#but regardless of that... the impulse to align him with the parts i see as good but not with the parts i see as destructive | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dreamcaught · 21 days

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Having played an ascended Astarion route I want to know your thoughts on why he doesn’t allow you to be with him if you choose to not be his spawn? He also has lines that make Tav/Durge feel guilty if you don’t say yes. There also isn’t really an option for “not right now, but later. I’m not ready” he calls you ungrateful and breaks it off with Tav/Durge. But as a Durge player I couldn’t see my Durge wanting to jump right into being a spawn after breaking away from Bhaal. It’s either you give yourself to him or nothing. Does Gale break it off with you if you tell him you’re not ready to marry? That to me seems controlling

If you've chosen to help Astarion ascend, he assumes - rightly, in fact - that you are willing to both kill and die for him. To him, it is powerfully romantic and a demonstration of your devotion to him as a partner and lover. Of course the next step is for him to consummate that devotion in the biggest act of service he can offer by making you his eternal consort.

But remember that Astarion does not take rejection well. His relationship with you is always fragile and very precious to him. Denying him is a rejection - and that, after everything you've done for him, is fairly cruel. Why help him ascend if you didn't want to stand by him afterward? He's still just as lost and alone as he was before, even if he's got the power now. As much as he's changed, he hasn't.

It was in the writer's hands to offer the option of delaying - not a matter of Astarion's character. But if you delay by force (don't take a long rest after letting him ascend), he stays with you regardless. He is nothing but earnestly delighted if you then bring it up yourself, later on.

If you do not want to become his spawn when he asks, you can pretty much either choose to break up with him first, or call him a hypocrite. Those aren't great options, and unfortunately do lead to negative reactions. This part is a game limitation. The writers very much favour good-aligned characters, and it is displayed here as well. Using game limitations to assert his character is unfair to the content, and so is comparing Astarion's proposal or reactions to Gale's. Gale has his own set of virtues and flaws, and bringing him into it at all is unnecessary.

Astarion, is an evil-aligned character and can be very cruel with his words, spawn or ascended. He will lash out if you're mean or disrespectful toward him at any point in the game. That Astarion lashes out when you compare him to Cazador, call him a hypocrite, or otherwise deny his affections toward you as being real is justified and completely in character.

It's possible that Astarion breaks off the romance not because you deny him so much as it is to protect himself. He's got a hugely inflated ego but also has an overactive inferiority complex. He loves control - he's always wanted it because it was taken away from him, and he likes having it. He loves having because he's never had anything. He doesn't act on these impulses in a healthy way, because he's hurt, and he wants you, and you're saying you don't want him back.

I do not consider your chosen example controlling, though. He gives you an ultimatum based on his own needs and desires, and you're absolutely free to choose what you want to do with that. Ultimatums aren't good - because Astarion is not good - but what Astarion is doing here is asking for your consent.

The significance of consent is more important to Astarion's character than his goodness.

Also, I think it's also fair to say that Astarion does not see himself as another Bhaal. He blatantly denies being anything like Cazador. He may be cruel, evil, possessive, and dominant - but he still absolutely, severely adores the player, and I genuinely don't think he wants to control you in the same way as Bhaal or Cazador did. He does not consider you his slave or his spawn - as I evidenced in my earlier post but will restate here: he considers himself as beholden to you as you are to him. He considers you more than a spawn, "his right hand," his "eternal lover," "by his side," "together for eternity." These are not terms Bhaal would call his servant-like bhaalspawn, nor are they terms Cazador used for his own spawn which were made to be consumed.

What Astarion wants is for you to want him back with the same intensity and devotion as he wants you -- fiery, obsessive, passionate and covetous. Is it healthy? That completely depends: this is a fantasy RPG world wherein characters are covered in the gore of their enemies 80% of the time and about which we're discussing a Dominant/submissive relationship in terms of a vampire master/spawn dynamic. I don't think we - in the real world - can rightfully judge whether or not this kind of relationship is "healthy" in these terms. But you do you.

#thanks for talking to me!#astarion #ascended astarion #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 meta

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toaster-trash · 2 months

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idk about you but I love getting my opinions on one of the titans of English literature from a barely post-pubescent 20-something child on tumblr, a website famous for having users with great reading comprehension, critical thinking and no impulse whatsoever to fall into purity culture nonsense at the drop of a hat. I also love the English courts of law, and anti-sodomy laws, and I immediately and uncritically trust them when they accuse a gay man of being a pedophile. There is nothing wrong, childish or immature about this and I don't need to grow up

PURITY CULTURE??? PURITY CULTURE?????? Oh my bad folks I didn’t realise grooming 16 year old boys as a 30-something year old man was just rebelling against purity culture. And for your information, I’ve done plenty of research into anti-sodomy laws at the time of Wilde’s trials, and I’ve also read multiple sources of shorthand translations of the proceedings of the trials themselves, and anyone with two brain cells could tell that the way Wilde spoke wasn’t the way an innocent man would speak, and the evidence compiled against him was overwhelming, regardless of any bias the court may have had. True, the bias in question is fair to bring up and discuss, but it doesn’t negate his extremely likely guilt. It’s extremely unlikely that the man was innocent, from the evidence itself to Wilde’s tone during his “defence”.

Some sources:

The Trial of Oscar Wilde: From the Shorthand Reports (1906)

“In 1895, the playwright and wit Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) was prosecuted for 'acts of gross indecency' with other men. Parts of his trial were covered in newspapers of the day, but because of British censorship laws, this fuller account was not published in English until 1906.”

–The British Library official website (bl.uk)

famous-trials.com, compiled by Professor Douglas O’Linder from UMKC School of Law, mostly aligning with the shorthand translations of the testimonies from the prior source referenced yet with a few details not included in the 1906 publication to my knowledge.

https://www.famous-trials.com/wilde/327-home

Of course, everything has drawbacks, everything has a grain of salt, not everything is fullproof, there’s room for argument everywhere and of course the two sources I linked there aren’t fully enough for a big picture, and context of the time, surrounding impact, further accounts etc should all be looked into — however, in weighing up the evidence and legitimacy of sources and conflating information on all sides, personally I’m ridiculously extremely confident that Wilde was guilty, and I think the fact that this isn’t really widespread historical information is ridiculous.

You’re right, you shouldn’t take things you see on Tumblr as full proof undisputed fact. You’re right, Tumblr is a hellhole a lot of the time for misinformation and bad literary comprehension and analysis. But that doesn’t mean anything you see anywhere is objectively wrong, and you should do a small molecule of proper research and critical thinking from seeing those posts before spouting bullshit.

And for your information, I’m both queer and Irish myself and shockingly the fact that one of the major idealised queer figures for my country is a rich 19th-century-Narcissus pedophile creep, and nobody says jack shit about it, makes me pretty fucking pissed! Surprisingly!

“Purity culture” catch yourself on lad what in the fresh fuck are you on about. I’m in the age range for the wee boys Wilde fucked, surprisingly if I heard one of my friends was meeting with and having sex with some rich fuck old enough to be their da I’d be pretty fucking concerned I’d be calling cps bro 💀🙏

#oscar wilde #asks #gothic lit #classic literature #gothic literature #classic lit #the picture of dorian gray #dorian gray

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bonearenaofmyskull · 4 months

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Just finished the entire series as a baby fannibal and your post really clarified things. It appears that, especially in Season 2 and 3, Will went through a significant transformation, losing himself in the process. I AM still struggling a little bit so again I am seeking your help. The idea is that he killed himself to avoid turning into Hannibal due to fear and a sense of moral duty. Regardless of my reluctance to see it this way and putting aside any romantic notions, it seems more likely that Will's decision to die was a complete rejection of their connection.Near the end of s3 I couldn't see Will but a second Hannibal,he acted like Hannibal's agency with the way he treated Chilton, he had lost him especially his compassion. The concept of "murder husbands" doesn't fit for me, given that Will's choice to commit suicide contradicts a desire for murder. The Bedelia stinger could be Hannibal's doing. Personally, I find the scene tragic rather than romantic. I'm eager to hear more of your insights, as your logical points align well with my perspective, presenting a balanced middle ground for these discussions.

He lost himself and then found himself again. Sort of. I mean, all of this presumes that he knew himself fully before the show started, and I'd say he really didn't. So it's hard to lose something you never really had a grasp on in the first place.

From Hannibal's point of view, he helped make Will whole, or is at least was working on it. I think Hannibal's perspective is biased but not entirely off, and it can't be discounted.

I AM still struggling a little bit so again I am seeking your help. The idea is that he killed himself to avoid turning into Hannibal due to fear and a sense of moral duty.

Moral duty, sure, but I don't see the fear at this point, as he'd already undergone the primary part of this transformation of becoming like Hannibal.

Regardless of my reluctance to see it this way and putting aside any romantic notions, it seems more likely that Will's decision to die was a complete rejection of their connection.Near the end of s3 I couldn't see Will but a second Hannibal,he acted like Hannibal's agency with the way he treated Chilton, he had lost him especially his compassion. The concept of "murder husbands" doesn't fit for me, given that Will's choice to commit suicide contradicts a desire for murder.

If I understand you correctly, you are ultimately agreeing here with Will's self-judgment that brings him to the point of suicide, and Bedelia's statement that Will is Hannibal's agency. So Will taking them over the cliff is, in your understanding, his return to himself and his own (compassionate) values and a rejection of Hannibal's violent/murderous ways.

The problem with viewing it that way is that Will uses violence and murder to achieve that goal. Which by definition can't mean that he fully rejects those things.

Bedelia is right in her statement that Will is "capable of righteous violence because he is compassionate." The thing about Will is that his violence and his righteousness are wrapped up in each other: he errs on that when he allows himself the impulse of putting Chilton in danger, and he rights it when he performs violence on himself and Hannibal as a result. But the violence and murder is the necessary result of the compassion that showed him the depth of his depravity.

I'm beginning to think that the term "murder husbands" has become something of a runaway train in the fandom, carrying more meaning than it was ever originally intended for. It started even before Will had committed any murders, and it was always tongue-in-cheek (bad pun, sorry) and was included in the show through Freddie Lounds in the same spirit with which it was generally used at the time: mostly as a joke. So if it's now meant unironically to not just refer to the ship but to imply that their relationship goes on in perfect harmony from the end of S3 as they romp 'round the globe cheerfully eating people regardless of whether those people deserve it...well, then, it doesn't sit right with me either. But I don't think that "shipping Hannigram" necessarily means those things, and neither does "murder husbands." Call me old fashioned, I guess.

The Bedelia stinger could be Hannibal's doing.

I want to say it was @genufa who first floated the idea that it could be a #surprise!!! for Will. Maybe he gave a party instead of a card for her next birthday!

IDK, even setting aside everything Bryan and Hugh have said about Will being there in the past, I think that if the show came back, they'd HAVE to put Will there at this point, and probably not as a surprise, at least not when he was doing it. I'd write it that way, if it were me.

Personally, I find the scene tragic rather than romantic.

The Venn diagram on these two things overlap a LOT.

I'm eager to hear more of your insights, as your logical points align well with my perspective, presenting a balanced middle ground for these discussions.

Hope you got what you wanted! TBH, I think I might be spreading myself a bit thin here with the number of asks I'm getting: every one I answer is spawning three more, and I'm only willing to give myself to this on Sundays at the moment. I had been going to discuss Will in a more thorough original post, but now I'm thinking I've lost my focus and spent the energy that was building for it. I'll try to remember what it was I had been going to say. In any case, thanks for your interest!

#hannibal meta #bear answers #hannibal #will graham #season 3 #hannibal lecter #hannigram #bedelia du maurier

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comradekatara · 2 years

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the question “does ozai actually love azula?” is really interesting because there really isn’t a right answer. it’s clear that ozai likes azula, much in the way that i like the pen i keep in my bag, but will also not hesitate to discard it once it runs out of ink. and if you consider love to be something that is unconditional (or at the very least, far less conditional than ozai’s standards for his children), then the obvious answer is no, he doesn’t. but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel a strong affection for azula, a pride for the way in which her successes reflect well on his nation, his crown, his ego (all one & the same to him anyway).

does he think he loves her? i mean, yeah. sure. he probably also thinks of himself as loving the people of the fire nation—after all, everything he does is in the best interest of his country.

he learned the values taught to him by his father, whose “love” for ozai is clearly also very tenuous. iroh was clearly the favorite, and ozai the the discarded one. so ozai simply expresses the behaviors that he’s learned. he superficially replicates azulon’s relationship with iroh in his relationship with azula while treating zuko like a punching bag, offloading his insecurities onto someone he can only seem to see as the personification of all of his own father issues and neuroses.

obviously ozai sees his wife and children as his property – that’s not even a particularly unique viewpoint for any man (in a patriarchal society) to hold regardless of their social status – but as reflections of himself, anything they do that reflects poorly on him requires extreme consequences to mitigate, seeing as he is in a position of extreme power that he is also well aware wasn’t entirely “deserved.” both ozai and azula banish people when they feel threatened, because to the crown, a threat to the state (ursa and zuko both proving that they are capable of treason) is a threat to their ego (azula's extreme paranoia during her breakdown) and vice versa.

but i find it especially ironic that the only person it's clear ozai genuinely has any kind of real appreciation for is zhao, because zhao's defining qualities of hotheaded impulsiveness and ego at the expense of logic are the exact qualities that ozai would find utterly repulsive in his children – despite, of course, possessing these qualities himself. ozai punishes zuko's impulsive behavior (a quality he himself was likely punished for by azulon) while appreciating azula's tact, patience, rationality, strategy, and ability to sublimate her own ego for the sake of loyalty to her father/nation (all traits that were also admired in iroh, mind you).

when ozai sees his own worst qualities mirrored in his son, he banishes him, wants him dead. he all but writes off azula after he learns that she lied to him, and seems disgusted by her after her outburst. but seeing this egomaniacal, violent drive reflected in zhao is somehow different, and it leads to his constant promotion. in fact, he only thinks to utilize azula to capture the avatar/neutralize zuko once zhao has finally perished at the hand of his own hubris, even though azula is the far more competent, efficient asset, not only in intellect and skill, but also because her loyalty far exceeds her ego.

the irony of it all, that ozai rewards zhao for relecting the worst parts of himself whereas his children have absolutely no leeway, is likely due to the paternal instinct to view his children as his legacy, his property, his burdens, potential threats to his throne/life (the way he was to his father), whereas zhao is just a buddy, not blood.

but back to the original question: does ozai love azula? what is love, anyway? it's pretty clear ozai would kill any of his family members without hesitation if he thinks it would allow him to seize/maintain power. but azula never gives her father a reason to believe that her goals are not aligned with, defined by, his except for when she brings zuko home and secures his position as heir by lying to his face, so she's obviously his favorite family member. but she's his child, and she's a girl, so as much pride and affection as he feels for her, it's clear he also views her as his property, as a weapon. then again, i doubt ozai thinks of himself as some mustache-twirling child-manipulator. i doubt he considers himself evil; he's a powerful man who does what needs to be done. and all told, he's a pretty normal byproduct of his environment.

so no, I don’t think ozai truly loves azula. but he thinks he does. after all, he treats her far better than his father ever treated him.

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muninnhuginn · 6 days

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Hi...if you don't mind, can I ask something from Link Click? What do you think are Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang’s greatest personality strengths and weaknesses? Why? What do you love about their dynamic? Sorry if you've answered these questions before.....

P.s

If you don't mind me ask (again), can I also ask your top fav characters and fav moments from the series (Link Click)...? Thanks if you want to answer....

Hi! Sorry for taking so long to getting around to answer this, but thanks for the ask. I do like getting the chance to ramble about this stuff, so this was a good opportunity.

I've put these answers below a cut because it got quite long. I also struggled a bit to differentiate between strengths and weaknesses, just because for these characters, a lot of their strengths are *also* their weaknesses.

Cheng Xiaoshi

Cheng Xiaoshi's most immediate strength to me is how he uses his empathy to connect with other people and his willingness to see the good in people, despite how others have hurt him in the past. This trait is part of what attracted Lu Guang towards him, and the dives are only possible because Cheng Xiaoshi chooses to put his trust in Lu Guang.

And in contrast to Lu Guang, Cheng Xiaoshi is very able to think outside the box and improvise. He suggested the trick in the season one finale to lure out the culprit as well as the photo-switch trick at the theatre in season two, to give two examples.

In terms of weaknesses, he has a tendency towards denial. This is most obvious with him clinging to the idea that his parents will return, but also colours some of his interactions with Lu Guang. This may err somewhat towards headcanon, but to me, there are times where Lu Guang is unreasonable in his requests during dives or withholds information to Cheng Xiaoshi's detriment and Cheng Xiaoshi just lets him do it until he's pushed past his breaking point (earthquake arc and the dive where he realises he was "responsible" for Emma's death). Cheng Xiaoshi not pushing back against Lu Guang in these cases would make sense from the perspective of Cheng Xiaoshi not really having anyone else. He has Qiao Ling, who's essentially family, but even she points out that Lu Guang is his first "proper" friend, and so Cheng Xiaoshi doesn't want to lose him.

And this next one is both a strength and weakness depending on the situation, but Cheng Xiaoshi is very unwilling to give up, even when it's obvious to everyone that there's no way out. We see it time and again: his belief about his parents; trying to rescue Chen Xiao's mum; the entire Liu Siwen dive (he was very much aligned with his host here); trying to change the past with Emma; even with the secret recipe of the noodles. We see him fail more than we see him succeed, but the fact that he holds onto his hope regardless has clearly made an impact on those around him and allowed him to succeed where others would have been unable to.

Weakness again, but he's very impulsive - not as bad as people think he is, but it is a weakness. Think of how he dove into his second Emma dive and only succeeded in traumatising himself. He can hold himself back when he believes it's necessary (see: refusing to immediately jump back and "save" Lu Guang in early season two), but generally speaking, his choice whether to jump for it or hold back comes down to which direction the emotional resonance is blowing. When he refused to dive back to save Lu Guang, it was because he held Lu Guang's words in his head, but at the same time, when he was possessing Lu Guang during the hospital loop and thought he may be able to change things in that instance, he immediately tried to change the past.

Doesn't actually share much about himself in the present day. This is technically a neutral trait, but when you consider his history with being fairly isolated and look at how nearly everything we learn about him we find out through other sources it starts to explain some things. Some more headcanony spec, but we know he struggled to make connections because of his history and so it would make sense that he's just *stopped talking about it* entirely (especially when you factor in his denial about his parents). He never actually sits down and tells anyone about his parents or his childhood. We as the audience only learn that through Qiao Ling or through parallels to the people he's possessing.

Lu Guang

Strength: He clearly has a mind for planning and is very observant as we can see when he directs dives. He is *very* detail-oriented (and this is starting to sound vaguely like a CV).

Another strength: devotion. I know I said that Cheng Xiaoshi is unwillling to give up at times, but Lu Guang has definitely taken a leaf out of his book with his impossible quest. It's clear that Cheng Xiaoshi's mindset has inspired Lu Guang, for better or for worse.

The other side of devotion: controlling tendencies! It's easy to see where his mindset comes from, but his need to control every single variable often ends up backfiring on him. Lu Guang thinks that if he can hold all the information then Cheng Xiaoshi will have to follow his lead and he can take them both to safety. But Lu Guang's own perspective is limited. The most successful dives we see in the series are ones where Lu Guang and Cheng Xiaoshi are able to actually combine their approaches (see: Chen Bin dive, season one finale dive where they're able to corner the culprit with Cheng Xiaoshi's plan). So by locking out Cheng Xiaoshi, he both alienates him and he makes it harder to succeed, because for all Lu Guang is a planner, he still loses the forest for the trees at times. He's so focused on his one path that he neglects any other options.

Linked to this: unwillingness to open up to others - somewhat mitigated by showing his care through actions well enough that Cheng Xiaoshi and Qiao Ling can both tell he's not just cold, but he still refuses to use his words. And that refusal to properly communicate is what creates the most discord between him and Cheng Xiaoshi. I don't think the series will fully go down this route, but the current trajectory has Lu Guang pushing Cheng Xiaoshi away rather than letting him in in a misguided attempt to save him, when to succeed they both need to work *together*.

Dynamic

I think my favourite part of the dynamic is their synergy when they're actually on the same page. And the way they can generally intuit stuff about each other without it needing to be said. That said, I do want to see where they head with *trust*. Because season one tests Cheng Xiaoshi's trust in Lu Guang and they eventually come to an understanding, but there's still so much that's been left unaddressed. And as long as Lu Guang doesn't fully put his trust in Cheng Xiaoshi, Cheng Xiaoshi is yet again left in the dark. We've seen through various other parallel relationships (season two with the twins, with Liu Xiao and Li Tianchen, etc) that shiguang's dynamic can very easily turn twisted. And if they don't fix things soon, they could just as easily end up with the same bad ends.

Top favourite characters

This has to be between either Lu Guang or Cheng Xiaoshi, purely because they're given the most characterisation to work with. After season one, Cheng Xiaoshi definitely had the most material, but season two has evened it up somewhat and saddled Lu Guang with one of my favourite tropes (looper), so yeah, now it's rather hard to choose. I am hoping season three gives more to Qiao Ling, but as of season two, she's still hopelessly outmatched by the other two in this respect, alas.

Favourite moments

Tbh, I think I have two main candidates for this.

The first moment is in the earthquake arc where Cheng Xiaoshi confronts Lu Guang about implying they would be able to save Chen Xiao's mum. It's the first time we see Cheng Xiaoshi genuinely angry at Lu Guang and it's such a layered interaction, especially rewatching post-season two. Lu Guang stands by his line about not changing the past but physically doesn't defend himself and eventually Cheng Xiaoshi runs out of steam, but they don't actually reconcile at this stage. It's also potentially an interesting preview of how things could spin out for them when Cheng Xiaoshi finds out that Lu Guang hasn't only betrayed his trust, but also his *own* so-called ideals.

The second is fairly predictable, but I'd choose the scene where it's confirmed that Lu Guang had travelled back at the end of season two. There's something different between suspecting it may be the case and actually seeing it *confirmed*, you know? Especially because one of the reasons the idea appealed a lot to me was the hypocrisy inherent in the premise that Lu Guang was diving back to save Cheng Xiaoshi. He spends so long in the series saying not to try altering the past, even when it means other characters have to stay dead, so for him to do so for Cheng Xiaoshi really makes you re-examine his character. And the "reveal" scene actually *acknowledged* that hypocrisy outright. Having Lu Guang be aware he's breaking his own rules is such a good way of doing it. (Plus, stepping back a minute, but the way the colours shift between the warmth of the 'present' vs the cold darkness of Lu Guang's past/future? The use of blood spatter on Lu Guang, who's usually considered more fastidious than Cheng Xiaoshi? It makes you *feel* that this is a timeline where something went wrong

#asks #dnana-2809-blog #link click #link click spoilers #also apologies if my wording is confusing. feel free to ask me to clarify if I'm unclear anywhere!#(and now I can let myself back into the link click tag. saw some other blogs had received similar asks but didn't want to peek #until I'd answered my own)#shiguang daili ren spoilers

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soulsxng · 3 months

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GUYS, I CAN NEVER TELL WHAT MORAL ALIGNMENT THIS LIL' SHIT (Eluvias, my lovely little problem child) IS. I'm putting the rest under a read more because I know it's gonna end up super ramble-y.

So first, the way I look at the alignments is loosely this: - Good = Would save someone in trouble without promise of reward. - Neutral = Would leave someone in trouble to their fate. Might intervene for reward. - Evil = Would harm/kill/otherwise detriment person in trouble. and then: - Lawful = For principle - Neutral = For necessity - Chaotic = For impulse

And I can never tell if he fits best as true neutral, chaotic neutral, or neutral evil. Which...look, I know that technically no character should fit perfectly into an alignment. Different situations, and pressures, and whatever else could always make a character act outside of that alignment after all-- if they didn't, it would make the character kinda flat and predictable. (Plus, examining what would make them act out of that "norm", how they would do it, and how they would react to it afterwards is one of the most interesting parts of writing a muse imo)

But with Luvi, it always just feels like he decides how he's going to react to everything on a whim. Which...immediately points me toward chaotic. But good and evil don't really fell like they completely fit him, so I always sway towards chaotic neutral.

Except that he has done and will do some really fucked up shit. Sometimes just because he felt like it. Other times because he felt it was what he had to do, or even because it was what he should do in that situation.

And sometimes it's a little frustrating when I write him, because I feel like he can come off so all over the place at times that I worry that he doesn't come across as a consistent muse...like he does whatever, because...well, whatever. Which wasn't the case when he was still in Elyki.

Noticing that is what made me realize that it's because of that, that Luvi is so unpredictable now, though. Even if Zahine spoiled the hell out of him when he was young, he still grew up under very strict rules. Pretty much everything he did was heavily regulated. (With Zahine, it was for Luvi's health and wellbeing at a time when he was very frail and weak. With Mattias later on, it was just because Luvi was a tool that was potentially very dangerous to everyone in Elyki as well if he wasn't...essentially "holstered properly")

Now that he's away from that, he's suddenly bombarded with choices that he's never had to make before. He wants to be nice, and good-- partly because that's what he views his older brother and Zahine as being, and partly because he wants to make friends. (and then not have to worry about feeling like he has to or wants to hurt them)

His upbringing with Zahine taught him more that he needs to watch out for himself, and that-- while he should be cautious of others, he shouldn't hurt them unless he actually has to. That, as long as it won't detriment him, he should help people in dire need, but to generally let those in lesser need take care of their problems on their own. Kind of a good/neutral bordering.

But his upbringing with Mattias also taught him that...essentially, the lives of others that he doesn't know shouldn't ultimately matter to him. And that if he wants or needs something, he should just take it, regardless of how he has to get it. That if someone slights you even a little bit, or even if you just don't really care for someone. They annoy you? You can get rid of them.

And so really, he's just caught in this really confusing limbo where...kind of like a child that's just trying whatever comes to mind, seeing what happens from there, and deciding "Wow, that worked out pretty well!" or "That went really poorly..." from there.

Io and Zai try to help him with all of this, because they know he's overwhelmed, but neither of them can (or should, since that was a bit of an issue in and of itself; Luvi's obsessive nature definitely didn't help any of this) be there to hold his hand all the time.

Anyway, all of this is pretty much to say that I don't think I can put Luvi in any alignment, at the moment. He's got too much learning to do.

It also makes me wonder if Io was ever that way too, but I honestly don't really think he was. Not only was he old enough when Zahine went missing that he remembered a lot of the things that Zai stood for, but he was always especially defiant with Mattias. So while there might have been a little bit of figuring things out in that manner when he was taken under Pythius and Rhezar's wings, it wasn't anywhere near what it currently is with Luvi.

#[Eluvias -headcanons-]#My gosh this got so long I'm sorry #but the more I thought about it #the more I wanted to get it down #if not for everyone here to read and get a better idea of the reasoning behind some of Luvi's behavior #(I can already feel Suzu for example going ' :c ' or ' ;n; ' at all of this because Luvi is her /baby/)#then because I want to be able to look at it later on and see if anything has changed and all that

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feudalismoffire · 6 months

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Hello folks, so today I am here with two dnd ocs, Launairk and Landishura, really liked how they ended up, I think its the most 2D disney-ish artstyle I have come up yet, especially Launairk, and my new oc that will appear in the story, Landishura, the copper dragon,

Ah yeah, go read it!!!!!! The Smiling Red Wyrm Part 1/?

but well, now a bit about the two:

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Launairk:

Status: Alive

Gender: Male

Race: Red Dragon

Alignment: Lawful Good

Personality Traits:

- Ambitious: Launairk has as much ambition and greedy as any red dragon and he is ready to go above and beyond to reach his goals

- Merciful: He is a merciful dragon and does not believe spilling blood senselessly is the key to achieve any of his goals, for the value of the lesser races' work far outvalues their destruction

- Diplomatic: He is diplomatic and prefers to create deals and partnerships instead of the bloody subjulgation and conquest of the lesser races, such deals cause his reputation to split between a respectable dealer and a disgrace to the chromatic dragonkind.

- Protective: Launairk will fight to death to protect himself, his hoard and subjects and won't allow any danger to come to them in the first place

Background:

Launairk, once a hatchling from a clutch of a red dragoness in the southern mountains of Faerun, would come to see the actions of his kind as malicious and disgusting, thing the young dragon was later outcasted for, harder than his siblings after the fateful day their mother wouldn't take care of them anymore.

The young dragon moved north, to the Spine of the World mountains, where he came in contact of a local fishing village. After firstly cold steps, they warmed to him and vice-versa, Launairk become the defender of the village, as well as settling up his kobold followers in the base of the mountain, where they started mining to add to his hoard, eventually completely stopping his raids to trade caravans.

At this moment, he has big plans for the village, to turn into a trade empire, rich enough to fill his own hoard, and of course, with him at the top of it and a lesser member as the official ruler of it. Aside a few attacks here and there, orcs, goblins and white dragons, his plans are going on motion, his biggest troublemaker, however, is a peculiar copper dragon, as heroic and greedy as himself, Landishura.

------------------------------------------------

Landishura:

Status: Alive

Gender: Female

Race: Copper Dragon

Alignment: Chaotic Evil

Personality Traits:

- Greedy: Through her unquenchable greed, there's nothing she won't do to gain a very easy and quick coin, which includes the less heroic and noble stuff, of course

- Jokester: As a proud copper dragon, she is a jokester and loves to make jokes, puns and pranks over whoever she meets. Long ago, of course, those harmless funnies become something far darker and chaotic, to not laugh or enjoy her jokes brings death

- Nosy: Under her human disguise, there's very little Landishura can't uncover about anyone and everyone, these information she holds dearly just in case she needs to perform a less than overdramatic presentation of one's wrong doings

- Impulsive: Due to her rather hot-tempered nature, Landishura always jump to opportunities, regardless of how ready she is to deal with the situation, and will do anything to gain her precious treasures to add to the hoard

Background:

Landishura once begun as your typical copper dragon, she flew around and joked and pranked over traders and curious individuals around her, and was overall a joyful and sociable dragon to have around. Her slow descent into madness and evil begun one day a party of adventurers raided her lair and tried to steal her treasure; While they were defeated, Landishura grew overzealous of her treasure and the desire to expand and protect it.

Most of all, she realized the relationships she nurtured over the years mattered little, a quick coin could turn even the most loyal of friends into enemies. And so she desired to apply such logic to herself, the desire of increasing her wealth so she could buy everyone as her friends would make her obsessed with it. She would later perform many tasks, missions and adventures in name of royal houses and towns in order to gain her hard earned wealth.

All her effort however, would be in vain once her lair was discovered by a red dragon, whom she could barely scratch the scales in the fight, forced to abandon all her hoard to it, she become crazy mad and removed all barriers in order to create her new hoard. Her flight made her follow the caravans to the north, into a remote populated place, where she could make her new hoard very far from preying eyes.

Until the moment she found Launairk, the both of them would clash a few times, Landishura believing his town's project had opportunities for herself, at the same time, her more proud and heroic sense trying to befriend the villagers and free them from what she thought to be the beginning of tyranny.

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Welp, so yeah, I went with a kinda of an ironic take, a good chromatic dragon versus an evil metallic dragon, and I will try to my fullest extent to never make them too evil or too good, they are individuals who are very self-serving, typical of dragons, and will portray themselves any way necessary to achieve their goals, from a merciful tyrant to a pride hero.

#copperdragon #digitalart #dragon #dragonart #oc #ocs #reddragon #dragonartwork #dragonoc #dnddragon #art #simplegeneraldraws #dndcharacter #dungeonsanddragons #dungeons_and_dragons #dungeonsanddragonscharacter #dungeonsanddragonsart #dndcharacterart

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cappymightwrite · 3 years

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Tyrion is Grrm's favourite character and also the one he wishes he was . Why wouldn't he let his fave end up with the romantic princess ?

(post being referenced)

Right, so let's take a look at that claim shall we?

GRRM: Well, Tyrion is my favourite, there's no doubt about that. You know, he's the easiest to write, at least for the first three books he was the easiest to write. He got harder to write with book five in particular because he's in a very dark place right there. But he's witty, and he's intelligent, and Tyrion is almost what I wish I could be, because I'm not a witty as Tyrion... Oh I am as witty as Tyrion, because I invent all the witty things Tyrion says! The problem is of course that Tyrion tosses off these witty lines, you know, with ease in the moment of conversation. And I of course, in real life, think of witty things to say a week after the conversation has ended. Oh goddammit that's what I should have said! That would've been really funny, and cutting, and things like that. Yeah, so I don't think of these things as fast. [1.52–2.41]

So, yes, I agree that Tyrion is certainly GRRM's favourite character, as the above illustrates. But where I think there's some disagreement between us in that second part to your statement, that Tyrion is "the one he wishes he was." Because let's be real for a second, by the end of ADWD, Tyrion is a murderer, molester and a rapist... he's done some terrible things and is poised to get much darker still. Indeed, it's interesting that the darker Tyrion gets, the harder GRRM admits it is to write him... almost as though he is moving further and further away from the Tyrion he may have wished to emulate, into something quite the opposite, someone instead to condemn, no matter how "fun" he is to write. Villains tend to be pretty fun to write and read, they can even be your favourite character, as Tyrion is for GRRM... but that doesn't mean they shouldn't get their comeuppance.

Amazon.com: Do you have a favorite character?

GRRM: I've got to admit I kind of like Tyrion Lannister. He's the villain of course, but hey, there's nothing like a good villain. [source]

But anyway, from the first interview answer, it seems clear to me that Tyrion's quick-fire wit is what George "wishes" he had, and that's about the end of it, because Jesus H. Christ... think about what he'd be aligning himself to if he went any further than that. And regardless, in that same interview GRRM goes on to mention other characters he feels he is similar to, and in a way, that's more enlightening than a character he may somewhat wish to be:

[...] but Sam, yeah, there's a lot me in Sam too. [2.41–2.46]

This comment about Sam has been made elsewhere, notably preceding another character George would want/wish to be:

The character I’m probably most like in real life is Samwell Tarly. Good old Sam. And the character I’d want to be? Well who wouldn’t want to be Jon Snow — the brooding, Byronic, romantic hero whom all the girls love. Theon [Greyjoy] is the one I’d fear becoming. Theon wants to be Jon Snow, but he can’t do it. He keeps making the wrong decisions. He keeps giving into his own selfish, worst impulses. [source]

So, I think there is a distinct difference in stating characteristics of a character you might wish to possess, as opposed to stating that the entirety of a character is someone who you would wish to be. GRRM would like to be as fast with his quips as Tyrion, and in terms of Jon, he'd like to be a young romantic hero rather than the older man, getting on in years, that he now is perhaps. Plus maybe there's something about Jon's bravery and courage that George admires but doesn't necessarily see in himself? I don't know. What's interesting to me is that he mentions Theon as a sort of cautionary tale, commenting on how "he keeps giving into his own selfish, worst impulses", an observation that could be equally applied to Tyrion circa ADWD... At the end of the day, these are complex characters and I think GRRM knows which traits in them are admirable, even desirable, and which are in fact deplorable... and those two things can even coexist within the same character, e.g. in Tyrion.

But moving along a bit in that interview, very interestingly GRRM has this to say about other characters that bear similarities to himself:

All of the viewpoint characters I have to put something of myself into it to make them come alive, even the ones that are, you know, very unlike me on the surface like, you know, eleven year old girls. You know, I've obviously never been an eleven year old girl. I have known an occasional eleven year old girl, especially when I was an eleven year old boy. Although, when I was an eleven year old boy I was too scared to talk to eleven year old girls. So, I was more like Sam in that regard. [3.01–3.31]

Again, we have this reiteration about his similiarities to Sam, but we also have this repetition, and therefore emphasis placed on an "eleven year old girl." And who is that I wonder?

This offer did surprise him. "Sansa is only eleven." – AGOT, Eddard I

For more on the ways in which GRRM and Sansa Stark overlap check out this great piece of meta by @butterflies-dragons:

GRRM has projected his love for medieval tourneys, heraldry, pageantry, knights and chivalry on Sansa Stark

But to answer the second part of your ask — "Why wouldn't he let his fave end up with the romantic princess?" — let's continue on with that interview, shall we?

Interviewer: It's interesting because Elio [M. García Jr.], who George mentioned earlier, and you know, created Westeros.org, I met him in London and we were talking about how we both thought that Tyrion was your favourite [...] and we were musing about... is that a good thing for Tyrion? Because you put this guy through hell and back again! So, does it benefit Tyrion that he is your "favourite"?

GRRM: No, probably not. It doesn't help him at all. And really, in A Dance with Dragons, he goes through the most hellish stuff yet [...] so you try not to play favourites, I suppose. But I put all the characters through horrible things! [3.31–4.13]

This very much brings to mind the idea of "kill your darlings" for me. So, leaving out how much on a thematic and character level I strongly disagree with the idea of Tyrion ending up with Sansa (because that would be a whole other post)... I think it's important to consider that GRRM is an experienced writer, and as he says above, he puts "all the characters through horrible things" regardless of who his favourites are, and likewise we can apply that to who he "rewards" as well. Tyrion may be his favourite, but does that mean he deserves "the romantic princess"? From a moral standpoint, does a murderer, molester (of that same girl!), and a rapist deserve "the romantic princess"? No, of course not. But if you give that ending to him anyway because he's your "favourite" what does that do to your story? What does that suggest about your narrative values, the values of the story? How does that affect the narrative ethos?

Stephen King had this to say on the art of writing in his book On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft:

Kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler’s heart, kill your darlings.

It may break GRRM's heart to potentially kill off, or at the very least punish or avoid rewarding, his favourite character, but a good writer would do that regardless of their fondness, because it is what serves the narrative best. It is what serves the narrative ethos, or message, best... because I don't think the message of ASOIAF is that those who inflict suffering on others, without self-reflection, without conscience or compunction, should come out on top in the end. And the way things are headed with Tyrion... redemption, or a seeking of penance, does not look on the cards for him, not by a long shot.

Thanks for the ask.

#cappy's thoughts #anti tyrion lannister #playing favourites #kill your darlings #anti sanrion #narrative ethos #tw: assault

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impalementation · 3 years

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spike, angel, buffy & romanticism: part 4

part 1: “When you kiss me I want to die”: Angel and the high school seasons

part 2: “Love isn’t brains, children”: Enter Spike as the id

part 3: “Something effulgent”: Season five and the construction of Spike the romantic

“But I can’t fool myself. Or Spike, for some reason.”: Buffy and Spike as a blended self

Before I get into seasons six and seven, it’s worth asking: why would the show do all of this? Why would it spend all of this time developing a supporting villain and joke id character? Why would it give him a romantic arc? I see people say that the writers only gave Spike these storylines because he was popular or they wanted to keep him around, but even that being the case, there was no need to give him the specific arc that they did. It’s more than possible to read meaning into the story that they chose from the array of possible options.

Here is the thing about the id. It’s not actually something separate from you. It’s not a ravenous monster you can blame your weaknesses on while remaining pure and dignified. The id is part of you. The immediate and enduring appeal of Spike is, I suspect, strongly influenced by the fact that the things the id wants are so very human and sympathetic. His foibles and mistakes are often painfully familiar, even exaggerated through vampirism as they are. In fact, it’s precisely because Spike is allowed to show a full range of reactions to love, because the writing is under less pressure for him to do the “right” or dignified thing, that he can at times be compelling in ways other characters can’t. If Spike just did nasty things, his appeal wouldn’t be much more complicated than the appeal of Angelus, who people tend to like as a villain or storyline rather than as a relatable character. But Spike doesn’t want to dismember nuns or construct elaborate murder tableaux. He wants familiar things like love, identity and meaning, even if the ways he goes about getting them can reflect people’s worst impulses.

Which brings us to Buffy, and Buffy’s story about growing up. Buffy is Buffy’s show, which means that every writing choice tends to revolve around her arc in one way or another. And this goes for Spike’s storyline even more than most. In the final three seasons of the show, the writing finally engages with how inextricable the id--and all of its impulsive, inarticulate romantic desires--really is from a person’s self. So instead of keeping Spike at a comfortable distance, both Buffy and the writing begin to take him seriously. They begin to invite him in.

Starting in season five, it’s telling how frequently Buffy herself projects on Spike, rather than just the writing setting them up as mirrors. She tells him that he’s the “only one strong enough” to protect her family, and later assigns Dawn specifically to his protection. In “Spiral” she describes him as “the only one besides me that has any chance of protecting Dawn.” This is a very intimate role that she otherwise only assigns to herself (and which is not really based on pure practicality, considering that she’ll later describe Willow as her “big gun”--yet never gives Willow the task of protecting Dawn). She tells him that he cannot love, which is the thing she fears most about herself. Her protests that Spike is a vampire, and thus cannot express or want human things like love, mirror her lamentations that as the Slayer, she cannot have a normal life.

From the Gilliland Gothic double essay:

More than any of her other lovers, Buffy and Spike overlap one another so often that at times their character arcs become nearly indistinguishable. With Angel, Buffy traveled a parallel path in attempting to master self-control. With Riley, her journey ultimately took her in the opposite direction. With Spike, Buffy’s journey is most closely shadowed, in that her interactions with him in many ways can be seen as metaphors for her feelings about herself.

So now Spike is multiple things. On the one hand, he’s the soulless id he’s been since season two. His vampiric behavior represents a morally uninhibited way of reacting to romantic frustrations, among other things. But on the other hand, his vampirism now also marks him as like Buffy, not merely her opposite.* Nor is he only her mirror in the realm of romantic love. The part of him that is a vampire is the part of him that is supernatural (ie, Romantically larger-than-life), that sets him apart from regular people, and dictates how he can and cannot behave. Just like Buffy’s slayerness. His vampirism is what makes him capable of protecting Dawn, while also making him (supposedly, according to Buffy) incapable of human feeling--again, just like Buffy’s slayerness. Instead of Buffy’s Slayer side being aligned with Angelus, who was an unmitigated evil, it becomes aligned with Spike, who is something more complicated.

*(Though it must be noted that this was a process that began in season four, with the show aligning Spike with the Scoobies by making him a victim of the Initiative. Spike being supernatural suddenly marks him as non-normative, just like the Scoobies, in contrast to the institutional conformity that the Initiative represents. The evolution towards treating the Romantic supernatural as something positive and associated with identity plays a key role in transitioning the show to the more complicated attitudes of the last three seasons.)

This shift in the show’s attitudes towards the id affects how Spike is used. In “Blood Ties” for example, Spike assists Dawn in breaking into the Magic Shop and in “Forever” he helps Dawn resurrect her and Buffy’s mother. In both cases, Spike could be read as embodying impulsive behavior that Buffy is supposed to be better than. Yet both cases specifically involve Spike helping Dawn, who is repeatedly portrayed as Buffy’s human side. As Buffy says in “The Gift”: “[Dawn]’s more than [my sister]. She’s me. The monks made her out of me. [...] Dawn is a part of me. The only part that I--”. In other words, Buffy’s id becomes closely tied to her humanity, even going so far as to become its safeguard. “Blood Ties” ends with Buffy affirming her connection to Dawn, which Spike’s rule-breaking directly enabled, and “Forever” ends with Buffy acknowledging how desperately she wants her mother back too, and becoming closer to Dawn as a result. (Compare to “Lovers Walk”, where Buffy acknowledging her id results in her breaking away from Angel, not drawing closer to anyone). Or in “Intervention”, Spike building the Buffybot directly parallels Buffy’s own anxieties about what she thinks she should be. She thinks she’s losing her ability to love, and that effusive fakery is her only recourse (as she said in “I Was Made to Love You”: “Maybe I could change. [...] I could spend less time slaying, I could laugh at his jokes. I mean men like that right? The joke laughing at?”), a fear that even has some merit, given that her friends cannot tell her and the bot apart. Instead of Buffy and Spike having separate arcs in the episode, Spike learning the difference between real and fake dovetails with Buffy’s own relationship to her realness and fakeness. It turns out that neither of them want a bot version of Buffy. They want real emotion, things like sacrifice and heartfelt gratitude. If even Buffy’s id would let itself be killed for Dawn, then maybe she has nothing to fear from herself. Maybe there is some beauty in the emotional part of her nature that she thinks she must repress.

In other words, part of the writing (and Buffy) fully engaging with romanticism and the id, means engaging with the ways they can be bad and good. There’s this weird thing that happens with Spike as soon as he falls in love with Buffy, where suddenly his actions are more uncomfortable, and to many, off-putting, because their object is Buffy (instead of another vampire like Harmony or Drusilla, who either enjoy the same vampiric things he does, or the audience might be inclined to see as a moral nonentity regardless). His comic id quality becomes somewhat darker and more serious, almost like the way Angel’s early season two darkness becomes more serious after he loses his soul. But at the same time, Spike’s actions are also more intriguing, sympathetic, and even noble...because their object is Buffy. It makes no sense that a soulless vampire should not only fall in love with the Slayer, but genuinely attempt to transform himself into someone worthy of her love. And yet that’s exactly what Buffy inspires him to do. By loving Buffy Spike’s dual nature, and the dual nature of his romanticism, is thrown into relief: it’s something that can be selfish and creepy, yes, but also something that hints at the idea that real romanticism does exist. Something worth feeling romantically about does exist. Thus the writing can at once criticize, say, the way the chivalric mindset conflates love and suffering, while also suggesting that there are kinds of love it’s worth being transformed by. (Meanwhile, Spike’s fumbling bewilderment over how to love Buffy, and what the rules of loving people correctly even are, creates a human middle ground between monstrousness and heroism). By leaning into the way that Buffy and Spike have been used as mirrors for three seasons, and introducing the mythology-bending idea of Spike being in love with Buffy, the writing is able to fully engage with this complicated, contradictory nature of love and romance.

All of which is to say. Spike becomes a potential love interest, and is given a convoluted inner conflict between monstrousness, humanity and heroism, in precisely the season in which Buffy begins to reckon with her own inner conflict between her darker impulses, her human reality, and her supernatural role. It’s no coincidence that season five opens with Dracula, an icon of romantic vampire mythology, tempting Buffy with darkness and promising her insight into her nature. Or that a vampire kidnaps Dawn--again, her human half--in the next episode. Or that the season’s antagonist is a super-strong blonde woman who wants to destroy Dawn instead of protect her. Or that she says goodbye to Riley, the boyfriend who embodied her hopes for a more normative way of being (notice how Riley is progressively destabilized by everything non-normative about Buffy’s life, and provokes those anxieties Buffy expresses in “I Was Made to Love You”). Over and over in season five, Buffy fears that her Slayer half is cold, destructive, and otherwise dangerous. That these Romantic things like gods and vampires have it in for Buffy’s vulnerable humanity. Yet Buffy’s vampire id simultaneously gives lie to these fears by proving itself capable of heroism and genuine human feeling.

In other words, Spike becomes a potential love interest in a season that treats the Romantic--ie the grand and mythical--as something more than just an attractive lie to be disabused of. Rather, the question that season five seems to posit to me, and which will not be fully answered until the end of season seven, is this: once you do clear away the attractive lies, once you accept the hard realities, once you’ve seen the darkest underbellies, what are the things that are left that are truly grand and beautiful? What are the stories that are really worth telling, and the heroes that are really worth having?

And the show asks and answers these questions on both a very personal level, and a more meta, systemic level. On the personal level, Buffy and Spike are forced to confront their illusions not just about the world, but about themselves. They are made to ask themselves what constitutes a heroic role or a demonic weakness, versus basic, unromantic humanity. And on the meta level, the show asks questions about our expectations for how both love stories and chosen hero stories are supposed to go.

part 5: “Everything used to be so clear”: Season six and the agony of the real

#romanticism series #gen #s5 #buffy #spike #riley #btvs

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emmys-grimoire · 3 years

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Lesson 51 analysis + 52 predictions

Eh I decided I had enough time and stuff in my head to write this out now.

The Book and the Flower

The book they found and the flower are too coincidental for them not to have any significance in the upcoming arc, so lets analyze them.

A little on the nose. Satan names his kitties after artists. HE LIKES ART, and the books in the library happen to be about art. He remarks that they’re all much more aligned with his interests than the ones in the actual House of Lamentation, except for one...

Geraniums have different (and sometimes contradictory) symbolism dependent on their color. Pink geraniums were supposedly used in love potions. The owner of the library may have someone they admired, or maybe the book is a metaphor for Satan himself.

This may be alluding to the Bible verse Matthew 14:31:

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"

We are undertaking trials named after the seven heavenly virtues in order to earn our Sorcerer’s license. We’ve already knocked out temperance and charity, so it may be related to whichever trial this is supposed to be.

Generally, the verse encourages holding onto faith even in the most tempestuous situations, so my guess would be this is the trial of patience. This promises to be a Satan-heavy arc, and he’s the Avatar of Wrath, so he would be a good candidate to assist in that endeavor. Simeon is also the wielder of the Wrath glowstick. It’s angry bois all around!

Strangely enough, Simeon is insistent on moving onto finding Luke and Mammon at this point, and Satan doesn’t get the chance to skim through the actual contents of the book. It’s a little uncharacteristic of him because he’s generally pretty laid back and he doesn’t seem to be in any particular rush to get out of past once when step into it: he’s willing to faff around with the angel brothers first. He does realize this isn’t searching for Luke and Mammon, right?

So an alternative interpretation is that Simeon really did just conjure all this up for Satan like he later accuses, and reading that book might have dispelled the illusion sooner than he’d like. And he’s just a really good actor telling the “okay” lies. But for this to work Barbatos would have to be in on it too... and I can’t see him having that ulterior motive. His arrival at the cafe is pretty timely, though.

It’s probably just the banshee, and Simeon is just being opportunistic and trying to get Satan to work through his problems along the way. Since he actually likes this period of time, he may not be in a great hurry to leave.

Beelzebub’s Hunger Pangs

In this lesson we learn that Beelzebub is growing quite the appetite and he and the brothers are confused by it. They have good reason to be, because Beelzebub wasn’t a glutton when we first interacted with his past angel self!

This leads me to believe MC meddling with the past may have unintentionally triggered something in past angel Beel that’s unravelling in his timeline. Michael warns us about this effect after he fishes us out of the past the first time. It doesn’t seem like it’s something he can reverse.

I think he means this past Beelzebub is now reacting to our presence in this particular timeline, and we’re jumpstarting the demonic impulses now, sooner than they would normally manifest. In our timeline, he may have let himself go after he fell. Whoops.

The angel bros are also quite certain they know MC now, and “Sully”, which could also mean there’s some kind of transfer going on between their past and present selves with MC at the center, and that might affect how the future unfolds. Which is... not necessarily good.

Compare and Contrast: Simeon vs. Lucifer

We learn that Simeon is very at home in the time period he steps into. He loves the air, and he admits this was the brightest spot of his life.

Simeon was a Seraphim alongside Lucifer and Michael in this period of time. They’re implied to be the rulers of the Celestial Realm, and though Simeon still seems to answer to Michael and Lucifer, he was still close to the seat of power and he was likely involved in determining how the Celestial Realm functioned. It’s implied that the Seraphim spent most of their time in the Celestial Palace: Simeon having fond memories of the time spent there means he enjoyed whatever it is they do there.

Buuuut... I think this may revolve around his affection for Lucifer and Michael more than any of the other Seraphim. It’s implied that he and Michael have a long history together, and that likely applies to Lucifer as well; I think they grew up and climbed the celestial ranks together. He was demoted after the Great Celestial War for reasons left unexplored so far, but it’s telling that functionally his position hasn’t changed and he’s still answering to Michael -- and as far as we know, only Michael. And not all the time lol.

In contrast, Lucifer seems to have tried to mentally bury all his Celestial Realm memories. He acknowledges it wasn’t all bad but those memories for him are far and few in between. He sure as hell doesn’t like to bring them up or discuss them, and will flagrantly lie about it when someone tries to pry some kind of sentiment out of him.

My guess is that Lucifer, and possibly Michael, have a unique relationship with their lovely father that resulted in trauma powerful enough to completely eclipse all the good times Lucifer may have had in the Celestial Realm. Lucifer outright hates making himself vulnerable in any capacity, so he turns from a metaphorical peacock into a metaphorical porcupine when the Celestial Realm is brought up. He can tangentially discuss it with Simeon and MC, though, however sparsely. He will not reminiscence about it in any other setting.

His brothers might have been the only thing that kept him sane through all that, whatever it was. Considering how much Michael seems to miss the brothers, too, it may have been the same situation with him. He and Lucifer might have shared some good ol’ traumabonding that no one else could really understand, but they might have come to entirely different conclusions on what needed to be done about it.

Demons becoming more angelic…?

In a hard mode lesson in Season 2, Barbatos confronts Lucifer about how much he’s changed and what it might mean for the future. In the context of that season, we’re led to believe that this is referencing the upcoming conflict between him and Diavolo: a conflict implied to force Lucifer to choose between his love for his brothers or his loyalty to Diavolo.

Only that doesn’t really happen in Season 2.

Similar to how MC may be triggering demonic changes in the angel brothers, there’s evidence MC is making the present demon Lucifer more angelic. It doesn’t actually stop here, either.

Lucifer doesn’t immediately revert back to his old self even after he regains his memories after his bout of amnesia. Just how he regained them might be noteworthy, too: it was only after Michael invaded our dreams and left in the wake of the Ring of Light ‘choosing’ MC.

This ability to tug the brothers back and forth along the angel/demon spectrum could be something Michael/Simeon might be keen on taking advantage of to get Lucifer and the brothers back. If angels can turn into demons, then logically demons can turn into angels. We do remember Michael is plotting something, right? And whatever it is, Simeon specifically is being used to carry it out (Luke likely is too clueless to really be of much use in this regard).

What I do know is this isn’t a game that’s going to outright vilify the titular Christian archangel or the sexy nowdateable, so regardless of what it is, it’s more likely to end with reconciliation more than anything else. Diavolo’s exchange program requires cooperation with the Celestial Realm, and I think Michael eventually becoming an ally is the only way it could work. Would not bet on daddy being interested, and I don’t think Simeon is gonna stab everyone and take over. This is a harem otome, not an edgy shounen anime.

Also I want my Luke content, damn it. I hope he shows up in the next lesson and gets to faff around with the angel bros, too. I’m afraid they’re going to shove him off until the very end in favor of Satan x Lucifer bonding part 3. It’ll be difficult to fit TWO meaningful character arcs in one lesson, but I’m hoping they try. Why set up all the inner conflict in Luke right beforehand, otherwise?

Don’t let me down, guys.

#obey me #obey me!#obey me lesson 51 #obey me lesson 52 #obey me spoilers #obey me lucifer #obey me simeon #obey me satan #obey me beelzebub #obey me season 3

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tiz-chan · 3 years

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SnK characters and their arcana if they were in a Persona game:

note: the descriptions come from Labyrinthos Academy. Some traits are upright readings, whereas others are reverse. I just tried to pick whichever traits I thought matched best.

Eren: The Chariot

Determination

Ambition

Willpower

Aggression

Obstacles

The Chariot tarot card is all about overcoming challenges and gaining victory through maintaining control of your surroundings. This perfect control and confidence allows the charioteer to emerge victorious in any situation. The use of strength and willpower are critical in ensuring that you overcome the obstacles that lie in your path. The Chariot's message comes to make you stronger as you strive to achieve your goals.

Mikasa: The Lovers

Love

Unity

Choices

Detachment

Indecision

The primary meaning within the Lovers is harmony, attractiveness, and perfection in a relationship. The trust and the unity that the lovers have gives each of them confidence and strength, empowering the other. The bond that they have created is very strong. A more personal Lovers meaning that can apply to individuals is the development of your own personal belief systems, regardless of what are the societal norms. This is one of the times when you figure out what you are going to stand for, and what your philosophy in life will truly be. You must start making up your mind about what you find important and unimportant in your life. You should be as true to yourself as you can be, so you will be genuine and authentic to the people who are around you.

Armin: The Magician

Desire

Resourcefulness

Concentration

Cunning

Manipulation

When you get the Magician in your reading, it might mean that it's time to tap into your full potential without hesitation. It might be in your new job, new business venture, a new love or something else. It shows that the time to take action is now and any signs of holding back would mean missing the opportunity of becoming the best version of yourself. Certain choices will have to be made and these can bring great changes to come. Harness some of the Magician's power to make the world that you desire most.

Historia: The Empress

Sensuality

Nurturing

Creativity

Insecurity

Negligence

The Empress shows us how deeply we are embedded to our femininity. Femininity could be associated with fertility, expression, creativity and nurturing among many other aspects. It therefore calls you to connect with beauty and bring happiness to your life. Understand yourself and get in touch with your sensuality so that you can attract life circumstances to bring happiness and joy. She is a signal that be kind to yourself, to take care of yourself. The Empress is also a strong indication of pregnancy and motherhood.

Jean: Death

Transformations

Transition

Letting go

Repeating negative patterns

Fear of change

The Death card signals that one major phase in your life is ending, and a new one is going to start. You just need to close one door, so the new one will open. The past needs to be placed behind you, so you can focus your energy on what is ahead of you.

Reiner: The Moon

Complexity

Secrets

Confusion

Deception

Anxiety

the Moon card can symbolize your imagination is taking the best of you. In the dark of the night, you are taking a path that you are unsure of, for there could be danger lurking in its depths. You are the crawfish embarking on the path in the card. The moon's light can bring you clarity and understanding and you should allow your intuition to guide you through this darkness.

Bertholdt: The Tower

Destruction

Trauma

Sudden Change

Upheaval

Chaos

The Tower represents change in the most radical and momentous sense. It is for this reason that the card itself visually looks so unnerving. But it doesn't necessarily have to be truly frightening or ominous. Because at the heart of this card, its message is foundational, groundbreaking change. The kind of event that the Tower card marks does not have to be something terrible, like a disaster or a great loss. Change itself is a normal part of life that one has to embrace. But it can sometimes strike fear, for it means that we must abandon the truths that we have known prior to this event. The old ways are no longer useful, and you must find another set of beliefs, values and processes to take their place.

Annie: The Hermit

Contemplation

Solitude

Self-reflection

Rejection

Loneliness

You are currently contemplating that you need to be alone. Never be afraid to take this chance to reflect, as it could help you clear your mind of all the clutter that comes with everyday life. The Hermit may also refer to your effort in taking action that is authentic and aligned with your true self. You are perhaps searching your inner soul for guidance on what is right, and where your next steps are to be.

Levi: Justice

Honesty

Integrity

Consequences

Fairness

Cause and Effect

The decisions that you make now have long-term effects in all things, both for yourself and others. There will always come a time where you will be judged. The Justice tarot card appearing in a reading signals that a judgment will be made fairly and accordingly. The decisions that you have made in the past will be carefully weighed with fairness.

Hanji: The Sun

Success

Optimism

Confidence

Excessive Enthusiasm

Unrealistic Expectations

The Sun card represents success, abundance, and radiance. Like the sun itself, it gives strength and vitality to all those that are lucky enough to feel its rays. There is much joy and happiness that is coming to you. Because of your own personal fulfillment, you provide others with inspiration and joy as well. People are drawn to you because they are capable of seeing the warm and beautiful energy which you bring into their lives. You are also in a position in which you are capable of sharing your qualities as well as achievements with other people. You radiate love and affection towards those you care about the most.

Erwin: The Emperor

Authority

Control

Focus

Protection

Stubborn

It’s all about control when it comes to the Emperor, for this card means authority, regulation, organization and a fatherliness. The Emperor represents a strategic thinker who sets out plans that he must see through. He is a symbol of the masculine principle - the paternal figure in life that gives structure, creates rules and systems, and imparts knowledge. Where the Empress's desire for their kingdom is to create happiness, the emperor desires to foster honor and discipline. He guides with a firm hand, following the calling of the crown above all else. Though he is a ruler, he understands that to reign is also to serve - thus he acts rationally and according to what is for the greater good of the kingdom.

Ymir: The Hanged-Man

Sacrifice

Uncertainty

Contemplation

Lack of direction

Waiting

The hanged man understands that his position is a sacrifice that he needed to make in order to progress forward - whether as repentance for past wrongdoings, or a calculated step backward to recalculate his path onward. This time he spends here will not be wasted, he does this as part of his progression forward. His upside down state can also symbolize the feeling of those that walk a spiritual path, for they see the world differently. Where there are others that do not understand the need to sacrifice, you see it differently. This is a natural course of action for you as you walk the path alone.

Marco: The Star

Hope

Inspiration

Positivity

Faith

Renewal

The Star brings hope, renewed power, and strength to carry on with life. It shows how abundantly blessed you are by the universe as evidenced by the various things around you. It may not be directly evident at the moment, for this card follows the trauma of the Tower card. Remember that you hold within you all that you need for your fulfillment - the only thing that you need is courage. For this, you have all reasons to rejoice. To see this card is a message to have faith, for the universe will bless you and bring forth all that you need.

Sasha: Strength

Courage

Confidence

Compassion

Inner-power

Cowardice

When you get the Strength card in an upright manner during your tarot reading, then it shows that you have inner strength and fortitude during moments of danger and distress. It shows that you have the ability to remain calm and strong even when your life is going through immense struggle. It also shows that you are a compassionate person and you always have time for other people even if it's at your own expense.

Connie: The Fool

Beginnings

Adventure

Reckless

Naive

Distracted

To see the The Fool generally means a beginning of a new journey, one where you will be filled with optimism and freedom from the usual constraints in life. When we meet him, he approaches each day as an adventure, in an almost childish way. He believes that anything can happen in life and there are many opportunities that are lying out there, in the world, waiting to be explored and developed. He leads a simple life, having no worries, and does not seem troubled by the fact that he cannot tell what he will encounter ahead.

Zeke: The Devil

Oppression

Addiction

Obsession

Independence

Reclaiming control

Getting the devil card in your reading shows that you have feelings of entrapment, emptiness and lack of fulfillment in your life. It might also mean that you are a slave to materialism and opulence and no matter how hard you try, you just can’t seem to shake off the feeling of wanting to indulge in luxurious living. Addiction to substances or material pleasures can also be the reason for your feelings of powerlessness and entrapment. In situations such as these, you may feel as though you are a slave, unable to control your impulses or willpower to direct yourself towards something other than the satisfaction of these desires.

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blacksunscorpio · 4 years

Note

Hi! I was wondering what do you think of (true) Lilith in Scorpio/Scorpio in the 11th.... Are they intense?

1. Black Moon Lilith [H13]

and most commonly use/known. She encompasses true Osculating Lilith [h13] & Mean Lilith. She is not a solid object, but rather a point of alignment. The point that is farthest from the earth [ the moon’s apogee].

KEY WORDS. Priestess V prostitute, magic v sorcery, forbidden fruit, angels v demons, animal magnetism, tantric sex, seduction, the supernatural, intuition, psychic ability, psychic healing, hypnotism, charisma, altered states, glamour, shamanism, psychedelic drugs, addiction, obsession.

Think of her as NEPTUNE. This part of the Lilith myth corresponds to the forbidden fruit episode, She is the serpent offering the fruit. Serpents represent occult knowledge, while the apple represents sex. Neptune is very much like a psychic sponge. A similar effect to using drugs to break down the barriers to the unconscious parts of us. Like illusory and deceptive Neptune when drugged, this zone can let in the dark messages from beyond the veil and our subconscious. Our addictions and obsessions

2. Asteroid Lilith [1181]

KEY WORDS. Rebellion, Earthy, feminist, prostitution, exile, freedom fighter, confrontational, equality, impulsive, innovative, unconventional, asexual, instinctual, sensual.

She is the only physical manifestation of Lilith found in the asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars. Like her being based in the physical realm as opposed to a hypothetical point in our charts, Asteroid Lilith is hands-on with her energy. You can see this reflected in her “hand-like” glyph. She is Earthy and practical, she reflects the part of the creation myth in Hebrew lore where she protests to God about having the “lie beneath and submit” to Adam. She needed to have equal status.. Asteroid Lilith is like URANUS. Unpredictable. Unconventional. As Uranus being castrated makes him asexual, he is paired and associated with alternative lifestyles. Lilith here is the same. The eternal free spirit. Peter-pan-esque. She represents the lack of “traditional” sexuality and a “traditional” lifestyle. She is stark in her opinions but overall, free.

3. Dark Moon Lilith [H58]

KEY WORDS. Vengeance, Sadomasochism, Demons, The Shadow, Abuse, Rage, Anti-mother, Fairytales, dark sexuality, Seduction, Nightmares, Choas, Nymphomania, Addictions, Psychotic states, Toxins, Depth psychology, Stalkers, emotional pain, Catharsis, Madness. The Dark Moon is the hurt, ruthless side of Lilith. The part of us that reacts abuse and cruelty, where and how we experience it, or where we can dish it out. Very akin to Algol the notorious Fixed star. She is also called Waldemath Lilith. She is the part of the Lilith myth where while in exile she practiced infanticide and turned OG nymphomaniac out of revenge to god. “Dark Moon relates to highly individualized soul desires that are denied personal satisfaction for higher expression on social/spiritual levels. Dark Moon Lilith is like PLUTO on steroids. The shadow, the secrets, the hidden demons-- all very much part of Pluto’s underworld. The dark lies and myths people attribute to him I.e having “raped and abducted” Persephone, even though we all know Persephone eloped with him willingly. Here she has a duality which we have to face when she is activated. dither face our Demons, make peace, and bury them or allow them to fester until they become engorged and enraged. The latter runs the risk of them breaking out and psychically overtaking and violating us, just as Lilith did in antiquity.

These three faces of Lilith can be associated with the three heads of the Triple Goddess. When combined or aspecting points in your chart, there you will see her energy manifest. She is all about intensity. Her vibe itself is 8th house/Scorpionic in nature. On your ascendant, it will play out like this. In the houses, which are the stages your planets [sun, moon, Venus] play out their role [Sign= Taurus, Scorpio [where she feels at home], Pisces, Sag] you can see her play out like this. Regardless of her dark and complicated nature, her energy can be channeled beneficially if used without ego to release negativity through creativity, healthy sexual activity, or therapeutically.

#black moon lilith #oscilating lilith #dark moon lilith #waldermath lilith #True lilith #lilith #lilith in astrology #astro asks #three headed goddess #witchblr #astrology #bruja tips

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greenteabtch · 3 years

Note

your characterizations of sebastian are so interesting and got me thinking! how does meeting helena impact seb? does he go through some kind of development in his relationship to the chantry over their years? what point in terms of self-image would you love for him to get to?

Hi Gabi!! Thank you for asking :) you’re about to enter the #Deep Sebastian Lore.

So before I begin to tackle this, I feel like it’s important to acknowledge that there are many different interpretations of Seb’s character. I consider him a lot more malleable in final interpretation than a lot of the da2 companions because his Rivalry and Friendship route actually results in two very different outcomes with regards to primary characterization. (Other characters like Merrill also have this, but I personally don’t consider a rivalry route with her or Isabela to be healthy or done well in any valid manner of speaking so I do not see it I am looking away.)

As a quick sum, Sebastian’s Friendship path commits him further to the chantry and quells his disagreement and conflict with his role as a brother, thus making him more complacent, while his Rivalry path spurs him to reclaim Starkhaven by encouraging him to give in to his dissent and impulses, eventually making him more headstrong.

Both of these are valid because each character trait that gets emphasized, depending on the path, all make up the whole of Sebastian as he is. He is compassionate, pious, and faithful, but also rash, stubborn, and witty.

This is all set up to say that in my personal canon, I follow the rivalry path because it aligns the best with my personal experiences and identity, as well as (in my opinion) encourages Sebastian to fulfill his wants best. Unlike other rivalry paths, it is able to encourage growth and development in a manner that isn’t harsh and abusive, as it targets his ideas and ideology taught to him rather than his personality or integral core as a person. I like that it inspires him to question the chantry as an institution while maintaining his faith in a personal way.

In addition to that, (cw for mentions of neglect and abuse) the rivalry path allows him to take his faith, and his expression of that, into his own hands. From a young age, The Vaels believed that their youngest son of three, Sebastian, was a disgrace to the family name, and would be a weight around his brothers' necks. According to the wiki, Sebastian had always had faith but it was not his will to enter the chantry. His short story implicates how drastic the situation was for him, as he describes the Chantry as a prison, his room as a cell, the guard as his jailor, and even more, but notes how he is still wont to pray to Andraste for his safe escape. Even so, when he is given the “opportunity” (It doesn’t feel like a true opportunity, as I read it, but I digress) to leave, he is trapped, stuck by his parents’ descriptions of himself and what he will be if he chooses to leave. “Words race through my head: useless, aimless, selfish, alone.”

Because of this, I don’t truly believe that it is necessary for him to recommit his vows of chastity, poverty, or any others as a brother in order to stay true to his faith or his character. Traumatized by his parent’s neglect for him as the son “left in the cold,” for they already had the “heir and the spare”, Sebastian was forced to accept his position as one that would never be of value to his parents, purely because of his order of birth. He was resigned to be worthless (which, I honestly think was the reason he acted out so heavily as a youth), till his parents gave him an out by committing himself to the Chantry. As a result, I connect the friendship path of staying as a brother as one that is not the kindest (as it may appear), but the one that is the most affirming of his worst fears for himself. That he, his desires, wants, dreams, and choices, are worth nothing unless he resigns himself to a life of piety and service. In sum, there are many ways to keep that faith the way he had always had it without giving up the excitement of life and love he clearly thrives in by recommitting him to the Chantry.

Personal Canon: I believe that Helena immediately presents herself as an aloof and standoffish force for Sebastian, though one that does not deter him, but challenges him. He certainly has no trouble befriending any companion (except for Varric, but that’s more about his insecurities than Sebastian’s lmao), and Helena is no different. More than just his general disposition to making friends, though, he has a curiosity about her. Because she works directly and has no qualms about violence as a tool to aid others, he sees an inkling of his desires or questions about himself in her and she encourages that further just by her actions. Other than the attraction things (they both like to cook, they both think the other is hot, they have similar family situations, they’re both secretly compe-- ok i’ll stop) he has a vested interest in listening to her disagree with him because she is a part of a new perspective that he has never considered, nor ever been given the option to.

For my custom rivalry path, Helena expresses consistent disagreement with how Seb has been treated, both by Elthina and by his parents, and encourages him to make the choice that he wants, not what the chantry wants or what his family wanted.

Throughout the acts, Helena allows him to vent his contentions with his role to her, usually over food as they watch the sunset outside the Chantry. For Helena, things run very simply, not exactly black and white, but in a manner where she knows exactly which group of grays each action lies in. I think this simplicity is helpful in getting Sebastian to confront his past. For example:

“My parents thought I was a disgrace to the family, so they forced me into the Chantry to make something of myself.”

Helena looks at him with wild and confused eyes. “They didn’t like how you acted so they imprisoned you? Didn’t they care for you?”

“Well… Yes, but it wasn’t as if I was a good son.”

“You were a son. That should have been enough for them.”

Additionally, her own complex relationship with Leandra allows her to identify the abusive behaviors of his parents and the manipulative actions of Elthina later. This pattern of confrontation and disagreement between them continues until Act 3, and along the while, Sebastian’s dissatisfaction with the role of the Chantry wedges him farther away from his possible recommitment. By the end, he is able to recognize that he has worth as a human being regardless of whatever choice he makes and that he doesn’t have to sacrifice his life as Andraste did in order to be considered deserving.

It’s at that point that he solidifies his choice to retake Starkhaven, with the hopes of bringing Helena along if she’ll have him, and sticks it to his past controllers and manipulators by doing what he knows he can do better than anyone.

In terms of his self-image, I think Sebastian simply deserves to know he has worth regardless of whether or not he is the epitome of good service and faith. I want him to be able to be “selfish” and acknowledge his wants as not things that are impure and lower his value, but a part of what makes him a human being, and one that makes him a good one too. Because of his wants and desires, he retakes Starkhaven, which is ultimately the best choice for the people there because his contender for the throne doesn’t know the first thing about ruling a city-state. Sebastian, at his best, will acknowledge his desires with temperance and balance, such that is accomplished by his faith. When all is said and done, Sebastian will only be complete when he can find faith and life through his embrace of self.

#wow im so sexy for this #thank you for askin gabi T_T ily #asks #gayvhenan #sebastian vael #my meta #neglect cw #abuse cw #da2 #dragon age 2 #ship: wings sprout from broken backs

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stayndays · 3 years

Text

𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐑 𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆'𝐒 𝐀𝐋𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐄𝐒 & 𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐃

time to dive into this hellhole of a series once again

if you haven’t read killer king, there are MAJOR spoilers in this post! you have been warned.

So! This was highly requested in the final survey of Killer King: to reveal the other routes if you didn’t choose the Escape Route. To start off, though, I first have to talk about something that was brought up multiple times throughout the voting boxes of Killer King, which is:

“Why is Jisung helping Minho/Is Jisung aware that Minho’s the killer/What is Jisung and Minho’s dynamic?”

Minho and Jisung, to say the least, is probably the most interesting duo in the series. They didn’t met before the party, but rather, at the party before the mansion owner was killed, and quickly formed a strong bond. You could infer that Minho wanted to pull in a party guest that would most likely stay and solve the murder, just so he has a puppet to control if things go haywire. Minho was also inspired by Jisung’s poem, which results in how his killing techniques were put into place.

Because Jisung is kind of naive in this story, he ends up being manipulated by the killer himself, and accidentally becomes Minho’s #1 ally for the entire series. Minho grabbed the key from the mansion owner’s coat, and gave it to Jisung for him to protect, saying something along the lines of “If anybody tries to flee the mansion like a coward, they won’t be able to because you have the key.”

Oh, also, Minho attempted to frame Jisung by leaving the white glove in Jisung’s bag. I’m like.. slowly recovering info from this series because I already forgot most of the plot.. October was a fever dream guys wheeze

But now, this duo leads us to our first route I’ll cover today! The duos all have a certain goal: Hyunin wanted to escape, another group wanted to kill the killer themselves, and another group simply wanted to solve the murder. This duo is different, however, because Minho is literally the killer.

So the route would’ve played out somewhat like this:

You choose to align with Minho and Jisung, regardless of whether you lie or not

When the house fight occurs and everybody is split off into groups, you have the option to stay with Chan, Changbin, and Minho. If you choose this, you would get an additional chapter where you have the decision to come with Minho upstairs, or to stay behind with Chan and Changbin.

If you choose to come with Minho, you would be forced by him to throw a knife at Jeongin, who’s alone on the stairs. (this would’ve been REALLY fun to write)

Even if you chose not to follow Minho, as long as you prove that you’re truly loyal to him, he’ll eventually reveal to both you and Jisung that he’s the killer, and urge the both of you to work with him to eliminate the rest of the house members.

THIS IS THE FUN PART

Basically: Jisung doesn’t want to team up with Minho. Instead, he wants to try and kill Minho (I assume that Jisung has multiple reasons as to why he doesn’t want to tell the other members, probably because he has no evidence). As a result, since Jisung also trusts you, he tells you his plan, and now you have to choose between the two.

And according to my notes, no matter if you team up with Jisung or go solo, if you choose to betray Minho, you will die. It is impossible to succeed in this scenario. You have to team up with a murderer in order to win.

You could also try and convince Jisung to come with you and Minho’s side. Knowing me, I’d probably spin a wheel to see whether Jisung would agree with you or not LOL. If he doesn’t though, he’s gonna die. That’s that.

So if you team up with Minho (regardless if Jisung is still alive or not) and the two/three of you are able to successfully eliminate the rest of the members, you win! And you get the ending “The Killer’s Sidekick” (even better: if you identity as a female and/or use she/her pronouns, you could be “The Killer Queen” :D)

The other two routes don’t have nearly as much info as Minsung’s route, though. One of them wasn’t even planned at all. Let’s talk about them!

Changlix’s Route: Kill the Killer

Basically, if you openly state to either Felix or Changbin that you’re also interested in killing the killer, you’d be put into this route!

In this route, you’ll tend to make more impulsive decisions without thinking straight (aka your choices will be pretty dumb) because you’re after blood, not justice.

If you kill the wrong person, that’s an automatic game over.

If you hesitate to kill Minho, he’ll kill you first, and that’s a game over.

And if you successfully kill Minho, you’ll get one of those “You won.. but at what cost?” endings, kinda like the ending you guys got! (it’s because you killed somebody, that’s why.)

Chanmin’s Route: Catch the Killer

I have nothing written down for this route. It’s pretty self explanatory. Find the killer, and trap him in a room until the police come. That’s pretty much the route, along with trying not to get killed yourself.

If you chose this route, it would probably be even more stressful than the escape route, and would probably be the most boring route to write.

If you have any questions, let me know! But now let’s dive into the questions you guys put in for the survey.

1. Was Hyunjin super suspicious in the beginning as a red herring?

I think they were all super suspicious in the beginning just so the reader jumps into the story completely blind. It wasn’t intended as a red herring, but it definitely could be to you!

2. Why does Felix and Changbin want to kill the murderer?

Simple: bloodlust. I just needed that violent duo, y’know?

3. Were Jisung and Minho conspiring together? If not, was Minho going to pin it on Jisung?

No and yes, that was his intention!

4. Why does Minho have a hankering for murder?

He wants revenge on his step father, the mansion owner, for neglecting him all those years. Also the dude has anger issues. Bad temper.

5. Why could Minho pass the mattress but not 5 guys?

He is immortal. He is god. He is- just kidding. He was probably doing something stupid and unplanned, like using the bathroom on the downstairs floor. That’s the best answer I can give you for now.

6. Why did Jisung decided to team up with Minho? I mean what benefit will he get from it if there is a chance Minho might even kill him too? and also did Jisung know that Minho is the killer king in the first place?

He didn’t realize he was teaming up with the killer, and if Minho did reveal that he was the killer, Jisung would most likely try to turn on him (and fail). Nope!

7. What was Minho's motive (was it just him hating the victim or was there something deeper)?

Both that, and probably bloodlust as well.

8. How did Minho get the white glove to blame Jisung later when he wasn't with us while we were searching the room?

He bought a fresh pair of white gloves before the party started. He also, most likely, placed it in Jisung’s bag before committing the murder without him noticing.

9. If we were to just body search everybody at once, would we find the throwing knives on Minho and just end the whole thing? (this was on my mind the whole time lmao, like why didn't we search OURSELVES too??)

yeah true ngl i can’t argue with that Knowing Minho, he probably has a bunch of knives hidden all around the house, secretly planting them here and there while mingling with party guests.

10. Were really 2 killer kings?

Nope! Only Minho. There would only be more than one killer king if you ended up choosing the Minsung route. However, good idea! I should’ve thought of that.

11. Why in the hell was jisung helping minho like how did they end up as a team?

e x p l a i n e d a l r e a d y. see i told you guys a lot of people were asking this

12. I still don't understand changbins fascination with the blood type.

This was an easter egg I was proud of but nobody caught!! The same blood type mentioned by Changbin (I think it was A?) is the same type Seungmin has! After a google search or two, I learned that blood types were passed down by family members, so if you arrange Seungmin’s family tree correctly, you’d learn that him and the mansion owner shared the same blood type, meaning that Seungmin is related to the mansion owner. Far stretch, I know, but I think it works out! If you figured this out, you would realize how smart Changbin really is as a scientist.

13. Why did jeongin light two matches?

Extra precaution! Also, he’s the youngest. He thinks fire is cool.

14. Was Minsung a team for the ~ Minsung Vibes? ~

It was not intentional at first, but then I realized the rest of the duos were popular ships in SKZ (minus Chanmin) so that was interesting!

15. Just in general why were the teams aligned the way they were?

Minsung - They’re good pals Changlix - For the bloodlust similarity Hyunin - They were both emotional enough in this story to want to escape Chanmin - It’s literally Chan and Seungmin, and Seungmin is close with the mansion owner

16. Which one was your favorite route?

MINSUNG’S ROUTE!! I wanted you guys to choose this one because it would so different from other murder mysteries!! But the escape route was my second choice, thank god.

17. Will you be doing another series similar to this next year?

90% no because of how physically and mentally draining this series was to write, but you can get a sequel if the finale somehow gets 50 notes! That won’t happen for a while. Just FYI.

18. Did the knife in y/n’s hand ever come out or was it just stuck in there the entire time?

It was there the entire time until Hyunjin pulled it out at his house. I actually still don’t know if this is medically accurate or not, I literally had to ask my mom what to do in this situation. Our text messages went something like:

Me: If a knife goes through your hand, should you pull it out or leave it in? Asking because of a TV show Mom: Leave it in and go to the hospital... Me: Ok thanks mom

I think that’s it? I still have a lot I want to talk about, but that information will only come out if people ask me! So come ask me hehe have fun. Thank you, so incredibly much, for following Killer King. It is my pride and joy, literally.

taglist: @desertofdessert @crscendoforsung @cotccotc @leggomylino @skzctnightnight @freckledberries @nizhonimoon @hanniiesuckle17 @binniesbabybear @tsuki-moons @lbxgsunshine @csbverse @mangoisawesome @peachyhan @worldtriiiip @golden–rain @bubblyjisunq @kimpchi @loey-letters @pokyloky @wherevermyway @avrea-tt @bossuns @sunoo-luvs @katherineee19 @ph0ebevix @qt-k1mb @444scb @grandmasterslickfox @k-pop-valda (now we can all abandon this series for good!)

#stray kids killer king #stray kids #skz #stray kids killer king spoilers

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theholycovenantrpg · 3 years

Photo

CONGRATULATIONS, SAY! YOU’VE BEEN ACCEPTED FOR THE ROLE OF RYUK.

Admin Jen: Say, I wish there were words to describe my joy over your application. Not only because you’re bringing us my beloved Pale Rider, but because of the beautiful way with which you captured them. There was so much to love about your app, but I have to admit that it was the para sample which stole my heart. Ryuk’s voice, his image of the other Horsemen and the way it bled into his dialogue throughout, the nuance in his perspective and the small tics in his mannerisms. It was all so vivid, so visceral, and so mesmerizing to take in. Although I absolutely cannot deny the impact of all the other sections in the app, which only served to amplify the portrayal and bring it to life in a way that left me so thrilled to leave Ryuk in your hands. I trust you with him completely, and I pray for the New World to bear their arrival. Please create and send in your account, review the information on our CHECKLIST, and follow everyone on the FOLLOW LIST. Welcome to the Holy Land!

OUT OF CHARACTER.

ALIAS | Say.

AGE | 25.

PERSONAL PRONOUNS | She/Her/Hers.

ACTIVITY LEVEL | Hopefully around 6/10! I check the dash basically every day for replies, but whether I get to them or not is a completely different story 🥴 Also, given that this is a highly literate roleplay, it may take me a tad longer to craft replies and post them, but I’m confident I can meet the 8 post/month minimum that you outline in your guidelines.

TIMEZONE | EST / UTC-5.

TRIGGERS | REMOVED.

HOW DID YOU FIND THE GROUP? | A mutual of mine reblogged some of the first promo posts onto my dash. From then I’ve been following the group, and I finally got a chance to read through all of the lore / word-building you guys have done and I am super impressed.

CURRENT / PAST RP ACCOUNTS |

IN CHARACTER.

CHARACTER

Ryuk.

WHAT DREW YOU TO THIS CHARACTER?

I will admit that when I was first browsing, I had the worst choice paralysis because all of the biographies were compelling in their own way. The Angels and their pretentious morality, the Demons with their freewheeling madness, the Gifted toeing the line between mortal and divine, desperate to survive in a world with their powers… That being said, I kept on going back to Horsemen because of their remarkable existence across Caelum, Sanctus Terra, and Infernum. Not quite Angels or Demons, and far from mortal, I interpreted them to be the closest beings to God the world has, given that they were torn from the flesh of God Himself.

This steadfast solidarity between Viktoria, Ryuk, Nerissa, and Dmitri really hit me square in the chest. Four distinctive beasts, hungry for bloodshed, are dropped into a world already ravaged by devastation at the hands of God’s own creations — so they take solace in each other, even broken from their original purpose. And yet, even amongst these four outliers, Ryuk stood out to me even more, because of their innate understanding of the ravaged world before him. While Nerissa raged for their stolen war, while Viktoria mourned their own creation in Purgatory, while Dmitri adjusted their child-like senses to their surroundings so starkly different whence they came, Ryuk intrinsically knew of their role on this plane of existence.

I recognized the subtle intricacies woven into Ryuk’s biography, and wanted to challenge myself by writing a character whose desires, motives, and perception of the world is markedly unique from how I interpret my world. What sort of purpose could a Horseman have when stripped of their divine right and design? What do the immortals fear when they are bound with eternal life? What could Death himself fear, when they know the unknowable, and have the power to exact their purpose?

All beings, regardless of their time on earth, fear death in some way. For divine beings, it is the possibility of their destruction through their infinite life, and for mortals, it is the inevitability of it that induces fear. But what about Death himself? Is it possible that they could be terrified of it as well?

PLOTS.

DISCLAIMER: I illustrated a few points that rely on the development of other characters, most specifically the Horsemen, but it will all obviously rely on me working out the details with other players.

I. A HUNGER FOR DEATH PROMISES A STARVATION OF LIFE — a division amongst a former whole.

We begin the story with the Horsemen being a single unit, working alongside each other in relative harmony, existing as mercenaries for the highest bidder. In a world teetering on the fragile truce between the Angels, Demons, and Mortals, the Horsemen of the Apocalypse walk alone, united in their understanding that they are unlike anything else walking the holy grounds. Without each other, they have nothing — so they remain close together out of deficit rather than benefit. However, in each of the Horsemen’s biographies, you’ve outlined a faint, yet irrefutable line dividing the four. As it stands, the division relies on recognition; Ryuk has always understood Nerissa and her cause more than he sympathizes with Nerissa or Dmitri. So what if that line became a crack?

I’ve interpreted the current division to lie within the fundamental conflict of bloodlust vs. power, with Ryuk and Nerissa lying firmly in the former camp, though this would all be hammered out with the appropriate muns. But the interest lies within the Horsemen, and what would happen if their loyalties suffered an upset — who would they pledge their allegiance to?

II. MONSTERS, WE ARE NOT SO UNALIKE, YOU AND I — an unlikely understanding.

This brings me into the next plot point, which involves Ryuk’s connections to the other factions.

Within my app, I sought to base much of Ryuk on what he is not — and their antithetical existence to Cade is something I played with deeply in this application. As hungry as they are for blood, there is a distinct lack of intention behind their killing, as if they inflict death because they are a Horseman. It is why the division is so crucial for Ryuk to begin to align themselves to a cause. A trap I don’t want to fall into while writing them is not giving them a fear to hold onto. I think the fascinating part about Ryuk is that they were birthed out of God’s terror of His unknown — and that is precisely what they fear the most. They feel safe and powerful when aligned with his fellow Horsemen, but without them, what do they know?

The details of what would sweeten their attraction to any cause is something I want to keep open, rather than delineate extensively here, but the core of it is the same: to lower them down so that they may see the light in another’s faith.

III. IN MY END IS MY BEGINNING — a touch of Death.

And here, we end with a renewal of their perspective. Some sort of mortal injury happens that gives Ryuk a taste of their own medicine, perhaps in saving something they have truly learned to care about, as much as their dark heart will allow.

Given that they fear losing their power and dominion over mortals, throwing them into a situation where they are possibly injured by one is a surefire way of allowing Ryuk to face what truly lies dormant underneath: what is their purpose? And why are they here and living, despite having their purpose erased so long ago with the death of their Creator?

Perhaps this will finally give them a hunger for something more than just taking souls and money for it.

ARE YOU COMFORTABLE WITH KILLING OFF THIS CHARACTER?

As long as it serves a specific purpose for the long-term prospects of the group’s plot, 100% yes.

IN DEPTH.

DRIVING CHARACTER MOTIVATION

I admit that this is the one of the parts of the application I struggled with, because for all intents and purposes, Death’s purpose has been ripped away from them. They, along with the other three Horsemen, were created for Earth’s apocalypse — but now that they’ve been thrown into the world without it, in some ways they are lost beyond comparison.

Even so, Ryuk was still built to thirst for mortal blood at their hand, and as of now, that base instinct is what they actively rely on to move through the world. They are desperate and hungry for the souls they’ve been promised by God, and nothing more.

And yet, I think they are also terrified of what it means to be stripped of their purpose. There’s this tentative resentment they hold for the world that no longer needs the Horsemen to wreak havoc, and yet, a terror that overtakes them when they think of fully relinquishing what they’ve been handed down from God. A fear of incompetence, the unknown, and the uselessness they feel is what drives Ryuk to continue to do what they’ve always known. After all, it’s easier to believe in a belief they’ve held close to their chest for so long.

CHARACTER TRAITS

( + ) RESOLUTE | Permanence: it is the one thing Ryuk knows to be true. Mortal blood expires, and nobody knows it better than the harbinger of Death himself. It is what makes them loyal, unwavering in their beliefs in their tar-black soul once he has made up their mind. ( + ) ASTUTE | It is impossible to be foolish when he has the ghosts of the past right at his fingertips; a history, laid before them like an open book. And what are first impressions, when they have the still-lingering souls to guide him along? Not much escapes their eyes or ears, and they use their gift well, for himself first, and for the Horsemen second. ( + ) VIGILANT | All that knowledge, always within reach — it would be a shame if they did not apply it well. Though he can be quick to react, it is rarely out of ineptitude or undisciplined impulse; it is precisely the wealth of information he gleans that makes them all the more wary to enter into a situation without identifying the risks first. They are adamant on victory, not by anyone else’s terms but their own. ( – ) DUPLICITOUS | He has no qualms about trickery, or resorting to underhanded means to get their way. After all, what is integrity to a being that values Death above everything else? What is honor to a Horsemen without a future, when Death is the period, the endmark to every creature with a beating, bloody heart? ( – ) RUTHLESS | When Ryuk first learns of the word mercy from the spirits’ whispers, they can barely fathom the concept. Sparing another out of the benevolence of one’s heart? It’s practically laughable, given their own penchant for cruelty when faced with their victims. He is ( – ) PASSIONLESS | And one wonders: what could make such a merciless killer unflinching in the face of their purpose? Yes, they relish in every single kill, just as much as his compatriots, but in the end, he does it because it is all he knows. One cannot mistake the devotion they show for passion, the very fire that ignites the circle of life. No, Death will not and cannot be acquainted with life, no matter how many live souls they take for themselves.

PARA SAMPLE

“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” — Matthew 24:36

From the beginning, at the very break of their conception at the hands of God, Ryuk is told they are the antithesis of emotion. It is an age-old story of the hero, their origin a simple blip in the vaporous, golden-god kingdom from which he is torn, cast into darkness until their path is clear — but Ryuk is not a hero. No, they are told that some day, they shall wreak havoc across the mortal realm that He has forged to collect their birthright of the damned souls roaming the earth. When? It’s insolence, a rare bit tumbling out for his Creator, He who has torn a part to make their whole.

You will know, and it is thunderous, the cadence of his voice, that even Death quivers, when the gates to the mortal realm opens. And then, they are thrown into their realm, devoid of anything but dust and half-formed souls. They know this, because the moment they’d slipped into the aphotic depths of His plan is the exact moment they hear their wails, deafening, ululating, even for their immortal senses.

And oh, did they wail. Told stories of dominions and dirt, of princes and peasants, a swarm of the dead desperate for the ear of a God — or however close they could get to such a being. Time and time again, Ryuk would swat the cloud away, gaze always focused in the distance, where the dark smoke broke into a line of halcyon shimmer, and they’d ask Him ( pray, a soul whispers ) for their birthright, their infernal kingdom of souls.

Ages pass. They hear nothing. They see nothing. The gilded line shrinks. But what is time for an immortal? Still, they hunger for the permanence of their existence; here, in this inchoate cavity of God’s creation, they are useless. The void is a steadiness of not quite death, but the absence of life — a temporary, an unhappy medium that they cannot satiate themselves on no matter how hard they strived. When? They think again, but He is long gone, in His heavens with His angels and His mortals He’d bore out of Love.

In the ages to come, they will begin to understand this. Tales brushed in human concepts, of Love and Fear and Ecstasy and Hope, of those dominions and dirt, the princes and peasants. In the ages to come, they will see that the mortals flourish, souls rising to Heaven and Hell without their touch. They will see the expanse of God’s love for His children, in fractured pieces of the half-gone souls’ shrieks, wondrous at how He could destroy something He’d built from the sands of the lands. They will ask why did the mother forbid her to marry her lover? and the souls will answer, because she loved her daughter, a babe she’d birthed for nothing in return.

“For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.” — Matthew 24:7

And what they mean to say is — no, they do not understand. How could God, in all his love for his mortal creations, bring their deliverance, Famine and War and Conquest and Death, upon the moral planes? What is their purpose aside to destroy what He has created? To understand the world is to hold it in one’s hands and inflict upon it an inconceivable love, of which they had none in their ichor-stricken heart.

They resent God for this. They resent their purpose, and yet, they walk the earthly plains alongside their comrades, knowing that even God has succumbed — and so they hold their faith, deal their foreordained havoc in spades.

“For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.” — Revelation 16:14

“You must have mistaken me for a being of mercy, of which I am not.” Viktoria’s nostrils flare. Ryuk’s voice is low enough that the others do not catch the impertinent remark, the subtlest of digs on what she prized most. Within visible distance, Dmitri fiddles with a mortal contraption, one of the many gifts from his beautiful admirers, and far off, in the other direction, Nerissa sharpens her blade on a slick slab of quartz, eyeing her two comrades with a watchful eye.

Among them all, fallows, burnt yellow and unseemly, spread out across either side, an end distant and impossible. In this part of land, there is nothing but rainfall and smog, untraversed by even the most seasoned of travelers, which, of course, had made it ideal for the likes of the Horsemen. Nothing but tar black clouds roamed the sky, save for the sliver of white in the horizon, a marker of Caelum to the North. The line glows, and Ryuk is briefly struck by the likeness of their environment to the emptiness from which they came. If they listen diligently enough, the winds almost mimic the agonized shrieks of undamned souls, and it completes the resemblance, far too uncanny for their liking. He shifts on his feet, left and right, and tugs on his ear. A cue, he’d learned, then committed to muscle memory, to ward away the spirits when they were not needed.

“And as always, you have failed to listen. And they say you can hear the spirits with those ears?”

It is Ryuk, this time, that prickles under the weight of the insult. Viktoria, as always, has fashioned herself as the brains of their expeditions, always pointing out their next destination. He cannot blame her; of the quad, they all know she is the weakest, but her passion for their good fate flares stronger than his own. Viktoria, always the one hungering for something more. A desire for a bite of the heavens whence they came.

To each their own, they suppose.

“I have provided all of us with good information, have I not? Saved our good health, if I remember correctly, more times than I desire to count.” Their sharp glare meets the other’s steel-bit fire, and she huffs.

“And what are your qualms of this plan? Do you plan to serve this diseased Tridium for our eternity?”

Besides him, the souls begin to howl. Cry out, they will hunt and kill you, they have weaponry, blessed by the something dark and holy, and yet, another faction beckons, they are no match for the Apocalypse, they are not as strong as you believe —

“What is it?”

They snap out of their trance. In the centuries they have known each other, they have all learned each other’s behaviors like their own kin. Like the flicker in Nerissa’s jaw when she lusts for blood, the fondness glimmering in Dmitri’s eye when he spies a mortal he desires. They’ve all seen the half-slack stupor Ryuk undergoes when he channels the voices of the dead, most of all Viktoria, but he brushes her away, throat cleared with a rumble.

“Nothing. They caution us against it.”

“And?”

The sinew in their neck tenses. “And there is nothing else. We all know that some mortals are still gifted. They hold the power to our demise as much as we for theirs.”

Viktoria scoffs. It is clear, in her stance, from her gaze, that she does not believe he is giving her the entire truth. “We will need more than that if we are to carry through with it; perhaps, they can tell us the size of their armory, or perhaps how it could be of use to us...“ Eyes averted, she begins to pace a small distance. They can already see the cogs turn in their brain, assembling their scheme for an upset of power across the lands.

“And who has agreed to carry through with this design? Dmitri?”

They look up. Viktoria, who’d been addressed; Dmitri, who’d believed they'd been summoned; Nerissa, who’d smelled the whiff of conflict. The lines, there are always the lines. Viktoria with Dmitri, himself with Nerissa. Left unsaid, but voice did not negate the fact that the line is a truth, hanging amongst them like an errant thread, impossible to sever even with the sharpest of blades. “You don’t believe we can do it?”

They stare, unflinching against her black gaze, because for all that they lack with their deadened atrophy and rot, they fill themselves with the faith that there will always be more souls to take. They do not prescribe themselves to a greater fate other than the one that has been given to them, from God, their Creator. What use do they have of power, when they had all that they required in the present?

“If we take this job, do this favor for this mortal, we will secure an ear in the ranks — a cousin of a member of the Round Table, and we can use leverage, to raise our status, to find these heavenly instruments to mine for crystallis —”

“Of which he has none, Viktoria, in case you have forgotten!”

From the corner of their eye, they see Dmitri flinch, Nerissa cease her movements to sharpen her blade. They are always like this, vying for a position that neither of them particularly desire, but ages have passed since they’ve come to terms with their uncertain fate. They’d been dropped amongst mortals and divinity alike, across barren lands and built cities, alone in their status as creatures of God, literal in every sense of the word. He had torn them, the four of them, from His own celestial body, had He not?

They are quiet again.

Mere mortals would have raged, now Ryuk knows this. It is the security of more that protects (or rather, exposes) the others to wars, seething with blood and blades, to the black certainty of hatred that infected the strength of their ranks, susceptible and raw. Their net, of course, had perished along with the annihilated remains of God’s and Lucifer’s immortal bodies. They had nobody, and would have nobody else, until the end of time.

Perhaps they all realize this, sheepish expressions flitting across their eyes, the sunken hollows of their cheeks. Jagged as they are in countenance and disposition, Ryuk has realized they have gone too far in their words. His head hangs an inch lower, shoulders hunched in sour defeat. It is all that they need for the mood to lift. Viktoria nods, and they mount their horses, in implicit agreement that they would defer the conversation for another time.

They scan the fields. It is still sunken, stinking of something burnt yet still living, sodden with the foul scent of mortal dirt. The gales have only reinforced their vigor, screeching through the vast space, washing away their bitter anguish — but the winds are just that, the earlier parallel lost, if only because they had three others by their side. They have survived the fire, and they will survive, untouched, riding their noble steeds into the winds, not separate, but as one.

#accepted #accepted: ryuk

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