#askausterity

[loominggaia]

If the order of love and light is women only then what about austerity

Actually the Order of Love and Light is not a women-only faction! All genders are welcome, though it does tend to be female-dominated. There are various reasons for this, but that's a whole new post on its own.

I'm just making an assumption here, but your confusion probably stems from the story "Dirty Animal"? I recall someone else asking a similar question after reading that story, so I'll just quickly explain that the Order of Love and Light is not female-exclusive, but it does have some temples that are segregated by sex. The reasons for this are mainly cultural and may differ based on what region they're in. Because females vastly outnumber males in this faction, it may appear that there are only female temples. In reality, there are also male temples, they are just less common.

In "Dirty Animal", a satyr named Itchy was being raised in a female-only temple. The priestesses made an exception for him because he was just a child. But as he got older, he started getting sexually mischievous and his behavior was causing issues with the women around him. Normally he would be transferred to a male-only or mixed-sex temple at that point, but in this case, the grand priestess just decided to kick him out of the faction entirely (for unique reasons that are explained later in the series).

All of this is to say, Austerity's sex has no effect on his status with the Order of Love and Light. Whether he was male or female, he is still an agent of Karenza.

However, it does effect the way he's treated if he were to visit a female-only temple. There are special rules he must follow while he's there, certain rooms he can't enter, etc. It doesn't matter that he was once female. Since he is male now, the male rules now apply to him.

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[loominggaia]

So let me get this straight. Austerity is like the What If Machine from Futurama??

Yes! That's exactly what he is!

People make long, treacherous journeys to Austerity, just to ask him questions like "What would happen if I dropped out of college? What would it be like if I got a sex change? What if I left my spouse and ran away with so-and-so? What if I started my own business?" and so on.

And using his magical third eye, he projects snippets of their possible futures before them. He can't foretell every single detail, but he can give them a brief glimpse into what could be. This insight might just influence the direction they decide to steer their lives.

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[loominggaia]

would you ever make a genderfluid/trans shapeshifter character??

The closest thing I have to this at the moment is Austerity, a female maenad who asked Karenza to transform him into a male minervae. There is also the former divine of love, Azizala, who often took the form of a male peacock.

But the idea of a character who can change sexes at will is really interesting. I'll think about this one for a while and update if I come up with a concept I like. If anyone has ideas to contribute, just send them over and maybe we can all craft a new character together!

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[loominggaia]

How is Austrey and Prudence’s marriage like? How did their relationship get started and what kind of couples activities do these centuries old love birds do?

Prudence and Austerity are two ancient minervae who served the Divine of Love together. I imagine her temple is where they met, fell in love, and married. They are among the very few minervae who helped construct the Trial of Titans and know what secret treasure lies within it.

Both of these minervae spend half the year travelling to help the world be a better place. Prudence goes wherever she is needed to dispel undead, and Austerity travels to different Houses of Love and Light to aid the poor.

After 6 months of non-stop work, they return to their home in Matuzu Kingdom to spend time together. They have similar personalities in that they're both somewhat reserved and don't talk much, so I imagine a lot of their communication is done through actions rather than words.

Though they seem prude and austere to outsiders, they're very sweet and affectionate towards eachother in the privacy of their own home. They like to take long hikes together in the Midland Jungle, visit tropical Matuzan beaches, and camp under the stars. They're both avid readers and like to discuss books they read (Prudence likes horror novels and Austerity prefers mystery). They visit old forgotten historical sights they remember from their youth many centuries ago. They like to go out to eat at restaurants even though they don't need to eat.

Basically old power-couple stuff. :) What you won't catch them doing is attending wild parties, drinking alcohol, or being in huge crowds. Whatever they do, they prefer to do it with eachother and no one else. They probably get tired of dealing with people so much for half the year and want to be left alone for the other half.

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