#there are others but they are more optional; the above points are crucial

[mashbrainrot]

MASH checklist for whether a character is a Good Person whom we as an audience should like:

how competent they are at their job

(related to point above but not always) how they treat the patients

how they treat children

[onefleshonepod]

On Barbie

I'd like to share my thoughts on John’s choice to house Alecto in a body that looks like Hollywood Hair Barbie.

To the best of my recollection over the past year, I've seen several people claim that Barbie being a famously unattainable beauty standard for women and arguably a sex symbol was irrelevant to John's decision to make Alecto a Barbie lookalike, and that rather the main impetus for this decision of John’s was his trauma, gender non-conformity, internalized homophobia, and desire to return to the comfort of childhood. This argument posits that John's decision had little or nothing to do with patriarchy, misogyny, objectification of women, or impossible beauty standards placed on women by men.

I empathize with the above position to a certain extent — it's absolutely crucial to remember and consider in our analyses that John is a queer working-class Indigenous man.

But………....................

John is not a real person. He is a character written to advance plot, themes, and political commentary within a carefully crafted story.

If I'm Tamsyn Muir writing John 1:20 in Nona the Ninth, and the point I want to make about my character is specifically and only that he is struggling with self-doubt, trauma, gender non-conformity, internalized homophobia, and yearning for the comfort of home and childhood — and I want to say nothing about patriarchy and misogyny?

I'm not having him make the soul of the earth into a Barbie!

I'd be having him model Alecto after a completely different popular 1990s toy for girls, like a Polly Pocket, or Betty Spaghetti, or a Raggedy Ann doll, or another doll that doesn't carry the same connotations as Barbie. Or, hell, I’d be having John make Alecto look exactly like his mum, or his nan, or female Māori mythological figures from stories he must have heard from his nan in childhood, like Papatūānuku, or the first woman, Hineahuone, who was made from earth.

I'm not smarter or more creative than Tamsyn, and the above ideas are just the alternatives I thought of in five minutes that would have specifically symbolized John's personal trauma and nothing else.

But Tamsyn didn't do that. Tamsyn picked Barbie specifically. I think that's worth taking into consideration.

Let’s examine exactly what John says in John 1:20.

Hollywood Hair Barbie's physical appearance comes first in the list of reasons why she was his favourite, and her other characteristics come last. He lists two physical traits and one non-physical trait of hers. “My favourite was her old Hollywood Hair Barbie,” he murmured. “I loved her little gold outfit and her long yellow hair. She was the best. She got to have all the adventures.”

He discards as an option a model of a woman who doesn't conform to patriarchal, Eurocentric beauty standards specifically because of her appearance: “There was also a Bride’s Dream Midge, but Mum had cut Midge’s hair into this weird mullet.”

He chooses a blonde Barbie body that he can mould into and mentally map onto glamourized versions of women created by men through the ages. “I made you look like a Christmas-tree fairy … I made you look like a Renaissance angel … I made you Adam and Eve … Galatea. Barbie. Frankenstein’s monster with long yellow hair.”

Our famous cultural images of Renaissance angels are all idealized depictions of women made by men — Raphael, Titian, Albrecht Dürer, etc. Frankenstein's monster, a man loathed and discarded by his creator, is a more nuanced comparison... but the only thing John notes is that his version has long yellow hair.

I'm not even getting into the whiteness (or the plastic-ness) of it all, but three of John's comparisons here are specifically coded as white women considered beautiful by Eurocentric standards in the Western cultural imagination (Christmas tree toppers, Renaissance angels, and Barbie), and the others are often depicted as white.

Galatea specifically is such a telling comparison. This myth is the story of a man caging and controlling his idealized, beautiful female creation, which exactly parallels John’s goals with Alecto: “From my blood and bone and vomit I conjured up a beautiful labyrinth to house you in. I was terrified you’d find some way to escape before I was done.”

Given all of this, I genuinely think that John's choice of Barbie as a model for Alecto was intended to position John as a symbol of patriarchy, misogyny, and objectification of women, through both a political and religious lens. Tamsyn is way, way too smart to have not made a careful, considered, intentional choice here.

John didn’t make Alecto into a Māori goddess from his nan’s stories. He didn't make her into a cheerful Raggedy Ann. He made her into a beautiful, blonde Hollywood hair Barbie.

[heavenlymorals]

How a Modern Perspective Skews Historical Characters: A Mini Rant on the Hatred of Female Characters in RDR2

This isn't that organized cuz it's more a rant than a retrospective but fuck it it's my blog, I do what I want-

There are so many people who have actual hatred, not criticisms, for Abigail, Molly, Grimshaw, Mary, and other female characters in the Red Dead universe.

And honestly? I find it very interesting. Sure, men will probably always find a reason to hate a female character, but what I find interesting is how many women also hate these wonderfully crafted characters.

It could be so many reasons as to why this may be the case but honestly? I think it's because people forget that they CANNOT analyze this game authentically through the modern lens of morals and behaviors. This game takes place in 1899 America. Let me say it again. This game takes place in 1899 America.

One more time, just for good measure- this game takes place in FUCKING 1899 America. Women had to be dependent on men because otherwise? They'll either be in poverty, exploited, killed, or all three. There was also the honor system. When had to be the moral high ground for their family so them messing up has consequences on their fathers, mothers, siblings, cousins, and anyone connected to their family name.

Abigail getting pissy at John for getting in trouble all the time? If course it'd feel annoying if you're looking at it through the modern perspective but when you don't, it's a woman telling her man to act like a man and be careful because if he doesn't, she and her son will be destitute and destroyed.

Mary not getting with Arthur but using him? What's the likely hood that the law would bother to help Mary when the two people she needs help with are her father and brother- two grown men who can make their own choices that she literally can do nothing about because as a woman, it wasn't her place to dictate what they do. Arthur was her only option. "Girl, what her family thinks doesn't matter, she still should've gotten with him" girl no, because it's much harder and difficult than that- it's like tearing away an entire identity that you depend on to fucking survive.

"but what about Sadie? She was also living during this time period and she isn't drowned by societal expectations-"

Seriously. Do some research, read a book, expand your knowledge of gender roles and what that entails for people because it explains so many things about these characters in such a human way. They aren't "bitches", they are women of their time and people have to understand that.

No. Sadie isn't a part of this discussion because though she is a fun character and an amazing character, she is a mishmash of historical women who did masculine things to survive at one point but then went back to traditional roles, even if they did occasionally go back to to those old activities for sport sometimes, like Anne Oakley or Calamity Jane. Sadie's entire character is basically "but what if they didn't and committed to the nontraditional lifestyle". There are many inconsistencies that Rockstar did regarding the time period that they established earlier to accommodate Sadie's character better. Sadie is a great character but she doesn't belong in this discussion.

Edit: Ok, since this was a rant, as mentioned previously, I was a bit too rushed with the Sadie aspect of this post and ignored some crucial details. I'm not gonna change the post besides just this though. @hillbillyhipster84 made some great points that Sadie was a reference to Appalachian women and real outlaw women who did run and were accomplices in men's crimes, that I was too ignorant to mention prior beforehand because I didn't do much research. I still don't believe that People should use Sadie to bash the other women though, because those women mentioned above were not the status quo and thus were more trivialized because of it.

So many cultures still operate like this too so if anything, you're just learning something new about another culture.

But I swear, anytime someone talks shit about these characters, y'all got me looking like this-

[snarky-magpie]

I see a lot of Jegulus-critical folks complaining about the ship being only popular because it removes James as an obstacle for Wolfstar when Prongsfoot would be the more obvious ship (and I say this with love because I actually love Pronsgfoot), but I think this criticism misses a crucial point.

Jegulus as a ship has become so popular because it has an appealing dynamic on its own, even when you take other ships out of the equation, simply because it contains several popular tropes:

Enemies-to-lovers. Slytherin/Gryffindor, Death Eater/Order member, no further explanation needed, really.

Sports rivals. A softer version of the above. Both excellent quidditch players, which translates well into a pro career after Hogwarts or to various sports AUs. Still a fun take on the rivalry trope but with less deadly stakes.

Best friend's brother. No matter from which angle you tackle this issue (supportive Sirius, antagonistic Sirius, matchmaking, ultimatums, what have you) - it's always fun, and it provides a wide range of interpretations for the writers to play with.

Second chance romance. Not necessarily and not always, but the option is very valid (Regulus seeing the error of his ways, returning to the 'light side' and rekindling his romance with James).

Doomed romance. Both characters die very young and very heroically in the canon. We love tragedy in this fandom. Humans love tragedy—Romeo and Juliet, anyone? Enough said.

Forbidden romance - pretty much pairs excellently with every point mentioned above.

Needed to get this off my chest. I love Prongsfoot, I do, and I could argue the appeal of that ship as well, but I think that Jegulus is popular because it's interesting in its own right, not because of its support role for other ships.

[daylighteclipsed]

What's it about cloti that you like? I'm curious, bc we otherwise tend to ship the same things. I love both cloud and tifa, and they have some cute scenes, but I don't feel it with them. Idk if it's because of the truly awful shippers, or something else. For me it feels like sokai in kh 1, I see why ppl ship them and that the narrative is pushing for them to be together, but i don't really care about that aspect of their relationship. Your answer doesn't have to be elaborate or anything, it's genuinely only curiosity on my part. Other than that, how do you like rebirth so far? I know some ppl dropped it pretty fast, bc they didn't like the crazy amount of mini games. Which I get, bc some of them were a hassle, but all in all i still had fun.

Short answer: I really like their individual characters and their complicated friendship and past that Rebirth starts delving more into, and that’s made me warm up very quickly to the romance between them.

Long answer: Cloud and Tifa’s dynamic is so interesting to me in Rebirth. I feel like the game does a good job of pulling back the curtain on a relationship that up to this point has been summed up as “childhood friends” to reveal how much more complicated it is than that. Imo, these are two people who have always yearned to know each other but never really have. They were friendly when they were very young, it seems, like under the age of 7. Then, Cloud started pulling away, and Tifa has never understood why. And they haven’t been able to really reconnect since then, made all the more difficult by Sephiroth and Shinra.

FF7 pushes romantic angles with both Tifa and Aerith, which I don’t really love tbh. I do wish it was a little more toned down and optional. But I really like the sense of yearning and desire to connect that threads Cloud and Tifa’s entire relationship — and the consistent symbolism of reaching for each other, trying to bridge that physical and emotional gap between them (usually when one is about to literally or figuratively fall), that goes with it. I like watching them bond and get to know each other now, so many years later, as best as they can (considering Cloud’s memories and sense of self are all screwed up), while navigating the unique trauma of being two of the only survivors of the massacre of their village. I like their mutual support, how they take turns supporting/grounding/saving each other.

I like that memories play such a big role, that they both have precious memories of each other that are key to who they are and which no one else knows. Fucking love when Tifa falls into the Lifestream and she realizes Cloud tried to save her from crossing the metaphorical bridge of death/falling when they were kids, and you see how much the past seems to parallel the present with their roles reversed this time. I want to see the whole memory so much. I don’t know if we ever will, but man. I really feel like even if Cloud couldn’t stop Tifa from falling, he must’ve saved her from drowning. There’s a river below that bridge, right? She hit her head and presumably passed out — someone had to keep her head above water, and he was the only one there because he refused to abandon her… I think, metaphorically, that’s pretty much what’s gonna happen in the game. I don’t think Tifa is gonna be able to catch Cloud from falling, but I think she’s gonna hold his head above water when they hit the bottom.

Sorry, I’ve been thinking about this part so much shsbdbsbs I just feel like it’s so interesting and crucial to the story. I think it really helps Tifa understand what’s going on with Cloud and Sephiroth on a level the others don’t. She’s much more conscious of Cloud’s behavior and notices the distinctions between Cloud and Sephiroth. She’s usually the first to notice when something’s not right and intervene.

I like that Tifa is established as the truth to Sephiroth’s lies and the one who can kinda “wake” Cloud up because, unlike everyone else, Tifa was there when Sephiroth (and Zack and Cloud) came to town and Tifa has seen what Cloud was like before the Jenova cells/false persona (even if she’s never been able to fully understand him). She’s the only one stopping Cloud from losing complete touch with reality, which is why Sephiroth is trying to undermine her credibility and eliminate her.

Like it’s really obvious, to me, that if Cloud and Tifa could properly reconnect by finally understanding the past and each other, Sephiroth’s manipulation wouldn’t work. Like, you know in the Loveless play how the bad guy’s weakness is true love. And then the hero (Cloud) and whoever is playing the princess (I had Tifa) try to declare their love, and it doesn’t work. The bad guy just laughs and says their love is an illusion or whatever? That’s what’s going on in the game, I think. I do think they love each other, but they don’t understand each other yet, Cloud isn’t even sure who he is, his identity is scrambled eggs, so it’s not a complete or true love. They have to bridge that gap, discover the truth and really meet. You know what I mean?

I still haven’t talked about the actual romantic stuff fbdbdbsbe I’m sorry, romance is usually always secondary to me. Um. I like that Cloud initiates a lot of those intimate moments with Tifa. Other people usually invade his space and make him uncomfortable. But Tifa’s patient with him and doesn’t pressure him. He reaches out to hold her hand and hug her and stuff. He opens up to her about his doubts and fears. It’s sweet how bashful they are, how realistically awkward they are sometimes. Yeah, idk, I just think they’re neat. I want them to understand each other, finally like really know each other, and I like when they hold hands.

As for how I’m enjoying Rebirth as a game (as someone who has never played the og FF7): I’m really loving it. I think it’s so much more fun and interesting than Remake. Love the open world, the different regions, the exploration, side quests, party bonding and banter, chocobos, whatever tf is going on with those protorelics and the Queen’s Blood creator, the battle challenges, Chadley (I know he was in Remake, but I grew more attached to him in this game), the return of other old NPCs, the new ones, the fun silly stuff like the segways in Costa del Sol. Rebirth fleshes the whole world and characters out, and I’m never bored. I have very little complaints. If it sticks the landing, it might be one of my favorite video games. Rip to the mini game haters, but I’m different. (Except the piano. The piano can go fuck itself.)

[anipgarden]

What Kind of Plants to Add

This is my sixth post in a series I’ll be making on how to increase biodiversity on a budget! I’m not an expert–just an enthusiast–but I hope something you find here helps! 

I’d love to be able to give a quick and easy list of things to add, but frankly I can’t do that. I can strongly encourage you, however, to look at these categories of plants and do further research to discover what’s native to your area, so you can plant things that’ll have the most impact in your particular area.

With that being said, I will mention a few plants as examples. This is in no way, shape, or form me telling you that you have to or even should buy these specific plants. Not every plant works well in every place in every garden, not to even mention across countries. Above all, if you’re wondering what plants you should be adding, I can wholeheartedly say plants that are native to your area--or at least nonnative non-invasive.

Flowers

Flowers are some of the most common ways people work to increase biodiversity in their gardens, and who can blame them? Seeing pops of color out your window, and directly seeing the impact via butterflies and bees visiting the garden? It’s a win-win for us and the wildlife!

Flowers--especially native wildflowers--are a quick, easy, and cheap way to increase wildlife traffic in your garden. Perennial gardens are more likely to get you the most bang for your buck, as they’ll come back year after year if you treat them well. But don’t dismiss annuals--if you get ones that easily reseed, they’ll eagerly return on their own! If you can, do your best to ensure that the flowers you plant all have different blooming periods--that way, your garden can support wildlife throughout the year instead of for just one brief season. 

Flowers are environmental super boosters. Their nectar and pollen can feed insects and birds, their stems and leaves can provide nesting materials for all sorts of creatures, and their seeds are a popular food source among birds at all times of the year.

Climbing Plants

Climbing plants can be fantastic options for maximizing your impact. If you have limited ground space, growing up can provide interest as well as additional habitat for all kinds of creatures.

Training plants up a trellis, fence, or bare wall offers food, shelter, and habitat. Trumpet vines, passionflowers, honeysuckles, and more will provide sweet nectar for pollinators as well as nesting and hiding spaces for other wildlife like birds, bugs, and lizards. Do note that in some cases, climbing plants can actually affect the structural integrity of walls and roofs if allowed to climb too much and too far along a house, so be careful. 

Bushes/Shrubs

Bushes provide shelter for creatures, which then provides hunting grounds for other animals. Their fallen leaves and petals can be food and shelter for detritivores, amphibians, reptiles, and small mammals--and they also provide good cover for moving around the garden, for creatures who like to stay hidden. They can be a bit more pricey to obtain--unless you get cuttings or seeds and are willing to wait--but they’ll definitely be worth it, and they’re typically low-maintenance once they’re established.

Bonus points if you get a flowering and fruiting bush, like bottlebrush, serviceberry, lilac, or others. This’ll make your bushes not only a place of shelter, but a food source as well--and depending on the kind you pick, may be food for you too! Making a garden border with a series of bushes can be a great option to providing lots of habitat, if you can manage it.

Shrubs with pithy or hollow stems are excellent options for supporting solitary bees. Some examples you could look into are elderberry, raspberry, blackberry, or sumac.

Trees

Trees have a high up-front cost and take awhile to grow, but once they’re settled in place they provide crucial habitat to all kinds of creatures! Insects will be attracted to flowers they may provide, or to nest in the wood. Others may eat the leaves as food, or use them as nesting materials. Birds will perch and nest in trees, and feed off the fruits and seeds and insects that also use the tree. Squirrels also use trees as nesting places, piling up dead leaves into huge clusters to raise their young in, and will absolutely feast on any nuts the tree may provide. Mice, badgers, and more will feast on fallen fruits or seeds, and bats roost in the trunks when given the chance. Detritivores eat fallen leaves and decomposing fruits, providing further food for hunting creatures. Trees can also be good for us--they help block out noise and air pollution, and are the poster child for taking CO2 and making it breathable oxygen. Not to mention they can provide plenty of food for us, too. Nesting grounds, hunting grounds, shelter from weather, and more--trees are, in my opinion, likely to be the best way to boost biodiversity long-term. If you can get your hands on a sapling for cheap and can care for it for awhile, I’d definitely give it a shot! Make sure the tree won’t get too big for where you’re growing it, though--you’ve definitely gotta plan for the long-term before you plant any. 

Some trees can be grown in containers. Though they won’t become gigantic branching behemoths, they’ll still do their part to support all the life that depends on them. Growing a tree from seed may take awhile, but could be an easy option to getting one if you have the patience--the trees are more than happy to help you, as they drop tons of seeds and fruit in fall for you to gather. 

Groundcover

Bare soil is the enemy of microbial life in the soil, and while small pockets of bare soil can be great nesting places for bees and other insects, having swaths of empty soil should be avoided. Groundcover plants grow low to the ground in a sprawling habit, and will often spread quite easily on their own. This is a great way to provide shelter, keep soil temperatures cool, block out weeds, and give your soil life a chance to thrive.

Sometimes, ground covers don’t even have to be planted in the ground. Shallow-rooted plants like succulents, ferns, and alyssum can be planted into cracks in stone walls, and moss can be planted by making moss graffiti and painting it onto a surface. As with climbing plants, do make sure that you don’t cause extra damage to important walls and housing foundations.

Host Plants

Host plants get their own section, because plants of all kinds can be host plants for different creatures! It’s common to think only flowers can be host plants in the beginning, but in reality, many bushes and trees are host plants to dozens of species of butterflies and moths. Honestly, I feel that factor's not talked about enough. Look up what insects live in your area and what kind of host plants they need, and plant some if you can! Bonus points if you can plant a variety of them--I know that there’s hundreds of kinds of milkweed, each one flowering and leafing up around different times of the year. Planting several varieties of milkweed, then, would provide monarchs with food through several seasons, allowing many more of them to grow up in your garden!

Nectar Plants

Plants that provide nectar to insects is a great foundation to increasing biodiversity! This is, of course, many native wildflowers (and even nonnative wildflowers, though be sure they aren’t invasives who’ll do more harm than good), but many native bushes, vines, and trees will also provide nectar to hungry pollinators! 

Keystone Species

To be frank, some plants can have a bigger impact than others in a landscape. By all means, every bit helps, but if you want to boost biodiversity quickly there are a few plants that can essentially serve as the backbone of local ecosystems that you can grow in anything from a balcony pot to a small patch of your backyard. These plants can be different depending on where you are, so do your research to find out what would be best to grow in your area. If you can’t get them all? That’s alright! But even hitting just a few of these target species really can do a lot.

That’s the end of this post! My next post is gonna be about things to keep in mind/continue to do once you get plants in the ground! Until then, I hope this advice was helpful! Feel free to reply with any questions, your success stories, or anything you think I may have forgotten to add in!

[bloodsbane]

Adventure Time Watch List

With Fionna and Cake currently airing, a lot of people have gotten interested in possibly watching Adventure Time lately - either for the very first time or returning to the show after having dropped it at some point. I've already started helping a friend watch through the show with me and have talked to other friends who expressed interest in doing the same.

For the above reasons I thought it would be fun and helpful to create a watch list, and then I thought it might be of use to others! It's a list I'd describe as lightly curated, but keeping things extremely easy for anyone to choose how they, personally, would prefer watching the show by leaving all info/options available.

Personally, I think Adventure Time is a show worth watching in its totality! At least once, anyway. But I acknowledge it's intimidating to get into a show with 10 seasons and over 200 episodes, plus some people are mostly interested in specific characters or plots, or have watched through most of the show before and want a faster way to catch up on 'key info' without running through the first five seasons with a fine-tooth comb.

So, the document! It includes:

A key for how I marked every single episode (based on their necessity for understanding the overall plot, which eps introduce and expand on recurring concepts/characters, which are arguably "totally skippable", etc.)

Highlights marking all F&C episodes and each of the mini-series arcs.

Colored hearts which mark major character appearances (Ice King, Princess Bubblegum, Marceline) and significant episodes that center on/continue the arcs of Finn and Jake respectively.

>>> You can view it here! <<<

(if any of my choices on this doc are ones you disagree with, that's fine! but please don't try to argue with me or complain to me about anything if you think something is marked wrong or missing. this was mainly done for personal/friends use. feel free to take this list and use it as a base to make one of your own!)

The idea is that you can use the list to curate your own experience in watching through the show. If you want to watch everything, you can! But maybe you only want to refresh yourself on the main plot, or maybe you only want to watch all of Marceline's episodes, etc etc.

I would like to emphasize one more time this was very casually made. Hopefully, if nothing else, it works for anyone who's interested in AT but doesn't know where to start beyond just watching the show from the beginning.

I also wanted to put out a list like this because I've heard of the existence of watch lists that will recommend skipping a majority of episodes outright, including entire seasons, which ??? sounds absolutely insane to me! Even the earliest seasons of AT contain episodes absolutely crucial to the overall plot!!

(This probably comes from the idea that the earliest seasons of AT are "worth skipping" because they're "not as good" as later seasons, or that early AT is only okay but "gets better" around the middle. I heartily disagree with this; some of my favorite episodes are within the first three seasons. I will of course acknowledge that some of the earliest episodes probably won't suit some folks' tastes even if what comes a little later on definitely will; hence, this list.)

Anyway, I hope this helps anyone interested in watching! If you do give Adventure Time a try, I hope you have a great time with it! It's a fun show and I think watching the whole thing is definitely worth it~

[thesubswhisper]

IMPORTANT: Knowing Yourself as a Sub and Advocating for Yourself

A recent note I got for advice really highlights how quickly your mindset can shift if you’re stepping into something you haven’t fully explored yet (always with permission). I’m going to share the text message from this cute little sub:

“Unfortunately, I DID take what they said to heart, and now I’m sobbing and debating on whether I should just stop and not be with anyone for the rest of my life

Now, I’m not blaming the sub at all. But I will blame the Dom who made her feel this way. Any Dom who knows the true responsibility of having a sub would know not to make them feel insecure or doubtful. We are here to build you up and bring out your true desires for submission and fulfillment.

REMEMBER, SUBS: It is the fcking bare minimum* to have basic communication and understanding in any relationship. Expressing yourself so intimately may be scary, and it may be uncharted territory, but trust me—it’s scarier to keep quiet. It’s scarier to put yourself in a position where you’re unheard or ignored. If your Dom doesn’t respect your voice, they do not deserve your submission.

In my blog posts, I constantly repeat what a responsibility it is to Dom over others. It’s a trial-and-error dynamic—you have to learn your sub—but we’ll dig into that more another time.

Right now, I want both new and existing subs to realize something crucial: you need to know yourself intimately before you can properly give yourself to someone else. You have to understand that communication is not optional; it’s a necessity.

Situations like the one above are perfect moments for you to experience what you like and don’t like—it gives you a sense of where you stand. I really appreciate this sub for coming to me and explaining the situation, and you know what? That’s perfect! You’ve got the words out, now take that next step and go tell your Dom.

The best thing you can do for yourself when you’re stepping into this dynamic is to advocate for yourself. A proper Dom wants to see you progress and will push you to do just that.

Communicating this to your partner or Dom is a huge step toward that progress. The more intimate things you communicate, the deeper your relationship can grow, whether in a D/s dynamic or any other relationship.

There are countless ways to communicate—talk, text, email—but the point is, don’t fcking hold back. Whether you’re embarrassed or scared of pushing them away, do it anyway. And if they meet you with shame or disrespect, guess what? They’re showing you exactly why they don’t deserve you. Walk the fck away, because that’s the real favor they’re doing for you

[anamericangirl]

If the workers themselves do not directly control the means of production, such as the land and the machines used to produce food and other machines, then it is not a communist society.

If the state does not directly control the means of production, then it is not a socialist society.

If neither the state nor the workers directly own the means of production, but instead the means of production are owned by business owners and share holders, then you have a capitalist society.

These are the basic economic principles that define the difference between socialism, communism, and capitalism.

Now lets look at Nazi economic policy, with key points of interest in bold.

After the Nazis took power, industries were privatized en masse. Several banks, shipyards, railway lines, shipping lines, welfare organizations, and more were privatized. The Nazi government took the stance that enterprises should be in private hands wherever possible. State ownership was to be avoided unless it was absolutely necessary for rearmament or the war effort, and even in those cases "the Reich often insisted on the inclusion in the contract of an option clause according to which the private firm operating the plant was entitled to purchase it." However, the privatization was "applied within a framework of increasing control of the state over the whole economy through regulation and political interference," as laid out in the 1933 Act for the Formation of Compulsory Cartels, which gave the government a role in regulating and controlling the cartels that had been earlier formed in the Weimar Republic under the Cartel Act of 1923. These had mostly regulated themselves from 1923 to 1933.

The month after being appointed Chancellor, Hitler made a personal appeal to German business leaders to help fund the Nazi Party for the crucial months that were to follow. He argued that the experience of Weimar Republic had shown that "'private enterprise cannot be maintained in the age of democracy.' Business was founded above all on the principles of personality and individual leadership. Democracy and liberalism led inevitably to Social Democracy and Communism." In the following weeks, the Nazi Party received contributions from seventeen different business groups, with the largest coming from IG Farben and Deutsche Bank. Many of these businesses continued to support Hitler even during the war and even profited from persecution of the Jews. The most infamous being firms like Krupp, IG Farben, and some large automobile manufacturers. Historian Adam Tooze writes that the leaders of German business were therefore "willing partners in the destruction of political pluralism in Germany." In exchange, owners and managers of German businesses were granted unprecedented powers to control their workforce, collective bargaining was abolished and wages were frozen at a relatively low level. Business profits also rose very rapidly, as did corporate investment.

The Nazis granted millions of marks in credits to private businesses. Many businessmen had friendly relations to the Nazis, most notably with Heinrich Himmler and his Freundeskreis der Wirtschaft. Hitler's administration decreed an October 1937 policy that "dissolved all corporations with a capital under $40,000 and forbade the establishment of new ones with a capital less than $200,000," which swiftly effected the collapse of one-fifth of all small corporations. On July 15, 1933 a law was enacted that imposed compulsory membership in cartels, while by 1934 the Third Reich had mandated a reorganization of all companies and trade associations and formed an alliance with the Nazi regime. Nonetheless, the Nazi regime was able to close most of Germany's stock exchanges, reducing them "from twenty-one to nine in 1935," and "limited the distribution of dividends to 6 percent." By 1936 Germany decreed laws to completely block foreign stock trades by citizens. These moves showed signs of Antisemitism and a move toward a war economy, with the belief that the stock market was being operated by Jews.

From this it is clear to see that Nazi economy does not fit into any of the previous categories of socialist, communist, or capitalist. While the Nazi party started as a greatly capitalist industry, it did eventually move towards more government control, to which it had previously been the antithesis of. However, It also employed Union Busting to stop the expansion of workers rights, much like as occurred in America at the same time, and froze wages, much as America has done these past 20 years. But to say Nazis are socialist, is historically factually incorrect, as many businesses that were privatized continued to thrive unimpeded.

As much as I appreciate your ability to copy and paste from wikipedia, you should know that wikipedia is actually not the definitive source on this issue. It's not like anyone can just go on there and edit it lol. If everything you know comes from wikipedia that explains why you don't know much.

Look, I've already thoroughly responded to all these points and I'm not going to keep having the same argument with people who can only repeat themselves or copy and paste from wikipedia without actually responding to what I say.

You do not understand how "privatization" worked in Nazi Germany but you should do some reading about it. You can read the wikipedia page on the term "Gleichschaltung" to get you started.

Anyway, your privately owned business isn't really privately owned if it has to follow certain rules set by the regime and can be shut down by them if you don't support them or break their rules.

It's historically factual to say the Nazis were socialist because they were and you only having the understanding of the different economic systems that don't go any deeper than a google definition and not knowing how "privatization" worked in Nazi Germany and the fact that you can't discuss this issue if you can't copy/paste your entire argument from wikipedia hardly makes a case against that fact.

Only people who are liars or historically ignorant say the Nazis weren't socialists.

[nirashiyahell]

Drabble #1: The Beach.

Neither of them liked executive meetings, for one reason or another, but they went anyway because there was no other choice, it was mandatory, a few times to call in sick and that's it.

But in opposition, there was something to look forward to, during those (mostly) pointless gatherings ordered by the Leader, and to everyone else's dismay, it was a constant and would continue as one; fights. Though childish at first, they would evolve to more serious complaints, in an attempt to personally harm the other person or have them back down from arguing, automotically giving the other victory; sure, it would've been more accepted as a calm debate, but that was nearly impossible when the people involved were two geniuses.

Their personalities clashing were a recipe for disaster, two adults that were not above acting like children if it was to degrade each other, which happened at least twice every fight, as if it was an indespensable step in their routinely screaming matches; sometimes major, minor on hard days, but they would never miss a day, it was a crucial part that needed to be adressed, and since they were to remain on civil terms, it was the only way to let out the anger they had, wether it was directed towards the other was subjective.

Most of the executive board had gotten used to their repeating quarrels, and some even made bets on who would stop them before it turned physical; it rarely got to that point anymore, after a few broken limbs they understood verbally abusing each other was the best option, and there were no more incidents after that.

Some theorized that it was a routine purely born from the sentiment of frustration, maybe hate at its extreme, while others assumed that it was simply a release of tension from the Games or the responsibilities of being an executive.

Both of them would be hilariously wrong suppositions, although neither the militant or the hooded man had a proper answer, it certainly wasn’t that; the pressure of such an important position was well within their control, and they were not as immature as they let it be believed, at least in public.

What was it then?

Comfort. The aimless debates were something that helped them amidst the rambling of their lunatic chief intergrated in their life as a necessary repetition that was moreso tolerated by their colleagues; Hatter and the rest likely let it slide because if they hadn't allowed that, the two men would have surely killed each other, it was a fact that was unanimously agreed upon, not a threat or a negotiation.

It was refreshing, after the initial bitterness towards the other party, an imaginary weight was lifted off their chest, as if those missiles of words could free them of some kind of repressed longing; the sore throat they would get afterwards was worth it, though they had never confirmed it, they weren't upset about it and almost treated it as something to be proud of, a sign that they had held their ground unril the end, that they didn't let the other one win.

For Niragi it might have been the increasing satisfaction of getting reactions out of him, the mysteriously deadpan man succumbing to emotions in those fights; the knowledge that they were on equal footing was amazing, although the blonde wouldn't admit it, he probably recognized the shoother as an equal, his intelligent enemy.

As for Chishiya, on the outside, it did him no hot or cold, it was an habitual situation disrupting the mundane, but he would have been lying if he said there wasn't more to it, that uncontrolled rush of adrenaline and emotion was almost addicting, and the subtle implications that his rival was smarter than he looked was rewarding; the cherry on top was that anything could be said, no holding back, the only rule was to not have anything physical.

It was their way of flirting, in a way.

[lemonhemlock]

Sansa says to Tyrion: “You’re afraid of her.” And Tyrion replies: “Every good ruler needs to inspire a bit of fear.”

Is that true? Should every good ruler do that?

Should Sansa be afraid of her and was her behavior towards Daenerys smart?

I feel like it was, Sansa's stance against kneeling to Daenerys was not just about defiance; it was a strategic move reflecting her commitment to Northern independence and sovereignty. Sansa's refusal to kneel to Daenerys wasn't about provoking her for the sake of it. It was a calculated decision to assert Northern autonomy and ensure that any alliance with Daenerys was on equal terms. Kneeling would have symbolized submission, potentially compromising the North's ability to negotiate from a position of strength. Sansa understood the risks but believed that standing firm was crucial for preserving Northern identity and security.

What an interesting question! Unfortunately, I was taught only one seminar class on Machiavelli during my one History of the Middle Ages course,* so I'll not insist on the discourse on whether he was writing satire, was being deceitful, opportunistic (my teaching assistant at the time certainly thought he was!) or was genuinely writing a <mirror for princes> in the hopes of Italian unification as he may have seen tyrants as an effective political typology who could achieve that goal. Others more well-read than me can comment much more in-depth on this topic.

*I know this is the Renaissance, it was an expansive course, alright. :)

The question should at least begin with a discussion around Machiavelli IMO because he is very obviously the most famous source for the quote and the majority of the population familiar with this quandary have most likely heard it in association with him. But it's very telling that the idea of being feared is the one D&D latched on to, no? This reminds me of that Twitter meme of red flag books you see in men's houses after going on a couple of dates and the list contained titles like The Prince, American Psycho, Atlas Shrugged, How to Win Friends and Influence People etc.

Even so, even if you take the text at face value, that's not exactly what the man says, is it? He is pondering several options. In fact, let me whip out my copy of The Prince I bought way back in the cretaceous period for Year 1.

Even if you believe he is being genuine here and not just sucking up to (or trying to placate) Lorenzo di Medici, he is saying that love & fear > fear > fear and hatred. So, whatever you do, make sure you are not hated. And what is a sure-fire way to getting hated? Taking people's stuff! "Above all, a man must refrain from seizing the property of others, because a man is quicker to forget the death of his father than the loss of his patrimony"! And how does Dany answer Sansa's question of "what do dragons eat"? What does she say? "Whatever they like." Does whatever they like perchance include the assets of the Northerners, like cattle and sheep? Hmmm.....

In any case, Machiavelli was an ardent Republican, so why is he giving advice to princes? There is a contradiction that lies at the heart of this question and in how fandom perceives some elements of ASOIAF as well. Authoritarian rulers and tyrants can be very effective. It doesn't mean we should accept or normalize authoritarian rule. These two things are not in contradiction. Machiavelli doesn't have to believe, in his heart of hearts, that tyrants are preferable; he can simply write about how to make them efficient. And, again, I'm leaving the conversation about his true intentions to others who have genuinely studied the issue, because it is still under debate.

How I'm redirecting this back to ASOIAF is by pointing out that a lot of critiques of Westerosi rulers are hesitant to characterize any kind of imperious or strongman ruler as efficient, even when the text doesn't point to any material issue that might undermine their rule. Tywin Lannister and Walder Frey are examples of this. To my knowledge, there is no real contestation of their rule by their bannermen or smallfolk and they are not exactly the warmest individuals. Yes, they die, because they are the playthings of the author and he is killing them to make a thematic point. Not because they were overthrown by their underlings or in a peasant revolt. Tywin is killed by his own son in an act of personal revenge that has nothing to do with politics. Walder Frey is killed similarly by Arya in the show (in the books he is still alive). But, that doesn't mean that, in the real world, rulers like Stalin don't exist and are not successful and always pay for their crimes.

I would thus advance the proposition that GRRM does think that tyrants might be effective, but not that they should be endorsed and definitely the endgame of the series will not involve another tyrant on the throne, because he has power over these characters and he can eliminate whomever he wants from the narrative if he doesn't believe they fit the profile for the type of ruler he is looking for.

Ping-pong-ing back to the show, the question is ultimately a misunderstanding of the themes by D&D. They conflate being effective with being a "good" ruler. And it is important to define that efficiency in the first place! Machiavelli talks a lot about how to maintain your seat as a prince once you've got it. And the discussion on love vs fear happens in the context of how to prevent oneself from acquiring the ire of the population / one's subalterns and prevent being ousted. But would that truly be the trait GRRM is looking for in his ideal model of a king? A good king being one who efficiently held onto the crown? What about policy? What exactly is Dany's policy for Westeros? She has none in the show. In the books she has none as well, but at least she hasn't reached Westeros there yet, so there may be time for her to formulate something.

Regardless, the population shouldn't be afraid of its rulers, who serve for them. The only reason one should feel fear in relation to one's rulers is because they are judicious applicators of the law and would mete punishment accordingly if one has committed a crime. This is very much an idealistic manifestation of the relationship between the two, but it is not an entirely new concept. Even in the context of the divine right of kings,* there existed paternalistic notions of benevolence (noblesse oblige being one such manifestation), the idea that the upper classes have social responsibilities to care and protect the vulnerable and those less fortunate. So the idea of the elites being indebted in a way (or more like having a duty towards) the populace has always permeated political thinking. Of course, in the case of unjust rulers, philosophers like Thomas Aquinas also condoned tyrannicide (legally permitted in Ancient Greece, too). So, I would so as far as to say that there is basis enough to argue that a "good" ruler is one who cares for their people and doesn't abuse them or incite negative associations such as fear - and that it's probably what GRRM also has in mind when writing these godforsaken books.

*although I suppose I should mention that the idea that God granted monarchs authority to rule predates the coinage of that term, which is essentially absolutist in phrasing, because we are LARP-ing medieval times here and that predates the absolutist monarchy, contrary to what viral posts will have you believe (no, I will never shut up about this).

As for the second part of your question, yes, I would say that in the context of the show, Sansa refusing to kneel to Dany would be consistent with the goal D&D gave her, namely Northern independence. So it wasn't about antagonizing Daenerys the person or playing mind games, it was about achieving her political objective and implementing her own policies, as Sansa was one of the only characters shown to care about the logistics of survival, ensuring the needs of her population and caring for them as best as she could. Had she failed, Daenerys would have kept asking for her armies and money in order to fight in her world domination tour - a loss of resources that Sansa wanted to prevent.

Please bear in mind, though, that a lot of this is coloured by the weird decision to have Cersei be the final villain to defeat, whereas it's much more likely that in the books the battle against the wights is going to be the final, major battle. It's likely that the dynamics in the books will be different - not saying that Dany and Sansa are going to be bffs, but Jon, for instance, could have a much greater political involvement, one would hope, instead of being reduced to moodily repeating 3 lines. Also, Dany's public perception might very well change if she, IDK, murders her alleged nephew Aegon VI or engages in other endearing brouhaha.

[fincalinde]

nice to see you back on here! if you're answering questions again, i've had something i've been meaning to ask, if you don't mind. do you have any thoughts on the things wwx and jc did for each other?

I'm never truly gone. Whenever you see a fox scurrying about its business in the twilight, I am with you in spirit. By which I mean I'm very busy but I do get a notif if someone sends me an ask.

This one has sat in my drafts for a while and it's still quite messy, but I thought I'd better just get it off the to do list and move on. So, the Twin Heroes!

I've seen quite a bit of negativity towards JC in my time, usually accusing him of all manner of iniquities that aren't actually supported by the text. To make my own position clear: I don't think JC did nothing wrong ever in his life. But I do think he's a capable clan leader and an extremely loyal brother who tried very hard to make things work with WWX.

Let's start with the biggie: WWX gives JC his core. It is an incredible act of love to be sure. Functionally it saves JC's life (he's not going to last long in that state) along with preserving the existence of the Jiang Clan itself. I don't have a problem with WWX making a unilateral decision here, because he knows JC won't agree otherwise and the stakes could not be higher. It also makes sense that the Grandmaster of Impulsive Cultivation conceals the entire thing from JC. He knows the effect the truth will have on JC, and he's just trying to get them through the current crisis and worry about the consequences later. So I think his choices are understandable in a desperate situation where there are no good options.

To be honest, what bothers me is WWX's subsequent dumbassery. My god, man, what is the point of making a monumental sacrifice for someone and then proceeding to fuck shit up for him on a regular basis afterwards?

WWX's behaviour is catastrophic for the Jiang. I understand that he's in his emo goth era and I don't expect him to make perfect decisions at all times, but the way he treads on JC's toes makes my teeth hurt. Quite probably WWX himself was never going to end up in a good place, since his demonic cultivation made him too much of a threat for the Jin (or society at large) to leave him in peace. But that's not particularly relevant to the way he undermines JC. On more than one occasion, JC is doing his best to navigate a delicate political situation and WWX clomps in with his size 13s and makes everything worse for everyone. This, as much as popular sentiment turning against WWX, is a huge driver in why they have to fake their falling out and sever ties publicly.

Meanwhile, JC makes an equivalent sacrifice for WWX—he lets himself be captured, even though it results in the loss of his core and, as far as he knows at the time, the functional extinction of his clan. This is revealed right at the end of MDZS, encouraging the reader to look back at the novel and recontextualise JC's actions throughout. JC put WWX above his own life and the continued existence of his clan. There can be no question that he made as enormous a sacrifice for WWX as WWX made for him. Their mutual ignorance of this fact for so many years is the heart of their tragedy.

But crucially, there remains a difference between WWX and JC. Because JC doesn't only come through for WWX when the stakes are high. Right up until the death of JYL, JC is the one trying to balance his responsibility to his clan with his desire to protect WWX. For a start, they fake the cutting of ties between WWX and the Jiang, when it arguably would be much less risky for JC to cut ties in actuality. JC is also the one taking further risks by allowing WWX to see JYL in her wedding clothes. He even suggests WWX gets to pick her child's courtesy name. These things show a pattern of consideration that WWX simply does not match.

Let's not forget, JC does a decent job as clan leader. He's very young, and unlike NMJ or LXC, he has to build his clan again from literally nothing. Disciples need to be recruited and trained from scratch. Lotus Pier needs to be rebuilt—without Jin gold. He's doing what needs to be done to ensure the Jiang Clan continues to exist, yet still attempting to balance that with his loyalty to WWX even as WWX becomes more and more of a liability. Yes, WWX is being affected by the resentful energy he's cultivating, but his arrogance has been present from the start. It's not that the resentful energy is creating new traits in him, but that existing traits are being exaggerated.

WWX does a lot of very admirable and brave things and he is pretty much always trying to do right by the people he cares about i.e. the Jiang and the Wenmants. The trouble is that he's fundamentally not capable of recognising the damage he's also doing. His altercation with JZX over the soup is one thing—though JC (with JGS) has to pull him off JZX and it makes a bad situation worse, it's an understandable impulse reaction to seeing his beloved shijie being mistreated. But despite the negative consequences of his impulsivity, he never learns to stop and gather more information before reacting (unlike JZX!). He continues to undermine JC by letting the whole world see that he doesn't respect his authority. This really is where I as a reader get stuck: what use is the grand gesture of the core swap when the more everyday consideration is so totally lacking?

I also think it's interesting that in the temple JGY points out to JC that if he'd stuck by WWX, no one could have done anything about it and things might have turned out quite differently. I don't think JGY is being truthful here; or at the very least, if he is being truthful then I don't agree with his assessment. It's a remark intended to goad JC and prod him where he's most sensitive, and it's successful in that regard. I'd be willing to bet that deep down JC does fear that if he'd backed up WWX then everything might have been all right and JZX and JYL would still be alive.

But it's simply not true. WWX's affiliation with the Jiang is catastrophic for them. He openly flouts JC's authority—and of course his demonic cultivation taints the Jiang by association, particularly in light of the Jin smear campaign. WWX's intervention to rescue the Wenmants is the last excuse JGS needs to do what he planned from the beginning: put a target on WWX's back. This isn't a post about whether or not WWX's actions to protect the Wenmants are moral; it's merely an observation that they put JC and the Jiang at risk by association, especially when WWX also deliberately insults the Jin in a public forum. The Jin don't exactly need to work hard to sabotage WWX's reputation: they're merely handing him the rope and he's merrily tying the noose. On a pragmatic level, an actual estrangement rather than a fake one would have been the more better option for JC if his sole priority was the wellbeing of his clan and not also his love for WWX.

On the other hand, if WWX had continued with his demonic cultivation but respected the authority of his clan leader and not undermined him in public, JC might have been more able to effectively protect him. I'm not entirely convinced by that argument, but I certainly find it more plausible than the idea that JC backing WWX would have prevented the consequences of the determined Jin smear campaign.

Essentially, my point is that I'm not splitting hairs about the degree to which JC and WWX love each other. Their love for each other is not in question. Nor is it in question that they have made equally huge sacrifices for each other. But there's the rub. What about the small sacrifices? Who is making those? More often than not, it's JC. JC has the weight of his clan's survival on his shoulders and he still does his best to remain privately loyal to WWX despite the risk it poses to his own position. He only turns on WWX when WWX's actions result in the death of JZX and JYL—JYL being arguably the only person they both love even more than they love each other. (Sorry, LWJ. You only make the leaderboard in Life 2.) Meanwhile, WWX is willing to give up his core for JC but not willing to make the effort to present a united front against political foes who are actively trying to destroy them. He loves JC, but I see no evidence that he respects him.

[moonpile]

The Trouble with Home Tours - ESO U43

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/661795/ - U43 Home Tours - Preemptive Feedback

TL;DR: A description field alone would solve a lot of problems. With the other sub-features, it could've been great.

Intro:

I admire the project this is based on: EHT Housing Hub. Due to clues in datamines and because EHT's creator was hired to work for ZOS (he was on the reveal stream), some of us suspected for months that Home Tours would be the new feature in Update 43. It was not a surprise.

The disappointment is not about what it is. It's not that "we already have an addon" (the feature could've been better for all of us, PC and console alike).

It's that I hoped it would come with more utility and improvements on EHT's Housing Hub,

rather than being an extremely "lite" version. I actually don't use HH much due to UI and UX; official implementation could improve these.

For now, I’m not looking forward to Home Tours. I don’t want to share nor tour builds if there’s no way to share the description or POI.

Feedback:

1. Descriptions:

Anyone who's done housing events knows that descriptions are crucial, both for explaining the build's story and visitor tips/directions.

Two things make me want to visit a build:

Screenshots

Description

HT has neither; tags don't suffice. It will be a mess when there are thousands of listings.

Example from EHT Housing Hub: Hovering over a home in EHT shows the description. Home Tours could improve upon this UI and make it fit the game's aesthetics.

Also with EHT, players can put a custom book containing the house description. This would be a great sub-feature to bring in, keeping things in-game rather than in UI.

Example: custom books

I don't like to use EHT effects: they don't match the in-game aesthetics/UI, show through other objects, and not everyone has them enabled. Official implementation could improve this.

1.5 Weather Control:

Worth mentioning weather control again since it shows up a ton in descriptions: "Please visit in sunny weather or lights don't work!" etc. Dark, low-contrast rain & lightning flashing are physically painful and annoying as a builder, but it's bad for streamers or judges too: they don't have time to wait around for the right conditions or return when it's finally sunny again if they have 50 others to visit.

2. House Nicknames:

Disappointed that titles are not showcase-specific.

I use nicknames with BMU to organize my houses for easy travel. (I constantly change the numbers, so if I'm actively working on a house it might be 00 or 01.)

But I don't want my "Teahouse for Azandar" to show up as "04 ATHFA" for visitors... or worse thanks to the character limit:

3. Point of Interest markers:

Descriptions could be shorter if we could place graphical POI markers, with an option to add short flavor text that would show on interaction. (No slot wasting: these should not be furnishings. Should be able to show/hide so they don't clash with the visuals.)

Example, EHT's POI markers:

Again, style doesn't match and these show through walls and objects. Official implementation could improve upon EHT.

I started making graphics like this to help visitors. The above in-game features would be better.

Since I couldn't include a graphic in-game, and without descriptions (and because of the EHT copy-paste issue!) I’d rather not use the House Tours feature for now. Discord, Reddit, Youtube, etc. are all better ways to find housing inspiration and community.

I'm making my own housing directory, here.

...

From the outside, it appears like there may have been hurdles that tied devs' hands, preventing something more feature-rich.

I know others are disappointed it's not one of many other oft-requested features. But since this is what we got, I hope others will ask for these improvements as well, and that the devs can keep working and expanding on it.

[an-aussie-button-masher]

I Like to Move It, Move It - Five Games With the Best Movement

   Can’t stay for long, got places to be! Something as simple as just moving around is surprisingly tricky for video games to make enjoyable - it can often be slow, clunky, twitchy, or just boring. Then, there are the games that do it right; whether they introduce unique mechanics, feature a variety of mobility options, or just really nail the basics in a way that feels satisfying. Reaching high speeds for the adrenaline rush, executing a complex manoeuvre a hundred times until it’s second nature, or just roaming around enjoying the feel of exploration - sometimes, the movement alone is the best part. Get a move on with these five games I’ve collected here that feature the best mobility and movement mechanics!

Spider-Man 2    In a game about everyone’s favourite web-slinging wallcrawler(s), getting Spider-Man’s distinct movement style right is crucial - and Insomniac Games nailed it. Swinging through Manhattan feels incredibly satisfying and realistic as the city whips by you, and the physics of the Spider-Men have real dynamic weight to them so you can build up speed with short rapid swings nearly brushing against the roads or reach the highest rooftops with longer, slower arcs. The sequel introduced web-wings for gliding on the winds, and other new tricks like slingshotting yourself across the city or using abilities in midair to gain height and momentum. Thwipping from one end of the city to the other to chase after criminals or violent mutated scientists gives a huge adrenaline rush; it’s a sign of a perfectly-executed movement system when it’s actually more fun to manually swing around instead of using the slightly-quicker fast-travel points.

Wavetale    Behold, a game with actually enjoyable water movement. Skating across the ocean surface in a flooded post-apocalyptic shanty town in Wavetale is just as creative as it is fun, building up speed as young Sigrid skims around, diving under and leaping out like a supercharged dolphin, and grappling onto hooks for massive speed boosts. Zooming around the waters from one corner of the map to the other, Sigrid can even outrun boats chugging along as she dodges the creepy shadow monsters threatening the town of Strandville! There’s pipes and funnels dangling above the waves to use as waterslides, launching you across the sea and keeping up your momentum - perfect for the challenging races that put your coordination to the test on lightning fast obstacle courses that snake around the drifting houses and shallow islands. For extra challenge, the game’s gigantic bosses will keep you on your toes as you duck and weave on the waves around their attacks that rain from above.

Super Mario Odyssey    Mario’s jumping talents get an overhaul in Odyssey, adding loads of fancy new moves and tricks to learn in this sprawling open-world adventure. His new companion, Cappy, allows for stylish leaps and bounces from one end of the kingdom to the other as well as “capturing” just about any creature Mario encounters. Capturing things transforms Mario into the target, granting unique abilities for even more new forms of movement - stretching into the air, blasting over the water, jumping over high obstacles, and dozens of other powers. It’s highly satisfying to master all of Mario’s moves and being able to sprint, roll and dive at Mach speed with perfectly-executed button combos. Speedrunners and players that really learn all the movement techs are rewarded with hidden coins and other goodies stashed away on seemingly impossible to reach areas, accessible only to those able to clear enormous gaps and scale sheer walls with expert timing and coordination.

Sunset Overdrive    Enter the high-energy “awesome-pocalypse” with a city hand-tailored for jumping, sliding and parkouring all over it. Sunset City has been overrun by the OD - aggressive mutants caused by a radioactive energy drink - and only a small handful of stubborn survivors remain in the locked-down city to enjoy the chaos. In SSOD, the player is constantly on the move from one jump to the other - bounce off that fan into sliding down a powerline into grinding along a handrail into bouncing off a car hood followed by dashing over a slobbering mutant and onto the next fan to bounce off, and repeat in a nigh-infinite chain of possible routes across the city. As you move, you’ll be blasting away at the hordes of OD, earning style points for fighting while performing sick tricks throughout the colourful mayhem. There’s precarious platforming and obstacle courses that take you high into the sky surrounding the tallest towers - don’t look down! The city also features replayable challenges scattered around for those that really want to test their mobility skills, parkouring across the chaotic cityscape as fast as possible.

DOOM Eternal    In the fiery arenas of DOOM Eternal, movement is key and staying still is death. Double-jumping, dashing, climbing and swinging through the air, Doomguy treats the devastated Earth and the plains of Hell as his own personal playground! The developers compared the movement in Eternal to flying a fighter jet, constantly dashing and weaving through enemies and their attacks - the demons can’t hit what they can’t see. The new Meathook attachment to your trusty Super Shotgun allows you to zip across the battleground, latching onto some poor demon on the other side of the fight and pulling yourself towards it to deliver a face-full of buckshot. Eternal features a higher emphasis on platforming compared to previous DOOM entries, with many levels consisting of winding obstacle courses with combat encounters in-between all the jumping and climbing. Staying on the move as you blast through demons gives a huge adrenaline rush, feeling almost desperately aggressive as one mis-timed dash could be the difference between the demon’s death and your own.

   Now that we’re up to speed on some of the best movement systems in games, which is your favourite? Got any other games that would fit the list? Let me know! Feedback, reblogs and likes are all much appreciated!   Thanks for reading!

An Aussie Button-Masher

[mi6-cafe]

007 Fest 2023 Survey Results

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, but thank you all for participating in this month-long celebration and for giving thoughtful feedback in our survey. Our incredible team of Cafe volunteers met this weekend to go through all of it and we have lots of ideas for changes based on your feedback. We are by no means done coming up with ideas, but here is our annual survey analysis.

Communication

You all loved the all Fest channel in slack so we’ll be keeping that again for next year. We also decided to freeze the Fest-related channels in slack at the end of August. (More on this coming in slack as we figure out the different options for doing this.) We also acknowledge that Fest is spread out across a lot of different platforms. Next year we will lean a little more heavily on emails for the crucial information throughout the month, and also be more clear about where to expect different types of announcements.

Team Leadership

As always, Fest could not run without amazing leaders! We changed things up this year by having both captains and cheerleaders and your feedback indicates that we should keep this! If you were a team leader this year, we’ll be reaching out later in the year to help us create a new document to further clarify expectations so that we can give a much better orientation to leaders next year.

CAT prize

This year we offered a special Cool, Awesome Teammate prize. There were many great nominations, but there wasn't one person who was a clear stand out above the rest. So rather than us trying to debate between people when we obviously aren't on every team, we are electing not to award one person this year as the stand out. We are, however, still passing on all those nominations and shout outs to the people they were about so that they know how much they are appreciated!

Changes to Points

You all voted on tumblr polls counting as one point each. You also voted to increase the bonus stacking limit to 3. We will also be working throughout the year to make changes to the word count divisions, add new higher point categories, and increase the point value of social events like watch parties

Roleplaying

We have comments about this each year in the survey, both good and bad. We’ve had to adjust our suggestions for the roleplaying aspects across the years, but for next year we are putting a stop to all roleplaying aspects, pressing a reset button of sorts. We know for many of you pretending to be in the spy world is fun, but this year the complaints which stemmed from it far outweighed the compliments. As a team of mods and volunteers, we have a few little details to work out, but we want to be clear on our expectation of no roleplaying aspects to the Fest next year. After 2024, we will reassess.

Team days

Along those lines, team days will also stay retired for another year. However, your feedback indicated that what most people missed was the collaborative spirit that often blossomed when a challenge was issued. So, we are going to work hard to incorporate that in other ways throughout Fest. (If you have ideas for small challenges which require teamwork, let us know!)

Big Format Changes

This is a little vague, but your suggestions inspired what we hope is a great idea to shake up the format of Fest. It will de-emphasize some of the competitive aspects, and also increase the focus on the other ways to contribute, like doing beta work and attending watch parties. We have lots of details to work out, but we’re excited.

Speaking of, we’re going to use the tag #007 Fest Change Log to let you all know about changes we’re working on throughout the year and occasionally use tumblr polls to ask your opinion. 

Phew, that got long. Tl;dr You all had great feedback, the team is working on changes big and small, stay tuned for exciting announcements! 

And stay tuned for LDWS coming up very soon!

~Your Cafe Mods,

Castillon and Linorien

[saltwukong]

Re: The Ruby Rose Meltdown

In order for me to explain this, I have to explain why I...really don't care.

I mean, I don't. I was not invested in the idea of the Ruby Rose collapse, never wanted it nor felt it was vital, and I didn't really care enough to anticipate its arrival, and that's because of...well, the reason Volume 8 looks the way it does.

Creating an absolutely bone-headed plan that displaces hundreds of thousands of people and crashes two city-states via landmass colony drop and then throwing all of those people into a desert filled with vicious monsters? Don't care.

Or at least, I don't care about Ruby Rose's part in that. I don't care about any responsibility or accountability she takes, I don't care about how the results affect her emotionally, and I don't care about any hypocrisy she may or may not have exhibited in relation to Ironwood, and what I mean when I say this stuff is that I don't care because Ruby Rose is completely inconsequential to these plot points.

These were not actions that matched a logical character trajectory for Ruby. They were not actions she took because they were in her character. All of the above things along with a shit ton more shit in Volume 8, happened because of railroading. Ruby didn't crash Atlas because it made any kind of sense or was a thing she would do, she crashed Atlas because Miles Luna wanted Winter to have the maidens' power, wanted Ironwood to be a villain, and wanted Atlas destroyed, and did not care how the hell Ruby and Penny and the cast as a whole fit into those goals.

Any character could've been used to achieve what was desired and nothing would really change.

So I can't muster any desire to see Ruby confront those events--they weren't hers to see through, so why should the fallout be hers to carry? Ruby's meltdown can never be entirely within her character if the ultimately crucial cause of it wasn't either.

There is still some novelty to be had in The Great Ruby Rose Meltdown, if you're into that sort of thing, albeit it's still coming way too late. It's kind of like Yang finally calling Summer Rose her mom in Volume 8--yeah, cool, way too late, this shit stems back to Volume 5, bucko. Ruby Rose finally expressing anger and resentment and impatience has been cautiously approached before, but finally getting it now doesn't exactly fill the stomach. Went and got my food elsewhere in the years you were fooling around, RWBY.

So free of the burden of having to care about Ruby's logical responses or moral compass, and the scene lacking even novelty flavor, I can just enjoy the Ruby Rose Meltdown for what 50% of it actually was: bitching at said plot being dumb.

Honestly, when Ruby got up in Blake's and Yang's faces and was like "good for you, yeah yeah we're happy for you, fuck off" I was like "gurrrrrrrl read them read them read them". I genuinely believe Miles wrote that to vent his frustration with being forced into that position to begin with. You know damn well him and everyone else at Rooster Teeth were not dropping the Bee Bomb until there was literally no other option left. Usually I hate when Miles lets his feelings bleed into the characters--terrible thing to do, leads bad places, see Volume 8 for worst case results--but he kinda slayed here. Having Ruby turn and ask if she's supposed to give a shit about Jaune's tomagotchi pets was just the icing on the cake.