#now who do you should blame?

[roseofcards90]

This bitch really said he was going to be gone for a “long time” and then he went straight back home right after he cried at his mom’s place lmaooo

#he blamed me for driving away bro you were the one who went crying to your 80 yr old parents’ house #what a man child and now he’s making my mom cry again #you shouldn’t even call yourself a spouse you should just rot in a hole #I hope you die <3 #and then once you do die my deceased father will go beat your ass because if he was alive he wouldn’t fucking tolerate any of this shit #my posts

[gilbirda]

love when people panic and change their url on a whim and/or delete their blog and break my links in a resources post (sarcasm)

#gil talks #vent #if there is one thing i hate with passion in tumblr is that it gives people the power to completely erase valuable knowledge in a second #yes people should have the freedom to do whatever the fuck they want with their blog now and forever and im not placing blame on them #but c'mon tumblr if someone changes their url for fucks sake dont give me back a 'doesnt exist' message #truly a horrible bug #for people who like to nuke their online presence every few years is definitely a feature because you entire online identity is gone #and there's no way to find you with old posts or old name #but c'mon #when i find a old masterpost of 'useful blogs' 100% half of those links get a 'doesn't exist' error #mostly because those people moved on from a 'cringe phase' and changed the url #and now im left with a list linking back to OP's blog and genuinely giving credit to the original poster but guess what it's useless #from now on im linking to my reblogs of useful posts and people can look into the OP blog on their own #sounds cheap and like im promoting my blog and tbh reblogs are the only way information doesn't get completely obliterated in this place

[nobodybetterlookatme]

Okay I'm not saying that this semester's students suck ass bc I'm not there to teach them, but isn't it just such a coincidence that the vast majority are failing so miserably and they don't have someone who will tutor them outside of class and go over notes and skills with them, while the previous semesters did have that and the majority passed? Super interesting stuff. Too bad we'll never know if things could've been different if they had just fucking paid me :)

#can you tell I'm peeved lmao #i went to one of the classes today just so i can keep it on my resume #and holy fuck #weeks into the semester and they should have the basics down #they do not #absolutely floundering #granted I'm sure I'm not actually the reason lmao #like yeah i helped a shit ton of students outside class too #but they probably could've passed without me #these new ones tho are awful #no drive no nothing just looking for others to blame for their own failures #i didn't even stay the whole time like i was planning #bc i found out that they hired four other fucking people for the program #who all have less experience than me #and have been with the program for a way shorter time than i have #who don't do half the extra shit i do #and don't get me wrong this isn't a slight at them they're all fully qualified #but why the fuck not hire me #like i genuinely am so pissed #have to email my supervisor but I'm too upset to make it sound civil #like fucking fine if you don't wanna pay me you never get to see me again #I'm not working ten hour days plus extra outside of class for nothing anymore that's insane #I'll keeping being a private tutor for the students but I'm not doing a single thing for the program without pay #i mean holy shit hiring at least four other people and not saying shit to me?? #like fine that's fine fuck you you're getting an email ultimatum good luck finding someone else willing to do all that for free #i cried about it for like an hour and now I'm just mad lmao having a super normal one rn #anyway #not snz

[swordmaid]

so I was looking up the tenets for lolth’s paladins and I found this little list. not sure how canon exactly this is but I thought it was interesting -

kind of laughing that shri’iia does the exact opposite in act 1 which leads to her oath breaking. she girlflopped so badly lolth decides to drop her ass then prob hunt her ass down for being an embarrassment and a failure. like girly was not exerting her power at all - it’s her first time in the surface ever and she’s surrounded by people who could literally kill her any given moment (considering all the stories she heard abt how surface dwellers hates drow) not to mention that the tieflings you encounter when you see lae’zel were ready to attack you that just fueled her paranoia. > she was not sowing discord at all she was laying low and keeping her mouth shut …!! she has no allies here! and she doesn’t know where she is! and there’s an illithid tadpole in her head! it would be foolish of her to paint herself as an enemy when she’s already so out of her environment so she keeps her mouth shut … thoughts to herself … bides her time and sees who’s useful to her and who’s not … she can always get rid of the ones that she doesn’t need later but for now she’s seeing what she can work with first …… > have a plan… shri’iia had no plans…. at all. she was following lae’zel around because the crèche was her only lead … but then they mentioned a druid named halsin who’s a very good healer so she turned her objective to that … then a goblin mentions their priestess is a healer too so guess she’s looking for her as well… honestly who thought making the drow who’s never been to the surface and literally does not know where she is or what she's doing the leader of the group a good idea….. in my hc the leader is gale

#but I’m like 🤭🤭🤭 at the idea of shri’iia being considered an embarrassment by Lolth just bc apparently lolth paladins are pretty rare #like she doesn’t give her blessings easily and they mostly go to her clerics but to a paladin … and for someone who’s not noble birth too…. #like she had potential ..!! she was mentored by a matriarch of a noble house ..!! but then she flopped soo badly 😭😭 #and I hc mid/the end of act 1 she still hasn’t accepted that she’s an oathbreaker and she’s still delusional thinking that she can get #lolth’s favour again it’s like no 💗 girly. she hates your ass 💓 if you ever return to menzoberranzan she’ll turn you into a drider probably #and it’s only in act 2 where she accepts that she is an Oathbreaker. and she does Not need Lolth. and Lolth doesn’t deserve her (delusion) #but I love that idea for her bc she was So proud of herself … and she devoted herself to her goddess to the point that her sense of self is #essentially Gone.. but then she gets rejected. so now the thing she’s most proud of is taken away from her #by HER own actions no less .. like she can’t blame anyone bc it’s her own fault ..!! and that’s what stings more ..!!!!! she’s the one who #fumbled the bag … so it’s like where do u go when the very thing you dedicated your whole life to rejected you #and you’re so far away from home. and you CAN’T even go back home.. where do you go. no choice but to keep going…. #then she eventually accepts the role as an oath breaker bc it's the only thing she has left. her oath no longer binds her ; every choice #she makes is hers and hers alone.. which is so ..!! girls when you're faced to reclaim your own agency or else you'll fall into the void #you're left with ...!!!!!!! also it is so perfect bc the oathbreaker dialogues are all abt freedom and agency of self. #being free from dogma and making your own decisions! and you also want others to be free too … #and the fact that the oath breaker knight helps you make that decision I hc she becomes similar to him as well #where if someone chooses they want to be free she will help them … but it has to be their own choice … #which ties in perfectly with the act 2 and 3 quests esp for the companions .. all abt making ur own decisions … #so the leadership role goes from gale then to her … #should be heading to bed bc I have an early start tomorrow but hrk head filled w thoughts of my oc... #but act 1 shri'iia is essentially her getting such a bad grade at being Lolth-Sworn Drow that lolth disowns her 😭 #im so ill at the thought of her not being able to return to menzo tho ... i dont think the underdark is safe for her either like she should #b getting hunted like sport .... maybe thats why she released the vampire spawns down there lol #like <3 revenge. everyone loves revenge especially an ex oath of vengeance girly <3

[yappacadaver]

and it's like despite all the awful shit he's done and continues to do, like, i get it. he's employed like 24/7/365. he never got to live a life, despite spending a childhood clinging to the hope of having one someday. He knew companionship and love but lost it and can't ever get it back. His circumstances are so anomalous and gruesome that it completely isolates him from pretty much every other human being on the planet. he knows hell is real and he is basically guaranteed to go there if he can't break this demon curse thing.

like it doesn't make the kidnapping and spreading the curse around any better, but i do get it.

#like personally i don't blame him for the actual murders #and it's hard to blame him for hiring people without telling them because like lol. #anyone who's like 'oh he should just tell ppl about the demons' like what are you onnnnnn if you went to a job interview with a creepy old #guy and he started talking about demons and hauntings and shit you would think you're being pranked or that he's lost his damn mind #and fuck offffff with the 'ohhh not me im a quirky bean i'd love to take a job if the interview was like that' like sure. ok. maybe YOU wou #but what are the odds that milford in 1998 coming off the satanic panic has a thousand yous running around waiting to be hired #like i honestly dont have any suggestions for how he could have handled the hiring situation any better #now the actual JOB i have plenty of feedback #like yea he should be there to train your ass against the demons lol we got more hands-on guidance for the embalming (the non deadly part) #but like the whole 'raymond is evil cause he kills possessed ppl and hires people without telling them abt demons' #do you think that old man can run the whole mortuary by himself and also have time to teach classes #until he inevitably dies from either stress or the demons and is sent to hell (which he knows is real)? #it's my understanding that by having others around who can help him fight the demons he'll have the spare time to figure out how to #break out of the demon curse or break possession or literally any useful information that could treat the disease and not the symptoms #he is running out of time!!! he is only getting older and the demons are only getting more frequent and someday he won't be fit enough #to properly banish them!!! if you even care!!!!!!!!! #fucking tag essay lmao #mr delver i wont u...

[themyscirah]

Philippus? Wym philippus this is a wholeass other woman?????? She's white?????? Guys come on now

ALSO cursed white Euboea in this same sequence.... homeboy she's Asian please stop

Joe Phillips I'm sorry but this is some shitty ass guest pencilling how can you not know anything abt what these people look like thats literally your job... you also just needed to read the issue before this to know?

Editors should have caught this one these are major Amazon characters

#also i did a quick wiki check for one thing and basically confirmed that i was right about this entire arc so i win i guess 💪💪💪💪 #like “the amazons are starting some crazy murder shit!” are they really now. which amazons may i ask? are you sure its not the bana- #oh yep its the baba mighdall. well then. TOTALLY didnt see this coming (said w love) #i mean its like maybe im being perceptive but they literally showed two of them in their armor and had one say phthia aka one of the #founders of the bana. like okay i had to do a wiki to check that and obvi id know slightly more than a pérez run reader abt them #(but not much honestly ive read the same stuff they wouldve just plus some fandom osmosis/knowing who artemis is) but i digress. do think he #maybe could have put showing them off but i understand the motive of not wanting readers to go months thinking the amazons were chopping #ppls heads off. but they could have teased the mind control red herring (probably? think it was a red herring although it could pop back up #the arc is still ongoing) a little bit more considering weve had dr psycho starting shit for the past 4 (at LEAST) issues but well whatever #anyways the pencilling on this one needed help like its not even a coloring issue at the core of it its legit this guest guy drawing #totally different people... very lame #anyways maybe im too quick to blame it all on the bana i am only halfway through the arc #like i do think it is the bana. i think thats the answer. but again dr psycho IS causing problems and theres been hints of the cheetah being #involved (“animal attack” killings + a shot of her in arkham) AND circe was namedropped (although now we know it was dr psycho) but im still #slightly suspicious bc there seems to be possesed animals... like they are v much laying different hints and pathways here #but i think its the bana. i think its psycho fucking around and also the bana and MAYBE a psycho controlled cheetah or the bana mimicing her #patterns. or are the bana even there if psychos involved??? he could just be fucking around then- okay you know what. maybe im less sure of #this than i thought and should just read more. wait but how would psycho even know about the bana to have ppl hallucinate hed just use the #themyscirans-- okay i need to read more im getting distracted. the bana are definitely involved though im calling it. its them and maybe #psycho. and maybe cheetah. and maybe circe but likely not bc we already established that was a false lead. unless that was also a trick. and #WHAT ABT ARES ALL THE STOLEN ARTIFACTS HAD TO DO WITH WAR-- #.... guys im losing it. fuck it im saying its all giganta and calling it a day i cant do this #no but i love how this mystery is set up its like they just dropped clues for every single ww villain onto it and said “here. good luck.” #this is before the big ww crossover too so it could actually be all of them im losing my mind here. WHO IS IT #ive twisted myself in a circle here i dont know anything now. only that i did call it if it was the bana. or if theres mind control or smth #sus about heracles cup. i also called that although its seeming less and less likely now that the bana and psycho are likely involved. and #maybe cheetah. and circe. and ares. guys im falling apart here #what was the point of this post then? oh shitty guest pencilling and editor flops. the editor flop part i can understand im sure they were #busy even if this is a big thing to miss imo. the penciller though is just silly come on now. someone should have caught that. anyways-- #swishy liveblogs

[social-cocoon]

People will really say ascended Astarion isn't abusive with their whole chest huh

#You tell him you want to be a true vampire and he only ever says he'll do it later despite there being no good reason not to do it now #He keeps you as a spawn even though HE HAS STRAIGHT UP SAID that spawn are less than slaves #He breaks up with you if you don't want to be a spawn. Repeat. He breaks up with you if he cannot own and control you #If you refuse the bite he'll later say he should have turned you anyway to teach you a lesson #He's pretty aggressive if you break up with him pre-endgame. Compare this to spawn Astarion who is hurt but respects your decision #If you try to break up with him in the endgame he laughs and calls you stupid and says that your future is his to decide #He doesn't even say a genuine 'I love you'. He says 'I love you. Isn't that what you've been wanting to hear?' #If Karlach is the PC he will try to turn her and when that doesn't work he'll blame her and call her broken #Like. Headcanon away. Write fix-it fics. Whatever #But ascended Astarion as he is in the game is not a good person and not a good partner #Also interesting to note wrt the pre-endgame breakup #Unless you're Durge or eat the astral tadpole you can't back out of breaking up with spawn Astarion once it's started #But you can back out of breaking up with ascended Astarion

[parsleymusic]

the urge to respond to critique about portrayal of unpolitically correct attitudes or phrases or actions or whatever in regards to mental illness with "what if I told you that it's not my job to tell my readers that when my character says stuff like 'my binge eating disorder is not as bad as my brother's bipolar + PTSD combination; he has to win at something' that it's Bad and the Wrong Attitude to have when it's largely a tongue in cheek joke about living with mental illness and watching the people you love experience a different flavor that is also worse

#one of my characters tells another character that her grandmother committed suicide #and the critiquer said that I should have said died by suicide #because that is now the “correct” way to talk about suicide #and... I know that #I work in the psychology field #and i'm aware of how speech impacts perception #however #my character does not care about this distinction #and honestly neither do I #it doesn't matter to me whether or not you say “committed suicide” or “died by suicide” #and I have had someone close to me kill themselves #it fucking sucks but no amount of “died by suicide” takes away the reality of the action being performed by the person dying #imo it's a cheap trick that purports to discern the complexities of suicide in that people who do it aren't fully to blame for it #but it doesn't! that conversation needs to happen in full without shying away from the reality that the person did choose to die! #I just... I don't know #i want to portray life as it is not as we wish it to be and I'm not writing a message book about mental illness #also this critiquer comes from the YA space and this book is adult and I fear that the gearing towards YA generally meaning a more actively #condemning attitude towards “problematic” attitudes regarding characters that doesn't have to be present in adult fiction #dealing with someone else's mental illness for years and years is taxing and takes a toll on you and that's problematic sometimes #but you know what! everything is! #/this person had a lot of good things to say but there is something so blah about this in particular #“say die by suicide” #no #anyway

[veikkoalen]

the inability of the fandom to find a balance between diminishing the role of the human willpower and diminishing the capabilities of extradimensional gods strikes again

#some things should remain schrödingered forever #“is it zane or scratch?” yes #“did alan trapped himself or the dark place?” yes #yeah bro you're just a dumbfuck for self sabotaging we've already explained what to do in fucking songs. keep suffering #will we show you directly what to do? no. have some vague wording. and also you're tom now. reason – you must know yourself #all that rubs me the worst way cuz guess who has been mocked and yelled at for not knowing how to do things without normal instructions #mind you he had no idea he's a fucking parautilitirian. yeah you could just use your sage powers. you couldn't know about them? skill issue #yall just hindsight biased #try to find a meaning in the damn musical song when you keep dying and dying and dying #if you blame the guy for suffering and not the gods for getting mad at him when theyre the ones who have no clue how to say things directly #begone #and if you start the “ohh but that's not how it works in the dark place” bullshit then the dark place *does* have agency #and you just like making the insanity look stupid #no idea how to call this hill but i will die on it #it's not the hell of only alan's making #fuck all the godly vagueposting i fucking hate it. if you talk to the thing that perceives itself as human than talk to it like it's human #and don't blame the human for not following your instructions because they're fucking impossible to comprehend when you die as a hobby

[widevibratobitch]

.

#im so tired of this lalalalalalalalaa #something is Wrong lol #i really need this therapy on wednesday but guess WHAT im not going. im going to a funeral instead 🤡 #and ill be singing in that stupid fucking church because have to but i dont fucking wanna i hate doing it and i hate churches #all i feel rn is the overwhelming urge to selfdestruct and like obv im not gonna kms now #but im so fucking angry that im not even *allowed* to do that anymore. like it was such a comfort all this time to know that i can just Quit #and now i cant because guess what someone has to take care of my mother 🫠 and im so fucking tired of being someone people depend on #to handle THEIR feelings and THEIR emotions and just take it all with humility and acceptance and kindness and never snap and bite back #like i dont WANNA hear about your dead husband i dont wanna hear about your stupid fucking boyfriend #i dont wanna hear about the new guy/girl who's hitting on you because you're so hot and perfect #i dont wanna be responsible for how people feel. i should just shut up and take it and be humble and never ask or expect anything back #but when is it MY turn to call at 1 am crying about how im tired and want to kms #or to start expecting shit of people and allow myself to get properly angry at them for not meeting those expectations #or to braggingly 'complain' about something the other person clearly lacks without any consideration for their feelings #or to just openly cry and say deeply personal shit without any filter not caring if that other person is clearly uncomfortable af #because *i* need it right now and i need someone to listen and let them worry about how to even respond to that stuff #im just so tired of people expecting shit of me im tired of being made responsible even tho i clearly cannot handle that responsibility #i wanna be mean i wanna snap and get angry and openly say that i dont give a shit and am tired and cant listen to this rn #but i cant because i have to be a motherfucking mother theresa and never dare to demand something for myself #and idk where that comes from. idk if it's coming from the fanatic catholicism of my childhood or my mother or just from myself and idc #i just feel so horrible and guilty and wrong for wanting anything for myself #and it once again feels like im making myself the victim and the tortured martyr here when i should just shut up and take it #i just wanna lie down and die and not care about who'll get angry or judge or blame me for it im tired and i dont know what to do #i want someone to take care of ME and reassure ME and make ME feel like i matter and that they really will help me if i ever need it #and that they'd be kinda sad if i were gone not because i had a role to fulfill that i failed at by killing myself but because i am a person #<- math calculations flying around my head as i come to the terrible realisation #of just why exactly im so deeply obsessed with my voice teacher (aside from her being literally the most beautiful woman alive lol) 🤡 #like babygirl stop being so utterly overwhelmingly kind to me my knees are weak i would do anything for you queen and I MEAN IT

[unproduciblesmackdown]

like hearing an autistic person talking abt realizing like "oh so friendships for some ppl don't involve always having to maintain a performance" and going damn right yeah and now "oh so friendships for some ppl involve their getting to expect that the other ppl will be interested in them and provide support" like huh go figure. more surprising like oh right i guess i always felt like interactions require maintaining a performance that can only go wrong (generally true; like there's no "well you're ruining things by keeping ppl from being the Real You so just Be Yourself" like a] masking isn't Real or done by Yourself or b] like if you unmask people like you now & ableism is over, b/c it was your fault for reacting to it in the first place) & thus also that i should be interested & provide support but not expect that in turn / the sense as well that you are/can only come up short and have things to make up for anyways while lucky whoever's even providing the time of day

then it's always an Exercise to go "oh right well beyond going [my god autistic character] the whole time, what Things re: winston billions was i still not quite seeing as as unusual / Not Good as they are. even for billions" like sure noticing he's holding on to the hopes of some kind of positive / actual relationship w/rian for like year 950 & this manifesting with the Determined Friendliness but zooming in like oh i guess that adamant amicability sure involves winston suppressing a negative reaction to negative treatment and yet still hoping for an improvement, which like, was always Possible but a) hinged on rian simply choosing to change how she regards/treats him (or someone intervening to change the situation) & b) apparently is not going to happen. thinking like yeah that's very Friendly of him. and knowing like man winston's sure still trying to keep this friendliness offer open for like two years. but also now more specifically going like Yeah and pretty fucked then that his baseline expectations don't include that Mutual Interest & Support (though someone being abusive is definitely interested just not in any good ways. and certainly not (actually) supportive)

#and then in immediate retrospect it's like I Mean I Knew It & even now to be saying it feels like i've effectively already said it #just more precise/specific Language available. & where even if it's like [restating this one idea] that's gonna say smthing new / a bit dif #winston billions #from the [immediately going HM HUH first time seeing his clips but taking months to be like He's Autistic(tm) Btw IMO] to now struggling to #say another Ay Word in discussing [he has a devoted workplace bully] as Abuse(tm) when plenty of what's abusive is considered ''normal'' or #correct or even Ideal while defining Abuse as xtreme outliers due to evil intentions & extraordinary situations (that you should avoid) #it's power structures & efforts to control & use/refuse people as things....plenty of ppl who can feel they're just acting Normal & Natural #while other ppl in entire groups Do have to perform which can only go wrong & be hurt / get that everyday trauma from their Normalcy. #those allistic social skills huh (again tldr invoking this concept just Is ableism....) #after a casual twenty plus years w/the gradual convergence of [figuring out i'm autistic] & [not blaming myself for being mistreated b/c #i'm autistic] does put a damper on expectations re: all interactions but it's like the way someone put it the other day #who hasn't said anything abt being autistic but that they don't think anyone's guaranteed any kinds of relationships/companionship incl #friendships (which i agree with; & it's not at all uncommon for ppl to be hard up for those out here. despite ppl treating socializing like #a meritocracy like hmm anyone doesn't have friends? sounds like that's on you not getting good / deserving that) & so he consciously #navigates how to like be genuinely satisfied w/a life that's just got him in it while being open to other ppl. thinking of how i've heard #abt Just That re: autistic ppl (but framed specifically re: dating; like might want a romantic relationship but ofc no one's guaranteed one #of those either (even if this too is definitely treated like in fact you Are guaranteed one & it is Again a meritocracy) And ofc there's #more barriers/hurdles for autistic ppl) & just going like yeah i've sure been always navigating that too while being open to ppl sure but #not feeling like i need that to change & sure asf not focusing on Putting Myself Out There lmao. i put myself out there by existing & by #saying things & by trying not to try to preemptively appease/appeal to anyone. seeing another quote today abt how they're nonverbal & this #results in being regarded as hostile like eugh been there enough; classic [putting myself out there] dramedy of terrors from back in the #day as a teen living on college figuratively sprinting around trying to figure it out; both the Autistacity & Abuse lol. & racking up more #of the latter for the former while i'm at it....nowadays like. certainly recent successes in [spontaneous alignments of being friends] had #to start w/like weeks into months of i'm not expecting someone else to have interest & in fact Am expecting; if nothing else; them to #realize w/e interest motivates them to talk w/me to be mistaken or w/e. as i'm struggling not to mask / beating back efforts to actively #appeal to anyone. being duly surprised when after months they still feel like talking to me. & even then just kind of entering another #phase of ''well but still'' lol like when interactions have largely felt like Buying Time at best #def on the same page as that guy like even [have friends] is not a Need. when i could go ''time to recharge socially'' & make it happen #what i like to do is go be in public '''''by myself'''' around ppl. truly the good shit. doing that kind of shit w/ppl has = nth wheeling. #now insert a short essay spinning off all this abt an approach to Language parallel to [concepts re Socializing] as tag thirty

[redflannelsheets]

One day I hope I’ll love someone who doesn’t want to hide me in a dark crevice away from their “real” life where I can’t make them look bad to their family and friends. One day I hope I’ll love someone who knows what I want to eat when my tummy feels grumbly or wants to cook me a meal because I’m precious to them and they want to take care of me. One day I hope I’ll love someone who actually wants to cuddle me on cold days instead of wearing jeans and shoes until bedtime and putting all sorts of devices between me and them. One day I hope I’ll love someone who wants to love me back instead of hurling me away like trash. One day I hope I’ll love someone who doesn’t seem to see me as just part of the furniture.

One day.

#i’m allowed to feel sad and slightly bitter when i’m not feeling great #this isn’t an all-the-time thing #but since I was *was* hurled away #can you blame me for thinking about it sometimes? #clearly i’m not getting in your face about it #i’m cowardly posting on a tumblr you’ll probably never look at again and hiding my extra grumbly bullshit in the tags #i don’t think I’ll be emailing you any time soon if ever again #i listen to my dreams and my dreams tell me *she hates me* #i remember when you said that hipster bint hated me #and i never asked you more about it but i should have #like how does someone who has never even interacted with me hate me? #did you talk about me? #did she see my pictures? #i’m still really confused about that #and i can see why the last one—prob still current one—hates me #if you’ve even mentioned me that is #i only told you to be honest and tell her about me so you could have a clean slate without my interference #somehow i think you interpreted this as a threat #i wish I’d communicated better #can’t do anything about it now #i’m just a pot plant #never mind me

[daz4i]

sometimes it's fun to hear abt how certain scams came down (at least when they have a happy ending and the people hurt get refunds or some other compensation) but man. there's always people who are gonna say "this was so obviously a scam and anyone who fell for it is just stupid" and i find that. upsetting ig? especially when the red flags are things you have to actively look for/be relatively well versed in certain topics to notice

like i watched a video breaking down the day before and how its scam went down and everyone in the comments is talking abt how stupid gamers are and only very little people are like "hey. most people don't read game news or follow every trailer and update about games, they just see one cool trailer and want to buy the game" and even then! people respond to it saying "well that's stupid, you shouldn't do that" like bro i don't think it's fair to expect people to research every product they're gonna buy 😭 online stores yes (as in, don't give your money to dubious sites who will steal your information or just take the money and run), but this was hosted on steam. read reviews maybe, but we're talking about pre-release wishlisting or first day purchases. obviously with the gift of hindsight this is very easy to mock, especially if you ARE the type of person who's involved in gaming news and thus knows what red flags to look for, but the vast majority of people aren't and it just feels unfair

ig that's the core of it?? it's unfair. like if someone gets away with a scam you shouldn't blame the people scammed, you should blame the scammer, who usually knows how to manipulate their words and promises all in order to get people to pay them, and hopefully get away with it through loopholes. by calling people stupid for getting manipulated, you only serve the manipulator and show other potential manipulators they can get away with it too if they just target the right people 🤷‍♂️ (which is shitty to do anyway, but if looking at it from a more selfish angle helps hammer it in - one day you could end up one of those right people. you are not immune to getting scammed)

#forgive me for the rant. i don't think any of this would be a controversial statement on tumblr but i had to let it out :P #i think we all have that reflex to make fun of the person hurt. schadenfreude and all. #(at least when it's manageable hurt ig. and not like. death. tho ppl do it with that too sometimes 🥲) #i'm not gonna blame anyone for having an immediate emotional reaction. but what do you do afterwards? #do you go ''wait. that's not fair. i should hope for the downfall of the person who HURT others. not those who got hurt'' #or do you go online and mock these people instead? which is a very preventable action btw. #if you want you can keep gleefully mocking these people in your head but like. don't be a dick. don't spread it around at least #btw all of this is true for stuff like pyramid schemes and such too. of course #if you know someone is involved in some of these try to gently dissuade them from it #calling them stupid will only drive a wedge between you and not help anyone involved. sorry #ok NOW my rant is over 🫡

[fluffypotatey]

Connected to my last ask but I wanted to separate bc it's a whole new issue

But, like you mentioned Arthur being a captain by 15, and the Druid raid we all know went so wrong, that he still blames himself for (yet the writers didn't follow through, AGAIN) and that had me wonder if he actually was to blame.

Like, he said he lost control of his men, but....I don't think that would happen. These would have been trained knights, probably all older than him, more experienced....and more loyal to Uther. They would know better than to disobey their Prince, bc that risks being punished by the King.

Unless they knew they wouldn't be in trouble.

I think that raid was a test, Uther seeing just how obedient his son was, if he was too "soft" on what he decided was the enemy. And if he was, he told the knights they were to finish the job themselves against Arthur's command, bc the only order that trumps Arthur's, is Uther's.

MHM MHM MHM BECAUSE YEAH

-----

arthur was still a teenageer, he was at the age where most are still considered squires (at least...i think so?) but obviously he went up the ranks faster because he's the prince. he was still finding his footing with his role as prince and heir to the throne. he was probably still holding on to this naivete about kingship that uther wanted to squash out of him.

arthur probably hasn't seen much of the purge other than trials and executions of alleged guilty sorcerers (which he probably believed to be fair trials). he has not yet seen the true disregard of empathy his father and the kingdom has towards magic users.

i am a firm believer that that raid arthur led was a test. and a test he almost passed because he told his men to "spare the women and children" but it is highly likely that uther had a contingency plan if arthur's raid didn't eradicate all of the druids from that settlement.

now, look at the episode's transcript (s4 ep10), arthur is immediately disturbed when he realizes where they are and when merlin explains the shrine to the knights as something built "to appease restless spirits" in an area.

[Arthur seems slightly disturbed as he looks at a red flag picking up in the breeze.]

and even later he seems so out of it

[Arthur stares into space has he absentmindedly unbuckles his bracers.]

it's like he, himself, is haunted by the memory. a memory he probably made himself forget because of how horrible it was. he's had this old memory locked away so tight but now that its back, now that arthur remembers, he can't help but go through the what ifs, and berate himself for not being experienced enough to stop his men.

gaius calls uther's raids "relentless", not even considering arthur himself in that description. this could be either because gaius is too used to uther's persecution that he assumes any magical persecution is uther or gaius knew (or had some semblance to know) that uther was the true one at fault for arthur's raid.

but back to arthur

KING ARTHUR (begins to cry) I am responsible for what happened to you. And for all the violence that happened here. When I led the attack on your camp, I was young and inexperienced. I was desperate to prove myself to my men, to my...father. KING ARTHUR (still crying) I told the men to spare the women and children, but I know that some of them ignored the order. And there was so much happening. I wanted to stop it...I froze. I didn't know what to do. KING ARTHUR (completely breaking down) I can still hear the screams. I cannot right this wrong. Nothing I can ever do will change the horrors that happened that day. But I can promise that, now that I am king, I will do everything that I can to prevent anything like this ever happening again. From this day forth, the Druid people will be treated with the respect they deserve. I give you my word.

uther how fucking dare you traumatize my boy like this

arthur can still hear the fucking screams....like shit.....that sound is burned into his memory, the blood, the smell of rot and possibly fire, everything about that day how he thought himself ready but froze when things began to go wrong.

did he think himself a coward when the day came to night after the raid? did he struggle to even put on the pendragon cape? did older knights creep behind him and try to remind him that this was his father's mission? did they speak to him with false sympathy as they told him that this was all for the good and safety of camelot?

so yeah that raid was something uther placed into the hands of an inexperienced child (reminder that he only turned 20/21 in s1 so he definitely led the raid in his teens) as a way to see if arthur would do what it took to prove himself worthy for his father.

#on a side note: reading the transcript for s4 ep10 i got the chance to find some super cute elyaine and i'm so soft for them omfg #also realized this episode is just after arthur banishes gwen for her 'affair' so like imagine you're elyan #you are having the worst week of your life: you sister has been banished; your once dead friend betrayed arthur and is dead again; and now #you are possessed by a dead druid kid who is forcing you to kill your king/friend #poor baby he deserves all the hot cocoa #so does arthur #actually they should have a sleepover where the two build a pillowfort and just be there for each other #and if anyone wants to talk about arthur's agency in this sure but he was a literal child who only knew the prejudices taught to him #do not place all the blame on his for that #if you wanna talk about arthur's actual kingship yeah i'll bite #bbc merlin #arthur pendragon #anti uther #we do not stan that man in this household #merlin meta #s4 ep10 #4.10 #A Herald of a New Age