#my sunk cost fallacy is insane on this one

[brbgensokyo]

if i were like not being fair and ranking this off my gut feeling at this current time; Log Horizon s3 would get like 3/10 from me

[californiaquail]

anyone else feeling fundamentally incapable of adjusting to society. also just discovered there's a 30 tag limit which i can't believe i've never hit before

[skrunksthatwunk]

just finished s2 of kaiji and it was good i really liked it but i hope i never see that fuckass pachinko machine again!!!

[housepilled]

wisconsin is so quiet at night. sometimes when i get homesick, i hum the mister softee song.

you making any friends?

there's a claims adjuster at the insurance agency where i work...and we've been seeing each other. he's a good man. he thinks i'm from tulsa. and when we're in bed together at night, he whispers my name. emily.

it's hard to be someone that you're not.

[hashtagloveloses]

i don't think people understand the insane conditions i experienced november 5th 2020 under. it was an out of body experience for a lot of people but for me specifically:

i was working news, in the year 2020. i spent every day looking at the literal horrors and had become a hollowed out shell of myself by the time the election had came around

an early covid infection and probably that fuckshit job gave me a neurological condition where i was unknowingly put on a psychiatric medication without my consent that is jokingly often called DOPE-amax because of how it makes you zooted out. other than being in the hospital for said condition i kept working in said job the ENTIRE summer and fall of 2020, on this medication, ingesting the brunt of the world's news while numbed to the world, stuck in my house because of covid, protest street curfews, and a diuretic medication that made going in the sun difficult so i could barely even go on walks

because of sunk cost fallacy i was one of the few people still watching spn by the final season and actually was caught up and still watched it week to week so i had the CONTEXT when november 5th rolled around

the week BEFORE the election, i had been doxxed by jack posobiec the white supremacist and said news job tried to fire me for it, so i couldnt say anything political online, leading to my only outlet being TALKING ABOUT DESTIEL for days at a time to which said employer spying on my private social media accounts performed a WELLNESS CHECK on me because of the amount of destiel i was posting

the week of the election i was obviously working more than usual while being on call for the election results for days at a time so when a friend said "oh my god check tumblr" my first response was "theres no election results on tumblr"

i was taken off said medication that made me zooted out about a month or so before the election (and being doxxed), so i went into that fateful day with a clearheadedness i had not had in literal months

please imagine experiencing destiel putin election night under these conditions

[charmwasjess]

AHEM. Dooku for 2/3 and 18, 25? Or dealer's choice? Anything you like 👀👀👀👀👀

OH HEY FRIEND :D Thank you so much!!! I answered the first two here <3 <3 but I kind of went wide with 25 so I pulled in some dealer's choice. :D Couldn't resist.

18 How about a relationship they have in canon with another character that you admire?

It was so tempting to write you a Sifo-Dyas essay here. Please accept this coupon for one unhinged Sifo-Dyas manifesto, to be redeemed at a time of your choosing. <3

But today, I’m thinking about Mace and Dooku. God, there’s a part in that Shatterpoint novel where Mace obsesses over the fact that he could have killed Dooku on Geonosis - he could have gone for Dooku’s head instead of Jango’s, and how much death and suffering would he have saved? And the fact that he didn’t, he went after Jango, not because he didn’t realize the importance of that decision, but for the plain fact that he didn’t want to kill Dooku.

I think two things are so interesting here - of course, I love the way that Mace vouches so hard for Dooku in AotC, and I love all that implies about the personal relationship and respect as colleagues between them. All that it hints about Dooku's post-exit relationship with the Jedi Order.

I also think it’s interesting that the questions doesn't seem to be if Mace could kill Dooku. 

Here’s the part where I just pornographically imagine the duel between Mace’s Vaapad and Dooku’s Makashi and make uncomfortable noises. Arguably the two most aggressive forms, I think that fight would be insane. Mace is 6’2/1.88m, while Dooku has a few inches on him, Mace is younger and very powerfully built, so Dooku isn’t going to get his usual default “I can just reach further than you” advantages. Also, the way Mace dominates the terrain - I’m thinking of his duel in Sidious’s office - is going to be a big problem for our Count, who thrives on space in a fight and carefully balancing Makashi’s more delicate aspects with his ability to control the environment via the Force - ie, drop pieces of the architecture on his opponents heads. Cool fucking fight, cooler what-if. 

What does the Separatist movement he just started look like if Dooku is captive or martyred?

 25? What was your first impression of [Dooku]? How about now?

Well, my VERY first impression of this character was quite negative. Like many fans, I was enraged to find that we were getting this character and not Sith lady concept art (who would turn out to be future Asajj). Old man Sith?! Who used to be a Jedi? NO WE HAVE OLD MAN SITH WHO USED TO BE A JEDI AT HOME. 

But when I first became a Dooku maniac, I spent a lot of time working backwards trying to find the actual good person the monster used to be. What was the dramatic tipping point, how much was Qui-Gon’s death a factor, how could Dooku’s fall have been stopped or redeemed? 

Now the more fascinating part to me is how an actually good person becomes a monster. To me, that’s actually started to be more interesting than my old fascination with finding some big reason. I love the almost ordinary factors in his slide toward darkness - loneliness, depression, helplessness, the unwanted child compulsive urge to impress the wrong people, plain old sunk cost fallacy. He can be a surprisingly uncommitted Sith. He chains himself to Sidious. 

Someone once summed up my one true fix-it fic, “Five Days to Murder Sifo-Dyas,” as “Sifo-Dyas saves Dooku using only the power of his dick,” and while that's funny, they’re right. I really think any very simple change in Dooku’s story could have got him back on track. The fascinating fact is, it didn’t. Dooku's missed connection with his own humanity and goodness.  

Talking further about impressions of the character, although maybe this gets into 6. What's something you have in common with this character? territory, is that I’ve grown up with Dooku. Getting into Dooku when I was a kid and now liking the character as an adult, I realize I relate to him fundamentally differently now vs then.

Dooku and I don’t share a lot of personality traits, and I’m nowhere near his age in the films, but now I’ve been a teacher, I know how that rewires your brain. I know what it’s like to be a whole ass adult, but still meaningfully reckoning with your own ugly origin story. And god, am I fucking worried about the end of the world. His problems feel so much more real to me now.

I think both he and Sifo-Dyas have a core trait of “oh my god, what’s happening, why doesn’t everyone else SEE this, I have to do SOMETHING” driving their characters’ actions. And while I obviously don’t agree with either of their actions, I think that’s never been more relatable to me than now in 2025.

[pixiemage]

"Still Stuck Seaside" - a Hermitcraft Parody of "Mr. Brightside"

Welcome to the insanity that has been my brain for the last two weeks. I didn't think I'd actually record this, but then I was encouraged by some lovely friends, so HERE! Have an absolutely bonkers song parody about Grian's Season 10 fishing addiction. You're welcome.

[Lyrics below]

GRIAN: I'm sitting down at the docks I say I’m doing just fine Gotta gotta keep going If I want it all I told ‘em all I could fish That I’d get Mending like this I just wanted to fish I just wanted to fish

They say I’m in too deep I should come up for air Am I proving a point Or too stubborn to care? I’ve been sat here for days But got nothing to show ‘Cause no matter the bait

All I’m catching is cod now Leather, string, and rods now One more try I need that book, it’s killing me I’m losing my mind

Stuck by the sea Lost in sunk cost fallacy Casting out another line Hoping I can turn the tides Guess that’s not my destiny Slowly losing sanity Reeling in another try While I’m still stuck seaside

I'm sitting down at the dock I swear I’m doing just fine Gotta gotta pretend That I’m okay at all I’m overflowing with fish How did I end up like this

GEM: He just wanted to fish ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

GRIAN: God, I’m SO sick of fish! I’ve been stuck here for days And I’m skipping on sleep While I fill up the chests With the items I keep And while Hermits like Doc Use their villager trades I'm still stuck on the docks

And I’m reeling in cod now Salmon, bowls, and rods now One more try I need that book, it's killing me! I'm losing my mind

Stuck by the sea Lost in sunk cost fallacy Casting out another line Hoping I can turn the tides But that’s not my destiny Slowly losing sanity Reeling in just one more time But I'm still stuck seaside

No mending No mending No mending! No mending!

[fancobs]

Why I&'m not happy with the Inanimate Insanity finale we got and how I& would fix it

So even before the finale, I& had my& theories on how it was all going to end. To me& it was obvious that there was a thematic throughline in the narrative that was going to lead to a simple yet powerful conclusion.

If you were to analyze the themes present in II, you will consistently find complex characters, ones that hurt others in the past, yet have found ways to change themselves and improve, regardless of whether they're forgiven or not. Balloon, Taco, Knife, Nickel... even MePhone4.

When it started becoming clear that Cobs was going to be a central character in the story, to me& it was obvious that he would go through a similar arc. Let me& explain.

The way I& think it could have gone is, Suitcase and Knife escape from that cell with the help of Bow possessing Apple, but don't run away from the ship entirely. They can't - their job isn't over yet.

One thing about Suitcase is that she values honesty a lot. Cobs wasn’t selfless when he told them the truth about their existence - it is quite obvious it was a tactic to get them on his side - but it was still the truth. And Suitcase can also tell that the story isn't quite complete yet, because there is still a question that hasn't been answered.

So, with the help of Toilet and Bow, Knife and Suitcase hunt Cobs down in the ship and pin him down. That X model that Toilet can control perhaps comes in handy, too. But despite what Knife wants to do, Suitcase stops him and confronts Cobs with words. All she asks is: Why are you doing this?

Of course, Cobs initially tries to pull some bullshit about how he's doing it for the progress, or for money, or even for the sake of the sake of the contestants themselves, but before he can even finish his sentence, Suitcase shuts the excuses down and repeats the question again: No REALLY. Why?

"The Future Is So Yesterday" is playing muffled quietly in the background so that in the brief moment of stunned silence, you hear the lyrics "So Cobs, is your whole persona intended / To keep those suspicions extended / So all your schemes become blended / And your work cannot be contended?", hinting towards how he's cornered in this moment, and to highlight how he's merely playing a persona.

So this is when we get a MePhone4-style flashback moment into Cobs's memories, in a moment when he gets hit with all the realizations and cannot evade the doubts anymore.

So, if you've been paying close attention, you'll notice that Cobs himself doesn't have a very positive relationship with his parents. He says so himself in "Theft and Battery" when he shows off the garage in which he invented his first computer. It is not hard to see how perhaps the pressure from family and a bit of gifted kid syndrome made him think that he has to monetize his hobbies, and eventually led to him tying his company's financial success to his personal self worth.

This is important to the analysis - it's not just greed that pushes him to attack the aliens, the stakes are much higher from his perspective because if the company fails, everything he's ever worked on for his whole life is destroyed.

And so, he's pushed by external factors to do horrible things. At first with good intentions (progress and innovation), although at some point it's undeniable that sunk cost fallacy would sink in.

All of this would get visualized through little scenes of his past, depicting this slow descent. But then we would get a scene of another thing he canonically admitted to doing - watching the show, and finding comfort in it.

You see, there's gotta be something that caught his attention and made him this deeply obsessed with the show. And would it really be a stretch to say that, especially with how it's basically confirmed that MePhone4 was basing some of the characters on the things he saw in Cobs, that perhaps he sees those parallels to himself and that changes him?

Remember Marshmallow's grief over how the competition pushes you to be your worst self? To play a persona that isn't really you?

He's not completely ready to change just yet, he has too much to lose, but it undoubtedly saws the seeds for it in his mind. He has other feelings to work through, perhaps the bitterness that he feels at seeing how MePhone4 feels more like a real person than he ever was. He feels inferior, almost like he's failing at his one and only purpose in life. And we know for a fact that Cobs is a complete and total perfectionist - of course these standards he has apply to himself too.

That is why he decides to take the matters in his own hands for the show, and the things that we see and get reminded of in the flashback.

But now, we return back to the present. Cobs is pinned down, disarmed, surrounded by the very contestants that helped his own revelations, and for the first time, someone is actually asking about the real him. He's helpless - Knife has taken the blade in his pocket away, and he can't escape. He cannot dodge the question, and at this point, he realizes that there's not really a way out for him.

Why did he do this? He confesses quietly: "Because it's all I've ever known." And here we have another comparison point - where MePhone4 said this with a pleading desperation, Cobs says it with determination. It's all he's ever known, that's why he did it and that's why it's all he'll ever do. Hurt others like his parents hurt him, and like he hurt himself. To him, that's just a fact of life, and one he prides himself in.

And here is where the main point of this essay and rewrite is - I& want to see Cobs change, get the same character arc as the others have gotten. I& want Suitcase and the others to go and firce him to apologize to MePhone4. He doesn't need to forgive him - in fact, it'd be more fitting if he didn’t - but I& want to see Cobs give his company away to 3GS or MePad, to resign from his past of cruelty, and to have at least someone (perhaps even Suitcase, who has always seen the best in people such as Balloon) support him in this journey.

I& hope you can see from the examples I&'ve provided throughout this essay how this is a much more natural and logical conclusion to this story. I& was extremely disappointed to see that the ending painted Cobs in such a one dimensional light - especially since, unlike the contestants that were intentionally created to be flat and simple, Cobs is supposed to be an actual real person, and it just does not make sense that the theme of self improvement and forgiveness seen so thoroughly throughout the show wouldn't apply to him.

The only thing I&'m not sure how to include in this ending is the Box and MeLife lore. Those parts of the finale were genuinely fascinating and enjoyable, and I& would love to hear other people's suggestions on how we could still have the lore revealed while also giving Cobs a more thoughtful and well rounded ending.

[galpalaven]

Oh wow, aren't you defensive. You know, sometimes people like to go into a story without spoiling themselves in case it's actually good, but your reaction isn't convincing me this one's worth the effort tbh. I have played WoW when I still had the time for grindy games (back in the Mists of Pandaria days, before I had a full time job that took priority over dicking around in a game all afternoon) and enjoyed its story well enough for what it was, but even at its best it couldn't hold a candle to DAO or DA2. People know to hold mmo writing to a different standard because at the end of the day it's there to get you to the next dungeon or the next fight and maybe make you care a little bit about actually doing the side quests.

And you know what people say about your mmo? That it has a great community and that the story starts getting good after 100-150 hours. That it takes 300+ hours to beat the game and I can't tell how much of that is story and how much of it is grind, but looking at how many dungeons and classes there are and how the story is level gated, it wouldn't shock me if it was mostly grind. And if you enjoy that it's fine! I have fond memories for my time in WoW. I still keep in touch with some of my old guild members. But just because I had hundreds of hours in WoW I would never claim it has that much story content and here you are claiming that yes, actually ff14 has that and it's actually a better story than all of the DA games put together. You understand how insane that sounds, right? I could replay Inquisition in the time it takes for ff14 to (allegedly) get good. Or for the stockholm syndrome and the sunk cost fallacy to kick in, idk. Everyone who is into ff14 is so into it, it almost feels like there's some cult shit going on.

If you can point me to which of the five separate wikis ff14 has that can sum up why the story is so good I will read it, but I'm too old to waste my time on games that are 80% grind and maybe 20% story.

That’s because WoW writing sucks. Not the same game at all. And Veilguard never got good so idk what to tell you.

Clearly you had no interest in playing if you assumed it had a bad story just because it was an MMO. So go read the plot, go find a video breaking down why it’s good, I don’t care. I’m not going to do it for you.

I’m still not sure why you came into my inbox because of an untagged post with “I haven’t played the game and don’t understand what I read but it’s probably bad” and then are surprised when I was like okay that’s stupid get out of here lol

[sk1fanfiction]

okay hi, i've finally caught up and have now read the last chapter so here we go !!

(ch. 22/108 rev) — that was intense omfg, cass !! i'm so so glad no one died (i was a little worried for sirius and tee im ngl, i was surprisingly very very sure that nothing happens to harry despite the whole "he's dead" theatrics). from the beginning when they're getting to malfoy manor you can just feel like it's a whole operation, immaculate from the start. i love it when we get tom's pov bc there's just something so raw with his character, like every time he thinks about dumbledore or voldemort (or his actual father) it's just so interesting.

"that the great wizard of his personal legend would again want nothing to do with him."

stop. every time tom gets rejected by one of his counterparts i get sad like hello?? wdym your own self doesn't want you 😭😭 come here pookie, i want you

"He should not want to be coddled. That was childish and stupid. He was no longer the oldest left in Wool's Orphanage. And Voldemort was not his father."

the daddy issues goes crazy here i fear but i do feel for him, he's never really gotten a proper parental figure (at least until now with dumbledore - "he thinks you the son he never had" just hitsss)

""The little bitch bit me!" yelped another man, this one with a high, wheezing voice."

yes hermione !! people who bite in fights are genuinely my fave

"Tee was struck, as they rounded the corner which Bill had just disappeared around, how much Sirius sounded like this woman — looked like her too, he realised, as they emerged into the light."

i will always always eat up a sirius black x bellatrix black parallel. it's my fave thing !! it feels so symbolic (i also just love the house of black and their drama, they are way more complicated than people give them credit for)

"Recognition flashed in Dolohov's eyes. "You like puzzles, eh?"

oh the irony of saying that to a riddle (icb more people don't make jokes with his name... well i can bc he's a young voldemort but STILL harry go at it)

"I want to commit the murder I was sentenced to Azkaban for!"

i love sirius so bad, he's so hilarious like yes pookie, you suffered in a hell-hole, might as well kill the guy who put you there (ofc i would suggest proving his survival and then killing him but what do i know?)

the whole tee vs bella fight is so funny like girl… that's your dark lord as a jr 😭 but omg i see you've taken the take that bella doesn't know about voldemort's heritage?? (i've seen people think that she is aware and still supports him which kind of doesn't make sense unless she's a hypocrite which strikes me as very ooc for bellatrix unless but then again azkaban + dark arts + grooming + sunk-cost fallacy + fear would be a very dangerous combination for anyone and might very well cause hypocrisy 😭) also nice to know that tom is also struggling to remember his age (he's just like the rest of us)

"He'd forgotten how enjoyable this was. Pushing someone to the edge. Watching them teeter on the cliff."

your honour, he's sick and likes to drive people insane !! (it must say something about me too bc i just found that attractive yikes)

"If you will release my assistant—"

he's so casual about it everything, sigh, dumble will always be a diva referring to a horcrux of a dark lord as "assistant"

ugh harry….. MY POOKIE. i feel like it's just so sad every time he turns into an obscurial, like it hurts ME and i'm not even there so i can only imagine how ruby feels seeing her own brother, her twin she shared a womb with and the majority of her life was by his side felt (she must be feeling esp guilty for her year long camping trip and keeping things from him extra hard)

"Voldemort and Dumbledore were still fighting, oblivious to the rest of the chaos."

they're so obsessed with each other yikes can you at least mind your surroundings? there's a whole obscurial !!!

""I know." He paused. "About what?""

his first instinct to say he's right takes me out (it's also very me so)

"He was probably annoyed about not being first in line."

this is so important though, she's finally opening up !!

the feels in this chapter were so exceptional. i just felt the desperation, the hurt, the panic, the anxiety... and ik dumbledore felt hurt at what tom said ("father and son said what? "what?") when questioned by voldemort but what's curious to me is how ruby tries to act like she expects it (which she might which ig is more powerful since despite it all she was still affected) but she's also deeply hurt by it, just in denial. i do think tom is also unaware that everything he does might've started out a "repaying debts" and "choosing the better options" but definitely along the line he's developed some care for (ruby, dumbledore maybe even harry) and just can't bring himself to admit it or even recognise it. very very interesting dynamics. also, maybe this was like just for narratives sake but... does tom not know ron, hermione, and anthony's names?? 😭 (if he doesn't then that's just hilarious and definitely backs my hc that he's terrible at remembering people's name, esp their first names). also, during my re-read, i noticed that harry and ruby kind of see people they care about in riddle?? (harry sees some of hermione and ruby sees some of harry) and it freaks them out a lot and i think it's because it definitely humanises him to them, esp ruby who would do ANYTHING for her brother as established. i also was wondering about the riddle ring, nice to see ruby's still got it !! idk i just think this series is sick. i have so many thoughts that i've probably forgotten but this is long anyway so i'll end it here !

i'm so so glad no one died

I'm just saving the Major Character Death tag for Year Six (kidding? kidding! am i?)

i was a little worried for sirius and tee im ngl, i was surprisingly very very sure that nothing happens to harry despite the whole "he's dead" theatrics

As I said I don't really have the heart to kill off Sirius (so every threat is kinda empty). And Harry's plot armour is so insane that I was pretty sure I wasn't fooling anyone despite all the cloak and dagger and misdirection and deliberately hiding him from you for the better part of two chapters and waving my hands and yelling HE'S DEAD!!

there's just something so raw with his character

It's the unresolved Daddy Issues (and the fact he's not completely emotionally closed-off yet compared to Voldemort).

yes hermione !! people who bite in fights are genuinely my fave

Well she trapped Rita Skeeter in a jar and came up with the Sneak Curse, she is definitely (canonically) a biter.

i will always always eat up a sirius black x bellatrix black parallel. it's my fave thing !! it feels so symbolic (i also just love the house of black and their drama, they are way more complicated than people give them credit for)

I love love parallels and especially this one, too! It's a shame when they get flattened into the 'Black Madness' or other tropes. I feel like it's not really portrayed in the movies unfortunately (because they both got flanderised).

you've taken the take that bella doesn't know about voldemort's heritage??

Yes, I haven't gone through the Original Texts with a fine-tooth comb to check for Complete Canonicity, though I know a lot of people say Bellatrix probably knew because Wormtail did (but Wormtail is too much of a coward to repeat the Dark Lord's Private Business and blood purity isn't a motivating factor for him, he just wanted to be on the winning side) and Barty at least knew that Voldemort had a bad 'relationship' with his dad, not necessary that he was a Muggle (but I think Voldemort only told him that to make him more loyal), if we just take what we know about Bellatrix and Voldemort at face value, I don't think he would ever tell her that one of his parents is a Muggle no matter how close they were (re: this really short meta and this slightly longer one). Yes, he (both Diary!Tom and Voldemort) told Harry but that's just for the good old 'you're just like me' hero/villain evil speech effect. Maybe this is a heretical take though, idk...

your honour, he's sick and likes to drive people insane !!

"Lord Voldemort is my past, present, and future." (Giving Tom some psychological violence as a treat because Dumbledore said it was his favourite in HBP).

dumble will always be a diva referring to a horcrux of a dark lord as "assistant"

Phineas Nigellus Black said it best, however you feel about Dumbledore, you can't deny he's got style ;)

i feel like it's just so sad every time he turns into an obscurial, like it hurts ME and i'm not even there so i can only imagine how ruby feels seeing her own brother, her twin she shared a womb with and the majority of her life was by his side felt (she must be feeling esp guilty for her year long camping trip and keeping things from him extra hard)

He was literally at his breaking point :(((

Hence the Castor and Pollux mention (at the time I was writing it I was thinking maybe it's too on the nose but they are literally intentionally divine twins-coded so...)

his first instinct to say he's right takes me out (it's also very me so)

Ofc Tom believes he's always right (also, valid).

ik dumbledore felt hurt at what tom said

He was indeed in his feelings.

ruby tries to act like she expects it [...] but she's also deeply hurt by it, just in denial.

Exactly! She has Complex Feelings about Tee for definite (I mean she literally named him and summoned him from the purgatory realm or whatever and befriended him but he's also literally Voldemort).

i just felt the desperation, the hurt, the panic, the anxiety...

I'm so glad all of that came through (I love hurting my characters, ngl)

i do think tom is also unaware that everything he does might've started out a "repaying debts" and "choosing the better options" but definitely along the line he's developed some care for (ruby, dumbledore maybe even harry) and just can't bring himself to admit it or even recognise it.

This!!! Tom is always going to be a character with low empathy IMO but that doesn't mean that he doesn't care at all, even if that's the reality delusion he tries to create for himself.

does tom not know ron, hermione, and anthony's names??

He doesn't. He was never paying attention in the first place lol.

i noticed that harry and ruby kind of see people they care about in riddle?? (harry sees some of hermione and ruby sees some of harry) and it freaks them out a lot and i think it's because it definitely humanises him to them, esp ruby who would do ANYTHING for her brother as established.

Ruby definitely sees Harry in him (because of the canon Harry/Tom parallels 'we even look something alike' and all that) and it (amongst other things) causes major cognitive dissonance. There are definitely Tom/Hermione parallels that Harry picks up in (being Muggle-born/assumed Muggle-born, being know-it-alls) but potentially the worse source of Riddle-related anxiety for him is how Dumbledore sees him (potentially both in the same way) versus the literal existence of Lord Voldemort versus his knowledge of his own parallels.

"Am I meant to feel sorry for him?" It was a genuine question. He could only think of Riddle standing before him the night the castle was attacked. Of the strange, misplaced kinship, of rage and pity. It was like seeing himself in one of those funhouse mirrors; his reflection twisted into something grotesque and disturbing.

[leporellian]

thinking about mudclaw again as he lives forever in my heart. i think so many people are wrong about him. him and onestar are in reality two sides of the same paranoid coin and both of their actions are explained most by fear than anything else, which makes sense bc windclan was (still is?) the lowest-ranking of all the clans and constantly shit on in different ways by the other three especially in the tpb era. but of course instead of realizing that there's a sense of constant sunk cost fallacy and NEEDING to get to the top. tallstar is clearly mudclaw's father figure (at least like . the way i interpret things. what with shrewclaw's death and their interactions esp in winds of change) and mudclaw to some extent idolizes tallstar because he equates him- and leadership, and power, and etc- with the idea of windclan and the very ideal of their clan society. he certainly sees tallstar as fallible and doesn't agree with his decisions (and later becomes like almost annoyingly aware of tallstar's mortality) but i think it's in an 'only i can say that about him' way.

so of course when tallstar changes his mind and demotes mudclaw at the last possible second before mudclaw achieves (what is in his mind as) The One Path To True Success mudclaw feels a visceral sense of betrayal, not only because that was his father figure but also because it kind of flies in the face of everything mudclaw had led to believe was Worthwhile- all of it meant nothing, as does much of the system of the clans themselves do. but instead of willing to consider that (even if his subconscious sees it like A Little) mudclaw spirals into justification until he's ultimately turning on everything he once held dear to justify this One Perfect Concept in his mind of How Things Ideally Should Go. and then his own gods turn on him to kill him! as he dies in the same pointless battles that killed both his father and grandmother! fucking insane!

and the REAL tragedy is that even IF mudclaw became leader he'd fall apart into a paranoid wreck, just as much if not more than onestar did, because ultimately he and onestar have the same rampant paranoia and fear of reliance that dooms both of them. for all intents and purposes until near the end onestar wasn't too bad of a leader by clan standards; windclan certainly became much more self-sufficient and hardy under his leadership (thunderclan be damned lmfao) and for having been elected amidst civil war there wasn't That Much dissent going on besides like crowfeather or whoever thinking onestar was being a jackass. mudclaw not only should have never been deputy, there's no universe where he could've achieved his own definitions of success ad prosperity because he was born not only in a clan that will never fully escape its position as the bottom of the pecking order but in the shadow of a leader who possessed traits that mudclaw could never have and who didn't even want the same vision of windclan mudclaw did.

so like ! damn all that was for nothing ! and he was killed to make a fuck ass BRIDGE! And hes trapped inside a horribly written wildly christian children's book series FOREVER!!!!!! Insane!!!! Insane!!!! I am going to think about this freak forever!!!! in short

[vigilskeep]

is it just me or is the justification for hawke helping meredith annul the gallows completely… non-existent? i try and try to figure out why hawke would think killing all the mages for something anders openly did himself was the right decision and i always come up blank. only a really sadistic, mage-hating hawke would be okay with it. the whole annulment is so insane and senseless to me. is it just me who thinks this, or would other fans agree?

for roleplay purposes, i think there are a few mindsets you can work with beyond hawke just being foundationally comically evil. here’s a couple suggestions off the top of my head:

they believe that an annulment will sate the templars and the common people, containing the violence to kirkwall in one bloody stroke rather than causing widespread retribution across thedas

they have fought tooth and nail for their place in kirkwall for seven years and they are ultimately not willing to sacrifice it and be a refugee again, no matter what they have to do. i think it’s interesting to consider how da2 is framed and advertised as a rise-to-power game, and the crux of siding with the mages is giving all that up, whereas you can only finish your climb to the top by siding with the templars

they believe having a voice on the “winning side” is the only way they can save themself (if a mage) or their sister (if bethany is a circle mage) from meredith’s wrath. they are unwilling to risk their lives and their friends’ lives fighting for what they see as a doomed cause

for a mage hawke, a desperate desire to believe that they can be a mage who is “different” and cut themselves off from the rest, and if they have previously supported the templars, a kind of sunk cost fallacy where what they’ve done has to be worth it

for a non-mage hawke, deep-seated bitterness that they were raised for this fight, that they are expected to die for this when magic has never done anything for them but take everything they have

i think hawke is a really difficult protagonist to play pro templar because the game places you into a position where you and your family’s existence, and that of companions you have no choice but to pick up, is inherently an act of defiance against the templars. ser wesley makes that clear from the start of the game. it’s illegal for you to exist freely, and there is never any option to do what the templars require, because it would completely end your ability to act as hawke. that’s a game limitation but there’s something to be said for that as a thematic comment, as well. persecutors can put down their weapons and go home, but the only way to escape being the enemy of people who want you dead for what you are is to stop existing. there’s a reason meredith will always turn on you no matter what, beyond just wanting everyone to have that boss fight. there’s a reason writers have talked about regretting that for orsino but not for her, and there’s a reason she’s (iirc? lmao) always the climactic fight and ultimate enemy that comes last, whoever you side with

there’s no morally justifiable reason for anyone to annul a circle, full stop. it’s incredibly evil, inarguably. but real people do evil things. obviously exploring a character like that is not for everyone as a game experience, but as a thought exercise i do think it’s worth recognising that people who enact atrocities aren’t somehow magically inherently soulless. populations who collectively commit the worst evils that humanity has ever seen don’t just, like, happen to have a higher concentration of evil than everyone else in a world. it’s a human behaviour we see committed constantly by people born as ordinary as you and me. and i do think that’s something we should be aware of, rather than falling into the trap of believing there’s something that, uh, inherently separates us from those people, because then we risk complacency and blindness, right, and thinking something must be fine because our people and our leaders would never do something like that. that got a little off track and philosophical. food for thought! it’s not like every templar who takes part in the annulment is somehow inhuman, is my point, and the fact that they follow those orders is really very human, if you compare them to, you know, any military force now or in history. it’s what happens. (as is resistance and compassion, before we get too bleak.) hawke is human, too, and even when presented with only one morally acceptable choice, may not always make it

uhh my point is i do think it can be done without hawke just being an irrational villain caricature who kills for fun, and it’s an rpg literally made for you to have those options, but it requires effort and creativity and grappling with what’s involved a bit. there’s a reason players overwhelmingly support the mages it’s not a surprising response to that choice at all

[st5byler]

Here's the Thing.

If, and I cannot stress this enough - *if* Byler is not endgame there will be two truths here.

Stranger Things will probably have the most insane queerbait on their hands, possibly ever.

Byler theories and analysis put more thought into the show than the showrunners did.

Here's the thing: I believe Byler is endgame. Not in a sunk cost fallacy way, I just think it would make the most sense out of anything possible. But to elaborate on my points if it is not endgame:

Queerbait

Queerbaiting, as defined by Wikipedia, "Queerbaiting is a marketing technique for fiction and entertainment in which creators hint at, but do not depict, same-sex romance or other LGBTQ+ representation."

This is exactly what will happen with Byler in this scenario. While, yes, Will Byers is canonically Gay and in love with Mike - that doesn't exempt it from baiting the audience, because holy shit does Netflix market Byler so much. It is to the point where they rarely - if ever - promote the 'main ship' of the show.

Netflix's marketing has also interpreted Byler as romantic in nature from BOTH parties. If they do not go through with Byler - what was the point?

If they market a ship heavily to get an audience to see it (most likely queer), only to then make one of the characters endgame be a heterosexual relationship - what was the point.

Analysis

The Byler fandom is iconic for their meta and theory posts, most of which are actually plausible and make sense. If Byler is not endgame - I swear to god, this'll be like the Johnlock Conspiracy but reasonable because holy shit do Bylers care about and understand this show! Probably one of the more media literate fandoms I've ever been a part of.

So like.. If it's not endgame, it'll end up reflecting poorly on the show and showrunners, 100%. Which is why I believe in it being endgame funnily enough. You really don't want a Voltron on your hands (again) Netflix.

[pleucas]

HIIIIIII again i wrote my last one and took the best nap ever

dazai glazer……i like that…….ill take it :) but don’t you agree with me too….

sorry for being a freak…i can take dazai characterization very seriously sometimes i scare myself too……but im so invested in him and yk its a joke ik it is but for some ppl they take it to a next level which is weird and sad to see…especially since we know what dazai was like at 14….(getting emotional and insane again so i’ll stop) if you ever write your thesis paper on dazai i’d like to read it

BUT i can get into fyodor and chuuya rambles too if you ever want to hear me again i have many thoughts

and the whole hating the other half of the ship that i AGREE on because if you play genshin impact or know about it there’s a ship that is my biggest enemy because i DESPISE character A everytime i see him i want to roll him to hell where he belongs so i get it and it has nothing to do with his character just because i do….so im no better ig…...actually i am.

i love how you went full on skker at last i liked what you said for most parts they could never make me hate you skk…

i never noticed how long my last ask was until i had to scroll…sorry about that

this was fun tbh….kept it short i had way more to write but didn’t want to annoy you

and i need to say that i REALLY loved your animation for dazai bday both the wip and the finished it changed me. it was gorgeous. it was perfect.

dazai glazer! good... morning ? ig. idk happy waking up time

i would love to hear about your chuuya + fyodor thoughts. i feel like a forum intermediate. but it's all very interesting! and yes, they could really never make me hate you skk. i'm in too deep. sunk cost fallacy and alldat

i do plan on animating more :0 i have smth planned actually and i just need to get started on it urrrrghhhh... making even the bday loop was hell tho but it seems like the returns were worth it! so. here we go

[onlyplatonicirl]

@lightyearssurrogatedaddy i saw your tags lol. cue incoming characterization essay because i dont want to do my homework:

I've actually attributed the sunk-cost fallacy to Error's mindset on multiple occasions, and it's something I'm going to be referencing in my writing when it comes up.

The sunk-cost fallacy is the core principle in regards to Error's character and why he does the things he does in TCOTI. You have this character (error) who has spent his entire life dedicated to an impossible goal: complete annihilation. At first it didn't really seem to matter whether or not it was pheasable - it was just something he felt that needed to happen. He made it his life's goal, he became the villian of the entire multiverse to see his plan through for what he thought would right the mess and clutter of a chaotic world that shouldn't have even existed. Of course, it's a stupid plan, and he has that plan because he's literally insane. Error's spent an untold amount of time in a white void, both his mind and body warping to an unrecognizable degree. His view of the world is skewed, and he sees things different than others - while being stubborn and refusing to listen to anyone's thoughts but himself.

My story (but you can apply this to potentially any story involving Error because I personally feel like it's on par with his character) takes place at least a century in the future. Time does not matter to world-walking immortals. He is no closer to his goal than when he first started. Why would he? Error is essentially trying to stop an immutable force of nature - the deviance of timelines and branching pathways of the multiverse. (And if we're taking the canon route in regards to creators, then he's attempting to stop people from creating.) It's a completely impossible task. Universes are created at a much quicker rate than he can destroy them.

Even in a hypothetical situation where he achieves his goal and nothing but the original universe remains, it's going to branch off again eventually. His goal of "killing everything and then himself" would never last because once he's gone, there won't be anyone else left to "take out the trash" that will once again branch off and spread through the entire multiverse. Not that it's ever even gotten to that point though.

And like a said - He's crazy. These aren't really concerns of his, nor is he following sound logic or reason to his plan. But while he is crazy, he is not stupid.

How long do you think it would take him before he realizes he isn't getting anywhere? That everything he destroys just ends up replacing itself in one form or another? My story is a hypothetical century later. He may be able to stall the growth by killing off a main universe, or potentially backtracking the progress, but it's not the same as permanently making a dent in the net growth. And perhaps he's eased himself into that routine, into being content with just keeping things at an even level of creation and destruction. But it's not the goal he has centered his entire existence around- and eventually in the very subconscious of his mind, after an uncountable amount of time doing the same thing his whole life -running on a treadmill towards nowhere - does he begin to wonder why he's still doing this.

It wouldn't even register to him as a fully formed thought. It would be a nagging feeling in his gut, a general unease. It would take him years to even recognize that something is wrong, to try and think about things that go against his ideology and his reason to be, as stubborn and narcissistic as he is. But eventually it surfaces as a fully formed thought:

Why is he still doing this?

He had a reason back then, but it's going no where. It's been ages. decades. Almost nothing has changed.

But the simple fact is, he can never really answer that thought. Because he has been on this path for so long, there is nothing else left for him outside of it.

Sunk-cost fallacy.

If he stops, if he tries to seek out an alternate path, than what was EVERYTHING he worked for for YEARS and YEARS even for?? He went through so much pain, he's isolated from the rest of the multiverse as a villain, he has solidified his place in the world. If he ever stopped, it would be admitting to himself that every second of his long existence so far has been a waste. That he has done nothing with himself, and that he worked for nothing but the insane whims of a corrupted mind, towards an unachievable goal.

The world continues to move on. The multiverse continues to grow and change. And he remains, destroying, and convincing himself that he's fine with forever keeping balence.

Because what else does he have left?

And the question he doesn't even think to consider: What of the future?

[awriternamedart]

damn for the first time in a long time i actually feel like a lot of people are excited for when i write holy shit

im not gonna leave sampard behind ive got to much of a sunk cost fallacy pushing me and brainrot and ideas are eternal , but the ratiorine fic might get updated faster now because 12 comments on a chapter with less the 3k words and subpar work for my standard because i just wanted to start somewhere and get the idea on paper ? thats mindblowingly insane to me

and its not just one person, or friends out of obligation - just random people taking a chance on a single prologue chapter that isnt even that long, commenting about their excitement and yearning for more , already i want to write more for them, i want to live up to the excitement - i feel so appreciated for putting effort into it now , for just starting

ive never really had that feeling with either of my longterm sampard fics, or with one of the over 20 oneshots ive posted with them . smaller communities have their advantages but it also means that if your not first, its a lot harder to get people to read or take a chance on your work . ive spent the last several months feels subpar and below average and like my writing just isnt at a good level because i got so little comment or praise on it compared to my peers . people ive known and ive watched get praised for their stories , who get remembered , people who are my friends and im so so happy for their traction and that people recognize the genuine skill and love in them , but a part of me always wonders what i was doing wrong, why people wouldnt give me the same chance , that i was just to slow to join in and post and i missed my chance , that im all wrong in my characterization and people dont like how i write them , and it spirals. and because of it i slowed down alot last year , i stopped writing as much , i got lost in a slump of not writing because as much as i love to write for myself and do , i write tons for myself , i began to feel like on some level , i was beginning to be taken for granted .

like damn its insane what just a couple of comments expressing excitement can do to get your drive back to write . holy shit