AT THIS HYAPOLLO WIP I'M WORKING ON?? POLLIE'S COMING OUT SO GOOD LIKE??
I usually describe Apollo-as-Agreus (Agreus is the name he takes on while he's mingling with the mortalfolk) as having gold-brown hair both because he born a brunet in my story and because the word 'xanthos' in and of itself implies something that encompasses an entire spectrum from true-blond to auburn? My visual shorthand for this has been to just have Agreus' hair be a duller blond than the sunstreaked cloud colour of Apollo's more divine hair but MAN I was NOT expecting to love properly attempting to represent Agreus' hair this much! Ugh, I'm so excited to finish colouring this set of images!!!
#ginger rambles#ginger draws#apollo#wip#pursuing daybreak posting#I LOVE MY GOLD-BROWN SON#All the gods have various names they take whenever they're vibing with mortals tbh#It's very very VERY bad to call a god by name because that's like annoucing their name over a pa system#Apollo's name when he's with Hyacinth is Agreus but some of his other names throughout the years have been Kouros and Ephebus#combined with Agreus he usually just uses very general names when he's around which is really funny because he is a very abnormal presence#looking for that super pretty man you met at a dance festival and you're like “I'm looking for Kouros!” and everyone is just#“buddy this is a dance festival we're ALL kouros here”#He complains about Hermes' sense of humour but he's just as terrible#Agreus comes from his epithet as Apollo the Hunter btw so essentially his name with Hyacinthus is Hunter#You'll never guess what job he takes while he's hanging about the palace
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