idk i think what is interesting about astarion to me is the fact that you have a guy who started out an asshole (normal type) and then spent two hundred years in a very carefully and specifically crafted (by the writers of the game) Become A Terrible Person Or Die nexus. like it wasn’t just a Torment Nexus, he wasn’t just in hell, i feel like this is very important not to forget, he was in hell but it was specifically a hell designed to, over time, kill the empathy of anyone trapped in it, kill their brain’s ability to prioritize other peoples’ survival, to numb one’s conscience.

and then he gets yanked directly out of that nexus and despite that the fact that he spent, again, two hundred years in a situation that was sort of a rock tumbler for the human soul, there’s still a pebble left in there. and it’s a pebble that can be grown if placed in the right environment and provided with a support network.

so i think it becomes interesting because it really does i think force you to start thinking about the limits of free will even on as basic a level as the human personality. i think the fact that he becomes such a different character based on player choice, that his end morality is so hugely dependent on player choice, is uhhh. a big part of what the devs were going for probably.

it makes a lot of people really uncomfortable to acknowledge some bad people would be good people if literally nothing changed except they had a good support network and different circumstances. especially because it means the opposite is also true. which is even more uncomfortable.

you know that part in the beginning of fellowship of the ring where gandalf is talking about how gollum is ultimately only like that because of the ring and gandalf thinks his story is sad? astarion is kinda like if they sexualized gollum.

The San Francisco Examiner, California, February 25, 1935

Sometimes I think humankind hasn’t changed at all. 

WHAT IS “DOES”?

The average man who gets enough sleep doesn’t write the sentence “What is “does”?“

if you punish yourself like a dog with hopes that it will lead to self improvement when you fuck up, then why not try nurturing yourself into making better decisions like a beloved household pet instead? dumbass?

the clock & calculator apps are like twin sisters to me

number...

am I at least weird and off putting in a pretty way?

Federal troops were called against 13,000 miners.Three battles that led to the biggest armed insurrection since the Civil War. 

 Ask yourself why you were never taught this in school. 

Although there were planes used against the miners in the Battle of Blair Mountain, it is not true that this was the first time planes were used to drop bombs on American soil against Americans. 

The Battle of Blair Mountain took place in August and September of 1921. Just a few months prior to that, on May 31 and June 1, planes were also used to help destroy the Greenwood district of Tulsa, Oklahoma, a prosperous black neighborhood nicknamed The Black Wall Street. At least 39 people died during the event, which is known as the Tulsa Race Massacre. Hundreds were wounded, and 6,000 black people lost their homes. 

Both of these events were hugely important moments in American history. 

Ask yourself why neither was taught to you in school. Also ask your local school board. 

spiders have got to figure out contracting I need to be able to call my local spiders union and be like "hey can you send a guy out for a few days the fruit flies are back" and then pay it in spider currency. I'll learn the conversion rates. I'll be generous with my rounding. please.

you gotta be able to say "die"

you gotta be able to say "suicide"

you gotta be able to talk about "sex"

they're uncomfortable topics, YEAH for SURE

because LIFE is uncomfortable. Death and suicide and sex and pain are straight up going to happen. not having words for the way it discomforts you doesn't make it more comfortable, it just makes you less able to reach out about it.

even more vital, you gotta be able to say words like "rape", "abuse", "queer" or "racist". cause we fought fucking hard to name those experiences. to identify "rape" as distinct from "sex" and "racism" as distinct from "acceptable behaviour" and "queer" as distinct from "invert"

like the function of communication is not to minimise immediate discomfort. we gotta be able to talk about stuff that's hard or sucks or causes difficult conversations.

This is what's so goddamn terrifying about the Internet slowly collapsing into the same 3-5 websites--if Facebook deprioritizes you for saying "sex" and TikTok shadowbans you for saying "suicide" and Twitter X locks your account for saying "racism" we've lost a lot more than just the culture of the old weird internet

we as a society need to do something about the fact that frozen pizza doesn't taste good

I just think it would be funny to switch things up and lead with "popular far-right online blogger, Joan Rowling" once in awhile.

"Joan Rowling, most famous for her staunch opposition to equal rights through her popular Twitter blog"

"Long time advocate against women's rights, Joan Rowling."

"Joan Rowling, a major contributor to the conservative party"

Multiple people have said VIBES and my brain is actually melting.

It's kind of subject matter but more to the point it's by use period pleasure reading in one place, useful crafting and recipe books in the like in another, research in a third place, that kind of thing. After that it's by actual subject matter and then by author.

When your entire check goes to bills and catching up on things you'd been putting off for financial reasons.

If anyone could throw me and my roommate like $50 to get by until my next check, that would be really amazing because we have $3, and no food for tomorrow, and my roommate has been out of one of his meds for a while. Additionally, I have to call the Dr tomorrow because I'm having seizures, which is new. I won't be able to afford the appointment I need (GP and neuro) because my next check is going alp to bills too. So it'll probably get put off for a while at least. If anyone wants to help with that, I know its going to be at least $600 total because my roommate has already been through these same appointments. If anyone wants proof, dm me. I do art and take commissions at my art blog @theartistrans

$C

V

PP

kofi

We've received $75 since this was posted, sorry for the late update, I was working. This is enough to get us by fo now, and I'm an putting back $25 for my appt costs. Anything else given will go to that, bc I have no chance of affording those appts this month, even though I expect they'll be able to get me in relatively soon.

We have gotten $5 since the last update. I finally got an estimate for my GP appt (booked for Tues. Next week) It's going to be $245, which is $45 more than I expected. I will now need $645 to pay for these appointments. I will happily offer commissions in exchange for help with this, dm me at @theartistrans

The last time we were on a long flight, my wife and I invented a game we call "Little Guy."

You start a game of Little Guy by saying, "I'm gonna hand you a little guy." The little guy is some kind of baby animal you are imagining. "Oh," she might say in response, "Okay," and hold out her hands for it. I will then mime handing her the animal. This provides some clues as to the little guy's size, weight, and general ungainliness.

She then gets to ask questions about what kind of little guy this is, BUT NO QUESTIONS ABOUT HIS ACTUAL APPEARANCE OR SPECIES ARE ALLOWED. Qualitative questions, or questions about his behavior, are the only ones permitted. She can ask "Is he soft?" or "Does he seem nervous about being held?" or "If I put him in the bathtub, does he seem okay with that?" or "Would he like a lil grape?" or "Is he the sort of little fellow who would wear a vest in a children's book?" but not "Does he have fur," "Is he a reptile," "Is he from Asia," etc. Some questions are in a grey area so you have to follow your heart, but the point is not to identify the animal as fast as possible: the point is to guess the animal purely based on vibes + how he would act if he were in your living room right now.

And I'm not limited to yes or no answers! If she asks, "Would it feel appropriate to see this little guy in a propeller hat?" I can reply, "Oh no, he has a gravity to him. A bowler hat would be a more appropriate hat." Or if she asks, "Does this little guy have protagonist energy?" I can say something like, "he probably wouldn't be the main character in a children's cartoon. He'd probably be the main character's ditzy best friend who's always eating sandwiches, or something."

We're big Twenty Questions to kill time in a waiting room people, but Little Guy is more about the journey than the destination. It's got a different kind of sauce that's nice if "killing time" and "lowering anxiety" need to happen hand in hand.

if y’all are so desperate for a black circle with a bright ring around it in the sky, why not consider adding a small black hole to the solar system?

could be kinda fun?

ok poll time because apparently im weird and i eat dinner way later than other people