#we can evolve

[postcardsfromheapside]

Anyway, now that I'm not at work:

genuinely where are you even getting these ideas

Harding and Rook join up because of Varric, and Neve is hired by Varric because he describes her as the best at what she does. There's no "power of friendship" bullshit here, after the ritual it's three people who sit down and decide next steps. You DON'T get to know these individuals immediately, that's what companion quests are for, OR you can be a halfway normal fan and go look up other material. At no point is the game required to hand you exposition on a platter. It's actually incredibly boring for a game to stop and explain to you who these people are and "why" you should care about them 10 minutes in - you do that as you're playing through their quests.

How old are you? Have you ever held an adult job where you were required to get along with your coworkers in order to not only keep your job, but also work towards a common goal? Because I feel like you've literally never either led an organization, been part of one, or done anything collaborative that required you to be somewhat friendly with people who are possibly near-strangers but share a common purpose. That's what mature adults do. Neve, Harding, and Rook are all adults. There's zero reason for them to be shitty to each other, even when they disagree about strategy (and Harding and Neve do, or did you miss that?).

Also, the way you portray the resolution of conflict displays so little insight into how adults conduct themselves when they're even somewhat reasonable, and instead suggests that the only entertainment you find is in the kind of people who lash out. Not everyone is on the same page: they frequently disagree with each other and Rook about tactics or choices, and those things affect approval, bonds, and even of consequences in the game.

It's clear you never listened to any of the dialogue in the game. At all. Like at all. It's all there, and you glossed right over it. It's actually a crime against whoever taught you in literature/English classes in middle and high school, or whatever your equivalent.

"Veilguard" doesn't resent shit. It's not holding your hand, it's not spoon-feeding you a bunch of backstory and exposition and weighing the game down so that you "feel justified." It expects you to be a grown ass adult and actually spend more than two seconds doing your own work.

No, I'm not done yet, I'm house sitting and she left me snacks and soda and not even god could keep me from venting my spleen at this point.

"I wish the companions were meaner to each other in this game, like in DA2."

While I think there's a larger argument to be made discussing the similarities between DA2 and Veilguard, I need everyone to get so close to me right now about a glaring difference:

DA2 involved a ragtag group of assholes with their own agendas coalescing around Hawke's personality or exchange of favors. There was no larger "goal," except maybe Varric's expedition - everything else is encountered as circumstance. You wend your way through your companions' stories while a city winds ever tighter into itself, a spring about to literally explode.

There's zero reason for these people to be nice to each other. They have no point in being around each other except Hawke. They can bitch at each other all they like.

Rook becomes Varric's second in command (I've seen one post say it's about 6 months before the events of the game) with an explicit purpose: find and stop Solas. Harding and Neve are recruited as experts in their respective fields for this particular goal. When it all goes to shit, Neve recruits another expert, Lucanis, to deal with the fallout, and Harding finds Davrin, *also* an expert in his field (monster hunting). When Rook has to make a particularly consequence heavy decision, two more are added to the crew: Emmrich (Fade expert) and Taash (dragon expert). All of these people are extremely competent, and know from the jump that they have one particular goal in mind.

They join ready to work together on Day 1 because if they don't, there's simply no other alternative. It's lights out. Even when they mistrust each other, the direness of the situation is not lost on them. Infighting serves no purpose. That's why the struggle is directed inward: clean up your own house, so we can move as a single unit.

Honestly the fact that what people took away from this game was "I wish my friends were meaner to each other" and not "wow, I wish we all worked together to keep evil dictators from taking over" is fucking mindblowing when I sit back and reread this.

[bruciemilf]

“Bruce is emotionally incompetent and can’t step outside his own morality” yeah it’s a character flaw.

“Dick is extremely stubborn and thinks he’s right all the time” yeah it’s a character flaw.

“Jason has hypocritical tendencies” yeah it’s a character flaw.

“ Tim is entitled and doesn’t think about people when seeking results, and often acts uncaring” yeah it’s a character flaw.

“Damian is rude and bratty” yeah, it’s a character flaw.

Also, some people may not even regard everything listed above as flaws.

Having negative traits allows incredible flexibility within your characters, what makes them intriguing, what makes them easy to relate to. If you want to write people, then write people. But they can’t be good and clean all the time.

[fate-tumbles]

If you build it, they will come.

And if they don't, at least you can pay some tricksters (read: marketing folkx 😏) to make them think they WANT to come here like it was their OWN idea.

[undeadmagick]

worship evolves with time. yes, the people who worshipped the gods back in the day had specific offerings to be given. but what is stopping you from giving modern offerings? things around your house? offerings shouldn't have to cost you a fortune. your deities aren't holding you at gunpoint to only receive what you can't easily get. they are a means of showing your love in your day-to-day. so yes!! give your deities candy bars! show them a silly little doodle of them in the corner of your notebook!! make a spotify playlist and play it for them!! dedicate a journal to them!! make a pinterest board and fill it with pins that remind you of them!! the important aspect of these offerings is that you are thinking about your deities. thinking about them and feeling love and devotion to them is a means of offering! you are devoting your energy in these acts!!

[unproduciblesmackdown]

Lackadaisy Enrichment

[respectthepetty]

To begin episode ten of Jack & Joker with Jack and Joke laying in Jack's bed with his color on them (not a euphemism) and Joke's color disregarded on his bed hurts a bit in retrospect knowing how it all ends in that hospital waiting room.

Because although Jack was much lighter the next day, and Joke was back in his signature red,

The color quickly started draining from the community.

So while Joke wanted Jack to live happily in their little colorful bubble the same way Rose attempted before with Jack, everyone else was losing their color adjusting to their new realities.

Joke has always been quick to abandoned his color in preference for Jack's, so it was nice to see that the sign they made incorporated both of their colors, and their daughter, in pink, was the love between them.

So the boys continued to live in their colorful bubble

But, once again, just as Aran immediately pointed out about Rose's grand entrance,

This little colorful bubble is all fake.

So as much as I was thrilled that Aran made matching buttons for Tattoo to wear with him that incorporated a blue background and red heart for the main couple ,

It wasn't long before Aran willingly gave up his heart to Hoy. And I think that is important. Nobody is really being selfish here. They continue to do everything for others, and they sacrifice for others. Aran gave his button to Hoy so he wouldn't be sad. Tattoo stole the necklace so his mom wouldn't get hurt. Joke stole the ring so Jack could be free.

Jack is lighter, so obviously it worked! But I think this is also why the color is draining from all the others as well. They are community, so their colors align as they have matured, which brown represents.

But brown is also a sign of decay and sadness, so even when Jack and Joke (and Aran) try to escape being part of a community and live selfishly in their own happy bubble, the hurt of the community will still seep through.

They can't just simply walk away from it.

So it's amazing that the kids are the brightest of the bunch.

They are impacted just as much as the adults, but where the adults are resigned to the fact that this life, the kids still have color and the willingness to fight, together.

Joke with a little of his red had to convince to group of adults to fight together because as Hoy said, it's easier to fight as hundreds against an army of ten, and when Toi Ting came up with a plan, the other kids quickly followed their leader.

Which is why I think Aran is so important to this plot. His father is gaining power like Thanos, and his aunt has directly and indirectly helped him attain it, but even though Aran wants to run away from the fight, he continues to stay and help the community when he doesn't have to. He started off selfish, yet he gives Hoy his heart when he doesn't have to. He makes Jack a hat. He helps Joke steal the ring. He is part of this community. But he is also the outcome of his family.

Boss and Nang are two extremes. The reveal that they are siblings who parents died due to the Four Horsemen's actions makes their dynamic more interesting because they have dealt with this trauma in completely different ways. Nang, in her white, tells her followers to abandon the power money has over them by ridding themselves of their possessions, while Boss, in his black, decided inheriting power through oppressing others was the only way to achieve success.

Yet Nang helped her brother. Several times. So regardless of what she wanted, she still helped the person she loves just like all these other characters have done.

And just like everyone else, the consequences are dire.

Aran has proven that a person can't be selfish like his father but a person shouldn't sacrifice their entire life for others like Nang. There must be a balance. He couldn't sacrifice himself and marry Rose for his dad, and he is still true to himself while helping others in the ways he can.

He knows that sometimes, the best way to support others is by simply being there for them, which is something he never got without paying people.

So in the end, Joke, who is at his lowest in that hospital waiting room, has the hands of his friends on him to comfort him in his time of need.

And Jack, even though alone in his grief, is still wearing Joke's red.

No man is an island.

And nobody can change the world on his own.

Because people need people. People need to know they are supported and loved. People need to know they aren't being judged and that their burdens can be shared.

And Aran has shown that.

Because Tattoo helped him understand it.

[nenoname]

i need to see people talk about the bill+stan dynamic so bad....

bill and his endless loathing for stan, the fact that stan beat him with a trick that they used as a kid and bill seeing all the traits he hates most about himself reflected in stan

stan being able to read bill like a book and encouraging ford to forget about that creep, while part of him is still stuck thinking about bill and realising the extent bill hurt his family back when he was completely oblivious to him

the contrast of bill being offered the chance at redemption for destroying his world but refusing it, while it's been stated that stan knowingly risked the destruction of the world all for the chance of being redeemed

and that poem.....

[skeletondoggy]

Hey, just wanna say thanks for being cool about the new roommate. Being 5 frilled sharks inhabiting an astronaut suit makes finding a job really hard for them and I think they enjoyed how chill you were. Said they'd love to do hotpot sometime with ya

[jayrockin]

would vestigial be the best way to describe a chabbit’s wings? Seeing as they were never flight capable to begin with.

That's a great question, because afaik "vestigial" describes an ancestral trait that through evolution, has lost its functionality in a given organism. Chabbits... uh... were not selected for by the usual evolutionary processes, and have polyphyletic ancestors. Describing GMOs with evolutionary terms gets weird fast

[tenisperfection]

Since we're talking about it, the issues with 911's pacing and the story lines feeling self contained to the point of lacking cohesion is not new. We saw this with season 6, and we've seen it more and more since then. Season 7 was shortened and the first with a new network so we can let that slide, but season 8 feels especially egregious considering they're back to their usual length and they're still making these episodes like they're meant to be standalone instead of part of a season/series. If there’s a central theme or two, I don’t know what it is. The opening arc was great and flowed together very well, but it was in essence a feature film that has not had much connection to the rest of the season. Plot points get brought up and resolved within twenty minutes. There’s always a chance they’ll get brought up again but it’s hard to see the road ahead. In their initial seasons, they were so good about setting up season-long threads and they telegraphed that. Now it feels like a “I guess they could bring that up again?? If they want??”

Now, I am perfectly aware and capable of not watching a show if I don’t enjoy it so don't even go there, and I know we're only halfway through this season, but there’s only so many times you can yell about long-form storytelling or whatever before you look foolish and the writers give you yet another forty minute episode that brings nothing beyond momentary enjoyment and introspection. I also still enjoy the show and think there's plenty to enjoy! But I don’t want this beloved show to become what so many others have—just a pale imitation of what it used to be and only the characters you love to hold on to instead of the stories we came and stayed for. I think that's the frustrating part. We know how good this show can be and to be here another year talking about the same issues we talked about during season 6 is frustrating. I hope something turns around because this is not it.

[rosswood]

how many cycles of trauma and suffering does it take to get to the center of a silly little anvil guy (the answer might surprise you)

[luck-of-the-drawings]

OOH YEAH BABY ITS THE SURGERY EPISODE BABY!!! ME AND THE HOMIES NEED SOME NEW FACES FOR OUR NEW PLAN, AND WHO BETTER TO GET THE JOB DONE THAN THE TWO MOST EVIL PEOPLE WE'VE EVER HAD THE MISFORTUNE OF HAVING OUR LIVES VIOLATED BY? I MEAN IT WOULD BE FUNNY. IT WOULD BE FUNNY.

[front-facing-pokemon]

[sincerely-sofie]

Slowly cooking up my own characterization of the Lamb to hypothetically use in a fanfic / future comics and fanart, and I realized some similarities to another character.

[houseswife]

house’s cane is grotesquely underutilised sexual style in fanfics considering that 1) it’s a long phallic object that he is constantly handling and 2) he straight up joked about fucking wilson with it that one time

[quibbs126]

Oh yeah so I finally found that original image with those flavors of certain characters. Well actually I found it a week or two ago, I just forgot about it until I was doing cleanup this morning

Anyways, so I’m aware that these aren’t actually talking about the flavors of the Cookies themselves. This is about the macarons based on each Cookie and what flavors they are

But I kind of want to take these and make them into headcanon flavors. Or at least, they’re tertiary flavors/something that’d be picked up in a dough analysis

Like for instance, Dark Cacao has a trace amount of sea salt in his dough, and similarly Eclair has trace amounts of birthday cake in his. Cotton has some milk in hers, so perhaps she has some ancestry from the Milk Tribe. Sea Fairy tastes similar to Fruity Pebbles, which tbh vaguely remind me of the color of coral, so I like to think she could have originally been a coral based Cookie, assuming she was something before being Sea Fairy. Dark Enchantress has a berry flavor to her. I don’t really have ideas for the other three but there’s things you could come up with

Again I know these aren’t canon, but I can at least incorporate them into headcanon if I want to