#and its!! SUCH A TREAT!!! to see that the people working on it are just as enthusiastic about it as me.

[marshvlovestv]

Oh oh oh, so I've talked before about how incredible it is to see how Double Fine matured in its handling of neurodivergence in the fifteen years between Psychonauts 1 and 2, but you know what else is addressed more sensitively in Psychonauts 2?

War.

The first game talks about war a weird amount, for it not really being the thing that the game is about, and it's all through the lens of insecure dudes in military cosplay (Fred I still love you the most but it had to be said). Oleander got rejected from every branch and now he's made this military fantasyland his whole personality, acting like a drill sergeant around the kids and dreaming up horrible superweapons, and all the while his construct in Lungfishopolis proves he doesn't really understand how the Navy works or how a revolution against the military complex would actually look. (Aside, I still find it very funny that Psychonauts 2 establishes that designing superweapons is just something he does all the time, even when he's good, and Hollis's austerity is the only thing getting in his way.) Waterloo World, meanwhile, has its roots in a real world conflict, but the real world conflict is not Fred's issue; the things casting a shadow over Fred are the mythologized legacy of Napoleon and a board game which is an abstracted mockery of real military strategy.

And all of this, treating the war and military as some abstract fantasy, is just for giggles and goofs. Which is totally fine by the way! Psychonauts is a comedy game and a dark one at that. I don't have a problem with a comedy deriving some harmless laughs from a dark topic. I'm just pointing out that the first game had an odd and irreverent fascination with war so I can say that the contrast between it and Psychonauts 2 is kind of mind-boggling.

In Psychonauts 2, war is no longer some heady hypothetical thing. This game puts an actual, in-universe war at the center of its backstory. This war had real casualties. It tore apart families, displaced people from their homes, left so much pain in its wake that even mentioning the name Maligula is said to cause a massive psychic outcry. Of course, every character in the game who was touched by this war has trauma coming out of their ears. And the villain of the piece is Gristol, the one person who (despite, yes, having associated traumas of his own) doesn't take what happened seriously, the person who wants the war machine that was Maligula to come back.

Anyway so yeah I played Psychonauts for one (1) hour yesterday and the Video Game Thoughts are alllllll coming back.

[crazy-lazy-elder-sims]

I've been seeing alot of people felling discouraged from simblr and feeling like they don't belong

Especially when there is alot of posts going around telling you not to focus on popularity etc

But im here to tell you ITS NOT YOU

You did nothing worng you do infact belong here its not your fault people in this community are not interactive (and yes its just this community im in two other fandom spaces and they work just fine people here are the outlier)

And my proof that its not your fault?

I have 3200 follower (all real people i removed the bots myself)

So you would think i would get alot of notes and feel included right?

WRONG

3k+ followers and this year the most notes i got on any non cc post i made was 15 and on cc posts it was 56

The only post that got alot of notes all year was my simblreen treats post and you would think with 3k people watching it would be 1000 notes or something but no last time i checked it was barely over 100

There are like 3 people that occasionally talk to me sometimes on my posts lol (very thankful i know no one owes me anything)

And i have had this blog for 6+ years

My point is

You belong just fine and i personally am happy you are here

Its not your fault people are being stubborn and refusing to reblog on the reblog website

(imma be real with you if i owened this website im removing the like option this is the reblog website you don't need to only like stuff but i dont own it so 🤷‍♂️)

[yuesya]

Guizhong blinks, staring out at the mountainous terrain that was formerly Malphas’ territory.

… Or rather, what remained of the mountainous terrain.

It’s… a mess. The mountains? Are just not there anymore. As in, they’re just completely gone. Vanished! Like they just up and disappeared into thin air!

Now, there’s nothing but a sea of lapping waves stretching out as far as the eye can see, drowning out what used to be perfectly good dry land. There’s no telling how long this unnatural flood will persist, as if the scale of damage wrought to the landscape and environment wasn’t catastrophic enough already.

The flood reached all the way to the borders of the Guili Assembly’s territory. It was only thanks to the defenses that they’d previously put into place that they were able to defend against the sudden onslaught of waves at all. A necessary precaution, given their close proximity to the Lord of the Vortex. But Guizhong hadn’t expected to be putting their adeptal spells and devices to the test so soon.

Looking back on it, the first sign of something amiss had been Lige suddenly spinning around and staring in the direction of Malphas’ territory, stock-still with narrowed eyes. Ever since they formed their alliance, Lige had been slowly shedding that shell of unfeeling stone, but there were still times when his behavior was acutely inhuman.

It had been the startled reports that Guizhong received from their citizens that led her to realize that Lige abruptly left on his own, shedding details of his human form in his haste and scaring quite a few people in his wake. So Guizhong had taken it upon herself to calm their people and get them to settle down again; it was part of their contract.

Lige would be responsible for taking care of martial and warfare-related matters, while Guizhong would be responsible for governance and civil affairs, maximizing both of their strengths in a fruitful partnership.

…

After Guizhong had finished calming their citizens… It hadn’t taken long before she’d sensed the stirrings of battle on the edge of her awareness, in wake of Lige’s departure. But even then, she’d been confident that her fellow god had things well in hand.

… Which was before the water level had started rising rapidly at an alarming rate, forcing Guizhong to hurriedly rally together the other adepti to put their protective measures into play, in order to protect the Guili Assembly. It was only after the water started receding and Guizhong was sure that the adepti could hold down the fort that she’d left their territory and followed after Lige’s trail.

Which led to where she was right now: Flying above the waves, and trying to make sense of what was going on.

“Just what in the world happened here?” Guizhong mutters to herself, frowning.

The waves below her remain silent, and do not yield any answer besides the obvious: That a cataclysmic battle had taken place between gods here, and this was the terrifying result.

The goddess closes her eyes briefly, silently mourning over the many innocents who were caught up in this conflict through no fault of their own.

Malphas’ people… while Guizhong held no love for Malphas, who treated humans more like playthings and curiosities than actual people to be cherished for their individuality–

The humans who lived in Malphas’ territory didn’t deserve such a fate, drowned in a watery grave that had no business flooding the land like this.

If this was Osial’s work… then the Lord of the Vortex had much to answer for. Guizhong was sure that Lige would agree with her, and he definitely wouldn’t be the only god to do so.

Speaking of–

Guizhong holds out her hand, where a Geo crystalfly alights gently on her fingertip, tingling with a familiar energy signature. The crystalfly flaps its wings, then lifts up into the air again –and begins flying in a very specific direction.

Follow.

“You’d better have a good explanation for all of this, Lige,” she mutters under her breath.

While Lige is not one to shy away from battle, he is not one for meaningless, wanton destruction, laying waste to anything and everything around him. Guizhong trusts that he wouldn’t have intentionally caused such destruction, but if he had really been pushed to this extent by Osial, then… the Lord of the Vortex was far more dangerous than either of them had suspected.

Concern rises in her chest, coupled with worry and anxiety for her partner.

The emotions do not abate until she finally catches sight of him again. Lige looks… definitely more roughed up than Guizhong remembers seeing him this morning. And he’s also injured, with a particularly serious gash torn diagonally across his chest, still bleeding heavily –even though his expression remains passive and unchanging, as if he doesn’t feel the pain at all.

But Guizhong does.

Tears spring to her eyes, “Lige!”

The Geo crystalfly that had led her to him lands on the other god’s shoulder. Lige blinks, some measure of awareness returning to his eyes and easing his stone visage… and he nods in her direction, relaxing slightly at the sight of an ally. “Guizhong. You’re here.”

“Of course I am!” Had he expected otherwise? Just because Guizhong wasn’t a god who was suited for combat didn’t mean that she couldn’t fight. “What in the world happened, Lige? Is this Osial’s work? Should we be expecting an invasion?”

“An invasion…” Lige mutters, amber eyes hardening. “It is possible. Although it won’t be happening for quite some time, I’d imagine.”

Guizhong frowns. “Are you certain?”

“Yes,” Lige nods. Then, in that infuriatingly unchanging cadence of his, “He just lost five of his six heads. I’d be surprised if he regains enough strength to lead an invasion and wage war anytime soon.”

The Lord of the Vortex is one of the oldest gods! One of the most powerful Hydro gods on this side of the ocean! And he just–?

Guizhong gapes at him, “You–?!”

Lige shakes his head. “I claimed two heads. The other three were her work.”

And so saying, the god gestures to the side. At this point, Guizhong finally focuses on the others who’d also been present this entire time –a heavily injured bird spirit who watches the two of them separately, clutching tightly onto an unconscious girl in his arms.

No, not just a girl. That was… another god?

The bird spirit shifts uneasily under Guizhong’s attention. Were it not for his wings being all but shredded, she has no doubt that he would’ve taken flight perhaps the very instant that she’d arrived–

“There’s no place for you and your new god to go to even if you run,” Lige says. “Osial may have been dealt a grievous blow, but his armies remain. His influence stretches wherever the water reaches, and it will be quite some time before the waves subside. You’ll only be endangering the both of you, if you run.”

The bird spirit says nothing in response.

“We’re not going to hurt you,” Guizhong says gently, crouching down to the young spirit’s height. Lige’s words might be a little scary, but Guizhong can read him well enough by this point to know that he’s legitimately concerned for these two. “Let us help you and your god, please?”

The bird spirit still says nothing. But his gaze wavers, flickering between them and the bloodied god that he clutches in his arms.

“I promise that we will not harm you or your god. Come with us to the Guili Assembly, and we will get you treated,” Guizhong tells him. Then, reaching out a hand and pointing towards Lige, “You know who he is, right?”

“… The Groundbreaker.”

“That’s right,” Guizhong says encouragingly. “He’s also the God of Contracts. So if I make a promise before the God of Contracts, then know that my words can be trusted, and that I will not act in bad faith to you or your god, alright?”

[thetriggereffect]

True Blood - The Medical Advancement With No Medical Applications

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed True Blood, but I was always annoyed about one thing in particular: The whole setup is that scientists came up with a way to make artificial blood, but the only time we see this miracle advancement is in a bottle marketed to vampires. This is incredibly myopic, as this would be one of the most significant medical advances in history.

First of all, the Red Cross spends $2 billion a year collecting blood-- a majority of its operating budget. That money would no longer be needed, and would be spent on other causes. The Red Cross itself would become a considerably less influential power, which would probably be good for everyone (including the Red Cross).

In a world where blood is available by the keg, the average human lifespan would probably spike by 20 years. There are plenty of ailments, illnesses, and conditions that can be treated quite effectively with blood transfusion, but aren't, because blood isn't really available on that type of scale.

Every ambulance would be carrying a couple of gallons of O positive. In large hospitals they'd be working out of 50 gallon barrels. (This sounds like an exaggeration, but you'd be amazed how many different fluids are used in medicine because you just can't have that kind of blood on hand-- and because they're NOT blood, they have limits that unlimited transfusions would not.)

You would literally have a new class of licensed medical professional-- a transfusionist, falling somewhere between a phlebotomist, a paramedic, and a nurse. And they would be in incredibly high demand, because oh, buddy, we now have a world with elective blood transfusions.

Getting an "oil change" would be part of the spa experience. There would be teams doing housecalls out of a van ambulance, and blood boutiques in every shopping mall. Wealthy people would get transfusions the morning after a night of extreme partying.

And, I know, that's not the story they wanted to tell, but there would have been impact on the vampires as well, because the availability of True Blood would make real blood more readily obtainable, because humans could donate large quantities with no ill effects. (Hell, get a license as a transfusionist, go around in a van, and trade housewives a couple pints of True Blood for their natural blood... they'll PAY YOU to do it, and you can sell the blood or (if you're a vampire) drink it yourself.)

[wolvertooth]

gonna try to translate my brain into words...

logan n vic both use awareness as an act of rebellion for their identities, but in kinda opposite ways

logan brands himself as someone whos aware hes bad, but is striving to be good. if hes aware hes a bad person, and that its a bad thing, it makes him different from other bad people. if hes aware hes not a good person, it makes him different from other good people. the way hes playing it, he comes out on top for both sides.

vic brands himself as a bad person who chooses to be bad, instead of just straight up being a bad person. but also, treats his badness more as just his career, rather than taking it home with him. its a bit of an opposite parallel to logan, who sees his work as his attempts to be good, but as soon as he takes off the mask hes left as the self hes trying to change.

vics hypocritical view of himself is a little less complex than logans, where its more just him saying hes bad while inside he actually has the potential to be good, ignoring the moments he tries to show it due to the years of people not being convinced by it. his awareness is the awareness that hes given up(but not really)

logans got a couple more hoops, where he says hes bad, strives to be good, thinks the good parts of him are lies, when really a lotta the bad parts are the real fakes. the way he thinks hes aware of both the bad and the good in him are both through the lens of others, thinking he understands them just bcuz he can explain them(when really, hes being an unreliable narrator to even himself)

logan repeats other peoples words as if they were his own, and vic repeats others words cuz hes not allowed to use his own.

hopefully this makes some sorta sense? like, theyre BOTH unreliable narrators for their own inner narration. logan has it worse, desperately trying to explain himself in incorrect ways while being blind to how he actually feels(his true feelings being blurred by so many masks over the years). vic just pretends he thinks of himself as a bad guy, but really hes aware of who he really is, and is convinced hes not allowed to see himself that way.

their characters arent just Good Guy n Bad Guy in terms of their parallels, but more so being on either side of the middle point...actually, theyre kinda like this--

not one leaning more towards one side than the other, but both parallel in the middle ground of good n bad, being mirrors in the way those traits manifest.

logan thinks hes bad in the same way vic labels himself to be, and vic is secretly good in the same way that logan is striving to be.

[head---ache]

Hiii!!!! I'm not saying this for anything punctual, its just something in my mind that I'm just now realizing I've never said publicly so I'm saying it now!!

It's completely okay to take inspo from my art style!! A good way to develop your own thing is to take certain elements you like from others' art and implement it on your own, so I actually encourage you to do that if you want to develop your own artstyle!!! And it's also very flattering to see things from my style in someone else's art.

HOWEVER, if you copy the entire thing WITHOUT crediting me, that makes me a bit uncomfy. My style is something I've worked for, and I'm proud of it, so if someone else takes it and treats it as their own it feels like they're stealing from me??? Again, this is the case of people posting this art that looks like mine while not giving me any credit for the style they're getting compliments for; if you want to do this all I ask from you is proper credit!!

Again, seeing people get inspired by my art is very flattering!! But there's a point where it starts feeling less like taking inspo and more like just stealing, so if you cross that line please make sure not to steal and just- borrow it ig jskdjskfjskf

Thats all nskxbskfbskf i got reminded of one time this happened and felt the need to put my opinion out there tehee

[gothamite-rambler]

Jason and Roy being friends and using class of 09 characters (less insane):

*It sucks the creator of this game sucks, but these lines are still funny to me since I treat the game as a comedy*

Jason and Roy sat together having lunch at Burger King and discussing a charity event.

Roy: I'm pretty sure Ollie is running a charity scam.

Jason: No, I looked into the organization he's working with are the scammers. His name wasn't on the board of trustees. He's being scammed and the people running it are probably somewhere in Florida.

Roy (confused): How do you know this much about charities?

Jason (serious): My fucking piece of shit dad—who I want to kill—worked for a charity like that.

Roy (exasperated): Is there—okay, we won't explore that one. Do you really think he's not apart of it?

Jason: I doubt your father is smart enough to run a fake charity. He definitely fell for one though, the company is advertising NFTs on Tiktok. If that's not a scam I don't know what is.

Roy: They're advertising what on where?

Jason: It didn't makes any sense to me. Ollie seems like the type of fall for that though.

Roy: I... Yeah he is. Thanks.

Jason: I just find it funny he's that gullible.

---------------------------------------

Roy (agreeing to breaking into a bank): I'm cool with it.

Jason (shouting): Shut the fuck up!

Roy: I said I’m cool with it!

Jason: Nah, not you. I was hearing the voice again, telling me I'm wrong about something.

Roy: That isn’t even odd to me anymore, but have you tried listening to him?

Jason (chuckling): That’s a funny joke.

---------------------------------------

Jason: Do you know what a whip-it is?

Roy: I never did whip-its.

Jason: You look like the type who would use them.

Roy (happy): Oh, thank you!

Jason: That's strange that you took that as a compliment.

---------------------------------------

Jason: Where’s the coward arrow?

Roy: He hasn’t been around since you made him cry… and stuck to your promise about slashing his tires.

Jason: He better be afraid of me, because I’m not the one.

Roy: Oh yeah?

Jason nodded, a serious look crossing his face.

Jason: I don’t like how he talks to you. You’re really cool and smart. Handsome, I’ll admit—and you should be treated as such.

Roy raised an eyebrow, surprised.

Roy: Wow… that… um… have I really been deprived of a compliment for this long?

Jason: We’re friends. I’m going to be nice to you. Don’t worry about it.

Roy: And you're not trying to sell drugs to me?

Jason: You’re a recovering addict and my friend. No, I’m not going to sell you drugs.

Roy: Then I definitely went through it in life.

Jason: Has your dad ever complimented you?

Roy (laughing dryly): Not for a long… long time.

Jason: ‘Cause he doesn’t appreciate what he has. And seriously, Roy, if I ever see him talk to you like that again, I will rip his beating heart out and hand it to you on a silver platter!

Roy: And you’re not trying to have me relapse and then kill me?

Jason: N-no. I like you. You’re neat.

Roy: Oh… hm… the heart platter part is fucked up, but that’s so kind of you. This not being a ploy and you actually wanting to be my friend is still an adjustment.

Jason: Oh my God… you poor thing, you’re welcome. You make me dying seem like a coma. This is why I will be your friend forever! I will not let anyone hurt you, and if they do… they're gonna meet God!

Jason hugged the man, tightly. Roy patted the man’s back and then shrugged accepting this insane friendship.

Roy: Hm… All right.

---------------------------------------

Jason (paranoid): Spontaneous? Are you talking down to me?

Roy: No, it’s just a word that I read about in… um… Wuthering Heights?

Jason: Oh yeah, that’s a good book. I love you.

Roy: All right… Why did that make me feel happy?

Jason: Because you haven’t heard it in a while, and neither have I. That’s why I said it to you. I love you.

Roy: I… heart… you too.

Jason chuckled and pulled Roy into another hug. Roy smiled, confused, but not terrified. He patted Jason on the back, both appreciating the moment.

"You slashed his tires?"

[lil-vibes]

Day 1: You are who you eat

/Next

(heres the prompt list!)

bonus:

[pokegyns]

well, i’ll start off by saying that i’m not fighting bio-essentialism to “prove the tras wrong”, and quite frankly, i couldn’t give a damn what people think about me, or my movement. i will try to make them understand my movement, and try to help them reach it, because i generally believe it is for the greater good for humanity– but at the end of the day, if they just aren’t willing to listen, there’s only so much i can do.

i’m aware that males seem to have biological advantage over us. in no way am i trying to disprove that. i also am aware that male hormones can, to a degree, play a part with male aggression. however, it is also important to acknowledge that overemphasizing of this can become quite dangerous, dangerous to the feminist cause. there has been a study that showed that from -1 to 1, male hormones seem to affect aggression only 0.08. books by Cordelia Fine, such as “Testosterone Rex” and “Delusions of Gender”, as well as “The Gendered Brain: The New Neuroscience that Shatters the Myth of the Female Brain” by Gina Rippon, uncover & expose neurosexist & bio-essentialist beliefs & theories. scientific misogyny cannot liberate us, and by declaring males as inevitably biologically violent, we are also declaring females as inevitably biologically doomed. we are declaring males as inherent predators, and females as inherent prey. this is not only counterrevolutionary, but also counterevolutionary. even if males are naturally predisposed to violence as the result of the male sex being genetically secondary, we cannot treat the human animal as akin to all the other animals. the human animal has intellect. intellect, wit, reason. the human animal wasn’t made to dance to its’ dna, and no one is inherently biologically doomed. we cannot treat the human male as a lost cause, as something monstrous to be distanced from. we cannot go from treating separatism as a good temporary tool that can help us work things out for the time being, to seeing it as a sacred method for total sex-segregation and separation. we cannot dream of a male-less “utopia”. we just cannot. we have to think realistically; and, to me, active organizing & collaboration seems far more reachable. not kind pleas, not compromise, don’t get me wrong; i said active organizing & collaboration, not passively begging men to cooperate.

“how did patriarchy begin?” is a very complex subject, one that feminists need to be educated in. the formation of the woman-class takes shape in four stages:

in the natural state, where power relations between men and women do not exist, there are neutral anatomical differences. these anatomical differences are a biological and scientific phenomenon, genetically being able to be backed up with tangible proof.

with the accumulation of wealth at the time of the neolithic revolution, the ruling class used these anatomical differences as a weapon to enforce the division of labor and maximize profits. since women were considered incompetent when 1.) menstruating 2.) pregnant and 3.) in the weeks following childbirth, all women were assigned the task of reproduction and banished to different compartments while their state of “incompetence” lasted. on the other hand, the male body was seen as “capable” and therefore “default”, and because of this, men were associated with productive work. due to the need to generate profit, women were also forced to perform productive work.

in order to legitimize the economic exploitation of women, an ideological-cultural system was created that aimed to prove women’s inferiority: that ideological system is gender. female and male children are socialized to adapt to this system. this births the feminist theory of socialization.

to neutralize gender as the leading model of society, sex categories were created: a systematic/taxonomic categorization of biological characteristics, which was exploited for the purpose of proving male superiority, although it has a scientific basis. in this way, neurosexism was able to flourish, grey areas such as hormones were strictly placed in the rigid sex-gender boxes, and later the brain as well, following completely neutral human aspects such as emotions, thoughts, hobbies, and personalities. while every single cell in our body [is sexed], we cannot deny the utter damage this caused.

gender roles have changed over time, influenced by social movements, economic changes, and cultural shifts. this historical perspective indicates that misogyny and sex inequality can evolve and be challenged, rather than being fixed due to biology. furthermore, psychological research tells us that children learn about gender roles through observation and reinforcement. this process supports the argument that misogyny can be learned and unlearned, as opposed to being a biological inevitability. gendered behavior is often reinforced through social rewards & punishments, further illustrating the impact of socialization on attitudes toward gender. education and awareness programs that challenge traditional gender roles have been shown to reduce misogynistic attitudes, stabilizing the idea that socialization plays a key role in shaping beliefs.

while inherent biological differences may influence certain aspects of behavior, the theory of gendered socialization provides a more nuanced and comprehensive understanding of misogyny. it recognizes the significant role of culture, history, and social interaction in shaping gender dynamics, highlighting that attitudes and behaviors can be learned, challenged, and transformed. by focusing on socialization, we can better address the roots of misogyny and work towards rehabilitating society, instead of engaging in feminist nihilism & biological determinism.

– mod zoroark

radblr hot takes? 🔥

what nuanced take do you feel easily shamed for on radblr?

[s0fter-sin]

soap's whole deal being sniper and demolitions gets me going bc on the surface they sound so different but when you get into it, you realise it's bc soap's smart

sniping is all math; calculating distances and wind interference and bullet drop. something i think people overlook is he was listed as a sniper first so it can be implied that he's better at it than demolitions. he does more sniping in both campaigns than demolitions work; in capture or kill, ghost specifically calls on him to take down the aq snipers

and demolitions is math with a hit of chemistry; knowing what mixes with what, knowing how much to use, recognising environmental factors and adjusting accordingly. it's not just about the boom; so much work goes into contained/ planned explosions. especially when having enough power for a breacher charge and not bringing down the whole building is the difference between mission success and failure

the chemical bombs he makes in alone can't just be any old cleaners, they have to have the correct reaction to each other; he just knew off the top of his head what would mix with what to create what reaction. he would also potentially have to recognise them by sight/smell bc they would’ve been written in spanish

soap would also have to know architecture; recognising structural integrity and weak points so he knows exactly where to plant a charge to bring it down and how it'll come down

he has an incredible soldier's mind people just forget that bc he's sociable which itself is a skill

we know he tends to buck against orders he doesn't agree with like when he pushes back against ghost in capture or kill and shepherd when he tells them to release hassan

he gets closer to people and sees if he can trust them and that's when he follows them without question. really think about how he talks to alejandro and rudy; he asks about their home and alejandro's family and rudy's relationship with him. those aren't questions you ask a stranger after a few hours of knowing them. that's not even touching on his relationship with ghost

he also deliberately brings people of higher ranks down to his level; talking informally with ghost and giving him a shoulder punch, addressing alejandro (a colonel!!) by his first name and rudy by his nickname despite literally just meeting them. he personalises all of them and it’s in direct opposition to the reason most characters do that; it’s not due to insubordination or lack of respect, the more he respects and trusts someone, the more casual he is with them

he digs into people; he wants to know what makes them tick and that determines if he can one, trust them and two, follow their orders. once he decides that, he's the ultimate soldier; he bleeds loyalty which makes him vicious when that loyalty is taken for granted

he isn't naive or bubbly or insecure; he's an incredibly smart and aware soldier. he's aggressive and bloodthirsty and loyal and intuitive and i love him so much

[luck-of-the-drawings]

EDYN TIDESTRIDER, CHALLENGER OF THE UNDERSEA, RIVAL OF THE DEEP. WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOUR BROTHER WAS CHOSEN TO BE A WEAPON OF THE GODS? HOW WILL YOU UNDO WHAT THEY HAVE DONE TO HIM?

[puppyeared]

i feel like im not making any sense but does anyone else feel like there are stories that let u run with them and ones that spell everything out for you

[katerinaaqu]

Yes I know a bit on the ending of Blood of Zeus

Again that is my point. If he wanted to do something as bizarre as what he did why use Odyssey and not an original story like PJO did. I do not like that either but at least the dude made the effort to create original characters like Blood of Zeus did. The mangling of the Odyssey that I saw in Epic has me even more as "why the heck did you pick the Odyssey? Just write your own story at this point with your own characters"

Actually yes it is surprising because it shows how much half a brain the world has that they pick a clear entertainment material that is also altered to THIS degree and take it for granted. Again his "warning" speaks more on the audience than the creator and again we see people like him or Hollywood who has the power to bring more people to this and instead of respecting the material they are working with they don't just have the "I don't care" card they have the "screw the plot" card and they change THE most critical parts of it and that seems as deliberate as it can be to me.

Again one can use greek mythology as a starting point without mangling a story. So many people used greek mythology to their original stories. See for instance Sinbad by DreamWorks how they inserted the Sirens. They didn't re-write the Odyssey they created an original. And they also inserted Tartarus and Eris and all. We have others that inserted greek mythology in their stories. The Odyssey has already be mangled enough. At this point I wonder if people do not like it enough to respect its story and its plot especially with the latest cringe that we got in this saga.

I have no idea what the "he owes us" even means. Again I never said he owes us anything. Likewise I do not owe anyone a thing by speaking up against the mangling of greek mythology over the years that people treat it like another fandom instead of the important cultural and religious significance it had for ancient Greeks (while mind you they do not mangle the same way other mythologies). I do not owe anyone to like them or see them positively either. Some I might and some I might not. Of course Jorge can do what ye wants. It is a free world. But people like me have also the right to say "we have had enough that samples of our ancient culture are being used as a stepstone for people who do not create original stories and they don't even put the courtesy to follow the source".

No it is not expectations. I am way past that! I was beyond the expectations from Cyclops saga. Right now is clear disappointment that the parts that made Odyssey famous and subject of debate for millennias were deliberately changed like they were not important to the story. That is the feeling it gives to me.

Little Wolf had me cringing because of the plot it was linked with because again it disregarded Telemachus situation and problem. Telemachus was not some whiny kid that could fight at any time and needed push. He couldn't face the suitors because they claimed the law of hospitality and he had no right yet to rule in his own accord and only Odysseus could send them away. He also needed to know about his father. Little Wolf made it sound like Telemachus was able to fight back at any moment he had the help of Athena and still had his ass handed to him. In the Odyssey he was proven a great fighter by the side of his father. The song was great of course but again it could fit at any context. Not Odyssey

I disagree. For starters I found the original much more epic because it's epic-Ness was not boss fights. It was the savagery of nature and the need of a man to survive and surviving against all odds. What epic did to that plot I can never appreciate sorry. I appreciate the songs but what epic did to Odyssey I can never appreciate. The plot was just yet another "screw the original i have other plans"

Just write your own story at this point. Make another character deflect Circe and Circe say "she was in love once before" remembering Odysseus, make some other arduous trip with a different reason behind it, make some other characters kill the sirens if you so much wanna write that thing. Not the Odyssey that has like one of the most detailed accounts to Odysseus's trip and even his emotions and all. Just pick an original story...

New Epic saga and it's horrible... to give you an idea, Odysseus fought Poseidon, stole his trident and made him beg for mercy

hmmm a god begging a mortal for mercy is not exactly on par with Greek religion and stories. How did that scene made it into the final version?

[cator99]

out of curiosity, would you consider yourself butch?

used to be a blonde underweight twink and now I'm a based jock still got the chanel bag and the sick albeit matured mind of a suckpig to prove it so I'm gonna let you decide whether you wanna call me that word just cuz I got a pussy and short hair. I promise you that there have been enough advancements made in the art of lesbian sexual dynamics in the past 50 years to broaden the vocabulary used to describe the plethora of types of masculine females.

[serpentface]

how is sex work perceived and treated - spiritually, legally, morally - in broad areas relevant to the white calf core cast? imperial wardi, the hills etc

Sex work is EXTREMELY stigmatized in Imperial Wardin, yet generally regarded as an element of society and a necessary function, not one to be eliminated. You'll occasionally find fringe groups decrying the presence of brothels as polluting elements upon cities, but they are minority figures- sex work is legal, generally accepted, and very common.

There are some exceptions- in most of the city-states, only sex work out of registered brothels is considered fully legal (independent sex workers are breaking the law in most city-states, though how much these laws are enforced varies heavily). All legally operating brothels must be officially registered, and are heavily taxed.

Prostitution of children is illegal, and this is one of VERY few protections for sex workers that is strongly enforced. But it should be clear that the societal definition of a child here does not match the contemporary- a person is generally considered an adult woman upon menarche (which is later on average due to poorer nutrition, but is still going to include a lot of like, 14 year olds). Boys are considered adults at the age of 16.

Forced prostitution is also illegal on paper, but this is poorly enforced. Even when not Outright forced, many sex workers are working as indentured laborers, or under prohibitive conditions where they have very little freedom of movement or legal ability to leave during the duration of their contracts.

Sex workers are an incredibly vulnerable, stigmatized social minority that have very few protections and are often subject to abuse.

The stigma against sex work surrounds the sex workers themselves. This is culturally justified and partly rooted in aspects of broader body taboo- receiving penetration = metaphysical vulnerability = openness to spiritual pollution, and they are considered to be heavily polluted by their line of work (regardless of whether or not a given person actually is receiving penetration on a regular basis- male sex workers who primarily have women as clients receive much the same treatment, the stigma here is fundamentally a form of bigotry, not something with a consistent internal logic).

In addition to concerns around penetration, the act of '''selling''' the body itself is seen as a polluting devaluation of the sacred body and using it to extreme excess. Sexuality and libido is societally valued, but in a framework of moderation- sex workers are seen as wildly out of moderation and are often ascribed qualities of an excessive libido by virtue of their line of work.

Sex workers are prohibited from entering most temples and participating in many public rites, justified in their ‘polluted’ status, under the assumption that it will de-purify the place and sully most rites. This serves to keep them isolated from key facets of social life and culture, and can leave many spiritually ostracized (most sex workers from within this cultural sphere are also going to believe in notions that they are spiritually polluted, with limited outlets to cleanse themselves).

There is one folk tradition that has developed to assuage some of these fears and the sense of isolation- an epithet to the Face Ganmache that translates literally to 'Mother of Whores' (a rather strong name that reclaims degrading slang in the original language as well), which watches over sex workers and their labors. This is wholly a folk tradition and not part of core dogma, and priests are self-appointed, mostly elderly former sex workers. They provide rites of purification and blessings for those denied access to temples, sometimes train themselves as midwives to assist in births (or abortions), and will help ensure deceased workers get proper funeral rites.

Generally, the concept of something being spiritually polluted translates to full avoidance of the person/place/thing involved, but these concerns are rarely applied to the Hiring of sex workers (ie they are spiritually polluted and highly impure and shouldn't enter temples but you, the client, are not affected by contact). While some people will try to provide logical explanations for why hiring a sex worker is not polluting, this does not have any true underlying logic and is a product of a society that both reviles sex workers and desires their labor.

They are generally expected to visually identify themselves as sex workers at all times- the exact details vary by city-state, but wearing hair unbraided and an uncovered head in public is most common (particularly in the west of the region).

Male sex workers are denied certain rights otherwise available by default to men (self-legal representation, ability to own land that is not gifted, etc). Female sex workers do not have these rights to begin with, and have even more difficulty than other women in finding legal representation, given that they situationally rarely have fathers/husbands/male family members willing to support them.

Because of their inability to represent themselves in court and the difficulty in finding representation, they often have little to no recourse against abuse or violations of their contracts. There are some lawyers who specialize in representing sex workers (fewer still who do this entirely out of benevolence for a vulnerable social class), but they are few and far between.

The majority of sex work is marketed towards male clients, and the majority of sex workers are women. Male sex workers are mostly young men who serve male clients, and will usually keep themselves beardless and not overtly masculine (while not distinctly effeminate either) to remain desirable targets for the sexual outlet of most men. (There is no concept of sexuality in this culture- if you are a man, you are a penetrative partner in sex and the gender of the receiving partner is of little concern. Younger men beneath you in social stature (in practice, these are almost always sex workers) are considered appropriate targets of male desire, and as such you have some men who would be considered heterosexual by contemporary standards having sex with other men). Male workers who primarily serve female clients tend to vary more in age and have less social restrictions on their appearance or masculine presentation.

Eunuch sex workers usually serve male clients, and are regarded as appropriate targets of male attraction regardless of their age (largely as they are seen as entirely incapable of performing penetrative roles, and conceptualized as de-gendered). Akoshos (those designated male who perform women's gender roles) sex workers are seen as uniquely predisposed to serve both male and female clients, as their gendered space is broadly conceptualized as dual-gendered (being physically capable of performing 'male' penetrative roles while living under women's social roles)

Hiring of sex workers is not considered infidelity and is entirely permissible to do while married, though women are often heavily discouraged from doing so (largely out of concerns of pregnancy, partly out of patriarchal control over women's sexual behavior). A woman who pays for sex work receives more scrutiny than is applied to men. It is not outright inappropriate, but can be considered indicative of an excessive libido or overmasculinization. Women are imagined as having naturally lower libidos than men, so behaviors that challenge this notion tend to be be noted.

The only circumstances in which hiring sex workers as a man attracts scrutiny is when it is deemed excessive, symptomatic of an uncontrolled libido. Men who hire male sex workers closer to their age and/or bearded will also attract scrutiny- while not outright Condemned, it's suspiciously out of the acceptable range for male desire (though will most often similarly be interpreted as an excessive, uncontrolled libido, ie you'll just fuck anything with a hole). Receiving penetration from a sex worker as a man is wholly condemned, as is seen as UNIQUELY violating, not only a severe deviance from male social roles, but at the hands of a stigmatized, polluted figure that is at the absolute bottom of the social ladder. This usually happens in secret and often involves paying the worker off for their silence.

The one major exception to stigma against sex workers is in the lemna courtesan tradition. Lemna are mostly unmarried women and/or akoshos who are very skilled trained performers who work as entertainers for wealthy clients. Their services are not sexual in nature, rather they sing, dance, act, play music, and recite poetry, and are skilled conversationalists that provide company for clients. Lemna usually operate out of elite brothels, but as separate services to the sex workers, and are in theory never available for sex work. Lemna providing sex work sometimes (though not frequently) occurs in practice, but it is always be presented as something they have not been Paid to do- their payment was for entertainment, and they will present it as a (almost always purely fantastical) situation that they have grown attracted to their client and are engaging in a romantic tryst.

Lemna courtesanship is long-established and a valued part of this culture's art and theater traditions, and they do not face the same stigma as sex workers, rather being seen as an elite class of performers. They do not exactly have a High place in society either (as unmarried civilian women and/or akoshos, they are notably lacking in social power), but the regard towards them is overall positive. The exemption to this stigma partially lies within the framework of body taboo (they do not explicitly 'sell' their bodies or directly engage in sex work), but is largely rooted in the esteem of their tradition rather than any coherent logic.

-----

Sex work has a much less significant, less complicated, and less intensely stigmatized place in the highlands, mostly due to its reduced presence. Most people are living in relatively small agricultural villages, or transiently as herders, so there are fewer opportunities for sex workers to operate on regular and official levels. The only places you can reliably find sex workers within the highlands are in small quasi-towns that crop up around land trade routes, or occasionally as traveling traders (usually offering material goods in addition to sex work services).

There’s also no intra-highlands currency system, so sex workers will usually be paid in goods, which in turn influences the cultural lens on sex work. Goods have direct, immediate utilitarian value that currency does not, and paying goods for service is most pragmatically done as a means of material practicality- forming alliances, acquiring farmhands, receiving the defensive or offensive service of warriors, etc, not for temporary gratification.

The fact that this cultural sphere is fairly egalitarian in terms of gender (though it has strongly enforced, separate gender roles for married men and women) also contributes to the comparative lack of stigma- part of the Imperial Wardi stigma against sex work is interwoven with misogyny (with women sex workers being the most degraded extent of femininity, and male sex workers taking on inappropriate, degraded feminine roles in providing sexual services). Women have equal overall societal power to men in the Hill Tribes cultural sphere, and things associated with femininity are not Themselves degrading (men seen as feminine are not shamed for femininity itself, rather in their specific failure to perform male gender roles- the distinction can be subtle but is very significant to how gender roles are approached).

Casual sex between unmarried men and women is fully accepted, somewhat seen as a hallmark of youth. However, married couples are expected to remain exclusively faithful to one another. This also goes a ways to discourage hiring of sex workers, which would be accepted grounds for a divorce and a mark of shame on the person who strayed.

While not excessively stigmatized, the views on sex work here is nowhere near Enlightened And Supportive either, it’s still seen as a highly degrading, unfortunate line of work. Sex workers are usually going to be unmarried women of marriageable age who could not (or would not) acquire a husband for one reason or another. They are women who failed in expected roles of marriage and becoming the manager of a family’s home and property, and have not even taken an esteemed, productive role for spinsters (usually physical labor in herding, farming, raiding) in favor of one that is considered ‘selling’ one’s body to provide useless, base services to desperate men. It's something that will usually be looked at as sad and unfortunate at best, or an absurd dereliction of duty at worst.

Male sex workers are virtually unheard of (within the highlands at least, there's cultural stereotypes of Wardi men being effeminate and predisposed to sex with men, so of course THEY'VE got male sex workers all over the fucking place), and the concept of a man operating as a sex worker would just seem absurd to most.

But the levels of social shame surrounding sex work are actually higher for the client in this cultural context- it’s suggestive that you either cannot afford to get a wife/do not have the requisite masculine skillset to be a husband, or otherwise that you’re so utterly incapable of getting laid that you have to go to great effort and barter for sex, a petty expense of valuable goods. It's both a foolish waste and in many ways a failure of expected male gender roles. Most men who hire the services of sex workers will keep it on the down low, or (if living near the borders) commute to Wardi towns or tradeways for access. It’s seen as an act of desperation, foolish, emasculating, and will generally be mocked and shamed.

I actually have a framework of a folktale that kind of demonstrates the cultural lens pre-established (no names for the characters or clans involved, it's supposed to be of the far northern Bict-Braíghnnas tribe). I'll put it under the cut:

One of the folktales describes a young woman who was strikingly beautiful and exceedingly clever. She was of the Bict-Braíghnnas, the lone daughter of a very small, very poor clan, consisting only of her immediate family and a few cousins. Her father had died young, and her younger brothers and cousins were malnourished and inexperienced, and could do little to protect or grow their meager herd of horses (they certainly could not afford cattle). She had to take on the role of the provider for herself and remained unmarried long past marriageable age, living day by day doing whatever she could to scrape by and keep her family afloat.

She became aware that the patriarch of her ruling clan had an eye for her, and he began approaching her in hopes of soliciting sex. At first, she always brushed him off. She found him repulsive, as he was foolish and greedy and rather ugly. But she started to see an opportunity in all this. It was a humiliating opportunity, but one she was willing to take.

The next time he approached, she pretended to consider his advances, but only if he should provide payment in turn- if she was as beautiful as he kept saying, and he was as wealthy as he kept bragging, wouldn't it be worth the price? He first offered her a sack of barley, but she laughed him off. He then offered her fine clothes, but she feigned insult, was she not already beautiful even in poor, worn rags? He then offered her a breeding pair of pheasants, and she pushed aside her shawl to expose her breasts, and sweetly asked if he Really could not do better, wealthy in cattle as he was. The man was now, quite clearly, hard in his trousers.

He finally relented to an obscene payment- he would go under his wife (the owner of his cattle)'s nose and give her an adult cow, in payment for having sex with him just once. This is a high price to pay, but she was gorgeous and he was rich in cattle and could afford to lose one (or two. or five. Maybe more.). She accepted his offer and had sex with him, and came away with her very first cow.

(Some tellings of this story go on a tangent here where she sneaks the cow right back into the man's fields under cover of darkness, to breed it with one of his bulls and begin forming her own herd)

Over the next several months, he started regularly approaching her for sex in exchange for cattle, until he had to start coming up with explanations to his wife as to where the missing cattle had gone- he first claimed they were given as gifts, then that some were stolen, inventing wild stories of great raids and declaring open conflict with the greatest rival to his clan, all as means of masking his dalliances. This skirmishing came at great cost to his own clan, but he was too foolish and weak-willed to stop.

The woman was meanwhile using her newfound and growing wealth in cattle to make connections and political moves, slowly establishing herself as a powerful figure and having many in her debt. Her brothers and cousins, finally well fed, grew tall and healthy and began to take on roles as herders, protectors, and raiders, with the assistance of more young men gained in alliance. All the while, she dutifully continued her paid trysts with the patriarch whenever he summoned her.

Eventually, the man had given her so many cattle (which had been bred in the meantime, and more had been acquired in trade and raids) that she had three times as many as he did. One day, she did not appear as expected. She had amassed great wealth for herself and her clan, and had been courting the unwed son of the patriarch’s rival clan. The son paid a hefty bride price for her, and they were wed on that day.

Now the wealthiest in cattle and the most powerful clan in the valley, the woman and her new husband ousted the weakened and disgraced former patriarch, becoming the new ruling clan of the Bict-Braíghnnas. The couple were wise and wealthy rulers, and their clan remains in power and rich in cattle to this day.

---

The cultural outlook on sex work (among other things) is fairly well encapsulated here- the sex work itself is degrading, but this fits into common motifs of this cultural sphere’s folktales where the hero figure overcomes difficult and often degrading situations with wit and social skill, and ultimately rises above it. Note that as a (non-comedic) hero of this tale, she uses her sex work very intentionally and pragmatically for material gain and alongside many other measures to increase her standing. Also note that, when unmarried, she's specified as taking up practical labor roles, and ultimately acquires a husband and ends the story in the expected position as a wife.

The actions of the man who hired her are distinctly shameful. He is performing his role as a husband TERRIBLY- being unfaithful, completely mismanaging his wife’s herds and ultimately driving his clan out of power all in pursuit of petty lust. He is in part an exaggerated, cartoonish embodiment of the cultural perception of the clients of sex workers- desperate, foolishly lustful, and an overall failure as a man. Most hearing this story would find his role highly comedic, a powerful but stupid foe for the clever and pragmatic hero to overcome.

(Very minor side note: the detail of him being enthralled by her breasts is also meant to be comedic- breasts are not sexualized in this culture (women's hips/thighs/buttocks are what is typically seen as sexually attractive), and many women will be out topless on hot days without note being made of it (toplessness is culturally acceptable, exposing genitalia/buttocks is not). The notion of a man being out of his mind horny over the sight of a bare tit would register to listeners as excessively lustful in a humorous capacity)

While the focus of the story is ultimately more on the contrast of thrifty and foolish behaviors, it also functions as a discouragement of hiring sex workers, casting the loss of assets in trade for sex as a similarly foolish venture, degrading to the worker and humiliating to the client.

[quietwingsinthesky]

i really do think the desire to paint ten as unambiguously The Worst™️ when it comes to his relationship with martha is out of this desire to uncomplicate their relationship. to decouple them as friends and people who profoundly impacted each other’s lives. it’s just an easier narrative to swallow: that ten was Awful to her and then martha kicked him to the curb when she realized she was too good for him. easier, maybe, then dealing with the troubles of unrequited affection don’t have to be anyone’s fault, or that ten shut martha out in a lot of ways but let her in in others that he wouldn’t let any other companion near, or that they were still friends, they still wanted to see each other and be around each other, even though it was messy and sometimes hurt. you know?