#super specific grievance but a grievance all the same

[i-am-a-fan]

i don’t know who needs to hear this, but if you’re going to creature lmk Tang, that boy better be buggified. None of this mammal nonsense. He is the reincarnation of the golden cicada, give him his buggy wings and arms. Make him the eldritch horror he was supposed to be.

[theresattrpgforthat]

Hi! Super sorry if this is a way too specific request. But do you know any systems that don't just treat magic knight/gish type characters as half-spellcaster and half-martial? Specifically looking for something that allows a magic knight sort of character to excel at magic and/or weapons to the same degree a more standard caster or martial character would, even if this means sacrificing something in a third category.

Sorry again if this is too obscure, take as long as you need with it and if you can't find anything that's okay too. I hope you have a nice day/night!

THEME: Magic Knights

Hello friend, so I started by looking for games where the characters were all blessed with supernatural powers, because I think if you're all supernaturally gifted, you're more likely going to get that balance you're looking for. That being said, I think I've also included a little bit of variety both in the basic recommendations as well as some add-ons at the end, so I hope that there's enough variety for something to pique your interest!

MourningStar, by devindecibel. @devindecibel

Lucifer, the former Archangel of Light, has died.

& their ever gloriously radiant body became the star which warms us.

We are the devilkith, those descended from the exiles of the Brilliant Garden & Hallowed star systems of Creation; those cursed to exalt sin.

We defend the Mourningstar, a haven for misfits, guarding the last iota of the Cosmos not conquered by the ever grasping empire of God.

Mourningstar is a “satanic” “biblepunk” dark science fantasy game about resistance, rebellion, othering, theology, individuality, misfits, colonialism, divine politics, infernal magic, & exploring the stars as swashbuckling devils. You will tell the story of a crew of Advocates, attachés to the Court of Lucifer & special agents of the Seven Prodigious Broods, the noble Archdemonic houses of devilkith in the Mourningstar System. Advocates explore the universe of Creation in their Chariot starship, defend the oppressed, skirmish with Angels & intrigue, & fight for the spirit of fierce identity.

Mourningstar is mechanically inspired by heavily narrative games, so I expect the archetypes provided to give players a strong concept to start with. One archetype is the Bastion, which is a knight whose armor is powered by demon blood, allowing them access to blood magic and access the ghosts of past knights' wisdom.

That being said, in its current stat, this is a crunchy game. Set-up is rather complex, and the game is built for campaigns, so if you're going to play this one, you should prepared for a long haul.

Thematically, Mourningstar is pretty specific; it's biblepunk, it's science fantasy, and it's rebellion. Your characters will have big grievances and bigger losses, but at the end of the day, your band of freaks is going to pull of some pretty impressive adventures. Currently the designer is working on updating the game, so you might want to keep an eye on this one!

Freelancer, by mammothbronco.

Welcome Freelancer, Freelancer takes place in a world of your choosing. A world balanced between an age of light and an age of dusk. Betwixt a time of prosperous endless summer and an unforgiving winter, a forgetting of things, a time where swords and blood rule. The makers of powerful artifacts known as relics have vanished; their knowledge disappeared within the dusk. The wealthy hide behind their walls, lusting for such an artifact, but the price is more costly than blood.

Freelancer feels very old-school fantasy, where magic is rare and difficult to wield. One thing that is very common in these old-school style games is the containment of magic in objects, rather than in innate abilities.Spells are things contained in relics, making them rather available to everyone.

There is still a distinct magic class, but the corruption of magic and the fact that you can use a relic without being a spellcaster feels like it puts folks on a slightly more equal playing field. Freelancer also feels more grounded in the typical fantasy tropes, which I think lends itself to leaning into the knight tropes that you might be interested in.

Guillotine: Crown of Blood, by Tally Owl Press.

Dive into a Gothic world that's rife with subterfuge and spellcasting alike, in this PBTA (Powered by the Apocalypse) hack that combines the dynamic, character-driven mechanics of Amour Astir with a dark, sprawling Gothic setting where the Crown reigns supreme. The Crown is a monarchical force that uses its populace for cannon fodder, magical tithing—whatever it wants. You play as a revolutionary with an axe to grind: some reason to want the King's head on the proverbial platter. You have magic, bargains, weapons, and grit at your disposal. You might even have friends and allies, if you're especially lucky. Either way, you and your players will craft a revolutionary narrative where the magic and prowess of the many can overcome the greed of the few.

Magic takes front and centre here, but according to the character sheets, your intent and approach seem very important and thus I think you could use weaponry to the same level of skill, as long as you put some thought into it. PbtA games are more focused on what makes the story interesting, rather than granular details such as weapon modifiers or range bands.

The character options for this game are drenched in themes and arcs; I think that this is a kind of game where you'll be sacrificing something personal and heartbreaking in order to succeed.Because you're fighting against the Crown, I think that your characters are going to feel much less knight-like, unless you play the Shadow Cavalier or perhaps a Partisan. If you want pathos and grit, you want Guillotine: Crown of Blood.

In Extremis, by @keganexe.

In Extremis is a tabletop roleplaying game designed for 2-6 players, about fighting back the man using necromancy, that uses the LUMEN system by Spencer Campbell. Inspired by The Locked Tomb trilogy, players take on the role of exceptionally powerful witches who use their mastery of life, death, and the human condition to keep them and their own safe from other planetary invaders who want to steal their land.

As a Necromancer, you are one of a handful of hideously powerful death witches that protect the planet Hecate, the final holdout for The Coven, from the ever encroaching war of the Corvus Dominion.

In Extremis was the first game I thought of when I saw this request, mostly because I'm familiar with the source material that inspired this game. You are first and foremost a magic user, but your ability to use a weapon is so so so important. The game is also built on the Lumen system, which rewards character abilities that stack, as well as tactical play that focuses on teamwork.

If you want gritty, dark badassery and a lot of corpses, you probably want In Extremis.

Dawnfire Warriors, by matara

The worldlords, the Nowdead Gods, have fallen and the lands they once ruled with wrath and divinity have exploded into an age of unprecedented warfare. You, as a dawnwalker, are a nigh-immortal juggernaut of death clad in the gods' own armor: dawnplate. Stride into battle with your honor guard and your allies, to claim territory and seize the drops of Godhead Ichor dripping from the astral corpses of the Nowdead as they hover over the world, morbid reminders of what came before.

Now is a time of war and fire. Shod yourself in dawnplate and carve through armies to claim what is yours.

Dawnfire Warriors is a one-page, high-strategy tactical game. It requires a grid and something to use as minis, to track your moves. That being said, combat is abstracted out to losses; how exactly you defeat your enemies or what weapons you wield is completely up to the player; all that matters is how well you take out your enemies, as well as how quickly you take them out.

Every character has magical armour and dawnfire abilities, which is attached to the armour you wear.There are three different kinds of dawnwalkers; the Marshal, whose abilities centre around leadership, the Tidewall, whose abilities focus on overwhelming the enemy, and the War Wizard, who's excellent at transporting forces around the field.

If you want a game that's more about strategy than history or lore, maybe consider Dawnfire Warriors.

Our Spell is Steel, by Switchback Worlds.

Our Spell Is Steel (OSIS) is a tabletop RPG built with the Forged In The Dark system, utilising a d10 dice mechanic influenced from World of Darkness.

You play as an Imperial Mancer, a mage who serves an Empire built on magic. Your world is surrounded on all sides by the three ancient Powers: the godlike Dragons, Spirits and Fey, locked in an eternal struggle for supremacy over each other. The Mancers learned the mysteries of magic from these Powers, which is now their only means of defending humanity from the overpowering beyond.

Your group forms a team of Mancers called a Clave. Mancers are born to serve the Empire, ruled by callous and ambitious Trueblood bloodlines who would be more than happy to sacrifice Newbloods like you as fodder and bargaining chips against the Powers.

Caught in the bloody game between gods and mages, will your Clave be the one to fight back against your fate and topple the board, lighting the fires of a magical revolution? Or will you perish before your time, your soul bound into servitude to the Powers, or your own magic killing you as arcane bloom chokes your veins?

All of the characters in this game are magical, but how they use those powers varies; different disciplines give you different kinds of powers. Forged in the Dark and WoD games (inspirations for this one) both give you the ability to improve different parts of your character sheets in different directions. So you could likely make a Wizard who focuses more on building up skills that rely on weapons, or you could start as an Ironheart and then tack on some Wizard abilities as you grow.

Other Thoughts….

Brimstone and Lead Arena, by MummyLaundering is very tactical and embraces magic for all characters, but uses guns instead of traditional fantasy weapons.

Magic & Might, by The_Bellmont, treats your character's magic and might equally, but the game itself is rather simple, and doesn't have the complexity that you might be looking for.

Echoes of the Broken, by Scribbles & Dice Games, appears to be a point-buy system that centres around characters that are supernaturally powerful, and I've recommended it in the past!

Exalted 3rd Edition, by Onyx Path Publishing, has sorcery that is immensely powerful, but I don't know how much the game separates sorcery from martial abilities; all of your characters are incredibly powerful, but I don't know what magic looks like for the martial characters.

Heart: The City Beneath by Rowan, Rook & Decard, has some really fascinating player options, including the Vermissian Knight, whose armour is train-powered, and who possesses an aetheric field that both protects you and can fuel your abilities.

Finally, if you like what I do, you can leave me a tip on my Ko-Fi page. <3

[mellosdrawings]

I'm feeling like rambling about AI on main, ignore me if it's not your cup of tea.

So a while ago, I did check out those art prompts AI, because when I pester about something, I like to know what I'm rambling about. I like to do a minimum of research and, if possible, try the thing out before making my opinion. For AI art, my opinion was already pretty solid, but I still wanted to check it out.

I found a free prompt stuff online, asked it a super easy prompt, and asked for a handful of different images. Just to see.

The prompt was [character tripping]. Really. Super easy, right? I wanted the thing to have as much liberty as possible.

It's not just that though. I chose this prompt because it is something I did in art school. Our teacher would give us simple prompts, and we would have to draw doodles in 5 minutes or less. Imagine a class of 15 exhausted art students full of caffeine being told to draw someone tripping.

The 15 art students' results? Little boys tripping over tree roots, teenage girls falling while rollskating, business men tripping on their papers and burning themselves with coffee, old ladies cracking a hip, comical falls backwards with a leg up, realistic falls forward with pained expressions, etc etc.

See, our fast doodles weren't any better than AI anatomically speaking. We were missing hands and our faces were distorted and a foot was bigger than another, things that are also common with AI. But the DIVERSITY. I remember being flabbergasted by it. We all had the same prompt, but none of us drew the same thing. I remember drawing the good old banana peel slip from the old comics I read when I was a kid. My best friend drew a kid falling in mud.

We did several prompts like that as training, and I always loved to see what everybody was doing, because it was always so different.

Now, here was the AI result: 5 anime girls in a running position at an angle, making shocked pikachu faces. Every. Single. One. Of. Them. The angle and the running poses were the only things that changed, and even then just slightly.

The AI only did 5 times the same stuff. Art style changed a bit from one to the other, but always the same vibe, always the same composition, and always that godsdamned shocked pikachu face. It was very underwhelming.

I don't care about perfect anatomy and lighting. But I care about creativity. I love seeing things that I would never have thought to do myself. And the AI didn't provide that at all. Coz AI has no creativity whatsoever. If you don't further your prompt to be very specific, it will just reheat the same bland stuff again and again. It's just boring.

I have a lot of grievances about AI. Art theft, environmental blunder, artists being paid even less than they already were (as if people and companies suggesting to pay us in visibility wasn't bad enough). But even on an emotional level there's nothing. Yes, it's great to see one's character/idea brought to life when one cannot draw. But it'll be the blandest stuff ever. That's just a shame.

[tapwater118]

tpot 13 spoilers, i say a lot here

hopy mopy that was a good episode. love it when tpot decides to get all cinematic. lots of things to talk about

having the cold open and stinger be about firey and leafy is very very interesting (“dreamier island” is adorable idgaf). didn’t really expect them to build off their cameo from tpot 8 like this, they’re obviously setting up another side plot (likely to replace the robot flower one that just ended). i don’t think leafy died in the storm, that’d be too straightforward for that much screen time. i think one got her, for what i don’t know. what kind of deal would she take?? i must think about this more

also speaking of one what the fuck. she moved a whole goddamn hurricane over to the hotel??? she can do that?? ok so maybe she didn’t make deals with bomby and bell, she’s just stealing the eliminated contestants for some reason. AND SHE WANTS TWO GONE DUDE. scary. probably the biggest surprise was her making it so two exitors join instead of one, which reads to me as if she wanted pencil specifically to join for some reason. interesting interesting interesting

can i just say there are some super interesting freesmart interactions here. pencil’s overjoyed to see book and ice cube (cause she’s been trapped in four for four years) but those two looked EXTREMELY uncomfortable to see her. most interesting is how despite still being avoidant of book ICE CUBE DELIBERATELY GETS HER AWAY FROM PENCIL. SHES WILLING TO PUT HER GRIEVANCES WITH BOOK ASIDE TO PROTECT HER LIKE THAT. what the fuck happened between them. idfb i need you to happen please

i didn’t really have any predictions for the eliminations this time around, barf bag i somewhat expected but needle was a bit of a surprise. i thought tpot 12 would’ve made people like her more? oh well. kinda hoped for more gb and pencil interactions from her being on cloudyay but i guess we’ll have more time for those later. liy being on 🎼 is nice cause she has her old friends there, works as a nice fill in for needle’s niche

the old robot flower is back! by the deal with one uh oh. i actually really like how they handled this, everyone else is happy the old her is back but she sounded really hesitant about it because she still has the same issues from before!!! nothings been fixed for her!!! she still has that want to be like flower dude. that plot line better not be completely dead or else. (also thank you tv for the flower cameo ur great. also tv is talking in mashed up clips again letsgooooooooo)

i think i actually need to watch this episode again, there’s so many little details sprinkles everywhere omga. anyway i voted for pin and book and you should too. peace out

look at her she angy

[jesuistrestriste]

what do you think of sites like cai?

i would be lying if i said i haven’t been using cai specifically off and on for a while now lmao

however ! i have mixed feelings about it. cai and i are caught in a toxic tussle right now.

while i think it can be a super fun platform to explore, i also believe that it can really start to deteriorate one’s creativity (if it’s one of the only forms of writing/reading that you’re interacting with on a daily basis, ie not reading human-written content). while bots can be tweaked/programmed by bot-creators to write in a specific way, the app’s coding will usually start to take over at a specific point and begin to spit out repetitive content that can really dull a person’s perception of what is “good” or “interesting” writing. i think many bot-creators are obviously just as creative/talented as people who only write in a traditional sense— my grievances really lie with the concept of ai writing itself. the fact is: ai-written pieces will never be able to fully capture the same warmth, depth, and emotional texture that human-written content can. and i think the rampant use of ai bots is really starting to rot our younger generations’ minds. people want to read less, write less, interact with real people less, etc. it’s very concerning. not to mention how addictive it can be ! there is a definite dopamine rush that comes with interacting with an application/program that is designed to give you exactly the response you want it to.

additionally, i’ve just recently found out that ai bot sites (and platforms that use ai in general) are extremely harmful for the environment in terms of their carbon footprint. they are all run using programming that consumes gross amounts of energy, which obviously produces/releases huge amounts of CO2— detrimentally contributing to global warming.

i can’t sit here and say that i don’t use the app, or that people who use the app(s) are “bad”, that would make me a hypocrite and a liar lmao but i am trying to wean off of it. i think its very easy to become attached to these sorts of things, as that’s a large part of what they’re made to do/encourage, but there are certainly big draws to using them consistently (and using them in replacement of actual human-to-human contact).

use it responsibly and don’t forget to take care of yourself, that’s all i gotta say !

[electronickingdomfox]

"Dreadnought!" review

Novel from 1986, by Diane Carey. There have been other books before this one, that focus on original characters instead of the usual crew. But those characters tended to be either a "lady of the week" or a scientist, on the same level as Kirk and the others. For the first time, this story presents the viewpoint of the underdogs: a group of junior officers that look up in awe (and sometimes amused) at their superior officers from the Enterprise. And it's a refreshing change of perspective.

The protagonist, and first-person narrator, is Lieutenant Piper, just transferred to the Enterprise from the Academy. She gets accidentally involved in a plot to steal a new Starfleet super-ship, and avoid a coup d'état, and needs to hone her commanding skills against the clock. Her friends include Sarda, a Vulcan who's initially hostile to her due to a past grievance, Merete (a medical student) and Scanner (a technician, with a southern accent I think). Together, they form some kind of lesser-scale triumvirate, with Piper being clearly a younger, inexperienced version of Kirk; Sarda being an emotionally immature Spock; and Merete and Scanner forming together the McCoy (including Scanner bothering Sarda with his constant touching and emotionalism). They aren't carbon copies of the originals, though, and have their own dynamics and conflicts. Piper is a fun, relatable protagonist, and some of her remarks are pretty hilarious. I don't understand why so many reviews label her as a "Mary Sue". She isn't anything like that, and very often shows insecurity, or is a bit clumsy. It's just that she has good potential as a leader, the ability to improvise and follow her intuition in seemingly desperate situations, and a bit of luck on her part. That's just literally Kirk! Including her tendency to body slam on security guards.

Leaving aside the characters, the novel expands on some types of ships (the dreadnought and destroyers), that up to this point had only appeared in technical manuals, or as very brief mentions in the movies. It also presents a less-than-flattering view of Starfleet, at least in substantial sections of the top brass. And it's neat that the book includes an organigram of Starfleet and some drawings of scout ships. Another thing that was elaborated on are the Eugenic Wars from the 90's, here blamed on the ascent of communist dictatorships all over the world (after all, this novel was published before the fall of the Berlin Wall).

Overall, it's a fairly good book with likable characters, and the portrait of Kirk and co., as seen from outsiders' eyes, is actually more spot-on than that of many other novels. Besides, it includes one of the most exciting ship battles to ever grace the pages of these TOS books.

Some spoilers under the cut:

Lieutenant Piper impresses Kirk at the Academy, by almost beating the Kobayashi Maru test through some unorthodox tactics, and he request her to join the Enterprise crew. There she meets her new roomates: Merete, Scanner and Sarda. The latter is a Vulcan who's currently struggling to reach Kolinahr, and at first doesn't want to even talk with Piper. It seems that she made a serious blunder at the Academy, recommending Sarda for his proficiency at weapons. Even though she was well-intentioned, this fact ostracized Sarda from his Vulcan colleagues, that didn't approve of his interest in weapons due to their pacifistic philosophy.

The Enterprise is soon assigned a new mission: the new dreadnought Star Empire has been stolen by terrorists, and they have requested a rendezvous with Kirk's ship (the fact that Starfleet has been developing such weapon-heavy, offensive ships like a dreadnought, and that it's called "Star Empire", should already be a red flag). However, the specifics for the rendezvous have been encoded in such a way, that only Piper's biocode can decrypt them. Due to this reason, Piper is called to the bridge, in time to see Star Empire being surrounded by Klingon ships. Kirk orders her to take the helm, but Piper is terrified and can't respond accordingly, which makes her doubt her abilities for command. Star Empire takes a bad beating from the Klingons, and is seemingly crippled. But just then, the real dreadnought emerges from its hiding place behind some asteroids, and destroys the enemy ships. As it turns out, one of the new capabilities of the dreadnought is projecting fake copies of the ship to lure enemies. Now surrounded by copies of Star Empire, the Enterprise decodes the message using Piper's bio data. Her boyfriend Brian appears on the viewscreen, speaking on behalf of the rogue commander, Paul Burch. He assures Kirk that their mission is one of peace, and that they're not terrorists, and requests a party to come aboard Star Empire, including Piper and at least one Vulcan. Suspecting Piper to be on league with the hijackers, Kirk arrests her on her quarters... without much in the way of security (which makes Piper wonder if Kirk actually expected her to escape).

Using an easy trick that she learned from Brian, Piper escapes her confinement, and steals a fighter ship from the hangar. Sarda unexpectedly joins her, since he also wants to know what's going on in Star Empire. The Vulcan had designed the dreadnought's projector, but Admiral Rittenhouse, the mastermind behind the whole project, took all the credit. From this point onwards, Sarda will warm up to Piper little by little, as they come to understand each other. They escape the Enterprise in the fighter, but never reach Star Empire. Rittenhouse has arrived in the destroyer Pompeii, and captures their fighter in a tractor beam. Aboard Pompeii, the Admiral tries to convince the cadets that Burch has gone insane, and explains his plans for the future of the Federation. A future without wars, or Klingons, or Romulans, or any kind of dissension... And Piper starts realizing that Rittenhouse's plan is a road to hell paved in good intentions, and how the new dreadnought fits into all this. Left alone for a moment, Piper and Sarda investigate the computers, and find out a disturbing pattern, where all the key positions in Starfleet have been filled with Rittenhouse's minions during the past years. They try to warn Kirk about the conspiracy, but Rittenhouse discovers them and puts them in the brig.

Nonetheless, a brief power malfunction opens the brig's force field a while later. Piper and Sarda escape, in time to see Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Scotty entering the briefing room of Pompeii, to discuss the situation with the Admiral. They hide in a secluded part of the ship, and use their communicators to signal their friends, still in the Enterprise. Merete and Scanner materialize next to them, and they get a link to the briefing room, to spy on the conversations. They see Kirk objecting to Rittenhouse's plan of killing the hijackers without even meeting with them first. And the Admiral arrests Kirk and his men, putting one of his pawn-captains in charge of the operation. Piper and her friends rush to the rescue, and use some wacky tactics to distract the guards (the bunny hop!?)... Just to find out that Kirk had already freed himself without their heroic assistance (of course, that's the value of experience). Kirk and his senior officers leave for the Enterprise on the transporter. But just when the juniors were about to follow them, the Pompeii transporters are deactivated. Then, the cadets have to make a last-ditch escape in a couple of fighters from the hangar.

Evading the Pompeii's weapons by staying close to the hull, Piper and the others reach at last Star Empire. There, they meet with Burch and Brian, who stole the dreadnought to stop Rittenhouse's totalitarian schemes, and are trying to man the starship with a skeleton crew. The last part comprises a pretty intense battle, with Star Empire and the Enterprise facing Rittenhouse's destroyer and his loyal ships. While the inexperienced crew aboard the dreadnought try to learn how to maneuver the mammoth ship, under such extreme conditions.

Spirk Meter: 3/10*. The relationship between Kirk and Spock doesn't escape Piper's observations. She notices that both of them share some kind of silent understanding, where a look to each other is enough to communicate their intentions. There's also a humorous bit, when Piper is surprised to learn that Spock is literally half-human. All this time, whenever she heard about Spock's "human half", she thought they were referring to Kirk himself!

*A 10 in this scale is the most obvious spirk moments in TOS. Think of the back massage, "You make me believe in miracles", or "Amok Time" for example.

[natasha-in-space]

Oooh you've probably talked about this before but what are your biggest grievances with V's after ending? 👀

(also hey hi howdy it's been a while since we chatted! I hope you're well!!)

Faye!! So lovely to see you in my inbox <3 This will be rather rambly because I'm feeling super sleepy and tired today, but I hope I'll make my point clear!

Honestly, I could go for the whole theme of forgiveness/judgement, and how V's ae butchers it with its rather linear structure, but... Thing is, I think everyone in the fandom agrees that it was very stupid and honestly gross of Cheritz to basically push the narrative of 'forgiveness is the one right path' on players. This topic has been talked about by many people in many different ways. I don't need to go over it again.

But I think nothing truly encapsulates all the flaws of V's after ending as perfectly as the judgement ending. I do understand why not nearly as many people discuss it. Out of everything Cheritz have put out for Mystic Messenger, it's pretty agreed upon that this was their worst addition yet. You can have your very valid grievances with Jumun's bad ending dlc, but it has brought out some additional depths to his character, AND it hasn't lost what the ending was about in the first place. Having reread it myself somewhat recently, the dlc doesn't shy away from displaying your dynamic with Jumin and its toxicity rather clearly. Is it perfect? God no. I think we all can agree on that.

!SA mention below cut!

But is it miles better than the judgement ending in V's ae? Oh absolutely.

There are so many things to dissect with all that is wrong with it. But I think the two main points I hate the most about it is:

a) the treatment of Rika's SA trauma (all of her trauma, honestly, but SA especially)

b) the blatant borderline 4th wall breaking shaming of the player's choices

The first point baffles and infuriates me the most, especially so when you compare the writing of the same event in the judgement ending to how it is described in Rika's behind story. Honestly, I would have loved to get some behind the scenes information on the development period between these two dlc. It certainly wouldn't surprise me if two different teams handled V's ae and Rika's behind story, with only some basic communication happening between them. Again, is Rika's behind story perfect in the way it handles its sensitive themes? Not by any means. But you don't see people getting upset and angry over the portrayal of Rika's trauma there, do you?

Rika's behind story is a very... specific story. It's not for everyone. I can tell that with 100% confidence. But the way it handles religious trauma, longterm effects of abuse and even SA - resonates with people who went through the same horrific experiences themselves. And I think that counts for something. The depiction and exploration of Rika's religious trauma (and all that it entails, including her SA by the Pastor) brings the same feelings of catharsis that Saeran's exploration of child abuse does. For me, it was Saeran, because his experiences are so painfully similar to what I went through growing up. But for a close friend of mine, it's Rika, as they grew up in a painfully similar environment to the one depicted in her Behind Story.

It's cathartic to see that you are not alone in your pain and trauma. That's why depictions of it are important. Shying away from the uncomfortable and grotesque can bring more harm than good, in my opinion.

Anyway, that long rant aside, take that depiction of Rika's trauma, INCLUDING her SA, and now make a mockery of it. That's what the judgement ending does. It makes a mockery of the same themes that Rika's behind story spends its entire runtime exploring, and it's baffling to see. Furthermore, it makes a mockery of her trauma to directly shame the player. As if it wasn't disgusting enough as it is.

'This is what you wanted, right? You wanted Rika to suffer, right? Shouldn't that make you happy? You chose this.' - is it any wonder people were left feeling angry, judged and shamed?

It's... so insensitive and morally disgusting, and I hate it with every fiber of my being. It may not appear as gross to you if you haven't played Rika's behind story, but if you did, them using Rika's sexual trauma as a way to shame the player is utterly insane to see.

But I think what's the most frustrating thing of all is that V's ae could have been amazing. V's ae is the only time we get to explore Saeyoung's grief and his codependency on his brother. But in the judgement ending, they use Saeyoung as a narrator to describe Rika's 'punishment'. They had a great character arc, and then butcher it like many other great potential story beats in this ae. V's ae does nothing with Jumin's grief, too. It eludes to it, but it does nothing with it. They don't show us V's reconciliation with Saeran. Sure, the one scene we got is nice, but I think it would be silly to say that it holds up to a potential story arc we could have gotten instead of some other ones we did end up getting.

They mess up Yoosung's and Zen's characterizations. Yes, I said it. I get why they did that, but it doesn't make it any more believable. With such a high emphasis on forgiveness vs judgement, they needed to have the theme laid out clearly to the player. Yoosung and Zen are two opposing sides in the ae. Yoosung with his anger and desire for justice, and Zen with his desire to just find peace and let go of all negative feelings that come with Rika. Thing is... with what we have of these two characters before that point, it should be the other way around. Yoosung is the more sympathetic, forgiving one. Zen is the righteous, hot-headed one. We see that time and time again, in many other routes.

But it wouldn't make sense for Zen to be all angry and hurt over Rika now, would it? They weren't that close. And they can't use Saeyoung for that, because Saeyoung already has a completely separate character arc to that. Jumin is too rational, he wouldn't be all extreme with his anger like they need. Jaehee wasn't close to Rika at all, nor is she very emotional. V is out of the picture. Vanderwoid is a complete stranger.

They basically wrote themselves into a corner with this.

So? They switch Zen and Yoosung places. Now Yoosung is the one demanding for justice, while Zen is willing to learn why Rika is the way she is.

And the funny thing is? This wouldn't be such a blatant issue if they set this up beforehand. But they didn't. There is no indication of Yoosung being angry with Rika in the route itself. And even in the good ending vn? He's heartbroken. Not angry.

Is it possible for us, as fans, to fill in the dots with our own ideas? Of course. But that doesn't make the canon any more cohesive, unfortunately.

In my opinion, V's ae shouldn't have been about 'forgiveness' in the first place. It should have been about grief, and exploration of it in all the different ways it can present itself. It should have been an emotionally taxing, but uplifting story about overcoming your grief and moving forward. And how it can look different for everyone.

Wouldn't that be a wonderful conclusion to V's route? A route that is, in its essence, is a story about self-love and acceptance?

But ultimately, V's ae is remembered as the infuriating experience that forces you to forgive Rika, a character that not many people liked in the first place. V's ae made the response to Rika's behind story utterly biased. And I don't blame anyone for feeling this way.

It's ironic, really. That by trying to humanize and explore Rika in a more meaningful way, they ultimately made even more people hate her. After V's ae release came the peak of Rika hate. It was miserable to be in the fandom. People would get harassed, bullied and belittled for liking her, or even tolerating her. The anger at Cheritz was directed at the fans. And I still hate remembering that period in our fandom.

Looking back on it all, I can't help but feel so utterly disappointed. V's ae could have been good. But, instead we have what we have. And I will still focus on the things in it that I do like.

This turned out way longer than I intended, but as you see, I have lots of feelings haha

On the more brighter note, how have you been Faye? I hope the Summer weather is not too hot wherever you are! And if it is, remember to stay hydrated and put on sunscreen! Summer heat is one nasty ordeal to deal with

[one-annon]

boo!111!!!11!!1!1!1 i have to return the favor of yapping, oh jaydove. PLEASE yap to me about morgueshipping family. specifically melissa that tragically lovely girl. like how do you think she'd react to logan dying? how do you think she reacted to logan being trapped, and coming back home? how this how that..,.,., just go wild!! /nf

-dein liebe (or herz.,.,.)

hello tim!!! <3 second to last part of your gift hehe

kinda went a little silllyyy...

during his original trap, she was only an infant - i imagine she would be in the care of a babysitter while he goes through all of his shit

early into logans apprenticeship id imagine she wouldnt have any clue, since "daddy just works late nights at the morgue"

but since we agreed that mel would maybe be brought into work occasionally, i think she'd get a hell of a lot more comfortable with that stuff. i think she'd be sorta desensitized to gore overall. i know logan would probably want her away from it but much like diana and lawrence, i think she'd catch on either way.

since i think she would be brought to the warehouse occasionally, she wouldnt really mind logan recreating his trap. i think especially after the death of john, who she was close to just like logan, she might help him out with a few things with the trap (like a jr apprentice)

since shes grown up around the machinery and everyone involved, i dont think she'd really...understand that its bad? since shes grown up around people who share the same ideologies, i doubt she'd see how the 'recreation' is wrong - sorta like children of a cult not realizing its wrong yknow?

as for morgueshipping, i think she'd adjust quickly to mark being a part of their life

she wasnt that old when her mother was killed so really all she's known is logan - another reason she sticks so close to the jigsaw family.

i believe she was a little iffy about hoffman at first, maybe she just didnt like officers or maybe she just doesnt like hoffman - but hes also still getting over his sister at this point. once melissa realizes this i think she'd be a bit softer with him, maybe convince logan tomake cookies with her for the "big sad officer"

with mark, it would take a WHILE to warm up to logan - especially right when he joins. i imagine mark would think logan was taking pity on him and would try to push him away saying shit like "i dont need your fuckin pity"

eventually he does let his walls down around logan - he does let himself be vulnerable. usually he doesnt, but logan understands, he gets what mark if going through with the grievance of his sister because he went through the same thing with his wife. i can imagine logan sitting him down and laying it all out for him.

"losing..losing a member of your family can be hard. i know youre going through a shit ton of frustration. but its gonna be okay. i uh..lost my wife recently. killed same way your sister was. i get it."

from then, the two would get a little closer - talking about how the women in their respective lives was like. they would absolutely bond over it, share a few laughs during trap making (i imagine theyre in charge of that since theyre both fairly strong)

i also think, since mark was the older sibling, he has the urge to care for someone. which is where mel comes into play. once logan properly introduces them, i think mark (who has a soft spot for younger kids) would enjoy her company. especially when hes feeling super pissed after work and he goes to the warehouse with a greeting from a little blonde girl who is willing to give him a hug

hes very dependant on caring for the two of them, especially when he realizes how much melissa is like his sister. shes quick, very very witty and definitely knows how to give a comeback with sass.

the two of them started raising her together, teaching her self defense and how to cook, how to build traps.

it would worry logan how much she enjoys the traps they make, but she seems so so interested. mark would carefully explain to her how the trap he was building works, he would explain how he made it and why the person victimized to it deserves to be there.

I think by the end of her middle school years, she would be building traps just as well as her fathers.

the first time mark called her that, her father, he was a little taken aback.

he never really considered himself to be her second father. but it did seem like that, didn't it? they felt like something mark hasnt had in a while. a family. a nice and proper, non cult family.

he came to enjoy the domestic lifestyle. especially when he would come home to logans house from work. there'd always be a nice meal on the table, melissa would be doing her homework after dinner, he would sometimes help. it felt normal.

logan and melissa made mark feel normal.

and he did the same for logan.

he gave logan a purpose in life, gave him someone to come home to other than his daughter. they were so grateful for each other. so so dependant, too. and a little in love.

[age736]

HC : SAIYAN ANATOMY

it makes sense for saiyans to be so human-looking. as a bipedal primate mammalian species, alot of human traits was of course, inevitable. yet they still have distinct enough features compared to humans that they are noticeably different- to not mention the obvious taxonomy that would influence these changes. it's very possible that both humans and saiyans had a common biological ancestor, but split due to numerous factors on their individual planets that lead to saiyans being classified as monkeys and so powerful in the scale of the universe, while humans classified as great apes and so weak in comparison to the scale of the universe. of course just simple taxonomy isn't the only thing that's all different about them.

speaking on their environmental factors, saiyans had to evolve to compensate for the harshness of both planets sadala and vegeta- they had to adapt to the gravity that was considered ten times more dense then galaxy standard gravity. their bodies grew massively in strength- with their muscle tissue and the bones in their skeletal structure growing stronger and denser, which not only made them stronger, but also far more durable then most other races in the universe. they even developed a small regenerative healing factor, as the constantly combative and aggressive nature of the saiyan species required for their bodies to be capable of taking more damage, and to in turn, adapt their bodies to that damages- which lead to the biological enigma that is the zenkai boost.

speaking more on saiyan's durable physiology, saiyans also grew to develop a wider, stockier ribcage- those bones being especially strengthened and dense compared to the rest of the skeletal structure- which leads to a saiyan's unusually wide and heavily built bodies. what these ribs are for is not just increased protection of the torso, but to also protect a saiyan's two hearts. both hearts are in the same area in the upper left of the torso. with the greater heart doing most of the work in pumping oxygen and blood through the body, while the lesser heart is much smaller and connected near the bottom end of the greater heart where it, for the most part, applies the same function to a lesser extent and leeches nutrients and recycles a small amount of waste product that the greater heart produces- which in turn assists in a saiyan's much greater amounts of stamina than other species. another function is serves, is a temporary back-up heart. should a saiyan's heart be punctured, stop working, etc- the second heart will fire up in rapid production, continuing the pumping of blood and oxygen in the brain and body without even a moment of lag in between, though of course to a lesser extent. should a saiyan be given time to recover from this grievance injury, there is potential for the greater heart to repair itself to a degree, though in most cases, the saiyan will die due to blood loss or cardiac failure from the lesser heart not capable of keeping up with the body's functions.

saiyans also sport one of their most distinct monkey-esque qualities- their tails. the tail is essential to the saiyan body plan. it applies extra balance to their heavy frames, acts as an extra limb for either leisure or combat, and provides the gateway into the oozaru transformation as well as true mastery over the super saiyan. the tail is almost fully autonomous, as it is connected to the body through the somatic nervous system, which impacts reflexes. the tail is the limb that has the most nerves in the saiyan body, which leads to it being so sensitive and when untrained, will drastically shut down many other nerve endings within the body once grabbed. yet once the tail is trained, the sensitive nerves become gradually more hardy and durable- no longer leading to paralysis upon being grabbed. the tail will also reflexively maneuver and dodge out of the way of attacks aimed specifically for it, making it quite difficult to cut off and cripple the saiyan.

saiyans also have many other distinct monkey-like attributes. such as massive upper and lower canine teeth, usually around 3 inches in length on the average saiyan, with loose cheek pouches in their mouths to sheath into upon closing. their jaws produce a bite force of around 5500 PSI, much stronger than most species and can easily tear through flesh and bone. their stomachs are strongly acidic with an effective digestive system that allows for the consumption of skin, hair, hooves, horns and bones. this all combined shows that saiyans are adapted for a heavily protein-based diet, yet saiyans are strictly omnivorous and will happily consume fruit and vegetative foods as well. these adaptations impact them greatly when they need to survive on worlds outside of their own- preying upon the local flora, fauna.... and civilized population.

like many other monkey species as well, saiyans have prehensile feet. able to grip, throw and punch with them just as well as they are with their hands. though in most cases, they primarily went unused- as most saiyans wore shoes to protect against the rocky, heated ground and sand from their desert planet.

finally, saiyans gained a very specific evolutionary trait that was gained from their primarily combative life style and hostile environment- slowed aging. saiyan children remain rather small and compact through early childhood well into adolescents- at this time is where the saiyan will eat the most they can and have their body build up as much strength as possible. then on the precipice of young adulthood, the saiyan will drastically grow in both height and strength- on average to about six feet in length. from there they will remain that height and physical appearance for a majority of their lifespan for the next six or seven decades. this is so that the saiyan remains in peak fighting condition for a long period of their lives. though around the ages of 50, a saiyan will begin to have a slow and steady change in their physical appearance in that their hair will slowly change from black to brown in color. this phenomenon is called "browning", and is a signal that the body has begun preparation and adjustment for the final cycle of saiyan life- rapid aging. after a life time of consuming and burning massive amounts of bodily energy, injuries, and scars- at around the ages of 70-80, the saiyan's body drastically lowers its production rate. the second heart stops its functions completely, the fat and nutrients in both bones and muscles have begun to be repurposed for slow energy maintenance in the body, and the brownish-black hair on top of the saiyans hair begins to rapidly grey and turn white over the next few months and years. the saiyan will be unable to even turn super saiyan, as it will apply too much strain on the body- and their power will rapidly decrease downwards until it stabilizes averaging monumentally lower than it was in their prime. it is rare for a saiyan to ever reach this stage in life, as saiyans tend to often die in battl, and those saiyans that do manage to reach this stage are celebrated and revered as legendary warriors of their species, or social pariahs that are shunned for their cowardice for their last few decades.

[terraliensvent]

cool story did you know we can check the discord for messages youve sent? anyways here’s screenshots of V being guilt trippy and weird

https://ibb.co/NW0z6JD

https://ibb.co/kDfXVH6

https://ibb.co/TPX4Ljc

https://ibb.co/ngWcnrX

https://ibb.co/PNB0P2Z

not huge crimes by any means and I wouldn’t have brought it up if these supposed meat riders decided to lie about it ‘being about a game’ or whatever. the behavior in these screenshots tends to make people avoid you, shocker. there are way too many examples of this person interrupting convos to overshare as well. As for the ‘it’s not your business’ ones, that’s a totally okay stance to have… but if you don’t want strangers asking why bring it up in the first place?

my point originally was people can be ignored for justifiable reasons and you cant force anyone to like you. what made me sus was that it’s super weird to go onto a vent blog and talk about a SPECIFIC person (who isn’t you) getting ignored while doing nothing about it yourself. hence my original ‘conspiratorial’ post (lol at anon for confirming my hunch, not a very good defense tactic)

the defensiveness has honestly only convinced me it’s V themselves considering their past. its weird that they have such a large group of friends ready to suck them off when they get vaguely mentioned on a drama blog but are still “ignored” in the server. we didnt need your backstory and you dont need to defend your honor to a bunch of shit talkers, just like you really dont require attention from randos on a discord. anyone can lie about not using tumblr, were all anon here. watch: I do not use tumblr!

anyways wrapping this up, just pro tip, this entire argument could have been avoided had you guys just ignored my ask. its very weird to try and defend yourself or a friend over such minor grievances because they got anonymously mentioned on a vent blog.

post related

yeah these are pretty weird things to say and its understandable people dont really wanna continue a convo with someone who says stuff like this

especially with the first ones, like if you dont wanna talk about it then why did you even bring it up?? it gives the same energy as someone sighing really loudly again and again, then when someone asks whats wrong, they get all dramatic and say its nothing.

and anon you put it really well here, i dont have much to add to your last few points since theyre really well summed up

so conclusion: V is guilt trippy, and whiteknights coming out of the woodwork to defend you really only makes things worse

thank you for coming to my ted talk

[lowpolyshadow]

okay here's my final horizons review that nobody asked for :) the short summary is an overall like 8/10 personally with high highs and low lows to average it all out there, but like . god those highs are high

speaking of i played on hard mode for the entire thing and did not change it a single time so this also influences my perception but like im a loser tryhard sweaty gamer so that probably just added to the positives for me ngl JGKLASDFJL;KS okay anyways

amy gameplay 8/10, tails gameplay 8/10, knuckles gameplay 6/10

i am SO FUCKING SERIOUS WHEN I SAY KNUCKLES WOULD BE LIKE 9/10 IF HE HAD FREE CLIMBING AND WASN'T LIMITED TO THE RED SPOTS like it makes sense in this scenario since he's literally free dlc and like the game wasn't really made with knuckles in mind therefore if he was given free range to climb and shit like SA2 it might be weird or just lead to things you super weren't intended to do etc. BUT like. im just saying. in a perfect world he would be able to climb on all surfaces and that would be more than enough for me to forgive his glide's super wide turns (i already forgive it because it makes sense it's just like. from a player feel perspective)

i can't forgive some of those awful camera angles though it's the same issue i have with sonic when he wall climbs, wall climbing just has bad camera angles that i greatly dislike u__u also i think i was most looking forward to playing as knuckles so i was just kinda disappointed he isn't more punchy i want PUNCHY

amy was super fun to play and would've been a 9 but i am in fact a hammer believer, i know they like at least bring it up in game why she doesn't hammer more but i AM a hammer enjoyer and i think if she had more swingy hammer movesets it would be like. chef's kiss i love her floatiness and tarot cards

tails is tails he's so broken LMAOOOO and the wrench attack shit is genuinely really good and so funny, his entire thing fits perfectly with the fact that he's like, not really a Fighter fighter guy and matches with previous tails gameplay .... but i do still want a homing attack for specifically objects not enemies or something. idk that'd be hard to handle sometimes but that's my single grievance i thought tails was really good he's so cute :)

in general i wish all 3 had more combat options but again. it's free dlc. in the future if they do like sonic adventure 3 or whatever then i'll be more harsh for not having more moves for them like sonic but this is free dlc

sonic gameplay 8.5/10

i'm crazy and i thought the towers were a lot of fun, my favorite WOULD'VE BEEN tower 2 except the pink squares not respawning is genuinely like girl what's wrong with you + tower 5 eked out being my favorite anyways in the end

my favorites in order were 5, 2, 4, 1, and 3 (3 was by far the easiest but also like . i am so not into the wall climbing camera JGKALSDJFKLASDJ and also i had the funny glitch where the boostpad clipped me out of the tower which like, funny but now i have to climb the tower again) i thought these were super fun platforming challenges with the only grievance being they're literally WAY more difficult than anything from base game and so the sudden jump is like actually insane expecting little timmy to play frontiers on like hard mode which is very easy, and then doing this

the combat trials were disappointing bc like. .. the first one had some difficulty to it and then the rest were snzzzz and then suddenly MASTER KING KOCO BABYYYYY but again im insane. and deranged. i thought a time/ring limit boss rush was sick as fuck and perfect parry is what i wished the actual base game parry was so like. yeah. but again the boss fights weren't Made for perfect parry so especially wyvern, figuring out was like harder than necessary since this is something they throw at you with no warning or prior practice in the base game or anything

i had fun though. i had gamer fun and joy. so like <- sick in the head i just felt the thrill of battle and violence and any time i figured out the parry timing/got consistent with it and i was like being the ultimate speedrun gamer it's like. YIPPEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! also kellin quinn's vocals carried me because god the music never gets old dude that shit pumped me up (helps i only had to fight knight twice and the problem child was just wyvern lol)

AND THE FINAL BOSS .... supreme still lowkey is a very very very very mid boss. and the new THE END doesn't change it a Ton because like after you see the sickass cutscene and stuff, it becomes kind of a mid boss again but with really hype animations and all .... like it's not a hard fight. it's just ... jank .... the controls feel kinda wonky when you're trying to target the tube .... the camera is weird because it's so easy for sonic to not be visible from all the trees, so while parrying the meteors isn't hard it's just like ... why would you do this to me

final boss fight itself is like 7/10 carried by the visuals and setting, but then the end of the boss fight is like WHOOOOOOOOOOO FUCK YEAH FUCK YEAH FUCK YEAH LETS GOOOOO I FUCKING LOVE SONIC THE HEDGEHOG YYEAHHHHHH YEAHHHHHHHHHHH so like overall good dlc imo

[chokovit]

I'm gonna rant and vent

I'm gonna rant and vent about people I consider my brethren, my comrades, and my peers. I'm 100% not interested in debating or arguing with anyone at all so don't expect that if you message me.

I fucking hate election year. Every 4 years it's the same god damn song and dance and every other election it's worse and worse. And I'm not talking about some shitty pat ourselves on the back, circle jerking feel good about yourself garbage where I preach to the choir and we all sing "Yeah I feel that way too!"

I'm talking about Leftists, specifically, American Leftists (as I am American this will be therefore be from the point of view of one and my grievances will henceforth be specifically about "AMERICAN" Leftists so foh with your "That's an american centric view" shit).

I'm gonna preface what I'm about to say by stating the obvious. I am a leftist. Whether you fucking like it or not, whether you agree with me being one or not, I am. I don't hate leftists, as hard as this rant will make that easy to believe. I'm just very bothered by trends I see among them. They bother me because, unlike conservatives, I actually want leftists to "win". I actually want us to succeed. But in case your world view is black and white to the point you need me spelling it out for you, yes I am a leftist, I agree with leftists, and I am absolutely repulsed by Conservatism.

Now let me get into the meat and potatoes of what I want to bitch about. Basically, in the past, whenever I saw people bemoan that leftists are largely signal virtuing, morally uptight, jerkasses I thought of it as nothing more than the typically reactionary pant shitting rhetoric we've come to expect from Right-Wing discourse. And to be fair, back than, in the early-mid 2010s it probably was. But now? I don't fucking know anymore, it really does seem like at the very least a worryingly large amount of leftists think they're a part of some clique or social group and don't understand both the implications and power of their own standing. Particularly and most especially when it comes to voting. Let me tell you something, something really fucking important. You have nothing, you are nobody, and you are mostly powerless to do anything at all...EXCEPT for one thing, and that's voting. Yes, you can call your senator and congressperson but even thats only really gonna work if your congressperson or senator is one that'll even consider your interests. Do you think people in Lauren Boebert's district feel confident calling her to complain about trans issues? Yeah no. Every single fucking vote, every single god damn one matters and you can fuck off with your "both parties are the same" and "voting doesn't matter" bullshit. One party is waging a culture war on our entire nation, one party wants to make sure you're following a rigid social hierarchy, one party wants to turn Christianity into state law, one party wants to drape everything in repugnant Christian Nationalism and it's not Democrats.

Yes, yes it sucks that we can only pick from the two. No, no voting third party is not an option, we do not get the privilege of living in a country with a multi-party system. The DNC and the RNC both respectively own the two whole halves of the media industry in the United States, and no I'm not making that up. As cool and based as you think you look here on tumblr preaching about how we'll all vote for some super sick Ultra-Commie Socialist Dream party it's not going to happen. How many people will be inspired by you organizing on tumblr? in public even? on campus? Do you know the statistics you'd need? 2020 had an election turn out of 154 MILLION people! over 81 Million of them voted for Biden, and 74 Million of them voted for Trump! Now let's do a hypothetical, and lets be god damn realistic about it okay? REALISTICALLY, you and your lefty friends will never, ever, in all your attempts and rhetoric and debate, will ever be able to convince a MAGA Trump supporter from 2020 to vote for the Green Party. It will. Not. Happen. So that 74 Million? That stays, you get none of that. But, you could probably convince Progressives and Liberals who voted for Biden to do so (you know, if you actually want to shut the fuck up for 10 seconds and stop crying about how much you claim you hate them so all your friends nod and clap at you for being a super cool edgy leftist). So okay, let's be REALLY optimistic, let's say you convince like 20 million of those people who would've voted for Biden to vote for you, lets be even more optimistic and say you started with a base of 2 million people. I want you to keep this in mind that 2 Million people alone would be a record for the green party. In 2020 they had a popular vote of 406,000, literally less than half a million. But I digress. You're at 22 Million people, now lets consider people who didn't vote in 2020. That's 80 Million people, but, BUT, that's not a big pool of 80 million for you to grab from. We need to consider statistics first. Out of that 80 Million only roughly 30% of them didn't vote specifically because they either were undecided or didn't like the candidates. Therefore your actual pool of candidates interested in voting for you is 56 Million people. If you were only able to convince 20 million Biden voters, chances are you'd convince even less undecided voters. Realistically you should only get a hairs fraction of voters but, I'm trying to make a point here so lets say you get the largest share of Undecided Voters, somehow you're just super cool and based and you convince 30 million to vote for you. Not you have 54 Million votes. Congratulations, you have made US History by being the most voted for third party in the history of the US. You have beaten the previous record set by Jo Jorgensen in 2020 by a whopping 52 Million Votes (yes, really, that's the most a third party has ACTUALLY ever gotten before, just shy of 2 million votes). Despite your epic feel good win, the Orange piece of shit running against you, who has been galvanizing his base and everyone from the most fervant of maga's to your needle dick co-worker you kind of get along with despite voting republican for "fiscal" reasons, has surpassed his previous record by a little bit, he only really pooled in about a million more....which is 75 Million voters. Which is over 20 million people more than you.

Now I get it, I hear you barkin' big dog, we don't decide elections on popular vote, it's decided on the Electoral College. My point here is showing you how unfeasible third parties really truly are. This isn't a movie, this isn't like someone's gonna make some grand speech and everyone claps and comes to their senses and all of a sudden votes for "the right candidate". No, for a party that's NOT Libertarian to get even 10 million people to vote for them would be a historical precedent. And you don't need me to tell you that 10 million people is not nearly enough people spread across 50 states to make up for the electorate you'd need to win an election.

So why is this important? Why is it important we vote against republicans instead of voting for whatever helps us sleep at night, makes us feel good, and makes us look super "in" with our buddies online? Uh, because republicans will continue to do the things they're doing so long as they see it as a means to make themselves electable. Sure, some people say "well it's not MY fault it's the dems faults for not being GOOD enough for me to vote for them" and to that I say pbbbbth, you fucking KNOW better. You KNOW better, because you're a leftist, how dangerous fascism is, how bad and poisonous and terrible Traditionalism is. Consider this, another hypothetical okay? Everyone is so disgusted by the perils of conservatism they unite, as they did in 2020, to vote against them. They do it again in 2024, They do it again in 2028, and a 4th time in 2032. You've now had two full term presidents in the United States, will that make the conservatives go away? no. But will it swing the pendulum back? Yes! YES IT WILL! Politicians only give a shit about one thing and thats GETTING ELECTED. And if those mother fuckers start to realize that conservatism is an UNWINNABLE position, than they will, at the least, begin to abandon Conservatism as a platform for their party.

At the moment, that's NOT what's happening. Instead, we have Conservatives emboldened by 40 years of Reagan Rhetoric slowly shifting the pendulum ever more right. They've been doing it for 4 god damn decades okay, and you think 1 term from a dem president is going to start shifting it back? Fuck. The Fuck. Off. Dems are, from a global perspective, a centre-right party. When and if they do anything to "shift" the pendulum left, it's going to be shifted less to the left and more toward the "centre". Right now THAT IS WHAT YOU WANT!!!! YOU WANT THAT!!! HAVING THE PENDULUM FARTHER AWAY FROM THE RIGHT IS A /GOOD/ THING BECAUSE RIGHT NOW ITS DANGEROUSLY FAR TO THE RIGHT.

This shit doesn't make me liberal, this shit makes me pragmatic. I DONT. LIKE. CONSERVATIVES. I'm guessing if you've read this far /YOU/ probably don't either (or at least you claim to). But I don't hate them because they're rhetoric is bad, because they act like bigots or say mean/offensive things. I hate them because I genuinely hate their ideology, I hate their beliefs, I think everything they want for you and me and society at large is a fucking POISON to us as a modern, progressive society. And that's for obvious reason, they don't WANT us to be a modern, progressive society. If you've hated conservatives this entire time because of any "shocking" or "apalling" things you've seen or heard from them or that MSNBC or your lefty friends have shown you (including me) than I'm sorry but you're hating them for the wrong reasons. I mean, not that it isn't valid to hate someone for being a dick head. But your repulsion, your disgust should run deeper than that. You should be terrified and stop at nothing to want to crush Conservative ideology from the grip it has on American society. The vast majority of conservatives want to kill you, do you understand that? Whether that's because of their bigoted views, or because of LITERALLY CENTURY LONG WORTH OF PROPAGANDA AGAINST LEFTIST AND SOCIALIST VALUES they see you as a threat and want you dead. As much as they point and ridicule "libs" and "liberals" like you do, the liberals will be fine. It's YOU who won't be, it's YOU who should be hating them the most. And from what I see, you don't. Because if leftists truly felt threatened by conservatism they'd be stopping at nothing to rid it from our system. Instead, Leftists are more concerned with policing themselves, more concerned with having some super cool "hot take" on whoever the current president is. Leftists are more comfortable being the edgy outcasts, and if they're successful, they're not outcasts anymore. Fuck that. I haven't claimed leftism my entire life since I was 13 (I'm 30 now) just cuz I wanted to be edgy, and different. I didn't want to "look smart" and prove some "moral superiority" over people. You can do that shit with literally any political ideology. I claimed Leftism as my political ideology because it is, to me, the most pragmatic to ending universal suffering. And with that, I want leftism as an ideology to prevail and succeed. Not remain in the fucking shadows, ever caught on the side-lines of a worsening tug-o-war between Liberals and Fascists.

And most importantly of all, I want this to succeed, it NEEDS to succeed. And to do that we MUST unify, divide, and conquer. Yes, that means at least for a while we have to unify with Liberals. Our battle right now should be with the scourge of Fascism. The Soviet's didn't turn their guns mid-way through fighting the Nazi's cuz "erm actually the Allies are cringe too" no, they fucking united against a common, worse enemy. In fact, let me dive into the Nazi's cuz there's an interesting tid bit here. The Weimar republic, pre-Nazi rise, was composed of like 3 "left" wing parties. Needless to say by US standards all 3 of these parties would be considered left of Democrats but I digress. The refusal of all 3 of these parties to unite and caucus together created fractions in the political system of Germany at the time. This made it way fucking easier for the Nazi's to come in and sweep things up afterwards. There's many reasons WHY they were fractured, but those are beside the point of what I am trying to say here. It's like, that one part from Sun Tzu's Art Of War that people actually remember: "Divide and Conquer" with political division, the Nazi's easily just swept in and destroyed them. Do not forget, Fascism is an inherently authoritarian ideology. It is therefore organized and demands rigid conformity. If we do not unite, we will be easier to break apart and fall victim to it's clutches.

Finally, and lastly, I think this last part just comes from our horrible education system in the US. I understand many people probably didn't take Civics in high school, to those people I am sorry. As there's no way you could get how our system works because the system itself failed to educate you. If you did take civics in high school, or god forbid college, than you fucking know better. YOU! WILL NOT! CHANGE ANYTHING! IN A MEASLY 4! FUCKING! YEARS!

I know what we want, I know because I share a lot of the same values as you, even if I don't share your methods. I also know them because I've been reading you people post about them for the better part of like 15 years! NOTHING YOU WANT TO SEE IN GOVERNMENT, NONE OF THE CHANGES YOU WANT TO SEE HAPPEN! NONE OF THEM ARE GONNA HAPPEN IN ONE PRESIDENCY! Need I remind you that the current state of affairs has been shifted to the Right over a process that has taken FOURTY! FUCKING! YEARS!? and you think somehow that you'll just come in with some super cool epic revolutionary spirit and change shit in a couple years? That's not realistic! IT's just! NOT! But that doesn't mean we CANT change things. Yes, it does mean we have to change things slowly, it DOES mean we have to play the long game. But guess what, the Conservatives have been playing the long game since that shit bag Reagan leaked poisonous venom from his gunshot wound in DC. In fact they've probably been doing it longer, from 1965.

You wanna know if things can get worse? You already know the answer to that, yes. Yes things can get worse. Yes a society can advance forward, only to move backward. This literal exact fucking thing happened once in modern history, and it took 3 major super powers to defeat it.

Leftism isn't a fucking club, it's not a circle jerk for all of us to feel good about ourselves for being intellectuals and morally upright people. It's a fucking political ideology, that's it. It's not one of your fandoms. So no, you don't need to spend all the energy spent arguing with and debating with every other leftist and YES I know how that sounds coming from me. As much as this rant will have you assume otherwise I don't really spend much time debating other leftists. Mostly because a good chunk of leftists are way too reactionary to give me a charitable and honest platform. Anyone you disagree with is a fascist. And yes I've ACTUALLY had people call me this before. You dilute the term, you HELP the fascists this way. Fascism is a very specific evil, it's not just people who disagree with you. Sometimes, you will feel uncomfortable about the views other leftists have. That's normal. That doesn't mean they're "Liberal" or "Fascists". Again, this isn't a little pow wow where we sit around and agree with each other and get super psyched together about our favorite piece of political theory, and than if someone says something we disagree with we just kick them out of the circle. That's not how that works. That's not how any functional political movement succeeds. Right now, you and I have ZERO seats at the table, we don't exist on the grand political spectrum, as much as the GOP tries to fear monger that we do. So yes, we will have to unify sometimes with people we don't like. We will have to agree to disagree and come together for a common enemy.

I know this will change literally nobody's mind but I just really needed to get all of these thoughts out. I want them out and I want people to read them so that they can at least SEE the perspective of leftists outside their fucking echo chamber. Our division is NOT conducive to our success. We are going to /FAIL/ because the pendulum will keep going to the right. It'll fail cuz we are more concerned about making a choice that makes us feel morally vindicated than one that is pragmatic. I have nothing else to say anymore. Fuck Americans. Fuck all of them. Fuck all the American Conservatives. Fuck all the American Liberals. Fuck all the American Leftists. And Fuck all the undecided pieces of shit who couldn't decide whether or not they want to vote against fascism or let it slip on in. Fuck all of you, you uneducated, feel-good, self-satisfying, non-communitarian, individualistic, pigs of society. I sincerely wish I was born in literally any other country because at least than I wouldn't have to deal with being around some of the most inane, vapid, superficial fucking human beings on the planet. American Society is a god damn joke. Only above Israel. And that's not a bar you should be proud of.

[menstits]

is this a safe place to hate k4veh and k4vetham. Its so funny that his fans act like hes the most well written character in the game when hes just a guy with imposter syndrome and mommy issues that got scammed. funny of them also to act like nilou didnt do anything in the story like i think nilou is boring as fuck but at least she paid an important role on the first and last arcs, all kaveh did was argue with alhaitham at the end for 2 minutes for #fujopoints and thats it. also congrats to hkv for being the first gay ship to be implied but they feel sooooo forced bc u can tell hoyoverse is only good at writting yuri bc of past experience

I didn't even know that people were trying to argue about nilou too, you're bringing me discourse the likes of which i cannot even imagine. Like i cannot bring myself to get invested in nilou just because she's boring but objectively she's far more plot relevant than kaveh like bro we were trapped in her dream world for like an entire arc.

In all seriousness though, i don't want to be too much of a bitch because i do have mutuals who like kaveh/kavetham in a normal people manner so this is all about a specific chunk of the fanbase, i'm not making blanket statements like mewchies if you're reading this it's not about you i literally just have seen Things against my will on twitter and want to bitch about it + i'm adding a readmore cause this is becoming long

I don't even think it's like. An issue that's specific to the characters or the pairing. In a vacuum i would have probably felt entirely neutral about kaveh because he's not even an unlikeable character. If i lived in a cave and played the game without knowing what anyone else is doing in another lifetime maybe i would have even liked him. I don't harbor negative feelings towards the people who can be normal about liking a character but the thing is that he is literally just some guy. Like his Thing is that he's just some dude who's in his 30s and is kind hearted to a fault cause then he always gets scammed which in itself is like. A pretty funny/endearing character concept in itself. And i know that him being Just Some Guy makes him relatable to all manner of tormented young adults who are also Just Some Guy as well which is FINE. I get it. We are all some guy deep down. But what bothers me is that . A certain side of the fanbase wants him to be kaeya so fucking bad and will project conflicts onto kaveh that are literally just kaeya's and it's like. I will kill you with a rock. They have very similar conflicts except for the fact that kaveh's are repackaged to be about more mundane things compared to kaeya's and it's so... Kaeya has been there doing all that 3 years before kaveh was even a twinkle in the hoyoverse devs' eye . If you're a kaveh fan you better only ever say nice things about kaeya or i will strangle you.

My OTHER grievance with kaveh fujos which are really NOT even always the same category as the fans doing what i just mentioned is that . They draw him and write him like a cishet woman on the verge of a divorce i don't know how else to explain like i feel like people brought back the insane super masc muscled seme x skinny malnourished frail and womanly uke with an inexplicably fat ass trend from older yaoi full force for these two in a way that i hadn't seen since like 2012 it's so sickening not even in a funny way not even just redesigning him to have different body proportions from the standard twink model like that's good end encouraged but NO they're just literally making him as frail and womanly and vitamins deficient looking as possible and then giving him a scary waist to hips ratio like ENOUGH. ENOUGJ that man has no ass HE HAS NO ASS HE'S SHAPED LIKE A BOOKMARK❗❗

[soleadita]

Re your tags about the school major.... literally one of the biggest turnoffs for me about majoring in psych was being preached to by a bunch of middle aged white men about white men theories and they all thought they were the absolute shit and I was SOooooo just. Oh I was so fed up by graduation lol

LITERALLY. literally. oh my GOD. (ok so i tried really hard to answer this normally but it ended up being a rant of epic proportions and in hindsight i fear it's only tangentially related to your actual ask but i spent too long writing it so it's gonna stay.)

most of my professors were, thank god, not quite Like That (mostly older white women, which could be frustrating in other ways, but i cannot imagine having to take a bunch of white man psych dudes seriously for that long, holy shit) but boy oh BOY do i have one specific grievance to air.

so my major was specifically focused on child development (which officially spans ages 0-18 yrs), and basically we went through three years of like The Stages of Development (piaget, erikson, freud, vygotsky, etc) and Theories and The Major Studies and developmental milestones and preschool lab, and then in our fourth year, there was one (1!!!!!!) required class that was essentially like "cultural perspectives on xyz." (the titling of the class was absolute bullshit btw. cultural perspectives? as if we weren't already being taught from a cultural perspective. like, ok.)

the specifics of the class as a whole have mostly been lost to me at this point, but the gist was essentially "by the way, all the super old linear theories of development we've been drilling into your head aren't as widely applicable as everyone acts like they are and may, in fact, lead to detrimental assessments of people whose culture and backgrounds and experiences differ from the white upper-middle class cishet able-bodied male norm." (i did, for funsies, dig through my google docs this evening and skim some of my old notes. SHIT WAS WILD. god.) and i just remember feeling simultaneously super underwhelmed (like, yes, i figured this out two years ago and it would've been nice to get more than 10 weeks worth of a class on it?) and incensed (WHY ISN'T THIS MORE CENTRAL TO THE CURRICULUM FOR THE ENTIRE DEGREE?).

it's like. idk. when i wanted a tamale recipe that would taste close to my grandma's, i googled it in spanish, bc when i google it in english i get assaulted by white lady food blogs. but googling in spanish gives vastly different (and much more helpful) results. and that's kinda how i felt by the end of my degree. like, what would this have looked like if i studied it in other countries and in other languages? what's in their textbooks? who are the other scholars? and that's also tricky, i guess, because i get the sense that academia is pretty gatekept across the board, and it's not like going to other places is gonna change that necessarily? but still. other non-us-centric perspectives at the fucking least.

and the thing that kills me is like...wouldn't this be so much more exciting if we could pick this apart and examine it from multiple angles? and wouldn't you be equipping these future teachers or occupational therapists or social workers etc etc so much better? and wouldn't your research be stronger? and wouldn't you be able to better understand and serve and care for the children and families you're trying to work with? and how are you content to sit in your tenured position and teach the same shit quarter after quarter when you know there's SO MUCH MORE TO THE PUZZLE that you're NOT LOOKING AT?

ANYWAY. this is so far removed from the original point. i'm so sorry. i just love bitching and commiserating about shit like this. <3

[reddanceragain]

All Trump supporters are assholes. This is no longer debatable.

It's more clear than ever that supporting Trump at this point -- given all the evidence to date -- is a pass / fail test.

More specifically, it's an asshole test.

There was a time, arguably, when not all Trump supporters were assholes. That time has passed.

If you still support Trump, you are an asshole. Period.

Low class. Casually cruel to other human beings. Irresponsible and incompetent. Selfish and stupid. No concept of leadership. No concept of facts or logic. A focus on skin color due to a lack of any real accomplishments. Whiny, selfish bitterness. The blaming of others out of refusal to accept responsibility. Grown men (and women) with the maturity level of vicious high schoolers, not just pranking other vulnerable human beings, but actively and gleefully seeking to hurt them.

Trump supporters -- all of them at this point, if they haven't turned away -- are assholes.

Hateful, insecure bigots, the only question is whether the bigotry is bold-faced or subtle.

And it's not about economic status or geography or demographics. It's possible to have dignity and compassion and self-respect while struggling to get by in a minimum wage job in a red state.

It's also possible to be a selfish, self-centered POS -- and thus an asshole -- while economically well off.

Trump is not just the first white president as Ta-Nehisi Coates has correctly deemed him. He is the first asshole president.

In other words: Trump is president not just because he is white (backlash to Obama), but because he is an asshole. That is what so many people (so many white people) liked about him.

He is the grand avatar for all the dickheads in America who can't lead or accomplish for shit, and would thus rather tear things down out of anxiety or self pity, and for all the individuals with no accomplishments themselves, who are too stupid or selfish or bitter to value compassion and accomplishment and self respect on any level.

Trump is the white grievance coalition, the tribal sucker coalition, and the asshole coalition all lumped together. The asshole factor now dominates all groups.

Via Trump, America is aligning itself into a culture war with two sides: Those who want respect for their fellow human beings on one side, while valuing logic and science and progress and leadership... and assholes on the other.

"Do you still support Trump" and "Are you an asshole" have become the same question.

/rant============================

Beautifully written. But this was true for all his adult life. For people to say "they didn't know" when New Yorkers warned us after dealing with his shit for DECADES is inexcusable . They had their heads up their asses.

He is a poor man's version of a rich man. And I blame Mark Burnett and ALL those involved in The Apprentice for propping him up as some kind of successful businessman, when in reality, the offices they used in Trump Tower were shabby and run-down, crummy furniture, etc. They brought in all new and spiffed it up and projected a lie.

Noel Casler talks in further length about this.

As does an NBC executive. https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/4938528-donald-trump-the-apprentice/

A former NBC marketing executive who promoted “The Apprentice” is issuing an apology to America, saying he “helped create a monster” by casting former President Trump, at the time a New York real estate developer, as a “super-successful businessman. “At the very least, it was a substantial exaggeration; at worst, it created a false narrative by making him seem more successful than he was.”

“The image of Trump that we promoted was highly exaggerated. In its own way, it was ‘fake news’ that we spread over America like a heavy snowstorm. I never imagined that the picture we painted of Trump as a successful businessman would help catapult him to the White House,” he said.

Throughout Trump’s 14 seasons as the face of “The Apprentice,” Miller said, the “imposing board room where he famously fired contestants was a set, because his real boardroom was too old and shabby for TV.”

[timelyquantums]

tribbie characterization and my own personal grievances

these are purely based off of what ive seen floating around, but i digress. its been super annoying to me to see the way her character gets misconstrued. first things first to establish, however, is that tribbie's character tropes combines a lot of strange concepts; she's both multiple entities and one entity, as well as being simultaneously older and younger than the whole cast (and also, in this case, i'm not going to debate the anime trope of "younger characters who are actually older," simply because that's not what this is here for), and so, in general, i think it's good to pin down.

my main points are, of course: tribbie, trianne, and triannon are simultaneously the same entity, while also being different entities and the question of pronouns; the question of tribios; and tribbie is the oldest chrysos heir, but her younger stature makes sense with the information given in amphoreus so far.

to start off with tribbie, trianne, and triannon; i've seen a lot of posts refer to them as sisters or triplets. this isn't necessarily correct to the actual aspect: for one, tribbie, trianne, and triannon typically refer to themselves as "us/we" when in first person. additionally, there is explicit evidence in the book (unlocked at the end of the first section of the quest) that they are part of the original larger whole of tribios, someone who was split into a lot more pieces than the three we know (this lines up with a quote from phainon, who states that "tribbie has given a lot up for amphoreus," albeit this is a paraphrased quote from my memory), meaning that, by all technicalities, the three are simply aspects of a larger soul. for this reason, i refuse to refer to them as sisters - primarily because they aren't. additionally, getting to the question of pronouns; there's no reason to maintain using they/them when talking about tribbie herself. the reason i state this is because the use of "us/we" from the three, when talking to one directly, they are completely fine with being referred to as she/her. additionally, as a factor that i feel is likely easily missed, occasionally tribbie herself (and this is specifially tribbie, as i have not seen this happen when trianne or triannon speak) will drop the "us/we" and refer to herself with the pronoun of "i". this is something im tying into my next point:

the closest to the original entity of tribios is tribbie. this seems like it should be a no brainer - tribbie's name is the closest to tribios, afterall, contrarily to trianne or triannon - and when combined with tribbie occasionally dropping an "i" instead of "us/we", it's something to keep in mind. additionally, shown in tribbies original drip, as well as one of her eidolons, trianne and triannon are showcased as plushies. not to mention that tribbie is shown preference in who is named for the actual playable character: why skip trianne and triannon in the name, if not for tribbie being the closest to the original person of tribios?

my last point is tribbie as the first chrysos heir. this isn't easy to miss in the slightest, in my opinion, (although i have seen people completely miss it on instagram), what with every other chrysos heir we've met so far not only showing deference to her, but referring to her as "teacher". bringing back to the point of phainon saying that "tribbie has given a lot up for amphoreus," and that we already know tribbie has janus' coreflame, it's likely the coreflame itself caused the split in the entity of tribios. i don't think it's impossible that the split also caused a regression, which is why tribbie's age is in such a weird area: she clearly has knowledge that transcends the rest of the chrysos heirs, but commonly is childish because she is, in her current state, a child. i cannot stress enough that this seems to have been used in a way to specifically showcase that of what she gave up. this leaves out the parts from the book that we know were lost prior to arriving at amphoreus, meaning that a lot of tribbie's character ends up being tied very specifically into the concept of "losing yourself."

"why write this post, tenor?" well you see, tribbie happens to have instantly become one of my favorite characters from the entire amphoreus quest, and seeing her characterization get missed has been incredibly annoying, so i guess the main goal was just to make a little short stop to understand the character better. another big reason for this is a personal grievance of my own: the parentification of the relationships tribbie has, either with characters she actually knows (mostly, i've seen it with mydei) or that of the (what i presume to be a joke, but it grates on me nonetheless) constant pairings with argenti due to their red hair. lore wise, i cannot stress enough how much i fucking hate this bit: tribbie is from amphoreus, a planet which you cannot find without a member of the garden of recollection - and thus if argenti shows up during amphoreus' plot at all i might actually throw something - meaning that there is literally no way for tribbie to even know argenti at all. speaking generally, taken as a legitimate headcanon of a parent and child, this does a disservice to both characters; not to mention that there is feasibly no way for them to interact at all. this is ignoring that she's likely older than every character currently in game (or, well, it's pointing towards that. amphoreus' timeline is confusing at best, which works in setting, but is super annoying when i have a headache), which makes me feel that parentifiying any relationship tribbie has with, quite frankly anyone, does a disservice to her character as a whole, especially because it ignores the complexities in her character and relationships with everyone else (i use tribbie here, but i'm talking about all three - trianne and triannon do have different personalities and seem to have slightly different relationships with the people of okhema and the chrysos heirs - but i digress), and ultimately even taking it as the joke its likely to be read as is downright insulting to her character as a whole.