#Thoughts with a capital T

[fluffyartbl0g]

PFTDGEHSJSJDYTE I CANT BELIEVE MONKEY D. LUFFY HAS TAKEN OVER TUMBLR!!!

At first sight I was like, oh cool! I see they’ve added a Luffy tab on my dashboard, because I love one piece. And then I look down the luffy tag,,, AND THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE WHO JUST. DON’T KNOW WHO HE IS XD. That must mean THEY’VE JUST ADDED HIM TO EVERYONE’S DASHBOARDS WAHAHAHA!

First of all, it’s pronounced loo-fee. Second of all, he’s from hit series One Piece and you better not forget it!!!

[devsgames]

As a dev who didn't really follow Baldur's Gate 3's development I was incredibly surprised at the number of people who have been making really sweeping and baseless claims about its success: stuff like "the game is made well by people who are passionate", or claim that other devs "just have to make good games", or that it's successful "because it doesn't have microtransactions". It's not that surprising I guess since Gamers tend to say these things about any product they happen to like and agree with, but I guess it was surprising to me how much people were saying it about this game specifically.

I'm sure the devs were passionate and I've sort of been enjoying my time with it, but frankly the success of BG3 absolutely does not feel like a design or development thing to me, but it's an obvious marketing and business one.

Having a good game obviously very much helps, but the fact of the matter is that rhetoric like this intentionally overlooks or downplays the real industry success factors: that BG3 is the third game in an already-popular and established legacy CRPG series that is built on an engine and mechanics by a studio which already made two other (unrelated) financially successful games on of the same genre, with all of it built on a back of a TTRPG franchise that has for the past few years been undergoing a huge resurgence in popularity and in no doubt funded through that partnership and licensing deals. Franchises like safe bets to make a profit, and this feels like the safest of bets. It really isn't successful because the game isn't adopting user-hostile monetization or because it's approach is radically different from any other game's development, it's successful because all these business factors.

To that end, whenever someone implies that other devs should just make games the same way...it's really funny! Like, the stars have aligned to make this product a hit and this doesn't implicitly make it a bastion or model for equitable game development just because it sold well and doesn't adopt hostile monetization schemes.

The fact of the matter is there's lots of games that are well-made by passionate devs and don't feature microtransactions or hostile monetization schemes, and they don't implicitly do well because of these design decisions alone; usually it's because they failed at marketing or didn't have the AAA budget to promote themselves like BG3. I'm also willing to bet that like every AAA studio, the devs at Larian likely weren't equitably compensated for this success, since most productions on a game of such a massive scale like this only really turn a profit because they undercut those working on it - huge profit and equitable compensation aren't often compatible concepts in game development. It's not like that would be any different here, so the "other devs should look to this game on how it should be made ethically" is a strange pull to me as well.

Basically this is all to say I think it's incredibly reductive to hold a product up on a pedestal by virtue of sales figures and choosing not to enact hostile monetization schemes. After all, I'm severely doubtful a product like BG3 would have done poorly assuming it had microtransactions in the first place. There's just way too many other factors that guided it alonge.

Do we need big budget games to move away from predatory business models that attempt to exploit the most vulnerable players? Absolutely yes I think we do, but I think people would also value from staying aware of real factors at play that define success in these sorts of situations, and not reduce development to "why don't developers simply make GOOD video games!" which I think is fairly baseless and confirmation-bias-y in its own way.

[basilpaste]

isaloops logo!! i have settled on calling it Of Stitches In Sequence!

my isaloops stuff will have that tag instead of the old one from here on out!! the ones with the old tag will keep it but gain this one, too!

HEY. ALSO. CLICK THIS IF YOU ONLY SEE TEXT. its transparent and the white blends in!!!

[fandomn00blr]

Look, celebrity-hack-author-and-reluctant-viscount-of-cursed-bloody-Kirkwall, Varric Tethras signed a contract with Just for Men and yes, the world is ending, so he needs a little touch-up on his latest dye job (this particular tint is called Rainier, btw), but a contract's a contract...

[ledians]

i know that this is not what this post is about, but the reason the idea of being "too old" to enjoy things exists is because the majority of the adult population is poor AND has a dependant to look after

sure, this is often kids that the adult has had because of their own actions, but children aren't the only dependants that exist and require money and care. 25% of adults develop a disability before they ever hit retirement age, and the chances just get higher over time.

adults of every age often have someone to take care of, and at the current state of wages and the economy, all of their paycheck ends up going to rent, food, health, and other basic necessities. maybe alone they might have a small amount of money they could use for personal items, but with a dependant, this gets much harder

the idea that people are too old to enjoy things isn't because of age, but because of responsibility. contrary to what (american) media shows you, most people are not doing everything alone. they have kids, or they have elderly parents, grandparents, they have a disabled sibling or spouse that they care for. people that for one reason or another, don't make any money. this doesn't mean they're inherently a burden, but it does mean that the breadwinner is often stretched thin.

they are busy working, or they are busy taking care of people. and when they are done, they are sometimes too mentally and physically exhausted to invest time in things like fandom, or video games, or collecting figures.

this doesn't perfectly illustrate the experience of every poor person on earth of course, but i'm trying to explain why it might feel like some adults are "boring" and think that they are "too old" to enjoy things

[big-low-t]

State Capital

.

Gold leaf tax-gilded dome

Covering shit-filled corridors

Where old white demons call it home

.

Talk out of both sides of their mouths

While taking over the table nudges

From corporate money pouches

.

With one hand under the table

Sucking up bribes from the rich

And cutting funding for disabled

.

Tax citizens every time they move

Not bothering or even caring

All under the coal baron's hooves

.

Keep the regulations low they say

While the cancer rates soar

Should probably vote yourself a raise

.

But they are putting in such hard days

It takes a lot of work to polish manure

Do you understand sarcasm anyway?

.

Even our districts are gerrymandered

Making most votes inconsequential

Like anything we want even matters

.

[rainswhenyourehere]

oh shit js remembered the geography test we have uh. today

[oh-katsuki]

im going to be so fr.... i hate it when im shopping for something, perusing online or in person for stuff in my size and approximate measurements... and a skinny woman says to me ���you should try poshmark instead” 🥺. u should look on there for stuff because it’s second hand 🥺 u should go to good will and thrift stores bc it’s more ethical 🥺 like i really wish u would be quiet bc u know damn well poshmark doesn’t do returns and that goodwill rarely carries good shit in my size. like ma’am, i’m fat and that transforms the ENTIRE way i shop for clothes compared to you. clothes are made for bodies like yours.... i’m expected to make do. 

[elekinetic]

what’s your favorite thing about lumax and their story??

oh boy hmm. probably how real their love is? how despite how tumultuous their relationship has been, they keep choosing each other. how lucas is so incredibly mature, how he waits for max even when she doesn't know how to come back to him. how max still loves him (listening to game on radio) despite trying not to. how they're best friends first. how much they love each other. how much they love each other. how much they love each other.

[thermesiini]

the thing with the ai stuff recently is that you have people trying to define what art is and set boundaries for art and decide what mediums are acceptable to make art in and what happens is i can’t really take much of the conversation seriously when people keep on trying to declare that they have the correct definition for “art” something which kind of can’t be defined.

[maestro-of-clockwork]

Trying to get lost in the great wide somewhere

There was comfort in the way that the sunlight beamed through the canopy of leaves, and solace in the way that the wildflowers swayed gently in the breeze.

Sketchbook didn't really know where they were situated - the only thing she knew was that this place was His idea of 'the perfect spot for a picnic', and she couldn't help but actually agree.

He'd taken her here to celebrate the airing of her debut in the show, which she'd forgotten entirely. When her mind skimmed through the events, she wondered how...Sketchbook took the time to quickly ground herself before the remembering got uglier.

Let's see, what was around her? What could she physically feel?

Sketchbook felt the softness of the picnic blanket she was sitting on, the sturdiest of the oak tree against her back, the fabric of her sundress...and the scenery around her was so bright and green and full of color.

Nothing was that awful green, but the rich green that healthy, wild grass and leaves brought. It made the man sitting across from her stick out like a sore thumb: grim and dark and oppressive against the bright everything.

His presence was normally gut-wrenching, crawled under Sketchbook's skin like a rampant plague that left welts and blisters. It left her restless, terrified...but it didn't feel as bad today. No, 'Father' was passive, kind and gentle with His words and actions for the time being.

It extended to the smile He gave her once He noticed she was looking at Him.

"I'm so thankful for today," remarked the fake Father, voice matching the breeze in its caring airiness. "It reminds me of how lucky I am to have met you...I never would have imagined that we would be here, back then."

He looked up at the leaves of the tree she sat under as He continued on.

"Sure, I still love toying with you the way I do your friends, but I can't quite help but treasure your existence all the same."

His eyes drifted back to her face, "You are truly special...I hope you come to realize that one day."

The words glazed over her mind - Sketchbook found that she didn't really feel anything this time, in spite of His twisted fondness.

"Now, do your Papa a favor and eat up, will you? I wouldn't want you to go hungry," He advised her sweetly.

Reaching into the picnic basket for a sandwich, Sketchbook strangely felt that things could really be bearable...even with Him around.

[metal-requiem]

what if i isekai'd ingo to fnv instead of hisui. is this anything

[wolf-skins]

nvm the americans in the notes going “i live in america you don’t want privatized healthcare” are normies and fine it’s the fucking americans going LISTEN HERE YOU FUCKS

americans stop pretending you’re the main characters in the story and eat my entire ass

[nasty-boi-dread]

Terfs and haters are wrong. I am definitely 100% a man, it's just taking me a bit longer to get there.

[waffliesinyoface]

TIL that harlan thrombey in Knives Out is not, in fact, played by patrick stewart

[gay-strawberry]

they dont sell mini spiderman outfits for ken size dolls ??????? i feel like thats crazy right ?? you mean to tell me i have to make one myself ???