#ea historian

[el-ffej]

Welp, I'm one of those remaining dinosaurs who still has an optical burner, and use M-DISC optical media for long-term archiving. Quarterly archives of my work and personal documents, and annual dumps of new stuff I've gotten (including favorite AO3 fanfic works, digital comix, and a lot of fanart from tumblr). Supposedly they should last for a few hundred years, at least (but obviously untested, so *shrugs*).

I'm only keeping them around for my use during my own (ever-dwindling) lifetime, and to deal with paranoid disaster nightmares; but I must say that I find it amusing to think that, a thousand years from now, future historians will be reduced to having to pick through my Unix tar backups for clues to our culture.

Assuming they can decode jpeg, PDF, mp3 and mp4 formats, they're going to assume modern Americans paid an inordinate amount of attention to Crash Test Dummies, Columbo, Kaiju films, and any of the many lesbian romantic relationships on She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.

okay so listen, I've railed about this before, but I'll rail about it again

We say the internet is forever, but also, its not.

Servers die, data gets lost, technology changes and old file types can't be read.

Say the worst happens. Solar flares, EMP, whatever. Our entire online history could be lost. Every beautiful artwork, every fic, every story, every news, all those photos and records of historical events, all the memes, they could be wiped out.

In a thousand years this could be a dark age, where huge parts of our cultures and our knowledge is lost because it was all digital.

We need to preserve our physical media, AND preserve ways to access and read it. Not just for us but for the future to know we existed and what we were like.

[staff]

We Asked an Expert...in Herpetology!

People on Tumblr come from all walks of life and all areas of expertise to grace our dashboards with paragraphs and photographs of the things they want to share with the world. Whether it's an artist uploading their speed art, a fanfic writer posting their WIPs, a language expert expounding on the origin of a specific word, or a historian ready to lay down the secrets of Ea-nasir, the hallways of Tumblr are filled with specialists sharing their knowledge with the world. We Asked an Expert is a deep dive into those expert brains on tumblr dot com. Today, we’re talking to Dr. Mark D. Scherz (@markscherz), an expert in Herpetology. Read on for some ribbeting frog facts, including what kind of frog the viral frog bread may be based on.

Reptiles v Amphibians. You have to choose one.

In a battle for my heart, I think amphibians beat out the reptiles. There is just something incredibly good about beholding a nice plump frog.

In a battle to the death, I have to give it to the reptiles—the number of reptiles that eat amphibians far, far outstrips the number of amphibians that eat reptiles.

In terms of ecological importance, I would give it to the amphibians again, though. Okay, reptiles may keep some insects and rodents in check, but many amphibians live a dual life, starting as herbivores and graduating to carnivory after metamorphosis, and as adults they are critical for keeping mosquitos and other pest insects in check.

What is the most recent exciting fact you discovered about herps?

This doesn’t really answer your question, but did you know that tadpole arms usually develop inside the body and later burst through the body wall fully formed? I learned about this as a Master’s student many years ago, but it still blows my mind. What’s curious is that this apparently does not happen in some of the species of frogs that don’t have tadpoles—oh yeah, like a third of all frogs or something don’t have free-living tadpoles; crazy, right? They just develop forelimbs on the outside of the body like all other four-legged beasties. But this has only really been examined in a couple species, so there is just so much we don’t know about development, especially in direct-developing frogs. Like, how the hell does it just… swap from chest-burster to ‘normal’ limb development? Is that the recovery of the ancestral programming, or is it newly generated? When in frog evolution did the chest-burster mode even evolve?

How can people contribute to conservation efforts for their local herps?

You can get involved with your local herpetological societies if they exist—and they probably do, as herpetologists are everywhere. You can upload observations of animals to iNaturalist, where you can get them identified while also contributing to datasets on species distribution and annual activity used by research scientists.

You can see if there are local conservation organizations that are doing any work locally, and if you find they are not, then you can get involved to try to get them started. For example, if you notice areas of particularly frequent roadkill, talking to your local council or national or local conservation organizations can get things like rescue programs or road protectors set up. You should also make sure you travel carefully and responsibly. Carefully wash and disinfect your hiking boots, especially between locations, as you do not want to be carrying chytrid or other nasty infectious diseases across the world, where they can cause population collapses and extinctions.

Here are some recent headlines. Quick question, what the frog is going on in the frog world? 

Click through for Mark’s response to these absolutely wild headlines, more about his day-to-day job, his opinion on frog bread, and his favorite Tumblr.

✨D I S C O V E R Y✨

There are more people on Earth than ever before, with the most incredible technology that advances daily at their disposal, and they disperse that knowledge instantly. That means more eyes and ears observing, recording, and sharing than ever before. And so we are making big new discoveries all the time, and are able to document them and reach huge audiences with them.

That being said, these headlines also showcase how bad some media reporting has gotten. The frogs that scream actually scream mostly in the audible range—they just have harmonics that stretch up into ultrasound. So, we can hear them scream, we just can’t hear all of it. Because the harmonics are just multiples of the fundamental, they would anyway only add to the overall ‘quality’ of the sound, not anything different. The mushroom was sprouting from the flank of the frog, and scientists are not really worried about it because this is not how parasitic fungi work, and this is probably a very weird fluke. And finally, the Cuban tree frogs (Osteocephalus septentrionalis) are not really cannibals per se; they are just generalist predators who will just as happily eat a frog as they will a grasshopper, but the frogs they are eating are usually other species. People seem to forget that cannibalism is, by definition, within a species. The fact that they are generalist predators makes them a much bigger problem than if they were cannibals—a cannibal would actually kind of keep itself in check, which would be useful. The press just uses this to get people’s hackles up because Westerners are often equal parts disgusted and fascinated by cannibalism. 

What does an average day look like for the curator of herpetology at the Natural History Museum of Denmark?

No two days are the same, and that is one of the joys of the job. I could spend a whole day in meetings, where we might be discussing anything from which budget is going to pay for 1000 magnets to how we could attract big research funding, to what a label is going to say in our new museum exhibits (we are in the process of building a new museum). Equally, I might spend a day accompanying or facilitating a visitor dissecting a crocodile or photographing a hundred snakes. Or it might be divided into one-hour segments that cover a full spectrum: working with one of my students on a project, training volunteers in the collection, hunting down a lizard that someone wants to borrow from the museum, working on one of a dozen research projects of my own, writing funding proposals, or teaching classes. It is a job with a great deal of freedom, which really suits my work style and brain.

Oh yeah, and then every now and then, I get to go to the field and spend anywhere from a couple of weeks to several months tracking down reptiles and amphibians, usually in the rainforest. These are also work days—with work conditions you couldn’t sell to anyone: 18-hour work days, no weekends, no real rest, uncomfortable living conditions, sometimes dangerous locations or working conditions, field kitchen with limited options, and more leeches and other biting beasties than most health and welfare officers would tolerate—but the reward is the opportunity to make new discoveries and observations, collect critical data, and the privilege of getting to be in some of the most beautiful and biodiverse places left on the planet. So, I am humbled by the fact that I have the privilege and opportunity to undertake such expeditions, and grateful for the incredible teams I collaborate with that make all of this work—from the museum to the field—possible.

The Tibetan Blackbird is also known as Turdus maximus. What’s your favorite chortle-inducing scientific name in the world of herpetology?

Among reptiles and amphibians, there aren’t actually that many to choose from, but I must give great credit to my friend Oliver Hawlitschek and his team, who named the snake Lycodryas cococola, which actually means ‘Coco dweller’ in Latin, referring to its occurrence in coconut trees. When we were naming Mini mum, Mini scule, and Mini ature, I was inspired by the incredible list that Mark Isaac has compiled of punning species names, particularly by the extinct parrot Vini vidivici, and the beetles Gelae baen, Gelae belae, Gelae donut, Gelae fish, and Gelae rol. I have known about these since high school, and it has always been my ambition to get a species on this list.

If you were a frog, what frog would you be and why?

I think I would be a Phasmahyla because they’re weird and awkward, long-limbed, and look like they’re wearing glasses. As a 186 cm (6’3) glasses-wearing human with no coordination, they quite resonate with me.

Please rate this frog bread from 1/10. Can you tell us what frog it represents?

With the arms inside the body cavity like that, it can basically only be a brevicipitid rain frog. The roundness of the body fits, too. I’d say probably Breviceps macrops (or should I say Breadviceps?) based on those big eyes. 7/10, a little on the bumpy side and missing a finger and at least one toe.

Please follow Dr. Mark Scherz at @markscherz for even more incredibly educational, entertaining, and meaningful resources in the world of reptiles and amphibians.

[magalhaessims]

MAGALHAESSIMS TOWNIES SAVE FILE | LITE CC

It’s finally here! Ever since I started sharing my townie makeovers, this has been the number one request! It took me a while, but here it is: an entire Save File featuring all of my townie makeovers, from Willow Creek to Nordhaven!

I hope you all enjoy it as much as I loved creating it. Feel free to tag me if you use them in your game. I’d love to see it! 🧡💛

This is a Lite CC Save File, which means you’ll need to download the custom content separately and place it in your Mods folder for the townies to appear as intended.

DOWNLOAD

Please make sure to place all CC in your Mods folder—not the Saves folder—along with the additional CC linked below:

DEFAULTS (optional) Aqua Trigger Eyes V2 & Occult Eyes | Pufferfish Skinblend

SKIN DETAILS (highly recommended, but excluded since these are more prone to breaking after game patches) Aqua Trigger Eyes (Non Default) & Slit Pupil | BARE Skintone | LORE Occult Skintone | Chronos 2.0 Skinblend | 3D Eyelashes: 01 (Skin Detail) & Historian Recolor| Body Hair

CAS MODS (recommended) EA Eyelashes Remover | Presets & Sliders | CAS Height Slider + Extras | Misc Sliders: 01, 02 & 03 | Rings Overrides: 01, 02, 03, 04 & 05 | CAS Unlocked: 01, 02, 03, 04 & 05

My content will always be free and right away available to everyone, but if you want to, you can show your support through my Ko-Fi Page. Your donation will always be much appreciated!

Thank you for reblogging: @mmfinds @alwaysfreecc @maxismatchccworld @s4townies @public-ccfinds and everyone else for helping me boost this post!

[levissslutt]

Warnings: oh nothing just fluff hehe ;)

Ms. Honey was everyones favorite teacher, she actually cared about her job. She didn't view he students as a burden, but an extension to her career. She saw each and every one of them as a potential little historians, saving the world in one way or another.

This attitude earned Ms. Honey the respect and likes of almost all the students and faculty in the school, especially one particular parent who was apart of PTA.

"How you doin Ms. Honey, looking as pretty as ever." The man drawled.

The women turned towards her admirer.

"If you keep talking to me like that folks, got think we up to no good, Mr Fatu."

The man walking up to Ms. Honey only grinned and took her hand in his, kissing the back of it ever so lightly.

"Awww now Ms. Honey what would be the harm in that." He hummed out, raising an eyebrow at the amused woman.

"Well see now you've got to try a little harder than a little eyelash batting to get my attention Mr. Fatu." She tilted her head at him, the fluorescent lights catching her ears, littered in piercings, that Mr. Fatu loved oh so very much.

His grinned widened, dropping her hand softly, not once did either of them break contact.

The world around Ms. Honey and Mr. Fatu always blurred into white noise when they where together. Given the setting they where never able pursue the ideas that lingered deep, deep in the minds of either adult.

Every single moment was so incredibly charged with unspoken words and refrained touches, that neither of them knew how much longer they could keep this facade up.

Especially the way those spring colors fall off of her so elegantly. Her sundress obviously appropriate for work, but she was so damn beautiful, he imagined every curve and dip, fondly eyeing Ms. Honey. She looked perfect, like a trophy, or a piece of art you were meant to look at on a shelf.

As the afternoon came to an end at work, she found herself on the bench just outside of the school, facing the garden. Shelved to come admire the miniature garden the kids worked so hard on, they took such pride in it, it made her heart warm.

"Thought Id find you out here."

Smiling, she turned towards the voice, watching as he walked her way. His little bo favored him so much she always smile at herself seeing where his little ones features came from. Especially when they were learning something he was interested in, his eyes would sparkled and his nose would crinkle, just like his fathers was as he approached Ms. Honey.

"How you doing miss thang."

She chuckled at him "you and these nicknames."

He finally reached her sitting too close, but jussst close enough.

"What you don't like my nicknames Ms. Honey."

His voice carried a seductive undertone that made her heart skip a beat. "You know all these nicknames you throwing my way, you might just have to take me out if you keep it up."

The grin on that mans face was nothing short of wicked. All pearly whites showing. "What you saying girl."

You shrugged, facing the sky, she was not giving him the satisfaction of admitting her feelings first.

"Oh I get it sweet thang, you being stubborn."

He chuckled more to himself than to her. " Its ok tho, Imma work for you, you too special."

Ms. Honey finally turned to fully look at the man. His caramel dipped skin was glowing on the afternoon sun. He had his arm draped on the backside of the bench, that was causing his Cuban chain to glisten perfectly.

Although they never shared their feelings for each other, or even so much as kissed, in this moment the two were drunk in the presence of each other. He wanted nothing more than to drizzle her all over him.

To her better judgment, before she could stop herself, she reached for his beard, perfectly salted in all the right places, and pulled him into a passionate kiss.

He didn't dare object or pull back.

In fact it was all he could do to keep from grinning again into the kiss. After what felt like a lifetime of being entangled with the man, they sat back to look at each other, lips swollen and eyes filled with want.

"Now how about that date Ms. Honey."

divider from @strangergraphics-archive or @strangergraphics

[lynnlyrae]

The lost name

I think Vanitas’s real name could be Deucalion. 

In this text I’ll cover my reasons for choosing this name, its connection to the story of Noah and the myth of Pandora and how would it correlate with the relationship of Vanitas and Noé. 

Posting this as an actual answer to @scar-eyejolteon14 as promised here. 

The lore of Deucalion 

It all started when I was wondering what kind of name I could give Vani if I were to draw him as a Chasseur (ordinary human, who’ve never met Luna and never inherited their name). I began with the most obvious thing: checking Vani’s wiki page for existing details and references. I went with his zodiak sign, Aquarius, as the staring point, because stars and celestial bodies are recurring theme in VnC and well why not?.. 

The next obvious place to go is wiki page for Aquarius. Here we come across a fun thing: Babylonian star catalogues. They contained lists of stars, constellations, and planets. 

I found the first picture on a somewhat strange website, but whatever. This is a fragment of a circular star calendar, which belonged to the library of King Ashurbanipal (668-627 BC) in Nineveh. The second picture is a star list, found in Uruk (320-150 BC). It had information on all constellations such as names, number of stars, their distance, etc. Just so we understand that astronomy was a big deal there. 

And yes, the capital of Babylonia was Babel — that one city with the tower (The Book of Genesis, Genesis 11) which is referenced in VnC. 

(Ch. 21) 

What did Babylonian astronomers think of Aquarius? Well, they associated this constellation with the Ea. “The Great One” is his title. He’s also known as Enki, god of magic, fertility, creation, etc., who was originally a water god (and his temple name E-apsu means “house of the watery deep", idk I think it sounds really cool). The water theme is not random: Aquarius was also associated with floods. Water was sacred, but also deadly: floods were source of destruction. 

Later, a Latin author Gaius Julius Hyginus quoted an Alexandrian historian Hegesianax that Deucalion is to be identified with Aquarius, "because during his reign such quantities of water poured from the sky that the great Flood resulted." Again, we see the idea of destructive flood. But where does Deucalion bring us? To Noah. Or Noé, if you will. 

(Ch. 1) 

Deucalion and Noah 

Both Deucalion and Noah are central figures of the classical flood myth, which exists in various cultures. While these two are probably among the most popular figures, there are other examples, including Utnapishtim, who was warned by the god Ea (who also created humans among other things) about the flood and instructs him to build a boat and save his family and animals. The stories of Deucalion and Noah follow the same pattern with some minor variations. But Deucalion is the one who is associated with Aquarius, the constellation that symbolizes the coming of the flood and all its terrors, while Noah/Noé is associated with salvation of human race and all living things. 

Deluge, 1864, by Aivazovsky. This painting depicts a beginning of a biblical story about the near-end of human race. It’s pretty much the same in other versions of the story. 

Deucalion and Pandora 

What’s interesting, Deucalion’s myth is directly related to Pandora’s myth. Deucalion is usually described as the son of Prometheus, while Deucalion’s wife Pyrrha was the daughter of Pandora. And Pandora’s myth is among the core themes of “Pandora hearts”. If we consider the possibility of VnC and PH’s universes being connected, the idea of Deucalion being Vani’s true name would also make sense… For example, this theory covers the topic.  

Left – Noah gives Thanks for Deliverance, 1901, by Domenico Morelli. Here we see Noah from the Old Testament, with his family, as they give thanks for their safe deliverance back to land after surviving the flood. A double rainbow signifies God’s presence.

Right – Deucalion and Pyrrha, 1636–1637, by Rubens. This painting shows a scene from the story of Deucalion and Pyrrha as told by Ovid in Metamorphoses. After surviving the disaster, they had to throw stones over their shoulders, each of which became a new human being.

Even if worlds of Pandora Hearts and Vanitas no Carte don’t exist in the same universe, there clearly is thematical relation between the two stories, one being about hope and another about despair. What’s even more interesting, there was actually a whole discourse about what’s hidden in Pandora’s jar: is it true hope or is it actually an illusion of salvation which hurts even more than actual despair? The translation of the word elpis, the spirit of hope in the jar, is actually neutral in its meaning. It’s simply “hope”, not inherently “good” or “bad”, which leaves a lot of space for interpretation in media. 

Vanitas and Noé

Volume 3 cover implies that Vanitas will be marked by an Archiviste. It’s unknown whether this Archiviste would ne Noé or Machina or even some other. I hope it’s gonna be Noé, because it would break a specific border between them and it will definitely be very dramatic, but Machina might do it for the sake of obtaining information, which is her main thing. Anyway, regardless of who does this, when and why, I believe that this moment is probably the real possibility for revealing the true name of Vanitas. 

On a side note, it would also be kinda interesting if Noé gets to know Vani’s true name, but it will still be hidden from us, the readers. There’s is also a possibility that Vani’s true name will not be revealed even in this situation. His goal is to erase everything related to the Vampire of the Blue Moon, and I guess that would mean erasing everything about himself too. But in Ch1 he promises to stay here even after he is gone, so it might imply that at least someone will get to remember him — perhaps as Xxxx the human, not Vanitas, kin of the Blue Moon. Which might mean going against Luna’s request… 

(Ch. 50) 

And, well, Xxxx could de Deucalion. Just think about it: wouldn’t it be cool if both Vani and Noé were given names with similar symbolism behind it and later both assume the moniker of Vanitas?

Plus the whole “loop” thing, like “memory loop” theory and “time loop theory” (here and here) again adds to the idea of connection between them. The loop where ends and beginnings melt into each other, like Ouroboros eating its own tail. The loop between Vanitas and Noé, where they will have to understand pointlessness and hopefulness of life – and what does in mean to save and be saved. 

The ultimate hope of survival becomes fleeting dream for all caught in this loop. But every dream is destined to end, as pointed by Saint Germain. And what will happen, when Vanitas and Noé will have to wake up from the dream of their own? What will prevail - death and futility of life or salvation and rebirth? 

(Ch. 55) 

[seeker-ophelia]

Ophelia’s Review, Part Two: Thedas, The Dragon Age System

Some things I need to get off my chest.

One. This does not feel like a Dragon Age game.

Two. That doesn’t mean I didn’t like it.

Three. I have a lot of feelings right now but I’ll come back when my brain has re-hydrated itself.

(I finished Veilguard at 10PM on Monday, and wrote this the morning after. And its still true, 5 days later.)

TLDR at the bottom

[Read Part 1 Here]

I do miss the heady blend of power, intrigue, danger, and sex that permeates these events games.

[Photo Cred: Dumped, Drunk & Dalish]

Because Veilguard is missing all of that.

Listen, it’s good. Great even. I loved it. Cried. Laughed. Dropped my controller and paced around the room for 5 minutes in anger and angst. Drank a bottle of wine in the bathtub after Solavellan’s happy ending (and my Rooks sad one). But this is not a Dragon Age game.

It is Dragon Age ADJACENT. Similar of course. The backbone is there. The direction, the vector, is there. But the execution…

Dragon Age (Origins through Inquisition) for me, was A Song of Ice and Fire. I love that series.

It was deep. It was harsh. It was MEAN. If offered me hope and then snatched it away. The world-building, the lore crafting, was intense and deep and required attention and critical thought. The characters were nuanced and troubled and real.

Veilguard, for me, is Eragon.

I also loved that series. It is pure and good and takes me on a journey through a fantastical land of dragons and heroes, of good versus evil, of mysteries and magic. But, it is juvenile. Its simple. It doesn’t try to be anything other than it is. Veilguard, is shallow.

The essence is there, beneath the surface Veil, pressing and bursting at the seams to escape, but is being held back by a gentrification of Thedas, the Tranquility of the Dragon Age world, if you would.

The Lore

I don’t want to go into to much about it (its going to be its own post, I think), but I love the lore of Dragon Age. I love learning about it. I love the questions, the pervasive theme that history is only as true as the historians who write it; things get lost, muddled, confused through and over time. And Veilguard, kind of feels like I’m being spoonfed? Like I’m a baby.

I think EA did BioWare a disservice by making this game for new players, instead of assuming that RPG players have the intelligence and wherewithal to comprehend at least a little bit of lore and history, or at the very least, introduce a cannon world state. You can have your cake and eat it to, but, as Veilguard shows, it diminishes the quality of the cake as a whole.

This game is an Action RPG. This is a game about combat. For the record, the first, second, third, 17th time I saw my Rook in their Takedown Animation, I said, out loud, ‘Dragon Age, G.O.T.Y.’ I swore at my inability to time dodges properly, I planned and schemed with primers and detonators and damage types. This is very reminiscent of The Witcher and Assassins Creed, for me (I have not played a ton of games, im sure there are others more like it). It was fun, it was challenging. But. This is not Dragon Age. Its Something Else™.

Dragon Age: Dark Origins

When people say Dragon Age is a dark game, they’re not talking about the gameplay, or the graphics, or the art direction.

Dragon Age deals with dark subject matter. Slavery. Racism. Religion. Politics. Power dynamics. Mages versus Templars. Addiction. Death. War. An unstoppable contagion that deals death indiscriminately. THAT’S what makes Dragon Age Dark.

These stories are deep. They’re hard. And yeah, they weren’t always handled properly (lookin’ at you, Gaider), but doing something wrong… looks like it might actually be better than pretending it doesn’t exist.

As a Sollavellan, I’m unspeakably glad they didn’t yassify Solas. He is still an unlikable character who has committed unspeakable war crimes. And we got a redemption arc that did not end in death. That’s a win for me.

But they kept his darkness at the expense of lightening literally EVERYTHING ELSE in Thedas.

What the fuck happened to Zevran’s Crows? I got the Puss-in-Boots-Found-Family Assassin Agency.

Where are the slaves in Minrathous? Where’s the trip to the upper city, gilded and clean, so we can compare it to the slums of Dock Town (which was not bad at all). Where is the “Rescue the Rabbits” Quest? Tevene Politics boils down to Dorian or Mave, “bad” or “good,” change from within, or power to the people.

The whole Qunari are just Bad™ now? The Antaam warriors turned into… what the fuck is even that? You know the advertising theory where women’s bodies are shown but not their heads or faces? This feels like that. Giant Grey Muscular Powerful Bodies with NoFace. THAT’S the Antaam? The Tamassrins really eliminate every embodiment of individuality from them? They’re just Storm Troopers?

And ‘Thal’enaste, what a lost plot thread to not have Lace and Solas meet in the deep roads, or Kal-Sharok, or fucking anywhere. Instead, you give her one little blurb of “companion banter.” Weak.

Where’s the racism towards the Elves? What happened to that? What happened to Dark Thedas? Oh, its actually all in the South, and thats destroyed now (lets put a pin in that for a minute).

The Companions

I have written and re-written this section 3 times. Its too long. I don’t need to mention them all. How to summarize them.

If you read my part 1, you’ll remember how I fell in love with Dragon Age 2, years after its release (after playing Inquisition, in fact), and how I fucking hard I fell for those very real, very troubled, very nuanced characters.

Anders and his quest for freedom, Fenris and his quest for vengeance. Merrill and her quest for knowledge, Isabella and her quest for… other cultures relics, I guess?

I hated the graphics in 2. It was the characters that carried that game. I don’t know how BioWare wrote them, but they failed to do that in VG.

My favourite character in Inquisition? Surprisingly, its not Solas. Its not even Cole, or the Iron Bull, or Dorian.

Its Cassandra.

I love her. Her story is SO complex. Her devotion to the Seekers, to the Andrastian Faith, is so pure, yet it does not impede her friendship with a Dalish elf who believes in gods that she does not. It does not stop her form forming close bonds with other people from different backgrounds, and although she is fearless in calling out the darkness in her own faith, its sins and its rot, she admits to her Herald that she is envious of the Heralds conviction.

Which character in Veilguard has that nuance?

The necromancer afraid of death? The Elvhen Engineer with ADHD? The literal Demon of Vyantium Puss-In-Boots? The smirking detective? The questioning Qunari? Or the gruff monster daddy?

Listen. I read trash. Smut, romantasy... I read objectively bad literature, for fun, all the time. And, I have a fantastic imagination. It is my own personal fleshing out of theses characters that saved me in this game.

But I should not have had to do that.

The Keep

I cannot explain to you, in words, how important those one-off codices and cameos are.

(Don’tThinkAboutIsabela Don’tThinkAboutIsabela Don’tThinkAboutIsabela).

*Grimaces* Okay.

I can speak no more about this. I am already writing a “Keep” DLC for Veilguard.

I would have rather lived in your world state than this abomination. Which leads me to…

‘The Soft Reboot’

So. The South is Gone. That’s the answer. The Hero of Ferelden. Hawke and their siblings. Everything is wiped clean, just as EA asked. All of the South, turned to the Hissings Wastes and the Anderfels, because of the Blight and the hubris of the Gods. What a tragedy. DA5 looks likes its overseas. Cool.

You know what would have been a better reboot?

Spite, taking over Lucanis’ body, walking through the Ossuary, or the catacombs of Minrathous, explaining to Rook how the heavy emotions of People manifest in the fade. The birth of a spirit. Or a demon.

Taash, meeting a spirit face to face in Arlathan, recoiling in disgust, until they help the spirit on its journey, and Taash begins to question their whole worldview surrounding demons. I- I mean spirits.

Emmerich, taking Rook on a lecture-walk through the fade, meeting spirits, solving puzzles, ‘you know, its not so bad in here, what’s the big deal?’

Bellara, instead of discovering Cyrian only to lose him, meets the demon formed of his death, and how to help him back into a spirit.

Neve, following a trail of wisps in the fade, learning things, memories, feelings, songs. Neve, reveling in the pure beauty of the wisps, until they lead her to Vir Dirthara, and her eyes grow wide, what is this place?

Davrin and Assan, after hard training in the High Anderfels, take a break, and while Rook and Davrin flirt, or joke, Assan finds a long string, and begins to play, the string growing and lengthening and thickening until a soft, feminine whisper fills the air, I Am So Sorry… And Rook and Davrin meet a strange spirit, a perfect combination of protection and regret, and they help her find her way home.

Harding, palms flat on the stone, pushing, working, threading her magic into a titan, tilting her face up to Rook, eyes shining blue, speaking in a thousand voices at once, let me show you what was lost, and for a millisecond, we FEEL Isatunoll.

The Dwarvhen was tranquil’d from their Memories, but the Elvhen were tranquil’d from the Fade.

And when Solas turns from Rook in Minrathous, I am sorry for this final betrayal, he is puzzled at the lack of retaliation, and turns to see the Veilguard, standing behind Rook, eyes locked on the giant eye-shaped rift in the sky.

Why are you not stopping me? He asks the group of misfits.

And Rook answers, I can admit when I was wrong. Tear it the fuck down.

And Solas, battered, bruised, and bloody, smiles, brandishes his ritual dagger with a flashy flip, banishes the blight, and tears down the Veil.

When I learned there were only going to be 3 choices carried over from the rest of the series into Veilguard, I tagged my complaint posts with something.

#You Cannot Dangle A Carrot In Front Of Me For 10 Years And Then Not Be Surprised At My Anger In Discovering It Was A Painted Dowel

Let me reiterate. I enjoyed this game. It was fun for me. I’m in the middle of my second playthrough and am planning a third, and a fourth. But this is NOT a Dragon Age game.

This is an EA game. And its good. But it could have been everything.

Bellanaris.

TLDR;

How torn I feel; lobotomized, rendered tranquil, separated from the memories, lore, and spirits, of the old Dragon Age, while still, like the Veilguard, wanting this world to endure.

Var lath vir suledin, BioWare.

For now.

[lostinquisitor]

what's ameridan's relationship with drakon like? is it as close as history would have it? does he agree with drakon's expansion of orlais and the spread of the chant? does he think it could/should be done differently?

open inbox !!

the knife is sweet when it splits his palm, his brother’s open hand to clasp sweeter yet. embers spit witness as they drip into the fire, the way of kordillus’ grandfathers, but ameridan knows no anxiety. the only force that binds him here is love.

this oath i do give freely up to thee; the one who dares to spill thy blood spills mine. from all thy foemen shall i shelter thee; away from all dark places shall i redeem. now let my hours of life hold fast to thine. o maker mine pray hear me — be it ever thus!

history doesn’t have the half of it.

they’re in the dictionary next to ‘homoeroticism’.

drakon is to ameridan as jonathan is to david. as achilles is to patroclus. temujin to jamukha. eliwood to hector. odin and loki. guan yu, liu bei, and zhang fei.

if you were to read about their lives you’d probably say to yourself what a flaming pair of homosexuals and then a swarm of Historians™ would rise from their graves and push up their glasses and go ackshuallyyy they were just close friends —

they were far more than close friends. they were sworn brothers. they made blood-oaths to each other. they considered these vows to be holy, and just as if not more binding than those they made to their actual wives. with our modern sensibilities we could accurately describe them as queerplatonic. even when they were separated by entire nations one always had the sense that the other wasn't far behind.

this was fairly well-known by their contemporaries. we see codex entries stating that orlesian nobles assumed that ameridan would have a place on drakon's council with them, even though he is a foreign agent. a dalish mage had a reserved position in orlais' government with apparently not that much argument. inquisitor or not, that's insane! sources from the dales are less flattering in their reception of their bond, openly accusing ameridan of having conflicting and borderline treasonous interests, but even they don't deny the loyalty ameridan and drakon show each other.

by the dragon age historians had begun to debate this, in part due to deliberate suppression during the glory age. in the years leading to the exalted march on the dales, it suited propagandists to emphasize ameridan's elvhenness, exaggerating his heathen and untrustworthy nature. once hatred and distrust of elves was well-woven into the social fabric and the exalted march was over, they simply removed any references to him beyond the fact that a man named ameridan once lived and served as inquisitor. the end. with few surviving orlesian sources and next to no surviving dalish sources, history has only questions: were they lovers? kin? enemies? acquaintances at best? no one knows anymore.

they were soulmates; ea nas'falon.

we must keep in mind three things when it comes to examining orlais' early expansion: first, drakon believes (and ameridan likely also believes) that the return of the maker is an imminent event. not only could it happen in their lifetimes, they want it to happen in their lifetimes. second, the tevinter imperium has been greatly weakened but still remains a threat, particularly centers of power in parts of thedas that andraste's rebellion did not reach. these outposts are well-established, self-sufficient, and have had firm hold on the local populaces for generations. third, as the second blight builds it becomes increasingly obvious that a large, unified, and dedicated force is going to be needed to put it down. they have to manage that without leaving themselves vulnerable to any enemies that would take advantage of their distraction. when ameridan says that if the dales don't come to orlais' aid they will lose everything they have gained he isn't speaking metaphorically in terms of diplomacy or social progress. he very literally means 'someone will come and fuck us up while our enormous buffer zone is otherwise occupied'.

it's also just the right thing to do, but he knows by now that argument won't have as much traction.

all of this is to say that through a combination of the personal faith ameridan has in drakon, the religious faith he has in general, and his determination to preserve both their peoples from the lingering and opportunistic evils of the imperium and the general chaos of a world still floundering in its power-vacuum — he does encourage drakon's expansion of both his borders and of the chant. there are moments they disagree, but drakon tends to heed his counsel. there are moments they both come to regret, but they find strength and solace in each other. what they both want more than anything is to leave behind a better world. even if it's only a little better.

perfect is the enemy of good.

of course, hindsight is 20/20. in the divine age, there's always something happening that reminds ameridan why what they do is what must be done. there is always some new evil thing on the heels of the last to contend with. all of them, their entire extended circle, are too close to the moment, to the bleak reality of the world-that-is to be able to accurately predict the world-that-will-be.

maker forgive us.

800 years later it is insultingly easy to follow the branching lines of all their mistakes, the ones they knew they were making at the time as well as the ones they did not. ameridan hates himself for not being able to see this at the time. he curses that they hadn't thought it through just a little more, that they hadn't put up a safeguard here or there for the corruption and abuses that looking back now seem to have been inevitable. his own memories seem untrustworthy when their contradictions stand before him. worse, he doubts whether drakon loved him true. and worst of all, he still has no real idea how they could have done anything differently.

mala ar shivasan su na; relina mar lin relin 'ma. juharilla na ea 'ma'harillen; 'a'lethalen ea emma. ar ne arlise'amelan — ame lathan, ma ane emma vhen'an. sahl'in hasir var asahngar; sahl'in himan uthaan tamaris.

the words bleed well-practiced from his tongue, sincere and sacred, the beloved face he cradles more sincere and sacred yet. his cherished friend, his only brother, the one who knows him to his core…

drawing his lethallin close to his breast, kordillus seals this vow in the way of ameridan’s grandfathers — with a kiss.

[nanalineni]

i get ALL my dragon age opinions from only the most reliable of sources. nanalineni @ tumblr 😤

Oh no dude do yourself a favor and at least play Origins it's so fucking good and it aged really gracefully imo + the modding community is alive and rich. Buy it from the ea store though, the steam version is bugged as hell. Please you need to experience the beauty and the horrors of Thedas and the balance between fights and politics in Awakening, and the joy of being a historian for this fascinating world and to come up with your own interpretations of elvhenan and the Chant that definitely don't involve a bald elf. It's got so many terrible great characters and they're shitty traumatized people that are so much more interesting than whatever bland startup like business the Veilguard is. I had so much fucking fun playing it. It's got strategic fights that are like turn by turn but actually live, deep customization possibilities, the best tactics screen that I've ever had I missed it in all subsequent games, it's got an alcoholic dwarf who terribly misses his wife who abused him, a construct that fucking hates birds, an old woman that lectures you on your sex life, it's got Leliana when she was still hopeful and sweet and thought the Maker was with her, it's got the ashes of a dead saint that you can poison for no reason if you want, it's got Sten the imperialist soldier who likes it when you tell him he's racist. It's got werewolves. It's got Zevran who sexy poses at your feet to plead for his life. I will never stop rotating this game in my mind

[ethicaltreatmentofcowplants]

Introducing... Miriam Lee-Jones

for consideration at @plumdale's Nico's Quest for True Love

NAME: Miriam Lee-Jones (she/her) AGE: Young Adult (28-32ish) LIFE STATE: Human ORIENTATION: Bisexual. EA has a way of resetting my sims to its defaults, so she should have both men and women as options, no preferences. HOME WORLD: Tomarang TRAITS: Creative, Macabre, Music Lover, Nosy (bonuses: High Self Esteem, Creatively Gifted, Untroubled, Shameless, Night Owl, Storm Chaser Sim) ASPIRATION: Ghost Historian CAREER: Freelancer Writer SIGNIFICANT SKILLS: Writing, Guitar, Mischief, Singing, Vampire Lore, Thanatology, Herbalism, Gemology

read more

It's almost like Miriam rejected the sunshine and balminess of her home world with a resounding "nope!" Believing herself to be someone born to late (or possibly a reincarnation of a much older soul), Miriam favours a 70's aesthetic, in terms of fashion, music and lifestyle, as much as possible. She's indifferent towards anything that reeks too much of modern day technology, but is happy to use it in the name of the blog she's been writing since high school: penname xoxo_gossipghoul.

(She hates the "xoxo" part now, but it's too late to change it.)

Miriam is a curious mixture (and well, just curious) of someone who is drawn to the darker peripheral elements of the world and yet approaches each day with enthusiasm and delight, particularly if it's overcast. Maybe she just wants a new experience in signing up for Nico's challenge? Maybe her nocturnal inclinations will make her a great co-caregiver? Or maybe she just wants some more dirt and fodder for her (eternally) in-progress first novel.

Looks

The following is cc: hairs, custom skin shade and eyes (irises, not shape), skin details, make up & lashes, nails, exercise shorts, sleepwear eye mask and wide brimmed hat. There should be no defaults in the file.

MISC: Miriam's hair is actually the brown-grey shade - it just looks more like a nice dye job with these cc hairs from @oakiyo. Also I believe there's a clash between her eyelashes and rings, so I didn't give her any.

(I'll figure out how to upload files to a shared folder later!)

[persimmods]

Imvikai’s Dahlia Hair BG Curl Side Override

Original Mesh Link (not required but you should definitely check it out!)

BG Hair Override

Both Frames

Custom Thumbnail

24 EA swatches

Color Slider Compatible w/ thepancake1′s Color Sliders for Hair and Clothes mod

Thank you @imvikai​ for the mesh + textures and your generous tou!

TOU

Used Sims4Studio and Clip Studio Paint

Poses in Preview by @helgatisha​​​​​​​​​​​

Thumbnail CC Background: @berryconfetti  CAS Backgrounds In Historian

All Custom Thumbnail CC Credits

Replaces this BG Hair:

Download (Dropbox- no ads)

@maxismatchccworld​ @mmoutfitters  @sssvitlanz @mmfinds

[legilimensims]

ADOPT A SPELLCASTER - CLARA RHODES

Well, greetings.

Boy, this week started great and full of promise, and then humanity failed...again. You know who you are.

Anyway what I offer you today is Clara, one of my Spellcasters. In game her parents died prematurely, so she was taken in as a kid by the Lancasters (my main Spellcaster family) and raised as if she were their fifth kid - and btw I shared here the 4 Lancaster twins last year.

She is still a teen in my game but I've aged her up for you in CAS so if you have UI Cheats you can easily add the teen traits idk, you do you.

I have not assigned her any pronouns or sexual & romantic preference, or likes and dislikes etc (I think) - feel free to do so yourselves, whatever you wish, and I have given her the Ghost Historian aspiration from the new Life & Death EP.

Also as a bonus I have included Lucifer, the beloved Lancaster family fluffy & spoiled cat who is meant to be immortal in my story.

Minimal CC is as usual included - apart from the everyday and cold weather tights, make-up, and skin details she exclusively uses EA items from various packs.

They're going to appear as "Lancaster" in your Library.

TOU

Like always do with them as you please - modify, use as base etc. - just please no paywalls of any kind or claiming/reuploading them as your own if untouched.

I want to say “@ me if you add them to your games so I can see” but nobody ever does, so I won’t 💀.

[DOWNLOAD TRAY FILES - SFS]

ALT [ MEDIAFIRE ]

[wuxiaphoenix]

Stray Thoughts: A Matter of Vision

Some historians think our culture still hasn’t gotten over the shock of WWI, much less WWII. I agree, though I’ll leave the specifics to people better versed in that history than I am. But I’m going to make a further assertion, definitely open to debate: I think our culture hasn’t recovered from microscopes. And that was over three centuries ago.

For all but a fraction of human history, we’ve been limited to our individual senses. The Mark I eyeball, as those tech-inclined have been known to quip. For all its flaws that is a spectacular piece of bio-engineering, able to pick out a decent chunk of the light spectrum and resolve it in enough detail to allow fairly accurate prey/predator/edible plant distinctions, notice hazardous environmental conditions (the cliff face about to crumble underfoot) and even navigate in extremely low-light conditions. In the past about 5,000 years, we’ve even hacked its software to allow encoding and reading data storage in a way no other species has managed. We can literally read words set down by the scribes of ancient Egypt, or China, or the Hittite Empire, or a thousand other cultures almost nobody knows about.

(With luck, the wits of Tumbler will drag Ea-nasir’s lousy copper-selling name into the next century and beyond!)

Yet while learning to read could be difficult, it was still your eyes against everybody else’s for what was real. If someone wrote about a mountain and you went and saw it was a molehill, you knew what to believe.

The microscope is a whole different look at the problem. Pun intended. With microscopic lenses in play, those with the time and money could delve into parts of the world no one even knew existed before.

And those without that time and money couldn’t cross-check them. Couldn’t submit the evidence of their own eyes, because the naked eye can’t pick out microscopic hairs on an ant, or the honeycomb of wood cells, or amoeboid “animalcules” gliding through pond-water like sharks to engulf and devour other cells.

(I think there’s reasons these kinds of shapes and textures keep showing up in horror movies. To our unaided eye, they are Things That Should Not Be.)

Microscopes, and the devices that came after, broadened the divide between those with the time to sit and study and those doing the physical work of keeping civilization running by digging ditches and running sewer pipes.

(If you love civilization, respect everyone who deals with plumbing. Without clean running water and safe waste disposal, most of us would be dying or ill every day.)

If you can’t check someone’s work, if you can’t see with your own eyes what they’re talking about, then you have to take it on faith that they’re not lying to you. And that is a terrible position to be in, because humans will lie to you. Some with malice, but many more with pure wishful thinking. There are reasons we developed the scientific method and statistics - among them, to try and weed out as much wishful thinking as possible. Nothing weeds out lying except catching someone in the act. And if you can’t check that yourself... again, you have to rely on other people to catch the liars. Other people educated in that field, who may feel a good old-fashioned tribal instinct to defend us against them, even when one of their own is obviously lying.

I don’t have a good solution. All I can suggest is that people spread what they think they know as widely as possible, so someone can try to check if it’s really so. And always remember people want to see the truth with their own eyes. See if you can make it happen!

[muspeccoll]

We have an exciting new acquisition to feature this Friday! Last week, a generous donor gave the Libraries a copy of Pierre Borel's De Vero Telescopii Inventore (1655). This work is a history of the invention of the telescope from antiquity to the time of writing. At the time, both Hans Lippershey and Zacharias Janssen claimed to be the inventor of the telescope, and Pierre Borel found Janssen's claims to be more convincing. Present-day historians have tended to recognize Lippershey instead, but they do give Janssen credit for inventing the compound microscope.

Borel also printed a letter from Christiaan Huygens' in which he details his observations of Titan, one of the moons of Saturn. This letter also contained Huygens' identification of the rings of Saturn in an anagram - a sly way to sneak the idea into print without giving it away before Huygens' own publication of Systema Saturnium in 1659.

This volume is bound with several others: Johann Franz Griendel's Micrographia nova (1687); Anton van Leeuwenhoek's Ontledingen en ontdekkingen van levende dierkens in de teel-deelen van verscheide dieren, vogelen en visschen (1696); and Govard Bidloo's Brief aan Antony van Leeuwenhoek (1698).

Many thanks to donor Rick Hardin for this newest addition to the collection.

De vero telescopii inventore : cum brevi omnium conspiciliorum historia : ubi de eorum confectione, ac usu, seu de effectibus agitur, novaque quaedam circa ea proponuntur : accessit etiam centuria observationum microcospicarum / Authore Petro Borello, regis Christianissimi consiliario, & medico ordinario. VAULT QB88 .B72 1655

[qqueenofhades]

sending hugs (or alternately, a supportive thumbs up if anon hugs are uncomfy) - you absolutely are not required to say anything about anything. if you choose to never say anything about the current conflict in the middle east, that's reasonable and understandable every bit your prerogative. you are appreciated as a person first and foremost - the commentator bit is secondary.

Thanks, I appreciate it (and hugs are fine). It's not that I don't WANT to talk about it: as a historian and educator in Real Life Tee Em, and often on here too, this is what I do genuinely like to do. However as I said, this entire thing is a toxic waste dump that I just don't have the wherewithal to presently engage with, and I think people in general need to get more comfortable with not saying things until and if they're prepared to do so, rather than having to rush to be the first to post the Most Correct Take (lest they get accused of not being sufficiently woke, etc).

As well, there is sometimes a perception that if someone doesn't talk about something on Tumblr (really! Tumblr! The stupid blue hellsite where we have two whole jokes about Ea-Nasir and color theory!), that somehow correlates etc etc to they don't care about it in real life. This is common among people whose notion of activism extends no further than posting the aforesaid Correct Opinions, but it is obviously false in about 100 ways. So while I hasten to stress that I haven't gotten any asks about the situation that are blaming me for not presently addressing it, it's just sometimes best for all concerned to set clear boundaries and expectations. This is one of those times.

I appreciate this message, and I'll continue to think about what I want to say and when, if ever, I want to say it. As noted, it will literally make not one jot of real-life difference whether I say anything on social media or not (a point that people likewise often seem to be confused about) and while I am not religious and do not pray, my heartfelt sympathies go out to everyone suffering as a result of this terrible situation, no matter who they may be. It is best, I think, to leave it there for the foreseeable future.

[goatskickin]

Get to know you: Sims Style

I was tagged by @pooklet

It’s something to do until SFS comes back online 💀

What’s your favorite Sims death?

There’s the one where you can use the Wishing Well and ask for money and the money bag falls on your sim’s head and k!lls them. Hilarious!

Alpha CC or Maxis Match?

I love clay hairs and I love old Peggy and Helga hairs too. Some TS2 clothing meshes have never held any appeal for me, and some alpha stuff that is very beloved leaves me cold. I like the beta look too! I’ve already shared my love of beta-esque eyes.

I've been collecting CC for much too long. Sometimes I go digging through my old af clothing CC wondering what if??? should I recolor that???? is this mesh good, actually?????

I’ve considered getting rid of all of my custom windows and doors (save a few special ones). I feel like Maxis has given us everything we could ask for and more. Plus it might save space for even more CC. More rc's of what I have, less new meshes.

Do you cheat your sims weight?

Like, use cheats for thinness/fatness? No. Not unless I am checking to see if a fat morph I made works.

Do you move objects?

I’ll move any object I damn well please, yeah.

Favorite Mod?

I could say something boring like Gussy Up or the Sim Manipulator but instead I’ll say something cool like the trainset does not catch on fire because it is cool when an object does not have 2% chance of combusting 😎

First Expansion/Game Pack/Stuff Pack?

I really wanted Hot Date as a kid but was mortified to ask for it, so I think I had Deluxe instead?

For TS2 - that would be University I think

Do you pronounce live mode like aLIVE or LIVing?

aLIVE I guess?

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

I like born-in-game sims a lot. I have a pic of a very good Vidcund spawn from like, 2014. Judith Curious.

Have you made a simself?

Oh yes. It’s kicking around the internet somewhere.

Which is your favorite EA hair color?

Red! It’s always been red.

Favorite EA hair?

MEG!

Favorite life stage?

Adults and then elders.

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

I am an awful builder. I like dl’ing other people’s houses though.

Are you a CC creator?

Oh yes! I have a bit of a problem with that.

Do you have any Simblr friends or a Sim Squad?

I am chronically friendly and unable to shut up. As such, someone is bound to fall for my charms eventually.

Do you have any sims merch?

It does not exist but I wish that the TS1 soundtrack was on vinyl. I could relax on a winter's eve to 🎶Under Construction🎶

Do you have a YouTube for sims?

No?

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

Less grungy! Well, more lightly grungy. Less subject to trends. I’ve been a lot more careful about what I download. I delete stuff all the time.

Who’s your favorite CC creator?

of all time? I could not say. I am a Sims 2 CC historian though

How long have you had Simblr?

2013

How do you edit your pictures?

barely lol. I use one of @pooklet's Photoshop actions

Sometimes a tiny bit of photoshopping for an Apoc C.O.W. picture to adjust a finger or get something to look less clippy but that’s it.

What expansion/gamepack is your favorite?

TS1 – always makin magic

TS2 – I want it to be OFB but OFB is so busted. Seasons I guess! I like weather and plants.

tagging: @pforestsims, @brandinotbroke, @freezerbunny-sims2, @jules-cant-build, @madraynesims, @antisocialbunnysims, @themeasureofasim, @aondaneedles, @bayoubashsims, @rockethorse, @serabiet, @simborg, @virtualpeople, @executables-sims, @hazelpuff and @pixeldolly

[a-very-tired-jew]

I called matzo the Ea Nasir cracker and I think I killed my historian friend. All I heard was choking on coffee noises and then yelling.