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txttletale · 2 years ago

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socialism: elysian and scientific

[whispering to you in a movie theater in between mouthfuls of salted caramel popcorn--other moviegoers who just want to watch we bought a zoo (2011) are glaring at us but i don’t care]

so in 1880 friedrich engels wrote a snappy little number called ‘socialism: utopian & scientific’. it’s a foundational marxist text and one i’d recommend to everybody--and i think some of the ideas in it are incorporated and built on in disco elysium in really interesting ways.

socialism: utopian & scientific does a few things. first, it lays out the ideas of the 18th century utopian socialists and explains the societal context in which they developed their ideas--and the core idea of the dialectic development of ideas. engels harshly critiques the enlightenment's conception of the history of thought as a history of individual thinkers attempting to capture an eternal, immutable corpus of truth and justice--he describes this worldview thusly (emphasis mine):

What was wanted was the individual man of genius, who has now arisen and who understands the truth. That he has now arisen, that the truth has now been clearly understood, is not an inevitable event, following of necessity in the chains of historical development, but a mere happy accident. He might just as well have been born 500 years earlier, and might then have spared humanity 500 years of error, strife, and suffering.

and of course it jumped out to me playing disco elysium that this is exactly how human development works the world of elysium--innocences are singularly world-changing individuals who personally establish systems and ideologies within their lifetimes:

dolores dei in particular is a pretty clear synechdoche (both narratively and, because of how innocences work, diegetically) for the bourgeois revolutions of the enlightenment--her followers, the moralists, are clearly analogous to the real-world post-enlightenment liberal international system. the “kingdom of conscience”, is, i think, also a pretty heavy-handed reference to engels’ sardonic use of the “kingdom of reason” to describe the empty promises of the 18th century bourgeois revolutions:

Now, for the first time, appeared the light of day, the kingdom of reason; henceforth superstition, injustice, privilege, oppression, were to be superseded by eternal truth, eternal Right, equality based on Nature and the inalienable rights of man.

so--moralists are liberals, that’s not exactly groundbreaking. the innocentic system is a literalization of the metaphysical vision of the history of ideas--that’s interesting, but it doesn’t really say anything in and of itself. so let’s go a little deeper. if engels doesn’t think philosophers, are accessing a nebulous immaterial well of absolute truth, what does he think--well, he cites hegelian dialectics, a system he and marx develop into material dialectics and historical materialism. what the fuck are hegelian dialectics--well there’s a lot of really long fucking books that answer that, but let me just quote engels here:

In his system — and herein is its great merit — for the first time the whole world, natural, historical, intellectual, is represented as a process — i.e., as in constant motion, change, transformation, development; and the attempt is made to trace out the internal connection that makes a continuous whole of all this movement and developmen

hegel posits the history of mankind as the history of ideas evolving in concert with one another--the ideas of, say, the enlightenment weren’t just waiting in the aether during the age of feudalism, fully formed until some singular genius could grasp them--instead they are the product of the ideas before them interacting through the process of thesis-antithesis-synthesis. this is dialectics--the idea that progress broadly takes the form of contradicting forces generating a novel force through their interaction.

now, engels identifies one key flaw in hegel, which is that he’s still idealist--he is putting the ideas first in this historical model, positing them as drivers of history rather than products of it. engels then goes on to lay out the fundamentals of historical materialism, which is the application of dialectics to a material view of history--when engels says “all past history [...] was the history of class struggles”, this is what he means, that historical development is the process of the creation and resolution of contradictions between modes of production and exchange (how stuff gets made and who gets it and why).

[i take someone elses double gulp soda out of their hand and slurp it loudly, ignoring their obvious outrage]

okay that’s all cool but what does this have to do with beloved crpg disco elysium (2019)? well, for a start it takes a very distinctively historical materialist worldview when it comes to its own history--the history of revachol is very much the history of class struggle, from the revolution to the strike--and the idea that the elements from which future society will arise are already present with current society is a recurring theme:

the future is change--society is in motion, contradictions must resolve, the world is dialectic--and the moralists are in opposition to this, desperate to maintain the status quo, to maintain contradictions perfectly suspended forever. from the dialectic point of view, moralism in disco elysium is the quest for no future at all:

as engels explains, a dialectic view of history means that you need to understand the past if you want to understand the present, because the present is born from elements of the past:

From this point of view, the history of mankind no longer appeared as a wild whirl of senseless deeds of violence, all equally condemnable at the judgment seat of mature philosophic reason and which are best forgotten as quickly as possible, but as the process of evolution of man himself.

for the moralists, the past is something to be forgotten, cast aside for an eternal unchanging present. which is interesting because in disco elysium there happens to be a global world-threatening force which is forgetting the past: the god damn pale. the pale is the accumulation of all human history into something flat and meaningless, the detachment of history from its context--the pale is the future, past, and present not as dialectical continuum of cause and effect but as meaningless incoherent chatter. the pale is the moralist’s view of history made real global force--

--and it has the potential to destroy everything--

and this is what moralism is. engels says of metaphysical philosophy:

In the contemplation of individual things, it forgets the connection between them; in the contemplation of their existence, it forgets the beginning and end of that existence; of their repose, it forgets their motion. It cannot see the woods for the trees.

by understanding the world in repose, as a dead thing, moralism is killing it. by discarding the past it is creating a debt that can’t be repaid. and what brings this all together is this bit of information from the game’s concept art:

innocences create the fucking pale. what they’re doing, their immanentized personificaton of the kingdom-of-reason model of history, is destroying the future. very literally, the non-dialectic view of the status quo--the quest for the right ideas to ensure endless stagnant stillness--is killing the world. the man who killed dolores dei was right:

we were supposed to come up with this ourselves. so--all that done--what’s the point of this post? what do i think any of this proves, other than that i and the DE writers are fancy communists who read books? well, my read on it at least: the pale is the destruction of history for a purpose--because if we do not understand history, we will think we cannot change it. we will wait for the great people to do it for us--we will wait for them to invent a future to live in and we will wait until we die. we are supposed to come up with this ourselves. as engels says:

The possibility of securing for every member of society, by means of socialized production, an existence not only fully sufficient materially, and becoming day-by-day more full, but an existence guaranteeing to all the free development and exercise of their physical and mental faculties — this possibility is now, for the first time, here, but it is here.

liberalism tells us that the future is unknowable, untouchable, that all we can do is wait for it to arrive. socialism--and disco elysium--tell us that the future is here, now, that everything we need to build it ourselves is already in the world. the second hardest part of that is realizing it--the hardest part is doing it.

[i am dragged bodily out of the theater by my ankles, frantically snatching snacks out of other people’s hands as i go. for the road]

#disco elysium #marxism #this is NOT comprehensive or well structured i just had to get these thoughts out in writing or id explode

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sicklyseraphnsuch · 4 months ago

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Transformation/Apotheosis??

In that opening scene, as we watch these unknown characters gambol about, they weren't entirely divested of... well... character. As creatures that lack physical form - as we see later when they become, they were still entirely capable of feeling. They could gambol and wonder and want. One of them said that they've been trying to make something new. And then, there is the latter half of that scene - the desire to exist, the fear as they fled from oblivion.

Oddly enough, it's BECAUSE they can be nuanced individuals that they lack an inherent alien-foreign quality of a distant divinity. They AREN'T absolute. That brings them closer to MORTALS.

There was a tumblr post that once claimed angels had more in common with printers than they do humans. And I think that applies here. For amorphous creatures, who should have been closer to a concept than a character, they sure had a lot of character. To me, that means they were closer to mortals/humans from the jump. They were never such alien beings that desire or a survival instinct was utterly foreign.

They seemed more like sheltered creatures who simply never had the opportunity for strife to experience the full range of emotions. But they had the capacity to.

The leap to flesh and permeable shape only seemed to change what was outside, which caused confusion and pain, but they had already had a lot of internality. The stuff inside didn't change.

I don't necessarily have a point for this but it does sound like the CR pantheon was never more than a stone's throw away from the mortals they created. Because they were never inert thoughtforms, incapable of forming identity and desires. Infinity and eternity didn't seem to affect their inate natures - they just saw less of what they could be. It's like putting blinders on.

#critical role #cr spoilers #downfall #in homestuck terms #they arent their ult selves but they were once #this is UNLIKE elden ring #which goes out of its way to show how the absoluteness of divinity #can destroy everything that isnt divinity

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hotguysfugue · 5 months ago

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i am thou, thou art i

a way i’ve best found to characterize an NPC is to perceive them as an agent of a card of the major arcana - it often leads to interesting and diverse personalities that may have not been present otherwise.

and of course, given my adoration of the persona games, this becomes even more relevant to my interests. bonds may have not been formed between the PCs and particular individuals on this list due to various reasons in the same way as the social link/confidant system (including party allegiance/politics or over-the-table interest in a certain character), but i really do feel like this is a good way of assessing major NPCs and how they fit into a greater world.

0. the fool; naïve, wandering, transcendental.

jack frost is the fool, a creature of fey mischief unknowingly trapped into a cloth of bureaucratic fabric. he is the beginning of a heroes’ journey; his refusal of the call catapults his whimsical self into something far darker than he had ever anticipated.

i. the magician; manifestation, conduit, creation.

dr. wyndi čeloscas is the magician, a conduit to the goddess sibyll born to serve many greater than herself. in turn, her actions - the reincarnation of chaos’ child to an angelic form and the gift of mass transit to the world - would spark creation in her wake.

ii. the high priestess; divine, actualization, mysticism.

aryll maledict is the high priestess, a human held so gently by the goddess of adventure becoming a woman deeply inclined to aid those in need. there are few in the world who understand themselves more than those who serve the material, and her love for humanity is divine.

iii. the empress; creativity, beauty, youth.

navi helekas is the empress, as despite their refusal of the masculine and the feminine, they prioritize their outward beauty as a way to pursue paths of greatest success. they endeavor to discover wrongdoing and trap the kingdom into the international criminal court at any means necessary, including an obfuscation of their own identity.

iv. the emperor; stability, logic, leadership.

morpheus torrentum is the emperor, as he shifted from a fellow who was kicked out of his masters’ program to becoming one of the most cited and revered academics that the world had ever seen. in his elder years, he has settled down with his husband and become a central individual for many communities.

v. the hierophant; tradition, organized religion, spirituality.

captain marlene scaffa is the hierophant, representing centuries of continued tradition within the occidental kingdom. though this steadfast devotion to ideals of truth and candor inevitably led to her downfall, she epitomizes the archetype of orthodoxy.

vi. the lovers; unity, guidance, love.

the lovers are represented by two on the same card: carlen the arcanist and cyril the broadcaster. their fates have been entwined since they laid eyes upon one another in that strange coastal town, and their relationship only burned brighter when faced with the strife of the most secure prison in all the multiverse.

vii. the chariot; victory, willpower, courage

karyon beeching is the chariot, a being who led an empire to freedom from tyranny. though his recent years have lost the drive once felt in his youth, his victory stands as a turning point for the rest of the world - a change in era.

viii. strength; fortitude, compassion, love

orion ermendrud is strength, as her ability to remain steadfast in wake of her underdark imprisonment has allowed her to overcome any fear directed her way. she achieved this through aiding her fellow prisoners and concentrating on the one person who would free her from these bonds.

ix. the hermit; wisdom, solitude, introspection

thomas penningon is the hermit, having his youth stolen away by a creature that took him to the feywild on a whim for over a half-century. he wandered and wandered, becoming a dreamwalker and communing with the natural world; by the time he was able to reunite with his sister, he had become truly self-actualized.

x. the wheel of fortune; destiny, serendipity, possibility

kos vessar is the wheel of fortune. his very existence is the keystone on which this plane is balanced on, and his state of being informs the destiny of all who live upon it. despite limited interactions with any at the table, kos is a being from which two long-form campaigns managed to stem.

xi. justice; equilibrium, balance, harmony

dahlia was justice, as in her long life she was able to bring a semblance of balance to the turgid ecosystem that his her hometown. when she was cut down for restoring a series of poisoned wells, the little equilibrium found in the city came to a grinding halt; upon the revelation of her death, so did the peace of her closest allies.

xii. the hanged man; self-sacrifice, patience, divinity.

there are none who represent the hanged man better than urthaz chrestwyth, an archmage who sacrificed everything to allow his found mother immortality. the goddess of suffering consigned him to a fate worse than death - infinite isolation at the heart of the sea’s most dangerous whirlpool - as punishment for allowing a mortal to ascend in such a way.

xiii. death; ending, transformation, cycles of life.

achlýs, goddess of suffering, is death. though she is not responsible for the physical act of dying in the way winter’s lord does, she has been the catalyst for an uncountable number of transformations (whether physical or moral). she is the change of a body from living to dead and all the pain that stems from it.

xiv. temperance; balance, virtue, intentionality.

sibyll, goddess of arcana is temperance. as the sole deity who was once mortal, she understands the balance between metaphysical, divine, and mortal rationality that those below need to thrive; she has gifted this understanding to them time and time again. she is far more personal than the pantheonic twelve, and will gift her champions the tools they need to stand in the face of those that seek to upset the balance of the great wheel.

xv. the devil; vice, temptations, addiction.

drifter is the devil in both the physical and moral sense, manipulating other creatures to do his bidding out of sheer boredom. his modus operandi is to entrap youth and to groom them into creatures who enact his will, habitually toying and breaking their spirits.

xvi. the tower; disruption, upheaval, radical change.

in the sole act the table has been privvy to thus far, the tower is the lady maud. she impersonated their closest ally for nearly a month before revealing her true form and utterly eradicating all sense of trust. she brought about the death of a king, causing utter instability in an (admittedly authoritarian) though stable land.

xvii. the star; hope, health, spiritual reflection.

arrah beeching is the star, as her journey dealt with internal and spiritual conflict far more than anyone else’s. upon resolving her conflict with a particular archfey, she found solace with the goddess of adventure and freedom.

xviii. the moon; intuition, danger, deception.

sam the bastard was the moon, a roguish archetype who convinced the destitute to become his underlings before betraying them in stings and setups. before his death, he contracted a great many people into doing his and his masters’ bidding. he considered danger to be intoxicating, engaging in riskier and riskier behaviors prior to his demise.

xix. the sun; success, contentment, material happiness.

the sun is oysters rockefeller, a pirate who found herself stranded with her crew following her pursuit of a hefty paycheck. though she has yet to undergo the same sort of development as many on this list, she is a person whose drive is towards success, happiness, and freedom.

xx. judgment; new epochs, transformation, outcome.

igor was judgment; the warden of the multiverse’s greatest prison was obsessed with the idea that he could bring about a new era of humanity via consuming the fear of all mortals. a child of suffering, he believed that he could usurp his mother’s position by transforming into something far greater than himself - he was thwarted.

xxi. the world; enlightement, oneness, divinity.

the world is the end of a cycle, and the erlkönig (despite his many, many faults) represented this shift to a divine singularity. he was singlehandedly responsible for many of the plane’s problems through incredible manipulation, and was eventually able to ascend to godhood through the aid of his cultists around the world. though he would be defeated by mortals and the god of fate, his ascension and eradication marked the end of thousands of cycles that he put into place.

though these names may not mean much to anyone beyond my table, i really think that this sort of categorization is extraordinarily helpful to my understanding of my own characters as they fit inside of my setting.

#my setting is a labor of love that i hope to maintain as long as possible #d&d #dm things #my ocs #npcs #ttrpg

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gladstones-corner · 6 months ago

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On the Nature of the True Will

"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law."

– Liber AL vel Legis, Book 1, Verse 40

This is one of those posts where I'll ask that you bear with me, as it will be more opinionated than my standard fare.

Please understand that my goal isn't to force my viewpoint; it's to share my observations and contribute to the conversation.

Let’s dive in.

So where do we start?

I suppose a good place would be with Crowley. After all, he made famous the phrase "True Will"--though he wasn't the inventor of the concept. That would arguably be Socrates, who attributed his actions to a "personal daemon" or "internal oracle". But that's another post.

Crowley uses the word "Will" as the nearest English translation of the Greek Θέλημα (pronounced Thelema). In the Christian New Testament, Θέλημα is most often used with respect to the Will of God (such as in the phrase θέλημα τοῦ Θεοῦ [Thelema Tou Theou]). Knowing Crowley's familiarity with Jewish and Christian holy texts, we can infer that this usage is intentional; it aligns the tradition's very philosophy with the concept of a Divine Will.

But what does the Divine Will mean, if magicians can be anything on the religious spectrum? Generally speaking, Divine Will doesn't necessarily mean that an external deity has a vested personal interest in your fate and has sealed it in stone. No; rather, the True Will--the Θέλημα--is your niche in the universe. Billions of years of evolution have led to you, and you have a role to play in the grand scheme.

Does this make Θέλημα a deterministic reality? Not necessarily. In Liber Librae, Crowley writes: "A man is what he maketh himself within the limits fixed by his inherited destiny." In my opinion, this means that you are free to realize your role in the universe however you choose, including the choice to ignore it completely.

What happens if you ignore your Θέλημα? Considering that achieving it would lead to greater harmony and peace, we can speculate that ignoring it would lead to greater discord and strife.

Does this mean that all suffering is due to ignoring your Θέλημα? Absolutely not. Crowley again writes in Liber Librae: "Thou then, who hast trials and troubles, rejoice because of them, for in them is Strength, and by their means is a pathway opened unto that Light."

This goes deeper than just "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger". This is an exhortation to approach suffering differently. It is painful, yes. It is unavoidable, yes. But to change our attitudes towards this suffering will prevent that suffering from being more than it is on its own.

Keen eyes may recognize this as one of two approaches:

Therapeutic methods such as CBT/DBT

Eastern traditions such as Buddhism

So there's evidence there that Crowley was on to something, even if his execution is reflective of the relatively primitive understanding of Western psychology at the time.

Okay, so we've covered that the True Will is your personal niche in the universe, that you still have free will despite this, and the benefits of approaching suffering with your True Will in mind.

But what he haven't covered is how to follow your True Will--how to discover it, how to cultivate it, and how to embody it.

Unfortunately there isn't really a hard and fast rule to following your True Will. But it can help to remember a couple of things. First, you can think of your True Will as being made of two complementary parts:

The Life's Purpose

The Moment's Action

In a balanced magician, these are symbiotic. The Life's Purpose drives the Moment's Action, and the Moment's Action realizes the Life's Purpose. In an unbalanced magician, most often the Moment's Action is driven by an unchecked Ego; the Life's Purpose goes unknown or otherwise unfulfilled.

This implies a certain level of mindfulness required to achieve the True Will. Your actions, moment to moment, should be guided by your life's purpose. That purpose is something only you can discover, but in Thelemic thought that purpose should be supported by a universal, unconditional love for all beings.

Easier said than done, but I think taking a moment to think compassionately before reacting to the world around you is critical. It's extremely difficult, but the potential for positive change is huge.

Just remember that "Love is the Law, Love under Will."

Stay safe. Blessed be~

#glad's thoughts #thelema #true will

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allbeendonebefore · 7 months ago

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Casual Cruelty

Happy Monmonton Day gang.

So, I don't write anything other than comics like, ever, let alone writing for a dedicated ship event because what even is that. I may chicken out and expunge this from the earth because it's cringe as hell but we'll see. I wrote this literally on my phone any time I was waiting somewhere without wifi or late at night when I couldn't sleep for some reason over the past, like, idk year and a half? I started with the title and went from there.

This is a (canon?*) story featuring Edward and Étienne, friends with benefits, in some indeterminate time period in the late 20th century in Montreal. Ed struggles with a lot of internal strife that almost wanders into the territory of self harm, but not quite. Lots of pining and seemingly unrequited feelings. Some drinking but nothing excessive, and just a tiny bit of bad French. There's nothing particularly unsafe for work although some undressing happens and Ed has very low standards in his fantasies. So, without further ado...

---

There were a lot of things that were likeable about Étienne Maisonneuve. He was attractive, naturally, though it was more how he carried himself, curated himself than anything else. One would look from his dark, carefully coiffed curls to the loud and erratic patterns on his clothes into his bright green eyes, peeking over a sunrise of long lashes and an amused smile, and one would gasp in genuine shock as he nonchalantly revealed how his older, taller, more handsome brothers would comment on his various shapes and sizes with caution or contempt, that he needed to tone his body up or his attitude down. Who would tell Étienne of all people that he wasn't enough? Too much, perhaps.

Edward, naturally, liked the coiffed hair and the loud prints and especially the green eyes. He was (silently) pleased that Étienne was not particularly tall (so they were generally at eye level), and whether Étienne could fit into his jeans one way or the other didn't particularly bother him (as Étienne, whether there were comfortable handles at his sides or whether you could cut your hand open on his hip, always chose jeans that were probably a little too small).

It was Étienne's unconventional physique (and his unconventional physicality) that Edward liked because Étienne was always changing, he could barely be held in his own skin. When Étienne reached out for him, which was often, it was all Edward could do to hang on for the ride. And it made him feel that, even with ten years of medication and self hatred and complete lack of control over his own body, perhaps he could become something desirable too. Even if only for a moment.

But it wasn't Étienne's appearance that was particularly occupying Edward's thoughts, even if it was rather pointedly occupying his lap and flashing a gleeful grin towards the other occupants squished tightly together into the booth. It was what he was saying, and the conjectures of Meaning that Edward's mind was trying to keep up with.

"And so I couldn't pretend like I hadn't seen him, I mean, how fucking cowardly!" (The others tittered encouragingly, not wanting to miss the blow by blow, while Edward busied himself with a cluster of little triangles printed on Étienne's shoulder and tried to pay attention and not think about how he himself was a fucking coward more often than not.)

He missed the details about the confrontation in his concentration.

"But I said to him, maybe if he wasn't a biphobic de crisse de-"

The altercation rapidly being sketched in Edward's head, at least, was full of expression and colour and electricity. Étienne had run into (an acquaintance? An ex? An old flame who had burned him one too many times, who had made him swear off love for good?). One (Étienne?) was on their way in, one heading out of the (cafe? diner? dispensary? trading post? dep?). Words were exchanged, the fur flew, Étienne naturally emerged victorious (pleased? bitter? wounded?). However it had felt in the moment, clearly amongst attentive friends it was a savourable challenge and good humoured.

Edward was convincing himself it was something he had taken that made the details slip through his brain like earthworms through wet mulch. Surely it was down to some substance that made his stomach clench, not the fact that he had heard some version of this story from Étienne enough times to wish he hadn't. Étienne confronts the weak-minded conservative. Étienne dashes any hope of salvaging a relationship against the rocks. Étienne pierces the heart of the next poor sap who dares to remind him he ever had one of his own, just because he can.

This is how Étienne is and has always been, Edward reminds himself as he calmly takes a sip of whatever Étienne has pressed into his hand (he can't taste it). What he thought he read from him over the years was projected onto ink and tears that had long since dried, delusions of childish fantasy. The person in his lap was more real, carried more weight, than whatever scrawling Edward had been trying to interpret since before he was literate.

"Eddy?"

"Mm?"

"What do you think?"

Edward stared at him stupidly. Was he supposed to tell him he'd done the right thing? That his casual cruelty to the poor sap who just wanted to pay his bill and go home was his sexiest quality?

"The drink."

Edward weighed the question.

"It's okay."

Peals of laughter rippled forth and jostled Ed from his position, clearly the wrong answer.

"That's Eddy for you, always a polite word. A true Canadian," Étienne teased as he slung an arm around Edward's neck.

Edward flushed. The only thing more embarrassing than not paying attention was being caught out as undiscerning, uncultured.

Back home, he would have leaned into it, but here... The insult would have to slide off his well-oiled armour. He managed a grin, almost as if he meant it, and took another sip.

---

His guard was still up even after they stumbled up the metro steps, and as he leaned his head against the bus window away from Étienne's shoulder. It remained so even after the front door closed behind them and Étienne had pirouetted away with their coats and boots.

He excused himself to try to settle the emotional soup in his stomach in front of the bathroom sink before Étienne had a chance to pin him in place. For someone who was so easy to be around, Étienne had a way of making him feel uneasy.

Ed's malaise was chronic and ebbed in like a tide; Étienne was mercurial and his mood shifted sharply and unexpectedly. It was in Edward's interest to deal with himself first rather than risk Étienne misinterpreting him, or worse: feeling responsible for him.

Maybe he'll ask if I'm alright, he thought as he completed his routines. Maybe he'll ask what took so long, or make some joke about getting lost that will lighten the mood enough for me to tell him.

Tell him?

Edward caught his own inquiring eye in the mirror as he dried his hands and swept away the ring of droplets around the rim of the sink. Tell him he didn't perform these little gestures out of the traditional guest-host relationship? That he wanted something impossible?

He leaned on the counter unsteadily, somewhere between faking being sick and being sick.

Here came the tears. What the fuck did he want? For Étienne to knock the door off its hinges and rescue him? To wipe the sick off his face and tuck him in? Or would he rather be back home, imagining becoming the latest villain who dared to try to make E. M. fucking Maisonneuve commit?

This, he reasoned, was the alcohol. Clearly he was simply a sad drunk and the only thing for it was to brush his teeth, splash his face enough to hide any tear tracks, and sleep it off.

He caught himself eyeing the tub in the mirror. It wouldn't do any good, acting on that impulse. Imagining the slip, the fall, the impact and the shout was already giving him a headache. Even if the idea of being exposed, broken, and cradled was appealing. Christ-like, even... he managed a smile. He would find that funny.

Where might his host have got to? Ed doubted he was awaiting him with bated breath. He would surely find him bored, asleep waiting for him on the couch. Or perhaps he had already moved on to amuse himself elsewhere. He dried his hands, flicked off the light and peered down the hall.

There was no sign of life from the living room, but he heard running water. Étienne trying to wash the taste of the evening out, no doubt.

Edward cautiously hovered at the edge of the kitchen, a dimple curving despite himself. Étienne, of all possible things, was furiously washing the last of a generous array of dishes.

"You clean up well, Maisonneuve," Edward gave him an exaggerated once over, smiling at the large amount of water Étienne had somehow spilled down his front in his haste, revealed as he twisted around to acknowledge Edward's presence.

"I was hoping you'd take a little longer, you aren't supposed to know how much I had left to prepare for you and how little I'd done," Étienne smiled and turned back to rinsing the last few stragglers hiding beneath the suds.

"The illusion of your carefree bachelor life is shattered," Edward mock sighed. He leaned against the wall, unable to answer the impulse to help. Somehow, finding Étienne this concerned over it was so...

It was like a dream, watching this private moment. Étienne fiddling with the cap on the dish soap, scrubbing a particularly displeasing spot, nails scratching over the towel. One might even mistake him for mortal, wiping his hands on the sides of his jeans after fumbling around in the dishwater for the plug.

Edward's heart ached sweetly. He couldn't have everything he wanted, but he could continue to savour this tart hurt for a hundred years more. Whatshisname de Biphobe was missing out.

"Effortless." Étienne grinned, scrunching his face in mock satisfaction that blossomed into nothing short of a genuine smile as Edward met his eyes.

"Your secret is safe, I'm nowhere near sober enough to remember your kitchen as anything but spotless," Edward twirled unsteadily out of the doorway to prove his point.

"I'm sorry for that, Eddy," Étienne laughed and reached out to catch Edward's fingers and complete the clumsy flourish. "You flew five hours only for me to find you the worst drink in town."

"I thought you knew this city," Edward's eyes and his resolve crinkled up like tin foil, he couldn't help but interlock their fingers.

"I'll make it up to you," Étienne's gaze sunk briefly, his smile rose.

"Mm? I dunno, I may be ruined for trying new things forever."

"Perhaps I find bad things on purpose," Étienne grinned maliciously. "Get the worst out of the way so that you tolerate the rest. Or that you appreciate my favourites."

"I fly out five hours to "tolerate" the farce of national unity at work, I don't "tolerate" you," Edward looked away from Étienne's face and back down to studying his shirt pattern, dabbing at the damp spots uselessly with his hands and causing Étienne to try to wriggle away.

"What are you doing?" Étienne whined, "It's cold!"

Edward dropped his hands abruptly as Étienne took the opportunity to return the favour, poking and prodding Edward against the wall.

"You're doing, it wrong," Étienne paused, laughing briefly between words, angling for his next attack. He looked up to see Edward's worried expression, which was disturbing enough for Étienne to straighten up and meet his gaze.

"Oh, come on Eddy," he stepped in closer and started playing with the collar of Edward's shirt, "You've barely smiled since you got here. Are you not having fun?"

Edward gulped. He hadn't been, but Étienne knowing this was exactly the opposite of what he wanted.

Then again, what other reason did he have to come out here? Their entire relationship for around two decades seemed to balance on Étienne as his personal concierge of fun, legitimate or otherwise.

"Has something happened?" Étienne's brows knit, eyes searching.

"No," Edward recovered. "No more than the usual bullshit."

Étienne looked unconvinced for a moment, but he expertly shifted the tone.

"I'll help you forget all about it." Étienne, clearly plotting something, grinned wickedly as his arms shot out to pin Edward's to his sides.

"What are you-" Edward flushed as Étienne slowly pivoted him back to the door frame.

To his surprise, Étienne released him as quickly as he had caught him. He grinned over his shoulder at Edward, "You were in front of the fridge."

Reaching in for what he was looking for, he added, "There's a jar in the cupboard on your left, please. And I'll also need a bowl and two mugs."

Edward blinked at him stupidly before retrieving the dishes, opting to use what he could find in the cupboards before turning to the freshly washed items by the sink. By the time he had found the jar, he heard a curious hissing sound and nearly dropped the thing when he figured out where it was coming from.

Étienne's electric kettle was soon whistling merrily, and Edward finally brought himself to comment while Étienne reached for the offered bowl.

"Seems you aren't about to burn the place down," he laughed weakly.

"Ha, no, it took some courage for me to try it out but so far it's worked like a charm and expanded my repertoire significantly. I can make all sorts of things: oatmeal, noodles..."

Edward's heartstrings nearly snapped with the strain. He really needed to heighten his standards. The thought of Étienne preparing cup noodles for the two of them should not be attractive. He had to look away before he started imagining him ruggedly heating water over a campfire.

"And the powder?"

Étienne handed him a spoon from the drawer as he fumbled for whatever he was looking for. "Cocoa. I've been experimenting with my own blend," he replied as he triumphantly pulled a beater out from where it had been wedged in the drawer. Slotting it into place with a satisfying click, Étienne turned up the dial and his hand mixer roared to life.

Edward spied the carton of whipping cream next to the bowl and everything fell into place.

Étienne, catching his eye as the mixer powered down, winked teasingly. "Don't worry, I've made extra for later." He handed Edward one of the beaters and could barely restrain his giggles as he popped off the other and brought it to his mouth.

The cold cream did little to help the first blush creeping up Edward's neck and ears. The sour taste did.

Étienne choked on his beater. "Oh, Eddy, no... I swear this was good yesterday," he frantically tried to grab the other beater from Edward.

"It's not bad," Edward spun away with a smile as he finished licking up the cream. "Better than that first drink you gave me, anyway."

"Eddy, you'll make yourself sick-!"

"It isn't that far gone, honest. If it really bothers you, put some plastic wrap on the bowl and we will cook with it tomorrow. Whipping cream is a decent butter substitute, and it'll taste much better than this heated."

Étienne looked at him with amazement for a moment before he hastily followed Edward's instructions. "Where do you learn this stuff?"

"You've been around three centuries and you don't pick this stuff up?"

"I pick it up," Étienne leaned against the fridge door as he closed it, hands behind his back and a sly grin on his face, "off a plate. With a fork."

"How do you survive?"

"Much better now. You're a life saver, I mean it."

Ed turned his attention to the hot chocolate, saved from spoiling, to distract himself from thinking too much about what exactly he meant. Picking it up, he glanced warily at Étienne who gave him an encouraging nod and smile.

The bitter cocoa, the sweet sugar, the hint of cinnamon... Everything had been smoothly whisked and there was even a kick of chili at the end. Étienne's smile grew as Edward's eyes widened.

"It's good. I like it." Surely he could come up with a better compliment than that.

Étienne didn't seem to mind his awkward bluntness, smiling into his own mug without breaking his gaze. "You see, I may be a fuck-up, but things eventually turn out just as I intended."

Edward said nothing, focusing on the cocoa and not the story of the evening. Of course, Étienne Maisonneuve, conquering hero. Always.

The companionable silence as they drank was unbearable. Edward quickly broke it.

"This might be the first hot meal you've ever made for me." He meant to muster a smile, but must have forgotten.

Étienne blinked in surprise. "Not so," his eyes narrowed in concentration. "You remember I made that... the roux, with the peas and corn?"

"Rubaboo," Edward supplied.

"Rubaboo! Now, I could make that at some point, surely. And far more meal-like than this."

Edward didn't want to think about old times. He didn't want to think about his childish thoughts or his naivety and he didn't want to think about the self satisfied glow in his chest that Whatshisname de Biphobe would never, could never know Étienne as long or as well as Edward did.

He didn't want to think about sacrificing almost two hundred years by ruining their relationship and becoming the next poor sap to be discussed over one of Étienne's outings.

Suddenly, the weight of his escape from home settled between his shoulders. He put down his empty mug unsteadily into the sink.

"I have to pass out." He was too tired to try to be anything but his blunt, boring self.

"Of course," Étienne smiled, setting his own mug down and fluidly steering Edward out of the kitchen.

"I'd just brushed my teeth," Edward moaned pathetically.

"Mhm," Étienne flicked off the light behind him.

"It's like 6:00 AM in my head and I just got here and I'm boring and tired, and-"

"And drunk."

"And drunk. And not fun." Edward hiccupped weakly for emphasis.

"Where to?"

"Yours. I won't be able to sleep with Rocket Richard staring at me."

Étienne caught him by the shirt before he could collapse on the bed. He quickly unbuttoned it for Edward and held it back, letting gravity do the rest. Edward fell with a soft sigh, eyes closed.

"'Tienne, peux-tu..." For some reason, it was easier to ask for something in French.

"Bien sûr." He didn't see the smile on Étienne's face, but he could hear it. He felt well practiced hands undo the belt and button at his waist; he then half-heartedly tried to wriggle free.

"Et peux-tu me cuisiner," Edward murmured. "Demain."

"Qu'est-ce que tu voudrais, Édouard?" He felt the denim peel off his legs.

Edward was silent for a long time, drifting off, grasping for the right word. "Oatmeal," he said.

He struggled to hang onto consciousness. Though he couldn't keep his eyes open, he heard Étienne laugh. Seconds later, or maybe a few minutes, he heard the clink of a cup set against the nearby night table.

Even nearly asleep, a wave of guilt lapped at him. It wasn't so long ago that he could keep up with Étienne, that he could be fun, almost without pretending. Now Étienne was tucking him in and keeping him hydrated, like a child, or an old man.

"J'm'excuse..." he mumbled.

"Ahh, Eddy. Toujours le 'Canadian'." Étienne teased, a mocking melody on the English. Edward felt the warmth from Étienne’s cupped hand, mussing his hair gently. "Bonne nuit, mon chum."

There were a lot of things he loved about Étienne Maisonneuve. He loved how he never took himself, or anyone else, too seriously. He loved how every time he fucked something up, he would find a way around it or through it. He loved his warm dishpan hands and the solid press of him against his back. He loved the way he was causally cruel, biting and acidic. He loved when his smiles met his eyes and when his eyes met his.

---

END

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*It's canon in the sense that they are immortal personified cities but it's only "canon" if you accept it as such. I try to position myself somewhere in between @randomoranges' fluffy candy writing and @quatschmachen's angsty torment writing I guess, so today you get a little of both.

#projectcanada cities #monmonton day #it is the monmonton #pc: edmonton #pc: montreal #edward murphy #étienne maisonneuve #hapo writes #if you saw me accidentally post this two days early trying to fix a typo #no you didnt <3

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stylecouncil · 19 days ago

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“The old chestnut goes: hurt people hurt people. This has been true in every aspect of my life, from the people who have hurt me to my own bad behavior. I think about Smith internalizing his father’s temper and controlling nature, lashing out in the same way that terrified him as a child. I think about how I, too, learned to be awful, to suck down chemicals in the name of self destruction and numbness, and how hard I have worked (and will work) to undo those patterns, to get sober, to get right. As a friend wisely wrote yesterday, we will never resolve the paradox of the Great, Cruel Artist until we change the underlying social systems that lead to that cruelty. Though it is sometimes the only word available, I have grown to greatly dislike the term ‘problematic’ as currently used in cultural criticism; it has become shorthand that papers over a whole bundle of more useful questions and discussions, most notably, ‘How do we fix what went wrong?’

To parse Mark E. and his work, we should listen to those who loved him and those who loathed him in equal measure. We should talk amongst ourselves, those of us who felt his music in our guts. We should consider him from every context available. Good or bad, heart or feather: these questions only lead us into binaries that Mark E. fought to break. His portraits of working-class Mancunian life and strong condemnations of capitalism and social control (both consistent themes in the Fall’s enormous catalog) resisted cliché and polemic, digging for ideas more nuanced, more complex, more real—and, in a sense, much less universal than most pop (or even punk) lyricism. His writing was almost never straightforward, sometimes frustratingly so, offering only imagistic shards which reflected and refracted from multiple perspectives, and which asked the listener to bring their own interpretations to bear. This, in some way, also made them incredibly personal.

Now I find myself returning to these same lyrics as a sort of wake, searching them for messy truths:

Rebellious mistakes occur again, everything moving in a circular fashion (“Hotel Bloedel”)

People only need me when they’re down and gone to seed (“Hip Priest”)

We are frigid stars (“Crap Rap/Like 2 Blow”)

Who is not irascible, he is no genius (“A Figure Walks”)

Strife is life, and that’s it, and that’s it (“Hexen Definitive/Strife Knot”)

This is not a man who would have appreciated celebrity-death grief Twitter, especially his own. Mark E. Smith would have wanted to puncture any fawning, sometimes to the point of self-sabotage. He knew that it was natural for things to remain unresolved, to lack narrative closure or simple answers. He knew that humanity, including his own, can be as sublime as it is hideous, and that neither cancels the other out.”

- JJ Stolnik, Pitchfork, January 26, 2018

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arkus-rhapsode · 2 years ago

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My Thoughts of FE Three Hopes

Wow, Arkus talking about 3H? What is this? 2018? Also talking about FE3H, I must have a death wish.

So before I start even talking I really want to put this disclaimer out here, especially when talking about the divisive nature of 3H, these are my OPINIONS. This is not a objective analysis of the game nor am I am claiming it to be. These are the thoughts I had playing this game. If you enjoyed it, good. If you didn't, that Is also good. You do not have to agree with me, but I am asking for people to be respectful if they want to engage with this. And if you do agree with me, please do not use what I say as an excuse to attack people with other opinions. I am not trying to personally attack or offend you if you like this game/character/plot point. This is my opinion of a piece of media. There is plenty of opinions of this game on the internet, all I am doing is adding my thoughts to the conversation.

Anyway, people might now I am generally more middling on 3H nowadays. I think its greatest strength was its character writing and its willingness to try different things even if I wasn’t a fan of them like the time management aspect. But I felt the social sim aspect and developmental issues behind the scenes resulted in a much uneven game and at times unfinished project. I’ve also looked back and realized a lot of its politics are not that great. Like the strength of the narrative is the character conflict, that you have these three forces who all want what is best for people like them with crests, and its very compelling drama where you see how much they care about each other, but just can’t agree. But step back from the context of the conflict, the issues aren’t really crests or even the church, but rather the feudalist system which is never really addressed in a major way (And we know you can be a rich noble without a crest). With most of the plot centering around a lot of people who are nobles. Heck, you have actual subjugated and colonized people and most of their plots are either treated as backstory or something to be resolved in their character endings (Even Claude and his anti racism isn’t that relevant in comparison to the strife of the crest bearers and their place in Fodlan). While I think characters like Dedue and Petra are good, the story of 3H is not their story. Like every ending still seems to maintain the system with slight alterations, the thing that’s changed the most is who is calling all the shots in Fodlan. Which isn’t uncommon for many FE’s that maintain a simple “The good lord is the good one to rule”, but given 3H attempts to ask more nuanced questions, it feels like it the political aspect is much more undercooked. Which sucks because anytime discourse about 3H happens it boils down to: “Church bad! Church good! Fascist! Not fascist!” when there is an actual discussion to be had about the issues of the internal politics of the game and how it relates to the status quo. But again, when it focuses on CHARACTERS the 3H story is very good.

But hey, now we have Three Hopes! A musou style game that is an alternate take of the 3H world with loads of extra content! Surely this will be able to scotch tape the issues with the original while also providing another three completely separate routes that are all satisfying on their own, right?

Well... not really.

Look, I know I’ve lost people when I said that, but from what I have seen, I think a lot of people wanted Three Hopes to be, Fodlan: The Definitive Edition. Give the people Three House with all the stuff it missed out. Like how Persona Royal is the definitive way to play P5 which not only improved the story in an organic way, but still let you experience P5 as it was. But 3Hopes isn’t that. 3Hopes is a completely alternate universe, with honestly so much variations, I would say trying to apply logic and revelations from Hopes and retrofit it to houses just clashes too much and doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. I see a lot of people try to apply stuff learned about in Hopes as being relevant to Houses, but I disagree with that. I feel like knowing about this in Hopes doesn’t retroactively fix the problems of Houses, and I feel some character are almost completely different so the application of this Hopes characters ideas and thoughts are relevant to the Houses version isn’t really fair. Overall, if you are just here for another game with the Fodlan kids though, I get why this has its appeal and its easily the better FE Musou while integrating more FE elements. But it is a spin-off and I am treating it as such.

Okay if you are still sticking around to listen to me ramble after that, let me just get positives I liked about the game out of the way first.

From a story standpoint, I like that this game is willing to fill in stuff from 3H that went either on addressed or was flat out ignored. Shez is better than Byleth in everyday and their relationship with Arval feels far more genuine than Byleth and Sothis. Yes their design is very “OC do not steal” but honestly, I prefer your MC to just be a mercenary that got made a student and not a teacher.

In terms of routes, I will touch on some subjects later, but I actually do believe 3Hopes did manage to make Edelgard in particular more compelling, by actually showing her weeding out the conspiracy in the Empire and centralizing her power rather than it being all off screen, as well as actually allowing her to do more dubious acts when wartime came which was one of my biggest issues with Crimson Flower as a whole as it was an antagonist route where they didn’t do a lot of the actually pretty bad stuff they did in other routes like making the Dukedom which empowered Cornelia. So using Bernadetta’s father as a pawn or saving Lenato as an act of good faith with manipulative undertones actually made Scarlet Blaze a better route.

Speaking of routes, I quite like how 3Hopes was willing to basically say “This character could go any way in this war, and this is who is ride or die their lord.” I avoids some really weird stuff like Ingrid ever being on black eagles with the only reason being “The Professor told me to” and also adds an interesting layer with characters like Yuri or Dorothea who will do what is best for them and their groups. It also I think allows for more story opportunities like Felix and Sylvain backing Dimitri, Hilda and Holst tag teaming with Claude etc.

Rhea not just disappearing or getting captured also adds for her character to take a lot more initiative. Rhea is mostly passive in 3H with the exception of Crimson Flower. Which led to her character basically being a lot of speculations. And I don’t particularly care for discourse that ends up just being based on speculation. SO yeah, Rhea feels like more a character here.

The politics in 3Hopes are... still pretty bare minimum. I like more characters talk about policy more openly and address concepts like getting people involved in government and the only reason they are keeping lords around is to manage things until they are replaced. It doesn’t feel weighted on one side or the other: all lords get a chance to have an opinion. But again, it is something.

Graphics wise, it is an improvement. It looks far better than 3H and the character animations, expressions and attacks look so much better. Like Im not even gonna say “Well its a Musou, I expect it to look good”, because I remember FEW, it didn’t look that great with some of its animations.

That’s the positives out of the way. Lets get into the negatives.

So you know how I said the three routes in 3H generally feel unfinished or not as fleshed out as they could be? Well 3Hopes is the same. It adds more, but due the spin off nature again, it feels not quite finished. I think you should know what 3H is before playing it, but Hopes has just a lot of “because I said so” momentum to its plot. I understand it needs to get to next battle, but it also doesn’t feel super meticulous on its route system. So it really just feels like Fates where everything was already decided for me when I make the choice of what house to join.

I do respect the game willing to just say that war and conflict doesn’t end no matter what choice you make, but it also just generally feels like you accomplish little when you beat the route big bad, but there’s not a real resolution.

Now while I think Edelgard became much more interesting character in Hopes, I feel like she also gets a worse treatment. Having things like Hagemon Husk and mind control forced on her really feels like its limp wristlet trying to avoid her doing her most ambitious acts, and generally not addressing her and Those who slither in a satisfying way and once again just focusing her sights on Rhea. I have never been a fan of Thales’s influence on the plot and boy it doesn’t becoming any clearer in this game. Scarlet Blaze again feels incomplete with Tharles and Rhea just doing themselves in feels extremely unsatisfying. And before you think I am picking on Edelgard, trust me I have words for all the lords. There was a lot of people upset with Claude in Golden Wildfire seemingly being so bent on killing Rhea as that was the only way to fix the system. While many have already pointed out how that is wrong and basically his own ending proves that conflict doesn’t just end when one figure head is taken out, I actually do think this showed an interesting thing about the perception of 3H characters. Claude is often called a schemer, but we don’t really see him take any duplicitous actions beyond not reveal his racial background. He’s honestly a pretty open guy, but one willing to be very observational which sets him apart from the very single minded Edelgard and Dimitri. However, Wildfire does make Claude much more manipulative in his actions with Edelgard and his murder of Rhea. But many found this out of character as it seemed as Claude is the one who always found another way. I think overall, Golden Wildfire is fine, but once again, it playing with a different Claude and I think that will effect some people.

And now we get to Dimitri. Who I think got the worst of it all. Dimitri is quite literally down a character arc. I like intro of actually feuding with his uncle, there’s definitely manipulation by Cornelia, but if you know 3H, Rufus has a bit of a point in his fear of Dimitri. But that really never comes. Boar Dimitri is primarily absent and we honestly lose the best part of his character journey, needing to learn his vengeance isn’t going to fix the issues his people are facing. That he must take that anger and make a better Faerghus as king. Im not against maintaining sane Dimitri, but it really feels like Azure Gleam is objectively trying to be the good route. Multiple characters like Miklan get a redemption, the Church sides with Faerghus, Claude and Dimitri ally with not manipulation by Claude, Edelgard is made into a puppet and saved by her adoptive brother and left in a state she is no longer a threat, and he still has his close friend in Shez. Like literally, Dimitri gets everything he wants with his mental issues never being an obstacle.

Some have theorized that this was intentionally, this was the team creating a deconstruction of the concept of the golden route. That secretly everything happened is bad. But I don’t believe this theory. I believe due to Dimitri being the most popular lord, we saw a route where a lot of his edges were sanded down to give the player a more dream-like, almost Kaga era, style story of noble people over coming noble problems and magic bad guys in black robes was the real evil. Dimitri was already subversive of the standard Fire Emblem lord, he is Sigurd or Chrom that thinks powering your way through will make things right and then needs to be told that how he has acted is wrong. He went to edge and needed to be pulled back. And if not, he will ultimately die.

And speaking of characters, Sothis’s sudden change is... again not that well done. I like the idea of Sothis controlled Byleth and it works for Shez’s story, but its also super disconnected from any church stuff so it feels like another missed opportunity.

And of course there is the game play issues. For a musou game to be this many chapters, its generally monotonous. Some people love it and will never get sick of it, but I will admit when I am on my 3rd play through of the game, I was feeling like I had scene Shez’s ultimate attack a hundred times by that point.

So did I hate this game? no not really. Its an FE spin off game with completely different play style, the only thing I can compare it to is the last FEW which it is a lot better than. I don’t think Hopes and Houses should be treated as linked, they are clearly different takes on the same concept. I think I found myself liking Hopes when it pandered to me already knowing the characters. But I honestly still think Houses was the better way to experience these characters for all the faults I have with it.

Overall, it is a not worth full price title, but I can’t say its awful. I think what it tries to do is commendable and if you just want more time with the Fodlan kids, I think you will love this. But I just can’t say I liked it myself.

#fire emblem #fire emblem three hopes #fire emblem three houses #opinions #fe3h #fe3hopes #rhea #dimitri alexandre blaiddyd #claude von reigen #edelgard von hresvelg

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danceswithdarkspawn · 2 years ago

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Character Master List (aka The Idiots I Lovingly Torture)

WARRIOR: Sword and Shield | SPECIALIZATION: Guardian | ROMANCE: Morrigan |

Patient, understanding, and averse to conflict...but Maker help you if you hurt his sister. The backbone of the group, a natural leader, taking on more burdens than he should bear for the sake of helping others.

TEN OF WANDS, REVERSED: BURDEN, RESPONSIBILITY, STRESS

THE HANGED MAN, UPRIGHT: RELEASE, SACRIFICE

KING OF CUPS, UPRIGHT: COMPASSION, BALANCE, PEACE

ROGUE: Dual Swords | SPECIALIZATIONS: Bard, Shadow | ROMANCE: Leliana |

Iron-hearted. Fiercely loyal. Passion in all things.

KNIGHT OF WANDS, REVERSED: HOSTILITY, RECKLESS, IMPULSIVE

FIVE OF CUPS, UPRIGHT: GRIEF, LOSS, REGRET

DEATH, UPRIGHT: TRANSFORMATION, REBIRTH, RELEASE

WARRIOR: Sword and Shield | SPECIALIZATION: Champion | ROMANCE: Josephine |

Once a proud Dalish warrior, now the unfortunate and unwilling spearhead of Thedas' major religion.

THE MOON, UPRIGHT: DECEPTION, FEAR, UNCERTAINTY

THE HERMIT, REVERSED: ISOLATION, INTERNAL STRIFE

THE HIEROPHANT, UPRIGHT: CONFORMITY, TRADITION, FAITH

MAGE: Spirit Blade | SPECIALIZATION: Knight-Enchanter | ROMANCE: -

Brutal. Pragmatic. Once destined to a life of luxury and privilege serving the Chantry, until she showed a mage's talents. Her time in the Circle has made her disillusioned with the Chantry.

THE TOWER, UPRIGHT: CHANGE, REVOLUTION

FIVE OF SWORDS, UPRIGHT: CONFLICT, OVERAMBITION

SIX OF CUPS, REVERSED: MOVING ON, INDEPENDENCE

#might add more in the future #but this is it for now #yell at me about by pack of idiots #i think about them a lot #DWD master list #DancesWD ocs #for masterlist #oc: Eran Tabris #oc: Ariel Tabris #oc: Renata Lavellan #oc: Elisabeth Trevelyan dwd #dao: broken bird #dai: griffonheart #dai: remove the mask

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stjeanluc · 9 days ago

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Elizabeth I: England's Iconic Tudor Monarch

Elizabeth I, born in 1533, was one of England's most influential monarchs, reigning from 1558 to 1603. Known as the "Virgin Queen," she was the last of the Tudor dynasty, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Her reign, often called the Golden Age or Elizabethan Era, saw England rise as a major European power, flourish culturally, and establish itself as a maritime force.

Elizabeth's early life was tumultuous. Her mother's execution when she was just two years old, followed by her father's subsequent marriages and her own changing status from princess to Lady Elizabeth, shaped her cautious and shrewd political nature. Despite these challenges, she received an excellent education, becoming fluent in several languages and well-versed in history, rhetoric, and theology.

Upon ascending to the throne at age 25, Elizabeth faced numerous challenges. The country was divided by religious strife between Catholics and Protestants, was financially unstable, and faced threats from both Scotland and Spain. Elizabeth's pragmatic approach to governance, including the establishment of a moderate Protestant church and her skillful handling of foreign relations, gradually brought stability to the realm.

One of Elizabeth's most significant achievements was defeating the Spanish Armada in 1588. This victory not only secured England's independence but also established it as a formidable naval power. The defeat of Spain, then considered the strongest nation in Europe, marked a turning point in England's international standing and paved the way for its future as a global empire.

The Elizabethan era saw a remarkable flowering of English culture, particularly in literature and drama. Writers like William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, and Edmund Spenser produced works that are still celebrated today. Elizabeth herself was a patron of the arts, and her court became a center of culture and learning.

Elizabeth's decision to never marry earned her the moniker "Virgin Queen" and became a defining aspect of her reign. While this choice allowed her to maintain her independence and power, it also created succession issues that plagued the latter part of her reign. Her refusal to name an heir led to political intrigue and uncertainty.

Despite the challenges she faced, Elizabeth's 45-year reign brought relative peace and prosperity to England. Her death in 1603 marked the end of an era, but her legacy continued to influence English and world history for centuries to come. Elizabeth I remains an iconic figure, remembered for her intelligence, political acumen, and the cultural achievements that flourished under her rule.

#history #ai art #british history #queen elizabeth I

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krolikowskifrancel · 1 month ago

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"Children" uncovered, "farm" internal strife, "happy country" the end is coming

#WenguiGuo #WashingtonFarm

"Painting cake" for comfort, "live" mouth hi, "blast turtle" urgent wall

"Forget the parents 'tears, forget her husband's tenderness", this is Guo Wengui fool Yan Yimeng said; "my father is Guo Wengui, his insult and harm to women angry, I will not stand by", this is Guo Wengui daughter Guo Wengui to Guo Wengui evil complaint; "comrades in arms to act in advance", this is Guo Wengui's mouth hi ecstasy. Now, Guo Wengui is in prison, more facing relatives and social criticism, it can be said that is the real "betrayal". As usual, Guo Wengui, who was in prison, continued to "chat live" to try to cover up everything, to the judicial "red criminals, fraudsters" themselves "stick gold"."smash ash pot, uncover cheat, trial" such as late knife cut into Guo Wengui key, masturbation type mouth hi has no help, will only self-defeating.

Stick the pot will mold, stick gold can not hide the "broom star" characteristics. From the past, "stick the pot will be mildew", "support Guo will die" has become an iron law, and Guo Wengui itself with a "broom star" attribute. It is true that the "investor" is ruined. Extreme squeezing of everyone, is Guo Wengui's means; mercilessly construct every word, this is Guo Wengui's conspiracy. Bannon sticky pot, was tricked and arrested, the judicial investigation is not slow; the people transport sticky pot, was abandoned and scolded, now against the fraud Wengui behavior; Yan Li Meng sticky pot, was condemned, in Wengui fraud wearing a high hat. From the reality point of view, stick pot countless, good reward very few. Yan Yimeng, who was lured by Guo Wengui and Bannon, became the puppet of the "epidemic made in Wuhan". When the account of the rumor platform X was blocked and the lie was labeled "false news" by the US mainstream media, Guo Wengui began to "create". Guo cheater's "career" is reversed black and white, cheater's "ability" is nonsense, Guo Wengui will deduce the two incisively and vividly.

Deep in the mire, cheat difficult to block the "Guo scam" loopholes. To now, Guo Wengui's lie fraud can be called a "sieve", full of loopholes. For a long time, he is a "victim" to the world "sell miserably", will "cheat" ants, create a "" blue and golden "in hand, rumors smear all not afraid of" cheaters. Looking at Guo Wengui from the perspective of "family love", Guo Mei once said in a tweet that "Wang Yanping is the daughter of Guo Wengui's nephew, and then became Guo Wengui's 'girlfriend' ", and mentioned that "Guo Wengui loves women and harms women". Although the tweet is small, it contains a huge amount of information. Combined with Guo Wengui's long-term skilled use of "yellow, ethics" and other dirty language in the past, it can be seen that Guo Wengui is the "practitioner" of his remarks, every absurd and shameless evil move, no one man and god angry deception, every lie, is the "true portrayal" of Guo Wengui's life. Guo Wengui's "Revelations" is actually a "mirror", outsiders can see Guo cheat the first half of his life poor past, and Guo cheated himself to transform and lure the world, this is the nature of "charlatans". All in the report of the truth, the plague turtle scam is difficult to continue; all in the investigation of the trial, Guo cheat is difficult.

Technology, masturbation is difficult to change the "lost dog" ending. As usual, to their own "gold", for his comrades "profit", to the world "expose", tedious and boring to show the dilemma of exhaustion, Guo Wengui continued to incite ignorant comrades to harass the people. A lawsuit lost, a scam was exposed, a summons was sent, Guo Wengui is already at the end of his rope, no way out, prison bottom sitting through. Today's Guo Wengui, in the prison is still asking for comfort, "mouth hi" release depression, already "lost dog", "drowned dog" dilemma, behind the cry is the end of the bell sounded, is Guo cheat the end of the omen.

"Children" uncovered, "farm" internal unrest, "happy country" will end; "painting cake" for comfort, "live" mouth hi, "plague turtle" desperate. Things to now, "fraud" has become a foregone conclusion, the script of the pie masturbation has already failed, continue to struggle will only add jokes, self-defeating; "reality hit face" has become normal, the gold play has failed, continue to rumor will play with fire, self-destruction. Please still stand Guo, wait and see the small ants, while Guo Wengui still have residual interest, smash pot chase debt do not hesitate, otherwise when Guo Wengui shackles add body, prison sitting wear, debt collection will become an empty dream.

#WenguiGuo #WashingtonFarm

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sabinkaprihodova406 · 2 months ago

Text

"Children" uncovered, "farm" internal strife, "happy country" the end is coming

#WenguiGuo #WashingtonFarm

"Painting cake" for comfort, "live" mouth hi, "blast turtle" urgent wall

#WenguiGuo #WashingtonFarm

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marcianoperro · 2 months ago

Text

"Children" uncovered, "farm" internal strife, "happy country" the end is coming

"Painting cake" for comfort, "live" mouth hi, "blast turtle" urgent wall

WenguiGuo #WashingtonFarm

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schreier · 3 months ago

Text

"Children" uncovered, "farm" internal strife, "happy country" the end is coming

"Painting cake" for comfort, "live" mouth hi, "blast turtle" urgent wall

WenguiGuo #WashingtonFarm

0 notes

niccoloercanbrack · 3 months ago

Text

"Children" uncovered, "farm" internal strife, "happy country" the end is coming

"Painting cake" for comfort, "live" mouth hi, "blast turtle" urgent wall

WenguiGuo #WashingtonFarm

0 notes

dream-dove · 3 months ago

Text

Name: Theodora Nicomedes

Age: 21

Background: Princess Theodora, the youngest daughter of King Nicomedes IV of Bithynia, grew up in the opulent palace of Nicomedia. From a young age, she exhibited a gentle and tender-hearted nature, which set her apart from her more assertive and ambitious siblings. Her older brothers and sisters often saw her sensitivity as a weakness, leading them to tease and mock her.

Sibling Pranks and the Scar:

Among the playful but sometimes cruel pranks orchestrated by her siblings, one incident left a lasting mark on Theodora. During a particularly mischievous game, her brothers devised a prank that went too far, resulting in Theodora falling from a height and injuring herself. The fall left her with a star-shaped scar on her back left shoulder, a permanent reminder of both her vulnerability and the rough treatment she endured from her siblings. This scar, hidden beneath her clothing, became a symbol of her resilience and ability to endure pain with grace.

The Fall of Bithynia:

Despite King Nicomedes IV’s efforts to maintain Bithynia’s independence, the kingdom found itself increasingly entangled in the power struggles between Rome and its rivals. When King Nicomedes IV army was defeated, Bithynia faced internal strife and external pressure. Eventually, Rome, seeing an opportunity to expand its influence, launched a campaign to annex Bithynia. The Roman legions, led by a determined general, swiftly overran the kingdom, and Bithynia was declared a Roman province.

Conform as the War Prize:

With the fall of her kingdom, Theodora’s life changed dramatically. As a symbol of Rome’s victory and to solidify their control over the newly acquired province, her father in turn had to serve the emperor of Rome, to become itta ally. Sadly to cement the loyalty the rest of her family were killed off. Leaving only Theodora and father the last nobility left of the family. Yet this action would only result in a dark storm forming in her father who saw only hatred for Rome, a vengeance that would one day be quench.

Life in Rome after her father’s death:

In Rome, Theodora’s gentle and artistic nature stood in stark contrast to the brutal realities of imperial politics. A slave she was now, no longer of nobility. Even so her beauty and soothing voice quickly garnered attention, making her a favorite in the imperial court. Despite her status as a war prize, Theodora’s empathy and kindness won the hearts of many, including the servants and other courtiers. She often sang to soothe the emperor and his guests, her voice becoming a source of solace in the tumultuous environment of the Roman court.

Personality:

• Meek and Gentle: Theodora is known for her meek and gentle demeanor. Unlike her more assertive siblings, she often shies away from conflict and prefers the quietude of the palace gardens or the tranquility of her private chambers. Her introverted nature makes her a keen observer, often noticing details others might miss.

• Empathetic and Kind: She possesses a deep well of empathy and kindness, always concerned about the well-being of those around her. Servants and commoners alike adore her for her genuine compassion and willingness to listen to their troubles.

• Dreamer and Poet: Theodora has a poetic soul, often lost in thought and imagination. She spends hours writing poetry and songs, finding solace and expression through her creative endeavors.

Unique Traits:

• Soothing Voice: One of Theodora’s most remarkable attributes is her beautiful, soothing voice. When she sings, her voice is like a balm to the soul, calming those who hear it and even helping many fall peacefully asleep. Her singing is often sought after to bring comfort during troubled times.

• Observant and Insightful: Despite her meekness, Theodora’s observant nature allows her to perceive the undercurrents of court politics. She may not assert herself often, but if one asks, when she does speak, her insights are often profound and revealing, catching many by surprise.

Hobbies and Interests:

• Singing: Theodora spends much of her time practicing singing. She has a natural talent for it. Somtimes dancing but only when alone.

• Embroidery and Needlework: Crafting intricate embroidery patterns, Sewing garments and decorative items, Designing tapestries

• Poetry and Writing: Theodora has a passion for writing poetry and stories. Her works often explore themes of love, nature, and the human condition, revealing her deep empathy and reflective nature.

Dark Habit:

• Theodora’s Dreams:

Theodora’s dreams were both a blessing and a curse. They provided her with insights and foresight, but also burdened her with knowledge that others might find unsettling. Her dreams were often filled with symbolic imagery, such as animals, natural phenomena, and strange events, which she would meticulously record and try to interpret. These dreams not only reflected personal and political events but also carried deeper, spiritual meanings. Yet there are times Theodora despise this aspect, others would see it as a gift but Theodora see’s this as a curse. As nothing ever good comes from them.

#Ocean Whisper (Theodora)

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