Musings of an RPG Alchemist

My thoughts on the world of games and fantasy. Here I will talk about games that I like, books that I am currently reading, and everything I plan to create myself. I hope it is interesting to read.

[femfreq]

Watch Franchesca Ramsey address and debunk four tactics people often use in efforts to derail conversations about Black Lives Matter.

[tadeles]

i made an overwatch oc !!!!!!!! there’s lots of old men in ow but not enough old ladies so i fixed it :-) 

i would make her origins/legendary skins but im sleepy & color swaps r easy  (●´ω｀●)

[starline]

I WANT IT

[the-real-eye-to-see]

Ruby Bridges was the first black child to desegregate the all-white William Frantz Elementary School in Louisiana during the New Orleans school desegregation crisis in 1960.

This movie made me cry, I was so heart broken by how Ruby Bridges was treated! She was only 6, but was so strong. She is a very brave girl and she did not care what the white folks called her.

People are simply disgusting to minimize people by skin color!

Ruby you might not think you’re a hero… But to other people you are! You are A HERO and you are A PERSON WHO MADE AMERICA CHANGE!

[caliphorniaqueen]

this is white culture, this is their history, this is their legacy…being enraged at a damn baby just because she’s black.

[blackfemmejeanvaljean]

she’s still alive by the way

[profeminist]

Ruby Bridges in 2010 

“As Bridges describes it, “Driving up I could see the crowd, but living in New Orleans, I actually thought it was Mardi Gras. There was a large crowd of people outside of the school. They were throwing things and shouting, and that sort of goes on in New Orleans at Mardi Gras.“ Former United States Deputy Marshal Charles Burks later recalled, “She showed a lot of courage. She never cried. She didn’t whimper. She just marched along like a little soldier, and we’re all very very proud of her." 

U.S. Marshals escorted Bridges to and from school

As soon as Bridges entered the school, white parents pulled their own children out; all the teachers refused to teach while a black child was enrolled. Only one person agreed to teach Ruby and that was Barbara Henry, from Boston, Massachusetts, and for over a year Henry taught her alone, "as if she were teaching a whole class.”

Every morning, as Bridges walked to school, one woman would threaten to poison her; because of this, the U.S. Marshals dispatched by President Eisenhower, who were overseeing her safety, allowed Ruby to eat only the food that she brought from home.

Another woman at the school put a black baby doll in a wooden coffin and protested with it outside the school, a sight that Bridges Hall has said “scared me more than the nasty things people screamed at us.” At her mother’s suggestion, Bridges began to pray on the way to school, which she found provided protection from the comments yelled at her on the daily walks.”

More info on Ruby Bridges on Wikipedia

THIS SHIT WAS ONLY 58 YEARS AGO. PEOPLE WHO PARTICIPATED IN THIS RACIST TERRORISM AND ACTS LIKE IT ARE STILL ALIVE, AND THEIR KIDS ARE IN THEIR 40′S AND 50′S. 

DON’T LET RACISM APOLOGISTS GET AWAY WITH “WHY ARE YOU LIVING IN THE PAST,” BULLSHIT ARGUMENTS. WE ARE LITERALLY STILL DEALING WITH THE FAMILIES THAT FORMED HATE MOBS OVER BLACK CHILDREN ATTENDING SCHOOL WITH WHITE KIDS.

[medievalpoc]

Sophie Okonedo in The Hollow Crown

[images via]

Apparently I should be checking out this miniseries adaptation of Shakespeare’s history plays, immediate-style. 

[mycroft-holmes-lestrade]

Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, WRONG! A black woman playing a white English queen? And I’m not even talking about the armour nonsense. What’s next a native american roman emperor wearing a grass skirt? A white Ghandi wearing ripped jeans and psychedelic shirts?  

If you throw reality and historical accuracy out of the window for being PC you’re movie isn’t worth watching because it can have no real message. 

[angryfangirlsdobadthings]

Oh quit bullshitting like this isn’t about your racism. Anthony Hopkins did Titus Andronicus as a half-dream half art piece with Saturnius and Bassanius using podiums and 1950′s style microphones to argue which one of them should be king. Kenneth Branagh did Hamlet in the Victorian Era. David Tennant did Hamlet in a fucking t-shirt. “Sons of Anarchy” was based on the story of Hamlet and it was about a motorcycle club running guns to the IRA. Don’t give me any shit about fucking ‘historical accuracy’ you fucking ponce, it’s SHAKESPEARE- it’s literally been done by a dog dressed in little hats and jackets (Wishbone, I never forgot you) and Wednesday and Pugsley Adams. If you have a problem with this you are not only a racist asshat, but you are so damn ignorant of Shakespeare I don’t even fucking know why you bothered to have an opinion except to let people KNOW you are a racist asshat. 

[diversehighfantasy]

And I mean, all good Shakespeare companies blind cast. Shakespeare companies pretty much invented that. An African-American actor was playing King Lear in the 1820s in London, yet yt people still get bent out of shape over actors of color in Shakespeare in the 2010s. It’s a long tradition, unlike the movie and TV tradition of casting people of color mostly in small roles and only “when there’s a reason for it.”

[medievalpoc]

I love you for bringing up Ira Aldridge because now I have an excuse to post portraits of him starring in Shakespeare plays in London:

[Ira Aldridge as Othello; portrait by William Mulready c. 1840]

[Taras Shevchenko. (Ira Aldridge, as himself) 1858]

And 30k notes later, people are acting as if Black actors in Shakespeare plays are brand new. Nice to see we’ve progressed since the frigging 1800s….oh, wait. :|

[diversehighfantasy]

Many people may also be surprised that Black actors were performing Shakespeare professionally in New York in the early 1800s, half a century before American slavery was abolished. From Aldridge’s bio on BlackPast.org:

Ira Frederick Aldridge was born in New York City, New York on July 24, 1807 to free blacks Reverend Daniel and Lurona Aldridge.  Although his parents encouraged him to become a pastor, he studied classical education at the African Free School in New York where he was first exposed to the performance arts.  While there he became impressed with acting and by age 15 was associating with professional black actors in the city. They encouraged Aldridge to join the prestigious African Grove Theatre, an all-black theatre troupe founded by William Henry Brown and James Hewlett in 1821. He apprenticed under Hewlett, the first African American Shakespearean actor. Though Aldridge was gainfully employed as an actor in the 1820s, he felt that the United States was not a hospitable place for theatrical performers.

Why was it not hospitable?

Many whites resented the claim to cultural equality that they saw in black performances of Shakespeare and other white-authored texts. 

In other words, people complaining about actors of color in Shakespeare (or fantasy, or historical drama, or anything) sound exactly like slave-era whites.

[handful-ofdust]

Julie Taymor was the person who made those choices re Titus Andronicus, but otherwise, I agree completely.

[teenybuffalo]

I was going to reblog from the source and evade the racist comment, but since it led to fine takedowns and portraits of Ira Aldridge, I’m going for this one. I have never seen a portrait of Aldridge before and I have little hearts in my eyes now.

[medievalpoc]

Since you’ve never seen a portrait of Aldridge before, I want to share my very favorite painting that he ever modeled for. It was a collaborative abolitionist project between Aldridge and John Phillip Simpson, in which Aldridge posed as an enslaved man, entitled The Captive Slave.

It was first displayed in 1827 at the Royal Academy of Arts Along with this poem:

But Ah! what wish can prosper, or what prayer

For merchants rich in cargoes of despair

-Cowper, 1782

And then, this masterpiece somehow ended up sitting in a basement for over 180 years, before it was rediscovered in 2009.

Aldridge’s acting skill is breathtaking here, as is Simpson’s skill at showing it off. I think everyone should look at this painting and think about it as often as possible, to make up for nearly two centuries of neglect.

[betweenfailures]

http://betweenfailures.com/comics1/1539-special-infected

A few of my creative readers wanted this exchange put on tumblr so they could share it around. 

[ittakesallgrinds]

Reblogging because this is important information.

[sandandglass]

The Nightly Show, May 9, 2016

[toyourliking]

I saw this post on my dash (with commentary, dw) and there was one thing that I didn’t see addressed in the comment chain that I really feel needs to be

Once an artist creates a work, they own the copyright

None of this “I paid for the art. It is mine.” bullshit, unless the artist actually sells you the copyright (something which has to be stated and never assumed, and something you would have to pay extra for) you can not claim ownership over the piece, even if you paid for it.

And yes, this means you can not alter the work in any way, you can not use it for banners/advertisements/etc., you can not print it, you can not sell copies unless agreed upon with the artist

and artists are also protected under moral rights

meaning that the artist has the right of attribution (the right to be identified and named as the creator of their work), the right against false attribution, and the right of integrity. (Source)

so fuck off with your “I paid for the art. It is mine.” crap, it doesn’t stick legally

[shesdeadbabeyyyyy]

Cross-posting this to here since it’s important and copyright is addressed in my own TOS. Please be respectful to the artists you commission!

[femfreq]

Women matter. Women are half of us. When you raise women to believe that we are insignificant, that we are broken, that we are sick, that the only cure is starvation and restraint and smallness; when you pit women against one another, keep us shackled by shame and hunger, obsessing over our flaws, rather than our power and potential; when you leverage all of that to sap our money and our time – that moves the rudder of the world. It steers humanity toward conservatism and walls and the narrow interests of men, and it keeps us adrift in waters where women’s safety and humanity are secondary to men’s pleasure and convenience.

Lindy West, “The ‘perfect body’ is a lie. I believed it for a long time and let it shrink my life” (via femfreq)

[femfreq]

Check out this wonderful children’s book project currently on Kickstarter: Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, featuring 100 tales of (and illustrations of) extraordinary women from Elizabeth I to Serena Williams.

[johannamas0n]

If you are the 10th largest company in the world, why is it that your only mission is to be the 9th largest company in the world? Why isn’t it about the value for your customers and making sure your workers are getting paid fair wages so they don’t have to be on welfare? Why aren’t you looking at the quality of life that you’re creating? There’s only so much you need to have and you’re not taking it with you when you’re gone. You’re passing down values to your children and the values shouldn’t be more, more, more, more; it should be about what we’re getting together and our collective humanity. I’m a humanitarian, so this is why I’m speaking out for Bernie. Because he’s a humanitarian.

- Rosario Dawson x

[mysharona1987]

[necclibrary]

YES.

[towardsmorning]

I once saw someone point out something I hadn’t really considered before- libraries are one of the only places that are warm and dry where you can stay for long periods of time if you have no money. If you’re someone with nowhere to go during the daytime, they provide a safe environment in which to keep a roof over your head for a while- and all while you can access information.

So yes. This.

[edwardspoonhands]

It’s weird…libraries almost feel /wrong/ now. It’s like I walk in and think “This is great…where do I put my money?”

[standbyyourmantis-deactivated20]

I used to work on a campus library and if you want someplace to put your money, so to speak, make sure you put books back in the designated areas. I know you think you’re being helpful by reshelving, but even if you pull something out to read a couple paragraphs just stick it in the basket for things you didn’t want. I don’t care if you know EXACTLY where you are. In academic libraries (at least in Texas) our funding was determined by how many books people looked at. So we got additional funding based on books not being reshelved. If there’s a designated shelf/basket for things you don’t want, stick things in it!

[gingerjab]

What @standbyyourmantis said about not reshelving is true for public libraries, too. Our funding is dictated largely by how ‘used’ we are, so we scan all the items that are laying about as In House Use. That, tied with Reference Count and Door Counter numbers (we have to manually put in the time we take for references) to prove we’re providing a needed service. We also have to count the number of people who come for our programs, which not only helps funding but shows that the programming/services are needed, as well. So, basically, if you want to feel like you’re making sure we’re getting paid and staying around, keep these in mind.

[queenquong]

I didn’t know that’s why you’re not supposed to reshelf!

[they-better-be-mysterious-deact]

Oh my gosh! Not reshelving books is super important and everyone needs to know this.

[labelleizzy]

i did not know this either!!! 

[mslorelei]

Not reshelving books in a library turns out to be important.

[virginies-sanctuary-deactivated]

@breadvevo

[bookwormywriter]

I remember when I learned this in library school and now whenever I visit a library I always pull more than I need and leave things to be reshelved.  Paging (shelving books) is an important job and inventory/stock taking position.

[terebifunhouse]

I THOUGHT I WAS BEING HELPFUL BUT I WASN’T

[nikkutendo]

This should be at the start of every RPG book out there

[kendallhaleart]

I’m tired of getting these stupid offers to work on people’s “passion projects” for free, usually with the promise of compensation when/if the project takes off. Guess what? I don’t care that you’re passionate about it, I care if you’re competent. When you knock on my door asking for free work, its a clear sign that you aren’t. You might have hopes that your project hits it big and that you’ll eventually get rich off of it, but if you REALLY believed in it, I feel like you’d be more willing to put your own livelihood on the line instead of asking an artist to do it for you. If I do a bunch of free work hoping it’ll pay off, I’m not doing other work that could actually feed me and pay my bills. And what happens when the project doesn’t get funded or some important factor blows up or everyone decides to quit out early? I get screwed. So, no. I don’t want to work on your passion project. Not unless I get paid up front.

[shingworks]

WONDERFUL ADVICE for artists. Please don’t undervalue your art, your time and efforts are valuable and deserve fair compensation.

[capnoblivious]

I’d never thought about this issue in the terms of risk and who should bear it, but it makes absolutely perfect sense.

[micdotcom]

Ramsey also explains how Beyoncé has been political her whole career.

[lunarobverse]

A brilliant metaphor

[garudass-deactivated20200602]

6. Cycle lanes are built just for you, and then the cars drive in those too.

[kristen-the-rageful-deactivated]

7. And you can’t go out at night because cars will run right over you.

8. You better watch out for the drunk ones

[mekahmagick]

9. Even if you DO use the cycle lane because it is “Safer for you” A lot of times there are obstacles and other things in the way to make it more difficult to navigate.

[cyrreblogs]

10. Sometimes cars will honk or swerve at you for their entertainment and the drivers will laugh when you react defensively, because they’re safe in their car and don’t realize how dangerous that looks to you on your bike.

11. Some places have much better cycling lanes than others, which is good for those places! But it doesn’t fix the unequally-shared-road problem and really underlines how cyclist-unfriendly other places are.

12. The Door Zone in general. Will every parked car slam a door open directly into your path as you’re passing? No, of course not. Do you have to watch every parked car for opening doors anyways? Yes! Because even one surprise crash into a suddenly appearing door can lead to injury, sometimes serious, or even death.

[smocksinabox]

This again.

[thesunshore]

reblog if u want a female black gay muslim link

[hellotailor]

The feminist critique is in the air now. If my rendition of Black Panther wasn’t created by that critique, it breathed the same air. I can’t really kill off or depower women characters without grappling with Gail Simone. I can’t really think about how women characters are drawn anymore without thinking about the women in Bitch Planet, and how they seem drawn beyond the male gaze. This is why criticism is important. The job of criticism isn’t to interrupt or encourage commercial prospects. (“Batman vs Superman smashes Box Office, despite critic complaints!”) Criticism should push our imagination and help us understand what is actually possible in art and, I’d argue, even what is moral. Through much of my time collecting comic books I never took much issue with how women were drawn. I had a vague sense that there was something about, say, the reworking of Psylocke that bugged me. But I simply didn’t give it much thought. It never occurred to me, for instance, to ask whether a superheroes pose was anatomically possible. It never occurred to me to ask why a super-hero would have DD cup-size. Was that for her benefit, or for mine? I never asked. The feminist critique of comics has made “not asking” a lot harder. That, in itself, is a victory. The point is not to change the thinking of the active sexist. (Highly unlikely.) The point is  to force the passive sexist to take responsibility for his own thoughts.

The Feminists of Wakanda,  Ta-Nehisi Coats (via hellotailor)