“My position is so tenuous yet so important to my identity that I will not tolerate the slightest challenge.”

Alternatively, “That’s why my favorite book is Moby Dick, no frou-frou symbolism. Just a good simple tale about a man who hates an animal.”

Psychonauts is about trauma. Fallout is anti-war. FFVII is environmentalist. Samus as a woman was an intentionally subversive choice. Video games have had socual commentary for as long as it’s been able to be expressed.

Never take any risks to improve the world, that’s how things are gonna get better!

Almost everything you said is why I prefer Morrowind and replay it more than any other Elder Scroll. I don’t like how hand-holdy and forgiving most modern games are.

The AI is obviously dated, some of the systems are underdeveloped, but stuff like the quest journal and athletic skills and how hard it is at the beginning if you aren’t careful or attentive are all major plusses for me. I want the weapon variety, I want the freedom to be anything but without the wishy-washy “you can be everything” style Skyrim has because they’re terrified of locking a player out of any content.

Yeah, it’s a more immersive and interesting world. I also prefer the quest journal over map markers, make you actually read and interpret shit instead of fast travelling to the nearest pip. You also can’t just be the boss of every faction, they have incompatible goals.

And it does say when you break a main quest so you can revert your save. Just don’t be a murderhobo.

“A language is a dialect with an army and navy.” -Max Weinreich

The difference between “dialect” and “mutually intelligible language” is usually defined by convenience and politics and the Scots classification is not a settled matter, nor is it an important distinction outside of identity/pride.

The obvious examples are people typing in Scots or AAVE but that’s more just phonetic transcription of existing language.

https://youtu.be/SDPasRas5u0

This video is ten years old so the examples are outdated but the idea is sound.

What, the anti-nuclear “green party” with the vaccine hesitant Jill Stein? Pass. We need a scientifically aligned, pro-labor party not a career spoiler candidate.

A muscaria isn’t so much a “trip” as it isn’t hallucinogenic, it’s more of a deleriant and disassociative. Also it’s gonna give you stomach cramps. People generally don’t eat them for fun.

I’ve had a black nightshade berry and I can confirm it tasted like a sweet tomato. I assume the poisonous ones taste similar, if they were bitter then accidental poisonings wouldn’t be a big concern.

I thought I hated mushrooms but it turns out the most common grocery store mushroom is just the worst kind. Crimini/button/portabello it’s all Agaricus bisporus and it sucks. Enoki mushrooms opened my eyes and so far I’ve liked every single mushroom I’ve tried that isn’t that dogshit A bisporus rubbery mud.

Sure, you’d end up with at least two countries because many states would just refuse to join the new republic.

Then maybe they should have their own shithole country and stop taking our tax dollars.

They can ignore election results though, or fraudulently certify them.

People are indeed buying Super Soakers instead of just using a hose.

The point of this comparison is that they aren’t at all the same thing. People don’t want things that barely work and few have the time to learn new skills to craft what they want in an acceptable quality. Could any able-bodied adult pick up a knife and whittle themself a spoon? Probably. Most of those spoons are going to suck though and you can get one at Target for a couple bucks. It’s a position that feels out of touch.

I’m all for taking care of what you have and repairing rather than replacing when possible, and I’d love to collectively move away from plastic crap, but saying “just learn to make bread with all the free time and functional kitchen you for sure have” helps nobody except the speaker patting themself on the back.

Flexible sure but not exactly easy. There’s a lot of choices to make at every level and many of the feats have prerequisite, earlier feats so you functionally have to plan your entire expected progression up front.

I don’t want 25 cents worth of checkerboard, I want a decent wooden object that doesn’t make me feel like I live in a dumpster. And most people want a sturdy piece of decorated, folding cardboard that will last a century if nobody spills juice on it.

Your position sounds a lot like “why do you kids need Super Soakers anyway, we have a perfectly good hose.”

We flip idioms all the time. Head-over-heels is another one, used to be the other way around. I suspect it’s a subconscious thing as both moved the long e sound to the end and we prefer vowel sounds in particular orders and rhythms.

“End of life care” is entirely optional. I’m not going to waste away in a hospital bed, that’s for sure.

I played Yahtzee once and now I hustle back alley Craps foe drug money.

Green burial. No preservatives, no permanent structures, just natural decay and completing the circle of life. Don’t pickle me for a funeral just get me in the ground asap.