#To keep him from destroying himself with godhood

[lesbianwyllravengard]

Okay I'll say it. Gale Dekarios is Caleb Widogast coded if Caleb hadn't developed past like episode 50.

[messiahzzz]

i have seen several posts around that addressed how discouraging gale from taking the crown of karsus is “keeping him from realizing his true potential.” that tara is merely upset at his choice, instead of being utterly devastated at the loss of her little love. that it’s not a bad ending per se because to get there he didn’t need to sacrifice 7000 innocent souls in the process. gale isn’t continuing the cycle of abuse either, he still appears to love tav and does come back for them to offer them ascension. he wants them to be equal, so it can’t possibly be an unhealthy dynamic, right?

but what of gale himself, his own convictions, values, and everything he holds dear? everything flawed and human that shaped him into the person he is?

player: are you saying you want to ascend? claim godhood?

gale: no, not like that. i don't want to join them. i want to better them. a god's powers, paired with a mortal conscience, a mortal heart.

gale’s motivation for acquiring godhood is that he will able to aid mortals in a way no other god has ever done before. he won’t hide behind pretense nor require blind devotion of his followers. he will understand and be able to empathize. he wholeheartedly believes that he will be different - he will act.

gale: [..] the gods could aid us if they wished, but instead they cower behind ao. so let us act ourselves.

gale believes that by becoming a god he will kill two birds with one stone: aid mortals and acquire enough power to quash any of his insecurities and enemies in the process. that by ridding himself of every perceived flaw he'll finally feel like he will have enough to offer - maybe, just maybe he'll even be content. his flaws are merely holding him back from becoming the best version of himself, and by ridding himself of everything fallible, he will be whole. maybe this is what all of his suffering has led up to. maybe the orb chose him. maybe the reason he had to endure all the pain, isolation, and excruciating loneliness was so that he could realize that he was meant for something even greater. after all, power feeds ambition. and what is more powerful than a god? his convictions were certainly naive, he possesses enough knowledge to know better. don't get me wrong, part of him definitely wants to spite mystra a lil. but his intentions at that time were mostly pure. a reflection of his self-hatred and feelings of inadequacy.

player: this is wrong, gale. that power will corrupt you, even if you can seize it.

gale: it won't, i swear to you. it's merely a tool - a means to an end.

once we meet gale at the party in his new godlike form, it is apparent that even with all the power at his fingertips, he has reached no greater knowledge about himself. his insecurities are still as present as before, he merely is less subtle in his compensation - repeatedly highlighting his grandeur and how dull life on faerun is compared to the wonders of elysium. it is also genuinely crushing to see how little he thinks of himself even now.

gale: i was nothing. a drifting dust mote of a wizard, abandoned by my goddess, my powers lost, my reputation destroyed. and look at me now. i'm their proof.

any perceived dismissal of his Greatness™ is met with immediate disdain.

gale: a bold decision to treat a divine being with such cold indifference.

nodecontext: aloof, annoyed you weren't impressed with him

gale: you mortals do love to live dangerously, don't you?

nodecontext: the slightest hint of a threat - you've probably made an enemy here today. or at least, you've lost a friend.

he is still desperate to impress. emphasizing what an honor it is that a new-born god chose to bless their little soiree with his presence. gaze upon all his divine glory! gale has now become the embodiment of everything he criticized about the gods. his original intentions and plans are discarded and long forgotten. he assuages his erstwhile companions by telling them to simply pray to him, in case they should ever require aid. if they're lucky and their ambition pleases him, he might even deliver.

player: what does the 'god of ambition' offer to his followers?

gale: i 'offer' them nothing. i inspire them to seize their destinies for themselves.

player: interesting, so you help mortals help themselves?

gale: precisely. though that isn't to say i'm averse to the odd bit of direct encouragement.

gale: [..] my aims are set a little higher than offering cursory blessings to just any half-decent spellcaster.

gale: regardless, ethical quandaries are more the remit of my mortal devotees. they do love to talk, and faerun is starting to listen.

aiding "any half-decent spellcaster" is unbefitting of his status. he isn't concerned with questions of ethics and morality either. deeming such matters beneath his divine capabilities.

once gale has ascended and established his domain, what remains of the gale we knew? what of his mortal heart?

minthara: your ambition is not cruel, but you fear that if you indulge it, you will lose yourself in the mysteries of the weave and unravel the world.

minthara: you are afraid of so many things, and it is that fear that keeps you true to yourself.

gale did lose himself and ultimately became one of his biggest fears. considering that his existence as a being of pure ambition leads him to constantly seek out greater heights, it isn't farfetched to believe that raphael's prediction will indeed come true.

player[astarion]: ambition? finally, a god i can get behind...

gale: i assure you, this is merely the prelude to a far grander vision. elysium's in for something of a shake-up.

all that remains of gale is a thin veneer of the person he used to be. what he presents is a hollow echo of the old gale. he does retain some of his mannerisms and quirks, but he is definitely a lot colder and more condescending. if his personality already changed that drastically after a duration of only 6 months, what will he inevitability turn into when he has eternity at his disposal?

essentially, you are aiding gale in the eradication of himself. eradicating everything about him that made him into the loveable, charismatic, awkward, kind, buoyant person he was. everything about him that he perceived as defective, flawed, and lesser-than. before, his hubris was merely an expression of his own discontentment and low self-worth, but now he is hubris incarnate. all of his worst qualities have been amplified.

gale: i am ambition incarnate. as indistinguishable from that most potent sensation as mystra herself is from the weave. and word is spreading.

nodecontext: palpable, almost unsettling excitement from him - hint of megalomania

he put his trust in tav, trusting their judgment and relying on them to nudge him in the right direction. after all, they had plenty of opportunities to show him that they are an ally worth following and confiding in. but in the end, the prospect of what he could be, the things he could give them, the enemies he could yet conquer, won over the desire to simply accept him and help him rebuild a life on solid ground. tav denied him the unconditional love he craves most out of their own selfish desires.

tara: you were looking out for him. i expected better of you.

as i've already mentioned, gale desires nothing more than to be seen, accepted, loved, and valued. having a partner who wholeheartedly supports and believes in him is enough to make him feel content. most importantly - he just wants to live. to enjoy life with everything it has to offer. his ambition can’t be quenched because he hungers still. believing that only by acquiring more power will he finally be enough and reach said acceptance.

we see in his good ending that his own contentment was even able to influence and (temporarily) sate the orb's ever-present hunger:

gale: [..] or perhaps the orb's hunger was fuelled by my own, and my contentment influences it in much the same way.

gale: that's how i feel with you - content. it's a rather unfamiliar feeling, i must say. not something gale of waterdeep ever craved.

it is devastating that he doesn't reach the same feeling of fulfillment if he chooses to pursue godhood, and is instead compelled to continuously surpass his own accomplishments. not being granted rest or reprieve.

gale: i achieved everything we hoped i would, and still i'm not good enough for you?

gale pursuing godhood isn't evidence that he "has been evil all along" or that he "just waited to be unleashed" either. we can't diminish tav's influence in this outcome, they are after all an extension of the player. able to steer every companion toward a path of redemption or to enable them in their worst traits. fandom has already established that by letting astarion ascend you are actively supporting him in becoming the very thing he despises most, putting your own ambitions and idea of what you want him to be above his healing, this is no different.

tara: the gale i knew wasn't like this. he recognised his mistakes. he was contrite. all he wanted to do was live.

tara: unfortunately, he fell into company that turned his gaze towards foolishness. yes, i mean you.

player: gale is his own man, tara.

tara: false. he was mine. though now he belongs only to his own pride.

yes, the epilogue cutscene is beautiful and there is something bittersweet and romantic about his love for tav being one of the few emotions that remained a constant throughout the past 6 months. he didn't need to come back for them, but he did cause he loves them still. no matter how warped his definition of love may be now. while it is abundantly clear that tav ranks lower on his priority list than they did before, his commitment remains.

gale fears isolation, hoping to never return to the time when he was hopeless and alone, stuck inside his tower. by heading in this direction he is once again creating a self-fulfilling prophecy.

tara: [..] if i pretended you hadn't turned tail on every lesson you set out to learn, i'd have no right to call myself your friend.

morena may as well have already resigned herself to her son’s death. elminster partly blames himself. for his lapse in judgment, as well as being the one who plucked him from obscurity in the first place. mourning the kind, bright-eyed boy who cried at the scorched roses in his neighbor's garden. tara won't be here anymore to care and look out for him either. he has lost his oldest and dearest friend, the one who witnessed his downfall from grace and never left his side. who believed him to be the finest mind AND the finest wizard she's ever had the pleasure to know. who was certain that he’d find a way out of any crisis no matter the circumstances. ...and if tav declines his offer to ascend with him? what does he have left?

gale: yes, i am rather radiant, aren't i?

tara: don't flatter yourself, gale. you've debased yourself in ways i could never have fathomed.

tara: goodbye gale, i hope the heavens are worth it.

gale’s godhood ending deals with the loss of humanity, the loss of oneself, and everything one holds dear. it is a devastating and bone-chilling narrative. it is a tragedy.

gale: i hope you don't think less of me. great ambition should not come at the expense of what you already hold dear. i see that now.

if gale could see himself, he would be horrified at the losses he deemed necessary to get here. he would be horrified at what he’s become.

[thebaldursmouthgazette]

I think it’s really weird that so many people are interpreting leaving the veil up as “keeping the status quo” and therefore bad.

First of all there are some “status quos” worth keeping. For example, medical personnel washing their hands to avoid infecting their patients is currently the status quo in most of the world. We don’t want to get rid of that, because then more people will die for absolutely no reason. Destruction for the sake of destruction is not a good approach, and just because something is currently the way the world works does not make it bad.

The veil was bad and destructive (to the status quo in fact! But also like, the world in general) when it went up, but that was several thousand years ago. And during those several thousand years, the world adapted to its presence. Mortal society and spirit society both adapted to its presence, and both would be destroyed by it coming down. And to what end? A world that is different, but no better, than it was before. There is no real benefit to the destruction of the modern world, the biggest benefit is that it will ease Solas’ conscience that he has undone something he regrets (and only at the cost of lives he doesn’t consider real or of consequence)

But secondly we aren’t keeping the status quo, we’re destroying it. You are all just focusing on the wrong status quo.

When speaking to Mythals fragment she speaks from the perspective of a god, conversing with foolish mortals who are “a thousand years from knowing the proper words” to describe what Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain are doing. If you tell her the people of Thedas do not need gods she calls you “a petulant child who complains that your room does not have enough pretty toys” and tells you “you’ve no idea how many monsters lurk outside the walls of the house your parents created to keep you safe”. She says something similar if you deny her godhood as an elf.

Elgar’nan names himself the “world’s creator” and claims that he was trying to restore glory, casting the mortals of Thedas once again as foolish children, incapable of making decisions for themselves, needing him to guide them so they could blossom and thrive.

Solas too, has acted since inquisition like he is far wiser and more knowledgeable than all the mortals he encounters. He does not even truly consider them people. While he does not claim the title of god himself, he certainly holds himself like one, and treats mortals as foolish children all the same. This is reflected in his first ever words to Rook: “you have no idea what you have done” in a disembodied voice, echoing with power around the fade prison. He knows best. All who oppose him just don’t have the capability to understand. They’re just mortals, you see.

Before the final battle Viago declares that “Thedas will be free”. It’s a riff on his “the crows rule Antiva and Treviso will be free” slogan, designed as a direct response to the daily announcement by the occupying antaam in Treviso that "the Antaam will rule Antiva, and Treviso will learn to kneel."

But free of what? What statement of freedom is being made on this day? It is freedom from the “gods”. Freedom from the machinations of people who have put themselves in a position of godhood, and declared that they should govern the world because the mortals are foolish children who do not understand enough to make their own decisions.

The veil never needed to come down. That is something Solas decided was necessary. And he ignored every mortal trying to convince him otherwise because he decided he knew better. These mortals did not need to be listened to. They are tiny children, incapable of understanding his actions and the reasons for them.

With the deaths of Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain, and the banishment of Solas, Thedas has declared itself to not need gods. The people of Thedas are not foolish children incapable of understanding. They’re not going to calmly place their head on the chopping block, trusting that it’s okay because Solas knows best and sure it looks to them like they’ll all die horribly, but they’re just naive children who do not understand as Solas does. They have said no, we do not need you. We do not want you. We do not think you are our betters. You are not gods, and you are certainly not our gods.

We’ve not maintained the status quo, we’ve demolished it. We’ve gone up to the people claiming godlike superiority and told them to go fuck themselves, they’re no better than us.

But I think some of you aren’t seeing this because you believed Solas when he told you he knew best.

[even-in-arcadia]

I was rereading "Lovers of Human Flesh" by Caleb Crain as one does and I was very struck by two particular lines in relation to one Cornelius Hickey:

Incorporating what you love is a sure way to see that it never escapes from you.

and

Eating something is a way of keeping it with you forever, but it is also a way of destroying it.

I don't need to delve into the implications for Hickey's actual cannibalism - that's been done by those better (and more attached to Hickey) than I. What I want to talk about more is this concept in relationship to Hickey's ambitions to godhood.

Hickey has a plan always, at all times. It's a plan that shifts based on what seems best for him, what seems most convenient, and whatever he thinks his relationship to Crozier is at any given moment. They all essentially make sense in a scrappy, aggrieved, mutiny kind of way. Until: Solomon Tozer tells him, horrified, that he witnessed the Tuunbaq eat Mr. Collins' soul. Hickey says, specifically, that this merits a change in plan. He spends a long time by himself on a hill doing --we'll never know what.

EC/Cornelius Hickey, a man who clearly has never known a love that didn't turn on him or leave, has determined to be become melded to the Tuunbaq, an eater of souls. Gibson turned on him by falsely representing their relationship to Irving; Crozier turned on him by denying the "clear" bond they had and denying Hickey's gift of Lady Silence; he's been betrayed by this entire voyage that was supposed to take him to Oahu. Who knows what other loves have betrayed him.

If the Tuunbaq can eat souls, if Hickey can become connected with that power, then perhaps he too will be able to incorporate souls! Perhaps he will be able to finally ensure that something, someone will never turn on him. And if those souls must be destroyed in the process, what is it to him? Has the world not spent his entire time on earth trying to destroy him? (Conjecture: but given what we learn of him, the Nagaitis lore, and the cultural & economic context in which he exists, I think this is reasonable.) He yells into the Arctic air:

Bugger Victoria! Bugger Nelson! Bugger Jesus! Bugger Joseph, bugger Mary! Bugger the Archbishop of Canterbury! NONE EVER WANTED NOTHING FROM ME

He feels abandoned by every institution of society, and so he is going to create one in his own image. He offers a captain, an officer, a marine, and a ship's boy: the ship's hierarchy in miniature. If he feeds the Tuunbaq their souls and then melds with Tuunbaq himself, he can eat society and reconstitute it not just in his own image but in his own person, with only his chosen loyal followers, those who do want something from him. As Crain says, "In Freud's Totem and Taboo, the cannibal feast is the founding act of crime and sharing that binds society." That's the founding myth Hickey is not just counting on but trying to actively create.

And maybe, maybe! When he has access to Tuunbaq's power - will he have a line on those souls as well? Tuunbaq devours both body and soul in tandem, suggesting they are connected. As Hickey has already eaten of Gibson's flesh, maybe he can reconstitute and reingest that as Gibson's soul. Thus the destruction becomes the resurrection becomes the incorporation. Crain writes: "The body is a convenient boundary for the definition of the self. [...] in practice the peculiar act [cannibalism and homosexuality] violates that boundary. The act offers an ecstatic union." A cannibal rat wedding, if you will.

Crozier says to Hickey, "You must be a surpassingly lonely man." Hickey doesn't deny this. He merely says "Not for long." This is about power, but it is also about an end to loneliness, to his sense of betrayal at all levels and at every turn. Of course, it doesn't work out. In not caring about who suffered the consequences of his actions, he failed to take into account that incorporation & ingestion involve destruction. He thought himself the instrument of this, but by failing to see the Tuunbaq unto itself, as something other than a tool, as the independent Arctic that could never stomach Western society and live: he turned that back on himself and so was himself destroyed.

[legobiwan]

"What if Stanley somehow manages to destroy the portal just like he destroyed my perpetual motion machine?"

Holy shit, Stanford, you just spent the last few pages of your Journal outlining in horrifying detail how Bill took your body on a criminal joyride and forced you to forget your own name while pulling your bones from their very sockets in a hallucinatory nightmare void. You woke up weeping on your living room floor.

And yet, you have the absolute fucking gall to be concerned your brother, if you summon him to Gravity Falls, might destroy the Portal???? You mean the one piece of leverage you have over Bill? The main reason he's stalking you? The machine that will literally end the world if activated?

Between this, Ford refusing to burn his journals, and the fact he fully intends on continuing his work on the Portal once he's solved the Bill problem -

This is the picture of a man at the apex of both megalomania and a mental breakdown.

Could you imagine if Ford had found a way to beat back Bill and keep the Portal? Just how much would his ego have inflated even more? (Probably large enough that he wouldn't fit out the door). I feel like it's a timeline where Ford becomes the Big Bad, not because of Bill (well, a little bit because of Bill), but because he sees himself as transcending godhood and what little is left of his moral compass he casts into a black hole. ("He may be a god, but I am scientist.")

The juxtaposition between this and Stan's sacrifice during Weirdmageddon is insane. Ford, who steadfastly refused to give up his life's work to save world and Stan, who gave up everything he was to save the world. There's got to be a part of Stan that reads these pages and wonders just who his brother is, when he turned unto a supervillain, and if it would ever happen again. Stan may not want to acknowledge it, but deep down, I think he's legitimately pissed at Ford for being such narcissistic bonehead. I think it is something that haunts him in the odd hours of the night, his brother sleeping soundly in the bunk next to him on the Stan O'War II while Stan ponders if he's sharing quarters with Lex Luthor. You could have ended it, Poindexter. You could have ended so long ago.

The past is the past and as his mother would say, you can't unshit a turd. (Something Stan has more experience with than he'd like, regret trailing him his whole life like a vengeful shadow). Ford is here now, they're alive, the bastard triangle is gone. But God, does he want to sit his brother down, tie him to a chair, and scream at him, to shake him and demand to know just what hell he had been thinking, why he had allowed himself to become this kind of...this kind of monster.

Stan will never, ever do this. He has his brother, has his awkward affection, has almost everything he's ever wanted. The answers are not worth it. (In Stan's experience, the answers are almost never worth it.)

And as for Ford? Somewhere in his subconscious, a shrill, too-familiar voice likes to remind him of who he is and what he can still become. The same grating voice that tells him they're not so different, after all, that there's still time, there's always time to fix the past, to create the future. You're a scientist, after all. You're more than a god.

That's the voice Ford papers over with contrition, with guilt and self-abnegation and a near-manic dedication to the small boat bobbing along in the Arctic, not even holding a speck of relevance compared to the vast and might ocean, forget to the multiverse at large. That's the voice Ford drinks away in secret on the worst nights, the one that tells him a stone statue in the forest is as much him as it is the monster whose shape it embodies.

[shanieveh]

♪ ♡ ♫ — salut d'amour, op. 12 — ♫ ♡ ♪

— genshin men choosing you above everything and anything

KAEYA who always wanted to see where he came from, what he was, truly was. Choosing between mondstadt and his birth place conflicted his days, but you changed a lot of things. You made him believe in the future, not the past. You made him alive, like the past two decades were just him breathing. He no longer cared of some survivor, spies, or what he was, but what he is—what he will be. All he knew is that you were in his life and he can fight anything, even his lies.

SCARAMOUCHE's biggest longing in his life is a purpose for his existence, and in doing so he became a harbinger, a criminal and now a God. But when he first heard the way the akademiya treated you, he almost turned beserk— he left everything, his godhood, his dreams, his desires, because of you. No one will treat you like some mad scholar, a dog, and as he destroyed the entire building he knew who he did it for. Godhood is for fools, the feeling of passion and love that mortality was in his chest, and he accepted the feeling as it fueled his actions, as he destroyed Azar himself.

ZHONGLI wanted a peaceful life. And when he Osial came back to haunt Liyue he chose not to strike. But he was not planning to losing you. He lost everyone but not you. And as you struggle in ocean's grasp Morax once again came to be, once again saved Liyue, Zhongli once again saved the day. Returned to the same boring routine that tire his days. As the corrosion start wearing him out, atleast he can make you safe. Even if, this wasn't what he wanted, the rest he longed for, you were the person he needed.

DILUC would do anything for family. For his father's legacy. And when he went to snezhnaya to uncover the truth, he was so close, but news of your illness soon reached his ears. He gave up all he knew, all the plans and petty revenge. He went home. The fatui called him a coward, he really was. Diluc can't help but be with you through thick and thin. You recovered, you assured him. And in that he found peace, no longer to chase for the truth, but appreciate what he has now, and keep it in his heart. For that didn't require a delusion, it required only to love you.

ALHAITHAM proudly called him a feeble scholar who only cares about having a peaceful unnoticed life. But when you were deemed a failure by the akademiya and punished severly he was quick to make a revolution towards it. For the first time he showed no mercy. How dare they?! Alhaitham now a hero, now noticed, did not like a single compliment. But when you clapped for him, he smiled. For all that hardwork was for your happiness.

CHILDE likes to fight. He loves to win. And every argument he does so with you. He relishes in being right, and you being wrong. And then you crumble. You gave up. In that very moment he wished he lost, he was wrong, he wished he admitted it. He lost that smirk, that winning smile. He begged, he surrendered. Fighting with you was a tragedy he'll gladly lose over and over again. Even if he was right, even if you were wrong, he longs to lose when its with you.

[dark-elf-writes]

Percy is twelve years old and fresh off beating Ares in a fight the first time he ascends

He has no clue what's going on, no clue who the Heavenly Officials are, but he knows he's on a time crunch and the world's like, hours away from being destroyed and that he was beamed up here (wherever here is) on a beach so there's probably water below him and he did already survive the Saint Louis Arch

So he decides to throw himself off

On the Heavenly Officials part, they're a bit shocked at the scruffy, haggard looking, damp twelve year old ascending so it dulls their reaction speed

Lord Water Master is the closest to the newest god and the first to react, trying to grab the kid as he makes to throw himself off only to get sent flying hundreds of feet back by a large, concentrated stream of water from the nearest fountain to the face

(The only person close enough to hear Lord Earth Master's chocked off laughter is Lord Wind Master who is more preoccupied with their brother becoming a living projectile)

it isn't until Percy returns the bolt that he learns what that place was and who those people are and it's not until a year later that he ends up there again.

After that it keeps happening more and more frequently

Oh I love this love this love this chewing on this barking howling

Percy is twelve years old and is too busy to figure out what’s happening because his uncle and dad (which he is still trying to wrap his head around having at all really) are about to cause the end of the world in the most violent sibling rivalry of all time and throws himself back down before he can think about it. He doesn’t pay much mind when Chiron explains what happened to him. He doesn’t regret denying his ascension. He doesn’t think he would like being a god anyway.

Percy is thirteen and not entirely sure if it was the fight with his half brother (and that’s too weird to think about) or tricking Luke that qualified him to come up this time but he does know that Thalia’s tree was dying and he has to check if Clarisse made it in time with the Golden Fleece so he body checks some guy in armor and jumps down again.

Percy is fourteen and fresh off of holding the sky and Zoe’s death and so angry that he’s here again after making his stance on the matter pretty fucking clear in his own mind. He doesn’t even really see the two men he swats away like they’re nothing with a blast of water. Doesn’t care to. He’s pretty sure he hears buildings crumbling behind him even as he throws himself down. He thinks there should be some mark left behind of his grief if they were going to drag him up before her body had fully faded into the stars.

Percy is still fourteen and he ascends with all the fury of a volcanic eruption. He doesn’t know where he is. He doesn’t know who he is. His injuries are healed but he can still feel them burning under his fresh new divine skin. He walks off the edge before anyone can catch him.

Percy is still fourteen and it’s only a few days later and shatters every pipe and water fixture in the entire realm the moment he ascends. He’s screaming. He’s crying. He doesn’t know how many dead he���s left behind. His friends. Campers he didn’t even know the names of. He’s still crying as he shoves his way out of someone’s arms and throws himself back down.

Percy is fifteen and can feel the burning water of the Styx. He’s pretty sure he punches someone. He doesn’t care. There’s a war to fight.

Percy doesn’t know how many times he ascends in the next few days. All he knows is that his birthday is getting closer and closer and his friends need him.

Percy is sixteen and he laughs when Zeus offers him godhood. He almost throws himself off of Olympus out of habit.

Percy is seventeen and missing. It’s the longest he has ever gone without ascending since that first time. Some of the Heavenly officials begin to worry.

Percy is seventeen and he has killed a giant with the bust of a god. All things are back as they should be.

Percy is eighteen and can’t stop ascending. He just wishes they would let him rest.

[geminialchemist]

I made this originally as a comment on a post on Reddit, but it seemed well liked, so I thought I’d expand on it a little and make it a post here on Tumblr.

Spoilers for Shadow of the Erdtree abound, don’t read any farther if you don’t want the ending spoiled.

I really loved a lot of the lore about Miquella up until the big reveal that he Miquellested Mohg, and was bringing back Radahn as his consort. I remember finding the crosses across the land, and then finding the one in the fissure, and seeing that he abandoned his love there, and man, that was so good, so chilling to see that Miquella, known for his compassion and kindness, had thrown that away. We were going from cross to cross, learning just how much he was willing to mutilate and change himself for godhood… only for him to cling to a childhood crush he had on his older brother. That’s lame. Like, really lame. And gross!

And Mohg. I know we joke about how he beat the allegations, but remember that he needed to wed an Empyrean for his plans to work out with the Formless Mother. These plans he already had in place before Miquella charmed him, since Sir Ansbach was already a Pureblood Knight working under Mohg before Mohg was charmed, meaning Mohg had already established the foundations of his dynasty. That means Mohg was going to go after either Miquella or Malenia, since they were the only Empyreans left, and tell me, which one sounds like the easier target, the small child, or the undefeated champion? Miquella was always going to be taken by Mohg, the retcon just exists to make Miquella look more morally questionable while stripping Mohg of a bit of his agency and villainous identity. The entire Mohg portion feels like a rewrite when the entire reason he was charmed by Miquella is because he had some unspecified way into the Shadow Lands, and it’s never really talked about ever again. Mohg’s entire purpose in this plan comes off as an afterthought, with no specifications as to why he was needed, other than a vague “he was needed.” Even the use of his body to resurrect Radahn is unexplained as far as I know, though I headcanon that it’s due to Radahn’s body being too rotted after the centuries of Scarlet Rot infecting it, and they needed a demigod’s body, so Mohg was the only one to use available, but it would have been nice if that had been explained.

Godwyn would have been better as a final boss, and it didn’t even need to be actually Godwyn to work, since I know some people don’t think that would work from a lore perspective since his souls is gone, and his full return would wreck the Duskborn ending. Of course, “gone” is weird way to put it, since his soul isn’t destroyed, it’s in whatever afterlife exists in Elden Ring and just not being reincarnated like everyone else who dies after the rune of Death was removed, so Miquella could maybe work a way to get him back. The DLC is in the Shadow Lands, where all things that die pass through, after all. Get rid of Mohg being brainwashed, but keep his body being used so that Sir Ansbach, one of the best NPCs, still has a quest to follow in putting Mohg’s body to a proper rest. It also makes sense, Godwyn’s body is really messed up, bloated, and multiplying all over the Lands Between like a cancer, and can’t be used for ressurection.

Still, I think a failed Godwyn would be better. Maybe we skip the whole Promised Consort part, and just have it be the first act of Godhood Miquella does, because ew, am I tired of the incest surrounding Miqella’s character. Godwyn The Golden starts the fight off back in his prime, doing loads of attacks infused with Holy damage, coming off as the perfect and powerful Demi-god he’s always stated as being in the lore. Then he starts falling apart at phase 2, his phase 1 attacks being switched to being ghostflame infused rather than holy, Miquella now on his back and any new attacks added to phase 2 take on the holy affinity due to his presence. Then phase 3 hits, no holy infinity at all, all attacks do ghostflame or deathblight buildup. Deathblight is already so underused, so it would be great here. Godwyn is falling apart faster the more we fight, and Miquella, holding on, is getting hurt by the ghostflame and deathblight while desperately trying to keep his beloved brother together.

Have the fight set during an eclipse, too, sorta like the final boss of Dark Souls 3, the Soul of Cinder. Really tie it into the lore of Miquella trying to bring Godwyn back, like we find out at Castle Sol, where he had hoped to use an eclispe. I’d even say to make the light from behind the eclipse change color as the fight rages on, starting off bright and holy, and change it to the horrid dark grey and sickly yellow that deathblight has by the third phase, so rather than the arena getting brighter than a flash bang like it is in canon, have it get darker and gloomier. And of course, after the fight, the eclipse has faded entirely.

Instead of a cutscene that is nothing but information we already know(Seriously, what was even the point of the cutscene we got? It gave us not a single piece of new information), Miquella is lying on the floor, mostly dead, much like Morgott after we beat him in Leyndell. He isn’t dying because of us(honestly, I don’t even know why he died in the DLC, he’s so high up on Radahn’s back we never really get a chance to hit him directly, but he dies when Radahn does for whatever reason), instead he’s dying from clinging so tightly to Godwyn and trying to hold him together, burned by ghostflame and deathblight. He laments that even as a god, he wasn’t able to fix anything. Not his sister, not his brother, not the Haligtree, none of his plans ever work. No matter the sacrifices, personal or otherwise. He’s a failure in every way, and the knowledge breaks him as he sobs and dies.

However, if you visited every cross before the boss fight, you can absorb the essence of Miquella’s discarded body, and if you beat him then, you’ll get the option to return his discarded flesh and emotions after the fight. Doing so heals him, and gives him back everything he discarded, like his love, his fears and doubts. He fades away into light particles, and if you sit at the grace in the arena, he’ll appear like Melina does, sitting across from you and with a healed character model. This gets a few bits more dialogue, some exposition, yadda yadda. He’s a god without a consort, you’re a lord without a throne. He’s unsure, and not confident it will work, but maybe if you work together, something good can come of this tragedy? Giving up now would just be spiting in the faces of everyone he’s hurt. You’re strong enough to stop him if he loses his way again. (I think the reason he chose Radahn in canon was because of his strength and kindness? He trusted Radahn to do what was right after he threw away his love and compassion, entrusting Radahn to lead him down the right path when he lacked those things, and to be strong enough to resist his charm. That’s again entirely headcanon due to our lack of knowledge about their vow, but I’m adding it here because this is MY fanfiction and I can do whatever I like!)

(This part is more of a personal bit I’d have liked added because I find it amusing, rather than because I think it would make it better. Remember when you go through all that trouble to find Fia, and she asks if you’ve come all this way to kill her, and you can just say “No, I want to be held,” and it’s the funniest chunk of text you get in game? I really wanted something like that with Miquella. He wants to know why you came all this way, entered the Shadow Lands, a sealed off region of the world where only death awaits, where you fought against insurmountable odds, all to get to Miquella, presumably to stop him, only to heal him at the last moment, in which you can straight up tell him to his face you want to be his consort, and he’s just as confused and amused as Fia was. He knows you aren’t under his charm, but still he questions if it’s possible you are if you went this far just for that.)

This unlocks a new ending for the base game, the Age of Compassion. You summon Miquella like you would Ranni after beating Elden Beast, and together you usher in a kinder world, this time without the brainwashing. Or maybe with the brainwashing. Or perhaps it’s vague about the brainwashing, and if this is a good or bad ending in classic Fromsoft fashion. I’d prefer no brainwashing, and Miquella still unsure if things will work out, with it ending ambiguous if the Age of Compassion lasts, or fumbles and falls to a world blind to it. All you and Miquella can do is hope it will be better.

That might be a lot to ask, but look, it’s the only way I’ll ever get to live out my fantasy of being fought over by a cold, goth witch gf and a soft femboy twink with hair longer than I am tall, okay?

[ismaeldrawsthings]

Still thinking about Thetis now her in TSOA and specially at the end

(I'll always defend tsoa Thetis btw)

Thetis hatred for mortals is a key factor of her character in the book. That's why she hates Patroclus in the first place. The only mortal she truly holds close to her heart is her son. That's why she says "he's going to be a God and you'll die soon" when she meets him. She was stating a fact; a bitter one, yes, but a fact nonetheless.

One of the main themes of the book is Achilles' conflict between humanity and godhood. Patroclus represents his humanity and Thetis represents his godhood, as she is the reason godhood is a part of himself in the first place. And something about Gods and goddesses is that they, more often than not, don't really care about mortals. They see earth as their playground and mortals as their dolls they can destroy and torture if and as much as they want to. They don't care. They shouldn't care. A mortal's life is too short to care. One way Thetis can bring Achilles closer to godhood is to make him care as less for mortals as possible so he doesn't mind having to kill them.

But that's not what Patroclus wants. Patroclus wants Achilles to be as human as possible. He wants him to keep being gentle, to be kind-hearted and empathetic and capable of love. Achilles follows Patroclus' path during his years prior the war because he loves him. And what's more human than love? But then the war comes. He fears to be forgotten, and follows Thetis' path. And we know where that lead him.

At the end of the book, when she's talking to Patroclus, she wants to learn more about Achilles. Human, not God. Because she wants to learn other virtues one can be proud of apart from the power of taking a man's life, like she knows Gods do. And Patroclus teaches her. He tells her stories about a golden boy who juggles with his food and plays the lyre and sings and knows how to take care of wounds and likes to run to the shore and swim and make up games and and so much more aspects that compose one's humanity.

"I couldn't make him a God"

"But you made him"

I feel like the reason some people hate tsoa Thetis and felt like Madeline Miller mischaracterized her and that her intention was to make her evil either just know Thetis from The Iliad or misinterpreted the book altogether. TSOA is written from Patroclus' POV and she fucking hates Patroclus in this book so what did you expect lmao she wasn't gonna be likeable, and she doesn't have to. Thetis doesn't like mortals, indeed; that's not something MM made up. TSOA is also the first Iliad retelling where Achilles and Patroclus are explicitly lovers and Thetis is not fucking stupid so it makes sense for her to dislike Patroclus because she already finds her marriage with Peleus a nightmare, she doesn't want that for her son. The first time she appears she's just bitter towards Patroclus and after that she doesn't do much. But after they kissed she obviously starts to hate him 😭 a mortal lover is the LEAST Achilles needs to reach godhood. Don't piss her off.

[affogato-analysis]

Scaramouche/Wanderer and Ei, parallel and divergent arcs

Spoilers for Inazuma and Sumeru’s archon quests, plus Ei’s story quests part I and II. 

I think these two have a lot in common and their character arcs very much follow the same patterns, until they don’t. I say we are roughly at the moment where they are not linked anymore, where they get to be independent from one another (although i’d argue that Ei was never really influenced by Scaramouche where he definitely was obsessing over her for the sake of recognition and revenge but that’s just personal interpretation).

Ei’s arc, essentially, is that she loses her family and her purpose (being her sister’s weapon/right-hand woman) and copes with that by isolating herself (Plane of Euthymia) and reaching for impossible goals (eternity). She does not shy from violence in that path (actively starting and fueling a civil war, disregarding Fatui involvement despite the harm they caused, refusing to back down in the face of the misery she spreads).

Then, she meets the world anew. She finds a new loyalty (her people instead of her sister) and throws aside her old ideals and actively fights them and their incarnation (Narukami no Mikoto) to ensure a new path ahead instead of staying locked in the past (that’s her story quests).

Scaramouche/Wanderer, essentially, loses his family (Ei/the first boy/the smiths) and his purpose (holding the gnosis and being part of her world) and copes with it by isolating himself (Fatui’s allegiance and refusal to connect to anyone) and reaching for impossible goals (Archonhood as a revenge). He does not shy from violence in that path (his involvement with the Fatui and their numerous crimes against humanity, Inazuma’s civil war and his attempted deicide in Sumeru, amongst others).

Then, he meets the world anew. Literally, he’s made amnesiac and sees the world from a different perspective, and when he comes back to himself, he has already seen this new nation and Nahida. He finds new loyalty and family in Nahida and throws aside his own ideals and actively fight them and their incarnation (Shouki No Kami) to ensure a new path ahead instead of staying stuck in the past (Sumeru’s archon quest).

But Ei never cared about Scaramouche’s path. What he’s done has never been a concern to her, since she didn’t care about his actions in the civil war. When she learns he has the gnosis, she can not be bothered.

Scaramouche only steps away from her when he drops his quest for godhood. It might be unsatisfying to watch if you like a good revenge story that he just. Moves on, quietly, literally disappearing from her life, but he already wasn’t in there. There was never a room for him, her original idea was to destroy him when he expressed individuality — which proved to be too much and she set him free instead. (Also if you want to follow his revenge route, i’ll remind you that he still plans to fck Dottore up and that this is a story we can enjoy.)

Because Scaramouche’s story isn’t a story of revenge, or trauma, or rightful anger towards a neglectful family. Up to this point, it’s a story of learning, growing and finding yourself and your place in the world. It’s a coming-of-age story, basically.

(Yeah I’ll absolutely argue that Scaramouche, before Sumeru, is essentially throwing a tantrum.)

(Because he’s seen a lot of shit doesn’t mean he’s ever learned to cope with it and react to it in a non-violent, tantrum-like fashion.)

Ei’s story is a redemption story, of taking accountability, putting her head back into politics and forging ahead for her people this time and not in spite of them.

I think that Scaramouche and Ei’s arcs hold much more parallels than Kazuha and Scaramouche’s ones and that they diverge at a great time.

They start off at the same place (Inazuma), made anew by the same event (Makoto’s death), meet again during the same event they are both equally guilty of fueling (the civil war) and he finally gets the gnosis, a symbol of her. Then, he keeps going on spiraling down while Ei climbs up as a political and religious leader, finding the world has worth; while Scaramouche finds a new family and steps down from his ambitions. And now, they are too different people with different futures, different goals (leading Inazuma/killing the doctor), in different places (Inazuma/Sumeru) and the gnosis is gone, they are both moving on and away from the tragedies that made them.

[thewisaaaaad]

IM WORKING ON THE CLIFFHANGER I PROMISE anyway heres something completely unrelated about leshy :)

Leshy had lost the ability to morn. He had lost it LONG before the betrayal and sealing of Narinder, but he had never felt its loss as keenly as that day.

sitting against the wall, feeling the immense pain in his face where his eye once sat, he found that all he felt was a weak, flickering anger that struggled against an immense feeling of nothing.

he knew what he should be feeling: wrath against his brother for injuring them all, mad for him pushing into domains that did not belong to him, betrayed by his unstoppable search for knowledge he should not have, that Shamura told him not to seek.

but that wasn't true was it?

Leshy hung his head, remembering how narinder pleaded that he had destroyed the research as Shamura had asked. Besides, Leshy was still confused over why resurrection didn't fall in his brothers domain, no matter how much Shamura had insisted that death could not flow backwards. Chaos and Order were two sides of a coin that Leshy knew well, why would death not also control life? their brother being stronger should be a good thing, right?

The wounds the family had suffered were caused by a frantic struggle, not focused strikes aimed at wounding them. Narinder had not reached for his brothers eye, he had reached for his hand.

and yet Leshy had gone to bite his hand. the hand that had raised him with love and care. the hand that would ruffle his leaves in congratulation when Leshy mastered a spell. The hand that tucked him into bed, and fed him soup when he was sick and Kallamar was too busy.

the hand of the brother he loved

and yet Leshy felt no guilt. He felt...

nothing. a deep, sinking load of nothing. This, Chaos knew, was wrong. he had never been in a situation like this before, where someone he cared about was harmed in this way. but there was nothing.

for the first time in his godhood, he cursed the gift that it had given him. the one that had allowed him to embrace both his domains, causing chaos and enforcing order on his devotees without feeling guilt or remorse.

right now, Leshy wanted to grieve.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A hundred years passed, and still he could not grieve.

his followers were thriving now that Leshy no longer had the energy or will to thrash about his domain or deliver judgement.

he supposed that this meant his rule had been poor up until this point. he added that to the growing list of things he should feel bad about.

but cant.

his brother never criticized his rule.

A disciple of his rushes to him, begging forgiveness that the god waves aside. He had plenty of mercy to go around, and it was the least he could do.

The message was from their sister and brother, requesting a meeting with him.

something to distract him from the melancholy, he supposed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What do you mean, 'All of them'?!"

Anger and shock were still familiar emotions to the worm. at least he still had them.

at least he was still worthy of them.

The meeting turned out to be quite important.

Shamura had another vision, which was about to have as disastrous an outcome as the last one did.

a sheep would come to free their brother. and Shamura wanted to put a stop to it.

The sheep had once been Narinders favorite. Perhaps this would prove to be another way to atone.

A plan was quickly made, far from the ears of their maddened sibling.

Heket and Kallamar would heard the sheep into Darkwood, making token sacrifices and examples along the way, to ease Shamuras fears.

All leshy had to do was pretend that the lambs died in his forest.

Shamura would never find the sheep in Darkwood. He prided himself on how the terrain warped and distorted, creating an impossible maze, where things like a scared population could easily be misplaced.

it should hold long enough to keep them safe until Shamura lost the prophecy to the depths of their shattered mind.

Leshy knew that he should feel bad about taking advantage of his eldest siblings condition.

Leshy found that he didn't care.

[bonefall]

What are the four seasonal gods like generally? Sol seems to just be A Little Bit Chaotic, Midnight is said to be benevolent, but what about Rock and One Eye? (I know One Eye requires sacrifices? But ig that wouldn't necessarily make him malicious? Idk fsgcghdfj)

I'd like to learn more in general! Gods and mythology go brrrrr

ALL of them can actually take sacrifices, it just so happens that only Sol and One Eye have actually done it in the timeframe of BB.

It doesn't HAVE to be blood either, it can be anything of value. Sol and One Eye are just like that.

SOL

He gets bored easily.

It's not that he's evil, he's just self-absorbed. Everything is about having fun.

He really was a pretty terrible god, though. Fallenleaf comes to learn his services are in high demand, and he was really needed.

You might think he's vengeful, but he's not. If you beat him according to the rules they agreed on, that's winning fair and square.

I feel like he feels kind of bad he abandoned Harry so quickly, like he knows it was a dick move and he kiiiiinda doesn't want to think about it.

Something about him is more mortal than anyone realizes, but even I'm not sure how. He's strange compared to other gods, as if he didn't lose himself in the ascension to godhood.

Ironic for a God of Change.

MIDNIGHT

Is lonely. So lonely.

She can give you eternal life, but no one ever takes it. Why does no one ever take it?

But she's too nice to overstay her welcome or defy a request. And too cowardly to explore the world and find more people who leave eventually.

So she just stays in her den by the ocean, hosting all who pass through.

Minds her own business and draws cats to her as visitors.

Fallenleaf liked her at first, but has actually grown a negative view of her. Midnight wants something and won't go get it, using her immense power to just stare at the ocean.

What a waste!

I feel like she keeps a distance from mortals because she feels like she has some kind of obligation to not interfere. Besides, what good is a god no one wants to visit?

Shouldn't people WANT to go out of their way to seek her wisdom??

(And then she drags them towards her anyway lmao. Actually a very funny character. I have thoughts about her)

ONE EYE

He likes to see what words people use for him.

He likes to see what people call upon him, too.

This entity is not one who forces himself upon the land. He simply comes when he is called and they call him evil. Another one of his many names, he says.

At leaaaast... that's what he says. He is a VERY vindictive being when he feels slighted. If you declare war upon him, he will finish it.

"Scorched Earth" translates directly.

He can be incredibly cordial though. Surprisingly so. I actually have been thinking of having him visit each Clan in Thunderstar's Justice, meeting with its leaders, testing who would be his greatest partner.

During Hollyleaf's Century, Lion's Roar summoned him with a certain number of sacrifices.

But once One Eye moved into his body as a vessel, he didn't let go.

He was still using Lion's Roar as a vessel in DOTC. Lion's Roar had lost all control of his body, practically hollowed out.

I have a really clear feeling of his personality but it's hard to put into words. He's charming. He's well-spoken. His words smell like roses and sound like trickling blood. He asks to be invited and refuses to leave. If you offend him he will destroy you. He is interested in you. He watches hungrily like a snake.

And he ate Tom, partially because he was delicious, but primarily because he was a disobedient and disrespectful rat who did not know his place.

Star Flower is expected to know her place, too. She serves him. He is kind to her, and she loves him, but if she has to give up her life for him-- he expects her service.

As a god of war, sun, and fire, he's every bit as dangerous as you think he is.

You don't kill Gods. You trick them. Sun Shadow tricked him, seeing his body was unstable, and challenged,

"You are not the sun. Behold the sun that shines above us! It is there and you are here!"

"Haa. Your taunt shall not work. I am the sun and I shine just as bright."

"You do not shine now. I see no shine."

"Then behold!"

And that's how Sun Shadow got the guy to explode himself inside his shitty battered vessel LMAO

I have this full story in my head I just need to write it out tbh.

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST

ROCK

He wants to be left alone. He does not like you

He wasn't always this way. He is a god of measurement, archival, the night sky, memory. Quintessence and moonbeams, that which subsisteth, and what seems.

And once upon a time, he hosted a trial for those who wished to be his temporary vessels. Going down into the tunnels wasn't a trial for ALL warriors, just those who sought his ancient knowledge.

Once upon a time, he believed that the purpose of knowledge was to be shared, but only to those who would do right with it. He chose his vessels carefully and benevolently.

But what happened in Hollyleaf's Century changed him. It killed him. A selfish tyrant, the actions of her opposition, the senseless destruction of the victorians humans...

And then his vessel, Jay's Wing, was murdered. He felt him die and he couldn't save him; he's just a god of truth. Not of affecting it.

He's kinda got Sotha Sil vibes. His last big action was burying his vessel and casting a great spell upon a patch of Old Growth forest in what's now ThunderClan; the humans did not see it for many years, as if it simply wasn't important.

When the illusion faded, the humans simply believed they had not noticed it, or had underestimated its size.

Funfact: humans have big brains and lots of meat and are easy to disorient. That patch has a reputation for confusing people, hikers get lost there a lot.

Doesn't like people. Especially doesn't like Sol or Fallenleaf, refusing to distinguish that they are two different entities.

"You won't be, eventually. No I won't help you avoid that fate. Fuck you"

Has a softness for Jayfeather in particular and no one else. He would have let Hollypaw and those kits drown if he wasn't part of the group, that day.

But also Jay knows how to annoy him. If it wasn't for the fact he was the reincarnation of his beloved and tragically killed Final Vessel, he would have let him drown long ago.

Lightly malicious, in a way. Doesn't value mortal life. Mean.

Kinda ironic that Jay's reincarnation is more like Rock in this life than he is to Jay's Wing. Rock would lament that his influence has ruined him.

[wuxianxkexing]

This face. I'm going to talk about it. Spoilers below!

So my pathetic little meow meow looks kind of unhinged here. I've said that much already. But what exactly is he thinking in this moment?

From a storytelling perspective Heaven Official's Blessing doesn't really have a main villain by this point. Pei Ming is the closest thing to one since he caused and ignored the Bridegroom and he tried to sweep his deputy's crimes in Banyue under the rug. However while those things might make him a "bad" guy that isn't quite main villain of the story material since he hadn't really gone after our main character Xie Lian all that hard. Yeah, he tried to shift the focus onto Xie Lian hanging out with Crimson Rain, but it wasn't really personal. He wasn't trying to drag Xie Lian down since he also spoke in his defense and said that Xie Lian was probably just tricked. He just wanted to shift the focus off of his deputy but failed to. Still a dick move to Xie Lian, but at least it wasn't personal? 😅 Or at least it wasn't personal until the very end when he realized that he wasn't going to be able to save his deputy after all.

But from a storytelling perspective having Mu Qing make this expression puts him on the radar as potentially being the story's main villain. At this point all we know about Mu Qing is pretty negative? He used to be Xie Lian's servant but left/betrayed him to ascend to godhood. He clearly still remembered Xie Lian though Xie Lian didn't recognize him and he seemed miffed by that fact. In the books it is revealed that he hangs out in the communication array all day every day, supposedly because he is catty and loves gossip and he has no friends. He is shown to have beef with General Nan Yang, who forgave Xie Lian's absolutely massive debt out of the kindness of his heart and who in this very episode publicly sides himself with our main character when he is concerned about him getting hurt. The audience realizes that Feng Xin is actually a pretty good dude, and naturally we are suspicious of anyone who openly hates him as much as Mu Qing does. Then Mu Qing makes that face. At this point the audience can only assume that Mu Qing made that face because he is a huge asshole and hates Xie Lian. The main villain has to be either him or Pei Ming. Right? They both have personal beef with him, and figuring out which of them is going to be the main villain gives the audience something to think about. I think this is why MXTX decided to have him make this face. The story needs a main villain but she wasn't ready to reveal them just yet so she kind of pretended to throw us a bone to keep us interested.

Ignoring the overall story reasons and focusing on the in world reason that I think Mu Qing made this face: He is just vindictive. Not towards Xie Lian, but Yong'An. Xie Lian describes him as both petty and spiteful. Up until Mu Qing makes his friendship confession and tries to kill himself afterwards the audience doesn't really know any better of him. I've seen some people say that he made that face because he was glad that Xie Lian isn't as perfect as he thought, but I don't think that is the case at all. If you actually hated someone for being too perfect would you even /want/ to be their friend? Let alone be willing to throw yourself into a volcano for them? Nah. Most people try to avoid people that they hate, so Mu Qing wouldn't have even helped out during the Bridegroom arc, or if he did then he would've only done it to sabotage the mission (which he didn't).

But knowing how spiteful and petty Mu Qing is having him make this face upon hearing that the former crown prince of his kingdom massacred the royal family of their invaders? That makes perfect sense for his character. This scene reveals that deep in his heart he is glad that the Yong'an royal family "got what they deserved." They destroyed his home country and they set into motion the process of him losing his 2 best friends as well. Arguably they are the root cause of a lot of his suffering. As for the frown after he was done having his moment I think that the revelation of why/how Xie Lian did it kind of ruined his revenge fantasy. Xie Lian did kill the Yong'an king to protect the former people of Xianle, but he didn't go on the cool V for Vendetta campaign that Mu Qing had hoped for. Which maybe that is a problem too but at least you can see where he is coming from.

Ultimately I think Mu Qing had a very real and human reaction to the news, but it only makes sense with context. Otherwise he just seems like a crazy person. Like all I can think of when I see that face is that if Mu Qing was the one poisoned by the Land of the Tenders instead of Xie Lian he would've had the worst bloodlust ever known to mankind. He is still my little meow meow though.

[semidecentpoet]

I keep thinking about Peter Sqloint (spoilers for JRWI Apotheosis)

(This is expanding a wee bit on this post I made a while ago lol)

Apotheosis: "the perfect form or example of something;" "elevation to divine status"

Rumi and Thanatos were destined for great things—or "destined," depending on how you look at things given that the whole thing was just Zuen and Exandroth deciding to Fuck Shit Up because Zuen was just fuckin bored. The whole shtick was a divine ploy from the very beginning. Zuen gave Rumi visions, setting them on the path to ascend to godhood. Exandroth helped to create Thanatos, forging his path to end godhood.

From the start, it's all divine intervention. Rumi is supposed to become a god. Thanatos is supposed to kill all the gods. This is how it's supposed to go.

Really, from the standpoint of Zuen, it's meant to be Rumi, Thanatos, and Exandroth, not Rumi, Thanatos, and Peter. Peter isn't supposed to be anything. He's just some loser nobody Exandroth found, a throwaway vessel. There are no divine plans for Peter except to be an archangel's meat puppet. Peter's purpose is to be a vessel for Exandroth's purpose. Peter is just some human.

But there's the kicker: Peter is human. Part of what makes Apotheosis such a beautiful campaign is this juxtaposition of godhood and humanity and the powers of both: the grand versus the humble, the mighty versus the meek. Zuen and Exandroth don't think twice about Peter because he's human and what could a human do? As far as they know, they have set Rumi and Thanatos' paths in stone.

They didn't account for the one stone that upset everything.

To be clear, all three of them helped to change each other. Another part of what makes Apotheosis a beautiful campaign is the character dynamics and the way they influence each other's development; they all change each other so intrinsically. But it's Peter in particular who changes everything.

Rumi is obsessed with their visions and their notion of perfection, their goal of becoming a god. But it's Peter, just by being Peter, who reminds them of what the gods' hubris has blinded them to, of what traits are truly powerful and most important.

Thanatos is tunnelvisioned on destroying all the gods, a bloodthirsty machine. But it's Peter, just by being Peter, who shows him how to live, who shows him there's more to life than his purpose; through Peter, Thanatos finds there's more to himself.

Rumi and Thanatos are naturally destined—or "destined"—to be at each other's throats with their conflicting goals, and we see them debate and even full-on argue multiple times throughout the campaign. But it's Peter who keeps them together. It's Peter who asks questions and who makes them question their own beliefs. It's Peter's humanity that irreversibly transforms them.

It starts as an apotheosis of godhood. It becomes an apotheosis of humanity.

Zuen's plan, by all means, should have been foolproof. He's got a killing machine and a person driven by vision-fueled vanity, plus an archangel to make sure things stay on track. But he failed to consider all the variables. He underestimated humanity.

Peter's humanity defied Zuen's divine intervention. Humanity defied the divine.

I just find it fascinating that in the middle of all the action and the speeches, the magic and the power, the mission and the visions, and the overall grandeur of godhood, the thing that changed everything—the catalyst of this transformation from what they were supposed to be to who they became—was what and who everyone least expected.

In the words of Rumi: "It is because you are just Peter Sqloint. That is what makes you more, and you need not be anything else."

What's more, the stone that the builders rejected ultimately becomes the cornerstone of a new and godless world. A world by and for humanity. A world that isn't perfect, but it is theirs.

I wanna hear others' thoughts on this bc I am just so fucking in love with this campaign, you have no idea ;PPPPPP

(Also, if you want to respond with moments from the campaign that have to do with this discussion, by all means do so bc I wrote this all from my not-exact recollection of the campaign and the perfectionist writer in me is a little irked by the lack of evidence to my claims lol)

[whitegoldtower]

I made a tragic durge. His name is Oleandar (based on the very beautiful yet extremely poisonous Oleander flower), a bhaalspawn in the fair guise of an elf.

He’s a bard/enchanter, and excels in poison attacks, psychic manipulation and blood magic.

So far, he has kept his secret very well guarded; he only gives in when he knows he can get away with it (subtly making Arabella run for the door, hiding Alfira’s body), but he thrives on being a ‘saviour’, so he’s doing all the ‘good’ things in Act 1, like orchestrating the war between the goblins and tieflings (he sneakily instigates it all, giving Minthara the location, torturing the prisoner, freeing Halsin and then turning on Minthara at the grove) and ultimately saving the refugees so that they love him.

Shadowheart likes him and is drawn in enough to make a move, but she does so with the intent to ultimately keep him at arm’s length. Astarion also makes a move, but does so because he feels that he and Oleandar are the same (conversation they had involved Astarion saying “we’re more similar than I thought”).

He’s a very VERY creative durge.

But he goes for the most naive person in his camp: Gale. Who unfortunately falls for his persona / not persona and ends up head over heels.

Just like Astarion, Oleandar’s instinct is to manipulate, and he sees himself in Gale’s creativity. Gale strokes his ego. Compliments him. He’s perfect. But then it goes tits up, and he finds himself genuinely caring for Gale.

But can he keep hold of Gale? Gale will figure out what he is sooner or later. It’s a doomed romance that will likely end with all of the companions dead, and Oleandar alone at the end of the world. Either that, or with Gale elevated to godhood, and Oleandar yearning from a distance.

As much as Oleandar craves to be loved and liked and appreciated… he destroys everything he touches.

Deep down, he knows he is evil and wrong. He is just powerless to stop it.

This song is the best fit for him and Gale:

“You believe me like a God; I’ll destroy you like I am. I’m sorry I’m the one you love, no one will ever love me like you again.”

“One day you’ll figure me out: I’ll meet judgement by the hounds.”

[maliciousandcrude]

I remembered my god forsaken MM Reverse Au so Uhhh have the All Stars thing!!!

It starts with Ultra M falling down from the sky and landing in what seems to be a backstage. As he wanders, LMX begins monologuing.

"Not bad. Not bad at all!"

"I gotta say, you and ya furry slave are better at this than I thought."

"I bet ya missing that precious godhood of yours no?"

"Well. Sorry to tell ya this."

"But nothing ever lasts forever."

"Remember when I said I might let you out of that cartridge hell if you just beat my ass in 3 songs?"

"Well. That promise was broken. Long ago."

"And I'm not letting that go."

"But yet I wonder."

"WHY do y'all keep on fighting?"

"Are ya just that desperate to return to your godhood?"

"Well. Hate to break to it ya pals."

"But there's no light at the end of this tunnel."

"Especially."

"For."

"MURDERERS."

"WHAT'S BEEN DONE IS DONE."

"YOUR CURIOSITY HAS BEEN NOTHING MORE THAN YOUR DOWNFALL."

"A DOWNFALL THAT SHALL BE FORGOTTEN FOR CENTURIES."

"YOU KNEW WHAT THAT FLASHDRIVE WAS. AND YET YOU STILL WENT ALONG WITH IT."

"YOU'RE IN MY DOMAIN NOW. BOTH OF YOU."

"SO YOU BETTER BE READY TO POUR ALL OF YOUR BLOOD. SWEAT. AND SOUL. INTO THIS FINAL SONG."

"AND THIS TIME."

"NO. MORE. RUNNING."

"SO WHAT ARE YA WAITING FOR?"

"TIME FOR OUR PERFORMANCE PLUMBER BOY."

"SING LIKE YOU'RE ON THE BRINK OF DEATH."

As M reaches a noticeable light in the middle, Omega gets dropped down.

"DON'T WORRY. YOU WON'T BE DOING THIS ALONE. FOR NOW."

The platform underneath them then raises, bringing them to the main stage. And the song starts in the mall from week 5. Just destroyed. And LMX is now powered up. (I don't have a name for his Ultra Espue form lol.) Right before Act 1 ends, LMX snatches up Omega and sends Ultra M to fight Kanojo (Fucked up Girlfriend) one jump scare later, Kanojo flies away and has her creations. Hōshu (Fucked up Pico), Meresuto (Fucked up Mommy Mearest) and Shin'ainaru (Fucked up Daddy Dearest) after that. Act 3 happens. M suddenly finds himself in a hazy stage. As the mist clears, someone lowers down from strings. It's... Omega. And he's dead. This isn't good. M is understandably upset by this. He tries not to show it but there's that faint hint of him physically dying on the inside from the fact he just learnt his own creation died. All the while LMX is watching them. After the first section, he starts singing (Not writing lyrics cuz I genuinely have zero ideas for lyrics rn). After that section ends. LMX monologues again.

"DON'T YOU GET IT NOW? I'VE TAKEN EVERYTHING YOU HAD. AND NOW YOU'RE NOTHING. THERE'S NO HOPE FOR YOU. SO WHU ARE YOU STILL TRYING?" And so the final act begins. Ultra M is standing on a floating stage while LMX now a giant looks down on him. He starts mimicking all the various characters throughout the mod. And soon after, M starts singing by himself, a light shining down on him. As he sings, he grips his microphone tightly in anger, before pulling out a Racoon leaf powerup and using it on himself. (Also, I kinda like to think that after this point, instead of copying LMX's moves he just makes up his own out of rage. Basically breaking the FNF formula of copying your opponents moves.) One solo with the two later, a spike comes out of the ground and pierces through Ultra M's head. Killing him. And the song.