#these all coexist. there are no 'but's here

[mightyflamethrower]

There is a natural and inescapable conflict going on with all of nature. Multiple mediums struggle daily to coexist with others. I hope in the end they will say....nature won. The planet is timeless. Human beings are not. The earth was here for billions of years before we realized we were standing on it. It will still be here billions of years after we are gone.

[forsaken-headcanons]

https://www.tumblr.com/forsaken-headcanons/777183741705633792/you-know-what-it-flight-rising-ifies-your?source=share

Hey, uh. Remember this? Well I was unhappy with a few of these, so it's headcanon updating time, baby!

Chance is now a Bogsneak because I think his calm, cool persona is mostly a facade/the flashy, fake nature of casinos kinda fits the vibe with how bogsneaks are manmade. That, and Bogsneaks are cool.

007n7 gets to be a Serthis (snake person). The term "snake" can mean a treacherous or deceitful person according to Google, and Serthis (and all Beastclans/non dragons in general) are known for not getting along with dragonkind. Now we got a noodle son and his noodle dad :)

Elliot is now a Harpy (bird person) because I think it'd be cool if Rush Hour was replaced with him quickly flying forwards. His family's restaurant is one of the only ones in the area that accepted dragon patrons alongside their usual Beastclan ones, and thus it isn't very hard for him to coexist with the other survivors. Oh, and the Spectre clipped his wings so he can't just fly away :(

The more I thought about a Flight Rising-ified iTrapped, the more I liked the idea of him being a siren-themed Maren (merman).

Taph (who wasn't even out when I shared part 1 of this iirc) is a Tengu/Corven (bird person, but more bird than person.) I've fallen victim to the winged Taph propaganda lol. Most Beastclan lore is gonna be rewritten soon so this isn't gonna fit for long, but there's a parallel to be made with Tengu and how they lost their minds due to their beliefs/spirituality, and canon Taph's unhealthy obsession with Builderman. His wings aren't clipped, but he ironically has a fear of heights.

Both John and Jane Doe were Pearlcatchers (horned dragons that carry a pearl that represents their souls) at one point, mostly because I said so. Jane remained unchanged, while John still became an Aberration, with one of his heads being a manifestation of his corruption. I can imagine an angsty moment where Jane's looking for her husband, only to find his broken and discarded pearl </3

You know how I said Builderman would be a Gaoler? After some consideration, I'd rather him be a Ridgeback, honestly. I mean- they do hail from the Lightning flight, which is known for its hard-working engineers and electrical workers. It fits better than 007n7 did in my opinion.

I could ramble on and on, but since this ask is already long, I'll end with a killer I hadn't talked about yet: Guest 666 used to be a Guardian (I feel like all Guests would be Guardians for the most part), but was made into an Obelisk (bulky, catlike earth dragon). He don't bite-

HIYA DRAKO!! :D

ok in relation to this we searched up everything here and this fits so well oml?? peak headcanons huehue. yoinked!

[milkywayes]

this is so clearly a bad faith comment, but all right, i'll say something about those "notes" you brought up

ME1 - the game where Shepard herself consistently says "wildly racist" (by your standards, apparently) (i think the actual word you're looking for here is xenophobic) things to the aliens around her as she tries to find out more about them, on account of not having all the details. if you think garrus saying that the prejudice of the other species towards quarians is rooted in them being nomads (correct, in part) and squabbling with wrex about a war both their people faught where wrex' people were the aggressors (i don't recall any discussion of the genophage itself) is "wildly" anything, i do think you're just looking for something to be mad about. was it insensitive of him to say? yeah. in bad taste? probably. but very clearly, what both these conversations were meant to show to the player is that these are characters from very different backgrounds learning to work together and to coexist for the first time. you clearly see this thread in All his elevator conversations — he's asking his new companions about their lives, getting their perspectives, expanding his world view. he is not subtle or smooth about it, hence the friction. you're just choosing to focus on the dynamics where there's understandably the most friction, the biggest adjustment, as an excuse to call him a horrible person or whatever, completely missing the context of these conversations which are a stepping stone to friendship and coexistence and mutual understanding.

i find ME3 even funnier, considering he is actually upset about the bomb's existence (heard in mission dialogue if you bring him and james). was it brilliant strategy anyway? yes. and that's exactly what this post is about. he makes these statements that state the truth without stopping to put feel-better disclaimers around them. he understands why turians from hundreds of years ago installed that bomb, but that does in no way mean that he would have done it himself or thinks it was the right thing to do, which you can tell if you hear all his mission dialogue. similarly with the genophage cure - is it truly so wild for him say to a close confidante that he'd consider getting substantial military aid in a war where they need all the help they can get over a cure that might result in a second war immediately after in case the krogan revolt again and wrex can't stop it? these concerns are well-founded. that doesn't mean he wouldn't have moral or ethical concerns about that decision — this is a war tactician talking. detached assessment. which again, is what this post is about.

i, for one, truly appreciate a character who can say what's on his mind and make clear assessments regardless of social niceties while still caring about other people and facing significant moral and ethical dilemmas that he works through and grows from. he is not cold, and he is not "wildly racist" in any way i'd interpret that term. and he pisses people off. thanks for illustrating my point i guess

garrus is my favorite because he pisses people off so badly. watching let’s players on yt grimace when he voices an opinion. the thing is, he always has a point. a good point, even. it’s just that he looks at stuff from angles that others don’t allow themselves to do. less performative compassion for others than they’re comfortable with... doesn’t mean he’s wrong, per se, and for a paragon shepard it’s often exactly what’s needed to balance things out. also doesn’t mean that he’s not a compassionate person - he does show that side of himself when he worries about orphans, when he gets so angry at criminals, when he comforts shepard, when he laments about ruthless calculus. but it’s balanced with enough detachedness and blunt honesty that it makes people very uncomfortable. i just think it makes him fascinating. he defies categorization in that way. it would be so simple to say he’s just a bad person, but that’s a shallow and reactive reading of him and his motivations. what makes a good person and what makes a bad one is also highly subjective. people who are uncomfortable with him love to trim down his edges to better fit what they think is acceptable and that’s a shame. he says he doesn’t know what to do with gray, but he’s firmly in the gray himself. there’s a kind of poetry to it. it makes writing him very entertaining

[tskumoyuuma]

it is very telling seeing whether people come out after watching "quiet on set" w the mindset of "yes drake bell was sexually abused as a minor BUT he also plead guilty to inappropriate interactions w a minor a few years ago" or "yes drake bell plead guilty to inappropriate interactions with a minor a few years ago BUT he was also sexually abused as a minor".

[starrynightarchive]

it makes me want to tear my hair out when someone mentions that platonic relationships need to have sexual/romantic undertones to be interesting. friendships that blur the lines between romantic and platonic is great, friendships that have sexual relations are great, any kind of friendship is great. but these days im seeing this awful thought of "friendship needs to not be strictly platonic to be interesting and platonic" and people don't realise that this is just "friendships are less important than romantic/sexual relationship" in a different font. im very intense about my friends and each of my relationship with them is different than the other. one of my best friends is also almost like my partner. another one of my best friend is just my best friend. there is nothing romantic or sexual orientation whatever between us. i love both of them dearly and one relationship here is not more important than the other to me. i smile so wide my face hurts when i see her walking towards me. we used to live a few streets away and yet everytime i saw her i used to run to go embrace her. i have seen them in their lowest and they have seen me in mine. i do not want to kiss her on the lips or make her my girlfriend. the thought has never crossed my mind. but she has saved my life multiple times. she is a part of my soul. she is my friend. and if you say "yeah, that's what i mean, that emotion and its intensity is inherently romantic!" then that means you haven't experienced the height of love and care friendship can offer and im so sorry for your loss. also you are subscribing into the inherently harmful thought of "everything that is intense and meaningful is romantic". like my wonderful friend vik once said, "they're not my just anything. they're my friends."

[val-of-the-north]

-

You think they coexisted at some point? It would have probably been hilarious if they did lol

[charrfie]

Spamton cares so much about other people and I'm tired of pretending he doesn't

[aphelion-alifer]

agreed. there's nothing wrong with the metaphorical "physical" identity, but I've seen history repeat itself AGAIN. you're only accepted if your "physical" identity is metaphorical and not literally biological and able to be seen by shifting or folks who have limbs that aren't human. the term "physical nonhumanity", in my opinion, always described those who were truly bodily nonhuman in some kind of way. but if I describe myself as a pshifter, wing grower, mythical, etc, I'll be told I'm gullible or delusional just because I was born a way that I never asked for. I didn't ask to be nonhuman; I just came into the world this way.

even if your nonhumanity is caused by delusions, there's nothing wrong with it. people love to give clinical lycanthropes/zoanthropes such a hard time bc "delusions are bad"- which they can be. however I've seen many folks who have clinical lycanthropy thrive in their struggles and identities and accept who they are. so why should their celebration of identity be considered negative or lesser just because we may not be able to see their transformations or other nonhuman parts of themselves?

I'll always remind folks that bodily physical nonhumans/pshifters etc shaped the overall nonhuman communities as we know it, especially therian/otherkin spaces. we were here first. never forget alt.horror.werewolves, this is where we all came from. we all coexisted a long time ago, I think we should bring back that accepting and welcoming energy instead of pushing others away.

if your identity is metaphorically "physical", just know I hear you and see you guys too, but bodily nonhumans/pshifters have been using this term forever, so don't be mad that we're still using it and sharing it with you despite our differences.

kind of feeling like the shift from “physical nonhumanity is a term for those who literally physically experience their body as nonhuman” to “physical nonhumanity includes literally any nonhuman because they feel like they metaphorically or philosophically, not physically, have a nonhuman body” is so similar to the bastardization of the word “therian” by those who don’t actually identify as therians.

specifically in the case of physical nonhumans, i see it following this pattern and slowly becoming unsafe for those who are actually literally physically nonhuman to use that term. because now those who aren’t, but who still claim to be physically nonhuman, are the ones going “ew, you ACTUALLY think you have the body of an animal?? that’s clinical lycanthropy, you’re just delusional!!” and “physical nonhumans don’t ACTUALLY think we have nonhuman bodies. we know we’re human!!”

like we’re being pushed out of our own spaces, our own terms.

don’t you see? history repeating itself? “therians don’t ACTUALLY think we’re animals, that’s clinical lycanthropy!! if you ACTUALLY identify as an animal, you’re delusional!!”

it irks me that folks insist on claiming words that were not meant for them and then push out those who were already using it. why not make your own term if you want it to mean something different?

[dennisboobs]

I've decided the only way to try to make my brainrot even slightly coherent is by offering up a playlist that orders things chronologically, so. here it is. Dennis' life, as narrated by Trent Reznor and Mariqueen Maandig as Victoria

Incredibly rough/quick notes I took while putting this together, mostly in terms of timeline and mental state. I didn't bother for Pretty Hate Machine or Downward Spiral because they're way more straightforward to me, either taking place pre-show or skipping ahead a bit to correspond with seasons 5-9

Pretty Hate Machine (and Broken) sets the stage, with Dennis coming to terms with his trauma, and realizing that sex and drugs are going to be his coping strategies of choice after Klinsky's abuse also Sin and The Only Time are him sucking and fucking dudes this whole album is certified faggotry. Downward Spiral is in large part the DENNIS system and torturing women. Throwing himself headlong into automation until he runs almost completely on autopilot, becomes emotionless, hates the monster he's become, always trying to seize control through sex. Jealousy of the women that he fucks, both for what he perceives as an inherent power they hold over him thank you barbara and klinsky, but also because this is where Victoria first appears in the form of what Dennis perceives as his own sexual deviance.

[thawthebeez]

i love reading haikyuu tiktok shipping discourse comment sections. it's so entertaining seeing so many people with such bad taste.

[jamiesfootball]

After careful consideration and a lot of angry tags, I think I have pinpointed for me where Ted Lasso, especially season three, fails to succeed all the way at the themes it explores.

The narrative uses the deconstruction of toxic masculinity to paint their characters as being stronger for having let go of their preconceived notions of acceptable behavior - but the narrative also never lets their characters be weak or fragile without having toxic masculinity to blame. And there are a lot of situations in this show where you would expect someone to go ‘hey man, are you okay? Are you doing alright? because that was a shit thing that happened. it’s okay if you’re not okay.’

And it never does.

There’s an undercurrent in how scenes play out that suggests that the male characters should be strong enough to deal with hand they’ve been dealt. The narrative suggests that they’re the ones who need corrected. They can act better, but they can not be treated better themselves as a result. The male characters are allowed to express themselves, but they are not allowed to ask for anything back from the situation.

Which is why you can have a fight with your assistant coach, but when he comes back to apologize you don’t articulate how it made you feel. You don’t tell your friend how he hurt your feelings. You just accept it and move on.

The Diamond Dogs give advice on how to handle external problems with  emotional roots. They never discuss how they feel internally on its own merit.

The closest we got to a male character just having a bad one and expressing it without a clear source of external conflict? Jamie in the boot room. And that was played for laughs.

Which is why you could be in a deep depression over losing your career of twenty years and part of your mobility, I guess. But also maybe that’s a problem of you not being able to let go, and maybe you should apologize for not moving on sooner? We should pity Roy for getting so stuck in his own shit all the time. Not because the man has lived an incredibly stressful and emotionally isolated life in a high pressure environment for so long he doesn’t have the tools to deal with it, but because the narrative would like us to know if he just stopped getting in his own way all the time, this wouldn’t be a problem.

Is your ex-wife seeing someone else, who happens to also be the person who was your marriage counselor? I don’t know man, relationships are hard. Don’t worry about how hard that must have shaken your trust in a profession that already made you feel skittish. Maybe you should stop obsessing over her and move on.

Your girlfriend can tell all your friends and coworkers how you’re too smothering. Yes, this is the ‘learn how to communicate better’ show, but that was on you, really. Good on you for apologizing for smothering her.

The women may have worrying relationships with people who love bomb them or turn out to be controlling, but Jane and Beard are just a bit weird. Don’t worry about it, Higgins.

You can take accountability for your actions, but if it was your email who was hacked - who cares? You apologized, and everyone is very proud of you. We won’t ever bring up how incredibly mortifying that must have been for you to realize, because something more mortifying happened to someone else.

You can show your emotions, but not the angry ones, not the bad ones - those you should get a hold on, no matter how warranted they are. The stronger you are, the more divorced from toxic masculinity you are, the less those things should matter.

Struggling with your abusive dad and how his relationship with you has literally scared you so badly that you keep looking over your shoulder, afraid he’ll be there? That is clearly the anger talking. This is definitely not a situation that calls for your pseudo-father figure to put his hand on your shoulder, look you in the eye, and say, “i’m really sorry to hear that, son, but you know we got your back. Ain’t nothing bad gonna happen to you while we’re here.” 

No no, this is a you problem and you can correct it by forgiving that man who hurt you. In fact, you thank him for motivating you. It was the anger that got you this far. It wasn’t getting up at 4am every morning for extra training. It wasn’t your mentor, the one invested all his time in helping you. It wasn’t the coach who gave you a second chance when you blew your whole life up to get away from that man. It wasn’t your own drive and passion and love for the sport that pushed you towards succeeding in a career you only had a one-in-a-million chance of ever getting. No, it was the anger that carried you. You should let that go. And hey - what if hypothetically speaking, he might try to be better too one day? You can’t hold it against him. You should let that go too.

Breakdowns and displays of crying are fine, but expecting people to care or show concern afterwards? The narrative doesn’t know her. The narrative will not validate that. We don’t see what happened after Wembley. We don’t see what happened when Isaac came back to the locker room after blowing up. What the show will validate, however, is moving on. Just be a goldfish, or forgive and forget. 

And finally-

Embrace your feelings, but not too hard - you can’t be trusted with them, actually.

Can you imagine that we actually got a scene of Roy telling Jamie that he was worried if either of them pursued Keeley it might ruin their friendship? Can you imagine? From the beginning they have butted heads. From the beginning, Roy has struggled to actually articulate his feelings, especially to the people they involve. And here is Roy doing exactly what the narrative has been teaching him to do - he voiced a feeling that was bothering him to the person who was involved in the problem. Unprompted. He did that on his own. After three seasons of being told that is what he should do when he has a problem, that should have been the moment of narrative reward. That would have been the audience’s release of tension: they’re still at odds, they’re still the same bull-headed people they’ve always been, but they’ve learned to talk about it. No matter what happens next, at least, they’ve gotten this far.

Instead the narrative rewarded him, and us, by having them fight it out in a back alley. Because they’re idiots, and they can’t be trusted to handle their feelings without someone else in the narrative (Keeley) setting them straight.

Yes, people backslide in real life all the time. But when the narrative backslides at the very end of the story - that’s just nihilism. That’s what this felt like - all that progress and promise that you can be better, and two of the people who struggled the most tripped at the finish line. The audience don’t even get to see them pick back up. I mean they’re fine now, I guess. They went for kebabs. I have to assume it worked out. I guess after that they found a way to be happy, but I would have preferred to see them find a way to be happy by way of their own actions. Not in a fanfic. Not by way of imagining how it went afterwards. Not by what’s implied in a montage. By the story actually showing me they could get there on their own.

And the worst part about all of this is that when the show gets it right? It fucking sings. The team coming together to repair Ola’s? That sings. Ted’s ‘ain’t nobody in this room alone’ speech? Wonderful. Trent telling Colin that ‘some people need time to adjust; it’s not fair, but they do’? So delicately wielded, so painful. Beard’s speech to Nate about stealing a loaf of meth? Chef’s kiss. Ted forgiving Rebecca when he learns why she brought him to coach Richmond? The tears in his eyes when he tells her ‘divorce is hard’?

The hug at Wembley.

That’s what I wanted, from start to finale. When the show knew how to wield its empathy, it wielded it like a knife, cutting into the deepest parts of your heart.

Which is why when it does mess up, it hurts so much worse. Because by season three, the show has sunk so far into the deconstruction of things that it’s forgotten that what it fixed were not the only problems those characters ever faced. The show zoomed in too close on the themes. It forgot that at its roots, the its biggest strength has been its empathy. And that to me is where the show failed.

[discordiansamba]

rin knows who his father is.

he's known it ever since he was young- his mother never kept it a secret from him, although she impressed upon him the need for them to keep it a secret. it's why he learned how to control and hide his flames from an early age, their telltale blue too clearly linking him back to his father. the world doesn't know that satan has an offspring, and his mother would rather keep it that way- it's why they always change location if she catches even so much as a hint of the order being in the area.

she teaches him that most exorcists aren't bad people, but it doesn't mean that they aren't dangerous- especially for him. if he gets caught by one, he should claim that he's just a nephilim who doesn't know who his demonic parent is, and try to escape the first chance he gets. she also tells him about her foster family- two of whom were exorcists, and another one whom she held dear to her, but whose name she never says.

(there's a lot about his mom's past that rin doesn't know about.)

the really dangerous ones, yuri says, are the followers of his eldest brother. they know who he is- and she tells him that the world that they want to create isn't the same as the world she wants- one where demons and humans can coexist in peace. rin believes her- mostly because he doesn't like the way they look at them whenever the Illuminati does catch up to the two of them.

he doesn't trust his second eldest brother that much either- but there's a sharp contrast between him and lucifer. he's not stupid- mephisto has an ulterior motive for helping them, but there's usually no strings attached to his offers of assistance- not yet, anyways. rin's pretty sure he wants his aid to fight his father one day, which- fine by him.

(satan hurt his mother. he can't forgive that.)

rin knows his childhood isn't 'normal'- and neither is he. mephisto teaches him to blend in with humans a little better- making himself look a bit more like them. and he likes humans, actually! for all that they aren't always kind, there's plenty of other humans that are. mom survived past childhood because of that kindness, so he knows it's real. he wants to be kind too, he thinks- even if it doesn't come naturally to him.

(really, all he wants is to make his mom smile.)

then suddenly, his mom is gone- and his world is turned upside-down.

mephisto gives him the name of 'okumura rin'. he lies and says he's an orphan, even though he's certain his mom is alive. he wants to run away again, but mephisto convinces him that if he stays here, he'll be in the best position to search for clues in regards to his mother's disappearance- so begrudgingly, he stays put.

even if he has to live with the world's most annoying roommate as a result. yukio is an exorcist, for fuck's sake! he's always getting on his case about keeping his side of the room clean, or doing his homework, or not staying out late at night. he's a stickler for rules, stiff and uptight and he doesn't think he'll ever get along with him.

...he misses his mom, a lot.

(it's probably why he doesn't notice that it feels like the empty space by his side has finally been filled.)

okumura rin is an enigma.

it's not the first time yukio has met a nephilim- but most of the ones he's met have a lot thinner blood than rin has. based on his tail, teeth and ears, he would say that he has to be a second generation nephilim at the very least- because a first generation in this day in age would have drawn a lot more attention. he doubted one would be able to stay under the radar like he had for so long.

he says his human mother is dead.

he never mentions his father. yukio theorizes he doesn't know him- and he doesn't ask. he doesn't know anything about his biological parents either, much as he might want to- but at the same time, he's well aware how annoying the constant barrage of questions can be. rin doesn't seem to know what demon he's related to either, which makes enough sense, he supposes.

whoever she was, his mother must have once had some kind of connection to the order- she'd left him an odd variant on the cram school key. the preceptor cheerfully enrolls him in cram school and true cross academy- and then turns to him with a smile, as if he'd just remembered that he had no roommate. look after okumura-kun for me then, fujimoto-kun!

...so now yukio has a nephilim roommate.

rin's belongings amount to a large duffel bag stuffed full of clothing and a camper's backpack containing odds and ends. he quickly finds out that he and his mom rented fully furnished apartments- when they weren't living out of a tent in the woods or in a homeless encampment. he's clearly trying not to talk about his past, but he also can't seem to help let things slip.

and yukio thought his childhood was abnormal.

rin is also lazy- a slacker who has no interest in academics. even though the preceptor himself got him into cram school, he sleeps through a lot of his classes and doesn't seem interested in the course work in the slightest. he brushes off the homework yukio assigned him, and sometimes stays out late at night- honestly, it's starting to piss him off.

they get along like oil and water, he thinks.

(and yet, for some reason... there's something about living together with him that feels right. there's always been an empty space in yukio's life- at least, there is until rin shows up and naturally slots himself in there. it's... nice, yukio thinks.

...but rin still gets on his nerves.)

[tetzoro]

i don’t think i’ve talked about it much on this blog because tbh it’s a really difficult thing for me to talk about in general but a year ago today, i lost my baby kitty zelda and i miss her so very much ᰔ

[thebrazilianfan]

I know lang appears again at some point in aai2 but that's irrelevant to my question (I think)

do you think he and edgeworth could be amicable exes? or even friends after the break up? considering their personalities, strengths and shortcomings. it's a very important subject. on that note, would they even have an officially labeled relationship?

[fragmentaryremains]

Thank you for answering my ask! It's always interesting reading your thoughts on these sorts of things.

On the note of how the goblin situation will be resolved, I feel like you'll be pleasantly surprised. The comic seems to be pointing towards a road forward, if not a solution—the negotiations between Durkon and Redcloak puts forward several first steps that could be taken towards coexistence between goblins and other races. It'd certainly seem like a waste to both dangle those options in front of the reader and repeatedly show the reader that what happened to the goblins is wrong (though I suppose I could also be unfortunately surprised).

I'm also unsure as to why you think this resolves with the villains being killed because "they can't be saved, just mourned after they're put down." I mean, yeah Xykon is almost certainly going to be destroyed. But while the comic's frank about how this will almost certainly be resolved with violence:

I disagree that the villains will be "put down." I also would suggest that you omit a few crucial details when describing the (main) villains as evil beings as opposed to evil people—that is, they're people who've specifically made choices that are evil as opposed to simply "being evil." Redcloak in particular has had this distinction spelled out. It's been explicitly pointed out by Xykon in Start of Darkness:

We'll just go about our daily business, and you can hide from the horrifying truth of what you've become—namely, a murderer who just killed his baby brother in cold blood. And hey, we can both pretend that you don't really have any options about any of the despicable actions I ask you to take from here on out—rather than acknowledging that, like Right-Eye, you do in fact have a choice. But unlike Right-Eye there, you're too chickenshit to even make it.

And more subtly by Oona in the most recent storyline:

Oona never said she was worried. Oona is pretty sure she knows what little caped man would choose.

All that is to say, I think Order of the Stick deserves a little more credit. While it's far from perfect, I disagree that the goblins plot fails in the way you describe it.

Sorry about all that—this post kind of got away from me a little. Thank you once again for answering! I hope this doesn't come off as too critical—I agree with your analysis as it pertains to the comic and the issues it inherits from D&D in general. And I appreciate that you took the time to put so much thought and care into your response. I hope you enjoyed my question!

Hey! Got a question for you that's somewhat related to the post you reblogged about ethics in D&D recently. It reminded a bit of one of the few D&d based pieces of media I follow: The Order of the Stick, a webcomic I know you've recommended in the past. I was curious then what you thought of how OotS handles those topics, both in its goblins and specifically with Redcloak. Especially now that I've recently gotten my hands on Start of Darkness and actually have read the context for those things.

One of the last times I was asked about this I ended up saying that every good work of fiction that uses the "always chaotic evil race" trope is only good in spite of using it, and I would say that goes for Order of the Stick too.

And, to the comic's credit, I think they explore the trope in a lot more depth and with a lot more nuance than most fiction that employs it. For those who haven't read the comic, here's a brief summary:

Order of the Stick takes the standard D&D setting ideas of 1. having literal gods of evil and 2. having inherently evil races and ties them together. There are gods of evil who create evil followers to empower themselves, and are allowed to persist because the conflict between them and the followers of the good gods allows followers of both sides of the pantheon to get strong, thus feeding both sets of gods with belief. The good gods are sustained by the belief of their noble followers who in turn need the good gods' powers to fight the forces of evil, and the evil gods are sustained by the forces of evil who need to the evil gods' power in turn to keep from being wiped out by the noble heroes of good.

Order of the Stick then, in its grand tradition of deconstructing D&D tropes, has the evil races stop and realize that they're getting the shitty end of the stick in this deal. A key part of the backstory is that the goblins have a god who was not created with the other pantheons, but ascended to godhood on the belief of his fellow goblins. This god, the Dark One, has the stated goal of altering the fundamental power structure of reality so that goblins have a fairer deal - that they get decent land to live off of, heroes (or villains, technically, by necessity) who stand up for them, and, since this is a deconstruction of D&D specifically, better stats.

And we are shown, both in the main comic itself but also ESPECIALLY in the print-exclusive prequel comic Start of Darkness, that the circumstances of goblin life are so exquisitely shitty that they really do need a fundamental restructuring of reality itself to have a chance to be better. They are given harsh land to live off of, driven out of every place they try to inhabit, frequently enslaved by more powerful monsters, and generally forced to live in such desperate circumstances that they have no options BUT to resort to al life of banditry and bloodlust. Any goblins that do otherwise end up dead - well, dead quicker than their fellows, I suppose, since the ones who do commit to being evil generally don't live long either.

Which, again, goes back to the fundamental idea that these creatures were made to be canon fodder - the gods literally conspired to make goblins disposable, evil, nasty creatures who exist to die at the hands of heroes and in the service of villains. It is, explicitly and in the text of the story, a fucked up and horrible thing that was done to them.

...but the failing of this plot point, in my eyes, is that at the end of the day, it is nonetheless treated as an unavoidable fact of this world. While heroes express sympathy for the goblins upon learning of this, and irritation or even anger at the gods for making the situation in the first place, the only characters trying to actually change it are explicitly villains, and ones whose actions may unintentionally destroy all of reality itself. Because at the end of the day, they are still inherently evil beings, no matter how sympathetic they are, and they can't be saved, just mourned after they're put down.

Although maybe I'll be proven wrong on that point - the comic isn't over yet, after all, and there's a chance someone may actually change things for the better for the goblins and other inherently evil beings. I doubt it'll happen, but I've been pleasantly surprised before.

But yeah, very good comic, very well written, far more thoughtful than most others that use this trope... but I still think it would be better if goblins (and kobolds, and dragons, and so on and so forth) weren't treated as inherently evil in the first place.

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