#but she's still choosing to take the side of the oppressors

[hauntingofhouses]

BRB thinking thoughts about Taigen's character, the TaiMizu ship, and a big chunk of fandom's perceptions regarding both those things.

(Inspired by @farintonorth's post related to this topic that just got my brain going brrrrr)

OK so let me just... start off by saying that I think that reducing stories to their tropes is seriously detrimental to the way some people are interacting with fiction, and while that honestly warrants its own post about the subject, I wanna talk specifically about how this affects the way some people in the fandom talk about Taigen and TaiMizu.

Because yeah, tropes are useful shorthand to refer to certain dynamics or archetypes etc, and they are indeed the building blocks to any story. But in a well-written story, characters and their relationships, actions, and motivations, are much more complex than just tropes. Because in a story that has characters who are more than just cardboard cutouts, their behaviours, backgrounds, motivations and all of that, are inseparable from the context of the overall story they exist in.

So like, sure, you can say Mizu and Taigen have an enemies-to-lovers or rivals-to-lovers dynamic. I also use those terms because it's easier. But I also think this is where things start to get a bit twisted, especially from an intertextual sense. Because "enemies-to-lovers" is also commonly used to refer to other ships in other media, whereby it tends to be rooted in an imbalanced power dynamic, such as oppressor-oppressed and bully-victim.

And while that's a whole can of worms that I won't be getting into because it can quickly derail into a whole separate sort of fandom discourse, I'd just like to make it clear that Mizu and Taigen, in particular, do not have an imbalanced power dynamic. They are not bully-victim or oppressor-oppressed. The only understandable reason why someone might actually think their relationship is imbalanced is if

A) they only watched the first episode, or

B) they cannot grasp the slightest bit of nuance in a character, or

C) they're being obtuse on purpose simply because the Mizu/Taigen relationship, or Taigen's character in general, just doesn't suit their tastes.

While yes, Taigen, along with his whole gang, had bullied Mizu when they were children, that dynamic does not exist between them whatsoever in adulthood. Whatever imbalanced bully-victim power dynamic that had once existed between them was decisively ripped apart the moment Mizu beat him in that duel in the dojo, and then completely obliterated by the end of the season.

Mizu is not a defenseless victim at Taigen's mercy. Mizu can beat Taigen's ass any time she wants (and she DOES, repeatedly in fact), and could even kill him if she felt like it. She taunts him openly and without fear ("I like your hair"; "I can beat you with any weapon you choose") and all he does is bark back, because that's pretty much all Taigen ever does. Time and time again, he yaps about how much he wants to kill her, but time and time again, his actions prove that all of it is just an empty threat. Because though his words say "I hate you", his actions demonstrate the complete opposite. He's shown how protective he is of Mizu, how unhesitatingly he sacrifices himself up for her, how loyal he is in enduring days-long torture to not give up information about her, how even when near-death and in pain, he's still willing to keep standing back up so he can fight by her side and help her win against her enemies.

And Mizu is not an idiot! She sees that too. She does not see him as a threat, an enemy, or even a bully. Especially not by the end of Episode 3, and definitely not by the end of the season. When she finds him in the dungeon in Episode 6, she smiles from relief, and doesn't think twice to take him with her. Mizu finds him, at best, an annoyance, or at worst, an infuriating hindrance on her quest for vengeance. Which is why, when Taigen is about to say, "It's a shame our duel's set for tomorrow; I have to kill you before you get your revenge," Mizu whacks him on the head without a second thought before he can even finish his sentence, and leaves him lying unconscious, face-down, in the snow.

And this further emphasises how he does not hold any power over her. There is no abusive power dynamic between them. She is more powerful than him, he knows this, and all he's ever done after they've met up again in adulthood is get his ass whooped by her, get mad about it and pester her and follow her around, get his ass whooped by her some more, and put his life on the line to protect her.

"OOoooOOoooH b-but he called her a demon at the end of Episode 7 and threatened to kill her again!!!" Oh my god. He called her that because he's calling her out on her selfishness to stay silent about her knowledge of Fowler's plans to attack Edo. Because to him, loyalty and honour as a samurai is more important than anything. So in his own brash-and-immature Taigen way, he felt betrayed that Mizu did not hold the same principles. That's why he got angry. He wasn't even that mad about letting Akemi get dragged off by the Tokunobu guards. It was about saving the Shogun and the Shogunate as a whole. That's why the first thing he does in Edo is not find Akemi, but try to warn the Shogun about Fowler's attack.

Look, I'm not defending his stupid ass, of course. Because calling her a demon especially after their cute little wrestling time was obviously rude and inappropriate, especially since words like "demon", "monster" and "Onryo" have had such a deep effect on Mizu throughout her life, and continue to contribute to her self-hatred. But like? That's the fun of realistic and flawed characters, and realistic and flawed relationships. They're not perfect, and it's why we as an audience root for them, wanting to see them work through their shit and find a way to prevail despite it all.

Also, him saying that was in the heat of the moment. He was angry, he felt like his initial belief of who Mizu was—a strong and loyal samurai, just like him—was shattered, and so he lashed out. Was it rude? Definitely. Was it immature of him? Yes, incredibly. But it's also very much in line with his character, because even though he's grown a lot over the course of the season, the show isn't over yet, so obviously his character arc is just beginning, as that is also the case for the other three main characters: Mizu is beginning to accept herself, Akemi is beginning to grow into her position of power, Ringo beginning to train under Master Eiji, while Taigen is beginning to simply be a better person.

On that note, when speaking of Taigen's immaturity, I think that's also one of the main things that people tend to gloss over when it comes to his character. Because when you boil everything down to its bare essentials, Taigen is, essentially, a boy. I've talked about this before, but to reiterate, Taigen very much behaves like an unhealed child. Even as an adult, he is insecure, prone to throwing tantrums, and is desperate to latch onto some material goal in hopes that it will make him feel better—initially he was chasing status/glory/greatness, and then when Mizu tells him that "Nothing comes from being a samurai but death," he immediately decides he wants to run away with Akemi in hopes that he will be happy.

And it's a big step, acknowledging that he doesn't truly want greatness, but had always just assumed it was his only path to a good life. But it's clear he still hasn't really figured it out. Because if he did run off with Akemi to get married and live in the countryside, he still wouldn't be happy. Because he still doesn't know who he really is, or what it is he really wants. Marriage at this moment is the last thing he needs, and as he is now, he would be a pretty awful husband. A simple life would be good for him, but would he be good at a simple life, when he still has so much he needs to work through?

So anyway, what I'm getting at here, is that he's trying and he is learning and growing. So yeah, he is flawed, but honestly? So is Mizu. And the funny thing is that they're flawed in very similar ways.

Because Mizu is also an unhealed child. That's why she's so angry all the time. That's why she pushes people away. That's why she, just like Taigen, is so happy when given the chance to playfully wrestle in the forge, laughing and rolling around like children without shame or pretense.

Again, this shows there is no imbalance between them. They had grown up together as peers from the same town. And while Taigen had had the upper hand back then, because he'd had a gang of other kids with him, that is definitely not the case anymore. Today, they are equally flawed, equally strong, equally skilled swordsmen, and equally bull-headed.

However, yes, Mizu is definitely leagues more mature than Taigen. But she still holds a lot of childhood wounds that mirror Taigen's own. And we see this especially in relation to her mother. Similar to Taigen who had an abusive and alcoholic father, Mizu's Mama was an opium addict and had hit her, berated her, had shaved her head without her consent as a child, and as an adult, had constantly emotionally manipulated and guilt-tripped her. Mizu's love for her Mama was what had driven her to a path of vengeance in the very beginning. And when she'd found out Mama was still alive, she had wanted nothing more than her Mama's love, and it was this alone that pushed her to agree to the marriage with Mikio in the first place. And now, knowing from Fowler that her birth mother is someone else entirely, is what makes her agree to keep him alive and haul his ass to London to seek answers.

Thus, integral to Mizu's self-hatred is also Mizu's intense longing for love and family. Just like Taigen, whose pompousness comes from his insecurity about being the son of a poor fisherman, Mizu's goals are also shaped by who her parents are. Remember, her vengeance is not against just anyone who's corrupt or evil, but specifically against the men who she believes had assaulted her mother, the men she believes had made her a monster, the men she believes had abandoned her to die and continue to try to kill her. Her vengeance is against a father, on behalf of a mother. In The Tale of the Ronin and the Bride, Mizu is not merely the Ronin, the Bride, or the Onryo, but also the Child.

This is also why Ringo is so good, not only for Mizu, but for Taigen as well. Ringo is wise and caring and considerate, but above all, he is in tune with his inner child in ways that Mizu and Taigen are not. He is always earnest and positive, he sees the world with childlike wonder, but is not naive or blind to its ugliness. His whole life has been a battle. Ringo brings out the best in Mizu, consistently acting as her moral compass and conscience, and Mizu's choice to save Akemi in the final episode is only because she promised Ringo that she would. Because it's the right thing to do. Ringo inspires her to be a better person, and to think outside of her narrow-minded goal of revenge. At the same time, Ringo also brings out the best in Taigen. While at first Taigen had looked down on both Mizu and Ringo ("Half-limb to a half-wit"), by the end of the season, he's proud to have Ringo as a friend and ally, he listens to Ringo's advice ("What would Master do?"), and asserts to the fucking Shogun that Ringo is a worthy warrior to have by his side.

Okay, I've gone on a bit of a tangent here, but my main point is that Mizu and Taigen are incredibly similar. They are equals. They are both flawed, unhealed children who are chasing some impossible outlandish goal in hopes that it will fill the void in their hearts. They also both have a long way to go in terms of character development if they were to ever build a healthy romantic relationship (either with each other, or even with anyone else). So while I believe things will be rocky (because duh, it's a story, we all live for the drama, etc), I think with Ringo's help, they'll get there eventually.

[transfemme-shelterdog]

Transandrophobia testimony here.

// Transandrophobia, transphobia, racism, inappropriate talk about a minor by a teacher, sexual harassment, rape mentioned, infantilisation, kink and sexual topics mentioned

My aunt came to visit from france some years ago, and the first thing she started talking about with me was this student of hers that was transmasc, immediately calling him by his deadname, using the wrong pronouns, and telling me all about how ridiculous he was to think he was a man because of how curvy he was (which she attributed to him being latino). A few days later, she took me aside to try to convince me not to transition, accusing me of transitioning because I wanted to be an abuser, that I was taking the side of the oppressor, that me wanting a penis was disgusting and that I only wanted one because I wanted to rape people, which especially hurt me since I am a rape survivor. She looked into my eyes and pleaded with me that she could still see the innocent little girl left in there. I wanted to throw up, but I didn’t. I had to live in the same house as her for the rest of the week like nothing happened.

I saw her last year, she was less bad that time, addressed me with the right pronouns and everything, tried to connect with me on us both being queer (I don’t know what term she uses for herself, but she’s dated women in the past). Never apologized though, or acknowledged she did anything wrong. I don’t know what it is with people in my family, but nobody knows how to apologize.

Another exemple ? I had a lot of friends before, mostly queer, including this one girl that just treated me like I was her cute little puppy to play with /nonsexual. Because I was pre-T (and autistic), I was always just a boy to her, a child, even though we were both the same age, very much adults. I still love her, she was the one to lend me a place to stay when i had to run away from my mom’s place, but man, it was hard. As soon as I started T, she started distancing herself from me too.

There’s also this man, at my workplace right now, who keeps talking to everyone he meets about how pretty I am, in very fetishistic terms. At this point, it is workplace harassment. He straight up told my boss once, in front of me, that he’s straight, but he’d make an exception for me, that I was so fascinating, because I had ‘the face of a boy, but the body of a man’. He doesn’t know I’m trans, but he keeps trying to find out what exactly is up with me, asking me very personal questions. He also keeps touching me, in a non-sexual manner, but I am uncomfortable with it and I don’t know how to bring it up without causing a scene. I feel like nobody’s gonna take this situation seriously, because I’m a man and banter between guys often looks like sexual harassment.

Last little thing, but I have a lot of shame about my sexual attraction. I’m aromantic and bisexual, and so I simply cannot love romantically people who I’m attracted to sexually. Me having certain kinks and preferring to be dominant and/or to top definitely doesn’t help either. I have this very deep fear of being a predator, of fooling these poor people into strictly sexual relationships, regardless of how clear I am to them about how I function. It gets especially bad when it’s a woman I’m attracted to, I always feel like I’m gonna traumatize them the way I was traumatized, just by having casual sex with them. It does play into me being a man, because my brain always hearkens back to me ‘choosing’ to be a man in order to abuse women. My aunt has not been the only one putting that idea into my head, it’s a sentiment I’ve seen and received online pretty regularly ever since I came out. I have scrupulosity (religious/moral OCD, in my case moral), so these thoughts often impact my daily life, even when I abstain from sex completely, which is pretty often considering it is hard for me to enjoy sex at all in these conditions. I recently found another bi aromantic trans guy, and we’re friends with benefits; it’s been leagues better than other people I’ve been with, but I still can’t completely believe I’m not taking advantage of him, in one way or another.

Anyways, sorry this was long, and thank you for hearing us out.

.

[hey-i-am-trying]

I have to say that the wave of hating on Vi is annoying and the wave of hating on people that have any negative feelings with the character is equally annoying. [this is more about twitter type of discourse but I will not go there to have this conversation]

I think the whole point of Arcane Season 1 was that we cannot take out the big picture out of what it seems to be individual choices and at the same we see the choices of individuals affecting the collective lives of those around them. So when we try to divide people by simply "good" or "bad" we assume a inherited value of those people without taking into account the context and history that afffects these people.

Piltover murdering hundreds of thousands of Zaun people is an unfortunatly tragedy. Jinx killing the Council is terrorism. Ekko trying to protect his people from both enforcers and drug lords is terrorism.

When Zaun wants revenge, it is murder. When Piltover wants revenge, it is justice.

Vi, someone from Zaun, someone that lost so many for the actions of enforcers wearing their uniforms has an impact, she has position herself on Piltover side, what she is going to do with that position might matter, she might do good, she might tell herself she is doing good but she is inevitebly feeding the machine that harmed her own people. Doing justice for Zaun in an enforcer clothes is a symbol that she believes on Piltover's vision of what justice looks. It doesn't metter if it is true or not, it is the message that uniform sends.

I am by no means saying Vi is the devil, that she doesn't care for Zaun, for Jinx, or Ekko, or anybody else on the undercity, what I am saying is that looking at a bigger picture her actions have consequences for other people. I can't wait to see on Season 2 what was her rational for choosing this, what her goals are. I was talking about the broad scale before but I would like to zoom on her thoughts and feelings when Season 2 get here. I know the jokes about "she got the fuck the cops wrong" are funny but I don't believe Vi would do that just for Caitlyn, even though I think Vi would be more inclined to join with Caitlyn in a leadership position I don't think it would be the only reason.

[But anyway, I just will rant for this last part. because that is kinda tiring. I know it is upsetting when people boil down your fav chracter to the point of losing the entire point of their arc, but at some point you got also to understand that people are allow to have negative reactions to a fictional character. When we ask for more nuances in discourse, we should be willing to accept that having nuance doesn't mean to have a positive opinion about every charcater in the show. It came to the point that people are not even allow to joke about Vi becoming a cop that there are people whining about it on twitter. Not everybody is your enemy, people can joke about the fictional cop being a cop. I am also tired of people saying that Arcane fans need to know League of Legends lore. The show is a story that can and should be told alone, just because someone is a fan of the show doesn't mean they need to have knowledge about the game lore. Like, yeah, I know shit abou LOL lore and still knew Vi would become an enforcer, but some people just watch the show and don't go after knowing more about the game lore and that is actually fine, and those fans feelings about the characters are not lesser because of that]

That being said:

"Quando a educação não é libertadora, o sonho do oprimido é ser o opressor" - Paulo Freire

"When education is not for freedom, the dream of the oppressed is to be the oppressor"

[mariailoveyou-guerin]

watched and Karl and Sharah truly the best the way they only did everything for other while the 2 others did it all for selfish reasons idk if that was one of the point’s especially the 2053 lady that was clear sign of yt people always choosing the bad guy always supporting the oppressors the genocidal maniac it was so on point really and the fact she did all for legs plz, and the fact after she k1lled Defoe she out on the crocodile yt people tears they always do when they regret something minutes after they do it watching her cry after she k1lled deofe even tho Elias literally said yes to murdering almost half million she still was on his side of that’s not yt to a T taking the wrong sides of history then regretting it definitely gave me nasty Oppenheimer vibes the way she acted never listening to the good people so many people was telling him

not to do it then started crying and having quilt only bc his mistresses di*ed and all of sudden he had regrets like from the moment I saw iris I disliked her so mad idk she just gave off nasty vibes and I was so right I love being always right and reading people characters to T!

dont get me started on Alfred I love him bc he was good for his time but the fact he gave up his family and sacrificed himself for a man he just met was so nasty but I get not wanting to frame an innocent man thats ew but he was really willing to give up his family

It’s giving Viktor from umbrella academy I will never understand characters giving up their families for somebody they just met 2 weeks ago idk if it’s a yt queer character or yt people thing it but it’s just so nasty to me like how that’s y’all family so so eww #bodiesnetflix

what a great show tho it was so good every character except iris were so amazing love them! can’t believe she still is alive but hopefully I doubt it but hope taxi driver Iris is better person then 2053 iris was she was so eww made me so sick to my stomach #

miss female Oppenheimer they way both didn’t care until someone showed the truth in their face and still they didn’t give a fcvk untill someone they cared about D worded! I now get why she was picked and why she was yt makes so much sense in reality it’s always yt people doing

that sort of thing joining the evil side, Iike you would never see Charles Sahara joining Elias they can’t be bought we literally saw Whitman saying no to all that safety in the time he was living oh what a beautiful man what beautiful soul heart he has and sharah obvi she’s 2023

she would never as the character she is, they way they picked perfect characters time lines for each other, storyline character development so complex and interesting! then there’s iris doing for the most selfish rzn! her character was so good to hate more

then Elias even because how did she believe in that bs when her own brother couldn’t get the treatment only bc he didn’t wanna join them I thought it was eveyone felling loved no matter what even if they didn’t wanna be forced to part of their bs utopia!

KARL AND SHARAH YOU SO LOVED BY ME! also not Karl flirting and asking Sahara for pint trough time once a ladies man always a ladies man god I love him! Alfred I’ll ignore ur one mistake so you are also loved not as much them but still and nothing for Iris!

I wish Karl Sahara would’ve met the way I have played back when Elias tells him her name and he’s like what Sah what so cute they were the best characters I love them so much wish they met the asking for pint so him even in his last breathes I LOVE HIM a lot actually!!

I did notice how only Karl Sahara weren’t DI even tho they were given the same cases another important point on society oh what a great show! Love it so much

[bougainvillea-and-saltwater]

Please please tell me ANYTHING about your oc Jia because I'm so fascinated with the concept of Septim dynasty still being alive in the events of Skyrim.

(Also because I have a whole story on draft about Martin having a child who somehow was looked away for 200 years and coming back during the timeline of Skyrim)

HI!!! First off, thank you so much for the ask, and I’m so sorry in advance for the infodump that follows…🥹 

So, about Jia, she’s Martin Septim’s great-granddaughter. For my story, I have outlined the plan where Martin had a fling with one of the Blade agents who were sent to find him and keep him safe during the Oblivion Crisis. Eventually, the woman became pregnant with a child, though with the Thalmor menace and the fact that she carried a Septim descendant, she managed to ‘disappear’ by fleeing Cyrodiil, changing her identity and her looks altogether, and thus successfully protecting herself and her child. The years passed peacefully, her daughter grew up and built her own family, and that was when Jia’s father was born to her. Remus is… a complicated being, but the short story is that he had the ‘gift’ of foresight, prophetic dreams like Uriel Septim VII had, and so it was revealed to him he was of the Septim dynasty, something his grandmother fought tooth and nail to hide... Those visions showed him Sky Haven Temple in Skyrim and called him towards a Nord woman who was destined to be the mother of his daughter: the last heir of the Septims, as well the Last Dragonborn—that’s my Jia. Without spoiling much, eventually, the Thalmor do discover about her father’s and later about her heritage, and well, the fact that a Septim Dragonborn walks Nirn again by the time a war of succession is ongoing on Skyrim can be quite scandalous for all sides…

Septims are very equivalent to the Targaryens from GoT, in my headcanon. Tiber Septim has very Aegon the Conqueror vibes, Pelagius the Mad can be linked to the Mad King Aerys, Uriel Septim VII to either King Jaehaerys the Wise or King Viserys the Peaceful… Also, Targaryen women were said to be very strongly connected to blood magic, and in TES we have Queen Potema with her necromantic talents… Not to mention the dragon blood and the connection to the dragons. But the most precarious trait they share is the madness. There was this saying in ASOIAF about the Targaryens, that when a new Targaryen is born the Gods flip a coin—one side of sanity and the other of madness—and the world holds its breath to see how it lands. The same can be said for Jia, a Septim and a Dragonborn, neither full dragon nor full mortal, who knows that she can seize not only Skyrim’s throne, but the Ruby Throne itself, astride Odahviing and become a tyrant and oppressor as a dragon can naturally be, ‘a plague for the future generations’ as Arngeir tells us in-game; or she can be gentle and good and fair like her great-grandfather was before her. And I’d love to see the road she’ll choose in her story…👀💖

I’m very curious, what’s your take on Martin’s secret heir appearing during the events of Skyrim? 👀

[starfieldcanvas]

You seem to hellbent in defending end-otw-racism in ONTF’s posts, kudos to you and your level-headed explanations. But perhaps you should inform the movement to update or clarify their manifesto more? The idk factor to that is stitch’s anti stance and the pungent smell of anti coming off from the lingo.

Comments on that post asking ao3 to outright ban things allowed on ao3 that they think is racist isn’t helping the cause either. Definitely won’t convert ONTF’s crowd. She herself has been decried by some of the campaign’s followers as the racist who founded the abuse guideline therefore it must be overhauled… which is… rich.

Yeah I don't think I have much chance with like...the larger, less pragmatic crowd of tired, angry, wounded people clustered around #EndOTWRacism, and I'm not especially interested in nitpicking the finer points of messaging with the people who launched the campaign, nor in re-litigating OTNF's reputation (any more than I already have in the notes of some of my previous posts.)

As someone who's pretty rabidly anti-censorship on principle, I felt like I got what #EndOTWRacism were going for with their manifesto: they wanted to avoid demanding censorship and they were sincere in wanting AO3 to step it up on AO3's own commitments anyway, because they thought there was more AO3 could do that wouldn't require censorship.

It was exactly the kind of extremely watered-down, limited-scope "don't give a hard time to anyone who chooses not to join" sort of thing that someone like stitch (infamous in some circles for calling POC who don't agree with her "pickmes") would never come up with.

If some of the voices #EndOTWRacism cites or reblogs are harsher or more demanding than what they themselves originally outlined, well, that's to be expected. I don't agree with every single thing said by OTNF (equally infamous in other circles for implying that trying to write diversity on purpose made fic boring), but I still reblog lots of her content. I don't agree with the finer points of every single individual post I reblog either, but if OP's perspective has something to contribute to the discussion then I still believe they're worth sharing. I think of it as the social media dialectic: you have to share things that don't perfectly align with each other in order for your blog to achieve synthesis!

I understand (vaguely) why some people are leery of stitch, and I eventually stopped following her on twitter because the vitriol-to-enlightenment ratio wasn't doing it for me, but I think it's honestly pretty childish to take such a strong "guilt by association" approach. It demonstrates underdeveloped theory of mind. As OTNF said recently to one of her anons, do you think everyone else has the same mental associations with stitch that you do?

I get pretty exhausted with any fandom organizing that focuses more on personal associations than it does on facts. And I get exhausted with the process of side-picking in general. So much of the time, something characterized later as "this ideological stance vs. that ideological stance! choose your side! neutrality supports the oppressor!" is actually just "somebody said something kinda thoughtless that slightly offended someone else, they both vagueblogged about their hurt feelings instead of trying to understand each other, suddenly three hundred strangers are analyzing this interpersonal squabble in the context of whatever sociopolitical problem they're most outraged about, and now half my friends won't talk to the other half."

Over and over, I see people talking past each other because someone's stray thoughtless comment becomes a synecdoche for A Whole-Ass Political Platform. Trying to sever the connection between the inciting thoughtless comment and A Whole-Ass Political Platform may trigger onlookers to assume you are defending the political platform rather than distancing yourself from it. Defensiveness on both sides leads to absurd doubling down. In the rush to have the right opinions faster and more pithily than everyone else, new thoughtless comments are made. And so it goes down through the telephone game of public opinion until people who have very little context for the inciting incident are screaming at each other.

If you don't agree with what #EndOTWRacism has in their list of demands, then just... don't support the campaign! It's fine! But don't avoid supporting it just because you think stitch gave it cooties, or because some people who are supporting #EndOTWracism's campaign also have other more extreme demands you disagree with. That's how normal political campaigns work: you fight for the stuff you can both agree on, with allies who are otherwise radically different from you. There are countless left-wing political commentators and activists and even writers I follow and happily ally with who nevertheless have terrible opinions about dead dove content.

Like, of course I'm gonna do my best not to ally myself with anyone wielding political power to enact bigotry, but at the end of the day, both stitch and OTNF are in the "racism bad, dark kinky fic good" camp. To an outsider, they're far more similar than they are different. We shouldn't lose sight of that just because we happen to be more familiar with fandom drama than most.

tl;dr: If you don't like antis, then don't approach potential allies with the anti thing of "I saw you reblogged something from so-and-so. They're a gross pro-shipper. If you don't block them immediately then everyone is going to think you're okay with pedophilia." We're all more mature than that, right?

[princess-dirt]

While this post is generally true, this added nuance is, unfortunately, only half of the answer. Everyone sucks because they are real characters with complexity. And while none are "evil," some are definitely worse than others.

Marika/Radagon genocides 3 separate races of people, and their order oppresses several more. Even with the reveal of the Shaman village, their furthering of vengeance to genocides, plural, is not justified. But here is the first big point I have to make, The Greater Will and the Outer Gods are the true evil. For as bad as Marika was, she was ultimately as pawn to a greater beings will for most of her worst crimes. It's why they aren't truly evil.

Mohg and the Dung Eater are equally dogmatic and brutal. Both want near apocalyptic scales of suffering for different reasons. But even between these two, Mohg is a tortured soul, driven to dogmatism by unjust treatment. His brother is also driven to equal lengths, only he chooses to side with his oppressors. Dung Eater, by all lore, deserved to be executed, but his further punishment of being left in the sewers to live off literal shit to survive could drive one to such an extremist mindset. All 3 went through similar things and arrived at similar spots, but there are clearly tiers to it.

Dung Eater is probably the closest to pure evil there is outside of the Outer Gods in Elden Ring.

Messmer, Malenia, and Radahn all warred and caused great harm. None did it to cause suffering, however. But again, there are tiers to it. Malenia almost certainly did not know the bloom would cause such immense damage and did it in hopes Miquella would succeed and heal what she had caused. By all lore, it seems that Miquella would've healed Caelid if we did not kill him.

Radahn warred for power. While we do not know his exact reason, he did not war monger alone. Everyone warred during the shattering as that is what they had to do as the world had broken. There was a vacuum of power. Someone eventually had to take it.

Messmer warred, but he did so against a people who had committed genocide and for his mother's acceptance. While easily the most brutal of the 3, there is still a level of humanity there. His army is easily the most diverse of any we see.

As the post above says, they all suck, but they all suck in different ways, and some suck way more than others.

It's why having Miquella, the objectionably most morally god of all the demigods, being the final boss, is tragic. He isn't a villain. His actions are no different than Ranni's. His goals are easily the best of any character in fromsoft history, but his method of control is morally gray. Despite what brainrot memes and low media literacy gooners online say, Miquella can not mind control people. He can coerce people into not doing things and very little else. It's the power to coerce and sway, and he'd use it to prevent killers from killing.

But to achieve Godhood, he had to sacrifice his brother. Malenia had to bloom. Miquella had to torture himself, giving up so much of himself. Eventually, he had to give up his doubts, knowing godhood was a horrible thing, knowing he could become his mother, become the thing he was trying to destroy. Because he gives up his doubt, he can give up his kindness, but even then, he had to give up his fear before he ascended.

But ultimately, Caelid, killing Mohg, and Radahn's suffering was because of Miquella. I can understand why people would say he sucks.

And even then, there is so much more to all of these characters.

Nobody in Elden Ring is Evil but Everyone SUCKS in their own way...

(I used to think Miquella is "Evil" but they are NOT the Main Villain of Elden Ring either...)

[wingletblackbird]

The fact is that the writers of Merlin had to make Morgana over-the-top-evil, because if they didn’t Merlin would look bad and we’d be on her side.

A not cartoonishly evil Morgana would have gotten rid of Uther. She would have lifted the ban on magic. She could have used magic to benefit her subjects even. She’s doing something. She’s freeing her people. Sure, maybe she’s a bit self-cantered in parts, a bit too entitled, a bit to the ends justify the means perhaps, but, hey, she’s doing something!

Oh, no, you might say, Merlin’s way was still better because no potential civil war, no bloody coup, fewer innocents caught in the middle, no instability. Not to mention the children born around the Purge, like Arthur, now grown up, don’t know magic isn’t just a choice. They really think people choose to do something illegal and go evil as a result. They think magic is dangerous. They weren’t a part of the purge. They don’t know the truth. It’s wrong for them to have to die.

Yes, I agree up to a point, but when has Merlin ever done anything to change Arthur’s mind? Off the top of my head, once with Dragoon and once as the Dolma.

Did Merlin use his disguises to talk to Arthur meaningfully? To use magic and show how it can be good? To do anything to ensure a peaceful coup is even possible? To create a symbol, maybe the ball of light, when he uses magic to help? And if Arthur was never, in all those years together, someone Merlin felt he could trust…why is he supporting him?

Merlin’s barely done anything, and even then he keeps secrets, that have nothing to do with his magic, which Arthur ought to know and which his not knowing might harm his kingdom. Why?

By doing next to nothing, or worse things he just shouldn’t that make no sense, Merlin is simply complicit in propping up another oppressor of his people. Someone who might even banish and/or kill him at that! Why should we root for this again? Why should we care?

So the writers have to make Morgana kill innocent people in the square. They have to make her relish killing. They have to make her unbearably hard to side with or we would.

Just a few subtle changes could have kept the overall narrative of the show without making me lose my mind. For instance, Merlin should have helped Arthur realize the truth, but Morgana, understandably given she knows he’s raided Druid camps and doesn’t see his growing maturity with Merlin, leaves before this and fights against them. The writing could make it hard for us to pick whose side were on. Maybe Morgana should have tried talking to Arthur first, but maybe Merlin is also just taking too long and being too complicit.

Eventually, of course, Camelot is attacked and Merlin will stop Morgana, but he knows she’s not really his enemy. He gets her motivations. He explains this to Arthur after the magic reveal: Change the laws and your sister doesn’t hate you, far fewer people will care about overthrowing you. Now we don’t have to choose sides, because we’re all on the same one.

Because unless Arthur is willing to wait for his father to die, causing many innocent lives to be lost, he’s going to need to stage a coup of his own. (Which we know he’s willing to do in Sins of the Father). Hence, he can ally with Morgana. This means things go about more peacefully, with more legitimacy and stability thereafter, far fewer lives get lost. We get a proper golden age this time, and The Diamond of the Day would have Morgana helping Arthur after his fatal wound, like in the legends.

The fact is you cannot use brute force to make people trust magic. Trust is earned so people need to see magic being used for good, and within certain bounds. Morgana can be so focussed on the goal, getting what she wants now, she can miss that. You do need to lay the groundwork. However, you also can’t just wait around for Uther to die, Merlin. An alliance would be the sweet spot.

I wouldn’t even necessarily call this a redemption arc for Morgana. Is the above a redemption or just a reconciliation? After all, Merlin, Morgana, and Arthur are all human beings doing their best in the above scenario. None of them have done anything evil per se. They’ve all just made mistakes or been misguided. Then, they reconciled and got rid of the real villain at the heart of it: Uther

As I see it, you need both Morgana and Merlin working together, preferably backing Arthur, to get true peace in Camelot, but instead we got the garbage we got.

You know, the one where Arthur never brings back magic like he was prophesied to do? Where he never becomes High King? His reign is certainly no Golden Age if there are magicians still being executed, I say.

What is the moral of this story? Because they frame it as a tragedy for the wrong reasons, I find. It’s tragic because not much was accomplished in the series that results in significant change that we get to see. Arthur was better than Uther, sure, but that’s a low bar. His death is sad for Merlin, but morally speaking, you could argue he reaped what he sowed. The fall of Camelot can only be tragic if something truly good was lost.

I sympathize with Mordred in the series-as-it-was-written, because I too want to give Arthur a chance. He seems stable; he seems to care; he seems to want to be good, but also he hasn’t changed the horrible laws. He won’t go all the way. How long are you going to wait around while people die? Oh, you’ve reached your breaking point? Guess I’m stuck with Morgana now. 🤷‍♀️

[doberbutts]

havinganormalone

People thought the dude who wrote a book series that is a metaphor for abortion rights would also somehow be anti diversity,  huh?

Genuinely I don’t get it. Outside of “angry white boys being angry white boys”, I don’t really understand what drew this crowd to the books. The games, that’s one thing, I still don’t really understand how some of these take-aways happened but at least I can follow the logic a little bit. But the books?

Sapkowski really said “abortion rights” and “drink more respect women juice” and “gay rights” and “racism bad” and “conquest and war bad” and “trauma is a generational curse” and “rape bad” and “people who are different to the point of being completely unrecognizable to you are still people” and “being disabled sucks and you are literally only ever 5 seconds away from permanent disability” and “revenge is tempting but ultimately empty” and “refusing to choose is a choice, and one that usually favors the worse outcome” and “xenophobia bad” and “being neutral while witnessing oppression is siding with oppressors” and I knoooooooow he didn’t write them as a political commentary or manifesto but knowing that he’s Polish and wrote them as a Polish man living in a post-WWII Poland during the 80s really shines a light on these topics highlighted several times in the books.

I’m not saying the books are perfect either. I have my own problems with the way certain topics are handled.

But how did a book series that heavily deals with these topics draw so many far-right and bigoted perspectives?

The games, sure, I get it. On a surface level you’re just a badass ruggedly handsome super powerful monster hunter who has hot babes practically throwing themselves at your feet begging you to fuck them. Fantasy-genre male power fantasy bait right there. Add to it that the games feature a whopping zero people of color (unless you count Bad Guys Only Ofiri in one of the DLCs that you quickly kill literally all of them, or a handful of darker skinned succubi) as well as plenty of homophobic and misogynistic jokes, and the weird scene with the one cross-dressing elf that’s “she but actually a man” that you can choose to respond negatively to and no matter what Geralt is incredibly skeptical and dubious for the entire interaction. Despite the games also heavily leaning on the above topics, there’s a lot of gamerbro bullshit to wade through as well that’s not present in the books (because they were written starting in the 80s when gamerbros weren’t really a thing) and I can understand how that can draw a certain crowd that very much misses the entire fucking point.

[awaywithepixies]

Given the circumstances, I don’t think it’s as unfair as you think. Any other time, sure. But not now. And as a Palestinian, it’s my right to have that line of thinking. The world is literally watching a genoc*de of my people happen. Celebs are either showing their support for it or crafting purple prose of neutrality in the name of wanting peace (which is also just choosing the side of the oppressor). I am absolutely allowed to go through the motions when I see any form of this given it’s an issue that directly affects me and my loved ones, no matter the direct/indirect subtly of what’s been posted (such as choosing to show the ESB when tensions are as they are—were there no other pretty skylines of NYC to share?). But you’re right, it’s a famous building. It could be nothing.

In regards to Ashley, it’s not all that surprising. She and Neil are of course close. There’s no way the topic of Palestine/Israel didn’t come up between them, especially since TLOU has themes around it. There’s a good chance her view might be biased because of Neil. I can’t fault her for that, but it still hurts to see someone support something they don’t have the full grasp of. But again, what do I know? I’m not in her head.

And as I’ve answered someone else, I know I’m not owed anything by them. Whatever conclusions I draw from all this are my own and I’m not going to push anyone to agree with me. If anything, aside from seeking comfort, I’m bringing awareness to anyone who might be in the same or similar position as me, who maybe never saw the pics, so that they may also decide how to proceed themselves. And mind you, I’m not trying to say that you’re wrong. You’re entitled to your way of thinking, too. I’m simply explaining what went through my mind before deciding it’s in my best interest to take a break from CR. Thank you for your input, nothing but respect.

Been anxiously debating whether or not to comment on this, but given how much worse things have gotten, I can’t ignore it anymore. As a Palestinian Critter who’s already been disappointed by Ashley, Mica (who posted support for Israel in her stories), Aimee (shared stories on neutrality but focused mainly on the Jewish side only), and Sam’s wife (shared neutrality for peace in her stories) I can’t help but wonder if showing the Empire State Building lit up in my people’s oppressors’ colors on the last slide is deliberate. I hope not.

I know they don’t wanna hurt their brand, which is why they haven’t directly said anything about any of this, but if I’ve learned anything since the 7th, it’s that you don’t really know the people you looked up to.

These guys play characters who stand up against oppression, for crying out loud. I don’t know how to feel. I don’t wanna say goodbye to these nerdy-ass voice actors, but I will if I have to.

Please prove to me that I don’t have to. 🇵🇸💔

EDIT (DISCLAIMER): I am NOT in any way trying to make anyone not watch/support CR! I’ve personally decided to take a break from it, but that doesn’t mean you have to! I was simply trying to find some comfort from the community during this stressful time. Much love!

[sokkastyles]

I'm reviewing atla right now and I want to skip all the scenes with Aang. He is so annoying and immature. Unfortunately, he will remain immature by the very end of the series. He will just get superpowers to solve all his problems. I love naive and positive characters, but Aang is not like that. He's not positive and he's not naive. He deliberately ignores what he doesn't like. He chooses those cultural traditions that are important to his comfort. He has a toxic masculinity and selfishness. And those qualities don't go anywhere. Aang's selfishness caused the world to suffer for 100 years. Gaang suffered from his selfishness ( and Aang is indirectly to blame for the SWT genocide). Aang still doesn't have the ability to take responsibility for his actions. He runs away and it reflects badly on the world. As always, I was pissed off by the episode with Bato and The Fortuneteller. Aang sexualizes Katara, also shows great disrespect for her culture. Aang doesn't apologize for this disrespect. Aang acts like a rat and an egomaniac in these episodes. I still don't understand why Aang has so many fans and why he is considered the best partner for Katara. People ignore so many bad things about Aang.

Okay, this is...a lot.

Whenever I rewatch, I actually do love Aang more than I enjoy interacting with his fandom because I feel like his fandom makes him into something he isn't (and a feminist hero is one of those things).

I do want to address what you say about Aang not being as positive as other people think, and that gets to something I said in my last rant about the way people talk about Azula and toxic positivity in fandom. There's a difference between being a positive person and denying anything negative in favor of "being positive."

I don't think it's fair to say that Aang is responsible for the war and the genocide, but I do wish we saw more of his grief and guilt explored. When it's brought up in "The Storm" and Aang is confronted with blame by people who suffered during the war, like the fisherman in that episode, that character is derided as horrible and forced to learn a lesson about what a hero Aang is, and Katara declares that Aang won't have nightmares about running away anymore. Why? How is Aang's trauma solved that easily? Why is the poor fisherman who suffered from the war painted as the one in the wrong for losing faith in the all-powerful hero when that hero never came?

I feel like Aang stans are actually a lot like Azula stans in that they both have this idea that they stan a character who is wrongly maligned and that feeds most of their interactions in fandom, and that does create an environment of toxic positivity, especially when they believe their fave is righteous (or in the case of Azula, enough of a victim). The biggest example of this with Aang I think is "The Southern Raiders," because people paint Aang as positive and morally good for promoting forgiveness. I've written a lot about what's wrong with Aang's attitude in this episode, but it boils down to the same thing when we try to portray Azula positively because she was "nice" to Zuko in a situation where she was clearly taking advantage of him. The main difference is that I don't think Aang was aware of how much he was hurting Katara by insisting she forgive her mother's murderer, but the end result is similar to Azula telling Zuko that he's stupid for daring to question the imperialist regime that has kept him under the thumb of his abuser his whole life. In both cases, Katara/Zuko both get to the point where they no longer are listening, and then they get painted as the negative ones for questioning the status quo and fighting back.

Because in the end, positivity and "why can't we all get along," when one side continues to believe that they have the right to abuse the other, only benefits the oppressors. There can be no tolerance for intolerance. Those two things don't go together.

The hypocrisy is also easily highlighted when you question why Aang was pushing Katara to forgive Yon Rha, but ignored how she was constantly quarrelling with Zuko. If Aang was really a force for positivity wouldn't he want to create harmony within his own group first?

Moreover, is remaining naive the same thing as being positive? That's why Zuko called what Aang was saying in that episode "Air Temple preschool" because he's all too used to being told that he shouldn't be angry at being hurt.

I feel like a better moral would have been an exploration of Aang's duty in relation to how his absence led to the creation of Jets and Hamas and Yon Rhas and Zukos. And that includes how war forced Aang to take on a role he wasn't ready for and that made him run away in the first place. That's not really a fault of Aang but I feel like the show wants us to see Aang as above it all too much, rather than acknowledging that his inability to face conflict is in fact a symptom of the war as much as any of the other characters are shaped by it. A lot of people like to say that Aang is the symbol of childlike wonder that the post-war world needs when in fact, Aang was a child who should have been allowed to be a child longer and Gyatso knew that, too, which is why he wasn't ready for Aang to give up his childhood, either.

I saw a post recently that said something interesting about how if there had been any Air Nomads left in the present timeline, their culture probably would have evolved and adapted to fit the changing world. The post claimed that therefore it was a good think that Aang never came into contact with such people, but WOULD that be a bad thing? It would be tragic, yes, but ultimately it would have also presented a learning opportunity for Aang to grow, and fit with ATLA's themes of learning and growing and changing, something that should absolutely go with the element of air.

[listless-brainrot]

“Why didn’t any of the prisoners on the prison rig discover metalbending?”

this is a question i’ve seen thrown about a couple of times and one i have been wanting to deconstruct, because there is a legitimate answer, and it’s pretty straightforward, albeit a little complicated.

for some context, the question refers to episode 6 of book 1, imprisoned, where a minor plot point is introduced: earthbenders can’t bend metal. this plot point, however, is then contradicted by episode 19 of book 2, the guru, in which toph discovers metalbending. this question is raised because toph’s discovery means that metalbending is, in fact, possible, and therefore, other earthbenders could possibly have and use this new subset. 

so if metalbending is possible, why didn’t other earthbenders try before toph?

you could just say “oh it’s because the rule was established in book 1, in which the rules haven’t been fully established and/or were made to be broken”, and i think that’s an entirely reasonable line of thinking. there are a lot of concepts in book 1 that were either changed or never followed up on as the series continued. but i believe that there is another answer that lines up well with both atla’s established worldbuilding and the lore.

the answer? because metal is now inherently associated with the fire nation.

let me explain.

the fire nation is a militaristic nation that uses the resources of the nations/colonies they have conquered to fuel their war efforts. as established in book 1 episode 6, haru’s town is specifically used for coal to power their metal ships. in book 1 episode 10, teo’s dad, the mechanist, is used to design metal contraptions that give the fire nation a technological advantage. even before this was established in the beginning narrative, one of the major parts of atla’s opening includes a grand sweep of the fire nation armed troops and tanks/ships, who are all clad in/made of metal.

put simply, metal is one of the main tools of the oppressor. their technological superiority, which is accomplished through the control of resources that are mostly not their own, is what makes the fire nation such a threat. the other three nations, pun intended, don’t have the firepower to stand up against them when their resources are taken and utilized against them in this fashion. 

the war has been going on for nearly 100 years. that’s a long time, and the fire nation has taken countless earth kingdom colonies and have already decimated other nations, such as the air nomads and the southern water tribe. what is one of the first things we see in the very first episode?

a metal fire navy ship on southern water tribe land, from one of the very first fire nation attacks against the tribe and its people. 

this is what makes the smallest of the four nations such a genuine threat.

and the fire nation knows this.

again, going back to book 1 episode 6:

Warden: You will notice, earthbenders, that this rig is made entirely of metal. You are miles away from any rock or earth, so if you have any illusions about employing that brutish savagery that passes for bending among you people, forget them. It is impossible. Good day. 

it’s the fire nation that makes the specific distinction between earth and metal. earth and metal aren’t the same- they are the ones building this inherent degree of separation between the two.

now, remember xin fu, the host of the earth rumbles? remember how he brings it up in book 2 episode 19 when talking to toph:

Xin Fu: Quit your banging. You might think you're the greatest earthbender in the world, but even you can't bend metal.

and then toph immediately proves him wrong?

let me ask you this: where do you think xin fu got the notion that earthbenders can’t bend metal?

besides using firepower, we know that the fire nation utilizes propaganda to paint their own side of the war to establish themselves as a threat to others while making themselves superior. who’s to say that, maybe, in some of their conquered earth kingdom colonies, where the notion of bending metal would give the conquered people an advantage, the notion of metal being impossible to bend was spread by the fire nation throughout the earth kingdom, which would further their terrifying power and, therefore, superiority over those they have conquered?

furthermore, who’s to say that there weren’t earthbenders who tried, maybe even succeeded, realizing that earth and metal weren’t as separate as they thought, but were killed for their discovery? who’s to say that there wouldn’t be consequences for even entertaining the thought, especially in a war where metal no longer belongs to earthbenders? 

how can these earthbenders even begin to try when they’ve seen metal tanks and ships destroy their homes and their people, men dressed in metal taking them away to a metal rig, leaving them powerless in the middle of the ocean, where one can’t even begin to conceive the notion that earth is metal, and metal is earth, when metal is cold and merciless, unlike the earth they used to know?

why do you think the fire nation banned earthbending altogether in some of their colonies?

in short: no one else could’ve learned metalbending.

except for toph. 

why?

because she has something other earthbenders don’t. (no, it’s not seismic sense, though that also may have helped greatly.)

toph never had the inherent association that metal is the enemy’s.

in fact, the people who kidnap her aren’t even fire nation- they’re fellow earthbenders who spited her, which is what drives her to even try. toph is so far removed from the war, so unaffected by it, until she chooses to be a part of it, that she becomes the best earthbender and, therefore, capable of the kind of pure earthbending that allows metalbending to be possible.

toph never had to struggle with the realization that she’s broken such an important rule that gives them all a unique advantage in the war- that metal cannot be bent. instead, she’s rightfully prideful. metalbending was just another step for her while she was on her earthbending journey. 

an earthbending journey that wasn’t even for her- it was so she could teach aang.

she just so happened to find this new ability along the way, and the fact that she even could is because of her very special and specific circumstances. she’s a rich child of the beifongs who learned from the original benders at a young age, lives in a part of the earth kingdom the fire nation hasn’t touched, learned how to use seismic sense, and was still able to practice her bending freely- she even has personal tutors, even if her home life was ultimately stifling.

the fact that she even learned metalbending at all is proof of just how far removed she is from the war, and just how hard such an ability would be to really teach to others, especially those directly affected by fire nation through the war itself.

[mischievouswritingblog]

Meta Essay: Medivh The Bisexual Icon

As of the time of this post, there’s going to be an update coming to World of Warcraft where the once all female ghosts in Karazhan will be changed to include male varieties as well.

Full details on the update can be found here: https://www.wowhead.com/news/female-only-ghosts-in-karazhan-updated-to-include-male-versions-324371

This has caused a lot of fun posts and people to take this as an ‘accidental confirmation’ by Blizzard that the character Medivh is bisexual. Pair this along with how some of his portrayal in Hearthstone was made into Warcraft canon, and in my opinion, it’s an excellent update to his character.

It’s no secret that Blizzard’s had a massive lack in LBGTQ+ representation for the longest time. Often when such subject matter did show up it was treated more as a punchline in some quests or was kept conveniently to the sidelines, with nonconsequential, blink and you miss it text, side characters, moments. It’s insulting, to say the least, and is the source of a growing frustration from the LBGTQ+ members of the audience. What’s more, whenever this frustration gets voiced it’s always talked down to. We are told that to ‘keep politics out of gaming’ and that we are too sensitive, when these are the same people that get bent out of shape when even a single thing changes or is called out in their game. It’s bullshit. LBGTQ+ people exist and the act of existing isn’t a political issue.

But of course, with people even making lighthearted jokes or posts of Medivh being a ‘Bisexual Icon’, there’s folks crawling out of the woodwork with reasons from “But the loooooooore!” (as if the lore isn’t constantly changing and being retconned from one expansion to the next) to “Well A-C-T-U-A-L-L-Y, those male guests were just for the female nobles that visited and attended his parties, Medivh was very straight”. To that, I’m going to say: “Nah, Medivh is a bisexual icon, deal with it”.

In my personal opinion, Medivh is an excellent character to explore queerness  with. He’s a character that’s been around since Warcraft 1 and the effects and ties from his story are still felt throughout World of Warcraft in various ways. Medivh is also a character that’s gone through a large amount of evolution and various portrayals. My personal favorite being the One Night in Karazhan take on him because it’s so different from the usual ‘brooding, grand powerful hermit-mage’ that his type of character usually is. Medivh in One Night in Karazhan is instead, vibrant and is a thriving social butterfly that loves to have and treat people to a good time. His reasonings for being this way make a lot more sense when you really think about what Medivh’s situation was.

Now, I have to mention that I do a much deeper dive and deconstruction of Medivh’s circumstances and just how messed up they were in this self indulgent essay/headcanon dump: ‘My Completely Self-indulgent Medivh Essay’. Feel free to give it a read but here is the basic gist for this essay:

Yes, Medivh was the Guardian, one of the most powerful mages to exist at the time. He was also possessed by Sargeras and was the one that created and opened the Dark Portal that brought the Orcs to Azaroth and changed Azeroth forever. But here’s the thing, Medivh had no choice in any of it.

To be the Guardian means you have to put your life on the line for Azeroth’s sake. This is a role that had to be kept to secrecy, people had to make a lot of sacrifices to be the Guardian. You gain phenomenal powers and it is a great honor but none of this was anything that Medivh ever asked for. He was literally born to become the Guardian, there was no other choice for his own future. 

Then you have Sargeras, he had his plans in play long before Medivh was even a thought. A sliver of Sargeras had entered Aegwynn (Med’s mother and the Guardian before him) from a battle between Aegwynn and his avatar. This influence hid within her and made its move when she decided that she wasn’t going to allow the Council of Tirisfal to choose her heir for her title and powers for her. Ignoring Chronicle’s softening of her, she used Medivh’s father, Neilas Aran, the court magician of Stormwind to sire a child. In TLG she let him know she flat out used him and felt nothing for him then came back later and tossed baby Medivh to him for free childcare. What neither of them knew at the time was that Medivh was possessed by Sargeras while he was in the womb. Sargeras would then screw him over even further by causing his powers to lash out when he was fourteen, causing him to accidentally kill his father and fall into a near 10 year coma, and wake up mentally and emotionally fourteen in a twenty-three-year-old’s body. So from the very beginning Medivh was always set up for failure.

So with this summary out of the way, the point of the matter is that Medivh is a character that had little autonomy for most of his life. His career and his fate were chosen for him from the start. Sargeras was in his head messing with him throughout his life, in TLG Medivh even tells Khadgar that he tried to fight it as much as he could. His story is a tragic one but with his reappearance in Legion there’s potentially a ray of hope.

I think there’s a lot of aspects in Medivh’s story that can tie well with the feelings and experiences of queerness. Not so much the being possessed by discount space Satan, but more so the struggle of trying to have autonomy and hanging onto who you are as a person. Being queer myself and looking at it through that lens, I see Medivh being vibrant and throwing parties as an attempt for him to seize what autonomy he could for himself. To exist, to be seen, and to have an identity of his own that had nothing to do with being the Guardian of Tirisfal. I think that it’s also something that separates Medivh from Sargeras. There were likely times where Sargeras may have forced the lines between them to blur as he gradually poisoned Medivh’s thoughts and twisted his soul throughout the years. Medivh likely had to struggle a lot with separating who he truly was from Sargeras. This being inside him, who wasn’t him but would at times take over his body suppressing Medivh’s true self. It’s a horror story where some elements can really hit close to home.

Medivh I believe surrounded himself with like minded, free spirited people like Barnes and the theater troupe (while there’s the joke Medivh’s only seen three plays, I choose to headcanon he’s a theater kid, given how he has a theater to begin with and his own love for theatrics). Whether you picture Medivh as aro, ace, gay, bi, pan, or trans, with the upcoming changes he clearly accepts many kinds of people into his home.

This also has the interesting effect of changing some of the tones for some events in his lore. One example being the titans sending down the Maiden of Virtue to punish Medivh and make him live a more ‘pure’ life. The Titans are Azeroth’s closest thing to a pantheon of gods. They are beings of order, having taken Azeroth in her rawest form and molding her into something they saw fit. Apparently, Medivh’s parties and behavior was seen as something that required ‘correcting’.

On one hand, it’s really easy to read it simply as Medivh being a selfish, spoiled brat. But with looking at it through a queer lens one can put a more positive spin on the situation. The Maiden of Virtue was sent to shame and punish him into conforming into something the Titans believe someone like Medivh should behave. It clearly didn’t work. Looking at this situation, one can read it as Medivh refusing to relinquish his identity because a ‘higher power’ wanted him to. In the real world there are so many that have to hide their orientation and gender thanks to people using religion and belief as a cudgel. So having a character like Medivh as queer, with the power and willfulness to flat out refuse and shut it down is a refreshing power move.

Medivh’s story and the way he is in general has elements that I believe many people of the LBGTQ+ can relate with. He’s a complicated character that has dealt with abuse and being forced into roles without his consent, he made identity for himself and it was stripped away by an oppressor (Sargeras), and, depending on if Blizzard decides he’s actually resurrected/alive instead of being a ghost, is a survivor.

So to me, I love the idea of Medivh being a queer icon in Warcraft. It hasn’t been officially stated by Blizzard at the time this essay was posted but it has started a fun conversation. There are and will be the haters who will scream and tantrum about the LBGTQ+ touching their precious (when convenient) lore with their filthy paws and tarnishing ‘their game’. But in the meantime, I’m going to continue having a blast with the idea and enjoy working the story potential it gives into fanfics, speculations, and essays.

If you enjoyed this essay, I did a few other bits of meta, headcanons, and speculation for fun: My Completely Self-indulgent Medivh Essay

A Bit About Wizards and Sorcerers

Headcanons: Medivh is Alive and Currently Uses ‘The Guardian’s Study’ as his Home

[ifthejemfitz]

Reasons why you should stan North:

First point she’s hot asf. Those doey brown eyes, all that red hair down to her bum. That first mission when they go to the warehouse in the pouring rain - No thoughts, head empty. Just tiddies

She’s infinitely selfless. Countless times we see she’s willing to give her life for Markus and the cause. Being willing to give your life, something you’ve fought for, for a cause bigger than yourself and for others knowing that you won’t be around to enjoy the very rights you’re fighting for, but it means that others will is imo completely admirable

She’s actually a strong and caring leader. Someone who’s willing to pick up the mantel and continue the cause whilst others may prefer to hide away. Yes, she leads a revolution and yes, she can never be victorious in her crusade. But she refuses to back down, and refuses to let her people be the target of an out and out genocide

She’s compassionate. She certainly makes brash recommendations but imo they always come from a place of protection and self-defence. We see with Connor that she never once holds his past against him, besides in jest, even if he’s potentially hunted down other deviants at that point. In fact she withholds judgement on any deviants’ past, because I’m sure that she’d hate for own to held against her

Controversial point (though it shouldn’t be) but her anger is justified. She’s been systematically abused in one of the most violent and horrendous ways for a prolonged period of time with no access to therapy. I’m not trying to justify her approach but I really don’t see any other way a person who has only witnessed violence, only been able to escape using violence and then seeing other deviants in hiding also been victims of violence how she wouldn’t respond using that exact same force. She’s a fighter plain and simple, and victims have no obligation to be tolerable of their oppressors or be the “perfect victim” and respond to their personal trauma in ways that are palatable to others

That being said I’m so glad that certain scenes show that she can be vulnerable. Sometimes bad bitches are also soft bitches and regardless of how you feel on shipping I’m glad that we see a side of her that can emotionally open up to others, talk about her trauma openly, openly sob on multiple occasions and clearly demonstrate the ability to love/receive love/be emotionally intimate (side point which could be its own post but I am so grateful we don’t ever see flashbacks to said abuse. Far too many pieces of media have opted for “realism” by showing unnecessary sexual violence and personally I don’t need to see it graphically displayed in order to believe her. Also props for not making it an “empowering feminist moment!!!” either. Abuse is not something women need to undergo to make them “stronger” and it’s abundantly obvious she’s furious about it and struggling with what is essentially ptsd)

She has a super unique role in the story. When Kara is killed and Connor permanently decommissioned that’s it for their stories. However, even if Markus is still alive but is removed as leader the narrative chooses to follow her. Yes, it’s more to do with the revolution by that point but it’s still surprising that she essentially fills in his role in his absence, even persuading Connor to deviate. And the fact they only made slight changes to the dialogue (conscious changes rather than completely rewriting or having them say the exact same lines) that her and Markus share in those scenes only proves how similar they are in that role. I’m just bummed she can’t be victorious (even with Connor on their side) because the success of a revolution should not be built entirely on the role of one person but alas.

Lastly she’s a bad bish, she takes no shit, she serves cunt, she kills her own r*pist and riot police, she’s bi because she can never sit properly and I say so, she leads a whole revolution with painted nails, her 5ft 3 ass literally hauls Markus out of danger multiple times and personally I’d let her break my face

[sinsbymanka]

Inquisitor as a Companion: Maria Cadash

@little-lightning-lavellan started this amazing trend and I have gratuitously stolen the template from them. I finished this up this morning as a good distraction for not feeling well! 

Is your OC a Companion in the Dragon Age series? What would it be like for a player to select them to join their party for quests (or romance them, perhaps? 👀)

You have selected Maria to join your party! (art made by   @lavellanvibes)

Race: Dwarf 

Affiliation: Carta 

Gender: Female

Class: Rogue/Archer

Specialization: Assassin 

Background

Maria was born in 9:11 Dragon, the eldest daughter of Roland and Meera Cadash. She has a sister who is two years younger than her - Beatrix Cadash. When Maria was four, her mother died in a Carta mission gone wrong. Her father had been in line to take over the Carta, but fell apart after the death of his wife. He seems to have spent the next ten years in a bottle, but Maria rarely says anything negative about him. 

Most of Maria’s childhood was spent in the care of her grandmother, the indomitable Zarra Cadash. Although funds were frequently tight, Zarra did her best to raise her granddaughters with a sense of dwarven pride. Maria is well aware of the history of House Cadash, the abandonment of her family and thaig by Ozammar, and the fate of most of her Ancestors. Her grandmother is very traditional and while Maria may jokingly laugh at most of her traditions, she still studiously carries them out. 

Maria quickly became her own rising star in the Carta, known for her quick wit, sound mind, and deadly aim. However, she met and fell in love with the son of a prominent Merchant’s Guild member when she was 20 years old - Fynn Dunhark. After a whirlwind romance, Maria abandoned Ostwick, the Carta, and her family to start a new life with Fynn in Hercinia. Zarra disapproved completely - expressing much distrust of the Guild. Although Maria wanted Bea to accompany her, Bea refused because she too was doing well for herself in the Carta.

One year after their elopement, assassins hired by Fynn’s father tracked the couple to Hercinia. They had been hired to kill Maria, but Fynn died at their hands instead and Maria was captured. The assassins, knowing they wouldn’t recoup the other half of their payment from Fynn’s father, ransomed Maria back to the Carta. To raise the money, Bea Cadash made an unsavory alliance with a very distant cousin of their, Dwyka Cadash (also known as the Dasher) who had been “sweet” on Maria before her elopement. 

Bea Cadash helped Dwyka assume control of the Ostwick Carta and Maria came back to her family a broken hearted woman. She resumed her place in the Carta and, eventually, rumors began to grow that she had entered into a relationship with Dasher himself. Fynn Dunhark’s father committed suicide after the failed assassination attempt. 

Maria spent the next several years in the Ostwick Carta. She’s perhaps one of the best smugglers the Carta has ever seen and has a very in depth knowledge of the way most criminal networks in Thedas operate and a firm grasp of the lyrium trade. Although she seems to have no actual power within the Carta to make decisions, she’s widely respected by her fellows and it’s roundly acknowledged the whole thing would fall to shambles without her steady hand. She’s got a long history of handling the most difficult smuggling jobs herself. Much to her detriment when she’s sent to Southern Thedas to supply the templars and mages in the middle of a war. 

Involvement

Maria Cadash can be found at the Storm Coast as soon as the area opens up for exploration. Scout Harding will offer in her report a quest called “Signs of Carta Smuggling” which leads to a hidden cove in the map and a pitched battle between Maria, several templars, and several mages. After dispatching the enemies, Maria can be engaged in conversation. She reveals she was selling lyrium for the Carta, but one of her crew messed up and gave both sides of the dispute the same time and location to meet. Further questioning seems to reveal that Maria was charging the mages less than the templars, when pressed she says it’s because they don’t have as much money. If Varric or Bull are in the party they will both shrewdly interject that she’s a liar. 

Maria will talk about the smuggling operation and the Inquisitor has the opportunity to recruit her by asking the Ostwick Carta to supply the Inquisition with lyrium. Maria says she’s got other skills than smuggling, opening up her availability as a party member. 

When at Haven, she can be found at the archery targets. Once the Inquisition relocates to Skyhold, she spends her time on the battlements near the tavern. When asked why she’s always up there, she jokes that she likes to be tall. 

Approval and Romance

Maria can be romanced by an Inquisitor of any race or gender, but the romance is not locked in or consummated for most of the game. Maria is slow to trust or return the Inquisitor’s affection and doesn’t respond well to being pushed for more before she’s ready. 

She slightly favors the mages over the templars, but much like Varric, tends to look at individuals instead of groups. She approves of acts of kindness and charity, an Inquisitor that jokes with her and others, and actions that favor the oppressed. She disapproves of most things done just to appease nobles, acts that hurt others, and acts that side with who she sees as an oppressor. She also, interestingly, disapproves of executing most prisoners. The sole exception is Erimond, where her approval is guaranteed but the amount of approval is contingent on whether or not Hawke is left in the Fade. 

If Maria isn’t romanced by the Inquisitor, she can end up in a romance with Varric Tethras, but it does require some work on the Inquisitor’s part to move beyond flirtation in game banter. This sequence of quests involve Maria’s companion quest and Varric’s. They can be obtained post-Adamant and done in any order. 

If Solas and Maria are not romanced by the Inquisitor, in game banter seems to reveal that many companions believe Solas has a crush on Maria Cadash. This includes Varric, who oddly seems to not mind even if he is in a relationship with Maria. Despite this banter, there is no way to cause a relationship between Solas and Maria. 

Companion Quests

If Hawke survives the Fade:

The Inquisitor, when saying goodbye to Hawke, witnesses Hawke’s goodbye to Varric. If Maria and Varric have been in the party together often enough to start their flirting dialogues, the camera will show Maria approaching and Hawke will cryptically tell Varric that there is “Always time to start a new story.” The Inquisitor has the option to wave Maria over to say goodbye to Hawke as well. If she’s invited into the conversation, Maria will jokingly tell Hawke she’ll keep Varric in trouble. Hawke seems to approve of this. 

If Hawke is left in the Fade: 

Upon approaching Varric in Skyhold, Varric will talk about how he misses Hawke. If Maria and Varric have been in the party together often enough to start their flirting dialogues, the camera will show Maria approaching. The Inquisitor has the option to wave her over. If she’s invited into the conversation, Maria will ask Varric how long he’s been writing letters. When he says he’s done Maria says she’ll use her smuggling contacts to get them where they need to go and that he needs to sleep. Varric allows himself to be sent to bed. 

Varric’s Quest in Vallamar: 

When Bianca Davri is in Skyhold, Maria will shift locations. She will move from the battlements and into the upper floor of the tavern near Cole. Cole’s ambient dialogue will reveal that she is unhappy with Bianca’s presence. If Maria is brought along to Vallamar, she disapproves. During the quest she frequently interjects into Varric and Bianca’s fond memories dialogue. After the second time this happens, Bianca will begin to ask intrusive questions about Maria. Whoever the third companion is will ask the Inquisitor if they’re happy with their choices for this party. 

Maria becomes angry at Bianca during the culmination of the Vallamar quest. She will ask the other woman how many people she’s hurt to answer a question. Bianca will ask Maria how many people she’s hurt on the Dasher’s behalf. If this quest is done before Maria’s, the Inquisitor will have the opportunity to ask Maria about the Dasher. Regardless of the dialogue exploration, Bianca will eventually reveal that she knows Maria is in a relationship with the Dasher. 

If Maria’s companion quest has been completed, the Inquisitor can refute that, but Maria will disapprove of any dialogue options beyond “That’s not your business,” which gathers great approval. Varric will attempt to interject and calm the situation, but Maria will turn on him and ask him how long he intends on living in his fantasy world or if he’s ever going to grow up. This is the same conversation you can witness at Skyhold post-completion if Maria was not brought along. Either way, Maria storms off. It is revealed that she has left the party (in Vallamar) or Skyhold. She is unavailable to be selected as a companion until the Inquisitor leaves the area and then returns to Skyhold. 

If you have Solas in the party while Maria is missing, he will reveal he wishes he could find her in the Fade, but he cannot, and that he is worried about her. If this takes place after the quest with Wisdom is completed, the Inquisitor may point out Solas is getting a taste of his own medicine. 

The Inquisitor may choose to ask Maria where she was when she returns. If she is asked, Maria will reveal she was almost back to Ostwick before she realized clan Davri had hired assassins to kill Varric. If the Inquisitor asks where the assassins are, Maria says they’re not a problem anymore. Further questioning reveals Maria has not spoken to Varric about what happened and they both seem to have just made up their mind to never mention it again. 

To trigger Maria and Varric’s romance, the Inquisitor must tell Varric that Maria came back to take care of the assassins sent after him. Varric laughs off the assassins, saying he’s dealt with them before, but seems touched that Maria came back to handle them. His dialogue ends with him being thoughtful and murmuring that maybe he hasn’t fucked up. 

Maria’s Carta Problems: 

Maria will mention she’s got unfinished business with the Carta and ask for the Inquisitor’s help. If the Inquisitor agrees to help, no questions asked, Maria greatly approves. If the Inquisitor questions her, she seems exasperated, but does not disapprove. 

Maria reveals that the Dasher has information about her family which means Maria can never leave the Carta. The Inquisitor can ask Maria if she wants to leave and Maria indicates she doesn’t know, but she wants to have the choice, and no matter what happens she can’t go back to Dasher’s Carta. When questioned about the Dasher, Maria will reveal his identity and discuss his cruelty and stupidity with business. At this point in time, the Inquisitor can ask about rumors linking Maria and Dwyka romantically. Maria will say it’s not like that and ask you to trust her. If you say you do, she will greatly approve. 

Maria says she’s heard Dwyka is in Ferelden looking for her to bring her back to Ostwick. Maria wants to find him first. The Inquisitor must track down information on Carta operations. When Leliana is asked she recommends Varric’s own Carta connections as the best route. The Inquisitor can ask Varric to look into it, which he does gladly after surmising it’s for Maria. He does warn the Inquisitor Maria probably didn’t want him knowing what she’s doing. 

After speaking to Varric, a mission opens at the War Table. Upon completion of this mission, Maria can be taken to a spot on the map near the Storm Coast. Exploration  of the map reveals that Dwyka is dealing in red lyrium. When confronted by the Inquisitor and Maria, Dwyka taunts Maria that she’ll never get away from him. This cues a battle. 

After the enemies are defeated, a final cut scene shows Maria firing an arrow into Dwyka’s throat and then standing over him as he dies. She tells him he will never hurt her or her family again, and that they’ll all forget he even existed. If Solas or Varric are in the party, one or both will comment that Dwyka got off too easily. Despite their victory, Maria seems exhausted. The Inquisitor can ask what was between her and Dwyka and Maria will confess that her sister murder Fynn Dunhark’s father after the failed assassination attempt and Dwyka had evidence that would see her family wiped out by the Merchant’s Guild for killing one of their own. He used that knowledge to blackmail Maria and Bea into working for him. She can be pressed further by an Inquisitor asking if all she did was work for him. She’ll admit that’s not all, but she never loved Dwyka, she was trapped. 

If Varric is in the party, he’ll reluctantly confirm the Guild has organized to purge troublesome Carta families before. Maria will bitterly state that the Guild can’t survive without the Carta - they do the jobs “respectable” dwarves won’t do and nobody blinks at their deaths. Varric tries to protest and she pointedly asks him how many Carta members Hawke wiped out in Kirkwall. Varric says that isn’t fair and Maria responds that life isn’t fair. Then she says they should go. 

After this quest, the Inquisitor has the option to inform Maria that Varric helped find the information that led to Dwyka. Maria says she should be angry at the Inquisitor for involving him, but then admits Varric isn’t a bad sort. She says “If things were different…” and then trails off before saying she’ll have to find some way to thank him.

This is also the trigger for Maria’s romance. The Inquisitor has the opportunity to tell her that when she’s ready, they’d love to get to know her better. Maria says she needs time, and if the Inquisitor says she can have as much time as she needs then Maria is on a romance path. 

Helping Cole: 

After both quests have been completed, if Maria and Varric have started flirting in party banter, and Maria was invited to the conversation post-Adamant, the following events can occur after the next storyline quest but before Trespasser DLC is started: 

Cole will come to the Inquisitor and ask for help. He’ll reveal that Maria and Varric are in love with each other but they won’t talk. This starts a complicated chain of events where the Inquisitor and Cole attempt to force Maria and Varric to talk about their feelings. 

A game of truth or dare in the Tavern where Maria and Varric keep doing increasingly bold dares to avoid picking truth. The Inquisitor can dare them to kiss, and they will, but they’ll break away quickly and end the game. 

The Inquisitor can start a bookclub and pick one of Varric’s romances. Cassandra is overjoyed, but Maria spends most of the book club needling Varric mercilessly and Varric doing dramatic readings in silly voices to make her laugh. Cassandra eventually kicks both Maria and Varric out of the book club. 

Finally, Cole and the Inquisitor cause an “accident” where Maria and Varric are trapped alone in the undercroft by a magical artifact Dagna was studying that creates a barrier. The Inquisitor says she will go get a mage to undo it and leaves. When the Inquisitor returns, several hours later, she interrupts Varric and Maria cuddling and looking out over the mountains. This locks in their romance. If Solas is still with the Inquisition, he will be the mage that undoes the barrier. He will say he is very happy for Maria and Varric before quickly leaving. If Solas is in a romance with the Inquisitor or already gone, Dorian will undo the barrier and say “It’s about time.”

If the Inquisitor is romancing Maria themselves, they will skip right to the end of this quest before the Arbor Wilds and end up locked in the Undercroft with Maria because of Cole’s “help”. Maria will confess her feelings and thank the Inquisitor for being patient. She’ll say they have lots of time before Cole gets help and ask what the Inquisitor would like to do. The Inquisitor may choose to talk or consummate the relationship, Maria will approve of either and the relationship will be locked in. Solas will retrieve them after a good amount of time and state he is glad they found happiness eventually. 

Trespasser

If Maria was romanced by the Inquisitor: 

She can be found in the gardens and it is revealed she has continued to work for the Inquisition. The Inquisitor can ask Maria to marry them and Maria confesses she thought she’d never get married again and it would feel like a betrayal. The Inquisitor can say Fynn would want Maria to be happy and Maria will say that they’re right, but she needs some time. After the first foray into the Crossroads, Maria can be approached again and will say yes. This cues a private marriage ceremony. 

As the anchor worsens, Maria begs the Inquisitor not to leave her and says she can’t bear to be left alone again. The Inquisitor can promise to keep fighting or offer Maria comfort. The epilogue reveals a romanced Maria and the Inquisitor finally go visit Maria’s family in Ostwick and that Maria reforms the Ostwick Carta as a shadow organization to serve the Inquisitor in their quest to stop Solas (which she greatly approves of) or redeem Solas (which she’s much more wary of.) 

If Maria and Varric started a romance: 

Maria can be found near Varric at the fountain and will reveal that she’s been in Kirkwall helping Varric. Bran will interrupt your first conversation by calling her “My lady, the Viscount’s Mistress,” which will cue a small meltdown from Maria. She tells the Inquisitor to ignore Bran. If asked, Maria will reveal there’s apparently a special title for the person fucking the Viscount in Kirkwall. She’s unhappy about it. She’ll also talk about how her family has moved to Kikwall and that Varric is having a hell of a time dealing with her sister and grandmother. 

Varric, while giving the Inquisitor their estate in Kirkwall, will say that Maria would love to have a friend in the city that doesn’t call her the Viscount’s Mistress. And then will advise the Inquisitor to never ever call Maria that if they know what’s good for them. The Inquisitor can ask Varric why they’re not married if she hates being his mistress so much. Varric simply sighs and says it’s complicated, but that they’re happy and he wouldn’t trade it for the world. 

An Elven servant brings the Inquisitor a note after the first foray into the Crossroads. This note reveals Maria is expecting a child. The next time the Inquisitor speaks to Maria, they’ll confront her with this information. Maria will attempt to deny it, then reveal the truth. She’s unsure how anyone would know since Varric doesn’t even know, the only people who do are her grandmother and sister. She’s not far along and wants to continue to fight. The Inquisitor can choose to allow this. If they do, Varric disapproves and Maria approves. If they do not, Maria disapproves and Varric approves. Maria is also removed as a party member the rest of the game, although she can still be spoken to. 

Either way, after the second foray into the Crossroads Maria will hint that her and Varric have gotten married by correcting Bran when he calls her the Viscount’s Mistress and saying that it’s not her title anymore. When the Inquisitor asks, she’ll say they can celebrate after and asks the Inquisitor to make sure Varric stays safe if she is no longer a party member. 

During the confrontation with Solas, he reveals that the servant was one of his spies and that he has been watching the Viscount’s Keep. When asked why, his answer varies depending If Solas has been romanced by the Inquisitor. If he has been, he will say that he would not see one of their friends hurt when they are vulnerable. If, however, he was not romanced by the Inquisitor he will tell them that he could not bear to see Varric and Maria hurt by the loss of a child in battle, hinting that he still has feelings from their time together in the Inquisition even if they were never acted upon. Solas indicates approval of keeping Maria out of the battle and disapproval of allowing her to stay. 

After the game, Maria and Varric return to Kirkwall and the epilogue mentions they have a baby girl together and that Maria is the most unique Viscountess Kirkwall has ever had. 

If Maria was not romanced and the romance with Varric did not trigger: 

She can be found in the gardens and it is revealed she is still with the Inquisition, although she is toying with the idea of reforming the Ostwick Carta under her terms. She expresses concern as the Inquisitor becomes more and more ill, which eventually turns to anger towards the rest of the Exalted Council. 

If Solas was romanced by the Inquisitor, Maria’s epilogue says that she returned to Ostwick and rebuilt the Carta there. An Inquisitor who is friendly with her uses them in their quest to stop Solas with Maria’s blessing. 

If Solas was not romanced by the Inquisitor, Maria suddenly vanishes when she returns to Ostwick without a trace. There’s no sign of her working among Solas’ people, however, and most people agree she would not join Solas. Her fate is ultimately a mystery. 

Combat comments

Kills an enemy

“I want that arrow back.” 

“Sod off!”

Low Health

“I’m fine, stop staring and help me kill these things!”

“Right. I need to sit down.”

Low Health (Companions)

(The Inquisitor) “If you go down, I quit.”

(The Inquisitor - if romanced) “You absolutely don’t get to die on me.” 

(Varric, romance not triggered) “Varric’s gotten quiet. Probably check on that.” 

(Varric, if romanced) “Varric! Varric, talk to me!” 

(Solas) “Solas is in trouble!” 

(Bull) “If Bull goes down I’m not gonna have any cover!” 

(Cole) “Stay away from Cole you bastards!” 

Location comments

Crestwood

“What do people even do out here for fun? I’d be bored to tears.” 

The Hissing Wastes

Maria: “Wish my grandmother could see these Dwarven tombs. She always said Orzammar was wrong. You can hear the Stone everywhere if you try hard enough.” 

Inquisitor: “Have you ever heard it?” 

Maria: “I’m not sure. But I know  Orzammar is wrong about us. I’m as much a dwarf as they are.” 

Storm Coast

“I’d like it here a whole lot more if it’d stop fucking raining.” 

The Deep Roads (Descent DLC) 

Maria: “I can hear it, you know.” 

Varric: “I don’t hear anything.” 

Maria: “I don’t think you’re trying very hard.” 

Varric: “You’re probably right, Princess.” 

Companion Banter: 

Varric: “You’ve gotta be the nicest Carta member I’ve ever met.” 

Maria: “That’s because I’m being paid really well.” 

Varric: “Sure, Princess. Don’t worry, I’ll keep my mouth shut.” 

Maria, laughing: “No you won’t.” 

xx

Maria: “Is it an act of protest?” 

Varric: “I haven’t even started protesting, but I’m about to. If the Inquisitor makes us climb one more mountain…” 

Maria: “Your beard. Or lack of beard, I suppose.” 

Varric: “It was distracting from my chest hair. It had to go.” 

xx

Varric: “I’ve been doing some research into the Ostwick Carta…” 

Maria: “Don’t.” 

Varric: “Too late. What are you doing? You could be running that gang. He’s a-” 

Maria: “If I wanted your opinion on my career, I’d ask for it.” 

Varric: “I know a thing about complicated partnerships, you know. I’m just worried.” 

Maria: “You’re not my father. Don’t act like you are.” 

xx

Maria: “Your shots keep veering left.” 

Varric, sighing: “If you ask to fiddle with Bianca’s cocking ring…” 

Maria: “I assumed it was cause you were staring at me.” 

Varric: “At that templar that almost took your head off.” 

Maria: “Uh huh. And the shots veering left were because of the cocking ring.” 

xx

Varric: “Speaking of staring… I can’t help but notice you’re a bit enamored.” 

Maria: “If you don’t want people to stare, you should do up your shirt.” 

Varric: “I absolutely want you to stare, Princess.” 

Maria: “I’ll remember that if I decide to stare.” 

xx

Solas: “I cannot help but notice that you seem fond of Mistress Cadash.”

Varric: “Spend a lot of time noticing Maria?” 

Solas: “She is difficult to miss.”

Varric: “Maybe you should tell her that next time she’s watching you paint.” 

xx

Solas: “You have a lovely voice.”

Maria: “Oh sweet Ancestors. Don’t tell me you were at the tavern too? Bull didn’t tell me what was in that drink and next thing I knew…” 

Solas: “I was above. With Cole. He said you sounded like magic. He was not wrong.” 

Maria: “I… thank you. You’re both full of it, but thanks.” 

Bull, if in party: “Smooth. Very smooth.” 

xx

Varric: “Here you go, Princess.” 

Maria: “A daisy?” 

Varric: “That’s no common daisy. That’s a fine Orlesian Marguerite.” 

Maria: “Very fancy. The Carta just calls them daisies.” 

Varric: “You deserve something a bit fancy.” 

Companion/Advisor comments about Maria Cadash: 

Josephine: “Mistress Cadash is quite good at cards. I’ve not had that much of a challenge since I was a young girl. Do not wager anything you would not care to lose.”

Leliana: “Maria Cadash is putting herself and her family at great danger to stay here. I wish I could believe it was more than self-interest, but I wonder if she’s not willing to die before returning to Ostwick. It… it is a bit sad, isn’t it?” 

Varric, romance not triggered: “Princess is a real Carta dwarf with a heart of gold. It’s probably going to get her killed someday. Carta isn’t kind to people like her.” 

Varric, romance triggered: “Thanks for helping me with Maria. I owe you one. It’s not always easy, we’ve got a lot of baggage. But it was time to start a new story, and I needed a muse who could kick my ass every time I start acting like an idiot.” 

Solas: “Maria Cadash is clever and curious. She’s wasted on the Carta. I suspect if you treat her well, she’ll be an ally to the Inquisition.” 

Solas if Maria is in a romance with Varric or the Inquisitor: “I believe she is happy. That is all that matters in the end. I hope she remains so.” 

Cole: “She locked it away. Couldn’t survive if she felt it. But she’s gone. A ghost. Everything haunts her. She doesn’t want to go back. You have to help her.”

Cole, if Maria is in a romance with the Inquisitor or Varric: “She thinks about how she buried him. Dirt in her fingers. Stone take him back. Ancestors guide him. Then she remembers she’s alive, and someone is waiting.” 

Trivia

Maria reveals throughout dialogue that she’s a fan of Varric’s books, except his romance serial, which she thinks is ridiculous. 

She can sing very well, but rarely does so. A romanced Maria (Varric or the Inquisitor) sings much more often than a non-romanced Maria. 

She has trouble sleeping and spends the nights she can’t watching Solas paint. She’s fallen asleep on his sofa multiple times. 

She is an expert marksman and a bit of a perfectionist. Any flaws in her technique have to be stamped out. 

If her and Varric are in a relationship, their daughter is named Marguerite after the daisies Varric used to give her. 

[does-it-really-matter]

Demonising Femininity

🤍 Disclaimer- In this article, we are mostly talking about femininity in the aspect of make-up, fashion, etc. Stereotypically feminine and masculine things are a social construct, and it is okay for anyone of any gender to engage in their preferred form of expression.

“You run like a girl.”

“Man up.”

These two sentences both talk about behaving like a certain gender, yet one is uplifting, while the other is an insult. It’s not hard to guess which is which.

We know that misogyny exists, and being a woman in itself comes with a lot of challenges. But it’s even worse when one is traditionally feminine.

So, what is femininity?

The concept of femininity varies across cultures, but it is generally the various characteristics and traits that are attributed to women. However, as these are personality traits, they can be exhibited by anybody regardless of gender. According to popular belief, it includes sensitivity, tenderness, kindness, passiveness, etc. In the modern world, it is also equated with the combination of wearing make-up, being concerned about their physical appearance, and ambition. But there isn’t a real definition of femininity as it is pretty much a spectrum encompassing certain traits. These certain personality traits and characteristics got gendered because society had a specific role for each gender, and they evolved these traits to better adapt to those particular roles. While both masculine and feminine traits can be found in everyone in various combinations, society expects men to show more masculinity, and women to show more femininity.

When and how did it get demonised?

Misogyny can be traced all the way back to ancient Greece, with the myth of Pandora’s box, where Pandora opened the box and unleashed misery upon mankind. Therefore the blame for all of man’s problems was placed upon the shoulders of a woman, and it all went downhill from there. As the original colonizers, the Greek spread this tale into the places they conquered, and misogyny took root in all the cultures around. This idea of women being inferior was also propagated by the tale of Adam and Eve in the Old Testament, where Eve made Adam eat the forbidden apple, which led to the downfall of man.

In the 1950s in the USA, women who had taken up civilian jobs during world war 2, were now expected to go back to being housewives, or taking up more ‘feminine’ jobs which would ultimately pay less. Due to this, in the second wave of feminism that started in the early 1960s, women rioted and started dressing and acting more ‘masculine’ in the hopes of being taken seriously by their male counterparts, and getting the jobs they needed. This meant that they denounced make-up and high heels and other such ‘feminine’ things.

So presenting as more masculine in that era was unfortunately required for women to empower themselves. But why do we still look down on those who present themselves in a feminine fashion today? We see it everyday; women who wear more make-up are considered shallow, women who like to dress in pink and have blonde hair are considered to be stupid and childish, and those who conform to this kind of femininity and are ambitious are chalked up to be mean and selfish, especially in the media.

In common teenage coming-of-age movies, and young adult fiction, the antagonist is generally a stereotypically feminine and preppy girl, while the protagonist is more of a tomboy and an outcast. The antagonist is made to be a villain with only their own motives in mind, with no other personality traits whatsoever. Though this does not embody what femininity means, it still depicts the appearance of hyper femininity as something that should be shunned. This is common even in movies targeted towards other audiences, such as Dreamworks' 'Shark Tale', where one female fish is strongly ambitious, while being concerned about her physical appearance. However, she is given the role of the villain, while the female love interest is, to be frank, bland and more passive, with her whole personality being just the love interest.

This kind of stereotyping women into two very strict boxes damages us more than we think. People knowingly or unknowingly absorb a lot of concepts from the media, and when we are presented with the idea that being ambitious and rocking a pink outfit = bad, while being passive and dressing down makes them more interesting, we apply this in our day to day life as well. But this narrative is absolutely wrong, because women cannot be pushed into such strong stereotypes. People are complex beings, and with each person's personality being so drastically different, it goes without saying that the same applies to women.

Studies have found that women who wear more make-up in their workplace are less likely to be given a promotion, solely because of their make-up. It is commonly viewed that women who wear heavy make-up are considered to be less competent than the other female workers. But this is a misconception, as the productivity of a person is in no way related to the amount of make-up they wear, or the way they choose to dress.

Another way this is expressed is that parents allow their daughters to play with ‘boy’s’ toys and games, but the same is not applicable the other way around. Sons are rarely given dolls and Barbies to play with, for the reason that it will somehow make them less masculine. What scares people so much about femininity?

Demonising femininity affects the mentality of almost everyone. It pits women against women, and pushes back the feminism movement as well. In the end, only the patriarchy benefits from this. Femininity being labelled as something that is evil has given rise to the ‘not like other girls’ and ‘pick-me girls’ trope.

The ‘not like other girls’ trope is basically when a girl, typically a pre-teen or teenager, believes that she is different from other girls because she is not into mainstream pop music, or doesn’t wear make-up and dresses.

Okay, she believes that she’s different. What’s wrong with that?

The problem is that when this phrase is used, it’s usually in the context that the girl being referred to is better than other girls just because she doesn’t wear make-up. The phrase puts down the entire gender, while trying to compliment one girl in a back-handed way. Dressing in a different way isn’t a reason to put a person on a pedestal, and it builds up a superiority complex for something that is pretty much inane. The phrase doesn’t even bring into consideration the personality of the girl in question as well as the personalities of the other girls.

This also results in internalised misogyny, since the girl believes she is better than other girls because she is being as masculine as possible, hence leading to the conclusion that being a girl in itself is bad. Internalised sexism, according to Wikipedia, is when an individual enacts sexist actions and attitudes towards themselves and people of their own sex. They further propagate the ideals and behaviour imposed upon them by their oppressors. This causes a bigger divide within women, as they subconsciously put down other women who do not conform to the patriarchy, and they tend to believe gender biases in favour of men.

This kind of mentality is hard to shake out, and it is damaging in both the short and the long run. Embracing your ‘feminine’ side is something that’s not only fun to do, but it also makes us human. Being feminine is not something to be ashamed of, or something to be demonized. The whole idea plays into the patriarchy. The ideology of ‘live and let live’ is very important in this aspect. We shouldn’t put down women just because of the way they dress. Many aspects of femininity help make us better people, and that is something we should celebrate.

We should no longer have to be apologetic or embarrassed for our femininity. We deserve to be respected for all our femaleness.