#i just think if one likes it they should be. very. very critical

[thewertsearch]

TG: i thought about taking his sword TG: when i was there TG: but i couldnt TG: couldnt really bring myself to try to pull it out it was too weird

Even if you did, you’d have to break it in order to wield it - and unlike your regenerating sword, I don't think Bro's katana will be very effective as a half-blade.

GG: dave we have to stop him!!!!! TG: what GG: jack! […] GG: why dont you stop jumping around through time like a maniac and stop being like a hundred daves all the time and come to my house so we can make a plan to kill him??

I’m liking this new, more pro-active Jade. With Rose distracted by Doc Scratch's games, we probably need a new leader, and I think Jade could fit the bill.

However, I don’t think any number of Daves would be enough to take Jack down. That’s exactly what Aradia tried, and we all know how that turned out. If a thousand telekinetic necromancers can't put a scratch on him, I don't think Dave will fare much better.

TG: besides we cant beat him TG: look what he did to bro and davesprite together TG: im at the top of my echeladder with all the fraymotifs and i stand no chance

Dave’s already stronger than Future Dave was when he came back to the past. His progress is astounding - but the session's power creep has got so bad that it doesn’t even matter.

Like - let's imagine, for a second, that all four kids attacked Jack with their full power, right now. If they all synergized perfectly, taking full advantage of John's hurricanes, Rose's Horrorterror connections, and all the time duplicates Dave can make....

They'd still be reduced to a fine mist.

Jack has inherited a power strong enough to raze the entire Earth, and none of the kids can touch him. Becsprite initially seemed like an opportunity to match that power, Sun-to-Sun, but Vriska, for her own godforsaken reasons, nixed that plan.

The kids have got nothing. Even their plan to cheat by destroying the Green Sun is probably hopeless, because we know it ultimately serves Doc Scratch's ends, not ours. Things are really dire.

TG: only thing we can do is hold out until the scratch GG: what is the scratch? TG: guess i shouldnt really say TG: since you sort of lead the way in making that plan

And then there's the Scratch plan itself, which is apparently Jade's idea - although I'd be extremely surprised if Doc's grubby little fingers weren't all over this one, too.

Opening rifts in space is certainly Jade's department, so I think she's going to suggest it as a counter-plan to Rose's more risky Sun strategy.

TG: if we cant beat him TG: all we can really do is exile him to a place where he cant teleport back TG: which hopefully buys us some time TG: to try to take out his power source in a crazy suicide mission

A two-pronged approach, then. They trigger the Scratch, push Jack through a rift, and then send Rose's dream self out to destroy the sun before he's able to return.

...man, this is such a dangerous idea. Even if it wasn't being influenced by Doc, it'd still set off some huge alarm bells.

Like - sure, destroying the Green Sun might help this session survive, but what about every other session? Don't they need the Sun, to power their non-corrupted First Guardians? I just think we should maybe think for a second before deleting a critical piece of the reproductive mechanism for the entire multiverse.

#homestuck liveblog #full liveblog #act 5.2 #s109 #3204

[atthebell]

i think one thing that's always been interesting to me is that people really believe/take for granted that the federation's goal is the islanders' happiness, when we really don't have any way of knowing if that's the truth. cucurucho says it a lot, claiming to care about islanders' happiness above all else, and it's been scattered throughout some federation lore (as well as being hinted at with the reset cinematics), but that doesn't mean it's actually true-- it could still be a smokescreen of what they really want. which, imo, is not happiness.

if it's all one big experiment, supposedly one of many, the idea that this one is the one that involves seeing what happens when islanders are happy is not a provable thing still, nor is it clear what that actually means to the federation. does happiness mean the islanders are content to remain on the island? does happiness mean building relationships and connecting with others? does happiness mean self-fulfillment (something deeply immeasurable)? it's not clear what it means to the federation, nor if that is their true goal. it could be that that has nothing to do with their goal, and is a complete misdirect. it could be that cucurucho's prime directive is the islanders' happiness (not that it's very good at that), but that's meant as a tactic to stymie islander curiosity/resistance. it could be any number of things.

and i think viewing it from a more meta lens of "we cannot tell what is or is not the truth; not only are all character povs biased but so is the larger narrative presented to us." i think comparing this framework to something like the good place is helpful, in that when you assume that what you're presented with is the truth and don't look at the setting critically, you will miss the fact that things presented to you as fact by any kind of source (including the framework of the medium itself or the established setting) are suspect and should be examined further.

i can even put it in a smaller way; there are ways within a limited character pov to present things as directly happening when they are not, and these are ways that mcrp creators have utilized. playing out an event that did not actually happen, canonical hallucinations, dream sequences that are not explained as such, physical representations of metaphorical experiences, etc. etc. are ALL things that mcrp creators of done. tricking your audience is an incredibly interesting and at times vital part of mcrp. so if just one creator within their own pov can do it, why can't the whole narrative? why can't you be convinced you're in a different genre, why can't you be convinced that the physical location your characters are placed in is someplace that isn't?

all this to say, i think a major issue in terms of analyzing media like this is allowing yourself to go along with assumptions without thinking about why you're falling so easily into them as truth. making all of your lore assumptions based off the notion that it is objective fact that the federation cares about and has the goal of islanders' happiness means you are going to miss details and fixate on others without looking at the full scope of possibilities. which i think was a serious issue during the height of investigation/mystery stuff-- people fell into the trap of "i KNOW this to be true" without considering the man behind the curtain. sure, cellbit found documents indicating that the federation was founded on isla quesadilla-- considering who sent him on the trail of said documents, who's to say that that's the truth?

i think bagi is a particularly interesting investigator when it comes to this kind of thing-- she's VERY good at holding onto a lot of different possibilites in her mind, even going so far as to act on a lot of them at once, and that means she doesn't take anything for granted. having all of the data in front of you, without attempting to skew it to a theory you already have in mind (which i admit is very difficult to do! humans are biased and are geared towards pattern recognition), is an important skill when it comes to any kind of data analysis or investigation.

anyway idk where i was going with this i just started thinking about like. what is involved in good theorizing and how focusing on something you believe to be fact can lead you in the wrong direction, and i think the idea of the islander's happiness as the federation's main goal is one of those very fraught assumptions people get caught up in.

#bell.txt #qsmp analysis

[fuckthisshitimin]

THAT DAMNED SPREADSHEET

DOES ANYONE TO HEAR ABOUT MY ADVENTURE IN THE SPREADSHEET?

Cause I'm pretty damned sure I know what getting "High" on Milgram means.

Talking about his being rejected by the Magnus Institute, Samama said:

[That definitely feels like when it all started. […] Well, after that it all just went downhill. Didn’t get into Oxford, so I went to Nottingham.]

And that does not sound like what one would say about something that happened when they were, like, eight. So I went to take another look at the spreadsheet. Of course I was wrong, because The Magnus Institute burned in 1999, so he couldn’t have been more than nine, but I found out other stuff.

A thing that bugs me in how I’ve read some discussing the spreadsheet is that Sam has the highest empathy score, and that it made him “too nice/good” for the Institute’s purposes (not necessarily this directly but it has been implied, including in the “recruiting future avatar theories, and… well, implying that low empathy makes you more likely to become a literal monster is quite disgusting, actually).

First, I think we got one thing wrong on the Kohlberg column. Since they are kids, it doesn’t seem shocking that they’d be around stages 1 to 3 of his “Six stages of moral development”; but it doesn’t say Stage 1, 2 or 3 it says Level 1, 2 or 3, and I don’t think it’s a mistake.

His six stages are divided into three levels: Pre-Conventional (1,2), Conventional (3,4) and Post-Conventional (5,6).

People in stages 1 and 2 (Level 1) have a sense of morality that is linked to the direct consequences of their actions on themself — stage 1 is “don’t hit the dog because you’ll be punished” and stage 2 “give her half your banana and you’ll get half her chocolate bar” (very simplified).

People on stages 3 and 4 (Level 2) have internalized their surrounding’s sense of morality and act accordingly — stage 3 being “I’ll get a good grade in being a person by following the rules” and stage 4 “the rules I learnt are true and real, failing to follow them is Wrong and upholding them is Right” (idem).

People on stages 5 and 6 (Level 3) have a personal sense of morality that is critical of societal norms — stage 5 being “there are rules, and those rules can and should be changed through compromise to be fair to the greatest number”, and stage 6 “unfair rules should not be followed, direct consequences like punishment are irrelevant when it comes to deciding to do what it right” (very, very, very simplified).

If I’m right, the spreadsheet is so much more understandable.

First thing I wanted to do was put numbers on how singular Sam’s results are:

He gets “High” on both Milgram and Asch when the overwhelming tendency is that the higher your other scores are, the more likely you are to get “Low”, and the numbers were, indeed, that among the 49 children who scored “High” on both, 33 were in Piaget’s stage 1, 15 were in stage 2 and only Sam was in stage 3.

The 33 kids who were in stage 1 are the opposite of Sam:

(Abbreviating so it’s easier to compare values but P=Piaget, K=Kohlberg, Ps=Prosocial, S-A=Sally-Anne, U=Ultimatum, EI=Empathy Index)

33K: (P) Stage 1 :: (K) Level 1 :: (Ps) Low :: (S-A) Fail :: (U) Unfair :: (EI) ≥62%

Sam: (P) Stage 3 :: (K) Level 3 :: (Ps) High :: (S-A) Pass :: (U) Fair :: (EI) 98%

So that’s weird. And when I went to filter by Kohlberg levels… absolutely no kid that was on “Level 2” scored High on Milgram and Asche.

In fact, among the 99 kids on Kohlberg Level 2, none got “Low” for prosocial, none got “High” on Milgram, only 2 got “High” on Asch.

And when we read “Level 2 (Conventional Morality) instead of “Stage 2 (Pre-Conventional Morality, what benefits me directly)” we can make sense of this: 

“To reason in a conventional way is to judge the morality of actions by comparing them to society's views and expectations. […] Conventional morality is characterized by an acceptance of society's conventions concerning right and wrong. At this level an individual obeys rules and follows society's norms even when there are no consequences for obedience or disobedience. Adherence to rules and conventions is somewhat rigid, however, and a rule's appropriateness or fairness is seldom questioned.” (by Kohlberg himself, from Wikipedia)

Adults can be Level 2, by the way. Adults can even be Level 1. Subjects of the Milgram experiment are displaying peak Level 2 behavior.

“High” on Milgram is “Did not electrocute/Disobeyed”

“High” on Asch is “Did not conform”

GOSH THAT IS SATISFYING

Bonus: the average empathy index is 79,1%, the median is 82% with 116 kids below 82%, 13 kids at 82% and 120 kids above. Of the 116 kids below the median, 11 got “Low” on Milgram. Of the 13 median kids, 3 got “Low” on Milgram. Of the 120 kids above, 91 got “Low”.

If we take the average instead, of the 163 kids more empathetic than the average, 100 got “Low” on Milgram, and 2 got “High”, of the 86 less empathetic than the average, 5 got “Low” and 59 for “High” on Milgram.

So actually here, low empathy is inversely correlated to willingness to hurt if ordered to.

And it makes sense. Low empathy is often associated with anti-social personality disorder, autism, depression — and you know what’s very associated with anti-social personality disorder? Disobedience.

Now I have to make another post about the weird kids in red's names.

#tmagp #tmagp theory #tmagp arg #samama khalid #tmagp spoilers #the magnus protocol #the magnus institute #the spreadsheet #guys i am so unused to numbers now #it's three am and i haven't eaten since breakfast #i don't even know if someone made a post like this already but i didn't find anything

[starlight-bread-blog]

My Interpetation of The Southern Raiders: Part 1 – A\ang

Warning: The views expressed in this analysis will be very critical of Aang. If you aren't critical of him in this episode, you aren't going to enjoy this post. This is your chance to leave. I probably won't have a debate for personal reasons.

——————

The Southern Raiders is probably one of the most discussed episodes in the fandom. Everyone knows Zuko Alone is great, but the discussion surrounding this episode is a war zone. In this essay I will try to answer every question posed in the discourse. This is part 1 out of three. In this part, I will discuss A\ang. I believe that understanding both Zuko and Aang's decisions in this episode will give us great insight into Katara's. Because the this episode is hers.

——————

1. Is Aang's philosophy of forgiveness valid?

(1) "Revenge is like a two-headed rat viper. While you watch your enemy go down, you're being poisoned yourself".

(2) "You do have a choice: forgiveness". // "It's easy to do nothing, but it's hard to forgive". // "Forgiveness is the first step you have to take to begin healing".

This philosophy is indeed morally sound. Revenge comes from rage, a negative emotion that causes harm in the long run. Forgiveness is letting go of that rage, which is healing. I cannot write a full thesis, this essay is not about that. But on paper, I do agree with A\ang. He's right to say that letting go of rage is a better alternative than getting consumed by it. (However, his philosophy might not help some).

——————

2. Was A\ang being insensitive when talking to Katara?

First I must reiterate, a lot of people frame the conflict of the episode as one regarding the ethics of murder. In my interpretation, it is not. During this episode Katara was in a deeply emotional place. Her rage stemmed from intense grief and those around her should treat her as a mourner - with great sensitivity.

Now, was Aang being this sensitive with Katara? Well, in my opinion, very much so.

Imagine a scenario where A\ang just happens to meet Haru, and he's about to go on a quest to find revenge on who imprisoned his father. He tries to help him with the following sentences:

(1) Um ... and what exactly do you think this will accomplish?

(2) Wait! Stop! I do understand. You're feeling unbelievable pain and rage. How do you think I felt about the sandbenders when they stole Appa? How do you think I felt about the Fire Nation when I found out what happened to my people?

(3) I don't think so. I think it's about getting revenge.

(4) Haru, you sound like Jet.

(5) The monks used to say that revenge is like a two-headed rat viper. While you watch your enemy go down, you're being poisoned yourself.

(6) Haru, you do have a choice: forgiveness.

(7) No, it's not. It's easy to do nothing, but it's hard to forgive.

(8) You did the right thing. Forgiveness is the first step you have to take to begin healing.

Everything makes sense, right? The pieces fit.He just talks about his cultura\personal values, nothing about what Katara needs at the moment. He could have had this exact conversation with Haru without changing a thing.

Therefore his lines are impersonal and thus preachy. In this conversation he doesn’t show signs of trying to convince Katara not to end her mother’s killer because she is, fundamentally, a good person and couldn’t live having committed murder. He shows signs of trying to make her obey his cultural ethos. This is highly insensitive. Katara was in a very emotional place, filled with rage and grief. And his response was, intentionally or not, to impose his own cultural principles onto her.

But his lines weren’t insensitive just because they were preachy, some of them were judgmental and even harsh. When A\ang is first confronted with Katara’s intentions, he says:

A\ang: Um ... and what exactly do you think this will accomplish?

You can tell from his tone and how the rest of the conversation plays out that he does know what Katara thinks this will accomplish. He asks the question as a form of disapproval - that he thinks that going after Yon Rha won’t accomplish anything. He’s not being genuine, he’s casting judgment on her. He’s almost looking down on her and Zuko, looking down from a moral high ground and sarcastically interrogating the two. Another line that sticks out is

A\ang: Katara, you sound like Jet.

He says she sounds like the man who wanted to flood an entire village full of innocent civilians. He’s insulting her, and greatly so, all the while wanting to keep a moral high ground. This is incredibly rude and condescending.

In the next scene, right after the intense argument concludes, it appears as though A\ang comes around to the journey Katara was about to go through.

A\ang: I wasn't planning to. This is a journey you need to take. You need to face this man.But when you do, please don't choose revenge. Let your anger out, and then let it go. Forgive him.

While he’s still discouraging Katara, it’s not outright condescending. But it’s as clear as day that he’d just preferred if she didn’t go on the journey at all. When he sees Zuko and Katara taking Appa to find Yon Rha, he says:

A\ang: So you were just gonna take Appa anyway?

Clearly disapproving of Katara. He doesn’t want her to go on the journey to find inner peace, he wants her to forgive the man who killed her mother right here and right now. He couldn’t change her mind on the subject, so he’ll advise her the next best thing. It is worth noting that in the beginning, before he advises her, he cracks a joke.

A\ang: It's okay, because I forgive you. [Pauses.] That give you any ideas?

Overall, A\ang’s behavior is unsympathetic and callous.Instead of placing his focus on Katara’s wellbeing, he preaches about Air Nomad teachings and goes as far as insulting her. Even when he comes around, it’s not because he realized his mistakes, it’s because he knew he couldn’t change her mind. And then he makes a humorous remark while giving him his supposed new found advice. The answer is: Yes. Aang was very insensitive when talking to Katara.

——————

3. Did A\ang know what Katara needed?

I don’t think he did. A\ang thought Katara needed to forgive Yon Rha, and as we previously established, without going after him. But even if we look at his second advice, she still doesn’t follow it.

A\ang: This is a journey you need to take. You need to face this man. [Katara situates herself on Appa's head.] But when you do, please don't choose revenge. Let your anger out, and then let it go. Forgive him.

Katara explicitly didn’t forgive Yon Rha, and yet the whole point of the ending is that she’s in a better place now. No matter what Zuko says, A\ang didn’t know what Katara needed. And considering that his lines in the episode were as impersonal as they were, it isn’t a surprise.

——————

In conclusion, A\ang’s behavior in The Southern Raiders is questionable at best. He might have had pure intentions, and had a good message, but the way he put out the message was degrading and preachy. And in the end, he didn’t know what was the right thing for Katara.

#2. taking over and becoming its own meta lol #also “katara spared yon rha bcs of ang” will be discussed in part 3 #anti aang #anti kataang #zutara #<- tagging for reach #atla critical #zuko x katara #katara x zuko #anti anti zutara #pro zutara #zutara analysis #zutara evidence #zutara forever #zutara meta #zutara should have been canon #zutara nation #zutara supremacy #zutara was robbed #zutarian

[magadauthan]

Ep 25: Live Through

@trigun98watchparty My time has come.

I watched "Live Through" in Japanese and English for this recap. For science. It's not because this is my favorite episode, no. That has nothing to do with anything.

--How did Milly and Meryl get Vash away from LR? Does 1 ile = 1 mile? Did they swipe Legato's Cinderella coach?

--that floppy hair *swoon*

--Some have criticized Meryl for ducking outside as soon as Vash begins to talk. Perhaps that is merited, and she does carry a good measure of guilt for following him, but it felt to me more like she wanted to give him space and / or privacy. Having loud emotions all over the place is frowned on in Japanese culture, and Meryl is very, very polite. Maybe she just doesn't know what to do and panics (Vash has not always been encouraging in terms of having her around, in general). Either way, it tears her up inside to hear him wailing in despair.

--Obviously Meryl has been home tending to Vash while Milly works. It's nice to see Meryl recognize that Milly is busting her butt, but she doesn't know how to address Milly's feelings, either.

--Vash should not be up and about - he's weak and feverish and not a little delirious. Good thing Milly can carry him.

--Get in there, big sis, and tell Meryl it's okay that she loves him. She's absolutely right in that Legato would have found a way to make Vash shoot him whether or not the two of them were involved. Never hold back in matters of the heart.

--My favorite scene. Meryl, alone in the light of the fifth moon, diligently mending Vash's coat. She wants to put him back together and make him whole again, even if she gets hurt in the process. She's desperately in love with him, and she holds the kind person he is close to her heart... but he was the one who put the hole in the moon. How can she reconcile that?

--Vash does look happier.

--He tries to pet the kitty, and Kuroneko gives him a swat, which some interpret as the Trigun Goddess telling Vash to get it in gear. This is incorrect. Cats are just assholes.

--It didn't stop with Legato, now, did it. Knives is pressing harder.

--"Sound Life" must be a song they teach in NML kindergarten. Many people seem to know it, including Kaite and Meryl. (the lyrics really need to scan better, it's so awkwardly phrased)

--This scene is such a tough one. It's lovely - two lovers out under the stars, right? And Meryl is so happy that Vash is considering staying with them. But it's also plain to see that he might have given up. It would be easy, wouldn't it? Let the girls take care of him while he hides. Don't do anything, and wait for an answer.

--What were you doing up so late, Meryl? (we had some ideas)

--There's no way that the townspeople could have captured someone like Vash if he hadn't let them do it. He's so broken that he won't fight back. He's a sinner now, like Knives, like Legato, beyond redemption.

Except...

...Knives assumes that Vash would sacrifice himself for everyone else. Someone else sacrificing herself for him had never been part of the equation.

--So many have stopped believing in Vash, or he thinks they have. They turn their backs on him and he accepts it as the normal course of things. Jessica's crush was childish (I was gonna marry Luke Skywalker when I was four, just saying) but even she ran away after what happened to the ship. That's why it's so important that Meryl loves him. She has made her decision, and she's steadfast in it.

--Maybe Vash doesn't realize how much she loves him until she puts herself between him and the gun, and he hears Rem's words from Meryl's mouth and sees Rem one more time. If Meryl still loves him, then Rem can still love him too. Mistakes happen but you can learn from them, and if you have the right people in your life, they will love you through your mistakes and help you to make it better.

--And finally, Vash realizes that Rem's words apply to him, too, and that he is no less deserving of a second chance and a future than any of the others he's impressed those words on. Does that make Meryl the analogue to Alex? I think it does.

--Awww, such a sweet snuggle. And then Vash has to go doof it up like normal and Meryl has to freak out like normal. It's their love language. (TBH I'd punch my husband too if he rubbed his stubbly face on me like that.)

--What happened after that? (we have some ideas)

--Vash gets ready to go. Seeing him wash up and shave is oddly pleasing, a reminder that despite his Plant-ness, he's a regular dude who has to wash his face and brush his teeth and get haircuts and have breakfast and do all that human stuff.

--Meryl wants to say something to Vash, but she's gotten wiser too. She recognizes that even though there might be a lot that she wants to tell him (and, I think, he might want to tell her too), stating her feelings in the open would be a distraction (or even a burden) he doesn't need right then. Milly is right. There will be time when he gets back.

It doesn't come through in English, but he's so gentle with her in Japanese. He knows what she wants to say. In his own way, at that time, he's saying I love you too.

--Vash takes WW with him, with Milly's love and blessing. May you go with God's protection.

#trigun #trigun 98 watch party #Day 25 #live through #vashmeryl #vash x meryl

[just-late-roman-republic-things]

Just finished Harriet Flower's Roman Republics. I'll write up my notes on the final chapters later, but here's my general thoughts for now:

I like the basic idea of dividing the republic into more than just the early/middle/late periods, but I don't think all of Flower's proposed divisions are well supported.

She brings up some good points that are often overlooked (like the impact of the Servile Wars on Tiberius Gracchus' tribunate and the Cimbric War), but I disagree with others (e.g. characterizing the first triumvirate as a decade-long hegemony).

I wish she'd included a more detailed timeline of milestone laws and events - although doing so may have undermined her argument.

I also believe she understates the impact of the First and Second Punic Wars on Roman politics.

I would've liked to see more concrete, specific examples defining the political culture of each time period as distinct, a la Gruen's systematic, multi-tiered argument in The Last Generation of the Roman Republic. Granted, that's very difficult for earlier time periods, but that should serve to emphasize our uncertainty there. As-is, the book feels more like an outline than an in-depth analysis. Gruen also makes several arguments opposite to Flowers which I don't think she adequately addressed.

The complete skipping of 300-180 BCE, without even acknowledging it, still bothers me. A lot.

On the bright side, I do think she effectively demonstrates that the Roman republic changed greatly from 509-133 BCE, perhaps more than most people give it credit for. And I think she makes a solid case for viewing Sulla's constitution as a new form of government in itself, one that was never fully accepted by the people, and that this made it more vulnerable to coups and harder for the new Senate to work together.

It's an interesting book, and sometimes thought-provoking, but needs to be read very carefully so you can decide which parts you agree and disagree with. I have enough reservations about it that I won't be putting it on my favorites list. Still, I respect the author's work, and might suggest it for people who enjoy reading critically, want to examine an alternative viewpoint, and who already know a fair bit about Roman history.

#i only review/liveblog authors i respect on here. if i detest someone i prefer not to give them free publicity at all #book review #harriet flower #roman republics #jlrrt reads

[leonsliga]

Leon Goretzka for Sports Illustrated Deutschland

-> In this Sports Illustrated interview, Leon discusses not being called up to the national team, his character, and handling high pressure situations. The new Adidas Bodycare brand ambassador also discusses his hopes for the future.

On the pitch you show strength, off the pitch you are known for your social commitment. How is it that you are so present and outspoken?

That has envolved over the course of my life, but the sense of justice has always been within me. The only thing that has changed over the course of my career is that I now have a much greater reach and more people hear my opinions.

How difficult is it to fight against adversity? Can something like this be trained or is it something you’re born with?

You have to learn to deal with it. Then you can take a clear stance—or you can just leave it be. Everyone has to decide that for themselves. But I can cope with resistance, even though some of the things that come at me these days are extreme.

How do you deal with pressure and disappointment?

Pressure is something very positive for me. I really like it. It probably helps me in my job too. When it mattered most, I was able to deliver top performances. I like a bit of pre-match jitters. That's why I'm not afraid of pressure. Disappointments are also part of it. You learn that very early on, especially in football. Losing games starts in training. But that’s why you play in a team; that's the beauty of team sports—that you can support each other. Like at FC Bayern this season, which wasn't quite as successful as we had expected and were used to. These are experiences that you can take with you and mature from.

Did it hurt you a lot not to be called up for the national team?

It was an extreme disappointment for me because I didn’t expect it. Afterwards, I gave myself a day to come to terms with the situation. The day after that, I looked at how I could rectify it. The best way to do that is to perform at your best and accept this new role.

How hopeful are you that you will be at Euro 2024?

Very.

What is your emotional world like? Do you always allow all feelings—even the negative ones?

Everyone has to find out for themselves how they deal with feelings. My recommendation would be to talk about them, but I don't always manage that either. I like to work things out on my own and let the process mature within me. I can draw strength from that.

How do you strike a balance between self-criticism and self-confidence?

Self-criticism and self-confidence are mutually dependent. Telling yourself that you are the best has nothing to do with self-confidence. You are strongest when you also know your weaknesses.

As a leader, do you always have to live up to the sometimes very high expectations?

Yes, that's the job of a footballer. We live in a fast-paced, day-to-day business. You're only ever as good as you were in the last game. In my career in club football, I've won all the major titles that you can win with a big club like FC Bayern. Nevertheless, this season I have experienced what it means to be criticized as a leader. It reminds you that you are obliged to perform week in, week out.

How do you build yourself back up again when things aren't going your way? Do you train even more then?

I don't make my training dependent on situations that I experience week after week. I have long-term training plans. But of course, the motivation to correct things when they go poorly is always there.

What role do negative fan opinions play? Should they be ignored?

You have to accept these things. Everyone has their own opinion. Of course, it would be nice if things were a bit more civilized, but unfortunately that's not the case. This doesn't just apply to football; it can happen to anyone on social media. It's extremely disappointing. We should think about how this can be regulated. I'm lucky that things don't bother me too much. But there are certainly many users who unfortunately don't get on so well with it.

The football business can be very tough. What do you wish for the future of football, especially for the players?

I don't know if I should give an honest answer to that.

We’re asking for one.

If I'm completely honest, we should stop trying to generate clicks at the expense of the players—both on social media and in reports.

Can football help people and society feel more positive?

The 2006 World Cup showed how football can galvanize our country. Germany's enthusiasm and interest in football are certainly back. As players, we can influence this huge potential if the German national team performs well.

You are an ambassador for Adidas Bodycare. What does "well-being" mean to you?

For me, "well-being" means that I have an awareness of my body. For the balance between strain and relief, but also for regeneration. Ultimately, it’s also about work-life balance.

#my idol for a reason <3 #I love how honest he is #what you see is exactly what you get with him #Leon was dropping absolute gems in this interview #‘telling yourself you’re the best has nothing to do with self-confidence’ is such a based thing to say #common Leon w #sorry if the translation isn’t perfect #I did my best #leon goretzka #fc bayern #fc bayern munich #fc bayern münchen #die mannschaft #dfb team #german nt #germany nt #footballer quotes #interviews

[elysiuminfra]

GOOD MORNING ANON thank u for this question :] i love talking about being a hater btw sorry not answering your ask directly i tried and tumblr wouldnt let me :( just kidding im not actually as big of a hater as i say i am. when i talk about the musical - im not talking about any recordings, im talking about the ORIGINAL album. because i havent actually been able to find good quality recordings of the musical. :( and. well. warlow's jekyll is my favorite jekyll hands down now onto thoughts. i think the musical is fine, i like to listen to it sometimes even. some of my favorite jekyll and hyde stuff people have made are musical animatics (which go hard.) and im fond of the actors who have played jekyll/hyde, i just think the've done excellent with casting for the musical over the years. HOWEVER. i have opinions. many of these are based on my own personal tastes, some of them are actual criticisms - all of them are subjective. dont let me dash any reader's enjoyment of it on the rocks. i dont think its a "good" adaptation of the original story. it sort of.... misses the point? of the. everything? it treats jekyll and hyde as separate, with hyde being "pure evil" and jekyll being. well. good. there's not a lot of nuance to it. it IS from jekyll's perspective, and jekyll is an unreliable narrator (one of the MOST unreliable) but i just dislike how it handles hyde's entire deal. because even with jekyll being an unreliable narrator, it still doesn't give any other nuance other than hyde is entirely separate and entirely evil and the source of all of jekyll's woes (not the point - its not OBVIOUS in the book, but it can be easily gleaned through jekyll's breakdown). not only that but the weird and unnecessary inclusion of violence against women and painting hyde (and by extension, jekyll) as a sexual predator. i don't think that's necessarily TERRIBLE WRITING, as. well i believe jekyll does have a lot of issues surrounding sex but i, personally, cannot see jekyll/hyde as a sex pest in the way the musical sees it. he's an effective villain for sure. i just wish it...... handled it better. i just can't see jekyll like that, not even in the original book. i also think the inclusion of not 1 but 2 female romantic interests kind of.... takes away from the original point, i think. what i liked about j&h proper is that it really is about jekyll's relationships with the other men in his life - particularly utterson and lanyon, and in the background poole and jekyll's unnamed father - and how his own issues and problems cause him to navigate those relationships (as well as him reinforcing toxic masculine standards) BUT THATS NOT THE STORY THEYRE TRYING TO TELL. which is fine!!! it's a story about jekyll, and how good his life was before he destroys it. i just don't like that they used misogynistic writing to tell that story. i wish the women in the musical were given far more depth than "jekyll's love interest" and "weary prostitute that hyde stalks", and that they had more.... substance. outside of jekyll/hyde. this isnt uncommon, and particularly not uncommon for musicals / media of this genre. women are just not given as much substance compared to the male leads. and its SAD :( another thing is the.... music. not the score itself - the orchestra is not particularly striking compared to some other musical soundtracks i listen to, however they do reuse motifs throughout the musical - and its exciting to pick that out! there are certain series of notes associated with jekyll/hyde. and i think thats cool because i love motifs. lyrically, i think it's lacking. i think it could have been far, far more interesting lyrics wise but im not sure why they didn't push for it? there's a lot of other musicals (frankenstein, for one) i can think of that are, musically, very stylistically similar but LYRICALLY far superior. i like that it takes a lot from the book, but the way it uses it... leaves something to be desired. the melodies are pretty good in some songs, though, ill give them that. i also dont like the idea of hyde as a crazed serial killer. the death of carew in the book was poignant. i think, it was jekyll's (hyde's, technically) first murder. i also dont think hyde (and by extension, jekyll) WOULD go on a crazed killing spree just for. whatever reason. i just don't really see it happening, but that's because the musical- once again- treats hyde as separate and fully evil and not part of jekyll. when i think of hyde - i think of, what would jekyll do if given the chance? serial killing is not one of those options for me. but the musical doesnt handle jekyll/hyde that way - all of it points towards jekyll not being in control, and not WANTING these things, but hyde, being SEPARATE, doing them anyway. because if.... if it didn't, it would paint jekyll as a very, very, very bad person. someone who 1. is willing to cheat on his fiance with a prostitute, 2. willing to HURT those he is sexually attracted to out of selfish desire when he's rejected 3. a potentially extremely abusive husband. i don't think this was the intention. i really don't. but if you put the musical through that lense, of jekyll/hyde being the same guy, well...... yeah i just dont think thats what they were going with. so i dont think, in the musical, they're portrayed as the same guy. which is not a kind of adaptation i like or prefer. to wind down, i think it's lacking. a bit... boring and somewhat tasteless. i think it couldve been much, much more. i think the lyrics could've been better, i think the writing could've been WAY better, i don't think, overall, it's a good "adaptation", or even a good retelling. i think it's misogynistic. i think it completely misses the point of the original book. i don't think it's even a "great" musical by musical standards. it's more.... just... lukewarm. i suppose. not "terrible" just not. good. BUT i do like some of the tracks, and i DO LOVE that UTTERSON is a big part of it! he's typically ignored in a lot of adaptations. i do love the dedication that theater groups bring to the musical (there's a recording of the russian version with an INSANE SET!!) - and i do love the actors that have portrayed these characters over the decades. i just wish the musical was..... i wish it understood the original message more. and wasn't obsessed with torturing women. and was actually good. and didnt suck. long story short. its not good. there's some qualities i like. but overall i think it sucks mad cheese. the end

#answers #of course i dont mind ppl who DO like the musical #i just think if one likes it they should be. very. very critical #and not blindly praise its writing because its NOT good. #anyway #jekyll and hyde #thanks 4 the question!

[utilitycaster]

I feel like we as a fandom had a lot of this conversation during Campaign 2 but redemption, however you may interpret it, is a process. It is not a binary of redeemed and not redeemed. And in the world of a D&D actual play, a lot of the hard decisions really come down to "is the harm this person did actively ongoing, or is it a past action with ongoing ramifications" and "will they stop doing this continued harm quickly enough for it to matter." It sounds cold to say that it's a risk-benefit analysis, but on some level, it has to be be. I think Bor'Dor was likely redeemable in some abstract sense, but could Team Issylra do it with the time and resources they had without risking their own lives? Probably not. I think the same is true with Liliana: if they had months in which to do this - and they have been contacting her on and off for a couple months, and every effort failed - maybe, but the clock's run out.

#like. i think the liliana v. essek discussion is a very thorny one though one i'm personally willing to have #but a big part of it is that his great transgression was already in the past and he hadn't done much more other than cover it up since #so it's like. yeah they can give him that time #i also tbh think that the fact they found out about him just before the peace talks was a major factor #if the war was still raging...perhaps the response would have been very different #critical role #cr spoilers #cr discourse #anyway. the coin flip should always land on its side.

[anghraine]

I got a comment that was like ... people are only mad about film Faramir because he doesn't act exactly the way they personally imagined him, and tbh I'm torn between being annoyed at how deeply disingenuous that argument is and slightly impressed at the sheer audacity of pinning the Faramir Controversy on difference from random people's headcanons rather than the book itself.

...then I got to thinking about how the whole time-consuming and wildly out of character handling of the temptation of the Ring is one thing, and justifiably gets a lot of attention, but Faramir allowing his soldiers to beat Gollum for information is quite comparable in my mind. They're his men! Gollum is an unarmed prisoner! I guess it's meant to show the exigencies of war or something and I'm just like ... hahaha no.

In a way it reminds me of film Aragorn just straight up killing the Mouth of Sauron in a way that seems meant to show their desperation in a badass cathartic way, and meanwhile, I'm thinking ... oh, our heroes murder ambassadors now. I feel like it's the same underlying kind of rationale, and quite far from not matching people's headcanons.

#faramir ordering his men to handle gollum gently and aragorn not actually killing sauron's (human) envoy are not people's headcanons #they're things that objectively happened (or didn't happen) in the source material being adapted #like the argument about how significant the divergences are is one you can have (obviously i find them very significant) #the argument about whether the comparisons should be made at all is one you can have (obviously i think comparisons are fine) #but 'people are just mad about not seeing their headcanons on screen'? nah. points for effort though. #anghraine rants #legendarium fanwank #legendarium blogging #pj critical #jewel of the seashore #húrinionath #vagueblogging intensifies

[queen0fm0nsterz]

Ended up pirating all of Hazbin for the sake of my younger days (used to be a fan when I was around 14/15, before all the stuff with Viv came out) and I am so surprised by how I felt... nothing for the most part. Like a lot of the show's storylines feel like they was crammed in there with no real pacing. A lot of this should have been season 2 territory, which is a sentiment I've seen echoed around, but also... it feels as if the show is trying to be episodic while also having a long narrative thread, which just doesn't work with just 8 episodes. Especially not when paced like this. So I kinda ended up feeling nothing for the most part. All the events got a "Oh, great, so what?" reaction out of me because there was little to no buildup to most of them.

Sir Pentious was always a fave of mine so I was glad to see they kept him around and, though I think we should have had more episodes with him as a villain, I think how he ended up was fitting for what little of an arc he had. I am livid about what they did to Cherri and Mimzy.

I fucking loved Mimzy, I have no idea why they sent her away -- having someone like her at the Hotel would have been a blast considering how the others are already on the road to redemption. She would have balanced it out by being a regular sinner, someone who doesn't care about redemption and won't probably ever care unless it's in her best interests to. Plus her friendship with Alastor was quite cute, they bounce off of each other very well imo. Plus I could see her have a bit of a conflict with both Charlie and Vaggie because of her ways of acting. I'm so sorry they took that from you girlboss.

And Cherri... dear lord where WAS she? She should have been a lot more present. I used to like her relationship with Angel and I even think Cherrisnake is cute conceptually, but both these relationship had... little to no room to breathe imo.

#hazbin hotel critical #not putting this in the main tag #i wouldnt call myself a fan but i guess i can mourn what could have been #not considering viv and her controversities for a second... the pilot had a very nice feeling to it #that the series was not able to replicate #i think my liking of mimzy should come as a surprise to NO ONE LMAOOOO #i love evil selfish women im sorry ... sue me #we need to save mimzy sir pen and cherribomb from hazbin everyone else can rot #ok in all fairness i will give the show credit for ONE thing #i kind of enjoyed adam and lute as antagonists. adam is insufferable which is awesome #it makes it easy to hate him as a villain. and lute being his right hand woman makes sense #they read like a christian couple (term used loosely) where the man is a misogynistic asshole and the woman just kinda endorses it #which is perfect if you wanna make a critique of heaven and the humans who go in it because they repented or whatever #i always love dumbass villains who are easy to hate (mamoon from helluva being another example of a villain i enjoy) #thats it. thats all i have in terms of compliments #would love to adress the Angel Dust controversy because as a victim of SA (and CSA) myself I think there is nuance to be found in -- #-- having a discussion about how we see survivors and how we portray the abuse they endure #i was an unconventional victim too. i kind of see a glimpse of me in Angel which is why I was LIVID when I got the full picture of the -- #-- situation. but still

[nationalnerdsociety]

reminder that famous people are also just some guy, don’t put them on pedestals, be aware that they are not perfect and remember, men ain’t shit

#joker out #i read a fanfic earlier that turned into very juicy gossip on the comment section #specifically about some joker out members #don’t worry it wasn’t anything super terrible #but it was a welcome reminder that while fandom is wonderful it’s also important to remember the humanity of the people involved #and really no one is perfect #no one #people aren’t black and white and sometimes they’re shitty #that doesn’t make them bad people humans just are like that sometimes and other times they do better that’s just how it is #she deleted the fic since so i’m not gonna share the tea here but yeah #critical thinking is a great skill to have and we should all use it more

[essektheylyss]

You know, with the fact that Ryn went and got herself petrified within a day of finding out just how willing the Ruby Vanguard are to fuck a wizard up, I do think that, while the bar is very low, Essek (as he is during the course of the campaign) really does deserve some credit for never ending up in such a self-imposed pickle that he needed his allied party to show up and save him from himself. In fact, the only time the Nein directly felt the need to worry about him was when Caleb put him in danger without thinking through certain connections that would be made, and even then, that was more of Caleb feeling guilt-ridden about it than actual worrying.

And to be very clear, Essek absolutely was and still to this day in canon is in a massive, self-imposed pickle, but when it actually comes down to it, the Nein were pretty tangential and superfluous to navigating that, and he's predominantly doing the work himself.

#anyway justice for essek thelyss's wisdom score. 😔 #I do think it's higher than one would expect. #look at both caleb and percy. no shoddy wisdom scores there! still touch things that really should not be touched. #sometimes high intelligence just overrules the wisdom score and that's all there is to it. #like! essek would have just peaced if he was found out! #hilariously he even like. asks very little of the nein on behalf of the court in the course of being their handler. #they mostly do the most buckwild shit and he just teleports them around. #gave them a house and some pretty chill work through waccoh and then like. mostly let them bop around wherever lmao #barely asked questions about wtf they were up to #tbt when they were like 'yeah can you teleport us to a dragon in the middle of the arctic' and he was like 'you're insane but sure lol.' #this is not serious do not come whine to me about it. I do not wanna hear it. I have to go back to writing now I just had the thought. #critical role #essek thelyss #cr spoilers #(for ryn mention lol)

[crescentfool]

beaming everyone on the dashh with good brain day vibes!!! i hope that you all can remember to extend self-compassion to yourself whenever you're feeling down about something 💙

#lizzy speaks #the human brain works in such profound ways i think #lately i've been thinking about that post that was like 'you will always be your oldest friend take care of yourself' #it's definitely a sentiment i agree with and i appreciate how it emphasizes the importance of extending compassion to yourself #you wouldn't say such hurtful things to your friends right? (or at least i'd hope so) #so why would you say it to yourself? #you are your own friend too. and i think everyone has a beautiful soul within themselves. nurture it! water it! feed it good thoughts. #basically i wish everyone a 'i hope that your brain is not your own enemy but rather a friend that you can find comfort in' #things will work themselves out with time. there's beauty in life and you will find small delights to cherish!! i am manifesting it for u!! #and for those who find it difficult to transition from a self-critical mindset to one that's more compassionate and nonjudgmental #i truly think that with time you will be able to rewire your brain to be kinder to yourself. i'm proud of you for taking any first steps :) #there are times in which it feels counterintuitive to go against habits that feel hard-wired... but brains are very malleable littel guys- #with such a wonderful capacity for changing and learning new things. so i hope everyone can learn to be their own best friend! #not to undermine the importance of a support network ofc. that's good too and im all for that!! but i hope everyone remembers to be kind- #not only to others but also to themselves!! you're going to do great out there!! i love you all!! #ive just been thinking about this a lot... i needed to get it out there. you all shine so brightly!!! we shall be fine!!! have a good week! #sorry if this is out of nowhere but if there's anything about me you should know it's that i'm the 'hey dont cry 8 billion people on earth- #ok?' post. idk i just find great joy in knowing others are out there thriving and finding a daily delight yknow i love humanity!!

[wolves-in-the-world]

At least for the aspec part of the leverage fandom, I’m guessing it’s the heavy themes of found family between the entire crew and the queer platonic vibes of the OT3

yeah. yeah. oh man. like we have a story that prioritises relationships that aren't shown to us as romantic just as highly as the relationships that are, and we have parker who regardless of how you interpret her can be read as a-spec and loved and supported by the people around her and that's great, and we have a happy ending that says "actually, our tough guy (who doesn't seem to settle down with anyone romantically, though we see him date) would be most fulfilled with hardison and with parker, with no explicit romance, but with a lifelong promise of mutual devotion."

(it's a very important thing to me that the story works like that, with parker+eliot+hardison being totally platonic. I love other readings. I do. but what we were given, viewed through the least shippy goggles available, works. and it packs a hell of a punch.)

and listen, I've said it before but "my nana used to say that what's normal is whatever works for you" is such a beautiful sentiment to be applied to SO many things (gender, neurodiversity, queerness, polyamory, queerplatonic relationships, choosing a life of crime instead of a 'proper' career, etc), and it is lovely.

which is to say… yeah. agreed. it's great. and it does make sense. :D

#thank you and also apologies anon this is a topic I'm kind of always ready to go on #you were right and you should say it etc <3 #don't mind me #orig #ot3 thoughts #nana #folks forgive me for not acknowledging L:R much #the happy platonic ending thing is beautiful and right to me up until I try to square that away so I kinda don't #my ONLY criticism of the nana quote is like… I don't think it has to be normal to be good and okay. #but the quote is very… ''matriarch of a large family and deeply supportive.'' #it's ''I got the weird kids and dedicated myself to making sure they knew they were right just as they are'' #it's nana welcoming parker and eliot with open arms no matter how they're there. #it's nana raising breanna to be the person who could make the speech she did; heartfelt and open. #and I feel like maybe it's something she said to alec or others when they were upset about Not Being Normal #which seems like a v kind way to address it for an upset child. #''their definition of normal is the wrong one; the right one will always include what works for *you*. okay?'' #just... thank you nana hardison excuse me I need a sec <3 #also haha whoops fun way to find out I'd been slightly misquoting it #and also that the top search engine result for the misquote is. uh. my fic. #I have said enough in the tags now someone drag me out with a shepherd's crook please and thanks <3

[justarabidlittleyingzhao]

Went on reddit last night, looked for LBFaD discussions.

I'm tired. I'm angry, but I'm also tired.

Gonna rant in tags.

#like okay a show is subjective #it can be hit and miss #i know this #and characters can be hit and miss #i also know this (very very well as the weirdo who thinks Yunzhong could have been a better emperor if he just got some) #(and Ronghao should have got grief counselling because then almost all the bad stuff would *never* have happened) #but if i see one more criticism of Yu Shuxin i'm gonna scream #she's playing a character #she's an actress #they're ALL actors #they're ALL playing characters #why were there so many people conflating the two #and then there were the really nasty personal insults of some of the actors that i read with my own two eyeballs #everyone has their favourites but to go out in public and insult - not just the characters - but the actors playing them??? #why are people like that #was it too much to expect intelligent discussion #i mean objectively i can make myself see some of the points made #but i got real tired real quick of reading the same things over and over #i don't know if the rejection of Orchid is cultural or if we've just been conditioned to 'despise' certain portrayals of femininity? #when i first watched LBFaD i was SO into it #but then i think i implicitly understood what the dynamics between Orchid and DFQC were supposed to be and i absolutely loved them #to me they were the embodiment of persephone and hades #and the development of Orchid's relationship with DFQC is exactly everything i ever headcanoned that particular greek myth would be like #in the end these are actors who took risks and made decisions with their director about how to perform their characters #and i appreciate the risks they took because they would have *known* these were Risks in terms of audience reception #anyway #after emerging from reddit feeling sadder #angrier #and like i needed a bath to wash it all off #i'm reminded once more why i *do* prefer this hellsite better than others