#pseudo medieval fantasy

[thenyanguardparty]

hi I'm from your pseudo-medieval fantasy city. yeah. you forgot to put farms around us. we have very impressive walls and stuff but everyone here is starving. the hero showed up here as part of his quest and we killed and ate him

[cparti-mkiki]

this was soooo funny. truly a new well um aemond kinda forgot about the laws of succession (while carrying out a succession coup lol)

[asterdeer]

dnd campaign based on a bunch of blackmore’s night songs

[levshany]

NEW AU ALERT Due to circumstances that I can definitely control, I have a new Au. And Ludwig is definitely not involved

SO THIS! This is "Hamayun AU". We have Phillip here, but I turned him into a bird

in fact, this is a mythical/fantasy AU in a pseudo medieval setting. in the plot center is Luz, who tried to kill a magical creature with a dagger, but ended up bonded with him))) this is thing is so messed up because here we have racism, sexism, unsanitary conditions, ignorance, cruelty, guro (uncensored under the cut), fluff, comfort and everything that we love so much :DDD

Together with @lasymit (who, of course, was not there) and @angstyhikka (who also had nothing to do with it) IN A DAY, we came up with a plot for this thing. it turned out such a fairy tale but I have no idea who will write/draw it because we already have a lot of projects that we painfully try to continue... .. (Ludwig refused to write another maxiDDD) So0000000000 you will have to see stuff without context again sorry not sorry spoilers alert it will happen again for sure hahaha: D ANYWAY. ENJOY

[asha-mage]

I feel like I am going to be having random WoT Finale thoughts for the next six months, but one I especially want to hit up now:

The actual logistics of the Whitecloak attack on Falme, from the military tactics to the geo politics of it all are so perfectly on point that it's like something Jordan would have written himself.

In the books the Whitecloaks are on Tomon Head for unrelated reasons to the Seanchan (ones that would be hard to establish properly in a tv format where we don't have the time to follow Bornhold Sr for six odd scenes), so the show runners shifted it so that they are explicitly answering a call for aid from a foreign throne. The Whitecloaks are a autonomous military body beholden to no nation that operates with pseudo-legality in most places that are not under their influence, and the idea of expanding that influence to another nation is far to tempting to resist, especially when no other power is answering the Falme's call for aid, including the White Tower, who are the Whitecloak's primary rival. On principles it seems like they are stepping up to help a victimized nation that the 'witches' have abandoned, or even orchestrated the fall of.

And then on a practical level, the actual tactics they employ are fiendishly clever. Using incense burners to create a fog to hide their approach and blunt the effectiveness of the enemy channelers (who need to be able to see something to target their weaves). This also makes sense on a world building level- the Whitecloaks probably have a dozen tactics in their back pockets to deal with an outright war against the Aes Sedai if it ever breaks out. Then once the Whitecloaks close up to the walls, they send in their cavalry first, to overwhelm enemy defenses before they can get the gates shut, then send in the infantry to secure and pacify the remaining resistance not taken out by the shock charge. At this point the Seanchan have to focus their fighting to the streets of Falme, and the best way to do that is to gather their damane on the nearby tower and rain down artillery fire in an attempt to break the Whitecloaks into retreat- a brutal strategy likely to result in the deaths of their own troops and civilians, but necessary if they are going to have any hope of holding the city.

And then is where things get INSANE. See, conventional medieval military wisdom dictates that in a situation where the gates are breached already siege engines have no use. Their too clumsy, taking to much time to aim and fire to be much use in a melee brawl like this. Siege engines are useful for breaking fortifications, toppling walls, etc, so if used offensively almost always come out first. That means that no one is expecting them to roll out of that fog and hurl stones at the damane's position. In one strike Bornhold Senior decapitates the enemy's primary advantage over him and tilts the battle in his favor. (And even if the damane had managed to counter the strike, they would be weakened significantly, having to focus on blocking further attacks and counter attacking the siege engines- not easy with the fog- instead of keeping the fighting in the streets under control).

This might be one of those things that only I care about, but good employment of medieval military tactics combined with magical fantasy elements always makes me go

[inlandempir]

post on one of the dev forums for disco elysium, titled "THE BENEFITS OF A MODERN FANTASY WORLD". text version beneath the cut

There's been a lot of art and tech talk so far, it's all kinda dry or saccharine. I think it's time to juice it up by throwing in a proper essay.

THE BENEFITS OF A MODERN FANTASY WORLD

The world of No Truce! (we do have a proper name for it, but we’re shy) is not what you’d call “a generic genre world”. It is not pseudo-medieval stasis, as Forgotten Realms was, nor is it Fallout’s campy barbarism with guns. It is also not a Harry Potter/Batman/vampire fantasy world, which is basically “our world with a secret/special world within it”. Neither is it the tech-obsessed ‘punks’ of steam and cyber. It’s a modern fantasy world, a fantasy world in its modernity, which roughly corresponds to the middle part of our XXth century. Now that kind of thing opens up an array of new possibilities. It is a world with a promise of non-staticness, meaning, things appear undecided — they could go one way or the other. It is close enough to our own world for things to have meaning in it, it is a proper frame in which to explore themes relevant to our own society such as bigotry, power relations, politics, bureaucratic apparati, geopolitical relations, philosophy, ideology, religion et cetera. A pseudo-medieval world is not a proper frame for truly exploring themes of, for example, sexuality, for it lacks 1) a proper concept of sexuality, 2) an actual idea of societal progress and 3) a clear ideological dominant, which would be the place where values come from. All you can do in a static, societally unstructured world is give out-of-place shoutouts to present day communities for cheap popularity (“this is exactly my sexual orientation, how did they know?!”).

We find the ideological dominant missing because the western world is traditionally culturally critical of ideological dominants – critical of both state and religion. Anyhow, a classic fantasy world would feature two main ideologies – the “good” and the “evil”, of which the former is selfless and compassionate, but the other one is selfish and cruel. The attempts to overcome that have given us the Grittywelt – a world in which everyone is an asshole and pessimism rules the day. Unsurprisingly, Grittywelt is also static as hell and meaningful change is foreclosed from it. It is a “protection from false hopes”. As such, it is heavily unrealistic. Much more realistic would be people living in super gritty conditions, but not looking the part, that is, not really noticing the abnormal harshness of their conditions, because they don’t have much to compare them to, and being hopeful towards the next day, because surprise! This is how you do it. Survive, I mean. Being depressed is a luxury. In a way, I’d say we’re trying to create the obverse of the Grittywelt – a world in which everyone is empathizable, sort of a hero of their own story.

The modern era is also a fitting vessel for anachronisms – do we not have actual cyborg limbs and donkey-pulled carts operating in the same world at the modern era? Capitalism can also contain little feudalisms in a way, in which a single man or single family controls the entire economy of a town or a village and profits from it. And at the same time, it can also contain little socialist utopias, scientist villages, in which everything is provided by the State. Aside from being a basic feature of reality (anachronism is nothing more than time failing to fit the stereotype about it), it is also a lovable creative tool, allowing for a plethora of what-if-scenarios. Imagine a modern world, only without television; imagine a modern world in which there never was a global war, imagine a world in which fossil fuels are less available. Now, if you will, imagine one which has forgotten its antiquity, and one, in which there is not just water between the continents, but something worse as well — an anti-reality mass we call “pale” (also more on that later). Now imagine one, which has a legitimate and operative “religion of history” in place, which seeks for people it deems special enough to be the “vessel of progress”. (This is not an alternate history thing, by the way. An alternate history takes place in our world quite recognizably and has no more than one divergence point from history as it happened.)

One might ask, why would we not create an even more modern world, if we wanted to maximise our possibilities? Well one of the answers is that it would have destroyed the necessary element of escapism, another is that we cannot create a good alternate Information Era because we ourselves fail to understand the Information Era (More precicely, we have the information era in its infancy and it works via radio relays). We are too close to it and it is too new to understand it, it is “in progress”. The third reason would be that technology is not a fascinating subject for modern science fiction. It’s become a natural part of our reality. We don’t believe it’s going to save us anymore – it has failed to deliver for too long. I am of the belief that the themes of science fiction today are societal, political and psychological (one could maybe add aesthetical to it, for we also love the world for its beauty). All fantastic or sci-fi elements are means for best exploring those themes.

I have filled my page. That’s all for the time being. Thank you for reading.

Martin Luiga Writer

[anika-ann]

Ocaruj me (Bewitch Me) - S.R.

Type: medieval/fantasy/fairy tale AU; drabbl-ish; a part of this pseudo-medieval-fantasy AU

Pairing: knight Steve Rogers x reader   Word Count: 2k

Summary: Knight Steven Rogers is a man with love. That love is you. His beautiful lady who bewitched his soul even without the supernatural powers you possess. He'll follow you anywhere.

It that means bathing in a lake in a moonlight, so be it.

Warnings: 18+, nsfw, smut, unprotected sex (shocking in medieval times huh), bit of angst, fluff, knight Steve ‘cause he’s a warning, Slovak language ‘cause I can

A/N: Actual title is Očaruj mě (Bewitch Me) ...tumblr cannot handle a "č" and an “ě“ in their title 🙃 DIVIDER by @firefly-graphics; inspired by THIS ask (you can find headcanons and a playlist there)

A/N 2: Chronologically fits before the events of Pomiluj mě, but if you read this first, you will spoil some of the reveals.

Magic is a dark evil thing; that is what all knights of the kingdom are reminded during their studies and training.

Magic is the wicked twine that curls around your wrist when you reach out a hand, grips you tight and drags you towards perdition.

Magic takes face of a twisted beauty, a temptress, and leads you down the path of sin with a smile worth of the Devil himself.

Magic only knows curses and wrongs.

Sir Steven Rogers knows these axioms by heart.

Steve knows they are horseshit; or at least fail to fulfil the basic rule of an axiom, which is supposed to be universality.

In Steve’s eyes, people are corrupted by many things, amongst which there is the power that comes with magic. That much is true. But the nature of magic itself is pure; t reveals the person wielding it and amplifies who they already are.

Steve would only agree with part of the axiom second to last, assured whenever he sees you. He would now too, standing near the bank of a lake, still fully clothed, his gaze inevitably drawn to the enticing image in front of him.

You, standing to the waist in the water, dressed in but the luxurious robe of moonlight caressing your skin and wearing the lake like the richest skirt; your hair cascading down freely like an elaborate veil, the commonly dark ink of your tattoo reaching from the side of your neck down your shoulder shinning bright.

When you glance over your shoulder, eyes glimmering more entrancingly than the moon and the stars combined, lips curling in a smile, the last thing Steve would compare you to would be the Devil, a dark evil thing.

The truth, however, is that if you did decide to drag him towards his end, he would follow voluntarily, heart pounding just as hard as it is now, with warmth in his chest and searing heat in is gut.  

When you speak his name, a sweet ‘rytier moj’, you indeed are every bit of a temptress, the seductress steering him toward the most beautiful of sins; but not in the name of evil.

In the name of love.

“How is it that you are not cold, bosorka moja? And by gods, remind me, love, why is it that I should follow?” he asks with a grin on his lips, as if he does not feel every ounce of his body being pulled to you by the alluring image of you alone, by the promise of the feel of your skin under his fingertips, of the taste of your lips, of your wickedly delicate hands touching him in ways no unwed lovers should.

You have told him there was a deeper meaning in bathing in that particular lake on this very night, but as fascinated as he always is by your faiths and magic, you have been convincing him with your lips whispering to his own, causing his memory to be considerably less reliable, his mind much more pliant.

You turn around to face him fully, your watery skirt swirling; Steve’s mouth turns dry at the sight of your stiff nipples and plump breasts, his last reservations dispersing as his pants become uncomfortably tight.

“For this lake is believed to possess supernatural properties, rytier moj. For I know it does,” you remind him gently, your gaze trailing down his body in appreciation as he sheds his cloak, his tunic and pants.

You once told him what you saw when he did and have aided him in recalling it quite frequently.

Beauty.

Strength.

Goodness.

Safety.

Home.

And desires personified.

Steve is only a man; all these are virtues in his mind, privileges, and the one that is not makes him preen all the more.

Dark eyes glimmering in the moonlight, your smile earns a teasing edge even as your words begin with gravity.

“Bathing in the light of the full moon nearest to the summer solstice makes one stronger. Something my knight might appreciate. I know I for sure would, since he insists on recklessly risking his life.”

His own lips curl up, heart humming with tenderness; he is cared for. He is worried about. He is loved. He is not the only one who has the comfort of a lover on their mind. Perhaps it is for ‘lovers’ is not quite the word fit for where his heart quivers in the matter of you and him. Not the only word.

Desire personified.

Gorgeous temptress.

But also beloved.

Láska moja.

Bosorka moja.

Home.

“All knights do, bosorka moja,” he says as he steps into the water, the liquid welcoming him with an unexpected sensation of cold and warmth combined.

Where his skin meets the water, immersed deeper with each tentative step on the invisible rocky floor, he is enveloped with an unfamiliar sensation, the warmth seeping into his skin almost violently, leaving gentle tingling in its wake.

His lungs expand. His heart thunders. His muscles ache until they feel as light as a feather. His large bones seem to harden, his joints feel stronger but pliant. His blood pumps vigorously, forcing a shuddering breath out of his chest.

Well, he’ll be damned; he would be if he wasn’t so blessed. He would never doubt you again. Not that he ever truly did.

You watch him, a hypnotic and hypnotizing gaze, soaked in the satisfaction and desire having thickened your tenderness. Your skin almost glows and Steve understands that his eyes were not deceiving him earlier. He is not the only one absorbing power; yours might be different in nature from his, so different and ethereal, a true force of nature, but a power nevertheless. And as you soaked in the water, your immense power grew further.

“And yet, I have not seen any knight, soldier or mercenary, nor the clumsiest commoner with as many scars, nor I saved them from so many,” you oppose him, still playful; yet, your voice has earned a husky quality Steve is drawn to like a mot to a flame, his steps growing confident.

For almost every step he takes, you take one back, away from him, sinking deeper, hiding your tempting body from his hungry sight. A delightful feigned chase begins, one of which you both know will only end in bodies intertwined. A dance Steve knows, for he has felt its thrill before, for he has danced with you before; he has danced lips to lips, hands to hips, hips to hips, lips attached to your mound with hooded eyes too, senses enveloped with heady primal need, laced with love both corporal and intangible.

It all hums within him, pounds with force bolstered by the magic surrounding him. You feel it too; he reads as much in your features.

“You haven’t seen them naked either,” he notes, a slight smile remaining.

The conversation continues even as it fades.

You hum with a smile of your own, stopping at last as takes three long strides and catches up with you, gazing up at him with a sweet challenge he cannot refuse. “That is true, rytier moj.”

But that is not what your body whispers, already miles ahead when only inches from him.

Touch me, it coaxes him instead.

Hold me.

Love me.

Have me.

Fill me.

Make me sing for you. Only for you.

Do as you crave; I crave the same, just as much.

Who is he to deny a lady? Who is he to deny you, especially when the wordless pleas entice him, please him, echo his own?

The slight prickle of strength reborn, one unknown to ordinary men, still heats his very core, his lips speaking on their own even as his fingers wander with purpose, over the skin of your waist, down your hip, over your belly button, to your sternum, over the swell of your breast, stepping closer to feel your hardened peaks brush against his chest, eliciting a breathy sound of his name amongst his questions.

“What of other blessed nights bathing in this lake? Equinoxes as well?”

Your hands move with purpose too; mapping the constellations of freckles and moles on his body, caressing the planes of strengthened muscle with teasing lightness. Your touch is surprisingly warm, Steve realizes distantly, his head and hands full of you; if he did not know better, if he did not know you were a witch, he would think you an entirely different magical species.   

As you nod and explain, your hand rises above water, stroking over his shoulder – the water follows seemingly effortlessly, swirling and curling around your palm; even as you speak, he shudders under the touch where your hands could not have possibly reached him, not at so many places at once; and yet, every single of these caresses are just as warm, loving and teasing as those of your own fingers.

With how you bended the water to your will, Steve would have thought you were born to do so. He would have thought he found himself a water nymph instead. His breathtaking, enchantingly playful water nymph.

“Bathing in the lake on a new moon nearing the spring equinox breeds rebirth, ridding of all old aches, body and heart,” you explain quietly, intimately, as your fingers tease along the dip along his hips, his own hands grasping your soft flesh with urgency growing. “First new moon after the autumn equinox calls upon the forest spirits, their protection, bringing the wiseness of our ancestors with their blessings.”

Steve’s head is full of you; your words, almost fairy-tale like, but spoken with reverence of a person who knows them true, whose rituals has called upon the forces of nature and has been rewarded for it, blessed by them.

His hands are full of you too and as his heart sings.

The rest of his body vibrates with need, impatient fingers slipping lower, towards your core, teasing alongside your slit. Even as he asks the only natural question, his focus is elsewhere, fingertip dipping into your welcoming heat, his lips whispering against yours, your hips eagerly meeting his touch.

“And what of winter solstice, bosorka moja? Tell me,” he coaxes, revelling in your playful touch turning into a grip on his hip instead, other hand wrapping around his own to urge him to sink his finger deeper, for another to join.

Who is he to deny you again? His bewitching water nymph, whose heat would envelop him just as welcomingly as the water of the lake and fill him with just as much exceptional powerful sensation...

Love her.

Take her.

Protect her.

Make her mine.

“It keeps your heart warm,” you sigh, mouth chasing after his, fingertips finally brushing over his hardness, curling around the length and squeezing and twisting enough for his strained muscles to melt, rushing to lift your leg to wrap around his waist, opening you up for him, your taste, your scent, your husky voice like the most tempting trap he rushes into with vigour and pride. “Keeps your love safe. On the full moon close--- oh Steve— closest to the solstice- preserving it even through the— the harshest of winters----Steven!

The steady movements of his fingers stutter at the needy pulsing grip around them, eliciting another and another, his thumb brushing over your clit, mouth slanting over yours to swallow your cries of ecstasy, cradling your head to his as your hips keep rocking into his hand. You’ll feel like heaven, like you always do, but the burst inside him at feeling your pleasure coaxed by him is almost, almost enough.

“I’ll be here,” he promises against your lips, kissing you again, tipping your head back, your body so gorgeously pliant to his greedy touch. “I will be here, with you, every quarter a year. Every month, every day, love.”

“Ľubim ťa,” you gasp and Steve makes another promise, to not meet you here, but bring you. Bring you from your shared home at last, because even by the damn equinox, he will have done you right, a ring on your finger, his everything made yours, as you deserve.

“Ľubim ťa, bosorka moja,” he whispers back, a chuckle escaping him when his eyes flutter open, offered a sight of soft sprinkles and curls of water rising above the surface and glimmering in the moonlight.

Your magic exploding outside of you as pleasure fills your veins.

Steve is certain it will never cease to amaze him; or spur him to coax something even more fascinating when chasing his own peak and yours together, even as that alone is a gift he cherishes.

Your hands slide to his shoulders for leverage as his fingers leave you empty, moving to your bottom to lift you up, sliding in almost effortlessly.    

No words are needed then. As you connect your bodies and souls alike, the water keeps dancing.

You glow behind Steve’s hooded eyes, tattoo shining as bright as your affection, beauty and goodness, a reminder that no, magic could not be further from the darkness in corporal form. In every waking moment, he would swear he has never seen, nor heard, nor felt anything more beautiful and lighter than you, even with a face and voice of a temptress you embody.

The only sin you have led him to, the only speckle of shame on his honour, is the one he will remedy soon and has nothing do with your magical nature.

No, not the Devil; a goddess in your own right.

And you have not cursed him, no. Sir Steven Rogers, tvoj rytier, entirely bewitched, feels blessed.

Other headcanon and playlist

S.R. masterlist - contains other knight!Steve fics, independent of this universe

Complete masterlist

Terms of endearment from Slovak language: Rytier moj (My knight) Bosorka moja (Witch mine) Láska moja (Love mine) Ľubim ťa (I love you)

I hope you enjoyed, loves 💕 Please consider leaving feedback/reblog/anything if you did 🥰

May April be kind to you 🌼✨

[writers-potion]

My Favorite Fantasy Tropes

MONSTER TROPES!

A deadly monster with a terrifying appearance bonds with a small child with its life.

An injured hero comes upon a monster, or a hero comes upon an injured monster and they understand each other. Giant vicious-looking monsters that answer to names you would give to a pet dog.

A character rescues or spares the life of a wounded or infant monster; later th fully- healed/matured creature returns the favor.

The horrifying eldritch creature that's been stalking the heroes turns out to be benevolent and actually, trying to protect them from something deadlier.

HERO TROPES!

The hero is the secret heir to a throne. It may be that he was whisked away and hidden as a child, his parents sent them away or were killed, etc.

There's someone in power in your book who might be described as "pure evil." This can feed into the "Good vs Evil" trope listed further down this list.

The hero refuses to give into the dark magic and instead ascends to a new level of power. This may change their hair to their dream color.

The hero falls in love with a princess/prince who turns out to be working with the real Dark Lord and killed her whole family just to rule the kingdom.

SETTING TROPES!

Pseudo-medieval European setting especially in places like the British Isles, France and Germany.

A library full of secret, lost, important knowledge. The characters may have to travel to this library, or they may stumble across it for some kind of revelation.

Ancient Japan/Chinese royalty setting where clues about the mystery is given out in subtle, secretive ways. Plus, the hero can't travel outside the palace.

A fantastical world can hide in plain sight without being discovered. When the secret is unmasked by the hero, he is trust into the world. Now, there's no going back.

CHARACTER RELATIONSHIP TROPES!

The characters involved don't know they're soulmates for part of the book but feel drawn to each other.

Twisting the original dynamic between characters from legends, myths and folklore

Semi-humanoid/ multi-race characters bonding with monsters/people of other race like elves, dwarves, goblins, etc.

Enemies-to-lovers

Marriages of convenience based upon political/power dynamic leverage

The main character(s), with a ton of romantic tension, must, for some reason, share a bed.

DARK FANTASY TROPES!

Magic is eveil and often The Corruption. Blood magic, human sacrifice and forsaken children are commonplace.

Magical artifacts with bad omens/curses attached to them. They require a grievous price in order to wield.

The gods are all assholes who pass time eating prayer chips and drinking soul-booze while placing bets and trolling the helpless mortals.

Organized religion of the country is Corrupt Church or Religion of Evil. The leader is totalitarian and strange cults prevail.

The dead find staying buried a little boring and resist any and all attempts to keep them buried, short of cremation or dismemberment.

If you like my blog, buy me a coffee☕ and find me on instagram! 📸

[holmsister]

The ONE thing that ryoko kui didn't really care about in her worldbuilding of a realistic pseudo-medieval world with elements of magic is clothes. Which isnt a problem for 99% of the population but tragically material history is where MY inner laios thoughtform emerges from the shadows.

There are a few good outfits (im thinking especially of late manga laios which i THINK he gets in the Golden Kingdom which is relatively consistent in terms of historical refs and the unchanging eternal middle ages are just such a well-established fantasy trope its a pointless fight) and I'm not judging what the long-lived races are wearing because I get that she was going for a vague timeless fantasy feeling but some of the outfits the main characters wear are unforgivable. All over the place in terms of reference - theres medieval from all over the 1000 years of history but all up to like. The mid 16th century? What the fuck is up with chills shirts. Buckled collar? Shirt collar? Kabru's turtleneck - how does he slide that on, this is before elastic and it doesn't look like it has any fastening. I love the sexy dungeon lord marcella outfit as an aesthetic it eats but GOD its just. Nonsensical in the context where in the Moulin Rouge For Elves did the Winged Lion come up with that shit. Its like. Visible bodice fastened on the front? Black ostrich feathers? Whateverrrrrr (at least people do comment that it's a weird outfit in context so this is a temptative pass)

But the worst offender is anime only (I think) and its the fucking. KABRU SLACKS. From the meeting with Chimera Falin. First of all im pretty sure that type of close exists for trousers that have zippers which is SO WRONG but even assuming that hides a row of buttons or like string. Like. Those are just modern trousers. The cut is modern the way they're built is modern. I hate them so much whenever I see them my ears ring. If i could kill a pair of anime trousers id torture them slowly.

[turndecassette2]

random, but would you consider making a chart/guide to yours ocs? I've been following your art for years but feel like I still don't really know your characters. I'd be very curious to know more about them and who's who

god I feel using the word 'OC' is like, an appropriation of fandom culture ha ha. as in I have a p dumb approach to writing & I don't think that much abt characters aside from like their goals and feelings in the context of whatever story they're part of if that makes sense?

(a very dark part of my soul wishes there was a m. john harrison critique of world-building essay (which I only partially agree with but found helpful at the time after online fantasy writing advise paralysed me with the feeling I needed to understand medieval economics & agriculture before writing about dragons or w/e) but for like. you don't need to know a person's favourite colour, 'love language' etc before writing about them. & I've seen a lot of ppl online building pseudo-fandoms before producing actual works & then if/when they do it's written as like fanfic of itself w the assumption the reader wants charming banter, character trauma dumping etc w/o a story & context to make you care? anyway end rant. not giving examples everyone is trying their best I think & again I'm a weirdo & not the target audience for anything)

...anyways I should do character sheets for Iica & the nameless wanderer those are prob the closest thing I have rn. or the hell pit ppl but since I haven't properly gotten started on that it's still very vague

[15-lizards]

Having a good day…remembered that GRRM consistently describes Cersei, a high ranking noblewoman and queen of his pseudo medieval England fantasy world, as wearing her hair loose and flowing down her back, her gowns as simple one piece dresses with no other additional skirts/overdresses/kirtles, and plunging necklines that show off her bare shoulders…having a bad day

[doodlegraveyard]

Been trying to be more Talky on here because twt sucks and I miss Blogging so I’m gonna talk thru some design WIPS

Working on the winx au- trying to establish Eraklyon vibes. Current criteria is a more cool-temperate climate, inspiration pulled from late medieval/renaissance shapes, as well as certain periods of Kimono and hanbok, scattered Mongolian - the most important thing here is the sense of everything being big and heavy and opulent.

Here is a pass on Queen Samara, trying to reference her canon colors

Going for big and squarish prints and quite showy colors. The crown is somewhat inspired by her canon one but I wanted to make it look more like swept back antlers. My problems with this is that although I’m theming Eraklyon around precious gems, the theme is less light and bright than say-Solaria. I want a vibe of deep colors and mountains and stone. The brightness of this definitely puts it in a fantastical slot, but I’m also worried it almost looks too much like Just a pseudo-ren faire esque costume.

This next pass I decided I wanted to take my colors from some architectural references-actually baroque marble floors with a busy mix of stone in white, black, green, orange, gold. I also more overtly mixed in elements from more of my Asian references. I feel like this could work on Eraklyon, but worn by someone from one of the more Asian inspired culture groups -or maybe Samara could wear it for an occasion, but it’s not what I’m looking for for her default look.

I reworked the original sketch with the architecturally inspired patterns. I think the darker colors vibe better with what I’m imagining for the setting on Eraklyon, but the patterns are a little outlandish and hint at this design not being for a standard fantasy world. I also made her hair a little bigger, like a fusion of the structured hairstyle from the 2nd and the chunky braid. I think it’s neat.

This is just my first pass on things, trying to pin down the vibe. What do you think?

[herecirmsims]

SMALL SIMBLR SATURDAY SHOUTOUTS !!

I somehow missed this being arranged, but I LOVE the idea!! So much! Big up to all the incredible free CC makers on here who share such wonderful things with us. I've spent all morning writing this so it's got a bit long, but honestly... I think it was an excellent use of my time.

Keep being excellent, all of you!

Just a few of my Always Free faves:

Poses

@simmireen : the queen! The legend! And someone who I'm so happy to call my friend. Irene is absolutely my go-to when I need those sweet (and sometimes spicy!) moments. I know she doubts herself at times and doesn't like it when I yell about how amazing she is, but she is such a treasure and does SO much behind the scenes - more than many people realise, I think.

@alpine-lapine-deactivated202311 : unfortunately they're not on Tumblr anymore, but I'm including them anyway because I LOVE them and they've created so many fantastic free posepacks, CC, and tutorials - it's all still available to download!

@adjusted-karma : I'm rabidly addicted to her pin-up series, I don't mind admitting it. All her poses are so good though, she also makes CAS and pose accessories, and has been kind enough to answer my dumb Blender questions more than once!

@samsstudio : an absolute staple for storytellers. She was one of the first posemakers I ever discovered and I use her poses in almost every story post I make - the variations are so useful and the packs are so clearly labelled and organised, I love not having to squint at my screen to figure out what I need. There's always something that works perfectly for the scene.

@simmerberlin : she may be retired from posemaking, but how could I not include her? I also use SimmerBerlin's poses in pretty much all of my story posts (SimmerBerlin and SamsStudio single-handedly keep my story going) - especially her fantastic Emotions series.

@libetsims : this posemaker really needs to be seen more! I use her Emotions series all the time, and she makes so many child poses which are sorely needed for storytellers!

@madebycoffee : so many great posepacks - I use the Hugs series and the spicy poses so often. And the deco Sims! So good and so needed!!

@rebouks : fantasic, expressionate poses that are PERFECT for storytellers. And so many fantastic packs to choose from!

@marshmallow-sims : I really adore their cute style!! Another go-to for cute couple poses, especially ones that fit with the TS4 style. There's always so much life to them.

@raspberrywhimss : my beloved! A new posemaker but so talented! She also makes a lot of storytelling pregnancy poses, which I think are much needed.

@whimsyalien : I love how emotive her poses are!! They're so fun and with such great expressions. Perfect for storytellers!

@enniewritesathing : one of the first posemakers whose poses I ever used! They are sooooo good at spice and cute couples.

@theserenadeofshadows : another new posemaker and an absolute angel!! Please show her some support!

@ratboysims : the quality of these poses are soooo good! Absolutely one of my favourite makers.

@morrigan-sims : another Simmer who could go in any category, but I especially love her poses! Really good for fantasy/medieval storytellers!

Toysofdukeness : they aren't actually on Tumblr, but I'm including them anyway! Absolutely amazing quality poses. Just so good.

CAS

@notsooldmadcatlady : my go-to for medieval* outfits (I think this tag will show you most of their CC!). My Sims are so well-dressed now!! I'm blown away by the quality of their clothes! *Aka clothes that suit my extremely pseudo-medieval fantasy storyline lmao

@woosteru : they're retired, but if you missed them - their CC is still available here! Truly amazing quality and they also made some femme clothing for masc frames, which I truly appreciate.

@crazy-lazy-elder-sims : amaaaaazing alt clothing lines!! Always jaw-dropping and so creative. They also make BB items too!

@kevinandthesims : literally the best boxers available; I don't make the rules, that's just fact. And he also shares incredible no CC builds!

@xldkx-cc : I didn't know whether to put them in CAS or BB, because I rely HEAVILY on their amazing deco Sims but they also make stunning clothing and hair! So... just check out both?!

@laeska : I'm in love with the hair this creator makes!! It's SO beautifully made?!

@courierseis : another whose outfits I use all the time in my medieval/fantasy stuff! They also make hair and poses! Use this tag to easily find their downloads.

@lonelygravescc : more delicious alt goodness!! Honestly I wish I could own most of this CC in real life, but alas I will have to live vicariously through my Sims as usual.

@aniraklova : oki so I have an alt obsession, what of it? This creator makes SUCH cool masc-frame CC, as well as poses!

@shandir : I'm soooo in love with these creations, another absolute must have for fantasy-medieval gameplay and storytelling!!

@eachuisge-cc : the imagination and creativity!! I love everything they make - lots of stuff for horses and for animalistic Sims. I've also been highly entertained by the digitigrade legs + unmentionables saga (I dunno if Tumblr flags these words lmaaaaoo).

@saruin : OBSESSED. Obsessed! So many great creations for your ethereal, occult, otherworldly babes.

@zeussim : maker of stunning wedding dresses and also the fantastic Lestat's Lovers set, which requires it's own shout-out because I adore it and it made me so happy to see siuch great fashion for our masc-framed Sims.

@yooniesim : the hair this creator makes are GORGEOUS, and I also really love their accessories too!

@sychik : I think they might be retired now, but they were the first CC creator I ever downloaded from because they'd made hairs and clothing for The Arcana characters. I'd only just got Sims and I spent many happy hours playing with the Main 6, so I hope they know how much joy they gave me. You can use this tag to easily find CC.

Build/Buy

@surely-sims : I was in two minds about whether to include Anne in Poses or BB (or CAS!), because she is THAT talented that she does all. But her BB is so fun and unique and I'm obsessed with the vintage-style promo pics she makes for it, too. I'm also obsessed with Shromp on a cellular level... I'm in a cult of my own making tbh. Oh! And Anne has also started streaming CC tutorials on Twitch which are excellent!

@lumenniveus : I only discovered him fairly recently (because I heard there may be more Shromp content) but I am OBSESSED. OBSESSED. In fact I'm going to specifically shout-out the Runestone and Herbal Cottage Set because I'm using them so much right now and they've instantly become a must-have for my Mods folder.

@destruam : these conversions are EVERYTHING!! I use so much of their CC, especially to stock my medieval story scenes. They also make CAS outfits!

@buildbuymode : some excellent BB and CAS items, and also the maker of the baby rug hider mod which is SO necessary for storytelling/pose use hahah.

@bakiegaming : honestly, what can't this creator do?! I'm OBSESSED with their mods for animated animal life, and they also make fantastic BB and CAS items too.

And a special mention to @simdertalia : although she has recently had to start making a few sets early access, she was creating huge amounts of CC entirely for free before then and has always been so kind and generous. She is absolutely an integral part of my Mods folder because I use her CC all the time (and have made several poses for pieces that inspired me, too). It's always the highest quality and I frequently find myself discovering something that I didn't know I needed but now couldn't go without!

[alpaca-clouds]

Why do "conservatives" love the middle ages so much?

Let me talk about this one topic regarding the middle ages and how they are portrayed in pop culture, but especially how a certain subset of people are very, very loud about it. And I with that I mean conservatives, or - let's be honest - right wingers.

We all know "sword guys", right? As someone, who was for a time part of the LARP scene, I knew actually several "sword guys". Like, nerds that collect sword replicas, at times even armor replica and then spend their weekends running around and playing "medieval knight".

In of itself this is not a problem. Everyone needs a hobby, right? But... I think that sword guys are actually a good window into what is happening the entire thing with the conservatives/right-wingers and the middle ages.

See, whenever anything medieval related is released anywhere - no matter whether it is pseudo-historic or outright fantasy - there is gonna be a wholeass army of nerds who will then come along and decry all sorts of stuff that they do not like as "ahistorical".

You know. Stuff like women getting shit done, or being in a position of power. Queer people existing. Or people of color doing the same: existing.

And yes, in fact there is a whole subset of "nerds", who are very vocal about what can only be described a "mythic past". As in, a past that has never existed. This is not really a new phenomena. This is something that mostly has its origin in 19th century Europe and it is called Medievalism.

I am not really interested in going into the origins of medievalism and how it is connected partly to the romantic movement. All you need to know is, that the Nazis were really, really into it - as were other fascist movements in medieval Europe.

There is a reason for this, of course. And this is linked to one of the cores of rightwing mythologies: A very toxic nostalgia and the idealization of that mythic past. Which is, ironically, also closely linked to capitalism.

Let me explain: A core part of both conservatism and ideas that are even further right are based on the idea that they want to either conserve a status quo - or more likely return to a past status-quo. And this is something that became more attractive specifically to a certain subsect of men under capitalism.

Under capitalism most people kinda feel alienated from their work and even society. Because most people feel like there is not much use in what they do and their work is not valued in all the important ways. And let me be clear: This is true. And this was true from the very beginning of capitalism. The working class is exploited, was exploited and always will be exploited.

This is also one of the core reasons for why right wing ideologies are so attractive to certain people is, that they give them an easy scapegoat in all the minorities they are blaming for... everything. "No, the problem that you are exploited is not capitalism, it is a Jewish conspiracy!" - "No, the reason you feel so alienated is not capitalism, it is 'the woke mob'." And so on.

And here is where medievalism comes in. Because it provides these people with a fantasy for them. A time where all was right (from their point of view) and where they would have been honored and could have been heroes. A time when they would have been knights and would have saved their distressed damsel. A time at which the gays were hung or burned, in which there was no feminism and of course Black people did not yet exist.

Of course, the reality is that in the medieval times they would not have been a heroic knight, but a peasant working on the field or - if lucky - maybe a tradesman. They might have been called in to fight, but it would have been a rather miserable and not at all heroic affair.

But they want that fantasy of that past in which all of the problems, they perceive in the present, have not existed. A past, in which they would have been seen as more valuable than capitalism sees them. In which they would have been honored just for being white guys.

This is a past, that never existed. But they want to believe in it - because right wing ideologies of course do not offer them any actual solutions for their problem. Because again: Their actual problem is capitalism, and right wing propaganda exists precisely to distract from this fact.

[physalian]

Physalian’s 10 Fantasy and Sci-Fi Pet Peeves

Prove me wrong, add your own, anything goes!

*trigger warning for discussion of homophobia in fiction

1. Winged humanoids not hampered by said wings

I’m talking your classic pseudo-angel with the big feathery bastards on their backs, ones that can’t be hand-waved away behind a veil or manifested at will. Assuming they’re meant to be capable of flight grounded somewhat in real world physics, these things have got to be massive to support a humanoid. Even folded up, the tips of those feathers likely brush the floor and the tops stretch over their heads.

There is no concealing these bad boys in plain sight and the best example I can think of that took some consideration for how cumbersome giant-ass wings would be is DC Comics’ Hawk Girl.

Give me some funny comedy bits about clumsy hybrids and mutants, banging into doors and walls, knocking things over, being unable to fit in cars, on public transport, just constantly getting in the way without some thoughtful and creative solutions.

2. Vampires being immune to wooden bullets

I have not seen every piece of vampire media that exists, so I’m specifically referencing this gaping plot hole in Vampire Diaries and its associated spin-offs. Wooden bullets don’t kill vampires for one reason: It would be too easy to massacre all the vampires. The plot never gives another reason other than that it’s just not good enough.

Give me a legitimate reason for why they don’t work. Is there some critical mass of wood that needs to pierce a heart? Is it tied to some ancient vampire curse that the wood must be stake-shaped? Is the curse not down with the times? What about other wooden projectiles? An arrow? A crossbow bolt?

At what point is it not wood anymore? Can I stake a vampire with a piece of an Ikea bed’s particle board? What if I roll up a sheet of cardstock? What about the very strong root of some other plant? I need answers, damnit!

3. Creatures with non-iron-based blood still having iron-based coloring

This is incredibly specific and I don’t care, they’re called “pet peeves”. I know the answer to why live-action productions don’t take this into consideration when making blood any other color—because who cares? Sure, her blood is black, but only when she bleeds from a cut or a gunshot. The same applies in animation, too, with black-blooded humans. Whether it’s black or silver, white, green, blue, purple doesn’t matter. It’s only not-red when they’re injured because otherwise it could never be a shocking twist-reveal.

This is less a pet-peeve and more an underexplored opportunity. If you’re going to write your humanoid with non-red blood, I want to see what happens when you take full advantage of what doing that actually means for their physical appearance. Give me skin that blushes blue, the creepiness of a human-shape with a black mouth, or green-tinted eyes.

Not just in horror. Give me some uncanny valley vibes in your hero-races and love interests too. Sell me on your aliens being aliens, even if they look human in profile.

4. Fantasy bigotry that exists because of the Fantasy Church

You want to write a bigot fantasy land? Fine by me. I am sick and tired, though, of the same exhausted reasons for this fantasy land, completely detached from Earthly biases, being homophobic simply because it’s medieval.

Y’all realize that you’re not being very ‘fantastical’ if your argument is “but that’s how it was in those times”. What times? You made this fantasy world, you wrote the rules, you wrote in the anti-gay agenda.

I am all for exploring bigotry in fantasy, but if you’re going to make it the fantasy church’s decree, give me a fresh reason for why this fantasy god or gods decided being gay is bad this time around. Or, dare to get creative and make it a non-religious issue. Make it a social one, or a biological one, a superstition even. It doesn’t have to make sense, bigotry is never logical.

The same goes for fantasy sexism and racism. Tell me *why* your women aren’t allowed to fight in battle, why only the white characters are rich landowners, why the existing women are powerless, moneyless, in positions of servitude and sexual slavery. I don’t care that it exists, I just want a compelling reason that I can’t get by reading a history book in the real world.

5. Biblical references in a non-Earth land

Whether it’s sci-fi, or fantasy, if your fantasy land is in no way connected to Earth, please, please stop naming objects and characters after biblical entities. Star Trek? Go right ahead. Narnia? The entire series is one big bible allegory.

I mean aliens naming their ships “the Ark” like they have any knowledge of who Noah was. It’s when the name is meant to evoke the same feeling in your work as it does in the real world.

References to “Hell” and an unnamed “God” are uncreative. Naming your lone alien lady “Eve” is uninspired. Characters thinking another character “looks like an angel” instead of their fantasy version of divine perfection can do better.

This also goes for characters who have a meta-awareness of their symbolic name. If you name your character Daisy and she goes on a monologue about how it’s so fitting because she’s such a delicate white flower—her parents didn’t name her that knowing who she’d become one day. You, the author, did.

Unless you have a character who picks that name for themselves knowing what it means or you really do have clairvoyant parents who want to name their kid Jesus deMartyr the Second, please don’t let your character pontificate about their super special symbolic name.

This is fantasy—get fantastical.

6. Flaming arrows

I wrote 111k words of book just so I could have a legit reason to write flaming arrows.

Among many other under-researched medieval siege tactics for the sake of spectacle, flaming arrows are probably the most annoying because of how transparently they exist only to look cool. Unless fire is the best defense against a horde of supernatural nasties, regular old arrows service you just fine. Or, your defenders have littered the battlefield with easily-ignitable bombs and oil and you aim to set the entire place on fire.

Flaming arrows are also usually a sign of spectacle over practical and, remember, humans were vicious in the middle ages with our torture and battle tactics. You know what’s spectacular? Ditches! Moats! Plagues! Rocks! Flex your research and your smarts by getting creative with your fantasy siege tactics and do better than archers firing burning arrows at their targets.

7. Witches are women, wizards are men

… Yeah, you know the fandom in question. But beyond that one and related to the fantasy bigotry—you have zero reason to not write more dude witches and lady wizards. Ladies are usually sorceresses, sure, they’re plenty powerful, but I want an honest-to-heck badass woman who proudly proclaims herself a legit wizard. Not a magician or a sorceress or a mage. A. Wizard. With the Mickey-style hat and the shapeless robes. De-sexify the supernatural heroines and lady love interests for once.

Give me a dude (straight or otherwise) with the broom and the pointy hat and the bubbling cauldron and the striped Wicked Witch of the East socks or however you’ve designed your fantasy witches. Make his costume indistinguishable from his lady counterparts.

8. Protagonist with any eye color except brown

Unless you’re specifically writing a human-adjacent or supernatural being in a world where eye color is significant culturally or biologically (or thematically), where be all the brown-eyed heroes?

He’s always got to have fanfiction blue eyes and blonde hair, or jet black. Or they’re fanfiction green. Especially in cartoons, a brown-eyed hero is super rare if the hero is white or white-coded. I wrote an entire post about color and our subconscious biases in how we color our characters.

They’re never just brown either. There’s layers. Like an ogre. There’s coffee, honey, amber, cherry wood, walnut, almond, chocolate, cocoa, whisky, bourbon. Do you know how many sexy points Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome would get if you gave him whisky brown eyes?

It’s not a boring color, it’s not an unoriginal color, it’s not an insignificant color.

9. Impractical costumes because they’re sexy

There is only one CW show that magically avoids this trope: The 100. The women in that series are not running around in full faces of makeup, clean and edgy clothes, and high heels. I’m picking on this in fantasy and sci-fi specifically, because I like adventure fantasy, where these characters are in the dirt, in battle, on the road, etc. I’m picking on fantasy because the makeup of the people who write it are still dominated by men.

Take one look at the difference in the costumes of the Amazonians between Wonder Woman and Justice League and you’ll see what I mean. Let her be frumpy! Let them wear something other than a black leather jacket. Let her run around in chunky road sneakers, have her hair up in a ponytail, and not be wearing 8 pieces of jewelry when she’s prepared for a fight. Let her wear the same armor as the men with the exact same neckline, if she wants to. She can be sexy for the rest of the book, but when she’s in combat, let her be practical.

10. Latin-based spells in a non-Latin world

Addendum to the biblical references above, Latin sure sounds cool for spellwork… if this is Earth-based urban fantasy. It’s easy for readers to pronounce, Latin sounds exactly as it’s spelled, and even if your readers only speak English, you can usually pick out a word or two to understand the intent behind the spell.

However. Latin doesn’t exist if Europe never existed in your fantasy world. Make your own fantasy gibberish for your spellwork, or, heck, design your own skeleton language. Give it influences from a language that isn’t Latin. Make it sound vaguely Celtic if you want, or Spanish, Japanese, what have you, just for diversity’s sake.

Additional addendum: You cannot give me a name like Xenophilius Lovegood for a man born after 1900 in an urban fantasy setting and expect me to take him at all seriously.

—

ANNOUNCEMENT!! I have a new website~ annebellowsbooks.com where my blog can *finally* be organized into sensible categories and is easily navigable. And! It shall shortly host an excerpt from ENNS chapter 1. Check it out, point out typos I missed, gush over the amazing color scheme—I worked hard on it!

[phantasmiafxndom]

Out of all the animes you’ve watch what ones are your favorites

...you know what, you get the serious answer. I used to track my anime watching, so out of the 450+ completed ones on my list, here are some of my top recommendations! (In terms of quality, more so than what I've spent the most time dwelling on.)

. . .

One Piece — I haven't technically watched all of this one, but after falling back into the fandom after an 8-ish year break, I really can't understate the quality. One Piece's story is amazing, and I'm consistently impressed by the author's characters/worldbuilding.

Dominion Tank Police (1988) — I have FEELINGS about the villain in this one... Overall, 80s sci-fi vibes mix with themes of ethical responsibility and societal peacekeeping, and the "don't you just want to go apeshit? :)" protagonist (who's also extremely aromantic-coded) is a hilarious, yet wonderfully earnest little menace!

Kyousougiga — I've been rewatching this one recently, and the sheer detail in every scene is STUNNING. I keep having to pause to mentally scream about the symbolism, and tbh, knowing the plot from my original watch is only improving the experience.

Tekkon Kinkreet — This one's a movie, not a series, but SKLJKHS IT HAUNTS ME. Absolutely chilling, by the time the big plot twists roll around... Beyond that, the overall aesthetic/vibe is impeccable, and the exaggerated, messy art style only adds to that.

Kemonozume — Monster/human forbidden romance with stunning art and a great soundtrack. The plot started out a bit confusing, but all of the scattered story elements came together nicely in the end!

The Tatami Galaxy — The "get your shit together and start enjoying your life" anime. It's plenty good as just a story, but I got some excellent life lessons out of it too. Solid mix of comedy, drama, and charismatic-yet-extremely-bizarre characters interacting.

Monster — Excellent slow-paced, psychological horror packed with ethical dilemmas, traumatic backstories, and so many Extremely Depressed Men. In other words, there's a very good reason why Johan Liebert used to end up on so many "best anime villains" lists.

Paranoia Agent — I have nothing but praise for Satoshi Kon's work, in general, and Paranoia Agent has been my favorite of the ones I've seen so far. Compared to his movies, it really benefits from the extra space for plot development, and the big emotional twist hits hard.

Revolutionary Girl Utena — A true classic. <3 There are enough tumblr essays about this tragic yuri masterpiece that I won't go into detail myself, but yes, it's every bit as good as you've heard.

Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail — The entire Black Lagoon series is excellent, but Roberta is my special girl. Unfortunately, the OAV adaption compresses the manga's version of her arc pretty heavily (and the altered ending is kind of dumb), but I still have to recommend it. Babygirl's breakdown is a REAL mess kjshghs

Claymore — Excellent pseudo-medieval fantasy with badass female characters, lots of body horror, and top-tier monster design. The manga is MUCH better than the anime after a certain point, however.

Kuuchuu Buranko — An episodic series about an eccentric psychiatrist interacting with his troubled patients. The mixed-media animation style and bizarre characters are what sold it for me, along with the exploration of mental health through storytelling tropes.

Cannon Fodder — An artistic short movie that's twenty minutes of aesthetic experience and fascinating worldbuilding implications. I love the vibe, and the "one, long horizontal frame" style is neat.

Flowers of Evil — The art style. The VIBES. The whole thing is incredibly eerie and off-putting, with a plot that's pretty much: "congrats! two shitty teenagers are tearing each other's lives apart!".