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dykedvonte · 5 days ago

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You ever just see a Mouthwashing take that makes you want to bang your head into a wall? I literally just saw someone claim Curly couldn't have been emotionally abused by Jimmy before the crash because he was in a higher position of power than Jimmy.

-Shrimp Anon

The mouthwashing fandom has shown me that people genuinely do believe that certain types of abuse are not as detrimental as other types especially when they deem those immune/resistant, ergo, believing one is objectively worse no matter how it affects the person nor the intersections of power, history and dynamics at play.

Get ready cause this is a yap session:

Cause like it's heavily implied that Curly and Jimmy's friendship was toxic and abusive, pointedly in the direction of how Jimmy uses Curly's belief/comfort in him. Curly wasn't forced to enable Jimmy but he was emotional and mentally on edge around him in almost every scene in some way. Mental and emotional abuse are not contingent on what positions you have at work. Yeah, he's Jimmy's boss but he was Jimmy's friend first and it's like getting into Psych discussion to talk about how social power tends to overshadow any perceived organizational power in the human mind. People are concerned about their jobs ofc but they tend to hang onto and put more value/investment into their personal relationships, hence why there tends to be laws and restrictions around mixing the two.

I always see the sentiments that "Curly is a grown ass man", "Curly is bigger than Jimmy", "Curly is Jimmy's boss", "He just needed a backbone" as criticisms of Curly and while I do agree that on the surface level all of these to be true and viable ways Curly could've taken more control of the situation, I often look at the parallels of Anya and Curly as victims of Jimmy pre/post crash.

The way Jimmy talks to Anya post crash is how he talked to Curly in the pre-crash segments. It's hard to pin-point mainly because we know he hates and wants nothing to do with Anya compared to his contrary but similarly handled obsessions with Curly. It's a weird sort of "honey-moon" effect of abuse Jimmy does in terms of emotional and mental victimization. He is always horrid to Anya, always talking down or questioning her abilities and thoughts in a situation, this of course includes the harassment and assault. However, he has a moment of attempted gentleness/conditioning when he question her about the mouthwash when she's contemplating drinking it at the table. The key difference is he has no personal investment in Jimmy outside wanting nothing to do with him, meaning there is no sort of romanticized version of him that he can condition her off of. He knows this, hence, why he always reverts to trying to make her to scared to oppose him.

This sort of give and take of "kindness" doesn't work on her because she knows he is just doing it to take more from her than whatever he could possibly give but it reflects even the "softer" scenes between him and Curly where he always rewords or rephrases Curly's sentiments and concerns to sound more shallow. He is feigning a deeper understanding by reworking Curly's emotions into something bad and needing to be hidden. Everything is laced with envy and resentment, an outburst just around the corner, I mean he even slams the table in the birthday party scene, a tactic in emotional manipulation to set the victim on edge and cloud their ability to respond. Even if Curly knows Jimmy won't get physical in that moment, the physical actions is intended to make him back down in the confrontation in case it does. This is something that is just not person specific. It ingrains itself into how you interact with the world and life and it shows in major and minor ways with Curly.

Post-crash, the abusive nature is more in tandem to the physical victimization Anya went through and the stripping of voice and autonomy we see take place. Like the parasite in HFIM, Jimmy speaks for Curly most of the time and puts words in his mouth, similarly to how he takes Anya's plans as his own. He very commonly, with the both of them mind you, supplements the worst aspects of himself into them; pettiness, selfishness, lack of understanding... And tries to cover himself with their best qualities; kindness, planning, initiative, etc...

These parallel are just to say that positional power has little to do with if a person can be abused and how it can even be flipped to further the abuse. There is no doubt that Curly could've picked up on Jimmy's envy of his position hence another reason he never confronted him as a Captain but as a friend as doing so would immediately put Jimmy in a space to be confrontational/combative.

I think the disdain some people have when they talk about the heavily implied if not implicitly stated emotional/mental abuse Curly experienced being Jimmy's friend is when treating it as an excuse to why he didn't do more. I can understand that completely because it is not an excuse to why he didn't do more but is a very real reason people in his position in these scenarios can experience whether in the context of a work or social environment. However, I also think the way people talk about it really does demonstrate a bigger problem when talking about abuse when somehow who is/was abused is either part of the issue or enabled it.

Harkening back to the sentiments about Curly's inaction regarding Jimmy, I think the exact phrases I used/have seen show how there is an inherent belief that it is easier to overpower the effects of emotional/mental abuse that go in tandem with the perception of Curly as someone who should be able to. There is not an age you suddenly stop being susceptible to abuse nor a set point or low where you realize how it has affected you. You don't suddenly know to stand up or put a face on to face your abuser nor admit that you inadvertently enabled them to subjugate someone else to the same treatment. Maybe it's my psych brain but their is this growing belief that direct action is somehow easy or always the best method with the game shows you instances where it is not always the case. In real life that rings true too. He should have done more, but it's not impossible to see why he struggled to find a way or didn't even if it makes us mad.

It's not easy to suddenly gain a "back-bone". You don't immediately want to resort to aggression, especially if it mirrors the type you were a victim to. You don't want to believe you allowed yourself to be treated this bad, let it get that bad or allowed something bad to happen to someone else. It is easy to be in denial, to retreat to your thoughts or make excuses to avoid the painful truth. It's frustrating but in a way we know is relatable. It why we both hate and love Curly for it. We know we'd be better, we think we'd be better, we like to think we wouldn't falter in the same ways but it's always easier to say that from the outside looking in. It's easy to see what he was doing wrong because we are seeing it, not him, but the game really does make you picture what you would do if this was your raw reality and it's why this debate about Curly seems so never ending/contradictory. We can all say what we'd do but bottom line is that's much different when you're in the moment with all the emotions and human feelings attached.

I personally think Mouthwashing tackles the themes of rape culture, enabling, toxic masculinity, types of abuse and patriarchy in ways that are meant to deconstruct the typical straightforward views we mostly have of these concepts and how little subtilities of them are just as, if not more, detrimental than the overt/obvious parts. The game deals with the idea of little details and bigger picture in a way to show that sometimes the bigger picture is not the issue but the little details that make it up. It's why I have a personal dislike of depictions of Jimmy as the typical horrible person who would of course do something like this because the game is about noticing the little warning signs, the foreshadowing and foresight.

It's why I dislike the typical discussion of "bro code" and "boys will be boys" for the game because the game makes a point to avoid the standard depictions of such. It is about the type of men who still enable despite not condoning, agreeing or even perpetuating harmful beliefs because they can't see the little details or the ways it seeps into their everyday. The severity is not obvious to them as it was not obvious to Curly, Swansea or even Daisuke the way it was to a woman like Anya. There are little details about Jimmy that should ring alarms but if you are too naive like Daisuke, too distant like Swansea or too conditioned like Curly, they are just off markers.

There is 100% more constructive/concise ways to say "Curly was a victim of Jimmy's abuse on an emotional and mental aspect that clouded his judgements and perceptions in the scenario" while also critiquing on the side of "Curly still had a responsibility to protect Anya as a crew mate and Captain that he failed to do due to biases and stigma's he failed to surpass" without the weird condemnation people give him about should've knowing better than to let himself be manipulated by a person he considered a close, if not family/best-friend and had his own reasons to trust initially. Also stop being weird about victims of abuse in general with this fandom, like sorry not everyone has a like social epiphany the moment someone's nasty to them. People are treating it like you immediately know when you are in a toxic relationship immediately or comprehend when a person is actively dangerous and either it's your fault for not knowing how to leave/cut them off or you deserve it. Like the hypocrisy of people believing how certain fans treat the story reflect their irl views but not their own is crazy.

End statement is: I honestly don't even know man, I've been writing this too long and just like no man on that ship was perfect or really helped Anya when it mattered and I feel like pitting them against each other in discussion on who did the least or most or how it was justified sucks cause in the end Anya always did the most and best thing for herself.

#i also think it is because mouthwashing is first and foremost a game about rape culture and the patriarchy especially in work spaces #regarding women and centering conversation around Curly a man rubs people wrong because it does overshadow that commentary #but it still mixes other topics into its initial theming and message on how abuse conditions you to accept certain things that are harmful #and how getting used to a culture/enviornment does not mean you are happy healthy or most importantly safe in it. I personally like to #explore those aspects where it mixes all the themes so we can discuss the ways you have to watch out for things because there is a differen #in the idea Curly enabled Jimmy just because they were bros and because he was an example of another man afraid to step out from what #is a still oppressive system that does try to punish those who act against it even if they fall in the category of those who would benefit #from it as Jimmy and PE 100% represent that sort of misogynistic system where men that would be “good” are altered until they follow line #in a way both on the personal and professional level as PE is the corporate lock out and Jimmy represents the social and its just the issue #that the discussion of it sounds like “in defense of men” when I am more so trying to discuss how it is much deeper than men being scared t #upset other men but complacency is rewarded by not becoming another person subjugated hence as all the moments Curly does try to do #something we can tie it back to how Jimmy reacts and a possible penality from PE where we now need to address the ways to combat those #two concepts so we dont get cases like Curly or Daisuke or Swansea where male avoidance of the issue is considered neutral or even good.#i think most of this boils down the perfect victim mentality to where if someone who underwent or is being abused is not a perfect example #or accpetible type than their abuse can not be considered a valid or substantial reason for effects on their behavior compounded with the #fact that Anya's abuse at the hands of Jimmy is a systematic issue that Curly is a part of even if unwillingly and was more physically #violating and topical cause sometimes i have to remind myself that all media is still critiqued through the lens of the culture it came out #in cause i do think about what if this game came out inlike 2014 like the conversations would be sooooooo different could you imagine it?#but back the before statement Curly isn't perfect but I feel like boiling it down if hes a good person or man is not the point of the game #but more so good people can still be part of the problem and the idea of condemning a person for one act creates a false sense of #rightouesness and justice that does not aid the victim and in fact aids the abusers in escaping blame for their mulitple behaviors as we se #how the men on the ship tend to blame Jimmy for just one act against them including himself while there is a plethora of things Anya is #concerned about with Jimmy #and its not that Curly just made one mistake with Jimmy but more so we consider his actions more damning because he didn't stop Jimmy #instead of focusing on the fact Jimmy did what he did regardless of Curly and the consequence because we already know he's bad n maladjuste #which is problem in the conversation where the individuals are blamed but the system and perputrator are overlooked in a sense of acceptiab #complacency as we know how they are and the lack of tangibility to personally affect them on a larger scale like I should just make a post #on like cutting out the face when it comes it confronting systems of oppression rather than tag talking but just ask me to clarify if #you want that like im jus trying to say we avoid talking about Jimmy and PE so much cause it is obvious what they do wrong that we make #the initial and inherent problem out to be one aspect someone in this case Curly does and the the constraints they use to force actions

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bonefall · 11 days ago

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I haven’t read these books in years WHAT is the angel fetuses. What is happening

LMAO yeah there's actually been three instances where Warrior Cats made fetuses into StarClan characters. We're joking about Moonpaw's absorbed fetus twin (Starpaw/The Voice) meeting with Clear Sky's first dead wife's unborn kids.

The first time they did this was in the last book of DOTC, on Gray Wing's deathbed. Bright Stream, last seen in early pregnancy and being carried off by eagles to be gruesomely eaten alive, shows up accompanied by Tiger Tail and Pale Sky. Her embryos.

Because they show up in this big fanservicey montauge of all DOTC's fridged wives happily living as eternal mothers in StarClan, I sardonically call them the Dead Angel Fetus Children.

(It's dark humor to cope with how much the concept freaks me out)

And with Moonpaw, I have to explain how fusion chimerism works.

There are a few types of chimeras, but when a single individual is created from the combination of two fully fertilized zygotes, that is called fusion chimerism. That's what Moonpaw is.

And you have to understand, we're talking zygotes as in cells. The fusion of haploid gametes. NOT embryos (developing major organs) or fetuses (has major organs). When multiple embryos or fetuses are detected during pregnancy, but one vanishes, that is called Vanishing Twin syndrome (VTS).

There is actually very little linkage between VTS and the chance of a baby being born with fusion chimerism. At best it's an overstated link. At worst, it is a general misconception of Vanishing Twin syndrome.

Fusion Chimeras can happen in a lot of different ways, most of them fertilization errors, very few of them involving the multiple embryos of VTS. Likewise, the vast majority of VTS cases do not result in fusion chimeras. I explained Chimerism in-depth over in this post, and I encourage you to follow my citations to learn more if you're interested.

Sooooo... we're not even talking fetuses for Starpaw and Moonpaw. If they ever were separate, it would have been as embryos at best.

Which means that Moonpaw is haunted by cells that hadn't even developed major organs.

Ergo, we're joking around about how peculiar it is that Supernatural Utero Ghosts have happened thrice.

#In the desire to not gesture vaguely; it's because Canon!WC has strongly conservative themes and values imo #The exaltation of obedience to religion and clan/family/social group #Emphasis on traditional values and 'rejecting' soft lives #Constant assertion that there are Fundamentally Good and Fundamentally Bad people #Along with constant fearmongering and reliance on outside foreign threats to Threaten Your Freedoms #I don't even think the writers do it on purpose.#I wouldn't even accuse them of not being liberals/center left/labor/whatever #Mostly I just think this is what not examining your subconscious biases ends up looking like for White Middle Class Brits Of A Certain Age #Bone babble #Dead Angel Fetus Children

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kyngsnake · 6 months ago

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Over the years the Fallout fandom definitely has slowly crept further into a “moral high ground over suspension of disbelief” space. I see a lot of people discussing their opinions of Fallout through the lens of their own personal morals that they’d apply to their own life, which is… Strange to me. I feel like dystopian media especially is not the sort of thing you should be judging by your own real life standards. Most things in Fallout are extreme. Most of the factions do extreme things. A lot of the things people do in Fallout would be considered inhumane, cruel or uncanny by modern standards. Because it’s a post-apocalyptic dystopia.

This isn’t me saying “everyone in Fallout is evil, stop expecting otherwise,” because I don’t believe that to be the case. Even good-willed people in Fallout do shit that would be considered extreme by modern standards. I just see a lot of people shying away from discussing the “grittier” aspects of the franchise because it might for whatever reason imply you condone those things in real life.

#I personally think fallout plays into themes of hope and humanity’s drive to rebuild so #the whole raa wasteland makes everybody bad take isn’t my thing #but still. my point here is more that it’s hard to discuss evil factions in fallout without it being like.#taken as a testament to your own beliefs #part of the fun of fallout is observing people doing weird shit in a dystopian setting #part of what makes it compelling too #fallout #which there’s a strange phenomenon going on #wherein tumblr advocates for the separation of fiction and real world morals #and yet I feel like I’ve seen this trend in the fallout community #it’s ok to talk about the legion without reiterating how bad they are every other word i promise

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turtleblogatlast · 4 months ago

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“Haven’t You Noticed (I’m a Star)” from Steven Universe works so ridiculously well for Leo

#rottmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt headcanons #rottmnt leo #rise leo #listen it’s morning now and I haven’t slept so bear with me for the sudden unwarranted lyric analysis haha #a lotttt of the lyrics work so well for him #not even just the overall theme the words just work great #first lyric is literally ‘I can’t help it if I make a scene’ which is one to one with ‘Leo’s makin a scene’ from the rottmnt opening like-#‘I’m turning heads and I’m stopping traffic’ -> Leo has not made it a secret that he values his looks a LOT #-not just his looks but also his ability to get people’s attention #‘when I pose they scream when I joke they laugh’ -> I feel like this speaks for itself #-posing and joking for the crowd and himself #‘I’ve got them dazzled like a stage magician’ -> works both with Leo’s canonical love of magicians and his aptitude with tricks in general #‘well everybody needs a friend and I’ve got you and you and you’ -> I just think it’d be cute to imagine his friends here just as his bros #‘I got you and you and you’ = ‘my brainy guy my smashing guy and eats peanut butter with his fingers guy’#‘haven’t you noticed that I’m a star?’ -> Leo loves attention and especially loves when his feats and efforts are acknowledged #+ he loves glam rock and sci-fi and being a champ and - listen he has a LOT of star symbolism with him #‘haven’t you noticed I made it this far’ - Leo is well aware of how dangerous situations get and thinks himself only a part of a whole #-so hey it’s notable that he’s survived this long yeah?#‘now everyone can see me burning’ -> self-sacrificing with his family bearing witness + all his star and flame symbolism in general #+ how attention naturally goes to him - including bad attention where his mistakes are highlighted and burn bright #also even the limo lyric-#obviously this boy has never and will never own a limo but one of his main secondary colors IS pink so even that #okay that one is just a joke but he would #(on that note though I think the other colors the boys gravitate to outside THEIR color are fun to notice)#I don’t actually know too much about Steven universe beyond the songs and some eps but I like the music #and this just came to my tired mind so here you go anyone who’s interested #may draw something with these lyrics dunno yet #it’s a good song in any case even though it’s super short

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icewindandboringhorror · 27 days ago

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Little bright colored outfit with a fun vest ~

(shoes from ebay like 10 years ago. everything else is thrifted)

#ootd #jfashion #fashion #fantasy fashion #mori kei #....like... adjacent... lol #no idea what style this would be lol.. makes me think of like whimsical vaguely fantasy themed childrens book character #finally posting one of my aforementioned seven million drafts of actual outfits and costumes i have finished and edited #the photos for but just never feel like posting lol..#I need to find one of those people whos like 'omg i am ADDICTED to social media ugh i wish i could get off of it #im just browsing and posting like 60 times a daaaaay!!!' and take a little magical bottle and suck some of the social media #enthusiasim out of them. for moi. In exchange they can have some of my 'literally just never in the mood to post or interact with the #outside world ever' energy. We can balance each other. huzzah and so on #Though I think maybe it's part of the general thing I've heard of like.. I can't remember if it was in reference to adhd or just some sort #of general execcutive functioning issue type of thing - but the idea that things have to be ''just right'' before you do something. like #'oh i need to do this task. but i have to wait until XYZ first' or 'oh i can do this but only if X specific condition is met' or etc #The fact that I even have to be in a Specific Mindset to post. or sometimes will delay posting on social media because like 'oh well #I'm going somewhere tomorrow. somehow this matters. i cannot spend 5 minuts posting TONIGHT. clearly it will interfere #somehow schedule wise with the doctor appointment i have 15 hours from now. yes. yes. i must wait until my appointment is over #tomorrow afternoon. THEN i shall post' or etc. etc. lol. NOT even taking into account the many days #I just genuinely and physically sick and it's not even a mental thing. I just physically dont feel like sitting at the computer lol..#ANYWAY.. trying to get back into it. trying to get a business bank account.. make a proper paypal so i can start selling sculptures again.#selling clothes and sculptures.. posting about such things then of course as one must. etc... chanting to hype up and motivate myself lol #But yes. this is my favorite outfit out of the bunch so I am posting it first I guess.. maybe others later..#Also the purple dress says its from shein. which I've heard is bad fast fashion stuff. but maybe okay since its second hand? I havent #been to the bins since like 2020 or late 2019 even. and I think stuff like shein and temu has only become poular in the past few years #but I bet if I went to the bins now I might would find a good handfull of that stuff. Probably now not much different than what you #find in a walmart or a forever 21 or actual physical stores you can go to though. I hear quality of clothing is down everywhere no matter #where you get it or whatnot. What bountiful joys unfettered capitalism and exploitation bestows upon us (<being sarcastic).#Wearing one of my favorite little vests though. I love the texture of it and the clasps on it

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demodraws0606 · 2 months ago

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How Whit is heavily tied to DRDT's theme of Fate

I've seen a lot of talks about the themes of DRDT's story and a lot that I've seen come up is the one of fate.

More specifically are people stuck on a single trajectory forever or can they possibly change how their life was "meant" to be ?

We see this especially with Teruko and Chapter 2's themes of morality. It ties with DRDT's time aspect as well, the question of if the future is premeditated or do we have agency on how things happen.

Now you're wondering how that possibly ties to Whit.

Well what if I say that Whit's entire talent and his "intuition" pretty much incapsulate the theme of fate perfectly.

Because think about it really, what does matchmaking really mean ?

It's to decide weither two people are fated to be together.

You can't really divorce the concept of fate from matchmaking, it's quite literally the entire concept.

Whit's talent, in a way, literally has him predict people's fates.

But what's even more damning with Whit is his "intuition" which seems to be more than just being able to predict if two people will become romantic partners.

He seems to just know certain that things are true

Here are the three things that he predicts :

Charles and him will be friends one day -> They did end up becoming friends

Charles truly did have a phobia of blood -> It was true, he wasn't pretending

Teruko will be happy -> I doubt that she'll be unhappy forever so uhm technically...probably true ?

Now let's be clear none of those are romance related, which insinuates that Whit's intuition is what got him into being a matchmaker and not vice verca (aka he decided to use his intuition to be a matchmaker).

So there's a highly likelyhood that Whit's abilities is in some ways being able to predict fate.

Which is a huge fucking thing considering DRDT's themes is about time and fate.

#drdt #danganronpa despair time #whit young #whit drdt #me holding whit #“this bad boy can fit so much sus shit”#it really has stood out to me how whit's matchmaking skills just #are so interlinked with the theme of fate #which a lot of people have mentioned as being drdt's main thing

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puppyeared · 6 months ago

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i feel like im not making any sense but does anyone else feel like there are stories that let u run with them and ones that spell everything out for you

#im reading that post that says artists are directors of audience reaction and not its dictator:#'you cannot guarantee that everyone viewing your work will react as you are trying t make them react. a good artist knows that this is what #allows work to breath. by definition you cannot have art where the viewer brings nothing to the table ... this is why you have to let go of #the urge to plainly state in text exactly how you think the work should be interpreted ... its better to be misinterpreted sometimes than #to talk down to your audience. you wont even gain any control that way; people will still develop their opinions no matter what you do #im thinking abt this again cuz i was thinking maybe the thing that lets adventure time work so well the way it does is cuz it doesnt #take itself too seriously that it gives the audience enough room to fuck with subtext and then fuck with them back yknow. i think it was #mentioned somewhere that they werent even planning to run with the postapocalyptic elements that are hinted in the show but changed their #mind after the one off with the frozen businessmen and dominoed into marcy and simons backstory. on the other side there are stories that #explain too much to let the story speak for itself and i think it ends up having to do more with the crew trying to lead ppl in a certain #direction than expand on what they have and i see a lot of this with miraculous. like when interviews and tweets are used as word of god in #arguments and it becomes a little stifling to play around with it knowing the creator can just interject. u can say its the crews effort to #engage with its audience but it feels more like micromanaging. and none of this is to say there ISNT room for stories that spell things out #theyre just suited for different things. if sesame street tried abstract approaches to themes and nuance itd be counterproductive #a lot of things fly over my head so i need help picking things apart to get it- but it doesnt have to be from the story itself. ive picked #picked up or built on my own interpretations listening to other ppl share their thoughts which creates conversation around the same thing #sometimes stories will spell things out for you without being so obvious abt it that it feels like its woven into the text. my fav example #for this might be ATLA using younger characters as its main cast but instead of feeling like its dumbed down for kids to understand why war #is bad its framed from a childs point of view so younger audiences can pick up on it by relating to the characters. maybe an 8 year old #wont get how geopolitics works but at least they get 'hey the world is a little more complicated than everyone vs. fire nation'. same for #steven universe bc its like theyre trying to describe and put feelings into words that kids might not have so they have smth to start with #especially with the metaphors around relationships bc even if it looks unfamiliar as a kid now maybe the hope is for it to be smth you can #look back to. thats why it feels like these shows grew up with me.. instead of saving difficult topics for 'when im ready for it'#as if its preparing me for high school it gave me smth to turn in my hands and revisit again and again as i grow. stories that never #treated u as dumb all along. just someone who could learn and come back to it as many times as u need to. i loved SU for the longest time #but i felt guilty for enjoying it hearing the way ppl bash it. bc i was a kid and thought other ppl understood it better than me and made #feel bad for leaning into the message of paying forward kindness and not questioning why steven didnt punish the diamonds or hold them #accountable. but im rewatching it now and going oh. i still love this show and what it was trying to teach me #yapping #diary

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mythalism · 4 months ago

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im normally not one to defend this asshole because a lot of the criticism of solas is great and valid but i need ppl to stop acting like solas is bringing down the veil to bring back arlathan because he believes it’s “better”.

solas does not romanticize or idealize arlathan. his goal of bringing down the veil has absolutely nothing to do with arlathan being morally superior to present thedas. most likely, his goal has nothing to do with restoring the empire of arlathan at all, and rather is about reversing the damage the veil did to his People- elves, maybe. spirits, more likely.

he is vocally critical of elvhenan as an empire on several occasions. he literally tells dorian not to romanticize it and compares its corruption and depravity to TEVINTER:

he also literally orchestrated a slave rebellion and threw a coup?????

he exhibits some nostalgia, maybe, for things like architectural marvels and of course the magic, but to act like solas ignores the reality of the political corruption of elvhenan and wears rose colored glasses, dreaming about ripping the veil apart and letting everyone die to create a perfect elven utopia just like the last one? it’s a major disservice to his character.

if i were to speculate, id guess that there’s far more to his motivations than we even know at this point, most likely (definitely) regarding the blight, considering how heavily implied it is that he created the veil to contain it, and that that also majorly plays into his need to bring down the veil regardless of the potential loss of life, but since it’s speculative ill can it for now.

regardless, the whole point is that it wasn’t perfect, elvhenan was deeply flawed, but it’s not about the empire, it’s about his People and his personal responsibility to atone for what he did to them. in trespasser he does not say he will bring back arlathan or elvhenan. he says “i will save the elvhen people”. whether you think he’s right or wrong isn’t really relevant (it’s relevant to your own playthrough and relationship to the narrative, of course, but not to the greater themes of the story), it’s not about right or wrong, or whether or not one society was more just or “better” than the other.

even a low-approval solas who HATES your inquisitor and tells a human inquisitor that they proved him right about their people being small-minded and crude will still approve when you help the refugees in the hinterlands and when you leave flowers at an old womans grave. he will still develop respect for cassandra, a friendship with varric. he still plays 4d mind chess with the iron bull to cheer him up. he will still tell blackwall that he will remember the people of the inquisition for their courage:

solas is not weighing thedas versus elvhenan on the metaphorical scales of justice and finding elvhenan worthier of existence, and destroying the other. he is a man who loved his people and in trying to save them, he made a mistake that doomed them, and feels he has to make it right, no matter the cost.

solas’s is not the story of a god making judgement calls on the worthiness of those beneath him, finding them lacking, and condemning them to death. it is a story of a man who has completely lost himself to the enormity of his guilt. it is a story of well-intentioned mistakes, of impossible choices and who has to shoulder them, of losing your personhood for a cause you believe in, of whether or not the ends justify the means, of accountability versus complacency, of progress versus stagnancy, of the role of violence in radical progress, of absolution of guilt, and of loneliness. right or wrong doesnt matter - he knows it's wrong and suggests the process will turn him into a monster. but its not about right or wrong, its about a man alone on an island, who can’t bring himself to surrender, who can't help but fight, knowing it all might end with him.

#sorry I saw a post on my for you section that made me lose my mind for a sec #i usually don’t care but this interpretation really rubs me the wrong way for some reason #i think it’s less about solas as a character being misinterpreted and more the themes of his personal story being ignored #usually in favor of some simplistic good vs evil no nuance killing people = bad take #yes it’s bad to indiscriminately let people die to take down the veil #i don’t even like anders but it’s so similar to how people engage with his story #I can elaborate on this more another day when I have more energy and it’s not 10 pm #phew I’m done that’s my rant #solas

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knowlesian · 5 months ago

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not to project like a motherfucker on natalie berzatto but ohhhh boy the impact of a narrative that says “hey, is your desire to make sure everybody around you is okay also about you? and could that perhaps be partially a maladaptive trauma response you should look into and maybe mitigate? because if it’s a genuine question that’s fine, but if the only answer you will respond well to hearing is yes that’s a You Issue Too, Babe”

#as somebody with a loud and toxic italian extended family the bear comes for my neck over and over #s3 is going even harder on that #nat’s pathology is gentler and less easy to spot than mikey’s or carmy’s or god help us all donna’s #but it is nonetheless unhealthy and bad for her #the theme of “you do not need to be Good And Pleasing to be worth love” is a lot this year #related (and this will take s4 to be sure of but i have Hope) that your ability to succeed in a garbage capitalist structure defines worth #as somebody who worked in a lot of kitchens this show just feels like home #and the thing that kept jarring me about the whole let’s upgrade to fine dining plan was …what about the people you leave behind #and after having seen napkins now it feels like the show KNOWS THAT #tina could not be hired at the bear but being hired at the beef saved her life #god i want them to bring this home #the fact that the sandwich window is the ONLY THING MAKING MONEY feels promising #like… i want the bear (the in-world restaurant) to succeed #but also no. no i do no want it to succeed as-is.#i want the bear and the beef to blend for REAL and then succeed #or i guess fail given the general themes of the season but try on terms they can be entirely proud of!!! even if they fail!!!

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pluvio-floret · 3 months ago

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huh

#Top comic & bottom image are semi pretty much separate things except for the.. uh. theme.#but yueah #my art #tragedy au #dungeon meshi #chilchuck tims #chilchuck #and the others but I’m not tagging them #imagine being any of these characters actually & having seen people being lost to the dungeon #then imagine losing another #& also..#imagine being so careful not to be. only to realize #hey. that’s what’s happened. That’s what’s going on.#try to shake that impending sense of doom #you knew things were bad but oh crap. Oh crap the stakes got worse. They could get worse and worse they got and worse they’ll get #anyway…… yeah hi & w dodatku bye #id in alt text

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tea-cat-arts · 6 months ago

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Something I've wondered about for a while now with mdzs: Did Mo Xuanyu actually harass anyone, or was he just openly gay in a homophobic society where every interaction he had with another dude was interpreted as him trying to flirt?

#mdzs #mo xuanyu #mo dao zu shi #grand master of demonic cultivation #this is kinda just a reoccurring shower thought. i have finished the books and know this isnt ever really addressed #weirdo gay people absolutely do exist and him being a creep is totally possible #but just because of the overall theme of the series being around how the interpretation of the masses is what determines “good and bad”#I'm kinda leaning towards the latter as my personal headcanon #another thing that i think points to the latter interpretation is that wwx him is assumed to be flirting when he's just talking to Jin Ling #idk- it just reminds me of how gay people get slandered irl #like with the whole “drag queens are pervs after kids” bs

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dykedvonte · 5 days ago

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One of my mutuals opinions is the "bro code" thing, that Curly is one of those guys who wouldn't care about the victim because the perpetrator is his friend and I'm really banging my head on the wall like that other anon. I've only played through the game once but Curly's behaviour/reactions etc read completely different from the "bro code" thing and I have to wonder if my mutual and I even played the same game.. like the constant digs at him from Jimmy, his body language in his face reveal and so on like you mentioned in your post. While this game is a little different obviously, it kind of reminded of a point in Alice Madness Returns that makes it very clear that Alice's pain blinded her to the abuse of the other children and her failure to act earlier because of it. Curly is guilty of a similar inaction but it doesn't change the fact he was a victim of Jimmy too. I don't think I can look at it any other way because both of these games have really stuck with me.

I genuinely think it really is the idea that people want a simple easy to blame problem and the idea that the only relatable victims of abuse are those that "surpass" it or do a lot to help others. When it comes to victims, especially those that don't fit the typical demographics, who either accidently perpetuate it, enable it or aren't ideal in some way shape or form, people jump to ignore what they went through as it's easier than dealing with those conflicting sentiments.

The bro-code conversation in Mouthwashing stems from a concept I generally dislike that there had to be something about Curly that made him meet or keep being friends with someone like Jimmy. I think people genuinely underestimate how many like decent and good people just know an asshole or are friends with someone who is really bad outside of their view/established dynamics. The game makes it clear none of the inaction against Jimmy is because of a lack of care, it is a lack of understanding from the privaleged postions they have as men to not have to worry about what Anya does/went through and the type of extremes men like Jimmy will go through to cover it up. They are all too preoccupied in their own strifes.

Another thing I see being oversaturated the idea that you have to be a freak, misanthrope or have a disorder to do the thing Jimmy does. The game is an escalation, it's a spiral that I don't see people comment on that Jimmy was not likely having the mood swings and episodes of rage/frustration we were seeing in the game. This is after they all start experiencing the worst moments in their lives that he got THAT openly bad. Of course, this is just my interpretation but much like in real life, people that go to extremes like that usually live mundane lives. It's a pressure cooker affect to where the stress made them pop. It's self inflicted but still the case.

I really think people need to be more willing to acknowledge that not everything needs to be an extreme or in black and white or easy to understand. It doesn't need to be happy or have an answer or solution, especially in the cases where the abused sadly helps perpetuate what they experience. It's not he should've known better from experience or shouldn't he have known what could've happened because victims tend to not like to think in matters of the worst. Not to mention, especially in cases of abuse where it feels so personally directed that you don't expect to happen to someone else.

#i also hear the bro code thing in tandem with his comments on saying he knows Jimmy but that is also in a much different context than #if he said it when Anya was actively telling him about the dead pixel or the pregnancy or even when she told jimmy that was about himself #and getting between Anya and Jimmy as in he knows Jimmy and knows he wont try anything when hes around not that he doesnt think hes #doing anything or doesn't believe Anya and Im a bit annoyed people shorthand or try to recontextualize the statements he makes about it #cause even the let me talk to him line is more in concern of what Jimmy could be doing and less wanting to make sure hes okay and #being more worried about his friend than Anya in that moment like removing the context makes the sentiments sound more uncaring #and typically but the context is how they are deconstructed to give the story and themes a deeper nuance because Anya is happy that Curly #says that becuase he leads it under the idea of protecting her as he knows and she has likely seen/experienced it enough that Jimmy #back down/off around Curly typically as we see he does relatively subdue Jimmy's attitude before the eval and it only gets bad once the #scene at the birthday party happens when Jimmy is likely in a mode where hes not going to listen to Curly about anything after cause he fee #personally betrayed in a selfish egotistical way like the game is a deconstruction nothing is supposed to a typical one to one on the #concepts it handles. this also ties to me like getting more and more annoyed everytime is see a post making Curly the most milktoast #no opinions ever sort of guy when he does have a personality outside of enabling Jimmy and has opinions on things like the QnA's #talking about him being snow Tony Hawk flesh him out more realistically than think pieces saying he has no opinions on anything #and would never take stances like this is a immediate dire circumstance with multiple facets I dont think hed hesitate to help if he active #saw like someone getting attacked on the street or that hes a centrist that doesnt care about womans issues like this is the equivalent #of when a character gets dumbed down to their like favorite food and one defining aspect of themselves and even then I feel like everyone #else but the mouthwashing fandom has a better grasp of that aspect before they make it unrecognizable.#mouthwashing #mouthwashing game #curly mouthwashing #captain curly #ask #anon

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