#again like Shane is a character but the things he goes through are incredibly realistic and mirror a lot of peoples real life experiences s | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

luvstruckmutt · 10 months

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RANT ABOUT PEOPLES WEIRD ATTITUDE ABOUT SHANE STARDEW VALLEY INCOMING!!!

saw people complaining about shane today and saying he is a bad and awful husband and they divorced him after seeing his room and that he becomes boring after he starts getting therapy because the interesting thing about him is his struggle with addiction and after you "fix him" what's the point of being with him And just?? Why?? Did you even marry him?? Like?? I dunno, people are allowed to have opinions on characters but so many peoples' opinions are just?? Really bad and rooted deeply in ableism and misconceptions about mental health/addiction and are super saviory??

I have said this a thousand times but you can't fix people. That's literally not how people work. You can, however, be there for people and try and create a safe environment for them to be able to help themselves!! AND THATS EXACTLY EHAT FUCKING HAPPEMS IN STARDEW!! Shane gets help ON HIS OWN because he is being supported by both his family and the farmer. And to see that just fucking fly over peoples heads makes me so mad because DID WE PLAY THE SAME FUCLING GAME?? YOU DONT FIX SHIT!! YOU ACT AS PART OF A SUPPORT SYSTEM!! (Which is very important but like) YOU AS A SINGULAR PERSON CANT FIX PEOPLE!!

I also just hate the "I can fix them" attitude because, at least in this specific situation, the people saying this are the same people who divorce him because his room is ugly or because he is implied to relapse and still is depressed??? It feels like the same thing as when someone has "spread kindness!" or "love each other!" in their bio and then is the most rancid hateful person ever? The room thing in particular makes me mad because LIKE WHAT DID YUOU THINK IT WAS GOING TO LOOK LIKE?? YOU SAW HIS ROOM AT MARNIE'S, WHAT MADE YOU THINK HIS ROOM IN YOUR HOUSE WAS GOING TO BE ORGANIZED AND SPOTLESS???

Idk like, again, you can dislike Shane and even regret marrying him. He's not very nice to you until you really get his hearts up there so he comes off as rude and abrasive. You don't HAVE TO LIKE HIM!! But so many people just spout hateful shit and it's like god, I hope you never have anyone in your life who suffers from mental illness because even though Shane is a video game character, the stuff you're saying and the ideas you have surrounding addiction and mental health are super toxic and weird and I hope no real person ever has to be subjected to them.

edit (put this in the tags but then wanted to add it to the main post):

#stardew shane #shane sdv #stardew valley #its like also #relapse is often a part of recovery. it doesnt mean the person has given up trying to help themselves or anything it just happens.#and people are so weird for demonizing it or chalking it up to shane not loving you or something??#i cant speak on relapsing based in addiction but ive relapsed on other things and i know that it makes you feel so disappointed im yourself #to on top of that awful feeling have someone who you thought cared about you get mad and make your crisis all about them must be so painful #again like Shane is a character but the things he goes through are incredibly realistic and mirror a lot of peoples real life experiences s #just think before you fucking speak ig #tw: alcholism #tw: addiction #relapse mention #mental illness #rant #cupid.txt #tw: ableism #🌶️

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seth-the-book-dragon · 5 years

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My Top Four YA Fantasy Sets

City Of Bones by Cassandra Clare (The Mortal Instruments)

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder― much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing―not even a smear of blood―to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy? This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know.

It's been a while since I’ve read anything by Cassandra Clare but in the past I have laughed and cried and loved in her world. I got the first Mortal Instruments book some time ago as a gift and it lay unread on my shelf for some time until my family went away for a week and Mum said I could only bring books I hadn’t read before (Troy by Adèle Geras and The Girl In The Mask by Marie-Louise Jensen were the others; also excellent books). I devoured it. I sat down and absolutely lost myself in Clare’s New York and the world of the Shadowhunters. I have since collected most of her books and read the original series at least three times fully through. It’s powerful and drags you right in even if you’re a stubborn thirteen-year-old determined to hate it. I know it’s gotten a lot of hype and that often puts me off but in this case it’s because it’s magic. It does get a bit confusing in the third and fourth book, but all makes sense in the end.

Even the prequel and sequel sets are enjoyable and draw you in. I didn’t think I would like the Clockwork series because of how much I’d loved the original characters and their little nook of life but once again Cassandra Clare proved me wrong. I highly recommend these books but do expect to get your heart at least a little bit broken.

Glass Houses by Rachel Caine (The Morganville Vampires)

College freshman Claire Danvers has had enough of her nightmarish dorm situation. When Claire heads off-campus, the imposing old house where she finds a room may not be much better. Her new roommates don't show many signs of life, but they'll have Claire's back when the town's deepest secrets come crawling out, hungry for fresh blood. Will she be able to face the town's terror or will she drown like everyone else?

Probably one of the first sets on this list that I read. The Morganville Vampires is filled, once again, with a group of close friends. Claire a sixteen-year-old science student, Eve a goth coffee shop employee, Shane a chilli cooking video game lover and Michael an up and coming musician.

The complex love-hate relationship between the human and vampire inhabitants of Morganville is often a cause for conflict and suspense.

I will admit that the plot starts to get a bit far fetched nearing the end but then again, there is fifteen books so it can’t be easy coming up with storylines for all of them. The ending is a classic happy ending I am glad to say.

One thing I really love about Morganville is the number of characters with questionable morality, those who you are never quite sure whose side they’re on. There’s nothing I’m such a sucker for as eccentric characters, grey morality and platonic love so it’s no wonder that I like these as much as I do. And really, who couldn’t love a character with vampire bunny slippers and a giant pet spider called Bob?

My Soul To Take by Rachel Vincent (The Soul Screamers)

She doesn't see dead people. She senses when someone near her is about to die. And when that happens, a force beyond her control compels her to scream bloody murder. Literally. Kaylee just wants to enjoy having caught the attention of the hottest guy in school. But a normal date is hard to come by when Nash seems to know more about her need to scream than she does. And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason, only Kaylee knows who'll be next.

I found the fifth book in the library and absolutely loved it. However, I wouldn’t recommend starting with If I Die because it’s a major turning point in the series, the first book is probably a better starting place.

Kaylee is a complex heroine who never wanted to be in the limelight, she just wanted her family and friends to be safe. She goes through so much development as a character throughout the series and emerges stronger than ever at the end. You finish the series feeling proud of what the main characters have achieved and a tinge of sadness for those that didn’t make it.

These books are a prime example of slotting fantasy elements into our world – it is bone chilling because it’s so easy to see how it could be real and how easy it would be to be one of those clueless, helpless humans. The scariest things are those which are very close to something normal but just slightly off.

The thing that really stands out about the Soul Screamers is that the supernatural beings are varied and not just your bog-standard vampires and werewolves. The diversification of urban fantasy is something I love and one of the reasons why I love it so much.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love happy endings as much as the next man – characters deserve happiness and perfection. However the bittersweet ending of this series feels right and not forced or realistic.

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Lissa Dragomir is a Moroi princess: a mortal vampire with a rare gift for harnessing the earth's magic. She must be protected at all times from Strigoi; the fiercest vampires - the ones who never die. The powerful blend of human and vampire blood that flows through Rose Hathaway, Lissa's best friend, makes her a dhampir. Rose is dedicated to a dangerous life of protecting Lissa from the Strigoi, who are hell-bent on making Lissa one of them. After two years of freedom, Rose and Lissa are caught and dragged back to St. Vladimir's Academy, a school for vampire royalty and their guardians-to-be, hidden in the deep forests of Montana. But inside the iron gates, life is even more fraught with danger . . . and the Strigoi are always close by. Rose and Lissa must navigate their dangerous world, confront the temptations of forbidden love, and never once let their guard down, lest the evil undead make Lissa one of them forever . . .

I read the first one a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it though didn’t go looking for more. However, when I found the next three in the charity shop last year I had to read on. I devoured the and read the entire set of six in four days. I will admit that my homework suffered that week. They begin slowly, getting you used to the world of Moroi, dhampires and Strigoi – all words used to describe creatures in Romanian folklore and not words made up by Richelle Mead as I first thought. But good grief when it gets started, it really goes for it. Rose is a firecracker and incredibly loyal to her best friend. Dimitri is a rock, trustworthy and ever dependant. Just a rock with a stake. Mead writes in a way that even if you don’t like a character first off - *cough* Adrian *cough* - you end up thinking of as one of your favourite characters. They take twists and turns that you never see coming – and a couple you do, with an ominous churning in your stomach.

Even the sequel set Bloodlines is excellent. I didn’t have high hopes initially after the joy of the Vampire Academy but I was surprised. It’s not as good but still highly enjoyable.

The only negative I could highlight is that the main romance in each set follows the same ups and downs. It gets to a point where it’s almost predictable.

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thegloober · 6 years

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The Yankees have questions all around their infield heading into the 2018-19 offseason

An Abbreviated Encore [2018 Season Review]

(Getty)

Although the 2018 season had a (very) disappointing ending, it is exciting to look at the Yankees and know they are loaded with young talent for the future. Aaron Judge is a superstar through and through. He’s a top ten player in baseball. Then there’s Luis Severino, Gary Sanchez, Gleyber Torres, and Miguel Andujar. Most teams hope to have two guys like that on their roster. The Yankees have all of them.

And yet, going into the 2018-19 offseason, the Yankees are facing some very real questions all around the infield. As recently as June or July it looked like the Yankees were set long-term around the horn, with a young and productive player at all four infield positions. Now, in October, that isn’t really the case. That isn’t to say the Yankees are in bad shape on the infield, because they’re not, but things are a little up in the air. Let’s take a trip through the infield.

First Base

Since Opening Day 2016 the Yankees have received a .234/.314/.403 (91 wRC+) batting line and +1.9 WAR from their first basemen. Among the 30 teams they rank 26th in AVG, 23rd in OBP, 29th in SLG, 29th in wRC+, and 27th in WAR. Gross. Even with the first base cast of characters combining for 34 home runs (!) in 2018, first base has been wasteland since Mark Teixeira’s last good season in 2015.

Right now, it is fair to wonder whether Luke Voit is legit, whether Greg Bird is salvageable, and whether Miguel Andujar is going to wind up at first base. The Yankees love Bird and I’m certain that if you gave Brian Cashman & Co. a truth serum, they’d say they want Bird to grab the job and run with it next year. I would like that too. Bird has power and patience, at least when healthy, and the Yankees could use another left-handed bat.

“We’ll see how the offseason unfolds, but right now, he grabbed that job, no question about that,” Aaron Boone said of Voit at his end-of-season press conference. “I’m sure there will continue to be competition on all kinds of levels. The one thing with Greg that I never lost is we’ve seen him be an impact player at times in his career … This year, in a lot of ways, was a little bit of a lost season for him.”

Honestly, I feel like nothing that happens with first base this offseason would surprise me. Stick with Voit? I could buy it. At the very least, he has to be given every opportunity to win a roster spot in Spring Training, right? Right. Stick with Bird? I could see that too. Trade for Paul Goldschmidt? Trade for someone else? I could totally see it. Sign Bryce Harper and put him at first? Eh, that’s a stretch. Point is, first base remains unsettled, even after Voit’s late-season showing.

“In some ways, (Bird) never got all the way back physically to, I think, where he’ll be next year,” added Boone. “I think there’s a realistic chance he comes into Spring Training next year, physically in a really good place with a chance of a normal offseason where he gets his body where he wants it. Hopefully the results from that will follow. He’ll have his opportunities. We’ve never lost sight of the fact that when he’s right, can really hit.”

Second Base & Shortstop

Gleyber. (Getty)

These two positions are tied together because Torres is going to play one of them next year. We just don’t know which one. Gleyber’s a stud, man. A 21-year-old kid hitting .271/.340/.480 (120 wRC+) with 24 home runs as a middle infielder thrown into a pennant race as a rookie is awfully impressive. Torres is a stud and I think we’re no more than two years away from him emerging as the Yankees’ best player. Not because Judge will collapse or anything. Just because Torres is that damn good.

The problem here is Didi Gregorius. He had Tommy John surgery yesterday. He’s expected to return sometime next summer but no one really knows when. Could be as early as May or June, or as late as August or September. The Yankees have to proceed as if they won’t have Gregorius next year. Although Tommy John surgery is fairly routine, it is a major surgery, and there could be setbacks or a slower than expected recovery. It happens and the Yankees have to be prepared for it.

Gleyber is a natural shortstop — I thought he looked way smoother at short this season than second base — and his flexibility allows the Yankees to replace Gregorius with either a shortstop or second baseman. I’d prefer adding another shortstop and leaving Torres at second, but, if the market cranks out better options at second base, then Gleyber moves over. The only question then is who is the backup shortstop? You’d have to dedicate a bench spot — only of three bench spots since the eight-man bullpen seems to be here to stay — to a shortstop capable infielder.

We know this much about second base and shortstop: One of these two positions is set. Torres will play one. Cashman said they’ll scour the offseason market for a player at the other position “whether it’s an everyday player or an insurance policy.” In a weird way, Torres is the most “sure thing” among Yankees infielders at the moment, and we don’t even know whether he’s playing second or short next year. We just know he’ll be there. Hmmm.

Third Base

By OPS+, Andujar just had one of the three best seasons by a rookie third baseman in the last 30 years. Kris Bryant (135 OPS+) is kinda out there in his own little world, but Andujar (126 OPS+) is right there with Evan Longoria (127 OPS+). Those are the only three rookie third basemen to best a 125 OPS+ since Kevin Seitzer back in 1987. Andujar had an incredible rookie season.

By WAR, Andujar had only the 16th best season by a rookie third basemen over the last 30 years. His +2.2 WAR puts him alongside guys like Gordon Beckham (+2.1 WAR), Akinora Iwamura (+2.2 WAR), and Garrett Atkins (+2.3 WAR). That’s how much value Andujar gave back with his glove. He had one of the best offensive seasons by a rookie third basemen in three decades and was still run of the mill in terms of overall value.

Miggy Mantle. (Mike Stobe/Getty)

The Yankees told use exactly what they think about Andujar’s defense. They subbed him out in the sixth inning (!) for defense in the postseason. When it mattered most, the Yankees didn’t trust Andujar in the field, and I don’t really blame them. Range is a clear issue, and while Andujar has a strong arm, it plays down because his transfer is slow and his sidearm sling can cause the ball to sail wide of first.

“He made big strides this season. He has the athleticism, he has the hands and the arm strength. Preparation for the pitch and footwork are gonna determine if he becomes that frontline defender at third base. I do believe it is in there,” Boone said. “This winter is important for him as far as that goes. When I got here, there were all kinds of questions. He earned his at-bats with the way he swung the bat, but also by improving as much as he did defensively. Now it’s on all of us (to help him get better).”

For what it’s worth, earlier this week Cashman said during a radio interview that he expects Andujar to be the team’s third baseman next season. Of course he’s going to say that, right? The Yankees could be planning — and already enacting — a position change and they would still say they want Andujar at third base because it allows them to maintain leverage during trade and free agent talks.

I am weirdly ambivalent about Andujar’s defensive home next season. If the Yankees decide to keep him at third base for another season and let him work at it, I’m cool with it. And if the Yankees decide to move him to first base or left field (or DH), I’d be cool with that too. Ryan Braun had a great rookie year overall but was a defensive disaster, so he was moved to left field the next season. Could happen with Andujar!

Maybe this is a fluid situation. The Yankees might be planning to put Andujar at third base next season, but, if a better option comes along (trade for Nolan Arenado?), they’ll move him. Otherwise they’ll stick with it at least until Gregorius returns, then they can reevaluate their infield situation and figure out the best alignment. It could be that whoever replaces Didi plays well enough to stay in the lineup everyday, pushing Andujar somewhere else. We’ll see.

* * *

The good news is the Yankees are not devoid of infield talent. There are worse things in baseball than having Miguel Andujar as your starting third baseman, you know? Torres is a stud. Voit raked this year — maybe he is the Yankees’ Nelson Cruz or Jesus Aguilar? that late bloomer who finds it in his late 20s? — and Bird could still maybe be something. They have to replace Gregorius at least temporarily, for sure. A Didi replacement is a “must have” this winter.

At the same time, Voit may be more Shane Spencer than Cruz or Aguilar, and play his way to Triple-A. Andujar could struggle defensively again. I don’t see how you could count on Bird for anything. The Yankees don’t necessarily have an infield problem. They just have some things to sort out. Is Andujar the long-term answer at third? Is it time to bring in a veteran first baseman to stop the post-Teixeira revolving door? Who steps in for Gregorius? Those are all questions the Yanks will answer this winter.

An Abbreviated Encore [2018 Season Review]

Source: https://bloghyped.com/the-yankees-have-questions-all-around-their-infield-heading-into-the-2018-19-offseason/

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