CBrachyrhynchos @cbrachyrhynchos@lgbt.io

Ludonarrative dissonance is a great word for describing why I find Bioware frustrating. Your reward for big levels of mass homicide is a cut-scene where characters lecture you about peace, justice, and diversity.

It's why I keep pointing to Transistor as a game that gets it right. Transistor is cyberspace zombie horror, and it leans into the existential horror of person-as-code.

#music: Bee Gees + ACDC mashup. This one actually works really well:

https://youtu.be/OrlWWrSwaB8

Ars Technica's Goop disclaimer:

If you plan to watch the show (please, don't) and do not wish to know details in advance, this is not the review for you. Normally, we would refer to such information as "spoilers," but in our editorial opinion, nothing in this series is spoil-able.

I think one casualty of the timeline confusion is Yennefer's development. She's still a teenager at her enchantment, she's 48 when she runs away from her court appointment, and at the end of Season 1, she's 70.

But since that's placed parallel to Ciri's story, which happens over a week or so, we don't really get a full sense of how the prospect of spending another century dealing with incestuous nobles and egotistical wizards is an emotional crisis for her.

And that's another relationship that can stand on its own without "do you ship it or not" vibes.

One of the things I really like is the willingness to explore the issue of abuse from multiple perspectives. There's something deeply satisfying about Pearl and Volleyball fusing over a shared understanding of how Pink/Rose was abusive.

Dontcha love fearmongering about how trans people are getting hormones, and even confirmation surgery, and it's just TOO EASY.

When 1/3rd of trans people can't get a yearly checkup for fear of being harassed.

At a vacation rental:

"Hey, I'm going to the cantina, anyone need anything?"

"The shopping list is on the fridge."

"It is the way."

"I have spoken."

"Sheesh."

"Did you put on sunblock?"

"I'm wearing armor."

"It is the way."

"I have spoken."

Me trying to sketch hands for a design assignment.

https://youtu.be/ofZ2eUyzb0s

When it's clear that LGBTQ people will be treated by your story with honesty and authenticity, we can read your platonic friendships as frank and authentic as well, rather than playing a guessing game with your subtext.

Male rape survivors suffer in silence. We need to help them talk | Owen Jones | Opinion | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jan/16/male-rape-victims-sexual-abuse-support

I think Steven Universe and She-Ra demonstrate how LGBTQ-inclusive writing can improve the development of platonic relationships on screen. In just about any other screenplay Steven/Lars and Adora/Glimmer would involve some form of nohomo signaling. We'd either get arbitrary boundaries on emotional intimacy or side-ships to say that these people are really straight.

Instead, both of those relationships can involve emotionally intimate conflicts, and we know it's not subtext or coding because they're different from Pearl/Rose or Adora making googly eyes at women with big biceps.

Jurassic Polar Murder Borbs!

https://arstechnica.com/staff/2020/01/forgotten-trove-of-fossil-feathers-belonged-to-tiny-polar-dinosaurs/