#He's just adding sides
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Look, Aziraphale sees the world as a spectrum, which means he does believe there is black and white, but he also believes there is gray in the middle, but Heaven and Hell are the binaries on either side of the spectrum, binaries/sides Aziraphale ultimately doesn't think apply to him and Crowley. Aziraphale blurs the edges, but there is still Black and White, an ombre if you will
But Crowley? Crowley sees the world as a Grid, a nebulous circle, a complex cumulus cloud
#these two I swear#aziraphale#crowley#ineffable partners#ineffable husbands#Crowley still goes too fast for Aziraphale#Look crowley still sees sides#Our side is a side#He's just adding sides#And Aziraphale is like wait hold on this line has turned into a superpolygon#Aziraphale was good with an ombre#The ombre made sense to him#But then crowley is like oops did I say ombre I meant this jackson pollock painting sorry#But honestly in a weird way crowley sees it as heaven +hell vs our side (azi and crowley)#Which is still two sides#I've lost the thread here#But you get what I'm saying yeah?
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I don't want to regret the way I lived
#my art#jujutsu kaisen#jjk#fanart#jjk fanart#jujutsu kaisen fanart#yuji itadori#gojo satoru#nobara kugisaki#nanami kento#choso kamo#junpei yoshino#jjk leaks#jjk spoilers#jjk manga spoilers#this idea started as a 2 part series . then my braincells decided to spark and supplied 7 PAGES#'did you sleep hina' no#ws looking up mentally stable things like 'who has died in jjk' smh i love my hyperfixation media im sooooo glad so many ppl r DEAD#i *could* have included more ppl but i think this is a good crew. this is a yuuji emotional support crew#also Was gna include his grandpa final panel but i Did Not Want To#he is implied through th dialogue#side note i donot like how i cn see this scenario playing out . ..yuuji this isnt ur stop u r monopoly voice Just Visiting ok >:(#anyway I broke my own heart with this and ik i hyped it up a lot but i hope that its not just me...#hope i did not hype it up fr nothing and no one else finds it devastating :((((( that would b humbling in the worst way#pls ...join the happy party train.......i hate it here i suffered pls :<<<<#also !!!! colours in this !! i cooked i fear . adding th first bit of warm hitting yuuji's face after th first 2 panels....#ive never had that kind of experience while drawing before it was wild . painful ! but wild.#the whole transition from p 2->3 might b the most emotionally moving piece ive ever made to me#not 2 sing my own praises tho i will shut up ! i wil. nap
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OK correct me if I'm wrong, but I feel like the main 'yin/yang' parallel with Atsushi and Akutagawa is not something like 'this one is bad but secretly has a good side and this one is good but secretly has a bad side'.
I feel like it's more about 'who they are at their core vs who they choose to be'.
At his core Akutagawa is kind and at his core Atsushi is not. But despite this Atsushi tries every day to make the kinder choices and I love him so much for it. He has to work so hard to be good.
He wants to be a bitch SO bad I know he does but he tries his best to help people and be nice (sometimes he fails but that's OK <3)
Atsushi doesn't always WANT to help people, a lot of the time he's selfish and scared, but he does help people anyway. He keeps helping people over and over again. There's still some selfish motivation to it, and his initial motivation for helping people was because the headmaster told him that's all he was worth, but overall he does care about the people he helps and it weighs on him if he fails to save them. And of course, as the series goes on he starts helping people more because he can rather than because he feels like he needs to.
In Akutagawa's case, he's still capable of being kind but his environment led him into being someone who chooses to hurt people. But he's always been a protector at heart. In the start he was bad compared to Atsushi because he was choosing to hurt people and keep the cycle of abuse going. Just like how Atsushi developed in why he saved people, Akutagawa starts to get redeemed when he chooses to not just act on his rage. Not only does he start to spare people, but he speaks more kindly to them (apologising to Higuchi and telling Kyouka he's proud of her). It all culminates into the moment he chooses to help Atsushi and sacrifice himself for him, going back to his core value of being a protector. Even when he's finally revived, he keeps this role in his new position as Aya's Knight.
I kind of see the streaks of white in Akutagawa and the streaks of black in Atsushi not as their 'hidden sides' but as their fundamental selfs. That's who they are at their core, and their main colours (black for Akutagawa and white for Atsushi) are how they're presented to everyone else and how they try to have people see them as.
#I'm just spitballing half of this but these are also my genuine thoughts on these two and their yin/yang parallels#I'll never get over Akutagawa being a protector at heart and getting that side of him buried with rage from growing up in the PM and-#-Dazai's old teachings#also Atsushi being selfish at his core is very important to me. He's not a typical 'kind hearted' shonen protagonist. He's kind not because#-that's how he’s always been but because that's how he chooses to be#I think that kind of character is even more admirable to me#it also fits well with Dazai being his mentor. Since Dazai also doesn't have that initial desire to save people just out of kindness.#He saves people as a promise to his dead friend that wanted him to live a good life#in fact that actually fits with Jouno too#now that I think about it quite a few bsd characters fit into that 'not kind because they were born that way but because they chose to be'-#-archetype#hell yeah. That's kinda cool I like that#bsd analysis#Akutagawa#atsushi#akutagawa ryuunosuke#atsushi nakajima#sskk#shin soukoku#<- Not a ship post but adding this tag since I consider that their duo name too#bsd#bungou stray dogs#bungobble my post
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kendall, six months later, cradling shiv's baby in his arms: okay yeah I did kill that waiter
#succession#he's not actually talking to the baby he's talking to shiv and roman on the other side of the room and they roll their eyes so hard#people in the tags adding in cute wholesome headcanons fuck off#kendall's gonna have to clarify that he was lying to the sibs eventually and this would just be the funniest possible time to do it dfjkskj#also YES they are gonna be in each others lives again they have nothing else no one else
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I can teach you how to be just like me
crying all night, sleeping till three
#did I mention that she’s really sad when she isnt trying to forget the unbearable boredom of being immortal#I heard this song to an animatic and I thought it really suited her so I added it to her playlist lol#I normally draw her in fun bright colors but a lot of the sadder parts of her story get pushed to the side#even if none of my oc stories are really fleshed out I know she has an insatiable nature. her star motif is loosely tied to this I think?#ungrounded and instead of ambitious she can just never find contentness with what she likes or what shes doing#she can definitely be happy though!!! but it always feels fleeting that shes scared the rest of her life is gonna be spent chasing highs#which is way less exciting when u think abt how long you’re gonna be around before everything loses its excitement#what tuck everlasting does to a mf#I think this also kinda bleeds into her relationships and tries to keep her distance so she doesnt get tired of someone she actually likes#it can be confusing since she can be really cuddly utterly in love one second and then kind of distant the next. but she still loves you#her brother I think is on the other end of the spectrum where he tries to live in the moment to avoid thinking abt the future#the avoidance siblings#my oc#oc#Augusta#doodles#my art#myart
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Reposting this from my twitter thread because it hasn't left my head (and adding a tiny bit more).
Seen so many questionable takes lately about the ivantill kiss, and I know everyone is allowed to have different opinions and interpretations but.
No, Ivan didn’t just pretend to kiss Till for the show. And no, he wasn't trying to make Till hate him either or trying to trigger him over his implied SA to snap him into action.
I think the whole point of the scene (confirmed by the creators) is Ivan finally breaking his mask of perfection and control and giving in to his messy, all consuming feelings, being selfish for once.
Yes, by the end before the strangling starts, he appears more clear headed and now focused on the objective of manipulating the score. But he doesn't really look at it until AFTER he starts strangling Till.
The kiss itself wasn't part of the strategy, or at least not entirely something calculated. Ivan could have skipped the kiss and strangled Till right away and gotten the same result.
The fact that he kissed him AGAIN after he started strangling him, more softly and 'personal', almost like a goodbye or an apology (whether for his selfishness or for their past), tells me he wanted it.
I think a last selfish act doesn't diminish the love he had for Till, it just shows the tragedy of ALNST. Ivan is only human after all. And no matter what kind of mask he built for himself and what illusion of control he had over his life, when faced with the real, imminent possibility of losing Till, he crumbled and did something unexpected.
I have more to say about the Ivan and Sua parallels and how he finally understands her in the Confession comic etc etc but I think I've yapped enough.
I just don't like it when people try to mold the narrative because they're uncomfortable with an unconsensual kiss. It's meant to be painful and heartwrenching, a reflection on Ivan's one sided-feelings and his desperation at the moment —to be seen for the first (and last) time, to not be left behind, to convey his emotions in the only way he could when being seconds away from death.
After all the team confirmed that Ivan is clumsy with emotions and only knows to convey them in 'childish' ways (the nuzzling against his face, the picking fights with Till and teasing him).
I think some people like to think of the kiss as something purely calculated and selfless because it makes it more 'palatable', but in my opinion this take washes out Ivan's character and the flaws that make him just as human, vulnerable and complex as the rest of the cast. He was willing to throw away his life and his perfect image because he wanted something that badly.
#ivantill#alnst#alien stage#someone on twitter added a very good point that the kiss not being premeditated works in ivan's favor because it humanises him and i agree#till has always been the one to bring out the most messy human side of him#the one he was utterly unable to pretend to be prince charming around#i just have SO MANY FEELINGS about this scene in general#also Qmeng and team seem very proud of her kiss drawing abilities and i think she'd be devastated if she read ppl saying he was just#playing pretend asdf#i think ivan not looking like he was enjoying it had less to do with it being calculated and more to do with him understanding the one-side#nature of his love and the gravity of the situation they were in
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YIPPEE WE RISE!! This is my piece for The Magolor Collab!
I chose to draw the (hypothetical) scene in which Magolor first read about the Lor and Master Crown. I had a lot of fun hiding easter eggs (heh) in this piece!! :] Please check out the whole project, it's really amazing!! 🥚✨
Also shoutout to @desultory-novice for making a brush with the Halcandran symbols, they helped a lot with the books :]
#art#kirby#magolor#return to dreamland#return to dreamland deluxe#art collab#for the easter eggs#there's the drawing of kirb and magolor on the side#bc magolor says in game that he knew of kirby before they met#and i'd like to think magolor thought kirby was cool or wanted to be friends#there's the cast shadow from the star mobile adding to mago's shadow to look like the master crown#the tile at the center of that shadow is supposed to look like the gem of the master crown too#the crayons on the floor are dedede bandee kirby and MK pointed as if to attack#kirby's crayon being pointed the other way wasn't intentional i literally just noticed now#but it could mean whatever#and also i referenced tome trackers from rtdl deluxe for the design of the room
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theyre in my brain They Are In My Brain
full payment:
#laughingstock my beloved <3<3<3#adding howdy onto the list of characters i cant draw consistently#got damn. hes all over the place#'whered his nose go in the last one' i Temporarily Removed It#listen i dont draw smooches like ever#so when i dont know how to include side profile features i just Yeet them#he doesnt need it rn. who cares. whos noticing#LaughingStock#scribble salad#welcome home puppet show#welcome home#welcome home fanart
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DP x MCU crossover
Sometime after Howard and Maria Stark’s death, Hydra decides to try and make a clone of Tony Stark, that’s infused with Super Soldier serum. They were hoping to get a super smart super soldier that they could control.
And thus Danny was born.
At some point when he’s like 2 or 3 one of the Hydra agents whose been his handler since he was born grows a conscious after witnessing the most recent experiment the other scientists in the lab put Danny through. They take Danny and run away from the lab. They don’t get away clean tho, they had to fight their way out of the lab and they were injured in the process. They wind up in Amity Park with baby Danny and come across the Fenton Parents. They hand Danny over to them and tell them to protect and look after the kid. And then they die.
The Fenton parents adopt Danny and raise him as their own. Danny grows up not knowing he’s adopted or that he’s a clone and a super soldier. The ghost portal accident happens when he’s 14 like cannon. The reason he survived and only half died is because of the super soldier serum in his blood.
Eventually, after the whole events of the Danny Phantom series has passed (minus Phantom Planet because fuck that horrible ending to the series). Danny, after defeating Pariah Dark, is now the king of the ghost zone. He still doesn’t realize he’s a clone of Tony Stark. Despite the fact that he looks exactly like a 17 year old version of the man!!!
And then New York happens. A portal opens up in the skies above New York, and aliens come pouring out of it! You bet your ass Danny hightailed it over to New York to help out the group of heroes that were trying to stop the aliens. He’s super hyped to fight aliens!!! He’s just having a blast zooming through the skies of New York, around skyscrapers, throwing punches and ecto-blasts at aliens, helping out the other heroes.
Meanwhile every time he helps one of the Avengers they all double take when they finally get a look at his face. Cause like yes this floating glowing child has glowing green eyes and Snow White hair, but the rest of his face looks like a very young Tony Stark. After each encounter with the boy the different Avengers call Tony over the coms to ask his status and to reassure themselves that Tony hadn’t been de-aged and given super powers mid battle.
Tony is the last one of them that meets Danny. He’s super annoyed at the fact everyone keeps calling him over the coms to ask his status. Like yeah he’s not a super soldier and doesn’t have powers, but neither does Romanoff or Barton!!! And unlike them he has his own super suit to protect him. So why is everyone calling in to check on him?!!!
And then finally Danny comes zooming around a building chasing after Loki’s chariot, shouting sarcastic quips at the god, while firing green blasts from his fists. And Tony just kind of blue screens for a minute. Jarvis has to take over piloting the suit for a minute while Tony reboots. He’s def got the surprised Pikachu face going on. Finally he reboots but Danny’s already flown off to deal with something else.
The battle comes to an end, the portal closes, the world is safe, and all the Avengers all head towards Stark tower. Danny sees them and where they’re headed and decides to meet them there. He’s been the only super hero around for a while and he wants to actually properly interact with these new hero’s!
Imagine his shock when he actually finally comes face to face with Tony Stark and finally realizes how much he looks like the man. He starts panicking thinking his mom had an affair with the man 17 years ago and just passed him off as Jack Fenton’s son.
Absolute chaos ensues as assumptions are made. DNA tests happen. They realize that no he is not Tony’s kid, he’s Tony’s clone. More assumptions are made. No body is having a good time.
#danny phantom#marvel#mcu#dp x mcu#tony stark#Hydra#clones#ghost king danny#misunderstandings#assumptions are made#maybe some everlasting trio added in on the side#on a side note#Tucker Sam and Jazz are all liminal as hell#they all have their own ghost powers/halves at this point#because fuck it why not#Tony is having a panic attack at the thought he had a kid he never knew about#and his kid is a ghost#his kid died#apparently when he was like 14 cause that’s how old this ghost kid in front of him looks#Danny is 17 but his ghost half still looks 14#his human half looks his proper age#it’s just his ghost half that hasn’t aged#Danny’s having a panic attack thinking his mom cheated on his dad#and then he has a panic attack thinking his parents cloned him in their lab using Tony’s DNA#he calls Jazz hysterical and crying about the whole thing#Jazz can barely make out what he’s saying#all she gets is her baby brother is calling her in hysterics#after fighting aliens#and joining the super heroes in their tower#she grabs Tucker and Sam and hightails it to the tower ready to kick some ass and defend her baby brother
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main squad but make them so high school !!
#they are all i draw i fear#adding some hcs here bc. i can.#so hazel is totally like the artsy girl#she wants to illustrate comics when she grows up i mean cmon#and jasmine is in a little pop punk band bc shes a singer !!#her style is so silly i love#then winn is still a skater bc yeahh#got rid of their side shave i just couldnt do it anymore guys#and dev is just like. a total fucking dork#he wears reading glasses guys trust i was literally winn's skateboard#i probably have more hcs but i'll be done yappin for now#art#fanart#fairly oddparents#fop a new wish#hazel wells#jasmine tran#winn harper#dev dimmadome#devzel
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Sketchy sketch of an Angler design I had in mind, i saw ppl making their own humanized designs for the Pressure entities so i'm giving it a shot too
*The Sailor Song by Toy Box starts playing*
#He's a sailor/captain because.. the gods told me yeah#hate em Anglers but love me a man with long hair#I'm thinking about adding suspenders to his design bc the shirt/chest area still looks a bit empty on the sides... chat what do we think#originally I had added an anglerfish lure to his design. then i remembered that only female anglerfish have them 😭#and i kept thinking “it's an anglerfish why doesn't it have a lure like Sebastian” gee i wonder why smartass#though Sebastian's came from a mutated anglerfish (yes i know it used to say in his file that it was a female anglerfish but stuff changed)#i could just slap it back on him and say he's mutated bc he DEFINITELY is in canon#or transgender#accidental transgenderism strikes again#mmmm i'll think about it#pressure fandom#pressure fanart#roblox pressure#pressure roblox#pressure angler
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Had this AU kinda simmering on the sidelines for a while, but after the recent lore drop for the alt timeline (and for being in the franchise long enough to understand the characters a lil better), I finally decided to drop this thing.
Basic premise of this thing is that instead of fully blowing up far away in space, Max wound up blowing up close enough to Earth's orbit (since Stinky was actually forced to toss her phone while leaving). This made it so his bits came barreling back like a meteor but recondensed themselves to form a body again (in part thanks to the dark matter still in him). During the process however the two halves of his brain refused to reconnect hence why there's two extra Maxes now instead of one.
Alt still shows up though, the above process took just enough time for the ending scene to play out but not long enough for Sam & Alt to leave the pier (the time elevator still gets sent away though so Alt's pretty much stranded in this timeline).
Now all 4 of em are kinda just stuck living together. Sam doesn't have the guts to ditch any of them because part of him wants to move on with Alt, but on the otherhand SuperEgo and ID remind him too much of when they were a whole person...rabbit.
Bit of a sidenote sorta-kinda but, obviously all the Maxes hate each others' guts and try to get rid of one another by almost any means necessary. Problem with this is the fact SuperEgo and ID came from the same person afterall, so they can't really hurt each other or else they wind up hurting themselves. If one experiences damage done to their body then the other will experience phantom pain from it, be it sudden bruises coming out of nowhere or spontaneous cuts popping up.
#sam and max#sam and max spoilers#sam and max freelance husbands#the devil's playhouse spoilers#Three's A Crowd AU#silver's artwork#also just gonna add this here but even though SuperEgo was kinda standoffish in the game. I'd imagine he still likes Sam-#-hence why he sticks around#sure he may not be a fan of how he acts most of the time but he still finds comfort in Sam's company that noone else can seem to provide#other side notes I'm gonna add down here: despite his wings. ID can't fly and can only at best hover#and as for the exposed brains. tried to make sure it was obvious they were only exposed on one side#SuperEgo's popping out on his left while ID's leans from the right#obviously no exposed brain for Alt Max but he does get fucked up ears#those are thanks to ID from yanking them whenever those two fight#also also would've added Sam in the first pic but there wasn't much change in his design aside from baggase under his eyes#can't recall anything else that needs mentioning atm so Imma just leave it at this
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yuuji smiling and sukuna making a face like That did u really think i wouldn't do a panel redraw
#my art#jujutsu kaisen#jjk#yuji itadori#ryoumen sukuna#fanart#jjk fanart#jjk spoilers#jjk manga spoilers#jjk leaks#jjk 264#yuuji#sukuna#god sukuna's face is so priceless he rly does look like a cat at the vet#AND I MISSED HAPPY YUUJI i would read a compilation of every panel of smiling yuuji in a heartbeat#i also missed pink sukuna :') no context n u can almost pretend we r back in the good old days#anyway i debated adding text 2 this because to me it looks like Let's Take Ibuprofen Together#and since thats Sukuna's Thing (tm) i feel like theres a joke 2 b made there with yuuji saying it 2 him#but i decided against it smtimes simple is best#ok my hand is actually showing signs of overuse im done fr the day i PROMIS E FHFJSFJJ#it's just the meat of the palm pinky side and not the wrist so thats a good sign#ill probably b better tmr . no rest fr the wicked stay strong girl
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rewriting my childhood friends jason and danny post be like: “how do i better convey that jason is also as “ride or die” in this friendship with danny as danny is,,,” (while still being from danny's point of view)
“Oh i know!” *turns 85 degrees towards Danny* “:) im going to hurt you”
#dpxdc#dp x dc#cfau#dead on main#imo my original post didn’t convey that well just how equally unhinged jason is towards danny as danny is to jason#like this is not one sided it is mutual ‘i will lose my shit if anything happens to you’ behavior folks#and i didnt think it shows that well in the og post since its all from danny’s pov#but i’ve added a few parts - albeit kinda subtle in some areas - that hint or show that jason is about the same amount as feral#as danny. the biggest obvious one to me is this scene where he gets hurt. kinda spoilers kinda not since i dont say how he gets hurt
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Selfishly thinking that Orion could be persuaded to act in one of the band music video. Just once.
Anyway, go play @infamous-if cause it’s amazing!
Little bonus, I put the rambly scenario that sprouted these under the cut in case you wanna know more 🤷♀️
It’s got to be a team effort and a chore to get Orion on board but somehow they manage to convince him in the end(cause he got a soft spot). In my head the idea was Violet and Rowan’s, Iris jumped right in cause it sounded fun and then Jazzy and Devyn joined in. Chris tagged along too cause heck yeah. They all come up with a list of pros and cons cause they know that Orion will fight against it, but thanks to Devyn they come up with sound and logical enough reasons. Rowan and Violet do the presentation and after a lot of debate, Orion accept in the end to everyone (and his own) disbelief. The video is a success, the views count gets higher and half the comment are about Orion.The band tease him relentlessly and Orion swears never again. The end.
#infamous if#infamous#infamous violet#infamous oc#violet rose#i blame the very cool photoshoot I found on Pinterest that inspired me to do these#they are on a bridge or a rooftop you decide cause I couldn’t#listen I love all the seven drama but Orion is the reason why I started to play the game#read his description and I was like yep thanks I’m sold I’ll have him#also I know Orion would never but a girl can dream#plus the views would skyrocket so it’s good business#just unprofessional but yk#also the song is leave before you love me but zayn Malik cover cause I like the vibe better#I was debating with so many songs for these#in the end it was either belladonna by Ava max she or borderz by zayn#then I found this cover and I was like this fits violet and Orion better in my head so here we are#I’m a pop junky what can I saw#I’m sorry i only have infamous in my head rn#on a side note for the little scenario imagine Orion’s colleague from Carolina records seeing the video and sputtering coffee all over#cause yes he looks like a model from a perfume ad#okay I’m done rambling go play the game#my art#illustration
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The Lucanis vs Illario story would have had greater emotional depth/intrigue if the writers didn't water down how fucked up the Crows are as an organization.
Just some thoughts about how, out of all the side villains, Illario had some great potential to be a really interesting/tragic character in my opinion.
TL;DR: Zevran Aranai has a knife with Caterina's name on it for good reason and Lucanis/Illario need therapy...or whatever the Thedas equivalent is called...talking to Rook, I dunno
Going into DATV as a new player, or even as a returning one, the whitewashing of the Crows has a lot of the potential complexities of that life simply ignored or barely touched upon. The entire 'Illario vs Lucanis' boils down to: Illario seething in the shadows about Lucanis being the 'best boy'™ of the family while Illario is an after thought - which he is.
Let's be real, Illario is not subtle and immediately comes across as the Scar to Lucanis' 'Mufasa'. It's a questline with a very straightforward villain who has pretty lackluster motivations from what info we're provided - being 'I want power and to be the First Talon'. The game does very little explore what motivations he may have beyond being jealous of Lucanis/wanting more power.
However, if you play the quest line knowing what previous games have set up about the Crows - about how cutthroat and brutal the life is behind the glamour - then you can see that the entire Lucanis vs Illario conflict has amazing potential to be a dramatic tragedy.
We've seen how the life of Crow can affect Zevran - someone who was sold into the life through child-slavery. How interesting would it be to see how the life of a Crow can affect someone who was born into it? It's pretty clear in-game that Caterina intends for her grandchildren to carry on the family tradition - despite the fact that this 'family tradition' has likely led to the deaths of most of her grandchildren and however many children she had.
If there's banter about how Illario's/Lucanis' parents/cousins died specifically I haven't heard it, but the impression I got in-game was that it was likely linked to the Crows/politics in some way? Feel free to correct me! Still majorly fucked up that she pushes her grandsons into this life regardless!
Lucanis/Illario's situation was not like Zevran's - who was sold into the Crow's through slavery, with no one to speak up for him. Caterina was a woman who had power, who knew what the life of a Crow meant, and who still pushed those she 'loved' into it because is consolidated her place in the system. For all the Crows talk of 'family' Caterina doesn't seem to give a shit about them unless if they're contributing to the family business in some way - not to mention the whole 'you fail and we kill you' clause of being a Crow in the first place.
In the 'Wigmaker Job' from Tevinter Nights Lucanis talks about how Caterina hit him [also Illario] with her cane for mistakes and had him spend days without food/water. How he used to hate her but now 'realizes' that it was her way of ensuring he survived the life of being an Antivan Crow. Did it end up protecting them? It likely pushed them both to refine their skills out of fear. It's likely that simply by association with her they would be targets and thus needed to know how to take care of themselves and fight.
But why have him as a Crow in the first place? Why not simply train them well to defend themselves? You can't deny that she doesn't benefit from having her grandchildren in the family business - intentionally wanting Lucanis to take over her position as First Talon. The Antivan Crows are a force to be reckoned with and being one brings a whole lot of power in Antiva - being part of the elite of that group even more so.
If the game showed us the ugly reality of the Crows - the brutality of the lifestyle and how cutthroat the organization is, it could have really added some depth to Illario's betrayal - having it be more than "I want more power/respect" to "this is the result of what you taught me was valuable in life."
Warden: "Do you actually enjoy being an assassin?" Zevran: "And why not? There are many things to enjoy about being a Crow in Antiva. You are respected. You are feared. The authorities go out of their way to overlook your trespasses. Even the rewards are nothing to turn your nose up at."
Illario, bitter about Caterina favoring Lucanis - resentful of the fact that she has already decided that Lucanis will be her successor, being offered power by the Venatori (at the expense of the Crows) and accepting because why not? How different is it from what the Crows do? Isn't power and status the whole point of working yourself up in the Crows? Getting into a relationship with Zara because why not? Isn't sex part of the allure of being a Crow? Why can't he have this? Why shouldn't he have this?
Rook: "When we met, it didn't seem like Illario and Caterina were close." Lucanis: "It was hard to be close to her. Even for me. And...I was her favorite."
Why would he have connections to his family? Why should he? Caterina certainly never seemed to value 'family' beyond what they could do for her and their family legacy. Most of his family is already dead, and of those that remain the only parental figure he has obviously favors Lucanis. We don't have a lot of evidence in-game to show that Illario ever really cared for Lucanis, but the prequel story 'The Wake' and Lucanis' own banter imply that they were practically brothers, best friends. Perhaps he did care and then ceased to at some point, perhaps he didn't at all, or perhaps he accepted that an early death for them both was inevitable like everyone else in their family. Dead now or later - what was the difference? At least if Illario sells him out now to the Venatori then he'll get something from it instead of another dead family member to bury.
It's the tragic result of raising a child in an environment where he was taught and experienced the need for self-preservation at all costs. Constantly threatened, punished, and made well aware of that fact that his life was an expendable commodity. Then, when things in the world went to shit he picked the only option that made sense to him. To save himself.
The irony of the potential fall of the Crows, the fall of House Dellamorte, coming at the hands of one of their own - not because he had a change of heart but because he was taught too well by them. The Crows view those that fail them as disposable, someone to be discarded - if the Crows fail Illario, what is to stop him from applying that mindset to them?
But this would require the writers to acknowledge how messed up the Crows are and we can't do that to our 'Noble Freedom Fighters'™. They'll also need to address Zevran's existence and what lore was established in past games...and we can't have that either lmao.
#the moment he opened his snake mouth I knew lmao#having played the first three games I can see it as a tragedy#but without playing those games? with what information datv provides us? he's just a 'power-hungry cousin'#which is kind of boring? all the side villains in this game are really goofy tbh#really could have been such a cool story if they added more depth to it - otherwise Illario is just 'villain of the week'#Lucanis blink twice if you need help#so upset my Rook toasted to him becoming First Talon - ew gross#and Jacobus becoming a crow? being a 'good' thing? gtfo#i know Caterina didn't know where he was until recently - but the way she talks about it is so casual? “here's where he is - go get him”#it took Rook one boat ride to get there and break him out! you're one of the heads of an assassin guild!#have your assassins assassin!!!#this game is afraid of moral complexity in the same way that Cullen was afraid of female mages in DAO#Just fucking running away at the first sign of something deeper lmao#thanks to thewardenisonthecase for filling my 'for you' page with stuff about Lucanis and making me think about this all lmao#datv spoilers#datv critical#dragon age the veilguard
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