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dorothea-jpg · 1 year

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Introduction To The Races of Zaira

Note:

This is an introduction to the races that originated in the country of Zaira. That means Mermaids, Centaurs, Demons, Angels, Fairies, Insectoids, Werefolk and Slime Humanoids are not included.

Witches and Object Heads didn’t exist in this era so they are completely excluded.

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⎯⎯ ୨ Humans ୧ ⎯⎯

Humans are the most diverse sentient species in Pamphylia as well as the most common. Humans can come in all shapes, sizes and colours no matter where they come from.

Humans are pretty segregated from the magical realms as they as a species are completely magicless. Due to not having any magic, Humans have found another way to help themselves live better lives by becoming great inventors and mechanics which is why most Human cities are extremely advanced.

Unfortunately, since Humans are so segregated from other races apart from their own, they can be pretty rude and insensitive. Basically being the definition of 'fear what you do not know'.

Humans have a pretty short lifespan compared to the rest of the world, only living up to 80-100 years. They usually reach maturity when they're in their 50s.

⎯⎯ ୨ Elves ୧ ⎯⎯

Elves are the most common species in the magical realms though they are not as diverse as other species. There are three subspecies of Elves existing.

There are Moon Elves, a species of Elf who are deeply connected to the moon as they get most of their magic and life force naturally from the moon. Moon Elves have one deity who they worship named Nikini and she is extremely important to Moon Elf culture. Moon Elves tend to have blue or grey skin with the most common hair colour being white though they can have black and sometimes even blue hair.

There are Sun Elves, a species of Elf who are deeply connected to the sun as they get most of their magic and life force naturally from the sun. Sun Elves have three deities who they worship named Aelius; the god of the morning sun, Helios; the god of dusk and Helene; the goddess of dawn. All three are pretty sacred to the Sun Elves. Sun Elves tend to live in more desert and hot places which is why their skin is much darker than other elves. Every Sun Elf is born with blonde hair, reminiscent of the sun. Their hair can come in all shades of blonde.

And finally, there are Wood Elves who are deeply connected to nature as they get most of their magic and life force naturally from nature. Wood Elves, like the Moon Elves, have only one deity who goes by 'mother nature'. She is the heart and soul of the forests and woods that Wood Elves typically dwell in and like other Elf species, their deity is extremely important to them and their culture. Wood Elves look pretty similar to Humans with their diverse skin tones and hair colours, the only difference is their long ears and larger stature.

All Elves have pretty much the same lifespan, living up to 300-500 years. This is probably the largest lifespan of any Earth race. They usually reach maturity when they're in their 300s.

⎯⎯ ୨ Elementals ୧ ⎯⎯

Elementals are a pretty rare species altogether even if they, much like Ceruleans, have four subspecies, excluding mixed-race Elementals. They originally come from Zaira as Zaira is the capital of Elemental magic. Elementals were literally born from Elemental splashes, those splashes being Fire, Water, Earth and Air, the four main species of Elementals.

Fire Elementals are Humanoids who were birthed from splotches of fire magic. They are made out of flesh and bone, much like any other race but with very hot skin with a slightly cracked skin texture and their skin colours differ from all shades of orange and red. Their hair is usually made of fire, literally. This is the case with the majority of Fire Elementals though some are born with normal hair fibres which they can ignite at will. These Elementals are not very accepted in highly populated areas are they are seen as destructive and dangerous.

Water Elementals are Humanoids who were birthed from splotches of water magic. They are made out of flesh and bone, much like any other race but with a smoother and slightly wet skin texture and their skin colours differ from all shades of dark blue and black. Their hair is usually made out of water, literally. This is usually the case with the majority of Water Elementals though some are born with normal hair fibres which can be waterproof (Very difficult to wash hair in that case). These Elementals are very social with other races and are widely accepted in Zaira.

Earth Elementals are Humanoids who were birthed from splotches of earth magic. They are made out of flesh and bone, much like any other race but with a slighter rougher skin texture reminiscent of stone and their skin colours differ from different shades of brown and sometimes even green. Their hair is made out of earth, it could be stone, plants bark etc. This is usually the case with the majority of Earth Elementals though some are born with normal hair fibres that can crumble and harden when activated, intentionally or not. These Elementals are solitary by choice and don't usually interact with the other races of Zaira.

Air Elementals are Humanoids who were birthed from splotches of air magic. They are mostly made out of flesh and bone ut can sometimes be born with airy bodies, that literally act as air which makes it difficult to touch and do normal everyday things, this is a common disability within the Air Elemental community but to help with basic things, Elementals with this disability have been given magically crafted gloves that help with the intangibility. Their skin colours differ from different shades of light blue, grey and white. Their hair is made out of air and wind, literally. This is usually the case with the majority of Air Elementals and they don't really have any other hair textures apart from a cloudy, fluffy mass on their heads. These Elementals are also very social and friendly with the other races of Zaira.

All Elementals have the same lifespan, living up to around 100-150 years. They reach maturity when they are in their 60s.

⎯⎯ ୨ Mixed Ancestry ୧ ⎯⎯

Of course, mixed ancestry is a thing within these races with most hybrids having Human ancestry. All races and subspecies listed here are compatible with each other though the most common pairings are races that have more in common, as opposed to opposites attract. Some examples are Sun Elves/Fire Elementals, Wood Elves/Earth Elementals and Moon Elves/Water Elementals. It's not so common with Humans, however.

By far the most common pairings are Elemental/Elemental as it is a popular belief in Elemental culture that mixed babies are able to take on both of their parent's Element and become more powerful and while taking on both their parent's Element is true, it doesn't come in the form that Elementals have believed for a while, instead of having both powers separately, they form their own element from the mix of DNA. There are currently six mixed races within the Elemental community.

There are Smoke Elementals, a mix of Water + Fire parents. Their skin colours come in shades of black and grey and is also usually a hot skin temperature with a smooth texture. Their hair is literally smoke which can sometimes cause a coughing reaction from other races if they accidentally breathe the hair fumes in.

There are Fog Elementals, a mix of Water + Air parents. Their skin colours come in shades of light blue and white and is also usually an airy but smooth texture in the skin. Their hair is usually a soggier and damper version of Air Elementals' fluffy and bouncy hair which could cause a damp spell on other races who get too close.

There are Magma Elementals, a mix of Fire + Earth parents. Their skin colours come in shades of black which could sometimes crack and reveal streaks of deep orange lava. This is the result of a skin condition that is often found in Magma Elementals where their skin is hardened Magma which often cracks, showing bits of the lava that resides in their blood (Think of stretch marks or scars) and this is pretty painful without a special skin cream that they need to use. Their hair is either a gelatine textured lava flow from their scalp or it's crispy charcoal typically styled in dreadlocks.

There are Lightning Elementals, a mix of Air + Fire parents. Their skin colours come in shades of light blue and black and is also a slightly hot and statically texture. Their hair is usually just a mass of electric energy, static and lightning which causes it to be big, poofy and untamable. When other races are close for a while, their hair starts to lift up from the static energy and something that comes uncontrollable for Lightning Elementals are small electric shocks when they are touched.

There are Mud Elementals, a mix of Earth + Water parents. Their skin colours come in all shades of brown and have a slightly liquidy and lumpy skin texture. Their hair is usually a mop of liquified mud that is extremely messy and hard to deal with. Mud Elementals are often avoided by other races for fear that they might get dirty from their muddy textures.

And finally, there are Sand Elementals, a mix of Air + Earth parents. Their skin colours usually come in shades of light brown or dark yellow and have a rough but airy skin texture. Their hair is literally a mop of sand that runs down their face and shoulders in an hourglass manner, which is hard to style and deal with so not a lot try. Sand Elementals have a close Kinship with Sun Elves due to the Elves being used to sand and desert-like areas.

⎯⎯ ୨ Background Races ୧ ⎯⎯

Cyclopes

Cyclopes are a race of one-eyed giants who live a peaceful lifestyle, much like the Ceruleans. Cyclopes come in all pastel colours and typically only have three fingers on each hand. They are a very peaceful and kind race who share their land and culture with anyone who are willing to learn.

Orcs

Orcs are a race of nomadic people who are mostly categorised as barbarians. This stereotype has only stemmed from their intimidating appearance as not a lot of Orcs are bloodthirsty monsters. They don't actively seek out war but they will use their strength and intimidation skills to their advantage if they need to protect their homes or families. They have large tusks in their lower jaw and their common skin colour is green but they can also be red or even grey. The majority depends on what tribe they are from.

Gorgons

Gorgons are a solitary race of Humanoid figures with snakes for hair and the ability to turn anything they look at to stone. They were originally Humans but a Human named Dierdre was cursed by a Moon Elf due to an unfortunate misunderstanding, this Moon Elf used this curse quite often while cursing people which left the first Gorgons to find solace and comfort in each other, slowly morphing their curse into a valid race of Zaira.

#fantasy #dark fantasy #high fantasy #historical fantasy #non human #fantasy races #introduction #original species #original work

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browtaurus9 · 2 years

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Serious About Wow Server? 10 Explanation Why It's Time To Cease!

Blizzard is certainly one of the largest sport developers out there in terms of cash and safety. Gamers can delight in different content consisting of Cataclysm 4.3.4, WotLK 3.3.5, Movies of Pandaria 5.4.89, and Legion 7.3.5. The top factor in regards to the server is that the gameplay is not that differents from the official Blizzard WoW server. AZOV may play the Worlds of Warcraft recreation on the official Blizzard server or a personal WoW server. Actuality Check: The official World of Warcraft membership had really reached a peak of 5.5 million in the year 2015. The quantity of consumers is slowly reducing resulting from the popularity of non-public, totally free WoW servers. Plus, unlike different WOW servers out there, it has a low variety of banned objects. Low ping with hardware in Central Europe. Will the Dragon Soul raid be tuned below the assumption that now we have gear from Dragon Soul Looking for Raid? There are also PvP, PvE, and raid missions the place you may level up the gamer.

That's Ok, although. Similar to in the present tiers, once we get some heroics these ranges of mana administration might be relaxed somewhat. Welcome to Old style WoW, the reincarnation of Patches of Yesteryear -- the column that is magically again from the lifeless, just like these lengthy misplaced patches! This is a drastic step for WoW, however one that ought to solve the long-bemoaned low-population problem on many realms. For the servers having free transfers (listing after the break), if enough of the inhabitants does not switch the Hand of Kaplan will come down and swiftly split the overpopulated realms. Oceanic realms have had points for a very long time, but not less than the players there do have a chunk of servers dedicated to them. I'm simply leery of the fact that we've got yet to see any monk healing device kits on the market. This ensures gamers don't must spend real cash but also lets those that want all they'll get out of WOW do so at their own pace. The very best resolution could be to place a short notice like this into the sport itself, explaining what roleplaying is in such a way that players can simply decide if it's their thing or not, along with a hyperlink to a extra detailed web page if they need more info.

The server is among the very best. The server kind is Blizzlike, which implies that it is like the original. There were additionally lots of people who listed issues they'd like to see changed in WoW -- wishlists abound -- however we'll save that for the subsequent Group Weblog Subject coming quickly. Somebody may get sued, but who? It is possible to get ERROR 37 (The servers are busy, please strive again) when logging in if the servers are beneath heavy stress. This error literally means that the servers are busy and that it's best to strive once more, so please try once more in a minute or so! Authorized as it's, the server codes are all written with the help of open-source software in order that public availability is ensured. Fourth, you have got promoting dollars already in a funds that now must both be retooled or refunded because of the change in public perception and potential early critiques and sentiment that breaks about an unreleased title.

That is an administrative service that ought to have been obtainable from the start, for my part. Blizzard is aware of the issue, but presently has no ETA as to when it will likely be fixed. In actual fact, if you're on the fence about buying World of Warcraft, do not till Blizzard fixes these issues. FCC commissioner who dared to breathe the identify "World of Warcraft" in a speech pointing the finger at video video games as a major contributor to school drop-outs. If you wish to know why many RP servers these days really feel as though there isn't a RP taking place there at all, it helps to assume about the experience of a new WoW participant who signed into the sport for the primary time. You possibly can set the specified rates when setting up the account and in addition later within the video recreation. Players can set x1 & x2 charges to experiences the authentic WoW expertise. Look on the community of the realm when choosing a personal WoW server.

#Azov #wow servers #WOW PRIVATE SERVERS

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emmcarstairs · 3 years

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The Search for the Lost Husband: Blackdale as the Ballad of Tam Lin

(Art by Wylie Beckert)

“They were falling together. If she held on tight enough, she could bring him back, she thought, like Janet had done for Tam Lin in the old story.” (Chain of Iron)

Fairy tales have been with us since the dawn of time. They have provided foundation for some of the greatest stories we have come to know and love. The key to the success of fairy tale motifs is their resonance with our collective unconscious. All around the world, although sometimes with different symbols, fairy tales explore similar concepts.

Thanks to the Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index, we have a comprehensible catalogue of folk tales from every corner of the globe. The folk tales are divided into several classifications based on their motifs. One of these classifications is known as “The Search for the Lost Husband” or ATU 425, and “Beauty and the Beast” is one of its best known examples. In this analysis, we will take a look at the Scottish ballad of Tam Lin, which falls into this type of folk tales.

There are many versions of the tale since it’s centuries old but the basic outline is thus: A fair young maiden named Janet is the daughter of an earl and lives in a castle next to the forest of Carterhaugh. All the maidens have been warned against entering the enchanted woods for there dwells the faerie prince Tam Lin, waiting to take possession of their chastity. One day, Janet grows bored and being the headstrong woman she is, sets off to explore the forest on her own. In the magical woods, she attempts to pluck some flowers but then all of a sudden Tam Lin appears, demanding to know the reason behind her trespassing on his land. Unfazed, Janet claims that she is the rightful heir to Carterhaugh and she can do as she pleases. After this, Tam Lin takes Janet by the hand or her waist, and when she gets home, she discovers that she is pregnant.

Once her family realises her situation, they try to pressure her into a marriage of convenience but Janet refuses them. She returns back to the forest to question Tam Lin. He shares his tragic story: once he was a mortal man, but while travelling through the woods, he fell off his horse and was abducted by the Faerie Queen who forced him to serve her as one of her knights. He has been her captive for seven years and is concerned that on Halloween he will be offered as a sacrifice. Tam Lin reveals that Janet might be able to free him if she follows his set of instructions.

On Halloween, Janet is determined to rescue her beloved and goes back to the forest. There she sees several knights passing by but patiently waits until she recognizes Tam Lin by his white horse and him missing one of his gloves (his signal). She pulls him to the ground and holds him firmly, as instructed, while the Faerie Queen puts several spells on him, transforming him into various beasts which scratch and bite at Janet but she doesn’t let him go. Finally, the Queen turns him into a burning coal, which Janet plunges into a well. Tam Lin emerges as a naked mortal man and Janet, still following their plan, covers him with her cloak. The Faerie Queen admits defeat, crying how she should have given him a heart made of stone and eyes made of wood.

I believe it is already obvious how much inspiration CC must have drawn from this folk tale. The prologue of ChoG is essentially a re-imagining of its beginning.

Lucie Herondale is the daughter of Will Herondale, “a very important person”, in Lucie’s own words. The Herondales live in their Manor next to Brocelind Forest. One night, just as the woods seem to glow, Lucie ventures to go on a walk. Like Janet, she plucks some flowers, only she arranges them into crowns. In fact, the text stresses that this is the first activity she undertakes in the forest. Eventually, she gets lost and falls into a pit which is coded as a grave with its gleaming white bone. Lucie is caught in a place between life and death, and naturally, enter Jesse Blackthorn who is himself on the threshold.

Jesse introduces the faerie motif from the get-go, which prompts Lucie to assume that he is indeed a faerie himself. (In ChoI, she refers to him as “a beautiful faerie prince”.) He even tells her that if the faerie gentry caught her, she might have to be their servant forever, which is an allusion to Tam Lin’s tragic fate and his own if we consider the Fairy Queen to be Tatiana/Belial. Lucie then brings up her lineage, her “royal blood” as hinted at even in her monologue, demanding that she be rescued, not unlike Janet who used her birthright as a leverage against Tam Lin. Which leads us to Jesse taking her by the hand, as also found in some versions of the ballad. This contact is important because it symbolizes union. From this point onward, the ballad treats Tam Lin and Janet as lovers. Of course, this is not the literal case in ChoG. But figuratively, Lucie’s encounter with Jesse will stay with her until she meets him again on equal footing.

Interestingly enough, when Lucie and Jesse meet again in 1903, exactly seven years have passed since he has been dead / a captive of the Fairy Queen. Jesse’s death is a metaphorical slumber in which he has fallen owing to Tatiana/Belial’s doings. According to Tam Lin, every seven years the faerie folk offers a tither to Hell and because he is a mortal by nature, he fears that he will be the one sacrificed. Therefore, the time has come for a major turning point (which we witnessed in ChoI).

In “The Search for the Lost Husband”, the motif of recognizing one’s beloved is quite common. The ballad of Tam Lin is no exception. We also find it in ChoI, even though it’s more toned down! Lucie has to piece together the facts about Jesse’s backstory as well as the identity of the killer. She is the first one who realizes that Jesse’s body has been used for ill intentions by seeing the runes on his body. Funny how in the ballad the absence of an object is the telltale signal, while in The Last Hours - it’s the presence of runes and blood. While Lucie is preparing herself to dive the sword into Jesse’s body, she acknowledges that the remnants before her are not her Jesse. Her Jesse is the ghost who visits her at night. In ATU 425, the groom is usually human only at night. Thus, she has successfully recognized her lover, which later allows her to face Belial, the Fairy Queen in our story (although I believe both Tatiana and Belial play this role).

In order to bring Jesse back to the mortal realm, she exorcises Jesse’s body from Belial’s anchor. In fairy tales, there is the motif of burning the beast’s skin as a means of breaking the enchantment upon the beast man (e.g. Luke burning Darth Vader’s armor so that Anakin Skywalker may live on). Jesse’s body is virtually his beast’s skin for it was used by a demon and made a murderer in ChoI. In the ballad of Tam Lin, a similar concept is observed - Tam Lin’s body is transformed into a fiery coal. The theme of fire as a cleansing force is observed across mythologies. Water has healing properties as well - Janet is instructed to hurl the coal into a body of water. By using fire and water, Janet baptizes the fallen prince, severing his connection with the faerie realm. Lucie relies on her own powers to purge Jesse of Belial’s dark energy, effectively removing his anchor which has been preventing her from truly accessing Jesse’s soul.

At the end of the ballad, the Fairy Queen is upset about her defeat and laments the loss of Tam Lin. In ChoI, we have glimpses of Tatiana and Belial’s sour mood after Jesse is no longer in their clutches. However, while the ballad ends here, ChoI is only the second book in a trilogy. Where do we go from here? We shall see.

Thank you for reading! I’d be glad to hear your thoughts!

P.S. Now that you’re familiar with Janet’s last instruction - wrapping Tam Lin’s body with her mantle - the fact that Jesse was wrapped in Matthew’s medium-ridiculous overcoat is even funnier. Fingers crossed that this doesn’t jinx it all!

#lucie herondale #jesse blackthorn #blackdale #luciejesse #chain of iron #chain of gold #the last hours #tlh #chog #coi #coi spoilers #tlh analyses

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recurring-polynya · 3 years

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What are your thoughts on Bazz-B? He and Renji seemed to have developed a good rapport and I feel that they would’ve been good frenemies had be survived. I can imagine them exchanging fashion tips which would have interesting results!

I imagine that in another universe, they could have been friends, but I feel like the fact that Bazz grievously injured/ambiguously killed one of Renji’s best friends would put a big damper on that.

I really, really, really do not like the Sternritters. I don’t even like them as villains. Out of them, Bazz is probably the least objectionable, but I still don’t like him.

Here are a few thoughts on why, but I’m gonna put them under a cut, because that’s my policy when I say critical things about characters. If you like the Sternritters, I’m glad for you and please feel free to skip the rest of this post!

One of the major themes of Bleach has always been about moral ambiguity, that people are rarely pure heroes or villains. In the earliest episodes, Rukia warns Ichigo to kill Hollows from behind, to never try to glimpse the person they once were, advice that Ichigo roundly rejects as he’s constant turns enemies into friends/allies. This works really well at the beginning of the series and... less well each time we got through this.

My understanding is that Kubo’s original plan for Bleach ended after the Soul Society Arc, and that makes sense to me, because it seems so well plotted out to me, and then the subsequent arcs just seems to try to be recapturing the magic. The thing that is coolest to me about this arc is that the shinigami characters have real depth, and that our initial impressions of them are insufficient. The Gotei is going through an existential crisis, where an injustice (Rukia’s execution) is being prosecuted, and in addition, Aizen has laid a groundwork of mistrust and misinformation. You have characters like Renji, Kira, and Hinamori, who are torn between their orders and deep personal feelings. You have bystanders like Hisagi and Komamura, who don’t really have skin in the game, but feel a sense of unease about the way things are going. You have characters who seem sympathetic-- when Aizen comforts Hinamori that Renji won’t be fired, and the fact that Tousen seems to be someone who would be on the side of justice if only he had the full story, that turn out to be disingenuous. Then you have characters like Kenpachi, who, at least in the second half of the arc, is on Ichigo’s side, but not really for any noble reason, just because he likes Ichigo and also he wants an excuse to fight other captains. There’s Kurotsuchi, who is nominally on the side of the good guys, but is not, in fact, a good person. By the end of the arc, I feel like Kubo has done a really good job of presenting a diverse group of people who live in a flawed system and who were played by someone who took advantage of that. I have no objection at all to the idea that Ichigo considers many of the shinigami his friends afterward, including a very strong friendship with Renji, who is presented as a villain initially.

The Arrancar arc, is more of a mixed bag for me. I still think it mostly works. Arrancar are not humans. They follow Aizen, but in some ways, they are also his victims-- post-Arc, I don’t find myself begrudging any of the surviving Espada for having gone along with him. They are Hollows, and they come from a life of violence and anger and brutality. They have risen above that, which means different things to the various Espada. Harribel, Starkk and Nel are all sympathetic, even tragic characters. Nnoitra and Szyalapollo are monstrous, but in the way that terrible humans are monstrous. Grimmjow is an interesting character, because he falls somewhere in the middle.

I read a fair amount of GrimmIchi fic, because a) it often features Renruki as a side ship and b) there are a lot of really, really talented GrimmIchi writers, but I do not love the ship for it’s own sake, and it’s mainly for one reason: Grimmjow purposely hurt Ichigo’s friends in front of him, and I do not think that’s a thing Ichigo would take lightly. Now, one of the things that make GrimmIchi writers so good is that they are often willing to do the heavy lifting of examining Grimmjow’s brutality, and way Ichigo views the Hollow within himself (for some people, this is even one of the attractions of the pairing). We get a lot of canon scenes with Grimmjow in various situations-- when he backtalks Aizen, when he “rescues” Orihime from Loly and Menoly, when he tries to get her to heal Ichigo just so he can fight him again, when we see him willing to fight his fellow Espada. He’s a meaty character and there’s a lot to dig into. I would still, someday, like to see Ichigo say, “Hey Grimmjow, y’know, you badly hurt my friend Rukia and it messed me up a bunch and I am having trouble getting over it,” and for Grimmjow to have to deal with that. (Polynya, you say, didn’t Rukia kill one of Grimmjow’s Fraccion like 5 minutes earlier? Yes, she did, and whether Grimmjow would respond with “yeah, well, Rukia killed my friend and it hurt my feelings too!” vs. “yeah, well, Rukia killed my friend and you don’t see me crying about it!” are both really interesting ways you could take this)

ANYWAY, getting back to the Quincy. From our earliest introduction to Uryuu in the series, we know that Quincy ought to have a legitimate beef with Soul Society. For starters, there is their underlying philosophical difference: Quincy don’t think that the shinigami do enough to protect the Living World, and they have taken matters into their own hands. They want to see Hollows annihilated, rather than purified. Then, on top of that, the shinigami eradicated their people, and treated them like lab rats. You could spin a lot of gold out of this, but instead, we got the Thousand Year Blood War Arc.

The Quincy are, basically humans with powers, and yet they are extremely bloodthirsty and cruel. We see Bambietta killing people to blow off steam, they take glee in killing lesser opponents (both Hollow and shinigami), As Nodt tortures Byakuya rather than just killing him cleanly, Giselle takes over Bambietta’s body in a horrifying way. Yhwach chastises Yamamoto for having “gone soft”, and says “you used to be cooler when you were a murderer.” The Vandenreich isn’t about justice or improving the system, it’s just about revenge and power and proving racial superiority. Are y’all ready for the hottest take I have ever had? Here it is: The Bount Arc, which is bad and should feel bad, provided a more well-characterized and relatable set of villains than the Thousand Year Blood War Arc.

I mentioned earlier that out of all the Sternritter, Bazz is the best of a bad lot. He gets some good flashbacks and his story evokes both Renji and Rukia’s childhood relationship as well as Gin and Rangiku’s. He's shown hating Yhwach in his youth, but then it’s never really followed up on. Nothing about this works to make me like Bazz, though, it just makes me feel like Yhwach is terrible, a person who ruins lives in both big and small ways.

I honestly hate the scenes where Bazz and Renji banter. Up until this point of the story arc, we have been slammed over and over with how much worse the Quincy are than previous villains. They cause massive destruction, they maim and kill beloved characters. Then, halfway through the arc, Kubo suddenly tries to start walking this back. Byakuya and Kenpachi were supposed to never fight again, but, uhhhh, Byakuya got healed in the Royal Realm and Kenpachi... got better? Look, we fixed Kira! Mayuri brings everyone back as zombies, that’s cool? Let’s have some banter, ha ha, the Quincy are fun! I don’t want to blame Kubo on this because he wasn’t feeling well and also, all of this smacks of editorial pressure, but it doesn’t sit well with me. It seems out of character to me for Renji to joke with someone who has hurt his friends and destroyed his home, and I sometimes justify it in my mind by saying that Renji probably doesn’t know that Bazz was the one who hurt Kira, but in some ways that makes things worse.

To be honest, a much better way to humanize the Quincy would have been to do so through Uryuu. One of the huge flaws of this arc is that there is so little focus on him, the character who ought to tie all this together. Uryuu has been harping for years that shinigami are his enemy and that he’s proud of his heritage. This is literally exactly what he has always says he wanted, and the fact that I, the reader, never believed for a microsecond that his loyalties were divided speaks to how awful the Quincy must be. How did Yhwach first approach Uryuu? It would have been cool to be introduced to the Vandenreich via the narrative device of Uryuu’s introduction. Was anyone nice to him? Do the Quincy have any redeeming value? What if there had been a scene where Bazz-B is goofing around, maybe training with someone, and Uryuu says to himself, “He reminds me of Renji and I hate all of the feelings that are currently in my body”? That would make a cool fanfic, actually, and anyone who wants can have that idea because I will never, ever write fanfic about the Sternritter.

Finally, on a note about fashion, the Sternritter uniforms (along with all their other symbolism) skirts way too close to “Nazi” for my tastes, and one more thing I hate about them is that they have retroactively ruined Uryuu’s aesthetic for me.

#tybwa #sorry i am sure this is not the answer you wanted

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the-witchs-book · 3 years

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Horoscope Tarot of the Month

These will not be daily. It takes too much energy in these old witch bones of mine to conjure up a daily reading for ALL of the horoscopes, so I'm doing a monthly one.... if I remember. Again, am old witch.

Aries (March 21 - April 19) Sign: The Ram Element: Fire Card: Minor Arcana - Four of Swords, Reversed Meaning: You are being forced to seclude yourself by other means than yourself. You're either imprisoned in the literal sense or in the metaphoric sense of a relationship, either platonic, romantic, or familial. This could also mean you've been excluded from a social group you were once a part of. It's time to accept that this phase of your life is over and to start searching for new opportunities in the future.

Taurus (April 20 - May 20) Sign: The Bull Element: Earth Card: Minor Arcana - Page of Cups, Reversed Meaning: There is a negative person in your life that harbors a grudge for selfish reasons. They are bitter and reacts to small (or imagined) things with furious hatred and even revenge. This person can even be yourself. The Page of Cups reversed may indicate that it's time to let go of grudges or bitterness before they can poison you and make you deeply depressed or even physically ill.

Gemini (May 21 - June 20) Sign: The Twins Element: Air Card: Major Arcana No. IX - The Shaman Meaning: It's time to be prudent and removed yourself from current situations. Become an onlooker rather than a participant. This will allow you have a clearer evaluation before making decisions. When the Shaman appears, it means it is time for careful planning rather than action. This could also mean it's time for a necessary self-isolation in order to draw inward on yourself and reflect on present situation and future plans. Look forward to future illumination from within.

Cancer (June 21 - July 22) Sign: The Crab Element: Water Card: Minor Arcana - King of Swords Meaning: The King of Swords calls upon you to develop within you the element of air, especially your mental powers, the intellectual capacity of developing strategies to make the changes you want. When this card appears, it may indicate that a mature individual is about to be influential in your life. They have very high moral ideals, is an intellectual, and a charismatic leader with great personal strength and dynamism. This person will help instigate great changes in your life.

Leo (July 23 - August 22) Sign: The Lion Element: Fire Card: Major Arcana No. VII - The Chariot, Reversed Meaning: You are collapsing under pressure and losing your self-control. Your aggression is being channeled in the wrong direction - wildly at other people, at fate, at circumstances. This is a complete waster of your energy and resources. Redefine your aggression as determination and willpower, stop clinging weakly to unrewarding ideas, habits, people, and objects - and move forward.

Virgo (August 23 - September 22) Sign: The Maiden Element: Earth Card: Minor Arcana - Four of Wands Meaning: The Four of Wands indicates that you have put a lot of hard work into a project and are now starting to reap the rewards. You have earned a rest but will soon have to start work again. However, you should be wary of rushing things, pay attention to detail, and make sure you have enough support and financial backing to see things through to completion. On a personal level, this card indicates that the demands of a relationship will ease off and will become more happy and harmonious. For the unattached... romance is in the air.

Libra (September 23 - October 22) Sign: The Scales Element: Air Card: Minor Arcana - Three of Wands Meaning: The Three of Wands indicates that you are entitle to celebrate the initial success of a project. Things have gone well so far, and you were lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. However, though the foundations have been well laid, you will need to put in a lot of hard work and creative energy. Be flexible, as it may become necessary to modify or improve the original idea. This can be an exciting period when you will be stretched and challenged and will achieve more than you ever thought possible.

Scorpio (October 23 - November 21) Sign: The Scorpion Element: Water Card: Major Arcana No. XII - The Sacrifice, Reversed Meaning: If the Sacrifice card appears reversed, it indicates that you have become obsessed with control. You are letting many opportunities pass you by for fear of losing those things you already have, whether they are useful to you or not. You may be storing a lot of useless junk, in all senses, because you are loath to let anything go. You may be trying to control the lives of you family, children, or friends to suit yourself, rather than in a true desire for the best for them. This card is warning you that you are in danger of becoming obsessed with small details, with cataloging things and putting them in order, and missing out on the bigger picture. Though details may be fascinating, you also need to step back and look at the whole picture.

Sagittarius (November 22 - December 21) Sign: The Archer Element: Fire Card: Minor Arcana - Queen of Wands Meaning: The influence of the Queen of Wands may make itself felt in your life in the form of an actual woman. She is friendly and warm, but forthright and even a bit bossy. The Queen of Wands may even be a successful career woman, as she is imaginative and creative, or she may focus on many talents on her home and children. This card calls on you to sustain you vision and nurture your spirit. It is time to develop the qualities of independence, creativity, and warmth.

Capricorn (December 22 - January 19) Sign: The Sea Goat Element: Earth Card: Major Arcana No. XXI - The World Tree Meaning: The World Tree represents not only the whole cosmos, but is the central axis that links all three realms. This axis does not exist in any physical place, but can be created anywhere by the conscious will of the magician. By aligning oneself with the axis mundi, they are aligned with the center of the universe and through it have access to all realms. At the deepest levels, you will travel to various realms of consciousness in order to gain knowledge and personal teaching from Otherworldly beings. On the mundane level, the World Tree marks the successful completion of some venture, achieving something that you worked hard for: the successful end of a cycle of events. You will be rewarded for your efforts - it's time to celebrate. On a higher level, the World Tree demonstrates the Oneness and interconnection of all things, their equal importance and their myriad possibilities. This is an ideal, rather than something we can attain on a day-to-day basis - we're only human, after all. However, it is something we can glimpse at certain special moments and sense its harmony, its reconciliation of opposites.

Aquarius (January 20 - February 18) Sign: The Water Bearer Element: Air Card: Minor Arcana - Five of Cups Meaning: When the Five of Cups appears, it indicates that you are wallowing in regret for something you have lost and ignoring what you still have left, which may be more valuable in the long run. This card often indicates a marriage or a love affair gone wrong, leading to unhappiness and perhaps separations, but in this card the situation is not terminal; there is something that can be retrieved. You seem to be trying to avoid making decisions, hoping that by ignoring a situation, it will go away. But inaction may prove fatal in the sense that you will only deepen your regret and making the situation more absolute.

Pisces (February 19 - March 20) Sign: The Koi Fish Element: Water Card: Minor Arcana - Three of Swords Meaning: The Three of Swords indicates that things have reached rock bottom. Your life is taken up with quarrels and upheavals. You feel great sorrow at the dissolution of cherished friendships and relationships; partnerships are breaking up, and separations and divorce are possible. You may feel that you have reached the limits of your endurance. Do not despair, this situation has arisen because things could not go on forever as they were. Things are out in the open now and you can only get better from this point. If you work magically, or spiritually, with other people, this card indicates the endings of such groups and partnerships. But this is a necessary step you must take to reach a new chapter of your life.

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komoryriku · 4 years

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Is Kairi Capable of Mind Manipulation? : Kairi’s Letters and the Power they May Hold

So. I have some personal theories about Kairi that I need to get off my chest. There’s a lot. Above is a scene from the KH3 opening that I will be breaking down later but for now, please keep it in mind as we go… 

First of all, I’m so relieved that finally it’s been revealed that Kairi was a pawn in Xehanort’s schemes, now I don’t have to waste time arguing for that. All I will say is that evidence of this has been here since kh1:

Okay, moving on.

What does Kairi do exactly? Not too much on screen, but here’s what we know so far. -She holds the power of a princess of heart… maybe. -She is sent out to Destiny Islands to draw out the key blade bearer (Riku) -She writes letters to Sora. -She is closely connected to Namine, loosely connected to Xion, and figuratively comparable to Aqua. -She claims her memories of home are a little hazy for her. -She loves Sora as a friend. -She becomes Sora’s Chirithy.

If you want to know ahead of time what my ultimate theory is, here you go: Kairi has magic powers of memory or mind manipulation, and her letters, specifically, are manipulating Sora. If you wanna see me break down why I think this, here we go.

Pre-requisites to this theory:

I would very much prefer not to have to regurgitate certain things that are common knowledge to people in the soriku fandom and kh in general. This analyst is subscribed to the idea that Kingdom Hearts is written with queer coding and gay intent, that Riku is the Light, the Sleeping Realm theory is truth, that Sora and Riku will be romantically linked in the end. My reasoning is based on my own two eyes as well as the meta discourse surrounding these readings among like-minds, so if you have time, please read:

-Obligatory Sleeping Realm Theory Link -The Necklace Theory (Which is just canon but still not explicit in game) -Queer CoM Analysis

Okay, onward!

Parallels:

We do not know much about Kairi as of yet, but what the games do give us is a string of VERY major, obvious Parallels. We are asked over the course of several games to compare Kairi to 3 specific girls: Namine. Xion. Aqua.

Let me break these down. Again, I’m so glad they finally revealed she’s a pawn so this parallel breakdown isn’t even half as long as it would’ve been otherwise hahah.

Namine.

Namine is said to be Kairi’s nobody. There is so much I find suspicious about that but for the sake of staying on topic, I won’t get into it, that’s another theory for another day (though I will flirt with it the speculation section). More importantly, she is objectively, directly associated with Kairi and the plot begs us to draw very close parallels between her and Kairi.

Namine has special powers. She can manipulate Sora’s memories and the memories of those close to him. The characters believe she can do this because she was formed from Kairi’s heart and Sora’s body, and I don’t know if that’s true, but I do take for granted that she is a nobody formed from Sora’s sacrifice and that her powers exist because of her connection with Kairi. Either way, what does she actually do?

Namine spends her days surrounded by white walls, drawing pictures on paper that seemingly have the power to manipulate Sora’s memories. This is a pretty specific skill she has, and if you ask me her art style is pretty advanced for a nobody who wasn’t even formed that long ago. She has the artistic eye to include reflective lighting in her work, which is not only beautiful and colorful but in my experience, it’s something a lot of young artists don’t even think to consider as beginners. If nothing else though, its a very specific style. I will be bringing this back up later for some really fun speculation.

These drawings she does are beautiful but also specifically are tied to her powers to manipulate memories.

What we also know about Namine is that she is being used for her powers against her will. Better analysts have covered this already so I will simply say Namine is a good and caring person who has magical manipulative powers that people were abusing her for. She betrayed her captors by the end of COM by refusing to hurt Sora any longer. All the while being tied back to Kairi. What they were making her do though, was manipulate Sora’s memories to replace all images of Kairi with herself… but also certain memories of Riku. Specifically, the memory of Riku swearing an oath to protect Sora as he gave Sora his crown necklace during the meteor shower (seriously, please read those pre-req theories). And ever since her debut, the games have never allowed us to stray from connecting her back very directly to Kairi. Namine is the most literal of parallels. Please keep all of this in mind for later.

Xion.

Xion, conceptually, is an extremely complicated character. She is tied to Kairi in ways that are not as literal as Namine, but she is still very closely associated with her. Once again, far better analysts can explain her better than I can, but here are the most important notes I will make about her:

-Xion is a puppet containing Sora’s memories. -The memories creating Xion are a complex amalgam of memories related to Sora himself, Kairi, and Riku.

All we really need to note for this Kairi Theory Essay is that Xion is another Kairi parallel that is directly associated with missing/manipulated memories as well. She is inadvertently taking these memories from Roxas, the Sora parallel, whom she is copied from, and these memories specifically belong to Sora. Twice in a row, Nomura has told us Kairi parallels are related to Sora’s memories being affected.

That’s all we really need to know for now, but I will also speculate further on Xion in relation to this theory later.~

Aqua

Aqua is not a literal Kairi parallel the way that Namine and Xion are. Aqua has no direct ties to Kairi the way they do, and her character is entirely original and not related to Kairi. However, Aqua is still figuratively a Kairi parallel, due to the role she plays in her story. I’ve already broken down elsewhere what role she plays that is meant to mirror Kairi, but the tl;dr of that is Aqua was set up as a pawn to observe, draw out her friends, and create a division between them. Like Kairi as well, she is not to be defined by these acts, because she truly loves her friends and dedicated her heart’s power to protecting them and saving them. She protects Ven’s body the way Kairi protected Sora’s bodily form. She also works to keep Ven from breaking by telling him he has always lived here with them and Eraqus, the same way Kairi as a Chirithy works to help Sora by taking his memory of Riku’s sacrifice away. Once again, even with the loosest of Kairi parallels, we see memory manipulation at play with the Sora parallel.

Chirithy

I will keep this short because I hope that you read the Sleeping Realm Theory and I also trust that you have the critical thinking skills to understand this symbolic (and literal) concept easily lol. Kairi is Sora’s chirithy the way Riku is Sora’s dream eater. A Chirithy is a specific kind of dream eater, however. A chirithy is made to follow you as your companion, and they specifically lead you into new timelines, taking away the traumatic memories you gained that caused the timeline to shift. We see this play out in KHUX, and with controversy, as the chirithies themselves discuss whether or not it’s actually morally okay for them to take those memories. Although that is a question, Kairi’s instincts are, in my opinion, purely and sweetly to protect Sora. She promised to keep him safe, (I’ve been supposing at that point in the loop she knew she was a Chirithy, and she most certainly was his chirithy by then either way given the ears on her hood appearing after Sora’s dream drop occurred). She does take Sora’s traumatic memories away, it is her job to do so, and I believe she does this solely because she means well and wants to keep him safe and smiling, as her letter to Sora suggests.

Unfortunately, what this specifically does though, is removes Sora’s memory of Riku’s sacrifice. It is stolen from him in that sense. Not only that, but because Sora’s memory of Riku’s sacrifice was taken, in spite of the event being etched onto his heart, and the pain of it being scarred into it, Sora credits Kairi as the source of the light he is following in the darkness. We know for a fact that that light is Riku’s because we saw the sacrifice, we remember it, we saw Sora call to it as Riku and receive a response, we even see Kairi twirl in front of the light and back away from it to lead Sora into it because it is not her light. Kairi, in a very literal way, has replaced Riku in Sora’s mind regarding who his light is. Kairi herself does not do this, it is Sora who fools himself because his memory was taken, but nevertheless, Kairi has just replaced Riku in Sora’s thoughts regarding this light and erased his memory of Riku’s sacrifice.

I will suggest more Things in the speculation section~

Now that all of that is out of the way, Lets Talk About Kairi’s Letters.

What do they do? Well, objectively, we do not know. That’s why this is a theory lol. But regardless of any magic or manipulation, letters are a means of forging a connection with others. Letters to friends by nature are words from the heart intended for someone you care about.

But literally speaking in the series, Kairi’s letters do something a little more special. In kh2 they forge a literal connection to Sora from Kairi. Sora is “trapped” in the dark realm with Riku, but pretty content to be so. No door opened, and that was the ending they had happily resigned to. It is not until Sora reads Kairi’s letter, emphasized by the camera, that the door to light opens. At the very least, we know for sure that manipulation or not, Kairi’s letters are capable of doing that much…

Kairi also tells us she writes letters to Sora and doesn’t even send them. For whatever reason, however, she sent the letter in Kh2 as soon as she remembered who Sora was post his reconstruction. And this is pretty much all we know for sure.

If I say “Kairi’s letters are manipulating Sora” thats rather jumping to conclusions, cuz obviously there are missing pieces. All we have is: Kairi—>Letters—> ___ —>Sora.

That’s not enough to make the conclusion. But that’s where those handy dandy parallels come in.

Namine—> Drawings—> Manipulate—>Sora Xion—->Memories—-> Borrowed—> (Roxas—>) Sora Aqua—-> White Lies—> Distract—> Ven Chirithy----> Memories----> Taken----> Keyblade Wielder

So as you can see, the missing piece that fits the puzzle, isn’t so hard to theory-craft. Especially between Namine and Kairi. It is a jump to a conclusion, but it is far from a leap. True or not, this is my working theory.

So it’s time for speculation.  Things that I have been exploring on the other side of that “leap”.

Kairis letters

Let’s start with the first letter we get to read from Kairi.

Pretty sweet sentiments right? But here is the thing about some of those lines in particular… “Many worlds sharing the same sky” is something Sora has already heard… from Riku.

Not to mention, something about this dark realm scene in Kh2 always bothered me… Sora is seemingly in utter bliss with Riku in the dark realm.

He does wanna get Riku home but if they’re stuck here, they are not complaining. And then the camera lingers for a pretty long time on Riku handing Sora that letter. That usually means they want me to notice it and consider it… Okay, time to consider it.~

The letter pretty certainly opened the door to light by forging a connection to Sora from the light world with Kairi. Sora was so content that he wasn’t even connecting to home. Not until he read this nice letter from his friend Kairi. There is nothing manipulative about that on its own… but we have been asked by the games to parallel Kairi to Namine so I think it’s fair to suggest Kairi’s creative writing should really be considered thoughtfully the way Namine’s drawings are. The most basic logic is these letters are affecting Sora’s mind in some way. What further leads me to think this? The only thing Sora was even thinking about in this scene before reading that letter was Riku. Riku’s company, Riku’s injury, Riku’s happiness, Riku, Riku, Riku. And then as someone else pointed out here, Sora sees Kairi in the light world after reading this letter and leaves Riku to struggle to shore on his own.

This doesn’t have to mean anything but we know Riku is injured, We know the Sun is Riku’s symbol, and Sora is running from Riku, eclipsing the Sun, and rushing back to shore where Kairi is waiting to welcome him home. It is jarring when you think about it. How did Sora go from thinking about nothing else BUT Riku to leaving him with a probably-broken-hip to struggle to shore on his own? It is no wonder Riku is always left to think he is going to be alone in life and he has no choice but to struggle out of the darkness on his own.

This mirrors something in particular….

The scene of Sora losing Riku to the darkness in the KH1 opening…

Followed by shot for shot re-animation of Sora chasing Riku’s Light in the KH3 Dive to the Heart.

And something about the scene in Kh1 always really bothered me… Sora was worried sick about Riku when he lost him to the sea- only to suddenly be happy and appear blissfully ignorant of Riku disappearing the moment he sees Kairi. As if he just suddenly forgot about him upon seeing her.

And I think the parallels speak for themselves. (Don’t forget about that beach scene in the Kh3 op either... we are getting to that.)

I’m not saying Kairi and her letters make Sora forget about Riku, but…

I’m also not saying Kairi’s letters replace memories of Riku with herself, I actually don’t know that there’s enough here to make that statement likely… So I won’t… say that…

(I hope you read those pre-req’s because I’m going to assume you speak the KH language regarding Sora, Riku, and Kairi vs, water, land and air, vs Light/Dark, the Sun, the Moon, Dawn, Sunset, Night… all that good stuff.)

Now let’s talk about her letter in 3.

Oh this is interesting. Repeating motifs. Almost as though the game is trying to tell us something crucial.

Full transcript of Kairi’s KH3 letter to Sora that she has no intention of sending:

I'm sorry I left without saying good-bye. Did Master Yen Sid tell you? I'm training to become a Keyblade wielder like you.  That's right. No more waiting for you to come back from your adventures.  I want to get out there and do my part to help.  Merlin has used his magic to bring us to a place where time doesn't matter. We can take as long as we need to complete our training. He's an amazing wizard.  Oh, and by "us," I mean me and lea.  He's really sorry for all the trouble he caused. I told him it's fine, but he won't stop apologizing.  I'll admit I was a little scared of him at first, but I've gotten to know him better. All he ever wanted was to help his friend.  Honestly, it's hard not to like him.  Every now and then, I catch him staring at me. When I ask what's wrong, he says, "I'm not sure. I think I'm forgetting something. Don't know what."  Sora, I think it may have something to do with you.  Your journey is all about helping people: some that you've never met before, and some like Lea that you have. They're all counting on you.  It won't be easy, but I hope you'll remain the happy and cheerful Sora I know.  There's no heart your smile can't reach.

In particular, this letter goes on and on about Lea and how he has turned over a new leaf and deserves forgiveness. Personally, I took this to mean Kairi is really hoping Sora will forgive her for the part she was forced to play in Xehanort’s plot, perhaps her writing even influencing his mind to do so via urging him to forgive Lea. You may notice that this would imply that Kairi is fully aware of her role in Norty Nort’s plot. And to that I say yes, it sure would. But not as much as her leading Sora around to her various “heart” pieces like a moth to the wrong flame in Re:Mind.

Anyway, this is not a letter she intends to send to Sora, and she makes a note of this to Lea, even when he tells her plainly that Merlin will deliver it for her. If we keep in mind that Namine’s art doesn’t even need to be seen by Sora for the mind tricks to work, then perhaps- Sora really doesn’t even need to receive this letter for its influence to work. This would rather make her frantic attempt to send the letter in Kh2 a little strange, but consider this: Her close connections to Sora are potentially based very heavily on these letters. Especially if some of her connections are based on making him forget Riku at various points. Having forgotten Sora in Kh2 until he was reconstructed, and considering that Sora barely reacts to her reunion hug with him, it rather makes a lot of sense that Kairi needed to forge a new connection with him, via one of her letters. In that case, Sora needed to actually read it.

KH3 OP

Beach Scene

Now, finally, I want to talk about that part of the Kh3 opening I mentioned at the very beginning. We are back. Once again, I trust you speak the language of Kh symbolism.

This section begins with Kairi suddenly appearing against a bright white background. Forgive me if I suggest hey, that reminds me of Namine’s white walls, or some blank pages... Next, Sora appears in the empty white environment, which remains white until, seemingly, their eyes meet. And THEN, after that delay, the world of Destiny Islands starts rendering in like a game slowly loading a world on a slow engine. Once again, the motif of Sora standing in the ocean, and running up to Kairi on the shore takes place. He is happy to see her. Perhaps he thinks he found the Light that Chirithy told him to search for. Hey this time Kairi is even running into the sea to meet him instead of waiting for him, just like she said! good for her~. Anyway. As they run out to meet each other, however, lightning strikes. Sora doesn’t see it, but he clearly senses it in some way and stops, (didn’t someone once tell Sora to mind what he hears and not what he sees?~). The camera then zooms out to reveal Sora and Kairi as pieces on a chess board in Nort and Eraqus’ game. Now, this essayist takes for granted that Riku is the Light cuz the text says so. Because of that, my first instinct is to say the purple lighting that we saw represents Riku. A forgotten, heartbroken, lonely Riku. Lightning being one of the most destructive forms of light after all, and Riku would be particularly hurt to know that Sora has forgotten him.

Where is Riku?

What is really interesting about this opening is the severe, odd, lack of Riku. He is missing throughout most of it but in particular when Sora is fighting Xemnas. In the opening for Dream Drop Distance, Riku is very much there, and the animations of him harmoniously fighting with Sora, as well as protecting Sora, self sacrificially are prominent, are there because they want you to remember exactly what happened in that scene and what Riku did.

Only for that to be absent from Sora’s boss battle review sequence in Kh3’s opening. At first, I found his absence annoying but now I’ve come to realize there is a reason for it. The popular theory is that it relates to Sora’s memories being taken away. Riku’s sacrifice most certainly was one of them, thanks to Kairi as his chirithy, but that’s not the memory missing from the opening sequence. It’s basically Riku in general outside of the fall of Destiny Islands, the cast shot, and the shot of him walking into the light from shadow. There isn’t a review of previous games in which Riku played the crucial role he did, and nothing from Dream Drop Distance. To that I personally say, this is most likely foreshadowing that Sora will lose ALL his memories of Riku- as his entry fee to play the Reaper’s Game in Shibuya… Oh yes, TWEWY is also a pre-requisite for this theory lol but you should also play it in general cuz it’s a great story and if nothing else is obviously crucial to what comes next in Kingdom Hearts. Highly speculative, but my assumption is that once Sora beats the game and Joshua returns all of his memories, he will give Sora EVERYTHING back, including anything Kairi has removed as his chirithy or anything she has manipulated as herself.

Further Parallel Speculation

Remember when I said I’d love to elaborate? Well here we are~ We’re gonna get super gay too.

Namine:

Namine is a figure that represents, to me, a brilliant use of queer coding about a queer struggle known as compulsory heterosexuality (or comp-het for short as I’ll be repeating this term a lot). If you made it this far and aren’t lgbt savvy then I’ll tell you that comp-het means compulsively feeling attraction to someone of the opposite sex based on heteronormative conditioning. As Sora roams through Castle Oblivion, he is constantly finding himself misplacing memories of Kairi onto Namine followed by eventually memories of Riku onto Namine. This is one of the most literal depictions of the comp-het phenomenon I’ve ever seen, and it is BOLDLY placed in a mainstream video game from the year 2003. It’s quite admirable in my opinion. Namine’s abilities grant us a convoluted plot so confusing that most people will not understand right away, but to the queer eye familiar with comp-het, it provides a strong implication that Sora may be even more confused than we think about who it is he is in love with. To illustrate, it means Sora thinks he likes Kairi romantically cuz society told him being straight is the default way we live. In actuality, he is projecting his feelings for Riku onto Kairi, (with Riku doing the same until COM and onward), and in COM, those Riku->Kairi feelings are projected onto Namine. She creates another layer of distance between them. But even without her presence, Kairi is still there between them, a question that begs to be answered, and yet another extremely common parallel.

Namine is extremely uncomfortable taking the necklace memory of Riku and imposing herself on it. But when you consider Kairi may have been manipulating Sora, it makes me also wonder how many of Sora’s Kairi memories are actually Riku memories, and whether or not Namine even CAN fix those memories… Just food for thought. Speaking of comp-het...

Xion Xion is an even more convoluted character creation, designed to confuse you even more than Namine does. In my eyes, Xion is very literally comp-het personified. Xion, as far as we’ve been told, is a puppet, a copy of Roxas but blank slate. A literal nobody. They are only what you project onto them. And what did Xion become?

Xion became a real confusing amalgam of so many things. -Roxas initially projects GirlTM onto her. Literally. This makes sense since he already has Axel, a male friend, and his instincts coming from Sora’s memories casually assume a female friend is needed to complete their trio. This is because Kairi was that female friend to Sora. -Over time, as Xion craves becoming whole, she inadvertently receives more memories from Roxas (Sora), of Kairi and obtains her face (albeit with black hair, and there are numerous theories about why that is but this essay is already really long lol). -The strange thing is though- despite having Kairi’s face, the hints we get are that Riku memories are zapping into her too. Not only that, but her death grants Roxas Oblivion as she enters his heart. -I don’t think I need to explain what that implies, but to keep it short, Oblivion is representative of Riku’s oath to Sora associated with the necklace memory. Namine was correct to tell Ansem the Wise that the missing memories are crucial to Sora. I have an analysis on Oblivion vs Promise Keeper that I keep meaning to post but the tl;dr of it is that Oblivion has nothing whatsoever to do with Kairi and EVERYTHING ENTIRELY to do with Riku and his oath to protect Sora. It should have no association with her whatsoever. She is also Roxas’ forgotten friend once the memories of her go away the way Sora’s memories of Riku will. -The manga also much more clearly shows us that the feelings Xion is thriving on from Sora are feelings associated with Riku: the empowerment he feels when fighting with friends.

So if I may, here is the returning theme of projection, of misplaced affection, of misplaced memories. This theme is SO CONSTANT with every Kairi scene and parallel we get, and I do not think it is a stretch to say they are not just here to discuss queer themes of compulsory heterosexuality, but are integral to the plot of KH in a very literal, physical way. In other words, it comes up with Kairi way too often to make mind manipulation a leap. It’s still a jump, but it is not a leap.

Aqua

Aqua is not a literal Kairi parallel the way Namine and Xion are, so she does not bring any major compulsory heterosexuality themes to the table, and her “mind manipulation”, if my theory on white lies between the BBS trio is correct, is pretty minuscule as far as we can tell. This does not mean there isn’t anything to speculate on regarding Kairi’s powers though.

Aqua is a gifted mage, and places a protective spell on Kairi when they meet. This is such a sweet and sentimental moment and I love it so much. She also literally gives her friends way finder charms based on paopu fruits the way Kairi does for Sora. So there are some literal parallels to be found there, but the ideas that concern me most are these-

Aqua is associated with magic. Given that Aqua, Namine, and Xion, are all associated with water, like Kairi, (again I assume you speak the KH language of symbolism and metaphor), and some form of magic (Namine with mind powers, and Xion wielding the key blade), is it possible that Kairi is also a mage of some kind? Or at least harbors the powers of a mage, the way she harnesses the power of a princess of heart?

Re:Mind menu screen art

This is an analysis I’ve been dying to post but only since Kairi has been outed as a pawn spy for Xehanort have I felt free enough to do so without going through the trouble of proving her association with the dark side. You are welcome to dismiss this analysis for reading too much into it but if you’re as deep into this as I am then here we go~

First of all, I want to call attention to how beautiful this art is, and how wonderfully symbolic I think it is, and what it actually reminds me of. Do you remember my comments earlier about Namine having a specific art style, which incorporates reflective light in her coloring? Look at the oceanic blue in Sora’s grey pants and jacket. Look at the yellow from sunlight in Sora’s hair. Look at the blue and yellow reflecting in Kairi’s pink dress and her red hair. Look at the tinge of blue from the sea reflecting on Sora’s paopu fruit. I am not saying this menu art is supposed to be literally drawn by Namine, I sincerely do not think it is lol, this is a symbolic image. But I do think it is meant to REMIND us of Namine’s art.

This menu screen, like the blank pages of a sketch book or notebook, like the beach scene in the KH3 opening, begins with a white screen. Slowly fading in, like the beach scene in the KH3 opening, or a game with a slow loading engine, we have a sketch of Sora. Sora’s feet appear already immersed in the water, as he is eating a paopu fruit, continuing his walk out to sea that we have been seeing him take since kh1 with these key arts. Sora is walking out into the ocean alone, and the coloring fades in bringing the scene to life. This is all the menu art is for KH3.

When Re:Mind was released, the menu screen for it evolved. Now, suddenly fading into this pre-existing scene is a drawing of Kairi, inserted into the moment. Kairi is depicted with a paopu fruit of her own, and she enters the scene with her feet standing on top of the water, not immersed like Sora’s the way they should be considering the depth of the water. This could be a mistake and nothing more… except the water has splash animations added around their feet, meaning this is something someone absolutely should have caught because animations are here drawing our attention to it. This would imply that it means something, so- what? Kairi is not immersed in the ocean, (darkness?), the way Sora is. She is walking /on/ water, not in it. I think this may very well be representative of her protecting Sora’s form as he navigates the new timeline in the dream scape, similar to when we see Riku and Sora walking on water in the dark realm. Or it may represent the way she is navigating darkness but is not immersed in darkness. She treads over it, not through it.

We do not know what this menu screen means. But here is my take on it. Because it is meant to remind us of Namine, we should consider mind manipulation is at play. Because Kairi appears here only after Re:Mind is released, in her Chirithy hood and eating a paopu with Sora, we are to recognize this as the second timeline, in which Kairi has been added to Sora’s journey like a figure in Namine’s art. We should also remember that as Sora’s chirithy, she has removed his traumatic memory of the timeline shift and very specifically removed his memory of Riku dying as he sacrificed himself for Sora. As the title implies, the game wants to remind us of what happened: the timeline being rewritten, as well as Sora’s Memories being rewritten, and in a sense, Sora’s MIND being REwritten. So much to do with mind and memory being affected...

A couple more theories as food for thought:

Kairi’s Grandmother:

You may have been wondering how Kairi could be so pure of heart, as far as we are aware, and yet capable of morally grey things like manipulation at best, and outright terrible things at worst? Well, here is my theory: Kairi’s grandmother has been held hostage and used as leverage against Kairi. For as often as Kairi has been used as a catalyst to bait Sora into acting for Xehanort’s schemes, we know Norty and the powers he works for, (Master of Masters), are no strangers to keeping hostages as motivation for their pawns. I’m just going to fill in the missing blanks between “Kairi’s missing grandmother” and “Kairi acting for the dark side”. Remember her letter to Sora that she didn’t send where she told Sora that Lea was just acting out evil to save his friend, and he’s actually a very good guy and a lovable friend you can’t help forgiving?

I think this is intending to draw a redemption arc parallel between Kairi and Lea that is even more literal than you think. Axel was acting out harshly because he would do anything to bring Roxas back, even willing to destroy Sora to make that happen. If Kairi’s only family was being kept prisoner and threatened with death unless Kairi did what she was told, how can you blame Kairi for her actions? Especially when she started playing the role of a pawn as a helpless child. We don’t know what she’s been through, but probably a lot of traumatic experiences. There is no reason to consider Kairi evil, and although you can explain her actions any number of ways, this one seems the most likely to me.

Her parallels likewise have had a reasonable motivation for their actions if they were even willful at all. 

-Namine herself was being held captive, with the organization forcing her to commit acts of violating mind manipulation. Seeing how genuinely kind Sora was, however, she eventually refused to be their pawn anymore -Xion did not even willfully take Sora’s memories, she was a complete victim of circumstance. Even when wanting to run away, however, Roxas simply was not going to live if she were around to continue absorbing his powers. Thus she chooses to return to Sora. -Aqua is not spying on Terra or trying to drag Ven home because she wants to. She is doing it because Eraqus burdened her with this task. She protects Ven with all she has in the end, and sacrifices herself to give Terra a chance at survival.

Do not assume that Kairi being capable of doing these things, or actually doing them makes her evil. KH has been pretty consistent about showing the ways in which women are often forced by the patriarchy to perform various deeds against their will and there is no reason to hate her for this or think the worst of her when she is more than likely just as much a victim of circumstance as anybody else in her position would be. I think it’s very fair to be mad at someone in her position if you were the one being manipulated by her, but never forget to be fair in your judgement of this fictional character being manipulated by the forces of evil in this fictional world which uses her as a pawn. Kairi can still a good person of good intent even if she had to do bad things.  

Time to reach: Ava

Since I’m already several layers deep in speculation I just thought I’d throw this out there as food for thought. It’s a popular theory that Ava, the missing foreteller, is dwelling within Kairi’s heart, which could possibly mean Namine is Ava’s nobody the way Roxas is likely Ven’s, as they were both dwelling in Kairi’s heart and Sora’s heart respectively when Sora sacrificed himself. Ava is particualrly skilled in the art of Illusions, which is pretty relevant to the idea that Kairi and Namine are directly manipulating Sora’s mind. Namine’s powers involve rearranging memories, and drawing new memories illustration what she is creating. She is literally creating illusions in the mind. If Ava is dwelling in Kairi’s heart, perhaps logically Kairi can use these powers but not directly. She cannot create illusions out of thin air, but can play tricks on the mind with them. Namine forming from Kairi’s heart having meshed with Ava’s heart might thus be able to create mind illusions, using drawn illusions. Is Ava the source of Kairi’s powers? Is Ava the princess of heart which Kairi is using to do her jobs? Well, I don’t know lol. It’s just out there as food for thought.

In Conclusion.... Nothing, really lol

All we have to go on are consistent parallels and strong guesses. Kairi may or may not be able to manipulate minds, and her letters may or may not influence Sora’s mind. I don’t know. It is worth considering though, I think. However, I ask that you judge Kairi fairly, open mindedly, and do not underestimate how powerful she may very well be. I cannot wait to see what will be revealed about her character in the future.

#kingdom hearts #soriku #kairi #kh theory #kh kairi #kingdom hearts 3 #kh3

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sepublic · 4 years

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What constitutes a ‘Demon’?

There’s been some discussion amongst this fanbase about what exactly a ‘demon’ is. We know they come in a wide variety of shapes and forms, and we know that demons are evidently capable of full sapience (but not all of them are).

From what we know thanks to King, our not very preeminent scholar on the matter, demons are “grim tricksters of the twilight, creatures of sulfur and bone,” that they “live only to create chaos and misery”, and all have a weakness to purified water (and passive-aggressive comments).

What purified water exactly is in the context of this show, I’m not sure and it might not even be elaborated upon, but it’s fun to think about! So perhaps ‘demon’ refers to any creatures with a weakness to purified water. While King’s account should admittedly be taken with a grain of salt, considering how inaccurate he was with the Snaggleback (or not, since according to @anistarrose we may have simply encountered a juvenile and not a full adult), what his words seem to imply is that demons are nocturnal, are said to cause chaos, and are made of sulfur and bone. That last bit intrigues me the most- Humans already have sulfur in our body, so that implies that demons have a particularly high ratio. That, or witches simply have little to no sulfur in their bodies, seeing as how humans aren’t from the Demon Realm and wouldn’t be included in that context.

But what about magic? I’m of the assumption that demons can’t do magic, and perhaps that’s what differentiates them from witches. However, in Covention, two witches from the Bakers Coven try to invite King, which seems useless since we know he doesn’t have a magic bile sac.

And how do we know? In Episode 8, Eda is in King’s body and attempts to cast magic while trapped at the Kitty Cafe. Eda is an incredibly skilled and experienced witch, so she’s never had an issue with the skill of casting magic, and even if King had an incredibly diminutive sac that hasn’t fully developed, it should’ve yielded at least some kind of spell. Eda states that she’s “no longer a witch” indicating she knows King isn’t, and Roselle and Dottie agree.

However, if one considers the theories about King having once been the King of Demons, and even the Boiling Isles Titan, then... he could be a one-of-a-kind person. Meaning, there’s no one like him, so no one actually knows his true capabilities and nature. However, King is certain that he was the King of Demons, so for now, let’s just say he is one.

So why would those two Baker Witches be interested in King joining, if he can’t do magic? Perhaps they don’t realize he’s not a Witch because they’ve never seen anyone else like him. Maybe it’s just a throwaway gag/joke that I’m taking too seriously. Perhaps non-witches have some value to covens as testers and voluntary subjects. Amity says the Covention is only for witches, did those two bakers just assume King was a witch because he was there? We see this guy at the Covention;

And he looks a lot like this demon;

But it’s highly likely he’s just there as a placeholder background character.

Could a demon perform magic if you transplanted a magic bile sac to their heart? If so, would ‘demon’ more specifically refer to beings who are born without magic, but still capable of it later on down the line? Eda seems to be under the impression that Luz can’t ever gain a bile sac, so presumably neither can demons, but maybe there’s a difference between human and demon anatomy to be considered.

The line blurs when we acknowledge Adegast, AKA that one-off minor villain who died in his debut. Eda calls him a puppeteer, specifically a “demon who specializes in scamming and manipulating people.” Adegast is a demon, but he can also conjure powerful illusions. Do these illusions count as magic- Specifically, illusion magic? When we first meet ‘him’ in his wizard illusion, he briefly summons two spell circles, but is that actual magic or just an illusion that looks like magic (versus actual magic that creates an illusion)? Perhaps Adegast’s illusions technically aren’t magic, at least not magic as the Boiling Isles defines it (presumably something to deal with a bile sac). If he were an Illusion Witch, why is he in the Potions business? Is it like Willow, where she was placed into a track she wasn’t good at?

We see Adegast create an illusion by spraying Luz with a cloud of smoke, and when his puppets are destroyed, they dissipate into smoke, so perhaps that’s what they all are; Just smoke and mirrors, minus the mirrors. So because Adegast’s illusions don’t come from bile, it’s not magic, ergo he’s not a witch and this lends further credence to the ‘Demons are those who can’t do magic’ theory. On another note, we see Adegast revert to a smaller ‘true’ form after being wounded by Luz... is this form the result of magic, or just an illusion or the effects of a potion?

(If his illusions don’t come from magic and he can’t perform it, then Adegast probably shouldn’t have entered the Potions business when Potion magic is such a big deal that there’s a designated major coven for it. Even if he got Eda out of the way, he’s competing with literally every other Potion Witch in the Boiling Isles, and they have the advantage of magic! Maybe he uses his illusions to make his potions seem more potent than they are, who knows? This lends to the unpleasant image of him spiking potions with his illusionary gas, but this show has always been pretty horrifying, so.)

Hooty is referred to by the Demon Hunters as a ‘house demon’. There’s the possibility that Hooty was made by Eda, since her owl constructs resemble him so much, and Hooty mentions Eda teaching him everything he knows. However, the Demon Hunters also mention removing Hooty from the house, when he IS the house... Perhaps this is a case of characters not fully understanding who they’re interacting with? We do see living alarm bells at Hexside and the Covention center, and a doorknob that tries to eat Luz in Episode 2. Could the term demon also apply to living fixtures who are made for a purpose?

If demons also refers to living beings who are made, I assume Abominations don’t count as demons because they don’t eat and thus aren’t living, which would explain that distinction.

Is that why Eda calls the Bat Queen a demon, since palismans are living beings who are made? However, we don’t know if Eda is aware of the Bat Queen’s palisman nature or not, so her being a demon could just be an assumption on Eda’s part. Palismans also presumably have magical abilities (and we see the Bat Queen appear to use a spell to bind Willow and Gus). So, CAN Demons perform magic, or is there a misconception here?

There’s also the possibility that ‘demon’ is just a catch-all term. An othering term, meant to describe anything that isn’t a witch. Only... witches come in a wide variety of appearances, some more inhuman than the rest. Are witches all the same species, and thus able to procreate with one another (and thus a demon is a being a witch couldn’t reproduce with)? Do all witches, amongst their bile sacs, share a common DNA or ancestry? Are they all the same species, merely different in appearance because that’s just the way they work, or because of magic causing changes? Or does it just refer to non-humanoids?

Maybe ‘demon’ is just a societal definition, and a loose one at that. Maybe it DOES refer to animals and beasts, but because of social biases, some characters are called demons when they’re not? Beast-keeping is a term, but Demon-keeping isn’t, as far as we know. Getting into further speculation, could ‘demon’ refer to the original inhabitants of the Boiling Isles? Could witches have come from another land beyond the bones of the titan? Are demons the creatures born directly of the titan’s flesh, or perhaps the parasites that inhabited its body? The descendants of its equivalent to gut bacteria and white blood cells? The Boiling Isles is located within the Demon Realm, which could imply they’re progenitors of some sorts. Of course, maybe demon also has multiple definitions as well.

Overall, here are my proposed ideas for what defines a ‘demon’ in the Boiling Isles;

-Not capable of magic due to lacking a bile sac

-The indigenous population of the Boiling Isles

-Wildlife in general, as well as those linked to beasts or like them

-A social term for those perceived as more animalistic, regardless of such an observation has actual scientific accuracy or not. Perhaps the social aspect of the term is also for beings who aren’t immediately identifiable, don’t belong to a specific species, are one-of-a-kind, etc. AKA it’s the Boiling Isles equivalent to the term ‘cryptid’

-Non-humanoids

-Those vulnerable to purified water, with a presumably high concentration of sulfur making up their anatomy

-Anything living that isn’t a ‘witch’, specifically the species (this applies to living constructs as well, presumably, though if it extends to Palismans is unknown)

-An unknown, perhaps yet-to-be introduced factor

-A term with various definitions and meanings depending on the context

-Some combination of the above-mentioned ideas

What do you guys think? It is worth noting that King refers to demons as “creatures like me,” which implies perhaps some shared genealogy/something objective and physical, not just societal, but who knows? Perhaps the most important question to ask is;

Am I overthinking things?

#the owl house #owl house #speculation #demons #analysis

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mydorkycreations · 4 years

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for the love language asks, could I ask for Jasper, Friday, Hiroki, Aaron, Forest, Winter, Candace, and Tiffany? OH, also Gretchen and Amadeus, if u don't mind??? I jst. Love all of them.

You CAN ask for them all of them! I’ll kinda do this by ranking of most preferred to least preferred :)

Also this got very long I’m sorry

Jasper:

Quality time-- he loves being around people he likes, and feels neglected/misses people if they don’t spend time with him for a while

Gifts-- he loves to give things and get things, especially if it’s involving food, and he has a mental list of things that he knows his friends like/dislike that he just kinda always has in the back of his mind

Touch-- he’s not overly touchy, tbh. Like, it’s nice and all, but it feels a little less personal than like spending actual time together or giving someone something in general

Words of affirmation-- as odd as this may sound, he doesn’t really need a hype man or verbal affirmation. He can figure things out on his own. Compliments are nice, though, and communication is important, so he puts some effort into this one even if it isn’t necessarily his thing per se

Acts of service-- he appreciates someone making an effort to make his life easier and generally tries to do the same, but he considers it more of a being polite thing rather than an actual act of affection. Plus, he can be particular about some things (especially with the way the kitchen is organized) and so sometimes the help isn’t always as helpful as the helper thinks

Friday:

Words of affirmation-- she tries not to show it, but words have a major impact on her, both positively and negatively. A compliment can make her day and a rude comment can just as easily ruin it. She’s very shy about saying nice things to other people, though, in case the compliment is rejected

Touch-- she’s insecure about it because it’s something her mother actively discouraged, but she ADORES physical affection. Once she’s comfortable enough with Jasper someone to feel like she can without getting in trouble, the poor soul is in near danger of being smothered in it

Quality time-- it’s an acceptable, straightforward way to show affection that’s more difficult to pull off when ulterior motives are in play, and she appreciates it for that

Acts of service-- someone??? did something NICE for her??? Unrealistic. She tends to think of this more as someone trying to like get her attention than be nice

Gifts-- this one is Odd because she hates getting gifts, but gives them all the time because she’s rich and has money to throw around, so I’m putting it on the bottom

Hiroki:

Touch-- Hiroki is INCREDIBLY tactile, possibly because of the way his powers work as extensions of himself. Unless there’s a reason not to, he’s touching his friends almost constantly, and can recognize most of their silhouettes by feel when he’s using his powers to sense people. He’ll pick up on any sort of unusual response to/rejection of contact immediately

Quality time-- listen, when you’re an introvert, deciding someone is worth spending time with is A Big Deal, especially if it’s one on one, and he doesn’t hand it out lightly

Acts of service-- to do something for someone so they don’t have to, and then have them do the same for you, is that not an incredible thing? He certainly thinks it is. It would be #2, but there is also Extreme Mental Trauma associated with this one and it’s demoted to #3 as a result

Gifts-- he appreciates gifts (especially if they’re useful), but by and large his habit of knitting things for other people stems from the fact that if he made everything for himself he’d have probably filled his entire apartment with knitted things by now than any real fondness for the gift giving or receiving process

Words of affirmation-- by and large, he thinks that words are cheap. Ironic, because he was an English major, but still

Aaron:

Gifts-- Aaron loves getting gifts. Aaron loves giving gifts. Aaron will spend money he doesn’t have to get people gifts because gifts are important

Words of affirmation-- he’s not really confident enough for you to be able to just let him read between the lines and make a judgement himself, and thrives at praise and clear verbal communication. Will tell you exactly how he feels and how fond he is of you at the drop of a hat

Touch-- physical affection is nice. Not his favorite but not bad by any meansit’s

Acts of service-- yes, okay, people doing things for you is nice and all, but people go and do things or give money to charity for the warm fuzzy feelings while not giving a single flying fuck about the people who are really impacted by it, it’s not really a surefire sign that they like you

Quality time-- like, yes, it’s nice spending time with people but it doesn’t really vibe with him as an affection source. Like you could spend every day hanging out with him and he’ll still be like “but do they like me?”

Forest (I went with young Forest here-- I’m still getting to know older Forest a bit):

Quality time-- I once read a theory that your love languages are defined by what you lacked in your youth. This is very true in this instance. You can instantly tell who Forest gravitates towards by looking at who leaves with him at parties

Touch-- grant it, touch is just a Bigger Thing culturally in the magical realm (given that physical contact between some kinds of magical entities would be physically painful for one or both parties), so maybe that disqualifies this, but yeah touching is a very major thing

Words of affirmation-- he loves to verbally flirt and be flirted with, but aside from that very specific scenario he doesn’t really care all that much

Acts of service-- acts of service and gifts are probably about the same, but you could kind of classify Winter catching his attention by sparing his life an act of service, and then they fall in love, so I’m putting this one at #4. The bastard is in a laughably wealthy ruling class, he just expects people to do things for him, so that’s not a big deal to him (although actually doing something for someone else kinda is)

Gifts-- again, rich and politics Grant it you could call some of those gifts bribes but that’s an ugly word, don’t you think?

Winter:

Acts of service-- the need to look after and help people he cares about if they ever need it is literally what’s kept him alive, and putting it anything other than first would be a disservice. And he takes on so much that any effort made to make his life easier means the world to him

Quality time-- why do you think he never just forged Candace legal documentation and sent her to normal school or daycare? Why do you think he’s so prone to be lonely? He needs time with people

Gifts-- he loves receiving gifts in particular. They’re something to remember people by once they’re gone and parting with them would be terrible for him. But he gives gifts, too. They’re less often physical objects and more often advice or stories, although that changes with Candace as he gets old because he knows he likes having physical things to remember people by so maybe it’ll help her, too

Words of affirmation-- he still appreciates them, don’t misunderstand. And he doesn’t skimp out on telling his kids he loves them. It’s just not his favorite way to receive or show affection

Touch-- again, Magical Realm’s touching is a much less casual of a thing and it’s not really as needed as it is with humans. Between that and his lack of body heat being unnerving to a lot of humans that aren’t used to it, he just... didn’t, really. At all. Like touch was for sex and otherwise he kept little to no physical contact. It’s a big regret he has raising his earlier kids, because he just didn’t know that humans are so innately touchy feely. He probably raised at least one touch starved human on accident (he also adopted a hugging schedule later when he realized “oh shit I’ve fucked up” until he got used to casual contact)

Candace:

Quality time-- if you like someone, you spend time with them? It just makes sense to her (although that doesn't make her immune to the classic "Daaaad leave me alone" complaints)

Acts of service-- you care about someone, you look out for them. Winter’s taught her that very well

Words of affirmation-- she doesn’t need it constantly, but if she does something she’s really proud of she craves validation for it, and will go around showing everyone her new sword that she figured out how to make shoot lightning until someone’s like “wow nice work”

Touch-- she’s not very into casual touching, but if you become a level 5 or above friend you unlock the Cuddle Feature and that is nigh unstoppable once it starts, she’s like a goddamn cat

Gifts-- she’s a dichotomy of loving to give gifts and not really enjoying getting them because she herself isn’t very materialistic (unless you’re giving her swords. Or daggers. Or shields. Or, uh, old school style weapons in general).

Tiffany:

Quality time-- I hesitate to use the word “clingy,” but, uh. There is a definite “pay ATTENTION TO ME” bit of her personality if you leave her on her lonesome for too long

Touch-- Tiff is just a cuddlebug. There isn’t much of another way to describe it. Fortunately her and Candace have been over level 5 friends since they were both knee high to a toadstool

Gifts-- if you give her something, she’ll cherish it forever, and she loves to find things for her friends to give them (even if most of the time it’s cool rocks from the bottom of whatever body of water she’s currently living on with Amadeus)

Acts of service-- she doesn’t think much of it if she does something for somebody else because that’s just how she was raised, but if someone helps her out? She’ll remember it forever

Words of affirmation-- like, okay it’s nice to be verbally appreciated but she doesn’t need it

Gretchen

Quality time-- time is growing less important to her the longer she lives-- immortality can have that effect on people sometimes-- but time simply spent together is still something she heavily gravitates towards

Words of affirmation-- there are few words she loves better than “I’m proud of you” or “good job.” Loves that sweet validation

Acts of service-- she’s very devoted once she grows attached to someone, although sometimes she thinks she knows best when she really doesn’t

Touch-- touching is,, fine. Not great, but it’s okay

Gifts-- she’s immortal. What need does she have for trinkets?

Amadeus

Gifts-- do you think that them not charging Winter for an ounce of booze he’s drank for centuries is an accident? It’s not. They know it’s not really in his best interest, but they can’t bring themselves to deny him a way out of his own mind for a while

Acts of service-- this primarily surfaces in a sort of hovering/annoying parent sort of way. They’ll fuss over anyone

Words of affirmation-- words aren’t as good as something tangible, but still nice. Amadeus has a tendency to be almost transactional in their relationships. They do things for Friend, Friend does things for them. That’s what friendship is

Touch-- eh, it’s fine but they don’t get the hype. Probably because they’re living water

Quality time-- ironic, I know, but they can almost be absent, some of the time. They’d rather do things FOR you than just spend time with you without a purpose

#asks #from ask game #friend tag #Winter (oc)#Forest (oc)#Jasper Rift #Friday Milewski #Aaron the delivery guy #Hiroki Sato #Gretchen (oc)#Amadeus (oc)#Tiffany Waters #Candace Frost #also i'm so sorry this took so long jkslfjsklfjsklfjsd

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afinepricklypear · 4 years

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Compare and Contrast: K Project vs. Bungou Stray Dogs - Part 2

Read Part 1

Story

In general, K Project does a lot better job of maintaining a consistent and focused story, especially in Seasons 1 and 2 than BSD, with almost no filler content. There aren’t nearly as many open plot threads or divergences from the main story, and everyone introduced has a very cohesive purpose to the plot. This may largely be due to the fact that K was originally envisioned as a complete story, with the movie Return of Kings and season 2’s Missing Kings and other added materials being, somewhat, after thoughts consequently ordered due to the popularity of the show. Season 2 does offer a very decisive end to the tale, with the destruction of the Dresden Slate, mysterious source of all supernatural power. On the other hand, BSD is an ongoing serialized manga with no set beginning or ending that we, as the audience, are aware. BSD’s author, Asagiri Kafka, isn’t telling a self-contained story with a determined beginning, middle, and end, so often times characters and plot devices are introduced which may not have bearing on the current arc of the story, they hint at things to come. This might be frustrating for viewers that aren’t interested in long-term serialized works, which does have the tendency to fall victim to filler episodes in attempt to make a certain quota or make up for any lulls in the story.

That being said, BSD, thus far, does a lot better with world.

In K, the concepts of Clans and Kings, the Dresden Slate, and the Swords of Damocles are never fully fleshed out satisfactorily, to the point that aspects of it feel completely illogical, convoluted, and conveniently there merely to move the plot forward. Fantasy stories are generally under no obligation to provide explanations for where magic abilities come from, K makes an attempt with the Dresden Slate, but overreaches with an established protocol of Kings and Clans in regards to these powers with no explanation for where or why these rules manifested or why anyone feels obligated to follow them. For example, the Red King Mikoto is not shown to care too much for being a King, or even wanting obligations to his Clan, yet he maintains it and his Clansmen show loyalty to it, and there’s no explanation beyond “well that’s just the way the Dresden Slate works”. That would be fine, if this wasn’t established as the expectation of anyone who is “awoken” as a King. In that same vein, a lot isn’t really clarified in terms of what really happens to Clansmen when their King dies (Clansmen are shown to still maintain powers granted from their former King but that’s just speculation from viewers, and doesn’t make sense if there powers stem from their Kings) and what is meant to happen when a new King takes their place (though we do see Clansmen turn on the new Blue King, in regards to Munakata taking over Jin Hibari’s role, or choosing to continue following the new Red King, as we see in HOMRA with Anne taking Mikoto’s place). Worse, these rules are just universally known in a world that isn’t supposed to know about these Clans and Kings, leaving no one to explain these rules to newly awakened Kings although these rules are shown to be universally known and accepted by them. More questions than answers are raised.

In BSD, people being born with or manifesting abilities is shown to just be a facet of this world. It’s just one of the physical laws, much like how the sky is blue, grass is green, some people can conjure demons that kill you. This is just the world they live in, and in that sense, the people in this world are the ones that determine the rules that govern these abilities without expectation. This treats us to various different ideas and philosophies for how ability users should apply their abilities or how the users themselves should be managed. The government attempts to regulate ability users, through licensure for organizations that wish to operate as ability user specific. This provided a cool storyline where we see Port Mafia obtain its license to operate as an ability user organization during the Dark Era, through nefarious plotting on leader, Mori’s part, which also highlighted that the Port Mafia is a criminal organization because prior to obtaining this license they were operating without one. We also see the Armed Detective Agency undergo a plot to take their license away, and since they are the morally upright group, in their minds, losing their license means they will cease to exist. This places explanation firmly on the goals of their given society, something that is relatable and understandable for readers, and shifts it away from the realm of unexplainable and increasingly convoluted magic.

On the flipside of that, however, K does a much better job of balancing powers. Which brings me Nakahara Chuuya.

I’ll throw this disclaimer in here, Chuuya is my favorite character. I fell in love at first sight. Unfortunately, he gets little to no screen time, I could count on one hand his number of appearances throughout the first two seasons. He gets three episodes at the start of Season 3 that explores his history with Dazai, and I feel I’m in no way biased (**cough, cough** 100% biased) saying these are the best three episodes of the season. Then we see him maybe in two more episodes until he gets trapped in a book for the rest of the season, leaving me screaming furiously at the screen. Manga chapters that go beyond where the anime left off are not filling me with much hope for more Chuuya in Season 4. Seriously, I don’t recommend loving this character, you’ll only get your heart broken.

The problem with Chuuya that becomes rampant throughout BSD in other characters, is that he’s a side character for a rival organization and he is super OP. Since the creator seems adamantly against making him a more main character (either as antagonist or protagonist…hell, majority of his appearances have been to literally save the day for the heroes), not to mention the lack of anyone in our heroes’ corner that could reasonably take him on (even Dazai is outmatched despite his nullifying ability, because Chuuya also happens to be Port Mafia’s best martial artist) the only recourse is to leave him conveniently absent from majority of the story. Which, okay, this can mostly be explained away that he’s an Executive in Port Mafia and probably has a lot to deal with in terms of making sure their operations continue to move smoothly, but it leads to ludicrous scenarios such as the end of the Guild Arc when a whale sized airship is being dropped on Yokohama by the Guild. We’re told this ship will wipe out a large portion of the city. At this point, the Detective Agency and Port Mafia are on semi-good terms in order to stand against their common enemy, the Guild. You would think, large object being dropped on the city, Port Mafia has a powerful gravity manipulator on staff...one phone call to Dr. Mori, “Hey...do you mind sending Chuuya to take care of that whale bomb....or are you just cool with the city being flattened?” All Chuuya needs to do is parachute down, once he touches the ship, he could tear the whole thing apart and fling its pieces to every side of the ocean. They call it a day in thirty seconds, tops, back home for dinner. Yet, for some odd reason, the course of action that the Armed Detective Agency decides on is to send rookie agent tiger boy to infiltrate the ship and fight his way to a possible transponder they can use to reverse the ship’s course, despite having little experience, and no specialized abilities for the task, let’s not get started on the ridiculousness of that transponder anyways. This decision is based largely on the fact he once was held prisoner on the ship and so…should know his way around? I get that they supposedly don’t want to owe Port Mafia, but this kind of seemed like an odd time to play loose and fast with the city’s safety. The point is, Chuuya is powerful, which makes his lack of presence during crucial moments pretty heavy handed.

That being said, however, this OP situation, is a problem throughout with other characters as well. There’s no balance of powers, and characters are shown to do things that don’t fall within the realm of their abilities, may never have previously been display or given proper explanation prior to introduction, and sometimes comes across as just thrown in last minute as a plot device. A few examples, able to transform into a tiger also, somehow allows Atsushi to heal at a rapid level and regrow limbs. Forget about the implications that he’s got some “special” light attached to his ability, as well. In a recent chapter of the manga, we see a newly introduced character, one of the Hunting Dogs, slap a bullet out of the air and stop a large projectile with her bare hands. Her ability, however, is age manipulation so there’s no given reason why she should’ve been able to do those things. While it is mentioned that the Hunting Dogs are also genetically engineered, she did this to save another Hunting Dog who is duly is surprised by her actions and expresses that he could not have done the same. I’m baffled. This is to say nothing of the multiple time characters without regenerative or durable abilities are stabbed, blown up, and impaled, only to walk it off like it’s nothing. The Agency healer, Yosano, has an ability called Thou Shalt Not Die, she can heal someone but only when they’re on the brink of death, so her ability is essentially that trope in action films where the bomb is always disarmed with one second to spare. Let’s not even talk about the new revelation that Dazai can control his heart beats to the point he can use it for passing secret code. It becomes plot armor so thick that it entirely erases the stakes for our characters. They’re all treated as practically immortal, able to overcome anything thrown at them, I’m not even worried anymore when a character takes a lance through the heart, I know he’s walking it off in the next scene.

K is a lot more balanced with its abilities. None of the characters, outside of the Kings, feel so overpowered that they are impossible to stop and they’re not shown to be capable of things outside of their given abilities or established, and might I say reasonable, skillsets. Even the Kings have their peers in the other Kings. Sure, Clansmen can dodge bullets, but if they’re hit by one it hurts and, notably in the case of Totsuka, it can kill. No one is getting impaled multiple times then walking it off. Mikoto is run through with a blade once, and as it should be, he dies. Not only does this maintain the stakes for our characters – they are at the end of the day mortal, and they can get hurt, they can be beaten, they can die – it also gives us a more complicated, and darker story with characters that we can relate to on an emotional level.

Read Part 3

#bungo stray dogs #k #k project #spoilers #more to come #anime review #thoughts #drabble #long post

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daggerfall · 5 years

Text

Tethra’maan

Tethra’maan is the daughter of the Hero of Kvatch (posting Sheogorath mantling) and Martin Septim (somehow post becoming the Avatar of Akatosh), making her a demiprince of Sheogorath as well as of Akatosh. Demiprince lore is pretty lacking, but simply put, they’re beings with a daedric parent and one not daedric parent (however the term demiprince has been applied to a being with an aedric parent, namely Kyne, but mostly is used for daedric ones).

She grew up in the Shivering Isles, raised by her mother, Haskill, and several other people around New Sheoth. Most people called her Tethra, Teth if they’re close, though Sheo calls her “marbles” or “nugget” sometimes. Her mother told her all kinds of stories of her time as a mortal in Cyrodiil during the Oblivion Crisis, like about the Dark Brotherhood, the Thieves Guild, about Martin, all that. She was an impatient child growing up, always wanting to do more and not be treated like a child. As she got older, she took on some of Haskill’s responsibilities around the Isles, mostly working as an intermediary for the Mazken and the Aureal as well as a soldier in either of their ranks during attacks. She values the natural and necessary balance of life, but also enjoys the raw chaos of change for the sake of fun. She also mentored under Peryite for a time, using the knowledge she learned to better manage the Isles, even though her mother thought Peryite was a fuddy-duddy stick in the mud.

Her “madness” manifests in her callus disregard for life, her self-centrism, and her desire to get exactly what she wants exactly when she wants it. She never had anyone tell her no growing up (besides maybe her mother on occasion), and rarely had to face any form of consequences, so she rarely filters herself or puts the needs of others over her own desires (so long as she knows it doesn’t make a major difference in the overall world). Her powers include a form of all-sight, creation and conjuration of items and objects, boundless creativity, and just being an incredibly powerful mage and solider.

After several decades of knowing each other, Teth proposed to Sanguine that he should allow her to monitor the Myriad Realms of Revelry for misuse of the pocket realms beyond their intended purposes, or for uses beyond Sanguine’s sphere of influence, as Sanguine himself had very little control over the individual realms. He agreed. (the two of them also became FWB around that time)

How she became the Last Dragonborn was that one day, she started to feel this strange ‘tugging’ sensation every few hours that escalated into her being in excruciating pain and nearly losing consciousness. Sheogorath had to break it to her that somehow she was being summoned to Mundus, which confused the both of them because her identity and existence was a closely guarded secret, so no one should even know that she existed, much less know how to summon her. Recognizing that the only way to stop this was to allow herself to be summoned, Teth said her goodbyes and planned to slaughter whoever was summoning her before quickly returning home.

Turned out it was just some idiot conjurers who thought “well we can’t summon a daedric prince, so let’s go for some random demiprince”. She kills all but one, demanding his hands instead so he can never practice magic again. But then since she doesn’t know how to get home, she treks to the nearest daedric shrine to ask for help from some daedric prince (nearly all of them are her aunts and uncles). It ends up being Sanguine (”This is a weird booty call but okay Teth.” “Put mom on, you bitch.”)

... To which Sheogorath has to tell her that she can’t return home because she accidentally fulfilled the first part of the Prophecy of the Dragonborn, since she is the first Dragonborn to appear in Mundus since the Snow Tower fell. Also that she’s a Dragonborn, since her father is Martin Septim, who is now kind of Akatosh. Also that Sheogorath kept this a secret all of Teth’s life.

Now Alduin is days from appearing in Skyrim, Aka!Martin just found out he has a kid, and Teth, who has never spent a day in Mundus, has to learn how to be/act like a mortal now that she’s severely restricted in her powers.

Unsurprisingly, Teth is mad. Really mad.

Bonus stuff!

Her eye color was supposed to reflect the mania/dementia split

She’s just slightly taller than a male Altmer despite having an Imperial appearance

The scar under her eye came from an invader’s blade during an attack on the Isles for which she was leading the defense. Sheogorath had some particularly cruel and unusual punishments for those responsible.

Pansexual Aromantic

Vegetarian but never gives the same reason why

Absolutely loves Barbas. Loves giving him pets and calling him a good boy

She starts her journey by very badly feigning total ignorance about how anything and everything works because she fears coming across as Too Knowledgeable, but she also doesn’t really know Tamriel world history regarding the 200 years since she and/or her mom were on Tamriel. So she sounds like an idiot asking what a daedra is, but also does’t know about the White-Gold Concordat.

Eventually she just gives up and accepts her fate as being some weird-ass cryptid wandering Tamriel. Surprisingly, people are far less suspicious of her then than they were when she first arrived.

Intimidates way too often because she doesn’t know how to deal with people telling her no (having grown up the literal child of a god)

Doesn’t understand what’s wrong with calling a child a little bitch and challenging them to a legit duel.

Always carrying around 50 pounds of cheese

Hates Mehrunes Dagon and Molag Bal. Is at least tolerant of all the other daedric princes

Has filled Coldharbour with cheese several times.

She meets her dad for the first time while “praying” to Akatosh at a shrine. He tells her how much her loves her and how he’s so sorry that all of this is happening because of him (being the dragonborn parent). They also meet after she defeats Alduin and he tells her how proud he is of her, and that he also was hoping to be able to speak with her mother again at some point.

Sheogorath gives Teth a random “blessing” everyday during her journey. Most of the time, it’s a curse.

Teth takes being Dragonborn most serious out of any of my OCs. She actively trains her voice, and uses it all the time both in combat as well as ‘worship’ to Kyne. She also sees it as her connection to her father, who she wants to make proud.

Inigo also features in her story! He’s a major driving factor in Teth understanding mortals and mortality better, especially when she realizes that she is actively working to avoid disappointing or upsetting him (like with her being in the Dark Brotherhood). He’s also basically one of the main reasons she decides to return to Mundus after she fulfills the Prophecy and no longer HAS to be there.

Savos Aren’s death was probably the first major thing to get Teth to understand the permanence of death for mortals, having grown up without forming strong attachments to any of the mortal residents of the Isles and only really seeing death of daedra (who basically always returned. Seeing people care enough about her as Dragonborn Teth rather than Demiprince Tethra’maan to die for her? Really throws her off her groove

Doesn’t like the adopted kids calling her mama, but will give them a warm home and other caring adults to live with.

Kinda insecure about being so young compared to all the other daedra, or even some other people in Skyrim like Serana or Neloth.

Sheogorath gave Teth a necklace right before she was summoned. The necklace was a gift given to the HoK by Martin during the Oblivion Crisis as a birthday present.

#dragonborn tethra'maan #intro post #long post

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hookaroo · 5 years

Text

Vocivore, Ltd. (20 of ?)

A OUAT WINTER WHUMP FIC

Also on FFN and AO3 (ListerofTardis)

Tagging @ouatwinterwhump, @killian-whump, @sancocnutclub, @killianjonesownsmyheart1, and @courtorderedcake <3

***THE MOST WONDERFUL COVER ART BY @cocohook38 HERE!!!!!******

****ALSO!!!!!!!!!!!!Chapter 12 animation and art that will absolutely astound you!!! THANK YOU MY WONDERFUL COCONUT FRIEND!!!!!!!!!!*************

@lillpon wins :)

5 weeks + 1 day ago

Killian snuck out of the darkened room and closed the door as quietly as he could. He flashed a wink and a smile at his wife, who was sitting with Belle at a small table in the corner.

“Out like a light,” he reported. As he strode over to join them, Emma laughed incredulously.

“Man, we should visit more often. You really wore her out, Belle.”

“You’re welcome anytime we’re in one place long enough to have company,” Belle assured them. Killian resumed his chair at the table and eyed the book beneath his friend’s hands.

“How’s the research coming?”

“We, uh, may have found something,” Belle grinned. She slid the open book over to Killian, and he twisted it to face him.

“Vocivore,” said Emma, using a soft ‘c’ sound. Then she tried it with ‘ch.’ “Vo-ch-ivore?”

As Killian scanned the page for the matching entry, Belle said,

“Could be either, but ‘vociferous’ comes to mind; maybe the soft sound is more correct?”

Killian nodded his agreement. The small paragraph in the corner of the page was flanked by a vague blob of ink that may have been someone’s attempt to sketch the creature, although who could tell if it was based on reality or simply nightmare imaginings. Killian read aloud the accompanying description.

“‘2.5 to 3 meters tall. Reportedly telepathic. Enslaves and brainwashes humans. Victims exhibit degenerative neurological symptoms resulting from morphological changes in the brain. Invariably fatal.’” He scanned the facing page. “That’s all?”

Belle nodded solemnly. “In this book, at least. But if we know the creature’s name, we can more easily search for further information.”

“Certainly seems like our guy,” Emma stated, watching Killian for signs of agreement. He raised a skeptical eyebrow.

“Not much to go on, is there?”

“‘Morphological changes?’” she quoted at him. “That’s gotta be the brain shriveling. And you have to recognize brainwashing when you see it.”

“Just how reliable is this author?” Killian asked Belle as he flipped to the front cover. She shrugged.

“We’ve had good results in the past. For now, it’s all we have to work with.” She glanced toward the door, adding, “Rumple’s gone to fetch another book that may confirm the theory.”

Killian reread the entry, scowled at its ambiguity, and sat back. “Vocivore. So then… it eats voices?”

“Assuming the name is literal.”

“Doesn’t give us a lot of ideas for defeating it.”

“And you won’t find many of those elsewhere, I’m afraid,” came Rumple’s voice from the doorway. The three friends turned to face him as he strode inside. He carried a book bound in cracked leather, which he tossed carelessly onto the table in front of Killian. “It turns out I did recognize the name, and it’s almost certainly what you’re facing back in the United Realms.”

Killian began idly flipping through the index of the new book, half his attention on finding an entry for Vocivore.

“Do you know much about it?” Belle asked. Rumple sat at the fourth and final chair, across from Emma. He shook his head in a grave negative.

“No one does. Anyone who gets close enough inevitably becomes the creature’s slave, and thus unable to give any sort of report. It is unknown whether it can be defeated, because no one has ever done it.”

Killian and Emma exchanged an uneasy glance.

“No one?” repeated Emma. “In the history of… ever?”

“On the bright side,” Rumple said with a sneer, “as former Dark Ones, the two of you are probably immune, both to the brainwashing and the physical effects on the brain.”

“Fantastic,” grumbled Killian, sliding the book toward Belle so she could take over the search. “We know our course of action then, Swan; all we have to do is leave everyone in Storybrooke to their fate. It’ll certainly reduce the wait times at Granny’s.”

Emma ignored his sarcasm. “It doesn’t seem to matter that we’re immune, though. Whenever we try to get close to the guy, he sends his slaves out to stop us.” She rested her elbows on the table and began tapping her fingers in agitation.

“Have you thought of bombing the monster?” Rumple asked casually. Both Emma and Killian shifted in their seats, uncomfortable. Belle looked up from her book to await their answer.

“Of course we thought of it,” Killian finally admitted. “Only… the collateral damage…”

“Blowing up the monster would kill a lot of innocent slaves,” Emma finished for him. “We’re not that desperate yet.”

“The slaves will die anyway,” Rumple pointed out with a dismissive wave of his hand. “For the greater good, a bomb may be the only solution.”

“We’re not willing to admit defeat on that point,” Emma objected. “Dr. Whale is working on a way to reverse the effects.”

Rumple gave a strained smile and slight eye roll; Killian found he had to agree with his skepticism.

“There’s also the question of delivery,” Killian pointed out. “Phil’s hot air balloon didn't get within a mile of there. It was shot so full of holes that the operator was lucky to survive.”

“Even our drone was shot down, if you can believe that,” added Emma. Belle looked impressed, but Rumple merely shrugged.

“The issue is intent. The creature’s telepathic abilities allow it to sense any attempts at attack, or even reconnaissance. Perhaps its control over its slaves goes so far as allowing it to guide their movements from time to time.”

“Help them to aim, you mean?” Emma made a face. “Oh good grief.”

“And anything that got past the slaves--a helicopter, for example--would almost certainly fail as well,” Rumple pointed out. “Proximity would allow the Vocivore to influence the pilot’s mind, resulting in either a spectacular crash out of harm’s way, or a helicopter to add to the monster’s ranks.”

“What about your magic?” asked Belle. “Er, if… if you decided to… use a bomb, that is. Just poof it in.”

“Yeah, he’s got some kind of shielding up around his compound,” grumbled Emma. “Also why I haven’t been able to poof myself in to poke around.”

They all fell silent for a moment, seemingly at a dead end. Belle closed the book, shaking her head at the lack of additional info. She had scribbled down notes on a notepad, but the details covered less than a quarter of the page. Absently, she began doodling in the margins; mainly geometric patterns, lines that connected with lines. Almost like tally marks overlaid on top of each other. And Killian was brought back to the day they’d met. The day he’d snuck into her dungeon, his desperate and ruthless plan to extract information from her at any cost. Feeling the usual disgust at his actions back then--back when he was a villain--Killian scowled and almost brushed the memories aside. But then he stopped himself. Stealth. Playing a part, fooling the guards. What if…

“You say we’re immune,” he said slowly, eyeing Rumple warily. “The three of us: you, me, and Emma.”

“Very likely.”

“Protected from the brainwashing and the illness, yes?”

“I believe so.”

“And the telepathy?”

Rumple considered this, his eyes never leaving his former nemesis’ face. “To a degree, I would imagine. It’s hard to say without ever having experimented with it myself.”

“What are you thinking, babe?”

Killian drew a slow breath. Did he dare? He’d seen the state of far too many victims. Beyond their neurological issues, the majority were in a condition of such physical wretchedness that it was astounding they were even alive. Slave was almost too gentle a term. Torture survivor... closer. He shuddered, swallowed a stab of fear, and said,

“Suppose… suppose I approached the monster under the pretense of… surrendering myself to its mercies. I could gather intelligence, discern its weaknesses, perhaps even discover a way to kill it.”

Both Emma and Belle looked horrified at the suggestion; Rumple, however, wore an expression of mild intrigue. Killian cursed him inwardly.

“That’s the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard,” Emma spat, using scorn to cover obvious fear. Belle nodded in concerned agreement. But Rumple held up a hand.

“Do go on,” he urged. Killian worked his jaw in silence, then shrugged.

“That’s as far as I’ve gotten with it. If you've any reasonable objections, feel free to voice them. Believe me, I’m open to anything.”

“Here’s one for you,” scowled Emma. “The monster will kill you.”

“Not immediately.” Killian couldn’t believe he was arguing for this absurd plot. “If it killed its victims right away, then it wouldn't have the hordes of slaves we’ve encountered at every turn.”

“How the hell would it help anything for you to ‘gather intel’ if there’s no way for you to get it back to us? You die, the info dies with you.”

“Maybe I could bring some sort of communication device--”

“He would find it. And kill you.”

“Okay, but he seems to send his slaves out on errands; if I convince him to send me, then--”

“He’ll think you’re trying to get back to us. And kill you.”

“Emma, if you’ll just--”

“He. Will. Kill. You.”

Killian released a long sigh of frustration. But Emma was right. There were too many risks, and no guarantees of any return on investment. They were back to nothing. No way of defeating the monster, no info that was remotely helpful… they would have to either send a suicide bomber, evacuate the entire United Realms, or possibly both. Leaving all of the innocent slaves to die an agonizing death.

“I think the idea has merit.”

Emma turned her glare on Rumple. “You would.”

Rumple’s answering smirk was aloof, calculating. “I may have a device that will allow you to listen in on your husband’s interaction with the beast; a way that would be totally undetectable, even should the Vocivore require the disposal of all clothing.” Rumple shot a glance in Killian’s direction. “Which it undoubtedly will.”

Killian ground his teeth together in order to contain growing impatience. Of course Rumplestiltskin would be in support. However precariously cordial their interactions had become lately, there was still a small part of both of them which would not object to the other man’s demise.

“Isn’t anyone catching on to the fact that Killian will die?” Emma seemed to realize her voice was rising to a volume dangerously close to a level that might wake Hope. Her lips compressed into a tense line; Belle reached for her hand and gave it a supportive squeeze. Rumple continued, very calm.

“I don’t believe he will. As the pirate said: the Vocivore must have slaves to survive. As long as he can convince it of his obedience, he will likely have time to at least gather a layout of the compound, get a feeling for the daily routine, how many slaves it has, et cetera. He can report to you through my transmitter, and all of this may result in valuable intelligence from which a plan of attack can be built.”

“And if it fails? If we’re left with only the bombing option, I sure as hell won’t order it with Killian in harm’s way. And then we have to figure out a rescue mission on top of a bombing run.”

It was Killian’s turn to reach out for Emma. She allowed him to cup his hand over her fist, but did not return any affection.

“It won’t come to that, love. We’ll either learn something else that will help, or I’ll come back to you once the monster trusts me enough to send me out on missions.”

“And how long’s that gonna take?” she snapped, turning red-rimmed eyes in his direction.

“Mr. Clay came back less than a week after he went missing,” Killian reminded her. “All I have to do is present a model of perfect obedience. I can do that.”

She raised an eyebrow at him, looking extremely doubtful. Just then, Belle broke in.

“Uh, guys? Big flaw here, I’m sorry to say. Is the monster really going to believe Killian turned himself in for no reason?”

Killian nodded slowly. “We’ll have to come up with a plausible motive.”

“Even then, even if he can’t read your mind, what about everyone else? Won’t they give the game away?”

“Well… I…”

“We don’t tell them,” Emma said quietly, then winced. “Shit, I can’t believe I’m helping with this.”

Killian watched her scrub her eyes as he awaited further explanation.

“Keep everyone else in the dark. The monster will only be reinforced in his belief that you’re genuine if everyone else believes it too.” She glared at Rumple again. “That’s assuming you’re right and he really can’t read our minds.”

“If memory serves, it doesn't read anyone’s mind outright; it’s more like it… senses their emotions. And with enough people exhibiting authentic shock and dismay, that should easily overpower any deception from the two of you.” He studied Killian for a beat, then added, “To be on the safe side, I would recommend keeping your guard up, doing as much as you can to convince yourself the situation is real. Once you’re safely in its clutches… I don’t think you'll have much trouble living in a state of appropriate despair.”

Killian bristled as a shudder of fear overtook him. He didn’t need reminding what he was getting himself into; his imagination filled in all of the pieces in disturbing detail. Emma pulled her hand out from under his, swearing as she dug her fingers into her eyes.

“This is insane. We can’t actually be considering this.”

“Swan…” He halted, heaved a sigh, then changed approaches. “You’re right; it is insane. But I don't see any other option. From what we’ve heard today… if we don't take advantage of the only leverage we have over this creature… we may as well surrender now.” He gently pulled her hand away from her face, leaning forward to place a kiss on her knuckles. “We have to do it. For Hope. To keep her safe; to give her and children like her a chance at a future. If anything were to happen to her, I’d…”

Killian broke off with a hissing inhale; Emma’s head snapped up, and he knew she’d had the same thought.

“Bloody hell. That’s it. That’s the motive.”

“But… no, we can’t…”

“It makes sense, Emma. It’s perfect. No one could argue against the plausibility.”

“We can’t do that to people!” Emma objected forcefully, near tears. “My parents… it’ll devastate them!”

Killian grimaced, feeling sick. “That’s… that’s what we need, isn’t it?”

Belle was watching their interaction, dread and confusion blending on her face. “Killian? Emma? What…?”

Killian entwined his fingers with his wife’s as he turned to face Belle. “What would you think about having Hope come and stay with you for awhile?”

She answered without hesitation. “Of course; anytime, but why…” Then the truth dawned on her, and she gulped. “Oh.”

Almost frantic, Emma was shaking her head. “We can’t leave her for that long! We don’t even know how long it will take… she’ll think we abandoned her!”

Killian looked away, ashamed. He should have thought of that; it should have been the first thing on his mind. They couldn’t even consider doing something like that to her, not even for--

“Not if we take her back to the last realm we visited,” Belle broke into his thoughts in a timidly helpful tone. “What was it that we calculated, Rumple? The difference in the passage of time? 60 to 1?”

“Approximately.”

“So you could be gone for two months before a day passes there.”

Killian felt bile rising at the thought of two months in the clutches of the monster. “It won’t come to that,” he assured everyone but himself. To him, it was more of a desperate prayer. “That sounds like just what we need.”

“Is that okay with you, dear?” Belle reached for Rumple, who responded with a tight smile.

“You don’t even have to ask,” simpered her husband. “Anything to help our friends from Storybrooke. But I’d be remiss if we don’t address the elephant in the room.”

“And what would that be?” sighed Killian.

“The torture,” said Rumple coolly. “You are aware of that aspect, are you not?”

Killian didn’t flinch. “I am.” He heard Emma draw a sharp breath at the acknowledgement, and he squeezed her hand. Rumple shrugged, unperturbed.

“I just wanted to be sure you knew exactly what you were getting yourself into.”

“Most kind of you, mate.”

“What we haven’t discussed,” Emma interrupted, “is why we’re assuming it’s going to be you and not me.”

Killian looked at her as if she’d lost her mind. “Why it… Emma, you can’t seriously--”

“Why not? I have magic; it probably should be me.”

“You just said that the monster has shielding against magic. There’s no advantage for you there.”

“So then we’re even. Maybe we should flip a coin.”

“We’re not even,” Killian said firmly, scrambling for anything to solidify his position. “H… Hope, she--”

“Don’t you dare,” she hissed, somehow knowing exactly what he was going to say. “She needs you just as much as she needs me. End of story.”

“All right then. I’ll tell you why it has to be me. Because the people of Storybrooke are used to listening to you. You’re solidified as their leader, their sheriff… if it comes down to a coordinated effort, they’re going to need their savior. They’ll rally for you; more than they ever would for me.”

Emma’s eyes softened. “Oh, Killian. They would listen to you. You’re… you’ve grown to be an integral part of the town’s leadership. I’m sure… I mean, you shouldn’t feel like…”

She trailed off, and Killian knew she’d seen his point. Maybe if things were desperate and he was able to present a well-organized plan… but even then, he’d likely still get resistance from Regina. The dwarves. Probably even the Charmings, if it came to the safety of their daughter. No, Emma was by far the better person to run things in his absence. Killian pulled a long, fortifying breath.

“So. How do we go about putting this scheme into action?”

AN: Confession time! I personally have no interest in the Rumbelle storyline. Nothing at all against people who do; I'm glad that they got what seems like a very nice happy ending for their ship. That said, I only kind of half-watched the non-Killian parts of "Beauty" the first time it aired and have not bothered with it since. So Belle and Rumple in this story are based on my vague memories of that one viewing. If it makes it slightly AU in that respect, then so be it.

If I recall correctly, they did some travelling before ending up at Belle's death cottage, and then after that, Rumple went back in time to join the S7 characters. So there possibly could have been some years where they were in different realms, apart from the United Realms, and could have had visitors. Maybe? Perhaps they never went back to Storybrooke (and aren't allowed to know their future even though Killian and Emma now do), but that doesn't mean they never saw their friends again. At least in my version :D It stands to reason, then, that they might want to get the band back together in an attempt to figure out a solution for their monster problem.

Also, a note about timelines: even though the "present" timeline is also moving, try and think of "past" timelines as based on one present day (Monday, if you were to get technical about it.) To try and keep it easier on everyone, I didn't change calculations as the present week progressed. So "Five Weeks ago" is always the day Killian and Emma announce Hope's alleged kidnapping.

#ouat fanfiction #killian jones #emma swan #ouat belle #ouat rumple #an awful plan #plotting #self-sacrifice #killian the spy #Vocivore ltd

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less-than-hash · 5 years

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Holes in the Firmament

Every dev I know has at least one dream game - stuff that they'd love to be able to make some day. The more ambitious these get - the more complex or long - the less likely they are to get made. And in a collaborative medium like games, the more people (and the more money!) involved in a project, the less control any given individual has over it.

This isn't intrinsically bad. (It can also be wildly valuable to a project and rewarding personally.)

But we devs still dream of those games we'd make if we had, say, the resources of a two hundred person studio, the backing of a major publisher, and absolute freedom.

Three of mine are behind the cut.

As a note, none of these reflect upcoming Obsidian projects. Nor are they projects Obsidian would likely ever make. They don't fit the studio's brand. Which is why I'm dreaming about them here, and not pitching them internally.

So, first up!

A Squad-Based 1st-Person Firefighting Game with a Robust Relationship System and a Branching Narrative

I don't understand why there aren't more games about firefighting - though if I had to guess it's largely because making fire look good in-game is extraordinarily difficult. As is making an environment decay over time (though I suspect there are probably some pretty good, easy solutions for this using dev sleight-of-hand).

There are actually a Iot of interactive sim games about firefighting for training purposes. Much like war and flight, firefighting is something best trained without risking real life and limb.

Firefighting appeals to me as a gameplay space because it's actively protective - it's about limiting destruction and saving lives. But it can very easily be modeled with similar gameplay loops to shooters - ultimately both are about emptying rooms of danger - here it's just with water instead of bullets.

I could be water!

In short, firefighters engage in almost unequivocal good. They're heroic. They’re human. They’re flawed. And they brave dangers every day. But our industry basically ignores them.

Firefighting would give us the opportunity to set games in the modern world with people who, during their off hours, experience much more relatable struggles than your average freedom fighter, super spy, or elite soldier - relationship difficulties, debt, children, and the like.

So what would this game actually look and play like? It would likely be mission-based (calls come in of their own accord, after all), make use of movement and environmental hazards (not unlike a cover-based shooter), and have simple companion-direction mechanics similar to the Mass Effect trilogy or Spec Ops: The Line.

(Alternatively, the action could be dialed down a bit to focus on positioning a la Valkyria Chronicles.)

The gameplay would be focused on keeping your squad alive while saving as many people as possible.

Between missions you hang out at the station, or the bar, or at home - or try to balance all three, a la Catherine. You build relationships, helping your squad perform better together. You never recruit anyone, but your companions, your fellow firefighters, can die in missions, altering the narrative in both tone and content.

tl;dr: Mass Effect 2 meets Rescue Me with some dashes of Catherine

Next!

Narrative-Focused Urban Fantasy RPG/Immersive Sim

How does this not exist yet? Where's our Dresden Files or Hellblazer inspired RPGs? Or even The Magicians or Harry Potter, for that matter?

Where my Chilling Adventures of Sabrina RPG?

There's Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines, which, while fantastic, is 13 years old.

While I'm looking forward to Necrobarista, that seems like a pretty tight, focused experience.

We've plenty of games with magicians in fantasy realms or in space - AKA BioWare's entire oeuvre - but few in the AAA space set in the modern world.

Unless you count superhero magicians.

Wait. Did Dr. Strange even get a game? Google suggests no. What’s going on here, videogame industry? Why won’t you suffer a witch to live?!

Honestly, I get to an extent why this is. There's a reason there've been Vampire: The Masquerade and Werewolf: The Apocalypse games, but no Mage games, either for Ascension or Awakening. Magic is broad, and often (especially in games) wildly destructive, which can be at odds with a modern setting (or rather what makes a modern setting interesting).

Art by Jason Chan, from Reign of the Exarchs by White Wolf.

But it doesn't have to be.

The flexibility of magic actually allows for a lot of different gameplay styles. You can do straight up first-person action like The Darkness or stealth survival like Last of Us. If I were to adapt Phonogram, a comic I love deeply, you can bet your ass there'd be beatmatch spellcasting.

A lot of gameplay mechanics we take for granted are actually damned-near magical.

Maps that point you where to go and tell you where your enemies are?

Dropping from a second story window without difficulty?

Regenerating health?

Items that make you smarter, stronger, or more likable?

Bullet time?

Rewinding to an earlier point in time to avoid death or a bad decision?

So that's another question a developer has to answer: if magic comes in so many shades, what color is yours? What are you hoping to accomplish?

For me, the presence of magic in the modern world demands a layer of secrecy that implies other layers of secrets. A modern world in which magic functions immediately deepens. What else lurks out there? Where are the other magicians? How are they using their abilities?

Additionally, magic is surreal. Bend and twist reality, and you're forced to look at it from new angles. If you can tweak people's emotional responses to you, how do you know the relationships around you are real?

And that's before you realize your dreams literally might come true - especially the nightmares. Is the face in the mirror a reflection, or something sinister and jealous? Is the ghost haunting you your literal past reaching out to reclaim you?

My dream modern magician game is an open-world immersive sim in an urban setting. Drop Prey, Dishonored, or BioShock style gameplay into a sprawling city filled with physics objects ripe for transmutation and NPCs waiting to be enchanted. Add an otherworld accessed by stepping through mirrors (the entire map within is reversed).

It's about what power can accomplish, what justifies its use, and what its limits are.

Populate the world with a few powerful magician NPCs with their own agendas; dozens of NPCs to chat up, learn more about, seduce, and manipulate; and a threat that could consume reality's very soul if someone doesn't step up to deal with it. Shake. Serve.

tl;dr: Dishonored meets Vampyr by way of Hellblazer and Hellboy

And finally!

Friendship Simulator 2019

My favorite parts of the Persona games and Catherine are the things outside of the core gameplay loops. The bits where you're hanging out with your friends, chatting with them, finding out more about them, and guiding and supporting them (or tearing them down).

Or hiding in the toilet to text your significant other.

One of the things I love about Persona 5: Dancing Star Night in Starlight is that the narrative is almost solely in this mode. It's entirely about learning more about your fellow Phantom Thieves.

Lest you think I uncritically and unabashedly love it, P5D has some major narrative problems - it entirely fails to pay off its initial premise, for example, and there's no persistence to the player choices or (player-driven) reactivity within the narrative.

Nor does the way the player "progresses" the narrative make a tremendous amount of sense within the fiction of the world.

Sorry I got distracted.

Point is, from a narrative perspective it's a game about getting to know people better - literally exploring their lives - and then supporting (or undermining, if you're terrible) them.

Similarly, nothing the player says in Persona (or, for the most part, Catherine) has any impact on the game. The player might progress a Social Link more slowly by being an ass to the protagonists' friends, but they'll still increase that Link over time, provided they put time into it.

And I don't want to be dismissive here. Time management is one of the major ways in which the player engages with the Persona games. Outside of combat and maybe monster-training, it's probably the most important mechanic at play. Taking longer to max out a Social Link means you're missing other content and missing opportunities to increase your stats. Or maybe the Social Link doesn't get completed at all. (Sorry, Haru.) Or maybe you’re not powerful enough to overcome the next Shadow in time and your game ends. Those are non-trivial consequences.

But the story of the Social Link, or the story of the game, will never change based on (the vast majority of) the player's interactions with their buddies.

Despite that, the games give the player a lot of freedom as to when (or whether!) they approach those relationships.

On the other end of the spectrum, Life is Strange (and Before the Storm) does a fantastic job of letting the player get to know the characters around Max (and Chloe) and responding logically to the player's choices.

The kid who has a crush on Max (Warren, I think?) remembers what the player promises him and then responds to whether or not the player follows through on it.

If Chloe plays A Game That Absolutely Involves Neither Dungeons Nor Dragons with her friends, they'll refer to it excitedly later and ask her to join in another round.

The TellTale games are also pretty good at this, especially Wolf Among Us, but that'll take me a bit far afield.

What Life is Strange does not provide the player is any control at all over the flow of the narrative. When the player completes a narrative beat within a scene, they're rushed along to the next scene, which is never one of their choosing. There's plenty of flexibility within the relationships (and within many of the smaller subplots), but little within the game's larger structure.

Ultimately, Persona provides little variability, while Life is Strange provides little narrative control.

I want to make a game that grabs the strong aspects of both of these while jettisoning their weaknesses.

(Far, far easier written than done!)

Basically, I want to make a game focused on the exploration of relationships. Where the personalities are the mysteries to unravel, and the interpersonal relationships between characters the dungeons to be navigated. Where the inner demons are the beasts in need of slaying - not through mystically entering the subconscious and doing battle with the Shadow, but through conversation.

I want a game about building a community, a family, and helping it come to support itself.

I think that one essential change that would make this significantly more doable is discarding the larger threats to the characters, especially those supernatural in nature. The relationships among the cast of Persona 4 are propping for the story of the Midnight Channel Murders. Arcadia Bay's pending apocalypse distracts from the relationships that seem to be the actual core story of Life is Strange.

(I find Before the Storm a stronger narrative than the original Life is Strange in large part because it's not being torn in multiple directions.)

Which isn't to say that there can't be threats, obstacles, and dangers. The world presents all manner of difficulties. Most of them requiring far more challenging and interesting solutions than "stick a sword in it."

That's a lot of abstraction, so what would this game actually look and play like?

Well, as I mentioned above, I think the Persona games, esp. Persona 4 Golden and Persona 5 already do a fantastic job of providing the player the framework for exploring a space and approaching relationships at their own pace.

Add into this characters that the player can engage with in order to learn more about them (not unlike Vampyr), help with their problems, and build (or break!) relationships with them or others, and you have something of an open-world interpersonal relationship game.

The narrative of these relationships would change based on the player's actions (both in regard to how they interact with the character and how they deal with (or fail to deal with) the character's problems). So would the player's reputation, which impacts their interactions with other characters.

(The reputation system is actually one of my favorite ideas in Pillars, but I think we sometimes fail to use it to its full potential. I certainly know I do.)

Side note: in this dream game, the relationships I'm describing are not expressed in a systemic way. They're not ranked like Social Links, and they don't have reputation bars like in Dragon Age or Tyranny. It's much more akin to Life is Strange here, with each character containing their own narrative(s) to be navigated.

Over time, you bring some of these characters closer to your protagonist, recruiting a tight-knit circle that helps you face the game's primary conflict. These relationships bounce off of one another. You can never make everyone happy, after all, and some people will never get along. Late game play requires that the player balance these relationships and help forge friendships or avoid catastrophic fallings out.

Yeah, but what is that primary conflict?

Potentially anything the world could throw at a person. A lot of television shows have provided us a framework we can borrow from. Veronica Mars comes immediately to mind. (Or one of my favorite films, Brick.) Then there's Lost, which is overtly about building communities and relationships in order to survive. The Wire is another possibility. (Imagine playing as a Stringer Bell type trying to build a crew while maintaining relationships with rival crews.)

My point being that we already know what these kinds of stories look like. We just have to be brave enough to make a game that's focused around understanding other people rather than shooting them.

tl;dr: Life is Strange meets Persona, minus the strange and the personas

And that’s three glimpses into my brain. Into my dreams.

You may have noticed a few through lines. I'm pretty clearly interested in making games:

Set in the modern day

That tackle modern, realistic (and I use that term extremely loosely) concerns

That are largely non-violent

With non-linear narratives

That involve exploring the lives and feelings of non-player characters

And give those interpersonal relationships systemic narrative bite

Obviously, the projects I've been involved in recently don't check off every one of those boxes on my wishlist. That's generally how it is, if you're making games with other people.

But if you're very, very lucky, you get the opportunity to work on projects that scratch at least one or two of those itches.

I've been very, very lucky.

Cheers, <3 <3 <#

#gamedev #game design #narrative #relationships #persona #catherine #mass effect #life is strange #prey #dishonored #vampyr #necrobarista

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mischiefmakingmuses · 5 years

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Tawagoto’s Gate: The Disappearance of Tokyo Ghetto

[Here is a fanfic I wrote for all you lovely people, I hope you have an enjoy.]

Chapter 1: The Adventures Of Mumu-chan

In a world where darkness and light intertwined heavily and lovingly, never fully separating from each other and always continuing through existence in their dance of love and death, lived a Girl by the name of Mumu, who was secretly the Moon in a previous life. When Link did not manage to save Termina from Majora's Wrath due to being distracted by a Massive Display of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, 2,400 Doughnuts All Shaped and Flavored Like Several Pokémon, Yokai, and Digimon (As Created For "The Great Mons Game War Against Pretentious Pokémon Fans Who Think Pokémon is the Only Mons Game When in Reality the Megami Tensei Series is the Literal Ur Example of All Mons Games"), all of Termina was banished to The Shadow Realm, but in the middle of The World of Light, and it was here that the Moon took her new form as Mumu-chan.

By Day she was a regular Schoolgirl, and By Night she became The World's Greatest Magical Girl. She was The Only One who could save the town's cats from falling prey to the Evil Tree Organization, who would often capture the poor cats and trap them up on high branches from which they could not leap down from. Every other night, she was visited by her Good Friend Tuxedo Mask...a month ago, Tuxedo Mask had begun to help out a Man from town named Mike Dawson, who was trying to find out what happened to his Totally Not Girlfriend, Rita Scanlon. Even one day, Mike Dawson interrogated Tuxedo Mask.

"Tuxedo Mask, what was YOUR relationship with Rita," asked Mike Dawson.

"My work here is done," Tuxedo Mask declared before being beamed up by his spaceship and transforming into A Whole Chicken In A Can.

It was when Things were beginning to fall apart. At One Point, Mumu-chan saw Nobita and Doraemon at a candy store!!! And she saw Kitaro and Nezumi-Otoko getting ramen at a ramen stall!!! What was going on?!

Chapter 2: Chapter 2

In this hard boiled world there is only one hard boiled detective named Gummie, who was a octopus bat alien thing given form on Jack Box's Drawful 2 one day when the Author wanted to be cute in a Twitch stream they frequented.

With a Large Pretzel Stick in their mouth, Gummie looked over the case files while her dear friend Star Sheep sat in the corner playing Splatoon 2 For The Nintendo Switch™, for the Salmonids were something Star Sheep became really obsessed with because they were Funny Fish and Very Interesting.

"Do you think this is a homicide case?" Gummie asked Star Sheep, pulling the Pretzel Stick out of his mouth and acting as if it were a cigar.

"Sorry, I'm Splet," Star Sheep replied.

"Hmm. That's true," Gummie mused, lifting up her hat to look outside the window. It was a Marvelous Night, but they had not been making much headway on the case so far. Perhaps it was time to get Reinforcements involved. "We don't even have a sus cuz the sec with a mo's got a perf al."

"Eko, You Don't Drink," Star Sheep commented wisely from the corner.

"Shut up, Maya, we're getting burgers," Gummie proclaimed loudly as he put the Pretzel Stick back in their mouth.

Chapter 3: Help Me Dr. Cox

The Next Day Gummie and Star Sheep left to find Reinforcements, first coming by Richard AKA Dr. Dick AKA Dr. Cox because the Author Wanted To Be Meta and The Real Dr. Dick knew Everything that they had planned for the week that had passed.

In front of a Dollar Tree, Gummie and Star Sheep awaited for Richard to show up, playing a bootleg version of Where In Time Is Carmen Sandiego? For The Nintendo Switch™ which landed on their doorstep one day. The reality of the situation was that the game functioned almost entirely like the PC version except that The Baron wasn't called Baron Grinnit, but Baron Wasteland Because I Think That Makes More Sense.

"When my mom and I played this game, we really liked Ivan Idea," Gummie admitted.

"How are we even doing this?" Star Sheep asked, without the monotone tone that this fanfic is read in as it's being written Because It's Ironic. It was then that Gummie squinted their eyes at the screen, only for the screen to melt away and turn into The World Ends With You: Final Remix.

"Oh hey, look, it's Neku," Gummie murmured happily. "Y'know, I really love Neku?"

"Yeah, I know," Star Sheep replied. "Comfort character, right?"

"I'm inclined to believe so," Gummie answered as he attempted to play the song Calling which was her favorite song because he first heard it in the DS version in 2012 and it really stuck with them.

It was then that Richard had finally shown up. She looked around with shifty eyes, seeming a bit nervous and unsettled.

"I don't think I'm supposed to be here," Dr. Dick admitted.

"I'm vaguely getting that kind of idea too," Gummie commented. "Anyway, so I heard from my friends Smile, Urien, Netalina, Gambit, and Jizo that their friends Nobita and Doraemon have gone missing, and have no idea where to go to find them."

"Eko?" Star Sheep began, pulling on Gummie's wing. "I'm sorry, but...how do you know about the Yokai?"

Both Richard and Gummie looked at Star Sheep wide eyed, in Gummie's case you couldn't tell very well because they always made it a point to never reveal their eyes.

"Shit. Shit. SHIT. I don't know what's going on." Gummie grabbed the sides of his head in confusion, narrowing their eyes at the ground. "Something's extremely wrong here."

It was then that Kaite20 had suddenly shown up. Yes, her name is actually Kaite20 because she feels the need to constantly append the "20" to her name even when just "Kaite" would suffice.

"Hey, you guys, I found a portal somewhere and it kind of looks like one you might see in Puyo Puyo Puyo Puyo Puyo Puyo Land. Is that...supposed to be normal?"

Gummie stared at Kaite in shock.

"Like hell it is," they responded. "Guys, we're going to the portal. Don't be surprised if we end up having Adventures in Bootleg again."

Chapter 4: Peter Was Not Available So Phoebe And Plumule Are Here

Through the portal, they had reached the home of Mumu-chan, in a place between the Shadow Realm and the World of Light. It wasn't QUITE time to play Lifelight, though.

"This feels more like how in ChalkZone, half of the world was day and half of the world was night," Star Sheep commented. And she was right, as the town was split entirely between night day, right down the middle.

"...this is cool but complicated," stated Dr. Cox.

"Focus guys, I'm inclined to believe that Nobita and Doraemon are here somewhere. I dunno how the FUCK they ended up here, but I imagine that they HAVE to be here," Gummie commented.

"Do you think it's because of...HIM?" Kaite asked.

"Absolutely not, because if anything makes sense in this goddamn world we're trapped in, it's that They Above wouldn't fucking put him in this story. Then again, I have no idea who else it could be."

"You're getting KINDA too meta, now," said Richard. "Sounds like a fanfic."

"It IS a fanfic, Dr. Dick," Gummie responded. "So that means that we'll probably meet the Kitaro Family and Ittan-Momen will be really suave and shit despite not being a major character. Also we now have an autistic girl and her baby bird monster friend on the team because They Above asked a certain someone if they wanted some influence on the story."

"Actually, he's more or less my tulpa." And there was Phoebe, with Plumule right next to her. The tiny bird monster chirped in an affirmative manner.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. It's tulpas all the way down. ANYWAY, you guys, we need to find Nobita and Doraemon. The first step is finding Ittan-Momen flying around because like Hell he won't be here."

As if on cue, a dashing white cloth with beautiful blue eyes flew through the area and down the street.

"Fuckin' typical; OK, let's go." Gummie spread their arms...wings and took to the air, trying his best to keep up with the white cloth. Naturally, being part of the Kitaro Family and being Objectively The Best Kitaro Character In The Universe, at least according to the Author, Ittan-Momen was very fast and hard to keep up with. "Hey, sir, would you mind slowing down? I'll buy you some sweet potato sake if you do."

"Huh, what? Are ya talkin' to me?" Ittan-Momen flipped over in the air to look at Gummie, who wasn't keeping up very well. The cloth stopped and allowed the alien to catch up to him. "Do ya need me for somethin'?"

"First of all, very honored to meet you. Congrats on actually making it into a written work made by my Ghost Writer! They really like your voice and manner of speaking...down to the subtitles that Crunchyroll gives you."

"...Huh...? What...? I don't really understand," Ittan-Momen said. He was blushing though. "Anyway, what do ya need me for?"

"Gonna take a wild guess and say your friend Kitaro is somewhere in the area! Have either of you happened to see a boy in glasses, yellow shirt, black hair, kinda looks like a loser? Or his robot cat friend, no ears, bright smile, red collar with a bell, white belly, a pocket on said belly? I'm inclined to believe that we have a trickster afoot and that those two have been taken here for some reason...as well as you and Kitaro."

"Err..." Ittan-Momen tilted his head slightly to the side. "Yeah, I think so. I'm still not sure I really understand, though..."

"Don't worry about it!" Gummie piped up. "Just let my friends catch up with us and then you can take us to Kitaro, alright?"

"Cotton shochi!"

Chapter 5: When You're Too Afraid To Wake Up

At Ittan-Momen's introduction, the group found Nobita and Doraemon, who were actually having a conversation with GeGeGe no Kitaro himself. While presenting himself politely, it seemed like a lot of the futuristic aspects of Doraemon's existence had confused Kitaro quite a bit. He was just getting used to the fact that people had Smartphones, what was this about a 4th Dimensional Gadget Pocket...?

"Really glad to meet you, Kitaro! Yes, They Above is right, you are definitely Badass Adorable," Gummie gushed.

"Um...thank you," Kitaro replied quietly. "Ittan-Momen, who are...your friends?"

"Don't know. The purple one asked me to bring them to you."

"Sorry, Eko, I'm kindof tuning out here, hahaha. Everything I know about these guys is just what you've told me before..." Star Sheep laughed nervously.

"Trust me, if this got any more out of control, then fucking Ashens would've been mentioned. By the way, he gave the whole chicken in a can a negative review because it just looked like a melted chicken carcass.

"Anyway, Nobita, we've finally found you--and GeGeGe no Kitaro, to boot--at Urien and friends' request, so I'd consider this case closed..." Gummie adjusted her glasses. "...except that someone obviously was behind everyone's displacement, including ours and Kitaro's. So that means the case is still open...until we find the culprit!"

"I thought it was just Ekoro," Nobita replied.

"Ekoro?" Kitaro asked.

"Who's Ekoro?" Richard asked as well, despite the fact that The Real Dr. Dick knew very well who Ekoro was.

"I don't know any Ekoro," Phoebe replied bluntly. Plumule cheeped in agreement.

"I thought you said it couldn't be Ekoro," Kaite responded.

"I did," Gummie said. "So that means that it's someone we don't actually know. Kitaro, do you sense youkai activity?"

"Yes," Kitaro replied without skipping a beat. Gummie's sight wandered to the top of his head, where his ahoge was pointing straight up.

"Well, golly gee, that was fucking easy. Which Youkai of the Week do you think could've possibly done this?"

"I don't know," Kitaro responded. "It's not any youkai I've ever encountered."

"But they're a youkai? And they're close?"

"Yes."

"I wouldn't consider myself a youkai, per say..." came a voice. Everyone looked around, but to no avail. Suddenly, the world fell apart. The group panicked for a second, until the voice came back. "Give it a moment, I'll send you all back home in a second!"

They tried to focus on the source of the voice. It was coming from a definitive direction, but it still seemed like no one was there...

"I'm right here," came the voice again. Everyone looked downwards. In the middle of the group was...something. Almost exclusively what could be made out was a white mask with three heart-shaped holes in it and two horns. The rest of...whatever it was...was completely transparent. Its shaped was also inconceivable, almost as it was hardly there at all.

"The fuck are you, a Phanto?" Gummie asked in a sassy tone.

"Not...really. I'm not a youkai, either. Or a demon. Or really anything...I guess that means I'm...nothing?" It seemed to put a hand over where its chin would be. "It's kind of hard to be here, sorry."

"O...kay...so why did you bring everyone here?"

"Oh! I just wanted to have some fun and let you all construct a silly story in a world of my creation! I hope you enjoyed it! Happy April Fools'!" Nobody seemed impressed. "Aw, c'mon, I can't imagine it was that bad? I understand that all of you enjoy ridiculous humor like this! Not counting Kitaro and friends, of course, because they don't really represent anyone in The Other World, but surely the rest of you found parts of it funny!"

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Dr. Dick asked.

"I don't really know! I would say I'm Nanashi but Kitaro and Ittan-Momen would get mad. But similarly to him, I have no name. No one's given me one, and I might never have one."

"Oh, I know you," Gummie responded, "you're the one They Above have been struggling with for a while; they call you Not Melon."

"Ah, but that's not actually my name. Similarly to how they've called other characters in progress 'Not Ekoro' and the like. I don't have a name yet. But, I do have a birthday! It's today! April 1st is my birthday!"

"I'm inclined to believe that's bullshit because your concept has been floating around for more than a fucking week," Gummie grumbled.

"Well, they didn't make Smile on May 18th, and yet that's his birthday, right? And Urien was conceived sometime in November or December, but his birthday is somewhere in June or July, but it's still not decided because they want a date that would perfectly reflect Urien's personality similar to how it seemed to happen with Smile, right?"

"Wait, Urien's birthday is in June or July?" Nobita asked. "It would've been great to know that last year!"

"Yeah, but the date's still up in the air. Plus, that plot thread was going to be explored with Ekoro, with Star Sheep's Ghost Writer taking the role of Ringo so she and They Above could roleplay some fluffy EkoRin stuff. And then they decided that they didn't want to do anymore, and ran out of time anyway."

"...I think that's beyond even my understanding, Mister...err...what did you say your name was again?" Doraemon asked, tilting his head.

"Ah, well...firstly, I'm not a mister...and secondly...I don't have one. However, my birthday being today was inspired by Subeta's Elwood's birthday being today, and that Elwood's Pizza is in between time and space, kinda like me! Ultimately They Above decided they actually wanted to go down this route for me!"

"...OK." Both Nobita and Doraemon had given up at this point.

"Actually!" they piped up, clapping their hands together...or something? They were so intangible it wasn't really clear. "They Above decided to plan all this out as a way to introduce me, even though I kind of don't fully exist yet! That's part of the reason why you can't really tell what I look like...the only thing confirmed is my mask, you see?

"Anyway, that means that you, I, and the Yokai might all meet up sometime soon, in another universe! Exciting right? I'm really looking forward to it!"

"Did you understand any of that, Kitaro-san?" Ittan-Momen asked.

"No," Kitaro answered bluntly.

"It's OK, you aren't really involved. They Above are just such a huge fan of you guys that they wanted to include you. Anyway...as much as I'd love to stay and chat with you all, it's time for you guys to go back, and for this story to come to a close.

"It was really nice meeting you all! Especially because...I don't really have any friends yet! But, again, I hope you all enjoyed your time here, and I'm looking forward to meeting you all again! I'm not sure when or where, but it'll definitely happen!"

And all will fade to black.

Chapter 6: Home At Last

Gummie awoke with a start. Apparently they had fallen asleep on their desk. Star Sheep was in the corner, playing Splatoon 2 For The Nintendo Switch™.

"Star Sheep, what the hell happened last night?"

"I'm not really sure, but I had a really crazy dream where we went to solve a case...something about two people going missing? And then Kitaro was there?"

"Kitaro? You mean like GeGeGe no Kitaro Kitaro?"

"Yeah. Also there was that guy, there was that guy you like."

"Ittan-Momen?"

"Yeah."

"Fuck yes. I had the same dream too. Ittan-Momen was fucking incredible." Star Sheep turned to her friend's general direction and gave him a warm smile.

"Glad you liked it."

At the end of the day, much fun was had...and also Nezumi-Otoko Is Still Underground.

Thank you to @astarrymusenight, @jellipuddi, @robocatandboy, @timeandspaceandmagic, and my Twitter friend Peter Puzzling for letting me use your characters/personas!

#fanfic

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jeanjauthor · 5 years

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Writers? This is the artistic version of a short story.

Artists...?

...WHY??

So...many...questions.

A lot of this breaks what writers call “the willing suspension of disbelief.” It’s where the audience is willing to overlook implausible things in order to keep following the story. At some point their credibility has a limit, a breaking point where their ability to suspend and ignore their disbelief will snap, like hanging a thread from the ceiling, and then putting too much weight on it.

Some of these weighty questions include:

Why is she "standing" like that? She looks like she's sitting on an invisible stool!

Why is her cloak/sheet still bound up like that if she's been fighting long enough to get her sword bloodied?

Why is she so pristine when the wyrm corpse is clearly freshly arterially injured??

Why does she have no shoes and pristine feet when she’s clearly touching a bloody corpse?

Why is the tag end of her cloak/sheet...thing...whipped up under one leg and over the other when she’s been chopping up a monster and now has to fight another one?

Again, why is she so clean??

There are so many WTF questions...

What is she sitting on?

If she’s not sitting on anything, how is she supporting her weight in that position?

She’s not being supported by her feet, that’s for sure--is she seriously en pointe with her left foot (the one on our right, visually)?

And the one on the left (her right foot), if it’s resting at a 45-ish degree angle on a corpse so freshly butchered it’s still spurting, how is it she’s able to keep it in place when it should be slipping out from under her by all the laws of squshy meaty blood-filled things?

Where is the missing V shaped wedge of that tail? Look at the angles on those two cut ends; there is clearly a whole big fat wedge of flesh that is missing! If there wasn’t, that tail would literally have been an L shaped structure with the cut angling on the diagonal down into the corner, and that is just disturbing to contemplate...

...Where are the arm bones in those dragon-wings?? Seriously, that is disturbing, seeing the thin metacarpals and phalanges (the “finger bones” of wings if you look at wings as nothing more than elongated & weirdly angled hands) ...but not the arm bones...so where are they??

...Now this isn’t to say the picture is all bad! The concept is actually a neat idea, looking like a cross of Lord of the Rings meets all those hedonistic Renaissance paintings of the Ancient Greek mythos. And it would be 100% correct to mix mythos like this, as the Renaissance painters were doing that all over the place, mixing Greek mythos symbology into Biblical art, and vice versa (all of which was fan art, btw).

The streaky effect of the Nazgûl is wonderful, though I’d like to see a bit more tattering (along the same diagonal upper left to lower right lines) on that right side of the Ringwraith fellow, there.

The Ringrwraith even seems to be bending the airwaves around and above him, with the effects of the clouds sort of streaking in toward that bright spot in the sky above and behind. It makes it look like the halo is sucking in all the Light before fleeing into the West, or trying to suck the Nazgûl off the face of the planet to hopefully disinterate its evilness out of existence...

The bright part of the sky also kind of looks like dragonbreath fire, even though the Fell Beasts that the Nazgûl rode upon aren’t evern mentioned (as far as I can recall) as being able to breathe fire like dragons. So that’s another point of coolness.

I have no idea what’s going on anatomy-wise of the presumed fallen and chopped up Fell Beast, but at least some effort has been made to provide it with a (weird) internal structure. If it really is a Fell Beast and not meant to be a dragon or a wyrm, then I can accept the odd anatomy and darkness of the...I’m not sure if those are bones, but I’m presuming that it has some bones in its tail, and if it’s a foul abomination style creation, I can accept the creator had no clue.

I do like the crispness of the woman in focus versus the Nazgûl who is equally clearly not in focus.

Certainly the woman definitely looks like a Renaissance painting of a Greek Mythos Action Sequence! She’s in a classic serene, poised action pose that no doubt has some sort of supporting stool & armature behind and under the original model for her to rest her arms upon.

The symbology of Shield Maiden of Rohan certainly gets the first two components of that descriptor down visually: for the first part, she has a shield (lovely round thing, very Classic Greek Hero With Spiffy Expensive Metal Shield), and she definitely is using it to shield herself from something. (Plus the sword.) The other part of the symbology is the “modesty sheet drape” under one thigh (gotta show off them nekkid thighs, Renaissance foiks!!) and up over the other, between the legs, blocking off any view of or access to the mons pubis...aka, shielding her maidenly modesty.

However, there is zero sign she’s from Rohan, because there’s zero symbolism representing Rohirrim culture...and the key element to Renaissance pictures of various cultures’ mythos were that they were rich with symbolism. The Rohirrim, the Riders of Rohan, were emphasized over and over as horse people.

Tolkienn also cribbed the Scandinavian culture for his descriptions of them (I suspect the Golden Hordes of the Russian Steppes, heavily influenced by the Rus folks who were Scandinavians who had moved east and mingled with the Mongolian Empire remnants who a little earlier had moved west. The Greeks knew of the Scandinavian peoples (no, really, they knew of them! Electricity is actually just the Latin word elektron (which comes from a similar-sounding Greek word I’m not going to bother to spell correctly), which meant amber, as in the petrified pine pitch being shipped down through Europe from the Baltic Sea in the far north, which is surrounded by Scandinavian countries.

Yet there’s no signs or symbols of Scandinavia about her, no knotwork animals, no amber, just pale blonde hair (which frankly could be representative of the British Isles or partial albinoism)... So while there’s a lovely Greek Mythos in Renaissance Paintings feel to her...it falls short of being a true copy/homage, which is unfortunate. It could’ve been so easily fixed, too, with a bit of knotwork braiding painted onto the cloak/sheet thing.

I will say that the folds of that sheet are spectacularly well painted, lovely depth and dimensionality to them!

Same goes for the condours of her body, and the tail of the wyrm. I fully believe these are three dimensional objects!

The lighting is beautifully done. Admittedly if the light is coming from that glowy bit of the sky behind the Nazgûl, she should be in shadow...except he’s a Ringwraith, and it’s 100% acceptable for light to go through him, since according to cannon, they’re not fully corporeal. This is a “plot” point where fans who know the lore are more than willing to suspend disbelief.

I’m not a rabid Tolkienn fan by any means, but I do know enough to accept that Ringwraiths are wraiths, and not fully of the physical realm. Plus, Greek Mythos Heroes in Renaissance paintings are supposed to be Bathed In The Light Of Holy Goodness, sort of an inner aura spiritual goodness radiance-effect, I guess...? Either way, it’s symbolism, it indicates visually that the Light (Good) will shine through upon Heroes (& Heroines) when they are being their Most Heroic...and it’s very well done.

(...Another question if that’s her helm on the ground, where is the rest of her armor? Where are her clothes?? Or is this meant to parody the “sword and magic helmet!!” trope and the helmet was providing all her armor and clothes up until the point she removes it to reveal she’s a nekkid Not A Man? And really, are Nazgûl so far removed from their mortal lives that they need nakedness to be able to tell males from females of their own species...?)

If this were a story, it would be a crossover fanfic with awesome potential...but it falls a little short of what’s needed to successfully suspend the reader/viewer’s disbelief.

Why is it important to do a better job next time, to get these details a little more accurate? Because most Tolkienn fans I know are rabid about it, & willing to nitpick any mistakes or inaccuracies. Cast your minds back to the huge raging fandom debates around the Lord of the Rings trilogy movies about whether or not Peter Jackson & co were “butchering the mythos” of Middle Earth.

Also...I’m trying to figure out how the Nazgûl is standing, and on what if he is indeed standing, though perhaps he’s actually astride the fallen Fell Beast, and simply swung himself around while she was chopping off & somehow disintegrating that V-shaped wedge of wrymtail? I can suspend some of my disbelief for that, though it does add to the overall strain of that willing suspension, and obviously there were too many other issues that ended up snapping it.)

As an editor, if this were a story, I’d be telling the artist to fix the wing bones, to give the woman some shining chain armor with a Rohirrim tabard, or boiled leather armor and tabard--at the very least a tabard with the Rohirrim symbols on it!!. I’d also at the very least slap some Scandinavian knotwork on it, if not the actual Horse of Rohan. (I’d also suggest using the accepted colors for the Rohirrim banner, green and gold, though I might keep the majority of the tabard white and just have a gold-and-green knotwork horse centered on the chest, or something.)

I’d also request there be more chunks of hacked-off tail all over. (Bonus points if one of them looks like The Lonely Mountain! lol...)

Plus, I’d give her at least a tiny bit of blood spatters around her boots and on her thighs & a little on the lower tabard, to show she’s been fighting in battle all along. However, I’d actually hesitate to put the spatters any higher than belt-line at most (and definitely do something different than that cloak/sheet thing).

Why would I hesitate to get the chest area bloody? Because of the symbolism.

Renaissance paintings had blood & gore, but only up to a point. She’s the heroic figure who slays the 3rd Biggest Nasty of the entire trilogy (#1: Sauron, #2 Saruman, #3 chief king of the Ringwraiths, the one she stabs in the face-hole), so she needs the symbolism of still being Clean And Pure Of Heart, aka no muss, mud, tatters, or blood in the torso (chest / heart) area.

In fact, if you just replaced the cloak/sheet thingy with just a tabard (a white one with a little knotwork on it, and put Grecian sandals on her feet...that would seriously fix a lot in this image. You’d still get to paint the glorious three dimensional folds arrowing down between her thighs, “shielding her modesty.” and you could put some of the symbols of Rohan on the tabard (horse, knotwork, etc) to make her more clearly the Shield Maiden of Rohan, and not just a shield maiden, while still retaining that Greek Mythos feel.

(Plus, you could have a bit of Side Boob showing on the side closest to the viewer to make it clear She Is No Man, and still avoid the blasted censorship issues rampant in modern society, particularly on this site these days.)

...Definitely fix the dragon wing armbones with a bit of shadowing to remove the fact they look like they’re translucent with nothing along the upper/leading edge... ‘cause once unseen, I cannot un-see-it, and it’s creepy as-is... >.>*

I love the color palette. It’s very dusky, as in nearing-sunset-dusk, with lots of earth tones. It looks a bit dirty in its hues (as tragically poised battlefields should), and yet it has kind of a “Romanticism golden afternoon light” quality to it. These are all colors that I 100% believe Renaissance painters had access to and would’ve used. Excellent choices!

At a quick glance, it’s a good painting. When you look at it a little closer, however... the contrast between all the high quality stuff (lighting, three-dimensionality, focus versus unfocus, at least half the necessary symbolism is there, etc, etc) and the lower quality stuff (oy that lack of proper dragonwing armbones, etc) means it’s really not quite the artist’s best work, and it could be so, so very much better. Why?

Composition is as important as technical performance.

Seriously, the way she’s painted is gloriously done...except for her positioning. The dragon wings (I haven’t even touched on the odd angles of the metacarpal bones on the left-side one, just the right one, which is well done for the “finger bones” but there’s no way it should be pointing up lke that), those wings are too anatomically implausible, though I’ll admit they’re more about visual framing than being actual key features.

And lastly, if you’re going for a glorious Greek Mythos Renaissance Painting look to the art...go the whole hog. Paint it like it’s Second Breakfast, Elevenses, Lunch, Dinner, Tiffin, Tea, Supper & Midnight Snack all rolled into one.

Hell, paint a Loyal Dog (a staple of Renaissance symbolism), put it down at her feet (to represent the hobbit Merry, who was with her on her quests), and give it a little Rohirrim helmet and/or tabard! Go the whole distance with this. I truly believe this artist has that kind of quality in them!

If they did, I do believe all the old Renaissance Masters would totally thumbs-up this painting, if those flaws were fixed and the symbolism ramped up to at least a 9, if not necessarily a 10, rather than just doodling around down near a 5 or 6.

If this were a story and I was the editor for it (and presuming this was done on a tablet / computer, since if it’s an actual painting, that’s harder to fix), I’d definitely strongly suggest the revisions and rewrites listed above. And then I’d pimp the hell outta this painting.

(Oh, and to fix the weird positioning of her body, I’d give her a Radiant Aura Of Goodness with some golden streaks of light or something angling out at all directions, so it looks like she’s kinda floating, rather than wondering if she’s “suspended” by secretly sitting on a stick or a tail spike or something. That would help strengthen my suspension...as in the suspension of my disbelief.)

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lucalicatteart · 6 years

Photo

Despite the modern day tensions between demons (jhevona) and elves (irithoas), there is some historical evidence to suggest that the relationship between the two species was once fairly intertwined in some way, or at least that they existed peacefully alongside one another. Most of this evidence is in the form of vague artwork or symbols that can be found in certain ancient ruins, which despite the art usually being in horrific condition even in the most well preserved areas, is still on occasion at least vaguely decipherable. Given that all of these seem to come from the period before modern recorded history in Nanyevimi**, it’s lucky that any of them still exist at all. It is also noted that there likely were originally more of these portrayals in existence, but they have been frequently destroyed by various societies of elves during certain periods of history in order to further a political (or moreso, religious) agenda. It’s unknown what may have been shown in some of the destroyed artifacts, as the elves (primarily the Fanyiniri, since.. of course it’s the Fanyiniri) only kept record of the fact they had been 'disposed of’, but made no mention of the actual content or details about the objects.

Though some believe that it’s not useful to read personalized meaning into the paintings (solely trying to interpret them literally rather than letting groups apply their custom worldview to it), it can still be interesting to see both involved groups’ ideas of the images, since it can provide an additional perspective regarding their creation myths or popular beliefs about the origins/working of the world. For example, in the image labeled ‘#14′....

(interpretation of images, further elaborations (like the explanations of the ** marked sentences), and extra info on the nature and beliefs of elven/jhevona religions/world philosophies/etc. and other additional context under the read more lol, since I’ve edited the post to be a bit shorter )

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

The common jhevona interpretation of the image is that this supports the concepts that appear in many of their traditional/older religions about there being realms existent outside of Nanyevimi that are no longer accessible as the magic has been lost to time***. They believe this may represent ancient jhevona utilizing the (now forgotten) ability to cross into other realms, and that the hand reaching through the “hole” is a “higher being”, or a creature from a different layer of reality that exists slightly above our own. Though they don’t have a decided explanation for why the elves are there, answers range from stuff like “the magic in Nanyevimi comes from an outside realm, and as the jhevona were one of the only ancient groups rumored to have other-realm access, perhaps they helped teach the elves certain forms of magic in the first place by connecting them to other realms, this shows them being lead to an area of higher magic” to “idk maybe elves are actually just babby demons and you gotta throw em in a portal to transform em dude”.

The elves take a more practical view, stating that it’s merely a representation of a demon doing reality magics, which wouldn’t have been uncommon or odd at all back then, and that since elves are not capable of doing such forms of magic, the jhevona in question is kind of just showing them a small pocket realm they’ve created (like “hey guys, can y’all do this? check this shint out”). Basically, it has no special implications or meaning, they’re just doing some basic spell which is no different than the same type of magic that can be used by powerful jhevona mages today. Some other more, ~politically motivated~, elven interpretations of this image usually involve stuff like “elves used to be more magically capable than demons but the jhevona slowly stole away our powers, which is the only reason they’re inherently more magical than us in current times, and this is a representation of one of them leading an innocent group of elves into a trap where their souls could be harvested for power” or “here’s a jhevona using the DANGEROUS and horrible practice of reality magics, this image is just the first of a five part series which tells a story of them opening a portal to a horrible realm and letting a terrifying beast loose, which doomed the world for a time and killed many of the most powerful elven mages from history (who sacrificed themselves nobly), crumbling our best societies and forcing us to start over..We know this because we uh... totally saw the other 4 images.. we like, destroyed them and can’t prove they existed but.. that’s absolutely what it originally portrayed so....uhh.. ANYWAY, jhevona always end up causing chaos with their foolishness (let’s get rid of those guys) and reality magic should be illegal (lets kill folks who practice it), thanks for coming to my ELFtalk”)....

The image labeled ‘#5′ is much more perplexing, and neither jhevona nor elven groups have much of a concrete idea on what it could represent. The main complications come from the figures in the background, one supposedly a jhevona with one horn shorter than the other (perhaps broken off??) grasping their head or something, and then two figures on the other side with seemingly no horns or ears at all, a representation that is not seen in any form anywhere in any other known artifact from this ancient culture. Some people guess it may be a depiction of a transformation process (maybe the featureless figures are being turned into elves by the jhevona), or that it may be a representation of the aftermath of a conflict (the jhevona is saying goodbye to the elf, presumably once closely allied, before joining their (injured??) friend in the distance, and perhaps the featureless beings had something to do with the conflict/why the jhevona had to leave), but ultimately this is one of the most confusing images to yet be recovered.

Some think that if they were to all be found and put together, the pictures would tell a sort of story, or that there is an order they are supposed to be in. A majority of scholars disagree with this however, and find it absurd based on the nature of the content and other details such as they locations they’re found. Though they do certainly depict specific concepts and ‘tell a story’ in the sense of giving valuable information on events that may have occurred or have been important to note for whatever culture created them, there is little to imply them being a grand series who’s true meaning can only be revealed by piecing them all together in some linear way. But, since it makes the idea more interesting, there are still plenty of wild theories and speculations (none supported by any evidence) about like, them all lining up into one big mural if you put them together, or that it’s actually a secret puzzle and certain symbols on each one can align to create a map to an ancient treasure (or a lost city, that’s another popular one) or reveal some sort of coded message that explains secrets or methods of ancient lost magic, etc. etc.

There are currently only 16 of these images discovered at this point (though 43 have technically been found, most of them are just broken fragments, or are so worn it’s impossible to make anything out. This doesn’t include the ones destroyed by the Fanyiniri, of which the number is not known.), though there are thought to have been hundreds if not thousands of them created in ancient times, as with the way they were created (on cheap clay tiles with basic materials, using simple shapes and made in a somewhat uniform style but clearly by many different artists, often amateurs, etc. so it’s not like, grand elaborate wall murals crafted by specific expert artists out of the finest materials, or anything that would give any indication of them being in some way very valuable or sacred), it seems like they were used casually, similar to how people commonly decorate their homes with pictures on the wall. Which is at least a fitting representation of how much that time period has truly been lost, that out of an entire culture spanning possibly millions of years, all that’s left is like, some faint piles of almost entirely disintegrated building stones in random areas across Nanyevimi, a vase or two, and 16 crumbling art pieces (out of possible thousands) that nobody really understands.

Scholars have had difficulty in attempting to make sense of most of the images, since they’re often very vague with unclear implication, the style is simple with many features up to interpretation, and they also must be very cautious about their modern viewpoints causing them to see meanings which are not actually present (though like usual, they still do,, interpretation can vary a lot depending on who’s doing the research and if they have an interest in not being banished by the elven government or something lol (I mention the elves acting in this way more than jhevona since, modern day elven societies at least, hold significantly more social/political/financial/etc power on a global scale than jhevona do. Even if a group of demons disagreed with a group of scholars, they’d be unlikely to have the ability to start much of a conflict over it, whereas many elven societies, especially certain prominent ones (Fanyiniri, Yarairi, Lishleiri, etc.) could issue actual consequence on a broad scale, etc.). Though luckily most all of these artifacts now exist on neutral ground, and are held by neither elf nor jhevona aligned parties).

Even detached from any political or religious significance (which is where most of the contention arises), the images still interestingly call into question certain historical assumptions (that the elves and jhevona have always been fairly separate, for one), and give at least a tiny scrap of much desired insight into what may have been considered relevant to one of the many lost societies of the past.

There is also some disagreement over whether these images even portray elves or demons in the first place, as obviously these representations look a bit different from the modern versions of the species you’ll find today, so some have thought it may be a different species entirely (this is made worse by the fact that the ruins these are found in are usually barely identifiable, nobody is sure whether they were made by ancient jhevona, ancient elves, or perhaps another group entirely who merely had an interest in/contact with the other two, etc. They’re found in scattered seemingly random locations with not enough identifying information left to really trace them well). But most everyone in modern times agrees with and is aware of the fact that the ancient species had a slightly different appearance though are still considered the same (especially elves.. jhevona haven’t changed all that much, they still hardly have noses lol and the shape/style of horns portrayed in old images are still possible in modern demons, though much rarer now. But modern elves look quite different from ancient elves, you never see the entirely rounded noses (like a side profile that just looks like a “ ) “ kind of ) and massive upturned ears in elves today, those traits are essentially nonexistent now (aside from a similar nose style and the strong cheekbones occasionally coming up in Avirre’thel/vampire genetics even now and then), but this is thought to be due to the difference in lifespans (jhevona can live thousands of years, whereas elves live usually just 130 - 300, so they reproduce and die more quickly and their genes are being passed on and changing at a faster rate)). But anyway, this argument used to be popular in the past, but is slowly dying out as people learn more about what historical versions of themselves look like and more information is found about species and evolution, though some small groups of elves still claim the images are unrelated and don’t portray elves at all but rather some other species (how dare they be portrayed interacting with the jhevona in any sort of non-hostile, even positive, way,, even millions of years ago, it must be false lol).

Also the images are thought to have been colored, perhaps vibrantly, but none of it really shows up anymore. You can see that like, some areas are lighter and some are maybe a little darker, suggesting that maybe originally there was some attempt to shade elements of the paintings, but in their current state, the originally intended appearance is lost. The example images given are deliberately made higher in contrast and the original lines darkened to be more visible (obviously not on the actual artifact, but like in exact replications (which can be made fairly easily with magic) things are often traced or re-outlined to be clearer), but some of them in their natural state can hardly even be made out at first without some modification and closer examination. There are many different recreations where the images are colored in different ways or have details added to them or etc., which can be interesting to see the variety of interpretations, even if they’re all just wild guesses, and it can never truly be known what the paintings on clay actually looked like.

------ “ * “ marked section elaborations -

(**other than one strange thousand year gap in some areas of the world, historical record has been “mostly” in tact for about 2 million years (meaning, there is some form of continuous recording of at least most significant world events since that time), seemingly starting with some of the early societies of that period. It’s pretty nonexistent before that point, as if everyone began writing everything down all at once, or more likely, as if something happened around that time which somehow destroyed all records, ruins, and relics across the entire realm prior to that point (yet was never mentioned in these future writings. You’d think if there were some worldwide disaster, even if the past were entirely eradicated, those who survived would write about their experience of the disaster event, but there’s hardly any indication of anything like this. The lack of any records or evidence of earlier civilizations almost seems supernatural in nature, as so much about it doesn’t make any sense if you were trying to think of ways it would happen naturally, leading some to believe it may be due to magic or something.)

It is known that advanced humanoid species (practically no different than those today) have existed in some form for far longer than 2 million years, and scholars occasionally find things that date back to that time, however for the most part any knowledge or understanding of that world is absurdly sparse and basically anything that occurred before the ~Magical Point Where Recorded Nanyevimi History Began~ has been entirely lost. Along with certain questions about the nature of magic, the whole “we know for a fact people have existed for much longer than we have record of but for some reason it seems like there was a mass memory wipe or some shit about 2 million years ago for whatever reason” thing is another one of the most widely known curiosities surrounding Nanyevimi, one of those things scholars are always debating and trying to understand.)

(*** This view is kind of like a multiple universe theory, except if they were to all exist at once rather than on separate timelines. Many jhevona religions reference the belief that there are countless realities stacked on top of one another, as if in layers, difficult or often impossible to access due to the entire nature of reality being different between them (so like if beings from another “layer” were to try to visit the one under theirs, they may be nearly imperceptible to the beings of the under layer, etc.)

And if there are too many layers between you (say someone on the 8th layer trying to make contact with the 2nd), it would be completely impossible for either of the beings to make sense of one another or exist in the same space without it destroying both of them or altering something dramatically. Especially since some also believe that magic systems work differently in every realm. Thus, just because you can use magic in one place doesn’t mean you’ll be able to in another, to the point of most beings being incapacitated entirely/having their magic or even their very soul (depending on how serious you believe the link between magic and souls to be) stop functioning completely upon entering a realm in which the magic is too foreign.

Though it’s usually thought that stuff like visiting the layers closest to yours is still possible (layer 7 beings are able to access layer 7.2, 7.9, 6.8, 8.1, but not 10.5, 3.4, 5.6, etc.), the opinion varies on how much is too far apart, and a lot of it can get into complex theorizing about magic systems and souls and various ways to classify realms/layers by certain criteria in order to determine who would be able to visit who, and how, and what the consequences would be, what an alternate magic system would even look like, etc.etc.)

[ [ sidenote within a sidenote: this is why a lot of people who didn’t grow up in Jhevona culture tend to hate studying their religions/philosophies (like for school projects or anything), since there’s never simplifications or any clear answers, on day one you jump straight into

“Alright, lets call into question the very nature of magic itself, and consider the the potential implications and functioning of infinite multiple universes..” ‘wow that sounds complicated.. can’t you just... tell us about some gods you worship or something and call it a day?’ “..Gods?? we have no gods but ourselves, everyone simultaneously is and isn’t a god, depending on the perspective you’re viewing them from. you see, it’s all about varying layers of reality and power levels and whether you’re looking up or looking down, now if someone from the 40th realm were to...” *student instantly regrets asking* Also, you can imagine all the debates over different schools of thought, usually different clans or groups of jhevona will have their own unique perspective on this and how it fits into other elements of their custom culture and worldview. Though they’re not the type to start fights over it (remember, everything in jhevona philosophy is infinite possibilities, who are we (insignificant creatures in a vast incomprehensible world) to ever say what is truly correct or incorrect, it’d be antithetical to enforce your views on others harshly), there are still a lot of passionate debate circles where 30 people all show up and present their theories and everyone discusses them and etc. etc., usually made into elaborate parties or events, ways for local groups to make connections and bond with each other, or promote unity (through.. good natured argument lol) between neighboring clans of jhevona ] ]

Despite travel between ‘’layers’’ being seen as difficult, there are still many myths about beings from other realms visiting Nanyevimi in ancient times, sometimes even under the claim that perhaps these people created the realm. Since reality magics are a known thing, some jhevona belief systems theorize that the entire realm itself could simply be a larger form of that, created by beings with magic so powerful it’s on a scale we couldn’t imagine, able to craft entire worlds rather than just small pockets of realty. Just like the reality magic used in Nanyevimi except on a much larger scale. Though other jhevona legends disagree with this idea and still hold on to the belief that such a form of travel between realms is too impossible.

This is usually part of their explanation for why ‘’higher layer’’ beings can exist, but also never noticeably interact with the world (why there isn’t any solid proof of a realm creator/god/gods/etc), since it only makes sense that the world a being creates must be lower level than they are (you can’t make something with more power than you have, input must match output somehow), meaning likely any realm that a higher being creates must be significantly lower in order than their own.. Thus, they can craft realms, but then lack the ability to influence or visit them in any way, as their layer and the layer they create are too far apart for either of them to even be perceivable or conceptualizable to the other (like if you’re a layer 18 being, you could maybe make a realm, and it’d end up somewhere on the level scale of layer 2, which means you're so far apart you couldn’t interact with them in any way, as likely your entire foundation of reality and the magic in your world and the functioning of your very being is just so incomprehensibly different from theirs, you would be mutually unfathomable to one another).

This is also what leads to some beliefs that creation of realms is accidental, since why would someone knowingly create something they can never perceive or interact with? In some jhevona belief systems, creating realms is seen as an accidental side effect of some unknown natural process, rather than the deliberate act that most believe it to be (which also implies most, if not all, realm creators are wholly unaware of their creations, and additionally that people in Nanyevimi may be participating in similar mundane processes that create distant realms as a side effect, and we would never know it).

( Basically: we are all simultaneously gods, and also not gods, we may all create realms, yet have also had our realm created by someone else, we are simultaneously both higher and lower beings, all creators are likely entirely unaware of their creations, just as it would be impossible for their creations to perceive or become aware of them, etc. Everything is a system of layered realms, and everything in the universe entirely depends on your perspective in that system, whether you’re looking at layers above, or below you (in the layers above you, you’ll find ‘higher beings’, possibly the creators of your own realm (though you could never truly interact with them), in the layers below you, YOU are now the higher being from THEIR perspective, and you may also find realms you’ve accidentally created without even knowing, part of natural processes you’re unaware of))

These concepts also lead to some interesting tales of like, multi-reality games of telephone, where since a higher being can’t directly influence their crafted realm (yet for some reason is able to be aware of it), they just continuously send a chain of messengers downward (guy from layer 8 contacts layer 7, layer 7 contacts layer 6, etc. etc.) until finally the information, in some form (though usually the humor or irony in the myth is that it’s of course been horribly misinterpreted at this point) eventually reaches the target realm lol.

Even though largely the jhevona don’t believe in the concept of gods necessarily (as divine untouchables to be worshiped), they do believe in contact from other realms, and that beings from other areas have influenced the world and etc. So despite not really having clearly defined gods or anything, they do still have plenty of myths and tales, they’re just usually about vague creatures or unspecific adventurers traveling realms, rather than a permanent set of gods. Their tales are more like ‘hey what if somewhere in the universe some weird shit like this happened one time’ rather than ‘our specific god definitely did this one thing in our own realm this one time’. Which I guess is pretty expected that a group notoriously focused on the vastness of the world and how unimportant we are in the scheme of things, would further emphasize that by having most of their traditional myths and tales taking place in other worlds, often having nothing to actually do with themselves or Nanyevimi in general (”we’re SO unimportant and insignificant, we’re not even PRESENT in 75% of our traditional stories!” ) ..

BUT ANYWAY, the whole ‘multiple realms’ thing is a massive concept in their culture and etc. so that’s what I’m referencing when I speak about it.

Also for contrast to explain part of why elves and jhevona disagree so much:

Many traditional elven belief systems state that there are not infinite realms in existence, only one: Nanyevimi. Some groups of elves will occasionally seek a middle ground by saying that there MAY be one or two other realms, but that those were obviously just experimental landscapes used by the elven gods to try out certain concepts before solidifying them and adding magic to them, as they wanted to make sure that beings functioned well and that the order of things operated properly before bestowing creatures such a form of power. Any “evidence” of another realm (which is usually debatable/doesn’t really prove either side) is just an example of a place the gods used as proof of concept to test things before they made everything magical, since things always get more wacky once you add magic.

Another middle ground elves may occasionally entertain is that, MAYBE there COULD be what SEEMS like other realms (still very unlikely), but these realms are not SEPARATE, necessarily. They usually would more take the belief that EVERYTHING is only ever ONE realm, but just with occasional branching layers off of it and a thin barrier between them. What Jhevona may interpret as an entirely new “layer” realm, a totally separate universe existing above or below Nanyevimi,, an elf would likely just see as a branching path off of the main realm. Maybe it appears to be some new place, but it’s no different than when people use reality magics to make small pockets within our own realm. Nothing is EVER a genuinely separate realm, it’s just the occasional stronger-than-usual branches off of the main realm that sometimes give the illusion of being separate.

This is part of why elves often also hold the belief that the pursuit of realm travel or attempting to unlock the ability to do so (which Jhevona feel is a long lost skill of theirs or something) should be illegal or at least extremely discouraged, since even if other realms DID exist, they clearly were intended to be discarded and left to their own devices once the gods were done testing things there, NOT to be returned to and disturbed, as the gods never intended for it to have any meaning. Nanyevimi is their ONLY true creation and focus.

Basically, the supernatural realm is the primary realm of the world, the one lovingly crafted by the gods, where magic is strongest, and where the gods placed their best creations (especially elves) on display. Nothing else exists, and even if it WERE to exist, it would be irrelevant, since if the gods intended for our focus to be on other realms, they would have made us aware of them and given us (or at least the elves) access to them.

This whole concept that the supernatural realm is the only realm that matters/actually exists/etc. is similar to other themes in the traditional elven religion, which in most branches of belief also asserts that elves were the true original species, and the original holders of magic (though the myths vary, generally they state that magic was given directly to them by the ancient elven gods, as they were the most favored by the gods and thus were chosen to start the original magic bloodline, and elves were the ones who then gave magic to all other species out of their kindness (or had it stolen from them... the oldest elven tales speak nothing of this though, so it’s thought to be a more modern invention, but some versions of tales will include some form of ‘and X group took magic from us’ or etc., particularly if someone stands to benefit from things being told that way.), which is why they’ve usually considered magic and the use of magic so deeply sacred, as in many ways they see themselves as the originators of it, and feel they should protect it from corruption as, even though they have graciously allowed others to have magic as well, ultimately it is their god-given domain, and they reserve the right to make the rules about it.

Even though, especially in older tales, there are very prominent themes of always maintaining peace, beauty, unity, togetherness, and etc in the main elven religion, it has often been at odds with a vague underlying element of entitlement, likely coming from continuous reinforcement that they’re the special ones, the only group that matters, the only realm that matters, the original #1 awesome god-chosen species, etc. etc., So despite this focus on protecting the realm and it’s inhabitants, and holding everything sacred (as it was created by the gods, thus is important), it can still get a bit out of hand sometimes.

To their credit, sometimes it doesn’t manifest harmfully at all, like in theory, taking on a role as a peace-keeping protector species who feels it’s their duty to keep order and unity in the world is not always a bad thing, and in many ways it can be really positive when it works well, and it has on occasion in certain elven societies over the years....It’s just that it’s always a very delicate balance, and far too often in practice, there’s the tendency for groups of elves to take this focus a bit too far, spending more energy on relishing in their god-given positions of power, than actually using that power how it was originally intended, and over time increasingly adopting a focus on proving their importance and reinforcing their right to be in the place they are.. Which is obviously where most of the antagonism and resentment of jhevona societies comes from (as jhevona are kind of unintentionally a living breathing reminder to the elves that they’re not as special as they think they are, and that there’s likely more to the story) .

Mainly :

Jhevona are just as old as them (both species go back before written history, which causes doubts about the “elves are the oldest and most original species, the god’s first important creations” thing)

Jhevona are significantly more inherently magical than elves with access to abilities and types of magic which elves couldn’t even dream of using (which casts doubt onto the whole “we’re the most magical and the original bringers of magic” thing (which is why they’ve come to claim Jhevona stole the magic from them, or that some other group in history caused a catastrophic event which robbed them of magic,, and also why they like to ban any type of magic that they’re incapable of doing)),

and on top of all that, the Jhevona constantly make claims about the vastness of the universe and how unimportant everyone is, that Nanyevimi is just one realm among many, and not even that significant at that, that there are beings unfathomably more powerful than we could even conceptualize (which goes directly against the whole “Nanyevimi is the most important, where all magic begins and ends” thing. And also calls the elven gods into question as nothing more than like “Well maybe they do exist, maybe they did even create this realm, but they’re not gods, not anymore than WE would be considered gods when walking into a realm below us. Godhood is just a way to describe vast power, and by that definition the elven gods likely have gods as well, and those gods have gods, and so on.. It all depends on how many layers up you go”, which to anyone of traditional elven thinking, this is an utterly infuriating philosophy lmao).

This is also why sometimes the aggression between elves and jhevona can seem overly one sided, because it almost kind of is?? At least in the sense that, the traditional elven worldview/religion/belief-system is inherently incompatible with that of the jhevona, but it doesn’t work the other way around.

Within the jhevona framework, the elven gods can still exist (they’re just not really “gods” per say), the elves can still be the same as always, the realms are the same (there’s more than one of them, but hey, whatever), etc. There’s nothing really all that incompatible about elven beliefs in the context of how the jhevona view the creation of and nature of the world and etc.

The jhevona view of elven philosophies is more just a: “Well, that’s kind of half wrong and there’s more to the story than that, things are way wider and more vast and complicated than you realize, but technically most of what you believe is plausible other than that.. like yeah, maybe your ‘gods’ totally created this realm, maybe they did give you magic first, who knows. We never took anything from you and we’re not dangerous or out to get you or etc. but sure, totally, maybe there is an original magic bloodline, you never know, there’s a lot of higher beings and complicated realm layer stuff out there that nobody really understands, it could be plausible, especially when we’re confident that there’s types of magic at work out there that aren’t even fathomable to us, we can never have any true idea of the framework we may exist within. Anything is possible really.”.

Whereas like with elves viewing the jhevona belief system, it’s more like “NO, that actually can’t be possible, there CAN’T be more realms, because we are the only one that matters. And there CAN’T be other gods because these are the only ones (also how dare you insinuate that our gods aren’t actually true gods). You CAN’T exist the way you do because you being powerful and ancient the way you are contradicts with US being the most powerful and ancient. We actually CAN understand everything about the framework of the universe, because this reality is all there is, and to imply otherwise is to deny the natural order of how gods intended the world to be.” etc.

It’s basically just a very very typical “everything is broad and unknowable and we’re just an insignificant part of the vastness” VS. “everything is definite and well defined and we are the most significant part of this world, which is made for us and very clear in nature” philosophy clash. Traditional elven beliefs are literally incompatible with Jhevona ideas, but Jhevona ideas can easily adapt to accept elven belief, so it often seems like one side disagrees with the other WAY more than the other does with it.

Which this isn’t to say that jhevona haven’t had plenty of problems with the elves before, they can definitely be the one that initially takes issue with the other as well, but more just that, this is why OFTEN (but not always), it seems like the elves have more of a problem with the demons/jhevona than the jhevona have with elves, since generally the elven worldview has more basis of things to take issue with (since it’s more narrow in focus and inherently exclusive of certain things) than jhevona beliefs usually do (since if anything it’s more about not excluding anything and naturally focused on how many possibilities exist).

Jhevona focus on how insignificant they are and how there’s no way to know everything, so if they’re told or shown that they’re wrong about something, the reaction is more likely to just be “Ah, well that’s unsurprising. Good to know”, whereas a lot of the elven beliefs center on their place of importance in the world and them having the main correct view of things, so when anything implies they may be wrong, it’s only natural that it is more upsetting or jarring to them. If all of that makes sense (I can’t think of a good way to explain it concisely so I’m just repeating myself 40 times with different phrasing bghbb)

AND of course this is all simplified, especially in modern times, there are like, a shit ton of different variations of the elven and jhevona belief systems.. Though they’re all thought to have branched from a “main” religion/philosophy which may have been centralized to each group at some point (since even really obscure offshoots of the respective belief systems usually still have some of these main ideas in common, even if the details or specifics of how it works are changed), there’s still a lot of variety out there in terms of what each group believes, especially due to them both being very ancient and widespread groups.

A group of elves in Fanyin (a well populated and modern northern city, political and economic focus point for modern elves) is going to be entirely different than some rogue group of elves who have been hanging out in the southern mountains for 10,000 years and etc. And even with the main criteria described, there’s a lot of specifics left out and details I didn’t go into (like the full creation story of each group and specific mythological figures and etc.), the above is just the bare bones general philosophy, AND is only the parts of said philosophy that are relevant to their conflict (leaving out other details that may be just as important to each group, but just weren’t specific to mention in this context). But still, in general this elaboration hopefully helped explain why the conflict is there in the first place, since very broadly and simplified-ly speaking, this worldview clash is where most of the issue between the two groups is thought to have originated.

Even though, as history indicates, they likely haven’t always not gotten along, it’s a complete mystery what changed, and when. For all of recorded history they have clashed slightly, but it’s clear that there was some period prior to this where things may have been different (obviously, as this is the main premise of the art above and etc. lol, that they once had some sort of alliance or relationship close enough to constantly appear in art together and have crafted symbols representative of their unity and etc.), but since there are no records it’s hard to say whether or not there was like, some inciting event that occurred, or some belief change (maybe one of the groups didn’t always have the philosophy they do now), or whether it was just a natural and gradual series of small disagreements overtime, etc.

So like, in CURRENT history, we know the main source of their disagreement seems to be religious/philosophical, but obviously something must have changed, implying that maybe at some point their philosophies were not as different, or that there was an entirely different way of thinking back then and both of their current worldviews are more modern inventions, or etc. etc.

Also , there are of course other worldviews out there, all cultures and species have their own custom creation myths and ideas about the nature of ancient society and etc. etc. Other groups may have interpretations of these images and conflicts and etc. as well, it just made the most sense to focus on exclusively Jhevona and Elves, since they’re the ones in the images, the main parties involved.

Additionally, they are still the two oldest known currently living species, who’s origins are untraceable and who have both been around since before the current era of society even started, so their myths and ideas have had considerable influence on most current species and cultures as well. Even to the point that you can often classify most other group’s myths into seeming either more elven inspired or more jhevona inspired, as these two conceptualizations of the world have been around in some form before most current myth itself.

Like for example, the beliefs of the Ythrili generally fall more in line with what elves claim (there’s only one realm, magic exists here solely, etc.), whereas this random species I never gave a name to lol (link) tends to fall more in line with jhevona influence (there are infinite worlds, the limits of magic are unknowable, etc.). Then there’s groups like the Avirre’thel/vampires who have a mix of both (which makes sense considering vampires are technically the closest living descendants of ancient elves, yet also historically have been closely allied with jhevona (since their split from elves literally occurred with demonic interference lol)), though the Avirre’thel of course notoriously reject all myth/religion anyway and could be considered more of a neutral party in terms of which philosophy is right, their pop culture and “religious” traditions still have heavy influence from both worldviews. And again, this too is also WAYY more complicated, even if influence can be seen, there are plenty of systems that exist entirely outside of the jhevona/elven framework, and also likely species and cultures and beliefs that are older than they are (’oldest KNOWN currently living species’, implies there may be plenty of unknowns out there as well) , etc. etc. etc.

But just in a short brief post like this where I’m not going to extensively detail every main living species and culture and religion and compare and contrast them and etc. etc., especially since the main focus is just on elves and demons anyway, I felt the over-simplification to be reasonably applicable lol.. Like.. be aware, that... things are more complicated than I’m describing them, but also,, this is all that needs to be known for the context of this post in particular lmao, so I’m not going to actually get into the other detail.

and with that, I suppose I’m done with the extra context stuff. There’s always more I could elaborate on but I should have been in bed like 3 hours ago bhbbbb. I always try to start out these posts nice and organized and as clean as I’m capable of but then by the end I’m usually just, late at night rambling repeating myself over and over again and not using proper punctuation or grammar or etc ghhh, sometimes... it’s just.. Like That...I hope the single one of you who has read this far enjoyed hearing my endless nonsense about some groups in Nanyevimi lol,, thanks for reading ~

#jhevona #elves #worldbuilding #idk what other tags i use on here bhbhb i post so rarely i forget the way i categorize things on me own damnsed blog #long post

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