#it's a world the elves created and think is perfect. there are flaws in that world she (shannon) doesn't like. but they're part of the stor
Note
i’m not the same anon, but i don’t think the people even get to elect the next councillor, they only get to nominate someone and the council decides in the end. so they could just keep electing horrible people every time, and no one could really stop them. i also went back to reread the scene where they threaten to exile dex, and apparently disobeying a direct order from the council is an exile-able offense? so a councillor can tell you to do literally anything, no matter how horrible, and if you say no, you have to go to exile, the place meant for the very worst criminals? how many people are in exile right now, just because they decided to stand up for themselves? and they don’t seem to have very many laws either. so you could be doing something that’s perfectly fine, but if seven or more very specific people decide they don’t like it, good luck.
and when sophie asked grady about her punishment for reading dimitar’s mind, he said not exile just because dimitar doesn’t like it, so probably community service instead? so like. a year of community service, where you can still have a life outside of it, and a lifetime in exile are basically the same to the council? so your entire life and thousands of years of boredom and misery could just depend on how well a councillor’s day went? or just. if you’re friends with them or not or if they automatically don’t like you just because you’re like. talentless or in a bad match or whatever? someone please get them a functioning legal system asap
Oh yeah, you make an excellent point! Okay so we can see in Everblaze on page 328 that, like you said, the people only submit nominations. The populus subits nominations for people they want to be the next councillor, and from there "the council will ultimately decide."
They all decide unanimously who to vote in for the next one by rearranging a system of mirrors in their castles, and when they align it sends out a huge beam of light "bright enough to be seen anywhere in the Lost Cities" (431) when they've reached a consensus. So gotta suspend your disbelief on that one for the logistics
Conclusion: councillors have way too much power and the people are actually represented like not at all. Bad government. Let's try that one again
Your observations about Exile are interesting as well, and it made me think. I bet to the elves, something like disobeying a direct order from the council is the worst of the worst. Because they're living with this false idea of how their system works. They're elves; they're supposed to be better than all that, without all those problems humans and other species have.
If someone disobeys a direct order, then they would be seen as the one in the wrong because the council is supposed to be a great system! They wouldn't give a direct order that was bad or questionable, so if you're questioning it, then you're questioning the goodness of the elven world and are therefore bad.
And in a world with hardly any crime, I bet they've got poor sense of extremes. They don't need more than one prison, they don't have enough prisoners for that. Everyone goes to the same place because minor and extreme offenses are pretty much the same to them. Disobeying a direct order (an order that's presumed good) makes you bad, and you're bad so you're a criminal, and you're a criminal so you go to prison, and their prison is Exile.
Does that make it good? Not in the slightest. I just bet that plays a factor in how it all works out. But the elven legal system is definitely...something. Thanks for bringing it up more in depth!
#kotlc#keeper of the lost cities#kotlc worldbuilding#quil's queries#nonsie#reminder everyone: just because the /elves/ think it's perfect doesn't mean shannon does#i think people confuse the two often#just because the elven world calls it perfect doesn't mean she thinks it is#it's a world the elves created and think is perfect. there are flaws in that world she (shannon) doesn't like. but they're part of the stor#maybe I will say this louder in an actual post later#I just see posts sometimes so (this isn't about anyone is particular)#long post
23 notes
·
View notes
Note
You can chose whichever OC you want to write about for these! 9. What’s the significance behind your Tav’s name? 17. Do they have any enemies outside of the main plot? Any friends? 24. What does your Tav consider to be their own biggest character flaw? 5. Describe their idle animations!
30 questions for your tav!
What’s the significance behind your Tav’s name?
My husband chose the name for my szarkai and, knowing that I adore medieval poems, he took the name from Dante's Divine Comedy. It should have been Francesca, but he preferred to replace the C with a K to give the impression that it was an almost "drow" name. Or at least that's what he thought. Since I love the story of Paolo and Francesca, their passionate love and the way they were killed, I thought, based on the bio I created for her, that the name was perfect: a woman who can't stay together the love of her life, i.e. Elamszar, in addition to the fact that her entire house was exterminated by the Baenre House. The name of a tragic character for another equally tragic character.
Do they have any enemies outside of the main plot?
If we take Franceska out of the context of BG3, her enemies would be the Baenre, although I can see her falling in love with Gromph at the end of the day (her old teacher but this is another story). However, living in Baldur's Gate and being a very famous bard, she has made plenty of enemies in the world of entertainment, especially for those who dream of having her success. However, she sacrifices her enemies to Lolth, bringing them home, slaughtering them on the Goddess' altar which she keeps hidden in a secret room of her abode, then orders her servants to dispose of the bodies.
She would like to be like Drizzt, but unfortunately, her true nature manifests itself in these ways.
However, despite her enemies in the entertainment world, because they believe she is an elf (albino drow look like normal elves), she has managed to forge numerous friendships, hiding her true nature. No one suspects that she is a Lolth-Sworn drow, no one knows what her tragic story is and what led her to abandon Menzoberranzan. Her best friend is a gnome named Rosaspina, she is a druid who often helps her take care of the garden, as well as keep her white roses alive (she loves white roses because Elamszar has always called her Pale Rose).
What does your Tav consider to be their own biggest character flaw?
Franceska is very proud, so much so that this personality trait has always put her in bad situations. One of these was when she challenged her mother, who buried the szarkai's face in a brazier, marring her beauty. Yet, despite her pain, the young girl burst out laughing, making fun of her parent, looking at her with eyes enveloped by a burning madness. In fact, she often acts without thinking, driven by her pride, even facing people who are better left alone. She does not fear Mez'Barris nor her mother, much less Quenthel Baenre.
Describe their idle animations!
Franceska would have a black and red tent, and she would be playing her flute most of the time, also cheering up her companions. Other times we see her with a book in one hand and a feather in the other, writing the notes and words for a new song. We also see her praying to Lolth, kneeling, lighting incense while she whispers prayers in the drow language, often sacrificing a small animal to honor the Spider Queen. Other times, she would be sitting, staring at her firmament, sipping a good red wine.
7 notes
·
View notes
Text
I found this old recap of why the neo-Nazis and racist fans of Tolkien are massively wrong, and I think it is quite fitting to recap some important points in front of the wave of racism RoP faces. This is not originally my recap, but it is one that has been going around, reformulated in different ways, so I’ll just list the key points shared around. Such as:
# The idea that all “good races” are white and all “evil races” are non-white is a misinterpretation and deformation of the original text.
# Tolkien, in real-life, was against racial segregation in South Africa and had many Jewish friends (elements that should be taken into account when people accuse him of racism or of antisemitism).
# Tolkien also fiercely opposed Nazism, to the point that he wrote a letter that methodically pointed out, dissected and tore down the historical, cultural and linguistic fallacies of the Nazi ideology.
# Yes, the enemy and villainous people tend to be “non-white”, while the heroes usually are “white” - this is something present and which did lay a groundwork for future racist interpretation. But other elements should also be taken into account : for example, the strong implications that the men of the East and the South are not naturally evil, but just happen to serve evil thanks to both Sauron’s lies and his threats. Or the fact that when Sam sees an Easterling die for the first time, he explicitely wonders who he is, what was his life, and if he was truly evil - he even considers and ponders if this enemy Easterling wasn’t just an ordinary young man who went into battle against his will, and did not particularly wanted to fight.
# As an extension of the point above, the Lord of the Rings novels explicitely describe the wars against the Easterlings and Southrons as “Wars between Men”, and this is the reason why they are so ugly and repulsive (and also why Sam has such thoughts upon seeing the Easterling die). These small wars are, yes, part of a grander conflict between Good and Evil - but this specific “War between Men” is not a “good versus evil” fight, just a kin-slaying caused by the effects of evil. And of course I need to insist: a “war between men”, as still despite the geographical, cultural and visual differences, they are still considered “men”.
# On the extension of this point, every time there is discrimination or conflict between Men in Tolkien’s works, it is always a bad stuff: for example the Numenorean corruption and decadence went by a notable discrimination and oppression of the “lesser men” ; and during the Kin-Strife of Gondor, the civil war that ripped it apart, it was the “purists” that opposed a “mixed” marriage that were clearly the villains.
# The Elves are remembered are the “more perfect” and “superior” entities, the sort of “pure” Humans that would be what God intended to create if it wasn’t for natural sin - which leads to a lot of people also pointing out the whole “White is superior” topic due to the Elves being quite of “fair-skinned”. But this is forgetting that Elves are shown to be just as vicious and flawed as Men, prone to great arrogance, to bitter jealousy and to untamed wrath, which led them to civil wars just as brutal if not more than the ones opposing Men: plus it is their actions and their flaws that led to a LOT of big problems of the world that spanned for centuries. And again, one of their most vile actions stays the “Kin-slaying”. Kin-strife, kin-slaying, “war between men”, the message stays clear: conflict between people of the same kin, be it elves or men of all kinds, (And given Tolkien experienced first-hand “wars between men”, it is easy to understand why his hatred of “kin-slaying” was so dear to his heart).
# Yes, “Orcs are all evil”, and Tolkien knew very well that, and he also realized all the unfortunate implications and bad ideas that could come up with the idea of an entire race of evil beings. It is something he ended up disliking himself, and during his life he tried through his writings, letters and essays to find a way to correct this approach and to deepen the orcs - including things such as explaining that they were made evil through slavery, education and torture to the point of their minds and morals being utterly broken ; or informing that most of them served Sauron mostly out of fear, and that some good did exist in them that wasn’t seen in the stories.
This is not a definitive or complete answer about racism in Tolkien’s works or in Tolkien’s fandom, but it is a lot of little tidbits, clues, trivias and important facts that should be remembered whenever the topic of discrimination is brought up. If you want to know more there are lots of more educated and informed people than me, who spend their life and work-time studying Tolkien and his writings, so go seek out those people. But here above are a few facts that should not be forgotten.
28 notes
·
View notes
Note
I’m not a LoTR fan, so why do people have a problem with the armor that guy gave the lady? Why is considered a fix to insult him for making it? I just feel bad for him.
I'm by no means a lore expert, so everything I know is based on my own (casual) LotR knowledge, friend explanations, and what I've been keeping up with the last few days in the tags. But suffice to say the fandom doesn't have a problem with the armor itself (iffy quality of the costuming aside), but rather the star that's on her breastplate. Despite a lot of debate about which star it really is, most have concluded that it's Feanor's star, which would be a lore blunder of epic proportions. To say they have beef between them is one hell of an understatement, so Galadriel has no business wearing his symbol on her armor. Alongside just being a #choice, this is becoming a catch-all summary for "We're worried the writers don't know a thing about the history they're writing and can't get even get the most basic characterization right."
And my personal favorite:
(Sources: 1, 2, 3)
This detail is made worse by choices like elves having short hair, dwarf women not having beards, Elrond described as "politically ambitious"... it's an (assumed) decision exacerbated by a lot of other, worrisome details. And I do mean that seriously. I've seen a lot of posts that amount to, "If you're this worked up over a character's short hair you were never actually willing to give this series a chance" when in fact these choices hold a great deal of cultural significance within Tolkien's world, resonating with fans in real ways, and are part of what distinguishes his work from every other Generic Hollywood Fantasy out there. Hence, a comic about how the real Galadriel would never wear that. It's not some random stylistic choice that people are being silly about, it's a core part of her history and identity.
As a side-note, I'd like to briefly comment on the 'Why is it considered a fix?' aspect. Which I don't mean as a direct response to your ask, anon, I'm just using you as a jumping off point to talk about something that's continually been on my mind lately. Basically, I'm seeing a rise in anti-fixing in the LotR fandom just like we've had in RWBY the past few years. I've encountered a couple of posts today alone that are couched in disclaimer ridden language like, "I'm not saying I'm fixing this. I'm not saying this is better. I would never, EVER even imply that I could do better than this Official Author Whose Work Is Sacred, but... [proceeds to lay out ways in which they think things would indeed be better]" I want to say in complete seriousness that fans can make things better. Not always. Certainly not with any consistency given that art is, always, subjective, but just because something comes with a high budget, flashy effects, and—most importantly, it seems—that official seal of approval doesn't mean that it's automatically good, let alone perfect. RWBY now has a long history of treating criticism as a direct insult against the authors, as if they're Gods we must not question rather than, you know, flawed human beings creating art that is likewise incredibly flawed. Now, I find it legitimately worrisome that more fans in more fandoms are taking this timid approach to expressing their preferences in media. That's such an antithesis to fandom as a whole I don't know what to do with it when I see it.
Yes, your cosplay looks better to many people than that costume coming out of a multi-million dollar budget and the fact that that's the case is a problem. Yes, your idea to put overt, queer rep in the story is better for many viewers than endless subtlety and implications. Yes, your knowledge of the lore born of years of passion would result in a more accurate story that for many viewers would be better. There's a reason why fandom has a whole genre called fix-it fics. There's a reason why we have a hundred jokes about some works being a love letter to the canon, others being a telegram that just says, "Fuck you." Obviously this isn't to say that everything fandom creates is inherently better than what professionals are likewise working (one would hope) passionately on. There is indeed as much basis for the "Sometimes... fanon is worse..." memes. But at least in my pockets, it feels like we're course correcting a little too hard in the other direction. As someone who has been in fandom for a very long time, this current trend of excessive apologizing for daring to suggest something different, or attacking others for the sin of saying confidently that they think their version is an improvement, is both weird and worrying. Fandom is transformative. These communities don't exist to mindlessly consume what we're given and then generate the same praise over and over again. If you think something about a canon doesn't work, you're allowed to say that! You're allowed to change it! This is, in part, what these spaces are for. Anyone who says differently isn't selling something I want to buy.
86 notes
·
View notes
Note
I feel like a lot of like, Valar apologism COULF be better worded if people accepted the Valar have very little answers on men. They don’t know why men were created mortal, much less of the edain’s creation myth is right or not (because they weren’t there), they don’t know where men go when they die because like Eru didn’t tell them, and we are told once the age of men starts the Valar have no CLUE what happens really after that. It really feels like Eru took the reigns of the humanity in his own single hands rather than the Valar having a barely a chance to do so if they were ever really ever going be able. Eru’s relationship with men seems actually much more direct than elves since like I for one believe that year god probably talked to men and blew up Númenor, and pushed Gollum in the lava, he’s much more invested in men, but in a way that allows men to mostly like have as much free will as possible. If I was an elf and vala, I’d feel like I was used as a stepping stool for humanity by Eru if I just looked at his like interactions with elves. Like by the end of third age the only god in middle earth is Eru. Maybe that was the plan all along? Idk.
See, most of my problems with the Valar (and Iluvatar!!) are actually problems I have with Tolkien? If that makes sense? The way I see the world and the way Tolkien sees the world are very different. It's part of why I don't enjoy engaging with a big picture view of Arda - if I start thinking about how the universe is run, I quickly stop enjoying the story. Insofar as Arda has been Marred, I'm okay with the unfairness of Tolkien's universe, and the Valar are themselves very flawed and screw up all the time. But Iluvatar, who is perfect, and some of the opinions Tolkien has expressed in letters are things that strike me as Not Good Ways To Run The Universe, which breaks the illusion of the story for me.
It's so hard to express my opinion in a way that makes sense let me see if I can do it. Um... You know how when you read LotR elves seem very cool and wise, and then in the Silm they're all a hot mess? Imagine there was a other book where the Valar were the protagonists, and turns out that even though they are older and wiser than elves, they're also a hot mess. That's how I headcanon it. They have no idea what they're doing, and every misstep has cosmic consequences. They're Good, they genuinely selflessly do what they think is best and wisest rather than have dark agendas, but they're just trying different strategies to see what works, and everything they try only seems to make things worse.
Now where is Iluvatar and what is he doing? No idea. The whole "How can a perfect, good, omniscient, omnipotent God allow bad things to happen?" question is age-old and I'm just not smart enough to even try to come up with an answer. I suspect Iluvatar's role is the exact same as the role of the Catholic God Tolkien believed, but as I'm not even a Christian I really can't speak to what that role is.
More to the point: yes, I agree, men definitely seem to be Iluvatar's favorites and I don't know what to make of that, nor do I think the Valar should be blamed for not knowing that which Iluvatar hid from them.
This answer is all over the place but these are very, very difficult questions that I'm probably not qualified to answer you without double majoring in theology and philosophy 😅
29 notes
·
View notes
Note
Do you ever think there would be hybrids (I can't think of anything else to call them) between elves and humans?
Okay this is slightly complicated so*breaks fingers* prepare yourself
Elves and humans are cannonically different species, as far as I'm aware. Now, according to this article, "Most evolutionary biologists distinguish one species from another based on reproductivity: members of different species either won't or can't mate with one another, or, if they do, the resulting offspring are often sterile, unviable, or suffer some other sort of reduced fitness."
So, bearing that in mind, it would make sense if elves and humans usually do not create offspring together. Maybe there's something about the two of them that just feels off and unattractive to the other specie. Maybe humans are just... so messy, to elves. Maybe humans are wrecks, messes, or maybe we stink. Maybe elves find us gross, in some unforgivable way that they never talk about. Like, sure, they can respect us as a species, but they're not going to marry us.
Likewise, humans presumably find something off with elves, as well. If you've ever read The Lunar Chronicles(10/10 would recommend if you have not) you know that perfection is off-putting to humans. Like, perfectly symmetrical faces, incoherent beauty, over the top perfection. When it reaches a certain point, we don't like that so much anymore. There needs to be some flaw, something human about the person to make us attracted to them. Moreover, we look for traits we can find in ourselves in potential partners, as well as places to fill in the gaps of our own flaws.
"Well, hold on," You say, mildly concerned, "Sophie describes elves as beautiful! Like, crazy attractive, all the time! I would totally be attracted to an elf."
Well, hang on a second. For all her humanoid tendencies and behaviors, at the end of the day, Sophie is an elf. She has the mind of a human, but the biology of an elf. And, considering that what you find attractive has quite a bit to do with biology(most neurotypical people wouldn't find a different species attractive in any sort of mating kind of way), she is naturally going to be inclined to find elves more attractive than humans. Because she is one.
Anyways, I'm sure it's happened, that elves will fall in love with humans, or vice versa, and perhaps they got married and had children. Lots of things happen. However, according to biology, and the fact that elves and humans have different DNA, the children will probably have mild birth defects, or what one of the two species would consider a birth defect, such as being talentless, or never aging but growing old internally(like that one super sad Steve Rogers fanfic i read once oh my stars), or even aging normally but never dying. Maybe elf/human children have heterochromatic eyes, one that has to be blue because of the elf genetics and one that has to be brown through human genetics. But, if nothing else, most likely these kiddos will suffer from infertility.
Anyways, I'm sure these kids have a huge personality crisis going up, and have to pick one world to live in, despite how their parents seem to think that they don't have to. If they age as elves do, they'll have to watch their human parent and entire mass of human relatives die in front of them, and possibly some of their siblings who age as humans do. And, especially if they're exhibit more elf-leaning traits, the grief will be really hard on them, as will it be on their elf parent.
Also, if they're more elf-leaning, this brings up the classic problem of talents and matchmaking. They could have a small talent, or some small ability. Anything powerful or flashy probably wouldn't get passed on. However, they're definitely not eligible for matchmaking, and probably would have to live their life as a talentless if they cared to.
"Hold up," you say, "What if they decide to enter into the human world! They wouldn't have to worry about matchmaking or abilities then!"
Excellent point.
I present to you, the immortals. The actors who never age, the ones who share names with people who supposedly died hundred of years ago. I present to you, those with clear abilities that are so subtle they wouldn't effect an iota of the elvin world. Those who show up in your dreams to offer advice but then vanish and you can still remember their faces. Those who have such an understanding of mechanics that they can slap something and it seems to almost fix itself. Those who understand what animals want and need like they understand language. Those who can understand exactly what you're feeling, all the time. I offer you those whose voices are timeless and speak of thousands of years of knowledge. I offer you those who say, beleagueredly, "I don't want to live forever." I present to you the old woman who lived down the street who you swear has to know magic because once you visited her house and it smelled like burning stars and whispered memories. The old woman at the end of the street gets older and older every year. But you don't think it's possible for her to die. Your parents remember her being that old and living in that same house. So do your grandparents.
I feel like that's where the elf/human hybrids would take refuge. Living in safety among humans where they would be ostracized among elves. It's not that the human world is better than the elven world, it's just a little more comfortable for those who are different.
#kotlc#kotlc science#kotlc headcanon#kotlc headcanons#kotlc elf science#kotlc elves#kotlc elf hybrids#elf/human hybrids#what are those called in dnd#HALF ELF#THATS THE WORD#kotlc sophie#tw talk of reproduction#kotlc theories#kotlc theory#kotlc elf society#kotlc elf puberty#apparently i am the elf biology guru wtf#im okay with this but how did this happen#thanks for the ask!
37 notes
·
View notes
Note
Your writing is so sweet!!! Made my day :) i’ve got prompts if you want some: tag me if you write them i’ld love to see
-hair dye and braids
-« they all think i’m someone i’m not and i feel like you’re the only one that sees me as i am »
Okay this is more of a headcanon (and i got a bit carried away) but: Harry’s love language is feeding people and act of services because that’s the only way he was deemed worthy when he was a child. / Draco’s is gift giving and words of affection because that’s what he got as a child. That makes them perfect for each other because what Harry missed the most during his childhood was material things and being told he was loved so getting gifts and being told he’s loved makes him so happy. Also i can just see him losing his mind after Draco tells him ‘bye i love you’ after being friends for like a day, in 8th year, or bought him expensive gifts. Draco missed acts of service more in his childhood because even though he was told he was loved and was spoiled rotten, his parents would never ever care for him like that. It would have been house elves and then he would have been expected to do everything on his own as soon as he could and had always been expected to care for himself. Like if he forgot a jacket and got cold, his parents would have told him to learn from it so he loses his mind when Harry casually packs an extra sweater for him. His parents would spoil him with expensive things but they would have never spend hours cooking a complicated cake just because he says he misses it but can’t find it in any store (which Harry does because Harry’s Harry) and would only have said to him he should get over it. What makes it even better if that they don’t realise how important the things that they do are for the other person because it’s not a big deal for them.
Firstly thank you so much for your compliment. I loved the idea so much that i poured out everything I could in this one prompt. Here's a little song I heard that fit perfectly well - say you won't let go by James Arthur. For you @iamactuallya-cat ( also I'm not sure what hair dye and braids meant , if it was a prompt I'm sorry, just tell me I'll do that too )
Habits of my heart
" I believe Someone somewhere is made just for you; Love is about finding the missing half, the one person who will complete you "
" and you actually believe that ?" Harry asked as he rowed the boat to the center of the lake.
" If we're going to put the flaws in the idea of love then the whole idea of being in love is flawed Harry but to answer your question yes I do " Draco smiled.
" And do you also believe in love at first sight ?" Harry asked passed Draco the sandwich he had packed for this.
" No, I don't think the man I will end up with will be the same man I fell in love with at first sight. You can have strong infatuation at first sight but love, no " Draco replied with a smile.
" me ? Love just happens. That's all I believe in. I don't believe that there's only person out there for you, I think love is about going with the flow, giving someone the whole of you and them doing the same for you" Harry replied. Harry actually did not know what he thought of love someday's. To him it felt like love was something to be lost one day, like everyone he had lost but then there was love like Ron and Hermione and Ron's family. Maybe love was after all Caring, he used to think.
" and what do you believe ?" Draco asked him.
Harry didn't realise when did malfoy one day turned into just Draco malfoy. When did Draco became someone he created space for at the table or when did he became someone who's anger bothered him very much or when did Draco's Inconsistent behaviour became a problem or when did he became someone he would save the last bite of pizza for or when did he became someone he couldn't study without , he didn't know . Or Maybe he knew it , Maybe it was one of those days when Harry and Draco with their friend's were just sitting and playing games or maybe it was after that one time they celebrated their tied match of quidditch or maybe it was during one of those Muggle studies lessons or maybe it was during one of the hangouts in the school garden or maybe it was after that one time Draco had absent Mindedly said " I'm gonna go now. Bye . Love you ". Whenever it was Harry decided Draco bothered him very much and he wanted to be bothered very much. His appreciation about Harry, his words of encouragements, his support after the prophet wrote something shitty about him or his little scoldings to harry after he got into a fight and his little I love you's In a friendly way made Harry's heart skip a beat and he loved it. He loved it whenever Draco told him that he's much more better than people say or that he deserves all the kindness in the world or that he deserved to be cared for, Harry loved It from the moment Harry and Draco became friend's. Harry adored Draco, the way Draco said that the best thing about Draco was his hair or the way Draco thinks that one of his hand was shorter than the other or how green colour suited him the best, and even if all of it was wrong Harry adored each and every bit of it. Harry never thought he could feel this way about Someone but when after school Harry and Draco remained in touch he knew it wasn't friendship he looked for with Draco, it was so much more. But when Harry had gone through so much he didn't wanted to waste even a single day wondering if Draco felt the same way or not, he asked him out as casually as possible and when Draco said yes, he planned the date just how he knew Draco would've liked it .
It was soon when they developed a habit of showing love in different ways. Harry understood that for Draco love meant showing him how much he loved him by taking them out on a beautiful date and telling him constantly he loved him very much. It was in kissing Harry on forehead whenever he woke up next to him. His love was in writing letter to harry during work . His love was in supporting Harry in his work but telling him how dangerous it is for both of them. His love was in proposing Harry with the most magnificent speech and ring. His love was in making love with Harry and not just casual sex. His love was in dressing up nice for Harry's parties. His love was in words and whispers . That was his love for Harry and harry thought he loved it more than he even loved Draco. He never understood what love meant coming from his unrequited love experience but when he was with draco he understood love was something more than just Caring and it meant an incredible deal how nonchalantly Draco did all of this without having even the slightest idea how much it made Harry fall in love deeper everyday .
And Draco understood for Harry, love was packing an extra sweater for Draco whenever they went for a casual hangout , it was giving him his jacket whenever Draco got cold , it was putting a blanket over him when he fell asleep on the couch reading. To him love was feeding the kids at the orphanage because he knew what it felt like being an orphan . To him love was making a gift for Draco because he loved seeing the priceless smile on Draco's face . To him love was going to every bakery in the world to find that one recipe of the cake loved so much and staying up all night to make it for Draco after 97 fail attempts. To him love was listening to all of Draco's stories . To him love was Washing Draco when he got fractured . To him love was showing Draco off to the world that he was the love of his life. To him love was putting a warming spell on Draco's tea whenever he left for work early. To him love was putting up a nice bath for Draco after he had returned from a stressful day. To him love was folding the corner of the top of the magazine when he felt Draco would've loved that page. And it was his love in simplicity that made it much more meaningful because Harry did all of this out of habit but a habit for Draco. Draco loved how incredibly unaware Harry was of all these things and did this almost everyday. Draco had never known a reciprocated love , he thought affection could only be bought from expensive gifts or eating his favourite food made by the elves. He never knew that love could be more than just dealing with your mistake, or it could be more than just big houses or it could be much more than spoiling himself with shopping or gifts but with Harry he understood that you can learn from your mistakes, you don't have to punish yourself for your mistake you didn't intend to make, he understood with him that love could also be bought in preparing dinner together , he understood it could also be in small house's , he understood that love could also be in people. He understood that when you love, you really do love . He understood love was so much more than just 4 letters, it was the green eyes, the bronze skin ,it was the beautiful laughter, it was the scar on his forehead, it was Harry. Love was Harry.
It drove both of them insane of how less it mattered them both of how they expressed their love but that was the thing about their love . They loved each other so deeply in an unknowing way that nobody could understand. And all of this made them so perfect for each other. Their love wasn't out of a fairy tale but their love was like a story that people would pass on as a beautiful significance of love , a personal story grandparents would share with their grandchildren when asked what love is and the answer would be " love is what they had "
They all said you can't love him or you're not good for each other or that you don't belong together but after being together for 29 years Harry still feels the same way he did when he was 18. Somedays he feel like he's still stuck in time and time never really moved on but it's been long, long time after that first date but even after all these years Harry still dreams of waking up next to Draco.
This happened during one of their evening tea time when they had to babysit for their grandchildren . Harry was just listening to music and Draco was simply reading out to Rosslyn when she asked " how did you know you were the one for each other ?"
Harry and Draco turned to each other smiling.
" I knew it when he saved me on the night of the war. Because despite being enemies for the longest time he still saved me. And when I knew I just knew he was the only one I wanted to grow old with " Draco told Rosslyn with a charming smile.
" they all thought of me as someone I'm not but Draco was the only one who saw me for me and that's when I knew it. I knew it then that he was the only one for me " Harry smiled looking at Draco instead of Rosslyn.
" you guys are still so in love. I want your kind of love " she sighed. Harry took her in his lap and said " you know Rosslyn I believe Someone somewhere is made just for you; Love is about finding the missing half, the one person who will complete you and when you find them, you know it " Harry kissed her cheek softly.
" really ?" She asked curiously.
" yeah " Harry smiled at her and then vaguely looked at Draco who was affectionately looking at them . And to him Draco still looked the man he fell in love with when he was 18 and will be the man he would be in love with when he's 80 because that's his love and this was their love story.
I will cry if this doesn't get notes tbh
Side prompts- request open -
hair dye and braids
Day 6- pinned
#drarry#harry potter#drarry incorrect quotes#draco x harry#hp fandom#harry james potter#drarry prompt#draco is gay#harry potter fanfiction#draco malfoy#drarry stuff#drarry squad#drarry ship#drarry fandom#drarry fic rec#drarry fest#drarry fluff#drarry ficlet#james arthur#say you won't let go#drarry imagines#drarry prompts#incorrect drarry#drarry au#drarry headcanon
68 notes
·
View notes
Text
The Anarchist Aragorn Meta No One Asked For
Or, why “The Return of the King” could have been “The End of All Kings” *
1) So, Aragorn has got a right to the throne through blood, sure, but for most of his life there *isn’t* a throne - and there are lots of problems in Middle-earth, obviously, but the lack of a monarchy isn’t really what’s causing them, so what’s stopping him from just saying “hey I don’t think I actually need to be king.” Like, will it be useful? Is it the best way I can use my life or am I just falling into what’s expected of me based on my ancestry and raising? Is being king really what’s best for me or the people around me? Do they want a king? Did anyone ask?
2) Probably the biggest motivator of course is Elrond saying he can’t marry Arwen unless he’s king of both Gondor and Arnor (regardless of how Arnor doesn’t exist at the time and hasn’t for ages). But this is the same quibble I have with Beren and Thingol: when a king/powerful lord guy makes you an impossible bargain as the price for getting to marry his daughter, you aren’t *obligated* to accept. You and the daughter could just, I don’t know, decide to live your lives together regardless of the father’s unrealistic and possessive demands.**
3) Aragorn and the rangers already have a relatively non-hierarchical arrangement in which they’re not beholden to any government/state, they’re really only answerable to themselves, they work for the common good and protection of the north regions where there hasn’t been a centralized authority for longer than anyone can remember (except Elves). Anarchism in Middle-earth in many cases wouldn’t even have to dismantle a state - just refrain from creating one! But no, instead we get monarchy and empires. Which was absolutely not inevitable! And shouldn’t be taken as the natural and good end of all things!
4) Gondor is used to not having a king, and Denethor’s fall is the perfect opportunity to also ask the real questions about whether a steward who basically acts like a king is a good idea either. All these singular rulers really aren’t doing the best job - why not try something else? Do we really have to keep trying new flavors of the same failing authority structures?
5) Aragorn has a good sense of equality and justice, which I *hope* he would keep as king - but honestly, once he loses the proximity to regular people and understanding how their lives are because he’s one of them, I would worry that he’d fall prey to the standard corruption of power. He’s a good leader and a good friend and has a fair outlook on the world because he’s spent time living in it, traveling, not asking for power or credit, not using his own name, learning to love not the idea of power or a throne but the actual places and people of Middle-earth. He insists on fair treatment within the Fellowship (regarding the Dwarf/Elf conflicts in Gimli and Legolas’s early relationship, for instance), and he makes peace with Harad and the Easterlings after the downfall of Sauron. I don’t think he’s cut out to be king so much as he’s cut out to just be a good person - so let him be a good person without absolute power!
6) He doesn’t have an intrinsic desire for power or kingship - the movies hype this up a lot more and make him super angsty about the perils of repeating his ancestors’ flaws, the failing blood of Men, etc etc (I didn’t like that whole thing but that’s an aside), but still, I can’t help but think if you don’t want to be king, and you aren’t driven by arrogance and entitlement and whatnot... you could just... not be king. There doesn’t have to be a king. Mind-blowing.
7) Aragorn could have still used his status as Elendil & Isildur’s heir to their advantage in baiting Sauron into treating him as the major threat, he just didn’t have to actually become king afterwards. Imagine if he’d been like “psych! fooled you twice! first you fall for me being the real enemy you need to focus on, now joke’s on you I don’t even want to be king. no more kings.”
8) “Hands of a king are the hands of a healer” - I would argue that Ioreth got this backwards. The hands of a healer happen to be the hands of a king, in this case, but Aragorn was a healer first - he’s been using athelas the whole time, and wasn’t king yet officially when he healed Éowyn and Faramir and Merry. Being king is a political and social position! It’s not an essential characteristic! It’s not “in the blood” oh my god. He’s only a king when he’s crowned as one - sorry but you can’t sell me on this whole bioessentialist monarchy thing. Probably a whole other rant.
9) Since the story makes a point to emphasize that regarding “deeds that move the wheels of the world: small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere” (Elrond), it would have been a nice trajectory if the small hands of the world ended up actually with greater power to determine their own lives. For all the hobbits are the unexpected heroes, most of the named characters are still important people with social status and political power - why not make that dynamic one of the things that draws to an end with the Third Age? Why not a Fourth Age that is the time of the ordinary person, not just the start of a new king’s reign? Obviously Aragorn and Éomer and the other good-guy kings aren’t Sauron by any means, but I think a fuller rejection of absolute power, no matter who it’s wielded by, would have been both interesting and relatively narratively cohesive.
* This isn’t actually me saying “I think this is exactly how the story should’ve gone, god damn you Tolkien for not writing it exactly like this” - this is a self-indulgent counterfactual for me to play with my ideas about power structures in Middle-earth and the possibilities if all the people striving to change the world had gone further in a more radical direction than they did in canon.
** And before you think I have no sympathy for Elrond - I do. The guy’s life is unimaginably tragic, and Arwen’s choice is salt in the wound of losing Elros to mortality, etc. - but Elrond. Listen. Thingol is not the ancestor you want to emulate. Setting ridiculous quests for your daughter’s mortal lover? does not end well, as a general rule. Honestly he’s lucky it didn’t go as badly as Thingol’s challenge for Beren did.
#anyway this isn't even over i have more thoughts#i just like aragorn and think he would have made a cool anarchist#doesnt have to be him though im gonna yell about power structures in general later#tolkien#lord of the rings#tolkien meta#lotr#aragorn#anarchist aragorn#anarchism#skravler
55 notes
·
View notes
Text
Character Thoughts - Míriel ( @finweanladiesweek )
Míriel is said to have been the most skilled in textile work among all the elves, and also to have been notably stubborn; and both her skill in craftwork and her stubbornness she passed on to her son. Althought Fëanor was called Curufinwë, skill-of-Finwë, I haven’t found anything indicating that Finwë was unusually gifted in any type of craftwork beyond what was typical of the Noldor, whereas Míriel was exceptional; so I think his skill is primarily characteristic of his mother. My general sense is that Fëanor takes more after Míriel, Fingolfin more after Finwë (which would obviously bother Fëanor) and Finarfin more after Indis.
My headcanon has her as a perfectionist who knows exactly how good she is. She isn’t competetive; she’s simply the best, and knows it, and wants any work to be as good as it could be. She doesn’t finish with any project until it’s perfect (and she’ll keep working on it until then, and not move onto other things; again, in contrast to her son, who had proofs-of-concept and prototypes that he never got back to scattered around Valinor, with the palantiri being only one of many). She’s not all posessive with her work, and virtually every family in Tirion (and some Valmar and Alqualondë) has some of her work.
But she doesn’t have any textile works - whether clothing, tapestries, or others - done by other people in her home. There would always be something wrong, some little flaw, that it bothered her to have to be seeing all the time.
She wouldn’t volunteer criticism of others’ works, keeping her thoughts to herself; but she’d be unstinting with it if asked, because obviously if someone is asking, it’s because they want to improve. From time to time she critiques Vairë’s works, to Vairë’s amusement; from time to time, she’s right and Vairë makes changes. (One of the things I love most about the Valar is that they’re delighted when the Eldar surpass them and creat things they hadn’t thought of or couldn’t do themselves - see their delight and admiration of the Silmarils. This is in deep contrast to Greek mythology, which is full of tales of the gods inflicting dire punishments on mortals who challenge them to artistic contests.) But because her skills are in a specific area and not as all-encompassing as Fëanor’s, she’s perfectly able to appreciate and uncritically admire skilled artisanry and talent in areas other than textile work. And she’d be very interested in new innovations within her own field - among all the tales that her family comes into, I think she’d be intriguied by the tale of Lúthien, as Lúthien’s shadowy hair-cloak with its sleep enchantment is a very unique object and outside of Míriel’s experience.
Her stubbornness is a quieter sort than Fëanor’s; she doesn’t demand that others agree with her, but once she’s made a decision she won’t budged. But I think there’s more to the finality of her statement that she will never leave the Halls than just stubbornness. She’s exhausted. She can’t imagine wanting to be alive again. And if she just says, “Not for a long time,” then she’s opening her up to constant questions about whether she’s ready yet. After a century, is she ready? After a millennium, is ready? After 1500 years, is she ready? And all this when she doesn’t think she’ll ever be ready. Better to just make things final so she can be left in peace; and better not to give Finwë false hope.
I like that she isn’t jealous of Indis after learning of Finwë’s remarriage; and I particularly like this line:
How should I bear grudge against one who recieved what I rejected and cherished what I abandoned?
I like her fate of returning from the Halls and creating tapestries of the History of the Noldor; that she’s able to return to her craft and makes something that is accorded one of the fairest works of all the Eldar. Though Tolkien’s accounts are unclear and conflicting, I think that the house of Vairë is connected to the Halls of Mandos, and that spirits there can looks at Míriel’s works, and Vairë’s, to know what is going on in the outside world.
The People of Middle-earth meta series on Tor.com has a very detailed examination of Míriel’s characterization and how it changed over time in Tolkien’s writing, here and here.
130 notes
·
View notes
Note
Hi! I have a question, in silmarillion Feanor disliked his siblings, prioritized the silmarils above all else and became greedy and ignored the fact that the light in them was not his, believed Melkor’s lies and threated Fingolfin with violence, gave a false speech that caused noldor leaving, the oath, the kinslaying, the burning of the ships... And he is still “the greatest”, “the mightiest” and just the best because what? He was a good smith and made a couple shiny rocks? I don’t understand!
Yeah, my boy Feanor is a hot confusing mess. Was he ultimately responsible for uhhhh 80% of Arda’s problems? Absolutely. Is he still considered the ‘greatest,’ also yes. Here’s why:
"For Fëanor was made the mightiest in all parts of body and mind: in valour, in endurance, in beauty, in understanding, in skill, in strength and subtlety alike: of all the Children of Ilúvatar, and a bright flame was in him." --- “Of the Sun and the Moon”
On top of that he was the best craftsman, gem-smith, and warrior among his people. He completely reinvented a language (Tengwar) and created the Palantiri. (The crystal ball thing that Saruman uses in the Lord of the Rings. The one Pippin takes.)
So he’s like a super, super smart dude. But he’s also got some MAJOR flaws to counterbalance all of this brainpower, namly Pride and Selfishness. Its pretty much down to those two character flaws that can account for most (if not all) of his actions.
Disliking his brothers - Selfishness. Finwe (their father) was Feanor’s favorite person in the entire world, and he did not like having to share his fathers attention with anybody else. Especially two others who were NOT born from the same mother as him. (Finwe is actually the only Elf to have children by two separate elleths, fun fact.)
Believing Melkor's Lie’s - Pride. He took soooo much pride in himself, his mind, and his work that it made perfect and natural sense to him that the literal gods would try to steal one of HIS creations. Pride also applies to him not realizing the light isn't his within the Silmarils, because he’s so prideful of himself that he thinks the Valar should have been as smart as him to keep a piece of the light safe and hidden.
Flight of the Noldor - I mean, in Feanor’s defence, it wansn’t really a ‘false’ speech to him. A bit …… over dramatic But that goes back to his Pride and Selfishness. Something that he coveted was taken (his father and the jewels), and his Pride was wounded irreparably in front of a crowd. That just can’t happen.
The Oath - Pride. He overestimated his ability to single handedly wage war on a literal god to get his property back, because he was too prideful and full of himself to realize that it MIGHT not end well. (his selfishness plays a part here too, when he didnt consider how this Oath could effect his sons. Aka send them to the void forever)
First Kinslaying- Pride & Selfishness. Because he was so proud of himself, he assumed that all others should always be equally impressed, and therefor his personal priorities should always go first. When the Teleri refused to give them the ships, it disagreed with both of those principles. His selfishness would not have let him do anything else, I don't think. Not when he was still that angry.
Leaving His Brother Behind & Burning the Ships - Selfishness. He wanted to make sure that he would be the first one to reach the new land, ensure that he was the one to get the jewels back. Get most of the glory, find the best places to settle.
Eru made Feanor to be one of the most knowledgeable elves in existence, I think he just overlooked the part of his brain that made him APPLY this knowledge to the world around him. For such a smart person he’s so stupid and obviouse, so blinded in his own self-confidence.
Anyways, to sum up: Feanor did some dumb shit, but he was still literally created to (IQ wise) be the ‘best of the Noldor.’
#tolkien#tolkien analysis#feanor#fëanor#silmarillion#silm#noldor#valar#answered asks#fingolfin#first kinslaying#flight of the noldor#lord of the rings#tolkien meta
83 notes
·
View notes
Text
Heavenly Boss Episode Four: D.I.A.B.L.O.
“Welcome the wackiest episode of the season! When Elves and Diablos clash over the fates of a fallen cherub trio, things sure do happen.”
Oh, hello. Docile here, welcome back to Heaven! I know things were a bit wild and confusing last time. Let me try and explain a bit.
Apparently the first Heaven’s blessing company C.H.E.R.U.B. had been under the guidance of one of my previous bosses, Kiva. I don’t know why anyone would approve of her, other than she’s famous for her singing in both Heavens. Instead of spreading faith and love, she wanted more fame and a chance to create her own world on Earth. She briefly used the cherubs’ powers to revive certain people on Earth and kill off others deemed “unworthy” in God’s eyes. There is a good reason why no one should bring back the dead. Even C.H.E.R.U.B. and my company E.L.F. know that would only cause overpopulation, war, and an alteration of history. It broke my heart when we had to reverse the damage Kiva had done. In the process, we freed C.H.E.R.U.B. from Kiva’s influence, Tirred from her influence and sent the dead back to the other side. We also had to erase the memories of the event from the mortals for obvious reasons. Thankfully, Deerie just straight up banished Kiva and her group…I heard they got arrested on Earth, but I have a feeling they may come back.
Tirred’s been experiencing a few struggles with getting over the event. He had given into his desire for more status and like many angels in Heaven, he tends to see demons as “lesser than.” He’s being monitored under supervision for a bit just in case, but I think he can fix up his attitude…mostly.
Recently, I got an update on how C.H.E.R.U.B. is doing. They had failed to save the life of a greedy inventor and were banished to Earth. I have a bad feeling that they’ll get corrupted in Hell and return for revenge against their I.M.P. rivals. I’m all for keeping I.M.P. in line to try and stop their horrible mass murders, but fighting fire with fire usually doesn’t end well. Although I think that indigo sheep, Collin, has the purest heart of the three.
So far, we’ve been doing business in Heaven as usual: record keeping on human life, plus spreading God’s words of good faith (and trying to leave out the bad messages of “ditch your loser friends who you can’t use.”) There’s a difference between leading cooperatively and leading selfishly. True leadership requires lifting others up as well as yourself. I guess our Heavenly Father doesn’t trust anyone else due to Lucifer trying to take His throne all those centuries ago. Paperwork is always tedious but it must be done. I know our business tithers between legal and illegal but we’ll deal with any consequences that may arise. My job is my passion and my employees are like my family.
Right now, my team and I are discussing some ways to meet and collaborate with C.H.E.R.U.B. I think they need some guidance on properly interacting with humans. Plus, I think Sunna and I are tempted to give those cute cherubs some hugs. Truthfully, I hope we can get to them before they “sink further down,” if you catch my drift. Ideally, C.H.E.R.U.B. could stay on Earth and continue protecting humanity. Or we could provide them sanctuary in our Heaven. The first option seems more likely due to both Deerie’s rules and interdimensional complications. It’s very rare for an individual to travel to the parallel universes…and Earth is in the middle of all the Heavens and Hells!
But hey, surely it’s worth a try, right?
Sunna was peacefully sleeping on one of the chairs around the smooth table at E.L.F. headquarters. The elves were seated in their spots with Docile at the head of the table.
“Alright guys,” he said. “This is a very important mission. With Lord Gabriel’s help, I’ve pinpointed C.H.E.R.U.B.’s location to be in a forest near a lake, not too far from that inventor’s old mansion.” He pointed to certain spots on a holographic map in front of them. “It appears they briefly stayed in a church for sanctuary last December and are now trying to stay low. Gabriel said they had been helping other humans in secret but haven’t gotten rid of their desires for acknowledgement, praise and material gains.”
“Hold up,” said Tirred with his usual yawn. “I thought that C.H.E.R.U.B. never asks for any fees.”
“That is true, but I’m talking about what they seek. The three cherubs were raised in a culture that values perfection, reward and the pursuit of happiness…”
Tirred coughed, “Americans,” which earned him a glare from his boss.
Docile continued, “Even Heaven’s citizens have flaws of their own. Selfishness exists in everyone, no matter how altruistic they try to be. C.H.E.R.U.B. knows that if they spread love, they can also feel good about themselves. But they always expect something in return for their work. Money, praise, God’s grace, whatever it is. The point is, they never help others just for the sake of doing so.”
“That actually makes sense,” Timmid added, brushing back her short white hair. “I wonder if they were so quick to collaborate with us because they just wanted us to promote their company.”
“Which is what we’re randomly doing instead of, you know…worrying about ourselves in our reality!" Tirred added, waving his hands for emphasis. “We shouldn’t have to care about some other cheesy company.”
Sunna happily mumbled “cheese” in her sleep.
“You have a good point Tirred, but this is different,” Docile elaborated. “C.H.E.R.U.B. may be from another realm, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t at least try to help them out. Remember that we help humans and angels alike when we can.”
“We can’t help everybody,” Tirred said. “Especially those humans and demons who…”
“We’re not talking about them,” Docile added, holding up a hand. “There’s no need to be a downer when I’m trying to spread light onto a dire situation here, okay?”
Tirred crossed his arms. “I’m helping you see the reality of things. The other angelic orders won’t approve of this. Especially since traveling to the parallel realms is forbidden!”
“And the reality is that we will continue on with this mission because it’s the right thing to do,” Docile argued, standing his ground. “It is our job to help those in need, no matter how bizarre the situation may be. So for your sake, I suggest you keep yourself in line.”
Tirred grumbled and backed away slightly. Docile sighed and straightened up.
“Plus, we aren’t traveling to the other Heaven. We’re going to Earth. That’s where C.H.E.R.U.B. is.” He glanced over at the large leather bound Bible that allowed them to travel to Earth. He didn’t know how much longer Azrael and Samuel would allow him to keep it, but hopefully a bit longer.
“Won’t we need disguises again?” Timmid asked. “Or Sunna?”
“I think we’ll be alright with going in our true forms,” said Docile. “But remember to lay low and stick together. After all, C.H.E.R.U.B. will be in their regular forms…might as well meet angel to angel.”
“Okay,” said Timmid.
There was a knock on the door, which startled Sunna awake. “Guys, do you hear that?”
“That was the door,” called Timmid.
Sunna walked over and opened it. “Hello,” she said as two men entered. One was short and fat, the other was tall and thin.
“Are those…supervillains?” asked Timmid.
“More like superheroes!” called the thin man. He had an elegant white mustache and white-gray skin. He wore a white top hat with a purple brim and old time glasses with purple lens. His suit was white with a large purple cross in the center, the arrow pointing up. His boots were purple and his cape was light blue.
The squat man beside him wore a white suit with thin blue lines on it with a beige collar. He wore a white bowler hat with a blue trim and white rimmed glasses with teal lens. His mustache was black and his skin was white-gray. Both men had halos and white wings.
“I’m Straight Nate!” greeted the thin man. “Craftsman of all things straight and narrow! This is my partner Kyle Kipton!”
“Nice to meet you both!” Docile said, shaking their hands. “How’d you get into Heaven?”
Nate explained. “I wasn’t always a young man. Kyle and I ran Kyle-Nate Tools, a local shop for farmers. Earlier today, we were giving food, eggs and farming equipment to the poor. We could’ve saved so many. We both got involved in our job and felt so much younger than before. It was marvelous! Turns out that Lyle Lipton’s anti-aging machine in his factory was sending out rays that turned us younger and younger by the day. Our customers soon grew suspicious when we suddenly appeared as children. Both of us were almost handed over to police. We raced toward Lyle’s place, hoping to get back to our normal ages. But before we could reach him, the mob had cornered us with torches and pitchforks. We refused to give them what they wanted and they…killed me. It was a miracle that Lyle’s machine secrets didn’t get out. Everyone believed the mobsters to be crazy. Thanks to some angel magic, no one else sought to be young again.”
“I died shortly after Nate,” said Kyle. “Almost thought about taking my life, but Covid 19 did that for me.”
“Sorry,” said Sunna.
“Brother bucking Covid ruins everything!” Docile spat.
“Wait,” Tirred asked. “If you turned into children, why do you look so…”
“Wise?” Kyle finished with a shrug. “Who knows? Age doesn’t matter for saints up here. We stay the same age as when we died on Earth like the sinners do in Hell.”
“Well that story was a load of rubbish,” Tirred scoffed.
“Don’t be rude,” Sunna chided.
“It’s alright,” Nate said. “Kyle and I are trying to figure out what do to next now that we’re in Heaven. I wonder if there are any farms around that could use our help.”
“I’ve never heard of farms in the sky before,” Kyle said.
“Well Heaven has a whole society like Hell does, so schools, farms, houses, pretty much anything from all time periods exist here,” said Docile.
“Have you heard of the Canadians?” asked Sunna. “They are anti-cannibals, against eating meat in all forms. A bunch of French-speaking vegetarian cultured folk. A bit eccentric. They make the best maple syrup and host the best air hockey games. You know, literally in the air…”
Nate rolled his eyes. “People are so quick to judge these days.”
On a nearby television screen, a commercial showed a dark teal skinned elf wearing a black outfit and a black hat, twirling a cane. “Are you looking for work to make solemn stories and formal films? Well call me at Sully Sirius’ Serious Idea Studios, where you can create art and get rich! The one who makes the best creation will receive two free tickets for Woo-Hoo Land! But still…I have standards for heaven’s sake!” A brief clip showed Sully selling holy water bottles at the theme park.
“Wierdo,” muttered Kyle.
“Well, I wish you two the best of luck up here,” said Docile. “Thanks for stopping by.”
“Anytime,” said Nate. Nate and Kyle waved goodbye before exiting out the door.
Docile turned to a winged cherub deer.
“You think we’ll succeed in our mission?”
“Yeah, oh yes, yes, yes!” Doe-Doe trilled genuinely, typing notes on an IPad while wearing yellow overalls. “Go beyond the rules and you do you! Yeah!”
0 0 0
Docile, Tirred and Timmid stood outside in front of their headquarters building, the heavenly sky shining down above them. The white building and the golden wing designs attached to it shone brightly in the light. Tirred briefly glanced enviously beyond a wrought iron golden gate toward the direction of the silver Holy City surrounded by glowing halos. Timmid took a deep breath and flipped through the Bible until coming across a passage to create a portal to Earth. After she chanted and drew a teal blue sigil with chalk, a gap opened up. A fearful Timmid led the way through, while Docile and Tirred followed.
The trio arrived at the vast meadow surrounded by forest trees and the shining lake. The sun shone brightly in the sky while a few white clouds dotted the horizon. Several birds chirped on nearby hanging branches, while brown squirrels and rabbits hopped along the grassy plain.
Docile sniffed the air deeply and sighed. “Nature truly is a wonderful thing. There’s something so genuine about Earth that makes it so…vast and beautiful.”
Tirred rolled his eyes. “Heaven will always be the superior place. It has marvelous light, gold, angels and the Almighty of course.”
“But the living world is unique in its own way. It’s the birthplace of all the saints and sinners. They make up the majority of the afterlife. Without this place, Heaven and Hell alike wouldn’t function the way they do now. No technology, no flare, no diversity. Our current worlds today are what some mortals call a “melting pot.” Different ingredients tossed together into one societal dish.”
“Blast, boss! Enough with your metaphorical mumbo-jumbo,” Tirred sighed, briefly tugging his pointed ears in frustration. “Do you even realize what could happen if we meet with other beings too long? Reality itself…”
He imitated an explosion.
Timmid laughed a bit. “Who’s spewing mumbo-jumbo now?” She playfully elbowed Tirred. “Relax, Tir. Docile knows what he’s doing. It’s risky but it’s for the greater good.”
“Greater good, my ass,” he muttered.
“If you wanna get your good ass kicked, then be my guest,” Timmid wiggled her eyebrows playfully as Tirred turned red in the face.
Docile summoned his golden staff and slowly moved it in the air in front of him. The staff tip briefly glowed when he aimed it at a lower part of the hill. He spotted something small and white flying in the same direction. Docile mentioned for his coworkers to follow. They headed down the hill until they arrived at a white park bench. There were some passerby walking their dogs or chatting on their cell phones. Several women pushed strollers around, while a child tossed bread crumbs for the ducks. The paths were lined with streetlamps and red rose bushes.
Just then, Docile spotted a flying boy and two winged sheep sitting close together on a bench. No one seemed to pay them any mind.
“Bingo!” Docile grinned.
The periwinkle sheep Collin sat and examined the park. The yellow sheep Keenie straightened up her yellow dress and red bow. Cletus sat in the middle in his reddish overalls, looking bored. Several white feathers fell off their wings and their halos flickered.
“I don’t understand,” Cletus said dejectedly. “We’ve done all we can to make amends. We’ve saved people, gave them advice, and lived among the humans. Why can’t we go back?”
Collin sniffed as tears started to trickle down his face. “Why can’t Deerie let us back? We were doing so well in Heaven. Our clients and the humans were always grateful for the work we did.”
Keenie stamped one of her hooves. “It’s so not fair! Deerie didn’t even give us a chance. She just sent us here to suffer and rubbed it in our faces!”
“If only that filthy imp leader didn’t blind me during the battle,” Cletus scowled. “Killing Lyle was just an accident. I was this close to eliminating them on the spot!”
“Killing is a bad thing,” Collin mentioned, straightening up. “Our job is never to kill, but to save and spread love!”
“Like I said before Collin, you still joined us in shooting at our rivals,” said Cletus. “Eliminating the threat is sometimes necessary.”
“We also have Exorcists for a reason,” Keenie added. “To eliminate all those shitty sinners and keep both Earth and Heaven safe from them. Those Hell table scraps are just as bad as them, if not worse!”
“W-w-whatever happened to ‘thou shalt not kill?’ ’Love thy neighbor?’” Collin asked, flying up and staring hard at his companions.
The cherubs hovered in the air.
“Those demons aren’t our neighbors,” Cletus told Collin.
“I know that, but still, we could’ve at least taken the fight outside the opera theater! Oh and maybe saved that singer, too.”
“When the imps were in the way, right there?” Keenie asked. “We had to watch over Lyle, too.”
“We had to save his life at any cost,” Cletus said, leaning in.
“B-b-but we didn’t, didn’t we?” Collin finished. “We all played a part in our fate and now in a few days, we’ll be down below facing our worst nightmares!”
Collin broke down into hysterical sobs, as Keenie wrapped him in a hug. “Oh Collin…”
The cherubs flew off toward the open meadow, leaving the park behind and looking around.
Just then, E.L.F. made their entrance in front of them, floating down gracefully on white wings in their own beams of sparkly light. Docile was in the center, Tirred to his right, Timmid to his left. Spiked white halos hung over their heads. C.H.E.R.U.B. stared quizzically at them.
Keenie glared. “Go away, demons! We’re tired of seeing you in your silly costumes!”
“You here to m-m-mock us some more?” Collin asked in anger.
“We come in peace…” Docile began, but didn’t finish. Cletus let out a combination of mournful cries and yells to the sky, causing the nearby humans to glare at them and scatter away.
“You won’t get away with this, I.M.P.! You’ll pay for what you did to us and the humans you slaughtered!”
Cletus finished his cries when a sudden force knocked everyone backwards. They straightened themselves up in the air. The ground broke apart and a column of red, orange and yellow flames shoot up from the opening.
E.L.F. and C.H.E.R.U.B. looked in wide-eyed terror at three small shadowy figures hovering forward through the flames. Three shadows with glowing yellow eyes.
“You seek revenge and are thirsty for blood?” came a low choir of voices.
The flames vanished, revealing a demonic trio. A pointed tail, sharp yellow teeth, a clawed hand holding a black Satanic book...
“We can help satiate your desires…”
The leader appeared, looking like a twisted version of Cletus. He had teal fluffy hair and pale white skin, his teeth sharp and yellow. His eyes were large and yellow with white sclera. He was chubby like Cletus but instead of angelic wings, he had small black bat wings with long red fingers within the flaps. He wore a dark blue undershirt, a black shirt collar and teal colored overalls, plus brown boots. Two reddish orange horns curved down to meet his chin. He put away his black Satanic book.
The corrupted Collin counterpart took the appearance of a bulky anthropomorphic yellow ram. His furry hooves were tan colored with sickly yellowish tips. He wore a wine colored red suit with a black bow tie under his thick neck. His undershirt was orange with an upside down black cross in the center. Sheathed under a black belt was a gun, a dagger and a few other weapons. His teeth, eyes and face were all a dull yellow, although a few black dots rested under his left eye. Ogre-like ears stuck out around his head of thick black wool. Protruding in curves from his head were two thick crimson-colored ram horns with little lines running down the surface. Little black wings held him in the air.
The last diablo was a blue anthropomorphic ram and Keenie’s dark counterpart. Her hooves were purple with dark green tips. Her dress was dark blue with a green bow around it. Her dress moved from blue to various shades of green and teal, becoming lighter at the ends. The hem of her dress was torn and gave the appearance of blue flames as part of the design. Black gloves covered her hands like an executioner’s. She grinned with yellow sharp teeth against a dark blue face. Her eyes had dark orange pupils, teal irises and white sclera. Her wild hair was a lighter shade of blue, moving like flames in the wind. Like her companions, she had black bat wings and curved red-orange ram horns. All the diablos could also grow pointed tails and retract them.
The leader sneered. “Surely you’ve heard of us. You saw our commercial, didn’t you?”
“What commercial?” Docile asked.
0 0 0
A large Leviathan monster opened its mouth wide, revealing sharp teeth, a long slimy tongue and a dark throat. The camera zoomed into the darkness before a red light appeared at the end of the tunnel. A bleak world with a red sky was revealed. A futuristic city in the distance was tall, black and metal: Sin City. The ground was black as was the grass. There was a pandemonium capital building not too far away along with a variety of shops set in a dystopian world: Tiamat’s Treasure Things, Kali’s Corner, Xenomorph Labs.
No Hazbin Hotel or I.M.P headquarters to be found.
A sign read “Diablo Den” and pointed down. The camera moved to show an underground tunnel with torches on either side. An entire subculture of demons lived down within the sewers and damp tunnels. Metal waterproof houses were situated under fluorescent lights on the ceiling. The leader popped up on the screen.
“Salutations! I’m Erebos! Welcome to Hell! Guess you must have done something evil to get here, and evil people deserve to give enemies special cruses!”
The jingle began, with organs playing.
“Does it make you want to yell?” asked Devvin, the yellow ram as a man was shown getting a promotion over a man dressed in rags.
“When an enemy ends up well?” asked Dammna the blue ram female as a rapist was pardoned from his crime.
“Do you frown from ear to ear?” sang Erebos as a man shot at several anti-LGBTQ protestors.
“When your rivals don’t shed a tear?” they all sang as a bully in a baseball cap laughed as a kid cowered in a corner.
“Locked up in a rut?” sang Devvin with a pose.
“A foe seeking your gut?” Dammna sang and posed.
“We can make them cold and dead!” sang Erebos.
“Even give you their head!” They all did villain poses.
“Cause here at D.I.A.B.L.O.!” they sang as “DIABLO” appeared in bloody letters surrounded by pitchforks and the trademark icon.
“We’re the masters of destruction from down below!” sang Devvin as Cletus shot fireballs at a barbed wire fence, allowing prisoners of war to escape. Devvin led the way as Dammna waved a flag with a pentagram and “B.U.R.E.H.C” on it.
“Cause here at D.I.A.B.L.O.!” they sang as the logo appeared again.
“Just name your price and we’re good to go!” sang Dammna as Erebos gave a greedy grin at a human handing him a bag of gold.
“Spreading sickness, chaos and hate!” Devvin sang as he and Dammna gave each other a high five with their hooves.
“History altered and fate!” sang Dammna as atomic bombs went off in reverse as clocks ran backwards and forwards.
“We do the dirty work for you!” sang Cletus as Devvin concocted a deadly virus and dropped it on coughing humans.
“And stirring up world wars, too!” added Devvin as Dammna whispered something in a soldier’s ear, resulting in two armies fighting on the field.
So sit right back…” sang Erebos before they all sang in discord, “…and let us curse a soul for you!”
“Oh, we are the D.I.A.B.L.O.!”
“How the primal chaos shall flow!”
0 0 0
C.H.E.R.U.B. and E.L.F. just stood there, stunned.
Just then, Blitzo, Moxxie and Millie entered through a portal onto the grass. Moxxie was trying not to fall, while Millie safely put away Stolas’ grimoire in a small black backpack.
“Alright gang,” called Blitzo. “Apparently someone wants us to kill that ginger-ass tour guide we saw last time. Looks like he’s at Lyle’s old house jacking off and snatching Lyle’s old possessions.”
Millie tried not to throw up. “This world is even crazier than ours!” Then she pulled out a dark sword and brightened. “Let’s keep on killin’ then!
“Sir, please don’t tell Lyle any of this,” Moxxie pleaded. “You know he’ll get mad if we fail this mission.”
“Oh I already sent him a text,” Blitzo grinned, holding up his phone. The text read “Off 2 kill tour intruder. Might want 2 sell ur stuff.” Moxxie face-palmed.
“I’m already tired and we haven’t even made it there yet,” Moxxie complained.
“Come on Mox, get your sweet imp ass moving,” Blitzo said. “We’ll be at his house before you can say…”
The three imps came to the clearing and froze in their tracks.
“Holy shit,” Blitzo breathed.
At that very moment, all twelve creatures divided in the four separate groups locked eyes with each other, some on the ground, and some in the air. The sky darkened to an abnormal shade of indigo, the ground suddenly warm to the touch. The air itself shifted from stale, to hot, to cold and back again. A strange energy crackled through the air, like any moment the earth would collapse underneath them. A stag with bloodstained antlers reared up his hind legs and raced across the forest as lightning flashed in the sky.
From inside the mansion, the tour guide and several people gazed out the window in awe through a telescope. The smiling man had the ginger bang over his eyes and wore a green suit and cap with dollar signs on it. He spoke too casually to the group as they took pictures on their phones.
“And now you’ll spot several groups of tacky super-powered cosplayers about to begin an apocalyptic battle! The feuds between famous people and ordinary folk is a sight to behold!”
0 0 0
“Who. The Fuck. Are They?!” Blitzo cried out, his voice echoing.
“Oh no!” groaned Moxxie, pointing ahead. “Those are the…”
“Imps!” Collin cried out, all three cherubs glaring at their rivals.
“Cherubs!” Moxxie finished.
“Diablos?!” Tirred asked.
“Elves!” sneered Devvin.
The intense stare-downs could have turned the universe upside down…which for a few moments, it did.
After several minutes of grueling silence, the first one to speak again was none other than Blitzo.
“Can someone tell me what the fuck is going on here?!”
Cletus crossed his arms. “I’ll tell you what’s going on! Because of you three monsters,” he pointed at the imps, “We’ve been banished to Earth and are this close to meeting our doom down in your filthy world!”
Blitzo just grinned smugly. “Welcome to Hell, baby. We hope you enjoy your stay.”
Cletus turned red in anger. “Shut up! We may have been banished from Heaven all thanks to you, but there is no way we’re going to end up like you!”
Erebos grinned and moved slowly toward the cherubs. “You sure about that?”
He spoke in a bone-chilling whisper that made even Cletus forget his wrath for a moment. “It’s clear that you’ll never be allowed to return to Heaven. Why wish for something you can’t obtain anymore? The only thing you can do now…” he mentioned in the direction of the imps, “…is take back what you’ve lost.”
Cletus glared at him. “I don’t need filthy demons to tell me what to do!”
“Of course you don’t,” Erebos mentioned. “Your company was just trying to do the right thing. Why should you let those monsters stand in your way again?”
“Stop!” called Docile. He flew gracefully in Cletus’ direction. “Don’t listen to that demon.”
“You’re one too!” Cletus seethed, flinching back.
“No, I’m an angel just like you,” Docile said. “That devil is trying to divert you away from your true path. Your company may have been banished, but you can still redeem yourselves and prove the other angels wrong! You’re already great at spreading positivity to those in need!”
“Ha!” Millie called. “Just like how you cherubs failed to save the life of that old man.”
“It was an accident, you emo slutty freak!” Keenie spat.
“The past is then,” Docile continued to Cletus. “This is now. You still have time to prove your innocence. I believe there is goodness in almost everyone.”
Collin flew up to the elf with wide shining eyes. “Y-y-you do?”
Docile wrapped an arm around Collin. “I know it. It’s there, even when all hope seems lost.”
Erebos snickered to Cletus. “You really gonna believe an inverted version of yourself and his subservient goblin fuck toys?”
The cherubs and elves gasped.
“That is so inappropriate!” Timmid called.
“Kiss your ass, sissy,” Dammna taunted as Timmid flinched away.
“Might wanna watch your words, blue bitch,” Millie growled to Dammna. “Just because we’re fellow demons, doesn’t mean I’ll let you pick on others like that.”
“What’re you gonna do about it?” Dammna asked with a sneer. “Sing a murder jingle?”
“My coworkers and I did, actually!”
“I thought your song was very catchy!” Devvin praised.
“Thank you!” beamed Millie. “Now get lost, wannabes!”
But D.I.A.B.L.O. was far from done. Erebos spoke to Cletus. “Anyway…that deer cherub who kicked you out…she knew that you would fall. God doesn’t tolerate mistakes…thus those in Heaven now see you as just that, mistakes. How does it make you feel?”
“Shut it, demon crap!” Keenie shrilled. She flew toward Erebos but Devvin held her back. She freed herself from his grip. Dammna flew beside Collin, who whimpered as she licked her lips.
“Face it…the other cherubs wanted you three kicked out. Because you founded an illegal company that prided itself on saving human lives. You were getting famous for…not following the rules. Jealousy arose.”
“How do you know all this?” Cletus asked.
“We have our ways,” said Erebos. “Angels and demons going to Earth is mostly illegal…you know, changing of history, trauma and all.”
He flew into Cletus’ face and the Cletus flinched back in disgust. Erebos made his way around Collin and Keenie as he talked. “You could’ve been good passive little sheep and stayed in Heaven. But you didn’t.” He ran a hand through Collin’s white wooly hair. “Because you wanted something more. Paradise wasn’t enough for you.”
He grinned sinisterly at Keenie. “You were tired of being looked down upon by the more favorable members of your kind. Always searching for a way so that your…”
He peered underneath her yellow dress, “…divine talents could be brought to light.”
Keenie gave him a hard kick to the face, sending him back a bit. He scoffed in pain and rubbed his eye before straightening up and heading back toward Cletus. “And for a while, they did. But look where you are now. Fallen. Forgotten. Forced away from your home.”
“He’s using you guys!” Tirred warned Cletus. “You can still protect humanity and earn God’s grace once again!”
“No matter what you try to do, you’ll never be able to return. Becoming demons is your destiny!” Devvin said with a dark chuckle.
“Listen to the elf angels,” Collin pleaded to his boss. “The demons are full of sin, but you know we can choose to not stoop down to their level. We can be better cherubs, improve our relations with humans.”
“Right after we get rid of all those stinking demons!” Keenie scoffed, hands on her hips. “If we want C.H.E.R.U.B. to survive…”
“Then I.M.P. must pay, right?” Dammna asked, finishing her sentence. Keenie found herself nodding, mouth agape.
“Hey, we can hear you!” Moxxie yelled, drawing out his gun. He shot it upwards but the bullet was blocked by Tirred’s golden staff. The bullet rebounded away. Moxxie stared at Tirred in disgust. “Man you’re hard to look at.” Tirred just observed him coldly.
“Forget about I.M.P.!” Timmid called to the cherubs. “Focus on redeeming yourselves. It’s the only way you can return home.”
“Help other people for its own sake,” Docile advised. “You don’t need praise or rewards to keep doing the right thing.”
“He’s right, Cletus,” Collin added. “Help humans move away from sin…and we will as well.”
“Ha!” barked Dammna. “Sin and flaws are present in everyone, even in little angels. It’s as natural as sex, eating, drinking and breathing. No one can resist the natural temptations…”
Blitzo grinned. “I’d like to see you try and take us out,” he told Cletus. “Afraid we’ll make you a laughing stock again?” Cletus fumed.
“I hope the Exorcists erase you from existence!” Keenie shrilled.
Devvin appeared beside Keenie. “Why call on them, when you can plan your revenge yourself?”
“Not gonna happen!” she yelled. Just after she said that, her halo flickered again. A small crack appeared on Cletus’ halo. Bits of feathers drifted from Colin’s wings.
“This is not good,” Timmid whispered.
Erebos grinned. “Only a matter of time now, cherubs! It’s time to begin your journey toward justice!”
Back and forth, overlapping words, advice, taunts and threats pounded against Cletus. He felt like his head was being crushed by two opposing hands. Cletus grimaced, looking back and forth and around. He squinted and closed his eyes, curling into a ball.
“The accident wasn’t your fault, boss!”
“Help bring back C.H.E.R.U.B. to its former glory!”
“You’re nothing but a crying baby and a failure. No wonder Heaven doesn’t want you guys.”
“Thy company come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven…”
“Your demonic destiny is here!”
“Give into sin!”
“Spread the love for here and above!”
“ENOUGH!”
Cletus spread out his arms and legs. The force sent many of the individuals back, but they quickly recovered. Lightning flashed in the sky as the battle began.
Although Blitzo, Moxxie and Millie couldn’t fly like everyone else, they made up for it by their array of weapons. Blitzo fired his tan flintlock pistol, the bullets rising in the air. One bullet hit Dammna’s hoof and she hissed in pain. Another grazed Timmid’s shoulder and she cried out.
Docile waved his hand and three golden crossbows appeared in the cherubs’ hands.
“It’s temporary,” he warned.
Wasting no time, Collin, Keenie and Cletus fired sparkly golden arrows from their weapons at the two demonic groups. Cletus and Blitzo fired rounds at each other, both of them expertly dodging the other’s attacks. Erebos laughed as Docile landed punches at him, which he kept blocking.
“Just as planned,” he grinned. “What a joy it is to see C.H.E.R.U.B. and I.M.P. duke it out.” The cherubs’ faces grew more vicious as they chased after the imps.
“Stop fighting, C.H.E.R.U.B.!” Tirred called in concern, but her words fell on ignorant ears.
Erebos landed a punch to Docile’s face and he quickly retaliated via a well-aimed uppercut. “You won’t get away with this,” Docile spat. “I don’t want to fight any of you guys but it appears I have no choice.”
Timmid screamed as Devvin suddenly caught her in a headlock.
“Ha! Surrender or she’s a goner!” called Devvin. Timmid struggled in vain against his grip. Docile glared as he aimed his staff at him, debating on what to do next.
Zing!
An arrow from Collin’s crossbow hit Devvin in the side, sending him screaming and flying off in the distance. He flew back in anger, but Timmid had already recovered. The cherubs’ golden crossbows vanished, the group now defenseless. Moxxie, Dammna, and Millie seized the opportunity to charge in, surrounding the cherubs. Timmid, Docile and Tirred blocked the path of the demons, holding them off with their golden staffs.
“I can’t hold them much longer,” groaned a strained Tirred to the cherubs. “Flee while you still can!”
“We’re not leaving you behind,” Collin said, determined.
Cletus tried to flee, but Dammna grabbed hold of him and tossed him right back with a chuckle.
Erebos arrived and smacked Tirred’s golden staff from his hands…he punched at the diablo’s chest in response. Docile landed several kicks to Moxxie, sending him stumbling to the ground.
“Moxxie!” Millie cried.
“I’m okay!”
Millie took out a black dagger and tossed it toward Timmid. She caught it and tossed it away. Cletus continued to dodge the bullets from Moxxie and Blitzo’s weapons. Keenie charged at full speed toward Millie’s head from behind her. She was just about to land a hard blow when…
A large hand grabbed her by the hair…Erebos, and tossed her hard toward the ground.
Crash!
“Y-y-you monster!” Collin cried.
Keenie growled as she stood up on shaking legs, wiping the dirt from her dress. With a swoop, she lifted herself up in the air before Blitzo could shoot at her. She finally rejoined Collin and Cletus…but the E.L.F. members were almost drained from the battle. The cherubs and elves stood battered and back to back against the surrounding demons.
Lightning flashed as several pairs of the angelic and demonic warriors went head to head. Millie was slashing her sword from underneath Timmid and Keenie, who were punching Dammna and pulling her long blue hair. Keenie slapped Dammna across the face while Timmid yelped as she dodged Millie’s weapon from below. Timmid summoned an angelic harpoon and clashed with Millie. They moved in a dance, metal against metal. The point of the harpoon barely missed Millie’s head. Millie leaped onto the harpoon and raced on it with her sword in her mouth. Timmid’s eyes were wide with surprise. She flipped over Timmid, grabbed her sword and swung it in an arch, knocking Timmid down. The angelic harpoon clattered softly onto the grass. Docile made it vanish with a wave of his hand.
Moxxie fired his gun and hit Devvin several times. He hissed as black blood ran from parts of his legs. “Get the sheep, you idiot!”
“I fight my own battles,” Moxxie retorted, as he dodged Collin’s punches and blasted Devvin’s revolver out of his hand with a well-aimed shot.
Collin and Tirred shared a look, then both swooped on either side of Devvin. With two hard punches to his face, Devvin plummeted to the ground. He glared at them from below as he slowly stood up and shook his head. Tirred tossed Collin out of range of Moxxie’s bullets before he got hit himself. He gasped in pain before landing on the ground to recover. He winced and glared at Devvin. Moxxie rushed at him, but Tirred shoved him back with a force from his golden staff.
Docile, Erebos, Blitzo and Cletus were going head to head as lightning lit up the sky around them.
“Take this, you fucker!” Cletus yelled as he grabbed a nearby rock and threw it toward Blitzo. The rock exploded from Blitzo’s bullet. Another bullet hit one of Cletus’ wing tips, making him stumble in the air. Docile straightened the cherub with one hand as he twirled his staff against Erebos in the other. Erebos flapped his bat wings menacingly. The ground shook below as more cracks appeared. I.M.P. moved to higher ground, gazing at the red lava below in the ground. It created a demonic red glow near the ground. Black blood poured from the demons’ wounds just as white blood flowed from the angels’.
Timmid stood up and flapped her white wings, glanced around in terror. “We have to stop fighting!” she screamed over the yells and the noises of war. “We’re going to destroy the Earth!”
Timmid suddenly screamed as Dammna smacked her on the head from behind. She plummeted to the ground, with Keenie catching the dazed angel and carrying her to a safe spot.
With ear-shattering yells, Cletus and Erebos rammed into each other, as did Blitzo and Docile. The leaders pushed against each other with all their might, as forces from their attacks shook the area. The demons’ horns grew longer and eyes appeared on the angels’ wings. Cletus and Docile glowed blue and white while Erebos and Blitzo glowed red and black. Docile’s harpoon spear pressed against Blitzo’s flintlock pistol. They all seethed and gave each other deadly glares.
Before long, the cracks and forces would spread to the rest of Earth. Heaven and Hell would collapse, the Earth being the final battleground and resting place…
The explosions knocked everyone back, sending all the creatures crashing to the ground. The forest had been burned down to timbers and steam was rising from the lake. Lyle’s mansion had been blasted apart to smithereens…yet the soot covered crowd still took pictures as the tour guide spewed his ever optimistic commentary. His hat was lopsided and he kicked broken glass away.
“One of the Lipton family heirlooms is this golden money bag statue which was gifted to Lyle in the early 1970s. And it’s still standing…”
The tour guide glanced down to see the statue littering the ground in pieces. “…or it was. I call dibs!”
The battle had been an intense stalemate. And all seemed lost as the ground prepared to swallow everyone in the lava and magma.
The dark clouds swirled in a spiral vortex before slowly parting. Sunlight shone from a circular patch of blue sky. The shaking and the yelling stopped. The cracks in the earth fused together and the world slowly got brighter like it did before. The Archangel Michael arrived from the opening, along with the cherub Deerie by his side.
Blitzo helped up his colleagues. “I think we can call this mission a successful failure.”
Millie supported Moxxie. “What about our target?”
“Forget about him,” Blitzo said. “And forget about those cherubs too. They’re done for.”
The imps looked over at the barely stirring cherubs on the ground.
“Well, looks like we won again,” Moxxie said. “Though we really need to tone down all this fighting.”
“Yeah, I’m tired and could really use an iced coffee right now,” Blitzo said. He took out his green “mare-juanna” horse figure and kissed it. “I knew this lucky charm would come in handy. Let’s go gang!”
The imps grinned and high-fived before disappearing through the portal to Hell.
Michael hovered in the air in all his glory, supported by broad white feathery wings. He had pale skin, blushes on his cheeks, and short blonde hair like his fallen brother Lucifer. A sword made of flames was tucked protectively near his belt. A glowing spiked white halo hung over his head with a crystal in the center. He wore a white suit and tailcoat, while several medals and badges shown from the front of his outfit.
He bore a stern expression on his face as the other groups slowly recovered.
“Four interdimensional companies fighting in the one world to cause the most damage to mortal lives. I’m ashamed at all of you. You were lucky that no more humans got hurt.” Michael briefly glared at the cherubs and diablos.
The cherubs and elves bowed their heads in apology, while the diablos looked on.
“I ask that all of you head back to your worlds immediately. If I ever catch you fighting here again, I’ll erase every one of you from existence. Are we clear?”
“Yes sir,” chimed the six angels.
“Lord Michael,” said Cletus, lifting his head. “The demonic imps have already left. And those diablos are the ones who started all this!”
“Please Lord Michael,” said Docile. “My company came here on behalf of the importance of C.H.E.R.U.B.’s protection. I humbly ask that you reconsider their previous errors and allow them a chance to…”
A rumbling sound was heard and cracks appeared in the ground again. Two gaping holes appeared in the ground. One of them shoot fire into the air.
“There’s our cue,” said Devvin to his companions.
Dammna grinned and pointed toward the cherubs. More cracks were forming underneath them, soon creating another hole. Erebos and his gang flew into the cherubs’ faces. “Have fun in the inferno!” cackled Erebos and his crew before they flew into the column of flames and down below. The ground closed over the portal and the flames disappeared.
Deerie laughed nervously at the frightened cherubs. “Yeah, no sorry guys. I’m afraid your test on Earth has come to an end and…well, yeah there’s only one place to go now.”
“Noooo!” the cherubs cried, huddling together.
To the horror of the cherubs and the elves, the fallen trio was starting to change in appearance. Their white wings turned stiff and black, the last of their feathers falling to the ground. Small leathery bat wings grew in their places. Their white halos cracked and fell to pieces in front of them. Keenie frantically tried to piece hers back together. Collin gasped as he held the pieces in his hooves. The halo pieces stopped glowing, fading to a stony dark gray. Keenie buried her pale face in her hooves…hooves that were now morphing into sharp claws. She screamed out loud as she clawed at her face.
“Lord Michael, do something!” begged Docile. But the archangel stood solemnly in the air, shaking his head.
The cherubs’ teeth soon grew sharp and white, cutting into their tongues and making them bleed. Their outfits changed from cheery pastel colors to bold fiery reds, oranges, pinks and yellows. Cletus clutched his head in pain as two small pointed horns protruded from his ginger head. The other cherubs also cried out, clutching at their newly formed horns stained with blood.
The ground collapsed underneath them, giving way to a deep hole with a reddish light and a portal to Hell between the rock walls. Lucifer’s curious grinning face appeared in the opening.
The cherubs felt themselves being pulled back by a powerful force toward the portal.
“No, no, no, no!” Cletus cried. “This can’t be happening!”
Keenie shouted out prayers to God, begging for his forgiveness. Collin wailed and bawled as he hung onto the grass for dear life.
Docile, Tirred and Timmid raced toward the cherubs.
“There’s no point in rescuing them,” Deerie said, flying in front of them. “Unless you troublemakers want to join them.”
Docile promptly punched the doe in the face before making his way toward the struggling trio.
They each placed their right hand on the cherubs’ foreheads as light shone from their teal hands. Tirred placed his hand on Collin, Timmid’s hand was on Keenie and Docile had his hand on Cletus.
Docile chanted in the Enochian angelic language and said: “I bless each of you with a chance to find the light. No matter where you are, it is hope you’ll never lose sight. You will find one person or more, who’ll help you along the way. And after discovering your true righteousness, you’ll return home someday. By the will of the Lord, so may it be.”
E.L.F. removed their hands and the light faded.
“Bye!” Deerie happily waved toward the cherubs before vanishing through the heavenly portal.
Timmid grabbed Keenie’s hands and pulled with all her might. Keenie’s face turned pale, her yellow dress now torn in the appearance of wildfire. The helm of her dress was red and spiked, her horns now black and curved like those of Charlie’s goat bodyguards. She had black bat wings and a pointed tail. Her wooly hair was red and her eyes were pink and yellow…before they gave off a strange red glow.
Keenie sneered at Timmid, only seeing the red face of Millie laughing at her.
“Get away, you disgusting demon!”
Her voice sounded like her own but more distorted.
“I’m not…” Timmid began but Keenie slapped her in the face before falling with a scream into the portal below.
“Keenie!” cried Collin, briefly staring down at her disappearing form. “I don’t wanna die! I don’t wanna die!”
Cletus had horns and black wings as well, though his face took on more of a faint reddish tone. His overalls were red with teeth designs on the pocket. His hair was red and black and darker blushes appeared on his cheeks. His pointed tail was short and red. His eyes had red irises and golden sclera.
He looked at Docile, only seeing Blitzo’s face. He revealed his new grin of sharp white teeth and glowing red eyes. “This isn’t over, I.M.P.!”
Timmid and Tirred pulled with all their might, but Cletus was soon sucked in as well.
Collin glanced at the elves with bloody tears running down his face. His eyes were golden and pink, sometimes glowing red. He had curved goat horns, a pointed tail and black bat wings. His face was almost a tan-red shade and his wooly hair was black. His outfit had changed to a red-orange.
The three elves pulled, Tirred being supported by Docile and Timmid behind him, but Collin stayed in the same spot, his hooves dangling over the chasm.
“Sir!” called Tirred, as the elves were dragged inches closer toward the gap, even as they dug their feet in. “We’re being sucked in!”
“L-let go,” Collin whimpered.
“What?!” asked Tirred.
“You can’t let yourself fall!” Docile cried, tears welling up in his eyes. “We were supposed to save you guys…to help give you another chance…” The elves were almost at the edge.
Collin and the elves stared at each other in the eyes.
Collin took a deep breath as he thought of his friends.
“I-I-I’m sorry…”
With one last wide-eyed look, Collin let go of Tirred’s hands and vanished into the darkness. The elves weren’t getting pulled in anymore, rather they were pushed back a bit. The portal to Hell closed, and the ground in front of the elves sealed back together like nothing had happened.
“Why?” Docile asked Michael, turning around.
“C.H.E.R.U.B. set themselves up for their fate. They gave into their anger and were more focused on defeating their rivals instead of properly interacting with the humans. They still disobeyed the rules thus were sent to Earth to test their faiths. Alas, they gave into their selfish desires of revenge and pursuit of glory. One can now only hope that they'll redeem themselves in Hell…if they even survive that long. As for you three, remember my words of warning.”
Michael rose back into Heaven and vanished.
The three somber elf angels slowly rose up into the air and went through another heavenly portal back to their world. Back in paradise, Docile had never felt more alone. He gazed out at the colorful clouds through a window.
Docile didn’t even look at his coworkers. “Welp, the cherubs wanted to redeem themselves and continue their company, and we couldn’t save them. We failed. Thanks to those freaking diablos, they’re down in Hell now, so it’s a shame. All they wanted was to spread love and joy to the living world. And now, they’re separated from Heaven…potentially forever.”
Tirred grumbled. “Don’t say I told you so, but…I told you so.”
Timmid gave her boss a small hug as the three silently gazed at the clouds and sunlight.
From behind the elves, Sully Sirius did a small grin. He whispered, “Now this would make for a spectacular tragic film, don’t you think?”
Docile glumly turned his head all the way around, while his body stayed in place. “Please leave.” Sully looked at him and screamed in fright.
2 notes
·
View notes
Text
So about a month ago, I made a post about how Sebastian is not anti-mage and while he is largely pro-circle, he is not in favor of abuse of mages by the templars. In this I also brushed on how he talks to Merrill and is incredibly respectful of her beliefs and does not attempt to impose his own on her and said that was a discussion for another day.
Well, today is that day! Buckle in, this is going to be kind of long.
One of Sebastian’s major defining traits is obviously his piety. He’s a member of the clergy, after all, and his personal quests revolve around the conflict between his royal bloodline and hot-headed side and his devotion to the chantry. After all, every Dragon Age game has a Token Devout Andrastian Companion and Sebastian fills that role for DA2. However, unlike Cassandra or even Leliana, he does not try to speak over the religious beliefs or lack thereof of anyone else.
Take, for instance, this dialogue with Merrill:
Sebastian: Have you heard the Chant of Light?
Merrill: That's the song they sing at the Chantry, right? It's pretty... but a little repetitive.
Sebastian: Then you know the story? How Andraste became the Maker's divine bride and convinced Him to offer us a second chance?
Merrill: Right. But I never understood why she had to die.
Sebastian: Her mortal husband betrayed her out of jealousy.
Merrill: But if He wanted her to spread her faith, couldn't she do that better alive?
Sebastian: The Maker gave us free will. By his betrayal, Maferath showed us that men were not yet worth saving.
Merrill: I don't know. It's a nice story, but I think it's got some holes.
While Sebastian does attempt to explain the details of his faith to her, he makes no effort to push them onto her. In fact, this other dialogue can be seen as a continuation of the first:
Sebastian: So what do you believe, Merrill?
Merrill: Our gods abandoned us long ago. They haven't answered our prayers since the fall of Arlathan.
Merrill: When we've proven that we're elves again, that we didn't lose everything, they'll come back to us.
Sebastian: We say the same of the Maker.
Sebastian: Perhaps they're only different names for the same divine force that created the world.
Merrill: The Maker wants you to be elves?
Emphasis mine. Sebastian does something that literally no other devout character in the entire series does: he says that maybe, the Chant of Light is just one interpretation of the truth and that the Dalish may be just as correct.
Contrast this with “anti-chantry” Anders and his discussion of spirits with Merrill:
Anders: Maybe you don't really understand the difference between spirits and demons.
Merrill: Did I ask you?
Anders: Spirits were the first children of the Maker, but He turned his back on them to dote on His mortal creations.
Anders: The ones who resented this became demons, driven to take everything mortals had and gain back the Maker's favor.
Merrill: Your "Maker" is a story you humans use to explain the world.
Merrill: We have our own stories. I don't need to borrow yours.
Obviously Anders is far from a religious zealot, but even he is less respectful of religions outside of the chantry than Sebastian, a literal brother of the faith.
He is also rather tolerant of and fascinated by the Qun. Here are some things he says about it/the Qunari in general:
“I wonder if there's something we can learn from the Qunari.”
“ I wonder what it takes to convince so many people that you have all the answers.”
“The Chantry has failed the elves. If we made them more welcome, they would not have to run. Maybe the Qunari will force us to better bring word of the Maker's compassion to our own people.”
“If they offer something the Chantry does not, we need to learn what it is. Else we sow the seeds of our own demise.”
While he does wish to learn from the Qun to attempt to change the chantry, he does see that the chantry is flawed, has failed elves, and needs a change.
In addition, he refuses to proselytize to the other companions, telling Isabela “Preaching seldom works. To change a person's heart, one has to lead by example.” The closest he gets to attempting to convert someone is when he questions Tallis about her decision to join the Qun, but even then it’s just as much criticizing the Imperial Chantry as anything else:
Sebastian: So, what were you before?
Tallis: When I was a little girl, I liked to pretend I was a dragon.
Sebastian: I mean... were you raised in the Chantry? Among the Dalish?
Tallis: When I grew up, the Imperial Chantry was the only option. They don't have much use for elves. Or anyone who's not a magister.
Sebastian: Then they weren't representing the will of Andraste. The Maker has a place for everyone.
Tallis: So does the Qun.
And again this plays into his fascination with the Qun and its methods.
Contrary to what some people believe, he does not attempt to make Fenris a devout Andrastian and is perfectly happy to debate the finer points of the religion with him because it’s the way he knows best how to provide comfort. And Fenris, for his part, ends up welcoming it.
He’s not perfect. He is a very devout member of the chantry and does not speak out as much as he could about their abuses. But he does want to change it for the better, and uses his faith to help others without demanding they convert, and that’s why his faith is important to his character.
(PS: please don’t comment/reblog with Seb hate. If you disagree that’s fine but please try to keep it civil and factual if you must comment.)
#sebastian vael#dragon age 2#dragon age sebastian#sebastian dragon age#anders critical#anti anders#to be safe#long post#my meta#chantry critical#chantry#okay yeah this is fucking long sorry#shit there was a formatting issue i didnt catch until people reblogged whoops#meta
199 notes
·
View notes
Text
So all the terrible retcons and geographic inconsistency (Kul Tiras wtf) and the time travel and the bullshit with the night elves is bad (Illidan is the worst character ever, don't @ me), but the most frustrating part of WoW lore to me is its failure to explore certain complex emotional themes in a really satisfying way--like, the people who expound and expand on Warcraft lore are canny enough to notice that these emotional themes *exist*, but not clever enough to actually work with them or build them out, and so the whole thing collapses into rule-of-cool melodrama. There's nothing wrong with rule-of-cool melodrama; I love rule-of-cool melodrama. But Warcraft lore is *begging* to combine that rule of cool melodrama with some really rich and interesting emotions and character interpretations, it sets them up and is all ready to knock them down, and just... doesn't.
Take the conversation between Saurfang and Garrosh in the Borean Tundra, in WotLK, the one that ends with Saurfang saying "I don't eat pork." I think that's emblamatic of the big theme that unites the Horde, that makes it make sense as a faction. The Alliance, after all, started as a defensive association in the face of the Orc invasion; its renaissance after the creation of Durotar and the invasion of the Scourge is only natural. But what is the theme of the Horde? Is it honor? Strength? Sheer brutality? Well, none of those things. Orcs claim to value honor and strength; the Forsaken are certainly various shades of very dark gray at best, the Tauren and the Orcs *do* seem like natural allies of a sort, but all the races of the Horde have something even deeper in common: trauma. The Orcs are still (cf. Saurfang) dealing with the emotional turmoil of having been both forced and partially complicit in the atrocities of the First and Second War--after which their homeworld was destroyed, they were forced into concentration camps, and they had to rebuild their culture and their identity from the ground up. They have to find a new place in a new world, and there's this tension between the younger generation that doesn't have firsthand experience with any of this and just remembers that the Horde used to be a name that struck fear into the hearts of their enemies (Garrosh Hellscream, for instance) and the older generation that remembers how awful that time really was, and doesn't want to see the old ways revived because it might just destroy their people for good this time. Then there's the Darkspear Trolls and the Tauren, who were both driven out of their old homelands, and fell in with the Horde as natural allies with similar cultural points of reference; and the Blood Elves, whose suffering in the Third War was severe enough to radically alter their culture, coupled with being betrayed by their ruler who decided that joining the Burning Legion and abandoning them sounded like a better time than rebuilding Quel'Thalas.
And then there's the Forsaken. Oh, man, the Forsaken. The Forsaken and Sylvanas are some of my favorite characters in all of WoW, because sure, you could look at it and say, "okay, creepy undead who like green things that go plop and mad science = evil, bad guys." But you'd really be missing what makes the Forsaken interesting. They're not the Scourge--they explicitly broke away from the Scourge when Arthas left Lordaeron. They're not invaders, either. They're in fact mostly the human population of the destroyed kingdom of Lordaeron, the inheritors of that land, but who are treated by the Alliance as interlopers with no right to the very towns and villages they have *always* called home. They're treated as monsters by every living person who ever knew them, and they can't help but regard themselves that way, too. "What are we, if not slaves to this torment?" is one of the casual interaction lines you get when you click on Sylvanas: they do not *like* being dead. But Sylvanas is ruthless and cruel and after Arthas is killed, wins the Val'kyr over to her side so she can keep making more Forsaken. Why?
Simple. Let us imagine: you are an ordinary person, of no unusually great or poor moral virtue. You are hurt, badly. Grieviously. In a way you will never recover from. And everyone you love, all of your friends and your family, the whole society you come from, now sees you as an unredeemable monster that should, no, must be destroyed. How long must you be called a monster before you decide--fuck it, I *will* be the monster they call me. Because, at least that way, no one can ever hurt me again.
The overpowering motivation for the Forsaken is not power or bloodlust; it's not money, or forbidden knowledge. It's making sure no one in the whole world is ever able to make slaves of them again. To make sure they will not be hurt. And the biggest misstep the Alliance ever made was not reaching out to Sylvanas with overtures of friendship as soon as she established her kingdom--because like it or not, she has the support of the people of Lordaeron, and thus a damn good claim to her position. Maybe, if they had, they could have influenced the Forsaken, shown them that they had friends and didn't need to resort to amoral methods to defend themselves. But as it stands, they only have allies of convenience in the Horde (at least until Sylvanas becomes Warchief), and they know that no one in Azeroth is quite happy to see them continue to exist and be free. Everything else about the Forsaken--their use of dark magic, their development of a new, even more destructive plague, their recruiting former servants of the Lich King and raising new Forsaken from among the dead of the ongoing wars--makes perfect sense from the standpoint of a people that knows they are under threat from all sides, and will do anything to survive.
(The Draenei could have been something like this, too, FWIW. Like, a broken people, a people of exiles who are most comfortable in the shadows and with moral ambiguity. But then Metzen had to go make them Righteous Space Goats. I mean, come on. They're just boring now. They were never going to be Horde-aligned--there's too much history with the Orcs there!--but having a group like that on the side of the Alliance, to help drive home the point that there is not a clear good guys/bad guys distinction here, would have been really nice.)
That actually makes them a pretty damn good fit for the Horde. Moreover, it creates an interesting point of tension with the Alliance, which is clearly *not* always the good guys. I mean, there's the matter of orc concentration camps, but also consider the refusal of leaders like Daelin Proudmoore to contemplate peace (and the subsequent, somewhat... forced turn of Jaina Proudmoore from dove to hawk) and the steadfast refusal of many on that side to deal fairly with the races of the Horde just because they appear monstrous. And arrogance, hoo boy. Dalaran, Gilneas, the Night Elves--huge swathes of the Alliance are characterized by being arrogant and not a little cruel.
And what of Sylvanas becoming Warchief? I don't know where the BFA lore is going (I'm not playing retail anyway), but right now it looks like they're setting up another Garrosh type situation, and preparing for Thrall to retake the Warchief-ship, but if they do that it would be a real pity. First of all, because, well, we saw that already in Mists of Pandaria! What, are we going to besiege Orgrimmar again? Second of all--Sylvanas and Garrosh are *very* different people. Garrosh was, well, Proud; hence the Sha of Pride. He wanted glory and power, he wanted war for war's sake, so he could live up to his father's reputation as a warrior. He was willing to sacrifice everything else that made the Horde the Horde for that. Sylvanas, though, has one overriding motivation: Keep Her People Safe. Punish the people who hurt her is a strong secondary motivation--but it's part of that first one, because if she can make her enemies' victories painful enough, she might discourage them from trying to press their advantage. And her people *trust* her on this: "Dark Lady watch over you," they say when you take your leave. She is not an autocrat--she is their beloved protector. So, she makes the ruins of Lordaeron uninhabitable. She annihilates Teldrassil. Does she spend very many Orc and Troll and Tauren lives doing so? Very well. They aren't *her* people.
I don't think this has to be a tragic flaw leading to her downfall. It sure doesn't make her a good leader for the rest of the Horde, though (even though, on an emotional and aesthetic level, I am 3000% here for Warchief Sylvanas, even more than Warchief Vol'jin, who also had a lot of the creepy threatening vibe that made him a much more interesting choice than either Thrall or Garrosh). But you could make it one, and you could do it very well--they've already mentioned in the tie-ins that Calia Menethil, Arthas's sister, teeeechnically has a claim to the throne of Lordaeron. And, even more interesting, is no longer quite among the living, even if the mechanism of that unlife is happy fun magic instead of evil death magic. Moreover, she has some sympathy for the Forsaken. You could have a squaring-off between them, and you could have a Queen Calia--maybe. If you could bridge that gap and make her understand that the Forsaken feel fundamentally apart from the other human kingdoms now, if she could come to understand just how much evil the Alliance has done to them, if she could really grok what it's like to be them. Then you could have a leader who understands their trauma--but also wants to heal it, rather than lash out at anyone and everyone that might conceivably be a threat. That, too, would be very interesting.
(There’s a reason that, while I loved the Alliance as a kid, I only play Horde toons as an adult. It’s not just that the Horde feel more interesting and vivid to me. It’s that the hypocrisy and the arrogance of the Alliance stands out in much greater relief now. The Horde aren’t good guys--nobody’s the good guys, here--but they don’t lie about their motivations, and they don’t act with cruelty and then play the victim in response. Jaina was an important exception, but they badly mishandled her character in the runup to MoP, which I find very hard to forgive.)
But knowing Blizz, even if they go vaguely that route, they won't stick the emotional landing. There is a very good, if very OTT and melodramatic (in the best possible way), series of fantasy novels or games lurking *behind*, or perhaps parallel, to Warcraft's lore. It is a shame that Blizzard has done so much to obscure it with obnoxious cruft, retcons and timeline compression, repetitive use of the same handful of characters, stupid-ass time-travel plots that create ten thousand plot holes and inconsistencies, shitty tie-in novels (cf. everything by Richard Knaak), and a total failure to make half the world's characters (i.e., everyone in the Alliance) at all interesting. I have a daydream of doing my own version of WoW lore and posting it somewhere like on AO3, but one of the things that makes WoW lore simultaneously so interesting and disappointing to me is that it's embedded in the explorable, realized space of video game worlds. Hard to reproduce that in print, I think. Might be worth it to try.
#world of warcraft#lore#warcraft lore#the forsaken#sylvanas windrunner#the work of chris metzen and its discontents#but hey#at least i got full chain of the scarlet crusade on my warrior in classic
438 notes
·
View notes
Text
Worldbuilding - Improving Dark Sun’s Sorcerer-Kings
Thanks to the whole quarantine, I’ve decided that I’m going to do some worldbuilding, either building something in an established setting as I’m doing now, or writing about something that you can build on your own settings. Since this is the first iteration, I’ve decided that I’m going to revisit one of the first settings that got me into loving worldbuilding.
One of the first settings I’ve ever played in tabletop role-playing was the blighted world of Athas, in the Dark Sun setting. There was so much of the setting to like, the grim morality, the preserver/defiler take on arcane magic, the unique take on dragons, the different historical cultures developed for the different city-states of the Tyr region being far from the traditional European fantasy model. The Sorcerer-Kings were phenomenal villains, but according to the rules of 2nd edition D&D, they were dual-classed psionicist-defilers (save Oronis), relatively bland in comparison mechanically to their drastically divergent lore and societies. In that light, I had always worked on establishing differences between the Socerer-Kings in their paths to power as opposed to just draconic metamorphosis. Simultaneously, I wanted to ensure I could devise a point in the setting’s history where the Sorcerer-Kings have halted their draconic transformation in favor of experiment and discovery, giving these villains more of a reason to spend their time out of their studies and involving themselves in the world. So here we go, the various philosophies and explorations of the Dragon-Kings
The ascension of Borys of Ebe into the Dragon of Tyr filled the remaining sorcerer-kings with unbelievable dread. Borys’s absolute frenzied devastation nearly destroyed Athas, a second would certainly obliterate the Tablelands if not crack the planet itself. The various sorcerer-kings, in secret, developed their own working theories for why Borys went mad during his ascension, and are engaged deeply with theorizing, experimenting, and exploring ways to avoid this dreaded fate.
Abalach-Re of Raam: Abalach-Re believes that the mind inherently recognizes what it is and what it is not, an assertion of the ego that finds itself utterly in conflict with the idea of draconic ascension. Yet the ego is not a fixed, inflexible thing. From something as simple as a haircut to the most powerful of transformation magics, the mind is capable of change if it can appropriately understand, rationalize, and recognize the transformation being done. Arcane transmutation magic is the clear starting point, but creatures with morphic, unfixed forms such as shapechangers and oozes, or even the genetic passdown of information to offspring are other methods of discovery and transformation. To this end, Abalch-Re has extensively experimented with developing shapechanging abilities in human beings. Her offspring, created with her understanding of transmutation magic, often have psionic abilities that mold their shape like clay. Abalch-Re catalogs the success and failures of her offspring, often for long periods of time, before devouring the creations body and mind to integrate their experiences and transformations into herself. She has often let her offspring out into the world to infiltrate the notorious cauldron of discontent that is Raam, sometimes even psionically blanking her offspring so that they might attempt to live their own lives for generations, before dominating and recalling them in pursuit of her ultimate ambition.
Andropinis of Balic: Many living beings of Athas possess some small amount of psionic wilder talents. Even unknowing, small mental talents find their way into the people’s lives, often pairing with their activity and beliefs to strengthen them. To any other, this might be a mere fact of existence, yet Andropinis believes that there is something wholly more to it than that. Unconscious belief is shaped by the living beings of Athas, and that is shaped through years of existence that in summation dwarfs any other element of existence, even the very world itself. Borys’s unconscious belief had successes, but it also had failures, he was known as the “Butcher of Dwarves,” his greatest work ended in failure. That worries Andropinis, the “Slayer of Elves,” to have an equal failure to define him. The Cleansing was long over, even if he went to slay all the elves that existed in Athas, it would not change what it wrought upon his mind and the minds of his fellows. Andropinis needed to build something greater than the cleansing, and in his mind, it is Balic itself. Andropinis strengthens and builds Balic in a way that no other Sorcerer-King can match, not even Hamanu. The belief of Balic as an order in the face of the chaos that is Athas forms concrete magic, to Andropinis’s mind, something that will be reflected into himself as his citizens think of him as something stable and substantial that will guide him on his way to ascension.
Hamanu of Urik: All things are physical beings and all minds are housed in bodies. The ascension is where everything is magnified. You become stronger, you become faster, you become smarter as you ascend through the draconic process. Yet the body is a crucible that is only as strong as its weakest point, and as the strengths of the body are weakened, so are the flaws. Borys of Ebe was truly a remarkable individual, but Hamanu knows that he was ultimately an imperfect being. The sheer scope of the transformation meant that flaws even too small and imperceptible to be noticed by any save his peers became so overwhelming that the conflict became irresolvable, and fury naturally emerged as the perfection of the dragon met with the imperfection of the mortal. On taking the step to dragon-hood, the body no longer aged, and that should have been the clearest sign to all that the time granted is the time to correct all of the flaws. Hamanu has thus taken to devoting himself to the study of physical perfection, attempting to establish perfect control of himself both with physical exercise, psionic talent, and unrelenting training. Hamanu constantly evaluates himself, dividing his attention among tasks and pushing himself to be perfect at all of them. It is not uncommon for Hamanu to engage in games of mental skill while sparring with twenty of his elite guard, all in pursuit of ensuring that he achieves physical and mental perfection before his next step on the path to transformation.
Kalak of Tyr: Borys of Ebe was many things, but one thing he was possessed of was a limited vision. Defiling magic was the siphoning of life to power the arcane, this was as immutable as anything that existed. The simple killings that Borys used in his defilings to further his ascension were small, mere thousands of people. A flurry of small stones is a mere inconvenience, a gigantic boulder has an effect upon the world. Borys’s frenzy was due to no other reason than his magics lacked the power needed to push him into the final, complete state. This is why he went on his defiling frenzy, in a mad attempt to gain more power the way a choking man gasps for air. Living creatures snuffed out through defiling magic is the true path of power, and more creatures means more power. It is this understanding that Kalak builds his ziggurat, it is this understanding that causes him to throw lavish games wherein there is food and drink. His plan is as simple as it is heartrendingly cruel, the sacrifice of the entire 40,000 large population of Tyr in a single dramatic ritual, to provide all the power he needs to ascend not only into a sane state as the second Dragon of Tyr, but one far more powerful than even Borys could have dreamed of. Not only does he require many lives, but lives of tremendous power, hence why Kalak lures gladiators of repute to participate in his arena, why he often calls matches and spares the lives of great fighters to ensure that they live within Tyr, owing their lives to the Sorcerer-King that presents an obligation to never leave. To cause his ritual to cover the whole of the city of Tyr, Kalak has taken to gruesomely sacrificing people at key points within the city, drawing arcane sigils with their viscera and channeling the power to his ziggurat. Soon, he will launch the greatest games of its kind, and the world shall be forever changed.
Lalali-Puy of Gulg: Draconic metamorphosis is a complex interweaving of psionic and arcane powers, and Lalali-Puy has devoted much in the way of study to these two powers, yet these powers are not the only powers that exist in the world. There are elemental powers, natural powers within the forests not yet killed by defiling magics that exist on Athas as well. To Lalali-Puy, the failure of the ascension ritual was the absence of natural power within the ritual, the way a table absent a leg was not as secure or sturdy as one with all of them in place. Living creatures are a part of the world, and possess natural energies that are separate from psionic talents or arcane magic. Her studies have taken to her summoning nature spirits throughout the Ivory Triangle, forcing them to do her bidding by striking against the timber industry of Nibenay and by intimidation through the threat of defiling magics. Her studies of natural magic and natural cycles have taken her to studying much of the Elemental Planes and their complex interactivity with the world of Athas. Her palace has rifts of varying size wherein Lalali-Puy can pull material and elementals from the planes to experiment on their reactivity to arcane spells. Knowing that even if the Elemental Planes are infinite, her resources are not, she sticks to preserving whenever possible during these experiments, lest the people worry why ashen marks begin to surround the Oba’s palace. Her goal is to include a natural component into the draconic ritual, creating a three-part spell that should strengthen her transformation and make her complete.
Nibenay of Nibenay: Arcane magic is, and has always been, the province of the breaking natural laws. Others may contend themselves with other paths, but Nibenay understands that arcane magic is what powers the draconic transformation and indeed, the ebbs and flows of power itself. Reality is shaped from a font of this power, and magic is what molds and shapes this reality in a way that others cannot even begin to attempt. The various schools of magic express the power in their ways, but while magic can break these laws, there are older, more-established truths that magic touches upon. These ancient truths are foundational truths of existence that have their own laws, and these laws are what enforces stability and uniformity in existence itself. Nibenay believes this so utterly that his goal is to master all schools of magic and all spells, out of the belief that understanding this will give him all the information he needs to deduce the laws of power back to their source and divine their function. Nibenay believes that psionics are in their own way related to these fundamental laws of power, and will study them as he studies the other schools of magic, but ultimately, he believes that this true source goes beyond psionics (a purview merely of living things) and are merely an expression viewed through the context of organic beings. Nibenay experiments deeply with magic, flying to remote portions of the world or into the sky to experiment free from disturbance, ultimately looking for that next truth that will lead him finally to the ultimate secrets of existence.
Tectuktitlay of Draj: While other Sorcerer-Kings may flatter themselves with grandiose theories that speak to a secret wisdom that they believe only they can uniquely comprehend, Tectuktitlay bases his understanding upon a simple truth: Borys went insane and his rampage progressed until he became sane. This in itself means that the fury that was seen was not an inherent part of the draconic ascension, but rather a defect of the mind that should have been addressed before Borys ascended. Since sanity is based within the mind, it is there that Tectuktitlay must perfect his mind lest he lose himself the same as Borys did. Thus, Tectuktitlay devotes himself to the study of psionics with a fervor that none can match, focusing particular on the disciplines of mental fortitude to place bulwarks against insanity within his own mind. The Sorcerer-King does not neglect the study of psionic attack, as the ways by which attacks can creep into the mind form a valuable understanding for strengthening his defense. He often worms himself into the minds of the psionic students at his academies, discovering what they have found and learned to compare it with his own experiences, so that he might achieve a perfect understanding of all mental shortcomings that minds endure. His goal is to craft a defense of the mind so complete that no raging torrent of external power or tiny burrowing insecurity can worm its way in, thus creating a mind that will weather the ascension, that will in turn exert perfect control over the new body of the dragon.
Alright, that’s the whole thing, let me know what you think, and if you have suggestions for something I should do next.
-SLAL
57 notes
·
View notes
Text
Thorin x reader - Worthy
Hi could you please write a story about reader and Thorin... After they visit the elves she starts to be really insecure about herself and he shows her otherwise.... (can add bit of smut if comfortable) - @curioiscat💕
Ever since you left Rivendell you couldn’t help but doubt yourself. The elves were absolutely stunning, flawless, as if there were created by the gods themselves.
You were only human, you had flaws, many of them, and you knew you weren’t perfect looking. When you and Thorin started dating, you assured you that you were prefect but now you were wondering if you were in fact perfect for the dwarf king.
Glancing over at him from across the fire, you found his worried gaze was already settled on you as he smiled from his pipe.
Silently he got up, and walked over offering you his hand.
“Come walking with me.” He said gently.
You knew it was code for we need to talk. Sighing, you placed your hand in his and allowed him to lead ou away from the camp.
Once you were a good distance, Thorin stopped and took your hands in his, worried blue gaze gazing up at you.
“What troubles you my dear?” He asked softly.
“It’s nothing...”
Thorin sighed and brought your knuckles to his lips and placed a soft kiss on them.
“Do not lie to me, I can see something troubles you.”
“Am I really worthy of being with you...?” You muttered.
“Of course you are, more worthy than anyone else I have ever met. What made you doubt yourself?”
Glancing down, you chewed your lip.
“Rivendell... the elves are so... so perfect, and I’m far from that. When I look at them, I see someone who SHOULD be with you, someone with beauty, elegance.”
“And you think you do not have these qualities?”
You nodded solemly and lowered yourself to sit on the floor. Thorin got to his knees in front of you and placed his palms gently on your face.
“You possess these qualities and so much more. You are beautiful, not only in how you look, but in personality as well. You are loving, and kind, caring and gentle. I have seen you with the others, especially Bilbo and Oro, you treat them as if they were your own children, you care for everyone in the camp before you think of putting yourself first.”
Thorin smoothing his thumb along your cheekbone, he pressed a loving kiss to your forehead and smiled.
“You are also elegant, in the way you walk, fight, dance, everything you do is done with elegance. (Y/N), my love, my one, there is no one in this world I would want by my side more than you. There is no woman who could replace you, there is no soul I would let come before you.”
This time Thorin kissed your nose, and nuzzled his own against yours.
“There is no one who could replace you, especially not an elf.”
This time Thorin leaned in and pressed his lips to yours, closing your eyes, you wrapped your arm around his neck and kissed him back.
After a few minutes you pulled away and rested your head on his.
“I love you Thorin.”
“And I love you (Y/N), come, let us return.”
Nodding, you let him pull your up and smiled a little at him. Thorin slipped his hand as he lead you back towards the camp, only to stop just before you reached it.
“If you ever feel like that again, will you tell me?”
“I will.”
Satisfied, Thorin kissed you once more before leading you to your bedroll. He laid you down and laid in front of you, wrapping his arms around you.
“You wil always be my one.” He whispered
#the hobbit x reader#the hobbit thorin#the hobbit fanfiction#the hobbit#thorin imagine#thorin x you#thorin oakenshield#thorin x reader
127 notes
·
View notes
Note
I read your opinion on Luthien and I was intrigued about what you considered the selfish side of her. Would you mind elaborate ? I say this because the tale of Beren and Luthien Is the most unispiring tale -at least for me- sacrifying lives for the sake of two lovers
Hello, and thanks for your message and question!
First things first: You, I, we don’t have to feel ecstatic about every characters and every storylines, and you don’t have to justify your preferences. That character doesn’t appeal to you? All right, then! There are plenty of other characters to focus on! (just, you know, don’t shit on people who actually like the characters you’re not fond of). ;)
I do have a very complicated and ambivalent relationship to the story of Beren and Lúthien; I really can’t say I dislike it, not at all, but it tends to upset me. You ask about my mention of the “selfishness” of Lúthien… [To be honest, I don’t really remember what I said in the post you mention (which is probably a rather old one???) so I can only hope that I’ll be coherent and not too repetitive (generally speaking, my opinion hasn’t changed over the years, but it mighthave evolved)] - I can understand that my opinion might seem confusing, but in fact, you answered the question yourself: The sacrifice of many for the sake of one couple… (that’s a schematic presentation, yes). But it’s a bit more complicated than that. I actually like the character of Lúthien per se. I like her as a strong, a bit creepy, dog-eared lady who remains blind to a lot of things. I like her being prideful and I like her being FLAWED. You know why? Because I can relate. I’m not perfect, far from it. Nobody is. And if I cannot see my own flaws in a character, I’ll have a hard time being interested in them.
So my problem with the Lay of Leithian has nothing to do with the characters themselves - whether you like them or not, they remain interesting – it has to do with the treatment of the characters, the (frustrating) perspective adopted by the narrator(s), the way the couple seems to be forgiven deeds which would have been considered criminal/terrible/unforgivable if they had been committed by other characters (follow my gaze).
And yes, I can’t deny that I have my own biased reading because of my preference for the Fëanorians, but I try to be as objective as possible (though I can’t be completely objective. I mean, who could?)
So.
Lúthien is a strong female character, steadfast and fearless, and that’s something I definitely like about her. Now, I’m not fond of the “perfect lady” aura given to the character, you know? This idea that she’s flawless and whatever she does is a good thing. Some sort of a saint (if there were saints in Arda). At no point the narrative voice questions her decisions, she’s always in the light. She is presented as perfect and every other characters seem to agree, no matter what she decides to do. I find all this very irritating, although I guess that’s also what the genre requires (I’ll come back to that point at the end of the post).
Yet, let’s keep in mind that Lúthien is not like the other Eldar; her mother is an Ainu, and that element is extremely important: she is half divine. It’s crucial because it means that
How could the other Eldar and humans not be, at least, fascinated by her?
It must be complicated for the Eldar to actually criticise her… I mean, she’s the offspring of demiurgic power!
She must have a specific fate (if Eru allowed her mom to become incarnate and to have a kid with an Elda, He must have some plans)(spoilers : He does)
She must have a different approach of reality, a different way to feel the world, to live in the world, to be concerned with the world and its inhabitants.
She is powerful and has powers that no other Eldar could ever dream of, which makes her somehow dangerous.
This being said, let’s return the matter at stake: your question about this self-interest of her, and the sacrifices it implies; not the sacrifice of Beren or Lúthien for one another, but the almost death of thousands of Eldar for them to be together (and I won’t talk of here of Finrod’s choices and his gruesome death because that’s a matter which I’ve already talked about at length – here for instance)
Besides, I mostly agree with Litamande’s interpretation of the Nargothrond episode, so I’ll waste no time repeating it and I advise you to read if that’s not already done. I’ll just point out a few selfish elements to actually elaborate on the “selfish side of Lúthien” (although it doesn’t mean I blame her for being selfish):
1. Lúthien would let a kinslaying happen to be with her lover
By disobeying her father and by running to Nargothrond, she took the risk of bringing her father’s wrath to Nargothrond.
I know, I know: the texts say that Thingol gets mad because of the Fëanorians' plan to get her married to Celegorm (mind you, I don’t say the Fëanorians don’t have anything to be blamed for, they do, but that’s not the point of this post) but something tells me that, no matter the nature of the Fëanorians' message, Thingol would have been furious - marriage proposal or not, Thingol could have very well played the diplomatic card, discussed the whole thing (or at least pretended to), got his daughter back and then told the Fëanorians to fuck off. Instead, he prepared his army for an eventual kinslaying. I mean, thanks to the Fëanorians' message, he knows where daughter is, he knows she is relatively “safe” in Nargothrond – and the Fëanorians are just a small impediment which Thingol could get rid of without killing the entire population of Nargothrond…. so I tend to believe that, at this point, Thingol was so offended and upset and panicked in general terms that he would have been mad, not matter who would have said “I found your daughter!”
And I do believe that Lúthien knew it, or at least, considered that it could be a possibility. She’s not stupid. She’s definitely not that naïve.
Likewise, after the Tol Sirion episode, she would rather stay with Beren instead of going back to Doriath, even if that decision leads to a war of elves against elves. It is clearly given in the Lay that Thingol was ready to go to war to get her back, and although I can understand why she wants to stay with her boyfriend, the lives of hundreds of elves are at stake! And coming from the heir of a sovereign, it’s rather… unpolitical, to say the least. And yes, selfish. Now, I’m not saying she shouldn’t be selfish! On the contrary. Please girl, do what you will!
What upsets me is that she’s still presented as a flawless saint by the narrator, by the other characters, by the Valar and nobody ever tells her that her decisions almost created a war. How frustrating is that?
2. L&B let a kinslaying happen to keep the Nauglamir in the family
She and Beren have come back from Mandos, they’re in Tol Galen, they have a lovely kid and they talk to no mortal. And they have a Silmaril because Thingol’s dead and Doriath is in a pretty bad state. We know the Fëanorians dare not attack Lúthien, but she knew the risk of keeping a Silmaril, didn’t she? She knew they would do their best to take it back after her death. And although I understand why the Silmaril is symbolically important to her (they died for it , her dad died for it, etc.) she knows what it means to keep a Silmaril; In some versions (“The Nauglafring”, “the Quenta”… see also “The Tale of Years” in HoME XI), Melian herself warns (wrathfully) her and Beren against it… even if Lúthien stops wearing it in some texts, they never ever think about giving it back to the Fëanorians… You’ll tell me that they are the Dispossessed, they can’t have it back anyway, or there would be no story at all.
I think what upsets me the most here, is not that she decided to keep it no matter what, but the treatment of it. Again. When anyone else in the texts desires a Silmaril or tries to keep a Silmaril, there’s always a warning somewhere, something implying, “this character is becoming greedy and is making a huge mistake blahblah”. But not here, at no point she’s is given as potentially making a mistake, she’s neither depicted as prideful, nor greedy nor anything – same thing with Beren when he tries to pick up the second Silmaril from the crown of Melkor ; yes he raises hell with his mistake and paid for it, but no one blames him. In the “Quenta” it is even said that he failed to take all the three jewels because of the “knife of the treacherous dwarves”, as if he had nothing to blame himself for… You see why I’m upset. The narrative perspective is completely unfair.
3. The Mandos episode
It is not about Lúthien’s selfishness but it is a fair example of those prejudices. Lúthien is said to be the only one who managed to bring pity into Námo‘s heart. Yet she’s not the only mourning… the Bragollach had happened roughly a decade before the L&B’s story. There are thousands of people in Middle Earth and in Mandos (and in Valinor) weeping and mourning a sibling, a lover, aparent, a child – Lúthien lost her bf whom she met a couple of years before but “her sorrow [is] deeper than their sorrows”??? She is actually given as the one feeling the greatest grief ever? I just… No.
Well, actually, it is no surprise that Námo is moved by her song : she is divine! Her mom sang during the creation of the world…!
Alright yeah, I’m being cynical, I admit it. But what I’m trying to do is not to tell you what’s good or bad or what you should think of the whole thing. I’m barely trying to offer you another perspective, to point at what is not totally clear, what doesn’t make sense to me, what upsets me, so you can maybe see it from another point of view. It’s always an interesting thing to do, even if in the end you don’t change your mind.
And believe it or not, the Lay of Leithian is one of my favourite texts! And maybe it is precisely because of all those elements that confuse me and/or irritate me! At least it gives me something to think about, some new gaps to fill with my imagination!
Now, and this is VERY important, let’s keep in mind that the first Beren and Lúthien writings go back to Tolkien’s youth, and that what Tolkien wanted to do was to write a “heroic-romance from the realm of Faërie" inspired by medieval literature and ancestral folklore. He obviously knew what he was doing, he knew the codes of that kind of literature, and all those elements which I pointed out were carefully wrought by the author; he was aware of the characteristics of the genre and toyed with them, proof is the parodical commentary of the Lay of Leithian by CS Lewis. And come on, technically speaking, the Lay is a masterpiece, if not a feat! Besides, we also know how dear this particular love story was to Tolkien, and without making it a metaphor of his own life, we can’t ignore this aspect. Therefore, my criticisms are neither literary, scholarly ones, nor personal ones against the author. They’re barely the reflections of a very subjective feeling (and I strongly emphasize that word) of my own, regarding those events and the way they are rendered within the whole history of Middle Earth, as in intradiegetic vision of them.
And to conclude, if Lúthien had not fought for her love story to be a thing, therewould have been no Dior, no Elwing, no Earendil… it is a part of the whole narrative line, of the whole scheme that lead to the salvation of the people of Middle Earth in the 1st Age. SO yes, her selfishness is somehow rightful, it has a purpose, it is for the GREATER GOOD. And again, what bothers me is not Lúthien herself, it is the fact that her decisions are never questioned, by no one at any point. And I believe that if some readers don’t find this tale inspiring, as you put it, it is precisely because of the treatment of L&B ; they’re perfect, unworldly perfect, how could we easily relate to them?
#silmarillion#silmarillion meta#silmarillion headcanons#Anonymous#oh wow I hope this isn't too confusing -_-'#ignore the typos pls#headcanon#meta#ooc
104 notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
underthebednotebook
Under The Bed Notebook
qou-tes
Quotes
racetoto41
실시간미니게임[레이스벳주소.com 코드 kps74]미니
shopyucca
YUCCA