#i know they're just people on a screen but they're people on a screen that have brought me laughter for many years

[thebreakfastgenie]

It's true that sometimes a virus becomes associated with a particular country because that's where it was first reported, even if scientists quickly determine it originated elsewhere. However, it's also true that a lot of viruses do originate in Asia, particularly in densely populated regions, because you have a lot of people living very close together and also living in close contact with birds and pigs which are major animal vectors. It just gives the viruses more opportunities to evolve and species hop. The way this is discussed in the west is often racist and we should absolutely be talking about that and calling it out when we see it. I don't know a lot about screening methods in China or other countries but I think it's possible that population density is a factor here too because they're just going to catch more cases faster and be able to identify that something is going on.

In the case of "Spanish" flu, Kansas is the most popular origin theory but it's not definitive, it definitely did not originate in Spain, but other countries were not reporting on it because the press was censored to keep up wartime morale. Spain was neutral in WWI so the Spanish press was reporting on it first.

[meglosthegreat]

So... everyone pretty much hated Veilguard's "secret ending", right? Beyond speculation about the Executors themselves, I haven't exactly seen anyone excited about its presence, and for that matter, haven't seen many people talking about it at all.

The closest way I can describe my initial reaction to it was an immediate, visceral disgust. I think I remember uttering at my screen something along the lines of "Fuck off! What the fuck?! Are you fucking kidding me???" and ever since then I've wanted to put into words exactly why it made me feel that way.

For the 88% of you (according to Steam achievement statistics) who didn't see this ending due to not picking up three very specific codex entries by complete chance, you can watch it here. In short, the clip depicts a mysterious voice who sounds suspiciously like Matt Mercer talking about how a group of shadowy figures has "balanced, guided, and whispered" over scenes of villains from the previous DA games, implying that these shadowy figures have been at least partially responsible for all of the bad things happening in Thedas, towards some unknown nefarious purpose.

Now obviously, this sucks. This is hamfisted, unimaginative writing that simultaneously retcons and re-contextualizes elements from DA's past that absolutely no one thought needed further explanation, as well as being exactly the kind of irritating sequel-bait tactics that people have largely grown tired of these days. But why does it suck so much? Why did I feel such palpable distaste for this scene?

For starters, it simply reeks of entitlement, and a lack of respect towards Bioware's own past games. Remember those villains you loved and thought were compelling? Well, their own personal, very complex and thought-out motivations were really just the Executors whispering in their ears the whole time! Loghain making a difficult and calculated decision at great personal cost for a greater good he truly believed in? Executors. Bartrand succumbing to his own greed to the point that he betrays his only family and devolves into a tragic husk of himself? Executors. Corypheus and the Magisters breaching the Golden fucking City??? Executors.

Ignore the infuriating lore ramifications for a second and consider: what do all of these things have in common? They're all instances of complex character motivation; of people in this world doing things for their own reasons that ended up having massive ramifications. In short, they're not events that can be explained easily in terms of black and white morality. And from what we've seen in Veilguard, the current dev team has a serious inability to work with any story elements that do not have absolute moral clarity: the Venatori and the Antaam are Evil. The Shadow Dragons and the Crows are Good. Any nuance; any potential questioning of this duality is quickly explained away or snuffed out.

And that's exactly what they're trying to do, retroactively, with the rest of the series. Having a hard time deciding whether Loghain was right or wrong? Well, worry not, the Executors are Evil and if they were guiding him the whole time, then what he did must have been Evil too! Grappling with how the plot of DA2 was about the inevitable tragedy of a series of oppressive systems reaching their natural breaking point? Well, wrestle no further, for if the Executors were involved then Meredith and Bartrand must've been Evil, no question! What the Magisters did was definitely Not Great, and what do you know, there were consequences for it that they and the whole world very much did pay for. But if the Executors were behind it all, then it was someone else's fault, some Evil power reaching in and making them do what they did, rather than their actions being the result of a horrific series of power abuses done by actual people.

Which leads me to where my initial disgust comes in. Because in a world which has always had core themes of power and its many abuses, actions that have consequences, and the idea that there are no true higher beings; every horrible thing that has ever been done was done by people, the simple act of putting shadowy figures behind key moments in history completely debases and neuters all of those themes. The whole point of Dragon Age as a series up until this point has been to illustrate the complex relationships people and societies have with power, choice, and morality. To remove that link - to place an external force between those characters and their choices - is to rob the series of any meaning whatsoever.

There is a staggering difference between the messaging of a game that tells you ordinary people are to blame for society's wrongs and a game that tells you a secret shadowy faction of evil forces are to blame for them. The former invites thought about one's own society; it has the potential to be uncomfortable and difficult to reconcile with. The latter assures its audience of the fantasy it is couched in. It gives the audience a boogeyman to be angry at, and in so doing deflects any potential for introspection. And that, I think, is the real point of the scene in question.

In a time where our media has become inundated with bland, unchallenging liberal politics, the idea of "cozy" stories have become a growing trend. These types of stories often sport a broad rejection of complicated themes, painful emotions, and nuance, preferring instead to provide a "safe" place to escape to. And with that "safe" space comes a directive not to engage in critical thinking about a work, and not to draw any message from that work and apply it to the real world. Yet this is exactly where Bioware seems to be heading nowadays.

Veilguard has already been faced with heavy criticism about playing things overly safe; removing anything that might be potentially uncomfortable for the player. And the end credits scene is no different. Don't think about things too hard, it whispers to you seductively, in Matt Mercer's soothingly Evil voice. See? The Bad Guys were behind everything, all along.

[maelstrom007]

@ghouljams the worms are worming. . . I was listening to Depeche Mode today and Personal Jesus reminded me of your cult leader Price AU and it just has a death grip in my brain. . . All I could think of the whole song was Price manspreading in a chair with Ghost, Soap, and Gaz posed around him in dramatic backlighting, doing his biding to keep his cult in check.

Price is obviously cult leader, we get it, we know it, he's so charismatic and clever and manipulative and influential we know we know we know.

Thinking of what the other boys roles would be in this whole thing though. . .

Gaz is definitely the person on the outside clocking discontented people and setting in hooks. Absolutely gorgeous man, charismatic as fuck, endearing and non-threatening (at first glance), such blinding loyalty that he is able to see and interact with the outside world and not be tempted to leave. This simultaneously makes him adjusted enough to 'normal' life that he gives off very little red flags when inviting people in. He's also the person who befriends the new follower and makes sure that they're only seeing what they're supposed to, and vetting if they'd be impressionable enough to add to the flock. Testing their resistance to peer pressure, vetting them and making sure they're impressionable enough.

Soap is the listening ear on the inside. His job is to ingratiate himself amongst the followers and report any findings to Price, both good and bad. So not only is he keeping an eye out for disloyalty, plans to leave, discontent, etc. but he's also looking out for personal things like lost personal possessions, low stakes concerns, anything that Price can use to give individuals 'personal' time with him that makes him seem attentive or even slightly omniscient to the more spiritual followers.

Ghost's job is really to be that of a smoke screen. He is very visibly Price's 'right hand man', outwardly intimidating and such a hard ass on rule following that he acts as a force pushing followers to the sphere of Gaz and Soap. Because they couldn't be that close to Price, right? No one but Ghost is. So surely they're safe talking about their doubts and confusion, as long as Ghost is out of earshot. I feel like he also makes Price more valuable by making him more unobtainable. Unless Price comes to you, you need to seek an audience with him through Ghost. And 99% of the time even if you do get to see Price, Ghost will be there. At least that's what people say anyway. Price definitely isn't telling everyone that he's 'made an exception just for them' and that 'this'll be a secret between the two of them'. Definitely not.

I have this notion that it would be one of those self sufficiency communes that has their own internal ecosystem, growing their own food, making their own clothes, etc etc. They would send the well behaved followers to set up a stall at the nearby towns farmers market to keep up appearances and make sure that nobody in the town really bothers them. Who gives a shit what the group of farmers in the middle of nowhere are doing when their produce costs next to nothing and tastes divine? Maybe they should go out there some time and see what it's like. . .maybe learn how to take care of a plant or two of their own? And you've always wanted to learn how to do pottery, the cute guy on the corner says they're hosting a class this weekend. . . . . . . . . .

[sha-brytols]

someone: do you think anders is a good person

the part of my brain that engages in genuine critical media analysis: i think it's disingenuous to label him through the lens of a binary good/evil paradigm because what makes him such an interesting and engaging character is his status inbetween a human with complex emotions and desires and flaws that will never fully align with each other, and the singleminded focus and purpose of a supernatural entity that is literally justice incarnate and has no capacity for nuance and whose very nature is fundamentally incompatible with humanity but the two of them are so deeply connected that they make up a single identity that's constantly at odds with itself and this struggle causes him to act in ways that aren't always clean and often land him and those around him in impossible positions. i think he was morally justified in doing what he did to the chantry but i also believe he understood the magnitude of what he was doing which is why i inherently disagree with the notion that characters like varric or sebastian were wrong in their reactions because that's the very nature of violent revolution—people get caught in the crossfire and are harmed despite their innocence and regardless of the righteousness of the action at large. if someone killed your mom to protect a hundred orphans you probably wouldn't come out of the experience full of love and admiration for the person who killed your mother because regardless of the outcome they still fucking killed your mother. anders destroyed people's homes and lives and there's a conversation to be had about how he gaslit and exploited hawke, his own potential lover, into being an unwitting accomplice even though we know through meta knowledge that he was perfectly capable of doing it on his own and very likely only wanted hawke's involvement because he needed a powerful figure to become the rallying symbol for his cause. the reality is his very nature would have never allowed him to choose hawke and his friends over his goal because to do so would have been fundamentally selfish and antithetical to his newfound identity as one who champions the needs of the many at the expense of the individual. it's a beautifully tragic story about the lengths a person would have to go to in order to enact any sort of meaningful change while constrained in a system that benefits from their powerlessness, and how that process cannot exist without suffering and pain on both the individual and collective level. i also feel like if anders was written by a person with a degree of compassion and awareness for not only the character they were writing but just what living as a vulnerable and targeted minority is like then the narrative and message would have been vastly different than what ended up on screen because, ultimately, the game wants you to look at the stark injustice of a child being ripped away from their family to spend a life locked away in cold isolation where they're at constant risk of exploitation, abuse, death, and even a complete removal of their personhood, and think that there's room for compromise. it's a narrative that perpetuates the myth that passivity and tolerance in the face of oppression is more virtuous than burdening the masses with the discomfort of seeing their own culpability in sustaining it. a better game would have challenged varric and sebastian while also affirming their anger instead of just the latter. a better game would have explored hawke's reaction in a deeper manner that examined their relationship with the system, their own internal biases, and how anders affected their worldview.

the part of my brain that was on tumblr in 2014 and is still extremely petty and spiteful: he should have blown up the conclave while he was at it

[ilikecrocssuckit]

BG3 Headcanons No One Asked For (ilikecrocssuckit edition)

Inspired by the wonderful series by @grenanigans

This episode: Each companion at the movie theater!

Astarion

Gets Hot Tamales candy or other cinnamon one just because it allows him to feel some semblance of warmth.

Pretends to like horror movies. Actually finds them deeply troubling and triggering but he'll be twice-damned if he shows that.

Chronic hater of every movie ever.

Gale

Rather disgusted by theater concessions. Still buys the biggest popcorn because he knows it's how they make money.

Seeks out the artiest and most pretentious films possible. Donates to the Baldur's Gate film festival and submits to it every year specifically to support such films.

Meticulously crafts his Letterboxd reviews after every screening.

Karlach

Wants to get a shushy but they always melt too fast so she never bothers anymore. Settles for popcorn, nachos, and 3 hot dogs.

Genuinely loves horror movies and finds Ghostface, Art the Clown, and Michael Myers attractive. Mostly though, she just loves being at the movies.

Cheers and laughs and generally reacts enthusiastically when the movie calls for it. She always cleans up after herself if she spills though.

Lae'zel

Rarely eats at the theater until she learns that they make money off of concessions, then follows Gale's lead because she finds the fact that they don't make money doing the thing they're designed for reprehensible.

Mostly just fascinated by the fact that movies exist and people put effort into creating them. Deeply interested in the filmmaking process and specifically looks for Blu-Rays with extensive behind the scenes features when she likes the movie. Treasures her Lord of the Rings Extended Editions for this reason.

Obsessively watches those "Expert Breaks Down Scenes From Movies and TV" videos because she wants to know where her favorite things succeed and fail so she can write letters to those responsible in the crew.

Shadowheart

Loves the Good & Plentys or other licorice candies. Doesn't like popcorn. Gets an obnoxiously large drink though and almost always beelines for the bathroom after the movie's over or sometimes during. Relies on Lae'zel to fill her in afterwards because Lae'zel won't speak during the movie itself. This has caused her to be confused about major plot points on multiple occasions.

Loves the horror movies that even make Karlach squirm. The really extreme horror ones that get like a one or two night release or get shown at the grindhouse that Orin frequents. Also has a soft spot for family dramas and romantic comedies but she'll never suggest them as something to go see.

Genuinely fails to see the point of theaters in the age of streaming [Editor's note: Yes, I do hate this about her.] Still goes because it makes Lae'zel happy.

Wyll

Buys a big slushie and puts it in Karlach’s cup holder. Gets a modest popcorn for himself.

Doesn't particularly have a lot of preference for what they watch. Usually just lets it all soak in. Has a penchant for swashbuckler epics though, and secretly keeps his eye out for rereleases of some of the classics. Sad there are hardly any made anymore.

Has the theater membership so everyone else can get cheaper tickets. Is happy to help his friends be more social and get out of the house.

Bonus

Halsin

Has a kink about sex in the back of the theater. Rarely gets to indulge. Sometimes goes to whatever the biggest R-rated bomb of the weekend is with his date so he can do so.

Jaheira

Exclusively sees children's and family movies with her wards and Minsc. Too busy otherwise. Maintains an encyclopedic knowledge of them regardless.

Made the mistake of thinking animation=kid-friendly only once.

Minsc

Only goes when Boo is excited for a movie or when asked by one of Jaheira's wards.

Boo loves to watch space sci-fi to laugh at the inaccurate aliens. Still appreciates practical effects of them though. Minsc just enjoys explosions and cool spaceships.

Wishes someone would make a movie about him. He would absolutely be banned from the set for being too nitpicky.

[anarchywoofwoof]

update: still can't find a job. not even getting rejection emails at this point. it's starting to feel a little like i'm screaming into the void. that said, i don't expect any additional changes to the blog. these ads are really the only avenue i have to monetize.

anyway, i did want to talk about a new tool i put in my arsenal this week: ziprecruiter.

thankfully, ziprecruiter is here to help desperate, burnt-out job seekers like me blast my resume into the internet’s black hole of despair with style. their 100% AI-powered algorithms automatically pair me with the most non-sensical and ambiguously named tech companies with 10 to 20 employees like Zynq and Axionyx and Poob, saving me precious time and sanity. instead of wasting hours copy and pasting the same cover letter with slightly different language, ziprecruiter does the heavy lifting by giving me 350 words of pure, unreadable corporate speak slop that no one is ever going to read.

and it’s not just for job hunters like me. if you’re an employer, ziprecruiter’s powerful AI ensures your job post reaches all the right people. ziprecruiter's advanced screening technology ensures that you will have a strong, vetted pool of top tier candidates with the lowest imaginable wage expectations. hey, who knows? maybe you'll even hire me. please. please Poob. they're going to break my jaw.

so, do i have a job yet? no i do not. but thanks to ziprecruiter, i've never been closer. i can apply to even more jobs, even faster. after all, isn’t that what life is all about? maximizing efficiency in the face of unrelenting late stage capitalist precarity?

psa: shit is tough. i still can't find a job. i've had to start selling ad space on my tumblr posts. you shouldn't notice much of a difference. they're mostly nonintrusive. thanks for understanding.

[ghost-bison]

a christopher eccleston appreciation post

i will never say this enough because i don't know enough words, nor do i think such words exist, that could even begin to summarize how much i love christopher eccleston, but... i love christopher eccleston. and, more importantly, i have a deep-rooted respect for that man.

i started doctor who as, let's be honest, a sci-fi hater, forcing myself because i was obsessed with david tennant, and i was kind of dreading the first series because of this. but i was dead wrong.

he broadened my mind, gave me so many laughs, and so many cries, and i'm not the first to say that whenever eccleston is on the screen you just can't take your eyes off him, even when he's not supposed to be the main focus of the scene.

the way he can switch from silly goose to traumatized soldier in a matter of seconds will never cease to amaze me. or how he can play with both like he's on a swing by balancing it out with sarcasm?

i think whoever doesn't give him the title role in their shows/films is either an idiot, or they know the main character just isn't always the best.

i think it's downright idiotic and shameful that he gets rejected from ever playing some shakespeare just because of his northern accent (they're just posh elitist pos). now that he's older, and that times are evolving (i mean, i hope the world of theater is vibing with this evolution, but i'm not delusional), i hope we get to see him portray a character like leontes in winter's tale cause i know he'd be absolutely perfect for the role, and who better than shakespeare (this character especially, with his nuances and highs and lows and breakdowns and breakthroughs) to match acting like his?

saw an article where eccleston talked about how the moment he really knew he wanted to be an actor was when he had to wear mascara for a play, and had enjoyed it. i think he talks about it in his autobiography too (you should read it, btw, it's frankly affordable, and he happens to be a marvelous writer as well).

eccleston knows he is mistakenly type-cast, because of his background, as macho men and tough blokes in general. he's aware that it's kind of a big part of his culture. again, he talks about it i think in the very first chapter, how for instance he used to dress up as james bond, the pinnacle of "masculinity", which i think was a disguise in the metaphorical sense of the term, to mask his delicacy and femininity (or at least, that's my interpretation of it).

in his biography, eccleston talks about the differences between him and his dad, ronnie: he was surprised, as a child, whenever his father's affection manifested as a kiss or a hug, cause that usually wasn't his father's way of doing things. he compares it to how he, in contrast, has the habit of kissing his own son, albert, and telling him he loves him.

you can find it as well in how he talks about his anorexia, his body dysmorphia and, i think we can call it that, gender dysphoria. he's from a time when those concepts didn't even exist, they weren't a thing to the public eye. my father and my step-father, both feminine men in their own way, and both around eccleston's age, both told me about the struggle that it represented, not being the stereotype of the macho tough guy, and being surrounded by boys who didn't struggle with that issue. it made my dad a junkie, my stepdad a depressive artist, and, apparently, it made eccleston an anorexic actor.

i think it takes a lot of courage for people that age (the boomer generation as we call them), especially men, from whom we expect toxic masculinity, masculinity pushed to an extreme, to be able to openly call it out and dissect it into what it is: a ridiculous standard. but to be a PUBLIC FIGURE, in his 60s, and still find the strength to express it? damn. takes guts, i think.

most of us on this website, we're babies. most of us are at most in their thirties. the millenials and the gen z, and now the gen alpha, we take that for granted. or get offended and scandalized that being able to express oneself isn't yet a basic standard.

but then, i talk to my mum, and i realize that she had to stray from her catholic, sexist education, she had to make up her own mind about things in order for me to be born a free spirit. and that's just considering my mum's a cishet.

christopher eccleston expressed in other words that he doesn't fully consider himself to be cisgendered. i have mad respect for the way he talks about it, and for even talking about it at all.

then, there's his honesty. the more interviews i watch, the more it impresses me. he knows honesty goes hand in hand with dignity. i'm sorry but i'm tired of people who are nice all the time. you never know when they're being honest, and maybe some of them are, who knows. but i'm not stupid enough to think that so many people are just pure sunshine all the time (respect for tennant for lashing out publically about transphobia, i think he passed the test).

eccleston? he knows how to be both brutally honest and yet respectful at the same time. no ukulele apology from this man and holy fuck, it feels good!

i've seen him call russel t davies out for his lack of professionalism on the set of doctor who, and then list him amongst the great writers he's worked with. which makes me want to believe eccleston's side, because, if you're always either too polite, or too full of spite about eveything, who's to say you're not the problem? i've got way less trouble believing you if you can stay unbiased about a person you're having beef with than if suddenly everything said person does turns into shit just cause you don't like them. that's just maturity and wisdom.

one last thing i love about eccleston is that he is interested in other people's lives. there's a critic by marcus berkmann in his book that perfectly expresses my point: "you know what to expect from the autobiographies of most actors, i think: anecdotes, charm, more than mild self-satisfaction and faux-modesty by the bucketload. but christopher eccleston is not most actors".

and that's it. watch him in interviews and at convention panels, where he lets his younger co-stars speak before himself, and seizes the occasion when journalists ask him questions that are meant to make him talk about himself to praise his writers and other actors instead.

read his autobiography, which is both a love letter to his dad and a big let's-be-honest about the struggles of growing up poor and his personal struggles, because he thinks raising awareness is just as important as protecting himself.

look at his instagram posts where he unabashedly disses the monarchy and stays true and loyal to his background even after getting a taste of money. and his other posts where he shares his love for acorns and spending time with his kids.

i've seen him nearly break down in shame and regret on television for having stolen a kid's crisps in primary school. and not trying to find lame excuses for his behaviour. no ukulele apology, just facts, just christopher eccleston showing us what masculinity in its purest, most beautiful form should be about

[lyss-sketchbox]

With Natlan's AQ coming to a close and I had time to really think about it and see other's perspective of it. I have some thoughts. And its gonna discuss the entire AQ as a whole and not just Act 5.

In short

More consistent action and flare than Fontaine

Way too much 'waiting for the right moment' and no other preparations are shown because of it.

The blind trust to said moment. Noone vetoed this, noone was worried about this, noone doubted this. So everything felt weightless.

Mavuika is a mary sue. Her hardheaded and blind trust to an event that may or may not happen just so happens to go right. She's so confident it'll work out she spent the days leading up to the final battle painting. So everything she does has no weight to it when it's blatantly obvious they're gonna win and ruined anything hoyo tried to do to create any tension.

Capitano is the goat and it's a shame he had a fraction of the screen time but alot more impact.

I have to say the level of action and flare they used in the entire AQ is alot more consistent than Fontaine.

We all should admit that we came into an AQ expecting interaction and action from playable characters and not NPCs unless they built them up enough to care for. Fontaine's evidence searching and crime solving part is understandably slow for some people and it can really hinder the pace, especially Meropide's part where it fully focuses on NPC's instead of actually figuring out Wrio's and Lyney's plans (which is sidelined until the very end)

The action scenes and AQ specific domains are great. I like that they aren't making us watch still images or summaries of events and actually let's us play through certain scenes, especially the Act 4 war and Act 5 making our way to the eye of the Abyss part. I love that it gives us choices and consequences based on our choices and ACTUALLY shows that consequence instead of telling us. Makes it feel like they're putting effort into the story telling.

The actual weight of the plot...? Not so much. I think it is very cliche with not alot of active impact from playable characters. The ending falls flat compared to what was set up.

In Act 1-2, it felt cliché for Paimon to point out 'oh look it's time for us to solve this nation's crisis', pointing it out doesn't make it any better but this is just a pet peeve and pretty neglegible.

I was sceptical about Natlan from the start, I admit that, but I like how the characters had an active choice and struggle during these acts. Kachina chose to stay in the tourney and train, Mualani chose to switch teams, they didn't wait for a thing to happen to do thing, they initiated it first.

Mavuika and Capitano fight still doesn't make sense to me. It's alot of needless flare with no substance to me. It feels like Capitano just waltzed in there with no other plan than to fight Mavuika for the gnosis. Like he didn't even plan his escape, he just so happened to be saved by Ororon.

Act 3-4 while had character interaction, feels tonally wrong. Like are Mavuika and co. NOT doing anything else but to wait for the 6 heroes to show up? Mavuika FOUGHT against Capitano's methods because she believes her way is better but it feels so... shallow? She just trusts that the 6 heroes will show up on time without any doubts or Plan B's at all...? Also in the beginning Mavuika told us to be careful when sharing the news that a war might break out but the first thing we do is... tell people...? Out right...? Sure.

The war was done well, I like that we have choices and consequences. The end sequence literally is a My Little Pony clone but it does fit with the consistent theme of solidarity in war and nationalism. Still felt cheesy to me.

Act 5. ACT 5 is the worst tonal shift of all time to me. So we spent the first half celebrating when we know something else is there, no preparation or doubts. Even Mavuika is like 'ah yes let me paint to pass the time :)', it feels... arrogant, it feels as if it's absolutely undisputed that we are gonna win. So there's no tension at all even when they finally try to make the final battle feels important. Even the stadium bit feels off, there's literally NO signs that we are losing but for some reason the Sacred Flame goes out...?

While I like that they brought out memorable NPCs from world quests, the part about the 6 heroes feels so extremely tacked on. Like wow the 6 first heroes gave us blessings randomly in the middle of the sequence even though the actual power up sequence to get pyro traveller is still... way after that so it felt... useless? The entire boss battle even feels so weightless because yeah, you're gonna win, what is there to root for lmao.

Don't get me started on the celebration afterwards, the long awkward section where you allegedly spend a while giving out autographs and taking pictures. It feels like Hoyo is popping a party popper in our face and going CONGRATS YOU DID IT! CELEBRATE NOW! THIS IS A CELEBRATION. If they were trying to divert our attention from Mavuika's death then it's a shit attempt. Because the final battle didn't feel like it had weight, so it feels not worth celebrating.

Capitano is the only saving grace of this AQ and even then he's been sidelined for the entire act so while the logic for his sacrifice to Ronova was great (hell even more hyped about this than the entire final battle), it didn't have the impact it probably should've had. It felt like he had an entire side quest that we didn't get to see or hint at unless you count the very first dream opening Act 5.

Now my biggest issue with this nation is WHY IS THERE SO MUCH WAITING FOR THE RIGHT MOMENT????

Kachina deserved to be one of the 6 heroes instead of Xilonen. We literally don't know what Xilonen and Iansan even do to earn that title but they just... are??? We atleast see Kachina fighting for a spot in the Night Wars and we hear about Mualani and Kinich's wins but Xilonen and Iansan???

Mavuika vetoed Capitano's plans that actually had substance and logic behind it because she just.... trusts that it'll happen. Does she not worry they won't show up?? Does she not have Plan B's?? She had absolutely 0 worries at all so she just... feels so flat. Then in the final battle she just... doesn't worry at all, like I understand as an archon and a leader it's best that you act like it, but there's like... absolutely zero signs that she's worried. Even when she's talking to her LONG LOST SISTER SHE'S JUST... FINE??? MOVES ON??? ARE YOU NOT GONNA TELL YOUR WORRIES TO YOUR SISTER??? OR DO YOU JUST NOT HAVE WORRIES AT ALL????

Man idk, the ending flops for me. Rip capitano one of the only good thing about this nation and he isnt even from it. But we SEE HIS STRUGGLE, HIS DOUBTS, HIS FAILURES, AND HIS SACRIFICE AND SUCCESS WHILE WE GET SHIT ALL FROM MAVUIKA SO LIKE????? WHAT WE'RE THEY DOING???????

[aquarines]

i really do hope we get sam reid in the writer's room, because i don't know if i can take any more lestat slander from some of the writers. the whole point of tvl is lestat telling his side of the story to louis. it's a love letter to him, explaining everything he couldn't while they were together. lestat isn't perfect, of course, but he's also generous and giving and awkward with some things. some of the writers have bought into the lestat self-hate, thinking that's who he actually is. hello!!! the man hates himself, thinks he's irredeemably evil, and in so doing, ACTS that way! hello!!! he isn't!!! it's been shown time and again from other characters that he's pretty great, if not a little insufferable at times. he is scared of being unloveable!!! WHEN HE IS SO LOVEABLE, I LOVE HIM SO MUCH, HE IS WORTH THE OCCASIONAL ANNOYING SHIT. you could spit in lestat's face, call his mother a whore, and then STAB him, and if he loves you he'd say "aww, someone's feeling grumpy : )" and then just keep going. THAT'S WHO LESTAT IS. (hi i have a cold and im thinking about him and all the missteps that happened in the show so far regarding his character).

heyo, sorry for the late(ish) response, and i hope you feel better now <333 drink some ginger and lemon tea, it always works for me (also lessen smoking if you do because it worsens the symptoms lol i speak from experience)

i basically agree with everything you wrote, like samuel is a true lestat understander in a way i feel some iwtv writers are simply not

like i wonder how they're going to adapt that part where he claims he seduced magnus and that's why magnus raped him into vampirism, if they take everything he says at face value

and yes his never ending tenacity and hope is one of his main traits, like he's literally "always turning the worst of a situation into something good" character embodied and it's what helps him survive all the shit anne puts him through in every book

like he got turned into a monster non-consensually and said "okay i'll be the best (i.e. the most a monster could be) monster you've ever seen"

also he simply does not give up on people no matter what they do to him!!! which is a coping mechanism but it's his whole thing!!! aaah i hope they translate this well on screen

yes he's a bit insufferable and does dumb shit some times (maybe a few more times) but what book or show character didn't?

anyways i love him your honour and i need tvl to be perfectly adapted or i'll be writing a strongly worded email to rolin jones (jk)

[fdelopera]

I've even received some scam messages that had the brackets [ ] denoting "insert name here" still left in them!

I remember watching a lecture by someone who specializes in combatting email scams, like the "Nigerian Prince" scams, and he said that these emails are written in an illiterate and overtly scammy way on purpose.

Anyone who is gullible enough not to identify the obvious red flags — like the intentionally illiterate way that these scam messages are written — is potentially gullible enough to actually give these scammers money.

The scammers lean into the obvious fakeness of these messages. The fakeness is a feature, not a bug. The fakeness is a marketing tactic that allows the scammers to screen for their "ideal customer".

Most of the scammers who are catfishing as Gazan civilians follow the same template in their messages. They use the same wording and the same formatting. That's because a lot of them are being constructed from the same set of templates. Many of these scammers are part of organized crime rings in countries that accept Gofundme and PayPal. In other words, they are not in Gaza, because Gofundme and PayPal don't operate there.

The scammers know that there is a positive correlation between the fakeness of the messages and the gullibility of the people who will actually engage with the messages.

The "ideal customers" that these scammers are looking for are people who are dumb, gullible, and easily emotionally manipulated. Which unfortunately describes a large percentage of Tumblr's userbase.

The scammers are relying on a simple conversion rate. In other words, out of every X number of idiots who reblog the scam messages, X percentage of these idiots will click the Gofundme and PayPal links and send money to the scammers.

This is just marketing 101. And a lot of Tumblrinies are too stupid to realize that they're being played for fools.

You must 🥺🥺🥺 listen to our pleas 🙏🙏🙏

The genocide 😱😱 happening in Gaza 🍉🇵🇸 is absolutely awful! 😔

My 3 kids, named <stereotypical Muslim name>, <stereotypical Muslim name>, and <stereotypical Muslim name> have nothing left to look forward to in their lives. We have no food 🍽️❌ and not water 💧❌

I was vetted by <insert some random account you’ve never heard of before in your life, but they would absolutely NEEEVER help contribute to a scam>. Please, have some charity 😭😭😭

Reblog our pinned post and share our GoFundMe. We are absolutely not lying, I swear 😔🇵🇸

I swear to the lord allmighty, I was THIS close to autodeleting this ask. You replicated the style PERFECTLY

[mvmnbnv]

Hi! I love your blog!❤️ I Want to know what do u think on this:

I think it's crazy how you have to over explain to caitvi fans that Caitvi relationship is problematic. It's weird bc we have on-screen moments, explicit proves of the things we don't like on the ship and the caitvi fans keep talking about "media literacy", "nuance"... They should be the ones over explaing why it is a good relationship, not us.

And to be fair, I know there are some who over explaing it, but if u observe their explanation is always based on a distorted interpretation of scenes. For me their explanation it's like a Frankstein of ideas together, it requires much more work for making sense.

In conclusion, to see the Caitvi problematics u just need to watch the show!! But to don't see it u have to apparently have "media literacy" 😂

Fr like it's annoying at this point bc I know they're just repeating each other and have no good thoughts. And exactly that! If you take apart anything that they say it means nothing...

"Cait did this/that for vi" "Cait gave up her vengeance for vi" she didn't do shit for vi...she did that shit bc she was tired. And let's say she did do any of that for vi...she STILL treats her like garbage. Everything she does do for her is still done while she's condescending to vi and smacking tf out of her. And sorry if I'm not privy to the words of a writer who can't keep her story together for shit and who's writing is so ass it has to be cleared up in DMs. Cait never utters a single word in regard to vi and her motivations, it's all about her. She gave up bc she hated herself, according to her own words. Not because she loved vi. She "accepts" vi will choose her sister. She still treats her like shit. She still with her OWN WORDS minimizes the shit she's done to vi. And the big thing they REFUSE to acknowledge is vis psychology in all of this. It's almost like caitlyn is aware she doesn't owe vi anything genuine or need to put any work in other than "letting" her (which...ew considering she's now sitting on the knowledge of jinx being alive) see jinx and doing acts of basic human decency. The bare minimum. She knows she doesn't need to do anything for vi that gives her emotional stability bc vi is so desperate it doesn't even matter. She's got vi wrapped around her finger to the point where she won't call Cait out for hurting her and to the point of being willing to fight for a city that had her people under martial law for 6 months tops. But people don't care about how vis behavior makes this ship even worse, because like I've said before, if she was in a better place mentally she wouldn't even be in this relationship

Like yea we watched the same shit it doesn't mean anything.

[witsserviceablesubstitute]

But he made money off of the destiel ship. You conveniently side stepped that and all the advantages he had in pandering. Misha does nothing but grift the fanbase.

Anon... Supernatural was the number one show watched amongst American Republicans in 2016, there's no way Dean was going to explicitly reciprocate Cas' feelings. However, the show's writing of their relationship as 'bro-romantic' then pulling it back whenever things get 'too gay' over and over is a problem of the industry (though it does make Cas hilariously avoidant as a character). The denial of how shows treat their queer characters, especially when they're at the forefront of a story, and their queer audience, especially in a fandom so big, is a problem of both industry and fandom. Not a single actor.

Supernatural spent years gaslighting its fans about Destiel only to make it semi-canon at the end when it was relatively safe to do so. Fandom still gaslights Supernatural's queer fanbase even though Destiel is semi-canon. Look, I'm a real person. My experiences and sexuality are real. It shouldn't be something I have to justify over and over again to enjoy a show or a ship. I also shouldn't have to wait for the right algorithm or statistics to see a queer romance play out satisfyingly on screen. Because, imo, it is never going to be profitable to do so and the fallout will never be minimal with their conservative audience. I also shouldn't have to watch people use the ship to debate if my experiences and sexuality exist or should exist at all.

Maybe you're right and Misha Collins is as mercenary as you say. I don't know him and all I can do is speculate, as you're doing, but I do doubt it. The thing they don't tell you is that parasocial relationships can work both ways. He could also just be trying to give his queer audience what they want and maybe that's okay.

[ladylaratybur]

AoT Analysis: Why I like the Tyburs as characters

A question I get a lot is why I like the Tyburs so much, especially when Willy was "evil" and Lara had so little screen time. I made a thread on Twitter about why I like them, but not everyone who asked me this has it, so I thought I'd post here too : )

DISCLAIMER 1: Please forgive any weirdness; since this is copied from Twitter there might be errors or wacky formatting. Later I'll probably go over it and polish it up.

DISCLAIMER 2: This is my opinion. If you don't like the characters, you have every right. Just don't hate on folks who don't share your opinions ^_^

Aside from being really well written and interesting to analyze (so many people misinterpret Willy as being evil but he's actually a foil to Eren), I find their vibe and aura extremely powerful and interesting for not being there for very long. I think Willy's dilemma is fascinating to analyze; he's there for only a couple episodes yet is extremely important, and so morally grey that his position and decision is interesting to ponder. Willy is extremely well fleshed out for such a short appearance.

As for Lara, she's my prime example of how amazing a character creator Isayama is. She was there for 3 episodes and had 2 lines, yet her aura and presence were super powerful. Her expressions say so much, and was memorable as a character despite very minimal attention. There is also a lot to her if you read between the lines. Presumably she was raised as a noble child, yet probably fairly sheltered due to her family, and likely at a young age had to give up everything to be the Warhammer heir. She was entirely devoted to her mission, accepting her duty though it meant devoting herself to a life of service and secrecy. She had to endure everything alone, from the change in her life to all the memories and secrets of the Warhammer. Through it all she remained loyal and devoted, with probably only her brother to help her. She is silently strong and silently suffering all for what she thinks of as the highest good. Like her brother she was willing to sacrifice her life for this good (though we don't know how much she knew).

Something else I love about the Tyburs is how devoted to family they are; Willy with his kids, Lara smiling and giving her nieces and nephews treats, and how Lara was clearly grieving (yet strong!) when her brother got chomped.

Part of what's so fascinating about Lara is how mysterious she is and getting to read between the lines. We can clean information about her through his Eren changed after eating her as well as through Willy's character and motivations, but we don't ACTUALLY know anything. She could have been secretly in control of ALL of Marley, or she could have been a timid, manipulated, brainwashed child like the warriors. We don't know but there's reason for both. All we know is Eren seemed darker, silent, resentful after inheriting her titan. She also seemed like she could've been a support for Willy too, based on her reassuring him even after his death, even though she was younger. I choose to think she urged him to take action after the Tybur family's long years as idle rich who let their own race suffer endlessly.

True she could ask be extremely evil and conniving ... And some people who misinterpret the Tyburs believe they're like H17ler or worse some antisemit1c stereotype ... But that's, in my opinion, far from the truth. (Also Willy seems heavily NORSE inspired)

I also think people dislike Willy and Lara because there WAS some mishandling in their writing. While the mystery IS part of what's alluring about them, Eren won in a way he shouldn't have. It felt like plot armor. Lara made a big impression and then died. It felt sloppy.

Aside from that I love Willy and Lara because I really do like their character designs x) I think both of them are beautiful (though again, that's far from the only reason I like them) ... Also Lara is fun AF to cosplay and if I was a man I would cosplay Willy for sure. I also like the very WW1 vibe of the Tyburs and their aesthetic (I need to write an essay someday on why AoT is primarily inspired by ww1 and English history rather than ww2).

Thank y'all for reading and I hope you enjoyed!! <3

(also for a literature class on classical rhetoric, I did a deep dive into Willy's speech and motivations as an essay for my final. I'm still waiting to get it back. I would like to possibly transcribe it into a post since I didn't really address Willy's motives much here. It's very similar to this one except it's about Willy more than Lara.)

[bi-dykes]

Aww hun <3 Thank you for the shoutout! I am glad you (and others!) see it as solid logic! :)

Theres a deeper reason around this as well! I'm gonna chat a lil about it lol

Toxicity to soft lovers is an incredible trope because-

1. humans are messy and so we get to see messiness in our favourite pairing as well, relatability in fiction is GOOD.

2. It's not inheritly abusive. Situational toxicity from a non-partner: someone who has no romantic and domestic obligation to you- is not always crossing a line. It also depends how far the toxicity goes. Like My Dark Vanessa: too "toxic" (it's worse than just toxic, it's abusive) to be enjoyed. But toxic ships as a whole do not need to go that far. They can just be swordfighting each other making clash clank noises with the sunset in the background. Many toxic ships are exciting and unhealthy at first without being dehumanizing to either characters.

3. As catras-breakup-song outlines above, we get to see GROWTH! There won't be as much of a satisying and hard working character arcs if we already start at relationship goals.

4. It shows us as that it's okay to make mistakes. At some point or another in our entire lives we will be toxic friends, toxic family, toxic lovers, toxic classmates, toxic coworkers, toxic people, whatever. Stress brings out the worst in us. And guess what? Life is pretty stressful. We cannot handle everything right all the time. We are not iredeemable villains for screwing up once in a while. And neither are our toxic ships. Seeing toxicity to soft lovers means we can see redemption on screen and it give us hope, give us the ability to forgive OURSELVES and our loved ones who have shown remorse and improvement.

5. It's just... It's FUN! Toxic yuri pairings getting into dagger fights... Toxic yuri characters getting so angry at each other their face is blushing... Catradora Agathario Jennifer x Needy... the angst of it all <3 Anger can be passionate. Conflict can unearth character depth. The tension that arises can be *chefs kiss*. It doesn't even need to be sexual tension since I listed Jennifer x Needy, two high school students, it can just be sparkly flirty tension.

Toxic ships that get redeemed are all about seeing someone's ugly and "getting it out of the way" and loving them anyways, and seeing them imrpove as a person BEFORE you settle down with them. Which is why Belle chose Beast and not Gaston!

The villain who stops being the villain and falls for the hero is... so much more trustworthy than the angel who is just so kind and nice all the time and we dON'T KNOW THEM VERY WELL-

Like the "bad boy" trope done RIGHT (which is not often!! and does not need to mean just a boy. I meant bad boy as in rebel) should mean that all the surprises are gone and the character knows what they're getting themselves into and will never be shocked with a vile betrayal or heel turn from their lover. Whereas a character who seems flawless is actually scary lmao. It's essnetially Kristoff VS Hans (I'm not even a Disney fan, how do disney characters keep coming up XD)

I hate Fifty Shades of Grey, I hate abuse, but sheesh, I'm not intruiged with Peppa Pig. Heaven-esque ships NOR Hellish ships make for a cathartic viewing/reading experience, but Purgatory-esque ships.

Toxic ships becoming loving ships is one of the best healthy mediums you could find IMO.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk! xx

(Put the 4ntis aside cuz this is supposed to be a interesting thought provoking discussion about the show) do you think catradora are meant to be a relationship that goes from toxic to healthy?

thank you for censoring ♡

from toxic to healthy, yes absolutely. i've never been one to deny that catradora is a toxic ship or that catra was a toxic person; denying that is just as frustrating as denying character growth took place, because both are so integral to the story's message about how we are shaped by the people around us, and that mistakes don't have to define who we are or how much love & happiness we deserve.

if we pretended that catradora's relationship was always wholesome, we'd miss out on how hard they worked to get to that point, as well as how good it feels for catra to earn the future she truly wanted, as opposed to the one she tried to convince herself would be satisfying after the portal closed.

[rachiebeee]

they are best friends and siblings and i love them both so dearly. featuring piercings bc i stand strong in my belief that they would

[hamofjustice]

nemona feels like an obscure blorbo instead of the main rival character from the latest pokemon game because to get to her really good content from people who really get it, you first have to wade through the ocean of yandere pervert obsessive stalker annoying punchable bimbo amazon goddess interpretations of...

... a neurodivergent and possibly disabled high schooler who's desperately trying to make any friends or get any support from her rich neglectful family - while everyone in her school is jealous of their own imagined version of a privileged asshole version of her they made up - who deeply and platonically loves and supports the one new kid who agreed to take the time to get to know and respect her and her special interest without having to hold back her true self

unlike her, it's not great!

kinda feels like she has the same problem in our world that she does in hers.