#Positive Examples

[bikiniarmorbattledamage]

Baldur's Gate 3 (Part 2 - Minthara)

Okay, I covered the stuff in Baldur's Gate 3 is mixed and complicated. Let's talk about an objectively well executed character and visually designed - Minthara.

From a general writing perspective, she's exactly what I mean when I say it's not enough to support, women's rights - we need to support their wrongs. She is complicated, ruthless and villainous in a way we rarely get to see female characters - and every aspect of her design supports and conveys it.

Spoilers below the cut.

We are first introduced to her in here scheming:

And then when you get to meet her in game, the vibes are immaculate. No notes.

The armor design here is genuinely AAA grade. Multiple layers of protection, intimidation through jagged designs without endangering the wearer. Decorative pauldrons to convey power, materials indicating her fantastic background.

But she has camp gear and even underwear that expresses additional elements of her character and personality.

Check out her majesty... then compare it to her camp clothes, and her underwear.

What I really like about this is the general trend that is consistent upon key character traits of Minthara's: she is pragmatic in the field, a dreamer in private and determined to live, love or die on her own terms.

Her camp attire is sexy, but in a way that conveys her domineering and confident attitude. Her underwear is sex, but not uncomfortable or or any sort of indicator of that she feels her gender also demands submissiveness.

And, without going into the details - the writing makes her a unicorn evil woman character who is uninterested in changing her ways, but as complicated and feeling as her more moral peers.

Now, all we need is for society to evolve to where she can also be the kind of buff muscle mommy you expect to rush into combat dual wielding maces with perfect confidence.

-wincenworks

(This still from Heart of Flames by Miracle of Sound with Karliene, footage created by Mispap1)

[dinosaurwithablog]

While I'm healing from oral surgery, I've been watching the shows that I used to watch when I was a child. I've watched The Andy Griffith Show, My Three Sons, The Flying Nun, and Gidget so far. It's refreshing to see wholesome TV where there's no violence or subterfuge or people acting poorly. It's fun and funny and the people are charming. They are being helpful and acting like I wish people still did on TV. Heck, I wish that people focused on acting this way for real. I miss TV programming like this. It reinforces positive thoughts and actions, and it's a great example of how we should act in life. I think that they should start creating programs like these again. We should insist on it and stop watching the horrible shows that have replaced these kinds of shows. Considering what is considered entertaining and is common viewing fare these days, it's no wonder that sooooooo many people have anxiety. We should have programs that teach our kids to behave kindly and in a positive manner. Shows that set a good example. I feel happier from watching these shows. I'm gonna watch them more for sure. It's great to see people acting nicely and being kind to each other. TV should have a social responsibility to reinforce these ideals, not the violent, selfish, manipulative garbage that is prominent in programming today. The only somewhat violent show that I watched today is Bugs Bunny. He's so charming that he can get away with it, in my opinion 😁 thankfully, there's nothing graphic in those cartoons. I am enjoying TV more today than I have in a long, long time. 😊😍🙏🏼

[gejnialnie]

hi I don't think this duo gets enough love, so here are my fave screenshots of Raph and Leo mirroring each other! :D

+bonus:

look at this frame! don't their poses look similar, even though they're in totally different places?? well, there's a simple reason for it! we can see raph in the driver seat, his left hand on the wheel, while the other one's searching for someting, it's symbolising his active role as leader, while leo stands alongside him, his left hand on a handhold while he gestures with the other, showing him being less active and more of a passive presence, but he's ready on his feet, it's symbolising his potential as raph's co-leader but also him not yet being ready, still gripping the safety rails instead of the driving wheel-

(nah i'm kidding- like, was it just artists drawing similar poses in one scene? oh yeah most definitively! will that stop me from over-analysing? nope! :D this basically wrote itself!)

[trans-androgyne]

For men having a rough time right now, my friends and I have put together a couple reminders:

1) You are not a monster. Nothing in your nature predisposes you towards violence. Your presence does not harm others and there are people who love having you in their space. Yes including around women. Yes including around children. You are not inherently dangerous, you are a person just like everyone else. Your body is not a weapon.

2) You don’t have anything to prove. You don’t have to be strong. You don’t have to serve and protect others if you don’t want to. Even women. You don’t deserve to be treated as a punching bag for others’ anger or trauma at the hands of the patriarchy, and it’s not okay for them to take it out on you. You deserve to be protected too.

3) Your emotions matter. All of your emotions. Your anger isn’t dangerous. You can be sad and hurt and jealous and guilty and a million other things and express them in whatever way you need, all without being less of a man or more of a threat. Women’s needs and emotions are equal to yours, not more important. You’re allowed to talk about sexism and other issues you experience as a man—it doesn’t make you anti-feminist and it sure as hell doesn’t make you weak. Being mistreated can hurt, and you can let yourself feel and process it.

4) Manhood can be wonderful—make it your own. You don’t have to be masculine if you don’t want to. You can present and act however femininely you want without being any less of a man. You can also be the most masculine person alive. Masculinity is not toxic by itself. Being masculine does not make you toxic. Being a man does not make you toxic. Nothing about you is inherently toxic. Your attraction is not immoral and being attracted to you isn’t either. Manhood is not a contagion. Be whatever kind of man you want to be, it is completely up to you.

There are people who love and care about you. I care about you deeply and as an intersectional trans feminist I will advocate for you until my last breath. This goes for every single man alive. Cis men, trans men, intersex men, multigender men, straight men, queer men, White men, men of color, disabled men, and more; every single one of you. You deserve care. Let us care for you.

[sysig]

Rainbows (Patreon)

[sergle]

the idea of dogs needing a Firm Hand to learn (aka mild to medium animal mistreatment) is so funny to me, because Hugo had his feelings MORTALLY WOUNDED while being taught to Play Dead because I gently pushed him into a laying-on-his-side position... heartbroken from being gently pushed

[reineydraws]

had to draw this to understand the way i feel about him now that the manga's ended. 🥲 on that note: if you like hawks and his ending, maybe don't read my tags lol. it's not bashing (imo) but they're not v nice. 😅

bg + unobstructed pose under the cut!

his expression's a lil different 'cuz i only changed the merged layer, all the lighting effects already flattened onto it. 💀 alas.

[3hks]

Good Traits That Easily Turn Bad

I personally think that this is a pretty interesting one. The truth about character is that it fluctuates a lot; what may seem like a positive characteristic can easily turn into a negative one. So let's explore some!

- Faith: Having faith in people and things is a good thing, but that doesn't mean it'll always come true. This can lead to your character being stuck on something that just won't happen.

- Independence: Being able to accomplish things by yourself is a necessity in life, but too much independence can make it hard for your character to rely on others no matter how much they need it.

- Selflessness: The ability to put other people first is a scarce one, and it can end up quite burdening. Excessive selflessness can turn one into a people pleaser who takes on others' issues while refusing to tell anyone about theirs to "keep people from worrying".

- Realistic/Down to earth: Being realistic allows your character to see things for what they are, without any excess fluff. However, this mindset makes it easier for them to think negatively and assume the worst in everything.

- Trusting: In our day and age, trust issues are big and it gets harder and harder to find someone who will wholeheartedly trust in you. Still, the truth remains that too trusting people can be gullible and easily taken advantage of.

- Honesty: Honesty is the best policy, right..? Well, not always. It's all about using it in the right situation, or else it could hurt others.

- Overachiever: Overachievers are known to work and deliver excellent results, but it can also strain their mental health. Even in difficult times, they have a need to not just be good, but better. This can lead to overexertion.

Happy writing~

3hks :)

[mariacallous]

[bikiniarmorbattledamage]

So recently Square Enix launched a new game where the premise is that the protagonist is the reluctant hero of a fantasy world they find themselves in, having been born and raised in New York. It recently got some loud pushback from people who were upset that protagonist... lemme check notes... sounds like a sassy New Yorker.

Fortunately, the actress has had the perfect attitude toward it:

Now, the game has not been getting spectacular reviews, and the reasons for that vary but I'm not here to talk about trend of critics (well meaning or not) raising standards for products say... starring a black woman and having a mostly female cast, or even about problem of Sacrificial Trash.

I want to talk about this as a good example when we talk about "protected by magic" outfits.

Frey is a New Yorker now blessed with magical power, she has never been trained in armor use, doesn't own armor and so... wears comfortable and practical clothes like you would expect. The whole look conveys an interesting look of a modern person with practical sensibilities in a fantasy world.

She has two main kinds of magic items - cloaks and necklaces. Both items that can be worn over clothes without sacrificing practicality.

She also has a unique, widely considered feminine option for store her magical powers - her nails.

As well as being one of the most innovative expansions into fantasy magic I've seen in mainstream for a while it really also goes a long way to showcase what, so often, is the actual crippling flaw with the "doesn't need it because magic/badass/etc" rhetoric.

Not because you can't have an interesting design that avoids armor etc, but because it's pretty much always the same nonsense with going overboard with designing pseudo-porn and then trying to justify it after the fact rather than exploring possibilities and playing with ideas about what x would mean for y.

Also can we please have more games with character designs like this in them, I'm still thinking about how cool this boss intro was:

-wincenworks

[yardsards]

the dungeon meshi fandom is so real for seeing falin's canonical body type (medium but with soft features) and saying "actually. she should be fat"

[buckleyreid]

To anyone who’s a little discouraged about Tommy not being in episode 7 or 8 , Tracie is also not present in many episodes and Henren still has a beautiful relationship so I wouldn’t be too sad about that, specially since this is a shortened season.

[randomminty]

Yippee

[fictiongods]

I find it so funny when people say fuffy is one sided, Faith and Buffy are literally BOTH so obsessed with each other, like Faith is the more obvious one (to the point where people say it’s one sided) but Buffy is literally so insane about her too like “oh pretty girl with big brown eyes who is taller than me and wears a lot of leather just drew a heart on the window while I’m in the middle of my chem test?? The one I’ve said I needed to study for (but didn’t cause I was hanging out with her) and repeatedly said I might fail and was worried for like half of the episode…but like you guys!! She drew a heart on the window!! I have to go…no choice…” and this is AFTER she spent the whole period absolutely GUSHING over slaying (but specifically about faith slaying) like I can promise you this is not one sided

[hiseyeisonthesparrow]