#the way to help people like that is to GIVE THEM TOOLS TO SOLVE THEIR PROBLEM
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#someone coming to you and saying 'im upset about the level of support#that the democratic party is giving to israel as it commits genocide against palestinians#and i don't want to vote for them'#and you saying:#'limit how much attention you pay to things you cannot change#and maybe try volunteering at a soup kitchen!'#is fucking INSANE#if the democrats don't lose the election this year#it won't be because they didn't try#(there's your west wing reference for the night)#my god.#btw there are step between basic diplomatic pressure and cutting all ties!#steps we have not yet taken!#levels of conditioning to aid—and enforcement of those conditions—that congress and the white house have not yet reached!#and there ARE things you can do to affect change on this issue#like joining or even organizing protests#and writing letters to the editor in local publications#and pressuring your congresspeople on social media or directly#over the phone and in letters#you can also find out which local businesses and institutions support israel!#and the businesses and institutions that support businesses and institutions that support israel#start or join a divestment campaign in your community!#idk.#that post made me angry#the way to help people like that is not to tell them they're helpless and looking at the problem wrong#the way to help people like that is to GIVE THEM TOOLS TO SOLVE THEIR PROBLEM
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#tag talk#tumblr university#I put my tumblr degree to good use again today. a kid at work talks a lot about exercise and said an offhand comment about fat people#the usual “why do fat people not control themselves better and eat less?” opinion. which like. he's a cool guy. curious and active and kind#so I did my best to not jump on it sjw-style and kind of go at it slowly but still explain that like. you can't just change your default#culturally we recognize that skinny people have genetics that predispose themselves to being thin.#but then when we (general culture) talk about fat people it's “why don't you exercise more and eat less?” “why don't you control yourself?”#there's a hypocritical shift in how people talk about it.#I was like bro.. I can sit around and do nothing all day and eat my normal amount and not gain weight. my whole family can.#so there's clearly something different between people who weigh 250lb and people who weigh 120lb.#anyway. he kinda nodded and mused over it and asked a few questions and like. idk. this is something I learned on tumblr so it was cool#I like sharing information I learned here. it changed how I view people and I'm honored to be able to make that change in other people#I've learnt to be kinder here and spreading it outside of the isolated tumblr bubble is very fulfilling. passing it forward yaknow?#anyway. I'm still mad about my speech impediment because I deadass still wish I could be a teacher in some way#like. I love teaching people things. evolving someone's ability to interact with information and ideas.#giving someone a set of tools and sitting back to see what they do with them. how they solve a problem. I love it.#and I just. ugh. I love the little moments when I get to teach something I've learned to someone else#OH OH OH! I saw a really good parent today! she brought her daughter up to the self checkout registers and I was like “can I help you?”#but the mom was like “no. I want her to learn how to be a big girl” and so they walked up to the register and the kid scanned her stuff and#and then navigated to the “pay now” button and paused and her mom was like “remember to take your time and read the screen” and the kid fou#found the “cash” button and then fed the five dollar bill in and got her receipt and change and. . that moment made me smile so fucking big#like.... the mom being like “take your time” and just.. being there to show her kid how to do an important life task. I wanted to cry.#I just. idk. stuff like that is beautiful. I love working with people so fucking much.#like. idk. I detach really easily so I don't always care about people and human suffering or all that stuff. but other times?#other times I'm both feet flat on the ground rooted into the heart of everything that makes us beautiful social creatures full of love#and it's so beautiful and I feel so fucking lucky to be allowed to watch that moment.#I just. all I can do is smile and hope that my eyes reflect the magic I just saw#also a hoard of small goth middle schoolers came through garden each with their own succulent. they were lead by an older teen.#it was just. idk. cool. funny. this little posse of piercings and bleached hair and nightmare before christmas merch and intense enby vibes#I always hope I represent a future to kids like that. big obvious scars. heavy queer vibes. and a life I'm obviously living.
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Meaning behind Dazais bandages
Ok so I've noticed something in the anime that could potentially give a clue about the meaning of Dazai's bandages or at least he wore those over his eye during his days with mafia so bear with me.
In prison arc of the anime there have been moments when Dazai was mad/suprised and consequentially reverted back to his way of thinking when he was a member of Port Mafia: using and manipulating people, employing similar tactics to Fyodor.
And in all these moments there was something else that could be observed: his hair concealing one of his eyes, almost like it was used as a makeshift bandage.
Second thing I'd like to point out is in the finale when Dazai shows his plan was based on trust in other people and how he didn't control them or use them. His eyes specifically are in the clear view here, with his hair blown out of his face.
In this scene in particular he even holds the hair out of his eyes.
It reminded me of when he first started "living for others" back in season 2 when he first listened to an advice of someone else and received help from another person, moment where his world view changed forever.
So this is where the actual theory starts, I believe his bandages never had an actual use because in the scene above we can see his eye is healthy, but that they were always meant to showcase how much of the world he saw/was able to see. In all the moments he had something obstructing his vision he could see an incomplete version of the world and relationships: only way he knew how to interact with people was to use them and to manipulate them into furthering his own goals. But once that "obstruction" was gone he could actually see those subordinates looked like allies and people he could trust. So they weren't put on him by his own hand but by Asagiri as a way to show us how Dazai thought about people and relationships and how he was blind to the proper way of handling them.
I'd like to touch on Beast Dazai as well: I think he wore the bandages because he himself decided to limit his world view and how he perceives people around him- choosing to always make them his tools instead of allies. Even though he knows he can trust other people from the knowledge of canon Dazai he received from the book, he never had his own Oda to take off his bandages and show him how to live for others like canon Dazai had. The best he can do is to die for someone else.
In conclusion: All bandages ever were was a symbol of his limited world view, how he could only see people as tools, as things he can only control and manipulate but never receive help from or trust in them. When Oda took them off and made him live for others Dazai himself started trusting more and in the end got to where he is now: blindly believing that someone else would solve a problem he couldn't alone without any of his input. And having something he never could when he didnt see clearly: allies.
#bsd#bungou stray dogs#bsd dazai#dazai osamu#bsd theory#bsd theories#bungo stray dogs#bungou stray dogs dazai#shout-out my unpaid assistant @lazyflower48
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Are you willing to make a long personal post about how Math should be presented in an educational environment or in general conversation trying to convince the other participants about its daily usage. How it can advance a person’s problem-solving skills and approach in life.
I’m really good in Mathematics. I’ve given help for my classmates and friends about Math when they are having trouble or ask for it. But I have never been convinced of its importance outside of the classroom, outside of the test papers that gives me the variables to substitute in the given equation of that test of the day.
How can Math and it’s many properties relate back to everyday life in a casual manner?
Hm. Well, as someone who hasn't had to solve an antiderivative in years, my perspective on this is that the most important and widely-applicable skill math can teach you is the stuff behind the math - mostly the muscle-memory you get from proofs.
Math is, at its core, puzzles and logic and pattern-recognition. You learn a set of tools, you practice those tools on a set of simple problems until you get a feel for them, you are presented with a bigger problem, you recall which tools best applied to problems that are shaped like this, you break the problem down using your tools and eventually reduce it to something you know how to solve.
The fact of the matter is, the tools that are specific to branches of math don't really have much widespread use outside pure mathematics, and unless you go out of your way to keep using them you're likely to lose track of them. Studying math is not going to turn you into a super-calculator-wizard who can bounce stuff off the walls at perfect angles and do six-figure arithmetic in seconds, and I think some people feel overwhelmed at the assumption that that's what's expected of them if they learn math, and some other people feel cheated when they learn that that's absolutely not going to happen, because most writers don't know math and when they tell stories with math in them their best guess is it makes you a wizard.
I think the most advanced math I've used lately was trigonometry, and that was just because I was curious about how fast my plane was traveling relative to the sun's apparent movement at my latitude. We were flying back to the US from Iceland and we'd taken off at sunset, and we had been in that sunset for at least an hour by the time I got curious how the math worked out and started estimating our latitude, the circumference of the slice of the earth at that latitude, and correspondingly how fast we were flying vs how fast it was spinning to complete a full rotation in 24 hours. But even if the math involved didn't tap into any of the higher-level stuff I'd learned post-trig, those years doing proofs and figuring out which tools applied to which geometry meant that I could use the tools and my training applying those tools to calculate what I wanted to know, and confirm that our plane was actually outflying the sun when we were at iceland latitude, but as we curved south the sun's apparent relative movement (aka the rotational speed of that latitude of the earth) slowly accelerated until we were falling behind, landing right as the sun finally set. The math involved was high school level, but if I'd been given that problem in high school it would've taken more work and more stress to figure out how the tools I had needed to be applied to the problem I was facing. The years of practice I had tackling much more complicated proofs made the diagnostic process much faster.
I saw someone once analogize studying math to lifting weights. Where am I going to use this in real life? How often will I really be faced with two dumbbells that need to be lifted in three sets of twenty? Where am I going to apply the skill of holding a heavy thing straight out to one side of my body?
You don't lift weights because lifting weights is such a valuable and widely-applicable skillset, you do it because lifting weights makes you better at lifting everything.
You don't study math because math is going to fill your daily life with concepts that you need to prove true for 1 and for n+1 given true for n, or complex solids that you need to sum an approximate volume for, or a surplus of sunset plane flights that demand you calculate a bunch of cosines. You study math because it is the skillset of making things make sense. It trains you to break a huge, incomprehensible problem down into a series of small problems you already know how to solve. It lets you reach true and correct conclusions by starting from facts and transforming them through operations that preserve truth, and correspondingly that if you reach a false conclusion from these methods, then either the methods are flawed or the initial assumption is not as true as you believed. It teaches you to put two and two together and be confident, once you've double-checked your work, that you can say four.
This is stuff I use all the time in both my video research and my freeform writing. Building out a slow picture of how a story was told or changed over time involves finding the context it was created in, and reverse-engineering what parts of that context could have produced what standout portions of the story - what authorial or cultural bias results in this standout story element. Worldbuilding where I take two wildly disparate parts of the world, put them together and see what web of implications springs out of combining them, following the threads to new and interesting concepts that follow from what I've already established. Building a character arc by breaking down exactly what events are happening to them and what transformation each component will apply to the underlying character. If I want the story to go in a certain direction, what transformations do I need to apply to make that happen while still preserving truth? If I'm faced with a seemingly insurmountable problem, what methods can I use to break it down into bite-sized pieces?
This isn't something I think about most of the time. It's just how my brain works at this point, and I can't promise it'd work for anyone else. But thanks to all my years of hard work and training, my brain has been buff enough to solve every problem I've tangled with since graduation, and that feels pretty good.
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So this latest adventuring party at least for now puts to rest the idea that Kristen is going to give up being a cleric, and honestly? I think thats a much better thing for her character.
Cuz I get how a lot of people would feel that was a good choice for her, but if I’m being honest, it always seemed like…kind of a cop out to me. Like, to me it would kind of symbolize her reverting back to step one of her journey. Which is fine, you know, progress isn’t linear and all, but at this point, I think Kristen has made it to the point in her journey where she starts focusing on what she DOES want, rather than on what she doesn’t.
Like, for me, and also for a lot of other people, the first step on our journey out of religion was defining ourselves by what we’re against. Which, I wanna be clear, isn’t a bad thing! It’s a necessary step for a lot of people coming out of the sorts of all-consuming religious high control groups. We all know the stereotype of the “New Atheist” who thinks being against religion is the edgiest, most radical position anyone could possible hold. They make it the center of their identity, and while it is a stereotype, it also represents a real stage that a lot of people go through on their journey. This isn’t just true of religion, it’s a stage of development we all go through. Its a great way to identify problems.
But…if that’s the only step you take…you might find it a lot less fulfilling of a journey than you anticipated, because identifying problems is not the same as solving them. Like Kristen says at the end of sophomore year, doubt is a tool, not a belief. And its an important tool, but it can’t be the ONLY tool, cuz once you find something you actually want to pursue and commit to, whether that be a relationship or a community or a project, you may find that you don’t actually know how to do that in a healthy way. You’ve identified that what you learned from the group is unhealthy, but learning how to leave doesn’t teach you how to build something new.
For a lot of people the journey they take in leaving a religious group involves a lot of exploring other belief systems of various kinds, and most people eventually find something else that speaks to them. Whether that be another religion, or a spiritual practice, or a philosophical framework, or magic, or the power of friendship, or communism, or self-help podcasts, or a combination of the above. Very few people stay in that place of skeptical detachment forever. But even once you find something that you do want to pursue, learning how to invest in that takes a lot of work, a lot of trial and error, and at some point its gonna require you to decide you want to stay and do the work rather than running away.
It seems like Kristen is in that stage, where she has found something she wants, something she really does care about and believe in, and for the first time since leaving the church, she is having to make the choice to double down; to invest in what she believes in and work through the problems, rather than detaching herself at the first sign of discomfort.
#dimension 20#fantasy high#fantasy high junior year#fhjy#quanglicanism#d20#fhjy spoilers#kristen applebees
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I made a whole Twitter thread about this a few months back but I figured that I might as well bring it here as well.
Today I want to take some time to make another NEO TWEWY analysis post on the Identity Crisis sidequest revolving around Eiru and how it actually provides extra insight into Nagi and Fret’s characters.
Basically, the main gist of the sidequest is that Nagi and Fret are debating on how to imprint confidence onto Eiru, who’s suffering with his physical insecurities, and this is where we see the differences with Nagi and Fret's philosophies on life.
Fret's response is to tell Eiru to ignore the haters and even more so, ignore confronting the insecurities; life is better when you don't have to concern yourself with anything or try; don't take anything seriously. Nagi, however, believes that insecurities should be understood and harnessed so that they can ultimately be turned into a strength that can be used as a tool for success; accept your weaknesses and come to terms with them so that you can weaponize your strengths better.
On a surface level, these might read to be the same thing. Fret’s advice can be read positively as "don't let others judge you for something you can't control" and Fret certainly thinks so, hence why he thinks that he and Nagi are on the same page even though she disagrees.
However, when you read between the lines and think about it some more, there are notable implications that Fret's advice is more of a dismissive approach to dealing with emotional struggles as opposed to Nagi's own methodology. It’s no coincidence that Fret used to be a fan of the Eiji "the Prince" Oji in his ennui/apathy phase. The Prince in the original TWEWY was beloved for his “don’t give a damn attitude” and how he expressed that both in person and in his blog “F Everything.” Fret claims to have grown out of it but with certain reveals about his character later on, there are some implications that Fret latched onto the Prince and aspired to his attitude due to his own struggles with feeling genuine and wanting to embracing apathy instead.
However, if you recall in the original game, Neku and Joshua came around and helped the Prince sort out his own issues and in the process, helped him to become more genuine and true to himself in the process. With all of this in mind, you can interpret Fret’s response as him seeing the process of the Prince’s reconciliation with his genuine emotions happening in front of him and didn’t want to confront the possibility of that happening to him as well so he "grows out of it." It also acts as a neat parallel to Neku and his own thing with CAT. Whereas Neku latched onto his misinterpretation of CAT’s words in order to cope with his trauma, Fret turned away from the Prince changing so that he wouldn’t have to deal with his own trauma just yet.
To get back to the quest, if player had decided to choose Fret's philosophy, Eiru ends up doing just that, spinning Fret's stance on the situation into self-motivating positivity. However, there's a element of emotional responsibility lacking in Fret's way of processing struggles in that he doesn't seem to have the awareness to recognize the difference between overcoming adversity and just ignoring it (or maybe he does but refuses to confront that truth). In order for someone to truly not care what other people think, they need to do what Nagi suggested first, which is to find acceptance with their insecurities and build a stronger foundation for their character through that acceptance.
If the player chose Fret's approach to solving Eiru's issue, his dialogue afterwards shows how he feels about not having to face issues head on, with Nagi lamenting that her approach was not used despite being glad that Eiru's mood was visibily improved.
I also really like this moment here for how it subtly foreshadows what caused Fret’s attitude and way of thinking to happen in the first place.
Stuff like this is why I always tend to roll my eyes whenever I hear the claim that "Nagi is mean to Fret for no reason" when moments like these show why she acts the way she does towards him: their philosophies on life are complete polar opposites.
In Nagi’s eyes, Fret acting the way he did screamed to her that he seemingly had no regard for how his attitude and actions towards others made other people feel in service of his own self-interest and she fundamentally cannot get along with other people of that nature, as shown with how she dismisses Motoi entirely off the bat when the crew first meets him because she could tell that there was something off about his attitude. However, once it was revealed that Fret’s attitude was due to him trying to unhealthily cope with his trauma and not because he was seemingly unconcerned for the feelings of others, she’s far more understandable towards him and empathizes with his grief.
That’s when Nagi learns to understand that she does not need to dismiss people right away and that they, like Fret, might be going through struggles of their own and trying to cope with it via other means, even if she doesn’t agree with it at first. Hence the friendship they start up at the end of the convo.
The characters in NEO have a lot of internal flaws they need to work through, some that might not be immediate obvious at first compared to the original, but when you look back at it all, the game goes through a lot of painstaking detail to flesh out their struggles and mindset and aspects like these is what makes the game a joy for me to replay whenever I go back to it.
#twewy#the world ends with you#neo twewy#neo the world ends with you#ntwewy#tosai furesawa#fret furesawa#nagi usui#eiru#analysis post
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Some things noticed on a DFF rewatch
Just some things that stood out rewatching and chatting with folks!
When we see the knife in the opening, someone puts it in a backpack. The bag is brown on top, and the front has red, a white strip and a star backed with blue
This is the same backpack Non wears in the past. So is this just part of the clip show or is it giving us a hint? Will Non use the knife in the past and it's reappeared in the present because they're re-enacting things in a way? Or does this mean Non is involved in the present?
In this post I discussed how Keng the math teacher is not so great at teaching math (via my roommate's math expertise). The answer 1/7 isn't correct, and it's something an online math tool can solve pretty easily so perhaps this is intentional.
Tee's jacket has 0.17 on it. So between our bad math and this, are the numbers 1 and 7 important? If so are they more symbolic or plot relevant (I'm guessing the former)? 1 and 7 do add up to 8...
Everyone is accounted for when Top and Tee first see Masky in the woods (everyone else is helping Por) and when Por initially gets chased. However, after Top is attacked in the bathroom Tan and Fluke aren't around. Fluke is with Por, White, and Phi before they hear the commotion. But Phi just says Tan went up stairs to sleep a while ago.
Does this mean Tan was the one attacking Top? If so, he can't be doing it alone since other times everyone is accounted for. Like some other folks have theorized, if it's not supernatural (still not ruling that out) it's likely there's a 9th person involved. Does Tan attack inside the house while our 9th person mostly operates outside?
If we go with the theory that there's hallucinations happening, there's a lot of ways the boys could've gotten them in their systems. Smoke, in their drinks, in the food or water. In the same closet that White finds the knife, he looks at this bottle. To me it looks like a liquid medicine prescription bottle. Liquid would be very easy to mix into things. Then again, perhaps it's Non's and in the past they hid it from him or something.
One more theory about the hallucinations. What if it has to do with sound. From a cursory search it does seem that there's some research showing that some infrasound can cause hallucinations and some argue this might be one explanation for why people feel they're being haunted. From what I found (again very cursory research), infrasound can be heard if it's sufficiently loud. I doubt it would be recorded or sound like what they heard from the recording here in real life. But it's possible we could have a fictionalized take on this here.
Why was the knife left so in the open? Yes it was in a closet but it still seems very staged. Similarly, why cut Por? My first thought is that the person chasing Por didn't plan to impale him. And of course that could just look like an accident. The knife cuts make sure the group knows there's the possibility of someone physically attacking Por. The knife then shows up at the point where Top and Tee are convinced it must be supernatural. It kind of seems like someone wants them to know it's a real person. And of course Phi is also very insistent on this.
Could this mean that Phi's plan was to have them know it was a person? Or does is it just to make them even more panicked and confused? If the former is the case, the hallucinations and/or supernatural appearances aren't in the plan. That could mean that someone or something else is doing things and perhaps working at cross purposes from Phi (still trying to harm them but not how Phi wants to or planned for)
At the start of episode 1, Por tells the Janta story and says that his Dad told him it. But in episode 5 it seems like Non comes up with the idea. So is this Por claiming credit again? If so that could mean that the cult doesn't actually exist and just was an idea Non put in the script that Por is playing on. On the other hand, Non could've done his research knowing they wanted to film at Por's vacation home. So does/did the cult exist or not? Or at the very least did the stories of Janta and the cult exist and were they attached to the area around Por's cabin before they did this film?
Mr Math has on his desk which I believe is of Pythagoras. Now according to my math nerd of a roommate, Pythagoras also started a cult called Pythagoreanism. It's quite the stretch, and I imagine the production just put the photo there to show he is into math, but what if Keng is related to the cult (if it really exists)? I think we're getting into clown connections here, but it's fun to speculate. Especially since it's entirely possible that what Jin saw in the temple was an alive Keng. If Keng is part of the cult perhaps they're aiding Non and/or Phi for some reason 🤡
Alrighty just some thoughts for now fellow DFFers! It's fun to pitch theories, both the more grounded and the much less substantiated 😆
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One of the most striking and consistent features of Tolkien’s works is that the people who think they’re the hero of the story never are.
In The Hobbit, Thorin & Company (less Bilbo, who feels lost and out of place continually) think they’re the heroes of a story where they kill Smaug and regain their kingdom and treasure - and then Smaug is killed by Bard, a character who isn’t even introduced until the moment of Smaug’s attack. And Thorin decides that the person responsible for the death of Smaug, without whom Thorin would have no treasure and also be dead, is his enemy. Self-appointed heroes tend not to like it when someone else displaces them from their role in the story.
In The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, the pattern recurs again and again and again, both with some very sympathetic characters and some outright villainous ones. We see it in characters who are jealous for prominence and position, but also in some who mean well and have concluded that all the burden of saving/protecting the world lies upon them. The common thread is the conviction that the world will only be saved if people do what the self-appointed hero wants, how they want it, when they want it, and - in the most severe cases - only if they specifically follow and offer their support to the hero in doing it. If someone isn’t backing up the hero, they are assumed to be not contributing.
Boromir: “those who shelter behind us give us praise…much praise but little help.” ‘Doom’ he interprets as “the doom of Minas Tirith.” And, later, when the Ring has gained more hold on him: “How I would drive the hosts of Mordor, and all men would flock to my banner!”
And Denethor: “Yet the Lord of Gondor is not to be made the tool of other men’s purposes, however worthy. And to him there is no purpose higher in the world as it now stands than the good of Gondor.” Later falling to, “I will not step down to be the dotard chamberlain of an upstart!”
Neither of them are fundamentally ill-meaning; both of them fall prey to the idea that they are the world’s only hope of standing against Sauron, and break under that burden.
Less well-meaning, but nonetheless only gradually corrupted until near the end, is Saruman: “hindered rather than helped by pur weak or idle friends”. Again, he percieves himself as the only chance of defeating - or controlling/manipulating - Sauron.
And more cases in The Silmarillion, of characters who have determined that they are the hero and following their lead is the contribution that counts. Fëanor and his following, and indeed the Noldor in general, going to Middle-earth to overthrow Morgoth, and deciding that anyone who does not back them is idle or cowardly or traitorous. Túrin, who again and again insists that if you are not doing things the way Túrin wants, you are not doing anything. Watch in particular for the repeated theme that dissent=cowardice.
Fëanor: “Say farewell to ease! Say farewell to the weak!…Let the cowards keep this city!” And “If Fëanor cannot overthrow Morgoth, at least he delays not to assail him, and sits not idle in grief.” And “fainthearted loiterers.” And “needless baggage on the road.” It is worth recalling that the Valar are not as idle as Fëanor thinks, and their largest contribution prior to the War of Wrath - the creation of the Sun - is a major blow to Morgoth, and orcs dread and shun the Sun through the whole First Age and after.
Túrin: When Beleg questions the effectiveness of his strategy: “I will be the captain of my own host, and if I fall, then I fall. Here I stand in the path of Morgoth, and while I so stand he cannot use the southward road. For that in Nargothrond there should be some thanks; and even help with needful things.” This does not acknowledge that the ability of Morgoth’s armies to come south in force is itself a consequence of Beleg leaving Doriath to aid Túrin; prior to that, Doriath had held Dimbar and kept the orcs back.[1] So Túrin is claiming prime credit for solving a problem that he has, in effect, caused. Then in Nargothrond, to Gwindor: “And do those that you speak of love such skulkers in the woods?” And to Gelmir and Arminas: “runagate…get you back to the safe shores of the sea.” (It is worth noting that here, as well as when Fëanor calls the Noldor who do not want to return to Middle-earth cowards, the narrative observes outright that such accusations are false.) And then to Aerin, who has a bravery he could never imagine and cannot comprehend: “A faint heart is yours, Aerin Indor’s daughter…you were made for a kinder world.”
I recognize that Túrin is a complex character, as are most of the others I have mentioned. My point here is that there is a consistent thread running through Tolkien’s works, that however well-meaning these attitudes may be, they are ultimately destructive.
The great victories come from characters with wholly other attitudes. The ones who don’t think that they are the one hero who can or has to fix everything; who look at insurmountable perils and say this is too big for me, but I will do what I can. And those who recognize that they play one part among many, and not the most important one. That is Frodo and Sam; that is Merry and Pippin. That is Legolas and Gimli, who, standing in Helm’s Deep awaiting battle, recognize that their own peoples far away the same dangers, and they are not the only ones fighting. This is Aragorn, who uses the hero-delusion as a façade to trick Sauron, walking into a trap on the slim hope that it may aid Frodo. This is Beren and Lúthien, who say this is beyond me and I don’t know what I’m doing, but for the sake of the one I love I must try, and succeed because of that. This is Tuor, who gets destiny thrust upon him despite - perhaps because of - the fact that he is not looking for it. This is Elrond, who plays a supporting role in every conflict he is placed in, who aids and shelters and advises and heals and does not rule.
It is entirely fitting that the man who wrote “the medievals were only too right in taking nolo episcopari as the best reason a man could give to others for making him a bishop” wrote stories enshrining the idea that nolo heros was the best qualification for being a hero. And likewise perfectly fitting that the temptation offered by the Ring - to people of essential decency - is not deliberate, selfish despotism, but the exact conviction or attitude or temptation described above: you’re the hero, you’re the one who can fix everything. “For the way of the Ring to my heart is pity, pity for weakness and the desire of strength to do good.” “In place of the Dark Lord you will set up a Queen” - and Sam echoing in plainer language Galadriel’s temptation - “You’d put things to rights…You’d make some folk pay for their dirty work” - and Galadriel recognizing the deception of the temptation - “That is how it would begin. But it would not stop with that, alas!” Boromir’s vision of armies flocking to his banner, and Sam’s of “Samwise the strong, Hero of the Age.” And, at the end, it fits with with Tolkien’s description of Sauron - the temptation that the Ring is offering to these good characters is the very temptation that Sauron himself initially fell to, the desire to fix everything, make everything work properly.
Tolkien’s conception of the real hero, rather than the self-appointed one, echoes at last the Ainulindalë and the Valar: the idea that creation and shaping and changing the world are fundamentally a collaborative effort, born of and enriched by the visions and contributions of many people, not by some static programme.
[1] The Narn mentions that while Beleg searches for Túrin the first time Dimbar is overrun by orcs, who are then able to reach to the east of Brethil, which they had not before. When Beleg returns to Dimbar the orcs are driven back; but when he joins Túrin at Amon Rudh, Dimbar is taken and the orcs come south again.
#tolkien#the silmarillion#the lord of the rings#the hobbit#thorin#boromir#denethor#feanor#túrin#frodo baggins#sam gamgee#beren#lúthien#elrond#galadriel#gandalf#sauron
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Project Squealer BIG REVEAL
Calling all mystery buffs, adventure seekers, and gumshoe wannabes!
I am developing MY OWN INDIE GAME under the working title PROJECT SQUEALER! In this action-packed adventure RPG game, a disease called Laughter Pox has plagued the town, and it's up to three kid detectives to investigate!
These days, I'm mostly known for making mods for The Sims 4, but I've been interested in game development as far back as 2009. In fact, I originally bought The Sims 3 for PC back in 2012 as a tool to plan out characters and worlds, before becoming hooked on the gameplay. For a long time, The Sims was my main creative outlet, but I was still coming up with game ideas in the background.
Skip ahead to mid 2016: while playing with my Go to School mod, I needed to create some child characters to fill the school with. I created two rival teams of kid detectives, and came up backstories and mysteries for them to solve. I ended up liking these characters far more than any other characters I had created. They felt like my creative masterpiece, begging for something bigger than just creations made in a character creator.
That's when "Project Squealer" started brewing in my brain. This indie RPG wasn't just some vague idea; I was developing full-blown stories, environments, and gameplay planned for my kid detectives. I also had the perfect art style in my head. Emphasis on in my head.
Turns out, bringing my dream art style to life was way harder than I thought. So hard, in fact, that I spent the next few years learning how to create art. It took until 2020 to finally have character and environment art that could (almost) pass for pro-level game stuff. Not only that, the project was undergoing what indie devs refer to as scope creep. I kept adding more and more ideas to the design doc, making the game more complex and pushing the release date even further into the future. In 2018, I even decided to move from 2D to 3D, and switched engines from MonoGame to Unity (and later to Unreal Engine 5 in 2023).
Now, it's 2024, and I'm finally, finally ready to announce what I've been working on for the past 6 years!
Project Squealer is the working title for my own indie game about a team of three kid detectives: Orlo (middle), Von (left) and Zoros (right). Together, they go on adventures and solve mysteries… or at least they would, if they weren't constantly having their business stolen by a rival detective team.
In this action-packed adventure game, a mysterious disease known as Laughter Pox has plagued the town, causing people to laugh hysterically. Where is it coming from? How can it be cured? It's up to our detectives to find out! If they can convince others to trust them with such an important mission, that is!
Project Squealer uses a hybrid of 2D and 3D graphics to create a 2D cartoon look with full 3D movement. Characters and some organic objects are 2D sprites that move with the camera. Most environments, objects and buildings are 3D, but have texture-based outlines to give it a 2D look.
The game features a variety of different quests, characters, abilities, enemies, locations, weapons and items. In addition to the main storyline, you can help out NPCs by performing "errands" for them, which will unlock cool rewards and even side missions.
Unlike many RPG games, Project Squealer won't include a character level system, because I want the player to be able to progress using their own skill, not by grinding levels. One of the game's main design philosophies is that there are few, if any, permanent upgrades. Weapons will eventually break, status effects that make your stronger will eventually expire, etc.
Project Squealer is still in relatively early development. I plan to post more information, screenshots, and eventually even videos, as it gets closer to release. Follow my Twitter for quicker updates: https://twitter.com/ZerbuTabek
Your support and feedback is welcome, and will help improve the game!
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Lancer RPG
pfft, your mech is your dead mom's soul? well MY mech is co-piloted by Cthulhu!
Touchstones: Armored Core, General Mech Media
Genre: Mecha, Tactics game
What is this game?: Lancer is a tactical TTRPG focused on mechs, and the folks piloting them, with a sturdy "Gameplay over Realism" mentality to its game design
How's the gameplay?: Lancer is a tactical RPG using primarily d20s for attack rolls and other problem solving, it's primarily based on the tactical combat rules of Dungeons and Dragons 4th edition, however it is mostly its own thing, with new mechanics, simple but fun character creation, and a high focus on quick and aggressive combat rather than lengthy and Defensive combat. in effect imagine character creation as going to a subway (of mech parts) and picking your ingredients, with a mech's frame being your choice of bread, and combat as an SRPG of your choosing but everyone is in giant mechs
Out of Combat is a bit different, to the point where I didn't even bring it up during my first draft of this! the Out of Combat rules are deliberately bare bones, you can very easily insert straight up a different game in there, or mod it to be something else. But I wouldn't recommend it, as the rules by themselves are 100% useable, fun, and blend into the combat portions pretty easily, Lancer is fully aware of this, and the lack of out of combat depth is partially covered by the KTB book, which gives characters simple out of character skills
What's the setting (If any) like?: Lancer throws you into a world where mankind's either solved, or is close to solving, most of the issues back on earth... too bad we also colonized other planets 10k years ago! Now, while Earth thrives, planets outside of it struggle with poverty, imperialism, dictatorships, and human and non-human rights issues, Earth tries its best to help, but they're stretched very thin. Lancer also has many small details to its setting that are way too in-depth to get into right now, but a major one is the existance of non-human people, eldritch beings strapped to computers in order to create effective and fully sentient artificial intelligence
What's the tone?: Lancer's tone is generally speaking, hopeful. Empires are mighty, but there are people fighting, and they will be toppled, mankind's horrors have attempted to wipe out entire species, but survivors remain, and secretly thrive. While there is some doom and gloom and grimdark stuff, especially with how the highly unethical and wicked corporations are treated as necessary evils for enterprising pilots, but overall lancer is a setting where no matter how bad things get, there will always be hope
Session length: A few hours, it depends on how mean your GM is, generally speaking however combat heavy sessions will only run you around 2-3 hours, with RP sprinkled in between
Number of Players: I generally like to recommend around 4 or more, but I'm sure you can do it with less
Malleability: While lancer's mechanics are pretty hardset in its setting, the existance of Beacon RPG and how at its core its very much a Lancer hack does show that Lancer can be hacked into differing settings, a very popular one I've seen is Magical Girl Lancer.
Resources: Lancer's primary resource is Comp/Con, it effectively serves as a do everything tool for lancer, allowing you to manage characters, encounter, and homebrew, while also having a very slick and easy to use UI
Lancer also has many pre-made modules, of... varying quality, Siren's song and Solstice rain are pretty good, Wallflower is very good but the encounters are of mixed quality, and it's not great for introducing people to the game in my experience
Homebrew is also fairly popular, new frames, NPC types, Bonds, and modules are all pretty popular, my personal favorite being Field Guide to Suldan and Field Guide to Iridia, I also enjoy Field Guide to Liminal Spaces though that one's a bit on the "Be Very Careful" side
Overall, lancer is effectively THE indie ttrpg, being quality, fun, and affordable, with the core rulebook being 100% free if you just wish to see the player-side content, it's a great time, and everyone who's interested in the indie ttrpg scene should check it out at least once
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Thinking about the ending of Purgatory again, how the two people with wings saving people were Philza and Fit.
Phil, everyone knows had the wings. HAS the wings, now, in this miracle of this place, where nothing good grows and yet it's given Phil the chance to regain his lost limbs. Even after they were pushed to their fragile limits and broken again to save Tubbo, Phil's wings still exist on his back after they'd been gone for far too long.
But what about the other person who miraculously had wings? Who never had any sort of phantom pains of lost limbs in all of his life, who touched the sky only through mechanical marvels and the husks of void insects and never craved the feeling of flight as a wingfolk does.
Unlike Phil, who returned from the End challenge nearly sobbing for his children and the healing of his wings, Fit had no such thing when he went through those portals. He went through and grinned at the sight of a pair of elytra, a trusty tool back on 2b2t. He raced through the course and jumped through the other side and physically looked no different.
But who knows how long it's been since the last time Fit touched the void? Since he went to go solve the mystery of his airship's ghost voyage? That was years ago. It was nice to feel- free. Of Purgatory, of Quesadilla, of his mission and all the complications of the past few months. It was just him and the empty infinity below him for a few minutes.
When Fit left the End, he didn't miss the elytra. No, he was no Philza. But his body felt abuzz in a way he couldn't explain. It came and went, a slight background noise or strangely absent. Fit didn't pay much attention to it- his focus was on surviving. Grinding. Winning, for Ramon. But he found himself idly noticing it when he was helping Tubbo, or wandering with Pac, or defending Tina.
Days past, and the end of the world seemed to come from one of their own. Fit saw the writing on the wall of the fate of their kids and knew that he didn't have time to look for a lost cause. He pushed his limits to get to the escape boat. It was intense, but he didn't think for a moment that he wouldn't make it. He knew that not all of his friends would be so lucky. But it was survival of the fittest, and Fit knew it better than almost anyone else.
When Phil and Tubbo made it to the boat on Phil's broken wings, something stirred inside Fit. It was the two leaders of the surviving teams, the two that had just dueled to the death, holding each other like lifelines. These weren't more survivors in a wasteland, they were his FRIENDS. Could Fit really stand here on this boat, knowing if he didn't do something he'd never see them again?
"Give me the lasso, I can save people," Fit offered once Phil collapsed when trying to get up.
The old crow and his young adversary looked at him with wonder. That buzzing feeling was back, stronger than it'd been before. Fit held out his hand for the fraying rope. Fit backed up on the boat's deck and sprinted, planning on jumping over the edge and diving into the water-
But he never fell once he went up.
Fit used all of his willpower to keep going. Find someone- ANYONE, to save one more life so it wasn't just him, the unconscious people he'd managed to get to the boat, and those other two going home. Anyone else.
One minute. Bagi.
Fit screamed her name through the air. She shouted in surprise when she spotted him.
"Fit! You have wings?"
Fit took the second to glance over his shoulder. Wings, on his back, glowing against the hazy red light that covered the island.
"I'm getting you out of here," was all Fit said as he tied the rope around Bagi. He hefted her up, and then took off again.
They made it to the boat with twenty seconds left on the timer. Tubbo had gotten the engine revving and he heard Charlie screaming somewhere inside. He pulled Bagi out of the water, and then everyone's MDA's went off violently with notifications. Their time was up.
The buzzing in Fit's body faded as the boat sped away from the island- and their remaining friends, and the little buddies, and the corpses of their children, and the black dot rising in the sky that spelled total destruction. And the next time Fit noticed, the magic wings that had allowed him to be the hero of the hour were gone too.
It wasn't until they were back on Quesadilla Island that anyone mentioned the miracle Fit had pulled. Phil showed Fit so much trust, in revealing to him his mangled wings that he was able to keep coming back home. And he gently asked- what happened to Fit's? Why did Fit never tell that he had lost his wings too?
"I'm not like you, Phil. I've never had wings to lose."
"...But we all saw them, mate. Were you at least born with them?"
Fit shook his head. "Not that I ever knew. But I don't remember much about where I came from before 2b anyway."
Phil had frowned at that, but left it.
The next person to bring it up was Tubbo, along with Bagi and Pac while they were waiting for their somehow-alive kids to wake up from their comas.
"Hey Fit, what happened to your wings?"
"Oh yeahh! You were my hero, Fit! I don't think I'll ever be able to make it up to you," Bagi said. Fit waved them off.
"Don't worry about it, Bagi, we're all good."
"You have wings?" Pac questioned, his voice filled with such pure wonder. Fit shook his head.
"I... I really don't know what that was. I just knew I had the chance to save one more person, so I did. I wouldn't be surprised if that fucking Eye did something just to try to get under my skin! Good thing I'm tougher than that," Fit said with a smile. For the first time since the boat, that strange feeling prickled along his back.
Bagi frowned, while Pac looked at his whole being with his observant eyes, and Tubbo tilted his head.
"I would have loved to see you with wings... How cool you would look!" Pac breathed. Fit chuckled at that, but couldn't find the words to quite reply.
"What if you did have wings before?" Tubbo said, "Like how Phil had his healed back there?"
"I already talked to him about it. I've never had wings in my whole life. Or if I did, I lost them before I ended up in 2b2t, but that was when I was still a kid. If I ever came from anywhere before 2b anyway."
"They weren't really like Philza's either, when I saw them. They seemed- magical? They weren't really- I don't know the word- they weren't really real. They were all glowy," Bagi added.
Pac hummed thoughtfully. "You sound like a guardian angel that only got his wings in a time of need..."
That struck a chord with Fit. The feeling in him settled pleasantly, like he'd gotten an answer he didn't know the question to. "Maybe, maybe. Maybe you're closer than you think, I don't know. guess we'll never really know unless we end up in hell fighting each other again and have to escape another nuke!"
"Do NOT even joke about that!!"
"I don't know, I kind of want to see my guardian angel fly me to safety..." Pac said, a tease in his voice and cheeks flushed pink. Fit, admittedly, balked at this, and couldn't come up with a response. Tubbo, meanwhile, gagged.
The last clue Fit had to the strange event in Purgatory, was when he was stretching in the new yoga room of Fit's Fitness.
He was alone in the calming space, the tinkling of the water feature an easy background noise. He was doing some final stretches after a workout, to relax his muscles before he called it a day. His sweaty shirt was in the corner by the shoe rack- he really needed to change out of his Purgatory clothes, now that the islanders were slowly starting to be able to put that behind him.
In the mirror as he was just doing a shoulder stretch with his mechanical arm, for the first time Fit noticed a pair of scars on his back.
Now, Fit was familiar with his plethora of scars that covered his whole body. He knew the major ones- the ones that were closer calls with permanent death than he'd like to admit. His scar tissue had layers, with the way that explosions left their marks on the same spots over and over again. But despite the size of these scars, Fit couldn't remember where he got them from off the top of his head. Two long slashes- fairly clean. One was partially covered by the metallic plating that was embedded into his shoulder- maybe that was why he'd forgotten about them before?
It was still weird though. Nothing on 2b2t left such clean slashes. Especially not so symmetrical, or in what really was a vital place... strange indeed...
Fit looked back at himself in the mirror, examining the scars with mild curiosity.
For a moment, pale glowing wings were aligned with those slits. Fit blinked, and they were gone. That fuzzy feeling returned, and lingered as Fit's mind raced.
He had a feeling there was something he didn't know about himself.
#help i meant this to be like a 15 minute ramble about guardian angel fit#how did i end up here at 1 in the morning#WELP ITS HERE NOW MAYBE ILL POST IT TO AO3 TOO#MIGHT AS WELL??#qsmp#qsmp purgatory#qsmp fit#qsmp fitmc#q!fit#qsmp fanfiction#becca rambles#becca writes words
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I think I just realized why Dr. Ratio calls people(his students in particular), it’s probably because they HAVE access to knowledge but in his opinion they aren’t using that benefit to their full potential and that frustrates him
It might also be a reason he admires(?) Aventurine because (knowing of Aventurine’s past(to some extent at least)) Id say the doctor can’t help but be impressed with how he’s survived for that long, cause he cant have just lived through pure luck(no matter how lucky Aventurine is)
Now I might’ve gotten this completely wrong, Ive never been confident in my character or media analysis but it just felt off that he’d call people stupid for no reason. Dr. Ratio is blunt and to the point, hes not mean at least he doesnt try to purposefully be mean
Honestly you are just correct this is just the logic behind his behavior, Ratios voiceline about Aven is literally just what you said in the second paragraph. Ratio does everything for a reason and he believes being mean and giving people the tools to solve their own situations is the best way to help them learn and grow to reach their fullest potential. However, if that approach clearly isn’t working he drops it for a kinder one, something implied by his “true self” line. There’s also some other complicates I believe are mixed in there, like his blatant insecurities and god awful people skills leading him to try and behave like the cold but altruistic scholar people portray and respect him as. I also think its just part of his sense of humor, as a lot of Ratios rude lines are just really funny (I think he might think he’s being 100% serious about them but objectively they are very silly).
As we have seen Ratio is also chronically bad at expressing his emotions so his cold demeanor is likely also a defense mechanism, and even a literal form of masking when he puts that alabaster head on bc this man is autistic coded. Essentially, there’s a lot of reasons behind why Ratio acts the way he does but he is never mean without reason.
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Rewatching the original animated X-men series in preparation for 97, so of course I’ve also been seeing a lot of X-men posts. And, as always, I have strong opinions on what people on the internet say. Most of the time those opinions are “how did these people read/watch X-men growing up and not get that they’re the villains” because people are being bigots and are upset that their favorite heroes aren’t. But sometimes I’m stuck being frustratingly close to agreeing and my strong opinions are much harder to voice. In part because you don’t want to walk into the Discourse Landmine, but also in part because there’s so much to go over on the take.
Case in point: the “Magneto is right, Xavier is wrong” take, where my main problem with people is more the lack of nuance than the base take. And I know most of the people saying it are also doing it in part as a joke and get the nuance is there, but it still irks me.
Let’s be clear, in general, Magneto is not right, but he isn’t wrong either. Xavier isn’t wrong, but he isn’t right either. Obviously it’s partly dependent on whoever is writing at the moment, but also depending on which individual take of Magneto’s or Xavier’s you’re talking about. Yes, sometimes Xavier is frustratingly, harmfully liberal. Yes, sometimes Erik is doing the best possible for mutant well being. But there’s a lot of wiggle room with individual portrayals, and I think Xavier deserves justice for it. I’m not saying Magneto is just a villain, Stan Lee himself didn’t see him as such, but depending on the writers he can certainly be wrong.
Xavier is wrong when he focuses just on mutants with “useful” powers or conventionally attractive and human looks. He’s wrong when he puts the safety of bigots over the safety of the mutants they’re oppressing. He’s wrong when his only way of helping mutants is through the system. He’s wrong when he’s sending the X-men out to fight mutants more than bigots. He’s wrong when he hides he’s a mutant to avoid the stigma, even when the reveal would help solidarity and public trust. He’s wrong a lot.
But Xavier is right when he focuses on teaching mutants to love themselves and teaches them to control their powers and use them for good. He’s right when he says mutants and non-mutants can live in harmony. He’s right when he send the X-men out to destroy government/private property that’s being used to hurt mutants. He’s right when he takes out all his students, “attractive” or not, to speak up for mutant rights. He’s right when he sends the X-men to break innocent mutants out of prison/jail/unlawful containment. He’s right when he opens his institute to all mutants, so they have a safe place to go to. He’s right when he gives X-men choice and training for hard experiences, be it the choice to hide their powers or be open with them, to break out of jail/avoid arrest, or wait and go through an unfair trial for the sake of mutant visibility and legal precedent. He’s right when he finds places like the institute around the world. He’s right when he himself is on good terms with Magneto and works with him when it’s necessary for mutant good.
Don’t get me wrong, a lot of writers put Professor X as a filthy liberal. It sucks. Focuses on performative acts, letting fascists take ground for the sake of “civility,” and putting minorities at risk for the sake of optics, those are all bad. But sometimes liberal acts can be tools in the tool box. Voting isn’t gonna solve shit, but it can make it go downhill slower. Putting gay people in media isn’t going to end homophobia, but it will normalize gay people. Testifying before Congress for mutant rights might not be the flashiest or most effective way to get mutants’ rights, but it is a way to advance public opinion and slow anti-mutant laws. Just that isn’t good enough to beat the liberal accusations, but combined with the actions of some incarnations it genuinely changes their context. We can’t ignore all the times that Xavier has actively sent the X-men out to break laws and destroy government property for the sake of mutant well being. As much as we joke about the X-men being liberals, they usually aren’t afraid to break laws, break property, and raise hell for the sake of their people. And don’t forget that lot’s of “peaceful” acts of protest still cause disruption and still make a difference, even when it seems liberal on the surface, and can be organized by genuinely leftist people. Lots of Professor X’s portrayals could be genuinely leftist.
Likewise, Magneto is right a lot. He’s right when he says mutants shouldn’t be forced to stay in places where they’re being violently persecuted. He’s right when he advocates mutants fight back when bigots attack instead of just taking it. He’s right when he takes in mutants despite how palatable or useful they are. He’s right to actively fight fascists rising to exterminate his people. He’s right when he gives no fucks about the law when it comes to protecting minorities. He’s right when he creates a safe haven for mutants.
But boy, Magneto is also wrong a lot. He’s wrong when he says mutants and non-mutants can’t live together. He’s wrong when he says non-mutants are inferior. He’s wrong when he gets upset at mutants for wanting to live in harmony with humans. He’s wrong when he invalidates mutants who are upset with where being a mutant has gotten them, without helping them through the complicated feelings it brings. He’s wrong when he frames the X-men, a fellow mutant group, for his crimes. He’s wrong when he says mutants should exterminate non-mutants. He’s wrong when he thinks a mutant ethnostate is the end-all-be-all of mutant rights.
Erik is the kind of antagonist you get. He’s right on a lot of things. He has a lot of emotional appeal. As a (let’s be honest, gay) Jewish holocaust survivor, you know he’s coming from experience with his tactics. He genuinely doesn’t hate Xavier in most incarnations. But that doesn’t mean that in the incarnations where he literally calls for genocide, he should be let off the hook. Violence and resistance are important to most leftists movements, or even just mildly progressive ones. Be it a civil war to end US slavery, the riots at Stonewall, slave rebellions, or any number of revolutionary wars, sometimes active violence is necessary to stop the passive violence that minorities go through while oppressed. At the same time, it’s a fundamentally leftist ideal to believe in rehabilitation and the importance of people changing. And it’s also important to remember that genocide is bad no matter who’s doing it. Letting the genocidal versions of Magneto off the hook because it was “for mutants” is the same logic that lets Israel get away with how it treats Palestine.
I know that’s a lot of rambling to say something a lot of people already know, but as much as I love the “magneto was right” memes and the posts making fun of liberal X-men, I don’t want the genuinely leftists parts of the X-men to go unappreciated, nor the genuinely harmful parts of Magneto’s ideology excused.
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putting in my two cents as an aroace hazbin fan to the whole alastor shipping debate (adding a cut below because this got long-)
before I start, it's important to remind everyone:
alastor is canonically ace and (semi)canonically aro, and that should be respected the same way we'd respect angel dust's identity as a gay man, or vaggie's as a sapphic woman.
"ace" and "aro", while also functioning as labels unto themselves, are umbrella terms for a lottt of identities. Some of which do include the ability to experience sexual and romantic attraction, in different ways and at different levels (demi, cupio, lith/lithro, grey, aro-and aceflux, the list goes on).
So, given all that, is it possible to interpret alastor as experiencing some level of romantic attraction, or sexual attraction? Of course, identities like the ones I listed above are just as valid as any other acespec and arospec identity.
So, what's the issue then? Right now, a lot of fans are using the breadth of aspec identities and experiences as a shield, to excuse them shipping him like they would an allosexual/alloromantic character.
Just to make it clear, that in itself is erasure. And I know that's a strong statement, and that there being such a broad aroace experience adds nuance to any statement you can make on that, but we have to acknowledge as a fandom that there are objectively wrong ways to handle aspec characters, both in the way we discuss them and in the way we portray them in fan works.
And before anyone says it, saying "alastor isn't real" or "fanon content won't change his canon sexuality" doesn't work when real life aspec people can't even look in a tag of a character that's supposed to represent them without seeing their identity erased. It's the way I feel attempting to engage with a lot of hazbin content, and I know a lot of my fellow aspec hazbin fans are feeling it as well.
So, what's the solution to all this? That's unfortunately kinda complicated. Everyone has a different opinion on what constitutes as erasure, what is good rep, how much benefit of the doubt we should give people, et cetera, and so everyone's solutions look different. In a way there also isn't a way to solve it, since aroace erasure is so normalized in fandom culture (not just the hazbin fandom; fandom culture as a whole) that there will always be a significant portion of fans who will ignore, erase, or otherwise deny alastor's or any other aroace character's sexuality.
So, to put my two cents on it:
My philosophy is that if you're going to ship alastor (or any aspec character for that matter), it's best to have an identity in mind for him to use as reference. For example, I think of alastor as sex-repulsed aroace, and I write him with that in mind. Whatever you pick can be a steadfast headcanon, an identity tailored to the story you want to tell, or one you want to explore in your fanwork, whether for fun or to educate yourself on it better.
What's better is that you don't even need to mention the sexuality itself in the work! Show don't tell is a great writing tool, and for alastor specifically, who canonically isn't aware of his sexuality, it works perfectly. Just simply creating with it in mind, asking yourself, "how would someone with [insert identity] experience this?" and going from there, makes a world of difference.
Just in terms of good fanfic etiquette, I'd also make sure to include it in the tags if you're posting it on ao3, just to make sure your readers know what's up and to help with filtering (I personally don't read any alastor ship fics that don't include the asexual or aromantic tag at this point). Bada bing bada boom, that's representation right there!
Since Alastor is one of very, very few ace characters in mainstream media, and even less aro characters in media period, us as a fandom creating good representation with him is really important, especially in terms of the breadth of aspec identities. We don't get much representation, so claiming he's definitively one label or another isn't productive, and hurts the community in the long run. Fanfiction is first and foremost an exploration of canon, so why not play around with what "aro" and "ace" can look like for him?
Case and point, I've seen some incredible ship fics that headcanon him as demisexual and/or demiromantic, and do a great job representing those identities. I've also seen some really good fics that portray him as sex-repulsed, and others that portray him as sex-neutral or positive. All of that is great, and again, even if it isn't directly mentioned: adding subtext, putting it in the tags, and even simply writing the fic with the sexuality in mind does wonders.
Me personally, I headcanon Alastor with the same identity as me; sex- and romance-repulsed aroace, but open to queerplatonic relationships. That doesn't mean fics that interpret him with a different aspec identity are less valid, or are interpreting him wrong. All of it is valid representation.
And that's not even getting into queerplatonic relationships, which is what I put Alastor into for my own headcanons (queerplatonic radioapple fic when). For that, please do your own research, but remember that queerplatonic relationships tend to look different for every couple. They can be poly, include kissing and physical intimacy, or look just like what most people would consider a regular friendship or regular romance.
So, can you ship aroace characters? Sure you can, as long as it isn't at the expense of their sexuality, or more accurately, the representation their sexuality gives to a historically underrepresented group.
That's pretty much it from me, please remember to support aspec fanartists and fanfic writers, and happy (early) aromantic spectrum awareness week for all my fellow arospecs!!
#not adding the aromantic or asexual tags to this#those tags shouldn't be flooded with ship discourse#so please stop doing that guys#also not joking about the queerplatonic appleradio fic#I may or may not be working on one rn but knowing my writer's block (read: seasonal depression) I won't actually finish it#their dynamic is so much fun to write let me tell you#hazbin hotel#alastor#hazbin alastor#hazbin hotel alastor#hellaverse
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No, you are not alone. I also start things, give up, procrastinate, live the future and not the present and complain about my life not moving forward while I spend time looking at other people's lives.
Hello everyone, how are you?
I hope well.
I was thinking of giving up this tumblr and just as I started everything from scratch to study programming (github, linkedin, notion and I even created another google account) start a new tumblr.
I even commented briefly a few weeks ago with @lostlibrariangirl who supported me to just continue on this one and see my evolution. And today I was thinking that this could be cool not only for me, but for other dropouts, who are frustrated that they think they'll never get to where they want to go and et cetera.
If you've been following me since the beginning of this year, you've already seen that I never completed any course and I assume that I gave up on the most difficult parts, besides the constant anxiety of getting a job in technology and thinking that I would never get it and that made me procrastinate, suffer and not live the present studying.
I gave up on one of the scholarships I got and now I'm catching up on the delay (it's until the 7/30th)
Nowadays my mental health has improved a lot, thanks to my elders.
And also thanks to them I understood that I was going around in circles, being lazy, not trying 100%, being stubborn in a stupid way (for me stubbornness is a quality, if you know how to use it) and spending too much time on other people's lives and not mine.
Also, today it's easier for me not to feel so much anxiety because I no longer have the goal of getting a job registered as a dev this year, so I'm starting to learn from scratch EVERYTHING AGAIN only this time better and really trying hard.
In my case I wasn't doing my best, trying hard and that's why I fell so many times. I don't like the word failure/failure, as I learned from an older, mistake it's study/learning and not failure.
Now in May, for example, I started studying Linux from scratch (my system that I'm confused to understand), git and github. I was all this time without really understanding these 3 tools, just doing it without understanding / in a lazy way and that didn't give me confidence.
And I don't think we need to memorize it, but it's nice to understand and practice.
This print from above is me studying after writing and repeating to myself that I WILL ONLY START a new cycle after ending the old one.
And I hope to share this journey here.
I have a lot to study, whether in back-end or front-end, but I'm not in a hurry and that's why I'm progressing.
So if you're reading this far and you're going through the same thing I was, I wanted to give you some unsolicited advice.
Spend your energy, do physical exercises. Because anxiety can only be resolved with a psychiatrist, but exercises help.
Understand why you procastine, what is making you feel frustrated or afraid? Did you find out? How can you solve this?
If you don't finish something to start another and it HURTS you (if it doesn't hurt, that's fine), try to understand why you give up? Where is making you insecure / afraid? And after you understand this, strive to finish everything you start (I know it's hard, but we need this)
Get off social media for a bit. For me tumblr is what I spend the least time on, but it's very easy to lose hours on instagram and tiktok.
And guess what, that time we spend doesn't come back and unless you work with these networks that ALSO won't give you any money / jobs.
So, if possible, start to regulate your period in these environments. At first it's difficult because your brain is addicted, but after a while it works out and your version of the future (if you invest that time studying and working) will thank you.
I wish you all to be well and not sabotage yourself to achieve your goals.
#codeblr#woman in stem#software development#womanintech#studyblog#coding#software engineering#code#studyblr#algorithms#study community#discipline#I'm bac#i'm back#Finish what you start to start another#computerscience
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The Bad Kids as Knights Radiant
A while ago, I wrote this post assigning the main characters from Deltarune orders of Knights Radiant from Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive books. Now I'm gonna do the same with Fantasy High's Bad Kids!
Adaine O'Shaughnessey - "I will Seek Truth." The Order of Truthwatchers.
Do I need to elaborate on this one? The strongly opinionated youngest child of a rich and powerful family who has oracular visions thrust upon them without their asking and has to use their newfound power to save the world despite their pronounced lack of physical ability and the presence of neurological, emotional, and physical disabilities? Is anybody gonna fight me on this?
In all seriousness though - Adaine is defined by her desire to uncover lies and use the truth to set things right, no matter the cost. She so strongly values telling people what they need to hear, instead of what will make them feel better, and alongside Riz she's half of the team's mystery-solving power.
As a Truthwatcher, Adaine commands the surges of Progression and Illumination, and while powers-wise those feel a bit more geared towards Fig's spell list, Adaine is a master of handling the battlefield without drawing attention to herself, and as a Diviner she fills a much stronger support role than other Wizard subclasses.
Boggy the Froggy is Adaine's Lightspren.
Fabian Seacaster - "I will Reach my Potential." The Order of Elsecallers.
The Elsecallers are the consumate badasses of the Knights Radiant, and probably the most concerned with appearances, aside from the Lightweavers (who we'll get to, don't you worry). Fabian himself has huge potential for strength, grace, social aptitude, and academic success, that we see him fulfill over the course of the show. He's an excellent fighter who isn't afraid to utilize a nontraditional ability or tool in unique ways to give himself an upper hand. It reminds me a lot of Jasnah soulcasting on the battelfield.
As an Elsecaller, Fabian commands the surges of Transformation and Transportation. I think Transformation is the most apt thematically, as we see during his season 2 arc, learning to live as himself without abandoning his father's legacy. Although Transportation is also appropriate, given both that he's a very mobile combatant, and that he was the first among his party to gain access to a vehicle - one which he uses on the battlefield constantly.
I would say that the Hangman is his Inkspren, but I really think if he's anything he's a Dustspren.
Gorgug Thistlespring - "I will Seek Self-Mastery." The Order of Dustbringers.
While his personality doesn't match what we know of the Dustbringers in the series so far, Gorgug is otherwise an extremely good fit for this order. In season one, his arc centers on accepting his anger as a natural part of himself, and learning how to point it in useful and helpful directions, as well as reconnecting with his orcish heritage.
In seasons two and three, Gorgug dives into artificing; learning how to take things apart and put them back together, and pioneering ways to combine his skill with technology and his prodigious destructive power.
As a Dustbringer, Gorgug commands the surges of Division and Abrasion. These feel very appropriate for our curious barbarian, and I honestly don't feel like there's a lot I could say that wouldn't be plainly obvious. The kid rips stuff apart, what can I say?
Fig Faeth - "I will Speak My Truth." The Order of Lightweavers.
Performance. Art. Identity. Lies. Fig feels almost like an embodiment of this order. If you know anything about Lightweavers, I don't even know what to say that isn't already apparent. Fig disguises herself, invents new identities, lies constantly, and is the party's designated spy. She expresses these illusory powers by way of her artistic expression, and has a bad habit of running from her problems using those same powers. But of course, when the time comes, she shows an unmatched prowess for using those powers to completely dismantle the lies and schemes of ne'er do wells.
As a Lightweaver, Fig commands the surges of Illumination and Transportation. She uh. Makes illusions and turns into other people. Look, I don't know what else to say. She's a perfect fit.
Kristen Applebees - "I will Unite Instead of Divide." The Order of Bondsmiths.
Holy shit. This is why I wanted to make this post. Kristen, who with force of will and clarity of purpose brings a god back from the dead and forges a bond with her. Kristen, the most powerful Cleric of any god for the last century, who even at her most ignorant is the one to start treating the bad kids as a team before anyone else. Kristen, whose source of power is immense and strange, and who she conflicts with regularly, even as they share a purpose.
As a Bondsmith, Kristen commands the surges of Tension and Adhesion. Again, these are perfect for her. Kristen as a character feels at times to be made of tension; pulling at a deep and very serious love of ritual and spirituality that is at odds with her seeming inability to take things seriously the more dire they get. The girl who can create a new god, who can bring one back from nothingness, and who flunks out of her Cleric class the moment her teacher isn't 100% in her corner. Kristen's arcs also tend to be pretty central to the larger plots, what with the Harvestmen, The Nightmare King, and now Cassandra's spouse seeming to have a pretty pivotal role in whatever the Rat Grinders are up to. In short; Kristen Adheres the bad kids together.
Kristen's Bondsmith-spren is, obviously, Cassandra.
Riz Gukgak - "I will Protect." The Order of Windrunners.
I'm gonna be real with you, folks, I have never encountered a more Windrunner-ass motherfucker in my life. "I gotta do the right thing no matter what and be emo about it the whole time. What do you mean I have friends who love and support me?" Look me in the eyes and tell me if Riz got assigned to Bridge Four he wouldn't immediately dedicate himself to saving his whole crew and freeing them from slavery. You know I'm right.
As a Windrunner, Riz commands the surges of Adhesion and Gravitation. These aren't great fits for his real, very stealthy skillset - but if we're being honest Gravitation is the least thematically interesting surges anyway, and Adhesion is just the "cool nice guy" surge, which Riz already is.
lmk if this is the kind of content you're frothing at the mouth for and I can do more characters (I'm on my hands and knees give me characters to do this with it's so fun for me)
#dimension 20#fantasy high#stormlight archive#adaine o'shaughnessey#fabian seacaster#fig faeth#kristen applebees#gorgug thistlespring#riz gukgak#knights radiant#truthwatcher#elsecaller#lightweaver#bondsmith#dustbringer#windrunner
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