#not all of them so kind

[armofandruil]

Dragon Age: The Veilguard delivered in its finale where other Bioware games fell flat

Veilguard feels like the end of something. While it may not be the end of the Dragon Age series for good, it is most definitely the end of Dragon Age as we know it. With the Blight waning, no one to terrorize the Veil, and light shed on most of the major mysteries , it seems the next heroes of the Dragon Age will be battling against much different foes. The ending slideshow delivered the same reflective tone as Mass Effect 3 did, recounting the conclusion of each choice made throughout the course of the game. But while one of these finales caused outrage, the other felt earned. When I reached the end of Mass Effect 3 at the tender age of 13, I sat with my controller in my hands, thinking to myself, "That's it?". With Veilguard, I held my hand to my chest and thought; "That's it."

It's common practice to rag on Mass Effect 3's ending, even over a decade later, but there were still things I liked about it. I loved seeing the companions I've known and loved for 3 whole games gather on Earth for a final stand. I loved the final rush to the beacon. I loved everything until that little brat beamed me up into open space and gave me the choice of an RGB colour slider. And then made me download an epilogue. But Veilguard didn't fill me with that anger and disappointment. The main thing that I think sets these two apart is the final choice.

In Mass Effect 3, we had 3 choices that determined the faith of the galaxy, all with damning implications, but nothing to see the payoff of because it was the last entry in the series. In Veilguard, you finish it how you set out to at the very start of the game. Yes, it would have been nice to let Solas tear down the Veil, but that would leave no possibility of a sequel in a series that already has dwindling choice carry-over. And we all knew that this game was either going to be Bioware's last hurrah or a final chance at a comeback for the studio, so there was no chance of that.

Veilguard delivered in its finale everything I loved about previous instalments and more. It filled me with the genuine anxiety I had in the Suicide Mission of Mass Effect 2. Only this time, there was no saving some people. And it was a choice that came back to bite me in the ass hours later that couldn't be undone without reloading back MULTIPLE levels. THAT made the stakes seem real. I got to command the armies of the Battle of Denerim again, but this time I got to see the faction leaders in action. I got one last grand final assault like I did on Earth in Mass Effect 3, but this time I got a high stakes cinematic of all the faction leaders I'd gathered kicking absolute tail while I divvied out assignments. I felt like I got to see the payoff of the hours of work I did getting the factions to max strength, unlike the war assets/galactic readiness system from ME3.

I loved every conclusion, bar the lack of a true epilogue to the story. From redeeming Solas to punching him in the face. And I feel like that's a choice that will have satisfying payoff if they ever decide to continue. An angry Elven god trapped in the veil by a violent hand, a kicked dog beaten at his own game, or a benevolant protector of the veil all make for some interesting stories.

This game was far from perfect. There were retcons. Clumsy writing in places. Areas that weren't as fleshed out as they could be. But speaking as someone who's been in love with this series for nearly 10 years at this point, I was left very satisfied by this conclusion of this game, and perhaps, but hopefully not, the franchise. I was in a rush to finish this entry. I wanted to see how it ended. But those last couple of hours made me actually slow down and savour it. I loved it. And the replayability of it was just the icing on the cake, because it's mot over, not really. I can't wait to play again with a new rook, a new worldstate, a new story.

[elliesbelle]

emily gwen, the creator of the sunset lesbian flag that we’ve come to commonly use, still continues to live in poverty.

multi-billion dollar companies have used their design and made profit from it, and yet they have not seen a cent for their creation.

i’ve been friends with emily for years, and i have not once seen them be financially stable the entire time. i’ve seen them homeless, unemployed, starving. right now, they need our help more than ever.

please consider donating to emily’s ko-fi, especially if you’ve used their design to create something and profited from it.

[eydilily]

would you bite the hand that feeds you?

[astearisms]

catalysts, protectors

[kimdokjas]

though the movie might be cancelled, yuri on ice will live forever in our hearts. thank you yoi fandom, it's been real ♡

[sonykatzen]

pretty boy

[hinamie]

in spite of everything, I had fun <3

[soldrawss]

Something something 16yo 2k12 Mikey gets sucked into a portal and sent into the RISE universe and ends up helping raise the RISE kiddos AU

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

HOT, SINGLE, UNSTUDIED SPONGES. 3000 NAUTICAL MILES AWAY. Come sail the distance and read Tiger Tiger!

[chloesimaginationthings]

Abby could befriend any animatronic from FNAF..

[watchingwisteria]

listen there really was just something about how in the book, snow’s 3-page descent from hesitant lover boy to deluded mfer happens entirely in his mind. lucy gray gives him no indication whatsoever that she suspects him, that she’s going to leave or betray him. he’s just sitting quietly in the cabin waiting for her to return when that seed of calculated suspicion, which he has needed to survive the capitol, takes a hold of him and chokes the life out of any goodness left inside him. it really drives home your terror as a reader that “oh my god did he kill her? did she escape? what happened to her? why would he even think that?” in a way that when the movie had to adjust for visualization it lost some of that holy shit this guy has lost it emphasis.

[saradiation]

Hey it's that time of the year again :D

HAPPY 413! 🎂

[venusaur-propaganda]

Drawing Venusaur with every Pokemon pt. Venusaur!

[giantkillerjack]

Today my therapist introduced me to a concept surrounding disability that she called "hLep".

[plain-text version of this post can be found under the cut]

Which is when you - in this case, you are a disabled person - ask someone for help ("I can't drink almond milk so can you get me some whole milk?", or "Please call Donna and ask her to pick up the car for me."), and they say yes, and then they do something that is not what you asked for but is what they think you should have asked for ("I know you said you wanted whole, but I got you skim milk because it's better for you!", "I didn't want to ruin Donna's day by asking her that, so I spent your money on an expensive towing service!") And then if you get annoyed at them for ignoring what you actually asked for - and often it has already happened repeatedly - they get angry because they "were just helping you! You should be grateful!!"

And my therapist pointed out that this is not "help", it's "hLep".

Sure, it looks like help; it kind of sounds like help too; and if it was adjusted just a little bit, it could be help. But it's not help. It's hLep.

At its best, it is patronizing and makes a person feel unvalued and un-listened-to. Always, it reinforces the false idea that disabled people can't be trusted with our own care. And at its worst, it results in disabled people losing our freedom and control over our lives, and also being unable to actually access what we need to survive.

So please, when a disabled person asks you for help on something, don't be a hLeper, be a helper! In other words: they know better than you what they need, and the best way you can honor the trust they've put in you is to believe that!

Also, I want to be very clear that the "getting angry at a disabled person's attempts to point out harmful behavior" part of this makes the whole thing WAY worse. Like it'd be one thing if my roommate bought me some passive-aggressive skim milk, but then they heard what I had to say, and they apologized and did better in the future - our relationship could bounce back from that. But it is very much another thing to have a crying shouting match with someone who is furious at you for saying something they did was ableist. Like, Christ, Jessica, remind me to never ask for your support ever again! You make me feel like if I asked you to call 911, you'd order a pizza because you know I'll feel better once I eat something!!

Edit: crediting my therapist by name with her permission - this term was coined by Nahime Aguirre Mtanous!

Edit again: I made an optional follow-up to this post after seeing the responses. Might help somebody. CW for me frankly talking about how dangerous hLep really is.

Plain-text version:

Today my therapist introduced me to a concept surrounding disability that she called "hLep".

Which is when you - in this case, you are a disabled person - ask someone for help ("I can't drink almond milk so can you get me some whole milk?", or "Please call Donna and ask her to pick up the car for me."), and they say yes, and then they do something that is not what you asked for but is what they think you should have asked for ("I know you said you wanted whole, but I got you skim milk because it's better for you!", "I didn't want to ruin Donna's day by asking her that, so I spent your money on an expensive towing service!") And then if you get annoyed at them for ignoring what you actually asked for - and often it has already happened repeatedly - they get angry because they "were just helping you! You should be grateful!!"

And my therapist pointed out that this is not "help", it's "hLep".

Sure, it looks like help; it kind of sounds like help too; and if it was adjusted just a little bit, it could be help. But it's not help. It's hLep.

At its best, it is patronizing and makes a person feel unvalued and un-listened-to. Always, it reinforces the false idea that disabled people can't be trusted with our own care. And at its worst, it results in disabled people losing our freedom and control over our lives, and also being unable to actually access what we need to survive.

So please, when a disabled person asks you for help on something, don't be a hLeper, be a helper! In other words: they know better than you what they need, and the best way you can honor the trust they've put in you is to believe that!

P.S. Also, I want to be very clear that the "getting angry at a disabled person's attempts to point out harmful behavior" part of this makes the whole thing WAY worse. Like it'd be one thing if my roommate bought me some passive-aggressive skim milk, but then they heard what I had to say, and they apologized and did better in the future - our relationship could bounce back from that. But it is very much another thing to have a crying shouting match with someone who is furious at you for saying something they did was ableist. Like, Christ, Jessica, remind me to never ask for your support ever again! You make me feel like if I asked you to call 911, you'd order a pizza because you know I'll feel better once I eat something!!

Edit: crediting my therapist by name with her permission - this term was coined by Nahime Aguirre Mtanous!

Edit again: I made an optional follow-up to this post after seeing the responses. Might help somebody. CW for me frankly talking about how dangerous hLep really is.

[lucabyte]

monologue

[soulmvtes]

honestly people were so right about how when the right people come along, the way you love them will come so naturally