i have been thinking about how to make my writing for my podcast more explicitly queer, since although all of my characters on the show are queer and those who are in relationships are in queer relationships, i haven’t been working hard enough to forefront queerness in any meaningful way. it’s not exactly that i feel like i need to in order to make their identities valid; we do, after all, have homophobia and transphobia as lines on the show, so pushback never becomes an issue. rather that i want it to be centered, sometimes, to be clear that this is an important part of my characters and it shouldn’t be ignored or forgotten.
those of our listeners who know me know that i hold a deep affection in my heart for sable the unfavored, an older wanderer who hasn’t had a home in 200 years, the last living acolyte of a forgotten god who knew them living, and the secret love of that same god. (these aren’t spoilers, this all comes up in their very first appearance on the podcast, in arc 4.) i have been wanting to center their centuries of wandering in a story somehow and i think i have finally, finally figured out how to do so. and, as is tradition with the podcast, it involves playing a game.
together we write private cathedrals is a game by ben roswell, based on the work of takuma okada. it’s a journaling game about writing queer history and, quite simply, some of the most beautiful writing i’ve ever read in my entire life. (you can buy yourself a copy of the game on itch.io here.) the game is designed for two players, but as it is a letter-writing/journaling game it is definitely able to be played solo, and that’s what i plan on doing.
gameplay is simple; i will draw a card to establish the kind of document and the subject on which i write, and i roll a six-sided die in order to determine how safe i am to write, and how explicit i can be about my queerness. in my posts i’ll include the card suit and number, and the dice roll, in the title or introduction, so you, the reader, know what is happening. private cathedrals is a journaling game, but it is still a game, and i’d like to share the gameplay with you as well as the writings.
the game itself deals explicitly with homophobia and transphobia, which as i said are two of our lines. just to be really, really clear right now: i am probably going to end up crossing those lines in places in order to stay true to the game’s heart. though i highly doubt that in the sundered land homophobia and transphobia as we know it exist, sable has reasons for not telling anyone about the true nature of their relationship with their deity. i want to explore that in play, and explore sable’s unedited feelings about their relationship as they pour their feelings onto the page and, eventually, give up journaling altogether (or at least until they reach the city of gulls.)
i cannot promise a consistent update schedule. but i will try to get the letters up as i write them. there will be a masterpost of the letters i will be pinning to my twitter and linking to the sidebar so you can return to them even when i’ve moved on to other endeavors.
i hope this is as exciting for you all as it is for me. i can’t wait to explore this history deeper.
