#so i just assumed they would inherently Get this

[wardensantoineandevka]

I won't get around to writing a properly developed post on it, but speaking generally and assuming broad good faith, I personally think the anachronism in Veilguard is fine. I know it's a deeply held bit of style for a lot of people, and many hold the directive about no anachronism as important to things feeling properly Dragon Age.

Personally, I never felt it THAT important. I roll my eyes at nitpicking about historically accurate costuming too, and I pause to wonder what IS "anachronism" in fantasy. I think a lot of the style of the games leaned so hard on it that, in some places, it was a substituting this rule in place of developing stronger individual style or voice. I love this series, but I don't feel like characters (notably once you got past core cast), locations, etc. always and consistently had a strong sense of voice, both in terms of diction but also in visual direction. I feel like even the music gets this a little bit, since Veilguard feels more musically interesting to me than many of the prior tracks because, I think, the soundtrack is allowed to feel a little less like vaguely European medieval heroic fantasy.

There's always been anachronism, but I think the strict reliance on adhering to a particular conception of what A Fantasy Story looks and sounds like really hampered, at least for me, the development of style identity. Veilguard's voice and style broke from that in a way that did feel successfully more specific and striking for the story and characters it's trying to dress. I think being released from this directive does—because there's no longer what we bring ourselves to the table from our familiarity with the genre and pattern recognition—however, magnify flaws in how Bioware always has treated the setting as just the backdrop against which these dramas play out. But that's outside the scope of my thoughts here. I'll just summarize that with: that's a consistent Bioware problem, and I don't think it's inherently wrong to approach worldbuilding as merely dressing the set for your story, though perhaps that isn't always the most successful approach here and I know many fans are very invested in the setting itself and its development, so that would put us all at cross purposes.

Don't get me wrong. There IS a place for that sort of directive, a rule against things that scan too modern. But then, I think for it to work, you have to have a very firm idea of your own voice, of your individual style and direction working with that directive, and frankly, I don't think Bioware EVER really had a super strong grasp of it here.

I do think the character design especially, character voice, and visual identity suffered SO much in many earlier instances because of this directive. Meanwhile, I think it's interesting and striking to have things like, for example, Neve clearly drawing from film noir and how that informs how I approach and think about her as a character and how appropriate it feels that Lucanis and Illario end on the stage of an opera house. I feel like being released from having to worry about anachronism has, for me, produced some of the strongest instances of style and voice in the series in a long time.

And I know a lot of people feel the OPPOSITE, which is a matter of personal experience and taste, but for my own, it always felt like the series was weighed down by a notion of needing to properly emulate The Genre. (We've all looked at the infamous browns and muds of Origins, a game I am fond of. This is why it looks and sounds like that, in my opinion.) This fear of being too anachronistic or too modern often left the series not really feeling, to me, like it's really had a firm sense or idea of what its style or voice was, of what made it sound or look like itself, because it was always afraid of being too modern while also feeling afraid to not look enough like a heroic epic fantasy.

I think getting rid of that and no longer fearing it has done a lot for developing a stronger voice with a look, sound, and feel for Veilguard that feels more specific and conveys story and character so much better and more confidently. Because, in the end, that's supposed to be what this is all in service of: conveying character and story. I feel like Veilguard, in being released from this restriction, has developed a stronger voice with which to do it.

[genderqueerdykes]

i dont know why, but your butch post got me thinking about about yet another problem the lgbtqia+ community has: prelabeling people as tops/bottoms. and even being disgusted with/erasing switches, which I've seen a lot. I'm a lesbian. i don't consider myself butch or fem because I'm not comfortable with those labels, but to the outside eye I do seem a little butch. i remember when I was in highschool I had a friend who always said I was "top-coded" and always called me a top. as a bottom and now a questioning aro/ace spec that shit made me so uncomfortable. and I told her that many times, but she just used the shitty "its just a joke" excuse. like omfg shut up

holy shit thank you because i literally wanted to talk about this in that post but wasn't sure if it would make it too long. you messaged me at exactly the right time, thank you so much because this bugs the hell out of me too

that's soooooo gross, i'm sorry that person was saying that to you. first of all that's literally none of their business, you really shouldn't just say that to someone. what the fuck does "top coded" even mean? not all tops are the same, there's literally all kinds of different top dynamics. also i think people get top/bottom and dom/sub mixed up, too, which is even more frustrating. they're not mutually exclusive, they don't mean the same thing. you can be a dominant bottom, or a submissive top. power bottoms are a thing. service tops are a thing.

i literally hate that people inherently assume that butches are tops and femmes are bottoms. like it's just kinda written in stone that femmes have to be submissive pillow princesses and butches have to be tops that take care of all of their needs and barely have theirs addressed at all. like, what about the butches who are bottoms? what about the femmes who are tops? also like you mentioned, do people literally not realize switches exist...? like that's literally also an option.

"butch" does not mean "top". "femme" does not mean "bottom". it's soooo gender essentialist and binarist to go. masc partner = top fem partner = bottom. you just recreated the cishet binary *again*. i can't get over how this is NOT progressive. i do NOT get why white cis lesbians think it's progressive to force butch lesbians to behave exactly like we expect cis men to behave, and force femme lesbians to behave exactly like we expect cis women to behave, but it's NOT PROGRESSIVE!

also, great point, which is that a lot of lesbians are ace. it's so shitty for someone to sit there and try to guess if you're a top or bottom when you're not even interested in sex. honestly is' gross as hell to analyze your friends' and prospective partners behaviors and categorize them into top or bottom. what the hell is wrong with people. that's not a joke, that's invasive, and creepy.

[the-dye-stained-socialite]

men are not inherently evil!!!

I love MEN

I love MASCULINITY

I love BODY HAIR

I love MENS CLOTHING

I love SUITS

I love TIES

I love TESTOSTERONE

I love MEN AND NONBINARY PEOPLE

I love INTERSECTIONALITY THAT INCLUDES MEN OF MINORITY GROUPS AND OPPRESSED IDENTITIES

IF THERE IS A QUEER GROUP WITH NO MEN AND MASCS I DONT WANT IT

THIS INCLUDES CIS MEN

AND CISHET WHITE ABLE BODIED ETC MEN ARE NOT INHERENTLY AN ENEMY

Kill the cop in your brain that separates everything into "men" and "queer" my final message goodbye

This post was made by a NONBINARY TRANS MAN

[velvetvexations]

___ is really just proudly admitting to sexually harassing intersex people now. (None of the people she harassed are "AFAB trans women" anyway, that's just what she assumes any intersex person is if they won't tell her what's in their pants)

I promise you that if I talk about her she's just going to jerk off about it, she has no audience relative to major TRFs like apricot-aligator, the best thing to do is block and try to forget her.

TRFs really do an AMAZING job of proving that radfem bullshit and manosphere bullshit are basically exactly the same worldview taken to SLIGHTLY different conclusions Like it's always been like that but when you get people unironically saying shit like "women are allowed to wear pants now so TEE EMM EEs aren't oppressed at all anymore but maybe they should be because of all the power that being able to give birth inherently gives them, cisfeminism has gone too far smh, femoids AFABs don't deserve rights actually" and "oh so you're saying I can just exist without either hurting women or becoming their loyal knight? That women can speak for themselves without me!? That I could even be HURT by a pathetic, weak, delicate little WOMAN!? You're saying I'm not a real man!? How DARE!! Get behind me, milady, I'll protect you from this foul ruffian who would speak such cruel blasphemy!" and calling these super progressive intersectional transfeminist things to say it really does make it all that much more obvious

it's really funny they have a new hobby calling transandrophobia Nazism "reactionary" ain't it

TRF transmascs after headcanoning the flavour of the month as transfem and putting TME in their bios: Alright that’s enough activism for now 👍

I owe them so much.

>see someone post a funny joke including trans men >check the comments >people somehow instantly joking about how transandophobia isn’t real and is made up by delusional women Why. It literally wasn’t even related I’m gonna scream

I'm sorry anon. <3

I'm so incredibly frustrated about the whole "transandrophobia isn't real" stuff because I can literally be like "A lot of trans and queer spaces, especially with younger people, see masculinity as inherently bad an actively discourage it and that's bad for trans men since masculinity is what most are transitioning towards" and get the answer of "so you hate trans women" if I use the words transandrophobia or anti-transmasculinity

So you hate trans women?

“No one is immune to being reactionary or insecure. If you have a reactionary gut response to what is to you a new form of progressive politics, that’s something to meditate on and unpack on your own terms.” Sometimes people disagree after thinking about it. This is not a difficult concept to understand.

No, it's transmisogynistic to breathe without a trans woman's permission, actually.

wild how a lot of the "trans-androphibia isnt real" boils down to "in My experience You haven't had this happen to you

lmao fr

I think it’s so funny when TRF people think being socialized into a gender is passively just looking at one of your parents and how they do the gender and if you happen to be looking at the parent who’s the opposite gender, you’re gonna be picking up that gender and be forever trans. When in actuality, both parents are going to be socializing you by showing how both genders act and literally TELLING you how both genders act. My mother told me men don’t cry, my father told me girls are more smarter. My mother told me girls are more sensitive, my father told me men must never show weakness. Socialization can be passive but unless your parents were neglecting you, it’s not ONLY passive and it’s never ONLY one gender. And sometimes, the socialization doesn’t even work.

Yeah TRFs are very confused by the concept of socialization because they heard how TERFs use it and just fully noped out of the entire concept because they're not clever enough to understand that TERFs wildly distort things to be worse than they are. It's amazing TERFs haven't convinced them to detransition because they seem to believe nearly everything they say.

The person who initially did the bomb threat against transmascs being a tankie is hilarious. Somehow idolizing powerful cis men who caused millions of deaths are a-okay but trans men? Yeah, die.

they just don't like trans men and kulaks ig

you're marked red on shinigami-eyes this extension really fell off the more people started using it fbjhgffd

moderation is also actively shit lol

‘it is bad to hate someone for an aspect of their identity they cannot control’ does not stop being true when the person is a cis man. what in the fucking world is happening. systemic oppression aside it is still fucking mean to hate someone for something they cannot control

eyyyup

saw a post about how hating trans men makes you transphobic and immediately saw someone in the notes saying its not transphobic when *i* do it because i have a fear of men and that includes trans men. hello?

(post about hating trans men being transphobic pt2) the direct quote from it is actually worse holy shit "the only reason im not considered transphobic is because i actually have a minor fear of men and that includes trans men. any other reason for hating trans men that isnt trauma or phobias is transphobia!!" this makes me feel really good about being a trans man and i feel very validated because people being afraid of me means im a real boy /sar

they should go hide in a hole somewhere while the rest of us get this activism thing done

in what capacity did jkr turn to terfism about trans men first? what do you mean by that?

the first thing that ever triggered her was trans men getting SRS, hating trans women came after

LBR the "only trans women get predatorjacketed and have spurious harassment campaigns against them" crowd has only ever been fucking disingenious b/c when predatorjacketing and harassment was happening primarily towards (mostly neurodivergent) cis women and transmascs online, they all said we were "too online" and "cared too much about fandom drama". I haven't trusted a single one of these motherfuckers since 2018 when they aggressively whitewashed the harassment me and my friends got from anti-shippers because "why are you arguing about cartoons with children online". And they do it to this day! Literally any time anyone goes "we tried telling you when antis were using all these strategies against us" they go "how dare you compare MY LIVED EXPERIENCE to FANDOM INFIGHTING" like people weren't getting spammed with accusations of being child molesters for years.

Yeah, all of that sucks too, and I'm so sorry.

[lalalian]

choosing weapons + what I'm choosing and why | aethergarde academy

date: december 24, 2024

The most common weapon riders choose to fight with is the sword. The sword is the most practical and it's definitely a lot easier to fight with than like a battle axe.

If you're as picky as me, you may be wondering about the practicality of some of the weapons students are able to choose to learn in the academy.

I know I know, this is shifting, why worry about practicality? First of all, true, but like... let me have my moment ok 😒😒

Today, I'll just be talking about what I chose to go with, why, some practical aspects, and an easier variation for those who don't want to suffer as much as I do (yall are smarter than me).

table of contents:

my primary weapon: close combat weapon

phasing: a skill

my secondary weapon: long range weapon

easier variation

primary weapon

Before I even redid the aethergarde script, I wanted to fight with a scythe-- so that's gonna be my primary weapon. As I was doing some research on the technicalities of this... I was... uh... a bit disheartened.. BUT! Riders aren't human, and magic exists... so... I do think we can get away with a few things, can't we?

I did use chatgpt to help me come up with how scythe fighting would work, but I will be explaining how it works in my own words here.

Fighting with a scythe isn't easy in the slightest. I assume that most riders also wouldn't choose to have a scythe as their primary weapon, mostly bc, well, there is a pretty steep learning curve.

Scythes are originally meant for cutting grass and harvesting crops; the main point of the design, the curved blade, is the biggest obstacle when talking about practicality. However, that is what makes a scythe cool so... I'm keeping it 😒

When you look up how practical fighting with a scythe would be, a lot of people would just hit a foam head with the blade facing down, right on the forehead. I never intended for scythes to be used in that kind of brutish way, it's just so inelegant honestly and takes away from the opulence of the scythe, so i kinda was like 'mm... yall are just haters' and kept researching. Then i came across another guy that tried to execute that kind of classic beheading motion-- and that also wouldn't really work out due to strength imbalances and some general balance issues in general.

My last resort was chatgpt, and now I feel like I have a solid foundation on how to use a scythe and trust me, it's not boring or too impractical (maybe a little, but let me know what yall think).

As I mentioned earlier, riders aren't human-- even before they meet their bonds, they aren't technically human; more information abt that in this post. Riders are fundamentally different than humans-- especially higher ranked riders. Higher ranked riders will have more stamina and endurance than humans; since the way I planned out scythe fighting requires more energy than most weapons... lower tiered riders and humans are highly discouraged from specializing in scythes.

Scythes require the user to have a lithe but agile physique. You need to be light enough on your feet to execute rotational attacks, and it's best to have some kind of rhythm so as to not distort balance. Core strength is also important to maintaining balance.

Another big thing with scythes is that there would inherently be a lot of space open when you fight-- this would be especially detrimental when fighting with more than one person. Honestly, this wouldn't be too much of an issue anyway because all riders are taught to use their aura to shield their bodies, but while extremely rare, there could be some situations where you should not/cannot use magic. Even with the shield, I did implement another move that would fill in this gap; phasing.

what is phasing?

Phasing is almost a scythe-exclusive skill. Phasing allows the fighter to move quickly from one position to another-- it's similar to that quick dodge feature in many fighting games. Phasing also doesn't take too much energy to execute, but it does take a little getting used to when you use this skill a few times. Phasing is mostly used with scythe masters because scythes (in this DR) help control balance by using your own mana to power weights inside the staff. The heaviness of these weights will vary as you move and use the scythe. Phasing is best used to cut through tough things or to simply move from one position to another quickly. Phasing would be a great skill to use among all riders, but it would take more effort for those who don't swing their weapon around their body often. Since scythes disperse extra bits of mana around your body as you fight, it's far easier for you to phase. A sword fighter would need to not only focus on fighting, reflexes, stance, defense (including strengthening their body with mana + using mana as a shield for attacks that cannot be defended in time physically), but also on gathering mana in a bubble around the body and focusing just enough on phasing to do said skill. Scythe masters can learn to phase through longer distances, but it's not super easy to do.

You will be learning how to use scythes with magic and without magic-- meaning that those weights would essentially not work or vary as you move. You'd be wearing culltine jewelry of some kind to block off your aura to practice not using magic when you fight + get used to the feeling of not having mana.

secondary weapon

Note that whatever secondary weapon you choose should cover the weaknesses you've got with your main weapon.

My secondary weapon of choice is a tessen fan. Initially, I was just going to go with the classic longbow because of its flexibility, but I think a tessen fan would provide a bit more flexibility in terms of transportation and fighting close-up + long-range. I can't decide which would be better, a spiked fan or a smoother fan...

PHOTO 1) These kinds of sharp points are better for those with weapons that are a lot more long-ranged-- like spears, chains, whips, or throwing knives.

PHOTO 2) This fan is similar to what I'm going to use. I def won't have that pattern on the ends of the fan bc it'll weaken the edges (😭😔) but I think I'll try to get one with some sort of pattern on the hilt + the inside of the fan. This kind of fan is best for defense and close combat (slashes).

If you are going to use a tessen fan, make sure you get one that supports auto-loading (the auto-loading enchantment allows you to not have to replace the boshuriken every time you throw one-- this enchantment would definitely double the price of the fan unfortunately, but it really is worth it!).

example of fighting with boshuriken + the fan (long range)

One of the biggest reasons why I chose this weapon is because it can be used closer to the opponent— way more than the scythe— and I can use it to shoot at stuff. It also looks fancy and it's pretty easy to transport.

easier variation

While the sword and a longbow are not technically a bad option, consider changing up the sword for a different weapon. Swords are the most predictable compared to something like a battle axe. Longbows are always a great choice for a secondary weapon even if they are common; this is mostly because you can quickly shoot arrows in a short amount of time, the arrows travel pretty damn far, and they can do a generous amount of damage.

An easier weapon combo would be:

Tessen fan (Long and close) Throwing knives (Long range): Both can be used close and long range, and I'm sure you could get a waiver to excel in the tessen fan only if you wanted to. You can substitute the throwing knives with a long bow if you want to be able to fight from a wider range.

[starbuck]

was completely mystified for days by my cousins being like “let’s watch a movie!” and then BOTH OF THEM proceeding to stare at their phones throughout the entire film, glancing at the screen only whenever the dialogue or a musical cue implied that something Important was happening, only to realize that the issue is that modern films don’t rely on nearly as many purely visual elements as older films did, so my poor cousins missed over 50% of the jokes because i didn’t think to warn them that, when watching films directed by people who got their start before films had dialogue, you actually need to WATCH them to understand what is happening.

[cybergothvox]

aromantic here, yeah I totally feel you. Functionally im polyamorus because i will do romantic coded things, and the idea of just. inherently they cannot sleep with other people just bc they sleep with one person is so confusing to me. The best i can parse it is if they had an agreement not to and the other person breaks trust by doing something they know would upset the other, but so often people seem to act like cheating occured even when there was no agreement discussed and its to bizzare to just. assume that wouldnt be allowed. And honestly comes off as really controlling to try to dictate someones behaviour and get mad at them for not mind reading that you wouldnt want them to do something and like its not really your business anyways

We're an animal that doesn't bond monogamously or serial-monogamously. Hares don't know of romance, or partners, or of loyalty to a partner. It's not in our blood.

When i talk to humans or other animals that bond like that especially, the concept of cheating has been continously confusing no matter what arguements or stuff i've looked up.

Maybe aside from some aromantic humans i guess. Some of them might relate. I may be a sapient draconic hare, but at the end of the day i'm not that sapient and i cannot grasp many concepts or experiences some humans and members outside of my species experience.

[dykedvonte]

I think the most baffling thing about the Tulpar as a vessel to me is the fact that the ship really did only have a one way communication system.

I know it was cheap but even the most basic of vessels regarding major transport would have some way, shape or form for outside communication. Not only that but there was absolutely no form of innate emergency signal to show they may have been offline or in trouble despite clearly having a system to dock credits if they went off course. It's another factor that really shows that bad situations are made to get worse by design. One person who is required to relay all information to the crew and make all the choices without feedback. No way to update or call for help in case of a dire situation. No way to inform of inner personal conflicts and acquire procedures accordingly.

It really is like they are all in some sort of fucked up solitary confinement. They have their own world with strict roles that are meaningless in the end, as long as the cargo makes it, it doesn't matter what happens on that ship to the company. They don't want to hear anything and will come to conclusions on what happened based on how much pay they can withhold from the workers. Even what they do send is short, sterile and corporate to the extent it was likely written and sent out with a command by some random unmanned computer in an office.

There's something to be said about how unfair it is to force absolute power and control onto one person when you as an entity could do so much more to offload it but I've said it many times before so I won't again.

[mildcicada]

[vimbry]

I haven't looked at any other game info at all bc I want experiences to be unspoiled, but the curiosity of the radio shoutout got the better of me (which I think is easily missable anyway? that's how I'm justifying myself), and it made me notice, the way evrart is described in the narration vs kim lol. oh harry's like, Into Him into him.

[theophagie-remade]

"Not actually out but also no one who sees me doesn't think that there's something going on" is a fun state to be in

[devilsskettle]

“sometimes it really doesn’t mean anything though, people just like gory movies and think they’re fun” “the writers didn’t intend that, it’s not that deep” okay and? there is never a one size fits all interpretation, this isn’t going to apply to every single movie that includes gore that has ever been made. but can’t we for once make a generalization that highlights what gore can and often does do instead of making a generalization about why it’s garbage and shouldn’t exist in any media? like can’t i just point out a legitimate general function of gore in many stories and why it can be valuable even in low brow movies that people look down on. also notice that i didn’t say this made gory media smarter or deeper, i didn’t say this had to be the writers’ intention, i said that these are still valuable stories to tell and that they have a place in our media landscape

the thing about “meaningless gore” is that even when it’s apparently not intellectual enough for so many people, it forces the viewer to confront the fact that they are just meat, they are mortal, they can and will eventually die, and pain is part of the human experience that unfortunately none of us will escape experiencing at one point or another. life is both horrifyingly fragile and surprisingly resilient which makes existing in a body a fraught experience regardless of whether we want to acknowledge that or not. “to watch a horror movie is to know that something bad is going to happen. to have a body is really the same thing.” anyway that in and of itself is plenty to grapple with and if a film decides to only deal with that, i don’t think it’s less valuable than any other theme a film might address 

[musical-chick-13]

Because I am aware of how people operate on the Internet: courtesy of being about to post a fic with some uhhhhh much-maligned subject matter, I may turn off anonymous asks for a few weeks.

[pukicho]

do u find it weird that some people just assume u have autism b/c ur good at something. ive been seeing this a lot lately and i would be really weirded out if it happened to me even tho i am autistic 😭

Boring people conflate dedicating one's time to learning a new thing as having a “hyper-fixation” or being "autistic" - this is fucking annoying for two reasons: For one, I am not autistic, so what right do I have to parade around the term? Especially since, as cool as it might sound to be super dedicated toward your hobbies, it also comes with an inherent difficulty to pick up on social-cues and manage one's emotions. I knew someone rather closely with high-support autism, it was not fun; I know life was hard for them - and yeah, he was very good at focusing on his hobbies and interests, but anything outside of those tasks posed to be incredibly difficult and emotionally draining.

Two. Just because I, a neurotypical person managed to focus on my hobbies and get good at them, doesn't mean I have some neurodevelopment disorder. Jesus fucking christ, have you tried making an EFFORT on the thing you're interested in?? People are so used to being boring FUCKS that they forget they can very easily pick up a pen and start drawing, or download a free program and start producing. People go around living their whole lives in awe of the fact that other people aren't boring fucking zombies like them, hooly shit!

[lesbianralzarek]

re: wyll's lack of a sex scene

"its nice that theres an ace option" there isnt. you still have sex, larian just fades to black after 3 seconds of fully-clothed kissing. if you dont want your character to fuck, you can say no. if you dont want to say no but for some reason still dont want to see anything, the game has a nudity censor option

"he was just lowest priority because, out of all the romanceable companions, he puts the lowest priority on sex" lower priority than haarlep? than the drow twins? emperor? the woman who owns his soul gets full-frontal but his own scene cuts to black before he even takes his shirt off. larian puts in the content they think players would enjoy, and seemingly just saw the option to fuck wyll as unimportant to players

"it just wouldnt mesh with his character, hes too romantic" okay but he literally does fuck offscreen in his romance route, so it would in fact be in character for him. also sex isnt inherently impure. this is a less sex-positive take than the generally accepted one in the mormon church (i would know, im exmo). have you never heard the euphemisms "making love" and "intimacy" before? this is a weird take and youre weird for having it

do i, as a lesbian, personally want to see his cock and balls? no. do i think it Says Something when larian just assumes that no one wants horny wyll content in a famously horny game? yes

[tj-crochets]

Afternoon reblog, with a follow up question! Well, two follow up questions: 1. Do you know the venomous or otherwise potentially dangerous* animals that live in the same area you live in? 2. When you move to a new area (if you've ever moved to a new area), do you research to find out what potentially dangerous wildlife there is there? *not entirely sure how to word that, but I mean like not necessarily being able to identify the exact species of bear or whatever, but knowing that there are bears (or wolves, or mountain lions, etc) that you could encounter in your yard. For venomous snakes/spiders/scorpions you'd probably need to ID them by species or at least be able to say like "that's a rattlesnake", but you don't necessarily have to be able to identify what exact type of bear it is** to know that there is the possibility of a bear **yes I know that functionally different species of bears are very different to encounter but like ideally I would not want to encounter any of them in the wild, you know?

I realized that, like bird knowledge, I might've been overestimating what's reasonable to assume everyone knows about local venomous insects