User blog:Pelinal Whitestrake/The true meaning of C0DA

Hello, everyone. I noticed that many people seem to hate Michael Kirkbrides graphic Novel called "C0DA" (Link to it: http://c0da.es/ ). Apparently, even fewer people actually read it and thought about it long enough before being able to make an opinion of it. Many people seem to think that C0DA is ridiculous, not-canon (God, I hate the word "canon"), childish, etc. In this blog I want to explain the true meaning of C0DA to people who totally ignore it's message.

C0DA was supposed to end all Canon Wars. That's it. Let me explain.

So, we all know that C0DA has some unconventional things about it (the Televisionheads are often called that). But people who say that this stuff is ridiculous aren't even trying to look at it with another perspective, in another way. No, you just take it as obvious. I think the post of a person from the official Bethesda Forums can describe it better than I could:

"Hmm, this was a much more straightforward read than I expected.

'I was thinking C0DA would be a treatise on some of the unanswered metaphysical mysteries MK has developed, but the finished product seems to intentionally avoid that. Instead it's a metaphor for MK's vision of what the lore community could be.'

'Canon is a modern concept that is really only relevant in an era that recognizes intellectual property rights. Where narrative is a profit-driven endeavor and stories are owned by corporations. The mythologies of the past were ever evolving, tweaked by hundreds of anonymous storytellers, changing, growing, self-contradicting and alive.'

'This story protests the modern situation. It's a showdown between corporate canon and ancient open-source storytelling.'

'So we have Jubal slay Numidium and marry Vivec. Numidium represents the non-contributor who sits back and nay-says everyone else's ideas intead of inventing their own Tamriel. Jubal's eventual accusation is that this sort of thinking secretly wants a "victor" - a version that wins at the expense of eveyone else. This is why Jubal cuts off his hands. He is not engaging in an argument, he is embracing all versions of Tamriel and declaring everything equally valid. That is why the story ends in a marriage. Compromise and happy coexistance instead of battle between ideas. This leads to the birth of the Amaranth - YOU (or I guess WE) - taking ownership of the TES myth back from Bethesda and making our own contributions without worrying which is truer.'

'Everyone keeps asking "which Nerevar", because all of our Nerevars are equally valid. Jubal tells several versions of Vivec's story to emphasize that many different Tamriels can co-exist. The weird TV-head part is there to comment on the commercial nature of canon that is dictated by a corporation for profit. '

'It's not a new idea. Many people including myself have espoused this viewpoint for ages now. I suppose it is nice to hear it from someone whose ideas are often elevated above those of the rest of the community however. MK's Tamriel ain't more true than yours, so mutate his version to your liking. And then bring it to us, because myth doesn't become myth until it is shared.'"

Source: http://forums.bethsoft.com/topic/1488812-c0da-lore-discussion/page-4?hl=%20c0da

As this User (Toesock) says, Canon is something modern. Something which restricts our imagination through telling us what exactly is in which game, and which is not. Canon is something modern, which didn't exist some decades ago. Again, the concept of "Canon" restricts us.

As Toesock continues to say, Numidium represents the people who deny anything which isn't mentioned in a game and deemed officialy "Canon" by the company creating the game. Those people want their own version of Tamriel- the one dictated by all games (or rather the one dictated by themselves, since Bethesda never stated what is canon)- to be the one which is always accepted. Then there's Jubal, the "ideal" lore expert MK imagines. Jubal cuts his hands of, as a sign that he won't even try to argue against a different version of Tamriel. He accepts it, and even embraces it. The Amaranth/New Man represents us fans realizing that we can all imagine our own Tamriel without having to constantly argue with one another about what is "Canon".

The example "which Nerevar" proves that all different Nerevarines (the characters different players create in TESIII: Morrowind) AND Nerevars (the ones from the different storys regarding his death and what happened in Red Mountain) are all true and can be possible.

As Toesock says, the Televisionheads are supposed to symbolize the "commercial nature of canon that is dictated by a corporation for profit.". In short: A company saying what is canon.

Oh, and yes, MK agreed on this.

So guys, the point is that Canon Wars should be over. All what these wars do are causing Anger and Frustration for people who want to invent their own part of a wonderful world. C0DA is purposefully so unconventional: It's supposed to symbolize the end of all Canon Wars.

So, we readers have a choice. We either continue the modern concept of Canon and ruin creations of creative TES fans who want to have fun, or we slay the beast Numidium. By "slaying" I mean that we all stop Canon Discussions and begin to accept everything as a valid theory, even if it does seem ridiculous in a way.

Want a TES Universe in which Vivec banged the Nerevarine after he killed Dagoth Ur? Sure, why not. I have nothing against it. It's your C0DA.

Want a TES Universe in which MLP Ponys are omnipotent gods? Sure, why not. I have nothing against it. It's your C0DA.

Want a TES Universe in which Tamriel consists out of cheese and in which Tiber Septim was a goat? Sure, why not. It's your C0DA.

I don't care. I embrace all theories which exist. I have nothing against them.

People who still argue against that should just go back to their uncomplex, unimaginative and uncreative games with "Canon" dictated by a company and leave the TES series.