honestly im just in a complaining mood but im gonna make this it's own stand-alone post. the current state of youtube is really really disheartening. it's insane to me that we've entered an era where it's actually incredibly normal for video-making to be people's Real Actual Jobs, yet the youtube algorithm is still not very understood and changes on a whim with little to no warning. it's so goddamn stupid for people to have to edit certain ways, or title their videos in certain ways, or just create ugly-ass thumbnails with red circles and shitty clickbait graphics, JUST to get the algorithm to pay enough attention and push their shit. it's been like this for years, but you'd think in a post-2020 shutdown world they'd find ways to take it seriously, ESPECIALLY considering how heavy of a boost their platform got during that era. it's sad to see this taken as "just one of those #influencer things" and not something that could be changed for the better, and currently isnt being changed by a major multi-billion dollar corperation. because at the end of the day, youtube CAN change their algorithm. they have in the past, and the final "major change" they made was the push to make it more advertiser/brand friendly. remember when people couldn't swear before the first minute of the video? remember how that was actually a community-discovered function through youtube mature-content-labeling thousands of people's videos and limiting their income they relied on to live? they were told first 10-20 seconds, and that number varied SO heavily they ended up running with a full minute into the video. not to mention how you can't get most strikes appealed through regular functions, but instead have to BEG youtube publically on twitter and use your clout to shame them. people have to bend over backwards and pray to the algorithm gods if they want to be happy making what they love, and if they don't? their videos won't be seen. they CAN make content without caring about the algorithm, but it's discouraged every step of the way. and even people who appease the algorithm and try their very best to lick the corporate boot will REGULARLY have their income COMPLETELY RANDOMLY struck, and their livelihoods put on the line, all because of youtubes shitty copyright system and even worse demonetization system. all im saying is it's crazy my phone will autocorrect it to their brand name of YouTube, and they have such a focus on keeping advertisers and ad-revenue, but most youtubers have to use shitty clickbait circles and arrows while taking sponsorship deals every video to stay afloat "living the dream."
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this one goes out to all the peeps who feel like they *have* to follow Whatever The Canon Media Says and not stray away from it at all + keep their own additions/hcs to themselves bc of stupid fuckass [popular fandom] discourse that they have been made aware of but did not participate in
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I think a factor a lot of farming/crafting sims completely forget to include is the aspect of, not just being self-sustaining, but being part of a community and providing for that community. They sometimes put in side quests and stuff where you hand out resources to folks, but, like, a lot of the time you don't need to actually farm much because you aren't even selling your products, or they don't sell for much.
The simple solution, and easiest way to add depth to the farming (because another common problem is the farming lacks depth and can be fully automated without really interacting much with it like it's a chore to eventually overcome rather than the main gameplay loop) is having a rating system. 1-5 stars, higher yields, special yields, one or all of these depending on how well you care for your animals or fertilize your crops. While it can be tedious due to the game's unecessarily slow scaling, I think tale of two towns did this the best by including all of these for the animals and different actions for attaining each. It should feel like more than just a daily button click.
A good farming sim should have you spending lots of time actually working your farm, not because of the scale of the farm, but because of the depth of the care you can put into it. And the time off the farm should be spent interacting with the community in a more in-depth and cyclical way that makes your character feel a part of it. That's the key to those cozy vibes.
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the thing is, the accounts on cr twitter who have these wild takes aren't even shippers
they're all about nuance about the gods, aeor, ludinus, ruby vanguard.....but then have these extreme views about orym, say he's got bloodlust and pretty much equate him to a cop/military soldier
Hey anon! So I will admit as I have in the past that I largely avoid CR Twitter because I hate Twitter as a platform and the community of CR Twitter specifically (more below) but I will say the tweets I have seen have largely been from people who are, if not the most rabid of shippers, shippers. I did in fact just go there and click on "Orym" as it was trending, and the tweets to this effect are largely from people with black and purple hearts in their names. I don't think they're necessarily conscious that this is the reason why they try so hard to discredit Liam's characters (and I think the desire for Laudna to be a Traumatized Innocent rather than a person who has done her own share of harm is an even larger factor) but I do think it is part of it.
I should note: a significant point of reference for me is that the person who famously said "do not uwuify this" re Orym post episode 63 is Wally Wests on Twitter. Look, I know I use the word "stupid" a lot, and I'm trying to reduce it not because I think it's a problem to use but because it reduces the impact and also heavily implying people are stupid without outright saying it tends to be more effective on every level but god this person is the dumbest motherfucker in the fandom and I'm not even kidding. Like, they're the "Australian white person who writes like Rupi Kaur but worse" I've referenced. Because of The Algorithm they are weirdly popular in that space and it baffles me because I honestly don't understand why every single thing they say isn't just filled with replies saying "are you fucking stupid." Like I physically cannot understand how you can have a brain and read a single word they say and go "this is a person I should listen to." They are also not a big shipper, but they do like the ship from what I understand. Specifically on Tumblr, the people echoing this nonsense are pretty much shippers.
With that said yeah, I do think it's worth addressing the soldier aspect. First off, if we're talking cops, why is Bryce, pleasant but forgettable minor NPC, inexplicably popular in this fandom despite them being an actual crownsguard of an actual authoritarian government. Like are all fictional cops bastards or no (fwiw my opinion is no, because the context of the world in which they exist is extremely important; I'm just pointing out the inconsistencies)? But also...I've run into this with Worlds Beyond Number too, and it actually came up on the Fireside chat, but there are words people hear (empire, religion, soldier) and automatically go "BAD BAD BAD" and don't spend any time thinking about how we've come to these conclusions. And for what it's worth I think Empire is always ultimately going to be bad because of its source in conquest; religion is neutral with the potential to harm or hurt; and soldier is deeply contextual and inherently gray; but all are very valid things to explore in fiction, where the war crimes and abuses aren't real. I remember seeing a take about Candela Obscura shitting on how half the party is former soldiers, and like...the messaging of this season of Candela is undeniably about the immense psychological damage of war, and the soldiers were defending their home against a colonizing force rather than doing any sort of invading, but some people are so high on a paper-thin unexamined concept of what I presume they tell themselves is leftism that they cannot see that. Orym's husband did not die trying to invade a nation for their oil. He died because people trying to unleash a horror ran an attack on their town as a practice run. Orym's experience as a soldier has always been one of defense, never conquest or destruction, and that is important to understand. It doesn't mean that in the future Zephrah couldn't become an oppressive power (and various worldbuilding in Exandria does explore the idea of small community watches or protective guards growing deeply corrupt or expansionist over time, but god knows the people saying this shit have the lore knowledge of a dead pigeon), but the aspects of being a soldier he is engaging with are those of personal sacrifice and protecting one's own, not killing for resources or ideology (which, let's be real, is usually an excuse to take the resources of those you disagree with).
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Something I don't really like about Sims 4 is that it seems to ignore Strangetown in general(? I mean, we all know it isn't lore accurate to almost any of the previous sims/families, but come on xd As far as I know, none of the Strangetown Sims has been brought back in gameplay, just as CAS families that you can download (they don't look/act too much like their original counterparts but that's expected because alternative timeline or something). The thing is, they don't even acknowledge it when talking about Strangerville? Apparently they didn't "think of it" while making that Expansion/DLC, which is just... weird(? It has more similarities than differences in its concept (and is even in the name bfr). Like, Strangetown was a fan favorite (and still is) and they even have 3 Spinoffs based on it. It's not even a "well, you need Get to Work to get the aliens" problem, because there's human sims in Strangetown and they could've included them in Strangerville as a cameo or something. At this point, it looks like they actively decide to ignore Strangetown's existence xd
Idk, maybe it's for the better, but I'm still a lil upset about that 🐢
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this is not really my brand at all but I’m just going to rant about Toy Story 5 for a hot second because the D23 sneak peek made me so mad.
TLDR: Toy Story 5 (and 4) ruin what made the first three films so special.
I’ll start this off by saying I ADORE Toy Story 3. It’s one of my favorite Pixar films. I was 10 when this movie came out, I remember going to like three Walmarts just to find a Jessie doll, and carrying her around with me in my bag all summer. I still have that doll, she’s very special to me.
Part of what makes the first three films so good is the passage of time. First two movies came out within 4 years of each other (1995 and 1999), third movie came out 11 years later in 2010. Andy is a kid in the first two films, maybe he doesn’t age exactly four years between 1 and 2 but he doesn’t have to we’re still in the range of childhood years, in the 90s. When the third movie came out a significant amount of time had passed in the real world, and thus it had in TS3. We quite literally felt the passage of time in that movie along with the toys. THAT is what made that movie so captivating and special, those trailers were so bittersweet and magical and REAL. I remember it so well. The third movie also FEELS like 2010 that movie EXUDES early 2010s it’s so comfy and nice (minus the traumatizing fire scene ofc)
(more below the cut)
Nine years later TS4 comes along and even tho the animation is prettier and the film seems to take place in the 2020s. everyone is the same age. Bonnie has aged what, a year? Over the course of nine real years? whereas Andy went from kid to college bound in a similar amount of time? where is the real world connection?
but ya know I gave the film the benefit of the doubt, I saw it I liked it I loved forky. But the emotional connection wasn’t there the way it was for TS3. But oh well that’s it right? How do you continue the franchise after that ending?
but OH! NOW TS5 is coming out in 2026, seven years later and GUESS WHAT!!! BONNIE IS STILL A KID. Look at this concept art!! She is very clearly still a kid.
she’ll have been a kid for 16 years at this point!! what is this, despicable me? (that’s a rant for another day shdjdjdj)
And she’s an iPad kid now which I mean. Yes. That’s a relevant issue for today’s kids. A GREAT concept for a TS movie. But Bonnie is not the character to portray this storyline. She’s not one of today’s kids she is a kid of the 2010s she was born in like. 2005. BONNIE should be in college and/or starting her own career now. Not an iPad kid. The toys should be with someone else, maybe a younger sister or cousin.
Plus!!! Guess who’s back in Bonnie’s room! Woody!!! so much for him saying goodbye to the others forever to be with his one true love right? The end of TS4 was not my favorite initially but I applauded the writers’ decision to make such a bold choice and change to the status quo. It echoed TS3 in a way, even if it cheapened the end of that film somewhat for me (in my heart the true TS canon ends at TS3 and TS4 is just a possible timeline it could branch off into).
But I guess the moving sacrificial end of your film doesn’t really matter when you can just change it in the next film!! 🙄
I love the sequence of the first three films so much, I love how they take place in the eras they come out in while also moving the timeline along.
Bonnie going from being born in 2005 to the late 2010s AT THE EARLIEST for these films to make any sense makes no sense. and if she’s born in 2005 how is she an iPad kid??? TS4 should’ve come out way sooner, and it should’ve been about a different kid.
(and I KNOW lots of movies and shows have a floating timeline where the kids never age. Charlie Brown, Phineas and Ferb, The Simpsons. but for those shows the setting changing with time while the characters don’t is part of the charm. The Toy Story franchise could’ve been that way but Toy Story 3 fundamentally changed that.)
(And look let’s say the movie takes place in 2012 and Bonnie has a rudimentary IPad 4 or something. why are we just seeing the movie now in 2026?? the timelines don’t match up it doesn’t make sense no matter what.)
I feel an emotional connection to the Bonnie of TS3 because she belongs in that time period, in the early 2010s when cellphone technology was just starting to pick up, when I was still a kid. And I think of TS3 and my brain screams 2010S!! MIDDLE SCHOOL!!!!!
whereas when I think of TS4 I’m like “has it actually been five years? it feels like it came out like two years ago” bc there’s no passage of time within that film to anchor it to the year 2019. That film came out the year before covid and it STILL feels like it came out like two years ago. that is telling to me.
Seeing Bonnie still be a kid 14 (and what will be 16) years after her debut feels inauthentic to the precedent set by Andy and TS3. I’m sure the movie will be good bc Toy Story movies are always good. But they’ve lost that sense of realism, of moving time, of leaving something behind and NOT being able to pick back up right where you left off. That kept the TS movies grounded in bittersweet reality, that’s kinda the whole point. :/
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(i'm the same anon that just sent an ask abt tides of regret hehe) i needed to send this in a second one cause i felt like it was too long lol. your sense of empathy is SEEPING through the words. i get the feeling that you have just have a good heart, idk :) your characters are so mature and thoughtful and also empathetic and it's so refreshing. i suppose i envy them a bit :')
this is singlehandedly the kindest thing a stranger has ever said to me…i’ve been reflecting a lot about the friendships i maintain and these past few weeks felt like a test, of sorts. reading this restored a lot of confidence i had in myself and i’m incredibly humbled and thankful that you think this of me.
there’s always a part of me in every story and every character i write. i’m so happy to know the enha i wrote resonated with you. empathy is such a fickle thing and i’m under the impression that i’ll always try to be the best person i can be by doing what’s right and good. i believe you can be that way too, if you wish.
you are so beautiful. know that.
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