goodolreliablejake

[goodolreliablejake]

In the novel the "Rise of Kyoshi" it's revealed early on that the Earth Kingdom just cannot locate the new Avatar using their traditional means, they got desperate, used an informal method and declare the wrong person the Avatar.

So the "traditional" way for the Earth Kingdom was for the Earth Sages to like 'divine' the location of the new Avatar by throwing sacred rocks (forgot what they throw exactly) on a map to eliminate half the map and keep doing that until they get the exact location of the Avatar down to their exact home.

Problem was, they showed up and no Avatar. They tried again, got a different location, and again no Avatar when they show up. They do this over and over, keep getting new locations and even end up in the North Pole at one point before they give up thinking their traditional method is broken, the spirits are against them, etc.

What we later learn is that Kyoshi's parents were traveling 'dao fei' (criminals), and her mom was an Airbender (who left the Air Nation) with a flying bison.

What I realize is that from Kyoshi's parents perspectives, they were criminals being doggedly hunted every where they went by some of the most powerful and feared Earth Sages, including Jianzhu who had the nickname "the Gravedigger" for notoriously killing hundreds of 'dao fei' in one battle.

So we got Earth Sages thinking they're doing a sacred journey to find the Avatar, but possibly cursed because they keep failing. And then there's Kyoshi's parents rapidly packing their stuff to fly the hell out of town ASAP and how the hell does the Gravedigger keep finding them?!

[goodolreliablejake]

If you've been wanting to give Avatar Legends the RPG a try, I'm going to be running a game on Discord through Startplaying.games. Session zero is Friday 04/28/2024 at 6:30 pm Mountain Time. It is a paid game at $15 per session. Click the link for more info and to book your spot:

​https://startplaying.games/adventure/clvhgshcs000nfw36e2btvit8

Also also, if it's not for you, I'd consider it a big favor if you gave this a reblog so it can find its way to the right people.

#atla #atlok #avatar #avatar legends the rpg #ttrpg #powered by the apocalypse #avatar the last airbender #avatar rpg #rpg #avatar the legend of korra #pro bending #korra era

[goodolreliablejake]

i have rule i semi-adhere to for media criticism which is to ideologically meet shit where it's at (or where it's presented to me). i like to call it the "i didn't make you market it that way" rule--like, if lancer's union was just presented as a sci-fi setting, that would be fine. i don't expect all sci-fi settings to be communist utopias! but when the creators of lancer use the word utopia like 20 times & bandy around words like 'mutual aid' and 'post-scarcity' and 'anticapitalist' when describing it, then to me that becomes absolutely fair game. similarly if someone says 'stardew valley is fun i like farming :)' then i'm not gonna reply with a long post about how it's ideologically petty-bourgeois--but if they say 'stardew valley is anticapitalist', then they've opened up that can of worms and it's fair for me to point out that the worms exist.

[goodolreliablejake]

girlhood is touching your necklace whenever you feel nervous

[goodolreliablejake]

the world is a better place with trans women in it

[goodolreliablejake]

“Never Trust Half an Elf:” The Treatment of Multiracial Elves in Dragon Age is Pretty Hurtful

Well this turned out to be quite lengthy, as I realized I had even more to say than I first thought when working on it…

This post has been a long time coming. I’ve certainly not withheld from sharing my opinion on the treatment of characters who are partially elven in Dragon Age before, but it’s about time I go all in. 

All sources of information can be found at the end of the post.

Real Life Connections

It is important to keep in mind when reading this post that the elves of Dragon Age are canonically inspired by Indigenous, Jewish, and Roma peoples. This changes the circumstances to everything. Elves are no longer just a fantasy race with no real life connections; they are heavily coded as oppressed minorities, and any racial/ethnic minority can certainly draw comparisons for that matter.

Terminology and #MagicGenetics

Lets start with the most basic of basics: Children of an elf and another race are referred to as “elf-blooded humans,” “elf-blooded dwarves,” or most commonly just “elf blooded” for short. As someone who is biracial, I don’t walk around saying that I’m a “native blooded white person.” I don’t know a single multiracial person who does that! I say I am Mi’kmaw and white. Because that is what I am. I am just as much one as the other. But here, the very terminology given to elves who have other ancestry places the default on said other ancestry.

In the same conversation that Gaider explained this on the dead forums, he also said that he could see “half-elf” being used as slander… then proceeds to call dwarves who are multiracial “half-dwarves.” BioWare is creating a fantasy world that they control. Why did they decide one is slander and the other not? Because half-dwarves are less common? What does that have to do with terminology? And what about children who are dwarven and elven? Why would a child who is dwarven and elven be an “elf-blooded dwarf” but a child who is dwarven and human a “half-dwarf?” I don’t understand.

I draw the assumption that when saying this, Gaider had the term “half-breed” in mind, which yes, is derogatory. (The only people I can think of who in today’s age I have seen use it to describe themselves are shitheads like Kaya Jones who can fuck right off.) But again, if that is the line of thinking, why do things not add up per race?

What also doesn’t add up per race is just how half elves appear. (Bare with me while I try to reiterate the explanation for this. No, it does not make sense.) 

In The Calling, Fiona says that “The children of humans and elves are human. If we interbred, we would die out,” when Maric notes that Alistair’s ears are perfectly round. (I will expand on this greatly below, don’t you worry.) On the dead forums, Gaider goes onto confirm that children of an elf and any other race only inherit traits from the other race. This is not the case with dwarves, or humans, (and qunari are unknown); elves just have special “adaptive” genes, as he puts it, supernatural in nature. And that even if an ‘elf-blooded human’ and an elf were to have a child, and that child to have a child with an elf, and that child to have a child with an elf… they would still look 100% human, as far as known. (Weekes elaborated on this via Twitter as well, repeating the same thing.)

In attempting to weave together a reason for why they couldn’t have characters with both human and elven physical attributes, (though yay for mods,) it feels like the writers have dug themselves into a hole. A kind of hole that now puts limitations on what can be done, (without retcons, and we all like those kept to a minimal… Though I admit I would certainly make an exception in this case, but that’s getting a little off track.)

For the purpose of brevity, in this post I will be referring to multiracial elves as just that, or as “half elves,” which is the case for most other fantasy worlds with as far as I know, no created negative intent.

I have also wracked my brain trying to come up with the most clear and straightforward way of organizing this post, and decided the best thing to do will be on a character basis: As in, I will go through all the known half elven characters individually to discuss their writing, coming together to form the treatment of multiracial elves as a whole.

And you know I gotta start with my boy, Alistair.

Keep reading

[goodolreliablejake]

To unpack this a little:

Under the AI-becomes-self-aware plot, the human side of Monika's story is about obsessive, one-sided infatuation.

Monika gets the most character development out of anyone in the game, and in many ways this is her story. She puts the player on a pedestal, despite knowing nothing about them besides the vague impression that they are somehow more "real" than her actual friends. And that's part of the resentment. She hates that you keep giving them attention, even though she thinks she's obviously better than them: more real, in a way that they could never be. Her resentment and envy drive her to do terrible things. To hate.

Her face turn comes when she starts to actually consider the wants and needs of the player separate from herself. She starts interpreting your actions, not as slights against her, but as your own attempts to find joy and fulfillment. She tries to give you back the world you wanted, that she took away, not to get into your good graces, but as a way of making up for her wrongdoing.

And it all ends with a line that perfectly encapsulates the spirit of the recovering entitled, creepy suitor learning to appreciate the humanity of others for the first time;

"If I don't know how to love you, I'll leave you be."

I'm gonna say this and I mean it 100%; Monika DDLC is an incel.

#ddlc monika #ddlc

[goodolreliablejake]

slides im sharing w my family this week bc it pains me to see how they manage their passwords. and also easy steps they can take to protect their privacy (firefox mainly). if u have any questions let me know.

also. uBlock origin is better than adblock plus bc: it allows NO ADS (ABP will allow certain ads and let bigger companies thru - its "acceptable ads" program) + is more lightweight and easier on your computer's resources than ABP.

[goodolreliablejake]

I'm gonna say this and I mean it 100%; Monika DDLC is an incel.

#ddlc monika #doki doki literature club

[goodolreliablejake]

[goodolreliablejake]

[goodolreliablejake]

Just a couple horse girls watching complete strangers play a game in the Whirling in Rags 😇

Since you guys liked my other Disco Elysium x Night in the Woods crossover fanart, I decided to draw another scene. I really wanted to draw Jean in his disguise, so here we are.

I HAD to include the neon signage, so I took some creative liberties.

[goodolreliablejake]

[goodolreliablejake]

[goodolreliablejake]

I admire Stephen King's restraint in not associating writers with the shine. Thinking specifically of Joyland's protagonist, who wistfully longs to be special in that way.

Granted, the time he literally made himself the voice of god in The Dark Tower showed less restraint.

#the dark tower #stephen king #joyland

[goodolreliablejake]

Your fat body is not a placeholder for a "better" you. It IS you. And you deserve love and respect NOW.

[goodolreliablejake]