#Polynesian devs

[tellusd20]

Dev Journal 2: The world of Tellus

This is the current draft version of the world map for my homebrew campaign setting. It was cobbled together using a mix of Fractal Terrains 3, Photoshop, and Wonderdraft. It's been interesting going through each iteration and trying to land the particular combination of alien and familiar that I want to achieve. If a fantasy world is too Earthlike, it becomes difficult to break away from expectations of what will be found in each area. But if its too alien, the player's expectations of what might be found in a region become harder to visualize. This particular version has not quite accomplished what I'm trying to find yet, future iterations will likely venture more into the alien side of the spectrum. However, this is a good start and while this world is quite familiarly shaped, it'll have some very interesting geopolitics. As a starter, you may notice that there's not much distance between many of the continents. Seagoing exploration by the Tellus equivalent of the Greeks, Phoenicians, and Polynesians would have likely achieved something equivalent to the Colombian Exchange much earlier than our world. Likewise, trade between the Orient and Occident is much easier, which will create some fascinating opportunities for cultural exchanges. Vast quantities of wealth flow through these vital trade arteries, meaning that any nation with ambitions of being a power worth considering will require a substantial fleet to protect their interests. Tellus is still embarrassingly underdeveloped so far, with vast amounts of blank space in my documents, but I'll provide a brief description of each continent and its major powers and provide more details later. Names are all provisional and may be changed in future drafts; I like to use placeholders and end up changing them frequently. In the descriptions below I include equivalents to RL nations, this is meant as a reference to their closest geopolitical analogue, not that they are necessarily clones of that state. Belus: Obviously this world's equivalent to Europe, differentiated largely by the presence of an inland sea. Directly to its north is the Grey Sea, to the south is the Medial Sea. Its greatest power is the Second Empire of Abdera; a sprawling feudal mess equivalent to a super-HRE, stretching from this world's equivalent of Spain to Germany. More often at war with itself than outside powers, the Second Empire's stability and prestige have had an alarming decline due to the emergence of the Republic of Brennos (eqv. Napoleonic France) within its former territories. The Second Empire's neighbors, particularly Dynne (eqv. Great Britain) play a delicate game of exploiting Imperial weakness while trying not to throw the continent into complete chaos. To the east, the Empire of Melate (eqv. Ottomans) are recovering from a century of decline with a reformist empress on the throne. Their strategic position and the exhaustion of their Belusan rivals fuel the ambitions of elven revanchists.

Azbine: Essentially Africa, Azbine is a huge & diverse continent in terms of politics, climate, geography, and population density. Its northwest coast is largely divided up into feudal possessions of the Second Empire, as well as daughter republics of Brennos legitimized by peace treaty. The northeast corner, south of the large peninsula that is Melate's heartland, are the Majeri Republics (eqv. Venice); an oligarchic federation of city-states that are wealthy and loyal protectorates of Melate. Their cities are among the wealthiest on the planet thanks to the trade routes they sit upon. Along the eastern coastline are small kingdoms and city-states that also thrive on (or prey upon) trade between Azbine and Dahae, as well as Alamgiri colonies (see Dahae below).

Nirimzad (eqv. Congo Free State), the vast territory of a clan of green dragons, encompasses the circular sea in central Azbine and its surrounding coastline. The dragons squabble and intrigue against each other, unified only in extracting as much wealth as possible from their hunting ground. Their warlords and slave armies would likely overrun much of the central continent were they not constantly pitted against each other for the entertainment and petty grudges of the dragons. Alwealde: South America, duh. The northeast coast is primarily occupied by the Kingdom of Selvas - a secessionist colony from the Second Empire that's also a feudal mess of direct colonial holdings and integrated native vassals. A federation of city-states styled along the lines of the Delian League control the rest of the eastern coast; they are theocratic governments run by a priestly class with rulers descended from a planetouched bloodline. Hesperus: A handful of Belusan colonies with competing territorial claims squat on the coasts as well as the independent nation of Ladrinne (eqv USA) where the losing Parliamentary faction of the Dynnish civil war fled and established a government in exile. Ladrinne styles itself as the rightful government of the Dynnish islands. The old guard aristocrats are naturally fading away and being replaced by revanchist radicals inspired by the Brenne Revolution. Eastern Hesperus is easily a potential powderkeg for the next war, whether due to colonial competition or Ladrinne's parliament finally deciding to expel the monarchists from 'their' continent. Elsewhere in Hesperus, the natives are doing better than OTL, having never suffered the same population collapse from disease as that which followed contact. Tola: Obviously an Asiatic continent, Tola's central steppes are the domain of orcish tribes and petty kingdoms (eqv Mongols). To the west, Ryaz principalities and successor kingdoms to an old Orc empire crowd against inland seas and compete for coastal access. To the east are the Golden Lands, the richest agriculture lands in the world thanks to a series of great lakes and high mountain glaciers that feed dozens of rivers. The agricultural wealth of the Golden Lands unfortunately also brings much ambition; the region is divided between six states with a variety of ideologies (eqv. Chinese warlord era)

Dahae: The Dahaen subcontinent is home to what's likely the most powerful empire in the world, Alamgir (eqv. Mughals). Alamgir's orcish ruling class possess sprawling lands teeming with millions, a strong export economy, and a large, well-trained military that is regularly tested in border conflicts with its neighbors. Alamgir shares the subcontinent and its archipelago with several other major powers and dozens of minor states.

#D&D #worldbuilding #campaign setting #flintlock fantasy #Tellus

[themyscrian]

hi someone went and made a whole conlang for lalafell and it's based in Polynesian languages like Hawai'ian and te reo Māori and that's way more effort than the devs have ever put in to worldbuilding the South Seas based on pre-colonial Polynesia and not the american tourism industry and im very emotional

#RLPersonalAdventure #FFXIV #Final Fantasy 14 #Lalafell

[swearingcactus]

Far Cry 3's Rook Islands - how based on Indonesia is it actually is

according to an Indonesian who is not exactly qualified to write this post but by god will i make that everyone else's problem. Long post under the cut in case you'd like to know the fun facts and insights about the game and Rook and how much they got right and wrong.

Here's what I will discuss:

Locations, Flora & Fauna

The Rakyat and what they preach and practice

Citra, Dennis and Vaas

I would like to preface by saying Indonesia is a big ass archipelago, literally the biggest archipelagic state in the world, and we have many cultures, sub-languages, and various indigenous tribes of which I'm not part of. So there could be a possibility that the FC3 game devs were basing Rook especially the Rakyat on certain tribes I'm not familiar with or with an actual cultural rep who knows more than I do, but somehow I doubt that too, considering how they seem to just base Rook vaguely on various Polynesian areas.

1. Locations, Flora & Fauna

The Rook Islands page in the Far Cry 3 Wiki does a great job of explaining this in more depth than I do, but to TL;DR it: the flora & fauna in Rook makes it seem like Rook's most likely in the eastern side of Indonesia (sharing the same fauna and flora as Papua New Guinea and Australia). This is especially evident since Rook has komodo dragons and they're only available in Nusa Tenggara Timur.

However, the vastly different animals in the North and South Islands of Rook indicates the possibility of Rook running through the Wallace Line, which irl happens between Bali and Lombok, two very close islands which have vastly different faunas.

So actually to squash down the locations into two tiny islands and grab all the crazy animals into two distinct parts like this actually happens irl, which is cool!

I got nothing much to add about plants cus they all seem to be pretty straightforward and all are available in Indonesia from what I see... with the exception that I previously had believed that the white plant that Jason can pick to craft immunity effects are jasmines, but it seems that officially they're tiares which are more commonly known as being used as leis by the Polynesian people. Either way, both Jasmines and Tiares are small, worn traditionally by women, smells nice and have some spooky connotations, so same difference to me :^)

The only location in-game with an Indonesian name is Beras Town. Beras means 'uncooked rice', so there's a little fun fact to note since when you get there the first time to see Hoyt shooting at the natives it was fittingly in a rice paddy field.

2. The Rakyat and what they preach and practice

The Rakyat is a dead giveaway that Rook is based on Indonesia or Malaysia. Rakyat means 'people' in both languages, and is pronounced correctly in-game. However, most of the Rakyat weren't speaking Indonesian and spoke with a New Zealand accent so are they like. Samoan? Maori?? God knows.

Indonesia has certain tribes who have tattooing as part of their history and culture, but the tatau seems to be based more on the Samoan tatau, at least from the name itself. Tattoos are called tato in Indonesian and not tatau. The design is also not like any known designs from tribes that have tattooing culture in Indonesia. With how Dennis explains each animal on Jason's tatau had meaning in the Rakyat's history for warriors, it seems like the entire thing was a creative liberty.

Other than the tataus, there's not much we know of about The Rakyat other than they're natives of the island. There's a side mission where you have to spy on a cheating husband, this one stuck out to me for a couple reasons. One being it's funny as hell, and also because the name of the guy the husband is cheating with is Jalak. Jalak is the Indonesian name for a Starling, there's a specific sub-species of the bird that is endemic to Bali, Indonesia. It's extra-funny if it's implied that the man the husband is cheating with is named after a bird because the word bird in Indonesia (burung) is a euphemism for dick.

Another side mission also has a minor character you have to find called 'Senin' which was pronounced wrong but it's an Indonesian word that means 'Monday'.

Those are all I remember, I'll edit if I remember more!

3. Citra, Dennis and Vaas

Citra - let's start with the most glaring thing. Citra is not supposed to be said with a 'S' sound but a 'Ch' sound. (if you go to google translate and type in Citra in Indonesia and listen to it, that's the right pronunciation). If they wanted to pronounce it like they did in-game, they should've just named her Sitra which would still sound pretty natural as an Indonesian name.

Other than her name pronunciation error, the name itself is actually pretty solid. Citra means image, like 'made in the image of god' kind of image. Considering she is the Rakyat's leader and is obsessed with cultivating an image of strength and traditional values, it's a fitting name.

Citra is also the only character to speak proper Bahasa Indonesia. She actually pronounces the words correctly and speaks clearly, which I was pleasantly surprised with! Just ignore the way the Indonesian is written in subtitles cus they are completely wrong. She only says a few lines so I'll discuss them here:

Senapan ke bawah - said when Jason first shows up with Dennis at her temple and she asks her men to stand down. Translates to 'Lower your guns.'

Berikan saya herbal - said when she asks for the first potion that Jason has to drink to get the vision that led him to hallucinate where to find Willis. Translates to: 'Give me the potion/herbs'.

Cinta untuk anak-anak kami - you can miss this if you didn't pick her ending. This is the only correctly subtitled Indonesian line, and it translates to 'love for our children'. Not child. Children. Plural. Miss ma'am... what in the everliving fuck are you trying to do hoping to have children with a guy who's shooting blanks at this point and who you proceed to kill immediately after? Let's move on.

Dennis speaks Bahasa Melayu, which is quite interesting to note, considering he is a foreigner who tries very hard to fit in. Bahasa Melayu and Bahasa Indonesia are very similar to each other, hence why we can understand each other, but there is still a distinct difference between them. Since we're overanalyzing, it could be said that Dennis and Citra has never been 100% on the same page with how they speak slightly different languages.

Vaas never once speaks Bahasa Indonesia or Melayu, which considering how he has thrown away his Rakyat roots, makes some sense. And I love Michael Mando but I think he would definitely butcher the language lmao so it's great that they didn't make him say any native lines. Vaas is also not an Indonesian name, though we do have vas as a word, since vaas is Dutch for 'vase' and we picked up a few words when Netherlands colonized Indonesia. but i doubt they used the word vase for a villain name but hell, who knows. If we wanna get funky I guess we could say that Vaas was always colonized/under someone's control even down to his name.

Conclusion

Far Cry 3's Rook personally for me didn't do a good job at being Indonesian enough, from how villages look, to location names, to little things like the lack of food stalls that you would 100% be able to find if you just walk down the road in any location here. Though to be fair, it was 2012 and as such, a different time with different standards that they have since then set higher for themselves. Ubisoft did a much better job at adapting Kyrat into a believable country that was based off Nepal with rich world-building from NPC notes, locations in map, to the little items you can loot from the enemies that included Bagh-chal pieces! FC5 was also very true to Montana from what I'm led to believe from the countless praises in Reddit, and FC6 had a lot of great representation too.

At the end of the day, FC3's a great game with a solid map based vaguely off a location I just happen to be familiar with, and that is still pretty fucking cool.

#far cry 3 #far cry #far cry analysis

[clovermarigold]

Words cannot express how happy I am as a Polynesian person to see myself represented in video games. I'm not even Samoan, but just being able to connect with a character in a game I like.

The last time I saw a Polynesian character in a game I liked was Gears of War (RIP Tai). Which was one of the first video games I ever played.

So, to all those people who say diversity doesn't matter and that it's being forced in your face, those characters are inspirational and one of a kind to people who haven't had opportunities to see themselves in media. These characters lead to minorities being inspired to create, participate, and achieve greatness they otherwise would have never thought possible.

And yes, even villains played by a minority race can be a good thing when written well. When not used as a stereotype for that minority.

Mauga is someone who is a villain, but not because of what he is, or because his people are inherently bad, but because of his decisions and actions. And even then, he's not a shallow, characterless villain. He's funny, brutal, and an overall delight to play as and listen to.

Sorry for the rant, but I recently saw someone complaining over, 'the new Overwatch and how much it panders', like dude... There is SO MUCH to complain about in overwatch and that's what you choose? Complain about the corporate greed and decisions they make purely for profit.

But long story short, thank you to the devs that pushed for a character that I could connect with. I know it took a long time and a lot of work but thank you none the less.

#video games #polynesian #representation in video games #overwatch #gears of war #mauga #tai gears of war

[p3rry-pi3]

I am so sorry for the people who followed me I completely forgot abt this acc

But anyway

I made a lil’ thing.

SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TW!!!!! I mention lots of violence, lots of cussing, lots of mentions on injections, i trauma dump for a bit (I think), uh, uh, uh, yeah. That’s it. Lmk if I needa add more.

It’s complicated but I was wondering what it’d be like if my sona was a miguel variant!

He looks a lot different each drawing I make of him due to me playing around with styles so keep that in mind that consistency is nonexistent to me.

I hope this reaches the right ppl lol

I was a little nervous to show this to such a big fandom but then I remembered this is tumblr! I can do whatever, be cringe, and survive!!!

So here’s this, it’s all gonna be under the cut cause I took this as an advantage to geek out lol (a blessing and a curse)

Okay! So! His face, right.

Facial features.

This face. I did a lil’ sheet of him with and without glasses. He looks scared but bare in mind this is technically my sona and if you know me almost all of them I make are in this constant state of anxiety, and this is my way of projecting. So shhh.

In contrast to Miguel’s heightened sense due to the injects, Perry’s senses are erratic. This man’s vision gets worse TENFOLD. I’m already blind as is irl (that’s sarcasm) and the injections being unpredictable due to this dude’s like. Whatever, it makes it WORSE. Also the overstimulation is BAD with him.

As a reference to Miguel’s slicked back hair, he has his hair behind his ears. It’s a habit he does and will often fidget with his hair by constantly tucking it behind his hair and he refuses to tie it up.

Build/suit

This man is somewhat chubby but all that action will definitely muscle him out. Here’s him in the suit btw.

I think he would wear clothes overlapping the suit but because it’s like holographic and emits SO MUCH HEAT, he can’t do it during summer.

Cause imagine how hot that thing is!!!

I’ve seen the speculations that miguel could be very well naked underneath that suit, and I’ve seen how it’s like a running joke, like sure, it’s funny

BUT IMAGINE WEARING THAT THIMG EVERYWHERE WITH NO A/C!!! NO FANS!!! I imagine it being just as bad as wearing fursuit during summer (not coming from experience, but I see the struggle)

It must be super hot! I don’t know how but it LOOKS like that thing just RADIATES heat.

But no, my sona isn’t naked.

Venom

And the little fangs ref is from me being half asleep and dreaming while being awake somehow, and I guess I drew that??? Who knows.

He has natural fangs but the injections 100% make them more pronounced.

I’m not gonna overpower him and make his venom more dangerous but I’d say in addition to paralyzing his opponents, it also causes skin irritation.

Just picture it.

You’re can’t move and have to wait it off, but, your skin starts itching. It gets itchier and starts to burn BUT YOU CAN’T SCRATCH IT!!!

So you’re just laying there like “AAAAAAAA” cause then you’re worried it’ll blister, (it won’t), and you can’t check cause you can’t move!!!!!

I’m an evil genius I know 🤓

Being bit by him would be the equivalent of having to use your teeth cause no matter how many times you scratch that one part of your hands as a kid (even as now) it wouldn’t stop itching!

Character personality/arc/dev

This part was trickier. I didn’t know if I wanted to make him completely different from canon or make him similar but not too similar. It was hard.

So I focused on small traits I knew I wanted him to have.

And I think I went bonkers.

Uh yeah. I told you the art style changes quite a bit.

I think this man would love to see Miguel’s year but not long enough to figure out all the futuristic stuff. He’d be an iPad peepaw 😞

Also I’m half Samoan myself irl, so I wanted to sprinkle in that Samoan rep in this. I see little to none in most of the media I explore around, and it makes me a bit sad but if there’s like an explanation lmk.

I know there’s some Polynesian rep in the community, just not as much as I like, so here I am adding to that in pride of my own culture. (I’m still doing research on it as someone who isn’t all that connect to my heritage so it’s not good rep but bare with me, I’m getting there. As these reference pages evolve so will the rep.)

I like making a lot of these sonas so I might remake this one in particular.

I figured I’d give him a more animated character while keeping miguel’s stoicism and attitude, so here’s the characteristics I did wanna give him.

Moody. Has mood swings due to various reasons but for Miguel’s character’s sake we’ll leave it vague.

Constant state of worry and paranoia. I have been showing signs of paranoia so I’m not pulling this one out of my ass, but I do see miguel showing signs of it during high stress. It’s a headcanon I have, but I’d imagine what years of being aware of the fact there’s more people like you in a whole strand of endless possibilities, and one of them is where you’re a fictional character and being conscious of that 4th wall, it can cause you to think some stuff.

Opinionated. That’s. That’s it.

Sassy. He’s so zesty and for what lmao.

Smartass and witty. I imagine him having huge yelling matches with miguel if they were to ever meet, but in the end would get along like an old married couple. Would miguel even remotely like him? No. Not even close. This man would HATE my sona. My sona would hate him back, but as someone who’s had yelling matches with other people he’d prolly be like “damn. I can respect that.” But wouldn’t DARE to tell miguel.

Intelligent. Yeah, he would’ve been better off being an art student or a lawyer, but because of the whole canon event he had, he’s stuck as spider-man. His civilian wear is a lot more cozy in duality to him being spider-man.

Forgetful. I imagine him going to the shop and just going “shock! I forgot to change!” And he’s already almost done with his grocery list in his spider-man suit so the people there are just like, “OMG SOIDERMAN WHAT R YOU DOING HERE???”

So uh, there’s that. One last thing I’d like to add is that I may or may not have studied Miguel’s character just for his personality and to take inspo.

Doodle time!!!!!1111!!1!!11!!1!1

I made doodles here.

So.

Yeah.

I think it’s clear I don’t take him seriously lol

I also think this man would have bad nightmares since I do (fun fact! I don’t dream. It’s constant nightmares) and because of that this man would 100% sleep with a nightlight and some background noises of crowds talking bc nostalgia is the best medicine.

But it gets awkward at other people’s houses and he’s afraid to ask so he ends up staying up all night in pure terror of his nightmares. His nightmares are enhanced due to his senses. (For me, it’s imagination and having a constant active mind, but since this is my sona and I don’t have an arc for him, it’s gonna be bc of the injections.)

I think he’d be just as gay and trans as me.

Being in a big multiverse, I think he’d learn quickly that life is just too short to live while being worried of the norm and what others think.

There’s two different types of social anxiety (<- sarcasm) and he has both.

Also here’s some other doodles of his face I did

Sometimes I like drawing them completely crazy, off the deep end, scared, or just having some loves :3

My sona would be very touch starved so he isn’t used to stuff like hugs and will often become flustered! It’s cute imo but gawd damn!!! Someone cuddle this boy and tell him he’s alright

LYLA!!!!!

His lyla would prolly be named lyla too. I think she’d just be a bit of a prototype.

But perry loves her like best friend. his lyla would be the lesbian in the dynamic while perry doesn’t care what gender you are, just please don’t use his coffee mug or mess with his pile of endless papers.

I also think he’s chose her own outfits and hair styles so while sure I’ll have her in pigtails to give movie lyla’s playfulness and duality a moment recognition. But you’ll also see her in black hairstyles with actual hair texture as her avatar varies cause I made her black for 1) practice and 2) just cause. Okay? Okay. (keep in mind i’m HORRIED with fashion. So I have no idea what I’m talking abt with her character design. You’ll have to learn with me and realize that I’m pretty much clueless on how the color wheel works, so be patient plz. I take constructive criticism tho btw.)

I think his lyla would be bossier and a lot more chatty. She’d sit there and rant about whatever information asked for and because he has ADHD this lyla would involuntarily speak like she has it too, but wouldn’t really show signs of it. If she were humanized i think she’d prolly have autism more than she would ADHD but because he works under conditions he prefers, he might make her a little all over the place cause I myself rlly hate routine and familiarity is hard for me to let go of in a certain way, so I think lyla would indirectly be made to where only he knows what works and what doesn’t with the important stuff

If miguel were to ever switch lylas he’d go crazy with this one. This lyla would stare at miguel like he’s speaking some other language since my sona would probably start with some bestie banter before getting into business so if miguel were to just start barking orders at her she’d be like “Uhm. Excuse me? 🧍” she’d put him in his place as she does with my sona but at the end of the day she’s still an AI so it doesn’t get so bad to where she can’t function and can’t get work done.

She would prolly have to remind my sona the time and other stuff like that cause if the forgetful factor but considering she has social skills my sona does, she’d prolly end up talking about something else entirely but at the end of the conversation she’d always remind him.

My sona would 100% giver her a stupid nickname like “android” or for shits and giggles a more human name “Andrea” and wouldn’t tell lyla abt it, but secretly whenever he’s talking abt lyla to civilians and family he’d refer her as “Andrea” for laughs but since it’s not in lyla’s code SHE’D HAVE NO IDEA!!!

I know it’s canon that lyla is canonically a small bit sentimental and somewhat secretly crushes on miguel in the comics (correct me if I’m wrong) but I’m p sure that happens and to that I say, she wouldn’t even remotely like my sona in that way, I see these two more as siblings in this universe than I do with the originals, so these two variants are seen as siblings and often times act like so!

Universe headcanons

I think what would separate the two from each other is my sona’s world would be a lot closer to what the 90’s kids thing we’d have in modern day society much rather what 2099 would have.

Like if you were to ask a kid from 1995 or something about what they think would happen and they said “flying phones” then so be it, bam it exists now lol

That’s just an example.

So it’s like what the 60s-90s predicted, or tried to, but a lot more realistic and the economy is better by 6%. Which isn’t a lot, but by today’s standards, it might as well be.

I like to think that his universe is WAAAAAAYYYY more diverse.

A lot more necessary items would be more available.

I also think my sona would be from the capital of oregon, Salem, much rather New York just because oregon has a special place in my heart.

This man’s civilian life is boring.

Before he was spider-man, I’d imagine him as an art guy. When he had time for it and used it as a job.

He’d probably be an artist with a psychologist degree. Which, yes, far from each other, but he uses it to the best of his ability to combine the two things.

Transportation would be funky, as flying cars would technically exist, but man would it make traveling easier.

Money would work the same way since I don’t really know how to make systems that would work out for the futuristic shit 2099 would offer, at first glance it seems a lot of it costs a lot, so I’d imagine it being a struggle.

And in any case, this also means my sona’s lyla isn’t his! This man stole got it from his brother.

My sona had two brothers as a reference to my own brothers, but for purposes of staying true to Miguel’s character (which I have not been doing well at doing) he’ll have to stick to having 1 that’s consistently mentioned. Which brother? I have decided to keep that vague.

End.

In conclusion: I just needed to rant abt this character and have been anxious to post abt him since this means a number of things and because I saw a bunch of other people come up with this idea many times before, but I really wanted to make this a thing since it’s been in my head nonstop.

Admittedly I thought abt this idea before I saw everyone else’s ideas, but after seeing them all I was super scared to post my version, but after some consideration i figured I’d just take down the post no problem if it comes down to it.

I don’t really like miguel as a person (this is not miguel hate/slander in any way), but man, he’s a great character. Like, sure. He’s an asshole with too much of an ego to save himself, which I’ve noticed is a running joke in the fandom.

But after seeing the script, I’ve noticed that this man is just misunderstood. Miguel is nothing more than an antagonistic hero who has nothing better to do than do what he views as right.

What he did is unforgivable, but it makes sense.

I will forever stay by Miles’ side of the whole plot, but it made sense why miguel would go to this extent. (Not saying he’s in the right. Miguel really isn’t and his cut and dry reasoning to why he does shit ARE NOT valid reasons as it’s completely unreliable, but if I were in his shoes and trying super hard not to fuck shit up, I’d PANIC.)

His biggest flaw is getting too caught up into the past and using his trauma as a reason for everything he considers logical, just to get by and help others the way he needs that help. The way he thinks is help for everyone, or the way he thinks is best TOO help.

Using trauma bonding (which is implied) to then “help” others to “not make the same mistake”, being so fixated on it to the point you can tell he hasn’t had human contact in any normal way for a while.

This also may explain the touch starve and touch adverse headcanons going around the miguel tag.

In a way, I admired miguel in that sense. He was like me, just if he was a bit grumpier.

He acted how I used to, and his shame was just as matched as it was with trauma.

And I felt that.

So, I decided to make a sona based off him. I promise I’ll make a more original one, but for now have this miguel rip-off.

While I hate miguel, I also respect his character as a whole.

(And because of the arguments of opinion and mischaracterization, no. This isn’t canon, this is my interpretation. And no, I will not demonize him just because I hate him. I honestly think he deserves just as much good as miles does, but miles needs a lot more attention as of recent events.)

#miguel o'hara #atsv miguel #miguel spiderverse #miguel spiderman #spiderman across the spiderverse #across the spiderverse #atsv fanart #atsv #miguel ohara #spiderverse oc #spidersona #spiderman atsv #atsv art #oc #oc art #sona #sona art #digital artist #uhhhh what other tag should I do #uhm 🙁🙁🙁🙁🙁🙁 #spiderverse #spiderman #spiderman 2099 #this is not miguel slander #I’ll say that again. this is *NOT* miguel slander #atsv spoilers

[dream-home-dubai]

What are the best off-plan villa projects in Dubai?

Unveiling Dubai's Enchanting Oasis: Top Off-Plan Villa Projects to Buy in 2024

The allure of Dubai, the City of Gold, extends far beyond its towering skyscrapers and opulent shopping malls. For those seeking a tranquil haven amidst the vibrant metropolis, buying a villa in Dubai offers an unparalleled lifestyle experience. And what better way to embrace this dream than by investing in an off-plan villa project, allowing you to personalize your living space and witness its transformation from blueprint to reality?

This guide delves into the crème de la crème of Dubai's off-plan villa projects, catering to diverse preferences and budgets. Brace yourself to be captivated by architectural marvels, scenic settings, and unparalleled amenities, all promising an elevated living experience:

For the Nature Enthusiast:

Tilal Al Ghaf: Nestled amidst lush greenery and serene lakes, Tilal Al Ghaf by Emaar is a haven for nature lovers. Choose from Spanish, Moroccan, and Mediterranean-inspired villas, each boasting private pools and gardens, offering a true connection with the outdoors.

Meydan One: Imagine waking up to breathtaking horse racing track views. Meydan One by Meydan Group offers luxurious villas adorned with modern finishes and smart home technology, complemented by exclusive access to a championship golf course and a prestigious equestrian club.

For the Family-Oriented:

Damac Lagoons: This expansive waterfront development by Damac Properties features diverse villa communities, each with its unique theme. Dive into the Polynesian vibes of Santorini, the Californian charm of Malibu, or the Italian Riviera essence of Portofino, all while enjoying world-class amenities like a crystal lagoon, water sports activities, and themed restaurants.

Dubai Hills Estate: Envision your family creating cherished memories surrounded by rolling hills and verdant parks. Dubai Hills Estate by Emaar presents a collection of spacious villas in contemporary and Mediterranean styles. Residents can unwind at the Dubai Hills Golf Club, explore the Dubai Hills Park, or indulge in retail therapy at Dubai Hills Mall.

For the Urban Aficionado:

MBR City District One: Embrace the pulse of city life while enjoying the serenity of a private haven. District One by Meydan Group boasts palatial villas overlooking the iconic Burj Khalifa and Dubai Downtown. Residents enjoy exclusive access to The Crystal Lagoon, a 14km man-made lagoon fringed by pristine beaches and vibrant cafes.

Jumeirah Village Circle (JVC): Immerse yourself in the heart of a burgeoning community at JVC by Nakheel. This family-friendly district offers a range of modern villas at attractive prices, ensuring access to excellent schools, healthcare facilities, and entertainment options.

For the Discerning Investor:

Palm Jumeirah - The Signature Collection: Own a piece of Dubai's iconic landmark with a limited-edition villa on the Palm Jumeirah's fronds. The Signature Collection by Nakheel showcases waterfront mansions designed by world-renowned architects, offering unparalleled luxury and exclusivity.

Sobha Hartland II: Invest in a prestigious address within the Mohammed Bin Rashid City with Sobha Hartland II by Sobha Realty. This master-planned community offers exquisite villas surrounded by landscaped gardens, a lagoon, and a vibrant town center, promising excellent rental yields and capital appreciation.

Investing in Your Dream with Home Station

Buying a villa in Dubai opens doors to a world of possibilities, whether you seek a permanent residence, a vacation home, or a lucrative investment. With our comprehensive understanding of the off-plan market and unwavering commitment to client satisfaction, Home Station guides you through every step of the process.

Our team of experienced real estate professionals helps you navigate the nuances of off-plan investments, ensuring you make informed decisions that align with your goals. We connect you with developers offering the most captivating and promising projects, negotiate on your behalf to secure the best deals, and provide dedicated support throughout the construction and handover process.

Unlock the door to your dream Dubai lifestyle with Home Station. Contact us today for a personalized consultation and embark on your journey to owning a piece of paradise in the City of Gold.

Remember, we are here to make your dream of buying a villa in Dubai a reality.

#DubaiRealEstate #OffPlanDubai #DubaiVillas #InvestInDubai #LuxuryLiving #NewDevelopments #DubaiProperty #ModernHomes #FamilyHomes #CommunityLiving #SustainableLiving #HomeStation

[indiegamesofcolor]

[I.D.: A photoset containing four screenshots from the visual novel game Love on the Peacock Express: A Short Mystery MILF Dating Game. 

Image 1 shows the game’s title card with its main characters beneath it. The romance options Iris, Cassandra, and Vic stand together next to another character, the train conductor.

Image 2 shows Cassandra with her dialogue reading, “Do your investigations usually require this much gawking?”

Image 3 shows Vic, who is described as “Salt-and-Pepper Butch” by the player character. Vic is saying, “Looks like we’ll be locked in this little room together for a while. Why don’t you come in and take a load off?”

Image 4 shows Iris with her dialogue saying, “They treated me like a queen. It’s one of the happiest memories of my life.”

end I.D.]

Love on the Peacock Express: A Short Mystery MILF Dating Game is a visual novel about solving mysteries and kissing hot older women! Play as a private investigator and solve one of three mysteries tied to three different women: Iris, a trans diva and singer; Vic, a blue-collar butch grifter; and Cassandra, a CEO with power and influence. Piece together clues and flirt your way through one of three romance routes with two unique endings!

For free on Windows, Mac, and Linux. 

Developed by a wide team of lgbt+ developers (listed in the game’s Itch.io page) who are donating all proceeds from the game to Planned Parenthood and the María Fund, a grassroots organization that aims to help the people of Puerto Rico. The dev team made this game to highlight older women in romantic media, and the game also has an official Twitter.

#lgbt #visual novel #dating sim #free to play #video games #indie games #lgbt content #romance #mystery #asian devs #windows games #Mac games #linux games #lgbt devs #East Asian devs #hong konger devs #samoan devs #Polynesian devs #indigenous devs #southasian devs #Chinese devs #japanese devs

[airlockfailure]

I enjoy TBB but it is HELLA WHITEWASHED Like, you can't even argue. It's whitewashed.

Complaints about character dev, dialogue, plot, are all minor problems and are subjective.

You should be complaining about the whitewashing, which affects real people, in real time and is not a STYLISTIC CHOICE. It's willful, it's harmful.

Style is like, Picasso vs. da Vinci not... making Polynesian men look quasi Italian and British.

#unwhitewash tbb #tbb #the bad batch

[stylishanachronism]

Okay so no Caed Nua as an abandoned haunted house, but would you write about Neketaka as a not at all abandoned but still haunted AF city?

I would!!! Especially as it’s got a lot of overlap, given both Caed Nua and Neketaka just..... plastered over the Remains of What Came Before, and everyone just sort of forgot about it, but the House City Did Not Forget.

(A note: I’m on much much shakier ground as far as the real life cultures that inspired the devs with this one, so like, if you’ve got more info let me know if I’m wildly off base or like, rude, because all I’ve got is two years of Polynesian art and a thorough grounding in modern American, nebulously European, and fairly specifically 17th c Japanese haunted house archetypes.)

So Neketaka, canonically, is built on top of several centuries worth of Other Cities, not all of which are holding up that well. (I suspect most of the, uh, old empire(?) construction actually was built into the caves under the current city on purpose, given the Gullet hasn’t been swallowed up yet; despite all the shaky platforms there’s solid rock somewhere under all that, and that buildings for the living were repurposed for the dead at some point when they decided to start building on top of the mountain as well. All of that was more or less sealed off by Engwith, to my understanding, in an attempt to hide the God Battery Ukaizo, likely with people still living there, given the sheer number of corpses you see both below the Gullet and in Berath’s temple, which, again to my understanding, leads into the same complex, deep enough down. So you’ve got a whole city under the city, plus whatever layers of construction ended up in between (and there’s at least a couple of places that have two or three of those, given where we’re allowed to go), and that city did not go quietly.

(To circle back around to the Caed Nua essay nobody gets to read yet, it’s fairly canon that anything that exists long enough gets pretty damn haunted, for whatever definition of haunted applies. Places and things involved with death do this more quickly, obviously, but even sufficiently strong emotion will do, based on all the soul bound objects. Caed Nua is explicitly canonically odd because it Went Haunted almost before it was finished being built, not because it *is* haunted, and Haunted Hill scares people because that shit happened literally overnight, not because it happened at all; nobody cares about the equally (but much more gradually) haunted sewers, after all. Neketaka was essentially buried alive, as far as I know, and history swallowed that fact up whole, so the highly reasonably fact the city is haunted is not well remembered, and it’s real sad about that.)

A small part of the reason Neketaka is such a mess (99% of it is absolutely outside politics But) is that I doubt the Huana are as a general rule used to living in haunted spaces; some tribes certainly are, and all the Watershapers are probably at least a little Concerned by non-haunted places, considering, but anybody whose tribe used to live outside the city is probably not having a great time with that bit, on top of, y’know, living in a city at all. Neketaka seems fairly inclined to leave the surface city to itself, though in addition to being at least partially built on solid rock, the reason the Gullet is still standing is definitely because the city wants it to be, and it’s definitely more ‘active’ about Berath’s temple, and probably Delver’s Row as well. It also probably doesn’t help that p much nobody can recognize the haunting for what it is, for various reasons, and anyone who should is very throughly ignoring the situation, mostly for political and/or health reasons. (The Watcher is special, and the city loves them, for better or worse; not everyone can say the same!) Digging too far into the City’s city-ness just means you get it’s attention, and then it probably tries to help you, and it’s idea of helpful is not exactly a good time.

Speaking of, I suspect that to Neketaka the City, killing anyone who ends up in the Old City quickly looks like a kindness; the original people who died there either died fast or suffered for a long time, and the City as an Entity is definitely influenced by that drawn out despair, the way the city as a city is, even if they don’t recognize that about themselves. It certainly doesn’t look like a kindness to anyone else, but I really do think that’s the City’s idea of trying to help.

There’s definitely a lot more to unpack here, like why the City is sad and how that affects things like, oh, the Vailian and Rautai presence, but I haven’t felt it out yet, and I need to do some work with the map but yeah! Neketaka is Real Damn Haunted and nobody wants to acknowledge that, and it’s very sad about everything. Tune in next time for why my gut feeling says the priest dude in Berath’s temple and also Dereo in Delver’s Row are having the best luck with the thing, while Her Majesty is accidentally fighting a war on an extra front.

#look I can talk fairly intelligently about a bunch of different cultures’ art I’m just using Polynesian because they’re all thereabouts #also being able to talk about art does not make me an expert on any level about the actual cultures so uh #also to my knowledge polynesia in general doesn’t really go for haunted houses as a supernatural thing #haunted boats haunted weapons haunted sharks (?) sure but not really haunted houses #anyways #unrelated Things of Note: #Defiance Bay has sewers and running water and people have at least vaguely figured out germ theory #given it’s not a particularly modern city we can expect all those things are The Norm #caed nua almost certainly has plumbing as does Dyrford odd as that might seem #they probably have a septic tank and a leech field for dyemaking purposes however #the vast graveyards out in the middle of nowhere are probably a response to the whole death = faster hauntings thing #because it’s a smidge ridiculous to carry your dead All the Way Out There without a really good reason #I would really like to know if Neketaka also loves Adaryc; that’s ether a watcher thing or a Watcher thing and I’d like some more data #I suspect the thesis here is for Caed Nua the other side of love is possession; for Neketaka it’s grief #alternately: caed nua is v haunted and everyone would like to ignore that; Neketaka is also v haunted and everyone’s forgotten that #given that what causes a haunting to manifest is probably the same ground in uh soul dust the gods eat #and that that canonically is heavily influenced by the people it came from #I expect that the gods have changed more than they or anyone else knows or expected #like I bet if you put Magran the baby god next to Magran during Deadfire they wouldn’t recognize each other #....also entirely unrelated to any of this but I would not be surprised if people who eat adra #started showing physical side effects to go with the metaphysical ones #don’t eat adra kids you won’t like the results #I am once again laughing at the fact that if something is old enough to have a personality it unabashedly loves the Watcher #because that’s also a theme #I really need a better timeline on the Caed Nua was originally buried x Neketaka was originally buried y front #Caed Nua is.... arguably older? in terms of grief-stricken haunted shit not like in general #I’d need way more information for which place is Actuallh Older #it certainly had more time to stew in its resentment and less people to look after in the interim #...also y’know it’s a lot smaller and was tied into that adra pillar for a long goddamned time #which definitely helped it form a personality fast

[nbapprentice]

Hey. If you don't mind, I would like to discuss things with you regarding a post you made before about Twin Coves. I myself have no knowledge of the game nor the characters, this discussion is based on that post you made where you criticize the game dev for their answers to the criticism they received. I have no comments on the Arab/Black character nor the Polynesian character, as I am not from those cultures thus have no authority to speak for them. However, I do have some perapective to give for the Japanese character, as you seem to point out Asian-related tropes. I am Asian who live and grew up in Asia my whole life. Although our cultures are vastly different from country to country, there are still some similar trends, especially when look through Western/North American media. That would be the angle I speak about. I would also note that I by no means think that I speak for all Asian people. This is merely me pitching in my perspective, because this discourse doesn't exist only in the context of this game, but representation in media in general.

Now that that's out of the way, I would like to say that: I don't think portraying Asian character as short is a bad thing, neither does giving them an aloof or stern personality. First, let's talk about the height. It is a reality that most Asian men are of smaller stature. I am the tallest amongst my group of male friends, and I'm only 170 cm (5'7"). However, that has never been represented as a good, desireable thing. Most of the "handsome" or "desireable" Asians in media are usually portrayed as tall and Western-like. Asian boys are pressured by their parents to be taller and are constantly compared to other of their taller peers. So having a dating sim that portray a shorter Asian man as equally desireable to the other taller non-Asians is actually... nice for a change.

Second, let's talk about the aloofness. I agree that there are trends for Asian characters to be portrayed as emotionally inaccessible. However, I see that as a problem when it is portrayed ONE-DIMENSIONALLY. Now, whether the game dev/writer would provide a good character development for that character is still to be seen, but at this point it is indeed too early to say anything. Additionally, I notice this tendency of white liberals to jump at every hint of stereotypical thing and say "you can't portray this character like THAT because it enforces stereotype", while not considering that the more you restrict, the less variety in characterization exist. I see people debating on, say, characterization of Asian women in the same line as well. Like, "don't make her too agressive/sexy or she'll be the Dragon Lady stereotype", "don't make her too sweet or she'll be the Submissive Asian stereotype", etc. So in the end, a white character can be any combination of characteristic that makes them vivid and interesting, but Asian character (and perhaps characters of other non-White culture) becomes a flat cardboard of agreeableness that dares to not offend white progressive sensibility. I think the focus should be put on the overall writing of the character (for example, an aloof Asian man eventually comes out of his shell and show his gentle, sweet side, and funny side) and not just what the initial description of that character happens to be.

I am not trying to excuse the game dev's decisions, though. As I said, I don't know them or their game until I read your blog. Also, the game seems to indeed be made for white audience in mind first and foremost. I'm just a little tired seeing mostly white people arguing on how Asian (and other people color) should be portrayed, while not considering that we don't need coddling. We could be portrayed in any way as long as it's respectful and that the portrayal consider that we are human beings capable of growth and change, not this untouchable and pure image of Asian-shaped being exist to give a white person some virtue points. I wish people would stop nitpicking the small parts of the characterization that seems wrong, and focus on the character's existence in the grand scheme of representation.

I hope I didn't come out wrong in anyway. I'm not incredibly good with words. But I assure you that this is not a disagreement in any way. I agree that we should be critical of media, as we are swimming in the endless sea of bad ones. I just want to offer an alternate view of this situation, and hope that you'll be open enough to listen to it.

Hi, anon! I'm glad you sent us this because it definitely made us both think!

#asks #mod Jewel #Anonymous #twin coves

[some-lists]

5 Actors Who Should Play Namor

Namor is a character that’s been hinted to make his MCU appearance. He was vaguely mentioned by Okoye in Endgame, so it’s rumored he might be Black Panther 2’s next villain. His casting has been something I’ve been very curious about.

Of course, with Chadwick Boseman’s tragic passing, we don’t know what’s going to happen to Black Panther 2, or how the script will change. Understandably, they are taking their time with it to honor Chadwick Boseman. As they should.

But I still like to imagine who could possibly play Namor if he does make his appearance one day.

Rumors were Marvel was looking to cast an Asian actor in the role. I’ve seen a lot of fans suggest their own picks, including Zachary Quinto and Luke Evans. Personally, I don’t think Namor should be white. The cast of Black Panther has mentioned they feel very protective of Wakanda, and since Wakanda has remained untouched by colonialism, I don’t think it would feel right to watch a bunch of white invaders attack Wakanda. I personally think Black Panther should remain a film about people of color.

Since Namor has an Asian look in the comics, it makes sense to look for an Asian actor. I would be more than happy to see more Asian representation in the MCU. However, I would also love to see a Pacific Islander Namor.

When DC cast Jason Momoa as Aquaman, he was quick to reference his Hawaiian culture’s influence and commonalities with his character. I thought it was a really brilliant connection. But then they made his Polynesian side human and his Atlantean side Aryan blonde. I understand that’s what the Atlanteans looked like in the comics, but it just didn’t make sense when we see this heavily tattooed Hawaiian man holding a giant five-pronged spear. I thought it was a real wasted opportunity.

Of course, Marvel will probably want to avoid as many comparisons to Aquaman as possible, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t go that route. But I would love to see them do what Aquaman didn’t. Especially since Pacific Islanders have had their own painful histories with colonialism, and the fact that they’re incredible warrior cultures, I think it would tie in well with Black Panther.

Anyway, enough with my ramblings. Here are my picks.

5. Dev Patel

Honestly, I just love Dev Patel and I want to see him in more stuff. If Marvel is looking to hire an Asian actor, why not a South Asian? He’s one of the best actors out there. He’s starred in Oscar winning films and has been nominated for his brilliant performance in Lion. (He should’ve been nominated for Slumdog Millionaire too!) He has martial arts training and the dedication to get in shape. He had an unfortunate turn as a villain in The Last Airbender. Perhaps Namor could be a chance to undo that. (Although, I think he’d make an even better hero.)

4. Jason Scott Lee

Jason Scott Lee is a little older now (53), but that hasn’t stopped Marvel before. Lee, who is of Chinese and Native Hawaiian descent, would tick both the Asian and Pacific Islander boxes. We know he can handle all the action and fight scenes, as most of his notable roles have been in martial arts films. His portrayal of Bruce Lee in Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story was 100% spot on. He’s actually someone I would like to see in Shang Chi (The full cast still hasn’t been announced yet, so who knows?). Recently, Lee has played villains in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny and the live action Mulan film. Playing Namor could be right up his alley.

3. Daniel Dae Kim

Simu Liu put it out there that he wanted to play Shang Chi and it came true. It’s only fair the same should happen to Daniel Dae Kim, who has been wanting to play Namor for years now. Kim has been a constant presence in television thanks to his roles in Lost and Hawaii Five-O. I’ll always remember him as the first time I’d seen a sexually attractive Asian man portrayed on TV. (Well, not since Russell Wong in Vanishing Son in the early 90’s!) Kim can play cold and threatening, but also loyal and loving (in the same character). He could definitely pull off a villain or an anti-hero Namor.

2. Daniel Henney

Daniel Henney previously had a role in X-Men Origins: Wolverine as Agent Zero. In my opinion, his presence in that film was one of the few highlights in that forgettable movie. He was a fantastic villain. I think we could just ignore his previous involvement in the X-Men universe since it was such a small role. Anyway, he’s 6’2”, the perfect height for a Marvel hero or villain, and he’s gorgeous. Someone just hire this guy already! I think he’s the perfect choice for an Asian Namor.

1. Uli Latukefu

As I mentioned, I’d love to see a Pacific Islander Namor... though it probably won’t happen. I think Tongan-Australian Uli Latukefu would be a great choice. He is still mostly unknown. His most notable role was as Byamba in Marco Polo (alongside Benedict Wong). Benedict Wong was hands down the best thing about that show, but Uli’s Byamba was definitely second. Don’t let the horrible haircut fool you, he’s a good looking man. On top of that, he’s 6’5”. With Marvel’s trainers he could be even more impressive than Chris Hemsworth. Now that’s what I’d like to see. What about a showdown with M’Baku? Yes, please! He next stars in Taika Waititi’s upcoming film Next Goal Wins. He already has a connection to Taika Waititi, so I say bring him over to Marvel. (Then get Taika to direct a spinoff Namor movie!)

#marvel #mcu #namor the sub mariner #dream cast #dev patel #jason scott lee #daniel dae kim #daniel henney #uli latukefu

[themyscrian]

I saw your take on lalafell and they're absolutely AMAZING! The amount of detailing and arrangements were so lovely to look at, it's so clear you took careful consideration in looking into Maori and Fijian culture, full on kudos to you! And I hope this isn't rude to ask, but do you take comissions? If not I completely understand, still love your art!

oh wow—thanks, i really appreciate that! i figure if the devs aren't going to acknowledge that they've made lalafell canonically polynesian (beyond the really barebones touristy stuff like leis and inaccurate hula dancing) then i might as well try my best to tip the scales by putting some actual effort in. yeah technically fiji is melanesia but the stiff cone shapes of the barkcloth skirts felt more flattering for the lalafell body type so i figured why not base one of the many islands there!

im sorry to say i've never taken on commissions because i'm very inconsistent in my ability to actually draw to a high standard or within a normal time frame. i managed to do that height chart in a day because its a simpler, sketchier style but ive taken as long as 13 months to do more complicated pieces.

you'd have better luck my boyfriend @starshucker! he's a very talented illustration major, and let me commission him to do these higher quality digital refs for my wol and his mums.

feel free to send him an ask, and thanks again for the kind words!!

#RLPersonalAdventure #goldencamelias #heheheheheehehe this is such a compliment :)

[hollowjourney]

I'm kinda fucking pissed off at the blogs I follow. Half of them are reblogging shit about Cyberpunk being shitty. Where were they when The Last of Us Part 2 was scene after scene of torture porn featuring one of the few LGBT characters that developer has created? Where were they when Naughtydog was forcing their devs to crunch AND to watch hour after hour of real world executions and hangings to get the physics "as realistic as possible?" Where were they when a professional game critic compared TLoUP2 to Schindler's List of all goddamn things (which I feel might be at least a little anti-Semitic to say, but as a gentile individual I don't get to decide what is or is not anti-Semitic) and that tweet was retweeted by the lead writer? I have seen nothing about Cyberpunk that makes it worse than TLoUP2 (I actually think Cyberpunk is less harmful than TLoUP2), so to see my mutuals of all people dragging THIS game when they didn't have any outrage over any other "Triple A" title this year pisses me the fuck off. I know this game has some problematic aspects, but they're being blown out of proportion. The transphobic ad slogan that was meant to show how terrible corporations are was apologized for, and it and the racist portrayal of that one gang, which is likely a hold over from the fact that this is based on a ttrpg from the 70s, were from 2019, enough time to be rectified (btw, no one is bringing them up at all beyond "this game is transphobic and racist" so I'm inclined to believe that it's been dealt with). The strobing was a coincidence and will likely be patched along with most of the bugs and glitches which are ubiquitous to any game releasing these days because no "Triple A" developer will ever release a finished product at launch ever again. The Maori tattoos are a bit of an issue, but I blame that more on Polynesian rights aren't as entrenched in the zeitgeist yet and not on any intentional maliciousness. Just let me enjoy a game I've been looking forward to for over half a decade without making me feel like I should hate it and myself. To be clear, I'm not saying the game isn't problematic. I'm saying that it's not as problematic as it's being made out to be and that the hypocrisy of my mutuals pisses me off.

#personal #do not reblog

[rabidauthor]

Love Mythos: Sanctuary Island, a gay AF game made by gay AF devs

What is Love Mythos: Sanctuary Island and why should you check out its free demo or it’s Kickstarter? Let me (the writer of the game) take you on the tour of my bouncing baby brainchild that is yet another monster dating game.

Love Mythos is a visual novel and puzzle game about dating eight mythological creatures on a magic island. Centaurs? Check. Harpies? Check. Possible Polyamorous cross-species triad? Check. You want it, we probably got it.

But besides having eight yummy and slightly damaged love interests for you, the heart of Love Mythos is its reflection of the real world we live in. Sure, perhaps it’s a little strange to explore that with mythical hybrids, but art is funny like that.

The characters in LM are diverse because the world around us is diverse. Their skin color, body types, personalities, and style are meant to reflect all the beautiful combinations that people can come in. And their struggles are just as varied. While one might be wondering if it’s ever possible to have a destiny after losing everything they had been training for, another might be suffering from PTSD due to captivity. Even the player character must overcome their feelings of otherness and fear after their world is turned upside down. We at Squid Sins Squad believe that EVERYONE should be able to see themselves lovingly reflected in the media they consume. Although there are so many more beautiful and worthy variants of souls we couldn’t fit in, these are our current love interests!

And, if we hit our stretch goals on our Kickstarter you might also get to meet: A Polynesian cyclops who also happens to be a proud transwoman 

A sentient and very charming gorilla

Or a slime girl from Russia who may or may not be radioactive! 

The game itself plays as a visual novel with branching dialogue, branching paths and (currently) nineteen different endings. 

There’s also a minigame to play and progress yourself along with the story. Our goal is to have a decent length experience with high replay value that makes you cry at least once. Hopefully twice, because writers are evil. 

Oh...

and did we mention the pr0n?

After playing a whole lot of ero or ecchi games with not a lot of substance, I was inspired to write erotica that was actually good! Stuff where everyone gets enjoyment out of it and realistically so, rather than everything being viewed from a decidedly male and heterosexual lense. Currently, all of our sex scenes ware written to work with whatever plumbing, gender or pronoun set the Player Character is using, but one of our stretch goals does include anatomy specific sex scenes. 

The Squid Sins Squad is pretty sex-positive and just wants people to get their jollies in all the wonderful ways that are (consensually) possible~~~ So get in, play around, and maybe get in *wink*

But for those of you who doing the down and dirty isn’t your bag, that’s alright too! All adult content can be turned off and there are endings for being friends with everyone! Ace and Aro folks are more than welcome at our table!

So that is, by the long and short of it, why you should give Love Mythos: Sanctuary Island a good, hard look.  Our FREE demo is here And our Kickstarter is here!  We’re 54% of the way there, but we still need your support to make it the rest of the way! 

See you on the other side~

- the Squid Sins Squad

#LGBT #lgbtq #love mythos #love mythos sanctuary island #visual novel #visual novel in english #monster boy #monster girl #indie game #indie dev #game dev #lgbt video game #lgbtq community #video game dev #lgbt dev #harpy #naga #centaur #anggitay #mintotaur #mermaid #faun #satyr #sphinx #representation #representation matters #diversao #diversity in games #kickstarter #crowdfunding

[moontheoretist]

For a long time I wasn't interested in The Sims, but EA Play Stream and new The Sims pack made me really excited, so I will now sum up some of the things, which come in the new pack and mention the things, which will become available in the game soon!

- Pack: The Sims 4 Island Living - Island Fashion from the head to toe! - Open Water Gameplay: Sims will be able to go and walk into the open water! - Sims can live all over the island! - There is active volcano there! Which means a dangerous stuff falling from the sky sometimes! - Sims can befriend sea animals: Sims can play together with and befriend dolphins! - More fish! Exotic fish! - Island is a home for your sims, not just a avacation place. - New Job: Conservationist - the job in which you protect the island and keep it clean and beautiful! - Island changes over time. - New Jobs: Fishing, Life Guard, Diver Instructor. - Locals are super friendly and will help your sims if something happens! - Locals have their own lives, traditions and events your sims can join! - Elemental Spirits, which share their knowledge with your sims, so if they care for the island the Elementals will be pleased! If your sims screw the island though, be prepared. Elementals won't be happy! - New traits! In touch with water and land! - Polynesian inspirations in the whole pack. - MERMAIDS! You can make your sim as a mermaid! - Mermaids have mysterious powers. - New furnitures and houses which are half over the water!

The Sims is partnering with It Gets Better Project! (June 18 - Pride Content comes to The Sims 4!) - Pride Items in The Sims products in a few next months! - It Gets Better and Pride Clothing! - Gender neutral bathroom in The Sims 4!

The Sims partnership with Moschino. New items: - The Sims 4 Moschino Stuff Pack later this summer! - A new carrier which comes with the Moschino Stuff Pack is freelance fashion photographer! - Future Pack: Realm of Magic!

The Sims 4 Devs: We have a lot of cool stuff for you all! You can live, and work on the island, you can protect this beautiful place and there are also mermaids. We also give you a Pride Content and new Stuff Pack! Me: 

#the sims 4 #island living #the sims 4 island living #ea play #pride month 2019

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[ID: A photoset containing four images of the interactive book Puhaorangi.

Image 1 shows cover art of the mythologic figure Puhaorangi standing in front of a spectral background with glowing eyes. 

Image 2 shows a man and woman together looking at each other. A text box beneath them reads: “Toitehuatahi is a great explorer he is a wise and loving chief who cares for his people. Te Kuranuiomona his wife of high birth, a loving wife who works tirelessly for her family. Her beauty is known throughout the length of the land. Such is the meaning of her name. The sacred gift of Monoa. And it seems that even the heavens have been smitten by her.”

Image 3 shows Puhaorangi with his back to the viewer as he steps towards a cosmic sky. A text box in the foreground reads: “Without a moment to lose he drove his heel into his waka and commanded his companion forward, there was no hesitation from Amokura as they surged into the stream of Te Unuhanga, the brightness was too strong for Puhaorangi who raised his forearm over his eyes, the noise was piercing but on they travelled no sooner had they entered-- the chaos ceased.”

Image 4 shows Te Kuranuiomona standing in a jungle-like area of plants and trees. Her finger is extended towards a bird on a branch. A text box reads: “As she makes her way towards him he hears her whisper, ‘Such a thing of beauty-- oh Tāne I greet you!’. Enriched with joy by these warm words, he fills his lungs with air therefore extending his breast in a display of bravery and acknowledgement. Te Kuranuiomona folds her fore digit, touches her nose and extends it out towards Puhaorangi.” 

end ID.]

Puhaorangi is an interactive story book about the origins, exploits, and descendants of the Te Arawa ancestor and superhero, Puhaorangi! Learn from whom Puhaorangi descends from, where his superhero abilities came from, and what led him to traverse the solar system. Story author Raimona Inia also sees Puhaorangi as “the first Māori astronaut!”

For free on iOS and Android.

Developed by Metia Interactive, a studio from Auckland, New Zealand (whose name is being petitioned by the Māori party to be changed to Aotearoa as an act of decolonization). Founded by Maru Nihoniho, Metia Interactive has created games that represent Māori people and other ethnic groups. 

#video games #indie games #educational #mobile games #indigenous devs #Polynesian devs #maori devs #free to play #Pacific Islander devs