andromenon

[andromenon]

george is too relatable

[andromenon]

youre never alone. bacteria

[andromenon]

'Brother in arms' oh they were in each other's arms alright

[andromenon]

Alright let’s talk about why Neve's character design is important, what a lot of western fans missed about the context of her character, and why this matters if you're going to talk about slavery in Veilguard. I am going to encourage my Southeast Asian mutuals to jump in if they want to but considering how hostile the fandom space is for them I won't blame them if they don't. I am not an authority figure here by any means but I do want to push back against ignorance and Orientalism. Neve is being whitewashed a lot not just in art but in the way people talk about her and her design, and her place in the Veilguard's narrative.

Neve's design has heavy roots in Hinduism specifically. Here's a couple of links the what different colors mean in Hinduism if you're interested. The white and teal motifs and the often flowery folding of her clothing is meant to be evocative of a lotus flower. Here's a link to different flowers and their meaning in Hinduism. Gallus is meant to evoke common domesticated fowl deliberately.

The snake on her belt and her prosthetic being a cobra? All very intentional. Each part of her outfit and even her name are meant to show she brings hope to the people of Dock Town, and those of us who have had these experiences know how important hope is when you're fighting tyranny.

Moreover there is a reason she is our Shadow Dragon liaison in Veilguard. You see slavery is still very much an issue around the world. My own community is directly affected by it even. But India currently holds the highest numbers of forced labor. Because what I need people to understand with Neve is that she is meant to look like an Indian woman and voiced by an Indian woman on purpose.

This is also why the game did not give the players a choice about whether there will be abolition in Tevinter at the end of the game. There just will be. The player isn't needed because we have Neve and Dorian and Maevaris and the Shadow Dragons if you so choose to save them. This is what Veilguard is saying about abolition and I am astounded people missed it.

This is also why the choice to save Minrathous matters to me so much. Too many times in history have abolitionists been killed for their cause and Veilguard is again, being very intentional with it's messaging. I personally can't escape the images this game evokes by hanging abolitionists in the streets.

Neve Gallus deserves her place in Veilguard. She earned it. She is here to tell people you will not ignore her people, and that they don't need you to save them because they are going to save themselves with or without your approval or help.

Here's a primer on Hinduism if you care to learn more.

[andromenon]

Lucanis in the style of Disco Elysium

[andromenon]

*struggles while writing* i suck and writing is hard

*remembers some ppl use ai* i am a creative force. i am uncorrupted by theft and indolence. i am on a journey to excellence. it is my duty to keep taking joy in creating.

[andromenon]

What would I do without you?

You’ll never find out.

[andromenon]

Okay I'm doing this gay ship thing all wrong because all my published ships thus far are "the world's most bisexual man" and "the world's objectively coolest woman*".

[andromenon]

[andromenon]

Why are so many people treating "things would be worse if Trump was President" as some absurd hypothetical. Like just rhetorically going "HOW could it be WORSE? It's ALREADY SO BAD, omg" like.

Deep breath. Have they been Memento'd? How else can they just not remember those four years. He literally was President, we're not imagining what that would be like. Yes, things would be worse with an authoritarian freak who wants to become forever President, whose answer to refugees seeking asylum is to threaten to invade Mexico, and who would be telling Netanyahu that nuking Gaza is a great idea. Why are people pretending like saying Trump is Worse Than Biden Actually is baseless projection. I know the answer is "both sides are exactly the same!" brainrot with a dash of accelerationism but

[andromenon]

Oh…. Well, it’s over for Crunchyroll I guess

[andromenon]

Cuff jewelry (I don't really know how it's called)... For horns?

And yes I just needed an excuse to draw some tieflings

[andromenon]

hey I'm sorry I stopped in the middle of that sentence my brain decided to flush its cache and I totally forgot what this conversation was

[andromenon]

[andromenon]

Darkside Chronicles my beloved

[andromenon]

[andromenon]

the next time you hesitate to leave a comment on a fic remember that I go back and read all the comments I get on my fic whenever I'm feeling down and it makes me feel so much better

if you leave nice comments on ao3 i love you