#this was a bit rambling

[theusisthebadplace]

I got a notification on my phone that my 1D blanket and shirts I ordered last week had shipped.

I’ve been listening to their music with a few breaks here and there since the day after the news about Liam’s sudden passing.

I’ve seen TikTok’s that other people have made to their music too. Celebrating being a fan. Saying that they didn’t expect to have another “1D phase” in their 30’s.

I just want to say I’m sorry, you know? I’ve been a fan of One Direction privately since 2013. But it has been pretty private.

Back before the hiatus was announced, I would talk a little more openly with people about being a fan. Obviously my family knew. My close friends knew. But then the hiatus came and I just sort of, walled it off?

Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t like, lie about it. If someone asked me my favorite band, I would throw 1D in the mix, mostly to gauge the other person’s reaction. If someone gave me shit about it, I knew they were uncool. And I’ve been here the whole time, obviously.

But I didn’t buy merch. The only 1D stuff I owned for a long long long time was actually solo stuff (Harry’s TPWK shirt, and a Louis shirt that just had the smiley). I felt like I was “too old” to have like a bumper sticker on my car doing school drop off. I was “too serious” to wear 1D merch on casual days at my stuffy, boring ass, corporate USAmerica job.

Eventually, I even drifted from their music a bit- finding myself listening to other artists unless someone had new solo stuff. Then I would listen to just that for a bit.

I have fought, on this hellsite and in other places time and time and time again that being a fan of something doesn’t have an age limit. That I love those boys as if they were my own (even though I’m only 5 years older than Louis lol). That it’s nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed about. I fought those fights- all while being somewhat ashamed. No 1D posters, no clothes, nothing.

So I just wanted to apologize. Mostly to Liam. Liam- it shouldn’t have taken your death for me to come back. It shouldn’t take the loss of your life for me to go get that 1D tattoo I’ve always wanted, to order the shirts and the stickers and blast your music in my car at school drop off and pickup. But you loved 1D with your whole heart. And now that you’re gone I’m gonna love you all that much harder, that much louder, for the both of us. I’m gonna be a 1D fan, out loud, maybe even obnoxiously, for the rest of my life. Promise.

[some-pers0n]

I hate how people will look at popular indie artists who had one or two songs go viral on TikTok and start making fun of anybody who listens to them. "Oh you listen to Lemon Demon, Will Wood, Jack Stauber, Glass Animals, and Mother Mother? Tsk, don't you know that is stupid TikTok neurodivergent white transmasc preteen music? It's so mid and bad you should listen to real music–" you are a pit of misery

[manhattan-gamestop]

Me explaining why my grades were/are shit

[crowkip]

yeehaw, baby!

[runawaymarbles]

The thing I keep coming back to, with all the *gestures expansively* is that real life doesn't have peaceful epilogues.

Every single win has to be defended. Forever. I'm sorry. It sucks. The Nazis lost until they stopped losing. The US had abortion rights, and then 50 years later it didn't. Empires fall, and then they invade other countries again. Oppressive regimes are overthrown and replaced with other oppressive regimes. You will never finish the work etc etc etc. Which is why it's so fucking important to be able to acknowledge and celebrate progress, when it happens. The people who came before you didn't put in all that work for nothing, and you aren't, either. You can't save it all for the Ultimate Victory because there is never going to be an Ultimate Victory. There's no such thing as a time when everything is good, and ours shall not be the commune of Heaven.

[vandersprodigy18]

This episode really demonstrates why M9 won the battle royale. They really are nigh unkillable.

They are rolling like dogshit and losing spell slots left and right, have less PCs than the VM fight at the Key, have taken exhaustion points and soo much damage, and their healing is being sabotaged.

But they still managed to complete their encounter in less than 1 episode. They managed to avoid all the obstacles leading to the boss fight. They had no deaths.

This party build is legit insane. Theyre so mobile, cant pin them down. Their casters control the battlefield. Their tanks are basically immortal. They have 2 guaranteed Divine Interventions, 2 Mass Heals. They have 1 Vestige, and an unending well of tricks in Fjord and Veth. They are dripping with advantages, resistances, and rerolls.

Mighty Nein most qualified assholes for the job fr.

[lazylittledragon]

ok look i love astarion with my whole soul and this might be an unpopular opinion but post-brain, i don’t think he’s fashionable. i think he knows how to dress well and likes wearing nice clothes but i really feel like 90% of the time when he’s at home he would just want to be comfortable. i think this man wears dad slippers and owns an ungodly amount of sweaters and comfy loungewear. furthermore i would like to put forward that the person who DOES put together a fucking Look every single day of his life is wyll fucking ravengard. in this essay i will

[columboscreens]

[superman-the-secret-third-thing]

The claim that "Superman is too strong to have any meaningful conflict" is a ridiculous statement and makes the assumption that all conflict is rooted in violence.

Superman has conflicts around philosophy, societal issues, loneliness, balancing work and personal life, human empathy, rescue and yes, he does fight things. Things that are as strong as him. Just because he can move fast and punch good doesn't mean he can't have anxiety.

(This story isn't related to this post, but the art is from Superman Lost #2)

[o0kawaii0o]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KING 🗣🗣🗣

[catnippackets]

ideas for casual low-stress art projects if you want to work on something creative during the new year

dream journal: you can either write down every single dream you have so you can look back on everything, or just write down the best ones and add little drawings or collages to embellish them

weather blanket/scarf: create a legend for which colour matches each temperature/weather and then knit one row every day so by the end of the year you have a little reminder of what the weather looked like this year

junk journal/scrapbook: collect misc things like labels/ads/stickers/receipts and make little collages with them in a book

everyone add on ideas

[foldingfittedsheets]

I was talking to my coworker today about my deep belief that more media should be finite. Some of the most disappointing endings in TV happen because there wasn’t an end goal that the plot was working toward all along. Ironically this came up because I was lamenting Arcane only being two seasons, a decision I admire, respect, and mourn.

I was juxtaposing How I Met Your Mother with The Office. The whole conceit of HIMYM is that the story is supposed to be leading toward this woman who haunts the narrative with her absence but because they set out with no end goal the finale is ultimately so unsatisfying. Nine seasons of build up for someone who could never have lived up to the hype because she wasn’t chosen beforehand or included early on.

Contrasted the The Office which was nine seasons that only ever claimed to be about the daily lives of office workers. Things get a bit looney tunes at times but ultimately the finale feels correct because there wasn’t some stated goal they’d been working toward narratively all along.

I then stated that the best and most elegant storytelling for TV was on The Good Place, in which every episode furthered the understanding of moral philosophy, advanced the plot, and was funny. It set out with a clear story and wrapped up exactly where it intended in one of the most satisfying conclusions ever that makes me cry every time.

My coworker then said, “What’s The Good Place?”

I froze. I frantically ran back everything I’d said thus far for spoilers and concluded that I had not ruined the plot. “You haven’t seen it?”

“No, it’s pretty good?”

“It’s. Really good.”

He mused about watching it with his partner or alone. I know he doesn’t like to rewatch media but I still suggested, “Watch it alone first, and then rewatch it with her. Trust me. The twist at the end of the first season will recontextualize everything and you’ll get to watch her reaction.”

I hope I get to hear him talk about it when I work with him next. I’m excited.

[daisybell-on-a-carousel]

Being someone who read Under The Red Hood and came out with the firm belief that, for Jason, it's not about killing Joker, it's about Jason wanting proof Batman would choose him over the Joker (bc shelia chose the joker). Makes seeing any other media where it's all about just wanting the Joker dead is a teeny bit frustrating. to be honest

Jason could've killed the Joker himself, really, really easily. Jason kidnaps the Joker before the confrontation. I can't open my comic for a reference right now, but it felt like he had the Joker for quite a bit before the confrontation. He had him. He beat him up with a crowbar. He had every single opportunity to kill the Joker himself, but he didn't because that wasn't his goal. Make no mistake, he did plan for the Joker to be dead by the end of it, but do you see what im trying to say here

Edit: If I knew this post was gonna get 1000+ notes I would've tried to word it better or something, this was a rant I made on the way to the grocery store 😭

It's not about making Batman kill either. When Batman says he won't kill, Jason adjusts and goes, 'Let ME kill the Joker or kill me to stop me' instead. The test is all about Batman choosing him. The whole final confrontation is Jason's first death again. The parent, The Joker, and the explosives. It even ends with Jason unable to move as a bomb goes off right next to him again because the parent didn't choose Jason. And instead tried finding an option that'd benefit them and (consequencely) letting the Joker walk, again, lol, lmao <-in agony

[woodlouseonastring]

i looovveee going through the doctor who tag when a new episode comes out and it's split between people that think it's dogshit and people saying they can't believe people think it's dogshit, truly not a doctor who episode if there aren't polar opposite opinions

[linipik]

dude.... they are taking vld out of netflix :/

have I rewtched it since 2018? not really, but i reference it often, and the wave of new fans from time to time was always refreshing.

[auranym]

indie games are safe!!

good news! unity has walked back a lot of the runtime fee!

they made a blog post outlining their new terms, the link is here. but if you want a sparknotes version, here's the highlights:

1. the runtime fee is not retroactive. previously released games are safe.

2. the fee only applies to the next major version of unity. developers can choose not to upgrade if they don't want do deal with it.

3. the fee is opt-in and number of installs is self-reported. if they'd prefer, developers can instead pay a 2.5% revenue share. (for reference, unreal is 4%.)

4. interestingly, the splash screen is being completely removed. this is probably a way to improve their reputation.

overall, this is a HUGE improvement! but, if I remember right, there was not any revenue share before, so, we are not at the same point we started. unity will still be taking a larger cut of developers' revenue if they choose to use newer features. but, it is nowhere near as drastic as we thought it would be.

overall, I think we're in a stable spot now, but I also think unity has lost most if not all of the trust it had. especially with indies. there has already been a mass exodus, and I kinda hope that will keep going.