People expect growth to mean something like “becoming a better person” or “finding closure.” I think that many people expect that in the real world, as well. Things are messy. People are messy. Stories don’t have to be messy, but to call a story bad simply because it’s messy is just...missing the point of stories. And…

I appreciate your point, but I am not trying to convince anyone that I am right and they are wrong so much as I am trying to refine my own opinions. This is a game that I was very conflicted about throughout the play experience and for days afterwards. Discussing it in retrospect and touching on that dissonance only…

No, I was talking about the controls, the aiming and the fact that you now have a choice between stealth and combat (the first game made you use stealth in some places and made you fight in others).

Are you kidding about the gameplay? The gameplay was significantly improved over the first game.

In video game criticism, the term “writing” refers not only to the overarching story, but to every line of dialog, every staged situation and scenario, every mission and all in-game text. While the story had weaknesses, this is not at all the same thing as “poorly written.”

Whether you loved or hated the story and its messages, it is hard to imagine somebody arguing effectively and in good faith that The Last of Us Part II was anything less than exceptionally well-made and well-written.

The word “defund” is the only thing that makes it such a non-starter for people. The idea is to reduce police funding (a lot of which is used for the increasing militarization of police forces) so that that money can be used to fund sensible programs that actually prevent crime, while the word “defund” implies…

I suggest we just go ahead and make whatever day he dies on a national holiday.

Abortion is sad. Forcing a woman to give birth to and then raise a child she doesn’t want and may not be capable of raising is tragic.

You’re right. It’s not the MAX’s fault. It’s because of Boeing’s corporate culture. And that is why I would prefer not to fly a Boeing plane at all if I can avoid it.

Watching should be free. I would pay to be an active participant, though.

Not to mention that GOP voters are less likely to vote at all if they don’t believe in the legitimacy of elections in general.

I think that you are overestimating how much Secret Service protection costs. Also, any time FLOTUS travels anywhere, she has a security detail. Why is commuting to/from work any worse than going anywhere else? Or are you suggesting that FLOTUS should just be locked up in the White House 24/7?

Dating a Trump supporter is technically bestiality.

I think that hearing this case would be a bit of a stretch for Roberts. He has limits.

I dunno. I think that there really voters who are so low-information that they barely know anything about either Trump or Biden other than, “Oh yeah, I see him on TV sometimes.”

The kids are all right.

The funny thing: this is the by far tamest shop in all of Kabukicho!

Make it a doomsday sex cult and I’m in.

It is far worse than you think. You know all of those Republican voters who were planning to stay home this year because they’re still not quite sure about this Trump fellow? Yeah, an open Supreme Court seat is going to get them to vote.