#binary simply says - God

[sweetmapple]

Like an artist possessed, I drew this in one sitting

[colossrat]

Is the captain insane or just brain rot?

Batman has several children, and even so it is very difficult for him to keep up with the new slang or memes of the generation. So the fact that Captain Marvel, a guy who appears to be between 25-30 years old (but theoretically has bazillions) stupidly knows a lot of these jokes, doesn't enter his mind and he finds himself constantly just questioning the sanity of his co-worker.

Because it's all so absurd, he can't tell anymore when the captain is just being himself and dropping the most meaningless piece of lore in the world, or if he's reciting a tiktok meme

several league members don't really know, at least not the older ones

After a mission, Marvel is talking to cyborg. Is the topic about dating? teachers? Superman is listening in the background while he has his own conversation with Batman a little away, so he's not really listening.

But something catches his attention, and it's the captain's choked tone of voice, almost as if he were crying

Marvel: oh my god, oh my shayla, no... ;(

Supes go pale and tune off from the conversation that he is not part of, feeling that he has just invaded the privacy of his colleagues

Batman: superman? whats wrong?

Superman: I-- I think I just overheard the captain lamenting about an date he had with a teacher called Shayla… he was crying, i think… I feel horrible, I didn't listen on purpose---

Batman:

Batman: who that fuck is shayla?

billy was just joking, because actually his teacher made him change seats in the class so he wouldn't be sitting next to freddy anymore, since they talk like hell, and he was demonstrating to cyborg how shaken he was by reciting "oh my shayla"

Then there's that time where Voltage (Freddy or Lieutenant Junior) is with them during a magical mission, and out of nowhere the two start communicating using "u i a", in rhythms that resemble morse or binary code…

Marvel: u i a i u i-i a-i?

Voltage: u i a i u-u i i a-i.

and they both start laughing like it was the funniest thing in the world

Zatana: Is this an extinct language or something?

Dr. Fate: I would also like to know… I think I'll have to do some research, but maybe it's an ancient, witchy language. I didn't know that the captain was teaching witchcraft to his apprentice.

And then there's Batman discreetly writing down all the lyrics they say. he will question constantine or jason blood later to see if it mean something to them

everything gets more confusing when these codes start to have pop music melodies, not that they recognize these songs at first

And a time when John Constantine is explaining something at a meeting for the league, something about fusing magical objects that were stolen. and the captain is almost combusting to keep from laughing.

Constantine: So in theory, the thieves took the hyperball staff and put it together with the cursed sapphire stones, and put that together with what they gathered from the cord wand and sickle feathers--

Marvel: and then they became hyperphires-corckle? like, HPCK?

Constantine: what in the bloody hell is this?

Marvel: -- nothing… no, no, I confused the objects-- it's nothing. it was from-- another category of magical objects, there is no correlation, you can continue.

He simply couldn't get the PPAP thing out of his head, and the gestures that John made to symbolize the objects coming together reminded him of that iconic clip (pen pineapple apple pen)

the magicians' heads are racing to understand what a hyperphires-corckle is, and so is the heads of everyone in that room. except for Barry who is shaking to keep from laughing since he understands where the captain really came from with that.

Hal is looking at him confused. He was off Earth for so long that they created a whole system of new magical objects? Not that he was already aware of the old ones. fucking magic.

and sometimes there is no context at all, marvel will simply drop one:

Marvel: gegagedigedagedago...

Wonder woman: What did you say, brother??

Marvel, completely seriously: Abin mery alongtameago...

Hal: Is he insulting us...? wait marry? married?!?

Marvel: wede wude--

Flash: I think he's possessed, I'm going to call John and Batman!!

One day, there is an alien invasion. they are green, thin and bald. Billy can't help but say:

Marvel: Oh my Olympian gods, they are of the "dame tu cosita" kinda alien no way!!

Hal: Now you HAVE to be kidding me. Ring, what the fuck is he talking about?

and the ring responds by saying that they are aliens X from planet Y with characteristics of being tall, thin, green and friendly

Flash: friendly? they are invading the earth!

Marvel, joking: maybe they just want to dance and have "nossas cositas"? lol, you know their stuff

Green Lantern's ring glows and says "this species is known to visit other planets in search of dance partners for entertainment"

Marvel: oh.

And then Marvel is pushed to dance with them next to Green Lantern since apparently they both have knowledge about the race and how to entertain them?

Marvel is a horrible dancer, the movements he makes are humiliating (yes, the moves in the meme), but it doesn't take long for the aliens to ignore the green lantern and imitate the captain, completely amazed by his dance. forgetting the invasion and forming a dance circle around him

Batman: I think I'm having a stroke.

Flash: I don't know how I'm going to look at his face after this…

Hal: I can't believe they didn't even care about my dancing…

Wonder woman: I thought your dance moves were very good, green warrior.

Hal: thanks Di...

Voltage, who for some reason is there, recording: this is going to be a hit on my tiktok.

Shayera: this is too humiliating to see, I'm going back to the watchtower.

Martian Manhunter at some point joined the dance circle. he is not part of that race, despite strangely having certain physical similarities. he just found it very entertaining

Marvel was very happy to have him there, he doesn't like to be embarrassed alone. The gods in his mind are giving him migraines cause they're laughing so hard

And also, the Martian is someone who can understand the captain's jokes, since he has a lot of access to watchtower technology and he doesn't do much when he's not in action, so he ended up becoming an iPad kid

but he avoids showing that he understands because despite recognizing it, he is very very shy

Cyborg also understands since he is literally connected to the internet 24/7, but he plays dumb because he doesn't want to look unprofessional and childish, not in front of his bosses at least

There was a time when Marvel came out talking about a toilet monster eating people in Chicago. flash thought he was talking about that skibidi toilet meme or something and commented about it with the league. It took a good few minutes for Marvel to convince them that it was true and that he needed help.

In the end it really was a giant toilet monster that was eating people and teleporting them to random sewers around the world.

One day, Marvel spends hours talking about a magical bipedal tiger that drinks tea. he actually spent HOURS talking about interesting facts about this tiger. No one was paying much attention, thinking it was some meme or joke that they weren't aware of.

He said that the tiger was a stuffed animal, an attraction at the zoo, a zoo employee, a super old cartoon icon, an explorer from another dimension and a lot of other things at the same time. Obviously they thought it was a lie?? or just not real

Several times at other times, days or weeks, Marvel commented on this tiger. Did they start to think it was some kind of series? maybe

until a moment came when the fucking tiger appeared at the watchtower, having tea with the captain. He had a green plaid suit and a posture fit for royalty. He greeted all the heroes who passed by with great respect and grace. They no longer know what to believe coming from the captain

But how the fuck were they supposed to know that a tiger named Mister Tawky Tawny was real and was the captain's best bestie friend forever ever?

[genderqueerdykes]

I can't comment on your posts so, elaborate on how a man can be a lesbian? You insist on writing that they can without any backup to it.

there doesn't need to be "backup" for it, it's an identity. lesbianism is not a statistic that requires empirical evidence and research in order to make statements on. it's literally just an identity. this isn't a concrete thing that's set in stone, it's not a cosmic rule. identity is something that's unique for every person who experiences it. there's literally nothing stopping a man from identifying as a lesbian. there's nothing stopping women from identifying as gay. god won't descend from the heavens and smite or stop you from identifying this way. the world will not stop turning because male lesbians exist

you are not under threat because male lesbians exist.

i have no idea why people think specifically lesbianism has a high bar of entry, but it does not. men can be lesbians simply by identifying as a lesbian. it's that easy. it really is. you don't have to jump through hoops to "earn" an identity. if you would like "backup" for this, it's me. i'm right here. i'm a male lesbian talking to you in the flesh. lesbians can be genderfluid, multigender, bigender, non binary, men AND women, two spirit... any gender. there's no rules.

but if you seriously haven't read the works of Leslie Feinberg, they are mandatory reads to understand what we go through. Leslie was a polygender lesbian who needed to transition to male in order to feel like hir butch lesbian self. zie lived as a man for years before realizing zie was still a lesbian, but chose not to abandon hir manhood. zie lived as a transmasculine lesbian who also identified as a man for most of hir adult life. zie was a massive part of the lesbian activist community and did tons of work in paving the way for our community.

if you want to call yourself versed on what real lesbianism is, you cannot avoid reading hir works. they are essential in liberating one's self from antimasculism and transandrophobia. leslie was also a real, living, breathing male, transmasc, ftm, polygendered lesbian. ignoring the existence of transmasc, ftm and trans male butch lesbians is denying a huge part of our history and community.

listen to our community. talk to other lesbians than just cis white femmes. please actually do your own research on lesbian history, you are capable of researching these things, too. you don't have to rely on me if you don't want to take my word for things. i'm not the only male lesbian in existence. refusing to listen to transmasc, ftm, trans man and male butches erases a massive portion of our community's history. it silences people who have been here all along, whether or not you're able to accept that.

ask yourself why male lesbians in specific bother you, as opposed to any other "contradictory" queer identity. ask yourself why you have such a hard time with that, in specific. ask yourself why you are upholding a high bar of entry to lesbianism. there IS no bar of entry to lesbianism. you are one because you say you are. that is literally how identity works. you are one because you are one. no ifs, ands, or buts.

hope that helps.

[tboyrory]

Not even gonna tag this because it’s an inconsequential rant but I had the “pleasure” of stumbling on a certain blog while scrolling through my other account, and god damn.

They really do just fucking hate us. Sure I’ve seen all the posts from other trans guys about bloggers that say shit like “whiny tmes with their afab privilege,” and it’s not that I thought y’all were exaggerating, I just never wrapped my head around the fact those blogs say that shit seriously. I expected the transandrophobia, dislike of masculinity, particularly trans masculinity. I wasn’t fully prepared for the other batshit stuff. They seriously believe nonbinary and intersex people have a systemic advantage simply because they’ve shoved them into the TME label, or just straight up didn’t know what to do when person in question didn’t fit neatly into their binary built based on sex assigned at birth and gender. Yet claim they’re intersectional and against misogyny while saying shit that’s so fucking misogynistic, sprinkling in a bit of white people misappropriating racial topics so they can compare themselves to the oppression of POC, and you’ve got… whatever the fuck that was. Block button felt like therapy. Do not want to see that shit on my account dedicated to “not seeing this shit.”

If any of y’all think I’m making a straw man, go look for yourselves if you’ve got the mental space for it. I wish I was joking.

[ghosts-and-glory]

Just curious!

In your AU, does Narinder have to openly come out as trans, or is it just generally understood even early on that he was trans?

If he does have a coming out, who do you think he told first? What were his siblings initial reactions?

How old do you think Narinder would have been when he realized?

When did the lamb learn? Was it common knowledge by then? Did they effectively look up at their God and go "ayo, nice battle scars, sick as fuck, anyway" and move on?

Also are we gonna see more little Narinder, and what got him all fucked up?

I am so invested in your story, but this aspect in specific I am latched onto like a tick. You cannot get rid of me. I am THIRSTY for knowledge.

Additionally, if in some hypothetical, little child Narinder met a young Lamb, do you think they would have been friends?

Totally not based on the time my brother came out to me and because I have the emotional bandwidth of a sea cucumber was just like “okay, cool.”

I’d say he’s around 12-14. In my heart Nari was one of those trans kids who the second he had the slightest understanding of gender was like “something ain’t right here chief.”

Fighting for my life trying to find a way to colour doodles in a way that doesn’t take ten years or look like shit.

More ramblings under the cut.

My Lamb is also non-binary so it’s not much of a deal to them. Dying on my casual trans rep hill. I don’t care if it’s not period accurate, I simply choose not to recognize transphobia.

Narinder gets slowly poisoned through his life. For the other Bishops, chaos, famine, disease and war will all eventually end in death, and dead men can’t worship. As a god of death he is to preach the glory and beauty of dying but, ironically, can’t die himself. He feels at odds with his family and trapped by life and this mentality slowly warps his view of the world and destroys him over hundreds of years.

Simply put he allows toxicity to pour and warp over toxicity. He lets it twist and compound his mind and it happens so slowly no one notices.

For the Lamb and Narinder theoretically meeting as children I honestly haven’t through much on how I’d characterize The Lamb as a child. My heart wants to say yes they would get along. My source is I made it the fuck up.

[the-littlest-goblin]

this started as a reblog comment on this post but it got tangential so it gets own post instead. still, credit and thanks to @utilitycaster for reigniting a brainworm I've been meaning to exorcise for ages, which is: fate as a narrative element of Critical Role.

Cause "fate"/"destiny" is another thing that gets name-dropped a lot where frequently the function is purely poetic, but is also shown to be a metaphysical truth of Exandria even though it's unclear exactly how it works. We can say for certain that Exandrian fate is not predestination. On a meta level that would be antithetical to an improv and dice-rolling format, and it's not a belief we ever hear of in-universe to my recollection.

I spent a lot of college studying Homeric epic, and also writing about fate and predestination as functions of narrative temporality in general. There's two load bearing concepts in Homeric studies that I often find useful references in other literary context, especially as a precedent for epic fantasy like CR vis a vis gods and fate as elements of the worldbuilding. First is that the Greek word for 'fate', moira (μοῖρα), also means 'lot,' 'share,' or 'portion.' "One's lot in life" gives a more accurate impression of the workings of fate in Homer than the connotation of inflexible predestination, as it is often misconstrued. The ultimate and only truly unavoidable moira is death (for mortals, at least). That is the model for the relationship of fate and causality (which, side note, can be surprisingly compatible with existentialism in certain contexts).

Speaking of causality, the other concept is the "double motivation," which is an interpretation of the gods' frequent influence on mortal action that allows divine interference to coexist with free will and character agency. It simply attributes causality and moral responsibility for divinely-influenced actions to both gods and mortals simultaneously (as opposed to other interpretations which seek to deduce a position on one side of a binary between either straight-up divine mind-control or gods as figurative personifications of mortal interiority.)

In the past, I've used double motivation analogously as a frame for literary criticism more broadly, paralleling the divine-mortal duality with an extradiegetic/structural sense of the narrative and the diegetic/internal world of the characters, respectively. It also loosely maps onto when we talk about plot-driven stories vs character-driven stories. My personal metric is that the best works achieve a harmony of double-motivation such that they can't be sorted into the plot- or character-driven dichotomy. The needs of the story and the motivations of the characters are coterminous.

It's worth noting that modern expectations of narrative and standards for what makes a "good" story differ in a lot of ways to ancient modes, especially when it comes to the psychological facet of characters. We hold works to much higher standards in terms of justifying why characters do things, which makes metaphysical destiny a trickier concept to incorporate textually. A lot of modern lit crit (and a lot of fandom discourse, in my experience) only wants to see or consider the character motivation. Some structuralist corners are more hospitable to the narrative motivation, but it depends on who you're talking to really. I digress.

As for how these relate to CR: I see the sense of "destiny" attributed PCs as relating to their narrative function as protagonists. In the same way that death is the ultimate moira for mortals, the inevitable "destiny" of PCs-as-such is that they will be the heroes of a story; the story itself is not preordained—it is loosely planned, but obviously not set in stone. We cannot be sure what actions and events will make up the story, but we can be sure that the PCs will be at the center. This is also just another, more top-down way of phrasing the linked post's point about destiny as a matter of character intent. There's a conceptual link between "destiny" and "agency," counter to the connotation of predestiny.

The format of TTRPGs make them an excellent ground for demonstrating the double-motivation narrative in process because of how visible and integral the diegetic facet of the story is (*don't say Brechtian, do not call it Brechtian*) playing out in real time. And I think out of all the AP shows I've seen, the CR cast most tends to build characters in pursuit of psychological realism. Those pieces in combination make a higher bar for achieving that narrative harmony; the marvel of CR is how often they still manage to accomplish it, and it's extra satisfying because of the challenge at the outset. This is why I find Campaign 2 especially so impressive: even as PC choices warp the path of Matt's anticipated narrative in some big ways, it all still synthesizes into narrative harmony. M9 are not traditional heroic types to start out, and often act counter to the expected archetypes of the genre. Matt responds to their decisions with a degree of flexibility in the plot, resulting in a deeply believable psychological story about M9 developing into heroes—one which still hits the promised elements of heroic fantasy and the necessary beats of Matt's story outline, while being the most sandbox-y out of all the campaigns, complete with serendipitous emergent themes of choice, agency, and identity throughout.

Campaign 3 is the opposite. BH are metatextually "fated" to be the heroes of their narrative the same as M9. Like M9, their actions much of the time don't correlate to the role; unlike c2, the story does not respond to or accommodate the characters. BH may seem to lack a "sense of destiny" as part of their NPC vibes, but they nevertheless retain the moira of being PCs and are stuck as the primary focalizing point of the story, regardless of how they continuously lean on literally anyone else to make decisions. The commentary on being nobodies who fell into this position could have been a gratifying thematic through-line similar to what both c2 and Divergence accomplish in different ways, if only BH had ever developed past the premise of that statement and started acting like PCs. Instead they kind of made the opposite thematic statement: shirking destiny not in a textual way that actually engages with fate as an in-universe concept, but by trying to abdicate the narrative duties of protagonist without ever escaping that positionality. Thus the hand of god—both in the figurative sense of the DM's writerly hand and the in-universe deus ex machinae feeding BH plans of action—is extremely visible as it props them up through the plot. To bring back the Homeric comparison: imagine the Odyssey with all the same plot beats, but Odysseus spends the whole poem talking about how his wife and son are kinda meh and he doesn't really care all that much about returning home. That's c3, to me.

[katakaluptastrophy]

Do you have any opinions on the differences between binaries of necro/cav and adept/non-adept?

Specifically, I'm thinking about Abigail and Magnus's relationship: when married they were simply adept and non-adept, and despite the class difference seem to have been operating as equal partners. But once they became necromancer and cavalier, the expectation becomes such that Magnus is expected to sacrifice himself for Abigail if that's necessary.

Now that I think about it, perhaps this is Muir's way of describing the gender binary and marriage when coverture is legally applicable: a necromantic adept is always considered their own person, but a non-adept is only a separate person until becoming a cavalier (i.e. getting married), at which point they become ancillary to the necromancer. Hmm.

This is one of those topics that has me rattling the bars of my cage begging Tamsyn for more details about cavaliership as an institution and about aptitude in society.

Because what does this stuff actually look like?

John says "only" a third of the new Ninth will have aptitude, suggesting that the typical rate is somewhat higher. So let's say a third to half of the population have aptitude, and that seems to be effectively random.

We only see the scions of the ruling families of the Houses and the original Lyctors in the context of cavaliership. Most of the non-aptitude Housers that we meet are cavaliers, and think this can sometimes lead to an elision of non-aptitude and cavalier that may not exist. Does every necromancer have a cavalier? That seems unlikely - in the general population there must be necromancers working in all sorts of mundane jobs for which having someone follow you around with a sword would be impractical. M. Bias mentions 'frontline cavalier units' alongside 'the classic cavalier' paired with a Cohort necromancer, and sets both against 'the social cavalier' attached to the necromantic elites. Perhaps he simply doesn't see Jeff the Health and Safety cav who follows Millicent the necromantically lab grown meat tech around as worthy of the name, or perhaps cavaliership only exists as a formal, marriage-like institution within the Cohort and the leaders of the Houses. Amongst House leadership, there has likely always been a fairly significant overlap with the Cohort (leaving aside the Second, consider Isaac and Jean, or Abigail's admiral grandfather), and cavaliership here may also have been intended to echo the Lyctors who founded the Houses. But presumably amongst civilians, there are plenty of non-adepts who have nothing to do with cavaliership proper (though I'm fascinated by the idea of how the concept might function unofficially or ceremonially).

But even if we assume that most non-adepts aren't cavaliers per se, that still raises questions about the status of non-adepts. The Sermon on Cavaliers and Necromancers gives us a glimpse of some of the theology of the Houses, in which "'one flesh' is the underpinning of our whole Empire" and in which parents go to great lengths to give their baby the chance of developing aptitude. Why? Because "our necromantic characteristics make us more like the Emperor." That is, to have aptitude means one is more in the image of god. I shan't go on a digression about early church debates about whether women are made in the image of God in the same way as men, but as you can imagine, given that the Sermon is basically just Ephesians 5's discussion of gender re-skinned for aptitude, this raises a question about just how non-aptitude Housers sit in society.

There's clearly also an extent to which non-aptitude Housers may find themselves in a state of assumed cavaliership long before they ever swear vows. There are cavalier families, where to be born without aptitude means you are already all but promised to the next adept of the corresponding line. Magnus undertook something that is described as "cavalier training" during his schooldays - is this simply a reference to the education of a young, socially privileged person involving some degree of swordsmanship as a matter of course? His attempt to join the army at 18 seems to have been somewhat anomalous, so he can't just have been planning a glorious Cohort career. (What does education look like for a population where slightly less than half of people are death wizards?). How much choice did someone like Magnus have about his schoolboy cavalier training? How much choice does someone who lacks both aptitude and the kind of privilege that leads to you marrying the scion of the Koniortos Court have about anything that might be described as "cavalier training"? How much of standard education in the Houses is designed to filter large segments of the population towards the Cohort anyway?

There's also the few glimpses we get of BoE's perception of the status of non-aptitude Housers, which doesn't seem to be great. Judith and Corona may laugh off their assumption that necromancers have large harems of not-always-entirely-alive non-aptitude House citizens, but you do get the sense that if Magnus had lived to fall into BoE hands, he might have been rather pressed to explain that his relationship with his necromancer/feudal lady/wife was entirely consensual.

I think you're absolutely right about there being a shift in the status of a non-adept who becomes a cavalier. What's not clear is whether making cavalier vows leads to an actual change of legal status, in terms of a diminishment of legal rights as in coverture marriage, or whether it functions only within the realms of social pressure and custom. People often point to Abigail and Magnus' cavaliership as an example of the institution being done 'well' or 'properly', because the institution itself seems to be incidental to their relationship - while we don't know their motivations, you suspect this was simply a convenient way for them to continue collaborating as they did in every other aspect of their life. We don't know whether Magnus in some way forfeited aspects of his legal personhood in becoming Abigail's cavalier. Perhaps they felt it didn't matter because of the way they were inhabiting that relationship. But their attitude didn't change the fact that in the end, Magnus died, sword in hand, having just watched his wife be murdered, because he was her cavalier.

[cheshirecatqueerio]

Conclave journalism AU/ canon divergence

Thomas Lawrence still faces his crisis of faith in the last several years of the late pope's pontifcate. He asks to be permitted to resign and join an order. The late pope denies him. However, Lawrence's difficulties with prayer and doubts about God get so severe, he simply quits the Church altogether. In the secular world he lands somewhere in academia, not as a professor but maybe as a researcher or administrative assistant somewhere like the Oxford Psalms Network. My guy has had to do at least 10 years of theological education to get a doctorate in canon law, academia is the major other thing he can do. So he's involved with the Church sphere but very tangentially. Mainly in the archives. He's not happy per say but his self- flagellation complex sees this as a reap what you sow situation so he's trying to make his peace with his middling job till he inevitably hits certain retirement age.

He has a falling out with Bellini before he leaves, as he in his 'I shall not burden those near me' mindset doesn't really explain what is going on, obliquely mentions the desire to join an order and then slinks off seemingly in the middle of a random night leaving only a highly effusive but not at all explanatory note thanking Aldo for his years of friendship and peace. Aldo is understandably pissed, calls Thomas and tries to hash things out. Tells Thomas to his face that being gay and dedicating his life to the clergy has not exactly been smooth sailing but he worked it out so what gives? Thomas in his desire for martyrdom refuses to elaborate on anything which makes Aldo madder. Bellini eventually hears about some of Thomas' doubts from the Holy Father, and while he gets it, he still thinks Thomas' disappearance means their friendship ment more to Aldo than Thomas so he's not feeling very charitable and remains mad. Also, Thomas' suddenly departure leaves Aldo with a promotion he very much doesn't want and the Holy Father's years are numbered so he doesn't reach out to Thomas. Thomas thinks he's ruined their friendship and that Aldo spends 23 hours of the day thinking about how much Thomas disappointed him (he ignores the fact that being Dean simply doesn't leave one with the mental capacity for this) so as penance he gives Aldo space. By the time the Conclave comes around they are very much not talking. Aldo contemplates reaching out to commemorate the late Holy Father but then finds out running a conclave takes 110% of his brain capacity, so he never does.

Meanwhile, Vincent Benitez resigned from being a bishop a while back. He consults the late Holy Father and while he refuses the surgery he also has a mild crisis of identity and new thoughts about how the Church treats people like him. While the hysterectomy offer from the Holy Father was well intentioned, the more he thinks about the less he can reconcile his perception of the Church as an institution for good, his role among it, and it's historic role propagating violence againts intersex and trans people. The hysterectomy isn't about affirming Benitez's feelings or identity it's about fixing what the Church deems an aberration to the binary and remodeling him back into an acceptable servant for the institution. However, upon quiting the Church Vincent continues to do what he has always done best- he helps people. He uses his experience helping surviors of GBV in Kinshasa. He joins UNAMA and works on the issues of women's rights and integration pre-Taliban rule. In his work, due to his compassionate manner, the women he works with confide in him about the things that are happening. He sees not only the violence of the Taliban, but also the means by which IGOs, NGOs, and the American presence are complicit in perpetrating human rights abuses. He sees that sometimes exposing these structures is useful to help survivors. So he befriends a couple of locally based journalists and sometimes helps critique the systems the Western media likes to stay quite about. He helps track down how America's armed forces defend himan rights abusers and perpetuate state violence in the name of fighting the Taliban (think this piece by the NYT https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/22/briefing/afghanistan-war-us-kandahar.html). Then the Taliban takes over again and he is notorious for his work on women's rights, so UNAMA politely tells him he is going to be evacuated because he can do better work remotely and will be reassigned elsewhere. Vincent hates this but he cannot not acquiesce. So he is working to get Afghani families resettled with the UNHCR when he gets a strange email. He receives the email about a month before the Holy Father's death and it only includes a "Dear Vincent, I think this may be useful to you," and an excel file titled TremF, and an email adress for a thomas.lawrence@theology.ox.ac.uk signed the Holy Father's first name. Intially, he thinks this is a spam email, but he tries to click the excel file only to find it's corrupted. He tries to email the sending adress but the message bounces back saying the account has been terminated and recipient cannot be found. Vincent has a job to do and a huge amount of people to resettle and state organizations to lobby so he forgets about the email.

Until, the Holy Father dies and Tremblay is elected pope. And Vincent has been out of the Church for about 14 years now, so he wouldn't think much of it except for that weird file name. And also most of the people who he works still involved with the Catholic Church with find Tremblay's election a bit weird because he's by no means a nobody, but no one anticipated him to be pope over much more charismatic or diverse candidates like the Patriarch of Venice or Lagos. So on a whim, just in case, Vincent sends an email to that Thomas Lawrence explaining who he is bfrielfy that he got a strange email he is 90% sure is authentic from the late Holy Father and maybe this is nothing but Thomas' email was the only other part of the message and that he's not been a part of the Church for almost 15 years so it's a bit odd and does Thomas have any answers?

Miracle of all miracles Vincent's email reaches Thomas despite being out of organization, probably due his @unhcr.org. Thomas thinks this is very strange but also probably nothing. Nonetheless this Vincent seems like he is very polite and to assuge both his own conscience (he feels a bit guilty over how he left things with the Holy Father and is grieving) and honor Vincent's time spent reaching out to him, he tells Vincent he'll reach out to some people who still work at the Church. That's when things get stranger and stranger. At first he tries Archbishop Wozniak because he was in charge of all of the late Father's correspondence. Any messages or emails to Wozniak go unanswered. Some asking old staffers tells him Wozniak was removed as Perfect of the Papal Household after Tremblay's election. Worse, no one quite knows where he went, just that he is still ostensibly with the Church. So he asks after Ray, because they are still friends and Ray has always been competent and if he doesn't know what the email was he'll find Wozniak. But... Ray's also gone. He's been made a papal nuncio but no one will tell Thomas where. It's classified, allegedly for O'Malley safety, which in all 30 years of his time at the Church is a circumstance Thomas has never heard of. Lawrence writes back to Benitez reporting what he's found so far and that this is all very weird indeed and that this may be something.....

Finally, Lawrence reaches out to Aldo, who has been made Secretary of State, stepping down as Dean. Aldo feels a bit guilty about suspending his own candidacy early on (he suspects this was conterary to the wishes of the Holy Father who may have seen him as a successor) because he was busy running the damn Conclave and Tremblay approached him with a way to make sure Aldo never head to go through managing a conclave again and also positioned himself as an alternative to Tedesco. Sue him, he had a lot going on. Intially Bellini is happy to hear from Thomas, they may have not been close the past 4 years, but still a friendship of 30+ years. He's way less thrilled this is not a personal call and Thomas starts interrogating him about Tremblay's pontificate and the conclave (if Thomas wanted to be involved this badly he could have just stayed on). He also lacks the answers to most of Thomas' questions and thought Ray simply asked to be reassigned while Wozniak's work load was reduced due to escalating drinking problem (Aldo found the poor man passed out several times near the papal apartments after the Holy Father's passing). And also who in the world is this Vincent Benitez upstart who allegedly was tapped by the Holy Father intially to ask all these questions? Still, while not wanting to admit to Thomas why Tremblay had such a easy time consolidating Aldo's vote share of the liberal vote, he agrees to look into Wozniak's posting. Only to be stonewalled by Morales? So Aldo, despite strained relations gets back to Thomas to say something is definitely up, and now that he thinks about it Adeyemi's papal bid ended weirdly and that there was a nun from Lagos working in the Vatican kitchens for like a week during the Conclave who was rumored to have had a child with him? But he's not sure and also, angering him greatly, 70% sure that piece of information originated with Tedesco so someone (NOT Aldo) is going to need to follow up with him. And the nun appeared and disappeared under very opaque circumstances? Que Vincent and Thomas meeting up to try and figure out where out of 106 possible diplomatic postings Ray ended up, while Aldo tries to find things out in the Vatican without alerting Tremblay to his intentions.

[genderkoolaid]

I'm sorry but you people have demeaned the word lesbian so badly... the LITERAL definition of a lesbian is a NON-MAN who likes NON-MEN. How is that so fucking hard to understand? Not you specifically, but people like you have made it into something it's not; the whole "bi lesbian" and "straight lesbian" shit, saying trans men can date lesbians (which is literally just transphobic), straight up just saying lesbians can date men???? MEN???? DO YOU NOT HEAR YOURSELVES?

And now the whole butch discourse lmao. Sure, maybe in days long past it was a broader term, but today when someone hears the word butch, I can guarantee their minds will jump to a butch lesbian. If y'all want it to be the GBT community so bad then just say so

Also I can guarantee that you were one of the mfs laughing at lesbians who used he/him or he/they pronouns back in 2020 lmao performative ass bitch

Definitions of words do not descend from Heaven straight from the lips of God. We make them up! So I simply disagree with your definition of lesbian, as do many others. Personally, I enjoy the definition of "queer love/desire for women." For one, it centers lesbianism around women, instead of centering it around the exclusion of men. And two, "non-men loving non-men" is a definition which utterly erases nonbinary people. If an agender person is dating a neutrois person, they are not lesbians- or gay men- simply because y'all cannot get your head out of your binary asses for five seconds. "Non-men loving non-men" is a definition that attempts to be nonbinary-inclusive but only succeeds in making nonbinary & genderqueer identities palatable for radical feminism and political lesbianism. Honestly, I would prefer someone who defines lesbian as "woman loving woman" but understands that many people have complex relationships with womanhood while still feeling attached to the label of lesbian, than someone who uses this "NB-inclusive" definition and goes absolutely feral over genderqueers who are Doing It Wrong.

Anyways, speaking of radical feminism: acknowledging male lesbians and mspec lesbians is not "making lesbianism something its not." It is just recognizing the beautiful complexity that has always existed within lesbianism.

The lesbian community- which I'm using to refer to all kinds of communities organized around queer relationships to women & womanhood- has always been a haven for a lot more people than cis women exclusively into other cis women. The idea of sexuality-as-identity is very recent, and the idea of drawing a hard line between people who only like people of the same gender and people who like the same gender and more is also extremely recent. Beyond that, trans men and nonbinary people have always taken shelter under lesbianism. "Butch" in the context of lesbianism has always been a trans* identity, a way for people with a queer gender to find community and safety.

The reason why we have this idea of lesbianism as a strict category with hard borders is..... you guessed it..... radical feminism! And specifically "political lesbianism," which essentially placed woman-only relationships as the only true feminist relationship you could have. "Lesbian" became a political identity because of its focus on woman-woman relationships. But that meant that, for political lesbianism to be acceptable to radical feminism, it needed to conform to radical feminist beliefs about what makes a good feminist. Which meant:

No trans women or fems (because they are too male and probably predators)

No trans men or mascs (because they are too male and also traitors)

No bisexuals (because they are too male by association and are also traitors)

No penetrative sex, or at least no strap ons (because it imitates men)

No kinky sex (see above but with bonus "kink is evil" flavoring)

No butch/femme roles (because they imitate heterosexuality; everyone has to be neutrally androgynous).

I believe that much of modern lesbian discourse comes from trying to marry lingering radfem beliefs with modern attempts at trans-inclusivity. So you adapt the blatant transphobia: now, trans women are allowed in (as long as they are palatable to cis women), because they're women! And nonbinary people can also be allowed in- at first they were woman-aligned, and then later as long as they weren't man-aligned. Being butch/femme is Back In Style, but we have to soothe the gender anxiety that butches cause by assuring everyone that only True Lesbians can be butch, and butches are always women, even if they kind of aren't, but regardless they're definitely not men, because butch has always been a lesbian term (except it hasn't.) The discourse is haunted by the ideas that lesbianism is constantly under attack, more than anyone else, and that lesbian culture is unique and special and must be guarded from (male/-aligned) invaders who are probably also sexual predators.

To say that this is all just "days long pasts" ignores both that, in physical queer spaces there very much still are male lesbians and bi lesbians who are accepted parts of their local communities, and that you only see those days as "long past" because of the impact of radical feminism on lesbianism. The only reason you see these changes as a good thing is because you've swallowed radical feminist ideas without realizing it.

Also, "if you say butch most people will think of butch lesbians" is an extremely silly argument. Literally who fucking cares. If you say "man" there are still a lot of people who will immediately think of exclusively cis men (see: every feminist who says shit like "if men could get pregnant). Does that mean that trans men should just give up their identities because other people don't understand them? You dork?

Anyways. The funniest part of this ask is how damn confident you are that I was apparently hating on he/him lesbians three years ago. Idk how to tell you this but I'm a boygirl gaylesbianbisexual and have identified this way for years. I have been personally terrorized by shitty lesbian identity politics, the same ones you are repeating now, which told me that if I was even 1% male then identifying as a lesbian made me a disgusting predator. Which caused me years of suffering because no matter how hard I tried, I could not ignore my multigenderedness and how that affected my sexuality. Sowwy but you look silly as hell and your argument is bad and you should feel bad </3

[felassan]

DA:TV spoilers/long post under cut. This post is a continuation of [this post].

A note on the [former] Arishok's - potentially Stenishok's - current whereabouts and activities.

A nod to how Dalish clans can be quite different from each other in some ways. it's neat to hear an example of the way in which the specific details of one of the tales from Dalish lore differs from clan to clan. I would read an entire volume of World of Thedas's worth on this topic alone hh :D

Neve hears the swell of the Docktown sea when she's in the Lighthouse, the sound of the home she loves so dearly 🥺 Neve Gallus I love you

This Crow mask from concept art made it in! I wish this existed as a helmet for Rook, as it slaps ^^

same

I lost Harding in my story (second team leader), so this hurts so bad (which is to say, real good). (˚ಥ﹏ಥ)ง..

where Orzammar has Shapers of Memories, Kal-Sharok has Stewards of Memories.

Ostagar mabari bois reference 🥺 Ostagar here could feasibly have been descended from Dog, the HoF's mabari specifically. during the time of Awakening, Dog was said to have fathered a few litters of puppies.

'Ghilan'nain stamps her notes with a stylized halla head' continues.

Archive Spirits sound like Dragon Age's answer to VIs in Mass Effect, like Avina (versus the AIs). Only seven in the elven lore Bellara knows at the point in time of writing this Codex - did Mythal never feel the need to have an Archive Spirit, did the knowledge of Mythal's simply never come down through time, or did the remaining Evanuris only make Archive Spirits after Mythal had been struck down?

Stories such as ones about the elves in The Last Court 👁️..

for obvious reasons I just think the naming of "Elgar'nan's Pride" is curious...

Calling the moon and the sun to him like doves in this Codex was a neat bit of foreshadowing of the eclipse that happens at his hand during the endgame. quelling an unquiet earth - striking down the Titans and building the elven empire, like here.

Ghil has her halla head symbol to stamp, June has his own mark. I'm super curious to know what form June's takes. The single lyrium crystal split in two to 'join' the two June eluvians remains me a lot of Quantum Entanglement Communicators in Mass Effect hhh.. "When a pair of quantum-entangled particles is separated, a change to one particle will affect the other instantaneously, wherever it lies in the universe. QECs exploit this effect to transmit binary data any distance. Two pairs of entangled particles are necessary for transmission and reception." it's like that, but Dragon Age.

This reminded me of Codex: Raising the Sonallium.

1) In Thedas astronomy, some of the constellations are theorized or interpreted inworld as representing the Evanuris, like Solium and Elgar'nan, and Tenebrium and Falon'Din. Draconis is a very interesting one - there is speculation in the world that Draconis represented "an unknown eighth Old God stricken from historical record". As we now know, the Tevinter 'Old Gods' are linked to the Evanuris as their dragons/Archdemons. and here we have a possible mention of an 'eighth Evanuris' [on top of the 9 minus 2, Mythal and Fen'Harel] [[I know this codex doesn't say this being was one of them specifically, but for the sake of simplicity I'll just say it]] whose name has also mysteriously been struck out.. 👁️👁️ 2) Theory time. Falon'Din and Dirthamen were each soul fragments of what was originally the same spirit soul/being. Morrigan mentions them as being only one such case of this. the entity "The Healer" here is described as being linked to Sylaise. and in Dalish lore, Sylaise showed them how to heal, how to use herbs and magic for healing purposes. in Dalish lore the Vir Atish'an, the Way of Peace, involves learning Sylaise's wisdom, learning the arts of the healer and the mender. What if this 'eighth Evanuris' was the twin to Sylaise in the way Dirthamen was to Falon'Din? then maybe the healing stuff of 'Sylaise 2' "The Healer" came to be remembered as being associated with 'Sylaise 1' "The Surviving Sylaise" (since originally they were the same being after all, there could have been some shared traits or domains maybe)?

◕‿◕ This whole codex entry was super cool and felt kind of meta, it reminded me of how over the years in the fandom people have debated which one is which and tried to line the two sets up hh.

Beyond Thedas. (remembering the new stuff about the Devouring Storm from across the sea too)

These empty settlements made of crystal and obsidian.. that's suuuch a distinctive image and idea. there's something in that, but what?

maybe it's a volcanic land? interestingly volcanic soil can be very fertile, so in different parts of the same 'volanic land' you could feasibly have (especially in a fantasy world anyways, I'm just babbling for fun here, pls don't take the shit 'geology' etc in this post too seriously lol, ik it probably doesnt make actual real sense) areas of bare volcanic rock/glass next to or not far from areas of rich green lush vegetation growth growing from volcanic soil.. maybe the various sailor expeditions to Amaranth with their conflicting reports of it simply landed in different environs of the same 'volcanic place'? that could account for the differing accounts of what Amaranth is like.

There is this picture from the DA:TV artbook that the crystal and obsidian line really reminds me of -

Caption: "A version of the deserts of Nevarra. In this case, trying something with very high contrast: white ash and sharp black obsidian."

but this is apparently a depiction of Nevarra.

a volcanic land.. the Devouring Storm as a cloud of ash or pyroclastic flow? poison fruit, a poison cloud.. something something.. or the differing reports of the land could simply be separated by time instead of place, and something bad happened like an eruption? or could crystal and obsidian both be formed in the great heat of dragonfire? maybe there's dragons in the mix there somehow right, it's "Dragon Age" (there's always a dragon..) and the Qunari made the adaari using dragon blood to help see and fight "the ancient enemy".. something something.. I think there's more to the DS than simply a natural phenomena tho, as it's framed as an ancient enemy (or the tool of such) of the Qunari, something that was being fought, as having devouring anti-magic/magic-nullifying properties and being very cold [or at least that associated mysterious substance stuff is], but it's fun to think about :)

In The Calling, Duncan found a box in a Circle Tower which contained a strange-looking dagger made of obsidian, and there was something kinda weird about it. I read back some of the descriptions of it and something that struck me:

He handed Fiona’s staff to her and passed the black-bladed dagger to Duncan. The moment Duncan touched it, he felt a strange pulsing deep within the metal. It was cold and strangely . . . off. Yet it had never felt like this before. What could be happening to it?

here his dagger is cold and off. Compare DA:TV codex entry "Mystery Substance" (MS is connected to the DS): "It is cold, for one; ice forms on the vial's sides, even in the warmth of the afternoon sun."

and

“I was hoping!” Duncan raced as fast as he could, intending to stab the man before he could manage another spell. He leaped into the air, his dagger poised for the strike, but it was too late. Remille raised his other hand and a jet of dark shadow poured forth from it. It struck Duncan in the chest and propelled him backwards. He crashed to the ground well away from the mage, screaming in pain as the shadows spread over him like a blanket. It felt like a million ants crawling over his skin, each one biting and tearing away a piece of flesh. He flailed and swatted at the blackness with his free hand, but it was insubstantial. Like a ghost, his hand simply passed through it even though he could feel it consuming him. Desperate, he stabbed at the shadow with his dagger. Better to carve off his own flesh than be eaten whole by this magic. To his surprise, he didn’t stab himself. The moment the blade so much as touched the shadows, they recoiled from it. He began pressing the blade with frenzied haste against his body wherever the darkness touched him, and each time it retreated. Within moments he had escaped, backing against a wall and breathing rapidly. Terror raced through him as he stared at the inky black pool that lay just a foot from him, now sizzling. That could have been me, he thought. He was covered in sweat. The leather armor on his legs was torn up, the skin beneath it covered in slick blood, but he was whole. The dagger almost pulsated now. 

and here, magic spell-cast shadows recoil and retreat from the dagger, and it begins to pulsate. compare "Yet there is more to it than a simple chill. I cast several spells on the substance to ascertain its nature (once I removed it from Atrahel's possession; an easy task with one as dull as he) but the magic simply vanished as if consumed. When brought near any active magical ward, unless said ward had been cast with tremendous power, it sputtered and disappeared. A magic that devours all others would be a powerful weapon. If I could channel and master that energy". the MS also fills Atrahel with vim and vigor, where Duncan's dagger prevented him from being affected by the Calling and protected him from Blight corruption.. idk it could totally be nothing at all but it's interesting that some tales of a land across the sea recount obsidian structures, the DS is connected to across the sea stuff, the MS is connected to the DS, the MS is cold and anti-magic/consumes magic, and then you have Duncan's weird obsidian dagger which is cold and anti-magic. could totally be nothing, coincidence or bc [iirc] Duncan's dagger was enchanted and was made of the magic that the Architect taught Remille tho hh.. this post is word salad atp, not even a theory. 💀

This Memento describes that if the human nations call another Exalted March on the elves, Antiva/The Crows will not stand idly by while it happens this time.

Pertaining to the First Days of.. the First Elves...? as they walked for the first time on physical legs and breathed in air into lungs for the first time, maybe struggling to process / attune to their new form of being (flesh bodies rather than spirits)?

pertaining to the final days of Elvhenan? the Evanuris wronged the Titans before the formation of the Veil. the Titans' anger/severed dreams became the Blight, a growing thing that has been used as a weapon (e.g. Ghil) and can bring down gods, and it found frightened elves in their flesh bodies? 🤔

"Pillars" is cool phrasing for this set of Mementos because of the Titans as the Pillars of the Earth stuff :)

House Saelac (of Gorim Saelac fame) had a presence in or association with Kal-Sharok too, at one point.

I'm obsessed by the fact that for centuries Kal-Sharok sent spies out into the world above (and also to Orzammar too it sounds like?) to keep an eye on what was going on, and all that time the people they spoke to never knew from where they came.

Any connection to Codex Entry: Memories of a Duet? [ctrl-f "duet"]

The Fen'Harel art on this one says that this is to do with Solas. his failure in DA:I - the Orb of Fen'Harel lying broken into shards at the end after Corypheus was defeated, its power gone forever. misplaced trust, betrayal.. a whole new set of painful regrets start burning, added to the already large pyre.

Also Solas-related from its art. Sounds like one of his frescoes that he paints right? which god? the phrasing there could be interpreted as 'the god being painted' or 'the god doing the painting' both imo.

If the other two "Remnant" ones are Solas-related chances are this one is as well. a token or statuette of Mythal in dragon-aspect, well-handled by Solas ig q.q death is a parting and all that.

Garahel reference 🥺

[cultkinkcoven]

Super surprised this dude is still going but this sentiment explains everything perfectly to me.

“Word salad so dense and wordy” - I believe they are referring to a thing called “a paragraph”

This entire situation makes sense with the knowledge that this person cannot read or comprehend complex sentences. They may not have even read a single thing I actually said, which again makes sense considering they kept restating things I’d already addressed extensively. Of course they can’t understand, they can’t read…

Lucifer having empathy for oppressors is the only way he can effectively stand up to, disarm, and manage them. They misunderstand empathy for sympathy, justification and endorsement. But I already said that, and you all know I already said that.

The only person who doesn’t know that I said that is the person with incredibly poor reading comprehension skills.

Oh well.

I just find this situation comical, because I am unable to read any of the comments they made after this conversation was over, because they blocked me. Others (many others, thank you guys) have been messaging me and saying “Hey @ null is saying some really terrible stuff about you and I hope you’re doing okay. Thats not fair or warranted.”

And I’ve just been like oh. lol. I thought the conversation was over. They’re still going. huh. Unfortunate.

Unfortunate because had they not blocked me, and instead had the courage to speak to me directly, approach me and the conversation honestly, giving me the chance to respond, then I think we may have actually been able to find common ground. I know this because friends of @ null did in fact message me, and after a bit of calm conversation, they too were able to find common ground even if we didn’t completely agree, which we didn’t. The problem here is not with our disagreement.

Because @ null is too cowardice to actually speak to me, they instead would rather speak about me with the assurance that I can’t defend myself.

Which is fine, not gonna let it ruin my day. But- and I think this is the only insult I’ve ever used this entire time- I do think it is quite pathetic. I do think it reflects a kind of mental laziness and cowardice that I and Lucifer find very pathetic. I am more than pleased that people disagree with me, it allows me the opportunity to challenge my beliefs and change my mind. I’m happy people disagree, and I’m happy some people were able to simply ask challenging questions. “No Shi, I do not agree with you, here’s why. But if you explain yourself a bit more, maybe I can understand your line of thinking better, even if in the end we still disagree.”

Also, and maybe I’m just deflecting the “you’re a faker “ accusation, but of all the Gods to intimately understand nuance, complexity, mental health, fetish psychology, madness, it would be Lord Dionysus unequivocally.

My philosophy is highly Dionysian, not just Luciferian. I am incredibly inspired by him me what he represents when I talk about these things, and I know for an absolute fact that he would never approach these things with black and white thinking. He’s DIONYSUS for Pete sake. His whole deal is being complex and liminal, understanding freaks. Non binary thinking. Understanding mental health. Harm reduction, reclamation.

To hear a Dionysus devotee talk so shallowly about a subject that is so so so so incredibly important to his sphere.

I don’t know. It perplexes me. It makes me think this person has a very surface level understanding of the gods in general. Because if Lord Dionysus could read this entire conversation, I think he would be severely disappointed.

[dalishious]

Veilguard Companion First Impressions

So, I’ve finally recruited all the companions for the Veilguard! And as such, I thought I’d share my initial thoughts on them each.

Please keep in mind that as the title says, these are just my first impressions. I am nowhere near finishing the game yet. My thoughts very well may change after getting to know the characters more as the story progresses. Also, please do not take any opinions you do not share as a personal attack against you.

Bellara

Bellara might be my #1 favourite.

I’ve seen some people just say Bellara is “a Merrill rip-off” but I don’t think that’s fair at all. If all it took was a few similarities to say a character is a rip-off of another character, than I can think of so many boring white cishet male characters who would be guilty of that. But heaven forbid we get more than one elven woman who is passionate about her people’s culture and history!

Frankly, I think Bellara is a breath of fresh air in terms of Dalish characters specifically. Finally, a Dalish elf who isn’t punished for being proudly Dalish by the narrative.

I also really appreciate that so much of her can be easily understood by her backstory, too. Like, her feelings of never being good enough is reflective of the very realistic grief she is experiencing.

Lucanis

If Bellara isn’t my #1 favourite, then Lucanis is. They really both dominate that spot neck in neck. I can’t decide if I want to put him in a jar and shake it to see what happens, or wrap him up tight in a quilt and give him some good coffee.

I’m just a sucker for Lucanis’s character archetype, is the thing. I love taking him out simply because he’s so much fun to have around. And in terms of companion arcs, his is the one I am most intrigued to see where it goes.

Taash

(While I haven’t personally gotten to Taash’s non-binary plot yet, I am aware Taash switches to they/them pronouns, so that’s what I’ll be using.)

The moment I met Taash felt my heart skip a beat. The only thing hotter than their appearance is their voice. I know BioWare probably left Taash out of a lot of the advertising because they wanted to keep Taash’s gender stuff a surprise, but oh my god, because of this I was taken by quite the surprise. And so far Taash seems to be the type to keep a hard outer shell to protect a much softer side, and that is yet another character archetype I really love.

Davrin

My initial gripe about Davrin’s writing being so exclusively about Assan rather than Davrin himself is slowly peeling away, I hope. While I still think its bullshit that you can welcome Assan into the Veilgaurd but not Davrin, at least I’ve finally gotten a few bits of dialogue to get to know more about him finally. I just want to keep this momentum! Because Davrin as a concept has so much potential, in my opinion, and what little bits I have gotten from him have captivated me. But I can’t tell yet if it’s intentionally part of his character that maybe he’s just a closed off person who takes a while to trust others, (a little like Taash?) Or if the writer just cared more about griffons than the actual guy. I’m really, really holding out hope for the former.

Emmrich

Emmrich is so much more charming than I expected, and I found him instantly endearing the moment we met him. I also really like that we’re finally hearing some different stances and insight on death and necromancy than we ever had before from a companion! It makes him feel so fresh and completely new!

Harding

I’ll be real with you: I was not anticipating caring about Harding so much. She was who I was originally least interested in, when the companion line-up was announced. But the direction they’re taking her in has me questioning so much about bigger lore questions.

Unfortunately, I still don’t see much in her except being a vessel for those bigger lore questions, though. Like, Harding as a person has me mildly curious at best.

Neve

I’m really sorry Neve fans, but I just find her really boring so far, in comparison to everyone else. She doesn’t have a lot going on, and what she does have going on, doesn’t really captivate me much. Maybe I was just hoping she’d have stronger stances on things than she does? I don’t know.

It could be that I just really fucked up with Neve, and it won’t be until another playthrough that I’ll get to experience more that will change my mind. Because I will admit I am very good at picking choices she disapproves of, with my first Rook.

[zoomire]

Considering its Pride month and I woke up thinking about MCSM last night, here’s some kinda specific queer gender identity headcanons I have for some of the characters

Cassie - There’s too many other issues in her head for her to also worry about her gender identity right now. She simply doesn’t care about it and is ambivalent to how people address her. Some say she’s a woman, some say she’s a man. Whatever floats your boat, just don’t approach her directly. In a healthier environment and actual headspace to deal with that, she’d probably identify somewhere on the non-binary spectrum… but right now she has other issues to deal with.

Aiden - It’s already a popular headcanon, so it shouldn’t be shocking that I think he’s a trans man. That being said, let me get deeper into it. I do believe that during the time we see him in game, he’d be like two or three years into his transition and still having some self image issues. I don’t think his identity would be a root cause for his insecurities, but it definitely does not make it easier. On one hand he feels much more confident than ever, but there’s still some doubt inside, which he tries to overcompensate with his behavior.

Petra - Every time I see someone draw Butch Petra I shed a tear of joy. It makes so much sense to me considering how tough she tries to appeal, how most of her role models are very traditionally masculine. Not to mention that with her whole season two arc there could be a yet another layer of how butches are often times pressured to act. I love it. I need to see more of it.

I’m also digging the idea of Petra having a drag king persona called Mister Butter.

Romeo - He’s kind of a god, so we could probably get into whether or not human understanding of gender qualifies here… but I do think that depowered Romeo specifically identifies as a man, but in a very 70s/80s flamboyant way.

Xara - Similar thing with Xara? I think she’s like an older generation lesbian, where she kinda sees it being both as a gender expression and sexuality? She doesn’t fully get the modern understanding of gender identities and terms, but also is not defensive about it. She’s too chronically exhausted to learn it but will address you as you want. Your name is Jesse, you want to be adressed as they? Sure thing bud. Just give me a piece of quiet. I just want to sleep.

Jesse - Jesse is, was and always will be genderfluid in my eyes. Partially because they’re a player insert, but also I do think that with that in mind, their writing is the most gender ambivalent of all characters? If that makes sense?

Nell - In my eyes Nell is nonbinary, she’s sapphic and she’s the most educated about this topic. She will give you the most eye opening take on identity and politics, and then in the next sentence say the most nonsensical wildest story you’ve ever heard. She’s like a gender Wizard. You never know what to expect, but sure enough you will leave the conversation a changed man.

Olivia - I think she’s a trans woman. I don’t have anything more specific to say, it’s just what seems obvious in my eyes and also you could play around with the idea that Ellegaard was the one to break her egg. I love trans women in STEM. And also there’s the funny dynamic of Axel being the only cis person from the Treehouse trio and having existential dread over whether or not he might also be an egg or not. And Jesse and Olivia teasing him about it.

[neostellarjpg]

if you generalize act 6/the retcon arc as "the worst part/narrative decision of homestuck" or genuinely say things like "it ruined the story" or "it ruined x character" or "it only happened to make x ship canon/because hussie likes vriska", you HAVE to smell my farts. obviously its valid to dislike it, and to question behind the motivation behind such a drastic story moment, but it's in bad faith and a huge waste not to even try to understand how it fits with the story's themes.

EVERYTHING matters. even the failures, even the wasted successes, even the things that don't "really" happen. because really, they DID happen. both the readers and the characters can see with their own eyes the ghosts of those lost timelines. "this version of the character is the REAL character." "this event happens in the REAL timeline." repeatedly and deliberately, the classification "real" is called into question; even to the point of tying into subjects like fandom and reader interpretation. characters in homestuck wave off this topic, but the structure of the story demonstrates the idea of "canonicity" to have very little meaning in the first place. there is a possibility of something happening, and the very fact of that possibility harbors its own strength.

the entire purpose of the multitimeline storytelling in homestuck is to frame the story as a single possibility of victory built upon countless failures. in the alpha timeline, an infinitude of bad possibilities are dodged, but there is an equally infinite loss of growth and personal potential.

the characters are trapped inside a story, and they suffer for it. skaia is an unfeeling god with unfathomable plans for its players. it exacts pointless cruelty, but also rewards handsomely: with the gift of existence. there's no throughline in its actions. there's no messaging. a lot of the time, the point of sburb appears to be "personal growth." but for whom? certainly not the billions of innocents wiped out on whatever planet the game appears on. and at what cost? contradictorily, at the cost of many players' lives. if the real purpose was to nurture all players to their personal potential, then surely with its inexplicable omniscience and infinite powers of creation, things would end up this way.

i view homestuck as a very hopeful and pro-human story, but also nihilistic, in a way. deaths are callous, happen casually and quickly (even comedically!), and often have no significance. success doesn't end with everyone happy, or becoming the best version of themselves. outcome is arbitrary and without real meaning. the kids enter this story traumatized, get re-traumatized a billion times over, get chewed up, spat out, and wind up depressed or misguided. the line blurs between existence as a "reward" and as a "burden." it simply is, and no matter what happens next, the characters are stuck with it. after all, it's what they worked so hard for. and after they scrape and claw their way towards survival, once they end up on the other side, they are forced to look back, stunned at the amount of fight and determination that has completely left their spirit, wondering where it came from in the first place, and what it was really all for, in the end.

the retcon comes from the sheer force of will to create a better future. to keep fighting for an outcome where you and your friends are happy, painstakingly continuing to build upon a foundation of infinite failures. accepting that there is always another alternative, that sometimes things go wrong because you trap yourself into a binary way of thinking. and taking in stride that those mistakes, and the hindsight that comes with them, are essential in making the right decisions going forward.

the retcon is epic and it ties together a lot of big ideas of the story in a fascinating way. i am so sick of people casually treating it like this massive evil that has no redeeming qualities. HUFF my shorts

[bagerfluff]

Maybe Reapers Can Love

Casper x Non-Binary Reader

Prompt -  Confession

“Look who it is”, Casper rolled his eyes.

“Hello to you too Y/n”, Casper said, turning his head to look at you. You smiled, twirling your scythe, “you don’t sound happy to see me, cutie”, you said.

Casper groaned and looked away from you, “I told you not to call me that”, Casper said, folding his arms and scythe over his chest. “I can’t lie, so I tell as I see. And I see that you are cute”, you said simply.

Making Casper roll his eyes again. “Anyway, whatcha doing here?” You asked, now standing next to Casper. Casper looked up at the sky. The stars shimmered down as the moon shone.

The moon was a crescent today, yesterday it was full. It was off to the left from where Casper was standing. While the stars littered the sky. It was almost too bright for Casper to look at.

Casper wanted to lie, he wanted to say nothing was wrong and that he was just waiting for his soul to rebalance. But that was not the case.

Something plagued Casper’s mind, it had since the start of Casper’s day. “I’m thinking about something”, Casper said. Hoping that you would shrug your shoulders and walk away, but this was you.

You and your stupid compassion and care for Casper that Casper kinda liked. “A penny for your thoughts”, you said while holding out a penny to Casper.

Casper glanced at the penny, “Mortal money means nothing to me, where’d you get that anyway?” Casper asked. You shrugged your shoulders and put the penny back in one of your pockets, “found it somewhere”, you said.

“But back to what's important, what are you thinking about?” You asked again, resting your scythe on your shoulder and curling your arms around it.

Casper looked back at the moon.

He was thinking about something that happened early. Casper was told the next person he had to take a soul from. So Casper found the person and waited, but what they were doing caught Casper’s eye.

They were on a date, a good looking date at that. Expensive restaurant, nice food, good wine, deep conversations. Then some time alone before going on a walk in the forest.

Casper watched all of this with a heavy heart. Casper found himself wanting that. Someone to take out on nice dates, talk with, go on walks with.

Casper was quickly angered and saddened by his thoughts. Grim Reapers couldn't date, there wasn’t wasn’t enough time for that. Casper was too busy to do this.

Casper was also made at who popped into his mind when he thought about who to do these things with. You. You, a fellow Grim Reaper and maybe, Casper’s best friend.

Grim Reaper’s mostly ignore each other unless they have too, but you go out of your way to talk with Casper. You talk with him when you're both free, you check on him when he feels bad, you're also just there.

Casper finds himself looking forward to seeing you, to talking to you. You may be the only person that can make Casper smile or crack a small laugh.

Just thinking about it made Casper’s heart beat faster, Casper wished he could hate it. But he loves it, he loves you. “Casper?” Casper blinked and turned his head towards you.

“Yes?” “Thank God, thought I lost ya there”, you said with that stupid perfect smile. Casper felt himself smile a bit and blush just because of that smile.

“Now, what were you thinking about, pretty boy?” You asked again. Casper blushed and looked away from you, “love”, he said. You tilted your head, “love?” You asked, making sure you heard Casper right.

“Yes, love. I-I with you experience l-love”, Casper said, clenching his scythe tighter. You let your scythe rest in one hand, the other going out to stop Casper from holding his scythe so hard.

“Why? You don’t normally think about that stuff”, you said and Casper nodded. You let go of Casper's hand, much to his dismay. “Well, who do you wish to experience love with, Casper?”

You asked the dreaded question. Casper looked over at you. Your hair is slightly blowing in the wind. Your eyes, full of curiosity, hope, and care.

You were relaxed, shoulders slant and face calm, unlike Casper. Which was as tense as he could be. Casper opened his mouth before closing it and looking away.

“You”, Casper said quietly, but just loud enough for you to hear.

“Me?” You asked, walking closer to Casper.

“Yes, you Y/n. I wish to take you on dates, have deep conversations with you, go on walks with you. I wish to have a relationship with you. If you do”, Casper said.

Casper felt his heartbeat faster, sweat drip down his face, and his face flush. Nothing was said for a while. Making Casper you didn’t think the same.

Casper turned his head away, tears gathering in his eyes. He knew this was a bad idea. Just when Casper was going to walk away you grabbed his wrist, pulling him into your chest.

Casper dropped his scythe and you did the same. Casper looked up into your eyes, them reflecting the light of the moon and stars. “Of course, Casper. I’d love to do that”, you said with a smile.

Casper smiled too, wrapping his arms around your neck standing straight. You wrapped your arms around Casper's waist, holding him tight with your head in his neck.

Casper did the same, his head on your shoulder. Both reaper’s stood there, in each other’s embrace for what felt like hours. Taking in each other and the fact that both of their feelings were reciprocated.

Maybe Grim Reaper’s could love.

[wolfertinger]

"//anon

Hes pissing me off why is he bumping his worthless dribble with rabbit pictures? Salems the most bigotted person ive seen and he refuses to examine his fuckass views because hes a BUNNY TBOY WITH TITS! So hes cant POSSIBLY have queerphobic, racist values. And oh my God he cant possibly be making art that serves to appeal to a white gaze!

Listicle of things Salem does to assimilate:

Strictly tries to appeal to his white audience by only being Vague in his anti-racism, but making his art have white beauty standards, petite slime faces, big doe eyes, tiny noses attractive hourglass figures, he only recently committed to drawing textured hair but only does it in a way that doesnt scathe the white people who follow him, which is most of his followers. He refuses to apply any other ethnic feature besides hair texture to his poc characters, and he never directly calls them their ethnicity, instead saying CODED...

Society expects trans women and trans men to be feminine, they dont see trans men as men and they make trans women struggle for acceptance (which they will never get.) so his refusal to draw anything outside of "gnc tboy pretty tgirl" and refusal to make characters outside of the gender binary suggests he doesnt care about exploring queerness beyond his personal fetishes and what everybody is already comftrable with- objectified afabs (cis women or trans men) and objectified trans women.

General objectification of women. Fetishizes lesbianism despite being a binary man.

Only recently making any statement that is pro-transition, but he still seems to have not properly examined his bias against medical transition, he carries bioessentialist ideas like AMABS are inherently masculine and AFABS are inherently feminine, the trans softboy submits to his slightly masc trans cockgirl girlfriend (objectifying terms only applied because of how Salem sees it), but testosterone makes you miserable, evil and a devious murderer. Estrogen used to be the "softening, soothing hormone" but he is now leaning towards it simply giving the tfem boobs but not changing her "biological coding".

Asian fetishism.

Strictly treats queerness like its inherently sexual, every time he engages with queerness it loops back around to how horny lesbians, trans women and gnc trans men make him, but he doesnt engage with queer sex itself because thats Weird! He doesnt know about muffing, sides, hanky code, carabiners, lesbian axe, the meaning of lavender, friend of Dorothy, etc. At most, he knows what a jockstrap and strapon and strep throat is. But he wont even draw a trans man penetrating a trans woman.

Which brings me to my next point- how he never draws anything besides m/f piv vanilla sex. The most queer piece of porn he ever drew was his fursona shitting himself, and even then he would never engage with scat besides implication.. but beyond that, he only cares for penis in vagina sex between a man and woman, the quirk here though is that its TRANS! But that doesnt make it queer or subversive, im sorry.

Gets off to corrective rape.

All his characters are conventionally attractive- and as stated before, designed to appeal to white beauty standards.

I could go on.

Salems only gimmick is that he draws gnc trans men and that hes a lesbian fetishist and a trans fetishist, he refuses to engage with a community outside of white furries who eat up his preaching but know they can ignore most of it because they tokenize him and dont examine their own bigotries as a result, because what he spouts is Safe and doesnt actually force you to change anything about yourself beside "be less racist". Even though his art his promoted asian fetishism, even though he cant draw asian people.

But hes a trans bunnyboy right? Trans bunnyboys dont hold any assimilatory views that only serve to get them ass pats from white people? And surely bunnyboys could NEVER be racist and fetishists?

Also he supports and shelters zoophiles + pedophiles + incest when it benefits him and this is something that society at large sadly does aswell.

He isnt combatting any bigotted ideologies with his mid hetero porn. Its not even faggot porn at this point."