Cursed Objects 2022: Part One

'The Most Important role is that of the person who touches the Cursed Objects'

First things first, I want to thank my friend Paul Szoldra for telepathically knowing the NSA branding is still a bit in flux and could benefit from his graphic skills.

You should read and subscribe to Paul’s outlets- The Ruck, Duffle Blog, and ofc Task & Purpose.

Now, onto thoughts!

I’ve been thinking a lot about Cursed Objects this week.

I play a fair amount of Dungeons and Dragons. I would not say that I necessarily play well, but that is irrelevant. In DND, Cursed Objects are most frequently tangible objects that when touched by a player, result in some sort of repercussion. Maybe you get trapped in a wormhole and need to find your way out. Maybe you can suddenly only communicate by hiccuping in Morse Code. Maybe you unleash powerful demons from the depths of hell and are forced to Role for Initiative. The world is your oyster when there’s a Cursed Object on the scene.

While most won’t claim the initial interaction a pleasant one, no one can argue that Cursed Objects don’t help move the story along. More importantly, it forces us and the rest of our party to learn, to take action as a team, to play to our strengths, be honest about how weaknesses, and to communicate. Do this enough times and you not only level up, but you get better at spotting Cursed Objects, determining which are worth touching and by whom, and how to problem solve a little better.

Cursed Objects are real, and they can be our friends if we let them. I think we can all agree some things or ideas that may look on-threatening can actually unleash a fury of chaotic energy we would never expect or understand. And just like DND reminds us, chaos does not have an inherent moral alignment - there is chaotic good, chaotic neutral, and chaotic evil. This is why there must be people who touch the Cursed Objects - we need both them AND the Object to grow and to perhaps do good in the world. Those who do the touching need friends with a more conservative risk calculus, too. Balance!

Touching Cursed Objects: A Service to the World

I am the person who touches the Cursed Object in real life. Even, or maybe especially, when I don’t want to be. This has been on my mind a lot while I work on my book and contribute to other various projects. I suspect I’ll be coming back to this later.

Until then:

Over the next week or so, I’ll be sharing submissions from friends and colleagues for a list of Cursed Objects 2022. Not so much a wrap up, but more like a “I am saying the quiet part out loud before 2023” thing.

I’m defining Cursed Objects as a hot take, topic, problem set, or solution that you can’t let go of but maybe bite your tongue on for a reason other than “I am an asshole and this is a morally repugnant thought which I should keep to myself and use as evidence of my need to do deep work on who I am.” Extra bonus points if the Cursed Object is something you feel we don’t hear enough about!

There’s lots of freedom here, and that’s intentional. The point is to take control of what matters to us, even when it’s inconvenient. Plus, I think it will be fun, and we can all use some fun.

You can share your Cursed Object, and whether or not you would like to be identified in relation to it, by sending me an email or leaving a comment. Submissions are due no later than COB on Wednesday, 14 December.