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i think the most classic bioware move of all time might be catastrophically failing to answer and clarify major lore reveals in their game and instead just glossing over them quickly and hoping no one asks further questions, and then revealing them and their story and character relevance in the god damn art book after the game

"Peaceful beginnings, gentle giant gardeners, and curious spirits"

"The spirits saw the dwarves as they tended to the Titans, and they wanted to try making bodies for themselves"

"The spirits made physical bodies for themselves from the 'flesh' of the Titans. The first elves were born, and the first war began"

"A brutal war raged on between the elves and the Titans, only ending when one elf (Solas) rendered the Titans 'tranquil', capturing their souls"

"The elves brought a powerful war trophy home"

"With the Titans rendered tranquil, dwarves lost their connection to magic. They fled into the bodies of their fallen hosts"

"With the power that came from the captured Titan souls, the elves built the greatest empire Thedas would ever see"

The gods drew upon the power of the Titans' souls to gain more power. The imprisoned souls became twisted with rage. This became the blight."

"To contain the blight outbreak, Solas performed a desperate blood-magic ritual. He bound up the magic of the world behind a veil and powered it with the blood of the evil gods."

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME???????????????? I GET SOME OF THIS IS IMPLIED IN THE GAME BUT NONE OF IT IS ACTUALLY STATED OUTRIGHT. I THOUGHT THEY JUST DIDNT FEEL LIKE FIGURING OUT THEIR OWN LORE THEMSELVES BUT THEY DID IT BEHIND THE SCENES IT JUST DIDNT MAKE IT INTO THE GAME?????

link to the artbook preview if you want to see for yourself, but beware of how much its going to make you yearn for what was lost. maybe it was on purpose as a fun-meta commentary for the player on how solas feels :D

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the most fun a girl can have is finding parallels, noticing patterns, making connections, contemplating

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I think there's something that needs to be said about encouraging readers to leave feedback.

For me it's not about "tell me my writing is amazing and stroke my ego"

It's more about "please engage with me so that I can experience your joy secondhand and foster a connection with you"

I understand that not everyone wants this in their reading experience, some people are shy and a million other reasons why maybe someone wouldn't want to engage and that's perfectly fine!

But what I'm trying to steer away from is being a passive content creator with passive consumers. What I want to steer toward is fostering a community that is essential to fandom. I want to see your reactions because it makes me feel like I'm a part of something.

On encouraging reblogs —

I understand that not everyone is comfortable reblogging, especially explicit content. This is ok!

But just consider that the only reason you were able to enjoy a fic or fanart is because someone else shared it, and by not sharing it yourself you are potentially robbing someone else of the opportunity to enjoy it as much as you did.

As OPs our reach only goes so far and this website relies on reblogs in order for anything to truly get seen by a wider audience.

So that's really it! That's why I encourage these two things at the end of every story I post. Not because I'm trying to be demanding and "make people feel bad" if they don't do it.

I know most other social media sites encourage mindless content consumption and that's just the way of the world nowadays, but I am from a time when community was at the heart of fandom and I just don't want to lose that.

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Veilgaurd exists in such a weird spot on the morality circuit to me. It's so clear that they've got overt inclusivity messaging all over the place. To the point of ludicrousy at times (looking at you Lords of Fortune i.e. Jake and the Neverland Pirates.) When they're trying to make a point about what is morally good and the correct point of view™️ they hit you over the head with it. Thinking about Taash's dialogues about the Lords not stealing anything "cultural, you know- important" and their codex entry about gender. It's not that any of these messages or sentiments are wrong. But the way they are handled in the story is so at odds with a piece of media rated for mature audiences.

And then. And then the game turns around and makes the Antaam the most egregiously racist depiction of the Qunari in the series to date. The fact they managed that is kind of amazing in and of itself because I think the goal was to minimize the Qunari dilemma. By saying "not all Qunari! Just the Antaam!" It's similar to what they're aiming for with the Venatori and Tevinter.

The problem is though, now they've backed in to a corner where the warring Qunari faction is under the umbrella of "ridiculous disney villian that we don't explore further than that." And in doing so paint almost every Qunari that follows the Qun as a mindless brute that wears next to nothing and spends most of the game growling. Which is just. Deeply unsettling to see in a game that is trying so hard to be woke you feel like youre watching them pat themselves on the back as you play.

Like how do you double down so so hard on the inclusivity in so many aspects, and then turn around and do that?

I mean how did Dragon Age 2, a game that came out in 2011, portray the Qunari characters as so much more nuanced and intelligent than the 2024 Inclusivity Champion? Not to mention Kirkwall as a whole actually explores Tevinter's slavery problem on a much deeper level than Minrathous does? The narration Varric gives about the Gallows and the slave trade in the span of 30 seconds discusses more about the Tevinter Empire's relationship with slavery than Veilgaurd does in the entire game. That's without even mentioning Fenris.

Now I'm not claiming any of the previous titles were without their own mis-steps here. Im just a little irritated by how much this game reeks of hypocrisy at points.

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i am a sam wilson girlie through and through, like that is my captain!!

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i desperately need people to understand how fascism started because i am seeing many on the left gleefully walk assbackwards into goosestepping.

fascism did not start out as a far right ideology even though that is the endpoint. in order to gain power, there was a deliberate false synthesis of left and right populist ideals in order to gain a wide base from people upset with the political status quo. this is why the nazis were called national socialists. because they stole rhetoric and language from socialist movements and twisted them to their own ends.

this is why average people supported the nazis. not because they were stupid or incredibly bigoted but because the nazi party promised we will provide just as soon as we deal with the Bad People. however once nazi control was assured, the entire left wing of the party were purged. Gregor Strasser who was the leader of the left wing was assassinated in the night of the long knives.

his whole political ideology was nazism but anti capitalist. pro trade union, anti banker, pro wealth redistrubution, pro socialised housing and medicine. all of which ended in them being slughtered when they were no longer necessary. these people existed and were the useful idiots that aided in hitler taking full power.

you need to pay attention to who is saying what and why. easy answers, scapegoating, portraying whoever the outgroup of the moment as being behind every ill in the world, surface level anticapitalism and anticolonialism, reactionary leanings in problem solving. anything to get you to point at a group and declare them they enemy.

this is why you need to learn history, pay attention to the sources you get your information from and what narrative they are trying to weave out of the situation.

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I’m a teacher assistant for spanish grammar and the professor was explaining epícenos (single gendered words that encompass masculine and feminine beings) and he was using iguana as an example and he said: “there is only one gender… iguana” and i had to mute my microphone

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I feel like someone is standing next to me talking about how I'm dead

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I started using Head and Shoulders ten years ago for itchy scalp and dandruff, and then for ten years I have not had itchy scalp and dandruff, so I thought "why do I still buy shampoo to combat itchy scalp and dandruff when I do not have itchy scalp and dandruff," so I stopped buying the shampoo for itchy scalp and dandruff and can you guess I have now? Can you predict what currently afflicts me? It's alright if you can't because apparently I fuckin couldn't either

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My ships if one was an absolute manic pixie dream girl: Leon x Claire… but make it Leon.

Setting: Claire has been dragged to an abandoned theme park Leon swears is “the perfect place to relax,” despite it being anything but relaxing.

Leon: [Standing triumphantly in front of a broken-down carousel, arms out like he’s unveiling a masterpiece.] “Isn’t this place amazing? No crowds, no lines. Just… vibes.”

Claire: [Looking around skeptically, hands on her hips.] “Amazing? It looks like a horror movie set. Do you even hear yourself sometimes?”

Leon: [Grinning, already climbing onto one of the rusted carousel horses.] “C’mon, where’s your sense of adventure? This is peak nostalgia right here. You can almost hear the creepy music.”

Claire: [Crossing her arms, raising an eyebrow.] “I’ve got plenty of adventure, thanks. It’s called running for my life every other week.”

Leon: [Rocking the horse back and forth dramatically, smirking at her.] “Yeah, but do you ever stop to enjoy the ride?”

Claire: [Groaning, pinching the bridge of her nose.] “I enjoy it just fine without risking tetanus.”

Leon: [Hopping off and brushing his hands off on his jeans.] “Tetanus builds character.”

Claire: [Flatly.] “That explains a lot about you, actually.”

Leon: [Laughing, walking backward as he gestures for her to follow.] “Okay, tough crowd. But seriously, look around. Isn’t it kind of nice? Quiet, no zombies, no explosions. Just us and… whatever’s left of this place.”

Claire: [Sighing, finally following him.] “You’re impossible, you know that? You act like this is some grand adventure, but it’s literally just a rust bucket with a Ferris wheel.”

Leon: [Turning to face her, walking backward, his hands in his pockets.] “Exactly. No expectations. No pressure. Just you, me, and maybe some ghosts if we’re lucky.”

Claire: [Pausing, narrowing her eyes.] “You dragged me out here for ghosts?”

Leon: [Smirking.] “No, I dragged you out here for you. You’ve been all work and no play lately, Redfield.”

Claire: [Sputtering slightly, caught off guard.] “I—what? I play! I’m fun!”

Leon: [Grinning wider, leaning in slightly.] “Oh yeah? Prove it.”

Claire: [Glaring at him, stepping closer.] “Fine. But if I end up falling through some rotten floorboard, you’re carrying me out of here.”

Leon: [Clapping his hands once, laughing.] “Deal. Just don’t expect me to stay quiet about it. I’m telling everyone you screamed like a kid when the horse fell over.”

Claire: [Smirking now, jabbing a finger into his chest.] “You’re lucky you’re good in a fight, Kennedy. Otherwise, I’d leave you here with the ghosts.”

Leon: [Tilting his head, mock-serious.] “Oh no, Claire. I’d haunt you. Forever. I’d be your ghost roommate. Steal your cereal, turn your TV to static. Real nightmare fuel.”

Claire: [Rolling her eyes, finally laughing.] “You already do all that and you’re alive.”

Leon: [Grinning as they walk toward the Ferris wheel.] “See? You’re having fun already. I knew this was a good idea.”

Claire: [Still laughing, shaking her head.] “You’re the worst.”

Leon: [Shrugging, his smile softening.] “Yeah, but I make you laugh.”

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"Absolutely no one comes to save us but us."

Ismatu Gwendolyn, "you've been traumatized into hating reading (and it makes you easier to oppress)", from Threadings, on Substack [ID'd]

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“what’s posted on the internet stays there forever” is true for everything except that one piece of fanart you saw when you were 10 that changed the trajectory of your life forever. you will never find that again it is gone forever

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i love white pitbulls they are so funney like.... that aninal is pink....

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a cat that interferes with one's work

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shawn seems like the kinda guy to go out of his way to use kind of obscure & weird emojis just to spice things up

he’ll hit gus up with the “we got a case 🖇️” and gus is like “What’s with the paperclips?” n he says “they reminded me of us 🤗”

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His little pony...