#with this i have officially created a trend

[mokadevs]

bus stop

[autisticsonic]

My take on a Sonadow fankid! She actually existed for a while now, but the trend gave me motivation to finally draw her!

Most sonadow fankids are purplish and tube-grown, so I decided to make her neither!

Background for the story under cut, in case it gets long!

So in this AU, stories from the more recent games happen when Sonic and Shadow are at most around 20 years old. Back then Sonic was rambunctious and reckless as we know him to be, and Shadow was a depressed, traumatized emo kid. While at first they were rivals as depicted in the games.

Over the years tho, just like their friends, the two matured. They started getting along a lot more, and became official friends, which eventually lead to dating. They both were afraid of getting serious though, so they took things slow and casual. Due to some of their unresolved issues, they couldn't get any closer. But not for much longer.

Some of it has been brought on by a Particular Event, and some of it due to restructuring how they go about saving the world, but things changed. As Forces has shown, putting so much responsibility on One Guy isn't wise. Sonic felt so quilty for failing, but it never should've been his job alone, so they created an organization, to share the load more evenly!

The org became global, with local groups of heroes being recruited all around, meaning that now the characters we know and love now had more time to take care of their personal lives.

While for some the change hasn't been much, Sonic, and to a lesser extent, Shadow, struggled quite a lot. Many of things happened in between, but eventually both of them grew to quite enjoy the domestic life.

They moved in together, and started taking things to the next level, now that both have done some healing and therapy. They found that they get along quite great. After a bit longer, they decided to start a family :)

Shadow came up with the name. He wanted to honor his sister's memory, but Mar-Mar was also a symbol of all his progress. He did go to therapy to make sure that he can handle them sharing a name, to see if it's a good idea, and well, it was!

She's now 4 and very loved, and her dads love each other very much as well. For a certain Sonic though, things won't go so great.

[duckprintspress]

Fandom 101: Getting Started on Fanlore.org

Not long ago, we at Duck Prints Press decided that we’d like the Press to have a page on Fanlore. To accomplish that, Press contributor Shea Sullivan made an account and figured out the nuts and bolts on how to add pages to Fanlore. Turns out, it’s not very hard, and now in this guest blog post, Shea will teach y’all how to do it too!

Making Your First Fanlore Page!

Hello! I am an editor on Fanlore as of a few days ago. Before that, I’d worked with mediawiki (the open source platform Fanlore uses) for unrelated projects, so I had a general understanding of how things worked, but no idea how Fanlore preferred their pages to be formatted or organized or linked.

This is how I got started!

First: What is Fanlore and Why Should You Care?

Fanlore is a wiki specifically dedicated to the fandom experience. It’s not for canon info about a specific fandom; rather, it’s for information about how fans interact with media and each other. Fanlore is run by the OTW, the same organization that brings us our beloved AO3. This context helped me in understanding the focus of Fanlore. It’s about fandom: the ups, the downs, the trends, the drama…all the things that can get lost forever when sites disappear or there’s a purge. And that said…well, you may still not care. But if you do, read on!

Second: You Care. Now What?

(read more)

Get an account. Right now. It’s worth getting the account, because you won’t be able to create new pages for a few hours. So, get the account first, figure out what to do with it later.

Go to fanlore.org and click on “Create Account” in the upper right-hand corner:

Third: You Have the Power (Soon)!

Read up! No need to invent the wheel in this post – they’ve got some great resources for getting started already written on their webpage.

Fanlore Getting Started Page

General Help Pages on Fanlore

Four hours after you create your account, you can create pages! Congrats! There are a ton of help pages out there, but the questions I had initially were:

How do I make sure this page doesn’t exist already?

Search. Search for the page. Search for key phrases associated with the page. A page name is a fiddly thing, so search for significant phrases in a few different ways before you determine it doesn’t exist. Always make sure you check before you set out to create page!

How do I add this page?

If it’s not there, you’ll see it come up in red when you search. Type the page name you want to create in the search bar. Click “Search” to get all the results, and then click on that red link.

How do I format this page?

You now have an empty page. When I was getting started, my big question was: what should my page look like? Well, Fanlore has templates that can help with that! The templates are in a markup language, but do not fear! Copy and paste the template (everything in the blue box on the template page, typically starting with curly braces), make some updates, and click “Preview.” You can repeat those steps indefinitely until you get the hang of the markup. There’s also a ton of information on the Fanlore.org cheatsheet. (If you’re still confused, keep reading, there’s more specifics under the infobox section.)

Once you have the page created and published, you can edit it without the markup language if you prefer – there’s “Edit,” which gives you a non-code-based option, and an “Edit Source” button, which gives you the code-based option.

If your proposed page topic doesn’t have an official template created for that topic, you can look up similar pages and see how they’re structured.  If you’re not sure how they managed to make something look a certain way, click the “Edit Source” button and look at the code there to get a sense of what they did. Be sure to cancel out of the edit when you’re done so you don’t make unintentional changes to someone else’s page! Some pages are locked down (like the template pages) so you can’t make edits, but most “normal” pages will have those links at the top so you can dig in and see what’s there and how the people who wrote that page made it look the way it does.

How do I add an infobox?

Those infoboxes on the right of a lot of pages give a quick overview of important information. These are templates, and you can find a list of available infobox templates here.

The templates, when you click into them, have a heading and some info that you can fill in. You can’t remove items from the template without making a new template, which I don’t recommend trying when you’re getting started. Use the template, fill in the information, and mark “N/A” if you don’t have information to insert in a specific field. A sample template for an infobox looks like this, and you fill in information after each “equals” sign. You can add a list, and you can add links to these after the equals sign using the markup for internal and external links on the Cheatsheet.

{{FanProfile |name=  |alias(es)= |type= |fandoms= |communities= |other= |url= }}

If you’re still confused, let’s go to Astolat’s fan page and click “Edit Source” and see how the infobox looks behind the scenes:

See how everything that was in the original template is still there, there’s just a list of information after the equals sign?

And here’s how it looks formatted:

How do I categorize this page?

Categories are important because they help Fanlore’s back-end coding group pages together so people can find the page you’ve created and so the page is in the right place in the site map. If you can’t figure it out, though, don’t worry, there are people who will find it and take care of it!

If you have an infobox from a template, this is taken care of. 

If you didn’t use an infobox template, you can add a Category to index the page.

Finding a Category can be a little overwhelming. If you have an example page (another page that contains the same type of content as yours), you can scroll to the bottom of that page and see what Category has been assigned to it. You can add that Category to your page by editing the source and adding that category into your page at the bottom with 2 square brackets, like this: [[Category:YourCategory]]

Use “Preview” to make sure you set it up correctly before saving the page.

If you need to find a category and can’t find a good example page, I recommend going to the sitemap, finding what fits your article the best, and clicking into it. Categories are set up in hierarchies, so click through until you find the Category and Subcategory that fits best.

Add it at the very bottom of the page, and it should show up when you preview, at the very bottom of the page.

How do I add those nifty citation references[1]?

Review theFanlore page on citation formatting for details. The basics are:

Add a blank References heading at the bottom of the page.

Add tags and include the source information.

What is the difference between a citation and an external link? Good question! I don’t know for sure, but the way I’ve been using it, if I make a statement about a thing and I want to direct you to the “proof” (article, webpage, etc), I will use a citation. If there is a thing I’m linking to because it is relevant but not as proof of what I’m saying on the wiki, I will add it as an external link.

Fourth: Don’t Worry

You’ll find there are a lot of instances when you might not be sure what the “right” way is to do whatever it is you’re trying to do. Don’t let that stop you! Do a little research, do your best, and be okay with a learning curve.

The thing about wiki editing in general, and this includes Fanlore, is that it’s a community project, and everyone is doing their best. It’s worthwhile to think about trying to make your pages consistent with other pages where you can, because it will help people who are trying to find what you’re providing. So, poke around similar pages first and look for common trends in how they’re organized, and mimic that for your own page.

All that said, there is very little hierarchy in editors and few rules set in stone. It’s a community site put together by volunteers. You may find that you’ve labeled, referenced, cited, categorized, etc, a page incorrectly, or that you added a page that was already there under another name, or you may have put in a canon page when that’s really not what Fanlore is for. No problem! A page can be reverted to a previous version. It can be removed by a “Gardener” (higher-level editor), or edited by someone else who is more familiar with the inner wiki workings, or you can even tweak it yourself when you learn a better ways to code the page. 

There is always a path forward, so get in there and get started!

Happy creating, happy fandom, and welcome!

GO VISIT FANLORE NOW!

[thecreaturecodex]

Demon Lord, Orcus

Image © TSR Inc, by Todd Lockwood.

[Sponsored by @tar-baphon. Orcus is one of the iconic D&D villains, and through the SRD and plausible deniability (he's a Roman god!), he's in Pathfinder as well. In Pathfinder, he is deliberately not a power player, and my flavor text takes that already metatextual decision and runs hog wild with it.

A note on the art: I feel like Orcus is emblematic of when D&D was seen as dangerous, and this piece absolutely feels like it should be the cover of a Black Sabbath album. It's no surprise that I was fascinated with the anti-D&D strain of the Satanic Panic when I was a kid. Also, although there has been some course correction in the 5e era, there's a trend with Orcus in a lot of art, including his official Pathfinder depiction, of making Orcus buff. Let Orcus be fat!]

Demon Lord, Orcus CR 28 CE Outsider (extraplanar) This humanoid is a corpulent giant with skin mottled like a decaying corpse. He has great black bat-wings growing from his shoulders, hooves for feet, and the head of a goat. He clutches a short staff, tipped with an oversized human skull.

Orcus, Prince of Undeath CE male demon lord of death, necromancy and wrath Domains  Chaos, Death, Evil, Magic Subdomains Demon, Divine, Murder, Undead Favored Weapon heavy mace Unholy Symbol a goat’s head with curving horns Worshipers liches, necromancers, sapient undead Minions boneclaws, deathdrinkers, demons, other undead For information on his Obedience and boons for his worshipers, see Book of the Damned

Orcus is one of the most powerful demon lords in the Universe. But not on Golarion. On that world, his is one of a number of undead cults, and not nearly the most popular. Orcus has a clear hierarchy to what undead he considers truly worthy, with those created from contagion seen as inferior to accident, and those inferior to those who intentionally seek out undeath. His most dedicated worshippers on Golarion are liches, some of whom have learned the secret of crafting a phylactery by teasing apart the Prince of Undeath’s wisdom from his threats. The followers of many other undead-focused religions, particularly vampires and ghouls, see Orcus as pretentious and unworthy of dedication, although few are foolish enough to directly oppose him.

Orcus himself knows that his star has fallen. In his extensive research into planar lore, Orcus has learned that he was once the most feared being in another universe, who went on a killing spree that left several gods dead and an entire race of lawful outsiders duped into being his pawns. That Orcus cannot accomplish this level of power in this version of reality vexes and frustrates him, and he takes his rage out on his minions as much as he does his foes.

Orcus is a genius tactician, although his temper sometimes gets the better of him. He enjoys combat as a distraction from his cosmic-level sulk, and as a way of expressing his power over others. He typically opens combat with a time stop to summon allies and cast defensive spells on himself, and then unleashes a potent death effect as soon as the duration expires. Against creatures that can resist his negative energy and poison, he uses dispelling magic. On more than one occasion, Orcus has beaten a cocky archmage to a pulp by centering an antimagic field on himself and wading into combat.

Orcus in the Great Game Orcus’ response to the brewing theomachy between Mormo and Lamashtu is cautious optimism. He desires more power in the Abyss, and Lamashtu could open the door for him to seize it. Kabriri and Zura are at the top of Orcus’ hit list, but views a direct assault on them as currently too risky to be worth the effort. If one of them were to make a move against Lamashtu and be punished for it, or if they were struck down in the scramble for power following Lamashtu’s (theoretical) demotion or demise, Orcus would happily swoop in to finish them off.  And if Mormo is capable of legitimately slaying a god, Orcus will be very keen to study her techniques.

Wand of Orcus (major artifact) The Wand of Orcus is the Prince of Undeath’s scepter of office, and it never leaves his side. Lesser versions have appeared in the Material Plane, often created by Orcus or one of his high-level clerics. The real Wand of Orcus is a Huge +5 anarchic, unholy heavy mace. In the hands of a demon, it grants a +4 profane bonus to Armor Class. The first time the Wand of Orcus strikes a living creature in a round, that creature is subject to a slay living spell (DC 30). Weight 24 lbs.; CL 25th

Demon Lord, Orcus        CR 28 XP 4,915,200 CE Huge outsider (chaos, demon, evil, extraplanar) Init +11; Senses arcane sight, darkvision 120 ft., detect good, detect law, Perception +48, true seeing Aura frightful presence (120 ft., DC 36), undead obedience (120 ft., Will DC 36), unholy (DC 28)

Defense AC 47, touch 23, flat-footed 40(-2 size, +7 Dex, +4 deflection, +4 profane, +24 natural) hp 709(33d10+528); regeneration 30 (deific or mythic) Fort +31, Ref +29, Will +34 DR 20/cold iron, epic and good; Immune ability damage, ability drain, charm, compulsion, death effects, electricity, energy drain, petrification and poison; Resist acid 30, cold 30, fire 30; SR 39 Defensive Abilities Abyssal resurrection, freedom of movement, negative energy affinity

Offense Speed 40 ft., fly 60 ft. (average) Melee Wand of Orcus +51/+46/+41/+36 (3d6+20 plus 2d6 chaos and 2d6 evil/19-20), claw +44 (1d8+7), sting (2d4+7 plus poison), gore (2d6+7) or 2 claws +46 (1d8+15), sting +46 (2d4+15 plus poison), gore +46 (2d6+15) Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft. Special Attacks epic spellcasting, powerful charge (gore, 4d6+22) Spell-like Abilities CL 28th, concentration +38 (+42 casting defensively) Constant—arcane sight, detect good, detect law, freedom of movement, true seeing, unholy aura (DC 28, self only) At will—animate dead*, astral projection, blasphemy* (DC 27), circle of death* (DC 28), create undead, enervation*, greater dispel magic, greater teleport, plane shift* (DC 25), telekinesis* (DC 25), unholy blight* (DC 24) 3/day—control undead (DC 29), create greater undead, energy drain (DC 31), finger of death* (DC 29), quickened greater dispel magic, quickened harm*, summon demons or undead, symbol of death (DC 30) 1/day—power word kill*, time stop*, true resurrection, wail of the banshee (DC 31) * Orcus can use the mythic version of this spell-like ability in his domain Spells Prepared CL 20th, concentration +32 (+36 casting defensively) 9th—energy drain (DC 33), etherealness, mage’s disjunction* (D, DC 31), overwhelming presence (DC 31), soul bind (DC 33), wail of the banshee (DC 33) 8th —cloak of chaos (DC 30), fire storm* (DC 30), greater spell immunity, horrid wilting (DC 32), orb of the void* (DC 32), protection from spells (D), unholy aura (DC 30) 7th —control weather, destruction (DC 31), greater scrying (DC 29, x2), repulsion, spell turning (D), waves of exhaustion 6th —antilife shell, antimagic field (D), banshee blast (DC 30), blade barrier* (DC 28), geas/quest, harm* (DC 30), mass bull’s strength 5th —dispel good (DC 27), flame strike (DC 27), greater command (DC 27), mass ghostbane dirge (DC 27), righteous might, suffocation (D, DC 29), vampiric shadow shield 4th —contagion (DC 28), death ward (D), divine power (x2), rest eternal, sending (x2)*, tongues 3rd —bestow curse (x2, DC 27), prayer*, protection from energy, rage (D, DC 25), ray of exhaustion, vampiric touch*, water breathing 2nd —bear’s endurance (x2), death knell (D, DC 26), desecrate, owl’s wisdom (x2), resist energy, spiritual weapon* 1st —bane (DC 25), divine favor (x2), entropic shield, identify (D), ray of enfeeblement* (DC 25), sanctuary (DC 23), shield of faith* 0th—bleed (DC 24), detect magic, light, read magic *—Orcus may use the mythic version of this spell in his Abyssal domain

Statistics Str 40, Dex 25, Con 42, Int 30, Wis 35, Cha 31 Base Atk +33; CMB +50; CMD 71 Feats Combat Casting, Combat Reflexes, Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Craft Rod, Craft Wondrous Item, Flyby Attack, Greater Spell Focus (necromancy), Greater Spell Penetration, Improved Critical (heavy mace), Improved Initiative, Hover, Multiattack, Mythic Spell Lore (B), Power Attack, Quicken SLA (greater dispel magic, harm), Spell Focus (necromancy), Spell Penetration Skills Bluff +46, Craft (alchemy, weaponsmithing) +46, Fly +36, Intimidate +43, Knowledge (arcana, planes, religion) +46, Knowledge (dungeoneering, history) +43, Perception +48, Sense Motive +48, Spellcraft +46, Stealth +35, Survival +45, Use Magic Device +46 Languages Abyssal, Common, Draconic, Infernal, Necril, telepathy 300 ft. SQ demon lord traits, master of death

Ecology Environment any land or underground (Abyss) Organization unique Treasure triple standard (Wand of Orcus, other treasure)

Special Abilities Aura of Undead Obedience (Su) Any undead creature within 120 feet that attempts to make a hostile action against Orcus must succeed a DC 36 Will save or be unable to take that action, wasting it. The save DC is Charisma based. Epic Spellcasting (Ex) Orcus gains Mythic Spell Lore as a bonus feat. Once per day, he can use one of his spell-like abilities or spells as if it was a mythic spell without spending a use of mythic power. This allows him to use a mythic spell or spell-like ability outside of his Abyssal domain, but he cannot augment that spell or spell-like ability by spending additional uses of mythic power. Master of Death (Ex) Orcus applies his Spell Focus and Greater Spell Focus (necromancy) feats to his spell-like abilities. Death effects created by Orcus, including the Wand of Orcus in his hands, ignore immunity to death effects except for those granted by creature type, or from deific or mythic sources. Poison (Ex) Sting—injury; save Fort DC 42; duration 1/round for 4 rounds; damage 1d6 Str and 1d6 Con; cure 2 consecutive saves. A creature reduced to 0 Str by Orcus’ poison cannot breathe and begins to suffocate. The save DC is Constitution based. Spells Orcus can cast spells as a 20th level cleric, and can prepare necromancy spells from the sorcerer/wizard list as if they were cleric spells. He gets access to domain slots, and can fill them with spells from any of his domains or subdomains. He can also spontaneously cast inflict spells as an evil cleric can. Summon Demons and Undead (Sp) When Orcus summons demons, he can also summon undead creatures.

[upon-a-starry-night]

Number Neighbors Pt.27

Natasha Romanoff x Fem! Reader

Natasha Masterlist Series Masterlist

Word Count: 1.2k

Summary:  When you catch sight of the newest trend going around you know you’re all but bound to at least try it, it was harmless anyway. What could possibly stem from something so little?

----

Nat’s been more than exhausted these past few weeks as she drafts up argument after argument that she can use against the government to justify why she and her fellow Avengers shouldn't be put on a leash. She knows it’s a long shot and she doesn’t have enough witness accounts or evidence yet but she’s been hearing about the crime rate spike through the rumor mill and she hopes that soon enough she’ll have enough to come back.

She can bring her family back and finally have you. If you’ll still have her after all of this is over. She knows you’d have every right to be mad but she hopes you’ll understand enough to at least let her take you on one date.

The rain pelts outside of her window as it has been for the last three days and she sighs as she lies back on her pull-out bed. If it were under different circumstances she might’ve been able to appreciate the break from the city and the pressure. Maybe she could even come back to these woods with Clint, or Wanda, or…You.

She’s working hard to make sure her family is safe, yes, but she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t working this hard to also see you again. To finally know what it feels like to hold you, to run her fingers through your hair, and hear you laugh again. The thought of you has been the only thing that’s brought her comfort these past few weeks.

Her computer dings with an email and she shoots up immediately, grabbing the shiny object from the side table next to her and pulling it onto her lap. She wasn’t expecting any emails while she was out here and her mind jumped to the worst-case scenario: they’d found her location.

The email is from an unknown sender which only makes her more uneasy and she’s more frustrated than anything that she’ll have to find a new place to hide when she recognizes the encrypted link hidden in the email's coding.

It was a website Clint had created just for the two of them to communicate in case there was ever a situation similar to this. She’s afraid to admit just how comforting it was to hear from someone close to her after weeks of no contact. She quickly opens the website and reads the messages.

Clint-

Hey Natty, hope you’re having fun wherever you’ve parked that trailer of yours, Tony’s been a real pain in the butt but we’re trying to negotiate some better terms with some government officials. I know you’re probably working on a solution of your own but I’ve got to at least pretend like I contribute to this group-

She snorts at the self-jab, knowing her fellow Avenger couldn’t care less about the insults people say about him being the least skilled Avenger. She always admired that about him.

Clint-

Anyway, your phone’s been blowing up. I think Tony is getting suspicious so I took it and hid it in my room. I think you’re gonna be in deep shit with your girlfriend when you get back haha. 

I attached the voicemails you’ve been getting, I didn’t listen to them but I saw who they were from. Thought they might be important.  

Nat’s heart pounded as she stared at the attached files, there were at least 30 voicemails from you varying in different lengths and part of her was scared to open them. There was no doubt a few of them were just you yelling at her but even then she’d missed the sound of your voice so much that she’d take your irritation over anything else.

She hesitates over the first voicemail with her cursor but clicks it before she can sike herself out. There’s a little bit of silence and she wonders if you’re going to talk before she hears a small sniffle and her heart breaks. She swore to herself she’d never make you cry and now she’d failed, the sound of your quiet crying echoing throughout her trailer only amplifying her defeat.

It's another thirty seconds before your voice finally breaks through. It’s rough and raw and she can tell you’d probably been crying for a while.

“Nat? Where did you go? Why’d you leave? Listen- we don’t have to meet if you don’t want to. We can keep texting forever just don’t ghost me like this. Please.” It’s short and by how broken your last word sounded she can tell you were probably thrown into another fit of sobs after you ended the message. 

Nat doesn’t know what to do with herself, her body feels frozen and her heart won’t stop sinking further into her stomach. She’s never heard you sound so unsure of yourself before and it tears her apart that she’s the one who made you that way. It takes her a few minutes to muster up the courage to click on another one.

“What kind of person just says ‘I’m sorry?’ I deserve a better explanation than that! You couldn’t have at least lied to me about going to save baby animals in Africa where there’s no cell service? At least then when you stopped responding I could’ve felt better!” She’s not surprised that you’re mad at her, you deserve to be, but it doesn’t stop the guilt from gnawing at her chest when she hears how irked you are.

The next few are similar in the fact that they’re either angry or spoken through tears but they slowly begin transitioning into something else. Eventually, you stop talking about her leaving and start talking about yourself. What you did that day, what you’re making for dinner, the cat you’ve been visiting at the cat cafe. There’s still a hint of sadness in your tone but she can tell the calls are a form of therapy for you. A way for Nat to be there when she’s not really there.

She wants to be there. She wants to be the one you’re talking about your day with, wants to cook you dinner while you sit on the counter and visit the cat cafe with you. It hurts that she can’t do that and as she’s listening she feels her eyes burn with tears. She refuses to let them fall. She’s not the one who gets to cry in this scenario and yet her eyes refuse to give up their unshed tears.

There’s one last voicemail from a day ago and she clicks on it expecting it to be like the others but much to her surprise you’re talking about her again.

“I think I’m mad because I can’t even bring myself to hate you for it. I know you’ve probably got some shit going on. I understand that, trust me. But- I don't know you could’ve… maybe it’s too much of me to ask you to fill me in on the situation- or let me know when you’d be back… Is this goodbye?” 

 Your static voice rings out into the silence and Nat hates how you sound. Reserved- almost accepting. Like you’ve convinced yourself she’s never going to respond again and she hates it. She hates that she made you so insecure that you think she isn't spending every hour thinking of you and how to get back to you. 

The sound of your voice fills her with even more determination as she begins redrafting her court argument. She was going to come back to you, you just had to wait for her a little longer.

Pt.28

A/n: Aww Nat :( ~ Starry

---Taglist--

@marvelwomen-simp @cd-4848 @wandanatlov3r @rebeltombraider @ctrlamira @fxckmiup @aliherreraaa @natsxwife @la-douler-ne-finite-jamais @romanoffsgal @moistblobfish @natashaswife4125 @elenimoris @how-to-disappearrr @screechcat @toouncreativeforausername @ordelixx @autorasexy @blacklightsposts @vmpnano @jono723 @sylencr @saraaahsstuff @autorasexy @gay4hotmilfs @tofu9162 @dyslexic-dreamer @graniairish @colettehope @kosmichs1 @nmhlver @natblidaclexa @skittlebum @dorabledewdroop @nothanksbye07 @mrsrushman @midastouch013 @thalia-is-not-ok @tessalah @annab3113 @officialnighttime

[womenaremypriority]

Headless Women Art in the Sims 4

This has little to do with the actual game, so this should be understandable to anyone!  I wanted to share this.  

If you don’t know what ‘headless women art’ is, it refers to a trend in which women are depicted without heads in art and decorations.  This disproportionately affects women and the excuse is generally that it is body-positive, but the feminist argument is that is dehumanizing and normalizes women as unthinking objects.  Here are some examples via @thatsonemorbidcorvid :

Now she has many examples in drawings and paintings, but in my collection, I sticked to objects- which I find more creepy, less defensible, with less male counterparts.  

In the Sims 4, you can build houses.  You can create and download custom objects for your game, and you can download houses which have these custom objects.  I’m not sure about the actual, official game, but when you download custom, fan-made content- this stuff is EVERYWHERE. Recently, I’ve been obsessing over looking at different buildings people have made for the game, but I got so tired of seeing this type of art that I started to collect it.  I have counted examples of men vs women.  Using the same standard of what counts as headless art, I found 22 men and 117 women- still a considerable amount of men, but as a trend heavily geared towards women.  There were a few that are debatable, usually because it was unclear whether male or female.  There were some that I debated counting because while technically having a face, they still felt as if they could count- but to keep it simple, I didn’t. When it comes to headless people in art such a paintings and drawings, I found it to be pretty equal, and didn’t count any towards the count.  I noticed that women are usually more sexualized in general art such as this, however.  For fairness, I will add that busts and sculptures that were just heads, it appeared to be mostly men, which could be argued is also dehumanizing/ornamentive.  However, for the most part, these men were given expressions and a face.  And when it came to full-body sculptures, it appeared equal as well.   Anyways, behold… headless women art.

There are a bunch of duplicates in my count, the same objects used multiple times.  I found about ~18 unique headless women and about ~7 unique men- it’s a bit hard to tell the exact number though.  For the men, 3 of the 7 showed up only once, 3 showed up two times, and the other object made up all the other appearances of headless men.  

Notice how similar the in-game objects look like the actual ones- I think some of them might be modeled after real-life art too.

Now, here are some the men.

9/22 times a man appears, a woman does, as well.  Either because they are placed together, or because they are part of the same object, like in the second photo above.

Out of the 7 headless male pieces, at least 3 looked less like they were intended to be placed in a house as-is and more like very old objects, such as the one below. But to be fair, these only showed up a couple times. I considered not adding to the main count ones were museum objects or in art workshops, things that may not be finished or “complete” but did so anyway. There were a couple of those for male and female. Here is one such.

Here is one that I wasn’t sure about including or not.

This photo is a bit blurry, and I couldn’t in good conscience count it- maybe most people would, as it’s a humanoid shape more female in appearance than male, but the quality isn’t good and there’s enough room for doubt. I wanted to be sure I was fair. There’s a bunch of tinier things next to it that could also be headless art but are even harder to make out.

These figures appear to be breasts, but again, room for doubt. I’m honestly not sure the intention, but if you want to add them to the count, it appeared 6 times.

These weird legs showed up twice. Honestly, they’re very close to being counted.

Now, this does show a bit of face, but since it’s still somewhat covered and degrading in nature, I considered adding it. It showed up thrice The problem is that I don’t think I saved photos whenever I saw similar things for men, and so can’t accurately count. To be clear, I don’t think I saw anything for men that was the same as this or similar, but there were some that had only half a face. Here is one example that was next to a headless women.

There is the male-looking face with plants coming out of it, which I saw quite a few times. There were a couple like that for women, but the question is, if I count the lamp women, do I count this? The main difference is he has eyes, and most of his head is there, giving him individuality, so can’t really be classified as headless. I can’t count these, but I can say there wasn’t really an equivalent for men other than the weird object I showed before with a man and a woman, that could be interpreted as a lamp I suppose.

There’s also whatever this is supposed to be, which I saw twice. A less obsessive person would probably count it, I didn’t. At first I thought it had breasts, but it might be eyes. I will also note that I saw plenty of headless mannequins and silhouettes, virtually all coded female, but didn’t count those. Here’s some other… interesting things.

Does she have a head? Yes. But is this objectifying? Also yes. And again, there were plenty of male fall-body statues, as well as female, but those were dignifying and artistic in nature. But among these types of high-art, modern objects like this, where you have to wonder the point, all I remember are female. They all appear in an unnatural manner. There are a few male-looking heads as well, however-

Here’s what I would consider the closest alternative for men. You can even see the second photo has much of their face missing, as much as the women with the lamp head! Is this as dehumanizing? You decide. There were a few statues of women that were just heads, but none as big and not as many that had missing pieces like this.

None of this is in the final count, but it’s something I found interesting to think about. The last 3 pictures were all made by the same person, but I’ve seen stuff like this used in buildings from other people. I didn’t save everything like this, so I can’t compare or count how many appeared, this was just a couple I remember. Anyways, that’s it! I thought it was super crazy. When I decided to start counting, I thought it would take a while to find any headless women art but it didn’t, at all. Most of what I have screenshots of is the more realistic style of building, because that’s what I prefer, but near the end I started looking more into styles that match the original games graphics. There was probably a higher ratio of men to women when compared to the other style, but still more women in general. This is a plague for real.

[lovecanyon]

EXES TO LOVERS INSTAGRAM BLURB

harry styles x reader

MASTERLIST | PATREON

-

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yourinstagram MYYY ALBUM IS OFFICIALLY OUT NOW!!! WHAT A YEAR ❤️

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ynfan8 i just fell on my knees

harryfan10 SHE IS SO MOTHER

harrystyles Such a brilliant album, I love it. Congratulations.

yourinstagram ❤️

ynfan5 WHAT IS HARRY DOING HERE 😭

harryfan7 harry being a supportive ex…we love to see it!!

alexachung literally album of the year

ynfan4 y/n came to us when we needed her the most 🧎‍♀️

adele streaming as we speak 💖

harryfan6 harry commenting…he’s so messy omg

gemmastyles i swear you are too talented y/nnnn!

yourinstagram love and miss you gem

ynfan3 UMMMM

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enews Harry Styles congratulated ex Y/N L/N on her new album recently. The two began to trend on social media leading fans to believe that they could get back together. Both singers refused to confirm nor comment on this situation.

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harryfan17 leave my parents alone!

ynfan14 can’t harry congratulate y/n in peace 🫣

harryfan19 right, nonetheless they are still friends……

ynfan12 harry’s house being about y/n…my 21st century blues being about harry 🤯

harryfan15 i’m sorry but they were such a hot couple

ynfan18 predicting exes to lovers…

harryfan20 can you guys just let them live in peace, they literally just broke up last year

ynfan22 something is screaming inside of me

harryfan16 HARRY HAS ALWAYS SUPPORTED HIS EXES

ynfan25 the earth is finally healing

harryfan21 anyways stream escapism!!!

ynfan23 don’t let me get me hopes up 🫠

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kidharpoon My 21st Century Blues, one of my favorite albums I produced.

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harryfan24 I AM GOING INSANE

ynfan26 isn’t this harry’s producer too 😭

yourinstagram love ya kid!

|| kidharpoon ❤️❤️

harryfan28 i’m for sure not sleeping tonight

mitchrowland honestly the best album yet

ynfan27 Y/N DESERVES A GRAMMY FOR CREATING THIS ALBUM

jefezoff two talented people

harryfan30 i am so in love with her

pillowpersonpp congratulations, so happy for you both!

ynfan29 this album doesn't have one skip on it 😩

harrystyles Beauty and talent.

harryfan31 I AM SCREAMING…WHAT

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columbiarecords Y/N L/N’s album “My 21st Century Blues” rises on the Billboard Hot 100 this week.

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ynfan32 I KNOW THAT’S RIGHT

harryfan36 y/n supremacy 😌

yourinstagram i’m not crying

ynfan38 she deserves this so much omg 😭

kidharpoon this really is the best year ever and it’s barely february!!

harryfan33 i love this for y/n

gemmastyles so proud and happy ❤️

ynfan35 ALBUM OF THE YEAR. ALBUM OF THE YEAR. ALBUM OF THE YEAR.

arianagrande her album has me in a chokehold…

harryfan39 y/n needs every award there is for making this album

paulithepsm why is this the best news ever!?!?

ynfan34 all i can say is this was so deserved

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harryflorals HARRY ON THE BRITS RED CARPET!

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harryfan41 i am now officially dead

ynfan45 HE CAN'T KEEP GETTING AWAY WITH THIS

harryfan46 harry’s back has to hurt from constantly carrying the best dressed title 😌

ynfan48 arrived to sweep the brits

harryfan42 first the grammys and now this…

ynfan44 harry can run me over, stomp on me..and i wouldn’t care

harryfan47 on my hands and knees

ynfan49 i mean who wouldn’t write an album about harry…

harryfan51 HE KEEPS ON SLAYING

ynfan53 committing arson

harryfan55 i want to be his housewife 🫣

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gemmastyles Gals at the Brits

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ynfan50 Y/N IS THERE???

harryfan54 omg our parents are being reunited tonight, nobody talk to me

yourinstagram i missed you gem

gemmastyles well i missed you more sweetheart ❤️❤️

ynfan58 omg i’m sobbing

pillowpersonpp having the best time!!!

harryfan60 Y/N AND HARRY ARE SITTING AT THE SAME TABLE…SHUT UP

anthonypham one of the best brits so far

ynfan56 stop this or i will jump into conclusions 😭

kidharpoon love spending time with family!

harryfan59 I LOVE IT HERE

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ynupdates Y/N GAVE A SURPRISE PERFORMANCE AT THE BRITS TONIGHT

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ynfan63 her outfit is giving harry 😩

harryfan69 BEST PERFORMANCE AT THE BRITS…SORRY NOT SORRY

ynfan65 ate up harry and left no crumbs behind…

harryfan62 you can just tell y/n just borrowed an outfit from harry’s closet

ynfan66 she’s going to make me go insane

harryfan68 OBSESSED WITH HER

ynfan70 y/n is so talented

harryfan67 harry was dancing during her performance too 🫠

ynfan72 the best surprise ever

harryfan74 the way y/n’s outfit was designed by harry lambert 😭 it’s so obvious

liked by yourinstagram, harrystyles and 513,470 others

harry_lambert Brits 2023!

Wearing @ ninaricci 💕

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ynfan71 THE MOST GORGEOUS GIRL IN THE WORLD

harryfan73 i am going crazy over her

harrystyles My beautiful angel.

ynfan75 parenthesis on “my” 🫠

harryfan78 BOOM. CRASH. SLAM.

gemmastyles y/n is so perfect!!

ynfan76 2023 has been the best year for harry and y/n fans 😌

_basselin i couldn’t stop looking at her last night

pillowpersonpp i thought i was the only one…

harryfan79 PLEASE I LOVE THEM

emmalouisecorrin drop dead gorgeous!!!

ynfan80 harry’s comment has me shaking 😭

liked by harryfan84, ynfan86 and 238,311 others

thesun Y/N L/N and Harry Styles both attended a Brits after party last night in London and even left together in the same vehicle.

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harryfan81 UMMM WHAT

ynfan85 i actually manifested this!

harryfan88 sleeping on the highway tonight 🧎‍♀️

ynfan82 well we all knew this was coming

harryfan89 right when harry commented on y/n’s post…i knew something was going to happen 😭

ynfan83 mother and father 🙏

harryfan88 kid harpoon most definitely got them back together

ynfan87 why has this been the best year yet

harryfan90 can they just get married already?

ynfan92 y/n and harry need to pull a sarah and mitch…and get married secretly

liked by harrystyles, jefezoff and 4,120,385 others

yourinstagram my album has only been out for three weeks and already i’ve received so much love! this is such an overwhelming feeling, i love you all ❤️❤️

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harryfan91 OMG SHE DESERVES EVERYTHING

ynfan93 why do i feel like a proud mother

harrystyles Baby, I love you so much!

yourinstagram i love you garry

harryfan95 NOT GARRY 😭

ynfan97 did this just confirm that they got back together…

kidharpoon you, garry and i make such a good team

harryfan94 i love y/n so much 🥹

annetwist congratulations on your new achievements darling!!

ynfan96 i’m crying with her

colombiarecords our queen 💕

liked by yourinstagram, gemmastyles and 6,830,174 others

harrystyles Morning after The Brits and I couldn’t be happier.

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harryfan102 this left me speechless

ynfan105 I WANT TO BE HARRY SO BAD 😭

yourinstagram I love you my sweet boy.

harrystyles And your sweet boy loves you.

harryfan108 this has me in shambles 💔

ynfan104 “sweet boy” can someone please run me over

emmalouisecorrin a goddess!!!

harryfan101 after seeing this…i don’t even want harry anymore…i want y/n

harry_lambert this just blew me away

ynfan109 HARRY IS SO INSANE FOR THIS

jefezoff love you two lovebirds 💖

harryfan106 y/n is the only woman ever!

-

tag list: @harrysmatcha @harryspinkpillow @helen-with-an-a @florencepughily @peterparkerbae @toji-dabi-wife @fallonx @drphilssoulmate @cherriesrae @alienorknight @valluvsu @ayeshathestyles @hazgoldenstyles @eiffelmezarry @tsukishimawhore @renatavieira @michellekstyles @eleanordaisy @shawnsblue @agustdpeach @hannahnikohl @whoscamila @ch3rryrry @msolbesg @seguin-styles1996 @futuristicpalacegardenpsychic @youusunshineyoutemptress @kaitieskidmore1 @cherryfragrancx @ssuziess @milkiane @golden-hoax @flwrmuse @sunshinemendes8 @your--sweetest--downfall @melllinaa @tenaciousperfectionunknown @cashtons-wife @stellarossii @scenesofobx @manifestrry @lomlolivia @b-reads-things

[hannahmanderr]

One thing I just gotta say is I wonder just how much this graphic novel will change the way the phandom creates things.

For so long, our source content has been the same, but now all of a sudden that's changed. Don't get me wrong, it's *fantastic*, but it's going to have an effect on how people view canon, if this novel should even be considered official canon, how people will incorporate elements from the novel into their works, etc.

I'm hoping we'll be able to keep to our same trend of picking and choosing things from canon and spinning off from there. This novel has a lot of potential for that kind of content creation.

My one concern is people getting angry that some folks will/will not consider the novel canon. I don't *think* it'll be a problem, considering most of us are just excited for new official content in general, and the vast majority of fans have, at some point, gone "canon what's that lol"

Anyway I think what I'm trying to say is let's not let this novel change the community of the phandom on its fundamental level. We're all just a bunch of folks enamored with the story of a kid who desperately needs therapy, and we all just want to have a good time. Be gracious to your fellow fans, spoiler tag things, and please for the love of God don't gatekeep canon or content.

Also buy the novel. Trust. It's so worth it.

[27goldensun]

Harry, Loewe and Stunting

So everyone must have noticed by now that I’m a timeline and numbers freak, and, with a fresh stunt coming right up, I’ve decided to take a look at Harry’s latest fashion trends and how a Loewe collaboration seems to be imminent and connected to his latest ‘gf’

Here’s a visual representation of Harry’s non-concert outfits for the past 6 months (I’m excluding the fits he wears on stage since Love on Tour is deeply connected to Gucci)

Loewe is the single brand he is wearing repeatedly, more than any other, and its a pattern seen before in 2016, when he began having a more serious relationship with Gucci:

June 2016: Harry follows Alessandro Michele (Gucci’s creative director at the time) on Instagram

2017: Harry and Gucci officially start collaborating

For 2023 we have this timeline of events

March 25th, 2023: Harry EmRata kissing video

June 23rd, 2023: Harry and T. Russel museum photos (first time they’re connected, but her identity isn’t confirmed yet)

June 28th, 2023: Harry follows JW Anderson on Instagram (current creative director for Loewe)

July 9th, 2023: Confirmation of T. Russel’s identity following her presence at Harry’s show and their walk around Vienna (July 8th)

As most things regarding Harry, it usually comes with its share of stunting, which began earlier this year with the EmRata kissing video. Emily Ratojowski isn’t an ambassador for Loewe, but seems to have her share of connection to the brand, always present at their Shows and having a few shoots with them.

Who is a Loewe ambassador though? You guessed it right: Taylor Russel. So this latest stunt seems to come to fruition as Harry begins distancing himself from Gucci and moving towards a partnership/collaboration with Loewe (aside from the ‘usual’ stunt reasons such as he’ll be away from touring and needs to stay in the public eye, and she has a play coming up next month in London to promote) the choice of the new girlfriend seems logical and, as always, predictable.

Bonus: as I was creating this timeline I looked at the brilliant @twopoppies page and this post of hers made me laugh with her foreshadowing (following the EmRata kiss):

So, as with any stunt, this isn’t organic or natural (took those words right from Louis), but rather quite obviously planned. Let’s just sit back and watch how it unfolds

[kun3ho141]

This image does not belong to me. All credit is due to its respective owner.

Inspiration: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

Pairing: Simon 'Ghost' Riley x F!Reader

Synopsis: After accepting the fact that he'd never intertwine his life with another's, he crosses paths with you. Now, all he desires is to take your hand in marriage.

Word-Count: 1.1K

Warnings: None

☆ Reblog, Comment, and Like ☆

I do not permit others to translate or republish my works on this platform or any other A.I. program.

A/N: Have you seen the TikTok trend where military personnel highlight their partners or loved ones using one of Hoizer's songs? This trend actually inspired me, and I created a scenario based on it.

Thank you for reading!! ♡

Simon 'Ghost' Riley, the notorious special forces operative, is a figure known and dreaded by various specialized groups. Wearing a skull mask, it represents a wounded and solitary side of his character, a fragment that still bears the scars and fractures from the trials he’s encountered. After enduring brutal torture, losing his loved ones, and immersing himself in a military career, he had accepted a life of solitude, convinced that he could never intertwine his life with another’s. 

Yet, as he stands at the altar, surrounded by his teammates, they watch as you make your way down the aisle.

At that moment, time seems to stand still for Simon. His hardened exterior, built over years of pain and loss, collapses as he admires you, revealing a vulnerability he never thought he’d experience again. Nevertheless, as his gaze meets yours, he feels a glimmer of hope, a sentiment he links solely to you.

· · ────── ·𖥸· ────── · ·

Simon spent years reaching this point, with you gradually breaking down Ghost. Progress wasn't consistent, with some days being more successful than others. While his defenses only crumbled for you, you played a significant role in shaping his current character. You healed someone who believed he would only break further, someone who considered himself irreparable. You provided him with hope, love, a confidant, and a secure place to call home. After years of knowing Ghost, you crossed paths with Simon. Your Simon…

· · ────── ·𖥸· ────── · ·

Facing each other, the world around him begins to blur. The instrumental music and officiant's words fade into the background as he studies you, captivated by your radiance. His focus narrows, fixated solely on your silhouette. He’s always found you beautiful, whether you're dressed in tactical gear, casual clothing, or simply bare. However, seeing you in a wedding dress, with your veil gracefully cascading over your hair, he believes that you’ve never looked more gorgeous.

Following the officiant's opening remarks and readings, the exchange of vows takes place. Simon, appreciative of you and all that you’ve done for him, healing him in ways no one else could, ensured his vows were perfect. Without your knowledge, he had rehearsed his vows prior to the wedding day, dedicating time to writing, revising, and practicing them repeatedly. Instead of relying on a written script, he chose to look directly into your eyes during that moment.

“My love, when I was cast aside by others, left fractured and isolated, you didn't turn away. Although I’ll never understand why, you offered me your love. With that love came a sense of belonging, a life I never thought I’d experience. You never once considered giving up on me when I seemed beyond hope,” he expresses, his voice faltering as tears stream down his face. In your peripheral vision, you noticed his teammates smiling, witnessing Simon's presence after years of working alongside Ghost.

“You cherished every aspect of me, even the sharp edges that wounded you. You polished them down with your love, shaping me into the man I am today. In this moment, all I desire is to spend eternity with you," Simon declared, his eyes glistening with tears as he gazed at you. His voice remained strong, despite the tears cascading down his cheeks. He knew he had to be strong, just as you had been for him throughout the years.

"I, Simon Riley, take you to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until parted by death. And if there exists an afterlife, may our marriage endure beyond the grave,” he concludes, a gentle smile gracing his face. Tears stream down his cheeks, and he exchanges nods with his groomsmen, acknowledging their silent support. 

Tears fill your eyes as his words sink in. Despite your efforts to stay calm, your emotions flood over you. Reflecting on how much you’ve both grown, memories flash through your mind like scenes from a film.

· · ────── ·𖥸· ────── · ·

Reciting your vows becomes a challenge, as you have to stop several times to compose yourself. Your voice trembles, but you compensate with a tearful smile. Simon gazes at you with admiration, witnessing as you profess your love for him just as he did for you. Your tears and faltering voice do not deter him, but rather intensify his love for you.

“...take you to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until parted by death. And should an afterlife exist, I will happily hold your hand as we walk the expanses of our universe." You conclude your vows by promising to take his hand in marriage; during your lifetime and long after. Your eyes meet, unwavering, reveling in the romantic hues reflected in each other's gaze.

Upon finishing your vows, Johnny emerges from the line of groomsmen, presenting you and Simon with each other's rings, signaling his approval with a nod before returning to his place. Drawing closer, you and Simon intertwine hands, his touch tenderly guiding yours. Never did he imagine that his hands, typically calloused and stained with blood, would be adorning your finger with such a delicate stone. A symbol of his affection for you.

The ring is delicately placed on your finger, causing the beautifully cut diamond to sparkle in the glow of the cathedral lights. You gaze at the stone, admiring its beauty before sliding your husband’s band onto his finger. The wedding band bears both of your initials on the exterior and the date of your wedding inscribed within. Raising your eyes, you meet Simon's loving gaze, reciprocating the smile.

With the approval of your officiant, his hands glide to your waist while your arms elegantly drape over his broad shoulders. Drawing you closer, your lips meet simultaneously, holding onto you as if he’d never see you again. The applause from the intimate gathering fades into the background as he gently dips you, his hands tenderly supporting your back. Your lips linger against each other for a few moments before you both reluctantly part, resting your foreheads against each other in a moment of pure affection.

“I love you,” he confesses In a hushed whisper, a declaration meant only for your ears. A gentle smile graces your lips as you separate from him, your hand tenderly caressing his cheek, tracing the scars that have become so dear to you.

"I love you more, Simon."

[svsss-fanon-exposed]

I find it interesting that the most controversial/widespread posts have been those relating to physical appearance/visual medium. Lbh's hair and body type and sqq's eyes. I wonder what's the underlying cause for this. Maybe because people get attached to designs they feel more protective of them? Just a thought.

Oh, I would say this is absolutely the case. Visual design choices are, after all, often symbolic reflections of parts of individuals' own selves in some way, or of other things that are important to them. Artists will also spend a lot of time and thought on creating their designs-- and in some ways, visual media and written media are also quite different. You don't need the visual contrast so much in a book, but you do need it more when it's pictures, because characters with good contrasts are pleasant to look at together.

I actually think the donghua designs create a sort of contrast too-- both by SQQ's lighter eyes to LBH's, but as well as with the broader silhouettes, where SQQ has flowing robes and hair and LBH's silhouette is tighter. Also in general, the black robes of adult LBH vs the teal & white. Western stylization just focuses more on body type+hair texture silhouette diversity, while eastern stylization is more about the clothing and hair-styling silhouette, in a broad generalization, so it's only natural that when people create their designs, especially for a media that is only written, like SVSSS before the donghua or official cover art came out, that they will draw influence from the background of their own culture in creating these designs, in addition to their own experiences.

It's difficult too in my position, because while I genuinely want to take a neutral look at trends and history and patterns and cultural influence as a scientific sort of examination, there are so many instances of attacks on character designs, which make both the artists and designers and the people who like those designs feel bad and just isn't productive, even if criticisms are genuine. Things should be talked over civily, without bashing, because a space where people are belittled and attacked is not a space where people can learn.

Anyway, everyone has reasons for their designs. Sometimes these may be rooted in stereotyping or westernization, but other times, they're based on personal reasons and don't actually have those roots. It's not my or anyone's place to declare, definitively, that someone is stereotyping (of course, there are some instances when things are very very obvious and that's a different story), I only try to explain what things i can so that people are then able to examine things for themselves. I do think it's everyone's own responsibility to look at their own biases and think about where their portrayal choices are sourced from, especially when engaging with a culture that isn't one's own. But I don't want people to get into a justification loop, because that's not going to help anyone-- just to honestly take a look at the why of things. Sometimes there's subconscious biases, sometimes it isn't about that. I don't know peoples' own experiences, so I'm not going to say what it is or isn't.

In the end, accountability is something that is definitely needed in sensitive areas like westernization or stereotyping. However, accountability is not dogpiling on someone. Instead, it's personally being open to consideration, to change, and to growth-- and we'll never have that in a hostile environment. People need to focus more on holding themselves accountable, and less on holding others accountable-- we all have unconscious biases. It's part of existing in any culture or environment, and it's a life-long process of examining them and growing in experience and knowledge. And I hope to contribute that knowledge wherever I can, and use what platform I have to foster that sort of gentler environment, where it's not about making people who genuinely didn't know things feel bad, but where it's okay to be wrong, and to learn and grow.

It's up to an individual to examine themselves when they hear new information. That doesn't mean everyone needs to change their designs to conform with Chinese beauty standards-- which have plenty of issues of their own, and shouldn't be taken as more "morally correct!" It's just so that as many people as possible can have as much information as possible, so they can make the best and most informed judgments and decisions they can about their own viewpoints and thought processes.

But yes, even saying all this, I can perfectly acknowledge that fan-designs of beloved characters hold a bit of their creator's heart. While creators can be imperfect, the experiences and emotions and care that these designs stem from is still genuine, and should be treated with gentleness and understanding.

No matter if someone's viewpoint is erroneous or just different from yours, it's important to remember that every person on the internet is a real, human person. Fandom culture can be so notoriously toxic-- and it's high time that people remember each other's humanity, and treat one another with compassion and understanding. That's the only way to create a better fandom space-- and ultimately, a better world.

[pinkyjulien]

I really, really hate the "Female V is canon" vs "Male V is canon" debate that been popping here and here in the tags those past weeks

Cyberpunk 2077 is a Role Playing Game, there is no "canon" protagonist, that's the whole point. We all have a different playstyles, different stories and headcanons, our custom V is The Canon V of Our Own playthroughs!

After Phantom Liberty dropped, I've seen a lot of players, on Tumblr or Twitter, voicing their concerne and disappointment in how much more Female V focused the official promo, videos and even in-game credits became

I was one of them too, expressing my feelings multiple times, sometimes awkwardly, frustrated that Male V players were once again brushed to the side, because that's how it feels like, right?

Well, it might feels like it, but this isn't the case AT ALL, far from it. This is only what I would call a "Fandom Phenomenon" and I want to talk more about it a bit

I had a great conversation with a friend of mine who works in the game industry and it opened my eyes on the matter, and I've since been really interested in seeing RPGs statistics!

Because it's really, really important to make the difference between the Casual Player Base (majority of players) and the Fans / Fandom Base (minority of players)

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I always been lurking in fandoms here on Tumblr, since Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and now with Cyberpunk 2077 and Baldur's Gate 3

First I want to drop some stats- might be completly wrong, but I'm only sharing my point of view here, in an attempt to explain why some people are frustrated with Female V being the focus (and why we shouldn't be!)

I think it's not wrong to say that fandoms are mostly occupied by women and fem-identifying individuals; fandoms are a safe place for players and fans to share their passions. Women are STILL HEAVILY harassed and hated in the gaming industry as a whole, it doesn't take a lot of digging to catch a vile comment on Twitter or on Twitch for example, you cannot go far without seeing someone either attacking or sexualizing them

This is a huge problem in the industry still, every games that release with a female protagonist get trashed- just look at the bullshit surrounding GTA 6 just because players will be able to play as a woman as an option

Fandoms are also safe for non-gender conforming people, non-binaries, trans people and queer men, but I think fem individuals and women are a clear majority, at least on Tumblr (only talking about genders identity here and not about being queer or not, not talking about sexualities or attraction) (not an official stat at all and only my point of view and experience from being on Tumblr since ~2012)

Now let's talk about Cyberpunk 2077- because this is my main fandom since 2020, and what prompted me to write this post in the first place

CDPR didn't share any stats recently, but it's REALLY SAFE to assume the MAJORITY of players are playing a straight Male V romancing Panam, followed by a lesbian Female V romancing Judy, but the player pools for both options are still majoritarly cis hetero men (and they are still the focus for AAA studios to sell their games, this is sadly just how it is)

However on the fandom side, Fem V was always the focus; virtual photography, mods, ships, OCs... She was always more popular than Male V, getting more interactions and notes and why trends like "Male V monday" were created and why there is still a lack of male V focused mods (non-binaries and trans fem folks and characters are also sadly under-represented in all type of content and art)

So, being yourself as a non-fem player, playing as a Masc V, seeing CDPR officially make the switch from Male V to Female V, when the space you've been in for the past 3 years has been overwhelmingly Female V focused on all front, was a bit of a punch in the guts; like I said earlier, I was reaaally frustrated with this too!

And I'd say it's "normal"? or at least "ok" to feel this way, it makes sense considering how little attention Male V in general get in the fans community

BUT. BUT... It's REALLY important here to realize how we sound and how we look like when we voice our frustrations on the matter; we sound and look just like all the misogynistic people over on Twitter who screams about "woke games" everytime there is a female protagonist in their "non political games". We have to remember that fandoms are suuuch a small part of the game industry

Baldur's Gate 3 recently shared their stats and this interesting tweet got into my dash

▶ tweet

Astarion is nowhere to be seen in the official most romanced companions statistic, but I'm sure a lot of people will agree that he's probably the most popular one in the fandom side!

Another stat here from Mass Effect and really interesting info coming from David Gaider about how the hardcore fanbase aka fandom's choices were WILDLY different from the casual / main player pool

▶ tweet

Getting my head out of the fandom bubbles and seeing the bigger picture, how much under-represented women still are in official medias (not talking about fan content) and how insanly misoginistic the game industry still is, both on the player and devs sides, helped me handle my own frustration on the matter, accept and even celebrate Female V being the focus for the Phantom Liberty campaign

With all that said tho, we all should be able to vent about the lack of Male, Masc and Non-Binary content in the fandom side, while still being aware of the industry state, it CAN co-exist! It doesn't make anyone a bad or misogynist person!

We are all humans and can be awkward and make mistakes, especially when voicing frustration or talking while in a negative mood. Let's educate one another in good-faithed manners when we slip instead of jumping to conclusion and throw accusations

Not gonna lie I kind of lost my train of thoughts and not sure how to finish this post, but I hope this can enlight some people on why CDPR made this choice!

Repeating this as a finale note; this doesn't mean that Female V is the "main" V or "canon" V . It's simply her time to shine, and it's well deserved! The industry needs it

[boonsmoon]

Foundation of Love (2)

Request: PLS DO 2 PARTS🥺

Ask and ye shall receive Btw; you have the free will of being the goddess of literally anything

Part 1

Request Masterlist Mu Qing x f!reader Genres:🎉🌸💞🧪

Mu Qing and you were like two peas in a pod. It seems your time lacking experience has created an unbreakable bond.

Y'all were so tight in fact that you kept in contact even after you stopped working for Xie Lian. Now you are both Heavenly Officials with an extreme amount of believers and temples!

This; however, lead to a one-sided competition. Friendly, yes, but still odd to compete over who was the better deity. You like to consider yourself a humble goddess though, considering you aren't as prickly with the aesthetic of your temples like Mu Qing.

Ignoring the status you both held, he had this charm that was unlike that of a god, it was greater actually. You both spent enough time together to get to know the little things.

Like how he still remembers when a follower tried to offer a gift that none of your temples would accept 500 years ago. Even you don't remember what the item is on your own without him bringing it up. A fantastic memory but basically useless.

Or how he notices how quick you are to deal with the prayers of your believers. He's a hard-worker yes, but never would he acknowledge a prayer 5 seconds after hearing it. Mu Qing thinks you might be a bit too diligent, or have too much time on your hands.

In the end, you both know each other like the back of your hand. In fact most of the other officials think you two are together, but no! It's actually painful to watch from the sidelines.

Now Feng Xin is a protective older brother, and honestly he can barely tolerate Mu Qing after all these years. But, he can see that Mu Qing makes you happy, and your happiness has priority over his displeasure!

Unfortunately, Feng Xin sucks at this. And whenever he tries to get you to hang out with Mu Qing and ✨confess✨ it ends with you scolding Feng Xin for being an asshole.

It got to the point that one of the goddesses had to sit down and have a talk with you. While the conversation seemed nice, you could tell by the undertone she was basically demanding you admit your feelings to him.

And to be honest? You self reflected and realized he definitely wasn't gonna do it, so you had to. But that's fine, it's the 21st century, these things happen.

What you didn't know; however, was that Feng Xin had a passive aggressive conversation with Mu Qing basically saying the same thing. He NEEDS to confess or else.

With an agreed meeting in a garden, you both told the other you had important information which must be shared with the other. It could be gossip, latest trends among humans, who knows what the other wants to say?

The time of reckoning has come, and you are both visibly nervous. Who wouldn't be? Confessions are kinda tough.

Y'all have come to consensus earlier in your friendship that be straightforward is easiest, no matter what. You started, "s-so basically to make it simple, we need to stop this friendship. Now you go next!"

Mu Qing a look of horror on his face, contemplating on continuing, "I came to tell you we should ascend past a friendship... Be something more, but if that's not what-"

"Fantastic! We're on the same page and can get this over with," you interrupted him. He looked at you like you were insane, "you have a horrible way with words, I'll have you know that."

You lightly laughed, "yeah, but it's just my luck we had the same thing to say." And Mu Qing decided this was the time to be really romantic and kiss you. <3

im back on my cringe

but also i got a sudden burst of energy to WRITE so i MUST

BTW im noticing all my TGCF reqs are Mu Qing, so either the fandom is full of massive simps or theres a shortage of Mu Qing content

not complaining pls keep the reqs coming

[doctorguilty]

I keep forgetting to post this, but if you're unaware, Resistbot is an EXCELLENT tool (for USA residents only) for contacting reps, especially on a mass scale and if you're a disabled person like me and have to do most of your activism remotely. Every day I check the most recent letters and bills, and spend some time signing them and sending them to my reps, often drafting my own.

You can look at trending petitions written by other users, such as this one, sign them via SMS text, Apple Messenger, WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram, and Messenger, and email them to all your reps based on your state of residence, as well as the president, governors, and so on. You can also use premium features to send them via fax or postage mail.

Letters and petitions will give you an image like this, which is great for easy sharing on social media, or printing and slaptagging.

They have an AI tool as well, where you can send their bot a link to an article, give it your stance on the issue, and it will generate pre-written letter for you. They usually come out concise but pretty solid, but premium offers manual editing and adding to them! (though it's also an option to just use the generated letter as a base for typing up your own for free and sending that)

There's a number of other commands that are useful, such as one that will send you a list of bills currently being introduced to the house, a link to said bills, and the opportunity to create a letter based on one. You can also use it to check your voter status, register to vote, and find polling locations.

Premium is $7/month and very worth it imo (I am subscribed, you also get a free enamel pin), it offers even more tools and ease of use.

I encourage you to check it out, it goes beyond just the use of contacting about Palestine and such, it's also great for contacting your state legislatures about other important issues such as abortion access and trans healthcare, and keeping up to date with current events in a very easily accessible way.

[reasoningdaily]

Florida leads the nation in book bans.

It had more than double the bans of No. 2 Texas, according to a new report by national free speech group PEN America.

The report found 3,362 instances of books banned across the nation in the 2022-23 school year, up 33% from the previous one. Forty percent of those were courtesy of Florida school districts.

"Over two years, there's a pretty clear trend line of this getting worse, and this is becoming normalized," said Jonathan Friedman, PEN America's director of free expression and education programs. "I think the situation in Florida is really just escalating to a place that feels almost unimaginable to a year ago."

A year ago...

School districts across Florida have purged titles from their library shelves since DeSantis signed the Curriculum Transparency Act last year. It came as COVID-19 controversies brought more attention to what was happening in schools, especially from conservative activists and groups like Moms for Liberty. 

As local chapters spring up across the state and nation, Moms for Liberty has become one of the leading voices trying to remove “inappropriate” books from schools.

DeSantis touted the law as a way to increase parental involvement in education and prevent "indoctrination."  It requires districts to catalog every book they offer and put a formal review process in place for complaints

Then came House Bill 1069, which took effect July 1, further creating wildly-varyinginterpretations on what books should be removed from schools — and putting in question even more books. The law requires school districts to remove within five days any book challenged for including pornography or sexual conduct until the complaint is resolved.

Also coming into play over the last two years are state laws prohibiting instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in school. School districts have removed books citing that law, though Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody recently said it doesn't apply to books.

A look at the books

The Florida Department of Education recently released a list that school districts removed 386 book removals from 1,218 total objections last year.

But those are just titles that school boards decided to remove after receiving objections. PEN America's report goes beyond that and says state school districts banned 1,406. That's up from 566 last year.

The group's definition of a school book ban: "Any action taken against a book based on its content and as a result of parent or community challenges, administrative decisions, or in response to direct or threatened action by lawmakers or other governmental officials, that leads to a previously accessible book being either completely removed from availability to students, or where access to a book is restricted or diminished."

The list included books that were removed following official objections as well as unofficial ones, such as from concerned emails. The biggest portion of listed banned books are ones school districts removed pending a review of its content.

More than three quarters of books banned across the nation were books meant for younger audiences, like young adult, middle grade and picture books.

Nearly half of banned books included instances of violence or physical abuse, according to the report. Books with topics on student health and wellbeing made up 42%, and a third depicted sexual experiences.

Books with characters of color and themes or race and racism made up 30%. So did titles with LGTBQ characters or themes.

"Hyperbolic and misleading rhetoric about 'porn in schools,' 'sexually explicit,' 'harmful,' and 'age inappropriate' materials led to the removal of thousands of books covering a range of topics and themes for young audiences," reads the report. "Overwhelmingly, book bans target books on race or racism or featuring characters of color, as well as books with LGBTQ+ characters."

Federal lawmakers bicker on book bans:U.S. Senate hearing takes on book bans; Democrats highlight DeSantis' Florida policies

How one group goes after school books:Rockin' and rollin' with book challenges: Internal emails show Moms for Liberty plans

Context on the culture wars

What books should be on school shelves has been not only a question but a pivotal battle in Florida — and national — culture wars.

It’s far from resolved. The two sides can't even agree on the term "book ban."

This was highlighted during a United States Senate Judiciary Committee hearing from earlier this month.

“To put it bluntly, books aren’t being banned,” said Max Eden, one of the Republicans' witnesses and a research fellow for the American Enterprise Institute. 

Eden, who has done research disputing book ban claims, pointed to how removed books could still be purchased on Amazon. He said that most of the books claimed to be banned by national book access advocates are still in school libraries. 

But, for books that are removed, he said communities have to draw a line somewhere. He went on to read an explicit passage from “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” a memoir and manifesto by George M. Johnson, who reflects on growing up Black and queer. It’s listed as one of the nation’s most banned books by PEN America.

DeSantis has taken a similar tack in responding to the controversy. 

He’s maintained that the idea of book bans across Florida, which have made many headlines, is a "hoax." Conversely, though, he’s bashed books that have been recently restricted in public schools as pornographic, violent or otherwise inappropriate.

“Exposing the ‘book ban’ hoax is important because it reveals that some are attempting to use our schools for indoctrination,” DeSantis said in a statement. “In Florida, pornographic and inappropriate materials that have been snuck into our classrooms and libraries to sexualize our students violate our state education standards."

[beautifulpersonpeach]

I’ve been reading your blog for the better part of the year and it’s helped me rethink many things. This year was weird for me and I’ve been reflecting, I finally got courage to write this confession and I only feel comfortable sending it here. It’s okay if you post it. I think there are other people like me.

My Confession:

I’m an Orbit-Blink shooter who used to fight with an Army shooter daily until she died during the earthquakes in Turkey this year. I didn’t realize how much of my life and fan experience was tied to her until she died BPP. The way I got into shooting was through my Blink friend who introduced me to Loona when they debuted. At first I thought I was defending Loona and then defending Blackpink, but at some point shooting on its own for any reason became addicting. I would jump in on a ratio, throw insults and post gore and graphic images to people’s DMs for any small reason.

There was one Army shooter I hated because she was always there with screenshots or videos to drag Blackpink. Whenever there was a fanwar I knew I would see her there. And times when she wasn’t in the fight, I would use another account pretending to be an Army to tell her what was happening so I could rile her up to join the fight. I didn’t know it at the time but I loved fighting with her. She made me feel alive. The way she was passionate about BTS made me want to get some of that passion directed at me in any form.

Now, after months of reflecting, that’s what I realized. Because when the earthquake happened, I didn’t know she was dead. I kept checking her account for days, sending DMs from my fake Army profile, wondering why she was not replying. I even created a new scandal for Taehyung in our shooter group but she didn’t tweet. Then 2 weeks later her cousin tweeted from her account to say she died in the earthquake. BPP, it was like my whole life stopped. I became extremely depressed and dealt with extreme self loathing. I couldn’t look at any fandom fight without thinking about all the things I did to her. I hated myself and wanted to die. I went through that Armys profile and saw how her love for BTS was genuine. After months of therapy now I understand more why I acted like that, but it’s something I’ll forever be ashamed about.

In the depths of my depression I deleted Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram. After some weeks of missing what’s happening, I got Tumblr and found your blog talking about fandom behavior. In so many ways you’ve saved my life BPP. The way I was shooting was more for other shooters than Loona or Blackpink or even myself. I realize now there’s a whole subculture of kpop shooters and I think what they have is an addiction. I notice the same things with how solo stans behave. They think they’re doing it for the idols but it’s for them and other stans they’re fighting. It creates destruction. Life is short. Why spend it on something destructive?

I’ve changed everything about how I behave online. Through therapy and reading your blog, I realize people use fandom to express themselves, and if that expression is mostly negative, there’s deeper problems with that person that needs solving. Now I curate my space and avoid shooters and fanwars completely. I now focus on what I enjoy which is good lore and good music (I still enjoy a good fight but I now satisfy this need by getting engaged in Munk Debates in my city). Loona’s lore was the reason I was interested in them, so after weeks of stalking that dead Army’s profile, I learned that BTS has lore too. I fell down the BTS rabbit hole and officially became an Army on Jimin’s birthday (after reading your blog I’m now Yoonminkook biased hehe)

I’m a very new Army but an ‘old’ kpop fan and reformed shooter. I’ve committed to live a life that’s critical and compassionate. Because of how I’ve become Army, some things I’m seeing in how fans of diff fandoms act has a different meaning to me. I still struggle with shame and sometimes when I see fanwars or see solos trending hashtags and things, I remember me from what feels like long ago. I remember that Army shooter who feels like someone I owe my life to. I remember how so much is going on in the world and we could do with more kindness but people use fandom to be awful assholes. I was one such person, attimes I still have to bite my tongue. But what I do now is log off, go do something physical and positive that makes me tired, or scroll through your blog archives.

There might be people like me trying to get away from the shooter mindset and struggling because it’s hard. It’s like an addiction. I want those people to know it’s doable. Recognizing the problem is the hardest part for real so if they are at that point, it gets easier from there.

Thank you for having this blog BPP. I hope you stay here in 2024 as well.

***

Happy to hear you’re in a better head space than earlier this year.

Take care of yourself. Really.