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Just got back from Gen Con—it was awesome to see so many folks wearing "gaymer" or "ally" ribbons on their convention badges. Thanks for helping us LGBT and allied gamers increase our visibility and build a sense of community, Tabletop Gaymers!
[Edit: Fixed the link.]
Actually that sounds really cool if you're comfortable messaging me the info. It's cool that you identify with the term, and the context you provided is definitely more helpful than my initial Google search. I was under the impression that old Germanic attitudes toward nonbinary folk and the defying of gender roles was generally disapproving; of course, that doesn't mean us nb's didn't exist anyway, and I'm guessing a lot of what I think I know is centuries-old Christian propaganda. Which I vaguely remember is the original intent of Beowulf? Glad to hear you're queering it up. :^DHad to look that word up. I was disheartened, but not surprised, to learn the etymology of the English word "bad." I guess homophobic slurs have just always been a fundamental part of the language. :-/Welcome Wei Ji! c:
Now that I wonder about it, how would 'not playing the character of the opposite gender' work for me? Would every character I play be a bæddel? :Þ
It's actually a complicated history. o:
I personally find the etymology of bæddel to be empowering since it literally means 'person who defiles [christian gender roles]', and turning the tables on gender is something I've always done since I was a baby. Since it was used in a hybrid christian-heathen time, it also points directly to people whose gender performances made sense in heathenry, but not christianity. As a devotee of Thor who practices reconstructionist Germanic heathenry, that is also descriptive of me.
You should probably also see the tag on my blog where I muse on the nature of what the words bæddel and argr describe in Old English and Old Norse, but I'd have to send that link to you in private.
Yeah, the reality is, all the gods are ergi. Odin practices effeminate magic that he learns from Freyja, and he wears a dress when doing so. There is nothing in the text (tho the poetic edda itself should be taken with a grain of salt as to whether it's representative of old heathen attitudes) to indicate Thor was actually upset about wearing a dress to disguise as Freyja. Loki, the most obviously ergi god, is shameless about his effeminacy. Heimdall is super effeminate also, and Saxo Grammaticus has reported of effeminate men who worshipped Freyr with jingling bells, and Frej's penis is literally an object of worship. Also Freyja and Freyr are aspects of each other.
And you're right about Bēowulf. THe manuscript was written during a heathen-christian transitional period, and it is a product of its time. I believe that Bēowulf is actually based on an older oral tradition about a hero with connection to bears who tore the arm of a giant, because of the Norwegian text Bjarki that is a similar story, and the existence of a similar giant character who had his arm ripped off by a hero in, what was it, Transylvania? That Saxon immigrants may have carried there.
And every time an oral story is told, it is rewritten. When the monks told the story, they rewrote it, and it was imbued with their christian ideas, as well as the heathen ideas the story was already built on.
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I can't wait until I get the opportunities to play Dragon Age.
Is Inquisition one of the games where you get to do gay romances? Cus I will play a woman and romance the heck out of her c:<
EDIT: Not that the character models will stop me. I have a tendency to make a male character, point my finger at it and say "That's a woman". Mostly because I want muscles and/or beard options.
There are same sex romance options in Inquisition, yes. In addition to a few bi characters, the game made some waves by including a character who was exclusively a lesbian and another who is a gay man.
Have at it :)
Just got back from Gen Con—it was awesome to see so many folks wearing "gaymer" or "ally" ribbons on their convention badges. Thanks for helping us LGBT and allied gamers increase our visibility and build a sense of community, Tabletop Gaymers!
I keep trying to get this link and it tells me I've asked for it too many times.
I'm only clicking it once every two minutes and the same message comes up.
I am NOT getting this message for any other forum link.
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Contributor
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Just got back from Gen Con—it was awesome to see so many folks wearing "gaymer" or "ally" ribbons on their convention badges. Thanks for helping us LGBT and allied gamers increase our visibility and build a sense of community, Tabletop Gaymers!I keep trying to get this link and it tells me I've asked for it too many times.
I'm only clicking it once every two minutes and the same message comes up.
I am NOT getting this message for any other forum link.
Fixed link. ^_^
Look at the link in her post - it includes redundant text that attempts to send it somewhere on Paizo. I've seen this happen before.
Just got back from Gen Con—it was awesome to see so many folks wearing "gaymer" or "ally" ribbons on their convention badges. Thanks for helping us LGBT and allied gamers increase our visibility and build a sense of community, Tabletop Gaymers!I keep trying to get this link and it tells me I've asked for it too many times.
I'm only clicking it once every two minutes and the same message comes up.
I am NOT getting this message for any other forum link.
Fixed link. ^_^
Look at the link in her post - it includes redundant text that attempts to send it somewhere on Paizo. I've seen this happen before.
Those *both* appear to be the same link from this end. They keep routing to somewhere on the paizo site when I click on them, though.
That seems to have done the trick. Sorry for any inconvenience or confusion...
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As far as I can tell, no one cares about double, triple, quadruple, or ten-in-a-row posts here. You should see 50-odd post long rants on FAWTL thread.
I think the tipping point in my awareness was playing on a particular MMO and there were several individuals who crossed into the 'creepy/stalker' zone and presumed that I was female IRL because 'You don't act like a guy playing a girl'. Wut??And how is that? o.OI presume they mean that they don't act like a sexist objectifying douchenozzle, since majority of creepy guys who play girls in games do it for the þā ærs ond titte.
EDIT: Actually I saw a graph shared by my friend who plays Guild Wars 2 of how the amount of men who play female characters swells significantly for races with breasts. :/
I can't wait until I get the opportunities to play Dragon Age.
Is Inquisition one of the games where you get to do gay romances? Cus I will play a woman and romance the heck out of her c:<
EDIT: Not that the character models will stop me. I have a tendency to make a male character, point my finger at it and say "That's a woman". Mostly because I want muscles and/or beard options.
There are same sex romance options in Inquisition, yes. In addition to a few bi characters, the game made some waves by including a character who was exclusively a lesbian and another who is a gay man.
Have at it :)
On an unrelated note, I've decided to restrict my absurd perfectionist Paizo reading quest to only material produced by paizo that have official pdfs, since looking for compleat encounter pdfs and scans of item pack one turned out a failure.
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Is Inquisition one of the games where you get to do gay romances? Cus I will play a woman and romance the heck out of her c:<
EDIT: Not that the character models will stop me. I have a tendency to make a male character, point my finger at it and say "That's a woman". Mostly because I want muscles and/or beard options.
You can have gay romances in all of the Dragon Age games, though I think it's handled best in Inquisition.
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Ok I read Shardra's story and it's pretty cool! I don't see what's so hamfisted about it. >:c
Simple:
*presents cast of Cis characters*
*add ONE trans character*
"QUIT CATERING TO THE TRANS COMMUNITY!!!!!!"
So yeah, apparently having to acknowledge certain groups even exist is too much for some people and they actually experience sanity shattering madness and pain Lovecraft style for trying to comprehend this simple fact of life.
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[
*add ONE trans character*"QUIT CATERING TO THE TRANS COMMUNITY!!!!!!"
So yeah, apparently having to acknowledge certain groups even exist is too much for some people and they actually experience sanity shattering madness and pain Lovecraft style for trying to comprehend this simple fact of life.
And this sort of mentality is disturbingly common and not just isolated to heteronormative cis-gendered folks. There were a few people I used to game with that were of a non-traditional orientation that insisted that trans was 'just made up' and that folks saying that were 'just closeted' from being 'gay'.
Yes. I looked for new friends, especially after the amount of vitriol that came along with that...
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Ok I read Shardra's story and it's pretty cool! I don't see what's so hamfisted about it. >:cSimple:
*presents cast of Cis characters*
*add ONE trans character*
"QUIT CATERING TO THE TRANS COMMUNITY!!!!!!"
So yeah, apparently, having to acknowledge certain groups even exist is too much for some people and they actually experience sanity shattering madness and pain Lovecraft style for trying to comprehend this simple fact of life.
Note that afaik few of the other iconics are canon cis. Amiri is the only where the implication is so heavy one could consider her canon cis. It's kind of implied with Alain, Sajan and Hayato, but not very strongly. The backstories of Balazar, Lirienne, Damiel, Ezren, Reiko, Merisiel, Feiya, Harsk, Seltiyel, Seelah, Imrijka, Kyra, Lem, Seoni, Lini, and Valeros are all silent on the subject.
Of course, there's the attitude of "cis and straight unless otherwise specified" that is so common we can likely assume that's how they where written, but since there's no answer canon so far, my headcanon of "several of them are trans" is as valid as "they're cis". Also, in my headcanon, gnomes don't perceive gender as we do and think the concept of a "gender binary" is as silly as dividing all mammals into cats and dogs.
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Trans girl Seoni c:
On a side note, I always thought of the Roseblood Sprites as being intersex and not having genders. This is probably influenced by the fact that roses are monoecious plants.
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Trans girl Seoni c:
Funny you should mention that...
To me, though? It's the other way around. Instead of a sorceress who turned herself into a fighter, it's a thuggish, busted-up dude who turned himself into a beautiful and mysterious girl. All his skills and strength in a beautiful female(-presenting?) body.
Maybe it's silly... but that's why I favor this art so much (and have, ever since the book came out).
That's my version, anyway. ^_^
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You can have gay romances in all of the Dragon Age games, though I think it's handled best in Inquisition.Is Inquisition one of the games where you get to do gay romances? Cus I will play a woman and romance the heck out of her c:<
EDIT: Not that the character models will stop me. I have a tendency to make a male character, point my finger at it and say "That's a woman". Mostly because I want muscles and/or beard options.
I'd object to that, at least so far as lesbian relationships go. Sera is hands down the most unpleasant party member ever to appear in a Bioware game, Josephine's romance plot is was way too cliche and embarrasingly sweet, and a Harding romance is only ever hinted at. Lesbian players seem to really get left out in terms of good romance options.
Also irritated at how none of the female companions are pleasant people to be around.
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RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 32
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Ok I read Shardra's story and it's pretty cool! I don't see what's so hamfisted about it. >:cSimple:
*presents cast of Cis characters*
*add ONE trans character*
"QUIT CATERING TO THE TRANS COMMUNITY!!!!!!"
So yeah, apparently, having to acknowledge certain groups even exist is too much for some people and they actually experience sanity shattering madness and pain Lovecraft style for trying to comprehend this simple fact of life.
Note that afaik few of the other iconics are canon cis. Amiri is the only where the implication is so heavy one could consider her canon cis. It's kind of implied with Alain, Sajan and Hayato, but not very strongly. The backstories of Balazar, Lirienne, Damiel, Ezren, Reiko, Merisiel, Feiya, Harsk, Seltiyel, Seelah, Imrijka, Kyra, Lem, Seoni, Lini, and Valeros are all silent on the subject.
Of course, there's the attitude of "cis and straight unless otherwise specified" that is so common we can likely assume that's how they where written, but since there's no answer canon so far, my headcanon of "several of them are trans" is as valid as "they're cis". Also, in my headcanon, gnomes don't perceive gender as we do and think the concept of a "gender binary" is as silly as dividing all mammals into cats and dogs.
Actually, Liz Courts stated in a forum post after the fact that Reiko is gender fluid (is there a space or is it genderfluid?).
Actually, Liz Courts stated in a forum post after the fact that Reiko is gender fluid (is there a space or is it genderfluid?).
I've seen both. I'm sure its fine either way tho I think without a space is more aesthetically pleasing.
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System Administrator
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I'd object to that, at least so far as lesbian relationships go. Sera is hands down the most unpleasant party member ever to appear in a Bioware game, Josephine's romance plot is was way too cliche and embarrasingly sweet, and a Harding romance is only ever hinted at. Lesbian players seem to really get left out in terms of good romance options.
Also irritated at how none of the female companions are pleasant people to be around.
Agreed. My biggest problem with inquisition is actually there are only about 4 of the characters that you can play with that are actually pleasant to be around, at least in your party and the two women who aren't cassandra are the most unpleasant on the team.
Actually, Liz Courts stated in a forum post after the fact that Reiko is gender fluid (is there a space or is it genderfluid?).
Cool! Did not know that.
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Agreed. My biggest problem with inquisition is actually there are only about 4 of the characters that you can play with that are actually pleasant to be around, at least in your party and the two women who aren't cassandra are the most unpleasant on the team.I'd object to that, at least so far as lesbian relationships go. Sera is hands down the most unpleasant party member ever to appear in a Bioware game, Josephine's romance plot is was way too cliche and embarrasingly sweet, and a Harding romance is only ever hinted at. Lesbian players seem to really get left out in terms of good romance options.
Also irritated at how none of the female companions are pleasant people to be around.
And Cassandra is hetero, made my Qunari sad after I found that out after already playing for hours -_-
Agreed. My biggest problem with inquisition is actually there are only about 4 of the characters that you can play with that are actually pleasant to be around, at least in your party and the two women who aren't cassandra are the most unpleasant on the team.I'd object to that, at least so far as lesbian relationships go. Sera is hands down the most unpleasant party member ever to appear in a Bioware game, Josephine's romance plot is was way too cliche and embarrasingly sweet, and a Harding romance is only ever hinted at. Lesbian players seem to really get left out in terms of good romance options.
Also irritated at how none of the female companions are pleasant people to be around.
interesting. Inquisition may just end up on the back burner indefinitely.
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I'm on board with Sera being deeply unpleasant, but I liked Vivianne myself.
I do like the theory that:
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For some reason I am driven to collect everything that paizo has ever produced and published
Going to put that on my list of hobbies to get into when I have disposable income.
I'm on board with Sera being deeply unpleasant, but I liked Vivianne myself.
I do like the theory that:
** spoiler omitted **
Huh. That actually makes quite a bit of sense, now that I think about it, especially with
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I'd object to that, at least so far as lesbian relationships go. Sera is hands down the most unpleasant party member ever to appear in a Bioware game, Josephine's romance plot is was way too cliche and embarrasingly sweet, and a Harding romance is only ever hinted at. Lesbian players seem to really get left out in terms of good romance options.
Also irritated at how none of the female companions are pleasant people to be around.
See, I adored Sera from the moment she first appeared. But I have a history of loving video game characters others can stand. (see also: Vanille)
My longstanding gripe with Bioware's lesbian romances is that they only know how to write the femme side of the romance, so you are never allowed to be the femme romancing a butch. (Would it have been so hard to have let me romance Jack? Or Aveline? Or even Samara? Sigh.)
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So there's something that's been bugging me, on the topic of trans characters in games. Currently my most accessible way of playing is through PFS, and I'm playing for credit at someone's home with people who are some of the people I most enjoy playing with, whom I met through PFS. I made a vigilante for the play test, and I thought it would be interesting to use the Dual Identity to explore a split gender expression character--something like having a masculine nb social identity and a feminine nb vigilante identity. But I didn't get very far in exploring the idea, because I don't know if I can trust my group to not be terrible about it, even if just out of ignorance. So I just made yet another femme cis woman character because that's as close as I can get to my preferred gender expression in a Pathfinder character right now.
Heh. My playtest Vigilante (which I never got to actually play) was the same way in reverse -- feminine social identity, and masculine vigilante identity.
Of course, she was going to be a gnome fey zealot with an orange bodysuit and a big fake moustache named The Lorax! -- so the gender stuff wouldn't have been the most notable part. :)
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Just got back from Gen Con—it was awesome to see so many folks wearing "gaymer" or "ally" ribbons on their convention badges. Thanks for helping us LGBT and allied gamers increase our visibility and build a sense of community, Tabletop Gaymers!
[Edit: Fixed the link.]
They were so popular I wasn't able to find one for myself until Saturday. Fortunately I'd asked Chris Self for one the day before when I was picking up my subscriptions, and so he saved one for me.
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Found out last night that my brother has recently told his oldest that I exist. I find the possibility of a reconciliation after nine years of estrangement to be rather terrifying.
Without being too preachy about it, remember that you are your own person. It will be hard to reconcile if your brother refuses to accept the reality of your situation.
But if he is accepting? Congratulations and hang in there. It'll probably be rough at first, but hang in there. And be ready for curious questions.
*notes that he hasn't been in this position, but was estranged from his brother for several years for his behavioral issues and after he 'settled down' some, said brother became a very responsible individual.*
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I'd object to that, at least so far as lesbian relationships go. Sera is hands down the most unpleasant party member ever to appear in a Bioware game, Josephine's romance plot is was way too cliche and embarrasingly sweet, and a Harding romance is only ever hinted at. Lesbian players seem to really get left out in terms of good romance options.
Also irritated at how none of the female companions are pleasant people to be around.
See, I adored Sera from the moment she first appeared. But I have a history of loving video game characters others can stand. (see also: Vanille)
My longstanding gripe with Bioware's lesbian romances is that they only know how to write the femme side of the romance, so you are never allowed to be the femme romancing a butch. (Would it have been so hard to have let me romance Jack? Or Aveline? Or even Samara? Sigh.)
I found Sera entertaining - we were best pals chatting out on the rooftop. But then, the whole time I was pretty busy getting into Dorian's pants...
I wasted some time trying to romance Cullen, but only wound up with a decent bromance out of the deal.
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I'd object to that, at least so far as lesbian relationships go. Sera is hands down the most unpleasant party member ever to appear in a Bioware game, Josephine's romance plot is was way too cliche and embarrasingly sweet, and a Harding romance is only ever hinted at. Lesbian players seem to really get left out in terms of good romance options.
Also irritated at how none of the female companions are pleasant people to be around.
See, I adored Sera from the moment she first appeared. But I have a history of loving video game characters others can stand. (see also: Vanille)
My longstanding gripe with Bioware's lesbian romances is that they only know how to write the femme side of the romance, so you are never allowed to be the femme romancing a butch. (Would it have been so hard to have let me romance Jack? Or Aveline? Or even Samara? Sigh.)
I would have been happy with all of this.
And tali.
I don't want to maleshep for tali.
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I'd object to that, at least so far as lesbian relationships go. Sera is hands down the most unpleasant party member ever to appear in a Bioware game, Josephine's romance plot is was way too cliche and embarrasingly sweet, and a Harding romance is only ever hinted at. Lesbian players seem to really get left out in terms of good romance options.
Also irritated at how none of the female companions are pleasant people to be around.
See, I adored Sera from the moment she first appeared. But I have a history of loving video game characters others can stand. (see also: Vanille)
My longstanding gripe with Bioware's lesbian romances is that they only know how to write the femme side of the romance, so you are never allowed to be the femme romancing a butch. (Would it have been so hard to have let me romance Jack? Or Aveline? Or even Samara? Sigh.)
I would have been happy with all of this.
And tali.
I don't want to maleshep for tali.
After watching my buddy play Mass Effect and seeing how interested I was in it he loaned me his copy ME 1 & 2. I asked him if you could romance Tali as either gender or only one and he said either so I made a Femshep and played all the way through 1 and then (begrudgingly) 2....
I was not happy.
In his defense he had only played a Maleshep and romanced her and was misinformed himself on FemshepxTali.
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I never understood the appeal of the Tali romance... She was too much the hero worshiping little sister for me.
I didn't really get that vibe from her, but what I like about her.
Snarky.
Intelligent.
Names her drones.
Fun to have in the party.
Wanting to know what's under that suit.
DAT ACCENT.
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I'd object to that, at least so far as lesbian relationships go. Sera is hands down the most unpleasant party member ever to appear in a Bioware game, Josephine's romance plot is was way too cliche and embarrasingly sweet, and a Harding romance is only ever hinted at. Lesbian players seem to really get left out in terms of good romance options.
Also irritated at how none of the female companions are pleasant people to be around.
See, I adored Sera from the moment she first appeared. But I have a history of loving video game characters others can stand. (see also: Vanille)
My longstanding gripe with Bioware's lesbian romances is that they only know how to write the femme side of the romance, so you are never allowed to be the femme romancing a butch. (Would it have been so hard to have let me romance Jack? Or Aveline? Or even Samara? Sigh.)
I would have been happy with all of this.
And tali.
I don't want to maleshep for tali.
After watching my buddy play Mass Effect and seeing how interested I was in it he loaned me his copy ME 1 & 2. I asked him if you could romance Tali as either gender or only one and he said either so I made a Femshep and played all the way through 1 and then (begrudgingly) 2....
I was not happy.
In his defense he had only played a Maleshep and romanced her and was misinformed himself on FemshepxTali.
I have read that the original intent was for Tali to be romanceable by Femshep in ME2, but that the voice actress objected.
EDIT: But a little bit of googling to confirm didn't turn anything up. So set that one to "rumor" status.
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I'd object to that, at least so far as lesbian relationships go. Sera is hands down the most unpleasant party member ever to appear in a Bioware game, Josephine's romance plot is was way too cliche and embarrasingly sweet, and a Harding romance is only ever hinted at. Lesbian players seem to really get left out in terms of good romance options.
Also irritated at how none of the female companions are pleasant people to be around.
See, I adored Sera from the moment she first appeared. But I have a history of loving video game characters others can stand. (see also: Vanille)
My longstanding gripe with Bioware's lesbian romances is that they only know how to write the femme side of the romance, so you are never allowed to be the femme romancing a butch. (Would it have been so hard to have let me romance Jack? Or Aveline? Or even Samara? Sigh.)
I would have been happy with all of this.
And tali.
I don't want to maleshep for tali.
After watching my buddy play Mass Effect and seeing how interested I was in it he loaned me his copy ME 1 & 2. I asked him if you could romance Tali as either gender or only one and he said either so I made a Femshep and played all the way through 1 and then (begrudgingly) 2....
I was not happy.
In his defense he had only played a Maleshep and romanced her and was misinformed himself on FemshepxTali.
I have read that the original intent was for Tali to be romanceable by Femshep in ME2, but that the voice actress objected.
EDIT: But a little bit of googling to confirm didn't turn anything up. So set that one to "rumor" status.
Like, Tali's VA or FemShep's VA? I just don't see Jennifer Hale (FemShep) having issues with that, she's very pro-LGBT inclusion in games.
I never understood the appeal of the Tali romance... She was too much the hero worshiping little sister for me.I didn't really get that vibe from her, but what I like about her.
Snarky.
Intelligent.
Names her drones.
Fun to have in the party.
Wanting to know what's under that suit.
DAT ACCENT.
for me, it was love when she gives Jacob a "f~~& you" glare when he mentions the ship they are on has an ai.