#criticism vs constructive criticism

[being-kindrad]

There’s nothing kind about hating men and trans people. Yikes

There is nothing kind about dismissing the staggering amounts of rape, abuse, and violence men commit against women and girls. There is nothing kind about ignoring the suffocating patriarchal system women and girls are subjected to.

There is nothing kind about forcing women to "accept" that mentally ill men who claim they're women are women. There is nothing kind about telling mentally ill men and women suffering in a regressive highly-gendered society that consuming cross-sex hormones and getting unnecessary cosmetic procedures will make them into the opposite sex and solve their problems at the expense of living a lie for their entire lives.

Being kind is not about being sweet and agreeable. Being kind is about being honest and sincere.

[diiambee]

If you're ever feeling like you're lost— I'll come find you.

Man all fronts, there's no ocean I won't swim across— To be right by you

[fayewoodss]

I like irl George streams.

[bobauthorman]

If Penny does come back, it should be as an AI. like from HALO/Red vs Blue, an artificial intelligence computer program that can freely move between machines and so forth.

My reasoning is that the process used to save Penny from Watts' virus was to have Ambrosius use Penny's robot body to make a new body, and her aura becomes a 100% flesh and blood construct. The new robot body then vanishes. But here's the thing. Ambrosius is the spirit of creation, not destruction. So how could he destroy Penny's robot machinery? What if it became pure data itself, and went to the nearest appropriate receptacle.

Also, it would be the ultimate bait-and-switch. After we are told that Penny's robot half was "just extra" that would be the only part still existing. But as Ruby said, "You think just because you've got nuts and bolts instead of squishy guts makes you any less real than me?"

[dreamingofthewild]

I didn't want to add to the Veilguard criticism, but I have to say something because people are misunderstanding what we mean when they say you can't play a mean character.

In other words, a Veilguard review from a new player. Minor spoilers below.

Note: These are just my opinions. I believe in criticising things you enjoy. If you don't like critical posts, then please do not read further. Also, this post isn't negative, just critical.

I encourage people to play the game if they want to and read a wide variety of reviews.

Of course, Rook has to be a hero, but heroic characters come in many forms. And the game shoe horns us into a very narrow view of what being a hero means.

You can't play Rook as an anti-hero or a jerkass with a heart of gold. The game wants us to roleplay Rook as a Captain America esque hero type. There is nothing wrong with that, I love playing goody two shoes, but that is not the only way to be a hero.

Heroes also look like Deadpool, Wolverine, Han Solo, Geralt of Rivia, and so on. You can't be cynical or ruthless in the game. Despite the fact that the backgrounds put Rook as a daring character who is willing to break the rules. That sounded very, renegade anti-hero in my mind.

These characters are compelling because they blur the lines between right and wrong, often taking unconventional paths to achieve their goals.

Like I said, the game really wants is to think of good and evil as two very distinct things. Other people have definitely put this better than I ever could, but the lines between the two are often blurred. Also, the idea of what is evil and what is good varies from person to person and through different cultures.

It also suggests that evil people can't be redeemed. That there is something fundamentally wrong with people who do "bad" things.

Nuanced heroic characters are those who possess complex personalities, realistic flaws, and face moral dilemmas that challenge their values.

These characters are compelling because they are not purely good or evil; they make difficult choices, face personal demons, and evolve over time, reflecting the complexity of real human experiences.

As far as I can tell so far, Rook is not faced with many earth-shattering moral quandries. Although, there should be. Especially if you're playing as an Elf. The game so far hasn't made me think in the way DAI did or the way other games have.

The way that the Companions acted felt a bit disconnected to me. They had issues, but we didn't get to delve into them. I don't feel like we could challenge them or allow them to grow.

I am getting way off track here. But I like the characters. I do. And if this had been a movie or a game directed at a younger audience, I would have no issues. But it's not.

And if I am honest I think that the message that we all put our differences aside to defeat something that is threatening to destroy the world is a stronger message than "we all need to get along".

Learning about the moral grey areas, about what drives people to do bad things, is important in recognising how to stop it. Because most of the time, true evil is not obvious. It's wrapped up in false promises.

And if we spend time trying to deal with our own personal issues and working on getting along before destroying a big threat, then we might just find that the threat gets to us first.

I know anti-heros, redemption arcs, and flawed characters are not everyone's cup of tea. It's nice to live in a world where the lines between good and evil are so easily defined.

It would have been amazing if the game could've covered these topics and had us explore this in depth. I would feel more engaged with the storyline and the characters.

Anyway, I have gone massively off track. Basically, there is more than one way to be a hero, and when people say that they don't mean they want to be a villain, They want complexity.

I am generally enjoying the game. There are good things about it, and it's a win for diversity. I actually don't mind the animation. There are many things positive about Veilguard, and I don't have any comments about the lore as a fairly new player.

It's just that the game lacks the depth and naunce that would make it a 5/5 for me. It's there, but it's shallow.

Where are the characters who believe the world should end? Where are the characters who blindly follow their doctrines? Where is the quest where Rook thinks they are doing a good thing, which ends up having negative consequences?

This wasn't supposed to be a full, in-depth review of the game or critique on the writing. There are many places where the writing is good. And I think that some people are being a bit overboard with their criticism. But it could have been better. We shouldn't shy away from heavy topics, and media/ art is a great way to discuss and critique real world things. I get that some people want pure escapism, which is fine. But that is not what Dragon Age was sold to me as.

If the writing is good you can explore such things in a sensitive way.

I am going to continue to play the game because I am enjoying it. But we should expect better.

[m0untainslut]

I’ve made my way over to the visual art side of instagram and while I think most of the art I’ve come across leaves me in awe I can’t help but to notice how some creators with a larger following seem to be the most judgmental and sassy towards other artists? Why? 😐

[135-film]

every time i hear anything art-related on tiktok, i immediately get really like... upset? annoyed? idk. unpleasant feeling because it's literally always "we're making fun of this child/beginner for their anatomy or how they color" or whatever else or pretending that an artists deserve to be treated like a piece of corporate media.

i know tiktok is literally the devil and hell incarnate, but i don't think any artist deserves to be targets of mass harassment especially not people who are just starting out (and even more especially not children).

if tiktok was a thing when i was younger and i was posting my art on there, i would never fucking draw ever again. my art career would've ended after a few months of drawing "seriously," and i really do mean it lol. call me sensitive or whatever, but a 13-15 year old does not need to hear whatever criticism you think they need to hear i promise.

[2346khith]

Okay so I was sitting in my room scrolling through tumblr, when I got this thought. So basically in the original timeline both sub zero’s were actually born in America but got taken away by their father. Heck in some sources it even said that they had a sister both from the mythologies game and conquest but that never utilized. So, hear me out, what if, while Kuai liang is on the run from the Lin kuei (you know because of the cyber initiative) he decides to go to America to hide out and maybe search for the other earth realm fighters like Johnny or Sonya. But on the way he gets ambush by the black dragon and is left dead in an ally way until, a random woman comes and takes him into her home to heal him up. When he wakes up the woman introduces herself as Lisa and offers him to stay with her until he’s back on his feet. Kuai agrees but as the days go by he starts to notice little things. Like how she gives off a fridges temperature or how she looks very similar to him. He even notices it in her daughter (yes she has a daughter) who happens to have palish skin and light blue natural hair. And let’s just say he saw an old picture of her and her mom…and her two missing brothers… and a man you looks exactly like his father. He puts two and two together and realizes that this is his long loss sister. After a tearful reunion, he realized both her and her daughter also have ice powers (if you couldn’t tell the daughter is frost) but they keep them hidden to hide from the black dragon. It turns out they basically taken over the entire city they live in and constantly threaten the people living there. So what does a assassin, who on the run, with endless free time and just find out his sister and niece are constantly terrorizing but a bunch of gang members, supposed to do. Become a vigilante obviously. Yeah the vigilante part is actually inspired by the mortal kombat vs dc sub zero ending where he basically becomes Batman. It be like that except he doesn’t hold back. Heck you could have him team up with some black dragon defectors like Kabal and Erron or let him meet up with Kenshi who also trying to take it down( this wouldn’t be a one for one of the original timeline more like a mishmash of all the timelines). You can even let him train Lisa and frost and they can fight along side him. You can even bring Hanzo and Bi Han into the mix him Habdo oath to protect Kuai liang as a way to redeem himself for killing his brother and bi Han as a vengeful wraith who seek to finish Hanzo off but also protect Kuai from both the black dragon and scorpion not knowing he protecting him. Bi Han could also regain his humanity with reuniting with his sister who unlike Kuai he remembers(Kuai would be the youngest in this au. And what will I call this au… Urban Sub Zero. Or something else I can workshop. Or maybe I’ll completely forget about this, who knows.

[being-kindrad]

Gender Critical Articles

This post is intended to be a collection of gender critical articles and resources. I intend to continually update it. I've now broken it down into categories to hopefully make it easier to sort through.

General gender critical articles

An Open Letter To the Guy on Twitter Who Wonders if Biological Sex is Real

Pronouns Are Rohypnol

Sex Is Not Gender: The Validity of Sex-Based Rights

Break the binary, break the body

Every Gender Identity Is ‘Authentic’—Until It Isn’t

The Endless Contradictions of Gender Ideology

Collette Colfer: A New Religion

Trust your discomfort

The Hidden Cost of Pronoun Politeness

Trans People Aren't Babies

Why can't we talk about this?

Not everything is about gender

The medicalization of gender (sexist stereotypes)

Inauthentic Selves: The modern LGBTQ+ Movement Is Run By Philanthropic Astroturf And Based On Junk Science

[Academic paper] The Myth of “Reliable Research” in Pediatric Gender Medicine: A critical evaluation of the Dutch Studies—and research that has followed

In the dark: A major documentary in the Netherlands shakes the foundations of gender medicine

‘Gender-Affirming Care Is Dangerous. I Know Because I Helped Pioneer It.’

The secret life of gender clinicians

New York Times publishes bizarre case for youth gender transition

A Raging Transgender Debate in the Netherlands

Why disturbing leaks from US gender group WPATH ring alarm bells in the NHS

The Worst Argument For Youth Transition

Sex reassignment in minors may be medical history’s ‘greatest ethical scandal’, French report says

The reckoning over puberty blockers has arrived

How a cult captured the NHS

Simply criticizing 'gender medicine' isn't enough

People are in denial following the Cass report – it’s like deprogramming cult members

Politics

My conversation with Democrats for an Informed Approach to Gender

JK Rowling’s victory over Humza Yousaf’s hate crime laws is a victory for all women

On Transgender Issues, Voters Want Common Sense

Detrans

Introducing the Desisted & Detransitioned Women’s Bill of Rights

Exploitation of people with DSDs ("intersex")

Klinefelter syndrome (XXY) is a Medical and Genetic Condition: Stop Exploiting Us

[1-wonder-1]

Some sketches vs. finals!

[laminesyamal]

i really feel like i’m gonna throw up yall lmao, i am not built for this 😭😭😭

[megamindfandombookclub]

Rage Rage FUCKING RAGE

About the AO3 "No Guest Comments for a while" warning

If you're not following any of AO3's social media accounts you might be in the dark as to what kind of "spam comments" have engendered this banner at the top of the site:

These spam comments have been posted about a great deal on the AO3 subreddit for the past couple of days. Initially they comprised a bunch of guest (logged out users) bot comments that insulted authors by suggesting they were using AI and not writing their own fics. Some examples, from the subreddit:

But it then escalated to outright graphic porn images and gifs being posted in comments, again by logged out 'Guest' accounts. Obviously, I'm not going to give examples of those, but between these two bot infestations, AO3 has clearly decided to act and has temporarily closed the ability to post comments for users who are not logged in with an AO3 account.

Unfortunately, this means that genuine readers who don't have an AO3 account won't be able to leave comments on fics that they enjoy.

If you are a genuine reader who doesn't yet have an AO3 account, I strongly suggest getting yourself on the waiting list for one. More and more AO3 authors are now locking their fics down to registered users only - either due to these bot comments or concerns about AI scraping their work - which means you're probably missing out on a lot of great stuff.

Hopefully guest commenting will be enabled again at some point soon, but I suggest not waiting until then. Get yourself on that list.

Wait times are going to be longer than usual at the moment, due to the current Wattpad purge [info on Fanlore | Wattpad subreddit thread], but if you're in line, then your invite will come through eventually.

Update: There's now a Megathread about this on the AO3 subreddit.

[thesecretdcblog]

The Wayne family decide to do a 24 hour charity livestream. It quickly descends into chaos and so many new memes are born.

The highlights include:

- Everyone painting along to a Bob Ross video - Steph's painting somehow catches fire (it was Damian).

- Damian challenges his brothers to a lightsaber duel

- All the kids vs Tim at Call of Duty. Tim wins.

- Dick kicking everyone's asses at Twister

- Dick and Jason try the milk gallon challenge. It does not end well.

- Tim tasers Jason. They get a paramedic to supervise. It takes both Bruce and Dick to hold Jason steady. Tim is grinning evilly the entire time.

- They try to play Werewolf but for some reason they let Stephanie be the "overseer" - goes about as well as you'd think.

- Bruce killing is at karaoke

- They read fanfiction of themselves. Jason gives constructive criticism.

- The most chaotic game of Cards Against Humanity to ever happen

- Superman makes a guest appearance to read some bedtime stories

- Damian has school the next day so he can't stay the whole time but he does introduce all his animals before he heads off to bed. There are about four new ones Bruce didn't know about.

- Bruce shows off all his kids' baby photos. No one knows where he got them from.

- There is a "Wheel of Destiny". They spin it every hour and whatever it lands on, everyone has to complete that task.

- Barbara is there mostly to monitor the livestream and donations and also tell embarrassing stories about the Wayne kids

- Just Dance Rasputin

- Cass tries to teach her dad and brothers ballet. Dick and Tim do pretty well, but Jason tries a pirouette and lands on his ass.

- Tim does drag to Like A Prayer by Madonna. This is how his siblings find out about Caroline Hill.

- Duke reads some of his poetry. It makes Dick cry.

[being-kindrad]

The OP defined DSD as only "disorders of sexual development" but there is also the definition "differences of sexual development" or "diverse sex development". It seems the OP uses only "disorder" to make "DSD" seem like a "bad word" to imply TERFs think people with DSDs are "defective."

People with DSDs don't "prove" sex is social. How does that make sense? Sex organs are not social constructs, they exist regardless of if humans know about them or how humans refer to them. The sex binary doesn't need "reinforcing," it just exists. If there isn't a sex binary in humans, why do humans only produce either egg cells (from female humans) or sperm cells (from male humans)?

Sex is biological, gender is social.

you only need to look at the way being intersex is often referred to by doctors and by TERFs to understand the damage the "sex is biological" rhetoric does

in case you're not familiar, the term I'm referring to specifically is DSD or Disorders of Sex Development

to someone who truly deeply believes that sex is natural, being intersex will always be disordered or defective. they insist on continuing to label us (intersex folk) as "men with DSD" or as "women with DSD" in order to reinforce the sex binary. they will not let intersex people be proof of the truly social nature of sex as a category, because they will not even see us as intersex. delete "sex is biological, gender is social" from your vocabulary. please and thank you