Plz Reblog For Sampo Size :3

I find it infuriating that nobody seems to like Taash, but loves replacing them in mods for their romance scenes because they know it's hot.

huge fan of how whenever you try to address that the trend of black characters consistently being seen as less attractive and interesting due to traits that people famously laud white characters over is a systemic occurrence and even if you don't realize this about yourself it's important to recognize the pattern there will always without fail be at least 30 different chucklefucks going "so true i just didn't like him because i like this white character more but you're so right 🥰" it's awesome actually

Okay, let's talk about the coming out scene, because people are saying Taash was the one out of line.

Shathann is a sympathetic character. That does not make her a good person. She saved her child from a life of servitude by leaving the country she loved and tried to preserve that culture in her child. I respect that. I also wish there was a way to encourage Taash to embrace both sides of their culture.

BUT.

From the moment we meet her, Shathann criticizes literally everything her child does. Taash runs an errand for her, and Shathann criticizes their posture, pronunciation, gender presentation, AND sexuality, completely unprovoked, yes, in one fucking conversation. Shathann invites Taash over for dinner and then makes Taash cook that fucking dinner. And this has happened before, as stated in the dialogue. Taash is so affected by this behavior and probably worse they have endured their entire life that they say "you don't get to tell me who I am" at a simple question about their heritage, out of pure instinct.

Now to the actual scene.

Taash invites their mother to their new home and prepares a dinner for her, which Shathann immediately criticizes and has Taash make vegetables to go with. Can you imagine inviting someone into your home for dinner you prepare only for them to shit on it and ask you to cook more. And Taash does so, with a grunt. I'd be like bitch you're in my house, I cooked, eat. But they just do it.

Then they say it. "Im nonbinary." Shathann asks what that means, completely fair, and Taash explains that it means they're not a man or a woman.

Shathann asks if this is because she criticizes their gender presentation. Now listen. I have a parent who thinks nearly everything "wrong" with me is a reaction to their actions. It pisses me off. So Taash is getting reasonably frustrated, and insists that's not why. VALID. They were asked a question and they answered.

Let's talk about the Qun and gender identity. Yes they have a word for people who identify as a different gender than they were assigned. But this is implied to apply to trans men and women, not nonbinary people, so Shathann is asking Taash if they "just" identify as a man, because that's something Shathann can better understand, something more convenient for her to process. Sort of like when trans people come out to someone and are asked if they're "just gay."

No. And Taash says no. They have explained who they are. If Shathann was just having a hard time processing it that would be one thing, but she basically talked over Taash and tried to suggest that they were just a man, which they are not. Taash is being vulnerable. Taash doesn't even HAVE to tell Shathann this, but they want to, they think she deserves to know.

And what Taash says next is not purely to do with this one conversation, as explicit in the text. "why am I never enough for you." Never. Not now. We have seen Shathann critique Taash in every scene they share, and that's with a whole other person present who is not in the family. We don't know what happens in private. Shathann signed her child up for a fucking war without even talking to them about it. What Taash says is the build up of years of being talked over and criticized for everything they do, provoked by offering themselves to that person in a vulnerable position only to be talked over and criticized more.

"Why am I never enough for you."

And Shathann does not answer. She doesnt say "of course you are." Even if she disagreed with Taash's identity, which would be shitty, she could still affirm that they are enough for her. She doesn't.

She fucking leaves.

Maybe she thinks that's what Taash wants. Maybe not. But if someone asks you something like that, you affirm them. You say they are enough. Especially if they're your fucking child. But no, this conversation is too inconvenient for Shathann, she's not getting her way like she did when she signed Taash up for a war without their consent, so she just leaves. She could've said "I don't understand, but I love you." She couldve said anything. But she just left.

I'm sad she died. Im glad she accepted her child in the end. But no, Taash was not in any way out of line in this conversation.

Shathann was.

reminder: liking a trans woman doesn’t make a man gay. kissing a trans woman doesn’t make a man gay. falling in love with a trans woman doesn’t make a man gay. having sex with a trans woman doesn’t make a man gay. even having sex with many trans women, or only trans women, doesn’t make a man gay. there is no conceivable sex act a man could engage in with a trans woman, no matter what her genital status, that would make him gay, or even bi.

only preferring men makes a man gay or bi

and trans women are women

it’s really just that simple

rinse & repeat

Good job. You panned a great game with some of the most diversity in gaming history, a poc cast and a nonbinary character played by a nonbinary actor, and the ability to be trans or nonbinary yourself and talk about it in the game. Congratulations. If we don't get another game with this level of representation for years you know what the fuck happened.

Thinking about them (Taash)

I think a lot of people dislike Taash discussing gender and being non-binary so explicitly because it forces them to acknowledge those issues rather than remain comfortable ignoring them. Transgender identities in Veilguard are not an innuendo, an off-handed remark, but they're mentioned and discussed in a way that prevents working around them and disregarding them. All the talk of people mentioning how DA games should be "medieval fantasy" and not use "modern language" is just a facade for wanting to be able to ignore what makes people uncomfortable.

I would love love LOVE it if Taash wasn’t constantly misgendered!!! It’s genuinely really fucking insane that MONTHS after Veilguard has been released and people STILL can’t get it right.

Deadass i literally don’t care whether or not anyone here even likes Taash, but the BARE MINIMUM is to use their correct pronouns.

Apologies for sounding so angry about it but like I’m beyond tired of seeing it, especially since Taash is one of my favorite Dragon Age characters.

DAV is about trauma, bonds, and the importance of found family. It's not about Rook having a harem.

If you're unable to see adults work through their issues like people with emotional maturity beyond what a teenager would have (don't you even start if you're gonna throw shade at Taash) and have that make sense to you-- get therapy.

That's not an insult. Like, therapy helps you navigate your own emotions. How to support other people's emotions. How to see value in your beliefs even if they don't quite make sense to you. Even if you've been hurt. It's about everyone bringing uniqueness and value to a team through only what THEY can offer.

It's okay to have phobias. It's okay to be angry. It's okay to see a different future than what you thought was set out for you. It's okay to claim a new identity for yourself. To fight for family and subsequently let them go even when you don't want to. To accept familial trauma and move to change it. To let yourself be vulnerable and accept love, even if you're scared of losing it.

Get the fuck over book club and realize that is a throwaway joke to make you laugh at how goofy the companions can be. Jesus.

Ahh, I remember the day when I decided that my Rook and all of my future Rooks were going to romance Taash.