#among others)

[papayajuan2019]

pleasant words, based on sound and feel only:

camphor, fjord, oyster, euler, cove, anise, mosfet, orchid, estuary, clot, violet, ox, gauze, saffron, vein

[lem0nademouth]

this question is for jewish + indigenous folk, please do not offer your unqualified opinion!

what are your thoughts on reconnecting members of your community?

(jews, i am NOT talking about converts with buried jewish ancestry, i mean people with one jewish parent or grandparent who were raised without any connection to judaism and are now engaging with it WITHOUT converting or attending formal services/classes/etc.)

we always say a jew is a jew is a jew, and i really do believe that, but i also have encountered a lot of “well my [parent/grandparent/stepparent/etc] is jewish and therefore i’m jewish which makes me a qualified authority on this subject”. this specific type of person has about a preschool level understanding of judaism, if that, and frequently spreads misinformation. it’s not uncommon for them to say requiring formal conversion is some flavor of bigoted and that they won’t do it on principle. i should also note they are not baal teshuvah (jews raised secular who later become more religious). personally…i can’t find it in me to call these people my people. the fundamental aspects of what makes a culture - food, holidays, music - we don’t share those experiences and more to the point you have no interest in sharing them, at least not meaningfully. judaism is an aesthetic to these people. to me, it’s my life.

[hisuianserperior]

At some point it got to the point where I see shipping discourse and just think, "You know what, fuck you *Polyrises your characters*.

[inquisimail]

parallel playing datv with friends. realized something very funny

[ijustkindalikebooks]

“Bibliotropic," Hugh said. "Like sunflowers are heliotropic, they naturally turn towards the sun. We naturally turn towards the bookshop.” ― Jo Walton, Among Others.

[catelyngrant]

Is there anything that hits like a ship who dream of a future where they can be together, a future that they both know can't/won't happen (or at the very least is a long way off, and/or would require major sacrifices and/or leaving their current lives behind)? A dream that's sweet to think about, so sweet that they can't think about it too much or let themselves hope could actually come true? A dream that, maybe, that they maybe came very close to realizing only to have it snatched away, the way they always knew it could be, and having to live with the regret and the "what-if" that's even worse for losing that dream right when it was in their sight? A dream that, for the rare, rare few who have the luck and the timing and the years of waiting under their belt, actually find their way to a life that's all the more precious for knowing how close they came to never having it at all?

I'm talking about a cabin on a lake with water so clear, it's like looking through glass. I'm talking about a pond in Minnesota with no fish in it. I'm talking about Alaska, and Brazil, and Florana. I'm talking about a cottage in Perth, and about making bracelets in New Mexico.

Those dreams that, once they're spoken and shared, take on a life built on all of the unspoken things between two people who, for whatever reason, can't say very much out loud, can't hope or want too much or too publicly. But they can maybe, every now and then, play around with this idea that's so far from possible in their current reality that it feels safe to dream about for a little while, an idea to keep them going through all of the reasons why it can't happen now.

Maybe someday is truly one of the greatest tropes, and two of the saddest words. Almost, even more.

[obsessionnostalgia]

“People tell you to write what you know, but I've found that writing what you know is much harder than making it up. It's easier to research a historical period than your own life, and it's much easier to deal with things that have a little less emotional weight and where you have a little more detachment. It's terrible advice! So this is why you'll find there's no such place as the Welsh valleys, no coal under them, and no red buses running up and down them; there never was such a year as 1979, no such age as fifteen, and no such planet as Earth. The fairies are real, though.”

Authors Note by Jo Walton from Among Others

[anonfanficreader]

if I had to give failing video game developers any advice it’d be this:

any video game that panders to lesbians (actual, real life lesbians…not “lesbians” thru the gaze of cismen) will have a guaranteed shelf life and dedicated, content-starved fandom for at least ten years

[henry-fox-biggest-stan]

Ohhhh you wanna read about byler parallels with sam and frodo (along with other characters) so bad ohhhh *I fall of stage while making ghost sounds*

[captainkirkk]

What books did you enjoy growing up?

I loved the Roald Dahl books. The Witches was my favourite and still brings me a lot of happiness to think about

I also adored Goosebumps, the Rainbow Magic fairy books, and the Dear Dumb Diary series

[johanirae]

Hark, the familiar cry of fanartists: FUCK! I FORGOT TO DRAW HIS SCARS!

[adozentothedawn]

Since I am once again completely obsessed I need you all to see my favourite twitter thread.

Waidwen objectively hot confirmed.

[beardedmrbean]

[greatwyrmgold]

Spoilers for Another Crab's Treasure ahead.

Another Crab's Treasure isn't exactly a character-focused story. It has characters, I like several of them, but the focus is more on theme and tone.

Kril's character arc is, appropriately, simple. It fits the standard "want versus need" template cleanly. Kril wants his old peaceful life (symbolized by the beaten-up shell that's kept him safe all this time), and keeps to that want all the way down to the Unfathom. Down there, he realizes how meaningless his boring life in the tide pool is, and by the time he finally gets his old shell back, he doesn't really want it any more.

Kril realizes he needs to find purpose in life, to move forward instead of standing in place. So he gives the shell to a crab who needs it more and embraces his need. Kril goes onward and tries to make the sea a better place.

The Unfathom is a turning point for other characters, too, even ones who don't change much. Take Nemma, who (despite how much I love her) is a static character. She's the same at the start of the game as at the end, but the Unfathom is still where we see her greatest shift—deciding that she's had enough of adventure and wants to go back to Bottomfeeders and her kids.

The Unfathom is also where Chitan gets consumed by her hatred (or has her hatred hijacked by Praya Dubia—not sure which framing is better). The Unfathom's ancient trash ignites Konche's mixture of archaeological passion and nostalgia, turning him from a mostly passive exposition machine to an active agent. And the Unfathom is where Inkerton shoots Roland after one insult too many.

And then there's Firth, who arguably also has a character arc. At the start of the game, he wants to be a plutocrab like Roland. After seeing Roland's factory firsthand, Firth realizes Roland isn't as nice a businessman as he imagined; he changes how he talks about his goal, but it doesn't seem like he's changed his actual goals much. He still wants to be the trash-economy version of a billionaire philanthropist.

And then he falls into the Unfathom. We barely see Firth between when everyone falls into the Unfathom and when Firth claims the Ultimate Whorl, but something shifted. Maybe through slow contemplation, maybe through a sudden madness.

One way or another, that want fades to the background. When Firth talks about his plans for New Carcinia, he's not talking about building a business to rival Shell Corp, or even charitable works. He's talking about taking control of New Carcinia and reshaping it to fit his dream. Trash for everyone! A booming economy! Something something, advanced technology? Whatever!

Firth wanted to be Roland. But at some point, he realized that what he "needed" was power. (Not all character arcs point up.)

A lot of people seem to dislike that Firth took the final-boss mantle, but I like it. When the nicest crabitalist in the entire game comes to power, he immediately loses the nice-guy philanthropy angle in favor of a god complex. Another Crab's Treasure is saying that that's the kind of person who makes it big under capitalism, that we can't make capitalism better by paying better capitalists. The only reason Firth wasn't as bad as Roland is his lack of wealth; he dropped the pretense once he was strong enough to get away with it.

[lithi]

Oooo a convention ?? 🤲🏼

The art is by @vv10031, who also illustrated those two a while back <3

They’re so cute….