oddeyesight reblogged
cleaning
oddeyesight reblogged
Dungeon Meshi - Humans and Demi-Humans
I like this because it can be read as a simple classification of biology within the context of a fantasy universe, but there's also a reading of this from a lense of culture and racism.
We know for a fact that orcs in dungeon meshi have been killed by the past and are being rejected by the other races to the point where they're living in caves and dungeons. I don't think the refusal to consider them as humans and classifying them as half monsters is innocent. Bone count seem like a very arbitrary criteria to classify species, and the fact that it was chosen to deny them humanity feels intentional at some level.
I really love Ryoko Kui's approach to fantasy races because it makes you question their definitions. They are not innocent and you shouldn't take them at face value.
I do believe this one is more about culture and language than biology, I think the classification of "they have more bones" is rather a way they found to make orcs and Kobolds into "others" than a biological classification.
There's another comic from the adventurer's bible that I think it's quite telling
Kabru see's Kobolds as "demi-humans" so he has no problem speaking of them in a othering way, but as soon as Laios and Falin do the same for a tribe of tallmen Kabru realizes how bad it sounds.
oddeyesight reblogged
“If a society puts half its children into short skirts and warns them not to move in ways that reveal their panties, while putting the other half into jeans and overalls and encouraging them to climb trees, play ball, and participate in other vigorous outdoor games; if later, during adolescence, the children who have been wearing trousers are urged to “eat like growing boys,” while the children in skirts are warned to watch their weight and not get fat; if the half in jeans runs around in sneakers or boots, while the half in skirts totters about on spike heels, then these two groups of people will be biologically as well as socially different. Their muscles will be different, as will their reflexes, posture, arms, legs and feet, hand-eye coordination, and so on. Similarly, people who spend eight hours a day in an office working at a typewriter or a visual display terminal will be biologically different from those who work on construction jobs. There is no way to sort the biological and social components that produce these differences. We cannot sort nature from nurture when we confront group differences in societies in which people from different races, classes, and sexes do not have equal access to resources and power, and therefore live in different environments. Sex-typed generalizations, such as that men are heavier, taller, or stronger than women, obscure the diversity among women and among men and the extensive overlaps between them… Most women and men fall within the same range of heights, weights, and strengths, three variables that depend a great deal on how we have grown up and live. We all know that first-generation Americans, on average, are taller than their immigrant parents and that men who do physical labor, on average, are stronger than male college professors. But we forget to look for the obvious reasons for differences when confronted with assertions like ‘Men are stronger than women.’ We should be asking: ‘Which men?’ and ‘What do they do?’ There may be biologically based average differences between women and men, but these are interwoven with a host of social differences from which we cannot disentangle them.”
— Ruth Hubbard, “The Political Nature of ‘Human Nature’“ (via gothhabiba)
Yes.
Here, have a study (x) showing that mothers underestimate their daughter’s physical capacity from as young as 11 months old (though in reality it’s identical to that of their son’s at the same age). And if you think that parents acting on those expectations won’t alter their children’s development, then I have a sloped bridge to sell you.
oddeyesight reblogged
We still see this language in the modern world where it's full-scale bullshit. In a period or pseudo-period context it's doing some of that but typically reflects the (deliberately disenfranchising) legal norm that he owns the farm or the inn or whatever it is, and she doesn't and can't because property rights are gendered; maybe as a widow she could own it or maybe she couldn't, but she's a wife, and that's her actual legal status.
if you avoid that language without altering that underlying structure of the scenario, you aren't necessarily doing anything but sanitizing and erasing it. applied carelessly, labeling this kind of language as 'bad' and solving it by 'getting rid of it' is worse than useless; you just get worse art and vaguer history.
so ideally we check in with ourselves like, in this specific sentence, is it useful or desirable to perpetuate and/or invoke that paradigm by using this language, or not?
my grandma listed her vocation as "pastor's wife" because that was/is a goddamn full time job. and also distinct from the job of pastor. shit's complicated.
All three of these takes are subtly different and true.
There's also the take of "how to clarify that these characters are connected and how" and the question of "how much thought has been put into these characters beyond their specific role?"
Like, the Farmers might be random no-name NPCs (as indicated by being called "Farmer" and "Farmer's wife") where all the thought put into them is that they are farmers. In which case you need to indicate they are farmers, but not the same person, but are connected. Currently the """"best"""" way to do that clearly is label one the farmer and the other the spouse, which due to historically being done via "the farmer" and "the farmer's wife" means most writers will default to that instead of "the farmer" and "the farmer's husband". There's also often character limits in text boxes and "wife" has fewer characters than husband. The habit COULD and SHOULD be changed but for now the cultural habit is to maintain "Farmer/Farmer's Wife"
For the innkeepers, they might have more detailed backstories or quest. In which case we still have the task of "indicating which innkeeper you're talking about, which one you need for xyz, and marking that they are connected characters but not the same character". The ideal solution to this to me would be to do something like. "Greg (Innkeeper)" and "Anne (Innkeeper)". BUT! Maybe the Mrs. is NOT an Innkeeper just because her husband is. Maybe she's a weaver. How then do you clarify to the player that these characters are connected (if that's important)? Since "Greg (Innkeeper)" and "Anne (Weaver)" no longer maintains the connective thread? Well we could add surnames I suppose, if the setting allows for them and these characters and their connection is important enough to specify. Or we give them looping dialogue where they say "Greg/Anne is my Husband/Wife" if the game allows for that. Most players get real upset about that tho these days, and it's WAY more thought (and time and resultingly money) than executives want put in the game. Which sucks because I miss having characters like this where even if they're just rando NPCs they clearly have little lives of their own.
And then we have the admittedly not a video game example but the Pastor's Wife: The Pastor's Wife is in fact a full time job in and of itself! And sure, referring to a character like that is kind of misogynistic because she's "the pastor's" (ownership implied) but. If that's important to her identity and role, then taking that from her is its own form of misogyny.
Now, the ideal solution in my mind, for the farmers, would be that whichever one you're supposed to meet "first" is the farmer, the other is delegated to spouse.
But until then... yeah I don't want to go back to the NES/SNES/N64/PS era of games where sure characters are named but you're tasked with delivering a letter to "my wife" instead of "Tabatha".
oddeyesight reblogged
oddeyesight reblogged
wodneswynn-deactivated-deactiva
Concept: You walk outside one night and notice that there are two full moons. A few hours go by and they don’t seem to move.
You stare up at them.
They blink.
You blink back. It’s only polite to return the greeting of the Big Night Cat.
wodneswynn
I meant for this to be all spooky and ominous, but fuck it, this is way better. I love the Big Night Cat. She is beautiful. I support her.
midnightatwalmart
hand slipped so heres a gif
Reblog to respect the Big Night Cat
When cats stare into what seems darkness/nothingness, they are actually fulfilling their role as the moons and gods of teeny tiny universes that would otherwise be completely dark
Wait when did I say that
November 12, 2022 obviously
oddeyesight reblogged
oddeyesight reblogged
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this user is potato
oddeyesight reblogged
one time my friend had surgery on her hip/knee and we went to visit her in the hospital and she was like “hey guys, check out what i have! it’s this cool button that, when I press it, it gives me more morphine!” and sure enough she had a little tube with one end attached to her IV or whatever and one end with a button on it, and every time she pushed the button it gave her morphine
and she just kept pressing it and pressing it and giggling and getting loopier and loopier, so we went to ask a nurse if that was OK or if she was just going to overdose herself
and the nurse said that the morphine button is on a self timer limit and she had already maxed it out and won’t be able to get more for a few more hours, but she can just press the button as many times as she wants and thanks to her already being on the max dose of morphine she was just placebo effect-ing herself into the fucking stratosphere
it was a great image, my friend over there high as balls like I HAVE UNLIMITED MORPHINE POWER!!!! *press press press press* and the nurse like “nah that button isn’t doing shit but she’s having fun”
oddeyesight reblogged
You ever see a post and you suddenly know that someone needs to see it for at least three different separate and completely unrelated reasons? Anyway, @gothiccharmschool , I bet you have seen it before but this one's for you
oddeyesight reblogged
chilchuck going "sorry leave me outta this one. i cant fight" but then hitting literally every precise shot with an arrow or projectile he ever made in the story INCLUDING PIERCING A RED DRAGONS EYE BY THROWING A KNIFE WHILE LEAPING AWAY my bro is a rogue with dex 20 and wants no one to know biggest liar in history
As a fellow union man i can relate - you do not let your employer know you can do anything you don't want to become your job
oddeyesight reblogged
ship of theseus except it's people joining and leaving the discord. is this anything
server of theseus
no one from the start of the server is left and the entire admin team has turned over at least three times, but all the channel names are still inside jokes that no one remaining was even present for the inception of
oddeyesight reblogged
All I'm saying is anybody who thinks the Japanese animation industry commits uniquely baffling crimes upon the English language has not properly appreciated what it does to German.
oddeyesight reblogged
thinking about how when you experience a lot of shame in your formative years (indirectly, directly, as abuse or just as an extant part of your environment) it becomes really difficult to be perceived by other people in general. the mere concept of someone watching me do anything, whether it's a totally normal activity or something unfamiliar of embarrassing, whether I'm working in an excel spreadsheet or being horny on main, it just makes my skin crawl and my brain turn to static because I cannot convince myself that it's okay to be seen and experienced. because to exist is to be ashamed and embarrassed of myself, whether I'm failing at something or not, because my instinctive reaction to anyone commenting on ANYTHING I'm doing is to crawl into a hole and die. it's such a bizarre and dehumanizing feeling to just not be able to exist without constantly thinking about how you are being Perceived. ceaseless watcher give me a god damn break.
oddeyesight reblogged
Teeth are bullshit. What do you mean you’re decaying. Get a fucking grip. You’re a bone now act like it. You don’t see my finger bones decaying from jerking it too much now do you
If I were tumblr famous this would be a smash hit
Considering mammals will use keratin for pretty much everything I'm surprised we don't have keratin teeth yet.
Reptiles: "I improve my grip by having these bony protrusions at the ends of my digits!"
Mammals: "Hey look what I can do with keratin"
Reptiles: "I coil myself up small to minimise my surface area to volume ratio to not lose body heat when it's cold"
Mammals: "Hey look what I can do with keratin"
Reptiles: "I have these frills of skin that I can make stand up to appear threatening"
Mammals: "Hey look what I can do with keratin"
Triceratops: "Fuck this, I have a bone knife on my face"
Rhino: "Oh man you're not going to believe this"
Motherfuckers...