#civilized discourse

[corporateintel]

Weak Thinking

I’ve been a student of philosophy for most of my adult life. It’s a passion, it’s an indulgence, at times it’s an obsession, and it’s a driving force in many of my most consequential actions. Digging through the canon of thousands of years of argument — hundreds of thousands of pages of dense text — can be vastly unsatisfying. It’s not for everyone. It becomes obvious there are far more questions…

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#9-11 #broad intellectual authority #civilized discourse #considered thought #debatable philosophy #Elon Musk #fabricated drivel #free speech #noble premise #Sam Bankman-Fried #self-esteem shields #student of philosophy #TikTok #tone-deaf #World Trade Center

[messiahzzz]

i’m not here to claim that wyll doesn’t deserve more extra content or that larian’s perspective of him isn’t rooted in racism in any way whatsoever. however, i sincerely believe that it’s always important to list the facts first before misinformation continues to spread which only results in more needless outrage.

these are all of wyll’s scenes that exist in the game as of now:

meeting karlach, mizora, and his transformation, the tiefling party kiss, the dance scene, mizora visiting camp, another scene where mizora visits camp, and the proposal scene. additionally, mizora and uldred can join camp, if he is alive.

in strict comparison - this is the exact amount of scenes the other origin characters have:

Astarion has 9 scenes, 6 of which can possibly be romantic.

Lae’zel has 7 non-standard dialogue scenes, 3 of which can possibly be romantic.

Shadowheart has 6 non-standard dialogue scenes, 3 of which can possibly be romantic.

Gale has 6 non-standard dialogue scenes, 3 of which can possibly be romantic.

Karlach has 4 non-standard dialogue scenes, 3 of which can possibly be romantic.

Wyll has 5 non-standard dialogue scenes, 2 of which can possibly be romantic.

source: [x]

wyll is lacking one scene compared to characters like shadowheart and gale. lae’zel merely has another non-standard dialogue scene, while astarion has double the amount of possible romance scenes and 9 scenes in total.

here is a video of wyll’s entire story: [x] at a duration of 2:25:24 in total it’s very similar in length to the romances of the other companions the same channel uploaded. (minthara & halsin excluded)

i have also seen many people refer to the datamined voicelines as proof of how much content wyll lacks. this, however, doesn’t tell us much since those compilations include battle grunts, noises, and other repeated lines. if you want to check them out for yourself, here is chubblot’s playlist on youtube: [x]

wyll’s romance/approval-specific greetings also exist, they are merely bugged. although i have heard that some people have been able to trigger them. bugged content is something that also affects other companions – in fact, most of gale’s romance scenes and some integral dialogue have been bugged for months now with no fixes anywhere in sight. if you don’t want to look for wyll’s greetings in the files, i took the liberty of doing it for you:

alas, his general reactivity after act i remains the same as with the others. aka: he's barely responsive to his surroundings nor to any key decisions the player makes.

wyll also isn’t the only character who isn’t able to make his own choice on whether he agrees to sell his soul for his father’s life or not. in fact, the only characters who can decide their own fate are shadowheart and lae’zel. the latter option only now being added with patch 6.

so what exactly did wyll get after patch 6? the same amount of kisses like everyone else: 4 in total. as well as some new idle animations and polished facial expressions. the kiss where he invites tav for a quick twirl had already been added in an earlier update (patch 5, 30th november 2023). which means it’s understandable that certain characters who didn’t receive any new animations or other content before were now added with patch 6 as well.

wyll’s quest regarding ansur also didn’t get removed from the game. this is plain false. larian merely changed the subcategory in the journal (which larian had done previously with astarion’s gur-related quest as well)

if you have a gripe with this particular decision: that is valid. the quest, however, is still the exact same as it was before.

i see fandom heading in this really dangerous direction where people fully believe they have the right to attack others for pointing out the existence of false information. i understand that people are upset about wyll having less content than characters like astarion and i am in no way here to claim that you should refrain from calling out racism where it’s due. however, this hostile behavior directed at anyone who dares to disagree with you is creating a really toxic environment within online spaces, where people hesitate to engage with the wyll side of the fandom at all (out of fear of immediately receiving the racist card for merely correcting inconsistencies in logic). and in case it needs to be said again: it is never justified to harass real people or send death threats to others under any circumstances, much less if it concerns a fictional character.

i, much like everyone, really want wyll to receive more love from fandom and larian alike. but it is no one’s place to police other players on how they should engage with this specific character in their own game. if others simply couldn’t connect to wyll as much as you personally have – for whatever reason – that is on them. it's them who are missing out. this shouldn’t hinder your enjoyment of this character in any way or discourage you from creating more fan content.

TL;DR: it’s completely valid to request more wyll content, but please don’t resort to “demands” or public pressure directed at the devs. this is only doing more harm in the long run (to wyll’s, as well as his fanbase's reputation within the rest of the fandom instead of actually accomplishing much). don’t spread misinformation that he’s the only one of the companions who is continuously receiving the short end of the stick in terms of content, general reactivity, and bug fixes. if anything, the biggest difference is between him and astarion (again, much like every other companion).

🙏 please be respectful to each other 🙏

update, 19th february:

a user suggested providing an alternative to petitions on this post and linking directly to larian’s official feedback form, which you can find here: [x]

you’ll be able to add screenshots of the specific issue you’re reporting. keep in mind that you need to name your exact game version if you plan to send in a report. i’ve had larian ask me to send them the specific game files in the past, so it’s best to keep them on hand in advance.

larian also has a faq page on how to submit a general bug report [x]

here is an example of what to write:

(I’d like to address the disparity in content between Wyll and the other origin companions.) As of now, Wyll is lacking an entire scene compared to the rest of the characters, and his romance-specific greetings remain bugged as well. The lack of equal scenes makes Wyll’s story feel lackluster at times and undermines the pacing of his romance and overall character arc. It is very disheartening for POC players specifically to see racial biases reflected in his treatment and that Wyll didn’t receive the same amount of resources. Considering his narrative role as the Grand Duke's son he also deserves to be in the spotlight. When can we expect any fixes or additional content?

#bg3 #baldurs gate 3 #wyll ravengard #informational post #racism mention #fandom discourse #it speaks #i understand that i’m treading into dangerous territory here #but please keep it civil #meanwhile minthara lovers sitting in the corner with barely any scraps to go by: this is fine #updated

[mephystophyles]

I just think it's funny that, considering 1 million americans are dead from covid, instead of making the country an actually hospitable place to have kids in by raising wages and lowering housing costs, they're moving to allow marriage at 12 years old and trying to force births on us

#politics #abortion #religion #christianity #housing #crisis #discourse #womens rights #trans rights #civil rights

[satorena]

anyway i tried being peaceful y’all !! i’m really trying to enter my soft girl life era, i even went to her privately and asked her to take it down, to which she agreed she would. she then went to say she was also inspired by her friend’s theme. which obviously i assumed her friend also copied my layout. i ask for the url, she said she don’t wanna share it cause she doesn’t want her friend to get involved… hm alright liar ! if that’s really your truth then handing a url wouldn’t be an issue right ? hm… okay then 😗 and to start getting bold when you’re 100% in the wrong ? oof.

anywhooo let’s play a little game, guess who’s who !! 🥸

#discourse #here i was trying to be civil #plagiarism is weird all in all #i don’t even like arguin with little kids #but why is a child in my business

[frickyesforumweapons]

#reaction image #forum weapon #captain boomerang #digger harkness #george harkness #suicide squad #dc comics #arkhamverse #suicide squad kill the justice league #kill the justice league #no discourse please let's keep the notes civil ok? #queue

[turns-out-its-adhd]

AI exists and there's nothing any of us can do to change that.

If you have concerns about how AI is being/will be used the solution is not to abstain - it's to get involved.

Learn about it, practice utilising AI tools, understand it. Ignorance will not protect you, and putting your fingers in your ears going 'lalalala AI doesn't exist I don't acknowledge it' won't stop it from affecting your life.

The more the general population fears and misunderstands this technology, the less equipped they will be to resist its influence.

#ai #artificial intelligence #ai technology #tech #technology #singularity #futurism #datascience #data analytics #data harvesting #manipulation #civil rights #civil disobedience #ai discourse

[justaasexual]

Been looking at the Wish content on YouTube and Tumblr.

And I just....

There's a lot of things that baffle me about some of the criticism.

But the first really illogical thing I saw was about Magnifico and Amaya.

So let's talk about this. Magnifico first, because I adore him as a villain.

Magnifico adores his people. He doesn't want what happened to him to happen again.

He also is fearful of anything that challenges his power. This is most blatantly shown in his reaction to the light.

He does not know this is Star. He thinks it is a new type of magic. And he is scared of that. Not Star, remember, he doesn't know about Star yet. It's the idea of a sorcerer he does not know about.

But his fear is hinted at in his refusal to grant Sabba's wish. "It's too vague" is what I believe he said. Because he is scared of something he can't control. But he won't give it back, because then it could happen, even if it's a very slim possibility.

Magnifico needs to be in control. And he dislikes when that control is threatened, as seen in This is the Thanks I Get. On the surface level, it's about him being unappreciated. In actuality, the people threaten his control with their insistence on another wish ceremony. This causes him to attempt to reestablish control in any way he can, which leads to his descent into evil magic.

And with that choice, the choice to set himself on a path that would end in harming the people (and wishes) he had sworn to protect, he was past redemption.

Because he went too far. The dark magic is literally a symbol of the tipping point of his tightening control. It is the point of no return.

It is not a justification for his actions. It is not what 'makes' him the movie's villain. He was always going to be the movie's villain. That was obvious from his control of his citizens. No, it is a physical representation of how he let his paranoia take over and get people hurt.

He is no longer redeemable. He can't be reasoned with. While the dark magic accentuated and pushed his controlling tendencies to the forefront, it only built on what was there.

The dark magic is where he goes from 'victim suffering from control issues as a result of his trauma', to 'his trauma causing him to abuse others'. We know it's something that he can help because he was pulled away from it before and even admitted that he made a vow to himself. He could have pulled himself back before he hurt anyone. And he knew he would hurt people if he went through with it.

And he did it anyway.

That is what makes him a compelling villain, besides the magnetic effect he has every time he appears on-screen, is the ability to stop and then choose to proceed forward.

He is a wonderful mix of self-deceiving and self-destructive, and it is fascinating to watch on the big screen.

#king magnifico #wish 2023 #wish disney #king magnifico wish #this is the thanks i get #meta #character analysis #i mean no hate on those who just dislike it #but i do wonder how this was just added on? #some of you lot cannot comprehend how nuance works #i adore discourse #but we can be civil #villain

[barkyboybeloved]

This is such a hyper specific ask but other therians, can you tag your police dogs? Most of the time they are just posted under "working dog" and I'll be honest, I Hate seeing cop dogs. They are used for almost nothing except violence and the history of when and why they started to be used is actually horrorifying.

Tag your police dogs, I have the tag blocked for a reason and I feel bad blocking people for something as Lil as this but idk I've seen an influx on cop dog posts.

They are incredibly triggering (to me and my general circle at least) to PoC and specifically Black folks. Police dogs have never been a cool or fun thing to our communities. /nm /srs

••Edit••

Reblogs are definitely okay and appreciated

#i just wanna be able to filter it #i am so hyper aware if history #i am a black man whos greatgrandparents fought directly in the civil rights movement #my uncle has scars from having a police dog sicked on him #i dont want to see these puppies in the hands of the police /srs #just tag them #i beg of you #police dogs #acab #police dog #k9 unite #cw police brutality #therian #black therian #barks at queue #duckdog barks #discourse #i guess #tag request

[chaos-in-the-void]

Seeing endos saying that us anti endos are not understanding what they are trying to say. So please do talk to me about it. I’m willing to listen.

What are endos? Why are you endo? Mixed Origin? Etc? What is it that you wish anti endos would understand?

I’ll ask more questions depending on the answers above but this is just out curiosity. I won’t harass you or anything. Just asking questions and having a civil conversation. (I block people on sight if you start name calling, harass others and etc that’s not cool)

#syscourse #endogenic #mixed origin system #discourse #debates are welcome but only if they are civil #debate #traumaendo #willowgenic #ask to tag

[mephystophyles]

Raise your hand if you are a person able to become pregnant, are disabled or mentally ill, are a person of color, or are a member of the LGBTQIA+ community and you are the most terrified you have ever been and believe hanging the American flag upside down right now is 100% justified. Trying to prove a point.

#politics #civil rights #abortion #trans rights #womens rights #roe v wade #roe vs wade #religion #christianity #discourse #pregnancy #america

[sylvies-kablooie]

*grabs your shoulders firmly* the idea that a ship being canon is what makes it worthwhile is laughable. do you think the stucky troops had ANY faith way back in 2016? don't disrespect their sacrifices.

#know your herstory #actually wait i remember “give captain america a boyfriend” trending on twitter in 2016 #so maybe there were fringe movements that believed in their possibility? #who knows. the past is murky water. #really trying to think of something good to say about that era. i liked civil war even if its discourse required a phd to understand. #we had spiderman at that point. things felt new and exciting i guess. #where are the stucky troops these days? are they still lurking? i need to check #if you're reading this stucky nation say hiiiii!!! #fandom #fandom culture

[serpentinesheldonserpentine]

On Harvard, hatred, hats, and hilarity.

There I am in Wegman’s , selecting store brand fizzy water and otherwise minding my own business.

“Some school” comes the unsolicited derisive comment from guy about my age.

Now Tumblr, I want you to know... that I try. When Jean and the kids at the school tell me that I'm supposed to control my violent temper, and be passive and nonviolent like they are, I really try.

But.

I didn’t want this guy to think drive by critiques will go unanswered when I am on duty. I performed a quick threat assessment and moved in, to within an inch of his face

Problem? I asked.

His eyes went wide and he started shaking. Nnnnnno.

Didn’t think so. Happy New Year.

Now friends I am not a tough guy. I lost considerable musculature when I broke my shoulders. But, especially since I started getting prisoner haircuts, I do resemble a low level debt collector for the Irish mob. But, God help me if I ever actually get into a fight. Dodged this one.

Maybe he was a Yalie?

#Billy Jack #civil discourse

[mulletmitsuya]

guys real question, what did you think of the tokrev ending? i'm low-key begging for opinions rn🙏. also, what ship do you hate that everyone loves and what ship do you love that everyone hates? you can answer both or one of these questions.

#i don't wanna start discourse but i just need to know if i'm the unreasonable one #i can argue a case without it turning into a fight so i would love a civil conversation please #i can also respect people's opinions without shitting on them and calling people stupid like i feel like that's a bit unnecessary #and it can be on anon! i doubt anyone's gonna reply to this because i don't get that many asks but if you do #maybe use something to identify you like an emoji #i ask for asks then i panic when i get them😭 #if this post flops i'll delete it by the end of the day and you guys will pretend it didn't happen 🚶‍♀️ #it's around 10am for me rn so ig if no one asks by 10pm i'ma just accept failure and be humiliated #tokyo revengers #tokyo revengers ending #tokrev #tokyo rev #tokyo revengers manga

[void-thegod]

Less/More/Too/Not Human

Most of my time on Earth -- 35 years of it -- has been staring into The Abyss.

Why?

Because I was born into an era of mass ignorance, hatred, and vice.

Because I was born different.

Because I was called to it, in many ways.

I am brown. I am transgender. I am a man. I am neurodivergent. I am beautiful. I am intelligent. I am strong. I am disabled. I am other. I am someone who experiences paranormal phenomena.

I am human. I am not human. I am less than human. I am more than human. I am too human. Because of all my strengths, flaws, and idiosyncrasies. Like anyone. But... not like.

The way The Other is treated is known by everyone. Everyone who has ever lived knows what it's like to be othered for something they cannot help.

And yet... it is very different when it is 1 or 2 things about you that makes you Other versus... many things.

We all know of people who have been ostracized, bullied, or otherwise slandered for little else than merely existing.

Of course, the question whether or not they deserved it.. whether or not they've done something, is always on the tip of tongues.

The Other is not allowed humanity. They are generally held in contempt by the majority -- regardless of whether they're actually a "good" person or not. When they are "bad" it's blown widely out of proportion. When they're "good", it's suspicious. Any and everything they do is held under a microscope and compared to other people. Whether they're like them or not (in form or function).

Except... except I have stared into The Abyss. We are good friends. I know the darkness and light in my own heart just as well as Humanity's.

We live in a sick world with sick people. Everyone isn't like That. But enough are that we are here, in 2024. Still dealing with the ignorance, hate, and vice of the last thousands of years.

That is where we are now. The rift in humanity is between those who can see themselves in others and those who cannot.

How strange... That we all want to be seen as who we are... yet very few of us can communicate on the same wavelength (no matter how normal or weird). People will not see us or hear us... because they have convinced themselves of something else entirely.

What is it, then?

There's a lack of introspection, a lack of self awareness, a lack of the willingness to change.

But there is also a lack of humanity.

I wonder, after all this time: do we really need more humanity?

Or something... Other?

#other #otherness #voidpunk #human #humanity #society #civilization #politics #philosophy #ethics #discourse #trans #queer #trans man #lgbtq #alterhuman #otherkin #nonhuman #therian #person of color #poc #witchblr #cryptid #paranormal #experience #experiences #personal #vent

[cowardlybean]

i Really don’t like to talk about these things (discourse i suppose?) but. i really kinda think mobcest (like mob x himself or x ???) is a little strange considering he’s 14?

it rubs me the wrong way in the way that like passionate make out session art of any of the teenage character ships would (whole different problem though)

sorry id just like opinions on this, please don’t go attacking people regarding it i do NOT wanna start arguments just discuss like normal people Please

#tw discourse #i will not be main tagging this #i’m very romance repulsed (not in the ew gross way in the aromantic way) so i wanna know if i’m just insane #if you disagree i’d just ike to understand your view on it NOT be converted thank you (lighthearted) #sorry this is also technically a vague post but only bc i’ve seen so much of it recently #let’s play can i have a civil conversation with this fandom bc my last one. yikes

[blighted-lights]

I feel like your approach to criticizing a certain fandom was the wrong way of doing it. Don't get me wrong, you are a hundred percent right about the lack of representation for certain characters. But you had to have known that you would've gotten backlash for insinuating that the only reason that content is being made is because people are... misogynistic? The characters are well-written; that's why they get attention. The women are also well-written, you're right! But instead of getting mad at the people who enjoy specific characters, you could contribute to what you want to see in the fandom. Make fanfiction, make art, talk about your favorite ships, talk about your favorite characters, talk about the head-canons you have for them, connect with other fans of those characters, make AUs with them, make the fandom you want to see! But I don't know what you were expecting when you come out and say in the tags "you must be misogynists for liking these characters and you must be awful people for playing around with AUs" even though every fandom on this website does that. That was hostile and was only going to get a hostile response in return especially when you specifically put it in the tags for fans of those characters to see. Because it reads as you insinuating that fans of these characters existing is why you don't get any representation of your favorite characters. Or, alternatively, that everyone only likes certain characters because they're misogynists who hate women characters. People make content of them because they like them and because they want to make content of them.

Want more content of the things you want to see? Pay or support the artists and writers who make that content or start making it yourself. Its not helpful to complain that some characters get more attention than others but then make no attempt to contribute to it in any meaningful way. You cannot just get mad at people for liking characters and expect the fandom to magically decide its going to give you the content you want.

This is a long-winded way of saying you are correct in that the fandom seems to hyper-focus on some characters over others. But the way you approached that discussion was combative, hostile, and unhelpful, and you're not going to motivate a community into making content by being passive-aggressive to the people making the content they want to make. Be the change you want to see in the fandom, or support the artists and writers who make the content you want to see.

Its like... You can't complain your garden isn't growing if you're not watering it and not adding seeds, and instead are blaming everyone else for having plants in their gardens that you don't like.

anon i dont know how to tell you this but if you felt the need to write a five-paragraph essay talking about how i need to be nicer to other people when i am pointing out misogyny in a fandom space then, well... actually, i dont know what to tell you other than the fact that i was trying to be aggressive and im not going to be civil about misogyny. my post wasn't made in the hopes of getting people to make more content of the women in borderlands because that would never in ten fucking million years work. it was not a constructive post. you are assuming i have some sort of goodwill about this and i don't. i wanted to be an asshole because, surprise, i am an asshole. funny how that works.

you are also pulling so much of this out of nowhere and putting so many words in my mouth that i dont even know where to begin with it?? i mean this in the kindest way possible nonnie but. this is a wild response to make when all i said was essentially "wow it sure is weird that the majority of content made for bl is focused on only three men when there's a full cast of amazing women to look at" and then "its also weird that people are making aus to erase the canon abuse and exploitation of a CHILD in order to make jack a good father". but thanks for the essay, nonnie. i guess.

#ask: anon #blight rambles #txt post #anon genuinely what are you doing here. what response did you want from me here. #im not gonna be nice about it because. this is my blog and i can do whatever i want. because again. this is my blog. #i wasnt trying to get more content or be civil or whatever the fuck #i was being mean on purpose. because i can do that. #also “the characters are well-written” in a borderlands game. yeah. sure. suuure they are. let's not be silly right now. #also what the hell is up with the vague wording nonnie? #why wont you say the game name. why wont you say jack's name. why not mention the au i talked about before? #is it because you know that its weird? why be so vague? #also again you pulled so much of this out of the fucking air. whatever nonnie #funniest part about all of this is that jack is one of my favorite characters. he is. but i can recognize that the abundance of content for #him and the lack of it for anyone who isn't one of the Other Two. since apparently we're being vague here. is weird #i also like the other two. so we're clear. this isnt a case of me not liking them. i DO like them and i still know its weird. #ah fandom discourse on tumblr dot com. i love you so dearly