#this is ofc only one aspect of everything that made the game what it is for good and bad

[galedekarios]

I’m not surprised honestly, but I don’t need an award to validate how much I love it. Veilguard is my personal goty, that being said if it can’t be that. Go Metaphor!

that is very true.

i'm just feeling some kind of ways about the positive aspects being completely dismissed in favour of endless criticisms, some deserved and some not.

the same thing happened with inquisition back when it released.

it's funny when i see large parts of the fandom - and even outside of that - now getting misty-eyed over it.

i do remember all the thinkpieces back then on how the inquisitor is actually the worst protagonist, the companions the weakest, the tone too goofy, the plot and chars too railroaded, the lore and stories retcon'd and/or ignored, and so on and so.

i talked about this before and i suppose it's the cycle of bioware games and the bioware fandom at this point. in additions to that, we sadly live in a time now where grifters picked up on it and i do genuinely think that influenced the decision process to some degree.

[honeytonedhottie]

VALENTINES PREPARATION WITH HONEY (DAY 3/7)⋆.ೃ࿔*:･🎀

welcome to day THREE of honey's valentines day series ✨ in day two, we talked about the self concept aspect for manifesting an sp, for day three we will have some fun and formulate AFFIRMATIONS + MAKE AN AFFIRMATIONS TAPE + VISION BOARD

this is easily the funnest part in manifesting sp's (other than it materializing ofc), at least in my opinion 🙈

when formulating ur affirmations ; in any case, when formulating affirmations we wanna make the affirmations sound like how you would speak to a friend/how you speak normally. for example...

if u wanna manifest ur sp giving u a call that makes u kick ur feet and twirl your hair, an affirmation could sound like this -> "i literally just had the BEST conversation with (sp)"

AFFIRMATIONS TAPES ; if you've never made an affirmations tape i highly recommend it bcuz it's a GAME changer in my conscious manifesting game lately. so basically how i like to do it ...

i'll choose two affirmations (i usually choose one affirmation for my desire, and another that'll say something like "im manifesting this in x amount of time/im manifesting in 24 hours")

find a photo on pinterest (doesn't have to relate to ur desire) it could be literally anything but if u wanna choose a photo that implies ur desire then just do that

then i'll repeat my affirmations into the audio, then put it on 2x speed and DUPLICATE it until i've made the video at least 10 minutes long (time doesn't matter this is just what i like to do)

and thats all, i'll just listen to that as much as i want and it saturates my brain

VISION BOARD ; all my vision boards are on pinterest but how i start off is by writing out about my sp. so for me since im manifesting 3 sp's i'll categorize them (sp #1,2,3) and how they are, how they treat me, what they did for me etc etc.

since this is just a valentine and its kinda no strings attached for me i won't write stuff like "i fell in love with them" bcuz thats NOT my goal, my goal is just to have fun this valentines day ✨

once i've written about the sp's i'll make a little mood-board but its only to help me visualize. my imagination is enough for visualization so this is a step i'd skip but if it helps u to visualize then do that.

lastly for the super fun affirmation of our valentines day series...

im a master manifestor, i am the source and manifesting is so unbelievably easy. im so so excited to enjoy my valentines day with my sp. i do literally nothing, and get EVERYTHING that i want. manifesting an sp is light work.

[mcnuggyy]

✨ Rainbow Factory TTRPG! ✨

HIII!!!! As promised here is my silly little reskin of KOB (kids on bikes/brooms)!!! :o] <3

EDIT: This post got a bit long eek!! sorry!! if you just wanna see the silly stuff I did then just check out the links! You can ignore all the other text on this post jajaja!

Mini Rule Book  ( for GMs & Players!)

PDF Version!  

Here is the document I gave all my players beforehand! This is a simplification of all the KOB rules, character creation process, and the worldbuilding for Unicopia! Please feel free to use as much or as little of it as you like for your game! It goes step by step through the character creation process and has a wide variety of examples and references. I try to be as thorough as possible but ofc I may have missed something! Please feel free to make up what i miss or shoot me a message if you're really curious jaja!

Here is a jpg of the Player Character Sheet of needed! :o]

RFTTRPG: NPC Stats & BG Characters! (For GMs!)

This is what I used while GMing! Feel free to use these as you like! I tried to keep it simple and loose for the big characters like Hev and Trixie! And even simpler for the background characters. I didn't give the BG chars any stats as I knew I wouldn't need them for the one-shot I was running but please feel free to make your own BG chars, and stats, and all of that good stuff!

I also have a rough RF building chart for exploration! Our campaign was set inside the Rainbow Factory so it felt like a good idea to make this for my players! However please feel free to set your one-shot anywhere else in Unicopia! I hope to make a map of  the districts one day to add to the mini rule book later on! :o] You can also set it at another Happiness Factory such as the Tear Factory or Heart Factory! You could even have your unicorns visit Earth! The world is your oysta! ♡ 

Overall I tried to keep everything super simple and clear for both myself and my friends! I imagine other Factories in smaller districts would be much smaller than this but this is a rough idea of what I think most of them would sort of be like!

RFFTTRPG: One-shot Ideas & More! (For GM's)

I love love loved using the KOB system and reskinning it for my silly little world! and I love when a TTRPG gives you nice sort of rules to follow while still being super free and open in other aspects! It made it  easy for me to just come up with a simple problem/plot for my players! However I know coming up with something from scratch is also super intimidating and overwhelming! So here is the idea I did, along with some others I've thought of for fun! (and might even do in future games jejeje)

Kid on the Run!  This is super Monsters Inc inspired. Have the party over at a Factory for any reason you choose. I chose a tour/ted talk hosted by the lovely Trixie! It can also be a company party, or breaking and entering, or they already work there, etc.! Have one of the portals go haywire allowing a child to enter Unicopia! It's now up to the party to not only capture the child but return them back home safe and sound to the human world! All while keeping the child secret from the rest of unicornkind! RF: Happiness Special Forces The Counsel has decided to create a special task team in charge of going down to earth! Go undercover and stop those who cause great risk to Unicornkind! This could be stopping a huge evil corporation that is creating an excess amount of unhappiness, reducing the magic of Unicopia. Or having to go in and save multiple children in danger such as a field trip gone wrong! Or making an adult human who remembered their childhood unicorn forget about them again before things get dicey! Your players will have to keep their existence as unicorns a secret, all while saving their world, and exploring Earth as characters who may be unfamiliar with humans and their ways! Unicorn Hunters & the End of Unicopia What if unicorns biggest threat finally found out where they had been hiding all this time? and not just knew but had access to a portal? It's up to the players to stop them at all costs and save their world.  A high stakes adventure full of lore, magic, and potential unexpected allies!  The Daily Life of a Field Op/Happy Tech This is more of a slice of life concept! This would work well for smaller parties of 1-4 Players! Have your Players form teams and deal with the daily troubles a helping a kid/teen/pre-teen  as a Field op or Happy Tech! (You could even have one of your Players play one of the kids themselves!) While still balancing their social lives, self needs, etc.! A look inside what it's like for Unicopias most essential workers, their interpersonal dramas, relationships, etc. Great for those who love character centric collaboritive storytelling!

ANYWAYS!!! Sorry for the ridiculously long post </3 I just wanted to cover all my bases in case someone decides they wanna play this reskin!! If you do end up playing pleaseee let me know eeek!! very very exciting!!! <3 regardless i hope you have fun looking at all this silly stuff I did to make my friends smile and laugh :o]

You can check out our one-shot over on my Patreon yahoo!

[blackstar5078]

EC!Wither Character Post!

Because I've been wanting to do this now that the angstier aspect of her character has come to light, or some of it :D

First of all, a drawn reference to help artists out there:

This was made back in 2023, and was also the reference I used when I made her skin/CPM model, so... She is a character that I have thought out for a while now gkbgj.

Here are some design notes that I left for the peeps at the Discord too:

You also get the behind of her skin without the cape:

She has holes on the back for the wings.

And you can get a look to her bloody skin for day 10's lore, but under the cut since the blood will be more noticeable ofc.

Next, I want to leave here fun facts about her character, design and lore!

First of, here's the bloody skin:

And here are the fun facts :D.

☆ She was created after everything I liked/found more interesting elements of Minecraft, tbh xD.

Always loved the Wither as a concept and wished it was used for more than additional boss battle or a Nether Star source. And I love the concept of Soulfire/blue fire in general too, in addition to thinking that the Nether is a very cool place.

☆ Color-wise, she's moreso based on a Wither Storm from Minecraft Storymode than a vanilla Wither. Because purple.

☆ Said that, in theory, Wither could have some kind of bersek mode similar to the Wither Storm, but that would be a pain to model lol.

☆ I always thought that the cubitos that looked like demonic creatures with claws and glowing eyes were the coolest ones, so that's the approach I took while designing her. She's not a demon, she just has the vibes of creature.

☆ The Enderman is my favorite Minecraft mob, actually hkbgjh. I think they are the most interesting mobs with their mechanics, behaviour, powers and design.

The reason why I implemented them into my character as this genuine fear is a bit funny: While playing Minecraft, I always try to stay away from the endermen and make sure to not anger them, because I really don't want to kill them myself, plus, in-game, they are terrifying to deal with for me when in hostile with all the teleporting and the sounds it makes, so I end up not being as quick or willing to react when an enderman is around.

So I decided to use that OOC behaviour of mine as PTSD reaction for my character in a way that makes sense 👍.

☆ I created her background lore in a way that it would not conflict with smp lore, regardless of what would happen there.

☆ Originally, her main weapon would be a scythe, but when they're not available, she uses OP bows since that is also my favorite and preferred way of attacking in Minecraft OOC.

☆ Her wings quite literally spawn and despawn, it's magic.

☆ Personally believed the Hulk type of characters are fun to deal with as a writer, which is why Wither is one in a way (I would not call it another persona of hers when she loses it, she just turns feral and kills on sight).

☆ She growls and roars like creature while on this status instead of talking, ye.

☆ Only Nether elements and Soulfire are not enough to trigger this, otherwise it would happen all the time (girl wears Netherite armor and it has Soulfire into it). This status also depends on her emotions.

When Bluebell died in the Nether, a lot of negative and strong emotions consumed Wither. By the time she was heading to the Nether portal with wishes to destroy it, she wasn't thinking clearly anymore, and once she was in range of it, is when these powers and status activated fully (and the village nearby payed for it).

☆ Yes, she fistfought an Iron Golem and won. (The Iron Golem caused her only two injuries on the bloody skin, though) (The abdomen and head ones).

☆ Soul and Fire are like, the most on the nose clue about her past with their names. Just put them together in the order I mentioned them gkvgjh.

☆ Soul is the little head on her right. Fire is the little head on her left. (Using the drawn reference I attached here to avoid confusion too: On your left is Soul and on your right is Fire).

☆ Both of them have their own personalities, but overall are way more untrustful of the world and people around them than Wither is. It takes a bit to gain that trust and willing to talk to you.

☆ They can't speak by themselves, but Wither has mind link to them and hears them on her head. She communicates what they want to say for them.

☆ You only have seen them communicate since day 12 because they now started to trust Bluebell enough for it.

☆ I always had in mind that Wither's story and character arc on any smp would be way better if she happened to take care of a little baby creature. Yes, I am so glad that Bluebell exists gkbfkg.

☆ She canonically only traveled and walked to where they live now, she was not a planned individual to be there. This is worth to mention considering recent and future lore.

☆ She's aroace 👏.

☆ Mat, the person who she talked about at the beginning and even wrote a letter to, is my boyfriend's cubito. They don't have the same in-character relationship as us OOC, but he does care a lot for her.

And your prize for coming this far into the post, it's a playlist that I will be updating along with the plot. The playlist was made with her background lore in mind <3.

I am exposing my musical tastes right now /silly.

Hope you enjoy it! ♡

[eulaliasims]

Get to know you: Sims Style

Ty for the tag @executables-sims. ^^

What’s your favorite Sims death?

idk this time, whoops. I haven't had a sim die in my game except by old age for a while. 🤔

Alpha CC or Maxis Match?

Both? Is that an option? Both. Really, I like aspects of both and so I blend both in my game. Alpha hair and clay hair, maxis match objects and realistic objects, whatever, if it fits in my game I'll use it.

Do you cheat your sims weight?

I used the SimBlender to change some of the models fit states on my last download post; otherwise, no.

Do you move objects?

I move so many objects, baby 😎

Favorite Mod?

My enormous hacks folder makes this hard to answer, lol. I'll shout out Epi's Baby Personality mod, b/c finally I'm getting some sims with more than 0 to 1 nice points born in Middleground again.

First Expansion/Game Pack/Stuff Pack?

It was Pets. Because I've always been an animal lover and it came out right after I started playing.

Do you pronounce live mode like aLIVE or LIVing?

It's still LIV mode and I'll still die on this hill.

Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made?

Made? Idk, I don't often make sims to play (I think I picked Jackie from Far Valley last time), so I'll show you my favorite born in-game sim!

is anyone surprised (if you're new here, that's Clara Blanch)

Have you made a simself?

Yeah, but she no longer exists in my sim bin and no one gets to see her.

Which is your favorite EA hair color?

Black? I guess? Idk, I don't really have a favorite hair color.

Favorite EA hair?

Hmm, I don't remember what I answered last time I did this one. I think the little half-up ponytail from Seasons.

Favorite life stage?

Is it a cop-out if I say everything besides the infant stage? (Does that one even count? They're basically potatoes.) Playing this hood for so long, I've come to enjoy playing sims through each of their life stages. Toddler and kid are cute; teen stage is fun because I get to explore their personality and interests more, and ofc there's budding romances for sims who are into that; adult stage, I get to build their lives and see what their own family turns out like; and elders in my game usually get to relax and savor things once they retire, and spend a lot of time with their family and friends and hobbies, which can be a nice change of pace.

Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay?

insert both is good gif from @executables-sims's post here

Are you a CC creator?

Sometimes!

Do you have any Simblr friends or a Sim Squad?

Yeah, though the concept of a sim squad is so funny to me for some reason.

Do you have any sims merch?

Nope

Do you have a YouTube for sims?

Nooooope. I like to watch some simmers, especially speedbuilds (shout out to @kayleigh-83 and @nervosims for their great speedbuild vids!), but no one would enjoy me flitting back and forth between seven different things at once, lmao

How has your “Sims style” changed throughout your years of playing?

Play style or aesthetic style? They've both changed over time. Gameplay wise, I really only stick with Middleground and my rotational play now, whereas I used to start (and abandon) a lot of legacies, tried at least one BACC, just random sims that were fun to play. Aesthetically... hmm, you know, I'm not sure this has changed *that* much. Here's Clara circa 2011:

I use more matte skins now, and the style of clothing I download has probably changed the most, but I could absolutely recreate this pic without downloading anything new, including the CC stuff in the background.

Who’s your favorite CC creator?

Don't make me pick one!! If you're really interested, check my sims pinterest in my pinned post, I'm sure there's patterns there.

How long have you had Simblr?

*checks archive* ...Ten years next May, yikes!

What expansion/gamepack is your favorite?

Hmmm, I'm going to say Apartment Life this time. I've really been enjoying playing witches lately, and it added a lot of buy/build items I like. Or maybe Uni??? No, AL it is.

Tagging, uhhh, I'm a little late so sorry if you already did this and I missed it!: @isimchi, @tvickiesims, @episims, @anachronisims, @sushigal007

[midorikawawas]

So, About Spirit of Justice…

I've been loving that game since I first played it back in 2017-2018, and at times, I wish to do a review for Spirit of Justice, at least the story aspects, because I consider it to be a game that not only isn't as bad or as incoherent as many people try to argue, but that actually made something while carrying the burden of trying to do a lot in a little time, even when we consider that it has one of the longest (if it isn't THE longest) final cases/chapters and pushed a lot of the mechanics and effects for a visual novel.

If anything, the worst sin committed by AA6 is being its own thing (same as Dual Destinies, but that's a different conversation….)

But idk, lots of personal observations under this.

Of course there are things that make me raise my eyebrow and that could've been done better, but if anything, I applaud the fact that the game has that replayability factor to it which is such… an AA thing, to keep the player interested and entertained, even when considering its downfalls. Like, talk about the little details that aren't explicitly said, but that were put in the script and manage to convey so much of what the characters and story have to say. If anything, SoJ is GOOD at the storytelling factor, at switching the setting and making it compelling.

It's visually engaging and the script is just so good (I wish to play the Japanese version one of these days, because I enjoyed the translation and I bet the og is as enjoyable.)

Then there are the characters... Which I don't know how people can't get out of their usual comparisons with other installments and ignore that the characters, their motivations, and even their emotions and inner lives are not as half-assed in this game as some people would like to say. Again, most things get insinuated between the lines, which I don't think it's lazy, rather is interesting instead of seeing a character blurting out everything, but that's a personal choice. I could have a whole field day with the whole royal family and the many things they represent or couldn't say explicitly.

Even though I agree that Apollo's backstory doesn't click as well (we can see it was a last minute thing) I don't believe it takes away from what his past was. From his rather tragic origins, and the charm of the strong familial bond he has with Dhurke, neither the care and wish to reconnect with Nahyuta and protect him, who's either a dear childhood friend or a brother (depending on the version) but still, both are part of the childhood Apollo thought as lost, and who then forced himself to forget. If you ask me, it's of my favorite parts of the game, and I wish that if we get AA7, we get a passing comment about the family Apollo now has in Khura'in.

I simply like Spirit of Justice a lot. It's not the best AA installment objectively, but it is my personal favorite for the ambience, the build up, the characters and script (I feel only the amazing AA4 wins over AA6 in the script department but come on... It's AA4, ofc it wins.) and the over the top story that somehow makes sense within the universe. It is such a joy to play and get invested in everything that's going on, to laugh and to cry, and that makes to me a wonderful game.

It doesn't deserve much of the hate that it gets or to be the butt of the joke (neither does Dual Destinies, but AGAIN, a different conversation) however, every time I see complaints against the game I feel like most people just had a different experience than me.

At least I enjoyed it!

[beevean]

Call me crazy, but having a favourite character whose personality differs in many aspects from mine (and where theirs is 'better', so to say) honestly has made me want to strive to be a better person as well? I am inspired by them and see traits I want to possess also, because I find such traits noble or indicative of a kind person or whatever. I would hate to be fan of a fictional character who is exactly like me, with the good and all the bad that comes with it!

That's what characters like Sonic are: inspirational. Sonic has flaws, ofc, but he's mainly cool and a positive influence for everyone. You're not supposed to go "oh that's just like me fr fr "(I'd argue that Tails and Amy fill that role, and it's not a coincidence that they got character development in the games), you're supposed to go "oh wow Sonic is so cool, I wanna be like him!". You hear every time stories of people who have taken a passion for running because of Sonic! The whole point is that you're meant to look up to him, which is why I think fans insisting that he should break down from all the stress in his life don't get him. (not that he can't have moments of weakness, I'll always cite LW as a good example because fuck the haters lol, but you know what I mean)

He's far from being the only example. Who in the world could relate to Samus Aran, the greatest bounty hunter in the galaxy, the one who can explore all sorts of hostile alien planets on her own? Probably no one. Metroid fans love her because she's fucking awesome, that's why. Yes, there's also the appeal of how her personality is shown through body language rather than dialogue, her merciful moments that stand out from her usual willingness to shoot down everything, her backstory and complicated heritage... but let's be honest, Samus' main appeal is that she's cool and badass and takes down any foe and she does it with style. And I don't need to tell you what happened the last time the series wanted to make her more relatable :)

[lemonhemlock]

I'm probably one of the few who finds the bits we got from Aegon as a character—while "inconsistent", disorganized and tonally a whirlwind—compelling, fascinating and worth inspecting and exploring (and maybe romanticizing and sexualizing :P). And this includes the textual sexual violence, and the heavily implied child sexual assault (whether pedophilic in nature or not aside for now). And though I understand people creating a fanon version expunging these sociopsychologically horrific, and fictionally hard to stomach aspects of his character, I can't say I even want to! I find him compelling because of these aspects, wanting the presentation of it may be for now.

His narrative, arc, symbolism and themes, and not to mention TGC's performance so far, are all just too compelling for me to pass on! Obviously biased, but frankly it's difficult to believe someone would read f&b and not realize the potential of his character and the entailing entertainment... On this note, I do have to say I find the complaints of certain fandom parts (they happen to be Aegon stans, and both team green and team black) about the choice to centre Alicent (both in the narrative and in Aegon's life) pretty disagreeable. It's wack, trite, and bitter. There are clear timeline oopsies and confusions due to the changes, and behind the complaints are genuine arguments to be made for an Update House of The Dragon that could have been, but the game ain't always fair... Just accept you are stanning a minor character, cast villain, stuffed like a pigeon with turkey filling, and eat your 10 minutes of beady eyed screentime. And just make everything about him? When someone takes a sip of wine, it's secretly about Aegon btw. All windows are about Aegon, when they are not about Alicent. Every dragonbond is secretly about Aegon/Sunfyre if you squint hard enough, George told me himself.

I think the major reasons why he comes off as deeply unlikable to the casual viewers (not even addressing the green/black tribalism for now) are due to unflattering framing and POVs that position him as either a gross nuisance, obstacle or clear antagonizing force. Some of this is due to needing certain characters covering certain aspects of a certain themes. How do the royals treat their servants? Good—bad is a big spectrum. Sexual violence is on it, and it happens to fall into Aegon's realm. And while considering the many other unflattering characteristics, u could argue this is overkill or unfair to Aegon, I gotta counter that's a deficient way of looking at fictional narratives. This character-lasered reading misses the forest for the trees. Not every character has to be likeable, relatable, or sympathetic from the get-go. And honestly, I think the many atrocities Aegon is collecting like Pokemon balls to be amusing and kinda compelling.

In another narrative, a character like Aegon's would b a byronic obsession in someone's romantic/gothic story, or a horror villain, or a god harassing poor mortal souls. There are very fun bits and pieces stuck in this guy and even in this age of many studios bucketing under fanbacklash, a guy can just hope the writers find him worthwhile enough a character. And rant into ur lovely inbox ofc.

And at the end of the day, people are just not gonna like a guy LOL. No amount of screentime or birthing scenes or dragonriding can make me find Rhaenyra compelling, and no lack thereof can make me find Alicent, Helaena, or Baela less compelling, speaking of female hotd characters only.

Okay almost.

Being they plan to introduce golden boy turned war criminal Daeron, I believe a both fun and horrific decision would be to make him compassionate towards Aegon's plights and woes and thus give the audience an entry into sympathizing with Aegon, which the writers clearly want us to do, all interviews and panels considered, cope and seethe as I have!

Are we even going to get a Daeron/Greenfam interaction? LOL What a deeply unserious show.

I would like to start off by thanking you for leaving such an interesting ask in my inbox! I think this conversation is a little overdue, since there’s been perhaps an emergence of the school of thought (lol) that suggests that greens upset or critiquing Aegon’s extra dark portrayal in the show are somehow whitewashing him or woobifying him. IMO that fundamentally showcases a divergence in people’s priorities in storytelling and how they interact with this fictional universe. I, myself, am very intrigued by dark!Aegon in fics and most of the works I enjoy tend to deal with taboo topics, so it’s a little unfair to paint everyone with the same dismissive brush.

However, I’m not just a HotD show watcher, I have been engaging with ASOIAF one way or another for over a decade now and I think I can mount a workable interpretation of how this series operates. One of the reasons I actually love it so much is because it has internal thematic logic and because, generally speaking, the characters that inhabit it are appropriately rewarded or sanctioned by the narrative (or at least it seems to be heading in this direction re: its endgame). Believe it or not, I was thinking of answering this ask by ranting about Ned Stark, but I decided not to, because we’d be here all day. 😅

Anyway, point is that I’m not very willing to sacrifice that aspect for the sake of character exploration that contradicts with the main themes and messages of the story. People are certainly free to disagree with me on this, of course. 

I imagine it is a tricky business for authors, trying to decide exactly which and how much of a flavour of awful to assign to a character without ruining the rest of the story. Some might start with an outline or a feel for where they want the story to go, but, if you happen to create a character that veers off your intended path or seems to write itself in a direction you never planned for, it would be honest for you as a writer to acknowledge that and accommodate that accordingly in your story. Which isn’t truly a possibility here, as we need the characters to hit certain beats in the narrative and, ideally, they should do it in a believable way. This is often a problem I have found with Fire and Blood and lord knows I’ve already dissected it enough times here, if anyone cares to take a gander - the fact that characters are sometimes prevented to grow organically, because George needs them to perform certain actions in order to move the plot along. So, ideally, a good story would find a balance between these two scenarios. 

So to me my main anti-argument is that the Dance was never a story just about Aegon, this is not the exploration of a fucked-up psycho rapist and why he does the things he does and how he thinks the things he thinks. While that certainly might be an interesting avenue, I am not super convinced the Dance of the Dragons could offer the appropriate space in which that kind of exploration could be pursued in a satisfying manner. This is an ensemble piece, and while Aegon is an important part of it, he also exists in relation to other characters. This exaggerated degradation of his would inevitably bring down his entire “side” with him and that, in turn, ultimately throws off the balance of the entire story. 

Let’s stop for a minute and take a look at what they decided to go with in the show. Rhaenyra has consistently received the framing that her “mistakes” amount to (at most) victimless crimes (she is absolved from murdering Vaemond and the show makes no effort to explain the havoc caused by screwing up inheritance laws). Whereas what do we have for Aegon? 1. raping and terrorizing servants to the point of panic attacks; 2. enjoyer of the child-fighting sport; 3. implied sexual assault of children. This is beyond caricature. The addition that he enjoys watching his own children fight and that they file down their teeth to make them more formidable, stuff that wasn’t even in the books, is just downright infuriating. 

These are not traits you endow a character with because you’re interested in exploring the deep dark depths of human depravity. That task was always impossible in the first place with a character who has so little screen time anyway and I would argue it was never really a priority anyway. The intention was always to make Rhaenyra look good by comparison and that’s not something I can respect from a storytelling perspective. 

Note that this is the starting point for Aegon and Rhaenyra. This is supposed to show how they behave before the war, in a relatively stress-free situation, when they’re unburdened by war trauma and their family dying - explanations that could be given as reasons for their later ruthlessness. But nothing show!Rhaenyra (or even book!Rhaenyra) has ever done could ever hope to amount to the trifecta of awfulness that they assigned to show!Aegon. 

So, what exactly are we doing here? The point of Aegon and Rhaenyra as direct adversaries was always that they inhabit a similar plane. It’s not even about Aegon being likable or sympathetic, it’s about the fact that it separates him too much from Rhaenyra and it positively sanctifies Rhaenyra by comparison. You could certainly prefer one over the other, but their differences are meant to inspire conversation; they cannot be so completely removed from one another as to operate in different leagues of morality. If we monsterize Aegon too much, we don’t even have the space to properly explore that in the story and it would mess too much with the way his character needs to evolve in order to hit the particular narrative beats that George decided are set in stone. So giving him these massive transgressions as a starting point and turning him basically into the Antichrist throws the rest of his arc off balance for me and the thematic parallels become too off-kilter for me to be able to enjoy it. 

To me Rhaenyra’s story is very reminiscent of (white) feminism, very “rights for me but not for thee”: a rich, white, privileged woman fighting for her own advancement and not caring about the plight of anyone else. The Dance of the Dragons is meant to inspire conversation and debate, both on the legal front and on the political utilitarian front. Is male primogeniture fair, even if it maintains stability in the realm? Can we change that? How? Does shifting to simple primogeniture when it comes to royal succession engender progress in some way? Should royal succession reflect inheritance laws for the rest of the population? How are laws changed in a medieval common law system? Is it fair for the King to change laws however he wants, at the drop of the hat, or should the lords have some say? What can/should the King do if his vassals refuse to abide by his choices? When it comes to waging a destructive war to replace one “unworthy” candidate for the throne with another “unworthy” candidate, where do we place that on the moral spectrum? Is the population thriving/not dying in war more or less important than maintaining male primogeniture? Is it really worth it just to have a nominal female successor that won’t really bring about systemic change? These questions are really worth exploring and there are no straightforward answers to them, but if Aegon is Satan on Earth, none of these questions matter anymore, because Rhaenyra automatically becomes the better option and no price is steep enough to pay to get rid of Aegon. And the point never was that Rhaenyra would make a better ruler than Aegon or is even a better person than Aegon; trying to shoehorn her into that narrative only hurts the story overall.

There’s something to be said for the fact that in the last stages of the war, Aegon’s and Rhaenyra’s journeys inversely parallel each other: while Rhaenyra is rejected by the population and kicked out of King’s Landing while she’s occupying the Iron Throne, Aegon manages to convince people on Dragonstone to fight for him and he takes the castle with little resistance. There is something to be said for the fact that it’s Aegon who gets to kill Rhaenyra, not the other way around. That he’s the one who gets to live that little while longer. The author could have simply chosen for them to have one last battle and end up killing each other, but he doesn’t. And IMO we would not be able to get to that point in the story in a way that feels true and organic to the internal logic of this fictional universe if we corrupt Aegon’s development and make him so reprehensible to begin with.

TLDR: I take issue with HotD’s portrayal of Aegon in direct comparison with the text of Fire and Blood, but I am open to dark!Aegon explorations in fic. However, I do not feel like this is appropriate in canon, as it messes too much with the balance of the story and corrupts the wider themes and messages, both of the Dance of the Dragons and of the ASOIAF series in general.

[beardedhandstoadshark]

I think I figured out why totk feels a bit iffy to me, and it‘s not in fact the story or the map or that "Zelda‘s sacrifice isn‘t worth anything cuz she‘s not suffering for all eternity“ (seriously wtf are you guys ok). Nope, it‘s that despite all its attempts to convince you otherwise,

This is just the same game again?

Seriously, what’s really new here? Nothing‘s changed. Sure, there‘s a 6-year gap now, and 1.5 new maps, that‘s pretty cool, but what else?

The setting is pretty much the same. The gameplay is pretty much the same. The goal is pretty much the same. The story is pretty much the same. All you do is pretty much the same. But then you look at it and it tries to tell you it‘s not.

Heck, even some of the things that are new are really similar. Ultrahand is Magnet but for everything. Same as Recall. Sidon‘s shield is Daruk‘s but passive-use. Tulin is Revali but sideways. Riju is straight up the same skill but mapped to your bow now. (though tbf that one makes sense character-wise at least).

The same can be said about the games that came before it (primarily the 3D ones) but those had, imo, enough differences in everything surrounding the "old Zelda formula“ to be unique. From graphics to story to setting to even the details of the gameplay surrounding that formula, the core is the same, but the things around it are not.

They also all have their own "vibe“ in settings, so to speak. For example, just like how Wind Waker’s a pirate sea adventure, TP is a fantasy wild western, while botw has its ruined civilications and rediscovered magitech.

And then Totk also has ruined civilisations and rediscovered magitech. Just in different shapes. And green this time.

(Fun fact: "The same thing in green“ is a real idiom in German, for when two seemingly different things are actually almost identical.)

It‘s not all like that ofc, there are things that make totk unique and I‘ll elaborate on later, but it just feels like there‘s still so that… something, that could‘ve made it unique.

And while having the game play in the past might‘ve helped, I‘m not sure if it would‘ve been enough, because even then, the vibe would still be similar. You‘d still be doing the exact same thing. You‘d still have your circle of ancient magitech skills that are basically-but-not-quite the same as the previous one. You‘d still have a hundred-something minidungeons to solve that already felt the same on their own. You‘d still be in a ruined civilisation with ancient magitech setting.

It‘s like with the pre-switch 3D Mario games- the core gameplay goal is the same (world -> level with missions granting you a star each-> get enough stars to unlock boss -> loop) but the gameplay surrounding that goal, as well as the setup and "gimmick“, are always different enough to make each game unique - except for the games that didn‘t do that, Galaxy 1 and 2. You‘re not missing out on much gameplay-wise if you only played one of them. And G2 has all news maps and a story, mind you, hence why I said having those couldn‘t make totk unique enough to make it feel like its own thing either.

Same with the Oracles games; technically 2 games, yes, different plot, dungeons and map, but are they? Are they really? Or are they more like two "editions“ of the same base game, like in pokemon?

And worst thing is; there‘s parts of totk that aren‘t like that! The truly new and unique things, those are pretty cool, and DO help differentiating totk from its predecessor!

The almost "crafting“ aspect of the improved weapon system, using what you find from exploring to strengthen weapons or give them new attributes (frozen-meat shield skateboard my beloved). The main dungeons all having their unique aesthetics and mechanics surrounding the core "find 4 switches“ loop (like how the old 3D games would do unique things around a "find keys to progress“ loop to keep things fresh, something that botw failed to do and totk fixed), the gloomy eeriness of the depths juxtaposed by the ethereal gardenlike calm of the sky islands.

The treat of cold machines and murderous analytics replaced by visceral rotten flesh, erratic in its movement and droven only by hunger.

Heck, even the cutscene for unlocking maps, getting shot out the tower by Purah‘s contraptions instead of climbing it alone; not being alone this time. There‘s others with Link this time. He‘s not alone this time.

Those help shape totk into its own game with its own unique feel. And it was SO close to succeeding. But it just barely missed the mark. Because the moment you‘re on the road again, away from others and going exploring, doing wjat the game is essentially about- it becomes identical to botw again. But it doesn‘t want to be botw. That might be the real issue. The setup screams "new“, while everything else screams "more of the same“, and the game can‘t decide which one it wants to cater to.

And if that‘s what you like, and wanted out of it, that‘s great! I‘m happy you got that! But I just can‘t play a different version of the same game for another six years again all while being told it‘s a different one.

Because that‘s what totk feels to me- like Mario Galaxy 2, like every set of a pokemon gen, totk feels like another "edition" to botw of the overarching "switch games“ generation.

TLDR, totk couldn‘t decide if it wanted to be a sequel sequel or a "its own thing but can still act as a sequel to those who played the other one“ sequel, went with one leg in each direction, and tripped over both of them doing so.

[mikka-minns]

Hey Minnie! Hope you don't mind me coming into your inbox to ramble, but I had a realization and a theory that I think you might appreciate.

So, I know we always complain about Dominic as The Guy Who Can't Write MK, and I do think he's part of the problem, but I think the real final boss of Bad MK Writers is Shawn Kittelsen.

He wrote the MKX comic, and is thus responsible for "Cassie was the result of a one night stand and Sonya never loved Johnny before MKX" (which is a bullshit interpretation of their dynamic), Hanzo "Sub-Zero is Beyond Saving Let's Just Leave Him For Dead" Hasashi, and probably other awful shit (oh wait, now I remember. Killing off a bunch of characters unceremoniously, for really no reason other than blood. That's just a shitty use of resources)

He started working on the games in MK11, and I'm pretty fucking sure he's responsible for Kotal/Jade (weird because it has no buildup), past Sonya being an unrepentant bitch (telling the father of your future daughter to get a vasectomy when you know said daughter personally is bitch behavior. As is not reading a mission report all the way through. Sonya is an emotionally repressed soldier, duty comes before everything for her. That's kinda the point of her arc in MKX??? But now she's suddenly incapable of understanding the idea that military service is about duty and sacrifice), the weird sexual threats Shao Kahn dishes out (because what the FUCK NRS? That's never been an aspect of the character before. Forced marriage, yes, but you'll note that he has no offspring of his own. Also, that's just a little much for the tone of MK), and probably the Sindel Retcon.

I have no idea what we're getting at, other than "Dominic is semi competent at writing" and "Shawn might just be on par with Stephen King, but only if you're comparing his writing to the sewer scene in IT."

Dont worry, i dont mind at all! I do appreciate this!☺️

And yeah, Shawn is apsolutley to blame as well. I think that the whole NRS writing team hates the franchise tbh(not the whole, but the Ones who write the most important stuff for the games and media). I did hear he was one of the main writters for mk11.

You are right tho, his interpretation of the characters that he did in the comics is pretty much what is ruining them the most(before mk11 ofc). I first found mkx the game and then the comics and without the knowlage of what comic!Hanzo did, i Just Kinda Thought he was Just a vengfull ass, but then the comics are what made me hate him.

I realy want to know what all of these mfs are smoking, cuz it doesnt seem like its good for them.

I also heard that mkx the game and mkx the comic were in production at the same time, so whoever was in charge of making sure they are on the same Page didnt do a good job, since the comics are not even complitely Canon at the end. Mostly cuz they didnt fit in with the game's narative and the characters were off(even they noticed, but a little too late). The "Cassie is a product of a one night stand" is one of them, cuz, in the game, some of the dialogue seems to indicate that Sonya was realy in love with Johnny and they only divorced later cuz of their marriage problems.

Some of their choices for mk11 are just disturbing. Someone Thought of that and actualy presented it and then someone ALLOWED it!

And Ed Boon seems to not give a flying f about what people do to the franchise he has built. Just stands around and hopes it makes him money.

In advance, i apologize if i ended up a bit biased and its complitely alright and understandable if Someone disagrees with me. I am in no way a profesional and probably just letting my emotions do all talking. (imma be honest, im mostly mad cuz the torture Kuai and then make him the bad guy or imply his life is easy)

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Friday, February 9

BUFFY: Oh, that would be tragic, taking the fun out of slaying, stabbing, beheading. FAITH: Oh, like you don't dig it. BUFFY: (shrugs) I don't. FAITH: You're a liar. I've *seen* you. Tell me staking a vamp doesn't get you a little bit juiced. Come on, say it. (She stops and folds her arms, waiting for Buffy's answer. Buffy can't help but smile, and looks down to hide it.) FAITH: (laughs) You can't fool me. The look in your eyes right after a kill? You just get hungry for more. Buffy: (shakes her head) You're way off base.

~~Bad Girls~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

The Philologist by firemanwhenthefloodsrollback (Buffy/Spike, T)

A New Leaf by Pinkperson (Angel, Lindsey, T)

Mom's Taste by Pinkperson (Buffy, Joyce, G)

Rupert and Ripper by JenLRossman (Giles/Reader, Giles/OFC, Not Rated)

Bury My Heart in the Valley of Your Affection by CoffeeHunt (Angel/Spike, Spike/various others, E)

Buffyverse Flashfiction by NotASlayer (Anya, Buffy, unrated)

Bite Mark by Maxineeden (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

[Chaptered Fiction]

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Shadowed Suspicion - Ch. 411 by madimpossibledreamer (Jojo's Bizarre Adventure xover, T)

Xander the Teenage Witch: Something Wicked - Ch. 9 by v_o_x (Xander/Larry, T)

Aspect of Lust - Ch. 3 by Skylark62 (Buffy/Giles, E) COMPLETE!

Transmogrification - Ch. 3 by MamaBewear (Angel/Spike, T) COMPLETE!

Strings - Ch. 17 by aliceinwonderbra (Buffy/Faith, E) COMPLETE!

Back undead and little again - Ch. 4 by AnkiKind (Angel, Spike, Fred, M) COMPLETE!

Straight to the Heart - Ch. 4 by QuillBard (Buffy/Faith, M)

For The Dark - Ch. 6/7 by CharcoalTeeth (Buffy/Faith, E)

but this love is ours - Ch. 11/17 by ripslayer (Buffy/Faith, M)

Your deepest fears - Ch. 3 by JSBirsa (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Amara Time - Ch. 19 by Joan963z (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Goodbye to Everything That I Knew - Ch. 20 by fortes775 (Buffy/Spike, R)

When Ethan Rayne made Rambo - Ch. 8 by SplitEnz (Ethan, Xander, Rambo xover, FR15)

Your deepest fears - Ch. 3 by JSBirsa (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

[Images, Audio & Video]

Icons: #4 by twirlingcons (Buffy, Anya, worksafe)

Banner: Sweet and Short - Ch. 5 [only BTVS chapter] by captainamergirl (Buffy, worksafe)

Artwork: Watercolour painting of Xander Harris, from the Buffy episode The Pack. by ghostrabbit87 (Xander, worksafe)

Artwork: Dawn! Where are you? [Scooby Doo xover] by RemrysIIV (Scoobies, Giles, Buffy, worksafe)

Lego: "... We survived." by buffy_the_lego_brick_layer (ensemble, worksafe)

[Reviews & Recaps]

BtVS rewatch S7 - Lies My Parents Told Me pt 1 - by debbicles

February 9, 1999 - Bad Girls aired... by on-this-day-btvs

PODDCAST: 1.6 The Pack by Once More: A Rewatch Podcast

[Fandom Discussions]

enemies is such a bonkers hour of television what am I even supposed to do with myself... by lightsaroundyourvanity

OK, some final belated thoughts on Season 3... [Faith's role and murders] by coraniaid

... man, even in season 5 Spike and Buffy is so problematic to me. by kat--writes

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER | incorrect quotes by andremichaux

POLL: [best one episode to introduce someone to BTVS] by sulphur-and-honey

POLL: Vampire Media Guys Round 1: Edward Cullen or Spike by vampirewrestlinglover

Do you love Anya? updated by NoShip

[discussion of fandom's opinions of Xander] by jackBattlin

Who do you think was best for Willow and why? by RemrysIIV

Unpopular opinion (?): Angel was just fine [and not bad] on Buffy by sadhungryandvirgin

What are your favourite oneliners that you still use to this day? by RegisterAfraid

Wesley [kidnapping in ATS] by No-Dig-4658

What's Your Best BTVS or ATS Minor or One-Off Character(s)? by Big-Restaurant-2766

[About] Sunday in Season 4 (Freshman) by Dappich

Day 2: [9 square game] ... morally grey but is presented as a hero by OhWowMan22

POLL: Do you prefer Buffy as a big sister or an only child? by SafiraAshai

POLL: Who had the best looking apartment in Sunnydale? by jdpm1991

[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]

Wolf Pack [SMG show] Canceled at Paramount+ by The Hollywood Reporter

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Join the editor team :)

[aesopsbaby]

Um... so I've heard that you're comfortable with people talking to you about their ocs, and I wanted to hear your thoughts on mine, if that's okay with you ofc! <3

My oc is a Creepypasta one, so If you fin it a little cringey pls keep in mind that I created it on 2017 and I just went adding or removing things and/or aspects of her personality 😭

Okay, let's start from the beginning...

Her given name is Katherine, althought her "real" name is Variaton_LifeExperiment.07.-Attempt1.

She is an experiment realised by The Offenderman, she was made using parts of a recently dead body that he found in a Hospital and tons of wires and robotic parts and programings. She was created to guide young beautiful girls to him under the cover of asking them to take her to x place saying she was lost, so The Offenderman could woo them into spending a night with him.

Katherine was always LifeExperminent07 to The Offenderman, or at least for the first few months of her existence, because as time passed by her human brain began to work again thanks to the electric shots that sometimes the wires sent through her body, and so her past memories started to appear again along with human behaviors and emotions. He saw how LifeExperiment07 began to develop human emotions and thought acording to the age of the corpse he used to make her (a 13 y/o teenager exactly) and so he gave her a name, Katherine.

After some time, Offenderman had to go away for an indefinited period of time to "solve" things with The Splendorman and left Katherine with his most responsible brother, The Slenderman, and so she went to live with him temporaly.

(and since this oc was made in 2017 you can imagine that my oc started living strange yet funny adventures with all the fanon! creepypasta steryotypes we had back then lol).

Now that her backstory's been explained let's move into her appearence:

She is 5"3 and has medium dark brown hair, very messy dark brown hair, it gets kinda wavy in the ends but not to the point of being curly.

She only has one human eye, a blue one. The other one is covered by a piece of metal since he used the eye cavity as a space for conecting wires.

What is left of her human skin is white, a pale tone of white, but not to the point of looking like a glass of milk tho.

She has little freckles in her nose and right cheek (the left one is the one that has the eye covered with metal and so you can't see the freckles).

Her original clothes were a kinda torn apart hospital T-Shirt alongside with a pair of short jeans, black stockings and a pair of white converse. Anyways, when The Offenderman started to notice her more human-like behaviours he bought for her a new outfit, her current one, which is composed of a black oversized hoodie with a red rose drawn on it's center, a red skirt (the same color of the rose) and the same stockings this time with red doll-like shoes.

If we move onto her personality...

She is a very caring bionic little thing who loves to smile and to make people smile. She tends to laugh at everything that seems funny to her and can tell pretty good jokes.

Her intern program is connected to the internet so she is a very good help to plenty of the manor residents when they need information on something. She also has a selected dictionary that, to her much dismay, won't let her curse so the creeps like Jeff and Ben tend to (kind-heartedly) laugh or make fun of her when she can only bring herself to say "Zoinks!" when scared or frustrated (just like Shaggy from Scooby Doo lmao).

She can also mes a little with her programing and use her human eye as a projector on the white wall on game/movie nights.

She is also kind of hyperactive and as her two legs are mainly metal and half of her right arm is too she loves to go into places she shouldn't. Like climb onto trees, walk on the manors ceiling, hang from the spider lamp in the dining room or sleep on the top of the fridge 💀

That's all I think, Sorry for the rant but I just don't have nobody to listen to me talking about my ocs lol 😭

(can I be your 📹anon pls?)

You have no idea how much I absolutely LOVE and adore listening to ocs and ESPECIALLY CREEPYPASTA OCS??? I love them <3 I used to be a huge creepypasta fanatic as a child,,so I'm still one at heart even after so long :,) But I was mainly in marble hornets eheh

She sounds amazing and I LOVE THE SILLY THINGS SHE DOES <,3 her story is just 🤌🤌💞 fits so well and so well thought out!!

PLEASE YOU CAN SPAM ME WITH YOUR OCS FACTS I DONT MIND!! :,D its really interesting to read about!! And sure thing, you can be 📹anon!!

[vonkarma2]

14 + 20 + 22 + 25?

14.) whats your favorite part of this story/project?

if I’m being real ok this is the most horrible and shallow answer but honestly like. The aesthetics of everything. Most of which only exist in my mind but idk I like the colors I like the time period + clothing and the character designs. It’s really fun for me to think abt + to work on personally. Not that I don’t like the other aspects as well but that’s what stands out the most to me ig 😋 also some of the characters due to my insane favoritism. Like I only ever have one favorite at a time it’s rocio right now but literally everyone has had their turn. So they could all have been considered my favorite part of the story at one time or another for sure.

20.) your ocverse just got a movie trilogy a la hunger games style. how have they horribly mangled your message/theme so that the movies are now a showcase of what the original was condemning?

Rocio dramatic final sacrifice or something probably… they die forever and everyone is like wow… this was the right decision to make… there was no other way… this truly was our [working title pending]. It’s like part of the point of the story is looking for alternative ways to solve problems that aren’t self destruction + being able to change your mind so this ending would be like validating her preconcieved notions of despair + only listening to her own convictions as correct and necessary. 

22.) you have been given unlimited funds to make two adaptations of some sort, however you cannot make any other adaptations of any other sort. which two formats do you choose?

Easy ok 1) long ass novel series 2) comic book. The impulse is to say arcane style animated series but tbh I think the comic format would work better I think it’d be better at conveying a lot of the emotions in a more subtle + muted yet efficient way. Idk I like animation a lot ofc but IMO comics with really nice illustrations + that are well made and well written ofc can hit really hard they stick with you a lot I think. Bc there’s an interesting balance between seeing what’s on the page and having to imagine the details like the movement and how everything sounds yourself. Whereas with reading regular books the reader has to put in more effort + with watching tv they have to put in less. Long novel series self explanatory it’s long it fleshes everything out the pacing might not be great objectively but there’s just a lot of it there which would be fun for me :3

25.) best scene you havent yet written, but have an idea for?

😞😞😞 I used to have more specific ideas but ever since I dismantled it for parts and got rid of a solid 2/3 of the story now there’s just like scenes that have been there for years that I don’t want to talk abt bc I’d be repeating myself. And vibes. And things I have mediocre WIPs of. I’ll try to come up with something. I do have a couple of really vague general ideas. Lucia + Cirillo arguing over whether they should kill Rocio kind of funny. A little too darkly comedic (or if taken 100% seriously then very depressing but I feel like it is inherently a little funny) compared to what I was going for initially but whatever times change. I like the idea of conflict between 2 characters that start out with such a close relationship + both care deeply abt other people but their specific motivations make it so that’s what tears them apart or whatever idk it’s interesting. Cirillo defending Rocio + Lucia trying to protect everyone would be kind of sweet I feel like idk it’s not a very fleshed out idea but I do think it’s interesting :3

[sevlawless]

Ok then top 5 versions of Arabella!!!

PLSKSKSBDBDNDM thank u for actually sending this ur so real <3

under the cut because this is literally insane who reuses an oc this much .. but u could also ask WHY she fits SO well in everything i stick her in

ask me my top 5 anything!

1. infamous!arabella - LIKE ?????? i've said it before on here but i genuinely do feel like arabella was meant to be in this if she fits SO WELL it's baffling and in my mind arabella has ALWAYS wanted to be a musician so ofc i would put in here yk ? she fits perfectly and i am so brainrotted about infamous and this version of arabella i feel like in some if's i have to like . tone her down see twc but for this one she can fully be what i always imagined her being and it is SO FUN to explore that 🥺

2. twc!arabella - mostly because as much as i hate it arabella wouldn't exist without twc . AND I HAD HER ROMANCING ADAM AT FIRST CAN U BELIEVE ?? it still boggles my mind as if her n morgan aren't soulmates but anyways <3 and because the bobby n arabella lore in my brain is TOO MUCH i have a whole playlist for them i have wips abt them collecting dust ! anyways she is like ... a pg 13 version of herself in twc i feel LMFAO i can't have her be as mean n funny as she is but that is her origin story sadly i owe m*shka something ig (also arabella would never in her life stay in wayhaven she would have bolted as soon as ub came into her office let's be real and she would have NEVER been promoted to detective)

3. bodycount!arabella - this was before i stuck her in litg (love island the game) and just didn't feel like making a new oc but she adapted ! if there is one thing abt arabella she will have a dead end job she does not care abt and will desperately try to get out of lol and you know she would be the BEST reality show contestant bc of how messy n funny n flirty she is! people would love to hate her and vice versa! is she coping with all the murder? hell no but we will persevere LMFAO

4. when twilight strikes!arabella - this is partly because her n rylan are a match made in heaven and i love their interactions <3 also the supernatural aspect this girl can NEVER stay away from vamps! yk she has a motorcycle also LMFAO this version of arabella is what i desperately wanted for twc but u know that shit always falls short.

5. chop shop!arabella - THIS IS ONLY IN THE LAST SLOT BC THERE R ONLY LIKE 2 CHAPTERS OUT LMFAO BUT JUST KNOW I LOVE CHOP SHOP and again .. arabella with a dead end job that she can't escape >>>>> yes she punched maz in the face. yes she tried escaping through the window. yes she got so drunk she threw up on four's shoes. she is a MESS but that is fine! this version of her is also interesting bc she actually has a good relationship with her mom and you know she can't be arabella without mommy issues but it works! and it's actually refreshing LMFAO

honorable mention to litg!arabella because that was when i REALLY started having prophetic visions abt her being a singer and working that into her lore and it's not an if so </3

[transsexualhamlet]

okok 10 + 25 for bsd 17 for tolkien stuff n 19 for ons

choose violence ask game

ohohoheuehe yes indeedy

(bsd)

10. Worst part of fanon

oh god there's so many ofc. Obviously it has to be said the "sigma is three years old" thing is SO fucking tiring and everyone knows it. But also for the love of god the people who've gotten ahold of nikolai and fyodor who've made them "immature insane sadist with no inner thought" and "russian stereotype" i hate them i hate them i hate them you're the only one who's allowed to say things about them you're rhe only one who's right

25. Common fandom complaint you're sick of hearing

I have to say I just. Scroll past most Fandom Complaint type things because usually they're. Stupid as balls or I've heard them a thousand times before but. Can people stop complaining about Mori it's just time to move on from Mori

I also like, I get the point of them but I'm beginning to get really tired of the constant complaints about people not appreciating the female characters, I'm not gonna lie? I literally see stuff about them all the time this happens in legit every fandom especially anime ones

(tolkien)

17. There should be more of this type of fic/art

I'm actually kind of surprised that there seems to be so little fic/art that explores the real original aspects of Tolkien's world. Most notably, the physical environment of Arda, especially in the eras prior to the sun and the moon when everything was so significantly different than what we're used to. For a fandom that puts so much effort into creating personalities and rich inner lives for characters that are mentioned maybe three times, I rarely see people delving into the aspects of like, what it's like to live under the light of the trees (the direction of shadows are literally always the same, night is almost equally bright to day, how much light you get depends entirely upon where you're geographically located, if ur on tol eressea all ur light is coming from a tiny slit in the mountain) and how that would probably affect people's lives and what it looks like to live there. I see people try to work around it more than they explore it and I think it's a lost opportunity for some real interesting stuff. In that same vein, I would love to see more imagined about how Maiar and Valar work biologically and how life is different for elves because those guys are straight up real. It's really the imaginative bit of this fandom that I so rarely see showing up, and I think there's a potential for so much more of it!!

(ons)

19. You're mad/ashamed/horrified you actually kind of like...

THE WHOLE THING. THE WHOLE CONCEPT. OWARI NO SERAPH

I love ons and it just is so sickening that the concept and the world and the magic and the characters are so intriguing and then the execution still has to be DOGSHIT . i love the integration of science and religion I love the exploration of the horrors of living in a postapocalyptic military society I love the horrors of guren's situation and the body horrir and the queer longing and then the execution os SO BAD AND WRONG i just AUGH

Also Mahiru. Its such a problem I wish she was a girlboss but she is Not.

[ohhnorr]

Genshin impact is so painful now

I love this game to death, the open world and its lore, the dragons, the gameplay, and the land of liyue reeled me in. And ofc Kaeya was one of the major reasons I started playing. I've been playing the game like maybe a month since it was released. So, like the launch era (yes I take pride in that it was the best era).

Mondstadt was an amazing introduction, to the familiar buildings of Germany. And the beautiful design of the culture mixed with the signature of genshin's design made the characters brilliant. Now the first story event (reconciling stars??) made me heavily excited about all the lore that was hidden ingame.

When I got to liyue I was glued to the game, forever, I thought. This was china from a whole nother perspective for me as a Moroccan. And to see such an elegant (not heavily sexualized) character like Ninguang in that cutscene. Yo, I fell in love. Childe was cute too, but then the man that got me everything or anything related to excitement and admiration came upon us. Zhongli. Oh, he was the package, with a beautiful outfit reminding u of the Chinese culture as it has its own modern genshin signature twist. Stunning. It's such characters that get me obsessed with games. Next to all of the intricate details and lore plus gameplay.

To finish off, Inazuma. That was one beautiful region, from the flora to the architecture. The temples and that beautiful quest. Ayaka's design is by far one of my favourites. Her design has her culture written all over it and it's beautiful. In Inazuma, we have so many characters inspired by their Japanese ancestry and it looks stunning and recognizable.

But then the sumeru leaks dwindled along. I was super excited for sumeru, that was my downfall.

After seeing these 3 beautifully represented cultures i was so naïvely excited for Sumeru. And thats expected right, i was rightfully excited to see the beautiful culture of the middle east, north africa and SEA being equally represented like the other three.

But thats when i heard al haitham an important arab figure whose name is now being occupied by a white buff tech man with a fandom who couldnt even pronounce his name right and call him habibi ?

ATTENTION: REPRESENTING. SWANA

Unrecognizable. In no way was the representation of Sumeru as intricately thought out as with the other regions. We have been colorised, orientalized and sexualized once again.

I'm gonna start with the one hurting me the most, Dehya.

(Listen i only heard her name and i was so excited to see my culture in this game i was jumping and ecstatic to see representation--- wait she is a cat girl warrior tf)

Dehya's name is inspired by Dihya, the name of an Amazigh Algerian military queen (Kahena). So quite a name to live up to. The Imazighen (us North Africans) barely get any representation as it is. And when we do, we become drawn out as barbarians or savages (for example another "name" for us is Berbers which the Romans called us).

Now what does Dehya look like huh? Yes indeed she has been revealed to be some warrior cat with an wild and savage look. And as an amazigh i hoped to see at least a little of our beautiful culture respresented. Yet i didint recognize any cultural aspects in comparison to litteraly any character in this game.

While we actually wear alot of beautiful jewelry! And we also have beautiful tribal tattoos, and Dihya herself is such a stunning figure to take refrence from.

But instead we get practically nothing. So we are now standing up for her. And yet there are people complaining against us saying that sexualization happens to every character. But Dehya is litteraly oversexualized on such a level that no cultural aspect is recognizable nor a point of interest.

Look im aware of the sexualization of female characters in games especially in gacha's. And its mostly the reason why i dont play alot of them. Yet in genshin its more mild and the design still upholds cultural aspects. Like with Inazuman characters; https://www.reddit.com/r/Genshin_Impact/comments/o7eifv/inazuma_characters_design_analysis_spoilers_for/

And alot of Liyue characters;

This is why i ask of the bare minimum. To analyze and take interest in the amazigh culture. So Dehya's design could be oh so much more elevated and still badass. Because we as well would love to see a badass cat warrior with actual amazigh tattoos, clothes and jewelry.

Unfortunatly she isint the only problematic character.

Nilou, is an Persian dancer. Whilst having culturally accurate horns from the Sassanian period and a burst move from the gorgeous Persian dance. She has still been sexualized and orientalized. Dancers have always had their stomachs covered. Its culture, it's beautiful. By exposing the belly it's unrecognizable as Persian and becomes mixed with the Arab belly dancing outfit. If they want to sexualise her that badly then exposing the belly is the worst move- it erases the culture, it mixes with another culture, it sexualizes and orientalizes. It becomes a problem.

(Cr: demonscallme on twitter)

Tighnari, an amazigh name supposedly Moroccan. With ears from the fennec an animal from the western desert. Other than that his outfit and design is all over the place. In genshin they are more than capable of making modern day clothing mix with cultural themes. Yet this is not working at all. Nothing is recognizable nor representative of anything amazigh nor arab. Its just a jumbled mess. Disappointing in comparison to the modern clothing and cultural mixture of design with for example zhongli.

Dori is the worst of all the characters. She is orientalized and sexualized. No one encounters representation except seeing a  fucking joke. She has no cultural aspects that are recognizable instead she is the spitting image of an orientalized character. They have a huge region and countries with countless cultures to take interest in. Yet they went with none and followed stereotypes. Her clothing is also grossly sexualized for a child model. It's disappointing how we are being spat on, our cultures are being treated like a joke.

Now a major argument against anything related to the word orientalism had been "it's fictional".

Stereotyping and racism are stated under orientalism. When we say it's racist, stereotyped, and so orientalized it is wrong, it should not be spread around as if it's nothing. It hurts to see and it's disrespectful. So we SWANA deserve just like the german, Chinese and Japanese to be respected and upheld with the same input into our designated region. This game isin't so fictional anymore.

Colourism, all characters until now are pale. Not denying it. We have in the swana region, people of all colours. If u are gonna represent characters from that region we expect different skin tones. To be recognizing oneself is an amazing experience. And it would be representing swana perfectly. It does not hurt it only embraces. That's why we are speaking up about this. Look I'm willing to wait, to take this back, the moment we get a broad set of people from different skin colours. Its not hard to do, it does not contradict anything. So why are people still pressed? Aren't we supposed to break free from the stupid standard of the pale is elevated. There are white Arabs yes, I'm not saying we can't have any pale characters. But with a region as broad as the swana region. There are bound to be some different skin tones and that should not be ignored.

To conclude,

we want to have equal input into our region as there has been done with the previous three. We want people to see our beautiful cultures. And above all, we want to be respected. Yes, we cannot have everything, but it does not hurt to try. It does not hurt to speak out. And you who are against this notion, you are not achieving freemogems out of this. You are not changing our minds. You are not the only one in the world. Broaden your perspectives. For the sake of an exceptional game.