#they’re just put in different situations

[8-evil-annoying-catboys]

i think it’s complicated. if a grown man, or sometimes even a young boy, cries in front of others, there is an ever present threat that someone will shame him for not fitting the standards expected of his gender, and all witnesses may very well treat him differently for the rest of the time they know him, if they judge men harshly enough, even if they’re very close friends of his. this is especially true if they witness him cry more than once (seeing a man cry exactly one time in the time you’ve known him is seen as ‘oh these circumstances were so sad/bad, my dad cried, and he never cries’ but seeing a man cry two or more times becomes a negative reflection on his character and manliness).

also, because men are expected to never cry, a LOT of people don’t know what to do if a man starts crying in front of them. it stuns them, and they may not jump to comfort him like they would for someone they’d expect to cry (like a woman or child). even if the comfort would be hollow or backhanded, most people understand that they are expected to comfort a crying child or crying woman for at least a few seconds and as quickly as possible, but when an adult man cries they may not know what to do, and if so, they often don’t do anything, or worse, they jump straight to telling him to man up and not cry. this is exacerbated by the fact that a lot of men don’t, or even can’t, cry in front of others bc of years of suppressing the urge bc of this pressure, so people are less familiar with the situation and continue to expect and pressure men not to cry, and it’s a self-perpetuating cycle.

if a woman cries in front of others, the reaction depends heavily on the kind of people she is around, but most people will show her some form of sympathy, even if it comes with an edge of resentment or annoyance, or is swiftly followed by pressure to stop crying, or both. if she’s around people who are compassionate, crying can be a very healthy release. around the wrong people, they still know they’re expected to show a little bit of comfort… however, it can indeed make everything worse. you are right that just because women are “allowed” or expected to cry does not mean no one will judge them.

in general, crying is looked down upon, and the fact that it is associated with femininity in a patriarchal society is evidence of that. when a woman cries, she may not be a grown man crying, but she is still crying, and people don’t like that. she will probably not be told to ‘man up,’ but, after the people around her have reached their limit of dealing with crying, they may tell her not to be a baby, or otherwise infantilise the very normal human act of crying, which is a natural distress response that never truly leaves us, even if we suppress it after a certain age—that’s not the same thing as growing out of it.

nevertheless, any crying adult faces the possibility of people infantilising them. sometimes, even children are infantilised for crying. i, personally, should know that crying has a negative stigma with it regardless of your age and gender—i was bullied in elementary school and when i would cry in response to the bullying, i would be bullied even more for crying. this got to the point that when i was 8, i stopped crying in front of others, but i was, by all accounts, a little girl, the one demographic that is most expected and “allowed” to cry. even then, i could not get away with it without judgement. this started a very unhealthy relationship to crying that i’m still mending at 24, and i doubt i’m anywhere close to alone in that.

i think the main difference is that when a grown woman cries, she is not seen as weaker than average for her gender. the negativity isn’t usually exacerbated by the fact that she’s a woman crying, it stems from the stigma around crying in general. people don’t like when anyone cries, so women and children still get judged for crying even though they are “allowed” or, as you more accurately put it, expected to do so at times. when an adult man cries, however, there is very rarely any tolerance for it. and even when people tolerate it, they are often too stunned to react with kindness and compassion and comfort. there are many people who would jump to genuinely comfort a woman or child who was crying, who would hesitate or even fail to do the same for a crying adult man.

so, once they reach a certain age, young boys and men start suppressing the urge to cry. and, as i very well know because of my aforementioned history with crying, if you don’t cry sometimes, you get very emotionally constipated. it’s extremely unhealthy to never cry. but men are expected to do just that, as a rule, not an exception. men can’t even cry around their closest male friends without being judged, and even around their closest friends and partners who are women—who are expected to be emotional punching bags for the men in their lives—men can still expect to be degraded for weakness if they cry. women, generally speaking, can cry around their friends of any gender with less judgement, and can expect to be comforted, especially around their closest female friends. the same is true for children.

idk. ultimately, the point of bringing this up isn’t to pretend that women and children aren’t still oppressed more pervasively under patriarchy than adult men. that’s not true and anyone who genuinely thinks that is a fool. but i do think that it’s important for everyone, of all genders and ages, to recognise that the patriarchy DOES oppress adult men still, and that oppression matters regardless. male privilege exists, but it’s conditional, and the conditions are very demanding. you can cry twice, or even just once, in front of someone as a man, and they’ll literally never see you the same again, and won’t treat you with the privilege they afford to men who haven’t cried in front of them. and that sucks, because a lot of what falls under male privilege is just, like, being respected as a person, and the problem is that everyone should be treated that way (although some of male privilege is getting to do and say stuff that nobody should get to do or say).

i think the only solution on this particular front is for everyone to be truly allowed to cry without judgement, regardless of gender. that requires a lot of work and a lot of dismantling of patriarchal ideas. i think that allowing cishet men, in particular, to discover that they could be allowed to cry in a truly feminist world, is a net benefit. i’m not saying that your post implies that you don’t want that, just to be clear. i just think that’s a good first step towards removing the stigma around crying, and generally liberating women and gender minorities from patriarchal oppression. it’s still important to point out facts—like the fact that, because of crying being incredibly unhealthily stigmatised, women are not allowed to cry without any judgement, and it may only seem that way to men because it is not unexpected for a woman to cry like it is unexpected for a man to cry. but a lot of people cherrypick the facts in such a way that they bar men from learning how patriarchy oppresses them, too, which is a crucial first step to learning how feminism can benefit them and deciding to join the fight.

idk idk. it’s sad to see people be divisive out of frustration, even when the frustration is justified

ppl are always saying that women are "allowed to cry" more than men are but I don't really think being expected to is the same as being "allowed" to without judgement, because generally the social judgement is still extremely present and imo not made much better by it being a "typical behavior from the likes of you" flavor of contempt

[fulcrums501st]

silco is a great character. but if your love of silco causes you to hate on vi I’m gonna need you to reevaluate some things

like vi has every reason to hate silco all of which are valid for her to believe. yea she doesn’t get that silco actually cared for jinx. but like bro she was imprisoned?? and like? he killed her family??? why would she ever see him in any way either than that?? she doesn’t know about his political motivations and those don’t justify him trying to kill her family????

vi’s been in prison for years and obviously would assume that jinx became the way she is cuz of silco. and she isn’t even fully wrong to assume that cuz silco raised jinx for years and yea he did let her get to this point. like yea it’s complicated cuz of his own issues and his messed up ideology kinda make him incapable of being a good parent no matter how hard he tries. but vi ain’t giving him the benefit of the doubt and like why tf would your expect her to?? obviously we know that there was some jinx brewing beneath the surface of powder in act1. but how tf was vi supposed to have predicted this?? silco’s parenting undeniably contributed to who jinx became. so vi isn’t even wrong to believe this. not 100% right but not 100% wrong.

and like jinx is so different from vi’s perspective ofc vi is gonna 100% blame silco on that. and like she has a right to. like vi shows up to try and save her sister and silco tries to kill her and yaps about “freeing” jinx. like what is vi supposed to conclude from that other than silco is Mr. evil and a sister- stealer. like yes girl go blow up his factory.

“silco was there when vi abandoned powder” actually what tf are you talking about. vi was 15. experiencing a trauma no one eve should. she invisibly shouldn’t have hit powder but like I completely understand why she fricking did. understandable emotional reaction for a 15 yo. how are we still giving her shit about this?? plus she TRIES TO GO BACK TO POWDER. BUT IS PUT IN PRISON FOR 7 FUCKING YEARS. she walked off to cool off not abandon her sister.

also the point is that silco misunderstands jinx’s situation. he can only see vi “abandoning” jinx as the same betrayal that happened to him. when they’re completely different. silco’s perspective on vi’s motivations and “betrayal” could not be more inaccurate. it makes sense for him to believe that cuz again of his own trauma. but be fr rn he did not asses the situation correctly which is partly why jinx has such conflicting feelings on vi. yes silco was there for jinx, but not cuz vi abandoned her or bc vi was a terrible sister.

silco and vi both want what they think is best for jinx. what they think is best tho is completely incompatible. both of their perspectives are completely understandable and genuine. that’s why jinx feels this pull between the two of them. that’s what makes the dinner party scene so good. cuz neither of them are entirely in the wrong for believing what they do or for wanting what they do.

“silco was right, vi chose caitlyn over jinx”

if this is abt s2 then just no. never cite s2 again when talking about vi. never. Not in my vi arcane.

And even in s1 jinx asking vi to shoot Caitlyn was unfair and messed up as crap. like ofc vi wasn’t gonna do that she has fricking moral compass. vi is put in an impossible position.

silco was right about how vi is still holding out hope that jinx can go back to being the same innocent powder she remembers AND CAN YOU BLAME HER?! she hasn’t seen her sister in 7 YEARS?! she only remembers powder. the memory of powder was the only thing getting her through those 7 years. yeah silco is correct in this assessment but it doesn’t make vi’s hope invalid or selfish, just wishful and optimistic. again, powder was the only thing keeping her going. cuz vi has been separated from the world and the cruel reality of it for 7 fucking years. silco and VI’s perspective are both valid given their experiences.

“vi could never accept jinx, while silco loved jinx unconditionally”

ok and that’s great parenting on a paper but is also lwk part of the problem cuz he enables all of jinx’s messed up and self-destructive behaviors. his unconditional love overrides his capacity for good parenting and discipline. it’s part of what makes their father-daughter relationship codependent and toxic. also vi loves and cares for her sister sm. but her sister becoming a murderer is an insane thing to ask of her to accept. like jinx does so many messed up things in s1. we the audience know why jinx is acting the way she is. but vi has every right to be disturbed by her. like could you imagine being kidnapped and separated from your little innocent sister for 7 years and then coming back and the first thing you see her do is shoot at people and giggle?? all out of her own volition?? I would be a bit taken aback too. It would be weird if vi wasn’t. And even after all of that vi doesn’t give up on her. she literally says “I’m not going to abandon you again” (and do not fucking bring up s2 cuz that was NOT vi)

“vi created jinx” “no silco created jinx”

how tf is this still a discussion?? they both did and neither of them did. jinx was made from terrible circumstance. every single one of her life experiences contributes to who she became. her parents being murdered by enforcers. her living under systemic oppression. her childhood insecurity and feeling like she needed to prove herself to the group. vi encouraging her inventions. the incident. vi “abandoning” her. being raised by silco. killing silco. etc. there isn’t one event that “makes” jinx.

anyway. vi’s hatred of silco is valid given her perspective. and silco’s beliefs also make sense given how messed up he is and they are genuine. but I never wanna see a silco fan hating on vi ever again.

[erinwantstowrite]

Hi! Purely out of curiosity because I am always interested in people’s thoughts on the subject, how do you feel about “batcest” in au’s where the children were never adopted/didn’t meet until adulthood/etc? Any pairing with Bruce makes me genuinely nauseous, but I feel like I’m more lenient with situational stuff with the kids since they’re closer in age/didn’t grow up together in my very loose understanding of canon/not actually related/etc. (ie: I think Steph and Cass are cute together even though they’re both “batfam” members, etc etc)

please feel free to ignore this if it makes you uncomfortable! I just really love your writing and this seems to be a subject you’re passionate about, so I just wanted to know more of your thoughts. Hope you’re having a wonderful day!

anon in the nicest way possible, it's disgusting even then.

because it doesn't matter if they didn't know each other as little little kids, they are family in every sense of the word. it would be the same as two characters who are siblings having being raised in two different households as children getting into a relationship even though they knew each other later. it spits in the face of adopted families by claiming that they aren't actually family, and the people who defend batcest are hurting people who are victims of the exact dynamic that they're shipping. it's gross, like genuinely vile. knowing their canon relationship and "changing" it to fit what they want is nasty because they *had* to change it. they know it's wrong if they had to "fix" it in order to ship it. it implies that this person thinks they should be in a romantic pairing in canon, too, but they're trying to justify it to themselves.

and with Steph and Cass, Steph is a friend of theirs. she dated Tim previously and they are not related. she didn't want Bruce to adopt her, she doesn't consider them siblings. yes there is a found family dynamic but it's not the same as the others, who are not only legally family in most cases, but have considered each other family for years and years and years. they call each other their siblings. yes, even jason and tim. tim and jason are only a couple years apart, but jason is still family even if he died? tim considered himself dick's brother and his relationship with bruce was rocky sometimes but he also considered bruce like a father figure, and later on he was adopted so that was always there. they are siblings.

and in some of their dynamics, it's pedophilic dick and damian, dick and tim, jason and damian, tim and damian, even dick and jason because dick was an adult when he met jason. automatically that puts you in a spot where you deserve the deepest pit of hell. truly. i'm not religious but i hope they get their karma. i don't care if it's fictional, this reflects who they are as people in the real world and that's why i know these people are gross monsters. not to mention these people don't understand boundaries (shocker) and have and probably will again, ask me to include a batcest ship in LoF or to draw batcest for them. they have asked for peter and damian. one person claimed that peter and jason would be "cute" because of peter thinks he's cool and has "an innocence" about jason's life and what he's done. another asked for peter and dick. the blood related father and son. so it truly doesn't matter to them, i can guarantee it to you. the way i look at it, no matter which way they are shipped, you are automatically associated with the rest of them. nothing justifies it and it's wrong

and because i know someone is going to try to start an argument with me: i can't stop them from writing it. i know that. and you can scream at me until you're blue about your opinion on the matter, but i do not care and you will be wasting your breath. i am not pro cecsorship because it is a slippery slope and people will dig their claws into that. however. i can let them know that they aren't welcome on my page, i can talk about my opinion on the matter, i have every right to block them and say whatever i want. if you don't like this post, i'm telling you to block me so i don't have to take the time to do it myself 🫶

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Jared Yates Sexton at Dispatches From A Collapsing State:

At the end of last week I released an episode of Audio From A Collapsing State talking about the emotional toll of the first few days of the Trump Administration. I think it was pretty obvious that it was designed to be a blitz of executive orders and action intended to assert power. Authoritarianism is weaponized abuse and as it is realized it communicates to the subject an inability to stop the will of the authoritarians and reinforces a sense of powerful isolation. Well. We made it through the first week. It was hard. It was painful. And I’m sure some of us are worse for wear.

I want to emphasize once more the need for self-care. Any attempt to organize and fight back begins with protecting yourself and ensuring you’re all right, energized, and prepared for the next onslaught. Talk to people you can trust. Establish actual reality outside of this nonsense they’re peddling. Remember to continue thinking about a better future. Limit the time authoritarians can affect you by logging off and sealing yourself off. And try and find things that bring you joy and, if possible, produce tangible artifacts that demonstrate how projects that take time and energy lead to things. Considering the toll, I do want to take a moment today to discuss something hopeful. That’s difficult, of course, when the President of the United States is joking about seeking a third term between cutting off federal funding, flagrantly violating the law multiple times, attacking the Constitution, attempting to expel transgender people from the military and culture writ large, and immigration raids are ongoing. I’m sure that paragraph alone was tiring, because of course it is. Never mind that it doesn’t even begin to cover the things that have happened in just the past couple of days. But that feeling, as powerful as it is, also leads us to the subject of hope. Because it is overwhelming, because it is exhausting, because it is chaotic and unarguably wrong, we are beginning to see signs that this will not continue on unabated and unopposed.

The Backlash

It’s necessary sometimes to put yourself in the shoes of the authoritarian. This helps in understanding key components of the ideology, but also in anticipating what directions they might go. I’ve been doing this for years now and I can admit it isn’t fun in any way, shape, or form. Regardless, it does pay dividends. When it comes to the implementation of authoritarianism, there are different strategies. You could roll it out slowly, which we have seen to some extent over the past few years. Then, there are moments in which things speed up. Sometimes this comes after an especially painful and motivating crisis, like the burning down of the Reichstag or a terrorist attack. In these situations, things change very quickly.

The emotional experience of authoritarianism riding on the back of a crisis is chaotic-making and, as we’ve seen in the 21st century, it can lead to insane scenarios like the bipartisan backing of the so-called War on Terror. But, presently, we’re in a different place. Donald Trump’s presidency already feels like it’s lasted several months. This is a result of a flurry of action that runs counter to how most administrations tend to ease into place and take a measured, careful approach. Instead, Trump is carrying out the agenda given to him by the think-tanks and institutes run by his billionaire benefactors, engaging in gleeful cruelty, destroying any government projects that don’t benefit the wealthy, and handing everything over to the oligarchs who have bought him.

This is a vulnerable period for authoritarianism as it is a stark departure from what we have seen in the past. The blitz was meant to push us kicking and screaming into a reality of their choosing, but the haphazardly aggressive nature of the push gifts us an incredible opportunity. If we can manage to get out of the dirt, dust ourselves off, and begin to look for openings, we might very well find purchase we thought, and that feels, nearly impossible.

[...]

I want to start here by saying I do not believe that the most diehard MAGA acolytes will suddenly realize they backed the wrong horse when the consequences of Trump’s action take form. That’s not how any of this works. They hold a religious dedication to him and are inundated constantly with enough of mis and disinformation and propaganda to override any cognitive dissonance. Economic troubles and even the eradication of programs that specifically affect them will be blamed on the “Deep State” or insidious conspiracy theories. That’s not what we’re talking about here. But Trump’s orders to pause federal funding, slash programs, and the general dysfunction and chaos leading to consequences (including his weekend spat with Colombia affecting prices) will change the paradigm with some. There are many individuals, from all walks of life, who are going to be negatively impacted. This includes the funding of studies, experimental drugs and treatments, any number of other downstream effects will touch people’s lives. Some people are going to die. And, when you add that to the upcoming trauma of seeing friends and neighbors and community members, including children, being rounded up by aggressive mobs of ICE officers, it will generate backlash.

For some, this will be stuff they read about on the news, but for so many people this is going to be lived experience that affects their daily lives. Federal employees are already feeling it and the people associated with their programs have had enough in the first week. Now, we’re getting into god knows how many ongoing programs that are going to be cut or decimated. This is going to exacerbate pressure in so many workplaces and communities, and the catharsis Trump is offering his dieheards - the pleasure of seeing “elites” and vulnerable communities inflicted with pain - will have no reward whatsoever for them. Instead, it will be real material conditions. Despite what Trump and the oligarchs behind him think, there are ripples from all of this. We’re likely to begin seeing labor strife, community uprisings, and a changing of the tide. The furious nature of it all, not to mention how dysfunctional and unprofessional Trump and his billionaires are, only makes mistakes more inevitable and for consequences to mount. The question now is how this will be answered. And authoritarians are quick to violence and suppression.

Jared Yates Sexton wrote a solid piece on how we fight MAGA authoritarianism.

[maxdibert]

@petals2fish sorry but your friend block me so i can't answer properly your post but i want to say some things about your statement:

And basically are here:

A classist excuse that ignores the social and economic conditions of a person in a situation of vulnerability and danger of social exclusion. You blatantly disregard all the material conditions surrounding a person from an extremely poor environment with no family support, only to find themselves in a school environment where they are constantly persecuted and harassed. You also overlook what it means to be embraced by a specific group of people promising to help them out of the misery if they follow them. Basically, you disregard all the international analyses and statistics linking young people at risk of exclusion as prime targets for sectarian and far-right political groups precisely because of their social conditions. But well, one can overcome classism too, especially when one reads books and not just fanfics and Tumblr posts.

The only Weasley he openly dislikes is Harry’s friend, nothing to do with the rest of the Weasleys, honestly. And despite not having money, the Weasleys are still pure-blood, which means they maintain a superior status over him in the wizarding world. Blood status in the wizarding world has clear parallels with the concept of classical European aristocracy, and in Europe, you can be completely broke, but if you're an aristocrat, you’ll always be considered socially above those who aren’t, even if they’re wealthier. So if you’re trying to establish some kind of power dynamic between the Weasleys and Severus, honestly, you’re going about it the wrong way. You should put a little more effort into understanding how structural class differences work in certain societies rather than pushing a neoliberal, American-centric perspective.

And yes, obviously, he distanced himself from his poor origins because they reminded him of being marginalized, excluded, and abused at home—just like many people from the same social background do as a response to trauma. It’s also true that he served and gave his life for "the good guys," who always treated him like absolute shit, always distrusted him, humiliated him, and marginalized him, while he turned his back on those who, at the very least, treated him with some degree of sympathy “for the greater good.” And I think you’re deliberately and conveniently ignoring this.

On another note, I don’t understand why Severus should have any intention of saving the life of a guy who stripped him against his will in front of the entire school, publicly suffocated him, and made his life hell for seven years. A pure-blood guy, from an important family, disgustingly rich, with far more social and financial power than he ever had. Like, I wouldn’t expect anyone to save their abuser’s life—I’d actually ask for them to be tortured until they begged for their own death. I don’t know what kind of utopian fantasy world you live in where you can hold it against someone that they don’t give a single shit whether the person who abused, humiliated, and traumatized them for life lives or dies. Some of the nonsense you lot come out with is just... wow.

Yes, Snape had self-hatred and internalized classism. And failing to understand where that comes from, failing to recognize how power structures operate when it comes to vulnerable people at high risk of social exclusion—who are pushed by their environment into becoming prime targets for grooming and brainwashing—is classist. But that’s not internalized classism; that’s overt classism. It’s looking at everything from a morally superior stance shaped by a society incapable of empathizing with or comprehending how certain sectarian groups operate and how they primarily target vulnerable youth for radicalization. It’s pretending to ignore how drug cartels recruit underprivileged children and teenagers to work for them, how nationalist terrorist groups focus on young people to indoctrinate them, how religious cults prey on kids with troubled homes or social environments to manipulate them more easily. It’s refusing to see beyond your privileged nose and your complete lack of real-life experience with people who’ve actually faced serious problems, choosing instead to spew moralistic monologues without having the slightest clue how the world actually works.

[tf2occontest]

Jack and Maya: The Jack Class VS The Glider

(Full matchup list here)

Alright team, here's a recap: This is a contest to determine who amongst you will take the top of the leaderboards and be hired at TFI! Simply put, whoever gets the most votes gets to move on, and whoever doesn't... Well. They'll be put down swiftly and cleanly. :}

So, mann your stations, because here are your next contestants! Vote for your favorite mercenary who you want to win the TF2 OC Contest! - P

OC INFO UNDER THE CUT!

We highly encourage you to take a peek to make your decision!

Jack and Maya: The Jack Class

@the-jack-class

Image credit: @/msmoon-and-the-cyberdemon

Meet the Jack Class, your next 10th Class for TF2! They’re a flexible Support Class who can be called by teammates as an extra form of assistance adaptable to any situation they face. In exchange for their service, you might need to lend a weapon- any is fine, they’re professionals afterall. The only asset given is a mechanical glove which deals small damage but heals the wearer on the battlefield.

Okay but- who are these guys?? Coming in from the UK, Jack is a cunning and charismatic character who knows his ways around the battlefield. Call for him and he’s on his way, just make sure you got a gun loaded or a bat in hand for him. Why? Cuz he’s gonna need it if he’s gonna help you out there! Also- I think he’s a vampire or something? Yeah. Just be careful.

Maya comes from a long line of tactical weapons engineers, improving and repairing all kinds of machineries for companies like TFI. After years of running from a debt owed to them, she’s back and she’s got you covered.

The Glider

@ruthytwoshakes

Image credit: @/ruthytwoshakes

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a depressed middle-aged Italian with a flight suit! Please welcome the Glider from TEAMFORTRESS: SPECIAL FORCES, to the best opportunity of all: a job where you merk the exact same team in a different color.

The Glider takes a new approach to our gravel field; with his one-of-a-kind “Gliding Suit” and endless supply of ariel ammo, he’s a menace from a never before seen angle in Team Fortress 2. Above.

He's a bit outta his gourd, spending most of your life isolated in a forest studying "Italy's Shame," Leonardo Da Vinci will do that to you. But no worries! His good cooking and friendly-ish attitude will do more than enough to get you to look past his fre- OCCASIONAL!! Grazie tante! - "mad scientist" outbursts. About planes. Freak. Just whatever you do, DO NOT call it a “Flight Suit.” There’s a difference. He’s not called “The Flyer,” for pete sakes.

[snowyh2o]

I absolutely love how of the (two) Hazbin Hotel role swap AUs that featured Alastor as either supporting or starting the redemption project I’ve seen and liked, they both put him in glasses and gave him a pony tail. That is what I call peak character design right there.

[aroaessidhe]

2024 reads / storygraph

Outdrawn

f/f contemporary romance

two cartoonist who’ve been rivals since uni, and now have competing webcomics online, have to work together on the relaunch of a cult classic at the comic press they both work at

they both struggle with art-related physical and mental health issues, and complicated families

[flightlesskiwi]

I don’t think the Rat Grinders are irredeemable or whatever but I DO think a lot of people are putting the onus on Brennan specifically to redeem them or “write them a redemption arc”, like yes it is a show and there has to be character narratives especially for foils to your PCs, but ttrpgs are fundamentally a /collaborative/ storytelling medium, the thing about DnD is that the players have to invest in the NPCs, they have to give them the time and space to redeem themselves through interacting with them, the reason we see characters like Aelwyn and Ragh get a redemption arc & change and develop is because the Bad Kids went out of their way to talk to them (In Aelwyn’s case Adaine had to commit to redeeming her sister on multiple occaisions). Lets not forget there have been other teen villains, like Penelope, Dayne and Biz who the Bad Kids just straight up killed in combat, who didn’t get redeemed. Do I think it’s fully possible that the Rat Grinders can experience redemption/forgiveness and it would be narratively satisfying? Absolutely! But, imo, a lot of the narrative thrust behind wether a character gets redemption is in the hands of the players, and it would be a little bit unsatisfying if being freed from their rage crystals immediately gave them all full personality transplants (like removing all of Kipperlily’s anger and ambition for example)

[adashofniallandasprinkleoflunacy]

home from work

[cetoddle]

ugh.

new year ✅

new me ❌

[a-wins-a-win]

unpopular opinion?? maybe?

Matt & Ivy have a really interesting dynamic!! both pre- and post-canon!! with or without romantic undertones!! either reciprocal or one-sided!!

and obviously it has to be handled with a particular level of care/respect BUT I think if we allowed them enough grace there is space to explore a really interesting possibility for that relationship.

[butnotbubblegum]

Thinking a lot recently about the fact that within a wider group of friends there will be people you don’t like. And this is fine and normal and you just get on with them because that’s what you do. But when it happens in a smaller group which is tighter knit, what do you do then? If you try and do the same it comes across weirdly. Because the level of closeness with the rest of the group is on average higher than in a big group.

[skhardwarevers1]

anyways “just don’t leave me alone wondering where you are” Program and “I am stronger than you give me credit for” Vista

[nellasbookplanet]

Trying not to be annoyed at the people commenting on my mass effect wishlist about how they like the boob windows actually, because I get it’s a kind of jokey response to a kind of jokey post. I get wanting a bit of fanservice on occassion, or wanting to have optional sexy outfits or characters who dress in a sexy way if it suits their personality and/or the occassion (such as a character dressing up for a party).

But please tell me you didn’t somehow play the entire trilogy without noticing the massive disparity between male and female character design. I am not being jokey anymore, it’s genuinely gross how the games were seemingly so at a loss about what to do with a woman who can’t be sexualized that they simply refused to feature them at all, and all you can say is 'but I like the boob windows'!!

Okay yeah I'm annoyed.

[ow-old-men]

sorry i'm 50-50 split on the vote why can't i just do both? like both in voting and not in voting

I say this with all love for the many-faceted nature of humanity that I could ever muster, but if there is any doubt in your mind, we operate on entirely different hotness scales

It is the most straightforward choice I’ve ever been presented with. Your indecision is as foreign to me as most types of advanced maths. Projecting myself into the headspace where this choice is in any way a challenge is like asking me to imagine the world how a tree sees it; I will indulge, I will try to be empathetic through all means available to me and yet I will always come up short: the wiring of my entire being is incompatible. You’ve heard me state the sky is blue and told me you waiver between calling it blue or brown