#and a lot of people dont know the nuances

[zieroses]

I think one major thing missing in Veilguard is elves making the wrong choice.

As far as I know, it’s not accurate to the lore and history that elves would so easily accept (much less already know, i.e. Strife and Irelin) that their gods are evil. I believe it’s even mentioned at one point (hopefully I didn’t make this up or read it in a post?) that Solas awoke after his long rest to find that not only had the world changed, but the elvhen had gotten it all wrong, reducing him to a trickster god and elevating the Evanuris to shining beacons of worship. And as we know in real life, a lot of people who deeply worship their idols dont so easily accept even the most damning evidence that everything they knew was wrong.

These are our gods, after all; they’ve been gone, and they’re back, and they came back for us. That you stand against them is damning for you. Maybe the Veil Jumpers believe you, but we, the Dalish in general, do not. We know our histories. We know our gods. Plus, if the Dread Wolf is aligned against them, we know which side we want to be on.

So, imagine whole encampments of Dalish - maybe even an entire exodus of them from the south - journeying to join Elgar’nan and Ghilain’nain. Imagine that by the time they arrive, it’s too late; there’s no going back, they’re already under Elgar’nan’s insidious control. There’s no chance of them telling the Dalish clans that follow: we were wrong, go back, do not come, flee. Imagine that alongside the un-nuanced evil power-chasers that are the Venatori and the Antaam, we also have to fight Dalish. Imagine, as an elf, having to make a choice the first time you encounter such an enemy. Can they be saved? And you learn: no, they cannot, and if you tried, you lose a friend, or a contingent of Veil Jumpers, because these Dalish are mind-broken, controlled by Elgar’nan.

Imagine a questline, brought to you by the Veil Jumpers (or even a member of the clan): we’ve located a clan en route to join Elgar’nan, if we hurry, we can stop them before it’s too late. So you hurry, and you intercept them. But can you convince them? Bonus points perhaps if you’re a Dalish elf yourself - bonus points perhaps if you have Davrin or Bellara with you. Three outcomes, maybe: you convince them to stop, and they go to the Veil Jumpers instead, increasing your alliance with that faction; you don’t convince them, and their numbers strengthen Elgar’nan’s, and in a later gut wrenching cutscene you encounter faces you recognize and now have to cut down; or perhaps split down the middle, you convince some but not all, and the bonuses and consequences are both present, but lesser.

Maybe also, if the game had some more nuance regarding the historical way Tevinter treats elves, this can potentially go even more poorly if you are a Shadow Dragon, or a mage. Or a Shadow Dragon mage.

This would’ve “solved” a few problems DATV presented or rather flattened out: the lack of nuance in your enemy (think Corypheus’s lieutenants and the things we learn about them that make them potentially sympathetic) and the lack of nuance in the elvhen response to the revelation of their gods’ return.

[georgespaniel]

this is probably going to sound a bit spineless but it makes me feel sad knowing that people will think of me in a bad way because i like the 1975

[greghatecrimes]

for the love of god

[abirddogmoment]

today's hot take for dog people: management is not the same thing as training.

[scorpiusmalfoylovesoscarwilde]

I've said it before, I'll say it again, and I'm sure it won't be the last time. I AM SICK AND BLOODY TIRED OF THESE MFS, HALF OF WHO DONT EVEN CARE ABOUT CURSED CHILD, BITCHING AND MOANING ABOUT AN ANGSTY TEEN DARING TO BE AN ANGSTY TEEN, I WILL FIGHT THE LOT OF YOU

(this is gonna be a bit long and probably incoherent so sit down and fucking listen to me 🔫 stick with me because I'm not just complaining about albus haters)

eVERYBODY wants cOoMmpllEeXx relatable HUMAN characters - and then SHIT themselves when the flaws a CHILD has isn't just 🥺 uwu im socially awkward and traumatised 🥺. that's why scorpius doesn't get this fuckass treatment, because his terrible human flaw is that he's a bit shit at conversation and gets sad about his dead mum (generalised understatement, but this post isnt about him. dont come for me i love him 🫶🏻)

god forbid albus, who feels unloved and unwanted (with valid evidence for a teenager), albus who feels completely out of place and outcast from his entire famously-close-knit family, ablus who is well known by the world by default via Harry and hates the attention and high expectations, albus who then gets targeted and bullied by his peers because he's not as perfect and brilliant as his father, albus who is then isolated from his one friend because Harry is making irrational ptsd fueled decisions, albus who tells Harry completely sincerely that he knows he's unlikeable but he'll try and change himself and be more like his siblings because he genuinely believes that's what Harry and everyone else whos had the misfortune of meeting him wants, albus who spends the entire play trying to prove himself and fix things via idiotic childish decisions BECAUSE HES A WHOLE UNSTABLE CHILD

god forbid that CHILD doesn't react like a patient, supported, well adjusted, level headed adult. god forbid he reacts outwardly. god forbid he reacts at all, my bad. clearly he should just sniffle a bit as if he doesn't feel suffocated and helpless by everything in his life, because obviously hes just a spoiled brat who doesn't know what real suffering is. god forbid he complains or feels anything negatively, or doesn't quite grasp that other people are struggling too because he is too busy trying so hard to deal with himself and his declining mental health the best he can with basically no support or understanding. god forbid he isn't completely perfect.

you all sound like some fucking boomer telling teenagers they don't know what real struggling is, they aren't mentally ill, they dont have any problems because they have a roof over their head, they should all go to war kids are too soft these days 😫😖😱 fUCKING‼️SHUT UP‼️

he does things wrong but he knows he does and he does everything he can to fix it! and he is fourteen!!! do none of you remember what being fourteen is like 😭😭 I swear half of you have got to be basically fourteen yourselves cmon man

cause I'm seeing this fucking pattern a lot recently. not just for albus, not just in this fandom, everywhere. ‼️ no one can fucking handle flawed characters anymore ‼️ the only thing any character is allowed to have wrong with them is trauma apparently, otherwise they have to be perfect, and I'm getting sick of it. characters and stories are meant to reflect real life, they're meant to help shape our world view, why are you expecting everyone to be fucking perfect??? what happened to nuance? what happened to understanding character development? you are all acting like characters and people are so black and white. either they're perfect or they're insufferable and evil. I won't lie, the most common victims i've noticed of this are women. but the flawed women are typically demonised, whereas the men are typically turned into uwu baby boys who actually aren't capable of doing anything wrong and then fanon goes nuts making them into ittle wittle victims. and I'm so fucking sick of all of it, I hate this. (obviously this is not a strict rule. Albus Potter, and also Albus Dumbledore now I mention it, are demonised beyond belief)

BRING BACK FLAWS AND BRING BACK NOT COMPLETELY WRITING OFF A CHARACTER BECAUSE THEY DARE TO BE HUMAN

I AM FED UP, ALBUS POTTER GET BEHIND ME

[xxplastic-cubexx]

what is your favorite thing about charles and your favorite thing about erik? separately, as in what you like most about their characters :]

a devious question this one is, my friend!!! it's hard enough for me to explain my thoughts cohesively, but having to pick ONE thing i particularly love is difficult. with characters like charles and erik, theres been so much done with their characters over the decades and so they have so many components to them that make them so interesting and fun to observe. BUT I TRY FOR YOU TODAY. under the cut i kinda ramble and the size of this text box makin me anxious

i think if i were to be simple and broad, what i enjoy most about charles is his determination to help others, even if he isn't really thanked and/or if people don't even like him. ofc, this isn't to say he hasn't done wrong- to be honest, the fact he does wrong/questionable things at times is another aspect of him i really enjoy, maybe because- broadly speaking- he's meant to be altruistic (intent vs outcome and all that). i don't know if that's super exciting to most people, but it is for me

as for erik, my reason for liking him is easier to explain tbh. To Be Simple And Broad, his progression from villain to antihero over the decades has been fun to observe (as much as i have so far anyhow) and analyze. i think to be a bit more specific, him using his rage and pain as justifications for his villainous actions is definitely what compels me the most: hurt people hurt and the sort, an idea i've always found interesting (something something vicious cycles and the like). yet now, he recognizes this wasn't really. A Just Thing To Do and is beginning to change that, which i enjoy

[ourhouseishaunted]

people acting as if laios can Do No Wrong and infantilizing him because he is autistic are annoying as hell. especially because laios belongs to my favorite genre of character: "person who desperately wants friends and deep relationships because they're lonely, and while part of their problems stem from people not wanting to understand them and refusing to meet them where they are, they also genuinely come across in a way where you Completely Understand why others can get turned off from them"

[idolomantises]

there's something so comforting about artists you admire talking about their own struggles and insecurities

[billfarrah]

@unfortunate17 and I were discussing Wille���s anxiety and how we don’t feel like Wille’s reluctance to partake in public speaking was a result of his anxiety, but rather his history of being forced to speak and say things he doesn’t mean and follow a script in order to preserve the reputation of his family and control the public’s perception of him. He was forced to follow a script three times in season 1 - the first when he had to apologize on TV for a fight he was not sorry about, when he had to read a written speech to his classmates regarding his brother who had just died, and when he was forced to lie about the video leading to the destruction of his relationship with Simon.

In my opinion Wille’s fear of public speaking in season 2 is not related to general or social anxiety - as I do not believe Wille has social anxiety at all and is not shy at all despite some people in the fandom tending to believe he is - but rather a fear of being perceived, because that is ultimately Wille’s main struggle in the series - not being with a boy, not being in love with a gay, not being queer, but being perceived by others and feeling forced to live up to a certain standard or expectation when all he wants to do is live his life truthfully and without people having opinions about the things he does.

What’s so powerful and beautifully written about the scenes with Boris is that even though Wille is made to see a therapist by his mother, the Queen, who is the one who persuaded/forced him speak out when he didn’t want to, Wille’s sessions with Boris are the first time he is told he doesn’t have to say anything if  he doesn’t want to, and the confidentiality of their sessions and Boris’ position as an unbiased professional allows him to be more honest with not only himself, but with another person without feeing like he is being judged or forced to feel or believe something he doesn’t.

We see in season 1 episode 4, when Wille goes off script and speaks from the heart about Erik, and in season 2 episode 6 when he once again goes off script, that Wille really has no issues with speaking to a crowd, but only when he feels he’s being truthful and honest and in control of the narrative. His fear of speaking in the class presentation, in my opinion, has a lot to do with how out of control of his own narrative Wille felt throughout season 2 as a result of the lie at the end of season 1 and the events of season 2 - he is perceived by his classmates now as having denied being a part of the video, as if it was something to be ashamed of, he is perceived as being interested in Felice when in reality he’s desperately in love with Simon. He just wants to exist and stay true to himself and it scares him to do it in front of an audience, and that’s what makes it so powerful when we see him slowly begin to accept how he feels about himself and the circumstances of his life through the sessions with Boris, and how that results with him re-taking control of his own narrative at the Jubilee at the end of the season, and that’s just beautiful writing.

[giritina]

Is it a hot take to say hard line anti-psychiatry is definitely reactionary and anti-science and bad

[perenlop]

okay so as a gen 5 stan who does adore the story in bw and bw2, and now that gen 5 has experienced both a vicious hatedom that wouldnt hear a single positive thing about the games, and now a super protective fandom that insists they were perfect and had zero flaws... can we admit now that the bw1 story at least was. a little mid.

[gncrezan]

that person who said the vote was a situation engineered in a laboratory to bring out all of 7's neuroses/insecurities is soo right, and what makes the situation so chewy for me is how the same can be said for a lot of versions of the MC?? like what do you mean you forced the person with abandonment/attachment issues to make a binary choice between their best friend/romantic partner and the rest of their mutual friend group?? and then (if the MC tried to keep 7 on main vocals) didn't even have that choice honored?? yeah, I'm sure this won't create any lasting trauma

YEAH!!!! okay i just said this in tags but it has to be said in text. just wondering what made the band kind of say "this vote has to be done" like was it the start of that "we should be more serious, move away from being a high school band so we can get signed, even if that means deciding on a lead vocalist and demoting someone" ?? and if this has actually been explained in game (beyond the stuff about how the songs featuring mc were received better, etc) my bad LMFAO

[dimensionhoppr]

One day I will be able to properly break down the themes of authoritarianism, bioessentialism, and the VERY flawed "hero and villain" dynamic in MHA and then it'll be ALL over for you...

[hotsugarbyglassanimals]

i feel like this site leaning heavily into the "pedophilia and incest and rape kinks are good" angle lately can be attributed to the mass expulsion of sex workers and black ppl on here ngl

[werebutch]

as respectfully as i can say this, i think it's unkind to say that trans people with different mindsets abt genitals don't have 'actual' dysphoria.

unless phallo/meta surgery outcomes advance a LOT in my lifetime i'll never be able to get a dick, so i've done a lot of work on my mindset in order to survive. just because i can talk about it/find a way to feel attractive despite my situation doesn't mean the dysphoria is fake.

i think you're a really nice and considerate person, i really don't mean to be a jerk or pushy or anything by this ask!

It was an admittedly rude joke + i understand that some trans people cant get or dont want some surgeries.. because i am one. im on the same page with you, i wouldn’t get phallo unless it advances and maybe not even at all. Truly have no idea bc im young. right now in my life i dont even plan to get my boobs fully removed because im dissatisfied with how plus size peoples’ scars currently look. So i understand. Genuinely appreciate this and not trying to sound sarcastic. Its really not my problem (and irl i dont make it my problem.. not to pat myself on the back but im an extremely pleasant person. And genuine about it. So i understand people assuming that im an evil fake bitch, but that is just not it LMFAO) but it greatly pisses me off to hear transmasculine people just straight up say that hormones and surgery are gross, or they dont want it despite being trans, i guess because of how badly i want it myself lol. I guess its good that people dont feel like they have to rush into transitioning but its just really really bizarre to me that a lot of transmasculine people my age are just straight up not wanting to medically transition at all. I think that they might want to unpack the reason for that. Its kind of like the immature feeling you get in school when you hear a classmate complain about a complete non-issue in their life, acting like its horrible, while youre going through your own actual hell in your own life that you have to keep quiet about… YOU KNOW LOL?

[jerksbitch]

twitter has poisoned this fandom i fear ... we used to be a community..