#if they get to the point where they are angry enough to intentionally kill someone they will also be at the point where they are...

[scintillyyy]

anyways. cliff notes version of my "connecting leslie's story in war games to the evils of child soldiers & utter hatred of batman/bruce as the root of the problem and violence in gotham" doesn't understand her

i mean everyone knows the obvious of. leslie would never intentionally cause harm to prove a point, but that is the big one, yes

but even within that. i do think the point of the big one is that you need to understand that leslie is an absolute dogmatic nonviolent pacifist and would absolutely disagree with the use of any sort of violence to teach someone their violence is bad. retribution and personal revenge is off the table for her & is to be condemned in others.

leslie fundamentally disagrees with *all* of their choices to be vigilantes & use of violence to solve problems, not just bruce, but even the kids. she doesn't necessarily see them as hapless victims to bruce's ultimate will of violence. she wants them all to choose the better, nonviolent path & wants to teach any vigilante the option of nonviolence is there. she would hold bruce responsible for his choice of violence yes, but she would also hold them all responsible for their participation. she also has never shown a significant issue with children being vigilantes--she's might not love it, but she's been fine enough with working with several children as robin with little qualm about their age--her argument isn't that children in particular shouldn't be vigilantes or that children are in special danger here, it's that nobody should be vigilantes and problems should always be solved nonviolently.

which is my next point--there is absolutely cruelty within leslie's pacifism for those who can't meet her standard of nonviolence. she does think cruel things about bruce for his choice to be batman. she would absolutely think cruel things about all of them in her attempt to push them to be better. this doesn't means she hates them personally however

this is because a lot of the cruelty comes from leslie's loving disappointment in those she cares about. she is essentially bruce's mom after his parents die--her anger at him is not borne out of hate for what he chooses to do, but love & disappointment in her feeling he should be choosing a better way (her way) and does not. she dislikes his choices, but never him--she loves him. and she's always trying to save him. the point is never to punish those who haven't yet learned, it's to continue to try and teach them better. she might be frustrated and be angry at batman and the choice to be batman, but she cannot hate bruce. the point is that one day maybe bruce will finally learn that he can choose to be everything she knows he can be.

leslie & steph should frankly get along like oil & water because leslie would absolutely be judgmental of steph even in her desire to save and care for steph, just as she is judgmental of bruce even as she loves him. she would be kind, yes, but leslie's commitment to nonviolent resolution no matter the circumstance would absolutely clash with steph's feelings that personal retribution is justified under certain circumstances would absolutely clash & neither would be willing to budge. like. batman chronicles #18 where leslie does everything in her power to save zsasz at all costs vs detective comics #796 where steph went in for the kill on zsasz to protect herself and batman and questioned why not kill him. think about it.

anyways war games boiling her pacifism down into "batman commits violence and gets kids hurt ergo he's bad & i think he should be punished" completely loses the nuance that is that leslie loves despite her disagreement! the power of her is that no matter how angry and disappointed she might get in someone she is still dogmatically committed to saving them. she objects to the violence criminals commit and would still go out of her way to save them despite what they might go on to do. she saved zsasz. she would save the joker if he were dying in from of her. her devotion to her ideals is commendable, but can also be a flaw that hurts those she loves due to her strict adherence. batman is a part of the problem. batman deserves to be saved, just as all others who commit violence do.

[definitelynotaweirdo]

[pissvortex]

Is it also language policing to object to the term "ZOG"?

“Zionist Occupation Government” is an incorrect and antisemitic term, as the implication is that Israel is a hostile, foreign force occupying the American government and subverting its will in service of “the jews”. The twitter discourse which you are still angry enough to be bringing up in my tumblr inbox well after it ended was spawned by a guy on twitter implying that the /pol/ cretins who call jewish people “zog” are right because if you change “occupation” to “occupied” it’s actually a good and true acronym because the individuals occupying seats of power in the U.S. government are ideologically zionists. my objection to the ridiculous attempt at rehabilitating the acronym is that those words were only chosen in that particular combination specifically because using the term “zog” is controversial and gets a reaction out of people. it is rage bait, a useless rhetorical tool to make people angry for twitter likes, and does not hold any explanatory power on its own.

what you are referencing on my end is a post i made where, in response to a palestinian woman describing the IDF announcing plans to kill her sister, someone accused me of antisemitism and “losing support for my cause” because in the message i reposted from this women, she shortened “zionist” to “zio”. beyond the fact that the vast majority of people who see that shortening will not immediately think, “aw gee the KKK also shortened zionist to zio at one point!”, i can promise you it is nowhere near your example in terms of intentionality or provocation. the fact that you even thought to make this comparison tells me that you do not care about what you are talking about. you are just trying to do an epic own as a tumblr anon message because you did not even believe in what you were saying enough to do so publicly. you recognized at some level that this was a very stupid thing to say, but you did it anyway - consider unplugging your internet router.

[tobi-smp]

I don't want to hold anything against this specific person, because I Remember the discourse that lead to this and I know exactly how it could get passed around and warped (either through telephone or someone's own memory shifting with time).

that said, I never liked that discourse specifically Because it was a clear misreading of the text, and what better opportunity do I have to talk about it now.

the context was the bench trio therapy stream. tommy had been beaten to death by dream, sat in limbo for months, and then revived and told Explicitly that dream was planning on escaping prison and tormenting the rest of the server.

the mindset that tommy is in is that he Has to do something, but he's deeply traumatized by what's happened to him. he's Scared to go back to the prison, but he has no choice but to do it for the safety of everyone else in the server.

the "therapy stream" was bench trio Trying to do exposure therapy on tommy to help him work through his trauma in the lead up to attempting to infiltrate the prison. and the entire point is that they Absolutely Were Not actually helping.

what they were Actually doing was triggering tommy by exposing him to things that he was traumatized by, because they didn't actually know how to do exposure therapy and what they were trying to do wasn't healthy in the first place.

so the Context of this conversation is tommy desperately trying to just, Get Rid Of his trauma (something that is absolutely not possible) while entering a worse and worse mindset because he was intentionally triggering himself.

Likewise, the context for Tubbo's half of the conversation is that he Very Intentionally represses his own trauma, both from Himself and from other people. he puts himself in a little box that he buries under the floorboards and asks people to ignore the way the boards creak when they walk on him.

there's a million ways you could cut Why he does this. part it is his people pleasing, willingly pushing himself down for the sake of everyone else no matter how painful. seeing Himself as an accessory to the people he cares about, rather than a whole complete and important person. and in part because it feels Safer, it's Safer to pretend that nothing hurt him.

and Why that is is complicated. part of it is External. he doesn't Get to be angry about what he's been through, because the people he's angry At will just hurt him again. and if he thinks about how he's hurt then he Will get angry, so he just Won't Think About It.

and part of it is that I don't think he wants to process his trauma any more than tommy does. because it's painful, because he doesn't have the tools to actually work through it, because they aren't Safe so he can't afford to break down now (trouble is, there never Seems to be a "safe" time to think about himself).

they're the Repression Brothers. the difference being that tommy's at a different stage of it. not a Healthy One, but different.

tommy spent months not being able to put into words what exile was, what pogtopia was, was the final control room was. and he still won't be able to put it in plain words for some time from here.

but he's reached the point where he Can't ignore it anymore, but he still doesn't know what to Do about it. he's still frustrated with an (to an extent) Ashamed Of his trauma. he feels Lesser Than he was before and wants it to all just go away and go back to Normal.

he's doing this because he Has To, because he Has to be strong enough to fight dream. because if he's too scared to do it then he'd be sacrificing everyone else's safety.

he and tubbo are doing the Same Thing in different fonts, sacrificing their well being for the people Around Them, including Each Other.

so, lets go back to that moment that started all of this.

the exposure therapy was on the final control room section, with tommy working through having been killed by dream.

tubbo mentions that he died that night too, and tommy says something to the effect of "you did, but you have thicker skin."

this has been taken out of context to mean "you did, but I have it worse than you," when IN CONTEXT it means "you did, but you're stronger than me," or more accurately "you did, But I'm Worse Than You."

tommy does not see his trauma in the context of stupid apologist discourse. he sees his trauma as something that makes him Worse, as something he Shouldn't Feel. as something that makes him Weaker than everyone else, who Obviously are so much more put together than he is.

when he says this he's not saying that he's more important than tubbo, he's putting himself down in comparison TO tubbo.

and this is absolutely still harmful ! This is legitimately one of tommy's character flaws ! but it is Not the selfishness that people make it out to be.

it's tommy accidentally hurting other people by seeing Himself negatively. it's an unhealthy relationship with mental health, and a Realistic one considering the circumstances and setting.

likewise, it's Just As Much born from tubbo's own unhealthy coping mechanisms. tommy assumes that what happened didn't bother tubbo the way it did him because Tubbo wants him to think that.

Tubbo doesn't let tommy see how much he's hurting, which in turn feeds into this cycle.

tubbo assumes he Has to shove his trauma down for tommy's sake (for the sake of Everyone he cares about), and so tommy assumes tubbo was just Stronger than him and wants desperately to just shove his own trauma away the way tubbo seems to be able to.

this moment IS tragic, it IS an example of the two of them hurting each other. but it's BECAUSE OF HOW MUCH THEY CARE ABOUT EACH OTHER !!!

Both Of Them are trying to be strong enough to protect the other, and it's Hurting Them. it's unhealthy, but it 's not Malicious. it's self-sacrificial not Selfish. it's not something they've done to each other but what's been done To Them by the world they live in. what they've done to Themselves trying to live in it.

this shouldn't have been a discourse moment, it should've been clingyduoers tearing each other apart in the street at the tragedy of it

[luna-rainbow]

The shield-bearer vs the gun-wielder

(Unmarked GIFs are credited to @lost-shoe - miss you 😭)

One frequent interpretation of the Steve-Bucky dichotomy sees Steve as the protector and defender with the shield, while Bucky is the aggressor and assailant wielding a gun or knife or even his metal arm. It's hard to shake that impression when we remember just how savage Bucky can be as the Winter Soldier, whereas Steve notably did not carry a weapon after CATFA. Promotional stills where they appear together reinforce that image, with Bucky often appearing with an offensive weapon (or holding his arm up offensively) while Steve holds his shield defensively.

But the picture of Bucky stepping in front of Karpov made me rethink. Despite Bucky's loss at the new super soldiers' hands a moment before, he is remarkably restrained in what he does as he leads Karpov out of the cage. I am not against the meta that suggested he gained some satisfaction at striking back at the new super soldiers, but he stuck to his goal of guarding Karpov instead of getting swept up in the adrenaline and joining the brawl - as other guards in the background did.

Bucky is a protector. I know there are already lots of meta about this: from the moment we meet him in the back alley, Bucky is using himself as a human shield between Steve and the bully. He puts himself at Steve's back when he's rescued from the Hydra facility and he picks up the shield to protect Steve on the train. Even that one scene of Bucky being a sniper in CATFA, he shot the enemy to protect Steve. As Bucky, his acts of aggression happens when he's protecting someone (usually Steve).

So it's interesting to re-examine the violence in CATWS. Yes, Bucky/Winter Soldier is capable of extraordinary ferocity in taking down Fury and Steve and Nat, but he's also someone who sits there placidly when Pierce's maid startles them. Proactive attack isn't his instinctual state - and that becomes clearer when we see more of Bucky in CACW. He waits until violence is upon him before he retaliates: whether in Bucharest, or in the German airport, or finally in Siberia with Tony.

And on reflection, even in this climactic CATWS scene, the visuals are consistent with Bucky’s modus operandi — he is placing himself as a human shield between his enemy (Steve) and what he needs to guard (the Helicarrier behind him). The trail of destruction he leaves behind on his way onto the Helicarrier is frank reminder of how capable of violence he is, but this moment on the bridge holds a curious stillness. He is waiting, but not as a predator waiting for his prey, but rather like a lone guard’s final stand against inevitable doom. And perhaps — his aim was never on taking the most number of lives on the airfield, it was to disperse and disable anyone who might interfere with the Helicarrier’s launch.

Bucky's focus during the first part of the fight with Steve seems to be more on the drive Steve is carrying rather than on killing Steve. Killing Steve only comes after the Helicarriers fail (which begs the question: was Bucky specifically instructed to stop Steve without killing him and then kill him afterwards, or did Bucky have enough presence of mind to hold back for as long as he could?) Even as the Winter Soldier, Bucky seems most in his element when protecting something behind him.

On the converse, we have Steve, whose symbol is the shield, and I think it misleads (maybe even intentionally on Steve's part) the audience and his enemies into thinking that Steve's strong point is defence.

But it's not. I wouldn't call Steve an aggressor (and I'm not a huge fan of the angry chihuahua fanon), but he is far more proactive in his actions and a lot more aggressive in his attacks than the shield might suggest.

Even this memorable image, which seems to suggest Steve is on the defense against Bucky's raging attack is actually the opposite -- Steve is rushing Bucky from the side, and Bucky's punch serves to stop Steve in his tracks (i.e. it’s Bucky's self-defense against Steve's attack).

Our first meeting with Steve establishes him as a challenger - he challenges the recruitment rules, he challenges the disrespectful guy in the cinema, he challenges Colonel Philips and Hydra and the Red Skull - and eventually, he goes on to challenge Loki and Tony and Fury and Pierce and SHIELD in the modern world.

We don't see Steve carrying a weapon in the modern era (except for maybe brief moments of him using a weapon in Avengers) and it's easy, for the audience but also for Steve’s enemies, to forget that Steve uses the shield as an offensive weapon. Sure, it serves its function as an actual shield, but Steve hurls it as a projectile weapon intended to incapacitate so many times I won't be able to list them all so I'll just let this picture speak for itself.

Even at their first reunion, Bucky is running away to avoid a confrontation with the witness (Steve) while Steve is chasing after him to confront the sniper.

And I think this describes their different traits to a tee - Steve is like the bloodhound with a keen nose for trouble and doesn’t rest until he’s chased it down, while Bucky is like the guard dog who patiently sits by his family until commanded to fight or provoked. That's not to say Steve is always picking fights, but rather he's got an intuitive awareness of where the source of the conflict is and has no qualms putting himself into the fray. It’s also not to say that Bucky is always avoidant or apathetic, but rather he tends to watch and wait unless it threatens those he cares about...and that is probably deserving of its own meta to discuss how their separate upbringings make Steve and Bucky different in their confrontation readiness.

"I thought you were more than just a shield," Batroc says, so Steve clips his shield back on his harness and dukes it out with his fists.

Of course Steve is more than his shield, because the shield is just a piece of disguise for who Steve Rogers really is - someone who's always assessing the world around him (rather than hiding behind the shield) and ready to challenge the injustices (rather than waiting for the fight to come to him).

The real dichotomy between Steve and Bucky is that Steve is a natural challenger, who first picks up the shield to help him undertake a single-man offence on a Hydra base. When he wakes up in the modern world and sees that the imagery of the shield is entrenched with his identity, he uses that symbol to mask his fiery defiance while turning the shield itself into a weapon that works both in offense and defence. Bucky is a natural protector, who had picked up fighting and later weapons for defence and self-defence. Hydra then turned his loyal temperament and his skill set into “the fist of Hydra” - capable of both protection and targeted destruction.

They seem to have chosen (or been assigned) a weapon that is opposite to their instincts, but it’s also why they work so well together as a unit. Steve's convictions and idealism give Bucky the impetus to take up arms, and Bucky's constancy and protection give Steve the confidence to forge ahead.

The man who attacks injustices with a shield, and at his back, the man who defends him with a gun.

[merakiui]

Ooooh now I'm imagining all sorts of Danganronpa style drama for Azul's trial. So many false leads and tricks!

Someone strong (like Leona) is found dead and weighted underwater, so everyone immediately suspects the 3 merfolk. Some unintentionally specist comments get thrown around. But that's too obvious, right? There's evidence that excludes them, and the arguments go elsewhere. Who is capable of overpowering the victim, etc.? He has injuries that indicate a struggle.

Some eventual evidence indicates the cause of death was drowning. Suspicion returns to the mers. Did they work together to keep him underwater while he fought? He's so strong, it's still hard to believe. Would two of them actually be willing to die while the other wins? There are scary rumors about the Leeches. Was Azul even involved? The Leech twins start playing up their sketchiness (they're angry by this point). But there can only be one killer.

To Azul's horror, someone ignorantly mentions there were circular imprints on the victim's arm (with a picture). He was extremely cautious! There is NO WAY he left sucker marks; he even checked afterward. If they were familiar with octomers, they'd know the marks aren't even the right shape!! He's flipping out now and messes up his words. Nervous chatter has always been a trait of his. The jury ends up deciding the three of them worked together, but Azul is the killer since he had to be the one holding the victim, causing his drowning.

Azul IS the killer, but he's so upset they got all the details wrong. He did everything himself. He meticulously planned everything, accounting for the victim's UM, and krakened him. But he did not leave any of the evidence mentioned and those sucker imprints are fake 😨😡💀!! Now he's going to die looking like a fool where he wasn't.

Before Azul's punishment, Jade reveals that he figured out it was Azul before the trial. He knows him too well. He planted the main evidence because, while he cares for Azul, he has no intention of letting himself and Floyd die for him.

I like the idea that the twins remain super sketchy and intentionally misleading for all the other trials, without actually ever being the killers. They're very angry, and its their way of grieving Azul.

YES YES YES!!!! This is the vision in its entirety!!!! orz the twins continuing to be suspicious menaces even after his execution is perfect.

Azul spends the majority of the game being annoyingly kind and helpful, if only to spread goodwill and reduce the risk of being targeted. He may cut a strikingly scary figure when he's with the twins, but the truth is that he's an animal of prey at heart and he'll do whatever it takes to survive. So as nice as he seems, it's all an act to keep himself safe and on everyone's good sides. He keeps his ears to the ground, always wanting to know as much as possible, and he is genuinely helpful in the trials, if not a little pompous.

But he's so anxious. The killing game is wearing on and he desperately wants to get out of here. How is he going to keep up with the lounge if he's stuck here? This is horrible! He's losing so much business with every passing second! On the surface, Azul keeps himself composed, but beneath perfect smiles and his obnoxious flair for theatrics he's cracking.

I imagine the trial is filled with twists and turns and it's so very convoluted. It couldn't possibly be one of the merfolk, right? Anyone with enough strength could have drowned the victim. It's very possible. Azul keeps his composure up until the moment when everyone starts to suspect and turn against him. His own logic is falling apart and though he's used to quick-paced arguments and discussions in business this is different. They can't be serious. Do they all really think he's the one at fault here? Honestly, he wouldn't revert to his true form to commit murder. Come on! That's foolish.

With all eyes on him, Azul starts to break. It's suffocating to be under such intense scrutiny. Everyone's accusing him of such a monstrous thing. They're all bullies! >:( it's not fair! He's only ever been good and helpful and obedient! Sure, he may have seemed suspicious when he was with the twins, but that's just how they are as a group! It's all just an act to look intimidating, to look strong, to look untouchable. He's not a killer. He's a businessman.

He snaps when the twins don't take his side. So they're just going to bully him, too? Is that it? And from there, everyone sees the real Azul. Foul-mouthed and impolite, he's pointing and yelling, insisting that it can't be him; it could never! Why would he throw his future away just to commit a crime? Why would he make such a risk?! He's a businessman! His eyes are blown wide with delirium. He's definitely breaking into a laughing fit during the trial like how he did during his overblot. >_< he's crazed... it's haunting to see. The twins would feel bad, but he chose this. You make your mistake and you pay for it. Isn't that what Azul always says when debtors refuse to pay what they owe?

He's hysterical until he isn't. Until he can no longer be. After the vote comes in and he's declared the blackened, he gets this far-off look to him. Maybe he's reflecting. Maybe he's not. Maybe he isn't even thinking at all. No one can tell.

It's strange to see the twins without Azul. Their terrifying trio is forever down a member.

[stuffyflowers]

What do you think Ceroba does after a Neutral run where you kill Starlo? Does she ever accept that you really did it? Does she end up tumbling into an even worse mental state? Does she ever get support from, like, the remaining Feisty Four?

ohhhhhh that’s a LOADED question i could absolutely ramble abt this.

I might as well drop my answer in the “does she know?” poll: im a “she has a hunch but doesn’t act on it” truther.

After weeks (or maybe even just days) of searching, she’s the first to come to the realisation that he’s not missing, he’s dead. She knows him better than anyone, she knows that even in his lowest moment he would never disappear for this long. In general she’s also just the most grounded monster in the wild east: while the others can indulge themselves in hope and optimism that he’ll return, she can just face reality and know the odds are definitely stacked against starlo being alive at this point

She would eventually accept that clover did it, too. It was a thought itching at the back of her mind ever since she first saw them on the cliffs, just… standing there. Only now is she ready to put the pieces together, who else could have possibly done it? The four were angry at him, but they were all still close friends just going through a rough patch. Clover, though? From the very beginning of their wild east journey, she had suspected they weren’t really… into it. They were being basically held there against their will, after all. If anyone would be willing to pull the trigger on star, it would be them.

And I imagine she would develop a guilt complex over this, of course. I’ve mentioned a lot before that she has a tendency to blame herself for things even when its out of her control, notably how she says she let chujin work himself to death when chujin is the one that intentionally hid everything from her, including the warning signs that his life was at risk. This would extend to star, I think. Her entire role in the wild east is as an observer, she watches over clover and encourages them to come to a peaceful resolution with starlo by playing along. When she leaves him, just like the four, she willingly left star alone with someone she knows could cause him significant harm (“humans are dangerous”, of course.). ESPECIALLY if we assume this is on a neutral route where ceroba already knew clovers soul is impure and thus had killed monsters before. What was she thinking??? How could she allow herself to set boundaries and leave him alone??? Who cares if what he said hurt her feelings, her feelings don’t matter. She should have been there to protect him.

So uh. Yeah. Definitely falls into a worse mental state. Losing the only person she was still close to, and in her mind it was all her fault, just like in chujin and kanakos case. She could have put a stop to his killer, too, but she didn’t. This is her new rock bottom.

I’ve already rambled on so long but uh feisty four uhhhh… honestly idk if they’d be able to do much for her. She isn’t close to them, really. Not enough for her to consider them her friends, apparently (“Starlo was the only friend I had left”). Ceroba would probably have trouble finding support in general as at this point she’s still hiding so much from everyone in relation to her family and the mission she had been left with. Letting her guard down to talk about how stars death affected her would mean having to talk about them, as well. Ceroba is stubborn, too, so I think it would be a long time before she truly lets herself get support from anyone

… and I think itd be more likely from crestina and solomon, tbh. She doesn’t talk much to the four, but she does talk to stars parents a lot, esp in relation to star himself. They’re the first ones she goes to consult abt stars disappearance, too. I think if anyone was able to get her to open up and get the support she desperately needs, it would be them.

[spacedlexi]

I totally get your point about the kenny/Jane thing. In my opinion the best outcome is letting Kenny kill Jane (honestly Jane brought that to herself, all of them knew that if he lost someone else he would finally go ballistic and she deliberately put him on that spot to prove "a point") and then staying in Wellington, because Kenny acknowledges that he's not fit enough to care for her and AJ anymore, so he begs Clem to stay. He's aware that he's not right for the job, and he accomplished his mission, he stayed loyal to Lee and left. It also gives the opportunity to speculate whether he finally found peace after all his suffering. (Even if the original idea was him offing himself in the Virginia lake after that)

i always find myself struggling to talk about S2 because i know the writers changed direction (multiple times?) as the season was releasing??? which means character arcs and motivations were altered to fit this new direction and its like painfully obvious sometimes especially when it comes to kenny and jane and luke

i hate when writers cant commit to the bit. and that kind of happens with kenny. which is weird because even tho they decided against him literally being carvers character (which wouldve worked perfectly for a luke v kenny ending), they still try to give him that carver storyline. like.. i could see kenny easily being in carvers position at howes. just like lilly in S4 with the delta. these two characters wanted leadership and never liked any pushback from the people around them. i can also see the kenny we knew from S1 turning into a man like carver in S2 (a dude who has lost a lot and whose methods are becoming more extreme to keep people safe) and i think kenny being carver instead wouldve made carver a much deeper and more interesting antagonist. like carver is fine. he works although his beef with this 11yo is weird. but we dont buy it when bonnie tells us he used to be a cool guy. we've only ever seen carver as a murderer. but if it was kenny in this role then immediately we add a lot of baggage to this character and his relationship with clem and her new relationship with the howes group. like we know kenny and we know what hes capable of but we also understand his motivations and we do believe that deep down kenny does want whats best to keep his people safe. and clem reappearing in the life of THIS kenny wouldve been Huge as he wouldve already begun his descent and clem is the only one who can really get through to him (like they still try to do when all the adults are like "uuuh clem you go talk to the angry man theres no way he'll listen to US"). i think they were afraid of making kenny an outright antagonist though and instead tried to have their cake and eat it too which just kinda...leads to mess... commit to your characters dark spirals and downfalls i hate this wishy washy bullshit. plus having kenny as carver instead wouldve centered clem in the howes discussion more. as it stands she just kinda gets swept up in everyone elses bullshit and just has to go along with it. classic child experience tho

jane pretending that aj was dead to intentionally push kenny over the edge just to "prove" to clem that hes dangerous was SOOOOO unnecessary jane!!! like we know girl!! we know!!! and when he tries to kill her for it its like...i know you saw this coming jane so how did you expect this to end?? was she just hoping she'd win the fight? she even tells clem to stay out of whatever was about to happen (plus she does genuinely put ajs life in real danger by leaving him in that car where they were lucky to hear his cries). but i think this problem stems from them changing it out from being a luke v kenny showdown. i think that ending wouldve culminated more naturally as their beef was slowly building since they first met. disagreement in leadership styles. that silly little middle school "choose who to sit with at dinner" thing felt like foreshadowing of a luke v kenny fight that just never happened. they needed to create a reason for kenny to attack jane as jane doesnt care about leadership she cares about keeping herself safe so the whole aj thing just....feels forced. like... jane why....Why........ where did your self preservation go...its like your whole character...

so...yeah.... i have a lot of conflicting feelings about S2 and its ending. on my recent playthrough i had clem tell kenny that maybe lee Shouldnt have come to save her in S1, trying to be all "boo hoo im so sad i get everyone i love killed boo hoo" and kenny responds by saying he should SMACK her for that???? i was so shocked that i missed taking the screenshot of it. i gasped audibly... turned into a "matter of time" situation for me (even tho things seem fine enough in the S3 flashbacks hes weirdly normal again and still talking about boats). kenny is definitely a broken man hanging on by a Singular Thread by the end of S2 and jane snaps it. this is why i like leaving kenny behind at wellington. clem and aj are definitely the light of his life at this point and he wants whats best for them. leaving them at wellington is really the best thing he can do for them both and its very sad because we know he Needs them. and clem would want to hold onto whoever she has left so its hard for her too. throughout all the seasons clem and aj are seen as the light in the darkness the hope for the future yadda yadda and kenny losing that? yeah i can see why the virginia lake idea was a thing. but thats ALSO why i like the clem shoots kenny ending. this man just wants it to be over he misses his family so much he cant take this shit anymore. staying with kenny into S3 really feels like we're stretching out his character as far as possible. it kinda feels like they hit the reset button on him and hes back to talking about boats. i feel like post S2 they just didnt really know what to do with him or jane. i feel like their endings in S2 are the most narratively fulfilling for their characters and i want clem to enter S3 on her own

[egg-emperor]

Has anyone ever tried telling you "eggman probably isn't as evil as you think" If so, how did you respond?

Side note. I really appreciate your account. We need more people who embrace Eggman as the irredeemable monster he is.

Yes, often and well they're either coming from a place of not being knowledgeable enough about Eggman and overlook all his crimes, or it's a case where they turn a blind eye because they don't want to believe he's actually that evil because it's not to their tastes and makes them uncomfortable. And I get it but it doesn't change the facts. I enjoy getting to help people learn the solid unbiased facts about game canon Eggman, by bringing up all the canon examples of what makes him such a terrible person and try to note as many of his actions as possible that prove he really is that evil.

Being a totalitarian fascist dictator who wants to own the world and strip freedom and free will away, a war criminal who causes mass destruction and is willing to commit genocide, will try to kill anyone who gets in his way even children as young as 6-8, has been sexist, will manipulate/gaslight and abuse people and animals in various ways and enjoy it, wants to build intentionally dangerous theme parks that can kill people in brutal ways as we hear all about in Colors, and knows he's evil and acknowledges it proudly and revels in it is the most evil of evil!

We've seen many examples that show just how low he'll stoop and he hasn't been known to have a single limit in canon, besides things that get the entire planet and himself destroyed so he can't rule it, obviously. Besides that purely selfish reason, he isn't shown to have any good morally based limits and doesn't show any hesitance or remorse for his actions, despite clearly being fully aware that he's the bad guy doing the bad thing, calling it evil with glee. He's ranged from completely apathetic towards the evil he commits to downright sadistic as he smirks cheekily and laughs through it!

Those aren't actions to be downplayed or overlooked, they're important traits that define his character and are involved by countless significant plot points, including his whole motivation and methods in his plans. They're the very things that establish him as a villain and a threat in the first place. It's what puts the "evil" in "Ivo (ee-vo)." He's not the villain and not the Eggman, or even the same character at all without it, I'm not even exaggerating. But yeah point is, if someone is to deny or ignore all these intentionally or not, then they're not gonna think he's as evil as I say he is. XD

From my experience, they haven't been able to provide solid proof and evidence, nothing I couldn't disprove with my own stacks of evidence taken right from the games, if they do have any they claim to be at all. Because a lot of the things I see that they tend to try to use are things that actually prove my own point instead, when looking at them in actual context and what they really mean. So what I'd also do is debunk anything they try to use to attest to the idea that he's really that evil of a guy, using those very same things they're trying to use for their statements and much more.

I really like having sensible discussions and debates where I get to put all my heavy passionate research and analysis to use but I don't really get the chance very often because people take it the wrong way. I think if people didn't take disagreements as so hostile, we could be having some really interesting discussions. Like sure, when someone says "Eggman isn't as evil as you think" I'm like "ah hell no, no way lol" but I'm not angry or insulting, I'd just like to discuss why I disagree and share some of the reasons why, which are based in fact. I encourage others to do it to me too.

Anyway, these are usually the points I bring up when I do get the chance. Then I ready all my tons of excerpts and sources right from the games explicitly written into the text, and with some further analysis adhering to that knowledge, and sometimes additional creator commentary that's solidly backed up by the game canon as a bonus. People I've talked to have been upset by being asked for sources but I'm always passionate about gathering all my sources the second someone asks because I'm like finally I get to do something with all this information lol

Thank you so much! I'm really happy you enjoy my stuff. :D I'm just super passionate about gushing over, analyzing, and educating over how Eggman is a lovable nasty evil bastard man and I'm really happy that I'm not alone, I have so much fun making the posts and to know that y'all enjoy it too makes it even better. Here we love and embrace this handsome horrible man always and I'm delighted for you to join me in it. We make fine loyal members of the Eggman Empire for it hehe 💜

[badassbutterfly1987]

Black Sun Rising Ch. 6-10 (in which I get more critical)

Chapter 6:

I was a bit confused by this chapter at first since we switch to an entirely new POV of an angry merchant upset about lost cargo

apparently the Weird Trio (my nickname for the things from a previous chapter that looked human but weren't) used the ship carrying his goods to reach the city and sunk the ship and other people on it to cover their tracks i think

the monotone voices and general lack of emotion really make them unsettling

Chapter 7:

we get a flashback/dream from the Patriarch's POV

so his mother had a drug addiction when he was kid, then she was killed and eaten by monsters

obviously a formative memory and probably contributed to his zeal for expanding the Church's influence

Chapter 8:

apparently Damien has a habit of staying awake during true night so he could be aware of any users of dark fae nearby; it's mentioned he was taught this by a mentor, I'm presuming another sorceror or Adept since this isn't the kind of thing the Church likes

he's good at reading the fae currents back in Ganji but they're too volatile in Jaggonath, so he's just chilling in his room for a couple pages then goes to sleep (wait it says it's 3am, is this a witching hour reference? neat)

then Ciani's shop explodes and she's presumed dead, mention that there's specifically blue fire. that color was mentioned last time with the earthquake-resistant wards. the emotional part of this is weakened a bit for me because I know the general plot of the rest of the book

For the most part, I like the rest of this chapter. Damian's understandably rattled, he really liked Ciani and there was the potential for a genuine relationship. We even get a nice moment where the Patriarch has a moment of not being an ass and offers his condolences to Damien, recognizing there was a bond despite his hatred of Adepts and the fae.

However-

Damian has the thought that he might have been falling in love with her. Here's the thing, I think they're fun together, they have a nice flirty dynamic and I could see myself writing ship fics for them. But that was all that was there; there weren't moments where they connected on a more intimate level and Damien doesn't read as having a romantic enough personality to fall this hard this early.

extra note since I didn't think to mention it last post: what kind of Church follower taught to fear and hate demons, would then name their kid Damien? Is it going to be revealed that his parents were Adepts/sorcerers who later converted? it would be a neat reveal; I don't think his parents have been mentioned yet, and it could have influenced with his ease about using fae

Chapter 9:

Weird Trio confirmed to have been hunting Ciani and maybe intended to eat her? didn't intentionally cause explosion. maybe she tried to fight back and triggered the wards in a way that overloaded them?

they apparently have another task to fulfill. how ominous!

Chapter 10:

Ciani is confirmed to be alive and hiding at Senzie's place, surprise surprise. but this is a genuinely sad scene, her attackers ripped out chunks of her memory and all her ability/knowledge as an Adept, something that is an inherent part of her identity

turns out Senzie caused the explosion in an attempt to make the attackers think she was dead and wouldn't attack again. unfortunately, this means that any research or artifacts that could have helped Ciani have been destroyed. Senzie insists he did what was best in the moment, which is fair but the way he says it points to a deeper insecurity. kudos to Damian for knowing how to de-escalate, he's like a warrior-poet but religious (is this just what dnd clerics are? I haven't played)

on a lighter note, we meet Allesha. she was briefly mentioned before as a fellow assistant and someone Senzie seemed to be mildly annoyed with. turns out she's his fiancee which makes that previous thing a little awkward

then we meet Karril, Ciani's demon friend who seems like a pretty chill guy; were he a modern guy, he'd probably wear Hawaiian shirts. what exactly demons are in this verse is a little unclear; the Church calls them demons and Damian treats them as such but other people seem to worship them as gods? Karril's domain is pleasure and he does have Dionysus vibes (also I know there's some fics that ship him and Damian so presumably he shows up again)

I really hope Ciani isn't going to be a traumatized husk for the rest of the book because she was a fun character and this already treads the line of fridging the only notable female lead (Almea dies in the prologue and Allesha is only relevant as Senzei's partner)

apparently Ciani investigated the rakhlands before (far too curious about unknown, similar to Damian), was trapped for a few years in which a rakh fed on her memories/substance as a person, and she barely managed to escape. while Karril wasn't able to get her to fully explain what happened, he did help her forget the experience at her request.

this is like that on a larger scale. the only way to fix it is to hunt down the specific creature that caused it. I might be misreading this part but they seem to be implying it could be a rakh or a more general (but still very dangerous) monster. I guess it's a red herring to the characters/audience to suspect Tarrant and while he is an amoral bastard, his brief POV chapters haven't suggested a motivation to do so (and he did notice new competition in the area, probably the rakh attackers)

Also, just for funzies, this is what I initially marked down for general thoughts that I wanted to make sure I expanded:

Senzei acting sus. defensive because insecure

romance where? barely know each other.

close to fridging. Ciani angry when?

where Tarrant?

[strawberryjamsara]

Joe Tazuna profile analysis

I like the idea of Joe loving basketball because it gives me the mental image of him loving High School musical and Troy Bolton being his hero and wanting to do theater and dance with Ryoko. Yes this is veering a lot into headcanon for what’s supposed to be an analysis but guess what? My post my rules. Also I wonder if Joe has any pets seeing how he loves dogs so much. I know we hate the manga and using it as a reference should be considered sacrilege but in it, the students of Sonobeno remark that Joe is poor, and if that’s the case he might not be able to afford a dog. I wonder if maybe he had a dog before Mr Policeman died, and they had to let it go because finances were tight. Again, headcanon territory.

And his dislikes also point to a strong sense of justice, again pointing towards Mr Policeman being his dad, a man who left his position to pursue what was right. Joe also hates evil, and people who do wrong, but he has been taught not to have a black and white view. It’s interesting how that comes into play when he gets the sacrifice card. He is deceiving others and leading them on the nose to grave, but he’s trying to save himself and his best friend and admits defeat gracefully and kindly.

It’s important to remember how when things get serious, Joe is the one who takes them the most seriously. Joe in chapter 1-2 spends a lot of time brooding, angry at what happened to Mishima, and on his own. He was very much coping with a tough situation as much as Sara was, and him extending his hand to Alice was a tremendous act. Joe distrusted people. He wanted to know the votes. It wasn’t just a sweet gesture from a good kid, it was someone opening up his heart and trying to be kind in the worst situation, and that’s what Joe is doing, being kind in the worst of times.

So there’s a pretty interesting analysis about this bit done by @beanieman that I can’t find at the moment but I want to bring up another piece of symbolism…

Lightning can strike in one place a singular time. In other words the sacrifice could have one result. And when you have that result you can’t take it back. So Joe, where will you direct the lightning?

Joe himself wearing dog ornaments reminds me of emotion route where he tells Sara “I’ll always follow you! You know, like a dog!” No matter what, he’s loyal to the people he loves first, and will stand by any decision they make. He will kill for Sara. He will die for Sara. He even follows her after his death. Very good symbolism.

I like this because Sara’s profile states that the dress code for Sonobeno is pretty lax. Either Joe is intentionally wearing his uniform in a way that’s rebellious, but not rebellious enough he can get in trouble, or he’s just so flamboyant and cool his style is bound to grind someone’s gears, and I can’t decide which I like more.

[ikamigami]

Why Moon couldn't stop Sun?

Where do I start with this..?

Oh boy...

So, I'll start with Sun. He may seem to be stubborn about wanting to kill Eclipse. I get that, he doesn't want to listen to anyone. And people seem to think that Sun became evil because he's like Eclipse.

But don't you think that this is weird? Moon was right about that this is not like Sun. Sun doesn't act like that. Even though we know that this is Sun. And we know that Sun want to kill Eclipse to get rid of at least one of their problems... right? Technically, yes. Because I think that Sun wouldn't normally choose the option to kill Eclipse if it wasn't for Bloodmoon's death. And like I said Sun didn't expect BM to die that easily (Sun didn't know how much capacity nanomachines have). Even if he had a thought about killing their enemies, he knows it's a bad thing to do. So, I believe that Bloodmoon's death wasn't intentional on Sun's part.

Another thing is that Sun thinks that he's bad. He thinks that he's like Eclipse (or even worse). He feels responsible for Eclipse thus he thinks he should do something about Eclipse. And in this case it's to get rid of Eclipse. But why did Sun choose such drastic measure, so different from his way of actions? It's simple. He thinks he's evil. He killed BM. It proves to him that he's evil. So, why not go after Eclipse too? If he's on a bad side like many fans stated and like Lunar has said, why not at least try to use it for their advantage? Getting rid of Eclipse would be beneficial to all of them. So why not?

Also Moon couldn't stop Sun because Sun would go there anyway. Sun doesn't plan to go back to his brothers. He's bad so how could he live with them? When he finally accepted the fact that he's bad, he can't go back. Because to what? To continue ruining Moon's, Lunar's and everyone's lives. To keep making things worse. And not be able to help. To fix anything. This is also one of the main reasons why Sun chose option to kill. Because he tried everything and nothing ever worked. Despite the fact that he ruined everything or made everything worse. All of Sun's usual ways of acting were either useless or caused more problems.

Also Sun in order to prevent himself from ruining everything tried to act less like himself. That's why he started to act more like Moon. Besides Sun sees Moon as someone who is mature. For Sun, Moon is an impersonation of maturity. That's why when Moon said to Sun to "grow up" in their first fight, Sun understood it as that he should be less like himself and be more mature, just like Moon. That's why Sun started to hide his problems and became less clingy and he stopped showing that much affection. Because he thinks that showing too much affection is immature. And because of Sun's wrong understanding of maturity Sun said what he said to Lunar in their fight. Because that's what Sun learnt from Moon. He saw himself in Lunar and that's why he said Lunar will understand when he'll grow up. Sun didn't want to be mean to Lunar because he was angry. It was unintentional. He just gave Lunar the same advice Moon gave him. Sorry for this digression. Let's get back to the point. So, Sun changed but it turned out that it was still not enough. He was still as incompetent as before. And he still was making everything worse.

Sun felt that he tried everything at this point to prevent himself from ruining everything and nothing worked. He was at loss. He started losing hope that he'll ever be able to change. So, he thought to himself, why not finally accept the fact that he's evil. This was all really unfortunate. I mean that Sun has that thought about killing their enemies and then Bloodmoon came and he killed them (not intentionally imo). It was a turning point for Sun. He was no longer good in his own eyes. Or he could no longer pretend that he's good. Because how? When He killed someone. How can he still pretend that he's good. That's why I think Sun decided to go after Eclipse without planning to return back home. He doesn't belong there anymore, in his own eyes. He was hurting Moon for a very long time and now he also hurt Lunar. He can't stay with them anymore. I know that I'm repeating myself but I hope that you all will see my point.

And finally I'll talk about Sun and Moon talk in the forrest scene. I think many people didn't understand why Sun was so angry. Many people thought he was angry at Moon but that's not true. Many people thought he was angry that Moon wasn't truly there. But I think that he was glad that Moon wasn't there actually. I know that part of Sun still wanted for Moon to show up and stop him but at the same time Sun feels like he shouldn't hope for that. He doesn't deserve Moon's love and care. That's why I think Sun was upset while talking with Moon because Moon showed that he cares (because obviously he cares). Because if Moon didn't care or showed that he's dissapointed in Sun, it would be easier for Sun to let go of everything. To disappear. That's why I think that Sun said that Moon showed up just to insult him or be angry at him because that's what Sun was hoping for. But it didn't happen. So Sun tried to portray himself as someone truly awful. That's why I think Sun said that thing about not feeling anything after killing BM. I think Sun lied because he wanted for Moon to see him as a monster who doesn't regret anything. So when Sun will be gone, Moon could move on with his life. Because Moon shouldn't grieving after monster. That's why I also think that Sun seemed like he didn't care that Lunar left. To show Moon that he's cold-hearted and there is no reason for Moon to feel sorry for him or pity him.

Another thing is that Sun seemed so fixated on killing Eclipse and that he have to do it because I think that Sun wanted to at least to do something good for once at the end. He also said to Moon that he also feels responsible. I think he said that because Moon like always started to blame himself. Sun didn't want to listen to it because he doesn't think that Moon is one to blame. That's also why Sun was so upset.

I truly believe that Sun will try to kill himself. I know he probably won't be able to because he's a robot. But it's still very sad that he'll try to do it. Because it shows that Sun has serious mental issues.

And about Moon in all of this. I think that Moon could listen to Sun more in this conversation but I doubt it would change things that much. Maybe if Moon was there, then he could do something to stop Sun and Sun would feel more pressured to say what is truly on his mind. But I think that Sun still would try to force Moon to let him go.

That was truly a very tragic episode. Moon couldn't do much to stop Sun. But I hope that Moon won't give up on his own brother. He should know better because he knows Sun from the beginning. After all he spend his whole life with Sun.

[histrionic-dragon]

Good Omens Season 2 Reaction

Spoilers, obviously, so under the cut.

I accidentally saw enough of a gif here on Tumblr that I knew there would be a kiss. I accidentally saw a post here on Tumblr about "watching David Tennant unable to be with the blond he's in love with hits as hard at 26 as it did at 16" so I suspected something sad would happen.

I was not expecting THAT.

I didn't expect the kiss to be angry, and even when Crowley suddenly moved across the room and I thought "here it comes" I didn't expect it to be...devastated. He doesn't think that's going to make a difference. He doesn't think it's going to change things, not really. He just needs to do it, needs to make damn sure that Aziraphale gets it and he's done everything he can, but it's a parting shot, not a real argument.

And he's right. It doesn't change anything.

The narrative doesn't go the easy route of "Oh, what--wait--well that changes everything." Aziraphale's reaction is the worst. I wanted to smack him, and I generally like Aziraphale. I see myself in Aziraphale. I'm bookish and compulsively honest and want to see the best in people. But YE GODS, that is--NO!

It's better. It's more messy, how people really are. But it's so much worse to witness than a neat, fun, happy ending.

Maybe if he had more time, Aziraphale would process and fuss and dither and make up his mind and do something, but Metatron hustled him along (intentionally? is there a plot? don't really care right now) and he went. Even when he saw Crowley waiting by the car--"Yes, yes, I stormed out, but I haven't stormed out, I'm right here, I haven't abandoned you"--he goes.

At this point I actually put my head in my hands.

I thought maybe there would be some kind of plea deal with Heaven and Hell to avert the war where they both have to never see each other again. I didn't expect that they'd be separated because of someone's choice.

Again: it's a better, more human story. It's a worse, more human situation.

Aziraphale still doesn't fundamentally get something about Crowley.

The "I can change things if I'm in charge" argument, yeah, I can see that being a very strong, pardon the word, temptation. But that wasn't even what he was most excited about: he wanted him and Crowley to be angels and happy together. He's missing the point for Crowley because of what he wants. Crowley isn't a violent creep like most of the demons, sure, but he's still a demon. He doesn't like Hell, but he doesn't like Heaven either. He doesn't want to go back. He might have "sauntered vaguely downwards," but he was kicked out of Heaven for asking questions and he doesn't like that way of running things. Heaven sends angels to kill kids. Heaven was perfectly ready to destroy Aziraphale. He's not OK with that.

Azariphale wants to be with the good guys, wants to see the good in everyone, and wants to reconcile that good in everyone with the stricter, decontextualized good that Heaven has in mind. Crowley doesn't define "good" or "bad" as "in line with Heaven/Hell" much anymore, I don't think, and I don't think Aziraphale really understands that, even after millennia.

Also: David Tennant is a remarkably good actor. I enjoyed him a lot in Doctor Who, but the Tenth Doctor is on a continuum between goofy and all-powerful angsty adolescent most of the time. Crowley, whatever else he may be (and he's a lot of other things), is a grown-up. He's more nuanced. That comes through so well even in wordless scenes where he's wearing big dark sunglasses. Wow.

Unrelated also: I so appreciate the line "Can we throw books at them? Not the fiction, obviously, but the encyclopedias? It's all online anyway these days." I am deeply gratified that, in a life-or-death situation, someone had the initial reaction of "naturally we can't damage the books, especially the stories."

[nausikaaa]

i made this comment in september and haven’t known peace since. for context, my comment was in response to this frankly ridiculous comment:

(name removed to protect the poster’s notes from trolls. i would have appreciated the same courtesy.)

it’s not even 20 minutes old yet. this is a preposterous and intentionally inflammatory statement and we both know it.

so, just to make it clear, i do know how sheep sales work. my grandma, mam and sister all breed them. i don’t, i have pygmy goats which aren’t sold for meat, but i’ve been around it all my life. my first clearly memory is being headbutted to the floor by an angry sheep and bruising all up my back. i know they’re sold at about six months old. but that’s no longer a tiny newborn lamb. this is a six month old sheep:

that beside him is is mother. can you tell at a glance which is the 6 month old? they’re pretty much the same size.

so let’s go over the process. a farmer tends to keep or sell female sheep for breeding and sell the males for meat, bar one or two who they might also keep or sell for breeding because they have good genetics. it’s not because we don’t care about them and enjoy senseless killing that this happens. it’s because it’s the only way to sustain the rest of the flock. while the sheep are sold at about 6 months old, they’re not usually slaughtered at that age. they’re sold on to another farmer, usually ones with a lot more space and money, who keep them indoors and fatten them up for another few months. they’re fully grown by that point. they’re old enough to have a lamb of their own.

then they’re taken to a slaughterhouse or privately owned butcher’s shop where they’re killed. here in the UK there are laws in place to ensure this process is as pain and fear free as possible. maybe that doesn’t mean anything to you, but it might matter to the sheep. a scared animal actually tastes sour, so you can actually know if what you’re eating was afraid or not. and most meat doesn’t taste sour, to me at least.

does it suck to raise an animal only for it to die? yes. i’ve bottlefed lambs that i know are going to be meat, and it can be sad. personally nobody in my family eats lamb because we just don’t like the taste, so that’s a small comfort. but economically it’s the only option. a breeder can’t just keep every male sheep they have. they need a lot of space, sometimes they need to be kept separate from other sheep because they fight, they can get dangerously violent towards humans even when they’ve never been mistreated, and it costs money to keep them. food, shearing, vaccines, it all adds up. and they can destroy your grass if you don’t give it time to recover, which means you actually need two fields for your sheep. we have to rent a second place for ours for a few months every summer to let our grass recover. that’s more money going towards them. most farmers aren’t really that well off.

and you might say there are other options. that a rescue might take them. well, my sister had a lamb last year (the one pictured above, actually) who was rejected by his mother. she came around to him eventually, but he was super friendly after all the human interaction he had had in the meantime. she really didn’t want to sell him, so she spent months looking for someone to buy him. she really struggled. nobody wants a castrated male sheep, and if he hadn’t been castrated he wouldn’t have been anywhere near as friendly, and as a mixed breed he wouldn’t be desirable breeding stock anyway.

eventually, she found someone who was willing to buy him very cheap, as well as another pet lamb who i had looked after. he’d been taken off his mum because she had quadruplets. she assured us she had the space and resources to take care of them. then less than a month later, she gave them to a friend and posted about it on facebook making it out like she was a hero who saved them from certain death. bullshit, we never would have sold them for meat. we have no idea what happened to them after that. they were probably sold as meat in the end anyway, and that money went to a stranger who didn’t care about them, instead of to the people who put time and money into their upbringing, who could have put that money back into caring for the rest of the flock.

also, i hate to burst your bubble but sheep can’t actually live to 12 years old without significant human intervention. at around 8, their teeth start to fall out and they will basically just starve to death. it’s more humane to put them down at that point. i strongly belief in the right to die, and extend that same dignity to animals. i watched a goat die from old age, toothless and unable to stand to even get herself a drink of water, and it wasn’t pretty. but we couldn’t bear to kill her. now we know better.

after all this, i know i probably haven’t changed your mind about anything. that is, if you’ve even read this far. you believe there’s no good reason to send an animal to slaughter, and i understand that mentality and that it’s a hard one to shake. but it simply isn’t the reality i live in, where people have to make money to survive. these male lambs are sold so the rest of their flock can go on. their mothers, their sisters. animals die young in the wild all the time, and them falling to a predator allows the rest of the flock to escape.

i’m definitely not going to tell you vegetarianism or veganism is stupid. you can do it all you like, and i’m sure you do make a small difference. that’s great! honestly, i don’t eat much meat either. i only eat eggs from my own chickens. the environmental impact of factory farming is a huge concern of mine. maybe that’s still not enough for you. but i was never trying to to defend eating meat to begin with. all i was trying to say is that the lamb in that photo will not go to slaughter right away. it might not ever. it might be a female. it might be specialty breed. but if it does… i can understand that. the owner has to make money somehow to support the rest of the flock, and wool currently makes negative profit. reality isn’t always perfect.

this is my family’s career. it has been for 5 generations. and it’s not about to go away. if every sheep born on my farm could live a long healthy life, that would be wonderful. but it’s just not feasible. we would go bankrupt and the sheep would end up somewhere else, going to market again. at least we know they’re treated well with us.

sorry for the long rant, especially to OP who was just trying to post a cute lamb pic. i can’t imagine how all this arguing makes you feel, i’m stressed out and angry now but at least i sort of incited this. you didn’t do anything!

but as you can hopefully see, person who reposted my comment to educate me, i do actually know my stuff. so i do feel a bit beholden to defend myself when you have the nerve to tag me and display me to all your followers over an innocuous comment i made months ago without showing the proper context of what i was rolling my eyes at. at least now, i have something to point at when i get hate mail.

if i sound angry, i am. this isn’t the first time i’ve had to defend myself, despite delivering tons of lambs and never killing a single one. here’s a cute lamb picture of my own to de-stress. no need to worry, this one is still alive today, though she’s too small to have lambs of her own this year. she’s also a suffolk, so a specialty breed. her own lambs will also live long lives. is that enough caveats? am i allowed to post a cute photo without being challenged not to grab a knife and fork and tuck in? god

Hello world! I'm 17 minutes old❤️

[plebeiangoth]

Okay I think it's been long enough that I can make this point. In fact I likely wouldn't have thought to make this point unless something gave me a blunt reminder.

I got into what I was surprised to find to be a heated argument among close friends some time ago about that string of fine art vandalisms as climate activism. The argument ensued because I thought it was all just kinda dumb and my friends actually got angry at me because I was dismissive of these demonstrations getting broad coverage, and my friends got too angry to let me explain why I felt that way. But here's the point that I couldn't even get a word in edgewise to suggest, now I get to make it:

I really didn't think back then that anyone would be talking about it by now, and I think I'm right. I can't remember when that was and I've not seen nor heard anything about it since. The only reason I was reminded was because I saw a headline of someone threatening to destroy a bunch of fine art if Assange dies in prison.

Climate change is something that needs to be talked about, people need to think about it, more importantly it needs to be acted upon, and people (mostly corporations) need to make big changes 20 years ago NOW because we're massively fucked—what more can I say? Anything I can think to say feels like I'm reaching for low-hanging brownie points. It's driven me to consider and nearly attempt suicide to stop any further damage I will cause as a human (don't do that, please don't), and there's yet to be anything any therapist can say to help me not feel like a blight on this dying Earth, while I can't even enjoy summer anymore because it's now just smoke season. I've had about three or four suicidal episodes every year since 2020 because I don't want to be a part of this involuntary human destruction of Earth that governments and corporations force us into. This has possibly driven me actually insane and narrowly avoiding hospitalizations. And I'm expected to applaud when protesters do little more than cause a public nuisance? Of course this isn't to say that protest is futile, rather it's not effective unless it's making people thing, talk, and act and continue to do so.

Ultimately what I mean to say is

This shit is fucking bad and not a single one of us can afford to be complacent and silent about climate change! This should be a fucking no-brainer!

And while I'm 100% for any provocative, non-violent protest or demonstration on the matter, maybe actually try to do something that will, oh, I don't know,

MAKE PEOPLE CONTINUOUSLY WORRY ABOUT THE CLIMATE TO MAKE THE GOVERNMENTS AND CORPORATIONS CHANGE, AND NOT PERFORM SOME FLASH-IN-THE-PAN NONSENSE THAT JOHN DOE FROM MIDDLE AMERICA OR WHOEVER OR WHEREVER IS GOING TO FORGET!

I don't have the answers, I don't even know where to start other than to produce as little waste and carbon emissions of my own, and to be really fucking loud. I have faced arrest for peaceful protest (excessively dumb story for another time), and what I can say to that is I understand what it can cost to speak up for what's right. It takes a big person to stand up and say very important things out loud even though it's going to make people angry and probably cause this person to be arrested, imprisoned, killed, who knows.

Fine art is a whole can of aristocratic worms, I know and feel that, but when about 53,685 forest fires happened last year alone, and 92 million tons of clothing ends up in landfills when one pair of jeans costs 1,800 gallons of water, and that these are only a fraction of a percent of the issue, I think anyone who cares needs to be a whole hell of a lot more blunt with their words and actions to make governments and corporations stop killing us and our world.

Does this make any sense?

ONE LAST EDIT BEFORE PUBLISHING: I intentionally didn't look up the time of the art vandalism I was thinking of until right now because I wanted to see if my point holds up. It was late 2022, which I would think would be recent enough to think about, by the activist group Just Stop Oil according to this Time article. Apparently the art destruction has continued but I've not heard anything about it in a year.

Probably a bad time to include this but I do sell cloth menstrual pads because I've personally stopped using disposables for climate reasons and want to do my part to make them more available.

A couple small clarifications: This isn't meant to be a slam on my friends, I love them and we're fundamentally on the same side of this argument, we just had a misunderstanding I'm sure. Also I'm doing better mentally. I'm without counseling at the moment for reasons beyond mine or the therapist's control, but I'm finding reasons to live, I'm on medication, and things are looking up for me. My life is good, just it feels in vain when the world around me is dying. It helps me to find things I can do to make the world around me better, no matter how big or small, and I would encourage everyone to do the same.

[mixing-bowl-of-stories]

How would Pandora act if she were truly enraged? What would it take to get her to that point?

Pandora has two kinds of enragement

In battle, and in a social situation.

Pandora is still relatively calm when she’s super mad, she gets eerily quiet and has that look [tm]. But the difference between being in battle and being in a social situation is what she’s inclined to do and what she thinks to do.

She doesn’t yell, but in battle, she does become incredibly violent. She’s calculated and still has an even head which makes her even scarier because she knows where she needs to hit you to knock you down.

In a social situation, she’s very quick to start making slight jabs at whoever she’s talking to, she’s told several leaders in Selcouth that they would be quite literally nothing without their people’s love and respect.

She’s very knowledgeable and sometimes will even hold off no matter how mad she is in order to gain further knowledge against whoever she’s furious with.

Here are some things that can and will make Pandora angry to this degree:

- scaring or intentionally nearly killing a member of The Crux or her family

- Someone bringing up her family or The Crux and speaking ill of them

- Someone bringing up Victor and making disrespectful comments about his disappearance

- Someone mentioning her death and making fun of it

It’s important to note that the only time Pandora gets thrown into a rage that she’s not thinking right in, is during a mental breakdown she has due to her repression of emotions.

Pandora shoved down everything she deemed to be a “negative” emotion, and she didn’t have enough respect for herself or confidence in herself to get angry when people disrespect her or others. For a while she was very meek and shy, willing to let anyone walk all over her.

She eventually decides that she needs to do better as she is representing the De La Dáinn family, and doesn’t want people believing that they are weak.