In an effort to share a little black and queer history during this turbulent Pride month, here’s a comic about one of my favorite musicians, Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
I almost included this tidbit, but then I got lazy bc I didn’t want to draw a bus, but now I kinda wish I had.
If you were wondering what “gospel rock” sounds like:
1964. Not ancient history. The Beatles were climbing up the charts with “She Loves You” and “I Wanna Hold Your Hand.” Surfer rock had the Beach Boys “I Get Around” was was competing with Jan and Dean’s “Dead Man’s Curve. Manfred Mann’s “Do Wah Diddy” was a hit with staying power. The Supremes performed “Where Did Our Love Go?” on tv this year or early in the next.
These two spells are unique in that the verbal and somatic components vary wildly from culture-to-culture.
In Bless’ case, the components often resemble “positive” gestures and sayings that locals use (e.g. thumbs-up, a peace-sign, saying Salud or Sláinte). In Bane’s case, the components resemble “much-less-than-positive” gestures and sayings (you don’t need me to list those).
Because the same gesture can mean something wildly different from culture-to-culture, you have fringe cases where the same somatic component can be used for two different spell. For example, if the caster came from a culture where the “OK” hand symbol means “Asshole,” it can be used to cast Bane. If the caster thinks it just means “OK,” they are apt to use it to cast Bless.
This doesn’t really have any practical, field application, but it goes to show how Magic seems to rely on presupposition to work at all.
This is further exemplified when either spell is cast at the 9th level. Eleven whole people are either helped or harmed by a 1d4′s worth of… something. They likely don’t know what a 1d4 is, but they know that something really good or really bad is likely to happen. This combined sense of expectation is usually enough to get the gods to shift their gaze and perhaps… intervene. Lest eleven whole people lose their faith in the power behind blessings and middle-fingers.
mostly just ‘OUUGHOHOHOHOOOOO’ if we’re being totally honest here
Their defense seems to be looking like a smaller snake
their other main defense is that they have the longest fangs of any snake in the world, at over one and a half inches long!
they also have potent venom and LOTS of it, meaning a single gaboon viper is carrying enough poison punch in those cute liddle cheeks to kill upwards of 30 adult humans.
luckily though, having the snake equivalent of a nuclear arsenal in their face just makes them… super chill, actually. bites to humans from gaboon vipers are ASTONISHINGLY rare, and even stepping on one with your giant human feet doesn’t necessarily guarantee a retaliatory bite! (though it for sure hurts the snake’s feelings, so watch where you step)
they’re so chill, in fact, that scientists who study them have been known to just pick the dang things up barehanded and stuff them into specimen boxes that way, though I super do not recommend you do this.
basically: GOOD SNAKE, BEST FRIEND, LEAVE THEM ALONE AND THEY’LL BE CHILL
