#IT'S SIMPLY DIVINE !!!!!

[soath]

“essek wants the gods dead” “oooh, this is going to change essek’s mind about the gods” i’m sorry but that boy is a cultural luxonite. he has no strong opinions on the gods other than ‘well, they sure empirically exist’. he might have some issues with his home faith (understatement) but he was still raised in an ancient battlefield literally scarred by the horrors of the calamity where the prime deities are a bunch of affectionately tolerated minority cults. his entire society thinks they transcended the need for Gods with Shapes and my man is not immune to the luxon-centric chauvinism of his upbringing.

sure, given another few years under ludinus’ thumb he could have probably been swayed to team deicide, but that’s not where’s he’s at. where he’s at is hanging out in rexxentrum, getting made fun of by caleb for referring to the dawnfather as ‘an influential, if over anthropomorphized solar deity’. you can take the elf out of rosohna but you can’t take rosohna out of the elf. the gods? well, fjord and caduceus are very fond of theirs (tone of someone describing their friends’ baffling but periodically lifesaving hobby). he technically works for one now through the cobalt soul and he can respect her ethos. after that he runs out of things to say about them.

now the luxon, on the other hand… he’s watching this entire directors cut triple-feature like a hawk. trying to divine the secrets of the universe from a reality show and it might just work.

[nellasbookplanet]

The fandom god discussion is interesting, but I feel it’s sometimes hindered by an unwillingness to separate gods from mortal society, or even a sort of over-eagerness to project our own reality onto them, which simply doesn’t work. I've seen the gods referred to as rulers or tyrants demanding worship (which I kinda understand because it’s something Ludinus says in-game, though it’s funny to see fandom corners confidently repeat the inaccurate talking points of the antagonist) but more interestingly I've also seen them referred to as a higher/the highest social class, as colonizers imposing themselves on mortals, the raven queen specifically as new money. Overall these comparisons tend to talk about the gods and their actions regarding Aeor in the past and predathos/the Vanguard in the present less as if they're about saving their own lives and more as if they want to preserve their powerful position.

The gods, by their very nature, are above mortals. They cannot be compared to any mortal ruling class because they didn’t choose or strive for that power and cannot feasibly get rid of it/step down/redistribute it (nor do they actually in any sense rule; killing the raven queen, unlike killing an actual queen, will not end the 'tyranny' of death), they simply have it by virtue of being gods. Saying that’s unfair or unequal and that the gods should be killed because of it is akin to saying it’s unfair a mountain is bigger than you and demanding it be levelled, except the gods, unlike mountains, are living, feeling beings who shouldn’t have to die because some people can’t stand the idea of not always being top dog. Thing is, the gods themselves ultimately understood this power imballance and that they can't help but hurt Exandria the way humans can't help but step on bugs, and thus removed themselves from the equation by creating the divine gate. Saying this isn’t enough and that they're clinging to power is just demanding they line themselves up to be killed.

[kkoct-ik]

doodling my yttd faves

[malcontentonline]

[necrontyr doddle dump]

[utilitycaster]

I do think it's worth calling out that a lot of the arguments in favor of killing the gods treat their worshipers as the "haves" amidst a sea of "have-nots" and that's just...flat out false in Exandrian canon, in addition to obliquely pinging certain antisemitic canards I am unfortunately attuned to by necessity, even though I suspect that's largely unintentional.

There are powerful adherents to the gods, but there's a lot of worshipers who gain nothing but whatever meaning they personally draw. We saw the Schuesters in Hupperdook in C2, who were imprisoned for following the Changebringer within the Empire, and seemed to have no cleric or paladin powers; nor, to our knowledge, does Imahara Joe. Technically we learned that Molly did sort of get something out of the Moon Weaver, but he didn't know that during the campaign. Grog thinks The Stormlord is pretty neat but hasn't gotten any powers from him. We saw worshipers of the Lawbearer and Dawnfather in Whitestone and worshipers of the Wildmother elsewhere in Tal'Dorei during Campaign 1, again mostly without any specific powers. In this episode and during the Team Wildemount arc we've seen no shortage of people simply going to temples as a place to seek comfort and meaning. Hell, the Player's Handbook outright says it: "Not every acolyte or officiant at a temple or shrine is a cleric. Some priests are called to a simple life of temple service, carrying out their gods' will through prayer and sacrifice, not by magic and strength of arms."

I think a generous read is that a lot of D&D players who aren't playing a mechanically divinely connected character don't make their character religious in any way, and so it becomes easy, with a PC-focused mindset, to assume that the only religious people are clerics, paladins, and the handful of deity-connected subclasses from other classes, but that isn't true and never has been in Exandria.

[angoryt]

Sleepover turned therapygroup

Zahndrekh thought that it would be a great idea to throw a midnight tea party for some people who seem to need an opportunity to relax. Imotekh was not very much interested in the invitation, until he was befuddled by hearing that Orikan had been invited, and accepted? At which point he thought he might as well give it a shot.

And so the Sautekh emotional support club was formed.

[crtastrophe]

I HAVE THE STRANGEST DREAMS

(more Kid Pix 4 noodling!)

[20dimensionsoftangerine]

Wowie I really loved how Siobhan played Adaine living something she'd had multiple visions of.

Running around making sure everything is set up just right before the event. Protecting Kristen in multiple ways and guarding the voting booth so what she saw goes off without a hitch.

Whispering "happy birthday Fabian" as if she's said it so many times before. Knows that this is when she says it and so she simply does.

The confusion and batting the air in front of her face when something is different than she foresaw. As if this is still just an illusion she can shake off.

The look of horror and frustration as she realized what is happening. What she missed. And that it's now too late to stop it.

Mmm acting

[nobodymitskigabriel]

So the thing about Gabe to me is that he doesn’t quite fit in the categorically of Angel Who Is Eventually Humanized the way that Castiel or Anna do. He is more down to earth than the other angels but specifically in the way that GODS are, not humans. Like, even if he's not literally Loki, Gabriel is functionally an earthen deity for the millenia he spent dicking around and killing people. Other gods are literally the crowd he runs in, and he's an asshole because gods are assholes (and he specifically decided to be one of the more extreme asshole gods). Even though his sensibilities can be very human-like, even if he generally likes humans and wants them to stick around, there was always some level of divinity to his cruelty. So even if he did ultimately choose humanity I feel like putting him in with the angels who actually know what it's like to be human misses this part of his character.

[fafayayarhen]

AND THE COLLABORATION ART IS COMPLETE!!! SPECIAL THANKS TO @j-ellyfish FOR JOINING IN CAUSE MY WOOOOOORDDDDD 😭😭✨✨✨ THEIR COLOURING!!!!

Lineart was right here 👇

THANKS AGAIN ARY IT'S BEEN SUCH AN HONOUR WORKING WITH U!!! FOR A FUTURE COLLAB I'LL COLOUR NEXT 💜💜💜💜💜💜

[causal-anomaly]

I'm a pre-T trans man. I have been a victim of misogyny, because I was, y'know, seen as a woman for the first sixteen years of my life, and still have to deal with some of its forms every so often- toxic masculinity is a byproduct of misogyny, after all.

Now I'm mostly seen as a man by people I interact with- I still present as a woman when leaving the house for safety reasons, but I can always bank on the stupid little christian girl disguise getting me out of trouble if, say, someone takes issue with something I say and throws a fit. I have an out- it requires reinforcing misogyny, sure, but if it's that or coming out to a cop, I know which one I'm taking, and that's damn near the only situation I'm pulling it out for, because I hate that mask- it's what was forced on me most of my life, after all.

The fact that there's so many other trans men who'd rather completely accept that bioessentialist role of hapless victim, incorporate it into their daily lives and identity as men, then twist it into a weapon against trans women is fucking disgusting- and I don't know if it makes me more sad or angry that so many of them somehow don't seem to realize that's what they're doing, particularly the slew of literal teenagers who have decided their hill to die on is attacking trans women for talking about their experiences on their own blogs.

Are a lot of them bitter and mean? Well, duh- I was a bitter asshole at 13, when everyone I knew was constantly making cracks at me not being a real person, just a narcissist, a robot, dozens of other names hurled at me simply for existing, but mostly people just thought I was a bitch who didn't know her place. Turns out when a bunch of teenagers are yelling at you for existing, you probably don't feel like being very nice to them- I held my head up, learned to enjoy my own company, and contented myself with being smarter than them.

I got to grow up, realize I'm a man, and escape that cycle- no, I don't pass, but I put a male name and my personality disorder in my bio, and most people either don't care, or block me and vague about narcissists getting too comfortable. Either way, I don't have to deal with them.

Trans women do not get that privilege- every move they make is scrutinized, and sooner or later, someone will find something they can interpret as being just a bit too haughty and crack down on her with all the righteous fury of a Texan calling the police on someone for being topless inside their own home. Yes, that's a crime here, if you have a window in the front of your house. I mean, what if there's a child walking by with binoculars? Obviously, we can't have children knowing bare breasts exist, then they might think having a body isn't a sin.

You can be a man and not be a misogynist- but if you can't accept that trans women are women, and are thus affected by misogyny, you will never succeed in breaking the cycle- all you'll do is reinforce it.

Ignorance is only bliss for the ones with their eyes closed- and trans women and other transfeminine folks have been the ones thrown under the bus time and time again for far too long.

[eating-figs-here]

People who view Wanderer like this fascinate me. Like how was he supposed to. Stay a villain. Completely ignoring how limiting him to being.. 'psychopathic' (not a big fan of using that word in this context) ignores the nuances of his character, how was he meant to continue being an antagonistic force??? We kinda. Crushed any hope that he had abt being able to ascend to godhood. We took the gnosis from him, then gave it to Dottore, who is part of the Fatui- the organization he BETRAYED. Dottore views Scaramouche's attempt to seize godhood as a fun little experiment, but now that he's seen that he failed, Dottore wouldn't be interested in trying again... We backed Scaramouche into a corner, man. He can't do ANYTHING. He can't go back to the Fatui and his literal only goal for the past 400ish years that he was so close to achieving was smashed in front of his face. He can't go back to that previous ambition either.

That's why I don't understand some people's pushback to him.. accepting Nahida's mercy?? And staying with her in Sumeru?? What else was he supposed to do??? And then it's like. Yeah, of course he's gonna internalize some better behavior because yEAH Nahida is a good influence. She stops him from isolating himself and pushes him into participating in things (like in the Darshan event) to allow things in this world to have meaning to him. So he stays. Because.. this undoubtedly makes him feel better. He's so much gentler to people as Wanderer, and that's because he's learning to once again be gentle with himself. Idk, I've always felt that this was a very natural progression...

[ssaraexposs]

Just SKKs wearing hats

[blaiddraws]

today i bring you family sleepy cuddles. tomorrow? who knows....

[amimuu]

DMAU doodle dump #3

This is the last one (lie. This shit has taken over my life)

Ok so first of all introducing character no. 2 of mine from dmau— Yunuen! He’s basically this universe’s equivalent of the lighthouse keeper. Super emotional dude but overal a nice guy. He however chose the worst man to emotionally attach himself to, Charon (one of Lali’s siblings actually. But he sucks and is kind of insane)

They might be a bit fruity for each other too…idk

Also, he may or may not be in danger of dying thanks to a certain wolf which totally doesn’t not bother him at all!

And since I mentioned Charon, the little ref I made for him for his owner ( @alzys págame los 10 pesos que me debes /j)

But well, that said, let’s continue with the usual Ratlali propaganda featuring @wolsalwastaken ‘s green crown bearer, Ratil.

Also ( @zopharooni ‘s Thorne for a little interaction with younger Citlali )

…I don’t think I’ll give context for this last one.

Anyways :3 perhaps this one is the last (it’s likely not) hopefully you are enjoying falling into this hole of madness alongside me ✨

[silverjurors]

MCD except the Divine Warriors are Actual Gods(TM) and are looking down from their little divine perches and occasionally go "what the actual fuck guys" to their champions/decendants