#there is a reason so many people off themselves | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

stardust-falling · 2 days

Text

Having more thoughts about Shen Jiu because of course I am.

I don’t think he has the capacity for empathy or genuine selflessness.

He spent the entirety of his formative years deep in survival mode, and because of that, he evaluates people solely based off of how they might threaten or ensure his safety and/or comfort. As far as individual people themselves with their own perspectives… honestly I don’t think he even thinks of that.

Maybe a controversial opinion, but I don’t think even YQY is exempt.

Shen Jiu doesn’t have a moral code. When every day is spent on surviving, a moral code is a luxury.

And really, he just never got out of that mode. See, the thing is, once you’ve had enough adverse experiences it only takes a little bit to trigger you back into that mindset. Shen Jiu was used to being scolded and then beaten or abused, so for him, even a simple chiding is a precursor to abuse— even if he DOES recognize that nothing more will happen, his body and mental patterns will still go into that preparation time.

So of course he never left survival mode, because even if nothing is actively happening, your mind will keep reinforcing those patterns.

For someone with a normal upbringing, as far as I can tell, empathy is something you learn and develop from those around you. Many seem to think it’s something innate and natural and if you don’t have it then there’s something wrong with you from birth. I think Shen Jiu falls into exactly this category of thought— and so he doesn’t even consider that he could try to learn and develop it as a skill he can perform, even if it doesn’t come naturally.

Of course, would he even try? He hasn’t been given any incentive. Any time he has tried to do something good, he ends up getting hurt (saving Yue Qi leading to being taken by QJL) or misinterpreted and admonished (the well ghost incident, keep in mind my earlier point about scoldings perpetuating the same patterns).

So he stays in that same vicious cycle, perpetually in survival mode and unable to escape, even in a relatively secure position (see: his paranoia).

Now, this is all relevant to the discussions of SJ’s feminism, misogyny, and/or lack thereof. I feel like a lot of discussions aren’t really getting the full picture.

SJ sees people, no matter who they are, as solely how they can affect him. Just because this isn’t exclusive to women, or because if comes from a reasonable place, does that really mean it doesn’t play into misogyny?

Let’s take another angle.

I think his abuse of LBH and other talented disciples also is rooted, deep down, in this same issue. He’s not just hurting LBH only to hurt him, his aim is specifically to stunt his cultivation. There’s jealousy at play there of course, but there’s a bit more layers to it too— SJ doesn’t think he’s capable of goodness. So reasonably, he’ll be a bad teacher. He already knows what happens when someone becomes more powerful than their oppressor. LBH may be a child now, but a part of SJ whether he acknowledges it or not sees him as a future threat that needs to be treated as such.

It’s rooted in fear— because everything is with SJ.

So does that mean it’s not actually abuse?

No. The behaviors he shows are still abusive, the reasoning just gives a lens for understanding.

Now, with his views on women— I mentioned in the tags of my original post that I don’t think he views women as people. This is based in that earlier idea of how he interprets others based off their risk and benefit to him. For women specifically, though, there’s another layer.

Shen Jiu grew up in a society where women are inherently lesser— and he grew up in an extreme version of this. He saw women being treated as property firsthand(both as slaves, as well as QJL’s views on his sister). Your worldview is shaped by the world that you view during those early years. Whether he agreed or not, SJ would still take on the patterns of his environment. This, though, is just the same as general societal misogyny and ingrained bias. I don’t think he’s any different than anyone else in this way.

But where SJ’s particular flavor comes in is that to him, women are a source of comfort. For various reasons— positive past experiences, less threatening (or at least don’t carry the dangers men do). He craves comfort— needs it really, because he doesn’t get it and his cortisol levels are always so high they’re poisoning his body. Women are the best source of that comfort for him.

It’s not that he likes them— at least, not any more than someone would like drinking water, or a coat in the winter. They’re fulfilling a survival need for him.

That is what the objectification is where SJ is concerned.

So… is it misogyny?

I’d say yes, in a way it still is. It’s not violent, and it doesn’t come from some inherent sense of “superiority as a man” but at the core of it all, he’s still not viewing women as people, and he has no interest in changing the status quo, because it benefits him to be able to go purchase comfort at a pleasure house, even if it’s not what people usually do there. The picture is bigger than just misogyny, but the traits taken as themselves are misogynistic nonetheless.

I could go into his specific relationships with women and how that informs his character, but this post is already long enough. We know that he mentally divides people by sex, and that distinction has a lot of weight in his judgment of them. Even if it comes from a place of trauma, even if it comes from a general worldview that applies to everyone, he still views women as a commodity— so on some level, and from an outside perspective, he is misogynistic.

In the end, though, it still all comes from him being stuck in survival mode. His lack of empathy, his viewing others as risks and benefits— these things themselves aren’t moral failings— it’s just a consequence of his environment. He’s a bad person because he won’t confront this, develop a moral code, and act on it, not because he doesn’t experience empathy.

But in his circumstance, there’s not really a chance for him to choose to be good. Because he’s still trying to survive, and goodness is a luxury he doesn’t realize he can afford now.

He’s scum, but pitiful, you know?

#svsss #svsss meta #zhuixing meta #shen jiu #listen I’ve been through a lot of shit and I project on this dude a lot #so ymmv on how you interpret the character but this is just how I see him #and honestly that’s ok! characters aren’t people so everyone can interpret them differently and they CAN be different from person to person #but also… I think the ‘is sj misogynistic’ answer really comes down to what you consider misogyny #is it the motives or the actions 等等 #I think the way it affects those around him is most important and therefore yes he is #but others may say the source is too different and the motives are different #and tbh other views are valid #it’s a grey line area #anyway #none of the replies to my post really encapsulated the root to it as I see it #also before you come at me I literally AM the ‘no empathy and views people as risk vs benefit’ in the post #I just try really hard to have a moral code #and consciously think about not harming/helping others #sj is just someone who DOESNT do that

82 notes · View notes

yandere-sins · 16 hours

Note

Pssstt I have memes

The rest of TF141 when their lieutenant is flirting with a mercenary (KorTac Operator darling):

Ghost having TF141 asking him about his business with a KorTac operator:

König when his WORST NIGHTMARE (his precious platonic darling attracting another soldier) comes true:

You guys would be surprised how much I actually think about how TF141 would react to the whole yandere/darling situation of one or more of their members. Because enviroment is important for story building, and—at least for Ghost—I do think a lot of the situations happens around a military base/camp, so there never is full privacy even behind closed doors.

[Warning for Sexual Content, Drug Mention, Stalking Mention, Abuse of Authority]

If Price is the yandere, I think he mostly has the "superior" advantage, as in, he can just keep his darling around for the sake of having taken them "under his wing." He's done it before, and the others have probably experienced it themselves that Price just cares for his underlings. Even if not, there's nothing wrong with someone more experienced teaching the newer recruits, right?

There's nothing wrong with him having the darling tail him, giving them orders, checking on them. Sure, it's kind of weird when their revision of plans takes until late at night in Price's room, but eh. That's how it is on the job, right? And Price is just being nice and joking around as he does with everyone. Even if the jokes are somewhat inappropriate, at least everyone is getting along! Nobody has to know the dirty mess he makes of you all night long, the hand beneath his glove bloody from your bites as he hides the screaming and moaning of his name with it. And you learn quickly to sit still while having dinner, no matter where the very same hand goes underneath the table. You don't want to be punished again.

If Ghost is the yandere, it's a bit more complicated—and at the same time, easier. It's less of an authority powerplay and more of a difference of strength between his darling and him. You can report him—honestly, Ghost is kind of into that (good reason to punish you later, hehe). But Price wouldn't do more to one of his star soldiers than a verbal slap on the wrist. Ghost cares so little about others' opinions that it makes him look innocent. You might struggle against him, and the others will call him out if he plays too rough with you at the table. Still, he does what he wants anyway, making it seem like a joke when he pulls you on his lap, only to let you jump off it again right away. He knows he won the struggle; you know he won the struggle. What do the others think? Just a tease between colleagues!

Even when you two get outed for your "relationship", the others are more likely to turn a blind eye. Hell, they might even gratulate and whistle. You might hate getting caught by the team in the shower with Ghost because he wouldn't let you do it alone, but it gets normalized so quickly that people are more confused when you slip away and do your own thing instead of being with Ghost. Honestly, his friends are happy for the big guy! You simply lost the popularity contest with Ghost.

If Soap is the yandere, that's when things get interesting. Soap is slippery. He does his fair share of stalking, messing up your things, and imagining what it would be like if he could be with his darling officially. Even with his heart doing way too many beats when he's close to you, he tries to play it cool. He's charismatic enough to befriend you, and no one knows where your underwear really disappeared to. So, although everyone notices Soap being a bit... happier whenever you show up, they just shrug it off. Lad got a crush, they think.

And he does, and for the longest time, not even you know it. He makes sure you don't know it, slipping into your bed in the darkest hours of the night, kissing your neck and shoulder while he hopes you dream of him. Leaving your side reluctantly, but never too late so no one will notice him coming from your room. He crossed paths with Ghost once, but both were in a drowsy state, and Ghost didn't notice that it wasn't Soap's room that his friend just left. They only start getting suspicious when you mysteriously feel too sick for your training, and yet, they let Soap take care of you. Without any suspicions, they let him make you soup and visit your room freely, the crushed sleeping pills in his trouser's back pockets waiting to be used.

55 notes · View notes

quipxotic · 22 hours

Text

You know, when Caleb and Beau showed up at the Malleus Key I was a little salty. Not because of them as characters (I like what little I know of both of them) but because of the onslaught of posts in the tags that were some flavor of*:

"Finally a reason to watch Critical Role again. The good characters, the REAL heroes are here so I can ignore all these terrible, boring/obnoxious nobodies" (i.e. the members of Bell's Hells).

"Oh all these silly Campaign 3 only fans will have no idea what's going on now! If they only knew, they'd give up on watching this lesser campaign and devote themselves to the only truly worthy campaign" (i.e. Campaign 2/the Mighty Nein).

"Why are you mad at me for flooding the tags with posts about Caleb and Beau? We've had practically no content on the Mighty Nein! (Except the 141 episodes of the main campaign, the comics series, the novel, the animated show which had already been announced, and the at that point 1 reunion special.)

I blocked so many people back then and it improved my Tumblr CR fandom experience so much, even if it did cut down on the volume of posts. This time around with Essek I'm having a much better time. I don't know if that's due to my active pruning of who I see or if it's just that all the people who love to deliver their piping cold takes on CR episodes are focusing their whole attention on him/them and (for once) leaving Bell's Hells alone.

If that's what it takes, bring on more Essek!

*Perhaps these are slight exaggerations for humor, but they're not that far off.

#critical role #bells hells #c3e94 #critical role spoilers

52 notes · View notes

komorezuki · 2 days

Text

Time for crack theories. Has anyone already supposed that Metatron can be really the God themselves?

Disclaimer: no one hecked my English spelling today so there must be many mistakes. I 'd appreciate it if you point out my mistakes in dm. (￣▽￣人)

Where are your arguments Kmrzk, you can ask. Well, first, I thought about his nature and I think he is not an archon, he is something other. Let's look at his nature again: he was never a human, he is above all angels and is still missing in the employee database. He is the Voice of God. "To speak to me is to speak to God. I am the voice of the Almighty."

Ok it's curious but not enough. What if I can give some assumptions about his actions? What if it was Almighty's actions?

Final fiftheen

I don't believe he is evil. Can we assume that his conversation with Azicrow was a testing of them all? Almighty definitely knows all they both did, because this is, you know, ALMIGHTY. What does She like to do? TESTING. She is testing Her children, and She has the ineffable plan blablablabla. She gives free will to people to see what they will choose. The same is about Azicrow. She is just looking at what they will choose.

The trial

Metatron's conversation during the trial. Seems he is the boss there (he really is). I always thought why Gabriel cant decide, and I think he can and he knows it. I am the only First Order archangel, I'm the only one in this department who has a degree in ass-kicking, I went to Ass-Kicking University and something something. Angels are testing him trying to frighten by the Fall, and he is like ok drop me and what's next? i am still saying nah. Even the threat of memory erasing can't make him change his mind. Testing is passed, I guess. Gabriel is free, and he will not be pursued.

Michael/Uriel

PROBABLY Almighty/Metatron (i will say "A/M" about they both in the future) also tests Michael and Uriel. At least their hunger of power. They fight for being in charge. And Michael treats Azi. Then A/M arrives and says "fuck you michael an fuck you uriel too you can't even do anything".

Of course, as an angel, Uriel worries about doing Good and Right Things. And A/M is like "we will see. Fuck off you all and by the way I am going to make this soft principality your boss, so deal with it. Let's look at what you will do". Archangel's testing goes on, and I am wondered if they will pass it.

Muriel

They are really an open-minded angel. All that you need is giving them knowledge. And that's what A/M does.

Conclusion

My opinion: M is either God's incarnation or an executor of God's will. He is associated with Sunday from the book "The Man Who Was Thursday" (@kayleefansposts thank you for this). Anyway, Almighty and M are on the same side, and M knows what he does. I think that the final goal of A/M's testing is pushing to the realization of the free will and making their own plans and decisions. That's what Gab did, that's what Azi has to do. That's what other angels can (or can't) do.

But where are demons here???

As you see, I didn't include demons in A/M's to-do list, and that's for the reason. Demons have already made their own decision and fall for that. They passed this test by default, and A/M literally says this about Crowley. Also notice that Saraqael isn't tested. Another argument in favor of my demon!Saraqael theory.

BONUS

M ingested things in his time, but he wasn't a human. What if we consider M as God's avatar? That happened at once, you know, there was a guy who said like "love each other" and so on. By the way, he promised to come back. And that's what M is preparing. The Second Coming is started by Jesus 2.0. Do what you want with it.

41 notes · View notes

offt0wonderland · 3 days

Text

The Runaways

Imagine: You're a Soc, enjoying a movie at the drive-in with your friend, when the same Greasers you ran into earlier barge inside the automobile.

The Outsiders x fem OC

Word count: 2.5k

Summary: A young Soc finds herself thrown into a loop once she befriends Pony and his family.

“What did I miss in History?”

Deborah strengthened her fingers around the condensing cup, the two of us pressed closely together while the temperature gradually dropped outside the passion pit. “A load of Crock – I don’t think Mr. Jones knows what he’s talking about,” The corners of her mouth pursed, a bland giveaway that she was transported back in thought from my missed lecture. “I remember he said something about the Battle of Midway and how we were lucky to have won … but when I talked to my dad, he said that the reason we defeated the other ships was because of willpower and strength.”

“Wait, so how does that make Mr. Jones the one full of Crock?” I shifted my head closer to my friend, allowing the temple of my forehead to press against the bone of her shoulder.

Deborah soon readjusted to my movements; her head now stuck against the headrest of the driver seat to keep her eyes on the motion picture that began to play in front of our eyes. “I’m trusting my dad – who fought in the war – as opposed to the teacher who didn’t.”

“Yeah, that makes sense,” The both of us briskly fell quiet after my agreement, letting the noise from Sound of Music fill the silence that lingered between us. It was a movie we’d both seen a few weeks prior, but we didn’t mind the repetition, the drive-in was something we both seemed to enjoy on our off time.

Honestly, I don’t think we’d ever get old of this place.

Well, except for the backseat bingo. Now that was revolting. It was like every automobile around us showcased couples engulfed by each other’s mouths, the film of their windows fogged up to display the sweat that radiated off their movements. I tried my best to ignore them, combine Razzles and Popcorn into my mouth as I observed Julie Andrews on screen, but the hathos was too compelling: they were sickeningly captivating.

It was like every time my irises fell onto the giant screen in front, they somehow found their way to the car next to me. In the span of three minutes, I found myself watching the older couple in nothing but a button-down and a bra. From the looks of it, they seemed to be in their mid-twenties, but by their hormones, they appeared closer to teenagers. Frankly, I wouldn’t have been surprised if one of them ripped the other’s skin off with how aggressive they tugged on each other’s bodies.

It was nauseating – or more accurately, it reminded me of Charles and his consistently grabby hands. One of the many reasons we broke our steady off.

I continued to observe the people around us, noting every time they disappeared in the cushions of their seats; But for some reason, the one thing that redirected my attention was three boys coming into view. The middle Greaser had the same leather jacket I saw before, his arms wrapped around both of his friends as if he was ready to guide them to mischief. The other two seemed to follow that minuscule action, willing to put themselves in trouble to keep their delinquent acquaintance.

“Get out of the way!” And it appeared that disturbance wasn’t too far behind.

Dally pressed the end of the cancer stick between his teeth; the outline of his middle finger raised in front of the illuminated backdrop. Pony chuckled at his friend’s insult, making eye contact with the battered boy across from him in glee. And in all honesty, I probably would’ve laughed too, only all that commotion made them closer to our car. My eyes widened at that revelation, my body involuntarily shifting downwards in hopes they wouldn’t notice. But with all the other windows coated with steam, we were bound to be noticed.

Dally was the first of the group to make a reaction; his lips tugged into a smirk, the pads of his fingertips yanking the poor boys behind him in the new direction he was set in. It was the response I feared the most – he was coming over. So, I made a countermove; I bent over the edge of my seat, tugging on the locks of the automobile to create a barrier.

“Val, what are you doing?” Deborah questioned.

“Lock the doors on your side.” I said.

“What?”

“Lock the doors on your side!” But before she even had a chance, the three Greasers had found themselves inside the same confinement we were in. And I was pissed.

“Ohh, this is nice,” Dally straightened his legs, leaning his body back against the cushion of the seats as if he was already welcomed into the Socs car. “Didn’t know girls could own such nice autos.”

I turned around to face the lot of them. “What are y’all doin’?”

“Needed a place to sit, the chairs outside are somehow all taken.” Ugh, his arrogance was worse than the couple making out next to us.

“Get out of my car,” Deborah was firm. “I don’t want any grease on these girly leather seats.”

“Dal’ let’s just go.” The anxious boy who was drowned in denim finally spoke up, pulling on his friend’s arm to get him to budge – but it appeared he wasn’t going to oblige to his buddy like last time.

“Dally, I swear, I’ll grab …” The slur of words were quick to come to a halt once my eyes fell upon the boy on the right. It was like I was staring at him for the first time, witnessing the fresh scar that aligned symmetrically on his cheek and temple. And by the rounds of his black irises, I could tell he feared my statement … he feared a Soc. “Just get lost.”

Dally, of course, ignored my blatant pleas and focused on the bag of candies that glowed against the console. “Razzles, my favorite.” The Greaser reached forward, stuffing his dirty hands into the freshly opened bag of Blaze’n Blueberry.

Yup, not touching those anymore.

“Val, you know these guys?” Deborah was mortified that I even knew a name out of the bunch.

I shook my head. “Just Pony, he’s in my English class.”

Now that statement earned a gasp. My friend spun around; her eyes glazed over as she peered at the young Greaser on the left side of her automobile. “You’re in Mr. Syme’s class too?! I love that guy – like in love with that guy … Does he ever mention me? Val here won’t tell me a thing.”

“That’s because you’re going steady with Gerald.”

She waved that comment off, a sense of betrayal looming off of her – which, if I had to guess, was probably due to Gerald’s constant gawking at Cherry Valence. Pony uncomfortably shifted against the leather; unsure what words were the right ones in this situation. “Uh, I don’t think so, but maybe once.”

Deborah couldn’t help but let out a squeal from Pony’s response, the back of her hand now sharply pressed to her forehead as if she was going to faint. Dally grinned at the dramatics, finding humor in the odd conversation that was stricken up. “Y’know what, I’ll make a deal,” I swiveled my head in her direction, widening my eyes in horror. She wouldn’t dare. “If you press Mr. Syme about me, y’all can stay … but only if y’all don’t go ape.”

And she did.

Two of them nodded in unison, shuffling their weight to get comfortable in the small car they deemed necessary to infiltrate. I rolled my eyes at her ultimatum, appalled that she’d be so willing to let a group of Greasers stay in the backseat of her Mustang: But it wasn’t my auto, meaning I had no say. The five of us quickly went back to quietude, watching the flick in front of us; at least until the smell of smoke permeated the air. “Look, if y’all are going to stay, no smoking.”

“You don’t like smoke?” Dally smirked at my statement, almost as if he had found his new weapon of choice.

“I don’t – so quit it.”

Dally grunted, leaning forward to release a cloud of smoke near my jawline. I immediately balled up my fist, ready to thrust all my power into the crook of his nose, except I held back. All I did was wave away the pollution, turning my head slightly until my skin hovered near the tip of the cigarette. “You stay, our rules.”

“I’m sick of rules,” I dragged my tongue across my lower lip, fighting every urge in me to jump the boy in the backseat. “It seems as though you are too, though.”

“What does that mean?” I spat.

“You went to the wrong side of town, and not many Socs are caught dead on our street.” Deborah gasped at Dally’s retaliation, her head snapping in my direction.

“That’s why you cut class? You were at the Grease Lot?” Her voice was raised, almost loud enough for the rest of the parked cars to hear.

I shot her a look. “If you’re going to act this way – dense – then get out of the car.”

“I’m liking this anger, maybe we can ball like the two over there.” Dally nodded over at the couple who had found themselves fully naked, the movements of their car forming a grotesque image in my brain.

“Oh bug out.”

Dally was about to retort something back, but the boy in denim put his arm out to silence him. “Dal’ leave it be.” His voice wavered slightly, like he wasn’t used to standing up to the man in the middle.

Yet, the coldness of his eyes never disappeared.

I turned my body, peering over at the tan boy who stared back. “Y’know, I like you. What’s your name?”

“Johnny Cade.”

Read the first two chapters here: The Runaways | Quotev

22 notes · View notes

c4ndystarz · 1 year

Text

why are humans so awful to each other all the time WHY is this a normalized thing, why do we just let bullies and shitty people do whatever tf they want unless theyre big popular shitty people???? it doesnt make sense and i dont fucking understand why everyone hates each other so much

#vent post #is this an autism thing?#do i just not get it??#why cant people just be nice #i dont get it #this is why i hate people #i keep seeing terrible people doing terrible things #and im so used to it #but i SHOULDNT be #there is a reason so many people off themselves #and its heartbreaking #every day i lose more hope in humanity #which is sad

4 notes · View notes

tired-momfriend · 2 years

Text

I've seen some people making posts about bullying Ryan Reynolds off the app because they don't want other celebs to migrate here from Twitter.

Come on y'all.

Don't act like degenerates.

That is a very Twitter/"toxic Tumblr era" thing to do.

Don't act like animals. Just let him experience us in our natural habitat and if he's cool, then he'll integrate perfectly.

#tbh i kinda wish he had made his blog more on the down low JUST so this sort of thing wouldnt happen #not to mention the fact that the funnest thing about tumblr is that youre virtually anonymous #which allows many to act like themselves in a way no other site does #so its kinda sad he might not experience that freedom with his blog #unless he decides to make a side blog thats completely anon lol #but anyway bottom line dont act like children over this #the reason tumblr is so chill now is because theres less people doing crap like that on a large scale #i mean think about john green or hank or whichever green brother it was #that man was pretty much bullied off #dont be gross #ryan reynolds #deadpool #twitter

350 notes · View notes

potoo-nest-is-garbage-nest · 1 year

Text

Been trying to understand what motivates terfs nowadays (bc curiosity never kills).

So fear and hate. Well.

#also #sorry to say that but all of them seem like #so American #it would be interesting to study a French one #terfs #terf #radfem #and like I would love to see at least ONE citing her sources #I’ve read so many posts going off #and not proving anything they say #dissing TRA #and they call themselves activists #they’re fear mongering #I’m tired of radical revolutionarista #they’re violent people only wanting war on everyone #they say they’re past reasoning with people when they’re the one cutting contact #and never asking questions #they are right and never wrong

198 notes · View notes

vulturevanity · 1 year

Text

Thinking about ScarVi's overarching theme being The Truth Shall Set You Free. I am so normal about this

#spoilers in tags #pokémon #pokemon sv #Arven initially being closed off and not trusting you because he was neglected by his parent and learned to only rely on himself #realizing very early on that being honest is the best chance he has at healing his Mabostiff #but still not opening up about his bigger issues until it was absolutely necessary which pushes the story forward into endgame #Penny hiding herself behind Cassiopeia to protect herself from bullying #getting an entire group of outcast kids into a team to scare their bullies off #only for the plan to backfire splendously when they're mistaken for the bullies #and Clavell in a rare display of clarity ffrom an adult in a position of authority #rather than simply punishing them for it opted to team up with us to understand what was really going on #and that made him much more lenient in punishing them (because they did still cause trouble!)#the truth of Turo/Sada spiraling into their work and refusing to see the damage it was doing to EVERYTHING including themselves #to the point that they DIED #and the AI they built explicitly for the purpose of continuing their work ran the calculations and realized said work was Bad #and that truth made it go against its own programming which is what kickstarts the main story to begin with #and may I contrast all that with NEMONA whose sheer energy and eagerness is 1000% GENUINE #I've seen so many people say they thought she was going to eventually be angry for losing to us all the time #but the whole point of her character is that she's free to do whatever the fuck she wants and she's pretty happy with her life #she has no reason to fake happiness. she's just like that. she is free from the beginning and she's always be free and that's the point #in a story where no one else is!!! everyone else is bound by some complication or another that holds them back from being honest #i changed my mind i'm insane about this. no longer normal #pokemon sv spoilers #babbles

155 notes · View notes

astriiformes · 1 year

Text

One thing I really love about Pentiment is that like. For one thing it's very easy to play a very straightforwardly kind, compassionate, sympathetic Andreas who listens to the concerns his friends in Tassing are voicing and tries his hardest to do right by everyone and volunteers to help people a lot. As someone who always worries games are going to force me into making choices I don't want to (or that certain dialogue options will turn out to be harsher than I expected) it's sort of funny that Pentiment, a game that is about forcing you to make difficult choices, at least always let me feel good about Andreas' internal motivations and relationships with others, even when there were sometimes really upsetting consequences in-game.

(And of course, the idea that he's a good person trying his hardest and yet a lot of things go wrong for him and others over the course of the story is one of the things that sends Andreas spiraling, so this is very much something that's woven into the fabric of the game)

But I know on our first playthrough, we chose some of the background options that felt like they specifically lent themselves to that, which lead to playing a very like...polite, bookworm type Andreas. Who I adored as a character obviously, but figured was very specific to our run.

Anyways, I've enjoyed learning that while there are certainly background and dialogue choices that lead to him being brasher/more abrasive and some decisions that cross a bit of a line for me personally (there are a couple suspects I could never accuse, even with solid evidence and I know it's possible to make him a more unsympathetic to the peasants), even some of the more "unsavory" sounding background options really don't lock you into that at all.

I'm specifically thinking about the Rapscallion background because that's what the streaming gang had me choose but I love that the description for it is like "Andreas does CRIME and gets in FIGHTS"

And then in practice a lot of the options it gives you are like

"I'm going to STEAL MONEY from a wealthy abbey to help the NICE PEASANT FAMILY I'm staying with PAY THEIR TAXES!!"

or "I'm going to THREATEN YOU because you are cruelly and unfairly accusing my good friend the SWEET ELDERLY MONK!!"

And when you pair that with certain actions that he takes regardless because they're baked into like the plot or cutscenes, or certain actions he won't take or people he won't agree with because the game never even gives you the option, plus some of the other most popular dialogue choices it's like

Yeah this man does feel a bit like the antithesis of an edgy protagonist

#scribe and i are both the kind of people who will cry if a game makes us be too mean so this is another reason pentiment was made for us #like yeah you can definitely play him as pretty out of touch and even a little bit of a jerk. but he's never going to be too awful a person #that said we definitely played it pretty safe the first runthrough because like many people we were worried about consequences #and now on our second run with more plot knowledge are having a great time mouthing off a lot more to lenhardt and the abbot #game that lets you be nice to kids and poor people and tell rich bastards to go fuck themselves...... the ideal #pentiment tag

89 notes · View notes

marypsue · 10 months

Note

I'd love to hear your thoughts on S1 of ST being a tragedy! No main character dies, so I never thought of it that way before

I mean, nobody has to die for a story to be a tragedy (at least, in the modern definition. I'm pretty sure '(almost) everybody dies' is a requirement of Greek tragedies and Renaissance revenge tragedies). But also, no main character dies in season one...if you take season one as part of a series. Which it wasn't originally conceived as.

I am not going looking for copies of the original pitch bible, because I am lazy, and also I only saw them floating around this webbed site. But the show changed a lot from the initial pitch (Joyce had a Long Island accent! Lucas' parents were divorcing! Murray was there and named Terry Ives! Most of what ended up in Hopper's character originally belonged to Mr. Clarke! The original pitch bible is fascinating). And part of the original pitch was a proposal for possible sequels.

The Duffers' proposal for a possible sequel was "It's ten years later, and Eleven is dead".

So that's the setup. Everything that came after season one was made up wholecloth after season one was a hit and people wanted more, but also people loved the adorable little psychic murder child (cue the Duffers shockedpikachu.jpg) and Netflix obviously recognised it would be a bad call to make a new season without her in it. So it makes sense to take season one as a unit, as a self-contained story on its own. You can also take it as part of a whole, but it makes sense to read it first as a complete story. Especially given the thematic drift of later seasons and the way they are...I'm just going to say it, each new season is very much added-on to what came before rather than being built on foundation that the earlier season(s) laid. It is very clear there was never a planned five-season story arc from the beginning. (This isn't necessarily always a bad thing, when it comes to sequels, but it does mean it makes sense to 'read' each season as its own thing.)

Okay, now that we've established all of that. Season one has one very clear goal, one very clear stake for the characters: save Will Byers from the Upside Down. (I like this. It makes the stakes both extremely high and extremely personal, it makes it very easy to understand each character's motivation, it also keeps the stakes grounded in reality. I like this a lot.) And by the end of the season, that goal is accomplished. So at first blush, you're right, season one doesn't look like a tragedy.

But when you start to unpack it a little, you start to see just how many important things were lost along the way. It's most glaringly obvious with Mike and El, with Nancy and Barb. The whole Wheeler family is fractured down the middle, with Mike and Nancy on one side and Ted, Karen, and Holly on the other, and Karen, who's been trying so hard the whole time to be part of her children's lives and understand what's going on with them, is aware of the ever-expanding gulf between them but will never be able to cross it, and will never fully know why. Hopper's finally managed to snatch a kid out of the jaws of death, save a woman he obviously cares about from the pain of losing a child, and Joyce has finally had someone believe her, support her, trust her. But it became blindingly obvious to me on my fourth rewatch that Hopper's plan, from the moment he went to leave the middle school gym, was always to trade El for Will. And that decision (and the fact that Joyce obviously understands that he did something to get the lab to let them go after Will, but she obviously doesn't dare press him on what) has broken her trust in him, and left him with what looks like an equally heavy burden of guilt as what he was carrying before. The lab stays open. The government gets away with everything. No one will ever know the true extent of the hurt they've caused.

And in the end, none of it even saved Will. He's back. He's alive. But he's spitting slugs in the sink. He's permanently marked by the Upside Down, and by trying to hide it from his family, he's putting a crack down the centre of them, as well. They're losing Will, just as surely as they had when they thought he was dead, just without him going anywhere.

And there's still a hole in the world.

The fragile bonds of community, the things that people share in common, the way catastrophe can bring people together and bring out the very best in them, are the major thematic threads woven through season one. Human connection is the only thing that can change what seems inevitable, the only thing that can bring back what's seemingly lost forever.

And it's still not enough to protect anyone from the random tragedy of the world.

The love was there. The love mattered. The love bent the entire course of the world around itself.

And it still wasn't quite enough.

If that's not a tragedy, then I don't know what is.

#stranger things #the pitch bible is also part of why I think they're gonna kill el for real at the end of s5 #and that the final epilogue scene of s5 is going to be a callback to the eggos-in-the-woods scene #a) the show's ending so they don't HAVE to let her survive. and we all know the duffers love it when other people are upset #b) they've said themselves they're 'going back to season one'#c) netflix would absolutely cream their pants for an opportunity to update the nostalgia marketing for this show to the now-trendy nineties #d) and also would want to leave the door open for 'well MAYBE she survived you don't know that we're not going to resurrect this franchise!#one of many many many reasons why I'm not bothering to watch any more of this show #I'll stick happily with my s1-s2 duology and steal characters from other seasons thanks #it's so frustrating because it's so CLEAR in season one that the love MATTERS #that these people care about each other and that MATTERS #even though it's not enough.#and by season four it's just like. well what if we just kept introducing new characters so we can kill them. aren't you sad about it #like there are so many ways to write a tragedy well and 'kill everyone kind of indiscriminately' is not one of them #okay rant over. i am climbing off the cafeteria table

20 notes · View notes