#good writing

[pargery]

This obituary in the WSJ reminded me why euphemistic use of "comfort" in Murderbot's "comfort units" has a particularly uncomfortable connotation.

https://www.wsj.com/world/asia/japan-yohei-kono-dies-politician-b32fe623

[multif1fan]

Those 24h after finishing a really good, long fic.... I want more!!

[itsmayurremember]

TV Show: The Bear

If I was asked the best TV shows in recent years, my answer will contain ‘Arcane‘, ‘Andor’ and ‘The Bear’. A Thomas Flight video introduced me to the Bear six years ago. When describing the show to my partner, one of things I told her is that it is a show about good people the wrong choices. And yet, despite all of the things that do go wrong, the show allows its characters to grow. It doesn’t…

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[the-dragonian]

So I've recently been reading a book, which turned out to be an erotica (dont judge me, I didn't know at first took about 27 chapters for me to realize) and the thing is, its actually pretty good. It's well written, has amazing world building, and is generally a good story overall. But my one main issue with it is, I'll get really into the story then BAM! lewdness, sex, general erotica, and im just like, can you not. Please. I was invested and now ive been shaken out of my focus.bring me back to the epic fight scenes and wizard duels and the mystery of how nobody can figure out that you are a half dragon despite how you horns an tail are impossible to hide, and you don't even try too.

[mk-wizard]

No, I am not a hypocrite for being chill about Batman's race/gender-swapping yet frowning at the upcoming Odyssey doing the same thing. Batman Caped Crusader takes place in a 100% fictional world during a time period and in a setting where it is possible for changes like that to work. The Odyssey is for the most part fictional, but it takes place in a very specific time period where the limits and rules of this fictional world are very clear, and part of the world where certain creative liberties wouldn't make any sense.

Maybe it is just me, but in my mind, the rules of Batman's universe and the Odyssey's are not the same. Batman is radically more fantastical and while it has an old fashioned aesthetic, it is modern enough. Heck, in the few AU stories where Batman is placed in much older settings, the rules of that time period for that part of the world are obeyed. I mean, in Batman Ninja, Batman made a point of NOT disrupting the natural flow of time and restoring feudal Japan to the way it is supposed it is supposed to be.

Don't get me wrong, as a Greek myself, I will be the first to admit that Greek mythology is fantastical, but it follows the social, technological and geographical ways of ancient Greece that Homer himself was living in. You cannot expect cars, you cannot expect hotdogs, you cannot expect the level of feminism our time period has, you cannot expect them to be able to travel and make contact with certain countries with what they had, and so on. Even in the mythology, you have expect ancient Greece to be ancient Greece just as we expect the Journey to the West myth to take place in ancient China. And that is something that is meant to be celebrated and enjoyed. It's part of the beauty of the mythology, but I digress.

Yes, I am admitting that I have standards when it comes to "swapping", but my number one standard is that it has to make sense or else it breaks the story and the immersion. I don't think that's a bad standard.

And I think you all know what I mean. Settings like Gotham or Eternia from He-Man are NOT like ancient Greece. That should be obvious.

[1920smobboss]

yeah he-man was pretty good actually. fun movie!

[mk-wizard]

People who think that the "no kill rule" is bad for superheroes, you really need to stop and think about the long term reprucessions killing can have. Superheroes are not soldiers and they are usually NOT hired hands. The one that are happen to be the exception and they are protected hence why they don't even need to hide their identities. In their case, killing is a last resort yet an accepted option.

However, in the case of vigilantes like Batman, Superman, Spider-Man and more, it's not just the ethics (which is valid within itself). It's the fact that they are literally not licensed to kill and when you don't have a license, killing makes you a murderer according to the law even if the victim was scum. And if you are now a murderer, the law hunts you down as a priority. Not to mention, they have a higher chance at finding you because a dead body tends to be a big breadcrumb to leave behind. And vigilantes are trying to protect their secret identity so the mercy tactic isn't just about preserving their humanity. It's about making sure the blood on their hands never gives them away. Think about it. In the AUs where these heroes kill, people find out who they are and they tend to get caught and/or lose everything.

So yes, in a sense, vigilante type supers are afraid of killing, but this fear is very much valid. They are at the end of the day "home bakers" not "pastry chefs". Technically, they are criminals from the moment they don masks and take the law into their own hands. It's a lifetime tightrope walk of breaking and bending the law while making sure you only break the ones that won't make people think you're one of the psychopaths. It's why Jim Gordon trusts Batman and why other heroes like Superman, the Flash, Spider-Man and more are beloved.

The Punisher is the exception not the example of what other vigilantes should be like. Moreover, even then, we need him to remind us what going down the dark path can do to us (not that I am counting what bad storytelling did to him, but that's another topic entirely).

The point is that the "no kill rule" isn't a stupid or counterproductive rule. It's common sense when you're not only on your own. The government is literally watching you and waiting for you to step out of line.

PS: In the case of supers like Optimus, do you have any idea what having blood on his hands would do to his image as the Prime? Look at how hated Elita Prime is because she is violent. And for the record, Optimus Prime is a hundred times more powerful than Elita Prime. If he ceased holding back, that would be disastrous.