#BUT I am still excited for elves that are POC!!

[lillotte17]

who wants to place bets that at least one of the elf characters has been written in a way that they hate all other elf culture?

[skyeblue379]

I just Want to do a quick dragon age rant. I’m literally so happy I found subgroups within the fandom who are overwhelmingly positive and supportive because every time you go onto like the official page, you see those people who are just complaining about literally anything they can think of whether it’s the graphics which don’t look bad I don’t quite understand what they’re upset about it’s not gritty enough ( do you not remember the hinterlands being like 40 percent of dai lol) About representation of different body types, races, or sexualities complaining that it’s gone woke, I’m sorry. Have you paid attention to literally anything from the beginning of the game? There’s always been queer representation there’s always been POC representation well they had not always been the best vet like how well they’re doing it. There is still the effort. And complaining about body types look after playing origins is kind of silly to be like you remember the size of your characters compared to your body in origins. It’s gotten to the point that if someone mentions a comment that they are excited about the game, they get tons of hate comments or messages. The haters even mad about the fact that critics so far have been giving the game good reviews saying “Just wait till the players get it”but there’s people who gotten to play pre-release and I saw many positive reviews . it’s just frustrating that so many people are hating on some thing for the mirror concept when the game has always been about that always had these ideals. It’s not suddenly woke when even from the first game there was conversations and themes around slavery , corruption within the Templars and abuse of power from nobility, Direct correlations between the dalish elves and the Native Americans and the struggles they have gone through with the force in the change of traditions in the being forced to leave their lands to go to cities to live in these subsections of the cities that don’t have proper funding where violence, especially towards women is more likely and more likely to be overlooked. Look at the city elf origin Playthrough , look at the entire mages versus Templar conflict that has been way across the entire franchise. There has been discussions about racism within the game look at the Viv from dai and the discrimination she faced in game there has always been queer romances and characters in the games , the books, the graphic novels, etc. One of the characters in the game that I am really looking forward to seeing how their storyline goes and most likely the one I’m going to romance just given what we know about the character so far is Taash once their character was even first revealed I knew was not gonna be one of the popular romances, but there’s nothing wrong with that. Everyone has their own own opinions, but the overwhelming amount of hate I’ve seen towards that character is ridiculous when the pictures for cosplayers so they can see more details within the characters outfits even towards this character And towards Harding ( character design hasn’t really changed all that much since Dai ) About their body about their appearance just generally throwing a hissy fit like overgrown toddlers is ridiculous to me and then even more so once BioWare posted that the fact that Taash is nonbinary. I’m not saying that everyone is entitled to like the game, but if you don’t want to play don’t no one is making you and there’s no need to bash on people who are looking forward to it ( sorry for any typos I did this voice to text )

[scribeofmorpheus]

Dear lord! Rant incoming:

Sometimes I forget fandom isn't a bubble--everyone I know in this fandom is so excited for the next instalment, and when there's criticism, it's founded AND NOT JUST BLATANT DISCRIMINATION/SEXISM (like no more three-party banter or the change in the art direction for the demons being a surprise), but then I see stuff like this and am reminded why I do not particularly like majority of game 'fan' spaces or fantasy spaces (just like the star wars fandom after the sequel trilogy).

Elves have pointed ears (and even half-elves who don't have the ear characteristic are still "elves" genetically), and Dwarves live underground, in cramped, low-ceiling spaces--they could very well evolve to grow larger if their space expands, say like, to live on the surface. Elves will have different skin tones depending on their environment and landscape. Dwarves spend their lifetime away from sunlight, but I wouldn't be shocked if Surface Dwarves evolved to have darker skin tones as well??

And "Asian Elf" (with such a title blanketing and conveniently disregarding the fact that South Asians exist and have their own features too btw!) or "Black Elf" is absurd because are you telling me "Elf" is simply synonymous with "White"`? Is "White/Pale Elf" the default, acceptable race? Why? Because movies made 20 years ago were mostly saturated with white actors to represent them? Did we forget Fenris and Zevran were always darker in concept than in the final game designs? Merrill too is not pale. In fact, the only pale elves by design I remember are Elvhen--like Solas (whose earlier concepts were also not "white elf") and Abelas.

And even if Bellara has phenotypical characteristics to "our world's Asian features" then simply work the 'logic' into the world state? Like according to this paper:

"East Asians are sometimes assumed to have evolved in a cold environment because of their narrow nostrils, which conserve heat, and the extra eyelid fat that insulates the eye."

So based on this, just headcanon that Bellara comes from a colder climate??? There's so many ways one can NOT be a discriminating asshole (and if they lack imagination they can simply apply actual logic to a fantasy world state to explain why diversity ALSO EXISTS THERE???)! And what about the artists making the game? Do these 'fans' think there isn't a single POC working at Bioware? That a game designer or an artist wouldn't want to include a piece of their world into the world state they are building for you? Should we never imbue art with soul if the soul does not conform to what rigid structures made before it?

What purpose does gatekeeping races within the 'Western' aesthetic serve besides racism and creating spaces with segregated self-fulfilling fantasies? Are white players the only players ever? I remember another Tumblr post that addressed racism in fantasy spaces (maybe LOTR or SW or HOTD) and they basically said the reason people were so offended by inclusion and diversity was because for so long, fantasy genres were spaces where everyone ("White") could slay a dragon, woe an ethereal beauty, go on a heroic quest, save the day, be a Jesus symbolism character all without ever encountering a black or brown character unless in evil caricatures. It was by default rendered this 'boys-club' space and now that diversity is finally being represented, the 'club' is no longer exclusive.

Anyway, I'm excited about the new game and choose to believe the more appreciative fans are simply not as vocal as those... very 'open-minded' individuals in the Steam discussion pages.

I am honestly just SO tired of what I'm gonna unironically call fake fans of Dragon Age. The Steam Community needs to be shut down at this point, because at least 75% of the discussions are... like this.

I'm gonna make a longer post, or maybe even a video, about this at some point. But I really am just reeling from what I've seen and need time to actually process my thoughts into something coherent.

[bookwyrminspiration]

All of the people in this fandom give me too much hope for humanity. How are you all such good people??? And how did all of these good people assemble around a children's book series about elves and sparkly horses? Is that what it is? We all just couldn't let go of the child inside of us and let that inner kindness shine through? idk, but whatever it is, thank you for being such a kind, beautiful and talented person. I hope you have a great day <3

you're right, there's so many cool people here and I love interacting with everyone!! Everyone is so considerate of others and their opinions and is so self aware about the consequences of their actions and try to comfort and connect with all the people they see.

I do also wonder what it is about this sparkly elf world that drew us all in, as it's quite the mystery! A lot of us seem to have found comfort in the story from a young age, reading about someone who didn't fit in no matter where they went. That's a lot of us! A lot of us are mentally ill and neurodivergent and queer and disabled and poc and didn't fit in growing up for reasons we didn't understand--like how Sophie knew something was different about her (reading minds) but didn't figure it out until she found people like her later (elves).

"We all just couldn't let go of the child inside of us and let that inner kindness shine through?" That is such a wonderful way to put it. I'd even hazard a guess that a fair number of us were labelled "mature for our age" or had to grow up too quickly, given more responsibilities than others without allowing us to be kids. So this series allows us to experience an element of childhood after the fact and go back to that innocence with more awareness and excitement to enjoy it. It's also a welcome break from all the hardcore/intense books that are being pushed on the market. Not that they aren't enjoyable, but after a way it's fun to go back to easier reads and lighter worlds (though the elven world is still deeply messed up).

It's also possible that a lot of us have a fondness/nostalgia for this series/fandom. Because it's a kids series, a lot of us were joining tumblr and fandom like this when we were closer to the target age range. And while we've grown out of that and enjoy more intense/complex content and worlds, kotlc will always be one of the first. And we genuinely enjoyed the series! Now I may be able to write a five page report on various problems with characters that I'd never even consider a few years ago, the reason I'm here is because this series is important to me. And other's can have that same sense of importance. It's vulnerable, in a way. For everyone to be here, it opens us up to possible hurts, yet we've all taken this and supported each other and engaged in things we like together. It's so cool!! I don't think I've ever seen another fandom exist the same way the kotlc fandom does, with such casual excitement and respect all around.

also, thank you that is so sweet <33. I have no intention to ever stop being the way I am and engaging and supporting everyone I can! I know I would've loved to have someone like myself to talk with when I first joined the fandom, so I hope I can be that for someone else. All my responses to things are genuine!! I love answering asks and reading fics and reblogging art (though the last two I've been too busy to do as much of recently). But everyone here is so talented and so valued and ah!! I have so many thoughts about this I should stop.

this fandom is so cool and I love being a part of it <33

[ginnyzero]

The Discriminatory Werewolf Archetype?

I love werewolves.

I hate werewolves in most fiction. Werewolves in most fiction are abusive, out of control, OCD, monsters that are usually white males that promote things like incest and rape and well, there tend not to be female werewolves. Werewolves in fiction are representations of toxic masculinity at its worst.

So, why do I love werewolves? I mean, who doesn’t want to be nature’s answer to the chain saw every once in a while or have four feet and run in the forest. I had a wolf dream once and I was so at peace in that dream. Best dream ever. (I blame an old roommate and her love of old WW Werewolf: the Apocalypse Tabletop RPG too.)

But the representation of werewolves in fiction is problematic and that’s putting it lightly. In mainstream traditionally published fiction, female werewolves are rare or they don’t exist. They don’t lead packs. Forget black werewolves or Asian werewolves or Latino/Hispanic werewolves. They don’t really exist either except as “token” characters. And nine times out of then there aren’t gay werewolves, or if there is a gay werewolf they’re outcasts because somehow other werewolves just can’t handle them being aroused by men?

Then there’s the alpha to omega and submissive pack hierarchies that are easily abused. The fact that werewolves are so “grr” angry all the time they can’t form normal or healthy relationships. Then some writers buy into the cult and noble practice and sometimes downright redneck mentalities that to be stronger werewolves you have to marry your cousins. And men are always in charge, always.

You see these werewolves always based upon the French idea of the Loup Garou mixed with bad wolf science over and over and over again. You want the out of control monster beast in your kitchen sink urban fantasy? You include a werewolf. Vampires are urbane and controlled. Fae are aloof, businesslike, and mystical. (Makes me wonder what fae stories these writers are researching.) It’s become a trope, an archetype.

I mean, usually, the conflict resolves down to that no one can understand the monster that is the werewolf. They can never love or truly be loved by a human or other type of being, be they human or supernatural. Angst. Woe is me! And if it’s a horror story, the werewolf dies at the end.

The fantasy romance genre isn’t immune to this. Sometimes they’re a tad bit better. They include female werewolves more often. But even then, the general rules still apply that are sick and twisted and mostly are there to support the premise that even monsters can be loved in the end. (Yeah, I’ve read my fair share of werewolf romance novels okay.)

Archetypes are archetypes. Tropes are tropes.

But in this era of MeToo and men being called out for toxicity and media being urged to be more inclusive of people of all races and sexualities, isn’t it time for our media to catch up including speculative fiction where vampires, werewolves, mutants, elves and so on are used routinely to represent the other, the disenfranchised and the discriminated against.

Viewed in this lens, the portrayal of the werewolf is sickening. This is the worst of the patriarchy on display in speculative fiction form. When women, LGBTA and people of color are the minority and not the normal, disabled werewolves don’t exist (or are killed) and men are always in control and their behavior is excused because they are “alphas” isn’t right. It’s wrong. It’s grossly wrong. Why are those in writing and especially in publishing and in Hollywood still pandering to these ideas?

“People like monsters.” Ugh. Rejection right there. Werewolves can be cool without being downright nasty and out of control monsters. There are more werewolf types than the loup-garou. Beep. Exit stage left please. “It takes time.” You say. “People aren’t ready for werewolves that have control of themselves and can have healthy relationships and are female and are all races and all sexualities.”

Bullocks.

The ideal werewolf novel by CrockpotCauldron has over 68,000 notes. Assuming even half of those were likes, that’s 34,000 people who are interested in werewolves that are women, LGBTA, POCs, based on good wolf science that have healthy relationships with those and others around them. (And what would a disabled werewolf look like? Ponder. I might have to figure that out. I have so much to else to delve into why not add another thing?)

Most books don’t sell 20,000 novels in their first year. Sure, okay, so many of those people who noted that post aren’t going to buy a book. So if you go with the 3% conversion rate of all the notes that’s only 2000 sales. And I’m going to say people aren’t probably going to buy the book because they may not like the plot presented. But you have to get the book in front of those 68,000 note people in the first place!

The day I wrote after I wrote this post I found yet another person complaining about alpha-beta/dom sub dynamics in werewolf fiction! The people are out there!

So that means you can’t just put out one inclusive werewolf story, you have to put out multiple ones until you find the one with the plot and world building that people are going to buy across all age levels. You have to get it in front of influencers like CrockpotCauldron and others like her.

(She also has a list of werewolves she’s excited about. Sadly, I’m not on that list.) (Yes, I sent her my first book. Oh well.)

Fiction is a reflection of our reality. It disturbs me that werewolves are still being presented this way. That the art I see is all about growling and werewolves dripping in blood. That toxic masculinity parades itself across the page and most times isn’t called out for what it is, wrong. (Kitty Norville did, Women of the Otherworld did not, Patty Briggs is halfhearted about it. Butcher is, omg, let’s not even go into Butcher. I swear Jane Yellowrock series ignored weres most the time. Charlaine Harris didn’t help anything. Kim Harrison’s werewolves were, well at least there were females! That’s the most I can say.) Many times the sexist and horribly toxic tropes are written in as world rules that can’t be gotten away from. (Women of the Otherworld, Blood and Chocolate.)

By the time I came across CrockpotCauldron’s post, I’d already written my books. I was already disturbed as much as she was by this one dimensional portrayal of werewolves and their origin and their dynamics. I wrote Heaven’s Heathens MC as a revolt of what I was seeing in werewolf media in order to start portraying that wolves are families that work together and not domineering hierarchies where the “Alpha” is in charge. That there can be werewolves of many colors and skin tones because well, a) medieval Europe was not white, white, white. And B) this is the future, and many people have mixed their blood together enough that’s it can be difficult to know what race they are. I have female werewolves. I have nerdy werewolves. I have big buff mad scientist werewolves who enjoy DnD.

And honestly, I don’t mention character’s sexuality at all unless it’s important to the story. I don’t base my characters around the idea that they’re LGBTA and that defines them. It doesn’t. If there are LGBTA characters in my stories I want it to come up naturally and that “oh, they happen to be this” rather than “this is a problem.” Because I don’t want sexuality to be a problem in my werewolf pack. That goes against everything my werewolf pack stands for. (If it is a problem for werewolf packs that aren’t the Heathens in the story then you know those packs are bad packs. Bad! Bad wolf packs. No biscuit.)

I’ll admit, writing people in healthy relationships that share emotional labor is difficult due to lack of personal experience to some extent and that it cuts out what is the fall back conflict of most television shows and books, aka miscommunication. (I hate miscommunication personally. It’s one of those growing up things.) This is how insidious toxic masculinity is! This is how deep the patriarchy runs. That even when you’re trying your best to stay away from it, you feel like it’s slipping in no matter how hard you try!

And I know this seems an odd thing to be talking about with all the problems going on in the “real” world. But I think that if there are those that would defend these werewolf archetypes and tropes, they need to be looked at hard especially if they are in the publishing business. Because Media reflects reality and any trope and any archetype that is as discriminatory as werewolves needs to be dissected (and Vampires need to be dissected too because they represent another side of toxic masculinity. But I can only do one post at a time) and then broken down and transformed.

That’s what werewolves are really about, transformation! So, locking them into one rigid role seems awfully backwards to what they are.

Is it discriminatory? I'll leave that to you to decide. I know that I don't like it and am trying not to pander to it in my books. And if this blog post wasn't enough for you, I also talked about this on Twitter.

[pheita]

I am still debating with myself whether I should re-outline “Mystical World” to throw out some things and make it a 12 years + novel series or to finish “Deyani” where I don’t know anymore what exactly I planned but I know where it shall end and some major plot points, or if I will go with “Dragon Princess” where I still have to do an outline and decide the target audience and technically could make it a novel for 12 years + as well or make it into a YA which it will be at the moment.  I have so many options and all are fantasy and involve dragons to a certain degree. And dagger-wielding women. And redheads. And POC elves.  I have a thing for these.  “Mystical World” is really luring me to come back because, damn, I have kitsunes and nymphs and shieldmaiden and .... yeah you get it. a lot of exciting stuff and new ideas to discover with the new target audience. 

[mediaeval-muse]

Video Game Review: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (CD Projekt Red, 2015)

Genres: action RPG, fantasy, open world

Premise: Geralt of Rivia returns for a third installment in the Witcher series, seeking his lost adopted daughter, Ciri, who is being pursued by the spectral warrior band, the Wild Hunt. Along the way, Geralt runs into some old friends, former lovers, and a whole lot of monsters.

Platform Played On: PC (Windows)

Rating: 4/5 stars

***Full review under the cut.***

I am evaluating this game based on four key aspects: story, characters, gameplay, and visuals.

Story: I liked that this game dug more into Geralt’s past. Witcher 1 and 2 have been teasing Geralt’s history with Yennefer, Ciri, and the Wild Hunt for a while, and we finally get to engage with that head-on. About 1/3 of this game is spent pursuing Ciri and checking out all the places she went, so personally, I didn’t find that part of the plot exciting. I may be biased, though - I don’t really like plots which are based on following someone’s trail.

But while I did like that we dove into Geralt’s past, this game also simultaneously felt disjointed from the other two. Things seemed to be dropped in at random. For example, the “Last Wish” quest had no emotional buildup, and we got no hints of Geralt and Yennefer’s magical bond in the previous two games. I would have liked to see more exploration of this bond before players finally deal with it. Also, the other two games had Geralt struggling to overcome his amnesia, but when we get to Witcher 3, he seems to remember everything without any problems. I understand that Wticher 3 is meant, in some ways, to be accessible to players who haven’t played the first two games, but I would have liked to see more continuity.

Main plot aside, I very much appreciated that there seemed to be a lot more folkloric flavor in this game than in the previous two. Side quests had Geralt encounter beasts with a lot of lore behind them, so it was fun to get to learn about the worldbuilding through these monsters.

However, the conflict between humans and non-humans, which was so central in Witcher 2, is completely a non-issue in this game. There are still dwarves, elves, etc. and some pockets of Scoiatel bands, but the game says that the political conflict is more pressing than people’s racism, so everyone’s largely forgotten about how much they hate non-humans (except moments of random brutality). Instead, there’s discrimination against magic-users to deal with, due to the fallout from Witcher 2 and the Lodge of Sorceresses. Honestly, I had to side-eye this change a little, because people don’t just put aside their racism when a new political conflict arises. While I understand the plot can’t encompass everything, this is just another example of the disjointedness between the first two games and this one.

You still have the opportunity to sleep with various women in this game, which was irritating. Most of these chances come up in “meatier” side quests, so they’re woven into the plot rather than random chance encounters. I honestly hate that aspect of the Witcher games, and even though they’re toned down from the first installment, they still are prevalent enough to bother me.

I did play through both DLCs/Expansion Packs: Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine. I really liked the way Hearts of Stone was structured, with the Frog Prince allusions and heist plot. I did also like that it included some much needed POC, but I was uncomfortable with part of the plot that involves killing a bunch of them. I absolutely hated the part where you have to let a ghost (Vlodomir) possess Geralt’s body for a night. The idea wasn’t a bad one (the ethics of letting a ghost control you is interesting), but Vlodimir is so damn horny and sexist that I despised being forced to spend time with him/act as him for so long. This DLC also had Shani make a reappearance, and I love her as a character. I just hate that she, like so many other women, is head over heels for Geralt, and Geralt can sleep with her. Blood and Wine had the experience of a whole new game, with more maps to explore, diagrams to find, and so on. I enjoyed the characters of this story more than the plot itself; much of the plot involves things happening off-camera and being told of them later. But to its credit, the DLC expands the lore on some monsters that we don’t see much of in the previous games, and has some fun side quests that are much lighter in mood than anything in the base game.

Characters: Geralt is more or less the same as he was in The Witcher 2, but I found him even more easier to like and play as a noble character. Of course, his characterization is going to be largely up to the player (it’s an RPG, after all), but I liked that the game gave Geralt ample opportunity to be a kind-hearted person.

We do finally meet Yennefer in this game. She’s stubborn and assertive without being too over the top or controlling, which made me like her, even if she could be annoying. I chose to romance Triss, so I got an extra dose of that annoyingness when Yennefer wouldn’t respect my boundaries and took some of her anger out on Triss’ belongings. However, I do like that these traits made Yennefer flawed.

Speaking of Triss, she’s back in this game and has an extremely noble character arc. She spends a lot of time fighting to get mages out of a city that wants to destroy them, and willingly puts herself at risk for people who probably don’t deserve it. She’s so kind-hearted and focused on justice that I took to her as readily as I did in the previous game - perhaps more.

Ciri, unsurprisingly, was also a delight. She is headstrong and impulsive without being cold, and players are given the chance to mold her story when she becomes a playable character for brief periods.

Many of the side characters felt fully-realized, so I had no trouble immersing myself in the world of the game. I very much enjoyed the characters in the DLC (save Vlodimir), who were morally grey and complex in interesting ways. Regis is the best!

Gameplay: Like Witcher 2, there are a lot of controls to keep track of (at least on PC) but I picked them up fairly quickly. Crafting is a bit more involved than the previous games, as well as the alchemy. It took me a bit to realize that alchemy flasks were replenished with meditation rather than having to be made manually, but when I figured it out, things ran more smoothly.

I will say that with this game being open-world, there was A LOT of exploration. I do like to wander around in games sometimes, but after a while, I did grow bored. Maps were expansive with hundreds of points of interest, all with rewards that weren’t super beneficial (except to sell) after a certain level. I know I don’t HAVE to explore every POI, but I’m a completionist. Completionists, therefore, might find this game a bit tedious.

I furthermore resented the fact that players could have Geralt sleep around with multiple women and get many sex scenes. It was annoying, but I easily avoided romancing anyone accidentally.

The introduction of the Gwent card game in place of dice was extremely enjoyable. It relied a little less on luck, allowing players to exert some control via strategy, and rewards included unique cards in addition to money. It’s almost like a deck-building game, with some different rules.

Visuals: The Witcher 3 is a beautifully-rendered game. The environment is full of textures and unique layouts, even though much of it is wilderness, and everything from the monsters to the armor appear more visually interesting and colorful than their incarnations in previous games. I especially appreciated the effort put into making the world seem inhabited; inns were decorated with paintings and garlands, homes had personal effects, and peasants didn’t seem to be too repetitive in their appearance.

Although the sexism in this game was scaled way back even in comparison to the previous game, I did still find some of the character designs for women annoying. Kiera, a sorceress who assists Geralt at one point, is introduced while she is taking a bath, and while dressed, her shirt is so open that you can see her nipples - even when you’re questing! It was irritating, but since women’s outfits on the whole were drastically less male-gazey than the previous games, I was able to ignore it and focus on plot.

I will say, though, that I was bothered by the fact that everyone in this game is still white (except for a couple succubi, unless I’m missing some others). There are some POC introduced in the Hearts of Stone DLC, and some of them are interesting characters, but part of the plot involves killing a bunch of POC, so it was kind of uncomfortable. I know the game is based on a Polish novel series, and people will be quick to say that Slavic people are largely light-skinned, but this is a fantasy game, so in my mind, there’s no excuse.

In-Game Triggers: violence, gore, body horror, presence of corpses/blood in the environment, sex and nudity, racism, drug use, miscarriage, domestic violence

Recommendations: I would recommend this game f you’ve played the previous two Witcher games, or if you enjoy fantasy RPGs, games with Slavic folklore, and games with strong father-daughter relationships.

[hillnerd]

hello i'm new to your blog and really love your analysis of ron and other characters on here. I was wondering what you think about fantastic beasts, the characters and the new controversy.

Aww thanks so much! :D I definitely enjoy overanalyzing the books to death, especially surrounding Ron and how people view him. RON IS MY DARLING, and I must defend! :P

As for the new HP movies....

So, these movies don’t mean that much to me. I like some of the new characters (the main four) and am in LOVE with nifflers- but I really only like the following elements: 

Queenie/Jacob (and the drama of forbidden disclosure of magical beings to muggles)

seeing the cute/interesting animals loose in new york (including the wand polishing elves)

Newt Scamander being a sweetie

the costumes/set design

the MACUSA, 

Percival Graves (when I thought he was just an inspector)

the little every day magical stuff (like baking, clothes changing etc)

beyond that, I hated or didn’t like:

 the weird anti-magic muggle lady and her religious children’s home thing

I hated the weird political family

I hated the Grunewald reveal and his costume design

Also why is Depp cast as a British villain? Like, are they out of British actors? Hell- Paul Bettany would have been a great choice for a blonde psychopath.

I didn’t much care for the obscurus plot

I don’t much care for Tina Goldstein

I super didn’t like that weirdo Credence

I hated how few POC people are in HARLEM NEW YORK- like WHAT?

So, while I’ll still see the new movie (I love me some Jude Law- and want to see more Queenie/Jacob, animals, and Newt being a sweet bean, costumes, and magic spells)- I honestly am not very invested.

As for the new controversy about Nagini. I can’t weigh in until I’ve seen how it’s all treated, to be honest. I get that the optics aren’t good from a certain perspective- and from another it’s a really adorable asian actress getting an opportunity to be in a huge franchise. The actress is really excited about getting this role- so I hope people don’t ruin this for her. 

The HP series definitely has an issue when it comes to inclusivity - so I’m hoping this is treated well and ends up being a powerful and interesting story line. I understand why people are angry- and I understand why people are angry at the angry people.

I am not emotional one way or the other about it- at this point I’m just curious to see how it all pans out, and wary that it’ll not be an enjoyable film. 

Also I’m hoping they make is VERY clear that Dumbledore is Gay. That would be great. 

[randomramblesandlearning]

10 Things I Loved About Mass Effect:Andromeda

Warning: Spoilers! And I wrote this on the spur, so there might be grammatical errors.

1.      I enjoyed the story. Yeah, people will say it recycles from the trilogy, but come on, people. Why are you surprised? Bioware recycles their plotlines all the time. It’s pretty much the same in all of their games. A protagonist gains special abilities and leads a Ragtag Bunch of Misfits team to defeat a big threat. And I’m not bothered by that. Sometimes familiarity in your franchise is good, just as long as you do new things to the formula, and I think they do.

What interested me the most was the theme of starting over. A lot of people in the Andromeda Initiative were former criminals or outcasts. The reason they joined was to start a new life, and it’s explored in the main questlines, the loyalty quests, and numerous side quests. I was worried about the game talking about colonization since humans are looking for a new home, but I was pleasantly surprised that the game made it clear that Andromeda is the angara’s home first, and humans and other Milky Way species will have to work with them. Thank god! No Mightey Whitey trope this time!

2.      Ryder as the player character. I honestly never thought I would love Ryder as much as I did when I played the game. Sure, no one will ever replace Commander Shepard, but Ryder isn’t meant to replace the Commander, rather show a different perspective in a new story. Commander Shepard is the hero we want to be while Ryder is more of a relatable character. Ryder has to learn through the entire game how to be a leader while going through the obstacles of their inexperience and youth so people will take them seriously. And it was compelling, uplifting, and at times amusing to see them become a hero in their own right and step out of their father’s shadow.

Also Sara and Scott felt like their own person. In the original trilogy, the player character is pretty much the same no matter what gender. But sometimes the dialogue can be different depending on if you play a male Ryder or a female Ryder. That’s because they are two different people who have had their own experiences and personalities. That really adds to the replay value!

3.      Female aliens everywhere! One of my major issues with the original trilogy was the lack of female Turians, krogans, and salarians. Sure we had asari an all-female race, and female quarians, but it felt weird that we met so many aliens with very few ladies. Not only do we get a female Turian squadmate, we also get plenty of lady alien NPCs gathered everywhere for random quests. We also have Kesh who works at the Nexus. And we get to see female salarians! And they kind of look the same as male salarians except with different voices. Thank god! It would’ve been horrifying to see salarians with boobs. Uh! And I’m pretty sure there were just as many female angara NPCs as there were males.

4.      The romances. Especially the queer ones. One of the things I love about Bioware games are the romance paths. Bonus points if there is a queer option. And as of patch 1.08, this game has the most number of queer romances in any Bioware game. I think my two favorite romance paths are with Sara and Vetra and Jaal and Scott. While representation for the LGBT community is improving in media, there’s no denying we still have a long way to go. And after again the crap year 2016 where we had a huge number of queer women characters die in tv shows, it was so wonderful to have a healthy and happy relationship between two women when I first played the game. And even if it wasn’t added until the patch, the romance between Jaal and Scott is absolutely sweet since we see two men show a lot of love and affection for each other which is rare to see in media.

5.      The Tempest Family. I adore every single character on the Tempest, and they really did feel like a family once you played further into the game. I am a sucker for found families, and to see these people who are trying to find a home ending up finding a home with each other just gives me so many feels!

Since there’s not really a huge crew in the ship like in the original trilogy when Shepard had an army of humans. In Andromeda, we have six squad mates, four additional crew members, and Ryder. And I think it made the family more intimate. It’s like our own little family lives on the Tempest.

Also I liked how there were more quests spread out throughout the game with the squad which I think was lacking in Inquisition. Plus. Movie Night is the best scene ever!

6.      In my opinion, the side quests were fun. I think this was one thing they improved from Inquisition. Inquisition side quests just felt like a bunch of fetch quests that got kind of boring pretty quick, and didn’t really add to the overall story. Some highlights from Andromeda were: Kadara, the angara reincarnation questline, the Turian jailed for murder, the anti-AI group, meeting Zaeed’s son, and those kids sending out a distress signal for a new light for their weed plant. HAHA!

They were compelling in their own right and included cut scenes instead of the Inquisitor going to some location like in Skyrim to do a thing come back to the quest giver saying, “I did the thing.” “Ok, good.”

7.      Unlike in Inquisition, there’s actual payoff for some of the quests you do. I don’t mean to be mean to Inquisition, I still love the game, but remember when we were promised that you had to build your forces up in order to defend against the main threat. Yeah, you built forces to get influence points to gain perks, and that’s it.

In Andromeda, while, yes. It’s not the same level as Mass Effect 2. When you actually complete quests and help out leaders, you can get different results during the final battle. Like, there’s a chance Captain Dunn may not survive.

Also, when you get 100% viability on all the planets, you get a special surprise on Habitat 7- being told that it will one day be habitable because of our efforts. Sure it was a side quest, but it just felt so rewarding!

8.      The climax was actually fulfilling and exciting. Again, something else Inquisition was lacking in. Seriously, when I first played Andromeda, I legit gasped when the archon was taking control of SAM node. The villain was actually living up to his threatening nature!

Just when we think we got everything under control, and are about to find Meridian, the Archon fucks shit up, and our sibling has to step up to save the day. Then we have to gather people we helped out and prepare for a final battle, and Ryder can finally prove themselves as a true Pathfinder and kick the Archon’s ass once and for all. People are saying the ending was as disappointing as ME3’s? Pfft…What are you even talking about?

9.      The angara. Bioware never fails to make me love an entire fictional species. Yeah, it feels a bit off that they pretty much have the same faces and the same 3 voice actors, but I really do love their culture. And I appreciate that they were clearly coded as POC while Andromeda didn’t go through with the whole Mighty Whitey Trope. The game wants you to respect their culture and to respect their home.

I love the angaran people are open about their feelings, I love how their religion believes in reincarnation, I love how we see angaran scientists, soldiers, merchants, mercenaries, and civilians. Also Aya and Hivraal are absolutely gorgeous!

And when Jaal finds out his people were created by the Kett, I was worried it was going to go the Dalish elves route, but Jaal points out that it doesn’t change anything about the angara. They are still their own people. And that was such an uplifting message.

10.  The overall light-hearted tone. I wrote a small post that got a good number of notes. (Probably the biggest number I’ve ever gotten), so to quote: “There was always this sense of hope and optimism about finding a new home. ‘Yeah, things may have gone totally wrong, but that doesn’t mean we can’t make them better’ was the overall message I got.

And really, with so many bad things happening in the world right now and too much of our entertainment supposedly being our escapism being dark for the sake of dark, this was something I think a lot of us needed.”

Mass Effect 3 had its light-hearted moments, and I love it, but man, that game was emotional draining.

It’s a bit discouraging to love something so much and get recommended videos on youtube pointing out the same flaws of that certain game, and why they thought it was a huge disappointment. Do I agree with some of their criticisms? Sure. Does the history behind the production explain the flaws? Oh absolutely.

           But people seem to forget that the original Mass Effect trilogy wasn’t without its flaws. I mean, sure everyone can agree on the Mass Effect 3 ending, but I could make a list of all the issues I have with the other Bioware games including Dragon Age: Inquisition (which despite winning Game of the Year, kind of suffers the same problems Andromeda had).

           So yeah, after the crap year of 2016, I was so excited to get a newly-released game that made me happy. And still makes me happy, and makes me in the mood to play another Ryder.

[forgiven-whimsy]

Update time, I finished my Sarah J. Maas marathon...and if I have to read about one more “male” smile I think I might hurl. That being said, the series were fun to read, in the same way junk food is fun to eat, good for a moment but leaves you with indigestion. There are some wonderful characters, and the plots aren't terrible, that being said don’t look to this author and her two series for anything revolutionary, white feminism, lack of diversity, hyper masculinity and half assed lgbtqa representation are what’s on the menu. The first person narrator of the “Courts” series wasn’t as painful as I initially thought. Of the two series “Courts” seems to have more thought out world building, and the characters aren't as cringerific, Rhysand is a treat, and Feyre is a far more likable protagonist then Caelena/Aelin, imo. I will be tuning in to the upcoming sequels of the Throne of Glass series, only because I am invested in the fates of Chaol, Manon, Elide, Lysandra, Fenrys, Aedeon and Dorian, ToG strengths are in it’s secondary characters. I’m also curious on how this author finishes a story/series. Both series are still ongoing, is everyone going to die? We have seen her kill off 2/3 known WoC in the ToG books, so who knows if the white main cast is going to be spared or not. The PoC in “Courts”, while charming, are minor characters and appear to be limited to the Summer court which evoked a very Caribbean vibe, they are, however, still black skinned and white haired “magical black elves.” Tarquin (High Lord of the Summer Court) is a soft spoken, gentle and sensitive leader  which was nice to see from a black character, especially a man when toxic masculinity is so prevalent in her books  (give me more Tarquin plz!!!) I would love to learn more about the rest of the courts and who populates them, I did enjoy the species diversity of the Fae, and the jokes and memes about the Suriel have legit made me laugh. 

Overall I was entertained, but I understand and agree with the well deserved criticism it’s detractors have given the author and her novels. 

If anything SJM has reinforced a lot of what not to do for me and which overplayed tropes to stay away from in my own writing, I’m also quite done with the YA genre for a good long while. 

On the writing front, I’d given myself until the 15th to be scared and avoid getting started on my own original novel, and I managed to stay true to my word. Since the 15th I’ve written just under 3000 words, and believe I’m nearly done with chapter 1. It’s still early days, but I’m committing to a minimum of 13 hours a week towards writing, I’m not at a point where I will be tracking word count, my goal is to get the story down, and finish it. I’ll worry about word count and editing later. I’m still firmly planted in the honeymoon phase of my writing where I’m confident in my characters and plots, and excited about writing. The pulling teeth, self doubt and despair parade has yet to make an appearance, but I know it will, and I’m determined to push through it when it does.