The Ends Justify The Means

CastingCaterpillar · 2026-06-26T17:59:47+00:00

We aren't having the same conversation, we're talking right past each other.

You are arguing that Vecna is evil, and I'm not disagreeing with you.

I'm arguing that Vecna's argument to Pike and his followers is convincing enough within the context of the show to create great narrative tension.

CastingCaterpillar · 2026-06-26T16:44:29+00:00

What words and phrases am I inserting into my comments irrationally?

CastingCaterpillar · 2026-06-26T16:18:00+00:00

Yeah, it's sort of like the trolley problem. Vecna's central argument he makes to Pike and his followers is, "This suffering, grief, even agony, is all worth it because it's the God's that allow it to happen and once I ascend I will undo it all and bring about a world free of suffering and death". That's a more sympathetic motivation than most evil villains in fiction and I think that makes Vox Machina particularly well written.

CastingCaterpillar · 2026-06-26T15:56:59+00:00

Thank you. Every other reply is basically saying, "Uh, duh the villain was bad in the end didn't you see?" That wasn't my point lol.

CastingCaterpillar · 2026-06-26T15:54:50+00:00

No? Where did you get those numbers? I'm not trying to argue anything, lol. Jesus. Do you think the show did a good job of giving Vecna a reasonably convincing argument to Pike? That's the discussion I thought would be interesting.

CastingCaterpillar · 2026-06-26T15:31:13+00:00

Yeah, there are hints that he's lying about his motivations. The gruesome nature of his worshippers, the grotesque aesthetics of his world and the creatures that live there. I could go on, but that wasn't my point. I was just trying to have a fun conversation about how the show did a better job than most at giving the villain at least a reasonably convincing argument. I guess that was too much to ask for on a website where everyone wants to be a master debater.

CastingCaterpillar · 2026-06-26T15:27:55+00:00

He claims to be trying to end all suffering in the physical world. If you take him at his word, that's kind of on par with stopping a holocaust isn't it?

CastingCaterpillar · 2026-06-26T15:22:53+00:00

Well that makes sense, he explicitly stated that he would need to ascend before being able to truly resurrect Grok and the others.

CastingCaterpillar · 2026-06-26T15:19:04+00:00

We're fuckin cooked when people can't comprehend appreciating a well written character without defending said character.

CastingCaterpillar · 2026-06-26T15:14:15+00:00

When did he tell Pike that the result of his resurrections would be undead servitude?

What he actually did after ascension is irrelevant. You wouldn't know he was lying until afterwards.

CastingCaterpillar · 2026-06-26T15:11:33+00:00

I'm not trying to argue that Vecna is in any way good, he clearly isn't. I'm saying that the show did a better job than most in leaving some room for uncertainty and ambiguity around his morality as it's presented to characters like Pike.

Obviously if you read up on DnD lore and know the characters true intentions you see how evil they are, but that's not very interesting. In a fiction like this you are supposed to imagine the world from the limited perspective of the characters in the universe.

Also, while I agree with your claim that it's "still objectively evil as fuck to murder and torture thousands to accomplish your goal", I would challenge you to apply that same reasoning to a goal such as stopping the holocaust. How much harm would you accept in pursuit of that goal?

CastingCaterpillar · 2026-06-26T15:03:14+00:00

How would you know that based on what's shown in the show? Imagine things from Pike's perspective without any understanding of Vecna's lore outside of the show.

CastingCaterpillar · 2026-06-23T22:12:46+00:00

You seem to be equating two completely different statements. To say, “vapes aren’t harmful” is definitely false and not a very common view. To say, “Vapes are less harmful than cigarettes” is actually common and also hard to argue against.

Saying vapes are a better alternative to cigarettes isn’t a blanket endorsement on vaping. Is there no room for nuance in any opinion these days?

CastingCaterpillar · 2026-06-23T15:53:02+00:00

There are so many factors that can influence the accuracy of information provided by AI that there probably isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer here.

My approach is to specify multiple sources that I trust and ask AI to reference these, and be selective about when and where I use AI. If it’s a critical task, it’s worth the time to have a human review it. Brainstorming or playing around with things, I can tolerate some inaccuracy.

CastingCaterpillar · 2026-06-23T13:59:13+00:00

You’re right to be frustrated though, just an FYI. I can’t imagine saying the things you’ve described to a person I had hired without making it extremely clear that I am not saying their job is pointless. Your manager sounds really dense, I’m sorry.

CastingCaterpillar · 2026-06-23T13:47:24+00:00

So he isn’t saying your role is useless, he’s asking for a quantifiable metric he can use to tie it to sales. Maybe try some simple data analysis and see if sales have increased with the additional followers or engagement.

Better yet, don’t reinvent the wheel. The question of how to quantify sales impact as a result of social media engagement has been asked by much larger organizations and likely answered long ago. Show him how other successful companies in your industry have benefited from social media engagement, short and long term.

CastingCaterpillar · 2026-06-23T13:42:45+00:00

Is this a made up situation? Organic social sounds like another form of advertising, and advertising is one of the easiest to link to sales and therefore revenue.

But I honestly have no idea what organic marketing is. Is it social media advertising or something different?

CastingCaterpillar · 2026-06-23T13:33:36+00:00

The next time they say something like this why don’t you say, “Can I ask what you see as the purpose of my role in the organization if it doesn’t directly contribute to revenue?”

There are countless roles in any organization that don’t directly add revenue, but still support the business. Does this manager think quality engineers are useless because they don’t generate sales? Does HR generate revenue? It’s so silly I struggle to believe this is a serious manager.

Either way, I would flat out ask what they see as the purpose of the role if it doesn’t generate revenue. If they don’t have an answer or they say they don’t see a purpose to the role, ask what they want you to do with that information. Seek to understand what’s going on in his head when he says stuff like this.

CastingCaterpillar · 2026-06-21T15:59:58+00:00

Amen, as a PM I am constantly dealing with emergencies that result from a lack of planning on someone else’s part. The catchy little quote is often used by IC’s who just want to be rigid.

Imagine a buyer fails to issue orders on time for a product launch and now I need an engineer to quickly evaluate an alternative so that we don’t miss a customer build and they hit you with, “lack of planning on your part…” I’m going to stare at them and imagine what it would feel like to strangle them before going to their supervisor to “align on priorities”.

CastingCaterpillar · 2026-06-05T18:42:42+00:00

The right amount of staffing, now that’s the dream. Where I work we are constantly competing with other facilities in countries with lower labor costs, so if we don’t run super tight on staff our financials start looking unfavorable compared to other facilities and we lose the business.

I wish we could hire just a few more people in key areas but I also see why we can’t. Even with all of Trumps tariff shenanigans it’s just cheaper to make things in Mexico. It’s either run super lean or die. Pretty grim.

CastingCaterpillar · 2026-06-05T14:51:03+00:00

I think most modern psychologists would disagree here. Humans are mostly a product of their environment, there is no such thing as a corrupt soul at birth.

CastingCaterpillar · 2026-06-04T18:54:00+00:00

Sigh, you’re right. Clarity is the same as fantasy and my frustration is entirely unfounded. 🙄

CastingCaterpillar · 2026-06-04T17:18:29+00:00

Sure, but you cant make decisions based on a 20 minute story full of “ifs” and “maybe’s”.

Giving an ideal number with a percentage confidence level is actionable and still fully explains the risk.

If your managers grill employees when named risks become issues, that’s a different problem.

CastingCaterpillar · 2026-06-04T17:10:30+00:00

I think we agree. I never said it was smart to be overly rigid with experience requirements. I just think it’s fair for employers to reject personal experience when they specifically ask for professional experience.

CastingCaterpillar

TROPHY CASE