#sometimes we attack each other because it’s easier to go after weaker targets

[rotationalsymmetry]

I, uh, haven’t watched the Lindsay Ellis video yet, but tentatively my opinion before watching it (here, have a salt shaker, maybe I’ll follow up after) is:

Sometimes the social justice world goes a little hard on “anything other than an immediate and thorough apology that contains nothing except apology stuff, means the person is the worst person ever” and, like...people are more complicated than that, and also actions speak louder than words.

For instance: does popular sex advice columnist Dan Savage sometimes mess up big? Yup. Does he tend to get defensive and make things worse when people tell him he messed up? Yep. Does he tend to keep on doing the exact same thing that got people pissed off at him? For all the examples I can think of off the top of my head, no. He doesn’t apologize, but he does actually change his behavior, and that’s more important.

(Of course it’s valid for anyone to decide they personally don’t want anything to do with him.)

Realistically, sometimes people can say exactly the right things on command but still do the wrong things, other times people say the wrong things but they’re still listening and they change their behavior for the better.

And that’s just talking about cases when the accusation/call-out/whatever is justified, which it is not always.

People are flawed and complex, and any movement is inevitably made up of people. So, you need to look at a person’s overall track record.

#discourse #political #social justice #cancel culture #hey kids the left wing circular firing squad is not anything new #even if the language for it has changed #sometimes we attack each other because it’s easier to go after weaker targets #it is not ideal #I am not eager to find out why her being a rape survivor is supposedly relevant

[strosmkai-rum]

ADDITIONAL DRAGON SHOUT USE HEADCANONS

note: these are headcanons for the use of shouts by dragons. also known as, bethesda, i KNOW dragons know more shouts than the three or four they use in game. so here. every shout covered.

- fire breath. oh. oh. 

- okay but definitely fire breath shouts have different colors like to show how hot/strong the flame is

- a really bright red that sputters a lot or catches in their throat means that they don't quite understand the meaning yet, and it'll take more meditation/practise before they can get a constant orange stream of fire

- so we know how fire breath looks in game. it's a stream of orange flame. well i raise you:

- the fire will burn hotter and change color (red to orange to white to light blue, see the charts abt fire color or something idk what they called), and even stagger the user if it's too strong.

- very, very strong fire breath shouts have the impact of unrelenting force, so first they destroy anything in their way with the sheer impact and anything else is melted by an actual stream of lava/that shit is definitely not fire at that point, lava's the only comparison i have even if lava not blue- 

- i fucking hate that in game if you use fire breath on a rock it'll like, be burnt only. enough understanding of fire breath and you can turn anything into slag.

- fire is just so cool. maybe some dragons like roasted meat, like huge scaly gordon ramsays. maybe they shout at some ground so they have a warm place to sleep. it’s canon that it’s greeting though, so a weak fire breath to say hello not friend, i will not roast you alive and instead slightly warm you.

- frost breath. a stream of icy wind IN GAME. not really here, though. i agree that it’s something like an icy wind, but has extreme power and force behind it, and while fire breath will roast you, frost breath will just plain fuck you up if you try to hold your ground. you won’t get the chance to be frozen, you’ll just go flying.

- weak understandings make a really cold breath. sort of how in winter you can see your breath? yeah, that’s a weak frost breath.

- strong understandings will cause most things to frost over. it has the effect of a weaker ice form, but with a lot more versatility. 

- both fire breath and frost breath are commonly used in sweeping motions, as opposed to focusing on one target. let’s face it, what kind of a human can stand up to even half a second of that? it’s a lot more efficient in taking out big groups, or destroying the terrain to give them a disadvantage.

- ice everywhere. that is all.

- ice form now, hehe. so! don’t try to block it. your shield or arm is gonna get cast in ice and be useless/immediately shatter. yeah, that’s right. you don’t thaw out of an ice form, you explode. into lots of frozen pieces. 

- but, let’s say, you don’t like my exploding hc. that’s fine. i raise you, person frozen in a solid chunk of ice that would put the sea of ghosts to shame. they not gonna thaw out in time to be saved. sorry. no escape.

- call dragon is used when, you know, calling other dragons. other dragons know other dragons, so it’s either a challenge, or a call for help. or, in paarthurnax’s case, bro i just wanted to talk nO DONT SHOUT-

-  being called for aid in a battle is an honor and a sign of trust between dragons imo, shows that you trust them enough to cover you when you need aid and that they’re strong enough to pull you out of whatever crap you’re in.

- storm call. beautiful. it's control over kynareth's domain, so yeah, kind of an ego boost. but also mad useful in a fight, striking down your opponents with lightning. dragon's can't fly while using this, as a bolt could hit them instead. and oh boy, they're strong. can easily tear a whole through a wing or break a plate.

- clear skies is funny too. can you imagine a heavy downpour and some dragon’s trying to sleep without the ground turning to slush, so he just shouts the storm out of the skyr? incredible. just as storm call can summon one, clear skies gets rid of it. the stronger shout prevails. but use it enough times in succession, and kyne might get a bit pissed off…

- oh, i can def see drain vitality used after a rough battle, dragon needs healing stat so they find a crowded area/a big animal and steal their life force. an easy way to heal up.

- dismay would be used with battles against huge numbers of people/a literal army. it’s sort of like mind control, but you can only control the effect, and that’s about it. make them scared and stuff. for some people, they’ll turn tail and run. others maybe hesitate. others don’t care. won’t work against akaviri though. stoicism and all. or other dragons. 

- cyclone would be hella useful against big groups. great for sowing chaos. 

- disarm. ah yes. used, quite often, in battles with worthy opponents. say an akaviri. say some words, and their katana goes flying. it’s a great intimidation tactic. oh, try to hold onto it too, and you can easily snap your wrist or fingers. 

- and i say worthy opponents, as in "mortals that were specifically trained to fight dragons/are incredibly powerful, not your average soldier".

- marked for death, oh i like this. so the wiki description is that the opponent’s life force and armor are weakened. can you imagine battling a dragon, they shout at you, and suddenly your armor just...starts disintegrating? like there’s holes forming, straps holding armor plates together disintegrating entirely, and any wounds you have are opening up like chasms. it’s devastating. used against a dragon, their scales start to grow brittle and weak, so it's a lot easier to break a plate.

- slow time, ah, this would be a huge huge ego boost. time’s akatosh’s domain. it doesn’t stop for anyone, but maybe it’ll slow down a bit for dragons.

- hc that dragons are not affected by slow time. they’re fragments of akatosh, the time god. they sure won’t slow down. neither will the db. so imagine one of them uses slow time, and suddenly there’s this normal paced battle one on one, with everything else at a standstill/veeery slow, until time catches up and everyone but them. is so out of it and jaded bc humans can’t really comprehend time, they’ve like a hundred years at most (hc that bretons live slightly longer due to slight mer blood). elves have a more firm grasp of it, esp altmer. yeah, yeah, they’ve a right to brag here.

- additional thoughts, maybe stuff affected by slow time either:

1. has normal running thoughts but physically is slowed down (not very probable imo, but still possible)

2. has both slowed consciousness and physical form (most probable)

- bend will. aha. now this, works on the dragonborn as well as other dragons. it’s pretty much mind control. you need a strong willpower to break free, though. 

- unrelenting force. nice. it is strong. trees are easily uprooted. boulders fly. people fly too. no matter who you are, though, always brace yourself before using it, because you could go flying too.

- dragons won't get thrown back too far, but maybe they'll jump back or take flight for a second before landing again. 

- dragonrend. no. they’re mad scared of it. mad scared. partially the reason they hate and fear akaviri. a dragon can’t comprehend dragonrend, because it’s mortality in a shout. and for most of them, what they don’t understand, they fear.

- whirlwind sprint is interesting to say the least. so, the db can use it and...run really fast? so how does it work for dragons? they can't run, per se, so here's my take.

- maybe dragons can use it while flying. probably super useful in aerial combat with other dragons. it lets them quickly dodge shouts, change direction unpredictably, and stay out of their reach.

- become ethereal, oh, oh. just, can you imagine a fucking dragon turns blue during a fight and suddenly you can’t hurt them? heehoo. it’s not used very often, as become ethereal's best used when you’re not doing too hot and need to heal up a second. not much can get them to that point. but it’d be so funny though.

- aura whisper isn’t very commonly used, actually. dragons have incredible sight and smell, they’d probably sense anyone way before they could approach. by the way bethesda, what’s that thing called “i can sneak up on a dragon?” yeah, no. you can’t.

- kyne’s peace, maybe if they’re really not having it with the local wildlife and just want to nap in peace. but i don’t think that many bears or wolves will threaten a dragon.

- animal allegiance isn’t used much either; they’ve no use for the local flora. there’s not much stronger than a dragon. maybe sometimes they use it to acknowledge kyne’s gifts, and that animals/nature can be worthy allies.. 

- elemental fury is kind of an ehh, skyrim says it lets you swing faster. maybe it lets them fly faster/use teeth/talons/wing claws faster? i'd imagine it's only applicable to physical attacks, though.

- battle fury’s a maybe. it’s for allies, and i don’t think there were too many references in game about dragons being super close with each other. i could definitely be wrong though. they do call themselves brothers and sisters, but maybe it’s just a shared blood thing.

- throw voice is practically useless in game. dragons wouldn't want to hide anyways, unless grievously wounded. 

- soul tear i'd imagine only durnehviir knows, and for good reasons too.

- call of valor isn’t here, for obvious reasons.

- dragon aspect i wouldn't think, as it's meant for the db to take on a draconic aspect. can't get much more draconic than an actual dragon.

- alduin’s meteor storm shout isn’t actually a shout, mans just roars. 

- alduin’s shout to resurrect dragons i’d assume would only be known by him, and other dragons are unable to comprehend the meaning of the shout. so, the words of the shout are slen (flesh), tiid (time), vo (un, like the prefix). so has his own grip on time, and can use it to bring dragons back to life, provided they still have their soul. 

- look, there’s gotta be a better explanation as to why other dragons can’t use it. maybe they can use it. but then the ability bring other dragons back to life would be so widespread, the dragon war probably would have ended a lot sooner and not with the outcome we wanted. so maybe only alduin truly understands the meaning of death and rebirth, having destroyed the world many times before, only to be reborn with it and repeating the cycle again and again. 

- universal hc that lots of words in dragon speech can be used in different shouts with interchangeable meanings.

you’re at the end. good. listen here. journalism class is on my ass about articles and shit. i’m going to be busy from now. i had some stuff to slowly give to you guys to give me time to make more, but i caved and released them all at once. give me some time. please. sorry if these weren’t quite up to par with my last ones, but i said “hey, imma release two thing today” and it’s12:08 am here. 

can you tell i’m super tired? i wrote like half of these half asleep. 

#skyrim #tes #dragon #shouts #magic #lore #headcanons #my headcanons