Everyone knows why it’s different for him: He is white.

I think it’s extra funny that Liefeld very likely traced a photo of Arnold Schwarzenegger for that one.

Because this confuzzled me, note that the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the Digital Services Act (DSA) are two separate things.

The Digital Markets Act is the one which is meant to remove economic barriers by “gatekeepers”. For example the DMA is used to force Google and Apple to open their app stores.

The Digital Services Act is the one that regulates (among other things) moderation, political neutrality and removal of extremist content on social media platforms. That’s the one Thierry Breton oversaw and threatened Elon with.

So while exTwitter’s lawyers may sigh in relief, because they got out of the DMA; the DSA is still looming large.

Additionally to what has already been mentioned: People are susceptible to politics that confirm their prejudices. Right-wing political thought is largely based on confirming that whatever prejudices people hold, they are morally good and justified. Thus elevating an in-group above out-groups. That is a powerful lure.

I am not entirely sure, but it’s either the Aurora Flopsie or Cabela’s Giant Red Fox.

“Free speech” has always been a right-wing dog whistle. It has nothing to do with anyone’s legal right, it’s a means to claim victimhood and justify attacking others as “defense”.

European people: But… but what if we had a system of medical care for puppies, so that they do not die so often?

Hello, friend! Have some 🥜 🌰

“Nothing Is More Powerful Than an Idea Whose Time Has Come”

Fantastic!

Also interesting in that regard Androgen insensitivity syndrome: Despite different root causes, it is something of the opposite of Chapelle syndrome. People who possess XY chromosomes, but possess female genitalia.

Become the Manic Pixie Dream Girl you were looking for!

It still bothers me that the cube inside the cube is bigger than the outer line, despite forming the outer line during the intro animation. It will never stop bothering me.

The art is by Lauren Dombrowski

Yeah, I don’t have much hope in that regard. I am sure Takahashi’s involvement with the series will mean that the original manga’s casual misogyny will be toned down, but I doubt that Takahashi will change much about the overall plot.

My ‘I’m No Fucking Predator Or Pedophile’ T-shirt is raising question already answered by my ‘I’m No Fucking Predator Or Pedophile’ T-shirt.

Love it. It’s almost like an unaired episode of the original show.

Yes and no. Like in Stardew Valley, technically you can romance every NPC in your party, but in practice you have to meet certain criteria to do so and those differ from character to character. Of course, it is possible to “game” that system.

The most famous one ATM is probably “Baldur’s Gate 3” which offers a wide variety of mechanics and stats to measure if an NPC member of the player’s party is romantically interested in the player character. Two examples given in the talk I linked are the VNs “Monster Prom” or “First Bite”.

I love this game (500 hours played), but I have to bring up a point of criticism…

One aspect which has not aged well IMHO is the “kindness coin” mechanic: The exchange of goods for the NPCs’ friendship and/or affection. You give the NPCs stuff, then you give them more stuff, then some more on top, then you get a cut scene and then you get back to giving them stuff until you trigger the next one.

Yes, the requests on the blackboard and the occasional personal quest mix up things a little bit, but overall the mechanic remains the same and for me over the years this has cheapened the interaction with the NPCs for me somewhat: They are mostly transactional and predictable to the point where you can calculate their outcome.
You have to give character A so-and-so many objects X to romance them. It takes so-and-so many days to do that.

Sure, the “kindness coins” mechanic was industry standard at the time, but I wish there were more variety in regards to the interactions with the NPCs, because they are amazingly written and I wish there was more to do with them besides giving them stuff over and over again.