#I like the potential of the idea. As if trying to gain glory‚ reclaiming it as her right as daughter of a god‚

[longagoitwastuesday]

One thing about me is that I will stand by basically every bad deed of my favourite characters fully aware of them being bad deeds. I just don't care

[dalishious]

Reclaiming Independence of the Dales

Before anything else, I’d just like to clarify that that vast majority of this is made of my own ideas, based on interpretation from the little canonical information provided, and a little inspired by my own people’s history and governing structure. Additionally, what I am presenting here is an ideal situation, not necessarily what I think is an immediately realistic outcome in the world-state established. So, please keep that in mind.

The Dales were established as a homeland for elves—a small piece of a continent that was once called their home in its entirety, before the humans colonized it—by Maferath in -165 Ancient. This was in reward for the eleven people’s participation in the fight against Ancient Tevinter. But in 2:10 Glory, Divine Renata I broke this treaty and declared an Exalted March against the Dales, ending in its annexation by Orlais.

[Related Post: All You Need to Know about the Exalted March of the Dales]

If Solas has very low approval with Inquisitor Lavellan, and Lavellan accuses him of not doing enough to help their people, he will say the following: “You could order Halamshiral returned to the Dalish, if you wished. But ultimately, you know that would fail. That even you cannot solve this.” I hate this with a burning passion. The reason I can’t do that, Solas, is because it’s not an option in the game! Why are you as a character angry at me, the player, for not doing something that is not an option for me to do? Why was this written? Just to push the point that it’s not worth it to try and fight back against oppression? Because if I refuse to accept hopelessness in real life, why would I in accept it in a video game where the story is made-up, and therefore anything is possible if the developers so wish it.

Regardless, according to Solas, the Inquisition has enough power to support the reclamation of an independent Dales. I imagine this would require a lot of political maneuvering within the Orlesian governance, and therefore I think the best opportunity to do this would be with Briala ruling through Gaspard. This would then later open the door for Briala to be the leader of the newly independent Dales, too. I would like to see Briala as ruler of the Dales not just because she is a favourite of mine, but because I genuinely believe she is the best established character fit for the job. She was trained in everything Celene was trained in, has first-hand experience in court, has extensive connections, and has demonstrated her ability and desire to utilize these skills and assets for the benefit of elven kind.

Briala’s blackmail on Gaspard may help prevent Orlais from invading again while under his rule, but to last longer, the Dales would need to establish itself as a strong, independent Nation with allies. This is why I believe it would also be important to have Leliana as Divine Victoria in such a world-state where this could happen. Leliana re-canonizes the Canticle of Shartan, and in making it available for the common person to understand, would ideally help sway the minds of the average Andrastian into supporting the Dales’s independence. The nobility would of course be much trickier, because they and the Chantry are the ones who actually benefitted from its annexation—but there is little they would be able to actually accomplish if they did not have the power of the people behind them.

As far as allies go, Ferelden could only gain from Orlais losing control of the Dales, because it would mean cutting Orlais off from a lot of Ferelden’s border, therefore reducing the threat of another invasion. Additionally, a leader with just plain good morals like say, Alistair, would easily accept the elven kingdom’s return. But even Anora is willing to grant part of the Korcari Wilds to the Dalish if Mahariel requests it, and while this sadly doesn’t last, it does show a positive sign into her potentially being open to the idea of an independent Dales as well.

I sincerely doubt that all Dalish clans would return to the Dales and re-settle down. After all, they have developed differentiating cultures over the years of wandering in separated groups, with different ideals and different ways of life that they might not want to give up. But many would return, and that would likely create conflict between the elves coming from the Dalish clans and the elves coming from the cities. We know that some prejudice exists against “flat-ears” as some Dalish call those from the city, and we know that city elves have adopted a lot of misinformation from humans into their views of the Dalish. It would take time and positive leadership to reconnect the people, without risking falling into some sort of hierarchy based on origin. This is why I do not believe one group or the other should single-handedly rule alone. Rather, I think there should be a Grand Council of High Keepers made up of those voted into the position each to represent a single district of the Dales. (I like the idea of there being seven High Keepers, not just because there are seven traditional districts of Mi’kma’ki, but because it works out that there seven of the Creators. So it makes sense that there would be seven High Keepers.) The Grand Council would meet and make decisions together, with one appointed leader at the head to act as the Council’s chair.

In terms of protection and order, the Emerald Knights should be reformed. This would include the Fade Hunters, to protect the people against demons and maleficarum, with there being no Circles or Templars.

Restoring the independence of the Dales would lead to a revival of elven culture in ways that could never happen before, because they would actually be free to pursue re-learning the language, re-discovering the history and culture, and sharing it all amongst each other. They would not have to fear arrest the crime of simply being an elf.  

But what of the other races presently living in the Dales? I see no reason why they would have to leave, so long as they would be willing to follow the Grand Council’s leadership. I imagine many nobility would flee to Orlais, simply because they would not stand for it. But for the average human or surface dwarf, their life wouldn’t really even change much; they’d still be managing their farms the same as always. Hell, it might even improve things for them, assuming the Grand Council gives fairer treatment than the nobility previously.

[recurring-polynya]

Hi Polynya! I’m curious and in the spirit of Ginrei’s birthday, what do you think are his opinions of Rukia and Renji separately and together?

Ha ha, this is such a simple and straightforward question and my answer is going to be so long and so complicated and have almost nothing to do with Rukia and Renji because Ginrei's feelings toward Rukia and Renji have almost nothing to do with Rukia and Renji.

So, I want to start out by saying that Ginrei is a lot like Hisana in the sense that he's a canon character, we get the idea of him and what he's there for, but there's no actual characterization of him, which gives fanfic writers a tremendous amount of leeway to do whatever they want with him. I'm not going to try to justify anything I say here, it's just my ideas and how it goes in my fanfiction. I love it whenever a writer tries to take on the Kuchiki clan and I'm always interested to see what other people's takes are, even when they vary wildly from my own.

I love the fact that "Kuchiki" means "dead tree." We meet Rukia first, and it's sort of a delightfully spoopy name, very appropriate for this salty, overdramatic, grim reaper girl, but it takes on additional meaning when we meet Byakuya, the noble and powerful scion of a dying house.

The thing that makes Ginrei interesting as a character to me is that he is the one who ruled over his house as it fell. I tend to regard filler episodes as semi-canon, so I like the idea of Kouga, even if I don't want to acknowledge the rest of the Zanpakutou Rebellion shenanigans. I think that the main line of the Kuchiki was already running a little thin, Soujun's health was a big concern, and so they marry in this guy who is a scholar and a powerful shinigami. They never say what Kouga's previous social status was, but given that they emphasize what an accomplished dude he is, I think he was chosen for his skills, not his lineage, to strengthen the Kuchiki bloodline, except it backfires. Then Soujun dies, too, a few years later.

Ginrei strikes me as the type of leader who thinks he can control everything. He manages his clan with an iron fist. He is pragmatic, not sentimental. He’s not bad or mean, but he can see that he does not have a lot of room for missteps, and he takes his role very, very seriously. Despite this, he’s lost the generation under him, and all that he has left is Byakuya. There are cousins and branch families, but to the pride of the Kuchiki is its main line, descended from great generals and heroes and the very founders of Soul Society. Byakuya, in a lot of ways, hearkens back to the great Kuchiki of old, and Ginrei sees that he has the potential to reclaim the power and glory of his house. He’s hard on Byakuya and has high expectations for him. Ginrei loved his son and he loves his grandson, but after Soujun’s death, he often wonders if he was too soft on him because of his health, if Soujun would have lived if Ginrei had just expected more of him. Byakuya is the last hope of the Kuchiki and Ginrei knows he can achieve great things, and Ginrei is determined to do everything in his power to make sure Byakuya achieves his full potential.

And some ways, Byakuya is the perfect Kuchiki. He’s strong and he’s hard-working. He’s principled. He’s working on his self-control, and he’s very good at when it comes, to say, sword practice, he’s just not so good at in when it comes to interpersonal relations, but he’s coming along. Then he meets Hisana.

Hisana is absolutely unacceptable to Ginrei. Byakuya needs a marriage with a woman with strong spiritual pressure and a noble lineage so that he can gain some alliances from the marriage and then she can pop out some strapping young heirs while also managing his social life for him, just like Ginrei’s wife did for him. Hisana obviously isn’t going to check any of these boxes.

I headcanon Byakuya as demisexual, in the sense that he doesn’t experience sexual attraction very often, and if he does, it’s only to someone he’s already got strong feelings for. He was sort of okay with the vague idea of marrying someone for the purposes of procreating until he met Hisana and realized how much that would pale in comparison to actually being married to the love of his life.

Up until this point, Byakuya has had some minor rebellions against Ginrei, but they’ve never really gone at it, but this is one time that Byakuya stands firm. Ginrei is super-pissed. He lets Byakuya marry her because he figures she’s going to die soon anyway, but he’s mad about it. He never comes around to Hisana and he’s mean to her and this is really the nadir of Byakuya and Ginrei’s relationship.

Finally, we are getting around to what you asked. Hisana dies and Ginrei softens a little toward Byakuya in his grief. He retires and turns the clan and Squad 6 over to B, hoping it will be a distraction and that Byakuya will finally turn his focus over to what matters. This seems to be going well for about one year and then BAM! Byakuya acquires an orphan.

I am guessing that Ginrei didn’t know about Byakuya’s promise to Hisana to take care of Rukia, but even so, I think if you asked him, he would have regarded Byakuya’s duty to his clan and promise to his parents as more important. It’s not that Ginrei isn’t an honorable man, it’s that his concept of honor doesn’t necessarily extend to a dead peasant in comparison the Noble and Ancient House of Kuchiki. So Byakuya adopts Rukia and Ginrei’s immediate reaction is panic. What is Byakuya doing? Is he going to marry this girl? Is he going to name her his Heir? Has he cracked? And it turns out to be none of those things, he’s just going to keep her around as this sad ghost that haunts his house, but Ginrei’s initial reaction toward Rukia is that of interloper. He thought this Hisana nonsense was overwith, but no, we’re still doing this.

When Ginrei first meets Rukia, she is in her overwhelmed, lonely stage of first becoming a Kuchiki. Ginrei also criticizes her for being small and meek and basically useless. She’s a mediocre shinigami. She’s not beautiful or talented, so Byakuya can’t even marry her off for political gain. The real issue, though is that Rukia is just emblematic of the fact that Byakuya doesn’t intend to move past his grief and remarry. He works his ass off as Captain and Clan Head, but other than that, he’s just gonna be a sad widower and sit in his big house and write letters to his dead wife and the Kuchiki are going to die off. There is really nothing Rukia could do, no way she could be different that Ginrei would approve of, because it was never really about her in the first place.

Fast forward a few years, and now we come to Renji. I also headcanon that in his retirement, Ginrei has moved out to a scenic portion of Rukongai, so he doesn’t interact with Byakuya much on a day-to-day basis, but he hears stuff through other family members that come out to visit him. He’s never actually met Renji, all he knows is that Shirogane retired, and Byakuya hired some tattooed goon from Squad 11 instead of one of the dozens of Kuchiki cousins that are lying around. In my fanfic Call Me Back When the War is Over, Byakuya explains to one of his aunts that the reason he did this was because he didn’t have a relative who was capable of passing the Lieutenant’s Exam. She replies that he just should have pulled some strings so that someone (preferably her own son) could pass, assuming it’s a mere formality. Now this is exactly what Ginrei would have done. This is a problem, though: it involves choosing sides. I’ve got the top seats of Squad 6 set up as follows:

- 3rd Seat Ohno is the Heir to the most powerful Kuchiki branch family. His father is arguably the next in line for Clan Head, based on power terms - 4th Seat Kuchiki Choei is an actual Kuchiki, but he’s a younger son and he’s a clown, meaning that he got bored standing in line for Clan Head and wandered around the corner to vape - 5th Seat Kuchiki Takehiko is the actual closest of Byakuya’s relatives to him, and is arguably the next in line for Clan Head, strictly on family line terms

Pulling strings to help any of these three become the next lieutenant would be a very political move on B’s part, tantamount to anointing his successor. Ginrei assumes that B picked an outsider for the purposes of recusing, of saying “I shall simply refuse to die and remain Clan Head myself, forever’, with the addition fuck you of picking the Actual Worst Person Byakuya Could Find for the job, instead.

This really isn’t the case at all, it is literally that Byakuya feels that you shouldn’t be a lieutenant if you can’t pass the exam. He’s basically a rule-follower, and also it’s a good rule, and also his dad died as a lieutenant and I think he thinks a lot about how that could have been avoided through actions, whereas Ginrei tends to think of it more of a thing that could have been avoided if Soujun was better.

So, that gets us up to the beginning of canon. I am (in theory) working on a fanfic that takes place in the 17-mo timeskip where Ginrei comes to visit and actually gets to know Rukia and Renji and (spoiler alert, but is anyone really surprised) he ends up liking both of them a lot. Part of it is just Ginrei has chilled out somewhat in his retirement and realized that it’s okay to have parts of your life that are not completely devoted to the Good of the Clan. Part of it is that Ginrei loves Competence and Rukia and Renji are so, so competent. Part of it is that Byakuya is obviously doing a lot better than he was, and it’s just really obvious why. Like I said, Ginrei does and always has loved Byakuya, he just wants what’s best for him. It’s just that if there is one thing Kuchiki are terrible at, it’s expressing their love for one another in a positive and healthy way.

As to Ginrei’s feelings about Renruki as a ship, he’s for it, actually. Conniving family members have been trying to marry Rukia for years in hopes of getting an in with Byakuya, and I’m sure they’re setting their sights on Renji, now, too. Ginrei likes them well enough, but he can imagine what a shitshow this could turn out to be, and he finds it very convenient if they were to just marry each other.

I’m rather fond of the idea of Byakuya appointing them as a branch family to the Kuchiki, because I’m not super keen on them going full-Kuchiki if Renji married in, but I think Byakuya would be upset if Rukia married out and he wasn’t able to provide her with the lavish lifestyle he thinks she needs (she does not). It’s a nice compromise that lets them be a part of the family, but out of the limelight. In any case, I think that was Ginrei’s idea, thanks Granddad!

[cruelfeline]

One of the aspects of Hordak that strikes me so significantly when compared to other characters is the unexpected, terrifying escalation of his situation. 

We don’t really see this happen with anyone else: generally speaking, our other characters are very much a case of “what you see is what you get.” Adora is perhaps a bit of an exception, seeing as her status as “First Ones gun trigger” is used as a plot twist in season four, but her general background and the overall nature of her situation remain fairly consistent throughout the show. 

Same with Catra. Same with Glimmer and Bow. Mermista, Perfuma, Scorpia, Frosta... everyone else receives a backstory and, barring minute elaborations, stays true to our first impressions of them. Our understanding of who they are and what they are about doesn’t really change.

Hordak is not this way.

Hordak starts off as a pretty standard, one-dimensional evil warlord character. Season one finds him very much delegated to the background, supposedly pulling the strings behind the scenes as other characters have their dramas play out center stage. He is well-designed and frightening, an imposing individual with a stoic personality and a sense of reason and logic that marks him as an effective commander. 

We get no backstory at this point, and the initial impression of the character (at least for me) is “capable evil leader, little to no depth beyond what is absolutely necessary.” And that’s fine. At this point in the story, there’s no suggestion that Hordak will have any sort of role save for serving as an ultimate antagonist for our heroes, so a backstory is largely unnecessary. He appears properly built to provide powerful opposition, and that’s all we need.

This is Hordak’s starting point. It is a serviceable starting point. It is also stunningly different from his end point, and at this stage in the series, there is zero indication that there is going to be any alteration, let alone such a dramatic one.

Seasons two and three see Hordak gaining actual development. Significant development. Development that provides him with a painful, sympathetic reason for waging his war. Suddenly, Hordak is not an all-powerful, untouchable warlord. Suddenly, he is a vulnerable individual with significant physical ailments and resulting emotional trauma. 

His situation has escalated. 

We see now that his body is falling apart, that he is sickly and weak and dependent upon armor and bravado to maintain control over his subordinates. We see that he is not the stoic, omnipotent man presented to us in season one. 

Instead, we learn that he is a manufactured clone with deep emotional wounds linked to past rejection and trauma, that he comes from a society where his illness is scorned enough to earn him rejection and what amounts to a death sentence. We come to understand that he views himself very poorly, and that a significant number of his negative character traits are rooted in shame and fear and a desperate need for validation.

we also learn that he has cute lil ears that can wiggle and droop when he’s sad

To these significant developments we add his budding friendship with Entrapta, and we find that Hordak is very much capable of desiring, forming, and maintaining a positive, affectionate relationship with someone. His character thus becomes even more complex.

Now, something to keep in mind at this point: thanks to revelations provided by his backstory, we can view Hordak as a more vulnerable individual with legitimate feelings and insecurities. That said, there is still a certain dangerous edge to him. At this point in the series, we have been told, by Hordak himself, that he was a top general in a much larger version of the Horde. 

This supposed fact somewhat tempers his vulnerability. We get the sense that, while he is suffering from the shame and subsequent rejection brought on by his disability, his ultimate goal of rejoining his brother still involves a certain level of power. There is this idea that, though he wants validation and acceptance, he is also seeking to regain a position that, theoretically, grants him greater power and authority than the one he holds now. Hence why he doesn’t just settle for conquering and ruling Etheria: being lord of Etheria does not hold a candle to the power granted him by regaining his rank as Horde Prime’s top general.

One can look back at the fandom during late 2019 to fully appreciate this: fanfiction from this time period often features headcanons of particularly accomplished clones holding respected positions in Prime’s empire. High ranking clones have names and titles. They have ships. They have their own planets and their own armies. Even though they serve Prime and are, sadly, purpose-bred clones, they have power and status that provide them with a certain level of agency. 

Essentially, there was the idea that a traditional Horde military structure exists, and Hordak held privilege within it.

So, while Hordak’s situation has escalated in emotional poignancy from “evil warlord wanting to rule the world” to “defective clone seeking validation,” there remains an unsympathetic aspect to it. There is still some degree of potential power-hunger that one can attribute to him. 

This changes, very suddenly and traumatically, in seasons four and five. And this, friends and neighbors, is where I begin to become very emotional.

Our first indication that things are about to wildly change comes during the season four finale. We meet Horde Prime. We see how submissive and terrified Hordak is in his presence. We witness Prime’s distaste not only for the state of him and his failed conquest, but for Hordak daring to take a name.

It is Hordak’s name being a problem that plants the seeds for an upheaval of our preconceived notions regarding a clone’s function in the Galactic Horde. Those seeds germinate abruptly and violently in the next few moments as Prime lifts Hordak by the throat, declares him an abomination, and viciously violates and erases his mind.

And oh, friends and neighbors, now we know that something is wrong. 

We don’t quite know the specifics yet, but we know that there is some sort of discrepancy between what Hordak told us and the truth he has lived. At no point in the narrative did Hordak say anything about names being inappropriate. At no point did he say anything that might have prepared us for the suspiciously religiously-coded language Prime is using. At no point did he say anything to suggest that there was anything wrong with what he was doing beyond trying to compensate for a physical disability.

And then, alongside all of these dark little surprises, there are the hauntingly blank stares of the clones standing besides Prime’s throne.

All of these factors instill a sense of dread that culminates in the chilling reveal of the Galactic Horde’s true nature come season five.

It is a cult. An honest-to-the-gods, played-absolutely-straight religious cult.

The Galactic Horde isn’t a traditional army, or an aggressive nation, or even a standard imperialist empire. It is a cult, with Horde Prime as its god and countless clone acolytes acting as its horrifically willing members.

We never see a top general, or any generals at all. We never see any sort of military hierarchy. We never see clones leading armies, or owning ships, or holding ranks, or commanding anyone or anything.

What we see instead is clones blindly worshiping their Brother. We see them doting on him, sacrificing their own life force to maintain his form. We see them forfeiting control of their bodies to him whenever he feels like using another’s form. We see them chanting the virtue of suffering to achieve purity. We see them blank and emotionless save for religious zealotry, a purpose-bred cohort of completely brainwashed followers. We see that there is no apparent escape from this life, for Prime sees their minds and controls every aspect of their existence, and we see that there is no desire for escape among them, so utterly indoctrinated are they.

We see Hordak reduced to one of these cowl-wearing acolytes: nameless, powerless, ready and willing to endure physical agony in order to forget his shame and relinquish his self to his Brother in the hopes of... well, certainly not of regaining some exalted military rank, or of reclaiming some previously-held status. These things do not exist. Not in this actual religious cult.

Hordak’s true situation is now fully apparent, and it is so far removed from our views of him back in previous seasons: rather than being a calculating warlord, or even a defective clone seeking to regain military glory, Hordak is a manufactured soldier-slave who was born into a religious cult, so indoctrinated and bound to his Brother that he risks his own life in order to win Prime’s love and approval.

Because that’s what this final realization confirms: Hordak was never after any sort of power or prestigious military status. They never existed. Hordak was, in the end, an abused slave trying desperately to win love from his loveless master. He truly was just after validation and affection and a feeling of secure belonging. All things that he was deprived of because he was born a slave-acolyte in a godsforsaken cult. 

And that’s... that’s such a vastly different state of affairs than the one we accepted in season one. It completely rewrites our understanding of Hordak’s power, of his vulnerability, of his true wants and needs and desires. Said understanding shifts from a purely villainous one to one steeped in self-loathing and control and lifelong victimization. It is absolutely shocking to see a character’s circumstances completely transform the way Hordak’s do between the show’s beginning and its finale. It is utterly bewildering to witness this intensity of change.

As I stated at the start: this doesn’t happen to anyone else. Oh, other characters develop and grow and undergo their arcs, sure, but by and large, Catra remains a scrappy catgirl. Adora remains an orphaned heroine. Swift Wind remains a revolutionary winged steed.

Only Hordak undergoes a transformation as dramatic as shifting from “all-powerful conquering warlord” to “defective clone seeking validation... but maybe also galactic power” before finally settling, tearfully and painfully, on “shamed, love-starved cult victim.” Only his situation, his true identity and our understanding of it, escalate so shockingly and to such terrifying levels. 

I’m still not over it. I still cry about it. I still feel light-headed sometimes, knowing that Hordak's circumstances revolve around being born into and abused and thrown away by an actual cult. Even though we're over two months out from SPoP's finale, it's still that emotionally powerful to me, and the shock of the difference between seasons one and five only make it more so.

[diveronarpg]

Congratulations, DAPHNE! You’ve been accepted for the role of EDMUND with the faceclaim of Hunter Parrish. Admin Kaitlin: Oh man... oh man, oh man, oh man. Daphne, there were a great many things about this application that spoke to me, but I cannot imagine a world in which you didn’t include that final interview question because wow--it took my god damn breath away. With a single line, a part of me just knew that you understood Easton on an absolutely intrinsic level. You show so so much development potential just from your sample alone, never mind your actual plots. I cannot tell you how excited I am to start plotting things out with you, and to see you on the dash. Please read over the checklist and send in your blog within 24 hours.

WELCOME TO THE MOB.

OUT OF CHARACTER

Alias | Daphne

Age | 22

Preferred Pronouns | she/her

Activity Level | 6/10 – I’m trying to get back into the swing of writing things, but I tend to be quite slow with replies. I even struggled with trying to finish this application on time (oops!), but there it is.

Timezone | EST

IN CHARACTER

Character | Edmund / Easton Craven, although he sometimes uses his mother’s maiden name (which is Westfall, because I have a terrible sense of humour). Please let me change his face claim to Hunter Parrish so I may bless the dash with his presence. :)

What drew you to this character?

Why bastard? Wherefore base? There’s a lot to be said for individual interpretations of characters, but I’ve always considered Edmund to be a remarkably nuanced individual in Shakespeare canon. He’s someone with nothing to lose and everything to gain. He’s the very definition of Machiavellianism, delectably manipulative, clever, and cunning in his own right, and by god, he’s hungry—so deprived, so angry that he should be despicable in his ruthless pursuit of satisfaction. But somehow, he still demonstrates the capacity for remorse; he evokes sympathy for his situation. He takes matters into his own hands, refuses to settle with the cards fate has dealt him, and I can’t help but admire that audacity, even if it stems from long-standing resentment and spite. The way he chooses to reclaim his identity is a well-earned fuck you to the system, and as a wise Lannister once said, you should never forget what you are. Wear it like armour, and it can never be used to hurt you—if only there was anything left of Easton to hurt.

I’m a huge glutton for fictional angst and bitterness, but admittedly, what I love more than either of those things is the sheer futility of Easton’s situation. I love him precisely because the odds were against him from the very start. In King Lear, he’s drawn the short stick in life, and the moment Edmund steels himself against the order of the world, he becomes a marked man living on borrowed time. Easton is similar in the sense that he’s doomed to never achieve the fulfillment he so desperately craves. He will never be able to fill the emptiness that remains after his forest fire of hatred has razed all else to the ground, and that is largely because the circumstances for his unhappiness are beyond his control. He was born broken, which isn’t to say that he doesn’t have to be held accountable for his actions, but rather that the descent into hell for him is easier than most; to be damned, after all, is his one and only birthright. He is very much a monster of his father’s making—so much that I imagine for all he wishes to reject his background, the resemblance he bears to his father both in appearance and ambition is ironically uncanny to everyone around him. A part of me aches deeply for the person he might have become if only he had been loved (tl;dr, yes, I am a sucker for characters with major daddy issues), but since that isn’t the case, our only other option, really, is to bask in the glory (the horror) of what his father created: Easton as he is currently, as the Craven’s unholy son. You see, the gods may deny his cause, but I came here to stand up for him in their stead.

What is a future plot idea you have in mind for the character?

I. KING OF NOTHING - Easton pursues glory with a dark, ugly vengeance. He wants to rule, and he’s hellbent on getting there, although the way I picture it is that he’s currently biding his time under the radar, scoping out the playing field, and figuring out how he can manipulate people to his best possible advantage before he makes his move—much like a spider unattended, quietly spinning its web in the dark corner of a room. And while that in itself will be pretty fascinating to flesh out, I’m more concerned with the endgame of it all. For Easton, there’s no question that the ends justify the means, but what, exactly, is the “end” he is trying to justify? I don’t think he has a good grasp on the answer, and while he ultimately has the drive and the craftiness to ascend through the ranks, the question I want Easton to confront once he arrives there is, what now? As much as he wants the world to pay, becoming the king he thinks he deserves to be will not make him whole. I want to explore his struggle to deny this growing realization, and to have him eventually look down upon a kingdom from his point of conquest, only to see the vast emptiness that lies before him—to understand that despite everything, this is the one constant that has stuck by him his entire life. And once he accepts that nothingness? Some men just want to watch the world burn.

II. MY BROTHER’S KEEPER - But Easton was loved, you cry; he has Everett! To which I say, ah, but does he really? I think that to some extent, Easton is aware that Everett does care for him—his own feelings, however, are much more complicated, because he can’t seem to separate his resentment towards Everett from the deep-seated insecurities at the very core of his being. He has the life that Easton has always wanted, so it makes sense that at the heart of these issues, they’re intertwined. The way Easton sees it, Everett may care about him, but he does so from a position of privilege: his life was handed to him on a silver platter, and for that, he can never hope to understand. Easton is convinced that Everett never truly put his full effort into trying to understand or to help mediate their family dynamic when it mattered, and to be honest, I don’t think he’s wrong to feel that way. Not that he gives a damn anymore—as far as he’s concerned, they don’t owe each other anything—but since they’re both working under the Capulets, ignoring Everett won’t be as easy as it used to be, and I can’t wait to see how their relationship unfolds because there’s really no other character who defines him more. It’s inevitable that Easton will eventually realize his relationship with Everett is something to be exploited, not only because he’s a complete tool, but also because it’s that timeless rom-com cliché: to fake a relationship for ulterior motives only to realize that some small, twisted part of you may actually care (gasp, the horror!) for the other person. Except they’re brothers, not lovers, and I can’t think of any better way for Easton to come to terms. Something tells me that Everett may not be so forgiving, but I am 100% here for the drama and the fallout that ensues.

III. BERSERKER - There’s a very dark and primal part of Easton that contributes to his anger, and although his mind is definitely valued, this is ultimately what makes him such a great soldier for the Capulets. The moment Easton gives into that rage, all his boundaries disappear, and he becomes single-minded in his ruthlessness. He’s much better at reigning in his temper than he used to be, but you can still sense the savagery that brews just below the surface—the dark, nameless thing that paces restlessly inside of him, just waiting for an excuse to be let loose. I imagine it’s something that’s often been ascribed to him as innate, if only because of his illegitimacy. What I’m interested in exploring is, how much of that is true, and how much of it matters?  Is it still something he can keep at bay, something he can still reject, if he so chooses, as it’s called into play more often with the Capulet’s plans? Or is it something he has no choice to succumb to—that internal war between instinct and emotion versus logic and reason?

Are you comfortable with killing off your character? Sure!

IN DEPTH

I didn’t manage to finish the interview section in time, but I still put one of the responses in the Extras section just because I thought it was too good to waste :)

In-Character Para Sample:

[FOUR YEARS AGO]

“Huh.” Colborne brings a hand to his chin. “Interesting. It’s risky, but it might just be ballsy enough to work.”

He is 22 when he still believes the world could be his oyster—eager to impress, eager to prove himself, and he preens, but it comes a moment too soon. He’s gathering back up his sheets and packing up his briefcase when the executive starts again, shaking his head with a chuckle.

“I have to say, I’m impressed. This isn’t exactly what I was expecting from someone of Craven & Ricci calibre.”

The world slows to a stop.

“What did you just say?” he asks, fighting to keep his voice even. The clasp on his briefcase shuts with a click. Easton turns to face him. The Dellecher executive is mopping his forehead with a handkerchief, and all he can hear is the irregular beat of his heart, responding in time to those dreaded two words.

“Well, Everett—your brother, isn’t that right? He called earlier. Put in a good word for you.”

Half-brother, he almost corrects with a growl.

Of course he did, thinks Easton, with a cold, resounding clarity. How completely and utterly stupid of him to assume there was a world beyond Everett’s reach, simply because he’d picked what he thought to be a relatively obscure firm. His face shutters, and for a moment, he pauses. Takes in a breath. The world is bleached white, but when he responds, his voice is still calm. Serene.

“I see.”

“How about it, then? You think you’ll be ready to start on Monday?”

Easton smiles thinly and gathers his coat. It’s easier than it used to be, and just like that, the door swings shut on another opportunity.

“I think there’s been a misunderstanding,” he says, without turning around. “I assumed I was going into this position based on my own merit.”

Colborne laughs, just a little nervously.

“Look. You’re talented, don’t get me wrong,” he says, licking his lips, and Easton can’t help but wonder, snidely, where this man was twenty, thirty years prior—how his words fall to pieces as soon as they leave his mouth, buoyed up on the tongue of a hypocrite. This man may be a superior, but to Easton he’s nothing, and he loses more respect for him with every passing second.

“But you’re also young, and you’re inexperienced. Talent won’t get you everywhere. I’ve got ten other guys all dying to get their hands on this job, and frankly, if you weren’t a Craven, well…”

But he isn’t a Craven.

Not really.

He stops listening to Colborne and slides the dossier across the table. Later, he thinks back on how he was too forgiving—how he should have burned that folder; how he should have let the company go up in flames.

Colborne’s voice swims in and out of focus.

“You should be thankful, really,” he says grimly. “All your connections, all that luck, and you’re just throwing it away. You have no idea how many people would kill to be in your position—”

And just like that, something in Easton snaps. All the control he’s been working so hard to exercise unravels in an instant as a hot streak of rage courses through him, rearing its ugly head. He grabs Colborne by the tie and shoves him up against the wall so hard that the Escher replica hanging on the wall crashes to the floor, frame splintering into pieces.

“You have no idea what I should or shouldn’t be thankful for, you sorry son of a bitch,” Easton spits, fingers clenched around his disgustingly damp collar. Red starbursts flare in his periphery, adrenaline pumping fire through his veins, and the image of Colborne’s face, bloodied and broken, rises up in his mind, the satisfaction of hearing the crack of his skull running rampant in his brain. He’s about to slug him when his mother’s laugh appears out of the blue, unwelcome and intrusive.

Suddenly he’s twenty again, sitting in the backroom of a Venetian cabaret club across from someone he can’t call anything other than a stranger.

You can dress nice all you want, she tuts through ribbons of cigarette smoke, nodding at his clothes. It’s a valiant attempt, I’ll give you that much. You almost even pass as being fully related to that beloved brother of yours.

But you can’t hide that temper.

Easton drops his fist.

It’s the bastard’s blood.

(For the first time, he wonders whether she meant him or his father.)

He lets go of Colborne, who slides down against the floor, shocked into silence, and something ugly blooms in chest when he steps back—something that feels an awful lot like guilt. It lingers as he dons his coat and smoothes out his hair, intermingling with the stench of the man’s sweat, and the longer he looks at him, the more he realizes that he feels nothing for the man—that the guilt isn’t so much for Colborne as it is for the satisfaction he gets from towering over him.

Easton nods at the folder.

“Something to remember me by,” he says stiffly. “Use it. Or don’t. I really don’t fucking care.”

He calls Everett while he’s waiting for the bus and catches a glimpse of his reflection in the glass pane. He looks every inch the part. Not a wrinkle, not a flyaway hair, not a thread out of place. It’s a far cry from how he was managing just a few months ago—ever since their father announced he was stepping down, and he’d let himself entertain the inkling of hope that maybe, just maybe, there would be a sign—but what’s important hasn’t changed. He still isn’t good enough.

Everett picks up on the first ring.

“You called Dellecher,” he accuses, voice flat.

“Westfall? Really?” Everett sounds amused. Bored, even, as if it surprises him in the slightest that he’d choose to use a different name.“Do you truly hate us that much, little brother?”

Irrevocably, something stings. More than the nip of winter frost at his cheeks, or at his ears. No, he decides, it’s not so much a sting as it is a burn, spreading through his ribcage, up his throat like white fire. A gloved fist clenches at his side, and in that moment, he makes up his mind. He’ll claw his way to the top if he has to or die trying.

Do you truly hate us that much, little brother?

If only he knew the half of it.

“Stay out of my way, Everett,” Easton says coldly, just before ending the call. “I don’t need your help.”

He doesn’t need anyone’s.

He’ll make it on his own—just like he always has.

EXTRAS:

Mockblog: http://machiavillains.tumblr.com

A cornucopia of unrelated (but still fun) facts:

Also has a hand in managing certain offshore accounts, so I guess he does dirty work for his day job too? Point being either way, he’s not afraid to and will play dirty

Is still sensitive about a cryptocurrency fiasco that happened last year and will lash out if you mention it in the slightest

His misspelt Starbucks name is always Edinger Westphal

Yes, he’s kind of juvenile but that’s what happens when you’re emotionally stunted because your dad doesn’t love you

And finally, the response to “What has been your biggest mistake so far?” question:

“Haven’t you heard?” Easton smirks faintly, the smile no less cruel, no less mocking. If only they knew how easy it came to him now—how easily he wears the words, how they slant around his ears like a crown, not a curse (or maybe—just maybe—they’re one and the same). “I’m the bastard son,” he says with a dramatic flourish, reclining further back in his chair. But there’s something true, something bitter about it, something that snags at the end of his words. “My biggest mistake was being born.”

All in all, it appears the Easton in my head is much more of a mopey, woe-is-me mess than I expected and I’m really sorry about that BUT he appears well put-together and vindictive on the outside I promise it’s just inside he never grew up and he’s still an angsty teen.

Okay, that’s it! I’m sorry this was so long, and thanks again for considering me :)