#WAS HE JUST POWER HUNGRY

[flowinniego]

i’m absolutely DEVOURING the fact blitzø’s love interests (i’m not counting stryker) are connected to his childhood BUT I AM SO DAMN CURIOUS THE STORY BEHIND VEROSIKA AND HIM

[utilitycaster]

truly the constant of this campaign has been "literally no one likes Ludinus Da'leth at all"

[lycankeyy]

Oh my god I just remembered I have poptarts. Poptarts will save me

[starry-bi-sky]

"Stillborn? No, still born" Danyal au -- VLAD MASTERS THE BITCH HIMSELF

*Points at Vlad* THIS MFER GOT SOME TEEFS TO HIM. !! Okay okay, Vlad Masters in the stillborn au is different compared to most of my other aus in the fact that I am far more heavily leaning into his original ambitions of wanting a family and being desperately lonely. Because you know what wanting a family implies? Wanting to be a parent.

Fucked up father figure that could've been Vlad. Complicated love-hate relationship between the only two halfas in existence.

Danny hates Vlad, but he hates even more that he's genuinely considered his offers of mentorship. Vlad is the only halfa around, and they both have fire cores. Danny has these powers he doesn't understand, can barely comprehend some days, and can't control. But Vlad does. Vlad can. And Vlad wants to help him. He's the only other person who can get close whenever Danny runs too hot. Whenever his igneous hair cracks, splits, and spits back out into magma and his friends can't get close, Vlad can.

His hair is made of magma, which runs so hot that people need specialized suits in order to get near it. He physically cannot get close to the living as a ghost unless he's calm enough for his hair to cool into igneous rock. Which isn't as often as he would like. And sometimes he's too hot for other ghosts to get near unless they have fire cores -- which Vlad has.

There have been many times when Danny's having a meltdown (literally) and gone somewhere to be alone, to let his anger and hurt and loneliness overflow and spill out, that when he's come back to, Vlad's right there with him as an anchor. It's desperately frustrating, it's the only time they can get along. They don't say anything, Danny just turns and clings onto the only person he can touch as a ghost.

Its not fair. Vlad wants to kill his foster dad, and Danny can't let him do that. But he wants to be trained by the man, he wants his help and wants what he can offer. But Vlad can't step away from his revenge long enough to let him. It's just not fair. He thinks for a moment that maybe it could work, and then Vlad does something to remind him that no, it can't.

Vlad Masters sees too much of himself in Daniel Brown -- from the way he holds himself, to the defenses he puts up, his quiet anger that builds and builds and builds until it explodes. That simmers beneath his skin. All the way down to the fact that they have matching cores. This boy is cut from the same cloth as him, and by god does he want to help him. He's always wanted to be a father, and Daniel Brown is too much like him for him to ignore. He genuinely, truly cares about Danny and his wellbeing.

He wants to help him, child just let him help you. Let him kill your foster dad so he can adopt you himself and help with these powers that terrify and intrigue you -- he knows what that's like to have something that you can't control, to have a heat that you can't cool down from. "We're in the same boat you and I, let him help you please."

But his methods are all wrong, and Danny is too much like him -- stubbornness and all -- for him to agree when they oppose each other so greatly. But again, Danny is much like him -- which means that Vlad is equally stubborn, and in every single one of their fights he's parental. He's annoyingly parental. He drops his interest in Maddie to focus his efforts in trying to coax Danny onto his side. It's like trying to get a traumatized cat to trust you, and on some levels it works. It's like he makes some progress, and then moves too quickly and the cat immediately runs off and you have to start back from square one.

TL:DR; Vlad and Danny both want to find family in each other but they're too different to get along and ultimately they are doomed by the narrative to be at constant odds with one another unless one of them is changes, and it doesn't matter who.

[beastwhimsy]

I think if he's an immortal cosmic deity he should get cool as flarp powers. to be honest.

[lizzybeeee]

The Lucanis vs Illario story would have had greater emotional depth/intrigue if the writers didn't water down how fucked up the Crows are as an organization.

Just some thoughts about how, out of all the side villains, Illario had some great potential to be a really interesting/tragic character in my opinion.

TL;DR: Zevran Aranai has a knife with Caterina's name on it for good reason and Lucanis/Illario need therapy...or whatever the Thedas equivalent is called...talking to Rook, I dunno

Going into DATV as a new player, or even as a returning one, the whitewashing of the Crows has a lot of the potential complexities of that life simply ignored or barely touched upon. The entire 'Illario vs Lucanis' boils down to: Illario seething in the shadows about Lucanis being the 'best boy'™ of the family while Illario is an after thought - which he is.

Let's be real, Illario is not subtle and immediately comes across as the Scar to Lucanis' 'Mufasa'. It's a questline with a very straightforward villain who has pretty lackluster motivations from what info we're provided - being 'I want power and to be the First Talon'. The game does very little explore what motivations he may have beyond being jealous of Lucanis/wanting more power.

However, if you play the quest line knowing what previous games have set up about the Crows - about how cutthroat and brutal the life is behind the glamour - then you can see that the entire Lucanis vs Illario conflict has amazing potential to be a dramatic tragedy.

We've seen how the life of Crow can affect Zevran - someone who was sold into the life through child-slavery. How interesting would it be to see how the life of a Crow can affect someone who was born into it? It's pretty clear in-game that Caterina intends for her grandchildren to carry on the family tradition - despite the fact that this 'family tradition' has likely led to the deaths of most of her grandchildren and however many children she had.

If there's banter about how Illario's/Lucanis' parents/cousins died specifically I haven't heard it, but the impression I got in-game was that it was likely linked to the Crows/politics in some way? Feel free to correct me! Still majorly fucked up that she pushes her grandsons into this life regardless!

Lucanis/Illario's situation was not like Zevran's - who was sold into the Crow's through slavery, with no one to speak up for him. Caterina was a woman who had power, who knew what the life of a Crow meant, and who still pushed those she 'loved' into it because is consolidated her place in the system. For all the Crows talk of 'family' Caterina doesn't seem to give a shit about them unless if they're contributing to the family business in some way - not to mention the whole 'you fail and we kill you' clause of being a Crow in the first place.

In the 'Wigmaker Job' from Tevinter Nights Lucanis talks about how Caterina hit him [also Illario] with her cane for mistakes and had him spend days without food/water. How he used to hate her but now 'realizes' that it was her way of ensuring he survived the life of being an Antivan Crow. Did it end up protecting them? It likely pushed them both to refine their skills out of fear. It's likely that simply by association with her they would be targets and thus needed to know how to take care of themselves and fight.

But why have him as a Crow in the first place? Why not simply train them well to defend themselves? You can't deny that she doesn't benefit from having her grandchildren in the family business - intentionally wanting Lucanis to take over her position as First Talon. The Antivan Crows are a force to be reckoned with and being one brings a whole lot of power in Antiva - being part of the elite of that group even more so.

If the game showed us the ugly reality of the Crows - the brutality of the lifestyle and how cutthroat the organization is, it could have really added some depth to Illario's betrayal - having it be more than "I want more power/respect" to "this is the result of what you taught me was valuable in life."

Warden: "Do you actually enjoy being an assassin?" Zevran: "And why not? There are many things to enjoy about being a Crow in Antiva. You are respected. You are feared. The authorities go out of their way to overlook your trespasses. Even the rewards are nothing to turn your nose up at."

Illario, bitter about Caterina favoring Lucanis - resentful of the fact that she has already decided that Lucanis will be her successor, being offered power by the Venatori (at the expense of the Crows) and accepting because why not? How different is it from what the Crows do? Isn't power and status the whole point of working yourself up in the Crows? Getting into a relationship with Zara because why not? Isn't sex part of the allure of being a Crow? Why can't he have this? Why shouldn't he have this?

Rook: "When we met, it didn't seem like Illario and Caterina were close." Lucanis: "It was hard to be close to her. Even for me. And...I was her favorite."

Why would he have connections to his family? Why should he? Caterina certainly never seemed to value 'family' beyond what they could do for her and their family legacy. Most of his family is already dead, and of those that remain the only parental figure he has obviously favors Lucanis. We don't have a lot of evidence in-game to show that Illario ever really cared for Lucanis, but the prequel story 'The Wake' and Lucanis' own banter imply that they were practically brothers, best friends. Perhaps he did care and then ceased to at some point, perhaps he didn't at all, or perhaps he accepted that an early death for them both was inevitable like everyone else in their family. Dead now or later - what was the difference? At least if Illario sells him out now to the Venatori then he'll get something from it instead of another dead family member to bury.

It's the tragic result of raising a child in an environment where he was taught and experienced the need for self-preservation at all costs. Constantly threatened, punished, and made well aware of that fact that his life was an expendable commodity. Then, when things in the world went to shit he picked the only option that made sense to him. To save himself.

The irony of the potential fall of the Crows, the fall of House Dellamorte, coming at the hands of one of their own - not because he had a change of heart but because he was taught too well by them. The Crows view those that fail them as disposable, someone to be discarded - if the Crows fail Illario, what is to stop him from applying that mindset to them?

But this would require the writers to acknowledge how messed up the Crows are and we can't do that to our 'Noble Freedom Fighters'™. They'll also need to address Zevran's existence and what lore was established in past games...and we can't have that either lmao.

[i-wish-i-were-softer]

Ozai can be the most terrible parent in the history of parenting but he didn't ignore azula's powers just because she was a girl.

[alexiethymia]

With the reveal that Aduo didn’t actually want to be the mother of the nation, looks like we now have a concrete path to a happy ending for Jinshi.

Though I actually really want to see him as the Emperor one day (at least for a time), it would be thematically appropriate if Jinshi takes not after the Emperor, but after Gaoshun and becomes the retainer of the future Emperor.

[nulllray]

rid15 star practice ft. a glimpse into my twisted mind

[bigmfrat]

The Emperor got tired of you being difficult so now you have to deal with Thez'Taress, an exiled Venerator of Ilsensine and a much worse illithid who hates humans only slightly less than he hates elderbrains.

I just wanted to draw him in my own version of the dream guardian robes because my friend made a new roman inspired oc. This is my Tav/Oc btw, not the Emperor if the above text didn't make that clear.

here he is without the multiply and magic layers. I was originally going to give him the astral prism background and shade him but I'm tired of looking at this, maybe I'll mess with it again later, who knows

[nelkcats]

The Hungry King's Deals

Danny was hungry. You'd think that after becoming Ghost King he wouldn't need to eat as much, due to him spending so much time in his ghost form between boring meetings, and drinking his ectoplasm (per Frostbite's orders) but it turned out the opposite.

Danny was very very hungry, no matter how full he was there was always an empty hole in his stomach. The change to his human form left him weak. Jazz said it was a good thing that he was "expressing his needs" or something, but he thought it was absurd.

Unfortunately he couldn't bring food from the human world to the Realms (rather, he couldn't leave the Realms and the ghosts didn't understand his need for food) so he sulked with his ecto cookies.

When a guy in his 20s summoned him (it was a matter of luck, since Danny changed the ritual for a much simpler one) and asked to revive his brother in exchange for a jar of cookies he considered it a fair deal. The cookies were delicious, and even though it would get him in trouble with the council, he didn't really care.

The problem was when the same guy summoned him to get his friend out of the "Speedforce" (pretty good sandwich) and "get his dad out of the void" or something similar (the bread was delicious).

Returning from the third summons, his hunger sated, Danny faced the annoyed looks of the council (Frostbite's look of disappointment was lethal).

And yes, maybe he was taking advantage of his powers excessively, ignoring his domain and many etceteras, but he was hungry! Dick Grayson was just an excellent negotiator.

[witchspeka]

It's always "Shou and Ritsu need to blow stuff up with their minds for mental health reasons" or Ritsu and Teru or even Shou and Teru!

But what about Mob? When does he get to blow stuff up with his mind for funsies? For shits and giggles? He didn't go through all of those meltdowns and character development for nothing, let him go ham on a junkyard car or something smh

I believe in Mob's narrative given right to fuck shit up sometimes

[heavenb3nt]

Anyone bothered by the fact that the things that drove him insane were done to him by people he should have been able to trust. The drumbeat was put in his head by Rassilon, and while it’s not news no one can trust their leader in general, he should’ve been able to. He shouldn’t have been driven mad for the end result of being pawn in a strategy. Then the guilt of Torvics murder, which Theta did, and no one blames him for that, but he chose to give it to Koschei when he had the chance. A lapse of judgment made by a scared child which drove his best friend to insanity. He also didn’t find out that either of these were done to him intentionally for a very long time. He went his entire life thinking it was all him, he was the problem and there was something inherently bad and wrong about him. I mean, the drums and the guilt. He never stood a chance. He was doomed from the start.

[shouts-into-the-void]

The more I think about it, the more I really want to know how Tetsuji managed to keep the fact that the Ravens are a cult under wraps, considering that even Neil was having trouble functioning normally after only 2 weeks.

Like, it isn't even the physical abuse that causes the biggest problem. It's the 16 hour days, inability to do anything other than exy, social isolation, and the dictated nutrition and choices. They learn none of the skills that a typical young adult learns in college- cooking, cleaning, time management, money management, networking, etc. Not all of the Ravens can be rich enough that that sort of thing just doesn't matter. They basically get dropped into the world after college with no idea how to get a place to live, feed themselves, pay bills, or anything required of an adult and with no support network to help.

And including the physical abuse, all of these athletes suddenly have to have a miriade of health problems due to over-exercise, lack of sleep, violent playing styles, and I'm assuming physical abuse from Tetsuji and/or Riko.

All of these athletes are apparently signing with pro teams and there can't be that many that they only have one or two athletes a piece. We know from Lucas that the drastic change to their personalities is very noticiable to anyone who did know them and they're mentally unstable enough to off themselves after being forced to leave the campus, so how has no one noticed that all of the players that get signed from this one college team are barely functional, incredibly mentally unhealthy, and insanely violent?

[don1t1red]

I hate how imperialism is so indoctrinated in DH1 that there is no option to destroy the Empire and have your happy ever after.

"Oh but Emily could do that and be a great leader of post-imperialistic society!" Yeah but we already have DH2 and we see that Emily isn't really interested in ruling her people at all. She acts only if it's becoming personal.

Besides neither DH2 nor DotO never tries to address her changes in the Empire or give us some real examples. In DotO she just "tries to renovate" the Empire instead of trying to understand why she has to do that and if it's even a good foreign policy to maintain.

"Oh but you can destroy the empire in DH1! You just have to go high chaos and let Emily die!" Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. No one is addressing high chaos as a "good option".

Not to mention the fact that DH1 tries to push you to decide between a chance for colonies to finally get free and death of a royal child. The game simply does not believe in fact that you may hate Dunwall for everything it did to other nations or to your protagonist; it does not believe that you will [at least try to] perceive Corvo as a character with a great inferiority complex because of his nationality, and his story as an example of self-reflection. And therefore it gives you this choice instead of an opportunity to leave the decaying city behind and flee somewhere with only one good person who was ever close to you - Emily.

You *have* to play "a bad route" to do what you think would be the best option and the game's narrative will do its best to make you aware of "how bad" you are.

What am I trying to achieve here? I'm trying to give you [my reader] a different perspective to play this game or to make any fanworks or just a thing to think about. And maybe to give you a chance to listen to the Outsider’s monologue after the game with slightly more understanding of a problem the next time you play.

"It's just as well. The Empire was dying already. Completely rotten. All that was needed was the right man to send it over the edge."

[deimcs]

COMPLETE: THE PALE ELF / Astarion has become the Vampire Ascendant. He had to sacrifice Cazador, his brothers and sisters, and thousands of other vampire spawn; but he'll never fear the sun or suffer a vampire's hunger again.