#friendo posts

[utterdrip]

starry comp

[yutamayo]

He really is such a big bro:

[padmesbox]

Hangman Page birthday week → Day six: Favorite Relationship: The Hung Bucks

"I don't know that you've said anything to Matt and Nick, and I think I may be more loyal to those two than anyone else"

[thequndemands]

It's always sunny in Thedas.

[blue-needle]

To my Birthday Buddy - @dark-nekofear

May Zexal continue to own our souls forever

[cemetegee]

Determinism in TLT

The three people who actively follow my blog will know it, but for the others I'll say it: I don't judge TLT characters personally. (Except if I want to make a point or if I want to provoke a little.) That's not because I think their actions are not bad (they often are). But thing is, I think the characters are hardly made to be judged.

We can, for example, take Ianthe, my blorbo, my wife and my love. It was, all jokes aside, surely a horrible crime to kill her cav. Besides of that, it would maybe really have been better, if she hadn't saved Jod. (I mean, we didn't know it back then, but it seems obvious regarding NtN, even if it's understandable that she doesn't wanted her loved ones to die.) She has a lot of complicated character traits as well.

But if we look at where she is from, it's obvious that she had to be like that to survive. She is manipulative? So is her sister and probably her whole House. She is unnecessary eager to reach her goals (on cost of others)? Surprise, that's what her sister is like and her whole House too!

It's extremly obvious, that all characters are basically caricatures of how their Houses are. Palamedes, the scholar, the Warden... Dulcie, the beauty that blossoms and dies... Oh, even Silas. You would think it was extremly stupid of him to fight Ianthe, but actually, based of all what we know about him, I really think he had no other choice (technically, but not practically) as fighting her for his beliefs. It's so obvious, that even the characters themselves talk about it at a point:

That means: Ianthe is maybe a questionable person, but she wouldn't have been, if she had grown up on the Sixth. Palamedes is a (comperatively) sweet person, but he isn't like that because he naturally is like that, but because he's grown up on the Sixth.

[Let's make a sad little literary class trip:

Palamedes even says himself in TUG, that from (House specific) point of view, Ianthe is not wrong. It's a very interesting moment, because a character of the series admits, that (in TLT) moral is not static, but a question of the point of view. (What's made by the circumstances (in TLT).)

]

And that's what Determinism means. It's the idea, that people don't (only) do things, because of decisions, but because of their circumstances. The idea of Determinism is really important for leftist ideas because it enables ideas like: if you put a bunch of people with no money and boredom in a quarter, crimes will happen. (The idea shifts the attention from decisions to the circumstances.)

Even if the characters of the TLT universe are able to make decisions (maybe), I think it's pretty obvious how much the books are influenced by the idea of Determinism. And therefore, even if some of the characters awake the wish in me to... Oh! What did I want to say? Anyway, I think it's important to regard the context of the characters. It's possible to judge them, but it's also interesting to do it not and look at their reasons. (What doesn't apologize them, but makes them understandable)

This post is involuntary sponsored by this horrorshow interesting post of @swordrogue. I just couldn't get it out of my mind. Please go read it, it's very interesting

[jellosarts]

Forgot to share these VotV doodles feat Kel munching bugs and my ariral oc Roo (she/her)

[ladyshinga]

An interesting type of person the internet has introduced me to is people who share CONSTANT memes like "I HATE SMALL TALK, IT ALL SUCKS" and "NEVER EVER MAKE CHITCHAT WITH STRANGERS EVER, IT MEANS YOU'RE PUSHY AND ANNOYING" and "UGH WHY DID MY UBER DRIVER DARE EVEN SPEAK TO ME" and "UGH 0 STARS THIS CASHIER WOULDN'T SHUT UP" and then keep making personal updates like "idk why I'm so lonely" like geez friendo I have some theories

[friendo]

I love Anton Chigurh so much that I turned him into a cookie and put him in a jar to let mold consume him 💚💚💚

[babacontainsmultitudes]

*breathes* Okay I finally listened to the teen talk proper, no longer just specific clips and reading other people's summaries of things, and can I just say I wish I'd done this a week ago, cause I definitely feel better about some things now, and it's a pretty entertaining teen talk overall (since this episode is available on the site anyways I'll probably clip some specific bits soon to highlight!). Regarding Sparrow and Norm specifically there's definitely more nuance to what is actually said than what a lot of the recaps/paraphrasing I've seen here had me thinking (for one as a Sparrow freak with a lot of Opinions, knowing that Will immediately follows the bit on Normal's interpretation of the love wolf scene with "but that's not necessarily right cause that's not necessarily what Sparrow is feeling" would have spared me a lot of psychic damage, personally, but also on the topic of Normal's future I mean I'll still be picking and choosing from what was said I won't pretend I love all of it but I think the whole discussion and depiction of it is more nuanced and optimistic than much of what I've seen on that front too). You might expect that I, Baba "I like overtly disagreeing with popular fandom opinions" C. Multitudes would think twice before taking fandom interpretations of something for granted, but I didn't, so honestly fuck me I guess. Still side-eyeing a lot of fandom takes but Will Campos you are free to go 😌. Otherwise Matt's discussion of the gothcleats in the epilogue and everything Will had to say about Nicky gave me life, but I'll clip that stuff soon like I said and *maybe* say more on some of that then lol.

[utterdrip]

#starry comp for more

[yutamayo]

[saints-who-never-existed]

For the terror ask game-Franklin?

Franklin - Who’s an underrated character in your opinion?

Well, funnily enough, I actually find Franklin himself to be underrated in many ways.

As so often is the problem with fandom generally speaking, he often gets flattened down and smoothed away until he's just 'stupid old man who fucks everything up'. And, like, I'm not saying that he's not that but I do think there's much more to him than just that.

I think he's a man more than aware of his own limitations for one thing - sometimes painfully so but also often not? He knows full well he wasn't first in line to lead the Expedition:

"Sir, he [Crozier] was no one's first choice for this expedition." "Nor was I..."

He also shows in places a surprisingly keen understanding of both his limitations in comparison with Crozier - "I'm not the sailor you are Francis, never will be." - and the difficulties of communicating with him - "Perhaps it is I who's unable to truly bring him into the bosom of my confidence. I want to. I always plan to. But then, when I'm with him, I don't know why I falter."

There is a willingness there in him to confront and accept his own foibles and I find that really interesting to think about in comparison with his hubristic, self-aggrandising side.

-

Another contrasting aspect of Franklin's character I find fascinating is the care he has (or doesn't have) for the men under his command. There's an artifice to it in many places - the way he turns David Young's death into self-serving propaganda (all after making choices that actively worsen the circumstances of that death), or bribes the marines in the hunting blind with rum and revels in feeling like one of the gang afterwards. But there are other places where it feels much more genuine. Gore's death, of course, hits Franklin like a ton of bricks and it's Crozier raising the idea of risking further lives that really starts to set him off in E03 too -

"It's only eight men, Sir John. And there is just enough time." "I have lost six men on this expedition to date. SIX! And you ask me to risk more..."

-

And don't even get me started on that rant! My god! It's absolutely my favourite scene for Franklin! Again, there's a fascinating contrast in the way he so accurately reads Crozier to absolute filth but then, anger spent and realising the pain he's inflicted, the way he fails so utterly to make up for it - "So let us turn our energies back to being what the Admiralty, and life, have seen fit to make us..." etc. that's just putting a bandaid on a stab wound. And I go a bit bananas for the additional lines that didn't make it into the final cut too

"...There can be no argument between us there. I will not bother you again with more. But do not test me again with more, either."

[dimension20stuff]

I made a moodboard for naddpod campaign 2 finale

[teddywesworl]

my excuse is I was just on vacation for a full week and therefore cannot be held responsible for my actions

[nancyheart11]

Earthquake

"I don't see a boss in this big empty room, were you pulling my leg Vet?"

Legend held up a finger as bars closed over the door and an earthquake started.

Warriors swore as he diving out from under the falling statue.