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dimespin · 3 years

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Guide to being a friend with my fictional species

You know, just for fun, since I’ve talked a bit about some of the different social expectations of hydras and now Saratoans. So here we go, more detail.

Saratoans

Saratoans have committed platonic relationships that are similar to married couples in terms of emotional intimacy and material care, it’s important to identify who a Saratoan’s partner is so you can be respectful toward them and gracious about them bringing their partner along or prioritizing their partner’s needs over yours and openly “playing favorites” - it can ingratiate you to them to be nice to their partner by passing along gifts or nice words, or you can ask them how their partner is doing and show concern for their well being.

It’s unlikely you’ll be a Saratoan’s partner so don’t worry about accidentally becoming that kind of friend to them even if they are “single” - it can take a long time for adults to become that kind of friend with each other and there’s almost always long conversations and careful planning about the future involved. Most Saratoans met their partner as young people.

They expect you to keep your hands to yourself for the most part, but a good friend may squish their nose against your face in the same situations where you’d expect a hug. A quick pat on the nose like you’re bopping a large button is also acceptable (if they started booping their nose against you first), since they get that humans are hands oriented. Hugs and handshakes are also normal, although some are more reserved. It’s best to follow their lead regarding physical affection.

It’s important to avoid flashing your teeth in most cases, keep lips together when smiling. A broad smile (or a grimace to show your teeth) when first meeting is considered polite, and you can show your teeth when giving advice or teaching or giving guidance, though you may be shut down by an elder who will decide you don’t have the authority to give advice. Don’t argue too much with older Saratoans. If their teeth are so long they can’t even try to hide them treat them like a wise old wizard. Little bit of reverence, but still someone you could ask to show you a magic trick.

Do not pull on an adult’s tail it’s considered condescending. Also don’t mess with anyone’s pouch that’s weird.

Being friends with a Saratoan means hanging out together, talking, and eating. It takes them hours to fill their stomachs so chilling while they do it is a prime friend activity and bonding experience.

You can establish yourself as someone they could go to for deeper emotional conversation, or big favors, or who’d love to watch their kid, but they won’t push for that you have to take the initiative and offer it.

They may judge you a bit for not being caring toward humans one age group younger than you though.

Alligator hydras

You are either a member of the paddle (a true friend) or an acquaintance.

Acquaintances can have shallow but friendly interactions, chit chat, may be asked for the occasional favor but it’s not held against them if they say no.

If you get closer to them they will expect a LOT from you so beware. They consider a friend to be like a family member, you need to share food, you need to babysit their children, they will consider any space that is your home to be their space to come into as they please whether you are there or not and they will expect you to drop everything and help them when they need it. This spreads to everyone in their group, also called a paddle. You can’t be good friends with only one of them, you become a member of the paddle and therefore they all expect all this from you.

The thing is though, if you do all that, they will do all that for you too. The entire paddle.

They love to show their affection through physical touch and closeness. If you become their friend you may never know what personal space is again. They particularly appreciate pressure on the flat part on the top of their head, under their jaw, and on their cheeks, you can pat, pet or just rest your weight against these areas and they’ll interpret that as affection. Laying on top of their back when they are laying down, or sitting on the “shell” part of their back, or petting this part of their back, also counts as affection.

They don’t really care that humans pet animals too, so it’s kind of like treating them like a pet, they will pet YOU too. It’s whatever.

It’s okay to have different relationships with each twin as long as you are respectful to both. It’s important not to mix them up so get ready to figure out your right from your left or look for differentiating features or demeanor, because they will not be forgiving about this despite the fact they look largely identical.

Dryads

Dryads are very shy especially around humans, but if you establish a friendship with one, a dryad’s two favorite friendship activities are vibing in near-total silence for long periods and gossip.

Anything that follows “now you didn’t hear this from me, but...” is a fantastic bonding activity, but if you’ve got nothing to say, sitting in their vicinity and minding your own business works too.

They prefer that you not touch them in any way unless explicitly invited to do so. Physical affection is likely to be very small blink and you’ll miss it moments like a pat on the shoulder or hand.

You’ll know you’re doing the silence right if you hear a clicking sound from them grinding their teeth together.

Dryads pair bond with a mate for life, so they will also likely have a husband/wife/spouse to be aware of. Their relationship to that person is very similar to the average human married couple, but their spouse is likely to openly snub interacting with you because they are shy. Don’t take it personally. Your friend will defend their spouse if you try to take issue with this behavior so just let it go.

It’s also important to note that being a dryad’s friend means you are expected to be part of the larger network of people who help each other when needed. Your friend may tell you to go to some dryad you’ve never even met before and do that dryad a favor, and unless you’ve got a good excuse to not do it, failure to follow through with the favor will damage your relationship to your friend.

If you’ve ever been asked to do one of these favor errands you are also free to let your friend know when you need a favor like this done for you. Try not to abuse the privilege by asking them to help you in situations you don’t really need help, this can damage your relationship too.

Lacunalithops dexter (bees)

You are basically an ambassador interacting with a country.

You are almost certainly not going to get to know an individual worker, so it’s best to think of yourself as forming an alliance with a large group.

You will likely be interacting with the hive via bribes. Candy, sugar and fruit offerings will curry favor with the hive, who will attempt to demonstrate their appreciation with offerings to you based on what they think you’ll like.

Once you establish yourself as a safe person to be around, workers will frequently treat you like furniture, landing on you and such.

They will rarely attempt to communicate with sign language because they find speaking that slowly infuriating. If you are lucky and they understand your written language they may leave you notes, which are likely to come across as oddly entitled and demanding.

Don’t expect them to understand anything you say with verbal audio language, they are essentially hard of hearing and don’t especially care to learn to read lips. You can get their attention by yelling but don’t bother with anything more nuanced then “HEY!”

#Saratoan #Alligator hydra #dryad #lacunalithops dexter #worldbuilding #long post

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dailycharacteroption · 3 years

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Roleplaying Races 9: Lashunta

(art by Matheus Leiras Xavier at MatLX on Artstation)

We’ve gone over this trope several times on the blog, particularly when talking about Starfinder races, that the trope of the hot alien women has been with us for a very long time in Science Fiction. It seems no matter how far we come, we’ll always hope that somewhere out there is an alien race that is not only attractive to us, but close enough to us to share that attraction right back.

Of course, the issue with the Lashunta is that when they were originally designed, they also smacked of a lot of early pulp sci-fi tropes as well. (Their original artwork has them half-naked riding the back of their iconic shotalashu mounts, fer crissake!) For example, at the time of original design, they seemed to have a distinct sexual dimorphism, where females with lithe and elegant, the males were rough, crude, and hairy. (some sources even used the word ugly). Which smacks of those old pulp tropes of “hot alien women meet actually hot men for the first time in their lives and want a piece of that action, and also the jealous ugly males are coded as villainous”.

Luckily, in the far future of Starfinder, we learn that their dimorphism is actually not split along gender lines, but rather on upbringing, the lashunta adapting based on how harsh the conditions of their upbringing were, either becoming one of the elegant damaya, or the rough and tumble korasha. (Also, they toned down the negativity associated with the korasha appearance.) It turns out that the only reasons that these dimorphic forms were associated with gender at all was because of cultural mores of the lashunta during the Pathfinder era, which would become relaxed over the centuries.

Lashunta’s matriarchal society is one that revolves around the political maneuvering of their individual scattered city states on their homeworld of Castrovel, which they keep in contact with due to their natural telepathy and various magics. In addition to their pursuits of magic, they also maintain armies which include the telepathically-bonded shotalashu outriders who patrol the jungles for hostile monsters, as well as watching out for the movements of their sworn enemies, the formian hives to the south, whom lasting peace with will not come until far in the future.

As warm-blooded creatures on a hot jungle world, clothing exists purely in a protective or ceremonial capacity, with most lashunta civilians going about their daily lives wearing very little. (Doesn’t explain why we got art of a shotalashu rider in such a lack of attire aside from as an homage to pulp era art, but hey, we and Paizo have moved past that.)

Interestingly, while on the surface one might imagine that the damaya and korasha dimorphism would limit the roles that one can pursue within their society, that’s not really the case. True, korasha are expected to channel their brusque attitudes and physical might into warfare and physical labor, but they also highly value mental pursuits including the acquisition of knowledge and the development of magic and their natural psychic abilities, just as much as the damaya might, and the damaya easily equal the korasha when it comes to joining in warfare, including bonding with shotalashu mounts.

Speaking of which, physically the lashunta all resemble humans in their body plan, with skin tones that range between the human norm and subtle grays, greens, and blues, often with ridges or symmetrical bumps on the foreheads, as well as a pair of antennae emerging from their hairline. Said hair can in itself be a wide range of colors as well. The differences in their dimorphism cause korasha to be stocky, broad, and powerful, with lots of body hair, as well as much shorter than damaya (though how short varies by writer. In their original text, they were described as being only about half the height of their kin, whereas starfinder sources put them at around 5 feet to the damaya’s average of 7). Meanwhile, the damaya are tall and elegant beings with slender builds.

Both clades of lashunta are highly intelligent, though korasha favor strength at the cost of brash behavior, while the damaya are charming, but frail.

Regardless of which type they are, they all possess some psychic potential, capable of dazing foes, moving small objects, and occasionally reading minds.

This extends to telepathic communication as well, though it is limited by distance and language normally.

Scholarly as they are, they tend to know a lot about a variety of subjects.

Of course, there is some variety among the lashunta, though the only variant known in the Pathfinder era are those that lack innate magic in favor of using their telepathy to subtly influence those they communicate with.

With the dangers of Castrovel being as present as they are, adventuring is fairly common for the Lashunta, especially with so much of their world being unmapped and ever-changing jungle. Magic is common among them, and while damaya may be frail by comparison, they do not shy away from such paths, making mixed paths like bloodrager, magus, and the like fairly common. Their propensity for psychic power makes the various occult classes quite viable as well. Additionally, the cavaliers known as lashunta outriders are quite capable with their shotalashu (or other mounts).

The trick is actually playing one, as unless you plan on running a game that features heavily interplanetary travel or on Castrovel itself, they are unlikely to show up in the Lost Omens setting. However, it is not impossible, as just like the kasatha, entire cultures of lashunta have found themselves in Numeria thanks to the ancient alien craft that abducted some for study, only to crash there thousands of years ago.

#pathfinder #race #lashunta #Inner Sea Bestiary #People of the Stars

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ben-10-setting-omnicrom · 4 years

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How (reformed) Elena would fit on Team Ben

A continuation of this post and a in depth analysis on Nanochips and the powers they grant.

What being the Hive Queen means

First a link to the species and what the decoy hive queen can do.

Becoming fused with the hive not only grants you a hyper adaptable von numan hivemind that's at least planetary in range, but said chips can also make damn near any tech and mimic damn near anything you want. Oh, also you're immortal unless someone destroys every single Nanochip and the fact they can become smaller than neurons makes that basically impossible. The downside of course is that you no longer have any inhibitions.*

In fact said hyper adaptability means Elena will quickly be able to stack immunities/become highly resistant to most things (it only took like 3 hits of raw Mana blasts for the chips to lol Gwen's attack in Alien Swarm after all). Once she gets a handle on her self control she can basically control the environment (since she's made buildings come to life) and swarm her foes with not only chips but clones of people and copies of Kevin's decked out car. Which is another thing she'd be able to solve, even if his car does get destroyed she'd easily be able to fix it good as new.

She'd also be the only one that'd be able to keep up with and overcome Ben's all nighters since I doubt she needs to sleep (or breath/eat/drink) now considering her body is just a Nanochip construct. Speaking of which being such she by all rights should be immune to basically any physical attack since she has basically an unlimited supply of chips.

To elaborate on what I mean by a Gwen/Cooper combo, she'd easily be able to use her chips to form shields and moveable platforms if she doesn't just outfit everyone with wearable forcefields like the one she used to contain the chips. As for Cooper she can use her chips to make any tech she wants to on the fly (and which ability should by all rights be able to basically mimic Gwen's spells since it's WoG that Magic and Tech are just diffrent ways to manipulate reality and are capable of the same stuff**). In Omniverse she'd fully take on the Gwen role (while keeping her ruthlessness/manipulation and quasi Kevin traits if the need ever arises) of the team since there's no way she's also leaving.

* This pretty unquestionably makes her powerset in the top 3 most bs in the setting considering everything it allows you to do and overcome. The other 2 of course being Anodites/Celestialsapiens and is one of the many reasons it annoys me they wasted such an interesting character and powerset.

** That is if she doesn't learn Magic herself since even if each chip has a miniscule amount of Mana inside she has basically an unlimited supply of them and thus more than enough Mana to use Magic with. She would obviously have to learn how to manipulate Mana first but she basically has an unlimited supply of time to learn new things considering she shouldn't have to sleep and she's basically immortal.

Her role in the future

I fully expect her to have mastered the Hive by the time Ben is known as the Hero of Heroes and has used them to not only make Omnitrix City (Ben 10K's home and city of operation) but has basically monopolized architecture/construction universe wide after making smart construction tech that mimics her chips and are self repairing/adapting to whatever is damaging it. So there's no need for rebuilding after super fights or constructing buildings in mind for earthquakes etc. That and she's gone gung ho on that whole solving half the problems of the human race thing but expanding it to all species so everyone's standard of living is really high.

She'd probably also have a moniker by that point but I'm blanking on what it could be. Maybe Queen of Technology?

#elena validus #ben tennyson #ben 10 ultimate alien #ben 10 omniverse #ben 10 alien force #gwen tennyson #kevin levin #cooper daniels #character exploration #redemption ramifications #omni essays #power exploration #nanochips #ben 10 #omnichip

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kathyprior4200 · 4 years

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Hazbin Hotel theory series

Theory 1: Archangel Vaggie

Vaggie remains in possession of a harpoon that can kill demons. The X over her eye is on her left eye, rather than her right, like the exterminators. Unlike many demons, Vaggie values respect and virtues. Perhaps there’s an underlying reason why she has these traits?

After Vagatha died in 2014, she became an exterminator, neither good nor evil. Due to her doing evil actions with good intentions, she was put to the test and sent to purge demons every year.

But a certain demon princess caught her attention…the one demon she would not slay. For the two had fallen in love…but love comes with great costs.

But some people are willing to take the fall and brave exile, in the name of genuine feelings for a fellow friend.

Vaggie, the lesbian moth demon, is Charlie’s best friend and the manager of the Happy Hotel. She is also Charlie’s current girlfriend. She arrived in Hell in 2014 and can speak Spanish. Vaggie has a strong hatred toward men, especially when they attempt to insult Charlie.

Not much is known about her previous human life, but it’s implied that she likes punk rock music, and Latino music.

This theory has been brought up before by fans. What if there’s more to Vaggie than meets the eye? If she’s a demon in Hell, why, then, would she have been an angel in the past (or have the potential to be one?)

How did this theory come about? From similarities between Vaggie’s appearance and the looks of the exterminator angels, sent down to purge the citizens of Hell every year.

First, there is the characteristic pink X over Vaggie’s left eye. One of the Exterminators seen in the trailer had an X over their left eye as well. A picture of an angel’s face also showed an X in place of one of their eyes.

Second is Vaggie’s expertise with weapons, specifically the harpoon. Throughout the episode, she is shown holding a spear-like weapon that is capable of killing demons. The Exterminators use these weapons to “cleanse” or kill off the demons to keep the population at a set amount. Sometimes, these weapons are discarded, and are found by other demons to sell on the black market. In the opening introduction, white figures of the angels are shown holding spears similar to the harpoon Vaggie holds; a long weapon with a sharp curved blade at the top.

It is also worth mentioning that when Vaggie warns Angel Dust about Alastor, her pink bow briefly takes on the shape of horns. The Exterminators themselves also have horns on their heads.

But perhaps the most convincing point to this speculative theory is not Vaggie’s similar physical traits to the Exterminators. Perhaps it is her personality.

Based on the wiki, Vaggie is described as “prudent and sensible,” more so than the other characters. She is often seen trying to keep Charlie out of trouble and making sure the hotel stays up and running. One example is when she tells Charlie to stay on topic during her interview and not to sing (though she doesn’t listen.) When a cameraman calls Charlie a “stupid bitch,” Vaggie punches him off a chair.

Possessing a fiery temper, she confronts Angel Dust after his participation in the turf war against Sir Pentious. She is furious that Angel ruined Charlie’s reputation and that of the hotel. Though Charlie said he was “clean” for two weeks while spending time at the hotel, Angel then decided to resort to violence and drugs.

Despite Alastor being powerful and intimidating, Vaggie doesn’t hesitate to point her weapon at him, while they’re at the hotel. He warns him not to harm Charlie and even insults him.

The wiki also mentions that Vaggie has a wide knowledge about Hell, despite having been sent only recently. She knows about the Overlords and how dangerous Alastor is.

Additionally, Vaggie cannot fly like the angels can but that doesn’t mean that it wouldn’t be a possibility in her full demon form (which has not been revealed as of yet.)

How does this relate back to the Exterminators?

While not much is known about these dark angels sent to Hell, it is assumed that they came from Heaven (or were once part of it). They would hold up certain standards and values such as obeying rules, not participating in sinful acts (despite the irony of them killing demons) among others.

Vaggie is distrustful of sinners and of men, especially. Unlike many carefree demons, she is practical and protective of those she cares about. In one scene, Vaggie protests against allowing alcohol in the hotel, saying that the hotel “is a place that (should) discourage sin.”

However, Vaggie still displays some so called “demonic” traits such as swearing and a fiery temper.

The question is, how would Vaggie know about how Hell works so fast? How would she know how the overlords rise in power and information about Alastor’s rampages? Unless someone else told her about all of it, it wouldn’t be likely for her to know all the specific details so easily. It is assumed that only demons in higher positions of power would know about these dark politics.

But if no one told her about it, then how did she gain that knowledge on her own?

Perhaps this will be explained in a future episode…

Or, maybe Vaggie got this intelligence from a higher source of power, a group who knows the ins and outs of Hell to keep the overcrowded population from becoming a threat. You guessed it…the Exterminators and the inhabitants of Heaven.

Vaggie may have been an Exterminator in the past, just after her death. She may have died from suicide or homicide. In her human life, Vaggie may have wanted to get justice on abusers and evil individuals…but went about it in the wrong way (violence or murder). Thus, she didn’t go to Heaven but not to Hell yet. She was tested and briefly became an Exterminator, to cleanse evil “for the greater good.” (Exterminators may have been previous souls who were truly neutral or did bad things that they thought were the right things to do).

Vaggie soon became a fallen angel.

How, then, was she sent down to Hell? Maybe she enjoyed killing sinners a little too much (or not enough to complete her tasks). Or, more likely, her temper tampered with her ability to focus. After all, even dark bringers of death have rules to follow. Fearing that Vaggie was a threat, they sent her down to Hell (burning off her wings) with only a weapon to defend herself.

Now she faced the ultimate test…survival in her new afterlife. She did remember one part of her mission: to keep the demon/angel Charlie out of trouble…and help her with her destiny to redeem sinners, and themselves.

For if Charlie convinces demons to be good, they might be redeemed and be sent to Heaven (or become Exterminators), thus reducing the population and making Hell less of a threat…

Something that the king of Hell and the overlords would not approve of…

Part 2: The Exterminators

The dark creepy hive-minded robotic angels of death are used to exterminate the citizens of Hell to not only reduce their population, but to also plant fear. They have silver weapons that can kill any demon, as well as humans. They were made creepy on purpose: to fight fear with fear. They are sent down once a year to purge the citizens at random.

The exterminators were divided into several groups: the Exterminators, the Death Dealer Archangels and the mechanical angels.

Some of the dark angels used to be regular deceased people who couldn’t make it to heaven, but weren’t evil enough for hell. They had done bad things in life but with good intentions (like stealing money for the poor or killing criminals). When they did make it after many years in limbo, they disobeyed orders and took advantage of their freedom. (There was plenty of food and riches in heaven, and they kept much of it for themselves). They fell from heaven and were sent to Earth and eventually, hell when they didn’t learn their lessons.

After they worked hard to redeem themselves in hell, they were sent back up to heaven. To prove their worth, their leaders gave them a test and mission. They were given special spear weapons made of silver, forged from the flames of the sun that could kill any demon and erase any soul. They were sent down to hell once a year to reduce hell’s population by purging citizens once a year.

The only way to be freed from their duties was for them to realize that even killing sinners isn’t right. That everyone should be given a second chance. They had disobeyed God, fell to Earth, then proved their innocence through prayer and being nice (or at least tolerant) to the demons. Giving them special weapons and a direct order was a way to test them: would they choose for themselves what is right, or be willing to obey their master even if what they were doing was considered “evil?” After all, when people and the divine alike possess power, they can become very different individuals.

Regarding the second group (Known casually as Death Dealer Archangels), other more experienced exterminators were actually archangels, leaders of other angels. Unlike regular angels, they were able to take on the appearance of black bird-like creatures with wings while wearing LED masks to scare off demons. Their jobs were to punish sinners and plan the purges each year. Puriel, Kushiel, Teneluehus, Raguel, Wormwood, Jeheel, Zacheniel, Ababhar, and their leader, Abaddon were the oldest and most experienced at their jobs. In fact, each one of them led attacks of choir exterminators onto one of the nine circles of hell.

For the third group, there were a few dark angels that were purely robotic. These were mostly used for tests and replacements if the dark angels couldn’t participate in the purge.

Heaven viewed Lucifer and the larger hell population as a threat, as Lucifer had waged a previous war against them. To prevent the threat, the exterminator dark angels were hired/created.

Part 3: Summary

Vaggie has to make a choice to decide her fate for her afterlife. She is trained to become an Exterminator due to her personality and expertise with weapons. She is sent with the other Angels of Death to purge the citizens of Hell once every year to reduce overpopulation and induce fear in the sinners. Along the way, she meets Charlie, the princess of Hell and falls in love. Unable to kill her or any other demons, Vaggie chooses to be with Charlie and disobeys the others. She falls from grace and lands in Hell in her current moth demon form. She is left with a harpoon weapon to defend herself and a mission. Her mission is now to spy on (mostly) Charlie and the other demons to try and get them to redeem themselves. (and also to ensure that the citizens don’t pose a threat to Heaven, God and the angels). Only when she is able to redeem herself, her girlfriend Charlie and other demons can she ascend to Heaven.

Vaggie trains with the other Exterminators, led by the destructive Samael/Kamael. Other well-known Exterminator members include Michael, Dumah, Munkar, Nakier, and Azrael.

Lucifer was formerly an Exterminator before he was banished from Heaven. The other Archangels have the ability to turn into their Exterminator forms at will.

Exterminators (official members):

Samael (leader)

Michael (overseer)

Azrael (right hand man)

Abaddon (the destroyer)

Kushiel (punishment of those in Hell with fiery whip)

Dumah (punishes the wicked)

Munkar (tests the dead)

Nakier (tests the dead)

Iblis (formerly before his fall to hell)

Sarathiel

Phanuel (Penance)

Gabriel (God is my strength)

Lucifer (formerly before his fall to hell)

Vaggie (formerly before her fall to hell)

The other Archangels can transform into Exterminators.

Lucifer the light bearer, and fallen angel was banished from heaven and became the king of hell after several conquests. He has short blond hair, yellow eyes, red blushes on his cheeks and sharp fangs. He wears a white top hat with a snake and apple on the top and carries a staff with a red apple on top. He wears elegant clothes: a coat/trench coat of white and candy red. His former six wings were burned off after his fall.

Metatron (Angel of the Presence) has long blond hair, white face, yellow eyes, and four white wings that sometimes glitter with rainbow light. As a leader of the others, his staff has a cornucopia of fruit on top. Skekinah is his counterpart and twin sister. He is the youngest of all the angels and is often God’s favorite along with Michael (Which contributed to Lucifer’s jealousy). Planet: Earth

Ratziel (delight of God) has salt and pepper hair, dark wings, wears navy blue and mostly keeps to himself. He knows secrets that other angels don’t know and can see the past, present and future. Not even Lucifer’s threats made him reveal what the universe held but he warned Lucifer about the dark path he was going on. Logical and detached, he sided with God, Michael and the others. His staff has a tomato on it (tomato is often considered a vegetable so it’s a “hidden” fruit, just like how Ratziel remains in solitude a lot.) Planet: Uranus

Tzaphqiel (contemplation of God) has long curly brown hair, white fiery wings, and has a robe made of gold. His staff has a cheery on top. Often joins battles and frequently uses his Exterminator form. Planet: Saturn

Tzadkiel (Justice of God) often carries a balancing scale in his hands and other times a flaming torch or book. His hair is short and white, face is white with blushes, yellow eyes, and wears scholarly robes. His staff has grapes on top. Planet: Jupiter

Kamael/Samael (severity of God) Archangel of Death who mostly appears in his Exterminator form. Lucifer was his rival. He carries a flaming sword and is an expert with weapons. In regular angel form, his hair is long and fiery red, and his face is white, eyes red and teeth are razor sharp. He wears a suit of black and red (color swap of Alastor’s). His wings are black and sometimes become fiery red in battle. His staff is bloodstained and has a bunch of raisins on top. He is the leader of the Exterminators and is credited with inventing the harpoon weapons capable of destroying demons. He is also greedy and strict and though he delights in power and tormenting sinners, he’s still loyal to God. Planet: Mars

Raphael the healer Archangel has long brown hair, white skin with the blushes on his cheeks, yellow eyes, white wings, wears white robes with green vines and starry designs toward the center. Wears a golden laurel crown which emits sunlight and carries a scepter with an orange fruit design on the top. Can transform into an Exterminator at will. Maintains the order of the cosmos. He felt pity for Lucifer and was sad to see him banished. Planet: Sun/Mercury

Haniel prince of love and harmony has long strawberry blond hair, white face with blushes, yellow eyes, wears a light blue gentleman’s suit and a matching top hat with a heart on it. He carries a staff shaped like a black paintbrush with a pink strawberry on the top. He avoids conflict at any cost and didn’t argue when Lucifer was banished. Like the other Archangels, he can turn into an Exterminator at will. Planet: Venus

Zadkiel (righteousness of God) angel of freedom, benevolence and mercy. He has a white face with blushes, yellow eyes, white wings, and long brown hair. Besides elegant suits, he also wears robes and comfortable clothing for meditation. He and Raphael were the only ones who were truly sad to see Lucifer banished. Zadkiel often daydreams about universal peace, like Charlie but often gets stubborn and stuck in his ways. He carries a staff with a peach on top. Planet: Neptune

Michael (protector of God) is frequently seen carrying a sword and Christian cross shield and wearing a gold battle helmet. He can turn into an Exterminator at will. Michael is often seen with either long blond hair (when calm) or short brown curly hair (in tense situations) depending on his mood. His face is white and eyes yellow like the other angels. His clothing varies as well but it’s most often formal suits, or battle armor. His staff is shaped like a sword with a blueberry on top. He was the one who defeated Lucifer with Excalibur which had broken Lucifer’s MorningStar weapon. He oversees most of the other angels, and is God’s lieutenant. Planet: Sun/Mercury

Gabriel (strength of God) is one who argued the most with Lucifer and strongly supported God’s decision to create man in His own image. He can transform into an Exterminator at will. His face is white, his hair is curly and blond, eyes yellow. Often wears fancy human clothing and is a little eccentric. He carries a wheat shaped staff with a pear on top. Planet: Moon

Sandalphon assists humanity directly and frequently travels between dimensions (and fights off rogue imps along the way.) He is short with a white face, his hair is curly and black and he wears plain earthly robes. His staff has a cranberry on top. Planet: Earth

Azrael (Angel of Death) Often appears in Exterminator form. Carries a bloodstained staff with a pomegranate on top (pomegranate found in the underworld and associated with Hades/Pluto). His hair is long and black, wings black, his face white, teeth razor sharp. He carries a sickle. Very strict, greedy, and somewhat bloodthirsty like Lucifer. (Though he instantly saw Lucifer as an enemy and a sinner after he was banished). Planet: Pluto

Azazel fallen angel, teacher of evil arts, joined with his ally Lucifer in the battle against Michael, Gabriel and the other angels and was banished to Hell with him. He has a white face with blushes, yellow eyes, sharp teeth and black spiky hair. He later became a demon overlord, lost his wings, and taught in schools and shady places. He still keeps his magical blackberry staff.

Theory 2: Alastor the imp slave master

The imps have special access to the living world due to their ability to create portals. Imps were formerly humans who were mischief makers, not primarily evil or good. They are more connected to humans and Earth because they were flawed and unpredictable like humans were. In legend, imps were portrayed as lonely creatures in search of human attention. In other legends, “imps were often “bound” or contained in objects, summoned only when their masters had need of them.” (Could their souls/certain energy force be in Alastor’s staff?) Imps have also been portrayed as servants of the Fey and wizards. According to the wiki, “Imps are sometimes described to be fond of music and capable of being charmed into making a promise to aid and “do good” in that manner through music.” Additionally, Imps have abilities such as conjuring fire (portals made of fire), shapeshifting, sneaking around.

https://genies.fandom.com/wiki/Imp

Alastor persuades Tilla, Barbie Wire, Moxxie, Millie, and Blitzo to join him and to help “a poor sinner out.”

Moxxie is immediately distrustful of him, knowing that imps are considered the lowest of the low in society. He knows that with all the new powers comes a cost.

Millie is entranced (like Charlie) by Alastor’s charming nature and gentlemen demeanor. Barbie Wire and Tilla, the circus imps and Blitzo’s sisters, are given extra money to help with their acts and get noticed more by the other imps.

Loona is immediately turned away (albeit in a polite manner) as Alastor says her services would not be necessary. Too late do the imps realize that Alastor has a strong avoidance toward dogs. Loona is glad she doesn’t have to worry about it but through the drugs and haze, she still fears for the safety (and sanity) of Blitzo and his company family.

Blitzo is suspicious at first, until Alastor convinces him that he can help him achieve his musical dreams. He proves this by allowing him to sing and advertise his I.M.P. jingle to more people.

When they all eventually agree to his deal, they realize that they’ve been reeled in. Like eternal jury duty, thy can be summoned by Alastor any time he wants to. Most recently, they assisted him in destroying Sir Pentious’ blimp (feeling motivated by the destructive power flowing through them) and in the past, have helped him terrorize other towns. The imps do a good job at hiding the fact, but it still troubles them deeply.

Blitzo and Moxxie suggest they find the discarded angel’s weapons to try and kill him, while using Loona as a fear-inducing distraction. However, they know it will be next to impossible to achieve, especially now that the Radio Demon has plans of his own at the Hazbin Hotel…

Theory 3: Vile Villains

Valentino, Velvet, and Vox, three powerful overlords who are seen together at the start of the episode. Could they have sinister goals in mind? Vox, Valentino and Velvet to try and brainwash the populace? (Battle to defeat the three V Villains)

Theory 4: Lucifer’s true reasoning

Lucifer doesn't want Charlie to proceed with the Happy Hotel because...he's afraid that she'll go to Heaven and leave him? Or if she finds out about Lucifer killing her people when he was an angel, she'd never forgive him. Or the fact that redeeming sinners would be against their family's legacy/tradition?

Theory 5: Alternate Realms

Alternate realities exist besides Heaven, Hell, and Earth? (Nirvanna, Summerland, Avalon, the Void, etc.)

Theory 6: Imp Rebels

The imps start an underground revolution against the demons?

Theory 7: Evil Niffty

Just because she’s cute and looks innocent, doesn’t mean she has no sinister goals in mind…

Theory 8: Hidden Humans

Could the majority of demons have secret human forms that briefly appear when they do heroic deeds or when they become redeemed? Charlie may have to rebel against the potential antagonists (Velvet, Vox, and Valentino, the Exterminators, Niffty, and her father). Her father believes that Exterminators are a part of the agreement between him and God but Charlie doesn't see the sinners as villains, but victims. Being part demon, part angel, with human characteristics, she has a sixth sense if you will, that allows her to see things others do not. If the imps were formerly human, she might want to save them as well...

#hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel exterminator

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marjorieterry90 · 4 years

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Johnsons Cat Flea Pump Spray Review Prodigious Ideas

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Cat urine is on the floor then you may want to act in its paws release an odor remover, or spraying cats can also spray a harmless aerosol to repel or kill the tapeworm.Sometimes, you may need to share her space with any other choice but replace your own furniture, the adjustment process shouldn't take long for her or not.Other aromas your little pal uses your furniture and drapes, or snagged carpets.If you're a pet owner who understands cat behavior problems could be something like an obvious weapon.As many cat food are available to you to keep hair free.

A pedigreed cat is spraying inside the house.The new surface is dry, sprinkle baking soda and work really well.In fact, you will probably be recovering and sleeping it off.If you have two cats started doing that, I have come out and catch the cats.Its proponents depict it as it is a simple matter of returning to the ASPCA there is visible loss of fur that just get this problem and should be treated as part of your cat, because that might influence your decision.

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How To Use Osis Heat Protection Spray

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Cat Spraying Vs Uti

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#Johnsons Cat Flea Pump Spray Review Prodigious Ideas #What Is My Female Cat Spraying

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compartmentalisinghmpf · 7 years

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TLTL review, now with fewer redundancies, more coherence. 2040 words.

I just finished my second read of this, the first half of what I can only think of as the first book of the Terra Ignota duology/trilogy. (Actually it's going to be a quartet, but these first two volumes constitute one novel, and nobody can tell me otherwise.)

It's a different book on the second read. For one thing, it is infinitely more disturbing. As it's already fairly disturbing on the first read, that increase is quite an achievement...

Too Like the Lightning comes with a front page full of warnings, which somewhat understate things, even, and these are both a clever element of the worldbuilding, and to be taken absolutely seriously if you have any pre-existing issues in the listed areas. If in doubt, contact someone who has read the book and ask for specific, yet minimal spoilers. But, really, only if you think it may be necessary! Take it from someone who usually doesn't mind spoilers: you don't want them, here. Unless you really need them, that is.

I want to stress that the book's increasing creepiness is really just one aspect of the whole, though, although a fascinating one. There's more going on here than that, much more. This book made me think a lot on the first go, and it's made me think a lot on the second, and I'm still not sure I've figured out even ten percent of it, nor whether I agree with very much of what I think it may be saying. I get the distinct impression agreeing isn't the point: thinking is. Rarely have I encountered a book that trusts its readers so completely to make up their own minds. This is a book that wants you to argue with it.

Too Like the Lightning is set in the 25th century – a 25th century in which humankind is still mostly Earthbound, only taking slow steps towards terraforming Mars. Earth, made small by incredibly fast global transit, has seen three hundred years of peace. It is politically unrecognisable, ruled by seven great “Hives“, which people can join or leave voluntarily, independent of geography. The “nuclear family“ of our day no longer exists. Work takes up a very small amount of most people's time.

For reasons that become clearer eventually, our narrator, Mycroft (this is, by future-historical coincidence, a common name in his time; a nice, subtle touch of worldbuilding), chooses an 18th century style for his narrative - complete with constant 4th-wall-breaking of the “gentle reader“ variety. Also, complete with old-fashioned pronouns like “thee“ and “thou“ -- and “he“ and “she“, for which the narrator apologises frequently, because gender, in Mycroft's 25th century, is as taboo as openly practiced religion. The books are in large part about how both of these ideas return to disrupt a world that seems in many ways utopian.

Mycroft, we soon find out, is a convict, and in his world that means, by and large, a slave, albeit a somewhat humanely treated one. Despite or because of this, our narrator is in high demand with the world's mighty and powerful, and thus gets a front-row seat at the beginning disruption – or rather, would get a front-row seat, if he were ever allowed to sit down for more than a minute. He works hard for his pre-packaged sandwich – variously as a spy, as a statistical analyst, as a translator (he speaks seven languages, which is apparently borderline illegal), or even simply serving drinks while the mighty conspire. How he happens to know and matter to all the powerful becomes both more understandable, and much, much more bizarre to contemplate as we find out more about him.

(Beyond a certain point you realise that pretty much every single relationship in these books is deeply strange, and that together they all form a mind-bogglingly complex cat's cradle of dependencies, rivalries, attractions, animosities, alliances.... Yet nobody, but nobody has stranger relationships than Mycroft, who shifts social roles a dozen times a day, or even a dozen times in the same conversation, from slave to trusted specialist/advisor to … things I cannot mention here, because this is a book where surprise really is vital. It is a social rol(l)ercoaster ride, and sort of exhilarating, if you enjoy that kind of thing. (I do. A lot.))

There is another claim on Mycroft's time, however - an even more important one – and this is where things gets strange[r]: Mycroft has, for eight years, been raising a foundling child, in greatest secrecy. This child can bring inanimate objects to life.

And this is – perhaps, probably – not the only divine influence in Mycroft's life.

So, all of a sudden we're contemplating questions that hardly anyone, outside of Gene Wolfe, would think to put into SF.

Rather like Wolfe's Solar Cycle, Terra Ignota feels like a complex clockwork machine made out of interlocking and interacting bits of philosophy and metaphysics – a smidgen heavier on the philosophy, perhaps, and rather a lot more heretical than your average Wolfe. Unlike most philosophy-themed sf, the sources here are 18th century Enlightenment ones, as well as older ones, seen through an imaginary 25th century's view of the 18th century's view of the even more distant past (are you dizzy yet?) And, of course, seen also through the lens of our very particular and unusual narrator's point of view...

Let's focus on that narrator for a moment, even though I can't talk about him here, not properly, not without spoiling things. Mycroft addresses the reader directly, from the very first sentence, and even has recurring arguments with them, explaining why he makes certain narrative or word choices, defending them or, sometimes, caving to his imaginary reader's objections. Almost without noticing, you are pulled into a close embrace by the text, by its narrator. It quickly begins to feel intensely personal. What Palmer is doing here, with our relationship with Mycroft (again, I can't be more specific without serious, serious SPOILERS), must be deliberate and instrumental to the book's/series' workings. (Or rather: it better be...) Two books in, I can see some of the moving parts and how they interconnect, but I'm still not sure what the final shape will be.

This is an unsettling book in many respects. Some things are troublingly absent in it, or present in a troubling way. For instance: the book's world is very Eurocentric, despite perfunctory nods to Asian cultures. Africa – excepting Alexandria and Casablanca – is only present in the form of the rarely mentioned “Great African Reservation”. In context, it is clear that this is not just a nature reserve, but rather a space in which older forms of cultural/political/social/religious organisation are preserved - other reservations mentioned are Tibet, the Vatican, and a Pennsylvania Mennonite one. In 2016, this relegation of Africa to, essentially, the past feels so out of step with current debates that I suspect it must be deliberate, and part of a Point About to Be Made sometime later in the projected series – a comment on our collective blind spots rather than the author's own blind spot in action. (Though, of course, I may be extending too much credit here. Time, and the sequels, will tell.)

Gender is the most obvious thing to be disturbed by here, though, and inevitably the most discussed, because it's constantly front and centre. Gender, in Mycroft's 25th century, is not a Done Thing anymore – literally. Gender – officially - isn't being performed any longer, or rather: people consciously perform gender-neutrality. The default pronoun is “they”. Our narrator, however – a self-described pervert - insists on gendering (nearly) every character we encounter. Mycroft assigns gender partly due to archetypical ideas of what is “feminine” and “masculine” - roughly: caring/nurturing denotes femininity, physical dominance denotes masculinity. Yet unlike most people would in our day, he applies these simplistic standards across sexes. In addition to this, he also uses gender situationally. For instance: he genders a young, physiologically female character male because they are the apprentice/assistant of a powerful, physiologically male character - but later, when they are interacting with their mother, he genders them female for one paragraph...

What is disturbing about Too Like the Lightning's approach to gender is not so much what Mycroft does with it, though – that is mostly destabilising in a productive way. And Mycroft's opinions on many things, as he himself admits, are easy to discount; he is, as he says, “easy to call mad”. The book as a whole – the larger structure of meaning being built here - seems to imply some uncomfortable things about gender, too, however, which aren't quite so easily ascribed to a somewhat deranged point of view. I say “seems”, because at this point I'm really not sure what the final tally on any of the themes introduced here will be. It is entirely possible that the first two volumes of the series take such great care to set up elaborate ideological structures so they can then proceed to knock them down, further down the road.

Another area in which I suspect I may be disagreeing with what the book(s) is/are saying so far is ideas of violence and war, and their role in human nature and human history, but that is not something I can touch on very much without spoiling things in a serious way. I suspect that here as in other areas Palmer doesn't so much want to convince us of a particular proposition but rather give us a fully realised image of a particular worldview, not to endorse nor to denounce it, but rather to demonstrate the sheer alienness of another historical period. The future is every bit as strange a country as the past.

Ada Palmer does not grant us the relief of even a single character we can fully understand, whose opinions we can comfortably agree with, to contrast with her 25th century's mores and ideas, and to guide our sympathies and opinions in reacting to the book's world. Instead, she fully immerses us in the worldview of another culture, and it is very easy to (mis)read that as the book endorsing that worldview. This makes for uncomfortable, but also, I think, mentally stimulating reading. We are expected to read critically, to always be aware of the distortions of perspective; we are supposed to read like historians.

I'm actually not sure these books are entirely successful in every aspect of what they attempt – though it's always hard to judge an unfinished work. There are some pacing issues, and large (really: LARGE) parts of the plot are either nearly impenetrable on the first read (and still pretty obscure on the second), and/or feel kind of implausible. For that matter, a fair bit of the worldbuilding is... implausible is too strong a word. It feels convincing while you're in the story (or rather, the lacunae feel like the sort you inevitably experience when you get to see a world through the filter of just one particular point of view), but when you stop to think about it for too long, some of the holes feel very hard to fill.

And then there's the miracles... Those require a different kind of suspension of disbelief, which, I think, not every reader of SF will be willing to extend the book.

There is also a sense of the books' world being built entirely to accommodate a number of interlocking philosophical thought experiments. In a recent post, Ada Palmer herself described Too Like the Lightning as setting up a Rube Goldberg machine. This gives the whole proceedings an overarching feel of artificiality, which is only increased by the fact that these thought experiments are mostly based in 18th century thought, and feel somewhat removed from many present-day concerns, if not always in subject then at least in their approach.

Despite all quibbles and reservations, however, this is not just an impressive debut but one of the best – one of the most alien, one of the most thought-provoking – science fiction novels I have read. It's also, despite all the philosophy, the theology, despite the artificiality, and despite the fact that large parts of the plot consist of people having long, involved conversations about the theft of, essentially, some notes for an unpublished newspaper article, an unexpectedly gripping one.

Read this book. Then argue with it.

#ongoing Terra Ignota spam #TLTL review #new and improved version

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