#how am I not supposed to think about critical role

[goldenretrieverpaladin]

wait so the “wearing the symbol of the Duskmaven” was a small attempt at protecting the Call’s members against an avenging angel à la Exodus, right? just in case for contingency?

I can’t believe all of THAT shit happened and this is what I’m thinking about but

#critical role #critical role spoilers #cr spoilers #cr3e51 #literally why is this what I’m thinking about #THERE ARE SO MANY OTHER THINGS TO THINK ABOUT #HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO SLEEP AFTER THAT

[prokopetz]

In recent posts I've complained that a lot of tabletop RPGs which toss around the term "fiction first" don't actually understand what it means, and I've been asked to expand on that complaint. So:

In my experience, there are two ways that game texts which want to position themselves as "fiction first" trip themselves up, one obvious and one subtle.

The first and more obvious pitfall is treating "fiction first" as an abstract ideology. They're using "fiction first" as a synonym for "story over rules" in a way that calls back to the role-playing-versus-roll-playing discourse of the early 2000s. The trouble is, now as then, nobody can usefully explain what "story over rules" actually entails. At best, they land on a definition of "fiction first" that talks about the GM's right to ignore the rules to better serve the story, which is no kind of definition at all – it's just putting a funny hat on the Rule Zero fallacy and trying to pass it off as some sort of totalising ideology of play.

A more useful way of defining "fiction first" play is to think of it not in terms of whether you engage with the rules at all, but in terms of when they're invoked: specifically, as a question of order of operations.

Suppose, for example, that you're playing Dungeons & Dragons, and you pick up the dice and say "I attack the dragon". Some critics would claim that no actual narrative has been established – that this is simply a bare invocation of game mechanics – but in fact we can infer a great deal: your character is going to approach the dragon, navigating any inclement terrain which lies between them, and attempt to kill the dragon using the weapon they're holding in their hand. The rules are so tightly bound to a particular set of narrative circumstances that simply invoking those rules lets us work backwards to determine what the context and stakes must be for that invocation of the rules to be sensical; this, broadly speaking, is what "rules first" looks like.

Conversely, let's say that your game of Dungeons & Dragons has confronted you with a pit blocking your path, and you want to make an Athletics check to cross it. At this point the GM is probably going to stop you and say, hold up, tell us what that looks like. Are you trying to jump across it? Are you trying to climb down one wall of the pit and up the other? Are you trying to tie a rope to the halfling and toss them to the other side? In other words, before you can pick up the dice, you need to have a little sidebar with the GM to hash out what the narrative context is, and to negotiate what can be achieved and what's at stake if you mess it up; this, broadly, is what "fiction first" looks like.

At this point I know some people are thinking "wait, hold on – both of those examples were from Dungeons & Dragons; are you saying that Dungeons & Dragons is both a rules-first game and a fiction-first game?" And yeah, I am. That's the second, more subtle place where game texts that talk about "fiction first" go astray: they talk about it as though being "fiction first" or "rules first" is something which is inherent to game systems as a whole.

This is not in fact true: being "fiction first" or "rules first" is something which describes particular invocations of the rules. In practice, only very simple games spend all of their time in one mode or the other; most will switch back and forth at need. Generally, most "traditional" RPGs (i.e., the direct descendants of Dungeons & Dragons and its various imitators) tend to operate in rules-first mode in combat and fiction-first mode out of it, though this is a simplification – when and how such mode-switching occurs can be quite complex.

Like any other design pattern, "fiction first" mechanics are a tool that's well suited for some jobs, and ill suited for others. Sometimes your rules are fine-grained enough that having an explicit negotiation and stakes-setting phase would just be adding extra steps. Sometimes you're using the outputs of the rules a narrative prompt, and having to pin the context down ahead of time would defeat the purpose. Fortunately, you don't have to commit yourself to one approach or the other; as long as your text is clear about how you're assuming a given set of rules toys will be used, you can switch modes as need dictates. However, you're not going to be capable of that kind of transparency if you're thinking in terms of "this a Fiction First™ game".

(Incidentally, this is why it can be hard to talk about "fiction first" with OSR fans if you're being dogmatic about fiction-first framing being an immutable feature of particular games. Since traditional RPGs tend to observe the above-described rules-first-in-combat, fiction-first-out-of-combat division, and OSR games tend to treat actually getting into a fight as a strategic failure state, a lot of OSR games spend most of their time in fiction-first mode. If you go up to an OSR fan and insist that D&D-style games can never be fiction-first, then attempt to define "fiction first" for them and proceed to describe how they usually play, they'll quite justifiably conclude that you have your head up your ass!)

#gaming #tabletop roleplaying #tabletop rpgs #game design #fiction first #violence mention #death mention #swearing

[ariadne-mouse]

how am I supposed to work today when I want to be thinking about the critical of role

#op #critical role #this is an evergreen post btw

[tanadrin]

Imagine one day a new social trend starts spreading. It’s something unbelievably dumb. Not harmful per de, but truly silly to believe. Let’s say, I dunno, healing crystals start going mainstream. Everybody’s talking about their crystals. It becomes impolite to criticize people who believe in healing crystals. They become a big part of people’s personalities, and people on TV start talking about them, and one day years down the line politicians are debating funding for crystal-based medicine. And through it all you are sitting there going, what the fuck is happening. I thought we were all on the same page on this. You want to get along and be friendly and open minded but you cannot pretend to believe in healing crystals, this is nonsense, and when the topic comes up you refuse to lie about it. This eventually starts to have social consequences—they’re that popular!—but what can you do? You cannot pretend a lump of quartz can cure the flu or whatever. It’s just all so unbearably embarrassing.

I think what the centrist/liberal/center-left reactionary turn driven by culture war stuff feels like. And I think the key emotion is probably cringe. Not hate, not fear, though those emotions may reinforce the turn. I think in a lot of cases people who imagine themselves pretty open minded and flexible have as part of their worldview something they thought was bedrock social consensus—on the level of “healing crystals are silly woo”—so bedrock maybe that it didn’t even need to be a conceptual boundary they actually policed in their minds.

For instance, when she started her anti-trans turn, JK Rowling made a big show of not being really anti trans, just arguing that Some People Had Gone Too Far. She wasn’t a frothing religious reactionary, after all. And I believe that’s probably true! I think Rowling probably did have a mental model of sex and gender with a little bit of give in it—of the “we can humor the odd weirdo” type. But as the discussion of trans rights in the UK got more serious over her lifetime, trans people went from “the odd weirdo” to “a recognized minority,” and eventually this ran against a bedrock belief that on some level men are men and women are women and never the twain shall meet. To act otherwise was just too embarrassing. And she wasn’t going to embarrass herself in the name of political correctness.

Other people whose brains have been eaten by the anti-woke mind virus (as @eightyonekilograms calls it) have something going of the contrarian in them, who enjoys yelling “up yours, woke moralists!” or w/e. Im thinking of ppl like Glenn Greenwald here, or Dave Chapelle, people who seem not to feel alive except when people are mad at them. That’s a separate but interesting dynamic. And there are people like Graham Linehan who become totally unhinged through this process of auto-radicalization, moths drawn ever closer to a particular source of validation within their chosen reactionary subcommunity, until they are truly parodies of themselves. That is also an important dynamic, but it’s one that only takes hold after the initial turn has begun.

I think the role of that feeling of cringe, that refusal to entertain an idea because it is too embarrassing (even if it does actually have a decent body of research behind it, unlike crystals) is important to think about, because I am interested in how to get people over it. I know that feeling has affected my own thinking over my lifetime. I wasn’t raised particularly conservative, but I had to learn not to cringe at a lot of feminist thought before I could appreciate it and learn from it. I explicitly didn’t have that cringe when it came to gay people for whatever reason, so it never entered my mind that it might be a problem. I remember being surprised to learn when I was very young that some boys wanted to marry other boys, but my response was “huh. Go figure.” Because for whatever reason I had not picked up that this was something I was supposed to be grossed out by. A general doctrine of empathy, of trying to understand people on their own terms, can help forestall some of this stuff, but it’s not foolproof in either direction—I don’t want to believe crystals have healing powers if it becomes socially popular to do so, just because it is socially popular to do so! And if they do, I don’t want to not believe they do just because it is socially unpopular!

(Obviously the crystals thing is not a one to one metaphor for the trans thing, so don’t read too much into that. Maybe astrology would have been a better analogy. Also I’m not talking just about people whose reactionary turn is predicated on trans issues—I think this dynamic applies to everything from gay rights to the Tridentine Mass. But trans issues are a handy example bc, as the adage goes, somebody posts once about trans people and they never post anything normal again. I think the classic rapid-onset trans derangement syndrome is closely tied to the fact that gender norms are a really deep element of many people’s social-consensus-based worldview, and so challenged to that worldview are felt as really cringe.)

I’m curious if other people who grew more liberal in their thinking over time had a similar experience of having to overcome what was basically a feeling of embarrassment at certain ideas.

[orionsangel86]

Hob Gadling - A Queer Romantic?

I have been listening to The World's End chapters of The Sandman on Audible lately and just finished Hob's Leviathan. I didn't pay this story much attention when I first read the comic, as I tended to read through the stories quickly and put more focus into the stories where Dream had a larger role. But one of the reasons I like listening to the Audible book is because it allows me to absorb each story more thoroughly and take my time thinking about each one and the (usually multiple) meanings behind them.

Hob Gadling is a character that fandom has fallen in love with. I think this is clear to anyone that takes even a partial glance at Sandman fandom. This isn't a criticism - Ferdie's performance as Hob in the Netflix show has done wonders for Hob's character. He has made his version of Hob very easy to fall in love with!

But the truth is that in The Sandman comics, Hob is a minor character who we only get to know very little about. The story Hob's Leviathan appears in The Worlds End Sandman book. We only meet him twice before this, once in The Doll's House, where we are introduced to him in Men of Good Fortune, and again in Season of Mists when Dream comes to let him know that he may miss their next meeting. In both these issues, Hob is introduced via the narrator, and therefore I like to think that we are given a fairly honest representation of the kind of person he is. We watch him grow and learn throughout the centuries in MoGF, but one of the major takeaways from this I believe is that he tends to always be on the wrong side of history. He makes bad choices and can be a bit narrow minded. He is rude and selfish and also rather self-absorbed. I actually think that the performance of the voice actor who plays Hob in the Audible book emphasises these character flaws making him even more unlikeable in many ways, though I am aware that this could just be my own experience and opinion.

But Hob's Leviathan takes a different view of Hob. Literally. The narrator of this story is a young boy of 16 called Jim. Jim met Hob on a ship travelling from Bombay to Liverpool in 1914. Jim was working on the ship as a cabin boy and Hob had bought his passage back to England - though it is revealled at the end of the story that Hob actually owned the ship they were travelling on. It is clear that at this point in time, Hob is extremely wealthy.

Jim attends to Hob throughout the journey, and grows very fond of him. In Jim's tale, Hob is a good man, who is kind and thoughtful and cares about others. He saves the life of a stowaway (who turns out to be another immortal). He is shown to be patient, and funny, and very intelligent. Jim waxes poetic about how smart Hob is, and how much he impressed him. It is particularly clear in the Audible book that Jim is taken with Hob, to the point that it could arguably be a crush.

It is fascinating how much more likeable Hob is when narrated from the viewpoint of someone with a crush on him, whether this story is exaggerated through rose tinted glasses is of course something to consider. All the tales in World's End are just that, tales. There is a constant undercurrent of exaggeration and make believe to them where even the other patrons of the inn question elements to each of the stories. We are not supposed to take these stories as absolute fact, rather they are supposed to reveal to us more about the narrators as well as their own experiences existing in this magical and strange world.

When it is revealled that Jim is actually a girl called Peggy in disguise so they can get work on the ships, the quite obvious crush makes more sense to a heteronormative audience, but what I particularly like about this story is its queer potential. See in the comic, it isn't really clarified if Jim goes by Jim because they feel more themselves as a boy, rather than a girl, or if they are disguising themself as a boy just to get work as a means to an end. I would argue that the latter is the more obvious interpretation. Jim tells the other World's End patrons that they are getting too old to keep up the disguise and will eventually have to stop working in shipping, and that when that happens, they will take on a new name, a new identity and do something else, but that for now, the patrons can keep calling them Jim.

*for a lack of clarity around the point in the comic, I am going to use gender neutral pronouns for Jim going forward*

Now from Hob's POV, he figured out that Jim was a girl, and they talk about it briefly along with the sea serpent they saw. I think that at this point, Hob is impressively progressive compared to the previous times we have met him. Now whether or not this is biased storytelling from someone who has a crush on him remains to be seen, but if we take Jim's word as truth, not only is 1914 Hob a fair and honest man who is willing to pay the way of a stowaway and fully respect the secrets of a young girl disguised as a boy so they can work on ships, but he's also totally comfortable flirting with them.

I like that he calls Jim the "handsome cabin boy". I like that this version of Hob, whether real or an exaggeration skewed by Jim's feelings for him, respects Jim's identity. Jim may be a girl in disguise, but Hob doesnt call her pretty, he calls him handsome.

It's all just a bit subtly queer and I like that for Hob (But then I would do, I'm a Dreamling shipper HA)

When Jim finishes their story, they state that they didn't see Hob again after that, but the comics later do give us a possible outcome to Jim's story...

We next see Hob in The Kindly Ones where he is mourning the death of his girlfriend Audrey. He briefly reveals that Audrey was the first person he had loved since Peggy, who was his lover until her death during the Blitz. Whilst it isn't made clear that Hob's lover Peggy is the same Jim that we meet in World's End, it is a bit too much of a coincidence. The timing adds up. If Jim was 16 in 1914, they'd be in their early 40s during the Blitz. Hob remains forever in his early 30s so I'd say its a safe bet that Jim eventually found Hob again and they were together. Hob loved them enough that he wasn't with anyone again until Audrey in the 80s. That's 50 years worth of mourning. A long time not to be with anyone, even for an immortal.

It's funny because we know so little about Hob, but one thing that I have seen commented on here a lot is that comic Hob is deemed to be as Straight as an arrow. Now I admit that the voice actor in the Audible book plays him very straight, but that is still only one interpretation.

All this is to say that I am fascinated with how the Netflix show will adapt this, since Hob in the show already comes across much kinder and more selfless than his comic counterpart. He already has an entire fandom viewing him as queer, and the comics certainly don't outright shut down such interpretations. There are moments in the comics that you have to wonder on. He does call Jim handsome rather than pretty, and when he talks to Audrey's grave he mentions his wives and loves as separate groups. He talks about finding it easy to get sex if you want it, and he talks about it in generally gender neutral terms. In Sunday Mourning Gwen reveals that she thought he was gay when she first met him, though her reasonings were that he knew so many dead people (a dark reminder that these comics were published at the height of the Aids epidemic). He reacts very badly to the news of Morpheus' death. He states on several occassions just how much he liked Morpheus, and he is one of the few people to wake up from the Wake with tears running down his cheeks. I would arguably state that its between Hob and Matthew as to who had the worst reaction to Morpheus' death, showing just how much both Hob and Matthew cared about him, and placing Hob on par with Matthew in the comics is a big deal. He seriously considers accepting Death's gift when she offers it, simply because Morpheus is dead. He doesn't, because at the end of the day, its just not in his nature to do so, and given he then dreams of Morpheus, I like to think that it was a test, that he passed.

When it comes to how the show will adapt all this, I genuinely think it will take a new approach with Jim/Peggy. I think they will be either a trans man, or at least non binary. But I think having Jim be a trans man is the better option. In the comics, Jim's tale is only very subtly queer, Jim clearly likes being Jim, but it seems like its a means to an end, a convenience in order to get work on the ships, rather than being something that is core to Jim's feelings on their gender. Besides, if we assume that Jim is indeed the Peggy Hob talks about in The Kindly Ones, then we know that Jim goes back to being Peggy when they get older and apparently continues living as a woman whilst they are with Hob, otherwise I doubt Hob would have referred to one of his greatest loves by a name they themselves rejected and only used she/her pronouns when talking about them. Nevertheless there is no reason for the show to take this approach, and if they DO decide that Jim should be a trans man, then their relationship with Hob is canonically a queer one. Trans men are men and if one of Hob's greatest loves is a trans man, then Hob is a queer man himself. I genuinely believe the show will take this route and I can't wait to see it.

Going back to my point about narrators bias, if MoGF, SoM, tKO, and TW are all narrated by a neutral third party, then this must be the true Hob. A not overly likeable rather selfish man. He has his good points, and he has certainly grown and changed over the centuries, and carries a lot of guilt for his past mistakes, but he is still quite self absorbed. Jim paints a picture of a rose tinted Hob that is far more the dreamy romantic older gentleman that took a young person under his wing. Which is fair enough.

The show is of course its own adaptation, with changes from the comics as it sees fit, but I do feel it's my duty to remind you that the show also has a narrator guiding the audience through its many stories. Dream of the Endless, Lord Morpheus, King of Nightmares and Prince of Stories himself. Take from that whatever you will.

;-)

#why yes i did just imply that show!hob comes across so likeable because we are seeing him from Dream's POV #what of it? #lmao #sandman meta #the sandman #sandman analysis #hob gadling #dreamling #dream of the endless #the worlds end #sandman comic spoilers #major sandman comic spoilers #the sandman comics

[brother-emperors]

What do you mean when you say that Pompey is a lover in a story of inescapable violence? I am extremely intrigued

the Late Republic is a stage of violence intent on gorging itself on this violence, the structure of the system leaves no other outcome.

Pompey is both someone born into this cycle and someone who is an acting hand of violence. He fashions himself after a military ideal, Alexander the Great, he positions himself as Sulla’s successor in the arena of political spectacle (rising/setting sun), he is Rome’s conquering hand.

He’s also, in Plutarch’s biography, intensely aware of matters of love and romance and does not treat them as an idle and casual affair. It is, in some way, an inherent part of his character. He is the ideal of a husband, even if it conflicts with whatever other ideals he’s supposed to embody, and apparently trades in his role as a general to remain in Rome with his wife.

We are told that Flora the courtesan, when she was now quite old, always took delight in telling about her former intimacy with Pompey, saying that she never left his embraces without bearing the marks of his teeth. Furthermore, Flora would tell how Geminius, one of Pompey's companions, fell in love with her and annoyed her greatly by his attentions; and when she declared that she could not consent to his wishes because of Pompey, Geminius laid the matter before Pompey. Pompey, accordingly, turned her over to Geminius, but never afterwards had any thing at all to do with her himself, although he was thought to be enamoured of her; and she herself did not take this treatment as a mere courtesan would, but was sick for a long time with grief and longing. (…) Moreover, Pompey also treated the wife of Demetrius his freedman (who had the greatest influence with him and left an estate of four thousand talents) with a lack of courtesy and generosity unusual in him, fearing lest men should think him conquered by her beauty, which was irresistible and far-famed. But though he was so extremely cautious in such matters and on his guard, still he could not escape the censures of his enemies on this head, but was accused of illicit relations with married women, to gratify whom, it was said, he neglected and betrayed many public interests.

Plut. Pomp. 2

All this won him admiration and affection; but on the other hand he incurred a corresponding displeasure, because he handed over his provinces and his armies to legates who were his friends, while he himself spent his time with his wife among the pleasure-places of Italy, going from one to another, either because he loved her, or because she loved him so that he could not bear to leave her; for this reason too is given. Indeed, the fondness of the young woman for her husband was notorious, although the mature age of Pompey did not invite such devotion. The reason for it, however, seems to have lain in the chaste restraint of her husband, who knew only his wedded wife, and in the dignity of his manners, which were not severe, but full of grace, and especially attractive to women, as even Flora the courtesan may be allowed to testify.

Plut. Pomp. 53

Nevertheless, the marriage was displeasing to some on account of the disparity in years; for Cornelia's youth made her a fitter match for a son of Pompey. 3 Those, too, who were more critical, considered that Pompey was neglect­ful of the unhappy condition of the city, which had chosen him as her physician and put herself in his sole charge; whereas he was decking himself with garlands and celebrating nuptials, though he ought to have regarded his very consul­ship as a calamity, since it would not have been given him in such an illegal manner had his country been prosperous.

Plut. Pomp. 55

The messenger, finding her in this mood, could not bring himself to salute her, but indicated to her the most and greatest of his misfortunes by his tears rather than by his speech, and merely bade her hasten if she had any wish to see Pompey with one ship only, and that not his own. When she heard this, she cast herself upon the ground and lay there a long time bereft of sense and speech. At last, however, and with difficulty, she regained her senses, and perceiving that the occasion was not one for tears and lamentations, she ran out through the city to the sea. Pompey met her and caught her in his arms as she tottered and was falling. "I see thee," she cried, "husband, not by thy fortune, but by mine, reduced to one small vessel, thou who before thy marriage with Cornelia didst sail this sea with five hundred ships. Why hast thou come to see me, and why didst thou not leave to her cruel destiny one who has infected thee also with an evil fortune so great? What a happy woman I had been if I had died before hearing that Publius, whose virgin bride I was, was slain among the Parthians! And how wise if, even after his death, as I essayed to do, I had put an end to my own life! But I was spared, it seems, to bring ruin also upon Pompey the Great."

So spake Cornelia, as we are told, and Pompey answered, saying: "It is true, Cornelia, thou hast known but one fortune to be mine, the better one, and this has perhaps deceived thee too, as well as me, in that it remained with me longer than is customary. But this reverse also we must bear, since we are mortals, and we must still put fortune to the test. For I can have some hope of rising again from this low estate to my former high estate, since I fell from that to this.”

Plut. Pomp. 74-75

I have some vague thought in here about how Pompey was entrusted with Rome’s safety, and that conflicts with his Lover status because you can’t love something more than Rome without Rome deciding to cast you out, and it also prevents him from reclaiming his Soldier role in the ensuing war with Caesar. Doomed by Rome, doomed by Love, doomed by Fortune, etc. but also simply the inevitable cycle of war and violence, the ever turning wheel of Rome.

#ask tag #he’s a weird guy. also a ghost. anyway lovers and soldiers die the same. in a ditch. #if I had to pick between Pompey and Antony I would pick Pompey with zero hesitation

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

wibta for telling my friend that they shouldn't join a sport?

i'm gonna be a little vague with this because i know the person this is about is on tumblr- but here's the gist of it; i (m, not going to share age but i'm in hs) am participating in a sport that i'm really invested in and plan on doing for a long time. i've been practicing and teaching myself a lot of the necessary skills for it for the past year or so, and a few months ago i joined a team. i've never been very interested in sports outside of this one specific one and i've never been on a team before, so this is a really new thing for me, and i'm really happy i'm able to play. this sport is very niche and there aren't a lot of people who play it, so there's only one team nearby.

here's where the other person comes in. they- let's call them A- are one year my junior and do a lot of the same things i do. we've gotten to know each other pretty well because of this, and they have gotten sort of attached to me. however, i recently found out that they also want to do this sport. because of how there's only one team nearby, we'd end up playing on the same one. the thing is, i don't want A to join. i don't have many friends, and i have even less outside of school. as previously mentioned, i've never been on a team before. but with this sport, i feel like i actually have a place outside of school where i feel comfortable around other people and can make friends on my own. and the fact that it's totally separate from my school life makes it feel like i'm actually doing something cool and interesting for once that no one else my age is into. and if A joins, i'm worried they'll attach themself to me and i won't be able to branch out. also, i'm worried that this sport will become something that i'm doing with A, not independently.

more than that, i'm not sure that A is cut out for this sport. it's pretty intensive, and although they apparently have some practice with some necessary skills, i don't want them to fall behind (and possibly drag me down with them by association). i know they're not very athletic, and i don't know if they can commit to working out the necessary amount to improve with this sport. i'm sure if they actually put in a lot of effort, they'd be able to do it, but i'm not sure they will. one of my other friends does a different activity with them where this friend is in a role of authority above A, and i've heard them complain that A apparently doesn't do the work their supposed to and struggles with criticism. as much as i like being around A, i'm not sure i would like to be their teammate.

so, my question is, wibta if i encouraged them to join a different sport? a lot of my reasoning is selfish, but i also genuinely don't think they'd be a good fit for this sport. i could recommend that they join a similar, less strenuous sport instead, or suggest that they do something with the school. any advice would be great! thank you

putting this here so i can come back to this easily!!

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole #eyestrain

[rebeccathenaturalist]

This cropped up a few months back and I still am not quite sure what to think of it. I don't remember enough of my high school Latin to be able to figure out why fauna and flora end with -a and fungi with -i. Fauna and flora are singular terms referring to a collection of animals or plants, respectively, but fungi has been doing double duty as both the collective singular (all the various fungus species in a given group) AND also the collective plural (here are three individual species of fungus referred to together.) I suppose the proposal is to give the fungus kingdom its own collective singular term ending in -a.

Which, from a linguistic perspective, makes sense. But I'm not sure how much it would resonate with the general public. People already use "fungi" in both manners, and I don't know whether trying to push "funga" as a new term is going to be effective in raising awareness of the need to include fungi in conservation efforts.

The thing is, fungi are still often erroneously considered to be in the plant kingdom by a lot of people (and it doesn't help that in culinary terms they're usually just categorized as a vegetable.) The whole idea that if you pull up a whole mushroom instead if cutting it means you'll "kill the whole fungus" is a prime example of how even foragers don't always understand the differences between a plant and a fungus, let alone grok that they're in different kingdoms entirely.

What I do agree with, though, is the need to not just ignore fungi when we're talking about conservation, habitat restoration, etc. Of the three kingdoms--animals, plants, and fungi--the fungi are the least-studied and least-understood when it comes to their roles in ecosystems and their conservation needs, to say nothing of the threat of extinction. The IUCN does have about 800 species listed with various statuses ranging from critically endangered to data deficient, but that's a drop in the bucket compared to just under 150,000 described species, and an estimated 2-4 million species total worldwide.

Until we know more specifics, both on fungal ecology and conservation statuses, we should assume that damage to an ecosystem--particularly common fungal substrates like soil and decaying wood--poses a real threat to the fungi that live there.

#fungi #fungus #ecology #conservation #environment #environmentalism #mushrooms #nature #science #scicomm #Latin #flora #fauna #funga

[theerurishipper]

So, as a child abuse survivor and someone who has been sexually assaulted by men who think they're entitled to take what they want Adrien is canonically a god damned dick.

He sexually harrasses Ladybug. When told NO he once let 2.161 million people drown because he was busy throwing a tantrum

Being a victim of abuse does not excuse the abuse of others.

He might not mean any harm but you know who else doesn't mean any harm? Gabriel. My goddamned mother.

Not meaning harm- lacking malice- does not mean harm is not caused.

People are going on about him being a rich white guy because anyone else acting like that in public would be considered an antagonist (in fiction), in jail, or have an active warrant for their arrest. And that's assuming they aren't killed for it.

First off, I am truly very sorry for your experience. No one should have to go through that.

But I still do disagree.

Adrien's pushiness when it comes to expressing his affections for Ladybug are in the same boat as Marinette being a stalker or Chloe being pushy with Adrien: it's a joke. You may find it to be a poor one, certainly, but it's a joke nonetheless. Miraculous relies on this kind of humor, it's not meant to be taken seriously. You can have issues with it, but imho acting like it's any kind of legitimate criticism of his character probably makes people like me less inclined to listen to any actual criticisms you may have.

I don't say this to trivialize your experiences, and if the joke is hurtful to you, you are well within your rights to dislike it or talk about how it's in poor taste to make jokes about these things, but that's all it is, a joke. It's absurdist humor. It's not meant to be taken at face value. It would be creepy if Marinette seriously had Adrien's schedule mapped out, tried to break into his house, or stole his personal items, but it's not supposed to be that way because it's a joke.

And as for your complaint about Adrien leaving people to drown, you can go ahead and blame Master Fu for that one. It's stated quite clearly in the show that the heroes couldn't do anything because everything is underwater. And he's staying there because he's waiting for Ladybug. Making up imaginary civilians who are drowning now isn't a good criticism. Ladybug spends a good amount of time underwater, but there's no-one there. There's no civilian begging for Chat Noir's help as they drown while he ignores them, so suffice to say that we're supposed to assume everyone is safe and sound. This is a kids show, so unless we're shown that people are in danger, we aren't supposed to assume they are.

And then let's talk about Adrien almost quitting.

I'll say it straight: he has every right to quit. He's a 14-year-old kid. This isn't his job. He's well within his rights to quit if he feels like this is detrimental to him. And it isn't about Ladybug not returning his feelings like you seem to be implying. This is about Ladybug keeping secrets from him and leaving him in the dark even though he's supposedly her partner. It took a situation like this for Master Fu to pull his head out of his ass and come give Adrien the tools he needed to do the damn job you're accusing him of not doing. How is he supposed to do anything if he isn't given then necessary tools and knowledge to do it? Should he just accept that he's being ignored and left in the dark? Accept his new role as Ladybug's unquestioning lapdog?

This is not Ladybug salt btw, this is Master Fu salt only, in this house we don't like Master Fu.

Anyway.

Literally look at why he tries to quit.

Adrien:(grimly) If you don't tell me what Ladybug is hiding from me, I'm done! Plagg: You can't do that! Adrien:(bitterly) Why not? No one'll know if I quit. No one'll care!

He doesn't think he's needed. He doesn't think anyone would care if he quits.

This isn't because of any entitlement. It's because he's being cast aside and left in the dark. It's because his partner (it's not her fault either, to be clear, it's Master Fu's fault) is keeping secrets from him even in this time, so he assumes he isn't needed and decides to quit because he feels like he's unnecessary and unwanted, and that no one will care if he quits. Adrien already has very low self-worth, and this is just adding onto all that already. If it is detrimental to his mental health, then he definitely has the right to step aside and quit.

So yeah. If this ask was to get me to change my mind, I'm sorry, but it didn't. You're entitled to your opinion, of course, but I think I've made my opinion on the matter clear.

#MLB #Adrien Agreste #Marinette Dupain Cheng #Wang Fu #Meta #My meta #Asks #Adrien deserves better #Master Fu Salt #Anti Adrien Salt #ML Syren #Syren #SA tw

[drbased]

Can you explain your thoughts on pegging more? Why is it at the top of your list? I'm curious because several other acts come to mind as obviously more degrading toward women first

It's just a personal pet peeve of mine. I think it's because it's pegged (pun intended) as some feminist equaliser in the bedroom (think the scene from deadpool where she says 'happy women's day'), or a sexy domme role-reversal thing. The humiliation comes less from the action itself but how it's portrayed in media, how it's sold as 'taking the power back' when it's just a straight-up admittance that penetration = power and abuse, with zero critical thinking about what that says for women. The media depictions love to go a step further with the implication that the man is in physical pain/the woman is pushing it on him. When IRL the vast majority of pegging enjoyers are men. But we're still expected to go uwu poor widdle emasculated man. Give me a fucking break.

Even back in my kink days I really hated 'femdom' imagery and expectations because of the same humiliation that the woman is 'in charge' and yet she is still the one who is dressed all sexy for the male gaze (and is totally focussed on him and his orgasm, or lack thereof). One thing I noted time and time again is how the woman is dressed up to the nines, where the man is typically naked and pudgy and ugly. Even in their wildest fantasies where they're supposedly 'submitting' to the demands of women, men can't imagine a scenario where they're attractive.

Let's not forget how the guys talk about it, as well. With your average normie dom dude there are avenues in which you can piss him off. You tell off one of these sub guys though? It's all 'oooh yes I am a bad boy, plz punish me mistress' and feminist blogs such as myself have to keep out those weird bait asks that are like 'since all men are totes evil should they be kept outside naked and service women to make up for it???'

To me there's something very psychologically twisted and gives me the ick about dressing up and play acting 'dominance' when you're literally just performing for your oppressor class. Women's anger at sexual violence and desire for equality is turned into a cheap pornified parody. So yeah, a lot of your classic sub/porn acts are definitely objectively worse, I just really hate that specific brand of ironic mockery that we're all supposed to think is empowering for us.

#kink tw #my writing

[nekropsii]

do u have any links to resources about the beta and alpha kids' characterizations and personalities if you have any? i am interested in writing for them and i just wanna know what makes them them iykwim

The Beta + Alpha Kids are... By no means my specialty, as everyone knows, and I personally have zero interest in writing them. That said, I'm pretty sure that most "guides" like that are written by and for writers of lighthearted, canon non-compliant roleplaying, and all the ones that I've seen... Aren't good, and are typically incredibly biased. They definitely tend to want the reader to portray the character in whatever light they see the character in, rather than... How they are in canon. For example, some lean heavily into making Dave a soft, perfect victim, Rose into a tea-drinking lesbian, Jake into a lowkey villain, et cetera.

This is about to get pretty long. It's been a while since I've had to put something under a Read-More... But here we are. Let's get going.

Content Warning: Long, Whole Lot of Rambling about the Technical Aspects of Writing.

There tends to be interjection of headcanons, unnecessary opinions, and ham-fisted attempts to make characters look better or worse than they actually are. Context is missing, sources are missing, so on. Oftentimes when looking at guides to writing characters, I wind up just questioning what comic the writer read, because it doesn't feel as if we read the same one. Their writing and critical thinking skills are often called into question as well, given the way these guides tend to approach characters as a concept.

There's often a distinct failure in being actually analytical or observant, and they tend to view characters more as People than they do... Well, Characters. Which may sound like an odd distinction to make, until you realize that when you're writing a character, you need to understand what role they're fulfilling in a narrative before you focus on who they are as a person and judging their morals. Characters aren't anything more than narrative devices. They're strictly there to drive the plot forward. Yes, since characters tend to be people, of which are often in situations, you tend to judge their morality, ethics, the way they handle their circumstances and other people with average human judgment... But at the end of the day, moral arguments and personhood matter less than what they are meant to do, what they're supposed to represent, and how they're supposed to drive the plot forward. To focus on who and how they are as People- how righteous they are, how much their morals align with yours or those of the real world- is to focus on Form over Function.

Characters are Tools. A tool can be painful to use, or painful to watch in action, but it's still a tool. Sometimes pliers are for pulling teeth, and sometimes they're for twisting wire. You can't effectively pull teeth with a wrench, and you can't effectively hammer a nail with a screwdriver. You could, theoretically, and I'd love to watch someone try, but it's not recommended. It's ineffective. You need to know what a tool is for, how you could use it, and maybe even how you could make your usage of them surprising. A hammer is typically used for driving nails into place. Usually with the head. This doesn't mean you can't drive the nail in with its side, and it doesn't mean you can't use it to break fingers.

What this "Form over Function of a Tool" means in practice is... A lot of "guides" to writing Dave will go over the fact that he is the Ironic Cool Kid who has suffered a lot of Abuse at the hands of Bro Strider, and interject that headcanon of his character arc "being about overcoming Internalized Homophobia and/or Toxic Masculinity" (neither of these are true), but fail to mention that he is essentially a Tutorial Agent, and how his whole character hinges on how he absolutely does not want to be a Main Character. Everything he does is grounded in the fact that he's a Tutorial Agent, and therefore an NPC. He's a regular kid with a rough home life, and wants nothing more than to keep playing his role as just a random NPC. He doesn't want to be a Main Character. He doesn't want to fight, he doesn't want to be in an epic, he just wants to be Some Guy. He wants to be normal, and he wants to be able to be forgotten to the sands of time.

They focus so much on Who he is as a Person that they tend to fail to recognize What he is as a Character. It's not effective. You don't really need to worry about who they are as people. You don't need to focus on the paint job on a tool. You need to know what that tool is, and what it's being used for.

It's best to not consult guides written by other fans. It'd be best if you read through their dialogue yourself, and really dissected them and how they function... Find out what makes them tick.

Luckily, there's a blog out there that does have just about every line of dialogue in Homestuck sorted by character, so that's pretty good for ease of access. Good for you and good for me. I use it all of the time. Here you go.

#homestuck #homestuck analysis #homestuck meta #beta kids #alpha kids #dave strider #rose lalonde #jake english #writing advice #dave.pdf #homestuck.pdf #nekro.pdf #nekro.sms

[thechekhov]

I think the ‘tied to/anchored to’ anon was more asking if you think your WD Steven AU is your defining creation.

oh, I see! That's a fair question....

I suppose WD!AU did take off in a way no other comic of mine has, but that's to be expected given its length alone. I don't particularly care about the details of my own 'internet fame'. I tend to view it as more of a statistic.

WD!AU is popular because people like it, and I'm glad for that, but it's also popular because I've literally been drawing it for over 3 years and there are over 240 comics of it completed. If I was worried about it being My Thing, I could have stopped drawing and let the project mold in the corner, and I could have started drawing something else. (In fact, I HAVE been drawing other things. People who don't give a flying fuck about SU probably don't think of it as My Thing. Some people think of me as a Critical Role fanartist. Which I also am.)

Also, I'm sorry if this upsets anyone, but I'm not drawing WD!AU because I want to please people, or out of some sort of obligation I feel in order to keep my internet fame (which is honestly meager). If I wanted to give it up, I would. I would not care about the hate mail I would get because guess what? I actually get more weird messages when I DO post. 😂 (People telling me the way a story should go, people asking me questions they could have answers to by reading, people telling me what I did wrong with ___ character, or what they think I should have done last chapter, etc...)

I could quit any time and have peace and love on planet earth. Instead I keep on keeping on. Why? I'm having fun drawing the story.

And in the end, my own fun is really the only thing I care about. I ain't doing this for tumblr numbers. I'm just seeing how far I can take this. It's a marathon, and I'm just surprised I'm still running. It's a science experiment at this point.

#chekhov answers

[gengor]

So I like bcs and brb a lot but it’s kind of been bothering me that I haven’t seen much talk about this in regards to either show bcs or brb and I’m not the best person to elaborate on this but I do wanna talk about the way the show writes it’s Latino characters and follows up on them in bcs. 

I’m not gonna get into all the ways breaking bad uses Mexican culture in offensive ways to show Walter’s dissent into dangerous territory bc im hoping that this is obvious to most people. What I am gonna talk about is the way bcs fails to respond to this criticism in a meaningful way. 

So better call saul is a show thats essentially about exploring nature, nurture, and one’s own free will over the person they choose to become. It’s about humanizing Saul into someone we can understand and empathize with. In the time in Jimmy’s life when he was trying to improve as a person he had his brother bait him and manipulate him into committing felonies bc he wanted to feel superior. People in his life drilled it into his brain that he was incapable of being honest so why even bother? The phrase ‘he was born like this’ gets used more than a few times. The show also gives a lot of character work to Mike as well. And although Mike was never painted as malicious he can be incredibly indifferent to the pain of other characters. Bcs let us see emotionally heavy scenes with him where he’s more vulnerable than he ever was in breaking bad. So theres an established pattern of adding more complexity to one of the one-dimensional ‘bad guys’ of breaking bad by making them act differently than how they would in breaking bad. Can you see where I’m going with this?

Rewatching the show after I’d already seen it gave this weird thematic dissonance to way the show reintroduced any Salamanca character. Like as soon as we see Tuco we as the audience are supposed to be in on the joke. Like…Oh, we know that guy already. And of course, the show plays with the audience already knowing Tuco while Saul doesnt to dangle the high stakes of the situation in front of us for drama. Because we as the audience know that Tuco is and probably always was hot-headed and violent to satirical degrees. Other characters even chime in to reiterate that Tuco was always like this. Every single Salamanca family member is treated this way.

 And bc of the way bcs is trying to redeem and humanize it’s previously established white characters just makes this kind of even worse than breaking bad to me. Bc people were vocal about how breaking bad employed a lot of anti-Latino tropes within its writing so you'd think that bcs would try and take this opportunity to amend the writing a bit right? 

You could argue that this is what Ignacio’s character is supposed to do for the show. He’s a Jessie parallel. He’s not really a bad person he’s just incredibly in over his head. And while I do appreciate his presence in the show and like him I feel like it should have been more than just him. 

By far the biggest missed opportunity here to me was the lack of humanization that Lalo got. And I get he’s popular, I feel like that mostly due to how Tony Dalton played him in a very charismatic way. But god he was such a missed opportunity for a thematic follow-through. The way other characters talk about the Salamancas is exactly the kind of predetermination the show is trying to critique with jimmy. When Ignacio is roped into spying on Lalo to aid Gus in killing him he goes in already being incredibly suspicious of Lalo due to his family. He has reason to want this guy to be evil since he’s got to help kill him to save his own skin and his father's. He not only assumes this guy is evil based on his family, he /needs/ Lalo to be irredeemable. Then you're telling me that against all themes and narrative storytelling devices Lalo is just conveniently the guy he assumed he would be. Like, imagine if Lalo got to be a Jimmy parallel, a guy who’s acting out the role people assume he's supposed to fill bc no one thinks he can be anything else. Not humanizing Lalo and ignoring the potential to explore and humanize any other previously established or mentioned latino characters…its like the show is breaking its own thematic statements in order to keep the racism. 

#bcs #long post #breaking bad #better call saul #lalo salamanca #ignacio varga #tuco salamanca

[anime-grimmy]

Sooo, as has been evident from me rambling so often about it, I’ve been reading a lot of Genshin fics lately (specifically Sumeru centered ones), and it is so funny to see how headcanons and AUs change between the releases of the characters. 

Ofc, this sticks out to me especially with Haikaveh cos Kaveh got released so late for showing up so early and ppl ran far with their ideas. One of the biggest theories was (and I think still kinda is) is that Alhaitham is or at least is linked to the Scarlet King bcs his eyes have the same shape as the eye portrayed in the Forbidden Knowledge cutscene.

After the quests came out where you find out about King Deshret’s and the Goddess of Flowers’ relationship, ofc ppl started to push Alhaitham and Kaveh in the respective roles, which, ngl, I totally vibe with. Even more so cos I can only image the Goddess of Flowers with Nilou’s kinda personality (since her outfit is supposed to look like the Goddess) and the thought of her reincarnation still being good hearted beyond believe, yet also a fucking idiot with anger issues is so fucking funny.

However, the theory I personally even more subscribe to, is that both Alhaitham and Kaveh, at least in an design aspect, represent the Scarlet King. I cannot by God find the one vid that talked about it, but they laid out a lot of design specifics that rly did make sense. This ofc, made me think a lot about it too.

Alhaitham could represent King Deshret’s mind and rational side, the part of him that made him a genius and good leader. As much as Alhaitham acts as if he sucks as a leader, which from a personality standpoint might be true, his abilities and critical mind say otherwise. Alhaitham is strategic and very wise for his age, but also curious and ambitious about the knowledge he seeks. He is not without fault either, as, despite him saying he acts only out of self interest, he still does act very arrogantly and above others.

Kaveh on the other hand shows King Deshret’s soul. Clever and curious in his own right, Kaveh seeks out knowledge not only to learn and understand but because his emotions drive him to reach for it. Kaveh has a bleeding heart and follows its voice more often than his mind’s, yet that makes him empathetic to people and care about them, which we know the Scarlet King was known for as well (caring for his people, that is). His emotions and self-sacrificial nature are his crux as well, though, and lead him close to his own downfall time and time again, much as it happened with King Deshret.

Both Alhaitham and Kaveh make up the body. As is evident how haywire the theories went when the Forbidden Knowledge quest came out, Alhaitham’s eyes bear a strong physical resemblance to Deshret’s supposed eyes. Not to mention, we know Deshret is often described as powerful, so I wouldn't be surprised if Alhaitham’s body build is part of that too. For Kaveh, in that one video I mentioned they said that Kaveh’s attire seems to represent some sort of royalty. Also, in a world quest, though I don’t remember which one (i think either aranara or djini) the NPC you travel with says the traveler reminds them of King Deshret, especially the golden hair, which ofc also works for Kaveh.

(Mind you, I havent dived that deeply into Deshret lore and I did zone out during the world quests often, so pls do correct me if I say sth stupid.)

So yeah, the two sides of the same coin. We already know these two have been designed as perfect mirrors to each other, in their ideologies, personalities all the way to their colour schemes, but with regarding the headcanon they’re both aspects of the Scarlet King, it’s also an interesting analogy to think it’s Deshret’s different sides clashing with each other. 

Yes, yes they’re basically the Left Brain Right Brain meme for King Deshret.

Also, as I’ve said, I’ve read my fair share of fics with the Scarlet King reincarnation, which is usually Alhaitham. I am honestly too lazy to write a whole ass fic about it, but you can bet your ass my mind has conjured up enough stuff to fill a few pages. To finally get it outta my head tho, I will just ramble here instead.

I personally don’t think that Alhaitham and Kaveh are reincarnations of Deshret, even though it’d make sense why his body and mind would be two separate entities, as he split himself to avoid spreading more Forbidden Knowledge. I see it more as the two being “blessed” with parts of his soul or something.

Ngl, the whole thing came to me during the one World Quest where you clear up the sandstorm above King Deshret’s Mausoleum and you get to this big platform on top. I dunno, it just looked so cool and it made me think of how this could have been a ritual site or something. So, perfect place for some foreign memories to invade your brain, no?

Also, you cannot tell me the Akademiya wasn’t frothing at the mouth when the Mausoleum finally became accessible. I’d assume they’d send research teams up there after the Traveler cleared the place, and it would seem logical for both Alhaitham and Kaveh to be interested in the place, their respective curiosities spurred by the fragment of Deshret inside them.

They and a small group of scholars take it upon themselves to scope the place out, and eventually end up at the top of the pyramid. Kaveh would marvel at such a grand stage so high up in the air, being able to see into the far reaches of the desert. But he also feels trepidation in his soul, though he brushes it off.

Alhaitham and him conduct their respective researches, Alhaitham jutting down any interesting runes and scripts he finds on the podium, while Kaveh sketches the many columns and the scenery behind, his mind running wild trying to understand how such impossible structures hold. But as he stands at the edge, looking out upon the empty desert with its many ruins, a thought pops into his head.

The desert should not be dead like this.

It’s then that Kaveh feels something shift inside him. Sensations rush over him, the sun beating down on him so differently than just moments ago, the air smelling not of sand and dust but of spices and flowers, the stillness of the desert filled with the distant rush of a city well lived in and people calling him yet not shouting his name.

Kaveh stumbles back to the middle of the podium, only for Alhaitham to meet him halfway. They stare at each other with wide eyes, stare at the other but seeing reflections of themselves. Kaveh bores into Alhaitham’s intense gaze, seeing the many questions and the fierce determination to solve each and everyone of them reflect in those piercing pupils of his, and thinks:

Only a gaze as steeled as mine is fit for a king.

Alhaitham roams his eyes over Kaveh, over his golden hair reflecting the sun, making it almost blinding to look at, over proud shoulders, pushed back to straighten his stance, over calloused hands, twitching in the need to create, and thinks:

Only a presence as loud and vibrant as mine can win over my people.

The spell is broken as fast as it had come when one of the scholars of their group asks for their assistance. Kaveh and Alhaitham busy themselves with helping out the rest of the research group for the remainder of the stay to not let those intrusive thoughts resurface and really just hope that it was some weird hallucination caused by the heat or dehydration or something.

Lucky them, it wasn’t.

And really, all this fancy dressing in the form of a story just to come to the one headcanon stuck in my head:  If both Alhaitham and Kaveh are the Scarlet King, and they were to inherit his memories, I believe they’d experience them differently.

Alhaitham would have tangible memories, thoughts that’d pop into his head unbridled. He’d see the tension between Desert folk and the people of the forest and think “This is not what we fought for.”. He’d run across Cyno, discuss matters of the Akademiya with him and think “As competent and loyal as ever, just as is to be expected of my General.”. He’d meet with Nahida and think “No matter the shape she takes, her wisdom remains the same.”.

Kaveh on the other hand would experience the memories with sensations. He’d witness a fight between the matra and Emerites and be transported to a battlefield, as countless shouts and clanking metal were heard while the unmistakable taste of blood sat heavy on his tongue. He’d look at scholars disassembling a Primal Construct and his hands would itch for his tools while his heart sped up in excitement, even if Kaveh knew his knowledge of such machines was limited. He’d watch Nilou dance in the Grand Bazar and almost buckle under the mix of elation, yearning and unfathomable grief that overtook him.

(it would also be funny the other way around, as in, experience the memories with the parts “missing” from them. Though Kaveh, being the overthinker he is, would have an easier time cos his head is filled all the time with thoughts anyways. Alhaitham would have a real crisis though lmao)

At the end of the day they’d come home to each other, stand face to face and stare into a mirror of themselves, all the while the edges would start to blur and it’d become increasingly difficult to know where one of them started and the other ended.

I dunno where I’d even go with this story, in all honesty. I personally don’t like the kinda fics where King Deshret actually “awakens” and either takes over or integrates into the person he wakes up as. I think I’d push a story like this more into the territory of this experience making the two learn more about themselves and each other. As in, since they both “derive from” the same person, even if they’re steadfast in their own beliefs, they’re kinda forced to actually see from the other perspective as well. While this would probably lead to even more arguments, I believe it’d also manage to blunt their edges and while they still can’t agree with each other, they understand and therefore don’t always go on the defensive with counter points at the ready. 

Tho, if both are considered King Deshret, would that count as self-cest.

#genshin impact #alhaitham #kaveh #king deshret #headcanon #does this count as an au? #bascially just going wild with the idea of both alhaitham and kaveh being deshret #or parts of him #and i might have written down a prompt for a fic #woooops

[hiswitchcraft]

my guy i’m the anon again, PLEASE say more about the trans experience in relation to this divine feminine bs

I LOVE YOU. I'm gonna structure this post around a couple of examples because these days I struggle with making a post out of nothing.

A trans witch rants about the divine feminine

So first of all I saw a tiktok awhile ago about how “the feminine energy lives by the moon’s cycle, track your cycles with the moon’s to become more in tune with yourself” and that’s great but it's also based on y'know, only women having a uterus. The idea that menstruation is an inherently feminine thing only women experience has kept me from receiving medical care that I desperately needed years ago. I’m going to start walking with a cane soon because I likely have a serious untreated condition and I cannot emphasize this enough, trying to get medical care as a trans person is terrifying. This is because of the lack of information. This is because of the sex/gender binary and assumptions around it.

Someone else on social media was actually asking me about my experiences and opinions as a trans person (which you are all welcome to do btw) more recently and brought up the divine feminine. They explained they believe women are more based in the spiritual realm where men are more based in the physical realm and this makes men visual and logical. They asked how I think trans people fit into that, and if I feel I'm more visual/logical. I thought to myself, no I don't think we fit into it because all of that is made up. Besides all the inherent awful and honestly misogynistic aspects to what they said, it upset me. I hate the idea that men are logical and women are emotional. I'm emotional. I'm nurturing. Sometimes it makes me dysphoric, but I don't strive for what society wants or a cis ideal of manhood so I go on the way I am and like to be.

I'm upset with the concept of the divine feminine obviously because it can be misogynistic and of course because it can take people down the alt right pipeline, but I'm also upset because it reminds me most of the world doesn't and (without trying very very hard) can't view the world the way I do. It doesn't see the way the sex/gender binary is made up and the harm it does. It doesn't see transphobia and especially the more subtle ways it manifests. It doesn't know how ideas that are "common sense" and all around us hurt me and my community.

Cis people don't see any of this and it makes me sad and angry and the divine feminine just reminds me of that as well as my usual frustrations with people not critically thinking about the ideas they take in. These ideas feed on people because they sound good at a glance. There’s probably a version of all this that IS good and could even be useful to trans people, but I don’t know what it is. Every version makes assumptions that the gender binary/gender roles makes. Even the people insisting that the “real” divine masculine/feminine concepts aren’t so bad have spat some stuff I take a lot of issue with as a trans person. So I don’t know what this lovely, useful version would be. Maybe I’ll find it eventually. 

It was very nice to get this off my chest, thank you. That first big paragraph was actually part of something that's been sitting in my drafts. I didn't put the whole thing here, but I think I was able to share enough that I can delete it now. Thanks for that. Also! I suppose I’ll say it once more just cause, since I’ve opened that can of worms, you guys are more than welcome to ask me about being trans 💙💕🤍💕💙

#y'all better back me up and start praying now because I'm putting the controversial tags #witch #witchblr #spiritual #new age #divine feminine #trans #trans witch #trans witches #trans problems #trans pride #trans experience #trans masc #trans man

[kirbyprompts]

𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐏𝐓 𝟐

from critical role's the mighty nein episodes 34-71. feel free to change prompts as you see fit!

❝do they know you?❞

❝do they check weapons at the door, or anything like that?❞

❝i want to see how strong you’ve gotten.❞

❝well, how do i look?❞

❝i like myself just the way i am.❞

❝call this your home so long as you’d like to stay.❞

❝do you still love them?❞

❝love is a funny thing.❞

❝can you recommend any bookstores here?❞

❝hey, crime boss, are you my dad?❞

❝i don’t want people to know i’m still alive.❞

❝you’re asking a lot of questions for a person i just met.❞

❝i think you could snap me like a twig.❞

❝i think, perhaps, it’s destiny. do you believe in destiny?❞

❝i don’t have any dreams at night. is that worrisome?❞

❝it is funny how you keep showing up like a bad penny.❞

❝please don’t kill me.❞

❝i didn’t expect you to come in here and slaughter my contacts.❞

❝who were you supposed to deliver this to?❞

❝you’re not afraid of dying, are you?❞

❝is life always this directionless?❞

❝sometimes the things that are the most beautiful are the things that can hurt you the worst.❞

❝out of idle curiosity why have you been trying to butter me up?❞

❝i thought i had you figured out.❞

❝we’re about to be boarded by fucking pirates.❞

❝i am trying to process this as quickly as i can.❞

❝is there food in this bitch?❞

❝do you want to control the sea?❞

❝how many dudes you think you killed?❞

❝how many fingers am i holding up?❞

❝get out of there!❞

❝these days i’ve spent with you are the most exciting of my entire life.❞

❝this was the worst day of my life.❞

❝i’m getting used to the idea that this wouldn’t be a test if it was easy.❞

❝i think the world is shaping you into something important and i want to make sure that you get to wherever you need to be.❞

❝okay, i feel like shit, so i’m going to bed.❞

❝what was your first kiss like?❞

❝don’t fire on them unless they fire on us, you understand?❞

❝sometimes you can be nice to people too.❞

❝you better be sure this is something you want to die for.❞

❝if you’re lying to me, i’ll slit your throat.❞

❝pleasure to meet you. i have the feeling you’re having a really bad day.❞

❝just keep your mouth shut for like 30 damn seconds.❞

❝this is very dangerous to give to you, but you’re the perfect person to have it.❞

❝i was born to be a cannoneer.❞

❝have you ever sacrificed anything in order to achieve a greater goal?❞

❝i was alone for a long time and ran from everything.❞

❝i feel like a fool much of the time.❞

❝i could fill a book with what i don’t know.❞

❝what if we can never go home?❞

❝this is the best plan we’ve ever had!❞

❝i’m going to summon a demon.❞

❝no, really! she was a really bad person before we killed her and everyone on the boat!❞

❝i’m not an asshole. i’m asshole adjacent.❞

❝of course it’s minimalizing. have you met me? everything i do is minimizing.❞

❝do you ever feel like your relationship with your cat is hindering building stronger relationships with human people?❞

❝i understand when i’m being condescended to! even when i’m drunk!❞

❝hey. sorry for being a dick. bye.❞

❝i go where the wind goes.❞

❝yeah, i’m not a happy guy.❞

❝that’s what we do, we seek out active doom.❞

❝to be perfectly honest, yes, there were quite a few people chasing me.❞

❝best not to call attention.❞

❝i will so gladly introduce you to my cat because i’m very fond of him and love for people to meet him.❞

❝we’re running! it’s bad!❞

❝it was nice to meet you and nearly die next to you.❞

❝i’ve always heard that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, but i feel pretty fucking weak right now.❞

❝i think i oddly feel the most comfortable when things are a fraction away from going terribly wrong.❞

❝my mother was a big believer in the buddy system.❞

❝got to be careful with what risks you take, but without risks, you’re never going to get what you want.❞

❝in my loneliness i just turned to anger.❞

❝sometimes you’re running towards something so fast that you can’t remember why you’re running in the first place.❞

❝i get nervous to get close to people because i feel like i lose them.❞

❝i’m either very unlucky or cursed, and i don’t believe in luck.❞

❝don’t forget me. i won’t forget you.❞

❝if you hear the signal, run. you remember the signal? it’s ‘AHHHHHHH'❞

❝don’t turn evil, okay? but if you do, i’ll still be your friend. i mean, it’s okay. you know, some people are evil. it’s okay. just don’t turn evil to me.❞

❝sometimes it sounds like you don’t have much love for home.❞

❝we need to know the ones we love.❞

❝i guess it’s easier to pretend like you don’t care.❞

❝you would do anything for love.❞

❝i would protect you.❞

❝do we look like tourists?❞

❝that could have gone much worse.❞

❝why does it feel like everyone here is hitting on me, but also insulting me at the same time?❞

❝what? why are you looking at me like that?❞

❝i operate alone. that’s how i survived this long.❞

❝i’m a danger to you by proximity, as much as you are a danger to me.❞

❝how was i supposed to get better? you fucking left!❞

❝now, i see great possibility in you. you have potential. but you need to listen to me and think before you act.❞

❝your rash, intense behavior will be your downfall.❞

❝no one has to see what you’re doing is good, as long as it is good.❞

❝i do not do this for accolades. i do this because i serve the purpose to provide a better world for those who. cannot defend themselves.❞

❝i can’t tell your morning voice apart from your just-almost-died voice.❞

❝if you ask, the worst they can do is say no, and throw you in prison, and you’ll never see your family again.❞

❝we are exiles in every sense of the word.❞

❝you made the right call. i’m very proud of you.❞

❝what would you have done differently?❞

❝for the first time in a really long time, i feel hopeful.❞

❝now that i’m with you, i don’t know how i could be apart from you.❞

❝oh boy, i don’t understand anything that’s going on.❞

❝i trust your heart. it’s in a good place.❞

❝i think you might be wrong. i can’t say it with 100% certainty, but you might be.❞

❝i had a very bad dream.❞

❝i think i’ve done something very bad and i don’t remember.❞

❝have i done something terrible?❞

❝i am talking to you as one accomplished liar to another.❞

❝this is our family now and we are looking out for eachother.❞

❝we can remake ourselves into something better.❞

❝those things were fucking scary as fuck!❞

❝it’s a tomb with an exit. that’s the worst kind.❞

❝maybe we shouldn’t go in. let’s just go back.❞

❝i know you lost your family. we can be your new one.❞

❝i’m just doing my best.❞

❝i’ve never seen you get scared.❞

❝are you feeling scared? you should. this is terrifying.❞

❝try what you want. you won’t break me.❞

❝your life hangs by a thread. what have you to lose?❞

❝some of us get tired of macabre fairytales. so you enjoy your mouthful of lies when they choke it out of you.❞

❝we’re being sneaky! stop talking so loud!❞

❝i’m confused. do you want me to stay or not?❞

❝is this conversation appropriate to have in a hot tub?❞

❝it’s been really hard trying to figure out who’s just a traitor and who’s an actual demon.❞

❝all i can give you is my loyalty.❞

#sentence starters #rp memes #rp sentence starters #rp prompts #rp meme #roleplay memes #roleplay prompts