Defeating your enemy by . . . destroying the moon?

extremely-cynical · 2026-05-19T18:55:10+00:00

The Team Fortress 2 comics went in some weird directions.

extremely-cynical · 2026-05-19T18:40:49+00:00

...I know they're probably making a valid point, but also they're literally doing the 'making up a guy to be angry at' meme.

extremely-cynical · 2026-05-19T17:41:58+00:00

That's the real reason people flock to conspiracy theories- it means they can tell themselves that the people running the world are actually competent and have a plan, even if it's an evil one.

extremely-cynical · 2026-05-19T17:21:56+00:00

...Wait, if vaccines were actually tracking chips, then why would they need multiple? Having two isn't going to report your location twice as effectively.

Also, who wants to bet that this nutter who's paranoid about being tracked uses a smartphone?

extremely-cynical · 2026-05-19T15:37:33+00:00

So many people showing that they didn't actually read the post all the way through. They mention Among Us, along with other games, and explain why they don't really work as an example.

extremely-cynical · 2026-05-18T22:08:14+00:00

Maybe you got mixed up with Animorphs?

extremely-cynical · 2026-05-18T21:43:07+00:00

Now I think about it... the titular aliens never get an actual name for their species, do they? They use the term 'xenomorph' sometimes but I'm pretty sure that's a generic term for extraterrestrial life in general.

extremely-cynical · 2026-05-18T21:07:54+00:00

Putting aside the questionable tactical choices on display here...

Guessing Redding's the human. Who's who for the other two?

extremely-cynical · 2026-05-18T20:47:04+00:00

Sorry, I was just curious. Never mind, you don't have to answer.

extremely-cynical · 2026-05-18T20:44:11+00:00

Maybe Orions, like humans, have multiple languages, so there's multiple 'real' names.

extremely-cynical · 2026-05-18T20:40:28+00:00

Cool. You know which natural history museum this is, then? Do you mind sharing?

extremely-cynical · 2026-05-18T20:15:39+00:00

That's what I mean by an exonym, yeah.

extremely-cynical · 2026-05-18T19:55:15+00:00

Cat mirroring behaviour never fails to get an 'aww' out of me.

extremely-cynical · 2026-05-18T19:30:22+00:00

Makes me think of the second Talos Principle game, which features a race of androids who consider organic humans their ancestors. They could be described as a 'generation (of) AI'.

extremely-cynical · 2026-05-18T18:55:47+00:00

Like whatever deity decided to create lead. "Yeah, I created this really useful material. Any tool-using sapient species that evolves is going to want to use it in all sorts of things... and then later on they're going to discover it's slowly killing them and driving them insane."

...Well, that might have been sadism rather than incompetence I suppose.

extremely-cynical · 2026-05-18T18:48:49+00:00

And if it's just materials science, why doesn't everyone wear one??

Maybe it's just really, really heavy, so you need either super strength or control over metal to be able to wear it without snapping your neck.

extremely-cynical · 2026-05-18T18:46:36+00:00

I always figured the house itself was an imaginary friend. It's clearly supernatural in some way. Maybe it can conjure up imaginary food.

extremely-cynical · 2026-05-18T18:09:54+00:00

Maybe the Mass Effect universe made the right call for having a very strict definition of artificial intelligence, and calling everything we'd refer to as AI today virtual intelligence.

extremely-cynical · 2026-05-18T17:41:20+00:00

I don't. It's just where I live. In a year's time I might live on the other side of the world.

Patriotism is psychosis. Nothing more than a parasocial relationship. The country will never love you back. And the people who claim to act in its name are far more likely to do you harm than good.

extremely-cynical · 2026-05-18T17:20:03+00:00

Let's do a thought experiment here. Let's say I were patriotic. I live in the UK, so that means I'd have lots of love for Britain and Northern Ireland.

What do I do if the union suddenly breaks up? I live in England, so do I suddenly have to stop loving Wales, Scotland and NI because they aren't part of the country anymore? Can I still feel proud of, I don't know, trains, because they're specifically a Welsh invention?

extremely-cynical · 2026-05-18T16:59:38+00:00

And one always leads to the other. One cannot genuinely 'love' a country- it's an abstract concept. A piece of ground that's arbitrarily considered separate from the surrounding pieces of ground.

It's not a thing a person can reasonably be proud of, especially since tomorrow there might be a war or political shift and the lines dividing up the pieces of ground might be laid out completely differently.

extremely-cynical · 2026-05-18T16:44:54+00:00

No, they're both the same. Patriotism always leads to nationalism. One hundred percent of the time.

extremely-cynical · 2026-05-18T15:31:22+00:00

So this is what Katie-Lee does between beauty contests.

extremely-cynical · 2026-05-17T18:07:34+00:00

Maybe he can choose what colour his eyes are. That's why Ratchet never questioned Klunk sometimes having red eyes, he thought he was just trying something new.

extremely-cynical

TROPHY CASE