#in order to benefit others

[ossiethegreat]

in a way. In a very subtle way. Color is deku coded

[damianbugs]

it's just a little interesting that people love genuinely kind and good hearted characters but somehow batmans unwavering belief that people can be better and people can be changed is not enough? even characters within the same media are praised and respected for being the bigger hero and choosing to save rather than to hurt and yet bruce's no-kill rule is often a point of ridicule for his character.

what is so wrong with having a immensely complicated character have slightly less complicated morals about empathy? for a character who loves and hurts and loses why is this something so unbelievably unrealistic for a hero to believe in. what is outlandish about people being people before they are a product of their misfortunes?

of course it isn't a perfect mindset, it isn't even a healthy one in a lot of cases — but it is something that has stayed true to its mission and so i think it deserves a little more thinking before being dragged around as lazy writing.

[vaarsuvius]

the magician (reversed)

[racewinnerlandonorris]

https://x.com/baiegiadahori/status/1830344744406274312?s=46&t=Y0Md76L8FR9umM1nmCkHnQ

it gets worse with every quote

[weezerlvr228]

what are they doing to his leg💔💔

[throwawayasoiafaccount]

if westeros was created to reflect our modern society instead of being loosely based off of western medieval society, then i think people would understand that these political marriages are for alliances, not love, and would agree that the modern lower class sentiments towards marriage are simply not applicable to these arrangements and both bride and groom cannot and should not expect love from their partner.

if our story occurred in a modern westeros very similar to our own modern society, then a lot of the obstacles our characters face would not happen because, simply put, modern society benefits from equality.

as an example, i am quite (100%) certain that the introduction of gender equality and other modern values and advancements to westeros would only be beneficial to rhaegar and elia, which means that this ideology benefits westerosi society on an individual level.

so, in this modern westeros au, if rhaegar and elia still married for a political alliance, and then had two children like they did in asoiaf, they could then peacefully divorce and write out a contract that secures both rhaenys and aegons inheritances. if lyanna and rhaegar met and fell in love while rhaegar and elia were married then the misunderstanding that sparked a war would never have happened. why? because lyanna would have a say in who she marries in this modern au. also, elia would have possibly been seeing others as well. why? because this was a political marriage and love shouldn’t be expected, so why would anyone be concerned about either party finding love outside of their marriage? plus modern westeros would have dna testing so there’s no reason to question the paternity of their children.

also, if elia had a child with someone else (in this hypothetical scenario, perhaps her lover died) and rhaegar decided to claim that child as his own while knowing that he’s not the real father in order to give this child a better life, then this wouldn’t be a problem either. why? because rhaegar’s in the know. (i’m only bringing this up bc of the rhaenyra and laenor situation. guys… laenor is perfectly aware that biologically those kids aren’t his, yet he still claimed them and loved them bc he and rhaenyra had an agreement. i do not understand why real ppl are even concerned about jace, luke, and joffs parentage. in the eyes of the law those boys are legally laenors.)

however, since asoiaf isn’t based off of our modern society and is instead a society riddled with misogyny, xenophobia and other social issues without the progress and advancements that we in the 21st century have benefited from, i will concede one thing to these antis who harp on and on about how selfish rhaenyra and rhaegar were for loving someone who wasn’t their spouse and for having a child(ren) out of wedlock.

because yes, rhaegar and lyanna’s love can be considered an act of selfishness, and rhaenyra loving harwin and having children with him can also be considered selfish.

but guess what? love in general is a very selfish state of being. you are prioritizing your partner and your desires over everything and everyone else in your life.

one of the greatest love stories of all time, romeo and juliet, is a tale of two selfish lovers who seek to be together despite the immense hatred between their families. selfless and dutiful children would never love an enemy. and yet, despite romeo and juliet’s love story ending in tragedy, no one would ever argue that these two lovers were in the wrong for simply trying to be together even though their love caused their families great grief. why? because the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets was stupid. and the story ends with the characters agreeing that this feud went on for long enough and acknowledging the fact that this petty feud between the families was the cause of their misery and the tragedy that befell them.

though the circumstances of all three love stories are different, it’s undeniable that these lovers were selfish for prioritizing their own desires over their duties to their houses.

to end this little spiel, i’d like to mention that the reason i first brought up a modern au was to remind people that the only reason rhaelya and rhaenyra’s relationship with harwin can be so decisively called selfish is because these characters live in westeros. and westeros is a fucked up society rooted in systematic oppression, violence, and abuse and other forms of exploitation in order to further the agenda of the powerful despite the harm it causes. any modern comforts and progressive ideas hinder the control the patriarchs have over their families and put a name to the bigotry expressed against these unconventional relationships. so yes, their love is selfish because being unconventional in such a backwards society is a recipe for disaster, especially since both of these relationships hinge on a woman deciding to take control of her sexual autonomy, which is a big no no in westeros since a woman’s body only belongs to her father and husband. so yes, these love stories are selfish because these characters are prioritizing themselves in a society that benefits from them losing their autonomy and harms them and their loved ones when they try to take back their autonomy.

to finish off, the reason i brought up the tragic love story of romeo and juliet is to remind people that even though rhaegar and lyanna’s love was selfish, other characters still need to be held accountable for their actions that helped to escalate this misunderstanding into a tragedy that consumed all of westeros.

[unopenablebox]

attempt to idly discuss concept of custom wedding vows with 🌸 ground to a halt after the realization that neither of us actually, like, wants to try to figure out what the fuck we'd be promising

can you do custom vows, but instead of vows to do stuff, it's just a list of the superbly good qualities of the other person in order to make it clear why any rational actor would agree that you should obviously plan to keep hanging out with them as long as possible

[giantkillerjack]

Uh-oh! You are like, SOOO awkward!!

You're so awkward that it is occasionally mildly uncomfortable for people!

You're so awkward that sometimes people are confused by you and then there are awkward silences!

You're so awkward ...... that ultimately no one is harmed!!

Oh damn!!! What a vile crime you have committed! What an unforgivable thing it is to make a fellow human briefly confused!

Why, if *I* were ever briefly confused and kind of uncomfortable as a result, I'd be devastated.... by the absolute net zero change in my happiness and health! - From which I might never recover!! Yes indeed! No punishment can ever be enough for you!!

So you better absolutely hate yourself for it.

Better be SO MEAN to yourself about every single missed social cue so you don't forget your horrible crime! Meaner than you'd ever dream of being to someone else for the same thing! This is YOUR responsibility!

You need to show the world that you KNOW you are bad by punishing yourself constantly! After all, think of all the people who BENEFIT from you punishing yourself! - No, really! Think about it! Think about who benefits from your pain.

Think of alllllll the definitely-good people that your definitely-necessary self-torment definitely helps! I mean, you can't just cut off their definitely-life-sustaining supply of your suffering, right?? Sure, everyone else has a breaking point, but you're probably the only person in human history who doesn't, right? Best not to question it probably. Sure, it's a symptom that billions of people with trauma have had, but who knows? You could be a one-in-seven-billion exception. Anything's possible!

Instead, better just accept that idea that bullies carry like guns in holsters - the idea that people who have trouble with social cues deserve to suffer. Better carry on the burden they placed on you until you drop. Aid the cause of the callous by enforcing shame and suffering upon yourself extra hard; try your best to do their work for them. They're very busy.

Better not recognize that you need patience and kindness to heal from your trauma. Better not find out that it was trauma rather than personal weakness filling your head with self-hating thoughts. Better not find out it wasn't your fault.

Better not find out that awkwardness is not inherently harmful or unkind, and, in fact, the people who act like it is *are the ones enacting harm and being cruel.*

Better not get righteously angry when you realize just how much unnecessary damage this has done to you. After all, if you get mad, you might realize you deserve better. You might even feel brave enough to DEMAND better! You might build boundaries that keep you safe! You might make other people think they deserve to feel safe too! And we obviously can't be having that, so...

Better not show yourself even a little kindness a little bit at a time.

Better not make a habit out of it after all that practice.

Better not get confident.

Especially if you can't first wipe out every trace of awkward. (And you probably never will. Because people who experience absolute social certainty at all times tend to be insufferable assholes that enforce the status quo. And you just don't have the stock portfolio for that.)

Better not be confident and awkward because then you might confuse and delight people

- you might accidentally end up making other people feel less shame for their social difficulties

- you might make isolated, traumatized, and shy people feel like they deserve to be included in social situations

- you might even make them feel they can be themselves around you

- you might start loving the effect you have on a room

- you might enjoy conversations more

- you might forgive yourself and bounce back from shame more easily and frequently

- you might come to enjoy some of those moments of harmless confusion you cause because NOBODY expects the Confident Awkward, and that can genuinely be an advantage in social situations

- you might stop apologizing so much.

- you might find that socializing is like a video game: it requires practice but also a safe space for it to be fun and positive.

Or if you can't become assertive and confident, better not remain awkward and shy and quiet, and then love and forgive yourself anyway!

Why, it would be carnage!!

In either scenario, you run the risk of finding out that it's not your fault that safe spaces full of kind people can be really hard to find, create, and nurture. You could end up building a skillset that helps you do those things if you're not careful!

If you start giving yourself even the tiniest amount of grace at a time, you will find that you've accessed a gateway drug with extreme long-term side effects:

- You might realize that it was never your fault that it took so long to like yourself.

- You might realize that you were always worth talking to, even when you didn't like yourself and communication felt impossibly difficult.

- You might realize that you'll still be worth talking to even if communication becomes harder as you age and/or experience disability.

- You might come to know that you deserve to be heard even on bad days when words come slow and blurry.

You might discover that you were always deserving of kindness, first and foremost from yourself.

So. As you can see, it's FAR too much of a risk to start granting your awkward self free pardons for your many heinous and harmless crimes. Better to just leave it there.

[guarshroom]

I can be normal about Random Crits in TF2.

[vroomvroomvroommf]

I see some Lando/Mclaren fans upset that RB used Daniel to get fastest lap. While I understand the frustration this is just proof to me that RB are not at all confident in their ability to keep the gap in the WDC. Yes RB has upgrades coming but so do Mclaren. Keep in mind how upgrades have gone this year for RB… and how much have they actually been able to dedicate their resources to these upgrades in comparison to Mclaren

also it’s strange to me that if someone outside the top 10 can even go for fastest lap (yes I am aware they don’t get the bonus point)… cause they’re just pitting onto a soft tyre from/to last place and just driving a quali sim lap. It’s not really impressive cause it holds no weight in there race. Whereas let’s say if p1 builds a big enough gap to pit and gets fastest lap it’s genuinely impressive and a show of complete dominance over the field. Or a driver fighting in the points putting in a killer lap while risking the points they are due to gain. It’s spectacular and exciting to see. I personally don’t think it should take the point away from the driver running in the top 10 who has the actual fastest RACING lap. But I add this to the list of rules I find is strange (like if you cause a red flag in quali you get to keep your lap time????)

[dressupdragonne]

Hey quick question,

Where the hell are these????

[void-of-unparalled-chaos]

The Healthcare horrors persist

Hhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[samarecharm]

Would love to explore some more shu/ake dynamics bc theyre both so interesting to me. Interesting as in they would not be in a traditional relationship; theyd be so incredibly dysfunctional it would genuinely get either of them killed if they were to attempt something prior to the end of base game. Goro is angry and volatile and full of self righteousness, but he is incredibly depressed and miserable and full of self loathing. Hes someone who has been alone for most of his life, and has an incredibly complex relationship with his public facing persona and his goals; he is not ready for someone who will make him challenge his worldview at every chance they can. He refuses to be patronized but he needs someone who will be gentle and understanding. And hell never get that in a normal way bc he views someone being gentle with him as patronizing 😭

So he needs someone who will actively call him out on his bullshit, on his self loathing, and his attitude. But he also needs someone who will be patient with him and remind him that he IS worth something, that hes NOT a failure (hello??? ‘Im…special?’’youre more than special dude’ it was so easy for the thieves to get to him by just validating the work he did, and the trouble hes caused them lol). Akira CAN do this, but i think, w the way ive characterized him, he is just as angry and volatile as Goro, and he wouldnt know how to diffuse their arguments in a productive way. It would be catastrophic as Akira tries to show that he fucking CARES, and goes blind w rage as Goro consistently taunts and defies him and ignores his logic. And Goro would spiral trying to rationalize Akiras behavior as anything other than Good; the assumption that he must be lying and trying to manipulate him would eat at him until hes forced to storm out.

Anyway. All of this to say that shu/ake TO ME is “akira and ryuji are dating, and sometimes goro is there in the background looking like this 👇🏾”

[arcadian-vampire]

Ough thinking abt selling kandi... I'm gonna need (cute) packaging and bubble wrap... and maybe cute little extras like stickers as a surprise... and I'll have to figure out how to send things in the mail................ but first I need to figure out Where I want to set up shop 🤔

[pa-pa-plasma]

okay i just marathoned the entirety of ATLA live action & i might do an actual review of it explaining my thoughts more in depth, but the TLDR version basically boils down to this:

if you want to watch Avatar: The Last Airbender, just go watch the 2005 cartoon

[nebulousfishgills]

I'm aware that the carnival wheel game is a scam, but this was worth the 500 gold, full stop, I was on the floor crying for like ten minutes

(Also peep my Durge Tav, Sorcerer)