#things like orientation i base on the character

[rupeenotruby]

I view og Link and Hyrule and separate characters despite the fact that they are technically the same character. Because of this I have certain headcanons for them that don't transfer over, and I thought it would be fun to talk about them! When interacting with LU I try to keep headcanons as close to the comic as possible, especially when it comes to Hyrule as this makes it more fun for me. Therefore, you will see a lot of the reasoning for headcanons being pretty much "it's like that in the comic."

For whatever reason, Link is depicted with his sword on his hip instead of his back like most other Links.

(There is also a post card with AoL Link on it riding a motorcycle that has him have his sword on his hip (I couldn't find it). Less canon than the manual to me but still interesting.). In LU however Hyrule puts his sword on his back like everyone else!

In both TLoz and AoL Link technically holds his sword in both hands as they flip the sprite instead of drawing a new one depending on which way Link is facing so that his sword hand is always closest to the screen.

(All sprites in this were ripped by Mister Mike)

And I KNOW!!! it is most likely due to hardware limitations but if the Tp Link gets to be headcanoned as ambidextrous because his entire game was flipped so can this Link!!! This isn't really something I see get acknowledge much by the fandom (in fact I've only seen it mentioned TWICE) and it isn't mentioned in LU. I like left-handed Link so even though he is ambidextrous he still mostly uses his sword in his left hand.

Link isn't that short!!!! ... at least in his Hyrule. Observe:

So, I put him at an averageish height. Honestly it doesn't matter what his actual height is since this is a fantasy world but whatever it is he is slightly above average. Hyrule however? He isn't that tall in a group of Links so he is definitely below average in height 😭 I would say in real world terms Link is around 5'9 and Hyrule is around 5'5.

There are three ways to approach Link's fairy form.

He shrinks and grows wings

He turns into a little creature (which is someone's fanmade fairy design)

Or he looks like one of the fairies in his game

I see the most of the first one and even if it isn't how it looks in game it's popularity makes sense. I prefer the third option (if you couldn't tell) cause I think it's fun and closest to canon (I suppose if you wanted to be 100% canon you would give him a total make over x). I base it on a combo of the manual and the game. I've heard along the grapevine Hyrule's fairy form goes the first route and has dragonfly wings which I think is a good fit in terms of bug wings. Also I want antennae!

(My designs for the Zeldas aren't final shhhhh) I don't really ship much but I can see Link and Princess Zelda getting married for political reasons (there's the whole "great king" thing and having two princesses which could create some succession issues and I think Link getting married would just clear things up and look good to the people of Hyrule. I think he would marry the first Zelda he meets because I've always seen her as the more leader type and politically oriented of the two). That being said I don't think Link would actually be attracted to either Zelda. Or anyone. This isn't really based on anything except for the fact that I said so lol.

Now Hyrule has a bit more explaining. I keep the political/platonic marriage to Dawn but the zelink of choice for him is with Aurora because when I was first reading LU I thought it was being set up in a way that put all the Links with their "primary" non-Zelda love interests except for Sky. So Time with Malon, Legend with Marin, Twilight with Midna and Wild with Mipha (don't ask about the other three I did not think about them all that often) and all of those are redheads.... so since I headcanon Aurora with the red hair I thought Hyrule would be shipped with her. I've later found out this isn't the case and that some Links are going to end up with their Zeldas but xD I don't really care ships don't matter that much in LU anyways and honestly I don't even know if Jojo considers the Zeldas to be separate people. Also why don't I just have the marriage be between Hyrule and Aurora? Ehhhh. Errrrm.. I really like platonic marriages.

This is a pretty common headcanon and it is based on two lines from the first manual and the second manual. In the first manual it established that Link was a traveler (hence the nickname in LU). "During his travels he had come across Impa and Ganon's henchmen." In the second it says "Link remained in the little kingdom of Hyrule and lent his hand to its restoration." Which implies that either Link was planning to leave Hyrule (and thus could be from Hyrule) or had traveled to Hyrule (and thus wasn't from Hyrule).

I choose to see it as that he isn't from Hyrule. I also think it is fun to have the "Hero of Hyrule" not be from Hyrule. A lot of people go with Calatia (which is canon to the comics and I don't consider the comics to be canon) and I go with that too because honestly it doesn't really matter where he came from, just that it isn't Hyrule.

Technically Link is always touching the Magical Sword in AoL so I've always pictured it as a magic wand of sorts for his magic making it stronger and more focused hence why he doesn't start all this fancy magic until after he gets the sword. Link can use magic without it it's just not as good (like the sword beams). I just think it is a little odd that the "Magic Sword" doesn't seem to do anything special. Obviously this doesn't apply to Hyrule as he heals Twilight without the sword.

Some people get this wrong but in AoL it states that "One day, a strange mark, exactly like the crest of the kingdom, appeared on the back of Link's hand as he approached his 16th birthday." And I think it's pretty likely that he set out right after hearing the Legend of Zelda from Impa and celebrated his birthday on the road. So, I think it would be funny he got whisked away to the LU adventure right before his 18th birthday and just never mentioned it.

That's all! Obviously, I have more headcanons but they can be applied to both Link and Hyrule to varying degrees. I first played AoL four years ago now (six years ago for TLoZ) and found LU a little while after AoL. In the beginning my view of Link and Hyrule were pretty cloudy but as time has gone on they have solidified into different characters in my mind that would do slightly different things. That being said the LU fandom has been an awesome source of headcanons and perspectives on Link.

One of the headcanons that I know for certain that has come from the LU fandom is the fact that Link can's swim. Which yeah! Isn't it weird that he uses all sorts of ways to traverse water but none of them involve getting in the water? Or that a way to insta die in AoL is falling in lava or water? Maybe I would have come to that conclusion on my own or maybe not but who cares about the "maybes."

There are a lot of things the fandom does in regard to Hyrule that I disagree with but find interesting, or dislike, or hate, or things I agree with and love! But no matter what it has made me see a game that means so much to me in so many different ways. And isn't that the point of being in a fandom?

[betterbemeta]

The gerudo desert has always been my favorite locations in zelda games and also my biggest disappointment.

I myself lived in a desert for most of my life so seeing fantastical versions of architecture I know, of canals and haboobs (sandstorms). Of cacti larger than humans, I mean hylians andterrain I've hiked myself. I get so excited. Especially when yrs ago there was a lot less depictions.

But when it comes to the culture, character decisions, and political position in game, it's so fetishistic I get sick. I always feel icky openly stating the gerudo desert is my favorite because of how racist it all is.

Given I'm a transman too I love latching onto ganon. But if you don't warp him through fanon he's so hard to stomach.

I also want to state I'm white passing. My family immigrated to a desertous location we arent native to here.

So I can only imagine what ppl with deep generational ties feel when I myself am this torn and impacted by the imperialist orientalism nintendo adores.

oh shit that's so true!!!

'The Desert' as a fantastical location in Legend of Zelda (and in many video games, and movies...) often has only conceptual references to real-life features that exist in deserts. Exciting to encounter but kind of lacking substance?

A sandstorm... as an especially serious fantastic obstacle, rather than something that simply happens because of the climate conditions.

A Giant Cactus that is cool... as only a resource and not part of a biome.

Geological formations... but their 'look' is all that was copied, they aren't placed thoughtfully. You've gone hiking 'here' but it's not clear how this in Hyrule 'got here.'

I hope you don't mind if I add in some things I think a lot about:

Geology. I understand that all locations in these games aren't subject to any semblance of real world geological processes. Death Mountain volcano in ToTK is hollow. But in real life, deserts are diverse geologically. Some kinds of deserts expose rocks and have thin soil which show us, and preserve, extremely clear pictures of the continental plate's geological record. But there's no consistency based on the set piece features, about how the Gerudo Desert actually formed. 'Gerudo Canyon' is a raised structure of some kind rather than what we expect for a normal canyon cut into the earth (unless the rest of hyrule lowered elevation dramatically somehow?!) and we can't tell if formations within the desert are mesas or buttes. What are the fissures in the earth everywhere? What is the origin of the sand: is it a former sea of some kind? or was this formerly a less arid area (or: a desert with a different weather pattern?) and the organic soil material blew away? BoTW and ToTK make this even worse by adding in the giant mysterious skeletons. I love me a fossil but these are added sort of like random stuff in a lizard terrarium-- we can infer nothing from them and anything we DO think is definitely 'doing the work for the developers.' The rest of hyrule might get away with Generic Gray And Brown Rocks but sort of like with the Death Mountain area the lack of clear natural history is GLARING.

Biology. I won't talk about how physically weird the whole sand seals thing is, or the moldugas. those are fantasy creatures. but the emptiness of the Gerudo Desert (and Gerudo Highlands, Gerudo Canyon, etc.) feels unsettling. BoTW and ToTK did improve things slightly by adding tumbleweeds, brush, and berries in some places, and cacti... but these are all from different desert biomes from the 'type' the Gerudo Desert seems to be. It reminds me of accidental eurocentrism in the ecological idea of 'desertification' can sometimes imply-- the danger of climate catastrophe is not a simple case of more land becoming desert, but that lands that already were desert are becoming unlivable and lands that were previously not desert are changing so rapidly they will not have the time to develop a healthy ecosystem. Deserts are not 'wastelands', they're full of vibrant and critical biodiversity. I believe deserts sequester significant carbon despite being considered 'low productivity' by economic standards, because of deep root systems and carbon-fixing microbes. This is really important because storing carbon underground keeps it there for a LONG time. I don't want to be too too anal about a 'fantasy world' but different plants adapt to different conditions and not all deserts are the same. If ZOO TYCOON 1 can manage, "if you give a Gemsbok foliage from the Australian outback, it'll be sad", what are we doing in 2025???

'Imagination Factor?' I don't know if there's a word for what I mean. Orientalism was already mentioned so I don't need to. I feel there is inequality in how The Legend of Zelda communicates familiarity, 'can imagine' the design of 'hills, plains, forests' and that of 'arid environments. Almost like the developers had no mental vocabulary for what was possible besides 'big sand' or 'huge rocks.' The canyon area has the most detail (I liked the 'offroading up a shallow river in the bottom of the canyon' bit in ToTK?), but even that is full of inexplicable features or structures designed only for monsters or as hazards. Central Hyrule in the two recent open world games gets all sorts of rivers, hills, evidence of practical habitation, roads and paths, mundane 'features' in high density. Desert areas may have 'features' but few are considered 'familiar' or evidence that someone in real life 'can imagine a normal desert': ancient ruins, fantasy skeletons, forbidding rock formations, huge fissures. These are fun for adventure but don't fill the world in the same way. Gathering resources seem to be scattered around randomly a lot, rather than in more coherent locations like "mushrooms near forest trees" in other zones. Once we get to the desert, imagination for anything but obstacles, Useful Cacti, or decorative pieces seems to lapse. And no, I don't consider the sand dunes, caves, to be given the same level of thought as in other parts of the games either. A lot of the desert caves in ToTK are simply 'fall through a hole in the sand.'

Exoticization. This is sort of like the last point and what I said about how we already know about Orientalism still applies. But I want to call out 'inequality in imagination' when it comes to the people and not just the environment. All the Fantasy Cultures in Legend of Zelda get hit by the 'Link is a heroic tourist' stick, they're all Theme Park locations populated by Themed People. But the Gerudo are human people. They aren't fish or birds or rocks, which we might forgive for lacking human-centric amenities. We have an accessory store (full of souvenirs Link can buy) and a bar (that Link can visit!) but there's almost no evidence the Gerudo work to make life more convenient for themselves as human beings. Their little kids sleep OUTSIDE for nobody in the town going home to a house (?!)

It's sort of like the joke that when an american movie changes location to the middle east a yellow filter gets placed over the shot, we pan over the most barren landscape shot or Unfamiliar City the director can find, and we never really 'get closer.' Except the Gerudo Desert is not a real place. But it's accumulating how inadequate someone's thoughts are, about real places on earth.

[buttercupshands]

New MHUI LoV event stuff

first of all - if you follow the news on the new characters even a little - a new UR Shigaraki Tomura came out today (16th of June) he came with a LoV event as they usually do and this one is basically a filler for the time before Star and Stripe arc happened but after Tomura got his mix-match outfit of his own and AFO's choices

and while it is Tomura-centric event it's heavy on stuff with Spinner. He's basically like a second main character of this short thing

The filler answers question on what was LoV doing while Izuku left UA and it uses manga side material as help, because it was stated that Skeptic helped LoV to get new clothes for the Final arc as well as weapons.

A story of event is basically "someone tries to rob us we neew to stop them" while Spinner is questioning if they are really dealing with Tomura anymore, with some interesting localization choises Spinner noticed the Ore vs. Boku thing while Tomura was talking

As it is a turn for a short event we get like 3 parts with Tomura easily defeating the guys who tried to rob that one place

And it's nothing really if you don't count the way Tomura speaks which is really creepy to hear his gaming words while he's also clearly doesn't understand anything anymore what made Tomura Tomura

It's basically what if those chapters before Star and Stripe made Tomura lose it were a story on their own with Tomura still unsure on who he is, but LoV is literally there and they talk about it more than we ever saw them in the manga for... reasons that manga doesn't have filler. At all.

At least not with LoV involved

At the end of it while Spinner is still concerned it all ends with AFOmura or whatever this guy should be called at that point of the story stops questioning it and just agrees with Spinner's question

If you're a manga reader it's worse than just a talk

It also has an interesting point, but sadly as it's a pre-Star and Stripe arc Tomura anything he says doesn't really matter as much

Everything else are basically details, I recommend this event tho, it's not that hard to get all of the story, it's worth having in the MHUI archives

As for other things, more or less harmless - there's an event SR Memory with Toga and Machia and a cards set, the same one Tomura had mostly in the anime

Recruit is standart with a UR Memory for the new character and a SR Memory which is helpful in the event

As for the less neutral stuff I got into the event as soon as I noticed it began and the first thing was to go into the recruit for the new Tomura

got him right away so it was fun and with this my Tomura collection is once again is one off, his first UR is still absent on my account, but 5 characters make a team

Didn't have a motivation to play the event with SR Tomura as my game had an error with dialogue, but I got him at least

Tried playing with him while clearing the event, he has a new battle star animation, battle end animation and of course his own ult animation

He's fun to play with, and that actually got me back into MHA as I was slowly losing my will to still do anything connected to it aside from this game

A small thing that I found interesting was that his recruit voiceline is Tomura's speech from back in 222

Interesting choice as none of old ones had something connected to this chapter

Other than that his Base talks are the same and his reactions in Trust menu are the same too

As usual MHUI LoV events are the best in delivering events with stories that belong in canon and it's easy to imagine them there

[bespectacledpaladin]

Lightwarden | Vindicta, Forgiven Vengeance

A warped manifestation of the staunch, unwavering sense of justice for which the Warrior of Light Lila Dawnefyre is known, Vindicta enacts vicious, heavenly vengeance upon those stained with sin and wrongdoing. - Soooo obligatory 'what if the light corruption took over and turned the WoL into a lightwarden' gpose thing with Lila ;)

[felonytaxevasion]

The thing about adapting Worm is putting Taylor Heberts power in a linear sequence takes away a bit of how impressive it is because you can't show her doing all these different things at the same time on screen unless you really abuse the split screen effect. And even if we as the audience know it's all at the same time we still see it play out in sequence and it just becomes less cool

The thing about adapting Ward is that getting to watch Victoria Dallon do a mid air somersault while throwing cars with her forcefield only makes Victoria Dallon seem more cool

[puhpandas]

thinking abt the ggy easter eggs rn

[bmpmp3]

[icewindandboringhorror]

Other Misc. Rambling Thoughts on the topic:

(~ !!!!!!!!! if you're just reblogging this post for the Poll section, please reblog the original post without this addition* lol. ~)

(*not that there's anything super personal or weird about the addition, just that it's meant to be kind of casual Side Commentary, not really part of the Main Point Of The Poll, so it would feel kind of weird for it to be emphasized by being included in reblogs unless the reblogs were explicitly about the side commentary, etc..... if that makes sense.. ANYWAY!)

It's neat to read the written descriptions that people are mentioning in the tags, since it's almost like I can see or conceptualize the idea as well, but it's just.. I'm not SEEING it.

Like for example: I can imagine a vase, it's a muted mint green and slightly translucent, elaborate golden birds sprawled down the side in streaks of thin rough watery paint, the base material shimmers gently in the light, there's a small chip where it's cracked on the handle, etc, etc. .. But as I'm thinking about this I see literally nothing.

It seems like perhaps some people can visualize an object first, and THEN describe what they see. But I sort of work backwards. I am building the object in my mind, I can never see it, but it's a collection of concepts. Rather than visualizing all details as a whole at once, I am adding each detail one by one, building onto the IDEA of the thing.

The vase doesn't have a crack on the handle because I just automatically visualized a vase with a crack. It was more that I cognitively understand the concept of a vase, what they tend to be made out of, how they tend to look and feel, the properties they have. So based purely on that knowledge, I can imagine "a chip is something that a vase could have, it would look this way and behave this way" - more like... I'm constructing a bullet point Fact List about the object rather than seeing it.

So if you tell me to imagine an object, I can, in a way, imagine that object in great detail, but it's just.. I'm not SEEING those details, more just knowing it's qualities in a purely conceptual way. Sometimes in the tags when people are like "yeah I can see the skin of the apple, texture, little dots on the surface" it's like… I can imagine that too, I can know it's there, but just with no visual attached.

I guess rather than SEEING something and going ''ah. I know what this looks like because I have seen it''. I more just skip that visual step entirely and go ''I know what this looks like, I just randomly have a list of information about the concept in my mind.'' etc. Maybe similar to how sometimes in dreams, even though a house may look completely different and be in an entirely fake 'dreamlike' environment, you just somehow KNOW intuitively that it's meant to be your childhood home or something. Even when it looks nothing like it in reality. There's a built-in base knowledge of the properties or information of some things within a dreaming mind, etc.

--

This also makes me wonder about like.. how storytelling and myth is so important to cultures all across time. Or how this could tie also into concepts of religion.. etc. etc. If so many people really can kind of conjure these vivid images in their mind, then maybe that's part of why certain things are so meaningful to them? Like a "religious experience" being something you can actually really SEE/feel/lingering with you in your head, rather than just abstract words on a page, detached purely theoretical ideas, etc... hmmm

.

Plus also just for average emotional stuff too, even outside of broader cultural conceptual attachments..

Like, I don't think there's a direct 1 to 1 link (obviously not all people with mental illnesses that significantly reduce their emotional or expressive capacity also MUST have aphantasia or vice versa), but it's interesting as someone who DOES also have a much more lessened emotional range/pretty flat affect/etc. etc. to think like.. Maybe I WOULD be more emotional, in a way, if I could have these vivid experiences..?

Perhaps memories would hold deeper significance if they could really stay with me vividly. Or storytelling would evoke more of a deep emotional reaction to me if I could really picture and feel the things that are going on. If things were more TANGIBLE in my brain, rather than always merely conceptual highly abstracted ideas.

Kind of like, it's probably easier to get over the death of a pet or something, if after not seeing them for an hour you already don't remember what they looked like (beyond just a vague fact list of traits), and you have no vivid memories or mental reminders of them (beyond just factual information stores). COGNTIVIELY you can appreciate the idea of their absence, of course, you still miss them, but there's just no remaining visceral sensory ties. A very "out of sight, out of mind" sort of thing in terms of attachments, memories, emotions, etc. Maybe certain things are easier to "get over", when you're not having constant mental sensory reminders that occasionally rekindle your feelings about the event or etc.??

(like for example, maybe someone could remain angry about an argument longer if they could vividly replay it in their head over and over again. VS just like.. 'Yes I can factually recall the fact I had an argument, and I do have knowledge stored about what precisely was said, but any sort of sensory data such as sights/smells/feelings, etc. from the actual moment of the event are long gone and can never be conjured again in my mind." etc.)

Which again, I think lessened emotional permanence and image permanence in the mind are NOT inherently linked, can all be caused by different things for different people. And, since I can't visualize anything in my head, maybe I'm misunderstanding how it happens and the effect it may have on stuff like remembering things you miss or replaying arguments, etc. etc. But it's still a little interesting to think about, if they could influence each other to some degree.... :0c --

Lastly, It's also weird because I'm actually pretty good at estimating distance and spaces? I can quickly assemble furniture without an instruction manual, pretty easily have a concept of how much space a chair may take up in a room, how two mechanical parts might fit together - BUT, I am literally not actually visualizing anything. I cannot see 3D objects in my mind at ALL. It's like.. just based on the pure List Of Facts About Things Which I Have Observed.. I can intuitively go "oh this works like this/this is this size" just because.. I know it's that size. I don't have to see anything to know..?

But then on the other hand, I'm terrible at directions without a map (I guess because a 3d outdoor environment has WAY more complexity than like.. "Will this square fit into another square?"etc. lol ).

BUT, I also draw/sculpt/etc. entirely without references, and seem to do mostly okay at that..? Like.. I can't even remember the last time I actually used a reference or looked at anything whilst drawing. It's all muscle memory, and me just adjusting as I go until something "looks right" on paper, I never have a set image in my head (or external reference) before hand.. Hrmm....

AND.. I used to say that I had a photographic memory when I was younger, which I know NOW is not true (I always thought it was just an expression, not that people could literally see things in a photographic way). But what I was describing is, I do often associate information with imagery, just... without imagery....

Like "Oh, I know that I took my medicine earlier today because I have a distinct memory, a snapshot of a moment in time, of me rattling the pill bottle in my hands as I looked up at a stop sign while in the back seat of a car". When I say this, I can't ACTUALLY see/feel/hear a pill bottle, or vividly picture a stop sign, but it's more just a factual recall, of. Even though I don't see these things, I know they happened, the information of them happening (me hearing a sound and also looking at a stop sign at the same time) has been stored in my brain as a memory, a collection of linked facts. --

As for other senses, I cannot taste or feel anything in my head AT ALL.. wild that some people mention that. I mean, again, I can have a purely factual recall as if reading a textbook, knowing the information of 'X item typically has X texture, therefore I can imagine what it may be like to feel it' or 'X usually has this taste' etc. - but I can never actually experience those senses in any capacity in my mind alone. I would say audio is my strongest mental sense (maybe a 2.5 or 3 (if it were translated onto the above scale where 1 is most vivid and 5 is nothing)), then visual (4.5 at most, usually 5), and then taste and smell and such are just complete 5, absolutely nothing, I didn't even know people could experience taste or feeling just in their mind alone.. lol...

I know this is just a silly bad quality random screencap of a screencap that I found on facebook lol, BUT it's a succinct enough image to easily describe the concept in a quick/accessible way hopefully :

-

(and of course, feel free to elaborate in tags, etc.! (especially elaborating about other senses as well.. can you "hear" in your mind just as well as you can "see"? taste? etc.) It's an interesting topic to me, as someone who's like a 4.5 at MOST lol. I'm curious what option will be the most common :0c )

[chase-solidago]

Invasive Species and Xenophobia

Invasive species are complicated! People have a lot of feelings about them, positive and negative. Are plants that move "invaders" "colonizing", "immigrants", "citizens"? What does it mean to kill species that are from somewhere else? What if that species legitimately makes a poor neighbor and causes extinctions in other, native species? This complex, culturally-loaded issue is a foundational issue behind a lot of plant conservation and restoration.

This is a juicy and still actively disputed topic! The Guardian recently had a big article on colonialism in Botany, (tbh her views are dated and reductive, imo) and it’s come up again this week, to much hostility (cw: reddit). Yes, my region's native plant restoration came from literal nazis, but also, the impacts of some invasive species are real, not figments of a racist imagination. How do we balance these issues? What does ethical invasive management look like?

Since it’s such a juicy topic, I wanted to offer a few fun readings to share:

The Native Plant Enthusiasm: Ecological Panacea or Xenophobia?, Gert Gröning and Joachim Wolschke-Bulmahn, 2004, Arnoldia.

THE CLASSIC 20th century German nazis and native plants paper. Made a huge splash when it came out, and you will still encounter people who paint all native plant stuff with this brush. Summary: yeah the nazis loved their native plants and used them as part of their conquering process. Also, the first prairie plantings ever, located in Chicago, were done by a racist probable-nazi for racist reasons, full stop. I’ll let him speak for himself: “The gardens that I created myself shall… be in harmony with their landscape environment and the racial characteristics of its inhabitants. They shall express the spirit of America and therefore shall be free of foreign character as far as possible… the Latin and the Oriental crept and creeps more and more over our land, coming from the South, which is settled by Latin people, and also from other centers of mixed masses of immigrants. The Germanic character of our race, of our cities and settlements was overgrown by foreign character. The Latin spirit has spoiled a lot and still spoils things every day.” - Jens Jensen

Botanical decolonization: rethinking native plants, Tomaz Mastnak, 2014, Environment and Planning D: Society and Space

Rather than viewing native plant plantings as an act of racially-pure occupation, Mastnak positions native plants in California as a decolonization of the sub/urban lawn. Uses a lot of quotations from 16th century English philosopher Francis Bacon, and is heavy on the philosophical musings.

From killing lists to healthy country: Aboriginal approaches to weed control in the Kimberley, Western Australia by Bach et al., 2019, Journal of Environmental Management.

This paper talks through some of the native vs invasive debate, and offers a different perspective on how to approach to plant invasive management based on cultural relations, rather than country of origin or behavior.

Beyond ‘Native V. Alien’: Critiques of the Native/alien Paradigm in the Anthropocene, and Their Implications, Charles R. Warren, 2021, Ethics, Policy, & Environment

DENSE but thorough, if you want to follow the entire history of the native/invasive debate, this has you covered. The most interesting stuff, in my opinion, is the discussion of invasive denialism, IE: the impasse of “You’re just being racist!” Vs “You know nothing about ecology!” I recommend the Discussion, which starts on page 13.

[astrolook]

Sun In Synastry : The Light They Bring Or Burn You With

Note: First of all, these are my personal observations based on client readings and what I have observed in real life relationships whether flings, short-term romances, long-term commitments, or marriages. We will be looking into both good and the shadow side of it. No single synastry aspect determines if a relationship is “meant to be” or if someone is your soulmate. True soulmates won’t bring you constant pain, abuse, emotional neglect, or detachment. They won’t harm you, manipulate you, or make you question your worth.

Now, with that said… let’s dive into today’s post! ✨

Sun in 1st house:

The Sun person is instantly drawn to the house person's presence, style, and energy, like a moth to a flame. You hype each other up like having a personal cheerleader. You don't feel the need to impress the Sun person as just being yourself is enough. This overlay creates an undeniable sense of "We just fit".

Now, the bad is that if one person has a fragile ego or jealousy, competition can creep in. The Sun person here would make the house person feel like a supporting character in their own life. Sometimes, this placement manifests as them being too comfortable with each other early on can lead to treating each other more like siblings or just a "buddy" rather than lovers.

Sun in 2nd house:

The Sun person sees the house person as valuable in some way. This creates a strong sense of mutual support and building together. Can work well in practical marriages or partnerships and also a stable goal-oriented relationships.

This placement can be seen with business partners or business romances. The house person might feel used if it isn't mutual. Can lack passion and deep emotional bond.

Sun in 3rd house:

The conservations between you both never dry. Endless chatter about anything and everything. The sun person thinks the house person is witty and logical. The house person would feel mentally alive and heard around the Sun person. Both parties feel comfortable and relationship feels natural here. Can build a lasting mental connection.

The Sun person may find the house person predictable. It feels right to the Sun person but not exciting. In some cases, the couples lacks sexual chemistry and need other aspects for passion.

Sun in 4th house:

Feels like instant family and deep emotional intimacy. The house person feels safe and comfortable around the Sun person. The Sun person might help the house person to heal their childhood wounds. Both of them could develop a strong desire to build a home or live together.

The house person can become too emotionally dependent. The house person might project their family issues onto the Sun person. Sun person might feel drained by house person’s emotional needs. I've seen in marriages where if things go south, it even resulted in a divorce. More comfort than passion.

Sun in 5th house:

This overlay gives instant chemistry that's fun, flirty and full of romantic energy. Sun person lights up the house person’s creative and playful side. There is mutual admiration and both of you make each other special. If kids are involves, there is a strong loving bond around them.

In some cases, it can feel more like a fling or a one-night stand than a real relationship. House person may see the Sun person as childish or too playful. Can burn hot and then fizzle out fast. If one person wants long-term and the other just wants fun, it gets really messy. I've seen this overlay on single parent households where the Sun person is absent from the kids life.

Sun in 6th house:

The Sun person helps the house person stay on top of their game in terms of health, work, and routine. Both of them know you can count on each other. This synastry overlay points to a productive lifestyle. It could be a great working partnership or supportive relationship. In marriages/LTR, I've seen this overlay manifest as the couple adopt pets which serves as a bonding factor for them.

In some cases, might feel like co-workers or roommates than lovers. House person might feel nagged about their habits by the Sun person. If unbalanced, resentment can build over time.

Sun in 7th house:

Sun person ticks all the boxes for what the house person wants in a partner. You feel like you belong together. It can be great for marriages and LTR or partnerships. Both of you just get each other.

On the flip side, The love-hate dynamic is very real. You admire them but also want to strangle them. They can be overly dependent on each other. Fights can be brutal but this relationship would feel like fated. If not balanced, one person compromises too much.

Sun in 8th house:

The Sun person feels the connection in the house person's soul. There is an intense magnetic pull and high sexual energy. The Sun person shines a light on the house person’s inner demons which can be healing or horrifying. Together they could explore the themes of psychology, occult or spiritual awakening as well.

The house person may hate the Sun person and hates to be seen with them. If the house person isn’t attracted? Major ick. They might cringe at the Sun person’s presence and behavior. Sometimes one of them has the upper hand and it can get toxic fast. In some cases, these relationships could feel like a walking PR disaster. You get me?

Sun in 9th house:

This overlay is where the Sun person idealizes the house person sometimes to the point of idolization. Late-night existential debates and long walks after midnight are common with these two. I've seen this overlay in travel vlogging couples. The Sun person expands the house person’s worldview, pushing them to think bigger. They could be inspiring and lifting each other up.

The house person may blindly follow the Sun person or reject them outright if they push too hard. In some cases, the Sun person talks too much and the house person has to listen and gets bored fast. Sometimes, the Sun person can come off as preachy like an annoying guru or act like a know-it-all and the house person tend to tune out completely. If one person is too rigid, this dynamic can feel overwhelming or dismissive.

Sun in 10th house:

This overlay is great for business partnerships where both of them has strong ambition and shred goals. The Sun person motivates the house person to reach their full potential.they see each other as high-value individuals. The Sun person boosts the house person’s public image & confidence. This can be a “power couple” dynamic if both are goal-oriented.

In some cases, this overlay seems transactional rather than real partnership. One of them could be focused more on status than love. The Sun person may dominate or try to control the house person’s career choices. The house person may feel pressured to impress or live up to expectations. If the Sun person loses respect for the house person, the relationship can fall apart fast.

Sun in 11th house:

Well, this is a relationship built on camaraderie and mutual respect. They accept each other’s quirks and support individuality. they may introduce each other to new friends or professional networks. This overlay can support long-term relationships as friendship is a key element in lasting love. They may enjoy humanitarian work or social activism together. The couple could even adopt kids.

Sometimes may feel more like "best friends" rather than lovers. Actually this could lead to a platonic or casual connection rather than a passionate one. The Sun person might take the lead in social settings, which could make the house person feel overshadowed.

Sun in 12th house:

This overlay could feel otherworldly. The Sun person illuminates the house person’s subconscious, dreams, and hidden fears. There’s often a sense of deep understanding without words like reading each other’s souls. If both individuals are emotionally evolved, this can be a highly healing and compassionate connection.

One or both may not see the relationship clearly at first. This overlay also can be seen in crushes or favorite artists where the house person could be completely unaware of the Sun person's existence or their feelings. It can create feelings of longing or a sense that the connection is just out of reach. If boundaries are weak, one person might sacrifice too much for the other, leading to resentment or exhaustion. Another overlay for single parent households.

Check out my post about Synastry Red Flags!

✨💫 DM me for a complete astrology reading / synastry compatibility reading and check out my pinned post for pricing! 💫✨

[ghostlyferrettarot]

🖤✨️Venus in the houses✨️🖤

❗️All the observations in this post are based on personal experience and research, it's completely fine if it doesn't resonate with everyone❗️

✨️Paid Services ✨️ (Natal charts and tarot readings)Open.

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🖤Masterlist🖤

♥︎Venus 1st house: charming people with a flirtatious aura. They know how to get people attached to them ; love to compliment others but expect double the praise in return, they know they are a catch. This individuals are usually the life of the party, the one who unites the relationship/friendship group.

♥︎Venus 2nd house: This is the house of finances, so these people prefer to be pampered by their loved one. People with strong values and respect, they expect the same from their partners. They don't play, they want stability and seriousness in a relationship; most loyal and supporting persons ever.

♥︎Venus 3rd house: really flirtatious and persuasive. They value new experiences, they are attracted to other's personality and interests. You have to keep them entertained, they have an adventurous nature and can get bored easily when it comes to a routine.

♥︎Venus 4th house: These individuals have a really harmonious and protective nature, a fairy-like aura to them. They value comfort and openness in a relationship, they want to feel the love of their partners and create a special bond with them. These people tend to attract people with mommy and daddy issues, with an "I can fix them" vibe.

♥︎Venus 5th House: These are my luxurious people, they have high standards and don't care what anyone has to say about it. They are in love with love, their cheerful nature attracts them towards creative people and people who are in a position of fame or success. They are the muses of artists.

♥︎Venus 6th house: These individuals tend to manage many things at once, they thrive on self-improvement. Their love language tends to be acts of service, they are also attracted to truly selfless people. They can spot a lie from miles away, value trust, and expect the same from their romantic partners. They forgive but they never forget.

♥︎Venus 7th house: They have an attractive and persuasive personality, they are tolerant and charismatic. The 7th house is the house of agreement and partnership, so your luck will probably change after your marriage, your significant other may play an important role in your life. These people crave love and genuine connections.

♥︎Venus 8th house: They are very sensual and intimidating; tend to have stalkers and admirers. They value deep connections, people who truly understand and accept them. People with some type of trauma are attracted to them. You may be interested in occult sciences and have healing powers.

♥︎Venus 9th house: They have a happy aura and an adventurous character. These individuals are attracted to optimistic and adventurous people, those who value their beliefs and want to take risks with them. Venus in the 9th house attracts many foreigners as it may indicate a lot of travelling, you significant other may be from another country.

♥︎Venus 10th House: The 10th House governs public image, career aspirations, and career achievements which makes these individuals attracted to status. They are goal-oriented, always looking to improve, and expect the same from their partners. You will want to live a high-profile life and connect with influential people.

♥︎Venus 11th house: They have a calming and jovial personality. Easily attract many friends who would want to work and connect with you to grow your business. These are my "friends to lovers" trope, they value friendship over romance, which attracts them to those closer to them.

♥︎Venus 12th house: These are my artistic people, they have a lot of passion and compassion. They tend to be attracted to spiritual or helpful people. They value connections and are naturally drawn to others; They find much comfort in helping those around them. They are looking for a partner with good character and empathy.

[thydungeongal]

question: Why is it bad that cultists are a common enemy in Dnd? Have you *met* anyone from the Catholic Church, the ILBP, the Mormon Church, etc?

I mean D&D cultists don't really lean into an understanding of cults as manipulative groups led by a charismatic leader, they lean more on a very American Evangelical understanding of cults as these secret groups within good society trying to make good people do bad things like sacrifice puppies for Satan. Comparing D&D cults to modern religious movements misses the point because D&D cults don't have anything to do with those but are based on a very culturally Christian fever dream about secret satanic groups hiding within the populace. With a dash of orientalism, since the imagery of cultists in D&D owes heavily to classic swords & sorcery fiction, which was rife with orientalist imagery.

And I'm also not saying that that's necessarily bad, because I don't think engaging with media with iffy ideas in it will automatically make people catch moral impurity, that's silly. But it's good to have an understanding of where those ideas and images come from because if one wants to personally avoid replicating those tropes and themes then it's good to be aware of all the cultural context behind them. D&D cults have very little to do with modern cults, because that's not what they're based on, so to compare them to those misses the point wildly.

(Also this relates to people's attempts to make D&D queer, because with a lot of people what they do is just turn the player characters into a wholesome queer found family but otherwise change nothing about the game, so you get the cool heroes slaughtering cultists that are ultimately based on a very American Protestant image of Satanic cults, and the dissonance is weird and a lot of people don't realize it.)

[literaryvein-reblogs]

How to Write a Character

For creative writing to have as deep an impact as possible, you need to give the reader strong characters they can relate to on a personal level.

By borrowing from tried-and-true character archetypes and giving them your personal spin, you can create heroes, villains, and sidekicks that will affect your readers as if they were real people they knew.

Come up with a backstory

Crafting a backstory can help you flesh out an interesting character profile.

“When I’m dealing with characters,” says legal thriller author David Baldacci, “and I’m trying to explain somebody's situation and motivations, you have to look into their past, because [the] past always drives motivations.”

Ask what experiences your character had in elementary school or high school that shaped who they are today. Your character’s backstory can greatly inform your plot.

Develop a character arc

A character must evolve throughout a story.

“The character has to change,” insists crime fiction writer Walter Mosley. “The character doesn’t have to become better. The character doesn’t have to become good. It could be the opposite. He could start good and become bad. He could start off hopeful and end up a pessimist. But he has to be impacted by this world that we’re reading about.”

Plan out your storyline based on your character's goals and how achieving or not achieving them will change them as people. This sort of template can help anchor your narrative.

Do research

If you plan to set your story in a specific locale or period, do enough research to make your characters seem true to life and believable.

“What does it mean, for instance, in the Tudor era to be a male person?” asks Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid’s Tale. “What does it mean to be a female person? What do those things mean when they’re at different social levels?”

Empathize with your characters

No matter what the type of character you’re developing, try to find some reason you and your reader can relate to their internal conflict.

“You’re living with these people every single day for months at a time—in some cases, years at a time,” says acclaimed children’s author Judy Blume. “You had better feel for them. So, for me, yes, I have great empathy for them.”

When people can empathize with characters, they’re more likely to find them compelling.

Experiment with different approaches

If you usually write characters from a particular point of view (or POV), change things up to challenge yourself.

“Write about someone entirely through the eyes of their friends and family,” suggests journalist Malcolm Gladwell. “So do a profile of someone where you deliberately never talk to the person that you’re profiling.”

There are plenty of ways to craft compelling character descriptions—free yourself up to try new alternatives.

Give your characters flaws

To craft believable characters, you need to give them flaws.

“One, it makes the characters human, just by default, because everybody recognizes that we all have flaws and mistakes,” David says. “But two, it gives you plot elements and plot opportunities because somebody makes a mistake. Why? Because they’re flawed.”

Learn from real people

Pay attention to real people’s mannerisms, personality traits, body language, and physical appearances.

Do research, and be respectful, when you want to write characters with backgrounds that you are not familiar with. Become familiar with different people's cultures, sexual orientations etc.

Talking to people about their experiences will help form your character’s personality.

Let your characters surprise you

Character development can proceed down a host of different avenues.

“Spend a lot of time with your characters and getting to know them,” Judy suggests. “And the way that you get to know them can be different from the way I get to know them. But my way is: They don’t come alive until I write about them, until I put them down on paper.”

As you write, your character’s motivation or perspective might change from what you originally planned.

Play characters off each other

Ask yourself how a secondary character’s personality might thwart the main character’s motivation.

“One of the best ways, as I said, to develop a character is to put that character in relationship to another person,” Walter says. “So as they talk, as they fight, as they work together, we find out more about who they are and what they are.”

The character’s close friends, adversaries, and acquaintances might all have different effects on their behavior.

Take an organic approach

Over the course of the story, be ready for your characters to surprise you as much as the people you know in real life might, too.

Your characters may take on a life of their own.

Avoid static characters by letting yours have their own lives and personalities. Let their stories take you where they lead.

Source ⚜ Writing Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

[quixoticprince]

Yayyy!! Yippee!! I finally get to make one of these!! Art without the text under the cut and some long-winded elaborations:

How long I've been playing: well, it hasn't been a straight 11 years, rather off and on - but I have drawings of these guys dating back to when I was 14, so I'll give it to me. And man I had no business reading the fanfics I was reading back then It's also crazy how this was a super influential media for me in so many ways. It's the reason I ever made a tumblr, it changed the direction of my drawings for a long while, my broken sense of humor (gmod animation memes and yt poops were the brainrot back then), tf2 Sniper changed my god damned gender (rather, it was the inspiration for me to start socially transitioning at 15). This is part of my personal lore that I tend to not admit to 😓

Your main: I've always been completely ass at the game, and I can play flexibly, but I enjoy playing Sniper, and more recently as Heavy. Whenever I'm sitting around somewhere, occasionally throwing sandwiches and attracting Medics, I feel like this:

Favorite character: When I was younger it was definitely Medic, and I think you can tell that he's still up there based on how much I've drawn him! However, since getting back into it, I've felt quite a shift in focus towards Heavy, very strongly. It's unfortunate that he's side-lined in a lot of fanwork, and I think I'm also complicit in this so far - but for me it's cuz, how tf2 works is that it's going to prioritize humor over character and consistency haha, and Medic is just so loud and insane that he's really easy to make fun stuff with. Heavy is a more serious and grounded character, not to say that he's not funny or that he doesn't have his own cartoon slapstick moments! But that aspect of him is what is really really intriguing to me. I love his quiet, stoic, and intimidating character, I like how loud and boisterous he is when filled with bloodlust in contrast! I love his bird story and him getting into wrestling as a child from Poker Night. I love his back story setting, there's so much to extrapolate from a young boy in Russia growing up during WWII, what his parents must have been through before that from the aftermaths of the revolution, all the way to his fathers execution and his imprisonment. I love his strong relationship with his family, his role as an older brother, as a protector, as a man - the way that he performs these roles - and because I personally see him as bisexual - how his orientation intersects with all that! He is incredibly fascinating to me and I wish that he was played around with more to see a lot more corners and angles of these things that I listed! There's way more that I want to say here too but this is getting very long 😅

Character I relate to: It's so interesting that a lot of the characters have very strong, tho maybe dysfunctional, families. Heavy, Demo, and Sniper in particular really speak to me in that relation. From Heavy being an eldest brother (I am also an eldest sibling) the parentification that comes with that, especially with him probably being like 10 years older than his sisters from the looks of it. Demo and Sniper both struggle living up to their parents expectations (although there's a lot of love there from everyone), being disappointments in one way or another (not gonna deep dive into that lol), and the general alienation both of them feel. From Sniper not knowing why he's not like other Australians to Demo being "a black Scottish cyclops." And well, I'm Filipino, I'm queer, and mentally ill so - there's a lot to project there!

Class you want to play as: I find Medic incredibly stressful to play as but I find the idea of battle medics incredibly funny. However I usually find myself rushing around madly trying to cater to everyone, and I'd like to just not give a shit and just start stabbing people with a saw lol

Favorite ship: "I just like the dynamic" - The dynamic:

No but fr, they're really compelling to me, I'd probably need a longer more thought out post as to what I like about them and I was already going crazy up there ^ Overall tho I like that they're practically built for each other in terms of mechanics, really plays into my desire to spiral into intense codependency haha. I also think that Medic's drive to cheat death and hide behind meat shields plays really well into Heavy's desire to be a meat shield and a protector, and how nice it is in turn, that Medic can grant this man who's been around death, starvation, and war invulnerability. (He outsmart boolet, yknow?) They're also depicted together a lot and I like how much they enjoy each others company, and bring a lot of joy to each other. It's beautiful to me :'^)

Character you like to draw: What can I say! Medic is handsome! He is very fun to draw and easy to make memes and shit posts out of!

[unsolicited-opinions]

The Revolution Will Not Be Aestheticized

Being Gen X is weird. Mine will be the last generation to remember a world without the internet and was also the first to wholly embrace it.

Gen X knows what life was like before social media...but has still mastered the art of passive-aggressively liking posts as a form of communication.

We're a small generation, but I'd argue we have a unique perspective and I want to point out something which I think is more obvious, more visible to Gen X, than it is to Millennials and Gen Z.:

Enjoying pop culture used to be something you did. Now, it helps define who you are.

I was obsessed, as a kid, with Marvel comics, Dr. Who, and Babylon 5. Friends had weekly get-togethers to watch the X-Files or The Simpsons. Liking pop culture wasn't unusual. You could like it passionately, obsessively even.

But it wasn’t your identity.

If you outgrew an interest, it didn’t seem like a personal transformation to you or to your friends. It was just...what you're really interested in right now. The stakes were low.

Today, it seems like your fandom is often your flag. It’s in your bio next to your gender identity, orientation and neurotype. (A couple of those are in mine, too).

I'm trying to say that there is a very real difference between being really into the music of Taylor Swift and being a Swiftie.

There's still plenty of discussionabout what we love, but now it helps defines who we are.

I might be a Little Monster and in the BTS Army, right? And a Whovian Cumberbitch. These are signifiers not of interest, but of identity.

That shift from consumption to identity may seem subtle, but it has profound consequences.

It turns preferences into moral positions.

If your fandom defines who you are, any critique of it feels like a critique of you. And if your fandom’s antagonist gets a redemption arc which displeases you? That’s not character growth, that’s betrayal. (You've seen people behave this way in fandoms. It's a parasocial relationship with fictional characters.)

Now take that operating system - tribal, emotional, morally binary - and plug it into political activism. What do you get?

You get the US "Pro-Palestinian" movement circa 2024-25.

To be clear: Gaza is a humanitarian catastrophe. Palestinians deserve dignity, safety, and justice.

Critiquing how Americans engage with this issue is not a dismissal of its urgency. It’s just asking whether our engagement is real...or if it is performative roleplay and treated like a fandom.

(Below: This fanart would be just as absurd if Snape was holding an Israeli flag.)

Because much of what’s happening on social media and college campuses doesn’t look like activism. It looks like fandom.

And not in a metaphorical sense. I mean literally.

Moral binarism:

Palestinians are coded as pure underdog heroes. Israelis are assigned the role of irredeemable villains. There's no space for Israeli trauma, Palestinian complexity, or the millions caught in-between. Just like fandom, nuance gets in the way of the story.

Costumes and catchphrases:

Keffiyehs are worn like people used to wear Hogwarts House scarves.

Slogans like "from the river to the sea" function not as political demands as much as they are ritual, social affirmations.

You chant them because they’re what you say to stay in good standing.

Canon enforcement:

Say the wrong thing (acknowledge Hamas's atrocities, quote an Israeli peace activist...) and you’re cast as a villain. Activist spaces now police ideological purity the same way fandoms used to (still do?) flame you for liking the wrong ship.

Emotional scripting:

TikToks from Gaza with moody filters and sad piano music mimic fan edits and commenters post, "I’m crying, I’m shaking," because that’s the expected affect. It's parasocial politics. And it's all about showing their feelings.

Lore and side quests:

Protestors debate which historical analogies are "correct" based on what's most satisfying. The create infographics that function like lore wikis, and design protest aesthetics with merch-tier detail. Some organizers even "brand" their encampments like pop-up installations.

Want a kiffiyeh with which to display your ideological alignment? Guy Christensen sells them through a link in his bio.

This is fandom logic in political form: it's identity-driven, emotionally performative, virality-optimized, branded and monetized.

The problem is that Fandom has no endgame. Fandom is forever. There’s no "solving" Game of Thrones - you just keep angrily resenting that awful final season.

Politics needs resolution. If you apply the fandom model to real-world conflict, peace becomes anticlimactic. Moral ambiguity feels like betrayal. Ceasefires don’t trend on social media.

Look at how the "pro-Palestinian" movement won't condemn Hamas regardless of the people of Gaza marching en masse to demand Hamas leave Gaza.

When the identity matters more than the cause, the cause becomes a backdrop.

Such "activists" center their feelings of righteousness rather than centering the lives at stake.

Performative grief displaces material action.

Sharing content becomes the work.

Listening becomes optional.

Look at how Irish protestors embraced the term “Paddystinian" - blending diasporic solidarity with performative identity. Or consider how Peter Tatchell was arrested at a pro-Palestinian march for opposing both Israel and Hamas - and was immediately denounced online not for being wrong, but for deviating from the script.

This isn’t activism. It’s cosplay with real-world stakes.

Real political work is boring, frustrating, and morally dissonant. It demands strategic thinking, coalition-building, and compromise. It doesn’t fit neatly into a feed, and it rarely makes you feel emotionally whole, but it’s the only thing that changes anything.

If you’ve grown up in fandom, you’re not broken or unserious. You’re just swimming in the water you were raised in.

What they need to ask themselves, though, is: Are we trying to help, or are we trying to feel right?

Because the people on the ground don’t need you to wear your Guy Christensen kiffiyeh and recite the ideologically approved positions you don't understand. They don't need your fan art. They don't need you to harass Jews online.

They need peace, they need dialogue, and they need all of us to stop treating war like content.

[plaidos]

if transness is just a headcanon for sims how are transfem sims specifically unable to get pregnant? i don’t know the game very well so i just don’t understand what you mean

so when the Sims 4 released it had no proper gender customisation options — just male and female, and implicitly cisgender. eventually, years later, they updated the base game to include trans themed customisation options. this is mostly what you’d expect — gender unlocked clothes, customisable pronouns, gender unlocked voices, and the ability to choose a “masculine frame” for women/a “feminine frame” for men — which basically just swaps the default male/female skeletons in a way that generates exclusively caricaturish looking trans people to the degree that even before I was on HRT this option felt exclusively like it was for trans people who came out like literally that year

it also takes a bunch of gendered interactions and lets you mix and match them. so if you go into the gender customisation menu (because of course all sims are cisgender by default) there’s a bunch of options like “can they pee standing up?” “can they get people pregnant, get pregnant, or neither?” etc. but they all revolve around bodies with maybe one box representing gender presentation (“prefers men’s clothes or women’s clothes?” what a joke.)

so if you were to use the Sims 4 customisation traits to make the closest thing you could to a real life trans woman, it would basically amount to ignoring the skeleton options (because they suck), letting her pee standing up (something that i don’t actually know many trans women who do tbh) and making her either unable to have kids or able to get people pregnant. one of the fundamental, foundational and ONLY ways to flag a character as transfem — let alone make her realistic — is to *take away* that ability for her to get pregnant, which is exactly the escapist fantasy that many trans women want to play with in the sims specifically.

Meanwhile, even if you mark your trans male character as “unable to get pregnant” he can still be forcibly impregnated; the option for men to not get pregnant is explicitly overruled by the aliens pack. which I think is a pretty blatantly fucked up and potentially triggering joke in a game that literally markets itself as an escapist fantasy for queer people. And it begs the question — who are these options for, then? and this is exactly what I mean — these features don’t exist to meaningfully represent trans people, they’re mix-and-match customisability options for cis people with zero thought to what trans people are actually like or actually want out of the game.

and like… this is the game that lets you make your sims be vegetarians, or lactose intolerant, or finely tune your character’s sexual orientations, or their favourite fucking music and colours and goddamn style of furniture.

TL;DR: your options to make a trans woman in the sims are to give her a “male frame” that looks nothing like over 95% of the trans women i know, to make her able to stand up to piss, to make her able to cum inside people raw OR not have babies, or to make a male child and magically transition her into a cis woman in CAS (but only when she’s old enough to be a teenager!!! because fuck trans kids i guess!!!) it’s fucking dire.