“Dudes. Imagine life here in the US — or indeed, pretty much anywhere in the Western world — is a massive role playing game, like World of Warcraft except appallingly mundane, where most quests involve the acquisition of money, cell phones and donuts, although not always at the same time. Let’s call it The Real World. You have installed The Real World on your computer and are about to start playing, but first you go to the settings tab to bind your keys, fiddle with your defaults, and choose the difficulty setting for the game. Got it?
Okay: In the role playing game known as The Real World, “Straight White Male” is the lowest difficulty setting there is.
This means that the default behaviors for almost all the non-player characters in the game are easier on you than they would be otherwise. The default barriers for completions of quests are lower. Your leveling-up thresholds come more quickly. You automatically gain entry to some parts of the map that others have to work for. The game is easier to play, automatically, and when you need help, by default it’s easier to get.
Now, once you’ve selected the “Straight White Male” difficulty setting, you still have to create a character, and how many points you get to start — and how they are apportioned — will make a difference. Initially the computer will tell you how many points you get and how they are divided up. If you start with 25 points, and your dump stat is wealth, well, then you may be kind of screwed. If you start with 250 points and your dump stat is charisma, well, then you’re probably fine. Be aware the computer makes it difficult to start with more than 30 points; people on higher difficulty settings generally start with even fewer than that.
As the game progresses, your goal is to gain points, apportion them wisely, and level up. If you start with fewer points and fewer of them in critical stat categories, or choose poorly regarding the skills you decide to level up on, then the game will still be difficult for you. But because you’re playing on the “Straight White Male” setting, gaining points and leveling up will still by default be easier, all other things being equal, than for another player using a higher difficulty setting.
Likewise, it’s certainly possible someone playing at a higher difficulty setting is progressing more quickly than you are, because they had more points initially given to them by the computer and/or their highest stats are wealth, intelligence and constitution and/or simply because they play the game better than you do. It doesn’t change the fact you are still playing on the lowest difficulty setting.
You can lose playing on the lowest difficulty setting. The lowest difficulty setting is still the easiest setting to win on. The player who plays on the “Gay Minority Female” setting? Hardcore.”

— John Scalzi tells it like it is. (Go and read the whole essay, then read the comments.)

(via neil-gaiman)

8:40 pm  •  15 May 2012  •  2,664 notes

itsxandy:

Golgothassterror: art post

tutorialsforartists:

I just went back through over 900 liked posts and dug out all the art tutorials so i can keep track of them. I guess this might be helpful to some of you guys, so here you go.

Here we go then!

Freeware

Alchemy -…

(Source: geromy-kyle)

12:41 am  •  14 May 2012  •  16,935 notes

I don’t need to sleep right?

I can just geek out all night and show up to class like a zombie.

Right?

10:35 pm  •  13 May 2012

itswallie:

batchink:

itswallie:

batchink:

itswallie:

itsxandy:

itswallie:

itsxandy:

OKAY OKAY NO NEED TO CALL NAMES ALRITE. But yeah, fine, it IS true that Wall doesn’t EXACTLY show the most UNDERSTANDING. I can see your point. 

But like, LOOK how Wall was RAISED. I mean WALL HAS BEEN UNDER A LOT OF PRESSURE. It’s like doing it’s VERY BEST to get out from under the infleunce of ROOF. THAT kind of pressure REALLY pins Wall in place. I SUPPOSE if Wally just keeps BANGING (haha banging) Wall then yeah that MIGHT help it get away, but it ALSO risks TOTALLY falling apart. Any help he gives is ACCIDENTAL and I just don’t BUY it.

And like, NO ONE ELSE runs into Wall! Superboy’s TOTALLY strong enough to gently LIFT Roof away without hurting ANYONE.

Gawd this ship I CAN’T.

WALL DESERVES TO BE CALLED NAMES. GOD, IT’S SUCH A WHORE, TOO. IT’S IN A TOTALLY STABLE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE ROOF BUT IT HAS NOOOOO PROBLEM WITH CHEATING ON ROOF WITH WALLY RIGHT. UNDER. ROOF’S. NOSE. WHAT KIND OF ASSHOLE DOES THAT, ANYWAY?

DON’T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON SUPERBOY/ROOF. GOD, SUPES IS SUCH A DICKWAD TO ROOF OKAY? HE RIPS ROOF APART FROM EVERYTHING IT’S KNOWN AND JUST TOSSES IT AWAY LIKE TRASH. ROOF DESERVES TO BE TREATED BETTER! IT DESERVES SOMEONE WHO WOULD RESPECT IT!

YOU KNOW WHAT I SHIP? SUERBOY/SHIRTS. BECAUSE THEY CAN NEVER BE TOGETHER AND IT’S BEAUTIFULLY TRAGIC.

Alright, we’re just going to have to AGREE to DISAGREE HERE about WALL/ROOF. I’ve never really been INTO ROOF/SUPERBOY, so I can’t COMMENT. BUTTTT I CAN see how it would work in an OT3 with Wall, too. But ONLY in an OT3.

BUT OMG YES NORMALLY I WOULD TOTALLY NOT SHIP SOMETHING LIKE SUPERBOY/SHIRTS, but I have READ SOME AMAZING FIC AND THE ART JUNST HNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNG. I’m so embarrassed though!

So this fandom has done THAT to me. Don’t tell my mom.

(Source: reasonstoshipyj)

8:23 am  •  13 May 2012  •  227 notes

itswallie:

itsxandy:

itswallie:

itsxandy:

itswallie:

itsxandy:

Okay, look, let’s be rational about this. First of all, it’s FINE to use headcanon to fill in the blanks, but I need CANON in order to support my ships. ALL we’ve seen in canon is Roy ABUSING Hat. Wally took Hat IN. And yeah, MAYBE Hat is on the souvenir shelf. WE DON’T KNOW. But we DO see how he treats his OTHER SOUVENIRS. AND HE TREATS THEM SO WELL OKAY. HE LOVINGLY LOOKS AT THEM ALMOST EVERY SHOW.

I can make a PHOTO SET of how often Wally cares for his OTHER SOUVENIRS, and frankly he gives SUPERMARTIAN a run for their money in terms of the HARD WORK HE PUTS INTO HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM.

SO I FEEL PRETTY COMFORTABLE GUESSING THAT YEAH HAT IS GETTING THE SAME TENDER LOVING CARE! 

What have we seen with ROY!? ABUSE AND NEGLECT. IDK about YOU but that is just NOT HEALTHY alright.

And UGH don’t get me STARTED on WALLY/WALL. Look I’m REALLY SORRY and I RESPECT your opinion okay? But what has Wally done to WALL? He HURTS it. OVER AND OVER. And sure, Wall is TOUGH, but that’s NOT a foundation for a lasting relationship, ALRIGHT. I KNOW WALLY DOESN’T MEAN TO. I mean, look at how he treats SOUVENIR (AND PROBABLY HAT). But like, Wally ONLY interacts with  Wall at his VERY WORST. When he’s TRIPPING, when he’s CLUMSY. And yeah, WALL IS PRETTY COOL ABOUT THAT. BUT WHAT DOES WALL GET OUT OF THIS RELATIONSHIP HUH?

WHAT?

DOES WALLY EVEN PATCH UP THE DAMAGE HE CAUSED (ALBEIT UNINTENTIONALLY?)

IIDK about YOU, but I’VE never seen that IN CANON. Maybe I missed something! BUT I NEED CANON FOR MY SHIPS OKAY.

Okay, there’s no evidence that the abuse couldn’t have gone both ways. I mean, can you imagine the blood circulation in his head Roy must’ve lost, just to keep Hat on his head. 

Look, I’m fine that you don’t ship Roy/Hat, but shipping Wally/Hat? He treats everything on his souvenir shelf well, right, but I just don’t see anything special with Wally/Hat.

And what’s wrong with Wally/Wall? Laws of physics say they hurt each other. 

And I don’t give a fuck about canon because that is hawt. 

I SHIP WHAT I WANT.

Look, of COURSE it’s okay to ship what you want, but I mean, there were SO many opportunities to balance out that hurt.

Wally could have just LEANED against Wall. That would have made SENSE and totally not cost a THING. Wally would be SUPPORTING Wall BACK. AND I WOULD HAVE BOUGHT IT. Wally could have LOVINGLY (emphasis on the LOVING okay, just BANGING Wall - for ME - it’s just NOT ENOUGH) run his hands along Wall! WHY DIDN’T THE WRITERS DO THAT? IT WOULD HAVE BEEN SO GREAT.

Look, ALL I need for HEADCANON for Wally/Hat is that he ACTUALLY PUT HAT ON HIS SOUVENIR SHELF, because that means he treats it as SPECIAL as ALL THE OTHER SOUVENIRS. People totally do that! They TOTALLY display objects on SHELVES.

And gosh, I just don’t know what to say if you don’t see how special he treats them - and therefore hat. There are like screencaps all over for it. If he didn’t pay attention to them or like, change them out AS APPROPRIATE then NO I wouldn’t ship it.

But I’m sorry THE SUBTEXT IS TOTALLY THERE. It’s FINE if you don’t accept that, but I just feel like there’s ~IRONICALLY~ more ~support~ for Wally/HAT than Wally/WALL. 

But maybe we should just agree to disagree and end this thread like adults?

(Source: reasonstoshipyj)

8:21 am  •  13 May 2012  •  227 notes

wonderarity:

Mother’s Day tribute to some of DC’s mothers.

[From left to right:]

Koriand’r, Alura-El, Hippolyta & the Amazons of Themyscira, Donna Troy, Martha Kent, Lois Lane, Pantha, Dinah Lance, Barbara Gordon, Dana Drake, Kate Spencer, Stephanie Brown, Helena Sandsmark, Ellen Baker, Linda Park-West, Bonnie King-Jones, Bianca Reyes, Crystal Brown, Talia al Ghul, Lara-El, Mera, Mary Grayson, Martha Wayne.

(via vladbride)

8:17 am  •  13 May 2012  •  2,738 notes

“”

— Deadpool nonesense

1:29 am  •  12 May 2012

itswallie:

reducetotheabsurd:

itswallie:

thecivilunrest:

can conner not be in an episode for like…

one episode?　

was in he in every single episode last year?

i can’t think of one he wasn’t in off the top of my head

but

amen

Errr … The Zatanna/Artemis Girl’s Night Out? I think? That might have been it though.

Sigh, nope. He did the dance thing with M’gann and Wally.

And was the cause of the girls night out during the extremely odd twist in which Artemis harbored feelings for Conner even though she never demonstrated them, because if she had demonstrated them, she would have noticed immediately or been exactly the same as Wally.

file under: odd relationship decisions for plot point purposes

I thought that there was one episode with just Artemis, Zatanna, Harm, and Secret, but he was there at the start and the interlude where they played the prank on Marvin wasn’t he.

Dammit.

I just scrolled through the list of YJ episodes on wikipedia.

He’s in every. Single. Fucking. One. Of. Them.

11:33 pm  •  11 May 2012  •  18 notes

megasilly:

princessickness:

karenamadof:

&ILOVEYOUTOO<3

SPREAD THE DAMN WORD

Not going to lie. This is a a life-saver!

(via tyrror)

11:22 pm  •  11 May 2012  •  119,968 notes

I don’t think we take enough time to appreciate the periods in our life when our noses aren’t runny. Is your nose runny right now? No? Think about that. Honestly reflect on it. Enjoy this era of peace. There are dark times on the horizon

(Source: joshishollywood, via vladbride)

11:20 pm  •  11 May 2012  •  16,914 notes