#because representation matters!

[phizzyfrog]

Idk if anyone has noticed this yet (took me a 3rd playthrough to notice) but at the beginning of the game as Catfish is narrating you can see Huggin’ Molly hidden in the mountain in the foreground of the storybook, she’s watching Lacey as she drives home to Hazel 🥹🥹🥹 and its crazy bc I was wondering post-game how Huggin’ Molly knew that Lacey was in danger but playing the game again with wiser eyes really helps answer some ‘plot holes’ *heavy quotations*

And you know what, thats why I don’t trust game reviews anymore, especially by angry anti-woke white men

Anyway, PLEASE PLAY THIS GAME, and then play it again and again and again; and if you’re playing for free on Xbox Game Pass and if you can afford it, please buy the game!

[javierduffy]

different.

[sweaters-and-vertigo]

as much as i love all the caitvi aus where they have children together, i firmly believe that they would just adopt??

vi was adopted. she couldn’t have cared less about the genetics. vander was her father. mylo, claggor, vi, and jinx were vander’s children. plus, she probably grew up surrounded by orphans in the undercity. she knows how much these kids need parents!!

so if anyone makes an au about them having kids, i hope they include that. because people need to be reminded that adopted children are true members of their adoptive family no matter what.

[barufisher]

i do think that for me personally. there is no version of taash's storyline that i can get down with except one where they reconnect with their qunari side. my main problem with their arc is that it perpetuates this idea that someone has to "choose" one culture, that they have to turn their back on parts of their identity in order to be the right kind of trans (the white western kind) and all of it just makes me so viscerally uncomfortable. and to be clear this is not me like... trying to make anyone feel bad, there are parts of taash's story that i personally connect with as well, like there is nothing wrong with the way taash does gender in general and there's nothing wrong with it resonating with people. it's when we put it all together in context within the game that it becomes a problem for me.

we know the qun does not have the same ideas around gender as the rest of thedas, we know that their identity, including gender, is connected to their duty. and so it doesn't make sense that taash's mother cares about them wearing dresses. why would she care about that. i'd ask if we've ever even seen any qunari in dresses but i'm pretty sure we've only seen three qunari women total and two of them are in veilguard and are scholars wearing what i personally consider a robe. the third is in trespasser and is ben-hassrath, and is definitely not wearing a dress. if anything, their mother should be concerned about the fact that they fight, since the whole point of leaving for rivain was to avoid taash being designated as a soldier. and to be fair, we get this a Little bit with the fire-breathing. but everything else about shathann's disapproval doesn't make sense in-universe.

and we also already know about the aqun athlok, which shathann even tries to bring up but the game shouts her down because....? i get that shathann is meant to be overbearing and kinda shitty, but this is not the way to do it. all this does is imply that aqun athlok is "wrong" and not as progressive as this other identity that rook has to teach taash about (and that also isnt even specific to rivain, or related to them connecting to their rivaini culture. it's the shadow dragons that teach them all of this along with rook. in general transness and the nonbinary identity are not integrated into the world in any meaningful way which makes it feel even worse). there are various cultures that have their own specific gender identities that do not adhere to the gender binary, and taash should have been given the chance to connect to their own culture in this way. and even if they really wanted to make it so taash just didn’t feel right with aqun athlok, that identity still should have been properly discussed as an option and handled with respect, rather than so carelessly thrown aside as “wrong” (though again not a depiction i would personally like but it would still be better than what we got).

and just. i really disagree with the idea that gender identity under the qun is More Rigid than elsewhere. it’s different, as we know from comments from iron bull and sten-- and we could argue in circles about inconsistencies with the things they say, obviously there have been retcons previously in an attempt to better develop the qunari beyond what we see in origins and da2, but i think this kind of development is a good thing, and is exactly why the regression with taash irritates me so much-- but when we look back at characters like warden tabris, dorian and his father and tevinter's obsession with bloodlines, the entire experience of playing f!hawke in da2 (and also da2 literally has a whole subplot about women being murdered for like 3 years and no one cares. these games just have a misogyny problem lol) and even tarquin in veilguard commenting about how his father forced him into being a soldier because he's a man(!!)-- there is a lot of rigidity, expectations, and violence around gender throughout thedas. but for some reason these rigid gender ideals and a lot of this gendered violence is held up as the status quo and not challenged at all by the writers in the way the qun repeatedly is. the exception being dorian (though you're still incentivized to forgive his father), but a lot of the characters in tevinter-- magisters, templars, the literal black divine-- are still allowed complexities and to be the good guys working with the shadow dragons, a grace not given to any qunari character besides iron bull (who ultimately still has to leave the qun or die later). i’m not trying argue that the qun is perfect and can never be criticized-- i like the flawed characters and societies within dragon age. but the qunari also deserve to be given the same depth, complexities, and engagement as everyone else, too. and it’s worth pointing out that it’s always the qun that’s depicted as backwards for the same harmful “rigidity” every other culture in the game reinforces.

and ultimately with the way the game inserts this very modern, anachronistic, and condescending language in a poor attempt to be as "correct" as possible to "teach" the player, while simultaneously writing such a careless, racist arc about their culture kinda just , makes me feel like they were actually trying to imply that one identity is more correct and progressive than the other. or, if nothing else, it's a bias that got amplified due to their unwillingness or inability to engage with taash's character beyond using them as a mouthpiece for corporate "representation."

there absolutely are people out there that are like taash, who don't necessarily have or want a connection with certain parts of their culture, and maybe they do identify closer with one aspect of it over another. this is all fine! this happens in real life, everyone has different relationships with their identity and heritage, there is no universal experience, and people are allowed to write about their own. but the thing is. this is dragon age. and taash was written by weekes. and both dragon age as a whole and weekes specifically has a repeated pattern of racist writing when it comes to depicting the qunari. and taash's quest along with the way the antaam are portrayed-- faceless, voiceless, basically naked bodies for you to kill-- makes this a series of poor choices that i don't feel generous enough to excuse.

and it sucks. so bad. that this happened. i want to like taash so bad. but.... man.

anyways if you read this far you should read this article, which is far more eloquent than anything i could write and really dives into the whole "civilized versus savage" binary that we see in a lot of fantasy RPGs and is really epitomized in taash's quest-- in dragon age, it's always the qunari and dalish elves versus a (usually white and/or human) andrastian:

[bennetsbonnet]

Much has been made of Mr Darcy's "confession" to Elizabeth that he does not converse easily with strangers. It is repeatedly used to support neurodivergent interpretations of his character. And I suppose that when taken at face value, a character confessing that they do not easily converse with strangers and struggle to catch their tone or appear interested in conversation can absolutely scream AUTISM! (I say as an autistic person myself)

But this line is often taken in isolation. When considered in terms of the passage in which it appears in Chapter 31, it appears far less of a smoking gun than may initially be suspected. After some discussion about Elizabeth and Darcy's prior acquaintance in Hertfordshire, Colonel Fitzwilliam asks Elizabeth for information about Darcy's behaviour there. She readily supplies it:

'Pray let me hear what you have to accuse him of,' cried Colonel Fitzwilliam. 'I should like to know how he behaves among strangers.' 'You shall hear then—but prepare yourself for something very dreadful. The first time of my ever seeing him in Hertfordshire, you must know, was at a ball—and at this ball, what do you think he did? He danced only four dances, though gentlemen were scarce; and, to my certain knowledge, more than one young lady was sitting down in want of a partner. Mr Darcy, you cannot deny the fact.' 'I had not at that time the honour of knowing any lady in the assembly beyond my own party.'

What Darcy leaves out here is that it was he himself who chose not to be introduced to anybody. As we learn from the description of his behaviour at the Meryton assembly in Chapter 3:

Mr Darcy danced only once with Mrs Hurst and once with Miss Bingley, declined being introduced to any other lady, and spent the rest of the evening in walking about the room, speaking occasionally to one of his own party.

Anyway, Elizabeth correctly does not buy his excuses. Not only does she respond with a cutting sarcastic remark, but she tries to bring the discussion with an end by speaking to Colonel Fitzwilliam:

'True; and nobody can ever be introduced in a ball-room. Well, Colonel Fitzwilliam, what do I play next? My fingers wait your orders.'

But Darcy does not get the hint and continues conversing with Elizabeth rather than quitting while he's ahead. However, I don't believe him to be missing a social cue here. Rather, this is an exceedingly conceited man who cannot conceive that anyone would not want to speak to such a Superior Being as he and more-so, is determined to defend himself from a perceived slight against his impeccable character.

Then we come to the passage containing the oft-cited line which allegedly contains proof of his neurodivergency:

'Perhaps,' said Darcy, 'I should have judged better, had I sought an introduction; but I am ill-qualified to recommend myself to strangers.' 'Shall we ask your cousin the reason of this?' said Elizabeth, still addressing Colonel Fitzwilliam. 'Shall we ask him why a man of sense and education, and who has lived in the world, is ill-qualified to recommend himself to strangers?' 'I can answer your question,' said Fitzwilliam, 'without applying to him. It is because he will not give himself the trouble.'

Once again, Elizabeth does not buy his excuse for even a single second. She's fully aware of all the advantages a man such as he will have received in society (opportunities not open to women, might I add!) and draws attention to that fact. It's a brilliant, cutting line from her and she really set that one up for Colonel Fitzwilliam to deliver the knockout blow.

Not only do we have the testimony of Mr Darcy's cousin, that 'he will not give himself the trouble,' to appear cordial to strangers, but we have evidence from Wickham too. Although after this statement, Wickham quickly goes onto misrepresent Darcy's kindness to the poor, which contradicts Mrs Reynold's later testimony, I do believe Wickham to be telling the truth (for once!) here, when he tells Elizabeth in Chapter 16:

'Mr Darcy can please where he chooses. He does not want abilities. He can be a conversible companion if he thinks it worth his while.'

Which, again, demonstrates that Darcy is capable when he wants to be. That is the crucial point. Autistic people fundamentally lack the ability to understand social cues, they cannot turn it on and off as they please because they are snobs.

So, now we come to the infamous line about Darcy's supposed social struggles, and I hope that I've provided enough context to the line to make you see that it should not be taken at face value:

'I certainly have not the talent which some people possess,' said Darcy, 'of conversing easily with those I have never seen before. I cannot catch their tone of conversation, or appear interested in their concerns, as I often see done.' 'My fingers,' said Elizabeth, 'do not move over this instrument in the masterly manner which I see so many women’s do. They have not the same force or rapidity, and do not produce the same expression. But then I have always supposed it to be my own fault—because I will not take the trouble of practising. It is not that I do not believe my fingers as capable as any other woman’s of superior execution.'

Again, Elizabeth is not buying his excuses for even a single second and tells him if he feels like that, maybe he should put the effort in. She has seen him in numerous social settings and been thoroughly unimpressed with his behaviour which, when you consider his rudeness to her at the Meryton assembly, she has every right to be.

So, what do I make of the line?

Well, I think it's abundantly clear that Darcy absolutely can speak to people when he wants to. Perhaps, in his mind, he struggles to make that deeper connection and make friends easily. But making friends is not always easy, it's a process you must invest time and effort into. If you do not do that, it stands to reason that you will struggle. Plus, if you hold others to ridiculous standards (as Darcy does) without recognising and fixing the flaws within yourself, you're not going to have deep, lasting friendships.

While this quote may appear to be a moment of vulnerability where he does confess a fault of his, which is astounding given his pride, personally I do not think it was not a soul-searching exercise. It was to make Elizabeth stop grilling him. It was self-serving. Although, I don't think he's entirely lying. Darcy is veeeery careful with his words and though this statement is not considered and perhaps comes out rather abruptly, it doesn't necessarily follow that it isn't true. I can imagine that it is probably something he's felt for a while, yet it is a rather desperate attempt to defend himself from a woman who sees right through him.

I think perhaps Darcy does realise that he isn't as naturally gifted as other men he knows (such as Wickham, Colonel Fitzwilliam and Mr Bingley) when it comes to forming acquaintances. However, he looks outwards and turns that bitterness against the world rather than looking inwards, reflecting upon himself and improving his manners which would be the correct thing to do. Thankfully, he later does this, but it took him twenty eight years...

In addition, Darcy appeared to have been under the illusion that he could coast by on Pemberley's reputation... which has always worked... until he met Elizabeth. For perhaps the first time, he encounters a woman who is not awestruck by him and his reputation and delivers the rebuke that he always needed.

So, while personally I'm inclined to believe there is some truth to his statement, as Mr Darcy is many things but he isn't a liar, I think it is said in desperation. His feeling stems from him knowing what he should do, but he can't be bothered to enact it... rather than any inherent social deficiency stemming from being neurodivergent.

Although, even if he does struggle socially, it's still no excuse for the rudeness he displayed to Elizabeth! My main issue with neurodivergent readings of Darcy is when they are deployed to defend his behaviour, when they attribute his rudeness to any potential neurodivergency and when they excuse his laziness. That is an awful message! Autistic people who struggle with social cues often do not, nor should they, go around insulting others. They should and often do put plenty of effort into being considerate and polite. In fact, I think, if anything, a love of rules makes us more likely to have good manners, rather than the reverse.

Ultimately, I'm not sure this line makes Mr Darcy the sympathetic-poor-sweet-innocent-shy-boy-autistic-representation that people want him to be. In fact it makes him look even worse, if anything. On matters such as these, he is every inch the conceited proud man he was widely believed to be at the Meryton assembly. Luckily, Elizabeth is an incredibly smart woman, who doesn't fall for it and immediately calls him out on his behaviour in a way that he has never experienced before. As she should!

[mayahawkeswife]

i think people really do lack the understanding of just how much representation matters.

like, chappell roan. not only is she an out and proud LESBIAN, but i just saw a interview where she opens up about how she is also demisexual. that truly struck a chord with me personally, because i’ve been struggling with figuring myself out in those terms and just hearing someone talk about it, knowing i’m not alone in my feelings and that it’s okay, really does help.

representation MATTERS. DIVERSE representation matters.

[chanelle-lize]

I used to have a really hard time bringing up the fact that I graduated from high school a year late without feeling the need to explain why and insisting that it wasn't my fault while simultaneously kicking myself for how much I sounded like I was just making excuses for something I should take responsibility for.

Then I watched Dimension 20's "The Seven" and suddenly I could simply say that I was a super senior.

The first time I heard the phrase "super senior" was in reference to Antiope Jones, a Black girl who had been held back a year after getting kidnapped and imprisoned by members of a fundamentalist cult, and like, girl, same.

So, since then, instead of anxiously spinning out any time I tried to tell a personal high school anecdote, I could just say I was a super senior, and then my brain would auto complete that statement with "like Antiope Jones" and I'd feel good about myself because Antiope Jones Is That Bitch.

That's what the problem had been the whole time. I wasn't worried about how other people would perceive me; I had been struggling with how I perceived myself.

Thanks, Aabria.

[spizgany-lipejs]

I think the romance between Hans and Henry gripped me so much not only because it's genuinely beautifully written and woven into the story. Because it is, in the end the romance between them feels like the most natural conclusion to the journey they were on since Hans first took offense to a bold peasant, and I can't remember the last time watching two people fall in love felt so genuine and real.

But what really sealed my fate when it comes to these two is that it feels like I waited for this romance to happen since I can remember. It might sound silly but this is the conclusion I was waiting for since I first saw an episode of Merlin when I was 11. The series ended at a less than satisfying note, and it was not a time when anyone would genuinely hope for any romantic conclusion to Arthur and Merlin's story. But Hans and Henry's relationship in KCD1 followed their trajectory to such an extent that I was prepared for another wholesome platonic male friendship moment even if honestly the signs were there. István and Erik's relationship was explicitly stated in the game and I never felt that it was a joke, something made up to humiliate the enemy or blame failure on sodomy. (Hello the Długosz entry of unknown origin blaming the lost battle at Varna on the King spending too much time fucking men). I cannot overstate my disbelief and delight at learning that finally this romance would get an official, canon conclusion. And for it to be so well handled, incorporated so nicely, feeling so raw and true and genuine. It's silly but these two are so important to me I'm never letting those two queer czechs go.

Often in games with multiple romance options that have any care put into them there's one or two that feel just a bit more canon. Be it more content, more (obvious, straightforward) connection to the main story, it doesn't make them canon and other options less important but it's there. I never expected Hans Capon to be this option for Kingdom Come damn Deliverance. And I'm delighted. Because warhorse didn't leave any substance for any argument that this romance is shoehorned in or less valid or out of the blue. Any argument against them is fueled by pure homophobia and bigotry. It would be anyway but they've got no tools to obfuscate. And if they cry about historical accuracy they can first bring me supporting material in Czech.

[senseearly]

INCREDIBLY SELF INDULGENT but an USUKUS where America has always only loved England, even to this day.

Like what started as a crush turned to an admiration turned to that first love-type stuff that just wont go away. Sure, America's feelings wavered throughout some points in history, but it was like a ship on an ocean. One day the waves are calm, the other day its turbulent, but youre still on that ocean, youre not getting away from it.

Sure hes gone to some dates, probably got jokingly set up by his coworkers w some humans, had some romantic tensions w other countries, as is inevitable, but England is just his the one.

I dont think hes actively pursuing it, cause hes a country (you cant get too attached with another one like you, because you can be allies in one, enemies the next, and you always have to put what you represent first than yourself). But in moments where he can be with England, not as America but as Alfred, I think he takes those moments without hesitation

[bombshellsandbluebells]

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again one of the biggest themes of this show is the denial of love and human connection, the way Lumon and oppressive powers discourage if not outright forbid it unless they can use it, the way they think love and grief are easily cut away by removing memories, and the fact that despite their best efforts, love and human connection will still blossom.

And people complain it’s a pointless straight ship when we see it expressed again with Cobel - the longing for a love/relationship/connection she could never explore with a fellow child laborer, that she likely will never get to explore because Lumon took so much from them.

[karenandhenwilson]

I think I've figured out why the insistence on including Eddie in pride posts and the systematical exclusion of Tommy grates on my nerves even more this year than it did last year.

Because every time I see people complaining about Eddie — who has now been declared straight on our TV screens by himself and his best friend — not being included in pride posts (which are coincidentally always the same people excluding an actual gay character from their pride posts) I feel the exact same way as when people protesting the existence of any pride event ask "When will we celebrate straight pride events?"

[taamlok]

one of my mutuals just posted about this but i'm going to say it too: the way a lot of ya'll are making fun of sapphics for one of the only canon lesbian relationships in gaming being unceremoniously destroyed by a studio who didn't even make the characters for a cash grab is super gross and not cute!! if you're not sapphic/a lesbian you truly can not understand what pricefield means to lesbian culture, shut up

[mr-payjay]

im actually going insane how are there so many people INSISTING pda does not have npd. pda has like the Most textbook npd i have ever seen on a character It's Okay for someone to have npd guys it doesn't make you Evil and Fucked Up

[ajastu]

sigh...

[puts on my clown hat] alright. i need to say something.

people trying to say that trans/nonbinary representation in veilguard is the worst thing thats happened to the trans community in the last half a year (im exaggerating here but u get my point) need to sit down and ask themselves a couple of questions.

1. Are you nonbinary? If not, do you know someone who is? Have you talked to them about their experiences and what its like to not fit into the strict gender binary that permeates our society on almost every level?

2. Do you think that your experiences are universal?

if you answer no and yes in that order, then i'm going to have to ask you to please put the keyboard aside and go do some self-reflection.

Because frankly. I'm kind of starting to get sick of seeing binary people try to talk about this while completely not understanding the experience and also thinking that their personal perspective is the only true and correct one.

Like, the amount of times ive seen people COMPLETELY misinterpret the scene with Taash and Neve talking in the dining room is ridiculous.

Some things are just not about you. And that's okay <3

[girl4music]

What’s the marker for “canonicity” in ships in TV art/entertainment? That’s a serious question I’m asking.

Representing or depicting any romance between the characters at all is what makes them canon to me. They don’t need to be an official couple or in a relationship. They don’t even necessarily have to kiss but it helps.

If the characters are clearly showing or expressing their romantic feelings and declaring their love for each other that’s more than enough for me to call them “canon”.

I’m just saying. I don’t know what the marker is for it. Especially not when it comes to Xena and Gabrielle.

“We didn’t cross the line completely but … these are two women who live together, travel together, had domestic duties together, die for each other, fought for each other, continually say how much they loved each other, but no. They’re not in a loving relationship.

*he shakes his head*

Excuse me?” - Steven L. Sears, After Ellen interview.

[lastoneout]

America as a country has been hypocritical for as long as it's existed, so I've always found outraged claims of "this isn't what the founding fathers wanted!" a bit silly not only because again, they were hypocritical rich land-owning white men who built things to be inherently unfair and probably would actually be totally down for a lot of fucked up shit and the only reason shit ever got fairer was a centuries long game of "hmm maybe we should change that actually" BUT ALSO because who tf cares what they think, they've been dead for like 200 years now and their opinions are moot...

...and that's why I am so stunned to have reached a point where nah actually, you're right! They wouldn't have wanted this! I think if we went back in time and showed any of the founding fathers that fucking fake TIME cover of Trump being declared the king they'd probably get pissed and ask why we haven't [REDACTED FOR LEGAL REASONS] yet.

How tf did this country get so messed up that crusty old racist genocidal slave-apologist colonialsts from the 1770s would look at us and go "hey no that's not okay" and be CORRECT.