#moral of the story don't be too kind

[thousandyearphantombunker]

"We want more morally grey/flawed female characters"

You bitches can't handle APPLE WHITE!

like people keep saying "you couldn't even handle rose quartz" but this is even more pathetic to me. How can y'all make this kid into a monster?

[novadreii]

netflix's the dragon prince: hey, we're here to ride the nostalgia wave from those of you who never emotionally recovered from avatar: the last airbender. we're gonna give you 7 seasons of a similar but insanely watered down formula depicting 4-5 different factions forced to work together for the fate of their world, while grappling with familiar moral quandaries such as:

growing up means not seeing things as black or white; they are actually shades of grey! every other theme in this show however, will contradict this. don't worry about it.

don't let the pain you endure turn you into a bitter old bitch. it's actually infinitely cooler of you to always, without fail, take the high road and be the Bigger Person.

since hatred and bitterness can't undo the wrongs committed against you, they are functionally useless emotions and you shouldn't have them. dummy.

we are all made up of Good and Bad, but only the actually Good Guys who tell the Bad parts of themselves to F off deserve to be happy.

retribution and revenge and violence are always Bad, and committed by Bad People only.

you can save everyone!

everyone is capable of change, they just gotta make the right Choices. Easy peezy.

everyone deserves to live, even killers.

also, there will be so many quips written into the dialogue that you'll risk breaking a tooth from cringing so hard. and lots of gay so we don't get shit from you all like the last time we had to bend over backwards to network TV LGBT restrictions. enjoy feeling good about being doormats, nerds!

[dreamsicle262]

if the reading comprehension of some people who do make dead plate text posts is so bad (as i've had at least two people tell me in the tags) then maybe i SHOULD start analyzing every little detail in the game.

[ruidusmoon]

i absolutely lack the brainpower to put my admiration for this mini arc into words but holy shit this was beautiful.

i love how complex the gods are, the relationships between them are so deeply loving and so broken. their family is prioritized over many things, mortals, promises and other families. even though they hurt each other that family tie is more important than almost everything else. they didn't want to hurt their children but they did it anyway for each other. at the end of the day they will cast aside their children in favor of their kin. the line is between those who matter and those who do not.

[maranull]

There’s technically 3 Warhammer settings, 40k witch is si fi and the one you’re thinking of. Fantasy who is the one that started it all and Fantasys successor Age of Sigmar. Fantasy and AoS are my favorites as it feels it allows it characters to be people instead of roles. Fantasy is unique in that the general tech level is late renaissance early Industrial Revolution. AoS is kinda the same level but it’s also extremely high fantasy. Fantasy and AoS also likes to portray the whole fight against evil as a actual struggle where evil can be pushed back and the world made better

I always thought the sci-fi one was the main one. Huh.

Gonna be honest, looking into the fantasy ones, they are very in line with the kind of fantasy I don't care for. But. If you could point me to any parts of them that are more in line with the soulsborne kind of fantasy, the more down to earth kinda vibe, I'd be down to look into those specifics.

[bunnygirl678]

(the tags about giving a dummy to kids to help then stop crying) you just give me a vibe of such a cool mom and dude 👏👏👏👏👏👏 YESSSS!!! MOM APPRECIATION!!! it reminds me of a lady who use to come into our drug store we use to work at she had like 3 kids and a baby and was like visibility stressed because i mean they lived at a salvation army and these kids rarely got to go out. so they go into this store and see all these toys and they get mad excited about it. plus my manager was being a major bitch about it and acting like it was issue. so i got these stickers from dollar tree and cut them into little singles and i made a deal with the kids that if they listened to their mom the whole time and were well behaved and she told me they did good, they could get a handful of stickers. dude these kids where angels in this store after that. they were helping their mom and making extra sure the little baby was ok in the crib? and that mom was such a legit sweet person. but no totally agree sometimes bribing kids with objects and things does work 👏

OMG I LOVE THIS STORY SO MUCH~!!!!! Those kids will remember you and the stickers for life, you made such a positive impact <3

like what people, especially those who aren't actively around kids, don't realize is that kids are tough sometimes, like even the most well behaved kid can have shitty days, if they are hungry, tired, under/over stimulated, like the lack of grace for parents and caretakers online is such a problem.

But gonna be honest, I have found IRL people tend to be wayyy more understanding and helpful than those online, I see people go out of their way to help out parents, especially when it is just one.

I remember once when I was flying just me and my daughter (she was around 9ish months??) and I hadn't bought a seat for her (infants fly free in lap) and I had to use the restroom, but she had fallen asleep, and as I attempted to get into the tiny restroom, a very sweet flight attendant offered to hold her for me, or how on our most recent flight every time we sat next to someone, they always tried to bring her (now 6 year old lol) into some pleasant small talk, asking her about her trip, what she's into, ect... and it's not just other moms, it's random ass business men and old people, humanity doesn't suck as much as the internet makes it seem like tbh.

ALSO on my most recent flight I remember the gate changing like 4 times, each time a different terminal, and there was this single dad (don't know if he was actually single but he was traveling alone lol) was desperately trying to keep his toddler entertained, and let me just tell you, the entire waiting area became that kids playground, all of the adults joining in, it was such a human experience that i really think is more of the norm than people going off,

[thewhizzyhead]

in other news that I can't really talk about on the personal twt page because politics: I am now one of the founding members of the rebirth of an activist-student-journalist organization here where I live In the ph! and I love it! I just fucking hate the fact that the said rebirth all started because someone asked an ex-kinda-situationship to fucking talk to me about it after months of silence-

[scarycranegame]

oh on the topic of chappell roan i wanna talk about how i think the discourse about mlm ship content featuring "good luck babe" is dumb.

yes the song itself is about a lesbian whose ex girlfriend is in a compulsory heterosexual relationship, and as such wlw relationships and womanhood and femininity will always be intrinsically relevant and crucial to the song's meaning and importance (especially concerning the phrase, "you're nothing more than his wife", as the status of being "just his wife" is much different from the status of being "just her husband" in a cultural & social sense), but mlm also experience compulsory heterosexuality and thus may heavily relate to the song; and personally, i don't think it's such a bad thing that they relate to it.

i feel like i should also mention that i'm not specifically only talking about cisgay men either; trans men (both binary and nonbinary) also experience the social pressure of feeling as if they need to "prove" they're "real men", which is often equated with being in a heterosexual relationship, and from what i've seen in my own experience online it's become normal for others to mock and belittle men for "never having felt a woman's touch" or getting "no bitches" (among other vaguely comphet & misogynistic "haha funny meme" statements). additionally, men are still relentlessly bullied for being gay. for as many allies and fictional mlm enjoyers there are, there's 10 more school bullies that harass their peers for their sexuality, 10 more parents who kick their sons out for trusting that their family will accept them for who they are, and 10 more dudebros that regularly make homophobic jokes to the discomfort of their closeted friends. even men in mlm relationships are forced into traditional heterosexual roles by others' expectations; i.e., the "who's the man in the relationship" question, the expected/"ideal" mlm couple being a feminine twink and a masculine "real" man (especially when one of the men in the relationship is trans)

in my opinion, i think that while chappell roan's music is heavily based off of being a lesbian and being in relationships with other women (since she is one herself), it's also representative of the general queer experience, and thus relating to it and making art dedicated to it shouldn't be reserved for just one group of people. no amount of animatics or edits posted on twitter or tiktok or anywhere can erase the original context of the song.

additionally if you don't like when people make such content featuring the song, you can just opt to ignore it or block the person who created the content rather than calling them "misogynistic" or "lesbophobic" for relating to a song. it takes much less time and effort.

[bibiana112]

I like this happiness can be found in any world speech putting the focus on the fact that being able to compare between a hypothetical less tragic version of events is in itself what causes unhappiness and dissatisfaction sure for the characters it's literal timeloops but real things like anxiety and ptsd often trick you into losing focus of the good things in the now and to lose yourself in the what could have been

[macgargan]

Hi!! I recently caught up with Miles Morales #1-6 and Carnage Reigns: Alpha, and in the latest couple issues I was really really impressed with how Ziglar writes Mac! It was actually super satisfying to see and he's the first writer in forever who actually seems invested in driving Mac's story forward in tandem with Miles.

Out of curiosity, have you read it yourself? Do you have any thoughts?

I have been keeping up with Mac & Miles' journey, and I'm tentatively invested! Ever since Absolute Carnage, I've thought it would be nice to see Mac & Miles in exactly the sort of relationship they're building up currently with Carnage Reigns and Miles Morales, so it's been a treat to read.

This whole exchange, for example, just feels so right for how I want to see Mac as a character act.

That being said, comics giveth and they taketh away, especially Spider-Man comics. I'm not expecting this to have any sort of satisfying conclusion or to stay consistent, but I'm enjoying the ride while it lasts.

[volivolition]

what's the theme you're fucking going for here voliiii!!! what are you fucking getting at!!! what are you trying to say, what's the point??

[whetstonefires]

okay see, i think it's very much projection, in the sense that if you write Cool Character Person as insecure--especially if you take whatever insecurities they really do have and blow them up huge and intense, so there's a lot of canon material to work with--then you can walk them through the deep pangs of the low self-esteem and also through various proofs of worth and experiences of being reassured and validated and valued.

or of gaining confidence and telling off the people who don't value them instead, if that's the place you're at.

because the aim is to thus vicariously go through that emotional arc yourself. (and offer this also to the readers.) which provides access to both catharsis and to practice letting go of negative self-thinking via your proxy.

it's in there with reparenting yourself, basically.

people project insecurity onto fanfiction characters because they want to process their own insecurities. that is what the fic in question is for. it is an artwork and it is a tool. it's doing what it's supposed to.

and i've noticed it's not just easier set-up but works much better for most people as a mental health deal to do this work in a fanfic context, especially with a character who has elements of low self-worth but doesn't wallow in them in the canon (established baseline of Cool Dude who can Handle This), than with an original character designed for the purpose, who will inevitably be defined by their function of having low self-esteem and by their connection to you. and thus be harder to commit to validating, and pull through to the sense of catharsis, and therefore less effective.

there totally is a thing where fanfiction versions of characters lose specificity and become generic, and one of the many things that drives it is that people are more willing to engage with simpler and more comfortable flaws.

but i don't think picking out self-projection of insecurity as a virtue-signalling problem is an especially accurate or useful framing of the phenomenon.

Projection is definitely part of why fanfiction authors write characters as deeply insecure (even and especially when they are not in canon), but I don't think it's the whole story.

I think it's also that insecurity is seen as a "virtuous" character flaw. Saying that your main character is "too humble" is the fiction equivalent of telling a potential employer that your greatest weakness is working too hard. It's safer and easier than approaching those ugly but more interesting character flaws like selfishness, wrath, prejudice. Ugly things that exist in all people, to some extent.

If it is projection, it's an idealized projection to only paint one's cleanest flaws into their story.

[carnicer01]

"Always thought I'd be dancing on your grave"

This one came from reading "A Lonely Place of Living"

Must admit it left some sour flavor on my mouth by thinking of a timeline with Tim as Batman (later as "Savior").

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the story very much, however it was the mention of Jason Todd that left me thoughtful since an appearance of a very much depressed version of him was mentioned to be his immutable future; Talking unabashedly about his loss on will to live.

Couldn't help but imagine what was the reason of that loss, then out of the blue I thought: Bruce died. Did Jason get to say goodbye? Did he get to fix things with his father? Did Bruce die while the concept of Jason being his greatest failure keep walking steadily on its feet? Could it be that their distance taken to Bruce's grave ended up filling Jason with infinite what if's of them getting a healthier and normal father-son relationship? One where he wasn't so angry and Bruce wasn't so obstinate?

Maybe I was overthinking it too much but still couldn't help but imagine of Jason pleading for death to Tim, and Tim as a Batman with other kinds of morals, accepting his ask. It was an act of mercy anyway. And if that helped his brother save himself, Savior would help him.

Don't take this one too seriously tho. This is just an interpretation that I wanted to show out of the tiny Jason crumbs this comic gave me.

And thanks for reading me yapping over this❤️

[msunitedstatesjames]

I've touched on this in a couple of other semi-related posts before, but I find it hilarious and I appreciate how much Johanna Hezenkoss thinks Emmrich is the protagonist of Veilguard. Like, this woman could not give less of a fuck about Rook. She almost always refers to Rook only by their relationship to Emmrich. She refers to Rook as "one of Volkarin's hangers-on," "that impudent whelp following [Emmrich] around," "Volkarin's companion," and as Emmrich's "paramour." None of these imply that she thinks Rook has much agency. Instead, she acts like Rook is just helplessly following Emmrich around like a puppy, helping him complete tasks (which I guess is partly true).

If Rook romances Emmrich, Hezenkoss assumes that Emmrich seduced Rook and not the other way around, even though Emmrich is noticeably older than Rook and has hardly left the Necropolis in years. She's seemingly amazed by it, and yet it never once crosses her mind that Rook might have initiated the relationship (which is actually the case).

She also refers to Emmrich as the one who destroyed her construct, which is technically true, but she ignores the major assistance he had from Rook, another companion, and most notably Manfred. He couldn't have pulled it off without their help, and had in fact given up, but Hezenkoss acts like Emmrich was her sole opponent in that battle.

I've said before that part of the reason for this is that Hezenkoss seems to think of herself as the main villain of the story, so Emmrich must be the main hero. Hezenkoss says that some of the other big bads of Dragon Age, the Venatori, were nothing more to her than slightly useful and genuinely annoying. She clearly thinks herself above an entire organization of some of the most powerful mages in the world. And she sees Emmrich as pretty close to her in terms of raw power, since she almost invited him to her Vengeance Party but ultimately decided he was too much of a danger to her plans. She also states that she tried to get him to join her in the past, which I don't think she would do for anyone she considered to be less than her equal. Emmrich is genuinely the only person in the game she shows any respect for. Though she mocks his age and finds him to be too sentimental, too moral, and too fearful, she shows signs of agreeing with him on some topics, and she obviously respects his abilities if nothing else. No one else in the game acknowledges his frankly ridiculous knowledge and skill level (except Solas in the end) as much as Hezenkoss does.

And really, Emmrich does have main character energy. Though he does have some age and mortality related fears, dude is overflowing with confidence. When you first meet him, looking for a Fade expert, he has absolutely no problem telling you he's the best possible person for the job. Though he apparently hasn't left the Necropolis in years, he's totally down to join the team and go anywhere you want him to go. If you romance him, he is initially surprised, but he quickly turns into the smoothest dude around, and throughout the game you can hear him comment on some of his many relationships through the years. He's well-dressed, well-spoken, charismatic, highly educated, unfailingly kind, extremely powerful, and he's done so well for himself that Harding mistakes the son of a butcher and a cook for a member of the Nevarran nobility. No wonder Hezenkoss thinks he's the protagonist. The real protagonist is just out here winging it on guts and good luck alone.

[tevinter]

Veilguard fails to realise that for those who believe, faith is stronger than anything, even facts.

Right in the beginning of Veilguard all the Dalish/veil jumpers are so nonchalant and against their gods returning, as if they were convinced offscreen that their whole faith was based on a lie (even though they all still wear vallaslin) and their gods were Evil™. This, again, fails to consider that the vast majority of the Dalish would either not believe or not care because it's their religion, their faith.

Morally ambiguous gods exist in real life religions too and it didn't stop people from believing in them. Divine morality transcends mortal understanding, so their actions are always rightful. This also leads to the concept of a 'god-fearing' person - even the term used (θεοσεβής) can mean both respect and fear. Mortals are humbled by the gods' power and greatness, and willfully submit to their divine authority.

You needn't go further than the goddamn Bible itself to see countless examples of unethical things that God did/supported including legitimization of slavery and punishment (Exodus 21:20-21 “Anyone who beats their male or female slave with a rod must be punished if the slave dies as a direct result, but they are not to be punished if the slave recovers after a day or two, since the slave is their property." is one unhinged example), cannibalism, many kinds of violence, war, and of course, genocide, one of which was literally the deliberate destruction of nearly all humanity and living creatures on earth. The god of the most widely practiced religion in the world for millenia. Ask a devout Christian if they would stop believing in God just because 'um actually he is bad'.

Mystery is also a great aspect of religion, which also makes it an excellent worldbuilding element for writers. Mystery adds to the immersion because just like the characters, we don’t know everything except the beliefs and unanswered questions. And we're not supposed to, because this is how religion works in real life, where faith is about belief rather than what’s fully understood. It makes the story feel more real and engaging. Professional writers - of a AAA title no less - should know this.

Religion was one of the greatest themes in all previous games, especially Andrastianism and the Elven pantheon. Reducing it all to 'the Evanuris did it' is disappointing to say the least, and even if it was the truth that only the writers knew, they should have kept it that way, or at least some of the mystery. It adds immersion, drama, nuance, it encourages thought and discussion. For all Veilguard failed in the 'show, don't tell' rule, in this case this is too much exposure, and not even done in a good way. ''Religion is fake, so now everyone's atheist or unfazed. Oh, except for one (1) person who is mildly upset'' is not how faith works, especially in a setting so religious as Thedas.

[onlyhyunjin]

𝐇𝐄𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐔𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐈𝐂 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒!

(♡) - my personal favorites (🔞) - CONTAINS NSFW CONTENT

NEW BEGINNINGS - @ikeuverse (flirting with your brother's brother-in-law wasn't in your plans after returning from studying abroad. it wasn't something you were going to stop either since heeseung was the epitome of beauty. but when there's another woman's name in the story. what happens? you don't want to be caught between a betrayal… or so you thought.) (♡)

MARRY ME - @ikeuverse (ever since you met lee heeseung, he told you that the two of you were going to get married. all the time, at every opportunity, he reinforced it until one day, drunk, you accepted. was he dreaming or did it really happen? it wouldn't be so bad to fall for his jokes for once.)

TIDES OF REGRET - @pprodsuga (in the year since heeseung first rejected your love confession, you've tried everything to get over him. a trip to europe makes you realize you miss your former best friend more than anything, and it makes heeseung realize he's got it all wrong.) (♡)(🔞)

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER - @i2sunric (your daughter asks heeseung to tell the greatest love story of all and he takes the chance to narrate how he met you, the love of his life.) (♡)

JUNE BLOSSOMS - @soobnny (synopsis. as the month of may ends, you wonder what june holds for you and heeseung (especially with no more need to fake date.)

LATE SUMMER LOVIN' - @4am-enha (you desperately want to spend your last summer here in town with your friends, only to find out almost all of them are away on vacation. that is, all of them but heeseung. the one friend you’d never really been that close with.)

BITE ME - @drunkhazed (“I’m kind of confused still.” You admit, anxiously shuffling to sit without making eye-contact. Heeseung chuckles plopping down by your side, arm slinging back over your shoulder to keep you pressed against him.)(🔞)

COFFEE & CREAM - @ham-st4r (one chilly night after a long work shift, you’re unfortunately forced to walk home. Cause you left your bag at work, half way through your journey you stumble across a homeless man who you naturally offer money to, and he though he refuses. You give it to him anyway, and down the road, you’ll find that those two dollars changed not only his life but yours as well.) (🔞)

IT'S CUPID, STUPID - @mygnolia (To hell with Lee Heeseung, you couldn't find someone you hated more than the boy who's by your side no matter what. You figured that maybe the summer before university would be the best way to finally let go of him, and to leave the hate you have in your childhood- but no. What do you mean you have to spend ALL summer with him?)

FUCK BUDDIES - @dimepdf (y/n and heeseung and fwb after heeseung win in his football match y/n gives him the best reward)

TEETH - @gyuuberryy (you were not thrilled about the move in of your new neighbour. mostly because he was so strange and seemed to be hiding something dark. and partly because you couldn’t stop yourself from getting closer to him because of your unwanted attraction. you were determined to expose his dark secret and get rid of him once and for all. but, it was proving to be a difficult task because he was just so irresistible..and needy.)

PLAYER RANK: PLATINUM - @simpjaes (You’re not sure what’s worse, your sister’s boyfriend or your sister’s boyfriend’s friends. What you thought would be a great deal in living with her throughout college turns into a major game of cat and mouse, where you’re unsure if your moral compass is pointing in the right direction solely because you suspect someone is wearing a giant sex magnet to throw it off.) (🔞)

RUDE - @4wkjun (heeseung has never loved anyone as much as he loves y/n. y/n’s father has never hated someone as much as he hates heeseung. but it doesn’t matter, heeseung’s gonna marry y/n anyway.)

I OFFER YOU MY EVERYTHING - @heegyukeluv (You never cared about sex, until you did. You grew too afraid of it, scared of disappointing the other person or showing your inexperience. But then you met Heeseung, the hot basketball captain that stole your heart and became your biggest fantasy. ) (🔞)

VERBOTEN - @heesbaby (a bad stroke of luck saw lee heeseung, your dads coworker, moving into your small apartment until he found his feet again. emotionally unavailable and a workaholic, you were going to try your absolute hardest to make him loosen up. even if it meant breaking a few of the house rules he'd set out.) (🔞) (♡)

10 DAYS TO FALL IN LOVE - @luvyeni (you and heeseung used to be bestfriends as children — he even told you he'd marry you one day. but then you went to highschool and things changed , he dyed his hair and started hanging out with a new group group of friends. through all that his love never changed for you — has yours changed for him?)

RENT A BOYFRIEND - @jayujus (in which jeon y/n is desperate to find a boyfriend ASAP because she needs a date for her family's mixer. her best friend, ningning, introduces her to a website perfect for this situation!)

CHERRY CHAPSTICK - @angelwonie (ever since you met lee heeseung, he told you that the two of you were going to get married. all the time, at every opportunity, he reinforced it until one day, drunk, you accepted. was he dreaming or did it really happen? it wouldn't be so bad to fall for his jokes for once.)