thetownsendsw

[thetownsendsw]

I think between Ame and Steel the problem is “Well, if Grandmother Wren had made this request, stated this emergency, would she be treated this flippantly? Would she be asked for such confirmation and assumed to be a rube?” And the answer is no, because Steel knew who Grandma Wren was. Ame feels the weight of station on her shoulders and is upset that people are not appropriately deferential to the bearer of that weight, be damned if she hasn’t “proven herself”

However, if Ame had asked Steel that outright, Steel’s answer would have been to stop just short of saying “Grandma Wren wouldn’t have asked permission, she’d just have been gone,” because that would have resulted in the exact same conclusion.

God do I love how Ame and Suvi’s conflict is representative of the wider conflict between Witches and Wizards. (Long ass post incoming)

First lets look at the conflict in Chapter 2 about trusting Sly’s predictions of the conclave compared to other Citadel diviners. Witches are about community and connection. Ame trusted Sly because he had a connection to Wren, no other diviners in the Citadel had Wren’s trust that we know of just Sly. Wizards on the other hand put their faith in institutions and hierarchies. If Sly’s predictions are contradicted by those of several other diviners with more influence in the system, then his predictions should be discarded. (Also keep in mind that Sly was relegated to obscurity because his predictions were largely about things that didn’t line up with the Citadel’s priorities)

So we get tension at the end of Chapter 2 because Ame (through Wren) has a connection to and trusts more in Sly as an individual than the Citadel’s diviners as an institution. Suvi on the other hand hears Steel say that a group of diviners might have contrary evidence to what Sly predicted and instinctively puts her trust in the institution over the individual.

As a result Suvi and Steel dismiss Ame’s concerns about Sly’s predictions until Ame gets so worked up about the issue that she takes drastic action to return to Toma and prepare. Of course Suvi is right to be upset with the manor in which Ame leaves, it’s incredibly reckless and could have lead to several civilians (and Eursalon!!) getting injured or killed. However she fails to see her and Steel’s roles in pushing Ame into immediate action. Steel never took Ame seriously, and Suvi largely agreed with her.

And now we get to Episode 25 and Suvi’s scathing tirade against Ame.

A big theme of this arc seems to be how both Witches and Wizards look down on one another. Steel has her line about Witches seeing Wizards as “devious, paranoid, and buffoonish,” while Suvi blows up on Ame for “that smart ass tone about Wizards.”

And you know what they’re right. Witches do look down on Wizards.

I find myself wondering how Ame, Witch of the World’s Heart and the steward of humanity, could NOT look down on Wizards. The Wizards of the Citadel may be the brightest minds humanity has to offer, but they use those gifts to fuel a seemingly endless war with Ruve and Gouthmai (a war that threatens the lives and homes of Eursalon’s family). The Citadel seems to glorify violence (remember in Chapter 1 when Suvi proudly displayed that she spilled blood on behalf of the Citadel?). We also know from Kalaya that over time the Citadel went from what was essentially a huge university, to a homogeneous and militarized society.

Thats without even mentioning how Steel herself proves the Witches assessment of Wizards correct! Steel concocts a plan for Suvi that is devious in its intentions, paranoid in its secrecy, and buffoonish in how it could undermind the meeting of the Coven and cost both Ame and Suvi their lives if discovered. While Suvi is lecturing Ame on judging Wizards she has unknowingly agreed to a plan that proves all of her assumptions correct.

Suvi is probably my favorite character in this campaign. Aabria absolutely BRINGS IT every session. I’ve no doubt that many of the things listed in this post crossed her mind and were intentional. After all, the Citadel is a defining part of Suvi’s identity.

Wizards exist in a world that does not take them seriously. We’re 25 episodes in and spirits and witches alike have constantly referred to Wizards in pejorative terms. It’s not hard to see how someone like Suvi, born in the thick of the world of Wizards would cling to the Citadel as the lone institution of the world that advocates for Wizards. Because Suvi is a wizard she is preemptively judged by nearly every witch and spirit in the story. So of course she’ll judge them too.

After all, wouldn’t you?

#worlds beyond number #the wizard the witch and the wild one #wbn spoilers #wbn: www #wbn #suvi #ame #steel

[thetownsendsw]

the idea that restrooms, locker rooms, etc need to be single-sex spaces in order for women to be safe is patriarchy's way of signalling to men & boys that society doesn't expect them to behave themselves around women. it is directly antifeminist. it would be antifeminist even if trans people did not exist. a feminist society would demand that women should be safe in all spaces even when there are men there.

#yup #this has been my analysis too #feminism

[thetownsendsw]

its been months since i heard anyone talk about mastodon

[thetownsendsw]

Almost all sexists agree that one sex are all childish slaves to their uncontrollable passions, and the other are all heartless mercenary cynics.

The major points of disagreements between different sexists are:

which one of those is which

which one of those is good, actually

[thetownsendsw]

The fact that Chappell Roan makes nothing but bops really saved her from more people pointing out that "Hit it like rom pom pa pom / get it hot like Papa John" is genuinely one of the stupidest lyrics ever recorded

#you got me mildly obsessed with her and I’m not even into pop #but yeah there’s some weird ones in there

[thetownsendsw]

im noticing that for a lot of americans “free palestine” has been an ideological motto and symbol rather than them actually believing in their heart that freedom is attainable and necessary

[thetownsendsw]

I will forever respect Animorphs for tricking kids who are just really into animals to read a book series by going “Hey you, you daydream about what it’s like to be a dolphin or a bird or a wolf? Have I got a book for you!” and then slowly radicalizing them with 50+ books of “There are no winners in war. Whatever ‘victory’ you perceive comes at the cost of sacrificing your own morals and killing the part of you that is human. In the end you will resort to murder, torture and war crimes and the knowledge of what you have done will haunt you for as long as you live.”

#holy shit they’re all online? #animorphs

[thetownsendsw]

never let anyone tell you that trawling through mediocre victorian poetry isn't worth it. we just happened upon an absolute BANGER of a worm poem. go read it or else 🪱🪱🪱

[thetownsendsw]

Jean Luc Picard & Miles O’Brien, teetering on the edge of abject madness: “Is that… is that a Starfleet policy we can bring back, or…?”

I was thinking about the end of that one #StarTrek episode where Spock mind-melds with Kirk and makes him forget his dead android girlfriend. And… what if that happens at the end of every adventure, and we only see it one time?

What if Spock mind-wipes Kirk every time they come back to the ship? Maybe this is how Kirk stays so chipper and able to go blow up another god-computer. He literally can't remember all the shit he's dealt with before.

[thetownsendsw]

[thetownsendsw]

When the various pantheons realized beyond doubt that there were worlds beyond their purview, the God Wars began, a grand conflict to establish divine dominance in which many gods were wounded, a few, eventually, killed, and a scant number destroyed entirely, which raged until the Ascension of Death and the discovery of Magic established a mutual threat in the form of their own creations. Though followed briefly by the Sun Wars and fierce debate on the overarching structure of a united Quell, a true divine conflict did not rage across the Quell until the recent Dread Wars, and for the last 36 thousand years intercontinental conflict has been left largely to the various Kinds of Mortals.

Translated from the Travel word “Fahh,” the Quell is less a world than it is several in proximity.

Long ago, Gods emerged from a roiling Maelstrom of Sea and Sky, parted and calmed it, created Earth and Fire, and constructed Mortals to revere them.

Then realized they were not the only ones.

#quell #gods #the god wars #dread wars #sun war #worldbuilding #fantasy #creation myth #magic

[thetownsendsw]

downside: going to have to include a picture of the Giza pyramids in the slides for the lecture upside: i get to give people a crash course in why perspective matters in two frames, because

followed by

is such a funny sequence

[thetownsendsw]

Caves are weirder and more varied than you think

#reference

[thetownsendsw]

Hi all, starting today I’m going to posting daily facts and Worldbuilding details about my original fantasy setting over on this side blog. I’ll also be crossposting on this Google Doc and this thread on Bluesky. You can read a little more about it on my blog, link in bio yada yada. Please give it a look, this world is my baby and I think it’ll motivate me for people to see it.

Translated from the Travel word “Fahh,” the Quell is less a world than it is several in proximity.

Long ago, Gods emerged from a roiling Maelstrom of Sea and Sky, parted and calmed it, created Earth and Fire, and constructed Mortals to revere them.

Then realized they were not the only ones.

#quell #worldbuilding #fantasy #creation myth #tales of the quell #my writing #am writing

[thetownsendsw]

government is trying to ban tiktok meanwhile millions of poor and disabled americans are about to completely lose their internet access at the end of april because congress wont renew funding for the affordable connectivity program

hell fucking world

[thetownsendsw]

reblog if you are your url

[thetownsendsw]

Terfs really think dicks are inherently weapons of mass destruction like??? What the FUCK are u saying lmao

#terfs #feminism