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sammysdewysensitiveeyes · 11 days

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My Morph primer

Since X-Men 97 is drawing in a lot of new fans with varied levels of experience with the original animated series or the comics, I figured I could give a write-up of who Morph is, where they come from, and why you don’t see them in any of the movies or other media. This is also an excuse for me to write about an obsessive fave, seriously, they are all over my blog. I'm not necessarily an "authority," but I've watched TAS and read the comics, which are the basis for this write-up.

Who is Morph?

"Wolverine! Fall back!"

Morph is a shapeshifting mutant who was added to the X-Men team in the original X-Men: The Animated Series as a redshirt/sacrificial lamb, to be killed off For Real in order to show that the stakes are really high. Originally it was actually going to be Thunderbird, a short-lived X-Man who died in the comics just a few issues after he was introduced, and has remained dead for decades. But creators realized that killing off the only Native American character on a mostly white team was a bad look, and went with Morph instead. Morph proved surprisingly popular with (mostly child) viewers, and was brought back in the 2nd season as a result. Morph in TAS was originally presented as male using male pronouns, but I’m gonna use they/them for the character since they are nonbinary in X-Men 97.

(Btw, even Morph's TAS costume shows their redshirt nature, as they are basically wearing a variant of the standard X-Men uniform that different groups have worn, with the Original Five (Angel, Jean, Cyclops, Beast and Iceman) and the New Mutants all wearing something similar. There was a time in the 90's when all the X-Men were wearing this uniform to try to give them a team look, but thankfully that didn't last, the individualized looks are much better. Morph's amazing disappearing reappearing jacket are the only personalized touch in their uniform, and I hope X-Men 97 gives them a costume upgrade after everyone gets used to the new look.)

Morph doesn’t appear in many episodes of TAS, but here are the definitive ones:

Season 1:

Night of the Sentinels Parts 1 and 2: Morph seems to be an established part of the team, a wise-cracking shapeshifter who is so naively overconfident about their mission that they’ve practically got a target painted on their back. When the mission goes wrong, Morph pushes Wolverine out of the way of Sentinel lasers, and gets blasted all to hell. Morph’s supposed death (which was meant at the time to be a real death) is sensed by both Jean and Xavier. Cyclops orders a retreat because the team is getting their asses kicked, abandoning both the (dead) Morph and (alive but injured) Beast, who spends the rest of the season in jail. Morph is quickly forgotten as a character, BUT the impact of their death is felt throughout the season. We get Wolverine yelling “This one’s for you, Morph!” while slicing up a Sentinel, and Cyclops in the finale insisting, “I’m not leaving anyone behind! Not this time!”

Season 2:

Till Death Do Us Part, Parts 1 and 2: Morph returns as a villain, but a sympathetic, brainwashed villain under the control of season Big Bad Mr. Sinister. Sinister is an evil scientist who likes to fuck around with mutant genetics and is especially obsessed with getting Scott and Jean to fuck, because their child will supposedly be an extremely genetically superior mutant. After Morph’s “death,” they were taken by Sinister, who revived them and implanted a control device into Morph’s brain that he uses to literally torture Morph into compliance. Morph seems to have a kind of split personality, which Sinister exacerbates and encourages, shifting between a haggard-looking Evil Morph who wants revenge on the X-Men for abandoning them and cracks jokes while attacking the team, and a normal-looking Good Morph, who doesn’t want to hurt their friends, and is generally scared and confused and having a Bad Time. If you are wondering about Morph turning into that version of themselves with dark circles around their eyes in X-Men 97 “Fire Made Flesh,” it was a reference back to this:

Evil Morph lookin' reeeeeaal creepy.

Morph uses their shape-shifting trickery to fake marry Scott and Jean (as the priest), impersonate Xavier and turn the team against each other, until Wolverine identifies them by scent. The team then chases Morph to Sinister’s lair, where he’s captured a honey-mooning Scott and Jean. Morph has been struggling with the brainwashing the entire time, and breaks free long enough to attack Sinister, then runs off away from everyone.

Whatever It Takes: Wolverine, who has declared the Morph is “the only one who could ever make him laugh,” chases Morph down to Brazil in an attempt to drag them back to the team. Morph, still fighting their dark side and flipping back and forth between the two personalities, taunts Wolverine in Jean’s form, fights him, and eventually gains enough control to tell Logan to back off. (“I have to get through this by myself!”)

Fighting your friend in an abandoned mine shaft, a totally normal thing to do.

Wolverine reluctantly lets them go. This the B-plot, the main plot of the episode features Storm and Rogue confronting the Shadow King in Africa, and is also really good.

Reunion Parts 1 and 2: Morph leaves a message for Wolverine stating that he wants to return to the team, in what seems like an obvious set-up for a trap. Wolverine, Jean and Cyclops go to retrieve them, and find that yes, it is a trap. Morph attmpts to warn the group to leave, but they are jumped by Sinister and the Nasty Boys, and the fight ends with Jean being taken, and Morph (still struggling against Sinister’s control), going semi-willingly. The whole team winds up at Sinister’s base in the Savage Land and there are a lot of good character moments, like Gambit telling Rogue he loves her. Morph spends the whole time still fighting against the brainwashing, but throws it off completely at the end (with Xavier’s help) and turns on Sinister, helping Scott and Jean defeat him. Morph is then Put on a Bus to Muir Island so that the writers wouldn’t have to deal with the character but could hold them in reserve to use later. Xavier comments that he can remove Sinister’s mind-control chip from Morph’s brain, but that “removing the psychic damage will take longer.” So the answer to “Where’s Morph?” in later seasons will always be “Recovering on Muir Island, probably hanging out with Moira and Banshee.”

If you are a Morph fan, Season 2 is THE Morph season, they get a great character arc that fleshes them out, and establishes their close relationship with Wolverine. I’m glad they didn’t toss out Morph in X-Men 97, both because I like the character, and because Morph’s entire arc in Season 2 was about their struggle to come back to the team, and constantly reaffirms that Morph is one of them, and that they belong with the X-Men. Also, I know Tumblr love an angsty, suffering blorbo, and good God does Morph suffer in Season 2.

(Someone is having a Bad Time).

Season 4:

Courage: After getting only a couple of non-speaking background cameos in Season 3, this is Morph’s comeback episode in Season 4. Morph believes that they are fully recovered and ready to rejoin the X-Men, while both Moira and Xavier seem to think they are not ready, and warn them to slow down a little. Morph tries to jump back into their old role, makes jokes, and goes on a mission with Wolverine, but is clearly still dealing with PTSD and completely freezes up when Sentinels attack the mansion and kidnap Xavier. Morph is left at the mansion while the X-Men go to rescue Xavier, but follows them anyway, and manages to play an instrumental role in stopping the Sentinels and saving Xavier. Despite this, Morph decides that they are not ready to return and cannot be relied upon in battle (because the writers didn’t want to deal with using the character on the team), and goes back to Muir Island. It’s a standard “character fucks up at the start of the episode but saves the day in the end” superhero cartoon story, and I was a little disappointed that the episode focused entirely on Morph’s “near death trauma” from the Sentinels and not the much worse “brainwashed and tortured by Sinister to the point of developing a second personality” issue. The closest we get to addressing that is Morph pointedly walking up to Cyclops with “Scott…been a long time….” which sounds like a way of saying “We’re cool now, bro, I promise I won’t try to kill you.” Still, we get some great Morph and Wolverine moments, and Morph kicks a lot of ass at the end. After Morph spends most of the series either dead or suffering, I don’t mind an episode where they get to kick ass. This episode also establishes that Morph was suffering from serious nightmares for awhile, so consider that a canon excuse to put that in your angsty fanfic.

(Morph also gets a non-speaking cameo in Beyond Good and Evil Part 1, sitting next to Jubilee at Scott and Jean’s second wedding. I think it’s sweet that they were invited, but can also imagine Scott putting them in the front row just to ensure that there are no more “fake priest” shenanigans. “Let’s put Morph where I can see him….just in case.”)

Season 5:

Graduation Day: After Xavier is attacked, Morph returns to help calm mutants world-wide by impersonating Xavier and making a public call for peace. Morph doesn’t do much in the episode, but they get an individualized goodbye from Xavier while he is addressing the team one by one, and it is clear at the end that Morph is officially back with the team. In other words, the writers could give Morph a happy ending of coming back since the show was ending and they didn’t have to deal with it going forward. Thankfully, the X-Men 97 writers were happy to pick up that ball and continue running with it, and I love what they’ve done with Morph so far!

Were there shippy vibes between Morph and Wolverine in the original series?

I dunno friend, watch “Whatever it Takes,” and “Courage,” and you tell me. Morph shifting into Jean to taunt Wolverine definitely gives me vibes of “There’s something going on there.”

Is Morph in the comics?

(Note – I’m using he/him for all comics versions of Morph because those versions all apparently ID as male.)

The answer is yes, sort of.

Changeling:

Morph was loosely based on an obscure, long dead shape-shifting mutant from the X-Men’s original 60’s run. Changeling was a villain with a tacky costume who acted very much like a standard 60’s comic book villain, associated with a terrorist group called Factor Three. Look at this fucking dude:

At the end of the Factor Three arc, it turns out that Factor Three’s leader, Mutant Master, is an alien who wants to destroy ALL life on Earth to make way for his own people, and the mutants in the group turn on him and help the X-Men. Changeling is the first one to question Mutant Master’s motives, and that’s probably the only interesting thing he does in the whole story. Several issues later, Xavier supposedly dies while helping defeat a villain named Grotesk and save the world. This story is retconned near the end of the run, when Xavier is revealed to be alive, and explains that the dead “Xavier” was actually Changeling. Changeling had discovered that he was terminally ill, and came to Xavier seeking redemption. Xavier asked Changeling to temporarily take his place as Xavier while he shut himself up in the basement to prepare to stop an alien invasion (and no, the X-Men were not informed of this, besides Jean, and yes, that is really fucked up). So Changeling became a reformed villain and honorary X-Man who went out in a heroic sacrifice, and was almost never mentioned again. (Even now Changeling appears to still be dead in the comics, even though the current storyline has allowed ALL the dead mutants to come back. Even Thunderbird is back.)

Changeling was greatly reworked to become Morph, totally changing his personality and origins. The only similarities are the shapeshifting powers and physical appearance. You can see how this guy:

Became this not-actually-a-guy:

Or even this version:

X-Men 97 Morph got a real glow-up to their human form.

Of course, they also share the trait of being a sacrificial lamb plot device, and X-Men TAS creators were originally going to call the character “Changeling,” but changed the name to Morph because DC’s Beast Boy was called Changeling at the time.

Age of Apocalypse Morph:

In the 90’s, there was a cross-over event over all the X-Books called the Age of Apocalypse, in which a time-traveller (Xavier’s son Legion, long story) murdered Xavier in the past before Xavier formed the X-Men, and created a dystopian alternate reality in which Apocalypse had taken over and Magneto led the X-Men. This was a kind of what-if event that let writers have fun with switching up character relationships, turning good guys bad and bad guys good, and of course, killing a lot of characters off. The event only lasted about four issues before it was all undone and we returned to the main Marvel universe, so they could really go wild. In the AoA book Astonishing X-Men, Magneto’s team includes a character called Morph, a versatile shapeshifter with a pasty white made-of-clay look, and a jovial, upbeat personality that is clearly based on TAS Morph. (This change to character design is where X-Men 97 Morph’s white, featureless appearance comes from).

Just a silly little guy!

AoA Morph is also stated in the book to have been formerly Changeling, before undergoing a name-change and attitude adjustment, making him an AU variant. He explains to Sunfire at one point that he never takes anything seriously because fuck it, he’s probably gonna die anyway, he may as well die with a smile on his face. AoA Morph is pretty cool, he does great shapeshifting tricks, and has some depth and heart beneath the obnoxious jokes.

Exiles Morph:

After Age of Apocalypse, the fan-favorite character Blink (like Morph, another alternate version of a short-lived character in the main comics timeline) gets pulled out of the AoA timeline and placed on a team of time-displaced X-Men. This team, all coming from alternate realities and including some other minor neglected characters (like versions of Thunderbird and Mimic), is tasked with hopping through realities, putting things right that once went wrong, and hoping each time that the next leap will be their leap home. The team also includes a version of Morph, who is so similar to AoA Morph that Blink mistakes him initially for her old teammate. This is another AU variant of Changeling who was never Changeling, but instead was recruited into the New Mutants (a bit of an age retcon for the character, as 60’s Changeling seemed much older, while Exiles Morph is clearly much younger.) Exiles Morph was a popular hero in his reality, served as both an X-Man and an Avenger, and is an incredibly powerful shapeshifter. He also winds up being a long-running mainstay of the Exiles team, so this is really the book to read for Morph content. Exiles also fleshes out the character’s past, stating that he was born as a shapeshifting blob with X-gene already activated, and only assumed a human appearance to fit in with peers. He also lost his mother to cancer at an early age, and his obnoxious jokey personality was partially a reaction to that, an attempt to both cheer up and get some attention from his grieving father. Exiles Morph is a great character, my only complaint is that he is a bit of a sex pest, constantly making “jokes” that border on sexual harassment of his female teammates. I don’t think he’s meant to actually be a creep, he never actually does anything, and when the teammate he has a crush on reveals that she is a lesbian, he steps back and acts as a supportive friend. I think Exiles Morph just suffers from late 90’s early 2000 writing where the funny jokey character has to be all “LOL, Boobies!” all the time, just so we know he’s straight. (Funny, given how not-straight X-Men 97 Morph seems to be.)

The Other Morph: Benjamin Deeds:

Brian Michael Bendis, in his Uncanny X-Men run, introduced a new character named Benjamin Deeds who could shapeshift, and looked suspiciously similar to a teenage version of Changeling/TAS Morph. His personality was different, though (more of a sulky teen trying to deal with being a mutant than a funny guy), and the nature of his powers is different. Benjamin has what is described as “chameleon-like” shapeshifting, taking on the physical characteristics of people when he gets close to them rather than fully shifting forms. He also exudes a chemical that makes people automatically like and trust him. Emma suggests the codename “Morph,” and although Benjamin doesn’t like it, it becomes his official codename going forward. I don’t think Ben actually has any real connection to Changeling or TAS Morph, he seems more like a legacy character or winking homage, like Pyro II (Simon Lasker, who inexplicably has the same powers and looks almost exactly like original Pyro, St. John Alledyce). He’s fun character and a cute lil’ guy, though.

There are people who call TAS Morph an “original character” completely invented for the cartoon, and I don’t think they’re entirely wrong. Morph is VERY different from Changeling, But to me, it makes the most sense to consider TAS Morph another AU variant of Changeling, given all the influence back and forth between the comics and the cartoon. Morph was based on Changeling, and Morph’s popularity led to AU versions of Changeling in the comics with TAS Morph’s personality literally named “Morph,” and now X-Men 97 Morph has been redesigned to match AoA/Exiles Morph’s appearance. They are variations of the same person. And it’s not exactly the first time that a comics character has been drastically reworked in an adaptation – I’m looking at you, First Class Mystique and Evolution’s “Lance Alvers.” I wonder if people would still be calling Morph an “original character” if they’d kept the name “Changeling,” since keeping the name seems to be all it takes at times. Still, TAS Morph is kind of right on the border between OC and “adapted from the comics,” and even I tend to include them in groups of “created for the cartoon” characters like Firestar, Spyke and X-23.

Why is Morph tagged as “Kevin Sydney/Sidney”?

Because that is the character’s name, more or less. TAS Morph didn’t have a “real name” in 92, because Changeling didn’t (similarly, Rogue also didn’t have a real name because the character hadn’t been given one in the comics.) In Age of Apocalypse, characters called Morph “Sydney” or “Syd,” and Morph even referred to himself that way in a thought-balloons, but the Exiles writer apparently decided, “Nah, it’s a last name,” and officially named Morph “Kevin Sydney.” The name stuck, and the 2004 Marvel “Book of the Dead” gave Changeling that name in the entry on him. Morph’s name has never been given in the cartoon, but it’s probably safe to assume that their official “human name” is Kevin Sydney, just like TAS Rogue is probably Anna Marie (her official name in the comics.) Interestingly, even in Exiles, the book where the name originated, Morph always goes by “Morph” and never “Kevin.” Maybe Home Alone ruined the name for him. I tend to use the Kevin Sydney tags on Tumblr and A03 to differentiate from other uses of the “morph” tag. In particular, Tumblr has a lot of body modification fetish posts tagged as “morph,” and no offense to the fetishists, you all keep doing what you are doing, but that’s not the content I’m looking for. I’m sure the fetish people are probably a bit annoyed at their own tag filling up with an X-Men character, but hey, it’s their name.

How old is Morph? How long were they with the team and when did they join? Is the featureless white face their “real form”? What’s their history with Wolverine?

I don’t have answers here because we don’t know. There’s a lot we don’t know about TAS Morph, and the origins of their comics counterparts don’t really translate well into cartoon continuity. Like I can’t imagine TAS Morph ever having been a willing member of Factor Three.

Personally, I tend to assume that Morph was with the team for awhile before their “death,” given that they have an established “old friend” relationship with Wolverine and know the team extremely well. I also tend to assume that TAS Morph is a similar age to the other young adults on the team like Scott and Jean. They sometimes look older in the original series, because they were based on Changeling (who also looks older), but the voice acting and general personality of the character seem younger, plus Wolverine calls them “kid”a couple of times. And it seems like their “human form” may not be their “real face” anyway, given that they’ve now defaulted to the white blank-face look. The white blank-face look IS the real form for Exiles (and presumably AoA) Morph, so the same is probably true for TAS Morph and Changeling. But this is all just my own headcanon and speculation, based on what I’ve seen in the original cartoon and the comics. You are all free to come up with your own headcanons fleshing out the character, I’ve already seen great stuff in fanfic out there!

Edit: Actually, I thought of a bit more:

How does Morph shift their clothing? Does Morph even wear clothes? How can they create accessories like Psylocke's swords?

Honestly, I dunno, this is Rule of Cool and Morph as a vehicle for character cameos in affect here. I will say that, in the comics, many characters with shapeshifter-type powers, like Wolfsbane, wear costumes made of unstable molecules that shift with their bodies, the same may be true of Morph. Exiles Morph, when commenting on his female teammates' skimpy costumes, at one point jokes that he "wears even less," so he may just be literally making clothing out of his own body. Although I would think that would get cold, or painful with no protection against the elements.

I assume that Morph does form accessories like Psylocke's swords out of their own body, which also presumably means they can't drop them. I wonder if it would hurt Morph if one of the swords broke? Exile Morph regularly turns his own body into accessories that he can hold (but not separate from his form), so presumably X-Men 97 Morph is doing the same. This is a step-up from TAS Morph, who never did that. Exiles Morph seems to be able to turn their body into whatever they want.

Does Morph copy the powers of other mutants?

Morph seems to be able to mimic only the physical-based powers of other mutants, under the shapeshifter logic of changing their body to give themselves larger muscles, claws, etc. So Angel's wings, but not Cyclops' eye beams. Nightcrawler's tail but not teleportation. In X-Men 97, Morph takes a couple of shots from X-Cutioner after shifting into Colossus, so apparently they can do the whole metal skin thing. But in TAS, when Morph turns into Wolverine, their claws are not adamantium and Wolverine easily slices through them.

I would add that Exiles Morph is also extremely durable, and can literally be ripped to pieces and shapeshift himself back together. This doesn't seem to be the case of "died from Sentinel lasers" TAS Morph, but maybe they just aren't there with their power levels yet. Exiles Morph IS especially susceptible to burns or laser blasts, and almost dies when Hyperion hits him with a beam at close range.

That’s it, hopefully this is helpful for people completely new to the character who got into X-Men 97. Mostly I just love writing about Morph. I encourage you to go back and watch the original series, or at least the Morph episodes. It’s a good show, if a bit 90’s corny, and will let you fully appreciate X-Men 97 (which has been, so far, an absolute banger of a series). Presumably we’ll see more character development of Morph as the show continues, which will maybe answer some of these questions.

#morph #kevin sydney #morph x-men

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isaacswhy · 10 months

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surprise

softwilly x gn!reader (sfw) summary: nick comes home a day early from his business trip and surprises you. a little bit of "missing my bf" angst requested?: no

Life without the boys around the house was hard. It was a planned thing, so you knew well in advance, but it still sucked one way or another. You lived with Nick, your boyfriend, and his content creator friends in their group house in Austin. It was a hard adjustment from when you moved with Nick from his hometown in New Jersey, but a welcome one. You got to become close friends with each and every member of the household, loving your new roommates.

However, they'd leave about once a month. Conventions, sponsored trips, or just business calls that required them all to fly out across the country. No matter what it was, you were always left alone in that big house. You didn't mind the peace and quiet, but you truly just missed the comfort and company all the boys gave you, especially Nick.

They were out for a week, this time. In Los Angeles, a brand needed them to come out and do a business meeting to coordinate a new sponsorship. It was nothing new to you. Nick told you two weeks ahead of time, and when it came down to them driving out to the airport, you wistfully waved your goodbyes.

The week was spent inside, mostly. You had a computer in the guest room you'd play games on most of the day, stopping to use their little home gym setup in the garage for a brief workout, then you'd retire to Nick's room and sleep in his bed, in his clothes. It was the most you could do to not break down at the concept of him not being around.

Luckily, the air conditioning was just fixed, so you barely escaped the June heat. It beat down on the house hard, and was one of the main reasons you never escaped it. Only occasionally would you leave the house to go pick up food, a coffee, or maybe a trip to the swimming pool. Other than that, the house was your refuge.

By day six, you were worn down. It was hard to stay focused on any individual task and you found yourself laying in Nick's bed on your phone for hours in the morning. The hoodie you wore was losing Nick's smell, but you couldn't be bothered to change. It took a lot out of you even to take a shower the night before, but you managed it.

By the early afternoon you just sat on the couch in the living room catching up on an anime Nick had told you about. Things felt excessively dull and you could tune out your worries with a show in the background. The clock was about to strike four when suddenly, you heard keys in the door.

You whipped around to see the doorknob turning, the door opening as you tried to scramble to your feet. An intruder? A house of this size could merit it, but they had the key. All your questions melted away as soon as you watched a familiar man step inside.

Black hair, slightly grown out, in a tank top with a tattoo up his arm. Pierced ears and a big smile on his face as soon as he saw you. Nick. You flew into his arms.

"What the hell are you doing here?" You said, laughing out of sheer amazement.

"I came home a day early to see you!" Nick giddily responded, hugging you back tightly.

"Why? Don't you have to do a photo shoot today?" You broke from the hug and met his eyes.

Nick shrugged. "I stayed late yesterday to do the photos so I could fly out early. Are you watching Demon Slayer?"

You nodded. "Of course I am. You told me to watch it, right?"

"Yes the hell I did. Want me to order some food and get you caught up?"

"This is why I love you, Nick. Yes, a thousand times yes." You smiled and pressed a kiss to his lips.

You walked back to your blanket on the couch, slipping under it as your boyfriend pulled out his phone and ordered some food on DoorDash. He asked you what you wanted, and worked around your vague indecision. It wasn't long before he slipped on the other side of the couch with a blanket of his own, resuming your show. Of course, Nick had to make a few comments on where you were in the show and the things "you'd like".

Your food arrived not long after and the two of you spent the rest of the day watching shows. You were finally caught up, so you were satisfied with that day's work. Nick had to pull you up from the couch, walking together back to his room.

The two of you spent about an hour laying on Nick's bed catching up about the last week. He informed you the flight back to Austin would be around ten in the morning for the rest of the group, so you wouldn't see them until around one or two at the earliest, with the complications of airports and flight times.

Sleep came easy in Nick's arms that night. You yearned for his embrace for almost an entire week, and it coming early couldn't have made for a better night's sleep. You could die happy. You could spend all your days like that, in his arms and protected from the rest of the world. He was your everything.

The next day, you woke up cold. Nick wasn't next to you, and you frowned at the idea that he was gone. You were then greeted by another pleasant surprise of pancakes as you walked into the kitchen, your boyfriend giving you a wide grin, proud of his work. They were delicious.

It was a morning of shows, watching YouTube videos, and waiting for your roommates to arrive. It didn't take long for them to, around 2:25 they blundered into the house with carry-on bags galore. You assisted a few of them getting their things situated in their rooms, while Nick handled the few you didn't.

You carried Isaac's bag into his room, the last of the bunch you'd have to worry about. He had a suitcase in hand, but it didn't phase him. He was far too big and strong, for your standards.

"You didn't have to carry that," Isaac mentioned on your way to his room.

"Then why'd you ask me to?" Your eyebrows furrowed, "If you're so strong that you didn't need my help."

"The strong part is true, I'll give you that, but I thought I'd get a second away to talk."

"Oh. What is it?"

"Nick, he flew out early to see you." Isaac pursed his lips, clearly considering what his next words would hold. "I've never seen him so.. head over heels for someone, I guess. I've known him for years, and in the year you've been together, I've never seen him happier. Leaving us early to go be with you just solidified that fact in my head."

This shouldn't have shocked you, realistically, but it did. You'd known Nick for three years, but being with him blinded you to how he'd changed over the last year. To Isaac, he was outside looking in.

"Thanks for telling me that. I'd never thought about it in that way, I guess. I love him a lot. He does so much for me. Never in a million years did I think I'd be dating the guy I had a fat crush on in high school, living in a mansion in Texas." You explained.

"He truly loves you, too. He'd go to the ends of the earth for you, if it meant being together another five minutes, I'd say. Thanks for making my best friend happy, man."

You hugged Isaac briefly. "No problem. Anytime."

#softwilly x reader #the group chat x reader #tgc x reader #the group x reader #softwilly #isaacwhy #yumimain #yumi #larry croft #bigt #grunk #tgc #the group chat

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fandomtrumpshate · 1 year

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FTH 2023 Wrap-Up

Boy has it been a year, guys.

This seemed like the year when anything that could go wrong did, from covid to family emergencies to work obligations to software bugs. We're so grateful to you all for your patience and for coming back year after year to remind us why we do this.

Historically, non-election years have usually seen slumps in both our number of auctions and our donation totals. But this year? You guys blew us away yet again.

We had just as many auctions as last year, which is amazing. But even beyond that: our donation total —just 10% lower than last year's massive record— is 150% higher than our third best year, making it a very close second.

So are you ready for this year's grand total?

This year

thanks to all of you

FTH raised...

$47,361.75!

Which brings our seven-year total to

$239,507.86

Thank you so much to our 616 creators who offered 800+ auctions in over 400 different fandoms and subfandoms, and to everyone who bid! Also a special shoutout to our record 17 crafters who raised over $2500 of this - three times as much as any of our previous craft bazaars!

Your returning mods (@porcupine-girl, @captainbunnicula, @tiltedsyllogism, @anyawen, and @renjunbabygirl) would also like to give our heartfelt thanks to this year's two additions to the mod team, @trickybonmot (who has been a mod before but was returning after several-year absence) and @a-still-small-vox (who is brand new to this whole thing). Given everything that went down this year, the auction literally could not have happened without them. They've been ridiculously awesome.

Creators, be sure you contact your bidders by April 1, and bidders, on your end please respond to their communication by April 15!

Once the fanwork is posted, let us know via our form (can you believe six creators have already finished??) and if you're posting it on AO3 be sure to add it to the Fandom Trumps Hate 2023 collection. If you're writing a fic for FTH and need help from our Regiment of Fan Laborers, email us!

As always, we hope that for at least some people, your involvement in FTH will lead to continued action throughout the year. Sign up for our organizations' email lists, check out their volunteer opportunities, and help boost their signals on social media!

And if you'd like to run your own fanworks auction for a good cause, we can help get you started! Contact us at fandomtrumpshate at gmail.com and we can send you our auction playbook, as well as answer any questions you have about our process.

Your mods are going to be going into post-auction hibernation mode (or, for most of us, post-auction deal-with-all-this-other-stuff mode) for a little while. So if you email us, don't panic if we don't get back to you immediately! We will start actively monitoring the inbox again by April 15 at the latest.

Here is a quick snapshot of the donations to individual organizations - see below the cut for all of the totals!

We hope to see you all again next year!

Amounts raised for each of our individual orgs:

TLDEF $8,594.5 (18.15%) DigDeep/Navajo Water Project $7,037 (14.86%) Rainbow Railroad $5,970 (12.61%) Sherlock’s Homes Foundation $3,169.5 (6.69%) Life After Hate $3,069.75 (6.48%) Never Again Action $3,062.75 (6.46%) Citizens’ Climate Education $2,235 (4.72%) Xerces $2,103 (4.44%) Razom $2,101 (4.43%) Violence Policy Center $1327 (2.80%) NNtEDV $1,157.75 (2.44%) The Appeal $935 (1.97%) Other organizations (that aren’t abortion funds) $1,151 (2.43%)

All abortion funds $5,468.50 (11.54%) Indigenous Women Rising $2,073 (4.43%) other abortion funds $1,184.50 (2.50%) Abortion Fund of Ohio $963 (2.03%) KY Health Justice Network $634 (1.34%) New Orleans Abortion Fund $349 (.74%) Buckle Bunnies $240 (.51%)

#fth 2023 #donation totals

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made-nondescript · 2 years

Photo

i redid my entire template to make this as rainbow as possible. click to enlarge! more below the cut!

Hello gaymers! These were collected using a python program and Twitch/YouTube API. Graphs are labelled in BST and the axes in 24-hour UTC. (19:00 -> 8:00PM.) Enjoy!

Total Viewership Over Time

Peak viewership was 383,101 viewers at 8:42PM on the cusp of Parkour Tag and Survival Games, the second and third games of the event. Viewer retention was about 95.50% (383.1K -> 365.9K). There was no significant Dodgebolt drop off. Beautifully consistent!!

Team Viewership Over Time

The only real notable thing is how many viewers Pink drops during the break. Congrats to them on a likely successful rigging of the audience breakout lol. Red gains 21.4K viewers from the start of Dodgebolt to their highest point, roughly a 14% increase! Aqua meanwhile experienced a boost of 3.6K viewers, a 230% increase.

Individual Viewership Over Time

Important to note that players streaming on YouTube have their viewership collected through a more sensitive API which is why Grian and the YT Partner Streamers have comparatively sporadic lines!

The first interesting thing is the way Jacksepticeye's viewership shoots up during the break. Rarely is there an increase during the break! Second is the jump Sapnap has during Ace Race. Did people just want to see him play that game? Or was something else going on? It's also funny to me the only game that Grian noticeably dips on is Survival Games.

Viewership By Game

Trying something new again! Disclaimer still applies: game start and end times are approximate since I take them by hand. Don't put too much stock on Grid Runner's average viewership since it's the first game and people were still filing in even by the time it started. For a similar reason I removed Dodgebolt altogether. Game order also plays a significant role.

Otherwise these should be fairly accurate. Build Mart is 2/2 on being a low viewership game which could be a fault of it normally being a latter half game more than being generally disliked. I have a hard time thinking people close stream and then open it again during the next game. Ace Race is the latter half championship which is pretty amazing!

Median % Viewership

This is notably Grian's first top five appearance for median viewership (as far as the MCCs I've recorded go). Not just top five, but fourth. I was also surprised by just how big the YT partners (Valkyrae+Sykkuno+LazarBeam) were, which I probably shouldn't have been lol.

Median % By Group

Wowie new subgroup just dropped! The YT Gaming partners included three players, Valkyrae, Sykkuno, and LazarBeam. Everyone else is beating the DSMP back with a stick - not even 70% this time! lol

Individual Peak Viewership

Dark sections represent median viewership, and the light section is the difference between median and peak. Entire red team easily making top ten, super team viewership wise (and skill wise apparently?!).

There's a joke to be made about Valkyrae having the least change lol. Loyal viewers! I've done this about three times now and so far I'm not seeing much consistency on who tends to be in the top and bottom for fluctuation. Maybe it's entirely chance? It is really interesting though that not a single member of Red made top five for the most fluctuation, because previously both Dodgebolt teams have had a presence there.

Individual Median Viewership

This is THE closest two medians have been to each other!! I have pretty much no basis for this but in my head Ranboo and Dream have the least overlap in viewership at least as far as the Mega Creators go. They are always much more neck and neck than even Dream and Tommy are.

Thanks for reading!! Finally here! As you hopefully saw above I was busy revamping the TL;DR graphic, which I'm really happy with :D It's now much more customizable and less of a thrown together mess. Huge win! I'm also a bit sick rn so sorry if any piece of this sounds like nonsense it probably is

Feedback, critique, questions, and your own observations are appreciated! Data is best analyzed as a team :]

#minecraft championships #mcc #mccp22 #minecraft championship #ranboo #dream #nondescript post

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valen-nidk · 2 years

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SAGAU. / Pick your poison.

FINAL CHOICE.

> Albedo 9 1/2 (+ bonus: Klee 2 1/2).

cw ; none.

summary: Reader has yet to be found out as the creator, so they are enjoying their freedom (they remain blissfully unaware of that fact).

taglist: @artificial-heartache , @jaxielous .

. .

"... told you so! I was right, Mr. Albedo!", a small figure came running towards (y/n) who had to quickly straighten their posture as they properly sat down. It was an easy guess but made (y/n)'s heart beat fast nonetheless -- have they been actively avoiding the characters? Yeah. They didn't have the mental, emotional or physical strength to meet any of them yet.

Why? Because what if they saw their favorite and wanted to immediately seek for affection or compliment them and give an awful, poor and even creep impression?

Holding their breath for a moment as they screamed internally, (y/n)'s stood up and patted their legs and rear to remove some of the grass. "Oh, uhm, hi..!", cursing at their inhability to say anything witty or remotely funny, (y/n) chose to focus on Klee whose eyes were beaming with sheer curiosity and her hands were curled into fists that moved up and down in excitement, footsteps were heard but (y/n) didn't have the confidence to look up at the alchemist after hesitating while greeting a child.

"I was playing fish blasting and when I turned around, across the big water body, this house showed up! Isn't that amazing?", turning to see Albedo, the child kept on rambling about her discoveries and proudly placed her hands on her hips, it was an incredible feat to discover someone living in the middle of nowhere with little to no resources... Hence why she had to report it! They could be a potential monster, perhaps, a new kind that Kaeya had yet to discover, cue to her duty being the one to protect Mondstadt.

(Y/n) simply kept smiling and waited for an opportunity to talk though they eventually looked elsewhere due to feeling an icy stare observing them with utmost calm like a subject under a lens only to be destroyed at the slightest movement.

"Good job spotting an anomaly, Klee", it was such a warm soft spoken tone that (y/n) couldn't help but to look at Albedo patting Klee's head with a faint smile curving his lips. If they could, they would have taken a thousand pictures but burning this image in their memory should be enough, right? Although that moment didn't last long, not when Albedo now looked at them like they were a boring subject or a pile of trash, filth even. Not a single word left past his lips which made (y/n) nervous and swallow saliva louder than intended.

Though that could also be due to being analyzed by such a deep and profound stare was causing butterflies in their stomach and their face felt somewhat hotter.

Hands raising up in defense, (y/n) started to speak while making hand motions in the air due to feeling anxious, one thing was having options on the screen to choose from with an already established thread of conversation but this... This was an actual dialogue with no game intervention whatsoever. Nervewracking indeed. "I uh, I'm... lost. Well, not lost just, I know this place, of course, but I don't", ah, yes, what an impression to make before the one character who is the most savage when it comes to sincerity and honest when he is bored. (Y/n) will be lucky if they manage to hold the tears of embarrassment until the pair is gone, return to their world and scream into a pillow. "People. I don't do well with them so I, here...", great. An advance. Not a lie, per se, but not the whole truth either.

Still better than saying all these powerful yet handsome and beautiful individuals were too much for them to handle, their heart wouldn't be able to take it. Even less when their voices sounded so... different and their gestures, movement, all of it was raw. All of it real. Goosebumps showed on (y/n)'s skin while feeling a pleasant shiver running down their spine.

Clearly, Albedo wasn't convinced but Klee bought it with ease. In fact, by the time the adult pair realized it, she was gone which caused (y/n) to almost go into cardiac arrest when they turned around to see the door of their house wide open with Klee inside who was fascinated by the inside of their house -- part of them relieved she wasn't far away, and the other is already losing years of life as (e/c) eyes witnessed how pointy ears twitched upwards and stared at the TV screen before her which was, unfortunately, playing an action movie with all of those explosive CGIs and flying flashy machines.

"What a fascinating artifact, what's it called?", did it hurt that the Chief Alchemist of the Knights of Favonius was far more interested in the TV than themselves? Yes, it stung. Could they blame him? Not at all. But, for real? Not even asking for their name? Ouch. More reasons to go back to their world and cry.

While it had been the right choice to make the exterior of the house fit Mondstadt's aesthetic... They had been an absolute moron to make its interior akin to their world with modern tecnology but how were they supposed to be comfortable within the game if they did not possess all the comfort back from their world, huh? Bitting their lower lip, (y/n) chose to be a decent host as they closed the door behind them to avoid even more unwanted visits and offer some tea as well as cookies while now two curious characters observed their house. Albedo asking right and left about every crook and cranny, dismantling some objects to see its mechanisms.

What an afternoon... Surely, they will leave before dinner..?

> Yes (they leave with the promise of visiting tomorrow)

> No (they stay with the posibility of a sleepover).

#sagau #sagau but u pick wtf happens next #genshin x reader #genshin x you #albedo x reader #albedo x you #🧍 he speaks

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girl4music · 2 months

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When Emily Andras decided to make Nicole Haught a main character and gave Katherine Barrell a credit in the opening titles in Season 3, that’s when I fell in love with ‘Wynonna Earp’. I mean it was a great show to watch before then, don’t get me wrong. But it’s just so hard and so rare to get any WLW/queer characters as main characters these days in TV art/entertainment without either the show being immediately cancelled or that character/the character that that character loves being immediately killed off. Look at ‘Warrior Nun’ with Ava and Beatrice. As soon as there was canonship between those main characters - cancelled. No Season 3 renewal. Look at ‘First Kill’ with Juliette and Calliope - cancelled. After only 1 season where they didn’t even have any sort of closure to the relationship that they had. In fact they had a massive traumatizing break up. That’s how they ended the show because it couldn’t be renewed for a 2nd season. Netflix outright refused to give them any opportunity for reconciliation. That’s been the way it is recently in the TV art/entertainment industry with network and streaming service TV shows with canon WLW ships. Either that or by one or both in the WLW ship being killed off or being separated from each other. Just a colossal unsuccessful and unsatisfying endgame for WLW/queer female main characters over and over again. That’s all that ever seems to happen!

So ‘Wynonna Earp’ (even though it was also cancelled in its 3rd season but the fans rallied and fought so fucking hard for a 4th season that they had to uncancel it) has been one of the very few TV shows that survived and succeeded in actually consistently providing WLW representation between queer female main characters. WayHaught are a canon WLW ship in a supernatural/fantasy show that got a happy ending.

But when Emily Andras made the decision to make the side/season regular/recurring character, Nicole Haught, a main character after a straight POC male character, Deputy Marshal Xavier Dolls, had died because Shamier Anderson wanted to leave the show (he got an absolutely amazing send off by the way), that’s when I really fell in love with all this show was because imagine how hard Andras had to fight for it. To get Katherine Barrell in the opening titles. I’m sure it was a no-brainer for Andras from the get-go to do this but the SYFY network was a whole battle, wasn’t it? Because from their perspective, apparently you just don’t do that. You don’t have WLW/queer female main characters that are in a canon committed relationship/romance story arc along with their own individual character representation and development main narrative arcs. That’s absolutely not the status quo so that must be prevented at all costs. And if it ever makes it, immediately do something to stop it. Cancel the show or kill one or both of them off. Just make sure that WLW/queer ships do not happily end.

So the entire ‘Wynonna Earp’ team and its amazingly dedicated Earper community fanbase achieved what is essentially impossible. Not only consistently provide WLW/queer representation through a beloved canon committed WLW relationship/romance story arc between queer females that are both main characters with their own respective individual main narratives. But also have them end successfully and satisfyingly. It’s the hardest and rarest thing to achieve these days but they somehow pulled it off in this… what I can only honestly call a WLW-phobic TV art/entertainment industry because they refuse to allow it to happen.

I absolutely fucking love ‘Wynonna Earp’ and its creators/cast/crew/community now because it’s given me something that I’ve never had before that means more to me than I could ever communicate in words that I will be most grateful for for the rest of my life:

4 seasons worth of a supernatural/fantasy TV show with 2 queer female main characters in with their own respective individual character representation and development main narratives that are in a longtime WLW/queer canon committed romantic relationship that have a successful and satisfying endgame in that they end in the show as a happily married couple with their whole lives ahead of them and so much more to look forward to on the horizon despite the dangerous and harsh environment that they live in as is often the case in supernatural/fantasy Universes.

If ‘WYNONNA EARP’ can provide that level of WLW/queer representation, then every show can provide it. There’s no excuses. They’ve just got to battle like hell to provide it. And they will if they’re dedicated enough. If they’re as adamant as Andras and know how best to make the people that want it (which is more than you think) wrap their entire support system around it. It’s very hard but it’s very possible. Clearly. ‘Cause Andras and the entire ‘Wynonna Earp’ team and community proved it through WayHaught.

youtube

#wynonna earp #wayhaught #waverly earp #dom pc #nicole haught #katherine barrell #emily andras #wlw representation #queer representation #happily married #their story #tribute #joes #this is my new pinned post #I am adamant to raise awareness about this subject as much as possible #no fucking excuses

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night-rise · 1 year

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I think the biggest issues I had with the Owl House series were centered around two specific characters:

Alador and Hunter

One character’s story wasn’t as great as it could’ve been and the other character’s story was more great than it needed to be.

I’ll break it down separately:

(Once again as always with these negative posts before choosing to read know that these are my own personal thoughts and feelings on the show and don’t speak on the behalf of the Owl House community or its creators. If you have any negative feelings towards what you read I sincerely apologize and know it wasn’t meant as an attack or slander to you on a personal level. That being said feel free to comment what you like, I just ask you please keep it as mature, calm and civil as possible) That being said on to the post:

Alador! The Head Blight of the prestige Blight family household. Praised as a brilliant Abomination user and inventor. His work has earned him not only fortune and wealth, but reputation and respect.

With all of these facts in mind, how was his story UNBELIEVABLY underwhelming?

From the moment he was “debuted” we can already feel the power radiating off of him. You could hear it in his tone, his word was LAW and his ambitions focused and clear. He was the rule maker in the family. Plain and simple. He decided what his family does or doesn’t do.

He sounded like the type of man that wouldn’t even do what Belos would tell him to do.

The type of man and individual that Belos would want to keep close to him at all times. Which is why it PAINS me to this day that Alador wasn’t a Head Coven Witch.

Him and Odalia! Think about it.

The Blights were a BIG DEAL in season 1. Amity was looked upon and praised as the most important witchling on the isles because she was a Blight. She had expectations and special treatments because she was a Blight. Because she was also born with talents and skills of a Blight.

I mean come on! How does a “common” family be able to afford and provide Amity the Head of the EMPEROR’s FREAKIN COVEN as her personal mentor?! THE HEAD! Lilith was the right hand FIST of the Emperor. The Darth freakin Vader! And the Blights were able to get Lilith to teach their daughter!

A daughter that wasn’t part of the emperors coven yet. Still in school. That is incredible. Amity got to be Lilith’s student-

RAVEN MOM! YES!

…

(I am so sorry… I’m still recovering from that ending hug, please excuse me) ANYWAY

With such special treatments and fame around Amity wouldn’t it had made sense for her parents to be higher up the food chain than what they were in the actual show?

Alador and Odalia should’ve BOTH been Head Witch’s. One for Abomination and the other Oracle. Being the only witches in history to be of the same family but both climb to Head Witch status.

This storyline not only would’ve been more interesting but it would’ve saved sooo much more time.

Think about it, we have two Head witches we know NOTHING about because there simply wasn’t any room for them.

Alador and Odalia being head witches would’ve given our heroes a reason to interact with them and given more depth to Amity’s story. Something she DESPERATELY needed. Her being ANOTHER character who’s story wasn’t as great as it could’ve been.

And I mean we don’t have to make him the abusive controlling parent. Just stubborn and neglectful.

Odalia is the still the abusive controlling one. But Alador is in full control of it. Allowing it, as long as it makes his kids stronger for it.

Alador would’ve made an amazing villain. A complex villain. Someone that was a HUGE threat to our heroes but could easily turn around and do the right thing whenever he felt like it.

Alador could’ve at some point choice to protect his family rather than do what the Emperor wanted him to do. It wouldn’t make him forgiven, but more respected and seen as an ally instead of an enemy.

Alador’s story, it was nice, but we ALL know it could’ve been a thousand times better.

HUNTER! The Golden Guard… The personal guard of the Emperor of the Isles. Of all witch and demon kind. …this guy had an aura of power around him since the day we met him… literally…

When we first saw him in season 1 we were ALL convinced he was going to be this top tier spy/villain. But instead we got… well, a child in a mask.

Before I go any further I feel the need to say I freakin love Hunter. He’s a sweetheart. A badass. And overall amazing character that I’m happy they brought onto the show.

HOWEVER. His story was way “more” than it needed to be. Way more complex. Way more deep and involved. I’m happy we have him, I’m just bitter of how much of him we GOT.

I love his (original) origin story. A powerless witch with no powers since the day he was born. That could’ve been taken in so many directions.

First off it would’ve thrown us off the “spy” scenario. I REALLY wanted a spy to infiltrate the Owl family and sabotage them.

Hunter being introduced as the new kid at hexside. Everyone picking on him because he’s a “no witch” orphan, from a long line of “no witches”. His being the ONLY witch family on the Boiling Isles with no powers. Luz also having no powers and Willow being the “half a witch” sympathize and befriend him. Just like he planned.

Willow developing feelings for him overtime and Hunter conflicted starts feeling the same towards her. Which would make his reveal all the more heartbreaking and devastating.

Amity, being the ONLY one suspecious of him, investigates him. Causing a rift and tension from an already shaky bond with Willow, and problems between her and even Luz, when she tries to warn them about her suspicions.

Amity eventually figuring out who Hunter truly is and “betraying” the group by joining the Emperors coven and being a spy of her own. Hunter giving her early access to the coven in hopes of keeping her quiet. But really she’s only in it to protect her friends from him. Going as far as to pretend she hated her friends for not believing her.

A moment of redemption for Lilith as well when she tries to get her former student out of there by begging Amity not to make the same mistakes she did.

All leading to amazing fight scenes between the group.

I’m talking Amity vs Willow, Luz vs Amity, and then eventually:

Luz and Amity vs The Golden Guard

That would’ve been an AMAZING fight! Hunter with his artificial magic staff, mask and all vs Lumity on the day of Unity! Around the same time Harpy Eda and Harpy Lilith were fighting Belos on top of the Isles head! It would’ve been beautiful. Romantic! Symbolic! A master piece! Everything going down under blood red skies…

Hunter not wanting hurt Willow or the new friends he made, and discovering Belos orphaned him by murdering his family (via information provided by Amity who found The Emperors journal while remaining a spy) betrays the Emperor and joins the group.

A quick and easy turn that keeps his character the same and makes Huntlow canon.

None of this Grimwalker/Caleb stuff. Caleb doesn’t even exist. Philip was the ONLY human to ever be on the isles before Luz. And Hunter is a descendent of him.

Philip wasn’t even evil. He just became evil by being corrupted and possessed by the spirit of an evil Titan. (No collector either)

Belos plan was to revive himself by transporting his remains to the human realm and combining the two suns.

Short and simple. Not overly complicated. Not overly dramatic. Simple and Clean that gives more time and development to characters that were already introduced in season 1.

That’s the BIGGEST issue I have with Hunter, his story took ALL the limited time we had on the show. All the time we could have had on Lilith’s redemption story and Amity’s development.

Amity’s story could’ve had WAY MORE DEPTH if Hunter’s story was cut in half.

His story did NOT need to be as big or as deep or as complex than it needed to be.

It’s actually unbelievable looking back at it now… these were the two I was most afraid of besides Belos :/

#the owl house #long post #alador blight #toh alador #hunter the golden guard #toh hunter #hunter toh #hunter the owl house

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genuinelyjustjd · 2 years

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DO NOT GET THE SIMS 4 FREE RELEASE

For those of you who do not play the sims 4, there’s a massive scandal hiding under EA’s belt.

The company has been lying to all the active players in the game.

To say it simply, the game has been officially broken for a long time now. There’s reports of many game-breaking bugs, many disgusting items, and far too many cash grabs.

They have been releasing new content left and right without even bothering to fix the broken content. You know who is fixing this content? Sims’ unpaid modding community.

These amazing individuals are doing all this work, for free, because they love the game. At this point, I wouldn’t imagine playing the game unmodded. These brilliant creators pour in time to fix things that the own developers haven’t even addressed. They are the best of the community, ESPECIALLY those who offer their services for free.

But EA? Maxis? They’re full of shit right now. There’s threats of a “battle pass” being added to a game. What do I mean, “Battle Pass”? You know, that thing in mobile games that won’t let you access the whole game unless you’ve paid money for it. THE SIMS 4 IS CONSIDERING PUTTING IT INTO THE GAME. Though you’ll be able to get the base game packs, chances are, there will be MORE locked in game that you can only get through money. Expansion packs cost 40$. And yet, MOST OF THEM ARE STILL BROKEN. They will not bother to fix their mistakes and instead keep offering cash grab after cash grab to boost money.

You don’t hear from outside the community how dangerously this game has broken. You all remember the legend of No Man’s Sky? That one supposedly amazing game that got rushed and ended up failing miserably because of bugs an the like? Imagine that, but on a bigger scale in an already established community. Base game is broken. You can see your toddlers morph into disgusting creatures before your eyes, with no semblance of continuity. Your game can take forever to load, up to five minutes to get into Create a Sim. Your sim will sometimes actively ignore you. These are the minor things.

Other things that can happen in game is a whole shutdown of the game if it doesn’t like an action you made your sim do. It can and will corrupt your save. That cute family you spent 3 months grinding on? All gone.

Now, the company behind the game has made it a typical money grabber. They do not hire playtesters anymore, making content creators and us, the players, being the ones to say, “Hey! This is broken!” And they take weeks to fix it, if they ever do.

A good voice of complaint comes from Pixelade’s channel on youtube, as he has been very, VERY vocal in letting the community know that the sims 4 doesn’t care much about the players anymore. A comment under his video “MANIPULATION TACTICS?!...”, by user “You like Krabby Patties, don’t you, Squidward,” has brought a lot of weight into a true perspective into this argument.

> “ oh i absolutely agree that this is just a publicity stunt and distraction tactic. if they cared, they'd address the elephant in the room, which at this point isn't even us complaining about the bugged-to-hell, barely-playable-if-playable-AT-ALL mess of a game TS4 has become: it's literally just asking for any kind of acknowledgement of our problems. if a company won't give you something that should not only be the bare minimum, but is the single most important part of ANY company - transparency - then you know you can't trust them even the tiniest bit. this was just the last straw for me. i didn't trust them before. now, no matter what they do, they can never earn that trust back. 6+ weeks of some players unable to play the game at all, a game they could have paid hundreds or even over a thousand dollars for (and not even as a result of DLC they chose to purchase but from a free basegame patch!!) and SILENCE from EA...it's unacceptable. and if they think a free kit is going to make up for that (free basegame doesn't count for anything, because simmers experiencing problems with the game clearly already own that. this is them trying to dupe new players into thinking "wow, the basegame for free AND a free kit! what a great company!") then they're sorely fucking mistaken. and then, the cherry on top - some can't even download the free kit! “

I truly think that this game, something built with love in the beginning, has turned into a flaming pile of dogshit. They do not care about the players, anymore. The shareholders are the only thing keeping the game going. They have lied to us, bribed us, and to make matters worse, hurt a whole community whose main monetary source comes from making this game better. If I had knew this would be the fate of this game, I never would’ve bought it. Never. Please, those of you considering to get this free version, please reconsider. Look into the problems. If you decide that you can live with them, no fault to you. But do not expect the game it was back in 2018. Do not expect transparency. Let these companies, EA and Maxis, finally understand how they’ve fucked up. And if they don’t change it?

Let them burn.

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positivelyholland · 1 year

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absolutely NOBODY asked for this but I am a firm believer of the golden rule, and i love receiving recognition for my writing and hard work. I also hope to have a positive affect on not only individual writers/creators, but also just the community as a whole. I like to spread positivity, hence my username haha

SO... what's the point of this rant you're asking? That's a good question!

In hopes to do just that, I'm going to tag my personal favorite humans on here that i admire a lot, and just share some things I appreciate about them.

~~~~~~~

@anotherholland the og. they're the user that was one of the first people that i followed and admired their work so much, and then realized that they follow me back. that meant so much to me "back in the day" and absolutely still does.

@chrisevansdaughter i love the way they interact with people and how they seem to just get along with everyone on this app lol. they truly have a way of positively influencing those who interact with them. not to mention they give me SO much support which i couldn't be more grateful for

@rachaelswrites THE TALENT!!! i've read everything they've put out, numerous times. not to mention how amazing they are with handling hate/rude anons, it's patience that i look up to.

@alyswritings the consistency of their content is something i truly look up to and should probably adapt into my own blog haha, but they're so diverse in all their different fandoms that they write for

@let-me-luve-you i read their works longgggg before i ever had the thought to even start writing my own stuff. they're blog is part of the reason i decided to put my own content on the internet and so seeing them like a few of my works was honestly a dream come true for me

@im-in-love-with-pizza-bites again, the talent, the consistency, not to mention how unique and just original their works are, like they write stuff that you cannot find in any other way. i want to open their brain and steal at least a portion of their creativity

@sebastianstangirl01 can PROUDLY say i've been following them since their beginning, im sure if you were to scroll through the depths of their amazing works then you'd find a submission from me hyping them up haha

@graciegoeskrazy they get the award for (hopefully) not being too annoyed by how many notifs they must get of me liking, reblogging and commenting on ALL of their stuff, because i am OBSESSED with everything they write

@youre-amazing-say-it literally so talented.... they are just an incredible writer and they are so good at just making their works feel so real, and like you're genuinely immersed in their writing and nothing else matters to me while i'm stalking their blog lol

~~~~

anyways there's SO many more i could do, but this is just the start. i hope that everyone can see this and keep the positivity train going!!

#shut up soph

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samaspic31 · 1 year

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I know people writing posts aggressively compelling people to not just like but also reblog creations mean well, but as someone who was a passive silent reblogger now posting my own stuff, and is still a creation consumer, I must say I find it to be the opposite of helpful. Encouraging to reblog is amazing and I thank them for trying to stand up for us, and it’s frustrating if people refuse to change their habits to support us better to do the content they consume, but it’s getting a bit too close to guilt tripping for my liking. And as we know guilt trips tend to have the inverse effects than what is intended, not comply

I know for certain that now people will overthink and evaluate longer if this or that art really “deserves” a reblog, if it warrants being queued, if the artist will get mad for liking only, when truly even if the likes to reblog ratio can be disheartening I don’t think any artist gets legitimately enraged at the idea someone liked their art enough to engage with, and especially not at individual users.

Some people still aren’t aware reblogging is better, some like fanart of fandoms they’re not in, therefore don’t know the context of and do not want to publicly endorse it or the artist, some people reblog only their favorite pieces to find them easily, maybe they’re tired or scrolling too quickly, they don’t want to spam their followers, i could go on, there can be a million reasons why someone liked but didn’t reblog that have nothing to do with the art’s quality.

And sometimes, yes, they don’t like the art enough to reblog it ! it’s their right, but some users would still like it otherwise to encourage the artist. it takes social energy to interact, yes, even silently reblogging, and guilting people for not having it is wrong. Plus, as much as we need it, and plenty of small artists deserve more of it, we aren’t entitled to people’s time

Anyways that said, keep on supporting artists, writers and other creators as much as you can ! Your reactions is what keeps us going, and reblogs are what gets our content seen, we need as many eyes on it as you guys can spare !

#support artists #but not by guilt tripping their audience #sam speaks

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acourtofthought · 10 months

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I think that’s the theory the anon talked about: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGJ47mBUw/

I think it’s unlikely but it’s very beautiful!

OOOH! Thank you for sending that to me.

So......

I think the creator of that TikTok made a few valid points however I think it's taking things a bit too far.

SJM has stated that while she wants the crossover to be enjoyable for fans of both series, she wants them to stand on their own for anyone who has not read one or the other.

Elain and Lucien being trapped in stone in another world for what must be ages is way too convoluted if that's the case. Parallel universes is one thing but Elain and Lucien traveling back thousands of years in order to be trapped into stone for thousands of years is not something SJM could easily pull off while keeping the series somewhat separate. Not to mention them having traveled back in time together means they would have been together romantically and that means whatever court they will have been ruling over will have been left without leadership.

Also, I don't think any of the characters in ACOTAR are literal gods or goddesses.

They may be created in the likeness of them but not actual deities (i.e., Nesta is in the likeness of a Goddess of death but not an actual goddess).

Lucien is definitely set up as the Heir of Day and Elain (in my opinion) is set up to be a Mother Earth / Goddess of Earth-like figure but not an actual goddess (I think not only the pins SJM has used for Elain but also the hints in the book point us in this direction). I think it's more that these characters were blessed by the mother / Cauldron with powers linked to those of the gods and goddesses while still just being powerful fae.

My main takeaway from it all is that SJM likes the imagery of Solas (Light God) as the lover of Cthona (Earth Goddess) and if a god and goddess representing these things make sense to her as a couple, then a Lucien and Elain pairing would be along those lines.

Some in the fandom like to use Feyre and Rhys as proof that SJM likes the light and dark aesthetic because ACOMAF was a Hades / Persephone retelling (light) but they're ignoring that Feyre didn't truly fit in with the Spring Court.

And yes, Feyre glowed because of Helion's light but did she really embody a happy, sunshiny nature? She destroyed Spring with no concern for it's innocent citizens for revenge and even now isn't all that remorseful. In book 2 we're told she probably wouldn't be a match for someone as kind and neutral as someone like Tarquin.

SJM aesthetics are part imagery but mostly complimenting personalities. Rhys and Feyre are both willing to be the bad guy and do the morally gray things if it means protecting others.

Lucien and Elain share a complimentary side to their personalities. They'll protect their loved ones but avoid revenge and violence whenever they can. They continue trying to make the best of the situations they find themselves thrown in (even tragic, horrible ones) while remaining kind and loving towards those around them and not lashing out with words. They really are light and hope and optimism as individuals and would be amazing together.

And there is symbolism in the Heir to Day, the sun personified, being the perfect match to someone who represents growth and bringing life to barren lands (as sunshine is needed for all life on the lands of the earth). I could see Elain being the one to perform the Rite with Lucien to restore spring so an Earth Goddess being "naked" and awaiting the embrace of her lover could simple hint at joining of their union.

Maybe it's simply an Easter Egg of an Elucien endgame. Maybe she wasn't hinting at an Elucien at all. But, it does show you that in her mind a pairing like that makes sense and she does carry ideas over from one series to the next.

#elucien #acotar theory #crossover acotar #pro elain archeron #pro lucien vanserra #pro elucien

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farm-witches-fic-recs · 2 years

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Hi witches, first I wanted to thank you for your work, I love reading everything you rec. There is so much content in this fandom that it's hard to keep up with it. I don't mean to sound rude but I do think you tend to only recommend fics by the same authors (which I understand! they are great authors and we all love them) but lesser known writers will never become more popular if blogs like this never recommend their fics. I'm not a writer, but I am an avid reader and I've read some amazing fics this year and I haven't seen any of them recommended on your blog, and you obviously have a lot of followers and get to a lot of people. You don't have to post this, just a thought. I hope this doesn't offend anyone, I don't mean to, I really appreciate your work.

Hi there! We’re not offended at all and we’re happy to address your concerns. There are a lot of factors in play here, so we’ll talk about them individually.

First and most simply, it kind of comes down to numbers and tags. An author who has written 50 or a 100 fics is going to appear on lists more often than someone who has posted 5-10. Especially in the smaller ships, with a limited number of authors, those will be repeated more regularly as well. But we are extremely pleased to report that we have rec’d over five hundred individual authors on our various lists so far.

When we get an ask, the majority of the fics we share come from tag searches. We enjoy creative and hilarious tags, but when we’re trying to find fics that meet those asks (which are sometimes very specific), if a fic doesn’t contain the exact tag we’re looking for, we likely won’t find it. Witches will sometimes also add fics to the list if we happen to remember one that also meets the ask.

Also along those lines, there are over 8,300 fics in this fandom and while we have collectively read most of them, we have not read all of them. And even if we could, we would never be able to recall every detail about all of them. If we are completely unfamiliar with a fic (which is unusual, given the size of our group), we may choose not to include it.

We always welcome comments and reblogs on any and all posts with your additional suggestions and recommendations. We know we miss things sometimes and very much value your input as well.

One of the main reasons the farm witches began was because we did want to see more variety in the fandom fic recs. Our Friday lists (which was the only original intention for this blog, the ask lists came later) are solely opinion-based. We keep a long, long list of fics and fanworks we personally recommend that is regularly updated by the coven to make up the Friday Fic Rec lists. That’s why the fics on that list includes the comments about why we love that particular work. We include a mix of pairs and creators each week that is carefully curated to be a good variety.

All of this being said, we will continue to use some discretion in what we recommend. If we list every single fic, there’s really no element of recommendation. At that point, we’re just a fic-finding service. We love answering the asks and being able to help readers get the kind of fics that they’re looking for.

If we could make some suggestions for writers who would like to see themselves represented more often: be thoughtful about your tags! Use them liberally. List all the major plot points (and physical activities) that you are comfortable with sharing at the get-go, because those are the kind of things people are after.

We have noticed after nearly a year of farm-witching that there are definitely certain tropes (and sexual acts) readers tend to gravitate toward. If you are looking for writing ideas, check on some of the fic prompts we’ve posted where there is a lack of content on those sought-out topics. Put a new spin on a beloved trope that gets a lot of requests.

The coven loves fics. We love supporting creators and we will keep doing exactly that for as long as we can. This blog doesn’t exist without followers, but it also can’t function without the witches doing the work. And it is work. We spend a lot of time on the searches and lists because we want to give you what you want. And we truly appreciate that you trust our opinions and what we can provide for you.

#ask a farm witch #farm witch psa

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intothegenshinworld · 1 year

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Tofu Anon:

I will warn you, it’s a * L O N G * read. I spent an afternoon on it and I can proudly say that I enjoyed it.

https://imgur.com/gallery/i49iAiT

Pull up an online wheel spinner and label each of the sections by numbers 1-4. The list is as follows:

A flicker of revelation

A light of preeminence

A blaze of awakening

An inferno of supremacy.

That’ll dictate your spark points (how many powers you can afford and which), how many resources you have, what kind of godhood you possess, and your master abilities if you have inferno of supremacy.

Now, tell me. What kind of Creator are you? Essentially explain your choices

This took me so long but it was so fun!! Thank you for sending this Tofu!! :D <3

Modes of Transcendence (3)

Mythic // Architect // Dark Enlightenment // Living Image // The Secret // Godhood // Abstract // Royalty // The One // Almighty Sciences // Outsider // Inheritor

I chose Architect because of:

"Designing, maintaining, and creating vast worlds, sprawling galaxies and the organization and structures upholding the infinite timelines and multiverses."

How is that not badass? I already feel like I'm creating worlds by writing, and it honestly became my fav out of all the modes, even when others sounded more OP XD

I chose Living Image because of:

"The world is as but a dream, and you the dreamer."

Fun fact about me; I lucid dream, but I'm also a big daydreamer and most of my ideas come from either lucid dreaming or daydreaming! Being so in sync with your creator that you become one with it, sounds like something that'd happen to me.

I chose The One because of:

"You have not been chosen, but you have chosen yourself." // "You have simply become what you are and always have been meant to be."

We stan self-acceptance!!!

Goals

Conquest // Luxury // Adventure // Battle // Mastery // Benevolence // Sadism // Freedom // Enlightenment // Challenge // Normalcy // Amaranth

I was hesitating between this one and Normalcy, but the freedom to choose whatever path I pursue of abandon is nice. Honestly, I probably won’t go crazy as this one suggests one would. I’d be a lone wolf amongst the other gods. Instead of hunger for more power, I’d create worlds that I’d love till the end of time, and perhaps I’d even walk amongst my creations at one point.

Spark powers (16pt.)

I won’t name all of these CAUSE THERE ARE A LOT!! but I’ll say their name, their spark point cost, and the reason why I chose them!

Unbound (0pt)

Subtle (0pt)

I want to live amongst my creations.

Timeless (0pt)

Absolute Condition (4pt)

Gotta say, I chose this for the shapeshifting XDD

Power Architect (4pt)

Should there come a time where I need to protect myself and my worlds, the ability to turn any power into null should come in handy. No wars needed, I am the most powerful being and no one shall go against me and my fate.

Nothing (6pt)

Being able to erase anything but also being able to restore anything I’ve erased? How’s this so OP?

WELP that's 14/16 XD I also didn’t have any master spark points but those looked cool aswell ngl

Rescources (5pt)

Wealth (1) // Harems (1) // Armies (1) // Collection (1) // Megaworlds (1) // Territory (1) // Alliances (1) // Technology (1) // Sway (1) // Personal Plane (1) // Perfect Vessel (1) // Palace World (1)

I want to create as many worlds so I needed the space (territory). I also wanted Megaworlds and Palace World for the same reason, to create amazing worlds. I chose alliances cause I could use a loyal friend or two in a cosmos as big as this. Personal Plane is for some time off to myself.

Relations

"Only your Peers may be taken as Foes."

"Take 3 Allies freely, and take another 2 Allies for every Foe you choose."

"If you have taken Alliances as a resource, take 2 Allies from each individual section freely, and take another 3 Allies for every Foe you choose."

Peers (foes):

The Basilisk // Ahndria the Star Emperess // The Branded King // Nihil // Slan // The Breathing Flame // Sadaf, Queen of the Dead // The Thought // The World Dragon // Distortion Entity // Simulacrum // Lady of New Dawn

I want to fight a dragon. That’s my only reasoning. It’d look SO badass!!

"Expect a war not of physical strength, but between the real and unreal" SOLD!!

ALLIES!! (2 in each category + 6 [2 foes = 3+3])

Subordinates: (2+2)

The Emissary // The Advisor // The Attendant // The Computer // The Merchant // The Mentor // The Herald // The Consort

The Advisor would keep my worlds in check for me. What more do I need to explain?

We always need a Mentor in the heroes journey. Someone to guide me through my powers and help me become more powerful. My mentor would learn me things I didn’t know and help me control my powers.

The Herald. Someone strong by my side is always helpful. I feel like we’d start out as a boss-employer relationship but then we’d become trusted buddies. I know that the Herald would always have my back, so I can relax around them.

The Consort, cause being as powerful as this character I created must be lonely. Having a consort by my side would keep me from going insane. Everyone needs a hug now and then.

Followers: (2+3)

Poet-Prince Dkarma // Satheth the Seer // The High Priestess // The Seraph // Wayward Crusader // Empyrean Automaton // Blademaster Julian // Idian the Hermit Mystic // Princess Lily of the Manalim // Serenity the Soul Huntress

Guys, do I really need to explain how it’s useful to have someone like Satheth the Seer? Man would literally tell me if I’d win a war or not. He gives me doctor strange vibes in the way that he can see all possible outcomes and guide me through the best one.

The Seraph because they’re like my second herald but less mortal XD

I feel like it's a mentor arc but I'm the mentor for the Wayward Crusader instead.

Princess Lily of the Manalim sounds like the cutest side story but it also gives me elf vibes, and I can’t resist elf cities and such.

I mainly chose Serenity the Soul Huntress because she has great connections and could "track even the tiniest beetle across six dimensions, let alone a man".

Peers (allies): (2+1)

Freeing Nihil from her eternal bindings seems like a cool side plot AND I get an ally? LESS GOO!!

Ngl, I only chose Simulacrum cause it looked cool XD

Lady of New Dawn seems so cool. I feel like she'd be a good ally, but a morally grey one.

Organizations (gotta say I had no idea where the points went with this one XD)

"Only a competing Faction may be taken as a Threat."

"Choose one Alliance and one Membership freely, and take one additional Alliance or Membership for every Threat you take."

"If you have taken Alliances as a resource, take two Alliances, one Membership and one Leadership freely, and take either two Alliances or Memberships for every Threat you take."

Personal (Leadership 1(?))

Your Followers // Your Companions // Your Pantheon // Your Organization

"This option allows you to compile a set of companions not listed here, whether from fictional universes, your own imagination, or people from real life."

EYO WHAT? MULTIVERSE? I'm bringing all my anons and the moots with me, and for each of you your fav Genshin chara. LETS GET THIS BREAD!!

Groups (Alliances 2(?))

The Black Moth Organisation // The Walker's Guild // The Sybarite Club // The Slave Rebels // The Houses of Manalim // The Wanderers of Black Mirage

Honestly, the first sounded cool and the second sounded as if it’d come in handy.

Factions (Memberships 1(?))

The Grand Empire // The Versal Council // The Oblivion Compact // The Egregores // The Hive // The Sycophant Duality

Ventures

"What sorts of sights and wonders will your adventure contain? Choose as many as you'd like."

Ancient Wonders // Cosmic Events // Conflict // Hijinks // Strange Worlds // Forgotten Love // Romance // Journey

I just want my lovely deity OC that I created to see beauty in their existence. These things should keep them from being broody and turning grim.

WAIT A MINUTE-

MULTIPLA-

-----

Extra stuff:

- Is this like a rpg or smthn? Or is this from an actual game..? Either way, I had lots of fun. My guy is a bit too strong for me personally but I loved how the others were also way too OP XD I cancelled out in a good way

#Tofu Anon #✨Shiro; interactions – Tofu Anon #tag challenge #challenge #fun

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