#sorry for being pretentious

[flootweed]

oh uncle jim. the poor middle-aged gay man who sees himself as undeserving of love. who can't see himself making a family despite the fact that he is already family to so many people. who raises the son of his homophobic sister and buys the dowry for his employee and is known by everyone in town. who allows himself one companion in the form of a cat named after himself. who would rather share excess food with customers than take it home for himself. who never turns down the sweet local boy who is in love with him but also never gives him reason to hope. who repeatedly turns down this new man who shows him the joy that can be found in his life. who thinks he lives a small, solitary life but actually lives a sprawling, vibrant life.

and wen. a young man who lives in the city with an easy job pointing fingers and giving orders. who has a mouth of sin but eyes of devotion. who wakes up in a colorful world and decides he doesn't want to leave. who overstays his welcome. who plays with the cat the morning after his one night stand. who works a second job, not for the money but for the excitment. who wears a fancy watch while he chops chicken and stacks the dishes. who sees a teenage boy trying to escape his life and understands. who resolutely goes after what he wants, giving no mind to the damage it may cause. who has a home but dreams of a better, brighter one.

[monoman1c]

so taylor swift — a straight white woman — and bredbin urine can make the official apple music pride playlist but sufjan stevens or car seat headrest can’t?

[weirdhatbro]

the way not even i know what the fuck i'm talking about to spot the lie ✨

[colossalsquidz]

*guy who didn’t understand rgu voice* and then they get married :)

[valtsv]

my mom's botched motivational speech was somehow better and more meaningful than what she actually intended to say

[deadrlngers]

the art of touch in Crash (1996), dir. David Cronenberg.

[randomness-is-my-order]

idk why but there is this idea in the fandom that if someone hates/dislikes jiang cheng, it is coming from a place of “not understanding” his character or lacking empathy for his circumstances to which i say, respectfully: bullshit. and that disliking/hating jiang cheng is a needlessly miserable experience for the reader, to which i say once again: bullshit.

i can’t speak to anyone else’s experience but for me, hating jc more and more with each of his subsequent appearances in the novels was a GREAT, fantastic, very enjoyable experience because the way he was characterized was so unpleasant that if i had no snarky internal monologue directed at him, the books would be no fun when he showed up! i love to hate him and that’s a completely valid way of interacting with a character! “hating a character is easier than understanding them” is once again, bullshit, in the sense that it doesn’t account for those instances where understanding doesn’t really help in endearing a character to the audience. sometimes, you can understand the complete 1000 pages long backstory of an antagonist and still find him slimy, pathetic and despicable and that’s valid. complex doesn’t always mean likeable. liking a character doesn’t always mean liking the person the character represents.

not liking jiang cheng and criticising him should not be a shocking or offensive thing. his growth comes too little too late. he spends 13 years making himself miserable and refusing to take personal accountability and engaging in any kind of healing. at some point, the tragedies he went through stop shadowing his wrongdoings and my sympathies die down to nothingness and that’s okay. jiang cheng will literally NEVER be dear to me but he’s such a great character and such a terribly-adjusted adult that i want to be able to discuss him in a way that feels authentic to my reading experience of him. does a fan of a character always have to necessarily like the character’s personality and arc? nope. i think loudly and enthusiastically dressing him down in metas is extremely cathartic and shows an understanding of the themes of the book as much as–if not more–as more sympathetic essays about his good sides.

[iztea]

i think one of my biggest pet peeves is when you're trying to explain or delve deeper into a topic that's *a bit* more complex or challenging with someone and they immediately cut you off and resort to making jokes about their head hurting or dumbing it down to a cartoonish level for,,, comedic effect i guess

[pallastronomy]

looking for a new piece of xenofiction

ask the creator if their xenofiction is Watership Down or Warrior Cats

they don’t understand

pull out illustrated diagram explaining what is Watership Down and what is Warrior Cats

they laugh and say ‘It’s good xenofiction sir’

look inside

it’s Warrior Cats

[stil-lindigo]

the candle.

a comic about rediscovering passion and recovering from burnout.

creative notes:

[lycanthrop-ee]

characters, narrators, and futility

the stanley parable // rosencrantz and guildenstern are dead by tom stoppard // no exit by jean-paul sartre // rosencrantz and guildenstern are dead by tom stoppard // the stanley parable

[kulliare]

tagged by @shrips for 9 books you'd like to read in the new year! ty for the tag-- i tag @halfagod @albatrossisland @eponine119 @tru-lyly

[mokagachas]

the narrative gameplay design of is3 vs is4 is really good

i really like it. its driving me insane.

we've all played is3 right. here's the gist of is3: the ocean is treacherous and cruel and ever-changing. there is something with you in the water and you can not see it, you can't even sense it properly- you see flashes of what it is and it is so, so much more incomprehensible than you.

you can stock up well in is3. hell, you can stock up REALLY well- you can get dozens of collectibles and hit all the right operators and you might roll 1s the entire way down.

because is3 is based on helplessness.

is3 is a scenario where your fate is determined by the roll of a die. you will grit your teeth and sigh as you get hit with the worst random debuff available and be like well. nothing i could do there! certainly there are choices that can be made, strategic advances and whatnot, but the ocean is what decides this for you. you are helpless to the ocean's whims.

in fact- there is certainly something comforting in helplessness! it makes the terrifying a little less terrifying. the yoke of responsibility is lifted from you!

is4 is not that.

is4 there is something with you in the mountains and it is just out of view. is4 it is gritty and unchanging and uncompromising. is4 says: here is what is in front of you. there is no chance here.

is4 gives you the terror of choice.

is4 says hey. there's the boss on this floor but you have 1 life point remaining and there's an emergency node up next, do you spend a foldartal now to get a buff or risk the wait? there's a trader node right below you but if you spend it your equipment will be damaged and maybe you'll need that down the line? either way you are making a choice.

you can see what is in here with you. you can grab it by the scruff of the neck and you can say Screw You You Are Going To Have 50% Less HP In This Node And I Will Have +50 ASPD Whether You Like It Or Not.

but it can do the same. you're not in a lush, terrifying ecosystem of the ocean, you are in a barren and frozen mountain. you are getting less collectibles you're getting less hope you've got less resources and more enemies and is4 says okay, yeah, you can shoot me.

but you only have one bullet. and you need to choose to pull the trigger.

[brechtian]

puts a yellow warning label on all my book recs that says in big bold block letters what I prioritize in fiction is 1) prosody 2) form 3) tension

[saltlickmp3]

actually i think there is no hope left for instagram. RADIOHEAD IS NOT UNDERGROUND THEY ARE ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR ALTERNATIVE ROCK BANDS OF ALL TIME. all i need is not that obscure! in rainbows frequently tops 2000s album rankings!! you are not 'giving music to normies' whatever that means, you are sharing with people and appreciating the beauty in a well crafted song, something that every body does and should do!! who cares if lots of people like radiohead? they're really good! i think more people should get into them!! peace and love on planet earth people music is for everyone <3

[girlcaelius]

Eat your past. Eat it and make it go away. Eat it and let it fester inside you. Eat it and let it dissolve in you, sustain you, slowly become a part of you until you cannot imagine a life without it. Eat your enemies, who are just as empty as you are. Eat your trauma until it rips you open from inside and your guts spill out onto the sand. Eat your brothers and watch them die with you. Swallow your love. Swallow your affection, choke it down, soured by time and the cold hands of evil men. The fruit of your labours is overripe and rotting, bruised to sweetness by beatings and heavy chains. You are a weapon, are you not? An animal - nothing more, nothing less. So act like one. Devour. Bite the hand that feeds because all you have ever known is rotten meat. Life tastes like poison, love even worse. 

Eat your lover before they can eat you.