#THAT IS A LITERAL GREY AREA

[dropdafawkz]

I've been watching The Last of Us and I had already seen the game, so in the era of just venting, I hear SO many takes about how the Fireflies or the scientists with them wouldn't have been capable of making a vaccine and so it's justified how Joel acts, because even if he decided to sacrifice Ellie for a vaccine there was no guarantee of a cure. IM SO TIRED OF YALL

[stardust-falling]

Having more thoughts about Shen Jiu because of course I am.

I don’t think he has the capacity for empathy or genuine selflessness.

He spent the entirety of his formative years deep in survival mode, and because of that, he evaluates people solely based off of how they might threaten or ensure his safety and/or comfort. As far as individual people themselves with their own perspectives… honestly I don’t think he even thinks of that.

Maybe a controversial opinion, but I don’t think even YQY is exempt.

Shen Jiu doesn’t have a moral code. When every day is spent on surviving, a moral code is a luxury.

And really, he just never got out of that mode. See, the thing is, once you’ve had enough adverse experiences it only takes a little bit to trigger you back into that mindset. Shen Jiu was used to being scolded and then beaten or abused, so for him, even a simple chiding is a precursor to abuse— even if he DOES recognize that nothing more will happen, his body and mental patterns will still go into that preparation time.

So of course he never left survival mode, because even if nothing is actively happening, your mind will keep reinforcing those patterns.

For someone with a normal upbringing, as far as I can tell, empathy is something you learn and develop from those around you. Many seem to think it’s something innate and natural and if you don’t have it then there’s something wrong with you from birth. I think Shen Jiu falls into exactly this category of thought— and so he doesn’t even consider that he could try to learn and develop it as a skill he can perform, even if it doesn’t come naturally.

Of course, would he even try? He hasn’t been given any incentive. Any time he has tried to do something good, he ends up getting hurt (saving Yue Qi leading to being taken by QJL) or misinterpreted and admonished (the well ghost incident, keep in mind my earlier point about scoldings perpetuating the same patterns).

So he stays in that same vicious cycle, perpetually in survival mode and unable to escape, even in a relatively secure position (see: his paranoia).

Now, this is all relevant to the discussions of SJ’s feminism, misogyny, and/or lack thereof. I feel like a lot of discussions aren’t really getting the full picture.

SJ sees people, no matter who they are, as solely how they can affect him. Just because this isn’t exclusive to women, or because if comes from a reasonable place, does that really mean it doesn’t play into misogyny?

Let’s take another angle.

I think his abuse of LBH and other talented disciples also is rooted, deep down, in this same issue. He’s not just hurting LBH only to hurt him, his aim is specifically to stunt his cultivation. There’s jealousy at play there of course, but there’s a bit more layers to it too— SJ doesn’t think he’s capable of goodness. So reasonably, he’ll be a bad teacher. He already knows what happens when someone becomes more powerful than their oppressor. LBH may be a child now, but a part of SJ whether he acknowledges it or not sees him as a future threat that needs to be treated as such.

It’s rooted in fear— because everything is with SJ.

So does that mean it’s not actually abuse?

No. The behaviors he shows are still abusive, the reasoning just gives a lens for understanding.

Now, with his views on women— I mentioned in the tags of my original post that I don’t think he views women as people. This is based in that earlier idea of how he interprets others based off their risk and benefit to him. For women specifically, though, there’s another layer.

Shen Jiu grew up in a society where women are inherently lesser— and he grew up in an extreme version of this. He saw women being treated as property firsthand(both as slaves, as well as QJL’s views on his sister). Your worldview is shaped by the world that you view during those early years. Whether he agreed or not, SJ would still take on the patterns of his environment. This, though, is just the same as general societal misogyny and ingrained bias. I don’t think he’s any different than anyone else in this way.

But where SJ’s particular flavor comes in is that to him, women are a source of comfort. For various reasons— positive past experiences, less threatening (or at least don’t carry the dangers men do). He craves comfort— needs it really, because he doesn’t get it and his cortisol levels are always so high they’re poisoning his body. Women are the best source of that comfort for him.

It’s not that he likes them— at least, not any more than someone would like drinking water, or a coat in the winter. They’re fulfilling a survival need for him.

That is what the objectification is where SJ is concerned.

So… is it misogyny?

I’d say yes, in a way it still is. It’s not violent, and it doesn’t come from some inherent sense of “superiority as a man” but at the core of it all, he’s still not viewing women as people, and he has no interest in changing the status quo, because it benefits him to be able to go purchase comfort at a pleasure house, even if it’s not what people usually do there. The picture is bigger than just misogyny, but the traits taken as themselves are misogynistic nonetheless.

I could go into his specific relationships with women and how that informs his character, but this post is already long enough. We know that he mentally divides people by sex, and that distinction has a lot of weight in his judgment of them. Even if it comes from a place of trauma, even if it comes from a general worldview that applies to everyone, he still views women as a commodity— so on some level, and from an outside perspective, he is misogynistic.

In the end, though, it still all comes from him being stuck in survival mode. His lack of empathy, his viewing others as risks and benefits— these things themselves aren’t moral failings— it’s just a consequence of his environment. He’s a bad person because he won’t confront this, develop a moral code, and act on it, not because he doesn’t experience empathy.

But in his circumstance, there’s not really a chance for him to choose to be good. Because he’s still trying to survive, and goodness is a luxury he doesn’t realize he can afford now.

He’s scum, but pitiful, you know?

[narzissenkreuz-ordo]

people who scream 'dan heng is NOT dan feng whatsoever' yet always tag any dan feng content as 'dan heng'

[legobiwan]

Set during the era of the High Republic, The Acolyte will begin to unravel how an esteemed organization like the Jedi Order could be in its golden age and also on the cusp of the chaos that unfolds in the Skywalker saga. “If Star Wars is about the underdog versus the institution, [in The Acolyte] the Jedi are the institution,” Headland says. “I was so interested in a storyline where the Jedi were at the height of their power — and I don't mean The Phantom Menace, because at that point, there's a Sith Lord in the Senate that they're not picking up on.” Headland wanted to explore further back, when seeing a Sith seemed as likely as encountering a velociraptor. “Like it's a thing I've heard of, but it's not a thing that you would ever consider you'd be interacting with.” With a darker tone focusing on the duality that exists beyond the simplistic black-and-white view of good versus evil, The Acolyte asks a key question before the fall of the Jedi: “What went wrong?” Headland asks. “And if the bad guys are actually the underdog, it just seemed like a cool reversal.”

Article

Color me intrigued.

[frumentariae]

vent. sorry i’m honesty hangry and upset

actually i’m still annoyed. has anyone in this damn fandom heard of filtering tags. for shit. they don’t like

also like not to be ‘what about’ but seriously if your biggest problems are fucking shipping wars on tumblr dot com i envy you. truly.

[oratoful]

hey do you guys remember the designs I made for the Nishikikouji Siblings?

I did a full body design for Kyouri. I wasn't satisfied with the initial motifs I gave him, so I decided to do a complete overhaul on his outfit.

His sleeves are striped like the feathers on the sides of their faces. He is a hand talker and often brings his arms to his face. It symbolizes how those feathers fan out when they're courting other pheasants. For him, he's just eccentric.

He's meant to have heels, I just got lazy.

Kyouri Nishikikouji is the only introvert out of the siblings, and the middle child. He's around 40 in my head and has two children (2/3 of the little chicks drawn alongside Tohri in some pieces). He's the one who manages a majority of the misc businesses the Nishikikoujis own (ex; Nishikikouji dried goods, the sauna mentioned to be in their name in the manga). He's responsible for funneling funding Tohri's way whenever Tohri blows a hole into Golden Weekly for the ????th time.

Despite being affluent in the art of business, having numerous connections, and keeping the Nishikikouji name in the limelight, Kyouri is a loser. He is a total dweeb. He adores anime and probably freaked the fuck out when he realized where Tohri was working.

[cradle-of-darkness]

COOKIES OF DARKNESS NATION WE ARE OFFICIALLY BACK 💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️

(long rambling in tags if u care)

[rearranging-deck-chairs]

every new doctor to their future/past self

[sainzinnorris]

Nico does not “know” Lewis he knew him there’s a difference.

anon, i'm going to run you through something okay? hypothetically let's consider someone you know for two whole decades of your life, someone you share something common with, but like, that isn't the only thing that binds you together. what makes brocedes so compelling as a dynamic is the fact that their friendship was beyond the sport. of course the sport had laid the foundation and groundwork of their friendship, but it wasn't a whole, “ oh he likes the same sport as me and we're competitors ” type of relationship. it was a proper friendship. now when you know someone for two whole decades, you claim you know them. of course people grow and change, but what you are fundamentally is still the same/similar. so despite the lack of communication, and the falling out, nico does know lewis. or at least understands lewis. definitely 100% as a teammate and a racer (from experience and from observing and studying his racing style to understand where he- nico could gain the upper hand). but like as people, of course they've evolved and grown for the better. there's irreparable damage on both ends. so that's what i think, even if nico doesn't know lewis like he used to, he understands and sees why he does the things he does. because he was his best friend.

[princehendir]

There seems to be a lot of people who just genuinely think that like, horror movies with a ghost/spirit/entity/beastie in it are inherently objectively worse than movies with A Weird Guy/murderer, either because they haven't figured out that their personal preference isn't universal yet or, hilariously imo, they're just personally very embarrassed that they can be scared by something that Isn't Real, and that's where all the "actually, there wasn't anything supernatural in this movie at all. It was just people" theories stem from, emotionally

[thatgirlwithasquid]

yknow. sometimes when i see anti posts i just sit here and think ‘damn. you would not have gotten Jennifer’s Body’

[aropride]

that post has actually shifted my perception of stupid fucking PrObLeMaTiC MeDiA discourse forever i think i need to chew on the topic for like 8 hours and decide how i feel about it then

[anxiously-kk]

i kinda hope cbs prepared cirie for how unhinged intense the bb fandom can be because it’s probably a bit disorienting going from being beloved on an edited tv show where the viewers can project whatever personality on you that they want to being on a show where they can watch you live and realizes you’re a real person who doesn’t align perfectly with every value you believe someone should have. i’m not saying she’s above critique either i’m just saying sometimes certain parts of the fandom go well beyond criticism to an unhealthy level about things that just are not that serious or black and white. also i’m just gonna say some parts of the fandom have standards that are literally impossible to meet like expecting people to never get angry and say something mean about someone behind their back is just not realistic in real life let alone in a high pressure situation where you are trapped with them with no escape or ability to see anyone new, like it’s a lot.

[nikkiruncks]

Friends (1994-2004) || That 90s Show (2023-?)

[chussyracing]

What was the 2020 car like? Ty

she was pretty (pretty slow)

[grey-wind]

Hey chasing wind? I have a few questions if you don't mind

How stable is your structure?

how is the weather?

What is living in your city like?

Sincerely, a confused citizen

(Ooc this would take place before spearmaster if you don't mind. I'm making a travel pamphlet and wanted a qna. I'll tag you in the final product weather you answer or not lol)

(THIS ASK TAKES PLACE PRE-GLOBAL ASCENSION.)

[When the video feed turns on, Grey seems a bit... Startled. An unusually anxious tone fills their voice, though she tries to hide it.)

Ah- Hello- I am... Very busy- Non-crucial questions like these should really be directed to my administrators, I am not supposed to be distract myself like this- But if you insist, I can make this quick...

Being built directly into a mountainside, the risk of any sort of collapse is far lower than traditional structures. Even if the freestanding legs were to give out, the remaining mass of my being would likely slide down the side rather than crash down, significantly reducing the risk of grievous injury to those in the city. This, of course, is a non-issue anyways- Iterators are built to last.

The weather is fairly standard for a structure of my height- Which is to say, there isn't any. I am constructed far above the average altitude of both the steam clouds produced by my structure, and the natural clouds from bodies of water on the surface. As for below, it is... Also relatively standard. Heavy rains, infrequent wildlife. The gorge between my agricultural district and facility border is interesting, if you were hoping for any geological points of interest. The portion of the mountain above the cloud layer is often utilized as a sort of hiking trail, for those who have any interest in recreational activities- Which wouldn't be many people. My citizens are... Very strict when it comes to the urges.

As for your last question... It's...

... Standard. Goodbye.

(The broadcast cuts out. A few moments pass before a new connection is forced- An audio feed, low in quality. Untraceable. When Grey speaks again, it keeps their voice low.)

... If you're looking to move, I've heard that Seven Red Suns is very hospitable. Or No Significant Harassment, or... Anywhere but here, really. You'll find no joy here.

Goodbye.

(The call ends. For good, this time.)