#again its different with abuse

[take-care-of-it]

Getting real tired of some critics of Mouthwashing acting like Anya is the least fleshed out/least active character. Outside of Jimmy, she is the most active character. (and that's excluding how many of her ideas and actions directly influence Jimmy's, such as getting the extra painkillers.)

You can have your gripes and grievances abt how horror can overly rely on sexual violence in general, but I'm baffled that there seems to be some sort of consensus that there is no way you could ever do it well. That because it's overdone, no one can attempt to say something with these themes in the horror genre and it ever be meaningful. (DESPITE the fact that Mouthwashing is like, achingly aware of this. Half of the commentary in the game, the nail in the coffin, is peeling back the veneer of Jimmy's POV and assumed impartiality to show how his perception of the people around him don't fit into the boxes he's shoved them into.) That's not cope or making the game more complicated than it actually is (and even if it was, I kindly direct you to the actual definition of the concept of Death of the Author), the co-director basically says as much in an interview she did.

Also, I respect a take on Mouthwashing that claims general disinterest in seeing these themes trod out again in any context, infinitely more than one that claims the game just uncritically engages with these themes. And also takes that straight up lie about Anya as a character. Next you're going to be telling me you'd prefer if the game was about a young witch in the Alps.

[dynamitekansai]

THE USOS REUNITE WWE SMACKDOWN (OCTOBER 25, 2024)

[unproduciblesmackdown]

winston my quant of billions

[wherenightmaresroost]

For those searching for other works with similar themes and aesthetics to help them pull away from the cult of personality and parasocial relationship Gaiman cultivated, there's a Reddit thread full of author recommendations.

Also highly recommend searching the If You Like Blank subreddit for recs based the specific book you enjoyed.

There is also a redditor who is willing to take away books in exchange for proof of donation to RAINN and payment for shipping.

(If there are other similar initiatives on Tumblr, please add them to the post)

[mint-hollows]

what if we stopped talking about neil gaiman and the ethics of consuming the media he created and instead just call him a gross evil freak anytime he's brought up and stop reading his books because there are literally others. please?

[ricelover247]

looks up. blinks blearily. scifi series review in the tags (not real review) (not verified) (i have been awake for a very large number of hours)

[stealingpotatoes]

closing ko-fi requests ):

I'm honestly so sad abt doing this after all these years but I've gotta close ko-fi requests 😔 I really can't justify the time I spend on them against the amount I earn on them ): it's been fine before but as I'm goin into my last year of uni I need to get a better balance between uni work and art-money work. on this, commissions are getting an overhaul in the coming weeks bc I know I'm super undercharging lmao which I can't keep up, bc again, I've gotta try not to fail my degree while also making sure art is a viable side hustle loll.

I may open kofi reqs again when I've got more time (or failing that make them a part of kofi memberships at some point)!!! but for now rip kofi reqs ): (my kofi will obvs stay open for support and -- if you want smthn back for ur support -- kofi membership early access!!)

HOWEVER in better news with my commissions overhaul I'm gonna be opening a new, cheaper type of commission so hopefully that'll be a nice balance for everyone!

got one last request to finish and it's a big'un so should be a nice sendoff to kofi requests!! hopefully done by tomorrow

[james-stark-the-writer]

just finished Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, and it is a game written by cowards for cowards.

the final twist genuinely ruins the game. it's so stupid as a narrative decision. i hate it so much. it almost makes me understand what the people yelling about The Last Jedi being too subservient to its themes were yelling about (OBVIOUSLY not the ones that were being bigoted and loud and wrong about it, but just the ones who had actual issues with its narrative directions/execution). genuinely, the twist takes what could have been an extremely solid 8.5, maybe a 9/10 game down to a 4/10 game with nothing of interest to say deluding itself into thinking it's saying anything of worth by thoughtlessly repeating patterns as if that's supposed to generate meaning without any real effort of actually committing to that meaning, or seeing the world as anything beyond its basic binary worldview of Good and Bad.

putting that twist in fundamentally cuts the legs out from any actual, interesting and substantive critique it could have leveled at the legal system and our feelings about people on trial and their perceived guilt or innocence, and it just ends up reinforcing it as a power of good that Will Ultimately Prevail In The Search For Truth, as if that is even remotely a thing any legal system is concerned with, especially the one in the game that mostly just stumbles into The Right Choices because it's a game controlled by the player. it's frankly ideologically incoherent to the point of saying nothing because its critique is unfocused and toothless. best it can muster is "maybe some people are corrupt and lying, but if You take Advantage of The System, you can beat them" as if malicious compliance is supposed to change the system. fuck off.

ran out of tags but. i'm serious about this lol, i really hate it as a narrative and ideological choice. the game threatens to say something bold and interesting and then just pulls the rug out from underneath you. it sucks. it's very much like 12 Angry Men in that way, i think, except at least that movie Knows what it's saying and that its basic premise is its ideological downfall, this just doesn't really feel like it says anything much interesting or coherent, ultimately, because the criticism either drowns in the length and comedic nature of it, or just ultimately isn't focused and pointed and nuanced enough to actually say something meaningful. like ik someone's gonna do a "kid's game" thing but hello, kid's shit has always been nuanced and just bc it's "for kids" doesn't mean it has to abide by some binary ass morality that flattens all its interesting critique, especially when you're constantly led, structurally, to the more interesting and nuanced narrative choice only to have a twist completely ruin it and making it all feel like a waste of your time. plenty of things are nuanced and interesting and "for kids" without deflating their themes and messages by writing a stupid twist that undercuts the interesting parts of its arguments.

[tricks-n-illusions]

[Reaction to this post] - [Lady Ombre belongs to @ask-noonescity]

Alts have been added for smaller text.

Silas pulled his hand away in response, he wasn't expecting rebellion towards his threats, especially one he said with such confidence. The sudden physical contact made him cringe, despite his face being hidden his body language made it obvious he felt discomfort at being touched. He didn't like that, not one bit, her lack of fear was unnerving and the sinister grin she gave made his skin crawl. It felt like the power and advantage he had over her was suddenly pulled out from underneath him. He didn't have control over the situation anymore and that terrified him.

As she leered back everything in his body was screaming at him to run, yet just as before when faced with something much scarier than himself he froze like a deer in headlights. He didn't know how to react, he didn't know what to do and he was so confused by the situation he didn't even realize the unexpected stinging pain that was quickly starting to dig into his fur. It was only when he felt his mask finally beginning to slip that his panic and self-preservation finally kicked in.

"Please stop-!" Silas yelped out in fear, his claws were franticly clawing at the vines but he did little damage to them. It was like all his efforts to escape meant nothing to her, he felt so helpless and scared. Of course, he would die this way, a victim to his own stupidity. His breathing quickly spiralled out of control as he felt the vines begin to tighten, he didn't like this. It all felt so sickeningly familiar to him, the pressure around his neck, the way he gasped for air and panicked, it was all much too close to something from his past. This had happened before? Hadn't it? This was something he was acquainted with, something he knew well. She always did this to him, just another punishment on the long list.

And for some reason, everything in his mind couldn't stop him from melting back into those moments. She was here again, wasn't she? Back from the grave to torment him? Despite everything he knew, every logical thought denying her existence in the present he couldn't shake the thought. In one last ditch effort to ease his anxiety, he opened his eyes... But that only gave him a passing glance of a face he knew well.

Lady Ombre was truly gone, her words falling on deaf ears as she lectured the fox. All that replaced her was the terrifying memory of a ghost here to hurt him once more.

Silas franticly kicked and squirmed in the air, his tiny paws were desperately attempting to tear at the magical energy around his neck. Seance merely looked on in annoyance.

"What are you good for if not? You really don't know how to do anything, do you?" Seance scoffed, her magic was slowly tightening around the fox's neck more. Her grip easily constricted his airway. "I asked you to kill... one person." She held a singular claw up as the tiny Giratina spirit drifted around her, "But you couldn't even do that little fox, could you?" "Why do I even ask you to do things, what are you worried they're going to hurt you?" She laughed as Silas struggled. "You should be more scared of me than some stranger, did you not learn what happens when you don't listen? Was the tail not enough? Do you need another reminder?" "What's next, Hm..." The ghost hummed, pacing around the fox in thought. "How about an ear, or maybe." She suddenly grinned as her eyes darted back to him. "An eye? Oh, you'd love that, wouldn't you? Every time you'd open your little eyes and realize you can't quite see the whole picture, you'll remember me and think about how much you should have listened... How does that sound, hm? Or I could finally just kill you?" Silas frantically shook his head in reply, the air he was able to breathe in was getting more scarce by the second. "You're right. That'd be too merciful, someone as horrible as you doesn't deserve mercy." With the last bits of air he could get the fox gave a broken plead. 

"Ugh, Seriously?" She groaned.

Silas hit the ground with a loud thud, the sudden allowance of air instantly threw him into a coughing fit. Seance however just stared down in irritation, her ears twitching with every sharp cough. "Are you fucking done now?"She asked in irritation, she obviously felt no remorse for her actions. "Stop the dramatic coughing fit, you're not getting any sympathy from me. You want sympathy then why don't you crawl your way back to your human, hm?" "I'm sure she's stupid enough to reward your misbehaviour with pets and kisses. You always did like being a little pampered pet, didn't you? Having a soft bed and food in your bowl~" She mocked. "Disgusting really, you pets are all the same." Silas only continued to cough before he made a weak effort to stand.

He only looked down in shame, despite her scolding, tears quickly began to fill his eyes. But there was no sadness, no emotion to go along with them all he felt was a disconnect from his surroundings as he drifted back into reality. [ . . . ] It seemed Lady had let go of him long ago, but he was too stuck in his head to have noticed. He only sat there in silence as his hand cautiously wandered to the place where the vines were. The presence of pressure still lingered even if the vines were no longer there. He seemed confused, unsure why Lady Ombre didn't simply kill him when she had the chance.

Just as she left the fox made a frantic scramble for his mask. Tears were beginning to well up in his eyes, all he could mutter out was faint repetitive apologies as he shakily took the kitsune mask in hand.

Once he felt it in his hands a faint calmness washed over him... He took a long moment to stare at it in silence. His claw was gently scratching at the smooth surface of the mask, a feeble attempt to help ground himself in the present day. He still seemed extremely shaken up from the interaction with her. His hands were unintentionally trembling, and he couldn't stop his tears from worsening as moments passed. He was so tired of this, he was so tired of showing weakness and letting strangers have power over him. He was getting so tired of people treating him badly, pushing him around, finding new ways to get under his skin and bring him to the pathetic tears he struggled to hide. "Everything is fine..." He muttered before he finally flipped the mask, completely set on using it to conceal any leftover tears.

"Why do I always do such stupid things…"

-> Oh? What's this? Seems Silas will remember this interaction. Lady Ombre has been added to the relationships page. -> Silas has been... slightly injured and will have minor scratches going forward.

[solomons-poison]

One of the worst things that the whole most recent Israel vs Palestine issues (as someone who is pro-Palestine) has brought is this blatant acceptance of antisemitism and Holocaust denial, and it's absolutely ridiculous to see how freely people just admit to having these views/beliefs.

This is the exact type of shit people were doing in the 1300s when the Black Plague was running rampant, blaming Jewish people for anything and everything they could think of. One of the many hundreds of excuses for the plague was that it was caused by Jewish people. People theorized that Jewish people were putting poison in the wells. Beyond that, there was the whole "Jewish people control the economy" thing and that their supposed control of the money led to this sickness, too.

Sad to think that 700 years have passed since then, and no one has learned anything from this shit. People are way, WAY too comfortable being openly hateful and coming up with ridiculous theories again. Nothing has been learned.

[cross-d-a]

I am….SO tired of “Qui-Gon is the uncaring selfish master” fic trend like……come up with something original. Make it nuanced. Stop with the black and white shit I am BEGGING. Not like I don’t adore the Jedi apprentice series bc I very VERY much do but jfc the Qui-gon bashing train is So Old. Pick something else. Just leaves a sour taste in my mouth at this point *BIG SIGH like if you’re gonna go that route make him actually LEARN from his mistakes. Miscommunication doesn’t make a villain, either. No one’s perfect and it’s absolutely uninteresting if you stick him in this solely negative role like Damn.

[dirtytransmasc]

I'll rephrase, Alicent in the first episodes after the time skip treat rhaenyra like shit before aemond's episode and whisper to aegon how he will become king, so, in this time rhaenyra did nothing to be seen as a threat to alicent's children. And mostly because alicent is aware that viserys loves only rhaenyra, alicent should have preserve her relationship with rhaenyra if she really care for her children, not give rhaenyra a reason to hate her. The cold truth is that before aemond's episode most of alicent's choise are guided not by the love she have for her children but by her resentment toward rhaenyra. Alicent herself plant the seed for the dance, not rhaenyra. She crown aegon aware that rhaenyra will not bend the knee and that houses will support her but still forces aegon to take the crown and start a war, the reason why her children are in danger ARE HER NOT RHAENYRA. When people say that they're happy for alicent's end honestly i can't agree more because all the blood of the dance, not only her children or rhaenyra's but the blood of everyone, is on her shoulders and on her choise.

***EDIT AT BOTTOM***

ok, so, gonna try and be nice, but I've tackled takes close to this one before, and I'm getting a wee bit tired of it, but I'm gonna do it again anyway.

Alicent had no reason, to respect, love, or foster a relationship with Rhaenyra during the timeskip, and tried her hardest to prior to the timeskip, only to get walked all over, so she stopped trying.

I've gone over this in a few posts like this, this, and this one (these are similar takes, not exactly catering to this one exactly, so like, take them with a pinch of salt and focus on what caters to this take if your gonna go through reading them), but Alicent does not owe Rhaenyra any good will, at all, point blank.

Alicent tried for years, long enough to have 2 children, to reforge her relationship with Rhaenyra. this was after she was prayed upon by a grown ass man who forced her hand in marriage (after her own father sent her to the mans chambers, and if you try and argue she had any choice or say, or try to blame her for her marriage to Viserys I will gladly just send you to my many posts as to why that's a straight up lie, cause I've beaten that horse beyond death, its pulverized) and Rhaenyra treated her like absolute garbage, abandoning her in her greatest time of need. but she still tried to rekindle that bond, tried to include rhaenyra, tried to befriend her, she tried, and Rhaenyra walked all over her, leaving her completely alone outside of Viserys, her father, and her children.

Alicent tried, time and time again to help Rhaenyra as well. she tried to give Rhaenyra a choice in her marriage, kept Viserys's temper calm with her, helped set up a grand tour with dozens of suitors for her to pick from, a good grace no noble girl, or any girl really, could ever dream of.

when Rhaenyra had her scandal with Daemon and Criston, she tried her hardest to protect her then, even when it hurt her to do so. she believed Rhaenyra when she lied to her, on her dead mothers name, making a fool of herself in front of Viserys. she proclaimed Rhaenyra's innocence only to find out she had not only lied, but from her prospective, she had slept with two men in one night, one of those times it was coerced (since she had no way of knowing Rhaenyra hadn't gone all the way with Daemon), and that while her father received punishment and was removed from KL (leaving her alone at court), Viserys still didn't believe her and sent her the tea.

that is a lot for one person to process, especially from someone they considered a close friend to do to them. to be treated with cruelty over a marriage she had no say in and was hurt by immensely, lied to, used, walked all over, and abandoned none the less? I would have hated her too.

Rhaenyra goes on to do whatever she wants at court, while Alicent suffers her fate of duty. she has bastards and proclaims them legitimate, showing she has yet to change whatsoever since that event, an event that has had a negative impact on Alicent's life. Viserys turns a blind eye to it, as he practically had with the scandal (cause a moon tea and a marriage is barely anything compared to the consequence's Rhaenyra should have faced. not wishing ill on Rhaenyra either, just saying the heir to the iron throne deserves a little more than a pat, not even a slap, on the wrist for that). she's angry, its understandable.

and yet, even through her anger, she keeps her temper. sure she speaks to Viserys and Cole about it, but thats her husband, Rhaenyra's father, and her sworn sword and seemingly only trusted friend. at court (especially prior to the time skip) she is amiable, if a little passive aggressive. she protect Rhaenyra's name more than she has to, is respectful when she doesn't have to, even keeps those around her to honor some level of repsect when it comes to Rhaenyra when she doesn't have to (namely calling Criston when he calls her a cunt).

when they usurp her, she orders no harm to come to Rhaenyra and stands up to her manipulative father after years of falling to his words, and orders that he follow her lead, because she doesn't want to hurt Rhaenyra if its not necessary.

will I say she was the kindest person in the whole wide world to Rhaenyra? never, that's laughable. will I say she was kinder, more respectful, and protected her more than Rhaenyra ever even attempted to be, let alone was towards her? 100% absolutely.

she never wanted to have a bad relationship with Rhaenyra, but one person can only take so much before they break. she couldn't try anymore, Rhaenyra made it clear that Alicent was nothing more than a means to an end for her, that she would step on her if she needed to. Alicent shouldn't be expected to put up with that.

she attempted to remain amiable over the years, to keep some semblance of peace within the house until Rhaenyra was a threat, which honestly would have most likely happened regardless, as we've seen, Rhaenyra will step over whoever it takes to keep her head above water, being friends probably would have doomed Alicent and her kids even faster.

Alicent was never the seed of the dance, Rhaenyra and Viserys were. Viserys allowed Rhaenyra to grow into the person she was, a person who sought self benefit with little care for the realm and her image, she doomed herself and Alicent was caught in the crossfire. to

expecting someone to kiss another person's feet, even after that person has kicked them into the dirt time and time again, when that person had even tried to grovel and make friends once more for years, only to blame them when they don't, when they pick themselves up out of the dirt and brush themselves off and act in their own (rightful) self interest, for a war that they never wanted and were merely a pawn in, is actually wild to me.

Alicent acted well in her own rights towards Rhaenyra and it brought her nothing but pain. she tried to be respectful and dutiful for the house and the courts sake and Rhaenyra only became more of a threat. she tried her best to protect her children, the kingdom, and rhaenyra, and was faced with war, the death of her children, and her own demise. one woman can only do and be so much, and its never enough.

and if you want to point out the ways Alicent could have been better, start pointing out the ways Rhaenyra could have been, cause her list is a lot longer. they both weren't perfect, but Alicent was forced into a life she did not ask for, given children to protect that went unloved and unwanted by their father, thrown into a conflict that had been building for years, and still tried, Rhaenyra made her own bed and refused to lay in it. one deserves more blame for the war than the other.

Edit: one thing I forgot to mention in both posts. Alicent stopped trusting Rhaenyra after her father was removed from court, rightfully so, cause she saw Rhaenyra would always get away with anything at the expense of others, and then years pass, so yeah, she wants Aegon to be king. is this wise or kind of her? I don't know, I think she's fucking earned it, we have 0 idea what has happened in those years inbetween, other than Rhaenyra having 3 bastards and claiming them as legitimate. I'd be pissed, I'd be scared (cause thats threat enough alone in my opinion), and I'd want to push my own legitimate children, especially if I had been at the but of Rhaenyra's behavior prior, I would not trust that situation to go anyway but belly up for me. if you disagree so be it, I'm not gonna convince anyone to change their minds on this specific scene. she told Aegon he would be king because despite not being a massive sore thumb of a threat, she's still, as a female heir with a firstborn son right behind her, a threat to her children nonetheless (cause politics, yippee, I don't like it but its true). she knew it would be Rhaenyra or her child, and she would always pick her son.