#and i feel more and more spite building up in myself at the entitled shit

[beevean]

How about a list of your favorite villains across media?

Wouldn't really know how to rank them but I can try :P

Eggman: funnily enough, it was Colors that made me realize "huh, he's actually a pretty good villain" lmao, so thanks Colors! Full of himself, iconic style, charismatic, he will destroy an ancient civilization site to take down his enemy and then build a circus in the same game (some of the games do a bang up job of displaying his personality without words!), proof that you can be both goofy and a serious threat.

Dahlia Hawthorne: absolutely my fave AA villain <3 she's petty and not even the final murderer, yet under her "cute girl who's secretly a bitch" façade lies an actual, scary demon, who doesn't even let death stop her from spreading her utter malice. Not even after Mia beautifully lays down how she's actually a miserable pathetic creature (which she is), does her creepy factor diminish.

Annie Wilkes: yeah an odd choice maybe, but Misery is one of my favorite books and Annie has so much presence and I was legit scared of her while reading. It's almost funny how she's essentially a parody of over-the-top entitled fans, and oh boy things did not get better since the '80s :)

Griffith: what can you say about this complex, tragic piece of shit? You can see him in many ways, you can blame him or forgive him depending on how much you believe in the effects of fate, he's mostly rememebered as "that asshole who raped Casca into insanity" but the arc he went through to get to that low point is only one of the many reasons the Golden Age arc is iconic. I like to see him as a stunted manchild who longed for human contact but his only way to get it was through control :)

Azula: nowadays I think she'd be treated more sympathetically due to her being a 14 yo girl raised by a monstruous dictator, but still, she starts off as a genuinely scary threat compared to the sympathetic Zuko, and her plan to take over the Earth Kingdom is actually clever ("don't flatter yourself, you were never even a player", fucking destroyed), but by the end of Book 3 you feel nothing but pity for the scared little girl with mommy issues she actually is.

Blue Diamond: she's always been my favorite of the Diamonds, and not just because she's beautiful :P she comes off as the "nice" Diamond, especially when juxtaposed to Yellow, and she has a soothing yet intimidating aura around her. But she's actually deeply selfish and callous, literally dragging everyone in her grief - her power immobilizes you with sheer sadness, it's almost scary - and she said she loved Pink a lot but she wasn't above abusing her. I find her fascinating. (I also like Yellow a lot for the opposite reasons: she has more redeeming qualities than one might think).

Beatrice Horseman: does she count? I'll count her. I hated her guts ever since S2E1, where she calls Bojack to outright tell him "you were born broken and there's nothing you can do about it", but then S4 comes around and man, does it recontexualize all the evil she did to Bojack. Not to the point of forgiving her (although Bojack's last moment of compassion gets me), but the entire situation, from her own childhood trauma to how she coped with it, is devastating, an excellent portrayal of the cycle of abuse.

Weil: at the cost of repeating myself, he's just a spiteful monster with zero redeeming qualities (dude manipulates two babies to do his evil bidding and it doesn't even scratch the surface), fully convinced that it's his own humanity who makes him such a monster, and you want him dead so badly

(shout out to Copy X, who is more minor than Weil but I like his concept a lot and I find him pathetic in a good way, super underrated and good thing he wasn't the real X turned evil)

Dracula: started off as a homage to horror movies, became a nearly Berserk-esque figure of a dark lord fated to die at the hands of his old friend's descendants and be brought back by humanity's darkest desires. You almost feel sorry for him and how he's nearly forced to be a monster... if it wasn't for his utter selfishness and petty spite against God that were there long before he became an avatar of Chaos.

Isaac: obviously :P minor villain that he is, he's an absolute delight, both an over the top petty asshole of a simp whose motivation is simply "make Hector suffer", and a tragic victim who did not deserve to see his whole life shatter in the span of a few minutes. Again, you'd feel very badly about him, and then you remember how he dangled Rosaly's head in front of Hector. Also Liam O'Brien <3

[aikainkauna]

Sorry I haven’t been giffing/posting/reglobbing much lately, guys. It’s that behemoth of a fic swallowing up all my sitting-upright time (and a big chunk of my reclining time). Four chapters or so to go and I’m still spending about 7-11 hours every day combing the remaining text for typos (yes, some of us actually do care about our fics and don’t think it’s some dirty “trashy,” “guilty pleasure” of less value), so it’s a full-time job with overtime. So if I’m slow to respond to anything, it’s that. I’m sure that soon enough, the post-fic existential emptiness will be upon us and you’ll be seeing more gifs and tag yelling.

Although it’s just been so quiet among the nice people here and so loud among the idiots that I might just take several steps back from Tumblr in general, just for my mental health. There seems little point in making gifs nobody reblogs and saying anything when it’s drowned out by the types who give liberals a bad name (honestly, some of the shit people say on here would already have made me a Nazi were I a bloke, because apparently nothing is ever enough and I’ll always be Doing it Wrong anyway; you’re not making tolerance seem worthwhile, if you nevertheless beat the tolerant person up for wearing the wrong types of socks).

I’m still looking for that fandom old people’s home, so if you find it, that place where people are old enough to have some fucking perspective, do let me know.

This whole place is eerily reminiscent of an abusive relationship where you’re constantly having to tiptoe because you never know when the next explosion is going to come and where from, what sort of utterly random thing someone is going to call abusive now and beat you up for, even if you’ve been working hard not to upset them, have made deliberate choices to accommodate them because you know their wounds. It’s like Borderline Personality Disorder, but in the form of a website. (And yes, I know first-hand what BPD is like. Had the spouse, had the flatmate, had the fuckbuddies, had the friends.) And the worst thing about BPD is that it’s catching: being around a human minefield makes everyone jumpy, and then *their* jumpiness becomes tyrannical towards others (when the hurt person is just self-defending, they feel) and then the cycle continues. Everybody is paranoid and beating everybody up in the name of great justice, and undermining everyone else’s psyches to the point where they become human minefields themselves. And they don’t know how to stop that cycle, if they’re in denial about having a problem, because of course, if you hurt and lash out, you’re just defending yourself. (Being told you’re a shitty person for freaking out at a trigger is worse than being triggered. Good luck trying to crawl out of that into any semblance of health, if you feel you’re just an explosive piece of crap forever.)

And while I know I can help a bit by stepping outside of that and offering fic and pics and lols where people can forget about it all, I’m still in two minds about offering it in a direction where the recipient is never going to be happy anyway, and where the effort is (or seems) wasted as long as the receiving end isn’t doing any conscious healing/rebuilding itself to better appreciate healthier things. It does nothing. Why am I buying medicine for someone who abuses me for it and throws the bottle in my face? I’ve been there, trying to please people who were locked up in their traumas and paranoias, throwing all my love and effort and work at them to no avail because I thought I could help; I’m not keen on doing it again. Because now I’m old enough to know I’m wasting my time, as brutal and as “selfish” that sounds (how about calling it “self-preservation?” “Sanity?” “Kindness to oneself?” I know women are beaten out of daring to have that, for daring to even think their lives aren’t meant to be lived for other people, but fucking watch me go).

Just like partners and friends aren’t the same as professional help, fandom isn’t the ultimate cure for depression/trauma unless there’s an inner change in the ill person to better utilise it. I was that ill person and I had to go through a lot of therapy and growth to not become a 24/7 abusive bitch myself (I still have shitty hypersensitivities, but those are in-built–they’re bad enough). I changed the way I see fannish activities (I now really do see them as medicine), and only then could I enjoy them to the fullest and only then could I start writing really good fic, because it comes from a firm ground of faith in the inherent value of fic. It’s a really complicated thing to explain, the interrelationships of fandom, queer people and mental health (there should be a book on fandom/queerdom and mentalness–we are wonky in the head, sometimes fucking awfully so, and it’s *not* all due to persecution but genes).

But my gist is that there’s no point in endlessly remaining in a draining relationship with someone who doesn’t want to heal–Tumblr’s anxiety-mongering culture of self-hate, ahoy! One has to pick one’s “battles” and channel one’s energy somewhere where it’s actually going to bear fruit. Not on a site that says the phrase “I don’t discriminate by colour” is racist, or that a feminist, mixed-race royal princess “isn’t enough” or that a given sexual minority gets to rule it over everyone else. Not on a site full of kids who are too young/American to have known *real* homophobia and racism, and who don’t realise that for most people, in the real world, even not being racist or homophobic is a *choice.*

Which is why I miss that supportive community of other brainy, feminist and reasonable fans who actually had conversations so. Fucking. Much. Where are they? (DW is where the militant vegan lesbian sociopath SJWs went, and if you’re not keen on eternal frowny moral meta, ehhh.)

Where’s the actual fun? Where are the other fans who are old enough to have been through therapy and who have experienced real relationships and have known actual real “minority” people IRL, and who consequently have an open mind about things? Who can see that things really aren’t as black and white as they thought they were when they were in their teens? Where are the fans who know something about psychology and psychiatry? The ones who know how gendered socialisation works and just how deep it goes, and who aren’t fans of Tumblr essentialism and its blindness to gender-based toxins? The fans who actually understand and respect the intelligence of other fans, instead of kneejerk assumptions of ignorance and moral corruption? The fans who legit don’t think a Gen X writer who forgot to use–or simply didn’t know about the existence of–a new politically correct term, is as evil as Hitler (because ignorance=/=active, intentional oppression, Jesus!)? The fans who respect the labor that goes into fanfic and fanart and always leave comments or otherwise support fan creators, instead of thinking of writers as vending machines for something “dirty” they feel ashamed for reading?

Because I’m that kind of “old” fan and I’ll be there for you if you’re there for me.

I just need to know where the fuck you are!

[hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger]

Toughts on this deviantart post?

Found this https://www.deviantart.com/hotwar696/art/Who-is-the-real-Gary-Stu-835695208 it’s pretty bad i think. Or at least misleading. Toughts?

Let’s throw up the image and text for full context

A lot of Conway/Romita fans think that Venom is an awful Gary Stu. Ironically they like the post clone saga Norman Osborn who is not even the same character as the one back the in Conway/Romita days. Despising Harry Osborn when back in the days he simply did not have enough time for him. Also despite what post clone saga stories might have told you he only became a villain because an accident gave him brain damage. Yes, that’s right with the exception of the animated Spider-Man series from 1994 the pre clone saga Norman Osborn was not some inhuman monster who became insane. He was a tragic bussinessman who lost his wife and got brain damage after an explosion to his face. Becoming a villain after an explosion to the face by the way is also the villain origin for Dr. Octopus so yeah Norman Osborn was not a very original villain even before becoming the Gary Stu version of Lex Luthor.Image size

I am going to address every point here, but let me get the most important thing out of the way first.

This is not a valid point to make for two big reasons.

1) The first is that antagonists* do not count as Gary/Marty Stus/Mary Sues.

The function of an antagonists within fiction is to oppose and challenge the protagonists. By having them be extremely powerful, hyper capable, have immense accomplishments and so on, you build them up as a challenge to over come, as someone the protagonist is the underdog in comparison to.

A classic example from manga and anime is Freeza from Dragon Ball. As originally portrayed he can reduce whole planets to dust with a single finger and the true limits of his power are beyond imagining. Had the protagonists all attacked him at once along with all of Freeza’s subordinates they still would’ve lost because he is more powerful and all of them combined. He withstands the most powerful version of the most powerful technique in the series up until that point. 

Were this character the protagonist he’d almost certainly a Marty Stu. But as the antagonist he is a supremely effective challenge for the heroes to over come precisely because he does outstrip them so throughly. 

2) It’s very obvious the OP is reacting against arguments he’s heard from one specific or several specific people on an incredibly narrow topic. That’s fine. But he’s broadbrushing it as though it’s a widely held opinion when it’s at best widely held within a niche within a niche within another niche. 

Like, this is obviously a discussion he’s had at Toonzone or some other similar forum because he references BTAS, Spec Spidey and has drawn both Norman and Venom in their 1994 designs. 

But let’s talk about the broader points made.

- None of that symbiote crap. I don’t disagree that it’s myopic and disingenuous to dismiss symbiotes on principle. Putting aside how they’ve been a staple for over 30 years now (and their recent stories have been very good in fact), it smacks of failing to look beyond your own preferences. There are bad symbiote stories and characters. There are even things that inherently suck on principle within Spider-Man. But the symbiotes are not among them. They are exceptions to the rule and proven that over and over. The person the OP is referncing is entitled to not like them but not to dismiss them on principle. I hate Screwball but I don’t think her concept is inherently shit. I liked her in he Fake Red manga!

- Joker in BTAS was a wuss, Spec cartoon Norman was better. I mean, maybe that’s true. there can be extenuating circumstances applying to both. But the Joke screaming doesn’t make him a wuss. if he was a wuss he wouldn’t have taken on Superman or Batman repeatedly. Norman might have been scared but so full of spite that he wasn’t going to give Vulture the satisfaction.

- He technically killed Spider-Man because he killed Ben Reilly. Well, first of all he was trying to kill Peter. Second of all ben didn’t look stupid. he looked identical to Peter but with blonde hair; how is that stupid? Third of all killing a clone of Spider-Man isn’t technically killing him, if it was Norman would’ve routinely been murdering Spidey clone. Fourth of all the OP is framing this as a grand win for Norman because he got to kill Spidey technically. it is a win for him but not for that reason. Ben sacrificed  himself to save Peter who Norman was really aiming at

- Killing off baby May, apart from being debatable at all due to the presentation of that story, didn’t prevent Peter from maturing. it prevented him from maturing a specific way but it didn’t stop him from maturing period. Dealing with a miscarriage is  an experience that can age a person. Peter went back to ESU to complete his education immediately after that and some years later he became a teacher under JMS’ run. That’s also a totally meta-textual point to make and therefore doesn’t apply to Norman being a Gary Stu. Successfully preventing character development is something you attribute to writers not the characters. 

- I don’t get rh point about Nathanial Gray or Von Strucker

- Yes he was the Kingpin of Europe. How does that make him a Gary Stu? Wison Fisk was the Kingpin of America as were many other characters.

- Yes he was President of the USA but only in an out of continuity story, Earth X (and maybe other ones too). The argumentation of the OP is broken because he is conflating multiple different versions as the same thing. pre-OMD, post-OMD, Spec cartoon, Earth X etc. By this logic Venom would also be a Gary Stu and so would countless other characters. Superman would be a Gary Stu because he is DC’s Jesus but also DC’s Hitler. 

- The next point is a total strawman. Putting aside how in my experience people throw more shade at Norman than is deserved, even Norman fans like myself do not deny BAD stories with the character exist. What’s ironic is that he has chosen the more obvious targets like the Gathering of Five or the Final Chapter. 

Both of those stories are in most respects much worse than Sins Past and the element that makes Sins past bad isn’t even the fact that Norman slept with Gwen. It’s the simple fact that a woman who was clearly not pregnant in the Romita years apparently was and neither she nor MJ seemed to give a shit about the children after they were born. The further irony of his referencing this story is that he’s framed his argument as Silver Age stans are ignoring stuff like Sins Past. the reality is it is Silver/Bronze Age stans who HATE Sins Past more than anyone else in the Spider-Fandom precisely because  it messes with the stuff they stan

His referencing of the Clone Saga is also divorced from context. Everyone worth their salt is aware Norman was never originally intended as the villain of the Clone Saga. That was a late addition, and noticeably a late addition at a time when the Clone Saga stories being told were on the whole actually good!  Norman’s return story was on balance good!  It got a trade paperback in the 1990s when only the most popular stories got such treatment. It is utterly disingenuous to hold the worst of the Clone Saga up as a Norman Osborn story because those were never written with him in mind as the villain. 

Additionally I do not know why he is referencing Maximum Carnage or Superior Spider-Man. Okay, maybe he means the former is a symbiote story as opposed to a Carnage story specifically. But if he’s trying to prove Norman is a gary Stu but Venom is not why would you treat Maximum Carnage as a general symbiote story rather than cite a Venom specific story? And it still wouldn’t explain citing Superior Spider-Man. This is about contrasting Norman and Venom, what did Doc Ock have to do with any of this?

- Citing Morlun is equally confusing. The point the OP is trying to make is that silver/bronze age fans put Norman on a pedestal and look down on Venom. Putting aside how that really misrepresents the situation, why would you cite a villain who is not only NOT a silver/bronze age character but appeared long after Venom and if anything gets more  disdain than Venom does. Old school fans who dislike Venom or symbiotes on principle do not generally like Morlun, if anything they dislike him more  than Venom as they regard mysticism even more inappropriate for Spider-Man than aliens.

- The OP finally cites the Final Chapter but failed to do it at the appropriate point in his rant and also misrepresents it. He’s conflated the bomb implanted into Aunt May’s head in that story with the revelation that she was impersonated by an actress in ASm #400. He’s combined both characters and events. How do you fuck up that badly? The actress died of natural causes and then much later we got the implanted bomb. Norman never  killed the actress, the actress agreed to work with him specifically because she was already dying. Also the guy’s grammar is messed up. I’m pretty sure ‘operated into her’ isn’t a real phrase.

- ‘A chad lady killer’…um…what? Isn’t that term intended to be slang for a kind of James Bond figure? A ‘man’s man’ who has lots of sex with women? It doesn’t mean a man who kills women is a manly. Whether people use the term chad ironically or sincerely the overwhelming majority aren’t going around proclaiming Jack the Ripper as the ultimate real life Chad. 

- The framing of Norman’s relationship with Gwen is misrepresentative of what happened. It pretends like Norman had se with Gwen specifically to get one over on Peter. He didn’t. He wasn’t even aware he was the Goblin at that time, that Peter was Spider-Man and very likely didn’t know Peter had feelings for Gwen as they weren’t dating at that time. Norman had sex with Gwen because they were both vulnerable and had a moment of passion. 

I’d also question his designating Gwen as Peter’s second love interest. I guess that’d be accurate if you are speaking strictly in terms of Peter’s regular girlfriends. But normally love interest means someone the readers are aware is being framed as potential romantic partner for the protagonist. In this sense Liz was the first love interest, Betty was the second and Gwen was the third. 

- WTF does shit was so cash even mean?

Now for the text.

-A lot of Conway/Romita fans think that Venom is an awful Gary Stu. Ironically they like the post clone saga Norman Osborn who is not even the same character as the one back the in Conway/Romita days.

Yeah, there isn’t a lot. The vast majority of Conway/Romita stans do not like post-Clone Saga Norman.

And is he not the same character s he was before.

From a certain POV that’s true. But that’s chiefly because silver Age Norman was usually an amnesic who wasn’t his true self. His Goblin persona in the Silver Age is actually fairly similar to his post-Clone Saga self. The reason for the different presentation is simply a passage of time. Doc Ock in the 1990s wasn’t presented identically to how he was in the silver age just because times had changed. The Joker wasn’t presented the same way in the post-Killing Joke or Death in the Family eras of Batman as he was back in the 1940s.

The core of the character, that this guy was a real nasty, egotistical, sadistic and power hungry monster? No, that was all the same it was just ramped up. Norman’s ‘ghost’ had evolved in the interim between his death and his return too. In a sense his place and framing within the mythos had always evolved with the times. It’s just that when he came back suddenly that wasn’t a metaphorical ghost but a flesh and blood character.

But the same can be said of any successful character over time as I outlined above. Shit Absolute Carnage depicted Carnage in a way that is not identical to how he was initially presented. But it was most definitily an evolution of that.

- “Despising Harry Osborn when back in the days he simply did not have enough time for him.”

Not true. The first time Norman began to remember he was the Goblin he got passive aggressive towards Harry. When he got his powers he was downright mean to him as depicted in ASM #40. But he also never despised Harry either. Norman always loved Harry in a toxic manner, through neglect or abuse. That was true post-Clone Saga. 

In fact the entire reason Norman initiated the Clone Saga was specifically because he wanted revenge for Harry’s death.

And again, the OP is treating this as a wholesale invention of the post-clone saga era when it wasn’t. Norman being an abusive father was introduced long before anyone was thinking about the Clone Saga. It was established in the Child Within circa 1991 IIRC. Later (when the Clone Saga was being planned I think) it was further explored in Spec annual 1994, but that just added to what we already knew from the forrmer story. Shit, this depiction of Harry and Norman’s relationship was showcased in Untold Tales of Spider-Man. That was both set long before the Clone Saga, IIRC written before Norman’s return was decided upon and written by someone who definitely didn’t agree with his return.

Norman never despised Harry, but he was a shitty Dad. He was a shitty Dad in ASm #40. He didn’t just have no time for Harry, he neglected him specifically because he wanted to gain money and thereby gain power.

Even if you do argue that Norman didn’t despise Harry in the silver age but did post-clone saga, so long as that change was organically introduced that makes it fine. better than fine as that’s simply more dramatically enriching than him being a nice guy who happens to not have time for his son.

- “Also despite what post clone saga stories might have told you he only became a villain because an accident gave him brain damage.”

LOL nope.

a) As I just said, even if this was a retcon of the post-Clone Saga era (which it wasn’t) it made Norman a better  character. A man being bad because he got brain damage is a cliche, lazy, over simplistic explanation for his villainy. It’s also arguably less realistic and actually makes the characetr a lesser villain as some surgery and thereby might be able to fix them. In fact you could argue they are in effect a victim of their brain damage and thereby not accountable for their actions. That’s so much less substantive than someone’s life experiences shaping them into a horrible human being. By this author’s wn logic Doc Ock’s origin (pre-Clone Saga I might add) makes him a LESSER villain because it established that he was actually evil because of his life before his accident. that was just the straw that broke the camel’s back, he didn’t just get a knock to the noggin and wound up evil

b) If Norman’s evilness stems from brain damage how come when he was a nice guy in the silver age neither he nor Harry suggested surgery or medication to help heal that damage? That would’ve meant he’d never have been evil again

c) ASm #40 makes it clear he was a piece of shit BEFORE his accident. He was neglecting his son, railroading his partner, stealing his inventions and power hungry before getting brain damage.

d) You could easily argue Norman was always brain damaged the doctors just mistakenly believed his injuries stemmed from the accident

e) Child Within and Spec Annual 1994 established Norman as a psychopath before he got his powers. Both were written before the Clone Saga. Post-Clone Saga stories like Revenge of the Green Goblin merely built upon this, they didn’t wholesale invent it

“Yes, that’s right with the exception of the animated Spider-Man series from 1994 the pre clone saga Norman Osborn was not some inhuman monster who became insane.”

LOL nope again.

First of all, 1994-cartoon Norman WAS fairly sympathetic before becoming the Goblin. In the show he got a loan from Kingpin and was forced to pay off the debt by targeting Spider-Man. Even if he didn’t initially realise Fisk was a criminal when he got the loan, by the time he did realise going to the police would’ve resulted in him losing his son and/or his life. He wouldn’t be the first man to get in deep with the mob after all.

When his inital effort to kill Spider-Man failed he was forced to give Kingpin his company and attempted to get out from this by assasinating Fisk. This backfired hard endangering his son, but Norman risked his life to save Harry. 

His whole character until season 3 was basically defined by being a morally grey character. he loved his son, he was maybe egotistical and a ruthless businessman but the worst things he did were either on Kingpin’s orders or attempts to free himself of a very powerful and very dangerous controlling force in his life. 

Not a nice man, but a far cry from an inhuman monster or an insane person, at least until he was exposed to the Goblin gas.

SECOND of all if you are an inhumane monster how exactly do you then ‘go insane’? Aren’t they functionally the same thing within the context of the dicussion?

It’s also not representative of canonical Norman. Canonical Norman was a psychopath because of his life experiences and possibly hereditary mental illnesses within the family. The Goblin formula by empowering him sent him on an ego trip.

The OP isn’t even using the commonly held misconceptions about Norman Osborn, he’s just using his own very specific ones. Most people mistakenly believe the Goblin formula drove Norman nuts when ASM #40 just claims the accident gave him brain damage. Over time creators decided the formula itself makes the user nuts. 

“He was a tragic bussinessman who lost his wife and got brain damage after an explosion to his face“

a) Unless I am mistaken there was little word paid to Norman’s wife in the Silver Age. And what little we got never presented Norman as being affected by her passing. That was an invention of the 1990s and 2000s; and a very good one at that. 

b) Yes how tragic a businessman he was to have neglected his son, sought power, rail roaded his partner and stolen his inventions. Obviously none of that is bad. he only became bad after an explosion gave him brain damage.

c) Even if he really was a tragic businessman blah blah blah, that is a LESS EFFECTIVE villain and a LESS complex character than the post-clone saga guy we got

“Becoming a villain after an explosion to the face by the way is also the villain origin for Dr. Octopus so yeah Norman Osborn was not a very original villain even before becoming the Gary Stu version of Lex Luthor.”

I’ve already addressed the idiotic criticism that Norman became a Luthor knock off.

The OP is disingenuous on several levels with his other point as well though.

For starters brain damage was never the sum totality of Norman’s origin as a character. Doc Ock was just a guy who was at best maybe a little odd looking due to his arms then had an accident and became evil. that was it.

Not only was Ott far from the first villain with such an origin, but to sit there and say Norman was unoriginal merely because he also took a boom to the face is moronic. Norman’s life before  his accident made him incredibly different to Otto. It made him comparatively more layered and complex next to the likes of Otto or the other rogues because he wasn’t nice initially, he had this strained relationship with his son and above all else he had this internal denial over his failings as a father. THAT shit doesn’t count as part of his origin? ALL that matters is explosion+brain damage=evil?

That’s obviously moving the goal posts to win.

And it’s a self-defeating argument. Silver Age Norman is bad because he is unoriginal (even though functionally he actually was). Okay, in the 1990s and beyond he got a revised origin that was more original. But that’s bad because changed him from his Silver Age self.

Goal posts. They a movin!

Not to mention as I already said DOC OCK’s origin was also changed so his villainy didn’t just stem from a random accident that knocked his noggin.

So Doc Ock sucks too right?

Finally, I say this as someone who likes Norman AND Venom.

I would never call Venom a Gary Stu. I’ve never even SEEN anyone claim Venom was a Gary Stu. BOTH Norman and Venom get under appreciated.

Fuck i wrote like over 10 essays DEFENDING Venom. 

You can pass my comments onto this idiot if you wish.

*Not necesarilly villains as you can have a villain protagonist, see Superior Spider-Man

[queernuck]

Everyone has been great to start, but unfortunately after the first day or so, donations fell off completely. I want to see if I can raise more, especially because my birthday isn’t for a month, and I need to wait to get my PayPal completely set up to get the money sent to anyone. In the meantime, then, being able to build up how much I have ready to get out, saving up to increase how much I’ll be able to spend for my birthday, will make a lot of things better, be it dealing with any fees I come across, having money left after the fact to use for whatever other expenses might come up in trying to get away from my parents, or just making my birthday more fun since I dont think Ill have any access to my paycheck for it. 

I realize that sounds at least a bit ridiculous, that there are causes out there that are “more worthy” than me partying for my birthday, but that’s exactly why I’m trying anyway: life is depressing, monotonous, and long at times and as a result, trying to help people not just stay alive but actually thrive for a bit, trying to help people have some fun and do things they enjoy is the kind of thing where, if you’re donating to me, you’re actually able to do. It improves a life that is not in immediate danger, but all the same is hanging on, is trying to make things better and having trouble with it, trying to break out of a spot where I am on the verge of being uninsured, abused, and alone facing down some really awful circumstances. Last night, for example, when I talked about how frustrating it is that I was getting out way later than scheduled and that my coworker was not getting a break they would have been entitled to, my dad came back to me with some anti-labor ideology. I still don’t have a Bachelor’s Degree, I still need to work on getting one, and as of right now balancing that with a full-time job, whatever kind of full-time job I could find, seems like a really difficult prospect even if I can organize some kind of schedule that involves working on both. After an exhausting week of “part-time” that nearly crossed the line of 40 hours, all I recieved was a passing acknowledgement of how much I had worked and an affirmation that I should be working that much every week. I can’t even find my pay stub to check how much I got, because I’m pretty sure my parents took it to deposit it. 

I feel alone, I feel like shit, I feel worthless, and it frequently feels like I am never going to get out of here, that as much as my parents hate being stuck with me and I hate being stuck with them, their reluctance to help me or let me be myself because of prohibitionist moralism and petit-bourgeoisie ideology (along with unadmitted transmisogyny and homophobia) combines with gratefulness for the money my labor brings in. I work hard, I work a lot, and it wears me down, dealing with customers on the kind of basis that retail demands specifically because it relies on duplicity, dishonesty, on presenting something that is a false image of myself, and this is within a relatively supportive and permissive retail environment. A normal, full-time job is overwhelmingly likely to be a place where I have to restrict myself even more, and while I can accept this to some degree, I am unsure of how I can even get there, how much I can leverage what few tangible qualifications I have right now into a new job, what the transition would involve when I already have at least somewhat of a good environment built up in spite of the grueling and dehumanizing structure of retail work.

Anyway, donations are appreciated, and I mean just about anything. You never know which bit will be the one that makes the difference, and enough bits can add up very nicely. I want to have a birthday that doesn’t suck so that I can imagine a life that doesn’t, and at this point I’m trying to get both started. So please, donate.

[reddysetgo]

Personal big (like really big [I’m not kidding it got way bigger than I thought it would be{LIKE REALLY BIG}] jesus christ I had no idea) text thingy... thing

I think this doesn’t work on mobile but well anyway.

Last night I thought about some stuff and I was gonna write about that but eh that mood is gone. Also disclaimer: as I write this I’m not like sad or anything or uhh well I do have a headache after playing Xenoblade Chronicles 2 for HOURS but anyway.

So like uhh 2 days ago I was home alone for the night and I was gonna play Xenoblade (which I’m gonna call XC2 if I ever mention it again) in the living room. But here’s the thing:

2 years ago or so, during New Year’s eve, I was also alone in another house because me and my family were on a trip. That night some people threw a rock at one window and got inside and stole some bags, electronics and my laptop. My two dogs were right by the stairs and I was upstairs in the bathroom. When I first heard the sound I assumed it came from the street because well maybe someone dropped a bottle or something. But then my dog started barking endlessly and I knew what that meant. What my parents had been warning me about for years had finally happened. The bathroom door was unlocked and I had no way to lock it at the time. My phone just couldn’t call any number, I was completely torn between being quiet or risking making noise and attracting attention. I don’t wanna talk about this anymore so well they didn’t beat me up or anything but they did almost opened the door and probably gave up and left.

So yeah my parents, especially my mom, are always bringing up the possibility of someone invading our house like it’s something that can happen at any given time. And when they go out I get anxious and just hope my dog won’t bark. Two days ago there was something bothering him and he did bark for a bit and I just froze until I could really do anything again and enjoy the game.

But uhh this text isn’t actually about that night. It’s about what that night reminded me. Something that I always remind myself. Yes it looks like I’m building up to something but well I’m not really I just- well anyway.

I’m always constantly reminding myself that I have always felt completely alone throughout my entire life. (Ok this is was like the main thing of the thing that I was gonna write last night but anyway) Today I recently reblogged a post about uhh toxic people and such? You know the one with the ✌️ tags.

Ok so if you skipped everything because it was too much please start reading from here if ya- wait tbh this isn’t really for anyone it’s just me putting my thoughts out there lmao

So I’ve been going to therapy for a few months now and uhhh like I started being active (as in like uhh sending asks and stuff and stuff) on Tumblr like maybe 3 or 4 months ago? And I’ve been on this hellsite for like 5 years I think. I was like super anxious to make some friends because at the time I really had like one friend and someone else to talk to but didn’t really consider a friend because idk low self esteem I guess and they didn’t really talk to me a lot so well anyway. I saw this post that said something like “if you wanna be friends with me don’t say hi or whatever just say something and I’ll be interested” and that post made me think that tactic would work with anyone.

It didn’t. (Damn that was kinda dramatic and shit lmao) Okay so I have this really annoying thing with being ignored because it makes me anxious and makes me think I’m boring and such. But yeah I tried talking to some people and tbh? I’m gonna start sounding like a bitch now but I felt like I was cutting off my arm to get a nail in return. That’s a terrible analogy but that’s the one I came up with.

I was often left on read or just straight up ignored and I still tried and still got hurt. I even reblogged an ask meme and like I BEGGED for asks when I was like really feeling down and nobody sent me anything. (Like for real I was like “please someone send me an ask I’m not ok” or something) (if you read that and still ignored it honestly fuck you) (yeah that sounds bitch-y and entitled-y but honestly fuck you) (ok I just wanted to let off some steam because that shit wasn’t cool) (but yeah I don’t wish ill on whoever ignored it) (IF someone ignored it) (btw these are like post-text) (sorry) That led to lots of frustration and wastes of time but now I’m a lot more at peace with things and such and now I’m finally gonna get to the point of this big ass text.

Honestly? I got here by myself. I realized many things in just a few months. Mind you I’ve been dealing with anxiety and depression for years now and I can honestly say that I was the only person there for myself. I still feel very much alone but now I feel like it’s everyone else’s loss? I realized that I am funny, creative, nice, smart, I ran out of adjectives but you get the point. Sure, people along the way said those things to me but I never believed anyone. But then, out of spite, months ago I just decided to tell myself that and make myself believe that. Because I spent a long time telling myself the exact opposite. Honestly if you’re getting what I’m saying at this point I applaud you because I’m not gonna proof read any of this sorry it’s just too damn long holy jesus.

OK SO I THINK I NEED TO WRAP THIS UP. Thing is: I’m such a strong person in a way? I mean physically I’m weak af because my diet is not good at all. But ok so I like dropping analogies for no reason so here’s another one:

I was in a deep well, y’know like uhh imagine Samara in The Ring, but instead of being pulled out with a uhhhhhh rope I think? It’s been a long time since I’ve watched that movie but yeah I climbed miles and miles by myself. Sure, some bricks were there for me to honestly I lost myself in my own analog rip.

tl:dr: I’m an awesome person who deserves a lot more than I get and really should learn how to write shorter texts. I hope I achieve my really old dead broken dream in the future. Because this guy here deserves it. (I’m the guy if you didn’t- well it sounds condescending I’m sorry but I just wanna be clear here)

tbh y’all should try confidence, it helps

(ok I’m not really confident about myself but being fake confident helps me get more confident? pls shoot me for this last sentence)

[the-cryptographer]

wrapped up playing final fantasy ix

yeah, idk, at some point it became clear to me that the game wasn’t really heading in the directions i wanted it to. that was... a while ago, lol. but i’m usually committed to finishing these things once i start them, even if they’re less than what i’d hoped.

on the game side of things... it’s a final fantasy game. it’s got all the regular final fantasy stuff going on. for this one in particular, i guess i like this type of ability system. otherwise it’s your standard, mostly-mindless turned based combat. summons take way to long to play. as usual i tend to favour physical combat interspersed with a healer that can cast holy. but i ended up relying a lot on Frog Drop and Dragon Crest, heh. my favourite team is something like Eiko and pick 2 {Quina, Freya, Amarant}.

Also this final fantasy gets credit for finally getting me to like moogles. they are... so cute in this. Stiltzkin is pretty great, as was Mogmi and Moguta being silly in love, but my absolute favourite was Moorock, who gets so gd excited about writing a letter and loudly exclaims ‘I love Mognet!’ even though he’s never heard of it before. why are he and Mozme not on disk four tho?! tell me they made it out okay D’x  Although, hmm, I’m not sure why we trusted Artemicion with more superslick at the end there. Since he apparently he got high snorting the last bottle. god, don’t trust the addict with more of his substance.

idk, I guess I’ll go through the story characters. and just... kind of hope I cover everything that way.

Quina

I... love them. And I tend to like gag characters but... I love them. Such ambition... to eat everything. So cute. So silly. So relatable. I also really like the nightgown/smock kind of thing going on. Need more characters dressed like granny that are trying to eat us out of house and home.

Amarant

Um... there seemed to be a lot going on in this sector of the story that kind of... needed more time. Or otherwise needed cutting out, probably. I find it conceptually interesting, at least: loners being confronted with the boundaries of their... determination to be alone. So I like him in spite of myself. But Zidane’s played a pretty shitty trick on him, once upon a time, and it’s a little hard to justify the kind of devotion Amarant has in lieu of that. Because... yes... it is devotion... somehow. And it’s a little hard to buy the way he becomes so easily enamored with how Zidane’s mind works with so little development.

Eiko

Mmm, again, there was some interesting stuff here about her growing up alone, and the way she immediately clung to Zidane as a way to escape that loneliness. But her crush on him is taken a bit too seriously by the narrative, like she’s really in love with him, and that gets a bit creepy, imo. The stuff with Mog is interesting, but kind of too much trying to tug on the heartstrings when the heartstrings haven’t been wound and tuned, if you know what I mean. I suppose, at the end of the day, I didn’t end up liking her all that much. But feel like I could have and should have if they had written her even a little better.

Freya

I love this aesthetic... so much. Kind of a mix of red mage and dragoon, both of which I love individually, plus rat person. She is one of my faves on this basis alone. In terms of her actual personality... it’s so sparse and inconsistent. Ah, there are some landmarks I like - the kind of quiet and sternly professional bits, the loyalty to her homeland, she has some good moments deciding to fight after the destruction of Cleyra, and talking with Amarant too. Just- I’m left feeling like she was never pushed to a workable extreme anywhere in the narrative, and so she doesn’t really have any clear, defining personality characteristic. It’s more like... a lot of shit happens to her, and she’s sad but not too sad, and strong but not too strong. And it’s kind of lacklustre at the end of the day.

Steiner

I don’t really know how to say this except to say it. He’s funny and sweet at times. Overly distracted by rules and decorum, of course. But he also veers hard into being rather annoying to watch at times. He is... not a practical person. Overall, I’m kind of impressed with his bit in the story, though. Even if it fades as the narrative progresses. His relationship with Beatrice was kind of a bright spot in the narrative as a whole for me. I maybe... can’t help but like the fact that this hypercompetent, beautiful lady falls for his bumbling ass. Beatrice in general strikes a neat line between being chilly and needy and, really, way too good for anyone else in the cast.

Vivi

A great character and... ultimately a huge copout. There was a lot of build up to Vivi dying and, ultimately, it felt rather unsatisfying. It felt like they were trying to rob the sadness out of it by limiting what they showed us of him in the epilogue to his breed of offspring. But, even before then, they touched on so many themes about him in a way that really attempted to distance itself from the fear of human mortality. Like, this isn’t something that only happens to weird artificially constructed lifeforms. Human being sometimes find out they only have a couple months or a year left to live, and have to come to terms with that. Hell, all of humanity is on a timer - and not once did anyone really say to Vivi, ‘yeah, it’s true for all of us. We could all die at any moment. We’re only going to last so long, whether it’s a year or ten or a hundred.’ Kuja came kind of close to communicating some of this ‘i’m going to die, just like the Black Mages’. But never in a way that emotionally impacted Vivi, which ws kind of shitty writing, imo.

Dagger/Garnet

I don’t know. She’s rather generic. Which... doesn’t necessarily preclude my attachment in of itself. But, yeah, she’s generic in a way that doesn’t resonate with me, heh. She leans super hard on Zidane the whole narrative, and it’s really not even a little fun. There was some interesting stuff with Ramuh, and with Eiko and her being from the same summoner clan, and her relationship with her mother was great as well. I liked that Dagger got to be sad about Brahne - because let her be sad about losing the people who loved her and who she loved. But... Brahne herself is such a conundrum. I don’t dislike her character and her design as a whole. But I don’t like the game’s ‘fat and ugly are evil’ vibes. And I also don’t like the way she’s immediately forgiven in the public eye, and the eyes of the narrative, once she dies. She... literally destroys cities and kills thousands of people. That’s not really forgivable.

But, regarding Garnet... I started liking her a bit more once she cut her hair and started smiling in her in-game portrait. so, if nothing else, we know I am very shallow.

Zidane

Aaaaand, if I wasn’t already, this is where I start really running into problems. When you don’t really like the main character. When you’re not invested in the main character’s romance that is front and centre of the story and its ending. When you really don’t believe the strength of the emotional connections between the cast that the game is attempting to sell you on... It just makes it really hard to enjoy things. Zidane often seems dismissive, in his own head, and even shallow in the way he attempts to relate to the rest of the cast. It’s everyone else that has to come around to his way of thinking and learn from him, rather than the narrative making much of an effort to teach him about how to actually empathise with others. and it’s kind of grating then that we hear them praise him so casually.

I think, then, combined with the womanising aspect of his character... I don’t know, because I’m certainly not opposed to somebody wanting to sleep with all the ladies. That is an A+ relatable feeling. But, for someone that’s so casual about cozying up to every woman he runs across, I was left feeling like the only woman he had any kind of legitimate connection to was Garnet. (The game tells us he’s good friends with Freya, but does it really show us why? or how?) Which is... I suppose why Garnet, and not Ruby and Freya, was propped up as being Zidane’s major romance. But... idk, it feels a little too much like entitlement. He’s allowed to hit on all the ladies and look good while doing it, while he has a serious relationship developing with Dagger and she’s arguably right there to see him hit on other women, and he also has basically no interest in providing any kind of emotional support or developing any kind of connection with pretty much any woman (except maybe Dagger). Combine this with Cid cheating on Hilda and then she jealously turns him into a beetle - but, wait, this is a happy marriage, the game tells us. and the fact that the game’s major villain is pointedly described as ‘not a skirt chaser like you’... it’s just deifying an entitled straight boy ‘boys will be boys’ kind of attitude when that’s already an accepted social norm. and it’s kind of disgusting. I think there are better ways to talk about infidelity and promiscuity and the desire for the ladies, ones that are still sympathetic to all the parties involved. I think the final fantasy series /has/ talked about it better. With Edgar, who wants to get with all the ladies, but who lets Terra and Celes into his protection and the bounty of Figaro castle without touching either of them, and who is pointedly single even though he’s the sole heir of a kingdom and pushing thirty. And with Tidus, who had a power fantasy dream where Yuna and Rikku are hanging off each of his arms as they roast his father, but that’s before he gets to know each of them better as people. once he does the objectification wanes. I’m not saying that Edgar and Tidus are perfect heroes and wonderfully written, but I think this aspect of them was delivered with more nuance and a more critical eye, and it makes a huge difference.

Also... Are you a team player, Zidane? Or are you just a team player until you’re angry, or decide your pride is on the line? For a kind of ‘friendship is everything’ message, it certainly gets muddled everytime Zidane’s in a snit. Running back into Ispen Castle alone was a weird moment when we’re just getting done telling Amarant not to run around alone. Only okay when I do it(tm) And when he’s being kind of an insufferable bastard at the end of disc 3... just... why are you chasing after him guys? and why, after all that hoopla about accepting his friends’ help, does he deny it when going after Kuja at the end? I'm not saying that there aren’t things one needs to do alone just- why is Zidane always right when he says he needs to do things alone, but everyone else is wrong when they say the same thing? it’s a terrible case of protagonist-centred morality, and it’s really terrible and trite.

idk, I just- I understand why people are sick of the angsty final fantasy heroes after Cloud and Squall (the former I love, the latter I don’t). But I feel Zidane basically fell short in every way that wasn’t being upbeat and energetic, and I’m not sure what everyone sees in him.

Kuja

I can’t help but like this flamboyant bastard. God, he... soooo did not need a tacked on redemption arc. Again, mass genocide isn’t really forgivable. He is a terrible person. full stop. But I’m irrationally pleased he got some sympathy from the narrative anyhow. He’s just... I never liked Sephiroth, but Kuja has convinced me I could have liked Sephiroth if Sephiroth had even a fraction of a personality in ff7.

other than that... the wind/earth/water/fire shrine part of the game was weird. give me real dungeons, devs. also the coffee sidequest is nigh impossible to complete and then the game guilted me, and i hate that.

in the end, i suppose i feel the game was messy. the tone whip-lashed quick between whimsy and pure horror - which should be my jam but, idk, it didn’t work here for me. and a lot of the major characters and storylines lacked depth, or otherwise lacked nuance, or otherwise lacked payoff. it’s kind of hard to watch so much effort and so many good ideas flop so hard, but it flopped hard for me. i don’t get the hype about this game.

[flauntpage]

50 Hot Takes for the Philadelphia Sports Fan: Part Four

Yeah man.

You know what time it is.

It’s time for the hottest takes in the Delaware Valley, and I’ve gotta be honest with you – these stories have been doing a lot better than I thought they would. If something ain’t broke, then it doesn’t need fixing, as Bert Lance once said. That’s why I’ve decided to come up with 50 more hot takes for you, the Philadelphia sports fan, since parts one, two, and three obviously were not enough.

Before we begin, I’d like to share a part of a recent email from a Crossing Broad reader, an email which served as the inspiration for this story:

It was an uplifting message for me, and with the resulting energy and motivation I came up another list of takes for y’all:

The Allen Iverson/Tyronn Lue stepover is the most overrated sequence in all of Philly sports. The Sixers went on to lose that series 4-1, yet here we are celebrating that moment like it was the Brandon Graham strip sack.

If given a choice between Taco Bell and Chipotle, I’m eating at Taco Bell.

The hatred for “chain restaurants” is misguided. If you’re suburban white trash, like me, you find comfort and familiarity in spots like Olive Garden or the Texas Roadhouse simply because you grew up absent of independent and unique restaurants.

103.7 in South Jersey plays better music than WMMR.

Old Town Road is a horrible song.

All millennials and Generation Z members should have their bank accounts frozen and assets seized until they have seen the following movies: Half Baked, Black Sheep, Happy Gilmore, and Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

“They” say that the millennial generation includes anybody who was born after 1980, which is technically true, but also off-base. If you were born before 1985, you have so much more in common with Generation X. You probably didn’t have a cell phone until college, you actually called your friends on a landline and said hello to their parents, and you entered the work force right before the economy went to shit. Most millennials, as stereotyped by others, were graduating college and high school during the recession, which impacted their ability to find jobs and affordable living. Older millennials like myself were lucky to have just missed that.

The “celebrity” scene at Philly sporting events is totally lame. It’s typically M Night Shyamalan, a shitty local rapper, and then 3-5 current or former Philly athletes.

I don’t trust people who dislike dogs. How could anybody possibly dislike dogs?

If you bring your dog to the dog park, you can’t just stare at your phone the entire time. You have to spend at least five seconds paying attention. Try to notice when your pooch takes a huge dump right in front of you.

People who throw trash out of their window while driving are the biggest scumbags on the planet.

“Price point” is an annoying term. You can just say “price” and it means virtually the same thing. It’s generally understood that prices change based on market fluctuations and typical bargaining.

Nobody gives a fuck about your fantasy football team.

Furthermore, if you’re watching the Eagles game with friends and family, don’t talk about your fantasy football team. Only talk about the Birds.

99 times out of 100, the person who cuts you off at the South Philly sports complex is a middle-aged white guy, 10 year old son in the passenger seat of his oversized gas guzzler of a truck, and he feels like he’s entitled to just jump in line wherever he wants. These people are total assholes.

If given a choice between Natty Lite and an IPA, I’m choosing Natty Lite.

If I’m forced to drink an IPA, I guess I’m going with the New England variety. West Coast IPA tastes like hoppy pinecone butthole.

The best brewery in our region is Hidden Sands, down in Egg Harbor Township. Excellent variety, great taproom, lots of interesting tastes with frequent rotation on the menu.

The second best brewery in our region is Evil Genius, for a lot of the reasons I listed above.

The most overrated brewery in our region is Tired Hands.

“Party school” rankings are dumb. Most big state schools have a party scene. What nobody ever talks about is substance abuse at high-ranking academic institutions, where the stress to perform relative to your peers results in people just drinking themselves into oblivion with regularity.

I like NBC Sports Philadelphia’s new studio. Maybe the anchor desk could be bigger.

Some people didn’t “get” my Jersey Shore column. It wasn’t an anti-shore column; I was telling people to take the occasional weekend and go somewhere else, see something different.

Y’all always say “who cares about Skip Bayless?” but click on those stories whenever we write them.

One of my biggest professional failures was being rejected for a Q/A story with Joe Cordell, of Cordell and Cordell. I exchanged some emails with his PR guy but was unable to get Joe on the phone.

Philadelphia doesn’t need any more bars or restaurants. Or snooty pizza places.

There are a lot of poorly run city agencies, but the Department of Revenue is the worst. It takes four weeks for any payment to clear, the web portal doesn’t work, and nobody on the phone has any idea what they’re doing.

I’d rather eat at Donkey’s than any cheesesteak place in the city.

A hot dog is not a sandwich because the bun is comprised of one piece of bread. If a hot dog bun was sliced into two halves, then it would be a sandwich.

“Is a hot dog a sandwich?” may be the dumbest debate ever.

Dunkin Donuts is better than Starbucks. Starbucks blows.

I can’t get down with the boat shoes and no socks look.

I kind of want to unionize Crossing Broad employees, just to see how Kyle responds.

It’s pointless to respond to a post or tweet with “nobody cares.” If you don’t care, then don’t respond.

Penn State fans should run James Franklin out of town. He doesn’t have what it takes to get you guys to the college football playoff.

People need to stop painting Penn State fans and alumni as Sandusky enablers or “pedos” or “cultists” or whatever. Yes, there was a portion of the community that seemed to handle the scandal poorly, but the vast majority of PSU people I know approached that topic with the required discretion and seriousness.

I hope Manny Diaz goes 0-12 this year and gets fired. I understand that the Miami situation was unexpected, and that his dream job opened up under unique circumstances, but he made a commitment to Temple and he should have kept his commitment.

When Josh Harris and David Blitzer sell their stake in Crystal Palace, they should purchase the Philadelphia Union from Jay Sugarman. Whatever $$$ amount it takes. Adding the Union to the Sixers/Devils/Blue Coats/Prudential Center portfolio would make a lot of sense geographically and from a growth potential standpoint.

Do you ever notice how sports radio callers are either incredibly stupid or incredibly smart? There never seems to a be a middle ground; they either make really good points or totally horrendous points.

Regarding the above, I feel like the smartest radio callers are dialing up Glen and Ray on the weekends, or queuing up for the Sixers post game show with Devon on 97.5.

People on Twitter talked a ton of shit about the Fanatic’s “Fantasy Fest,” which took place in August, but I think it’s a good idea. I’ve never actually been there, but what’s wrong with putting together an event where all of the radio personalities and listeners can get together? Just seems like a big party atmosphere to me. Shrug.

Changing poop diapers isn’t a big deal at all. The baby is only eating breast milk and formula, so the poop is consistent and sterile, or at least that’s what the pediatrician said.

Having a designated hitter in one league but not the other is laughably stupid. Baseball has some of the worst rules on the planet, but “baseball is fine” according to you curmudgeons.

The Yankees forcing their players to shave is incredibly corny. If they drafted me I’d refuse to play for them for that reason alone, then grow my beard like Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill out of spite.

If you don’t like soccer, just say you don’t like it. You don’t have to bend over backwards explaining why it’s a “communist” sport or “un-American” or for “liberal hipster pussies” or whatever.

Street hockey is underrated as a neighborhood game for kids. You just need sticks and a ball, then use backpacks or other items for the goalposts or buy a cheap pop-up net.

The Wells Fargo Center upgrades were badly needed. It feels like a 25 year old building with 75 years of use.

Temple needs to get out of the Linc and go somewhere else. Anywhere else.

College Gameday on Independence Mall was one of the most underrated Philly sports moments of all time. It brought a tear to my eye. A tear of joy.

David Lee Roth people need to get the fuck over themselves. Both Van Halen and Van Hagar dropped great music for us to listen to. Life is way too short to sit here complaining about Sammy’s time in the band.

Thank you for reading.

Sincerely,

-Kinker

The post 50 Hot Takes for the Philadelphia Sports Fan: Part Four appeared first on Crossing Broad.

50 Hot Takes for the Philadelphia Sports Fan: Part Four published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

[datingadviceonreddit]

I've noticed so many times on the internet that people lament about being perpetually lonely, normally by people in their late teens through to the late 20s. They talk about how it's hopeless and how they will never find anyone, and how they should just accept being alone and get used to it. If you identify with this, then this post is for you. And I also want to preface this post by stating that if you're genuinely ok with being alone, then this is not for you. However, if you're on a subreddit entitled /r/dating_advice, then it probably is. I also want to state that if you have mental health problems such as depression or anxiety, you shouldn't take what I say as gospel because parts of it might come across as disparaging instead of motivating, and your answer is elsewhere (professional help). I know that in my darkest moments I wouldn't want someone offering me tough love because that would've dragged me down even further, so take care out there. Maybe you'll benefit from some parts of it, though, because I feel the self-development part is important.I would know what it feels like to post about being unlovable etc. because I am one of these people. There was always some reason why I couldn't get a date. Too ugly, my body looks like shit, too passive, too introverted, too hard to approach, too hard to meet people, not what women wanted, whatever. Whenever I read a story about someone else's romantic or sex life, I would feel depressed and jealous. I tried to make peace with being alone and pretend that it didn't bother me and it would work for a while and I'd enjoy myself, but the crushing loneliness and depression would always come back. I wanted to date and find someone, and I was settling for less because I felt I couldn't get these things. I understood that dating wasn't everything, but I sure as hell wasn't happy for disqualifying myself from it. It was either accepting being alone, or making steps to make sure I could get it, or at least put myself in a happier position. The former option was unpalatable for me because of how it would make me feel, so I've finally decided to focus on putting myself in a happier position and maybe starting to look for love. I'm not as hopeless or unattractive as I think I am, and I need to stop lying to myself about why I'm alone. I am alone because I don't try hard enough and probably have to work on myself a bit, not because I am utterly repulsive as per nature's hand. And yes, I am still alone, but I will stop making excuses for myself and be honest with myself.The brain is a funny thing. It needs to find a reason for everything that you do. It hates disharmony (this is called cognitive dissonance), and will choose to give credence to one idea over another to assuage this disharmony. It's like when you procrastinate--you know it's bad for you even though you want to do it, and your brain feels discomfort at these two conflicting ideas. You choose whether the pleasure of procrastinating is greater or weaker than the idea of getting shitty grades. It doesn't matter whether these statements you tell yourself are objectively true or false, your brain will give greater weight to what it perceives to be right or at least have the greater force of influence.Here's a normative development on cognitive dissonance: if you slack off because you reason that it's fine to do so and that having shitty grades is a potential implication, you better damn well accept those consequences and own up to them. You have no one else but yourself to hold accountable. If you don't like the result (and you probably don't, who likes getting shitty grades?), work in a way that ensures that this result is as unlikely to happen as possible. If you can't do the time don't do the crime, and don't use the idea of cognitive dissonance as an excuse for why you didn't try, either: oh, I just chose to do less because I'm ok with doing less**. Settling for less is unacceptable, but achieving less is fine if you intended to not to.** Mediocre intentions suck, mediocre outcomes don't so much.This can be applied to dating.If you want to date but give up, you are settling for less and you won't be happy. Even if you've given up and have given yourself reasons for doing so ("oh, I'm just focusing on myself, it's not that important, it's not worth the effort"), really be honest with yourself and ask if these are the reasons why you are alone. And I know I'm going to hit a nerve by saying this, but chances are that your excuses are bullshit. You're not ok with being alone, it is somewhat important to you, and you do want to date. You've spun a tale for yourself because taking the steps necessary to get what you want are too much work. You've reasoned that it's not worth it because if it was, you'd have done something about it already (using cognitive dissonance as an excuse). So why complain? But I know what you truly think because I've been there myself. "This doesn't apply to me, this guy's an asshole, how dare he tell me that I'm not capable of dating". Yep, that's what my conveyor belt of excuses looks like too. The excuses need to die. Because all you're doing right now is complaining that you're alone, but not doing anything about it despite supposedly being ok with it. You're not. You never will. I never was. It's like not brushing your teeth and wondering why your teeth are rotten. Meh, dental care is too much effort, I'll just be ok with my rotten teeth. It's not that bad. My breath is rancid and I ache all the time, but I have to be ok with this because I know I'll never get around to cleaning them.Ok, so maybe you've realised that you are settling for less. What now? Should I just be miserable until I find someone? Are you telling me that I'm not allowed to be happy until I find someone? No...that's not what I'm saying. I'm telling you to be honest with yourself and go from there. Realising is the first step, taking action is next and necessary. Maybe start with thinking about what you need to do to find someone. Am I grossly out of shape? Do I dress like a slob? Do I have interesting hobbies, am I good conversationalist? Who do I meet, and who do I ask out? And since you see average people in relationships all the time, the standards aren't that high. You don't need to be a self-improvement zealot, but you need to be fulfilled with your life. Would you date someone like you?This brings up my next point, and it is important in spite of what all I've said:You absolutely don't need a dating life to be a happy, fulfilled person.Before slaying the excuses you've set for yourself about not dating and settling for less, ask yourself what it is about dating that will make you happy. The answer seems obvious (love makes you feel fuzzy!), but ask yourself what you will get out of it. Dating and sex are an important cog in the lives of many and don't let anyone tell you otherwise if you believe them to be, but they are amongst other things. If you seek these things out to quell the perennial loneliness in your life, maybe you're doing it for the wrong reasons. If you seek these things out because they're fun and enrich your life and maybe you are transiently lonely (which is fine!), perhaps you're doing them for the right reasons. But despite this, it is not everything. There are so many places to visit, experiences to be had, people to meet, books to read, films to watch, music to listen to, games to play, hobbies to try, food and drink to supplement, and personal goals to be met. It can certainly feel like everything is meaningless if there's no one to share it with, but it really isn't. Maybe rediscovering what you love can kick you out of the slump that you've found yourself in. Maybe this will make you realise what you truly want out of dating. A lot of people think that dating will raiseThe point I'm trying to make is nuanced, but it is that people who choose to be alone because they feel inferior are settling for less, which will never make you happy. Those who are alone by choice are not settling for less because they're being true to themselves. You need to develop some integrity and be honest with yourself about why you're alone, and if it is out of your hopelessness or feelings of inadequacy, then you will never be happy. You need to stop making excuses and learn how to get out of your comfort zone and start dating if this is the case, and/or focus on yourself and pursue your passions. Excuses and settling for less are both unacceptable, because the pain of regret and not being good enough will never fade. It's not morally wrong to settle for less, but it is poisonous to your mental health.Finally, I'd like to end this article by asking you to do something. I saw this in David Wong's 6 Harsh Truths That Will Make You a Better Person, which is a very motivating article even I don't regard it as 100% true. It is to name five impressive things about yourself. You can't list character traits unless you've done something that is demonstrative of that trait (e.g. you can't call yourself hard-working if you have nothing that shows this). Name five, objective things that you've achieved--they can be anything, like building a model, lifting a certain amount of weight, winning something, etc. If you can't, maybe you should start working on yourself a bit more. You need reason to feel good about yourself, and maybe you feel inadequate because you have no reason to feel good about yourself.Thanks for reading. I'm willing to debate people on a few points if there is disagreement, and I'm willing to change my stance if I am swayed significantly. via /r/dating_advice

[unverifiable-frogmatter]

When you are awake at stupid o’clock and you know you are going to be knackered for the rest of the day, but...

It’s just not right, is it?

I decided to eat the tortelloni left in my fridge, I made an executive decision and owned it.

That’s the problem. Not in eating it, per-se, but I won’t have any later on. But I’m hungry now, so that’s ok.

What is not ok, is being awake at this time. I have an appointment at 9, so this is calamitous really. 

I think it started with me waking up and needing to go to the toilet - perfectly natural, after all, I am getting older and going a whole night uninterrupted is no longer part of my regular sleep pattern. This I can cope with, after all, I don’t want to wake up, fully slept, to an unpleasant surprise. So at least my brain still functions at a primal level. My reptilian brain is still alive and well.

What worries me more is my daily functioning. And not just mine, but everyone’s. Really, not being able to do or say or act in any way without the need to qualify it, or second-guess one’s own actions, rationale, relevance and standing in amongst others’ own sensibilities. 

I got caught up in reading, not just one post, but almost all of the resulting commentary on said post. It seems that nothing is conversation any more, it’s competition - “I’m right, you’re wrong”. Apologist states of mind. “I disagree with you because I don’t understand what you mean, so I am going to shout you down and back you into a corner, cause you to feel you have offended not just me, but everyone, because I jumped to a conclusion therefore I must be right and you politically incorrect”. 

Something along those lines.

In actuality, it all stemmed with racism. And privilege. White privilege, in fact. And an entirely new concept that I had never considered before; black people, by virtue of their colour, race, whatever, cannot be racist.

I am shocked by this, but not surprised. 

By virtue of myself, I am not racist, however I accept that I am fallible and possess the potential to be prejudiced and judgemental.

By virtue of being human, and sharing this with all other people, of any colour shape, build, race, religion - or lack thereof, gender or gender association etc. etc., ad infinitum, everyone has the potential to be racist - or to not be racist.

I accept that at a personal/individual and systemic level - racism is generally something directed towards people of a different ethnic minority/colour/religion/persuasion. HOWEVER... It’s just not a unilateral thing. And injustice exists at all levels, in all ethnicities - white/caucasian being included as an ethnicity. White apologist mentality is ridiculous. The post I am referring to was made by a black person and they were being shouted down by WHITE apologists lecturing him on black injustices. 

Just to boil it down to its most simplistic form and remove all need for argument regarding nuances and finer points and the like - this is endemic of our Western society/societies, and it is called political correctness. 

I think the ability to articulate ones own point of view is a beautiful thing, but the propensity to take anything anyone says and slap a political embargo on it is stupidity in extremis. It’s also dangerous. It gives certain mentalities credence to justify their own ignorance by labelling a general population, or an individual as racist. In a sense it is extremely easy to become a racist, without having that intention.

To say that black people can’t be racist propagates an idea that they are somehow a separate humanity. And frankly it is complete bullshit.

I’ve experienced racism, I’ve been called an “English bitch”, in spite of the fact that I am not English. This was from a complete random person, who is white. But I’ve also been referred to as “white girl”, and by the same person, told that I wouldn’t be noticed, because I “blend in” (story short). These examples, in themselves, are hardly the most offensive things said about me, when taken in isolation, but when you consider the source and then try and say, “but they are black, so it can’t be racist”, I’ll argue tooth and nail that it most definitely is racist. It’s taking my colour and subverting it - setting me apart from her, all she saw was my colour, not me - the individual who wasn’t calling her “black girl”. If I had called her “black girl”, do you think that I’d get called a racist straight away? Put it in context with her referring to me as “white girl”. It seems ridiculous, and on the face of it it is. And racism is ridiculous. But it is also serious, given it’s historical context. But I would argue again, that just because I don’t have a history of white slavery behind me, doesn’t mean I haven’t personally experienced oppressive treatment and prejudice. I have experienced that, I’ve experienced adversity, but I don’t feel the need to ram it down someones throat when they do the same to me.

It is nauseating how some people use social media to prop themselves up as having the liberal upper hand, and yet the way they speak to others is just as oppressive as the historical basis for their self-righteous outrage. And they are often the most privileged of privileged - they have a voice and place to air their views, not everyone has that, and the irony of it is that it is just a voice, in amongst all others. It’s the shouting down of other standpoints that is frankly irritating. 

I’ve struggled a lot, to try and articulate my views without somehow sparking the self-propelled righteous outrage of others, but then, when I think about it, I ask myself why? Do they question their own actions as much, or do they blindly believe that their views are the only ones that are valid? In which case, is it worth being so considerate? If I value myself and my opinions, as well as those of others, then yes. If the other side wishes to try and shout me down regardless of what I say, then I suppose it’s less energy wasted just to let them. 

Take the utter ignorance of the female who called me an English bitch; I tried arguing with her, saying that I wasn’t, and it was like butting my head against an immovable object. Same can be said for those airing their opinion online. Everyone has one, everyone is entitled to have one, because, like arseholes, we all need something with which to excrete. Same again can be said about opinions - a lot of them are just wasted air, a lot of it is just shit being spoken because it “just needs to be said”. Unfortunately, unlike arseholes, opinions don’t always serve a purpose, but almost always, someone is going to get offended by what it is.

[unillustratedadventures]

01 Yellow Tails 02 Cozmojet and the Gnome 03 Succotash 04 Stop-motion Sickness 05 Signal to Noise 06 Narcissist’s Love Song 07 Huxley’s Ape 08 An Open Book for Easy Reading 09 Building Roads in Cage Country 10 Siren Planet 11 About Face 12 No Hands 13 Little Killings 14 Grey Skies (You’d be Surprised) 15 I, Object

Yellow Tails As light smears and staggers, recall underaged huddles ‘round clutched brown papered bottles, in rocky valleys and grassy hills—the undulant old overgrown tip, cold and dark as pitch. Tracing thunderous trains streaking left from right, dragging echo yellow tails. Be soulful. Don’t just ape or steal a spark, for when the fire catches and takes all of that paper and straw to ash, you’ll be empty again. You’ll be empty again. It tends to be mean to treat people as means and not ends. Old overgrown tip, cold and dark as pitch. Tracing thunderous trains streaking left from right, dragging echo yellow tails. Clawing at brick, sneakers scraping loose and kicking off guttering. Scrambling, finally, to the top. “I exist!” But you’ll be empty again. You’ll be empty again. It tends to be mean to treat people as means and not ends. And you’ll be replete again. You’ll be replete again. But you’ll never be complete until the carnage ends. Cold and dark as pitch, tracing thunderous trains streaking left from right, dragging echo yellow tails. As light smears and staggers, recall underaged huddles ‘round clutched brown papered bottles, in dark secret places in every town.

Cozmojet and the Gnome …and then there were three of we misfits (and what a trio to be in). It’s been so long since we sang songs and retold fairytales wrong. It was so fleeting. You always show concern for so little in return. I fear you’re more than I deserve. I’m always embedded in my head, to my own detriment; so I’m thankful for it. There’s nothing like the world to drive home what we share, and what no one else will get. There’s nothing like your home to plainly show that you will never be alone—never really. I’m usually more lost than found. And I know that sometimes I am hard to be around. But keep in mind that you’re in mine. You make me laugh; you give me hope; you make me think that it might just be okay. And there’s not even anything you have to say. You always show concern for so little in return. I fear you’re more than I deserve. I’m always embedded in my head, to my own detriment. So I’m thankful for it.

Succotash I’ve forgotten how to live out loud, 'cause I don’t feel so good. All I do is wait; anticipate. That way, things just stay the same. I thought I’d learned and understood how to get will instead of could. But I’ve forgotten how, or I’m not allowed, to see just where I stood. Too dark to love. A cover up. That way, things stay out of touch. I thought I’d learned and understood how to get will instead of could. I guess my heart’s not in it (for a while I think I cared). It’s not so much heavy as it is a fine dust, carried on the air.

Stop-motion Sickness Tender feelings are tender and ever sensitive to temperature. Torched by temper’s embers (remember?). Warped away from what they were. Words unwoven when they’re frozen first. Left behind in an ill-defined blur. A most significant thing stays confused and oscillations briefly blind. Strobes dismember motion into its mere suggestion; into contrary lines. Static and unending; intertwined. Plunging into darkness countless times. (Maybe this time.) Exposure and explosions. Dismembered motion. Half-remembered pseudo-notions populate a ruined landscape. No clear escape.

Signal to Noise Get ready. Get set. It’s all set in stone. So up for it. So set it up, and sigh sweet nothings for falling for falling for it. In so deeply. In too deep. In the deep end. The fairest-of-weather friend. 'Cause it’s a set up, so take the fall for having it all; for sweet fuck all. “Don’t worry, it will all work out”. “We’ll make it all okay, no doubt”. Prod around in a pack of gum jammed full of spent pieces, for a fresh one lurking hidden under hardening, faintly minty gunk. A falling for falling for it. In so deeply. In too deep. In the deep end. The fairest-of-weather friend. 'Cause it’s a set up, so take the fall for having it all; for sweet fuck all. “Don’t worry, it will all work out”. “We’ll make it all okay”. No doubt. Saturday night; not feeling alright. Not feeling at all. Gnarly young up-for-its smoke and drink on the corner. The plosive thud and tinkle of a dropped bottle smashing as I walk on by. Goodbye.

Narcissist’s Love Song You’re the best (if you’re into me. And only if it’s uncritically). I’m yours completely. (Best if you don’t step out of line.) You’re a person of the most wonderful kind. I wanna be around you all the time. I don’t wanna live without you. I only want you. There’s no one better than you. You’re the worst. You’re less than nothing. I never really thought you were anything. You’re always so keening. You crossed that hidden line that I misplaced in your mind. Now you’re not worth a second of my time. I never wanna be around you. I never liked you. There’s no one worse than you. Or better than you. Or worse than you. Or better than you. I didn’t care (maybe) any of the time. I don’t wanna live without you. I never liked you. There no one worse than you. Or better than you. Worse than you. Worse than you. Worse than you. Better than you.

Huxley’s Ape These stages are not just oddly prolonged, but expanding exponentially. That this race is neotinised. Or these highs cut me down to size, when I get off this ride. The infinite ever holds onto it; to anger; holds back acceptance. That this race is neotinised. Or these highs cut me down to size. If I get off this ride, will I be as low as Huxley’s ape? I risked my mind. I lost my shape. I stayed up late. I lost my way.

An Open Book for Easy Reading Sleeves bloodied, unprotected by dust covers. An unwieldy thing-in-itself, shelved or smothered. Dog-eared, an open book—coffee-stained, underlooked. Low brow pulp fic as high lit, unscrupulously underlined and high-lit. Is any of this going to stick? Abandoned tangents, and thoughts that won’t again but forever once were the first. Spidered marginalia, a fibrous fur. Unending spirals scratched in dirt, deafening but never heard. A clamour of stories, non-linear, contradictory. Overgrown lost plots, rediscovered as parking lots. Is any of this going to stop? Abandoned tangents and thoughts that won’t again but forever once were the worst. Do you see where the story leads? Whole cities of half-built suspense; smoke stacks; cul-de-sacs. Undone by self-reference. Abandoned tangents and thoughts that won’t again but forever once were never learned.

Building Roads in Cage Country Non-toxic 'fore fine hearts were staked black. And good bonds got stabbed in the back, sliced, and entwined me. You venomous snakes. Fang this smitten muscle with slow poison. Rope me in by saying nothing of the stakes. Relatively recently, I was free and not a hostage. I wasn’t kidnapped, but I was taken. Relatively recently I wasn’t captured, but I let myself be captivated by cage country. Gleefully hosed into hands tied in Gordian knots. You see I could off the lot so easy, if only they were. But they aren’t, so I can’t and they’re not. None of them was there and neither was the shot. Relatively recently, I was free and not a hostage. I wasn’t kidnapped, but I was taken. Relatively recently I wasn’t captured, but I let myself be captivated by cage country. What will become of me? I don’t know. Are there any options? Is there a place to go? Does this country have any roads? Relatively recently I wasn’t captured, but I let myself be captivated by cage country. What will become of me? Is there any place to go? Can I build any roads?

Siren Planet The densest fog forms quite quickly from significant words, when they contradict themselves. What is this fresh kind of hell? And can outsiders tell how much this lava melts? How hot it is? Or does it just look like its another innocent spill. Looks can stab. Smarts can cut. A loved one’s actions can kill (it looks like it’s been tried, even though I never will). You are trapped in a place to which you can’t adapt and that you don’t deserve, punished for believing what you heard and trusting what you felt. What have you learned? The exits are painted on the walls. Now you’re told that you held the paintbrush. You were the art director. You willingly walked in the door, knowing what you were in for and wanting to be bricked in. But always isn’t never. It’s one or the other. Or neither. Love isn’t hate or indifference or being absent altogether. So you are trapped. Punished for believing what you heard. An unrestrained grenade ends everything explosively. It’s never right to be a martyr, when the simple truth would avert disaster.

About Face Look at that fucking head. Just fucking look at it—the sheer heft of that big swollen shit-slab, spiteful little deadened beads pissholed into the front of it. It’s only the inflated sense of entitlement that’s propping that monstrosity up. Hang your head down. Point it at the ground. Hang that head down. Bury it in the ground, and mute its every sound. Look at that sense of dread. Just look at it. The sheer threat that widens there before the rage is complicit in the cover up, everything goes red, and you don’t know which way is up and which way is down. Or what’s straight and what’s round. It might be too hard to face. So turn and away and deface it, while trying to save face. It’s wound so tightly. Why would you make everything so much worse than it ever would have been? Hang your head down. Point it at the ground. Hang that head down. Bury it in the ground and mute its every sound. Look at that fucking head. Just fucking look at it.

No Hands I’ll bed rain where an angel slept. Arch joints to crack. Swallowed whole by its throttled roar, holding hissiing hands while it soundly sleeps and dreams of more. For when it reigns, it paws. Rosetta stone, decode this riddle which rigidly holds fixed this lock and holds fast the doors. A manual there, just beyond reach; except by the hands of the clock. I caught clouds, but no clear way to clear them. 'Cause lone walks won’t work, while lean wolves waste away whining whys and howling hows and eating dirt. Choked up on the way we were. A knight and a knave, guarding those gates. Riddle me: which is full of it? Circle the maze and return. If only I could ask something that would get me out of this. Grasp the back of my thigh. Look me in the eye. Reach out and turn my head. Lead me to your bed, tie me up, and leave me there instead. Forget what was said. What else am I good for? When it reigns, it paws. Rosetta stone, decode these riddles which rigidly hold fixed this lock and hold fast the doors. A manual there, just beyond reach; except by the hands of the clock on the timebomb.

Little Killings Breathy yeahs spill from every pore. So plead more, 'til rich get poorer or sore. To fawn for fawn’s choked neck and mourn mornings. Feline paws warm up for a pawing. We’re yawning. Little killings. Knife light whose point had nothing to do with me, those daggers glinting with a light that never came from me. I caught fire accidentally. Bright dagger glint in eyes by dark water; against a wall by a roller door; sat up on a kitchen bench; stabbing out from a blanket sea. It cut so keenly, I saw it fade in real time. I saw it leave me like weather. It cleared out like a storm or like it flooded me. I don’t know whether I just got caught in it, caught fire accidentally. Little killings. Knife light whose point had nothing to do with me, those daggers glinting with a light that never came from me. I caught fire accidentally. Doe neck swept elegant blades of muscled back down compact flanks. Months later those unions still blame you. And back down with murderous curving arches, clearer than anything that came after. Evil grin. Look back daggers. I’m staggered. Little killings. Like weather, it cleared out like a storm or like it flooded me. I don’t know whether I just got caught in it, caught fire accidentally. Little killings. Knife light whose point had nothing to do with me, those daggers glinting with a light that never came from me. It never came from me.

Grey Skies (You’d be Surprised) “You’d be surprised how much owes to the weather”. She downplays the sadness that’s in her. Projects the panic that might just devour her. Pushes out the love that whispers to her in her quieter turns. His intention was never to push her. He was always scared about what he meant to her. He walked in the rain and the gloom just to leave her the sunniest things he could find, and then walk back to his lone perch on the maybe and soon. In a vast way, those small moments fill the days; their sentiment all that remains of what had stood; kept alive, all this time, by their contrast with new skies that were a terrible grey. A cloudy knotted hood, impenetrable and misunderstood. And under it they stood. That special bond had still seemed to be there; signs (both overt and not) that she still cared. But so many important things were never shared. He said that the line seemed to keep moving, consequences accruing. In a vast way, small moments fill the days; their sentiment the only proof of what had stood and never again would. Rigidified, toxic thoughts. Acidic words. Needless force. His hands were tied. His mouth was gagged. He was fed lies—he didn’t know why. Those words will echo still, against his will. Somehow, he had to swallow a bitter pill. Maybe it still brings her tears (even though that’s not how it appears). But in a vast way, those small moments fill the days. You’d be surprised how much owes to the weather.

I, Object Now I know why they swim in sky. It doesn’t help to make it easier that vision is a lie. We do our best to keep it in, but we lose it when we’re wearing thin. We do our best to keep it in, or to have the right thing within. I’ve heard it all. Just not that sound; those low staccato tones of my lost love coming 'round. Honour? I object. It felt so real. But my feelings were alien artefacts you thought you could steal. We do out best to keep it in, but we lose it when we’re wearing thin. We do our best to keep it in, or to have the right thing. To have the right thing, and not drop and break it on the floor. To have the right thing, and keep from always wanting more. To have the right thing for whatever might be in store. To have the right thing. But when all you have left is pain and regret, you better hope you have the right thing to blame.