#god remains dead

[orchid-n-petals]

So I've already shared parts of this on a discord server, but I have to scream about Ketheric Thorm on here as well. Obviously spoilers about the character under the cut! It's a long one.

The entirety of act 2 is about him, right? Jaheira, Shadowheart and numerous other NPCs shit on him for his fickle faith. First Selune, then Shar, then, as we meet him, Myrkul. You hear about his changes of faith on a whim, you hear that he's the person responsible for the shadow curse, he is painted as a villain, plain and simple.

You can figure it out pretty early on that Isobel was resurrected and that she is his daughter; the detail as well that he wants Isobel alive is so on the nose, it gives him away completely but there are still a few questions that remain unanswered, mainly about his faith.

And then you get to the mausoleum and the picture assembles; this entire tragedy, the death of hundreds if not thousands and the complete ruination of a landscape was all, ALL because you had this absolutely wrenched, heartbroken father who had lost everything and nobody answered his grief. He was left woefully alone, the Goddess whose daughter his daughter was involved with did nothing to save Isobel.

Imagine outliving your wife and your daughter. Imagine dedicating your life to fight the Lady of Loss, your Lady of Silver's enemy, and then be left so completely alone and in silence with your grief, with your loss. It's so, so poetic how and why he turned from Selune, and it's so understandable as well; he broke. His spirit completely broke. He couldn't deal with that void of having lost the only two important people in his life, seemingly undeservedly so. He was going mad with this and a lot of his ire was likely targeted at Aylin who, in his eye, represented Selune; she's literally her daughter, after all, and it was implied that even before the deaths of his family, he sort of saw Aylin courting Isobel as Selune taking his daughter from him, despite his service. This relationship was clearly not seen by him as a boon of "giving his daughter to the Moon-maiden".

His ways in the past clearly didn't spare him from tragedy and having to cope with it (which he clearly didn't, he snapped under the weight of his grief). He was clearly angry and unable to do anything, furious and helpless, which is a dangerous combination. A good part of his first change of heart must have been fuelled by a sense of revenge.

But then Shar didn't provide any balm to his aching heart either. If you read his letters in Grymforge and in act 2, he is so focused on enacting the will of Shar because he believes that healing lies in oblivion. Everything would be easier if he could just forget, if the damn world could just forget, if nothing was remembered because without Melodia and Isobel, nothing was worth remembering.

Then came Myrkul. Literally the only god who was not only able, but WILLING to give back his daughter to him. Imagine spending your all, EVERYTHING you have to serve two gods who would not give a single shit about the greatest suffering in your life. You were basically nothing, your loyalty didn't matter for shit, everything that was taken from you amounted to no recognition whatsoever: you should simply cope and seethe. Your grief will not simply go unanswered (which is not inherently antagonising) but ignored.

And then comes this supposedly evil entity who can alleviate your pain just like that, snap of a finger and it's a done deal.

I am so serious when I say that I believe Ketheric's main incentive was to extend Aylin's immortality to Isobel as well. You can read in her diary that she feels a taint after having came back, and there are things not even Selune can cleanse, but at this point, Ketheric doesn't care about Selune, vengeance is secondary if not tertiary, he's done that war during his Shar years and what did it give him? Literally nothing.

He doesn't even care about the fact that Isobel is still her cleric. He cares about the single most important fact: Isobel is back. Life is worth living again, there is something for him, and it was not Selune or Shar who gave it to him but Myrkul, and for this singular gift, he would raze the world for the Lord of Bones. Like people can clown on him for being disloyal but the man has the loyalty of a dog bonded to its owner.

He is powerful and is willing to go to insane lengths for crumbs. What is raising a single life for a god? Nothing. It has happened and it will happen again. But Ketheric will go to the ends of the earth to serve the single god who actually listened to him. The one god who didn't ignore him.

He knows that what he does is not the morally upright thing! He is so insanely self-aware that allying with Orin and Gortash and doing this entire plot with them only to then betray them is morally reprehensible at the best of times, he knows that people hate him, etc-etc. He was a Selunite at one point and he's not stupid. He just doesn't care; it could be literal Asmodeus and he wouldn't care as long as he got what he wanted, no matter the price.

He is probably the only one from the three of the chosen who has complete clarity over his situation, he almost sways (if you pass the check during his confrontation), he is not an inherently evil man blinded by power.

But he is inherently loyal to those deserving, and as of the story's standing, completely broken by his grief. In his eyes, at this point, the only one deserving loyalty is the one who actually listened to him. Isobel lives. It doesn't matter that she hates him, that his entire life has fallen apart, that literally nothing else that is good has come of it, because Isobel lives.

I don't think he regrets a single thing. His consciousness might tear at him at the end, but I believe he would do everything over again, exactly as he did, because in the end, his daughter was brought back. Because what would a grieving, broken parent give to bring back their child? Everything. Absolutely everything. And it's such a simply given answer, no second thoughts, no doubts.

Nobody can tell me that this man is fickle. Nobody. This man was willing to burn the world to the ground, create a Boudica destruction layer all by himself for the one single thing he wanted. For any God that would listen.

I don't know, I just have a lot of thoughts about his character.

#bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #ketheric thorm #and I also have a lot of thoughts of how Aylin foils him #I fully believe that he was in the right in the capacity that he switched around his gods when he was literally ignored despite his life's #work. despite all that he has given. I think it's reasonable to expect in the world of gods who actively meddle in mortal affairs on their #whims and make shit worse that in just one single case they would. idk. NOT expect one of their devotees to remain blindly loyal to them #after their prayers go unanswered. like yes; go and try your luck elsewhere because this devotion of yours is clearly being taken for #granted. you get NOTHING out of your worship. you can't even sleep well because your loved ones are dead and you are expected to just what? #deal with it on your own? and remain loyal? why? #some sense of 'honour'? #I really like this depiction of faith actually. I really like when clerics and paladins are given agency and critical thought that hey! #this is actually giving me nothing despite me dedicating my entire life to it! and I have only one of it so why not take it somewhere where #it's actually valued. you know. as a treat. #I *personally* much more prefer this depiction of a crisis of faith than what we got with Shadowheart or Lae'zel; their stories are very #interesting on their own but I think throwing yourself from one end to the other not because you actually have a goal that it could serve #but because you are desperate for a purpose #is a slightly less potent character narrative than having an actual goal yourself. not by much but by a little. #again #PERSONALLY

[twstjam]

Lovebrush Chronicles... probably has a good plot but it's impossible to pay attention to it when you're having Twisted Wonderland withdrawal and these two motherfuckers (/affectionate) look and act like Silver

#i'm not saying they ARE the same just that they REALLY remind me of silver #i need diasomnia chapter 6 NOWOWOWOWOWWWWWW #disney twisted wonderland #lovebrush chronicles #silver twisted wonderland #twst silver #silver twst #silver vanrouge #that's his name and you can take that away from my cold dead hands #WHAT are the lovebrush boys' names god help me #i keep trying to figure out their og names and typing them out but the tags wont show up so #they shall remain untagged #matcha nonsense #twst spoilers #diasomnia spoilers #twst book 7 spoilers

[hrokkall]

What's gabriel in this au?

Some loser, probably.

#Gabriel Ultrakill #Rain World Ancients #Ultrakill #Rain World #I CAN POST THIS NOW THAT THE FULL ATTACK IS DONE. NICE pose referenced from Act 1's ending cutscene if that wasn't blatant already #He's as of yet unnamed but I'm working on it. And also somehow not dead. Debatably. It's a crossover AU it's not adhering to RW canon #Anyway very cool style rain world has for its murals! Tried to match it to the best of my ability but my own style definitely bleeds throug #-in places. It happens #ANYWAY the reason why he's an Ancient is just because there seem to be a lot of parallels between Angels in UTKL and Ancients in RW #Both are societies obsessed with remaining free from earthly desire and keeping order; one wishes to ascend and one has already ascended- #-and has to keep it that way lest they feel the wrath of a long-absent god #Looking at the karma murals that represented the deadly sins (ish) kind of solidified that #Plus it means I don't have to take off his helmet which is always a bonus; I don't like unmasking helmeted characters #As a bonus ancients sort of seem birdlike to me? They're meant to look vague but at least two had bird feet so hell yeah. Bird time. #Enough tag talking. Here's the actual sorting tags: #Re: Inbox #Re: Anon #RW UTKL #Hrokkall Art

[darlingkairos]

Kilindi and Maul

#kilindi matako #maul star wars #darth maul fanart #darth maul #starwars #starwars art #art #digital art #artist on tumblr #god closes the door on me as I repent #I pry at it piece by piece and yet it remains closed on me #even then I do not stop asking for forgiveness #god is very busy watering dead plants #he does not notice me

[distressed-bird]

Kalina is the most interesting character to me because of all she has going on…

she is Cassandra’s familiar, she is simultaneously a pet and a friend and a servant and a family to a goddexx that is simultaneously her owner and friend and creator and parent and her god and reason to be—Kalina’s relationship to Cassandra is hard to put a name or label on (since what does being a familiar even mean?) but the bottomline is that this cat loves her deity enough to put everything and everyone on the line for her…

And adding in that she is a child of divorce. So to speak. I am extremely normal and haven’t been driven mad by the detail that baby itty bitty kitty Kalina was at Cassandra’s wedding to Ankarna and is remembered to have been toddling after her as she walked down the aisle…

Kalina will be the death of me /lh

#fhjy spoilers #fantasy high junior year #kalina #oh my god and the fact Kalina was there at that wedding—there at the period of time where Ankarna was alive and still a known god and not #presumed dead… this makes the Sylvairean Heresy even WORSE of a life event for Kalina and Cassandra… #the existence of baby kalina implies that Cassandra *raised* Kalina… and the fact they were married means that Kalina wouldn’t have been #raised by only Cassandra but *also* Ankarna. #you are Kalina and one of your parents just was killed by your uncle—their domains were too alike—and you can never talk about them again. #you can never speak their name—share in their memory—the only place they exist is quietly in your memories that must go unspoken due to #Oblivata Mori. And there’s nothing you can do about it… #And then the followers and clerics of your remaining parent start trying to kill her—being mislead by the followers of your goddexx’ sister #Cassandra is the only family Kalina has left—and Kalina’s sentience leds me to think she agreed to become a Curse #kalina let herself be unmade and changed to keep Cassandra alive… and even as the shell of herself—a familiar once but now a living plague— #is so deeply loyal and only interested in what is to the benefit of her *everything*… even if they are currently a Walking Corpse. #Kalina dislike Kristen so much because Kristen is just not being a good cleric and is in the precarious spot of being Cassandra’s only #follower… but ultimately won’t harm or attack Kristen—killing herself first—because Kristen is the only one keeping Cassandra uncorrupted. #yeah im crazy about the relationship and history between a cat familiar and her witch goddess and the layers of their relationship

[bonefall]

I do feel bad for Owen. Clearly this is NOT his forte. #freeowen

I'm guessing Owen has some kind of contract to do all the covers for the "Erin Hunter" books, since he also seems to do the art for Bravelands and Survivors. Which baffles me.

When you look at his portfolio, it seems clear that animals are NOT his strong suit. He mostly designs them as monsters or setpieces, not as characters in their own right. His humans, objects, and backgrounds are excellent, while his animals are quite generic-- So why did they choose this artist to design for their xenofiction series?

The art he does for Percy Jackson and Artemis Fowl is not as jilted and uninspired as his work for any of the Erin Hunter series. He does have a thing for harsh lighting (too harsh for my taste) but the composition is fine and the characters are recognizable. Certainly not "someone tried to unlock your phone" tier. It's strange.

It strikes me like he's not "comfortable" enough with animals to experiment with them, heavily referencing zoomed-in photos and leaving it there. Note how his cats are almost never doing anything, just sitting or standing around looking confused.

Has he ever even drawn a battle cat... battling?

I don't really feel "bad" for him, OR "mad" at him, because we have no idea what's happening behind the scenes, but I WILL say that I feel he is an absolutely awful match for WC. I don't understand what about his portfolio made him look like a good replacement for Wayne McLoughlin, besides some executive recognizing his style from somewhere else.

I hope he is compensated well for his work, but I don't buy hardcovers because of his art and am holding out hope that someone else takes over someday.

#Im not being mean about that last part btw i really hope that comes across #I am hoping it comes across as 'product review' and not bashing #Because I'm dead serious that his art is a major reason I never buy the books in good condition #I always get them secondhand or digital #I own the *dotc* books because of Wayne's art. The arc I notoriously hate to oblivion #But I dislike how Owen's covers *look* on my shelf. #Bone babble #Man it's unfortunate that James Barry has departed the series but Owen remains #As much as I adore the new comic direction btw!!!! God I love the upcoming art im buying it on release day

[thevelaryons]

Addam & Jon Parallels: 3/?

Seeking the Old Gods for guidance

#valyrianscrolls #pureasoiaf #asoiafedit #litedit #asoiaf #addam velaryon #jon snow #gifs #*mine #if the isle of faces stuff is true then I do have to wonder if it was just a one time thing #or if addam really did convert to the old gods (ben blackwood's influence?) #it would explain why his remains were later taken to raventree hall where they bury the dead beneath the weirwood tree #since addam would most likely have worshipped either the faith of the seven or the merling king before #nothing like having a religious crisis of faith in the middle of a war

[giveamadeuschohisownmovie]

I know that it’s a common talking point nowadays to say, “movies are dying, TV is experiencing a creative renaissance,” which isn’t necessarily wrong. I just feel the statement should actually be, “movies are dying, TV and video games are experiencing a creative renaissance”.

#red dead redemption 2 #what remains of edith finch #god of war #detroit become human #the last of us #uncharted #bioshock #until dawn #the witcher #mass effect #ghost of tsushima #resident evil #alan wake 2 #elden ring #it takes two #tears of the kingdom #death stranding #horizon zero dawn #persona 5 #metal gear solid #devil may cry #bayonetta #assassin's creed #sekiro #final fantasy xiv #stray #batman arkham series #grand theft auto #marvel’s spider man 2 #journey game

[explodingstarlight]

the emo trinity is alive, well, and prospering in 2023

#what if i said i have been listening to FOB's new single on repeat since yesterday #immaculate music to draw to ngl #speaking of: remaining asks i PROMISE i see you omg #ANYWAY god bless and amen i can't believe early 2000's emo is alive and thriving rn #if you told 13 year old me this would happen i would laugh in your face #and they're all TOURING (or have been touring recently) #*takes a short break from turtle posting to cry over new music from bands i've been listening to for 10+ years* how true and autistic of me #mcr #paramore #fall out boy #we don't speak of Him here; their glory days are long dead #ifykyk #emo memes #idc if that's not the proper genre name im still using it and no one can stop me #foundations of decay #this is why #love on the other side #<- the titles of the singles/EP btw in case you haven't heard them yet

[rabbit-exe]

rewatched exu calamity and brennan really rocked up to the critical role studio and said "I'm gonna hurt that paladin So Bad"

#the fuckin!! the hour-long second! in which brennan literally says to luis 'you get a front-row seat to watch what happens to them' #fuckin!! frozen in time!! watching his friends get Tree Exploded! GAH... #'zerxus you watch as patia's head twists past the point that she can remain alive' COOL GREAT THANKS BRENNAN #exu calamity #god I love all four episodes of that tragedy so much. perfect #brennan heard that zerxus is grieving his dead husband and estranged from his son and looked at luis like a lion looks at an injured gazell #Emotional Wound Time #all of these characters are so fucking tragic I love them #the way brennan plays evandrin too... AUGH #I'm chewing the legs off the goddamn furniture over here #hare.txt

[gallifreyanhotfive]

#god is dead #only memes remain #doctor who #dw #classic who #dr who #new who #dweu #big finish doctor who #big finish #big finish audio #first doctor #second doctor #third doctor #fourth doctor #fifth doctor #sixth doctor #seventh doctor #eighth doctor #ninth doctor #tenth doctor #eleventh doctor #twelfth doctor #thirteenth doctor #memes #dw memes #doctor who memes #i dont even know anymore guys #i just find templates and spew bullshit on them

[muadweeb]

My first son, and my last.

#its always so fucked up when children die but like. doran is the only remaining child of the unnamed princess of dorne #like....my god. catelyn's quote always hits me like a fucking freight train fr #valyrianscrolls #doran martell #oberyn martell #elia martell #of course its more sadder since cat's children are like CHILDREN but these guys already had their own kids and what not....but still #asoiaf #dornedaily #add mors and olyvar the dead at cradle babies too #also: im so happy i found an actor with widows peak hairline for oberyn i always found it hot how they described it in the book

[navree]

vader calling reva “youngling” to remind her of the worst night of her life to tell her he remembered her all the while and just danced her along, vader injuring and murdering innocent villagers in front of their loved ones just because he could and to show obi wan that he’s responsible for their suffering, vader preying on obi wan’s guilt by blaming him for what he had become, vader toying with obi wan during their duel just to terrorize him when he could have beaten him in a second, vader raking him over hot coals and keeping him alive just to feel the pain he felt...this series has done something i think is new and shown the casual and constant cruelty vader inflicts on people by whatever means necessary, the way he tortures people in all kinds of ways without a second thought 

and to see that and remember anakin, who built droids to be his friends and loved his mom more than anything and was so excited to have a baby of his own and loved his family with his wife and thought of obi wan as a brother and a father and adored ahsoka and would have thrown himself on a grenade for any of his friends, jedi and clone alike, it hurts so bad

#personal #darth vader #anakin skywalker #obi wan kenobi #obi wan kenobi spoilers #it's an excellent way to show how going dark side isn't just A Thing That Happens it literally warps you #the boy who called padme an angel and made her a necklace and defended r2 from jokes #that bright eyed boy who looked at qui gon like he was god and who was devoted to obi wan even when they clashed #that boy is dead and gone and vader who plays with his food before he eats it and relishes in doing so is what remains #like that boy is still in there somewhere because we know anakin redeems himself #but not for another decade and it's painful #the reva line especially is what absolutely destroyed me #(even tho the word youngling is stupid sorry guys it really is)

[july-19th-club]

when i was a kid the church songs i gravitated twoards were definitely always the ones like "how great thou art" and "on eagle's wings" - basically anything that mentioned the natural world or a cool animal. songs of faith and tradition did nothing for me, amazing grace was a nothing song, the bread of life was a NOTHING song. but a voice crying out in the wilderness? oh?? say more

and then they dont say more. and you have to figure out whether you believe regardless. and that's what religion is

#this sounds like pessimism but i swear it's not it's just a religious breakthrough i had driving to work yesterday #it's soo much easier to believe in religion when you know it's fake. that doesnt make sense #what i mean is: with christianity. the expectation is that it will Return somehow . he died but he'll be back #if he'd died and stayed dead and there was never any expectation of his return. he'd be easier for me to believe in #does that make sense #because he's not this nebulous future state. he's gone and we'll never know anything else. but the things which are sacred to the god #those still remain #the crows outside. the mice i trap. the roadsides i clear of litter in spring. the crick. the eagles again. the way they've rebounded #that's real and i believe in it and it is sacred . and i can do something tangible about that and that's worship #towards a unified theory of my own spiritual believes - finally - because i remembered what i was on the verge of believing when i was 13

[beatcroc]

Is your pfp an oc of urs? Any story?

yah that's N.K.

primer: a former god of fear who has since resigned, and now runs what is essentially an intergalactic tourist trap on his cursed planet, simply known as ''nk's domain''

i don't really do "stories" per se i just have my guys in their 'verse and they have their lore and sometimes that's actionable in a plot sort of way, but most of the time they are just doing their things. nk is one of my oldest oc's and as such probably the most, like, centralizing? nk's domain is sort of a meetup hub for most other characters that don't have their own defined Thing going on, as well as what several characters' Things are directly related to, but nk himself isn't all that much of an active player any more and most of the current story type stuff i'm working with has kinda moved beyond him.

aside from that it's just his history tying him to other stuff; there's a lotta old-guard guys who fuckin hate him back from when he was still doing the whole 'reign of terror' fear deity thing [nk used to stand for 'nightmare king' but he just goes by nk now], there's a bunch a new-guard guys he's pissed off for being the main force behind the universal outlawing of capitalism[honestly not that important and some worlds still do it anyway bc gods are bad at caring enough to actually enforce their rules unless it's like a Really egregious violation], and there's also the history of said "cursed planet" itself [he didnt do that he doesnt know why its like that he just saw it wand went ooooh free real estate. but theres a reason its like that and he's starting to pay the price for having taken it over [accidentally unleashed an imprisoned god-parasite plague][uh oh][its that yellow thing in the last image][this is actually what my "main" "story"/alleged webcomic is about] [go here go in the dark]]

#obligatory disclaimer again all of my working with oc stuff is going to remain dormant until i get out of pizza hell #which i dont know how long that will take. another year maybe. hopefully not that long but hey. im having fun here #i said i would start working on tumblr-formatted refposts for my guys and ummm wellll i did not do that #eventually. we'll get there eventually #everybody want nk's ass dead so bad. smile #though since retiring his priority on most people's hitlists has sunk considerably #which is a good thing too since he's also gotten considerably weaker since retiring. stupid mechanics behind being a god you understand #still very much a god though so he's really only got to worry about shit if another god comes for him #but most consider themselves above his level these days. #that and the uhhh anti-god weaponry but ive not built that stuff out super well yet

[dreampearls]

I think fischl and collei are socute like you have fischl who's trying sooo hard to be a weirdgirl to compensate for thr fact that she's incredibly normal versus collei who is fighting every day of her life to appear Normal. I think them meeting would do collei some good

#colleis like. I was injected with the remains of a deceased god. its corpse slumbers deep inside of me where a seal holds it in place #and fischls like Alllllll over that shes like The two of us... we are wayward kindred spirits. Once lost but now found in each our #respective kingdoms to call our own.. You are worthy of sitting beside my Throne. and colleis like. Y... yea.. #fischl internally is jumping up and down for joy that someones actually engaging with her on her level #maybe even a little jealous that collei has a cooler backstory than her own #Just like completely oblivious to the favt that collei was telling the truth and that there really is a dead archon inside kf her. #its no biggie tjough. #colleiction