#you can dislike him for the rest of your life but you can't condemn him forever and act as though he's not capable of growth and change

[supernovaa-remnant]

For me its an issue because of the way tommy portrayed dream's stims and how his mother was acting on Twitter. They can be friends for all I care, what bothers me is how the content I curate and like to watch will possibly be associated with that messiness, as well as the edgy jokes and cringe ""humor"" tommy is putting out lately. It is similar to what happened to sylvee: while it is understandable and she cant do what she wants, as a viewer she lost all sympathy and enjoyement i had for her, not bc she acted like she did towards dteam, but bc it showed me how so much of these ccs friendships are fake and their stances made purely out of empty internet morals

I mean, like, respectfully... you can choose what content you want to watch? like if you don't like tommy, that's completely fine! before the whole primeboys falling out thing, I was pretty neutral leaning positive in regards to tommy. I still consider myself pretty neutral on him as a cc? there have always been parts of his humor that I disliked, but there have also been parts of his content that I enjoyed. All that really meant is that I was really picky about which of his videos and streams I watched, which is well within my rights lol.

also, side note, but it is not tommy's job to monitor what his grown mother is doing on twitter. like, she is a grown woman, and it should not be expected that her child should be the one to keep her in line. if anything, I felt sorry for tommy when she was doing her whole thing on twitter, because wow that must've been so embarrassing.

anyway, the reason I think this is non-issue is because it actually doesn't really affect anyone here? like, you can choose what content you want to consume. whether or not dream team reconcile their friendship with tommy, it really shouldn't affect people? I mean, great to everyone who it will positively affect (primeboys fans who have been hoping for a reconciliation, I hope you're having a nice time <3), but there's really no reason for it to negatively affect anyone, y'know?

at the end of the day, dream team's personal relationships are up to them. personally, I think it would probably be good if dream and tommy reconciled, seeing as they were both clearly upset at their falling out, and it's not a stretch to think that them reconciling their friendship would make both of them happy. but regardless of that, it really isn't up to the fanbase at all.

you're not obligated to like anyone. you're not even obligated to like anyone in your real life, let alone random people on the internet who you don't even know. but it's like... you can't make decisions on these people's friendships. and ultimately I think a lot of people have been acting as though it's personally affected them when really... we aren't involved in their friendship.

[iovetecchou]

That Funny Feeling ⧸ Dazai Osamu

༞ Contains...! !TW! this fic contains heavy topics such as: suicide, depression, anxiety, and self-deprecating thoughts. hurt/comfort type beat, hugging, gentle touches, hand holding, swearing, suggestive implications but NOTHING actually happened! kunikida is just silly, dazai really is a sweetheart in this ):

༞ GN Reader.

༞ 2,494 words.

a/n: if you have struggled with your own mental health past or present, just know that you are not alone. i love you and am so proud of you for still being here and pushing through each day, no matter how difficult that can be. never be afraid to rely on someone close to you when things become too much to bear, you are worthy of living and deserve to be loved.

Some people just aren't cut out for life. We are all dealt a hand, some cards interchangeable. But for the most part, they mold us; and make us who we are. They map out the rest of our lives. So what are you supposed to do when all the cards you've been handed don't play in your favor?

Even the interchangeable cards; you discard them only to pick up more rotten ones. Your judgment is poor, and your decision-making only gets you stuck between a rock and a hard place. 

You envy the people who were gifted better cards. People who were not condemned from the start. Those are the people who make something out of their lives, the ones who are deserving of taking up space.

You know this sounds self-deprecating, and yeah, it is. But to you, it's also logic. You think that's why you dislike Dazai Osamu.

When he talks so freely about death, his desire for a perfect suicide. It makes your stomach turn, not for obvious reasons, but for selfish ones. He plays off his pain as a joke so no one thinks twice about it when he asks a pretty stranger to "commit a double suicide" with him.

You try so hard to conceal your suicidal thoughts, hiding your depression behind a pretty mask. Showing up to work each day with a smile on your face and a "can do!" attitude. 

You and Dazai really are the same in that aspect, masking your pain so it's less noticeable to others around you. 

Your abdomen twists into knots when he talks so freely about suicide because it causes your mind to wander and your mask to slip. Dazai always seems to pick up on that slight change in you when it happens, too. His chestnut eyes bore holes into your profile from where he sits beside you. You can feel his eyes on you as you try to smile brighter, putting on a chipper face as Kenji updates you on how the cows on his farm are doing.

You hate it. It feels like he's reading your mind; retaining all your deepest darkest secrets. Does your face really give you away so easily? No... It can't be that. You've been working at the Detective Agency for a long while now, and since then, no one else has ever assumed something was wrong with you. 

If they only knew how pitiful your life really was. As much as you love all your colleagues at the Agency, you hate working. Waking up is exhausting, and you dread the repetitive daily routines you're forced to accomplish. On your off days, you sit at home alone- by choice. Interacting with others is draining, and when you're urged to participate in social activities, the anticipation and anxiety eat away at you until the day finally comes. 

Much like today, the day you've been letting eat away at you since the mention of a work party was brought to your attention. You practiced different smiles and laughs in the mirror, shaking your head and trying again when your "act" seemed too unnatural. You probably changed your outfit ten times before ultimately deciding on the same old thing you usually wore. 

Your hands were coated in perspiration as you balled your fingers, making a fist. You took in a shaky breath as you brought yourself to finally knock on Chief Fukuzawa's door. He welcomed you with a tight-lipped smile and a nod of his head, stepping aside to let you through. Immediately, you felt his eyes on you. Dazai watched your little performance as you greeted everyone, and when it was finally his turn to watch your act up close and personal- you froze. 

His eyes were too intimidating. You felt exposed in front of him. It irked you that he had such an effect on you. Why was it so easy to pretend with everyone else but him?

"Aww, where's my greeting?" Dazai smirked devilishly at you, raising his eyebrows slightly as he leaned in close. All-encompassing, invading your personal space. 

You remained quiet. You were on the outside looking in, screaming to yourself to say something- anything. Your gaze shifted to the floor as your hands came up to bunch up the hem of your shirt, rolling it between your fingers; an attempt to self-soothe. 

"I..."

"Oi! Stop teasing them, Dazai," Yosano shouted from the kitchen, plum-colored eyes still fixated on the fizzy concoction she began making for herself.

The sound of Yosano's strong voice ripped you from your stupor. Your head shot up, only to notice Dazai was still gazing at you- studying you. 

"I would do no such thing! I'm hurt that you think so low of me, Yosano!" Dazai's intense gaze finally eased up on you as he whipped his head around to face Yosano. The tall brunette man clutched a hand over his heart in feigned affliction. 

You took that as your opening to slip away, excusing yourself to the restroom. You hardly noticed the way Dazai's attention was drawn back to you at the sound of your hurried footsteps. "Hey- wait up!" 

You quickly pulled the bathroom door shut behind you. You could hardly look at yourself in the mirror, too ashamed of yourself for freezing up back there. The cool tile floor welcomed you as you sunk, curling into yourself. You hugged your knees as they drew closely into your chest. You could feel your rapid heartbeat in your throat, anxiety rising by the second.

"You know, I wouldn't be sitting on the floor if I were you. Let's get you up." Nothing registered until you felt firm hands grasp your biceps. A strong force drawing you up to rely upon your shaky legs. 

"Why- what are you..?" Your sentence fell off. You weren't entirely sure what you were trying to ask. Your mind was too convoluted with disappointment; shame for yourself. 

"The door was unlocked so I figured I'd let myself in! You weren't looking too hot out there, and I wanted to check up on you." Dazai's warm hands still cradled your biceps, untrusting the support your trembling legs half-heartedly gave you in your current state. 

"I'm fine," You chuckled out of nervousness before continuing, "I'll be out in a minute, so you can just go." You could tell by how Dazai looked at you that he didn't buy your lie, not even for a second. 

He let out a deep sigh, large palms moving up to your shoulders before he blurted out, "Stop, just- just stop. You're not fooling me, so quit it with the peachy-keen act. Why do you insist on hiding behind a facade?"

"Why do you?!" You shouted back. You brought your hands up to swat his hands off your shoulders. The shift between distress and rage made your legs feel more grounded. 

Dazai gaped at you for a moment. He genuinely looked taken aback before his face shifted into a tepid expression. He let his arms settle against his sides, his demeanor appearing more taut than usual.

"This isn't about me. Stop deflecting." His voice was eerily calm, making you feel unsettled. Seeing a more serious side to Dazai was far and few between for you. 

"But it is! I hate you... I hate you so much. You- you..." Your vision began to blur as tears spilled past your lashline and down your sullen cheeks. How embarrassing, you thought. Crying in front of the man that made your stomach turn. 

Dazai brought his hand up to your cheek, brushing away the onslaught of tears with the pad of his thumb. "I believe that hatred is displaced. You just don't want to acknowledge that."

Your eyebrows scrunched up in confusion as you drew your hand to grasp his wrist. You tugged with all your might to pull him from your cheek, but no give. Dazai stubbornly kept his large palm on your face. The warmth from his hand seared your skin. It was neither comforting nor unpleasant. Just... unfamiliar.

"You're wrong, I hate you-"

"No, you hate that you see yourself in me."

Your hand fell from his wrist. He was right, and deep down, you knew that. But you refused to admit it. It was shameful. You liked to hate Dazai because it took attention away from the real problem at hand, yourself. 

Dazai let out a sigh as he continued to wipe away your tears. "Tell me to stop if you hate it, but I'm going to hug you now." Before you could process, Dazai embraced you. His hand that was caressing your face only moments ago now cradled your neck. His other arm wrapped around your frame, enveloping you.

"I understand your pain well... I can see myself in you too. But I don't despise you, you know. I actually... worry for you. You try so hard to pretend that everything is fine. It must be exhausting."

It felt like your heart was being squeezed, as if your ribcage was collapsing in on itself. His words shot right through you, as did the guilt. You had been so unfair toward Dazai up until now. Using your displaced disdain for him as a distraction because you were too much of a coward to hold yourself accountable.

It ached so much to come to terms with. Your arms felt heavy as you pulled them up to wrap around Dazai's lanky frame. You quietly sobbed into his chest, grasping your hands into the back of his shirt desperately; as a small child would cling to their mother. 

Dazai hummed softly into your hair, welcoming the silence with open arms; as he did you. You were sure all your colleagues were wondering why Dazai and yourself had been in the restroom for so long, but you hardly cared at this very moment. 

For the first time, in a long time, you felt seen. Like you didn't need to hide when Dazai was in your presence... because even if you did- he would know. Being vulnerable felt similar to what you imagined walking a tightrope hung across two tall skyscrapers entailed. So, to say you were apprehensive about this was an understatement. 

However, in the same breath, it felt freeing. It took a little bit of weight off your shoulders to share your burdens with another person. But never in a million years did you think the person who brought you solace would end up being Dazai Osamu. 

"I'm sorry, Dazai- I'm so fucking sorry. I-"

"It's okay. Believe me, I treated people a lot worse than this from my own displaced hatred," Dazai interrupted. Caressing your hair softly, hyperaware of the wet feeling seeping through his shirt and smearing over his skin from your tears before he continued, 

"Just... just promise me you'll talk to me if it ever becomes too unbearable to handle on your own. I know how it sounds coming from me, I'm a hypocrite- huh? But trust me when I tell you… you are deserving of this thing we call living. Even if you can't see it yourself, I can... and I will remind you of that fact until I'm blue in the face if I have to." 

You pulled back from Dazai's chest as you sniffled, eyes scanning his stoic face. He smiled at you softly, rubbing up and down the sides of your arms in a comforting way. "There you are. I was beginning to think you cried your face off!" You chuckled at his dumb quip, letting your fingers untangle from the cloth adorning Dazai's back.

"Well, this is embarrassing... and I'm sure at this point all the others think were up to no good in here." It was Dazai's turn to laugh as his hands drifted lower, grasping yours softly. Your fingers intertwined as a lopsided grin painted your face.

"So let 'em! Who cares? The only thing that matters is that your heart is beating and you're here. Still standing in front of me." Your smile dropped slightly, the urge to cry bubbling back up, making your throat tighten.

"Dazai," You tightly squeezed his hands within your grasp. Scared that if you loosened your grip for even a second, this moment would be gone before you could say everything you needed to. "I'm really glad you're still here, too."

Dazai closed his eyes for a moment, his smile wavering. "There's so much pain in the world... sometimes it's hard not to notice it. I couldn't shut it out every time I felt your distress. That's why I kept a close eye on you all this time. I'm not just some creep with a staring problem,"

You both laughed at that sentiment before he continued, "I know with each day those painful thoughts are waiting for you. But it's not only that, there's also possibilities. Possibilities you can only discover as long as you're alive."

Your hands still clutched his with great force. His words caused you to cry once more as Dazai's eyes softened. He quietly cooed at you, whispering "don't cry," so gently, it was almost inaudible.  

"Dazai... I hope you know the same can be said for you, and your life," You paused, trying to swallow that lump in your throat before you continued. "I... want to help you- help you live. I know it doesn't mean much coming from me, but as long as you're still here I will do whatever I can to help you. I swear it."

Your tear-filled eyes bored into his chestnut ones. Desperately hoping your words got through to him. Dazai inhaled a shaky breath, eyebrows raising slightly. His lips curved into a tight-lipped smile before he let out a small chuckle. "You're really something else, you know that? Not even ten minutes ago you were shouting about how much you hate me. Now we're best buds... how cute!"

You knew he was deflecting, you guessed being vulnerable was just as daunting to him as it was for you. Before you could say anything more, the door flung open. Both Dazai and yourself whipped your heads in the direction of Kunikida shouting. 

"Dazai! Just what do you think you're doing- wait a damn minute! What did you do to Y/N to make them cry?! Get away from them this instant you damn pervert!"

Kunikida gripped Dazai by the collar, dragging him out of the restroom. When your hands untangled from his, you felt uneasy. There was so much more you wanted to say, but it would just have to wait... for now. 

You couldn't help but chuckle to yourself at the sound of Dazai shouting for you to help prove his innocence from presumably the living room. For the first time since you stepped into the bathroom, you looked at yourself. Taking in your disheveled state.

Ah, there it is again. That funny feeling. 

don't accuse me of making this a self-insert, i will cry!

[alicelufenia]

First off, apologies for taking a while to get back to this, it was a busy day at work and I had no breaks to return to this.

It's on this site, all the time, that Halsin is "Drow racist" for refusing to go with Minthara. It's even more common on Reddit and Twitter.

I tend to avoid Twitter and Reddit as a rule, and don't browse Halsin's tags much, if that's where it tends to be. But every time the ultimatum comes up I see a lot of people saying they either like or dislike it because he's asking you to do something incredibly shitty on his behalf. And after she helped you cure the shadow curse too! (totally possible, this is supposed to trigger at long rest so she can be in your party and adventuring around at this point)

And yeah, "but the Absolute made her do it!!!" but… honestly, if someone CLOSE to me had a brain tumor or similar event that made them make attempts on my life, I STILL wouldn't want break contact with them let alone if this was literally my introduction to them. Let alone if the person said that they only regret that their brain tumor forced them to do such things instead of choosing it themself.

If anything I'm disappointed we can't free MORE True Souls. Minthara makes a great point when she points out Gut and Ragzlin didn't get the same treatment. As with everything, I blame the Emperor.

Joking aside, that's precisely the moral question that's being asked here; do you knowingly condemn someone to lose their mind and free will for the sake of someone who can literally just leave? You can choose otherwise, but don't pretend that's the moral thing to do.

As you pointed out, Halsin doesn't have a tadpole, which means he can't see into Minthara's mind and determine for sure if she's a threat. All he has is her word. Which means very little.

Her word and Tav's, apparently. But seriously, at this point I don't even know what the argument is, we both agree that he would have hesitations with traveling with Minthara, objections at most. The difference seems to be whether he has any right to ask us to kick her out, or that doing so is the right thing to do. I can argue that one all day!

He says one negative comment (what I alluded to about Drow culture being built on violence against each other). Which isn't even that negative. It's true.

I cannot WAIT for him to say that to my cleric of Eilistraee. And to think she's gonna romance him later! But man the side-eye he's gonna get would knock him out of cave bear form.

And what he says when Minthara denies his claim she's a danger (she doesn't refute it- refuting would mean she had proven it, and she did no such thing) isn't about Drow, it's about Lolth worship.

Looking back over the script, it's about the part where the Absolute was "an excuse to indulge your base instincts". Her response is that he's not one to judge her for using violence to further her goals when he uses it to further his goal of preserving nature. And as for Lolth, he's the one who brings her up, not Minthara. "Spare me your sanctimony, druid," indeed.

I also like the ultimatum. If nothing else I've had enough 'lol only one tent' jokes.

"You can have the tent, I'm content to sleep underneath the stars."

Halsin CAN'T return to the Grove. EVERYONE seems to forget that this scene is only programmed to trigger if the Rite of Thorns is completed. Meaning that because of Minthara, Halsin has lost his home, his place of worship, will never see his friends again (that's why he has a line that Minthara was only denied her 'bloody prize' because of Kagha's foolishness), AND all of the refugees under his protection died. Halsin's choice is morally sound in those circumstances.

So I didn't mention it before because I didn't assume you were basing anything off this specific trigger, and I'm so glad you clarified! So let's break it down.

You need to give Minthara the grove's location, then trigger the Rite of Thorns, then free Halsin and inform him that the druids completed the ritual, he joins your camp, you travel to Moonrise, find Minthara there, free her, invite her to camp, long rest, and then this triggers.

So he's lost his home, because of who? Because of Minthara? You mean Absolute-controlled Minthara. Except you don't even mean her, you mean TAV who gives her the location (or failing that, frees Sazza to return to the camp and give the location). So it's even worse now because he's angry at the completely wrong person!

But sure, let's say Tav lied about it. That doesn't change the fact that she's not only freed now, but TWICE offers peace between them. "It was the Absolute that directed my hand toward your grove ... I have no quarrel with you," and "If you stand against [the cult of the Absolute] you stand with me." But then, if he won't listen to anything she says, I guess those words are wasted on him. Honestly she should have been meaner, at least that would be a sign that she was starting to like him.

But! Here's the thing.

This ultimatum scene was added in datamine-only, what, patch 4 I think? Patch 5 they introduced the knock out method. Patch 6 they improved it, and added the voice files for the ultimatum. Everything points to them developing this further, rather than it being something left over from an earlier stage of development.

My point being, I would be surprised if they added this in, and DIDN'T make it trigger when you have them together in camp for ANY reason. Even if the grove is fine, even if the tieflings are alive and well. If not, then why bother?

So I'm judging this based entirely on the premise that the expected situation is NOT a Tav who went through a convoluted sequence of triggers to get them both in camp, but people utilizing the knock out method to get them both in their party, period. A scenario where Halsin is fully welcome to step away and back to his old life.

Oh, and speaking of, isn't there someone else who can't go home, abandoned by the god they were once devoted to, and may never see those they've known their whole lives again? I swear her name is right on the tip of my tongue... meh, guess she doesn't matter.

Why should we care what happens to Minthara when she advocates for enslaving the refugees in Baldur's Gate? If she had at any point expressed maybe the slightest agreement with a "slavery is wrong" philosophy i might understand, but instead, her philosophy is "slavery is wrong when it happens to Minthara Baenre instead of one of those OTHER lesser people." So… why should I care?

Now you're bringing up stuff that only has a chance to come up like 40 hours from this point! I don't even think he knows she's a Baenre at this early meeting! But sure, if we want to bring that up, how about the fact that what she proposes (that the refugees be put to work to be fed and sheltered) is NOTHING like how drow slavery normally works, which is "force them to work until they waste away and/or you have a fresh batch of half-drow to export". By drow standards she's being downright charitable, especially coming from a Baenre! And rightfully chastises Tav for suggesting otherwise in a "why do I even bother to offer advice" sort of way.

As to why you care... presumably, you cared enough to not kill her in the goblin camp or at the grove, and to break her out of jail when she was about to be executed. I dunno I feel like that's still mighty relevant. Otherwise you've probably killed her already like so many people do.

I disagree, though i do understand your argument here. It does seem like it was set up with the assumption no one would choose Halsin's side here, and actually I think I know exactly why.

See that's the thing, I don't hate him! I just wish he had more content, and it's a shame if Larian would rather leave it at his act 2 quest and that's it. I've heard many fan proposals, but obviously that's not the same as the task of actually producing and adding new content which is monumentally harder than just coming up with ideas.

Anyway, if this did get added it'd still likely result in the Shadow Curse not getting lifted, in my game at least, cause I'd want to get Minthara asap and even have her in the party as we complete Oliver and Thaniel's quests. It'd be a shame if Halsin left before that was done, I think Minthara and Thaniel would get along great.

T: "Ketheric Thorm must die."

M: "We are in agreement, child."

I mean, the entire game has multiple greater good choices.

Yes?

I don't feel Halsin comes off badly in the current iteration of the scene, but if I could change it, I might do one of the following:

1. Fine with me, bye daddy. Please write to me in the epilogue!

2. I dislike that for a few reasons, first being I've had my fill of people killing elaborating on how they've killed Minthara. The other being, and this is gonna sound crazy unless you've gotten to know her... I don't think she WANTS to fight any of us. Least of all Tav. If you turn her away all she can say is "If we meet again, kill me quickly if you can. I prefer oblivion to enslavement. Goodbye." (lmaooo and then Halsin says "I know that was not easy, but you made the right choice. A viper cannot escape its true nature, no matter how calm it may seem." fucccck)

However, it would be fitting in so far as, EVERY SINGLE dialogue from the moment you meet her, right up to asking her to join your party (not just go to camp, join the party as a playable character!) has an option for you to murder her, or send her to her death, or erase her mind. Sometimes more than once in a single conversation! No other companion gets so many different ways to dome them! In fact there's only one dialogue that normally doesn't have an option, but on Dark Urge you do! (imagine snapping her neck)

Which I feel is deliberate, to represent her paranoia and anxiety over your intentions. As in Menzoberranzan, so on the surface, she is ready for betrayal at any moment. Why should now be different? And it isn't different, until it suddenly is. Until she realizes maybe this can be a home afterall.

All that being said, IF forcing her to leave led to anything, here's what I picture: Nothing happens the rest of Act 2. Until Act 3, as you're making your way through the Temple of Bhaal, and you encounter an Absolute-controlled Minthara who you have to fight to the death. Sending her back into Orin's hands is the cruelest fate I can imagine. Hey I said I was tired of other people gloating how they kill her, I can imagine her torment and terror all I want.

3. This seems kinda already implied, he's already joined up with us because he wants to fight the Absolute with us. Saving the shadowlands was a happy coincidence and an opportunity he wouldn't have had without us, but defeating Ketheric and later the rest of the chosen was still his main goal. And, since again, I'm basing this off the assumption that this needn't be a Rite of Thorns run, he can leave anytime.

4. I honestly don't know what would be the point if nothing Minthara could say or do would ease those concerns. She swore an oath with Tav, not Halsin. Maybe let other party members chime in about what they think, like how you can get your party's response to Gale revealing the orb.

Phew, good talk!

Okay ONE more post about this, and then I'm going to try and disengage from the issue again.

I think what annoys me so much about the reactions to Halsin in the ultimatum is that the fandom is working BACKWARDS to make things fit a conclusion, rather than looking at the textual evidence to form a conclusion.

The fandom's conclusion: Halsin is racist to Drow.

Therefore: His objections to Minthara's actions are solely based on her race.

Therefore: It makes no sense that he is okay with a Lolth-sworn Tav, since he is Drow racist, which means he is just making Tav one of his Exceptions. His acceptance of Tav and willingness to judge Tav on their actions does NOT disprove that he is Drow-racist; it is, instead, an oversight in the writing of Halsin as a Drow-racist character.

But also: Halsin makes one comment early on expressing skepticism that a Drow Tav actually has reservations about killing another Drow, when Drow society is built on constant betrayal and culling of the weak. This proves that he is actually Drow-racist.

Further: It is really gross that Halsin is willing to sleep with the Drow twins. This does NOT disprove that he is Drow-racist; instead, it suggests that he will fetishize Drow while being Drow-racist.

Further: Halsin saying "Lolth's followers" does not make him not Drow-racist. Instead, it means he's discriminating against a religion, and also being very insensitive to cult victims, and he should turn the other cheek. It's actually WORSE if he hates just Lolth's followers instead of all Drow.

Further: Halsin's statements about Minthara's true nature are obviously about exclusively her race, and not her character as an individual. Therefore, his forgiveness of Kagha wasn't because he had seen her be a different and better person before her corruption by the Shadow Druids, but because she was not a Drow, and therefore, this supports that he is Drow-racist.

Therefore: Halsin's objections to Minthara are NOT based on her being a slave owner (and slavery supporter) while Halsin has trauma about being enslaved, and not about her attempt to murder everyone he knows, and not about concerns she will harm the player character (who Halsin has shown multiple times is EXTREMELY important to him), and not about fear for his own life, but solely about Minthara's race, which makes him Drow-racist.

Fandom refuses to see the inherent tautology of this, and it makes it impossible to stop the character-bashing. Instead of contradictory evidence proving Halsin isn't Drow-racist, it's either twisted to make it out like he wouldn't care about that thing if she wasn't a Drow, so he actually is MORE Drow-racist than he was before that issue was brought up, or it's written off as an "inconsistency" with a character as obviously Drow-racist as Halsin.

There is just no winning here. So fine, I give up, I guess I'm stanning a Drow-racist daddy now.

[dross-the-fish]

I know how you feel about Solas, what's your take on Anders? On Blackwall? your opinion will determine whether I block you jk

Hoo boy this is gonna be a long one, strap in Anon.

I'll be honest, most of my anger with Solas comes from the wasted potential in his character. This could have been a really great villain character but he has all the charisma of wet toast and while this is subjective, I feel like I'm not SUPPOSED to be put off by his condescension, I feel like I'm SUPPOSED to think he's some wise and mysterious being and the writing just never hits its mark.

I dislike Anders for different reasons but I dislike him the right way.

I'll explain.

Anders is a character who does things that don't sit well with me and he frequently challenges my willingness to help him. There was a point where I was on board with Anders and I even agree with his cause but he just crosses too many lines for me. the incident where he killed a girl and was going to go to her funeral and tell her grieving parents that it was the templars was one such moment. The way he talks to Fenris and Merrill also got to me. The way he used Hawke to blow up the chantry was probably the worst thing he did.

I don't agree with the destruction of the Kirkwall chantry for several reasons. The biggest of which is that I don't care how just your cause might be you have NO right to martyr someone else for it. Your rights stop at other people's lives and safety. Anders blew up the chantry because he wanted to start the Mage Rebellion. he did that because he wanted to push Meredith to call for the right of Anullment and kill the Kirkwall mages so that other Mages through out Thedas would be enraged enough to fight back. That is absolutely disgusting to me. Sacrificing innocent people for your cause is too much. To make it even worse Anders flat out LIES to Hawke to get Hawke to help him build the bomb.

Let that sink in, even if Hawke is his significant other, he manipulates them into helping him build his bomb under the pretense that it's going to cure him of his possession by the spirit of Justice.

This is even worse if Hawke is romancing him because what kind of person does that to someone they love?

Who puts that kind of blood on their lovers hands and is completely ok with letting them live the rest of their lives knowing that they were used that way? That is a huge abuse of trust. That is a real betrayal. Solas, at least, keeps you at arms length and can't even bring himself to be intimate with LLavellen while he's plotting his whole schtick. Anders has no such scruples, he moves in with Hawke and they have a whole life together that Anders was willing to take full advantage of. My god, that is despicable.

I love how much drama and angst you can wring out of that.

I hate Anders but I hate him in-game which is different from how I hate Solas on a much more meta level.

As for Blackwall, who is another controversial character. I actually like him, a lot. He did something really terrible, and not just some softball easily dismissed thing, he killed children...out of greed, there's no way you can make that less awful. Then he ran away and impersonated a warden, and to be fair he was trying to join the Wardens legitimately as a means of penance for what he did, he just ran into some shit luck and his Warden commander got killed before he could join. Then he stole his dead Commander's identity... yeah, that's all pretty bad.

So why do I like him? Because he does one thing neither Solas nor Anders do: he tries to atone. Blackwall is genuinely repentant and his whole arc is how he tries to make it right and if you redeem him he goes on to spread that grace, that mercy, out to other condemned souls. That's amazing. Of all the characters in DA I think Blackwall is the most deeply affected by the Inquisitor and he actually seeks to become a better person thanks to their example. I respect people who can't get past what Blackwall did, but I think his character arc is probably my favorite in DA:I

[pocinperioddramas]

Haha whoops, I forgot to say that if you want sources for any of the stuff I mentioned I can track them down for you - the comments were just way too long already. (Thanks again for the thoughtful, civil conversation. I'm trying to find a non-patronizing-sounding way to say I was nowhere near as mature and self-aware as you in high school and I can't, but I swear I don't mean it that way, I just admire that. It took me way longer and I'm not even sure I'm there yet.)

So to start with I’m glad you’ve put so much thought into this. I personally as kind of uncomfortable bringing it up, as I *know* I’m not super well-informed on Israel, but I didn’t feel I could say nothing. With that knowledge in mind, I tentatively support a two-state solution - I’m not sure whether it’s relevant if it could *realistically* happen without further bloodshed - if it TECHNICALLY could, that’s probably what matters. (I’m maybe not expressing myself well - it’s like how a lot of things in Canada/USA which are technically possible are realistically less possible because of conservative obstruction, but we still aim for them.) Or even just… LESS bloodshed then right now.

There’s a post going around that GG posted on fb that’s getting a lot of flak, but the actual post specifically condemns Hamas, not Palestine, and her statements in the post support coexistence - and, yes, young IDF soldiers, but military service is compulsory in Israel - I know I feel for any young people drafted or convinced into combat. Like - it’s still okay to have an issue with her support of the military (although, like I said, her service wasn’t a choice and she wasn’t in combat), but a lot of the problem I think is that her service in/support of the Israeli military is being scrutinized and condemned, while celebrities like, say, Adam Driver, who supports the American military HARDCORE, like, complete with fundraising and stuff, go completely unscrutinized and uncondemed despite the US military’s own horrible track record/activities.

Last thing I think - it’s been my understanding that the creation of Israel created so many problems due to mistakes/racism/anti-Semitism by Western powers, and not Israelis or Jewish people in general. I don’t know how accurate that is - but it complicates the idea of Israel as ‘colonialist.’ (Although obviously the affect on Palestine has been… unjustly detrimental, to put it obscenely mildly.) I’d feel way more comfortable letting a Jewish person speak on this.

I know you’re looking for a mod - have you considered looking for a Jewish perspective, not specifically, but maybe as a desirable thing? Erm. Sorry for length, I didn’t intend for that number of replies. Thanks again for giving this so much thought. (VERY different experience from the last time I sent a blog I like a message like that tbh.)

Hello again, thanks for all your replies! :) I will respond to all of them here, by the way, for easier reading and so there will be not too many replies in that one post alone.

I understand your point about a realistic solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict not being that relevant as of now, as that wouldn’t be very easy especially if there is still obstruction from self-interested parties, and you make a fair parallel to the situation there in Canada and the US. So yes, at the very least, less bloodshed than before would be something to aim for, which will hopefully eventually lead to the war’s end and full peace at last.

I saw a screenshot of that post - that was the very post for which people began truly disliking and condemning Gal for since it’s so explicit in its support of IDF. She brings up Hamas in that post - but Hamas can be interpreted as either a fundamentalist group of terrorists or a grassroots organization of freedom fighters, depending on your views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict/war in Gaza. To be honest, I don’t know what my stance on Hamas is yet, as I’ve read contradicting information about the group and I don’t know what to believe as of now. But there is apparently one falsehood that Gal perpetuates about Hamas in that post, whether or not you believe them to be terrorists or noble freedom fighters - she says that Hamas is using Palestinian women and children as human shields, something which has apparently already been disproven by a number of major news organizations (see here and here for more information).

Here’s an important quote from the 2nd article I linked that I find relevant:

“Speaking up for the Palestinians does not mean you are supporting Hamas or even are anti-Israel. It is just impossible to ignore the facts. In this so-called “war” there are way more people dying on one side than the other. And most of the people dying are civilians. Not only that, but hospitals and schools are in the cross-hairs, too. Yes, any nation reserves the right to defend itself. But is this really self defense or a variation of Florida’s barbarian “Stand Your Ground” laws played out on a global scale?

The other thing that bothers me about Gadot’s stance on the conflict is one of the hashtags she uses: #weareright. That hashtag is buttressed by other, more palatable ones like #freegazafromhamas and #coexistance (sp), but it still oozes with the kind of nationalism that leads to the kind of escalation that will ultimately make everything worse for both sides.

Here’s the thing. When you have hundreds of people — most of whom are women and children — dead and hospitals and schools destroyed, no one is right. War is terrible and awful. Not a spectator sport. Supporting one’s country does not mean you have to also support what that country is doing, especially when so much death and destruction is the direct result of those actions.

The fact that Gadot will be the real life embodiment of Wonder Woman for generations to come is what makes this all so ironic. Maybe not as ironic as casting, say, Ted Nugent as Batman, but still. Wonder Woman is supposed to be an ambassador of peace. Of course, she’s also an Amazon warrior who isn’t afraid to take up the sword against evil, but Diana of Themyscira only goes to war for those who cannot fight for themselves.

Is it possible that, were Wonder Woman real, her view of the conflict in Gaza would be filled with more compassion for the oppressed? Isn’t that the kind of justice that a character like Wonder Woman is supposed to inspire?”

As the quote points out, even though she says she supports coexistence in her hashtags, she uses the hashtags #weareright and #loveidf at the same time. I am aware of her history as a soldier serving in the IDF and I’m also aware that in Israel, serving in their military is compulsory, so I do not really condemn her for that. But the fact is that she remains an active supporter of IDF when she doesn’t have to be, because as far as I know, it isn’t compulsory for Israeli citizens to actively show their support and love for the IDF like through social media (unless it is, so please correct me if I’m wrong there - because I don’t know enough about Israeli laws and policies on that front). After her service in the military, she could have just remained quiet and not necessarily have been so public about her support of the IDF (but then that might have been a whole other can of worms as she would be condemned for her silence on the issue, for it could be viewed as being still complicit in the oppression due to her not speaking out on it).

I didn’t know about Adam Driver (who, like Gal, also served in his country’s military, although this time it wasn’t compulsory and thus it is less understandable and he actually served in combat too from what I’ve researched now), and in that area, I think you’re right. That is a troubling phenomenon, and thank you for pointing that out. I first knew of him through “Star Wars”, but I didn’t care much about him (and still don’t) because I like the lead actors - Daisy, John, and Oscar (whose character is not really a main protagonist as of now but Poe is more important to me than Kylo Ren anyway) - much better, and he really didn’t stand out as anything special to me although I suppose he was a good actor too. That’s the thing with US-centrism (and West-centrism in general) - these Americans think their country is too good and progressive to be oppressive to other nations and countries. And in this situation, I do think that it’s more likely than not a case of implicit anti-Semitism (and perhaps even a little sexism) and so-called liberals feeling high and mighty about themselves because they condemn one form of oppression perpetuated by a non-Western country while ignoring the oppression perpetuated by their own country.

I will tread more carefully now where Adam Driver is concerned, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I will boycott “The Last Jedi” and Episode IX. I have never had plans to watch any of his other movies and TV shows (and this just solidifies my stance to not watch them at all), especially ones in which he is the main character, and while he has a significant role in the sequel trilogy, the movies have been more focused on at least Daisy and John (and now Oscar and Kelly) and that is what I’m focusing on too. But I understand that would be a problematic stance to take, as it reminds me of the time people urged others not to boycott “Suicide Squad” so as to show support for the relatively unknown actors of color there for whom these people were afraid that their careers would end and be wasted if SS was a financial flop and the time people also urged others not to boycott “The Get Down” so as to also show support for the relatively unknown actors of color (mainly black, Latinx, and Afro-Latinx) who still deserved it despite people’s legitimate concerns about Jared Leto’s creepy behavior and the allegations of sexual harassment/assault against him and the issue of Herizen Guardiola being a child predator. Rest assured, I will think on that and reevaluate my stances, and I totally understand people who will not watch or who will boycott “Star Wars” due to Adam Driver’s presence and I will not condemn them for that.

For your last point, while that may have been the case at the beginning and that may be somewhat understandable (and I’m not fully convinced), that doesn’t account for all the atrocities that Israel has committed against Palestinians, especially at present. I doubt all of the cruelties they inflicted were a result of mistakes or US anti-Semitism - it’s far too many to all have been the product of mistakes, and they are still doing it now so yeah :/ However, I do understand that Israel owes a lot to US support and the US should be called out as vocally for its continued support for Israel, but there’s a line from this article which I linked to before in my previous response that I think we should consider: “Israel is an extension of US imperialism, doing its dirty work of intimidating regional enemies with periodic military aggression and a rogue nuclear arsenal. The US has no special interest in oppressing the Palestinians, but they are powerless enough to be expendable in the Great Power game.”

It may not be the best parallel to make, but this kind of reminds me (not specifically referring to you or anyone else, sorry if it comes off that way) of our current situation in the Philippines - how our president, Rodrigo Duterte, tries to deflect US criticism of his bloody war on drugs and the thousands of extrajudicial killings and murders that have happened in the course of this war by retorting with call-outs of US imperialism and colonialism in the Philippines in the past (although US imperialism still definitely affects our country at present, but Duterte usually cites things like atrocities committed by the Americans during the Philippine-American War and the American colonial period). Duterte’s call-outs are valid in that the US is still messing us up well into the present and they’ve never really apologized, and the US needs to acknowledge that too, but two wrongs do not make a right. Besides, there are plenty of Filipinos who criticize Duterte and his policies too, so that doesn’t mean all criticism of him is automatically invalid (which it’s still not, even from the US or Americans) because most of it (actually, from what I have seen, Filipinos are the most vocal) comes from the US. (And yes, for those who are curious, I am mainly anti-Duterte [but that doesn’t mean I oppose all his policies, for some do make sense, but in general, he has a terrible track record especially when it comes to actually serving his people as it seems he’s actually killing off a lot of them and violating their human rights as well] - though that doesn’t make me a yellowt*rd or a supporter of the Liberal Party/P-Noy/the Aquinos and the Cojuangcos as many Duterte fans are so fond of making false dichotomies - so if there are Filipino followers out there whom we call DDS (die-hard Duterte supporters), you can unfollow me.)

But it is in no way the fault of Jewish people in general at all - only the fault of the Israeli government, the IDF, and the people who actively continue to support them. Not all Jewish people are Israeli and there are in fact plenty of Jewish people who are anti-Israel (I’ve found more websites now like the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network and Jewish Voice for Peace), so if anyone is blaming them for what is happening in Israel and Palestine right now, they can sit their anti-Semitic asses down and shut up.

I think we could also consider that Zionism may be to Jewish people as the Q word is to LGBT+ people and the N word is to black people - it may be an inherently flawed ideology that is only theirs to reclaim and call out if necessary, so as I said before, this means we should be more careful when it comes to using the different terms involved in this issue.

Finally, for the mod/admin thing, I am considering it - that’s actually a good idea. Preferably Jewish people of color would be good, but if there are white Jewish people who wish to join and contribute to this blog, I will consider them. I will be editing my PSAs about admin applications soon in that case, but that isn’t final yet.

Also, I understand that there are people who do tend to respond to criticism like that aggressively, and while there are some situations - depending on the issues being criticized - where that’s an okay way to go, it doesn’t always help.

And yes, sources would be good too, so thank you in advance :) Thank you for that too - I’m rather flattered. I do think I could be even more mature as I don’t consider myself that mature yet, like if you knew me personally, but thank you anyway :) I hope I was able to make more clarifications too, and that we understand each other.

-Admin Dawn