#Codice morale

[pier-carlo-universe]

I DIECI COMANDAMENTI: SIGNIFICATO, ORIGINE E ATTUALITÀ DELLE LEGGI DIVINE

Un codice eterno per la morale e la societ

Un codice eterno per la morale e la società I Dieci Comandamenti rappresentano un pilastro della morale e della religione giudaico-cristiana, un insieme di leggi che ha attraversato i secoli influenzando la società, la cultura e persino il diritto moderno. Secondo la narrazione biblica, furono consegnati da Dio a Mosè sul monte Sinai, scritti su due tavole di pietra, come segno di un’alleanza…

[loredrinker]

Felassan's Role in Psychological Warfare

Some time ago, I wrote about Elgar’nan’s terrifying display of power - the act of erasing emotion from existence, burning it from the minds of every living being, and letting its spirits die out completely. 

This is the scale of the enemy Solas and Felassan were up against. When your enemy can unmake feeling, extinguish spiritual presence, and reshape the metaphysical architecture of your people, what choices remain? What kind of war do you wage against opponents like these? 

What Elgar’nan did was spiritual genocide - brute force on every level. From the war on the Titans, to the destruction of spirit communities, to the devastation he continues to unleash in Veilguard, Elgar’nan has ruled through annihilation. (I feel real sympathy for Mythal trying to placate this being.) And what’s more terrifying: he’s only one of the Evanuris.

This reframes Solas’s rebellion. It wasn’t just a fight against political oppression - it was a fight to also preserve the emotional and spiritual reality of the world. 

In that context, it’s no surprise the rebellion turned to psychological warfare. And this is where Felassan emerges not merely as a soldier or lieutenant, but as an architect - just as good at it as Solas. 

The Dread Wolf: A Weapon, Not a Hero 

The Felassan codices confirm their psychological campaign was deliberate and coordinated. The Dread Wolf myth was used as a weapon to frighten the Evanuris, inspire hope, and manipulate belief.

“Yes, we have to keep playing up the Dread Wolf. The people need someone they believe is strong enough to protect them… Don’t worry. I promise to mock you viciously if you ever start believing those stories yourself.”  - Felassan

This wasn’t about heroism - it was about mass mobilization under existential threat. These codices suggest Felassan played a far more integral and strategic role in the rebellion than often acknowledged. He wasn’t just Solas’ lieutenant; he was a partner in both ideology and execution. 

This was myth as infrastructure. Felassan understood that when your enemies are divine, survival requires more than tactics. You need narrative power - a symbol strong enough to counter fear. The Dread Wolf, once hurled at Solas with contempt, became that symbol. And Felassan and Solas wielded it with precision. 

It’s easy to see Felassan as a wry commentator or moral counterweight to Solas, espeically when taken in hindsight of his death. And yes, Felassan is those things - but the codices reveal he's just as much the strategist as Solas, someone who helped forge the emotional weaponry of the rebellion. He didn’t just believe in the cause - he helped shape how it would be remembered. 

This is especially clear in two parts of that codex: 

“Yes, we have to keep playing up the Dread Wolf.”  “Don’t worry…” 

It reads like a continuation of an ongoing conversation. The “Yes” implies Solas has raised a concern - maybe about the direction of the symbol, perhaps discomfort with what it’s making him become - who knows, but we have missed out on some initial conversation here because Felassan’s response is affirmation and reassurance. Yes, we have to do this Solas, it’s necessary for the rebellion. But don’t worry, I’ll pull you back if it starts to consume you. That casual “Don’t worry” does heavy emotional lifting. It acknowledges the toll already settling on Solas, and Felassan, aware of it, offers the only balm he can: I won't let it consume you. 

In this way, the codex isn’t just a strategic log - it’s a record of emotional triage. As the war escalates, the emotional and ethical toll begins to shift. Felassan becomes not just a planner but a witness to a conflict spiraling beyond anyone’s control. 

“The bad news is that Andruil and Ghilan’nain made a big show of putting down a protest… Andruil left a crater where the town stood, and Ghilan’nain is using the people taken prisoner as fodder for her experiments.” 

What follows next in that codex is the line that piqued my curiosity: 

“This isn’t your fault, but still, this is exactly what I was worried about.” 

That line marks a quiet, painful evolution in Felassan’s thinking. The emotional core is regret. 

He isn’t blaming Solas - he’s acknowledging that the symbol they created is now drawing divine wrath. Each act of rebellion is met with devastation so complete, even victory feels like loss. Yet “this isn’t your fault” stands out. He knows Solas is carrying the rebellion’s cost - perhaps already retreating inward, calcifying under the burden of the costs of war. 

But “this is exactly what I was worried about,” when read alongside the other codices, suggests something deeper: guilt. Felassan sees Solas changing. The man he once teased to not take the myth too seriously is now becoming it. The line between mask and self is blurring. And Felassan, who once promised to pull him back, may no longer be able to. Part of that guilt, perhaps, comes from the knowledge that he encouraged it - that he helped craft the myth, pushed Solas to wear it, and now must watch as it consumes his friend. 

In a war like this, no one remains untouched. The Evanuris long ago abandoned morality - experimenting on the living, erasing emotions, killing without hesitation. But the rebels, too, are marked by compromise: truths sacrificed, lies forged for survival. Felassan isn’t innocent. Neither is Solas. 

Felassan helped build the myth. Solas bore it. Now, both are shaped by it in turn. 

The tragedy is that when you wield psychological warfare, there's always the risk that the story you create to move others will begin to reshape you. That’s what Felassan feared. That’s what began to happen.

And when Mythal is murdered - well, we know what happens from there.

This is part of a larger series. The first being Solas and Psychological Warfare.

[postcardsfromheapside]

Throwing all of this under the cut, so do what you will.

I’m appalled at how many notes these kinds of “takes” get, and how uncritically they’re accepted.

First of all, based on what’s happened with EA/Bioware, we probably will not get another DA. A number of articles have come out, including interviews with Gaider, which make it clear that Dragon Age was always the less-favored child in the company. It’s something of a miracle that we got Veilguard at all.

To remark that there was a big reveal, and then that the game didn’t *do* anything with that reveal, is disingenuous on a few levels.

On one level, it ignores the entire conversation the game wants to have about colonization: your resources and your bodies used, then selling those very same things, because you were forced into that situation and later took advantage of it. (It doesn’t escape me for a moment that the crit crowd is SO ready to cry “anti-semitism” for the elves, but ignores the parallels with the dwarves – not just in the stereotypes they held in prior games, but the fact that Jews were often forced into particular jobs and then demonized for them. Nor does anyone talk about the parallels with other colonized cultures which are held hostage to and then become dependent on their important resources.) This IS a political and social conversation in the game, it's just not a southern (and human/elven) perspective. Kal-Sharok is having a conversation. They are openly treating with Orzammar, even if they do not openly admit to their connection to a titan. I realize all of this is possible to miss if you do not play to the end of the game, which it appears many of the crit crowd did not do, and it’s especially easy to miss many of these details if you don’t walk slowly through the outpost, or around Stalgard and his sister during the end of Harding’s quest. But the dialogue is there.

On another level, this complaint also seems to derive from the overall problem crit fans have with Veilguard being set in the north. One has to wonder how much information was found in The Descent actually got around Thedas in the ensuing decade. If it were commonly known that titans truly existed and lyrium was “blood”, mages all over Thedas would have to contend with the use of lyrium. Southern templars are the only ones using lyrium (Dorian explains this in dialogue). I believe both Cole and Solas have dialogue about how templars aren’t akin to mages, and aren’t using what’s commonly understood to be magic. Calling them “blood mages” obfuscates what’s happening here. Worrying about their perspectives when we’re playing a game in an area where templars don’t use lyrium, and blood magic and lyrium are already two ways the game engages the player in conversations about power and subjugation, adds unneeded bulk (even in the form of a codex entry, considering so many have admitted they didn’t read the codices in VG).  

Also I don’t believe people have generally learned this information. Neve, in dialogue with Emmrich, refuses to use blood magic, and if she’s the one injured at the ritual site she goes looking for lyrium potions. I have a strong sense that Neve would have moral objections if she felt she was “using” another being in order to power herself. There’s no indication that the information from Valta’s journal pages was disseminated, and before she goes on her own personal quest Lace appears to know only a little due to her own involvement in the events of The Descent.

It's quite possible that, if we had a DA5, we could have explored this topic at some length with the wider world through dialogue or codex entries. But, as I said at the top of the post, we’re not likely to get one. It feels dishonest not to recognize that more could have been explored if EA treated Dragon Age the way they've been treating Mass Effect.

What I think is missing is that you do see *some* of this, in a small sense, if you walk slowly around the dwarves of Kal-Sharok. They don’t make it obvious, but in this case the ‘reactions’ are taken away from the people consuming lyrium and given back to Harding and the dwarves. To put it bluntly, you have to care as much about dwarves as you do humans and elves and spend time listening to their dialogue.

On a side note, the consequences of the release of the information about titans, and lyrium, would make an excellent post-VG fanfic. It didn’t have to be part of the game. You can write that story, if you like. I would love to see a fic about southern templar struggling with their conscience, or a mage from anywhere in Thedas. How does the information get to them? What are their feelings? How do they cope? How does their world move on? Great creative writing opportunity.

Finally, I think it’s very telling “who” is being considered in takes like this. I think it’s ridiculous that so much of the VG crit crowd cries foul about the lore, but can’t seem to remember lore themselves – calling templars blood mages makes erroneous conflations, and ignores the systemic consumption of a colonized resource by many different societies in Thedas. There’s a heavy sense that little of VG was played through, or explored, before judgments were made.

[nusta]

Comunque stavo leggendo degli articoli sulla storia di Elena Maraga, educatrice di una scuola materna paritaria sospesa dal lavoro perché aveva un profilo onlyfans e raga c'è veramente da urlare.

Siamo nel 2025.

2025, miseria ladra maledetta.

Quello che fai col tuo corpo, con la tua immagine, fuori dall'orario di lavoro ancora sono oggetto di discussione. In questi termini, miseria ladra.

Leggevo che il ministero vuole aggiornare il codice etico dei dipendenti della pubblica amministrazione, che già pone dei limiti rispetto a quello che si può fare e dire che potrebbe "danneggiare il prestigio o l'immagine dell'amministrazione". Questa insegnante lavora in una scuola paritaria, non so nemmeno se si applicano delle condizioni speciali, se si possono applicare e poi essere ancora considerate scuole "paritarie", ma il punto è un altro.

Il punto è che nel 2025 pensare di mettere un freno alla libertà di usare il proprio corpo e la propria immagine al di fuori dell'orario di lavoro è inquietante, in qualsiasi ambito.

Allargare questo tipo di controllo e censura è pericoloso. La morale, l'etica, le preferenze, gli orientamenti, le pratiche: se stanno al di qua di ciò che è lecito, dovrebbero essere fatti di chi lavora, non di chi assume. Fumi? Bevi? Fai sesso con 3 persone diverse al giorno? Credi all'oroscopo? Mangi la pizza con l'ananas e il pollo? Chi se ne frega, dal punto di vista del lavoro dovrebbe contare solo se sai fare il lavoro in questione.

In tutto questo, i sindacati che dicono?

Mentre scrivo, trovo la notizia di meno di un'ora fa di una dichiarazione di Alvise Sponza, un sindacalista, che dice che non ci sono le premesse per un licenziamento e poi aggiunge "anche io sono insegnante e credo che tutti dovremmo mantenere un comportamento ineccepibile. Ma un errore privato, purché legale, non può intaccare il nostro ruolo." Un errore. Ma quale sarebbe l'errore qui? Lui fa un paragone così: "è capitato anche a me di passare col rosso, ma nessuno per questo ha messo in discussione la mia professionalità".

Ma è un errore aprire un profilo onlyfans? Passare con il rosso è più che un errore, per la verità, è un'infrazione del codice della strada, che potrebbe pure causare un incidente. Aprire un profilo onlyfans, postare foto di nudi o filmati pornografici, esattamente, che infrazione sarebbe? Nel 2025? Porca miseria ladra maledetta?

In un sito privato, peraltro, manco li avesse appesi alla bacheca della mensa o proiettati alla festa di fine anno all'insaputa di chi si trovava a guardare porno senza consenso. Questi genitori sono andati a cercarla, si sono iscritti al suo canale per avre conferma e poi l'hanno raccontato alla dirigenza scolastica.

Chi è che si deve vergognare?

A me vengono davvero i brividi di rabbia e se continuo a pensare alle implicazioni di tutto questo, alla rapidità con cui certe recentissime conquiste di libertà individuale si stanno sgretolando, mi vengono anche i brividi di paura, onestamente.

[tagedeszorns]

I've got an interesting comment on one of my Erebus-essays:

So, @blackmentallight, here's an answer, slightly too long for answering in the comments:

I won’t argue that theoretically the Chaos Gods have positive aspects as well. I’ve drawn Nurgle’s growth- and fertility-aspect and I think passion, strifing for perfection, honour and brotherhood or hunger for knowledge and love of complexity are great splinter parts for them and absolutely positive.

But in canon, it’s a hinted possibility, nothing more. At least in the books (if you’ve found a book where this is playing out differently, I would really love to read it! Please recommend!). Chaos’ modus operandi is always described at a two-phase thing: First - unlimited promises trickling into the ears of the most downtrodden of society (and there are plenty of those!). Of course, freedom is one of those promises. Chaos Cults always start out as the underdogs and need to develop a pull. So freedom is a great promise in a 100% hierarchical/oppressive society and gets people into the fold. But as soon as those underdogs have developed a critical mass (or get outside help by either Chaos Space Marines or demons or both), they will seize power and that’s the second phase and the end of freedom. Nobody on that planet/in that society has a choice any longer. It’s worship the Gods or get tortured to death. It’s 100% oppression, too. There’s no democratic Chaos. Not even with Nurgle.

And that’s what I love about Warhammer. It will never end well. Warhammer is born from a societal background of hopelessness (economic and societal decline, the zenith of the cold war, cultural take-over … the eighties were so dark!), fought off with the most dark sarcasm and irony. And that’s reflected in the ever present „choose your poison“-mindset.

And in my opinion it's too easy to say "people can't handle freedom, so they twist the positive message of Chaos into servitude", because that would rob humanity of both free will and the opportunity to choose - and would turn them into mindless victims of nurture, totally ignoring nature as the other aspect of the duality that forms morale and ethos. Being faced with the horrors on both sides is what (at least for me) makes Warhammer the most interesting setting. It refuses the concept of someone or something being inherently good or evil. To me, how people react to this, is the real factor that ties the setting together.

Yes, it’s great to muse about how the Chaos Gods could be positive as well. How they could form a pantheon able to uplift humanity. But that’s not what Warhammer is about. It’s a wonderful area for AUs or headcanons. I love doing that as well. But if we go by what is written in codices and novels, the Chaos Gods are the best parts of humanity twisted into the worst and amplified thousandfold.

I am pretty sure even the most ardent zealot of the Word Bearers is fully aware of this. But clings to the first thing Lorgar wrote: All I ever wanted was the truth.

The truth may not be sunshine and roses (in that case it’s the exact opposite) – but it’s the choice that matters.

The Chaos Gods are dicks. I stand by that. But they are necessary dicks, because they are part of the truth. And horrible as this truth may be - it's the ultimate thing to strife for in Warhammer.

[scogito]

In questo Sistema ogni persona si incarna in un Programma che gli permette di "vivere" in una struttura sensoriale.

Tale programma è come un codice dentro cui si "incastra" l'Essenza.

L' estratto di nascita è la struttura del tuo codice di collegamento alla Matrice e di extra collegamento con la Fonte.

Le tante pratiche antiche con cui si leggono le caratteristiche di nascita non sono altro che sistemi di analisi capaci di tradurre un codice. Molte pratiche sono state largamente distorte.

Capire il Programma di nascita significa fare un passo verso la comprensione del proprio Sé. Ovvero della propria Essenza in forma stabile con la scelta dell'esperienza terrena. Il Programma non può essere mutato fino al trapasso (ritengo inoltre che spesso si torni a completare cose irrisolte); anche chi cambia nome in realtà conserva sempre le energie di nascita.

Ignorare il proprio Cammino è la prassi per l'80% degli abitanti di questo Sistema, che sopravvivono abitualmente in frustrazioni varie o profonde, non accorgendosi mai di quale sia l'origine della loro insoddisfazione.

La morale della storia, se ce ne fosse una, sarebbe che qualsiasi vita portata avanti senza avere alcuno Scopo di sè stessa, è una vita condannata a reiterare l'illusione della Matrix.

L'unico modo per uscire dal tuo Programma è compierlo in evoluzione.

---

@scogito

[fishcemetery]

Starbound basically did the equivalent of dumping him by the roadside in the rain in a soggy cardboard box, so I guess that means I'm free to take him home and designate him as my honorary OC. Greenfinger (the individual), oh Greenfinger (the individual). You're a horrible person and the universe would be better off without you, but you're also a phenomenal character and the story would've been better with you.

A tiny Kevin as a token of appreciation for Frackin Universe reinstating the beta codices. And to cover an empty spot.

It's great that now I can have as many as two morally challenged scientists. One is in Big Ape's DMs, the other is in Big Ape's walls; both are a walking testament that some people should've never been allowed in STEM

[ladymirdan]

As a horror enjoyer, a gore connoisseur, fictional war criminal apologiser, I think its kind of funny that people become upset that family/self insert stuff squicks me.

As much as I would like to see myself as the supreme arbitrator of what is the correct way to enjoy fandom, I am not.

But I am the one who decides how I enjoy the fandom. Just as you are the one who decides how you want to spend your free time.

I think that blocking people who post what you dont like should become more normalised, and not something that causes drama.

This is the stuff I like:

Reading canon, be it Black Library, codices, white dwarf etc. Character deep dives, talking about character archetypes, message, implications of seemingly small details.

The art. 40k has such a unique aesthetic where ugly and beauty melds together and creates sonething so flavourful. Seeing fanartists interpretation of it is 👌

Passionate people. Do you love your blorbo and have read every single thing about them, please tell me more, even if its a character I dont know. Tell me the themes, the morals of the story. Show me your fic where the character gets the extra screentime it deserves.

Oldhammer. I absolutely love the older works of warhammer where the authors got more freedom to be whacky and do mistakes. It also scratches my brain in a pleasing way to find more obscure and rare lore. I feel like a techpriest finding a new STC.

Space marines. Ultramarines(and its sucessors) and Iron Warriors are my favourite roided up space boys. I love that 40k is such a morally grey universe that allowes for a different kind of story to be told. It keeps it fresh.

Fanfic. Im such a sucker for “missing scene” fic. Im bad at writing it myself, but I looove to read it. I usually never go for AU unless the premise is very close to canon since the universe is what draws me into the fandom in the first place. Angst, horror, bolterporn, all that good stuff.

If you like this stuff as well. Say hello.

[the-great-emperor-commodus]

i wish i was that cool honestly.

BUT NO! I'M JUST FOLLOWING THE ROMAN VITA CODICE

Nyx the girls are fighting

(Lucas and his friend)

Why would someone fight Lucas????

[fipindustries]

ok so here is an interesting moral dillema:

generally i am in agreement with the position that different historical artifacts should belong to the cultures and regions they come from. as in, the museum in england should return the artifacts they got from the parthenon back to greece, same for different cultures. if spain or england has precolumbian artifacts that they found in amerca and took back to europe they should return them so that american museums can display them.

so far so good.

now, lets say that the ruins of an ancient spaniard conquistador settlement are found somewhere in mexico, there are countless valuable artifacts, armor, weapons, codices, paintings, what have you, all capable of redefining our understanding of history and bringing new context to the past of mexico and spain. spain wants those artifacts since it claims those are elements of spaniard culture but mexico wants to keep them because it was found in their land

[lesabear]

Thoughts on Veilguard

TLDR: If empty calories were a video game it would be Dragon Age: The Veilguard. The game is a pleasant enough - if generic and unremarkable - action RPG that basically abandons the themes and feel of the previous games, resulting in a bland story that largely avoids dealing with anything that might remotely cause conflict in the party or force the player to consider anything other than surface level good-bad morality.

If this is the direction they're taking DA, then I think I'm done with the franchise. If I wanted a generic, thematically uninteresting, action RPG there are so many other games to play.

Spoilers in my detailed thoughts below

The good:

It looks very nice - I wish I could have spent even more time exploring the world areas.

Very few bugs or technical issues unlike Andromeda (or most new games in general). I had a few minor issues near the end but overall was very impressed.

Manfred and Assan are great secondary companions. If anyone knows where to find a skeleton and/or griffon friend please let me know.

I quite like Emmerich, Davrin and Bellara and romanced the latter two and (Generally) really liked both. Disclaimer: I tend to have different tastes than the majority of DA fandom when it comes to romances. I expected to have mixed feelings on Bellara because of my issues with Bioware and their cutesy awkward naive/inexperienced female characters but I thought they (mostly) got her right.

Some interesting lore stuff, though I quibble with how it was delivered at times. Still was fun to get a lot more info on the Evanuris, Solas, Mythal, the Titans, etc. And there's also some fun lore stuff in the codices, although again I question whether that's the best way to deliver them.

The final mission is a lot of fun and the clear standout quest other than Weisshaupt maybe. Both are a lot of fun and combine multiple story elements with good gameplay for a satisfying experience.

Combat is engaging although it does get repetitive once you "solve" it. I did a lot of grinding to complete content though so that might be my fault.

Solas is very Solas-y in the game and the highlight of the antagonists by far. I wish there had been more of him and I say that as someone who finds the Solas fandom somewhat exhausting at times. He was far more interesting and compelling than the "even-worse" gods and the fact he's a fuck up who keeps making things worse because he's an egotistical fuck-up who thinks he's the only one that can fix things was is both tragic and fun.

Neve-Lucanis and Taash-Harding are both very cute. I actually think they might be my favorite companion romances off the top of my head (Tali-Garrus does absolutely nothing for me, and I don't even romance either character with my Shepard).

The not good

Why is the Inquisitor wearing pajamas.

Bioware can fuck off for making me pop about a zillion blight pimples. It's really not that much fun after the first 1000

Extremely disappointed with how sanitized the narrative is. There's little attention paid to major facets of the DA universe that are directly relevant to the plot (religion, Tevinter slavery, racism toward elves etc.) and you also get stuff like the Crows now being far lighter of an organization than they were previously.

Just as an example - both Davrin and Bellara touch on what it means to have their gods be the villains but they're just topics for conversation and there's no meaningful impact (especially as the bad guys rely on Antaam and Venatori forces - oh and generic mercenaries). The Dalish are just there (or victims of the bad guys) for the most part. I've read comments from Bioware that confirm this but it seemed obvious Bioware wrote themselves into a corner with making Elven gods be the main antagonists, as you then run into the issue of having the elves not only already be a persecuted minority but also be worshipping evil gods - but instead of writing around it they just avoided dealing with it and acted like it's just the Dalish getting a big win by not joining them.

Speaking of enemies, lots of bland dialogue from the non-Solas big bads. And the Venatori/Antaam/mercenaries gave off major "Cerberus in ME3" vibes - nameless, faceless goons thrown at you in waves that got very boring very quickly.

The way a companion gets hardened because of a choice early in the game is mostly meaningless unless you wanted to romance them. People getting mad about that happening are being ridiculous - if anything the game is too afraid (as usual) to have it actual matter beyond them briefly being upset before moving on.

One of the big choices is to decide whether to protect Treviso or Minrathous when both are attacked by dragons, but it happens so early you might lock yourself out of quests without realizing it. Worse, the ensuing mission is incredibly short and boring (basically a couple of packs of generic enemies and then a very brief dragon fight)

Why is the Inqusitor wearing pajamas.

Why can't I be a mean/"bad" Rook? Even the jokey responses feel super tame compared to previous DAs (let alone the borderline assholish purple hawke). Basically you're only allowed to be slightly different variations of a heroic figure.

While the companions are all nice they all top out at "I like them", with none matching the story or emotional peaks of previous Bioware games. Emmerich comes closest (especially if you account for Manfred) but there's just enough meat to him.

Disappointing romances compared to previous Bioware games(especially but not limited to Lucanis.). Not a ton of depth dialogue wise and at times it feels like they put more time into the companion romance than the Rook version (this time I am definitely talking about Lucanis).

Speaking of which, Lucanis was the biggest disappointment of the companions. I didn't want a Zevran clone but you have a hardened assassin possessed by a demon who (if you choose not to save Treviso, which cuts off a lot of his content) just drinks coffee and likes Neve and uh....

Completely forgettable soundtrack which is a major bummer after previous installments. Also, while I didn't have many technical issues, the music not always playing was one of them (although maybe it doesn't really matter given the lack of quality!)

Bad to horrendous incorporation of previous DA story which was also incongruous with the general tone, especially with the handling of the Inquisitor and the treatment of southern Thedas (especially if you get the Emmerich and Harding picnic conversation at an awkward time like I did.)

Lots of disappointing cameos but especially from my Pirate Queen/Wife from DA2. Isabela's hat is indeed very nice but what is that outfit? And I get they didn't want to deal with too complex a world state but man was it a bummer to see her basically reset after everything her and Hawke went through in my main DA2 playthrough.

Why is the Inquisitor wearing pajamas.

What did they do with Harding? Why did she basically get Dagna's story, even if Titan lore is interesting? She's such a nothing character in this game which is such a weird choice given that she's clearly there because they know fans like her.

The "Actually Varric was dead all along" did nothing for me. He barely shows up in game anyway and the weird framing of every appearance and the fact no one other than Rook ever interacts with him gave it away (at least partially)

[amaryllis-sagitta]

(LARGE IMAGE - use external links)

Picture only: https://kdrive.infomaniak.com/app/share/1491551/c70b5f49-8f18-4e4f-8858-005ed52cdfb0 This is my tribute to one of the most profound secrets of Thedas -- the nature of spirits and their link to the presumed "Maker" of that world.

This piece is inspired by DA lore crafting through Codices, murals, stylized concept art, and in-universe research like The Grim Anatomy. Another thread is my speculation from Metaphysics of Thedas about the great metaphysical duality being at work in Thedas, one between a supposed Maker and the counter-balancing force known as the Void or primal Silence. Yet another element I used is the visual of the Tree of Porphyry - a type of diagram that medieval philosophers used to classify the universals according to the Aristotelian rules of definition through genus and differentia specifica.

Of course, spirits of Thedas are not classified this way - for what we know, some leading "virtue" types of spirit can be corrupted into "vicious" types of demons if their conceptual nature is compromised or abused. Still, the way we keep learning about the new spirit types outside the crude classification of the Southern Chantry, brings to mind a picture of a tree where spirit types spread out into more and more nuanced variants.

The corners of the picture are adorned with rudimentary depictions of the Forbidden Ones - the four mysterious powerful demons that bear proper names instead of universal names, whose nature seems more elaborate and elusive than the usual single notion assigned to most spirit types. These are: Xebenkeck, harboring an insatiable bloodthirst, whose presence was noted in Kirkwall and might have something to do with the city's history of violence; the still unknown Formless One; the duplicitous Imshael, who manipulates mortals into choices that bring out a monstrous side in their morals; and Gaxkang, a shapeshifting predator luring mortals with a false promise of riches and glory, only to bury the trace of their existence.

[rideretremando]

"Una questione irrisolta, da Tangentopoli a oggi, ha a che fare con la tendenza inveterata della nostra classe politica a eludere, anziché affrontare, la “questione morale”, sottraendosi al controllo di legalità, rafforzando il profilo “decidente” degli esecutivi, affermando il primato dell’investitura popolare sulla legge. Non si tratta solo dell’eterna questione della separazione delle carriere e della subordinazione dei pubblici ministeri all’esecutivo, ma del mito dell’esecutivo forte, perché legittimato dall’investitura popolare diretta, all’insegna del motto «il voto è tutto e la legge nulla, […] la legittimità vince sulla legalità, la divisione dei poteri è un arnese settecentesco» (I. Dominijanni, Paradossi, il manifesto, 16 febbraio 2002). La quintessenza di questa aspirazione assolutistica è bene espressa da una dichiarazione rilasciata da Toti nel 2020: «Via codice degli appalti, via gare europee, via controlli paesaggistici, via certificati antimafia, via tutto. Almeno per due anni» (P. Ronco e A. Paolacci, Supermercati, spiagge private: il “modello Genova”, il manifesto, 8 maggio 2024, p. 3). Certo, in quel momento c’era la pandemia, e uno stato di emergenza più che giustificato. Ma l’insofferenza per ogni forma di controllo e vincolo che trasuda da quelle parole ci ricorda che l’invocazione dell’emergenza – vera o presunta – è stata, ed è, usata spesso nel nostro paese per assecondare la pulsione brutale a “comandare”, anziché a governare rispettando l’equilibrio dei poteri."

Valentina Pazè

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More italian queer history posting except this time as it entails translating I need to make the following disclaimers:

What I'm translating here is a "pre-report" from 1887 (or at least that's what I've always called it), aka a document which precedes the entrance in effect of in this case a penal code (In this case, the Zanardelli Code, which came into effect in 1890) where the sigil keeper goes over the workings that lead to the creation of the to-be penal code. This is the part leading to the discussion of the removal of homosexuality from the penal code.

I do not have any formal education in translating. I am fully confident that I can get the point across in a comprehensible way, but do expect some stiffness around the edges as this is at its core, an inherently amateurish translation.

Under The Cut For Saving Space.

Heading 8 - Crimes Against Public Decency And Family Order

128

The Project reunites, similarly to the former Tuscan Penal Code, crimes against public decency and crimes against family order under a single heading.

Doing so, we avoid the likely possibility of erroneously classyfying a criminal act; especially so when dealing with crimes for which, due to the variety of resulting offenses, are harder to differentiate from other similar categories.

This can be said, in lieu of an example, about sexual violence, abduction, adultery and the like: crimes which offend public decency and family order at the same time.

In determining the facts to be comprehended in the following heading, the current Project, in accordance with the previous ones, follows the principle that, while on one side facts that can cause evident detriment to families or that go against public decency should be severely repressed, on the other side the legislator is to not intrude among the topic of morals.

Consequently, the Project's penal sanctions do not indiscriminately strike all facts that offend public decency or family order, but only those that manifest with violence, injury, fraud or scandal, of which the repression is highly necessery for the sake of social interest.

Hence, acts that do not possess those characteristics are not criminalized, for the investigation of the aforementioned acts would allow the law to go beyond its just confines.

The Project hence refrains from speaking out about acts of lust against nature ; (The original wording is "libidini contro natura", which was the expression used in the pre-unitary penal code and in "official" contexts, the analogue of gross indecency in the labouchere amendment and widernäturliche unzucht in Article 175 of the German Penal Code, practically) Because in regards to those, as Carmignani wisely says:

"It is of greater benefit to ignore this vice rather than to make the public aware of the punishments that repress it". [*] (Attempts were made, remember that I study pharmacy and not linguistic mediation)

Even these acts of lust are included among those acts that are criminal in nature due to the use of violence, or the age of the person the act is committed with, or for their publicity, without them however being explictly named as to not make them object of special dispositions. (I'm definetely lacking in wording here, so I'll try to better clarify in my own words, from my understanding what is ROUGHLY being meant is that from then on,the focus will be on the aforementioned aggravating conditions, IF these conditions are present between the offenders, that will be the focus and the nature of their relationship will be forgone and ignored, that will no longer be subject of punishment)

[*] -----------

A separate note added by Zanardelli:

In fact, the Tuscan, French, Belgian and Spanish Penal Codes refrain from speaking about it.

The Sardinian Penal Code (Before the Zanardelli Code, the 1859 Penal Code of the Kingdom of Sardinia was extended to most other territories after unification) mentions in article 425:

"Whathever act of lust against nature", committed with violence, or cause of scandal, or without either of these conditions, if there have been legal complaints. Said article 425 was however repealed for the southern territories by the Lieutenant's decree of 1861, when the code was extended.

The penal code of Bern has a similar disposition to the one indicated in the former Sardinian Penal Code.

Other Codes, while establishing penal sanctions for acts of lust against nature, define the latter clearly, to prevent boundless interpretations and unconvenient investigations regarding private life in the relation between one and the other sex.

In fact, The German (Article 175) and Hungarian (Article 241) Penal Codes limit the concept of acts of lust against nature to those committed between persons of the male sex and those committed by men against animals.

The Austrian Penal Code on the other hand declares acts of lust against animals or people of the same sex unlawful.

The English Penal Code follows similar principles, grouping these acts under the expression of "Buggery" (I take it Zanardelli wasn't aware of the labouchere amendment coming into effect, as he in fact cited the expression buggery and not gross indecency).

---

Ulterior note from me, I do clearly recall reading somewhere that Zanardelli (Or some other high profile politician) clearly made a note that in countries where homosexuality was criminalized, it was actually a much more discussed topic and it enjoyed greater visibility, which was against the course of action they sought to walk on, if I do find the source of that statement, I'll amend and add it.

Anyway, this is actual source of where I first read about the topic, which I believe everyone should be able to access(?):

This is the actual file of the pre-report, but however, however I believe this is somewhat of an integral and/or condensed version, as the part I've translated in this post ONLY comes up when loading the file on google books, I've added it anyway for complectionism sake:

[raffaeleitlodeo]

Se la sinistra fatica da anni a trovare un ideologo da cui ripartire, la destra invece ne trova felicemente uno al giorno. E l'ultimo è Fleximan, esaltato oggi come "eroe" (testuale) dai giornali fasciotrash. Fleximan, per chi non lo sapesse, è il tizio o il gruppo che va in giro segando i pali degli autovelox, soprattutto in Veneto. Ora: è un po' un misterioso, a questo punto, il concetto di "vandalo" per la destra nostrana: lo è chi si siede sul Raccordo o getta vernice lavabile sui palazzi del potere, ma non lo è (anzi è "eroe") chi distrugge un bene pubblico pagato coi soldi dei contribuenti e utile a evitare incidenti. Del resto, l'intera vicenda dei limiti di velocità è ricca di divertenti contraddizioni: basti pensare che il capo di un partito sedicente federalista usa i suoi poteri di ministro a Roma per annullare le decisioni di un comune locale; il che, se non altro, fa un po' ridere come incoerenza. Dietro tutto questo c'è però, diciamo, una sfida culturale (scusate il vocabolo radical-chic). E non è tanto quella di chi vuole andare veloce a produrre Pil contro chi vuole "ascoltare gli uccellini" (cit. Salvini). E' proprio quella dell'Italia in cui ognuno vuole farsi i cazzi suoi contro quella che ha curiosamente superato l'età preistorica e quindi ha capito che, se si vive in società, il bene collettivo talvolta prevale sulla pulsione istintuale di fare i propri individuali comodi. Questa seconda, stranissima fetta di paese che si è emancipata dalla giungla è sicuramente minoritaria: basta vedere la auto parcheggiate in seconda fila e gli scaldabagno adagiati sui cassonetti. Non ci resta quindi che l'eroe Fleximan, che è un po' il Vannacci del codice stradale, avendo deciso di incarnare un altro pezzo del lungo e piuttosto putrido intestino italiano. Se uscisse dall'anonimato, sarebbe già capolista leghista per le Europee nel collegio nordest. Ecco, io non ho mai creduto nella superiorità morale della sinistra, essendo questa piena di stronzi e pure di farabutti. E' la palese inferiorità morale di questa destra che mi sembra tuttavia innegabile. Alessandro Gilioli, Facebook

[miciagalattica]

Dio è morto!

F. Nietzsche

Non si riferisce alla morte fisica di Dio, ma all'idea di Dio che non è più fonte di alcun codice morale o teleologico.